#RH!Jason

[msfcatlover]

Y’know, when PandaRedd said Jason Todd “isn’t that creative,” I thought it couldn’t possibly be that bad.

Then I found out Jason named his dog “Dog.”

That when trying to come up with alternatives to Robin, PreCrisis!Jason’s names were all other birds, part of his costume, or literally also someone else’s nickname, with the most memorable name being “Bluejay” (which is a legit good name, but c’mon, it’s just his nickname shoved into the bird-theme.)

And PostCrisis!Jason could only come up with “Batboy.”

As much as I love the “Jason should be a writer” & “Jason writes fanfiction” headcanons, Jason Todd is not that creative.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 271

“Grandmother is visiting,” Damian suddenly said with no warning and with his usual not-quite demanding tone. 

“Who?” Tim wasn’t the only one to startle, seeing as Bruce had practically froze, a downturn to his lips in a silent show of confusion. 

Damian scowled. “Are you deaf Drake? Grandmother is coming to Gotham to, quote, make sure I am being properly cared for.” None of them had known that Ras was with anyone actually. At least Tim was pretty sure that would have been in the files. 

“Oh?” Dick didn’t quite crouch to Damian’s height but it was a near thing. “She-” “He,” Damian corrected, interrupting him. They all exchanged a glance before Dick continued. 

“Is he coming to the Manor or…” 

Damian scoffed again, a tiny bit of a flush against his face. “No, Grandmother will most likely be staying with Akhi-”

Now wait one moment-

“YOU HAVE ANOTHER BROTHER?!” 

[ew-selfish-art]

Dp x dc AU: the watchtower gives out very strictly limited passes for visitors. They don’t need the world knowing that their HQ is in space after all, but sometimes family needed to visit.

Batman was the one to install the day pass system back when Dick was Robin- he needed the excuse to send Dick home to Alfred after a certain amount of time has passed and it just stuck. Unless you were a full time member, day passes were the best you got. Engineers and other supportive staff that weren’t members weren’t afforded day passes however- but Jazz is determined to be the one exception.

Jazz Fenton has been a psychologist for the JL for a year now (she just had a very productive performance review, thank you very much) and it’s been killing her to not tell Danny her office is in space. They do weekly dinners that he portals in for, and he knows that she takes a Zeta tube to work, but he’s technically not allowed to know that her office is a satellite. So, she sets a meeting with the man who started the system in the first place.

Batman is hard to read for most but she’s been his therapist for a while now, and she can tell he’s at least considering her request. Dinah couldn’t speak more kindly on Jazz and she’s been an asset to the JL in many ways since she was hired. Jazz’ arguments aren’t preposterous either- she’s submitted all of his identification papers, his background check, his job description and all of his friends names. She assured him that Danny will be able to keep a secret but when pressed she doesn’t reveal if he has any of his own.

Turns out, months of back and forth and negotiations were going be basically worthless- the second Danny got his little wrist band day pass, made it up via the zeta tube and got presented the view of Earth from the observation deck: he immediately transformed. Like zero caution, just went ghost and hyper fixated on the stars.

“You could have mentioned your Brother being Phantom. He’s been an ally to us for a while.” Batman grumbles in the way that only his family and she can tell through his deadpan.

“Yeah, I just thought that would’ve been a second visit conversation.”

[bluerosefox]

GHOSTS WITH HEARTBEATS

When Jason had been going to Gotham Academy, he had (for a good reputation for the media and to help him catch up on his penmanship, remember he had been on the streets and dropped out of school before getting picked up by Bruce for a while) signed up for a penpal project for 'less privileged people' to write to.

(Although Jason was annoyed the penpal project stayed within the states and only selected a middle of nowhere town, he knew the Richie Rich Elites would never subjugate their 'Heirs' to actual kids in need of learning how to read and write)

But Jason didn't mind his penpal.

Danny Fenton was a riot to talk, err write to in all honestly.

From his dry punny humor (and boy can he give even Dick a run for his money in the pun department but hey using some of them actually got Dick to warm up to him a few missions ago) and death jokes so many death jokes, to his nerdy love for space Jason enjoyed writing to Danny.

Even the short stories he would write about a ghost kid protecting a small town from other ghosts was interesting to read. He really liked the different kinds of ghosts there could be. Granted some seemed very OP like that Clockwork dude.

Jason liked writing to Danny, and even after the penpal project was over they had plans to keep sending letters, maybe even exchange numbers soon...

But then he died by the hands of the Joker.

The letters leaving Wayne Manor may had decreased but the letters being sent never did or at least until a few years ago.

Then Jason somehow returned to the land of the living.

Got taken by the LoA, tossed in the green waters and turned into their Pit Raged weapon for a while before leaving them behind and setting out for his revenge against the Joker and to force B's hand.

And becoming a Crime Boss for a while too. Can't forget that.

Point being with all this going on, the old warm memories of exchanging letters with Danny Fenton was pushed into the back of his mind and forgotten about for a while.

It isn't until one afternoon at Wayne Manor that while roughhousing with Dick, who had Jason in a brotherly headlock as they walked down a hall to one of the sitting rooms, that while Jason had slipped out of Dick's hold had stumbled into a hallway desk that had a few things on the top of it, one of the things being a small box that tumbled off when Jason hit it.

The box lid opened and out of it spilled out a good number of letters.

"Shiii-p, dang it Dick!" Jason said when he looked at the mess he accidentally made and stopped himself from swearing, the place might be named Wayne Manor but everyone knew this was Alfie's domain and no swearing was a rule within his halls.

Dick only laughed and teased only in a way a sibling can do "Hey not my fault your as big as a tank Jaybird! We should get you some caution signals if you keep bumping into things!"

Jason flipped him his favorite finger, thankfully Alfred only knew when they swore thus it did not summon him, and bent down to the letters.

His hands froze when he recognized the hand writing and the address it was sent from.

"From: Danny Fent Nightingale

Amity Park, IL"

To: Jason Todd-Wayne

Gotham City, NJ.

Wayne Manor"

And when Jason opened the letter. He really wasn't expecting what was written inside.

"Jason.

I'm finally leaving Amity Park. I can't be there anymore, not after everything. I'm too tired, and emotionally hurt. Everything is just to much. And I can't keep doing this to myself. My parents still can’t understand there is nothing ‘wrong’ with me or why I refuse to let them take care of Ellie, I refuse to let her live the way Jazz and I did, Jazz has to much on her plate already with her own life and college but she’s been hounding me to reach out to mom and dad, Sam refuses to listen to me when I tell her I want to be more than ‘Phantom’ in Amity Park, and Tucker is so busy trying to get into a good college and job we barely have time to talk nowadays. And don’t get me started on Vlad, that fruitloop’s been breathing down my neck since Ellie’s deaging.

Despite how much of a hellhole you like to call it, I think Gotham might be my, no mine and Ellie’s best bet of living some kind of life, especially now since the whole deaging she had to go through, she needs an ectoplasm rich city as well and since she has no actual papers because she was my clone and I remember you saying Gotham has people who can create new identities and-

I’m rambling again, to letter you again. I really need to stop it.

I can’t keep pretending you’re going to read these.

I know you’ll never read these. You’re gone. I can’t even find you in the Realms no matter where I look.

I’m sorry. For using you as, well, a way to vent my life for last couple of years. I shouldn’t had done it but it helped me.

Believing my friend was still alive and getting my letters I mean.

Again I’m sorry.

This will be my last letter to your ghost, pun unintended.

Goodbye Jason. Wish us luck in your city.

-Danny Fen-Nightingale...."

The sent date on the letter was roughly eight years ago.

[donnatroyyyy]

Jason Todd’s death storyline was perfectly executed because they killed him figuratively (killed his innocence) before actually killing him. It’s a tragedy because he died in two separate ways. And the reason his resurrection is just as much a tragedy is because only one of the things killed can be brought back and it wasn’t the thing that made Jason who he is (his innocence and kindness).

[sufroyo]

ak jason with longer hair.....as a treat.......cause i wish there had been a scene w/o his helmet that wasnt a flashback 💔

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Damian enrages a ghost from the GZ after they said there's no one who works harder than them to keep thier city safe. The ghost decides to switch the bats of Gotham with Danny Phantom so now the bats are stuck In Amity Park protecting the place and Danny is stuck protecting Gotham as Phantom.

The bats are playing thier cards close to thier chests cause all of these heros showing up the same time as thier civilian counterparts is going to be super suspicious so they gotta be clever.

Danny in the meantime is kinda freaking out but the ghost had at least told them what was going on before booting everyone out of thier respective dimensions. Luckly for Danny Nightwing is officially Bludhavens hero not Gothams and he and "Agent A" help him learn the ropes properly. Danny is glad to finally have a mentor despite the situation. Nightwing seems thrown when Phantom mentions it and starts asking a lot of questions about both his home life and his hero career back in his home world.

Needless to say neither he nor Alfred are pleased and don't want him to go back. Danny doesn't really wanna go back either but what else could he do?

Turns out he didn't need to cause one bat is scary enough, but nearly the whole flock? Disaster. Especially for Vlad, the GIW and the Fentons.

[muuuumin]

The Red Hood talking to a criminal: get on your fucking knees before I blow them out

Red Robin: (hnn that's so hot, I wish he told me to get on my knees)

[boyfridged]

hello! can i request some Jason centric fic recs?

this is actually such a difficult question. in spite of years spent reading jason-centric fanfics, it is very rare that i find something that i genuinely enjoy. still, i do have some favourites that i go back to.

beneficiary by @sirsparklepants (1/1, 2k)

my favourite post-death jay fanfic. it's such a beautiful, bitter-sweet conclusion to his legacy.

untitled by @pendulum-north (1/1)

this is a very short ficlet. absolutely riveting language, as expected of a poet. my favourite take on the canon divergence that is bruce dying instead of jason. would sell my soul for north to actually write more on it.

what the living do by Anonymous (1/1, 6,5k)

stunning. perhaps my all-time favourite. jason believes he's dead. dick takes him on a road trip.

complications by JHSC (1/1, 6k)

i want to tell you so badly why i adore this fanfic but that would spoil the conclusion. so instead i can just tell you that it contains my unpopular agenda for jason's character development.

the (family) doctor's appointment by smleeish (1/1, 4k)

i have some qualms with the minuatiae of this work but this sickfick surprised me with the depth of the character study. the conclusion is so beautiful in the way it gets to the core of jason's values.

jet black crow by starknjarvis (series, 2/2, 19k)

i normally avoid sex-worker aus so please do know that this had to really impress me to be found on this list. the main reason for which it winded up here is a conversation jason has with bruce in the second installment.

the clay steals the clay by zipadeea (1/1, 2,5k)

just give it a read. a haunting... fix-it. i think about the usage of catholic themes in this fanfic often.

PLUTO. by orpheusaki (@damianbugs) (1/1, 22k)

a huge reason for which i love this one so much is the thematic similarity to the earth-51 arc in countdown. there's such good understanding of what made jason who he is as the red hood & his relationship with batman as the symbol and with bruce as his father.

things that make it warm by one_step_closer_to_death (@hopeworth) (1/1, 4k)

my favourite jay & dick fanfic! if you've been following this blog for a while, you know i am very particular about their relationship. you also know that i believe in jason's need to reconnect with his childhood and that dick should be a part of it, and this piece delivers that in the sweetest way.

of broken, blazing wings by FrEShAVocaNoob (44/44, 190k)

before i get to the praise, i have to say that this fanfic does talia very dirty and that i am not a fan of how it deals with mentions of jason's childhood & his robin days. however, it is also 190k of jason having a perpetual mental breakdown and it follows canon event starting from the lost days and finishing with countdown. it has great pacing and an admirable balance of being plot-driven and the focus on character development. jay is so painfully young and lost. i also really enjoyed dick's attitude. it's a riot and an emotional rollercoaster. i will never recover from it.

compulsory (shameless) self-promotion:

leave no trace, a ficlet on ouroboros.

black out days, a lost days au which is not a story at all. about talia, jason, the need to mythologise and staying away.

and my wip robin (vol 2): future nostalgia, a jay lives au that is to contain follow major batman plotpoints such no man's land and murderer/fugitive.

[msfcatlover]

In which I propose a new superpower for Jason Todd

Jason was resurrected by a ripple/fracture/break in space-time/reality. Significantly, he was resurrected physically to a moment right before his death (I’d argue right before the bomb went off, based on his injuries and specifically the lack of smoke-damage to his lungs allowing him to call out for Bruce from down in his grave) but he remembers dying. Some analysis even suggests that resurrection made him immortal, that his death was overwritten and cannot be rewritten in any way that will stick. Plenty of AUs speculate about this giving him a whole variety of powers, but I haven’t seen this one yet, so...

Jason Todd exists, physically, as every single version of himself that ever was, could have been, or ever could be. He is, in a way, outside of time, a permanent glitch in the metaphorical matrix. He is a very, very specialized kind of shapeshifter, able to hit fast forward or rewind on his own physical form whenever he wants, but his perception of time remains linear & constant---he can’t actually see the future or anything, and if he shifts to the time he was a corpse, he’s still trapped & aware inside of his nearly useless, rotting body. When he meets alternate versions of himself from parallel universes, he also learns of different paths his life could’ve gone down, allowing him to rewind to the point where that changed and then fast forward down that other path as far as he wants (once again, this does not grant him the memories of that alternate life, he is always the Jason who stole from Batman, became Robin, died in that warehouse, and came back with a vengeance.) Not something he gets much use out of, given how few of the alternate selves he’s met have useful powers of their own, but handy for hiding scars or changing his build slightly for undercover work.

No, what Jason got/gets/will get the most use out of is the rewind feature. It can heal wounds, as long as he removes the blade or bullet which will not be affected by his shifting, which is both very handy (in the case of the former) and very troublesome (when the latter means he can’t risk shifting at all if he’s been shot or hurt with shrapnel.) He comes back to Gotham as a ghost, the Robin they all remember him as, and haunts his family just irregularly enough to really throw them off their games in between antics as the Red Hood.

(He also did/does/will do it instinctively sometimes, losing track of what age he’s supposed to be and shifting to the one he currently feels like, or the one he wants to be. He almost always drops however many years back to his late teens whenever he’s being especially petty or underhanded. When he’s scared, he has to actively remember not to let himself literally shrink back to 14, when he was Robin & a Wayne and actually felt safe. Under fear toxin, it’s not uncommon to find Jason under ten years old, tiny & scared, trying to find somewhere small to hide. In the opposite direction, he often gets older when he wants people to take him seriously, because something Jason learned young is that nobody listens to people they think are children.)

(Needless to say, the full-face helmet is very useful, and he keeps the filters well maintained & at the bleeding-edge of bat-technology. Nightwing having to carry a sobbing six year old back to the cave for treatment should never, ever have happened even the one time, and Jason’s not about to let it happen again!)

He needs to remember to age at all, since he just hit/hits/will hit “pause” when he reaches the form he wants. He came out of the Lazarus Pit a glitchy, blurring mess of a thing, and it took a while before he was able to find a form that felt comfortable in the time he was now in (the body he would have had, if Bruce got there in time and took Jason to the al Ghuls to beg healing for his son’s wounds.) The further he gets from the current time/reality, the more uncomfortable a form was/is/will be to hold; like wearing a skin-tight suit that doesn’t quite fit, getting smaller the further he gets from “here & now.”

(Yes, that does mean Jason will inevitably experience ever-increasing discomfort as time goes on and he gets further from his original resurrection; he’s not supposed to be “here” right “now.” The longer it’s been since Jason Todd ceased to exist, the more out of place a living Jason Todd was/is/will be.)

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 76

Tim has no idea whether to laugh or cry. Bruce sends him away from Gotham to stay safe from Red Hood, yet who is standing there, in the Titan Tower, but the man himself. And if he was attacking or something then fine, he could deal with it. But no, the man is standing there, in the kitchen, cooking like it’s an everyday thing. Like sure he’s cooking angrily and Tim swears he can see some sort of eye glow in the helmet, but it’s not like he’s actually threatening any of them?? The literal crime lord has been hissing about them not having any food and being out of medical supplies and who decided to leave a bunch of teens alone to take care of themselves. Which. Rude, he’s been taking care of himself for years, and both Raven and Beast Boy have too! What type of scheme is this?!

Jason was going to go through with his attack on the Tower, he really was. But seriously, they didn’t even have any medical supplies, their cupboards were practically empty of food, and they didn’t even have any cleaning supplies. For fuck’s sake he’d gotten in so easily and it was a giant tower shaped like a T- everyone knew where it was! Honestly it’s not his fault the pit rage went from being pissed to the literal child- which uh, huh he’ll have to freak out about that later- to raging about how he took better care of the alley kids than the heroes were taking care of their kids so guess whose going to have to fucking step up! 

[boyfriendgideon]

as yr favorite local jason todd fan sometimes i get so fed up with the apparent inability of most dc comic writers to write a class conscious narrative about him.

and yes, i know that comics are a very ephemeral and constantly evolving and self-conflicting medium.

and yes, i know they’re a profit-driven art medium created in a capitalistic society, so there are very few times where comics are going to be created solely out of the desire to authentically and carefully and deliberately represent a character and take them from one emotional narrative place to another, because dc cares about profit and sometimes playing it safe is what sells.

and yes, i know comics and other forms of art reflect and recreate the society within which they were conceived as ideas, and so the dominant societal ideas about gender and race and class and so on are going to be recreated within comics (and/or will be responded to, if the writer is particularly societally conscious).

but jesus christ. you (the writer/writers) have a working class character who has been homeless, who has lost multiple parents, who has been in close proximity to someone struggling with addiction, who has had to steal to survive, who may have (depending on your reading of several different moments across different comics created by different people) been a victim of csa, who has clearly (subtextually) struggled with his mental health, who was a victim of a violent murder, and who has an entirely distinct and unique perspective on justice that has evolved based on his lived experiences.

and instead of delving into any of that, or examining the myriad of ways that classism in the writers’ room and the editors’ room and the readers’ heads affected jason’s character to make sure you’re writing him responsibly, or giving him a plotline where his views on what justice looks like are challenged by another working class character, or allowing him to demonstrate actual autonomy and agency in deciding what relationships he wants to have with people who he loves but sees as having failed him in different ways, or thinking carefully about what his having chosen an alias that once belonged to his murderer says about his decision-making and motivations, you keep him stuck in a loop of going by the red hood, addressing crime by occupying a position of relative power that perpetuates crime & harm rather than ever getting at the root causes, and seesawing between a) agreeing with his adoptive family entirely about fighting nonlethally in ways that are often inconsistent with his apparent motivations or b) disagreeing and experiencing unnecessarily brutal and violent reactions from his adoptive father as if that kind of violence isn’t the kind of thing he experienced as a child and something bruce himself is trying to prevent jason from perpetuating. because a comic with red hood, quips, high stakes, and familial drama sells.

it doesn’t matter if it keeps jason trapped, torn between an unanswered moral and philosophical question, a collection of identities that no longer fit him, and a family that accepts him circumstantially. it doesn’t matter if jason’s characterization is so utterly inconsistent that the only way to mesh it together is to piece different aspects of different titles and plotlines together like a jigsaw. it doesn’t matter if you do a disservice to his character, because in the end you don’t want to transform him or even understand him deeply enough to identify what makes him compelling and focus on that.

and i love jason!!!!! i love him. and i think about the stories we could have, if quality and art and doing justice to the character were prioritized as much as selling a title and having a dark and brooding batfam member besides bruce just to be the black sheep character are prioritized. and i just get a little sad.

[hailkingphantom]

Dp x dc

The batkids see damian hanging out with a toddler, a lil girl and ask him who is she

"Dami, who is this little lady?" Ask dick, before damian could respond the girl answer

"I'm Danielle! , Damian is my uncle" and then take her uncle and run.

Now the batkids are trying to figurate out who get a kid.

Bruce is unaware of everything.

[punkeropercyjackson]

After some (not unpleasent and worth it) waiting,The Anomalies meme doodle i requested from @jellyjays is finally complete!!!Gracias tanto Connor,se ven tan lindos♡♡♡

[marshmallow---pillow]

Tried to make art from my fic Philautia

[nelkcats]

Hood Assistant

Prompt Part 1 Part 2 Next Ao3

Part 3

-----

Loving is hard because it hurts but once you have it you don't want to let it go.

----------

Danny left the apartment with Johnny following him behind, he sighed unwillingly wondering what the ghost was up to now, half the day had already passed, he had been forced to eat and now it seemed his new roommate didn't want to leave him alone, he was worse than Cujo.

"Johnny, stay in the apartment, I know you want to watch my back and all that but your shine and ghostiness is very noticeable, you know?" he complained.

"Oh yes, so noticeable that your parents, the professional ghost hunters and your sister didn't notice it at all when they met me" the blonde sneered, softening the "other world" feeling a bit, he didn't really have as many abilities as other ghosts but he was one of the best in camouflage, probably because he looked pale but mostly alive.

"Well, I see your point but that doesn't explain why you're following me, my friends don't know you" the halfa complained again in frustration.

"Cupcake, exactly how do you plan to get there?" the ghost questioned looking at his friend as if he was crazy.

Danny had gotten tired of arguing with him about nicknames so he ignored it and answered "Walking?"

"Are you going to walk more than 5 kilometers?" the blonde judged him.

"I don't see that you have any better ideas" he frowned.

Johnny simply cleared his throat pointing to his well-kept motorcycle that appeared on the side of the street as soon as they left the apartment "you were saying?"

"Fine, but I'm not hugging you" the halfa pointed out.

Johnny sighed and tossed his helmet at him as he started his motorcycle, Shadow melted with him in support. "I didn't know you were shy, but if you say so," with that said, he let them both get settled before driving to their destination.

—---------

On his side, Jason was making his rounds in Crime Alley when he remembered the meeting he had heard about; he had to find out if the pretty boy had connections to the city's Rogues or something similar, although knowing Bill that was unlikely.

He cursed not having put the apartment address as one of the job requirements, but at least he remembered the final address where they would meet that contact "Sara", the name brought a memory to him but he didn't know exactly what.

He managed to accelerate his motorcycle a few meters before the intended place, but all he remembered in that area were the night workers, what business would Danny have with them? Or Bill for that matter, he parked on a hidden spot and climbed on one of the roofs for better surveillance, if something happened he could always come closer.

He got to the roof just in time to see a bright green motorcycle speeding and heading towards the same meeting place he was watching, a blond looking about his age was driving it with a big smile on his face while a boy he found very familiar was clinging to his back letting out what seemed like very colorful curses.

He tried adjusting the frequency of the nearby mics but it seemed like they weren't carrying long signals or weren't working properly because the static almost hurt his eardrums. With a sigh of suffering he ended up coming down from the roof and hiding in one of the nearby alleys, he had good visibility and could hear, more or less.

"You're a fucking idiot Johnny" growled the one he now recognized as Danny as he shivered away from the boy, removing the helmet from his head, said stranger just started to laugh.

"You said you weren't going to hug me, I thought it was a dare, honey" the blond scoffed, Jason stopped himself from reacting to the nickname, there was no point in getting angry with that "Johnny" or whatever, and he shouldn't reveal his position.

"Oh, shut up and go back to the apartment" Danny didn't seem too pleased either, he felt a bit relieved, although the familiarity with which they communicated was uncomfortable for him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, good luck with your meeting with friends and all that, tell me if you want me to take you to Robin Hood tomorrow" the blond said goodbye, he looked around for a moment before getting on his motorcycle, the vigilante felt frozen at the familiar green gaze directed his way: bright, toxic, but a few seconds later the green eyes seemed normal, a little light for his taste perhaps, but not murderous.

It seemed that it had only been part of his imagination, probably because the neon color of the vehicle reflected on the driver or something similar; he felt a little stupid for relating it in the first place, there was no need to have an attack in the middle of a mission; Jason wondered if he should follow the stranger but in the end he dismissed the idea, he was useless in his current purpose and he could investigate later.

"IS RED HOOD" the boy yelled, still frustrated as he approached the alley. A part of him was happy that he defended his name, when Danny entered the building where they were waiting for him he decided to talk to the girls about it.

"Do you know why he was here?" He questioned pointing to the place where the boy had entered, it seemed part of the resting places, it was not the bar where they brought customers so that ruled out most of the possible rogues or enemies.

"It's strange that you're interested in the boy, Hood, but he doesn't work for us" one of the managers spoke a little mockingly "but you already knew that, he's supposed to work for you"

"I like to take care of my employees, it's strange that he is here when he is not assigned to this sector" he spoke naturally, although he supposed that the voice modifier on his helmet would ruin any tone he took and make him neutral or just aggressive.

"If you say so" whispers were heard behind him, he managed to catch the word jealousy between their laughter but that didn't give him any clue "The boy is Sara's friend, he comes here from time to time to meet her" the woman shrugged "Although, you should take care of him Hood"

Jason arched an eyebrow, curious by the suggestion and forgetting that his expression wasn't reflected on the helmet. "Take care of him? Why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, we'll steal him from you, obviously" the woman smiled "Sara offered him a job but he refused, I think you called him first; he's not ugly, if he truly consider it, he would have a guaranteed position in this place"

Jason tried to imagine it, the Danny who carried bowls of soup from place to place and confused the ingredients, who looked at him searching for his approval, his eyes twinkling when he mentioned it was edible; him interacting with many kinds of people daily, people who wouldn't care at all. He had the charisma, yes, but as much as he respected the business the boy with his heart on his sleeve didn't belong there.

He couldn't help but growl at the mere thought "Don't worry, I wont let him go", with that said he walked away from the place, he had verified that his suspect was not meeting with anyone dangerous, when he looked inside the building he simply saw Danny, Bill and a girl laughing, he felt like an idiot for following him on his day off, maybe he should make up for it later.

Of course, what Jason didn't notice was the female workers whispering that Red Hood was following the new guy, and that they weren't sure if it was jealousy over his obvious lack of communication with his boyfriend or if he was looking for a lover, these rumors didn't take long to spread, reaching Maurice who was on call that day and the information nearly made him choke on his drink.

—-----------------

Danny entered the place, it seemed quite spacious and similar in appearance to a living room. He found his friends lying on one of the sofas, in front of them there seemed to be a series of photos and red threads, Bill was focused on explaining something while Sara looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked worriedly, if it was because of the mental health of his friend or because of his boss who was the protagonist in most of the photos, it was still to be seen.

"Danny, I think we should take him to Arkham" Sara commented, she was afraid that her friend would end up falling for conspiracy theories, the next thing he would say is that Bruce Wayne is Batman when the man couldn't leave his house without being scammed.

"Don't wish me ill Sara" Bill frowned "You're just in time Danny, I'll show you the truth" he gestured at the table, obviously proud.

"I'm going to regret this so much" the halfa muttered as he took a seat next to them "Okay, what do you have?"

"Well, let's start with the latest" Bill pointed to the photo in the center of the table "Last night after our shift, our dear Jay went to meet Hood"

"I don't see how that's abnormal, he's his boss" pointed out the boy.

"Well, usually when you visit your boss you don't come out with messy hair" Bill pointed to the second picture attached to that one "and look, his lip is bitten, they were obviously kissing in there"

"Those are just assumptions Bill, people can get nervous" Sara tried to point out but she was immediately shut up by the goon.

"That's just evidence A, I have many more, and if this doesn't convince you we can follow him, obviously" Bill smiled.

"I would really prefer not to harass our boss" Danny sighed exhausted from the meeting already "Okay, next"

"Evidence B, and this is more of a recommendation. Look at the clothes Hood wears tomorrow and what Jason wears the next morning, I heard from very reliable sources that Jay stays in his safe house with him so they share most of the clothes" Bill assured confidently.

Danny walked near the table, perusing the photos it seemed that Bill was mostly correct, the difference was that Hood wore them in a slightly more military style, mostly skintight; Jason seemed to be the complete opposite, his shirts were big and loose. Although he hated to admit it and reinforce Bill's theory, if the shirts weren't originally Jason's it was no wonder they didn't fit.

It seemed that the common sense in the room would be ignored for a long time. Jason actually bought his shirts loose due to preferring to be comfortable, however the amount of weaponry and straps around his body needed he put on his clothing in a more military sense when going out as the Hood, basically shirts tucked in and lots of belts around him secured his weapons. This ended up giving the appearance that the clothes were tight even though it wasn't really the case. If you hadn't seen him undress it was very strange that you would notice.

"Evidence C, he knows things" the man stated, albeit in a very cryptic way "Things only the higher ups know, or only Hood should know"

"You know I'm on your side Bill but he's his assistant, isn't that his job?" Sarah asked amused.

"Sure, but the last time he knew the name of a mobster's daughter, one who only met with Red Hood to report his last-minute visit, most of us didn't even know that meeting had happened." Bill sighed “I know it sounds weird, but if Hood told him it wouldn't be odd."

"Well, if they were a couple it wouldn't be strange to tell those kinds of details, right?" Sara hummed, studying the pictures.

"Evidence D, they are also each other's emergency contact, isn't that suspicious?" Bill turned to Danny who had been silent for too long.

"I still think we're getting ahead of the facts, but it's a little fishy" he muttered, he knew Bill wasn't a liar but Jason and Red Hood seemed to be wrapped around each other in some strange way that even he couldn't explain.

"Besides, he knows all of his agenda by heart, that's the normal job of an assistant, but sometimes he writes things down and even though they don't see each other all day, Red Hood does them the next day" he said.

"Oh, I think I heard something about it, Jason made an appointment with the girls to ask about something and Hood showed up the next morning, but maybe he was able to inform him over the phone" Sara shrugged, still not surprised.

"Look Danny, I can keep showing you all the evidence, but you won't believe me so how about this? The next few days ask questions, watch what I told you and you'll find out for yourself, if you still don't believe me by then I'll give up" Bill decided to persuade him, he was sure his bosses were dating, he had confidence in himself.

"Fine, it's a deal" Danny decided to take Bill's hand, the evidence was spinning in his head and although he still needed real confirmation more than speculation the seed of doubt was already planted.

In the end, they ended up talking about different things, like the ice cream shop that had opened near Crime Alley and the gossip in the area; as soon as the changing of the guard happened Maurice ran in, he seemed to be in panic.

"Danny, you really have to be careful" he begged the boy with concern.

"Why?" He hadn't really done anything to deserve such an extreme reaction.

"Red Hood was here, he asked about you and he literally said he wouldn't let you go, what if he knows about Jason? He said he was going to take care of you, that's obvious code to get rid of you!" he exclaimed in a panic.

"Maybe he's just worried about his employees?" Danny murmured, his answer didn't sound so sure "he has no reason to distrust me"

"Maybe he's looking for another lover" Sara teased "I know Bill has his weird theories but I know from good sources that they've seen them kiss and fight a lot lately" she spoke confidently, the kids from the alley had gossiped.

"That kind of confirms Bill's theory, but it doesn't explain the part about the lover" said the halfa doubtfully.

"I don't like talking without proof or encouraging Arkham patients" Sara looked at Bill suspicious "But it's known that even though Hood and his assistant are very much in love they don't look at each other very often, there are rumors on the streets that they've had a fight again so, you know, maybe he got fed up and is looking for another pretty boy."

"And I'm the pretty boy?" Danny sneered "They barely know me"

"Uh, I'm just suggesting you keep your eyes open lovely boy, or you could end up in one of those weird soap opera scenes" Sara continued "and like Maurice said, be careful, broken hearts are hard to heal"

Danny had no idea how Sara knew about his little crush on Jason but decided not to ask; he needed to reevaluate his decisions, probably talk to Johnny about it, he really didn't want to become some kind of dating buster or something, but what if they really were dating? He had to find out, pay attention to Bill's observations and draw his own conclusions.

—----------

After hours of talking to his new friends and listening to Bill's increasingly ridiculous theories about one thing or another, he'd called Johnny for a ride back home, the blond looking on the brink of boredom immediately agreed. They decided not to speak until they got back to the apartment after the ghost noticed the boy falling asleep in the back seat and he spent most of the way preventing him from falling onto the road.

"That was a really long meeting" Johnny smiled when they finally entered the apartment "any news on your crush?"

"Well, I still don't know what to believe, they have many theories and photos but it feels bad" said the halfa yawning "I'm debating, but I think I'll keep an eye on it and draw my conclusions"

"Yeah, but if it really was true you could date him anyway, you know?" The ghost smiled passing him a thermos with some ectoplasm, it gave him chills to touch the damn portable prison but he had to make sacrifices for his friends.

"I don't like breaking up relationships" the boy immediately refused "even if they have a lot of fights"

"If they get separated you could sneak in, even before that" the blonde pointed out again, the halfa frowned and looked directly at the motorcyclist "there is always an opportunity"

"Johnny I don't get it, why are you so interested in my love life? And don't you dare say it's because you're my ex" Danny questioned, it wasn't normal for the ghost to be so insistent.

"I died because of love, I just don't want you to do the same" the blonde shrugged.

"That doesn't make sense, in that case you would do the opposite of supporting me" the halfa frowned.

"Same answer honey, I died loving; I want you to experience it, to feel what it is to give your soul to another, what it is to consider running away because you no longer belong to yourself, and you don't want to leave part of you behind" the ghost played with one of the pillows on the couch, he seemed doubtful "however, I don't want you to end up dying (completely) for it, that's why I recommended running" and the reason I am here, he didn't said out loud.

"Because you and Kitty ran away together and ended up together?" The half alive guy asked.

"I guess that's the best way I know of to make sure that not even death will get you" Johnny didn't want to look into another tragedy. 

"Are you scared of love and death?" The blue eyed boy asked.

"You ask hard questions" the ghost sneered "I'm scared for you, not for me, I can't be scared of it anymore; I'm just here to make sure you don't take loving too far."

Johnny was still too closed on the subject, but he was telling the truth; he feared love as much as he needed it to live, many had assumed he had a shadow core like Spectra, that his existence revolved around bad luck.

That wasn't true, both Johnny and Kitty had concept-based cores, they weren't ancients of course, but their obsession and core was love. That's why when he appeared in the Realms: scared, alone and without Kitty by his side, he had almost broken, he had never feared loneliness so much as at that moment, loving so much had destroyed him in so many ways.

Until Shadow found him, Shadow didn't talk much but he knew instinctively that he was his soulmate, a ghost born of bad luck, which was ironic because it was the best thing that had happened to him, maybe not in life but in death and was enough, Shadow was lonely too and looking for a guide, soon after their meeting both had united; when Johnny finally found Kitty and managed to satisfy his obsession he asked Shadow to stay, and Shadow decided to stay and protect him because everyone knew stupid things are done for love and even bad luck wasn't immune to that fact.

So yes, Johnny no longer had the right to fear love, the one that had killed him and brought him back to life, the one that gave him Shadow and Kitty, the one that kept him anchored to existence as much as it kept him from living; but he feared how love would treat Danny, how it would hook him in its clutches and not let go, the boy seemed so lost only with the possibilities, that he felt responsible to guide him, but no one said he was the best at it.

"You know, even though he's taller than you I think he could be the little spoon" he finally decided to say instead of making a sentimental speech, that wasn't his style.

"Johnny it's been less than a day since I admitted I had a little crush, I'm not sleeping with him for the long haul" Danny exclaimed in exasperation, though somewhat relieved to put the heavier conversation behind him.

"I was just saying" the ghost complained, he was the little spoon when he slept with Kitty after all.

"Go to sleep, I have work tomorrow so I won't wake you up" Danny yawned, he wondered internally if having Johnny in his apartment was the equivalent of adopting another pet to guard the house, he decided not to mention it.

—---------

The next morning when he got to work Danny definitely wasn't expecting Red Hood waiting for him where Jason should have been and offering him...chocolate? That was weird.

"Jason told me that you did a good job last time" the vigilante clarified "I thought that rewarding you was a good idea to welcome you, beyond phone calls"

"Oh thank you" Danny didn't really think that justified it but he wasn't going to complain "I thought I was meeting Jay today?"

"Jason is…indisposed today, he can't show up, so I'll join you in his place, he'll probably be better in the morning" the vigilante stated.

Evidence B: Jason lives in his safe house, Danny remembered Bill's comment while he was examining the chocolate

"Okay, what are we going to do today?" The boy smiled, accepting whatever had happened.

"We're going to supply the safe houses, food, medical resources and that kind of thing, it's nothing very complicated" Hood commented "not all of them course, there are some that even you shouldn't know about"

Maybe where Jason is staying, he couldn't help but wonder, maybe Bill's theories were starting to get to him.

"We're also going to check the people who are staying and see if they're okay" the crime lord assured. Every once in a while his boss would see him looking for some confirmation, Danny wondered what he was looking for.

In the end, the day had turned out pretty well, Danny had been able to put his extensive medical knowledge to use, earning him some compliments from Red Hood, and his boss had been far more relaxed than a man equipped  with so many weapons on his body had any right to be. 

He couldn't help but think the man looked so human when he bent down to bandage a little girl's knee, or when he decided to braid her hair even though it was obvious he had to go through many more places than there. Really all the rumors about how bloody and evil he was were dead wrong, he even stopped to play tag with orphans!

Red Hood took his time in each house, talking to the children, asking the victims about their health, their living conditions, and Danny couldn't stop his treacherous heart from pounding because of how sensitive the man looked, the feeling of security that lingered around him. At the end of the day his boss had even given him some pretty flowers to place in his dining room saying it was a nice welcome gift for entering the goonion.

The halfa couldn't help but smile when he saw the gifts placed on his table, sighing as he kept remembering how much fun he had had helping out on the day, his obsession humming with satisfaction, it was the same feeling that Jason had brought him.

"You're absolutely lost Twinkcito" Johnny commented nonchalantly "And you're a crush-hoe, I'm from Team Jason by the way"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Danny rolled his eyes "my boss was just nice today and welcomed me"

"Shut up and admit that you like people who can crash you against the wall" the ghost stated "not that I can judge you, because I would absolutely love Kitty to, but I still think this is a betrayal"

"I don't like people who can crush me!" He squealed in embarrassment before reflecting on his previous romances and giving up, his history was doing him no favors "Well, maybe a little but it's not the same."

Johnny just rolled his eyes and took a sip from his ectoplasm but Danny could feel his judgment gaze "I'll see Jason tomorrow anyway" he admitted quietly, maybe the blond was right and he was starting to have double trouble, or worse…triple!

Listing his problems, everything seemed to focus on three things:

> He liked Jason

> He wanted Hood to crush him any day of the week (According to Johnny)

> Jason and Hood were dating

Life really hated him.

—---------

In the dead of night a security alert from Arkham was heard, macabre laughter rang through the desolate streets of Crime Alley as Scarecrow made his way to one of his hideouts leaving fear gas scattered in his wake, surely the next day would be a scare.

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

Aaand tag time, also credit to Emeralds, Clockways and Bucket for the ideas on the goons evidence! Ao3 comments helped me a lot for future plans but I will expand that later, and credit to Summers for the "Twinkcito" lmao, I love the word, hope you liked the update, I am still thinking if giving a mini Valentine special but idk! Again sorry for all the Johnny content lmao, he just invaded my thoughts and didn't leave until I wrote about him

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