#and before she can make a choice babs reaches out like

[roseworth]

Rose + Babs team up. Yay or nay?

i am ALWAYS in favor of two of my favs teaming up so absolutely yes

rose is the kind of person thats like "i will do this on my own and i would rather burst into flames than ask for help" but also she isnt as much of a detective so much to her dismay she does need to ask for help sometimes

and barbara, who IS willing to work with people given that oracle is the go-to for basically the entire superhero community, is ready to strangle rose because she refuses to tell her anything. even when it is important to the case theyre working on

i think rose would have mixed feeling about babs just because rose does keep things close to her chest a lot, and babs is really good at finding peoples private information so rose doesnt really trust her (not that shes necessarily HIDING anything but she just doesnt like people knowing her), but then also she would definitely be impressed by babs overall bc like. fighting skills and detective skills and the whole shebang. its impressive.

babs would kind of see a lot of cass in rose, in the sense that they had terrible fathers that took away parts of their life. so she might try at least a little to give rose the "normal teenager" treatment. but also rose had a fairly average childhood for the first 14 years of her life, then a not-average-but-also-not-that-terrible life for the next 3-4 years, so it would piss her off a little to be treated delicately like that

but despite all of that. they would work well together. they can both be extremely focused and driven when it comes to hero-ing and i think that would mesh well if they were to team up

it would be a bit of a mess but it would be a fun mess. once rose learns to actually trust babs and work with her then everyone else is so fucked

[magpie-blues]

I was listening to Sleep Token while writing this if it wasn’t obvious

Warnings: not so very healthy relationship dynamic, a lot of masochistic ideology between all three characters.

This is my take on Havik x Reiko x Rain based off the canon events in mk1, this takes place after everything that happened in the games story mode. Sorta of a character study if you really want. Titled it a line from a sleep token song for now bc idk what else to title it

I’m so sorry if there are spelling errors I looked it over as many times as I could I just rambled and slammed it on somewhere I’ll check again and again just to make sure lmao (can you tell I’m insecure)

Anyway SORRY HERE U GO BABS

You Taste Like New Flesh

He wasn’t raised to be a predator. But he was prey that fought back. Zeffeero wasn’t helpless. If anything, he considers himself the opposite. The former Empress raised him well to defend himself along with her own daughters.

A gesture she did not have to make, to take in a young boy deprived of his birth mother and a god of a father that wouldn’t even bless him enough with the presence. Yet, he learned not to care.

His sisters were kind. They always tried to reach him. But almost every time, Zeffeero would crawl away before they could get any closer. Deep down, he felt something burning in his chest, against the current of his cold heart. A ripple in a still lake. A desire for more than he had.

And he took the risk without thinking of consequence. And his mother no longer called him son. And his sisters no longer call him brother. He didn’t think she would die, it was not his intention. But it didn’t change what he had done. After all that was provided to him, in his efforts to obtain more, he just lost all he had in the process of trying.

Zeffeero refuses defeat. If he lost a family then he will get the power he damn well deserved for his selfish actions and sacrifice. Forever will he refuse that it was the wrong choice, or admit to wrong. And his eldest sister cast him out, no longer Prince, and no longer safe from the jaws of predators.

Reiko was brought up a predator. Never falling to become prey. Havik learned to parry those who prayed on him and learned to bite back. The hunted became the hunter. And the two intertwined, sickly devouring each other. Couldn’t get enough. Hurt and tore at flesh, never close enough. Between their bared fangs and sharp claws, nothing was gentle, love was violent. But they were violent creatures, and that’s how they loved.

Zeffeero didn’t love like a predator. Not initially. An elk in the clearing, grazing peacefully. No herd in sight. Left alone, abandoned, vulnerable. But no elk was without his antlers. Yet, it wouldn’t stop the wolves from coming.

Two wolves, bloodied with the fluids of each other. They left their pack, and found within where they wandered together, tearing each other apart, a warm body. Dangerous yet alone. Prey to devour.

And the wolves circled the elk. Their maws agape and their tongues lolling between cracked fangs.

And then, Zeffeero learned how to use his antlers. Instead of soft nuzzles and the loving embrace of a mother, he felt teeth sink into his flesh, nails gripping his chest, hands around his throat and rough wrestling between sheets. Soft touches limited. All he felt was stinging pain as the two wolves devoured him. And he grew fangs to bite back.

One would be sick to call it love. Zeffeero wanted to refuse it. It had hurt, his body scarred and mauled. But it felt nice. A contrast to what he was given. And it was something. Havik and Reiko had no intentions of releasing their elk.

The three became possessive. Just because it was rare doesn’t mean it never happened. A night alone where they hid in a rough abode. Planning their uprising. Among the bed they shared, all three heavily gasping for breath, and no longer had the strength to tear or bite. And it was dormant.

Havik had laid himself against Zeffeero’s left shoulder, his arm over his chest. A scarred face against his skin accompanied with faint rugged breaths. The mage had his head against Reiko’s lap, he felt usually bloody nails and rough hands run through his hair, not gripping, no pulling. A gentle touch, as if handling something delicate. No one spoke, there was no need. There will be no violence tonight. Their jaws ached, there will be no biting.

The mage felt his muscles loosen, a hand slipped up against the back of Havik’s head, a light pull to press their bodies impossibly closer and a slight arch in his back for the hand against his own scalp, almost yearning for more contact. This was the love he knew. It was gentle. He didn’t exactly miss it, but it was familiar. Confusing, even. That all mutually agreed they were tired of tearing, tired of being bitten. Ripping each other open had no front here right now. Later it might, down the lane the cycle will continue. But once every rare moment, by themselves, all were quiet. All was bliss.

Zeffeero let his eyes close, inhaling slowly. Havik was slowly becoming more slack against his chest. Reiko’s free hand moved and his fingertips traced the rough scarring and bone of a burned face, his hair down and over his eyes as he leaned over, watching his own hand traverse softly across the features of the two men. Eyes wide but expression unreadable. As if confused by his own actions but made no motion to try and stop himself. Observing outside of his body. All such unfamiliar territory. Gestures such as these were never commonly shared, if not at all for the soldier. Even as a boy, he was strictly disciplined, his only reward for success was keeping his life.

But there was no consequence in the moment. There was no fear of one of them or both of them leaving, because Reiko wouldn’t allow it. Just as Havik would cage him like a bird if he flew too far, or how Zeffeero would pull him under the current if he tried swimming the other direction. Reiko’s hands trailed down from the hydromancer’s face to the base of his neck and the span of his bare chest, his other hand against Havik rubbing against his back in the space between his shoulders, knowing which scars were inflicted by him on their bodies and running over them once more in a practiced motion, but not to reopen this time.

This bond was a rush of adrenaline or an influx of fatigue. Even if pain were afflicted, it was enjoyable when muscles tensed and relaxed after every bite and relishing in the sores after. It was usually Reiko and Havik that stayed behind with each other in a bed. Zeffeero would usually be the first to slip away and relish in his own sores on his own, but was never far. It was a matter of preference, but that didn’t mean when the mage did stay they took it for granted. Even when half asleep, Havik was over half way on top of Zeffeero, an arm wrapped under his arm and gripping from under his shoulder with his chest against the other. Reiko silently watched as he saw the scarred man drift and his head fell lower against Zeffeero’s shoulder and the crook of it, feeling a slight arch of his back into his hand, Reiko responding in kind, as his breaths slowed. When the soldier looked back at Zeffero on his lap, his eyes were closed, but only in light sleep. Reiko trailed his hand back up from the mage’s chest from where it came back to his face, running against the side of his face and lightly pulling his head closer, turning it to the side against him. And Zeffeero didn’t stop it, if anything he leaned into it, shifting ever so slightly as much as he could with Havik and his tight embrace against him.

Yes. He liked this. Reiko will keep them. And they’ll keep each other. No one could love them how they did.

[diamondangelkitten]

Vierapril Day 15: Conceal

Alira had a spring in her step as she went to check in on her friends in Il Mheg. They had had a few days to recuperate and she had had a lovely time visiting Sid. Rielle had been staying with some friends, so they were able to spend a lot of time getting reacquainted with each other. She hums to herself as she waves to her friends in the distance. Aurora loved the pixies, and Annabeth and Alinea had gotten fairly good at handling them as well. 

Before she could reach them, one of the pixies flies by her, abruptly stopping, “Oh! Oh… Something’s changed about you.” “Whatever do you mean?” Alira asks, wondering why it would matter. The pixie vanishes abruptly, and before Alira can take another step Feo Ul is there. “Oh, dearie. You’ve changed, you know.” Alira huffs, “No, I don’t. Can you please tell me what is going on?” Feo Ul sighs, “Dearie, you’re pregnant.” “What? No, that’s not right. I’ve only been gone for a week.” “And doesn’t time change differently between here and there? How long have you been back here, hm?” Alira’s breath starts to come in more rapidly. She’s never had one before, but she thinks this is what is referred to as a panic attack. She looks to Feo Ul, who flies down in front of her face, “Now now Sapling. Breathe, breathe. It’s quite obvious this wasn’t planned, but unfortunately there’s bigger things to worry about. The light, dearie, it’s been affecting all of you. I cannot say what it would do to the wee bab growing inside you. I think though, that it is within my power to keep your babe safe in some sort of stasis, while you see out your mission.” “What… What are you talking about?” Feo Ul sighs, “Dearie, I could put the babe inside you in a cocoon to protect it from the light that’s getting drawn into you. It would halt the baby’s growth and you could make your own choice when this is done about what you want to do.” Alira’s breathing starts to get back to normal and she nods, processing the words. Feo Ul continues, “You wouldn’t be able to go back to the Source until such time as your journey here is complete. And it would do nothing to further protect you from the light’s corruption.” Alira nods, “Do it.” The Fae King nods and performs the enchantment. “It is done.” “Thank you, Feo Ul, but please, do not mention this to anyone.” “Of course dearie.” 

When she joins the girls later, they can tell something is up, but Alira just shrugs and says Feo Ul wanted news from the Source. It’s a few days later that they’re fighting another Lightwarden. Annabeth and Alinea can tell that Alira isn’t fully in it, but they trust in her ability. Unfortunately, during the fight, Alira gets a gash across her chest. Aurora rushes to her side to stop the bleeding as Alinea and Annabeth kill the beast. She is sent to her room in the Pendants to recover after having the wound looked at by Alphinaud and the chirurgeons. Alira’s busy looking out of the window at the sky when she hears a knock at her door. As she goes to open it, she’s met by her three friends, all with varying degrees of worry in their face. She sighs and opens the door to them, knowing it’d be futile to evade them further. 

She goes to sit on her bed, knees to her chest, and sighs. Aurora is the first to join her, just sitting beside her, eyes wide and most concerned for her friend’s wellbeing. Annabeth takes a chair from the table and sits, watching the two of them. Alinea is pacing and is the first to break the silence, “What’s going on Li? We haven’t kept a secret from each other in ages and it’s not like you to not be focused in battle.” If possible, Alira curls in deeper into herself, and she feels Aurora put a hand on her shoulder. “We don’t mean this to hurt you, but we’re worried about you. We already have to deal with the light possibly consuming us. We just don’t want to lose you Li.” She looks up and makes eye contact with Annabeth who just raises a brow and it’s enough to break Alira’s silence. “Feo Ul told me I was pregnant.” She looks around the faces of her friends and while most are shocked, there are no audible gasps for which she is grateful. “Apparently Sid and I had a bit too much fun, and I came back with a passenger. They warned me that it wouldn’t take much for the light’s corruption to affect it, so they placed a barrier around it, effectively putting it under stasis.” Alinea nods, “So it can’t be affected by the light and it won’t get any bigger.” Alira nods. Annabeth takes a deep breath in, “Okay then.” The girls turn and look at her. “Li, I’m assuming you have no idea if you want kids or not?” The other Viera starts to tear up and shakes her head, “I’ve never once thought about it. I mean, me? A mother?” She starts to hiccup as laughter and tears merge, “I’d be such a mess.” Aurora frowns at her, but runs a hand up and down Alira’s arm to not overwhelm her more. “Well, you have time to choose don’t you?” The girls now turn to face Aurora. “You don’t have to make the decision now. Your baby, if you want it, is safe as long as you are safe. You’re not going to want us to coddle you. You never have, but then you have to deal with your mental health so as to not get hurt.” Alira pales, but she nods at the young Au Ra’s words. “You’re right. Sid has no idea about this and I’m not allowed to travel back to the Source.” She leans her head back and takes a deep breath, finally stretching out her legs. “I have no idea what I want to do after this, but to get there, I have to get through this. Alive.” She glances at the girls, who all have a smile on their face. “We’ll support you whatever happens,” Alinea says. Annabeth stands and raises a hand to Alira, who accepts it, and the subsequent hug. “We’ll get through this Li. All of it, together.” The other two girls join the group hug. Alira eventually steps back, “Can you not tell the others though, please?” Alinea laughs, “Of course. Can you image? Alphi would refuse to let you leave his side.” Alira hides her face in her hands, “Oh no!” “And Alisae would try to fight every creature in the town over,” Aurora quips. Alira peeks through to glare at Aurora, “Not helping.” Aurora’s laugh eventually gets them all to join in at the unexpected situation. Alira pulls them in for another hug, “Thank you, again, for helping me deal with my issues.” Annabeth rolls her eyes, “We’re a family. Your issues are our issues. We may not be able to solve them for you, but we’ll walk beside you.” Alira nods, and once the girls find a way to make themselves comfy on Alira's bed, she falls asleep peacefully, listening to their breathing.

[sor-vette]

Chapter Four | Gentle Acquisition

At the turn of a new leaf, you find yourself dancing along the knife’s edge. To keep yourself from falling over, you must ask three questions: what do they have, what do they hold dear and how far will they go to make you stay with them?

▶ wc: 2.8k

▶ this series’ masterlist

▶ other works

Life at the "Soul" gallery was somehow peaceful. You spent most of the time acquainting yourself with various Excel sheets, side to side with an open tab on "how to's" for such and such files. As Sandy, your supervisor, was still on maternity leave, most contact you had with her was through a disembodied chain of impersonal emails. And so more often than not They were who you were accountable to. Nevertheless, you worked hard, especially for the approaching Monet exhibition, so the fact that you'd been practically gifted the position would be easier to swallow.

People left you alone. That first day you visited the cafeteria with Jimin side by side, they threw condemning glances and conceited whispers. One woman had muttered "whore" next to your shoulder, you not so politely told her to stuff it up her ass, or you'll shove it for her. One man had stumbled and accidentally thrown scorching tea across your blouse. You accidentally tripped him down a few steps of stairs the following hour. After that, the contact with the other workers was non - existent. You came and went by your own lonesome, mainly remaining in the four walls of your neat little office. And however hard it was for you to acknowledge, it was indeed...nice.

The sly devils kept their distance. Hovering but not breaching your peaceful bubble, and, in time, your suspicions began to dwindle away. As the season passed and the murky glide of autumn skies turned to blinding but bare winter, the seven men became a natural presence around you. Be it a coffee handled in the morning light, a kind compliment paid in passing or just the unending stream of vocal support. Even Jungkook and Taehyung, who were still terribly sorry over something, had quickly melted into their playful disposition. Scarcely you began to alter the terms from "nuisances" to "acquaintances" to perhaps tentative "friends". Though you all seemed to disagree on that choice of wording.

"Yeah, bab - Y/N, sure we're friendly," had answered Yoongi, in between fleeting, darkened glances.

It wasn't until mid - December that the grains reached their optimal grind in your clock. Jimin and Jin were deep into an intense argument, sitting next to you as useful as a third breast, even though they were supposed to go over the font choices of the Monet display. Lounging around and fighting whether cupcakes were really just cake, it was then that you hear Jane's shrill voice on the other side of the phone line.

"Please, really, please! It's urgent!" She sounds close to tears. You agonize your brain about what could have possibly happened, still, there's nothing that arises. Both Jin and Jimin go silent next to you. Jimin's hand shakily runs up and down your thigh where it had, also "accidentally" fallen during the argument, most likely worried you’ll drag him by his ear out of your office. Again.

"I can try?"

"Trouble?" Jin mouths, his eyebrows furrowing in a hard line.

"I'll see what I can do," you hurriedly tell her and drop the phone down.

"Would it be possible to ask for an hour off? I don’t usually -" Jin holds out a palm, putting a damper on your excuses.

"No need to explain, hon- Y/N. Anything can happen."

"Please, go! Everyone will understand," Jimin reassures. You pat him slightly on the top of his head as thanks. He melts into a putty underneath your touch before gathering himself up to diligently push you on your way.

You run to the first taxi available, jogging through the swaying piles of browning, dead leaves and jump in without another thought.

In the small office, there now sat a simmering silence. Both men looked at the door, eyes glowing a similar deepened shade of amber.

"Why do I feel like this isn't good?" Jin questioned rhetorically, tone dropping to a chilling annoyance.

"Well, it's been four months already. We've never taken so long," Jimin argued passively. He too was overcome with a sudden wave of possessiveness. In unison, they sneered at the phone with a contemptuous frown.

"She avoids all my invites to a restaurant...” Jin grumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

"Maybe, she just doesn’t like you,” Jimin thought out loud, lip caught between his teeth.

“OW!”

You can't help but stare at Jane in wonder. The height of panic has disappeared entirely from her intonation. She shuffles her weight awkwardly, pulling at the sleeves of her pink jumper.

"So, nothing happened?" You clarify with an arched eyebrow. As you look above her shoulder, frankly, all that there is to be found is a pigsty. The aroma alone that wafts from her open doors could bring tears into someone's eyes.

"Well, yes and no. I... I just wanted to see you."

You can't think of anything dignifying to say.

"Couldn't you - Couldn't you just wait an hour until my work ended?"

"They let you go, didn't they?"

"Well, yes, but... Who do you mean by "they"?"

"Uh...who do you mean?"

"My management."

"Yes, I thought the same."

You stand on Jane’s threshold growing more and more perplexed by her behaviour, one second after another.

"Please come in!"

"Oh, fuc- I mean, oh, sure." Smooth.

It's exponentially worse inside. Every single available and unavailable surface is covered with something. Whether torn papers, books of varying sizes and colours, bowls, takeout and crystals.

As you make it straight away to the window, to gasp in some resemblance of breath, you keep an eye on Jane. Simultaneously Jane's best and worst quality was her insistence on all manners of cleanliness. Back in Neptune, not a day went by that she didn't nag the living shit out of everyone with ears for having a pen outside its determined cup or for eating bread that was perhaps flakier than strictly necessary.

"When you rise up, all the crumbs fall on the floor," she whined. Looking around at the surroundings, you start to seriously invest in the idea of clones.

"Jane, is something wrong? Are you - are you depressed? Or anxious?" Her back is turned to you. She is making drinks. Her hand reaches for a mug absent-mindedly, but alas it is already full of something else. She splashes the dark liquid into the sink without a second thought before dropping down two teabags.

You recoil.

"It's for me," she explains with an odd smile, turning back to gauge your expression. You try to reign in your disgust and mask it with an appeasing smile. You don't think it creates splendid results.

There's candles fucking everywhere. You see one that's on the digital piano next to the windows. The ugly curtains of that particular window have a disquieting patch of soot, staining the bottom edge. Without saying anything, you discreetly relocate it on the table.

Jane ends up pouring you coffee in a small, blue vase.

"It's completely clean," she points out as if that was the deciding factor. When you opened your mouth to object, her breath had hitched; you fear she might burst like a dam at any given moment.

"It's all utensils anyway..."

You gingerly plop down on the small circular stool. Jane is right in front of you, but her eyes are misty. You suspect that she is barely registering what's happening. Could it be drugs?

You sort through the papers once again. No needles or pills were to be found. Instead, there were just rocks and crudely drawn things on crumbled receipts

"How are you doing, Jane?" Her eyes are bloodshot, and her posture slouches to a heavy degree. Instantaneously you see a reflection of yourself four months ago.

(Getting warmer...)

"Me? Oh, I'm doing..." She begins enthusiastically but then abruptly falls silent.

"I quit Neptune,” she finally confesses. You take a sip of the coffee. It is so horrid there is no question about it - Jane mixed up sugar with salt. You grimace at the vase but, for reasons unknown, still, swallow it.

"Why would you quit? Where are you working now?" Maybe that was the reason for her spiral. Depression was no joke.

"Oh, after you left, I got sick. Like really sick."

"What's wrong with you? Are you better now? Why didn't you say?" You bolt the questions at lightning speed. Jane waves about with a soft smile, almost resembling the image of her you've grown accustomed to.

"I'm fine now. It was...an inflammation... of sorts. I got it sorted out, but Mark was such an asshole about it that I quit. I mean, I was literally dying, and they still asked me to cover extra shifts," she shakes her head along with the teacup, peering deep into the muddy abyss of the tea leaves.

"My bag broke," she cries, out of focus again.

"What a cunt," you mutter sympathetically. Mark had always been a stick in the mud. Turns out he was lesser than a dog. Dogs, after all, had many admirable qualities.

"Yeah, then I quit with a big scandal."

"What now?"

"Oh, umm... I went back to my um... hometown?"

"Where is that?" Jane continues as if not hearing the question. Perhaps she actually didn't. It was a difficult wager - what kind of state she was in.

"There my mom introduced me to her friends and they roped me into helping their shop."

"Are all of these things for the...shop?" You ask a tad sceptical, vaguely gesturing over the misaligned stacks gathered in her apartment.

"Yes, they're into spiritual stuff. You know the New Age movement."

Ah, that would make sense. Jane had accurately given you all the boxes to tick away should anything strange would pop up. It was perfect. She was depressed, hence the mess. She was ill, hence the lack of contact. She now worked with spiritual shop owners hence the amassed wealth of peculiar items. It was perfectly sound reasoning. Too perfect.

(Getting really warm...!)

As far as you knew, Jane had a strained relationship with her mother. The two of you had even bonded over family problems in the first place, choosing to stay together for holidays. Secondly, the Jane you worked with wouldn't even hear a word about horoscopes, let alone work with the New Age people. Also, if she was all right now, why does she look like one step away from perdition?

"Are you sure you're alright? You just look a little -"

"Like a harpy from hell."

"A bat could also do." She gives a dry chuckle.

"I don't particularly enjoy being - being in a place where I am. I'm having a hard time choosing what would be the right thing to do." You wince again at a particularly nasty gulp. Could there possibly be bergamot in this? The brew goes down your throat like a bag of glass shards. As it hits your stomach, you shudder. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

(Oh, just you wait.)

"Is there anything I can do?" she only sighs in response, placing down her mug. Or vase in your particular case.

"No, sorry. No." You sit as the beat of silence passes. When it does Jane unexpectedly jumps up with a fresh bout of energy.

"Well, thank you very much for visiting! I appreciate it! Did you finish your coffee?"

"Uh... yes but -"

"Well, then. You'd better be on your way! When does your work start?"

"Uh, 8 am but Ja-"

"Oh, 8 am, that's so early! You should go to sleep early, so you can rise early! Ha! Just like the saying!" You find yourself grasped tightly in her talons, and promptly shoved outside in the plain beige of the corridor. You begin to gawk in bewilderment, but she utters last -

"Sleep well!" and -

"BANG!" slams the door in your face.

(Ice cold.)

There is a dark figure loitering outside your apartment. It's Hobi, you recognize, inching closer with now two shoulders at ease.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Besides Namjoon, who dropped by some documents a month ago, they were yet to invite themselves over. Despite being thankful to avoid their beautiful, pesky hands in the comfort of your home, you were also surprised. Surely Taehyung or Jimin, who pouted and whined their manipulative way into getting everything they wanted, would do just that.

You do, however, realize you don't mind seeing Hobi waiting for you. He was peculiar. Never before have you met a person, who is in equal measures both friendly and distant, open and secretive. And sure, they were all like that. Sort of like large cats. But Hobi, in particular, felt like a walk over a tightrope. Luckily, in most cases, he provided a safety net.

When he hears your voice, he skips over, wiggling, heart smile brightly greeting you home, but, as the distance decreases to an arm's length, he violently throws himself backwards. You look at him with wide eyes.

"God, what happened to you?" he asks, pressing himself further into the wall.

"What? WHAT? Nothing happened to me!" You protest petulantly, kicking open the doors to your apartment.

"You stink!! Oh, dear God, I'm going to pass! Wouldn't that be an achievement!" He goes so far as to pinch his nose shut. You give a gentle whiff around yourself. Maybe, maybe, you can sense a bit of incense but not even close to the degree Hoseok is acting.

He stumbles in your apartment, nearly tripping over the umbrella stand.

"Well, if you find me so revolting, you can always leave ~" You call out with a fake sweet smile. Hobi releases his nose though quickly scrambles into the kitchen, out of sight.

"No way! I bought a cake, and I don't want to share it with the others."

"Ah, the cupcake argument?"

"A cupcake is a cupcake, damn it! Why would anyone bother to invent different terms for them if it's one and the same!" You shrug off your coat, rolling your eyes fondly at his heated tone.

"Anyways, we can gladly share the cake if only you get into the shower."

You sigh. You don't have the heart to simply kick the man out, so a shower it was.

"Oh and y/n~?"

"Yes~?"

He pokes his head delicately out of the glass doors wearing the same hearty smile.

"Please scrub attentively. You're disgusting right now~!"

"Yes, my liege~!"

"What kind of a weird fucking cake is that?" You frown, poking warily at the red confectionery flowers. Together with the bright green batter, it makes a truly disastrous format. Like a congested rainbow piñata had rotten on top of it.

"An expensive one, so eat or have it forced down your throat." The taste is not that bad, you cautiously have to conclude. The red flowers' tangy taste compliments the overly sweet green sugar. It is certainly unique if not anything else.

Both of you sit on the ground armed with long spoons and glasses of Bordeaux. Only after Hoseok personally had dried your hair with a towel giving it an experimental sniff, were you approved as no longer being a walking biohazard.

"Is she alright, then? Your friend?" he asks, leaning against the padded seats of the sofa. In the faint candlelight, he seems to almost have a peculiar glow coming from within. Apparently, Jin and Jimin had big mouths hence why Hoseok was here.

"I don't think so," you admit truthfully. He looks at you with such an open familiarity that you feel yourself slip into a more languid disposition.

"She was weird. Do you remember Jane?" He looks sideways.

"The woman with the eyebrow scar?" You nod along.

"I don't really understand why she called me. I fear that it might be like a cry for help. But then she refused when I asked. I honestly don't know what to make of it."

"Did something bad happen?"

"Well, she was ill, apparently, and she quit her job. I get cracking underneath those circumstances. I, myself - " you begin, but as you look into Hobi's eyes, the sentence sits unfinished on your tongue.

"Yes?"

You are thrown back. Way, way back, to the image of you in pleas underneath hands and mouth that chart your stomach and thighs with intrepid care. For some reason, over time, you began to pin the images of either Hobi, Jungkook or Tae to those hazy, nightly forms, but you’d rather die than say something so astonishingly stupid out loud.

"Well, I understand losing it a bit, but she has completely reversed her life. Like 180 degrees."

Hobi sips on his wine, one hand fiddling with his earlobe. As he speaks, his eyes do not stray away from the spoon in between your fingers.

"People can change sometimes. Even the people that you know. Look at us, haven't we changed?"

You nibble thoughtfully on the sugary paste.

"Well, I wouldn't say you've changed. My perception of you has."

"For the better?"

"Yes, I'd say so," you pause on the bite as you finally notice his zeroed in expression.

"Do you want more of the cake? Why are you star-"

His lips are upon yours before you finish your sentence.

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Tag list (open):

@singukieee @ilsan-seoul @ot7nem @mayla548 @littlrmills14-blog@themasterbob @ithtefani @meowsimpson

Happy reading! As it's been raining here for days, I've been printing out chapters left and right and I'm barely restraining myself from posting every day. I cannot wait for the second part of the story to begin 'cause I'm fairly sure it will turn out way different than what you guys expect.

Thank you for your support, you all keep me going!

Also if I forgot to tag anyone, feel free to bash me.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Little Bones 2

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series); harassment, general creepiness, unwanted touches

This is dark! (biker) Thor x chubby!reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Series Synopsis: You’re a city girl stuck in a small town, but Birch isn’t as sleepy as it seems.

Sister series to Smalltown Bringdown and When the Weight Comes Down

Note: We got another part and I hope you love biker!Thor as much as I do. It’s lots of fun.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Chapter 2: Better butter your cue finger up

The bottle of wine sat on your counter and you hid away the vodka in your freezer as you resisted the temptation of both. The library made hangovers even worse with its bright lights and tedious nothingness. So you tried to ignore the tapping at your shoulder, the persistent tug of your paranoia, and pretended that nothing had changed. In Birch, nothing did change, right?

The click of your mouse and the loud tapping of keys filled the silence of the library. Colin snored with eyes wide open. It was hard to tell when the old man was awake or sleeping. You weren’t sure there was a line left between the two for him. He spent most of his working hours in the back on the other side of the windowed wall although what exactly he did there remained a mystery.

There wasn’t very much to do there outside the occasional school visits in which students walked down to complete some research project or the teacher’s held a crafting circle. You liked those days as often you could join in and help wrangle in the pupils as they explored the sterile shelves.

Melissa stood and her chair rolled back with a grumble. She stretched and bent to grab her purse from under the desk.

“I’m going down to Bab’s. You want anything?”

“Hmm,” you tapped your chin as you leaned back. “I wouldn’t mind a latte. Oh, and I think they have the banana loaf today. A slice of that too.”

You peeked under the desk and sat forward to grab your bag from the cubby beside your PC tower. “Nope,” Mel stopped you, “it’s on me today. I need a breath of fresh air anyway. Even if it is cold as hell.”

“Oh, thanks, Mel,” you smiled and grabbed a pen to click in your monotony. “We should dig out the Christmas decorations soon. It might actually give us something to do.”

“Maybe for an hour or two,” she pulled her jacket from the rack that stood against the wall between the front counter and the back room, “We could try something new this year. I saw these lights online, you can program them with your phone.”

“You think Colin could handle that?”

“Like he would even notice.” She laughed and pulled on her coat and grabbed her purse. “Latte, banana bread.” She recited. “I’ll be back.”

You watched her go then stretched your legs out as you arched in the chair. You fell back limp and closed your eyes. You could fall asleep right there. You really couldn’t blame Colin for his waking trance. This place made your ears buzz and your head spin.

You heard the whoosh of the automatic doors and sat up. You were surprised at your visitor but not disappointed. Melissa’s daughter approached the desk as she swung her bag in her hand. You could tell by the little wrinkle between her eyebrows that she wasn’t happy.

“Your mom’s just gone to Bab’s,” you rolled closer to the desk. “You must’ve seen her.”

“I saw her.” She said tersely. She stilled her fidgeting and planted her dangling purse on the desk. She sighed and crossed her arms. “I’m here to talk to you.”

“Is something the matter?”

You were nervous. You knew her as well as her mother and you got along. You shared an interest in old Hollywood and a taste for dry history and humour. You liked her, envied her even for having a mother like Melissa.

“I hate doing this. I hate when he makes me do this.” She dropped her arms and instead gripped her hips. “You want to come down to the Asp tonight? For a drink?”

You chuckled and clicked the pen. “It’s Wednesday. I have to open tomorrow and--”

“Hrgh,” she huffed. “I’m sorry but it’s… not a question.”

You put the pen down and clamped your lips together. She shook her head and looked away.

“It’s an order. From Bucky.” She tapped her toe on the carpet. “I tried to tell him that you wouldn’t want to come so late. That you know, you work. He just doesn’t listen and--” She heaved and threw up her hands in exasperation, “I tried.”

“But… me? I don’t even know any of those… people. It’s not really my scene.” You swallowed and dug your nail into your thumb. 

“I’ll be there. Same with Steve’s girl from the bakery. She’s nice. And…” her eyes were dull but irritated, “look, if you don’t show up, Bucky will go and find you. Everyone in town reports to him. You don’t have to be in his club, he owns Birch.” She grabbed the thin strap of her small purse and drew it from the desk, “you don’t want to learn that the hard way like I did.”

You knew it wasn’t Bucky who wanted you there, you suspected that big blond brute who had chased you down the street. Her anxiety fed yours and made you uneasy. If she were that afraid, how scared should you be?

“I think you know my answer considering I’ve been given little choice.” You said firmly. “What time?”

“Seven. I got him to budge on at least that. You won’t be out too late.” She gave a weak smile and twisted the strap of her bag. “Stay close to me and I’ll do what I can. You know, with Steve’s girl, I really tried…” She looked away and rolled her as they turned glossy. “Sometimes, Bucky listens to me and I’m figuring out how to make him.”

“Why are you with him?” You whispered. “Why--”

“You think it’s a choice I made.” She blinked and sniffed. “No, it was made for me when I was born in this god forsaken pit.” She thrust her purse over her shoulder and shrugged. “I don’t know why anyone would make up their mind to come here.”

“I can’t say I’m happy with the decision.” You returned.

She sent you a pitying look before she spun away. She marched back to the doors as her mother nearly collided with her. They spoke for a few minutes before the younger left and Melissa came over to plop her goodies on the desk.

“New latte flavour, candy cane. I figured we might get a bit festive.” She announced.

💀

You stood outside the Asp and stared up at the snow-covered marquee. The powder began to fall just after noon and collected along the small ledge below the image of Cleopatra.  You wore a bright pink toque with an oversized pom-pom and tucked your chin down against the matching scarf tucked down the front of your cherry-coloured coat. You stuck out among the grey of Birch.

You didn’t put much effort into getting ready. You kept on the same polka-dot blouse from work and traded your trousers for faded jeans and a pair of knee-high boots. You took a breath and stepped through the doors, barely avoided the rush of snow that fell down behind you.

The bar smelled of beer and a stale but pungent dinginess. You looked around in the low din. The bartender, a woman named Lucy, dried several glasses and stacked them on a shelf and every man in the place wore leather. 

You found Melissa’s daughter next to Bucky as he squinted at his closest accomplice, Steve. The shy girl from the bakery was tucked under his arm as she picked at the hem of her short skirt. You cleared your throat as you pondered leaving.

A figure on Bucky’s other side stood and you frowned as that man, Thor, smiled at you like a puppy. You fixed your mouth into a straight line as Bucky’s girl rose and waved you over.

“Hey, you made it,” she said. You didn’t miss the way Bucky’s hand slid up her thigh.

“Yeah,” you said flatly as you rounded the table.

“Kitten,” Thor greeted as he pulled out the chair next to him in a flourish. “I’ve a seat just for you.”

You looked from the chair to his face. You made no move to sit.

“If that’s not to your tastes, you can sit in my lap.” He taunted.

Your lips parted in disgust and you grabbed the back of the chair. You wrenched it away from him and backed up steadily as you dragged it around the table. You stopped it next to Steve’s girl and unzipped your jacket. You sat and shrugged out of the coat then crossed your arms. You tore your eyes from the large man and smiled at the baker girl.

“The banana loaf was good,” you said. “Sorry I didn’t make it down.”

“Oh, it’s ugly out there,” she turned in Steve’s hold and his arm slipped down around her waist. 

You could feel Thor’s constant gaze as you humoured the girl about the weather and listened to her story about how Mrs. Deeton sent back a blueberry scone for not having any blackberries. You did your best to blot out the rest of the bar.

“Kitten, you want a drink?” He interrupted and you peered over at him. You glanced from him to Lucy as she stood and awaited an order.

“Do you have ginger ale?” You asked her directly.

“We have club soda or iced tea right now.” She said with venom.

“Iced tea, thank you.” You fished through your purse for a fiver.

“Put it on my tab,” Thor insisted.

“No, it’s fine, I--”

You held out the bill and he reached across to snatch it from your hand. “On my tab.” He repeated and the barmaid stomped away. He tossed the five back to you and smirked. “Keep it, kitten.”

You swiped it up and turned back to Steve’s girl. She looked frightened as she stared at the blonde man and slowly returned her attention to you.

“Um, so, I was going to tell you the secret ingredient to Bab’s banana bread but you have to promise not to tell.”

“Sure,” you leaned in and she whispered it in your ear and giggled. 

“I’m not supposed to tell.” She uttered as she touched her cheeks guiltily.

“I’ve been telling her she don’t need to worry about rules,” Steve intoned as his fingers danced on her hip.

“My mother made the best banana cream pie,” Thor interrupted. “She handed the recipe down to me. My sister was never much into sweets.”

“Oh?” Steve’s girl turned to Thor. “We don’t serve that at Bab’s but we have lemon meringue.”

“Mother made that too. She showed me the trick to perfect peaks. I could show you.”

Steve growled and pulled his girl closer. She looked at him as he sent a heated glare at Thor. She touched his chest and cooed at him to relax. Lucy returned with your iced tea and you took it eagerly as the tension burned at your face.

“So, kitten,” Thor scooted his chair around the table as you set your glass down, “what trouble did you get into today?”

“I work at a library.” You uttered dryly.

“And did you enjoy your wine last night? I always heard it’s better with company.”

You jutted out your jaw in annoyance and looked at him. He was painfully persistent.

“Excuse me.” You stood and nearly gave him a face full of your chest. You looked to Bucky’s girl as she listened to his incessant grumbles. “Where’s the restroom?”

“Just down there,” she pointed along the far side of the bar.

“I could show you,” Thor offered and you waved him off.

“I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

“Yes, you are,” he purred and you backed up as his eyes grazed your hips.

You were all too eager to hide in the bathroom and closed yourself in a stall as you tried not to scream. You had dealt with perverts before. Often you were the butt of some joke. The wingman settled for the chubby girl so his pal could get laid. Those types thought you were desperate and had no qualms with getting handsy on the dance floor. But college was long ago and Birch wasn’t known for its nightlife.

After a moment, you were able to steady yourself and you left the stall. You stood by the grungy sink and stared at the mirror. Why you? Why was this idiot bugging you?

You went back out with reluctant steps. You passed a drunk man at the bar talking about some feat of machismo in his foregone youth. As you neared the table, you froze in the spot as you listened.

“...she’s fat anyway.” Steve snarled and laughed meanly.

His chortle was curtailed as a chair scraped on the floor and the baker girl cried out. Thor forced Steve to his feet but the front of his tee shirt. He pulled him past his girl and brought him close as he growled down at him through flaring nostrils.

“I like you, Rogers, but your mouth makes it real hard.” Thor sneered.

“What the fuck?” Steve struggled against him, “let me go.”

“I’m not sitting here shit-talking your woman, eh. You might have little respect for them, but I do.”

“Jesus Christ!” Steve was on tip-toes as he was held up by the other man.

“Apologize.” Thor demanded.

“Wha--”

“Dammit, Steve, say sorry.” Bucky snapped.

“S-sorry, dude.” Steve stuttered.

“Not to me,” Thor turned and to your surprise, he thrust Steve around to face you. “To her.”

You stared in shock as Steve straightened his shirt. He was like a petulant child as he looked you in the eye. “I’m sorry.”

“For…” Thor prodded.

“I’m sorry I called you fat.” Steve looked away.

“I…” you didn’t know what to do or say as you glanced past him to the other girls. “Well, I am so it’s fine.”

Thor shoved Steve back and his thick brows drew together. “Don’t listen to him,” he said. “I like a little extra.”

“Hey,” Bucky’s girl interrupted as she stood suddenly, “the table’s free. How about I get Wanda and we can play some doubles, just us girls.” She touched Bucky’s shoulders, “leave the men to their business.”

Thor’s shoulders fell and he shook his head. He grinned at you even as his disappointment shone through.

“Sure,” you answered as you stepped around him. “Sounds fun.”

💀

You focused on the felt. It didn’t help block out the blazing heat of Thor’s leer. You refused to look over at him and instead pretended to be enthralled with the game of solids and stripes. 

When you were a kid, you went to the youth centre and played with the rest of the kids desperate for a distraction. In uni, you enjoyed your plastic cups of cheap sambuca and coke at the campus bar and chalked up the cues. You were no expert but you could hit a good shot now and again. Your mother used to recount tales of her hustler father. Maybe it was his blood that kept your hand steady.

The other girls played as a pair as you handed off to Wanda. She wore the cut of the Birch’s club and her dark lipstick was the same shade as the leather. You saw her now and again with the men. She smoked her cigarettes out front and watched the town with indifference.

Wanda took her shot and clicked her tongue as she scratched. You shook your head as Steve’s girl scrunched her nose at the table. You were even; three stripes and three solids. She went around the far corner and awkwardly positioned herself over the side. She reached back to tug down her short skirt, she was clearly uncomfortable in the revealing outfit.

She sunk her mark but her next stopped short of the pocket. She shook her head and apologized to Steve’s girl who assured her with a pat on the shoulder. You took the cue from Wanda and walked around the table. You walked back and wondered if you could sink two in one. It was a possible angle but could you hit it?

You tilted your head and sighed. You bent and brought your foot back as you squinted and carefully positioned the cue. You couldn’t decide whether you should try to spin it to the right or hit it straight on. You knew the power you needed but you couldn’t afford to hit a stripe.

You almost tapped the cue ball as you felt a warmth over you and suddenly a hard torso was against your back. You went rigid as Thor bent over you and put his hands over your as he adjusted your aim. His hot breath wrapped around your neck.

“Almost, kitten,” he pushed his crotch against your ass.

You pulled the cue back so that it hit his ribs and he grunted as his hands fell to the edge of the table. You took the shot and pushed out of his grasp. His hand dragged over your ass as he stood straight and touched his side with a wince. 

“I got it.” You said as both balls rolled and dropped into opposite pockets.

He chuckled and bit his lip. It was almost a snarl as he watched you across the table and you sensed the bated breaths of the other women.

“I like a woman with a firm grip,” he winked, “And confidence.”

You looked back to the table as he loomed on the other side. You sunk the last solid and lined up for the eight ball. A straight, easy shot that even the most amateur could get. You ended the game and Wanda clapped as the other girls grumbled their congratulations.

“Best out of three?” Steve’s girl asked.

“I’m sorry to disappoint but I have to work early.” You leaned the cue on the table. “I showed up and now I’m done. It was fun, girls, but I’m gonna turn in.”

You smiled at each of them and your face fell as you passed them and went to grab your coat from the chair where it still hung. Thor was less than subtle as he followed you to the table and watched you zip up your coat over your chest. You slung your purse over your arm and pulled your hat on as you braced for the chill that awaited you.

“You shouldn’t walk alone.” Thor intoned.

“It’s a small town. I’m fine.” You spun away and again, he followed.

At the door, you turned back and crossed your arms. “Look, I can handle myself, buddy. Now leave me alone.”

“I’m just being nice.”

“You’re being a pest.”

“You love it.”

You huffed and closed your eyes to keep them from rolling back into your skull. You looked at him again and bit down on your words. “Do you ever give up?”

“On you, never.” He grinned.

“Well, be a good dog and stay.” You jabbed your finger in the air. “Stay!” You repeated as if he was a hyper dog. “Good.”

You quickly slipped through the door and booked it across the street. The door didn’t hit the frame but was instead caught as his boots scuffed out behind you. You peered back as you reached the other side and kept up your steady jog. He watched you but did not give chase.

“I’ll sniff you out one day, kitten,” he called out. “Pussy, pussy, pussy.”

[boldlyanxious]

Panic at the Haunted Maze

Part of meet cute Mondays

My masterlist

Marinette couldn't see her group anymore. She didn't think anyone would miss her. She had just signed up to join a random group but she had turned and when she looked back she couldn't see them. All she found was another dead end. She didn't have her own flashlight and her phone died. Her shoes were definitely covered in mud.

Of course it started raining again.

She had done a corn maze in France before but it was nothing like this haunted maze. The path had been hardened and easy to follow when she went with a group from lycée. She remembered it being brighter and full of laughter. Maybe she was looking back with her heart shaped glasses. It was the unplanned moment that Marinette had finally been able to tell Adrien how she felt. Everything else about the night felt happy and fuzzy with the memory of her first kiss. It had been a couple years later that she found out her two previous kisses had been with him.

She definitely didn't remember soft, sticky mud underfoot with cold rain pouring down. Her pants might be as bad off her shoes. It was worse than walking through snow. Which would be happening soon as she could see the icy rain being joined by large, wet snowflakes as the temperature was dropping. That might be scarier than anything she had seen in the maze so far. Mostly it was jump scares but apparently the dead end she was currently in was so obviously the wrong path that no one had bothered to put anything scary there. She really needed to find a way out before she froze.

She pushed herself on and she was fairly certain she had found the main path. There were definitely louder, creepy sounds and some moving light up ahead. She knew that meant there would be a jump scare around the next corner so she took a breath and squared her shoulders to prepare herself. She could see the person moving quickly towards her in the dark. It was a black light moving back and forth, shining on all the floating ghosts. She could see where they were tethered and being blown to look spooky. But then the light illuminated the person. It could have been anything but it was a person in a catsuit, all bright white against the black around him. The large predatory eyes turned to her and the mouth formed an evil grin.

She didn’t even realize that she was screaming but she could hear the piercing sound. She rushed forward and slammed into Chat Blanc in a panic. He fell over and somehow didn’t reach out to grab her. She raced on in a frenzy to get away. She needed to find a place to transform. She could barely form words when she ran into civilians just ahead. They were trying to calm her down but she couldn’t process the English in her panic. One of them didn’t wait for her to process. He wrapped something warm around her and scooped her up. In only seconds he had reached the end of the haunted maze.

---

Jason was surprised when he turned at the sound of crashing in the maze. He hadn’t remembered any of the last scares being particularly scary but something had clearly been knocked over and then a woman ran right into him. She was clearly in distress about something. Taking in her appearance with a too thin jacket, that had probably been fine an hour ago before the rain and now the snow and then the mud halfway to her knees, Jason didn’t wait to find out what had spooked her. He just wanted to help her. He wrapped her in his jacket and carried her to the exit. There were a few tents set up for those who needed a calm place to recover and there was a variety of warm drinks.

Possibly it wasn’t the best thing for him to do with a stranger, but she didn’t seem to be with anyone so he sat back on the cot in the tent and pulled her against his chest after helping her out of the wet jacket. He kept his arms around her, speaking softly or singing in French. The only French songs he knew were Jagged Stone ones but he just sang them much softer like a lullaby and hoped she would forgive him after. It took a bit but when he was trying to remember the words to Jagged’s song about a cartoon superhero Ladybug she seemed to become aware. She filled in his missing words anyway.

She still didn’t seem to fully realize where she was but he passed her a cup of hot cocoa and she started to sip it slowly. She was no longer shaking and her breathing had started to even out. Jason pulled back as soon as she started shifting. He was only trying to get her calm and warm so he didn’t want to overstep any more than he already had. He left his jacket on her as well as the blankets covering her arms and legs before trying to find out more.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

“I’m feeling very embarrassed and a bit confused,” she said.

“I don’t know what you saw but it was clearly enough to take you to something your brain couldn’t escape from,” he explained. “Did you come with anyone?”

“Yeah. But it wasn’t people I knew. I doubt they even noticed I was missing.”

"I'm Jason. Can you tell me who you are?"

"Uh, Marinette."

“Okay Marinette, we were not able to find anyone missing a person. There were 3 larger groups that had gotten out around that time.”

“I got lost a while back. I couldn't see and I got stuck in the mud. It started raining and everything was worse.”

“Do you have a way home or anyone who will be near you when you are home?”

“I rode in a van that brought a group of people. I could probably find another one leaving if there are other groups around.”

“I think they are all gone for the night. They are closing up here.”

“Oh no. I guess I could call a cab. My phone died though.”

“I have an idea. I live really close to here. It is not just me. I have brothers and sisters staying over. They wanted to make it an all night thing and keep on with scary movies.”

“I couldn’t do that. You don’t even know me and I definitely am not in the mood for scary movies.”

“I know you are having a rough night. You are cold and alone. I can’t just leave you. So if you want to go home, I will take you. But if you want to stay by the fire with lots of snacks and a pile of blankets, I’m offering,” he smiled. “Actually I’m begging. There are plenty of warm clothes and I’ll put on Pride and the Prejudice. It's the solution to all bad days.”

“You want to watch Pride and the Prejudice?”

“Of course I do. It’s a classic,” he said with a smile.

Jason kept pushing because he could see that she seemed interested. He really didn’t want her to be alone after tonight. He put her in the back of the car with Steph after introducing her to everyone, and he and Dick sat up front. They talked and joked for the few minutes it took until they reached the manor. He sent a message ahead to Alfred so he could have a fire going and heat up drinks for them. When they arrived Marinette was dragged off with Steph to get her clean dry clothes and an offer for a bath. Marinette chose to just clean up as much as possible and get directly into the clothes so she could warm up faster.

---

Jason had not been kidding about the set up. She could see that he had Pride and the Prejudice queued up and a variety of foods set out. He pulled her over and dumped her into a pile of blankets wrapping one around her. Marinette tried to argue with the change in movie line up but Jason assured her that nothing had changed. The scary movies were still going in another room but he was going to watch Pride and the Prejudice anyway and it would be better with her. He sat near her on the couch and pushed play. Steph, Dick and Babs were in there with them but as it got later they left one by one.

Marinette felt so warm and cozy. It reminded her of movie nights with her parents. She didn’t know when she had slipped down into the covers but the credits were rolling now. She must have noticed the music change. She had fallen asleep and she was now leaning on Jason. He seemed to be okay with it. He had leaned back into the couch and had pulled some of the blanket over himself. His breathing was steady while he slept and Marinette found it comforting.

She knew it was odd to be basically cuddling with a stranger but she felt safe. Jason had helped her when she was panicking and he had offered choices with every suggestion. Each choice had always included the option of having one of his sisters there. He was protective but he also realized that he was a large man who could seem intimidating and he countered that with giving her agency to make her own choices

It was probably the drowsiness that had her move back down against him. He moved in his sleep and his arm pulled her close. She was smiling as she slipped back to sleep.

Taglist

@theymakeupfairies | @emjrabbitwolf | @vixen-uchiha | @trythisagainlove | @trippingovermyfeet | @tbehartoo

Maribat

@adrestar | @zynna

@technicallyburninggarden | @iloontjeboontje | @certainmuffinbagelcalzone

[danny-chase]

Big Brother instinct, Dick and either Cass, Gar, Danny Chase, Steph, Kara, Rose, or anyone else u want

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Batgirl (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dick Grayson & Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne Characters: Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Dick grayson centric, Fire, Burns, hair styling, Ice Cream, Hurt/Comfort, Late Nights, Fluff and Angst, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Missions Gone Wrong, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain is bad at feelings, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings Series: Part 11 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:

Dick talks with Cass after a mission doesn't go as planned.

Fic under cut

“Argh!” Dick snaps back to attention as Bruce’s angry grunt rattles through the cave. The few bats still in for the night stir, their wings rustling in the distance. An avalanche of papers fly off of Bruce’s desk, and his grizzled form slumps forward, hands firmly planted on the table. His shoulders sag under some unknown strain; as if he’s carrying the weight of the sky.

“Hmm.” Dick blinks back another wave of exhaustion, he’s not working on a case – but Bruce is – and company always makes working more fun. Besides, Bruce is on a time limit and Alfred can’t stop him from escaping his room. So. Here he is. He took an oath - it’s his job to help.

Dick’s eleven and Bruce’s a pillar of reassurance – a precariously stacked pile of rocks constantly on the verge of crumbling. He has no idea how to pick up the pieces. No idea how to seal the cracks. “Bruce?” He mumbles, swinging his legs off his spinny chair. Bruce doesn’t look up, his mouth drawn in a tight line. The ghost of tears well in his eyes. Not good.

Dick scoots off the chair, lightheaded for a moment. He shakes the stars out of his eyes, nodding back and forth, up and down, like Bruce does when he’s sleepy. It’s late. He has school tomorrow. Not that it matters. Bruce will let him skip if he asks the right way. He jogs in place for a few seconds, readying himself, warming up his muscles.

There’s not much he can do to help, but he can at least put on a little show. He runs forward launching into a cartwheel, picking up the papers as he goes – Bruce likes his tricks, sometimes they even make him laugh, sometimes –

Bruce snags his ankle out of the air, his quick reflexes saving Dick from crashing into the edge of a counter. He finds himself hanging, the world stuck upside down as his hands dangle inches from the floor. “Thanks.” He looks up at Bruce’s weary face.

A yawn escapes his lips, and the corners of Bruce’s mouth twitch. “I’m going to have to child-proof the cave at this rate.” He tries for humor but it falls flat, his hearts not in it all.

He stares up, sticking his tongue out. Bruce’s frown doesn’t fade. “Are you okay?” He asks. Bruce’s hands fumble, and Dick swings dangerously low to the floor before he’s recovered. Not willing to take the chance again, he curls up, grabbing Bruce’s forearms and pulls himself up through his arms, settling himself on sturdy shoulders.

Bruce drops his feet. “I’m fine. Why would ask that?” He sounds almost hurt and Dick’s too tired to figure out why.

He slides down easily, Bruce gently deposits him on the floor. “You looked sad.” A yawn leaves his mouth without permission, he stumbles slightly, and a hand clamps down on his shoulder. He reaches back up, and Bruce throws him up against his shoulder, wrapping him in a hug.

Dick yawns contently, his eyelids fluttering without his permission, as Bruce starts walking towards the stairs. “I’m sorry…” The arm around his back pulls him a bit tighter. “I’m just not enough.” A shaking hand combs through his hair and Dick squeezes back because he doesn’t know what to say.

Bruce grunts as he takes a step up the stairs. “Sleep on it?” Dick suggests, resting his eyes for just a moment.

“Mmhmm. It’s bedtime.” Dick’s half asleep by the time they reach the top. He’s not sure he hears Bruce whisper, “You’re a great kid, chum.”

It took Dick years before he really understood the feeling. And even more years before he made the connection that that was how Bruce had felt on late nights spent scouring for clues that just didn’t seem to exist, having worked for days straight on three hours of sleep, and watching Gotham send all of it up in flames setting you back months on an investigation.

He’s learned there’s nights it’s impossible to save everyone – hell, he’s seen Clark get his ass kicked, and Clark’s damn near close to god. Dick would know – the Titans have fought their namesake. But the Titans have fought humans and lost despite half their members being godlike, and besides that most days now he’s alone. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries, how much he plans, how prepared he is; sometimes things just go to hell and a handbasket and there’s nothing he can physically do to prevent it.

Most of the time, he’s fine with that. It’s fine he has limits. Logically, he knows he can’t be expected to everything. Logically, he knows it’s a waste of time to worry about it. Logically, he knows it’s okay to take a night off, watch a nature documentary, invite a friend over, stay in and spend the night simply existing.

But it feels like he could be doing more – should be doing more. He feels that restlessness overtake him, and springs to his feet “Bruce I-”

Bruce gives him his patented bat-glare from where he’s sitting, looking up from a familiar pile of papers. Once it would have intimidated him into sitting back down. Now he just returns it with a patented one of his own. “-I think I’ll suit up and head out for the night, Tim could probably use some back up with-”

“Dick.” There’s this exasperated tone that Bruce can only ever seem to muster when saying his name. He pauses for a just a second, his eyes flickering down to Bruce’s clenched fists and tight shoulders. “Let me handle it.” It comes out as an order, but reading between the lines, it’s a plea.

Bruce would never admit it out loud, worry practically bleeds out of the man. Guilt gnaws on the inside of his chest, though, he’s not sure what it’s even from; the guilt of making Bruce worry or the guilt of being a useless sack of broken and bruised ribs while people need Nightwing’s help. Being benched sucks, but he knows enough to compromise. “Let me run the comms? Babs could use a night off.” She sleeps less than him and Bruce knows it.

The gray streaks in Bruce’s hair stand out all the more as he lets out a bone deep sigh. Dick rolls his eyes – he doesn’t get to do this right now. “You literally let me go out last night I don’t understand why-”

“Last night was an emergency. I didn’t have a choice.” His frown widens, his face etched in an eternal look of pain, mixed with disproval. “Two nights ago… you almost…” His mouth seals itself shut, unspoken words hanging in the air between them. It’s Bruce that breaks the gaze first. “Run the comms, don’t overexert yourself. It should be a quiet night…” He stands, hesitates before walking off “And get to bed early.”

Dick bites back a laugh, Bruce hasn’t talked to him like that since he was thirteen. “Alright.” He resists the urge to poke fun, and follows Bruce through the passage behind the grandfather clock.

“So Ives was talking about the Pirates of the Caribbean movie with me the other day, and we might go see it this weekend if I have the time. Gee- I can’t remember the last time I saw movie in theaters or even really hung out with him.” Tim’s endless chatter helps him stay awake in the dimly lit cave. His throbbing ribs help too, maybe he shouldn’t have tried doing push-ups. “Dad and Dana want to drop me off, but Ives has a car now, though dad’s still worried cuz of the time some wacko tried to stop us at a traffic light.”

Dick hums, a smile creeping its way up his face. “I can drop you off if it’s an issue.”

“Really?! That’d be awesome, you could stay for the movie if you wanted to, but I don’t know if you’d like it, I mean are pirates really your thing? I always figured you’d be more into Vikings or probably aliens actually, or something like-” A red light flashes on the screen, and Dick snaps to attention.

“Hold that thought.” Tim’s chatter ceases immediately as Dick furiously types on the terminal. He punches into the main line. “Batgirl how fast can you get to the corner of 16th and Murphy’s Ave, there’s a building on fire and you’re the only one anywhere near the Upper East Side.” A 911 operator calms down a hysterical woman in his left ear, Cass asking direction in the right.

He pulls up a map. “I-I can’t find a way out!” The woman shrieks. “I don’t know what happened, I was sleeping and-” she breaks off into raspy hacks.

“Go straight, turn right after three blocks down.” Dick winces, as the lady continues chocking on smoke. “C’mon Cass. Get there.” He mutters off the line. He eyes his cycle sitting idly in the bay – he’s twenty minutes out; Cass needs backup. He opens up another line. “Batman I need you to follow Batgirl, what’s your eta?”

Bruce grunts back, he hears thudding over the line. “Fifteen minutes.” The woman screams in his other ear, he yanks the earbud out as a massive bang nearly blows out his eardrum. Picking it back up, he can’t hear the woman anymore, only the roar of flames and falling debris.

“Shit.” He pulls up video from a street camera. “Shit.” The building’s collapsing in on itself. “Permission to call the league?” He clicks through to their line of communications, his finger hovering over the button.

“Here.” Cass scrambles into view, bursting through a window. Shit.

Bruce learned his limits long ago. Dick’s finally settling into his. Cass? They simply don’t register on her radar. The buildings coming down in mere minutes; she’s going to get killed.

“What’s the situation?” Bruce yells in his ear.

“Batgirl get out of there!” He screams at Cass. She’s going to die – the building’s not stable, and he’s the one that sent her there. “Make it five minutes – the building’s coming down.” He yells to Bruce. “Batgirl!” He watches a few windows blow out. A firetruck careens down the street.

“Permission granted.” Bruce huffs and Dick can’t click the button fast enough.

A couple more windows blow out, and the building seems to lean to the side. Finally he sees Cass climb back out a window, holding a couple kids in her arms as she leaps to the ground. “BATGIRL GET THEM CLEAR!” His heart pounds in his throat as she runs forwards, the building groaning behind her, crumbling to the side. Chaos erupts, chunks of flaming debris cascading from the top of the building, as the second floor merges with the first.

Dick blinks, his mouth dry. “There’s more people-” he can’t hear Cass over the ensuing cacophony as he watches the building topple to the ground. “NO!” He faintly hears her scream as the screen erupts in static.

Dick slams his fists on the desk. His chest constricts painfully. “Nightwing. Report.” Bruce’s steady voice reminds him to breathe. His chest spasms. Shit. “Nightwing!” Bruce demands as he tries to catch his breath.

“Building collapsed.” He manages to get out. “One sec.” He takes a few deep breaths, leaning back in the chair for support. “Batgirl report.” He’s greeted with silence. “Batgirl, please, if you’re there I need you to respond.”

“I…” Cass trials off. Dick sighs in relief. “I’m sorry.” The line cuts off. Well. Shit.

“Nightwing! I’m headed to the location.” Bruce squawks. Dick sighs.

“It’s going to be a long night. Search and rescue, I’ll call in backup.” Shit. So much for an early bedtime.

“Hey.” Someone shakes his shoulder. He makes a grab for their wrist and misses, his mind processing where the hell he is. He blinks a few times.

“Cass?” Her hair’s plastered to the side of her head and she’s covered in soot. Nicks, rips, and tears decorate her costume. Dick wipes his eyes as the ashy smell of smoke overwhelms his senses. Cass takes a few steps back, heading towards the locker room. “Wait.” He had something to say to her, his mind racing to catch up.

She hops up onto a counter. His mind shuffles through the events earlier in the night. “Bruce sent you back?” Cass nods glumly. The rescue efforts weren’t going well when he dozed off. The JLA sent in everyone they could spare; there’s nothing they can do anymore. Not that Bruce won’t try.

Cass’s lips are sealed. There’s a haunting expression in her eyes, her shoulders slump forward, her hands firmly plant themselves on the counter for support.

And his friends think he’s too much like Bruce.

“Hey.” He starts. She gives him a weary look, tears welling in her eyes. Well, maybe not exactly like Bruce. “Look, I’m sorry I put you in that position.” Cass shakes her head. “Sometimes things like this happen. I should have-”

“Stop.” Cass pulls her feet up on the counter, getting dust everywhere. “I should have been faster.” She swallows, refusing to let the tears spill over. “My fault.”

Dick watches as she glides off the counter, yanking off her gloves and dropping them on the floor. Burn marks dot her hands and the edges of her hair are singed. “You did everything you could.” She hesitates, before taking a step towards the showers.

“Not enough.” She mutters before storming off, leaving a trail of soot in her wake.

He stands up. “Cass.” The lock snaps shut with a click as she slips into the bathroom. Leaving Dick in an empty cave once more.

By the time he returns downstairs, Cass is already out of the shower, looking displeased. “You took my clothes.” She notes unhappily, a pale pink towel tucked tightly around her shoulders.

Dick watches water drip down from her hair, pattering on the floor. The trail leading back to the bathroom is now mixed with water and soot. Alfred’s going to be pissed. “I took your costume.” He clarifies. “And I brought you clothes.” He gestures towards the open door.

Cass scowls, planting her feet defiantly. “I’m going out.” She reaches out a hand. Dick shrugs – there’s no way she can find where he hid her filthy suit before they get a chance to wash it.

It’s all too familiar, reading the lines across her brow, watching her shoulders slump when she stills, and scanning red rimmed eyes. “What are you going to do like that?” He points out, Cass angrily storming towards him. “You’re tired, you’ll just end up being in the way.” He dodges left as a fist flies past his face. “You would have hit if I wasn’t right.” She’s faster than him on his best days.

She glares at him with pursed lips, staring before turning on her heel and storming off towards the bathroom. The door slams behind her, triggering the rustling of far away wings.

Dick sighs – he hopes he wasn’t this temperamental when he lived with Bruce. “Come up to the kitchen when you’re done, I need your help with something.” The lie rolls easily off his tongue, though he feels a twinge of guilt as Cass groans behind closed doors.

Cass’s eyes widen as she enters the room. Dick offers a smile as she edges closer to the table. He tosses a spoon, she snags it out of the air. “Dig in.” There’s a carton of chocolate ice cream – double chocolate chunk brownie sundae with hot fudge and chocolate sprinkles to be precise – and tons of candy. It’s not stuff Bruce keeps around, but Dick’s has a stash at Tim’s house reserved for movie nights. He’ll restock later.

Cass vigorously stabs the ice cream with her spoon, a smile dancing across her face as she takes a few bites. She pauses, sticking the spoon back in the cartoon, looking up with a confused expression. “Why?” She’s wearing fluffy pajama bottoms, fuzzy socks, and an old worn college sweatshirt that’s frayed at the hems. Dick can almost pretend he’s back, talking to Donna after she broke up with Roy their sophomore year of high school.

She’s watching Dick carefully. He hums casually. “You had a rough night.” This is what the Titans always did. She shrugs.

“Things happen.” She shovels a few more bites into her mouth. “I want to go out.” It’s hard for Dick to find her tough and grizzled when she’s guzzling gummi worms, kicking her feet back and forth on the stool.

“Consider this a reason to stay in.” She gives him a sideways glance. “You did as much as you can, that’s enough.” Cass looks pointedly at her ice cream, not hesitating before diving back into it.

“Spar with me?” She licks a skittle before sticking it in her mouth.

Dick snorts. “If I don’t have a heart attack, I think Bruce would.” She snaps up to attention, grabbing his wrist and quickly finding his pulse point. “I’m fine, Cass.” Her hands are freezing. He places one of his on top of hers. “If you weren’t there I wouldn’t have been.” He says quietly, catching her eye. “Thank you.” She pulls back as if burned, quickly busying herself with the candy. He waits a moment before adding, “I think those kids you saved are grateful too.”

Cass throws a bag of M&M’s at him, he’s a second too slow and it pelts him in the face. “Noted.” He grins. “Uh, also, I’m going to have to do something with your hair.”

“What.”

“Cass, hold still.” She immediately stops squirming under his hands. “Thanks.” She hums back, tucked under an old blanket that never seems to leave the back of the couch. Bruce still isn’t here, but Tim checked in after his stakeout, and headed home a half an hour ago. He snips away another lock of burnt hair, tossing it into a trash can next to him.

He rests his forearms on the back of the sofa, contemplating which section of her hair to start with next. “You find one you like yet?” He asks, peeking over her shoulder at the images of hairstyles.

“Uhh.” She scrolls a bit more. “I don’t care.” She tosses the phone up to the top of the couch.

“Mmm.” He didn’t expect much else. Donna texted him a picture earlier to copy – something easy to pull back but still stylish. He attacks the next section, carefully brushing out the tangles, starting bottom to the top. He’s oddly grateful for all those times he did Donna and Kory’s hair.

‘Practice for when Bruce finally adopts a girl.’ They used to tease. ‘You’ll have a real sister, and if his track record holds she’ll have black hair and blue eyes.’ He’s never lived the irony down. Though, Cass’s eyes are a beautiful warm brown, so Donna and Kory can take that.

“You know.” He keeps his tone light. “Most hairdressers and their clients talk.” Cass remains set in stony silence. “Though I guess most people go to a salon to get their hair cut.” He just visits Joey. “Some people say it’s like free therapy.”

“You talk a lot.” Cass notes. He pulls up doodle jump on his phone and passes it back to her. She plays a couple rounds before the phone’s placed back beside him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He already knows the answer, but still asks all the same.

“No.” Bruce never wanted to either. Barbara used to talk to him… before he left for the Titans and took years to look back. Though he likes to dream otherwise, he knows there’ll come a day when Tim won’t want to talk to him anymore either.

It doesn’t get any easier being shut out. “That’s alright. If you change your mind I’m here.” He grabs the shears, snipping away another dead end.

“Thanks.”

“Dick.” A hiss awakes him, light following soon after. He squints, turning away to bury his face in a cushion. “Where’s Cassandra?”

He turns, eyes snapping open as he quickly scans the sofa. The blanket hangs off the edge, Cass nowhere to be seen. One of her custom batarangs sticks out of his armchair’s armrest, a few inches from his hand. “She must have found her costume.” He notes, glancing towards the pajamas crumpled in the doorway. His eyes meet Bruce’s as he lets out a tired sigh.

His hair’s dripping, fresh from a shower, and it’s singed at the edges. Dick nods towards the sheers on the coffee table. “Tomorrow.” Bruce decides, crossing the room, picking up the blanket as he goes. Dick pushes down the footrest, slowly rising to his feet. His ribs twinge at every move, in hindsight, falling asleep hanging off the side of an armchair wasn’t his best idea. Bruce hovers closer than normal, watching carefully, worry lines set in concern. “Bed.”

Dick’s too tired to argue. “Bed.” He agrees. And though Bruce doesn’t carry him, he accompanies him up the stairs.

[sweet-sammy-kisses]

Monsters of Past

2

For my @badthingshappenbingo​ prompt take me instead.  Fandom: Batman Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, and OC Rating: M Warnings: Past rape/non-con, rape/non-con elements, Tim Drake has bad parents (they are the worst) Lots of protective Jason, Cass and Dick Summary: "That is what I was trying to protect you from Damian." Tim's voice was hollow. "You talk about your birthright as Bruce's blood son, that you want everything you deem yours handed to you on a silver platter without knowing that there is a price you are going to pay. Do you know how many there are who would love to have the Crown Prince of Gotham's blood son in their power? Forced to do whatever they want to seal the deal? They are the monster waiting in the shadows knowing their money and power will protect them. I was trying to protect you, Damian.

"To protect Damian Tim gives himself to a monster of his past. Word Count: 2,901 You can also read it on AO3

"Enough is enough. Today is the day that I take my birthright back from Drake." Damian had waited long enough for his father to dismiss the unwanted one, he had already been removed as Robin as one of them now it was time to remove him from his position as CEO - it was his birthright and that Drake was still in his place filled Damian with rage - and once and for all show Drake he wasn't wanted nor needed and it was time for him to move on, far away from them.

Damian had overheard a conversation between Drake and Tam before Drake discovered and destroyed the bugs Damian had planted in the CEO's office the last time he had been there reminding Drake that he was nothing but a temporary replacement until father took back what was his or passed it onto him as it is his birthright.

Tam had brought up the owner of a company that they needed to work with but the CEO was holding out until Tim agreed to a private meeting with him.

"We can't keep putting this meeting off. The board members are beginning to ask questions as to why you don't want to meet with Aiden Tyler."

"I know. His company is doing some good but Aiden Tyler is an ass."

"Tim!"

"I'm sorry but I have dealt with that man in the past and he is a real scumbag and if we didn't need his product I would tell him to go to hell. Call and see if you can make an appointment with him sometime next week."

Damian knew that was his chance to prove he was worthy to take over now, despite his age.

+******+

Aiden Tyler quickly agreed to meet with Damian and the youngest Wayne couldn't help but preen with pride.

"That will show Drake." He will secure the deal and prove once again how worthless Drake is then maybe they could finally be rid of him.

Dressed in his finest of suits Damian arrived at the five-star restaurant where he walked in and owned the place like the Prince he is. "I am meeting Aiden Tyler, take me to him." He demanded.

The host quickly did as ordered and Damian couldn't help but smirk the man knew not to mess with a Wayne.

Led to a booth in the back a handsome man with deep brown hair with streaks of silver the man was fit for nearing his fifties. Dark eyes met his and Damian refused to shiver as they roamed over him with something in them that made him uncomfortable.

"Mr. Tyler, I am Damian Wayne, I am thankful that you could work me into your schedule." Damian greeted him.

Aiden's lips curled up into a smile, "Please call me Aiden and when it comes to Wayne Enterprise I am always willing to make room. I'm sure that we can work out a partnership that is agreeable to both parties."

There was something about the way the man spoke that reminded Damian of a predator stalking its prey. 'Well, Mister Tyler you will learn that Damian Wayne-Al Ghul is no one's prey.' "I hope that as well."

"Well isn't this nice but if you want to do business with Wayne Enterprise you need to talk to me."

"What are you doing here Drake?" Damian hissed out, he couldn't believe that Drake had the nerve to show up here and ruin his chance to prove to his father he was ready.

Thankful for all the train Bruce had given them Tim was able to hide his feelings behind a cool mask as he was forced to face someone he hoped he would never see again unless it was behind jail bars. "I am doing my job, Damian. Now, why don't you run along and leave this to the grown-ups." Tim ordered not suggested.

Damian bristled much like Alfred the cat and he looked ready to spew his usual vile insults towards Tim but right now he didn't care, he needed Damian far away and somewhere safe.

"If you leave now I will not inform Bruce of you trying to endanger Wayne Enterprise's." Tim held up a hand as Damian went to speak, "As you would know because of your age any agreement you reached with Mister Tyler would not be binding. So in order for this partnership to be legal, it is me that must make the deals. Now head home Damian." Tim ordered.

A low growl escaped Damian he hated to admit that Drake had a point, after all, he was not of age to make any partnership legal which is why he had planned on creating the agreement than bringing his father in to show him he was capable. Now he couldn't for that surely end with his father agreeing with Drake. "This is far from over," Damian warned before storming out.

"Such a shame, I was looking forward to seeing what young Mister Wayne had to offer me." Aiden's voice was like nails on a chalk board and all Tim wanted to do was run far away but it was too late for if he did nothing the man would go after Damian again.

'You can do this Tim. You have faced the likes of the Joker and Ra. You can face him.' Tim repeated to himself as he forced the smile back on his face, "I'm sorry but you will have to settle with me."

Aiden's smile turned wicked, "We both know that I won't be settling for you, Tim. Come sit, let us catch up before we get down to business."

Having little choice Tim slipped into the booth.

Tim could feel the vile beginning to build up in the back of his throat as Aiden's hand slid up his thigh. He did his best not to shudder as unwanted memories flooded his mind.

Moving closer Aiden removed any space between the two of them, "I still hope that you cry as pretty as you use to do." Aiden whispered in Tim's ear. "I am going to have so much fun breaking you all over again. It was so sweet of you to offer to take your little brother's place."

Tim wondered if it was wrong that he wished for an Arkham outbreak at that very moment. "As long as you leave Damian alone you can have me instead."

"Agreed." Never had such a word sent pure terror flowing through Tim's body.

+******+

"Father! I demand that you talk to Drake!" Damian growled as he slammed the door to the manor open.

Bruce could feel a headache building, he wished that his two youngest sons could get along. "What now?"

"I had a meeting with Aiden Tyler, one that Drake has been putting off for a month, since he wasn't in a hurry to seal the deal I took it onto myself to see it through."

Cass appeared out of nowhere, her expression hard, "Did you leave Tim with him?" She shocked everyone with her growl.

Damian blinked at Cassandra, taken back by the rage burning in her eyes. "Yes."

Horror filled Cass' eyes before she was moving. Bouncing to his feet Dick followed after his sister, "Cass, what is going on?"

"Tyler hurt little brother in past and is hurting him now." Was all that Cass offered before she was gone, leaving their very confused family behind.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound too good, someone gets Babs on the line and have her find out everything she can about this Aiden Tyler," Jason suggested. Something was bugging him, he had heard that name before and the fact that it made him want to reach for his guns wasn't a good sign.

Worry shone in Dick's blue eyes, "Do you think Timmy might be in danger?" His and Tim's relationship hadn't been the same since he didn't believe Tim that Bruce was alive and caused him to lose his standing in the hero community, he kept meaning to fix it but he kept pushing it off and now his baby brother might be in trouble and he might turn away his offer of comfort.

"I do," Jason growled out.

+******+

At Alfred's suggestion, they had moved down to the cave to do a background check on Aiden Tyler and discovering that Tyler Holdings had a history of deals with Jack and Janet Drake made Jason even more on edge.

He stepped over the edge when Cass returned a protective and murderous aura pouring off of her and a long line of hickies on Tim's neck arrived. Cass was curled around Tim, looking like a mama bear ready to take down anyone who proved a threat to her cub, her sharp glare had everyone on edge.  

A gasp of horror escaped Dick, "Timmy."

Jason knew what those marks meant, he had worn his own when he was living on the streets.

Bruce looked like he was going to be sick, his parents and then Alfred had shielded him from the lengths some would go to get more money.

Though Damian had been raised as an Al Ghul his mother had made sure he would never have to lower himself to serve others so he had no clue as to what powder keg he was about to set off. "What is the meaning of this Drake? You were supposed to be sealing a deal not lowering yourself to be a common whore." Damian snarled at Tim.

"Damian! Enough!"

Shock filled Damian's face as he found himself taking a step back at the anger in Dick's voice, his Batman had never spoken to him like that and he didn't know why Richard chose know to speak up. "Why are you defending him now Richard? I am only speaking the truth as I have before, Drake has proven himself to be nothing but a whore unfit to wear the Wayne name."

"I'm only the whore to spare you from becoming one." Tim's voice was soft but it echoed through the cave.

Damian could only blink at Drake before scoffing at him, "I would never lower myself as something so disgraceful. You make no sense."

The fire burned in Tim's dull eyes, "There was a reason that I kept putting off meeting with Tyler. I was waiting until I was sure that Bruce, Dick or Jason could be there with me. The bastard wouldn't try anything with one of them there. He just likes them young and pretty."

"What are you saying, Timmy?" Dick didn't know if he wanted to know the answer.

"You think that this is the first time that I had to give myself over for a business deal?" The laugh that escaped Tim was bitter. "I have been doing this for years. I was a prize that my parents dangled before anyone they could. Now that I am CEO of Wayne Enterprise I am an even bigger prize."

Jason's eyes were glowing green as he realized what his baby bird was saying.

Dick looked like he was going to murder someone.

Bruce looked horrified.

And Damian... Damian looked baffled.

"That is what I was trying to protect you from Damian." Tim's voice was hollow. "You talk about your birthright as Bruce's blood son, that you want everything you deem yours handed to you on a silver platter without knowing that there is a price you are going to pay. Do you know how many there are who would love to have the Crown Prince of Gotham's blood son in their power? Forced to do whatever they want to seal the deal? They are the monster waiting in the shadows knowing their money and power will protect them. I was trying to protect you, Damian."

To no one's surprise, Jason took a protective stance in front of Tim, there were few things he hated more than child rapist, the main one being the Joker, and to hear that his little brother had been forced to entertain monsters like that had him tasting the pit in the back of his mouth and he wanted nothing more than to hunt all those bastards down but that would come later right now all that matters is Tim. "Cass, take Tim upstairs and call those friends of his. He needs to be with people who will love and support him."

It was telling how awful that Tim was feeling as he didn't put up any protest as he allowed Cass to lead him out of the cave, he stopped only once to look at Damian, "You might not believe this but I do love you Damian and there was no way that I was going to let my little brother be forced to do something like that, not if I could protect him in ways that no one protected me."

Bruce collapsed into the chair as he buried his face in his hands. Dick would have offered him comfort but his legs gave out beneath him.

A dangerous growl escaped Jason as he flew a fist at the punching bag, he didn't care what Bruce said tonight he was going hunting.

"I didn't know." A shaken Damian whispered, he thought that Drake hated him just like he hates him but to know what Drake protected him from made his world spin. His mother had drilled into him that Timothy Drake was his enemy and the only way to take his place in his father's family was to get rid of him. "This makes no sense. Why would Drake do that for me?"

"Because you are his little brother and he was trying to keep you safe," Dick answered him with a sad smile on his face. Tim had protected Damian but they failed in keeping him safe. "There has to be a way to fix this." Dick just didn't know how to start.

A strong hand landed on his shoulder lifting his head Dick found himself staring into Bruce's grim face, "We messed up B."

"I know." Bruce felt guilt building up in him, he is Tim's father it is his duty to keep him safe. "All we can do is be there for him. Jason is right though Tim needs his friends here. We need to show him that we love him and are here for him."

No one noticed when Jason slipped away from them he had a monster to hunt.

+*****+

Kitchen

Jason stalked towards the door with purpose in his step.

"Master Jason."

Halting in mid-step Jason clenched his fists at his sides, "I cherish you Alfred but not even you can stop me from doing this." Jason warned.

"I don't intend to Master Jason," That had Jason whirling around to look at Alfred, the man looked calm but Jason could see the storm brewing in his eyes, "I would just like to inform you that Aiden Tyler will be attending a party tonight and from his habits, he will not arrive at home until around 2 am, which at such time the Sirens have promised to keep the rest of the Bats busy," Alfred informed Jason. No one hurt one of his grandchildren.

A wicked grin appeared on Jason's face, "This is why you are the best Alfred."

"Indeed. Now I need to prepare snacks for Master Tim's guests. Do be sure to return tonight and I shall have your favourite cookies waiting for you." Alfred gave Jason a soft smile.

"You rule Alfred." Jason would come back for Alfred and look after Tim.

+*****+

With Tim curled up in a puppy pile with Bart, Connor, Cassie and Cass watching Star Wars. The Sirens leading Batman, Nightwing and Robin on a chase throughout Gotham the Red Hood was free to deal with business.

Aiden was riding a high he had sealed a deal with Wayne Enterprise that was sure to make him an even wealthier man and his favourite toy returned to him. Nothing could bring him down.

That was until he felt the cold metal of the barrel of the gun pressed against his forehead. A red helmet followed and Aiden felt a sense of fear.

The Red Hood was in his home.

"Whoever sent you I am sure that I can pay you double what they offered you."

"I am a Crime Lord I don't need your money and no one sent me. See I have issues with people like you who target children and think because you have the money and power that you are above the law. But you aren't above me. I am here to ensure that no other child is gifted to you."

Aiden had been so focused on the gun at his head he never noticed the second one aimed at his groin until it was too late.

Beneath his helmet, Jason grinned as Aiden screamed in pain on the floor, blood pooling around him.

+*****+

"Is he dealt with?" Dick asked.

Jason grinned at his older brother, "He will never hurt baby bird again."

While Dick wished he had been the one to deal with that bastard he needed to keep Bruce busy, still that didn't mean he wouldn't ruin him in other ways. Someone had sent Clark a copy of everything Babs had dug up on Aiden. He would see that monster ruined, without money and his power stripped from him, until he was as helpless as he made Tim feel.

[anjuschiffer]

Amira Wayne - Chapter 18

Chapter 18 is finally here! Damn this was one hard chapter for me...enjoy!

Chapter 18: Heroes

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P.Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan @vixen-uchiha @nathleigh

Tag: @we-want-mini-mini @ramos123 @bluesimani @redscarlet95 @greatcatblaze @promiswords @fantasiame @corabeth11 @anonymously-odd @alexandriamw @officiallydarkgeek @galla02006 @maleive07

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MASTERLIST | FIRST | PREV | AO3

Gris sighed as she watched her various clones run off to different directions, slumping against an empty can of cat food.

It’s been two hours since Marinette became Banshee.

There was no sign of Ladybird and with Queen Bee out of commission, Gris wondered if they were even able to take this Victim down. 

While Master Fu assured her that things will work out, Gris couldn’t help but feel-

“Mice have been deployed. How are things on your side?” Gris said into her comms, waiting for her partners' updates. She let out a deep breath, watching it merge with the fog. 

She can’t let herself lose hope...not yet.

“It’s difficult to ensure that no one will get swept up by my plan.” Ryuuko spoke. “Because I have thought of one.”

“There aren’t any civilians in the streets in our area at the moment. Carapace and I just confirmed that.” Chat managed to answer. “So if you have a plan, go ahead and try what you have in mind.”

“On it.” Ryuuko said, the girl looking at the fog covering all of Paris. “Wind Dragon!” 

She watched herself turn into the wind, flying up until she bursted through the layer of fog. Returning half of her body into her original state, Ryuuko summoned her katana, only to find out it had turned into an epee. 

It reminded her of the one she often carried in her civilian form, a fencing sword that had been passed on from her grandfather to her mother, and then to her. The only difference between the two were the colors. While the family heirloom was red in color, the one in her hands is black.

Only the handle and button were two other colors. The tip was now white while the handle was decorated in gold and white.

Realizing she was distracted by her epee’s elegance, Ryuuko meditated for a while before her eyes shot open.

Letting out a battle cry, Ryuuko let out an attack, the slash not making a single effect at the dense fog beneath her.

Returning to her wind form, Ryuuko decided to move on to Plan B. 

Stretching out her hands, she focused her strength and summoned gusts of winds, the streams of wind circling around all of Paris.

“Ryuuko! What are you doing?” She heard Chat yell at her through the comms. “If you continue to do that, you’ll-”

“Do not worry Chat. I’ll make sure to not exert myself.” Ryuuko promised. With an ‘alright, be safe’ and a click, Ryuuko went back to work.

—

Wally didn’t know how long he was sitting on the cold ground, still trying to process what the hell happened to him.

“-y! Wally! Can you hear me?” Wally managed to recognize Barry’s concern, pulling his hands out of his hair and instead wrapped them around himself. 

He was still shaking. 

He can’t give them a reason to barge in...even if he -and possibly the Miraculous Team- were in dire need of help. “Wally.” He heard him say again. 

Tiredly, Wally chose to finally answer him. 

“I’m alright.” Wally tried to assure. He hated how he was able to hear his own scattered heartbeat despite talking through the comms. 

“Wally. We know-” 

“No, you don’t know what’s going on here.” Wally growled, trembling as he attempted to get up, only for his legs to give in.

“Wally, we do.”

“No, you don’t.”

“A miraculous wielder going out of control is not something to be trifled with.” He heard Diana say in the background along with what seemed to be chairs slightly scraping the floor. 

“Do...do you have me on speaker?” Wally asked, his anger slipping out. 

“Wally. It’s all over international news.” He heard Barry say, Wally feeling his heart stop and anger dissipate. 

Was it always on the news? He was pretty sure Amira-

“She’s the one who was in charge of blocking the media.” Wally muttered, getting up from his spot on the ground. “Amira was doing damage control all this time and-“ Wally let out a groan and a huff. “Barry, I need to go.”

“Wally. Don’t you-“

“Amira is in trouble and you guys aren’t allowed to help because some people decided it was a good idea to force her to join the Justice league…” Silence came from the other end of the comms. “But even if you guys aren’t allowed in Paris, I know of a few who are.”

“Wally, please-”

“I know what I’m doing. They’re the only ones who can help Amira right now.” With that, Wally turned off the comms and took a deep breath. “Forgive me, Amira.”

—

Barbara dropped the cup of coffee in her hand, the chair she was in toppling over when she quickly got up. She listened as fine china got crushed with each hesitant step she took towards Tim.

“Amira...Amira got what?”

“Babs, listen. Amira-” Tim started, only to be grabbed and made to face Barbara.

“Isn’t that bad? To be akumatized? At least that’s what B’s reports say-what exactly-” 

“What happened to Amira is none of your business.” Dick replied for Tim, Selina following right behind him. Judging from their getup and the duffel bags slung on their arms, they were heading somewhere...but she knew where. 

Paris. 

“Let me go with you.” Barbara demanded, setting Tim down. “Please, Richard. Let me help you. Let me help Amira. She’s-”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Selina cut off.

“Please!” Barbara begged. “Amira is my friend, we need to-”

“We,” Dick said, gesturing to himself and Selina, “will be the only ones who will be going. You and Tim are to remain-”

“No.” Barbara said, taking in a deep breath. “I’m going with you.”

“Barbara. You and Amira didn’t exactly end on good terms. If you go and she sees that you’re-”

“So that’s why you don’t want me to go.” Barbara stated, curling her hands. “You think I might agitate her more and cause her to cause more damage if she sees me.” She took his silence as a yes. “Then at least...at least let me help you through the comms. After all, you’re going to need as many eyes as you can in this mission.”

Richard looked over his shoulder, Selina’s huff and smirk being enough to let him know her opinion. 

“Alright. But you are to listen to all my instructions to a ‘t,’ understood?” Dick commanded, Barbara wanting to grin at her small victory.

“Yes!”

Tim watched as the trio walked to the zeta beam, Selina graciously setting the coordinates to the one in Paris.  

Within a few seconds, they were on their way to rescuing Amira. 

--

Carapace hit the back of his head against the brick wall as he leaned back to take a rest. 

“Where the hell can she be?” He asked himself, wondering where Banshee hid Lila. 

He had already checked all the possible places she would have hidden her, but didn’t find the missing girls. 

The school was empty. 

The bakery was empty. 

The park was empty. 

The zoo also held no clues. 

All of the museums had no sign of Lila being there nor Banshee. 

Not even Grévin Museum, Marinette’s favorite place to go during her free time.

He had looked at every possible place Marinette had gone or visited in Paris and he hadn’t found Lila, not even a single clue that could lead to finding her. 

Carapace went to reach his comm to update the team about his dilemma, only to find his hand simply hovering over it. 

“Why exactly did you choose me, Ladybird?” Nino asked her one night, Ladybird looking at him in curiosity. “Why me when there are so many other people who are more well equipped for this?”

He watched as Ladybird hummed, her eyes seeing something he could not.

“Not every person who I saw as a candidate was as loyal and protective as you were. Half tried to stand their ground, only to give up. Some quickly backed down when they realized the possible consequences if they kept trying to defend their beliefs or friends. But you,” Ladybird smiled at him. “You stood your ground while doubt circled around you. You remained undeterred and firm when others criticized your choices. That’s why I picked you.”

“Because you had the courage to protect what was important to you.” Carapace reminded himself, frowning at himself.

He couldn’t just give up...he had to keep looking.

Surging with new confidence, Carapace decided to update the others. “Still got nothing on Lila or Banshee. I’m going to start checking other locations, but if anyone else has any ideas on what other places-”

“What places have you checked? Perhaps we can help.” A new voice said within their comms, startling the team. For Chat, it sounded oddly familiar.

“Chat, what’s going on?” Ryuuko asked, Chat realizing that she asked him through her miraculous’ comm.

Who was this? And...English? Chat thought as he went back to answer the newcomer.

“Identify yourself.” Cat Noir demanded, wondering how this person got into their system.

“Who we are doesn’t matter. We came to help you.” Another voice joined, Chat wondering how many had hacked into their system.

“How do we know you aren’t on Hawkmoth’s side? How can we trust you if you-”

“Marinette is my friend. I can’t just sit by and do nothing while I know there is something I can do.” The second voice said, Gris being able to hear the frustration in her voice.

“Chat, it seems like they actually want to help us.” Chat heard Gris tell him through her miraculous. 

“That isn’t enough to convince me that you’re on our side.” Chat told the newcomers.

“We know how her powers work.” Another voice joined in, this time, male. He sounded as if he was around their age. Perhaps a year or two older than them.

“So do we.”

“We also have an idea of the item where the akuma is hidden.” Another male voice said, caused Chat’s mind to come to a halt. Why did it sound familiar? “Adding on to the akuma power, those are the two main facts we have to help bring Marinette back.”

Carapace waited with baited breath as he awaited for Chat’s response, wondering what exactly was going through his mind. 

“Seems like you’re on our side. But even if you don’t want to drop your names, at least give us some code names we can refer to each of you.” Ryuuko heard Chat say, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

So they’re allies.

“Alright. I’m Corvus.” The familiar male voice replied.

“Osprey.” The first female voice said.

“Oriole.” The other male responded.

“Felis.” 

“Alright then.” Chat replied, quickly changing over to the miraculous comms. “Team, we have new allies. We’ll be using our translators while using the regular comms to ensure our communications go smoothly and prevent confusion.”

“How exactly do we-”

“Don’t worry. I’ll explain it right now.”

--

“Do you think we got through to them?” Wally asked, watching Barbara not lift her eyes for a second from the monitors in front of her.

Her hands moved quickly across the keyboard, not leaving a single room for error as she hooked up a program to hack into the Parisian street cameras and home security cameras. 

Wally had hesitantly agreed to letting Barbara use Amira’s computer to hack into the team’s comms and then this.  

Hope Amira didn’t mind. 

“I hope we did.” Dick confessed. “Also, why Oriole?” 

“Well, you started with Corvus and then Barbara said Osprey so I said Oriole to keep with the bird theme.” Wally replies, hearing Selina’s chuckle through the comm. “Of course, I should’ve known-”

“Corvus.” Dick heard Chat say, Wally annoyed that he was interrupted..

“Still here.”

“Welcome to the team...now, let’s review what each of us know about the situation while Carapace and Gris continue to search for Banshee.”

“Alright.”

—

It was cold. 

It was dark. 

She hated it...and that’s saying something from a Gothamite who’s used to the dark. 

Amira lifted her eyelids, watching as she climbed stairs she never once climbed. After all, she always used to just zip to the top. She tried to stop herself, but could barely control her own body. 

“Banshee.” A voice whispered to her. She’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“Hawkmoth.” She acknowledged, stopping mid flight.

“How are things going?” 

“Wonderfully.” She answered back...but she knew it wasn’t her... “Lila is getting what she deserves just as we speak. That harlot will pay for-“

“As wonderful as that sounds, there is still one part of the deal that is yet to be completed.”

“Don’t worry. I’m working on it. Just be pa-” She heard herself snarl when she felt a ring pang through her head, causing her to fold over. 

She clutched her head between her forearms, wanting the pain to go away as it intensified with each passing second. 

“Were you just about to say patient? Must I remind you who the one in charge here is?” 

Banshee let out a whimper as she felt her body stiffen. “I suggest you hurry up and keep your end of the deal. After all, I kept mine.”

Banshee growled as Hawkmoth released his control over her, allowing her to relax. But just as she had been let go, she could feel something whirl within her. It was frustrated, annoyed, pissed...hurt.

In that split second, Amira could actually see what was in front of her. 

She was able to feel the vile power running within her. 

Looking down at the pitch black dress on her, Amira let out a horrified gasp, feeling all the memories surge up into her mind at once. She didn’t register the tears that ran down her face nor her raspy breaths as she brought her black laced hands closer to face.

She could feel the rapid rises and falls of her chest as she slowly observed how vile the black felt on her. How disgusted she was in herself.

She finally let out a scream, wrapping her arms around her, not thinking about anything else but the consequences of having shown her emotions earlier that day.

How naive she was to believe she could handle being a vigilante…

How wrong she was…

No wonder…

No wonder her father said those things to her...because he saw...

He saw how flawed she was…

How immature she had grown to be...

How stupid she was to think she was in the right all these years when in reality...he was the one who was right…

Who is right...

She really wasn’t prepared…

Not prepared at all…

She was no hero, not even a vigilante…

She was a damn failure from the very start...

--

“-also check places where- what the hell is going on?” Corvus whispered into the comms as he stopped himself from jumping onto the next building. As much as he feared the shaking ground, there was something else that he feared.

The fog beneath him was starting to thicken even more, spots that were lights were now dimmer, almost invisible. He couldn’t move any further with all of this!

“Everyone! It seems like-” Ryuuko was about to speak, only to be cut off by a shriek in the comms.

“Oriole!” Osprey yelled, Gris hearing screams and things being thrashed around heard in the background through Oriole’s side. “Oriole! What’s going on!”

“Osprey! What’s-” Dick could feel his panic rising.

“Oriole -he just - he just collapsed and started screaming, calling for...Mimi. He won’t stop-” She was cut off by some static, the team wondering what the hell was going on. 

‘Mimi? Must be some dear to him.’ Gris thought to herself, but she couldn’t help but notice how quiet the Birds and Cat Team got, wondering why they weren’t worrying over their teammate.

That made her wonder...

Why were they willing to help them to try and help Marinette so badly? What exactly is their relationship with her? Because as far as Gris knew, Marinette didn’t have many friends. 

But then again, even with the friends she did have, Marinette wasn’t exactly open with them either. Yes, they’ve known her for roughly four months, but even then, they didn’t know much about their beloved friend.

“It’s Banshee.” Gris heard Ryuuko said shakily. “She’s enhancing her strength by using her own powers against herself!”

“We have to stop her!” 

“But how?”

“Leave that to us.” Ryuuko heard Felis say. 

“Is Oriole-” Chat started, only to get cut off.

“He’s alright. But he also confirmed one of our theories that would help us to counter Banshee’s power.” Chat heard Felis say.

“Counter? How exactly-”

“Don’t worry about the how. Worry about the when.” Chat heard Corvus say.

“When? Don’t tell me you plan on going right now?”

“Of course not. If my team heads now, then we won't be able to know where Rossi is hidden.” Chat listened as a glass clinked together on Corvus’ side. “We’ll wait for Carapace, Gris or Oriole to locate the girl first. When we know she’s safe, that’s when my team will strike.

We need to make sure that Rossi is safe or else our entire plan will fail.”

--

Lila clawed at her throat, trying to scrape away the itchiness within her. To try and get rid of the dry lumps that were growing by the minute. 

She couldn’t breath. It hurt. It burned.

Her eyes continued to sting, Lila feeling the tears continuing to pool beneath her. They hurt even with the low amount of light around her.

The only thing that had managed to ground her a bit was the cold ground her body was so desperately against. 

A cold embrace that gave her a break from the endless insults thrown her way for the past...hours? Days?

Lila froze when she heard a sound in the distance, curling into herself. She covered her face with her arms, trying her best to not let out a single whimper. 

She bit her tongue as she heard the sound get closer to her, daring herself to sit upwards.

She listened as the sound began to become clearer...listening as footsteps drew near to her.

Lila didn’t dare to lift her head to see whether it really was someone coming or not. She wasn’t going to risk to keep seeing the illusions, the hallucinations she’s been hearing all this time.

After all, compared to all that she had been going through, this was a nice change of pace.

She listened as the footsteps grew louder, each step echoing throughout the dim place she was in.

She listened and listened, each passing second causing her heartbeat to quicken. 

Then they stopped. 

Stopping right in front of her.

They placed a hand on her shoulder.

So it wasn’t just another nightmare. This was real.

Slowly lifting her head, Lila had wished this was just another nightmare because the minute she saw that needle in the man’s hand, she felt her heart stop.

Letting out a piercing scream, Lila tried to get away from the person in front of her, but her legs gave in.

Lila screamed and tried to claw herself away from the person who pulled her closer to them, but all that she managed to grasp was the gravel that dug into her palms, blood seeping from the wounds.

She continued to scream even as she was then pinned down beneath the man, feeling something stab her arm.

As soon as the needle pierced her skin, Lila felt a wave of relief. A peace so needed, Lila relished in the ecstasy, feeling herself drift to sleep.

--

Bruce looked at the girl beneath him and then at the syringe in his hand. 

To think that Amira was the one who caused all this. And to think that worked perfectly against Banshee’s powers…

He had to report back. Taking out a phone, Bruce quickly typed into it and then tucked it away. 

He looked at the girl who was now peacefully sleeping on the ground, knowing that he had to leave soon despite wanting to take the girl to a safer location.

Squeaks started to become audible, Bruce taking that as his cue to leave. 

--

“Gris! We have a possible clue to where Rossi might be!” Carapace heard Osprey exclaim.

“Where?” And how? She wanted to ask. 

Carapace and her had tried every possible way to track Lila, Carapace having checked different surveillance cameras while Gris deployed all of her clones to search for her, only for their efforts to be in vain. 

How did they easily find her within an hour?

“She’s in the catacombs.” Gris sucked in a breath. The catacombs? As in-

“Are you sure that’s where she’s at?” Gris managed to calm herself, sending a signal to the closest clone to check it out. Why the catacombs of all places?

“Yes. Some home security cameras managed to capture when Banshee took Lila there through one of the many entrances scattered throughout Paris.” 

“I’m on my way!” Gris reported, switching perspectives from her original form and the one closest to the catacombs.

She ran down the dusty steps, running past the narrow tunnel that felt like it could come crumbling down at any moment. But when got to the end of that tunnel, Gris froze. 

Is this why?

Is this why Banshee kept Lila down here?

Gris stood face to face with a wall of human skulls and bones, arranged in symmetrical patterns. Skull, bone, bone, bone, skull. Each skull was placed equally away from each other, the bones in between neatly arranged to be pointed in the same direction. 

The musty air and debris free floor kept Gris from moving forward, but she knew she couldn’t just stand there. She had to find Lila and now.

Taking a step forward, Gris let out a wail as she mustered the courage to take the other. 

But the stare of the eight foot wall of skulls looking back at her…

Prying her eyes from it, Gris ran past the wall, turning corners only to face another structure with the soulless remains of those before her.

Columns, archs, pillars and even crosses appeared before her, causing Gris to feel goosebumps emerge on her skin.

If that wasn’t enough, every corner that Gris took, she just couldn’t seem to get out of the loop she placed herself in. She even tried to stop and recollect herself only to realize that each fork in the path looked the same. Each corner and pillar she passed looked just like the one before.

Was…

Was she lost?

“-is! Gris! What’s going on? You haven’t talked to us in the past half hour. Gris!” She finally heard Chat saying, Gris coming to a halt.

Half an hour? She had been running around this maze...for half an hour? 

Dropping her transformation, Sabrina slumped to the ground and brought her knees to her chest, letting out a shuddering breath out. 

“Sabrina.” Mullo coaxed. “Are you alright?”

“Gris. Are you still there?”

“I...I can’t…” Sabrina sniffled out, digging her head further into her knees. She held back a wail, biting her tongue in hopes to shift her attention from her thoughts. But it failed. “I can’t…” A hiccup escaped her as she hovered her hand over her comms.

“Gris...where are you?” She heard Carapace ask her a second before she turned off her comm, not wanting to hear anyone at the moment. “I don’t know about you, but I asked Ladybird why she chose me.” Sabrina jumped when her burner phone talked, Sabrina taking it out to see the message flashing across the screen.

Chat said Ladybird had planned on giving it to her the next time they met, but Chat saw it just to give it to her now.  

A phone especially created by civilian Ladybird just for those that were part of the team. 

Team...like if she even belonged in it.

“Sabrina, we have to keep-”

“What’s the point Mullo?” Sabrina wiped off her tears, letting out another sniffle. “I’m useless. Worthless. I should’ve been able to track down Lila’s location, but I couldn’t. Osprey, on the other hand, was able to locate her in less than an hour! Don’t you see Mullo? I’m supposed to be the brains of the team like Osprey, but I messed up! I messed up even more when I got lost, mocking Osprey’s hard work of finding Lila’s location. What’s the point of continuing if I’m just going to keep holding everyone ba-”

“Snap out of it!” Mullo yelled, Sabrina feeling paws rest against her hand. “This isn’t like you Sabrina! Not one bit!” Sabrina pursed her lips, throwing her head back into her knees. “Sabrina! Don’t you remember why Ladybird chose you? You, the girl that no one sees?”

“Well, thank you for the-ow!” Sabrina yelped, retracting her hand from Mullo’s mouth. “Why did you bite-”

“Ladybird didn’t choose the quitter sitting in front of me! She chose the girl who’s ambition to make friends through kindness caught not only her attention, but heart as well. The girl who’s info gathering and intelligence flourished and allowed her to achieve the goal she wanted. A selfless girl disguised as a selfish, ambitious one.” Mullo nuzzled against Sabrina’s cheek. “Ladybird needs you to help the team and keep them moving, we need you to make this fight a victory and as for Marinette,” Mullo looked straight into Sabrina’s eyes, “Marinette needs you -her friend- to save her.”

Sabrina watched as Mullo smiled at her. “So then Sabrina...what’s your decision? Will you continue to mope around here or continue to fight alongside your friends to save a friend? Which will it be?”

Sabrina looked down at the mouse miraculous around her neck, placing the pendant in the palm of her hand. The silver locket was opened with ease, displaying Sabrina and her father on the left side while a picture of her, Chloe and Marinette were on the other.

“Isn’t it obvious, Mullo?” Sabrina got up shakily. “Mullo, get squeaky!”

--

“-not picking up.”  Osprey heard Chat say through the comms, wanting to say something to comfort them, but what can she say?

She didn’t know them, neither as the vigilantes they were now nor their civilian forms. What can she say to comfort them in a time like this? When a friend is the force they’re up against?

“Sorry everyone. Had to replenish for a bit. But I found Lila! The target has been secured! Quickly transporting to the designated destination.”

Felis heard an audible sigh of relief echoing within the comms, letting herself smile at this tiny victory. After all, this was just one step towards the big one.

“Phase one has been completed. You know what this means.” Corvus relayed.

“Ryuuko, you’re up.” Chat cleared up.

“On it.”

--

It was cold. Colder than usual.

Heavy fog was sitting all around her, but Banshee didn’t care.

Banshee looked at her hands, finding them covered in tears. Frowning at them, she shook them off before continuing her ascendance up the stairs, smiling at the fact that she was able to make Lila feel the same pain as she did. 

But her victory was short lived. 

The high whistling of wind snapped her attention, her eyes narrowing when she watched the fog starting to gather near the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, watching as the accumulated fog swirled in circles. 

She snarled when a large hole in the cloudy sky appeared, allowing that morning’s sunlight to pierce through, dispersing the fog into nothing.

The city of Paris is now clear of her terror. 

Now there, hovering in the air, was a single hero.

A hero...a ray of hope.

Banshee gritted her teeth together, feeling her annoyance starting to spike. 

“Banshee. It seems as if they’re onto you. But this is it. Takes this chance to engage them and  take their-”

“Banshee!” A voice called out, a voice that sounded...familiar…

Banshee remained still while her eyes darted around to see who dared to face her. As she scanned the area, she found them. Standing a flight above her was a man cladded in black, the only color on him was the blue domino mask across his face. Escrima sticks were prying from behind him.

“Who are you?” Banshee asked, not moving a step. 

“Who I am shouldn’t matter. What should matter is the fight that is about to happen!” 

Banshee scowled as the man charged at her, Banshee managing to dodge all of his attacks. But she wondered, why didn’t she want to touch him? Why did she hesitate to place a hand on him?

In that self monologue, she must’ve gotten distracted, feeling a hand connect with her stomach, causing her to stumble, her side hitting the railing beside them. She felt bile daring to rise to the surface.

“Mi!” The man yelled, grabbing Banshee by her wrist, his hand over-

“You let your guard down!” Banshee grinned, clasping her hand over his wrist, causing the man to let go of her and slump. She watched as the man cowered away from her, murmuring incoherent sentences. 

“Corvus!” A voice yelled, a woman now appearing, wearing a skin-tight unitard, Banshee feeling something in her head begin to ring. She watched as the woman took out a needle with what seemed to be clear blue substance. She began to inject it into the man, something clicking inside Banshee.

“Dad. What’s that?” Amira asked her father, watching as he packed away some vials into his utility belt. It was another day of keeping Gotham safe, Amira already planning on bringing some homework to keep her company while she awaited for her father’s return.

“Antidotes that work against Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin.” She heard her father say, watching as he double checked his equipment. 

“Have...have you ever been...hit by it?” Amira dared to ask, already knowing the answer to that. 

“I have...it’s one of the worst feelings in the world.” Bruce said, placing his belt back into its case.

Amira watched as her father ran a hand over the case before turning his attention back to Amira. “Why don’t the two of us go see if Alfred needs any help in the kitchen? How does that sound?”

“He’ll probably kick us out. Remember what happened last time?” Amira referred to the last time her father tried to help Alfred make pasta. She watched as her father let out a laugh, a laugh that made her follow along and laugh as well.

Banshee was snapped from her thoughts when she felt something mere inches away from her face. 

She tried to avoid the incoming fist coming at her but noticed a whip constricting her movements. So instead of taking a step back, she took a step to the side, connecting her heel with the back of Corvus’ head and twirled her way towards the woman.

Making it seem as if she was about to use her leg again to attack, Banshee let out a laugh when the woman prepared to block her kick only for the two to connect foreheads. With the slight release of hold, Banshee freed herself and held the woman’s hand between her hands, grinning as the woman looked at her with tears pooling in her eyes.

“Mi!” Banshee clicked her tongue as she watched Corvus come for her again, the two exchanging blows, Banshee dodging all of the blows her way but not being able to land one herself. “Mi! You have to stop this! Fight it back!” Corvus yelled, Banshee noticing that he was by the woman’s side, administering the same needle she had seen just moments ago.

“My name’s Banshee. I’m not this Mi you speak of.”

“Mi, try to remember! Remember!” Corvus yelled, this time taking out his escrima sticks, Banshee taking a step back when she saw the tips of them spark. “Mi, I don’t-”

“I’m not Mi! I’m Banshee!” Banshee yelled, charging once more, feeling her mind muddle even more.

She kept fighting, exchanging blows with Corvus and avoiding the woman. She often got close to landing a blow on either of them before someone in the distance would interfere.

Glaring at the hero in the distance, Banshee knew she wasn’t going to be able to win this fight unless she thought of something...and fast!

When Corvus once more charged towards her, she tried to grab him again, only to be grabbed by her wrist and pinned down.

Banshee squirmed as the woman approached Corvus, Banshee glaring at her as she did. 

“Felis. Give the signal.” Corvus told Felis, Banshee remaining still as she watched Felis talk with someone else on the other end of their comms. “Banshee. No...Mi. Just wait a little longer. We’ll get you out of this-”

“Fools, the lot of you.” Banshee said, grinning. “You two were so worried about being touched by me that you forgot one thing.”

Corvus let those words sink in as he watched Banshee look down to her hands that were-

“Don’t do it!” Corvus yelled, watching as Banshee clasped her hands together, letting out a shriek so deafening, it caused both Corvus and Felis to collapse, their screams scattering into the wind. 

--

Just when things were turning for the better, it went back to square one.

Seconds after Corvus and Felis had managed to take down Banshee and gave orders to commence the next phase, Chat watched as fog started to pour down from the top of the Eiffel Tower followed by a piercing screech. 

“Corvus, what the hell is going on?” He demanded, but got nothing on his end. “Corvus! Give me a-“

“He’s down!” Osprey replied, Chat hearing rustling in the background. He could also hear clicking and glass clink against one another. 

“What’s going-”

“Banshee used her power against herself, meaning she revitalized her control on those she’s touched. In other words-“

“She managed to escape our hold.” Chat gritted his teeth. 

Just when they were so close! “We need to hurry and-“

“Don’t you dare go after her right now.” Osprey threatened. 

“You can’t-“

“If I remember correctly, Lila wasn’t the only one affect by Banshee’s power. Wasn’t there someone else?”

Chat froze. 

How did he forget about Chloé? And not only once, but twice! “Guessing by your silence, there is. I’ll be going to your location to drop off an antidote that’s been confirmed to work against Banshee’s power.”

“Antidote? Confirmed?” Chat whispered. 

“Remember how we told you that Oriole was touched and had relapsed? Well, back where we come from, we face a villain with similar powers, but without the magic. When Oriole told us how Banshee’s power worked, we wondered if the antidote we made would work in this case. Corvus managed to prove our theory correct. They do indeed work the same way.”

Chat remained stunned, soaking in the new information.

They weren’t Parisians? They fought against people who were just as powerful as Banshee...but without magic? “Oh! Carapace is right here! I’ll just send Carapace your wa-”

“No. He’ll be giving the straight to both Lila and the other victim.” Chat found himself saying, crouching towards the floor. 

He couldn’t face Chloe right now...he just couldn’t.

“Sure?” He heard Carapace asking him.

“Yea.”

“With that settled, I’m going to be moving to Plan B. Meet you at the rendezvous!” 

With that last order from Osprey, Chat got back up and let a single tear fall down his face.

He’s supposed to be the one in command and yet here he was, just sitting at the sidelines, doing nothing. 

“Just what kind of leader am I?”

--

“Amira.” A voice whispered to her, Amira wondering who was calling her. “Amira.” There it was again, and as much as Amira wanted to know who it was, she couldn’t open her eyes to see who it was. She couldn’t move a single muscle, not being able to respond to the voice that kept calling her. A voice that begged her to wake up.

A voice that she’s never heard before but for some reason, she felt as if she’s heard it once before...many, many years ago.

--

Banshee felt heavy, exhausted, watching another tear drip off of the tip of her nose and join the pool of tears by her hands.

She never registered the yells and shouts of Ryuuko attempting to get rid of the new fog surrounding the Eiffel Tower.

“Amira.” A voice called out, causing Banshee to look up, noticing the lack of a neon purple mask around her face.

Was it not Hawkmoth who called out to her? “Amira.”

There it was again. “Amira.”

“Who’s talking?” Banshee yelled out, getting up to see no one in front of her nor behind her. She walked up the stairs, hearing the metal creak beneath her feet.

“Amira, did you forget me already?” The voice called out, Banshee turning to see who spoke to her.

“Ja...son?” Amira could feel herself losing herself when she saw him in front of her. “Jason...what are you doing here, in Paris?”

“Amira...why are you doing this?” Jason asked her, stepping closer to her, causing Amira to step back. 

“Sta-stay back! I might hurt you!”

“You say that and yet there’s already so many you’ve already hurt before me.” Jason told her, causing her to freeze. “Or am I wrong?” 

Amira felt her voice stuck in her throat. “N-No! I didn’t-”

“Are you really going to deny hurting Selina? Dick? Are you?”

“N-no! I-I! It wasn’t me! It was Hawkmoth! He-”

“He may have given you the power, but in the end, it was your decision on whether or not to use it. And you decided to use it against not only your family, but on friends as well...like Chloe...and Wally.”

Amira hung her head, feeling the tears spilling without her permission. “I didn’t-”

“Stop making excuses, Amira! Open your damn eyes!” Jason yelled at her, shaking her shoulders. “Are you even Amira? The Bat’s daughter, my sister?” Jason asked. “What happened to the Amira I knew? Where did she go?”

“I-I!” Amira tried to find the words, but none came out. “Jason, listen, I- Jason?” She called out when she saw no one in front of her. All she saw was her akumatized bracelet on the floor in front of her.

“-chance Banshee! Use this to get Chat Noir’s mira-”

Had she been hallucinating this entire time? Didn’t matter, she had something far more important to think about.

“NO!” Amira yelled, disgusted by the neon purple mask hovering against her face. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to help-”

She collapsed to the floor once again, her head on the verge of exploding.

“Banshee! I am the one who gave you your powers so you are to do-”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Banshee screamed as her head began to ache, a ringing that wouldn’t dare stop. 

“How dare you defile me! I’m the one who gave you power, I’m the one who is allowing you to-“

“You...gave me...nothing.” Amira snarled between waves of pain. “All you’ve done is manipulate me. Nothing more, nothing less. You took advantage of my anger and rage, took it and made it into a weapon. 

A weapon you had planned to use against Ladybird and Chat Noir. Using me to gain some measly-“

“Oh dear child. That’s where you’re wrong.” The neon purple mask hovering over Banshee’s face flowed even brighter, allowing Banshee to see in front of her. “Ladybird and Chat Noir’s miraculouses are more than just magical pieces of jewelry. 

When placed together, they grant a single wish. As for what wish, you will know it once I get-”

“Get your hands on? As, in on the miraculouses?” Amira chuckled. “Well, guess what? I won’t let you.” Amira declared, getting up. “I won’t let you hurt my friends anymore for your own goal, I won’t let you get your hands on those miraculouses! I won’t let you win, Hawkmoth! I wo-!”

Amira screamed as she fell to the floor once again, resisting the urge to clutch her head to soothe the pain.

“Foolish girl! You don’t-”

“It’s you who is the fool!” Amira reminded, sitting up, almost falling back down as her arm almost gave in. She watched as the neon purple light around her face flickered. “You may think you are the one in charge, but you aren’t. I am!” Amira yelled, grasping the neon light mask hovering above her face, causing the mask to shatter to tiny pieces of glass and for her to writhe in pain.

She continued to kick around as her heart was being wrung, silent screaming escaping her as she gasped for air. 

She watched as she continued to flail, wondering if anyone would get to her in time.

She wonder if this is how-

“Amira!” She heard someone yell, but she couldn’t turn to see who it was. Didn’t matter as Wally’s face soon made it to her vision, Amira feeling her chest hurt even more when she saw how red his eyes were. “Amira, don’t worry! We’ll-”

“Smash it.” Amira found herself saying, looking over to where Wally had barely missed stepping on the akumatized bracelet. 

“What?”

“Step...on..it…” Amira said again. “Then take my earrings.” A wince. “Tikki will help from there.” She managed to say in two breaths.

“But what-”

“Hurry!” Amira wheezed out, hating how her vision kept swinging between pitch blackness and her tunneled vision. 

At least she was able to hear Wally crush her bracelet and Tikki’s voice before finally succumbing to the darkness.

“Amira!”

--

“Don’t be bemused! It’s just the news! 

After seven grueling hours, our heroes have finally done it!” The news channel showed off the Eiffel Tower, free of fog and a swarm of ladybugs gathering at the top. “They’ve placed evil back into its place!” Then, the ladybugs dispersed, many Parisians watching how little there was this time around compared to other fights. ”They’ve once more proven to be a team to be reckoned with. 

Thank you. Thank you for keeping us safe, Miracle Team. You guys are truly Paris’ pride and joy...our heroes!”

Next

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - Run like Hell

Part 21

Turns out, I was so put off by my lack of writing over the last week or so and annoyed at my sickness that I decided to shove through this chapter as well. Took me so much less time to write than usual.

I only have... Two more chapters planned out for this fic and I'm pretty sure that'll be the end of this. Maybe snippets that didn't fit the story line or the likes will come after, but the official end is almost upon us.

CLOSED LIST of the following dedicated readers: @northernbluetongue @thethirdwheelfriend @shizukiryuu @theatreandcomicfreak @michellemagic @karategirl119 @moonlightstar64 @my-name-is-michell @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @miraculousdisapointment @dorkus-minimus @jardimazul @allthebooksandcrannies @g-arya @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @persephonescat @mycupisbroken @luciferge @18-fandoms-unite-08 @dawnwave16 @alwaysreblogneverpost @kris-pines04 @emjrabbitwolf @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @weird-pale-blonde-person @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @kokotaru @naclychilli @slytherinhquinn @clumsy-owl-4178 @ladybug-182 @darkthunder1589 @evil-elf16 @dast218 @lysslovsanime @emilytopaz @naoryllis @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @danielslilangel @finallyaniguana @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @vixen-uchiha @yuulxd @bleeding-heart-romantic @magic-inthe-stars @st0rmy-w1th1n

~---~

Old habits die hard when you try for cold turkey. Jason and the team knew that for a fact. It's why they ended up switching up miraculouses and patrolling random cities on intervals. It also helped in that it made their existence more world surfacing. Random sightings across a global scale of humanesque animal figures prowling the nights, taking out petty crooks and villains alike. Lurking in shadows and watching the nightlife unfold below them. Guardians to all. One miraculous never appeared with the same figure in one city for more than a few nights, not since Paris. 

No one needed to know it was just their group becoming restless from inactivity. 

For that same reason, it came second nature to switch hands and even travel to collect different kwamis that night for a patrol around the Gotham rooftops. Not a one of them commented on the assassin or little bird that followed them from a mile off. Marinette and Tim had the right to their own restlessness and surely Tim wished to study their team further. To determine how they worked together, their dynamic, their morals. 

Damian had pitched a fit until Mari made him promise to stay home so as to keep his existence unknown to the Bat, allowing him to stay watch over the remaining kwamis for the night. The boy had settled down right away and curled up on the couch with his pocket sized pets.

Occasionally the two behind them would stop a little ways off, the assassin pointing out their figures as they made specific choices or movements and explaining how it worked, how they made the decision, and how to replicate it. The sheer trust she instilled in her bird companion threw them all for a loop, but they refused to question her in this, especially in front of him.

Other times, he stopped her to point out different aspects of the city that had changed or ask an opinion of her. They couldn't help but wonder if the boy knew they all had enhanced senses in this form and knew every word that came from their lips. If he did, he made the choice to allow them to hear, obviously trained enough to keep out of even animal hearing ranges if need be. Otherwise, he thought them far away enough or simply didn't care if they could. Jason hoped he knew, hoped Mari informed the bird and allowed him the choice. It was always a toss up on if she felt the need to be open and honest or to deceive those around her. Normally, Jason could tell, but not quite from this distance.

The comm unit Marinette picked up from Babs picked up halfway through their night, "B's in your route," Oracle informed.

"Any chance you can derail him?" Mari asked, as Jason turned to stare back at the twitching form of Robin. Nothing else gave him away, the face emotionless and stance as relaxed as a vigilantes could afford, except the slight twitch at the words being spoke into the two's ears.

"Not a chance. He's caught sight of a curly tailed figure in pink ahead."

Chloe.

"He's likely to run in to the bunch then. We'll split from here and make our way around," Mari responded as the bird took a step closer to her, hand reaching for his own ear.

"He's livid, isn't he?"

"Beyond so."

"Presumptuous over my disappearance?"

"Barely took note until a few nights ago. Now under the impression they stole you to get back at him."

Jason watched as the kid suppressed a flinch and ground his jaw instead, "He thought I went to the titans, didn't he?"

"Yup. Only made his second theory after a check in with them revealed you never came by. You know, for the world's supposed greatest detective, he refuses to use even a quarter of his brain towards people he claims to care about."

"When has he ever claimed to care about me?"

"Touche," the comm went quiet again as the two started in another direction and Jason began to turn towards where he knew Chloe would run into the man soon enough.

"Shit!" He whipped back around at Oracle's curse.

"He's caught sight of you, Robin. Sorry Tim, you've got to make your choice now, he's headed your way," she let off a stream of curses as everyone froze for a moment before everything went into motion once more.

Jason directed his team to intercept as the assassin gestured the bird forward, allowing him to run ahead of her away from Batman as the others took on the Bat, attempting to distract the man from his goal. 

He hated the idea of forcing Tim into facing off with Bruce at this point. He deserved the time to make his mind up first. That however seemed to be off the table as the bat evaded them all as best he could, taking advantage of their using miraculous they were less familiar with to escape and continue his pursuit of the red, green, and yellow suit running away from the scene.  At his juncture, all he could do was keep on the man's cape, following him leap for leap towards the two getaways.

The two were lithe and agile, keeping pace together as they bounded from rooftop to rooftop, slipping around corners and scurrying up walls with not a moment to spare as the Bat's size prevented him from making the same moves.

Robin would yank her down side alleys and up hidden ramps he left about the city as she guided him through the less savory parts of town that she grew up with Jason in, knowing hidden pathways and spaces too small and unknown for the bulk of the larger pursuants to follow, losing distance while trying to relocate the two without slowing down. Sure, Jason knew those paths as well as she did, but there was no way he would give that away, forcing the man to continue moving to evade him, even without a clear direction of which way they went.

At one point, Batman landed a hair too close, hand snagging into the cape of Robin's uniform. It was sheer luck on all of their parts that his companion noticed a second earlier and unclasped the damned thing a moment before, the cape coming loose in the man's hand right above a hundred foot drop, fueling the anger in Jason's blood at the blatant disregard for the boy's safety. He felt his eyes tilt green, but fought off the urge, forcing his focus on keeping up with the three to ensure the man never caught up with the two.

They swerved off path and Jason wished he could say he realized what was happening, but unfortunately couldn't as they landed directly in the path of the two, cutting them off from their escape.

Robin lurched back into the Assassin's chest, where she steadied him before offering for him to hide behind her despite the similarity in stature not offering much in the way of coverage. Jason gave props for the way Robin shook his head and stood firmly in place, once more emotionless. Not guilty as the first Robin might've been, nor defiant as he would've. Simply closed off in a glacier ice in contrast to Batman's thunderous storm.

"Robin. You look well," the bats eyes narrowed.

"Well thank you, I appreciate your noticing," he responded in the clipped tone of the backhanded socialites he was raised around, knowing how it irritated Bruce when the sarcasm was laced with sincerity.

"With such health, I must wonder why you've yet to return," Batman hedged, starting to put together the pieces.

"Simply observing all my options as I was advised. Would hate to miss out on a better opportunity due to negligence."

The man growled, hearing the accusation for what it was. Jason moved closer behind him, ready to intervene if needed. The figure behind Tim closed in as well, resting a careful hand on the boy's back. The man before them only seemed to tense up at this, lurching forward, only for the way to be blocked.

"Oh hey, Birdy. Looks like you have some interesting company here, mind introducing me?" Nightwing casually strolled over to Robin, draping his arm across smaller shoulders and leading him away, smiling at the assassin, eyes cutting to Batman in a challenge, "I'm sure the Bat won't mind seeing himself out so I can catch up with my baby brothers."

The man tensed up, taking in their figures, three of which he trained himself, another that received the same, if not more training than him. Then glancing up to the four dark figures watching from further up, ready to descend at a moment's notice. Looking back to his eldest, his scowl deepened, but he nodded and took off from the group.

Jason couldn't help but wonder if it were due to the likelihood of his loss or just not thinking Tim worth the effort. As much as the latter pissed him off, he couldn't help but be glad for the lack of a fight. He's not sure how long he could hold off the pit madness had it come to blows.

As soon as the Bat fell out of range, Robin looked up towards Nightwing, "You're here as well?"

"Oracle sent me in. I think we have some catching up to do," he smiled at the boy, then looked up towards Jason as though to include him in his words.

Marinette chose this moment to speak up from under her guise, "Oh hey, Richard. Fancy seeing you here."

[iphoenixrising]

hey we haven’t heard anything from you in a while. everything good? How’s life treating you? All my love for one of my favorite batfam writers!💗💗💗

Hi babe.

Ah sorry, I’ve been super busy at work and with kiddo :( I mean, I’m still writing when I can, but it’s just time and motivation. My project has really taken off (reads as: expanded) and most nights I’m chipping away at the massive amount of documentation for not only a Java-based framework, but an entire Platform *sob* So, it’s just such a huge amount of old articles and brainstorming sessions and meeting minutes and just ugh. I mean, it’s kind of interesting to try tracking all these things down and figuring out how they’re going to work together since the developers (from 12 to 50-ish, my God and now they want me to read markdown and do pull requests for comments and shit because this is my fucking life) are still working on the platform services, the development environment, and all these fucking tools I’ve never heard of (Kubernetes, wtf is this thing??) so I’m learning a foreign language almost tbh.

Did I mention *sigh*?

ANYWAY, also some of the things I’m working on that are like Batfam are a little more...I dunno, just things that a bit harder for me I guess, but even if I write just a sentence or two, I still count it as a win.

But like...I said something about a Sentinel / Guide Au, and even though I’m at what would be a good stopping point, I’m not very happy with it :/ So, if you’d like to see kind of what I’ve been doing, I’m going to throw down what I’ve got below the cut. 

Warnings: 

DickTim, Angst

Sentinel/Guide Au

**

After he brings B back from time, send the Dark Knight back to Gotham, he gives in to things long overdue, and trains with Shiva–

–to be an effective Guide.

Years of suppressants made it literally hell without them, trying to keep his shields up, trying to push out the telepathic traffic suffocating him the second he opens up just a crack.

Shiva, of course, had been her cheerfully murderous self, plying him with the full onslaught of a powerful Sentinel.

"You will be drawn to us from now on, Little Bird. You will want to protect us, bring us back from the abyss. If you choose to allow your powers as a Guide rein free, then you must learn to fight against the urges."

The fucked-up part is–

–she's right.

If he wants to stay in the life, wear the cape and cowl under the new name, go back to the Titans (since they've been looking for him again, fly-bys and searches for his tech), then he needs to learn how to deal with what he can do and how to deal with the instincts that come along for the ride.

It's not enough that Shiva is in the middle of hunting down a few former students ("They have made...the wrong choices." 

"That's rich coming from you, you know."

"We all have a code, Little Bird, and I am no different.")

but they managed to run into a few other Sentinels along the way.

He'd like to say he'd taken his ass beating like a pro at this juncture in the vigilante game, but the reality is, they'd had to take shelter in a shitty lean-to, so he could be tragically, metaphysically hung-over.

He gives up the cowl and suit, utility belt and sundries. He goes as a wrecked teenage American boy, changing it up from the last time he trekked behind Lady Shiva and took on her adversaries. He tries not to think about Dick or Jason, Dami or Alfred, tries not to think about the confused look on B's face in his safe house, drying his hair after a long shower, trying to readjust to the current timeline.

("You aren't going back to Gotham?"

"I still have things to do."

"...there's something you aren't telling me."

"There's a lot I'm not telling you."

"Come to me when you're ready, Tim. No matter what, you're always going to be one of my Robins.")

Instead, he learns how to keep himself, and the Sentinels around him, safe and sane while trying to stay two steps ahead of the next fight, the next clue, the next "training."

In Shanghai a few months later, he knows it's time to move on when people part ways for the brightly clad superheroes coming en-masse down the packed street for him.

Well, moving on it is.

Going back to the Tower, away from the Bats and Gotham and the Rogue Gallery (thinking about facing the Joker this raw and open is fucking terrifying), was the best he was going to get considering the circumstances.

Those circumstances being the pointed twitch over Kon's eye and Bart's very intense gaze.

"You were supposed to call, asshole. The OG Batman has been back in Gotham for like months and you've just been, you know, chilling with Lady Shiva?"

Tim, who is so out of bullshit at this juncture, feels better after a hot shower and some old sweats with a Superboy t-shirt, throws up his fucking hands.

"All right, fine. I never told anyone. I...I've been on suppressants since I was a kid, just like my mom. Guides..."

"It's not that bad anymore!" Cassie tries helplessly, the first to actually reach across the table for his hand.

The instant connection makes them both gasp. It’s a shallow one, just a dip under her natural shield (he knows it’s Cissy, the Guide that’s been helping her until now, bringing her back whenever she hits a Zone, recognizes the touch of their Arrowette), just a skim over her immediate emotions  this thing now untried and how utterly calm he makes her just by hands lightly placed. 

"O-ooh," is soft while his fingers tighten, his eyes sharpen, his shields constructing around her, his instinct to protect.

"Not necessary," Gar chimes in, still leaning against the door between the kitchen and communal entertainment room, "we're all good in the Tower, T."

Is what shakes him out of it, hastily pulling away from Cassie's hand.

"Wow." Wonder Girl breathes out, eyes soft and half-mast, looking at him dreamily.

"Nope." Because he can already feel the headache coming on, how her hand tries to grab back at his.

“We could fight better together, Tim!”

“Do you even know how strong a Guide has to be to take care of four Sentinels?”

In one terribly creepy singular move, Bart, Kon, Gar, and Cassie give him that look.

You know, aimed at his face.

"No one," Bart cuts in, eyes wide at the exchange, of Tim's aura warm and inviting suddenly stronger, reaching out... "Tim, T. No one has to know."

The flash of fear, a residual from the tunic, makes him hedge back a subtle step back.

Kon pointedly grips him by the bicep, over his shirt while Bart moves enough that his shoulder bumps into Tim’s ribs, halting the possible escape attempt.

“Okay, okay, backing off. New powers are about a bitch, not like we all haven’t been there once or twice.” Kon soothes over, taking small steps and tugging until Tim is moving with him closer to the communal kitchen where his seat is empty at the island, and they can possibly get proof the guy actually eats.

“Amen,” Cassie throws up a hand and is already digging through the fridge until she finds–

–the last grape Zesti.

Tim’s eyes narrow dangerously on that singular can, his body moving before his brain can take over because he’s sliding on his old chair, the can cold against his fingers, too thirsty for caffeine that he can’t even.

Sure, it’s a trap, but with these guys, at least he knows it.

“I’m very not ready to do anything remotely Guide-like in the field,” the soft ca-saaaa as the can opens. “You want me to sleuth, fight, and strategize, then I’m all for it.”

Bart is just suddenly in Kon’s usual seat beside him, spinning around in tight, fast circles, “you mean you’re thinking about coming back? To the life?” 

“Dude, that would be stellar.”

Tim side-eyes his besties, “it was never in the plan to-to stop.”

“Can’t blame us for assuming, you know,” Gar grins toothily, “no Red Robin for a while, my dude.”

Tim goes quiet, staring down at the can between his hands, shoulders hunched over.

“At least,” Raven’s voice is smooth and soft, comforting, “tell us why now, Tim?”

“Why now?”

“Why begin training as a Guide now?” She clarifies, sliding into the seat across from her, and the coolness of her aura, not a Sentinel, but something purely Raven puts his frayed nerves at ease, makes it easier for him to find the words.

“I turned 18,” and he can’t look at them while he admits to it, “and...and I figured out who my Sentinel is after Ra’s kicked me out the window.” (I was fine going out that way. It was fine. I was saving Wayne Enterprises from the League of Assassins, I was fighting the good fight. It shouldn’t have happened that way...why did it have to happen that way?)

“Oh,” and Cassie’s eyes get huge.

“Ra’s al Ghul is your Sentinel?!” Bart fairly screams.

“No dude,” Tim rolls his eyes and finds his can suddenly fascinating. “It’s...Dick. He’s...yeah. It’s him.”

“I didn’t hear that,” Kon hurries, standing shock-still, “I didn’t hear any of that.”

“Not him,” Bart is gritting his teeth because dammit, why couldn’t Tim have been his Guide? The universe was totally, wholly unfair.

A muscle in Tim’s jaw flexes, his nose pinkening along his upper cheekbones. He blinks watery eyes, takes a deep, deep breath to try and keep himself under control. 

“Yeah,” and Tim sighs a little, the ache in his chest more acutely painful when he thinks about that moment waking up in the Cave, Dick in the Batsuit without the cape/cowl combo smiling down at him, still painfully unaware of the connection drawn tight between them.

(He doesn’t need me. He’s got Babs and Dami. His Guide and his Robin.)

Getting the absolute fuck out of the Manor had been his first order of business once he’d come to, just sprouting whatever placating bullshit Dick needed to hear to let him go without much of a fight (this time).

Finding Bruce and staying the hell out of Gotham hadn’t helped the pull he inexplicably felt, or the pressure of minds around him that had sent him to Shiva in the first damn place. His Guide abilities were overcoming the suppressants, so he was out of time...and out of options. 

Still, even with the training, he occasionally has the dreams at night. Not the usual array of awful nightmares from his real life, Jason shooting him in the chest at point-blank to make sure the job gets done this time, Bruce dying right before his eyes, turning into that skeleton husk Superman brought to them thinking it was the real thing, Damian sneering at him with the katana held high, spitting out how it’s time the real Robin took his rightful place just before bringing the blade down–

No, no, it’s even worse than those.

It’s shadowy hands touching him, the warm wet of a mouth over his skin and scars, gentle voice in his ear telling him how beautiful he is, how much he’s needed, wanted, how it’s not just because of what he is or what tunic he used to wear, it’s all because he’s Tim. He doesn’t wake up when his dream self realizes it’s Dick over him, those blue eyes taking him in, pinning his wrists down to look over every inch of his naked body. He doesn’t wake up when Dick starts preparing him. He doesn’t wake up when Dick kisses him hard and desperate. He doesn’t wake up when the tears dry on his face and their bodies line up.

“Mine,” his dream Sentinel doesn’t even hesitate, “Don’t ever run from me again. Do you understand me, Tim?”

Just before Dick pushes, he wakes up, panting and hard, his instincts going crazy enough that he has to meditate to calm down.

Cassie gently wraps her hand around his shoulder, making sure they don’t have skin-to-skin contact this time. “I’m sorry,” she smiles gently at his frown, “I know you and Dick have had some...issues in the past few years.” But he can read the guilt in her face. Back when everyone thought Bruce was dead and his cape had been yanked out from under him, Dick had sent Cassie to try talking some “sense” into him. She still feels awful for jumping on the same train everyone else had been riding, the ‘that guy is suffering from depression’ instead of believing he might actually be right. 

(It still stings though, doesn’t it?)

He doesn’t say anything back, just looks out one of the big windows and pulls out of her hold to take a drink of his Zesti.

“But,” Gar quickly jumps in, “you’ll stay in the Tower and fight on the team again, right? Like, no more trips with World’s Deadliest Assassins?”

Tim visibly hesitates, pausing with the can up to his mouth. 

Slowly, he lowers it, his eyes taking on a cold calculation that is and isn’t like their old Rob. “Like I said, I can’t be a Guide for anyone, and I mean that. Second, I told you the truth in confidence, so I expect everyone to keep my secret. Third, I’m not anywhere near ready to go to Gotham or face the Bats, so for now, I’m fighting under the radar. If those aren’t acceptable stipulations, I’ll grab some of my clothes from storage and be out of your Tower.”

“Storage?” Kon glances around at the team, “Tim, buddy, why do you think we’d have your stuff in storage?”

“I assumed Dick would already approach you about making Damian part of the team,” his tone is absolutely empty, emotionless. “And there’s no way both of us could be here at the same time, so...” he lets them put it together from there.

The look of utter devastation on Kon’s face makes him feel slightly better.

**

Coming back when Cassie, Bart, and Kon have his back, just like they were closer to the end of their YJ run, makes the transition easier than it realistically should have been.

And it really might just be how low the dose of suppressants are now, or that he feels comfortable stepping into Robin’s role on the team, just with a different name, a different mask. It might just be how Bart has a tendency to hover with that hummingbird energy coming off him even when he’s seemingly standing still, maybe it’s Kon’s TTK pressing at his back even if the guy is across the room, maybe it’s how he and Cassie have leadership meetings where they just binge watch reruns of Gossip Girl and eat ice cream to bemoan their woes. 

But maybe, it’s how he can feel them pulling at his shields unconsciously. Maybe it’s how he can sometimes push back enough, can skim just the edges to get impressions of angry, sad, depressed and gently erect a mental shield without delving deep without permission, can give them the space they need from their intense senses and powers. 

Just another way he can be the regular guy on the team, working under the radar. So much a part of his role in the first damn place. 

He doesn’t realize it becomes something normal until they take the good fight a little too close to Gotham for his liking, but the choices were few and Luthor is such an incredible ass hat that Tim actually plays it down, dresses up as CEO Tim Drake to divert their baddie while the team takes apart his latest weapon of mass destruction on the down-low.

What he absolutely doesn’t expect is to leave the lobby of one of the most posh restaurants in Metropolis–

And walk face-first into Dick Gryson’s chest.

(Technically, it’s Nightwing, but really, this doesn’t make the sitch any better.)

A hand, black with blue fingerstripes, covers his mouth, and the sound of a grapple retracting is a pending oh no that he doesn’t fight the vigilante pretty much kidnapping him off the street in broad daylight. 

He can only thank God it isn’t skin-to-skin contact because his inner senses are flaring this close to the Sentinel, his Sentinel, that he has to grind his back teeth to keep himself in check. He pulls away the second they land it on solid rooftop, shoving his sleeve back to check the team’s status on his hidden wrist computer. 

Mission success! 

“Imagine my surprise,” Nightwing growls, hand on his shoulder to spin him around, “when I find you having lunch with someone like Lex Luthor instead of taking my damn calls, Timmy.”

Stepping out of that hold is subtle because Tim is looking over the side of the roof, adjusting his tie to try putting some distance between them. “I’m undercover. Those are the things people like us do when we’re running an Op, Nightwing.”

Those whiteouts narrow on him, a trick only Dick can really pull off effectively. “None of that tells me where the hell you’ve been for the last year since you left to find Bruce, found him, and didn’t come back.”

His back straightens, eyes looking away when the irritation and heat of anger hits him harder without the nice little cocktail of suppressants and stabilizers, makes his own shields tremble at the burning sear along the edges of his consciousness. 

Instead of saying something he might come to regret, Tim sucks in a breath through his nose and works through the bolt of pain, gathers his shields around himself to keep the Sentinel from unerringly lashing out at him again.

“What the hell are you even doing here? Recon on Luthor? For which nefarious plot?”

A black and blue hand slashes the space between them, “not even important, Tim. So, how about you call your team and tell them you’ve got some Bat business because we? Need to talk.”

“I’m sorry, what now?”

“You heard me. I’ve been trying to get in contact with you for weeks.”

“I sent back your case files, asshole–”

“Not about cape and cowl shit, Tim!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now,” even though he does, he really does. He just doesn’t know why it has to happen now.

Nightwing, however, has had enough of the talk and with a whip of his arm has a bolo out and thrown, his natural speed as a Sentinel might be slower than someone like the Flash, but it still has Tim wrapped up tight faster than he can realistically dodge.

The sight of the vigilante Nightwing swinging through Metropolis with the CEO of Wayne Enterprises over one shoulder would be big news in the city if anyone had been bothered to really look up.

**

The hotel is nice Tim thinks while wiggling around on the bed where Dick pretty much dumped him. His fingers are already getting the bolo loose from around his upper body by the time Dick has the mask off and the Nightwing suit unzipped to flop around his waist.

The Gotham Knights t-shirt underneath is a new one since the old faded one got blown up in that little explosion in the ‘Haven a few years back.

Dick lifts and sets a chair down with a pointed clack, sitting down to watch Tim squirm his way up. He’s got the bolo loose enough to brace his palms.

“What part of I’m in the middle of an OP–”

“Don’t care,” Dick cuts him off ruthlessly, those blue eyes hard and jaw tense. “I honestly don’t give a crap about the Titans right now.”

“Well I sure as hell do thank-you very much,” Tim pulls the bolo off, tosses it across the room with an angry flick, facing his former mentor, former partner, former friend with those old feelings creeping up his throat to make the taste in his mouth coppery and bitter.

“The only thing I care about right now is that I finally caught up to you. The last time I even saw you was that swan dive–”

“I’m aware. Being kicked out of a window is pretty memorable, even for people like us,” he keeps it deadpan, keeps the anger and irritation, the feelings of shit like betrayal and it must have been so easy to throw me the fuck away.

“The point is, smart ass, you left the Cave and haven’t been back. You only answer my emails about cases and bad guys. But when I ask you to come back home, which I have, Tim, I don’t even know how many times, and I get nothing! We need you–”

“Why would I come back to Gotham for you?” Is what spills out of his mouth, something bitter and foul. “You’ve already got a fucking Robin to be your little brother, remember?”

Welp, there goes playing it cool.

But watching Dick jerk back like Tim had landed a physical blow was more satisfying than he wanted to admit.  

“Are you kidding me right now? You’re still angry about that? I’ve explained to you exactly why–”

The irritation in Dick’s tone, obvious disgust when he leans back and crosses his arms over his chest is just about enough.

“You explained it just fine. You made your choice, so everyone just has to deal with it, right? Yeah, that’s really being my equal.” 

Tim makes himself stay deadly calm and cold, moves his legs away from Dick’s to stand and take a few steps away from the seething Sentinel to adjust his tie and try to get his hands to quit trembling. 

“I can’t believe you’re acting this childish, Tim. I’m really disappointed with you right now.”

“Glad we’re on the same page, Dick, disappointed in each other,” but it strikes him anyway in the small, sad place where he held on to the hope they could still work everything out somehow and at least go back to being friends. A small part that’s been slowly dying in degrees, and that last hit is enough to make it so absurdly painful.

(All those years in the R, fighting the good fight, being brothers, having each other’s backs, and it all ends here, doesn’t it?)

“What? I did everything I could do for you! I–”

“If that’s what you want to believe, then that’s fine. I don’t have any reasons to argue with you,” staring at his own reflection in the mirror, seeing the red start to creep over his cheeks, his eyes get overly shiny, Tim Drake straightens his spine and flexes his own shields. 

He keeps himself together enough to turn on a heel and walk calmly to the door.

“Tim, just...okay, just wait. Let’s talk this out–”

He doesn’t even turn, hand already on the knob, just pulls open the door and takes a hasty step through. It’s only the first step, but Dick is still just suddenly there, trying to snatch at Tim’s wrist with a bare hand, managing the brush of fingertips over a pulse.

“Don’t leave like this,” Is the last thing Dick says before the electric shock slides up his spine, the pull to all his senses almost has him on his knees.

The touch has Tim lurching away, jerking his wrist up to cradle against his chest, the red burn of Dick’s emotions beating at his shields harder with just a simple graze.

It ends with Dick still in the doorway, braced against the frame, gaping, and Tim leaning heavily into the wall across the hall, a wince on his face.

Stupid metaphysical connections and shit.

The touch hadn’t been enough to, you know, like bond them or anything, but it’s widely believed True Pairs didn’t even have to touch to get impressions from one another.

“You asshole,” he seethes at that shocked expression. 

“You feel like I betrayed you,” is low and thick, Dick’s eyes a little dazed with what he picked up through the momentary connection, “it hurt you so much when I made Dami my Robin because I didn’t even talk to you, I didn’t trust you. You think I just threw you out of my life. How could I ever do that to you...?”

If Tim was a better Guide, on a higher dose of suppressants, he would have been able to keep himself closed off enough that if they did manage to touch, he could have kept Dick out of his shields, wouldn’t have given him the ability to skim over shitty emotions.

If Tim was a better Guide, he wouldn’t have the urgent need to run.

But welp, here they are.

As the thought takes shape in his brain pan, that he’s in his civilian day-ware and can run down the hall while Dick –still half in Nightwing– is trapped in the doorway, his knees firm and his eyes dart wildly to the side, giving himself away.

And since Dick was Batman, is Nightwing, is a Sentinel, he sees the writing on the wall and absolutely refuses to let it happen. Dick shoves with his arms, darts out into the hallway, makes his suddenly weak knees work enough to shake up Tim’s plan, seizes the apparent Guide, his Guide, in a princess hold and get back before the door even starts to close.

“Put me–!”

But Dick folds his legs to sit with his back against the door, and wraps both arms around the struggling third Robin. He can hold onto Tim better than a bolo anyway. 

The push at Tim’s shields is a pressure he isn’t used to dealing with, and it’s painful to fight against it rather than just let the tentative connection open. His hands curl into fists in his lap, trying to strain against the arms pinning him while concentrating on strengthening his shields. 

He doesn’t realize he’s whispering, “no, no, no,” under his breath. 

“Please,” Dick lays his forehead down on top of Timmy’s head, “please don’t go. Not now. I’m finally...Tim, I get it now. I swear, I get it.”

“...doesn’t matter. Too late.”

“That isn’t fair,” the smallest shift and Dick is breathing against his throat, making him shiver, “I just found out you’re...a Guide. My Guide. We haven’t even started yet. It can’t be too late if we haven’t had a beginning.” It gets worse when Dick breathes in his scent deeply, a noise coming out of his chest.

“We have had a beginning,” he bites out, fists tight, concentrating on keeping his shields strong but flexible, “we’ve had years–”

“And I’m not ready to throw all of that away.”

The pressure against his mental shields finally eases up as Dick raises his head, gives him a little shake to make him look up. 

“You already did, remember?”

“I didn’t... I never threw you away. That’s not what I meant or wanted. Yes, I should have handled things better. I know that now, and I’m sorry I hurt you. I was sorry before, I just didn’t know how to tell you, how to make it better between us.”

Tim’s eyes narrow, and he doesn’t let up in case this is one of those diversionary tactics to put him in a false sense of security. 

(They fight bad guys. Sometimes, they have to cheat, and he wouldn’t put it past Dick to do just that.)

“I don’t know what you think is going to happen here,” he finally tries, staring up into those blue, blue eyes (I trusted you once, and fuck if I’m going to let you do this to me again). “But whatever it is, you’re wrong. I’m not going to come back to Gotham and be your Guide. I’m not going to bond with you because the universe says I’m meant to be some kind of magical counterbalance.”

Dick’s expression crumples, his arms go a little slack. 

“Tim, we’re...we’re a True–”

“I don’t give a fuck about True Pairs, Dick, not anymore. Babs has been your Guide since you both presented. She wants the job, she can damn well have it.”

It’s not a fight to push against Dick’s arms the second time and stand up out of his lap.

“You’ve loved me since the moment you put on the cape, Tim. I know you have.” When what he means is I know now.

“I loved you before that, you asshole, and you betrayed me. You don’t get that chance again.”

Turning away shouldn’t be this easy now that Dick knows the truth, but it is, and the very last parts of him still hoping, still craving, are just as easily–

–wiped out.

Dick’s eyes are watery when the door hisses and creaks upon opening, and it’s an automatic thing, reaching a hand up just expecting Tim to take it.

“Tim. Timmy, please.”

“Good-bye, Dick,” is already fading with rapidly retreating footsteps. At least he can keep some of his dignity because Dick will never know he falls the fuck apart as the elevator goes down.

**

Author���s notes:Here’s why I don’t like this: 1. I want to talk more about why Tim chose Shiva as the Sentinel to teach him how to be a good Guide. Like, I want to explore that dynamic more because I’ve never really had the time or space to write Shiva as we see her in Tim’s Robin run.2. I wanted to go more into the expanded senses of Sentinels and how to - hell, I dunno, make it seem to be a little closer to cannon maybe? Like point out some of Dick’s greatest escapes and be like part of that is due to his Sentinel power. 3. Dick says some shitty things, and I don’t give him any context. Like, at that point, he legit believes he did the right thing at the time, and look! Tim’s Red Robin so everyone wins! But yeah, once he got under those shields, the truth shakes him up. 4. I dunno, this au might not be for me. It doesn’t feel very different from some of my other angsty things I guess but meh. Who knows, I might fix it someday :D 

[wonderlandleighleigh]

“Cat-Mom”

0.

When Selina agreed to move into the manor, she honestly thought it was going to be all kids say the craziest things and random robins swinging from chandeliers and engaging in silly sibling rivalry. 

She was wrong.

1.

Dick smiles, even as he winces, leaning back as Alfred patches up the stab wound that somehow missed his internal organs (Selina doesn’t know how). 

“Aw, don’t worry about me, Selina. It’s just another beautiful day in the neighborhood, and Babs is on her way. She’ll kiss it all better.” 

Selina stares at him for a long moment, before finding herself giving a slow nod. 

2. 

She finds Jason sitting at the kitchen island, his face bruised and an eye swollen shut. 

Selina stops and stares.

Jason tries for a grin, but his lip re-splits itself and he winces. “You should see Croc.” 

She sighs heavily, reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a gallon ziplock bag, before heading to the freezer and filling it up. When she’s done, she presses it to Jasons’ face.

He lets out a moan that’s half relieved and half pained. “Thanks, Cat-Mom.” 

3.

“It’s a new strain of Scarecrow toxin,” she hears Bruce say from the Batcave’s lab station. 

Selina watches him for a long moment, before turning to watch Tim; strapped down to an examination table and sedated, but still awake, his breathing slowed as he looks off at nothing. 

“Add that into what the Joker did to him last year, and it’s hitting him harder,” Bruce goes on.

She can hear the tinge of worry in his voice. And anger. 

The new antidote is working its way through Tim’s system by morning, thankfully, but he’s weak-looking and his skin is much, much paler than normal, and that’s saying something. 

He looks up at her gratefully when she drapes a warm blanket over him. 

“Get some more rest, kiddo.” 

4.

“It’s just a flesh wound!” 

Stephanie Brown has a terrible British accent.

“It’s a broken wrist,” Bruce corrects her as Selina looks on.

“Potato, potahto, B. I’ll be good as new in no time.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

Despite the situation, Selina watches as Bruce tries not to chuckle. 

“I bet if I tried to punch you with my busted wrist it’d hurt, but it’d look super funny,” Steph goes on.

“Uh-huh.” 

Selina can’t help grinning.

5.

“This is an outrage!” 

“It’s a concussion,” Bruce corrects his youngest son.

Damian snarls. “I am in perfect fighting condition for patrol tonight!” 

Selina can’t help a little grin. “Jervis Tech has had eighteen concuscions, you know,” she says offhandedly. “And he’s perfectly fine.” 

Damian turns to her slowly and glowers. “Fine. I will stay home. But only for this one night. And not because any of you said so, but because it is my choice.” 

Bruce grins a little. “Of course it is.” 

6.

Selina stops dead in her tracks as she passes Cassandra in the hallway. “What happened to your finger?” 

Cass stops as well, turning to her, and holding up her hand, where her index finger is…

Not where index fingers generally should be. 

It’s definitely broken, and definitely dislocated to an incredible degree. 

Cass shrugs and grins. “Fight.”

Selina blinks. “Right. Of course. Fight.” 

7. 

Duke seems to be the only sensible one. He gets sick after a particularly brutal face-off with Mr. Freeze, and stays the hell home. 

Selina grins as she makes tea for herself. “You want some?” she asks as Duke wanders in, blanket wrapped around his shoulders, obviously scrounging for food. 

“Thang gyou,” he says with a stuffy nose. 

8. 

Alfred is tending to Jarro, dabbing some warm water on a bruise on one of his little arms. 

“Hi, Mom!” he says, waving his non-bruised appendage at her. 

“I am still not your mother,” Selina tells him.

“Okay, Mom!” 

She sighs deeply.

9. 

“You know, I have to say, I’m impressed.” 

They’re sitting on a rooftop one night, looking out at the city. It’s starting to get colder, which means crime is slowing down, as criminals who aren’t Mr. Freeze hunker down for the winter. 

It’s peaceful up here on these kinds of nights.

“With what, Bat?” Selina asks. 

“You,” Bruce admits.

“Well, of course you are,” Selina smirks. “I’m me.” 

“Yes, but I have a specific reason this time,” he admits. “Most of the women I’ve been with...they’re...intimidated.” 

She snorts. ‘By you?” 

Bruce chuckles. “By the kids. There are a lot of them, and they’re...well...colorful.” 

“They’re a mess,” Selina corrects him with a smirk. “But I understand that they’re your mess.” 

“Hrm.” 

“Do you ever think about forcing them all to retire?” Selina asks. “When they get injured...just...taking the capes away and sending them to their rooms?” 

He smiles out at the city. “Even if I did, they’d just do whatever they wanted anyways. They always have. I’ve tried to control them like that in the past. It always ends the same way. Them in uniform, at my side.” 

“It’s the most bizarre package deal I’ve ever seen,” Selina admits. “And you keeping adding on.” 

He has the decency to offer her a sheepish grin at that. “That’s only partially my fault.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“They like you.” 

“I’m flattered,” Selina grins. “But can Jarro stop calling me ‘mom’?” 

Bruce shakes his head. “Probably not.” 

‘Urgh.” 

END.

[boldlyanxious]

Meeting again

Jasonette July SC 5: continuation from design

I stole the idea from a comment

Sorry. I meant it was inspired by a comment

Teen rated for kissing. Some suggestive comments

Jasonette July

All fic masterlist

Jason entered the ballroom and looked around. It felt as if nothing had changed in the years since he had last been to one of these events, but he sure had. He used to try to make everyone happy because it made Bruce happy but now he didn’t even know. He knew Dick used to have women all over him whether they were actually interested in him or just interested in the money he never knew, but with this being his engagement party he would likely have far fewer women making the attempt.

Jason didn’t think he would end up with the overflow even with only the most desperate women falling all over Dick. He didn't care anyway. He knew he had too many rough edges and he wasn't willing to change for someone. His break with Bruce had been too well known for him to get gold diggers. They may not have known all the reasons but it was pretty obvious when they never were seen together and Jason’s life was completely separate. This would be the first public family event Jason had been to in a couple years. He planned on behaving himself though. Babs had come by to deliver the invitation herself. He had always been friendly with her and she said that Dick really wanted to leave the past in the past. He wanted his brother back and with him when he celebrated the engagement.

There was a crowd around Dick when Jason arrived and he wasn’t quite ready to face that. He would wait until the crowd thinned or just nod from across the room. He headed for the drinks first. He wasn’t sure if he needed to take the edge off or if he just liked having something in his hand as a buffer. He smiled and offered polite greetings to those he saw. He remembered a few of the names but not all. By the looks of confusion he got, he didn’t think many of them connected him to the grinning child he once was.

He saw his opening and made his way over to Dick and Babs. Babs saw him first and turned to Dick to get his attention but just as their eyes met Jason saw something that took all of his attention in an instant. Marinette was across the room. He assumed that she was wearing the dress she mentioned with his handiwork down her side and disappearing into the lace. It's was pink and lacy with the side open showing his marks across her ribs. It was mesmerizing. He didn't even plan to alter course until he was walking towards her. Even realizing that she was dancing with Bruce didn't stall him.

This must have been the event that she had mentioned and the client she had been working with. He respected that she hadn’t mentioned the name. Name dropping was probably common in her business but she had chosen to respect the client over possible name recognition. He walked right over to the couple as they danced and spoke to Bruce when he looked up at him.

“That definitely looks like too much for you to handle. I would love to help you out.”

He winked down at Marinette when she looked at him. Bruce scowled.

“Jason, that really isn’t appropriate. Do try to maintain some decorum, for Dick and Babs’ sake.” Bruce said.

“Jason. I didn’t know you would be here.” Marinette was smiling at him.

They had stopped at the edge of the dance floor.

“I didn’t realize you had met my other son, Ms Dupain Cheng.” Bruce said.

“I’ve had my hands all over her.”

“Really Jason.” Marinette scolded before turning back to Bruce “I didn't know he was your son. Jason was my tattoo artist. I think it turned out great.”

She turned to show off her side but Jason couldn’t pull his eyes away from the color that filled her cheeks when he talked about having his hands on her. Bruce still looked skeptical.

“So you should definitely be out there dancing to show off your work, and mine. Should we show him how it is done?”

Marinette responded by taking his hand and pulling him to the dance floor. This was so much better than having her in the shop. He may have dropped a couple flirty lines there but he still had to make sure she was comfortable with him as an artist.

“So I called the number you left with me and you never returned my call.”

“I know. I’ve been so busy and I didn’t want it to come off like I was blowing you off when I called back. I was waiting until I didn’t feel so tired.”

“That ended up coming off like you were blowing me off.”

“I know. I hope you didn’t lose all interest.”

“I think I could be persuaded to be interested again.”

He pulled her tight against him and dipped her low. Then slowly brought her back up to him. He could feel her shiver as he trailed his fingers down her back until her reached her exposed side. It was his turn to shiver when she responded by digging her fingers into his back. They didn’t scratch through his suit jacket but he could feel her meaning behind the action. It suddenly looked like it would be a long night if he had to stick around here. He leaned down and talked against her hair.

“You make me want to drag you out of here and find some place quiet. But I have to go wish the happy couple well.”

Dick eyed them as they approached. He smirked at Jason and winked. He definitely looked like he didn’t mind being passed over for a pretty girl. He was surprised at how well Dick and Babs actually seemed to know Marinette. He quickly found out that she had designed their outfits for the engagement party but was also already making the wedding dress. Babs had met her at the library. She was lost in her research in the back room studying old fashion volumes while Babs was doing some IT work there. Marinette had heard Babs complain about needing a coffee and brought her one when she stopped for a research break. They had become friends after that.

He stayed and caught up with Dick for a while but his eyes followed Marinette when she stopped talking to Babs and the other ladies who were desperate for details about the wedding dress. She ended up passing out a lot of business cards. He wasn’t sure if she really had limited availability to make something before the wedding or if she said that to make herself seem more exclusive. The wedding was almost a year away, but he also didn’t know how long it took to do any of that. He knew well enough that people often didn’t expect as much time and money to go into art as it would actually take.

Eventually he wandered away from Dick. He even stopped and talked to Bruce for a few tense minutes. Maybe things would get better with time, but for now they just continually butted heads so they tried to stick to neutral topics. He did not stick around when Tim showed up. He started to say something but nothing he could say here and now would be enough for the history between them. He excused himself and wandered off. He wanted to dance with Marinette again. There was no one else he wanted to dance with but she was dancing with someone else so he stepped out of the ballroom for a bit.

It was a few minutes later when he heard a click of heels in the hallway behind him. He turned and there she was walking toward him. He prepared himself to say something clever and smooth when she reached him but she didn’t give him the chance. He took a step toward her but she grabbed him by his lapels and shoved him against the wall. The back of his legs hit a bench and he sat, unsure of what she was doing until she pressed herself against him. She moved her hands up to his face and slid them into his hair as she put her lips against his. He settled back against the bench and pulled her close as he returned the kiss. It was fierce and pressing. He could barely keep up with her.

He pushed his hands against her back to get her to move closer. She complied by adjusting her dress and climbing onto his lap without pulling their lips apart. He slid his hands up her sides and she moaned into his mouth. Her hands came out of his hair and scratched down his back again. He had never hated a suit jacket as much as he did right now, he may burn it later if he didn’t have other things to do after. He pulled away from her slightly and kissed along her jaw until he could whisper into her ear.

“I wish I could just take you out of here now.”

“I need to go back in there or I probably would,” she responded.

“I do too. I can’t leave without saying something. I hadn’t planned on this little interlude.”

“You shouldn’t have come dressed like that.” she said. “Especially after all your flirting last time.”

"If it is having this effect on you I will never take it off."

"Can I?" she asked.

She had far too innocent a look on her face and he was struggling to respond. He was tempted to forget everything and drag her away to continue what they started. But she just smirked at him and walked away. He found a mirror and fixed his hair and tie. It was clear when he saw her that she had stopped to fix herself before returning to the ballroom. Pity, he loved how her lips had looked after kissing him.

It was the best of expectations for him. Most of the people didn’t really remember him well and those who did expected a scene and he spent most of the night keeping his eyes out for his greatest reason not to cause a scene. He also had a chance to catch up with Alfred. He had missed the man who had always been like a grandfather. Alfred seemed like he had much more understanding and empathy for the choices Jason had made even if he didn’t like all the things he had done. Alfred would always be loyal to the family and he took the opportunity to make sure Jason knew that family included him.

He pulled the man into a hug, overcome with emotion at the acceptance. He hadn’t much felt like he was accepted recently. Now with Dick reaching out and Alfred telling him how much he still cared, he felt that he was getting his family back. All his life it felt like his family was constantly falling apart. It was one thing after another until the brief time he was living with Bruce. Marinette approached the two of them and he wondered now if he could find that feeling again, with her. He introduced Alfred to her as his grandfather and the man had a twinkle in his eye.

“Lovely to meet you Ms. Dupain Cheng. I do hope Jason is asking you to dance. With him he may just like to sneak off to a deserted hallway.”

Jason eyed the man certain that he had spied them earlier. He chose to ignore what he said and follow his recommendation. He held out his hand to her and she went with him to the dance floor. It was a nice slow song and he pulled her close and swayed with her and she laid her head on his shoulder. It was the most perfect feeling in the world. The song ended and he started to pull back but she pulled him closer and they stayed that way through the next song. It was also slow so they just stayed together and kept the same pace. The music stopped as the song ended and he could tell the celebrated couple were getting ready to make a speech.

Marinette pulled him down for a quick kiss before turning to hear the couple talk about their lives and thank everyone for coming out to celebrate with them. Jason stood right behind Marinette and slid his arms around her. She looked up at him and smiled as she leaned back against him. He rubbed his thumbs against her ribs and leaned down and kissed her head. A waiter offered champagne for them to toast with the couple. Everyone clinked glasses and cheered. Marinette took his hand from her and turned to him.

“So did I manage to persuade you into having interest in me again,” she asked.

“You might have.”

“I wish you knew because it is time for me to leave.”

“How about I go with you and we can find out together?"

He pulled her in for a kiss. When they pulled away she took his hand and they walked out together.

Taglist

@jasonette-july-event | @theymakeupfairies | @emjrabbitwolf | @vixen-uchiha | @trythisagainlove | @trippingovermyfeet | @tbehartoo | @adrestar | @zynna

[zktop10]

Top 10 NEW in June 2020!

Out of 170 new stories, here is the Top 10!

Some adult content is in a few of the stories, so this list is again NOT FOR MINORS.

List under the cut!

Title: A Good Man Author: Hidden_Author Summary: Hakoda knows that Zuko is dating one of his kids. The signs are all there. The only trouble is, he's not sure which kid it is. But surely he can figure it out, right? Score: 10 / 10 Tags: Misunderstandings

Title: Again and Again Author: bip2 Summary: After Aang is killed by Ozai, the world is thrown out of balance. Dying from the lightning wound that Azula gave him, Zuko is sent back in time to fix things.

He wakes up the night before his first Agni Kai, and every time he dies the loop resets. Score: 9.9 / 10 Tags: Alternate Universe, Time Travel, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck

Title: like rum on the fire Author: Kaatiba Summary: What if Katara got to know Zuko a bit better in the catacombs, and it altered his choice in Ba Sing Se?

OR Katara unlocks Zuko's tragic backstory, finally gives him the hug he needs, and the rest is history

Part 1 of Cherry Wine Score: 9.2 / 10 Tags: Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Angst, Slow Burn, Series

Title: when you say "it's gonna happen now" Author: pentaghastly Summary: She should have known.

Still, it takes four weeks, several photo exchanges, hundreds of blush-inducing messages, and three days for Katara to realize that Lee, Age 23, Ten Kilometers Away—

Lee is Zuko.

Zuko has seen her bra.

She really, really should have known. Score: 8.8 / 10 Tags: Alternate Universe, Modern Setting

Title: I'll Save You Author: sparrowkeet1 Summary: Years have passed since the end of the war, and each nation has been engaged in the hard work of rebuilding. When Fire Lord Zuko invites the leaders of the Four Nations to his palace, he hopes to strengthen the ties that bind them together in peace and trade.

And if he finds himself thinking about the ties that bind a particular Waterbender in a different way entirely, well, there's no reason he can't multitask. Score: 8.5 / 10 Tags:

Title: Racing Heart Author: Smediterranea Summary: “I don’t get it,” Toph asks Katara after her fifth rant about the mysterious appearance of Zuko. “Is he hot?”

“Toph!” Katara yelps, scandalized.

“That wasn’t a no.”

Katara storms off in a huff. She’s not going to put up with such undignified behavior.

Okay, fine, so Zuko was hot. Who cares? Not Katara. She certainly didn’t think that the healing cut across his face made him look dashing. That was some romance novel nonsense, and Katara only read those in secret. She certainly would never allow herself to think such things.

High School AU: Katara is a gifted student obsessed with track and field. Then Zuko shows up to mess up all her best-laid plans with his stupid, hot, annoying self. Score: 7.5 / 10 Tags: Alternate Universe, Modern Setting, High School Setting, Fluff, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers

Title: What It Means to Fall In Love Author: anothersilentwriter Summary: Soulmates aren't simple, the spirits enjoyed playing tricks on the humans. They liked to confuse them, and make them struggle. Sometimes who you think you are supposed to be with isn't the one you are linked to. That is why soul marks aren't simple either.

Katara thinks the Avatar might be her soulmate, but she isn't in love yet. She keeps trying to tell herself she has time to fall in love, but it gets harder and harder each time. It takes a while for her to realize the truth of her situation. Score: 7.3 / 10 Tags: Alternate Universe, Soulmates, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Title: A Little Catharsis Author: LittleLostStar Summary: Scorned by the same ex, Zuko and Katara enact some satisfying revenge. ~ “So my question—more of an olive branch, really—is this.” She holds up a set of keys. Zuko cocks his good eyebrow. “...keys?” “Keys to Jet’s place, more specifically.” He feels his heart rate increase. “He still has my good cocktail set,” he blurts. Katara’s smile widens. “Wanna go get it back?” “Obviously, but why come all the way downtown to ask me?” She twirls the keys around her finger. “We both know that Jet’s apartment is, like, half the reason we wanted to hang out around him. I live across the hall and I still fell for it.” Zuko exhales. “It’s so beautiful.” “And we both know that it’s a den of iniquity and lies, and also happens to be his pride and joy. And I can’t really lie...I kinda want to trash the place.” Score: 6.2 / 10 Tags: Smut, Porn Without Plot

Title: Still Waters Run Deep Author: the_irish_mayhem Summary: The wrath of a master waterbender is not to be underestimated.

Or: The New Ozai Society attempts to kidnap the infant heir to the Fire Nation throne, and are met with the fury of the Fire Lady.

Part 1 of A Spark Within Score: 5.9 / 10 Tags: Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Fire Lady Katara, Steam Bab(y/ies), Series

Title: Letters Across the Sea Author: sparrowkeet1 Summary: After five years apart, a reunion among friends is long overdue. They are world leaders now, and rumors of trade difficulties and civil unrest have them fighting to keep the peace.

For Fire Lord Zuko, the years have been especially long and lonely, and much has changed since they were last together. Katara has been his one constant--she has sent him dozens of letters from the South Pole like a lifeline across the globe. He has sent back words he could never say aloud, pitching them into the void of the sea, but she has never let go of the tether between them. His life may peak and crash like the waves, but she is always there, reaching out to him.

Now she is in his palace instead of on the other side of the world, reaching out from only a few feet away.

--

Written [early] for Zutara Week 2020, Prompt Day 1 - Reunion. Score: 5.8 / 10 Tags: Zutara Week, Fluff, Smut, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck

[letsperaltiago]

baby, your love is gonna change me

In which Jake and Amy spend the night they find out they're pregnant expressing just how much they love each other and talk to their future baby for the first time (Oneshot following the events of s07e07 ‘Ding Dong’)

read on ao3

An indescribable surge of adrenaline mixed with what could very well be an overdose of endorphins sends his body into an euphoria-like trance the second she confirms his whispered, afraid of it all being a dream, question: they’re indeed having a baby.

Exactly as just how indescribable the pain of hopelessly trying without results had been, equally indescribably incredible was this moment of reaching the mountain top to finally feel the past months of struggling paying off. No other feeling could possibly outdo the current feeling of holding his wife so close knowing that life, life which they’d created together, was growing inside of her at this very moment.

His emotions were obviously as well as shamelessly out of control and it showed. The second Amy pulled back from the embrace, she was to be snatched back into what this time would be a tender kiss connoting hands holding and stroking her waist, occasionally drifting off to caress their baby’s temporary home. Meanwhile her thumbs took care of erasing the trace of tears on his face, where the cupping of her hands fit perfectly around his jaws and cheeks.

“I love you so much,” he whispered in between steady clashing of their lips, feeling her smile against him.

“I love you too. So much, Jake.”

Not much else was needed nor said that night except for sounds of love in the form of whimpered declarations of love in-between clashing of bare skin and entangled limbs, until the culmination the evening’s events, emotional as well as physical, surmounted its climax in its final form as erratic thrusts and cries of pleasure.

Then, apart from their heavy breathing, total silence swallowed the deflating rush of coming down: him collapsed on top of her with his now messy, from passionate clawing and pulling, sweaty curls and head atop her chest. Of course, as she knew he loved it and so did she, Amy let her shaky fingers come up to play with said curls only making them even more of a mess although just that more enticing to look at through half-shut eyes hiding behind drowsy lids.

There was barely enough time to catch their breaths, properly that is, both of them still very clearly heaving for air that wasn’t heavy with the smell and feel of sex, before Jake decided to use his last remaining strength to switch back to a hovering position above his wife.

“What are you doing?” her words were laced with an aroused giggle.

“I’m-“ he let a long, tender kiss to her collarbone interrupt him before pulling back only to kiss her jaw leaving his lips in the same spot when continuing to mumble - this time into her golden, clammy skin, “-going to give our baby a proper first hello.”

In no way, in this world or another, could Amy Santiago’s heart repress the swelling triggered by this comment showing her just how right Jake Peralta was for her. The decision to build a life with him, though it been taken very unconsciously since he had his ways of just naturally slip imperfectly perfectly into the depth of every crook of her life , had never felt more perfect than in that moment where he, even time after time, showered her and their little, now growing, family with love and adoration.

“Do you really want your child’s first impression of you to be you very much naked and partially still-” a swift nudge of her leg shifted his lower body just enough for him to slip the remaining distance out of her, “-inside of their mother?”

She cocked an eyebrow grinning playfully at the prompt groan escaping him in response to the movement, not-so-secretly adoring the thought of her husband being too worn out by sex to notice his tactlessly steadfast genital.

“Very funny,” he regained his posture before playfully biting the tip of her nose, successfully earning him a loud rupture of laughter and a swat to his chest. “You do realize that there’s a way bigger chance, no, a hundred percent chance, they’re hearing rather than seeing this, right? So shame on you, Santiago, for exposing our baby to such x-rated content.”

Simply being a natural reaction to ‘our baby’, the words almost threw her completely off track with the immense amount of indescribable happiness it sent rushing through her entire body.

“Shut up,” and indeed he did, having no choice when she grabbed his face to pull him down for yet another, too many that night to count, kiss. The smile she could feel against her lips was still present once she pulled back to add another cocky remark. “They can neither hear nor see anything yet at this point, silly.”

“Whatever. You shut up.”

In any other scenario Amy would’ve consistently kept on proving her point till he’d pick up on agreeing with it, yet there was something about being bluntly told to shut up by a mussy-haired, post-sex feeble Jake that swept the urge to correct him off her itinerary. Occasionally, being shut up by Jake was very much enjoyable and worth biting her tongue for.  

“Now,” he wriggled his way down his wife, skin rubbing against skin tickling her in the process.

“Jake, what are-”

“As I said, I’m going to properly introduce myself,” the tickling stopped the second he settled under the covers, torso, carefully, resting in between her legs to give him face-to-belly access with his future son or daughter.  

“Hi there, little bean. It’s me: your daddy.”

The quick realization that he was indeed sticking to his words, thus not wanting to miss the moment, of course goaded Amy to lift the covers only to be met by a sight, rather silly but nonetheless absolutely adorable, she wished she could’ve captured to replay forever: Jake, flat on his stomach against her abdomen with a hand carefully tracing the curves of her soon to grow belly all while looking at it in such an investigative and curious way that Amy was left speechless.

“You probably won’t be able to comprehend a whole lot for another few months or so, but…” his hands paused on the soft pouch where the tiny human would soon grow bigger and stronger. All she could do was, carefully as to not interrupt the moment, push the covers down to rest on her husband’s shoulders in order to allow the scene to unfold freely before her without having to hold up the makeshift fort he’d created when he’d crept down beneath it.

“Your mom, the beautiful lady who  carries you around all day, and I have worked really hard on getting you here, and we already love you so much.”

Extra hormones or not, truly not believing that anyone could physically hold back some kind of sign of being moved at the sight of this moment. Overwhelmed by how right Jake Peralta was for her and their baby, Amy felt tears forming in her eyes. No, she didn’t have any comparable moments with any other person but yet she was so very sure that this was where she wanted to and was meant to be more than anywhere else in the world. This made all the time she’d struggled with dating anyone from hopeless magicians and snobby dentists completely and utterly irrelevant. This place, here with him, was her forever coming home.

As if by pulled in by magnetic force, physically unable to fight it, her hand made its way back to his hair as he continued chatting with the embryo.

“I know you can’t express much right now, you know, with you still being a tiny blob and everything...”

The corners of Amy’s lips pulled into an amused smile stifling a small chuckle as to preserve the moment. Tiny tears were still teasing her eyes, some even already spilled onto her face.

“But if you need anything, please let us know, okay? You can just, I don’t know, make mommy throw up or, like , kick her in the ribs. I promise I will take the blame, take care of her and try to figure out what you need. Team work, you know?”

He looked up to meet her gaze receiving a tiny nod of approval, smiling eyes telling him everything he needed to know.

“In the meantime, until you’re out here with us, your mom and I will do anything we can to prepare for you so that you won’t have to cry as much when you finally get here. I mean, I will gladly give up sleep for you but, on the other hand, I won’t complain about actually getting some, just a tiny bit, either.”

“I appreciate you trying to teach them this but I’m also afraid that you’re going to be very disappointed, Peralta,” Amy sniffled, smiling through her now reddened, tearstained face.

“I know,” he chuckled looking up at his wife with deep brown, crowded with love and emotion, eyes. “Anyways,” he redirected his gaze back to the belly before stroking it and in return earning him a small quiver in reaction to the cool metal around his ring finger. “I love you so much already and I can’t wait to meet you. Until then we can get to know each other better like this. I’d really like that…”

“I’d really really like that too,” Amy complied along with a small flick of her wrist, a tug on his hair, that prompted him to kiss the belly as one last affectionate touch before crawling back up her body to, where he immediately showered the entirety of her glowing face with another few affectionate pecks.

Having had so many emotions run high all evening eventually led to their physical strength, the bit they’d had left after the stupid good, very emotionally charged sex, running out.

He dropped off of her body, into the comfort of their mattress, to lie on his side automatically inviting her to scoot back into his now free grip, earning him a perfect position where he could easily wrap his arms around her middle whilst also hold onto their baby.

“I can’t wait to meet them,” he whispered then pecked the back of her neck before burying his face in it with a relaxed, happier than ever sigh.

“Me neither.”

He couldn’t see this but a delighted smile was still stuck to her face when she positioned her hands on top of his on her belly.

“Our baby.”

[alexhogh7137]

The Battle Between Love and Fire-

Ivar the Boneless × Reader

Chapter Twenty-Nine pt Two: Fire & Wounds

Chapter Twenty-Nine pt One

Word Count 3.8k

Warnings: mentions of blood, heavy angst

The first thing that you see when you step foot outside is a cabin on fire. It is not just a cabin, however, it is the cabin that held the woman that was blasphemous towards you. She was kept in there until she learned her lesson, that is until now. She must have found a way to escape but in doing so, she set the building on fire. Hvitserk holds you back because the flames are so high. 

"What happened?" You screamed out. 

"She escaped, my queen!" A man answered. 

"Where is she?! Where is my husband?" 

"The king is searching the grounds, trying to find her." 

Hvitserk "He went alone?"

"No of course not! He is with Ubbe and a few men." He said out of breath.

Hvitserk "Go get your dragons, I'm going after Ivar."

"Please be careful. I am going to be flying ahead, maybe I can find her that way." Hvitserk kisses your head.

Hvitserk "I love you."

"I know." He nods and runs along with the men that are heading towards the treeline. You hurry your way to your three dragons and get on top of Ryuu.

"C'mon boy, let's go get this little bitch." He screeches and leaps off of the ground, Neith and Eldr following close. You should have listened to Ivar, you should have killed her when she first acted out. Lesson learned, you suppose. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ivar's Pov, as soon as the man asked for his assistance…

I walked out of my chambers, still amped up from a few moments ago. Hoping that I could still be in the tub with my wife, but being a king comes with responsibilities that never end. So I could not refuse going out to attend to whatever is happening.

"Talk."

"She has escaped, sir!" The man said.

"How?!"

"The cabin..it's on fire. She's gone!" I walked out of the house as quickly as I could, knowing that this is going to be a long night. I knew that I should have put an end to her that very day but Y/n would not allow it, bless her heart. I do not know what I am going to see when I step outside, but I brace myself for whatever it may be. I can hear my people's screams, their voices high pitched but I can't quite figure out what they are all saying. I hesitate for a second before opening up the door, seeing my cabin up in high flames. 

"My gods.." I whisper to myself. "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" I grabbed the guards collar, who was in charge of keeping an eye on this woman.

"I can't say for sure, my king."

"WHERE IS SHE HUH? WHERE IS THE PRISONER!?"

"I think I heard a man say that he saw her running into the woods!"

"THEN WHY HAVE YOU NOT GONE AFTER HER?!" 

"I-" I don't give him a chance to answer because I know that it would only be a petty excuse. I take my dagger out and slit his throat. Ubbe comes up behind me, grabbing my shoulder.

Ubbe "WHAT HAPPENED, BROTHER?!"

"The bitch has escaped!" Ubbe looks down at the guard that I just killed and scuffs.

Ubbe "Does him right..did he say where she went?" He said, out of breath from running rapid.

"He mentioned the treeline...we won't find her Ubbe.."

Ubbe "Oh yes she will, and she will pay for her crimes." He takes out his sword and I do the same. We take a deep breath before going into the treeline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hvitserk's Pov

Separating from Y/n was a hard choice to make but I knew that we had to. Y/n is strong and she has her dragon's, which helps ease my mind a ton. I need to find Ubbe and Ivar, make sure that they are safe and okay. I feel like I've been running for miles and miles before reaching Ivar. 

"Brother," I shouted, he turns to face me, "where is Ubbe?!"

Ivar "Way ahead. I told him that he could go ahead. I was slowing him down." He is weak and out of breath. I know that his legs have to be killing him.

"I am not leaving you, let's take it slow-"

Ivar "Where is Y/n!?" He jolted.

Hvitserk "Look up-" as soon as I said that, Ryuu, Neith and Eldr flew ahead. 

Ivar "Oh thank gods...I thought that she would be with you..!"

Hvitserk "I told her to be with her dragons, they will keep her safe, more than we ever could."

Ivar "Agreed, let's go." Ivar leads the way so that I can watch his back while he watches my front. Archers and soldiers run past us, trying to find this woman. I think to myself, why couldn't this night just stay perfect? But then again, it was too perfect..something was bound to happen to ruin this night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your Pov

I fly low enough so that I can see any movement from below. Neith flies on my left, Eldr on my right. I feel proud in this moment, not scared. I feel strength and power. 

"Neith..do you see her girl?" She looks at me and then looks down. I look directly below her and I see a torch. I look closer and I can see long and dark hair. Similar to hers, so I grin.

"DRACARYS!" As soon as I do, Neith blows her fire and I can hear the woman's screams before I hear nothing but the flames burning everything around it. I circle around and wait for the flames to die down. 

"Let's go see her ashes boy." I get off of my dragon, taking out the dagger that Hvitserk lent to me. I hear a creek behind me, thinking that it was just Ryuu's movements, I do not give it much thought and continue to walk on. I walk towards a pile that I assume to be human remains. I kneel down to examine, only to find a pile of clothing and some dirt. 

"What…?" I heard Ryuu alarm me but I was not quick enough. I feel a sharp pain in my back. 

"You fell for my trap, my queen.." I slowly turn around to face her. "You aren't such a smart queen now are you?" She said before stabbing me once again. I gasped out in pain and I lost all of my strength and dropped my dagger. Ryuu grabbed her in his mouth and crushed her entire body in one bite, eventually eating her whole. I smile as I see her enter his jaws. Knowing that she is finally dead, I can finally rest. I look up at Ryuu, who is screaming to his siblings. Neith immediately drops down and lays next to me. Before I know it, my eyesight goes blurry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ivar's Pov

I see the flames growing bigger and bigger, knowing that I am getting closer to whatever one of the dragons caught. I don't see them flying anymore, which is concerning me. Why would Y/n land? 

Hvitserk "I can see Eldr!" 

"Where is Y/n?" 

Hvitserk "I can't see her!" He runs off, practically in a sprint. I walk as fast as I can to catch up to him. Once I see Neith, I can tell that she is in a panic state. She is screeching and will not stay still.

"What is it girl, huh?" Neith flies off, landing a few feet away from me and then I see Hvitserk pause. 

"Hvitserk…?" He does not answer me, he only falls to the ground. My heart sunk to the ground. Why would he be on the ground? Why didn't he respond? Why is Neith whimpering? Where is my wife? I walk up to him and then I see what he is looking at: my wife. 

"Oh my.."

Hvitserk "She is stabbed...multiple times!" He stuttered.

"Is she-?!"

Hvitserk "She's still breathing but she won't respond!" After he said that, a few of my men came running up behind my brother and I. 

"My king.."

"Don't bother! Just help me..!" My men hesitated for a moment before kneeling down beside us to tend to her.

Hvitserk "It..her chest she-"

"We need to get her home, who knows how long it will take for us to carry her there."

Ivar "We aren't carrying her, that will take too long. She won't make it. We are flying her home."

Hvitserk "I...I will fly with her, help me." Two of our men helped Hvitserk place her on Neith's back. When Hvitserk gets up behind her, he has tears overflowing. He is practically hyperventilating, just like me. 

"Brother," he looks down at me, "I will meet you there. Get her help immediately." He only nods and then commands Neith to fly. I watched my brother take off with my wife with him. Her body just laying there, basically lifeless was harder than bringing her home after her ordeal in Wessex. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hvitserk's Pov 

When I come up to her body, I fall to my knees. I see blood drip from her lips and her chest struggling to rise and fall. I crawl closer to her and I can hear her wheezing breath and her eyes fluttering, trying to stay open. 

"Bab-hey hey...hey you stay awake do you hear me?! Don't you dare close your eyes. Please! Come on!" I place my forehead to hers, holding her close. 

Ivar "Oh my…"

"She is stabbed...multiple times!"

Ivar "Is she?"

"She's still breathing but she won't respond!" Ivar began to break down, letting his emotions show for the first time since Wessex. Everything feels like a daze, like it isn't really happening. I feel like I am floating in a void. I do not know what to do. 

Ivar "...we are flying her home."

"I-I will fly with her, help me.." I stumble to get off of the ground. Two of our men help me gently lift her off of the ground. Once we do, she whimpers out in pain, absolutely breaking my heart. 

"Shh shh, stay with me okay? We are going to get you home. Neith is here, we are all here..stay with me." Her eyes flutter and her mouth opens, as if she is about to speak but it is only to help her breath. Seeing her like this is almost unbearable. I just have to focus on getting her home and healed up, that is the only way I will be able to get her through this. Getting her on Neith was extremely hard, trying not to hurt her more than she already is. But we were able to manage. When I got on her, I held Y/n close to my chest, securing her so that she would not fall off when we took off. 

Ivar "Brother, I will meet you there. Get her help immediately." I nodded and we took flight.

"You will be home soon, princess. Stay awake, keep breathing baby. Stay with me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your Pov

When I heard Hvitserk's voice, it broke my heart instantly. Hearing him cry out for me knowing that I can't say anything back, makes me feel worthless. And then Ivar came up behind him. My vision is so poor but I can make out that it is them. It is getting harder and harder to breathe. My chest burns like hot coils on a wood burning stove. Every breath, I can feel air entering my stab wounds. I try to move my hands but it is a slow process. I can barely keep my eyes open, even though Hvitserk is hollering for me to keep them open. 

When they lifted me off of the ground, the pain only worsened. I cried out in pain, or at least I attempted too. 

Hvitserk "Shh shh stay with me okay? We are going to get you home. Neith is here, we are all here...stay with me." His voice calmed me down until they placed me on her back. A dragon's back is rough and some areas are spikey, making me wince out even louder. I can hear Ivar wheep below me, even though I cannot move to look at him, I can still hear him. I wish that I had the strength to speak but that is simply not the case. When Hvitserk has me in his arms again, is the only time I stopped whimpering. Everything around me is dark and foggy. And then I think about my daughter. I have to live for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hvitserk gets you back home, everything is chaotic. There is no order since Ivar is still in the woods, Ubbe is nowhere to be seen, Torvi has no say in what the people of Kattegat can or can't do. Hvitserk looks around for a moment, trying to comprehend how horrific this night has become, all because that woman escaped. He gets out of his own head and picks himself together, then lifts you off of Neith and carries you to the Healer's tent. When he opens the drape, he finds the Healer already prepared to do what he needs to do to save you.

Hvitserk "You knew?!"

Healer "I saw..bring her here." He places you down on the little bed and sits by your side.

Hvitserk "When did you see? Why didn't you warn us..why didn't you warn Ivar!?"

Healer "I saw it when I saw Y/n fly above the trees. There was no way that any of us could have stopped this event from occurring."

Hvitserk "If I was with her, I could have saved her-"

Healer "You are wrong. There is no way that you could have stopped this, Ragnarson." Hvitserk looks into his eyes and tries not to lose his mind.

Hvitserk "Jus-...can you save her?"

Healer "I can heal her wounds, yes."

Hvitserk "And..?"

Healer "It is too soon to say, Hvitserk. Just let me do my best. I will do everything I can to save the queen." Hvitserk starts to tear up. He grabs your hand and holds it with both of his hands and starts to pray.

Internally: "Dear Odin, I pray to you to be with Y/n right now. Give her the strength that she needs to survive. Give her the will to survive. Hold her close and save her Odin. I beg of you. I need her, our daughter needs her, Ivar...everyone needs her just please...don't let the Valkaries take her! It is not her time, please. Please keep her alive."

…

Ivar finds Ubbe in the village of Kattegat. The fire has calmed down but the people are still in much distress, as they should be. 

Ivar "People of Kattegat, please stay calm!" Everyone stops in their tracks and looks at their king, "Your queen has been wounded severely! I need all of you to be strong. I need all of you to pull together and clean up what that woman did to our village-"

"Is she dead?" He looks behind him, to see her husband. 

Ivar "Yes, as she should be! She is the one that stabbed my wife...multiple times." The man lets his head hang, absolutely saddened by the news. He is angered by his wife's actions but at the same time, he loved his wife. 

Ubbe "I will help you all in the repair of our village. Let's start now, we will get as much done tonight before continuing in the morning." Ivar nods at his brother, as a thank you for his support. 

Ivar "I..I have to go see her, do you-"

Ubbe "I've got them, go see her." He places his hand on Ivar's shoulder to assure him that he will help in any way that he can. Ivar walks towards the Healer's tent, knowing that this is where Hvitserk would most likely bring you. He takes a deep breath and then walks in. The sight took his breath away and made him fall to the ground. He didn't have the strength to hold himself up any longer. 

Your dress was off of you, revealing only your torso. Your chest has four stab wounds. How deep? He cannot tell. Your chest is rising and falling slowly. Hvitserk looks down at his brother, with anger and sadness in his eyes.

Ivar "Can she...will she live?" He stuttered and whispered.

Healer "Quite possibly. The stab wounds did not hit her heart."

Ivar "That is good…"

Hvitserk "I don't know what to do-"

Ivar "You don't have to do anything, Hvitserk. Just stay with us, that is all you can do right now."

Hvitserk sniffles, "And Ubbe?"

Ivar "With our people, trying to clean up a bit before continuing in the morning."

Hvitserk chuckles, "Like we'll be getting any sleep tonight."

Ivar "Nor do I wish to. And if I do, hit me awake. She needs us up."

Hvitserk "I agree."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In your head (Visions)

You are looking down at yourself on the bed, with Hvitserk and Ivar surrounding you. You can see all of the blood and the markings on your chest but when you look at yourself right now, there is no scar at all. And then you realize that you are out of your own body. How is this possible? You sit down in between Ivar and Hvitserk, then place your hand on their shoulders as to say, I am with you. You can see them look at where you are touching them but they cannot see what is touching them. And then you feel a hand on your own shoulder. You turn around to see your beautiful mother. You take a pause for a moment before getting up and walking towards her.

"Mom?"

"Hi my love."

"What? Why are you here?" She does not respond, only starts to walk away for you to follow.

"My dear, you are dying."

"Is that why you are here, to take me?"

"Oh no, on the contrary. I am here to give you the strength that you need to survive." She cups your cheeks and kisses your forehead. 

"Mom, this feels weird.."

She giggles, "I know, imagine how I feel. I am in this state more than you know."

"You are?"

"I am, my love. I am by your side always, you just can't see me."

"Tell me what you see, mom?"

"I walked with you on your wedding day. I was with you when you found out that you are with child. I was with you when that bastard held you captive in that dungeon. I am with you when you need me, my dear."

"And I need you now, that is why you are here." She nods, "But why can I see you this time, but not the other times?"

"Because you were not dying, my love. You are dying. Your soul is slowly leaving your body, that is why you are with me right now."

"Am I dead, mom?"

"Not quite, you would know if you were."

"What do I need to do, I can't die mom. I am pregnant!" You start to break down so your mother pulls you in for a hug. You can feel her touch, her warmth. Something that you haven't felt in over a year. 

"You are a warrior, you are a queen, you are a wife, and you are going to be a mother-"

"I can't be those things if I die.."

"Hey, look at me. It is not your time to enter Valhalla. Odin sent me down to save your soul, do you understand me? Y/n you will live."

"Mom-"

"Y/n..wake up."

"Wh-"

"Wake up!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Healer stops what he is doing when he sees your eyes open. 

Healer "Well hello, my queen." He said with a smile on his face. Hvitserk and Ivar alerted instantly.

"Mmm?" You slowly look down at your chest and the wounds are healed but just like the other ones, the scars are prevalent.

Hvitserk "You..what?!"

Ivar "Incredible.."

Healer "You had a visitor, didn't you?"

"M-my mother."

Healer "Mhm..how is she?"

"Wait..how did you-"

Healer "I see all things, my queen."

Ivar "Sweetheart.." you look in front of you, to see your husband. 

"Hey.." you whispered, forcing a smile. Ivar chuckles, wiping his tears away. You then look at Hvitserk who is holding your hand close to his chest.

"Hey Hvitserk."

Hvitserk "Hi princess." Unlike Ivar who stops crying, Hvitserk immediately breaks down when he hears you speak..especially say his name. 

"I'm okay, my mom she..woke-"

Healer "Woke you up."

"Yes."

Hvitserk "How do you know this-"

Healer "I heard your prayers Hvitserk. So did Odin. Odin gave Y/n her mother as a form of strength to return her back to her body."

Ivar "So she did.."

Healer "Only for a moment." Ivar loses it again. Soon, the Healer patches you up and clears you to move. When you do, you still feel the pain but it is bearable. The first thing the guys do is jolt up and embrace you all together. You three cry together and take in this moment. When you pull back, Ivar looks into your eyes.

Ivar "So I did lose you.."

"For a moment there you did, but I'm not going anywhere."

Ivar "You better not, my love. Because I need you."

"And I need you."

Hvitserk "Is the woman-"

"Yes, Ryuu ate her after she did this to me." Ivar smirks.

Ivar "That's our dragons.."

"Mhmm."

Hvitserk "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, I promised you-"

"You couldn't have known, do not blame yourself." Hvitserk slowly nods.

Healer "We are proud of you, my queen."

"Thank you. But again, I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for my mother."

Ivar shouts, "Thank you mom!" You three burst out laughing, hurting your chest.

Ivar "I love you."

"I love you, Ivar." He leans his head upon yours and then kisses you gently. Hvitserk thanks the Healer for his part in saving your life. Today began uneventful, but ended in so many events that you could go without. It just proves that anything can happen and any moment. And to be grateful for the here and now, and to never take anything for granted. Not even your life.

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