#Jason knows the feeling of a first proper meal

[nelkcats]

Hood Assistant

Prompt Part 1 Part 4 Part 5 Ao3 Next

Part 6

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The wounded know better how to treat other wounded

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"You guys are really annoying" Crane complained from his Arkham cell, ever since the daybat left him there he had been put in solitary confinement for escaping.

Which he usually wouldn't mind, it was much better to be alone than to hear the Joker's laughs or Waylon's complaints, but the damn cell had a window.

And what was watching him from the window? crows, many of them, after his lamentable defeat he tried to ignore them upon their arrival but it wasn't working.

"Why are you here? Are you making fun of me?" Scarecrow complained with a frown, he really hated birds.

"Kar, Kar, Kar" one of the crows flapped its wings, though it looked a bit apologetic, if birds could show emotions.

"What? Are you trying to apologize or something?" Crane scoffed, not buying the act the crow was showing.

"Kar, Kar" the crow nodded, it almost seemed like they were really sorry for leaving him in such bad shape.

"As if I would believe you" Scarecrow snorted "if you really want to apologize get out of my sight"

Surprisingly that seemed to work because the crows began to disperse. Crane looked at the situation with curiosity, he had spent hours arguing with the creatures and asking them to leave, what was different this time?

And then he saw it, a cat had crashed through the bars of his cell window, it looked pretty small, probably a bit adventurous considering he had pounced on three adult crows at the same time.

"Oh" Scarecrow fixed his gaze on the little cat, he looked quite malnourished, and he was sure he had an infection or two, but technically he had driven the crows away right? He really couldn't be mad about it.

"You're a long way from home, aren't you buddy?" He questioned, the cat looked at him curiously, probably wondering if he should jump at him or not.

It was quite easy to determine the winning option because before he knew it the little kitten had jumped onto the mask on his head.

"What are you doing over there?" Asked the villain, more amused than angry, it was a little worrying that he couldn't feel the weight of the cat on his head.

"The guards are going to be mad if they find you here, you know?" Crane continued speaking, finally reaching the kitten and tucking it into his arms, "you must be an adventurer."

"Meow" the cat meowed, reaching into the seams of the mask and nibbling, it looked like he had found something to play with.

"You're also lonely aren't you?" Scarecrow said, you could hear some fondness in his tone; he glanced around his confinement cell but there didn't seem to be anyone near him, the guards wouldn't be passing by for hours either. In the end, he made up his mind to stroke the cat's fur.

"You need a bath, and probably a vet" he stated checking the little boy, he had a scar over his eye and was obviously neglected, it wasn't a surprise considering he lived in Gotham.

"Do you hate crows too?" He questioned curiously as he watched the cat wagging its tail as it stared out the window, he took the meow as confirmation.

"I guess we have some things in common" Scarecrow allowed himself a smile "I should help find you an owner, you're too young to be here alone."

The cat looked away from the window and fixed on him at the mention of a new caretaker, meowed with determination and placed one of his paws on Crane's mask.

"Me?" The confused villain questioned "I don't think that's a good idea, I work a lot with chemicals and I'm currently stuck here, surely we can find someone better qualified"

The cat didn't seem to like the answer because it meowed again and placed both paws on the man.

"Okay, okay, you're stubborn, if you want me to take care of you I guess we can work something out." Crane sighed, he didn't know if sneaking a kitten into his cell was a good idea, but it can't be helped "I guess strays stick together, don't we?"

Well, he supposed there was nothing he could do, he had acquired a cat.

"We're gonna be great friends, Cannon"

—--------

Amazingly Danny managed to make it through the whole night without waking up from a nightmare. That could have something to do with the warm weight around his waist, or with Nocturn, he wasn't quite sure which.

Though to be completely honest, he refused to thank the pesky dream ghost for anything, their differences might have been sorted out, more or less, but he had the right to continue pissed off for all damn eternity. Who decides that putting an entire city to sleep was a good bonding exercise to meet the new ghost? Literally no one!

"Five more minutes" the halfa muttered when he felt his pillow move. That was weird, Johnny must be bothering him again.

"Ugh, stop," he groaned, touching the bed aggressively in an attempt to stop the annoying ghost, but he frowned when he felt the surface.

"How strange, I don't remember buying such a square pillow, but it is quite comfortable" Danny yawned as he began to open his eyes a little.

"Did I just got demoted to a pillow?" Jason asked with amusement watching as the boy kept touching his chest, probably to settle him on the bed or something. 

"Pillows don't usually complain that much" the halfa complained before opening his eyes fully and noticing the person next to him "WAIT, JAY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MY PILLOW?"

"Take a closer look," Jason told him with a chuckle.

"What am I going to look-" the halfa stopped talking and blushed when he noticed how he was lying on the other's chest "Damn, you're comfortable"

"Is that all you're going to say?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not the pillow-shaped one between the two of us," Danny smirked. Although he was having an internal panic; he decided that was going to be a problem for future Danny, one more awake than the current one.

Jason just shook his head feeling amused by the situation, that wasn't what he expected to hear when he woke up.

"So...have you considered working as a professional pillow?" Danny asked, leaning back into Jason's chest.

Honestly Jason was quite surprised by the nerve "I don't think that's a real job, Doll"

"I could make it real, you know." Danny wiggled his eyebrows suggestively with a smile, apparently being half asleep gave him courage to flirt.

"Danny, I'm the one who gives your paycheck" Jason couldn't help but laugh at the face the boy was making "just shut up and let me go, I need to make breakfast"

"But you're sooo soft and waaarm" the halfa complained sadly, actually he just didn't want to let him go, he was sure that the only reason he was calm at that moment was the other's presence.

"Doll, as much as I want to lay here all day you really need a good breakfast" Jason reminded him "don't think I forget about the comment you made to the kids, you're going to leave this house well fed"

“You really don't have to do that" the halfa muttered embarrassed, he really hoped the other would forget that comment quickly.

"No, I will, and since your roommate isn't here to reason with you I feel responsible for doing so," Jason stared at him, daring him to argue, "So you're going to sit here and have the best breakfast of your life, okay?"

"Okay" Danny agreed, he felt a chill down his spine but refused to participate in the strange power play, he could feel the intensity in the other gaze and taking into account his own experiences with Jazz he knew better than to argue with the person preparing his food. Besides, Jason reminded him too much of an Italian matriarch at the moment to argue.

"Still, I really don't feel good enough to let you go right now" the boy muttered worriedly.

"What do you mean by that? You look pretty good to me" He asked curiously, actually he looked too good to have recently come out of a fear gas attack, he was suspicious for a moment but no one could fake such an intense reaction like the day before.

"It's embarrassing" Danny muttered, fixing his gaze on the bedroom window, Gotham had a strangely picturesque architecture "you're going to laugh at me"

"I will laugh at you for many things, but your trauma is not one of them" Jason clarified seriously "you can trust me, Doll"

"Okay then" Danny sucked in as much air as he could and let it out all at once, it was a clear attempt to give himself courage "You are my anchor"

"Your anchor? I don't remember you having a boat," Jason teased as he tried to make sense of the sentence in his head, all he could think of were Percy Jackson lines. He shouldn't have let his brother convince him to read the whole saga, his expectations for romance were too high because of it.

The lines when Percy gets Achilles' curse were really romantic, weren't they? He is certainly not referring to that.

Though something inside him screamed that this was definitely a literature reference he should pay attention to, Jason doubted it, no one had ever said or referenced cute lines to him before and he doubted a pretty boy would start.

"Not that kind of anchor" the halfa turned to see him and smacked his arm annoyed "You are my anchor to reality, when you're around fear fades, like a lucky charm"

"A pillow, an anchor, and now an amulet, you assign me only good things, don't you?" The vigilante sneered, "So, the reason you're so well is…?"

"Yeah, it's because you're close" Danny decided to ignore Jason's comment about how he kept associating him with objects, it wasn't his fault it fit "The gas makes me see a lot of things but when I feel your heartbeat I just- I don't know "

"Relax?" Jason asked softening the expression on his face, he understood the need to want to know that the people you cared about were safe, it was a feeling he related to.

Like the need to know that his family was safe away from him, that the pits hadn't hurt them yet, and wouldn't.

"Quite a lot" Danny nodded "I think my heartbeat is imitating yours or something" he tried to joke.

"My heartbeat?" Jason asked curiously, that's when he noticed Danny's grip on his right arm, one of his fingers resting lightly on his carotid artery.

The place where doctors usually checked the pulse of their patients.

"How long have you been checking?" He asked again with his renewed curiosity, he found it interesting that he hadn't noticed the boy's hand obviously clinging to him when it was obvious that he had been like this for more than a while. Jason was supposed to have been trained by ninjas and Batman himself, how the hell did he miss that?

"Since I woke up, it probably started a bit after that" the halfa admitted sheepishly "I was checking your heartbeat when I lay on your chest, but after pulling away I really needed to be sure, I know it's a little weird, but I really don't want to go back to the world of fear Jay"

The world of fear was much worse than Frighty's dimension because it kept playing with his head, replaying and distorting his own memories until they were destroyed. The fact that Dan didn't appear even once during the flashbacks was worrying. It meant that the fear to his own city and the despair born of how much he had failed far outweighed the fear of himself.

Although he didn't want to cause Jason any unnecessary discomfort, his half-asleep state had taken over his morning actions, the ghost side of him became extremely possessive of the person who had "saved" him, and he needed to make sure that he was fine, alive, breathing.

"So, to clarify: the reason you're so calm right now is because of me? Somehow I make you feel better?" Jason would be lying if he said he wasn't moved by the thought.

"Or at least that's my theory" he said "My head was in a horrible place, I kept reminiscing and trying to suppress things I don't want to think about, until I found you, you became my light Jay"

"You make it sound like a romance novel," Jay tried to tease, he hoped Danny didn't notice his heartbeat rising at the words. It was strange that such a cheesy phrase was out of a book and coming out of the mouth of the cutest boy he had ever seen.

Focus Jason, you're not in a romance novel, this is real life.

Of course, Jason wouldn't deny how warm the thought felt, him, Jason Tood, being a knight in shining armor in a romance novel? It was a scenario he had thought of multiple times when he was a child.

"I would say it's a fantasy novel, although maybe it has multiple genres" the halfa smiled "it's the story of a knight who rescues a person in distress and becomes his safe place"

"I've never been anyone's safe place, I don't know if you're making a good decision with it" Jay said doubtfully.

But how are you supposed to react when the person who is slowly stealing your heart starts talking about you in such a dreamy way? When you can see the stars in his eyes and the blush on his cheeks? And you know that's not for anyone but you?

To a certain extent, it was too much; Red Hood was the protector of Crime Alley, Robin was the protector of Gotham, but Jason? Jason had never been anyone's protector, no one had seen him as if he hung the moon in the sky, no one had trusted him so sincerely.

No one had looked upon him with such affection since his mother's death, not even Bruce. Although, that could be due to how constipated his father was with emotions.

And this guy just decided to go for it? For no reason?

Could the trust be because he was Danny's only choice? A treacherous part of his head wondered. But Danny had trusted him before that, and the reaction looked real.

That worried him, how far was this pretty boy willing to go before he regretted it? What would happen when he realized that trusting Jason Todd wasn't worth it? After all he wasn't just Jason anymore, as much as he sometimes wished he was. Would he run? Will he fear him like everyone else in his life? Dreading the moment when he goes berserk and goes for blood? Or will he choose to stay against all odds?

And the worst part, will Jason be able to bear his decision?

For some reason, Jason hated to think about it. He didn't want to be the one to change the boy's perspective. He didn't want to be the one to turn out the stars in the sky. He didn't want to be the villain.

He was so tired of being cast as the bad guy, the person to blame, he was trying his best, dammit! Why couldn't anyone see it? Why when they saw Red Hood they didn't see little Robin who was his shadow?

"Jason, are you alright?" Danny asked with concern "I know it might be uncomfortable, I can try to fight the toxin on my own if you'd rather I stop touching you"

"No!" Jason's scream startled both of them, neither of them willing to admit how desperate it sounded to both of their ears. One because he did not want to bother and the other because he tried to ignore the event.

"No, it's not necessary" Jason cleared his throat, trying not to think about how bad it felt to tell the boy to go away "You don't make me feel uncomfortable, that's fine, and if it's helping I won't take that away from you."

"If you say so," Danny looked at him doubtfully, but if Jay wasn't willing to admit it then there was nothing he could do.

And that's when Jason realized how desperate he was for affection, how badly he needed someone just brushing his arm. It was surreal how soothing Danny's touch felt in his hand, like putting balm on an old scar.

As much as Dick had tried to fill that void of affection, Jason had sorely refused, the contact feeling strange, uncomfortable, yet welcome. And it wasn't his older brother's fault, the family situation was just awkward since he introduced himself as Red Hood, the pits didn't help either. Now that he technically had an excuse he couldn't bear not to take it and take advantage of the situation a bit.

I'm really touch starved, aren't I?

The vigilante questioned ironically, although without knowing it, Danny was thinking the same thing. Both of them had been deprived of such a basic right that the mere touch of another person felt like a roller coaster ride, better than the mystical "electrical connection" spoken of in romance books. Or the love at first sight that was mentioned in the songs.

Touching and hugging, along with the affection that comes from such actions were basic things that both had been deprived of for so long that their bodies actively sought them out, and now that they both had a valid excuse to initiate contact they had no plans to let go.

"Don't you feel uncomfortable?" Jason asked, in an attempt to return the favor "if you're just doing it to keep yourself away from the effects of the toxin that's fine."

"It's not that, it just feels right, you know?" Danny smiled.

For a few moments they were not Red Hood, nor Phantom, they were simply Jason and Danny, two normal people who sought affection from those around them like dehydrated people finding a spring in the middle of the desert.

"Yeah, I get it," he said, because he really did, though he didn't know if they were talking about the same thing.

"Love, love" sang the little bird in the window while he watched the scene, it seemed that he had liked the word so much that he just repeated it randomly.

"Well, I should go make breakfast for you, shouldn't I, little prince?" The vigilante quipped, if he was the knight then Danny would be the closest thing to a prince in a tower.

"Lead the way, my dear knight" Danny said happily, "we'll finally see your fabulous culinary skills in action."

"You've seen them before, with the soup," Jason scoffed.

"I thought that was more of a community job, but it's true that you were guiding the whole process," Danny hummed.

"Yeah, so ready to try a meal prepared entirely by me? There will be no slicing carrots this time," Jason assured him.

"Excuse me, my carrots had personality, okay?" Danny teased, remembering the moment he showed off his creation.

"I think you murdered their personality after cutting them, it looked like a massacre" the vigilante admitted.

"We can't all be Gordon Ramsay, and you said that they were fine!" The halfa protested offended.

"They were, for a newbie." Jason looked away, pretending he hadn't heard the offended gasp that came from the pretty boy.

"Oh, so this is how we're going to play? Okay, but I'm warning you that I'll check your chef's hat looking for a rat in it" Danny threatened him, if Jason had help ratatouille style he would know it.

"Are you accusing me of cheating? I don't need a chef's hat" Jason replied, a little offended.

"We'll get you one, every professional needs a chef's hat, and a 'kiss the chef' apron" Danny was quick to point out, those were basic elements for a kitchen. 

"That's quite a strong statement you know?" Jason asked, amused.

"It's not that I want to kiss you!" the halfa quickly denied, ignoring the laughter of his boss.

"So I'm not kissable enough huh? too ugly for you?" Jason teased moving closer to him.

"¡No! I'm not saying that either, you're cute, comfortable, you have perfect abs, and I'm absolutely sure you're also an excellent kisser- hell, I wouldn't object to kiss you" the halfa stammered.

"I'm just kidding, Danny." Jason raised his eyebrows with a smirk on his face.

"I completely knew that," Danny tried to assure, sounding as uncertain as he felt.

—-----------

"That class almost killed me" Amorpho complained under his breath as he left advanced physics, he was really going to kill Johnny, he hadn't entered an educational center in years, not counting the time he impersonated Danny.

"I know man, all the theory is too much" one of his classmates commented as he left the room next to him "although I'm surprised you asked so many questions, you're usually more quiet"

"Ah, I needed some guidance this time" Amorpho looked away, it was obvious that Danny was much better than him in that class, considering who his parents were.

"It's ok, we all have bad days" the student shrugged "you can join our study group if you want"

"Really? That would be nice." Even though he wasn't planning on impersonating Danny for so long, he could at least not mess up his grades in the meantime. And well, learning a little more about what was happening right now sounded interesting, even if it was math.

"Sure, by the way, those contacts are totally cool" stated the guy next to him "Where did you buy them?"

"Uh, I ordered them from a place quite far away" Amorpho said uncertainly, he had forgotten that his red eyes didn't fit Danny, that most of his classmates would have taken them as contact lenses was a relief "I don't know if they're still for sale "

"Gezz, that's really bad" the boy sighed "well, our group meets in the evenings, don't get caught by a villain in the meantime! It would be nice to have more people joining"

"I'll be there" Amorpho stated with a smile, if he was going to play student he might make some semblance of friends in the process, or at least entertain himself.

"Speaking of which, do you know where the drama club meets?" The ghost asked curiously after passing by a poster with large colored letters and a 'we are waiting for you!' written in glitter

"Sure, a friend of mine is inside, and you're lucky, our meetings don't really clash with each other, would you like me to guide you?" The boy questioned.

"That would be lovely" the ghost stated, Johnny had technically said that he could do anything, joining two college clubs was on the list.

"Great, I really didn't see you as a theater kid you know?" The boy perked up, apparently interested in the conversation "you always looked a bit sad back there, I thought you didn't like to socialize and that kind of thing"

"Yeah, a few things happened" Amorpho decided to avoid the topic "but I feel better now and I'm ready for some drama"

"That's amazing, dude" the boy smiled offering his hand "I'm Michael by the way, is nice to finally meet you"

"Nice to meet you Michael" Amorpho shook the offered hand "my name is A-Danny"

"A-Danny?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"I had a change recently" Amorpho shrugged “I'm still trying to get used to it”

"Oh, I understand mate" Michael nodded "that's great and completely understandable, some things need to be changed"

"Well said, I like to morph if it makes me feel better." Amorpho smiled, Michael seemed genuinely nice.

"I couldn't have put it better" Michael stated "now come on, I think drama club sign-ups start in a few minutes"

With that said, the boy and the ghost headed towards the club, one completely excited to finally do what he loved, and the other quite happy with what seemed to be a new friend.

And well, at the end of the day it looked like Danny had joined two new clubs and was fast becoming what seemed to be the best drama student the recruiters had ever found, on his way to being a protagonist; too bad the real Danny had no idea the attention his supposed counterpart was gaining.

—----------

Danny followed Jason into the kitchen, it's not like he could leave him alone while the effects of the gas were in his system anyway. Although he was worried that Jason would notice his fangs, hiding them quickly became uncomfortable and he felt the sudden urge to bite down on something.

"Danny, are you alright?" Jay asked a little worried when he saw the boy distracted again, he gently caressed the hand located on his wrist in an attempt to get the other's attention.

"Yeah, sorry" Danny decided he was going to let things happen naturally "weren't we about to rate your excellent five stars food?"

"I'm surprised you remember," Jason sneered, though he was distracted when he noticed Dog watching him from the living room "I didn't forget about you, girl."

Dog simply barked, debating whether to approach her owner and the stranger who currently seems to be holding his hand. He didn't feel aggressive towards her but something wasn't exactly right either.

"She's so cute" Danny smiled looking at the pitbull peeking out from the living room "Am I scaring her?"

"Something like that, it's a bit weird actually, but I'm not surprised she's hiding" Jason stated, Dog was rescued from a center that organized illegal fights so it wasn't surprising that she was suspicious of strangers, what was strange was that she approached more quickly than expected.

"Oh, maybe she sensed Cujo" the halfa commented nonchalantly.

"Cujo?" Jason raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Yeah, he's my puppy," Danny smiled, happy to be able to talk about his puppy with someone else. Although calling Cujo a cub was still in doubt, considering that he could change the size of him to suit him.

So, technically Cujo wasn't a cub anymore, given his giant form which made him look much older, but at the time of death he was, and as far as Danny could assume he had never really given up his attitude as a cub. 

Whatever the case, he would always be Danny's pup, and Danny was fine with that. The day Cujo randomly decided to adopt him was one of the best memories he had.

"Oh, I wouldn't have guessed," the vigilante hummed.

"Yeah, I don't usually talk about him much because it's a bit of a reverse adoption case, you know?" Danny smiled "I didn't adopt Cujo, he adopted me and then he wouldn't let me go, he was actually a bit of a stray, I'm not sure why he decided to stay with me"

"You're interesting enough," Jason said happily, he could see why Danny would attract a dog, considering the crow he'd seen last night.

"By the way, where's your crow?" Jason questioned as he went over to give Dog some food, she was wagging her tail excitedly, completely ignoring Danny who had stuck to him like a barnacle.

"Poe? He is not technically my crow" Danny sighed "My roommate found him yesterday and he just started following me."

"That's amazing, he seemed pretty attached to you." Jason raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

"But he is not mine, I'm sure he decided I'm not interesting enough anymore or something, you won't see him anytime soon" the halfa shrugged.

At that precise moment, a small crow flew into the room and happily landed on Danny's head, the halfa in question looked at him with a blank expression.

"You really love to contradict me" he affirmed seeing the small bird singing on his head.

"Oh look, looks like it wasn't such a long time after all" Jason snorted, Dog seemed to have decided to ignore the situation in question as she quickly ate what her handler had given her.

"Love! Love!" The crow affirmed moving his wings, he really loved the sound of the word.

"No, Poe, Danny, my name is Danny," the halfa tried to correct him, ignoring the stare Jason was giving him.

"Twinkcito!"  Poe corrected his supposed mistake, although it was obvious that he was making fun of the boy, he was smart enough to understand the reactions that his words caused and repeat them based on it.

"I give up" Danny muttered in frustration.

"He's not wrong" Jason said considering, "you really do have the complexion for it"

"Please don't encourage him" Danny begged.

"I'm not encouraging him, I'm just saying that if we take into account your complexion and the definition of the word, it just fits." Jason shrugged.

"Just go make the food already" Danny gave up on trying to reason with him, it was better to remind him of what he was supposed to be doing to distract him from the subject.

"Fine, fine, but since my hands are still trapped you're going to have to be my helper," Jason stated, heading into the kitchen.

"I don't know if you remember correctly Jay, but I made a massacre with the potatoes and carrots last time" the halfa said, a bit embarrassed.

"Of course I remember" that had been one of the most adorable expressions he had ever seen "But at that moment I had to guide everyone, now all my attention is on you"

Danny was suddenly nervous about having Jason's attention on him, he'd been tremendously proud to pull off an edible meal last time but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to pull it off again.

"There's no need to be nervous, Doll" Jason assured him "I'll walk you through every step of the way, okay?"

"Okay, I can do it" Danny said out loud, in an attempt to give himself courage, it seemed that he really needed it that day.

"Kar, Kar!" Poe flapped his wings happily from his place on the boy's head.

"Thanks, Buddy." Danny smiled at the crow who had apparently decided to stick to him like a duckling.

"Well, I guess we also have to make sure your partner doesn't eat the ingredients" Jason muttered, looking at the crow.

Poe for his part yelled "Kar" at him, sounding completely offended, Jason simply conceded defeat, doubting they'd be able to get rid of him anytime soon.

"Well, are you ready to try the best meal of your life that definitely isn't made by a french rat?" Jason asked smiling.

"Yes, although I'm still doubting that you don't have one hidden in your hair, I think you have enough space" The halfa shrugged.

"Oh shut up and combine the ingredients I'm going to tell you, you're on duty to mix the batter and I'm going to make sure you taste some good pancakes today" Jason said.

"Mix? Aren't you going to use the batter on the box?" Danny asked curiously, the times Jazz had cooked for him she had used pre-made things, probably because it was easier.

"Of course not, you're going to have a real pancake experience, not whatever you've been eating up until now," Jason stated, although the boxed food tasted ok it was nowhere near the real thing made from scratch.

Jason didn't know it when he was a kid because Catherine didn't have the money for it, but most of his meals were simple, quick, or easy to prepare, he was mostly grateful to have something to eat if he was being honest.

But when Alfred patiently showed him how to cook, he began to enjoy it, to understand the difference between the two types of food and to enjoy the feeling of others tasting his creations, to the point that he ended up becoming an expert at it. He was tremendously proud to be one of the few who wasn't banned from the kitchen in the mansion.

He was glad to be the person to teach Danny that difference, when he saw the proud expression the boy was making for preparing something fairly edible he didn't think much of it at first sight, considering it mostly adorable.

But after thinking about it for a while he realized that maybe Danny just didn't know what it was like to cook your own food, that he'd had a time only eating fast or easy food, that no one had ever given him a full meal.

Jazz tried, but she didn't really know how to cook either, Maddie hadn't taught her. She tried with online tutorials but in the end she ended up mostly with fast or simple food for both of them.

Honestly, the conversation with the Alley Kids just confirmed his suspicions, usually people who eat well don't forget from one moment to another that they should eat, unless they're not really used to it.

So he was quite happy to say that Danny was a good helper in the kitchen, checking him every five minutes for a sign if he was doing it right or wrong, asking if he had any questions about anything in the process, and not afraid to ask for help.

"Jay, I don't know if I can do this" the boy in question complained looking at some strawberries that Jason had asked him to cut a few minutes ago.

"Do you want me to guide you on it?" Jason questioned happily, he always felt better while cooking.

"Can you do that? Wouldn't that be too much of a problem, all things considered?" Danny asked curiously, pointing to their hands that were still clasped.

"Not really" he said "but it can be a bit uncomfortable in this position"

Since Jason had managed to switch the "affected hand" from right to left when starting to cook (checking that Danny hadn't had any problems, of course) the process had been much easier.

Well, thankfully neither of them was doing badly working with their hands trapped, so he was easily able to point Danny to the correct method of cutting through the fruit without massacring it. Although the boy seemed very distracted during the process.

"The pancakes will be ready in a few minutes, I'd tell you to go sit in the dining room but, you know," Jason vaguely gestured at their connected hands.

"Don't worry, I don't mind waiting" the halfa told him nonchalantly, watching Jason cook was becoming one of his favorite activities after all. He gave off a completely different feeling than usual, he looked more relaxed and happy in general.

When they were finally able to move to the dining room table, each one of them had a plate of pancakes, Danny decorated them with strawberries and whipped cream while Jason settled with a simpler version of fruit and honey.

"Well? Are you going to try it?" Jason asked curiously and somewhat expectantly as he noticed Danny staring at his plate.

"It's just that they look so cute, I don't want to destroy them" Danny looked at Jason sadly, eating them felt like a crime.

"I'll make you others later" Jason shook his head in amusement "but you have to eat those first"

Eventually Danny worked up the courage to eat his pancakes. Jason freaked out the moment he saw his eyes watering.

"They're good" Danny made sure to affirm quickly wiping away the tears that were forming in his eyes after he saw how much he was worrying Jason, who seemed torn between paying attention and looking for ways to comfort him "very, very good"

It reminded him of the time Jazz made him his first meal, or when Lunch Lady scolded him and gave him a homemade sandwich, but somehow this felt better than both times.

How was it possible?

"It's okay, Danny," Jason gently stroked the hand that had returned to hold his arm as soon as they left the kitchen, "you're okay now."

Whether he was referring to the food or something completely different, no one could tell.

—------------

By the time they both finished their food, Danny was happily satisfied and strangely full. The moment he looked away from his plate he noticed something peculiar inside one of the rooms.

He approached the object curiously, practically dragging Jason with him into the room in question.

"Isn't that Red Hood's jacket?" Danny asked curiously looking at the clothes organized on the walls.

Jason cursed himself as he thought of something to say, maybe if he chose not to answer Danny would ignore it. He had been distracted by the matter of food and completely forgot that many of his things were in the house.

"And those are his combat boots" the halfa said excitedly, Danny perked up as he started pointing to different objects in the room. The weapons were obviously Hood's "There's only one explanation for this"

Jason tried to think of an excuse but he couldn't think of one, he assumed that was it, that was the end of his secret identity "Danny, the truth is that I am-"

"You live with Red Hood right?" Danny looked at him, trying to confirm his suspicions and the rumors of the Alley kids. 

"-living with Hood, certainly," Jason agreed. Not knowing the trouble he was getting himself into with those four words.

--------------------------------------

Annd tag time, I'm not going to lie it feels pretty weird to have this chapter so early but the sprints are really magical. This chapter was going to be even longer but I preferred to shorten it and include the rest as ideas for the next one. I hope you liked it!

In this case I have to clarify that Danny never broke contact with Jason during the whole chapter, when he said that he was his anchor he was being both figurative and literal. In general, being able to feel his heartbeat was calming him down a lot.

And the reason why Jason's food felt different is because it was 100% human, what Lunch Lady gives is usually fine, but the ectoplasm adds something weird to it as an extra, so yes, Jason was technically the first to cook him food from scratch

Sorry if you saw the first one, I kinda uploaded by accident haha

@skulld3mort-1fan@sorryiwonnoob@idfk-man10@avelnfear@criticaloverthinker@confusedandghostly @lunadoll36 @spidey29phangirl @suppengott @yjfk@apointlessbox@mimilikey@thegatorsgoose@jaggedheart11@dyinggirldied@pyramaniac@akikkobara@thedragonqueen1998@lostlightandfoundcrazy@xye-chan@saltyladynightmare @ashleysmshly @thewondersoflebanon@illusionwolfwriter24r8@littlefeather345@asphyxia778@amercurio@leftmiraclechaos @dixiwoods @satoshy12@lyra689@meira-3919@quietlyscared@plotwholls @kyrianclawraith @blacksea21090@basilf1res @flowers-n-fauna @8-29pm@phantom-dc@luer-mirin@taniaundertaleau@cloriform@readerkayden@oddlydrawnpuppets@basementloser@little-green-asparagus@echoednonny@yummy-yummy-mmmbones@confusionchaos@ectoplasm024@autumnwulf@666deaddash999@redhoneysugarorange@blue-avis@sailor-goddess@satanicrutialspecialist

[storiesbyrhi]

Eddie's March 1986 Timeline

I've spent too long thinking about how hungry Eddie must have been, and how he probably just wanted a hot shower and warm bed. Now you have to think about it too.

Feel free to reblog with thoughts, feelings, additions, corrections, or anything else. xo Rhi

FRIDAY 21 (The Hellfire Club)

BALLS into LAUNDry baSKETS

mEAN an' scARY?

The Hellfire Club campaign ends with Vecna's defeat at the roll of Lady Applejack's 20

Eddie witnesses Chrissy's murder and runs

He arrives at his chosen hiding place of Reefer Rick's boathouse at some point between Friday night and Saturday morning

SATURDAY 22 (Vecna's Curse)

Days without a proper meal or shower: 1

Food: beer and what appears to be a few bags of snack food; Max finds the trash for these in the boathouse

Dustin, Max, Steve, and Robin search for Eddie, after Max's statement that he probably witnessed Chrissy's death

They find him in Rick's boathouse hiding under a tarp, using a broken bottle as a weapon

The public is not yet aware of Eddie's connection

SUNDAY 23 (The Monster and the Superhero)

Days without a proper meal or shower: 2

Food: three bags of snacks including Yoohoo and Honeycomb cereal

Eddie is still wielding the broken bottle and sleeping in the boathouse when the same group brings Eddie supplies and news

The police are proactively searching for Eddie as their prime suspect

The public is still not aware of Eddie's involvement

MONDAY 24 (Dear Billy)

Days without a proper meal or shower: 3

Food: the snacks from the previous day should have lasted till now

We don't know what Eddie does on this day

TUESDAY 25 (The Nina Project, The Dive)

Days without a proper meal or shower: 4

Food: SpaghettiOs from Rick's kitchen cupboard

Eddie calls the gang asking for a food drop and a six-pack' it appears to be the first time he goes into Rick's house; Rick's neighbours notice the movement inside

Jason and co. find Eddie, he escapes as Patrick is murdered by Vecna over Lover's Lake

He spends the night wet and wandering the forest, eventually landing at Skull Rock

(The Dive) Jason gives a statement to law enforcement that Eddie is a vessel for Satan and is killing people with demonic powers

WEDNESDAY 26 (The Dive, The Massacre at Hawkins Lab, Papa)

Days without a proper meal or shower: 5

Food: the supplies the gang brings him at Skull Rock

Law enforcement gives a press statement that names Eddie as a person of interest and give notice of a town meeting that day for the public to attend

Eddie steals a construction site radio and is reunited with the party at Skull Rock

At the town meeting, people ask why Eddie has only been officially named now and why he hasn't been arrested already; Jason makes his case to the town about the murders being "ritualistic sacrifices," and calls Hellfire a cult, handing out the club's yearbook photo; the parents of the gang are visibly shaken while the rest of the town stand up and begin a witch hunt

Meanwhile, Dustin hypothesises there is a gate nearby; they begin to search for it, eventually locating it in Lover's Lake

Steve dives for it but is pulled back under the water and through watergate into the Upside Down

(The Massacre at Hawkins Lab) Nancy, Robin, and a reluctant Eddie go through watergate after him

While the fruity four are in the Upside Down, the kids are with their parents and law enforcement; the two groups eventually find a way to communicate

On their respective sides of the world, the two groups travel to the Munson trailer

Sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday's early hours, Robin and Eddie go through the trailer's gate

(Papa) On her way through the gate, Vecna catches Nancy and shows her his vision of the future - it's a message; Vecna lets Nancy go, and she and Steve go through the gate

THURSDAY 27 (Papa, The Piggyback)

Days without a proper meal or shower: 6

Food: none that we see

The party is reunited and relocate to Max's trailer; they listen to Nancy's experience, then form a plan

After Eddie hotwires an RV and a trip to The War Zone, the party stops in a scenic field to create weapons and prepare

(The Piggyback) That night, their plan is launched

After, they believe they have won against Vecna, at least for now, with his 'physical' body in the Upside Down being attacked as well as his supernatural abilities/his mind; it is ambiguous if the gates have closed for good

In the fight, Hawkins is ripped apart along four lines (likely not actual geographical fault lines) that meet in the town centre, resulting in a blast felt by everyone

Max barely survives the fight; she has been blinded and her limbs broken, but El manages to save her; she is left in a coma

Eddie deviates from the plan and appears to die in Dustin's arms

"2 DAYS LATER" / SATURDAY 29

The news reports, "It's been less than 48 hours since a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the quaint town of Hawkins" and says seismologists are calling it "A natural disaster of near-unprecedented scale"

It's still reported that Hellfire is a cult led by Eddie, who remains the prime suspect in the murders but is presumed dead; a local church has a banner with the bible verse Jason quoted out front - the town of Hawkins will always hate Eddie

Dustin meets Wayne, who routinely replaces Eddie's 'missing' posters due to hate graffiti; Dustin gives him his nephew's iconic necklace and calls Eddie a hero; we, like Wayne, are to assume Eddie is dead

Eddie's body is never discussed or seen again; he was likely left in the Upside Down

Will tells Mike that Vecna is hurting but definitely alive; Will has been connected to One/Vecna since season one, and his connection is stronger now he has returned to Hawkins

Upside Down 'particles' begin to fall from the sky as dark clouds roll in, the 'earthquake' fissures are still smoking and glow red, the clouds are nearly black, and the grass and flowers wilt and rot

Vecna's red lightning appears in the sky promising he will return, but... will Eddie?

[heavencasteel420]

I was feeling a bit stuck on my main WIPs, so for fun I wrote a couple of lines/paragraphs for each of my other story ideas (the proper ones where I have a general sense of the story's shape, not the shitpost ideas like "Chrissy turns into a car?"). Here are the ones for my Cute/Normal story ideas:

Long

Nancy Wheeler Can't Win (no UD AU, Nancy-centric)

Sometimes, Nancy thought her life would be easier if she were dating Jason Carver instead. Not better, necessarily. She didn't like Jason nearly as much as Steve; he was kind of pompous and, although he technically looked way more like Tom Cruise, she couldn't imagine ever finding him as sexy as she did Steve. She couldn't help but notice, though, that Chrissy Cunningham didn't have to be one person on Saturday night and another on Monday morning.

Life During Wartime (companion to above, centers on Will and Jonathan)

"I can't believe I'll be the last one to get girlfriend," Mike lamented as he and Will biked home from school. It was a perfect September afternoon, neither too hot nor too cold, and the first leaves were turning yellow. "First Lucas and Max, then Dustin and Suzie, now you and Megan. I'm going to die a virgin."

"We could all still die virgins," Will pointed out. "I don't think Lucas and Max are doing it yet, and Megan and I definitely aren't. And we're not even sure if Suzie is real."

Horse Girl (Stoncy, summer 1985)

The thing about being an asshole, Steve thought, as he listlessly scooped butter pecan ice cream for a couple of sixty-something ladies, was that it took a long time to catch up with you. For instance: the thing he'd spray-painted on the theater marquee about Nancy almost two years ago. Sitting on the hood of his car outside the 7-11, he'd resigned himself to her shunning him forever. He'd even gone to apologize to Jonathan first so he could put off seeing the cold disgust on her face. Then, one month later, she'd taken him back, accepting his apology as a matter of course. Maybe that should've been his first clue that something was wrong.

It's All a State of Mind (AU where Hopper-Byers siblings are psychic carnies/confidence artists in the 1930s)

"Heather likes you," El pointed out a few days later, after they'd settled in. They were in the dining tent, digging into some beef stew. "You could get close to her."

"Keep eating and forget what Murray said," Jonathan told her, although he couldn't summon any harshness to back it up. This was the best meal that he or the kids had eaten in months. "Heather puts up with me. She doesn't want to get close to anyone, either."

Heather Holloway was an aerialist, a pert dark-haired girl who'd joined the circus to get away from a home in some ways worse than the one that Lonnie had provided him and Will. She was friendly to Jonathan, but that was probably because he'd shown no interest in getting inside her drawers.

"So you admit it," Will said smugly. "We wouldn't mind if you got married, you know. So long as we liked her.

From the High to the Low to the End of the Show (S1 AU where the teens are in their late twenties)

"Doesn't it piss you off?" Fred asked her. "That he can just waltz in and get a job because he's 'so talented,' when the rest of us had to work hard and do it the right way?" "Eyes on your own paper, Fred," Nancy said, in a chipper tone that she knew would annoy him. She agreed with him, to a point; she never would have been hired at the Hawkins Post if she'd gone to night school instead of IU. At the same time, she'd heard the other guys say that she'd only gotten the job out of pity. Fred wasn't one of them, but she was running on three hours of sleep an half a bagel, so she didn't feel like being nice. "Why would Holloway care about college? Byers has something he wants and he's willing to pay for it."

Medium

Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day (pre-S4 Jancy breakup, probably no Vecna, eventual Jargyle)

"I'm sure you'll work it out," Mom says. She smiles at him anxiously, and he knows what he should do. He should mumble agreement, accept this bit of comfort. Pay her back with white lies of his own: that the distance isn't really a problem, that she didn't kind of screw him over by moving them all across the country. That there's no reason to worry about him, because he's going to figure things out with Nancy and somehow make Emerson happen. "Yeah?" he asks instead. "What if I don't? What if this is it?" It doesn't come out as a plea for reassurance, either. That would be humiliating, maybe even futile, but at least everyone would understand what he was doing. Instead, it comes out as a challenge.

Let the Broken Hearts Stand (companion to above, Nancy's first year at college, eventual Nancy/Carol)

"Look, I was friends with Steve for, like, ten years before he ditched me and Tommy," Carol says, taking a drag off her cigarette, "but he was definitely the bigger asshole in your relationship." Nancy laughs, startled. Carol grins uncertainly, then offers her the cigarette. She accepts. "Like, whatever, you're a totally embarrassing drunk, and you didn't have the balls to dump him until you were sure you had Byers eating out of your pussy, but--" "Jesus Christ, Carol," Nancy said, turning bright red, but Carol waved her off. "Fine. Va-gi-na. Lady garden. Cavern of feminine wonders. Whatever Emily Post says to call it." Carol cackled as Nancy struggled to look disapproving. "My point is, he was also a fucking prick."

How Will You Make It on Your Own? (Stonathan no UD college AU, the context is Jonathan and Samantha have broken up):

Because all the theater freaks were shunning him, Jonathan sat with Barb and Nancy at lunch. "You'll get back together," Barb said glumly. It was unclear whether she was trying to reassure him but was too stressed out about Mathletes to manage a cheerful tone, or if she was predicting an outcome she disapproved of. "You'll ignore her, she'll call and sort of say sorry, and, because she apologized first, you'll fall all over yourself saying that it's all your fault, and that she's right that you should both move to New York City and live in a condemned building and wear garbage bags instead of clothes." Well. That answered his question. "I don't think that's going to happen," he said, contemplating the peanut butter cracker he'd spent the last half hour eating. "It feels different this time."

Oh, I'm Bound to Go (companion to Drive All Night)

Will wasn't sure who figured it out first, him or Mom. When the money first started coming in--so much money, enough for Mom's medicine and Will's new shoes and more food than he could ever remember having--he asked why they couldn't just live with Jonathan in the city. Surely Indianapolis had enough piecework and odd jobs for the two of them. "He's living in a boarding house, sweetheart," she said, keeping her eyes on the chicken she was cleaning instead of his face. "There's no room for us." Maybe she'd known it was a lie all along. But Will understood Jonathan better than anyone, knew how his lies looked and sounded. On paper, he couldn't hear the too-bright home or watch him disappear behind his eyes, but the wrongness came through all the same.

Short

I Know It Breaks Your Heart (Tommy-centric, mostly future fic)

Tommy didn't need anyone to think that he was smart except for Carol, who understood without explanation that he didn't have to act like a nerd or a circus freak to prove that he was clever. It just felt shitty, sometimes, that Steve clearly thought of him as a dumbass. Steve, who had no bullshit meter and maintained a B-minus average with more effort than he liked to admit. It was annoying, but, more than that, it struck Tommy as greedy. Steve was taller, more handsome, more impressive on the court and field. He put people at ease. He could've let Tommy have something.

Raised on Promises (El's life in California, gen)

No matter what Joyce says, and no matter how nice Will and Jonathan are about it, El still feels embarrassed by the toys. Jonathan doesn't play with anything, except sometimes for the hacky sack Argyle gave him; he just listens to tapes and smokes. And maybe that's because he's almost grown up, but Will is her age and he gave away all his D&D stuff to Erica before they moved. He does art now, which isn't playing. Grown-ups do art, too, sometimes even as a job. The girls at school don't play with toys, either. They have fun like she and Max did last summer: dressing up and messing around with makeup and hanging out at the mall. Only the girls here aren't as nice, and Max isn't here to show her how to act her age. So she finds herself building little towns out of blocks and shuffling around a bunch of plastic dolls.

The P is for Perfection (and You Know That We Are Freaks) (Joyce doesn't move the family to California and El becomes a cheerleader)

"I heard she was raised in a cult," Amanda whispered to Chrissy, as the freshman girls lined up. "Chief Hopper knocked up some hippie and only found out when she died a couple years ago. And then he left her with Joyce Byers when he died. Not really an improvement, if you ask me." "Shush," Chrissy said. She was already getting a headache and the yelling hadn't even started. "You don't want the other girls to hear." Amanda muttered that it was common knowledge, but Chrissy tuned her out and studied Jane Hopper. She was on the tall side, with a lean and strong-looking frame. No flyer, but she could be a backspot or a base. She had curly brown hair pulled back in a scrunchy and a pretty, guileless face. She was dressed okay, in a baggy light purple sweatshirt and white leggings, but there was an air of offness about her.

[hot-hellboy]

My Nightingale - A Jasico Fanfic (Part 1)

Summary:

Sharing a cabin with Jason didn’t seem like a good idea to Nico. Especially when he starts catching feelings and Jason feels the same. Both boys end up learning to move on, Jason with Piper and Nico with Percy. This ends up with embarking on a adventure full of discovery, communication, and romance. (Not necessarily in that order.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hazel, it’s fine, really. I can just crash in the break room or-“

  “No, you need some place proper to sleep.”

She protested. Nico had recently been rescued from Rome, Percy and Annabeth had fell into Tartarus, and now he was stuck on board the Argo II with the other demigods debating where he should sleep.

  “I don’t want to sleep in Percy or Annabeth’s rooms, okay?”

  Nico said, shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The situation was kind of uncomfortable knowing that all the other teenagers aboard the ship were standing around on deck listening to the conversation.

  “He can bunk with me if he wants.”

  An unfamiliar voice said. Nico turned around to see a tall boy with neatly cropped blond hair, a tight Camp Jupiter shirt with jeans, and a well muscled body. He recognized him as Jason, the former praetor.

  “No thanks.”

Nico replied flatly. He didn’t know Jason very well, and as much as he didn’t want to sleep in his room, he also didn’t want to sleep in the bed that belonged to his crush, especially knowing how juvenile hormones would be riled up if he did.

  “I’m sure we can figure out a different solution.”

  Hazel tried to reason, but the tension in the air was real and Nico hated its presence. Still, he could see his sister was really trying and he knew he had to cut her some slack.

  “Fine, fine. I’ll uh, meet you at your cabin this evening I guess.”

  Nico answered awkwardly. Unfortunately, evening wasn’t that far away as he watched the baking sun slowly turn the sky from blue to a brilliant red.  The demigods agreed it would be best if they started dinner soon and Hazel politely invited him to join if he liked.

“No thank you.”

  He had told her as he watched the rest of the crew members make their way down to the dining hall. Nico sighed once they all left, finally finding some peace in the solitude above decks as he leaned his elbows on the railing.  He watched as the waves gently lapped at the hull of the ship, and the more he stared at the water, the more he thought of Percy.  That’s when Nico’s thoughts started to wander as his eyes stayed entranced on the dark waves, and he felt saddened the longer he watched the ocean.  Nico realized that the main cause of his despair was the fact that he thought about Percy far more than the older boy ever and would ever think about him.  He shook his head and got away from the water, knowing there was no point in adding to his misery. So, Nico decided exploring the downstairs part of the vessel.

   It was dark, but he could hear the laughter and jokes being shared from the dining room as everyone shared a meal together. Nico paid no mind to them once his pace quickened as he walked faster down the twisting corridors beneath the Argo.  After a while, the chatter grew distant and he was once again left to his own thoughts as he passed by the doors on either side of the long hallways.  Even in the quiet, his footsteps were loud on the creaking floorboards and he couldn’t help but feel jumpy and on edge.

  Though it was probably a good thing that he was so wary once he yelped in surprise after running head first into a hard chest that he realized belonged to Jason.   He looked up into his blue eyes and his shocked expression turned back into a scowl.

  “You’re in my way.”

   He glared, but Jason ignored his cold gaze.

  “Actually, you should be the one looking where you’re going, because this is my room.”

   Although he was irritably condescending, there was no malice in Jason’s smooth voice as he gestured for Nico to follow him inside.  The room was organized and way too neat, but Nico didn’t really care as long as Jason wasn’t suffocatingly OCD. But, knowing how Romans were, he probably was.  There was a large king sized bed with white and sky blue sheets with a fluffy comforter draped on the far end of the mattress, a dresser, a bathroom, and a couple paintings depicting clouds and storms.

  “I don’t really have a spare mattress, so if you’re okay with sharing the bed, then-“

  “Okay. Whatever.”

   Nico snapped, he didn’t want to make it weird or whatever, not that it was his intention anyway, but Jason seemed fairly laid back, or at least Nico hoped because he only wanted to stay as long as he had to.

  “Uh, feel free to use the bathroom. I’ve got a spare tooth brush and everything, so...Yeah. And you can borrow some of my clothes, though they might be a little big on you.”

  Jason chuckled at the last part. “A little big” was a rude understatement. Jason was at least two heads taller than him, three times his size and was all muscle and refined beauty that sort of pissed Nico off in the oddest way. Is anyone supposed to look that perfect?  He wondered to himself.

  “Thank you, but I can pass on the clothing. I’ve got a couple outfits and stuff.”

   That was a flat out lie. Nico had come back from Tartarus with nothing but a t-shirt and criminally ripped jeans (though they looked kind of cool in his opinion) and a sweatshirt that Hazel bought him. But there was no way Nico was going to be walking around in a big ass shirt that probably covered his knees.

  “Nah, man, it’s all good. I’m serious.”

  Jason flashed him a perfect smile and Nico quickly looked away.

  “So, uhm...You can get settled, I’m gonna go take a shower. I’ll be right back.”

  Nico swallowed the lump in his throat.

  “Okay.”

  He said and Jason walked over and shut the door to the bathroom behind him. Nico looked around the room some more before deciding to sit down on the bed and wait for Jason to get out so that he could have a turn in the shower.   For good or bad, Jason came back sooner than expected with nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. Nico’s jaw must have been dropped because took one look at the sculpted abs and muscles on display before dropping his gaze to the ground.

  It was safe to say Nico wished his eyes would officially just roll out of their sockets.

  “You’re turn, dude.”

  Jason said as he tossed him a clean pair of clothes, and Nico couldn’t help but note that they were really soft and smelled like a storm blowing out to sea. He got up with lightning speed and a jerky nod before rushing to the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.   Nico showered quickly, even though he didn’t know why he was being so hasty. Nevertheless, he got dressed and looked into the mirror right after turning the water off.   Like he predicted, the pajamas barely clung to his skinny frame and one side of the shirt was slipping off of his shoulder. Nico had to continuously hike up the loose red flannel pants that threatened to slip off his hips at a moments notice.      Nico brushed his teeth and combed through his hair before acknowledging how much he was scrutinizing over his appearance, something he never really did except when he knew he was going to be seeing Percy that day or night.

 Shoving that thought out of his brain, Nico flicked off the bathroom light and returned back to the bedroom where Jason was lounging on the bed while reading a book on birds.   Odd choice of literature, Nico privately thought to himself but gingerly climbed onto the high bed next to Jason.

  “Hi.”

  Jason said, closing his book.

  “Hey.”

  Nico fumbled with his borrowed shirt and refused to lay back and get comfortable on the large mound of pillows.

  “Birds?”

 He pointed at the book. Now that he could see the cover, it simply read, “The Avian Encyclopedia” with little pictures of colorful birds all over it.

 “Uh, yeah, I’ve always liked them.”

 Jason said sheepishly, his fingertips lightly brushing over the well used hard cover of the book.

 “Birds are...Cool.”

 Nico suddenly remembered why he never attempted to make small talk let alone have a conversation with anybody. He just wasn’t good at it without sounding bored or like he had somewhere else he needed to be. Jason didn’t seem to mind, which was a big relief to him.

 “Do you want to go to sleep now or keep talking?”

  The boy beside him asked. Nico shrugged but felt his heart speed up as Jason lifted up the covers and offered for him to get under them.

  Don’t make it weird, Nico said to himself and got under the sheets as well.

 “I guess we can go to sleep, then. Goodnight, Nico.”

  “Night.”

The

   End.

[ajgrey9647]

Quad Life + 💧 What is the earliest memory Drakkon can recall? Does he know what his first words were or remember where he took his first steps? Does he have any mementos of childhood he's kept such as a stuffed toy or tiny baby clothes?

Up Close and Personal - Drakkon's Kitchen

A few follow up reader questions for Drakkon...

AJ: Welcome back, everyone! Good to be here! I’m delighted that I’ve had several additional questions for the Quad Life crew following our chat yesterday. Fun, fun! Instead of herding them back onstage, I’ve been invited to join them at home for a proper one-on-one sit-down as an official guest instead of a creepy, unseen stalker. This format is still new, but dare I say, fun… So, follow along and let’s see what the boys are up today and ask those burning questions!

(AJ taps on the front door of the lake house and is promptly greeted by Prime Tommy. He smiles, gives a friendly squeeze, and moves aside, inviting the scribe to enter their private habitat. Jason is lounging on the couch and gives a wave, grinning.)

AJ: Hey, guys! Thanks for the invitation to come give you a proper visit. This feels a little weird, but in a good way! It will be nice to relax and hang out instead of scrutinizing your every move.

Jason: (chuckles) No problem! It’s good to have a face to put with that strange, invisible presence following us around.

Tommy: We appreciate you being so respectful of us ‘fictional’ characters and letting us be ourselves without a lot of interference or taking over. I think we all like having you as our author and getting to work with you in telling our stories.

AJ: (blushes) Aww… thanks. You guys are a hoot to work with too. It’s nice that you are taking extra time out of your day to answer a few more reader questions. I know we’ve had a busy schedule lately with capturing other prompt/asks and working through a few other storylines. It looks like there’s a few questions for Drakkon, a few for Red, and then a couple for you as a group. Sound alright?

(Both nod easily and Jason points over to the kitchen.)

Jason: Drakkon’s in there, preparing on of his five-star restaurant style meals if you want to start with him. And we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for gifting him such an amazing talent even though he’s a huge dick…

(Tommy merely rolls his eyes as a voice calls out from the kitchen.)

Drakkon: And I pair so well with your smart mouth, duckling. Now, send the little girl in here so we can get started. I believe she and I are working on a prompt later, correct?

AJ: (sighs) That’s the plan… Same one as last night. I was too tired and couldn’t ‘hear’ you very well at the time.

(AJ strolls into kitchen with her notebook and pen. Tommy settles next to Jason on the couch, just in case the asshole decides to get ‘fresh’.)

(In the kitchen, Drakkon is flitting from counter to counter to appliance and back again, humming lightly to himself. A full, brightly colored Pioneer Woman apron is tied around his large upper body. His expression is relaxed and calm and he almost appears happy, despite his usual cranky attitude. An assortment of pots, pans, and dishes are in various stages of preparedness and the room is filled with a mouth-watering aroma.)

AJ: (settles into a chair at the kitchen table, far out of the way as she, like Jason, is NOT gifted in the kitchen) Well, you look like you’re in a cheery mood today… What are you working on over there?

Drakkon: (continues adding a pinch of this and a dash of that to a dark green mixing bowl) I wouldn’t say ‘cheery’ but I’m not feeling chronically pissed off as I often do. As for what I’m preparing, I’m planning to make a soy-glazed roast lamb with I serve in lettuce leaves along with snow peas, carrots, rice, and spring onion.

AJ: (blinks a few times, jealous) Wow, that sounds… fancy.

Drakkon: As you well know, my darling cannot tolerate anything too rich or indulgent. He’ll try as a means to humor me, but it all comes right back up, the poor thing. Red is used to a different way of eating and I’m trying to balance both palates in our little family.

AJ: Of course. I do have a few reader questions if you feel up to answering. One touches on a tender subject, so I don’t want to get you riled up.

(Drakkon rinses his hands in soapy water under the faucet, silent a moment. He has a feeling he knows what the question might pertain to. Slowly, he dries his wet hands and sighs.)

AJ: You don’t have to answer of course. You of all people know I can’t make you do anything.

Drakkon: (sighs again as he sets a pan on the stovetop) Let’s hear it. I’ll decide then.

AJ: Fair enough. Alright, Drakkon… What is the earliest memory you can recall? Do you know your first words or where you took your first steps? Do you have any mementoes of childhood that you’ve kept such as stuffed toys or tiny baby clothes?

(AJ braces for a negative reaction. Instead of exploding, Drakkon laughs.)

Drakkon: I remember sliding out of my mother’s blown out snatch…

Tommy: (yells from the living room) Watch it, asshole!

AJ: (unbothered) Bullshit, my guy. Interesting that you’re deflecting again with wild, crass comments… We don’t have to open this can of worms, as I mentioned earlier.

(Drakkon huffs, but he averts his face. Not before his cheeks turn a deep scarlet.)

Drakkon: Sorry. Firing off a rude, uncouth response to those type of questions is a knee-jerk reaction. You’re right. My past… my childhood is a rather sensitive subject. But I know that I need to address those old wounds, the scars I carry that I had always dismissed as insignificant and infantile. Clearly from how I turned out, those things had a lasting impact.

(After a moment, he too pulls up a chair at the table across from AJ.)

AJ: You know I won’t judge you. I already know and have written some of it, with your permission and assistance, of course.

Drakkon: (steeples his hands in front of his face) My earliest memory is from when I was a toddler. A lot of the particulars are hazy, but I must have been with one of my foster families. It was nighttime and everyone was getting ready for bed. I had a childish fear of the dark and being alone, especially in this strange place with people I didn’t know.

(He pauses, chewing on his inner cheek, seeing the memory replaying before his eyes.)

Drakkon: I gravitated toward the woman naturally as a lot of children just know to do. I remember I was wearing striped footed pajamas. As a ward of the state, I didn’t have anything of my own, certainly no lovey or blanket. So, I was starved for comfort.

(His hazel eyes redden.)

Drakkon: I was crying, and I ran to that woman, tried to crawl into her lap for a hug, a snuggle. I called her ‘ma-ma.’ And that fucking cunt shoved me off onto the floor, leaned over, and smacked me across the face. ‘I’m not your ma-ma!’ she snapped. ‘You don’t have a mommy! She didn’t want you! Get out of my face!’

(AJ seethes inside, watching this bitch, wishing there was a way to have a word with her or otherwise edit out this scene. Obviously, it can’t be done.)

Drakkon: I’m going to guess my first word might have been ‘ma-ma’. Maybe I was looking for her? I don’t know. All I was ever told was that she gave me away, didn’t want me, didn’t even hold me after I was born. Much of my early childhood is a blur from bouncing place to place with new faces coming one after the other that I never learned most of their names. When I was punted out to the next home, I always had to leave whatever items I was given behind because they weren’t really ‘mine.’ So no baby clothes, no baby pictures or keepsakes. Besides one thing… and I lost it when the Coinless Universe imploded.

(He smiles slightly and pushes off from the table to check the oven’s temperature.)

Drakkon: One of the foster families gave me a small plush dog. He was black and brown and the perfect amount of floppiness. Not too big, not too small. Just the right size for chubby child hands. I was allowed to take it with me, nothing else. I had him for years… even when I was adopted by the Olivers, when we moved to Angel Grove, when I became the Green Ranger, and when I assumed my new title and reign.

(He sets to preparing the glaze for the frying pan and drags a sharp knife through the surface of the lamb, readying it for when the mixture is ready.)

Drakkon: It seems obvious looking back that it was the inspiration behind Red’s inception. I wanted a faithful canine companion, so I made one. When my darling and I were chased from the palace that night, he managed to grab it from beneath my pillow in all the chaos. He gave it to me later when we settled in the forest.

(He grows quiet again and braces his weight on his arms, hands gripping the countertop.)

Drakkon: I’d never before felt the emotion I experienced when Red put my lovey in my hand and kissed my forehead. No one had ever done anything that touched me that way. I didn’t believe myself capable of feeling something like that. I wasn’t sure how and I definitely wasn’t comfortable with them.

AJ: (sniffs) I didn’t know that part just yet. Wow…

Drakkon: Yes…wow.. Perhaps he and I were already starting to experience change before that wretched arch came to be. Who knows? Well, you might…

AJ: Not right now I don’t. We’re still working on those scenes, remember?

Drakkon: (wipes his eyes) You said you had more questions. I hope the rest aren’t this strenuous.

AJ: Yeah, I’ve got another one that’s just for you. I appreciate you answering honestly and being vulnerable with us. This question is nothing like that one. Regarding plastic surgery… How do you feel about them? Is this something you have done or would do? Do you mind if other people do?

(This makes Drakkon burst out laughing.)

Drakkon: That is random… (starts stirring his glaze in the frying pan) Hmm… well, sometimes one might need an appendage stitched back on or otherwise get sewn up after battle. I’ve never required such care, of course, but I’m me. I suppose in order to stay alive, one would do what is necessary though if you fucked up that bad, you’re screwed as a warrior most of the time unless it’s something of epic proportions and you do your enemy one worse. If you just sucked, it might be better to roll over and die because no one will fear or respect you.

(He plops the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan, brushing some of the glaze on its surface.)

Drakkon: If we’re just talking cosmetic shit, like bigger tits or ass or lips or recapturing your youth… That’s a no-go for me.

AJ: (surprised) Totally did not expect that response, dude…

Drakkon: (sniffs haughtily) Proper hair care is not the same. When I began my rule, I was a teenager, remember? Out of uniform, I might have looked as deadly as a Cabbage Patch Kid. No one took me seriously until I got violent. I really had to get my hands bloody to make my point, especially with warlords who had never crossed paths with me before. As I got older, all it took was one look and we were crystal clear with one another.

(Drakkon returns to the table with a small spoon of the glaze and offers it to AJ for tasting. Knowing he can’t do jack shit, she accepts and of course its awesome… Fucking dick, it’s unfair…)

Drakkon: Also consider, my dear, that when you undergo such procedures you are unconscious, medically restrained, and at someone else’s mercy. That’s stupid when you’re someone in my unique position. Not going to happen…

AJ: True… but what about for someone who isn’t on everyone’s shit list?

Drakkon: To each their own, however, if some dumbass crosses me and mine, I’m not above digging into any insecurities or flaws I can find, and I WILL use that information against them if I know they had something done. I’m an asshole, remember? I hit below the belt literally and figuratively.

(AJ flips her notebook shut with a weary groan.)

AJ: I’m well aware. The other questions are for Red and then you guys as a group. I’ll touch base later about our scene in progress….

(Drakkon grins like a smug cat.)

Drakkon: Of course, I look forward to it, illustrious fanfic author. If Red’s up next, you’ll find him outside digging in the dirt with his flowers. Ta ta!

[slasherhaven]

If you have time and if it hasn't been done before, maybe slashers with a blind s/o? :O

The Slashers with a Blind S/O:

Thomas Hewitt

Main form of communication is touch. It’s certainly difficult at first, since Tommy isn’t much of a talker and you can’t see his nonverbal gestures, and he wouldn’t even think about touching you and making you uncomfortable. It had been your idea, holding out your hands and telling him to touch them in certain ways to communicate. Eventually it just started to become natural for you both, learning how to understand each other. He swears that you can just sense when he’s in a bad mood, he doesn’t even need to let you know. You both work well together.

Letting you touch his face for the first time. He has to admit that you being blind has helped him relax a little, he’s been able to remove his mask while he’s with you since you couldn’t see the scarring that he was so insecure about. You obviously didn’t care about what he looked like and had never even asked, but you had felt the mask and asked about that. Eventually he decided that you were going to end up feeling the scars one way or another, so why not now? He was nearly tearing up as you gently touched the scarring on his face, getting used to the feeling and trying to figure out what could have caused it. He relaxed when you smiled, leaning in to give him a light kiss.

Very protective and worries about you. Oh God this house is not exactly safe for your average person, never mind somebody who can’t see the ever changing hazards. He knows you’re not incapable, and he would never claim you were, but he worries so much about you tripping or cutting yourself on a new obstacle. Whenever he’s around, he’s always watching you like a hawk, and is by your side as much as he can be.

Michael Myers

Takes the mask off a lot earlier than he normally might. The mask isn’t just to hide his identity, everyone knows who he is, it’s more of a safety thing for him (even if he won’t admit that). So it’s still on quite a lot of the time, and you had questioned him about why he was wearing a mask when you were the only one in the house and you couldn’t see his face anyway. He didn’t answer. But without the added pressure of revealing his face to you, the mask comes off more than it might if you could see him.

Eventually starts to ‘announce’ himself. This man has snuck up on you more times than you can count, something purposely but most of the time by accident. For such a tall man, he moves absolutely silently. When he realises that his habit keeps making you jump, he starts to make you more aware of his presence. Shutting doors a little louder, making his footsteps a little heavier so you can hear them. It’s the little things that count.

Secretly very protective. Being stoic and not caring is to be expected from Michael but he does care about you, he wouldn’t be around if he didn’t. He already sees you as needing to be protected, so your blindness only adds to that. 

Jason Voorhees 

Communication can be a little hard. You’re blind, he’s mute. You can talk and he can hear you, but he can struggle with expressing things to you. But you become an expert and being able to read him just when he’s with you, being able to feel what he’s feeling or get the general idea of what’s going on. He uses a lot of touch to communicate but he nervous about doing so at first, worried about startling you or making you uncomfortable. It all gets easier as time goes by. 

Letting you touch his face for the first time. Jason wants you to know and understand everything, and you do for the most part. You know who he is, what he’s done, and why he’s done it, and you’ve stayed through all of that. The last thing he wants to be honest with is his deformities, so you know exactly who you’re in relationship with. It’s all very sweet and tender as you smile, caressing his cheeks. You adore him the way he is and you fell him that.

Brahms Heelshire 

Honestly, impressed by you. He and his parents had been unsure when you first arrived for the job, but you seemed confident in your ability to do the job and he had taken a liking to you. So you got the job. You go about your chores just like you were supposed too, you followed the rules perfectly, and that’s good enough for Brahms.

Likes to mess with you. You have lost count of how many times you had scolded Brahms for moving things around or purposely scaring you, his little pranks given away by his own giggling. But he always apologises, wrapping his arms around your waist and whispering apologies against your neck.

Letting you touch his face for the first time. You accepted Brahms happily, but were surprised when you touched his cheek for the first time and touched cool porcelain. You had accepted him for all he was, questioning the mask but moving on quickly. Eventually he removed the mask, all because he wanted a proper kiss, and he warned you about the burn scars. You just smiled, kissing both of his cheeks before kissing his lips. You didn’t care about some scars, you loved him. 

Bo Sinclair

Assumes you’re incapable of nearly everything. Whether he actually believes that you’re incapable or just says that to bother you, you’re not sure. Either way, you prove him wrong every day, he’s almost impressed. Almost. And he’s jokingly tell you that, but will never admit that he was wrong.

Likes to scare you. He will sometimes try to sneak up on you and surprise you, just getting a sadist enjoyment from watching you yelp and jump in shock. Other times he’s not as quiet as he thinks he is, always muttering to himself when you don’t get surprised, just telling him to try harder next time.

Is more able to be vulnerable around you? He feels like he can let his mask fall every now and again because he thinks you might not notice because you can’t see it. He often found himself looking at you, just fondly watching you without you catching him. He’ll never admit that to anyone though, not even to himself.

Vincent Sinclair 

Frets about you. Ambrose is a dangerous place and Vincent is so worried about you accidently getting hurt. He cleans up his workroom more than ever, making sure there are no sharp objects lefts out, nothing on the floor for you to trip other. It seems like he’s coddling you a bit but it’s just to ease his concerns and give him peace of mind, so just let him tidy up even if you’re not going to die just because he left some tools out on a table. He’ll slowly realise that and relax, don’t worry.

You can still admire his art. His heart skips a beat when you examine a small figurine he made, complimenting him for the intricate work and telling him how impressive it was. He focuses on creating more of those intricate figures so that you can enjoy his art.

He doesn’t worry about his mask so much. The two of you can actually eat your meals together because he doesn’t have the worry about revealing his face. You can always be by his side, even when the mask is off or needs some repairing. It just takes away some of his insecurity while you’re spending time together.

Letting you touch his face for the first time. He was so nervous to let you know exactly what his face looked like. You already knew that he had scarring and you knew why, you just hadn’t felt it before. But you caress and kiss his cheek, just to assure him that it doesn’t bother you in the slightest.

Lester Sinclair

Hates the idea of you wandering around Ambrose. The town is so dangerous and he knows that Bo isn’t going to do anything to make it any safer for you. Lester just frets about you, whether you’re blind or not he worries about you being in town.

Doesn’t underestimate you. Despite all his fretting, Lester doesn’t underestimate you because of your blindness, he knows you’re perfectly capable. You have proven that many times around the house. You won’t get any babying from Lester. You might actually get him forgetting about your blindness for a moment...but it’s okay.

Jokes that you can’t see how dirty he is. When he comes home from a hard day, covered in dirt and...roadkill? he jokes that at least you can’t see the grime. But you retort with ‘yeah but I can still smell it’, making you both laugh.

Bubba Sawyer 

Worries about you. The Sawyer household is chaotic and dangerous, with sharp objects randomly scattered around the house, and debris always moving around. Bubba is so worried about you getting hurt, he’s always following you around, watching over you and babbling his concerns.

But he’s constantly impressed. You navigate the house with ease once you get used to it. It’s like you’re aware of the chaos, always watching out for new debris and usually avoiding it. You’re surprisingly good at avoiding Nubbins and ChopTop running around, handling them both well. You fit right in at the house and Bubba loves you for it.

Billy Lenz

Gives him bad ideas. As soon as he realises his, his mind runs wild with thoughts of being elsewhere in the house without you noticing. If you could see him, maybe he could even be in the same room without you noticing if he was quiet enough! He even hints about it during his phone calls, it’s a little unsettling.

Loves to mess with you. Billy can be pretty playful and when he’s in a playful mood he often enjoys trying to scare you, but he’s not always as quiet as he thinks he is. You’ve sometimes even pretended to have been surprised by him, just to hear him laugh like that.

Asa Emory (The Collector) 

Doesn’t underestimate you too much. Asa isn’t an idiot, he knows that you’re perfectly capable of everyday things despite being blind, even if you have to do things a little differently. So, he won’t underestimate you. For the most part, he treats you no differently.

There is still no way you’re going to the hotel with him. All of that being said, and being true, he will not take you to the hotel with him. He’s already reluctant to take his s/o to the hotel and he’s even more reluctant with you because he knows you can’t even see the traps and dangers of the run down building. If he does take you, you will not be leaving his side for a second, forced to hold his arm the hold time. At least it reminds you that he does care about you.

Jesse Cromeans (Chromeskull)

Likes to guide you even if he doesn’t need too. He knows that you don’t need his assistance but he enjoys guiding you around. Maybe it’s just an excuse to have you hold his hand or his arm, or for him to keep a hand on the bottom of your back. It’s a little possessive, a little protective. He also likes when you put the trust in him to just follow his lead.

Text to speech is a must have. You’re communication relies heavily on text to speech and touch, since Jesse is mute. He becomes good at communicating to you through touch but more complex thoughts need to be spoken though his phone. He makes sure that you have a phone that has a text to speech function for when he goes on business trips, so that he can text you (since phone calls aren’t great for a two way conversation in his case).

Otis Driftwood

More protective than he likes to admit. He knows you’re not helpless but he’s protective over his s/o and he’s very protective over you. Always glancing at you, hovering around you in some way. But he gets defensive and huffy if anyone dares point it out.

Likes to keep you close when out of the house. Otis likes to keep his s/o close when outside the house anyway but he uses your blindness as an excuse to keep you close. You don’t want to get lost or trip, do you? You always roll your eyes, knowing you’re perfectly capable of going to the bar with him without his arm around your waist, but why would you tell him that?

Is ready to kill anyone who makes fun of you. The family doesn’t exactly hang around establishments filled with polite people, it’s possible that a joke or two will be made at your expense. Don’t worry, if Otis can kill them, he will. He’s gotten into a lot of arguments and fights on your behalf, even if you hadn’t been all that bothered by the initial comment.

Baby Firefly

Really doesn’t bother her that much. Some times it can be a little difficult to keep up with the family when you can’t see what’s going on but you figure it all out pretty quickly, with Baby’s assistance. She also likes to surprise you with hugs and kiss, loving when you gasp and laugh when you didn’t expect her attack of affection.

Jokingly complains that you can’t see her. When she gets all dressed up, she pouts about you not being able to see how pretty she looks but she’s just joking with you. Still, you always grin and compliment her, telling her that you don’t need to be able to see to know that she is beautiful.

Yautja (Predator) 

Let’s you do a lot of exploring. The first time you touched it, it was fair to say that you were surprised despite him having told you he wasn’t human. Plus, it only made you more curious about him. So, he lets you explore at your own pace. He understands curiosity, he’s a curious creature himself, so he lets you sate the curiosity patiently. He loves seeing the little faces you pull, intrigue and confusion on your face followed by a pleased smile as you formed an idea of his appearance.

Impressed by you. You are clearly a capable human, a brave one too, and that’s all he needs to know. He doesn’t care if you’re blind, and you certainly aren’t letting it hold you back!

Still watches over you. He’s overly protect of a human s/o anyway, it doesn’t matter who you are, it’s just in his nature. No matter what, he’s going to be watching over you, making sure no harm comes to you. 

[htfanimevocagirl02]

Timdami (fem!Damian headcanons)

-I headcanon that fem!Damian takes after Talia more; dry, arrogant, dictating, dangerous, pretty, feminine, blunt, charming, frank.....though she's also pretty scarily unhinged, manipulative, believed that killing others were the right thing at first, arrogant and sadistic. In some ways she's still like her male counterpart except she takes after Bruce's good side, holding a bit of conscience and she yearns for affection so she's not mean to the Bat team.

-Instead, she uses her favourite trick she learns over her assassin years; charming everyone with her cute dolly face to look innocent, naive, lovely, super polite, humble, angelic and fragile like a doe to decieve them into giving her their attention only and loving her only--and even get them to get her what she wants because she finds living with Bruce better. She is incredibly good at playing the damsel in distress and infuriatingly making others look bad. And one of her favourite victims to us is of course, Tim.

-But not in a bad way because she has a sort of puppy crush on him but is completely fine with it and finds his cluelessness so funny and entertaining.

-When they first met and Tim held out his hand for her to shake, Damian shook it and politely introduced herself nervously with shiny admiring eyes, asking if he was her adoptive brother and making him taken back at how lovely she is. He just kind of expected them to be good companions under the same house but she kept showing up around him and continuingly asking him questions about him/telling things about herself and gush at how cool he is like he was a role model, that was done on purpose to catch his interest and favor.

-Instead of hating and attacking him, Dami likes to make him fall for her and win his heart over by researching everything he likes and giving him things he knows he'll love to see, talk about the things he likes, taking his side in arguments, unecessarily bragging about him to everyone, being all lovely and affectionate towards him, helping him on stuff, making him proper meals with Alfred, checking to see if he's taking a rest or eating well....etc. And funnily enough, it works and Tim is all over her and they get along well.

-Tim was kind of overwhelmed by her at first but soon got to warm up to her down to earth personality quickly and began to like her a lot as his precious little sister, and soon became a great sibling duo who did everything together outside of their secret life and as vigilante partners. When Damian kept filling his head on how she admired him as a role model and he realized that he was going to be her mentor like Dick was for Jason, he gets so excited.

-He promises to be her best teacher and gets so protective of her to the point he won’t let her do dangerous missions even though she already knows everything but she lets him teach her anyway because he’s super cute when he’s like that. And she just tugs all the strings in his heart with all the appreciation and recognition he is finally given and swears to protect her from the world so he won't lose another precious person to him.

-Damian is very affection to him by hugging him whenever she meets him, getting him cool things she knows he would find super interesting or love to have, cuddling his arm while they observe something, giving him romance advice, checking if he’s having enough sleep, making him the most amazing food to refuel, telling him what he needs to hear if he needs someone to talk to, fixing his clothes for him or wiping the dirt off his cheek during missions.

-Unknown to Tim, Damian is more protective of him and scares off anyone who wants to pick on him. That goes mainly for Jason. If Jason ever gives him a look or thinks of anything and Tim isn’t looking, Jason would feel his back burning like fire and find her there crouching, standing or sitting in random spots as she watches all his movements in the dark with studying eyes that makes his blood run cold. She doesn’t say why she’s there, but he clearly knows what she wants and doesn’t dare to argue and begrudgingly standing back 10 meters away from Tim.

-So like Tim and Jason runs into each other one night and Jason is about to say something really cocky until he lowers his eyes to see her staring at him behind Tim like she’s daring him wonderingly with wide glowing eyes on what he’s going to do next and Jason immediately freezes and trails off in his sentence while Tim just stands there like ‘what? why did you suddenly go silent? what were you going to say?’ and Tim turns to look at Damian who just innocently tilts her head angelically on her best behaviour 'as usual’ which she promises everyone to do.

-Damian becomes his favourite sibling and Tim dotes on her everytime. He likes to make her weapons disguised as pretty items (cosmetics, plush toys....etc) because she loves them and cleverly hides them like her sword inside her parasol which she carries around her to smack people she detests with. Literally is super excited to give her a present he made for her at every valentines, birthdays and other events.

-Tim just appreciates her out of everyone in the manor and ironically thinks of her as a saint, despite knowing her true face which he likes anyway because she's down to earth than tight after she curiously learnt to be kinder. Like when Tim is in trouble, she'll just as be there for him with every power she has as well and comfort him soothingly when he has nightmares especially, and he'll just be huddling against her as she pats him. Because she has more time than everyone else, Tim goes to her the most to the point that he doesn't even need to ask her when he just wants someone to be with him.

-When Damian is in trouble, Tim won't unfortunately have time for a chat but he will be there for her and will do anything for her if he can which she'd understand, though she won't want to bother him so she rarely ever go to him to talk about her problems or feelings. Damian has this scary sense she always knows he's kind of off when she sees him and reach out to him. And when they both have free time, they go out to see the movies, watch funny videos, make their favourite snacks and just about do everything together to just relax.

-They're just together all the times that Dick even sometimes feels left out and jealous that he butts in between them to join in the fun as well, Jason is all 'pfft whatever' but lowkey is scared of the two now they can team up to kick his butt and everyone is just more relaxed with less headaches because the two can get along than fight like cats and dogs every minute, everyday.

-Before Tim realizes he loves her, he feels bothered and posessive whenever Dami says she's going out on a date with boy since she's literally the queen bee of the school and has lines of admirers chasing after her with heart eyes, which she only agrees to go out with them to play with boy's feelings after Talia teaches her about mean and get them to buy her things. He literally researches on the boy she's dating and does terrible things to them like trolling or hacking them.

-He also hates it when they are needing to go undercover and Dami has to dress up nicely or have to flirt with anyone so he avoids getting her into those sort of missions, that he would do the job if he had to. And when he does, he gets a bit hurt and jealous or even a bit self conscious that Damian might not like someone like him romantically but when she returns his feelings truthfully, he's the most happiest bird boi out there.

[dontbesoweirdkira]

Heyz how u doing?

Could you write Jason Todd with reader who forget to take care of his own health? Like forget to drink water, eat something or even sleep somethimes, usually just passing out in random places. How would he react or something like that.

(If you don't wanna, fell free to ignore)

Also, when I was writing this, my cat was beating the sh*t out of my dog

A/N: YES OF COURSE I ACTUALLY WAS WRITING SOMETHING LIKE THIS A YEAR OR SO AGO BUT I NEVER FINISHED BUTA FELLOW JASON ENTHUSIAST…. 🥰I’ll write🥰GET YOUR CAT LMFAO DAMN😭😭😭

(Side note/Trigger warning: Please please remember to eat!!! I love all of you and I want all of you to be healthy and happy. Please talk to me or a trusted person if you are dealing with anything like this. I’ve dealt with eating disorders and subjects talked about below. Please seek professional attention if needed)

-He is the wOrSt person to be helping you out with this because honestly he has the same habits and hasn’t quite figured out how to rid them.

-BuT you are his little sunshine that must be protected so he will do his best !

-*immediately searches up a wiki how*

-I SWEAR HIS WHOLE ENTIRE SEARCH ENGINE IS JUST “girlfriend doesn’t eat or drink how to cure before die”

-I’m CrYinGgggggg buT he’s a good boy and he means so well okay😭🥺 love him please.

-At first when he notices he just gives you subtle reminders. He knows that he often forgets himself because his mind is so clouded with vigilante mess. Plus he knows how busy you can get too so when he catches it he’ll just be like

-“Hey babe, did you get anything to eat today? If you haven’t please do, I can even order something if you don’t feel like cooking.”

-“take a break from the computer, love bug! You need to get a glass of water and a snack.”

-just simple things like that. He’s not too worried in the beginning because he knows how responsible you are and doesn’t want it to seem like he’s being a control freak...he loves you and respects your independence

-as it gets worse and worse and you’re passing out of no where or not even in bed when he comes home at like 4am...he starts to get a bit worried

-one time he had gone out to the store real quick, he wanted one of those nice sandwiches Gino’s always makes and when he came back you were passed out on the living room floor. It scared the living hell out of him when he couldn’t get you to wake up.

-he took you to the emergency room and you were severely dehydrated and famished. If he had gone to run more errands it could have ended very badly for you. Luckily he didn’t but..

-MOTHER-JAY mOdE aCtiVatEd

-seriously he becomes a bit obsessive over making sure you eat and get the proper hydration...he hated how it felt when he thought you were gone..he didn’t want to feel it again

-he never tries to push boundaries or anything but like I said he just wants to make sure you’re okay and healthy he really is trying his best.

-he does sit you down and have a talk with you about this subject. He just wants to know the source and make sure it’s nothing really serious going on with you. Sometimes when he didn’t eat or anything it was as a punishment to himself. He didn’t feel like he deserved basic needs like food or water.

-He wanted to make sure it wasn’t that and that you were getting the correct love and attention you deserved.

-He also makes it a habit to correct his bad vices so you don’t look at him and fall into them because he’s doing it.

-Jason starts setting different times you guys eat and drink together. He wants to do his best to support you. Even if that means eating every lunch with you.

-the first couple of weeks he puts being red hood aside to just be your boyfriend. He would go to sleep early with you. Even if you both couldn’t actually sleep he just wanted you laying down resting.

-picks you up from your station at the computer to cuddle him on the couch and have a little cap nap every now and then...or sometimes he’ll go on a walk with you to make sure you’re getting all the sun and nutrients you need.

-KISSES ALL THE TIME I SWEAR

-“Jay bird I’m trying to eat my salad”

-“yeah yeah just a few more kisses then you can eat your sALaD”

-He's going to be 100% supportive of you. Even though he doesn’t know exactly what to do or how to go about it. He is trying. If you still skip a meal or don’t sleep..Jason would NEVER beat you up about it. He does the same thing...even Dick and Bruce. You’re a human. It happens we all have our moments, as long as you’re healthy and trying as well. He loves you.

[ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole]

Claiming Ones Own

Cross posted on AO3

Masterlist

(also I've finally figured out links)

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Chapter 3 - Mealtime Woes

Her daughter spoke! She was just selective who to. Cass could work with this; this was her ball game!! Excitement filled her veins as she carefully hugged the girl. After the bathing drama she didn’t want to traumatise her too much more. Her daughter could talk and chose to speak to her!! To her of all people. If Cass hadn't claimed her as her own already this would have sealed the deal.

The girl jabbed Cass breaking the hug up. She was still pouting but now also looking disgruntled. The hug, and touch, not having the same effect on her as it did Cass. The murmur of “Chocolate” came out her mouth again, still almost silent that you had to be keen to notice. Luckily this was Cass and with all her past, the subtleties would always be noticed. Her daughter would always been seen/heard and listened to in Cass’s world.

Cass nodded to the girl. She did say she could have chocolate for being good. “Chocolate yes, food too” signing along. She hoped that the signing would allow the girl an alternative way to communicate and pick it up. Maybe sign lessons would need to be added to her mental list.

1) bathe daughter

2) dress cuts and bruises

3) feed daughter

4) name daughter

5) put daughter to bed

6) get clothes for daughter

7) investigate daughters' markings

8) investigate sign language lessons (which language to be decided)

Cass held her hand out for her daughter to choose to take. The hand was critically looked at by the girl before giving Cass a sceptical look, but the girl eventually took the pre offered hand. Cass hummed in contentment; her daughter trusted her, well sort of, the trust was growing at least. She was trusted more than those who had or found her. A warm happy feeling flowed through her body.

Leading her to the kitchen Cass went about finding the girl some chocolate. Her daughter kept a sharp eye on Cass’s movements as she went about finding the promised chocolate. The girl's eyes growing wide and filled with emotion as she saw Cass (and Jason’s) chocolate stash and bar being given to her before she slotted a hesitant mask back into place. Again, the girl cautiously inspected the chocolate before devouring it quickly as if it would be taken from her. Cass slightly frowned, what had her poor baby gone through. She would protect her with everything she could now she was in her care.

Cass’s thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. Her daughter jumped at the noise, eyes blown and scanning the area for threats and escape routes. Not long after came the noise of Jason swearing under his breath as he crashed out of his room to go take the food setting her daughter on edge more. Cass internally chuckled quietly to herself at her brothers loud blustering behaviour which contrasted completely with how stealthily he could really be but was concerned about how the loud noise set her daughter on edge. The girl had winced at the loud noise like it pained her.

Guiding the girl to the table, Jason came back into the room food in his hands. Dim sum, dumplings, noodles, veg and a soup were quickly decanted onto the table. Jason instantly poured a third of the soup into a smaller bowl and placed it in front of her daughter, evidently having decided that was best for her daughter, before loading his plate up with a bit of everything from the selection. Cass grinned at her found family as she brought drinks to the table and started to join Jason in grabbing food.

“So, what happened in the bathroom?! It’s the remains of a warzone Cass” Jason somehow asked between the mouthfuls he was shovelling in.

Cass frowned at Jason’s table manners. It is NOT good example for her daughter. Tapping the table Cass signed to Jason ‘ Manners!!! Alfred will not approve . He would be horrified. ’ “Manners” ‘ Bath time contained more steps than originally planned and anticipated. You will clean it up as I will be settling in MY daughter’ “Bath messy. You clean.” with a glare.

“ME clean!!! YOU made the fucking mess Cass!!! And I’m a guest here, where are your manners Cass hmmmmm. What would Alfred say about that” Jason blasted back before looking at ‘Cass’s daughter’. Speaking softer than he had been a minute ago “Hey Kiddo, as Cass here has decided she is now your mum that makes me your Uncle Jay. And as Uncle Jay I’m saying ya need to eat some of the soup. It will be good for you and your stomach. It’s safe. Promise”

Cass nodded along with Jason’s sentiments to her daughter. “Safe. Eat now” ‘You can eat it. It's safe. Won’t hurt you. It tastes nice.’

The girl shook her head and pushed the soup way. “Kiddo, it’s good for you. Ya need to eat” Jason tried again. They didn’t know when she has last eaten a proper meal and she could do with gaining some weight. The glare he received back was a good one. Not quite the Demon Spawns or Bats level but it was a good glare.

“Ya claimed a stubborn kid Cass. She’ll fit in perfectly with the rest of the crazies B has claimed as his. Found out her name yet?”

Shaking her head at Jason in response to his question, Cass returned her focus to her daughter. “Eat now. Food time”, the girl’s blue eyes bore into Cass’s before turning to look at Jason's. With slow deliberation, the girl picked up the spoon while her eye contact remained flitting between the pair as she moved her spoon held hand out into the room away from the table. Ensuring she still held their attention she dropped the spoon, sitting back with her arms folded, frown upon her face. Clearly not impressed with the soup/food provided.

That was not what Cass expected and strangely cat like. Surely the girl was hungry. She needed a new tactic. Forcing her to eat wouldn’t work and she already had a battle with the bathroom she didn't need or want another one. Jason would be clearing up that mess even if it meant disappointing Alfred. Though she may escape Alfred’s wrath as he now had a great grandchild; yes, that may win her favour. A quick tilt of her head brought Cass back to task how to get her girl to eat. Chocolate worked in getting her to trust her in the alley. It also worked with getting her clean even if she wasn’t happy with it. Should she use it again for getting her to eat a meal, though she could almost feel Alfred’s chagrin if she did that already.

“OUUUUUUUUCCCCHHHHHH” “Hisssssssssssssssssssssssss”

Jason's shout brought Cass out of her thoughts. Jason was cradling his hand with a look of surprise on his face. While her daughter was now standing holding a chopstick in her hand like a weapon. Quickly figuring out Jason took action to get the girl to eat without thinking and she attacked him back, Cass could only grin with amusement. The newest Cain-Wayne was not to be underestimated. Jason should have known better given he was just as bad when he joined the Wayne clan. They all were a little feral at the start and took time to adapt (did any of them ever actually stop being feral?). Her daughter though was clearly now looking distressed and like she would flee the apartment which caused Cass to leap into action to soothe her child. Recalling how Selina sometimes soothed Cass, Cass took to stroking her stubborn but brave girls' hair and humming. Selina would love her new granddaughter Cass was sure.

“She’s another gremlin! Fuck Cass, Demon Spawn is enough, we didn’t need another one! She has claws. Fuck, I didn’t know what she did with the chop stick but it bloody hurts!”

Cass deadpanned him and pointed “Mean!” before turning to her upset girl. “You chose food?” maybe choice would help.

The girl twisted and tilted her head in silent question. “You choose” ‘Your choice on what you eat’ responded Cass. Her girl suddenly skipped up and grabbed Cass’s hand and led to the kitchen to point at the cupboard which Cass had taken the chocolate out. Cass paused. With a reply “No chocolate, Din Sum or soup now” the girls eyes narrowed and pointed again. Cass let out a big sigh and shook her head. Another stalemate already! Oh Great Alfred’s! She would beat Bruce; she could do this; She would not cave.

Jason joined them in the kitchen just as the girl decided to change tactics. Instead of glaring, she looked up to Cass with her blue eyes wide, shimmering with unshed tears, lips wobbling before whispering “Chocolate”. Cass was at a loss, when angry and put out the girl looked cute and amusing, like an angry fluffed up kitten that needed soothing. This though shot to her heart. Could she resist these puppy dog eyes?

Jason caved first. Almost within seconds of the girl switching from hostility to sadness and launched her sad eyes if Cass was honest. “Hey, hey now kiddo, no tears now. Sorry for forcing you to eat soup. It’s ok ya know. You want chocolate, right?” pausing as the girl nodded. “Chocolate on its own isn’t a meal kiddo, but we can sort something out ya got me.” Jason picked Cass's daughter up to put on the counter before bustling around the kitchen opening and closing cupboards grabbing items as he went. “Fuck, you’re light kid, a right little pixie. I’ve got an idea you’ll like. You get your chocolate, but you will have to eat the rest of it, cos if you don’t, no more chocolate in the future, ya got me!”

Big eyes widened to stare at him, fear flickered through them at the mention of no more chocolate, but again she puts her mask back on quickly. Cass went and sat next to her girl on the counter, side hugging her close. The pair watched in curiosity at what Jason was doing. Cass trusted Jason to help her feed her daughter with something suitable based on his experience, though more chocolate was definitely going to get Alfred's disapproval, meh, she’ll blame Jason, she is bringing Alfred a great grandchild after all.

“You got a name Gremlin Two?” Jason stated as he worked his magic with the ingredients he had collected. The growl he got in the return caused him to chuckle “Ok not Gremlin 2. Pixie then? You’ve caused enough chaos for Cass this evening to be one, plus you’re light enough to fly away like fae do.”

It didn’t get a growl but the shaking over the girl's head Cass knew the girl didn’t like the name. Sadly, without the growl Cass knew Jason would forever rename her that.

“Done! Now let's get back to the table, I’m starved, and my food is getting cold” Jason announced leading the trio back out to the food.

They all resettled down, Cass and “’Pixie’” looked at what Jason had created. Chocolate spread covered apples, bread sticks and rice cakes were on the plate. Small chunks of cheese and some grapes were there too. Not huge amounts but enough to ward off hunger for at least what remained of the night and not cause nausea. Probably more than enough to keep hunger gone for a long while if it was anything like his time on the streets.

“’Pixie’” picked up an apple licked at the chocolate spread. The sounds of joy escaped her as she wiggled in her seat and started wiping the chocolate off to eat more avoiding the apple.

"Remember the deal Pixie, all of it or no more chocolate"

The girl pouted but put the apple in her mouth with a mock glare at Jason. Even eating the apple caused her to hum in apparent happiness.

Cass smiled at Jason. “Thank you” before tucking into the feast they had in front of them. It might not meet Alfred’s approval, but her daughter was eating, though how to get the girl to eat without chocolate may be a challenge. At least she is eating though. That's a future problem to worry about at a later point, main thing was she was eating and clean. Not a very Batman approved approach with all his planning, but this involved a child. Children didn’t follow the plans especially semi feral ones, so a more flexible approach made sense to Cass. Cass was sure Alfred would approve.

Now that they all were eating and with Jason repeatedly calling her daughter Pixie it brought up the name issue. It was next on her mental list of things to do.

1) bathe daughter

2) dress cuts and bruises

3) feed daughter (in progress)

4) name daughter

5) put daughter to bed

6) get clothes for daughter

7) investigate daughters' markings

8) investigate sign language lessons (which language to be decided)

Pixie would not do as a name. Her daughter though not hating it did not like the name, she held the name in distaste based on some of her micro behaviour but not wanting to upset due to the chocolate promise.

Knocking on the table to get the others attention ‘Do you have a name?’ “Your name?” Cass queried looking at her girl. “Yeah, Pixie, do you have another name that you go by?” Jason joined in asking. The girl paused in her eating of her chocolate-based meal and look at the pair. She held a thinking face as if pondering the question, weighing up the responses she could provide. After a few moments she shook her head. A quick look passed between the adults at the table, understanding that behaviour it was clear she did have a name but was unwilling to share it. Whether it was due to distrust of them, or dislike of the name was unclear.

“Do ya want us to give you a new name then Pixie?” Jason tentatively probed. "'Pixie'" pointed at Cass and nodded, she did not trust Jason’s naming skills. Jason huffed and rolled his eyes, “Over to you now Cass”

Cass hummed in response. Thinking back to what the other street kids called her, “Dolly” and “Marionette”. She didn’t come across as a puppet to Cass. Though she seemed to be inclined to follow adults' lead, her daughter held a fire within her, she seemed to gauge the threat around her and chose the best course of action for her survival. That to Cass screamed someone who wasn’t a puppet.

Dolly as a name could closely linked with so many rogues in Gotham so wouldn’t do. Marionette, hmmm, Marinette maybe, Marie... Cass quite liked that, close to what she had been before with the kids so would most likely to respond but not too close to bring up trauma.

‘Do you like Marie?’ “Marie?” she asked her daughter. A sharp contemplative look was her response. She let the girl read her knowing she was searching for something, an answer to an impossible question. Both Cass and Jason observed her trying to figure out what she was looking for unsuccessfully. When she had reached her conclusion, she pointed to herself and whispered “Marie”.

Notes: according to internet search Marie can mean: wished for child, rebellion, mistress/lady of the sea, sea of bitterness/sorrow, which kinda fits I think (except for the current aversion of water)

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[justcourttee]

Can you do one where all the Wayne’s meet marinette before knowing she’s dating Damian and something happened to her parents and Bruce already has the adoption papers and damiens like no father u can’t adopt my gf

This is so cute and was so much fun to write. Hope this is something like what you had in mind :) @leagrey

Family Dinner

“I would like to apologize in advance. Father and his feral mistakes are very lively people and I fear they will take too much of a liking to you. If it is at all uncomforting, just squeeze my hand and we will leave.”

Marinette glanced over as Damian stared menacingly at the oak doors in front of them. It had only been a year since she had met him, but he had never once mentioned the idea of her meeting his family. Maybe it was because he knew today was special and he knew that meeting them was her only request of him for the longest time.

“Do you feel uncomfortable Damian? If so, please don’t put yourself in this position because of me.”

“Tt, utter nonsense. Me? Uneasy? Now you are just babbling.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth at the sight of the red threatening to overtake his cheeks.

“Well then, I guess there is no point in standing outside all day huh?”

Before her fist even made contact with the door, it flung open. Several curious faces piled in the doorframe, all trying to get a good look at her in case Damian changed his mind in an instant.

“You idiots, back up now or I’m leaving with her.”

A mutter of apologies echoed through the door as Marinette bit back the chuckle. With a great sigh, Damian motioned for her to step through the entrance, his tense body signaling that he was already ready to throw in the towel.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you all, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Her half-wave seemed to send a shock wave through the room as all eyes narrowed in on her, watching her every movement. Cautiously, she lowered her hand. A moment of silence passed and then two. Everyone seemed locked onto her, unsure of what to say and if she was being honest, she had the slightest idea as well.

“Are you all crowding her? Shameful. I thought I told you to wait in the dining room.”

It was as if the heavens had parted and uttered a command. Several bodies darted in different directions and in seconds, the hallway had been cleared save for Marinette, Damian, and an older man with graying hair and a killer smile on his face.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, we are truly honored that Master Damian has allowed you to grace us with your presence for dinner this evening. I apologize for Master Bruce’s charges. They really are all excellent kids, but rare elements such as yourself tend to erase their minds of any manners I worked so hard to instill in them.”

He shook his head in mock disappointment as he offered her his hand.

“Oh please, don’t worry about it, Mr. Alfred. I’m sure they were just as excited as I was.”

Taking his hand, she did her best to give a strong shake. His warm smile seemed so inviting, but the thought that he could clear a room with just a sentence shook her to her core.

“Please, just Alfred is fine. May I escort you to the dining room?”

Marinette nodded as she blindly reached backward for Damian’s hand to drag him along. If the butler had noticed, he made no comment as he led them.

“And here we are, I will return shortly with the first course for tonight. I do hope you enjoy the meal. I have prepared special platers for you and Master Damian to commandeer for your dietary restrictions.”

Before she even had the chance to thank him, he whisked away, leaving her to stand by Damian’s side in front of the largest dining room table she had ever seen.

“Welcome.”

Her eyes darted to the head of the table where a dashing man stood, his eyes kind and welcoming as he motioned to the two empty seats beside him. It all felt so overwhelming, too many sets of eyes for her to count were plastered on her alone. Shuffling along, she managed a small curtsey to the man before allowing Damian to help her into her seat.

A small murmur erupted from the dining room table. Had she done something wrong? Perhaps she had set herself up at the table, but Damian just got so flustered about those sorts of things, insisting he wanted to be a proper gentleman.

“I’ve heard very little about you Ms. Dupain-Cheng, but the little I have been able to wrestle out of my son has been nothing short of blessings.”

Marinette was sure her face was burning as she muttered a small thanks.

“I apologize for the huge turnout. When I mentioned to my oldest that Damian was bringing a friend home for dinner, it seems word spread fast. They all wanted to meet the person who managed to break through to him that wasn’t Jon.”

His smile appeared jokingly as he glanced over the near full table.

“But please, where are my manners? My name is Bruce and please feel comfortable to refer to me like that. The three boys across from you are my oldest Dick, Jason, Tim, and Duke.”

Dick's smile was blinding as he reached over the table to shake her hand vigorously.

“I’m so glad my little boy has made a friend and such a beautiful and well-mannered one as well!”

“Yeah, I wonder how he did that?” Jason, at least that’s what she believed his name was, stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stared down the two. Duke began to stroke his chin as well before he leaned across the table, shielding his mouth from where Damian sat.

“Hey, Marinette, blink twice if he’s threatening you or your family’s lives in any way.”

There was a small thud from under the table as Duke flinched slightly in his seat.

Bruce shook his head as he motioned past the boys and to the girls that sat on the other side of Damian.

“On this side of the table are my daughters in all but paperwork. Barbara, Cassandra, and Stephanie.”

“Uhm, you forgot one pop.”

The girl at the end of the table kicked her feet up onto the table, her mischievous smile poking at Bruce’s patience.

“How could I ever forget you, Harper? I was just saving you for last.”

Harper sent a wink in Marinette’s direction earning a giggle from the girl.

“Miss Harper, I must ask you to refrain from placing your feet on the table as I serve out the first course.”

Instantly she straightened in her seat as Alfred seemingly materialized from behind. The smile on his face as dangerous as ever. Marinette could finally see what Damian was worried about, his family was absolutely wild. Her eyes drifted from each person as they absentmindedly chatted in small groups.

Damian’s hand found hers under the table, giving her a slight reassuring squeeze.

“Marinette, I must apologize for dinner being so late. I had to work over today and even if I got out earlier than usual, I must admit it is not early enough. Please apologize to your parents for my inconsiderate job.”

Marinette swallowed hard as she sat down her fork.

“Oh, uhm, I suppose Damian didn’t tell you. I-uh-live on my own in the city.”

All of the chatter in the room fell silent and once more, she could feel the heat of every stare in the room on her.

“Oh? Are they okay with that? Gotham isn’t exactly known to be the safest at night.” His chuckle was humorless as he watched her bright eyes dull.

“I actually came to Gotham on my own merits, a fresh start if you will. My parents died last year in a bakery fire. Papa tried to find me, thinking I was home, but even as Maman begged him to leave the building, he couldn’t leave believing I was still in there.”

She felt a single hot tear trail down her cheek, but she was quick to wipe it away before any more could follow.

“I apologize, I had no idea.”

Marinette shook her head vigorously as the apologies spewed out of her mouth.

“Please, forget I said anything at all. I one hundred percent overshared. Now dinner will be so awkwardly, please, it’s been a year, I’m okay.”

The conversation started back slowly, but once it did, Marinette couldn’t stop laughing. She shared with them her business and talked about how she and Damian first met. Tim couldn’t wrap his head around the thought that Damian would have actually stopped on the street to comfort her.

“I mean, what are you? A demon tamer? Teach me your ways sensei.”

As Alfred collected the final plates for the evening, Marinette felt better than she had in a long time. When it came time to leave, Bruce offered to escort them back to the front.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, may I ask how old you are?”

“16.”

Bruce’s stare was concerning as he reached out to pick up her hand.

“How do you live in an apartment then?”

“Oh, My grandmother signed the lease. She technically lives with me, but she’s such a free spirit, I couldn’t possibly expect her to stay in one spot. I mostly live there on my own. Honestly, I’m quite jealous of the large family Damian has, he is very lucky.”

Marinette thought she had to be hallucinating. Bruce Wayne almost seemed to be vibrating the more she talked.

“You know Marinette, this manor is quite spacious. If you ever need-”

“Absolutely not.”

In one quick movement, Damian was between them, his glare ready to cut through his own father.

“But Damian-”

“Father I cannot allow you to adopt my girlfriend!”

Bruce’s jaw dropped as he finally noticed the constant contact that the two had initiated all night. At first, he thought it could be just her way of keeping herself grounded, but the more he thought back on it, it did seem quite like how a couple would act.

“Dammit, now I owe Steph $20.”

Marinette peeked behind Bruce where all of Damian’s siblings stood exchanging money, Tim looking especially upset as he handed the blonde a crisp bill. For what felt like the billionth time tonight, Marinette felt her face flush.

“You are all utter buffoons. Father, we will complete this conversation later. As for now, I will escort Marinette back to her apartment and I will be taking the car.”

Damian’s hand intertwined with hers as she allowed herself to be dragged from the manor. A chorus of goodbyes echoed after her, even Alfred waved her goodbye as he graciously shut Bruce’s mouth for him. As she climbed into the car, Marinette leaned over to place a small kiss on Damian’s cheek.

“What was that for?” The stutter in his voice was something she adored, something that only ever appeared when she caught him off guard.

“Thank you for letting me meet your family today. It turned a bad day into a good one.”

“Yeah, whatever,” the red of his cheeks betrayed his indifferent attitude as he shifted the car into drive.

As the manor disappeared in the rearview mirror, only one thought remained on her mind. Just how would the conversation go with Bruce when Damian returned?

The thought alone made her smile.

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[neonphoenix]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dick tried his best.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He never did get more than two dining chairs.

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

Author Notes:

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

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

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

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

But don’t feel pressured.

[butwhyduh]

I've just finished reading your Christmas bat boys series and I love them all 🥺🥺! I don't want to be greedy but could you write morning/boxing day breakfast scene for the boys(TM)? I'd love that! If not then that's fine too. You've already provided us with quality content 👌

💕💕

So I’m from the US and we usually don’t celebrate Boxing Day. So I’ll probably do something wrong but that’s okay. That’s how Americans do holidays anyways. But I refuse to believe Alfred Pennyworth wouldn’t celebrate for one second. So I firmly believe this was the day that most of the kids and even Bruce would indulge Alfred and do what he wanted.

When they were kids it was enough to simply put the sweets down and take a proper post Christmas shower. Jason Todd had been incredibly excited to learn about Boxing Day because he thought it was a family fight day. Uh, yeah, good food and watching some boxing was nice too, he had guessed. Not a lot was certain, but sausage rolls and some kind of sports game on Boxing Day was one of them in the Wayne’s household.

Damian

You woke up to the familiar scent of Damian. But he wasn’t within arms reach. Where was he? How did you get up in his room anyways? You sat up to see him sleeping on the floor. Poor guy. It couldn’t be comfortable, could it? You tried to climb out of bed but the soft rustle of the sheets woke Damian. He sat up quickly only to relax.

“Morning,” you said.

“Good morning. How did you sleep last night?”

“Good. You didn’t have to sleep on the floor. That looks uncomfortable,” you said feeling guilty.

“It’s alright. I’ve slept in worse places,” Damian said and you were reminded of his child soldier past. You frowned. “It’s truly fine, beloved. Let’s get down to breakfast.”

“Yeah,” you said softly. You threw on one of his sweaters and went down. Alfred was in the kitchen this morning and had a platter piled high with some sort of pastry that he was bringing to the breakfast nook. You and Damian slid into the seats and you looked at the beautiful white grounds of Wayne Manor through the large viewing window.

“Would you like coffee, tea, juice, hot cocoa,” Alfred asked you both before bringing your drink. It was nice to be the first up. Alfred brought Damian curried tofu scramble and fried mushrooms and tomatoes. (You too if you are vegan/vegetarian).

Bruce came in the room and sat across from Damian. It was almost funny to see the billionaire in sleep pajamas. A large cup of coffee was placed before him and he had a steaming plate of everything Damian ate plus sausage rolls and a protein shake. It was quiet for a few minutes.

“You slept on the floor last night,” Bruce said quietly as he read the news on a tablet. He rolled his eyes at the article “Local Reporter Clark Kent gets Pictures of Superman in action.”

“Yes. All night, father. You knew that,” Damian said with a bored hint of annoyance as he ate.

“Good. If either of you needs to speak to an adult in the matter of love or relationships, I am well acquainted with several child psychologists as well as a number of medical doctors,” He said casually. You almost choked on your food before taking a large gulp of your drink.

“Father. Not at breakfast,” Damian chided. His ears had a soft redness and he pointedly looked out the window instead of at either you or Bruce. You stared at your plate.

“I think I hear Jason awake. I’d better catch him before he leaves. Excuse me,” Bruce said before leaving.

“Sorry. He’s.... awkward. He thinks he needs to teach us about sexual education. A little late,” Damian said with a laugh.

“A little late? Oh,” you said. Damian quickly looked at you.

“Not that way. We’ve just, we learned in school. Not that I’ve- I think someone’s coming in here,” Damian said grateful for the distraction.

Dick and his fiancé walked in. He had his hand around her waist and the pair seemed glued together. They sat down at the same time with a giggle. They probably hadn’t even noticed you both there.

“Are you done?” Damian asked and you nodded. You couldn’t handle watching them.

You both went upstairs to his room again. Damian awkwardly sat on the bed.

“You know,” you started. Your face felt flush. “If you did want to talk about it, I’d be here.”

“Oh. Do you mean,” he started to ask.

“Sex. Yeah. It’s fine if you don’t. Seriously. Just saying...” you trailed off. He looked at you intensely. When Damian Wayne was thinking hard on something, his face became completely imperceivable.

“Maybe. Soon?” He said hopefully. You nodded. “Wanna watch a movie? You’ve got to go home in a few hours.”

“Yeah sounds great.”

Dick

You woke up feeling like a puzzle piece. An arm was thrown across your back and legs wrapped in yours as you laid on Dick’s chest. His heartbeat was steady in your ears. You couldn’t get much closer to him if you tried. You moved to get up because the bathroom was calling your name.

“Baby,” he groaned and wrapped his other arm tightly around you. You tried to pull out while shushing him back to sleep. There was no way you could pry yourself from his grasp unless he wanted you to with his incredible grip strength. “Stay with me,” Dick begged. “Just a little more.”

“I’ve got to use the bathroom,” you protested and he finally let you go with a big pout.

When you came back, his rough fingers pulled you by your bare thighs back in bed. His dress shirt and panties weren’t exactly the warmest clothing. You landed on him with a giggle. Dick quickly wrapped you both back in the blanket.

“Good morning, fiancé,” he said softly. His fingers traced soft circles on your back.

“Fiancée,” you said back with a smile. Dick kiss you softly. Morning breath and all. He finally pulled away.

“It’s Boxing Day. Alfred’s sausage rolls. Are you hungry,” he said finally releasing you.

“Yeah. A little. Especially after last night,” you said getting up and finding some clothing.

“I know, right,” Dick said and his face was basically this emoji 😏. You rolled you eyes and slipped on his sweater and a pair of sweatpants.

Dick couldn’t keep his hands off of you. He held your hip while walking downstairs and laced his fingers in yours as you ate breakfast. His plate was piled high with the pastry and he drank a green protein shake with it. Was there anyone else in the room with you? Maybe? Who knows? Who cares?

After breakfast you both said goodbye to his family before leaving back to Bludhaven. You and Dick stayed in bed for a good portion of the afternoon and when he went on patrol, he looked at you wistfully before leaving.

Tim

Tim could sleep through a hurricane in a canoe. He missed a lot of sleep and when he finally laid on his pillows, lights out. He didn’t move. He didn’t snore. And God hisself couldn’t wake this man before at least 5 hours had passed.

And when he woke up on the day after Christmas, he was incredibly disoriented after getting 9 hours of sleep. He vaguely felt someone laying in his chest and he looked down. Oh yeah, you. He slept so hard, he forgot he had a girlfriend for 2 minutes. He would never tell you that.

“Sunshine,” he said running his fingers on your arm. “Wake up.”

You slowly stirred to look at him. You laughed instantly. His hair stuck up everywhere. Probably a side effect of having his face between your legs last night. He looked at you confused.

“You need a shower before you do anything, Timbo,” you said with a smile.

“Back at you. Wanna join me,” he asked with a eyebrow wag.

“I think I’ll pass with all your family awake. Last night was pushing it,” you said, giving him a kiss. He leaned towards your face to continue the kiss as you pulled back. His hands held your hips but released them easily when you pulled away. He had a pout on his lips but got up to shower anyways. You both got ready before going downstairs.

Alfred slid a cup of coffee in Tim’s hand before you even made it to the breakfast nook. You poured a large one for yourself after seeing the scene. Dick and his fiancé were half an inch from making out at the table. It was too early for this madness.

Tim gave you a knowing look. He certainly wasn’t the only one getting play in his childhood room last night. You rolled your eyes.

Tim grabbed a few pastries and a protein shake. It was funny the first time you learned he drank them religiously. He didn’t look the type. Dick on the other hand... But Tim was naturally thin and couldn’t hold weight on his body to save his life. A protein shake at every meal helped replace the calories he lost through work, lack of sleep, and his insanely fast metabolism.

Tim’s phone rang. No surprise there. You were honestly surprised that Tim’s phone hadn’t rung earlier or last night. He sighed and answered it. His breakfast was probably going to be interrupted. He talked for a few minutes before hanging up.

“Sunshine,” he started.

“You’re busy, Wayne Enterprise. Have to leave soon,” you guessed. He looked regretful.

“Yeah. I’ll make it up to you tonight. I’ll call you a car when you’re ready to leave. I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Tim said. He quickly shoved food in his mouth and gulped down his coffee. “I’ve got to go.”

Jason

You woke up frozen. You were not under any blankets and tbh your tits were like icy. Your stomach was really warm tho. You looked down to see Jason’s head between your bare breasts and his body slotted between your legs. He clung on you like a monkey and gently snored. The blankets were on the floor. The activities of the night before had you flushing. Yeah that had been fun.

You ran your fingers through his hair to wake him gently. You didn’t want to jerk him awake but you were frozen. Jason slowly stirred and rubbed his face into your bare skin before groaning.

“Fuck it’s cold,” he grumbled, wrapping himself tighter around your body.

“Get up. I’m cold,” you said and he begrudgingly released you. He stood up and you realized that you both were completely naked. He grabbed some sweatpants and threw them on before throwing the blanket on you. You snuggled in the warm fabric. You were lulled back to sleep for a few more minutes.

You woke up alone. There was a note on the dresser.

Get dressed and come downstairs to the breakfast nook Princess- Jay

You grabbed one of his black sweaters and threw it on with your pants you wore the night before. You saw Bruce slide Jason the keys and he confirmed it with you afterwards. Your mind couldn’t process that.

Jason pulled you to the breakfast nook. Dick and his new fiancé were leaving and Tim was rushing out with business. His girlfriend left shortly after. Bruce, of course, had already started working on business or whatever mysterious stuff he always did.

Jason ate every single sausage roll and the rest of the vegetables that you didn’t eat. Alfred came and sat at the table with you both. Usually not what he would do but Jason always insisted. The older man nursed a cup of coffee and you all looked out the large viewing window. You couldn’t get over how huge the place was.

“Alfred, can you tell me stories about Jason when he was a kid?” You asked and Alfred smiled.

“I have many of Master Jason’s childhood. He was always a boisterous lad. Still is I suppose,” Alfred said taking a sip of his drink. Jason smiled. He had an arm thrown over your shoulder.

“When he was 14, Jason tried to climb the chandeliers in the front entry, as Master Richard had many times. Well, Jason was probably 20 lbs heavier than Richard even at that age. The chandelier came down with a resounding bang. Jason had broken a toe. This was the morning before a gala at the Manor. Master Bruce was far from pleased,” Alfred said. You laughed.

“The chandelier got reenforced and now Dick can swing on it to his heart content. I’ll leave the acrobats to him though,” Jason said with a laugh.

“I wish I could have seen it,” you laughed.

Alfred sat with you both for the better part of an hour, just telling funny stories about the boys and Bruce. Alfred stood up.

“I really do have work to do if I hope to catch the game this afternoon. I hope you both understand. But one last thing before you go, Master Jason. Bruce has been talking about leaving you the penthouse for years. He just needed a push to finally give it to you. I hope you both enjoy it,” Alfred said before leaving the room.

“Let’s, uh, let’s get going,” Jason said abruptly. He was feeling uncomfortable emotions. It wasn’t the first time and you indulged him without asking any questions before leaving.

Bruce

He had a pounding headache when he woke up. He was hung over. He had impeccable hearing and the noises from 3 of his 4 sons rooms (as Duke and Cass had patrolled after the party) had him finding a bottle of whiskey. Was Jason purposefully being loud? At least Damian’s room was quiet. Bruce couldn’t handle that. Of course that didn’t guarantee anything. But he was willing to put up with it so that his boys could be home. But yeah, sound proofing on their bedrooms was a priority. Jesus Jason, wtf?

Giving Jason the penthouse was not a plan. But Bruce was grateful because the Jason’s Christmas list had been “gun.”

Dick’s list was “a break.” Bruce got him a pair of jet skis. That would be a good distraction.

Tim had asked for “a day off.” Bruce gave him tickets for 2 to Hvar, Croatia in January for 2 full weeks in a snowy cabin.

Damian had asked for a certain set of Wakizashi swords. He got the swords.

Alfred asked for a pasta maker and Bruce bought him a ticket to Italy for a week to pick one up.

Also: 3 days after Christmas, Tim recieved a camouflage gun themed snack gift basket with the card reading “duck next time-Jay”

[depressedacadamia]

Fight Me Part 2

Summary: Nico prepares for his date but it seems someone has forgotten.

Warnings?: Nothing much. A bit of kissing. Some fluff.

A/N: FJLKJLHGK, I completely forgot that i wrote this and that i was gonna write a part 2. Anyway, my exams are next week and i haven't revised so wish me luck. Little tribute for @thebigqueer and their old blog description of ‘people make fun of me because I’m short but I can reach their knees’ because lateron, Nico embodies that. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! <3 from me!

Read Part 1 on tumblr       Read parts 1 and 2 on A03

It was 7:30

Will was late.

“Hello?” Nico turned around. “Anybody here?”

The sun was going to set in around an hour and half and somehow, the sky was already getting darker. Nico could feel the sun's rays getting weaker and the warmth slowly draining away.

He had a small bag clutched in his hand with a collection of his favourite mythomagic cards and a couple of sandwiches and some bottles of juice. It certainly wasn’t a banquet but at least it was something and Nico had assumed that Will would have had a tiring day after working in the infirmary during a day of capture the flag ( The Ares kids were always involved).

He lifted his wristwatch to his line of view to glance at the time, noticing that the time was moving annoyingly fast. If it continued like this, it would be sunset and Nico would have officially been stood up. He could feel his chest prickling in anxiety from the idea- that all along it was a sick joke, made only so everyone could make fun of him.

“Hello? Anybody?” It was almost eight and Nico was getting agitated. Sure it was normal to be a bit late, even if it was a date that Will had asked him on but 45 minutes? 45 minutes late to a date? Nico was finally so sick of pacing behind his cabin like a loser, he worked up the nerve to march over to the infirmary to give Will a piece of his mind.

As Nico entered what he believed to be the infirmary, he questioned if he was in the right place. Then it hit him. The infirmary was so crowded, Nico couldn’t even recognise it. It was full of campers, from many different cabins, all covered in injuries and blood. This room, to surgeons, was like candy but with blood, which as Christina Yang had said- was way better,

That was only, of course, if you weren’t meant to be on a date with your cute ex-patient.

To Will, the sudden influx of patients infuriated him. He was meant to be having the best date of his life with Nico but instead, he ws here treating all these stupid injured buffalos who were too incompetent to prevent themselves from being injured.

“Next time, if an Ares kid threatens to break your leg, you should take them more seriously,” Will sighed as he finished the cast on the Athena camper’s leg. Weren’t these ones meant to be smart, Will thought.

His eyes searched across the infirmary, for the next most urgent patient; as head of the Apollo cabin, he was in charge of the infirmary which at first had sounded great. Now, he realised, it was not.

He was about to assist on setting a broken arm but he saw another healer get there first and simultaneously, he saw a very recognisable set of onyx eyes that came with a stunning appearance.

Nico was wearing black skinny ripped jeans with a chain hanging by the waist of it. His stygian iron sword that never left his side was being held to his waist with a skull strap and Nico’s eyeliner was absolutely perfect. Winged and angelic, his eyes were standing out like never before. Nico had been a bit nervous about wearing eyeliner outside of his cabin, but after much persuasion from Hazel, Jason and Percy, he had agreed to wear it.

Will thought he felt his mouth drop. But then, he felt his heart drop. Why was Nico in the infirmary? Was he involved in the fight? Was he hurt? Will rushed over to Nico, pushing through the injured masses, ignoring their shouts and snaps of discomfort. He waded through them like thick oceans of blood until he managed to spot Nico’s hand, decorated with expensive looking rings.

“Nico,” Will gasped, his eyes running up and down, scanning his body for injuries. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

Nico’s winged eyes squinted. “ What am I doing here? Did you forget?”

Will’s mouth opened and then closed again, his brain clearly racking for what he had forgotten.

“Our date. You were meant to meet me an hour ago,” He mumbled, raising his wrist to his face, checking the time once again.

Will’s face dropped, his expression ghostly. “ No! No, no, I can’t have forgotten- it wasn’t today. I could have sworn it wasn’t today.” He turned to Nico. “ It wasn’t today, right?”

“It was today.”

“Fuck.”

“That’s a good response, at least,” Nico murmured, kicking his boots at the bloodied tile floor.

“I'm so sorry. I got hoarded with patients, like hoarded. The Ares kids had some new weapons made today and the Hephaestus kids thought it would be fun to mess with them. Somehow the Athena kids got involved and I think there are some Dionysus kids who got involved just for the drama.” Will grabbed Nico's hands, squeezing them with such intensity, Nico feared they might break.

When Nico looked at Will’s face at that moment, he knew he was going to say ‘yes’ to whatever was about to be asked of him. Whether Will just wanted some gum or if he wanted to burn the entire world; there was something alluring in those eyes that Nico could simply never deny. “Nico, fuck, please give me another chance. I know I shouldn't have stood you up like that and I really wasn't planning to. It’s just, we got so many patients all at once that it completely slipped from my mind and-”

“-I’m not mad. A bit annoyed, yes, but I get it. You have people to fix. Go do your job.” Nico paused for a moment. “But one thing. Next time you almost stand me up, a note or a messenger would have been nice.”

Will frowned. “I thought I sent a note?”

Nico paused again. Did he send a note? Nico’s memory racked- did anybody come to give him a note? He couldn’t distinctly remember it.

The only thing he remembered was someone running to his cabin, panting and him slipping himself into the shadows, avoiding whichever body had come wandering into his domain- he had not been in the mood to interact with anybody other than Will (Or maybe Hazel or Annabeth because they always knew what to say and when to say it).

Woops.

“Oh, That note you mean. I might have hidden from the messenger in the shadows…” Nico trailed off, looking everywhere but Will. Expecting a loud scoff or perhaps a jeer, Nico could feel his hands clenching up, ready to get him out of this situation. But when he heard a little giggle and saw Will giving him a genuine little smile and holding out his hand, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“I know that I’m currently meant to be working but I guess taking a little break couldn’t hurt. Besides, I haven't eaten a proper meal all day and those sandwiches look delicious.”

Nico happily let Will lead him to the room reserved for the staff who were in this case, just the Apollo kids. But then he stopped.

“You haven't eaten all day? Will, what the hell? You were nagging me the entire of my stay here to eat and you don't even do it yourself?”

“I do eat, it’s just sometimes, I forget to because everybody is being stupid and trying to fight their healers,” Will huffed as he grabbed a sandwhich and stuffed a bite into his mouth.

“What idiot tries to fight their healers?” Nico asked as he took a sip of juice. They were sitting in the corner of the ‘staff room’ which in reality was just the back room. It just had 2 bare beds for quick resting and back up medical supplies. There was a bare sink and a couple of cupboards which were most likely empty. The freezer however, had several pints of ice cream.

“Oh who tries to fight their healer? Must I remind you of your behaviour every time you're in this infirmary?”

Will opened a pack of chips that he had managed to snag from one of the other healers; he doubted they’d notice. Well, he hoped they wouldn't notice.

“I can’t be that bad.” Nico batted his hand in the air, his hand reaching over to Will’s pack of chips and stealing one. Will smacked his hand and gasped, showing his mock offence.

“Oi! Those are mine!”

“Says who?” Nico argued. “ I happen to know you stole them!”

“Yeah but finders keepers!”

“I will fight you for those chips,” Nico snarled. Will, smiling wickedly, held his front; not in the least intimidated by Nico's violent demeanor.

“Perfect, now we finally fight. After all, I did tell you that I’d fight you later when you were recovering.”

“I’ll turn you into ashes.”

“Nu uh, I don’t think so. Remember I have regeneration,” Will boasted. They were both now standing, their food abandoned on the table.

“If I remember correctly.” Nico moved forward for the attack, “You told me you wouldn’t fight me because you knew I would win.”

Will gave a smirk. “You were ill. I couldn't tell you the truth.”

Nico squinted his eyes and waited for Will’s punch. He didn’t expect for Will to be waiting for his; Oh right, Will always fights defensive

But then he realised that this could be used to his own advantage. He went in for an attack, his leg going round to kick the back of Will’s knees, making him buckle to the floor. Nico was aiming to disable him from moving, not hurt him.

I may be short, but that just means I can reach your knees.

Will let out a rueful laugh, the game was on. Just as when Nico went to grab Will's arm, Will used his other arm to grab Nico and used all his strength and Nico’s momentum to flip Nico onto his back so that when Nico looked up, He saw Will's smiling face.

Nico rolled away, quickly forcing his way up. They both stood facing each other, none of them throwing a punch or a kick. They were dancing around each other, around their feelings. Nico ran into Will and used every force in his favour to force Will to fall onto the bare bed behind him. They landed safely with an oomph and immediately Nico got to work in immobilising him.

Nico quickly straddled Will, trying to grab his arms but Will, while not the fastest, was relatively strong. He managed to grab Nico’s arm, stopping him from being trapped. He then used all the strength he could summon from his abdominal muscles and managed to flip Nico so that it was him holding both of Nico’s arms above his head, effectively pinning him to the bed.

Nico struggled but Will was too strong. He had tried to flip Will back onto his back but it was too hard so he settled for trying to wrestle his wrists out of the blond boy's grasp. They were panting and their faces were close enough that they could feel each other's warm breath on each other's face.

Nico felt his eyes being drawn to Will’s lips and then his ocean blue, like eyes. It was a magnet being drawn across Will's face and Nico had no choice but to follow it everywhere. From the perfect slant of his cupid’s bow at his lips and the fullness of his lips to the half lidded eyelids that covered his deep eyes. The eyes that we're currently analysing Nico’s face, in the same way he was doing to Will’s, right this moment.

Will felt Nico’s wrists stop resisting as much in his grasp as his eyes slowly drifted to his own. Their eyes locked. Ocean Blue met Onyx. The sea had met the depths of the earth and it was only the roaring sound of their own blood being pumped ferociously by their hearts that acted as the soundscape of the ocean as Will lowered his lips to meet Nico’s in the most tentative of kisses.

Their lips brushed gently, as a taster and then, Nico slipped one of his supposedly trapped wrists out of Will’s hands and slid it around Will’s neck, pulling him to deepen the kiss. Will’s face felt heated as he moved his hands from above Nico’s head to cup his face; he could feel the heat radiating from it.

They broke apart- only for a second- but alas, even that felt like too much. Their lips found each other again, even in the darkness of the room, due to sunset and yet they were only in the dark for a matter of seconds. Nico, despite having his eyes closed, could feel the soft glow of Will’s skin.

“Hey Will, Where did ya g-” The startled young healer was stunned before cringing immediately at their older brother.

“-Oh god, Will, My eyes! My eyes have been scarred, dear, good gracious Gods, Help me!”

Nico’s hands flew to Will’s chest, pushing him off while Will himself made an attempt to scramble off Nico. They keyword there being attempt, because the next thing he knew, Will had stumbled and managed to trip Nico into falling face first into Will’s chest, straddling him and thus making their situation so much worse.

“What do you want?” Will groaned at his younger sibling, as Nico climbed off him, slowly burying his face in his hands out of embarrassment.

“You have another patient to fix.” The kid was now holding his hands over his eyes- something that deeply irritated Nico.

“Oh calm down, it’s not like we were doing anythi-”

“-Nico!” Will cried. “ Go out and find someone to cover for me. Tell Kayla she’s in charge; I’m off for the night,” Will declared as he grabbed Nico’s hand, kicked open the back door and fled into the early night with Nico, hand in hand.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Alt Ending, Part 5

Hot take but finals kinda suck

First part

Previous part

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Tag: @solangelo252

You’d think her body would be grateful that she was finally giving it food, but no. She put it in her mouth and instantly felt nauseous. It didn’t even want to go down her throat, and keeping it there felt basically impossible.

But Tim had looked so happy when she had tried, so she forced it down.

(Well, she forced some of it down. If he noticed that a good amount of the food she brought to her mouth actually disappeared into the sleeves and folds of her dress he didn’t say anything.)

Tim started coming by three times a day with food after that. She didn’t complain despite her discomfort, she had really missed him.

Also, he looked stressed out and/or exhausted whenever she saw him. She worried about him. They both had a tendency to overwork themselves when they hit blocks, hell she’d sometimes joined him in his week-long deep dives into cases, but now that she was an outsider looking in… she was kind of shocked she’d ever let it get that far for either of them. When was the last time he’d slept through the night? Taken proper time to clean himself, even? A while, she guessed from the deep bags under his eyes and the way his hair was frayed from running his fingers through it.

“Timmy,” she chirped.

He flashed her a tiny smile. “Hey,” he said, coming over and taking a seat beside her on the bed.

She took the bag from him and set it aside, much to his dismay, but then she reached over and dragged him into some cuddles and he suddenly had new concerns. He groaned into her shoulder.

“Bean, come on, I don’t want to sleep.”

She didn’t let go. “You need to.”

“Don’t have time.”

She rolled her eyes, bringing a hand up to start attempting to smooth out his hair. “You have to sleep eventually.”

“And I do!”

She didn’t answer, which he took to mean she didn’t believe him (a good assumption, she didn’t).

“I do! I get at least a few hours a week.”

“Wow, amazing. I take it back. You totally have a healthy sleep schedule.”

“Worry about yourself, first. You don’t sleep either,” he huffed, but he was starting to relax into her hold nonetheless.

“I’m also literally dead.”

“You used to say you’d sleep when you were dead.”

Marinette scoffed. “Well, to be fair, I thought I’d actually die when I died.”

He gave a short laugh, and she opted not to acknowledge that it was a little forced.

She yawned and laid back with his face in her shoulder. “I’m surprised none of the others have drugged you to get you to sleep yet.”

“They’re too busy drugging B --.” He winced just slightly. “They’ve just got a lot on their plates is all, I’m the least of their worries.”

She didn’t say anything about his tiny slip up, just gave a light hum to say she understood.

She didn’t dare to move until she was completely sure he had nodded off. Even then, she only did so to pick up the food he’d brought for her.

Her nose scrunched a little at the prospect of eating, but when she opened it and saw it was fried rice she perked up a little. She nibbled at her food.

Honestly, she didn’t know if it was working. It seemed to be, but then again most of the things that got better could be attributed to other causes. Her skin was gaining color again, but the bleach may have just started to wear out. She was feeling more energized, but then again she was now getting a total of four cups of coffee a day thanks to Tim and Jason fueling her addiction. Exercise was getting easier and she was packing on muscle again, but she was also working out enough with Dick for it to be explainable that way…

She didn’t know if it was working. She didn’t even know if she WANTED it to work. The plan had been ‘kill Bruce and then quickly off yourself before the others can react’ and not having an instant out was kinda problematic when it came to finishing that plan.

Not that the first part of that plan was working out for her, either. Bruce still hadn’t come to see her. She doubted he ever would at this point.

She didn’t even have a way out, as the door was automated and presumably opened by someone outside.

No. The only way she would ever leave was if she managed to ‘fix’ herself, and that wasn’t happening because there was nothing to fix! She would know. Her entire thing as Ladybug was fixing things.

She looked down at Tim. When he slept all the little wrinkles in his forehead smoothed to make him look much younger. She smiled a little at the sight, pressing a kiss to where she knew the creases usually were.

At least, even if her situation couldn’t be helped, she could still help others.

~

She’d come to expect a routine of sorts, so the moment it was broken even slightly her brain short-circuited.

Duke stood in the doorway as usual, but when she glanced past him…

“Where’s Cass?”

His grin disappeared a little, but he pulled his back to his face with ease. “Wow, I’m really feeling the love here, Mari.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, we both know Cass is the best person to ever exist.”

Duke nodded his agreement and came over to take a seat next to her. She cozied up to him as usual, curled under his arm as he pulled up their newest show on his laptop…

She had a lot of thoughts about Cass being missing.

On the one hand, she just missed her friend’s too-warm body pressed up against her and quiet complaints about how the actors were doing it all wrong.

On the other hand… Marinette was completely aware that they had Cass stopping by as much as she did to check on Marinette, to see if they were making any real progress with her. Cass was a human lie detector, able to detect when someone was going to be dishonest before they’d even realized it themselves, and they’d be stupid not to take advantage that. So, the fact that they were no longer making Cass drop in as often… either they thought she was doing better, or that she never would do better.

Marinette hoped it was the first. She knew it was the second.

She found it harder than usual to enjoy Duke’s snide comments about how dumb and cliche some of the characters were. She turned and pressed her face into his side. The glasses on the bridge of her nose dug into her skin.

Fuck. She was never getting out of there, was she?

She felt his free hand come up to run through her hair and she sighed.

“Duke…”

He pressed pause on the show.

“Tim told me you’re a meta, that you can control light. Can you do it for me?”

There was a beat.

“Why do you ask?”

She laughed a little. “Does it matter? Can’t I just be curious about why my favorite brother didn’t even bother to tell me that he has powers?”

“I thought you already knew. It’s common knowledge.”

She huffed. “Maybe I just prefer to be told things than meticulously look through every piece of information to figure it out.”

“What kind of bat are you?” He joked.

She winced and the hand in his shirt balled it just a fraction tighter. She didn’t respond.

There was a few seconds before he sighed and moved his hand from his hair to her chin, gently pulling her face out of where it was hidden in his side. She refused to meet his eyes.

It was silent again, neither of them sure what to say.

“Here,” he said after a moment, putting his free hand out and making light dance across his palm.

Her face lit up, literally and figuratively, at the sight of the tiny ball of light. She leaned a little closer.

“Aw, it looks like a tiny sun!”

He laughed a little. “Yeah. I can also…”

There was a moment of silence as he concentrated and the tiny ball of light split into the colors of the rainbow. She giggled, reaching out to cup his hand in hers. It was the first non-artificial light she’d seen in months, the first rainbow she’d seen since… Paris, actually.

Well, even if she wouldn’t ever see the outside world again, at least she could still have this little fake sun. It was basically the same, just as good, she told herself. She ignored the tears rolling down her cheeks that were telling her otherwise.

~

She tossed the plastic spoon she’d stolen from one of her meals in the air idly.

The plan had been to turn it into Baby’s First Shank but that probably wasn’t going to work out. Pen to the throat was at about a .01% chance of working, attacking him with a spoon-knife needed a few more zeroes added to that already insanely small number. She gave it a .000000001% chance at best.

Then again, the other option was trying to strangle someone who had an insane height and weight advantage to death before someone else could interfere...

She sighed to herself and put the spoon in her teeth, starting to pull.

She didn’t get very far before she heard the metallic whoosh of the door opening and she barely glanced up to see Dick.

He stared at her from the doorway, his eyebrows slowly raising as he watched her attempt to bite an edge into a spoon of all things.

She pulled it from her mouth with a ‘pop’.

“I think your eyebrows are trying to escape,” she told him.

He blinked at her before rolling his eyes and walking inside fully. “Thanks for the assist. Would have lost them otherwise,” he said sarcastically.

“I’ve seen you lose your phone three minutes after putting it down, Dickie, I wouldn’t put it past you.”

He gasped and rested a hand over her heart. “You think that low of me?”

“Lower. I was being nice.”

Dick pouted and walked over to the bed. She didn’t think much of it until he was diving onto her stomach. She put her hands out in an attempt to soften the blow, but it wasn’t enough to save her. She groaned in pain as his extremely hard head made contact with her not-so-hard stomach.

“FUCK. This is why your parents called you Dick, y’know!”

He only laughed at her.

Despite herself, she gave him a smile.

She rested her head back in the pillows for a moment (mostly just to catch all the breath she’d lost) before pushing him off. “Ready?”

He groaned into her comforter before rolling onto the floor. “‘Kay.”

Marinette grinned as she took a seat beside him, starting her usual stretches. He pushed himself up to sit with minimal groaning and started working on his shoulders.

It was quiet for a while as they stretched.

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek and kept her eyes on her foot when she spoke next: “Dick?”

She could feel his gaze on her.

“I… can I have some more stuff? Everything here is so boring. I just… I want new things to do. Or, at least, new things to look at.”

There was a long silence between them. Anxiety bubbled under her skin. She switched legs so she could gauge his expression through her bangs. His expression was carefully neutral.

She cringed.

“Obviously I’m not ungrateful! You guys have all been really nice and accommodating! I get food and a phone and, honestly, that’s fine --!”

“Mari!”

Her mouth snapped closed.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize. Anyone would be bored here. I can talk to them. It’ll probably depend on what you want.”

She finally looked at him properly, eyes wide. She really hadn’t been expecting that to work.

He slowly pulled his legs to him to sit criss-cross applesauce, head resting on his hand. “I can probably get some baking things, a sketchbook, just blunt objects in general. Deadly, but not before someone could get there.”

Marinette nodded her understanding, a smile making its way across her face.

“You’re the best.”

“You constantly say Duke and Cass are the best.”

She was torn between agreeing with herself and flattering him. Since she wanted something, she decided on flattery: “That was, like, a few hours ago. I’ve grown since then. You’re my favorite now, Dickie.”

“Can I get that as my ringtone?”

“Only if you only use it to mess with Jay.”

“Deal.”

They shook on it.

~

The door whoosed open and she barely moved her head to look at it.

She froze.

Bruce?

No. No way. There was no way in hell.

But was there? Cass HAD stopped coming. Maybe she had somehow convinced them that everything was working out and everything was fine.

Marinette hadn’t done anything differently, though, so that probably wasn’t it…

Oh. Oh shit.

Maybe she was actually going insane. Because there was no way the bats would have made that kind of mistake by letting Bruce in when she was still intent on murdering him. He had to be a hallucination, because nothing else really made sense. Kwami, Tim was going to be SO smug about this one.

Actually, no, he didn’t have to know.

Her gaze slipped away from Fake Bruce and back to the dots on her ceiling. Because, as everyone knows, that if you don’t acknowledge hallucinations they go away…

“Marinette,” Fake Bruce said, trying to trick her into outing herself as losing it.

“Marinette,” he tried again, starting his way over.

She did her best to ignore the footsteps and the way the bed shifted when he sat down. No wonder schizophrenics fell for this shit, this was all so real…

Except... weren’t schizophrenics not supposed to be able to tell what was real and what wasn’t? Wouldn’t her knowing (thinking?) he was fake be an indication that he was actually real? Or was that just her mind trying to justify believing it?

Marinette bit inside of her cheek and let herself look at Fake Bruce again.

He cracked a smile for her. A hand reached over and pushed some hair away from her face. “Hey,” he said.

She hesitated.

It would suck if this all was fake, the others would get confirmation and she really wouldn’t have a way out. But if it was real then this was her only shot. If it was real Cass would be watching the cameras to see what she was thinking and she would know for sure that Marinette was still intent on killing Bruce…

Fuck.

Marinette pushed herself into a sitting position and looked Maybe-Bruce up and down before grabbing him by the front of his suit and pulling him into a hug. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes when he hugged her back.

“Fake.”

The man tensed underneath her and then sighed as he pulled back.

He gave her an awkward smile. “I’m sorry, Marinette.”

She shook her head slightly and fell back. With a flick of her wrists the knife she’d created out of her plastic spoon was in her hands and she absently tossed it at the hallucination. Either it would make him disappear or it would look like it stabbed him and she could pretend that it actually happened.

But then it didn’t do either of those things.

Her eyebrows knit together when the spife shattered upon impact.

He looked unconcerned as he gently swept all the pieces into his hand and then put them in his pockets.

“The fuck?”

“Language,” he chided lightly.

She grinned. “You really need to work on your ‘Bruce’. Accepting a hug that quickly is one thing but chiding someone for language? In OUR family? I’m pretty sure he gave that up by Jason.”

The man chuckled and shook his head. “I’m Superman.”

“Oh.” She blinked a few times before shrugging to herself. “Okay. You look just like Bruce. It’s kinda creepy.”

“Yeah, trust me, we know. It’s pretty helpful, though. One time a person tried to assassinate Bruce and ended up fighting me. It wasn’t their day.”

She smiled a little, but it didn’t last very long. She fell back in her pillows and glared at the ceiling. “This sucks.”

“I’m sorry this all happened to you. You’re just a kid.”

She rolled her eyes. She’d long-since given up on denying that something had happened to her. Not because she no longer believed it, but because it wasn’t worth the effort. No one ever believed her when she said it.

(Could she blame them? No. She almost believed it herself just a few moments before. Still annoying, though.)

Instead of saying any of that, though, she brought a grin to her face.

“You and B should switch houses for April Fools. See if anyone notices anything.”

~

She really should have noticed something was up when her coffee didn’t energize her at all.

It had all been going fine. She was making Jason dispose of all the pieces of food she’d used sleight of hand to get away with not eating (she was still a little bitter about him stealing her pen and this was the most she could really do to get back at him, compromised as she was). They made idle conversation, mostly just about how Damian had got himself a new pet cat that he had named BatCat (though, apparently, they had heard him slip up and call him Charles a few times). They debated over how good that name was and the merit of Jason’s suggestion -- BatPussy, of course -- as she drank her third cup of coffee of the day.

It was about halfway through her drink that she began to notice that something was off. She squinted at Jason suspiciously.

“Decaf?” She asked, her voice worryingly sweet.

He raised his eyebrows and tried to look unimpressed despite stepping back a good half-step. “Please, if it was decaf classical conditioning still would’ve made it work at least a little.”

She opened her mouth to retort, then realized he was right. Or, at least, she was pretty sure. She couldn't seem to think of anything against it.

She frowned, looking down at her drink again and swirling the contents around. She drank the rest of it, trying to figure out why exactly it wasn’t working.

Was she already at the point where caffeine had little effect on her again? She didn’t think she was that bad yet… hell, she probably couldn’t be because she was depending on others to give her her fix…

She shook her head slightly and then quickly realized that was a bad idea. Pain stabbed through her skull and she stumbled into Jason. The plastic thermos slipped from her fingertips and went rolling across the floor. Her head crashed into his chest and arms were quick to wrap around her.

“You got shitty coffee, try a different place next time,” she murmured, closing her eyes.

He laughed a little. “Yeah, okay, kid. I’ll be sure to do that.”

She nodded as much as her headache would allow and felt the arms around her slip down to pick her up. She blinked her eyes open blearily and regretted it when the light attempted to murder her via knife to the head.

Heh. Little light particles with little knives.

Wait.

Did she get a concussion? Somehow? Without getting hit?

She buried her face in his shoulder and it was then, as he set her in bed and tucked her in, that she realized what had happened.

“Bitch,” she murmured above whatever drug they had put in her drink.

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and she could do little more than scrunch up her nose and vaguely wave him off. Her eyes fell closed again.

~

Marinette woke up a while later.

The first thing she noticed was that the lights were dimmer, something she didn’t have to open her eyes to see because her head wasn’t pounding as much.

Then she realized a person was with her. They had entwined themselves around her, tangled their limbs with hers. They needn’t have bothered, everything felt like lead. She wouldn’t be moving for quite some time.

… why was she being held down? Oh no. That was probably bad, huh?

Marinette made a sound in the back of her throat and started trying to shift away from the person pressed against her back. She needed to see who they were. They didn’t bother to tighten their hold on her, she wasn’t really getting anywhere.

In fact, a hand stopped holding her down. Instead, it came up to pet her hair.

Oh? This was nice.

A voice by her head told her it was all okay. After a moment she realized she recognized that voice. She smiled sleepily. Cass. She liked Cass. She pressed closer to her and was rewarded with a hand rubbing up and down one of her arms.

She nearly fell asleep again. Cass was safe, Marinette was safe… the warmth against her and the soothing touch… of course, it certainly helped that the drug was still in her system and she was exhausted...

But then her mind wandered back to her first question. Why WAS Cass holding her down? Why did they drug her in the first place?

She moved so her hair could block some of the light and then cautiously cracked her eyes open.

The batboys were all moving things inside almost silently. Jason was carrying an entire fridge on his own. Dick and Damian were arguing over the positioning of the table they had just brought in through angry hand motions. Tim and Duke were working together on… was that a gaming set?

And she was being held down because the door was wide open.

Marinette looked at the doorway for just a moment longer. She allowed herself to imagine getting out and swinging through the city with her lasso, allowed herself to pretend she could lay in the grass, allowed herself to believe that she could see the sun and the stars and just breathe fresh air again…

And then she closed her eyes and sunk into Cass’s grip.

What was the point in trying? Even if she could somehow beat out all six of the people in the room with her and get past whatever security Bruce had to have outside of the room all while drugged… then what? No money or idea where she was… and she’d be running from the bats of all people…

Yeah. Useless. She curled up and allowed sleep to take her again.

~

Quite a while later she woke up and blinked a few times when she realized she wasn’t the only person in bed. At first she thought it was just Cass or Tim, they were the most likely culprits, but then she realized everyone had managed to cram themselves onto the bed with her. Her and Cass had gotten brushed to the side of the bed to make space for Tim, Dick, and Damian. Jason had collapsed across the end of the bed -- presumably for space, but Duke was laying half on top of him so that obviously hadn’t worked out.

Marinette smiled faintly and buried her face back into the crook of Tim’s neck.

~

When she woke up again, most of the drug flushed from her system (somehow…?), she thought she was alone.

This was fine. She was able to stretch out and sit up.

She blinked when she saw Damian, who was sitting on her floor and playing a video game.

Huh? Video game?

She looked around her room confusedly. The bats had basically made her a one-room apartment, complete with kitchenette and a tiny study area. Of course, it was much higher quality than the apartment she’d had, with a high tech gaming system and a little dining area and holy shit that was a MINI LIBRARY?

Wild.

“You’re finally up.”

She hummed lightly as an agreement. She crawled over to the end of the bed and smiled when he handed her a twizzler. It was objectively one of the worst candies, but she liked having something to do. She twirled it in her hand idly.

“Do you think… do you think it’s working?”

She frowned confusedly and dropped off the bed to sit beside him on the second beanbag chair. She chanced a quick glance in his direction to gauge how he was feeling... his expression didn’t let anything on other than that he was thinking hard, though she was pretty sure that was about the game.

“Gonna elaborate on that?”

He clicked his tongue. “Are you going to join the Undead Robins Club?”

She grinned at him. “I wasn’t a Robin.”

“You know what I mean.”

Her smile disappeared a little and she trained her eyes on the game. “I don’t know.”

“You know we never will know for sure, right?”

She blinked. She hadn’t expected anyone to acknowledge it. They were the bats, they were never going to chance taking off her glasses because if they were wrong and she WASN’T better… well, it wasn’t the kind of mistake they could easily come back from.

“Yeah, I know,” she said after a few moments.

“Do you care?”

“Doesn't really matter if I do. It won’t change anything.”

He frowned. “That’s not answering my question.”

She bit her cheek. “I… yes. I care. It still doesn’t matter.”

He looked like he was going to argue, but instead he just went back to playing the game.

“Damiiiiiiiii…” she whined and, when he gave a vague grunt to show he was paying attention, she continued with “... shouldn’t I get to play first? It’s mine.”

“You slept in too long,” he said without looking up.

She huffed. “Only ‘cause I was drugged!”

“Unfortunate.”

She got off the beanbag chair and whacked him over the head with it. He barely acknowledged it outside of an annoyed click of his tongue.

She huffed and pulled the chair back to herself to sit again. “Is it two player?”

“Nope.”

“You’re a bitch.”

He clicked his tongue again.

She pouted for a little while longer before looking back at the screen with a smile. “... heard you got a cat named Charles. Wanna talk about him?”

Damian’s face lit up. “Can I?”

“Only if you let me play.”

He looked pained. If he gave it to her then he’d be giving her something she’d want, which was a sibling no-no, but if he didn’t then she probably wouldn’t listen to him gush about his cat. A few moments went by before he reluctantly handed over the controller.

She beamed and scooted her chair over to rest her head on his shoulder. She could feel him stiffen underneath her but, when she didn’t move again outside of what was necessary to play the game, he relaxed again.

“I thought you were going to listen,” he chided lightly when she didn’t take a break between levels.

“I can listen and play.”

Damian sighed a little and shook his head.

“You don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want --.”

“I’m getting to it! So, he’s a black cat that apparently hadn’t been adopted because everyone thought he was evil so the pet store was going --.”

~

Marinette noticed something was up the minute the door opened.

First of all, it was Duke and Damian. That’s all that really needs to be said. Those two together… it’s never a good thing.

Secondly, they were there as Signal and Robin. Most of the time the others avoided even talking about their lives as vigilantes for fear of setting her off in one way or another, but here they were showing up in their suits? No, something weird was going on.

“Hey, Mari, can we skip a fight and you just put a bag over your head and let us pick you up?” Tried Duke.

Her eyebrows furrowed. “You want to…? Huh?”

“We don’t really have much time to explain. I’ll tell you on the way.”

Damian held up a potato sack and some twine, which really wasn’t all that encouraging.

She hesitated. “... what’s something only you two would know?”

“Really?” Said Damian with more than a little exasperation.

“Hey, we’re all bats here. I’m not moving until you prove you’re who you say you are.”

(Technically, if they were really Duke and Damian, they could fight her and do it anyways. She probably couldn't beat both of them at once. Still, that kind of fight would hurt all of them and she really didn’t want to have to do it at the moment.)

Duke hesitated before shrugging. “Your favorite ice cream flavor is mint. Which I don’t understand. Just brush your teeth if you like that taste so much.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Alright, you’re who you say you are. Robin?”

“… early on I lied and said that Nightwing’s real hero name was actually BatNightwing to mess with you both.”

She frowned. “I forgot about that. You’re a dick.”

“No, Nightwing’s a Dick. He’s a Damian.”

Marinette was THIS CLOSE to fighting them anyways.

But she didn’t. She was kinda curious about where all this was going. So, she allowed them to bind her hands and slip a bag over her head. Arms wrapped around her -- she didn’t really care who it was -- and she was lifted off the ground. Then, they were walking.

Part of her wondered if this was some kind of test. They were checking to see how compliant she was or how likely she would be to run once outside. Maybe they had Superman on call in case she tried to escape.

She really couldn’t tell.

She didn’t think that they had any reason to take her out of the perfectly safe and well-stocked place they had put her in.

Maybe her location had been compromised and they were moving her to a backup? No, that didn’t make sense. Duke made sense for transport, Damian didn’t. Damian was one of the worst fighters in the family (he was in no way BAD at fighting, of course, it was just a byproduct of being in the game the shortest amount of time and not being a meta) and he was the second most likely person to end up fighting her after Jason. What the fuck?

Wait, Duke said he’d explain on the way.

“What’s going on?”

“New idea on how to bring you back,” said Duke simply.

Well, she guessed that was more information than she’d previously had. She’d take it for now.

She heard a quiet whooshing noise and frowned confusedly, only to feel herself get set down… somewhere. She felt carpeting underneath her, which meant she was in… a house? No. A car, she thought as she noticed the quiet hum of an engine. She’d been put in the fucking trunk. She kicked out as much as she could without knowing exactly where they were and gave a cry of protest, but then the lid was clicked over her head and she was thrown into uncomfortably complete silence.

She scowled to herself. She shouldn’t have thrown her spife at Superman, it would have been really useful right then. She tested the bindings against her hands and winced at how tight they were. Did they really use zip ties? Those were notoriously bad for circulation.

… oh. Yeah. She was dead. That actually wasn’t that bad, then.

Still annoying. Hard to get out of. Assholes. She wondered if it was worth dislocating her arms…

Yeah. Probably. If she could get out then she would be OUT.

She flipped herself onto her stomach. She pulled her feet up to her arms and then started pushing back. Her body strained in protest and she bit down on the front of the bag over her head to stop herself from making any sounds.

And then she felt a pop in her left shoulder and a flare of pain and the makeshift gag wasn’t enough to hold back her sobs. Her arm throbbed and it was only made worse when they reached the city proper and the roads started getting choppy. Every little bump in the road sent a new wave of pain rolling through her and all she could do was ride it out.

They started hitting smoother roads what felt like hours later... it was kind of concerning because she had no clue where they could be, those were uncommon in Gotham, but at least she no longer felt like she was going to die every few seconds.

She took a few seconds to bring her breathing back to normal before she started slowly wiggling her arms out under her butt and legs and then they were in front of her. Great. She picked herself up as much as she could in the tiny space, checked her angle mentally, relaxed her muscles, and then dropped down on her shoulder to get it back in place.

She breathed out a sigh of relief. It felt weird and still kind of hurt but at least it was mostly better.

She pulled the bag off of her head and relished in the slightly fresher air.

She looked down at the zip ties on her wrists and she sighed a little. Time to do that hack that looked stupid but actually worked if the kidnappers were stupid enough to leave you alone.

She brought her feet up, untied the laces of her shoes, and tied them back around the ties. Then she set to work trying to saw at the zip tie.

She paused when she heard the low rumbling of a plane. Were they near an airport? Oh. That was going to be a problem. She went faster.

Unfortunately, Marinette didn’t get very far before there was a click and the trunk opened.

She cried out in pain at the sudden light and squeezed her eyes shut, turning to press her face into the carpeted interior.

Hands grabbed her and pulled her out of the trunk. Before she could do much to look around so she could get her bearings and make herself a portal, the bag was forced over her head again and a strong grip on her arm (the good one, thankfully) kept her from pulling it off again. Then someone knelt in front of her and fixed her shoelaces.

“Really, NightMare?” Duke said, unimpressed.

“In my defense, I was left unsupervised.”

Damian scoffed.

Someone picked her up again and she sighed as they carried her along. They were definitely at an airport. She could hear people milling about. She was sure it was Gotham, too; she could feel a few stares, but most people seemed comfortable with the vigilantes among them.

Then came the normal airport stuff. Walking. Some arguing over whether she counted as luggage or if she could go through the metal detector with them. Sitting. A little chatting with civilians. More walking. More sitting. Very light chatter, just formalities and asking for drinks (Duke, who she figured out was the person carrying her, slipped a box of orange juice up her bag so she could have something). And then they were in the air.

After some time in the air the bag and zip ties were removed. She kept her eyes closed to let them adjust to light naturally and instead focused on rubbing feeling back into her hands.

One English alphabet later, she opened her eyes.

They were in a private plane (or was it a jet?), which explained why it was as quiet as it was. Damian was drinking a glass of water and reading something on his phone. Duke was nibbling at some complimentary pretzels and working a Rubix Cube. They both glanced in her direction from time to time, but they seemed pretty confident that she couldn’t do anything while they were in the air (which was true, but annoying).

She looked around a little more and found that there were no other bats.

“Um… where’re…?” She trailed off, unsure.

They stopped glancing in her direction, ignoring her and her question. The frown that had been on her face since pretty much when they’d first taken her from the room deepened.

“Do they… do they know what’s going on?”

The silence spoke volumes.

She rested her head in her hand. “I’m going to need something stronger than a juice box for this.”

Duke sighed but called a friendly looking woman inside to get her some wine. Marinette and Duke sipped at a glass each (Damian wasn’t allowed any, something Marinette took a little too much joy in). She scrutinized the two over the rim of her glass.

“Are you going to explain or let me guess? Because letting me guess is going to end up with me assuming you’re doing something way worse than you actually are.”

Damian sighed a little. “It’s hard to explain.”

“We’re in a plane. I’m going to guess we have time. Start talking.”

“We drugged them all -- except Orphan, she’s just out doing patrols and won’t know what’s going on for a good few hours -- and grabbed you.”

Duke gave Damian a pleading look to make him continue for them.

Damian, reluctantly, put down his phone to talk. “Signal and I have an idea on how to bring you back from the dead. The others won’t like it, especially not Red Hood, so we’re making the executive decision to not ask.”

Marinette didn’t know a lot about when Jason had been resurrected, it was a sensitive subject so it was avoided pretty much at all costs. All she’d gathered was that it was a rather messy experience for everyone involved.

She rested her head on her hand and then looked back down at her drink. She snatched the bottle from the table and, when Duke protested, set him a glare and started drinking directly from it. They were actually going to bring her back through probably shady means. She was NOT drunk enough for this shit.

~

She got stuffed in a suitcase when they left, which was extremely insulting (and a little embarrassing, if she were honest).

She rested her head against the side of the suitcase and listened to the dull thrum of people talking on the other side. She vaguely recognized the language, both Nino and Damian both spoke it when frustrated, but the words were all Greek to her.

Well, they were all Arabic, but you get the point.

~

She didn’t even realize she had been asleep until she was awoken. Rather abruptly. The zipper for the suitcase was opened and she tumbled out. Marinette cursed in French as she hit the ground and laid there, her entire body aching from not moving for so long. She hadn’t known her face could get pins and needles, she wished she could go back to her blissful ignorance.

“Are you sure about this? You want to save her?” A woman’s voice said above her, sounding a little skeptical.

Marinette forced herself to roll over so she could glare at whoever it was, she knew when she was being insulted, and then she blinked up at the new person.

A tall woman with dark skin and hair and a body to die for stood above her, hands on her hips.

“Holy shit, Dami. You got terrible genes. She’s gorgeous and you’re… you? What?”

Duke hid laughter behind his hand and Damian scoffed.

Amusement flickered behind Talia’s ‘I could kill you before you could even scream’ expression. “I’ve changed my mind. I like her.”

“Cool,” said Marinette as she quickly pushed herself to her feet. Her body wasn’t ready for that, but that was the least of her concerns. The pretty lady was ushering her along and Marinette wasn’t going to hold her up if she could help it.

“How did you die?” Talia said, which was an interesting choice for conversation.

Marinette shrugged, though, unconcerned. “I don’t know, really, there wasn’t this ‘oh, wow, I’m dead’ moment. My guess is I either drowned in acid or died of dehydration at some point. Does it change anything or…?”

“No. Just curious.”

“Oh. Good.”

“... do you not know why you’re here?” Asked Talia carefully after a moment’s contemplation.

Marinette shook her head. “Nah, they’ve been avoiding telling me. I assume it’s painful.”

“... yes. Very.”

The four lapsed into silence after that.

Marinette felt weirdly on edge as they walked through the facility, her hands rubbing the goosebumps that were prickling along her arms. The further they walked, the more on edge she felt. They were approaching something unnatural, something so undeniably WRONG, and she needed to GO.

But Damian and Duke were behind her, probably sensing her unease, and running ahead would only get her there faster… so she walked.

She bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to ground herself.

But, the moment they stepped into the room, she froze.

Green water. That apparently hurts.

Acid.

“FUCK.”

Duke was ready for her to run, apparently, stood in front of the only exit and ready for a fight before she could even get a full step away from the hell that awaited her.

“No no no no no no wait it’s fine I actually don’t mind being dead it’s fine guys please --.”

Damian grabbed her arms and she choked out a sob,

“Damian god damn it I was kidding about the mom thing you’re perfectly attractive or whatever I promise I really didn’t think it would hurt you that much we don’t need to do this let’s tALK IT OUT --!”

“It’s not about that --!”

Duke managed to get a hold on one of her legs and lifted and all she had to struggle against either of them was a foot and she was SO fucked --.

“PLEASE DUKE PLEASE I DON’T KNOW WHAT I DID BUT I PROMISE I CAN BE BETTER YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GO I’LL BE FINE WE CAN FIGURE SOMETHING OUT PLEASE --.”

Talia grabbed her last leg and she sobbed as she thrashed around uselessly. They started dragging her towards the acid. Nothing to do no way to run no help in sight no --.

“PLEASE! I PROMISE I’LL BE BETTER PLEASE JUST LET ME GO!”

And they did. They let her go and she fell into the acid.

[artxyra]

The Secret Life of MDC | Part 3

Part 3 - Welcome to Gotham, now get out!

Part 1 | Part 2 |

Arriving in Gotham was just an absolutely massive mess, that quickly turned into a several page report for Marinette to send to the school board the moment she arrived in her temporary dorm at Gotham Academy.

Let recap back to the airport. When everyone got off the plane, Lila was quick to make up an excuse about Bruce Wayne sending her a private limo that she’ll be happy to bring the class along. Of course, Caline Bustier, absently believed the long-time liar telling her students to gather their belongings and for Lila to call the Waynes. It was as if she had completely forgotten the arrival procedures. Arriving in Gotham, proceed to find the bus driver, and meet up with the Gotham Academy Headmistress to retrieve the rest of the plans for the month. Marinette tried to tell Caline that what they were doing was against the procedure, something that she had to memorize for moments like this, only to be lectured about behavior the second she finished talking off to the side.

Then when they finally arrived at the school, Caline had the nerve to lecture her again about not informing her about the bus before being dragged off by the Gotham Academy headmistress, who clearly was not happy with the decisions made before they could even step foot onto the school grounds. Gotham is not a place to dilly dally unless you know the area or a native.

“Do you think, she’ll be fired after this?” Chloe asks while setting her things into the wardrobe as Marinette clicks the save button on her laptop.

“Maybe, no matter what happens, we’re here for a month regardless of the decisions the GA headmistress and Principal De La Fontaine decides in the coming days. All I know as the class president and temp. TA; my job is to help her overlook you guys.” Marinette sighs and closes the laptop's top before giving Chloe her full attention.

“I still can’t believe you graduated early. Though Adrien and I are grateful you managed to stay despite everything.” It was rare moments like these that made Marinette glad that she gave Chloe a second chance. Chloe had apologized one winter when she was freezing to death outside because her parent went on a tropical vacation on her request and decided to allow the staff to take a few days off. It was Sabine and Tom that took the former bully into their arms and made her feel loved, a love that she rarely receives from her parents. Since that day, Chloe takes pride in the honor of being Marinette’s sister just as Adrien did when they took him in also.

“I couldn’t leave you guys to perish in that class. Also, I just didn’t want to give Lie-la the satisfaction of winning.” Marinette says as her phones with the familiar sounds of “The Other Side” by Ruelle. Instantly, Marinette picks up the phone and smiles. “It’s Damian, he wants to go out tonight. Think I have time before—”

“Go, I’ll keep you from trouble, maybe even invite Adrien over if he isn’t doing the same with Jon.” Chloe pushes the noirette out of their room before closing the door behind the designer with a smirk on her lips.

As Marinette makes her way out of the dormitory, little did she know that Lila was just doing the same but for a different reason.

~*~

Damian Wayne @therealbloodheir I had a wonderful night with my beloved. I can’t wait for more nights like these. [Attached is an image of two hands intertwine with each other with the moon shining between them.]

Nette @GothamsFashionSense Replying to @therealbloodheir That sounds like a marriage proposal. Missing you too.

~*~

In the halls of Gotham Academy, conversations buzz around the single fact that Nette was back in Gotham for the first time in weeks. Groups of students gather around a single person, whose phone is out in the open, all gushing about theories on how the date went.

The same can be said for GA’s exchange students who crowd around Lila Rossi like she was the air.

“Gurl, spill, how was the date? You’re tending on twitter, again!” Alya squeals, gripping Lila’s arm.

“Oh you, it was truly romantic. Damiboo took me on this romantic dinner, but the first place we went to didn’t serve any vegetarian meals, and as you know I’m one but he’s not. We left and found another place that was just right.” Her high pitch voices drive a shiver down people spines, well anyone that is in clear hearing distance to the Italian teen's voice range.

“Do they truly believe that she’s Nette. Bitch please, we all know that Nette has dark hair from the back of the head photos on twitter.” A random student scoffs behind the trio.

The trio turns around looking at the person in a new light. The student had long braided blonde hair and wearing the GA uniform. “You’re not fooled? I was pretty sure that she would try and convert you the moment you step foot into the building.” It was Adrien that spoke first.

“I'm Allegra, besides me is Claude and Allen.” The student says shaking hands with Adrien before continuing with, “Anyone with brain cells can tell you that she is not Nette from @GothamsFashionSense.”

Allegra then takes the empty seat beside Marinette.

“Name’s Marinette, these dorks are Adrien and Chloe.” Marinette says, “About the brain cell thing, we’ve been saying that since she joined our class a few years back.”

“It ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, as to how they manage to hang on her every word. And one of them is a self-proclaim reporter. The bitch hasn’t reported anything remotely true since the liar had joined us and don't get me started on her early years.” Chloe places her two cents into the conversation.

This was the start of a blooming relationship.

Claude, Allegra, and Allen were quick to understand the environment that the Paris Trio was living in. An irresponsible, enabling teacher and a class full of idiots. With the Gotham Trio, the Paris Trio was able to understand how Gotham Academy works and learn the ins and outs of specific places. Despite the fact that Marinette vaguely knows just about much.

~*~

“So, how were your first three days at GA?” Dick Grayson asks as the Paris trio who are sitting on the couch inside the living room of Wayne Manor. "Is it about the same as it was when I went?"

“Dicky, I am this close to making heads roll.” Chloe’s fingers are teaching as a look of crazy twitches in her eyes.

“It wasn’t all that bad the first couple of days and then Lila tried to convince GA students that she was me by photoshopping our twitter photos. Other than that, I’m more worried about when Bustier announces that our class has been invited to the upcoming Wayne Gala. I’m already booked with mine and Chloe’s dresses along with Selina’s and Cass’s.” Marinette says, resting her head on Damian’s shoulder as their hands' interlock. Damian places a quick peck on her forehead.

The room was once again oddly silent before Adrien let out a loud giggle.

The family turns to the model who was staring at his phone with the biggest smile on his face. Adrien was no doubt in a group chat with Luka and Jon about upcoming meetings and plans.

“What?” Adrien asks, looking up to the group of extended family members staring at him. They all quickly look away, some whistling while others mess with the person they are next to. “Seriously guys, what?” The whining in Adrien’s voice just made it harder for them to pretend to do something as they hold in a laugh.

“Nothing,” Marinette snickers as Damian brings to play with her hair by braiding strands of it. She always liked it when Damian messed with her hair, he sometimes does something nice, surprising everyone with his styling skills.

“Hey, Pixie-Pop and Pixie-Pop’s friends. When did you guys get in?” It’s Jason, to which majority had forgotten about even though Tim was a close second as he is hovering over a half-full cup of coffee trying to stay awake but isn’t with them in reality. Maybe Marinette should make her special concoction that would knock anyone out for quite some time.

“Hey Mari, can you make the switch?” Dick whispers in the designer’s ear. Marinette huffs agreeing to the older sibling’s request. Damian nearly groans as his girlfriend gets off his lap and walks into the kitchen.

Marinette comes out nearly ten minutes later with a steaming coffee mug in hand. She walks over to Tim and pushes his cup out of his hand and replaces it with hers. Tim, absently, takes a sip. Within seconds he is knocked out, cold.

“I’ll never not be amazed at how fast your drink can knock Tim out,” Dick says as he picks up Tim and exits the room. Marinette shrugs and takes her seat next to Damian.

“When does Cass get back from her trip?” It was Chloe who decided to break the silence between them.

“Before the gala, that’s for sure,” Jason answers as he pulls out the controllers for the game console. He gives Marinette a knowing look, who smirks with mischief in her eyes. He should know better than to play against Marinette.

~*~

It was times like this that made Marinette wish that the school board had investigated Mlle. Bustier years ago, like for example when the liar first tried to get her expelled in college. Yeah, that was such a long time ago.

Today was supposed to be an easy-going day, but for some reason, Lila managed to convince the teachers, Mlle. Bustier specifically, to allow the class to visit a nearby street mall. Mlle. Bustier, of course, agrees despite the GA teachers telling her that it was a bad idea to let the student go out unsupervised in a place they still don’t know much about. Caline laughs it off stating that they’ll be fine, and it’ll be just like walking down the streets in Paris. That added another dash to her inability to be a proper teacher.

Which brings us to the street mall. Lila was going into stores left and right proclaiming to be Damian Wayne’s girlfriend or stating that she is the niece of some high profile celebrity in hopes of getting free or discounted items. That doesn’t dwell well seeing as Gothamites are not as gullible as Parisians.

The Paris Trio along with the GA Trio watch the mess that she was drumming up from afar. Chloe had invited Allegra to join them which then extended to Claude and Allan who wanted to go for the arcade.

Lila even had the nerve to ask Adrien to join her and Alya shopping trips with the underlying message of making him pay. Once being denied on numerous occasions, Alya managed to steal Nino’s wallet in hopes of paying for all their stuff. Yeah, that didn't help their relationship status.

“Alya I told you that money wasn’t for you,” Nino screams into his girlfriend’s face as she tries to come up with an excuse. He was infuriated.

“Nino, baby, if you love me you would have just given me the money. Lila really needed those items for her date with Damian.”

“I don’t care about Lila’s need; she is not my responsibility. In fact, neither are you, Alya. You just spent the money I had saved up for this trip.” Nino had wanted to go into a DJ shop that sold the equipment he wanted and started saving the moment the trip was announced the year before.

“Stop bitching, it was only a couple hundred dollars.”

Oohs and side-eyes make up the crowd they were drawing. It was a free drama tv for them.

“Ooh what do we have here, a lovers quarrel? Now would be the perfect time to spring my new trap.” Suddenly, it was like time freezes.

~*~

Chloe B. @QueenBeeOfParis The best thing about my idiotic classmates is television drama. #savemefromthem

Tina @thepinkmistress I was finding my own business when this shit happens. [Attach is a video clip of a couple arguing and goons dress in green takes over the streets]

Tim Drake’s Bish @rachelcovefe The nerve of this group. Just finished my shift only to be told by some foreigner that she was @GothamsFashionSense like bish please I know you ain't her. #anotherdayingotham

Kimmy @kimmyontheblock Replying to@rachelcovefe OMG same but she then added in that she was Jagged Stone's niece. Um excuse you but we all know that it's @MDCfashion

Mari Needs Coffee @MarinetteMemes So the first relaxing day in Gotham ruined by the Riddler and Lie-la’s fanatics. Yup, so good to be back. #memescomingsoon #goodgrief #imabouttoheadout

Part 4 >>

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[thepastneverforgets]

BatFam One-Shot

characters: jason todd & damian wayne plot: damian is separated from the group during a weekend patrol and the nearest person, jason, is called upon to check on him. cue them begrudgingly bonding. note: this fic isn’t anti-bruce but it’s largely written from jason’s bias perspective so it’s not exactly bruce wayne friendly either. also, not all the familiar with damian in current canon, just fyi. cw: smoking

“I told you I knew where the best hole-in-the-wall vegan spot in Gotham was; you should trust me more often...” Jason remarked as he watched Damian practically scarf down his own tin-foil wrapped meal. 

Damian immediately scoffed with food still in his mouth, and then made sure to swallow it all down--’manners, young man. mind them’ they both heard Alfred chastising tone in their head--before he went on to spit out, “trust you, Hood? I’d sooner trust the clown before I did that...”

And didn’t that just make Jason seethe, glaring at Damian’s little smirk and biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself in check. He didn’t want to bite back or smack the kid upside the head, but was strongly feeling the urge to do just that, which he counted back from ten to ignore. After all, he was the adult in this situation, trying to extend an olive branch and show Bruce that he could play nice, even with his legitimate Demon Spawn. It wouldn’t do him any good to sink down to the brat’s level. And frankly, he’s on the verge of just dropping off the rooftop and grappling away to leave Damian to make his way back to the manor on his own, when the younger boy’s next words gave him pause.

“I suppose it’s adequate enough, though. Certainly better than the things father tries to get me to eat.” 

“Puh-lease, Bruce wouldn’t know good taste if it bit him in the ass. All that secondhand smoke while dining out in the 80′s and early 90′s probably ruined his taste buds.” Jason reasoned with a dry laugh.

“You smoke.” Damian went on to point out, jumping in to defend his father even if he was just criticizing him a second ago. Just as Jason bundled up his empty food wrapper and tucked it into his utility belt to throw away later, and so that he could instead pull out a cigarette from the next pocket over. 

“Only after dinner...” He quipped--and also when he couldn’t get the particular iron taste of blood out of his mouth, but he left that part unsaid. His lips curled up in lopsided grin while he held the cigarette between them to light it up, with his favorite lighter, which was shaped to look like a tiny six-shooter . It was only after the first puff of smoke was expelled over the city streets that Jason sagged in relief, legs lazily swinging back and forth over the ledge of the building’s roof. 

“Let me try.” Damian demanded out of nowhere and Jason immediately coughed on his next drag.

“The fuc-- What the hell do I look like to you, brat... your gateway into becoming a damn addict?” 

Damian scowled and moved to snatch the cigarette, but was too slow. Jason’s broad and bulky frame leaned away from the pipsqueak as he pulled a proper drag this time. “Oh, whatever, Hood. I’ll have you know I’m built different from you. I wouldn’t get addicted...”

And didn’t that naïve and childish proclamation just make Jason laugh in delight, his half-smoked cigarette stubbed out against the roof and shoved in the same pocket he had put his trash in earlier.

“Yeah...? Why don’t you go tell that to B and Al the next time you all have a little family movie night; just bring it right up when he tries to get you to watch The Brave Little Toaster or some shit, see what his face says...”

With a scrunch of his nose and a huff, Damian replied, “he already made me watch that with him, I feel asleep on it, on him...”

“Ha, me too, kid, me fucking too...” And this time, Jason’s high and short laugh sounded clogged with too much emotion, nostalgia and resentment all cobbled together and caking his throat. “I get that it’s his favorite animated movie from way back when or whatever, but damn, he couldn’t pick something a little more exciting-- think he just wanted to watch something that he knew would put us to sleep....”

“Oh..” Damian mouthed, looking around for a place to put his trash before he simply followed Jason’s lead and continued on, “I-- I didn’t know that. Do... You don’t think he was insulted that I didn’t pay attention and drooled on him, do you...?” 

For a moment, Jason paused at the honest note of doubt and concern in Damian’s face, the little wannabe Batman finally looking like the child he was. Which had him answering with kneejerk honesty, “No, no I don’t think he cared, even a little. The boss-man is just a quality time kind guy...

     But, I bet you don’t even know what his favorite movies and books actually are, do you? Or what spot in that exclusive study of his that he likes best to read in...?”

Damian scowled, in thought, and then shook his head. As far as he knew, his father didn’t do much of any reading these days, unless it was blaring off the bright screen of the bat-computer. 

Jason sucked on his teeth with a disappointed ‘tsk’ and shook his own head. “Then ask him, when you get back; see what he says... we can compare notes next time and see if he’s done any personal growth in the last decade or more...” he suggested before he finally stood on the very edge of the roof and stretched out his heavy limbs.

All the crime and corruption that filled the city streets was so far below him that it seemed a world away. And it was getting about that time for him to clock out of this little babysitting job and jump back into his swamp. 

“Come with me...” 

Once again, Damian’s unexpected words gave Jason pause and he glanced back at the kid with a raised brow. “Uh... thanks but no thanks. I got some business to attend to and time to kill, before Al makes that insomniac actually sleep and he becomes any sort of tolerable.” 

“You know, you’re not better than him, Todd. He made yo--”

“Whatever you say, brat...” Jason cut off the ‘you should be grateful to him for the rest of your life’ bullshit Damian was likely going to feed him, even after all the trouble he went through to get the kid a decent meal, and pulled out his grapple gun. “Now you go and get home to daddy, yeah... I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.” And with that, Jason jumped off the roof and worked to put a street of distance between them. 

And although Damian wasn’t happy with not getting the last word in, his mind was quickly pulled to other matters as Batman came in through the coms a moment later, demanding to know where his youngest son was and why he hadn’t returned from patrol, yet. 

“In route as we speak...” was all he said in response, his path taking him back to the manor and opposite Jason.