#and Damian’s being mad in the corner because he can’t kill something yet

[alexandthensome]

The Ghostie Bros™️ as Quotes from My D&D Campaign

Danny: I can deal with treason, but drugs are where I draw the line.

Jason: I mean, if it’s between treason or drugs, I think we're gonna have to go with treason.

Tim: *sigh* Look, I'm just the accountant.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Into The Unknown, Part 11

First

Previous

Marinette was going to kill Tim.

His alarm had been going off for about three minutes now and she was going to kill him.

She sighed and finished the wing of her eyeliner and poked her head out of the bathroom to Definitely Not Curse In Front Of A Baby.

His phone was facedown and threatening to buzz itself off of the kitchen table.

She rolled her eyes and walked over to silence it, then looked around for the person who, for some reason, didn’t do that.

Tim… looked like he might already be dead?

He was still in bed, but he had also pulled all the blankets off of the corners in order to cocoon himself properly. She hesitantly glanced back at Damian, who was currently pretending to put makeup on the plush cat’s (named ‘Cat’, of course, she was beginning to sense a theme here) face. Alright, he was distracted for at least a little while.

She made her way over to Tim and, after tossing his phone onto the bedside table because she wasn’t actually sure whether she had pressed snooze or cancel, sat next to him. “Tim? You alright?”

He groaned a little and attempted to roll his cocoon away from her. It wasn’t really working. The blankets were holding him down. He had been betrayed by what he loved.

Marinette sighed and reached a hand out to feel his forehead.

Not too warm but definitely a little feverish.

She shook her head slightly and walked over to the medicine cabinet. Damian watched her with interest, green eyes wide. She flashed the kid a smile to say everything was okay -- even if it might not be from the looks of things -- and then pulled a pill bottle from the shelf. Tim had brought his meds over from the other world and she had assumed that he had made sure to give himself a prescription in this world while he was making their identities but...

Yep. He needed a refill.

“Dumbass,” she murmured, shaking her head as she put it back.

She pulled out her phone and checked to make sure that she could bring Damian to work even as an intern… yep! At least that was good.

She sighed and looked over at Tim, who had barely moved outside of pulling his phone into the cocoon. It wasn’t on, no light was emanating from it, apparently he just wanted to have it with him. Maybe it was like a stuffed animal for him, she joked mentally.

...

She sighed. Man, it was hard to tease him when he looked like that.

(… because it was too easy, obviously. What other reasons were there?)

Fine. She’d save it all up for later. For now she could be… nice-ish.

“Got a favorite tea?”

He mumbled more incoherently than Damian for a few moments before managing to choke out: “Coffee.”

She resisted the urge to flick him on the forehead and instead just got up to make him some lemon and ginger tea. Because even the most basic of bitches can’t hate lemon and ginger tea.

When she started back over Damian saw her walk past and made a quiet sound in the back of his throat to get her attention. He reached his hands out for her. She sighed and clumsily pulled him out of the high chair with one arm and positioned him on her hip.

Marinette set the tea on the bedside table. Tim glared at her for a moment and then looked pointedly at the drink.

“When you get better I’ll brew you coffee myself, but you need to at least try and be healthy until you heal up,” she promised with only minimal eye rolling.

“Not what I’m mad about,” he said, still looking at the drink as if he could will it to… be right or something.

“... do you want sugar or cream or...?” She asked once it became clear he was trying to make her guess.

“Coaster,” he said.

She groaned and quickly found one. She threw it down far harsher than was strictly necessary. Tim was worse than her mom about coasters. Let her ruin the furniture, damn it!

By the time she had gotten back Damian had started trying to crawl into the cocoon and, while the idea of the baby trying to heal Tim via cuddles was very cute, Marinette had to pull him away. Babies don’t have immune systems yet, she was pretty sure. Putting him around a sick Tim was basically asking to end up with two sick idiots to take care of.

Damian squirmed in her hands, trying to free himself so he could get back to Tim. “Bu… Nano!”

Tim smiled weakly and reached a hand out to rest on top of Damian’s head. “It’s fine, kiddo. Just gonna… sleep a little.”

“And you’re going to be coming with me to work! Doesn’t that sound fun?” She asked in her sweetest voice.

Damian scowled. “Nano.”

“‘Nano’ needs sleep,” she tried again.

Damian shook his head. Marinette glanced at the time and cringed. Alright. Looks like there’s no time to do this in a gentle way.

She glanced at Kaalki. “Lock the door behind me?”

Kaalki looked up. She had… put a portal on the ceiling on the floor and was, apparently, trying to see how fast she could get the empty water bottle to fall before it started to melt.

The kwami shrugged. Marinette was going to take it as a yes.

She allowed Damian to get one last hug from Tim while she slipped on her shoes and gathered everything she’d need for the day... and then she grabbed him and sprinted out the door before the kid could get too angry.

… and so, screaming baby in her arms, she ran to catch the train.

The crying didn’t stop for a long time. Or maybe it was only five minutes. It still felt like forever. It was the first time Damian was really away from Tim (when she was taking care of Damian Tim was still in the house and able to get there at any point, so those times didn’t really count) in almost three months. Of course the kid was freaking out.

… he was definitely going to freak out even more when he realized that Marinette was leaving, too.

Was it too late to call in sick for work?

Probably.

Well, it was going to have to happen eventually.

She groaned a little to herself and hugged Damian closer in her lap, chin resting on top of his head. The subway was interesting to him, it seemed. That was fair. Public transportation is weird. There was a guy doing stripper moves on one of the poles and Marinette was hardly even phased. At least Damian was enjoying it, clapping excitedly and yelling “raqs!” at the ‘performer’.

But, all too soon, she reached her stop. She waved to the man with Damian and then carried him out to her job.

There was a lot of paperwork involved with signing a kid up for daycare. She didn't know why this surprised her, but it did. It was a pain, too. Remembering all the fake birth dates and names and affiliations that they had come up with. She had been tempted to pull up her cheat sheet on her phone but she was scared that would make her look like an incompetent parent -- or worse, like she was faking the entire thing and wasn’t even biologically or legally related to the kid.

It was an irrational fear, she knew, but damn was it prevalent.

So, she just glared at the papers. She could see Damian doing the same from where he had sat himself down on the table, occasionally glancing over to make sure that this was still what they were doing. It was kind of cute. It was very hard to remain angry through that.

She nuzzled her nose against his cheek, smiling at the little giggles he gave.

She went back to the paperwork in considerably lighter spirits. Once she had finally filled out all the vaccination records (and made a mental note to actually try and figure out how many vaccines the kid had, if any) she sighed and turned to the kid.

“Alrighty, I gotta go to work, Dami.”

Damian didn’t understand much English yet, a byproduct of suddenly being introduced to the language after a year of only being spoken to in Arabic, but he certainly understood what those words meant: she was about to leave him.

And it wasn’t like he didn’t cry a little when she left every day, the little sniffles and pleading looks weren’t at all new to her. But, now that Tim wasn’t there, he was full-on wailing. He crawled to the edge of the table, towards her, and she had to lunge to catch him before he fell…

But apparently this was the plan, because he instantly fisted his little hands in her shirt and curled up in her arms.

… damn. How was she supposed to just leave when he was like this…?

She held him tighter, nuzzling her face in his hair. “It’s just a little while, Dami. I’ll be back. I’ll come back. Sa’aeud. I’ll be back.”

Damian buried himself closer in her shirt and she sighed, looking up at the poor daycare worker.

“I’m sorry…”

“First time you’re leaving him with someone else?” The woman said with a kind smile. Her name was Ava, according to her name tag.

Marinette nodded helplessly. Damian had wrapped his little legs around her. His grip was surprisingly strong. It would definitely take a lot of effort to pry the kid off. If she walked over to her boss he could see the situation and he might give her the day off, he was just a few floors away, she should at least try --.

Ava knelt down next to her and reached a hand for Damian.

Slowly, reluctantly, Marinette opened her arms so the woman could detach Damian from her.

“All kids are like this the first few times. Think of it as a compliment: he thinks you’re safe.”

Marinette nodded slightly and helped pull one of Damian’s hands from her shirt. Damian stopped crying to look up at her, eyes wide and glassy with tears, and then he started crying harder, she hadn’t even thought that that was possible --.

Ava managed to pull Damian off of Marinette and, while the kid was still, he was still hiccuping he was crying so hard.

Marinette gave him a sad smile. “It’ll be okay, Dami. ‘ant bi’aman. Sa’aeud.”

He didn’t look like he believed her assurances.

“Mar-ree?” He tried, one last time, reaching one little hand out for her.

She gently took the hand, pressing a kiss into his palm. “I gotta go to work, Dami.”

Damian’s hand dropped.

Ava gave her a tiny smile and knocked shoulders with her. “Cheer up. You did everything right by saying you’ll come back to him. Say that every time and, eventually, he’ll start to believe you.”

She nodded. She wasn’t happy about it, though. She just watched Damian cry as he was taken into the daycare room until Ava had the sense to close the door.

… when she came back at the end of the day, Damian was enjoying himself.

He was playing a game with Ava. Ava would try and build something with blocks and he would wait until he had determined that she was almost done before knocking it over. What an asshole. She loved him.

She smiled faintly and waved at him when he noticed her. He instantly lit up, pushing himself up onto shaky feet and toddling (wait, is that why they’re called toddlers?!) over to her. He was getting better at walking. He managed to get three-fourths of the way across the room before he fell to his knees and crawled the rest of the way. She smiled and picked him up, nuzzling her nose against his cheek.

“Hey, Dami.”

“Mar-ree! Hi!”

Aw, he learned what ‘hi’ means! She thought but she wasn’t going to say that aloud.

“Make any friends?” She said instead.

Damian stared at her with wide eyes. She smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

Ava gave her a tiny smile as she walked over. “Sorry, but I do have to ask for ID.”

“... you saw me drop him off… literally this morning?”

“Yeah, I know. Just protocol,” she said, giving an apologetic smile.

Marinette shrugged a little and nodded, carefully shifting Damian to one arm so she could do that. She also had to fill out a little paper that asked for a review of their services and any suggestions. Marinette wrote the words ‘pay the people more’, because taking care of one kid was stressful enough, she couldn’t imagine taking care of multiple at the same time, no amount of money would be enough to convince her to do that.

After she had signed every form that needed signing, she was free to leave.

And so, a good two hours after she usually left work, she started on the commute home with her kid.

Damian enjoyed the ride home even more than the ride there. The person that had been sitting next to Marinette had brought a sketchbook along and, when Damian had watched with that wide-eyed baby stare, had given him a piece of paper and pencil so he could do some work of his own.

Damian presented Marinette with a bunch of scribbles halfway through the ride, beaming widely.

“Tell me about your work,” she said jokingly.

Damian seemed to get it, because he took the paper from her and started babbling along and pointing to different areas as he explained what his thought process was.

(And, if Marinette missed her stop so he could talk longer, well, no one had to know.)

~~~~~

Next

@unoriginalmess @hammalammadamdam @astrynyx @laurcad123 @927roses-and-stuff @toodaloo-kangaroo

[redhoodssweetheart]

Common Enemy (2/??)

Genre: Angst with an eventual happy ending, Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers

Relationship: Jason Todd x Gender Neutral!Reader

Requested: Yes (REQUESTS ARE CLOSED)

Word Count: 3.8K

Warnings: Angst, blood mention, swearing

Description:  Red Hood doesn’t seem to trust you and you don’t get why.  He’s a complete ass to you, but you’re determined to prove him wrong and show him that you deserve to be a hero like Batman and the others.

A/N:  I’m kinda back!  I finished the book I was trying to finish and now I’m going to try and work on my fics that need updates and such.  I might not start taking requests for a bit, but I am open to suggestions on things that y’all would like to see!

The sunshine warmed your face as you headed down the street toward your favorite coffee shop.  Fall was fast approaching and you wanted to enjoy the last vestiges of summer for a long as you could before the bitter cold of winter came.  You had decided that today was going to be a good day.  You had managed to wake up on time, your boss had let you go early, and tonight you were going to Wayne Manor to have game night with your boys.

You weren’t sure when they had become yours but they were family to you now.

As you approached the coffee shop you peered in through the window and saw Tim standing in line with someone slightly taller than him.  You could see Tim’s profile as he spoke to the man beside him, but you couldn’t see the others face.  Just slightly long, black hair and broad shoulders.  You squinted, there was something familiar about the man and that was when he turned his body shaking with laughter.

The air seemed to leave your lungs as you beheld the man under the Red Hood façade.  

Jason fucking Todd.

You thought he was dead.  Everyone had heard the story about how Bruce Wayne’s son had been killed.  How was he here?  How was he Red Hood?  You backed away from the window, your mouth hanging open as the sounds of the busy city around you melted away to a dull ringing in your ears.

Tim and Jason must have felt your eyes on them because they turned and saw you gaping at them.  Before they could react you turned and ran down the street, pushing past other pedestrians.

For the better part of a year, you had wondered who was behind the mysterious Red Hood.  For a year you had been harassed by Jason Todd.  You paused around the corner of the building and leaned against it, your eyes falling shut and letting out a puff of breath.

“And why are you running away from me, sweetheart?”  Your eyes flew open at the sound of his voice.  He was standing before you, one arm braced against the wall, his green eyes peering down at you, a smirk on his face.

You frowned, “I wasn’t running from you.”

His smirk only seemed to grow at the lie that tumbled from your lips, “Are you sure about that?”

Tim caught up just as you pushed Jason back.  “Y/N!”  He said as he pulled you away from Jason.  He could see the murderous intent in your eyes.  “Come on, let’s go get some coffee and leave Jay here to his next task.”  You didn’t miss the way Tim glared at his brother.

“What’s the rush, Timmy?  I didn’t get my coffee either, maybe I’ll join you,” you wanted to punch that stupid smirk right off his face.

“Listen here Todd,” you spat as you pointed a finger at him.

“Y/N,” Tim tugged you back, he knew that you and Jason had a less than stellar relationship when you only knew him as Red Hood, but he wondered what things would be like now that you realized who Red Hood actually was.

You shook Tim off, “You know what, Tim?  I’m not really in the mood for coffee right now.  I’ll take a raincheck and we can have some on another day when you aren’t out for brotherly bonding time.”  Jason’s eyes never left yours as you spoke, and his smirk didn’t go anywhere either.  “And I’ve suddenly felt a headache coming on so I don’t think I’ll be able to make game night either.”

“Y/N,” Tim sounded dejected as you stormed off.  He turned to his brother.  “Do you really have to antagonize them like that, Jay?”

Jason’s eyes followed you until you disappeared around the corner of a building.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about Timmy.”  Then he headed back toward the coffee shop with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.  “You coming or what?”

Tim let out a defeated sigh and hurried to catch up to Jason.

 Night had fallen and you were curled up on your couch in your favorite PJs watching a movie on Netflix when you heard tapping at your window.  Expecting it to be Damian or Tim come to check on you, you paused the movie and went to check.  Instead, you were greeted by the man who had become a pain in your ass.

“What the fuck do you want, Todd?”  You asked as you shoved open the window to let him in.

He maneuvered himself through the window and pulled off his hood, “I came to check up on you, sweetheart.  Seemed kinda mad when you left earlier.”

You narrowed your eyes, “I wonder why.”

He made a tsking sound, “You don’t have to be so hostile toward me.  We’re friends aren’t we?”

“Friends!”  You spluttered as he moved deeper into your apartment.  “Where the hell did you get that idea?  Because if memory serves me correctly you once told me that I was nothing but an attention seeker who wanted to become a masked vigilante for the fame.”

He hopped over your couch and put his feet up on the table stealing some of the snacks you had laid out.  “And?  I didn’t know you.  I didn’t trust you.  Who’s to say you weren’t just after fame from becoming a masked superhero?”

“You never gave me a chance to prove you wrong!”  You cried in outrage.

Jason looked at you and for a moment you wished you could see his green eyes again behind the domino mask.  “You weren’t family, I didn’t have to trust you or even give you a chance.”

You placed your hands on your hips, “What’s it going to take for you to trust me, Red?”

He paused, a piece of popcorn halfway to his mouth, “Who says that I don’t trust you?”

“You haven’t really shown me that you do, so I’m assuming you still don’t trust me,” you said.

“Why’d you go after Damian alone the other night?”  He asked, changing the subject on you.

“Because he needed help and I wasn’t about to leave him alone to the Joker,” you said without hesitation.

“Suit up, there’s something I want to show you,” he instructed.

“I’m not a dog, you can’t just order me around,” you shot at him, but curiosity was getting the better of you and you headed for your bedroom.

Jason's hood was already back on when you exited from your bedroom and you followed him out the window into the dark night of Gotham.  The two of you leapt from roof to roof until you made it back to the circus where Joker had been hiding out.  Most of it had been burnt to the ground or cleared out by the GCPD.

“Did the others ever tell you what happened to me?”  He asked as he strode forward.  No one was here, the Joker had gotten away and wouldn’t risk coming back to this spot now.

You followed after him heading into the big top which was half lying in ruin from the fire.  “No, they didn’t,” you wondered where he was going with this.

“I didn’t actually die like the papers said.  No one could know how I actually died,” the last word came out bitter and you could still hear some vestiges of pain in his voice.  “Joker had captured me one night, beat me within an inch of my life with a crowbar.  He laughed the entire time, like the sick son of a bitch he is.  Before Batman could get to me the building Joker had left me in blew up.”  Your eyes widened and you bit your lip to keep from gasping.  “Ra’s, he… he brought me back.  I was different, still am if I’m being honest.”

“Why are you telling me this?”  You asked him softly.

He turned to you, and you wished that you could see his face, see the look that was hidden beneath the red metal helmet.  “The night we met the others told me what had happened to you.  I still didn’t trust you, but I will begrudgingly admit that I trust you now.  And I want your help tracking Joker down.”

“I’m not going to kill him,” you said.  You knew what type of justice that the Red Hood usually dished out and you weren’t going to be a part of that.  “I don’t play that way.”

“I know,” he said, nodding slightly.  “And I wouldn’t ask that of you.  But I want this psycho off the streets and I know that you do as well.  Help me stop him, after all, he is our common enemy.”

You know what it meant for Jason to be offering this to you.  The olive branch he was extending to you.  “If I agree I want you to stop treating me like I’m an outsider.  I’ve proven my worth and I won’t stand around and be bullied by you.”

“Sweetheart, trust me I wouldn’t dream of bullying you.”

You lifted your chin and said, “All right.  I’m in.  Where do we start?”

 There was a banging on your door and you groaned as you pulled your pillow over your head to muffle the sound.  Whoever it was would go away eventually and you could get back to sleep.  “Sweetheart get your ass up!”  At the sound of Jason’s voice, your eyes popped open and you sat up straight.

What the hell was he doing here?

Better yet, why the hell was he here?

You got up and quickly pulled the door open before your nosey, older neighbor called the landlord on you, or tried to come out and converse with Jason.  God forbid she ask him if he was your boyfriend.  If that happened you were pretty sure you’d rather the floor open up and swallow you whole.

“I didn’t realize that having a truce with you would mean you would wake me up at the asscrack of dawn, Todd,” you said by way of greeting.

That cocky grin was back and this time your heart did things in your chest.  Well, that was weird.  “Can’t friends share breakfast?”  He held up a bag from McDonald’s and you eyed it, your stomach grumbling as the smell of food hit you.  His grin only seemed to grow when he heard it.

“Fine, but I get first dibs of whatever you’ve got in there,” you snatched the bag away and left him to close the door behind him.  “But seriously why are you here?”

He pulled out a chair at your kitchen table and took a seat waiting for you to finish rifling through the bag and getting out whatever you wanted.  “Thought with our newfound friendship and all I could come over and bring breakfast.  Plus extend an invitation to game night since you called out last night.”

You passed him the bag and asked what he wanted to drink.  “Is that the only reason?”  You peered at him over the refrigerator door.

“Maybe I wanted to see what you looked like first thing in the morning, sweetheart.”  That made you choke on your own spit and had him chuckling.  “Something wrong?”

“Asshole,” you shot.  “I’m not up for flirting today, Todd so spit it out or get lost.”

He shrugged and dug into his breakfast, “Maybe I just wanted to hang out.”

“Most people call first,” you grumbled as you also started eating.

“Really then why am I always seeing memes about best friends showing up at one another’s apartments and houses?”

“I’m sorry did I miss the announcement in the paper where it said we had become best friends?”  You were grinning at him now wondering where he got this much bravado from.

“Would you like me to put an announcement in the paper because I just gotta call someone at the Gotham Times and it's done,” he looked so serious that you couldn’t contain your laughter.

“Are all the Waynes dramatic like this?  Is it just a family trait that I will somehow inherit from how much time I am spending with you all?”

“Dramatic?  Sweetheart, I will have you know that most people would find me incredibly charming,” he said with mock hurt.

You hummed and stood from the table, clearing away your dirty dishes, “I have yet to see the charm.”

“Well apparently I haven’t been trying hard enough to charm you,” he had leaned back in his chair.  “Maybe I should take you out and give you the full Jason Todd experience.”

You scoffed, “I don’t know, cheap beer at a dive bar and ride on your motorcycle doesn’t really sound all that appealing when I can just do that exact same thing with Dick.”  You were taunting him now, liking this new version of banter the two of you were sharing.  

It was so different from your usual banter and it had butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

“Oh sweetheart, I have a few tricks up my sleeves.”  He stood and boxed you in, his arms on either side of you, trapping you against the counter.  “So what do ya say?  You.  Me.  A date this coming Friday.  I’ll show you just how well I can sweep you off your feet.”

You weren’t going to back down from this.  It was a challenge, “How about we make a little wager, Todd?”

His eyes lit up with intrigue, “Name your price.”

“If I don’t have a good time you have to clean my suits for a month.”  That was your least favorite job when you got home from patrol, especially if you or someone else had bled on your suit.

“All right and if I win and you do enjoy yourself I get an undisclosed favor.”

“Deal,” and with the bet in place the two of you shook on it.

[aliynavenus]

a lil smut 

It’s almost 4 in the morning and instead of working on stories that need to be posted, I decided to write a lil DamiRae smut. do i regret? No, No i don’t. At least now I have a sense of what writing smut it like. and wow is it over powering. 

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

“These criminals keep popping up, they’re practically begging to be caught now.” Damian declared peeling off his domino mask when entering the Tower with Raven after their late night patrol. 

“Lucky! You always get some fun on your night patrols. So who’d you guys capture?” Donna questions interestingly, laying her head on her palms waiting for Raven to answer.

Raven stirred her tea reverting back to the night patrol she just went on with Damian. It was a quite coincidence capture that actually helped solve the case that the team had been working on for the past week. Activating the transmitter to reveal the full information about their little vigilante they captured she began tapping keys to get the proper summary about the man.

“Alex Samson, 19 year old boy who has been a drop out since the age 14, living on his own in San Francisco. Apparently he’s the reason these dead civilians that have been showing up in alleys. Although when we took him, he wasn’t resisting.” Raven paused on her story recalling the words of their new captive. “He was just calmly saying they were bad people who ran along the streets doing horrific deeds as the police did nothing knowing what they were.” 

Sure she had empathic abilities but that didn’t normally mean she could tell what he was saying was true or not. But something about his strong willed words seemed honest, she could feel the sincerity in not just his voice but in his mind.

“Helloooo Earth to Raven, you okay?” Donna hollered waving a hand in front of her to bring her back to reality. 

Raven took notice of Damian's sudden head movement towards her from the corner of her eye. Oh how he was always so attentive when she was brought to the subject. Yet paying no attention to it, she lifts her teacup towards her mouth “Yea, this might seem strange but what if he was telling ...the truth.” she mumbles into her cup looking up at the two waiting for their response. 

Damian’s eyes narrow down at and lips pressed into a thin line, “What are you assuming?” 

He has to admit after capturing any criminal he didn’t like to focus on them anymore just continue on new missions. He didn't want to think whether or not this man was right for his wrong doings. 

She knew from his voice that he didn’t want to dwell on the subject but only asked because he was interested in what his girlfriend had to say, “His emotions were not like any other person we’ve detained before. His were different.,” she purses her lips trying to find the proper word, “I could feel it almost like I knew what was going on in his head, it felt almost heroic and truthful. I can feel the genuine emotions he was feeling. But I felt something similar towards him like I know how he feels or what he’s been through. I can't say for sure though.” 

Something stung when Damian heard her words. He didn't want to admit to it but he liked knowing they were correspondent to one another. 

He felt ridiculous even thinking this.

It might sound peculiar but knowing that they can understand each other perfectly with their abnormal background, it made him feel fortunate having someone to know the angst and grief he’s felt in his life. He didn’t like it knowing that Raven can simply say she felt similar emotions to someone when they both had hardships in their life. No one could compare to them. He liked keeping Raven to himself. Knowing that he can understand her better than anyone. Now some new fucking vigilante comes in as she claims she feels a related bond, it pissed him off.  

“Raven, he killed those people, in no way that results in a heroic action.” His voice sharp and stern almost came out as harsh towards her. 

Was he kidding her right now? Did he forget that he was part of the league of shadows, where he would kill people, sometimes even the innocent. His reasoning angered her and she recently has never been one to be objective by his remarks. 

“Your here after you were part of an assassination group. What are you to say that your past life doesn’t measure to his, maybe he was doing it for a reason. You can’t just think that every criminal doesn't have some good in them, Damian.” 

Goddammit unable to get the next word out she storms out of the room putting him in an uncomfortable position in front of his teammate.

 “Awkwarddd” Donna lightly sang exiting the kitchen table leaving him ponder on the situation he had just caused with his beloved.

He and Raven have been dating for more than a month now, secretly keeping it hidden from their teammates. They both stated that it was best to keep their relationship concealed avoiding any sort of teasing from their teammates but mainly because of Dick. They were never one to get infuriated with each other considering she made him feel not just some ex-league of shadows vigilante but she made him feel whole. He adored her more than anything, if anything the relationship only caused him to become more attentive towards her. Willing to protect her even more, to keep her close within reach. He became more possessive of her. It might’ve sounded like a dreadful desire but she was his.

His shoulders dropped seeing her no longer in sight cutting back a curse, “I’m going to train,” 

Donna’s eyes followed him walking past her, “But it’s like 1 in morn--” she was cut off by the loud slam of the door. She sighed shaking her head, “Just like a married couple,” 

Why did he have to be unreasonable? He never questioned her about her abilities which surprised her when he wasn’t letting her explain what she felt. Which not to mention she was right about, considering Kori did some digging. Turns out the young criminal was telling the truth, even though killing is wrong. He killed them because they had a crucial horrific record that ended up getting erased due to having friends in the precinct that made it all go away letting them run free in the world. She wondered if Damian heard about it but soon realized if he did he would’ve been up in her room by now possibly apologizing for questioning her assumptions. 

Raven’s eyebrows knitted together as she stared at her ceiling missing the soft warmth of Damian who would’ve sneakingly come into her room at times to just cease her skin. she craved it. No! She should be angry with him, not missing him, not missing his touch, his lips on hers, their bodies pressed skin to skin on one another. Damn it

“May I come in?” raven lifted herself up to the sudden familiar voice coming from the entrance of her door. How long has he been standing there that she didn't even notice him opening her door. 

She sits on edge of her bed nodding towards him not wanting to seem like she was just thinking about him. He could tell she was just thinking of something that she wasn’t supposed to by the way her cheeks looked lightly redden avoiding eye contact with him. God she looked beautiful with her hair slightly messy considering the longer length it has now put on. Her body was hugged by her small lavender shorts followed by a matching camisole that straps were so thin and delicate that they fell onto the side of her arms.

His mind drifted to wanting to rip them off to reveal her perfect round breast and just show her who she belonged to. That’s what he wanted. To claim her. He wanted to bend her over. Making her take all of him deep inside her. He wanted to fuck her. Right now. No matter what situation they needed to mend first. 

“Damian?” her delicate voice came out tilting her head as she noticed he was standing there with eyes just glued to her fantasizing on what he could do to make her scream. 

He cleared her throat focusing back on why he came here, “You were right. Kori told me. I wanted to apologize.” 

There we go just what she wanted. 

He walked towards setting his presence next to her on the bed. Their eyes meet, his vibrant emerald eyes meeting her translucent violet ones. Damian glanced away, becoming already bothered by the next thing he was about to say, “I wasn’t happy when he said you felt similar to that guy. In fact I hated it. Knowing that you feel a bond towards someone other than me.” tightening his fist meeting his glaze with hers, “I like knowing we understand each other better than anyone. That we share a bond that it kept only to ourselves. 

To hear Damian so admittingly confess what he was feeling she understood what he meant. Understanding that he didn’t get angry because she didn’t agree with him but because he felt rather lonesome when she said those words that were only meant for them. Damian reached out to place his hand on her thigh, placing the other cupping her cheek. He pressed small kisses on her jaw trailing down her neck, bringing her closer with each one. 

His face burying into her neck stopping to suck at her sweet spot on her neck below her ear, “You need to remember, your mine Raven” 

She tilted her head letting out a breathless sigh at the sound of his hot hoarse voice on her skin that would drive her mad. His hand gliding under her loose lavender shorts rubbing up and down her thigh careful to not bring it close to her wet clit yet. The anticipation was aching her so much she just wanted his lips on her, more than that even. She wanted him to be inside her, being rough with her like always. Fucking her senselessly covering her mouth with his palm so the team wouldn't hear her pleading as his cock would ram into her with every thrust. 

“How will you make me remember?” ready to play the game with her innocent voice knowing she was playing with fire, but that only excited him more. He smirked against her skin pulling her hips down roughly to the bed. His body towering over him smirking at the sight of his beloved.

Her arms fell onto the side of her head. She felt the cool air glide through her inner thighs when she felt Damian’s rough fingers pulled her shorts off leaving her in her white lacy panties.Pulling her thighs roughly towards him, wanting to take the full sight of her. The straps of the camisole falling onto her mid arms, her nipples peeking through the soft fabric. Her chest rising trying to maintain her breath not wanting to reveal how weak she already is with him. But it didn’t help whatsoever. 

Gods she was a perfect mess right under him. 

Damian's fingers lingered on to her hem of her underwear pulling it down ever so slowly exposing a chill down her clit. “Beloved. I can already tell your pussy is aching to be touched.” gripping his hands on her inner thigh right below her dripping pussy, rubbing circles, teasing her not wanting to fully satisfy her just yet. 

She winced under his touch, partially begging for him. “P-please.” Smirking at her hesitant words he lifted her shirt grabbing her full round breast, fiddling with her hard tit. The room filling with the sound of her pants. Wasting no time swiftly removing his shirt exposing his hard tight chest with every scar that had to her.

“Tell me what you want.” his horse voice that she loved every time as he continued the small circles below her pussy wanting her to beg for his cock.

Oh fuck 

Damian’s eyes widen watching Raven’s hand glide down her precious body pressing her own fingers against her dripping clit, rubbing herself. Soft wincing escaping her lips, never breaking contact with his hungry emerald eyes. She was playing the game and by gods did that make drive him crazy, she was fucking teasing him now. 

“F-fuck!” Shock fell into her body feeling Damian’s fingers go deep inside with no warning. Thrusting his fingers in and out nonstop with his thumb rubbing against her clit. He needed to taste her. He was hungry for her, whenever he would stare at her naked beauty that feasted right before him. Spreading her legs wider continuing his motions with his fingers he bent his head coming to full view of her dripping wet pussy “You’re such a damn beautiful mess for me, Habibti.”  

Her head fell back when she felt Damian wrap his lips around her clit sucking hard. Curling his fingers against her thriving sweet wet with his tongue still causing pleasurable desires to her pussy. Her soft moans were going to get louder if he continued this process. He was practically feasting off of her as if he’s been craving her the whole day. 

In return she reached to clench his hair wanting more, wanting him to go deeper inside her that it pained her. She felt his rough hand grasp her breasts teasing her hard nipples. Every muscle in her body tensed feeling a rush of heat consumed over her by how much he was teasing her still. 

“You taste so fucking good,” Pressing his tongue and lips further he sucked harder at her clit when he put her hands push him further in her. Grabbing her thighs for a moment, lifting them up to bring her lower body to the air, one hand still massaging her breast as the other wrapped around her thigh keeping her in position. 

Her thrusts were partially burning him by how much she needed him. “Fuck right there please, Damian” Her words came out breathy. Lips parting letting moans escaped her lips when she felt her cum dripping down her. It felt like electricity ran down her spine, feeling Damian’s tongue glide down behind her thighs tasting every drop of her, leaving none to waste. But he wasn’t finished with her. 

Releasing her legs his grip turned to her wrist pinning them above her head. His lips reaching hers stealing a fervor kiss that made her ache to touch him. But she couldn’t with Damian’s tight grip against her wrists. A low growl escaped him, feeling her bit his lower lip and tracing her tongue along it. He was going to lose his mind if he didn’t go inside her. 

“Stay quiet, Beloved. Understood?” That command only made Raven ready to cum again by hearing his rough sharp growl. Before she could even answer a loud whine came out feeling his cock stretch her pussy. Fuck she felt amazing. His thrusts only became harder, echoing the sounds of his balls slapping her soaking skin. Raven’s back arches causing her breast to bounce with each thrust he brought himself into.

“You’re mine. Tell me it, my love” His lustful hoarse voice dropping to her ears making Raven cum quickly just by hearing his demanding voice. Her lips parted wanting to answer him trying to control the moans that came out of her. Taking the moment to release one of his hands to rub her clit in fast pacing circular motion.

It was like seeing stars having her eyelids slowly drift shut by the scrothing amount of pleasure riding through there body. She never felt this helpless under him when took control over her like this but azar she loved his new side to him.

“Your mine too keep all to myself. Your mine to touch.” his thursts and fingers were only going rougher on her skin, that it drove her to the edge.

“I’m yours, Damian. I’m all yours. I belong to you.” Raven’s voice was loud and raw that it was filled with winces as Damian sunk his cock deeper inside her. It drove him mad like electricity being driven inside him when she added words all on your own. Feeling those words excited him even more it only brought his hips rougher to her. 

Holy shit she couldn't keep up he was going to make her come again. Her vision became blurry when his thrust became faster and faster, his hips became a blur that it caused Raven to tighten around his cock every time he hit her most pleasurable spot in her pussy. She was cumming. Hard. Releasing his grip on her wrists her hands immediately clawing his back, which made him reach his point. The small stings caused him to join her in pleasures as heat thrived up his body, letting out a loud growl burying himself in her once more, having their hot dripping cum collide with each other’s. 

Both their moans bouncing through the walls echoing, by now he would’ve brung his hand to cover her mouth so the team wouldn’t know their dirty little secret but he didn’t care anymore, He wanted the whole world to know that she was his dear fuckin life that he wouldn’t give to anyone, ever.  

Tossing his body to her side on the bed both trying to control their breaths. Raven wrapped her arm over his chest drawing herself to him, “Your mine, too you know.” she pouted lifting her head up to meet that playful smile of Damian’s, who was running his fingers in her purple locks. “I love you a lot.” 

“Of course beloved. I love you always and forever” his voice a gentle whisper, placing a kiss on her forehead. That only made her bashful burying her head to the crook of his neck.

Always and forever, she liked the sound of that. 

-----

Extra scene

“You have to believe me I heard Raven and Damian boneing last night.” Jon brought his hand over to Donna who had barely woken up from her deep sleep. “They were so loud, how couldn't you have heard it!” 

Groaning at his loud voice in the morning she brought her body to face him, “Babe, you were probably dreaming it or something. No way are Damian and Raven were having sex. Besides--” She brought her hand to caress his jaw drawing her lips near his, “they wouldn't be the only ones hiding secrets.” 

Planting small kisses at the corner of his mouths trying to build up the mood. 

“But still! Damian, my best friend! Isn’t telling me he’s having sex with Raven. Now that is just hurtful. I have to tell Dick.” Lifting the covers off his body heading straight to the door leaving Donna in the midst of his bedroom. 

Yup, that was her boyfriend. Secretly more interested in Damian’s life than his girlfriend’s. Oh boy did she have to tell Raven that her little secret with Damian was now dead because of their loud crucial love making and her super hearing loud mouth of a boyfriend. God help them when Dick finds out. 

[heartslogos]

mafia!verse: hunting season [5]

Tim has three surprisingly coherent thoughts as the first round of bullets begins to spray out.

One: This one might actually kill him where all other attempts have failed.

Tim’s back and arms and legs are burning, pretty much screaming, with strain. It’s already been a fucking awful day pain-wise. Lonnie wasn’t wrong about that. Lonnie isn’t really wrong about most things but Tim’s not going to say it to his face, lest he get an ego.

Well. Lonnie already kind of has one but it’s mostly tolerable in that Lonnie is Lonnie and Tim likes to think Lonnie’s sort of his friend. And friends sometimes tolerate each other with an eye roll and a sigh. Tim sometimes has to tolerate Lonnie with extra bail money and maybe a fond look of resignation when Lonnie decides he’s going to do something that’s running exactly perpendicular to whatever Tim was trying to do but it’s Lonnie so he just has to go with it.

Just like how sometimes Tim has an entire vehicle convoy going after him and he’s driving by himself when he really shouldn’t be, but Lonnie doesn’t fight that too much because he understands that Tim needs to keep his family safe no matter what. Because Lonnie understands families and really, if anything, Lonnie should be calling him a fucking hero for this.

Tim’s somehow managed to get as far as the other side of Sprang Bridge — truly is impressive considering how his vision is blurring out at the edges from the sheer amount of pain he’s in  — and he has no idea how he forgot to account for the fact that Jason has recently been in a pissing contest with the Sprangs.

It’s not like they’re active players in this specific bit of Gotham warfare, but they certainly aren’t going to make this easy on him.

So Tim does what any rational being would do. Tim brake checks, mourns his car, spins it around and drives in reverse towards Grant. He’s never going to make it to WE and he might have been lying a little when he told Lonnie that’s what he was going to do — Lonnie should’ve figured out that Tim would never make it, the onus for realizing how unrealistic that claim was is on him —  but he’s basically saying come and get me you bastards and if that isn’t the biggest glowing target above his head he doesn’t know what is.

Once upon a time Tim was a very, very good driver. Once upon a time Tim could drive circles around Jason and Dick combined.

He can keep this going for hours if he needs to. He won’t, though. He can’t.

So Tim takes one hand off the clutch, flips his pursuers the middle finger and smiles.

He meant it when he said he isn’t nearly as put together, composed, smart, or generally rationally minded as the rest of his family. He really has no idea why they think he is. It might be because he regularly wears a suit and tie. It might be because he’s the only one of them who can drink coffee the same way B does.

Tim’s heart pounds in his chest as he hears glass shattering. He’s already lost one rearview mirror. He sends the car spinning again so he can take a hard turn towards Monolith — he might be able to drag them close to the GCPD, make things easier. Again, he’s not actually going to get there but a man can dream.

Two: If thought one proves to be false then someone in his family really will kill him after this. And if not they’ll make him wish they did because they’ll probably attempt to smother him to death. He’ll probably be kissing his independence goodbye for the next five years of his life or something like that.

God knows they’ll never him go back to his own house after this. Never mind that the shooting isn’t happening at said house. It’s going to be the exact same reasoning as the last time he was shot in broad daylight:

The people in his territory don’t know they’re in his territory because he’s such a — as Jason would say it — subtle motherfucker. Not all of them can ride around with cherry red helmets and be known instantly for what they are. Some of them have day jobs.

The theater house is too far from anyone else for it to be really safe — Tim would point out that’s the reason he chose the property, with B’s blessing, but he’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut on that point.

It is one of the shittiest, least defensible, absolute worst place to get cornered in. And that’s mostly true. Tim can’t really argue that one. But he feels like he should be able to.

Dick might actually make good on his promise to take all of Tim’s keys away from him after this. Tim grimaces when he hears one of his tires get blown out. He doesn’t hear the screaming of metal on pavement, so it’s not a complete blow out. Yet. God he worked hard on this car.

Jason is going to be so mad. So mad. Tim’s stomach actually hurts a little thinking about it. It’s amazing that he can tell that this one is a different kind of hurt from the rest of the hurt but he can.

Damian might never speak to him again after this. That could be a mixed blessing on its own. It’s not like Tim’s going to apologize for this.

And there it is.

Tim’s car finally gives up, even though Tim’s proud of her for such a good showing. They covered about a third of Gotham in less than an hour. Truly impressive. Almost supernatural, really.

If Tim were Jason he would know the exact saint to thank for this one.

(It’s Jude.)

Tim breathes out, hands sweating as he watches the approaching cars in his rearview. Does he get out and face this half standing or does he wait here and hope they don’t hit something that’ll make the car explode? Tim can already hear police sirens so it’s not like they have long.

Three: I see you.

Tim’s eyes focus with a clarity that he isn’t sure can be adrenaline or something else — something angrier, something meaner and infinitely more vengeful — as he takes in every single detail. The plates. The make and model. As the cars stop and people get out with their guns and their shirts open at the collar and their machomismo — as Jason would say — on full display as they preen in their triumph at getting him Tim takes in every single detail of their faces.

Because if Tim survives it, and he’s rapidly realizing how heavy that word is weighing, it’s going to be with this memory. Every single bullet, every single screech of tire, every single smirk of ill-believed triumph —

Tim is going to remember it. He’s going to remember it and he’s going to hold it in himself like so much dark, hissing, fury. And when the time comes when this memory serves its’ purpose, he will release it. It will be at the worst possible time. It will be at the best possible time. It will be when these people think they are on the top of the world. It will be when they think they have nothing left to lose.

Tim is going to be there, waiting, with this memory, to remind them — gently, patiently, factually — I’m not done with you yet.

[marvinswriting]

Gut feeling

Prompt: no prompt in this one buddies, just check out bear's borrower!janis au. Like my g/t mg au its something i thought about a lot but never officially put down anywhere, but she did and you fucking bet im gonna write it

This is a long one boys, and there's still more i wanna write lmfao

Think about everything you know about borrowers-

-and throw it out the fucking window.

Yep, fuck your stereotypes. I'm Janis, and yeah I guess your right about the whole tiny-people-who-live-in-walls-and-steal. You're also creepily accurate with your borrower's code (so I wanna know who blabbed. Probably Gretchen, god. I always wonder where she was before this house). I'm sidetracked. Other then that, you guys got it all wrong. 

We are very much aware of the concept of not all humans wanna kill or harm borrowers. Thank you very much. 

We just know most of them do.

And we aren't as rare as you may think. Lots of humans know about borrowers, and you all think we're a dying species or a myth. No. We're just good at what we do, thank you. The goal is to live undetected. It's safer that way.

We also don't live totally alone, isolated in walls. Well, some of us do, and some of us wish we did. (Me, it's me, I hate my roommates.)

I live with Gretchen and Kevin. Won't call them friends, because they're not. We aren't close enough. We keep each other around because we'd go insane without the interaction from others. A borrowers life can be boring and isolated.

Its the total opposite of a human's. When the owners of the house sleep, we're awake doing food runs. When the owners of the house are awake, we're hiding away, tucked in bed.

And for a long time that worked. But then something changed. I think the owners of the house called it 'the school year ended'? Now the boy, Damian- from what we've gathered he's our age. But who knows, it's not like we can just go up and meet him. He definitely seems to be the most sympathetic one of the family. 

The dad kills any fucking bug without even getting a good look, so like- don't get caught with him (not that you wanna get caught with any of them). 

The mom watches a lot of gory sci-fi shows that always end up with the main character in some type of experimental facility so we don't trust her. 

Damian just hides in his room, playing music and singing along. I like it, its harder for us to be heard that way. 

The final member of the household is the fucking cat. Her name is Ariel which is supposedly a reference to some princess, but the only royal she is is a royal pain. Little bitch almost killed me once. 

I'm so off track though. 

Apparently, this 'school year' is over, and now Damian is home all the time. He doesn't have to get up early to leave so he's opted to not sleeping at night at all. Which is just great for us. He doesn't often leave his room, but Gretch, Kevin, and I have to be a lot more careful often resulting in us grabbing a lot less.

I glance around my 'bedroom'. Through the years I like to think it's grown to be decorated nicely. Unlike my two roommates, I pride myself in my living space. I spend most of my time here, so why not. Yeah, I have the necessities, but I also have other things like plants and makeshift art supplies. In the corner of my room is what you could call a bed and a bottle cap nightstand. There's a piece of a mirror hanging. We all found mirror shards and took them, and might I say life hasn't quite been the same since. 

We don't really look at ourselves that often, there aren't many reflective surfaces to do so. Yeah, I'd catch my face staring back at me in my water, or on a shiny surface, but it was never as clear as the mirror. As I look right now, I just look stressed.

Pretty accurate.

I've got a weird feeling about tonight.

"We need food."

"No shit Gretchen." 

Gretchen and I are sitting in our combined space, waiting for Kevin. I'm hesitant to call it a living room because it hardly looks lived in. There are four beer cap chairs (and three of us, it's fucking stupid- I know) a pizza saver as a table, and a bunch of miscellaneous items that haven't found a home yet.

"Hubbards are asleep." Kevin walks out from where he was keeping watch. "The kids light is still on and I couldn't locate the cat, are we sure we want to go out tonight."

"We need food," Gretchen repeats herself.

"We don't have much of a choice," I say, shoving makeshift grappling hooks and double-sided tape into my satchel, and grabbing another bad for food. "We gotta make a big run tonight. We can't guarantee a day by day flow anymore, Damian has to unpredictable of a sleep schedule."

Gretchen makes a noise of agreement, packing up her own things.

Kevin is still peaking out of the exit into the household, worriedly. 

"Janis are you down for that trip tonight? You look stressed as fuck."

I bitterly. "Yeah, I'm just- tired. And hungry. And quite frankly I may be coming down with something."

"They stay away from me," Gretchen says, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Ready?"

"Let's just grab food and go," Kevin says before spinning around to look at me. "Only food, Janis."

I nod. No point in trying to defend myself when he's not wrong. I have an awful habit of finding something I could use for art and going out of my way to grab it.

But we have priorities tonight. 

We file out into the household, all pressing against the wall. The exit we used lead right to the floor. Its a debate on which was riskier, but I for one, preferred to be higher. Further from the cat and a better view of everything. Kevin mumbled something about keeping watch and made his way over to the island table the Hubbard had. He pulled out his climbing supplies and made his way up as Gretchen and I continued our trek across the floor, waiting to reach the kitchen to get to higher grounds. 

"It hasn't been this hard since we all moved here." Gretchen says quietly, but I understand.

"Yeah." I whisper.

We all moved into this house together maybe two ago. We tell time by the day and the decor around the house. Humans often put of decorations for holidays and it's like marking points though the year. My least favorite holiday happens during the summer. I don't know the name but everything turns red white and blue and there's tons of loud booms and explosions. It kills my ears and sends me into sensory overload every time.

 We've pasted two Christmases. I don't know much about the holiday, but its the most decorated, with fancy trees and cookie crumbs everywhere. A borrower's dream. But it wasn't like that now. It was hot and sticky, food got left out on the counter less. We haven't eaten anything more then the minimum to survive, if you don't count yesterday where we didn't eat at all. 

I was so lost in my thought for food, I almost didn't hear it. Kevin calling out, the patter of paws on the floor-

-oh shit. 

I whirl around just in time to have a paw whacked with my side. 

Cat.

There was no claw, Ariel is here for a game of cat and mouse obviously. Roles already clear. 

That didn't make it hurt less though.

I groan skidding across the floor, curled into myself. 

Gretchen shrieks and runs away, the cat's interest on me.

She left me for fucking dead.

Wow.

Rude, but unsurprising.

I'd fucking bolt too. I wonder if Kevin ran as well. 

My heart stops as the truth of the statement catches up to me. 

I'm gonna die.

I'd like to say there's so much I still haven't done, or that my life had only just begun. But that wasn't true. I live to borrow another day and borrow to live another day. But I was content like that, I don't wanna die.

Ariel stalks towards me again. I sit up and push my self backward, only to find a wall.

Fuck.

I can see Gretchen duck back into the wall out of the corner of my eye, Kevin with her.

To be fair, I'd do the same. I can't bring myself to be too mad.

"Hey, kitty," I say softly, holding my hands out in defense. The cat sits down in front of me, eyes wide and pupils dilated, ready to play. "Ariel, right? Good kitty. I'm not a toy."

Ariel doesn't seem to get the message as she lifts her paw.

No!

"Hey, whatcha got there girl?" A voice comes from behind the cat. 

My blood runs colder than it already was. 

That was to loud to be Gretchen or Kevin, to masculine to be the mom, not deep enough to be the dad-

Hands pull Ariel away despite a mew of protest, leaving me totally exposed in the open. 

Put the cat back I'd rather die that way.

My eyes connect with the boy of the household- Damian. His gaze travels up and down my small form and he lets out breathy 'what?'.

Once again, I know not all humans are bad, but you try not even being four inches call, curled up against a wall with a full ass living moving human standing there. It's a lot.

Damian kneels down so he isn't towering over me but it doesn't feel any better. I push myself closer to the wall, ignoring the pain in my side.

"Are- I uh-" Damian seems as equally at a loss as I am. 

Don't worry buddy, I didn't think I'd be getting caught tonight either.

"Are you okay?"

I can't exactly say I've been caught before, so I don't exactly know the 'this is a bad guy' red flags, but asking about my well being probably isn't one of them. 

"Yeah." I say, shakily. My voice is weak and seems a lot quieter in contrast to the boy's in front of me.

"I'm sorry about her." Damian said, placing the cat down. Ariel glares at me before walking away, clearly bored.

I could tell we were dancing around the important questions. What are you? Why are you so small? What are you doing here?

"My name's Damian."

I almost say 'I know' but believe it or not- I do have manners and hey, this human hasn't killed you yet, don't be rude and give him a reason to.

"Janis." I say, giving a small wave. 

"Janis," Damian repeats like he's testing the name in his mouth. "It's pretty."

"Thank you." I glance around but as I suspected, my roommates did not even attempt to come back. 

"You're a borrower." Damian states. It wasn't a question and his voice sounded sure, but his raised eyebrow told a different story.

"Yeah, we're real, just-" I take a breath. "Uncommon?"

Damian nods. He knew what I was right off the bat which probably means I'll have less explaining to do. It also made me feel safer in a way. It meant he's less curious. Not to mention he has yet to move any closer or invade my space, so I felt okay. I push myself off the wall a bit, trying to ignore how my head spins a bit from lack of nutrients. 

"I'm sorry if I interrupted whatever you were doing. We'll leave if you don't want us here or-"

"No, it's okay. I honestly am glad I stepped in then I did- wait, we?"

Shit.

It was one thing to expose myself, but not I'm mentally hitting myself for exposing Gretchen and Kevin too.

"There are multiple of you?"

"Nonono forget I said anything." I wave my hand as if waving away nonexistent flies. 

Damian looks like he wants to press more but doesn't. "What are you doing out here? It's like, four am."

"It's still early for me. We- I need food." 

Damian's eyes light up. "Of course! Oh my god, I'm so sorry then. Do you-" He pauses. "Do you need help?"

My instinct is to decline but- there hasn't been much food out and Damian seems genuine. Its either die by cat or human. "Yeah, help would be nice."

Damian smiles softly. "Can I pick you up?"

What?

Oh.

Oh.

Yeah. 

Riiiight.

"Yeah, you can." I smile, trying to seem brave about this, but I've never been picked up before. The only time I'm off the ground is with my climbing tools with my fate in my own hands. 

Damian places his hand down next to me, it's huge. The sheer size difference doesn't sink in when somebody is crouched a couple of human feet away from you. 

I step onto his hand regardless, trying not to concentrate on how weird it feels. 

"You ready?" Damian's voice asked from above.

Was I ready?

Why did I think this was a good idea?

I could die right here right now.

I don't know anything about this kid other than his name and his favorite musical soundtrack. 

What if he's bad news?

"Yeah, I'm good." I say, despite my inner turmoil. 

The ground beneath me shifts and as much as I like to think I was mentally prepared, physically I was not as I ungracefully fall backward into Damian's palms.

"You okay?" He asks, freezing. 

He was as nervous as I was.

This sudden realization gave me a bit more confidence in the situation.

"Mhmm," I say, patting the hand beneath me gently. "Thanks."

"Of course." Damian says, and we're moving again. Its a significantly shorter trip from here to the kitchen for Damian. He holds me close to his chest, his fingers curled around me slightly. Its comforting, and contrary to what I expected, I don't feel ready to drop. I can see Ariel curled up contently on the couch, and the entrance to my home from here. One of them at least. I wonder if my roommates are watching or if they're already cleaning out my room. 

Damian places his hand on the table and I get off on my own.

It feels better up here, to be further up. I don't feel as small when Damian steps away. 

"You've made it clear it's just you," He does air quotes. "But how many people do you take food for."

The lie of 'it is only me' is the first thing on my tongue, but I hold it. Damian has done nothing but help me so far and he already knows there's multiple of us. No harm in giving exact numbers.

"Three," I say. "One with a big appetite." I smile as Kevin comes to mind. 

Damian grins. "What do you normally take?"

"Whatever is out." I shrug, glancing around at the table. Just like the past couple of times, the tables were empty.

Damian notices this and is silent for a bit. "I'll have to conveniently forget to put stuff back then." He says quietly. I can't tell if he was talking to me or himself but I smile nonetheless. 

"So, you've never had options?"

"No." I say. It feels weird to admit that. Damian grins. 

"Guess you're in luck. Wait here." He turns around and walks over to a cabinet. Where am I supposed to even go? 

His back isn't turned long enough to let me figure that out, because he soon comes back with two things. "So I brought this because I want you to try it," Its a cookie, I know that much from Christmas, but instead of decorative frosting and sprinkles its dotted with splotches of brown. "It's a chocolate chip cookie. And I brought this for practical reasons." He lifts up a bag. "Its granola and it comes in these little chunks- well for you they'd be big, but you can just break them off as you need!"

I smile at the thoughtfulness. Maybe this kid isn't all bad news. 

He opens the bag and pours a bit into his hand before placing one on the table. Sure enough, a cluster of granola is just big enough to fit maybe two into my bag. I can break off a piece and it will last days (assuming Kevin doesn't go to town).

"Woah." I say softly, picking it up. This is the most food I've ever even been near in one place. 

Damian chuckles as I carefully place the granola into my bag miraculously fitting three. One for each of us. Damian watches me silently, I guess we're both still stying to wrap our heads around the situation. 

"Oh! I almost forgot!" He picks up the cookie breaking off a piece and handing it to me. It's the size of my head but I can just save what's left for later. Damian takes the rest for himself, watching as I silently break a piece off to eat. 

It's grainy but smooth a the same time. Sweet and salty. It's-

"Woah." 

Damian laughs, its loud and sudden, but also contagious.

I giggle a bit as I feel my face flush. I know he's not laughing at me maliciously.

"They're good right?"

"Yeah." 

We fall into silence, and I look around. I've been up on the counters before, but I've always been in a rush, get food, and get out. I've never been this relaxed in the open and certainly never so close to a human. 

I look up at Damian and he smiles. "What are you gonna do now?"

"Huh?"

"I don't know how true the stories are but isn't this where you leave and never come back because you've been caught? I won't tell anyone if you don't want to leave."

He had a point. But- the borrower's code wasn't law. More like- recommended guidelines? I mean, not true at all, but it's not written in stone or anything. Borrower police aren't gonna break in and arrest me or anything.

I think.

Besides, I didn't want to leave. I liked my room and my roommates (not that I'd admit that to them). They don't need to know I met a human. And Damian said he wouldn't tell anyone-

"How do I know I can trust you?"

The question had a lot more of an edge then I expected, but Damian didn't seem to take offense. 

"You don't. But, follow your instincts. I'm not trying to trick you or anything if that's what your thinking."

He did help me get food. Which saved my life. He also saved me from the cat, which saved my life too. Even before he knew I existed, he always seemed to be the nicest Hubbard. Something tells me his word is good.

"I think I'm gonna stay," I say after a while.  "I'll just- never tell my roommates about this. One of them flips over everything. She'd pack in an instant if she knew."

Damian smiled. "I understand if you hope to never see me again and if you wanna just walk away like this never happened, but I'll be sure to leave granola out every once in a while."

I grin. "Thanks, Damian." It felt weird to be so close to a human and already trust them so much. Something deep inside told me that this wasn't the last time we'd see each other, and that's okay.

"I figure you can get down on your own? You don't want me to know where you live or anything."

I shook my head, patting my climbing tools. "I got this from here. Thank you so much for your help."

"Of course, Janis. I'll take Ariel to my room to make sure she doesn't cause any trouble. Maybe I'll see you around, hopefully not under any life or death circumstances though." Damian grins before walking away, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I can hear him call out to the cat followed by padding of paws as a door closes. I almost feel as if I've hallucinated the whole thing, but the weight of the granola in my bag proves to me otherwise. 

I begin to take out a hook and rope while I think of what I'm gonna tell my roommates. Gretchen will flip either way and I don't think Kevin will believe me that I was able to fend off a cat alone, but it's what I have to do if I don't want to move. Besides, deep down I feel like I can trust the teen of the Hubbard household. 

Let's just hope my gut isn't wrong. 

alt title: how borrower janis got hooked on granola tag list!!! @realmisspolarbear @musicallygt @smallsoysauce @sourishlemons

[bigfan-fanfic]

The Bat-dads 4 (Male!Reader x Batfamily)

If anyone has a specific situation they want to request with this reader-character, make sure to mention that you’d like a headcanon for a Batdad!Reader.

It was hard for you to deal with Jason’s death. 

Even though you constantly worried about Dick and Jason being injured or traumatized, it never occurred to you that this was actually a potentially lethal hobby for your husband and sons.

So you were almost as reluctant as Bruce to keep adding to the Wayne Clan

But then along came the next additions to the family.

Tim

You and Bruce had a strained relationship for a while, especially after you advocated for the Joker’s death.

No one knows this, but you practically begged him to kill the Joker, to make sure no one else would have to lose a child, a parent, a friend to his madness ever again.

But when Tim showed up on your doorstep, it was your worst nightmare.

Alfred had disappeared, Bruce was incommunicado, Dick was captured, and the only people able to help were a man untrained in combat and a skinny tween.

But the two of you raid the Batcave for some castoff suits that were still good enough to work.

And that night, there are two Batmen in Gotham, one with a Nightwing and the other with a Robin.

You and Tim use strategy and clever tricks to disable and evade the guards, and eventually free Nightwing and rescue Batman.

Tim is the only one to have actually seen you in vigilante action (you have not gone out since, and his account of your tactical and combat brilliance is a much-requested story)

Black Mask’s men are terrified of you because they thought they had the Bat cornered, and now there’s another one? Like, what???

Tim is basically your son from that moment on. Even if it takes a while for things to work out that way.

Tim usually calls you Y/N, or if he’s sleep deprived, Dad.

He’s perpetually surprised whenever you show interest in what he is doing.

Even if it is only to tell him to “SLEEP, for goodness sakes, Tim!”

Tim plays word games online with you while on patrol. Or online chess. You generally win. It aggravates him to no end.

Whenever he is swamped, you leave bright Post-It Notes for him everywhere you know he’ll look. Sometimes they’ll have instructions, and sometimes an encouraging saying or a smiley face.

He says it’s embarrassing, but they never fail to give him a smiley face of his own.

Sometimes Tim gets confused about how “normal” people interact, so he’ll ask you really odd questions about mundane things. General responses from you are either confused or sarcastic.

“Y/N, how do you say hello to people, but not be, like, all formal about it?”

“Uhh... hi?”

“Y/N, I need to learn how to say goodbye to someone without accidentally saying ‘I love you.’” 

“Well, young Padawan, that will take years of training...”

Tim also secretly likes to geek out with you over fandom.

Trust me, Tim is die-hard for Comic-Con

Your boy has outpaced you so far in fandom that now you just bluff whenever he talks about the latest shows you haven’t seen yet.

He gets no sleep and is always looking at at least three screens, so he definitely is always caught up and instantly blogging about his shows/games/websites/podcasts/assorted other stuff.

He also had to be talked down from hacking the Pottermore website when he was sorted into Slytherin.

It was a tense time for all.

You had to take away his Internet.

And then watch him to make sure he wasn’t being a sneaky-sneak.

Like, sitting in a room staring at him, drinking pure caffeine and just watching him go through Internet withdrawals for an hour and then sleeping for 48.

Seriously, impose a strict sleeping schedule!

Damian

Oh boy.

Oh boy.

Not good.

In the first few days of meeting you, Damian tried to kill you maybe thirty-eight times a day. The only reason you survived is by an insane amount of luck and the constant vigilance of Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Jason, and Tim.

Damian took it as a personal insult that his father prefers you to his mother.

Complained about how useless you seemed

“Y/N isn’t even trained in combat. He’s a liability, Father, you know that.”

Bruce is no help whatsoever

You persevere. You withstand. You even start predicting Damian’s assassination plots before he attempts them and start leaving Post-It Notes for him too, with mocking yet oddly positive messages.

Found on a rafter where Damian had planned to rig a trap that would end with you being hanged: “Tough luck, Damian! Only barely noticed this in time! :)”

Found later on an upstairs banister that Damian only considered tossing something over onto you: “Good idea, but please don’t break anything. Alfred would go crazy! :)”

And this, remarkably, earns Damian’s respect. So he decides, for now, to stop trying to kill you.

But Damian only really comes to see you as a parent after Talia tries to take him back.

You put yourself between them and tell him to run. And Talia is about to kill you when Damian intervenes, surprising everyone. 

You don’t talk about it afterward. But his actions make it clear that the two of you are more family than he and Talia ever could be.

He calls you Papa, with the second syllable stressed.

Jason makes fun of him for this: “Pa-PA? Is this Downton Abbey or something?”

He’s really excited if you’re into his more violent hobbies, like if you take him to see some antique swords at the museum or something, or if you discuss ancient battle strategies, but he’s also excited when you encourage the things he was never allowed to do before.

Like draw. Or skip training

The second one he rarely does, but once in a while you pop into the Batcave and call out that it’s a rest day, and you take Damian and the two of you do something together

Damian is a surprisingly avid performer.

He was in the school musical at Gotham Academy and knocked it out of the park.

He only invited you and Alfred to see him because “TT, only you and Pennyworth can be trusted with such sensitive information.”

But you brought the others anyway, with a warning that anything remotely rude or mocking would be harshly penalized.

Good times were had.

Damian has trouble admitting what he likes. Such as being read aloud to. You noticed once that he always seems calmer when someone is reading something out loud, though he scoffs when asked if he wants to be read to.

So you just started reading everything aloud to see what stuck. Starting with Harry Potter.

Now Damian still doesn’t admit he likes it.

But every so often, when it’s quiet, you’ll notice him put a book on a table where he’s sure you’ll see it and then walk away, pretending he knows nothing about it.

Without fail, you grab the book and go find Damian, who is suddenly engrossed in something on his computer, or a video game, and you ask him to come listen to something.

“TT, must I, Papa? This had better be interesting.”

He always complains, and you always ignore him.

But please, be gentle with cliffhangers - Damian can’t stand them. He’ll beg and plead and threaten for just one more chapter.

[dibs4ever]

Father and Son part 2

The voice of Alfred replayed over and over in Dick’s head.

They were introducing the family to the guests as they descended down the steps. When they got to Dick (who was 2nd to last of Bruce.

He nonchalantly introduced them to the crowd as “Master Dick Grayson, his Fiancé Miss.Barbara Gordon and their son young Master Nathan Grayson. “

There were some gasps, not only was he introducing his son he was telling the word about him and Barbara’s relationship.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he heard a voice say

Dick looked up from where he was sitting to see Bruce sitting down in the seat beside him in the corner of the ballroom He could see Stephanie across the Ballroom holding Nathan while talking to Tim.

Barbara was talking to her father on the opposite end of the ballroom.

“Nothing you’d understand.” Dick mumbled

Bruce eyed him following Dick’s gaze. “You’re worried about them aren’t you?”

Dick was quiet for a moment before nodding

“Beyond belief, you have no idea. Not only do people now know how much Barbara means to me by announcing she’s my fiancé. They also know about Nathan . Do you realize the things that could happen?”

Then Dick rolled his eyes ”But I know you, you think he's a mistake anyways. That Babs and I were irresponsible and reckless, not using protection. Getting ourselves into this predicament. Having a child when we have no sense in having one. So obviously you wouldn't understand ”

Bruce nodded, obviously Dick was really upset about this. He only rambled like this when he was bothered. ”I remember you getting kidnapped in order to get to me as Bruce Wayne.” he seemed to be ignoring most of what Dick had just said

Dick eyed him “Yeah I remember being kidnapped as a kid. It mattered to your image. But it didn’t matter to your emotions. That’s why you wouldn’t understand.”

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows “What do you——“

He was cut off by Stephanie approaching them “Can you take him so I can dance with Tim?”

Dick gladly took his son placing him in his lap

Bruce admired them for a moment. Watching as Dick distracted his son by pointing out the various flashy outfits the guests were wearing

“Care to elaborate on what you said” Bruce asked

Dick looked toward him, shuffling his son who was getting antsy. The child squirrming, wanting to be put down.

Dick silently hoped he would stop so that Bruce wouldn't get mad

Dick shook his head “Nothing its just.....you know you had the whole Billionaire playboy thing to show in order to hide.....the other side of you. But Nate...and Babs.” He looked over at Barbara who was smiling brightly with her father “It’s no secret to anyone that I’ve loved her for years. And my teenage fantasy is about to come true and she’s going to be my wife.” He smiled blissfully

Bruce nodded “You two always were quite fond of each other weren’t you?”

Dick flashed a half smile, Nathan flipped in his lap facing Him “Dada Dada Dada!” He chanted patting Dick’s cheeks

Dick chuckled “That’s right Nathan, now give your daddy a kiss” he puckered his lips out. Nathan let out a baby giggle and leaned forward pecking Dick’s lips. Dick hugged him to him tightly “And him” Dick sighed “I never even thought he was going to be a thing ya know? Given what my life is like I never could have dreamed I’d have a child. Yet here I am. Bruce I wish I could just keep him hidden. I don’t want him to go through everything I went through. I can’t imagine what I’d do if he was kidnapped. Or someone hurt him. I think I.....i don't even want to think about what I would do.” he sighed ”And Barbara, our relationship has been hidden too. Away from drama and press and people trying to split us up.”

Bruce continued to eye him ”That answers my original question about what your thoughts are but it doesn't answer my second question Dick.”

Dick shrugged ”Maybe it's just different cause when I look at Nate I see both me and Babs. Ya know cause he's our son.”

”So....I wouldn't understand because we don't share blood?” Bruce asked

Dick looked up ”What? no! Of course not. Jason, Tim, Damian and Cassandra are my siblings no question about it. You should know blood means nothing to me when it comes to family. And you are the closest thing to a living paternal grandfather my son will have so that means something right?”

Bruce shook his head “But you don’t think I care?”

Dick didn’t respond

“Do you remember when that gang kidnapped you? When you were 9, it was the first time you were kidnapped.” Bruce asked

Dick nodded “Of course, I had just witnessed my parents die only 6 weeks before I was scared for my life. But ‘Batman’ saved me”

Bruce nodded “That was the first time in my career I had to refrain myself from killing. It’s happened a few more times over the years....but when I saw you, tied up in the back of that trunk. Your mouth gagged. Hands and legs tied, your lips busted. You had already been through so much and you were so small.”

Bruce looked at Dick’s lap, Nathan had his arms extended reaching for him. ”May I?”

Dick nodded, passing Nathan to him.

”Look our stories started off somewhat similar. Both witnessing our parents die infront of us at an early age. But you also have known that I took you in, in hopes that you wouldn’t....turn out like me. I’m proud to say that you aren’t like me. And I had nothing to do with that. The man you are today is all you. But don’t ever think I didn’t care. I still care, about you, your siblings, Barbara,Alfred,Stephanie, Duke and this little guy.” he patted Nathan’s stomach. ”Little did you guys know while we were getting ready upstairs before the gala I was in my room debating weather or not I should March down to your old room and talk you and Barbara out of introducing him to the world. Him being a secret....that made him safe. But people knowing I have a grandson and the fact that he was also the police commissioners grandson. That just....it’s a scary thing to think what some psycho might master up. But then I remembered who his parents were and the kind of man his father is. And I knew he would be okay.”

Dick smiled “In glad I have you to be my sons paternal grandfather figure.”

Bruce turned to him and nodded before passing the child back to him “You better get him back to Barbara before he gets cranky.”

Dick nodded “Okay”

[batfam-imagines]

Choices

A/N: This one is a little long, and was an idea that has been stuck in my head for awhile. Not all of my ideas managed to make it into the story, mainly because I’m not that good of a writer!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! Italics mean sign-language. I know that’s not how the word structure of real sign-language works, but it’s just easier to write this way.

———————————————————————————–

Bruce watches the two videos in utter horror.  One is of Robin, his second son, his Jason, being beaten with a crowbar by Joker, and the other is of Sparrow, Jason’s best friend, Bruce’s only daughter, being held at knife-point by Harley Quinn. Bruce had an impossible decision to make. He could only save one of his children, which one was is going to be?

--

Batman’s knees buckle, his fingers scrabbling frantically through the rubble, desperate for any sign of life. He couldn’t have been too late. Joker had made him choose. He’d made his choice, and had still been too late. He couldn’t be too late.

“Batsy, Batsy, Batsy!” The Jokers voice seems to echo through Bruce’s head, it takes his sluggish brain a moment to realize he must have stolen a Comm unit. “Just a few minutes too late, Batsy! Poor little bird just kept beggin’ for ya! He was so confident that you’d show!” The scrape of a knife on metal is loud even over the Comm, “Now. What am I gonna do with this pretty little thing?”

Harley’s loud laughter seemingly echo’s through Bruce’s head at the realization: they still have Y/N. One of his children is still in danger. “Why don’t we cut off all her feathers, Mista J?! Birdies can’t fly without feathers!”

“Not a bad idea, Harley, but I was thinking something a little more … permanent” Bruce feels like he’s paralyzed. He’d never found out where they’d been holding Y/N because he’d been so focused on finding Jason, he thought he would have more time. “She’s been screamin’ an awful lot since we killed that other bird, why not make it so the bird can’t sing anymore!”

Finally, Bruce finds the strength to respond, “No! Joker, you said I had to choose! You said I could save one!”

Another manic cackle spills directly into Bruce’s ear, “And you could have saved one. You could have saved that little street-rat of a Robin, but you were too late. You made your choice, Batman, and you chose wrong” It’s obvious that Joker is moving. The knife continuous to scrape along metal, and those horrible gut-wrenching screams grow louder every second. “There’s no need for the tears, pretty bird! You’ll be joinin’ him soon enough!”

“Joker! You can’t do this!” Bruce can almost picture it, one of Joker’s hands in Y/N’s hair and yanking her head back, the other holding one of Y/N’s own knives to her throat.

“Oh, Batsy, when are you going to learn. I can do whatever I want!” There’s a slick sound of the knife cutting deep, and then harsh gurgles. Somewhere in back of Bruce’s mind he knows that the Joker must have taken out the Comm and help it right up to Y/N slit throat. After less than a minute, the gurgling quiets, “See what happens, Batsy, when you bring children into our game?”

--

Talia al Ghul watches the two figures move listlessly through Gotham’s streets. She turns to one of her guards, “And you are sure it’s them?”

“Yes, Mistress. We have had our spies watching them for two months now. The way they fight is a match to the deceased Robin and Sparrow”

“Interesting. We will be taking them back to the Compound with us. Gather the men, I will gather my Beloved’s children.”

Talia scales down the building, landing several feet in front of the two teenagers. Almost immediately the girl, Y/N if she remembers correctly, is in front of the much more injured male. Y/N’s vacant eyes hover near Talia, and she lets out a shrill whistle that makes Jason tense.

“I am not here to hurt you, little ones. I am here to help you, to get you off the street,” Y/N let out a curious sounding whistle, and Jason hummed softly in response. “That’s right, somewhere safe”

Slowly the two inched towards Talia, Y/N still keeping herself firmly between Jason any anyone else. Talia grinned, these two were the ticket to her Beloved’s heart. These two would become her perfect weapons.

--

It wasn’t until several weeks later that Talia’s father joined her in observing the two teenagers fight. While their minds had not been fully restored to them, their ability to fight had been.

“The girl has potential. Even without her mind, she fights with thought. The boy, however, he is not unlike a rabid dog, his only thought is to survive.” Ra’s watches as Y/N takes down one of the League members who had been sneaking up on Jason, “And yet they always fight for each other.”

“They care for each other, even though they do not who they themselves are. And they care for children. Many nights I have found Y/N or Jason, or both of them in Damian’s room, or indulging him in play fights” Talia watches her father out of the corner of her eye, “They both have potential, I just need a little more time to reach -”

“Enough, daughter. These pets of yours are taking up too much of your time. I have already allowed you to keep Damian, but I cannot allow you to keep both the child and these two.” Ra’s turns to completely face his daughter, “You have a choice to make, and I would suggest you choose wisely”

--

Talia had made her choice. She could not kill two children that her Beloved loved so much, and she could no longer bare to endanger her son. She had gathered as many people loyal to her as possible and was going to try and pull off an impossible scheme. She was going to use the Lazarus Pit on Y/N and Jason, and then have them run as far and as fast as possible with Damian. If this plan doesn’t work, then all of them would be dead by morning.

--

It had worked. Somehow Talia’s plan to get you, Jason, and Damian to safety had worked. The little four-year-old was curled up in your lap, having fallen asleep soon after the private jet took off. Jason is still shaking, the aftereffects of the Pit not having worn off yet.

Snapping your fingers, Jason’s eyes latch onto your hands, “Are you okay?” Even though the Pit had left nothing, but a scar wrapped around your throat, it had not been able to restore your voice to you. Thankfully Bruce had made you and Jason learn basic sign-language to communicate on stealth missions, and the two of you had just continued the education, becoming fluent.

“I’m fine. Everything feel so … fresh, you know? And I’m so damn angry at B for choosing me over you, and then getting both of us killed anyway”

“Watch swearing around Damian. And we got ourselves into the mess, it was our fault. It’s in the past. Focus on now”

“I know, I know. We get a second chance at life even if we both have crazy PTSD and Pit-Madness. Now we’re off to travel the world for a few years with a toddler to become the most deadly assassins alive” Jason rakes a hand through his now white streaked hair, “This will be freaking fantastic, Y/N”

“Better than being dead” Damian starts to stir in your lap from the constant hand movements. His jade-green eyes blinking up at you. “Good morning, little prince”

The smile he flashes at you would brighten even Gotham’s rainiest day, “Good morning, ‘Gale!”

Jason snorts and ruffles Damian’s hair, “Her name isn’t Gale, kid. Her name is Y/N”

Damian rolls his eyes with all the attitude a four-year-old could muster, and considering he was raised by Talia, it was a lot. “I know that, dummy! But she whistles like the Nightingales in Mother’s room. Nightingale is her new super name; I don’t have one for you Jay”

“It’s okay, little man. We’ll figure one out for me and you sometime soon. Okay?”

The little boy grins, “Okay. Where are we going?” This time he looks up at you for an answer, but you gently tap you throat and shake your head. “You still can’t talk? The green water didn’t fix you all the way?”

“No, it didn’t. When we were hurt, there were some things that couldn’t be healed all the way.” Jason glances over at you, at the scar the barely peeks out from the turtleneck.

“How can I talk to Y/N then?!” Damian’s lower lip wobbles dangerously.

“Don’t worry, kid. Y/N can talk with her hands, it’s called sign-language. Both us will teach you, and then you’ll be able to talk to Y/N as much as you want, okay?” Immediately Damian brightens, and demands to be taught something. “Alright, lets learn the alphabet first.” And that’s how the rest of the plane ride is spent, with you and Jason teaching Damian how to sign the alphabet.

--

It takes another six years for the three of you to end up back on Gotham, and the main reason you’re there is so Jason can kill the Joker.

“Jay, I still don’t think this is the best idea. We said that we were going to stay away from Batman, not antagonize him”

“I am in pain right now, Y/N. Can you patch me up and save the lecturing for later” Jason gingerly lays down along the couch as you pull out the first aid kit, “And plus, it’s not like I went looking for him! He and Dickhead attacked me!”

“Language, Jason. You know Y/N does not like it when you swear around me” Damian quietly closes his book and surveys the damage done to the only fatherly figure in his life, “I could kill them for you”

“Listen, kid, if I couldn’t take them, then you couldn’t take them” Jason hisses as you pour alcohol over one of his cuts, “And plus, Y/N doesn’t want you to go out while we’re in Gotham. Batman might find you”

Damian rolls his eyes, “I do not care about Bruce Wayne or Batman. He does not even know I exist. I do not need a father; I already have one”

“Aw, Dami, you’re gonna make me choke up!”

The ten-year-old scoffs, “I made my choice many years ago. You two are the only family I need. My father does not know of my existence, my mother never tried to contact me after sending me away, and my grandfather is constantly trying to kill me”

“We love you too, Damian. We can go out tomorrow night if you want, Jason will be resting” You throw a glare at Jason who just holds up his hands and grins.

“Whatever you want, sweetheart. Just as long as you bring back some tacos from that truck on 17th, the owner likes you more than me.”

Damian grins, “Of course, they have the best vegetarian tacos”

--

Damian, as always, is eager to put on his mask and hit the rooftops. Unlike Jason whose main goal is to cause chaos and keep all the focus on him, you and Damian are meant to stay under the radar, to gather as much information as possible.

“Stay low, stay quiet. Do not draw attention to yourself. If we are found, you hide, I will handle it. Understand, Shadow?” Being in the field without a voice is dangerous, it means if you get in trouble the only way someone can find you is if they can hear you whistle or follow the tracker that only Jason and Damian have access to.

“I know, ‘Gale. I will be careful, Batman will not even know I am in the city, I swear”

“Good. Now, let’s go before Jason comes with us” Jason chuckles from his seat on the couch and flips you the bird.

--

“The city is quiet tonight.” You glance over at Damian to see him perched slightly under one of the many gargoyles, trying to get out of the rain. “It does not seem as foul on nights such as this”

You snort, “Now that you said that, something is going to happen. Besides, I thought I told you to go home. You’ll get sick”

“I will not get sick from rain.”

Before you can reply, three figures land one a nearby building. Barely moving, you send a quick sign to Damian, one of the first words you had taught him, “Hide”

Immediately Damian slips further into the shadows, his much smaller body easy sliding between the stone structures. It takes almost 20-minutes for Batman, Robin, and Nightwing to finally leave, and another 15 for you to be sure they’re gone. “Come out, it’s safe”

“I hate this city. I hate that Jason feels the need to seek revenge and torment your former family. Why didn’t you and I wait for him elsewhere, like we had planned? Seeing them terrifies you, and that makes me hate them”

“I chose to come here with Jason. He needs us to keep him sane, and this city drives people insane much faster than most. When we lived on the streets together as children, Jason and I promised to always stay together, no matter what. We are here to protect Jason and to help him, little prince, that is what we chose to do as a family”

Damian lets out another sigh, “Fine, but as long as we’re in the city I want to fight Robin at least once, to prove that I am superior”

“Whatever you want. Now, let’s go mix up some trouble, I’m getting a little bored” You flash a bright smile at Damian and ruffle his wet hair.

“Sounds fun. I’ve been wanting to try out my knew knives”

“And then tacos. We can’t forget the tacos or Jason won’t let us hear the end of it”

———————————————————————————–

Let me know what you think! Send any ideas or requests you have to my Ask Box!

[ichangemynamealotbcidk]

Vampire Academy FF pt.1

I had never been away from home this long on my own before. Although, I did run away, so that could’ve been affecting my levels of paranoia. I felt like I couldn’t sleep. Like around every corner was someone, or something, that was going to hurt me. I sat on the train and tried to just look out the window and listen to my music. I vaguely knew where I was going. The seat next to me was being occupied by a taller gentleman. He looked pretty young, but his features were…different. He looked so pale and his eyes were severely bloodshot. I couldn’t really say anything, though. I hadn’t slept in about twenty six hours so I’m sure I looked just as bad. I glanced over at him to get an idea of my surroundings and the people that I would most likely have to interact with. Unfortunately, he looked over at the same time and my dusty green eyes locked with his ice blue. I gave a quick smirk and went back to looking out my window. I felt him tap my shoulder and begrudgingly turned to him while taking out my earbuds and putting on a fake, nervous smile. “Sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if you knew a good place to stay where we’re headed,” he asked. “Oh, honestly? I’m not even totally sure where that is,” I replied with a small laugh. “We’re going to Baltimore, you don’t know that?” “I mean, I do. I did. I’m sorry, I’m just really tired.” “Why aren’t you sleeping? I’m sure we have plenty of time before we get there.” “I just get really nervous when I travel,” I lied. “Oh, well where are you headed?” “Pennsylvania, I think.” “I’d be nervous too if I had no idea where I was going,” he said with a smile. “I have a general idea.” “Look, I have a friend that gets really good deals at hotels. How about when I call to get a room for myself, I hook you up too?” “You don’t have to do that, honest.” “You’re a weary traveler, I’d love to help.” And with that he pulled out his cell phone and went to make the call. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that he had a lankier build and blonde, styled hair. He kind of looked like one of those California hipster-surfer-type guys, but hell if I know. I looked at the people across from me and saw two more guys; one was reading a book and the other seemed to be asleep. But they both had the same pallor and bloodshot eyes as the man that just left. I started to get scared and paranoid, even more so than before. What if these men were after me? The one reading the book looked up at me and I quickly darted my eyes to look out the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him move over to the seat next to me. “So where are you from?” “Atlanta,” I lied. “Really? Because this train was supposed to be non-stop from Florida.” “You only asked where I was from, not how I got on this train.” “Fair enough,” he replied with a glare. “So where are you headed?” “Pennsylvania.” “What’s in Pennsylvania?” “My destination.” He chuckled. “So, you’re a smartass.” “I’m just cautious of sketchy guys on trains.” “You didn’t seem cautious of that guy.” I looked up in the direction that he was gesturing to. “People make mistakes. I wasn’t cautious before, now I am.” I could tell he was smiling at me. He leaned in closer. I finally turned to him to tell him off, but when our eyes met I just stopped. “Why are you going to Pennsylvania?” “I need to find Eli.” What was I doing?! Why was I telling him this? “Who’s Eli?” “This guy I met back home. He left and I need to find him.” “Where is ‘home’?” “New Orleans.” Fuck, what was I doing? “Why did you lie before?” “I was scared.” “Why?” “I don’t want them to find me.” Why the fuck couldn’t I lie to him? “Who?” “The bad vampires.” He leaned away from me and quickly glanced at his friend who was no longer sleeping. “How do you know about them?” “Town legends.” At least I could bend the truth. “Legends don’t mean anything. How do you know they’re real?” “I’ve seen them.” Fuck. “Where?” “In town. They always come during the summer.” “Why do you think Eli is in Pennsylvania?” “That’s where he said his school was.” “A school for vampires?” Luckily, the blonde guy came back and the other two quickly stopped their interrogation and everyone went back to their respective seats. I breathed a sigh of relief when the blonde guy sat back down next to me. But that feeling was short-lived because soon I was under his control. He stared into my eyes. “My name is Cole. This is Damian and Alek. You’re going to stay with us for a bit until we figure this out. You won’t scream, or yell, or run away. You will stay with us until I say otherwise. Once I let you go, you won’t remember anything about your encounters with us. Now tell me that you understand and will follow these directions.” Without thinking I said, “I understand. I will follow your directions.” And then it was over, I was in full control of myself, but I wasn’t. I had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind to run away and find help, but there was no part of my body that actually did anything about it. I simply sat there while the three guys went about their business. Eventually, I just fell asleep. The next thing I remember is being in this huge hotel, walking down the ornately decorated hallways. A set of double doors opened in front of me and I stepped into a massive suite. The main room was about the size of a studio apartment and had a similar layout; the sitting area was in the front, and the bed and side tables were at the back wall. Next to the bed was an archway to a kitchenette. Cole led me inside. On both sides of the suite were huge doors that led to balconies; one overlooking the courtyard to the hotel, the other overlooking the city. At either balcony were Damian and Alek, locking and chaining the doors from the outside. The entire room was illuminated by the yellow-orange glow of the sunset. “This will be our room,” said Cole. “The four of us,” I asked, taking note of the one bed. “No, my dear, just us.” “Oh, okay.” It was like I was in a trance. I couldn’t disagree or question. I was perfectly content with the answers that he was giving me. Cole walked us over to the bed and sat me down. He knelt in front of me and looked into my eyes. “I have to step out for a moment. Please stay put, get comfortable if you’d like. I’ll be back before you know it.” I lay back in the bed as he walked out of the room, resting against the oversized pillows. I kind of just sat there for a while, taking in the scenery. At one point, a maid or bellhop or someone entered the room and set my bags next to my side of the bed. I looked over at him and gave a polite smile to show my thanks. All I got in return was a disgusted look and an eye roll before he turned and walked away. Despite the shitty service, the hotel was pretty nice. The lighting in the room really fascinated me. Surely it couldn’t be that late in the afternoon, and there was no way sunlight looked this beautiful even in a room like this. I looked at the windows and realized they had been tinted, not just the typical window tinting for car windows. It was as if all the windows were tinted like sunglasses, giving everything a golden, vibrant hue. I got up and walked over to one of the glass balcony doors. Clearly, I couldn’t open it, but the view of the courtyard was astounding. It was essentially a miniature botanical garden; there were rose bushes and hibiscus and a grand fountain in the center that I really wanted to go splash in…. “I see you’ve discovered the view,” I heard from behind me. I quickly turned around and saw Cole hovering over me. “Oh, uh, yea. It’s really pretty.” “What would you like to do,” he asked tilting his head to the side. The look he gave me made me feel like the injured antelope, and he was the lion. “Honestly? I was thinking about splashing in the fountain.” “Unfortunately, I can’t allow that. They’re mad enough that I’ve brought the two idiots, when they saw you in tow they all about threw us out.” “Why can’t I be here?” “Because you’re a human. We have no use for you other than food, and since I have no plans on using you as a food source, you’re essentially useless.” I felt a lump of fear stick in my throat. “Why am I here?” He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Sweet, sweet Claire, you’re here to lead me to Court.” I was honestly so confused that all I could muster was: “Wh-what?” “Ah, I see they haven’t told you everything,” he was giving me a look of amused sympathy. “We can discuss this later. For now, let’s just relax.” I was back under his control. “Ok.” We walked over to the bed and lay down next to each other. We were on our sides facing each other in silence for a long time, seemingly forever. “Tell me, Claire, what’s it like to be in a community where humans and Moroi and Dhampirs all interact and reproduce together?” “It’s all I know. My parents are both human and I have dhampir cousins. But I have plenty of distant Moroi relatives. None of whom are royalty, but they do live amongst the Tainted.” Cole snickered at my use of colloquial language. “Yes, the Tainted: those Moroi who separate themselves from dhampirs and humans.” “Except they use dhampirs as their own personal bodyguards because they don’t know how to defend themselves. They refuse to fight, to remember the old days, how it should be.” “You seem proud of your heritage.” It was the first time I had seen Cole look…honest. “It’s all I know,” I repeated. “And Strigoi?” “I’ve never seen one. Not many people from my community have. They tend to stay away from groups like ours because they know it’d be a death sentence to mess with us.” “As a collective, yes. Individually, no.” My eyes jumped up to meet his, fear all over my face. “Don’t worry, my little Keeper. I’m not here to kill you. At least not yet; I need you first.” He smiled as if that would make it better and at first I was insanely terrified, but then I didn’t feel any fear at all. We were just looking at each other; I was looking at myself in his bloodshot, icy blue eyes, just as he was looking at himself in my dusty green. “Kiss me, Claire.” Without thinking, I leaned towards him and allowed him to kiss me. But we didn’t stop. Soon enough he had pulled me on top of him, but we wouldn’t stop, I couldn’t stop. Something was really wrong. Why was this still happening? I didn’t feel right; it was unnatural and wasn’t leading anywhere good. All I kept thinking about was Eli, how much better it felt to kiss him; his warm lips, his hands on me, the contact of our body heat. Eli, Eli, Eli, Eli…. I pulled away from the kiss in such a way that I almost fell of the foot of the bed. “Stop, stop, no! What are you doing to me? Let me go! I don’t want to be here!” I was cowering on the edge as he got up and walked over to me. I couldn’t move. “My dear, why must you make things difficult?” He had used a pet name, but there was no sense of joking or affection on his face like before. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and crept closer; I was frozen with fear. He approached me and grabbed both of my arms. I yelped in fear and turned my head away from his face, closing my eyes tightly. “Please, stop,” I whimpered, tears forming behind my closed lids. “You really need to start trusting people, Claire. I told you I wasn’t going to kill you.” And then I felt his fangs biting into my neck. The pain was quickly replaced by sense of drunken euphoria. It was amazing, and once he was done, I fell back onto the bed feeling entirely content with the situation that I was currently in. I was high. I had heard other girls, and some guys, talk about how good the bite feels, but I had never gotten to experience it myself. Now that I had, I wondered if Eli would ever bite me. I knew that we had opposing views of biting for fun, and biting for food. But how could this be wrong? It felt amazing and if he bit me, not only would he be feeding himself, but he’d be getting me high. It was basically a win-win. I soon fell asleep, probably from the blood loss, and woke up to find my neck bandaged. But the dream I had while I was out felt so real. At first it was just me standing in an empty room and then, all of a sudden, the room turned into the botanical garden in the hotel’s courtyard. The sunlight felt so nice on my skin. “Claire?” I knew that voice; I turned and saw Eli standing by the fountain. “Eli! I’m so glad to see you,” I said running over to give him a hug. Unfortunately, he quickly pulled away and his face was all business. “Claire, where are you?” “Um, Baltimore? I think. I’m on my way to find you,” I explained with a smile. “Isn’t the sunlight fantastic?” I pulled my hair to the side and Eli stared at me wide-eyed. “Claire, what happened to your neck,” he asked carefully. “I was bitten, I think. There are these guys I met on the train. I can’t leave them, they won’t let me.” “How many times have they done this to you,” he asked with anger in his voice. He took my hands and was inspecting my wrists and forearms. “It’s just been the one time, and it was only Cole.” “Cole? Who’s Cole?” “He’s a Moroi, obviously. He looks a lot different than you and your friends, though. Actually, they all do, Damian and Alek, too.” Eli looked worried. “What’s wrong?” “Claire, you have to get away from these men. You need to go back home.” “I can’t leave,” I said matter-of-factly. “Have you ever bitten someone? You know, just for the hell of it?” “What? No, of course not; that’s wrong and dirty.” “What if you liked it dirty,” I asked flirtatiously, moving closer to him. I reached to put my arms around his neck but he took a step back. “What now?” “Claire, please, do whatever you have to, but get out of there.” “I can’t fight like the rest of the Keepers, Eli. My parents never entirely believed in it so I was never taught. These guys…they’re doing something that I can’t fight. I can’t run or fight like my dhampir cousins. I don’t heal like the rest of you. I’m just human.” Eli looked at me with concern. And then the dream was over. I woke up in the hotel’s bed and rolled over to look at the door. I didn’t see Cole anywhere, but I could hear angry voices from outside the suite’s door. I got up slowly, but even that gave me a head rush. I tried to creep towards the door so that they wouldn’t be able to hear me over their muffled shouting. I finally crossed the room and was able to put my ear to the door. “She’s fine, she’s asleep,” said Cole. “She’s not supposed to be here this long. Are you trying to seduce her or something? That’s not part of the plan.” I didn’t recognize this voice but I assumed it was Alek. “She’s not a pet, Cole, we can’t keep her around for our own amusement. We just need her to get us into Court, and then we kill her,” scolded Damian. “I understand that,” snapped Cole. “I was just trying to get her to trust me. This bloodwhore compulsion bullshit only gets us so far.” “If you want her to trust you, convince her you’re her boyfriend or something,” said the unfamiliar voice. “Do you understand how stupid that sounds? We’re not actually compelling her; we don’t have the magic for that.” “Just get her high enough that the only thing she’ll want to do is stick around and help us,” ordered Damian. “The only reason she freaked out is because we only bit her once before. It wasn’t enough to get her to follow us completely.” “What? I’m supposed to just bite her every hour, on the hour?” “No, not necessarily. Just enough so that she’ll start asking you to bite her and you won’t have to force her hand anymore.” I couldn’t believe what I had heard. I was stunned, I couldn’t figure out where to go from there. I sat on the step before the door and looked at the room. I tried plotting my escape, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it. How had they bitten me before? When I was asleep? On the train? So much was going on in my mind that I almost didn’t hear the door open behind me, but I was still too stunned to react. “Claire,” Cole sounded surprised. “You’re awake, good. Are you feeling better?” He walked over so that he was crouched in front of me, looking for a reaction. I decided to try and fake my way out of this. I looked at him and smiled, trying my best to look drunk or stoned. “I’m feeling fine, why?” “You just didn’t seem like yourself earlier.” He was choosing his words carefully, wary of my current attitude. “Really? That’s strange,” I tried my best to look innocently confused.

[alive-and-afraid]

Markiplier Lore, notes.

WARNING SPOILERS!! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN WHO KILLED MARKIPLIER!!

So, I’m re-watching most of Marks lore stuff because of AHWM, and these are a bunch of interesting notes,tidbits and conversations from Who Killed Markiplier? ,that stood out to me. I hope they help! PS;there is a really good Game Theory episode on Marks lore stuff that you should watch if you haven’t already. Click Here!

Markiplier Lore   Who Killed Markipler?

Asshole Mark says-Life is for the living!, and who knows...I could be dea tommorow! (He knows?) Lightning flashes whenever they say "Murder". The butler says-I'll talk to the other guests. With you, Abe, the Mayor and the Chef in the same room. The only one left is the Colonel, one person, one guest. The Colonel doesn't seem that upset about Marks death. It says "KILL" in the top right corner of the "little buddy" camera next to where it says "SECURITY CAM" as if it should say KILL CAM Abe says- it's almost like this whole shindig of a hootnany was a ruse..." From Wilford "motherloving" Warfstache we know everything goes black and white for Abe's inner monologue. Mark was stabbed 37 times as well as being poisened, beaten,strangled, shot and drowned.In that order. Sure as shit wasn't an accident. Mark and Colonel had a falling out. Colonel- "Life needs a bit of madness,eh,chap?" Colonel-"Well,i'm sure I'm not the first to say that our host had a great deal of enemies as of late. My prying eye might suspect that the people who worked for them might have reason to stabe him in the back. God knows he's a tough son of a bitch to work for." Mayor-"...or worse yet...Mayhaps our counting skills aren't as good as we assume them to be.And mayhaps.... in the shadows of this manor, unseen to any of us, lay hidden...a muderer." Colonel- "I will not be called a muderer in my own home!" Wasn't this Asshole Marks house? Celene-" There's more to this world than you could possibly hope to find, My eyes are open to just a small part of it." Celine-" I've never been very comfortable in this house mut now that i've had my eyes opened, something tells me this hous is surrounded by dark forces." The Groundskeeper doesn't want to go into the house. Abe-Madness..wanna talka about madness? Madness is stealing your best friends wife! Then sqeazing him dry to pay for your sexual expliots with that very woman! Madness is plotting the death of you childhood friend because you cant handle the.." Colonel- It was an accident,I swear!" Paper on the type writer in the office says "the colonel did it the colonel did it the colonel did it" etc Post-it notes in the office say- DON'T TRUST THE SEER and SPIRIT WORLD! Asshole's body (with eyeliner on) says- It's nor fair, isn't it? Damien (mayor) and Celine appear surrounded in red and blue Damien-He took everything from us.He trapped us in here with this broken shell and no way out. Celine-its true. this whole time I thought it was the house but..I never thought he'd fall this far. Damien-and we played right into his hands.He'd been planning this for years and noe that son-of-a-bitch is walking around in my body!- Celine-Damien, we CAN'T do this right now. (to us) Look,I know you have questions and I cant answer everything right now. Just know that Mark (Asshole Mark) took everything from us for his twisted quest of vengeance.But death does not mean the same thing here. Damien-What Celine means by that is..this doesnt have to be the end. Your trapped in here just the same as us, but your body..broken as it may be is still out there. Celine-Mark's not the only one who can use this place to his benefit.The same way that I brought you here,is the same way I can send you back. Damien-But you can't survive on your own.You're dead after all. The Colonel saw to that. Celine-You can't blame him. Honestly, he's a good man.But he's...dangerouse now. Damian-I know this all sounds crazy, and honestly I have no idea what the fuck is going on...But i know that I can trust Celine, and if you trust us.. Just...let me in, we can fix this.Together. Celine-I wont force this on you.You have a choice here.Just know that this is the only way that you can escape. (nod) Celine-Just relax. Damian-This'll work.Promise. The colonel has red suspenders on under his coat. Colonel-...I..I..thought you were dead! I-I-I mean,of course your not dead! You're not-how could you be dead?I mean,I-I wouldn't of killed you..I-I didn't kill you. Imean of course I-I.Of course! I didnt kill anybody I didn't-. (laughing) it was all a joke! Of course it was all a joke! Were you in on this?! Did Damian put you up to this? Of course he did! Damian,where are you, you rapscallion!? Where are you? Celine? Ah, its time to come out now! It was good, It was good. You almost had me! Ha! ha,ha...Celine? Our hand reaches towards Damiens cane, flickering between a mans and a womans. Red and Blue. You look up into the mirror and see Damiens body...wearing eyeliner. The figure cracks his neck and the mirror breaks...turning red and blue. He gives you an evil stare and walks away wtith your body leaving you with a view of the mirror. Abe/Detective-Colonel...(coughing) if you can hear this..You better run.

Happy Theorizing!

[haleyreads4you]

No Laughing Matter

Why Gotham’s Crown Prince of Crime Doesn’t Deserve a Backstory

If you haven’t heard, DC is releasing a new live action movie entitled The Joker, scheduled to be released on October 4th later this year.  The movie is supposed to take us on a journey to see the beginning of this notorious villain, and hopefully give a better understanding on why he is the way he is. Usually this is fantastic! Villains, bad guys, antagonist, whatever you call them, are always so much more interesting when you get to see the reasoning behind their actions, and after all the Joker has done, who wouldn’t want to know. The short answer, is me. 

The longer answer, (which I’m about to give you,) is that honestly, no real DC or Batman fan should want to see a Joker backstory. Believe it or not, he actually has one already, and I promise you it’s not going to be the one you see in the movie. It simply isn’t that complex. If you can’t tell, I am a huge DC, (especially the Batfam,) fan, and if you’re not that’s okay! I’m honestly shocked if you read this far without being a DC fan. Nonetheless, I’m going to be giving as much background as I possibly can to flush out my points throughout this, so you don’t have to possess prior knowledge. Now, I will not claim to be an expert on DC, or Batman, and especially not on the Joker himself, but I do like to think I know quite a bit. That being said, if I miss something, or get the facts wrong, feel free to refute me! A huge point of all these dumb essays I’m writing is to get the conversation going! Now with all the logistics and introductions out of the way, here’s why I think the Joker doesn’t deserve his own movie (or back story.)

The Joker is arguably the most famous of Batman’s rogues. With countless reiterations, and big name stars playing him in adaptation after adaptation, it’s no wonder that he’s built up a name for himself. Not only that, but the Joker is one villain whose actions we simply can’t explain. We know Two-Face, AKA Harvey Dent, was seriously disfigured after a man he prosecuted threw acid on his face, destroying his lucky coin in the process. The incident made him crazy, and he wrecks havoc on the city with his destroyed coin asking people “heads or tails?” We know Mr. Freeze, AKA Victor Fries, became a criminal after a failed attempt to save his terminally ill wife left him with sub-zero body temperatures, forcing him to wear the cryo suit forever. His involvement with crime is him still attempting to raise funds to find a cure for her. We know one of my personal favorites, Scarecrow, AKA Dr. Jonathan Crane, an ex psychology professor at Gotham University remains obsessed with the idea of fear and phobias. He now uses the citizens of Gotham as his lab rats to test his ever evolving fear toxin. I could keep going on, (Batman has an impressive rogue gallery,) but the point is we know why all the villains do the things that they do. We don’t know that for the Joker, and out of all of Batman’s rogues, he’s the one that continues to commit the most heinous crimes of all. It leaves us all asking why? Why does he do the things he does? It even leaves Batman stumped. Heck, it leaves other villians stumped!! Ra’s Al Ghul, head of the League of Shadows, has said he doesn’t like working with the Joker, because he’s wild and unpredictable. According to this logic, the Joker should be first in line to get his own back story.

To find the reason why he shouldn’t we have to look pretty far back in this character’s history. When the Joker first appeared in the Batman comics, he never appeared simply as “the Joker.” Multiple iterations of this simplistic “backstory” have been done, and can also be seen as far back as Batman: Year One, (even though the “Joker” himself is not actually featured,) but each time the Joker always appears, it is always first as an unassuming lowlife calling himself “the Red Hood.” This is so freaking important to how the Joker impacts the characters around him, and I’ll tell you why soon, but I can almost guarantee you it is not going to be in the new Joker film. Not only is this Red Hood portion of the Joker’s career important for reasons to be later explained, but it’s also important that in multiple, though not all, iterations of the Joker’s introduction it’s Batman’s fault. Not inherently of course. Batman always catches the Red Hood in some kind of factory, (a popular location is a playing card factory,) and in an attempt to catch him, the Red Hood always ends up falling into a vat of acid. This is the vat of acid that of course warps his appearance, (the white skin, green hair, and red lips,) and what ultimately drives him mad. In how he actually gets in the vat, well sometimes he jumps on purpose, because he’s been cornered by the Bat, sometimes he just slips, and Bruce is too late to catch him, but either way it’s always something that weighs on Bruce. It’s another reason on top of Batman’s no kill policy that he can’t bring himself to end the Joker. Despite paralyzing Barbra Gordon as Batgirl and murdering his son, Bruce can’t end the Joker, because he partly feels like the Joker is his fault. It’s his mess that he made, and a mess that he has to fix.

This introduction of the Joker as the Red Hood and tying his creation to a young emerging Batman is so important to the characters’ relationships to each other throughout their still changing course of comic history, that to negate it with this upcoming movie is almost like recreating a brand new villain. It is also important to note that because the Joker started out as a masked criminal, he remains a John Doe to this very day in comic history. This is crucial to not understanding the Joker, (an important aspect of his character,) because any time a new rogue pops up, Bruce tries his damndest to learn their real identity. Identifying the person beneath the horror helps him better know what angle to work at when going up against them, as well as what to look for, and realizing that violence usually isn’t the best answer for dealing with them. By keeping the Joker a John Doe, it keeps not only us, the audience, in the dark about trying to understand this psychotic character, but the characters in universe in the dark as well. By not knowing the Joker’s past or intentions, it actually makes him scarier, because it leaves him unpredictable, and, in a sense, strips him of his humanity. By giving this character an actual identity, you destroy the mysterious unknown behind the character, make him human enough than an audience can relate to him, and almost, in a sense, strip him of what makes him a good villain in the first place.

Now my last, and what I personally view as one of the most important reasons, on why the Joker really shouldn’t have his own movie, is because it would destroy his tragically beautiful connection to Jason Todd. If you missed it earlier, I briefly mentioned that the Joker killed Bruce’s son, and that was because I planned to go more in depth now.

I need to stop referencing material that hasn’t been written yet. If you don’t know, Jason Todd is the second character to take on the mantle of Robin. Yes, there was more than one Robin. As of current day material, there are four officially recognized holders of the mantle, (sorry Stephanie,) in the order of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, and the current only blood son of Burce, Damian Wayne. Jason was taken in by Bruce off of Crime Alley, after he was found trying to steal the cars off of the Batmobile. Officially adopting him as his own and taking him under his wing, Bruce soon hands the mantle of Robin to Jason as Dick had recently left, and the two take to the streets fighting crime and punching bad guys. Unfortunately, this doesn’t last very long, and Jason ends up beaten nearly to death by the Joker with a crowbar in an abandoned warehouse before the Joker blows it up, seconds before Bruce arrives. Oh no. (There’s a very iconic picture of Bruce holding Jason’s dead body, if you google “batman a death in the family.) This was an absolutely pivotal part to Bruce’s character. How Bruce acts after the death of Jason had been unseen before. He became violent and angry, and almost crossed the line he swore to himself he’d never cross. Jason’s death is a staple in DC comic lore.

That isn’t the important part here though. The important part is what comes after. See, 95% of the time, if a character dies in the DC Universe, it’s not for very long, because comics. A couple of years later, Jason is brought back to life via the Lazarus Pit with the help of the League of Assassins. As I’m writing this, it is one in the morning, and I am too tired to explain why the Shadows were involved. If you’re really interested, there’s a crap ton of information on it on wikis and stuff, so it won’t be hard to find. Anyways, Jason comes back to life really messed up and in a murderous rage. He heads back to Gotham to hunt down Bruce but this time not as Jason Todd, not as Robin, but as the Red Hood. It’s perfect cinematic poetry! Yes, cinematic!! Under the Red Hood is one of the most famous comic books about Jason Todd’s return, as well as arguably one of the best DC animated films of all time! But that’s not the point. The point is, that Jason Todd comes back from the dead, and the alias he takes up is the same alias that his killer once owned. Jason does eventually kind of come back to the “good side” as a sort of anti hero, but the parallels between him and the Joker are gorgeous. Both driven mad after being thrown into a vat of mysterious liquid, except for where it was the Joker’s before, it’s Jason’s after. The idea of a young boy being beaten to death, only to come back and take the name of his killer should shake you to your core. Not only that, but imagine Bruce’s horror when he realizes there’s another terror ripping through his city bearing the same name his arch nemesis first wore. And that’s before he even realizes it’s his resurrected son! You can’t dismiss writing like that, especially when it comes to comic books! DC especially, openly admitted that its story lines take place in the multiverse, which basically means anything goes. That’s where you get stories like The Flashpoint Paradox and Crisis on Two Earths. The fact that this idea of the Red Hood being passed down from the Joker to Jason seems to be a universal constant cannot be overlooked. By giving the Joker a more in depth backstory that strays from the one that currently exists, you rip that hard work out of the author’s hands, as well as destroy an impactful connection between some of the Batman Universe’s best and most complex characters.

This whole thing ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, so thank you if you made it to the end. All of this being said, I stand by my opinion that out of all that characters in the DC universe, the Joker should be at the end of the line to get his own movie. Will I still end up seeing it in theatres? The jury’s out right now. I’m a broke college kid living in New York; there are more things I want to see than a movie I don’t think should exist. I might watch it one day, as the assumption that all of these points won’t be made in the movie is made purely off of the trailers and not the content of the film itself. If I ever do watch it, y’all will be the first to know, but until then this is where I stand. Don’t let this ruin the film for you if you planned on going to go watch it. Like stated in the beginning, these are all my own opinions, and I prefer the comics to the movies. The movies can also be seen as existing in their own realm, and in that case none of my points stand at all. It’s up to you to make your own judgement.

But ask yourself this, as you sit down in the theatre with a large tub of popcorn. What do you think people will benefit from trying to see into the mind of the one of the world’s most famous psychopath?

[gobydana]

Liar part 2

A/N: There is a three year time skip between Liar and this part. The reader is still living in London at the beginning. Warning this is long. I almost split it in two. The problem was were I was going to split it would just leave more angst. Sorry the end got a bit rushed. 

Part 1

Y/N came home late to their flat. Groaning their kicked off their work shoes and headed to the kitchen with their takeout. Rounding the corner they about jumped when they saw Jon sitting on the table.

“I see you still work stupid late hours.” Jon replied while munching on a muffin he must have found in the flat. 

“Says a superhero.” Y/N replied while sitting down. “No warnings anymore when you come?”

Ever since Y/N left, Jon tried to visit once or twice a year. He had to be sneaky so that Damian would not find out. He swore he never told anyone where they were. Well minus Lois. He gave updates on all the teammates minus Damian, so it hurt them too much. 

“Emergency reasoning.” 

Y/N quickly shot up with worried plaster all over their face. 

“Is Damian okay? He didn’t die did he? Why didn’t you call me!” 

“Physically he is okay. His wife umm well she cheated on him often with a new person. They are going to get a divorce. He is going to need all the support he can get.”

Y/N just sat there unable to process it. All they could think about was how happy Damian was whenever he was with him. 

“When is the next flight to Gotham?” Y/N said as they abandoned their food. They were already texting their boss saying a family matter arose and would be gone for a bit. By the time Jon caught up to them, a bag was already out and clothes getting thrown in it. 

“Here I had a whole speech ready to convince you to come back to Gotham. Wast of time. I can get us there quicker then a flight.” 

With that the two of them packed quick. No matter that it had been three years without so much as a peep from Damian, in the end he was their best friend. He was going to need both Jon and them there for him. 

Y/N had a small duffel packed and ready to go. Jon flew as quick as he could. The deal was to leave Y/N in Gotham. From there they would talk to Bruce. Damian was taking missions to keep him distracted, but was due back tomorrow. Bruce might be able to get him to stay put for a bit. The big question would be if Damian even wanted to see Y/N after all this time. 

They got to Gotham by early morning. Y/N asked Jon to let them down near their old place. They wanted to walk around their home for a bit before facing an angry bird. 

Not much had changed in the time they were gone. Gotham was still Gotham. While most people hated the city, to them it brought some peace. They ventured to the docks to kill some time. There old memories came floating back. 

The first patrol they did together was at these docks. Robin insisted upon doing it by himself. Y/S/N just sat on the roof nearby until he got himself in a sticky situation. Then they came to save his ass. Of course him being him, no thank you. Over the years they had learned never to except it from him. 

Slowly though they came to a pattern. Y/N always brought the snacks for stake outs. Robin use to say that they had so many snack that there was no way anything useful was in their utility belt. Yet he would always swipe something. Time spent on the roof as he moaned and complained about the latest addition to the team. Both of you would take turns ranting about the family treating you like babies. Dick was always super protective. 

It was on the roof of the warehouses that they would meet up after both sneaking out. They would play tag when killing time. More often then not they would race to see who would get there first. Making things a competition was a favorite past time of theirs. 

Y/N was drawn out of their daydream by the smell of smoke and screaming. It didn’t matter they hadn’t put on a uniform in over three years. Their senses kicked into auto pilot. They ran towards the sounds. 

What appeared to be an abandoned warehouse was up in flames. The fire was growing quick. A child about 12 was coming out of the smoke. 

“Who is all in there” Y/N called as they ran towards them. 

“Some kids are still in there. A lot of us were sleeping there tonight when a trash fire got knocked over.” The kid said between coughing. No doubt the smoke would kill all the kids before the fire reached them. 

“Here is my phone. Call 911 and get as far away as possible, but still close for the medics. Find any other kids around this area. I will get the ones out of the building.” Y/N said as they rushed towards the fire. Whatever response the kid said was drown out as they got closer. 

There was still an opening. Y/N directed the kids they saw get out towards the older kid with their phone. Once in the building the smoke was thick. This time they had no mask to help them. Only covering their face with their shirt. 

They saw a few young kids behind some barrels, no doubt too young and scared to know what to do. Quickly they grab the kids and ran as quick as possible outside. Once outside the kids raced to where other kids were out. Y/N kept this up. 

After the third trip out with kids, they saw Damian. Only instead of the Robin outfit, he was wearing Nightwing. Their eyes met for a quick second before Y/N ran back inside to get more kids. Damian ran after them. 

He meet up with Y/N as they came down some stairs, with a 3 and 5 year old clingy to them. 

“What are you doing!” Damian yelled

“Take these kids outside. There is one left and I know where he is.” Y/N yelled back while coughing. 

“You are going to get yourself killed! You have no protection.” Damian yelled back as he took the kids. 

“Trust me!” Y/N replied before running back. 

Damian ran out quick to Batman. He handed the two kids to the medics. All of the sudden a loud crash could be heard as part of the building collapse. He went to run towards it. Batman held him back. 

“Father let me go. Y/N is in there.” Damian said as he struggled against the bat to get loose. His eyes filled with horror as he saw the entrance was gone. 

“You can’t go in there. Until the fire department can control the blaze you will get killed.” Batman replied. 

“No. I lost Y/N once, it is not happening again. I don’t care.” Damian replied as he finally got out of the bats hold. He ran as fast as he could towards the building. Batman ran after him despite the yelling from firemen on not to go in the building. 

He got through some burning parts to the inside. Once there he saw Y/N struggling to keep going with a kid in their arms. The kid was facing them so not to inhale as much smoke. Y/N on the other hand could barley walk as the coughing got too bad. Parts of their arm had burns where they most have caught on fire only to be put out quickly. Ash covered their face and body. 

Y/n saw Damian and Batman who had caught up to them. They handed the kid to the bat as they finally passed out due to the smoke they inhaled. They struggled to keep their eyes open. 

“Y/N, Y/N” they heard Damian yelling. 

Next thing they knew they felt like they were floating. 

“You are not coming back after three years only to die on me now. Please stay awake please. I promise I won’t be mad you left. I will even take you out for all the ice cream you want. I will get Alfred to make your favorite cookies and not let anyone else eat them.” Damian promised as he ran with Y/N in his arms. He would promise them the world if that meant they wouldn’t die. 

Y/N could feel being put on a something hard and other voices. After that everything went black. 

Y/N could hear voices but couldn’t open their eyes. 

“Why were they back Jon. Tell me. I know you know why they left.” Y/N faintly heard. It sounded like Damian’s voice. The next one sounded like Jon. 

“They are going to kill me if I do.”

“Kent” 

“Nope”

“I will tell your mother you kept a secret from her.”

“I told her, I ain’t stupid.”

“Kent”

“No way”

“You always tell me not to lie to you.”

“Fine only because they will never tell you. They fell in love with you a long time ago. They saw how happy you were with your ex and didn’t want to ruin it, but seeing you get married was too hard. They have been living in London for the past three years working non-stop in hopes of forgetting the pain.” 

Y/N wanted to open their eyes and respond to Jon. Let him know that they knew where Bruce’s kryponite was and were not afraid to use it. They couldn’t though as the blackness consumed them once again. 

When they woke up again, all they could hear was snoring. It sounded like two people. Once again they struggled to open their eyes. Only this time they finally got them open. 

The first thing they noticed was the amount of pain they were in. One arm was bandaged completely. Most likely the one that got burnt. The good arm had Damian’s head on it. When they looked around they saw Jon there too hanging out of a plastic chair. 

They nudged their arm a little to get Damian’s attention. He jumped which made enough noise to wake Jon up. Both at once started talking. 

“Are you okay”

“How could you be so stupid to run into a burning building without backup”

Y/N pointed to the mask they were wearing to show that they couldn’t respond. Damian hit the nurse button so the mask could come off. 

The nurse came in and checked them over. He took the mask off and then turned around as he told Y/N to take it easy. No doubt that was also directed to the two boys. Judging by their looks, they had been in the hospital for awhile now. 

“How long have I been out?” Y/N asked. Their voice quiet. They found talking hurt. Jon handed them a glass. 

“Two weeks. You might not want to talk a lot. Focus on recovering.” Jon said. 

Damian just stared at Y/N. 

“Just yell at me, or something already” Y/N said while looking at Damian. The suspension was horrible. 

“Kent was right focus on healing. We have a lot to talk about, but rather you be better.”

“I know you are mad.” Y/N replied. 

“You should have told me.” was Damian’s response. 

Y/N went to argue only to be cut off by Damian. Jon just sat back in the chair ready to intervene when needed. 

“You are my best friend. Weren’t you the one who always told me to work on talking about my feelings to others? Instead you went and hide yours from me. Then to run off for three years without a word? Do you know how much that hurt? I come back to find out you are gone and no one knows where you went. Only father and Kent knows and the two are too stubborn. Both just tell me you needed to work things out. Next time I see you, you are being stupid and running into burning buildings. The same person who always told me to have backup is doing something that is going to get themselves killed. How do you think I felt when I finally saw you again only to about lose you? You flat line on the way over. The doctors said chances weren’t good due to the amount of smoke you took in. Todd smokes and still probably had less smoke in his lungs then you.” 

“Are the kids okay” was Y/N only response. 

Jon face palmed. “Yes” 

“That’s all you have to say after everything.” Damian about yelled. Surprisingly no nurse had come to check out the yelling yet. 

“I didn’t want to make anything worse for you. I am sorry.” Y/N finally responded after a few minutes of awkward silence. 

“Well I wish you did. Maybe I wouldn’t have married a woman who cheats and only wanted me for my money. Then I wouldn’t have almost lost my best friend who I was stupid enough to not know I loved the whole time. “

At those words Y/N froze. 

“Finally” Jon yelled. He about fell out of his seat with excitement. 

Both Damian and Y/N gave him an evil glare. If looks could kill, he would be in trouble. 

“I am going to umm go let Bruce know you are up” Jon said as he went out the door. 

As Jon left, Y/N yawned and struggled to stay awake. 

“Go to sleep. You need to rest.” Damian said. With that Y/N was fast asleep. 

When they awake again, the whole bat clan was in the hospital room. They wonder if there was a rule on how many people could be in one room. No doubt they broke it already. 

It was jumble of people talking all at once. Bruce and Damian told everyone to be take it slow. The rest of the day was spent catching up on all that happened in the three years. Everyone was happy to see them back. Many said they weren’t letting Y/N sneak back to London. 

After everyone left, Bruce and Damian stayed behind. The three of them talked on what to do next. They decided it was best for Y/N to stay at the manor until they healed completely. Damian even offered to stay behind from patrol with them. 

Jon later told Y/N that when they were still unconscious in the hospital, Bruce and Damian got into a an argument.  Dick had to keep them separated. Damian was mad that Bruce knew and never told him. He couldn’t get over being left in the dark. He even almost punched Jon at first. It was only once they were awake that Damian finally started talking to his father again. 

The next few weeks was filled with lots of visitors and recovery. While in the hospital, it seemed all their old teammates came to visit. Everyone was happy to see the two together. 

Staying at the manor allowed more time to heal. There were enough people to help out when Y/N needed it. Damian watched them like a hawk. Everyone of the doctors orders had to be followed. It was funny seeing as he never followed orders to take it easy. 

During that time, Damian also had his divorce court dates. Jon and Y/N were there the whole time. The ex tried to take a lot from him, but they forgot Bruce had her sign a prenup when they got married. The League also kicked her out. 

Bruce offered Y/N a job as a lawyer at Wayne Enterprise. They took it since they missed being back home in Gotham. Damian and them decided to move into the penthouse together. Jon became a frequent visitor. Between him and the batfamily, it was hard to get alone time. Y/N didn’t mind though, after three years it was great to not be alone anymore. 

Y/N never did pick up the cape again. The burn on their arm made it harder. The burn remained their whole life and often would hurt after a day of work. They did help out often though. The family called them the in-house detective. Often helping solve cases without needing to go out on the street. 

Both took things slow. They mainly enjoyed being around each other again. They had three years to make up. Sometimes Damian would take time off from both Wayne Enterprise and Nightwing to be with them. After almost losing them twice, he never wanted to waste time. 

Tagging:  @kyrra-chan

[fate-is-a-dick]

Tomorrow’s Past- A Little Boy in the Graveyard

Ok guys so this is my first time posting a fic in here and I’m nervous. I don’t know how to set it up and I don’t know the parameters to setting up a fic or anything.  

So this is a fic that I posted on Fanfic a long time ago.  While it’s not my first fic I’ve ever written it’s close to up there so please be gentle.

This story is part of a little series I did when Damian died.  Dick is grieving about Damian passing and Bruce is there to help with the process.

Genre: Angst and saddness

Warnings: mention of character death

Characters: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne

I look out the large window that is in my study. I look out to the graveyard. I look at a small gravestone that I know has the words 'Martha Wayne and Thomas Wayne' engraved into the stone. I look at a grave that once held the body of Jason, but is now empty. I turn away at the thought of what that man has become. That I turned him into the way he is now. I look back and find the tall gravestone the now lays atop of my only true biological son.

I see a form out there with it. I step out of my study and shrug on a coat. On days like these in Gotham, even if it is in the summer, you need a coat. It may be eighty-nine degrees outside, but with the wind it makes it feel sixty degrees. I walk out and the form gets bigger and turns into a shape. A man. No a boy.

I see a little boy that is nine years old. Doing back flips in the backyard. Handstands on the lawn gnomes. Making Alfred laugh at his antics. I get closer and see my older son, Dick Grayson, on his knees in front of the grave. I reach out to put a hand on his shoulder, but I falter. When my hand finally reaches his shoulder he doesn't jump like some people would. He knew I was there even before I put my hand on him. He looks straight ahead. I see tears stain his cheeks.

This is the first time I've seen him here in a month. He said that the reason he hadn't been here lately was because he was on a case. A Nightwing case. I know that's a lie. He can't really handle stuff like this. He barely went to his parent's grave when they died. In fact I don't think he even visited his parent's grave at all when they died.

Damian...Damian had gotten to us all. When he died it was like a dagger to all of our hearts. Not even eleven years old and already dead. Dying a hero's death. I never wanted that for him. I never wanted for him to be Robin. I didn't want him to turn out like Dick or Tim or...or Jason or me. But that wasn't really my choice in the beginning. Talia bred and trained him to be like me so he could turn into Robin, and when I die turn into Batman.

I get on my knees as well. Dick reaches his hand out and traces the engravement on the tall pinnacle. The words that read 'Damian Wayne 2003-2013 A Boy Who Fought Evil Every Night and Won' was inscribed into that stone forever, and now inscribed into our minds and hearts. I reach out as well and touch the marble, only the best for my little boy, but I don't trace the words like Dick does. I can feel the slight movement of Dick underneath my hand. He is sobbing for is brother. I would be too, but I've cried all that I have cried for this little boy and I know if he was here right now he wouldn't want me to cry for him.

"Dick." I say.

"I'm not ready yet Bruce."

"Ok son take your time."

We stay there for a couple more minutes before he speaks up again.

"Damn it Damian. How could you do this to us you little demon? You weren't supposed to die first. You were supposed to pass us all. Not end up like Jason. You were supposed to kill him, not have him kill you. It wouldn't have mattered to me or Bruce if you would have just blown him to smithereens. You know I've let it by a time or two when it endangered our lives when we were Batman and Robin. It would have been ok as long as you came back home to us."

Dick reach forward making my hand slip off his shoulder. He hugged the Gravestone. He hugged his little brother.

"You were right Damian. We were the best. You were my favorite partner. Even when we crashed that wedding and you told me I had too much joy in me to be Batman."

I turn my head away from him, as I start to tear up.

"I was always there for you and you were always there for me. We had each other's back. You always had my back. I had your back too until the end. I didn't have your back that last time and you died, because of me. It's all my fault. If I would have been conscious-"

"Dick this is not your fault."

"Yes it is Bruce. If I would have been more careful I wouldn't have been knocked out, and me and Damian could have stopped the Heretic together. Instead I thought with my fists instead of my head, and because of that I cost Damian's life."

"Dick this wasn't your fault at all. This is mine. I chose my city over my son. If I could have a redo I would pick Damian every time over this hell hole. I wasn't fast enough. When I got out of that safe, I came as fast as I could. fast as i fe, i ether. I…I just wasn't … fast enough. I hate myself for that."

At that point I duck my head and start to cry. I couldn't help it. Just the thought that I could have saved him but I didn't sent me over the edge.

"Bruce it's alright. We are both to blame. But we shouldn't be mad at ourselves we should be mad at Talia and the Heretic. The only good thing that came out of this though is that they are both dead."

I look up at him and pull him into a hug. Except when I hug him I don't hug the man that took my place when I was 'dead'. Instead I hug a little boy who used to crawl into my bed when he had nightmares. I hug a little boy that used to always end up under my arm asleep when we were watching movies.

I pull away from him and hold him at arm's length and again I see a little boy. I see that same little boy with tears streaming down his face when his parents died.

I look into his eyes and not only do I see a little boy, but I also see myself in him. I see myself when I was eight years old in that alley crying for my parents. I see myself when Jason died.

I can't turn out like I did when Jason died though. I can't let Dick turn out like that either.

"Come on Dick lets go inside. Alfred is almost done with lunch, and you know how he hates us being late for any kind of 'family gatherings' when everyone's here." I said as I got up from my kneeling position. I hold out my hand and he takes it and I pull him up.

"I think the only reason he wants us early is because when we're early we're crankier and when we're crankier we fill up the swear jar really quickly." Dick said. We both laugh, because we both know it's true.

We get half way to then manor when Dick stops.

"Oh I almost forgot." Dick said pulling something out of his jacket. He runs back over to Damian's grave and placed a picture and a video game down. The picture was of Dick and Damian. Dick had his arm around Damian's shoulder trying to hug him and Damian had a disgusted look on his face. In the corner of the picture you can see Damian taking out a knife from his pocket. I assume from that picture that that was how Dick got that nasty cut on his forehead.

Dick runs back over to me and I smile at him.

"Me and Dami planned to play the new Swordwalkers game. I thought it was only fair I put that down on his grave instead of just flowers that he would've hated and that would have died anyways." Dick said as I take my hand from out of coat pocket and put it around his shoulder.

"Dick."

"Yes Bruce."

"I want to say this before it's too late. I love you. I never said that to any of you before, but now I am. I love you."

"Bruce I know. In fact we all knew. Even Damian and Jason knew. And you know what?"

" What?"

"We love you right back."

I smile and stare up at the window of Jason's room. In the window I see a man cleaning off his guns. He walks away from the window. I know he is going down stairs. Even Jason is scared of being late to lunch.

Thank you for reading!! I hope you like it!!

[itispossibleihaveissues]

And Who By Fire - chapter 17

Pairing: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Permanent injury, amputation, behavioural changes due to brain injury, dysfunctional relationships [big shock, I know] I will put any extras at the beginning of each chapter.

Summery:  Both Dick and Jason are caught in an explosion that changes everything. Burdened with a shared sense of guilt and isolation, they are forced to rely on each other. Together they might heal. Or possibly just kill each other.

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 15 16

Thanks to burkesl17 for the beta!

Notes: This is for Iamjasonssmirkingrevenge and is also all her fault.

Jason spent a few long moments standing stock still in the ruins of his living-room. He was completely emotionally unprepared for this confrontation; he had no idea what he wanted to say – what he could say . He was exhausted in every possible way, the small boost he had felt from uninterrupted sleep had evaporated, to be replaced with a sickening bubble of adrenalin sitting in his gut. And to top it off, he was poorly balanced on a pair of crappy-ass crutches. On the upside, at least the house was already mostly destroyed, so no need to worry on that account.

Of course Bruce would turn up as Batman, and in typical Batman fashion, he just seemed to materialise from thin air. Stepping out of the shadows of Jason's own bedroom while Jason still stood in the living room clutching his phone and leaning heavily on his crutches.  The fact it was his bedroom just added insult to injury. If he came out of this confrontation in one piece he was going to have to look into better security.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” Bruce said, by way of greeting. His gravely voice all Bat and all business. Just the tone was enough to straighten Jason's spine. He hated it, the quiet rage.

When he had been Robin, he had seen Bruce mad, seen him scornful and harsh – but Batman never struck him in anger. They spared, and he didn’t always hold back, and  Jason felt those punches like he was meant to. Because the bad guys wouldn’t be pulling their punches just because he was a kid. He had never feared Bruce's anger in a physical sense, but he had feared his disappointment, his disapproval and his disinterest. It galled him to know that even after everything, the same was still true.

“I was going to tell you,” Jason said at last, opting for a vague sense of honesty. He was already stripped bare. And there was likely nothing he could say that would stop this from reaching its inevitable conclusion.

“Really.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes, really! I just didn’t know how. How do you say something like that?”

“That’s never been an issue for you in the past.”

Batman flowed towards him, cape moving sinuously behind him. His jaw was clenched with rage. Jason suspected it would only take a nudge or two to push him over into violence. Like father like son. Tim was the only one of them he had never seen lose his shit and start swinging his fists when pushed. The girls at least seemed to have more control over their uglier emotions – well, Babs had bashed him on the head a time or two, but that was fairly controlled bursts of irritation rather than the irrational fury Dick, Bruce and Jason himself seemed to fall into. Not to mention Damian, who was shaping up to be a real chip off the old block too.

There was a time, when pushing Bruce to that limit was the highlight of Jason’s week. When he had first come back, having Bruce’s attention and causing him to lose control was the only thing that made the chaos in his mind ease. It had been easy to do – he just had to go after the family. Tim had been easy, Dick more challenging in a fight, Jason could admit that he rarely won when going toe to toe with him – but it had riled Bruce to unreasonable levels.

He had wanted the violence, the quiet fury, because even back then, the truth was, words hurt more than fists. And when it came verbal warfare, Bruce was an expert at landing precise and debilitating blows. Jason suspected he was going to get a taste of that tonight.

“You surprise me, Jason. You never seemed like a person to enjoy charity, you certainly didn’t as a child. But here you are, living off my dime, enjoying the best rehabilitative care money can buy, when you are the one who caused your disability in the first place.”

Now that hurt. Because he was right and yet so wrong at the same time, and Jason couldn't find the words to explain how he ended up here, living off Bruce. It wasn’t because he needed charity, it wasn’t even that he needed help, if he had to go it alone, he would.

He was here because of Dick, and guilt and despair.

And love, somewhere under the mess, that was at the heart of what kept him here.

Jason was aware that he had a tendency to lash out when he felt cornered, when he felt attacked. And he could pretty much give as good as he got. But he barely had it in him today. “You’re a piece of work, Bruce,” he managed at last. “You act all holier than thou with me, but there's such spite in you. You know how to make your words really sting.” He laughed, and it sounded on the edge of madness. “Must be where Dickiebird gets it from, two peas in a fucked up hateful pod.”

“Don’t you dare talk about him,” Bruce growled, advancing. His boots crunched in the broken glass like t he precursor to a death knell. “You destroyed his life!”

“It was an accident!” Jason yelled back, he could feel his control slipping. He’d lost it in everything else in his life, why not himself, too? He teetered on the edge.

“It should never have happened!” Bruce said.

Jason let go another bitter, warbly laugh. “Yeah? Well there’s plenty that should never have happened. I’m a walking talking example of that!”

“Yes, you are.”

God he just wanted Bruce to hit him and stop with the words, it was stunning how alike they were sometimes. He might mock the similarity between Dick and Bruce, but damn if he wasn’t the worst offender himself.

And with that thought, came the rush of anger, soothing in its familiar intensity. This wasn’t even about Bruce, it was about Dick. “And where have you been, huh?” Jason said, his voice just a little too loud and wild. Despite everything he had done and despite everything Bruce had done for them – Jason realised he was mad at him. He didn’t deserve Bruce's respect after what he had done, sure. But Dick did, and Tim did. And Bruce had failed them. Again. “You talk about charity, but other than throwing money at us you haven’t done squat for Dick since he got hurt. He’s no use to you now he’s too broken to help in your crusade? What about Tim? Do you know how traumatised he was after the blast? He put you and your mission before Dick and himself, that’s fucked up!”

“You know nothing about Tim,” Bruce growled.

“I know nothing about Red Robin, I know plenty about Tim. You ever considered the impact of what happened on him? On Damian?”

“If you hadn’t blown Dick up, it wouldn’t be an issue at all.”

“Yeah, but I did , Bruce! That’s the thing. Do I regret it with every fibre of my being? Yeah. Would I do anything to fix it?” Jason's arm made an aborted gesture, almost letting go of the crutches and sending him flying. “I would give up my life in heartbeat if I could restore Dick to the way he was before. But I can’t, and done is done.”

He closed his eyes, breathing heavily.  He wasn’t ready for this, for the fucking pain of it. But that was nothing but the truth. And surprisingly, saying it steadied him, finally gave him a bit of control back. He had done a dumb, stupid and terrible thing. He couldn’t undo it. He had to accept that and do what he could from here.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Bruce, no, Batman was still there, still radiating icy fury. “There is nothing I can do to change what happened,” Jason said again. “All I can do is try to do what I can to make amends.”

“You can go to jail, Jason. For murdering that dealer. And for blowing up my son.”

Jason clenched his teeth, this was typical Bruce, he didn’t seem able to grasp it wasn’t about making amends to him . “If that’s what Dick wants. Then I’ll go, but I won’t on your say so.”

“You will ,” Bruce said. He was using his Bat voice, and that hurt, deep down. Jason didn’t want to have this discussion with an impersonal vigilante.

“It’s not up to you, it’s about Dick and what he wants from me,” Jason said again , because Bruce didn’t seem to be able to grasp the concept.  

“And the dealer who died in the explosion? They found his teeth embedded in the wall, Jason.”

“The building was fucking empty when I rigged it. He wasn’t supposed to be there any more than Dick was,” Jason shrugged. Honesty probably wasn’t the best policy in this case, but Jason had literally run out of fucks to give. “To be perfectly honest, Bruce I really couldn’t give a crap about him. He was a forgettable waste of oxygen.”

“You sound like a sociopath, with such a flagrant disregard for life,” Bruce shot back.

“Well it takes one to know one, B. If we’re laying on the blame, how about you, huh? Would I be like this if you hadn’t trained me to fight on the streets as a kid? Put me into the path of real sickos like the Joker? Would Dick be in the other room with his brain scrambled all to hell if you hadn’t stuck him in the short pants before he even hit double digits? Who's really the fucked up psycho out of the two of us?”Jason all but shouted. He took a step forward, so caught up in his rage he could barely even see straight.

Bruce shoved him back, a blow that in other circumstances wouldn’t have even rocked him on his heels, but unbalanced and precarious on his crutches, the force of it sent Jason toppling backwards onto his ass. He broke his fall slightly with an elbow and a flailing hand, cutting both in the shattered glass littering the floor.

Jason could feel humiliation burning his cheeks as he attempted to shove himself into a better position, cutting his palm further. Bruce was looking down at him, his face inscrutable behind the cowl. They both seemed too shocked by Jason's fall to know what to say or do.

Before either had a chance to rally and start throwing out further venom or punches, Dick dashed into the room and barrelled bodily into Bruce; the uncoordinated impact pushing him back a few steps making his boots grind against the glass on the floor alarmingly.

Taken by surprise, Bruce just seemed to stop himself before lashing out, a good thing in Jason's opinion or he would have to drag himself over there and punch his knees. Or shoot him, with the pistol that was strapped to the underside of the sofa.

“Leave him alone!” Dick yelled at Bruce. His face was a little puffy and his eyes were red. Jason couldn’t help but wonder how long he had been listening.

“Dick,” Bruce said, somewhat at a loss. “Do you know what he did?”

Dick nodded, sniffing wetly. “Yeah, he told me. He’s an asshole.” He stepped forward and shoved at Bruce again, although it lacked any force. “But that doesn’t mean you get to come in here and hit him. I already did, which I shouldn’t have done.” He clutched his hair, one of his very obvious signs of distress.

Jason could see the tension in Bruce's jaw, the sadness in the set of his mouth – he wanted to comfort Dick, that much was obvious, but he didn’t know how. Jason suddenly felt exhausted, tired and sad. He gave up trying to get his crutches and resigned himself to bleeding on the floor.

During the lull in the shouting, PB took the opportunity to emerge from Dick's room and scuttled across the floor into Jason's arms. He held it carefully, trying to avoid getting blood on its plumage.

“ Clunk fizz, ” PB said.

“Yeah,” Jason agreed absently while he pet it with his undamaged hand.

Dick stepped forward again. “Take off the cowl,” he demanded, drawing in a deep breath. “If you want to talk to him, or me about this stuff you doing as Bruce, not Batman.”

Bruce hesitated, but finally did as Dick asked, and pulled off the mask. His bare face looked more vulnerable, the lines of tension clear to see along with the maelstrom of emotion held in check behind his gaze.

Dick let out a soft, pained noise and threw himself into Bruce's arms, the impact staggered him again slightly, but he folded Dick into a hug that looked almost painful in its intensity.

“Dick,” Bruce said, his voice was full of emotion and confusion.

“Don’t put Jason in jail,” Dick said, proving that he had been listening for some time before exploding out of his room. His voice was muffled against Bruce's broad chest. Surrounded by Bruce’s impressive bulk he looked deceptively small in his superman sleep pants and one of Jason's old t-shirts.

“He deserves it,” Bruce rumbled, but the venom had gone out of his tone. He sounded exhausted too.

“Yeah he does,” Dick said, “and so do you. Me too. We all break the law. I know what he did was wrong, and a man died, but people have died because of our actions too – even if we didn’t mean it to happen.”

“It’s not quite the same, Dick. And what he did to you...” he trailed off.

“I know, I know what he did. And am fucking furious about it. But he told me, and that means a lot.”

“But-”

“ I deserve to go to jail, Bruce!” Dick burst out, flailing his arms. “I punched him because he ate my yogurt, I smashed a glass over his head because he changed over the channel and I beat him up with his own leg and threw it out the window.”

“You, what?” Bruce sounded honestly baffled.

“I beat him up with his own leg and threw it out he window. That’s why his face is all messed up and he’s on crutches.”

Bruce was looking at Dick in bewilderment, but there seemed to have been a shift in the atmosphere, it was still highly charged but it had lost the edge of insane fury of before, so Jason risked entering the conversation. “I deserved it, Dick,” he said.

“No!” Dick said forcefully, and then shrugged. “I mean, yes, you did, but deserving it and getting it are different. It’s domestic violence and I should be in jail. If I was anyone else, I would be, you would have seen to it.” That was directed at Bruce.

Bruce looked a little stumped; because Dick was clearly right, but also the circumstances were so complicated, it was hard to lay blame, or decide what the right course of action was.

But hey, at least Jason wasn’t going to jail, and Bruce didn’t seem like he was going to pummel him into the floor any more, Jason was getting a little tired of getting beat up.

Bruce seemed to be pondering, maybe reassessing now his fury had cooled. Jason and PB remained quietly on the floor, waiting to see how the dice landed.

“What do you want to do, Dick?” Bruce asked finally. “Things can’t stay like this, do you want me to move you somewhere else?” Back home to the manor was left unsaid.

“No, I want to stay here with Jason. But I need more help, to control my anger.”

“Why, Dick? After what he did? I know you’ve grown close, but surely the truth of what happened changes things?” To give Bruce credit, at least he was trying to understand Dick’s reasoning and not just vetoing on principal.

“No, I can forgive him, I think. Because it was an accident, and because I love him,” Dick said, after a moment's thought.

Jason was momentarily overwhelmed by the double whammy of the possibility that Dick might forgive him, and that he would just casually confess to being in love with him. Jason was under no illusions that wasn’t what he meant. It was slightly mind boggling.

But along with the rush of relief, affection and euphoria that was still tinged with guilt, came a sudden feeling of intense trepidation.

“I know you do,” Bruce said awkwardly.

And for one blissful moment, Jason allowed himself to believe that he knew the truth and he actually meant that. But reality was never that kind.  And nor was Bruce.

“He will still be your brother even with some distance, it might be good for you both.” Bruce said, he was right of course, it would be good for Dick to have some space, to work on controlling his emotions and to figure out if his affection could actually survive the truth of what Jason had done.

“No, I don’t want distance, I love him. I want to be with him romantically,” Dick said as he looked up at Bruce, who in turn looked flummoxed.  “I want to have sex with him,” Dick clarified, just in case he hadn’t fully got his message across.

There was a moment of silence, as Bruce digested that. And Jason took the opportunity to lay down fully, his head resting on a partially shredded copy of Guns and Ammo. PB climbed onto his face and peered at him with concern. But Jason just shut his eyes and waited for death.

“What, are you talking about?” Bruce said, and if his voice had been cold fury before, now it was practically glacial.

“We’re in a relationship,” Dick pressed on, oblivious or uncaring of the imminent explosion.

“You are in a relationship. A sexual relationship?” From the sound of his voice, Jason suspected Bruce was a hair’s breadth away from apoplexy.

“Sort of. Well, it would be, but Jason's impotent.”

“Oh my fucking God ,” Jason said, now praying for death rather than just waiting for it. “Is there anyone you haven’t mentioned that too? The mailman? Ms Singh from number 29? Mr. Harris form the neighbourhood association, maybe?”

“I haven’t been to the NA since they bared PB for calling Mr Wells a fuckbiscket.” Dick shot back, hotly. “But Ms Singh suggested Saw Palmetto and cumin as possible natural remedies.”

“ Why , Dick?” Jason said, everything about today was too fucking much.

“Because you love curry, and I’m terrible at cooking it, and Ms Singh is lonely and is giving me lessons in exchange for hanging out with PB and me when you’re at physio,” Dick said, defensively.

Despite the situation, Jason was kind of touched by that.

There was a crunching noise and Bruce moved stiffly towards a chair and sat. “This is completely unacceptable,” he said, no longer with the same cold fury, but with a certain about of bewilderment.

“Well, tough,” Dick said. “I wasn’t asking your permission. And we can’t break up, what would happen to PB? We would have to share custody of him, and I don’t think it would be good for him.”

Bruce sat and stared at Dick, who had his arms crossed and a stubborn cast to his face.

It was just too damn much and Jason started to laugh. He laughed so long and hard, when the tears started flowing he could hardly tell the difference.

[loeyparker]

the night we met - jason todd

requested : yes

word count : 1.895

warnings : language, blood, mentions of death

plot : you’re engaged to jason. you’re a vigilante who fights alongside red hood at night. none of you are aware of your secret identities, until one night you get hurt

a/n : i hope this is good i really tried but it’s 1am and i’m half asleep i just wanted to post this bc jason’s my son, hopefully i did him justice

The lights weren’t working in the building you found yourself in; therefore it was so dark you couldn’t see a thing. Your sense of sight was useless in that particular situation and it made you feel vulnerable.

You were sitting on a table with your mask off, trying to figure out how to activate the night mode vision built in your goggles. Behind you, Red Hood was doing the exact same thing. His back was directly against yours as an act of comfort for the both of you, because knowing the other was inches away was enough to slightly ease both of your nerves.

None of you would admit that, though.

“I don’t understand how your fancy ass mask can be so useless.” You groaned.

“I told you already, it fell and some wires must’ve gotten fucked.” He responded, emphasizing words as if you were a kid. He was getting frustrated, thing that usually turned him into an ass. You learnt that from all the missions you two had done together in the past six months.

You placed your own mask back on and pressed the button that was meant to activate the night vision mode. Hoping your messy technique of “blindly bending wires until they connect” worked, you waited for your sight to come back, while Red Hood kept huffing and puffing behind you in frustration.

It took a few seconds for your home-made device to work, but it eventually turned on and you were able to see the entire open floor you were on.

“Hey, mine works.” You let Red Hood know as you hopped off the table. “I���ll go sweep the floor ‘till you solve your issue.”

“Don’t even think about it.” He warned.

“Just because we kick ass together doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do.” You snapped and loaded your gun, ready to leave.

“You’re still new at this and not ready to go in blindly by yourself.” Red Hood quickly spoke up. It was too late, though.

You had already left.

He swore and hurried trying to repair his helmet. Jason didn’t know why he was so worried about you since he had no idea who you were or what you looked like without a mask on. He just felt weird letting you go by yourself; scared even.

It didn’t take long for him to hear a gunshot, followed by an obvious struggle. Then, right when he secured his helmet and turned on the now working night vision, another gunshot pierced the air.

The very first thing he saw rounding up the corner was your silhouette, standing still.

Your right hand was hanging low by your side. The handgun held in it slowly fell out of your grip as if it were nothing but sand. The weapon hit the ground, falling on a thick carpet of broken glass.

Not even a second later, you collapsed. Your legs gave out first, all the muscles abruptly losing the ability to hold you up. You felt the glass shards piercing through the fabric of your costume, stopping only in your flesh. Your head hit the ground the hardest, almost knocking you out in that very second.

In his peripheral vision, Jason saw someone slipping out of the building but he couldn’t even think about going after them. He fell on his knees right by your side.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” He asked frantically. There was nothing he could see on your black costume in the night. He couldn’t see blood, he couldn’t see anything.

You tried to speak but your words, as well as your breath were muffled by your mask.

Jason didn’t even think twice about his impulsive action. He just hurried to take off your mask and allow you to breathe normally.

His stomach dropped when he saw your face. “(Y/N)?”

“(Y/N), that’s a pretty name.” Jason leaned in against the counter with a smile on his face.

“Thanks,” you replied in a monotone voice “are you gonna order something?” It was 10 minutes before Batburger, the place you worked at three years ago, was supposed to close. And yet, the place was still packed with customers. You were supposed to go on a date that night but you couldn’t leave until everyone had left and you were so mad.

“You’re pissed.” Jason noticed, leaning back, “Why?”

“Because it’s almost 9 and you’re holding the line.”

“Oh!” He exclaimed “Closing time!”

“Yeah. So, if you could hurry, I’d really appreciate it.” You weren’t usually rude to customers but you really wanted to get out of there. It had been a long day and you just wanted to go home, take a shower, put on a dress and meet up with a cute Tinder date.

He didn’t reply to you. He just turned around to the line of people behind him and clapped loudly to grab people’s attention. “Hey, everyone!” He shouted and all eyes turned to him. Jason was, after all, an extremely tall, well built, handsome man with a powerful voice. “Batburgers is closed! It’s 9 p.m in case you all don’t have watches, and it’s disrespectful to people who work here to keep them overtime. So everyone in line can head home and come back tomorrow; the rest of you who are eating, hurry up.”

You tried to hide your smile as he spoke. Two of your co-workers were snickering in the back. The customers seemed confused but the ones in line listened to the tall guy and slowly walked out.

Jason ended up staying with you after everyone had left to help you clean the tables while your co-workers swept the floor and took out the trash. He also gave you a ride home on his motorcycle and, against your better judgment, you invited him up to your apartment. In the elevator you sent a quick text to your Tinder date, cancelling any plans you had made with them. Jason didn’t go on patrol that night, enjoying himself way too much in your company as you two streamed a French film on Netflix and talked about your lives.

The night you met was something both you and Jason kept in your memories constantly.

“(Y/N)?" Jason whispered one night. The two of you were in his room at the Wayne manor. It was summer and the door to the balcony was wide open. A slight breeze made the white curtains flow and you to snuggle closer to Jason’s warm body.

“Hm?” You simply murmured against his bare chest.

“Marry me?” He asked, his voice clear as day. The question caused you to open your eyes and it caused your heartbeat to quicken.

“Yes”

“Yes?” Jason gasped in disbelief and his breathing got irregular.

You sat up to look him in the eyes. “Yes, Jason. I’ll marry you.” Your tone was sweet, flowing like music through the air, through the silence of the night.

Jason shot up and wrapped his hands around you. Grinning, you buried your face in the crook of his neck. He placed his palm on your head, stroking your hair gently and rocking you slowly from side to side.

That was the moment he felt pure, true happiness. On that night, when you became his fiancée and he knew he had all of you, and you had all of him. When he knew you two couldn’t be separated by anything in the world.          

You were barely breathing. Your eyes were closed, your mouth slightly parted. You didn’t even acknowledge the fact that Red Hood knew your name even through you hid your identity for as long as you’d known him.

“(Y/N), what the fuck?” Jason whispered, his voice breaking. The new information, the reveal of your identity completely threw him off. It sent him over the edge. He was shaking, he couldn’t breathe.

You were dying.

He had fought alongside you for months and he never suspected his fiancée would turn up to be you. All of the times you were in danger, all the punches you received, all the fights you two had in costumes; everything was rushing over him as if he was under a waterfall and he felt like he was being crushed.

“I don’t wanna die” You choked out and his heart shattered. The noises you were making showed nothing but agony and he didn’t even know what had happened to you.

Jason took off his mask immediately and threw it to the side. Your body was illuminated by a dim light coming from the window. He couldn’t see as well as he did with his mask, but he couldn’t let you lay there thinking you were with a complete stranger.

As soon as you saw his face, tears began rolling down to the side of your face.

“You’re not gonna die.” Jason placed one arm under your legs, the other under your back and lifted you up with ease. You gripped your stomach in agony and sucked in a ragged breath. He hurried outside, a million of thoughts rushing through his brain.

He stopped the very first car he spotted.

It was in the middle aged woman’s backseat of the car that he noticed the gunshot in your abdomen. You were trying to put pressure on the wound with one hand and holding onto Jason with the other.

“I won’t let you die, alright?”

“It’s not,” you could barely speak “up to you.”

“You can’t die before our wedding. You already have your dress, I have my tux; Alfred is already decorating the yard with Damian –he sent me a picture of the kid blowing up balloons, you’ll love it,” Jason’s voice was trembling, his vision was blurred from the tears but we was forcing a smile because you were looking up at him and he couldn’t let you see the fear he actually felt.

“I thought you were getting cold feet.” You mumbled.

Jason frowned “Why?”

“Because you kept leaving at night and avoided me sometimes” your voice was slowly fading and it was getting harder and harder for you to speak.

“I didn’t exactly know how to tell you that I beat up criminals at night.” He stroked your hair in the same loving way that he did every night.

“Me neither.” You smiled weakly and so did he. “I’m glad you know because I love you so much and keeping this has been killing me.” You just wanted to tell him that you loved him. With the way you felt, you had no idea if you could ever tell him that again.

“I love you too.”

Everything happened quickly after that.

The driver parked right in front of the entrance of the hospital and managed to get people outside with a gurney by the time Jason had gotten you out of the car.

You where wheeled away and Jason was stopped at a second set of doors by nurses urging him to wait outside since he wasn’t, under any circumstance, allowed back there.

Jason ended up walking out of the hospital, overcome by panic, fear and anger. He sat down on the curb and the first thing his eyes landed on was a Batburger right across from the hospital. A neon sign flashed with the words “closed” and Jason started crying.

He had all and then most of you, some and now none of you.