#and Tim's a little confused and also filing it away for later

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Bart: *casually traps a fifth dimensional imp for eternity by quantum entangling him inside of an atom*

The Team:

[ew-selfish-art]

My brain is unwilling to let go of Twin AU prompts. Sorry for the long post lmao.

Jazz and Jason are getting pretty serious in their relationship, and honestly, they’ve both been hesitant to introduce their family members to one another despite constantly talking about them. They’ve been dating since she started her doctoral studies at Gotham U and she’s about to defend her dissertation, so it really is about time. He saved her in her first week as the Red Hood and he immediately felt at home with her (something, something liminal), she runs into him the next day at a coffee shop and thanks him for taking the time to help her. 

Identities are obviously blown. Jason knows that her brother works in ‘politics’ and her younger sister is a travel blogger, and that the three of them don’t talk to her mad scientist parents anymore. Jazz knows that he came back from the dead, his adoptive family had a slew of issues in addition to their hero-complexes and that he would be prepared to kill for any one of his siblings. Their communication skills are top notch. 

But then came the issue of actually meeting the family. Like Jazz knows all of the drama between the siblings but could not pick them out of a line up, or more importantly, know who to talk to if an emergency situation came up. Jason agrees, that yeah, it would probably be for the best if he could at least identify her little brother and sister if they had to like, meet at hospital or something. 

So that was the plan. Invite just siblings over to their shared apartment, no parents and no fuss. (She even called Danny ahead of time to tell him not to portal straight into the apartment, he needed to walk in the door like a normal person. They could share Ghost King secrets later.) 

Tim arrives first, he’d been working a case nearby and Jazz & Jason live pretty close to a nice coffeeshop, so he stopped along the way. He’d done some creeping to figure out that she drinks Chai so he brought one for her. Creepy and yet, endearing. 

Ellie comes in second from the window, launching into a story about how annoying it was to find the place with all the gloom, didn’t this city have any respect for the dead? Tim doesn’t get it but Jason is laughing along so Tim files it away for later. 

Dick comes in with a shit ton of Pizza he panic ordered, a fruit bouquet and two bottles of wine from Bruce’s cellar. Duke came along with him, a large tupperware of Alfred’s cookies. 

Then Steph, Babs and Cass show up, immediately treating Jazz like family while also being hella suspicious about the whole thing. She notices them looking at her hands and Jazz explains that no, they weren’t doing this because Jason proposed. Steph and Cass are annoyed at Jason but tell Jazz she could do better if she wanted. Babs is happy they aren’t rushing into anything (she’s the only one besides Tim that knows how long they’ve been dating- this is just to throw out a red herring for the others)

Everyone is getting along and having a great time, Ellie being a natural entertainer along side Dick, everyone trying to tell embarrassing stories about Jason. Loud noises are coming from the hallway when they realize that neither Damian nor Danny had arrived. 

Rushing out the door, the boys are alternating putting each other into choke holds and arguing about not being clones. Danny keeps phasing out of Damian’s grip and Damian keeps pulling out more knives. The hallway looks like it had been blown up and the two are continuing to yell at one another about going to a family dinner. Jason and Jazz just stare at them from the doorway, and wouldn’t you know it, they look like fucking twins. 

Jazz grabs Danny, Jason grabs Damian, and everyone is fucking confused. Both sides of the family can confirm growing up with the twins, that neither are a clone. Ellie helpfully supplies that she’s the clone and that opens a whole other bag of chaos. 

Eventually they get everyone to sit down for dinner and the night gets weirder from there. 

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Into the Unknown, Part 56

First

Previous

Bruce stared at the group of people gathered at his front door, unsure. “You know, when I said you could invite more people, I was expecting… Tim and Damian. Not…” he motioned vaguely to Worse!Tim (the future heir to his rival company), Bernard (a guy who had forgone introducing himself in favor of asking whether it was true that Bruce was dating renowned art thief Selina Kyle), and Steph (Steph).

Worse!Tim’s face flushed. “Ah, sorry to intrude, I just… didn’t have anywhere else to go. We can leave, though, it’ll be nice to have the house to ourselves –.”

Bruce, whose expression had been getting progressively softer the longer Worse!Tim went on, sighed and clapped a hand atop the boy’s head, ruffling his hair. “Don’t worry about it. We have more than enough food to go around.”

He glanced at Steph, quietly asking for her tragic backstory.

“I’m a college student,” she said.

Bruce seemed to decide that he should just accept this. He stepped aside so everyone could file in.

Everyone except for Tim. He waited until their group was properly inside so he could close the door behind them, leaving the two of them in the cold. But they wouldn’t be out there for long, no worries, Bruce only had one question for him: “Did you… bring one of the company rivals to make sure that Marinette and I couldn’t talk about business over this trip?”

“... no,” said Tim, who made a mental note of the strategy for later.

~

Marinette complained about her physics final at length, beating up dough to get her anger out. Alfred, ever the comforting presence, nodded along easily enough, giving occasional ‘hm’ and ‘oh wow’ sounds to say that he was still listening and also just as peeved as her. Damian sat on the counter, chubby little legs swinging, watching the pair bustle about, daydreaming about what designs he wanted to pipe onto the cookies Marinette was baking…

Not a creature was stirring (no, Alfred was not a creature, and he would prefer the term ‘whisking’), and there were definitely no mice around.

It was peaceful.

Until.

“I can help you with your homework,” Damian offered. “I know lots of things.”

Marinette paused, her hand resting over her heart. “Ye… yeah. Of course, Dami, I’d love your help.”

Damian lit up. He pointed to the chocolate chips on the counter. “Can I…?”

Marinette nodded easily enough, figuring that he was going to use them to visually show addition, subtraction… maybe even multiplication or division, if the kid had even advanced that far in his studies. He would count out the chocolate chips and put them in neat, orderly rows, and probably eat a few but it would be fine because it was Hanukkah and the kid would feel fulfilled in the fact that he had ‘helped’.

Damian grabbed a fistful of chocolate and shoved it into his mouth unceremoniously.

And then the kid started explaining quantum physics to her, still snacking away on chocolate chips.

~

They all almost dared to think that Alfred and Marinette had gotten over their mini rivalry. There had been no arguing sounds coming from the kitchen (only, strangely, the sound of learning), so there couldn’t have been any competition this time. This thought was only confirmed by the fact that no foods were presented to them with the question of ‘which is better’. They were in the clear.

But then.

Bernard squinted at Marinette. “You’re acting weird.”

She blinked. “Hm?”

“You’re… watching us eat.”

Marinette gave him a confused little frown, but Tim knew her well enough to know that when she was actually confused she was more liable to blink, her brain taking the moment where her eyes were closed to process what was throwing her off without any distractions.

“Code red,” Tim said.

Several forks clattered onto plates as everyone immediately abandoned their food. Except for Steph, who was looking at them all like they were crazy, a roll halfway to her mouth.

Marinette smirked at Alfred. “I win,” she said. Because, as one of the few people who weren’t aware of their rivalry, and the only newcomer wary enough of the fact that everyone had stopped eating to abandon their food as well, had chosen a bread roll she had made.

Alfred huffed. Which was basically his equivalent of screaming and cursing.

“... can someone fill me in?” Steph asked.

Bruce sighed, rubbing the space between his brows. “Anyone up for Asian takeout?”

Everyone raised their hands.

Steph only looked more confused by this, but then she seemed to realize that this would mean she got to keep all of the leftovers and immediately nodded along.

~

Damian looked up at Jason, almost offended. “Why are you small?”

Jason didn’t know how to respond to that. He leaned to whisper in Marinette’s ear. “Does he know what malnutrition is?”

“Absolutely not, and you’re not going to teach him about it, either,” she hissed right back.

Jason nodded slowly. He looked back at Damian. “I’m one of Santa’s elves.”

“Dad says that Santa isn’t real, but we’re not supposed to tell anyone,” Damian said. And then he gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth. “Oh no.”

~

“You guys really do look alike,” Jason mused. “I’m surprised Damian can tell you two apart.”

“Oh, he can’t, he just goes by our outfits and hair,” said Worse!Tim.

“Oh.”

“It’s better than Mari,” Tim said, grinning when she immediately turned red. “The only reason we found each other was because she mistook him for me. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to kiss him on accident yet.”

“I’m going to divorce you.”

“Make that joke enough and I’ll actually start to believe it,” Tim pretended to sniffle, before leaning to press a kiss to her cheek.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He returned the gesture.

“God, they’re gross,” Jason stage-whispered to Steph.

“They’re usually worse,” she sighed.

“I don’t think they’re that bad,” said Worse!Tim.

“That’s because you and Bernard are just as awful.”

Bernard sputtered. “Hey? Why am I getting dragged into this?”

~

Damian was the baby of the family. Quite literally, seeing as he was very young in comparison to everyone else, who was of college age or above.

And one might assume that he would be annoyed by this, his pride not allowing them to treat him in such a way, he was a big man after all! Six years old!

However, (during the holidays, at least) he welcomed the treatment with open arms. Because said open arms would be filled with presents.

Dick sighed. “You’re spoiling him.”

“You were literally raised by a billionaire,” said Marinette.

Dick huffed, but then it was revealed that he couldn’t really talk because he got Damian designer shoes.

“He’s going to ruin those so fast,” said Tim.

“I’ll buy him more, then.”

“But we’re spoiling him,” Marinette snarked.

“I’m the cool uncle!” Dick argued. “I’m supposed to spoil him.”

“... I’m the cool uncle,” Jason said.

“Excuse me?” said Bernard.

“You’re not married in,” Jason pointed out the distinct lack of a wedding ring on the man’s finger.

“And Marinette hasn’t allowed herself to be adopted, which means I’m the only uncle he has, therefore the cool one by default,” Jimothy pointed out.

“Boys,” Bruce cut in. “You can all be cool uncles.”

They were all quiet for a moment.

“No, they can’t,” Jimothy decided.

The argument started up again, but everyone was laughing, and even Bruce didn’t seem to mind it all, even as he was dragged into the debate over whether Jason or Dick was ‘the cooler one’.

Tim poked Damian’s shoulder. “You can fix this, you know. Just say you think they’re all cool.”

“No. Less presents that way,” Damian decided.

Tim cooed over his ‘manipulative little guy’, ruffling his hair and handing him yet another present.

The others were still debating over who was the best in the background, but whatever.

“Not going to jump in?” Marinette asked Steph.

“Please. I’m the wine aunt.”

“You don’t drink.”

“I do in spirit.”

Marinette squinted at her, wondering whether the pun had been intentional, before sighing and deciding that arguing the point wasn’t worth it.

~

As they lit the final candle, Tim found himself smiling. Not only because of the tradition itself, or even because he was surrounded by so many people he cared about, but because his plan was working. Bruce and Dick hadn’t genuinely fought once, too distracted by the sheer size of the group and their accompanying shenanigans. Jason seemed more relaxed, too, now that the holidays didn’t necessarily mean dealing with people yelling at each other over the table.

Mission success!

Tim needed a nap.

~

Marinette pressed against her boyfriend’s side, watching as Damian played tug-of-war with Frank. Frank was definitely going easy on him, but he didn’t need to know that.

“You know…”  she turned to bury her face in his neck. “I wouldn’t mind actually getting married one day…”

Tim’s breath stuttered. He dragged her head out of hiding to look her in the eyes. “Really?”

She glanced away, giggling nervously. “Uh, yeah, I mean obviously we have to wait until we can get our friends and family back home to come, so we have a lot of time to consider –.”

She was cut off when he tugged her in for a kiss.

She melted a little, her anxiety fading away when she realized that he was smiling against her lips.

“I would love to,” he breathed.

She flushed. “Well, I love you.”

He rolled his eyes just slightly at her immediate need to one-up him, but his chuckle was nothing but fond and the hands cupping her face were perfectly warm.

“I love you, too.”

~~~~~

Next

@unoriginalmess @hammalammadamdam @astrynyx @laurcad123 @927roses-and-stuff @toodaloo-kangaroo @queenz-z @imarivers8 @jeminiikrystal @adrestar @twsssmlmaa @literaryhiraeth @trippingovermyfeet @ev-cupcake @its-maemain

[awhitehead17]

Batfam Alphabet: L - Language 

Summary: Jason doesn’t hesitate to drag his brothers down with him when Bruce starts reprimanding him about the type of language he uses on a daily basis. 

Enjoy! :D 

“Well this is just a load of bullshit! Why do they have to intervene? We’re perfectly capable of handling this.” Jason huffs and crosses his arms over his chest as he leans back in his chair. He can’t believe what he's hearing.

On the opposite side of the table Bruce levels him with a hard look. “Watch your language Jason.”

Jason blinks before sitting up straight. “What, it’s not like the kid is currently around to overhear."

“Jason!”

Glaring at the man, Jason scowls. This seems to be a regular topic of conversation between them recently because according to Bruce Jason swears too much, especially when he’s around Damian. The man, for whatever reason, wants Jason to be a good role model for the kid and apparently that includes him not swearing.

So now anytime he swears, Bruce points it out with a matching scolding tone and expression.

It’s a ridiculous notion because Jason being who he is was brought up with swearing, living on the streets for so many years exposed him to all kinds of things, one of which being the language people use. Swearing is just part of his vocabulary, half of the time he isn’t even aware he is doing it. As long as he’s not swearing at someone, then surely there should be some leniency.

“Oh come on!” He exclaims with a wave of his hands. “He’s been raised as an assassin, he was already tainted before we even met. Me saying a few words isn’t doing any harm.”

Before Bruce could respond a new voice joins the conversation. “To be fair you do swear a lot. Maybe you should try and tone it down.”

Jason turns to his right to glare at his older brother who’s lounging comfortably next to him. “Oh fuck off, Dick, no one asked for your opinion.”

Dick stares back unimpressed, he raises both eyebrows as if to say, “really?”

Jason recalls what he said and grits his teeth.

He points menacingly at Dick. “That doesn’t prove anything. Quite frankly I grew up in Crime Alley, of course I’m gonna swear, you hear it every minute in that place and typically as a kid you’re gonna pick up the habit. You know what they say old habits die hard.”

“Just like you did?” A different voice retorts with a snort.

Jason switches his gaze to Tim, who is opposite him next to Bruce currently playing with his phone, and blinks at him in surprise. “Uh, excuse me? I don’t know whether to be insulted or proud by that.”

It’s usually only him who makes death jokes so it’s come as a surprise to find Tim making one, a well-timed one too. Jason shakes his head, he’ll deal with those emotions at another time.

“Anyway, if we’re talking about who swears too much then why aren’t you giving Tim a lecture? He swears like a bloody sailor. If anyone needs reprimanding on his language it’s him!”

Tim abruptly stops fiddling with his phone and looks up, he rolls his eyes and glowers at him. “Jesus Christ that’s so immature Jason. How old are you, 10? I’m no way near as bad as you.”

His response gets a gleeful chuckle out of Jason. He knows exactly how the next few minutes are about to play out and he can’t wait. While the focus of the conversation had been on him, he’s glad for the opportunity to move it onto someone else and Tim happens to be perfect for the new spotlight.

Without any hesitation Jason digs into his pocket and grabs his phone. Once he has the device in hand he starts searching for the video he has saved for this very purpose. Call him petty, but he knew it would be good blackmail material one day.

“Oh really?” He drawls out, finally finding the video he had been looking for, “then what do I have here…” Jason clicks play and puts it on speaker so everyone in the room would be able to hear the audio.

After a second the sound of Tim’s voice could be heard. The teenager was clearly angry about something and certainly wasn’t holding back from letting his anger be known through his choice of words.

“You bloody bastard, why won’t you work you piece of shit. By god this is pissing me off now, I’ve been at this all fucking day and you’re still not fucking working. I am going to kill…”

The recording lasts for about a minute and is filled with Tim swearing his head off, cursing at everything and everyone and making empty threats. Once it’s finished Jason turns his phone off, puts it back in his pocket and leans back in his chair feeling smug about the situation.

“I rest my case.”

His words are met with a stunned silence in the room. Tim is blushing hard with his head buried in his hands. Next to him Bruce looks concerned, probably for Tim’s mental health and wellbeing. Dick’s staring at Tim with shock spread across his features.

After a few beats Tim lifts his head from his hands but keeps his eyes down staring at the table so he could avoid everyone’s eyes. “Okay in my defence the technology was really piss–annoying me. It wouldn’t work and I couldn’t work out why so I got frustrated and that happened.”

His response makes Jason snort and causes Dick to shake his head in disbelief. He knew Tim could be feisty but until that moment he never realised how bad his temper could get. Jason’s honestly impressed. However that doesn’t mean he’s letting Tim get away with it, especially when he’s getting blamed for something Tim does just as much of as him.

If he's going down then he’s dragging Tim down with him. It’s just unfortunate that he doesn’t have anything on Dick.

Jason’s broken out of his thoughts on ways he could get blackmail material on Dick when Tim speaks up again. He’s finally looking up at everyone though his still flushed face shows his prior embarrassment.

“Let’s be honest, is swearing really all that bad? As long as we’re not swearing at people then I think it’s fine. We’re not harming anyone. Who cares if we swear a little too much. And anyway, doesn’t everyone swear at some point?”

“Clark doesn’t.” Dick pipes up next to him.

Jason snorts. “That’s because big blue is a boy scout, of course he isn’t going to swear. He doesn’t count. Plus we’re from Gotham after all, it’s not like this is the most impeccable place in the world.”

Dick becomes thoughtful, humming his response. “Yeah that’s true I guess.”

“Boys.”

The three brother’s all turn and look at Bruce who had called for their attention. Jason had forgotten the man was even there, he had surprisingly been quiet until now. Maybe it’s because Clark was brought into the conversation, it must have peaked his interest. Jason files that information away for later.

“It doesn’t matter how much any of you swear, you shouldn’t do it at all. Damian is still young, he doesn’t need to grow up listening to that sort of language despite his initial upbringing.” Bruce firmly says, looking at each of them in turn. “You all know better and have good manners, going forward I expect you to use them.”

As Bruce rattles on about proper manners and the importance of them, Jason finds himself resisting the urge to smile. With every second that passes, it threatens to break out on his face. What makes matters worse is that he knows he shouldn’t smile, this isn’t a smiling matter considering how serious Bruce is being but the man is making it difficult to concentrate and to take the topic seriously.

Jason glances to the right to find Dick staring at Bruce with a hand covering the lower part of his face and Jason can tell that his brother is in the exact same boat as he is.

Apparently all it takes for him to break is Dick to glance at him and for them to make eye contact.

After that Jason couldn’t help himself but to burst out laughing, next to him Dick also breaks out into a fit of giggles. They laugh for a good while until they’re able to start calming down, by that point Jason’s cheeks are hurting and he even had tears forming in his eyes. As he takes a deep breath to compose himself he makes the mistake of looking over at Dick again, Dick looks back at him too and just like that they fall into another uncontrollable laughing fit.

While laughing Jason gets a glimpse of a confused looking Tim and a disappointed Bruce, but it’s Bruce’s scowling expression that triggers off another wave of giggles.

It takes even longer for the two of them to calm down. As he sits there Jason repeatedly takes deep breaths in order to collect himself. Once he’s calmed down a little, now able to breathe somewhat normally, he could feel how his sides are aching, how his cheeks hurt from the wide smiling and the tears coming from his eyes. He can’t remember the last time he laughed so hard that it hurt, and over something so trivial nonetheless.

When it feels like he’s finally composed himself he risks a glance at Dick to find his brother also in the state of calming down though there’s still a wide grin on face. He then looks at Bruce who is still staring at the two of them with his disappointed look. That’s almost enough to set himself off again. Almost.

“If you’re both quite done, we have important business to discuss, may I remind you that being the reason we’re meeting to begin with.”

“Hey, you’re the one who started on the whole language topic that derailed us in the beginning.” Jason defends himself and his brother’s. All Bruce does is huff at that, knowing Jason is right and can’t defend himself against it otherwise. Jason smirks victoriously.

Opposite him, Tim sighs loudly and makes a show to sitting up straight and sorting out some of the paperwork between them all on table. “Enough already, can we just go over the details and the police reports again and get to the end of this. I have better things to do than hear everyone bicker about language and manners.”

Dick gives the youngest a side look. “What you got planned? Is that who you were messaging just now? Is it your boyfriend?”

“What? No. Just friends. I ain’t telling you.” Tim snaps glaring at Dick.

Jason whistles. “Timmy’s getting some tonight then eh? Make sure to stay safe and use protection.”

“Jason!”

“Well he’s not wrong Tim, but where are you going? We need to know so if something happens we know where to look first.” Dick’s looking more concerned by the minute and Jason could see the flip switch from carefree older brother to over-bearing mother hen.

Tim blinks at them before turning his gaze to Bruce. In a whining voice he pleads the man, “Bruce, get them to stop!”

To begin with all Bruce does is run a hand over his face like he’s regretting every life choice he’s made and how he would rather be anywhere else but here. After a moment he sends exasperated looks at his eldest sons.

“Not much more to go, then we should be all caught up and ready to proceed with the case further tomorrow. Is it too much to ask for your full attention for the remaining hour?”

Jason sighs and sits up straighter, knowing play time is over and it’s time to be serious. One more hour won’t hurt, then afterwards there’s nothing stopping him from having a little fun is there. He nods at Bruce and picks up the piece of paper closet to him to examine the page. Dick does the same and finally Bruce proceeds with their meeting.

[yannowhatigiveup]

T.W.A.A: The Eccedentesiast

This is a one shot I started last night and I finished it at around 2 am because I’m an insomniac. Sadly this isn’t the 10k+ word one shot I was talking about (I’m still writing it aaa) but this one is around 4-5k words long so I hope you enjoy. This is rushed, badly written, badly plotted and badly named.

TW: Dark topics such as sexual assault and suicide is mentioned in this piece of writing.

Paris, the City of Love, what a big misconception that was. If anything, Paris should've been labeled as the City of Misery considering the fact it was haunted by a villain who preyed on negative emotions. No one outside of Paris knew though, they were oblivious to the fact hundreds, thousands even millions had died in the city home to the Eiffel Tower, only to be resurrected and tormented with the memories of their death. It was worse for Marinette though, she had watched all the citizens, her beloved citizens, die before her eyes and she was powerless to help them. Their screams of anguish and cries of pain forever ghosted her nightmares. It wasn't just their blood that she drowned in, she was bullied, abused and betrayed in her civilian form by those she trusted the most.

Her classmates. She thought she could trust them but they left her for someone shinier and newer. They all hurt her, destroyed her hard work, verbally and physically bullied her. Nino and Kim, her childhood friends had turned their backs on her too, even joining the others in causing her physical and emotional pain. Alya, her best friend, had become her main abuser. The reporter stabbed the poor bluenette in the back, figuratively. Lila was the one who did it literally. Lila, the sound of the name itself made Marinette sick, after all, the brunette was the one who did this to her. She made her friends turn their backs on her, she made them abuse her and she only watched with fake crocodile tears and a smug smile when no one was looking. And Adrien, he was the worst of all. When Marinette was younger, Adrien was the embodiment of perfection. But now? All she could see was a spineless coward and a predator.

As Chat Noir, he wouldn't participate in the battles, only flirting with her hero persona. He would whine like a toddler when she rejected his advancements. Even when he did join in the battles, he was useless, ignoring anything that Ladybug would tell him and go straight for the kill which never worked. Chat Noir was incompetent and a sexual harasser. As Adrien, however, he was much more. Just two days ago, he had tried to sexually assault the young bluenette. The blonde had underestimated the girl and she managed to get away but nothing could erase her memory of the event.

The ultimatum Lila had delivered to Marinette when she thirteen seemed over-dramatic and seemingly impossible at the time. Yet three years later, she was at the point of no return. Her classmates, her friends, her teachers, the boy she once loved, her partner, her parents. They all left her. Mayor Bourgeois, fearing for his daughter's safety, had sent Chloe to New York with her mother. Luka was on tour with his father so they could build a better relationship. Kagami had a family affair back in Japan that would last for at least a month. She was truly alone. Her parents had fallen victim to Lila's lies and Marinette overheard them discussing about kicking her out. The only one by her side throughout the whole ordeal was Tikki, her beloved kwami. Even Master Fu had to leave her.

Marinette felt shut out by the rest of the world. Sure, Paris adored Ladybug but it felt different. She was fighting battles alone, she stood as the last survivor, the last protector of Paris. She took that title in stride, or that's what the Parisians thought. In reality, she was hiding behind a mask.

The bluenette had suffered endlessly for years, she was ready to break that cycle of torture. Yesterday, she came to the solid conclusion of who Hawkmoth was, who is accomplices were and what his motive was. Gabriel Agreste was the man behind Paris' torment, Nathalie Sancœr was one of his accomplices and so was Lila Rossi. For his motive, he wanted to bring his wife back. Marinette understood the pain he was in but she wouldn't go to such extreme lengths as he did. Many years ago, Marinette made a friend, one of her very best friends who she fell for. But she never told anyone who he was, where he came from or even the fact that she met someone. The reason behind this was the fact she witnessed his murder. That death, of all she witnessed, was the most heartbreaking. Even when all these years have passed, she never truly got over his death. His green eyes always lingered her mind.

The bluenette let out an anguished sigh, she was on the Eiffel Tower, admiring the city's skyline despite all its obvious flaws under close inspection. Though Marinette had drastically mentally changed, she would always put on the same mask, she would always portray herself as a regular school girl. This was the one time she felt a little peace in her chaotic excuse for a life. Her blue eyes stared off into the distance, focusing on nothing in particular when she heard footsteps coming from behind. In her peripheral vision, Marinette could see the figure of Gabriel Agreste slowly approaching. Not wanting anything to happen, she made her knowledge of her appearance known.

"I never expected to see you somewhere so public, Monsieur Agreste" Her voice remained neutral. Gabriel didn't flinch meaning that he had expected her to sense his arrival, it made the young girl slightly unnerved but she refused to show it.

"The Eiffel Tower holds the greatest inspiration, as a designer yourself I'm sure you are aware" Marinette was used to his cold voice by now, she kept her guard up reminding herself that this was Hawkmoth was standing a few feet away.

She hummed, putting the two miraculous users in a deathly silence, until she decided to break it. "You know, you could've just asked" The older man raised an eyebrow in confusion but Marinette never looked in his direction, "It would've saved a lot of bloodshed"

Gabriel managed to catch up with what she was saying. "Are you implying that I am Hawkmoth?" He didn't sound offended or defensive, merely curious.

"I'm not implying anything" She replied curtly, then turning to face him. "I am merely stating a fact"

The miraculous user turned away from her, focusing his gaze on the city's skyline once more. "What are you going to do with this knowledge?"

The question confused Marinette, surely he would've attacked her or try to get her to remain silent?

He must've noticed her confusion. "Even if you wanted to, you wouldn't say anything"

Marinette turned her full body towards the taller man, she was going to end Hawkmoth's reign as quickly as she could. "I can heal her"

"What?"

"I can heal her" The bluenette repeated. "Emilie"

Gabriel also turned to face her, his usual cold scowl was replaced with a staggered expression. "Y-you can? Even after all I've done as Hawkmoth?"

Her head twisted back to portrait that was Paris. "To end it all, yes I will"

"Then please, follow me and I promise I will give you my miraculous as well as Mayura's. Just, heal my wife please" His tone changed from intrigued to pleading, Marinette could see that he meant every word.

"Oh don't worry... I will"

~~~

"I did it!" Tim's voice echoed in the Batcave.

"Did what replacement?"

"I found Hawkmoth's identity!"

Around three months ago, Wonder Woman had noticed Green Lantern trying to delete a video. She stopped him before he successfully did the task and watched the video herself, calling a meeting to express her anger about the situation. Most were shaken since they had never seen the Amazonian this livid before. She briefly explained how her mother was once a miraculous user and how powerful these magical jewelry could be. Aqua Man also shared his concerns, revealing that the fall of Atlantis was due to the miraculous. They knew the logical decision was to work on this from outside of Paris, the villain preyed on negative emotions and they had been ignoring the Parisians' calls for help for four years. Their sudden appearance would definitely trigger the heroes. So in the last month, they had gathered files of nearly every person in Paris as well as all the necessary information about every akuma attack. It was tiring for the Bats but they trudged through it anyway.

Damian had taken a special interest in the spotted-heroine specifically, without the knowledge of any of his family members. She appeared similar to a female friend he had made quite some time ago, the one who had witnessed an assassination attempt on him. He saddened him to no end knowing that the friend he loved thought he was dead. The green-eyed boy became one hundred percent convinced that this hero was his friend.

One day, Dick had caught him in the Batcave observing a recently taken image of the Ladybug heroine. His older brother thought that Damian was crushing on the lady and began to tease him as others entered the cave.

"Tt, that's not true" the green-eyed boy retaliated.

"If you don't have a crush on Ladybug then why are you staring at an image of her?" Dick added more information necessary so that his younger brothers could join in on teasing his youngest brother.

The Robin vigilante sighed and brought everyone's attention to the screen. "See that?"

"All I see is this little lady Demon Spawn" Jason's smirk was quickly gone when he noticed Damian's serious expression.

"She's alone" he stated simply and before anyone could get a word in, her explained further. "There is usually a team with her"

Everyone seemed to lean closer to the screen.

"She's fighting alone. Her 'partner' doesn't participate in the battles anymore, he stays on the sidelines, observing" He let the others catch up to what he was saying. "The attacks have been lasting a lot longer than usual, Ladybug leads a super hero team correct? Then why is she fighting alone this time."

"They could have all been killed... We have to go to Paris to help the poor girl" Dick turned to Bruce. "Who knows how much longer she'll last alone fighting a psycho butterfly man!"

Bruce's fatherly instincts were screaming at him from merely looking at the photo. "I'll announce to the League that we'll be joining the fight in Paris"

~~~

Gabriel lead Marinette to his office, Nathalie wearily watching. Just as he was about to open the double doors, his assistant collapsed in uncontrollable coughing. Marinette was much faster than the older man so she got to the woman first. The bluenette carefully put Nathalie down on one of the chairs available while putting her hand on where she thought the assistant would where the peacock brooch. The blue-eyed girl could sense the broken miraculous' energy trapped in the woman so she did the only reasonable thing she could at that moment, she extracted the corrupted magic, healing Nathalie almost instantly. Marinette ignored Gabriel's relieved expression and gestured for him to lead her to Emilie.

"When this is over, I wish to have a restraining order against your son"

"May I ask why?"

"..."

"...I understand, I'll make sure to tell Nathalie"

The older man stopped before a painting of his wife, his fingers reached for the painted shapes and pressed on them, revealing an elevator to which he went down in. Following his motion, Marinette placed her hand on the painting and allowed herself to descend down the mansion. It lead her to a repository with a catwalk which lead to a circular platform covered in luscious greenery. In the middle on the platform was a class-covered cryogenic pod which the sleeping body of Emilie Agreste lay. The bluenette carefully made her way to the glass casket, placing her hand on the transparent material when she finally reached her destination. Focusing all her energy, a red light erupted from her finger tips and it soaked into Emilie's skin. Gabriel opened the pod, carefully watching his wife as Marinette took a step back. Suddenly her eyes fluttered open.

"G-Gabriel, what happened?"

The man didn't reply, he simply hugged the woman of his dreams before turning the the young girl.

"I... Thank you Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, I can give you the miraculous now if-"

"Ladybug will be at the Eiffel Tower soon, I suggest you give the miraculous to her then"

Gabriel nodded and thanked the girl once more as she left. Before she reached the lift that would lead her back up to Gabriel's office, Marinette turned to face the newly reunited couple.

"Enjoy the happiness in your life, Monsieur Agreste, you never know when it may end"

She then turned to leave, not wanting to here what her former idol had to say. When she reached the main floor of the Agreste Mansion, Marinette was greeted by Nathalie. The bluenette acknowledged the assistant with a nod, meaning that Emilie was awake. The assistant let out a sigh of relief and rushed to Adrien's room, not wanting to be around the blonde boy, Marinette promptly left. Once out of the premises of the mansion, she transformed and waited for Gabriel to return the miraculous. What she didn't realise was that the Justice League would also be coming to pay her a visit.

It felt like an eternity, waiting for the miraculous to be handed back to her but the bluenette was patient. She waited four years for this moment, but she had to share the moment alone. It was bittersweet. Soon enough Gabriel arivied, hastily giving Ladybug both the brooches with apologetic eyes and leaving without a word. The spotted heroine presumed that he wanted to get back to his wife and son, she couldn't blame him. Ladybug reached for her yo-yo teary-eyed, she was going to put both miraculous in her weapon before returning them in the miracle box but she stopped when she heard multiple figures approaching where she was standing.

~~~

Batman and his sons were the ones to go to Paris and alert Ladybug of their findings. The five men found themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower, Tim found out that was were the heroes would return to after their patrol.

"We must tell Ladybug right away" Batman pulled out his grappling hook and flung himself to one of the higher levels, all but Robin followed suit.

The vigilante had a feeling to remain on a lower level. He wanted to be reunited with his long lost friend but he couldn't find the words. Simply, he used his grappling hook to bring him onto one of the beams, low enough so he couldn't be seen but high enough to hear any conversation.

"Greetings, Ladybug" His father's voice echoed through the quiet building.

"Monsieur Batman? Wh-what are you doing here?" Her voice sounded almost exactly as he remembered, of course it sounded deeper and more matured but it had a more desolated edge to it.

~~~

"We apologize for not intervening earlier but we didn't know how well we needed to control our emotions" Red Hood watched as Nightwing brushed a hand through his hair nervously.

"But we can help now!" Red Robin's excited voice came out of nowhere, Ladybug looked at the vigilante in surprise. "We found out Hawkmoth's identity so we can finish this once and-"

Ladybug put a single hand up, a small smile on her face, silencing Red Robin's rambling. "That's very considerate of you, all of you" Her gaze landed on each vigilante one at a time. "But I... have things sorted" She pulled out two brooches from behind her back to show the men before putting the miraculous in her yo-yo. "I appreciate all you've done, truly I do. But can I ask one for one more favor?"

"Of course, what is it?" Nightwing asked, clearly wanting the spotted heroine to be gleeful once more.

"Could you... help the other heroes to help the Parisians to heal?"

"It's the least we can do" Batman replied. "Will you be there too?"

"I'm afraid not" Ladybug turned around and leaned forward on the banister. "You know how Hawkmoth prays on negative emotions, so I've had to deal with my emotions in an unhealthy manor but now... Hawkmoth is no more. I can be free"

"Wh-"

"Thank you, truly" Ladybug jumped up on to railing, facing the group of vigilantes. Her sad smile faded as she stared at the floor.

They didn't even get a chance to process what was happening before it did. A bright light surrounded the young hero and they were forced to close their eyes. As the light died down, Red Hood saw a small bluenette. She looked so weak, so pretty, so... fragile. It hurt the vigilante's heart seeing someone like this being the sole protector of Paris with no one by her side.

"Hey little lady-"

"I'm sorry Tikki"

The girl looked at all the vigilantes slowly, mouthing a 'thank you' before letting herself lean backwards.

Gravity took the Parisian heroine and she fell.

A small creature holding something shiny stared in horror as its owner fell."MARINETTE!" The small creature's anguished scream seemed to bring the vigilantes back to reality.

~~~

"MARINETTE!"

Robin's head shot up, that name was all too familiar. Suddenly, he took note of a figure falling fast from above, her raven hair flowing in the wind. Without giving a second thought, he bounded down the ledge he was on, landing on one of the platforms and had his arms out ready to catch the fallen angel. The bluenette was close enough for Robin to grab her and he pulled her in so that her feet landed on the platform, her body still looming over the edge of the building. His brother and father landed not far from him, bounding over to help the bluenette but Robin took no notice of their presence.

"Why didn't you just let me f...all" The girl's voice trailed off as her eyes widened in recognition, the air in her lungs escaped from her lips. "...d-Damian?"

The two friends took no notice at how the vigilantes behind Robin stiffened. Her eyes developed a watery sheen as the situation began to really hit her. Tears threatened to spill as her lip quivered. Robin pulled her away from the ledge and she jumped into his arms, she was heavily touch-starved. Much to his family's surprise, he didn't push her away. In fact, he hugged her back. They heard what she said next.

"I... I thought you were dead, Dami"

"...why? What made you do this, Malaki?"

They didn't hear what she said next as her mumbling was muffled in Robin's chest. Nightwing walked up to the two first, kneeling down to be eye level with the girl.

"Hey Sunshine... we don't know what you've been through but we're willing to help you though it okay?" The girl looked at his sincere gaze, her eyes were so round with innocence, Nightwing thought he would melt.

"I... thank you, I'm sorry for worrying you when I... jumped" No one failed to notice when Robin ran his fingers through the bluenette's hair.

"Don't apologize Little Lady" Red Hood walked over to where Nightwing was kneeling, sitting next to his older brother. "Hawkbitch forced you to bottle up your emotions, you were just strong for too long."

Marinette looked between the two men, a grateful smile on her face while she wiped the tears of pure happiness running down her cheeks. "Thank you, I- this... this is the nicest I've been treated recently"

"If you don't mind me asking," Batman walked over and Marinette felt slightly intimidated you his presence as well as his tone. The dark knight must have noticed this since he cleared his throat and began talking in a softer manner. "What happened to cause you to go to such extremes? You're obligated to not having to talk about it right away if the subject makes you uncomfortable"

"Well I guess I do have to talk about it eventually..."

Recognising the bluenette's discomfort, Red Robin stepped in. In his palm was the shaken kwami who flew straight for Marinette once the vigilante got close enough. "Since you know Robin's identity, and we already sorta know yours, it's only fair if we tell you who we are, right?" He looked at his two older brothers and then at his adoptive father. "My name's Tim Drake nice to meet you"

Marinette was about to take his offered hand when the vigilante she presumed was Red Hood took it instead, "Jason Todd, Robin's most charming and handsome brother" She giggled at Damian's obvious annoyance.

"Well I'm Richard Grayson, Robin's favourite brother, but you can call me Dick" The vigilante in the suit who comforted her first, introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet all of you"

Batman soon came over as well to aquatint with the young heroine, offering out his hand for a handshake. "Bruce Wayne"

She returned the hand shake and brightly smiled, it blinded nearly all those near. "Thank you, Mr Wayne. Wait..." she turned to face Damian, one of her eyebrows raised. "Wayne?"

"I may have failed to mention that part" To Robin's surprise, Marinette started giggling so he huffed in taken offense.

"Sorry it's just- a girl in my class as been boasting about dating you and about the Wayne Family seeing her as their 'honorary member'. I knew she was lying I just didn't know that I would bump into the people she was lying about"

Bruce hummed. "We'll have to do something about this girl you're talking about. In the meantime, why don't you come back to the hotel with us? You and Damian can catch up" The older man saw the hesitation in her eyes but he also saw the willingness that shine through the most. "If you're living in a bad environment then you do have to escape" His sons nodded along.

"I'll come, can I bring some overnight clothes? It's been a long day..."

"Of course, you go get your belongings and you can meet us at the Grand Paris Hotel"

"I... thank you again" She transformed and headed in the direction of her house, leaving Robin at the mercy of his brothers.

"You like her, Brat" Red Robin spoke up first.

Nightwing pretended to wipe his tears. "Baby Bird's all grown up now"

"That means you can't adopt the little Pixie, don't think I haven't seen the adoption papers"

~~~

When Marinette destransformed on her balcony rooftop, she quickly went inside, packed some clothes as well as some essentials. When she was satisfied with her belongings, she gave a macaron to Tikki before heading downstairs where she was met with two disappointed looking parents.

"Is something wrong?"

"We've decided," Tom began. "We're kicking you out for what you've done to your lovely classmate, Lila"

"We don't recognise the person you've become, Marinette. You are not the daughter we raised" Sabine added

"May I pack my things in the morning?" Marinette inquired, her eyes void of emotion. When her parents nodded, she left the bakery and down to the hotel where Damian was waiting in the lobby. As she approached, he took her bag and intertwined their hands together. She blushed at the contact but leaned into his embrace.

When she entered the hotel room she was greeted by the vigilantes who were now changed and unmasked. The bluenette was welcomed with open arms, she felt the warmth in her heart for the first time since Lila's Tyranny. She briefly explained Lila's lies, what she had done to Marinette and how the bluenette was able to protect Paris. She would've carried on longer if it weren't for the hotel phone ringing. It was the receptionist, saying that someone had asked to see Marinette. Confused, she went down with Damian, Jason followed closely behind since he had grown quite attached to the little fairy. Waiting at the front desk as a woman, Damian and Jason recognised her instantly as Mayura. Damian tried to step in front of his friend but she completely ignored their futile attempts to keep her in reach.

"Ah, Hello Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng"

"Hello Nathalie, we're you the one who asked for me?"

"Yes, I just need to clarify a few things"

"Go ahead"

"You're request for the restraining order has been fulfilled" the bluenette nodded, waiting for Gabriel's assistant to continue. "May I ask what did he do to make you request for it?"

The two notices how Marinette stiffened. She contemplated before sighing. "Attempted sexual assault. If you look at the camera footage outside of the Louvre from two days ago, seven pm onwards, you'll see your evidence." Marinette turned away from Nathalie and walked back to Damian who, once in range, pulled her in for a hug.

"I'll never let him near you again, Angel"

~~~

The next day, Bruce had shown up with Marinette at her parents' bakery. Upon hearing about the young bluenette being kicked out, he had asked for her permission for him to be her Guardian until she was old enough to live in her own. Marinette accepted his offer. When they had entered the building, her parents had greeted their customers kindly before recognising Marinette. Bruce turned to the young girl next to him and smiled.

"You go pack your things I'll deal with this" She smiled and bounded upstairs, leaving Bruce to talk with the bakery's owners.

"Hello Sir, how may we help you?" Sabine began, wanting to know who this man was.

"I've come to gain guardianship of your daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng"

"Why should we give you guardianship?" Tom asked.

"I'm sure you know the liability for child neglect, Mr Dupain" With his words, both adults seemed to turn white. "I will file the necessary and submit it with the court, I'm sure you'll be willing to give your approval"

Both Marinette and the mystery man left, true they were glad that their mistake of a daughter had gone but they wondered who she had gone with.

~~~

Later that afternoon was a charity event which the Waynes were supposed to attend as they were invited by the mayor himself, the plus side was that the Akuma class would also be attending and they had no clue the Wayne Family would be there.

"...And finally I'd like to thank the Wayne Family for joining us this evening" Mayor Bourgeois finished his speech and all heads turned to the table the Waynes and Marinette were sitting on. As his speech was over, a teenage girl with glass and a very pale brunette came over to the table.

"Hello Mr Wayne, My name's Alya and I'm your honorary daughter's best friend and I was hoping-"

"Marinette" Bruce began, cutting off the aspiring reporter. The Alya girl only then seemed to notice that the bluenette was sitting at the table. "Is this girl you're friend?"

The bluenette took one hard look at Alya before shaking her head, "No"

"Marislut what th-"

"It would be appreciated if you did not talk about my honorary daughter and future daughter-in-law on that manner" Both Damian and Marinette turned red, one much more than the other. "In fact we should be leaving" Bruce and the rest of the family got up. "Miss Rossi, I will not tolerate your lies. You will receive a lawsuit for defamation and slander. Have a good evening" They left, leaving a reporter, a liar and a class speechless.

When they reached the hotel room they finished packing up, they would be leaving that night. Marinette made a few phone calls, telling her friends that she would be moving to Gotham. They had their belongs taken to the limo downstairs and had a few snacks before making their way down. In the lobby were many different people around the bluenette's age, she recognised them as her classmates and continued walking beside Damian until Alex came over.

"Marinette... we're sorry. We understand that you probably won't forgive apps but we wrote you letters anyway" the skater girl gave Marinette a pile of enveloped letters, ones she put in her bag straight away.

"Thank you for your apologies but I don't think I can forgive you just yet, goodbye Alix" the bluenette got in the limo and let out a breath she knew she was holding.

Her eyes glanced out the tinted window, she smiled knowing that she was leaving Paris for a better life. A better life with a friends, a better life with a new family. A better life with Damian.

~Bonus~

The harsh blizzard outside was definitely being felt from inside the manor, leaving a cold and tired Marinette on the couch. Damian, noticing his girlfriend's state, went to grab a blanket to cover both Marinette and himself. She snuggled into the green-eyed boy, taking all the warmth she could get, and slowly she drifted off to sleep. Damian too felt drowsy so soon followed his girlfriend into dreamland.

Jason came in a few moments later to find the sleeping couple, he was then reminded by how tired he was so he went on the couch and leaned his back against his youngest brother, himself too falling victim to slumber.

The next person to walk in was Dick, he had just finished training so he was exhausted. But he couldn't help to coo when he came across the scene in front of him. The eldest son then got on the sofa and carefully leaned against Marinette, similar to what Jason had done with Damian. It didn't take long for him to join them in dozing off.

Tim arrived with a big cup of freshly made coffee, one which he was about to drink until he noticed his siblings all curled up on the couch sleeping. The co-CEO went back to the kitchen, left his cup of coffee then went to grab a blanket to join his family. Wrapping himself in a blanket burrito, Tim placed himself on the floor pressed up against sofa.

When Bruce returned home safely, he went to the main living room to see his children, and his future in-law who was basically his own by now, sleeping soundly with the TV still running. Reaching for the remote, he turned the television off and grabbed his phone to take a picture. He planned on printing it out and having it framed in his study. Bruce sat on one of the armchairs, taking a book to read. If there was peace in the house, he might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

[theskywaslookingback]

[AO3]

“Why do you even have that?”

Sasha looks up from her laptop to give Jon a quizzical look. They’ve been deep in a research hole for hours now, Jon with his files spread out before him like a buffet and Sasha picking her way through line after line of code to access things that she really shouldn’t be able to access - although, the government should have better security if it didn’t want to get hacked so she tried not to feel too badly about it. Jon’s not looking at his files now though, his gaze appears to be drawn to her shoe-box sized kitchen.

“Why do I have what?” She asks, “A kitchen?”

“No, the--” He flicks his fingers in a vague gesture to the counter, and his eyebrows pull together in a fetching little wrinkle that Sasha desperately wants to smooth away with her thumb, “the absolutely massive thing you have taking up half your kitchen.”

“Oh!” Sasha says, and then starts to laugh.

The stand mixer is large, honestly, too big to store in the meagre storage space of her cabinets and taking up half the countertop next to the stove. It’s also a garish bright red, loud against the backdrop of beige walls and a white lino countertop. She wonders why on earth Jon’s bringing this up now, they’ve been working for hours now and this certainly isn’t the first time he’s visited her flat, and decides the answer to simply be that ‘it’s Jon, he’s probably just never noticed.’

He’s fully scowling at her now, in a way she knows is defensive. He probably thinks she’s making fun of him. He can be so sensitive. “Sorry,” She says when she stops laughing long enough to speak, “I think you just caught me off guard. It was cute.”

“Cute?” Jon starts to sputter, the tips of his ears darkening and his nose wrinkling.

He is cute, Sasha thinks.

She waves it off. “It was a wedding present. That’s one of the big ones, I think, for most people. First thing I added to the registry.”

Jon couldn’t look more blind-sided if he’d been hit by a lorry. He even drops his pen, staring at her with wide eyes. “You’re married?”

Sasha snorts. “Don’t be daft. Does it look like I’m living with someone?”

Jon looks around anyway like he’s looking for evidence. “Divorced?”

“Nope.” She says, popping the ‘p’ with extra emphasis and grinning at the helpless confusion radiating from her friend.

“Then--” Jon trails off. He looks at the stand mixer again, like maybe it holds the answers he’s seeking. He looks back at her, and then down at his files. Suddenly his head jerks up and he says, “Wait, have you ever even been engaged?” He says this so seriously it tugs at Sasha’s heart. His eyes narrow like he’s caught her in some kind of trap, as though that wasn’t what she was expecting.

Sasha grins. “No.”

Jon looks at her incredulously, like he’s fitting together a bunch of puzzle pieces in his mind. It’s fun. Jon is so fun. “Sasha, did you fake an engagement just to get a stand mixer?”

“Yes!” Sasha slams her laptop shut and points at Jon, “But do not tell my great aunt that, do you understand? It took me years of work to get that stand mixer, Jon!”

Jon stares at her silently for just a moment, absolutely bewildered, before he dissolves into laughter, curling in on himself and digging his fingers into his sides. It shakes his shoulders and Sasha swears there’s tears in his eyes and before she knows it she’s laughing too, hard enough it hurts her chest and blurs her vision. To an outside viewer they must look positively loony. It takes ages for them to stop and gather themselves back together. Jon takes off his glasses to wipe tears away from his eyes while Sasha rubs at her face and tries to stop the giggles that keep bubbling up when she looks at Jon.

“God,” Jon says at last, “I haven’t laughed like that in--” he clears his throat, “anyway.”

“Yes,” Sasha agrees, “anyway.”

She looks at the clock and is both shocked and completely unsurprised that it’s after midnight.

Jon must follow her gaze because she hears him utter a quiet, “good lord.”

She’s dangerously close to laughing again.

Jon starts to shuffle his files away back into their folders. “Later than I thought.” He says.

Sasha hums in agreement, putting her laptop away and sorting her notes into neat piles. “No use trying to get home this late, you might as well just stay the night.”

“Ah,” Jon’s nose does that cute wrinkle thing again, and Sasha’s lips twitch, “that’s quite alright. I’m sure I can just find a cab.”

“Could do,” Sasha agrees, “but it’d be easier if you stayed. I’ve got an extra toothbrush and everything. Plus, tomorrow is Saturday so it’s not like we have to rush back to work or anything.”

Jon’s got all his things put back in his messenger bag, a solid olive green canvas affair that Sasha privately thinks is dreadful looking. “Wouldn’t want to spoil your weekend. I’m sure you have plans.” He’s stalling, looking for a reason not to go. Sasha wishes he’d just tell her what he wants.

She smiles, because Jon isn’t easy but she knows him and she likes him anyway, “Well, I was going to put that stand mixer to work and make myself some bread. But other than that--” She shrugs.

Jon’s eyes go once more to that bright red piece of kitchen equipment. “You make your own bread?”

“Sure. It’s cheaper and it tastes better.”

Jon makes a thoughtful noise. “Well, I suppose… that is, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Lovely,” Sasha beams, and then adds slyly, “I’ve even got some of Tim’s things you can sleep in.”

Jon goes properly red at that and buries his face in his hands with a groan.

-

Sasha busies herself with getting her ingredients together while Jon wakes up. Before they’d become friends she’d always just kind of assumed he’d be a morning person. He had that air about him at work, sharp and alert even when she was still trying to get her head on. The truth is that while Jon has difficulties getting to sleep, he would happily sleep until mid-afternoon if she let him, so she makes sure to wake him at a decent hour and then goes back to check and make sure he hasn’t fallen back asleep. Since her flat is basically a glorified closet, and Jon sleeps on the sofa, this is not a hard task to keep an eye on.

It takes a good twenty minutes before Jon comes and sits himself down at what she generously calls a kitchen table. His hair hangs in curls around his shoulders and he impatiently pushes a hand through it where it covers his face. He’s still sleepy-eyed, the sleeves of Tim’s jumper she’d let him borrow pooling around his hands.

“Good morning.” She says with amusement.

He grunts, flopping into a rickety chair. “Coffee?” He asks.

“All out. Tea alright?”

He nods.

“Great. Kettle is over there.” She gestures vaguely to the area next to the fridge, “Tea is top cabinet.”

Jon sighs, like it’s a great effort for him to make his own tea, but offers no further complaint as he retrieves the kettle and fills it with water.

With Jon out of the way Sasha appropriates the table for more space to set out her scale and bowls. She won’t need anything too fancy today so it doesn’t take long to get set up. She hears the kettle and turns around just in time to see Jon half-way climbing onto the counter. “Jon!” She scolds, similar to the way she would her cat when she was a child.

He freezes and gives her a sheepish grin. “You said top cabinet.”

She did, and she hadn’t thought about the almost foot of height she had on Jon. She snorts and waves him down. “Grab the mugs, I’ll get the tea then.”

He grumbles something about doing it himself but obliges, plucking two mugs from the drying rack.

“Green tea alright?”

Jon makes a dismissive noise. “Black?”

“Out.”

“I’m taking you shopping after this, Sasha James, this is downright unacceptable.”

“Yeah, sure.”

She hands him the box of tea bags and he rolls his eyes at her, muttering as he fills their mugs with water.

“Do you at least have milk?”

“Yes.”

“Thank god.”

Sasha rolls her eyes and gets back to her scale, weighing out her dry ingredients.

“Why are you doing it like that?”

“By weight?”

Jon hums.

“It’s more accurate by weight than by volume, typically.”

“You can’t just, I don’t know, eye-ball it?”

“Jonathan Sims have you ever baked anything in your entire life?”

She takes the jerky shrug he gives in response as a no. She shakes her head and dumps her flour and yeast into the mixing bowl of her stand mixer. Jon hovers there at her shoulder, watching, so close she can almost feel his breath.

It gives her a wicked idea.

She reaches a hand up, like she’s checking something, and then flicks the mixer on high.

Flour explodes from the mixing bowl in a cloud of white, covering her and Jon and the countertop.

The little shriek Jon gives will stay with her for a very long time.

“Why?” He asks, mouth agape and positively covered in flour.

“Because I knew it would be funny.” Sasha says, laughing. There’s flour in her hair, and she’ll definitely need to wash her clothes, but the look in Jon’s wide eyes and the slowly blooming smile on his face is worth it.

It takes less time than she thinks to get everything clean again, and the second time she even allows Jon to help her measure ingredients and start the mixer. He’s very serious about the whole thing, watching the scale with a grim kind of determination like it would mean death if he added just a bit too much yeast to the dough, but it’s the most fun Sasha’s had in forever. By the end of the day she has enough bread to wrap a loaf up for Jon to take home, and he looks at her like she’s just given him the greatest gift he’s ever received.

“Same time next week?” She asks as she wraps his scarf around his neck.

“I suppose.” He says, ducking his head to avoid the kiss she tries to plant on his cheek. “If you’re amenable.”

“I’m amenable.” She says, and kisses the top of his head anyway.

Sasha watches him leave and Jon turns back at the end of the hallway to wave, before disappearing into the stairwell. She laughs, bright and happy, and closes the door.

[mxtantrights]

past lives | 5

a/n: it’s time for the whole batfam to come together! who’s excited ?!?!? and when I tell y'all this aint even the climax. Also , cannon is what I make it to be. happy readings <3

“Oh come on!” You shout.

Looking down past the sewer grate you can see you phone. It landed with a bit of a splash and you can only imagine it’s filthy. A sewer in Gotham? There is no way you’re getting you phone back.

You’re on a time crunch anyways. So without wasting any more time you open the back car door and hop in. The driver faces the back.

“You alright there?” 

No you had lost your phone to killer croc probably. But that was okay. Better your phone than your laptop. You had backed up your stuff like a month ago anyways.

Shaking your head you say, “I’m good.”

The driver turns back with a curt nod. He pulls out of park and drives onto the main road.

And maybe you’d lost a few photos and notes app things. But really how important could they have been if you didn’t want them backed up? You made a mental note to yourself to message Fallon through their Twitter DMs.

It isn’t that long a drive until the city becomes trees and trees and more trees. You have the window crack a bit and even the air out of Gotham City feels different. Untouched by the supervilllans. Not that they don’t live outside of Gotham, and if you had to take a couple of guesses Lex Luthor, who had previous dealings with Raʼs al Ghul, probably has a mansion out here.

Shit, Raʼs might have a mansion out here. He’s been around for so long- too long. That part always irked you. To be alive for that long, the mans emotions had to be devoid and frozen over. People come and go, but Raʼs al Ghul never dies.

-

Bruce greets you along with Alfred at the front door. He gives you a quick once over. You look stressed out and that makes him re-think this decision. inciting you over for some flimsy writing piece on the family. 

In reality he just needed something from you. But really it went father than that. Ht wanted to talk to you. Once he saw you at the Gala, the faint memories of your mother started to seep into his conscious thoughts. 

You had the same brown eyes. Looking at you, he can’t really tell what of his features you have. If any. A tiny part of him (that was slowly growing) hoped he would see it in time in you. 

He invited you in and Alfred took your coat. He could tell the experience was new based on the face you made and the fact that you outright offered to put away your own coat. It was genuine. 

Alfred of course hushed you off. Bruce took this time to usher you into the dinning room. It wasn’t diner time, more so lunch. Seven plates were set on the table. 

The both of you decided against sitting at the table yet. 

“Are you expecting another guest?” you ask.

Bruce looked at the number of plates then back at you. 

“My youngest son will be joining us.” Bruce answers.

“You have four sons?” 

“You didn’t see the youngest at the Gala, he was occupied.” 

You nod your head.

“Oh I also wanted to ask if you were okay with me recording you. I take written notes but taping is like my back-up.” you say.

Bruce agrees instantly and applauds your resourcefulness. He takes you over to the table and shows you where you can place the recorded for optimal sound. It makes you wonder about how he- billionaire of Gotham- would know where to put a recorder that picks up multiple voices.

You let the thought go when you hear footsteps. 

Before you know it, in through the door of the dining room comes Tim and Jason. Tim sends you a wave as he takes his seat. His brother on the other hand has other ideas.

Jason walks right up to you.

“I see I was right.” he says.

You scrunch you face in confusion, “About what exactly?”

“To be continued.”

You relax you face when you remember that is the last thing he said to you at the Gala. And you try your best to hide the smile on your face. It was no blush but you have a feeling he was the type to take a mile, given an inch when it comes to woo-ing.

“I’m here for an interview. With your whole family.” you alert him.

He feigns a pained expression, “Oh I thought you were here solely for me.”

Bruce had been watching the discussion between the two of you out of his peripheral. Tim was telling him about some new league activities, paraphrasing because you were in the room.

“I’m not late right?” 

In came Dick Grayson. Fallon had told you how cute his face was. They had saw his facial expression when you bumped into him. They said ‘He turned a bit red in the face, eyes wide like a Bambi or something. It was cute.”

You did see him face after you bumped into him and you agreed. It also helped that he was Gotham’s pretty boy. 

And so Gotham’s pretty boy was looking at you. In his home- or childhood home, you should note one of those options in the piece.

He walks over to you and Jason.

“Hi, I’m Dick Grayson we met at-” he begins.

“At the gala, I remember. Hi there.” you cut him off and give him your name.

“Wow, what are the chances that you’re the writer for this- what is it an op-ed? Fluff piece?” he asks.

You honestly chuckle at that. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Trying to get the spotlight?” Jason shot back.

Your eyes darted between the two men as they teased one another. 

Bruce was able to reign them in and get them to sit in their seats. Which they took like they were assigned. Jason sat across from Tim, next to Dick. Bruce was stills standing. You made another note to yourself to maybe tease that in your writing.

You took a seat at the end of the table, near the door. You had your questions on file so you didn’t really need to hear yourself on the recording. And you weren’t really planning to go off script too much.

A few seconds later you hear footsteps again. This must be the young one, you thought. And you were right as you watch a little body walk right past you and over to Tim. When he took your seat, you remained perfectly still. 

He hadn’t looked in your direction yet. 

Bruce cleared his throat before heading over to his seat across from you. He eyed his youngest child. This is what made him finally look at you, and he too went still as a rock.

“You must be the youngest,” you say. 

Then you introduce yourself. As if you don’t know that's Damian, Raʼs al Ghul grandson. You know his name. Hell you knew what the top of his head smelled like when he was freshly born.

“Hello, I’m Damian Wayne.” 

“That’s actually spelled D-e-m-o-n, for the record.” 

[captaincravatthecapricious]

In Which I Project

Jon has some sort of neurodivercence and it is making work hard.

@janekfan

cw Jon is really really getting down on himself about what his brain is making hard, so cw for that and internalized ablism relating to things like rsd and executive dysfunction.  Jon also takes this out on his coworkers, because that is how Jon can be.  This chapter is a bit heavy with a hopeful end. If there is a chapter two, it will have a lot more fluff, promise.  (The reason Jon doesn't have a diagnosis is because I am projecting and I am not 100% what all is going on in my brain, this is just my experience.)  Also mentions of alcohol and food.  

Fuck.  Fuck.  Fuck.  Fuck.  

Why is he like this?  Why can’t he just fucking be a normal, functional person. Why does his brain behave like a backed up, broken drain.   He can’t think today.  

He’s been staring at his computer since 6:30 this morning.   He’s been here eight hours.  And it isn’t like he isn’t getting anything done.  But it’s not what he meant to do.  

He was going to check his email, record a statement, do some filing, check Martin’s work, then do some follow ups and check his email again before going home.  

Well.  He checked his email.  Then he noticed a flaw in what he filed yesterday so he had to fix that.  Then the loo was out of toilet tissue and he had to go chase down that, because the building’s maintenance tends to skip the Archives half the time.  (Which is usually fine because it’s used by four fairly neat people, but doesn’t help when they run out of things).  Then Elias had requested a meeting.  And that sent Jon spiraling because he wasn’t supposed to have a meeting today.  That was supposed to be tomorrow and while it’s nice that he doesn’t have to do that tomorrow it threw off his whole day and now he just feels like he’s going to cry or pass out or break his jaw by clenching it so hard.  

He can’t do it.  

He tries to make himself record a statement.  He does.  

But he can’t open the file.  

He can’t.  

He wants to scream in frustration.  Which, of course, is when Martin walks in.  

Jon doesn’t mean to yell.  He really doesn’t.  He doesn’t know where this vitriol comes from.  Was he always like this?   He doesn’t even remember what he says, just the acrid taste of bitter words on his tongue.  

When Martin flees, he tries to open the file again but the color and whine of the lights breaks down on him and his dragging fatigue.   

He tries to loosen his jaw.  Wiggles it side to side.  It pops, but ultimately goes back to tense.   It’s starting to give him a headache.   

He can’t do this.  It’s barely lunch.  He’s gotten nothing done.  

He tries to open this statement.  

He opens his email instead.  

The library wants his books back.  

He’s tired.  He means to gather his books and bring them up, but he ends up cleaning his desk and making notes on half researched statements he forgot about yesterday.  

That puts him off balance.  He hates not finishing.  It makes him feel on edge.  Like the world is going to drop from below his feet at any moment.  Like, in forgetting, the world has already dropped from beneath him, and he’s been walking on empty air and delusions.  And if this has already happened, how can he be sure it didn’t happen before.  

He finishes cleaning and files the loose statements away.  

He finally remembers to drink some water.  

He rubs his eyes against unshed tears and exhaustion.  It’s too bright.  Too loud.  

He takes his books up to the library.  

Hannah in the library tells him to remind Tim to return his books, she he does that.  

Jon is.  Edging towards …probably a nervous breakdown, if he’s honest with himself, by the time he stands before Tim’s desk.  

And Tim isn’t going to relinquish his books without a fight.  

“You can give Martin a rest or I’ll tell Hannah that you lost her books.”  Tim crosses his arms.  

It’s reasonable, Jon knows.  He’s behaved childishly.  This is more than warranted.  But, unfortunately his brain isn’t working.  He’s caught up in the disappointment in Tim’s tone, and again, the floor drops from beneath his feet.  Stomach dropping.  He tries to convince himself that, no, Tim doesn’t hate him.  All he as to do is agree or apologize which he should do anyhow.  But.  But what comes out of his mouth is something along the lines of, “Tim, I’ll thank you not to try to run my department.   This is hardly professional behavior.  Who do you think Hannah is more likely to believe?”   

This wouldn’t have been so bad, if not for the force and anger in his tone.  Misplaced confusion and frustration and exhaustion.  

He turns on his heel before Tim finds the words to argue.  

This is it.  

He’s ruined everything.  

Tim will never talk to him again and Sasha won’t either because he was rude to Tim.  And of course Tim’s mad at him because he was a prick to Martin.  

It’s all his fault.  He should have been able to stay on task.  He’s an adult, damnit!  

He finally opens the file but he hitches a sob before he can squeeze the introduction out of his tight jaw.  

He can’t do this.  

He can’t do this job.  

He can’t sleep at night and work all day.  Can’t even feed himself or get to the store once a week.  

How the fuck did he make it through school.  He’s a worthless mess.  

Georgie knew it.  

He wants to scream.  

They’re talking about him.  They must be.  That shouldn’t matter to him.  He’s their boss.  Besides, he was right even if he was rude about it.  Martin does make irritating mistakes.  He could have been more professional about handling it, but he still had to say something.   And Tim.  Tim had no right to bargain that way.  He has a responsibility to the library, and trying to use it as leverage against Jon is ridiculous.  

But at the same time.  There are the closest he has… had to friends.  Tim was his friend.  Right?  

Had he made that up too?  Has some memory of some earlier misdeed fallen out of the torn hole in the pocket of his memory where he looses things like hours, tasks, sleep, meals, meetings, half-finished statements on his desk.  

Why is he like this?  

He gets some more work done.  But none of the stuff on his list.  

He tries to make himself read the statement, again.  But he doesn’t.  

It’s late.  He’s left with lingering taste of disappointment and discontent.  

Today’s been a wash.  

He looks angrily at his scribbled to do list on the neon sticky note, from the stack Tim gave him back in Research.  Nothing’s been crossed off.  Statement has been circled twice.  He rubs at his eyes.  Tries to wipe away the tension headache.  Remembers to take a drink of water, finally.  It’s been hours.  It does help, a little, soothes some of the anxious desperation and crushing despair.  He wonders how much of it would be soothed if he got himself a hot meal.  How would it compare to the relief of finished that statement.  

But…. he won’t be able to go home and sleep if he doesn’t finish, because he won’t be able to relax until he gets it done.  

He allows himself 5 minutes to cry.  He sets a timer.  

It doesn’t help.  Doesn’t even offer the release he’d been hoping for.  

He dries his eyes with his sleeve.  

He reads the statement.  And scolds himself for taking all day to get to it.  It wasn’t hard.  It wasn’t even that bad.  It was a foolish statement that reeked of mischief and falsehood.  And he wasted his whole day avoiding it.  

He cries again, then.  No timer.  

He leaves his office.  He’s finally done with the day.  It’s edging on 21:00.  He feels like shit.  Of course he hadn’t brought a lunch, why would he have enough brain cells to do that?  He did make a halfhearted attempt at breakfast.  But that was a lot of hours ago, and he’d barely managed a few bites before his anxious stomach had stopped him.  He doesn’t feel hungry now, but he knows he is by the shakiness if his limbs, the over-lightness in his head, the irritation at himself still thick in his veins.  

He still has to get himself home.  

Then he hears footsteps on the stairs.  He thinks about going back to his office, but the idea of going back in there makes his head spin.  He’s spent too long in his office.  Christ, he just wants to sleep.  Just wants to be in bed without having to get home and make dinner or order dinner or shower or get in bed.  He just wants to be there.  Just wants to be there and sleep of eternity.  He angrily brushes away a stray tear.  

Of course, it’s too late now to try to hide, and eh certainly can’t hide how rumpled and tear-stained he is.  So he stands there dumbly, some archaic part of his brain reasoning that if he stays still, maybe no one will see him.  

Tim sees him.  Tim is laughing on his phone, pleasantly buzzed, and fumbling for the jacket he most likely forgot before going for drinks.  At least it’s still fairly early.  At least Tim still cares enough about his job to wrap it up at a decent hour.  He spots Jon, and hesitates.  Jon doesn’t look like he’s doing well.  He trails off mid chuckle.  “Sorry Sash, I’ve gotta go.  I’ll talk to you later, yeah?  Had fun tonight.”  

What does he say to Jon, who’d been a right ass earlier.  Jon, who is now teary and frozen, staring at him with exhaustion and mortification.  

He makes a decision, making a conscious choice to make himself smaller and softer.  “Hey, come back to mine, I’m going to buy you dinner.  As my boss, you’re a prick, and I haven’t forgotten that.  But as my friend, you need a curry.  Maybe we can sort out my asshole boss and my upset friend at the same time, yeah?”

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing 83 Review

guess who isn't weeks late this time. my opinion of the series is going up a little bit. it's still not great, but i'm not actively put off by it anymore the way i was after 81. not going to tag as spoilers, but be warned that they are under the cut

i’m sure you all are well aware of this but now, but dear god i love bruno redondo’s art. like, an unhealthy amount. the pink and blue is getting to be a theme with either him or just this run, but i am definitely enjoying it. the movement in this cover is clearly obvious, but well done. you recoznize right off the bat that the cover was drawn to drag your eyes down the page until you get to the bottom, but you enjoy the whole ride there. 

also, redondo’s way of drawing a character in stages of action so we can see just how much they’re doing in a split second of movement is quickly becoming something i like to see drawn with dick, and any other character that has that sort of ease of movement and body sense, like cass or sin or maybe a super. 

and he’s in action the entire time! there’s shot drawn just to show off a shirtless comic book character, the way nightwing is so often subjected to. he’s shirtless because he’s changing his clothes, and that’s all we see, no more and no less. very practical, very well done. i like it.

he looks so cute right here oh my god. the little squint, the hair curls. it’s adorable.

but also like. unless melinda has specifically outfitted the door spyhole so that the person on the other side can’t see dick looking through it (and in all honesty she might have) then everyone on the other side can see dick looking through that door. 

bringing your attention back to the “i can’t see melinda’s fbi file oh no!! it’s redacted!! whatever can we do!!” stupidity. redacted files are child’s play for oracle, and definitely doable for both dick and bruce. so that’s bullshit.

now, melinda apparently grew up with the maroni family, then took down part of the family from the inside. the maroni family is a large and notable presence in gotham, one that bruce pays a respectable amount of attention to. he definitely would have grown suspicious when two members of the maroni family were taken down, and with some investigation, he would have discovered melinda’s plan. and it should go without saying that the majority of things you see batman doing? dick can do it too.

it’s not so much that i don’t like how clever the villains/antiheroes are getting. i don’t like how dc heroes are increasingly written as less intelligent. they seem to be relying on pure fighting skills or luck, which may be the case for a couple heroes, but has never been the case for most of dc’s big name heroes, the bat family included. it’s irritating to me to see this sort of stuff pop up as a major plot point when i know that, if dick or bruce had been written with the amount of skill and power that they canonically possess, this entire mess would have been sorted out years ago.

unrelated but dick and melinda have the same hair

this may just be me, but i was always under the impression that dick doesn’t really have a “double life???”

yes, he’s talented enough to create enough differences between robin/nightwing and dick grayson’s mannerisms, way of movement, voices, and speech patterns so that it’s very difficult to put the two together.

but nightwing has never been separate from dick grayson, not the way bruce and batman is. he’s always leaned more towards clark in that aspect: his hero persona is an exaggerated, stately, larger-than-life version of who he really is. there’s no second persona, no real “dick grayson identity” and “nightwing identity.” they’re the same person with the same goals, ideas, and skills. one just pretends to abide by the law, and one gives up pretense of that.

oh good thank god. if he’d trusted her right off the bat (hehe. bat.) i would have slapped him upside the head. at least he’s still got instincts.

gosh the colouring on this is cool. the red has enough purple and pink tones to it that it doesn’t abruptly ruin the tone of the artwork. but it’s definitely glaring enough to take the reader outside of this personal moment they had slipped into between dick and melinda, to put them back in the present where they’re reminded that oh yea there are people hunting dick down. 

the next panel keeps this up too, in a less severe way. melinda’s bodyguard shows up (i forgot her name sorry :[ ) and subtly places us in the middle of an action scene rather than a private, personal scene.

laughing so fucking hard have our little vigilantes grown so accustomed to breaking into places that it doesn’t even register as a crime anymore??? tim coming in through the fire escape to pick bernard up for their date and being very much confused as to why bernard is freaking out.

i really like melinda’s shirt and now despite all the work i have to do and the fucking conference i have to host on monday i want to spend hours scrolling through clothing shops online trying to find this shirt. the mock neck/neckline is so cool i want it

so roland just assumes that a very dangerous vigilante who is highly talented in combat and a very dangerous bodyguard who is also highly talented in combat had a fight that ended with this very dangerous bodyguard being tied up and she looks completely fine? roland just assumes that her having no visible wounds or bruises means that they got into a fight and she lost that easily? uh. aight then

dick what are you doing. legitimately what the fuck are you doing. why are you posing oh my god. you are injured and tired and in absolutely no position to go hand to hand with one of main enemies. jesus christ run away or head to lower ground or something. don’t just stand around letting the floodlights show exactly where you are.

i don’t understand what he’s trying to do here??? blockbuster fully bought the story that dick fought them both, won, tried to get info out of them and failed, then hightailed it out of there. he didn’t have to draw roland out for a fight.

but it does look cool. the way the light just highlights his silhouette and the blue parts of his costume does look badass. he does get style points in my book for this.

w h a t  d i d  i  f u c k i n g  t e l l  y o u ,  d i c k ?

very classic superhero line and it does sound like something dick would say in a fit of righteous rage but also it makes me laugh so hard because all vigilantes think they’re so powerful that the law doesn’t apply to them. dick vigilantism is illegal. you’re acting above the law and pretending it doesn’t apply to you. hypocritical much?

it happens so often in superhero movies, tv shows, comics, whatever and it makes me giggle every damn time.

pretty decent comeback but before i start seeing people writing blockbuster as a thug i’m going to remind you that he made a deal with a demon for genius level intellect. if this turns into another bane situation i’m going to be a little miffed. he’s a smart man, which makes him a dangerous and infinitely more interesting enemy for nightwing.

this is so horribly in character i want to scream. (or. at least. it lines up with one of the versions of nightwing i have in my head.) he’s running right towards the bullets, miraculously doesn’t get shot, while making a sort-of pun. i hate this so much. i love him.

this is cool. this art is really really cool.

he leaped from a building right towards a helicopter that’s actively shooting at him, but none of the bullets are touching him. none of the corruption of the city can touch him no matter how hard it tries, because he’s too good to be corrupted. Comic Book Logic Can Be Good Sometimes Actually.

batman’s belt what??? swiss army knife who?? sorry, i only know nightwing’s bright blue escrima.

this is one of my favourite things about heroes with exceptional abilities, even more so if the hero is human. the things they can do are so far beyond the realm of normal human abilities that it’s equal parts terrifying and awe-inspiring every time they act.

he just used modified grappling wires to hook to the door of a moving helicopter, swung around the helicopter safely without hitting the blades, gained exactly the right momentum to swing upward again right through the opening of helicopter, then fought and tied up the men before they had any idea what was happening. that’s near impossible to do.

it’s stuff like this where i just sort of sigh in contentment. no matter how many times they leave out dick’s detective skills or conveniently forget that he’s actually a master planner and team leader and make him out to be this forgetful dude who makes everything up on the fly because of his “circus roots,” at least they won’t ever take away dick’s sheer physical ability honed to perfection. 

the art, too! in a few panels, dick’s drawn a little lightened or blurred. he’s moving so quickly and fighting so efficiently that he can barely be seen by the enemy. he’s got perfect form all the way through.

and THIS!

there was a helicopter that had five men shooting at him with what looks like machine guns. most people would be dead. some would run away, and be nimble enough to survive without fatal hits. there are very few people, even in fucking comic books, who can look at that hopeless situation and turn it around so quickly and thoroughly that he benefits from it instead.

i just. love nightwing.

it was funny the first time as a comic reader aware of the meme. it’s really not anymore. why the hell would you, in universe, be wearing a shirt that has a picture of your boyfriend being hit in the face by his father. 

okay that was funny. 

look at lil bitewing, so concerned for her human!!! love her sm. 

also a question as to the timeline of things. is nightwing happening before or after urban legends? 

i was so distracted by dick wearing a robe and briefs and nothing else that i didn’t register the second part until later. he slept for two days?? babs, baby, he recently had a very traumatic brain injury. why do you sound so nonchalant?

@TIM X COFFEE SHIPPERS GET FUCCCCKKKKEEDDDDD

ngl i totally forgot about that dude oops

this comic is giving so many reaction pictures. you know how you always use the worst possible picture of your friend for your friend’s contact picture? i’m just getting so many of these.

leslie!!! the titans!!! lucius!!! dick going to go see old friends!!!! the titans!!! this part made me so irrationally happy it really did. gar being the one to just. offer dick solutions with open arms. this was the best

i wish i could just copy and paste this entire scene, but that would take up way too much space, so i’m just going to talk about it instead. 

you gave me my name, nightwing, and you gave me some of the best advice i’ve received in my life: beautiful little throwback to nightwing’s origin. you’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t know where the name came from, or who don’t know how much clark means to dick. and the fact that dick still looks up to clark as a hero, recognizes that clark isn’t always perfect and yet continues to hold him in such high esteem, and still looks back on advice that clark gave him fondly just warmed my heart so much.

for a man who has fearlessly stood up to darkseid, bruce will do a lot to avoid a conversation: “grrr. i’m the BATMAN. i’m so DARK and MYSTERIOUS. nobody knows the true me. no one ever will. i will be LONELY for the rest of my CURSED LIFE. such is the price of a hero. ignore my farmer himbo husband in the background”

but i don’t think there’s anything heroic about being a billionaire: another nod to how much dick follows clark’s example rather than bruce. yes, this was a very poignant and important criticism, and i think it’s wonderful that this was published in a pretty popular comic book. but the thing is, there is a way to be a heroic billionaire, but only in fictional universes. the way bruce, ollie, t’challa only ever use their wealth to help people. they donate massive amounts of money to charities that they themselves create so they know exactly how the money is being used. they hire people who aren’t likely to get jobs anywhere else and pay them much more than what a base living wage is. they use their power to help push progressive laws and social change. they are helping. 

dick doesn’t fully see it that way. he spent more than half his childhood the son of a billionaire, but still believes that one could be more heroic when one doesn’t have obscene amounts of wealth. whose example do you think he followed to come to that conclusion?

superman looked up to alfred pennyworth?: i mean yea alfred may have been a wildly irresponsible guardian and one hell of an enabler but goddamn if he didn’t love his kid.

you don’t need my input. you’ve thought it all through: ooooooh this line made me grin. for so long, dick’s treated clark as a mentor and a guiding figure. he’s still seen as a kid, an up and coming, snot-nosed titan with dreams of a better world. clark still thinks of him as a kid, despite watching him grow up. but this little line was something i think dick needed sorely to hear. he doesn’t need anyone’s guiding hand on his shoulder, he doesn’t need to ask for permission. he doesn’t need clark to support him the way he did when he was a teenager. he’s all grown up now, and he doesn’t need clark’s help. i imagine it was a bit of a surprise for dick to hear that. 

honestly, i couldn’t think of a better role model: ohhh but it doesn’t stop there. clark just straight up turns the tables on dick. imagine you’re dick, and you’ve looked up to this one hero your entire life, and then one day he turns to you and says that he thinks you’re so kind and smart and worthy of a person that he wants you to mentor his son!? goes to show just how much clark trusts dick.

i swear to god dick probably cries every time he hears clark compliment him because bruce is so rare and sparing with his praise that clark giving him the slightest hint of approval is just a dopamine rush.

also, now deathstroke and superman have both asked nightwing to mentor their kids. the juxtaposition is fuckin hysterical. imagine either of their reactions when they realize what kind of company they’re with

lets talk colours for a second, because i absolutely adore how classic colour tropes have been subverted in this comic, and in this general run really.

warm tones have usually (usually, not always) been associated with light and comfort and friendship and,,,,,well,,,warmth. whereas cool tones are usually used to unsettle, or make a scene seem colder and put the reader on edge. this varies if a comic only uses cool tones, or only uses warm tones, but if a comic uses both, this is generally well-used.

that isn’t the case in this run.

dark red, orange, and other warm tones have been used to symbolize danger, action, attacks. hot pink isn’t usually included in this colour group, but it’s definitely part of it in this case. in contrast, scenes that have cool colours give us the impression of slipping into a comfortable, calm scene with babs, tim, the titans, and other allies. even the beginning scene with superman has this blue, but then it transitions into something more golden coloured. dawn broke over dick, as his new idea came to light, and that was reflected in the art (and the sunrise setting.)

have there ever been times when dick’s longed for the comfort of his mask because he didn’t feel confident as dick grayson? i can’t think of any. i may be wrong, but this struck me as pretty ooc.

am i just??? gay and reading this all wrong??

cause i was under the impression that when someone says they are grateful for your friendship you don’t immediately kiss them. 

or is this like. normal straight mating rituals.

i mean he’s smiling afterward but still babs aren’t you supposed to at least make sure it’s okay first? you guys broke up a while back after you said something along the lines of “i want to be coworkers with you and nothing more because i don’t trust you or feel comfortable around you as a civilian anymore.” like lmao after you say something like that to someone i would assume that you don’t have the permission to just kiss them whenever you want.

show of hands who else got real sad when they realized dick was talking about himself in this.

sure, he could be referencing the things he’s seen blockbuster pull, and the children on the streets. but “i’ve seen money used for enforcement,” sounds a little too close to dick’s entire life being destroyed by one man threatening the circus to pay protection money for me to completely ignore. and “i’ve seen the poorest and most vulnerable blamed and punished rather than assisted” becomes a lot worse when you remember dick was thrown in juvie for a couple months until bruce was able to obtain legal guardianship, and in there, not a authority figure believed him when he told them his parents were murdered.

he’s lived this before.

a. mother. fucking. typo.

fucking why

i mean i’ve stated my distaste for the batfamily groupchat before but like. this is reaching new levels of ridiculousness. jason sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. tim sounds like he was written by a fanfic writer. steph sounds like she was written by someone who doesn’t know the first thing about steph and wanted to include her for “family points!!!!!” damian’s supposed to be completely off the grid, and everyone’s searching for him. i do love the way cass texts tho.

well god fuck now i’m crying

dick got a phone call, a sorry, and a thank you out of bruce. i feel so much secondhand happiness for him, if that’s a thing. we’ll just ignore the way bruce looks ugly af and focus on the good parts okay?

and again with the colour symbolism here!

i’m either going to love this or hate this. who knows, we’ll see.

something something hearts something something pink is an evil colour something something. i need to know more about this guy but there’s definitely symbolism there. 

is it just me or does this dude look like the backstabbing traitorous absolutely motherfucking piece of shit villain that killed tadashi hamada in big hero 6?

~~

taggggg list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan  @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridge @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy @red-hood-redemption​ @capricorn-stark​ @batshit-birds​ @comics-observer @buticaaba​ 

[project-rosewood-476]

Every Rose Has Its Thorns Chapter 4

After months of planning and organizing, I am done with this chapter. I am on a roll today

TW: Homicide, mentions of blood

Summary: This is the aftermath of what happened to Tabby at the end of chapter 3 when she killed those parents. Tabby struggles to come to terms with what she did, her emotions, and what she has done in her past. Will she overcome her inner demons and rise above to make peace and amends? Or will she continue to make mistakes that will send her spiraling down the rabbit hole of despair?

After a while, Tabby just stopped and stood up. She calmed down enough to scratch her ears as they were rashy from anger. She just stood there in shock, unblinking. She couldn’t believe what she’s done. She had blood splatters everywhere on her. At least with her jacket, they blended in. If she just zipped up, she could hide her white shirt, clean her glasses and pass off the bloodstains as something else on her pants and shoes.

Masky and Hoodie had grabbed the kids while Tabby was stabbing their father. The little boy was shrieking and struggling against Hoodie, who was being forceful and was in the process of tying up his hands. Masky took a gentler approach with the little girl. He had covered her eyes so she didn't see the scene, and he was in the process of leading her outside. The girl didn't struggle, probably out of shock and fear. Masky was talking to her quietly. Toby heard his assurances that they weren't going to hurt them and that he wouldn't tie her wrists if she just cooperated. In Toby's opinion, the little girl was acting in a much more intelligent fashion. He held the shy-looking baby in his arms. She was pretty cute and had settled down. She was looking up at him, reaching for his goggles curiously. He saw the baby had her name embroidered on her little onesie. The baby's name was Stephanie. Toby glanced around for clues about the kids’ names, and his eyes fell on a crayon drawing of the family. Two stick figures are called Mommy and Daddy. A slightly taller one called Ty. That must be the boy—a stick figure called "Me" and then a circle that was probably the baby. Audrey, age 4, had signed the little kid’s drawing. The little girl probably drew when she was younger. He then remembered that he needed to find the files.

Tabby just still stood there in shock. Her wide eyes were unblinking, and you could tell she wasn't there mentally anymore.

Toby went and tapped her shoulder while holding the baby in one arm.

"Tabby...".

Tabby wobbled her head over at him.

"Yes?..." she stated slowly and emptily. Her eyes were vacant, showing that she retreated further back into her head.

"Let me find the files, and we'll go, okay?" Toby stated calmly. The baby made a slight bubbling noise in his arms.

"Okay..." she stated in the same slow empty voice.

Toby soon found the files and took them. They weren't hidden very well, which made his blood boil. She followed him around, but she still kept that vacant look. She blinked now and then, but it was still unsettling to those who knew Tabby well. Toby was sure she'd be okay later. He just wanted to get this mission done first. It should be fast. Masky was probably contacting their boss so that he could make a temporary portal for them. Usually, Tabby would say something to ease the situation or complain, but this made her deathly quiet. Almost like a broken quiet. She just stared blankly straight ahead.

Toby went outside. It was pretty dark out now. Hoodie was still holding onto Ty, who looked very uncomfortable in his binds. Audrey was sitting by a tree and shaking, almost as if she knew she couldn't escape. Masky was seated nearby. They looked as though they were waiting for the portal to open. It was pretty dark out now. Toby knew that he would snap her out of it later; he tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

"Tabby...It's time to go, okay? Are you alright?"

Tabby nodded her head slowly in acknowledgment that it was time to go.

She wobbled her head towards him again, looking at him with unblinking eyes.

"....fine..." She started slowly in that same empty voice. She continued to walk towards the rest of the group.

Masky had the girl by the hand. Hoodie had tied up the boy and draped him over his shoulder. Toby held the baby and the files. Tabby stayed silent. She was strangely obedient, which was out of character for her. She waited for the next move. Masky turned and began to lead them back through the woods. Hoodie was glad that Tabby was quiet now. Toby was keeping the baby entertained. Tabby continued to move through the woods on autopilot. She just stared ahead, blinking occasionally. She wondered what the kids thought of her or what they'll think of her later on once they processed the whole situation. Once again, her stepdad’s words came back to her.

"All you ever do is ruin people's lives. All you ever do is hurt those around you. You're a monster and bad influence everyone is better off without you being around".

Those were constant thoughts that ran through the chaotic warfare that was her head. On top of the main idea of " how does it feel to know that he was right about you all along?"

She just let the ideas overcome her as she had that blank look of defeat to her.

Toby walked near her. They had to walk for a long while until they could get to the boss. The kids were quiet, thankfully. The baby in his arms made small noises up at him and Tabby.

Tabby was slowly coming to; at least she was more aware of her surroundings and blinking more. She didn't have that blank unsettling look to her anymore. But it was evident that she looked and felt like shit. She still had a glimpse of defeat and was more of a broken quiet.

Toby could tell she wasn't doing well. He figured she probably remembered something. He wondered if there was a way to cheer her up. She looked over at Toby and gave him a small reassuring smile, but it was fake. She then looked away since she's a horrible liar. She would try to explain it to him later.

Toby understood. The kids were surprisingly quiet. Masky was even being kind to the little girl and just talking about where they were going.

Tabby was a broken kind of quiet, but she was looking around at her surroundings more and more. She looked over at Masky being nice to the girl. Although he did try to kill her twice, and she wouldn't forget that. He sort of reminded her of a loose guiding father figure that she didn't have. She then looked at Hoodie, who was in front of them with the boy. However, she hated him and also tried to kill her twice. She sighed. She knew that they were never going to see eye to eye, and there were probably more arguments to come that she didn't know if she would win or not.

However new she was in this line of work, she understood how a team is supposed to work. Whether she liked it or not, she was part of a new team now. And their team can't work if they're constantly arguing and going at each other's throats always. Sooner or later, they were going to have to reach some sort of compromise. She just didn't know precisely how to go about that. She looked back at Toby with the baby in his arms. It was a pretty sight. She sincerely hopes that the baby would be alright. In a way, she was kind of reminded of how a tiny family would be with Toby as the father and her as the mother and the baby as their kid. She shook her head and looked away and scolded herself for having such thoughts about a happy long-term future. She took this second chance for one thing and one thing and one thing only. To get her revenge and avenge her friends. Nothing more and nothing less. As far as she was concerned, they were all just a means to an end, and she didn't care how much she had to kill to achieve her goal, and no one was going to get in her way.

Still...

The walk was short but felt much longer. They seemed to have passed through some sort of barrier. The proxies were okay, but the human children began coughing, shaking, and slightly seizing. The baby started to wail. Tabby looked dazed and confused as they passed through the barrier but was quickly able to snap out of it somewhat. Tim had to pick up the girl. Soon they recovered from this affliction, however, and they approached a large mansion. It was beautiful but had an eerie aura. Tabby felt terrible for the kids and had to restrain herself from helping them having older siblings and mother instincts herself. But she couldn't afford to show any signs of vulnerability. She was still in shock but not as bad as before. She put her hood up, kept her head down and her hands in her pockets.

The two older men ignored her, but Toby scanned her body language to see if she needed help. Tabby was grateful that she wasn't called out on her shit. She knew that she would have to explain herself later when they were more alone, and everything calmed down. Masky was talking to the girl he was holding in a comforting way. Toby was a little unnerved by it, as that was how he spoke to the children that he would kill. One thing Toby liked about Masky was that he always went a little softer on the kids. But he would still kill them. Hoodie simply told the boy who was whimpering to shut up. The mansion loomed as they approached. Someone was on the porch. He recognized the maid garb that his boss used and identified the figure as a maid. One of the dishonored proxies is working their way back into the boss' favor. Tabby saw the person cleaning furiously. She made the logical conclusion that the person was a maid of some sort. She prayed silently that the kids would be alright for the most part and that she did a good enough job so she wouldn't talk too much. Her anxiety was back up, and she was fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt again.

As soon as they entered the mansion, the two older proxies stopped and froze. Almost as if they had entered a trance. When they snapped out of it, they turned to Tabby and Toby.

"Follow us." They said in unison.

Tabby nodded and looked down. She was still quiet, but she mostly snapped out of her shock. Toby was used to this type of stuff. It just meant the boss had been talking to them. They got like that. Masky and Hoodie led Tabby and Toby down a large marble hallway. Many portraits were hung on the walls of different people in different periods. There were a lot of them. Toby stared. This was essentially Slenderman's wall of fame, of proxies who served him exceptionally well. Masky had told him that the being would paint these himself. The hallway was long and filled with these portraits. Toby knew Masky was up there. He wanted to be up there, too, someday.

Tabby nodded and looked down. She was still quiet, but she mostly snapped out of her shock. Tabby looked up at the wall of portraits. They were impressively well done. This was some artistic skill that not even Autumn could achieve. They made her take her mind off of her anxiety for a few brief minutes. Soon they came to a large, heavy wooden door. Masky had to set the child down to open it. He paused, seeming to listen before he turned to Hoodie.

"The boss would like to speak with you in private, but for now, stay out here with the children."

Hoodie nodded, his emotions undetectable during his mask. He set the boy down rather roughly on the marble floors and ordered the girl to sit next to him, which she did fearfully. Hoodie took the baby from Toby, then moved to let the pair follow Masky into the room. Tabby kept her neutral expression. There was no room for emotions or vulnerability here. She straightened out her shirt. She held her head up to maintain eye contact and stood up straight as she walked resolutely into the room. She just hoped that she wouldn't get talked to too much as she didn't trust how her voice would sound. Toby walked with her into the office. Tabby entered cautiously as she did so when entering any room. It was dark and spacious. A fire roared in a fireplace. Pictures of various scenes from history and nature were on the walls, painted as well.

A strange, ancient-looking black tubular object was bolted to the wall in the corner. A low hum came from it, but it was not the hum of machinery. It was some sinister machination. She noticed the machinery and snuck a few curious glances as curiosity was one of her downfalls. She strained her ears to listen to the hum as she was used to dark, sinister energy since she went to Rosewood. Masky didn't look at it, and Toby felt too uncomfortable to do so. The boss was sitting in an armchair behind a desk, his hands folded in plain view. His gaze seemed to pierce the group as they entered. She quickly disciplined herself to focus her gaze back to the situation at hand and kneeling. Toby and Masky kneeled too. Tabby gave yet another silent prayer that the kids would be alright and that she would be too.

"I see you all have completed your mission." The being spoke. His voice echoed through all of their ears.

Masky still knelt.

"Yes, Operator. The children are in the hallway like you asked." He spoke.

The Slenderman hummed softly.

"Have Hoodie bring in the baby when you all leave. The two groups that have agreed to take the human children are in the mansion. You should have no issues sensing them, Masky. And Toby, you have the files?"

Toby nodded and held them out to his boss, who took them.

"Excellent."

The being hummed. He turned to Tabby.

"And you made sure the humans were dead?".

Tabby looked up when she was spoken to, but she said swift.

"Yes, sir, they were most certainly dead," as you could tell by her dirtied bandaged hand that was covered in dirt and dried blood. On top of some on her cheek and splattered across her red plaid jacket and white shirt.

She looked back down. The being nodded slowly.

"Very well. You all may go. Bring the two older children to their groups and send Hoodie in with the baby." He waved his tentacles to dismiss them.

"Yes, sir"

She quickly walked out of the room with Masky and Toby trailing behind. Masky sent Hoodie into the room with the baby and untied the boy to walk on his own. He helped the two kids up. Tabby looked everywhere but the kids. She knew that she would have cast them a pitying look, and there was no place for that here. To her, it's best if they learned now and fast that they would have to save themselves from surviving. She had to push down her parental/older sibling instincts.

She looked down with a guilty look. Wasn't that what she was teaching her little brother? When she left him. That to survive, you have to save yourself? Tabby justified it as a form of tough love. And she had to take care of herself first to provide for him. One of the reasons she took this second chance was to provide Adam the best life he could have when he gets old enough to do so. She would gladly kill without a second thought if that meant avenging her friends and providing and keep her little brother safe. Hell, she'll kill anyone else that gets in her way. She wasn't going to be around forever; he would have to learn how to fend for himself eventually, and she was a firm believer that it's best to teach them young while they're still able to learn quickly.

Still, she couldn't help but feel guilty for what she did.

Toby didn’t want to look at the kids because he didn't know if they were crying or not. He hated crying. Especially kid crying. They soon got to another set of doors, which Tim opened. Three proxies were lounging on a sofa and laughing, but they turned when they saw the door open.

"Oh, hey, Masky! You brought the boy?" The leader of the group asked.

Masky nodded and said with a chipper note in his voice.

"Sure did! Here he is."

He gently nudged the boy to the group. His little sister let out a whimper, which Toby quickly shushed. Tabby continued to look down and say nothing.

"Pay no mind to the kids, pay no mind to the kids, pay no mind to the kids,” she chanted over and over again. She hoped that this would be over soon and hoped that she would continue to be ignored and not have too much social interaction. The boy was welcomed into the group with open arms. Usually, new groupmates would get new proxy names, basically as a sort of initiation. It was the group giving them a new identity. Already the new group began discussing new names for the kid. One of the members, a woman, moved so he could sit next to her.

"Hey, little buddy- no no, don't cry, don't cry, we're not going to hurt you. We're your new team. We're going to train you."

Masky took this as his cue to leave and lead the others out of the room. He closed the door behind them all. The little girl was trembling again, so Masky picked her up.

Tabby looked back at the group with a look of nostalgia and sadness. They reminded her of when she was first accepted into her friend group at Rosewood. They welcomed her and took her for what she was with open arms. She never had that before then. The group that would become her family. The group that she became the leader of. The group that taught her what love, happiness, home, understanding, and acceptance were. She looked away and ran to catch up with the other two. Now it was just her. The sole survivor. She knew that she would never get all of that again unless she made a home for herself, and she knew damn well that she didn't belong in this new group or this world. Well, she didn't belong anywhere, really but especially not here. She was lucky enough to have all of that once. She firmly believes that it will never happen again. They soon walked through the silent hallway to another room, where an all-female group was waiting. Masky set the child down in front of them. One of them, a pretty woman with long red hair, scooped the little girl up gently. The girl looked at the woman with soft eyes. She reminded the child of her mother. One of the team members scoffed at the softness.

"Aurelia, the child needs to begin her training instantly if she is to ever be of use-"

"Shut up, Laura." The woman snapped at the short girl with the blonde pixie cut.

"Not tonight. We can start training tomorrow. Right now, she needs rest and comfort. For now, she can have it."

Tabby looked at the red-haired woman like she was about to cry. She reminded her of an older, more adult version of Autumn if she were to have lived that long. Tabby remembered crying and being comforted by Autumn when she first met her outside of Rosewoods gates. Laura reminded her of herself when a newcomer was welcomed into her group. Autumn ensured that she would take it easy on the new kid before drilling them about surviving Rosewood. She looked down to control her tears. Thank god she was able to hold them back. Aurelia wrapped her arms around the young girl and held her to her chest.

"We're going to take you to your new home, okay, sweetheart? You're going to be okay. We'll take care of you. Come on; you have your room."

Masky moved so the group could leave. The little girl clung to Aurelia like she was a lifesaver. Tabby looked back at the group and then at Masky to study him a little. She was a leader once, and her group did well. Maybe once she got herself established and a home, perhaps she'll have a group of her own again, and maybe she could go back to the way she once was; she shook her head and looked away and chastised herself for thinking such hopeful thoughts. She took this life for one main reason to fulfill her promises. That was her only mission, and she'll kill whomever she has to to get one step closer to her end goal. After that, she was planning on dying. She'll have someone else kill her. She didn't plan on being here for long. She believed that this was a one-way mission and that there was no promising future for her. Good things don't happen to people like her.

Masky watched the other group leave. He sighed, then readjusted his mask.

"Well, now that that's done, are you all hungry? Want something to eat or something? We have a lot of walking to do later, so we might as well fuel up while we can."

They also needed to wait for Hoodie anyways before they could meet up with EJ. The boss always had little "chats" with Hoodie alone, and he wouldn't even tell Masky what they were about. Tabby shook her head no. She didn't trust herself to keep any food down for right now.

"I'm not hungry, right, but I could use another coffee" she rubbed her face. You could tell that she was dead exhausted.

Masky shrugged. That worked for him.

"Great. I'll tell EJ to meet us at the cafe nearby." He stated. They had sandwiches there that the rest of them could eat.

Tabby nodded

"Cool," she stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do next. She avoided eye contact with everyone else.

Masky stepped out to contact EJ. They were still waiting for Hoodie to return. Toby glanced at Tabby. They were alone together for a bit.

"Hey...Tabby..."

Tabby snapped her head up, and when she did, her neck made a loud crack. She winced at the sudden pain that faded away quickly.

"Yeah?"

Toby smiled gently at her.

"Uh...just wanted to make sure you have no questions or anything."

"No. I'm good." She stated quickly, giving him a reassuring smile.

She paused for a minute.

"Do...you have any questions for me?"

"Oh...er, maybe." Toby smiled slightly. "Mainly just...how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, I guess. Mainly tired, but that's due to insomnia and narcolepsy. Anything else?"

"No, no, that's it," Toby said with a bit of a smile.

Tabby raised an eyebrow.

"You sure?"

Toby paused for a minute. No, he wasn’t sure. He had so many questions for her, such as what the hell happened back there? She just went all ballistic and then just blacked out. Not to mention her shocked state was just creepy and unsettling as fuck. He also took notice of her trying to restrain herself from helping the kids. Did she naturally have that instinct? Did she have any younger siblings that made her like that? Or for all he knows, maybe her own child that she left behind? He knew that Tabby was lying when she said that she was fine. She wasn’t fine; obviously, something happened to her in her past that made her so bothered about this. However, he knew that this wasn’t the best place or time to confront her about all of that. He would have to wait until the time was right.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Toby said.

Masky soon came back into the room, and they were quick, joined by Hoodie. Tabby became quiet and looked back down, avoiding eye contact with any of them. Masky nodded.

"It's time to go. We'll meet EJ at the coffee shop." He stated calmly.

Hoodie was silent. Toby wondered if he was okay. Tabby nodded and followed the rest. She kept her head down, hands in her pocket, and prayed that others wouldn't speak to her. Masky and Hoodie had no intention of talking to her. Hoodie was still a little annoyed with her. Masky didn't want to start anything. Tabby kept to herself. God, she was so tired. Usually, she'd take this week and go into a coma. But this was one of those times where she couldn't just sleep the week away. But she had a backup plan for that. Normally she'd just run on coffee and monster energy, and then she'd fall asleep wherever when she had the free time. All that caffeine isn't good for her anxiety or paranoia, but it keeps her awake long enough to take care of what she needs to for the day, and it beats collapsing where you are and being vulnerable. The walk to the coffee shop was short and uneventful. It was right next to a portal into the human world. Toby was a little excited. They entered the shop and got accosted by the smell of roasted coffee beans and warm air. It was pleasant. The girl behind the bar was a monster/human hybrid. She just had that look about her. Still. Very nice-looking. Masky looked at Toby and chuckled. He knew that Toby used to have a thing for her. Maybe it still did. Tabby looked at the girl, then at Masky, then at Toby. Whatever it was about, she didn't like it. Then again, she doesn't like anybody or anything. She waited to be seated. Toby was smiling at the girl.

"Hey, Leona!" He said to the girl behind the counter. She was beautiful. Short, with long curly brown hair and a peachy complexion. One eye was bright blue. The other side of her face was warped, along with that side of her body. That all added just a bit of charm to her.

"Hiya Tobes! Your usual caramel chocolate mocha?" Leona asked.

He nodded. Masky ordered an espresso and a sandwich. Hoodie got a black coffee and a croissant egg sandwich. Tabby ordered a regular coffee with lots of cream and sugar. Almost enough to make it diabetic. Leona smiled at her.

"Gotcha!" She chirped.

She turned to help make the coffee. Her coworker is a shy-looking girl with a dark complexion and vines growing on her legs and arms. She had twists in her hair, which she braided flowers into.

"Nalia, can you help me with the last two?" It wasn't busy at all.

Tabby kept her bandaged hand hidden in her sleeve to avoid blatant staring and people asking questions. She looked down and kept quiet. It was probably best that she'd only speak when spoken to. She would have gotten something to eat, but she didn't trust that she would keep anything down. Right now, she just needed something to stay awake. Leona handed Toby his coffee with a bright smile. Toby flushed a little. Nalia chuckled to herself and gave Tabby her coffee.

"There you are."

"Thank you," she said curtly but gave a small smile.

Her mom always taught her to be nice to the servers. Tabby sipped on her coffee. A serene smile appeared as she closed her eyes for a brief minute.

Toby was still chatting with Leona. Masky soon got his drink and was sitting it. Hoodie was waiting for his still. Tabby kept quiet, getting lost in her coffee. Tabby really couldn't complain much. If she miraculously saw one of her old friends again, she would do the same thing too. After all, Toby had just met her three days ago. He has had an entire life without her and she without him. In reality, neither of them was special to each other. Still, she didn’t understand or know why or what she was feeling. The best way she could explain it was that she didn’t like seeing him talking to other girls, it made her angry, and her stomach hurt for some unknown reason. She just brushed it off and tried to ignore it. Toby and Leona chatted for a while before Toby went to go sit down by Tabby. Hoodie got his coffee and was sipping it. Tim had finished his and was talking with the other barista. Tabby finished her coffee and was slightly upset that it was gone as she couldn't have any more caffeine since that would send her into an anxiety attack, and if that were left unchecked, it would send her into a paranoid episode.

Soon Hoodie and Masky joined them at the table. They could stay here for a bit before meeting EJ and doing the long walk to get to where they needed to be. Tabby was resting her cheek in her good hand as she struggled to keep awake despite the coffee. But she was determined not to fall asleep as she didn't want to be vulnerable as she was surrounded by three men who could potentially kill her at any minute. Hoodie and Masky talked amongst themselves. Toby glanced at Tabby.

"You good?".

"Well, aside from losing everything I knew in one fell swoop, losing my hand, spending my entire life trying to prove my stepdad that he was wrong only to prove him right today and the fact that It’s narcolepsy week for me and I can't sleep. Yeah, I'm good" she gave a small smile. She figured that she owed him at least a little bit of honesty for right now until they were more alone, and then she would try to explain everything.

"Well, you should get some time to sleep for a few days because we need to get the paperwork done and new identities for that school," Toby stated.

"Normally, I'd go into a coma for the week and then go back to my insomniac self. Or if I were at Rosewood, I'd just sleep my way through classes."

"Well, I mean, you can definitely sleep in the classes. We don't need to pass or anything. Just blend in.".

Tabby gave him a smirk.

"I was a straight-A student at Rosewood. I think I'm too smart for their classes. Benefits of being a teacher’s pet."

"Well, this is a different school, so let's see if you can keep that up." Toby joked a little.

Tabby snorted.

"Please compared to Rosewood where the material was harder, and you got punished for anything lower than a C. On top of my stepdad drilling the lessons into me until I learned them and got punished at where I used to live if I didn't. Greengrove will be a child’s play".

"Well, we'll see." Toby chuckled.

Masky soon turned to them.

"We have to go now."

Tabby nodded and got up and waited for the rest. The rest of them got up and began to head to the door. Toby waved at Leona as they left. Once they met up with EJ in the human realm, they could drive to the house. Tabby followed them, keeping quiet. They walked outside into the chilly air. Toby was quiet. Masky was eating his sandwich. Tabby grumbled and pulled her jacket together tighter around her. The walk, thankfully, was going to be a short one. EJ was waiting for them in the human world with a van. The portal was very close. Tabby kept her head down and prayed that everyone would keep ignoring her. Tabby's anxiety was slightly raised as four strangers surrounded her could potentially kill her at any time, so it was an unfair fight of 4 against 1. EJ paid no mind to Tabby as the group arrived. To him, she wasn't all that beneficial yet. She would probably only work with him once anyways. Masky greeted EJ like an old friend as they loaded up into the car.Tabby took the passenger seat to her left. She buckled up and pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek on her knees as she looked out the window. She wrapped her arms around her legs. EJ couldn't drive for, well, obvious reasons. Masky took his seat at the wheel, and Brian, Toby, and EJ took their places in the backseat. Toby couldn't technically drive, so he wasn't allowed to drive in human territory. Tabby's anxiety was picking up. To her, it was four against 1. You could tell that she was silently running scenarios through her head and coming up with the best escape plans for each. Just in case shit hit the fan. She was fidgeting with the bottom of her jacket to keep her from spiraling into an anxiety attack. Or worse, into a paranoia episode which they didn't need to see. Masky didn't notice and didn't even pay her any attention. He switched on the radio and turned it up. It was an upbeat country song. Hoodie scoffed from the back. Ugh. Toby yawned in the back. EJ was sorting things in a pack.

Tabby gave a slight smile and a stifled giggled. They honestly reminded her of herself and Autumn when they would both play the music they didn't like but put up with for each other. She also knew the song too. It was an older upbeat song. It brought back a memory of one summer's night when she was younger, driving around with her grandfather after a long day of fishing and her falling asleep in the backseat. Both memories and the slightly familiar situation brought a sense of comfort to her. She stopped fidgeting less. Masky jokingly crooned along to part of the song, making Hoodie groan. EJ smiled to himself. It was a pretty peaceful drive as well. Masky was a decent driver. Usually. He was speeding slightly but not much. The road was straight and long as well as nearly empty. Tabby finally broke character at Masky jokingly crooning along, and Hoodie groaning at him and gave out a laugh. It was a weird sound as she hasn't done it in a long time. She cleared her throat and quickly returned to being her dark, angsty, stoic self, almost embarrassed. Masky smiled, seeing that she found that amusing. He turned to Hoodie.

"She's on my side, see?"

"God, Tim, you are so childish sometimes."

"Kinda have to be with this job. Don't want to be a mopey grouch like you, Brian."

"Shut up." Hoodie retorted.

Toby chuckled at the conversation. Tabby was a little bit more relaxed. She still didn't trust any of them. But her anxiety was less, and she was a little more smiley after that. They honestly reminded her of her and her friends. That thought was comforting. For a brief moment, she forgot all about her past, rosewood, Horatio, that awful fight she got into, her friends being dead. She almost forgot that her life was turned upside down and the fact that she was a killer now and that she was in a car full of them. She gave a quick look to Masky. Maybe toby was right; perhaps she was a little short to judge and deserved a second chance. Maybe they all did. But then reality came and hit her like a ton of bricks. Her smile vanished, and she scolded herself for letting down her guard. She can't get too comfortable with them. They are killers; they could quickly kill her right here and now if they wanted to. They shouldn't be trusted. Besides, she didn't plan on being here for long. This was only temporary until she got what she wanted. She couldn't forget about her motivation and keeping her eye on the prize. Her past is all she has left. She remembered that she didn't have friends anymore. They're all dead, and these guys would never be them. But you could tell that she was more hurt than anything., Masky reminded her of what her stepdad used to be before he left and then came back and then turned into what he is now. It just made her think about what could have been and knowing that she can never get that back. She went back to being her regular hurt self.

The men didn't seem to see her change in mood. Masky glanced in the rearview mirror.

"You excited to be in a school setting again?" He asked the grouchy proxy.

"Oh god, don't tell me I'm supposed to be going back too. I do not pass for some kid-"

"Nooo, we're not. Uh..." Masky looked like he was debating what he was about to say.

"Our aliases are technically married, so we get to pretend like we're Toby and Tabby's parents."

"Oooh, my FUCKING god. Was that Jeff's idea? I'm going to knock his fucking teeth in."

"No, it was BEN's."

"That piece of shit," Hoodie muttered under his breath.

Toby laughed. "I mean...that's kind of what you both are-"

"Shut the fuck up, Rodgers." Hoodie snapped.

Masky stopped any potential fights from erupting by turning to look at the two.

"Knock it off, you guys. Seriously."

Tabby muttered under her breath,

"Y'all not my parents don't tell me what to do."

Masky overheard her and busted out laughing. Hoodie just looked annoyed and looked out the window. Toby chuckled as well. EJ was ignoring the commotion and sorting some things in a bag. He was so quiet it would be easy to forget he was in there.

Tabby looked at Masky defensively and narrowed her eyes. She sat more in a defensive, protective position.

"What's so funny?"

She looked almost offended.

"You," Masky said. He continued driving. "You sound juuust like Hoodie does. He's rubbing off on you."

Hoodie and Tabby looked at each other pissed off and horrified, “WE DON’T SOUND ALIKE!”

"Theeen, stop acting like each other," Masky said, utterly unbothered by them acting like a child.

He continued driving. Toby sighed and picked up a magazine to read. EJ finally looked up at the rest of them.

“Jesus, I haven’t been in a public school in eight years,” said Tabby to herself in realization

“Still, it would be nice to be back in familiar territory again,” she said quietly more to herself.

Tabby got a little more excited as they reached town. Tabby bolted up, sitting straight and looking out the window, happy to be back in familiar territory. She looked at all the shops and houses at restaurants. They even passed by her old workplace at the This or That restaurant. It wasn't a bad town. Yes, there were bad parts, but the only places she hated were Rosewood prep and her old apartment. And now that she wasn't under her stepdad’s thumb. She didn't have to sneak out to do usual teenage shit, and she could go out whenever she wanted to. The thought of all that newfound freedom was making her buzz with excitement. The only thing that sucked was that she didn't have anyone to share that with.

The town was an array of stuff. Up north in the town of Holy Ann was more of a rural area and where the only bus stop was. It was where Tabby's grandparents lived up on the hill in their birch-colored house. Tabby used to spend her summers up there when her mom wanted a break from her. We have the main Town of Maplehood Creek. Uptown was where the poor and bad areas were; Tabby lived in their gray and yellow apartment complex. Downtown was where the businesses were, rich people and Rosewood Prep was. The best place to trick r treating was downtown. And in the back roads was more of a quiet place to live, and that's where her uncle mark lived. Tabby knows the town inside out. She can use the backroads and the underground catacombs under the town and Rosewood Prep. She thought it would be nice to have someone to share that knowledge with.

The town was relatively quiet. Other cars were passing by, and you could hear the sound of children playing and people talking. It was a brisk November afternoon, but Tabby didn't mind the cold air. The streets varied with houses and apartments and neat little shops and restaurants. Very few of the trees still had their leaves on. Honestly, it would be a good and quiet town to settle down and live in if it wasn't for the slums and Rosewood Prep and the odd killings and disappearances that happened in town.

They passed Maplehood Creek cemetery. Tabby's mood drastically changed from happy and excited to quiet and sad and dead on the inside. She looked away, not wanting to remember that the only form of family was buried there. And the fact that near the cemetery there was a sign saying ROSEWOOD PREPARATORY SCHOOL MASSACRE SECTION TO YOUR LEFT AND CIRCLED IN THE ENCLOSURE did not help at all.

Hoodie was looking over a map from the back. Masky was looking for the house that they had attained. It should have been close to the school they were infiltrating. Hoodie was giving him directions from the back. EJ just sat still in deep thought. Eventually, they pulled up to a cozy blue house. Masky could see the Operator symbol posted in the window. That was their signal. He pulled into the driveway. It was a lovely house and comfortable. Had four rooms, but Masky and Hoodie could share. EJ had already claimed the room in the basement, so the others chose the upstairs rooms.

Tabby gave out a small whistle.

"This is so much nicer than my old apartment. It’s an actual house. I never lived in an actual house before. Then again, we're in the middle-class part of Maplehood, so that's why."

Masky chuckled.

"Yeah, we had some strings pulled, so we got a place that had multiple rooms and whatnot. Seeing as SOME of us-" He glanced in the rearview mirror at EJ. "need our space every waking moment of the day."

Tabby nodded

“I relate. I like being alone. I don't blame him. I hate any involuntary social interaction. Actually no. I just hate socializing in general.”

"Good thing you get your room too. We couldn't get individual rooms for everyone, so Hoods and I will share."

"I figured you wouldn’t want to watch me eat," EJ stated.

"Yeah, I'm SURE that was the only reason." Masky teased back, making Toby giggle.

Masky parked the car. He could see that no one was out and about. He unbuckled his seatbelt and went to get out. Shuffling from the back revealed that the others were moving to get out as well. Tabby bolted out and went to the door before smacking into it by accident and realizing that its locked. Hoodie chuckled a little unkindly. Masky sighed and shook his head. EJ stepped over her with the key in his hand and unlocked the door. Without a word, he went inside. Tabby glared at Hoodie, ready to attempt to beat his ass but decided against it, considering that she wasn't the one to make the first move in a fight. She walked in after EJ taking in her surroundings. The house was a nice, spacious place with a wood floor and white walls. It was a clear shot from the living room to the kitchen, which was clean: a rug and sitting area with a television and a coffee table and a double-sided fireplace. Off to the left, stairs were leading up, and next to them was a door that presumably led down the stairs. An open door off to the side led to a laundry room and then a bathroom. It was a rather lovely place. The only hint as to what happened to previous residents was a tiny speckle of blood on one of the rugs.

"This...is nice… it’s much more spacious than my run-down three-bedroom apartment that had paper-thin walls and constant drug busts next door.”

Tabby nodded thoughtfully and left it at that before running up the stairs excitedly, almost tripping over herself to go check out the rooms.

The others brought in their items. EJ, along with his somewhat mysterious and odd-smelling bag, came out to help with the rest. Hoodie looked more interested in settling in than exploring. It was unclear how Masky felt. EJ was mainly trying to get everything inside.

Tabby went to explore the rooms. There were four rooms upstairs, two next to each other and one at each end of the hall on top of two bathrooms. Tabby took the one that was smack in the middle and took a look around. It was spacious.

EJ entered the basement and closed the door behind him. Toby took one off to the side, and Hoodie and Masky took the enormous bedroom. It fitted, as they worked very closely together and were secretive little shits. Toby didn't have much to set up.

Tabby was speedy in unpacking as she didn't have much either she put her clothes and necessities away and hung up her pictures and Autumn’s sketches. She stood back to admire her work. Toby spent time going over his background and starting his research into some of the students they may encounter. He wanted to be able to cement his alibi by making friends. She wrote down a set of rules as she didn't like or trust any of them. And didn't want to interact with them more than she had to. That and she was antisocial as fuck.

1) only come to me if there’s an emergency

2) only come to me if you want something cleared up

3) don't talk to me unless its about food

4) don't talk to me unless you have essential information to share about the group or mission as a whole

Tabby taped it up on her front door where everyone can see and know what to expect. She then decided to go over her alibi too. She was good at remembering shit. She chuckled at her new name. "Karma," it read. She wondered if it was a coincidence or did someone that put this together knew her and her legacy at Rosewood. It didn't matter anyway. She began to do some research on her own.

Some of the kids were more public online. Some were not. Toby noted a few who seemed to be easy to get along with. He figured he could find some. He could see some pretty clear friend groups, but he didn't see that many cliques, unlike most schools. That was good. Those were obnoxious. He still wasn't sure what the mission was, exactly. He knew that it was a mission to capture someone, but he didn't know who or why.

Tabby decided that it was best to stick to what she was good at. Being a teacher’s pet, fighting and spying. She would rather avoid any unnecessary socialization if possible.

Toby knew he didn't have that option. As much as he didn't like socializing with people, he had to do it to coax out any information he needed. He wasn't afraid to break a few bones, of course, but he would prefer not to.

Tabby planned to stay in her room at all times unless someone was making dinner because she would have to watch. Or unless it was important information about the mission or if she was physically forced to socialize with the rest of the boys.

Toby glanced out of the window. The sun was high in the sky. It was hot out. Or at least it looked it. He could hear Masky and Hoodie unpacking in another room and EJ shuffling around downstairs. He could see a few people outside. It seemed just normal.

Tabby didn't realize how lonely she was. Everything was so different now that she lost all of her friends. It was evident that Masky and Hoodie were thick as thieves despite how strained their relationship was like her and Autumn. Toby could fit in with just anyone and EJ...well...she was pretty sure that he could make his way around if he had to. Tabby knew that she was an outsider, nor did she belong. Hell, she never belonged anywhere growing up. But this was the first time that it sunk in. She let out a quiet whimper before shaking her head and standing up straight. What was she thinking? She knew that she wouldn’t have friends here with them of all people. She couldn't. It was her against them. 4 against 1. She knew that she didn't belong and that she never will. That's not what she was there for. She was there for one thing and one thing only. To take out Horatio once and for all. Tabby sat on her bed, finally being allowed the quietness to process just everything that happened to her so far. Now that Tabby took this second chance at life, she had genuine freedom, more or less.

This was the most freedom that she's ever been given in my entire life. She always had to sneak around just to get what she wanted and act like an average teenager. Well, as normal as a problematic Rosewood child can get. Now she didn't have to do that anymore. With everything that has happened so far and her crippling loneliness, she was so overwhelmed that she began to cry silently. Goddamn it. She hated herself for being weak, especially around these people. She didn't have the luxury to be vulnerable. She was paranoid that they could smell weakness on her, which just made her cry silently harder.

Toby soon overheard Hoodie and Masky having some sort of conversation. He heard the words "tour" and "school" in the same sentence and groaned. They had probably been signed up to go on one of those stupid school tours to see the campus before they went there. He sighed. This was going to suck. He already hated the idea of going back to school. He wondered what Tabby was doing. Probably unpacking and didn't want to be bothered.

Tabby just cried more, letting out gut-wrenching sobs into her pillow as she curled up in a ball, praying that no one can hear her. No one could. Except for one. Footsteps in front of her door. Three knocks, but no announcement of who it was.

Tabby bolted up with dear in the headlights look. She gave a loud hiccup before announcing, "I'll be there in a minute!"

She turned the water on hot in the bathroom connected to her room and splashed the water on her face. Yes, it burned, but it would explain why her face is wet, cheeks red, and eyes puffy. She ran to the door as fast as she could and opened it. She sounded like her usual mature, tough girl self.

"Yes? What do you want? I have rules on socializing with me posted on the door, you know."

"I can't read. I don't care." The voice responded coldly.

Tabby groaned.

“Figures…”

EJ stood at her door, quite a bit taller than her. He seemed to look down at her, but it was unclear what he could see and what he couldn't. His face was hidden behind his mask.

"Be glad I even knocked." He was a blunt man. Socially not the best.

She took on a harsher and sarcastic approached.

“Oh, I am so grateful for your consideration.”

"I heard you crying." It was stated in a very matter-of-fact way.

She stood up tall, attempting to stand her ground almost in a fighting stance.

“First of all, I wasn't crying. I don't know what you heard. I was washing up, and the water happened to be too hot, and I accidentally burned myself; that’s why my face is red and my eyes puffy. Besides, even if I was, what's it to you? I appreciate cold genuine hatred then someone pretending to give two shits about me when they don't!”

You could see her almost bristling like a cat would be defensive. She couldn't tell if he was just polite or if he cared for some ungodly reason. She wasn't exactly good at being social either.

"No, that's ridiculous. You were crying. I can smell the salt and snot." He couldn't see, but he could sense that she was very defensive and that he was unwelcomed.

`Tabby hissed at him

"Well, I'm a naturally salty person. Besides, what's it to you? If you want me to be quiet, I'll just cry silently.”

"No. I want you to shut up. You crying is ridiculous. Very much so. You will have to keep a better handle on your emotions, or you may be killed or be viewed as too sensitive. Especially as a proxy."

"Yeah yeah, I hear you. I honestly don't care at this point. I'm only going to say this once. I lost everything I knew in one fell swoop. I’m struggling with the fact that the person I hate the most was right about me, I’m more alone than ever, and I'm in a household full of males. It’s four against one here. So forgive me for letting out a few salty streaks when I'm alone and away from all of you who I despise very much."

She gave a sarcastic, bitter, sickly sweet smile.

"Have a nice night" she slammed the door in his face.

"Get over it," EJ responds from behind the door.

"No, because getting over it means moving on, and moving on means forgetting. And I will never forget" she punched the door with her right hand.

Footsteps as he soon leaves her be. He doesn't care. He's looking out for her, in a sick sadistic way, true, but still nonetheless. He wasn't going to try to damage her reputation. Being that vulnerable would get her killed. And that would be annoying for him.

She heard him walk away.

"If I do forget all of my hatred, there would be nothing of me left," she added, still loud enough for him to hear.

"You are just a weak child," EJ responds through the door. "Nothing more, nothing less. Get. Over. It. Or I'll kill you myself."

"I hope the fuck you do."

She said it more softly, but she did mean it.

EJ stopped in his tracks as he heard the last of what Tabby said. He looked over his shoulder back at her door. He didn’t know how to respond to that. It sounded like she almost meant it like she wanted it to happen. He wasn’t used to being called upon his threats. He meant to use it as a scare tactic to attempt to keep her alive. If she didn’t want to be alive, he couldn’t use the value of her own life to keep her in line when she didn’t value it at all. I daresay this time he bit off more than he could chew. He also wasn’t used to being stood up to and called out on his threats. What a .strange human she was. He also wondered if she didn’t want to be alive, then why did she take this life, to begin with? What was keeping her here in the land of the living? He shook his head and made his way back into the basement. Oh well, he’ll figure something else out to help keep her in line and forcefully stay alive. Right now, she’s too intriguing to let herself get killed; maybe she’ll end up being useful too. He knew that he’d get his answers sooner than later.

After she was sure he was gone, she slid down the door with her knees up to her chest and put her face in her hands. She went back to crying silently. Great, just great. She really fucked up. She could have had a potential ally, but she just had to go and be spiteful. After a few minutes of being on the uncomfortable hardwood floor, she staggered over to her bed and flopped face-first onto it. Maybe if she stayed there long enough, she would suffocate to death in her blankets.

Oh yeah, this was going to be a long six months.

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH.5

A scream shocks you out of your fuzzy thoughts. You look around and notice Connor sitting alert and looking like he wants to run down the hallway this very instant.

“Connor?” the head snaps to you immediately and before you can even question his presence in your home he jumps up and barks then walks in circles near the door.

Great a dog who has no sense of horror movie tropes. Since the scream did come from inside your house you should go find the person who made it and see what's wrong. Also maybe get clarification on why they're in your home. You aren't dead and are still in the same clothes so you figure you're alright around them. You follow Connor to where Toby is, in your kitchen staring out the window standing at a very odd angle. Like he caught himself before he fell backwards but hadn't bothered to get up.

“What's up....oh.” is all you can say as you see Chonk's head whip towards you and Connor before he books it for the tree line. Damn that fat raccoon can run fast, good to know if he ever wants to chase you down in the future. Which he might if you don't leave his slice of pizza out today.

“'oh' 'oh', that's all yo-you've got to say about a giant fuck-ing ra-mrrow- raccoon!?!” maybe thinking this guy was composed and unphased was a misconception, if seeing Chonk has put his world views in question.

“I mean he probably just eats a lot of pizza.” to put it simply you never gave much thought to the fat little trash thief, he was just fat and he existed. Visiting your home for the slice he deemed his every other week. Probably had other homes in Kepler he terrorized for the same reasons. God knows Leo would never put up with a raccoon trashing his store for his pizza. Or even his home for that matter.

“He's nearly half the size of Connor!” looking down towards Connor you tilt your head.

“Are we talking about with his legs or just his torso?” you could maybe see the size comparison with the dog's body but with his height it was a different matter all together.

Toby rolls his eyes before going and sitting down at the small breakfast table where he seemed to have found your fidget cube and had been well fidgeting with it. You take the seat opposite of him, it's weird having a guest over especially when you didn't invite them in. Well now that removes the chances of him being a vampire you suppose.

Perfect not a kidnapper, nor a vampire, and he's helped you out twice now. The two of you might well be on your way to becoming best friends. That is if he could get past this episode of yours.

“I still don't know what happened last night, but I'm done with the freak out.” you say as you idly pet Connor.

“...What?” he's squinting at you trying to get a read on how anyone bounces back from something like that so calmly in a matter of hours. Especially when he'd been checking up on you and Connor only to see you still staring off into space.

“Oh, uh... I have Autism. Isn't good for much but helps me rationalize events quicker and move past emotional and mental breakdowns pretty quick too.”

“Is that an Autism thing?” you shrug at his question as he jerks his shoulders forwards a few times.

“Probably more of a me thing, but I've read the trait tends to be more common in those of us who are neurodivergent.”

You hear a murmur of telling someone later later. Filing that away to take note of another day you stare at Toby who in turn stares back. This goes on for a bit, you couldn't even classify it as a staring contest since you are both still blinking occasionally. You aren't really sure if you should say 'thank you' first and then ask the man what he's doing in your home or wait for him to break the silence. But as you stare at Toby, into his eyes, you get the feeling this man is more of a zombie than anything else. The type to drag along and go at a snails pace rather than get into the messy bits in one go...ironic choice for comparison.

“Thank you for driving me home...but why are you still here?” you hear a huff of laughter?

“You weren't really in a position...” knuckles pop “to be left alone. What if you got back into your car again?” his eyes cut and there's a bit of bite to his words...it wasn't directed towards you, you can feel that much.

“Fair enough.” you glance at the stove and see the clock shine a little before six. “Would you like some breakfast” his neck snaps to the left triggering your own to snap as well, “or a ride home?” you finish asking.

“Can you make something for Connor too? Don't trust you behind the wheel yet.”

“Oh sure! What does he normally eat?” Perking up at the thought of the dog being off duty, that means actual pets!

“He-mrrow- normally gets oatmeal with some fruit or veg and anything raw I can find.” He finishes with a whistle for Connor's attention, and then a pointed finger flipping down in front of him. The dog trots over and sits down, while Toby takes off the vest you look through your cupboards to find the rolled oats you'd gotten as incentive to eat in the mornings before realizing you only liked them on certain days.

“So what does Tobias normally eat?” you call out as you look for some honey you know you threw in the cupboards.

“Anything really. I don't do slimy textures or anything watery.”

“Watery? Like soups?” Found a can of pumpkin, it's still in date too, perfect.

“Watery like...when you put too much water in oatmeal.” He nods when you silently show him the can of pumpkin asking if that'd be fine for his boy, who is sitting down drooling from his smiling face as Toby tussles his ears.

“Ahhh, thin watery got it.” You hear movement and a few grunts from Toby as you assume he tics, trying to ignore them so they won't trigger your own you look through the fridge. You suddenly take a deep breath, while looking for a meat in your fridge, and let out a shrill trill. Kinda sounds like a Togepi's cry from the cartoon. Shaking your head your eyes catch the eggs and turkey sausages you have.

“Will turkey sausage and eggs work for you two?”

“Never had turkey sausage but it should be fine.” he's leaning forward resting his head in his arms on the table as Connor lays by his bouncing feet.

You set the eye to medium heat and put the sausages on first, leaving three out for Connor. He is a big dog after all. You turned your focus on preparing Connor's oatmeal while the sausages cooked. It was kinda nice having company over even though the circumstances weren't the best. Your neck jerks to the side three times before pulling back. There's more on the way your neck didn't crack and your body doesn't let up until it does.

“So what disorder do you have?” You turn to give Toby a confused look you hope he can read through your mask.

“...I have a few..you want the list?”

“No, the tics. Lower level Tourettes or what?”

“Oh, they stem from my” head jerking twice to the side before cracking “there we go.” “Sorry, they stem from my Autism, at least that's the best I can gather without seeing a specialist. Virginia doctors suck big time.”

“Tell me about it.” that perks you right up, you knew you caught a transatlantic accent, it's pretty much the lack of an accent that gives Virginians away so easily. You already have two guesses on where Toby came from.

“I knew it, you're from Halifax aren't you?!” Since you've turned around to face him you see the exact moment his face drops. Eyes shocked wide open.

“How...did”

“Oh it's easy once you know what to listen for, in fact it was the total lack of any distinguishing accent or use of slang that gave you a way. A lot of people don't notice what they take from their communities linguistically speaking. And for us Virginians it's what we don't take. It's such a bland neutral midpoint it's why it had been so coveted during the radio era and while we might've lost the in-fluctuations as time went by, no longer needing them for our voices to be heard over various frequencies....am I talking too much you can tell me to shut up, really you won't hurt my feelings.” you give Toby a minute to process everything you've just said.

“Special interest?”

“mmm, more a...an interesting factoid.” you hope he registers your smile, hell you hope he doesn't think you're weird. You know how much you can be sometimes, especially when you info dump or overshare information. He manages to nod along with you before finding his voice again.

“Lemme guess NOVA?”

“Pfft, seriously.” you really need him to at least register the disgust on your face if he hasn't been able to read you before, “Listen the Beach isn't much better but I'd probably off myself if I was from NOVA.”

“A public service really.”

You both stare at each other before breaking into a fit of laughter. It's nothing huge but it does seem to put Toby more at ease you noticed. In the time it took you to make breakfast for all three of you you've found out a little bit more about Toby.

He's uncomfortable talking about his hometown, at least you assume, so instead he mentions that he recently came to town with his friends, Brian and Tim. Talks mostly about Connor and you learn he's to help alert Toby of his Tourettes when driving and he can even detect seizures with Brian. That's amazing, service dogs have sure come a long way! And you love hearing what a silly puppy Connor is off duty, it makes you smile. Toby in turn asks about you, and you are such a well of stories. You tell him about your family back on the coast, about your recent move to Kepler, give him a little info on Kepler to help him adjust to his stay, and even get on the topic of your extensive work with animals.

“Sounds like you were working towards being a trainer, why didn't you?”

Making a sound that sort of sounds like a jumbled 'I dunno', “Sort of don't like people that much. Dogs are fine, less complex and less likely to complain when you do something in a different way. But a trainer doesn't train the dog, they train the people.” You're placing Connor's food in front of him as he sits patiently.

It's quiet for a moment as you place a plate in front of Toby and set yours down as well. Not tense just quiet, it's very calming really. Until Toby ruins it.

“Thanks Connor.”

Like he's a voice actor who is over exaggerating the sound effects of a dog munching away at their bowl. Connor inhales harshly before diving head first into the bowl. The dog is ferociously tearing into his breakfast and you can't help the laughter that spills from you at his enthusiasm. Hands coming up near your face and shaking as you shift from foot to foot. It's a happy stim, cute dogs are of course a trigger, someone can complain later you're happy to see a happy excited pup any day.

Taking your seat and turning your attention to your food, you see Toby hasn't touched his own. He's staring at the plate with a furrowed brow, he glances up to you as you remove your mask. You feel a bit vulnerable to be honest.

“Oh is something wrong? Do you want something else?”  He's a guest who's helped you twice now the least you can do is make sure he leaves your home full.

It takes a moment but he gathers his thoughts to explain, “I have a scar...it's pretty bad.” he looks away from you.

You tilt your head not quiet understanding what he means, “Cool story, do you want me to look away?”

He stalls at this, you just keep throwing him for a loop since you met the other day. While he thinks on it you scoop some of your eggs on your spoon and into your mouth. Perfect texture and prefect flavor, today will be good.

Toby seems to have made his decision and without any show he takes his mask off to begin eating. You can see the scar he was talking about, and while the currently red and bleeding'?!' scar on the left corner of his mouth was bad it wasn't much compared to the gaping hole further up that side on his cheek. You can clearly see the even whiter, how this boy is so pale is beyond you, skin around the edges suggesting the wound was older and had started to heal at some point. But you could see most of the teeth on the left side of his mouth. You've never seen these teeth while they were still in the head. A skull or 3D model yea. But never a living breathing person's head. It's fascinating really, you hadn't even noticed that you finished your breakfast as you watched him eat, you were so enthralled.

“You know your lip's bleeding right?” eyes never leaving the boy's teeth as you see them grind down the eggs into the tiniest particles. Neat!

“Rwhatf?” the way he can talk with his mouth full without spilling it from the hole is fucking magic and you won't hear another word on it.

He takes a drink of water, again it doesn't spill. Then you notice the slight tilt of his head...oh he's had practice doing this. Impressive honestly.

“That's what you choose to comment on?” his eyes narrow at you're still gawking form.

“I'm sorry I've just never seen those type of teeth still in head, normally muscle and...and skin cover them. So this is really cool to see them in action!” gosh you're so damn weird. By his stupefied expression Toby seems to think so too.

“Plus the wound looks healed but the lips look fresh,” you get up and grab a few paper towels bringing them over to offer to Toby, “Not to mention it's bleeding and you haven't once wiped it.”

He doesn't reply as he takes the napkins from you and dabs at his scarred lip, looking back and seeing blood just as you said. He was right when he thought he'd been biting himself a few hours ago. He'd totally forgotten to check after getting you home.

“Well I don't feel it so I didn't know actually.” he just resumes eating as if this conversation didn't happen.

“Didn't, didn't, didn't” you get stuck in a loop for a bit before breaking out “you didn't feel it? What do you have congenital insensitivity to pain?” you ask incredulously.

“I haven't heard it called that since I got diagnosed.” still eating he looks at you through his long eyelashes.

This dude could not be a real person. You had to have been imagining your dream friend. Everything you learned about Toby was more interesting than the last...at least for you it was.

“Medical history podcasts are interesting.” you shrug, “should I get the first aid kit?” at his shrug you get up and go to your bathroom to retrieve the kit.

Coming back into the kitchen you catch Toby lowering your plates for Connor to lick clean. You don't see a problem with it but you will wash everything twice since the pup has slobbered on nearly everything anyway. When you don't say anything he lets Connor continue before placing the dishes in your sink.

“Such a big help” you say patting Connor's head as you pass him, “Yea I really am” Toby says as he sits back down. Propping his arm up on the table to rest his head on his knuckles, it was such a fluid and casual motion. As if he's sat at this table everyday of his life, like this was his home and you were his guest. Tied in with how comfy he is man spreading at your kitchen table you'd say he made himself at home just fine.

You smile and scoot your chair next to him first aid kit in between you on the table. Toby looks between you and the kit before leaning in closer for you to work. Grabbing the antiseptic cleaning towels you go to wipe Toby's lip when he flinches away. Probably faking to see your reaction.

“Oh, fuck off you have CIPA.” you laugh grabbing his chin to keep him in place. He rolls his eyes “And you're weird.” The vibrations feel weird against your fingers.

“I know.” you continue cleaning the small bite mark? Well he does have CIPA he wouldn't be able to feel the pain if he was gnawing at his lips. Would he be able to taste the metallic tang of his blood or were taste buds effected by the disorder too? You might need to do another deep dive on this, it just became relevant. Maybe an anxious tic, judging from the larger wound it could be possible. Wearing a mask must help to hide it but not not to stop it getting worse if no one can call you out on it.

“That wasn't an insult...” he says making you look up into his eyes as you dry the wound, “I know.” You smile down at him, knowing this time he can see it on your maskless face.

When you finished cleaning his wounded lips, you drove Toby and Connor back to their home. Which turned out to be the RV at the forgotten entrance of the forest. Toby had been a little wary you knew where he was talking about but seemed to shake it off just as quick when you mentioned hiking a lot and using that entrance because it was the closest to you.

He had put Connor's vest back on and hopped in the back with him. You noticed from the review that Connor's full attention was on you.

“This set up let's him focus on the driver, so he'll tell us if something will impede your driving.” Well that explains Brian's position the first time you four met.

Nodding you sync you phone with the car's bluetooth and pass it to Toby with spotify open.

“Rules of the road, passenger picks music.” you say simply when he questioned it.

He quickly clicked your last playlist. Probably either too lazy to find something or trying to get a better read on you. Music says a lot about a person even if not everyone thinks that way. And unfortunately for you this playlist screams mental illness and a need for therapy. But you have folk punk. So who needs therapy when you can just scream cry these lyrics.

Toby doesn't comment on it, either just totally apathetic or maybe he likes it. He's a bit of an enigma, he's open and honest for the most part but saves his opinions unless directly asked.

Even after making it to the RV without incident Toby tries to distract you for a bit and tempt you out of the car with the possibility of playing with Connor. As fun as the idea sounds and as much as you don't want to be rude, you're very tired and drained. Probably more from “hanging out” with Toby this morning than your actual episode last night. Plus you understand Toby's just trying to be nice and maybe ensure your safety.

“Could I maybe rain-check? I'm actually really tired.” you say with your most polite smile, though he can't see it through the mask  you know he sees the crinkle of your eyes.

“Sure, just get home safe.” you feel that's less about you, but you aren't sure what the hanging subject is. So cryptic.

“Yup,” you chirp, “See you later Tobias!” as you start to back out back onto the road you hear Toby say “ Later YN.”

Driving off you can't keep the smile off of your face. Toby's a nice guy, you hope you get to spend more time with him. And this time the thought isn't centered around also hanging out with Connor. Just about enjoying Toby's company.

Getting home and locking your door you strip your jeans and flannel, leaving you only in your muscle tee, and curl up in your unkempt sheets. You'll do laundry later, right now was time for a little nap.

[midnights-light]

Ladybug and the Hound

So before I begin I need to say a few things

This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic so it’s most likely going to suck and all that jazz

I do not own any characters in the DC or Miraculous universes (if i did everything would make little to no sense so yeah)

Can we all agree that  @ozmav is an amazing writer?

If you don’t like Daminette, don’t read it’s that simple

I am also going to use “Dogs are a Ladybug’s best friend” by @kelelamentia for some inspiration on this cuz I love that idea

All characters are going to be OOC so just be prepared

If ya’ll like it I might write more just let me know if I should write more or if I should never think about writing again (I have low self-esteem so if it look like I am hating on myself it’s because I am but I’ll get over someday but if you criticize me please at least try to be constructive criticism)

Now onto the terrible thing I decided needed to exist

LB-Ladybug

CN- Chat Noir

M-Marinette

Di-Dick

D-Damian

B-Bruce

T-Tim

J-Jason

A-Alfred

The Meeting

It was a normal Tuesday, ya know? Birds are singing, the sun is shining, the Eiffel Tower collapsed, ya know the usual. Well usual for Parisians who had to deal with this for 4 almost 5 years now but for those who just wanted a vacation like the Waynes... well let’s just say they were unprepared to see the Eiffel Tower come crashing down just a few blocks ahead of them as they were walking to get some pastries from Tom and Sabine Boulangerie patisserie for a afternoon snack and to walk Titus (they brought Titus because Damian refused to leave him alone in the mansion for two weeks while they are on vacation so Bruce reluctantly agreed to bring him with them). So them being them ran towards the fallen tower and see a few people dead and some injured. They help the injured, but just as they are about to get the remaining few out of the wreckage a girl in a clearly ladybug themed suit comes crashing to the ground creating a few cracks to form on the ground. She gets up with a groan just as a dog in a fox themed costume came running up to her and helps her steady herself. “Thanks, Hound.” says the spotted girl and as the batfam are about to check if she’s okay a... IS THAT A GIANT BABY?! Well the giant baby comes walking towards the girl and the dog when a voice shouts “If you go on a date with me Ladybug I will come help you just accept your feelings for me already!” 

Damian's POV

As soon as the spotted girl heard that she looked towards the owner of the voice and low and behold it’s a guy in a leather cat suit and on the outside I look indifferent to what is happening but on the inside the only thing I can think is ‘What is going on in this city!’ because I was just expecting a boring two weeks of ‘required’ vacation in the ‘city of love’ I hate the nickname of the city because as Father has shown love is a weakness. But apparently the city of love is not as boring as I thought it would be. The girl (ladybug I think is her name) now has a look of murder in her eyes and the dog (hound is what she called him) growled at him as ladybug said “Chat, you can’t be serious! You just caused the Eiffel Tower to fall and kill and injure people!” CN-“Yes because you can’t realize that we are meant to be together!” LB-”No we are not now either help or shut up so I can focus on gigantitan!” CN-”Fine then i’ll just sit here and enjoy the show” That one interaction makes me question if this is how it is everything something like this happens.

*Time skip because i can’t write smart plans or fight scenes*

Dick’s POV

After ladybug got his watch thing off his wrist she and hound tore it apart which released a black butterfly and the giant baby was now back to a normal sized baby. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?1 I’M SO CONFUSED! After I stopped questioning reality I realized that ladybug was comforting the kid (HE COULDN’T BE OLDER THAN 4 YEARS OLD!) she picked him up and was about to throw her spotted thing up in the air for some reason but was interrupted by the cat boy saying ‘Pound it!’ and acting like he actually helped her and didn’t just sit there on a roof watching ladybug and hound do everything. What the heck? Ladybug walks over to me and asked if I could hold the kid for a sec and I said sure because she looks ready to murder. After she hands me the kid she walks over to cat boy and started yelling at him about how he can’t just be reckless like that but it seemed to just go over his head as he replied saying something about how she owed hit to him to date him but I quickly stopped listening when the kid started crying because of all the yelling going on so I started to talk and play with him to cheer him up until he pointed to ladybug as she yelled miraculous ladybug and tossed the spotted object into the sky. I was confused about what she was doing until I saw a swarm of ladybugs appear and start fixing the damage, healing the injured, and even bringing people back to life. Then she came back over and was about to ask something but then a shrill beeping noise came from her earrings causing her to ask if we could watch over the kid until his mom came and picked him up. Titus and Hound were playing until she called him over to her and then they jumped, yes JUMPED, up to the roof and left. “What the hell was all that and does anyone else want to kill a cat boy?”

Tim’s POV

“So that all really happened, huh? It wasn’t really just a coffee dream?” I say and then look at everyone else has a different reactions to what just happened: Jason is looking at where dead bodies had been but now they were alive, Bruce is trying to understand what just happened, Alfred looks concerned, Dick is keeping the kid happy, and Damian is trying to keep Titus from running after Hound. I notice other civilians just walking around like nothing just happened and I’m just thinking ‘How long has this been happening and how have we not noticed? WHAT IS LIFE!?’

Jason’s POV

I look at everybody that was dead just walk away like nothing happened and I am about to ask Bruce if he know what that was when I feel someone bump into me. I turn around to see a girl around Damian’s age on the ground picking up the stuff she dropped while rapidly apologizing while a dog, presumably hers, was sniffing her making sure she was ok and had what looked like a glare on his face when he looked at me. M-“I’m so so sorry Monsieur! I wasn’t looking where I was going.” J-”It’s alright little lady, but if you don’t mind me asking, what’s the rush?” M- “Well you see I’m supposed to be helping in my parents bakery after I finished walking Captain but we got caught up in the akuma attack so I’m running a bit late. My names Marinette by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you before are you visiting?” What’s an akuma? I’ll file that away for later for replacement to look at but for now. J- ”Yeah we are here for a family vacation to take a break from work. Would you mind if me and my family follow you to your parent’s bakery? We were heading to one for a snack but it seems we got turned around during the attack.” M- “Sure just tell me your names first so I at least know you to some degree cause I’m not supposed to talk to people I don’t know. I hate life but I’m not ready to die just yet.” She laughs and I swear it feels like the world just got a whole lot brighter, J- “Of course where are my manners name’s Jason. I have a feeling my family is going to love you and your dog.” I say as I hold my hand out for Captain to sniff and after he does he stops giving me what I swear looks like a glare but he’s still standing near Marinette when I notice my family looking at me and Marinette and Alfred asks me, A- “Master Jason are you going to introduce us to the young miss?” J- “Oh right, guys this is Marinette, Marinette this is Alfred he’s our butler/ grandpa, the one who looks like he’s about to pass out is Tim, the one playing with the kid is Dick, the stern one is Bruce, and the  one with the dog is Damian.” I say.

Damian’s POV

I hear Todd talking to someone and introducing us and as soon as I turn to glare at Todd I see the most beautiful eyes in the whole world. they look like sapphires and her hair is like the midnight sky. She looks like an Angel... wait WHAT!?  I only zone back in as soon as Todd told the Angel my name so I did what not even I  was expecting, I took her hand, gave the back of it a kiss and said, D- “Nice to meet you Angel.” I was not smiling when I saw her blush and I for certain do not want to make her blush again... but if I have a chance to then I will take it. Then I hear a low growl and I then notice that she has a dog (yes she loves animals to!) that is looking at me like he’s going to rip me to shreds and I will forever deny that I was a little scared. M- “Sorry Damian, Captain’s just a little protective of me and doesn’t like strangers being around me.” D-”I understand.” I say then I hold out my hand for her dog (Captain I think it was) to sniff and after he does he still growls at me but doesn’t look ready to tear me to pieces so progress towards getting to know the Angel before me. And then my good mood is ruined by the sound of my idiot brothers and father, the traitor, snickering behind us. I turn and scowl at them but they don’t seem to care. Meanwhile Titus and Captain appear to have met and are now chasing each other around making me and the Angel laugh. Her laughter sounds amazing and her smile makes it feel like the world brightens up just a little. M- “So shall we start walking to the bakery?” A chorus of yes comes from my family and then we start walking. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

BONUS

*Whispering* J- “Am I going crazy or did Demon Spawn just laugh and smile at Marinette?”

Di- “No I heard it to *gasp* do you think he has a crush?”

J- “Are we sure he’s capable of having a crush?”

T- “Well I’m sure she will be good for him, but what I’m confused about is how she doesn’t recognize who we are. I mean how does she not know us she didn’t even seem to recognize our faces.

A- “I think Miss Marinette will do Master Damian some good.”

And Bruce is just looking at his youngest son with pride. His first crush and he’s able to witness it.

So as I said in the beginning this is my first fanfic and It’s most likely terrible so let me know if I should never write again, if you want another chapter, or if I should just reevaluate my life choices.

Chapter 2

[soulmate-game]

“Alright, so tonight is going to be fairly standard. Arkham is silent, and there’s no solid leads on what any of the free rogues might be up to. Harley is sick and Ivy is stuck at home taking care of her, so they aren’t going to be up to anything on either side of the law for a few days. Catwoman is the only person we’d have to look out for right now, but her kleptomania has taken her out of the city for a change,” Barbara was typing away at the large Batcomputer keyboard as she brought all of the Gotham vigilantes up to speed on what to expect for patrol that night. “So, Red Hood and Black Bat will take the Narrows and surrounding area patrol route like usual. Nightwing and Batgirl, Upper east side and fashion district patrol route. Red Robin, you’re taking the route that passes city hall and through Old Gotham and Diamond District, and if you don’t throw a fit maybe you can take Robin with you. Batman, crime alley and Newtown patrol. Robin or no Robin, pick your poison,” the redhead offered, finally spinning her wheelchair around to look at everyone. “We’ll be pretty spread out tonight, but like I said, there’s nothing. No whispers of anything planned on the dark web, no news from any of the rogues, Blackgate and Arkham are, dare I say, peaceful right now. But if you see anything, I’ll redirect you guys so you can get backup ASAP.”

This was a rare night. Usually there was at least a plot or red flag to investigate, but not that night. For some reason, it seemed like Gotham had gotten a dose of sanity that it had been desperately missing.

“Actually,” Alfred took that moment to walk in, a slight pep to his step that seemed to catch everyone’s attention. “I do have news. Batman, you of course know that I have been keeping a close eye on Paris’s situation as per your orders, yes?”

Bruce, who had already been inching towards the batmobile none too subtly, suddenly stood stock still and slowly turned to look at his father figure. He could feel the eyes of his many children honing in on him, silent questions behind those orbs.

“Of course, I remember,” he confirmed cautiously. “You haven’t had an update for me in years.”

Years? Tim furrowed his eyebrows. That meant this had to be something that stretched very far back, because everything that Batman tried to keep secret from him since he became Robin had already been outed. Right? Well, he supposed there was always the possibility that Bruce could have snuck something by, but not a large one. Between him and Oracle, any new secrets he tried to squirrel away were unearthed pretty swiftly. So, most likely this was something Bruce had asked Alfred to keep an eye on at least back when Jason was still Robin. Maybe even further back than that.

“Yes, well you wouldn’t have appreciated any prior updates, sir,” Alfred said pointedly, raising an eyebrow. He always would be the one to understand Bruce Wayne and Batman the best out of all of them. “But this is a big one. I used our inside contact to check up on the Paris situation like I do every month, and this came up,” Alfred pulled out a remote from his pocket and clicked it at the computer, triggering it to bring up an article that likely had been hidden and only accessible via that remote signal. If Barbara had had any reason to check for hidden files she would have found it easily, but Alfred was good at never giving any hints as to when he was hiding something.

But what was on the computer was far more interesting than the all-too-familiar, cryptid ways of Alfred Pennyworth.

Because it was a news article from an online Paris newspaper. It was still in untranslated French, but nobody in that room had any trouble reading it. It was dated to have been published two weeks earlier.

On the cover picture for the article was a man that everybody also recognized, being high-profile and extremely influential in the fashion industry. Most of them had even met the man at least once, the aging Gabriel Agreste. In his early seventies, it was odd to see the man being herded into a police vehicle. He didn’t seem all that threatening, though he still struck an oddly intimidating figure with his cold glare and straight back. Being herded behind him was a woman of around Bruce’s own age, with long brown hair in several elaborate braids. Her dark, almost muddy green eyes bore into the camera and a snarl was on her face. Lila Rossi, the model that had been employed under Agreste for quite some years now and had turned into a sort of reality TV celebrity after she got too old to be hired for as many modeling gigs. She was known as highly untrustworthy, a lie monger and the most infamous gossip in the celebrity world. The headline for the article was;

“THE PARISIAN NIGHTMARE FINALLY OVER! AFTER THIRTY YEARS OF TORMENT, THE HAWKMOTHS OF PAST AND PRESENT HAVE BEEN ARRESTED.”

Underneath that title picture was another, this one detailing the Parisian heroes to stop Hawkmoth, who had been replaced years ago by his female counterpart Monarch, a play on the Monarch Butterfly. The Heroes, on the other hand, had remained mostly the same after the infamous confusion of the early years of Hawkmoth’s reign of terror, where Ladybug had temporarily started adding hero after hero to the team before mysteriously and suddenly retiring almost all of them.

On the right was Ladybug, who stood proud with her arms crossed and a somber gaze directed towards the two unmasked villains. On the left was Chat Noir, in a weird black leather costume that was like a bizzare yet fashionable meld of DiscoWing and the classic Batman uniform. Minus a cape or cowl, of course. Standing behind them, all fanned out, were the last four members of their team. Viperion, in a dark teal snake-themed costume. Ryuuko, standing next to him in a black and red ensemble with her elemental symbol proudly on her chest. Bunnyx, in her bright baby blue and white, and lastly the imperious Stinger behind them in her black outfit with gold accents.

As everyone but Alfred and Bruce read the article and examined the photos as quickly as they could, the eldest vigilante in the room slowly removed his cowl. His eyes were wide, disbelieving as they stared only at the two pictures on the screen and didn’t pay any heed to the article itself.

“Thirty years,” Jason remarked, turning to face Bruce angrily. “Paris has been under attack by magical madmen for thirty years, and you never told us? We knew nothing about this, and this has been going on since before us. Since before you, even,” he waved a hand at the screen angrily. “You know that they have been under attack since before Batman was even a thing, and you never said anything? We could have helped! The league could have—“

“Been a liability,” Bruce interrupted, but it was the uncharacteristic softness to his tone that ultimately shut Jason up and attracted everyone else’s rapid attention. “The league knows. The founding members, anyway. It was something I briefed them on back when we first founded the League, but we were careful to keep any mention of it off of any electronic system. The magic behind the attacks stopped any word of the terrorism from getting out through normal means. We pretended to put the JLE in Paris, when really they are centered miles out of city limits and never set foot inside Paris’s boundaries.”

“Why?” Dick asked, his own mask off so that he could glare into Bruce’s eyes without it obscuring his expression at all. He wasn’t explosively angry like Jason, but it was clear that Dick wasn’t happy either. “They all look to be your age, Bruce. Which means they’ve been fighting HawkMoth since they were teenagers, on their own, since before there was any Justice League or very many other established heroes at all to provide backup. And I get that HawkMoth and Monarch seem to have controlled or fed off negative emotions and a lot of us would have been liabilities, but there are Leaguers who have extreme control over their emotions. You could have gone. Or J’onn, you could have even sent Tim. Anybody to help even a little.”

“Paris isn’t my city, it’s Ladybug’s city. The League and most metahuman heroes stay out of Gotham because I asked them too, but I am not the first to have the idea that keeping other heroes out of a volatile city can be beneficial for damage control. Ladybug herself told me not to allow any interference in the situation,” Bruce braced himself against the back of one of their metal debriefing chairs, leaning forward so it could take most of his weight. That, and the way he never looked away from the photos displayed on the computer, tipped off everyone else that Bruce might not have stayed uninvolved willingly. That he had a deeper connection to the whole Paris mess than just keeping a shrewd eye on a possible issue.

“You know Ladybug?” Tim decides to speak up, leaning back against the desk that housed the batcomputer keyboard. His voice was decidedly softer than that of his elder brothers’.

Bruce nodded, still in an odd partial trance. “We met when I was on a trip to Paris, before I became Batman. It was twenty-three years ago, I was eighteen and found out the hard way about the situation that the rest of the world was somehow oblivious to. I was able to meet Ladybug during one of her patrols, and confronted her. Even after I became Batman two years later, she refused any help. It wasn’t until about a year before I adopted Dick that I finally decided I couldn’t keep worrying about a situation and people that I wasn’t being allowed to help, so I told Alfred to use the sources that Ladybug had given me back when we first met to check in on the situation every month or two. I know that it was not the best decision, making Alfred do what I couldn’t bring myself to, but by the time I adopted Dick I had mostly forgotten about it. I was too worried about trying to figure out how to raise a kid and then deal with raising a vigilante kid after that, for the first time.”

Silence reigned for a while. This was, essentially, news that Bruce had been waiting to hear for over twenty years. An outcome that he had been barred from being a part of. Talk about bittersweet, especially when Bruce seemed so passionate about wanting to have helped. Probably too guilty about not being allowed to.

In the end, it was Damian who made the connection between this news and his father’s foreign mood and behavior first. Or at least, he was the first to vocalize it. Cass probably noticed it sooner.

“You have feelings for Ladybug,” Damian somehow managed to make the declaration sound like a reprimand. “I admit, she is likely much better of a suitor for you than that mangy cat, but I hardly think that trying to start courting her again after so long apart is reasonable. She could have changed from—“

“I know, Damian,” Bruce’s knuckles were white from how tightly he was gripping the chair. “Trust me, I have spent more than enough hours contemplating calling her again to catch up, but I knew it was best to stay away. I had grown busy with Batman and the League anyway, and adding the time difference on there was no way any relationship between us would have been feasible.”

“So you cut yourself off from even being her friend. Which, might I remind you, I heavily advised against,” Alfred finally cut back into the conversation, hands clasped behind his back. “The two of you had maintained a perfectly stable long distance friendship for over five years, and I still consider the day you cut her off to be one of your stupidest mistakes, master Bruce. On an unrelated note, I received a call from the designer that you always commission your more high-fashion suits from, sir. She is coming to Gotham for a time, and I gave her an invitation to come visit for dinner tomorrow. I hope you don’t mind.” With that said, Alfred turned on his heel and walked away.

“That man never raises his voice, but somehow still makes you feel like absolute shit when he gets mad,” Stephanie mused aloud when the butler had left, earning silent nods from everyone else.

“How are you still alive, Father?” Damian asked, raising an eyebrow over one vibrant green eye. “If you cut off Ladybug only to continue to commission the person that I assume is her civilian identity on a regular basis, how has that idiocy not blended into the rest of your life?”

“It has,” Jason added in, always up for a game of Rag on Bruce. “He’s just always had this annoying ability of surviving even the shittiest situations he ends up in. It’s like he has plot armor or something.”

Bruce only grunted, pulling his cowl back on. “Patrol. Robin, you’re with Red Robin today. Don’t kill each other.”

“Oh no, I want to live to see the girl you’ve apparently been crushing on since you were a teenager,��� Tim said as he ambled over to his motorcycle. “Seeing THAT reunion is gonna be way better than picking another fight with Demon Spawn.”

“Tt.”

—*—*—*—*—*

“Your tie won’t get any straighter,” Barbara teased Bruce, watching as he fiddled with the tie around his throat for the millionth time in just the past ten minutes. Alfred had made sure that he couldn’t escape this, even going so far as benching Batman for the night.

And to make matters worse, it was still far too early for patrol so all the Wayne kids were present. Stephanie had other obligations to see to, unfortunately, but other than her even Jason had come over to the manor to see the fallout.

“Master Bruce, she is here,” Alfred’s voice cut through the almost palpable nerves emanating from the usually stoic or charismatic man. Batman was nowhere to be seen at the moment, but neither was Playboy Billionaire Brucie Wayne. No, this was Bruce Wayne, as genuine as anybody could see him. And more nervous than his kids had ever witnessed.

The door was opened, and in stepped someone that defied any of the Batkid’s preconceptions. They were expecting someone suave, sophisticated, with hard-earned muscle trying to hide under her skin. Like a Wonder Woman type of person, bursting with strength except for when they made an effort to disguise it. But that was not what they got. No suave, sophisticated bachelorette of a businesswoman and reputable fashion designer. No goddess-masquerading-as-a-human. Not even a femme fatale like Selina Kyle or most of Batman’s exes.

But there was a distinct observation that the kids made the moment they saw her.

Black hair, so dark that it seemed to reflect blue in the light, and clear blue eyes that were dark, vibrant, and seemed to glow with intelligence and humor, with just the slightest gray tones that hid in them grim experiences and disillusion.

She had a smile that was eerily similar to Dick’s when she laid eyes on the family and let it spread across her face. It was like the warmth of the sun, and instantly made the impersonal foyer feel cozy and welcoming. But the sharpness in her eyes as she scanned over all the people gathered, more than she expected if her eyebrow raise was any indication, was just like Tim. Too much like Tim.

She came to a stop a few feet away from the Wayne clan, and rested one hand on her waist as she popped her hip out. Jason’s attitude.

Her hair was up in a simple but elegant bun, with a braid curling around the base of it. She was small, about five foot four if their estimates were correct, and the sleek sleeves of her midnight blue dress simultaneously emphasized and disguised the lithe, corded muscle mass that seemed to flow smoothly down her arms. Not a brawler’s muscle, but an acrobat or gymnast’s. The delicate silver embroidery along the sleeves and trim of her dress, and curling around her waist like a belt of thread, was in actuality a string of bats in various flight poses interspersed with silver swirls and tiny ladybugs. Her own playful personality, it seemed, something innocent and daring and subtle all at once that didn’t quite fit any of the kids, it was solely hers.

“I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” the woman finally introduced herself, holding out her hand even as her radiant smile stayed firmly in place. When her eyes found Bruce again, they stayed there. “An old friend of your father’s. And by the way, Bruce. If you ever cut contact with me again without ever explaining yourself, I will not stay twiddling my thumbs in some other city again. I will hunt you down and get you to tell me what exactly possessed you to freeze me out, and only if it is some really good reasoning will I let you off without giving you a remedial lesson in the importance of dodging.”

Damian’s fire.

Dick looked over at Bruce, then at Marinette. She caught his eye, nodded and winked, and looked back to her old friend.

“But I do have to say, this looks suspiciously like a family we might have had if you had ever gotten up the courage to ask me out all those years ago instead of not realizing that I never specifically forbade you from visiting Paris, only heroes in general. You’re lucky I’m patient. I spent thirty years waiting to get back the Butterfly Miraculous and lock those two up for good, but making me wait twenty years to finally confess to you is a bit much, don’t you think? And adopting kids with only blue eyes and black hair is a bit on the nose, even for you.”

Scratch that, Damian’s loyalty.

Bruce really had adopted kids that reminded him of Marinette in some way, and the way he would grin or smile at Damian when he was displaying his usually subtle but steady loyalty, or the way that Bruce had almost unending tolerance for Damian’s stubbornness, it all started to make sense.

Bruce had tried building a family around the one he imagined he could have had with Marinette.

“Mari—“

“Nope. You’ve made me wait this long, you don’t even get a hug until after dinner. Then we can catch up, and you’ll take me out to dinner in a few days,” suddenly what was happening seemed to creep up on the woman, and she fidgeted. Sheepishness rose to her face, and she winced at her own words. But damn, she had imagined this day for so long, she couldn’t help but get assertive! “I mean, if you want to. I get it if you lost interest in dating me, but—“

“How about I set up a private dinner on the top of Wayne enterprises, day after tomorrow. We can even do a patrol afterwards if you’re up to it.”

His sons all facepalmed, some inwardly and some outwardly. Barbara groaned and Cass pinched the bridge of her nose. But, to their astonishment, Marinette’s smile just came back full force.

“Aww, you know I can’t resist the offer of a patrol. But just one, I want to enjoy some time off now that I’m not perpetually on-call as Paris’s main hero.”

Bruce finally grinned back, his eyes soft for the first time in a while that wasn’t directed at his kids. In way that they had never been soft towards Selina or most of his past flings.

“Just one patrol, then.”

“Sounds like a date.”

First attempt to upload this goofed and deleted the first part, so here is attempt number two! Again, Brucinette has been invading my dreams.

Apparently there is a part 2 now.

[awhitehead17]

Batfam Alphabet: J - Joker Junior (JJ)

Summary: When Dick is joined by his brother’s alter personality he struggles to complete his case work. JJ can be rather distracting especially when Dick has to keep a constant eye on him because he can’t be trusted to be on his own. 

A/N: This story references to torture and self harm, nothing in graphic detail but please don't read if that makes you uncomfortable. This story is based where Tim had been kidnapped by the Joker and turned into Joker Junior. 

Enjoy! :D 

“Don’t. Put it back. Now.”

There’s a few beats of a silence and without looking he could tell his orders haven’t been followed. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

Seconds later there’s a clanging of metal which indicates he’s been finally listened too. Dick takes a deep breath in and slowly lets it out before turning his focus back onto the task at hand.

He’s currently re-reading old case files looking for any names, locations, alibies that could possibly be linked into the current case he’s working. It’s a tedious task but it needs to be done. That being said it would be a lot easier if current company wasn’t present. It was rather distracting having to split his focus two ways so he could try and work as well as keep an eye on the kid at the same time.

This time Dick’s read no more than a paragraph when the sound of moving metal could be heard yet again.

Sighing in resignation, he shuts the file and turns around to face the rest of the cave. His eyes instantly drift over to the weapons table where his companion currently is at. The kid is frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at Dick knowing he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing. It’s like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, only in this situation the cookie is a dagger rather than an edible treat.

Opposite him the kid silently blinks owlishly, it would actually be an adorable sight if it weren’t for the creepy ass grin stretching across his face. It’s the grin that reminds Dick who he’s dealing with. It isn’t Tim who is standing in front of him but rather his alternate personality, JJ.

JJ first appeared about two years ago after Tim had been captured and tortured by the Joker. The best explanation they could come up with for his appearance is that JJ is Tim’s way of detaching himself from the traumatic experience he had. JJ is the result of the horrendous torture Tim went through.

It’s certainly taken everyone some time to adjust to this development. Even now, years later, everyone is still getting used to it. Tim is here, he’s still present and is the core identity, but JJ occasionally makes an appearance especially when Tim is feeling threatened, extremely stressed or emotionally unstable.

The whole thing has been a learning curve for everyone involved. Even Tim had to learn to deal with it. At first he understandably didn’t accept what was happening but over time he seem to concede with it and even come to some sort of agreement with JJ, apparently the two identities can communicate no matter who’s in control. Tim’s tried to explain it to him in the past but it’s pretty mind boggling so Dick simply believes what Tim is saying and doesn’t ask questions.

He can’t help but feel a little disturbed by JJ’s presence, it’s an unfair feeling because it’s not JJ’s fault – or Tim’s – but being reminded of what his little brother had to endure at the hands of an insane psychotic man is unnerving. It’s like a reminder of how he didn’t protect his little brother and how he failed him by not being good enough.  

He knows the others also share similar feelings. Jason simply stays away from JJ, he doesn’t even enter the same room as him. Damian is constantly on edge when JJ is present, he often carries his katana around with him when they’re near one another. Cass happens to be the one who handles JJ the best, her calm demeanour seems to bizarrely settle JJ a little. Bruce… well Bruce has similar thoughts to him of how he failed to protect Tim, but both as a father and a mentor. He’s sat down with JJ and has had a conversation with him, they seemed to come to some sort of agreement which Dick doesn’t know the details of. Alfred, god bless him, takes it all in stride as he does with everything. Everyone else is weary of him but are civil towards him as much as they can be.

“JJ, I told you to put it down. Why did you pick it back up?” Dick questions after a long drawn out silence.

JJ plays with the dagger in his hands, twisting it this way and that with skilled precision. He blinks again and lets out a giggle. “Timmy needs to be punished.”

Dick frowns at the answer. That’s not what he had been expecting. “Why does Tim need to be punished? What has he done?”

“He failed us.”

JJ says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world but Dick has no idea what he’s on about. How has Tim failed? All Dick knows is that recently Tim’s been busy with the Titan’s and how he’s been working on his Neon Knights programme.

“What happened?”

JJ doesn’t respond and continues to play with the dagger in his hands. Seeing the sharp blade being toyed with makes Dick feel tense, he knows what kind of damage can be done with a weapon like that and he doesn’t want Tim – and by extension JJ – to get hurt.

“Timmy needs to be punished!” JJ repeats agitatedly. He stops playing with the dagger and grips it in both hands, Dick couldn’t help but wince when he sees the blade dig into the skin of his palms. “When someone fails they get punished. When they are bad they get punished! Timmy has to be punished for what he did.” JJ trails off with a high pitched giggle like the idea of punishment is hilarious.

Dick runs a hand over his face, he’s not getting anywhere here. Where’s Cass when you need her? She’s usually better at dealing with this side of JJ than he is.

“You know that physically punishing Tim also means you hurting yourself, don’t you?” Dick suggests evenly, trying a different tactic. “There are other ways than physical pain to deal with these sort of things.”

Dick has an inkling he knows what this is all about but he doesn’t want to jump to conclusions just yet.

JJ lets out an uncontrollable giggle. “Silly Big Bird, I don’t feel pain, Uncle J made sure of that. Timmy on the other hand needs to pay for what he did and physical pain is the best way to teach a lesson so he remembers not to do it again.”

As if to prove a point, that’s when a drop of blood drips from JJ’s hand and lands on the floor. JJ doesn’t even notice. Dick tries to not flinch at the sight it, he hates the idea of his little brother hurting, no matter what it is it’s always hard to witness.

“I understand that you may be frustrated JJ, but why don’t you try talking to Tim instead. Tell him how you feel about whatever it is that he did and explain why you’re upset with the situation.” Dick suggests trying to sound as reasonable as he could.

JJ violently shakes his head, he seems to be getting more riled up as the conversation continues.

“No! Talking doesn’t work! He ignores me and doesn’t listen. The mission failed and he put us in danger for no reason, we could have been killed for nothing. He needs to remember to not do that again. I’ll make sure he remembers not to.”

Dick lets out a hum in acknowledgement. Something they’ve come to notice since JJ’s appearance is how protective, and even possessive, he is of Tim. The key thing is how no one is allowed to hurt Tim in anyway whatsoever, if they do then JJ will go on a vengeful rampage against whoever was responsible for it. That includes Tim himself.

To JJ, Tim putting himself in danger is essentially Tim hurting himself and he really doesn’t like that. It’s happened a couple times in the past, so in response to Tim putting himself in danger (often during missions) JJ feels the need to punish Tim for it.

Taking a deep breath Dick stares at the kid and wonders how he should proceed. He can’t just turn around and say “no” or retaliate because JJ will only get defensive and probably go do something much worse as a result. While Dick ponders, JJ stands there opposite him still gripping the dagger tightly in his hands with a small puddle of blood forming at his feet and grins creepily at Dick. To make the scene worse JJ tilts his head to the side just a little, adding to the creepy affect even more.

Thankfully he’s saved from trying to decide what to do when another body soon joins them in the cave. Dick’s attention turns away from JJ and onto Cass who casually strolls towards them with a light bounce in her step. Dick smiles warmly at her, feeling relieved for her appearance. Then immediate guilt hits him because he really shouldn’t be thinking that, Tim is his brother and what’s happened is by no means his fault and he should try to be supportive where he can, though sometimes it can get difficult.

Cass silently comes up to them and stands next to JJ. Dick watches with amusement as JJ’s grin slowly disappears from his face and is replaced with a scowl, his eyes narrow in what he would say is a challenge as he stares at her unmoving. Cass simply raises an eyebrow, she places a hand on her side and cocks her hip while she holds out the other in silent demand.

The two stare at one another for a long time, clearly testing the other’s patience and if Dick’s being honest he has to give JJ some credit for how long he’s with standing Cass’s pointed look. However it seems like JJ can’t out last Cass because he soon drops his gaze and relaxes his grip on the dagger but doesn’t let go of it yet.

“Timmy and I just want to have some fun. Why is that wrong?” JJ pouts, actually seeming disappointed and confused for why they’re saying no to him.

Dick catches himself from saying anything at the last second. He wants to question the ‘fun’ part of punishing but thinks better of it, it’s best that he stays quiet and lets Cass handle the situation.

Still staring at JJ, Cass keeps her hand out waiting for JJ to give her the dagger. After more staring he slaps the weapon into her hand with an exaggerated huff.

“Fine.” JJ huffs with a stomp of his foot. He scowls and crosses his arms over his chest. “I guess I’ll have to find another way to punish – oops! – I mean play with Timmy.” He lets out a hysterical giggle at his own words.

Cass shakes her head and moves towards Dick. They make eyes contact and Cass sends him a soft smile, when she gets close enough with the hand not holding the bloody dagger she reaches up and cups his cheek. “Finish work and rest. I’ve got this.”

Dick places his hand over hers and sends her an appreciative look. “Thank you.”

Standing up Dick grabs the file he had abandoned earlier and makes a move to leave the desk, it’ll probably be best to head to his bedroom in the Manor where he won’t be disturbed, but when he turns around he finds JJ now over by the weapons table yet again.

“JJ!” He snaps harshly. The kid startles and looks up at Dick before a wide grin stretches across his face, he’s not even ashamed that he’s been caught with his hand hovering over another dagger. He soon retracts his hand and places them both behind his back, he sways side to side like he’s an innocent kid.

“What? I’m not doing anything.”

Dick couldn’t help but eyeroll at the blatant lie. He sends JJ a pointed look. “Behave.” JJ’s response to that was to blow him a raspberry. Sending Cass a nod he leaves the desk with his folder tucked under his arm and makes his way to the stairs.

Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple. He should have been expecting something to happen really considering that nothing is ever easy with the kid, it’s only thanks to his reflexes and instincts that he hadn’t been impaled by the dagger JJ had just been eyeing up moments ago.

The weapon is now lodged in the wall in front of him from where Dick had luckily dodged it. The situation takes a moment to process in his mind and once it does he spins back around to witness JJ giggling hysterically and a wide-eyed Cass who had a hand over her mouth in shock. She’s clearly just as caught off guard by JJ’s actions as he was. Dick takes a deep breath and steadies himself, at least it didn’t actually hit him, not that the sentiment really helps with anything.

Deciding it’s really not worth it, he continues his journey to the stairs and proceeds to climb them, but not before grabbing the dagger buried in the wall along the way. JJ is Cass’s responsibility now, one he’ll happily pass over to her.

The last thing Dick hears when he gets to the top of the stairs is JJ calling out to him in between giggles.

“Bye bye Big Bird! See you soooooon!”

[schrijverr]

Smallness lies in the eye of the beholder

No matter how old Jonny might be, he had been young when he got mechanized. This meant he was small, something all the others noticed upon first meeting him.

AKA 8 times a Mech met Jonny for the first time and saw he was small.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none, but tell me if I missed anything or if you want me to tag something!

~~~~~~~~~~

1. Nastya

Nastya was running, her feet thumped beneath her as she tried to get away from the lab. She didn’t want to be here, she wanted to go home, but her home wasn’t there anymore.

It wasn’t there anymore.

Tears sprung in her eyes as she the memories of death and misery floated through her brain once more. Her home, everything she’d ever known, run over by angry people.

Her thoughts were cut short by a loud thud and pain as she fell to the floor.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going.” a young indignant voice called out, there was a slight foreign accent there that didn’t match the one of the woman she’d woken up to.

She looked up and saw a boy getting up from the floor, he couldn’t be older than 17, definitely younger than her, but he looked more in control than she’d ever been as he dusted himself off with a huff.

He saw her staring and raised a brow as he asked: “Like the view?”

A frown swept over her face and she thought ‘oh no, he’s not that sort of guy, right?’ Apparently he noticed, because he quickly said: “Oh, not like that, you’re just staring. You must be the person she wanted to pick up. I’m Jonny.”

Hesitantly she replied: “I’m Nastya. So you have been here long?”

“Yeah.” there was a sad undertone to it, but Jonny shrugged it off and said: “But, you know, at least there’s booze and good food. Here I’ll show you.”

“You know how to make food?” Nastya couldn’t help but sound surprised.

It earned her an offended look and said: “Just because I’m a man doesn’t mean I can’t cook, okay. I don’t know how y’alls stupid gender rolls worked on the planet you’re from, but I can cook just fine and gender rolls are, as I said before, stupid.”

“Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that at all, you’re just so young and I ca-”

She got cut off by Jonny: “Hey! I ain’t young, lady.”

“What?”

“I ain’t young, I’ve been on this ship for a few centuries now, okay, I am the First Mate and I ain’t young.” Nastya didn’t have the heart to tell him he looked very young when he pouted like that, so she kept her mouth shut and just agreed with him.

After that she dropped it, because he was giving her food and she was starving and when she finally figured out what had happened, she knew he had been speaking the truth, no matter how unbelievable it looked.

2. Ashes

They almost laughed when Carmilla introduced the person who’d be going with them to help them burn everything to the ground, before they went with her.

It was a boy, a literal boy.

Sure, he had a manic enough look in his eyes and carried himself with the presence of someone much older, but he was still a boy. There was some baby fat still in his cheeks and Ashes was taller than him, so was the girl slinking in the background and the Doctor herself.

But Ashes had become good in reading danger, so they didn’t argue with Carmilla and just decided to keep a close eye on him to make sure this kid wouldn’t muck everything up.

In the end it turned out the kid didn’t need a close eye at all and that he was very capable of vengeful violence, although they suspected it was more senseless for him, but nonetheless it was something Ashes could appreciate in a person.

They would soon find out that this kid wasn’t really a kid at all, but that didn’t stop them from calling him ‘kiddo’ to annoy him.

3. Ivy

The data didn’t match, the data didn’t match at all.

Jonny was supposed to be the oldest member of the crew, it said it right there in his file that had been uploaded to her brain. There had also been a 98% he was childish based on his description, but she hadn’t expected it to be so literal.

The man, more a boy really, in front of her raised a brow at her and asked with a British voice that also didn’t match the file, which stated he was from New Texas: “Hello, you in there? Carmilla said you were functioning, so you must be. Hello? Hello?”

He waved a hand in front of her eyes and she blinked at him, then she said: “I did not expect you to be so young.”

While he had brightened with the fact that she reacted that fell the moment she finished her sentence. He huffed: “Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m not young, most would qualify me as quite old, you know.”

Ivy ran through everything she knew then told him: “Well, most old people like hearing how young they look for their age.”

Jonny chuckled at that and said: “I like you, you can stay.” then he turned around and as he walked away he called out: “Come and I’ll introduce you to the others and give you some food. You probably need it.”

And with that Ivy followed, deciding not to mention it again if she wanted to keep him as a friend.

4. Brian

He had woken up without any memory of who or where he was. There had been a lady, who told him his name was Drumbot Brian, which was a strange name, but he couldn't really argue with her, since she seemed to know more about him than he did.

She had explained she had found him and fixed him, made him better. After that she forced him to do all sorts of test ranging from uncomfortable to horrifying, leaving him exhausted and scared.

When she finally left and he was all alone in this strange place.

He hated the loneliness almost as much as the experiments and he longed to see another face to tell him it was alright.

Lost in thoughts as he was, he nearly missed the sound of the door sliding open and footsteps coming into the room. He looked up to see a boy giving him a sad smile, which he hadn’t had the heart to return.

What sort of place was this if they did this to kids, he wondered.

“Doc Carmilla said you don’t need to eat and stuff, but I thought you might like some company, most do right after.” the kid said, “I’m Jonny, who are you?”

“Uhm, Drumbot Brian, I suppose.” he answered, then “Wait? Others? How many are there?”

“She told you that was your name?” Jonny answered with a gaze that had hardened with his words, ignoring his question for now.

He nodded in return, then fearfully he asked: “Is that not my name?”

Hearing the fear Jonny assured him: “It probably is, why would she give you a fake name, right? Anyway, you’re the fifth, sixth if you count Doc Carmilla.”

Brian, apparently, was not really assured, but ignored it to ask: “Is everyone so young?”

He did not know how old he was, but he somehow knew he was older than Jonny, he was at least taller, more massive, entirely made of metal… Not the time. And if everyone was that young, he would feel very out of place.

A laugh shook him out of his musings as Jonny grinned: “You’re the youngest aboard this ship.”

“What?”

“You’ll figure it out.” Jonny told him mysteriously, “Here I’ll introduce you to the others and if you manage to figure it out, I’ll try to steal your file to figure out how she found out about your name. Deal?”

Brian got the feeling he was making a big mistake, but he shook Jonnys hand anyway: “Deal.”

5. The Toy Soldier

It had been picked up by really the most jolly of chaps, they’d warned it to not come with them, apparently it wouldn't like it, but with how it had felt on that stage, it couldn't imagine following anyone else.

Still, it seemed like the nice music people were playing some sort of hiding game, but The Toy Soldier did not mind looking for them, it was a fun game.

Then it found someone, but it wasn’t anyone it knew. The person was small and The Toy Soldier identified him as a kid.

The Toy Soldier knew how to deal with lost children, so it cheerily asked: “Hello, Small Person, Are You Lost? How Can I Help?”

“What? Who the fuck are you?” the boy asked grumpily and confused.

It saw a bottle of whiskey in his hand and wondered who was in charge of this boy as it replied: “I Am The Toy Soldier, Sport. Who Are You? Where Are Your Parents?”

“What! I am not some kid, what are you doing on my ship?” the not-some-kid shrieked.

“I Am Sure You Are Very Grown Up, I Merely Wish To Help. I Followed Some Musicians Onto This Ship, Are They Your Guardians?” The Toy Soldier asked.

Fury overtook the boys face and he coldly said: “Oh, so you’re the one they replaced me with.”

Then a bullet ripped through The Toy Soldiers face and when it awoke, it was floating in space as the ship it had snuck onto disappeared out of sight. However, it was determined to find those people again and help that boy find his parents, so it began to try and find its way back.

The Toy Soldier never learned why Jonny would always be annoyed at it, even after it had figured out he wasn’t a little kid.

6. Tim

There were many kids too young for war on the front, Tim had seen many taken before their time lying on the battlefield with unseeing eyes, but that did not mean it got easier to see them get send out into the fire.

So when he saw the kid with too much fire and blood lust in his eyes for him to survive this war, Tim decided to make sure he wouldn't get himself killed right away.

He knew the younger they were, the more of a man they thought themselves to be, which is why he introduced himself with: “Hey, I’m Tim, you been here long?”

The kid gave him a quick one over and shrugged: “Not here particularly, but I’ve been around.”

Hmm, maybe not as much of a rookie as Tim had assumed, although it could be a facade to seem tough.

“Well, then I’ll show you where you can get some booze, my friend Bertie smuggled some in.” Tim told him conspiratorially, holding out a hand to heave him up.

The kid took his hand with a grin and told him: “You’re talking my language, Tim. I’m Jonny, show me that booze.”

Later Tim would be surprised at how well Jonny held his booze, after that he would be surprised at how good at surviving he was despite his complete lack of survival instinct, and finally he would be surprised to hear his voice after waking up from something he didn’t think he would.

“Jonny?”

A sad sigh: “I’m sorry, Tim, I tried to stop her.”

“What happened? What’s going on? Where am I, Jonny?”

“I’ll tell you, just let me show you where you can get some booze first, okay?”

7. Raphaella

Raphaella was a woman of unethical science, but even she had her boundaries.

She, from what she heard about the woman, who had mechanized the others had been a bit of an asshole, but she could see her work was well done when the others allowed her to look at it.

There was only one person she hadn’t been allowed to inspect yet, Jonny. She hadn’t even met the man, hidden away from her as he was. Some of the others had assured her it was nothing personal, he just didn’t like science people in general.

Which was why she was surprised to see an unfamiliar outline in the doorway of her lab. Not allowing herself to be fazed, she asked: “Hi there! How can I help you?”

“My heart is ticking weird.” a young, suspicious, yet unsure voice came.

“Ah, you must be Jonny, then. I’m Raphaella, but you can call me Raph, I don’t think we had the pleasure of meeting before.” she greeted him.

“Hm, yeah, pleasure.” Jonny answered, “Just don’t do anything without warning.”

When she agreed, he stepped into the room and he face got lit up by the lights in her lab, revealing this mysterious Jonny, she’d been kind of curious about.

He was not what she had expected. He was short and still had a baby-face, not at all the mysterious oldest member she had imagined. It suddenly hit her how young Jonny must have been when he had been mechanized.

She was pulled out of her musings by a cough from Jonny, who was sitting on one of her tables. Snapping her head his way, she caught the hint of an eyebrow raise.

With a smile, she said: “Sorry, just distracted. I am going to start with inspecting the casing outside and I will try avoiding having to cut you open, okay?”

He seemed surprised as he agreed and she felt a bit of fury at the person, who had done this, no matter how cool all her work was.

More conversationally she asked: “So, how old were you when you got mechanized?”

His eyes got wary and he slowly said: “Just turned 17, I think. Why do you want to know?”

“Oh, just curious. You know, with the aging process being shut still and all I wondered what sort of impact it would have on puberty and you are to only one still really in it.” she told him.

Fear filled his eyes and he swallowed, before saying: “You ain’t testing shit on me.”

“I won’t, I won’t.” she assured him, “I personally think it’s counterproductive when you have an unwilling participant, they’re much more likely to try and please you, which throws the data off. It’s really annoying. Besides I was only wondering if your voice still cracks sometimes.”

“Who even are you?” Jonny said with wonder.

Raphaella grinned: “I’m Raphaella la Cognizi, Science Officer. Well according to Ashes anyway.”

After that Jonny hung out with Raphaella more often, and yes his voice did still crack sometimes.

8. Marius

Finally stumbling onto the ship he had been chasing for a long while now, Marius came face to face with a kid holding a gun. The kid raised the gun in question to Marius’s head and asked: “Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing here?”

With his last energy, he did a bow with a flourish and said: “Doctor Baron Marius von Raum, trying to find the other Mechanisms?”

“The other?” the kid frowned.

Marius showed him his arm and shrugged: “Met an acquaintance of them.”

Fear filled the kids eyes as he looked around, before grabbing Marius by his collar and pulling him down with unexpected strength as he yelled: “Where is she? Are you working for her?”

“What? No, I’m not. She’s not here, I just want to find some other people that can’t die, there aren’t much of those, you know?” Marius told him, not sure why he was telling a kid all this.

“I don’t believe you, but only one way to find out if you’re lying, eh?” then Marius world went black as the kid pulled the trigger of the gun.

When Marius awoke there was a metal man, who questioned him until he was satisfied. As he unbound him, Marius asked: “Who was the kid that shot me?”

Drumbot Brian, as the man was apparently called, chuckled: “Oh, you mean, Jonny? He’s not a kid, actually the oldest of us all. Everyone made that mistake. I would recommend not calling him that to his face. The Toy Soldier still gets thrown out of an airlock for it from time to time, even though it hasn’t done it in centuries.”

Marius would get shot in the face once more, before he truly learned that lesson, but that was just part of life aboard the Aurora.

[suitofvibraniumarmor]

If You Just Realize

Part Six: Projecting

Summary: After being called to pick up Milena in the middle of the night, the weight of things causes friction between Sebastian and Y/N.  Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader Word Count: 2075 Series Warnings: Death, angst, sadness. Lots of creative licensing, I’m sure. Chapter Warnings: Couple curse words, hospital setting, stroke, light angst/confusion. Square Filled: This entire series will fill my realized feelings square for @marvelfluffbingo​​​. A/N: I’ve much enjoyed writing this series, and I hope all of you enjoy reading it! The tag list is open; requests to be added can be done so here. There are bits and pieces of Romanian throughout the series, mostly from Google Translate and the few things I’ve picked up as I learn the language.

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The wedding plans came together quickly. Without anything elaborate in mind, there weren’t a lot of details to work out. The dress had been purchased that afternoon, with Georgeta and Milena’s help before Milena went back to Alice and Tim’s house until the day of the wedding. Y/N’s immediate family and her grandmother would be in New York the day after tomorrow, the wedding would take place at City Hall the day after that, and then they would be married. 

Married. I’m marrying him. Seb’s going to be my husband, Y/N thought to herself as she stared up at the ceiling in the guest bedroom at Sebastian’s apartment. She had explained that she was getting overwhelmed and needed a little space. Sebastian was honest: he was feeling overwhelmed, too, and some space might be a good thing for both of them. 

“Not a bad start to a marriage, as far as honest communication,” Y/N mumbled to herself, trying to get comfortable. Her efforts were in vain, however, and when Sebastian knocked on the guest room door a few minutes before midnight, he only had to do so once before Y/N was sitting up and telling him to come in. He was still in the same t-shirt and sweats he had gone to bed in, but now he had donned sneakers and was stuffing the essentials — phone, keys, wallet — into his pockets. 

He leaned in the doorway then. “Sorry to wake you. Tim Hill is in the hospital; they think he had a stroke. Alice just called me, I’ve got to go get Milena. I didn’t want you to worry if you woke up and I was gone. I guess I could have texted you …”

“No, no,” Y/N assured, throwing back the covers and sliding out of bed. “I was awake. I’ll go with you — if you want.”

Sebastian’s tired half-smile conveyed his relief. Y/N hurried to put on some leggings with the t-shirt she had gone to bed in and push her feet in a pair of sneakers, then followed Sebastian out to his car. The drive to the hospital was silent, and when they arrived, they met in front of the parked car and joined hands without either of them thinking twice. 

“Thank you so much for coming,” Alice greeted quietly. She turned and motioned to Milena, who was asleep on a cushioned bench in a private waiting room. “I hated to wake her and bring her here but hated even more to not come with Tim. I suppose that’s selfish of me.”

Y/N shook her head while Sebastian scooped Milena up from the bench. “Not at all — you should be here. If there’s anything we can do …”

“Coming to get her is a huge help,” Alice sighed. Her eyes were puffy from a lack of sleep and from crying. “I thought I was going to lose him, you know. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Milena whimpered, holding tighter to Sebastian. All three of them focused on her for the moment, waiting to see if the whimpers would become full-on cries, but only a few seconds later, the little girl was asleep again. 

Alice brushed some hair away from Milena’s face. “Get her home and get her to sleep. I know you two have big plans coming up, and I’ll help where I can, but —”

“Don’t even think about it,” Y/N responded kindly, hugging Alice. “You take care of Tim. We’re all in this together, yeah?”

The older woman nodded and shed a few tears returning Y/N’s embrace. With one more reminder to call if they needed anything, Y/N followed Sebastian and Milena back out to the car. 

“Thank goodness you convinced me to keep a carseat in here,” Sebastian sighed. “I can’t imagine trying to figure that out at this hour and under the circumstances.”

Y/N gave him a tired smile. “Just being proactive is all — I’m here to help, remember? I’m doing what I’m here to do.”

Sebastian finished buckling Milena in, then turned to see Y/N still standing behind him. “I’ve buckled her in before, you know.”

“I know,” Y/N smirked, “but you’re also tired and a little worked up. Like I said, I’m here to help. I’m your backup, your support. If that has to be for something as little as getting her buckled into her seat, then so be it. Eventually you’ll learn the ropes and you won’t need me anymore, but for now …”

She trailed off with a shrug. Sebastian gave her half of a smile, gently squeezing her arm and kissing her forehead. 

The call from Philip came mid-morning, before any of them were awake. Sebastian scrambled to answer the phone before it woke Milena. 

When they had returned to his apartment, Milena was asleep in Sebastian’s bed for all of ten minutes before she woke up screaming. Nothing they could think of could console her; her eyes were open but it was almost as though she didn’t see them. It had taken over two hours to get her to calm down, when she finally fell asleep in Sebastian’s bed again, Y/N on one side of her and Sebastian on the other. The two adults had a hard time falling back asleep, waiting to see if the girl would have another episode. 

“Phil, hey, good morning,” Sebastian greeted, checking that both girls were still sleeping before he closed the bedroom door behind him. 

“I’ve got news,” the lawyer returned. “Apparently you’re already aware of Tim Hill’s medical emergency last night. Alice Hill’s lawyer contacted me this morning to tell me they’re filing a motion to delay the case. You’ll be granted temporary custody of Milena. They’re asking for visitation during this time, of course, but it doesn’t look like Tim’s going to be able to take care of himself, let alone help take care of a little girl, any time soon.”

Sebastian drew in a deep breath. “All right so … what happens next?”

“You have Milena now?”

“Yeah. We picked her up from the hospital last night.”

Philip paused. “As long as you allow them to see Milena within reason, we can move forward with legal guardianship, adoption — whatever you and Y/N would prefer. As a professional courtesy, we should keep their lawyer and the Hills informed, but the decision is up to you. There’s no reason why we can’t use this time to build your case.”

He yawned and rubbed a hand over his face, forcing himself to move toward the kitchen and start the coffee pot. “I should probably talk to Y/N/N about that, I suppose, since we’re getting married.”

“So that’s still a thing, huh?” Philip asked on a sigh. 

“Yes,” Sebastian chuckled, “it’s still a thing. I want to marry her, I’m going to marry her. I’ll talk to her when the girls are up and shoot you an email. Thanks for the update.”

“You’ll get my bill,” Philip teased. 

With a quiet chuckle, Sebastian disconnected the call and tossed his phone on the counter. The coffee started to brew, the smell drawing Y/N from bed and into the kitchen. 

“Morning,” she yawned. “You making coffee for one or two?”

“Two,” Sebastian smirked. “Milena still sleeping?”

Y/N nodded, covering another yawn with her hand. “Yeah, she’s out like a light. Lucky girl. We have to keep an eye on those terrors — maybe ask Alice if it’s happened before. Neither of us are working right now but eventually we will be. Not only do we need to sleep, but she’s going to have to stay behind and if we don’t get these issues under control now —”

“Philip called,” Sebastian interrupted, unable to listen to anything more about Milena’s potential issues, “because the Hills are putting off the custody battle. Tim’s going to be okay but he needs recovery time. As long as I — we — let them see her a reasonable amount, she’s mine. Ours. For the time being — uh, temporary custody, Phil said. I don’t — uh, we have a choice. We can do legal guardianship, we can adopt her. But since we’re getting married, we have to decide together what kind of a case we want to build.”

Y/N licked her lips and crossed her arms. “One tough subject to the next, huh?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and turned to the cupboard to pull down two mismatched mugs. He filled both of them with coffee and handed one to Y/N. Neither of them said anything for several minutes. Finally, Y/N set the half-full cup of coffee on the counter and made for the doorway. 

“I’m gonna change and go for a run,” she said quietly. 

Sebastian set his own coffee down and caught up to her in the front room; he gripped her arm, turning her to face him. 

“We have to decide this!”

She wrenched her arm from his hold and pointed a stern finger at him. “No, Sebastian, you have to decide. I am going for a run.”

The door to the second bedroom slammed behind her. A few seconds later, Milena cried from Sebastian’s bed. With a sigh and a hand through his hair, Sebastian put on the happiest face he could muster and went to tend to his niece. 

Y/N ran until her legs would no longer push her to run. What she was running from, she had no idea but she suddenly felt as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Maybe because she and Sebastian had never had any sort of tension between them, let alone an actual argument. 

Not to mention, the strength with which she was feeling as if his life was her life was downright frightening. Sebastian was her friend, one of her best friends, but the impending wedding and ready-made family … 

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Kennedy,” Y/N confessed to her closest friend back in Los Angeles. She had stepped into a smoothie cafe to recharge before starting the run back to the apartment and, feeling panic set in, called her friend. 

Kennedy yawned. “Slow down, Y/N/N. I get that you’re up and going already, but we’re three hours behind you back here, remember?”

“Oh shit,” Y/N groaned. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, just — just freaking out.”

“Okay, okay — like I said, slow down. First of all, I didn’t even expect for you to be gone for so long, and then you call me freaking out and I don’t even know — what’s going on out there?”

Y/N drew in a deep breath before she spilled out every detail over the next several minutes — about Sebastian, about Milena, about the wedding. About how scared she was to want what she was getting but wouldn’t be allowed to keep. 

“First of all, you need to take some deep breaths. Then, you’ve got to decide what you really want here. Sebastian is someone who I know means a lot to you, and I think you’re more concerned what all of this will do to your friendship as opposed to if you can take all of this on or how you’re gonna feel when it’s over.”

“You’re probably right,” Y/N sighed, leaning back in the booth. She took a long sip from her smoothie and swallowed it down. “Either way, I don’t want to lose him.”

Kennedy cleared her throat and yawned again. “I’m happy to support you through all of this, you know — in fact, I’m going to find the soonest flight out and try to make it for the wedding — but I really think you should talk to Sebastian about all of this. He’s probably just as overwhelmed as you are.”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to him. And Ken, you don’t have to come out for the wedding — it’s so last minute!”

“I’m gonna be there, so shut your mouth,” Kennedy chuckled. “Go talk to Sebastian, Y/N/N. Tell him what you’re feeling. You’ve been there for him through all of this and that’s great, but you still have to let him be a friend to you, too.”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Let me know when you’re coming in, I’ll get you from the airport.”

Kennedy promised she would keep Y/N informed about her flight, and they ended the call. Y/N finished off her smoothie and stretched a little, tucking her phone into her hoodie pocket and leaving an extra tip for the staff before taking off down the sidewalk again.

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