#Jason did not think that last one through

[rosemaryhoney27]

Death and Taxes

Title: Death, Taxes, and the Fenton Exception

Gotham was a city used to chaos—supervillains, vigilantes, the occasional alien invasion. But for one day a year, fear reigned over even the most hardened criminals. That day was April 15th—Tax Day.

And there was one man who became a model citizen exactly once a year: The Joker.

“Oh, you can gas the mayor, blow up the zoo, or replace the city's water supply with lime gelatin,” the Joker once told Harley, lovingly licking a stamp. “But you do not mess with the Internal Revenue Service.���

Danny Fenton didn’t get it.

“Why is everyone so freaked out about taxes?” he asked, lazily floating upside-down in the Batcave, sipping a soda. “It’s not like they’re gonna send hitmen after you or something.”

Jason, perched on the edge of the Batcomputer, stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “They literally will, Danny. That’s exactly what they do.”

Bruce, arms crossed and trying to make sense of Danny's W-2s—which were somehow written on ectoplasm paper thank you ghost writer and referenced “liminal hazard bonuses”—grunted. “Everyone pays taxes. Everyone.”

Danny shrugged. “Not me.”

Tim looked up from his tablet, eyebrows slowly rising. “What do you mean, not you?”

“I mean,” Danny said, setting his soda down with a slight fizz of anti-gravity, “the Fentons don’t pay taxes.”

“…You’re evading federal law?” Damian asked flatly, already reaching for the Bat-phone. “Father, allow me to call the IRS.”

“No no no,” Danny said, raising his hands. “We’re not allowed to pay taxes.”

Silence.

“What.”

It took less than twenty minutes for Oracle to hack the federal database and confirm the impossible.

The Fenton family has not paid a single tax in six generations.

There was a note on their file. A glowing, pulsing, red note—signed and sealed by multiple high-ranking officials and stamped with a Department of Defense warning tag. It read:

FENTON EXCEPTION ACT - CLASSIFIED DO NOT ENGAGE. DO NOT CONTACT. DO NOT AUDIT. THEY ARE TO BE LEFT ALONE. [Subnote: In the event of unsolicited contact, consider immediate relocation and witness protection.]

“Why?” Dick finally asked, trying not to sound hysterical. “Why in the actual haunted tax-code hell are they exempt?”

“I dunno,” Danny said. “Mom said something about Great-Grandpa Jack accidentally collapsing a dimension when he filed with the wrong form. The IRS has left us alone ever since.”

“What form?” Bruce demanded, looking more distressed than he had when Gotham was overrun by Fear Toxin.

Danny scratched his head. “I think it was called... uh... Form 66-Ectoplasm-B? Or maybe that was the one that summoned a wraith accountant? Oh, wait—that was Grandma Fenton…”

Meanwhile…

At an undisclosed IRS location deep under D.C., in a steel bunker reinforced with both magic and nuclear shielding, a red light began to blink.

The agents in the room froze.

“Is that…?” one whispered.

“Fenton ping. But it’s passive. Someone looked them up.”

The lead agent, an old man with a cybernetic eye and an exorcism tattoo burned into his hand, swore under his breath and lit a cigar with trembling fingers.

“God help them. Someone in Gotham must’ve tripped the file.”

Back in Gotham…

The Joker, halfway through filling out his Schedule C, saw the alert pop up on his monitor: Fenton Account Flagged – Gotham Search. He dropped his pen.

“No… No no no no no.”

He reached for his emergency bag: clown nose, fake passport, and a one-way ticket to Fiji.

“Harley!” he screeched. “Pack the hyenas—we’re going off-grid! The Fentons have surfaced!”

That night, Batman received an anonymous, trembling message from the IRS:

“Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell your newest ward to never attempt to file a tax return. We still haven’t recovered from the last time. The Department of Dimensional Finance sends its regards.”

Bruce turned to Danny. “What did your family do?”

Danny shrugged. “I mean, one of our fridge magnets is a minor god of debt collection, so maybe that’s part of it?”

Bruce just groaned and added “Fenton Family Finances” to the Batcomputer’s Top Threats—right between “Joker’s Laughing Gas Variants” and “Demon-Summoning TikTok Teens.”

And so, the truth became legend in Gotham:

There are two things certain in life—Death and Taxes.

Unless you’re a Fenton.

Then even the IRS fears you.

[kikiiidym]

hii! could you please do a jason grace x reader where reader is a very famous actress and jason is their non celebrity bf?

“More Than a Spotlight”

WARNING: NONE! PAIRING: Jason Grace x Actress! reader A/N: I once said that I'm an actress and I got SWARMED w questions oml, no, I'm not recognized YET but I will be one day, trust.

Jason wasn’t used to flashing cameras, velvet ropes, or being called Mr. Y/N L/N like it was his actual name.

But he’d never say it bothered him. Not really.

Because every time you looked at him across the chaos of red carpets or gala crowds, he knew exactly why he was there.

For you.

Not for the fame. Not for the luxury. For the girl who curled into his chest when the world felt too loud. The one who left eyeliner marks on his hoodies. The one who still texted him from set with things like

“They brought me the wrong smoothie and I thought of you because you’d never forget my order :(”.

You met him at a bookstore in Brooklyn. You had a hat pulled low and oversized sunglasses on, thinking you were being subtle. Jason had bumped into you by accident.

Literally.

He knocked your book out of your hands and muttered, “Sorry, I didn’t see—wait...you’re—”

And then, blessedly, he didn’t say your name like everyone else did. He blinked. Then smiled. “...the girl holding my favorite book.”

You laughed. “Really? The Song of Achilles?”

“Hurts so good.”

You ended up talking in the aisle for an hour. No selfies. No asking for autographs. Just two people debating tragic Greek heroes like nerds in a mythology class.

You left your number on his receipt.

Dating you came with a spotlight Jason never asked for. Paparazzi staked out his apartment once the relationship went public. Twitter speculated about how long it would last. Tabloids called him “The Civilian Arm Candy” or worse—“The Blonde Nobody.”

He never said anything. But you knew it wore on him.

He was the son of a civilian nobody. He was just a student finishing college. A normal person. He didn’t need cameras or luxury. But he chose you.

And he stayed.

Every film premiere. Every fashion week. Every exhausting press circuit.

Jason Grace, in a black suit, quietly holding your hand in the background while the world screamed your name.

One night, after a grueling award ceremony, you kicked off your heels and collapsed on your penthouse couch with a groan.

Jason sat beside you, tossing his blazer over a chair. “You okay?”

You looked at him, mascara slightly smudged, dress bunched at your waist, heart full of the ache that only fame could cause.

“They asked me again,” you said quietly.

He knew what you meant.

The reporters. The questions. “Are you two still together?” “Is he just a fling?” “How does someone like him keep up with a megastar like you?”

Jason didn’t answer right away.

You turned toward him, fingers brushing his. “Tell me the truth. Is it too much?”

His brows pulled together. “What?”

“All of this. The cameras. The chaos. Me. I didn’t ask for this life—but I chose it. And you didn’t. You didn’t choose to be in the public eye.”

Jason reached out and cupped your cheek, thumb tracing just under your eye.

“I didn’t choose the spotlight,” he said. “But I chose you. And I’ll keep choosing you, whether it’s in a five-star hotel or a gas station parking lot.”

Your throat tightened.

“You always know exactly what to say.”

He leaned in, pressing a kiss to your temple. “That’s because I know you. Not the actress. Not the tabloid name. Just you.”

And in that quiet space between paparazzi and premieres, the two of you curled up together, tangled limbs and whispered secrets under soft blankets, with the window open and the city lights glittering outside.

Here, in this ordinary peace, was a love extraordinary.

Bonus Moment: Red Carpet Chaos

You were running late to a major movie premiere. Hair and makeup were rushing you. Stylists were fixing your train. And somewhere in the chaos, Jason slipped in through the back, dressed sharp but clearly a little out of place.

When you saw him across the crowd, your whole face lit up.

One photographer caught the moment—your eyes softening, your body angling toward him instinctively. Jason reaching for your hand like there was no one else in the world.

The photo went viral.

Caption: "The way he looks at her like she's just a girl, not a goddess. That’s real."

And the comments? Pretty out of hand.

@Nancybobo “Forget celebrities. I want a Jason Grace.” @Tojissluttt "I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR MONTHS N YOU GUYS WOULDN'T LISTEN 😭" @Ynslefttoe "Can Y/N fight? cuz DAMN I need him." @PiperMczim "Chat I bet he whimpers." @ThaliaGraceigg "Y'all bitches are weird asf, go touch some damn grass."

And the edits? secretly saved in your phone.

[crxwn-06]

ASHES AND ECHOES

“ home has become wherever he sleeps safely ”

Damian runs away: Jon is not his, he is not a Wayne, he is not an Al Ghul. In the hope of finding himself in the destruction of the League, he finds instead the latest experiment, the latest innovation: his and Jon’ son. He flees. With the baby. He dies. (Does he?) While his family mourns him, he learns to live again.

or, Damian haunting the narrative for everyone while being a very much alive single father in his lil beach house

3. FEAR NOT, SWEET CHILD OF MINE

masterlist;; « prev || next »

The crackle of static was the only sound in the Batcave.

Tim’s fingers flew across the keyboard, eyes bloodshot and fixed on the streams of distorted footage and data fragments. Camera feeds. Satellite sweeps. Traffic surveillance. Airport logs. Every trace of digital dust Damian Wayne might’ve left behind.

Nothing. Again.

The cursor blinked. Mocking.

«Come on, come on,» he muttered, scrubbing backwards on the security loop of a Gotham bus terminal. Third time that hour. Same result. No Dami. No trace. Nothing.

Behind him, the argument continued to spiral.

«You pushed him too hard!» Dick’s voice cracked across the stone. «You always do this, Bruce. You expect him to be a soldier, and when he acts like one, you act surprised.»

«He is a soldier.» Bruce’s tone was steel. Tired steel. «And he knows better than to vanish without protocol. No word. No trace. He didn’t even—»

His voice caught. Just for a breath.

«He didn’t even say goodbye,» Dick said softly. The words landed like a wound. «Do you know how messed up that is?»

Jason didn’t speak. He leaned against the cave’s rock wall, arms crossed, mouth tight. Not his usual smirk, not a clever quip waiting. Just silence. Heavy and tight and aching.

He had been the first to notice something off. The way Damian hadn’t responded in their shared patrol channel. How his tracker had gone dark.

But he’d stayed quiet then.

And now?

He didn’t have words.

Not for the way Alfred had closed the boy’s door too gently. Not for the extra plate still getting set at dinner. Not for the ache he knew Bruce was trying to bury under orders and blame.

«He’s not some… kid with a tantrum, Bruce. He doesn’t run» Dick continued, louder now. «And he doesn’t leave without a reason. So what the hell happened? What did you say to him?»

That landed.

Bruce turned, jaw tight. «You think I don’t blame myself? You think I haven’t played every conversation we’ve had the last month on loop in my head? You think I—»

He didn’t finish. He looked away.

The screen Tim was staring at buzzed with new static.

Jason exhaled through his nose and finally muttered, «We don’t even know if he’s—»

He stopped. Didn’t say dead.

He didn’t have to.

Tim flinched at the word that hadn’t been spoken.

Dick ran a hand through his hair, pacing, jaw locked in frustration and helpless fury.

Bruce stood still in the middle of it all. The eye of the storm. A statue carved out of grief and guilt, trying not to feel any of it.

But the cave felt it. Every wall. Every shadow.

It felt the hole Damian had left.

And no one — not even the great Batman — knew how to fill it.

«I spoke with Jon» Dick said, voice tight.

The words made Bruce look up sharply, as if yanked from some unspoken spiral.

«He was worried» Dick continued. «He couldn’t find Dami. Said that he saw him after your fight, and that Dami had said—some worrying things.»

Tim stopped typing. His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

«What kind of things?» Jason asked, finally breaking his silence. His voice was low. Dry. Too calm to be safe.

Dick ran a hand through his hair, glancing between all of them before settling his eyes back on Bruce. «About the League.»

The silence hit like a cold snap.

Tim turned in his chair. «Wait, you mean like… going back?»

«I don’t know» Dick admitted. «But Jon said Damian looked—broken. Like he was trying to prove something. That he wanted to ‘show Bruce he wasn’t a weapon anymore.’»

Bruce’s face didn’t change. But something in him did.

«He said» Dick added, voice quieter now, «that Dami looked like he was saying goodbye.»

Jason stepped forward. «So you’re telling me he had a fight with you» he looked at Bruce, «said cryptic League-flavored shit to his ex-boyfriend or something» he nodded at Dick, «and then vanished off the face of the Earth, and we’re only putting it together now?»

«He’s not a runaway» Tim said, tense. «He planned this. It’s surgical. Everything’s wiped.»

Jason turned to Bruce, fire behind his stare. «What did you say to him, Bruce? Because if he walked straight into the League’s arms, you pushed him there.»

Bruce looked down at the floor for a moment—then turned toward the Batcomputer, the light of the screen painting his face with something cold and harsh. Then he confessed.

«I told him he was acting like one of them.»

No one breathed.

«And when he asked me if that’s what I thought he was made to be…» Bruce exhaled through his teeth, voice clipped. «I didn’t answer fast enough.»

«Oh my God» Tim muttered.

The Batcave felt like it had grown colder.

Bruce’s jaw clenched. His voice, when it came, was low and almost hesitant.

«And if—» he said, after a long moment, «if he joins back the League?»

The question hung in the air like a blade suspended by a thread.

Tim didn’t even look up from the screen this time. «Wouldn’t be surprised.»

The silence after that was immediate and sharp.

Bruce turned toward him, something dark flickering behind his eyes. «Tim.»

That was all it took. A single name. Sharper than a batarang.

Tim blinked, but didn’t back down. «What? I’m just being honest. He’s been trained his whole life to go back to them. Maybe he never stopped being one of them. Maybe he just—»

«That’s enough» Dick cut in, hard.

Tim fell silent, lips pressed into a thin, bitter line.

Jason pushed off the wall. «Whether or not he’s going back to the League isn’t the point. The point is, he didn’t tell any of us. That means he didn’t trust us. Not even you, Bruce.»

Bruce didn’t answer.

«Which makes me think,» Jason added, a little quieter now, «he doesn’t think we’d come for him.»

«He should know better» Dick muttered.

«He doesn’t» Tim said, quietly.

They all turned to look at him.

Tim stared at the screen, guilt smoldering in the shadows under his eyes. «He really doesn’t.»

The corridor was darker than the others.

A servant had pointed him toward the older storage wings for some peace, claiming few patrolled that side of the mountain at night. Damian had followed out of habit more than trust. But it wasn’t peace that greeted him now.

It was the faint, raw sound of a cry.

It was soft, wavering—unsteady. Young.

Damian froze mid-step, hand on the hilt at his side. The League had been known to keep prisoners, but this wasn’t a sound he associated with interrogation cells.

This was… a child.

He moved carefully. His boots didn’t make a sound. The faint flickering torches along the hall cast long, trembling shadows. He paused outside the door the sound came from, pressing a hand against the cold wood.

«Tt.»

A quiet, annoyed breath. He could feel his heartbeat in his palm against the door. One last glance around the hallway. Empty.

Damian shifted his weight, gripped the handle, and pushed the door open slowly.

The hinges creaked softly, dust shaking loose with the motion.

Inside, the room was dim. The light of a monitor screen cast a pale glow over the far side of the space — where a small cradle, surrounded by high-tech machinery, stood like something forgotten.

The cry paused.

Then, a giggle.

The baby — a few months old at max — blinked up at him. Big blue-green eyes glistened in the glow, and a little hand reached upward. A toy lay discarded beside him. His legs kicked slightly under the light blanket.

Damian stepped inside, slowly. Disbelief settled over him like dust on glass.

His mouth opened. No words came.

The baby giggled again, louder now, bubbly and warm. He reached both arms up this time, as if recognizing something familiar. Or maybe someone.

Damian took a cautious step closer.

«Who left you here…?» he whispered, voice so soft it barely existed.

He knelt, arms staying by his sides. The child wriggled in response, still watching him. That same, toothless smile didn’t leave his face.

Something twisted in Damian’s chest.

His eyes flicked to the sides of the room.

He stood slowly, sharp gaze surveying the space. In the corner, by the machinery, a terminal still flickered — the interface ancient, but still active. Files, half-loaded scans, genetics data. A few hard drives were stacked messily beneath the desk.

Damian moved to the terminal. His fingers hovered over the keys.

He didn’t want to look.

But he had to.

Wayne. Kent. Subject 001. Viable.

He stared.

«No…» he breathed. His eyes narrowed, darting across the file headers. “Gene stabilization. Clone cycle 3. Blood samples. Viability spike in dual-strand merging…”

He turned slowly back to the baby. «No no no…»

The child squealed in delight, kicking his feet, his tiny hands stretching toward the ceiling like he was trying to touch the stars.

A red thread of silk — tied loosely around one wrist — caught the light.

Damian knelt again, slower this time. He stared at the baby’s face, at the shape of his nose, the softness of his skin, the slight curl of his dark hair.

Then his own hands lifted.

Without really deciding to, he reached forward.

The baby didn’t cry. Didn’t pull away. He leaned into the arms that finally scooped him up, resting against Damian’s chest with a pleased, sleepy sound.

Damian looked down at him.

For the first time since arriving, the armor didn’t feel like protection. It felt like weight.

His voice was just a whisper.

«What did they do to you, little one…?»

The baby rested in the crook of his arm now, head nestled under Damian’s chin — warm and trusting, utterly unaware.

He had wrapped him in the green scarf he wore under his armor, one of the few soft things he had on hand. It didn’t seem to bother the infant. In fact, he looked more content now than he had moments ago.

Damian adjusted his grip, then turned back to the monitor.

He pulled a flash drive from his utility belt — small, high-encryption, carried for emergencies — and slotted it into the terminal. The screen pulsed.

[TRANSFER INITIATED – FILE COUNT: 462]

He scanned the filenames as they zipped across the screen.

Subject_001.DNA_Sequence.fullmap

Cycle3_implantationProtocol.txt.

KentWayne_CompatibilityReport.pdf

T.A.G.L.. Memo: Viability Confirmed

BrainWiring_AggressionControl_Alpha7.log

Thomas.WK.V3.HeartStabilizer.reading.

Thomas.

That was his name.

Damian’s jaw tightened as a slow, cold realization settled over him.

They had named him.

They had built him.

He reached to open one of the audio files. A recording played — his mother’s voice, eerily calm. «We’ve refined the base structure. Using Jonathan’s alien genome as a stabilizer, and Damian’s as the foundation. It will be my perfect heir. One that will not question its purpose.»

The baby cooed lightly.

Damian stood frozen.

«He will be loyal,» Talia’s voice continued. «He will be strong. And he will be mine.»

Damian yanked the drive free.

The screen blinked once.

He reached down, reset the OS manually, and began typing.

> DELETE ALL FILES? Y/N

«Yes» he said out loud. Pressed the key.

> DELETE CONFIRMED

Then, he turned to the machine — the cradle of this twisted project. Transparent pods. Wires like veins. The heart of what they made.

He laid Thomas down gently on a soft blanket in the corner, made from old silks stacked for experiments. The baby squirmed, but stayed quiet, watching him with curious eyes.

Damian drew his katana.

«You will never be someone’s weapon,» he said to the child, before turning to the machine.

The blade sliced through wires, tubing, support beams. Sparks burst and glass shattered. The power core cracked with a hiss, releasing a noxious smoke. Flames licked at the circuits. The lab flooded with heat and the scent of burned metal.

The baby didn’t cry.

Damian pulled him back into his arms.

Behind them, the machine collapsed in a final burst of sparks, flickering in the shadows of the League’s stronghold.

The flames reflected in Damian’s eyes as he turned away.

He wasn’t a prince.

Not anymore.

He was a father.

And he was getting them out.

Damian sat with his back against the damp wall, the baby in his arms again. The firelight behind them had long dimmed into flickering shadows, and Thomas had drifted into sleep — one tiny fist still curled in the scarf now wrapped around them both.

The silence roared in his ears.

He couldn’t move. Not yet.

His hands — steady in battle, unwavering in precision — trembled now, barely noticeable. The baby’s head rested against his chest, his breathing slow, rhythmic, innocent.

«Thomas.»

He said the name out loud. Quietly.

It didn’t feel like a title anymore. It felt like something real.

He leaned his head back against the stone. Let the cold seep in. He couldn’t think too fast, or it would break him.

They made him — from him. From Jonathan. A genetic template. An heir to the League.

Damian’s mouth curled bitterly.

He knew what they wanted: a perfect soldier with a heart designed only to obey.

But the boy in his arms — warm, squirmy, alive — was not a weapon. He was a person. Already full of his own sounds and moods and spark. Already something more.

Damian looked down at him, watching the tiny mouth twitch as he dreamed. A bit of drool clung to his chin.

«You’re not what they wanted you to be,» he whispered.

He said it to the baby, but also to himself.

And then, after a moment — a thought slipped through like a whisper in the fog.

You’re mine.

Not in the possessive way his mother might mean. Not as property. But as something… fragile and fierce. Like a part of himself he had never planned for but could no longer ignore.

«I’m a father now.»

He didn’t realize he had spoken until the words echoed back to him in the stone corridor.

It felt unreal. Stupid. Impossible.

But the warmth in his arms was not.

Damian let out a quiet breath. His hand moved gently over the back of Thomas’s head, smoothing down fine, curling hair. He was so small. Smaller than he remembered babies being.

«You have no idea what you’ve been born into,» he murmured. His voice shook just slightly. «But I’ll make sure you’ll never feel it.»

He closed his eyes.

«No labs. No chains. No blades in your future.»

Then, quieter still: «No League. No Al Ghuls. Just… us.»

Thomas shifted slightly, murmured in his sleep. Damian stilled, arms tightening instinctively, every nerve on alert — then relaxed again when the baby simply sighed and curled closer.

Damian lowered his head, forehead brushing against the baby’s soft crown.

His whisper was almost reverent.

«You’re not my legacy. You’re my beginning.»

He’s going through a lot guys from now on he’s really in full desperation okay. Also shorter chapter because I wrote too much and I had to split (which is why you’re getting two chapters, just need to review chap 4)

Taglist: @sparrows4bats @lobdw20 @sleepynagii @linoalwaysknows @mamamoble @blue22roses @srta-saori @remosdeerica @touchofhemlocktea @ashshadows001 @famouscrusadeluminary @shifttoksucks @safia-bachamissimi @broccoliiiiiiii @angieng2432

[wrappedinpinklace]

Out of Bounds, Chapter Twelve.

(author’s note!! hii everyone, i kinda have the ending of the fic planned out in my head, and i don’t think we are much further from it, dw it’s a happy ending im not that mean </3, xoxo angel!!)

Your dorm was quiet.

Your roommate had gone off with her boyfriend for the night, again. “Don’t wait up!” she’d said, followed by a wink that made you roll your eyes—and you were left alone with nothing but a Transfiguration textbook, a flickering candle, and your own traitorous thoughts.

You were doing great. Amazing, actually. Your grades were top of the year, Professor Nygma had even praised your last essay, and the whispers that once followed you like a second shadow had finally died down. You had healed.

…Or at least, that’s what you told yourself.

But still—still—you thought of him.

Jason Todd.

You hated how easily his name still formed in your mind. You hated how your body remembered him even when you were trying so hard to forget. The way his hands felt on your skin, the way his breath tickled your neck when he murmured things he’d never say in the daylight. The way his voice rasped when he said your name like it was the only word that mattered.

You hated how much you missed him.

And Merlin help you, you hated how much you wanted him.

It started with a thought. Just a thought. A flash of him shirtless at practice, sweat glistening on his chest. His hair tousled, his smirk dangerous.

Your hand slipped under the waistband of your shorts before you could even talk yourself out of it.

This is stupid, you thought. Don’t do this. You’re fine. You don’t need him. You don’t—

But then your fingers moved and your back arched, and for one wild moment you imagined it was his hand instead of yours. His voice whispering dirty praise into your ear. His body over yours.

And all thoughts of guilt drowned beneath the sound of your own ragged breath.

⸻

Meanwhile, Jason?

Jason hadn’t slept properly in days.

He was tired, pissed off, and obsessed—utterly, pathetically obsessed—with you. Everything reminded him of you. Your perfume in the hallway. Your handwriting in the margins of a shared textbook. The stupid way your laugh echoed in his mind like a curse.

He needed to see you.

He needed to try.

It wasn’t like you gave him the chance. You avoided him like he was cursed. Wouldn’t look at him in class, wouldn’t speak to him in passing, wouldn’t even so much as glance his way unless Dick or Steph was around to intercept.

But tonight? Tonight the castle was quiet. Your roommate was gone—he saw her himself—and Jason had always been good at breaking rules.

He slipped through the dark like it was second nature, silent, a shadow. He murmured the password Steph always used (he knew it, of course he did), climbed the staircase with practiced ease, and stopped in front of your dorm door.

His heart beat louder than it had in weeks. He knocked once—soft, hesitant. No answer. He turned the knob. Unlocked. Jason stepped inside.

And what he saw—

What he saw made the world stop spinning.

You. In bed. Skin flushed, eyes closed, legs spread, hand between your thighs, head tilted back, mouth parted in a breathy moan of his name you didn’t even realize you said.

“…Jason.”

He froze.

His brain said leave. Turn around. Pretend you never saw this.

But his body—his traitorous, desperate, aching body—stayed rooted in place, watching you fall apart under your own touch like a prayer whispered in the dark.

You gasped, sitting up, eyes flying open. And when you saw him—really saw him—you nearly screamed.

“W-What—Jason?! What the hell are you doing here?!”

He should have left. He really should’ve.

But instead, he stepped forward, closing the door behind him with a soft click, locking it this time. And even though you were still flushed and panting, your eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Get out.”

Jason didn’t move.

“You said my name,” he said, voice low, somewhere between awe and agony. “I didn’t mean to walk in on you but—you said my name.”

“Old habit,” you snapped, pulling your blanket up, heart thundering. “Don’t let it go to your overinflated head.”

But you couldn’t ignore how dark his eyes had gone. How his chest rose and fell as he tried to keep himself together. How the room suddenly felt much too small for the two of you.

He took a step closer.

And you didn’t stop him.

Not yet.

You didn’t remember climbing into his lap.

You didn’t remember pulling his shirt over his head or kissing your way down his chest, but there you were—thighs wrapped around his waist, back against the pillows, skin pressed against skin like you’d die if there was even an inch between you.

“Still mad at me?” he breathed, forehead pressed to yours, hips rolling slow against yours. Torturously slow.

“Yes,” you gasped. “Furious.”

“Good,” he said, voice a low growl as he thrust forward—deep, hard, and deliberate. “You always fuck me better when you’re angry.”

You moaned—loud, uninhibited—as your fingers clawed at his back, grounding yourself in the only thing that made sense anymore: him.

Jason didn’t stop.

Couldn’t.

Your name left his lips like a prayer, over and over again, half-muttered between kisses, between curses, between moans that escaped despite himself. You were everywhere—wrapped around him, clinging to him, seared into his skin like a spell he couldn’t shake.

You dragged your lips along his jaw, biting lightly at the corner of his mouth, “This doesn’t change anything.”

“Wasn’t trying to,” he rasped, hand sliding beneath your thigh, lifting you to meet each thrust, “Just need to feel you again. That’s all I’ve wanted.”

You were soaking—slick, warm, tight—and every movement drew a new sound from the both of you. The room was thick with it, the slap of skin, the creak of the bed, the stifled moans you tried and failed to bite back.

“Jason,” you gasped as he hit a spot inside you that made your vision blur.

His grip on your hips tightened.

“I know, baby. I know.” He leaned in and kissed your temple, something softer layered beneath the hunger. “I’ve got you.”

You came hard, fingers digging into his back, mouth falling open as you cried out his name like it was the only word you knew. He didn’t stop, not until he was right behind you, shuddering through his own climax with a broken groan against your neck.

And for a second—just a second—the world was quiet.

No heartbreak. No rumors. No betrayal.

Just two people in a messy bed, hearts still racing, bodies tangled together, unwilling to let go.

⸻

Jason stayed longer than he should have.

His breathing had finally evened out, and for a moment, he looked like he might say something—something real. But instead, he just sat there at the edge of your bed, head bowed, fingers twitching slightly like he was debating reaching for you again. You didn’t speak, and neither did he. It was quieter that way, safer.

Eventually, he stood.

You didn’t look at him, but you could feel his eyes on you, watching, hesitating. Like he was waiting for you to ask him to stay—or to scream at him to go. You did neither.

“G’night,” he murmured, voice hoarse and low as he pulled on his shirt.

You just nodded, your face unreadable, your body still bare beneath the sheets. And when he stepped out, closing the door behind him with a soft click, you stared at it for a long moment.

The second it latched shut, the silence hit.

You sank back into your pillows, limbs heavy and sated, every nerve still humming. Your body was still warm from him—your thighs sticky, your lips swollen, your skin littered with the ghost of his touch. He lingered in the air like cologne and trouble.

And god, it had been good. So good.

You hated how good it had been.

Your fingers grazed over your neck, over the little bruise blooming there from where he’d sucked too hard, and you couldn’t help the soft breath that left your lips—half frustration, half satisfaction. You hated him. You hated him for lying. For breaking you. For making you miss him. But mostly, you hated that your body still ached for him, even now.

There was no way this was a one-time thing.

You weren’t delusional enough to believe that. Not with the way you moved together like a match to a flame. There was something brewing now—something inevitable. Dangerous.

A situationship. That was the word for it, wasn’t it?

Not love. Not yet.

But not hate either. Not anymore.

And that? That was the most dangerous part of all.

⸻

You were doing so well at hiding it.

You’d avoided the common rooms, skipped breakfast in the Great Hall, even wore a scarf indoors like an idiot to cover your neck. But of course, Stephanie Brown was many things—and oblivious was not one of them.

It started with the scarf. “Okay, what is this? Fashion from the Ministry of Silly Walks?” she teased, tugging on the edge of the fabric.

You tried to deflect. “I was cold.”

“In ninety degree weather?” she deadpanned. And then she yanked the scarf down.

There was a pause.

Then, “Oh my god.”

Your heart dropped. “Stephanie, I swear—”

“You swore you were done with him.”

You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but no words came out. What could you even say? It wasn’t supposed to happen? I was horny and lonely and he has really nice hands?

Stephanie’s eyes widened even more as it fully sank in. “Wait—was this last night? Oh my god. You had sex with Jason Todd. Again?!”

You dragged a hand down your face and sank onto the edge of your bed. “Please lower your voice.”

Stephanie slammed your door shut and leaned against it dramatically. “Girl. Why?”

You sighed. “I don’t know. It just… happened.”

She crossed her arms. “People don’t just accidentally fall onto Jason Todd’s—”

“Stephanie.”

“I’m just saying!” She threw her hands up. “I mean, part of me is mad at you because hello, heartbreak and betrayal, but also… I’m impressed. Proud, even. He’s hot. I get it. I do.”

You gave her a look, but your cheeks warmed anyway.

Stephanie softened a bit, dropping onto the bed beside you. “Okay, okay, real talk. Do you… still want him?”

You didn’t answer right away. You stared at the floor, fingers twisting in the hem of your jumper. “I don’t know. I mean—yes. But also no. I don’t trust him. I shouldn’t even like him. But my brain and my body are apparently no longer on speaking terms.”

Stephanie nodded slowly, tapping her fingers against her leg. “That’s fair. But… just promise me you’re not going to let this turn into a thing unless he earns it. Like, actually proves he’s not an emotionally constipated disaster.”

“I’m not planning anything,” you muttered. “It was just one night.”

Stephanie raised a brow.

You winced. “…Okay maybe not just one night.”

“Y/N.”

“I know! I know. I’m doomed.”

Stephanie sighed, bumping her shoulder into yours. “Maybe. But at least you’re doomed with good taste.”

You both laughed softly. The kind of laugh that came with too much history and not enough wisdom. But there was comfort in that.

And maybe, for now, that was enough.

⸻

You hadn’t even been in the library for five minutes before the peace was disturbed.

Of course it was him.

Nathan.

You were halfway through annotating a Defense essay, quill tucked behind your ear, head down, when his voice slid into your space like an oil spill.

“Well, well,” he drawled, casually leaning on the edge of your table, “I didn’t expect to find you here alone. No bodyguard boyfriend shadowing your every move today?”

You didn’t even look up. “I’m trying to study.”

“And I’m trying to have a conversation. I’d say we’re both failing.” He smirked, eyes trailing lazily over your parchment. “Didn’t expect you to bounce back so quickly. Maybe heartbreak’s just a phase for you.”

You clenched your jaw, fingers tightening around your quill. “Walk away, Nathan.”

He grinned. “You know, since you’re available again, I might—”

“Try finishing that sentence,” came a familiar voice from behind him, “and I’ll make sure you don’t have enough teeth left to say another one.

Nathan turned slowly. “Ah. Speak of the devil.”

Jason stood with his arms crossed, still damp from Quidditch practice, hair sticking to his forehead, eyes hard as stone. You hated how good he looked angry.

Jason stepped forward, crowding Nathan slightly. “Don’t you have some Ravenclaw strategy meeting to be at? Or is losing all the time finally catching up to you?”

Nathan scoffed, standing his ground. “We’ll see who’s losing after the match next week.”

Jason smirked darkly. “Right. Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw. Maybe you’ll win this time.” His tone was all sarcasm, sharp and lethal.

Nathan straightened his collar and gave you one last look before sauntering off. “I’ll see you around, Y/N.”

Jason watched him go with murder in his eyes before turning to you. “You okay?”

You sighed and closed your book. “Yes. I was fine. I am fine. I don’t need saving.”

Jason tilted his head. “Didn’t look like you were enjoying the conversation.”

“I wasn’t. But I could’ve handled it.”

“I know.” He said it gently. “But I still wasn’t gonna let him talk to you like that.”

You looked at him, trying not to soften. Trying not to be grateful.

But you were.

You turned back to your parchment, pretending not to notice the way your heart was still hammering.

You watched Nathan disappear between the tall shelves, and only then did you finally exhale.

Jason lingered nearby, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his uniform trousers, but you didn’t look at him. Not right away. You were still trying to catch your breath, still trying to ignore the stupid way your heart raced at the sight of him.

“Look,” you said after a moment, keeping your eyes on the parchment in front of you even though the words swam uselessly now, “you don’t have to do that.”

Jason tilted his head. “Do what?”

“Defend me. Show up. Intervene. We’re not…” You paused, tongue heavy with words you didn’t want to say. “I’m not your girlfriend anymore. So it’s none of your concern.”

There was a beat of silence before he finally said, “Right.”

You glanced up—and regretted it instantly.

He looked… disappointed. But not surprised.

You sighed. “But… thank you. For what you said. Even if you didn’t need to say it.”

That pulled the corner of his mouth into the beginnings of a smirk. “Yeah, well. He’s a prat.”

You huffed a soft laugh, eyes flicking back to your work, trying to pretend the tension wasn’t still thick between you.

Jason lingered a second longer, shifting his weight. Then, as if trying to change the subject—or maybe just change the moment—he cleared his throat.

“So… hypothetically, if someone was completely failing Arithmancy,” he started, scratching the back of his neck, “and maybe hypothetically had no idea how to interpret magical probability equations no matter how many times it was explained to him…”

You raised a brow. “Is this hypothetical person you?”

He gave a sheepish shrug. “Might be.”

“Didn’t you used to have a tutor?”

He gave you a look. “I did. She was brilliant, actually. Charming. Cute, too. Shame she quit.”

You stared at him flatly. “Jason.”

He grinned. “What? I’m just saying. I’ve been thinking maybe I need her back. You know, for academic purposes.”

You rolled your eyes, but you were smiling despite yourself. “This is your idea of asking for help?”

“No,” he said, a little too quickly, “this is my idea of trying to spend time with you without pushing my luck.”

His voice had dipped lower now, the cocky edge softening just enough to leave you unsteady again. You hated that he still knew how to do that—how to knock the air out of you with a simple sentence.

You didn’t say yes. But you didn’t say no either.

And Jason… well, he took your silence as a maybe.

And maybe was enough.

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

Jason keeps accidentally drawing parallels between his running away to Ethiopia and getting killed.

He leaves a note saying he‘ll be back soon? Three terrified bats AND a supe crashing through the roof of a 7/11.

Casually mentioning he‘ll be going overseas to check up on a lead? Surprise! Nightwing‘s going the same way! What a coincidence!

Jason pushes someone off the roof? “Don’t worry Jaylad, I know it was an accident!!!!”

The next gig takes place at an abandoned warehouse? “Explosives whomst?? No, Jason, of course I didn’t scout the area beforehand. Don’t be absurd. Your bombs?? Oh, those were yours?”

Look, it’s not that Jason doesn’t appreciate a demonstration of how much they care. But he’s getting seriously fed up with the level of overprotectiveness everyone’s displaying.

Although, in retrospect, he could have handled this whole thing better than having an open spat with Bruce and then disappearing on them for two months straight. Oops.

(In his defense, Kori got them cards for a once-in-life-time-space-opera.)

[sisaloofafump]

[luveline]

Hi Jade! (I’ve sent this before so ignore if you aren’t into it) just thinking about a bau!reader (maybe shy!reader??) who’s dating post-prison Spencer but didn’t know him before prison and she sees some footage of season one Spencer (maybe they need to refer to a recording of a previous case?) and she’s just dying at how cute he is 🥹

You’ve barely woken up with your face in a solid shoulder when Spencer’s turning around.

“Don’t,” he says when you whine, slipping a familiar hand over your hip. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Too early to make fun of me.” 

“Do you think I’m making fun of you?” 

His talking warms your nose where his head is angled down. Your skin smarts with goosebumps as he trails his hand lightly up your back, down again, the slowest, tumbling touch. You shiver, and Spencer, ever so slightly devious in love, says, “Oh, you’re cold?” with great pity as he pulls you closer. 

You rub your face against his shoulder. “Sorry.” 

“Why?”

“I smell.” 

He hums. “Sort of. Not like sweat, though. You smell like sleep.” His lips touch your cheek.

He lets you ‘warm up’ in his arms for a few minutes, then however long you doze for, lost and too comfortable to bother even trying to wake up properly. Your phone pings a couple of times after it comes out of sleep mode, a sure sign you’ve overslept, but Spencer doesn’t make you move until your stomach growls. 

“Come on,” he says, kissing your nose and slipping you back onto your side of the bed. “I’ll make breakfast.” 

“It’s nearly twelve.” 

“You just woke up, and it’s the first thing you’re gonna eat. You are breaking your fast. Breakfast.” He looks pretty even through achy, tired eyes, all the sleep crusted in your lashes no match for Spencer Reid. How you went so long without knowing him is a mystery. 

You get up only because he told you to and because he looked quite lovely when he did it, not because you want to. The bed is warm, that pit of his arms calling your name, but Spencer’s already rolling out of bed with an eager hand scratching through his hair. Sweat has made them tight and a little darker in the back. You’ll both have to shower at some point, preferably after he’s made you breakfast in bed. 

He can see your expectations on your face, and he laughs as he pulls a t-shirt on over his head. “Get up! I’m not bringing it up here, do you know how badly your sleep cycle is affected when you start doing the wrong things in bed?” 

“What counts as the wrong thing?” 

Spencer laughs again, softer now, and for a moment he traces your face with his eyes without speaking. “Fine,” he says, waving a hand at you as he makes for the bedroom door, “stay there. But only ‘cos you look so pretty!” 

“Thank you!” you call back. 

This time with Spencer isn’t enough. You need ten more years of this, thirty, fifty, you need to wake up in his arms and have him touch you and tickle your cheek with his breath. He’s too far to have him come back, so you resign to hugging him when he returns. 

Your phone pings again, drawing your attention finally. The first notification is a reminder to buy toothpaste today at the grocery store. The second is a text from a friend, the third an email. It’s one from last night that piques your interest, another friend, full capital letters: HELP. 

Her use of a laughing emoji defers any urgency. You click on the text thread and scroll up, puzzled by her previous messages, a link, and a caption: oh my god he was so dorky??? 

You open the video and feel your breath catch in surprise. 

Is that Spencer?

You're not stupid, you’ve seen photos of him and his friends together dotted around the apartment from over the years, and every time you come across that photo of him and Diana at a spelling bee with his huge black-framed glasses you have to laugh, but it’s different seeing him to hearing him. 

He’s so nervous. You can’t understand what it is he’s saying, something about mathematical components to profiling criminals. Jason Gideon stands in the background watching him closely. 

“There’s actually a good joke that–”

“Spencer,” Gideon reprimands. 

You watch in awe as Spencer stammers an apology, his cheeks a little pink. You’ve seen Spencer blush, but this feels different. He looks so young. His hair is straight as a pin. 

“Spencer, did you used to straighten your hair?” you call, hoping he can hear you over the sound of a frying pan popping in the kitchen. “Or do you have a perm now, or what?” 

“What!” 

“I’m confused on the logistics of your hair!” You feel something weird in your chest as on screen Spencer tucks a stray strand of hair behind his ear. It’s a mixture of wanting to eat him and wanting to reach through the screen to stroke his cheek with your thumb. 

Spencer treks back into the bedroom with his pink and white pinstripe apron over his shirt and sweatpants. He smells like cinnamon sugar already. “What are you talking about?” 

“My friend found a video of you and Jason at one of those lectures you did.” 

Spencer presses his lips together. For a moment, he doesn’t speak. “I didn’t do any lectures.”

“Uh, yes you did, liar, and you looked so cute.” You turn your phone to him. “So sweet.” 

He marches to the bed. Before you can stop him, he’s taking the phone from your hand, giving you the world's silliest, tiniest shove when you try to get it back. 

“Cruel,” you quip. 

Spencer stares at the phone screen, then you, “Sorry,” he says, turning pink, “I don’t know why I did that, just– I just–” He frowns deeply. “Can you stop smiling like that?” 

You climb onto your knees, a morning disaster, but when you wrap your arms around Spencer’s waist he looks at you like you’re perfect. His eyes soften, brows relaxing, his irises like dark dimes that slowly dilate as he looks you over. Your phone presses into your back, his arm wrapping around you. 

“You were adorable,” you say sincerely. 

“Not anymore?” 

You rub your cheek against his apron. “No, you still are. Let me watch the video again.” 

“Not a chance.” 

[corkinavoid]

Thank you, @aceinacorner, for this gem:

You are the inspiration for

DPxDC Ring of Rage? More Like Ring of Engage [pt. 3]

[<- part 2 | part 4 ->]

Duke narrows his eyes.

He swears Tim was not in the Cave just five seconds ago, and yet, in the brief moment when Duke wasn't looking, he just materialized out of motherfucking aether. Smelling like Chinese food and holding a chicken skewer that looks so good that Duke's mouth waters.

"Can I have a piece?" He asks, the divine smell of food overriding the urge to ask 'where did you get it' or 'how did you get here'.

Tim nods, smiles, and hands Duke the whole skewer before going for the elevator.

Is it Duke's hallucination, or is he really humming something as he goes?.. Actually, that doesn't matter. The chicken tastes even better than it smells, and Duke is perfectly willing to keep his mouth shut in exchange for food.

You don't talk with your mouth full, after all.

~☆~

Cass watches Tim over the table. She hasn't heard him coming into the dinner room - no steps in the hall, no rustle of clothing or breathing. It's like the boy has somehow appeared right in front of the door out of nowhere before entering.

What's more, he seems obviously not hungry, picking at his food with an absent, if a bit dreamy, expression. Granted, Tim always picks at his food, but Cass can see the difference between 'Tim's mind is busy with a new case and therefore too distracted to eat' and 'Tim already had dinner elsewhere and is too full to eat now'.

The bags under his eyes are also not as dark as they usually are. Come to think of it, Cass hasn't seen him in a bad mood for a few weeks now, which shouldn't really be that strange, but it's Tim. The smallest of inconveniences can put him in a bad mood.

Tim notices her looking and raises an eyebrow.

Cass blinks and goes back to her plate. Whatever is keeping her brother happy, it deserves her full approval.

~☆~

Jason is... not so sure as to what is happening.

He did notice that Tim was really chill lately, but this is going a bit overboard.

"Did you spike it with arsenic, Replacement?" He asks, suspiciously looking the offered cup of coffee over without taking it. Tim - surprisingly, actually - doesn't react to the nickname in the slightest, instead giving Jason a deadpan look. Then, he brings the cup up to his mouth, takes a sip, and hands it back again.

Okay, well, that proves no arsenic, at least. It's still very weird. Tim doesn't just buy coffee for people, and he especially doesn't buy coffee for Jason.

"Am I going to owe you something for it, or what?" He asks, slowly reaching for the cup. Tim sighs.

"No. It's just a drink - my boyfriend loves it, and I think you'd like it as well," he explains with a shrug, and Jason is honestly too befuddled to ask about anything. Including the boyfriend part.

No, but since when does Timbers have a boyfriend? He sure hadn't mentioned anything about it to any of the others.

The drink turns out to be not coffee but something else, tangy and thick, and when Jason takes the lid off, it's green like Mountain Dew.

It does taste great, though, and later Jason considers asking Tim for another one. He hadn't had anything better in ages.

~☆~

Damian strikes through the last one of the training holograms, breathing heavily. And yet, just as the 'simulation complete' message pops up in the air, he hears a step behind him.

He turns around faster than a lightning, and-

Finds Timothy's neck at the tip of his katana, with his hands up in surrender.

"What are you doing here?" Damian sneers, lowering his weapon, and Tim swallows. Not because of surprise or fear, though, he clearly had some half chewed up food in his mouth.

"Inaccurate drop off," he says, looking Damian straight in the eyes, "I was aiming for the main floor."

He smells of Indian food and spices, and Damian almost sneezes.

"What do you mean 'aiming'?" He demands, but Drake just waves him off, heading towards the elevator up.

"No worries, I'll do better next time," he shoots a smile over his shoulder, "See you on patrol!" And with that, the elevator doors close after him, leaving Damian alone.

Drake has always been strange, but this is too much even for him.

Not that it's Damian's business. He huffs and starts the simulation over again.

~☆~

If Dick didn't witness it with his own two eyes, he would have never believed it. Alas, he did, and even though the swirling green vortex has already disappeared like it was never there, Tim, whom the strange portal just spat out on the floor of the Cave, is still here.

"What the fuck was that?" He nearly yells, and Tim looks up, a face of perfect innocence.

"What was what?" He returns the question, and Dick can't find the words to explain, so he just wildly gestures to the place where the portal has been less than five seconds ago. Tim blinks, "Oh, that. That was my date."

Dick chokes on his breath.

"Your date?" He parrots, hoarse and breathless, and Tim nods, like there's not a single thing wrong with anything that has just happened. "Since when do you go on dates? Wait, I thought you were engaged, you said it was cheating to date anyone else, even if you didn't know the spouse, you said-" he cuts himself off, feeling his own face slowly falling and his stomach sinking down in horror. "No. No, don't tell me."

But the shit-eating grin on Tim's face is already proof enough.

Dick clears his throat. Takes a deep breath.

Seeing that Tim is still in one piece, and, well, that he did just casually come out of a magic portal in the middle of the Cave, it's probably safe to say that it's not the first time.

And, judging by the mirth in Tim's grin, it's also safe to say he's been rather enjoying it.

Dick releases one long, loud breath and forces a smile on his face as well.

"So, how is it?" He asks, trying in vain to sound light-hearted, not suspicious. Tim's smile gets wider, and there's a glint of excitement in his eyes now, which Dick considers a good thing, all in all.

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask."

~☆~

Bonus Scene (that somehow turned out longer than I planned)

~☆~

"Where's Tim?" Bruce asks when all the rest of his kids are already seated around the table for breakfast.

"At Danny's, probably," Steph shrugs before digging into the waffles on her plate. Bruce frowns.

"Danny's?" He asks. He hasn't heard that name before. Is that a friend of Tim's?

"Drake's paramour," Damian clarifies, not bothering to look up from his own food, and Bruce's mind comes to a screeching halt. He blinks stupidly, looking around the table and sincerely hoping it is some sort of a prank, but Cass smiles and nods, and Dick has an expression of pure exhaustion on his face, and Duke is huffing a snort of laughter at him for it.

"Since when-" Bruce starts, but he is suddenly cut off by a glowing circle that appears just a few feet away from them all.

It grows quickly, morphing into a vortex, a green and ominous tear in reality big enough for a person to walk through, hanging in the air a few inches over the ground. The space around it feels staticky somehow, and the color is too bright to look at directly, and it definitely doesn't belong to their dining room. But before Bruce is able to say another word or do anything at all, Tim steps out of it, his hair and clothes ruffled.

"Oh, fuck," he mutters upon seeing them all, and turns around, sticking his head into the vortex just as it starts to close. The vortex pauses.

Bruce is almost too stunned to move.

His kids don't share the sentiment, though, most of them not paying the portal any attention at all. Bruce would have reprimanded them for the poor awareness of their surroundings if he didn't notice how Damian simply glanced up at it before going back to his food.

They saw the portal. They just didn't deem it dangerous. For some reason.

Tim's face comes back out, and he turns to Bruce. His expression looks different than before: a bit smug, a little mischievous, and just a tad bit nervous.

Then, another head pops up through the surface of the portal. A boy - or at least they look like a boy - with snow white hair that floats in the air and bright, almost neon blue eyes. His skin is far too pale for him to be human, and- he has freckles that look like constellations.

For some reason, that's the part that makes Bruce finally resign to the fact that this is just how his life is. With breakfasts interrupted by green portals and otherworldly boyfriends - because who else might it be, really - before he even had his morning coffee.

"Hi!" Said otherworldly boyfriend grins and waves his hand. "I'm Danny, Tim's fiance," he introduces himself, and Bruce conjures the last scraps of his scattered mind to smile and nod back.

"Good morning, Danny. I'm Bruce." He has no idea what else to say; it seems like a bit late for shovel talk, but a bit early for welcoming speech.

"Would Young Master Danny care to join us for breakfast?" Alfred's calm, but still slightly amused voice comes from the door. Bruce turns to look at the butler with a sense of exasperation - is he really the last one to learn anything in this house? - but the man seems... well, not surprised, at least not on the surface. But his grip on the pitcher of orange juice is just a little too tense for him to have been in the know all along.

Danny turns to him and smiles nicely - his teeth are also way too sharp for a human - before shaking his head, "No, sorry, I was just dropping Tim off."

"For God's sake," Tim rolls his eyes, "Just put on some pants and come out, I refuse to suffer through this alone."

Dick chokes on his toast. Steph gasps, her eyes snapping between Tim and Danny in delight. Cass snorts and kicks her under the table. Damian groans.

"Spare me from the details of your personal life, Drake. Need I remind you that I am thirteen," he narrows his eyes.

The constellations on Danny's cheeks shine just a bit brighter, and Bruce has no idea what that is supposed to mean, but his guess is along the lines of embarrassment. Especially when the boy completes it with rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You mean to tell me that, at thirteen years old, you don't know what sex is?" Tim deadpans, running a hand through his hair in a useless effort to smooth it and taking his seat at the table. Dick's coughing fit comes back with renewed force.

"We didn't-" Danny starts, still kind of hovering midway through the portal, but Damian pays him little attention.

"I do. Yet, I prefer my mind free of the knowledge when it applies to you."

"I want all the details, though," Steph pipes up, looking at Danny from her seat, "Can you, like, sprout tentacles or something, because I know for a fact Tim likes that kind of-"

"Steph!" Tim yells at her, face red, and then turns to Danny, who suddenly has a very interested, if a bit mischievous, look on his face, "Don't you dare."

"Yeah, okay," Danny snorts and disappears back in the portal. Bruce half-expects it to close after him, but the vortex stays.

Which probably means the boy - the King of Infinite Realms, Keeper of Unseen Worlds, Eyes of the Universe - is going to be right back.

After he puts on some pants, supposedly.

Bruce watches Tim rub his face in frustration while Steph giggles and elbows him in the side, and sighs. This is so not how he expected this morning to be.

[mostly-imagines]

Banished

jason todd x fem!reader

aka jason misses his girlfriend

warnings: extremely mild angst, he’s just mopey (he’s fine)

Jason sits slumped over the kitchen island, head lying in his crossed arms. His now soggy cereal disregarded after barely a few bites.

Dick’s been rummaging through the cabinets for the better part of twenty minutes while Tim has sat atop of the nook table shoving donuts in his mouth for the better part of thirty.

Damian trudges into the room, past them and onto the nook bench, taking out a knife and beginning to whittle away at a block of wood.

He glances at Jason with a scowl. “If you’re going to be so miserable, can’t you do it in your own home?”

Jason just grunts.

He wishes. You and Bruce had conspired to trap him at the mansion for the week so he could heal from injuries sustained during the last mission without risk of him suiting up and sneaking away from you in the middle of the night.

But it’s not even the fact that he’s basically being babysat that’s got him so disgruntled. He secretly wouldn’t really mind it at all if you were here too. But you were dead set that the manor was too far out of your way for work, so you’d stayed behind. A lose-lose for Jason.

“He’s just mad his girlfriend kicked him out,” Dick teases, swiping through the fridge.

Tim snorts from the doorway, “Me too. He’s a lot more depressing on his own.”

Jason keeps his head down as he blindly reaches for the spoon in his cereal and chucks it at Tim’s head.

Tim catches it without thought, continuing, “A lot more irritable, at least. Why isn’t she here?”

“She’s gotta work,” Dick says, scanning through the pantry.

Damian peeps his head up from his project. “But Todd has a rather large supply of less than legally obtained money, does he not?”

“Yeah, but she said she wants to pay her own rent, I think,” Dicks hums, finally giving up on his quest for a snack.

Damian pauses.

“So she wants to live in a tiny apartment?” He asks, a mixture of confused and horrified.

“Watch your mouth,” Jason mumbles.

“It was a genuine question!” Damian protests, face screwed up.

Jason finally lifts his head up, turning to his little brother with a raised brows. “And I’m genuinely going to break your nose.”

It’s an empty threat, maybe. But it was enough to shut Damian up anyways. Jason turns back to his cereal and swishes the bowl around.

Dick rests his arms on the counter across from Jason and speaks lowly. “You know, it is just a few days. She’s coming back.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Jason was never one for showing his feelings—let alone talking about them.

He misses you, plain and simple. Dick could see that much clearly, though the longing looked unfamiliar on Jason.

Bruce lingers in the hallway, just past the island, listening.

He’ll admit (to himself) that he’s worried about Jason. It’s been three days and Jason has yet to show a crack in this demeanor. And while it’s not uncommon for him to stow himself away, there is something quite wrong with the way he hasn’t countered his brother’s jabs at him or teased them.

And while he could do without the blatant threats, he’s proud to hear his son defending his girlfriend, even over trivial things. It’s one of the few moments where he feels like he did right by him as a father.

And now here’s his son, caring about someone else more than he cares about himself. Someone who’s a good person, no less. It had been your idea to trick Jason into staying at the manor, you were scared that he would push his body past its limit when you couldn’t do anything to help.

Bruce knew you didn’t feel great about basically banishing him for the week but he could see that you just wanted what was best for Jason. He could see it so clearly. Maybe Bruce could never have been a perfect father, could never have given his son everything he needed despite having more money than he could ever use. Maybe he couldn’t help him, even now.

But you could.

Bruce peers around the corner, leaning up against the doorframe.

He watches Damian give up on carving at his block and start into the leg of the table.

He watches the bickering that broke out after Tim grab the last glazed donut, which was apparently the only thing Dick could possibly fathom eating.

And he watches Jason.

As Jason’s phone lights up on the counter next to him. He glances down at it with a frown before his face absolutely lights up.

He scrambles to pick the phone up and starts typing away. A quiet action that catches the attention of all of his brothers.

He types and types, waits for ten seconds for a response and types and types again—smile on his face.

The Waynes didn’t need to be the greatest detectives in the world to know who he was texting.

✨ reblog fics or face the block button ✨

[damselneedssaving]

BATBOYS BUT THEY SEE SOMEONE THEY RECOGNISE ON F!STREAMER!READER'S IRL STREAM. FT. WALLY WEST!

★ TAGS: older!damian wayne, older!duke thomas, absolute crack energy, the boys are still majorly obsessed with you, jealousy, death threats, wally—sorry, the flash—flirts with you like there's no tomorrow, your username is just your name

★ A/N: more batboys being super fans of you since you all asked so nicely <3333 you don't need to have read the first part to read this btw!!

★ F!STREAMER!READER MASTERLIST ★

The day starts off normal.

Dick is sifting through the fridge for a snack. Jason is sat at the kitchen island with his elbows propped up and a book in his hands. Both Duke and Tim are sat on the couch, scrolling through their phones with seemingly no thought behind their eyes. And Damian is stabbing into his freshly made pancakes like they've personally wronged him just by existing.

So yeah, a normal day at Wayne Manor.

That is, until, all of their phones chime at once.

Dick, Jason, and Damian all exchange a glance, each with one brow quirked up and the other furrowed down.

Duke and Tim, on the other hand, shoot up from their seats like lightning, hands burning with the answer to the question in their brothers' eyes.

Duke is the first to speak.

"[Name]'s streaming," he says, slow and in a bit of disbelief.

"[Name]'s streaming?" Dick echoes, "But today isn't Friday."

"You would know, wouldn't you, Dickhead?" snorts Jason, the memory of the last time his older brother mixed up the days still fresh on his mind.

"Shut up."

"An IRL stream," Tim cuts through the two eldest's bickering. "Look who I ran into," he quotes slowly and with furrowed brows.

Then he clicks onto the stream, and immediately, all of his brothers rush to his side.

Tim's screen is black—not a hint of colour, or even a speck of your pretty smile, displayed upon its surface. Just the reflection of all the boys staring back at themselves.

The sight makes Tim's jaw tick.

"Why the fuck are you all crowding me?"

Dick shrugs. "You're the first one to click on the stream."

The detective narrows his gaze, lips parting to retort, when he's interrupted by the phone in his hands.

"Is this thing working?" your voice breaks through the screen, and in an instant, all the boys' chests flutter. "Sorry guys, still not used to the whole IRL streaming thing. Can y'all see me?"

Tim's hands move before he can even think.

@/greatestdetective donated $1,000! nope, just a black screen

"Shit. Okay, hang on a second."

A shuffling sound then follows your voice, moments passing by before the screen alights like a flame, and the warmth of your face travels through Tim's phone to bless everyone's eyes.

"How about now?"

@/therealdamianwayne donated $10,000! Perfect, Habibti.

"Huh?" Duke mutters in confusion, turning to the left along with all his brothers.

Damian stands there, phone shamelessly situated in his hands as he stares back at them all with a quirked brow.

"What?" he scoffs. "Did you just expect me to watch my beloved's stream without donating to her? What type of future husband do you take me for?"

"The non-existent type." Tim deadpans, turning back to his phone screen and ignoring the demon head's electric glare.

"—and I'm rambling again, aren't I?" You nervously laugh on the other side of the screen. "Anyway, sorry about the sudden stream, guys. I know I'm not much of an IRL streamer, even less one that doesn't stick to a schedule, but I think today is a special exception."

You grin wide after your words, eyes sparkling with an excitement that has the bats' breaths hitching in their throats, hearts swelling with such love and adoration that it seeps into their eyes and blinds them all for just a split second.

Then you turn the camera, and their vision clears up again.

"Look who I ran into!"

On the other side of the screen, holding a red-gloved-hand up in a peace sign, stands a man.

Red hair exposed at the top of his head, lightning bolts strapped to the sides of his mask, freckles peeking out from just underneath his cowl—to anyone else, the civilian identity of the hero would be unknown. But to the bats, it can't be more obvious.

Dick snatches the phone out of Tim's hands.

"Hey—!"

"Is that Wally?!" shrieks the eldest like a teen girl who just found out her best friend attended a party without her through someone else's Snap story.

Duke squints, lips pulling into a frown. "Seems like it."

Dick lets out another shriek.

"I was in Keystone," your voice sounds from the phone, "and just so happened to come across my favourite Flash!"

Dick stops breathing, despair choking him as his siblings peer over his shoulders just in time to see the way Wally's lips quirk up into a smirk.

"Your favourite Flash, huh?" He winks. Dick chokes. "I'm honoured, doll."

"Doll?" Jason's hair casts a shadow over his eyes. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Thank you for agreeing to be on my stream, Flash," you say, and your voice carries warmth, gratitude, that big smile they can't see because of the camera angle but know is still there anyway. "It really means a lot."

Wally's smirk softens a bit at the edges, and he regards you with the same warmth. "Anything for a beautiful lady such as yourself."

"Grayson," Damian growls through gritted teeth, "Tell West to use that super speed of his and run a hundred thousand miles away from my beloved before I slit his throat."

But he didn't even have to say anything, really, because as soon as Wally started talking to you in that tone, Dick handed the phone back to Tim and pulled his own out, furiously typing on it before hitting that big send button.

On the stream, a phone buzzes in Wally's pocket.

The camera lowers, and your form peeks from the corner of it, a step closer to Wally as you ask in a quiet voice, "Do you need to get that?"

Wally pulls his phone out, glances at it for a brief moment, then stuffs it back in his pocket. "Nah, it's nothin'."

Dick's veins bulge, his own phone starting to shake in his grip. "Did that little shit just leave me on read in front of eighty thousand people?"

As if to further Dick's swelling rage, Wally's smirk broadens.

Boiling beneath his skin, the oldest of all the siblings starts typing again, and Wally's phone buzzes once more.

"Are you sure?" you ask, tone a little wobbly with uncertainty.

Then, Wally West, the little shit, fucking turns his phone off, right then and there. "Yup."

"I'm gonna kill him," Dick mutters.

"Oh okay." You adjust the camera back to its previous position.

"Now, where were we?" Wally grins, and all the boys see the way he looks at the camera, that knowing glance—the piece of crap knows exactly what he's doing. "Something about me being your favourite Flash?"

"How fucking dare he?" Tim mutters, already planning on burying his oldest brother's best friend's reputation in the dirt. Maybe he'll conjure up a scandal, or start a rumor—people usually mindlessly believe those, right?

"Oh yeah!" You perk up, beaming. "Y'know, super speed is actually my favourite super power."

"Favourite super power..." It's Duke's turn to mutter in despair, heart shattering in his eardrums as he all but hugs his sides. "Super speed..."

He's broken out of his little trance, however, at the sound of a new voice coming from the hallway. A new voice that catches everyone's attention.

"Master Damian, where are you heading off to?"

Alfred. And he seems to be looking straight towards the door of the manor.

Everyone's heads whip in the same direction.

There, somehow fully suited up in his Robin armour—hood pulled over his head and all—strides the demon head, one hand curled firmly around the handle of his katana, the other already on the knob of the door.

"To take out the trash."

No one stops him.

Later that day, Dick's phone lights up with a message notification.

'GET YOUR LITTLE DEMON BROTHER AWAY FROM ME'.

Dick leaves it on read.

COMING NEXT -> BATBOYS BUT THEY SEE F!STREAMER!READER PLAYING SMASH OR PASS WITH THEIR HERO PERSONAS WHILE COSPLAYING AS THEM ON STREAM.

[rosemaryhoney27]

Gotham's sunshine child part 4

“No One Tells the Sunshine Kid Anything”

Danny Fenton prided himself on being unflappable.

He had died once. Literally. Been half-ghost for years. He could walk through walls, disappear, fly, and fight beings made of fire, rage, or raw existential dread. He had babysat Ellie, his chaos clone-little-sister, through her “I can fly and you can’t stop me” phase.

But nothing—nothing—prepared him for the sight of his own face plastered across the top of an official-looking document on Bruce Wayne’s desk, next to the words:

“Adoption Petition: Daniel James Fenton.”

He stared at it.

Then stared at Bruce.

Then back at it.

Then he panicked.

“You—you can’t just adopt me!” Danny yelped, his voice cracking spectacularly.

Bruce blinked up at him from his desk with the calm of a man who had faced both clowns and demigods before breakfast. “Technically, I can.”

Danny looked like he might faint. “Wh—why would you—? I’m not—You’re a Wayne! I’m not a Wayne! I’m barely a Fenton! I eat cold pizza off library radiators and wear socks that don’t match! I have a hoodie made of duct tape!”

Tim leaned in from the doorway, sipping coffee. “That hoodie has structural integrity, man. Honestly, I’m impressed.”

Danny pointed at him with wide, betrayed eyes. “You knew?!”

Tim shrugged. “I helped with the paperwork.”

“TRAITOR!”

Bruce held up a hand. Calm. Gentle. Fatherly.

“Danny,” he said. “This doesn’t have to be anything more than what you want. You’d have a roof over your head. Legal protection. Access to our resources—”

“I phase through roofs. I don’t need a roof!”

“Then think of it as a...very big ceiling with heating.”

“That’s worse!”

Alfred arrived mid-meltdown with tea and what he claimed were “emotion-calming biscuits.” Danny took three. Out of spite.

“I don’t need to be adopted!” he snapped, halfway through a butter cookie. “I’m fine!”

Jason walked past the study, heard that, and turned on his heel.

“No, you’re not,” he said, stepping into the room. “You fell asleep outside last week because you gave your blanket to a stray dog.”

“The dog was cold!”

“You were shivering in a bush!”

“...It was a warm bush.”

Jason just stared at him.

Dick flopped in through the window upside down.

“We’re not doing this because we think you’re helpless,” he said, casual as a cat. “We’re doing it because Gotham chose you, and so did we.”

Danny looked between all of them. “…You conspired.”

“Yup,” Damian said, finally entering with a folder. “Here are the signed statements from three soup kitchens, a youth center, one angry barista, and a biker gang requesting your formal protection and adoption. The barista threatened to withhold caffeine from Father if he did not comply.”

“I—what?!”

“They also gave me a sticker,” Damian added, pinning a “SUNSHINE CHILD DEFENSE SQUAD” badge to his tunic.

Danny’s eye twitched. “I’m going to implode.”

“Already did once,” Tim muttered.

“YOU’RE NOT HELPING.”

Danny sulked on the couch for two hours with a cat in his lap and five Wayne kids hovering around him like worried bees.

He didn’t leave.

Eventually, Bruce sat beside him with quiet patience and said, “You don’t have to be alone, Danny.”

Danny stared at his mismatched socks.

“…I don’t know how to do any of this.”

“You don’t have to,” Bruce replied. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”

Danny opened his mouth, closed it again. Then, voice small:

“Can I still keep my hoodie?”

Jason snorted. “Kid, we’re not monsters.”

The next morning, Gotham woke to news headlines:

“Bruce Wayne Adopts Local Teen Hero ‘Sunshine Kid’” “Gotham’s Favorite Child Now Officially a Wayne — and Somehow Still Humble About It” “Criminals Warned: ‘Touch Him and Face Gotham’s Wrath’”

Danny groaned and buried his face in the mansion couch.

“Why are there stickers with my face on them?”

Barbara, voice chipper: “Because you’re adorable and Gotham is proud.”

[kitkatscabinet]

YOUR WHAT?!

pairing(s): dick grayson, jason todd, tim drake, stephanie brown, cassandra cain, kyle rayner, wally west, hal jordan x fem! reader.

summary: their reactions to the "current partner" trend.

a/n: mute Cass you are canon in my heart <3

DICK GRAYSON

[You step backwards from the camera, showing off the outfit you'd coordinated with Dick, trying to prevent yourself from bursting into a fit of giggles as you anticipate his reaction.]

"He wanted us to match, isn't my current boyfriend so cute!" You smile as you watch his reaction through the phone screen.

[The camera zooms in on your boyfriend, who immediately stumbles mid-step like you punched him, as his smile drops into a horrified stare.]

"Current???" He gasps, a hand clutching his heart dramatically. "I’ve met your family. I fold your laundry. I shared my dessert with you last night, willingly!"

You brace your hands on your knees, hunched over as you burst into laughter. You go to speak, but Dick's on a roll.

"No. No, no, no. I’m not some temporary man. I’m not a placeholder! I’m..." He sputters, trying to articulate his point as he waves an acussing finger at you "I'm an endgame boyfriend. The endgame boyfriend!"

He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his back to sulk.

"Aw, is the endgame boyfriend gonna cry?" You hug him from behind, resting your cheek against him.

"Maybe."

[The camera cuts to a sulking Dick, drinking poutily from a mug you bought him earlier that says "#1 Boyfriend." Just managing to pick up his mumbled words.]

"Current boyfriend… ridiculous… I’m soulmate material"

JASON TODD

[You prop your phone up, resting it against your mug to show off your still groggy boyfriend who is currently mid-sip of coffee]

"Breakfast with my current boyfriend."

This instantly catches Jason's attention, making him cough a little as he lowers the mug. "…The current what now?"

"Boyfriend." You beam, as if nothing in the world is wrong.

He squints as you, his coffee long forgotten. "See that's what I thought I heard, current boyfriend, but I must be wrong. What happened to 'ride or die'? What happened to you’re it for me, Jay'? Did I hallucinate all of that?"

"Hon, relax."

But he cuts you off, "No, no, no. See, now I’m wondering if I need to get my duffle bag and my helmet and hit the road. Am I getting replaced? Are you conducting auditions behind my back?"

"Oh, here we go." You mutter under your breath as Jason stands and begins pacing.

"I’m tall, I give the best hugs, I'm rich." He pauses and just when you think he's done he spins to face you. "I read! I literally read books. That's like a dreamboat hobby. What more do you want from me?"

"Babe. It’s a tiktok trend. It’s literally a joke." You giggle.

[You pick up the camera, zooming in on his squinting face as he freezes]

"…I better be the final boyfriend. I swear to God." He grumbles and your heart melts a little.

"You are, honey. You're the last one." You stand, leaning in to kiss him softly.

"Damn right I am. Put that in the caption. Tattoo it on your forehead. I will not be dethroned by some stupid trend." He huffs, but doesn't hesitate to recieve your affection.

TIM DRAKE

[You're leaning against the headboard, Tim resting his face against your stomach, his arms wrapped around your waist as you hold your phone out to the side.]

"Y'all wanted him in more content, so here he is, the current boyfriend."

It takes a few second for your words to register, but when they do he lifts his head to stare at you so quickly he nearly snaps his neck.

"A, wha? ah!" He sputters, his mouth taking even longer to catch on.

"Ah, wha? Lipstick in my Valentino white bag?" You mocked and the glare he threw you was mutinous.

"You're such a bitch."

You raise a brow, "Oh, so we're updating that status to ex-boyfriend?"

"You wouldn't." When you simply stare at him, his face drops a little. tone turning more uncertain, "...would you?"

You let the charade continue for a few more seconds before his deadly puppy eyes do you in and you drop a kiss to his forehead.

"No, baby. Never."

With your confirmation that no, you weren't breaking up with him, the brattiness abruptly returns.

"Ha, knew you didn't have the balls to leave me." He crows, and you roll your eyes, shoving him off you and consequently the bed when he tries to snuggle back into you.

STEPHANIE BROWN

[The video starts selfie style, with you standing behind Steph, still dressed in her fuzzy hello kitty pyjamas, as she pours herself a bowl of cereal.]

"So, here she is, the current girlfriend."

[Stephanie freezes mid-bite, turning to look at the camera in sheer disbelief]

"…Current?" You try not to laugh at her reaction but a few giggles slip out and Steph launches into a tirade.

"CURRENT?! Like I’m a seasonal limited-time offer?! Babe, what is this, a McRib romance?!"

"Would you prefer ‘temporary live-in menace with nice legs’?" you tease.

"Okay first of all, accurate. Second of all, current?! Babe, I’ve already picked our wedding colors. I’ve named our hypothetical cats! I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to our future life together!"

"Steph—"

"CURRENT?!? I'll kick you in the fucking head!" She grouses, forgetting her cereal as she storms off in a dramatic huff.

CASSANDRA CAIN

[You and Cass are cuddled together on the couch surrounded by fluffy pillows and blankets. She smiles softly and leans into your side when she notices the camera.]

"Date night with with my current girlfriend."

You feel the way she stiffens against you and instantly regret your words. The TikTok long forgotten, as you turn your full attention to your girlfriend.

"Hey, love, I didn’t mean it like that. It's a stupid TikTok trend. You’re not just some current flavour of the month, you’re my person. Always."

[Cass blinks, the tiniest smile breaking through her usually serious expression. She reaches out and squeezes your hands softly, before pulling back to sign an "I love you"]

You beam, leaning your forehead against hers, you're stomach erupting into butterflies as you thought about the ring you had hidden inside your pillow.

KYLE RAYNER

[Kyle sits across from you, paintbrush in his hand as he focuses intently on the canvas in front of him.]

"Painting the cats with my current boyfriend, look at him go!" You laughed as he looked up at you with a dopily in love grin, before he registers what you've just said.

"Wait. Current Boyfriend?" His brow furrowed as he put down his brush. "Current boyfriend cause we're gonna get married and then I'll be your husband right? Right?"

He looks like a kicked puppy and you stand, moving around to slide into his lap.

[The phone's discarded on the table but it still records the conversation]

"Yeah, baby, we'll get married." You hum, hokking your arms around his neck.

"Oh, that's good, should I go and get the ring I bought a few months ago then?"

"Kyle?!"

HAL JORDAN

[You’re walking through your apartment, filming, Hal is in the kitchen wearing sweats and an obnoxious tank top that says 'welcome to the gun show.' He's making pancakes while humming something off-key.]

"Fit check with my current boyfriend!"

Hal smirks, turning to face the camera. "Damn right. Look at this—pilot, sexy, short stack master... wait." He squinted, analysing your previous sentence. "Hold on. Back up. Current?"

[You try to keep the camera steady as he turns around fully, eyes squinting like you just told him Batman’s funnier than he is.]

"Current boyfriend?? Excuse me?? I—I live with you. We have two cats together, is that what you're telling our sons I am?"

You practically howl with laughter at his meltdown, "It’s just a trend!"

But it's like he doesn't even hear you, too busy on his warpath. "I fixed the leaky faucet. That’s not ‘current boyfriend’ behavior, that’s husband energy."

[He points dramatically at the pancakes sizzling in the pan.]

"That right there? That’s commitment. That’s ‘I’ll be there in your 80s cutting your meds into quarters’ energy."

[The camera cuts to show you sitting with your face resting against your palm as Hal continues to pace in the background, widly gesticualting.]

"Just a current boyfriend... The betrayal..."

WALLY WEST

[You're sitting on the couch, flipping the camera to show off an unsupecting Wally sitting cross legged on the carpet as he works on constructing the $1000 Lego Millenium Falcon you'd gifted him.]

"Y'all look what a nerd my current boyfriend is."

[Wally pauses. His head turns slowly like a confused golden retriever.]

"...Current?...Current?! Babe. Babe. What do you mean current? Did I miss a breakup?! Are you firing me?! I just bought us matching toothbrushes!”

"Well, technically you are the current one." You tease.

"That makes it sound like there could be a next one! You think you can upgrade from this?" He runs a hand down his body. "Limited edition! No returns!"

"You're right. Nobody wants to take the model back anyway." You snort.

[He clutches his chest like he's been shot, fake-sobbing as he collapses against the carpet.]

"We made a spreadsheet for potential baby names just for fun! What about Wallace junior huh?"

"No child of mine will be named Wallace." You deadpan, humour momentarily forgotten until he suddenly crawls toward you, making it impossible not to laugh.

[He buries his face into your lap, and you burst out laughing, pulling him into a hug while he dramatically clings to you like dead weight.]

[starl1ght444]

jason todd x fem!reader

── .✦ angst

[jason’s hurtful words lead you to leave for a couple days]

long story — [7k word count]

second person writing / edited-ish

*.ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

you don’t even remember what started it.

maybe it was the late nights. the blood on his knuckles. the way he shut you out like a slammed door every time something bothered him. maybe it was the way you kept asking, over and over, “are you okay?” and getting that practiced silence in return. or maybe it was you. wanting too much. needing answers he wasn’t ready to give.

It starts with the quiet. the kind that creeps in before the thunder hits. jason walks in, his jacket soaked with rain and something darker. his eyes avoid yours. you’re used to it, but tonight something in you snaps. “did you kill anyone yet?” you ask. not because you want to accuse him. but because you have to know.

he stiffens. “what the hell kind of question is that?”

you don’t back down. “a serious one. because I can’t keep pretending I don’t know what you’re doing out there.”

jason tosses his helmet on the counter with a loud clatter. “don’t start this.”

“no, you don’t get to tell me when I start. you come home covered in blood, you don’t talk to me, you shut me out—”

“because it’s none of your business!” he snaps.

that stings. you feel it in your chest, sharp and immediate.

“I am your business, jason. or am I just something you keep around to feel normal?”

he laughs—bitter, cold. “don’t flatter yourself.” —silence.

you blink. his words hit you like a slap, and he knows it. he flinches for a second. just one. but he doesn’t take it back. you try to keep your voice steady. “so that’s what I am? just… convenient?”

he doesn’t answer. you’re waiting for him to say no. to soften. to say he didn’t mean it. instead, he mutters, “you knew what this was. don’t act like you didn’t sign up for it.”

that’s the thing. you did know. you knew loving jason todd would mean long nights, fear gnawing at your ribs, and blood on his knuckles when he kissed you goodnight. but what you didn’t sign up for was being invisible.

“I didn’t sign up to be treated like an afterthought,” you say, standing now, voice rising. “I didn’t sign up for being ignored, for being lied to. you don’t talk to me, jason. you just disappear.”

jason scoffs. “and what, I should be reporting in every five minutes? you want a boyfriend or a lapdog?”

your heart aches, but you don’t back down. “i want you. the version of you that lets me in. the one that doesn’t shut down and push me away every time something gets hard.”

“I don’t need you to fix me!” he shouts, voice suddenly cutting through the air like a whip. “I don’t need your sympathy or your constant hovering. you think loving me gives you the right to pry into every dark corner of my life?”

you stare at him, stunned. “It’s not prying when I’m trying to help jay..”

“I didn’t ask for your help!” he barks. “god, you’re so damn exhausting. always needing something. always complaining. maybe I’d be better off without you dragging me down all the time.”

you stare at him like you’re seeing someone else entirely. “you’re a coward.” — wrong thing to say.

jason steps forward, eyes burning. “you think I’m the coward? you sit here in your nice little apartment, judging me like you’re above it all. you don’t know what it’s like out there. you couldn’t last a week in my world.”

“and yet I’ve been trying for months!” you shout, your voice breaking. “but you don’t care. you never really let me in. you just wanted someone to come home to—someone who didn’t ask too many questions.”

“you think you’re some kind of savior?” he sneers. “you’re not. you’re just another person who thought they could fix me.”

you stop. you feel it crack right there—something fragile and important inside you. “i didn’t want to fix you,” you whisper. “ i just wanted you to let me in.”

he scoffs. “then you wanted too much.” and that’s it. a finial look into jason’s eyes of any hint of regret— nothing. just pure frustration and anger. a weight in your heart dragging you towards the door. no dramatic exit. no final scream. just you walking past him, grabbing your bag, and shutting the door behind you.

at first, jason doesn’t move he doesn’t feel much of anything, honestly. just numb. tired. angry in that hollow way that doesn’t have a target anymore. he just stands there, staring at the door like it’s going to swing open again. It always does.

you always come back. — he grabs a beer from the fridge. sits on the couch. flips on the TV. something violent and loud, because silence feels like guilt.

hours pass. no call. no message.

he scrolls through his phone. no unread texts. he opens your thread—nothing. his fingers hover over the keyboard, then stop. he locks the phone and throws it on the table.

then he starts thinking about what he said. really thinking.

“you’re just another person who thought they could fix me.”

the way your face changed. he remembers the silence right before you walked out, how final it felt. and something cold settles in his chest. it’s been almost 4 hours since you left.

he starts pacing. that tight feeling in his chest creeps in like smoke under a door. his palms feel clammy. he’s sweating. his vision is narrowing. he can’t think. — you didn’t come back.

you always come back. “shit,” he whispers, running a hand through his hair. “shit, shit—”

the room feels like it’s closing in. the walls are too close, the ceiling too low, like everything’s pressing down on him at once. he can’t breathe. his knees buckle, and he slides down against the wall, gasping for air, chest heaving like he’s drowning. his hands shake. his throat burning.

he didn’t mean it. — of course he didn’t mean it. you’re not convenient..you’re the only thing that’s kept him afloat. you’re the light he pretends he doesn’t need but clings to in the dark.

and now you’re gone. the words he threw at you, the venom he spit out just to win a fight, ring louder than the silence you left behind. he says your name into the empty apartment. once. then again. then louder. like if he says it enough, you’ll hear him. — but you don’t. and now the silence is unbearable.

he can’t breathe. now It’s been five hours since you left, and jason’s chest is on fire. not the kind that comes from bruised ribs or a bullet wound—he knows that pain. he’s good with that pain. this is worse. this is panic. helplessness.—this was worse kind of hurt because it doesn’t bleed.

his phone is clutched so tight in his hand, his knuckles have gone white. he stares at the screen, thumb hovering over your name in his contacts again. he’s already called five times.

no answer. — just the sound of your dumb voicemail message, cheerful and playful and now completely soul-crushing. “haii! Its (y/n), im sorry i missed your call! im not home right now! but i can take a message… let me grab a pencil…hm okay! what would you like me to tell me?” it used to make him smile. now it makes him sick. he hits redial.

one ring.

two.

three.

voicemail. — again. again. again.

he runs both hands through his hair, dragging his fingers hard through the strands like maybe pain will wake him up. like maybe this isn’t real. like maybe you’re still coming home, keys jingling, saying his name like you do when you’re trying not to smile. but the apartment is dead quiet. and it smells like rain and blood and something fading.

“pick up,” he mumbles to no one. “please (y/n).. please just pick up.” he calls again. and again.

his hands are shaking now, so bad he nearly drops the phone. his mind is running circles around itself—what if something happened? what if she didn’t look crossing the street? what if someone followed her? what if she’s hurt?—and he can’t shut it off. his heart is pounding too loud in his ears, drowning out reason. he stands up fast, then stumbles forward, grabbing the edge of the counter to steady himself. everything’s spinning.

he opens your location on his phone. nothing.

either you turned it off or the battery’s dead. or worse. his brain fills in the blanks faster than he can stop it. “goddammit,” he breathes, slamming his hand down on the counter. the sound echoes in the empty room.

this wasn’t supposed to happen. you were supposed to yell, slam a door, crash on the couch, and by morning everything would be fine. that’s how it’s always gone. you fight, you cool off, you come back. you always come back.

but not tonight. tonight, you left like you meant it.

and jason realizes—too late—that he pushed you harder than he ever had. too far. past the point of no return. past the point where an “I’m sorry” could fix it. he scrolls to your name again.

calls. again. “haii it’s (y/n)! im sorry i mi—” he shuts his eyes and grips the phone like he could tear it in half. your voice is soft, light, untouched by the mess he made. It makes him want to scream. It makes him want to curl in on himself and disappear.

you’re gone. and you’re ignoring him. that’s what finally breaks something inside him.

because jason todd—red hood, vigilante, killer, survivor—can handle almost anything. bullets. torture. death. — but he could not handle being ignored by the one person who made him feel human.

he sinks down against the wall again, chest heaving, lungs burning. his phone slips out of his hand, landing face-up on the floor, screen still lit up with your contact. a tiny, cruel reminder: your not picking up. you don’t want to talk to him.

his mouth is dry. he tries to swallow, tries to breathe, but every inhale feels like it’s too shallow. like he’s not getting enough air. his arms wrap around his knees. he’s shaking. his thoughts are racing.

‘she’s not coming back. you blew it. you pushed too hard. you said too much. she hates you. she should hate you. why would she come back after that?’ he doesn’t know how long he sits there like that—maybe twenty minutes, maybe an hour. All he knows is the silence. and your stupid voicemail. and the gnawing, tearing fear that he might’ve lost the only good thing left in his life.

“I didn’t mean it,” he says aloud, as if the room cares. as if his regrets can travel through walls and streetlights and find their way to wherever you are. “I didn’t mean any of it.” but the universe doesn’t answer.

he pulls himself off the ground. head still spinning, he can’t keep sitting around for you. he needs to find you. the air outside hits him sharp and cold, but it doesn’t clear his head. the city is still dark, the streets damp with leftover rain. his helmet is in his bag. he doesn’t wear it. doesn’t need it. he’s not red hood right now— he’s just jason. — and jason’s falling apart.

he makes his way through the city on his motorcycle, his mind endlessly searching for you. stopping when he even sees a glimpse of someone with your same hairstyle. everything reminding him of you. he feels hopeless knowing how huge gotham is, even more so how dangerous it is.

he ultimately decides to stop at some of your favorite places, maybe to soothe him with precious memories. he knows it’s to early in the morning for most of these places to be open, but he needs to check. needs to try anyways.

his first stop was a café. your favorite locally owned coffee shop, where you two became regulars. it was a small business, on a strip walk between a laundromat and boutique. — the coffee’s always too strong and the chairs wobble if you don’t sit just right. you loved that place.

he memorized your order. it was always the same thing everytime you came here— your order barely changed. — the smell of coffee, occasionally tea on ur breath, he was craving to kiss your lips just to taste your order again.

jason stands across the street for a second. the lights are off. homemade “closed” sign hangs crooked in the window.

he still walks up. presses his hand to the door like it might open. It doesn’t. he presses his palms to the glass, looking in

your spot is empty. the corner table by the window where you used to sit and steal sips of his coffee when you swore you didn’t want one. where your eyes would crinkle when you laughed, lips covered in foam you never noticed until he wiped it away. he stands there, remembering the time you convinced him to try that stupid seasonal drink with cinnamon and syrup and something else sweet that he pretended to hate—but secretly liked, because you liked it.

he thought if he came here, maybe you’d be sitting there again. your beautiful eyes locked in a book he’d recommend while eating a pastry. but there’s nothing. only cold glass and silence and now an emotional memory.

he sits on the bench outside and closes his eyes, trying to summon your laugh. where you are the happiest, and he remembers your smile when he took you to his favorite library.

it became a sacred place for you to. both calm and quiet while enjoying each-others company. so that was his next stop.

the library.

not a big, fancy one. no marble columns or quiet rules. this one’s cramped, unknown, smelling of dust and secondhand pages. you loved it for its charm—for the creaky floors and mismatched chairs and the old man behind the desk who always smiled when he saw you.

jason picks the lock with trembling fingers. slides through the back door like a ghost. third floor. far left corner. your nook.

he stares at the armchair you always claimed, the stack of dog-eared romance novels that you teased him with—the window seat you used when the weather was just right and the sun poured in like liquid gold. he walks through the aisle, trailing his fingers along the spines of books you once handed him. he can almost hear your voice echo in the stillness.

walking around until he was in the aisle where he first met you. making his eyes burn, to many memories flooding in his head— where he tried so desperately to be cool in front of you, and staring at you from afar admiring how divine your presence felt. — jason reading all the books he thought you’d like before even knowing you and putting his name in the checkout card. and watching your face light up from seeing his name once again. giving him the courage to go and talk to you.

a tear burning his cheek, he puts his head down feeling ashamed of pushing you away when memories like these made him feel alive again.

jason left the library, riding off having the city district him. he rides for a while thinking of any more possibilities. he was about to run out of gas and just decides he needs to take a walk anyways— and when he gets off his bike, he notices he’s at a familiar park — It’s further out, away from the main drag, quiet enough that the chaos of gotham doesn’t touch it. you both used to go there when things got loud—inside his head, inside the world.

It’s mostly empty, just a jogger in the distance and birds rustling in the trees. jason walks the winding path slowly, like a man retracing his own history — here—this is where you tripped over your own feet and he caught you, both of you laughing like kids. over there is the tree you climbed and got stuck in, yelling at him between laughs while he pretended he wouldn’t help you down. there’s a bench under the big oak tree. you kissed him there for the first time. real, honest, vulnerable. no masks, no walls. just lips and nerves and something too tender to say out loud.

he passes through more bench where you sat one night, eyes puffy, telling him things you hadn’t told anyone else. and he’d wrapped his jacket around you and promised—promised—he’d never be the one to hurt you.

he sits down there now, gripping the edge of the bench so hard his knuckles go white. — “i lied,” he whispers to no one, his voice strained. becoming angry with himself.

but there was still no sign of you.. and so he knew despite it all he had a couple more places to check. his mind became desperate. he heads where he should’nt, hoping you’re not there. he still had to check— ‘the narrows’ — ‘ park row ‘ — ‘crime ally ‘

he checks alleyways where addicts linger and criminals circle like vultures. every step, he begs he won’t find you there. But he has to check. has to know. he’s on a rampage now, eyes wild, heart racing. he gets in a guy’s face just for looking at him too long. knocks someone out cold when they make a comment about “that girl he used to walk with.”

he checks rooftops. alleys. places you shouldn’t be, but maybe are. places where bad things happen. — places he belongs, not you. he asks around. no one’s seen you. and those who know who he is don’t dare lie. — still nothing. jason’s a mess—bloodshot eyes, raw knuckles, unshaven. he looks like he hasn’t slept in years instead of just a night.

and then — “jason?”

jason turns around. it’s dick.

“jason?” dick calls, landing on the fire escape in full nightwing gear. “what the hell are you doing back in this part of town?”

jason doesn’t answer at first.

dick jumps down in front of him, blocking his path. “jay—hey. talk to me.” — “I messed up,” jason says hoarsely.

dick blinks. “with…?”

jason swallows hard. “(y/n)... she left. and she’s not answering. It’s been hours. I’ve checked everywhere. the café, the library, that damn park. nothing. I don’t even know if she’s okay. I just—I said too much. I said shit I didn’t mean and now she’s just… gone.— dick, i can’t breathe.”

dick moves quickly, placing a hand on jason’s shoulder. “hey. breathe. look at me.” jason meets his eyes, jaw clenched so tight it hurts.

dick doesn’t say anything for a moment. then: “alright. sit down.” dick says guiding him to sit on a nearby stoop.

jason does. because for once, he has nothing left to fight with.

“you love her?” dick asks, voice low. jason nods without thinking, like it’s a reflex. “then tell her. find her and tell her. but not like this. you’re spiraling.”

“I can’t stop,” jason whispers. “every second she’s not answering, I keep thinking she’s hurt. that it’s my fault. that I broke her. I can’t even hear her voice without thinking of what I did.”

dick sighs and puts a hand on his shoulder. “you didn’t break her. you pushed her away. that’s different. and maybe you don’t get to fix it. but you sure as hell don’t stop trying. not until she tells you to.” jason looks at him. “and if she never does?” — “then you mourn. but not until you know for sure.”

jason’s quiet for a long time. watching gotham pass by with his brother “never give up jay, i believe in you” and jason stands up, continuing his search.

but he doesn’t find you.

he checks safehouses. rooftops. he climbs halfway up wayne tower before turning around because he knows you wouldn’t go there.— by the time the sun rises, his hands are shaking.

his head is pounding. his legs feel like lead. and you’re still gone.

he stumbles home like a ghost. kicks off his boots. sinks to the floor. doesn’t even make it to the couch. just sits there.

and stares at the door. It never opens.

three days pass.

no texts. no calls. not even a read receipt.

jason doesn’t eat. doesn’t sleep. barely moves. the apartment is dead quiet except for the occasional replay of your voicemail, like he’s torturing himself on purpose. by the fourth morning, he can’t take it anymore.

he grabs his bag and heads to wayne manor.

bruce meets him at the batcomputer. he doesn’t ask why jason’s there. just takes one look at him—pale, tired, shaking, blood shot eyes — and knows. “use whatever you need,” bruce says softly, walking away.

jason nods, throat tight. while the system loads, alfred appears at his side with a quiet sigh and a fresh mug of coffee and a blanket. he doesn’t speak right away.

then, gently, “would you like to talk about it, master jason?”

jason’s jaw clenches. he shakes his head, but then his voice breaks. “I ruined it.” a lump in his throat, looking at alfred.

alfred sets the coffee and blanket down and pulls him into a hug without a word. just strong, steady arms and that grounding kind of warmth jason hasn’t let himself feel in years. “i don’t know how to fix this,” he whispers.

alfred holds him tighter. “you start with the truth. then you wait. and if she’s worth it—and I suspect she is—you never stop.” jason nods against his shoulder

and for the first time in days, he lets himself cry. sobbing into the older man’s shoulder releasing all the pent up sadness and anger he kept inside for days. “I’ve cleaned blood off your boots, patched holes in your uniform, and stayed up more nights than I can count wondering if you’d make it back. but what worries me most… is how quick you are to believe you don’t deserve good things.. ” he said rubbing jason’s back soothing him, letting himself cry. “i love her so much, alfred— I don’t know how to hold on to good things without breaking them.” jason hiccups “it hurts how much i love her”

and they stay like that for a while, talking about jason’s feelings and what happened causing you to walk away. alfred listening and making him eat and drink to get something in his system. jason slowly getting tired, the comfort he craved slowing his brain down. alfred replacing you for a little while.

you always comforted jason, your touch melted him into a different man. you were his safe place and made him feel completely loved. the unconditional love he never felt before, ‘she’ll come back..’ - ‘ she’s okay, she’s safe’ — he kept repeating to himself, trying any possible way to soothe himself — jason became tried once again, but this time he was willing to sleep. he slept next to the computer, with the blankets alfred placed over him. he got a couple hours in until he woke up, a reminder of what happened.

now five days have gone by—

the coordinates come in just after midnight.

a quiet ping from the batcomputer—courtesy of a city-wide search bruce helped set up. jason had loaded every street cam, signal ping, and facial recognition tool he could, but deep down, he hadn’t really believed he’d find anything.

until now. a small rental apartment in the east end. under a friend’s name. you hadn’t left the city—you’d just gone off the grid. he finally found what he was looking for.

the screen flickered, and your image appeared in the facial recognition software. jason’s heart dropped as he studied the image that was pulled from surveillance footage. your face, usually full of life and fire, looked hollow. the light in your eyes were dimmer than he remembered, like you’d been carrying an unbearable weight for far too long.

your skin was pale, darker circles under your eyes indicating sleepless nights and too many tears shed. lips, once always curled into a small, knowing smile, were now pressed into a thin line. the fight had drained you, and he could see it in every inch of your face.

the camera hadn’t caught the vulnerability posture, but jason knew. you weren’t just physically tired—you were emotionally worn out. the woman he loved wasn’t the same one who had walked out five days ago. this woman, this (y/n), looked like someone who had been pushing through the world alone, all the weight of her pain carried on her shoulders.

he gripped the edge of the desk, eyes locked on the screen, his chest tightening. guilt, sorrow, and a deep sense of regret clawed at him. he had to find her. he had to make things right before it was too late.

he reads the address three times to be sure, then grabs his helmet and jacket and is out the manor doors before bruce can say a word. he jumps on his motorcycle and starts the engine, the loud sound of his tires screeching in the cave as he raced out to find you. he was lighting on the road, dangerously weaving in and out of cars, adrenaline of seeing you alive making him rush even more.

then he makes it to your location. his feet on the pavement, one flight of stairs, then two. his heart is a riot in his chest. his hands are sweating, shaking, cold. an a rush of anxiety washes over him.

what if you slam the door in his face?

what if you don’t even open it?

what if you’re gone again?

what if you don’t want to see him?

but he still knocks. soft at first. then harder.

he hears the lock click. the door creaks open a few inches. you stand there in sweats your friend let you have, eyes puffy, hair lazily in your face like you stopped caring how you looked days ago. and you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

your eyes widen when you see him. and that’s all it takes. jason breaks down.

his legs give out. he drops to his knees like something inside him finally caved in. and before he can even stop himself, he wraps his arms around your waist and presses his face into your stomach, sobbing. not the angry kind. not the kind that comes with yelling and fists through walls.

the kind that’s quiet and raw and scared. the kind that says thank god you’re alive and I’m sorry and I missed you all at once. he was relieved.

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out. “I’m so fucking sorry—please, I didn’t mean it, I was angry, I didn’t know how to say it right, I—god, I thought I lost you—” you freeze. shock, sadness and joy all overwhelming your head. your hands hover for a second, unsure, still hurt, wondering if this is a dream or not.

but then they come down gently, slowly, fingers threading through his hair as you hold him against you. your voice is quiet. “jason…” a melody to his ears.

he can barely speak. “I looked everywhere. I thought something happened. I thought—god, I thought maybe I deserved it. maybe you were better off without me. — I’ve never been this scared in my life.” you listen to him, his words muffled into your stomach. as he plants small kisses in between each sentence— his words rambling and gasping in-between for breaths. “baby.. come here.”

you helped him stand up and stared at his face. “I was angry,” you admit. “you hurt me.” — “i know.. i never wanted to hurt you.”

he leans into you like he needs your heartbeat to breathe.

“I don’t know how to do this,” he whispers. “I keep ruining everything good in my life. I say the wrong thing. I push too hard. I scare people off. and then when I finally realize what I’ve done, it’s too late.” you pull back just enough to make him look at you. — his eyes are red. wet. desperate.

“you didn’t scare me off,” you whisper. “you hurt me. but I left because I didn’t want to say something I’d regret. I needed time.”

jason swallows. “you should’ve. said something worse. hit me. I deserved it.” — “you don’t get to decide what you deserve, jason. I do.”

a beat. “and I still choose you.” he exhales a breath that sounds like a sob.

his eyes are rimmed red, exhausted, glassy with the tears he’s still trying to keep at bay.

“I went everywhere. the café, the library—the park,” he continues, his arms tightening like he thinks you might slip away again. “every place we made a memory. every place that still smells like you. I kept thinking, maybe I could find one more piece of us that wasn’t broken yet.— I needed to find you. I was losing it, sweetheart. I checked alleys. dangerous places. I—fuck, I was hoping I didn’t find you there but I had to check. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t sit still. I just wanted to see you. to say I’m sorry. to fix it.”

you nod slowly, listening to him. watching the way he talked.

“I knew I took it too far, even when I said it,” jason continues, clutching you tighter. “I was mad at the world, not you. but I threw it all at you because I knew you’d still love me, and that makes me the worst kind of person.”

you press your hand to his cheek, and he leans into it like it’s the only thing keeping him together. “I didn’t mean it,” he whispers. “not a single word. I was angry and afraid and so fucking overwhelmed that I—” his voice cracks. “I lashed out. at the one person who loves me the most. and when you left, I knew. I knew I deserved it.”

you stare at him for a moment. because your silence isn’t punishment—it’s your own unraveling. choosing your next words — “you said I was just a distraction,” you whisper finally, voice shaking despite how hard you try to steady it. “that I make things worse for you. that I don’t understand you, and maybe never will.”

jason flinches. physically recoils at the words he remembers far too well. the words that have been haunting him for the past few days.

you swallow, continuing. “you didn’t just lash out, jason. you hit where you knew it would hurt. you said things I’ve been afraid of ever since we met.”

“I didn’t mean any of it,” he whispers again, desperate. “god, if I could tear the words out of the air and bury them, I would. I would’ve rather taken a bullet than see you walk out that door. I just—” he breathes in deep. “I’m not good with… emotions. with fear. and losing you? that’s the scariest thing in the world to me...”

you nod slowly. “you self-destruct.”— he presses his forehead to yours, eyes shut. “yeah. and I took you down with me.”

silence stretches again, but it’s different now. heavy, but not hostile. like the fog after a storm. “I wasn’t leaving forever,” you whisper. “I just needed time. space. I needed to remember who I was outside of what you said.”

running your fingers through his hair. “I love you, jason. that didn’t change. but you hurt me. bad. I will never stop loving you. i will always come back to you— I needed to know I could still choose to come back on my terms. not because you begged. not because you were falling apart. but because I wanted to.”

his arms tighten around you again, and for the first time since last night, his tears start to fall freely. once again. no restraint. no pride. just a man drowning in his own grief, relieved to be seen, still loved despite everything.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispers into your shoulder, his voice small and shaky.

“no,” you say gently. “but you have me. and that means doing better.” and you both stand there for a while. two exhausted people wrapped around each other like maybe the world will stop spinning if you just stay still long enough.

after a while, you hold out your hand. “come inside.” and he does.

the apartment is small, quiet. the kind of place that smells like lavender and old books and something that’s just you. jason steps inside like he’s walking on glass—like the walls might collapse if he breathes too hard.

you close the door behind him. lock it gently. like you’re not locking him out, but keeping the world away.

neither of you says much as you move to the small couch in the living room. he follows you, slow, cautious. sits on the edge like he doesn’t deserve the whole cushion. like if he gets too comfortable, you might change your mind and tell him to leave.

you notice the way he keeps stealing glances at you from the corner of his eye. the way his knee’s bouncing, nervous. his shoulders are curled in, defensive, like he’s ready to run the second you flinch.

finally, you break the quiet. “why are you sitting like you’re afraid I’m gonna hit you?” jason freezes.

you don’t say it to hurt him. you say it softly. genuinely. because you see it—the hesitation, the fear, the way he’s pulling away without moving an inch.

he exhales. “because I don’t wanna fuck this up again.”

“you think being quiet is safer?”

he shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s safe with you anymore. I keep playing every version of this in my head—if I say too much, if I touch you too soon, if I breathe the wrong way—maybe you’ll walk out again.”

you shift toward him slowly. “I didn’t leave to scare you.”

“I know.” he finally meets your gaze. “but it scared me anyway.”

you nod. “and now you’re trying not to want anything.” he doesn’t answer. “jason, you’re allowed to want me.”

his breath catches. you reach out, gently covering his hand with yours. he looks at the contact like it might vanish.

“you’re not scaring me off,” you say, voice soft but sure. “you’re hurting. and so am I. but I didn’t stop loving you. I didn’t forget all the good just because of one night.”

jason’s voice is raw when he answers. “It was more than one night. I’ve been shutting you out for weeks. I didn’t let you in when you were trying. I turned everything into a war when you just wanted peace.”

“yeah. you did.” he flinches. “but,” you continue, tightening your grip on his hand, “you came back. you searched for me. you let yourself fall apart. that means something to me, and im sorry too. i didn’t intend on being away this long. i just felt so lost” he closes his eyes, jaw clenching.

“i’ve never felt this afraid,” he murmurs. “not even when I died.” you squeeze his hand.

“I’m not good at soft,” he admits. “I can be violent, I can be angry, I can be the guy who kicks in doors and breaks bones. but being… gentle? I don’t know how to do that without thinking I’ll screw it up.” you lean forward, pressing your forehead to his.

“you’re being gentle right now.” he nods, barely. and for the first time since that fight, he lets his hand curl into yours. not tight. just enough.

enough to say I want this.

enough to say I still love you.

he presses his lips to your temple, hesitant at first, then lingering. not hungry. not desperate. just present.

“i love you eternally jason, im sorry too, i’m truly sorry for walking away.”

“i love you so much (y/n), so.. so much it’s a unbearable pain i never want to let go of. you are my heart.. my soul.. my person”

he pressed kisses on your hand inbetween words. whispering softly to you, sweet nothings. just wanting to cherish you. “i cried to alfred, cried like some damn kid and I was just—gone. full-on sobbing in his arms like I was ten again.”

(y/n)’s eyes softened, reaching out but letting him keep going.

“I told him everything. told him I screwed up. told him I was scared you’d leave for good. and he just�� held me, made me miss your touch.— i’m still sorry,” he whispers

“I know,” you say. “i am too jay”

the two of you sit there, wrapped in the silence that used to hurt—but now, maybe, it’s just healing in disguise. you pulled jason in to cuddle him. he wraps his hands around your body. feeling fortunate to have you, to touch you, to kiss you. he hasn’t been able to breathe normally since you left, but now his chest feels lifted. he’s calmer and exhausted. he can tell you were too. he rubs your body while kissing all over you until he knows your asleep in his arms. watching you sleep so peacefully puts him at ease, helping him drift off into a wonderful slumber he’s been dreaming about for the past five days.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

ahhh :3 i couldn’t do a sad ending— i was going to!!, but he’s been out through to much already!! haha

hope u enjoyed!! im trying out different writing, angst is one im not the best ask but i like trying! it feels repetitive sometimes :p

have a good day / night!! xx

[timmydraker]

PART 2 OF CLONE BABY

Bruce: You need to tell the rest of the family, but mostly Dick.

Tim: why...?

Bruce, remembering how mad Dick got when he didn't tell him about Jason or literally any other kid: just trust me, it's not worth it

Tim: but I haven't told Kon yet *biggest pouty face ever made*

Bruce: Tim, he's still dead... isn't he?

Tim: I mean... for now.

Bruce:

Tim: FINE. Give her back to me then.

Bruce: ... five more minutes?

*Later:*

Dick: Hey guys, what was so important I had to get here so quick? Is everyone okay? Did someone... y'know?

Bruce: Opposite, actually.

Tim: I had a baby

Dick: you fucking what.

Tim: I had baby.

Tim: lil bubba

Tim: I made it myself :)

Tim, holding up his baby girl: see!

Dick, rapidly going through several emotions at once before letting out such a high pitched squeal that Clark Kent breaks a mug out of shock: A BABY!!!

Tim: a baby!

Bruce: a baby...

Damian, who had come out of his room as soon as he saw that Dick had gotten to the house via his trackers: a baby?

Tim: not for you, go away

Bruce: Tim.

Tim: what? She may have been a scientific miscalculation but she is mine and I will not risk her being stabbed by your miscalculation baby.

Damian: what did you just call me?!

Tim: you heard me!

The baby stirring and whining:

Tim: shhh, it's okay little one. Did Damian's shouting upset you? That's very mean of him, isn't it? It's okay, it's okay

Dick: omg im an uncle

Tim: yes you are!

Dick: and who's the mother?

Tim: 1 am.

Dick: oh... okay, then who's the dad?

Tim, in all seriousness: Kon.

Dick, naturally assuming Kon came back to life like people do all the time: oh, he's back?

Bruce, making a silencing motion:

Tim, trying not to cry: not yet...

Damian: I am confused, why does Drake have a child?

Bruce: he was trying to clone his dead best friend and accidentally mixed his DNA with one of the subjects and made a clone hybrid baby.

Dick: more like dead situationship but okay

Damian: oh, like my brother but an acciden

Bruce: your WHAT?

Tim: yeah! But she's going to grow up like a normal human/kryptonian clone baby and not in like a week.

Damian: very well, I will craft some training weapons for her so she can at least have a chance fitting into this family.

Tim: no the fuck you will not Tim: I mean fudge

Damian: she will also grow up without a father apparently.

Tim: oh like Slade is a better option? And also, so did you???

Damian: beside the point. This baby will be too much like its parents, you are better to let someone else raise her so she won't be a blubbering fool.

Tim: BLUBBERING FOOL?!

Dick: hold on, go back-

Bruce: so l don't have a second blood son?

Damian: and anyway, you can hardly be a n when you practically weren't raised at all, 1 other hand was raised by an exceptional woman-

Damian: and anyway, you can hardly be a mother when you practically weren't raised at all, I on the other hand was raised by an exceptional woman-

Tim: oh HELL no

Tim: first of all, my parents have nothing to do with how I myself will parent! I will be everything in wanted to have and I will not let my baby girl feel unloved for a single second of her life, thank you very much.

Tim: secondly, you're saying that Taliah is a good role model for parenting? When was the last time you spoke to her that didn't involve her using your or Bruce for your granddaddy? Huh?

Damian: ...

Tim: that's what I thought.

Bruce: maybe we should calm-

Tim: and anyway, now that I'm a mother I understand a lot more and I'm not letting you raise my kid because you are a kid, Damian. I know your almost fifteen but that doesn't change the fact that you have Child Developmental Syndrome as well as severe CPTSD and deserve to be carefree and not hold as many responsibilities as some people, *glares at Bruce* seem to think is okay!

Tim: so, no, you can't take my baby but you can be in her life because while I still kind of hate you and think you should suffer for trying to kill me and cutting my line, I can truely see now that you are a baby yourself.

Tim: now, who is going to help me pick out a paint for the nursery l'm making at my apartment?

Damian: ...

Bruce: ...

Dick, who has been slowly inching forward to try hold the baby: ...

Damian, still seething but also a little... honoured?: may I suggest the colour China Rose?

It will go well with the rest of your apartment.

Tim, smiling happily and rocking his baby: good idea!

Tim: Dick, you can hold her while I find Alfred.

Dick: oh thank god, gimme, gimme, gimme, oh hi baby!!! Oh, just look at those chubby wittle cheekies~! Aren't you the most precious wittle thing? Yes you are! You are! Awww!!

Bruce: I forgot to ask, do you have a name?

Tim: oh yeah... that's a thing

Dick and Bruce, integrally: *He is not going to be able to do this alone.*

ーーーーー

QUESTION: what should the baby be called?????

Also wonder how long it will take to end up on

TikTok lol

[theobservatory]

Waitin All Day｡⁠.ﾟ★ ˎˊ˗

｡⁠☆Synopsis: how they confess

｡⁠☆Cw: Grovelling, low self esteem, you take a slight backseat in this one bc it's about THEM confessing not you, suggestive on Bruce's part, you're in a bra on Bruce's part but gn besides for that

｡⁠☆CH: Tim ☆ Jason ☆ Dick ☆ Bruce

✧Bruce✧

Confession in the heat of the moment.

You honestly had no idea Bruce liked you. Sure, you've had a crush on him for going on a year now, but he's so gently tempered and naturally flirty. This man can hide a gunshot wound like it's no problem, let alone some romantic feelings.

You've watched him flirt his way into the pants of all types of people. Some for fun, some for missions, some for WE. Hell, it's not like two haven't done your fair share of fooling around either.

It's not like anyone could blame you. He's rich, kind, and so so handsome. Anyone would do the same in your shoes.

Most people would also advise against falling in love with the most eligible bachelor in all of Gotham, however. In fact, if you were giving advice to anyone else, you would tell them that this is only bound to end in heartbreak.

Yet here you are, drooling over one of your closest, richest, promiscuous, friends. Like an absolute idiot.

Bruce, on the other hand has been head over heels since you first met. He noticed immediately when you started reciprocating.

Did he start flirting with you way more, just to see you flustered? It's a possibility that he won't admit to, if asked. Did he ever actually act on his feelings besides for a couple way too intense make-outs and dry humping? No, he did not.

He's a vigilante, you're a civilian. It just wouldn't work. Even if you do know his secret, his life is dangerous, and he wants danger very far away from you.

Still, he's always been a selfish man. He ends up confessing to you anyway.

It's spur of the moment, words he didn't mean to say. Despite the fear of dragging into his life, of you being hurt or kidnapped, he doesn't regret it. He could never regret loving you.

｡⁠.ﾟ✧ ˎˊ˗

You're sitting on his lap while he's laid down on his bed. Your fingers drag from button to button on his shirt, teasingly unclasping them as you lowly ramble on about your day. You're telling a bunch of benign stories, things that don't matter, that Bruce would care to hear about any other time than now.

His pupils are blown a little as his hands hold your hips in place. He's looking up at you with a fondly playful expression, a tiny lit of arousal dancing in his features.

"What about you, Bruce?" You ask, fingers teasing the second to last button on his shirt. "How was your day?"

"Mine? Nothing but meetings on top of meetings, I'm afraid."

His hands begin to roam, slipping under your shirt to tease the clasp of your bra. He does the action like it's absent minded, like he isn't even thinking about where his hands are, but you know he's aware of what he's doing.

You lean down and kiss a few lines up his hard chest. The light stutters in his chest only egg you on. It's like a shock of boldness shoots through you as the tip of your tongue licks at his skin. You might regret that later, but now your hands come up to ghost over his nipples under the guise of shifting his button down.

"I'm sorry your day's been so boring." You murmur into his chest.

"It's much better now."

"Yeah?"

His hand finally unclasps your bra.

"Mhm."

You're flipped suddenly. When your vision is straightened out Bruce's shirt is completely gone, leaving him bare on top of you. It's not easy to bury the heat crawling from your throat to your face, but you manage. Eventually.

Your shirt is next to go, exposing you to the chill of the room. Goosebumps instantly appear on your shoulders, but Bruce is there to rub them away.

"You're gorgeous." He whispers. "Exquisite."

You think that's a bit romantic for a friendly fuck, but okay, you're not complaining. Bruce is the man of your dreams, you'll take whatever placating words he wants to give. You can play pretend. It's like roleplay that hurts your heart afterwards.

Bruce must see a shift in your body language, or maybe he can tell you're not taking his compliment seriously. He frowns deep, an upset furrow in his brow.

"I'm serious. I've never been with anyone as tantalizing as you." His hands run up your shoulders to trap your wrists above your head. "You're beautiful, kind, charming." He plants a kiss to your throat with every compliment. "You're everything anyone could ever want."

You begin to slightly tune out his words. The soft dominance he's displaying is sending you into subspace faster than you want it to. That soft and fuzzy part of your brain is beckoning you back with Bruce's gentle, loving hands. It's too hard to shove it away.

"Do you understand that I'd make you mine if I could?"

"Yours?"

He pauses. You don't see the look of understanding cross his face when he realizes you're slipping away from him. You're turning into a needy puddle under his hands faster than you know, and quicker than you ever have. You barely process when he locks eyes with you. That heady fondness in his eyes that makes you grow warm, turning your already slowly melting brain into jello.

"Mine." He repeats. "I'd take you around to every party, every gala. Wear you on my arm to show off how lucky I am. Would you like that?"

"Mhm."

"Good."

Your lips lock, and one of his hands runs down your sides, feeling you. He leaves tingles behind the pads of his fingers.

"I'll tell you again later, I swear. I'll repeat it as many times as you need me to."

✧Dick✧

A confession connoisseur.

You've been dancing around each other for months. It's painful for everyone involved, including yourselves.

It's not like you both aren't aware that you like each other. You'd have to be blind not be aware of how gone you are for each other.

You both face constant questions. "Are you guys together?" "When are you going to start dating?" "You know he likes you, right?"

Which yes, of course you know he likes you. The man follows you around like a big puppy, and he won't let you open doors if he's around. He basically already acts like your boyfriend.

Heaven forbid you flirt with someone while you're out with him. He's behind you looming, looking just like the big bat himself. So mean, and so protective for someone who isn't dating you.

You always make as much known as well.

You're happy to take another guy's number if he gets his ass in gear. Dick's "You're not actually gonna call him, are you?" Goes completely ignored.

His confession takes forever because he is determined to make it perfect. Richard Grayson-Wayne is a boyfriend extraordinaire, and he wants to make sure you're aware. Hell, if he could swing it he'd ride in on a horse, swoop you up, and ride off into the sunset, like some sort of cheesy Disney movie.

And they say chivalry is dead? Wrong. It's right here.

｡⁠.ﾟ✧ ˎˊ˗

You're staying the manor for tonight. Dick is home visiting his family, and as usual, you're glued to his side. Whether it was by choice this time is anyone's guess.

Everyone's out on patrol, Alfred's down in the cave. You're alone in this giant house, besides Damian's various dogs and cats, of course. You took the chance to bond with Titus, you're both down in the family moving room, lounging.

Then a text pings on your phone, causing Titus to sniff at you.

Where r u ?

You roll your eyes.

The manor. Where else ?

No I mean wat room ?

Movie room. The small one.

Perfect. Look under the couch

You do, Titus staring at you with judgement when your back cracks from leaning over the arm.

There's a folded up piece of paper with a heart and your name. "Check the kitchen ♡"

Your phone pings again.

Have fun :)))

From there is a trail of clues. Different pieces of paper. Some with simple riddles attached, others with blatant directions, a few with gifts attached to them. At some point you even have to find Alfred to give you another little slip of paper, much to your embarrassment.

The end of the trail leads you straight to Dick. He's got a soft look on his face, his hair slick, but framing his chiseled face. He's wearing a suit as well, a gorgeous outfit in his hand, clearly tailored for you.

"Hey, gorgeous."

"Grayson."

"Ouch, so cold to the man who's about to ask you out."

You smirk, a lovey-dovey emotion rolling around your chest. "Well, I'm waiting."

Dick pulls you toward him, one hand in yours, the other around your waist. He pulls you in so close your nose touch, and then slots himself in the crook of your shoulder and neck.

He whispers your name, but it comes out like a doggish whine.

"We're not even together yet, and I think I like you too much. My heart's beating so fast, it's making me sick. You're my favorite person, you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with- or at least, spend whatever time you'll give me, with you. I'm sorry it took me so long to say it."

You're speechless for a moment. You're clutching him, mouth agape, unable to see each other's faces.

"Baby, love of my life, will you go out with me?"

"Oh Dick, of course I will."

"Great, because I made dinner reservations for two, and it'd be awkward if I showed up by myself."

✧Jason✧

Thinks you deserve a confession, but is as emotionally constipated as his father, unfortunately.

You know he's trying to confess months before he actually does it. You can see it in the way his fingers linger on your skin, how his cheeks flush when you catch him staring. It's adorable watching this giant wall of a man stumble over you like a little school girl.

You also know Jason is much too proud to allow you to confess first. He would never forgive you if you beat him to the punch, so you wait patiently. Well, maybe not patiently. You're complaining to any friend that will listen to you, griping over how cute it is, but how it's driving you mad that he won't just ask. There's no chance in hell you would reject him, and Jason should know that! You've made yourself incredibly obvious.

Still, he spends months trying and failing to confess to you. He'll start, quiet but firm, a little flush on his cheeks. But the moment he looks at you it all falls apart. His heart stutters, causing his brain to stutter, causing his mouth to stutter, and then he just ends up covering your face with his hand.

You pick fun at him as he tells you to shut up, but you both know he'll have to deal with it until he actually finally confesses.

｡⁠.ﾟ✧ ˎˊ˗

"Hey."

You know just by his tone where this is going, you've already played this song and dance twice this month. Still, you tilt your head towards him, giving him your utmost attention.

"Hey yourself."

You're sitting on your couch as he's leaning against your wall. His arms are crossed, eyes averted to the ground. It's weird to see such a big man looking so... Tiny...

Jason huffs out a mirthless laugh. "Sorry, I just- I... Fuck."

"Jason?"

"No, don't talk or I'll lose my nerve again." You smother a giggle with your hand. "Don't laugh either, asshole."

You open your mouth to say sorry, but think better of it at the last second. Your mouth shuts with an audible click.

"Th-Thanks. Listen, 'm sorry I haven't been... The most forthcoming with my emotions. I'm trying, but it's- fuck- it's hard, but I'm trying. I'm trying to be better, I want to be better, for you. It's not fair to confess to you when I can't even talk about how I'm feeling, but I'm still doing it anyway because I'm an asshole. God, I'm such an asshole, but-"

"Jason."

"Let me talk, please. I'm an asshole, I'm cruel, unempathetic, and I'm so scared I'm going to hurt you. You deserve everything and more, and I can't even give you half of it, but-but I'm still begging you to give me a chance. Please."

He's made his way over to the couch. His head is pressed onto your knees, his hands squeezing your calves. You press a hand into his thick black curls, gripping the strands as you run your finger through them.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Jason, did you think I was going to say no?"

"Well- no." Really, you can read each other like books at this point. "But I think you should say no. I think if you had any sort of self preservation you'd say no."

"But?"

"But you're the most reckless Gothamite I've ever met, you wouldn't know self preservation if it punched you in the face."

You laugh, and he looks at you with a fond exasperation.

✧Tim✧

Not the confession type.

He's the type to get worked up about the confession. The type to plan and plan and plan until he can't plan anymore, then scrap the entire thing the moment he sees your face.

Because this isn't good enough for you. Nothing is good enough for you. You deserve anything and everything he could ever give, just a 251 step plan? Not enough.

So getting together with Tim is less confession, and more evolution.

It's "I made us coffee" to "let's hold hands" to "I miss you" to "I love you". It's gradual, soft, and easy. Boundaries are pushed in the most gentle way they can be, words are shared in sounds soft enough only you can hear them. It's a cat's type of love, distant, but intimate at the same time.

｡⁠.ﾟ✧ ˎˊ˗

"I've been thinking about selling my apartment." You say, gazing around at the intermingling of yours and Tim's things.

Your books occupy his bookshelves, and your favorite mug is stacked on top of his dirty dishwasher. The hamper of clothes in the bathroom has your underwear in it, but it's balled up inside one of his shirts. His bedroom smells like your perfume, and his pillowcases smell like your hair products.

Tim's gaze snaps up from his laptop. "I think it'd be good for you to get out of that tiny place anyway." His hand has made its way to your thigh, right above your knee. "It's not like I don't have the room."

"I figured I should tell you first."

Tim's gaze also sweeps around the room. His eyebrow quirks as he turns back to you, making you flush a little. It's not like all your stuff isn't already here. There really wouldn't be a difference in whether you kept your apartment or not, except for how much cash is in your pocket.

"You're sweet." Tim placates, giving your thigh a squeeze before turning back to his work.

Chat here's my confession... I think love confessions are cringe I'm sorry </3 it's just... I'm aro and have vulnerability issues. Tim Drake, you're the only one here who gets it the rest of y'all... Pack it up... (I say as if I'm not the one who wrote this)

Originally was gonna include Damian and Duke but the post was getting laggy.

This is my first time writing Bruce. Did I do well ?

｡⁠☆Requests Open

[angelgemy]

i love the way you draw dick !! whats your favorite hair style ??would love to see some drawings of him you haven't already shared 😢😭

THANK YOUUUU!!!! For Dick I think I love his mullet era and his current hairstyle. It's pretty simple and easy on the eyes, but every phase he has gone through it's very unique! I think it's cuz Dick's my favorite, so I love him even if some artists didn't do him justice Unfortunately I don't have that much of him that I haven't posted already (I do have some wips, but they will remain under lock and key until I have time to finish them 🤫) But I do have this!

I actually use his hairstyle to figure out when the story takes place + my own hc! And I also have this! I don't really like it since it's one of the first "good" illustrations I did of him, so I get the feeling like I didn't know what to do with Dick

And last but not least: Some sketches that most likely will remain like this! It's Dick when he cut his hair and a redraw of that picture of Dick and Jason, but a little bit more lovely lol