#Jason wasn’t trying to squeeze himself back into the dynamic that once was

[littledead-ridinghood]

It’s not that Jason came back to a changed family where he didn’t fit into the gap he left behind anymore. It’s the fact that his family never scooted over to make more space for him once he returned.

[igotanidea]

Benched : Jason todd x cheshire!reader

Another story from Cheshire!verse. The others are Cheshire cat, That damn gala and Five years later and Tired.

Summary: Y/N (vigilante name: cheshire) was benched by Bruce because of her strange behaviour. One night all the feelings found a way out and there was only one person who could calm her down.

Warnings: cussing, mentions of anxiety and panic attack, reader is locked in a room at some point, Jason and Bruce dynamics are a warning of itself

“What is wrong with you?” Bruce’s voice was stern and emotionless when he led all the batboys and Y/N to the batcave after a mission.

“Nothing.” She muttered incoherently hoping she wouldn’t have to deal with The Batman himself. She…. Had made some mistakes during a patrol and if it wasn’t for Dick’s reflex and Tim’s quick thinking it could have ended really bad.

“Are you trying to kill us? You’ve been erratic, chaotic and fidgeting for way to long.”

“Hey! Don’t you dare lashing on her!” Jason was always ready to stand up to his beloved Y/N. And now, as he saw her clenching her fists and narrowing eyes he knew she was barely holding. Normally she was strong and resilient, but – as much as Jason hated to admit it – Bruce was right. Something wrong has been happening to her for a while now. However, this was not a reason to attack her verbally.

“Stay out of this Jason.”

“The hell I will.”

“Jace. Come on, it’s ok. Just calm down. Bruce… has a point here.” She squeezed his arm trying to reassure him 

“Y/N. He has no right….” He hissed through clenched teeth

“How about we all just take a breather, hm? Look everyone, we are back, safe and it’s all good, right?”

“Shut up, Dick!”

“Look who’s lashing on who now.”

“What do I have to do to have five minutes of peace here?” Tim rolled his eyes and sighed deeply “will there ever be any time when you two are in the same room without fighting?”

“SHUT UP TIM!” both Dick and Jason shouted but Red Robin just shrugged and turned towards Y/N.

“Want to get out of here?”

“I want nothing more than that.”

“You are not going anywhere.” Before either of them could move, Bruce was in the way, blocking way out of the cave.

“Come on, Bruce. We are all tired and stressed and overworked….” Tim tried to bargain

“And that’s coming from a workaholic. “

“DAMIAN! Who’s side are you on?!”

“Mine. The only right one. I am the only rational one here.”

“You are an asshole, that is what you are!”

Before anyone realized it, everyone (except Bruce of course) was shouting at each other to the point where all words  became blurry and it was hard to differentiate who was offending who. It obviously started as a little banter between Dick and Jason and took off pretty quickly.

“What are those noises?”

“Oh, thank God you’re here Alfred. You’re like the only one who can make them calm down.”

“What about…..?” Bruce started but was quickly interrupted

“I’m sorry, Master Wayne, but it seems like you have no word in this discussion.  And I am not going to be the one to conciliate them. Again.”

“But….” Bruce looked helpless

“Miss Y/N, you look pale. Would you mind joining me for a cup of tea upstairs.”

“I would love to accompany you, Alfred. You’re the best company a girl could ask for.”

“This is enough!”

“Wait, did Bruce just raised his voice?” all of a sudden all the batboys went as quiet as the mouse.

“Father?” for the first time in his short life, Damian was confused beyond recognition and Y/N wished she had a phone to snap a picture

“Well, that’s just made my day. We finally pushed The Batman over the edge” Jason let out a laugh quickly moving to stand next to his girl and grabbed her hand.

“I’m out. Screw you all. I’m going to bed. Are there any cookies left Alfred”

“I saved a few for miss….”

“I’ll be sure to take good care of them.”

“I hate you, demon.” The girl hissed. She was really hoping for a midnight snack.

“Yeah, right. Get in line.”

“Leave us.” Once again Bruce was back to his cold, unemotional self.

“You mean you and Dickhead? Sure, be my guest” Jason’s hold on Y/N hand grew tighter as he tried to drag her away.

“Me and Y/N.” Bruce hissed

“Over my dead body!”

“That can be arranged.”

“You would break your no-killing policy for me? Woah. I’m flattered.” Jason scoffed ironically

“You’re insufferable.” Bruce stated

“Well, you’re die-hard.” Jason retorted

“You never listen!” Bat was starting to lose his patience

“You only listen to yourself!” Jay shouted

“ You’re stubborn like a mule.”

“You don’t care about anything!”

“I tried my best to raise you!”

“Well, I tried my best to live up to your expectations!”

With Damian and Tim gone, Y/N, Dick and Alfred were just left standing in the cave their eyes switching between Bruce and Jason fighting silhouettes like it was some sort of twisted tennis game.

“Can someone please…..?” Y/N started

“I hate you!” Jason yelled, his face almost as red as his helmet

“You finally admitted that!”

“You never cared about me! About any of us for what I know!”

“This is not true!”

“It is the only truth!”

“I always tried to protect all of you.”

“Ok, that is enough.” Dick knew exactly what was going to happen if they did not stop them “Y/N,  a hand there?”

“Sure. As long as you’ll deal with Bruce.”

“Take your aim, Cheshire.”

“I hate when I have to do this.”

“I know. But desperate times…..”

“Blah, blah, blah. More action less talking Nightwing.”

“What? I’m chatty. It’s part of my charm”

The girl just rolled her eyes and taking the stance, without an ounce of hesitation jumped right at her boyfriend tackling him to the ground.

“Have you been working out, Jay?” she raised an eyebrow. It was either this or she was getting weaker. It was much easier to ground him last time when he threw a temper tantrum in the cave. Which was last week.

“Maybe. You like my muscles Y/N. It’s ok to admit it.”

“Shut up.” She went red in an instance but much to her relief he was much calmer now, that she captured all of his attention. In the meantime Dick managed to calm down Bruce and everything was going to a good conclusion. All of them, one by one started to leave the cave but before Y/N disappeared Bruce grunted suggestively.

“Ok, all right! Fine! You got what you wanted, they are out. Now, what did you want to talk about.”

“You know, after all this time, you still know how to play both sides and twist people’s mind for your own benefit.”

“That’s not me. That is Cheshire. We are not exactly the same. Just like Bruce and Batman. I wonder what your investors would say if they found the elegant Mr Wayne beating up criminals in some dark and dirty Gotham alley….” She smirked trying to imagine Wayne Enterprises clients’ faces.

“Hide your claws. Now. What is going on with you?”

“Since when are you concerned?”

“Since you put lives of team in danger. Yours included.”

“It was not that bad.” She muttered looking down. It was. And she knew it. And he knew she knew. And she knew he knew she knew ….. Or whatever. Mind games was hard at times.

“Y/N” he sighed deeply. She was the first girl to become his sidekick. The first … daughter of some sort, even if he never truly adopted her. But, even if he did not like it, given their history together he had a soft spot for her. Deep, deep, deeeeeep inside, but still.

“What?” she spat on the edge of desperation

“Do you need help?”

“Help? No. No!” her face twisted involuntarily “why would I need help?”

“You’re obviously going through something.”

“Look who’s talking. That’s hypocritical, even for you Bruce.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“Why do you sound like…..?”

“You’re benched.”

“WHAT?!”

***

He benched her. Holy shit! She was like the only almost stable in the team and now she was on forced leave. For an indefinite period of time. Screw Bruce! In his own words, he was going to let her in again the moment she get herself back together. As if she wasn’t holding herself together!

While the boys were out, jumping on the roofs, chasing villains and getting their lives in trouble she was fuming in the manor walking from one corner of the room to another. Of course, for the last week, she was doing her best to disobey Bruce’s order. She was sneaking out the window the second they left, following suit, using the most of her flexibility skills to squeeze unnoticed, but it was for nothing. The first night, Bruce used some new technology (ironically, it was the tech SHE invented) to transport her back home, the machine claws (another irony) clenched over her body as she was flied to the manor. It was humiliating. The second time, she used the stun gun to knock her unconscious (Jason was ready to kill him for that, but luckily Dick and Damian managed to stop him). Third time she installed some crazy magnets to stop her in her tracks and when the team came back found her plastered to the wall, her hands dangling limply mid-air.

“GET. ME. THE FUCK. DOWN!” she struggled against her containment and Bruce just pressed some button cutting her lose. Luckily, before she hit the ground, Jason jumped forward and wrapped his strong arms around her, saving her from any damage.

“ARE YOU INSANE?!” he yelled, gently putting the girl down with the kiss on the top of the head and turning into a monster throwing himself at Bruce.

“Will it ever stop?” Tim whined without any hope for the future.

The fourth, fifth and sixth time was no better. No matter how strong and stubborn and resilient she was, she finally gave up. After tenth time. When Batman dragged her and locked her in the manor’s safe room. Up till now, she never knew they had one.

“FUCK YOU BRUCE!” she screaming pretty sure this place was wired and he heard her shouts in his comm right in his ear. Hopefully this will make him go deaf.”

“That’s my girl! Go louder, baby.” Jason laughed thought the communicator. So she was right, it was wired.

“Nah, it’s a waste of my throat.” She was slowly losing her voice “as for you Red, try not to get killed again, can you handle that?”

“Dunno. Guess you gotta wait and see, sweatheart”

“I hate you.”

“I love you, baby.”

“Ugh. Can you two just stop!” Damian yelled “I’m getting sick. Of you!”

“Nah. I think we can torture you a little more, demon. Auch! Dick, get the fuck off me!”

Y/N sighed deeply and shook her head. They were never going to change. And despite everything it was the reason why she loved all of them so much. Her reverie was interrupted when she heard the sound of key twisted in the lock.

“Miss Y/N? Is everything all right? I heard you scream and ….”

“I’m fine Alfred, thank you. Would you mind if I come up? Or would that be the violation of the rules?”

“Master Wayne can be excessive, we all know that. I’ve just made tea.” He motioned for her to come with him. Thank god for Alfred.

***

It was 3 a.m. and they weren’t back yet. That was weird. Normally a patrol did not take this long. For the last two hours Y/N was trying her best to fall asleep but instead found herself tossing and turning in the sheets missing Jason’s embrace and his warmth. Even the chamomile tea Alfred made for her did not help. She groaned in frustration feeling her heartbeat fastening. All of a sudden her head got flooded with the thought she has been forcing out of her system for the last two weeks. Bruce was right from the beginning. She was erratic and scatterbrained. She was distracted and nervous. He knew. He knew from the very beginning, even before her. Funny, since it was her organism who was sending warning signals she was purposefully ignoring. Until now. She felt like she was suffocating, her hands shaking, her head spinning and breathing was becoming a problem.

“What…. the hell?” she stumbled out of bed. Once again, it was 3 a.m. and suddenly she felt the rush of energy in her veins and needed something, anything to do before going completely crazy. So she got up and quickly walked to the kitchen hoping there were some dirty dishes or anything to clean up and keep herself busy. Unfortunately, Alfred made sure everything was cleaned before he went to bed. Damn! What’s your next great idea, Y//N? she though. Books, library! Great! That would keep her occupied.

Boys came back an hour later, exhausted, all of them just dreaming about going to bed. Jason in particular. He needed Y/N. He needed her next to him. When he did not find her in bed he freaked out. Like never before and raised an alarm like never before. Was she taken? Was she attacked? Was she hurt, injured, held captive or in pain? He was already reaching for his gun when Tim stopped him from rushing out the manor in his rage. He found her in the library, sitting on the floor, tomes and tomes splattered all over the floor while she was pacing nervously all over the place.

“Y/N.” Jason’s eyes opened wide at her flustered state “what are you doing?”

“Tidying up.” She smiled nervously and giggled. She giggled! Now Jason knew something was terribly, terribly wrong “I couldn’t sleep and though why not. I mean, I could have chosen to do some workout instead but figured that cleaning would be more useful. Or… maybe I should have cleaned up the bedroom instead. I mean, it’s been a while since I did. And the bathroom. Or perhaps I should have worked on that new IT software for Wayne Enterprises, I am way past deadline and HR is going to kill me if…..”

Jason took one stride into her and grabbed her shaking hands.

“Y/N. Please, please, calm down. What is happening?” her eyes were all over the place, everywhere but on him “Hey, you’re scaring me. Look at me.” His voice got a bit more commanding tone than intended but it worked as her terrified gaze fixed on him.

“Breathe with me” he spoke calmly pulling her to sit down on the floor, pushing some books away to make place for them “All right. Just…. breathe. In and out. That is good.” He gave her a couple minutes to regulate her hitched breath before speaking again “What happened?”

“I…. I don’t know.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“For like two weeks…..”

“TWO WEEKS!” he yelled and he jumped “Sorry. Why didn’t you tell me? Or anyone? But mostly me?”

“It wasn’t that bad….”

“Mhm, sure. That’s what I said after resurrecting. It wasn’t that bad. And everyone knew I was lying.”

“Jace.”

“Hm?”

“You never said that. If anything, you were always underlying you were through hell. And no one denied that.”

“Exactly, Y/N. I’ve been through hell. And that is why I know precisely  how a person going through it look like.”

“How? How does such person look like?”

“Like you at this moment. Was it a panic attack? Anxiety?” he cupped her cheek tracing her cheek. “Tell me.”

“You are giving me anxiety right now asking so many question.”

“Sorry baby. Do you need a hug?”

“Yes, please.” She nodded weakly and he just wrapped his arms around her pulling her into the comfort of his embrace.

“Whatever caused this, whoever caused this” he groaned “you are safe now. Everything is fine. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“What about you?” she muttered against his chest

“Me?” that was surprising “what about me?”

“Will you make sure no one hurts you, again. Or will you just be your reckless self?”

“Wait. Is that the reason…..?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. “ she sighed deeply “Partially. I guess I just had too much on my plate. Dealing with work and vigilantism and my restless brain seeing all the possibilities and missed opportunities. I guess my mind just decided to remind me all the mistakes and traumas from the last ten years.”

“No surprise you broke. Bruce gave a hell lot of traumas to all of us. But hey, on the bright side, you survived all of them.”

“Since when are you optimistic?”

“Ugh, your right. It so out of character. I should cut on my time with Dick, his attitude is rubbing off on me.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that. He won’t let you live through it” she laughed “hey, let go of me” she winced when Jason started to tickle her.

“Better?”

“I think so. But you know what” she ruffled his hair playfully “I like it when you smile. I missed that happy face.”

“Are you trying to tell me something babe?” he leaned toward her clearly going in for a kiss

“Nope.” She put a finger on his lips “I’m not going to wipe it off your face.”

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow “you’re gonna make me work for it?”

“You know me all too well.”

“Fine.” He sighed “I’ll give you 5 seconds of head start. Start running kitty. Because when I catch you, I’m not letting you out easily.”

“5 seconds?? Jason Peter Todd!”

“One…..”

“I hate you.” she turned around and rushed out of the library, avoiding all the books left on the floor in her anxiety haze.

“Five.” Was he cheating? Yes, definitely. But the game was on and he could not stop thinking about catching her and just having her all to himself.

[butwhyduh]

Holiday Party

Damian Wayne x reader

He’s about 16 yrs old here.

Warning: Christmas? Kissing

Christmas series 4

You were early. Damian looked out his door to see no one around and he rushed downstairs to meet you at the door. You were being dropped off by your older brother who gave Damian a look from the front seat of his car that all but said he’d mess Damian up if he hurt you. Funny to think about your brother trying to beat him up but he would never consider it. Damian opened your car door for you.

“Beloved, you’re early,” he said with a grin. Your brother gave a rough hey and Damian’s face dropped and he gave a curt nod. “I’ll have Alfred drop her off so you won’t have to pick her up,” Damian told him. Your brother nodded again before leaving.

Damian barely held your finger with his own as he walked you up to his room. He didn’t want his brothers to see him being affectionate. He pulled you into his room and engulfed you in a huge hug. He wasn’t short little Dami anymore but had been hit by puberty like a bus and was almost 6 foot tall. He smelled like cologne and his sweater was so freaking soft. You felt the fabric on his chest with your hand and he stiffened and coughed a little. Oh yeah, he could feel that. You flushed.

“So you want to watch a movie?” Damian said pulling away.

“Yeah. Sounds great,” you said sitting on his bed pulling your shoes off. You slid up the bed to lay on his pillow as he grabbed his laptop.

“Drake doesn’t know but I’ve set it up that every film he downloads, I get a copy too so I’ve got a bunch. Though his taste is pretty sappy for some of these,” Damian said wrinkling his nose.

“Probably to watch with his girlfriend. Or maybe he’s a sap,” you laughed. Damian climbed on the bed and laid the laptop on the other side of you. His arms temporarily caged you against him and you couldn’t help but think of him on top of you. Damian laid back as the film started playing. He put two pillows behind his head to watch from behind you. You laid on your side and he wrapped an arm around your waist loosely.

The film was probably great. All you could think of was how close your boyfriend in the softest boyfriend sweater was right beside you. You slid farther back until your back hit his chest. He inhaled audibly but didn’t move. Damian cursed himself. You had definitely heard that.

You ran your hand along the arm of his sweater as the movie went on. He smelled a little like soft cologne and spiced tea. Everything was fine until there was a sex scene. Nothing graphic but enough to where you were both very aware of your situation. Damian slid his body a little back from you making a little space between you and him.

You turned to look at him and he couldn’t help but brush his lips against yours. You slowly turned in his arms until you were making out while laying on your side. Damian held your face softly with one hand. Your fingers slid into his hair. His tongue slipped into your mouth gently just exploring you.

The door to his room opened.

“Master Damian, your father needs you in his study at your earliest convenience. Also... do take care with your visitors. You are only 16,” Alfred said, looking pointedly at the ceiling before leaving. Damian flushed on his tan skin. you covered your mouth and giggled, embarrassed.

“At least it wasn’t your dad,” you said. He nodded as he stood up.

“I won’t be long. Just watch the movie and I’ll be back as quick as I can,” Damian said and you noted that his lips were pink and maybe even a little swollen from kissing.

“Yeah, no problem.”

It took all of 1.7 minutes for Bruce to notice his son’s lips. His eyes narrowed a little and he looked critically at Damian who was staring at the computer screen.

“Damian, you are of the age where sexual education is important. You are practicing safe sex, yes?” Bruce asked in an even tone as if almost casually but really he wanted to seem calm. Damian twisted so fast to look at his father.

“I am not,” he said quickly.

“You aren’t??” Bruce asked shocked. “That’s very dangerous-“

“I’m not having sex. At all,” Damian said completely red. Bruce calmed.

“None? Because condoms-“

“Father, I’ve been taught. And if I do have sex I will be safe but I’m not now,” Damian said. He refused to look anywhere but the screen. “How did Alfred tell you so fast?” He complained.

“Tell me? Is there something to tell me? You know what? Don’t answer that. I trust you. There is a bowl of condoms under the sink in the bathroom off my study. All of the boys use it and it stays full. No questions asked. And the family doctor is very discreet for any questions you might have,” Bruce said delicately.

“Okay. I got it. Thanks. But please stop. Tell me about the case,” Damian practically begged.

——————————

It was not a few minutes but a full 2 hours later that Damian came back to his room. You were asleep. A movie played in the background and you hug his pillow. Damian smiled a little before waking you. It was almost time for his brothers to arrive. You sat up quickly. You’d never fallen asleep at his place.

“Sorry I was so long. Family stuff,” he said vaguely. He did that all the time. “It’s almost time for the party.”

“Oh I need to get ready,” you sat up. You’d planned to get started a little earlier. You didn’t dress fancy around Damian; he didn’t care. But his family’s Christmas was fairly formal.

“Is this okay?” You asked 20 minutes later. Damian nodded with a little smile.

“You look beautiful in anything, beloved. But this is exceptional,” he said and you flushed. His way with words. “It’s time to go down stairs.”

Damian took your hand and you walked downstairs. His eyes lingered on you longer than necessary. Somehow Tim and his girlfriend and Duke had beat you both downstairs. Damian pulled out a chess board and Tim and Bruce once again dragged work into every room they entered.

“I won’t go easy on you,” Damian warned. He was far better at strategy but your moments on the board were incredibly erratic to the point that he couldn’t predict your next move.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else. If you did, I’d expect a body snatcher,” you said and he hazarded a small smile. Damian didn’t want to appear too pleased. Bruce was watching him while maintaining conversation. You understood his weird stoic family dynamic enough to ignore it.

Damian won 3 out of 4 games. You could admit that your win was more luck than skill but you took it. Dick and his girlfriend arrived and the party moved to the dining room.

After a few minutes, a man you had never seen showed up humming to introduce himself and his date. The butler seemed very happy and for a minute you wondered if it was his son. No, this was the mysterious brother who was always fighting with the family.

“Dami, who is that?” You asked whispering.

“Jason Todd, one of my father’s wards. And I suppose his girlfriend,” Damian said. You nodded and watched as they sat down. Later in the evening, the eldest, that Damian had even called his brother, proposed to his girlfriend.

You were given a small glass of champagne and you looked at it quietly. Did they forget you and Damian were 16? Not exactly legal. But you didn’t say anything and you both drank the tiny amount of alcohol with everyone else. Damian squeezed your hand and gave you a tiny smile.

The party moved to the parlor with a billiards table and a dart board on the wall. The adults were served more alcohol and pudding was served informally. A tasty sticky cake that you dare not asked the ingredients was quickly eaten. You and Damian sat on a loveseat in the corner where you could watch the others play billiards and other games. Tim and Jason played a heated game of 9 ball. Jason was a natural. Tim was all strategy.

You leaned against Damian’s shoulder as the storm raged outside. You were full and the room was warm.

“It’s far too dangerous to drive out tonight. It’s turned into a blizzard so you all will stay here. There are plenty of rooms and beds for everyone and anything you could need,” Bruce announced to the group. Jason sighed and Damian opened his mouth. “I’ll call her parents to let them know. Don’t worry Damian.”

Damian relaxed and wrapped an arm around your shoulder. You began to doze as the pool games played. He ran his fingers along your outer arm and watched from the corner of his eyes as you fell asleep. He enjoyed your body warmth and soft sweet scent subtly.

An hour later you woke as you were slowly being moved. Strong arms cradled you and you could smell Damian’s pleasant unique scent strongly. You gripped his arm as he carried you out of the room. He hushed softly to let you go back to sleep.

“You got him shot?!” One of the women in the room yelped and you jolted awake.

“It’s okay. Go back to sleep, beloved. Don’t mind my stupid brothers,” Damian said quietly. He gently laid you on his bed and pulled you in the covers. His soft sheets quickly lulled you to sleep.

While you slept, he grabbed blankets and settled on the floor. Half an hour later, right as Damian was falling asleep, Bruce opened the door quietly. He saw the boy on the floor, nodded, and shut the door.

[bossbex]

5x06 Reaction

JARCHIE!!! I missed their interactions so much... like honestly in S4 they barely spoke.  I’m loving the “roommates” dynamic.  

Ok the kevin/fangs/toni apartment(?) is... amazing!!

I love how they hired actual teenagers (or close to it) to play the high school kids... since all the “teachers” were playing high school students, what, 3 episodes ago?? 

Ok mechanic Betty is SO HOT

DORITOS I AM CRYING AT THIS PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Veronica’s taking over the Blue Velvet!!! Why not reuse that set lmao

Thoughts on this initial barchie interaction: 

I’ve seen all the discourse about it seeming like Archie doesn’t care about Betty’s problems, or not taking them seriously, and people comparing Archie’s “oof - that sucks” to jughead’s “white noise” speech in 1x08 (which I thought was cringy AF and I even liked b*ghead at the time) and here’s what I’ll say: 

His “oof - that sucks” comment as MATCHING Betty’s tone - she says it kind of matter of factly and with a bit of an eyeroll, she does NOT seem very upset about it, and she is a grown ass adult who DOESN’T need Archie’s condolences in that moment - and Archie knows that. 

She then brings up Polly, and Archie ASKS A FOLLOW UP QUESTION: “didn’t your mom say she does this? Takes off for a couple of days” which shows that he is referring to a previous conversation about this - they’ve BEEN talking about it and he DOES care (not to mention they showed that he had texted her about Polly at the end of the last episode)

She says she’s trying not to panic - because she knows this is something Polly does and may not actually be in danger - SO HE OFFERS A DISTRACTION during a time when she is basically asking for one, and then SHE COMES UP WITH THE IDEA OF WHERE TO GO HAVE SEX

Anyway I have argued with enough people on twitter about this lol.. I feel strongly.  Also, this scene was super cute and both Archie and Betty look so good in it.  

I love Tabitha.  Smart, enterprising, witty... I’m all for the Jugitha pairing. (seriously though, is a ship name decided for them? I’ve seen Tabhead and Jabitha as well, lol.  

Uhhhhh ok this car sex scene? It somehow feels even more explicit than the shower scene?? The moaning and breathing?? HOW DARE THESE STONEWALL KIDS INTERRUPT THIS

LMAO NIGHT JOGGING

Is it just me or is Sheriff Keller looking really hot? Silver fox??  

I have to note that Archie’s hair colour looks SO BAD in this whole episode but especially this football scene with the Reggie confrontation.  It’s like, almost burgundy? But somehow bright orange at the same time? I hate it.  

Ok Cole is absolutely nailing this “down on his luck, beaten down” adult Jughead.  His character is funny all the sudden?? I love that he kept the money in the tip jar like OF COURSE

Ok Chad coming into Veronica’s class HE’S THE WORST!!! And then SITTING AT THE BACK I HATE HIM SO MUCH FOR THIS

Alright, now we have another scene that has people talking, which is where Archie meets Chad.  My thoughts: 

Archie clearly sizes up Chad.  I mean, he dated Veronica for 3-ish years (in the show’s timeline) so yeah, it’s normal to meet your ex’s new partner and size them up.  It read more like “he thinks Chads a douche” as opposed to “he’s jealous of Chad because he wants to be with V”.  

They show makes a point of showing Betty’s reaction to them meeting.  THIS SHOT IS NOT RANDOM.  Yes, I’m sure the show will go there, she’ll get jealous of V at some point.  Betty thinking that Archie is jealous of Chad is not the same as Archie actually being jealous of Chad.  

I kind of loved how Chad just jumps in here to join in the karaoke night - he didn’t redeem himself from the previous scene where he SAT IN THE BACK OF HER CLASS WHILE SHE WORKED but I like how they’re not playing him completely evil

Next scene: BETTY AND TONI ARE TALKING!!! I REPEAT!!! BETTY AND TONI ARE TALKING!!! Seriously, it’s so refreshing that they’re actually letting all kinds of new dynamics and character interactions happen this season.  

Also, NEDSLIST!!!! THIS SHOW!!!!

I am living for Cheryl being completely beautiful whilst yelling at construction workers.  

So like... she actually doesn’t have that much money. She couldn’t really afford the donation for the school... I kind of wish that once she says “I can’t afford it” people would like, not keep pushing? I’m looking at you Toni, whom I absolutely adore, I just wish the writers didn’t make it like Cheryl’s being squeezed dry.  I get that it’s needed for plot purposes but I don’t love it.  

Kevin and Betty are friends again!!! Love it!!! 

Karaoke night thoughts: 

At no point is Jughead hanging out or interacting with the rest of the group.  He stays separate from them - with Tabitha, which I appreciate, but I am just noting this because I’m sure it was done purposefully. 

“She probably forgot it’s Gekko now” uhhhh didn’t Toni announce V as “Veronica Gekko” in the last episode?? LOL THE SHADE

I love Veronica’s voice

Ok so Chad actually comes off so great in this scene?? I guess this is part of his manipulation - come off as such a great guy in front of all her friends to get them to like him? 

Jughead’s reaction to the duet is so me every time I’ve watched people do karaoke lmao

During the “or do you need more? Is there something else you’re searching for” they cut to Archie’s and Betty’s reaction.  Archie is not thinking about V in that moment.  

I am not seeing one iota of jealousy from Archie.  He looks genuinely happy for them.  

This Chad and Veronica bed scene makes me uncomfortable.  But I’m glad they’re showing their softer moments! 

The Archie/football recruitment sequence... Chad in the back of Veronica’s classroom again??? HOW IS THIS HAPPENING I HATE THIS!! Also, this is another scene where Chad looks jealous of Archie... not the other way around. 

Britta!!! I love her.  And I feel like the writers inserted her in specifically for Britta Lundin, former Riverdale writer and acclaimed author (read her book Ship It, seriously, it’s so good), and I love that. BUT THE WAY ARCHIE LOOKS AT BETTY IN THIS SCENE IS THAT EVEN LEGAL

We get the first glimpse Toni’s “Operation Bring Cheryl Out Of Hiding” plan here, when Archie asks her for funding for the football team and says its earmarked for something else (hmmmmmmm... this plan has been in the works for a while... and I’m here for it) 

Ok. This scene where Archie goes to ask Cheryl for money is... a mess.  My first reaction is that it was so OOC for Archie to bring up Jason in that way.  Then I got to thinking... Archie probably would want to honour his dad in that way and was genuinely suggesting that as something that might actually be helpful to her, as opposed to purposely trying to manipulate her.  He knows what it’s like to lose a family member, he just didn’t realize that Cheryl doesn’t grieve in the same way. The boy doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body.  Anyway, now he’s been banished from Thornhill! But don’t we see him (and everyone) there in a bts photo from possibly 5x08? Isn’t that at Thornhill? Will this be addressed or will the writers just forget it ever happened?

I love Betty and Kevin investigating together. It’s so refreshing. 

Ok this place Jughead is going to is legit the creepiest shit I’ve ever seen.  I am having trouble making myself care about this “Mothmen” plot??

Betty’s “Straight to the Point” interrogation style is actually effective in this truck stop stakeout scene.  

Alice again with her wine... I wonder if there will actually be an “Alice is an alcoholic” storyline or is the wine just part of her personality now?

Ok like it’s so inappropriate for a teacher to be wearing an HBIC shirt BUT I AM HERE FOR THIS DRAMATIC VIXENS HALLWAY WALK!! And Toni is correct, Cheer is a sport so sit down, Archie.  Notably Toni adds in “not even Cheryl managed to do that” - I’m thinking she new Ms. Bell would be eavesdropping ;)

WHY IS THIS PORTAIT OF JASON WORTH SO MUCH?? 

Is this Minerva character going to be important?? I keep seeing people talking about how she and Cheryl are going to hook up but is that just because she’s a female character who interacts with Cheryl? I’m not seeing it yet but hey, it’s Riverdale.  

JUGHEAD BRINGING UP THE EPIC HIGHS AND LOWS OF HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL I SCREAMED

Seriously though, since we know Jughead wasn’t there when Archie said that, there’s two options: Either Archie told him he said it, or (my preferable theory) Archie used to just SAY THAT REGULARLY and has said it in front of Jug lmao.

Chad again seems legit supportive when she tells him about her jewelry store plan?? THEY’RE SO UP AND DOWN!!! 

Ok, so Betty is an FBI agent (trainee, whatever) and she JUST NOW THOUGHT OF TRACING POLLY’S CELL PHONE

This scene... when Veronica finds out Chad has been talking to Hiram behind her back... this is where she decides she’s done with Chad. 

Another scene with Archie - I am still getting zero vibes that he’s into Veronica? And zero vibes that Veronica’s into Archie? It makes complete sense that Veronica would want to help the bulldogs.  Chad is a total dick here and is definitely threatened by Archie... again, not the other way around.  Side note: Chad, if threatened by Archie, is a TOTAL IDIOT for suggesting Archie renovates the Pembrooke - like, he’s going to be working? All the time? Where Veronica is staying? And probably taking his shirt off because he’s sweaty from all the working?? WHYYYYY WOULD CHAD ENCOURAGE THIS

This little flirty scene between Jughead and Tabitha (and it’s the first that I would say has any flirty undertones whatsoever) is pretty cute.  

THIS BARCHIE PORCH SCENE I HAVE THOUGHTS

The fact that people are suggesting Betty showed up there because she wanted to talk to Jughead is SENDINNNNGGGGGG

Let’s be clear, she only asked about Jughead so she could make sure he wasn’t home so that she could bone Archie. There is no other interpretation for this. 

THIS IS THE BEST BARCHIE KISS TO DATE

They are playing the song from the porch scene in the pilot... DON’T TELL ME BARCHIE IS MEANINGLESS WHEN THEY ARE USING THIS SONG

I think the fact that this is the first time they had sex and we didn’t see it is meaningful - they are showing that the relationship is deepening and they are more than “just sex”

As Betty leaves, Archie looks like he wants to reach out for her and then stops himself - he is definitely falling hard and he’s afraid Betty isn’t feeling the same way

Ok, Cheryl is straight up wearing lingerie in Toni’s office!!! And the red lipstick is back - notably, throughout the entire show, she has worn the red lipstick as a kind of shield - she never has it for her “vulnerable” scenes.  Seems like that is still happening. AND this is where we see Boss Toni’s plan come into fruition - she started up the vixens and MADE SURE CHERYL FOUND OUT ABOUT IT because she knew that was the one thing that would make Cheryl come out of her Thornhill hiding spot.  Well played, Toni.  

Archie and Veronica announcing the bulldog funding... again, I’m not seeing ANY “romantic/attraction” vibes here? He does react when she says her last name is Lodge again but like, anyone would? 

MS. BELL YOU GOSSIP I’M OK WITH YOU REPORTING TO CHERYL BUT I DRAW THE LINE AT HIRAM

Is Reggie... filing his nails? Lmao

I really hope Polly isn’t dead?? Like I very much want a Polly redemption story!! 

Sooooo I guess Archie and Jughead are both going to die in this fire? Lol... well... they’re main characters so I’m sure they’re good.  

I’m doooone for this week! So far really enjoying the timejump? Obviously because of barchie but also, everyone is just - better. 

Well this turned out to be a novel.  If you made it this far, thanks for reading :) 

[fandom-scribe]

Dick and Dami Week: Day 1 - Dynamic Duo

Title: Well-Founded Reasons

Word Count: 3,635

Author’s Note: Here’s the fic for day 1, 6 days late as per usual! I honestly don’t know how it got so long but whatever. It’s a Revsere!Age AU, an AU I’m gonna be exploring in a longer fic that’s in the works right now.

Shout out the anyone that recognizes the reference and where it’s from!

—

Damian hadn’t liked the idea of sharing his mantle when Drake came on the scene. He hadn’t been done with it, hadn’t approved of the new holder, and wasn’t going to let some know-it-all sully the name he had spent so long building. It wasn’t right for Drake to demand his costume, wasn’t fair that Father had let him take it. So Damian had done the only thing he could.

He took his mantle back.

He had ripped the cape and mask off Drake right there on that rooftop, couldn’t have cared less who saw. It wouldn’t’ve been a threat to their secret identities: Drake wasn’t connected to them, wasn’t apart of the team. Who cared if he was caught in a torn costume on a rooftop in the middle of the night? It wasn’t Damian’s problem. In fact, very little managed to bring Damian as much joy as that moment had. Glaring at the shot down bird, watching him desperately trying to pick up his plucked feathers - it was the epitome of satisfaction. That is, until Batman crashed the moment, swooping in the save the damaged bird and heal its broken wings.

It was probably that moment that motivated Drake to hand over his own mantle when the time came. It was infuriating how Father had praised Drake for giving Todd his suit, but not as infuriating as Drake’s smugness and holier-than-thou attitude. It was so so obvious that he was only passing on his mantle to get under Damian’s skin. The way he had glared at Damian beforehand and the smirk on his lips as he made the offer - how could anyone else see it!? It had taken everything not to knock Drake out in that moment, and taken even more not to offer up his own old mantle, just to prove something.

Of course, then Todd had gone and died in Drake’s costume which really stained the whole affair.

It would be a lie to say that Richard’s arrival hadn’t worried Damian just a bit. Damian knew how the story went, knew the exact dance that was his father bringing in a new child. There was never a doubt in his mind that they would end up right here, with Richard preparing for his first night in the field. The question was what would he wear. Would he want to carry on Tim and Jason’s legacy? What he be allowed to? Who would stop him? Damian found himself, for the second time, with the urge to offer his own mantle in hopes of never having to answer those questions.

(For some reason, the idea of Richard being the second Shadow didn’t bother Damian as much as he thought it would. He was certainly a better successor than Drake. But, then again, everyone was better than Drake.)

Luckily, any intervention on his part was unneeded. Richard didn’t want to take on Tim and Jason’s mantle: he already had ideas for his own. Sketches and magazine clip outs had seemed to appear out of nowhere, and Richard had talked a mile a minute trying to explain it all. All Damian could do was zone out, dazed by the amount of preparation the boy had done for something Damian hadn’t even considered.

Perhaps if he had paid more attention, Damian couldn’t help but mull, he would’ve been better prepared for… this.

“Ta-da!” Richard exclaimed as he bounced around in his new costume. It was Damian’s fault. He should’ve supervised more, should’ve looked over Richard’s sketches and gone to the fittings. How did he ever think for a second that a 9-year-old could craft a practical uniform?

Richard’s design was… ridiculous, to say the least. He looked like a living traffic light in the bright reds, greens, and yellows that wrapped his body. His cape was comically short, the hem of it fluttering around his waist as hopped from foot to foot, and - oh my gosh - what was with his shoes? They were slip-ons of all things, flimsy with no type of arch or ankle support, and with their… unique shape, they could only be classified as pixie boots, something one might find in a pop-up Halloween store.

But that wasn’t the worst part. No, the worst part was his pants - or, rather, his lack of pants.

Panties, that’s what they were. Scaly, green, sequined panties. While Richard’s skin was not pale by any means, his bare legs seemed to glow in the Batcave’s fluorescent lights. Damian could already see the blood and scars that would mar the smooth skin if they weren’t covered soon. Richard’s suit seemed to have no reinforcement but even the shoddy fabric that made up his vest would be a better alternative.

How could Richard think this was an acceptable outfit?

How could Pennyworth let this happen?

How did he let this happen?

“Damian?”

Damian blinked, realizing he’d been staring for too long. Richard had yet to still but he had deflated from a joyful jig to an awkward shuffle. His eyes were wide and inquisitive as he wrung a black domino mask between his hands. “So, uh, whatcha think?”

“Absolutely not.”

Richard’s face practically shattered, his nose scrunching, brows furrowing, and muscles stiffening before Damian could process his own words. He sniffed once, twice - oh no he was going to cry, wasn’t he? For a quick second, Richard’s blue eyes brimmed with tears, but then he squeezed his eyes closed tightly. When he opened them all signs of tears where gone, leaving behind a look of devastating disappointment and hurt.

The pain in Damian’s chest that look left behind was more than annoying.

“I am appalled that you would even think this to be an acceptable ensemble,” Damian continued, hoping the balm that was his words would soothe that annoying pain. “No type of padding, no reinforcement, you are not even 100 percent covered! Is this some type of game to you? Are you trying to get injured out there? If you cannot take this seriously–”

“I am taking this seriously!” Richard exclaimed, his voice laced with panic. Or maybe it was Damian who was panicking, though he wasn’t quite sure why. He was angry but there was something else there, something he didn’t quite want to analyze, nearly afraid with what he would find if he did.

(It was something that had been there for some time now, ever since that night when Richard had entered his room and took it upon himself actually asked how Damian was feeling about his presence and tried to compromise with him.)

“You obviously are not. A bullet would rip through that material like tissue paper, a blind person could those colors 3 miles away, and do not even get me started on your legs! Did you honestly think you could fight crime in panties?”

“They’re not panties!”

“Yeah, and I’m not Batman.”

“You’re not Batman! Bruce is Batman!”

“Father is dead! We have talked about this, Grayson!” Grayson reeled back, as if the sound of his name had physically assaulted him. Maybe it had, considering how long it took for them to get to a first name basis, but Damian couldn’t make himself care. They had talked about it, many many times. And Grayson had encouraged him to take the mantle, had said Damian would be a great Batman, had wanted to work beside him. But apparently he had lied.

Damian didn’t have time for liars.

“Just… go to your room. I refuse to patrol with a laughingstock.” Damian spun on his heels and stalked towards the Batcomputer, ignoring the sharp gasp of pain and sniff Grayson had expelled. He plopped down in the computer’s plush rolling chair, busying himself with powering up the computer as the sound of velcro - velcro - filled the cave. A quick glance over his shoulder showed that Grayson had discarded the cape and vest on the ground, revealing that the shorts were in fact not panties, but rather the bottom part of a green unitard.

Still didn’t explain the questionable placement of sequin.

With a muted sigh, Damian turned back to the computer, losing himself in the files as Grayson sulked away.

~*~

“How could you let Grayson wear such an atrocity!?” Damian exclaimed as soon as he entered the kitchen. He still wore the Batsuit’s under armor despite the strict rule to leave all uniform pieces in the bunker below. He couldn’t make himself take off everything, was frustrated that he even had to take off anything. But he couldn’t go patrolling by himself. Not while bearing this mantle. It didn’t feel right.

“Whatever do you mean, Master Damian?” Pennyworth replied with that tone, the one that was uniquely Pennyworth and completely infuriating.

“You know exactly what I mean, Pennyworth. That costume of Grayson’s is completely unacceptable! He will die wearing that!”

Pennyworth sighed. He placed down the spoon he was using to stir their post-patrol dinner, turned down the stove’s flame, and turned towards Damian, a gray eyebrow raised. “There seems to be some misunderstanding, young sir. I do not design the costume, I simply stitch it together. It is your responsibility to make sure that Young Master Richard is properly dressed for any outings you may have, and to assure that he is properly protected during said outings. I may give the occasional critique or sought after advice but other than that, I have no duty to make anything acceptable.”

“That is bullshit!” Damian snarled, his scowl only deepening when Pennyworth had the audacity to chide his language. “You spent my entire childhood wrangling Father into taking care of himself and making sure he was always in proper condition before letting him out for the night. Do not tell me that you cannot do the same for Grayson!”

“As your father’s former guardian, I took it as a personal responsibility to make sure he was always in good health. You are Master Richard’s guardian now, thus it is your responsibility to do the same for him. I gave him my concerns and learned his well-founded reasons for wanting to wear such an outfit. I still did not agree, however, he assured me he had your approval. …You did approve his costume, right Master Damian?”

Damian pressed his lips tightly together, fighting against the heat spreading across his face. He could not remember what he had said when Grayson presented his ideas. Had he simply waved the boy off or did he actually give some sort of appraisal? Whatever remarks he had made, he had accidentally given the child the impression that he approved of his choice in outfit.

Pennyworth’s silver eyes roamed his face knowingly before he let out an inaudible sigh. With a small shake of his head, he turned back to his cooking, returning the flame to its previous height and picking up the spoon once more. “I believe we have found the problem. You said you wanted to be Master Richard’s new guardian. This is what comes with the title.”

Damian worked his jaw, fist clenching and unclenching at his side. The problem has indeed been found and it was him. He wanted to argue, but he knew Pennyworth was correct. He had neglected his duties as Grayson’s guardian. With a grunt he made up his mind, straightening his back and turning on his heels. He’ll talk to the boy, discover his “well-founded reasons” behind the abomination that was his costume, and then make him see reason.

“Oh, and Master Damian?” Pennyworth called out as Damian strode towards the door. Damian looked over his shoulder at the elder, watching as Pennyworth turned off the stove and balanced the spoon on the edge of the pot. “I hope you do not actually believe that I would ever let Master Richard outside the house dressed like that. I would never comprise a real costume out of such cheap fabric and velcro.”

~*~

Damian found Grayson curled up in the center of his bed, his room nothing but a mosaic of shadows. It was a pitiful sight, one that made Damian feel a great amount of shame for a reason he couldn’t explain. It was obvious that the boy was crying, even if he wasn’t making a sound. The way his whole body shook and the light hitches in his breath was evidence enough.

“Gray-… em, Richard?” Damian winced at his stutter, and winced again as Richard stiffened on the bed. He froze before curling further into himself, leaving Damian to fight the desire to grab him by the ankle and force him to uncurl. Instead, Damian busied his hands with finding the light switch, flooding the room with light once he found it. “Richard, I just want to talk.”

Damian waited with bated breath for some type of acknowledgment. His fingers wouldn’t stop fluttering, which only served to worsen his agitation. He had been trained by the best to control all nervous tics, yet here he was, unable to hide how uncomfortable he was. And why was he so uncomfortable? He was well versed in dealing with other’s idiocy and held faith in his ability to change Richard’s mind. So why was simply speaking to the distraught boy so hard? With a heavy sigh, Damian tried again.

“Richar-”

“What do you want?” The response itself was unexpected, but the dejected tone was even worse. Richard sounded as he did when he first came to the Manor, deep in mourning and filled with anger and despair. Damian had to admit it: that tone broke his heart.

“Richard, please, sit up. I want to know why you designed your costume the way you did.”

“I already told you,” Richard said as he pulled himself into a sitting position anyway. His bright blue eyes were dull and lifeless, partly hidden by usually bouncy curls that hung in his face. Everything about Richard seemed to droop, from his hair to his lips to his posture. It was wrong on so many levels: even after his parents’ deaths, Richard had had a stubborn spring to his step.

“I admit that I was not the most attentive when you took the time to explain your choices to me. For that, I apologize. I am ready to listen now, if you are willing to explain once more.”

The look Richard gave him was not the trustworthy one that Damian had come to expect from the boy. Still, Richard straightened ever so slightly and gave a small nod. Then he held out a piece of crumpled paper.

“What…?” Damian whispered as took the paper. Smoothing it out he saw that it was a picture. From it, Richard smiled up at him, eyes sparkling and smile so wide that Damian could feel his own cheeks cramping. Damian ran his thumb over the image, taking it all in. The trailers in the background, the blur in the corner where a finger was covering the camera’s lens, the costume Richard wore-

The costume Richard wore.

Damian felt sick as his eyes roamed over the attire Richard adorned in the photo. It was, in its most basic sense, a sparklier version of the costume he had tried to wear tonight. A tight green unitard hugged his tiny body, the top part of it covered by a red vest that hadn’t been properly fastened; a golden sash was tied tightly around his waist, and the tips of those damn pixie boots pointed sky-high. There was even a cape, one with a ridiculously high collar that Damian was glad Richard didn’t try to duplicate, though he’d wish he had kept the length the same. Well, at least he decided to tone down on the sequin, that marked everything besides the boots and the vest.

“That was supposed to be our costume for the next show,” Richard said, pulling Damian’s attention back to him. “Y’know, the one after Gotham. But then… then the trapeze… the line, it… y’know! And I’m never leaving Gotham so I thought why not wear it now? I loved that costume so I thought maybe with a few alterations it could be Robin’s costume!”

“Robin?”

Richard sighed, head hanging as he pulled at the comforter beneath him. “It was my mom’s nickname for me. I wanted to use it as my superhero name. I know it’s stupid-”

“No, it is… understandable. But you must understand that… this costume its… its, um-” Damian pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, biting down until the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Silence was better than stuttering and stuttering was all Damian could do right now. He had been prepared to set Richard straight but he hadn’t been prepared for this. How could he tell Richard that the costume of his parents was wrong?

You’ve already did, a nasty voice whispered in the back of Damian’s mind, causing Damian to flinch. He couldn’t even be mad at it: he had already told Richard in very clear, very harsh, words exactly what he thought of his parents’ costume.

“Richard, while I can understand the sentimental logic behind your choices, I simply cannot allow you to fight crime in that outfit. The skills you’ve learned on the trapeze may have been adaptable to your fighting style, the same cannot be said for your circus costume.”

“But I made alterations! Like the cape! I shortened it since that one was more for show and not really for flying-”

“And it would be an excellent alteration if you was on the trapeze. But crime fighting is more than just ‘flying’, as you put it. The costume does not work Richard. I am sorry.” Damian didn’t know what exactly he was sorry for but it felt like the right thing to say. Still, Richard’s shoulders slumped and his lip wobbled.

“But-” Richard was cut off as a sob escaped his lips. He quickly threw an arm over his eyes, but that did little to hide the shake of his body or the sounds he tried hard to quell. It took everything within Damian not to fidget; he didn’t know what to say or do to calm Richard down.

“But, I don’t - have any - other - ideas! Bat-Batman needs a - partner. Please, Dami!” Richard choked out between sobs.

“We will figure out something,” Damian said in what he hoped to be a soothing tone. However, his words only seemed to make Richard curl into himself once more. He shook his head wildly, pulling his feet onto the bed and sandwiching his head between his knees. Damian could do nothing but sit there awkward and attempt to block out the scene next to him until Richard could calm himself. When he finally did, he was back to the zombie-like state Damian had found him in, body so still Damian was sure if he was breathing.

“Richard…” No response. Damian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, already regretting the words about to come off his lips. “You can wear the costume tonight.”

Richard’s head shot up, bloodshot eyes wide and mouth agape.

“But only for tonight. Tomorrow we will try to make some more alterations. Like pants. There are leotards with pants, you know.”

“Pants!? Pants are a luxury! My costume is designed to be aerodynamically perfect,” Richard announced with the huge smile Damian was used to.

“Richard���” Damin drawled and, no, Damian most certainly was not grinning.

“What happened to safety? If I were to wear pants, my crime-fighting abilities would be decreased by 20%! I can’t afford that, can you?“ By now Richard was practically vibrating in his seat. Damian shook his head, slightly turning his face away - not to hide his smile or anything, though. Damian was not smiling. Honestly!

“You’re insufferable, Richard. Go get dress, we are already late.”

Richard pushed himself halfway off the bed before freezing, the smile on his face slowly melting away. “But, I thought you didn’t want to patrol with a laughingstock…” Damian flinched once more, this time harder with no hopes of hiding it.

“You are not a laughingstock, Richard, and I am sorry for calling you one. Anyone who dares to laugh at you will have to deal with my sword! Try laughing at that.”

A heavy weight Damian hadn’t noticed before lifted from his chest as Richard’s smile sprung back into place, and the boy gave a hearty laugh. “Batman doesn’t carry a sword, silly!”

“This one does. Now go, Richard!”

Richard darted out of the room, faster than any speedster. Damian didn’t move right away. He would have to keep Richard safe tonight. Keep Richard on the rooftops, away from any fighting. Tonight would obviously be mostly charity work, maybe a chance to work on Richard’s observational skills. Everything would be fine. Tomorrow they’ll get him a new uniform and then the real stuff could begin.

With a solid plan in mind, Damian pushed himself off the bed. A quick word to Alfred, then he was in the Batcave, slipping on the remainder of the Batsuit. Soon enough they were strapped in the Batmobile, ready for their first night at the new Dynamic Duo.

“Ready, Robin?” Damian asked the boy next to him, secretly liking the way the chosen name felt on his tongue. Richard, who was one second from exploding with excitement, could barely answer and settled on a jerky nod instead. With a smirk, Damian reached over and turned on the air conditioning to its highest setting.

“Hey!” Richard screeched.

Damian watched with enjoyment as the boy shivered, his bare legs pimpling with goosebumps. Richard pulled his knees to his chest, desperately trying to wrap his ridiculously short cape around his naked skin. Damian held his breath to keep from laughing and focused on maneuvering the car out the cave.

Oh, yes. Richard would definitely be wearing pants tomorrow.

[bat-losers-inc]

Too Close for Comfort (Pt: 1)

Summary: Black Mask makes a house call to Jason and Tim’s apartment after Jason’s newest stunt against the False Facers. Jason realizes his actions now have greater consequences than before. A what-if fic set after Black Mask learns Jason's real identity during Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth.

Pairings: Jason Todd / Tim Drake, Jason Todd / Roman Sionis (one-side), Jason Todd & Dick Grayson

Warnings: violence, power dynamics, sadism

Tim awoke to the sensation of fingers running through his hair. He shifted in his sprawled position on the couch, feeling the heat of another body at his hip.

He tossed his head against the small upholstered couch pillow, hoping Jason would get the hint and let him drop back to sleep.

Yet Jason either didn’t hear him or didn’t seem to care, for his fingers continued their exploratory journey from his hair to the smooth expanse of skin that ran down and along his jaw. It had to be late into the night if Jason was just getting off of his patrol. Tim could never understand how Jason didn’t seemed to share Tim’s desire to jump into the shower and then his softest set of boxers and a tee the moment his patrol ended. Despite patrolling for hours around the alleyways and rooftops of Gotham, Jason always returned home looking like he still had energy to burn.

Tim groaned deeply into the pillow. “Fuck off, Jay.”

Whatever he was going to follow that with died on his lips as his eyes fluttered open, intent on finding a spot of Jason’s body that he could swing a fist at and discovering an entirely different person there, altogether.

Before Tim could so much as shift up onto his elbows, Black Mask had seized him by the chin in an iron grip. The edge of a pocket knife flashed at the edge of Tim’s eyeline, brushing up against the hard line of his cheekbone a moment later like the mob boss wanted to give him a close shave.

“Ah, you must be Tim,” Roman’s teeth shown pearly against the black contours of his skeletal face. “Or should I call you Red Robin?”

Tim blew out a harsh breath against the fingers digging into his jawbone in an attempt to discharge the sudden spike of fear that coursed through his veins. As quickly as Roman’s powerful grip had seized onto him, it made equally quick work of releasing him, though the blade of Roman’s pocket knife still loomed dangerously close to Tim’s face.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure. How about we get to know each other a little better while we wait for our boy to come home?”

Tim hit the floor, falling painfully on his elbows from a backhanded blow that snapped his head to the side and threw his feet out from under him. He coughed and flicked his tongue up to inspect the cut on the inside of his cheek, already leaking salty copper between his teeth.

He spat a mouthful of blood onto the kitchen tiles as he shifted up onto his knees. Before he could make it any further on his own, one of Black Mask’s goons was there to assist him with his fingers twisted painfully in Tim’s hair.

Tim stumbled up into the hold, his head yanked back at a severe angle, the pain in his scalp sharp and unrelenting.

“Let’s try that again, shall we?” Black Mask sighed from his perched position on the arm of the couch. Tim could barely make him out over the horizon of his own battered cheekbones. “Tell me a little more about our boy. What’s Jason like without the guns and the leather?”

Tim leveled his gaze at him. Ten minutes alone with the man for the first time in his life and Roman’s speech patterns were already getting on his nerves. He circled round the topic of Jason, poking and prodding until he veered off when something Tim did or didn’t do piqued his interest, only to eventually wander back to Jason. Our boy he called him like this was a ménage à trois and Jason was someone they shared equally. Tim was starting to understand why half of Jason’s encounters with Roman Sionis ended with Jason beating the shit out of him.

“Why? You want to date him? Want me to read you his fucking tinder profile or something?”

He grimaced and clutched the goon’s hand as he tugged tighter on the locks of hair held in his grip.

Roman chuckled behind his mask and strolled into the kitchen to get a closer look at him. “Oh, I can see why Jason likes you. Cheeky lil’ fucker, aren’t you? And you sure know how to take a beating.”

His disfigured face loomed in front of Tim’s eyes again. “But didn’t Jason warn you not to provoke me? It only gets me excited.”

Tim tried to put as much hatred as he could into his stare. There was a biting retort on the tip of his tongue, but Tim thought better of it.

He pressed his lips into a firm line and said nothing.

There was a nauseating feeling coiling in Tim’s gut, however, that told him Black Mask wasn’t going to let him off without an example of just how skilled he was in his sadistic little hobby.

As Roman unrolled his collection of knives onto the kitchen counter, Tim could only squeeze his eyes shut and think, Where the fuck are you, Jason?

Jason was still inspecting his hasty patch-up job as he walked through the door of his apartment. The medical tape was already peeling off of the skin around his ribs under the soggy weight of his blood-soaked bandages. He wasn’t overly concerned, as the bandage was only meant to hold long enough for him to get back to his apartment and let Tim stitch him up with his suture kit.

He’d definitely seen more alarming sights at the end of a patrol and right at that moment all of those instances got knocked down a peg on his list because Black Mask was lounging on Jason’s couch like he paid the fucking rent.

And that…

Fuck.

That was not supposed to happen.

Jason’s brain split in three different directions at once, his hand already fastened around his gun, halfway free from his side holster. His thoughts jumping right alongside his eyes wondering where Tim was and if Black Mask had any of his men waiting in the shadows to ambush him.

Not likely, though Jason, since as of an hour ago, a good number of them are currently making new friends in GCPD lockup.

Black Mask smiled, “Well, if it isn’t my favorite little jackass.”

Jason took two long steps forward and and pressed the muzzle of his gun against Roman’s temple. He took a breath and thought about how Roman was probably getting a sadistic little kick out of this arrangement and put more of his weight behind it, until Roman’s smile twitched into a grimace.  

“Give me a reason for why I shouldn’t blow your head off right here, right now.”

“Well for starters, I don’t think Tim would like that outcome. I told my man here to snap his pretty little neck if you moved against me.”

That was when Jason became aware of the sounds of a struggle, previously dimmed out as the blood rushed to Jason’s head.

Jason turned with his gun raised and nearly fired off a shot on instinct at the scene that greeted him.

One of Black Mask’s goons had Tim up against a wall already splattered with blood that Jason knows has to be Tim’s. Tim’s feet were off the ground, kicking futility at the man’s torso as his neck was pinned in one of the goon’s meaty fists.

“Honestly, Jason, you should really teach Timmy here how to loosen up a little, you know, engage in some friendly small talk. Not to sound judgemental or anything but your boyfriend’s a bit of a prude.”

Jason tuned him out.

There’s more blood on Tim’s shirt than there’s a right to be without a broken nose evident. The seepage patterns in the fabric tell Jason all he needs to know about what Roman was doing to amuse himself while he waited. Jason just hopes that one or the both of them don’t bleed out before they get out of this mess of a situation.

“Put him down. Right now.” Jason growled.

“Drop the gun, little man, and let’s talk like adults for a minute, yeah?”

Jason kept his gun pointed in the direction of the henchman. “Now.”

Roman ducked under Jason’s extended arm and straightened up so he’s face to face with Jason. His hand closed around Jason’s own where it clutches his gun. “I’d say you have about thirty seconds before he passes out from asphyxiation. So you can either disassemble this gun and sit your ass on that couch or we can stand here pretending you still have some power in this situation and watch your boyfriend bite it. Your choice.”

Jason’s gaze flicked past Roman’s head to Tim, whose face was rapidly draining of color. Jason worked quick and methodically, breaking down the gun to all of its individual parts and setting each in a line across the surface of their coffee table before dropping down onto the couch cushions.

Roman smiled as he looked from the disassembled gun to Jason’s seated position. “Good boy.”

Jason’s eyes took note of Tim’s slowing struggles and almost longed for the wheezing sound he was making a moment ago to return. At least that was a sign he was still breathing. “Roman.”

Black Mask adjusted his cufflinks and sat down next to Jason, crossing one leg over the other in a leisurely fashion. Jason couldn’t hide his growing panic at this point.

“Goddamnit, Roman. Please!”

Jason was already halfway up from the couch again, ready to vault over the table if he had to, before Roman caught his elbow and yanked him back down into the couch cushions.

“Tony.”

Tony’s thick-fingered fist unclenched it’s vice and Tim dropped like a ton of bricks to the floor, his legs not coming up fast enough to catch him. There was one horribly minute where Tim just curled inwards and the apartment filled with the sounds of his rasping breaths and wet coughs as he dry heaved.

Jason was bent forward, hands gripping tight to his knees when the noises petered out. “Tim, say something.”

Tim rolled slowly onto his back with a groan and pressed one hand to his bleeding torso. The other came up to rest protectively over his bruised throat. “Fuck you.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Roman stretched an arm across the back of the couch.”but I think you’re going to need to clarify that. Now, for the record was that a ‘fuck you’ to me or a ‘fuck you’ to loverboy over here?”

Tim turned his head until his temple was pressed against the wood floor and fixed them with a heated red-eyed stare and rasped,“Right now? Fuck you both.”

Roman barked a laugh and seized Jason by the shoulders, yanking Jason’s tense frame close until he could speak right in his ear even as Jason hissed and jerked his head away. “Oh, I like him! What a devious little shit you are for keeping him all to yourself for so long. Now I think I might just have to go out of my way to find him on his next patrol.”

Jason had him by his shirtfront in an instant. “You lay another motherfucking hand on him and I’ll make you wish—”

“Or maybe I’ll make another house call. Or stop by GCU after his classes. What are you gonna do, Jason? You gonna follow him everywhere he goes?”

Jason could only sit there, breathing harshly as any remaining threats stuck fast in his throat.

Roman smiled. “Ah, that’s what I thought.”

He slapped Jason not so lightly on the face.

“How about this, Jason. I’ll leave you with a little food for thought. The next time my men are down by the docks receiving my next shipment, I want you to think long and hard about our little get-together tonight. And then based on whatever decision you make— locking up my men…. letting them go about their business… it’s up to you, really— then I’ll decide if I need to stop by again.”

Roman stood up and made his way to the door where Tony was waiting. He stepped casually over Tim, who glared at his smirking expression but, like Jason, said nothing.

The door was open halfway. Roman glanced back with a pearly smile. “Just remember, Jason. It’s no trouble at all to come round. I do so enjoy our little get-togethers.”

“I don’t care what Batman’s rules are. You touch him again and I’ll kill you.”

Roman chuckled. “Oh, not if I get you first.”  

The apartment door closed behind him and Jason shuddered as all of the tension left his body at once. He rushed to Tim’s side and knelt over him, hands pressing firmly down on Tim’s where it rested on his torso to slow the bleeding.

Tim closed his eyes and made a noise like Jason had suckerpunched him. With his face pinched in pain Tim gritted out through clenched teeth, “So you didn’t think it was worth mentioning that Roman Sionis knows your real name?”

“I didn’t think it would make much of a difference. I mean, Ra’s al Ghul knows the names of almost all of us—”

“Yeah,” Tim coughed and it was full of pain and fake joviality. “and I’m only missing a spleen and being stalked by his creepy, personal-boundary infringing ninjas. I see your point, Jason. Great decision.”

 Jason ignored his snarky comments in favor of tending to his wounds. “Shit, this isn’t going to be a simple patch up job. I’m calling Dick.”

“I think that’s the only smart thing you’ve said all night.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll apologize one hundred-fold once I’m sure you aren’t going to die on me.”

Jason put the call on speaker phone and listened to it ring.  

[sasspiria]

Fandom: Far Cry 3

Pairing: Jason Brody/Vaas Montenegro

Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence,Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics,True Mates,Alpha Vaas,Omega Jason,Biting,Grant Lives,Accidental Bonding,Angst and Porn,Porn With Plot,Scenting,Rough Body Play,Don't Examine This Too Closely

Summary: Omegas were uncommon but they weren't rare by any means. True mates, however, were an entirely different story. The odds of any person having one were astronomical at best. When Jason finds that he does have a true mate, he should feel amazing about being so lucky. A part of him wants to feel excited, damn all the consequences, but at the same time it just feels like the universe is giving him a hard smack to the face when his true alpha comes in the form in a psychopathic, murdering, drug addled pirate that kidnapped him and his friends. All Jason can hope is that he can use Vaas' manic affections towards him to his advantage and save the rest of them, even if Vaas seems intent as all hell on keeping him for himself.

Status: 1/? (You can also read it here below the cut )

It turned out that paying for skydiving lessons from a DJ of all people with cash, wasn’t a great idea if the wooden cage that he and Grant were tied against the bars of. Jason grit his teeth in the midst of his frustration, clicking uncomfortably against the dirty gag that had been haphazardly shoved in his mouth.

He looked around, trying to gauge just how awful of a situation they were in. Grant was in front of him, tied down just as effectively as he was. Right outside the threshold of their cage, was an intimidating looking Hispanic who seemed to enjoy singling Grant and him out for some reason.

He hadn’t seen this man before, but he had heard about him. Often the other pirates around the camp would walk around, talking inanely to each other and he would hear about their leader, Vaas. It didn’t take a genius to think that this might be him.

“I like this phone,” he said, casual as all hell. Like they were three friends having a pleasant conversation. “This is a nice fucking phone. What do we have here? Grant and…” he glanced over at Jason, looking at him like he recognized something about him. He didn’t want to think about what it was that he recognized. “…Jason. From California. Well, I hope your mama and papa really love you. ‘Cause you two white boys, you look very expensive. That’s good because I like expensive things…”

While Vaas had been monologuing, Grant started grunting behind the gag – probably calling him every name under the sun, even though it came out basically unintelligible. Jason fixed him with a purposeful glare as if to tell him telepathically to keep his mouth shut. He would have thought Grant would know better than to antagonize and instigate someone like that.

Grant did not get the message and within moments it got on the man’s nerves and he started speaking again, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked in an obviously rhetorical fashion. Jason squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see what might happen. “What did you say? DID YOU WANT ME TO SLICE YOU OPEN LIKE I DID YOUR FRIEND?! SHUT THE FUCK UP. Okay? I’m the one with the fucking dick. Look at me, look me in the fucking eye. HEY! LOOK ME IN THE FUCKING EYE.”

Completely on instinct, Jason opened his eyes again to see the pirate practically inside of the cage, posturing at his brother like he was about to kill him. This was fucked up. This was so fucked up.

“Look me in the eye; you’re my bitch.” He told Grant, surprisingly restrained once again. “I rule this fucking kingdom. Shut the fuck up. Or you die.” Jason had kept quiet, hoping to be small and insignificant enough that he just disappeared, but he still managed to garner his captors attention.

“What is it, Jason? Jason, what is it? Why aren’t you laughing now like you did up there? What, what is this not fun anymore? Have I failed to entertain you? You see the thing is, up there, you thought you had a chance. Way up in the fucking sky, you thought you had your finger on the pussy trigger but Hermano, down here… down here? You hit the ground.”

His mood changed once again from the menacing, vaguely threatening affect to something almost friendly and suddenly it was clear that it was directed just at Jason now and he began agonizing over why this man was so damn familiar to him.“It’s okay, I’m gonna chill. Because you and me and your tough guy brother are gonna have a lot of fun together.”

Vaas was prone to mood swings, Jason realized with horror as something in the air changed just then and he zoned in on Jason with eyes full of a fury that the omega couldn’t understand the meaning behind. “What the FUCK do you think you’re doing here? Trying to use your pretty little omega tricks on me? You want to fuck with me? You think you even can?” Vaas questioned him, asking them rapid fire without even giving him the chance to answer – even if he wasn’t gagged.

Jason shook his head, more out of placation than out of defiance. He knew how to control his scent but he didn’t really like to do that. Not because it was manipulative – being manipulative never really bothered him – but because it took a lot out of him, it drained him both physically and emotionally. This was too fucked up. This was way too fucked up. Jason didn’t want any of this. He just wanted to go home.

The alpha didn’t believe him and he quickly became tired of what he assumed Jason to be doing to him – despite all of Jason’s protests to the contrary – and came into the cage and roughly grabbed Jason who – while at the same time, Jason couldn’t help but just be happy that he hadn’t decided to kill him yet – immediately took to panicking and thrashing in the alpha’s hold.

Grant, who had been quiet enough not to anger Vaas – knowing how horribly unstable he had already shown himself to be – was even more full of panic and rage than Jason himself. He screamed behind the gag, squirmed and flailed in his binds as Jason was half dragged and half carried across the camp.

Jason didn’t gain any traction with it, if anything Vaas just gripped him tighter, the omega quickly tired himself out and went limp enough that he was practically dead weight. He was carried into a small, closed off room and didn’t bother at all to stir until he was dropped down onto a lumpy mattress.

Even then, he barely made a movement other than a startled gasp behind the gag when Vaas grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head back, exposing his throat in a display of forced submission. He let out a whimper when Vaas nuzzled against him and buried his nose against the omega’s neck. It was a strange sensation, being scented out of nowhere like he was, not exactly comfortable but not exactly unwanted either.

It was like something was pulling him towards the alpha and the more he tried to fight it, the more he was pulled in. It was overwhelming enough that he felt like he was drowning in the conflicting sensations that he was feeling. He didn’t need to even look at Vaas to see that he was feeling the exact same pull as he was, maybe even worse with how fervently he was scenting Jason.

The alpha growled into his shoulder, turning Jason around and gripping his face painfully enough that he was forced to look at him. “Why… the fuck… do you smell so good, huh? Huh?!” he snapped, coming off as both furious and confused at the same time. “What the fuck do you think you’re trying to do here, huh?! You think you can fuck with me, pretty boy? You think that you can fuck with me?!”

Jason tried to tell Vaas that he wasn’t doing anything to him, at least not on purpose, and tell him to go fuck himself all in the same sentence but all he could manage behind the gag was a series of muffled out grunts and whines.

So instead, he does the next best thing and pushes his scent onto Vaas – practically assaults the alphas’ senses with it – just to show him that if he had wanted to use his biology to manipulate him he could have gotten much farther with it than he had with this naturally unnatural pull that the two of them had been afflicted with.

Vaas felt the push and pull of it intensely and nearly fell off of the ratty mattress and onto the floor below them, “Pinche omega putana.” he grumbled barely under his breath, the reality setting in for him just as clearly as it was for Jason.

That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t still angry, just that his ire wasn’t really directed towards Jason anymore, now it was just aimless, directionless and volatile. Vaas let him go and took to pacing around the tiny room, fuming and growling to himself, inadvertently giving Jason a chance to fight the binds that were still wrapped tight around his wrists and ankles.

It took him a few minutes to free himself from the binds but once he did, Jason crashed into Vaas, pouncing on him so hard that the two of them hit the ground with a thud. His heart raged inside of his chest, like it was trying to break out of him as he straddled the alpha and placed his hands over his neck with the intent to maim him if he had to. His chest heaved, his breath bordering on hyperventilation.

Jason had never killed anybody before and it clearly showed. Still, he was the only one here and he had to be strong. “Fucking tell me where my friends are or I’ll, I’ll kill you. I swear, I’ll kill you.” he stuttered out, panic taking hold of him once again. His fingers shook against Vaas’ collarbone as he threatened to push down and squeeze.

Vaas was not all that impressed by Jason’s intimidation tactics, if the cruelly amused smile he has on his face gave him any indication. “You wanna kill me white boy?” he challenged the omega,“Go ahead. I fucking dare you to go on and try. I promise you, Jason, I promise you that you won’t get far.”

Jason wanted to kill him and he didn’t – it was like he wanted to want to do it more than he actually had the will to go through with it. He tried to tell himself that Vaas was dangerous and had kidnapped him, he could kill him and probably would when this was all over. He just couldn’t bring himself to go through with it and something told him that it wasn’t just because he had never killed someone before.

With a defeated groan, Jason let Vaas go and got off of him. He herded himself back into the corner and sat with his knees pressed to his chest, defeated. He needed to kill Vaas to get out of here but… for some reason that he couldn’t quite put his finger on he couldn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to cut off Vaas’ airways or stab him in the back or shoot him in the fucking face.

Fucking something more than what he was doing right now – sitting there all slack jaw and glassy eyed like some brain dead ingenue in a terrible “romantic” novel straight out of a time before strictly enforced personal grooming habits and civil rights.

Vaas decided not to hold the assault against him, he would have done the same in the omega’s position. He would have gone through with it, though. Maybe he should do something about it – make sure it doesn’t happen again – but he doesn’t particularly want to kill Jason, either so the two of them are stuck in a strange limbo. “You feel better now, Hermano?” He asked in a mockingly friendly tone as he steadily moved towards him with the intent to pull him back where he was again.

Jason responded to that with little more than a quietly spoken out, “Fuck you.” to the alpha without any care for whatever consequences that Vaas decided to dole out to him. He didn’t think that Vaas had any intentions of killing him, just yet, and he was emotionally drained enough that that was all he could bring himself to care about.

Vaas was decidedly tired of Jason’s shit attitude and pulled the omega to the ground so that Vaas was on top of him and Jason was forced into a very vulnerable position. “Fuck me? No, no, no. Fuck you!” He snapped, “You don’t get to be pissy with me, blanquito. You don’t get to choke me out and act like a little bitch about it.” baring his teeth at him once again, allowing them to lightly scrape over his bonding gland without even thinking about it. “You either man the fuck up and get it right next time or you shut the fuck up about it.”

It was then – right when they were pressed so closely together – hits the both of them what it is around the same time and all the tiny clues piece together like into something concise and clear. The two of them had bonded unwillingly to each other, that was why they had a magnetic pull to each other – they were true mates.

It should be a good thing – a great thing even. He had always been told that having a true mate was something to dream about. But he supposed that “Dream About” was the key phrase here because it was rare as all hell. You had the roughly same chance of being struck by lightning as you would have with having a true mate.

Jason couldn’t believe this – this wasn’t something he had ever thought would happen to him. He smacked his head against the dirt floor in his frustration. Vaas was a little less torn about it than Jason was, using his position above Jason to his advantage to keep the omega pinned down beneath him.

Jason squirmed around a little to get out from under him, but Vaas wasn’t giving him any room for it and he kept up with the surprisingly tender molestation, “You and me are gonna have a lot of fun together, cariño.” He promised, turning the borderline threat from earlier into something sweet. “Just you wait.” he added, equally as promising in tone.

Jason found whatever resolve – or self respect – that he had and pressed forward to kiss the alpha hard on the mouth and Vaas returned the affection with equal vigor. It felt a lot more like fighting or fucking than it did like a kiss though, with teeth and rough movements punctuating the whole lot of it.

The fact that none of this made any sort of sense still hadn’t changed, but Jason couldn’t bring himself to care about it. He was enjoying himself and that was all that mattered right then. He let out a soft moan as Vaas’ hands dove underneath his V-neck to grope, flick and scrape at the omega’s nipples, almost tearing at the already thinly stretched and worn fabric of it as he did.

Jason responded to that as viciously by firmly biting down on the flesh of his shoulder as viciously as he could, managing to elicit a groan and a muttered out curse from Vaas as he managed to tear through flesh and even make him bleed a little bit.

Omegas had naturally sharp canines and nails – supposedly for protecting themselves from predators or unwanted contact, but they were also pretty useful for kink and even maybe a bit of petty revenge like Jason wanted to exercise right then. The omega pulled off of him, a bit of blood dripping from his chin as he pulled off with an almost apologetic kiss to the wounded spot.

Jason was content to continue on with this – he would have been happy to kiss and touch the alpha for hours, maybe even let him fuck him but they weren’t able to get all that far, as a pirate with a bandanna for a mask came in to the room, greeting Vaas with an awkward cough punctuated by a hesitantly spoken out, “Boss.” to get his attention.

Jason looked at the pirate, mortified not only at being caught like this but also at being interrupted just when he was starting to enjoy himself. Vaas showed his frustration clearer when he snapped at the masked pirate, “Fucking, WHAT?!” in a harsh tone, baring his teeth at the other man as he did so, and for a moment Jason thought that he might actually kill him for the lack of indiscretion.

The pirate at the door didn’t seem all that fazed by Vaas’ threatening stance, “There’s a situation with one of the hostages.” he explained in a matter of fact sort of way without giving away any information that Jason could clearly glean anything from.

“Stay here,” Vaas told Jason before he let him off, “If you try to run, I’ll know.” he added and Jason didn’t doubt that one bit.

Once Vaas was gone, Jason let out a shaky sigh of relief. Without the alpha in the same tightly enclosed space that he was in, the overwhelming cloud that he was under eased up. A part of him wanted to leave, to run the fuck away from the camp but still, something inside of him didn’t want to stray too far from Vaas – the same thing that pulled them towards each other.

Jason could only hope that it would get less overwhelming with time, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew next to nothing about bonds like this. In that moment, he would have done anything for Vaas. It scared him how willing he was to just let Vaas do whatever he wanted. It was jarring as all hell.

In the midst of his thoughts, someone came in – more like burst through – and for a moment he wondered – with both excitement and apprehension – if Vaas was already back to finish what they had started.

Jason was more than a little shocked to see that it was his older brother, looking more or less like he wasn’t any worse for the wear. Without thinking about it at all, he bounded up and practically crashed into his elder brother, enveloping him in a tight – practically bone crushing – hug.

“Grant! Not that I’m not happy to see you but what are you doing here?” He asked his older brother as they separated, who looked more or less like he wasn’t hurt or injured. He was happy to see his brother but at the same time, he couldn’t be all that glad that Grant was here – it was dangerous for him to be here.

“What are you doing in here?” The elder Brody replied, “That fucking pirate dragged you off somewhere, I thought you were dead. I’m just glad you’re alive but you’re not hurt, right?”

Jason really did not want to get into it with Grant about all this, he knew that there was no way that he’d understand. So, instead he decided to say it as simply as he could, “No I’m not hurt. At least not much. Vaas, he likes something about me. I can’t get into it right now but I’ll be fine.” he tried to explain quickly and simply, “He probably won’t hurt me but if he finds you here, it’s not going to end well.” That was the understatement of a century. If Vaas found Grant with him, then he might kill Grant in front of him and he didn’t want that.

Grant took about as well as you might think, “No,” he shook his head, disgust prevalent in his voice.“No, I’m not leaving you here with that psychopath. Come on, you have to come with me. We still have some time, I think, to escape but we have to hurry.”

“Grant…” Jason started, voice barely above an exasperated whisper, – this is exactly what he was worried about. Grant had practically raised him and Riley after their father died and he was always a little overprotective over them both. Jason knew that if he told Grant that he was bonded with the pirate, that Grant wouldn’t listen and might even go so far as to force him out of the camp. Jason wouldn’t even blame him for it, “It’s more complicated than that.” he said instead. “I have to stay here.”

“More complicated? This isn’t complicated, Jay.” He replied firmly, “What did he do to you?”

“Grant.”

“I swear if he hurt you-”

“Grant! Just listen to me!” Jason snapped, grabbing his older brother’s shoulders hard, like he was trying to rouse him from a deep slumber. It shocked him enough that he was stunned silent, giving Jason the chance to say everything he needed to say. “Just- look, if he finds you here…” he sighed heavy and world weary, knowing that his brother would take some convincing.

Jason really didn’t like the idea of manipulating him, but he knew that he probably had to if he wanted Grant to make it out of this encampment with his life. “If he finds you here he’ll kill me and then he’ll kill you too. Is that what you want?” he lied through his teeth, “No? then you need to go! Go on and get the hell out of here and find everyone else because they need you more than I do. Alright? I’ll be fine, but not if he finds you here. He’s not that- look, just go! Please.”

Grant didn’t look like he was entirely convinced, but he understood Jason’s point. He couldn’t make Jason come with him in any case, “Alright.” he said,“Look, I don’t know what you think you’re doing with this guy but… just be safe, Jay.” he said as he backed off and made his escape.

“I will.” He said, with a surprising amount of resolve. Surprisingly, he found that he believed it. If Vaas was just about as affected as he was by this bond, then maybe he could use this to his advantage and get his friends back home.

He just had to be strong and he could do this. Maybe.

[autumnhobbit]

I rlly want to read something about Damian and Tim when Damian is like 18! That'd be a cool dynamic

The kitchen was quiet when Tim stepped in through the garage door at 6:30 in the morning. He supposed that wasn’t totally unexpected; Alfred was probably busy, what with the chaos of the last few days’ events. However, Tim had an important objective, so he opted to skip any other menial, unnecessary tasks, and headed for the stairs.

He passed his old bedroom, Jason’s room, Dick’s room. The next door was unsurprisingly shut. He didn’t bother knocking; he figured they were past that. He opened the door and leaned his head in. “Dames?”

A shuffle of sheets, as Titus climbed to his feet with a huff and carefully jumped down, ambling over to lick at Tim’s hand. And finally, a groan from the blanket-covered lump on the bed, only the tips of messy black hair showing above the comforter.

Tim stepped in and shut the door behind him, folding his arms across his chest. “I know you don’t want to get up and do anything today, but I’m not gonna leave you much choice.”

“Nothing you say will persuade me to leave this bed, Drake,” Damian deadpanned, low voice rough with sleep.

“I already called Marissa and told her you’d be there by seven,” Tim said easily.

A pause. Then Damian threw the covers back, his face vaguely irritated but submissive. He stroked Alfred’s back as he sat up, murmuring soothingly in Arabic to him, and then swung his legs off the side of the bed, dropping down onto them and slouching off, the picture of exhausted adolescence. It would have been funny if it weren’t somehow so sad at the same time.

Tim shook his head, tugging over Damian’s chair to sit and wait for him. While the shower ran, he glanced around the room. It looked a little more personal now than it had; a rack full of Damian’s collection of exotic weapons, a zoo animals calendar, scale models of the planets hanging in scale formation from the high ceiling of one corner of the room, a telescope, a poster from a concert Dick had taken him to a few years ago. It looked a little more like a kid’s room now, and a little less like a barrack, which was good. Though he could still see the precision in how everything was kept—bunched up clothes and clutter were conspicuously absent from the area—it was nice to see at least some amount of stability and comfort in Damian’s life as well as his room.

The door opened with a half-bang, and Damian wandered out of the bathroom, dressed but with his hair flopping down almost to his nose. Tim tried to stifle a laugh as he fumbled around looking for his comb, which was, of course, on the dresser Tim was sitting beside. He grabbed it and stepped over to Damian, setting to work combing it up. “Have you considered getting a haircut anytime soon?” He asked jokingly.

“Tt.” Damian heaved a sigh, which sent some of the aforementioned long bangs fluffing up in the air, only to flop back down onto his nose. “It’s not long enough yet to warrant it.”

Tim let the matter drop. It was the kid’s hair; he could do whatever he pleased with it. Besides, he was no one to judge; his own hair wasn’t shoulder-length, but it wasn’t short, either. He finally had Damian’s hair half-tamed into something resembling its usual spiked style. With a final pat, to tamp the long strands down—which was a little difficult, considering how high he had to reach to do so, now—Tim stepped back, handing Damian the comb. He took it and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans, and then leaned over and yanked his sneakers from their spot beside the bed. Tim checked his watch quickly, just to make sure–they were still on time. Damian finally straightened, glancing at Tim expectantly.

“Alrighty, then. Off we go.” Tim turned towards the door, and Damian trailed after him, shutting the door after making sure Titus and Alfred were out of the room.

“Will…” Damian’s voice cracked a bit oddly—and while that was a normal occurrence lately, somehow Tim knew it wasn’t a fluke—“Will it be alright? Here? While we’re–”

“It’s fine. Alfred says he’s stable, just resting, and he’ll call us if anything comes up. And if he does call us, I’ll call Superman if need be. Or Jon,” Tim said, trying to be as firm as possible while still leaving room for Damian to really object if he wanted to.

Damian said nothing, so Tim kept going.

There was no sign of Alfred in the kitchen when they went through—except, of course, for a tray of freshly-baked blackberry muffins, still warm and steaming, and a travel cup full of fresh-squeezed orange juice, and one of coffee. Damian silently picked up the note beside the tray, read it to himself, then nodded mutely and carefully folded it, tucking it into his pocket. He snatched a nearby paper bag and filled it with half the muffins, and then grabbed another bag that had his name on it. Tim grabbed his coffee as quickly as possible, and drank a swallow, savoring the bitter aroma. He hadn’t had a chance to get his before he’d left the house this morning.

With everything thus packed and grabbed, they headed out the garage to where Tim’s Lincoln was waiting. Damian climbed into the passenger seat of his own volition, so Tim got into the driver’s side and set his coffee in the cup holder, starting the car in silence and turning to carefully back up.

They were half-way down the driveway when he glanced at Damian, who was silently eating a muffin, occasionally sipping at his orange juice. If he had been five years younger, he would have thought Damian looked sullen—but times had changed, and he knew better now. “Do you…” he ventured. “Want to listen to something? Or—?”

Damian shook his head silently.

“Okay.” Tim turned back to the road. After a moment of driving—they had reached the gate—he said quietly, “Steph would have come, but you know how mornings have been lately. She sends her love.”

“Tt.” Damian hummed, examining another muffin. “It’s alright,” he said quietly, not meeting Tim’s eyes. “I did not expect that of her.”

Tim nodded quietly. The words were blunt, but Damian still had trouble finding words sometimes when it came to being genuine. He knew the boy meant no harm.

“Besides…” Damian hummed, not looking up. “You are sufficient.”

Tim stifled a smile. He turned back to the road, and the rest of the drive passed in companionable silence.

They ran into a bit of traffic on the freeway, but still managed to pull into the parking lot at the animal shelter at 6:47. They got out in silence, and Tim locked the car. Damian held tight to his paper bags. Tim hoped fervently that Marissa would honor his request to not mention the elephant in the room, or else he might truly upset Damian.

But thankfully, when they went in the back door, Marissa was waiting with her usual smile, flanked by Ava and Max, a couple of the high-school volunteers.

“Morning, Damian,” she said warmly. “How are you?”

“Acceptable, thank you,” Damian said, a bit awkwardly, as he always was when they got started. He brandished one of his bags. “Pennyworth sent treats.”

“That grandfather of yours must be quite a man,” Marissa said, turning to lead them inside. “I hope to meet him one day.”

“Perhaps I will try to arrange something this summer,” Damian said, sounding a bit excited at the prospect.

“I would love that, Damian, thank you.” Marissa said. She buzzed them into the backroom. “Alright, so we have a few new arrivals. Someone dumped a Siamese in a street in the south side; he has a broken paw. We’ve set it and it should heal up in a month or two. Very sweet temperament, it’s a shame. A girl dropped off a box of pitbull-mix puppies; I assume they were the result of a dogfighting champ but weren’t healthy enough to be worth training. And, oddly enough, someone brought a parrot that recites lines from Gilligan’s Island. That’s been fun.” She flashed a dry smile at Tim and Damian. Tim chuckled. Damian shrugged, heading into the storeroom to haul out the bags of feed.

The next three hours flew by as they fed, watered, and groomed and bathed the animals, as well as cleaning out the cages. Damian was comfortable with this—he’d been doing it for several months, now—but Tim was a little bit less competent at it. At least he’d worn somewhat casual clothes; a polo and khakis. Though he was looking forward to showering at the end of the day.

At 11:00, when the work was nearly finished and Marissa and Ava had gone to man the front desk, Tim meandered over to where Damian was huddled in front of one of the cages, lightly stroking his long fingers through a tabby kitten’s fur. “You are a most threatening specimen,” Damian spoke lowly and seriously as the kitten lightly gnawed on his fingertips. “Likely descended from the royal cats that roam the jungles of Argentina and Siberia. My mother once had one like you. He was nowhere near as kind, however. Keep that friendly spirit, and you will go far in here.” He stopped talking and glanced up when Tim approached.

“I don’t think Alfred would appreciate a stray,” Tim said wryly.

“Tt.” Damian lightly stroked the kitten’s back once more. “His namesake did.” He carefully scooped the cat into a delicate ball, cupped in his palm, and slowly stood up, opening the cage door. “If he does not get adopted, I may well return for him.” He shut the door and locked it, reaching a fingertip in between the bars for one last stroke.

“Don’t know if you’re hungry,” Tim said. “I made sure Ameer’s was open.”

“Tt.” Damian dusted his hands off. “I would not object to lunch. I was not planning on doing much today, anyway.”

“Alright then,” Tim said, trying to ignore the slight pang at Damian’s flippant admittance.

They said goodbye to Marissa and Ava on the way out, leaving the bag of treats as well as the leftover muffins. They loaded back into the car, and Damian put his earbuds in for the short drive over to the restaurant.

Tim could tell that Damian was suspicious as they got out and Tim locked it, but he didn’t voice any irritation, so Tim followed him as he pushed open the door and immediately spotted the table full of people, who immediately waved at him, with various warm greetings of “Here’s the man!” and “Damian!”

Damian rolled his eyes, and walked straight for Steph, who was beaming up at him. He ducked down, and hugged her very gently. “You didn’t have to come out here, Brown.”

“And miss this milestone? You only get one of those, you know.” She kissed the top of Damian’s head, and released him. “Besides, I feel better in the afternoons.”

“Grayson,” Damian acknowledged.

Dick smiled warmly. “How are you, kiddo?”

“Just as fine as I was when I last saw you three days ago,” Damian said dryly, but he allowed himself to be tugged into an enthusiastic hug, and even leaned into it. Babs gave him a smile and a little wave, but Damian barely had time to nod before Cass had tugged him into an even more tight hug. “Baby brother is big,” she said, reaching her arm almost to its maximum length to pet his hair. “Not fair.”

“I have been informed that this is how it works,” Damian choked, still sounding exasperated. Cass finally released him, and Damian immediately scrubbed at his hair to tamp it back into its usual style. He glanced once at Jason, and immediately dropped his gaze. “Todd,” he said quietly.

“Brat,” Jason said easily, swishing his glass and running his mismatched fingertips along the rim of the cup. The scar that ran down his cheek was healed, but still cut his features in a decidedly different way than they had been when he was younger. “Bet you’re glad to have sprouted all the way.”

Damian shrugged. Tim ordered his root beer for him rather than interrupt the conversation, waiting with baited breath.

“Pretty sure we’ve already covered this ground, tater tot, but this,” Jason gestured to his cheek, and his hand, “was not remotely your fault. And besides, chicks dig scars. Ask Kara.” He smirked.

Damian shrugged, eyes downcast.

Jason scooted over beside him, and stuck a finger under his chin, tilting his face up. “Look. I’m fine. I am fine, I’m going to be fine. And even if I wasn’t—” his face grew hard, but not towards Damian, “—I’d do it again. Alright? And that’s not a bad thing. It comes with the whole sibling territory. You got it?”

Damian met his gaze for a moment, then nodded solemnly, though he still looked troubled. Jason slid his hand once to bop Damian’s nose, then dropped his hand to his lap again. “None of that broodiness. You may want to be like your dad someday, but it’s still too early for me.”

The others laughed. Damian managed a slight curve of the corner of his mouth.

The rest of lunch went smoothly, with everyone sharing memories of the ins-and-outs of the Manor, minus the suits. Damian even shared a few anecdotes of his own. The kitchen sent Damian a free Basbousa, which made him quite pleased. He shared a little bit of it with Steph, because she was eyeing it longingly and he tended towards fussing over proper nutrition in her condition, but declared the rest of it was his alone—though he left enough for everyone else to have a spoonful. Dick and Jason left a large tip.

Dick approached Tim as the others began to say their goodbyes and disperse. “What’ve you got up next on the agenda?” He asked quietly.

“Figured we’d head to the park. Jon’s schedule is free.”

“Do you need me to come by? For…after?” Dick asked.

Tim shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll need it…but I certainly don’t think he’ll complain about you having an unannounced sleepover.”

Dick grinned. “I’ll try and come tonight, then.” He glanced up as Damian walked by with Steph. “I guess I’m headed home,” Steph said, reaching for Tim’s hand. “You guys have fun on your hike.”

“Sure thing. Call me if you need anything.” Tim gave her a quick kiss on the lips, which Damian rolled his eyes at, but said nothing.

“Don’t you scoff,” Steph scolded warmly. “You’re a teenager now. Hormones are a thing, buddy.”

“Your escapades are made tolerable only by nieces and nephews,” Damian deadpanned. But he stroked a small, firm circle in her side. Tim was vaguely jealous. Steph only let Damian do that because she said he worried. Everyone else was forbidden because she was ticklish. But like he said, he was vaguely jealous. Mostly he just melted. He guessed marriage had a tendency to do that.

Once everyone was off on their own, Damian and Tim piled back into the car and drove a couple hours to the park. It was outside town, almost out into the countryside, but you could still see the city from the hills.

Tim fired off a text as they were getting their supplies out of the car, and by the time they were locking up, Jon was streaking down to land on his feet on the pavement beside them. “Dames!” He said happily, crossing the distance in two strides and hugging Damian.

“Um. Hello, Kent,” Damian said, awkwardly patting Jon’s back. Jon released him with a grin. “So. Do you expect me to hike, or can I—?”

“You may do whatever you please, Jonathan,” Damian sighed.

Jon laughed, then saluted cockily. “See you guys at the top, then!” With that, he launched into the air and flew off through the trees, only restraining himself from breaking the sound barrier due to decency.

“Tt. I could do that, once,” Damian muttered darkly, but took a swig of his water and hefted his bag up on his shoulder, heading up the trail. Tim followed, shaking his head.

It wound up taking them about two hours to climb the slope. They could have done it faster if they’d been hotfooting it, but they were taking their time. Damian stopped often to get out his camera and take a picture of a bird or flower or tree, and Tim did likewise. Occasionally, Jon would fly back down to them and hover overhead as they walked, and they chatted as they went.

Finally, they reached the top of the hill. The sun wouldn’t set for another few hours, but it was at a definite downward angle, lighting up the distant buildings with a sharp, intense glow. Damian snapped a few different pictures of that. Tim, meanwhile, took the opportunity to reapply 100+ spf sunscreen. He had to admit, that was one thing he did envy Damian for.

Jon went with them the rest of the way down the mountain. When they were packing up the car, he tapped Damian on the shoulder.

“Do you…want me to come over later tonight? I have to be home for supper, but I could come back. Only if you want me to, though.” He looked hesitant but ready to accept whatever answer he got.

“I…do not know, Jon,” Damian admitted with a sigh. “Can I text you after…after I’m home? Right now, I would not mind, but I don’t want to drag you all the way to Gotham to spend time with me if I will be too bitter to enjoy it.”

“I wouldn’t care. I’ve put up with you before,” Jon said obstinately. “But if you don’t feel like it, that’s fine. And if you do, I’ll come.”

“I will text you,” Damian promised. “Perhaps we can watch more of those cartoons you introduced me to last time.”

“That’d be fun.” Jon grinned. “Well, whether I see you later or not,” he hugged Damian again. “Have a great rest of the day, ‘kay? You deserve it.”

“Tt.” Damian rolled his eyes long-sufferingly at Tim, who shrugged. “Have a good evening too, Kent. Tell your parents I said hello.”

“I will!” With that, Jon flew off. He did break the sound barrier this time. Damian got his hands over his ears in time. Tim was just a little bit too late.

“I wish he wouldn’t do that,” Damian muttered. “Every time he does, conspiracy theory pages explode.”

Tim shrugged as he opened the trunk and tossed his bag in, wincing as his ears continued to ring. “He’s a teenager who can fly. I can’t say I blame him.”

They drove back to the Manor from the park, stopping once to get Damian a cherry slushy since he decided he was in the mood for it. The sun was beginning to set when they pulled back into the Manor.

Damian went upstairs immediately, and it wasn’t two minutes before the shower was running. Tim sighed, dropping into a chair in the kitchen and checking his phone. A text from Steph to let him know she got home okay, a text from Alfred about Bruce’s SATs, a text from Dick letting him know he’d be a bit late, but would come around nine.

Alfred came into the kitchen, and Tim glanced up. “Hey, Alfie.”

“Evening, Master Tim.” Alfred took the seat across from Tim, sitting down more quickly than Tim was used to.

“Everything alright?” Tim asked, concerned.

“It’s just….” Alfred sighed. “Master Bruce, sir. Not his health,” he quickly amended at the concern morphing to worry on Tim’s face, “It’s just…it’s hard. To see him upset. And he is, right now.”

“Ah.” Tim could imagine.

Damian wandered into the kitchen, in shorts and a t-shirt, his hair hopelessly flopped over his face again. He paused at the island. “Pennyworth,” he said quietly.

“My dear boy,” Alfred said, and just like that, Damian was across the room and buried in an almost desperate hug. “How was your day?” Alfred asked, into Damian’s hair—the boy was much taller than he, now, but whenever he hugged Alfred he lowered down some.

Damian chuffed a hoarse laugh. “Acceptable, Pennyworth.”

“Good.” Alfred let the boy pull back a bit, though he remained kneeling beside Alfred’s chair. Alfred cleared his throat, glancing down at Damian. “I believe that…your father would very much appreciate seeing you.”

Damian ducked his head in a half-nod, his bangs flopping. Even from across the table, Tim could see the emotions warring in his dark green eyes.

“I…am willing to wager that you would very much like to see him, too,” Alfred said softly, laying a gentle hand atop Damian’s head and threading through his hair. “Is that correct?”

Damian nodded slightly.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Tim offered. Damian nodded vigorously.

“There there, Master Damian,” Alfred said softly, as the boy gave a sudden, hoarse sob and scrubbed angrily at his eyes with his fist. “You’ll be alright. It’s alright.” He gently brushed Damian’s long bangs back from his eyes. Damian sniffled, scrubbing at his eyes with his fingers this time. Tim’s heart sank watching them, even though it was somehow a warm sinking.

Steph would have laughed if he’d said that out loud. Maybe he’d text it to her later.

Finally, Damian climbed up to his feet. “I’m ready,” he declared hoarsely, squaring his shoulders and balling his fists.

Tim pushed his chair back from the table and walked over to Damian. And then, on a sudden but certain impulse, he wrapped his arms around the younger boy and hugged him with a iron grip, arms locked tight around his broad shoulders, dusty, worn-out clothes against Damian’s clean ones and all. Damian startled at first, but then reciprocated, wrapping his own arms carefully around Tim and leaning down to press his forehead against Tim’s shoulder.

“You are such an overgrown little punk, and I am so damn proud of you,” Tim whispered, and he felt Damian’s chest heave with a breathless laugh. “The feeling is mutual,” he snarked back, only a bit unsteady.

With one final squeeze, Tim reluctantly let go and stepped back, and Damian did likewise, scrubbing at his eyes again. Tim gave Damian a firm pat on the shoulder. “Down we go.”

Damian nodded. “Down we go,” he agreed, voice muffled.

Tim let Damian lead the way when the boy lightly shoved in front as Tim opened the clock. Down the stairs the two of them went, quiet, until they were in the familiar cold, musty air of the Cave. Batcow mooed in Damian’s direction, and he trailed over and rubbed her head for a moment, murmuring softly to her. But finally, he lifted his chin and squared his shoulders and planted one foot in front of the other, striding into the med bay. Tim followed only a couple steps behind.

His first thought was that Bruce still somehow managed to look limp, deflated, even though he was definitely conscious: seeming to drink in the sight of Damian with half-open eyes, his gurney elevated so he could see them without having to sit up. It wasn’t the worst injury he’d ever received by a long shot, but it was growing more and more difficult for him to shake off his injuries as quickly as he used to. But he immediately reached his hand out, only slightly trembling, towards Damian. “Damian. I was…was hoping you’d come. Come here, sit down.”

Damian grasped his father’s hand immediately, pulling a chair up behind him with his foot and sitting down, clasping their hands together in his lap. “Evening, Father,” Damian said, hesitant and very much worried.

Bruce half-coughed a laugh. “Oh, my boy.” His hand slipped from between Damian’s and traveled up to Damian’s face, gently rubbing his cheek. “Look at you. My boy.”

Damian blinked, quiet tears welling in his eyes and spilling over once in a while. Bruce stroked them away whenever they spilled.

“How was your day, baby? Tell me everything. I’m…I’m sorry I couldn’t be there.”

“It’s not your fault, Father, do not blame yourself, please,” Damian pleaded, voice cracking. “I…well, Drake came this morning…”

He started the story, and Tim quietly got up, slipping out of the room unnoticed. He had a feeling that they’d be okay without him.

He fed and watered Batcow, so Damian wouldn’t have to worry about doing it, and headed upstairs to his old bedroom. He texted Steph before getting in the shower. I think I’ll stay the night, if it’s okay with you. Just to be sure that we’re good.

Of course. Give him a kiss from me and the babies.

Will do. Tim threw his phone onto the bedside table and went to shower.

When he got out, toweling off his hair and stepping back into his room, the sky outside his window was dark, and he could hear laughing and Mario Kart sound effects from down the hall in the game room. He shook his head with a stifled smile, flicking on his phone again. He looked one last time at his reminders for today. Damian’s 18th birthday, survived, he thought, satisfied, as he switched the screen off and climbed into bed, sliding under the covers.

(Ao3 Link Here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10949835 )

[givemethatgold]

Rescued pt. 4

Summary:  After Bucky comes to your aid in a moment of panic you extend an invitation to family dinner. Neither of you could have foreseen how this small act of kindness would alter you, and your life, forever.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader Warnings: Swearing, drinking, fluff Word Count: 1232

Author’s Note: This is just pure family fun and fluff. It’s all going somewhere, I promise. @bxckytrxsh continues to support me and cheer me on and this will probably only get finished because of her.

Previously

Bucky smiled and the previous concern in his gaze shifted to something softer. The air around the two of you suddenly felt charged and you were desperately trying to remind yourself that your guest (and apparent boyfriend) was a complete stranger.

Your first mistake was glancing at his lips. They were parted and you watched in beautiful agony as his tongue darted out to wet them. Mistake number two was looking back up into his eyes; they were swimming with so many emotions it made your head spin. Longing, fear, lust, restraint.

You kissed him, not caring if it was mistake number three.

You and Bucky eventually made your way back into the living room where everyone had congregated. Your dad was handing out dirty martinis, his specialty, and Jack was trying to get flames going in your neglected fireplace.

You made your way to the loveseat in the corner, knowing that it was poorly lit, hoping the shadows would help hide your appearance. Hair messed from Bucky’s hands running through it, lips swollen from the surprisingly passionate kisses, and cheeks red from the rasp of Bucky’s stubble.

No one gave you a second glance so you thought you had made it home free, then Bucky entered the room and made himself comfortable next to you on the impossibly small couch.  Were there other places to sit? Yes. Did you appreciate all the smirking and side-eyeing from your family members? No. Did Bucky’s scent and warmth and arm across your shoulders make this all okay? You bet your sweet ass and half a titty.

For the next couple of hours, your family taught Bucky how to play all your favourite card and board games. You and Bucky shared the small loveseat so you could explain the rules to each game as they came up, at least that’s what you were telling yourself.  

It surprised you that anyone could be so clueless but you weren’t about to complain considering it was giving you the chance to be this close to the man. Playing Settlers of Catan, Scategories, and Trivial Pursuit were practically a requirement when everyone got together. Your mom put her foot down with a resounding “no” when Mikey suggested Cards Against Humanity.

“Michael, you know Mom can’t handle that game. It’s too tiring for her to pretend she doesn’t have the dirtiest mind here!”

“Yes, well, at least my lipstick isn’t smeared all over my face, dear,” your mother stage-whispered to you, causing everyone to zero-in on your mouth and consequently erupt into teasing laughter.

Well, there goes the hope that no one would mention what you and Bucky had been up to for those stolen ten minutes in the hallway.

“Yes, but it’s such a nice shade on Bucky!” Your dad boomed, not one for subtlety.

Normally, you’d have hung your head and blushed furiously but Bucky’s self-depreciating-yet-proud smile had you smiling back.

“If you like it that much-” Bucky leaned towards your dad and puckered his lips “-I can lend you some!”

This response had your family in stitches, you were laughing so hard it was coming out in breathless wheezes and tears were streaming from the corners of your eyes. No one could believe a virtual stranger had the balls to tease your dad like that; most potential suitors and friends of your brothers had quivered in fear once they found out he had been a Marine. Wiping a stray tear with the back of your hand you caught Bucky’s eye, throwing him a grateful smile. It amazed you how quickly Bucky seemed to have assimilated into your family dynamic.

You realized you were still holding his gaze but couldn’t seem to tear your eyes away. As everyone regained their composure, they became aware of the silent moment you seemed to be having, your mom and Karen exchanged knowing looks while your dad and the boys awkwardly busied themselves with random things.

“Top-up, anyone?” your dad asked, holding out the martini shaker. “I might have to finish this off myself.”

Your mom gave him a sharp look and jerked her head towards you. Looking a little lost, he just shrugged and mumbled something about getting mom up to bed. The twins jokingly reacted by plugging their ears with an exclamation of “ewwwww, too much info!”.

The first rounds of good-nights seemed to have dissipated the party atmosphere and everyone began to shuffle around and clean up. You shooed Karen away, having noticed how tired she was and knowing she didn’t sleep well this late in her pregnancy.

You, your brothers, and Bucky carried the trays of goodies, empty glasses, and board games into the kitchen. Deciding to just load the dishwasher and deal with the rest of the mess in the morning, you dismissed the twins too. You didn’t even bother saying anything to Jordan, knowing he’d linger regardless; ever the protector.

“Thank you, Y/n, ” Bucky stood by the front door and reached out to cautiously take your hands, mindful of your injured one, “for one of the nicest evenings I can remember.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?”

Even though you knew he’d be close by, the sound of Jordan’s voice made you jump. What was he up to? It wasn’t like him to encourage a man to stay near you.

“You might not be good to drive, after having those drinks.” Jordan narrowed his eyes and gave Bucky a hard stare. “I’d hate to have to arrest my sister’s boyfriend for a DUI.”

You started to admonish Jason but Bucky, who was still gently holding your hands, interrupted.

“I’m actually fine, really.” Then turning to you, “Besides, I’d hate to impose myself more onto your family weekend.”

Jordan wasn’t one to give up and pressed, “You had five of Dad’s drinks, you’re not fine. Stay.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Jordie,” you exploded (but quietly so you wouldn’t wake Mom) “he’s not a God damned dog! Take a day off, would you?”

Looking surprised, yet a little smug at your outburst, Jordan threw up his hands in surrender and walked out to door to the guest suite. After watching Jordan leave, Bucky turned his gaze back to you squeezed your undamaged hand one last time.

“You didn’t have to get upset on my behalf, he really was just trying to do the right thing. I’m not worth you getting upset over.”

“Well, for one, that may have been out of character for me but I assure you it was a long time coming.” You gave Bucky a wry grin, “Secondly, you’re very much worth it. I can’t begin to thank you or explain how you’ve managed to save this weekend. Staying wouldn’t be an imposition, at all.”

You stepped a little closer and squeezed his hands in return. “ Please,” you ask, suddenly shy again, “stay for another day?”

The look on his face was indescribable, but if you had to put a word to it “hopeful” would fit the bill.

“Pleeeeease?” You implored, whispering as to not reveal anything to family who may still be awake. “I know I’m the one who owes you, but it would really mean a lot to me, and my mom, if you stayed and, ummm, and kept up the dating charade a bit longer?”

You bit your lip and gazed up at him through your lashes. Bucky looked a little surprised and his posture had slightly deflated at your request, so you blurted out, “Only if you want to, it’s okay if you don’t!” hoping to fix whatever you’d done to ruin the mood.

“Doll, you misunderstand,” he actually blushed, “after today, you know, the moment in the hall and the looks and all the touches…”

He looked at you, hoping you would understand what he was trying to get at, but your confused face had him rambling again.

“Maybe I’m more out of practice than I thought, but it seemed like we had a real connection and I kind of thought that maybe, maybe you’d want to do this-” gesturing between himself and you “-for real.”

You couldn’t have contained the massive grin that spread across your face if you’d wanted to.

“You’d want to, even after experiencing my family in full force?!” You held your breath without realizing it, waiting for his answer.

“Doll, compared to the people I work with, your family is a dream. Actually, they’d be amazing regardless of who you compared them to.“

His easy acceptance made you giddy and you gave up on whispering, laughing loudly you leaned in on tippy toes and kissed him.

Breaking for air a few minutes later a sobering thought struck you.

“Oh! Shit. I, uh I have no free beds… ”

“I can crash on the couch, it’s no big deal,” he assured you with a smile.

You both started towards the living room, intending to make the couch as comfortable as possible, but were halted by your mom’s muffled voice coming from her room upstairs.

“Don’t be such a prude, Y/n. Bucky can sleep with you!”

Part Five 

Tag List: @tatortot2701 @timemngmtoptimisationproblems @isaxhorror @melconnor2007@captainfbffangirl99 @finallybreathee @thisisthelilith @ballerinafairyprincess @janeschwartz1

[kindaangelic]

Bruce Wayne - Father Extraordinaire

...I've rediscovered my love for the Batman fandom. I grew up with the caped crusader, and when most girls my age were playing princess dress-up, I was trying to tie a black cape around my neck. This was my first fandom, at the age of seven. Dick Grayson was my first love. You know what? He still is. This is my first foray into this fandom on tumblr. I hope that this fic is an appropriate start. This is also posted on ao3, where I write as Living_Free: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9499421 ------------- Summary: Bruce Wayne is Gotham's media darling. He's their late-night scandal maker, their social butterfly, the ultimate playboy, scourge of the social circle. No young person is safe from his charm. Then he has a child. And another. And he never stops. ------------------ Bruce Wayne was Gotham's guilty pleasure - billionaire, playboy, and media sweetheart. He was always ready for the cameras with a witty quip, or a dashing smile, always with a slim, svelte, lady on his arm. Until one day, there was no lady. Instead, a tiny child was hanging off of his hand, grinning up at his guardian. When Bruce Wayne looked down from the cameras, he lost his toothy smile, and instead, it melted into a softer one. The small child giggled and buried himself into Bruce's side, which effectively hindered any and all females from attaching themselves to him. "This is Dick," he introduced the sleepy child in his arms to the media. "He's mine." In his arms, Dick would giggle and doze off, or at least pretend to. Bruce would take this as his excuse to escape the gathering - "I need to put him to bed," he would say earnestly. In the car, Bruce would tell Dick what a smart boy he was, and within a few minutes, the pair could be seen leaping across rooftops, the little Robin cheering his mentor on as the Batman beat twelve types of shit out of the villains of Gotham. ------------ Years later, Dick would still be seen on Bruce's arm, not so much adorable as mouthwateringly sexy. He would still look up at his mentor, giggling, and Bruce would still smile softly down at him. They still owned the night, but Batman would more often cede control of the beating of villains to his first Robin, watching from the sidelines as Nightwing gracefully thrashed the rogues of the city. As Bruce looked at his boy - always boy, at least to him - he would feel a spark of pride. No matter the dark moments in his life, no matter the mistakes he made, he would always know that he had gotten one thing right. And that was enough. ----------- "This is Jason," Bruce said some years later. "He's also mine." Jason just scowled up at his adopted father, until Dick whisked him away to scowl at other people. Jason was a fish out of water with the Waynes. Where Dick was a natural performer, Jason hated being in the limelight, clinging to his elder brother or hiding behind his father's large frame. Bruce learnt to step carefully, for fear of crushing his newest son. Jason was much more at ease as Robin, where he could shine in his own way. Where he floundered Jason Todd-Wayne, Jason made his mark as Robin, and Bruce couldn't have been happier. Bruce smiled bigger than ever, happy that both his sons were making their way in the world, kicking ass and taking names. Until one day, Bruce didn't smile anymore. ----------- "Hood, stop!" "Hood, no!" "Hood, don't!" Batman had never thought that he would address his second son again, much less with such reprimands. Every time Jason raised his gun, Bruce's heart would bleed a little more, yearning to smack the gun out of his boy's hand. Nightwing didn't have the heart to discipline his wayward brother, too glad at having Jason back to do anything. Tim was still skittish around him, sticking close to Bruce or Dick whenever Red Hood was around. And wasn't that another dagger to the heart. Eventually, things did look up. Jason warmed to Dick first, having never lost the soft spot he had for his elder brother, and then Alfred. No one could stay mad at Alfred. Jason would visit more often, hanging around Dick's room. Whenever Bruce would show up, hoping to catch Jason, the boy would leap out of the nearest window. Tim was shy around Jason, fearful of invoking the older man's anger. Jason made no moves to calm the boy, still resentful of him. Bruce thought that his two youngest would never get along until one night, Red Hood entered the Batcave carrying Red Robin in his arms, as the boy rested his head on Jason's chest. R'as Al Ghul had been holding Tim a little too close for comfort, having sedated the young bat. That had been enough to set Jason off, pulverizing the old lech and bringing the shaky boy back home. Dick had predictably gone ballistic, weeping and cursing, refusing to let go of a disorientated Tim. Bruce was left to deal with Jason, who looked uncomfortable being left with his estranged father. Bruce only compounded the situation by drawing Jason into a hug. Jason just stood there as Bruce squeezed him, whispering thanks in his ear, before leaving to take Tim upstairs. Dick led Jason upstairs, clinging to his arm, head resting on his shoulder, a little teary thinking about what could have been. Jason allowed Dick to take him upstairs, allowed him to cuddle up to him, sitting squished together in Tim's room as the boy himself clung to Bruce in bed. Later that night, Jason started awake, with Dick still snuggled up to him, and Bruce snoring lightly, his hand in Tim's hair. Jason looked at Tim, who was wide awake, looking directly at Jason with wide eyes. Jason stared back calmly, making no moves, only smiling slightly. Eventually, Tim's eyes closed, his fears assuaged, at least in that one regard. From that night on, something shifted in their family dynamic, and Tim would shyly claim to have two brothers. Jason would just grunt, but not refute this fact. Gotham learned that overnight that the Bat and his Birds were now a solid group of four, and none were to be trifled with. That night onwards, Bruce stood a little taller, a little prouder. ----------- The media speculate that after the death of his second son, Bruce Wayne would not smile again, and for a long time, he didn't. His eldest came back to Gotham, and clung tighter than ever to his father's arm, no force capable of moving him from his place. It took a waifish boy to lure a smile out of Bruce Wayne again, months later. Doggedly determined, little Tim Drake stalked the Batman around Gotham, until one day, tired of his little shadow, Bruce just look the little boy home. Wayne Manor regained its light with the little boy running around its halls, all around the Batcave, and into Bruce's heart. Dick was lured out of his depression by the tiny boy, his heart picking up at the prospect of having another little brother to hold and love. One fine night, Bruce Wayne showed up at another gala, Dick holding one arm as per usual, and a small boy cradled in his other arm. "This is Tim," Bruce introduced his newest son, "he's mine." Dick grinned as Bruce passed the boy to him. Tim spent a lot of his early galas in either Bruce's or Dick's arms, both being fearful of the small boy being trampled in the horde of unforgiving socialites. The streets were another story entirely. The new Robin earned a reputation of being sneaky, quiet, and almost as clever as the Bat himself. Eventually, the Batman learned to stand strong again, and the caped crusader ruled the night once more, his little bird by his side. ---------- Damian Wayne was a nightmare. The media hated him, and the feeling was mutual. He growled and bit and scratched, and clung to his eldest brother like a limpet. The Feral Wayne, the media called him. Bruce was at his wits end when it came to Damian. The boy was not warming to him, Jason, or Tim, and only sought out Dick. Dick had his hands full with the youngest Wayne, having become a pseudo-mother virtually overnight. The boy's ideals were warped, twisted by his time with the League of Assassins, and his heart was hard. Time would prove to be a true healer, slowly melting Damian's heart. Unbelievably, Gotham and life as Dick Grayson's Robin thawed Damian's cold exterior, and his warm core was revealed. When Bruce was thought dead, and Dick was left to pick up the pieces, Damian clung to his brother harder than ever, desperate not to let his brother break. When Tim brought Bruce back, Damian heaved a sigh of relief as Dick handed the cowl over again, then proceeded to smother Bruce with his all consuming hug. Something changed that night, when Damian saw that Tim was truly capable of moving mountains for their family. Damian gained a new respect for his elder brother, and made it known in small ways - heeding Tim's advice on patrol, keeping his silence around the older boy as he worked. When Family Photo time rolled around, Dick subtly passed Damian over to position him on Tim's lap, and to everyone's surprise, Damian did not even squirm as Tim's arms encircled his waist. The same could not be said of Jason, who threw a mini fit when Bruce tried the same with him. The photo came out thus - Damian sitting on Tim's lap, both with serene smiles, Dick next to them, one arm wrapped around Jason and one over Tim's shoulders. Bruce stood to the side, glowing with happiness, his arm thrown sloppily around Alfred, who gave his best Mona Lisa impression. The photo was hung in the batcave, where it still hangs to this day, a loving reminder to the Bats of the challenges that they overcame to come together. ----------- Bruce looked down at the slightly built girl who stared stoically back up at him. Boys, he could handle. He was familiar with their ways. He had given the birds and the bees speech to all of them, nursed their owies, and trained them to become heroes though the years. Bruce took a deep breath. He could make another hero of this one, too. "You ready to be a hero?" Bruce asked Cassandra. A nod. "It'll have to wait," Dick said, flouncing in. "The Wayne Christmas Gala is tonight. We have to get ready to schmooze." Bruce wrinkled his nose in distaste, eliciting a laugh from the girl. Bruce looked down in a panic, realizing that he had no clothes for a little lady. "I have nothing for you to dress in," Bruce said, vocalizing his dread. Dick beamed at Bruce's conundrum, and ushered the entire family into the car. "Mall trip!" He bleated, as Bruce paled. They found themselves at the mall, Cassandra holding onto Bruce's hand at the ladies section while Dick piled his arms with everything that looked cute enough for his sister. Cassandra refused to become Dick's model, stalking out of the store, which left Bruce to pick something for a young lady. He eventually chose a disgusting, pink, number, much to Dick's delight. Cassandra emerged from the room that night in the flowing, frilly, disaster, as Bruce looked at her, considering. "This is okay, right?" Alfred tutted from the corner, muttering about how a young lady with untamed hair would stand out like a sore thumb at a gathering such as the one they were going to tonight. Bruce panicked once more as Dick passed a comb and hair ties into his hands. At the gala, Bruce presented his newest child, complete with uneven pigtails and overdone blush. "This is my daughter," he said proudly. "She's mine." To her credit, Cassandra didn't scowl. That night, Black Bat kicked ass harder than ever, taking out her humiliation on the evildoers of Gotham City. Although he was clueless as to what brought on her unprecedented savagery, he still watched her like the proud father that he was.

[realmotionxi-blog]

"Power" Season 5 Episode 8 Recap: The Death Of A Main Character

Proceed with caution, if you haven't seen this episode of "Power." Spoilers ahead. This week’s episode of Power, entitled “A Friend of the Family,” delivered all the action that we’ve been waiting for. Although everyone will be talking about the epic climax of the episode, let's start from the beginning. At the conclusion of last week’s the week before last's episode, Ghost decided he was going to be the one to turn himself in for the murder of Ray Ray. Luckily, Angela and Tasha convince him that is not a good idea. Ghost, alternatively, comes up with the idea to frame Dre for the murder instead, and leaves the apartment in a rush. Meanwhile, Tasha tells Angela it would be best to frame Kanan. Although it sounds like a decent plan at first, Tasha never stops to think about Kanan's mindstate. She and her husband have already framed him once, and K isn't planning on going back. https://twitter.com/Power_STARZ/status/1033868612463878144 Ghost heads over to Tommy’s place, where he runs into Kanan as well. Tommy and Kanan were just discussing Ghost secretive plans, which leaves Mr. Egan in a state of disbelief. K leaves to meet up with Tariq, but not before promising to drop off Diego Jiminez’s head for his two frenemies. The Jiminez brother was offed by Kanan, via a deal with Ghost who in turn made a deal with Dre. The push and pull dynamic influencing all the main players threatens to snap at any moment. Ghost tells Tommy about his plan to frame Dre, and it appears that all the pieces to the puzzle are falling into place. Meanwhile, K goes to grab Tariq to assist him with a drug deal with the Italians. There's a moment where K asks the teen what classes he's taking in school, and where he hears Italian, he utilizes young St. Patrick. It appears that Kanan wants to steal both Tommy’s connect (Jason), while also stealing his old clientele base (Vincent). K and Tariq meet up with the Vincent and strike a deal. https://twitter.com/Power_STARZ/status/1033886786345267201 When Tariq gets home, at his mother’s request, he is met by Tasha and Angela. They reveal their plan to frame Kanan, but Tariq refuses to help them put his new friend in danger. Tasha begins to worry where her son's allegiance lies, and reminds Tariq that she is going to jail if he doesn’t help her. Tariq hasn't earned redemption for the death of his sister yet, even if he did kill Ray Ray. His reluctance to help his family after hurting his family is immature and only adds to the character's increasing unlikeability. On the other side of town, Tommy takes Lakeisha to dinner to meet Teresi and Connie. The dinner goes well, until the two begin to brag about being in deep together. Connie warns her that dating a criminal isn’t going to be easy, but reassures her that love will help her through. Lakeisha thinks she's down for Tommy, until a subpoena shows up at her door. Their entire relationship is questioned, and Lakeisha takes the issue to Tasha as well. At this point, neither Tommy nor Lakeisha appear to truly care about Lakeisha beyond needing her to conform to the bigger plan in motion. On the legal side of things, Mak and Saxe continue to try to put the squeeze on Ghost and Angela. Tameika instructs the lawyers to put pressure on Proctor, which they proceed to do. They inform Proctor that they know about the murder of Marshal Williams, the disgruntled guard that Ghost killed while in prison. They also claim they have a witness (Teresi). Tommy's father tipped the lawyers off to satisfy his duties as a snitch for freedom. Stunned, Proctor goes to Ghost to find information. He tries to get Ghost to open up to him, but St. Patrick smartly declines feeding him any info. The dynamic here is interesting because Proctor already has enough information to get St. Patrick locked up. His prying feels like more of a test, a way to gauge how much trust Ghost has placed in him. Apparently, it isn't much. On the other side of that power struggle, Angela questions Saxe about his investigation of Tommy Egan, to which he reluctantly answers. She continues to promise him an office in DC, but by episode’s end, that doesn’t seem like Mak’s plan at all. Proctor goes to meet up with his criminal cousin, and reveals that he still has the laptop from the Homeland Security officer Tommy killed. On the computer is a recording that can send Ghost and Tommy away for life, and Proctor can’t decide whether to give up his former clients to get the feds off his tail, or if he should remain loyal. https://twitter.com/Power_STARZ/status/1033872903647846401 When Tasha reveals her plan to frame Kanan to Ghost, he wants nothing to do with it. In Ghost’s mind, Dre needs to pay for the death of Raina and gets the blame for all the drama that his family has experienced. How he comes to that rationalization doesn't quite make sense. Unbeknownst to him, Dre tried to separate Kanan and Tariq way back in the last season. Tasha thinks that Ghost is finding a way to cope with his own guilt, and she's not wrong. When he refuses to commit to the plan, Tasha takes matters into her own hands. Ghost admits to his son that he is trying to frame Dre, which allows Tariq to look at his father in a (semi) good light -- the first time all season that we see Tariq show a semblance of understanding and compassion towards his father. Tariq has felt betrayed by his parents, ever since he found out he'd been lied to about their family's history. Once Riq sees that his father is willing to go to jail to save his life, Tariq starts to soften. https://twitter.com/Power_STARZ/status/1033890025627238400 After that monumental moment, Tasha shows up and talks to Tariq in private, but the details of their discussion are not shown on screen. Ghost heads back over to Tommy’s place and comes up with the plan to place Diego’s head in Dre’s club, which they believe will give the Jimenez reason to lash out at Dre. Neither men know that Alicia Jimenez allowed the death to occur. She has been making a play against her brother all season, and we've yet to see Alicia's full scheme. Ghost plans on dropping the murder weapon that killed Ray Ray on Dre’s premises as well, but it doesn’t work out that way. When he returns to his home to retrieve the gun, Tasha reveals her plan to have Kanan framed. Back in the hood, Kanan puts Tariq to the test. He sends him out onto the street to sell product, but when the boy returns, Kanan determines that one of the customers gave him fake money. Angered, Tariq locates the guys that did him dirty, and instructs K to pull up. Tariq then holds the customers at gunpoint, and gets them to drop all their cash. After hopping back into Kanan’s car, the two drive off into the night, but Tariq has some questions for K. At this point, we see the contemplative side of the teen. He's more of his father's son that he realizes. He can’t understand why Kanan would kill his own son, someone that he loved. Kanan assures Tariq he would never kill him, and says that his son was disloyal and wasn’t built like the two of them. Kanan's love for Tariq is ultimately his downfall. Their moment is fleeting because soon after, Kanan is pulled over. When police ask K to pop the truck, they find the gun that Ray Ray used to kill Raina. The officers instruct Kanan and Tariq to exit the vehicle, and that's when things get crazy. https://twitter.com/Power_STARZ/status/1033895419913199618 The police ask Tariq if he’s being held against his will by Kanan, to which he reluctantly agrees. Apparently, Tasha called the police and claimed K kidnapped her son. We already know, as he clearly stated earlier, that Kanan is not going back to prison again-- leaving him with, basically, one option during this police encounter. It's important to note that both times Tariq's parents have initially opened up to him, he has given them immediate loyalty in return. That's all he wants, the truth. His placement of the murder weapon in Kanan's trunk is not as shocking once you realize he's just a kid looking for his parent's mutual respect. As Tariq sits in the back of a cop car, Kanan shoots and kills the cop that was trying to arrest him. Three other police begin to shoot back, and Kanan methodically kills them all, but not without taking a couple shots himself. The bloody shootout is the most action we've seen all season, and it makes Kanan look like an absolute beast. He easily takes out the entire police squad before setting his sights on Tariq. K has a moment to kill Tariq, who is now unguarded in the back of the police car: he doesn't, though, his face a mix of hurt and understanding. Even in Kanan's last moments, he keeps his initial promise not to kill Tariq. He attempts to make an escape in a police cruiser, but ultimately he succumbs to his gunshot wounds, the car swerving off the road. Unlike the fire that "killed" him last time, it appears he's dead for real this time (although conspiracy theories on the internet may say otherwise). https://twitter.com/Power_STARZ/status/1033880382247030784 After Kanan dies, Tariq, Lakiesha, and Tasha tell the police their fabricated story that places the blame of Ray Ray’s death on K. Ghost is left in shock, but he is relieved none the less. The fact that Tasha took the control from her husband to enact this move will undoubtedly come back to haunt her. Proctor heads over to the offices of Mak and Saxe and doesn’t give up information on Ghost or Tommy, but admits that Angela Valdez is helping them out. That sparks the lawyers’ interests, and opens up an entirely new angle to work with. Over at Dre’s club, his employees find the head of Diego Jimenez in the freezer. Police swarm the area, and it looks like Dre is heading to jail. Tommy and Ghost meet up at the morgue after all is said and done, but Egan has lost trust in his friend. Kanan effectively injected enough poison into their relationship to create a rift between the men. He played on Tommy's weaknesses while attempting to take his business out from underneath him. As they look at Kanan’s dead body, Egan tells Ghost that K saw him coming, and that he doesn’t believe that Tasha set this up on her own. Although Kanan is now dead, and Ray Ray’s murder has been taken off of the St. Patrick plate, things are not all good. There is still Teresi’s snitching to deal with, and there are two episodes left in the season. https://twitter.com/Power_STARZ/status/1033897406729842688 After the season finale aired, show creator Courtney Kemp and 50 Cent sat down with Deadline to talk about the weight of the episode. Revealing that they plan to end Power after seven seasons, the most important aspect of their conversation is about Tariq. "Kanan’s death was always going to be what we like to jokingly call the ghetto Bar-Mitzvah," stated Kemp. "That is today Tariq is a man, you know? We always talk about that, which is that how are we showing this trajectory of Tariq turning into his father? His father sacrificed Kanan. Tariq just did too." She continued on to hint that we may see Tariq hop in the driver's seat by the show's end. "Ghost’s great failure involves the fact that you cannot keep your kid from turning into you," she explained. "Genetics are genetics, nature is nature, nurture is nurture, and this kid has Ghost for a dad, Tasha for a mom, Tommy as his godfather, and now was partially raised by a friend of the family, which is the name of this episode, a friend of the family who is Kanan. He’s going to be a criminal fucking mastermind and there’s not a God damn thing Ghost can do about it." Get the strap. Read the full article