#bruce: and you called it 'basic level'??? we do know almost nothing about our world!

[pochilovesloki]

Bruce: So you do know physics!

Loki: Oh, I only carry the basic level of understanding.

Tony: Only basic- SHUT UP YOUR STUPID MOUTH! YOU KNOW FUCKING EVERYTHING!!

[psychovigilantewrites]

Stay Away

Pairing: Reader/Jason Todd

Genre: Smut

TW: AGE GAP!! PSEUDO-INCEST! PLEASE READ SUMMARY, IVE RECEIVED LOTS OF CRITICISMS FOR THIS FIC SOOOO 

Summary: THIS IS A REPOST SINCE TUMBLR TOOK IT DOWN DUE TO POSSIBLE REPORTS LOLOL 

This fic is about a young Robin!Reader with a much older Jason. Mentions of past sexual abuse. This started out as a drabble lol, I got carried away. Anyway, Hope you enjoy! I love reading comments, so don't be shy!

Edit: Due to this fic being my only controversial one, I’d like to update the warnings by giving a brief description of what happens. Reader is adopted by Bruce at 14, she has a small innocent crush on Jason that isn’t explored until she is older (Jason has ZERO feelings for her at this stage because SHE IS JUST A KID HERE). At 16, she becomes more aggressive in flirting with Jason. At 17 (Gotham’s legal age of consent- I based this on New York’s age of consent), she has oral sex with Jason. At 18, they have sex (Jason is 27).

I wrote this a while back, and now that I’ve learned a few things along the way, I realise that a sexual relationship between a 27 year old and an 18 year old is still highly problematic- even though legal. I do not condone these actions in real life, and I doubt Jason would as well. This is purely fictional, an outlet for my fantasies when I was younger. I still do not believe in creative censorship and I want people to enjoy this fic even if it has no place in the real world. We are all allowed to escape into fiction and our own fantasy and enjoy them privately without guilt. 

“And this is Jason,” Bruce introduced you to him.

Another one?, Jason thought, though he felt slightly guilty for thinking it. He had many problems with Bruce, but deep down he knew that Bruce adopted all of them out of kindness and good intentions.

“Hey,” he grunted, holding out his hand.

You just looked at him with big, frightful eyes, still sticking close to Bruce’s side. You looked young. You couldn’t have been older than fourteen. Your hair was cropped messily short, and it made you look almost like a young boy.

Jason raised an eyebrow and dropped his hand when you didn’t take it.

“Who’s he?” you whispered to Bruce with a soft voice that the average person wouldn’t have been able to hear.

“He, well,” Bruce hesitated, “He’s Red Hood.”

Jason’s eyebrows shot up.

“I decided to tell her everything,” Bruce explained to Jason, “So she can make an informed choice since young.”

“When you’re that young,” Jason glanced at you then back to Bruce, “Anything would sound cool. Even something dangerous that will rob you of your childhood. It’s not an informed choice, you’re basically dangling a cookie in front of her.”

“I’m not young,” you squeaked, “You’re just old.”

Jason scoffed at that.

Though you had voiced out your comeback, you were still shaking in nervousness, refusing to meet his eye.

Jason couldn’t blame you for that. He knew how his eyes looked.

“All of you were younger than her when you chose this life,” Bruce said softly.

“Did we really choose, Bruce?” he argued back.

“I’m not encouraging her,” he defended, “In fact, I’m doing the exact opposite. This time, I’m telling her the truth and nothing but the truth. The good, and the ugly.”

Jason saw how you didn’t like the way the conversation was going, talking about you as if you weren’t there. You had a deep frown on your face that made you look older than you were, but also, paradoxically, a cute pout that brought out the child in you.

“Whatever,” he finally shrugged, “Your kid. As if any of us had a say in anything anyway. If this was the only reason why you asked me to come here, I’ll be leaving.”

He turned to leave the manor, to go back to his safe house.

“Good riddance, old man!” you called out after him in a shaky voice.

Jason looked back and raised an eyebrow. You immediately blushed and avoided his eyes. In the back of his head, he thought about how he could recognize your accent anywhere.

***

The next time Jason visited the manor, which was about two months after the initial introduction, he found Bruce training you basic self-defense in the Cave.

Your hair had grown slightly, and you probably fixed the cut to suit your features better.

“What happened to being discouraging?” he said out loud.

You jumped at his voice, but Bruce looked at Jason knowingly.

“It’s just self-defense,” Bruce explained, “Useful regardless of Robin or not. She’s a fast learner.”

Jason saw how your face lit up at his praise.

Great, he thought. You weren’t even Robin yet and you already got that Robin complex every one of them seemed to have had.

The constant need for praise and emotional connection from Bruce, as well as a sense of delusional idolization of the man who adopted all of you.

“Where’s Grayson?” he huffed.

“Right here, Jay,” Dick’s warm and bright voice came from behind. Jason resisted the urge to jump just like you did.

Dick was already in his Nightwing costume, and walked towards you.

“Hey little sis!” he greeted, arms open. You flung yourself at him for a hug.

Jason rolled his eyes.

“Don’t the two of you live here?” he scoffed.

“Just because you’re emotionally constipated doesn’t mean the rest of us are,” you shot at him.

Jason smirked. You were feisty, yet still wary of him.

He found that adorable.

“She’s right,” Dick chuckled, “You wanted to see me, Jay?”

“Later,” he mumbled, and changed into his alter ego.

Once Jason and Dick were alone on patrol, he brought it up.

“Don’t you disagree with this?”

“With what?”

“Her,” he said, “Or more specifically, him bringing her into all of this.”

“I did at first,” Dick frowned, “But you’ve only met her once, Jay. You don’t live with her. She’s been through a lot, and her being Robin, well, I think it’d be good for her.”

Jason felt his chest tightening. Bruce had always used the excuse that he made all of them into Robin to help channel their emotions into doing good, to prevent them from falling into darkness.

Yet, Jason still did. And he fell right into an abyssal void that he was still trying to get out of.

“Maybe,” Dick continued, “You should get to know her. You’ll see what I’m talking about, and what Bruce sees in her. Tim disagreed at first as well, but after a while, even he warmed up to the idea.”

He frowned at Dick, and then looked away, sighing.

“Whatever.”

***

A month later, Jason had agreed to meet Dick and Tim at a diner.

The food wasn’t that good, and the service average, but it held many memories for him. Dick used to take him there after patrol when he was still Robin. When he went rogue, Dick had brought Tim there. Post-rogue, all three of them would meet up.

He was early, because he was closer. He waited about ten minutes before he saw Tim walking through the door, with Dick behind him. Following Dick, he saw you.

He frowned.

He supposed that he had to get used to you being around, since you were already in the picture.

He didn’t know why he felt like distancing himself from you. With Tim, he had a good reason. A personal reason that he had moved on from.

But you? He had no reason to push you away. Though, Jason had the tendency to push everyone away.

Dick took a seat next to Jason at the booth, and across from him were Tim and you. You were dressed simply in an oversized hoodie he recognized belonged to Dick. It made you seem smaller and younger than you really were. Your hair was in a short bob now. So you were growing it out after all.

Fine. He decided to give you a chance. He had been unfair to you, after all.

“Isn’t a bit too late for you to be out, kid?” he poked at you, “Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

“Fuck you, you colossal freak of nature,” you cussed at him.

Jason was taken aback.

And then he started laughing out loud.

You weren’t so bad after all. The shyness and wariness that you displayed the earlier times almost all gone, and then there was that familiar accent that he somehow felt at ease listening to.

Dick let out a loud groan.

“You owe me twenty,” Tim suddenly said to Dick.

“Come on,” Dick addressed you, “I had faith in you! What happened?”

“It’s just in my nature, okay?” you pouted, “I can’t help it.”

Dick fished out a twenty and threw it at Tim.

“What is happening?” Jason asked, confused.

“I bet ten that the first thing she says to you would be an insult, twenty if she threw in the word ‘fuck’,” Tim grinned.

“And I,” Dick enunciated dramatically, “Thought that she would at least hold it in until after we finished eating.”

“What, you a potty mouth or something?” Jason smirked at you.

“Unless Alfred or Bruce is around,” you grinned.

It was the first time you smiled at him.

“Coward,” he shook his head, “I used to say all sorts of shit even in front of Bruce and Alfred. You gotta step up your game, kid.”

“And Alfred got you bankrupt, didn’t he?” Dick reminded, “You had to put so much of your allowance in the swear jar.”

“I believe in freedom of expression, alright?” Jason huffed, “I had to stand by my principles.”

“Principles?” Tim scoffed, “You?”

“Yes, me, Timbers,” Jason reiterated, “I’m a man of my word. If I’m gonna swear, I’m gonna go all the way.”

“You’re an old man of your word,” Jason heard you mumble.

“I’m only twenty-three, sweetheart,” he responded, “Dick’s the old man here.”

“Am not!” Dick protested.

“Yeah, Dick’s not,” you agreed.

“How does that make any sense?” Jason challenged.

“Because Dick doesn’t treat me like I’m a kid,” you shrugged, “He brings me up to his level, so I don’t see him as an old man. You on the other hand…”

“But you are a kid!” Jason argued back, “What are you, twelve?”

“You know for a fact that I’m fourteen!” you growled.

Jason grinned at you, and expected you to continue defending yourself. But for some reason, you just remained silent, and he saw a blush of red settling on your cheeks.

“Whatever you say, kid.”

***

The time that passed between that night and the next time he came back was shorter. He watched you train with Dick, and saw that you had already improved a lot.

He went back, and came back again, three weeks later. Your moves were faster, cleaner, more efficient.

He went back, and came back again, a week later. You landed a blow on Tim.

Soon, he realised that he was looking forward to his visits, because he wanted to see how much you progressed during the short time he was gone- and you never disappointed.

“She must be training nonstop,” he casually said to Tim one night on patrol. Bruce still didn’t allow you out with them yet, because you were still too new.

“Dude, she wakes up at four every morning to train for two hours before going to school,” Tim told him, “After she gets back, she does her homework and studies for a bit, and then trains again for another three hours before going to bed. She’s borderline crazy.”

Jason frowned to himself.

He knew that pattern. Training relentlessly to lose himself in the physical exertion, to feel like he had some sort of power every time he landed a punch, to regain some sort of control.

You were either running away from something, or towards something.

“I never asked,” he started, “But how did he end up adopting her?”

“Uh,” Tim rubbed the back of his head in hesitation, “I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you. You should ask her yourself.”

“Oh, come on,” he groaned, “You mean to tell me that you asked her yourself? Dick or Bruce didn’t tell you?”

“Of course!” Tim grumbled, “We’re friends, Jason. We hang out. We talk. You’re the only one missing from the circle.”

“Fucking whatever.”

***

He really wanted to ask, he really did.

If not out of care, then out of curiosity.

But honestly, a heart to heart talk with another human being? That wasn’t him.

Yet, he really wanted to know.

He had tried to sit down next to you when you were just watching TV alone in the living room, he had tried to knock on your door while you were blasting shitty music out loud. He had even tried to call you up and see if you wanted to meet him for dinner somewhere.

But he never got to it.

In the end, a year had passed since he first met you, and it was your big night. It was your first debut as Robin.

“Stick to at least one of us,” Jason overheard Bruce instruct you in the Cave, “Don’t go off on your own, don’t act first, and always listen to orders.”

“Yes, sir,” you rolled your eyes, then put on your domino mask.

Jason smirked at your attitude. You had come out of your shell and he learned that you were really a feisty, sassy, annoying little brat.

He thought the Robin uniform suited you. It was more modern than his was- the colors more muted- and he saw that you probably had demanded Bruce to include designs of your own. Like how your black cape sort of shimmered in the light, and how there was fucking lace at the lateral sides of your legs.

Your hair was long now.

All of you split up during patrol, and Jason had found himself panting on a roof after taking down a dozen guys who thought it was a good idea to seek revenge for the time he pissed on them from the edge of a building while they were doing a drug exchange.

It had been pretty funny, the way they were so furiously humiliated.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a movement. He turned to look at the building from across the street, and saw that you were sitting there on the edge, legs dangling, overlooking the alley below.

He grappled to where you were and silently approached you from behind.

“I thought he told you to stick to someone,” he said.

“Jesus, fuck,” you jumped, “Stop doing that, you asshole.”

“Think of it as training for your ears,” he chuckled, and sat down next to you.

“I was with Bruce, then Dick, then Tim, then I ran away from Tim to find you,” you explained, “Looks like you found me first, though.”

“Why did you want to find me?”

“Dunno,” you shrugged, “It’s my first night. Just wanted to see everyone in action.”

“Well, you missed one big fight,” he said, “Took out a dozen guys in under five minutes.”

“Not bad,” you smirked, “Wish I could have seen it.”

“You will eventually,” he hummed, “It’s not a big deal.”

“Yes, because you obviously have done worse,” you poked.

“Is that why you were so afraid of me in the beginning?” Jason wondered, “Because you knew I killed people?”

“I was never afraid of you,” you frowned, “What gave you that idea?”

“You couldn’t stop shaking the first time I met you,” he reminded.

“Fine,” you conceded, “You looked pretty big and scary. And when Bruce said that you were Red Hood, that shook me up a bit. But it wasn’t because you killed people.”

“That’s a first,” he scoffed.

“But now I know that you’re just a massive prick who pretends to be badass to cover up the fact that you’re just a sad, fragile being- well, it’s hard to be scared.”

“Oh, we’re throwing shade now are we?” he snickered, “What about you and your obsession with training just to compensate for the fact that you feel small and weak inside with no control over your life?”

He had expected you to retort, but you just frowned and looked down towards the alley.

Shit.

Jason always had that problem where he didn’t know when to shut up, or what not say to people. Granted, most of the time he didn’t care if the other party got offended or not.

But he didn’t want to hurt you.

He was just going to open his mouth to apologize until-

“I’ve been here before,” you started, “This alley. A long time ago. My big brother- he dragged me here away from my dad so he could beat me up.”

Jason remained silent in shock.

“Not that my dad was any better,” you added, “I guess my brother was like that to me because my dad was like that to him.”

He didn’t know how to respond to that. Was he supposed to comfort you? Or tell you something funny to distract you from the sadness?

Instead, he asked, “What about your mom?”

Jason’s mom had been there, yet not fully there. But when she was, he was grateful at least, to know the warmth of a hug in a run down apartment with no heater during the winter.

“Died giving birth to me,” you explained, “Dad always blamed me for it. He’d tell me that he wished I was never born- that he wished he wore a condom when he fucked mom, that at least if she was alive, he didn’t need to fuck whores.”

“And fuck whores, he did,” you continued bitterly, “But they weren’t enough, I guess. He- he even- I-”

You never finished your sentence, but you didn’t need to. Jason was smart enough to put two and two together.

He felt his blood boil, his rage seeping in. It was like he was that Red Hood again. And for the first time since he came back to Bruce, he didn’t try to push that memory away.

He could go rogue again. Just one more time.

“Where is he- they- where are they now?” Jason managed to grit, tasting blood in his mouth.

“Dead,” you snorted, “Thanks to you.”

“What?”

That took him out of his burning anger.

“Turns out dad was working with Black Mask,” you elaborated, “He dragged my brother with him as well. It’s how he managed to afford all those prostitutes and heroin, I guess. I think they were at one of those shipments you crashed or something back then. You left twenty dead.”

Fuck, he remembered.

Black Mask was at the docks, waiting for a shipment of weapons, drugs, and girls. He remembered feeling frustrated that Black Mask slipped away before he got to him, so he took out his anger on everyone else working with Black Mask.

“Lived in the streets after that,” you continued, “Fend for myself. Cut my hair short so people would think I was a boy. I had to stay tough, you know? When Bruce found me, I was doing an odd job for one of the local gangs. Small one. Was supposed to recruit people my age. Start them young, he said. I guess Bruce had been following me for a bit. He approached me and that scared the shit out of me.”

You paused to smile sadly at the memory.

“But he just asked me for my name, and age,” you stared into space, “And he told me that I could do better than that. That I had potential. He asked me if I wanted to help people rather than drag them into dangerous stuff. And how could I say no? Especially after wishing for so long that someone would come and help me when I was with my dad and brother living in a run down apartment with a leaking roof near Crime Alley.”

You finally looked at him.

Jason was glad that he was wearing a helmet, because he wanted to hide from the stabbing guilt he felt. He didn’t want you to see him that way.

“So you’re right,” your blank white lenses pierced his own, “I train because I want to feel strong, because I’ve felt weak my whole life. I train to feel as if I have control over my own body, my own movements. Hell, even the fact that I grew my hair long gave me a sense of control.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason finally managed to croak, “I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine,” you dismissed, “Plus, you did me a favour before. I kind of owe you one.”

“Favour?”

“You got rid of my dad for me,” you stood up, “Thanks.”

And for the first time, looking up at you as you were looking down, smiling at him, he didn’t see you as a kid.

“Sure thing, kid.”

***

Jason started dropping by once every two weeks. Sometimes he would even come around twice in a week.

He had warmed up to you after you told him your story, though he was kind of frustrated that Dick, Tim, and Bruce were all right, and he was the wrong one all along because he didn’t know you.

But then, you also started warming up to him.

And that became the major issue.

Since you donned the Robin uniform, your ego had spiked up. Your confidence and arrogance came with every progress you made. A year into Robin, Jason couldn’t see a semblance of that frightened little girl with the short hair, voice shaking as she tried to insult him.

No, now you were just so fucking annoying.

And for some reason, you started to be more aware of your sexuality as your confidence grew.

At the age of 16, you had started coming onto Jason strong.

“Jason,” you pouted at him, “Why don’t you come stay at the Manor anymore?”

“Because you’re there, kid,” he joked, staring at Gotham’s skyline from the rooftop where you, him, and Batman would occasionally stop to catch a breath.

“Jasooon,” you whined, high pitched and long, “I miss spending time with you.”

Jason raised an eyebrow, because you were touching his arm, squeezing his biceps. Not that you could see his face, given the helmet he wore. He kind of missed how you were back then. All you had were insults and swear words for him, and you definitely didn’t whine.

“Don’t you have Tim to annoy?”

“He’s always busy,” you huffed, “And when he’s not busy, he’s sleepy. Tim’s boring. You’re more fun, in an assholey cocknose dickweed kind of way.”

Ah, there it was, your colorful language. He had to admit, your creativity impressed him.

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” he chuckled.

“So why don’t you come over some time and we can have some fun?” you purred seductively.

Jason was taken aback.

He wasn’t sure whether you meant it innocently, or whether you had hidden motives. He glanced at Bruce who was minding his own business, ignoring the two of you.

He didn’t think you would flirt with him in front of Bruce, so he dismissed it and blamed himself for thinking lewd things.

“My idea of fun involves a bottle of whiskey and B-Grade horror movies, kid,” he patted you on the head, “And you’re too young to drink.”

“Hmph,” you slapped his hand away, “That’s not what I was talking about, but whatever.”

You strutted away.

It wasn’t that he didn’t find you attractive, it was that he shouldn’t find you attractive. What was a 16 year old doing flirting with someone his age? Weren’t you supposed to have crushes on the quarterbacks in your school?

Hell, even if you wanted someone who knew of your nighttime activities, there always were the Teen Titans, whom you regularly joined. That Aqualad wasn't a bad kid, but for some reason he didn't like the thought of you dating just yet.

But still, you had no business with someone like Jason. Age wise, or personality wise.

*** Two weeks later, he dropped by again for movie night.

When he walked into the living room, the only person who quirked up when they saw him was you, probably because the rest had already heard him coming.

“Jay!” you squealed, and ran to him, flinging your arms around his neck in a hug.

“Hey- oomph,” he slightly stumbled. It was the first time you hugged him.

And now that you were so close, he was hyper aware of you. You were wearing shorts and a tank top- with no bra. He could smell your vanilla lotion and your chocolate spice shampoo.

He could feel your strong arms, your heavy weight, your burning heat against him.

And for the first time, he actually got turned on by you.

Fuck, he thought. He shouldn’t be thinking of you like that. As if the age difference wasn’t vast already, you were still underaged.

He awkwardly patted you on the back, in an attempt to respond to the hug. He could make out Tim and Dick snickering at him at his obvious discomfort.

“You’ve gained weight,” he gruffed, trying to break the hug because he was dangerously close to popping a boner.

As expected, you let go of him.

“Yeah, I did!” you grinned happily, “I’ve gained about five pounds of muscle mass!”

You started flexing your toned biceps comically.

“Maybe you can gain five pounds of brain mass next time, kid,” he smirked and ruffled your hair.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a medical condition, you twatwaffle arsebadger,” you shot back at him.

“Jar,” a chorus of lazy mumbles from everyone else rose.

You grumbled and walked towards a coffee table, where a clear mason jar almost filled to the brim with folded notes sat. You shoved in five dollars.

Jason took off his jacket and sat next to Dick on the long sofa. You then hopped towards him and started snuggling next to him.

Jason looked at Dick in question.

Dick merely shrugged.

Jason had a hard time concentrating on the movie that night, because you leaning your head on his chest, and playing with the denim of his jeans absentmindedly.

He wasn’t used to it.

Human contact.

And he knew how you were. You were probably the same with Dick and Tim. You just chose him that night to snuggle up to.

But then you made a comment about how hot the guy in the movie was. Jason didn’t think much of it until you leaned up to press your mouth on his ear and whispered, “Not as hot as you, though.”

That made him jump out of his seat in panic.

Everyone else looked at him suspiciously, but you were just looking at him with a knowing smirk.

“Toilet,” he mumbled, and left.

“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck,” he paced in small circles in a washroom down the hall.

He looked at his reflection only to see how red he was at his ears. He gripped the edges of the sink and took deep breaths, trying to play it cool.

Now, it was obvious that you were flirting with him. There was no denying it.

But why on God’s planet were you?

Jason groaned quietly to himself.

Whatever. He thought that you’d probably just drop it eventually.

***

Half a year later, and it didn’t.

And it got bad. Real bad.

Jason still kept visiting regularly, and every single time he did, he would get almost sexually harassed by you.

He was just sitting down in an armchair in the living room, reading a book, when you came along, and with the most arrogant, most entitled smirk, sat on his lap.

“Get off,” he grit, eyes never leaving his book. He was scared of what you were wearing this time.

“But you’re so warm,” you hummed, swinging up your legs across his lap, so that you were being cradled by him and the armchair.

“The fire’s right there,” he pointed to the fireplace, “If you need help, I can throw you in it.”

“I’d rather you throw me in bed,” you purred.

He snapped his book shut and squeezed the bridge of his nose.

“Just. Get. Off,” he growled.

It was dangerous. Your smell was intoxicating, and you were shifting and shuffling against his front. His mind started to wander, and he hadn’t even looked at you yet.

“But Jasooon,” you whined, “You’re nice and soft.”

He glared at you.

And regretted it.

You were wearing an almost see-through white loose t-shirt that exposed your shoulders. The thin fabric clung onto the curves of your breasts which were- thankfully- covered by a pink bra. You had a pair of satin booty shorts on which hardly covered your ass, which was sitting on top of his crotch.

“Actually, no let me take that back,” you pretended to wonder, “You’re pretty hard.”

And you gave him a wicked grin.

His eyes widen in panic and he stood up suddenly, causing you to fall flat on the floor.

“Fuck!” you cursed, “What's the big deal, jizzcock?”

He left the room and rushed to the toilet. He looked down, and found his penis was normal, flaccid, non-erect, unfilled.

That bitch fucking tricked me, he thought.

And he fell for it.

He went to look for Bruce who was in the cave, in front of the computers.

He took a wheeled chair and sat behind him.

“Bruce,” he started, “I need to talk to you.”

“What is it?” Bruce asked without sparing a glance at him.

That ticked him off a bit.

“It’s about your daughter.”

Jason saw Bruce pause, and then turned around to finally face him. “What about her?”

“She’s been flirting with me,” he grumbled.

Bruce raised an amused eyebrow.

“She’s sixteen, and she’s flirting with a twenty-five year old man!” he complained, “If she’s doing this to me, God knows who else she’s been doing this to!”

“And?” Bruce questioned.

“And? And?” Jason repeated, “And aren’t you worried?”

“She can take care of herself,” Bruce stated, “She’s mature. She won’t let herself be taken advantage of.

“Look, Bruce,” Jason squeezed his temples, “It’s great that you trust her and all that, but don’t you think it’s kind of fucked up? Christ, she’s sixteen!”

“And she’s well aware of that,” he said, “What would you have me do? Do you want me to talk to her?”

“Forget it,” he gave in, and left for his safehouse without saying goodbye to you.

Because that night he laid on his bed in the dark, guiltily thinking about your ass on his dick earlier. But thankfully unlike earlier, he had allowed his cock to fill up.

He knew he shouldn’t, but he thought of that time when you and him went jogging around the manor. You wore just a sports bra that showed off your cleavage, and sports shorts that rode up your ass. He couldn’t resist looking at the way your tits bounce with every step, and when you ran in front of him, his eyes darted down to check out your ass before he realised what he was doing and excused himself.

Excuse himself because he needed to stop looking, to stop thinking.

But now, he let his thoughts free.

He thought about how that one drop of sweat trickled down between the valleys of your breasts, how your muscular back glistened in the sun, how flushed your cheeks were.

He glanced down at his cock, which was already hard and leaking precum onto his stomach, twitching in need of attention.

“Don’t touch it, don’t touch it,” he muttered.

He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering, but he could try to resist from touching himself.

He owed you that at the very least.

He gulped loudly.

It really wasn’t fair. You didn’t look sixteen, or act sixteen. You were far mature even at a younger age.

But you were still sixteen.

And it wasn’t fair how you could tease him and get away with it.

“Fuck,” he groaned in frustration.

The way you swore sort of turned him on as well, oddly. He loved your use of language, and how dirty your mouth was.

How even dirtier your mouth would be if he shoved his cock in-

“No,” he whined, and he touched his cock.

He stroked it once, twice, three times, and then he came hard, long ribbons splashing onto his chest.

“I am a jizzcock,” he whispered to himself in shame, and then cleaned himself up.

***

Three months later, Jason had just come back from a mission in Mexico. Throughout his trip, he’d been bombarded with texts from you.

The topics spanned from the usual banter about training, Dick, and how you’ve been annoying Alfred with “ok, boomer” memes, to you sending him mirror selfies of yourself in fitting rooms trying out clothes that made Jason almost drool and you attempting to flirt with him.

Jason responded normally to the former, but sent short uninterested texts to the latter.

But when he came back to his safe house, he found his spare handgun on his bed- which was not where he last put it. On it, was a sticky note with a written message:

Try not to lick. R.

“What the fuck?” he muttered. R must have stood for Robin, and then suddenly Jason gulped, wondering what the fuck you had done to his gun.

He opened his phone to check his conversation with you, only to find that you had sent him a ten-minute length video.

His thumbs were shaking when he clicked play.

The video started with a closeup of your face in an awkward position, setting what Jason presumed to be your phone, on a surface with an angle you had in mind. Jason looked behind him and saw that his chair had been placed right in front of his bed, where you must have put the phone on.

“Fuck,” Jason realised. He did not like where this was going.

Or did he?

In the video, you then strolled to his bed, fingers touching his sheets. You were wearing nothing but a white flowy sundress that Jason thought made your skin look absolutely radiant. But instead of sitting on his bed, you had gone out of the frame, and then came back with the gun.

He swallowed hard.

You sat on the edge of the bed with a naughty glint in your eye. And then, you started to caress yourself sensually, squeezing your breasts as you made your way down to between your legs.

Jason realised he had started sweating and panting, getting aroused as his cock slowly started to fill out.

You spread your legs and dipped your hand beneath your dress, but Jason still couldn’t see anything because you had taken the fabric and hid what was going on under. He saw your mouth fall open and you let out a long, loud moan.

“Jason.”

Jason’s breath stuttered. His cock was aching in his jeans, begging to be touched.

Your hands were working underneath the fabric, teasing Jason with only an idea of what you were doing.

“I’m so wet, Jay,” you purred at the camera.

And then, your other hand went to take the gun.

You brought it up to your lips and flattened your tongue against the gun and licked all the way to the muzzle. Even in the low quality, he could see your saliva wetting his gun. Then, you gave him a wink and brought the gun to where your other hand was, between your legs.

Jason stopped the video then and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing hard through his nose at an attempt to calm himself down. Once he did have a semblance of control, which took almost five minutes of just trying to steady his breathing, he opened his eyes and dialled your number.

“Hey, Jay,” you picked up.

“What the fuck?!” he roared, “How the fuck did you get into my safehouse? Hell, how did you even know where it was?!”

“Oh, Jason, please,” he could hear you roll yours eyes, “You’re overreacting.”

“Over-?” he growled, “Overreacting?! You came into my house and then started to- started to-”

“Fuck myself with your gun?” you giggled.

His dick twitched.

“You need to stop this, kid,” he tried to bring his rage in, “Stop it, before you regret it.”

“Or what?” you teased, “What would you do to me, Jason? Spank me?”

He couldn’t. Jason just couldn’t with you. So he ended the call and threw his phone across the room.

He sat down at the edge of the bed and buried his face in his palms. His cock was still aching, and he was dying to touch it.

He glanced at the gun next to him.

“Fuck,” he groaned, and then unbuttoned his jeans, letting out a hiss of relief when he could finally take it out.

He started to furiously stroke his cock, just staring at the gun laying there. He wanted to smell it. He wanted to lick it. He wanted to see if he could still taste you on the metal.

“God fucking dammit,” he cursed, and then he came in pulses.

*** “What’s up, fucktrumpet?” you poked.

Jason let out a long and heavy breath from his nose, the sound becoming static as it went through the voice scrambler of his helmet.

It was a week later, and Jason had joined patrol with you, Bruce and Tim.

“Fuck off, kid,” he walked away from you, pretending to be looking out for something from the ledge of the roof.

“Oh, come on,” you whined, coming closer to him anyway. “You enjoyed it.”

“Tim,” Jason turned away to approach the younger man, “How’s things?”

“Don’t ignore me!” you ran after him.

“Leave me out of whatever this is,” Tim sighed. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Pfft, you’re always in the mood for me, Timbers,” Jason nudged his side with his elbow.

“No, she’s always in the mood for you,” he pointed to you, “For some reason.”

“Well, I’m not in the mood for her,” he grit.

“Meanie,” you pouted, “All I’ve ever been is nice to you, Jay. And what do you do? Act like an absolute thundercunt.”

He wanted to laugh at that, but he couldn’t. He had to keep up his appearances.

“Listen here, you brat,” Jason finally turned to you and poked your shoulder hard with his finger, making you wince. “You stay the fuck away from me.”

“Hey, Jay,” Tim suddenly interrupted, “You don’t need to do that, man.”

“This little bitch broke into my house and started defiling my things, Tim,” he growled, “Yes, I need to do that.”

“Defiling your things?” Tim repeated.

You let out a soft giggle.

“Forget it,” Jason threw his hands up in the air. “I’ll patrol alone.”

Jason saw the slight disappointment in your eyes when he left which made him feel a little guilty, but he ignored it.

Whatever, you were basically just asking for it.

***

Another half a year went by, and Jason found himself at the Manor for Dick’s barbecue and pool party. He was already dreading it, because he knew you would be up to no fucking good, especially when you had the excuse to wear a bikini in front of him.

He had contemplated about not going, but Roy was going to be there, and Roy was making him go.

The first person Jason looked out for was you, because he had to be on his guard. He was standing at the glass sliding door of the manor that opened to the pool to survey the crowd. He spotted you in the pool, laughing at who he assumed was Aqualad- Jason didn't bother to learn his name- wearing a dark red bikini top that fixated behind your neck.

“Jaybird! You made it!” Roy’s voice boomed all the way from the other side of the pool and came running to where Jason was standing awkwardly.

He knew many of Dick's friends, but he was never particularly close to any of them besides Roy and Kori. Now that Kori was gone, Roy was all he had left.

“Don't call me that,” he grumbled back.

“Aw, come on,” Roy groaned, “You came to a pool party in a t-shirt and jeans? Seriously?”

“I wasn't planning on swimming,” he shrugged.

Roy was sporting a horrible bright yellow swimming shorts with green palm leaves.

“Well, I was, so I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

“Yeah,” Jason nodded and decided to head to the pool chairs and put on his sunglasses. He even brought a book to bury his nose into to avoid social interaction.

He heard a splash of water and from the corner of his eye, saw you coming towards him.

“Don’t even,” he snapped at you before you could get a word out.

“I wasn't even going to do anything, fucking dipshit,” you shot back.

Jason forced his eyes back to his book to avoid getting caught looking at how the water trickled down your glistening skin that looked oh so soft-

“What do you want then?” he huffed, turning a page.

“Well,” you began, taking a seat on the pool chair where Jason's feet were, “I was going to ask you about Roy.”

Jason glared at you, peeking from the top of his book.

“What about Roy?”

“You guys are close, right?” you hummed.

“I guess so.”

“Like, best friends?”

“What are we, twelve?” he scoffed, “Why are you asking me so many questions?”

“Well, since you're close to Roy,” you started, “I was wondering if you knew his type.”

“His type?”

“Yeah, like what kind of girls does he like?” you grinned.

“Ones who aren't underaged,” Jason growled.

“Jason I'm already seventeen,” you reminded, “Which is the legal age of consent in Gotham.”

“It doesn't matter,” he grumbled, “He's older than me, which makes him way too old for you. Forget it.”

You pouted, and then stood up. He had to redirect his gaze back to his book.

“It’s like you don't even know me, Jaybird,” you snickered, and with a flip of your wet hair which splashed droplets of water onto him, you strutted away.

He was gritting his jaw so hard he could feel his teeth ache.

Fuck, why can't you just stop?

“I need a fucking drink,” he muttered to himself and left for the kitchen where he rummaged through the refrigerator to find a stout.

He popped open the bottle cap on the marble edge of the kitchen island.

“Alfred would kill you if he saw you do that,” a voice laughed.

Jason rolled his eyes at Dick, who was sipping on a can of beer behind him. “I’ve gotten in trouble for worse.”

“God, I forget how similar you guys are,” he leaned against the counter.

“Who?”

“You know who. Her,” he pointed out.

“We’re not the same,” he denied, heading back outside.

“No, she deals with her issues better than you did,” Dick followed him, “As a matter of fact, you're still dealing.”

“Get to the point, Grayson,” he snapped.

“The point is, she’s not a kid, Jason,” Dick told him, “Why don't you give her a chance?”

Jason stopped in his tracks, standing still before exiting through the glass door. It was quieter inside the manor.

“A chance for what?” he grit.

“To prove herself to you,” Dick explained, “I've noticed how you treat her, Jay. Tim as well. It's like you're trying to push her away. Why? You don't think she's good enough?”

“Holy shit,” Jason started laughing humourlessly, “You think this is about me simply not liking her? You guys think I'm just being angsty?”

“Isn't it?” Dick cocked his head to the side.

“She's been fucking flirting with me, Grayson,” Jason said.

“Okay, I get that, but she sort of flirts with everyone,” he shrugged.

“She comes and sit on my lap, whispers stupid shit in my ear, sends me pictures of herself trying on revealing clothes, makes vulgar motions with her hands, fucking tries to seduce me,” he listed down, “Don't tell me she does that with everyone.”

“Okay, maybe not,” the older man frowned.

“Let me tell you, then,” Jason walked closer to Dick, “She broke into my fucking house, sat on my fucking bed, and started recording herself on her phone, and then sent the video to me.”

“Wait, what?” Dick sputtered, “Recording herself doing what?”

“You fucking know what,” he stated.

“Oh, Jesus,” Dick ran a finger through his hair, “Wow, she's ballsy.”

“That's your reaction?” Jason scoffed, “She's ballsy?”

“I mean-”

“She's sexually harassing me, Grayson!” he argued.

“But,” Dick began, “What did you really think about it? I mean, really?”

“What do you mean?” he hissed.

“Did you watch it?” Dick persisted. “The video?”

“What- I- no, I just-” Jason spluttered, caught off guard.

“You can't lie to me, Jason,” Dick gave him a mischievous smile, “You like her, too. That's why you're pushing her away. Because you don't think you're good enough for her.”

Fuck Dick and his fucking superior detective skills.

“She's too young for me,” Jason simply stated.

“Well, apparently not too young for Roy,” Dick smirked.

“What-” Jason turned around and looked outside.

You were in the pool, standing in the corner. You had a hand on Roy’s chest, looking up at him and laughing. He had a hand on your waist, and was whispering something into your ear.

Jason went into a fit of rage when he saw Roy touching you.

“Mother fucker,” Jason swore, and without thinking, went straight to where you were. He stood there at the edge of the pool, arms crossed, and looking down at the two of you who were both unaware of his presence.

“Roy,” Jason growled.

Roy jumped and looked at Jason in panic, and as if you electrocuted him, immediately jumped away from your touch.

“H-hey, Jaybird,” he awkwardly laughed, “I was just- I was- uh- I was telling her about what a great friend you were.”

“Oh, really?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah!” he nodded vigorously, “Jason here is super good with his aim as well. Could even rival mine.”

Jason ignored Roy, and glared at you, who was looking up at him with obviously fake innocent eyes.

“Out,” he commanded.

“What?”

“I said out,” he repeated. “Out of the pool. I need to talk to you.”

“Oh, come on, Jason,” you started to whine, but then stopped when you saw his expression.

You climbed out of the pool, and again, Jason had to avert his eyes. Without sparing a glance at you, he gripped you by the arm and pulled you to go inside.

“Ow! Jason, let go, fucking cocksucker!” you cried.

He snatched a towel from Tim’s grip as he walked, ignoring Tim’s protests and stares from others, and then threw it on top of your head.

“Ugh- Jason!” you complained. He continued to lead you inside the manor, up the stairs, and to his old room.

He slammed the door shut behind him.

“What's the big deal, you shitpouch?! Who do you fucking think you are? Fucking cumwipe, pisswizard, cuntpuddle...”

That wasn't the end of your swearing. You went on for another good minute of words that could make Batman blush, before stopping.

You were fuming. Your face red, your expression twisted into a scowl, water dripping all over the wooden floors, the fluffy towel around your neck that you hadn't used.

God, you were so hot when you were angry.

“You done?” he deadpanned. He sensed that you were going to go into another stream of name calling, so he cut you off.

“I told you to forget Roy,” he grit.

“And since when have I ever done what you told me to do?” you shot at him

You had a point.

“Look, kid-”

“I'm not a fucking kid, Jason!” you yelled at him for the first time, “I haven't been a kid since my dad- since I was twelve!”

Jason suddenly felt pain in his chest.

“I know you've been through shit,” Jason acknowledged, “What happened with your dad and your brother- I’m fucking glad I killed them. And even if I hadn’t back then, I would have broken every single rule and hunt them down and make them suffer before ending their lives after finding out what they did to you. Hell, before you told me that they were dead, I was already ready to turn every single rock to find them.”

Your expression softened at that.

“And I know you had to grow up fast,” he continued, “All of us who lived there did. But you're out of that now. You don't have to fucking try so hard to act older than you are anymore.”

Your eyes shone with anger once more.

“That's the thing you never got, Jason,” you spat, “I'm not trying. I never did. This is who I am.”

You were looking at him with such fierce intensity that Jason almost forgot how to breathe.

Because you were right. He had gone through the same process where he was made to grow up fast, where he couldn’t afford to act like a kid.

He looked at you, trying not to show much emotion on his face.

Somehow in the heat of the argument and you yelling cusses at him, the two of you had gotten closer to each other, and Jason could even see the tears brimming in your eyes that were threatening to spill.

He immediately felt like a piece of shit, like every word you called him. He never wanted to hurt you.

“Whatever,” Jason huffed, looking away to avoid your glare, “Just stay away from Roy.”

“Why, you two dating or something?” you smirked.

He simply glared at you. You obviously had recovered from your anger and was now back to your usual snarky self.

“Or,” you began, “You were jealous.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Jason objected, “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because,” you drawled, walking closer to him, “You like me.”

Jason had backed up each time you walked to him, and before he knew it his back was hitting the door.

Fuck, he hated how much you affected him. You had him backed up against the fucking door, for fuck’s sake.

To get a semblance of power back, he stared at you straight in the eye, unblinking, and leaned closer to you.

“You wish,” he said coldly.

He noticed that your breath stuttered, and a blush creeped up your cheeks.

Then, he leaned back and smirked.

“Oh, no you don't,” you shook your head, “You think you can win this game, Todd?”

“Unlike you, I'm not playing a game.”

“But yes you are, Jay,” you placed your palms flat on his chest, “You’ve been playing hard to get with me.”

“Playing hard to get is only used when the other person actually wants you,” he scoffed.

He didn't know why, but he was sweating. His respiratory rate had gone up, and shit.

Shit.

He could feel his dick getting filled up.

Maybe it was how close you were to him, maybe it was the fact that you were half naked in front of him with all the privacy he could have asked for.

Maybe it was the fact that it was you who had him in a corner instead of the other way round.

“I'm not a fucking idiot, Jay. Batman trained me, too. I've seen how you look at me and I’ve seen how you tried not to.”

Fuck.

“Your pupils dilate, your breathing gets faster, you start to sweat,” you went on, “And then suddenly you excuse yourself. You run away.”

Your hands went up to his shoulders, and your body was now against his, getting his clothes wet. He could smell the chlorine on you when you leaned into his ear and whispered.

“You fucking coward,” you breathed.

Jason's breath hitched and he had to squeeze his eyes shut. He pressed his palms against the door behind him to restrain himself from touching you, grabbing you, squeezing you, slapping you.

Jason knew he was fully hard now, because it was getting painful.

Suddenly, the pressure and heat of your body against his own disappeared. He opened his eyes.

But sucked in a breath when he saw that you were on your knees in front of him, eye level to his crotch, the tent in his pants mere inches away from your lips.

“What the fuck are you- mmpf,” he threw his head back, hitting the door.

You had gripped his shaft hard, sending a pulse of pleasure through his body.

No. Jason had to stop this. He couldn't go through with this. He shouldn't.

“You want me to suck your cock, Jay?” You purred.

Jason swallowed hard, just trying his best to restrain himself.

He remained silent for a beat. And then-

“Do whatever you want,” he managed to choke out.

You showed him a winning grin, and then unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, pulling down his jeans.

You started to mouth his length through the fabric of his boxers, getting it translucent with your spit. He had never been so horny in his entire life.

As much as Jason’s head was screaming at him, telling him to stop you, telling him how inappropriate it was, he didn’t have the strength to voice it out.

He wanted to tell you to stop teasing him, to hurry up and put your mouth around his cock already, but again, it was like he had lost his voice.

He was utterly conflicted, so he opt to just stay silent.

You hooked your fingers in the waistband of his briefs and then pulled it down, revealing his cock to you. He hissed slightly at the relief.

Jason wanted to remember your expression the minute you saw his cock forever, he wanted to burn it in his brain and immortalize it. Your eyes had gone rounder, your mouth popped open with a gasp, and your excitement grew.

“It’s everything that I’ve dreamed about and more,” you fluttered your eyes dramatically before gripping his shaft and licking one long, steady stripe from the base to his tip.

Jason bit his lip to muffle his groan.

You licked him again, and again, and then started to swirl your tongue around the head of his cock, tracing your tongue around the sulcus underneath his head.

Fuck, you were so fucking good at teasing him, and making him squirm.

He looked down at you, and you were looking up through your long lashes, eyes almost innocent. And then, you took him in his mouth, going all the way down.

“Fuck,” Jason gasped.

You immediately built a rhythm, the most perfect rhythm that he liked. It was suspicious how you knew his preference, and at the back of his head he made a mental reminder to check his room for hidden cameras.

You provided him with the right amount of tongue, the right amount of suction, the right amount of teeth gently grazing him from time to time that he swore could have drove him insane.

Your mouth was soft, and warm, and wet, and before he knew it, he was ready to fucking explode.

As if you were familiar with his expressions, you picked up the pace and started sucking even harder each time you bobbed your head. Jason felt his balls tighten, the heat spreading to his toes and making them tingle.

“Fuck- I’m gonna- I’m gonna-” he rasped.

And then he released with sudden explosion into your mouth, going through a sensory overdrive because as he was releasing, he could still feel you sucking him dry and swallowing.

When he was done, you released his cock with a pop and a grin.

Jason had to catch his breath for a while, because it was the best head he had ever received in his entire life, and he had managed to keep his hands off you the entire time.

“You made me jealous on purpose,” he panted.

“Duh,” you stood up after politely zipping him back up, putting your hands on your waist so fucking proudly, like a power stance.

“Where the hell did you learn how to suck cock that good?” he interrogated.

“You’ve lived in Titans Tower before,” you winked, “You should know.”

He didn’t like that. He didn’t like that statement and implication one bit.

“This can’t,” he started, “We can’t-”

“This can’t happen again?” you finished for him, rolling your eyes. “Typical. Just get over yourself already, Jason. It gets tiring.”

“I’m no good for you,” he avoided your eyes.

“You say that right after coming into my mouth,” you scoffed, “Sure.”

He clenched his jaw. You were right. He was trash for doing that to you, defiling you like that.

Jason must have let his emotions leak, because you suddenly added, “What I meant was, we’ve already crossed that line. We don’t have to go back to how it was before. I like you, Jason. And I know you like me, too.”

“That doesn’t matter,” he muttered, “This was a mistake. We can’t do this again. I’m sorry. Just stay away from me.”

He left.

***

He had avoided you for a long time after that.

Months went by, and he ignored your texts and your calls. Even the knockings outside his door. He had made sure to upgrade his security, with both Tim and Roy’s help so you couldn’t break in again.

When he went on patrols with everyone else, he made sure you couldn’t catch him alone, so he arrived at the very latest, and left at the very soonest, never exchanging more than a few words with you.

And every time, it killed him. He saw the hurt flash in your eyes every time he left quickly, he noticed that you had texted him less and less as the months went on, and eventually came to a complete stop.

You had even stopped calling him those weird, creative swear names that he loved so much.

Jason finally won. He had managed to get you to give up on him.

But hell did it make him feel like absolute shit.

Eight months had passed by, and he was getting ready for the event he had absolutely been dreading. It was your 18th birthday party that Bruce had used as an excuse to host a charity gala at the manor.

Jason thought it was a dick move for him to take advantage of your birthday for the sake of his own gain, but apparently you had been more than supportive over it, understanding Bruce’s position as one of Gotham’s elite.

He didn’t want to go. He couldn’t bear to face you again where you could pull him somewhere private to talk to him. But Dick and Tim had convinced him.

It was your birthday after all.

When he arrived, everyone was staring at him.

Well, he was wearing just a leather jacket over a black shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans after all.

“You couldn’t have dressed for the occasion, Jason?” he heard Tim approach him from behind.

Tim was sporting a suit, just like everyone else.

“Couldn’t be bothered,” he shrugged, “What’s the agenda?”

“Mingling, dinner, speeches, more mingling,” Tim listed down, “Typical charity ball. The others are at the tents. We should get going.”

“I’m the dead son, remember?” he pointed out, “I don’t need to sit with you guys.”

“We’ll introduce you as Dick’s boyfriend or something, come on,” Tim gestured.

“Oh, the media would love that,” Jason muttered under his breath and went along.

The banquet area was set outside in the backyard of the Manor, where tents with clear plastic canopies were propped up, decorated with fairy lights. Since it was spring, the weather was cool enough for suits and warm enough for strapless dresses.

The main tent had a stage where a band was playing classical music- typical tunes you would hear at any other fucking gala.

Each table seated ten, and Tim had brought Jason to a table closest to the stage where he saw Dick, Bruce, and you were already seated with four others. He recognized the Mayor, the Commissioner, Lucius Fox, and a middle aged woman with greying hair he didn’t recognize with who Jason presumed was her husband.

Jason avoided looking at you, but he knew that you were staring right at him. Tim took a seat, and Jason cursed softly when he realised that the only other seat available was in between you and Dick.

Looking straight ahead, he calmly sat down. From the corner of his eye and from a portion of what he could make out, he saw that you were wearing a midnight blue dress, and a silver bracelet around your wrist which you rested on the table.

Bruce had started to converse with the guests, and Dick and Tim were having a banter amongst themselves.

“Hey,” he heard your voice.

“Happy birthday,” he mumbled.

“Thanks,” you replied.

And that was that. The two of you remained silent, with Jason occasionally checking his phone and still avoiding looking at you.

“It’s time for our speech,” Jason heard Bruce whisper to you.

He heard you get up and shuffled to the stage. He was hardly paying attention during Bruce’s welcome speech.

“...and then, the woman of the hour, my lovely daughter,” Bruce introduced you. The audience broke out in applause. Jason still hadn’t turned your way.

“Hello, everyone,” he heard your uncharacteristically nervous and shy voice over the sound system. He took a sip of wine. “T-thank coming for you all- uh- I mean-”

The audience laughed, but not in mockery. Jason couldn’t help but look at you now.

He accidentally inhaled his wine, and ended up trying to cover his coughing fits.

Up on stage, where the spotlight was on you, he had noticed your midnight blue dress had small sparkling stars on them, making you seem like you were wearing the clear night sky. Your hair was done in a simple graceful updo, which exposed your neck that he noticed was flushed, a blush creeping up to your cheeks at your own embarrassment.

Your eyes were wide in panic, and you kept on playing with your thumbs subconsciously.

His breath stuttered, because he thought you were the most beautiful creature he had ever laid his eyes on.

You were usually so snarky, so full of confidence, and wit with a mouth that could make a sailor blush- but there you were spluttering all over the microphone, a blushing mess. And hell, did that make Jason’s chest tighten in yearning for you.

“I’m sorry, I’m not used to crowds like my father is,” you tried to laugh it off, “Here, let’s try again.”

Despite your fumbles, you had a certain charm on stage that made everyone just like you.

“Thank you all for coming to my eighteenth birthday party,” you started, “I must admit, at first I wanted my party to be small and intimate. But I realised that this celebration could be used for something good instead.”

Another round of claps.

“I come from a very… humbling area in Gotham. I’m sure we’re all familiar with Crime Alley,” you stated, confidence growing as you got used to being on stage, “It was hard, living as a child in the streets. But I got lucky. Bruce Wayne found me.”

“Being the daughter of Bruce Wayne has taught me a lot about understanding and acknowledging my own privilege and using it to help others. Growing up there, myself and many other children were faced with the harsh reality of poverty and abandonment. Therefore, I would like to announce that I have started a foundation called Wayne’s Foundation for Children of Hope, where all proceeds will go to the development of Crime Alley.”

You paused and smiled at the flashing cameras of the media and waited for the applause to die down.

“Our first initiative is to build a home for lost children aged eighteen and under, to provide shelter, basic healthcare, food, and education. The primary goal of these shelters is to help kids find a place where they belong, and to help set them back on the right track. These kids also have the option to maintain anonymity for cases that involve abusive environments.”

Jason was looking at you in awe. You were standing proudly at the podium, graceful in your posture, a fierce intensity in your eyes- all previous nervousness completely gone.

Next to him, Dick leaned in and whispered, “It was all her idea, you know. Every single plan for this foundation, even the future plans she hadn’t mentioned. All hers.”

Jason remained silent and watched as you continued your speech.

“But the truth is,” you smiled sadly, “It’s still not enough. The situation in a lot of areas in Gotham is painfully swept under the rug. But hopefully with this, people like us can make things a little better for them. If you’d like to donate to the foundation, it would mean a lot to me, and to the other kids who had to grow up too fast.”

You made eye contact with Jason at that last statement, causing his heart to suddenly drum faster.

The crowd broke in a loud applause and you thanked them graciously, waving as you stepped down from the podium to take your seat.

This time, Jason didn’t take his eyes off you.

“That was great!” Tim gave you a thumbs up, “You did great!”

“Well done,” Dick grinned.

Jason took your hand and gave it a little squeeze, just smiling at you in silence. You looked at him with obvious shock, and then grinned back.

“Beautiful, Ms. Wayne,” the Mayor sitting across from you beamed, “You’ve taken after your father’s charms.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mayor,” you nodded, “But I’d like to think that my charms are my own.”

Jason had to bite back a laugh when he saw the man turn red.

He was somehow more relaxed now, even sparing occasional glances at you as you conversed with others. The dance floor was now open, and the guests had left their seats to mingle with others. The MC also announced that the bar was open.

“That’s my cue,” Jason winked at you, and then went straight to the bar to get himself something strong. From there, he just leaned back and watched how the disgustingly rich people made themselves feel better about themselves by donating the occasional couple of million dollars. Soon enough, he got sick of the pearls and diamond earrings, the solid gold watches.

He checked his own battered and scratched Swiss Army watch he had lifted from a drug lord many years ago. He should be going back soon. It wasn’t like he was needed there anyway. He had already wished you and made peace.

“What do you think?” he heard your voice approach him.

He turned and saw you come up next to him.

“Too fancy for my taste,” he started, “Looks like it took you a whole hour just to get into the damn thing. And those shoes? Looks like the crowbar was less painful than walking around in that.”

It took you a couple of seconds before realising that he was talking about your outfit.

“I meant the foundation, you fucknugget,” you hissed.

“Be careful there, sweetheart,” he raised an eyebrow, “Don’t want these people hearing you speak like that. You’ll lose your charm.”

“I don’t know how Bruce does it,” you shook your head, “It’s so exhausting.”

Jason hummed back at you as a comfortable silence fell. The two of you leaning back against the bar and just watching the crowd.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he finally said.

“Thanks,” you pursed your lips, “I kept on thinking of you, you know? When we were coming up with the plans. Was wondering what you would think of it.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m the only one from there.”

“Well, you’re the only one who would understand,” you explained, “The others, of course they empathized. But they wouldn’t understand. Not like how you and I do.”

And Jason realised that it was that factor that probably drew you close to him when you first came to them, the fact that Jason understood at more than just a superficial level how shit your life was before coming to the manor. It was a painful past that only the two of you shared, and only the two of you could talk about.

Silence fell again.

“I’m sorry,” you suddenly brought up.

“For what?” he frowned.

“For making you uncomfortable for so long,” you whispered, “I don’t know why I did it. I guess I liked your reactions. And I guess I just wanted your attention. And during that pool party- I- I thought-”

Jason waited for you to finish your sentence.

“Nevermind,” you looked away, “Forget it. I just wanted to say sorry. I crossed the line. After you stopped talking to me, I just. I don’t want that. So I’ll stop, okay? You don’t have to avoid me anymore.”

He turned around to face you.

“I stopped talking to you not because I was mad at you,” he told you, “I stopped talking to you because I was mad at myself.”

You faced him with curious eyes.

“I thought- well- fuck,” it was Jason’s turn to splutter. He took a deep breath and started again. “I thought that it was a real shit move for me to do what I did to you.”

“Wait, what?” you questioned, “What you did to me?”

“Yeah,” he grumbled, “You know. That.”

“Jason, I was the one who practically jumped you,” you scoffed, “I basically forced it on you. Why are you blaming yourself?”

“Force me? Pfftsh, you couldn’t force me to do anything.”

“Jason.”

“I liked it, okay?” he threw his arms up, “I didn’t stop you because I liked it, and I shouldn’t have liked it. I was taking advantage of you. It was wrong of me to do so.”

“God, you’re so fucking stupid,” you laughed, “I’ve been pining over you since Bruce told me you were… You know who.”

You lowered your voice.

“Want to talk inside?” he offered.

“Good idea,” you agreed.

The two of you made your way past the garden and into the manor.

“Is it okay for the birthday girl to disappear from her own party?” he smirked when he closed the door to Bruce’s study, which was the nearest room that offered privacy.

“Oh, please,” you waved your hand and sat on Bruce’s desk, “The whole party was never about me. I’m just another excuse for those cuntflaps to show off their new diamonds.”

He chuckled. “Anyway, you were saying? Something about Bruce telling me I was Red Hood?”

“Yeah,” you bit your lip in nervousness, “I’ve had a crush on you since then.”

“Really?”

Jason knew that you obviously had a crush on him, especially because of the neverending teasing and seductions, but he didn’t know it stemmed from that long ago.

“Yeah,” you nodded, “I remember thinking to myself, like wow. This is the guy who killed them. And you know what? You looked exactly like how I thought you would.”

“What? How so?”

“Huge,” you started, “Scars everywhere. Grouchy as hell.”

“I’m not as grouchy as Bruce,” he defended himself.

“Still,” you chuckled, “You looked exactly like how I imagined my hero to look.”

“Super hot, sexy, and good looking?” he joked.

He had expected you to roll your eyes and throw an insult at him, but you just tightened your lips and looked away.

“Look, k- sweetheart,” he stopped himself from calling you a kid. From what he saw on the stage earlier, you were already so much better than he was. “I’m going to be honest, alright? And you better damn well appreciate it, because I’m never honest.”

You giggled softly. He walked to stand in front of you at the desk.

“I think you’re great,” he stated, “And I think you’re beautiful, and sexy. And…”

He hesitated, thinking of whether or not to continue.

Fuck it. He might as well.

“And I like you,” he forced out, “More than you know. Fuck, I like you. I like you so much it fucking hurts sometimes.”

You looked up at him with hopeful, glistening eyes.

“But I’m no good for you,” he repeated what he said all those months ago, “I can never do what you just did. Start a fucking charity on your birthday and announce it to the world as if it was nothing. Fuck, I don’t think I should even be seen walking around next to you when you look like that. I’m a fucking mess, sweetie. You don’t want that.”

He saw as you digest what he had just said. Then, you looked up at him and asked, “What do you think I want?”

“What do I think?” he repeated.

You nodded.

“I think you should be with someone who’s closer to your age, for one,” he rolled his eyes, “And someone who doesn’t have scars all over their face. Someone who isn’t grouchy. Someone charming who can stand next to you on stage wearing a proper suit and tie.”

“You’re right,” you nodded, “I should be with someone like that.”

Jason felt a pang in his chest at your agreement.

“But I don’t want to be with someone like that,” you continued, “I want to be with someone who was ready to hunt down and hurt the people who terrorized me for years. I want to be with someone whose face is littered with scars as proof that they went through just as much shit as I did and survived.”

You hopped from the desk and stood up straight, stretching your hand up to cup Jason’s face. He leaned into the warmth of your caress, his breath hitching at the close contact. His hands automatically went to rest on your waist, still respectfully high.

“I want you, Jason,” you whispered, pulling him down to your lips, “I want someone who can handle my bites.”

To demonstrate, you sucked in his lower lip, eliciting a low moan from him.

And then you bit down hard.

He gasped at the stinging pain, and then sighed when you massaged his lip with yours. Heat suddenly spread throughout his body, particularly at his member which was growing hard fast. He could smell the wine on your breath that you must have snuck a few sips from, the vanilla lotion you always wore, and a new particularly enticing perfume that you must have gotten for the occasion.

“I want someone who can call me a little bitch straight to my face,” Jason felt you grin against his lips.

The two of you were kissing now, harsh and forceful, as if deprived of touch. Fuck, he loved how you were nipping at his lips and his tongue, tugging his hair lightly.

Both of you gasped for air, and just stood there foreheads against each other, his erection pressed against your stomach, your hands around his neck.

“I want someone who is resourceful enough to enhance his home security to make sure I don’t break in and fuck myself with his weapons again,” you chuckled.

“Was it…” he started, “Was it loaded?”

“You bet it was,” you smiled.

“Fuck,” he swore and then crashed his lips against yours again. He lifted you up to sit on the desk, and then stood in between your open thighs. At the slightly elevated level, he could properly grind his erection against your pussy, still covered by your dress.

“You liked that?” you giggled, “I thought you weren’t into that. I got a bit worried.”

“Hell yeah, I liked that,” he rasped, “What kind of sane man wouldn’t?”

He started to nibble on the skin on your neck, sucking and biting and licking

“I’m pretty sure not everyone is into the thought of fucking a loaded gun into a pussy,” you laughed, “Which proves my point. You and me? We’re perfect, Jay- fuck, don’t leave any marks, dumbass.”

“Point taken, baby.”

“Mmm, call me that again,” you moaned.

He stopped nibbling on your neck, brought his eyes to yours, and with a defiant smirk, he said, “No.”

It was like Jason saw the switch in you flick on, because you suddenly pushed him away aggressively. He stumbled, not expecting it.

“Oh, you think you’re in control, Todd?” you purred, twisting your fists in his leather jacket. You were shorter than him, and your frame much smaller. But Jason just loved the authority that radiated from you.

“You think you’re the one who has power over me?” you drawled, pulling him to the side where Bruce had set up a leather sofa and a coffee table.

“When all this while, I’m the one who had you wrapped around my finger?” you snarled, and then pushed him down on the sofa.

Before Jason could even register what was happening, you were already on top of him, straddling him. He looked up at you, the pressure of your weight on his crotch making him pant with want.

“So are you going to call me baby again?” you asked sweetly, tugging at his jacket to remove it.

“Maybe in due time,” he gasped when you bit the flesh that connected his neck and shoulder hard.

Fuck, he was throbbing in his pants.

You took off his shirt and ran your hand down his body. Jason smirked when he saw you bite your lip as you took in his figure.

He still had a bit of fight left in him, and he wasn’t going to beg.

Yet.

“Why must you be so stubborn, Todd?” you breathed, teeth catching at his earlobe and biting. You were rocking your hips against his erection, and he swore that if you didn’t take it out, he was going to rip a hole in his pants with it.

“H-hey, you’ve always been the pushy one,” he stuttered.

“That’s because I like to get what I want,” you pinched his nipples hard.

“Fuck!” he yelped at the sudden pain, and then glared at you as you just grinned cheekily. “I don’t know why I never took you for a sadist before this.”

“Because you’re an idiot, Jay,” you teased, “All I did was torture you.”

“Yes, you did,” he rested his hands on your hips, motioning for you to grind on him harder, “You made me so fucking hard on purpose, and then I had to go back and jerk off to you, which made it worse because I felt so fucking guilty after.”

“That was your own fault,” you frowned. You were finally, finally unbuckling his belt. “You saw me as a kid when I wasn’t.”

“You were still underaged, you brat,” he laughed, “It didn’t matter if you were wise beyond your years- ah, fuck yeah.”

You had finally unzipped him, releasing him from the constraints of his denim.

“Take everything off for me, Jay,” you demanded, sitting up on your knees to give him room to do so.

He listened to you happily, glad to be rid of his clothes. His cock slapped against his lower abdomen, already leaking so much precum.

“Why am I the only one naked?” he voiced out his displeasure.

“Because it took me twenty minutes to get into this dress, and I’m not undressing for anyone before the night is over,” you announced.

“But, baby,” he pouted, rejoicing at how he made your breath hitch, and rested his chin between your breasts, “I want to see your tits.”

You frowned and bit your lip as you looked down at him, considering his plea. He made a mental reminder that you must like dirty talk.

“Then make sure you don’t go home so early tonight,” you managed to choke out.

Jason thought that you also must have liked to be the submissive one, as well.

You leaned into him and kissed him again, this time less rough. He moaned into your mouth, slipping his tongue in as he grabbed your hips and tried to rub his cock against your pussy, underneath your dress. He gasped when he felt that you were already bare, and leaking.

“What happened to your- your panties?” he rasped.

“Long gone,” you winked.

“Fuck, you fucking nymph,” he chuckled, and then groaned when you started to slide the head of his cock between your wet lips.

“Jason, I’ve wanted your cock so bad,” you muttered into his ear as you rubbed your slick all over his length, “You’ve no idea how many times I’ve fucked myself with- with whatever I could find, pretending it was you.”

“Fuck, baby,” he whined, throwing his head back against the couch. Your dirty mouth was doing so many things to him, he was worried that he was going to come right there and then.

“After that time I sucked you off?” you continued, “All I wanted was to choke on it, Jay. I just want your dick in my throat.”

You lifted your hips and sank down onto him. Both of you groaned lowly in pleasure. Fuck, you were so tight, and warm, and wet, and oh so soft.

“Ah! Jason!” you cried out when he bottomed out, “Fuck, I’m going to feel you for fucking days.”

“Shit, baby,” he choked, “Baby, please. Please, move.”

“You want me to move?” you teased.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“How would you like me to move, Jay?” you smiled.

“Any- I don’t care-”

“Nice, and slow like this?” you lifted your hips up, and Jason could feel the torturously slow drag of your walls against his shaft, even as you sanked back down you were slow.

“Hnng- fuck-” Jason mewled, lost for words. “Please.”

It was all he could say.

“Or hard and fast like this?” you slammed your hips down, and started bouncing on his cock at a brutal pace that knocked his breath out.

“Fuck!” he yelled, “Fuck, baby, fuck!”

You weren’t being any softer as well. Through tear-filled hazy eyes, Jason saw your eyes fluttered close in pleasure, your mouth falling open as you cried out wanton moans, and gasped, and groaned for him.

“Jason! Fuck, Jay, fuck!”

He couldn’t take it anymore.

He gripped your hips hard, and then started to fuck himself up into you, matching your pace, making you fucking scream.

He could feel your walls tighten around his cock, the same time you started whining, “Jason, Jason, I’m gonna- I’m gonna-”

“Me too, sweetheart, me too,” he gasped.

“Come inside me, Jason, please!” you sobbed.

“But-”

“Just- just- please, please, please,” you squeezed your eyes shut and threw your head back.

Jason felt your pussy clench tight onto him, triggering his own orgasm. He released inside you while still fucking you hard, trying to prolong both of your highs.

Soon, he was oversensitive, the feeling of your walls almost painful. You calmed down, still panting above him, and he just couldn’t help but stare at you in amazement.

“Holy shit,” you giggled above him, “Holy shit, that was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Uh- I,” he panicked, “I came inside of you, fuck!”

“I’m on the pill, don’t worry,” you smiled, “Fuck, I just. I just wanted to walk around after this with my panties soaked in your cum.”

“How the fuck are you eighteen and already so fucking kinky,” he groaned.

You only laughed and slowly lifted yourself off of him. He hissed at the movement, feeling hypersensitive at every touch.

You went to look for your panties, which Jason noticed were a lacy black, and then put them on under your dress.

He was still sprawled out on the sofa naked, sweaty, and well spent.

“I also didn’t want any of your spunk to get on my dress,” you told him.

“S’pretty dress,” he mumbled back to you.

“You should get dressed, Jay,” you walked towards him, hands on your hips.

“Do I need to get back out there?” he complained, “Can’t I just wait in your room?”

“If you get dressed and attend the party, I’ll let you fuck me with one of your guns,” you promised.

“Really?” his eyes widen, and then he jumped back up to put on his clothes.

“I gotta tell you something, though,” you started.

“What is it?” he hummed, tucking his black shirt into his jeans.

“The safety was on,” you said, “On the gun, I mean. It was loaded, but the safety was on.”

“Oh, baby,” he looked at you seriously, “If you told me the safety was off, I would have shot you myself for being so stupid.”

You giggled.

He gave you his arm. “Shall we?”

“Yes, we shall,” you took it. “By the way.”

“What?”

“Are you going to switch back to a more lax security?”

“And have you breaking in again? You wish, kid.”

[ilkkawhat]

"How long have you had this planned?" "Since the moment I fell in love with you."

(For MacDalton)

[two things: one, this is like the first time I've written them in over three months so I apologize if I'm a bit rusty and two: I just straight up invented a new music venue for the sake of plot. I hope you enjoy Nade!!!]

If there’s one thing Jack’s learned in all of his years of knowing Angus Macgyver, it’s that for certain anniversaries; be it birthdays, deathdays, randomly constituted holidays mostly created on Jack’s behalf such as Bruce Willis’ birthday or the day Die Hard premiered in theaters, it’s that Mac is very...picky when it comes to his sentiments.

He loves a good party, sure, but doesn’t necessarily enjoy birthdays—at least his own, because he still always puts forth effort for others’ to ensure they have a good time.

He believes in Santa Claus, with what he thinks is irrefutable scientific proof, but doesn't believe in the other innocent childish entities such as the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny, agreeing with Jack that the Tooth Fairy is nothing more than a unwanted home invader in the form of a lying parent and the Easter Bunny is just downright made to terrify children with mall photos.

Hell, he at times even downplays the importance of Cairo Day, willing to work instead of lazing around the deck with a six pack and bags of takeout delivered by Jack himself—and while there really was an emergency this time around that left both of them bruised and battered and shaken with the sight of a gutshot Bozer, it ended up being the perfectly bided time for something he’s had planned for, well...for a long while, now.

That, and he’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone, embarking on a road trip to find a long lost father that he already knew Jack would join him on before he even said a single word, and in turn take Jack on a trip he never quite expected to have. One without any hiccups, not even an improvisation. Perfectly planned and tailored to the man he both owes his life to, and wants to devote his life to.

He asks Jack to take a pit stop on their cross-country road trip—immediately dispelling Jack’s insistence of hitting up the casinos in Vegas with teasing argument that he’d lose all of their money for food and gas no matter how many times Jack explains that he knows the “system,” but once their banter fades back into the comfortable silence, he directs Jack past the state of Nevada and into the southerner’s own home state—the Lonestar state.

“Texas? You really think Daddy Mac might be hiding in a hole in Texas?”

Mac shrugs coyly and Jack grins.

“Don’t matter anyhow, been wantin’ to take you back down here anyway. Mama’s missed having a scrawny kid to cook for,” Jack teases with a wink.

“Well good, cause we gotta swing by your casa and pick somethin’ up real quick,” Mac puts on a faithful imitation of the Texan’s accent, and Jack beams.

“Going native, huh, hoss? What do we gotta pick up?”

“Your guitar.”

“My guitar?” Jack’s eyes narrow behind the large yellow lens of his aviators and gives up trying to ask why because Mac keeps his lips sealed.

They just keep driving instead, down a long country road with the appropriate tunes to accompany this feeling; Mac’s hair flowing in the wind, Jack casually driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on Mac’s knee, a wide grin on both of their faces as they watch the sun set and the beautiful unseen stars in the sky rise out to greet them.

And a robot in the backseat, but he’s smart enough to know when to stay quiet and just enjoy the moment.

They make it to Jack’s home, an intended short visit turns into almost an entire day and while Mac is never the one to make excuses to leave, he tries to come up with as many as he can to make it to their destination on time.

Fortunately, he also got Mama Dalton and Jack’s sister in on it too, which does make it just a little easier and Mac promises that they’ll come back on the way home after nearly having to drag Jack out of the beloved ranch home.

He won’t be so grumpy once he sees what I got planned, Mac has to remind himself, because his light layer of deception does hurt him as much as it hurts Jack.

Another reason he wasn’t a fan of the “surprise” element of having a birthday. There’s an almost malicious level of teasing to making sure the birthday boy or girl doesn’t suspect a thing.

But he knows Jack, and knows he has to be suspecting something, evident by his sudden bitterness in their usually laid back banter.

“You’re just getting tired of driving is all,” Mac tries to reason with him.

“Me? I ain’t tired. You’re the one who’s tired, want me to tuck you in the back?” Jack sneers.

“How am I supposed to give you directions then?”

“I got Spanky back there—”

“Sparky.”

“Whatever. And where is it that we’re going anyway, Mac?”

“Up there,” Mac smiles when he sees the building in the distance, the GPS on his phone indicating they’re only mere minutes away.

“Wuh—No. No!” Jack gapes and Mac burst out in glee. “What are we doing at the Armadillo II?”

The Armadillo II, being a freshly renovated bar and music hall was built as an homage to the Amradillo World Headquarters, which Jack often talked about having gone to as a young kid, wishing it had lasted longer before being turned into an office building—something he often compared to the transition of childhood to adulthood itself.

“Beer and music, what else would you do?”

“Yeah, but I mean, how does this relate to…”

“It doesn’t. It’s just for you. For us,” Mac grips Jack’s hand and gently kisses him on the cheek. “Making up for Cairo Day.”

“Aw, gee, Mac,” Jack’s eyes are glistening, his teeth shining under the bright moonlight in the brightest smile. “You shouldn’t have!”

They’re greeted by a bouncer who holds up a hand to Jack’s chest as he was ready to strut his way in.

“Tickets,” the bouncer grunts.

“Ah, damn, don’t have ‘em on me, but I know the owner—” Jack starts to ramble, ready to sneak their way in but surprisingly, Mac has two ticket stubs.

“Where’d you get those?”

“From my pocket,” Mac says simply and pushes Jack into the building.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the concert will begin in fifteen minutes, please fill you drinks and take your seats!”

“Concert, what concert?” Jack shouts as he takes in the room, taking the chair closest to the door at the table that Mac directs them to.

“See that banner?” Mac nods up to the stage.

Willie Nelson.

Jack knew of course, that Willie Nelson would occasionally come out for a concert or two, usually to fundraise for his acts of activism—and even if he couldn’t attend he’d always try to send some money for the cause, but never, and he really means never in his right mind did he ever think this would happen.

“I love you, Mac,” Jack breathes, and the concert begins.

A few songs in, Willie slows down to a gentle strum on his guitar, and the lights dim to match an intimate, romantic atmosphere.

“Now, this next song is called ‘A Song for You,’ although, it is my honor to make a slight alteration to the title for one of our country’s greatest unsung heroes. A guy with a name that sounds like it’d be on the menu at Carl’s Junior came up to me on the street the other day—”

The crowd laughs at the name joke, and so does Mac but Jack’s jaw is hung open, no sound coming out which makes Mac laugh even harder because he knows it’s all coming together.

“He told me his story, their story and well, now it’s my turn to tell y’all that story too. This here is a song for you, Jack Dalton.”

“No. Fucking. Way!” Jack breathlessly gasps, his fingers shaking, his eyes watery and red. Mac puts his hand on Jack’s knee, and Jack sandwiches it with his own. It’s not until the song is over that he’s able to speak again, wiping the tears from his eyes as the crowd applauds.

“When the hell didja manage to talk to Willie Nelson?”

“On my way back from Siberia. Made a pit stop.”

“And now, it’s my greatest pleasure to welcome onto the stage, the man himself—”

“Mac…” Jack starts slapping, clawing at Mac is if to bring him back to life because this sure as hell feels like he’s died and gone to heaven—though he knows, and Mac knows, that will never happen.

Jack Dalton will never die.

And even if he did, he’d never go into that light without Mac by his side, and because of that, because they’re alive, they both feel unstoppable, almost youthfully immortal in that sense—if they were going to die, they would have kicked the bucket by now, surely.

“Come on up here, Jack!” Willie calls and Jack just cannot believe it, especially not when that same bouncer comes up behind him holding his own guitar that he had stashed away in the back of his GTO.

“How long have you been planning this?” Jack asks wildly as he rises from his seat.

“Since the moment I fell in love with you,” Mac replies, and rises with him, sending him to the stage after a good luck kiss. “Which was basically when you played Willie Nelson every day in the Sandbox.”

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Tony Stark’s Daughter (The Intense Years)

Tony Stark x daughter!reader

warnings:

a/n: y/n is 16-17, also ive really never written anything about team iron man so this was weird, someone needs to tell me i dont need every single movie detail in here

prompt: takes place from cacw and smhc

The Early Years (1) The Teenage Years (2) The Aftermath (4) Continued (5)

after the events in sokovia, you set up the relief fund for displaced sokovians and dealt with physical clean up while the avengers...

well, they had to deal with the press—and the governments of the world

getting to know your new suit AI, JOSHUA

briefly looking for bruce; no luck there

you ended up doing the MIT september foundation presentation with tony

and ending the presentation after pepper’s name popped up on the screen

“it’s probably best we get out of here”

you were his entire support system while he was going through his break with pepper

meeting charles spencer’s mother, who really gave your dad a piece of her mind

“my son died, but your daughter gets to live on. if you lost her, maybe you’d show some sympathy for murdering my child”

*awkward silence from you*

*awkward silence from tony otw to the compound*

HATING the sound of the sokovia accords, yet understanding why they’re being ratified

being torn between signing them or not and having a huge argument with the other avengers

“y/n, why dont you listen to your dad for once and sign the damn thing”

“uncle rhodey, you know why i dont want to sign. if they have us, they have access to our suits. you really think the UN should be telling us how to use them?”

“your defense doesn’t even make sense. i had the war machine or iron patriot or whatever the hell you want to call it, but the military was calling the shots”

“and look where you are now”

“right, well i wouldn’t expect a kid to understand”

“are you kidding me, rhodes? you’re gonna play the ‘im older than you’ card?”

comforting wanda while she feared being taken

and as soon as you heard about what happened in lagos

“think about it, maximoff. if you didnt do what you did, do you know how many more casualties there may have been?”

“but i killed innocents”

“no, rumlow killed innocents. you contained that blast better than anyone else could have and you prevented a whole bunch of deaths, give yourself some credit”

okay, so you weren’t the best at talking someone down while they were upset

staying in berlin with your father while the whole bucky thing began to get sorted out

but he sent you out to stay with nat while he had some “private time” with steve

tony keeping you close to him during the power outage at the base

until it turned out you brought your suit and tony did not!

everyone was looking at you to take down bucky, but it just seemed like a bad idea, you didn’t want to hurt him because you didn’t want to hurt steve

stalling to try and buy steve time to subdue his friend

“y/n, come on, for christ sake!”

“got it, dad! i know what im doing!”

“i dont think you do!”

feeling your stomach drop when bucky shot into your dad’s hand, if it wasn’t for his latest invention, he may have gotten seriously hurt

you had a slight change of heart after that, you couldn’t bare to lose your dad. not after all those close calls...

getting yelled at by secretary ross and the wonderful 36 hour ultimatum you, nat, and tony received

“i have a plan”

“don’t say the spider boy”

“fine, i wont say it”

a nice trip to queens :)

when this parker kid finally got home, tony left you to socialize with his aunt

small talk is sometimes unbearable

“so, what’s it like being tony stark’s daughter?”

“honestly? im always tired”

peter becoming a tagalong on your mission, which you didn’t really think was appropriate

“dad, i dont really think we should’ve brought the kid...”

“why? you’re about the same age as him, its not much different”

“um...no, i meant this isnt his battle. i don’t care how old he is”

face off between tony and cap where you literally just swallowed all your pride and apologized because you couldn’t handle the fact that the team was being ripped apart like this

team ups with Spider-Man

“so, uh, do you hate me or something?”

“hey, kid? we’re kind of in the middle of something, i’ll get back to you on that”

“it’s a yes or no question, y/n”

“pass”

so, things didn’t exactly go as planned...

your (former) teammates were taken to the RAFT and you couldn’t pull it together in front of them

they were pretty pissed at you

“im sorry, im so sorry, i should’ve done better”

they ignored you (up until scott lang)

“all you stark’s are the same”

“stay out of this, bugboy”

taking to the remote hydra base in another famous father/daughter teamup

“just like the old days, right kiddo?”

“i guess so”

“hey, cheer up, it’s not all that bad”

waltzing right in there to meet your friend and foe

seeing the video of your grandparents dying

*being killed

absolutely stunned by seeing such a gruesome thing

even after all you’ve seen, this really got to you

you were robbed of ever meeting them, which made you angry, but you couldn’t stay angry because there were so many things out of everyones control

realizing that this was a good time to hold tony back

“JOSHUA, lock down y/n’s suit. protocol: baby gate”

apparently your dad still had some old protocols in your suit that you hadn’t found yet

“JOSHUA? reboot! override protocol: baby gate”

“i’m sorry, miss y/n, but i cannot do that”

watching your father attempt to get revenge

and get critically injured

simultaneously working on opening the suit back up for a bad plan

finally getting the emergency release and stumbling out of your suit, rushing towards the conflict and throwing yourself in the middle of it

“please, dad. enough damage has been done.”

“y/n, get out of the way”

he saw you shaking and crying and he realized what he was doing

attacking the only family you guys really had

getting shoved out of the way so that they could end this fight once and for all

JOSHUA finally rebooting and bringing the suit over to shield you while you helplessly watched the end of this fight

when bucky and steve left, your suit disarmed and you crouched down beside your father

“come on, let’s just go home”

“im sorry”

“i know, it’s okay”

trying to comfort your dad after his defeat

you picked up cap’s shield and returned to your suit, it was time to go home

after a brief time of recovery (while you helped work on uncle rhodey’s prototype prosthetics), there was a slight change of plans for you

“okay, so for your punishment after what you pulled during my...divorce with cap, you’re going to babysit the spiderling so you gain some perspective”

“hold on, what?! what do you mean ‘perspective?’”

“i mean you dont know what it’s like to be in charge of the life of a teenager, so now you get to find out! congratulations on your promotion!”

it was not fun at all because peter kept blowing up your phone and you kept having to tell him there was nothing for him to do

Y/N: I’ll let you know when there’s a spider-level threat, kapeesh?

P. Parker: Yes, ma’am, sorry.

peter going behind your back to do some “superhero work”

and you having to swoop in to fix everything last second

“come on, you stole my thunder, y/n!”

“no, peter, i saved your life. next time you have a lead, call me first”

and then he didn’t 😌✨💕

“Y/N, incoming call from ‘big fat meanie’”

“put him through, JOSHIE...hey dad, how’s dubai?”

“taking care of a kid is harder than it looks, isn’t it?”

“don’t start with me”

damage control ahahah 🤡

“peter, why cant you just call me in? you don’t stop texting me for months but for this you go radio silent? you almost died. and you put a bunch of lives in danger! do you want me to have to go to your aunt and tell her you died?”

“im sorry! i just...i dont want to be a sidekick”

“kid, you’re gonna have a long time to make a name for yourself...but not if you’re dead!”

he started crying and you were very uncomfortable so you tried to hug him? it helped.

letting him off easy (just like your dad did to you growing up)

but apparently tony came back and took the suit anyways and you were pretty pissed about it

avengers moving day :) yes, part of your punishment was helping happy with moving day and hearing him gush about how you were “growing into such a responsible adult”

“happy i dont know if you noticed but ive basically been an adult since i was 12”

“keep telling yourself that, kiddo”

seeing an explosion and immediately knowing it was peter

“i’ll see you later, happy, love you!”

investigating the crash site and whaddaya know, there’s peter and his first bad guy, you were kind of proud

“peter, you okay?”

“nope!”

“okay, cool”

more damage control lmao (a/n: yall sick of damage control yet?)

a congratulatory call from your dad

“hey! you did pretty good, all things considered. why don’t you take the kid to the avengers compound for his special surprise?”

“aye aye, see you soon.”

“love you, kiddo”

“you too, dad”

quick fast forward to peter rejecting the position as an avenger while the press was outside, yes, you were surprised

but then your dad finally proposed to pepper, it was a pretty cool engagement announcement

“y/n, will you be my maid of honor?”

“duh!”

happily ever after (a/n: until the next part is up)

[stxleslyds]

MY TOUGHTS ON PART FOUR OF RED HOOD BY CHIP ZDARSKY :)

THIS ONE IS A MESS.

But first a little rant about my feelings about Red Hood in general at the moment.

I am not going to lie, it took me a long time to read this comic, I am kind of tired of reading this book, I feel like I lower my expectations each issue that passes by and I still get disappointed at the result.

Maybe I just love a Jason Todd that is no more and I have to accept the one we have now, but here is the thing, if this is what we get then I just don’t like it, and on rough days I hate it. These are very negative thoughts about one of the two DC characters that I love and I don’t enjoy having them, I don’t want DC to keep giving us this version of Jason or these versions of Jason, each time they change little things that just change the character from the one that he once was even more.

I feel a bit defeated about it and I don’t know, on one side I want to fight and scream so they can finally give Jason the characterization he deserves and for them to give up the bland formula they have going on with him and on the other side I just want them to stop, stop writing Jason Todd/Red Hood and that is so sad, imagine loving a character and wanting the publisher to stop making content with them because what they give is just terrible. I don’t know, this is a rant that I felt like writing before I read the issue (I did skimm it briefly), so don’t take this as part of the review, its just me explaining my feelings right now.

Anyway, I will start the review now, sorry for the rant.

Wonderful, this book is on crack (or should I say Cheerdrops?), the thing with this particular issue is that I had a great laugh, it’s funny but in a good way, it's stupid and it kind of doesn’t make sense, the only way to describe Zdarsky’s writing here is with a phrase that we say here in my country “se pisa el palito”, which means that he lies about something and after some time he reveals the truth himself by mistake or because he got confused, in this case Zdarsky makes Jason say something like “this time I have come prepared” but he is actually not prepared at all and like two pages later (within the same scene) he has Jason call himself an amateur, it's very weird and to me it translates to Zdarsky not liking Jason or just not caring about him at all.

And that sucks and it really bothers me. As I have said before this anthologies book might be called Batman: Urban Legends but the particular story I am reading is a RED HOOD one, I am not here for Batman content, I am here for Jason Todd content.

The fact that we are not getting a Jason-specific story in a Red Hood book is killing me, it would suck if we get, let’s say, a Nightwing book and its all about his relationship with Barbara…That is not a Nightwing book, that’s a Nightwing and (fake) Oracle book.

Anyway, this issue in general is like a connector, the things that happen are all happening because they will be developed in the next issues but what is said here is absolutely absurd so I will be talking about that.

This issue starts with a flashback and Jason from the present (who is currently a popsicle because he fell in Freeze’s trap) having a monologue. The flashback is set when Jason finds out that his birth mother is alive and is being used by the Joker so he (in civilian clothes) and Batman at doing some reckon. What I want to dive into is the monologue because it's interesting but also very dumb so here we go.

“What was I supposed to do? I thought I was an orphan; I carried that sadness and anger everywhere I went and then I found the woman who gave birth to me halfway across the world. I found her…and the Joker. He was blackmailing my mother, forcing her to help him steal medical supplies, which he replaced with a deadly gas, that was being hauled to a village.”

“Batman knew what he had to do. Save people, forever saving people. Batman has always been a master of control, every situation, everyone around him. He’s always known just how to handle everything. Until I came along.”

“How could he be surprised? How could the great Batman not know? I wouldn’t listen to him and he couldn’t hear me. And the fucking cycle continues.”

The first part of the monologue is pretty simple it's basically setting the scene in time and space for the reader and it also gives us a little insight on how Jason was feeling at the time which was quite nice. It sets up the fact that Jason wanted to help his birth mother out of a horrible situation, he wanted to save her from the Joker. (Hear that DC, haters and fanon, Jason was a good Robin and a loving and caring son!!!!!)

In the second paragraph of the monologue I would have assumed that Dick never existed in this universe because the idea of Batman being able to control Robin!Dick or Gotham back in the day by himself is incredibly funny to me but because Dick exists and has been mentioned in this story already I will just take it as Zdarsky wanting to really push the “Jason could never reach the level of good Robin because he was reckless and nothing like Dick” and the “Dick was always completely obedient and Batman’s perfect little soldier” narratives. It sucks man, this is like bad fanon made real and I don’t like it!

During this part we also have a little dialogue between Batman and Jason where the narrative of Jason being so incredibly reckless is explicitly shown once more.

Let me repeat myself, Jason didn’t take on the Joker because he wanted to prove himself to the Bat or to prove that he was as good a Robin as Dick was, Jason did what he did because he wanted to save the last person that he had that he felt was family, he wanted to save the woman who birthed him and that he was hoping he could call a mother. He worried and cared for this woman and then he was betrayed and it ended up ending with him dying at the hands of a mad man that to this day is still alive.

Jason wasn’t reckless for the sake of being reckless, he took the decisions he took because he didn’t feel heard by the man that was supposed to protect him and care for him, a man that had the same feelings of sadness over being an orphan, a man that despite being the greatest detective to ever detective in the multiverse couldn’t understand that Jason felt like the woman that was his birth mother could come first in his list of priorities. Jason was a child and the adult responsible of him at the time bares the fault of his death as much as the mad man that committed the crime.

There, I fucking said it.

Gladly in the third paragraph of the monologue Jason calls out Bruce on his bullshit.

Also, what the hell was Bruce thinking leaving Jason stranded in the middle of the dessert, the man literally takes the only mode of transportation away from him. What the hell.

That’s it for the first glimpse at the past, now we are in the present with Ice!Jason where Zdarsky lies to our faces, he says that Jason is prepared for this situation…I am sorry but I do not believe this.

Anyway, Jason does manage to break the ice but he trips on the iced floor almost as soon as he breaks free and falls in a hole. Are you kidding me? I know this is supposed to be funny but Jason has been written as this incompetent dumbass in this book so much that this is just insulting.

He manages to escape for three or four seconds but he realises once more that the whole thing was a trap because Freeze had actually closed all the exists with ice because he meant to trap the Bat (also maybe Freeze is under the effects of Cheerdrops?), Jason also tries to use his guns even though he had already thought about the fact that they wouldn’t fire because of the cold AND he didn’t pack his explosives, yeah… “I am now prepared”, sure Jan.

The last thing we see in this scene is Freeze getting ready to ice Red Hood once more before we start jumping from past to present scenes as Jason’s monologue continues, he does that a lot in this issue, it’s quite impressive.

We jump into the past and we see Jason going to help his mother in his Robin suit, her betrayal and the Joker being ready to torture and kill a child. From there we go back to the present where Jason manages to ask Oracle for help but not anyone’s he asks for the Batman’s help.

First let’s talk about the monologue that happens across these scenes because it has some interesting takes.

“Stupid amateur, its not going to be okay, not if we keep repeating the same mistakes. He never trusted me, I never trusted him. Neither of us lived up to the idea of ‘Batman and Robin’, the ‘Dynamic Duo’. Because Batman and Robin requires trust, it requires knowing you can’t do it alone.”

Let’s be honest as per the modern take on Batman and Robin (if it includes Bruce as Batman) the dynamic is quite dysfunctional, Batman doesn’t know how to care for a child and children shouldn’t be responsible for an adult’s safety, so the whole thing has been weird for every Robin, its not something that happened only to Jason but here is the thing, in Under the Red Hood (which is canon in this story) when Batman and Red Hood fought side by side Bruce said the following: “…Neither of us has the strength to take him out, it will require skill and teamwork. It happens before I have time to question it, a manoeuvre that comes without thought, executed as practiced and practiced many times in the cave.”

So, him and Jason worked well, they trusted each other and the work they were doing but that is not all, because they are in the middle of a fight the Red Hood doesn’t act recklessly and takes the opportunity attack the Bat when he is vulnerable, he sticks to the coordinated fight because he trusts it will work. Batman’s thoughts confirm that because he continues saying this: “To complete it (the manoeuvre) I’m forced to leave myself unprotected from an attack, an attack from the Red Hood. But the attack never comes, he just takes cover from the blast, like practiced.”

– Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 10.

This thing alone, written in 2005 kills the narrative of Bruce’s Batman and Jason’s Robin not working well together.

Secondly, I have to laugh about what it's actually said in the very last panels. I am sorry but it's too funny to me, I know it acts as a parallel to Jason asking for the Bat when he was about to die but this is a man, a grown man that has experience on this job, this situation would have never happened if Jason was written fairly. This is funny because of all the people in the world I would never imagine the Red Hood asking for Batman’s help. Fuck that.

Oracle of course contacts Batman but let me say something really quickly, Barbara and Bruce are both acting like Jason getting in trouble and needing help is an annoyance. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why would Jason work with Oracle or Batman in the first place?

Batman gets in the Batmobile as soon as he can and dares call Jason his son. No thank you sir, I will not be taking that kind of bullshit today. Anyway, the Bat also has a monologue because he can’t be less, here it goes.

“Jason. Dammit, son. I’m on my way, I won’t let you…” (explosions) “You’re alive. In the here, in the now. I know this, like magic…with a curse…You’re alive.”

“I don’t need to be there again, in the past. I’ve learned my lessons, the guilt doesn’t help me, it doesn’t have a hold on me anymore. You’re alive, Jason and I intend to keep it that way.”

To this I have to say the following, the only reason why Bruce is not feeling guilty about what happened to Jason is because Jason forgave Bruce/Batman for not arriving in time in order to save Jason from the explosion back in that warehouse all those years ago. Jason forgave Bruce when the final confrontation happened in UtRH. He did it because he believed that Bruce tried and still didn’t make it.

- Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 13.  

And something else, Bruce might have been “keeping Jason alive” but he has harmed him. Rebirth RHatO #25 exists, I don’t know if it's canon within this particular story but I can’t not bring it up if this is what this man has to say.

My take on the Batman and Red Hood relationship is that it shouldn’t exist. Red Hood is not a Batman villain but he IS a Batman antagonist. STOP making Batman and Red Hood work together, with how things ended in UtRH Jason would never work with Bruce again. I am sorry but the concept of the Batfamily with Jason as a willing participant is the biggest lie this fandom and Lobdell gave us.

Enough of my takes, let's go back to the issue because it's ending is closer and the funniest panels in this whole ass book are coming!

Batman does Batman shit and as he grapples out of the Batmobile, he manages to get Ice!Jason out of a truck and everything comes to a stop, the bad guys come out of said vehicle and one of them is going in Red Hood's direction with the intention of killing him, Batman of course saves Jason and starts fighting the rest of the baddies.

I will show you funny panel number one.

You really want to make me believe that Bruce can pull that move, shut up!!!! There is no way! That’s some Nightwing level of leg work, stop it, if the Bat pulls that move he will break something or get stuck like that…

Ahh it doesn’t matter because as Batman finishes defeating all the baddies he goes to Jason’s side and here is where funny panel number 2 comes!

STOP IT, WHAT THE HELL IS THISSS? I am losing my mind over this, have you ever seen something and thought “oh this is wrong wrong” like what? This interaction is so wild to me, everything about it makes no sense…Imagine putting Jason Todd in such a vulnerable position that he is, I don’t know, happy or glad that the Bat showed up and that Batman would say that he will always be there for Jason, this shit is hilarious.

But that’s not the end, at this point nothing should shock me (as far as character designs) but this dude shows up…

Who the hell is this guy, and why does he look like that, why are all these new character designs the same and horrible? He reminds me of the weird discount-Joker-looking dude that we had in Rebirth RHatO #52

Anyway, the new dude that will be called Cheer (apparently) and Freeze ice Batman as well and that’s it, our Red Hood related suffering is over up until next month!

This one, this one was wild, I don’t know what else to say about it…I am honestly drained after reading the issue and writing this.

Let me know what you thought about this issue and if you want to read my reviews of the previous parts I will link them here! Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3!

[diaryofabeautyfiend]

Some warnings: Implied violence then some magical violence. Just covering my bases.

This chapter is long and it gets weird. Continuing on with a very slow burn. I hope you are all still enjoying this fic. Comments ❤️❤️ and reblogging all encouraged and appreciated. Please don’t pass this off as your own writing. I’ll find out and laugh at you.

Small Time Witch (5)

When you got back to the compound Steve’s phone rang. He walked several feet away from you to speak to whomever was on the other end. When he came back he looked flustered. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah. I’m actually going to have to run. I had a lot of fun with you today. I’d like to do it again. Maybe without stabbing?”

Before you had a chance to answer he kissed you on the cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

You felt like he rushed out of there really quick and that made you nervous. You walked back towards the building from the garage and tried to call Loki. No answer. You tried Wanda but the call kept dropping. No texts from either of them. You pressed then elevator button several times. It was taking forever. You decided to take the stairs. All of the hair on the back of your neck stood up. You looked around and saw nothing. When you opened the door to the stairwell something (or someone) clocked you hard on the back of the head. You blacked out.

STEVE

Steve hated everything that was about to happen. He got the call on the way into the building that he needed to leave you there. It was time. Two masked agents would be waiting for you in the stairwell. They would blindfold you and take you to a small dark room. There, you would remain bound and blindfolded while someone would repeatedly ask you about sensitive information while you were being “tortured”. No one was going to physicality hurt you. Loki would use his methods to trick your mind into thinking you were being hurt. All SHIELD agents with high level security clearance went through this training.

Everyone was waiting in the upstairs viewing area. Steve sat down with a huff and prepared to watch. “You said this was to test her endurance under pressure. This is torture. For the record I hate this.” he said to Loki.

“Duly noted, Captain. I’ll have an ear piece and Dr. Banner will be able to monitor her vital signs. This is ultimately for her safety.”

“It’s cruel.”

“As a habit I do not deal in cruelty. I will keep her as safe as possible. I assure you no physical harm will come to her.” Loki felt guilty. He’s never experienced the emotion before but now, with a pit in his stomach, he had to betray your trust.

Nat tried reassuring Steve the best she could, “Look, Steve, we’ve all been through the real thing at some point in our careers. No one likes this. Better that she experience it now so she knows what she’s up against.”

He wasn’t convinced. Bucky sat next to him and patted his thigh. “She’s tough. She whooped your ass earlier. She can handle this.”

“How can you of all people believe that?”

“Because I have to or else I couldn’t bare it. If things get too dicey we’ll stop it ok?”

The room they were in was sound proof. They had mics to be able to hear you. It was all two way glass so, even if your blindfold came off, you wouldn’t know they were there. The agents brought you in. You were awake and fighting hard. They were instructed not to hit you or fight back but to secure you. They both looked extremely frustrated. One of them had a cut above his eye. They tossed you in the chair and slammed the door. When they went in the room with the rest of the team everyone stared.

“What the hell happened?” Steve asked

“She threw an elbow, sir. She almost got away. Had to taze her.”

Steve bounded across the room pinning the agent to the wall, “You were told not to hurt her.”

“Yes, sir. We were also told not to let her get away. We didn’t want to hit her again.” His nostrils flared and the back of his neck was red a splotchy. Nat put her hands on his shoulders and directed him away.

“Good job, guys. You can go.” They couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

“See? She did exactly what I taught her. She’s going to be ok.” He shook his head and went back to his seat. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you.

They removed your gag but kept the canvas hood on your head. You struggled against the bindings trying to free your hands. They bit at your wrists. You called out demanding to speak to someone in charge.

Sam laughed, “Damn. Is she asking to see the manager?” Mostly everyone laughed. Steve’s jaw clenched. He couldn’t understand how anyone could make jokes right now.

“She’s remembering her one day of training so shut the fuck up, Sam.”

“Sorry, Cap.”

“Does anyone else feel disgusted that we’re having a public viewing of our colleague being tortured?” No one would look at him.

Bucky was the only one who was quiet. He was remembering himself in this very situation. He knew your mind was racing which is why you couldn’t magick your way out of this. If he could only get you to calm down. That’s when he saw Wanda pressing her face to the glass. She looked distraught. He went to sit next to her. Neither of them spoke for several seconds. They held hands and wallowed in their shared trauma. “She’s screaming for me, Bucky. I can hear her.” She wiped a few tears from her eyes, “She’s so scared.”

“You can’t tell her what’s happening? Can’t she hear you?”

“Loki put up a barrier. She’s alone.”

“How can he do this to her?” Bucky was furious with Loki.

“He is doing as he was ordered. You know what that’s like.”

“Ordered by who?!” he said in a harsh whisper.

“Director Fury. The Security Council. They won’t give her clearance for this or any future missions unless she undergoes the same training as any other agent. It was Loki who convinced them to do it this way. He takes no pleasure in this.”

“Then why did he agree?”

“Because if he didn’t do it SHIELD would have. She would be in the middle of nowhere being tortured for real.” Bucky was seething. Surely Steve didn’t know any of this. He went to tell him when you let out a blood curdling scream.

Everyone was silent. All that could be heard was Wanda sobbing. Nat tried to comfort her to no avail. The interrogator asked you another question. You played dumb. You screamed again.

“I hope Loki is enjoying himself.” Steve grumbled

“He’s not. How dare you say that?! This is hurting him too.” Wanda was pushing against Steve. Her eyes glowed red. He couldn’t think of anything else to do so he hugged her.

“Nat, call down to the booth. Tell them stop. Tell them now.” She grabbed the receiver to call the booth when the line went dead. “It’s dead. Somethings wrong. I’m going down there.”

Bucky was already out of the door running to where you were.

The whole place was plunged into darkness. Wanda smiled knowing that you were fighting back. A brilliant white light emitted from the room. You were floating above the chair with your hands out. You lifted the interrogator from the ground and flung him against the wall knocking him unconscious. Steve and Wanda ran down the ramp leading to the booth to stop you. Loki was already in the room.

“Y/N! Stop this! Listen to my voice. You are safe.” You lifted your hand again slamming the door behind him. The two way mirror shattered. All of the shards of glass were pointed at Loki.

“Y/N! Please. I’m not going to hurt you.” Wanda was behind him now and tried to use her magic to subdue you. You whipped your head in her direction and pointed a shard at her throat.

“We will not be trifled with any longer.” Your voice was calm and steady. Behind it echoed many more voices. “We are the daughters of the moon. Daughters of Diana. Daughters of Hekate. You seek our power. You will receive it in abundance.”

“Enough!” Loki shouted, “I know you can hear me, Y/N. Fight this.”

“Loki?” you whimpered.

“Yes, pet. I’m here. Please. You’re safe now.” The glass dropped to the floor and so did you.

He was at your side at once brushing your hair from your eyes whispering your name. Begging you to wake up. His eyes were wide. He looked at Wanda pleading, “What have I done? What have I done?”

“Bruce! Someone get Bruce! We need help.” Bruce rushed in and instructed Loki to put you on a gurney. They rushed you into a room and started examining you. He and Tony hooked you up to electrodes to measure your brain waves and monitor your heart.

“Tony I can’t find anything medically that would be causing her to be unconscious. But look at her brain waves.” There were several lines spiking indicating that there was more than one brain essentially.

“I’ll call Strange.” Tony went pale when he looked at the monitor.

Loki and Wanda refused to leave your bedside. Steve paced the hall outside of your room. Fury walked in looking actually worried for once. “How is she?” he asked Nat. Before she could answer Bucky was lunging for him. Fury regarded him unfazed. “You wanna take your hands off me, Sergeant?” Steve pulled him away.

“Come on, Buck.”

“She didn’t deserve this.” He walked away to get some air.

“Is this how you do it? You pit them against each other under the guise of ‘security’ so you can break them down? Are you so afraid of someone else having power...” Fury raised his voice to interrupt Steve.

“Yes, Captain Rogers, I am. I am especially afraid of the one in the bed who is basically a nuclear bomb. I’m afraid of her teaming up with the other one to become a formidable force. If a demigod joins them they become unstoppable. It is my job to squash that before Loki gets the bright idea to take over the world again. Those two can be more powerful than the entire Chitauri army of they wanted to be.”

“She’s just a kid, Nick.”

“A kid with a lot of power.”

“Yep. And we just pissed her off.”

Wanda was asleep on the couch in your room. Thor patted Loki on the shoulder, “Brother, why don’t you rest? I’ll stand watch for a while.” Loki didn’t take his attention away from you.

“I’m not leaving her. What if she wakes up and I’m not here?”

“Loki? What’s come over you? I’ve never seen you worry over someone like this.”

A smile ghosted over his face, “Only over you, Brother.”

“Is this love or guilt?”

“Perhaps a little of both. No matter. She has feelings for the soldier. And, when she wakes up and realizes what I’ve done, I’m sure she’ll hate me.”

Thor’s brow furrowed, “Tell her the truth. She’ll understand your position.”

“I should have crushed their skulls. That should have been my position. I’ve hurt her. Who can blame her if she never wants to see me again?”

Thor returned to the common room where the rest of the team was sitting.

“Any change?” Sam asked

“No. I’ve never seen Loki like this.”

“Like what? Remorseful?” added Tony

“This is on all of us, Tony. We should have put a stop to it. We watched it happen. Given Loki’s criminal status with SHIELD he wasn’t really left with a choice. He did what he thought was right.” Steve scolded

They all looked up when they heard faint footsteps. “Were you defending me, Captain?” he didn’t give Steve a chance answer, “The wizard’s here.”

They all went into your room where Doctor Stephen Strange was ruminating over your chart. Dr. Cho was already there talking to him. “Dr. Banner join us won’t you?” Strange adjusted hung your films from your MRI. “What were the results of her CT?”

“Her brain was functioning at an extreme rate mostly around the hippocampus.”

“That’s her memory center” Bruce explained to Wanda who was still sitting vigil by your bedside.

“Well team medically, with the exception of the heightened brain activity, she’s healthy. Magically speaking, it looks like the spell she cast had a built in safety feature.”

“Can you fix her?”

“I can. I need everyone out. Not you.” He pointed at Wanda, “You stay.”

“I’m not leaving.” Loki said sternly

“You’ve done enough. Bye.” He waved his hand and Loki went flying through a portal into the next room. Strange waved his hand, “Let’s have some privacy. This should keep out the riff raff.”

“Can you fix her?” Wanda was hopeful

“Oh yeah” he waved a hand over you “She’s good.”

“That easy?”

“Yes. You know you could have done this?”

“I wouldn’t know how or where to even begin.”

“Yes, you do. I know you know that you are more powerful even than me. You are so afraid of disappointing those fools out there. You shouldn’t be.”

“They are my family.”

“Your family fears you so you think you have to muzzle yourself. You don’t.”

You opened your eyes and sucked in your breath, “Where am I?!”

“There she is. Y/N it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Stephen Strange. You gave them quite the scare.”

“Loki! Is he ok?”

“He’s fine. He’s the one who put you here.”

“I need to see him.” You started pulling out wires and ripping off electrodes.

“Honey let me go find him. You need to stay in bed.” Wanda was trying to stop you.

“The newest Avenger. How does that feel?”

“I’m not an Avenger. I’m helping out. I work for SHIELD.”

“Either way you’re backing the wrong team. I know what the Kale’s did to your coven. If you ever want real answers here’s where you find me.” He handed you a card with an address on it embossed in gold. He winked at you and excused himself when Loki appeared in the doorway.

“Wizard” “Sabrina” Loki cocked an eyebrow but Strange kept walking.

“Darling. Are you ok? I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” You knew of only one other time that Loki looked this wrecked and that’s when his mother was killed. Poor guy.

“You didn’t. I mean not really. The spell has a fail safe. Only meant to scare my attacker.” He sighed with relief.

“Are you very angry with me?”

“No. I couldn’t hear your thoughts but I could feel you. I knew you were there.”

“So you knew I was hurting you.”

You put your hands on the sides of his face, “I thought you were trying to protect me.” You stared at each other for a moment. His heart was racing. He placed his hands over yours. You brushed an errant hair out of his eyes. “Darling I...”

Steve burst in the room wrapping you in a hug, “I’m so sorry I left you. Are you ok? Are you hurt?” Loki stood watching what was unfolding. You looked back at him. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He left the room to give you and Steve a minute.

“Steve. Shhh. I’m ok. I swear.” For reasons neither of you could explain he grabbed your face and crashed his lips into yours. Your eyes went wide then you acquiesced. Your tongue massaged his. He leaned his weight into you. When he broke the kiss he said quietly, “I’m staying with you tonight.”

“You really don’t need to. Loki will be there. I’m ok. I promise. I’m much stronger than I look.”

“I would feel better:”

LOKI

Loki sat alone on the big fluffy couch in the common room. He toyed with the frayed edge of a throw pillow. It was silent but he could hear your heartbeat quicken. Your breath catching in your chest. Your racing thoughts. He felt your butterflies when Steve came into the room. You liked Steve. He supposed the captain was a decent enough guy. That didn’t mean he had to like him.

For a moment when you were touching his face he felt something. He wasn’t sure if the feelings were yours or his. It felt deeper than just a crush. The way you looked at him. Almost like you were committing his face to memory. Your eyes studied him. For a moment he felt seen.

Thor sat next to him and pulled him in for a very firm embrace. “Get off of me you oaf”

“You’re staying with me tonight. It’ll be fun. We’ll bunk together just like when we were children.”

“Do you still snore?”

“That depends. Do you still talk in your sleep.”

“I wasn’t talking in my sleep. I was whispering spells to silence you.”

Thor smiled, “I hope you remember them.”

[whydoyouwantmyname]

Well at least it wasn’t Wilson

“Madam.” One of the Dora Milajes started as she approached you in the square, a basket in hand as you wandered around looking for groceries for the hut. Your head rising from the plums that you requested to be delivered as you looked at her, “How many times must I tell you [Y/N] is just fine.”

“I have been requested to escort you to the palace.” She replied as you lifted an eyebrow, for T’Challa never demanded your presence, and even when he did require the presence of you or your boyfriend, he came to the hut.

“Why?” You placed the plums into the basket as you handed her the amount you had both agreed on

“It will be explained when you arrive.” Her face was stone as you nodded, and followed her all the way to the palace.

Upon entering the courtyard, you saw a familiar quinjet, your feet stopping in their tracks as you looked at the shiny Stark quinjet. The ramp was already down, and several hundred feet away were the backs of the people you hadn’t seen for years. However it was the blonde haired, broad shouldered back of your best friend that brought the tears into your eyes. The basket dropped as you took in the sight of the man you hadn’t seen since the war of the Avengers, when he brought Bucky to Wakanda, and asked if you would stay with him.

You never knew though that the reasoning behind that though was because Steve knew you and Bucky both had feelings for one another, and figured he would want to wake up to the face of the girl he had slowly started to fall for.

At the sound of the full basket falling, which you didn’t realize was so loud, he and the team turned, and you were met with the shining aquamarine eyes that knew all your secrets, shared in your joys and sorrows over the past few years, and was there for you in every way. His lips pulled up in a pained smile, because you both knew he was there due to an oncoming doom, because over the past two years of you being there he hadn’t come to visit. But even the pained smile, or the unknow war that was coming didn’t stop you from racing towards him, and launching into his arms, your arms constricting around his neck as his arms held you to his chest, your legs wrapping around his hips as he held you there. For that moment it was like the world slowed down, and a single tear slowly dropped down your face as you buried your face in his shoulder.

After serval moment of this bittersweet reunion you slowly unhinged yourself from the super solider and looked upon his face, “It has been too long.”

“I know, but you have to wait a little longer for a catch up.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, your eyebrow raising as he looked at his feet, knowing you would be upset with the news, but this was what Bucky told T’Challa he wanted, and Steve agreed.

“I will just let Buck tell you, we have to go prepare, but it was good seeing you.” He smiled, as he leaned forward and kissed your forehead softly, before turning to T’Challa, “Shall we?”

And with that everyone you missed, and wanted to catch up with followed the king into the palace, leaving you to stand there with just Bucky and Sam, who quickly said, “I’m just going to go patrol over there, [Y/N] just holler if you need my help kicking his ancient ass.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You joked as he walked past you, leaving you to stare at the man you woke up to this morning, his normal farming outfit replaced with a uniform of dark grey and black, and his back was strapped with a automatic, “When is war?”

“Soon.”

“I will go get ready then.” You sighed, going to turn before he voiced, “Doll.”

The tone of his voice stopped you, looking at him slowly, you could see the pained look in his face, and slowly exhaled as you replied, “James.”

“I asked T’Challa to get you a quinjet arranged, they are going to take you back the headquarters.” He whispered, “When this is all over I will come get you, I promise.”

“You are sending me away?” You asked

“Yes.” He replied, “And I hope you will just cooperate.”

“You are really going to send away someone who can probably be one of your best assets, one of your best marksman. I didn’t get to be a level 7 agent by just batting my eyelashes James, and right now you need all the help you can...”

“[Y/N]!” He cut you off, he knew you would put up a fight, it was in your independent spirited nature to do so when you felt like your skills or independence was in question, and your stubbornness was one of the things Bucky found so appealing in you, but right now was not the time to fight with you, “Doll, listen, I need you to go, I am pleading with you. I don’t know what is coming, all I know is it is bad, and there is no way I am losing you. So please just this once, will you listen to me? I will never send you away again after this, but I need you to trust me.”

“And what if I lose you, you really think the guilt of knowing I wasn’t there to protect you won’t eat me up inside, you really think that the fact that I listened to your bullshit plead won’t haunt me for the rest of my life if something happens to you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me.” He smiled, his cockiness normally made you giggle, or at least crack a smile, but right now all you wanted to do was slap him.

“And what if you’re wrong. What if I get on that quinjet, and I fly off into the horizon and you never come home. What if this is the last time I see you, you don’t know what the future holds James.”

He took a few steps closer, his body almost pushed against your, as he looked down at you with his lagoon colored irises, his minds sketching every detail of your face in his memory as he lifted his hand and brought it to the side of your head, his fingers hiding themselves in your hair as you looked at him, your own eyes reflecting back held in tears and a slight frustration, “You’re right Doll, I have no idea what the future holds, but I do know one thing.”

“That you need me.” You replied

“Always, but I also know that our future is filled with a shit ton of more kisses.” He whispered before leaning forward, and allowing his lips to met with yours, a unknown need clear in the way he kissed you, and as you kissed him back with the same need you released a small hiss, the sound of the empty needle that once held a setative hit the concrete as he used his now free hand to prevent you from falling. He then picked you up bridal style, and carried you into the quinjet, and as he set you down he whispered, “I’m sorry Love.”

Your eyes hurt as you slowly started to wake up, the bright, white fluorescent lights caused you to slowly raise a hand and shield it out, your head felt foggy as you heard someone rush to your side, and smelled the light floral notes of a perfume that was quite familiar to you.

“Pepper?” Your voice was light and confused, last you remembered you were in Wakanda, agruing with Bucky, but it almost felt like a dream.

“Hey [Y/N], listen don’t move too fast, I think Hap said it would take a couple minutes to wear off.”

“Wear off?”

“Do you know where you are?”

“Wakanda?”

“No, you arrived in New York roughly an hour ago. Happy said whatever they used to knock you out was pretty powerful.”

“Knock me out?”

“Yeah, they sedated you, James...”

“Bucky.” You corrected quickly, even drowsey, you knew that you were the only one allowed to call him James, and was a privilege you valued.

“Bucky told the captain it was the only way to get you here safely.”

“What?” You asked

“Just rest for a minute, the drowsiness should wear off soon, I’ll get you some soup, I am sure Rhondey has some stashed away in the fridge.” And with that you heard her footsteps fade away, as everything slowly came back to you.

Once she returned, you demanded she fill you in on everything you had missed over the last several years, and what this whole oncoming war was about. She told you the basics, her and Tony got married, and she was sorry that she didn’t invite you. You withheld that you knew that you would probably never get an invite to that wedding, just because of who your plus one was. She told you about the team breaking out of prison, about how Tony had taken Peter Parker, aka the chatty spider kid under his wing, how she really didn’t have communication with anyone else from the team anymore, and then told you that Tony was on an alien spaceship. You just quietly ate and listened, and then you asked, “So aliens are coming to Earth again?”

“Yes, and if they sent you out of Wakanda, then chances are the battle was coming to them.”

“Why would he send me from Wakanda?”

“I don’t know, the details of that were not shared with me. However if you were to ask me, he probably did it because he loves you, and thinks he is doing it to protect you.”

“I can protect myself.” You replied

“I know, but something in the masculine ego thinks that they still need to protect woman, even if they are badasses.” She replied, before Friday alerted, “Mrs. Potts, Miss [Y/l/n], breaking news, it appears that half the population has disappeared.”

Hours later, you heard Friday alert the compound, “Mrs. Potts, it appears Mr. Rogers and the team has arrived.”

Your feet carried you into the dark lawn, a slight chill ran through the air, as you watched the ramp lower into the grass. Pepper and Happy appeared behind you as Bruce slowly exited the quinjet, and slowly the rest filed out. Your mind mentally noting that Sam, Wanda, and Vision were missing from the group slowly filing out, and that several new faces had joined the line up. One of them was familiar to you though, but Thor’s normal smile was replaced with the straight lips, and a fiery in his eyes as you watched him push past you without a word. Pepper and Happy followed Rhodey inside, which left you alone in the field, waiting for two more people to come out, as the seconds ticked by your anxiety rose, and then a small wave of relief overtook you, as Steve come to the ramp. A small yet guilty smile pulled at his lips as he descended towards you, and once he was on the grass the ramp slowly retracted, your hand flying to your mouth as a sob rose. Steve quickened his pace and engulfed you, his hand cradled the back of your skull as you leaned your forehead into his chest, not a word spoken between you.

Five years later

“You’re late.” You replied as the door to your shared room in the compound closed, his chuckle floated into the kitchen as you cooked

“Sorry, the meeting ran late, maybe if you would come with me, you would know why.”

“And sit in a small circle and talk about how life has changed, and cry a few tears, no thank you.” You turned, your apron slightly twirling as you turned towards the super solider, “Just be glad I started dinner late, otherwise it would be cold.”

“Did Nat say if she was going to join us?”

“Nope, she once again thanked me for the offer though.” You answered as he took a step forward and softly kissed your temple.

“I’ll go talk to her after dinner, maybe if I offer her a peanut butter and jelly she will take it.” He replied, before getting a plate from the cabinet and started serving up his own dinner, as you leaned back on the counter and watched him.

“Stop looking at me like you are about to pin me to the bed and have your way with me.” He replied as you blushed slightly and smiled, “If I wanted to do that Steve, I would just ask.”

Neither of you intended on this happening, you knew he was in love with Peggy, just like he knew you were in love with Bucky, but one night of drinking two years after the snap lead to you kissing him on your balcony, and after that everything just fell into a comfortable rhythm. He never asked you out, and you never required him to, he moved into your mini compound apartment a month after the kiss happened, and slowly you both got more and more comfortable with being a couple, even though you both knew you would never truly love each other as deeply as you did Peggy or Bucky.

After that dinner everything changed though, Scott came back to the compound, soon daily nightly dinner was canceled. Instead you both were set on helping figure out the time hopping however you could. You all traveled back to get the stones, and after going back Steve looked at you differently. And finally you just asked, “Did you see Peggy when you went back?”

“Why would you...” he looked up at you from the couch

“Cause you are looking at me like you wish I was someone else, besides Tony admitted that you both went back to 1970, to a S.H.I.E.L.D facility she just happened to work at.”

“You know me too well babe.” He sighed, as you sat down next to him, and took his hand gently into yours, “Do you want to end this?”

He was silent for a while, the few minutes felt like hours to you, unaware if this would cause you to lose the biggest support system you had, your best friend, and finally his eyes met yours, they were glassy and with that you assumed this love story fantasy you were both living was now over, but then he whispered, “No.”, before leaning forward and kissing you with a need you had only felt the last time Bucky kissed you.

But everything did change after the battle, you didn’t see him the entire fight, unknowing if he was actually there or if Bruce’s snap didn’t really bring everyone back. Your face was littered with cuts, and your body bruised, but that didn’t stop you from going to where Tony laid, and dropping to a knee. Then you felt a presence beside you, and expecting to see Steve, you turned your head and was met with a thick curtain of dark brown hair, his body dressed in the uniform you saw him in the last time you saw him five years ago, and at the realization that he was back, your eyes started to water, your function to breath momentarily halted. As though he knew you were looking his face turned towards you, and a smile pulled at the corner of his lips. And once you all stood, he whispered, “I told you nothing would happen to me Doll.”

With those words, you let out a breath, and smiled, a tear falling down your check, your arms quickly engulfed him, his own pulling you close to his chest as you both cherished the reunion you were both sharing. You were so caught up in the reunion that you didn’t notice the stranded smile of a watching Steve Rogers, who was now faced with accepting his comfortable relationship with you was over, something he always knew would happen upon reversing the snap,but he didn’t know just how unprepared he would be for it to happen.

That night after you and Bucky excused yourselves from the reunion, Steve went to his own skeleton compound apartment, the only thing in the dusty space was the furniture he left behind when he moved all those years ago, all his clothes were stored in your closet and dresser, personal belongs were scattered across your living space, his shower essentials were all in your shower, but he didn’t feel right going back to the home you had both created over the past three years, not now that Bucky had returned. With his dirty uniform he flopped onto the couch, and immediately sat up, coughing as the thick layer of dust flew up around him. His fit of coughing interrupted however by a knock, and somehow in between coughing he managed a “come in.”

“Steve, are you okay? Are you hurt?” It was your sweet concern that met him, to which he managed a nod, and you quickly tried to pull him up, and led him outside the room, “Breathe.”

Once he was done coughing, he looked at you, taking in the fact that your hair was still damp, and that your cuts were treated, “Stupid dust.”

“Well what did you expect when you walked into a untouched apartment?” You joked as he noticed your soft grip on his arm, and the concern in your face, it made his heart skip a beat for a second, and then he replied, “That it would be spotless.”

“Why did you even come here?” You asked, your eyebrow raising as you looked at him.

“I figured you and Bucky would want...”

“And you look like shit, now, March your ass into our apartment, and clean up a bit, when you are done come out before you put your clothes on and I will patch you up.”

“Won’t Bucky...”

“Steve, don’t question, just do please.” You instructed as you followed him to your empty apartment, “where’s Bucky?”

“He’s in the kitchen, he used some of your shampoo and shit, and I lent him your sweatpants, I hope you don’t mind.”

“So he...”

“Yeah, he knows.” You exhaled

“And.”

“I’ll just let you talk that out with him.” You whispered, before leaning up and kissing his cheek, “Now go shower.”

It was in the shower that he realized he had the motivation to set the plan in motion, since the day he saw Peggy he was dreaming of going back, and even when he sat on the couch that night he was ready to tell [Y/N] his plan, and just when he got the courage to tell his best friend his crazy scheme, she hit him with the question, “Did you see Peggy when you went back?”

And all the courage went away, the tone of your voice when you asked the question sounded lost, heartbroken almost, a ping of sadness, that he hadn’t heard in so long lingered on the words you spoke, and with that he decided he couldn’t leave you. You might not have been Peggy, but you were [Y/N], you were his best friend, the one who would stay up with him all night when he first came out of the ice, who treated him like a normal person instead of a dinosaur, you were always inviting him to coffee, pizza, willing to train with him, run laps with him. He told you all about Peggy, and when he was done, instead of telling him to move on, or offer to set him up, you looked at him and whispered, “I hope one day to find love like that.” You were the one to bring him whiskey at Tony’s fancy parties, or offer to dance with him instead of the girls who just wanted to pressure him into spending the night with them. He was the one you confided in when you started liking Bucky, you stood by him through everything, and he was even convinced you would have taken a bullet for him if he let you. If he left.... you would have lost the two people who meant the world to you, and he couldn’t be so selfish and leave you in this time broken, even though he knew you would be the biggest supporter of the plan, and wouldn’t have let him stick around if he told you he wanted to go back to be with Peggy. And as he shut the water off, he thought of Bucky too, he had just gotten his girlfriend and his best friend back, but now he was leaving him alone in a world that thought he was a murderous terrorist... but then he exhaled, because Bucky wasn’t alone, he had you, and that is all Steve needed to settle his mind, you both weren’t alone, you had each other.

When he opened the bathroom door, he was greeted by Bucky sitting in the arm chair you had in the corner, as you sat on the floor in front of the couch, your arms resting on your knees as you talked to him, Neither noticing he was done as he ease dropped on the conversation.

“Listen, things happened, and do I regret it, no. We both were hurt when the snap happened, and those two years before this all happened, we were each other’s support system, and it started on a drunken night. I kissed him and after that it just turned into a causal relationship, but we both knew that we would never get married, or have a family, or be any more then what we were, we were two people who wanted human companionship, and found it in the only other person we trusted. “

“Why would you never get married? Steve has always...”

“Because we are hopelessly in love with other people, and I can’t speak for Steve but there is only one man I want to marry.”

“I always knew Steve had a thing for me.” He joked, his smile caused Steve to smile as your laugh filled the air.

“I mean he might, he wouldn’t be a bad companion if you decide to leave me for him.”

“Never Doll, the only thing I wanted the whole time in the void was you, and I can’t blame you for dating while I was stuck there, I mean for all you knew, I might hve never come back. And at least you dated the loser version of me, instead of some asshole.”

“Language.” You replied, as he smiled again, and with this Steve walked into the room, during this whole transaction he had gotten dressed, and moved his finger to his mouth to signal Bucky to be quiet as he tried sneaking up behind you, and just as he was about to jump over the couch your voice cut through the air, “Don’t even think about it Rogers.”

“You should know by now Rogers, the woman is part bat.” Bucky replied as Steve rounded the couch and flopped down on the cushion beside your body, as you grabbed the first aid kit beside you, and turned to immediately start working in patching him up, and as you gently touched his skin he looked up to watch a tense Bucky, who would never let you know that the fact you were intimate with his best friend really bothered him at this time. With that knowledge he started the conversation, and as you worked he told both of you how he wanted to go back to Peggy. Both you and Bucky were very quiet as you listened, and then he stated, “And I know I don’t have to worry about either of you, because you are back together, and that is all you guys need to face the world.”

“You’re right.”you responded as you finished up, and as you put the last steri strip away, you rose and stated, “Beside you deserve happiness too.” Before walking away and closing the bathroom door, to let the news of your best friend leaving sink in.

Steve’s POV

As the bathroom door closed, I looked at Bucky, “You gotta make me a promise.”

“What?”

“Propose to her at Coney Island like you wanted to, treat her right, don’t let what happened after the snapcloud the love you have for her. She was truthful when she stated we were never serious, we just had a label and that was it, cause the love she had for you would never compare to the love she had for me. Even with the label, all she wanted was to get you back,and now that you are, you can’t let the betrayal you feel make you think that she stopped loving you.”

“I know she didn’t, I just wish it wasn’t with my best friend.”

“I think if it was some random guy though, we won’t be having this conversation, and I would somehow be bailing you out of jail for manslaughter.”

He started to chuckle, “That’s why I wish it wasn’t with my best friend.”

“Well at least you know it was with a guy you trust, and I know what I am doing is selfish but...”

“No it’s not,it is what you deserve. Your whole life you have been selfless, you want to do anything you can to help, I mean just look at the last five years, [Y/N] told me you started a support group, you became an avenger, and sacrificed your life to save the world, you are not being selfish at all, you are being rewarded finally for being one of the best human beings I know. And I can never repay you for taking care of my girl.”

“I mean I guess all I can ask for is that you forgivie me for kissing your girl.”

“That’s doable, beside I guess there is a plus.”

“Which is?”

“At least it wasn’t Wilson.”

[akimmito]

Heroes are made by the path they choose

Previous | AO3 | Next

_______________

Chapter 6

Jason walks the corridors of the mansion until reaching the entrance to the cave, he feels confident enough to return knowing that the only inhabitants of the mansion are Dick, Tim and Alfred. Bruce and his idea for Batman Inc. have him going around the world... except Paris, why hadn't anyone noticed what was happening in France? A little look at the country and the fucking Constitution has an exclusive item for heroes and vigilantes! Fully proven, the United States fears success. France developed a good relationship with its vigilantes and they are a kind of team without taking orders from each other, but recognizing the authority where it should be.

Certainly nobody expected it, because they are surprised to see it arrive. Dick half-dressed in Batman and Tim's costume completely put, only Alfred remains calm and chances are it's because he already knew it would be there. One must only accept that Alfred is omniscient.

"Hey. Did anyone know that Paris has vigilantes?"Outside the sentimental greetings or whatever, he goes straight to the point. What does it matter that this is the first time you've spoken to them in five years?

"No?"Dick questions confused, they have not looked at Paris in years because they have been calm… disturbing, if he think about it, especially the last seven years, no traffic network of any kind connects with Paris or France in general, that must have caught his attention more than it did. Although if there are vigilantes, It would explain a little. "Since when?"

"Seven years, apparently. I was researching with Roy and we found some information, but as you will see, I don't have the resources you have here. It caught my attention that, according to this boy from twitter, there is also a team of heroes and they are two separate groups, it seems."

That captures more attention from of them, Tim accepts the USB memory that Jason gives him and some images taken by phones and some captures from Parisian news appear. He manages to classify it, putting name with appearance.

"It seems that the leader is Suzaku, I estimate that he could be my age. No idea of their civil identity, they use a kind of transport with portals and I don't know if it's magic or technology. Probably the called Augur is the one in charge of taking them from one place to another, that them to reach the scenes immediately. "

"Interesting. Can you explain us?"Dick gives the free pass to his younger brother to update them with the information, they will not go to a city with vigilantes (he knows that it bothers when they appear in his without warning), but knowing the situation will allow them to be careful if they cross their paths.

"Insurance. Let's see, replacement, unfold all the photographs and I will explain each one of them. What I managed to discover through twitter, because it is the only source of constant information about them. The media says little or almost nothing, beyond mentioning them and thanking them for their services. "

Tim just obeys, saving his thoughts about it. He did know about the vigilantes, but he didn't see it necessary to inform anyone, he even spoke to one of them while he was there, Caelum explained the ways in which the city was working and how they reached a balance with the government, something that took them two years to build and they hoped they would not have third parties hanging around without warning them. Sure, he's not going to tell any of that.

"Well, Suzaku, leader, has magical knowledge, according to users she has put in place safeguards to protect places of interest such as the so-called Akuma Refuges, I don't know what they are, the hospital and health centers, in addition to some government buildings that can also serve as shelters. She's normally paired with Corvus and five days ago she appeared on patrol with Thuban, everyone speculating that he's her son because of dark hair. They talk about her being kind and lethal, emphasis on lethal. One user listed the martial arts styles she mastered, I counted twelve combined with a style much like yours, Dick. "

Dick smiles and looks with some interest at the short-haired little lady, the costume fits perfectly leaving an ideal mobility and reflects a lot that does tricks, there is nothing in the costume that can get in her way. He's curious if she uses any type of weapon, they are not visible to the naked eye.

"Corvus, he seems second in command, his costume reminds me of mine... he seems to have the mettle of a trained assassin. According to users, it's rare that he speaks and if he does it is to give orders, otherwise, they mention that he's cold and even rude, very distant, his weapons use real bullets, but it's rare that he goes to the extreme of using them. There are many strange theories where he's also paired in a romantic relationship with Suzaku, Paris really is strange..."

Tim just stares at the image of the blonde in a costume that mimics the forms of a military one very well and not surprised that Jason knows so much, Paris enjoys talking about her heroes and vigilantes, they are almost celebrities and  they resign themselves to being the professionals who are ignoring all comments on the internet as best as possible.

"Genbu is ruthless and tends to scold civilians when they are endangered by ridiculousness, close combat and needles, acupuncture type, but as an attack, it sleeps their limbs and makes them easier to handle. Byakko usually deals a lot with civilians, she always asks questions and jokes with them, she wears a kind of yellow half-helmet and is really the only thing with color in her entire costume. Seiryuu is... according to twitter, a soulless ex-killer who ignores civilians unless she threatens them with her sword because they have purposely put themselves in danger, they call her Ice Queen... they consider her worse than Corvus. "

Tim laughs, he can vouch for it. While he only spoke to Caelum, the other two were nearby and seemed to want to point their weapons at him. If it wasn't for Suzaku holding them by the shoulders, he thinks they would have been close to him threatening him, she was sweetly dangerous as honey with poison. Remembering that, he decides that it's better to give his own information.

"Before you continue, why are you telling us this? You could just go to Paris and see everything with your own eyes. ”He doesn't pretend to be rude, but it seems he was from the annoyed look Jason gives him.

"Because, genius, I don't have the resources to go there and, as I said at the beginning, neither to investigate them further from here. You should sleep more, your brain hardly works. "

"Jason..."

"Whatever, I'll continue..."

"The easiest to speak are Pyxis, Caelum and Black Metal. Despite the fact that Suzaku is kind, she turns the whole conversation in her favor and always has Corvus around, which makes you feel like you are going to be shot if you neglect for a second, the feeling is worse if Seiryuu is present..."

"Tim, how do you know that?" Dick is curious, especially since he never mentioned having met any team of heroes, but, if he's honest with himself, Tim is like a little version of Bruce and that man won't say anything until it is absolutely and strictly necessary that should know and only says a part. It's frustrating.

"I was in Paris while looking for Bruce and I met them, being attacked by criminals definitely caught their attention. The information on Twitter, although accurate, doesn't do them justice, Paris only sees what the MT lets them see, they have managed to pass next to Batman without him noticing, that is a great feat. And I was able to meet them only because they stopped wanting to know some things, it was basically an exchange of information. "

"I get it."

"Do you know anything about their identities?" Jason asks, is what makes him curious. Little problem inherited from Batman? Yeah, It definitely frustrates not knowing anything.

"Not. I only know what everyone knows, but at least one or more of them must have money, their costume were of incredible quality and I have only seen that level of protection in us. Bruce never skimped on expenses for the costumes, I guess they didn't either..."

They nod to his answer, Tim is excellent at noticing details, so they may consider him to be true information.

"I'm curious, but if they're doing a good job, it's not our business, Jay. We can go browse Paris, but we definitely shouldn't get into her business. "

"You want to see Suzaku, right?" Tim lets out a sigh, why did Jason have to mention the stunts? He didn't say it directly, but made the suggestion when buying his styles. No one can do half the tricks he do, that there is someone in the world who can accompany him in his inhuman stunts and stretches, he must be excited...  and that she has a tight costume and a beautiful body should only generate more expectation.

"I would like to meet her."

"Professionally or in bed?" Jason is more direct and hits just where Tim's thoughts were heading.

"You offends m…"

"Dick, you've had sex with half the women you know..." Tim cuts him off, it's no secret to anyone how many lovers he's had over the years. He's very surprised that he doesn't have a lost son out there, but that only shows how careful he's.

"Yes, man, even villains. Gives you no shame?" Dick snorts at him.

"You have no right, Jay. I remind you that you slept with Talia and two of my girlfriends... in my bed!"

"They could not resist my charms, I think it was your foult. And Talia, well, I have nothing in my defense. "Tim sighs and gets up from his seat, he considers that it’s better to go to bed, he will not be able to work with those two arguing and he could well use a couple of hours of sleep.

He just hopes that if they go to Paris, Dick doesn't really intend to have sex with Suzaku. It gives him the impression that Thuban doesn't get the nickname Demon Boy for nothing and if he's really her son, well maybe Dick won't come back alive from there.

___________

Tim Drake @TimDrakeW_

Can I change families? I want new brothers, please.

____________

Talia Al Ghul.

Damian never expected or wanted to see her again. Why is she here? He doesn't want her close. In the midst of his discomfort, he can only frown at his progenitor.

He writhes, letting himself fall to knees against the hard asphalt, he feels his head throb with pain and each breath is more difficult than the last, it's as if fire breaks through his nose and burns his lungs little by little.

"My son." He growls when he hears her. It's an Akuma attack, he reasons, she's not real. "At last I find you. "She's not real, right? " I will take you back home. "

"You're not my mother." He manages to speak despite feeling his throat tear with every word. "I was just a tool for you and Grandpa, they made it clear... they got rid of me. "He looks furiously at the figure of his... no, Talia. They knew it, he's totally convinced that they knew it...

"That is not true, what that woman told you... "

"My mother said nothing to me! You sent me to my death, it was impossible for me to survive even if I completed the mission... "

Damian still has dreams of that mission, of his planning, of everything he did up to the inevitable outcome in what turned out to be the enemy base with around fifty targets scattered throughout the small underground fortress.

He complains and a groan escapes his throat, if he were using the prodigy would it be different? He hears a deep voice beside him, but everything is suffocated by Talia's presence and the pain that breathing generates.

A few more minutes and he falls unconscious, his mind plunges into the haze of memories that still haunt him.

The full moon hangs over the night sky at its highest point, the lighting is sufficient to allow you to see the entire perimeter from the trees. Damian watches the assassins move around, standing guard, looking like they are waiting for an attack, and he wonders if they have discovered it, although from their posture they seem to expect something more frontal and not as stealthy as their plans. It doesn't matter, he will only go for his target and if someone gets in the way, he will kill him on the spot. It just needs to be fast and efficient.

He jumps out of the tree to head towards the fortress, taking advantage of the minute it takes to turn around, just in time, when he has climbed the roof, the guards are positioned at the place where he climbed. He go his way as his plan how to get them out of the way, it would be much better if he get rid of all the low-level organization.

He walks the corridors cautiously, he has disabled several targets and has hidden them, they are dead, of course, the surprise factor gave him that benefit. Everything is going well, as expected, the group are just a bunch of incompetents.

Damian manages to reach his target without a scratch, but can't find it where it should be. He clicks his tongue in disgust, it's a setback.

"I am offended that Ra’s believes that a child will be enough to kill me. Bad luck for you, now, be a good boy and serve as training for my new power."

Damian turns to the origin of the voice and sees a man in a lilac costume simulating the standard equipment of the League of Assassins, his skin seems to glow in pink tones and his eyes turned dark... he looked discordant, very dark and colorful at the same time. He frowns and attacks him, pulls out his swords, but... his attack doesn't touch him.

The entire room suddenly begins to spin and as he tries to recover, the traitor is on him with twin swords running through his abdomen. The blood gushes immediately when the swords are removed and this time the dizziness is from the blood being lost at alarming rates.

The last thing Damian sees is a woman dressed in black wearing a whip with silver inscriptions, using it to grab the traitor by the neck, even in low light he can recognize her blue eyes that seem to glow much more as the darkness swallows his consciousness.

_________

Ladybug come back @ LadybugHero_89

Paris became Tokyo-3? Will an Eva appear? Is this night a NGE and The Mist crack fic?

Bro don´t leave me alone @DDD_Lol214

I don't want to be in that fog, brother, the screams are terrifying.

MarcusGentleman @ TheMaster_091

I can see Ladynoir fall into the mist, hell, no one warned me that I would be experiencing an angel's siege.

____________

Ladynoir jumps on the huge rhombus, it's certainly peculiar and their could not believe that there is a person inside. They must break through the outer cortex to reach the real Akuma and her objective, therefore her powers are the best point of action. It's a real problem that he had a force field.

"An AT field! I can't believe it. ”He manages to hear Max over the communications before falling straight into the mist. She can also listen to others talk.

"What is an AT field?" Kagami almost growled at the Akuma's troublesome abilities.

"It's basically a shield... which is troublesome, I think only the cataclysm could go through it if it has the same defensive properties as the anime."

"Perfect. I'll give the new Hawkmoth points for achieving a new level of annoyance. "Chloe complains from the roof of the Luxembourg Palace, everyone is analyzing the situation, but seeing that he has a shield that they won't be able to get through, they just have to wait for Marinette to recover… what is taking a time.

"It seems the mist is a problem." Nathaniel exposes everyone's concerns. If it were a normal mist, Ladynoir would be back on the rooftops by now.

"Many civilians report screaming in the mist, some liken it to a scene from a horror movie..." Kagami reviews the app with her yo-yo, looking at all the testimonies they are giving. That helps them determine the Akuma's powers.

"Ilusions?"Nathaniel questions.

"Probably." Felix agrees.

"What if it's not mist?" Luka questions, capturing everyone's attention, who wait for him to continue. "It could be a type of gas, they should collect a little and analyze it. That way they can use the filters on their weapons and not run the same fate as Ladynoir. "

And as they try to regroup, on the streets, just below the Akuma. Marinette meets Talia Al Ghul's voice, the suit protects her enough not to be so affected by the mist, but she still feels pain when breathing.

If you think you can steal my son, you are wrong. I'll take him back.

Marinette ignores her, it's just a voice in the middle of a mist caused by an Akuma. Yes, she fears that Damian decides to go with Talia or his biological father (even though the boy has not told her who he is), but she's in the middle of a battle and she's no longer girl, she has trained her mind and her fears will not be what stops her. However, without the cane, she should run towards the buildings, but between the voice and the pain when breathing, it becomes difficult.

He prefers to be with his REAL family.

She continues to move towards the closest building, it's incredible that the mist doesn't let her see the Akuma, but that's the way it's. It seems like a world apart... and seeing that it's not really moving in the direction she expects, she begins to think that it's.

He will never love you. You are not his real mother.

Marinette, surprisingly, stumbles and falls. She complains, she had spent years without tripping and much longer without falling by her own feet. When she looks up, she's surrounded by a body, she holds her breath, they are the people who were close when the mist appeared and without any protection, they only perished being chased by their fears.

It's beautiful to see, these scenarios are the ones that Damian loves.

Marinette blocks her voice, ignoring it. If there are civilians here… Damian should have been close and if he couldn't get away, he was trapped… Oh, no.

She gets up again and, trembling a little because they are all dead, begins to search, hoping that she doesn't meet the body of her little boy.

But she's not the bearer of the black cat for nothing, she sees it, her black suit with the details in green and runs towards him, stumbling again and falling to her knees in front of him. She takes him in her arms, he barely breathing.

"Oh honey." She hugs him to her chest and touches her communications. "Augur?"

"Oh, what a relief you communicate. We need you to break through the Akuma's defenses. "

"I understand, but you open a portal, please. The mist doesn't allow me to find high points and I lost the cane... also, I have Thuban here."

"Okay, I'll bring you to the MT for Plagg to eat something before you use his power."

"That would be fine. "

A portal opens in front of her and advances as fast as she can to avoid the mist passing through its, the difference is felt when she breathing. She drops down next to the transformation, hugging Damian tighter. Longg comes out of a hiding place inside the costume.

"I try talking to him, if he transformed he would last longer... but it seems he was looking at his birth mother." The little dragon looks with concern at his current owner and then looks at she with resolution. "Combine my prodigy with Plagg's, my beams must be strong enough to cross that field, so you won't leave him a chance to replace his shield."

"Okay, let's do that."

____________

Just Robert @PoorButterflies

District VI is a disaster. Suddenly I no longer miss Gabriel Agreste as a villain, he was not so creative with his evil.

Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson

It seems that a visit to Paris is in sight.

Roy @RoyHarperQ

@TheFlyingGrayson I'm not surprised that you go.

Jason @IAmYisus_XD

@TheFlyingGrayson @RoyHarperQ See, Dick? Everyone knows your ways.

Polaris Vermilion @Elgato_Solaris

Is one of @BruceWayneOfficial's adoptive boys coming to Paris? Oh oh. Hey, @TheFlyingGrayson! You must know @MarieLenoir goes the same way as your adoptive father haha

[ohwowreallycool]

You Don’t Get the Girl - prt. 2

Part Two - Let me know what y’all think!

STORY SUMMARY: You’re a part of the Avengers now, but not everyone knows your past. That’s okay though, because you don’t know everyone else’s past, either. A relationship forms and he’s your world, but did he take part of your world away?

THIS PART SUMMARY: You’re injured and need to recover. But not all the team is happy that Captain Sir got away - he makes sure that you know.

Read Part One 

You vaguely remember Bucky scooping you up from the ground. The lights on the top of the jet. Being buckled into the seats. Someone screaming “there’s a lot of blood here” A rough, searing pain against your leg. Bumps, so many bumps.

----------

You wake up in an obscenely white room, stretched out on what feels like a piece of cardboard - you quickly realize you’re in the medical bay. Removing the monitor on your finger, you grab the rails lining the side of the bed. Pulling yourself up to sit up straight, you twist to stand,

“Ah, shi-”

“You’re awake!” Bruce turning away form his work to come meet you with a pleasant smile. You try desperately to smile back. “Just go ahead and lay back while we go over some things.”he said, his face now more serious.

“I think I’d rather just stay here, thank you.” your voice rather raspy. When was the last time I got a drink of water? You searched the room, watching all the flashing lights and fast charts, “What the hell happened?”

“Well,” he pushed a few buttons and what not, “there were severe lacerations to your rectus femorus. There was extensive damage to the tissue. Luckily there were no major arteries or veins were hit.” he babbled on.

Meeting his eyes, you raised your eyebrows expecting him to clarify whatever he was talking about. 

“Your thigh got slashed.” You nodded and looked down at your leg, covered in a pearl white sheet. 

Glancing up at him again, you let out a breath before you peel back the edge of the sheet. A large, pink and swollen line stretched across your thigh. The skin around the line dotted with little black stitches.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce’s voice soft and slow, “I did everything I could.”

“No,” trying desperately to laugh, only able to push staggered breath through your teeth, “don’t be sorry.”

“y/n,”

“You didn’t do anything, Bruce.” finally looking at him again and wiping a tear from your cheek that had escaped, “You’ve done nothing but help.” Looking back at your wound; leveling your tone, “How soon can I get back into my room?”

“You don’t have to be strong here.” waiting for you to respond, but you just smiled at him as another tear cascaded down your cheek.

“Well,” he left your side to look at some numbers on a monitor, “your numbers are all good - considering. I think you’d be able to go to your room now if you’d like.”

“Very much.” as you removed the sheet completely now and tried to twist again. A scream stuck in your throat and tears streamed freely.

“No!” he rushed over and grabbed your shoulders, “That’s. . .” he made sure you were steady then began to wring his hands, “There’s one other thing.”

Through restrained sniffles, “What?” Bruce slowly turned his head to look over to the corner of the room. “Oh, hell no.” And he met your eyes again, he held your shoulders tight,

“It’s the only way,”

“But I -” you protested. After a what was not enough time, he simply told you it was stay in the room or do this. He went to the corner and moved the object over to the side of your bed.

“Ready?” moving to help you stand. It hurt, everything hurt - sharp breaths moved the bits of hair that had fallen in front of your face. “It’s okay,”

“Is it?” you met his eyes, and he helped you slide down into the wheelchair.

----------

You adjusted rather well to your “time in the chair” as you so eloquently called it. Doc said that therapy was going well and that if you kept up your rigid 3 times a day schedule, you’d be walking again in no time! The scar tissue was getting harder. Bruce said that was a good thing because it meant it was healing correctly.

----------

“Today’s the day, Doc!” You pushed the wheelchair into his medical room.

“Ah, it is.” he put down his clipboard and walked over to meet you, “How’s it feel?”

“So good!” you smiled and gave you leg a few test-kicks, “In fact it feels better than the other one does.” smiling at him.

“Good.” he shook his head, “You’re still doing therapy for a couple weeks and if there’s any pain I need to know.”

“Sure thang, Doc.” and you turned to walk out.

“One more thing,” Bruce called as you were turning out of the door frame. You held onto the side of the wall and poked your head back into the room,

“Yea?”

“The team would like you to meet them in Conference Room C for a mission de-briefing.”

You stepped into the room fully now, “But I haven’t been on a mission since -”

“That’s all I know,” and you shook your head, spinning on your heels to leave again, “Good luck!”

Why would they want to meet with me about a mission so long ago? And who is “the team,” was that everyone? Actually, I hadn’t seen anyone in the halls recently. But, I mean, it’s not like I’ve been out of my room very often. Well, it will be nice to see everyone again. But still why would they have waited so long to. . .

Arriving at Conference Room C, you walked in and immediately everyone stopped talking. You could have cut the tension in the room with a butter knife. You looked around at everyone on the edge of their seats, Steve standing with his hands planted firmly on the table. 

“So,” you look around the room, “wrong time to walk in or?”

“Please,” Wanda motioned to a seat across from Steve, at the opposite head of the table, “have a seat.”

You forced a smile and small nod before pulling the chair out and sitting down.  

Natasha was the first to break the silence, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good,” you straightened in your seat, “thanks.”

“We’re here to talk about the last mission we all were on.” Steve said lifting his head and looking at everyone.

“Was the information you collected any good?” you leaned forward interested in the answer.

“Very.” Bucky answered coldly, without even looking in your direction. What the hell did I do to deserve that?

You nodded and Steve began recounting the events of the mission. Basically everything you could remember was exactly what Steve was saying, “We got the intended information, and got our eyes on someone a little higher up the HYDRA food chain.” he looked over at Natasha.

“y/n,” Natasha looking at you, “the man who stabbed you, Captain Sir, he’s -”

“Yea, who was that guy?” you turned in your chair to look around for answers,  “What’s his story?” 

Tony stood and began walking in circles around the table, as per his usual routine, “He’s a heavy hitter for HYDRA. A trainer that, apparently, turns out the best of the best. One of the only men with enough HYDRA info to take the whole place down.” 

“So, did we get him?”

“No,” plain and cold from Bucky, again. You glanced at Bucky, unsure of what the attitude was about, “you let him get away.”

“Unfortunately,” Steve speaking louder than Bucky and still leaned over the table edge and looking around the table, “he got away.”

Bucky let out a huffy laugh and leaned back in his chair, propping his boot agains the edge of the table. Everyone looked at him while Wanda began to talk, 

“We’ll get him next time.”

You turned to look at Bucky again, “I’m sorry, I what?”

He leaned forward and looked you right in the eye and drug out every word, “You. Let. Him. Get. Away”

“Buck,” Steve pleading him to stop.

“What?” standing, his heavy boots landing with a thud, “She had his wrist in her hands, draggin him to the jet and then just let go! If she woulda just focused we coulda had ‘im”

“Excuse me?” you stood to face his giant frame, “I’m pretty sure you were there, too.” taking a step towards him.

He met your step, “If I woulda had his wrists, he’d be downstairs right now.”

“Guys. . .” Steve warned.

“Oh common,” Tony now leaning against a wall, “lets see what they’ve got.” You looked at Tony. This wasn’t a joke. 

“Let me get this straight,” turning to face Bucky again,your head bobbing with every argument you presented, “it’s my fault that none of us” motioning to everyone in the room, “got him?”

“You dropped his wrist.” cocking an eyebrow up.

“Well, I didn’t know,” raising your voice and sarcastically lifting your hands in submission, “that I had to be perfect ever single, damn day like the great Sergeant Barnes. Next time I’ll -”

“Sir,” the ceiling rang out, “you’re requested in the lobby by Ms. Potts.”

Tony pushed off the wall and walked out, “Man, just when it was getting good.”

Immediately you and Sergeant Barns erupted into argument again. The room filled with yelling as you two went at it. Your team mates decided to defend different views and yelling at each other now, too. 

“I’ll be sure to try harder next time, Sergeant Barnes!”

“Maybe you should, Miss y/l/n”

“Enough!” Steve raised his voice and waited for silence. “Any of us could have gotten him.” He looked around meeting everyone’s eyes, “We cannot keep blaming each other. It’ll do nothing but pull us apart. We have to trust each other and get stronger together.”

He walked around the chair he never actually sat in and stood behind it, “We’re moving forward.” looking at you and Bucky, “Can you two do that?”

You took a few thoughtful seconds before turning to face him, “Yes, sir.” making sure to lift your head as you spoke.

“Whatever,” Bucky huffed and turned to walk out.

“Buck!”

“No, Steve,” stopping in the door frame to look at his friend, “we’re only as strong as our weakest link.” he hung his head and look up at you - almost with pity, “getting distracted is a weakness.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 239: We’re Fucked

Previously on BnHA: Actually it’s been two weeks, so I barely even remember. Let me just... take another... Ah, right. So Tomura brought it up a notch to Goth Level x20 and destroyed all of his Surplus Hands in a fit of independence, and Re-Destro was like “!!!” and then turned himself into a giant robot as a counter-flex. Meanwhile Gigantomachia continued to smash shit and also defeated Orange Leaf because lord knows Dabi was never actually going to get around to it. Compress called Ujiko and was all “hey can you please stop your guy because I’m afraid he’s going to smash us once he’s done smashing everything else,” but Ujiko was all, “listen if Shigaraki dies then he dies!!” But I’m pretty sure Shigaraki isn’t actually going to die. Re-Destro, though? He might be dead. Guess we’ll find out.

Today on BnHA: Nope, Re-Destro isn’t dead. So it goes like this: Tomura, who is now incredibly hot by the way, annihilates the entire fucking town leaving only bits of rubble, basically. Everyone is all, “LOOK AT THIS ARE YOU FUCKING SEEING THIS HOLY SHIT” and basically just watching in awe. Re-Destro chops off his own fucking feet so as not to be disintegrated himself, something which everyone is way too fucking calm about tbh. And in the aftermath Tomura stands there all “lol I won,” and RD is like, “yeah you sure did,” and I was expecting Tomura to be all “well anyways, [kill]” but instead RD is like, “HERE’S THE KEYS TO YOUR NEW ARMY” and Tomura is “HEY COOL” and SOMEHOW THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER AND WORSE ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Heh. Anyways where’s that comic with the dog in the house that’s on fire. That about sums it all up.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, but aside from that there are no changes, and even that was a rush job since I was late in reading the chapter this week. I basically have not edited this at all lulz.)

sounds like someone is about to get the official Gigantomachia Seal of Approval at long last! sure did take this boy a while to get accredited, but he kept at it! there’s a lesson there, folks. if at first you don’t succeed, stop sleeping for two months and then power-hallucinate your way to success

so we’re opening with Hanabata and his van! I sure hope this mofo is about to die, because mofos need to start dying already. I’ve loved this arc and we’ve had some really great times, but I never did have much patience for this particular point of any given arc. side villains need to know when to die. respect for Kizuki, at least she had the right idea

on the other hand we are being gifted with some pretty fun panels, such as this

wah, his shoes. heh

oh my god

did he slam into the van when it hit the brakes to avoid Tomura’s Destruction Radius. ouch

so he’s narrating about how some crazy shit is going down over where Tomura is. and that “our story was at a standstill, but now...”

listen, that “but now” had better mean that you’re about to de-standstill and wrap things up

-- holy shit

I’m not -- Tomura, what!?! you’re hot?! is it just me?? am I fucking losing it?? what the fuck. can you seriously just cut off anyone’s fingers and they’ll magically grow 40x hotter!? somebody count Aizawa’s fingers for me

shit. this isn’t even my normal aesthetic! Tomura you’re crossing genre barriers here. I can’t speak for everyone, but I deeply suspect that you’re appealing very widely right now

the moral of this story is, eyeliner. that’s it. that’s the moral

in other news, Twice shouting “hang in there, Giran!” speaks for all of us, I think, and he had better get a medal for being VIP of this fucking arc. and Giran, it’s good to get some exercise

so who is this monologuing now?

is this a flashback to All for One? or RD getting all philosophical as the countdown inches ever closer to his doom?

like, this could seriously go either way here. huh. full disclosure, I’m doing my best to speedread here since this recap is late, so I’m not taking much time to think real deeply or try and process every little thing this week

now RD is going “guh!” and failing to get with the times

yeah dude, we established this already. Tomura is doing a lot of things he shouldn’t fucking be able to do. because he’s awakening. you’re the one who fucking said it just last chapter. quit being so damn shocked

lol now he’s thinking “if I can just get out of range...” ha, good luck. does he even have a fucking range now

omfg. you guys

being on the villains’ team for an arc is so much fun. so nice to be able to shamelessly appreciate the senseless destruction

okay, not quite as hot now. but from the right angle, though. damn

anyways. he cray. we get it lol

now he’s shouting “I’ll break you to pieces!” all gleefully and, like. destroying the entire town, it looks like. possibly

okay but seriously I think he really is. he really fucking is, you guys

I’m simultaneously grinning at how badass it is and thinking in the back of my mind about how our actual heroes are so!! fucked!! once this arc is over and done with sob

like, hey Tomura, what was your overall goal again? destroy the entire world? oh, yes, right. and what exactly is stopping you, again? literally nothing but a handful of sixteen-year-old heroes in training? whom I’m deeply attached to? yes, that’s surely going to end well

sobbbbbbbb

we’re so. goddamn. fucked

also, when did RD transform back into his little guy form? why do I suddenly almost feel sorry for him. well maybe not sorry so much as I feel pity. though once again, weekly reminder that he invited them himself, and they probably would never have clashed had he not decided to start shit for absolutely no fucking reason

let this be a lesson to all other villains! if you’re still thinking the League is an easy mark now that AFO is ~out of the picture~, let Overhaul and Re-Destro serve as examples of what happens when you underestimate the new boy in charge

and when I think of it that way, it makes me want to warn Tomura not to get too cocky and make the same fucking mistake. AFO and All Might may not have much in common, but one thing they do share is a knack for choosing worthy successors. though I still think that in AFO’s case, “placeholder” would be a more accurate word

anyway so where were we. -- oh yes

I wonder how many pages do we need of Tomura cheerfully decimating shit and RD watching in terror. this is a manga-only complaint though, just to be clear. in the anime? this shit is going to be fucking amazing. Tomura cackling maniacally while the world crumbles to pieces around him. metal af

by the way I love how RD has gone pants-only now that he’s back in his Bruce Banner form

I really shouldn’t be complaining that this chapter is going by so quickly, given that I’m trying to race through it, but literally the next two pages are just more of the same shit

town: destroyed. RD status: defeated and pants-only. plots advanced in the last three pages: none that I can actually see

oh shit. wait

what the -- holy --

okay lol. nevermind. here I thought that was Tomura’s foot on the previous page. and I didn’t notice RD’s feet had been chopped off on account of I thought the BLOODY STUMPS OF HIS FEET were his shoes, I guess. despite the manga establishing multiple times that he was only wearing pants. I only pointed it out specifically twice myself. wowwww

just. I’m running on four hours’ sleep here but feeling pretty all right considering, so I thought I was doing pretty good, but I GUESS NOT lol. one of these days I’ll learn that if a giant two-page spread appears to be a waste, it’s far more likely that I’ve just completely failed to see some very obvious thing of critical importance

anyways. ohhhhh yesssss

[raises hand] me! I know!! it was him calling you up out of the blue and being all “hey come here I want to start a whole battle”!!

heeeeeeeh

god I’m living for this. the brief swell of pity is gone as quickly as it arose lol. finish him off boiiiii

OH FOR FUCK’S --

DID YOU GUYS SOMEHOW FAIL TO GET THE MEMO. DID THE ENTIRE TOWN CRUMBLING APART NOT CLUE YOU IN THAT IT WAS TIME TO HEAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION

jesus. I would be impressed by their loyalty, except that none of them have given a fuck about the 100,000 hapless redshirts who’ve died fighting for them, so it seems pretty damn hypocritical for them to care so much about this one fucking guy. especially when his stupid plan singlehandedly destroyed everything your organization has spent their entire lives working for. in, like, an hour

anyway, Tomura is back to being hot again guys

motherfucker is fully aware of just how much everything is lining up his way right now. finally his childlike self-assuredness actually has some sort of basis in fact. you are exactly as badass as you think you are, sir. must be nice. you enjoy this; you deserve some nice things just this once before everything goes to shit again after this arc

holy shit, even Hanabata’s quirk is failing in the wake of that see-you-in-hell grin

I’m telling you dude, you should have been driving the other way. not that there’s any point now. enjoy your final seconds on this earth

LOL

“meaningless casualties” lmao that is the most pompous variation on “DON’T YOU GET IT, WE’RE ABOUT TO FUCKING DIE” I’ve ever heard

wow, so wait, is RD trying to beg for their lives now??

that’s a surprisingly classy move. unfortunately I’m fairly sure Tomura is going to show you exactly as much mercy as you were prepared to show him just a few minutes earlier. well maybe a little more mercy, since you were going to take your sweet time and he’ll probably end things quickly in comparison

anyway so now RD is having an internal dialogue with his dead great-grandpa about how Tomura turned out to be the living embodiment of everything they were fighting for

and actually, he’s not wrong when you think about it. which just goes to show you how deeply flawed their philosophy really was. there’s a hugely important distinction between “freedom to be who you are” and “freedom to do whatever the fuck you want, including hurting and oppressing others”

anyway, so in the end he didn’t ask for mercy. “I picked a fight with you and lost. if you mean to kill me, then get it over with.” well I guess that is still classy in its own way though

also, Machia is staring at Tomura and seeing this

which is an awesome visual, and I love that Horikoshi went with that instead of more internal monologuing. nothing else even needs to be said

-- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT

SDFSLDKJFLJS HOLY SHIT

yooooooooooo. oh shit

I did not see that coming. should have, probably. there was a lot of buildup to it in hindsight. Tomura and the gang started out the arc flat-out broke, and now at the end of things they acquire a company with precisely the resources they need. manpower, cash, and technological innovations. oh shit. oh shit

oh my god the look on Ujiko’s face. this worked out better than he ever could have hoped

pausing it here because I did in fact laugh and I love it. [pats]

this boy has a 5/5 intelligence score in the character databook. he’s a genius. nothing gets past him. his reflexes are too fast

aaaaaand that’s the end of the chapter. well, then. to reiterate: we are well and truly fucked y’all

[gothamslimpestwrist]

s1e2 selina kyle

killcount:

“doug” the childsnatcher: “soldier” (homeless guy)

oswald cobblepot: douchebag college bro from the car, probably the other douchebag college bro as well.

jim gordon: quillan’s janitor

“patti” the childsnatcher: cat scratch fever dude w/ no eyes

episode total: 5 total count: 12

the dark knight rises: shit is clearly fucked in gotham. crime families are ruling the city, yes, but honestly that’s the least of it; look at the police force. we see that bo, the first responder, is late to the scene of the crime because he takes protection money from a local restaurant & gave them first priority (in other words, he’s a crooked bitch demanding a racket, AND it gets in the way of him actually doing his job). the cops are pretty much, explicitly, just an extension of the mob at this point. 

interestingly, we also see the start of an exploration of the wayne’s corruption; falcone refers to “the wayne empire,” mirroring the way they talk about the crime families And Also setting the waynes up as, like, a picture of the wealthy elite taken to a whole ‘nother level. gotham is the last modern vestige of the city state--and that is the wayne empire. who takes the crown now that the emperor and empress are dead? 

in OTHER news, the waynes really fucked bruce over. the murder itself was the lynching pin, causing him to jump over the fucking edge, so to speak, but he is Just A Little Boy! he is so troubled! he’s self harming and alfred yells at him and HITS HIM for being stupid, he’s listening to loud music and drawing fucked up shit, he’s both burned himself and is apparently cutting, and alfred, seeing all of this, refuses to get the boy who saw his parents shot a therapist, because the waynes told him to essentially let bruce raise himself. “the children are thoroughbreds,” basically. 

quoth barbara (thinking about essen shushing the child snatcher case in fear of bad press): “i can’t believe the system is so corrupt.” quoth jim (thinking about how he was yelled at for not beating a perp, thinking about the cop/mob connection that demanded he kill a man to prove his loyalty, thinking...): “you have no idea.” 

oh! and jim tells bruce the kids need more than money to keep them safe.

sliding scale of barbara kean’s sanity: she seems to be doing alright, but she’s troubled by jim’s troubles. also, this episode sets up some shit that will lead to irreparable damage later on; jim, even when he’s telling her things, isn’t telling her everything. she knows it. she hates it. he specifically hasn’t told her about oswald, which gives her reason to believe he’s a murderer pretty soon. plus, what she does w/ the information he does give her about his work (go straight to the press) gives him immediate reason to start trusting her less... and so they spiral.

sliding scale of ed nygma’s sanity: he’s a little bit more of a lurker this episode. creeps outside the captain’s office until someone notices him, lingers inside until everyone in the room makes it obvious he’s not welcome. he’s trying his best, but he’s not... very... “well liked,” shall we say.

continuity: montoya and allen are looking into the murder of oswald cobblepot. he was their snitch, after all. so that’s problems... many things are subtly set up in this episode: falcone and fish discuss maroni and his anticipated power play (adding another piece to the political chessboard of this season), the atp drug the child snatchers use is established to have been developed for arkham asylum, which is also established to have been closed for the past 15 years AND to have recently been in the works for a reopening, specifically by thomas and martha wayne. and that’s all just offhanded discussion. also related to the atp, when ed is listing the only three places that still stock it, it’s quillan pharma, drakatech (?)... and welzyn, which isn’t relevant at all to THIS episode (quillan’s the one dealing with the childsnatchers) but WILL become relevant to everyone in a few episodes, when welzyn manufactures viper. oh, and naturally the identity of the man the childsnatchers are working for: the dollmaker. hm!! on a lighter note, harvey’s ex-white knight tendencies that we explore in spirit of the goat are foreshadowed here; essen accuses him of leaking the child snatchers story to the press, w/ the reasoning that he’d done it before. after jim & barbara established that it was the right thing to do....

parallels: jim & selina meet in this episode. they are... The Same™. (look, i’ll come back to it later, but even tho my parallel in the pilot was btwn selina and oswald, and even tho they’re the two that are the villain counterparts to our heroes, jim and SELINA are the matched set.) also, this is the episode where fish expresses the wish that penguin wasn’t dead (because she wants him to suffer), but also she tells jim & harvey that she knew it was a mistake to order them killed as soon as she did it. so that means something? 

neither here nor there, but gertrud tells montoya & allen how elegant and well dressed oswald is, and bruce comments on the orphans’ scruffy appearances and buys them new clothes... we love a dandy, i guess.

characterization: we meet some irrelevant street kids that selina knew; zeb, smoke, and mackey (corey in the house). i’m basically using the characterization tab as fanfic reference so i might as well record that.

lazlo, fish’s lover, is relevant, in that falcone beats him to get to her. it definitely does affect her, though she says she only keeps him around for exercise. maybe more b/c of falcone’s threat and the fear of what it implies, though. 

and gertrud! ozzie’s mom. everyone connected to oswald, even outside (maybe even especially outside) of his mob connections, is a little twisted. she’s no different; she’s clearly a bit out of her head, she mistrusts the police (which i guess we’re supposed to think is suss, though really...Fair and Just), she’s got that almost creepy codependency with oswald while not really knowing what’s going on there. (other examples: elijah, oswald’s gothic horror father, martin, oswald’s lowkey homicidal son, edward, oswald’s fascist dog, jim, oswald’s corrupt boyfriend...) she also seems to think oswald has run off with some painted lady (actually, she says painted slut), which might be indicative of her experiences w/ van dahl and some unstable jealousy more than it is of oswald, who’s... you know. 

in other news, jim is all over the map here. he stops harvey beating mackey (and later, quillan, after they’ve already gotten info out of him) and protests that they should leak the story to the press, but he also seems content to keep his mouth shut until barbara takes doing good upon herself. he adapts to the mob shit pretty quick, but expresses disgust w/ the corruption in the system. he gets off on the wrong foot w/ mayor james because he disagrees with locking up the kids w/o a trial, but he doesn’t... step in... either. we see this willingness to compromise and bend the knee that means he’ll never be the hero gotham deserves. 

also, not to be a jim apologist on main or anything (ha, ha), but he’s just so... brainwashed. all this, & he still tells alfred that being a cop, which has thus far caused him nothing but pain & misery, is the “best job in the world.” because he thinks he’s helping people. (and he likes getting to feel like a hero... so where do the misguided good intentions stop and the selfish motives begin?) he also kills a man for the first time on screen this episode because for all its examinations of dirty cops... gotham is still, at the end of the day, Copaganda. in an actual moment of me drinking I Love Jim Gordon juice, jim is the one who advocates for bruce going to therapy, and tries to convince him to go personally, even when jim himself is too emotionally stunted for it to help him. 

also, backstory: harvey pegs his love life, saying, “high school sweetheart, then a bunch of hoes (read: eduardo dorrance) overseas only made you sad... and then there’s barbara.” he also calls jim a monkey riding a race horse; jim’s face is really good @ that. i misinterpreted the line about high school sweethearts back in the day to mean that barb was jim’s highschool sweetheart. this is on account of auditory processing disorder and also general dumbassery. anyway, the point is that jim is a boring, predictable bitch! whom i love.

...in terms of characterization from the episode that i don’t agree with, i can’t really see oswald writing all the shit that they had on his conspiracy board, lmfao. “crybaby brucie,” “gordon=STOOGE,” & so forth. i pretend i do not see it.

[jinxofthedesert]

Hi there! Annoying anon that loves rambling about the Valeska twins is here again 🤣 Let the discussion continue! 😂 Yeah, I totally get your point of writing such stories as a means of fulfilling wishes. I guess it makes sense from the writer's pov that they want to give these characters a different (better) treatment. Valid point, but still, they don't feel real to me.

(Below this is the rest of the messages, put together. Farther down, below the line, are my responses)

It's like I'm reading a story with a character that's called Jerome/Jeremiah Valeska and looks exactly like him, but it's not truly him (just like you said, at their cores they are bad guys). But it's perfectly understandable and all right that people want to give them a rest from their chaotic lives haha 😊 everybody’s got their cup of tea ☕

Damn, yes, these stories are so hard to find! I imagine that writing something of the sort and investing so much in such complex characters can be draining and daunting, so yeah I get the reason why there are not so many fics out there... and OCs are so difficult to write haha you are right. They take too much time and effort 🤣

Yeah, I guess Ecco was not the best example. It's very true what you say about Jeremiah's and Ecco's relationship. In the show it was portrayed as a professional one. So we don't really know if there's anything else beyond that, save for some level of concern. So I guess I should have gone with Bruce instead because, just like you said, Jeremiah went totally bonkers when he realized that Bruce was the only one who saw past his resemblance to Jerome.

Basically, what I was trying to say is that in these fics there's not really that same vibe of evil obsession and lunacy from the twin's side. Maybe just some sort of heightened jealousy when their partner is addressed by other characters, but not in a really "Valeska" way. In fact, it is also strange when Bruce is completely absent in these stories when the twins' obsession revolves around him.

Yeah, there is sooo much to explore, so that is why I am very curious to see how people construe their backgrounds, but usually it's just the repetition of the show with some added scenes and dialogues here and there 😅 I would love to see something a bit different, but well, I guess I am being very demanding 🤣 Don't worry about it and thanks so much for replying! 😘 I am now doing some research in different sites 🤣

It's a bit weird because even though I enjoyed the show, I have to say I merely watched it to see ma broski boys in action 🤣 so If I wasn't so lazy (and didn't have other unfinished projects) I would try to write something (my mind is already full of vague ideas OMGGG 😏🤔😂), but I don't really know much about other characters or subplots, so I would not be sure how to tackle it 🤔 Thanks again for the lovely discussion! 😊

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Hi anon! Don’t you worry about your rambles, they’re not at all annoying! I find it rather fun to discuss the twins. 

I’m sorry you’ve not been able to find the content you’re looking for; usually, I always run into comments on Tumblr or Pinterest about how you look for certain fics and when you can’t find them, then it’s time to try a hand at writing it yourself. I’ve done that and, even though I enjoy writing, it’s still pretty hard, especially to find a drive to do it when I really am not feeling it.  With the twins not feeling real, I understand, ‘course I now think I’m at the point where I might read anything if I’m gifted with more content lol (though there are some tags that, if I see them, I don’t touch if I can help it). 

I think, usually, with most writers, it’s easier to take a character like Jerome/Jeremiah and, instead of doing the tremendous work that comes with trying (emphasis trying) to change them, they do a few things and that’s enough for a road to recovery. Because, most of the time, they’re not writing to change the character, or even to make it realistic; sometimes they’re just writing, or they wanted to try a different aspect. There can be so many reasons and sometimes digging deep and getting a character 100% correct isn’t at the top of the list of what you want in that story. Personally, I’ve learned to broaden my sense of disbelief with characters and just enjoy what I manage to find, especially since the Gotham fic-oriented content is sooooo small 😢

After reading your last message, I actually went onto Ao3 and searched ‘character studies’ under the characters and yeah, there’s not much, I read a few and I honestly wasn’t sure what to think (not to call anyone out). It reminded me a lot of my years reading batjokes on fanfiction or, again, Ao3 where, if you search long enough, there’s a fic for almost all your needs. There have been some good gems in there that delve into character studies and helping these characters try and become better. Comparing that to Gotham’s arrangement of fics is sad, to say the least, but batjokes in all media have a lottttt of years to have such a collection of wonderful content. (Even if you’re only a Gotham fan, stretching out into the actual Batman fandom can be very rewarding, even if your next step is into the Nolan movies or even Batman in general cause you can replace the characters in your head if you really want too)  I think one big problem with Oc’s is that, in a way, they’re easy to make, but in the worst way. You can create a character to put in the place you want, a blank space and they’re just nothing. This comes up a lot in anime type works, where the main character is so blah for the purpose of the audience (reader in our other case) to put themselves in the place of the main character. This also happens in a lot of movies as well, instead of fleshing the character out and allowing them to move and breathe the way THEY would and not how the audience thinks they themselves would. Because of this, oc’s can be very flat. There are the exception, of course although I have no examples since I don’t remember the last Oc story I read . . .  *wracks brain* yeah no idea. Though I’m sure it’s somewhere in my saves.

Even if one doesn’t ship Jeremiah with Bruce, it’s very difficult to ignore/brush under the rug that there was definitely an obsession and that originally, during their weeks of spending time together, building the generator, there started a friendship. The first is very obvious, show-wise (and friendship kinda came with the territory) and the gay subtext can be there if you look at it that way. As much as an interesting character Ecco is, she’s both not important enough in the show (sorry Ecco lovers) or to Jeremiah or to anyone for that matter. While with Bruce and Jeremiah, with how their first meeting go’s and all the meetings that follow after (very willingly on Jeremiah’s part even though I’m sure before this NO ONE was allowed in the inner parts of his bunker for long periods. Probably not even Ecco) the relationship is much more pronounced than anything we’re given prior.  I like to think that even though Bruce was manipulating Jeremiah when they first met, he actually did see him as his own person. Even though he, like Jim and Harvey, have personally bore witness to Jerome’s tyranny. (And that only twists the knife harder when Jeremiah eventually loses his mind because both him and Jeremiah saw him as his own person and in a way Jeremiah doesn’t become like Jerome, he becomes worse)

One could argue that since we didn’t see a ‘true’ way the Valeska’s love that any type of them showing affection might never seem very Valeska. Unless one looks at their reactions and interactions with Bruce as something more than just ‘wanting to kill him’ or ‘obsession’. This would be another reason I’m don’t read much in the oc-area or out of the romantic’s lol mainly because the moment they take Bruce out of the picture, everything seems off. Jerome, while willing to divide his attention, only does it with specific people, who are: Jim, Bruce, Jeremiah, and, on occasion, Oswald (though he’s much less in comparison to the ‘big three’). Other then them, we don’t see him hyper-focus on anyone else in the show, and if he does, it’s for a second and to simply kill them after. If these three aren’t integral to his behavior and actions then things feel flat and out-right ignoring his obsession with Bruce and his inner darkness can be unrealistic. With Jeremiah, this is much worse because in canon, once No Man’s Land starts, all he can think about is Bruce. Everything he does in that setting and before this even started was for Bruce. This type of obsession is . . . well, something that can’t simply be ignored, it’s a big part of his character and also very integral to just who he is after the spray. It may not be as bad at the start of the spray (because he’s too busy rebuilding Gotham in his image) but literally second to that desire is his connection with Bruce. If there were a summary of Jeremiah as a character it would be IMPOSSIBLE to write it without Bruce (same with Jerome though his might be a footnote, depending). So him suddenly focusing on someone else is . . . odd (even with Jim he doesn’t give his full attention too and, in the finale, Jeremiah only starts moving around and doing shit when he realizes that Bruce has come home early and that it’s time to finally come back to the spotlight). Especially since he’s supposed to be the ‘Joker’ in the Gotham world, which, technically speaking, means this obsession with the Bat (a.k.a Bruce) will only ever get worse from here (not to mention the fact he knows Batman is Bruce because he remembers the prophecy Ra’s told him, which we’re shown in the finale when he first sees the Bat and comment’s ‘you’ in a knowing way; this can be argued he’s just recognizing that this is what the prophecy was talking about or that it’s Bruce but personally I think both cause the prophecy was about both of them.).

It’s hard not to repeat things in canon though, believe me, I know and if you ever try writing a time travel story, it’s much worse cause then you have to change literally everything if you’re doing it that way.  Nah, you know what you like; the only problem with that is it’ll be hard to find it most of the time. I wish you luck in searching! Hopefully, you’ll find something.

Same. My older brother introduced me to the show and his way of doing so was first telling me it was a batman show, that I would LOVE Oswald’s aesthetic and that there was a Joker-type character just introduced. I was sold lol. There’s been a lot of drama with the show though, concerning the twins and I honestly wish they’d just stuck with Jerome or if they did still use Jeremiah that he wasn't just . . . a backup plan for killing Jerome off. And, if they’d been allowed to go on for a few more seasons, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they would have also killed Jeremiah and a third (never heard of) Valeska twin (triplet) would show up, playing into the overall Joker lore about there having been three. 😒🤨😑 Which I find humorous because they did so well with Jerome, he was a well-rounded, fleshed out character and, as much as I love Jeremiah, it’s hard not to consider what we could have gotten if Jerome had lived *wistful sigh* I won’t lie that the drama hasn’t affected how I watch it too these days, or at least left me with a lasting impression.  I was very invested in the first few seasons, it was a good show, minus the plot-holes and annoying characters (yes, some annoy me and there are some I can’t stand) but when the twins were on screen, it was probably the show at its best. If they had implicated them more so into the main story I probably would have watched all the way to the end (I can admit, I’ve never seen season five, but I saw many clips, have been completely spoiled and DID watch the finale lol and . . . I think I saw some of season four? Maybe, not sure anymore.) because when they’re also interacting with Bruce, perfection. I could watch that shit for days. 

Also, if you did write it, it wouldn’t have to be about other characters if you don’t want it to be. You’re talking to me, who has never seen the last few seasons and when I wrote my first fic ‘Blindly Evident’ literally all my scenes I had to LOOK UP because I only knew the base of what the scene was even about lol. So sometimes, you can totally bullshit your way lol and somehow it turns out to be really good and you like it. Or it’s just snippets of small scenes with your characters (I’ve been writing a fic like that for awhile because it’s fun and easy and yet you can make it so thought provoking because these snippets are so smallll.) I would implore you to give it a go. Even if you have no idea what the other characters are doing or even what their names are. 

I feel like this has just become me rambling about Gotham and writing tips at this point lol but you’re welcome~ I am here to try and help and always willing to listen about Gotham and talk (or rant, I’m not picky lol). Thanks again for your ask, anon! Hope you find that content you’re looking for 🥰🧡💛

[ranger-jedi-knight]

A New Hero Ch. 4

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20887313/chapters/51810070

Tag list: @vixen-uchiha

Ok, so here’s the next chap. I’m on my laptop, but idk for how long. We’ll see if it shuts down randomly a lot. If that happens, then back to my phone. No matter what, I’ll work on gettin these chaps out! Also, school threw another essay at me with NO warning. So ya, my recoverin brain just went back to its completely fried state, so sorry about the delay, again. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new update!!

Mari cheered as she held out macarons to Tim. “I’m glad your first semester at Gotham University,” Mari said and Tim smiled.

“Thanks, Mari,” Tim said. Dick walked into the kitchen talking to Alya with Babs on his other side.

“You’re pathetic without me Dick. How? You had Batman to teach you,” Alya said and Babs laughed while Dick blushed a bit.

“Hey, I tried. But this perp is slippery ok!” Dick said.

“From what Dick has said, the perp is slippery.”

“I’ll give ya a pass this time, boy wonder,” Alya said shaking her head. “Hey, Tim. hows university treating you so far?” she turned a seat to face them while Dick leaned against the wall.

“It’s great,” Tim said and Dick leveled a look at his younger brother.

“He’s getting less sleep somehow,” Dick said and Alya laughed while Mari went over to them and handed them macarons.

“I swear Tim, you live on coffee alone,” Alya said thinking about all the stories Dick has told her about Tim not sleeping.

“So, you know their secret Alya?” Mari asked and Alya nodded.

“Yeah. One night a couple years ago, my car battery stopped and no one could come to change it till the morning. Nightwing came by and said ‘You need help Alya?’,” Alya started laughing as she shook her head. “When he realized what he said he started rambling, saying how Dick told him about me. It was easy to see. I can’t believe this lug,” she threw her thumb at Dick who looked outraged, “hasn’t outed himself and his family to the world yet.”

Everyone started laughing at that while Dick crossed his arms and pouted. “Hey!”

“She’s not wrong, babe,” Babs cut in and Dick nodded at that.

“I know she is, butterfly,” Dick said before munching on a macaron. At that, Alya snorted while shaking her head.

“So, Mari, how do you know their secret?” she asked and Mari smiled at her as she sat down.

“My grandpa Fu has me training with them every summer and sometimes during the weekends. I’m training to become the hero Ladybug!” Mari explained and a small red creature flew from Mari’s hair and went to be in front of Alya with a smile.

“Hi there, I’m Tikki, the kwami of Creation!” the small being introduced and Alya raised a hand and gave a small wave while the kwami went over and shook her finger.

“Hi, Tikki, I’m Alya,” she said as the kwami flew over to Mari and sat on her head.

“I’m surprised you aren’t more shocked, Grayson,” Damian commented looking at Alya who shook her head.

“Damian, call me Alya. You know one day you’re going to call out Grayson when me and Dick are here and we’ll both go ‘Yes?’ and that’ll be annoying. So please, just call me Alya, or Als even,” Alya said and Damian gave a small nod of understanding at that.

“I’ll be honest, I almost replied when you said Grayson, Damian,” Dick admitted with a chuckle that had everyone laughing. Jason popped in then and looked at them curiously.

“What’s everyone laughing at?” he asked as he opened the fridge and pulled out a soda and opened the can.

“I got introduced to Tikki, and Damian was asking how I wasn’t more shocked and said my last name and Dick admitted to almost responding when Damian said it,” Alya said and Jason started laughing at that.

“I don’t know what’s better. That Dick got partnered with a person who shares the same last name as him, or that said person has basically become a family friend and is now causing trouble because of their last name,” Jason commented and Alya shook her head with a laugh.

“Just imagine the chaos if my sister was also here. Then there would be three Grayson’s to confuse,” Alya said which had everyone laughing before Tim turned to Alya with a curious look when he finished laughing.

“How is Lana by the way? I didn’t see her much during my final semester there,” he asked and Alya leaned onto her elbows and looked at her hands with a sigh.

“I’m not sure,” she said after a moment of silence. “She….seems to be hiding from me….but she sounds so excited when she answers my calls or I manage to catch her,” she said slowly, putting her clasped hands in front of her mouth. “I….I don’t like what this is pointing towards,” she finished looking over at Dick whose cheerful face had turned stony.

“What do you mean?” Damian asked while his two other brothers were frowning. They looked over at him and Alya looked at Dick who nodded along with the others.

“It means…..her boyfriend may be…..hurting her…..someway,” she said slowly and Damian frowned at that.

“Can we not help get her out of that?” he asked and Alya sighed and let Dick take over.

“It’s not that easy baby bird,” Dick said and Damian looked over at him confused. “These types of situations are…..delicate,” Dick walked over to Damian and led him from the room to tell him softly while Mari continued to frown.

“Will you be able to help her?” Mari asked and Alya gave a small, defeated shrug.

“I’m not sure. But I’ll try,” she answered and Mari nodded as Babs placed a hand on her shoulder. Alya gave a small nod towards the woman. “Why don’t we go to a happier topic?” at that, they all nodded agreement. Though Jason and Tim looked upset, they didn’t say anything. Dick and Damian came back then, Damian was scowling and sat down with Mari joining him.

“Bruce and Clark have been dating for about a year now, how long do you think it’ll take for them to get engaged? I’m thinking a few years” Babs asked and Alya laughed at that which had the others joining in.

“You really think it’ll take that long?” Alya asked and both Babs and Dick nodded.

“Yes. It took those two years to just admit they like each other. So it’s safe to assume it’ll take a while for them to get engaged. One, because Clark wouldn’t want to impose or force anything on Bruce, he wants to make sure Bruce is comfortable with everything they do. And two, Bruce is emotionally constipated,” this had Alya snorting with a few others joining, “and so he won’t really know how to go about it. So a few years is generous. For that to happen within let’s say, three years, they would probably need Lois and our help in doing that,” Dick explained and Alya nodded as she continued to laugh.

“Oh brother, that’ll be interesting to watch,” Alya remarked and they nodded at that. “How did Lois react to that by the way? She was married to Clark,” she asked and Dick nodded.

“It hurt her at first, but she could see they would be good for each other. Connor and Jon laugh every time Lois complains about how the two of them are idiots,” Dick explained and that had Alya laughing.

“That’s sweet that she’s letting the two of them be together,” Alya said smiling.

“Ya, she’s their biggest shipper it seems. Quickly followed by both cities it feels like some days,” Babs said and Alya had to nod agreement to that.

“From what it seems, the two are idiots who will take ages to get married,” Alya said before smirking at the couple in the room, “like someone else we know~” she teased out and the two blushed while Jason and Tim started laughing beside them.

“She has a point,” Jason said smirking as well and the couple in question just glared at them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mari was grinning while she was with Tim. They were exiting the movie theater having just seen a new movie they were interested in. As they were walking they saw Dick and Alya walking as they discussed something. It had been quite some time since they last saw the brunette. “Dick, Alya, what’s up!?” Tim shouted to catch their attention as they sped over to catch up. The two turned to them with frowns but smiled at them.

“Hey, Tim, Mari. How’s it going?” Alya greeted.

“It’s fine, what about you though?” Mari asked and Alya shared a look with Dick.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Tim asked and the two sighed.

“Nothing much. Just discussing what I missed while I helped Lana move into her dorm for college,” she explained and Tim nodded but he narrowed his eyes and Dick just mouthed ‘later’.

“Why don’t you guys get going? We have a case we need to work on and didn’t Alfred want to bake with Mari?” Dick asked and the two nodded.

“Oh! We should. See ya later, Alya, Dick!” Mari shouted and grabbed Tim’s hand and started running, barely giving Tim enough time to wave goodbye to them. They reached the manor in record time and Mari let Tim’s hand go before running towards the kitchen where he heard Alfred moving around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alya was scowling next to Dick when they entered the manor. Dick’s normally cheery face was set in a frown. This had the brothers worried. “What’s wrong, boy wonder?” Jason asked as Tim handed Dick his just made hot chocolate and prepared a new one. Dick took the mug and took a sip before sighing. They sat down in the kitchen, Dick leaned against the table on his elbows while Alya leaned against the chair’s back, sliding a bit with her head back.

“It’s about Lana….” Alya started after a couple minutes. This had the three frowning as they sat down at the table with their own cups. Tim slid one over to Alya and she caught it with ease.

“What about her?” Jason asked leaning against the table. They were glad Mari was with Alfred at the store then. If this was going where it sounded like it would, they didn’t want the sweet girl hearing.

“We….” she trailed off and took a sip of her drink while moving to lean onto the table, looking into her mug. “We were able to figure out that Steve’s been emotionally abusing Lana since before her sophomore year,” she said and the boys had different reactions to that, Jason and Damian were the most vocal. The two had actually growled at hearing it. “We just got….we just came from helping Lana break it off, both Dick and I scared Steve away from Gotham. She’s at my place right now, cuddling the dog I’m babysitting for my friend,” she said.

“Should Lana really be alone right now?” Jason asked and Alya narrowed her eyes at him while Dick placed a hand on both of their shoulders.

“Jay bird,” he started and Jason looked over at him while Alya sighed and looked back at her drink while sipping at it. “It’s alright. Alya knows that Lana shouldn’t be alone right now, but she can’t leave early, the big man is in a bad mood. But right now Lana has a furry companion,” he said and Alya nodded.

“And Cole should be finishing soon, so he’ll be able to comfort her until I can head home,” Alya added.

“Who’s Cole?” Jason asked with narrowed eyes and Alya narrowed hers in return.

“My boyfriend. I’ve been dating him for almost a year. He absolutely adores Lana, treats her like she’s his little sister. I trust him,” Alya said and the two nodded.

“But what about after today?” Tim asked.

“The precinct has agreed to let Lana stay there and hang with Alya and I until she’s comfortable with being by herself. They’re talking with Gordon right now to have it happen,” Dick replied and Tim nodded.

“Could we hang out with her? Mari could make some treats,” Damian asked and Alya gave a small smile at that.

“That would be nice,” she started but turned to Jason and sighed. “But it would be smart for you to not see her for a bit, Jason. I’m sorry.” Jason looked at her confused, along with Damian while Tim gave a nod at that, having a thought as to why.

“What do you mean?” Jason asked.

“Well,” she started and looked over at Dick.

“We think…..Steve did something, said something, after she met you while returning Tim’s book. He didn’t like how you two interacted. We don’t know what he said or did, but when we asked Lana if she’d like to see you guys when we finished the confrontation, she….was scared. She needs a bit of time to get over whatever he said about you,” Dick explained and Jason looked shocked at hearing that while Damian had an unreadable expression.

“I….I don’t know when she’ll be good to see you again, but it’d do her good if you don’t see her for the time being,” Alya said and Jason nodded.

“Alright, I’ll keep away until she’s not scared anymore,” Jason agreed and Alya nodded with a smile.

“Thanks,” Alya replied while both Tim and Dick patted his back.

“What’s going on here?” Mari asked as she and Alfred entered the kitchen.

“Some….not so good news about Lana,” Tim said slowly and Mari frowned at that while Alfred tilted his head.

“Is she sad?” Mari asked and they nodded since she’d probably feel sad at some point during this. “Can I make her something? Treats always brightens a persons day!” Mari said and Alya smiled at that.

“She’d like that,” Alya said and Mari beamed at that.

“Great! I’ll make some cookies for her!” With that, Mari quickly put away the items she and Alfred got and pulled out the items needed to make cookies. Tim went over to Alfred and whispered what was up while Jason stood up.

“I’ll be back,” Jason said and he went upstairs while Damian went over to Mari and handed her items she needed. Alya and Dick shared a confused look but Dick only shrugged, he was used to his brother’s seemingly random actions. Jason soon came down holding a small black box and slid it over to Alya who looked at it confused. “Mind giving her this? You don’t have to say who gave it to her,” he said and Alya gave a slight nod as she opened the box curious.

Inside was a necklace, connecting the two chains was a silver dagger pendant with three stone, two in the hilt area and one on the blade. “What’s this about?” Alya asked and Jason looked away with a shrug.

“A friend talked about some crystals, that one,” he pointed to a small stone that was black, blue, and green that rested on the top part of the crossguard, “is labradorite,” he then pointed to the bottom of the crossguard at a black stone, “that is black tourmaline, and that,” he then pointed to a purple crystal that rested on the blade near the crossguard, “is amethyst. They provide different protection to people. I don’t particularly believe in them, but I originally got it for Mari to help her, but I think she won’t mind it going to Lana. Right, Mari?” Jason turned to the girl who was smiling at him while the others were smirking in some way.

“I don’t mind at all! Crystals can really help someone, provide hope. This could really benefit Lana,” she said and Alya smiled with a nod as she closed the box.

“I’ll be sure to give it to her as soon as possible,” Alya said gently putting the box into her purse and finished her drink. “The hot chocolate was delicious Tim,” Alya stated as she stood up with Dick following.

“See you in a few hours, we should really get going,” Dick agreed. They then left the kitchen while hearing Damian, Tim, and Mari saying ‘ooh’ and Jason shouting.

“It’s not like that!” Jason shouted while Tim gave him a look.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” Tim said with a smirk and Jason glared at his younger brother. Mari was smirking as she finished mixing the cookie dough and started putting it onto cookie sheets. Damian was smirking at Jason as well but didn’t say anything. Mari was putting the trays into the oven while Tikki ate some cookie dough.

“You got it bad,” Mari mumbled which caused Jason to sputter.

“No, I don’t!” Jason yelled as he left the kitchen. Tim and Mari laughed while Alfred shook his head fondly. Damian continued smirking.

“I soo won’t let him live this down,” Tim said and Mari started laughing at that.

“Did either of you want to join me in dropping these off?” Mari asked as she got out a container before going to wash the things she used while waiting for the cookies to cook.

“Sure,” Damian said and Mari smiled while Tim shook his head.

“You go ahead. I have some stuff I need to work on,” Tim said as he got up and headed towards the stairs and to his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mari beamed at them as she waved goodbye to the Wayne’s, Clark, and Alya. Clark had an arm around Bruce and Alya stood to the side. This time, Chloe and Nino had brought Kim with them and they were waiting in front of the portal with big smiles. Mari ran over to the three and hugged them tightly. “I hope you had a good time,” Kim said and Mari nodded.

“Yeah! Maybe you guys can join me here!” Mari said and they nodded agreement.

“Any friend of Mari’s can visit us with her,” Bruce said and the three smiled.

“Thanks, dude!” Nino called out.

“See ya again, sunshine. Don’t get into trouble!” Alya shouted which the others nodded agreement to.

“Will do!” Mari shouted as they went through the portal.

Alster <3 @Bi_Arrow

#sunshinechild is awesome. Had a great time hanging with her when I was with the Wayne’s. Can’t wait for next time and @proudgothamite I’ll take ya with. Only when you’re ready though. Hope you liked the gift from a friend ;)

Here’s the next chap. I hope you enjoyed it, I had a fun time writing this, we got more Alya and Lana! Well, Alya. You guys got more info on what’s happenin with Lana. So, the next chap, i’ll be honest, idk how long it’ll take. Cause this comin week is the final week of this sems college classes and i have a final. So ya. That MAY fry my brain and cause a delay. We’ll see thou. Anyways, LUV YA!! ~Willa <3<3<3

[whetstonefires]

fictober prompt #7: “No worries, we still have time.” This one got so long. For a sprint prompt.

“Great. Just great!”

“No worries, we still have time.”

“That’s what you think!” Tim slammed the car trunk. “We have time assuming I-95 isn’t backed up around Baltimore and assuming we can get this tire changed in under fifteen minutes and assuming the spare isn’t flat and assuming that blow-out didn’t damage anything else in the car and assuming we can find the restaurant without any issues and are you filming me?”

Steph grinned over her phone at him. “You’re gonna have to stop being so funny if you want me to stop sharing you with the internet.”

“Grrrrahahaaaa!” Tim threw the lugwrench at the ground, then followed it onto his knees, picked it up, and started levering at the hub cap with the pointy end. “Fine. Whatever. Be like that. Hi internet, here’s how you change a tire. Observe how I wedged the rear wheels for safety’s sake before getting started.”

“Tch.” Steph saved the vid, locked her phone, and stuck it in her pocket before squatting down next to him. “It’s not actually a life-or-death issue whether we make our reservation on time. You could stand to relax a little. We’re on vacation.”

The hubcap popped off. Tim got up, rummaged in the equipment box for a few seconds, and came up with the jack. “Not like you take things any more seriously when it is a life or death issue.”

“I do so!”

“Fine. You do. But you still give me a hard time about—fretting. Like I’m making problems more real by trying to solve them before they have consequences!” He wrenched at a lug nut, probably over-loosening it.

Steph rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, still crouching. She kept her knees close together because this skirt wasn’t all that long. “Are we really doing this right now?”

“Why not?” He’d finished with the nuts, and tossed the lug wrench underhand back into the equipment box.

“Because you’re in a snit and we won’t get anywhere useful, we’ll just get in a shouting match and wind up extra-late and in shitty moods for our dinner date with your geriatric crush.”

Tim shot a poisonous look over his shoulder before going back to wriggling the block that went under the jack for stability into place in the roadside gravel. “He’s just cool, alright. He did a lot of hero work in Gotham before Bruce was even born.”

“I know. I think it’s really cute how you’re still such a fanboy.”

Tim slid the hydraulic jack into place where it needed to be under the belly of the car, and stood up, clutching the handle of the thing. “Would you not do that.”

Steph grinned up at him. “What?”

“Talk like that. It…when you say nice things so they’re insults. It really gets to me.”

“Wow. Okay.” Tim started pumping the hydraulic jack, careful long smooth strokes like he had for some reason taken the time in his busy busy schedule to practice changing a tire. Steph’s eyebrows climbed as she watched. “…this is why they call it ‘jacking off,’ isn’t it?”

“Oh my god.”

“I thought you weren’t religious.”

Tim turned his face away, but he couldn’t hide the warmth in his voice. “Shut up. I don’t want to laugh right now.”

“Why not? Laugh!” Steph stood up, waving her hands in encouragement. “Relax! There is literally nothing that matters on the line! Mr. Scott isn’t going to think less of us for having a bad tire any more than he would if we missed dinner completely to save a bus full of schoolchildren being taken hostage.”

Tim didn’t argue, but his smooth rhythm on the jack didn’t stutter either, and the set of his chin looked mulish. Steph folded her arms. “Why can’t you enjoy not being under pressure for once? Why do you have to waste every second of your life worrying about some other second you can’t control? It’s exhausting! It pisses me off! Hey, look at me!”

“I thought you didn’t want to do this now.” Tim lowered the jack handle to the ground carefully.

“Shit. I didn’t. But for real! It’s bullshit, Tim! You already decided calling triple-A wasn’t efficient enough so you were doing things yourself, I don’t see how dwelling on all the things that might slow us down later is supposed to help anything now.”

“How is deciding everything’s going to be fine, so you don’t have to make any effort to consider the steps necessary to counter all the reasons it might not be, ‘helping?’”

“Because you can’t plan for everything! When you try all you do is make yourself and everyone around you miserable, and when a thing happens you’re just going to have to improvise anyway!”

Tim flung his hands out, time a-wasting now with no progress on the blown tire. “You think you can just do whatever works for you right now, and leave other people to deal with the fallout.” Steph’s fist clenched, because they never talked about her ‘death’ but that couldn’t not be referencing it. “You never take any responsibility,” Tim rushed on. “No matter how many times it goes wrong, you think you can just take action in the world without having to deal with what that means.”

Steph refused to get drawn into the same old argument. “I’ve been getting better about that. I’ve been working at it. But you? You’re just getting worse! You used to know how to have fun!”

They’d actually had a lot of fun so far, since leaving Gotham, but of course at the first hint of things going wrong he had to fly off the handle and lock down, and go into a snit fit when she tried to be optimistic. “Wasn’t this trip supposed to be about finding yourself and all that crap? What’s that worth if all you do is keep turning into Bruce?”

“For crying out loud, Steph, don’t make this about him.”

“How can I not?”

“Because it’s me! These are my personal hangups about my personal screw-ups! I can’t just offload it all on Bruce! Do I go around blaming anything about you on Cluemaster? Or your mom? Or even Barbara?”

Well, no. Bruce did, sometimes, because of his bullshit ideas about heredity that were honestly one step short of the outright eugenics Damian had been raised on, but that wasn’t really Tim’s bag. He was a critical jerk, but his criticisms tended to be about her, personally. If they were tangled up with where she came from, it was only at the subtext level. “I’m not doing it to score points or something,” she told him, “I’m saying you’re like this because he’s a bad influence, and you need to chill the fuck out. Before you alienate everybody you know and give yourself the cardiovascular issues of a dude three times your age!”

“Rrgh!” Tim turned his back on Steph and went back to loosening lugnuts, with his fingers now. It was a few seconds before he spoke, low and through his teeth. “Do you know how many people died in that war you started? Really died, not just fake died and ran away to Africa?”

The tight line of tension up his back was no match for the sick swoop in Steph’s gut that he would even bring this up. “That was not my idea.”

“Do you know?”

“It’s not like all your scheming and plotting means no one ever gets killed!”

“No. No, of course it doesn’t. But—fewer. That’s the whole point! That’s why I do it, why we do any of it! If I do everything right, fewer people get killed. That’s the point. And if I mess up, more people die. That’s what happens. When we mess up. So we have to do everything we can to not.”

His right hand twitched as he talked, not quite trembling but not able to maintain a consistent grip on the nut, either. Maybe he hadn’t loosened this one enough. His hand slipped off, twice, before he managed to get it turning.

Steph fought to even out her breathing. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair for him to turn every little thing into a giant drama and then talk like it was his moral obligation to do so, like she was flawed as a person for not being as screwed up as him.

She didn’t say that. She didn’t say anything close to it that covered up her own vulnerabilities better, either. She breathed. She’d been practicing this, ever since the months after her so-brief-it-counted-as-fake death when everything had made her too mad and scared to see straight. She’d done a lot of reading about ways to be okay. She’d even talked to a couple of people. Besides Leslie, who hadn’t been in a great place to advise her even if Steph had been able to listen.

“But…” she said finally, getting back to the core of the issue instead of reacting. “Nobody’s going to die, if we’re late to dinner.”

Tim’s hands still weren’t steady, as he smoothed his hair back, almost definitely getting some sort of grime or grease in it. “That…I know. I do know that.”

“So why are you being a dick about it?”

“Hah.” It was a ragged sound, not entirely unlike a laugh, but mostly just a word. “Don’t know how to stop, I guess.”

“So you’re gonna stop now?”

“I’ll try.” He twiddled the last lugnut free, then gripped the blown-out tire by the rim and heaved it loose, sliding it free of the fixed bolts. The jack held. This was good, as either the car didn’t come equipped with jackstands or Tim had decided to dispense with them for this operation, since he wasn’t going under the car himself.

Steph frowned, watching him bend with his arms full of wheel, to set it down in the gravel by the road. Something about how that had been resolved didn’t feel right. His emotions that had been making him lash out had been acknowledged, categorized as misdirected, he’d conceded the point. She’d won. With logic. So what was wrong.

She was trying to be better about this stuff. She still thought the amount of responsibility these batboys took for everyone else ever was condescending and bullshit and also basically a form of self-harm, but she could acknowledge that even if her normal approach was good for her mental health it led to her dropping the ball, sometimes, when she really couldn’t afford that. Or other people couldn’t. So. Middle ground. What was missing, in this conversation. What had they skipped.

While she thought, Tim had retrieved and now carefully hefted the replacement tire—not the normal mini-spare deal, this ride was kitted out with the assumption you might need to change a tire yourself and then immediately engage in a high-speed carchase across several hundred miles of terrain. It wasn’t flat, either. As he fed it onto the waiting lug bolts, Steph got the problem to click. “No one’s going to die,” she said. “But…you’ll be sad if we miss dinner with Mr. Scott. Or if turning up late just makes us look bad, and he doesn’t take to you. You want to impress him, and you’re worried about it.”

Tim finished getting the wheel into place before grumbling in his throat, shoulders hunched up toward his ears. “Yeah, okay, I’m an inveterate suck-up. You’ve got me. I give in. Let it go. Where the hell did I put the lugnuts?”

“Windshield wipers.” He’d laid them out there in a row, apparently having auto-selected a flat surface without consulting his conscious mind. Steph felt her mouth draw in like she’d bitten a lemon. “Also, no, shit, I’m not actually trying to give you a hard time.”

The look he shot her was dubious, before he went back to screwing on lugnuts.

“When you’re worried about something, and I tell you you shouldn’t be, you feel like I’m saying your emotions are dumb,” said Steph.

“Aren’t you?” He didn’t sound sulky so much as guarded, and trying not to sound even that. Why was this dork so bad at pretending not to care except when he was too damn good at it?

“Well…sometimes, yeah.” Because his feelings were dumb a lot. Except that was actually an asshole attitude, wasn’t it; just because his opinions were stupid didn’t mean his feelings were. She guessed. People were always acting like her feelings were stupid, though, did she owe them any better. Ugh. Was she really trying to have a psychological breaththrough while yelling at her ex who was changing a tire on the side of the interstate.

Tim snort-laughed again. His shoulders were coming down. He spun the second lugnut into place. “Okay.”

“But, uh…mostly I just want you to stop being such a downer. Just because you want to feel like crap doesn’t mean I’m obligated to join you.” Wow, so understanding. “Uh. Your feelings aren’t actually dumb. It’s fine if you want people to like you. Even if you should maybe get used to the fact that sometimes they don’t.” He was actually kind of spoiled, to be so used to approval that not getting it scared him, to expect people to help him just because he made a good impression. He was such a child sometimes. Such a man.

“I am used to that,” Tim said. “People don’t like me all the time. I’m not all that likable.”

At least he didn’t sound self-pitying about it, but Steph rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

“I know I have unfair advantages when it comes to making a…strong impression,” he continued, rather irritably, “but I’m sure you hear the same about being a gorgeous blonde. Advantages just means it must be more your fault when you fail.”

“Owch.”

“Generic you.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

The last lugnut as snugged as he could get it by hand, Tim turned a handle and the hydraulic jack depressurized, letting the car sink onto its new wheel. They both watched it in silence.

Tim glanced sidelong at Steph. Gauging something. “I’m sorry I yelled at you?”

“I’m…sorry for making fun of your anxiety because it made me feel bad.”

“I’m…sorry for making you feel bad?”

“Okay, let’s stop there,” said Steph, because this felt like something that could get out of hand. Infinite apology recursion.

Tim nodded. “Could you pass me the lugwrench?”

She went and fished it out of the box he’d thrown it into, while he got down on one knee next to the car again.

“You messed up your nice pants pretty bad,” she pointed out, passing the wrench over. “That’s actually probably worse than being late, in terms of making a good impression.”

“I was sort of thinking you’d drive the rest of the way,” Tim said, bending to his task. “So I can change as we go.”

“…well played.” She’d avoided getting involved in the wheel-changing because she was mad, and because it wasn’t so much a two-person job, and because he was the one who wanted to do it in such a rush and she wasn’t destroying this dress in the attempt. But she couldn’t really argue it wasn’t fair to expect her to drive, now. She even liked driving.

The prospect of facing possible traffic jams and trying to find the right street address and park near an unfamiliar restaurant in an unfamiliar city during rush hour was a lot more intimidating now she had to do it herself, though.

Tim smirked. Ooh, he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Fuck you,” she told him, but nicely.

It caught him by surprise, and he snort-laughed. Didn’t make a dirty joke, because it was Tim and he could be prim like that—Steph was like 95% sure he was still a virgin—but clearly thought about it. The atmosphere lightened as he continued making sure the new wheel wouldn’t fall off. The sound of passing vehicles going 70 miles per hour was much louder when they weren’t making any noise of their own. Good thing the interstate shoulders were so wide.

Tim tightened the last nut, and sat back on his heels. Steph smoothly traded him the shiny hubcap for the lugwrench, and walked over to shove the tool back in the kit. She was pretty sure this box had been well-organized when Tim took it out. Oh well, he could reorganize it at the next motel, next time he got a burst of OCD energy. Better than going through the cold-case files on his laptop. Tim finished forcing the hubcap into place and came after her, stooped under the awkwardly balanced weight of the jack.

It went into the box, too, with its little foundation block, and they wrestled the lid down and the emergency kit back into the trunk, on top of the spare tire compartment, now containing the ruined tire and also refusing to completely close.

Tim handed over the car keys, wiped his hands on a wet-wipe and then a paper towel because of course this car had both, and dug into his luggage for a spare pair of slacks. He was of course the sort of nerd who packed more than one pair of nice black slacks for a roadtrip vacation.

“If there’s one thing I can say for my superhero career,” Tim said brightly, as Steph pulled out onto I-95 heading south again and prepared to merge left, while he began to contort in the passenger’s seat, “it’s that it taught me to get my clothes off fast in adverse conditions.”

“I’d say ooh-lah but that’s basically the opposite of the ingredients for a hot striptease.”

“There is absolutely nothing I can say to that that does not make me look worse, good job.”

[cali-holland]

Earned It- Loki One Shot

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Prompt: When Thor brings Loki to stay with the Avengers, the team decides to prove just how much the God of Mischief has changed by assigning you to earn his trust; but you end up earning more than that. 

Word Count: 3700

~~~

“But why me?” You let out an exasperated whine, “He knows me the least.”

“It’s not just that.” Steve nodded, “You weren’t there when he tried taking over the world, so you’re the best candidate.”

“So what? I’m chosen just because he’s never tried to kill me directly before?”

“Basically. Plus, you’re a hot, young girl that Loki would totally mess with.” Tony added, making Natasha hit him over the back of his head and you roll your eyes. “I’m just saying that you have more assets than I do when it comes to gaining the God of Mischief’s trust.”

“Thanks, Tony.” You replied in a flat tone.

“Will you do it, Y/N? It’s the best way to see if he has changed and if we can actually trust him.” Steve said.

“If I’m our only hope, then sure, but, I swear, if Loki tries anything on me, Thor, you will no longer have a brother.”

“Get in line.” Clint laughed dryly.

“Yeah, you’ll have to wait your turn for that.” Bruce said.

“Hey, now, no one will be killing my brother. He has changed.” Thor said. When the mighty God of Thunder first approached the Avengers about his brother staying in the compound with them, they were all quick to say no. Thor then went into detail about Loki’s redeeming actions while his brother walked into the room. After putting away their drawn weapons, Tony locked Loki in one of the cells, so that the team could discuss the issue at hand. That’s when Tony, Natasha, and Steve came up with the brilliant idea of using you as bait. You, the newest Avenger that has never even formally met Loki before, were chosen as the person to draw him out. You would somehow gain his trust and learn whether or not he has truly changed. If he never trusted you, then he was the same Loki as years ago; if he trusted you, then he had changed.

With your decision made, the Avengers left their meeting room to the cells. You all stood before Loki as he beamed mischievously at the sight before him. Tony opened the cell up and allowed the God to step out.

“Alright, reindeer games, we’ve got some rules that you must comply to- if you are to stay here.” Tony stated.

“Ah, rules- don’t you just love them and the chaos they bring?” Loki replied and Steve scolded Natasha as she began to curl her fists.

“Look,” Steve said, stepping up, “You’re not allowed to leave the compound unless one of us agrees to go with you; you cannot create any chaos inside or outside of the compound; you’re not allowed anywhere near the ships or weaponry-”

“I get it. I’m under house arrest. I’ve been in trouble before.” He stated, “Now, where is my bedroom? I’d like to catch up on some sleep.”

“Follow me, brother.” Thor said, leading Loki up the stairs as everyone dismantled from their protective stances. You watched as the two brother headed up the spiral staircase and you caught how Loki peered over his shoulder at you. You were quick to turn your head and invest yourself in a conversation with Steve.

~~~

That night, Loki did not come downstairs for dinner. Thor offered to take him a plate, but you insisted on doing it- that way, you could introduce yourself properly to him. Thor, knowing your intentions well, allowed you to take his place in serving his brother. You stood outside of Loki’s room and knocked lightly on the door, holding his plate of food with the other hand.

“Come in.” Loki said dryly. You slowly opened the door to find him sitting on his bed with a disinterested look in his eyes.

“I brought you dinner.” You gestured to the plate of steak and potatoes.

“I’m not hungry.” He replied and you shook your head with a laugh.

“You haven’t eaten all day. Please, eat this. Sam makes the best steaks.” You held it out to him and placed the book in his hands on his lap, before taking the plate.

“Sam?”

“Yeah, Sam, he’s the Falcon. He’s super cool and there are no steaks that compare to his- well, actually there’s a really nice restaurant in Upper Manhattan that has the best steaks. Sam’s are still amazing.”

“I’m dying to try it.” Loki replied sarcastically as he poked it with his fork.

“I’m Y/N, by the way.” You said, holding a hand out to him.

“Loki, but you already knew that.” He shook your hand almost timidly. He felt that there was something off about you- why were you so kind compared to the others? He expected Thor to be the only one to treat him as a normal person- not some random Midgardian that he’s never met.

“What book are you reading?”

“Excuse me?” Loki asked and you nodded toward the stray book on his bed. “It’s just a story my mother used to tell me. It’s a part of Norse mythology, as you humans call it.”

“It sounds interesting. I’ve always enjoyed learning about mythology.” You said, genuinely.

“Well, as good of a book it is, it does get boring after a while. I should have brought more books with me.”

“You know, Loki, we’ve got a library.”

“A library?” Loki asked, his whole stance perking up at the word.

“Yeah, I’d offer to show you it tonight, but I’ve got dishes to do. I’ll show it to you tomorrow.” You paused and then nodded, “I’ll see you later then. Good night, Loki.”

“Good night, YN.” Loki replied as you quickly retreated from his room. He looked at the plate in his hands and set it on his bedside table. He picked up his book and began to read it once more. He couldn’t help but think about you and how you were so intriguing to him. As much as he’d appreciate you showing him the library tomorrow, Loki got up and made it his mission to find the library on his own.

~~~

The next day, you went to find Loki in his room, but found that it was empty. You then decided that the library would be the next best place to look, knowing that he had shown a level of interest in it. You found him as expected; he was comfortably lounging in a chair with his nose stuck in a different book.

“I see you found Steve’s Shakespeare.” You said with a short laugh. Loki jumped, startled at your sudden presence. He lowered the book and looked over at you as you stood in between two shelves.

“It is quite entertaining to read.” He replied, glancing down at Macbeth in his hands.

“I know. It’s one of my favorite Shakespeare plays.” You nodded.

“If you’ll forgive me, I’d like to continue it.”

“I’ll be quiet, but I want to do some reading of my own.” You replied. You searched in the shelves for a book as Loki continued his reading.

This happened once everyday for the next two weeks. You would enter the library to read in peace, and Loki would already be sitting at a chair by the fire with a different book in his hand than the day before. You would both make small talk for a few minutes when you arrived. You felt, over this time period, that your feelings for the God were growing, and growing romantic. You also felt that there had been no progress on your part- Loki still treated you as if you were just another Avenger, as if you were on the same level as his brother for trust.

“Just give it some more time.” Natasha told you as you complained to her in her room.

“Time won’t do anything, Nat. Nothing is working. We just sit in a library and read as communication.” You let out an exasperated sigh and she shrugged. You watched as she focused on painting her toenails a light shade of purple almost more than she focused on your complaints.

“At least he bears being in the same room as you. He makes every meal incredibly awkward.” She replied. You remembered back to just this morning- Loki was silent, like he always was, and, as soon as he finished eating, he left the room. His presence filled the entire room with tension.

“That’s one thing, though.” You huffed.

“Aren’t you usually reading by now?” Natasha asked, peering at the clock on her wall.

“I’m quitting this mission. It’s stupid and it’s pointless. The guy has been here for two weeks and he’s done nothing. Isn’t that reason enough to trust him?”

“Look who you’re talking to and think who you’re talking about- guess again.” Natasha laughed. She had been on so many missions where she was undercovers for weeks, and Loki most likely had no problem with committing to fooling someone for long periods of time.

“That doesn’t matter. What I mean to say is this whole idea is corrupt and I’m done with it.”

“Corrupt? As in it isn’t good on Loki?”

“That’s not what I-”

“Ohhhh,” Natasha let out sinister laugh followed by a knowing smirk, “You like him, don’t you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” You tried to defend yourself.

“Sweetheart, you can lie to yourself and to him all you want, but you cannot lie to me. You are totally into him!”

“Fine, so what if I am? Why are you so happy about it?” You asked, referring to her blatant hatred of him.

“I don’t agree with you, but I think you liking him is cute. Maybe you could end up changing him.” She shrugged hopefully, “Plus, if he hurts you, it gives me even more motivation to kill him.”

“Like you need anymore of that.” You said, making her chuckle.

“Fine, if you’re giving up this mission, then you can go make me a sandwich. I’m starving.” Natasha said and you playfully rolled your eyes at her.

“Turkey or ham?” You asked as you headed towards her bedroom door.

“Turkey please!” She called from her spot.

You left her room and went straight to the kitchen to make up her snack. You finished her sandwich and then decided to make one for yourself. Just as you were about to top off your own with the final piece of bread, you heard a voice, announcing the presence of someone else in the room.

“Could you make me one too, please?” It was Loki and the sincerity in his voice was something almost unusual. He seemed quieter and mellower in his demeanor today.

“Would you like turkey or ham?” You asked as he stepped into the kitchen completely and began to watch you work.

“Either will be fine.” He said, “You didn’t come to the library today.”

“Oh, you noticed that.” You stated, awkwardly fumbling with the sliced meat before you.

“Why, yes, I did.” Loki stated, taking a cautious step towards you, “I do notice when the one person who does not alienate me leaves me alone.” You turned to him to see him being completely genuine- his soft eyes telling you everything. He looked away and took the sandwich from your hands, “Pardon my directness.” He left the room with the sandwich and without another word.

You sighed at his retreating figure. Maybe you shouldn’t quit- at least not yet. He had shown some feeling in that moment; he had shown that he cared about you. You wouldn’t jump to saying he thought of you in a romantic way like you thought of him, but you could conclude that he felt connected to you.

You took the last two sandwiches to Natasha’s room. You dared not speak of the recent events to her. She munched happily on her sandwich as you two watched reality shows and as he toes dried.

~~~

The next day was completely lovely. The sky was blue and the leaves were in the middle of changing colors. You absolutely loved it and you figured Loli would too. You quietly entered the library and saw him exactly where you had planned to: sitting in that same arm chair with yet another book.

“Loki,” You said, making your presence known to him. He peered over his book at you and offered a smile, “I was wondering if you’d like to go outside- since, you know, you’ve kind of lived in this room for the past couple of weeks.”

“Outside? You would accompany me outside?” He asked, completely thrown off by your question.

“Yes. It’s a beautiful day. I was going to visit the park and I thought that you might like to join me.” You explained yourself.

“I would like that.” Loki said. He set the book on the table and stood up. Using his magic, he changed his clothes from Asgardian wear to Midgardian casual attire. You smiled at him, admiring his change.

You took Loki to the nearest park, much to the dismay of some of your fellow teammates. Thor offered to tag along, but Natasha quickly shut that down. Thor was far too recognizable and anyone could recognize Loki if they had seen his brother. You were pleased about introducing Loki to feeding the ducks with the few pieces of bread that you had smuggled from the compound. From what you could tell, he enjoyed it. It was the simplest thing, yet it displayed Loki’s humaneness in such a strong way. He never really stopped genuinely smiling while at the park and all of it was because of you.

~~~

Loki was pacing around in his room the next day, rehearsing how he should ask you out. He wanted to take you to that restaurant that served the steak you loved, but he didn’t know how Midgardian dating worked.

“Brother!” Thor greeted, walking into Loki’s room unannounced and startling him.

“Thor, have you forgotten how to knock?” He asked with a sigh.

“I heard you pacing. Is anything on your mind?”

“Why would anything be on my mind? I’m fine.” His reply was defensive as he attempted to conceal his emotions. As the God of Mischief, he is normally much better at it, but his feelings for you had grown too great for him to easily cope with.

“Does this have anything to do with Lady Y/N?” Thor inquired.

“What are you on about, brother? This has nothing to do with her. Nothing is wrong.” Loki stated.

“Whatever you say, I shall believe, but I do think you should ask her sooner than later. Unlike us, Lady Y/N does not have thousands of years.” He spoke with a calm smile.

“Is that all?”

“Well, I was originally sent to ask if you were joining us for dinner, so will you?”

“It depends if I am hungry or not. You can leave now, Thor.” Loki said and his brother exited with his hands up in surrender. Loki looked at himself in the mirror and cast an illusion so that he was in casual clothing for the second day in a row. He left his room and headed straight to yours. As he was about to knock, he realized your door was cracked open and that you were speaking to someone in your room.

“I’m actually glad I didn’t quit.”

“I’m glad you didn’t, too.” Natasha said, “It seems to be working.”

“I learned from the best.” You laughed, referring to your best friend before you.

“Do you think he’s changed?”

“I think Loki has.” He froze hearing you mention his name. His heart hammered in his chest, “He seems kinder and gentler. I still feel bad though. A part of me wishes I gave up, but a part of me is proud that I’m going through with this mission.”

‘Mission?’ Loki thought. He felt a stinging pain build up in his heart. No, it couldn’t be. He was the God of Mischief. There was no way you, a mere Midgardian, could have tricked him- and there was no way you could have tricked him into falling in love with you.

“Going undercover is hard, but you have done it well, even if your target was the God of Mischief.” Natasha replied proudly. Loki heard you two come closer to the door, but he wasn’t quick enough to move. His feet were planted in that moment- replaying your words in his head. As you opened the door to reveal him, he used his magic to transform him back to his Asgardian self.

“Loki-“ you started. Natasha looked at you with concern, knowing fully well that he had heard the two of you.

“Don’t.” Loki spoke with a firm shake of his head. The smile that you had grown fond of over the past few weeks was completely gone. “Congratulations, you succeeded in fooling the God of Mischief.” He sarcastically raised his hands and did a partial bow for you, before he left without another word.

You watched his retreating figure in pain. You had never wanted to hurt him- that was never the plan, but, yet again, falling in love with the trickster was never a part of the plan either. You started to walk in the direction of his room when Natasha caught your hand.

“Y/N,” she sighed, “Leave him be for a bit. C’mon, we should tell the others.” Agreeing with her, you quietly followed her down the hall to the lab, opposite of Loki’s direction.

~~~

“Well, this is-“ Tony started after taking a deep breath, but was cut off by Steve.

“Bad. This is bad.” He stated. You could feel all of their eyes watching you, as you kept your eyes focused on the ground beneath you. “Thor, what do you suggest we do?”

“I do not know.” The God replied, “I have never seen my brother act the way he was with Y/N before. He showed a whole different level of respect and compassion for her-“

“Could it be that he was playing her as well?” Clint asked.

“No.” Thor shook his head, “Loki is mischievous and he is great at pretending, but not like this. I have never seen him so vulnerable.”

“You think he actually loves her?”

“I don’t know if I would call it love quite yet, but I do believe it could have become that.”

“Should I talk to him?” You asked quietly. Guilt and pain was all you could feel. Loki was upset with you, and, now, Thor believed you to have broken his heart.

“Maybe I shall speak with him first, Lady Y/N.” Thor said. “I know my brother best and I fear he is too unpredictable at the moment.”

“Very well then. Thor, go see him.” Natasha stated and he nodded. The room was silent as all of you watched Thor leave the room.

Thor entered Loki’s room to find his brother casually sitting on his bed, a book in his hand. Loki lowered the book and looked at the other God. He answered, “Yes?”

“Do you love her?” Thor asked.

“That mortal? Please.” Loki said, rolling his eyes lightly.

“Loki, drop this act. Do you love her?” He asked again. Thor stepped into the room and a bright gold burst came from the room as Loki’s magic disappeared. The seemingly normal bedroom was an illusion and shifted into the remains of a bedroom. The bed was torn apart with the mattress falling into the wall; the opposite wall had a few fist holes in it; and the bedside table was smashed, bits of it splattered around the room. Loki sat in the far corner and lifted his head from hands.

“See for yourself, brother.” Loki said, slowly looking up at the other God. His eyes were red and his hair was a mess from his recent angry motions.

“Loki-“ Thor was speechless. He had never seen his brother so broken and hurt. The last time Thor walked in on Loki in a state like this was when their mother died; and, now, Loki was broken once more.

“Surprised? This is what one look like when they are upset.” He stated.

“This is far more than upset.”

“It’s against my nature to call myself heartbroken.”

“Y/N would like to speak with you.”

“And I would not like to speak with her, or anyone for that matter, so, brother, you may leave now.”

“I will not leave you here to swallow yourself into a hole of despair.” Thor said as Loki stood.

“Despair? How would you feel if the mortal you loved betrayed you? How would you feel if you loved her and she had been lying to you this whole time?” His voice raised in anger.

“You have it all wrong, brother. Y/N has not betrayed you.”

“Leave! You know nothing of her lies!” He stepped towards his brother and Thor straightened up to his full height, preparing for any violence that may come.

“Loki,” You spoke from the doorway. Both Gods turned to you in surprise and Loki’s heavy breathing seemed to calm.

“Lady Y/N-” Thor started.

“I’d like to speak to Loki alone.” You said. The blond looked between the two of you and then left the room without another word.

“I do not wish to speak to you right now.” Loki turned his back to you and you took in his destroyed room. You sighed softly and stepped towards him.

“Please, allow me to explain myself.”

“I don’t need any further explanation. I understand your actions- you don’t trust me, none of you do.” He stated with a firm shake of his head, making you stop in your tracks.

“Loki, I can’t speak for the others, but I trust you. What I did was wrong, but I was doing what was best for the team. They wanted me to earn your trust-”

“Well, you earned more than that. Congratulations.” He said.

“If it is love that you’re speaking of, then I feel it too.” You replied and he slowly turned to you.

“Pardon me?” Loki questioned and you continued your walk to him until you were directly in front of the God.

“I love you, Loki, and I’m so sorry that I made you feel betrayed. It was never my intentions.”

“Is this the truth?” He asked and you delicately took his hands in yours. You nodded, causing a grin to form on his face. He leaned down to kiss you softly. He pulled away and whispered to you, “Good. I love you too, and it frightens me.”

“I’ll never lie to you again.”

[brokehorrorfan]

Interview: Bruce Campbell (Hail to the Chin, Ash vs Evil Dead)

Bruce Campbell needs no introduction. The cult icon took some time out of his book tour to discuss his new memoir, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor, as well as the game-changing third season of Ash vs. Evil Dead and a look back at Evil Dead 2. He also gives a peek at what it’s store for the future of his career, for which he’s noticeably excited.

In Hail to the Chin, you mention that you see your memoirs as a trilogy. What made this seem like the right time for the second installment?

A lot of weird shit's happened in the last 15 years! In 15 years, a lot can happen. The industry changed. The blue collar aspects, the middle class of the industry fell out. They don't make movies in the U.S. anymore. I also decided to get the hell out of LA, so there were a bunch of changes. Crazy new adventures: visiting the troops in Iraq in '09, making movies in Bulgaria. It seemed like there was enough for a book.

What was the writing process like this time around?

For this one, I hooked up with my buddy, [co-author] Craig Sanborn. We've worked together for 20 years. I went up to Portland, where he lives. I was busy. I was a working actor, and I was afraid that this thing was just going to keep getting pushed back. This book has been around long enough that Burn Notice was still going. I was going to end the book with Bruce Notice. You know, hit cable show! You always have to end it with something special. We kept working on it long enough that Ash vs. Evil Dead came around, so it seemed to go full circle. So we sat down and recorded for a week solid, anything that I could remember, and then he would kind of interview me, ask me questions. Then he transcribed it all, and we just started to figure out our outline.

You kicked off your book tour a few days ago. How has the response been so far?

It's good! We're about twice of what we were with the first Chins book. That's the direction you want to go in. It's been good so far.

You're hosting Last Fan Standing a few of the tour stops, including tonight. What can we look forward to from that?

A hell of a damn good time! We're speaking their lingo. We're asking, like, how much does Thor's hammer weigh? What is Harry Potter's wand made out of? Crap like that. And everybody gets a shot to win! We're not vetting anybody. So they're not coming in to watch people that have already qualified. Anybody who walks in there could win. You take a few early rounds, and then the best four are brought up, and then you whittle it down to one. And then they get a certificate of useless knowledge. You don't win a car or anything. [laughs] You don't get shit!

You mentioned coming full circle with Ash vs. Evil Dead. Do you have any insight as to when we'll see the third season?

You tell me when you hear something! Look, here's some realities: Starz was purchased by Lionsgate last year, so eventually the corporations crash into each other and they have to figure it out. "Our bosses have bosses now. Our bosses didn't used to have bosses." Everyone's singing for their supper right now, so we'll see. They might shift the date to the first quarter of 2018 to get out of the noise of the fall. Fall is an incredibly nightmarish time. It's great for horror, Halloween - but if it's too busy, it's too busy.

I know you can't give anything away, but what can fans expect from the new season?

Last season, we met Ash's father. We meet more of his family this year - perhaps a daughter. So Ash not only has to save the world, he has to raise an unruly daughter in a very shitty way. Everything she sees makes it seem like he's a serial killer, and everything he says makes it seem like he's insane, and yet he never lies to her. He has a line where he says, "I may be a crappy father, but I'm also a crappy liar." There's a little bit of that bond. It's all hands on deck in season three.

And we're doing a lot more of the mythology. Who is Ash? A drawing of him is in the ancient book, so he's not just some loser in a trailer park. Why him? There's a lot more of that. And, at the end, we crack it wide open. We take that egg and smash it on the sidewalk. Nothing will ever be the same by the end of episode 10. Nothing!

In the book, you write about your tenuous experience working on the two movies you directed. Do you think you'll get behind the camera again? Have you been tempted to do an episode of Ash vs. Evil Dead?

No, Ash vs. Evil Dead is too difficult just being an actor. I've got my hands full.

After Ash vs. Evil Dead, I'm engaging in what I call Act 3 mentality. Act 1, there are not bad jobs. Maniac Cop? Man, let me do that! No bad scripts, no bad contracts, no bad directors, no bad co-stars. It's all good. Act 2, which is sort of what I finished up - the book really represents the end of Act 2 - you start to be a little more discerning. You go, "Well, that didn't work out so well on that type of a movie," or if a movie is shot too quickly, or if a director is a first-timer. You start to know what a good script is. Who knows what a good story is when you first start in this business. You start to learn that. And then you start to go, "Oh, that guy's a hack!" and you realize that there's some people who are not qualified, and you know as much as anybody. You start to learn what a shitty deal is. You get better lawyers, and you get better deals. Everything improves, in theory. You don't say yes all the time. I used to just love working, and it makes sense to just do anything to get into it. But, after a while, you go, "I'm kind of tired of that shit."

So Act 3, I'm only doing stuff that means the full-on Act 3 self-developed mode. It's getting off the hamster wheel, including the TV hamster wheel. I'm dragging my ass to the southern hemisphere for five months every year for the last three years. It gets old. Auckland is a great place, the crews are great. I think the work we're doing is good, it's solid, but I live in Oregon. I want to make movies in Oregon. When I knew Burn Notice was going to be canceled - we had, like, a year warning - I just started to develop scripts. I have about a dozen projects that I own. My wife and I are looking at each other going, "Well, if not now, when?" I'm pushing 60, so I want to do stuff that's way more personal while I have the energy. I've got a western, I've got comedies, some horror.

And I'm going to get back into books, because you get a lot more respect as an author than you do as an actor. As an actor, people love capitalizing on, "Oh, he's a B-lister!" Instead of B-movie, it's B-lister. You can sort of stigmatize yourself in that same process, but with a book, it's a little more out of left field. They figure, "Oh, maybe you have a brain." And there's not as many chefs, so creatively, in my experience, almost nothing beats writing a book. I work with my editor, and when he's got opinion we'll talk it over, but it's not a committee. The difference is books don't cost that much. If you're spending $200 million on a movie, you bet your ass there's going to be strong opinions from a lot of people who are afraid of losing their jobs. It's a much more relaxed atmosphere.

Are you thinking more non-fiction or fiction?

More non-fiction and more fiction. More of both. It's interesting to think about, "What would you do next?" It's exciting. What I want to do is create a low budget closed loop. It's one thing to be in the Marvel movies and you're opening in 4,300 theaters, and you're shooting that thing for 9 months, you're promoting it for 3 months. Those actors don't know hit them.

I know a bunch of smaller theater chains. There's the Alamo [Drafthouse] guys, who are great, and I'm doing some work with them on this tour. They've been totally open to the whole thing. They get it. They get what fans are all about. They know what they want. "Give me my beer and pizza, and show me movies that I want!" The Landmark theater chain has also been very friendly. I've shown a couples through those guys. You start developing official relationships with them and really get to know these guys on a much more personal level.

Get to know who owns the VOD companies. Put a face and a name and a handshake. Go meet the Netflix guys. I don't know any of these people, because I've just been working with all the different entities, but they don't necessarily represent the future of what's happening now. Meet those guys, and then find some foreign sales guys. I've worked with various over the years here and there, but really sit down with them and go, "Who are you guys?" Find the best one that can sell that type of movie, a lower-budget indie type of deal.

And, even though I've never really played this game, you start getting to know the festivals. If you don't have a mass distribution plan, you still have to figure out a way to be seen, to be noticed, to get articles, reviews. I'm going to kind of relearn current Hollywood. Even go meet with the studios again; not about big projects, just, "What are you guys looking for? What budget range do you do these days?" That's exciting, because I'm reintroducing myself to everybody in a completely independent way. Instead of hooking up with a [creator] Matt Nix from Burn Notice, I am Matt Nix. Instead of everything that's involved in Ash vs. Evil Dead, it's my project.

My wife will basically be my partner. She's earned her keep, letting me drag her around the world. Now it's time to settle down. Here's the thing: a lot of times, because of random factors, you end up shooting in a part of the world at the wrong time. You're in Auckland, New Zealand in June, which sounds great - but not in the southern hemisphere. The rain is going sideways in June. It's getting to a high of a 55 and a low of 42. Or you find yourself shooting in the northern hemisphere is January, because of random decisions that people have made that are not me. I wouldn't be in Auckland, New Zealand if it wasn't for decisions made by other people. I'm kind of done with that now.

I know I can always do conventions until I die - and I probably will. You look at the [William] Shatners and the Stan Lees. They don't stop. Stan Lee is 92, Shatner's 86, Adam West was 88. Those guys are a great example. I know from my parents who aged and died, use it or lose it. Stan Lee gets up out of bed, keeps him physically moving, he has a Twitter feed and all his crazy merchandising empire - and he does it! It keeps him alive. I think Shatner too. He's doing one-man shows. It's impressive.

Retirement is actually not the issue; I'm retiring from certain things and certain types of acting. When you get in the horror world that has effects and stuff, you're acting with tennis balls on sticks. You're in stunt harnesses so they can hoist you up. They're hitting you with blood rigs and stuff like that. Your whole life consists of: "Three... two... one... Go! [explosion noises]" You set up to do one shot at a time. There's none of this sitting down having a long conversation, where you can get a sense of drama or to build up a scene. It's so far apart from theatrical. It's broken up into little, tiny pieces. Even when we do the fights, it's like, "Bing, bang, boom, duck, cut!" We just want to keep it short, sweet, safe, and move on to the next piece. That too gets old.

I was crabby talking to my wife on the phone one time, and she goes, "You just have poopy diaper syndrome." I'm like, "What does that mean?" She says, "You're sitting around in a poopy diaper all day! You've got blood on you, dirt on you. You're in these dirty caves all the time, darkly-lit basements. It's the wintertime in New Zealand. It's going to fuck with your head." I'm a generally cheery guy, but by the end of the season, I'm like, "Somebody kill me." So it's time for other stuff, mix it up. I'm excited for the future.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Evil Dead 2, which remains a classic of the genre. How do you feel reflecting back on that time in your life?

A lot of people like Evil Dead 2. Some of them like it as much as Army of Darkness. It's a personal taste. If you don't really like the gore and stuff, you're gonna like Army of Darkness. It's a little more of a Ray Harryhausen adventure story. But if you still want gore and maybe a little bit of humor, Evil Dead 2 is pretty good. There's a good 20 minutes of that movie where there's nobody else in the movie. I remember Dino De Laurentiis, who financed the movie, he was really worried. He's like, "You can't do that." In my opinion, it's the best part of the movie: Ash running around, being tormented and blowing holes in the wall. It's insane! I had a sense it was going to do pretty well. We had a screening of a rough version of it in Burbank, and when we tracked in and I said "Groovy," everyone just applauded it. I was like, "Okay, we got 'em. We're good."

Our previous movie was Crimewave, which went over budget, they took the movie away, they re-cut it, they renamed it, the thing didn't get released, it went from $2.5 million to $4 million. It was really a miserable fucking experience. So we went back to Evil Dead 2, even though Ash was dead. Lest we forget, Ash was dead [at the end of The Evil Dead], credits roll. We were like, "No. Maybe he's not dead." [laughs] It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction to a failed second movie. When your $4 million bombs, we were concerned that that was it for us. "Oh, these guys don't know what they're doing." Where do you go from there? It was $3.5 million, I think, for Evil Dead 2. We did not go over budget, we did not go over time, and we were actually in profit before the movie started shooting. [Producer] Rob Tapert walked onto the set while everyone was doing construction and tells us we're in profit, because of the pre-sales based on the strength of the first Evil Dead. It was a happy place to come back to. It was our comfort zone. We wanted to try some different stuff.

Scott Spiegel co-wrote it with Sam [Raimi, director], and Scott is a huge Three Stooges fan. We had an office in suburban Detroit at an old dentist's office, and these guys would fucking cackle - I mean cackle, not laugh! - at the end of the hallway when they would write. Rob and I, we'd look at each other and go, "What are the doing?! Are they writing a horror movie or a Mack Sennett comedy?" It's because they combined all that crazy stuff. Scott Spiegel just has a wicked imagination, and they fed off each other horribly! We'd have to pound on the door for them to give us the pages.

The overall experience for Evil Dead 2 was probably the most pleasant of the three. The first Evil Dead was a nightmare. It took four years to finish. Army of Darkness, same thing. It went over budget, the studio got pissed, took it away, re-cut it. Then we had to put our own money into it, and we only got a little of it back. It was a nightmare, the whole thing - so I'm glad people like it! [laughs] My wife and I both worked on it. She was the costume designer. Still to this day, we both shudder when we think of about Army of Darkness.

Evil Dead 2 is definitely one of my favorite experiences, and I think it plays well. It's a loopy movie. There's some crazy shit in there, but it's good. We were still young and supple. I was like 28, still made out of rubber.

To wrap up, why should someone pick up Hail to the Chin?

Buy a book if you want to see a little bit of how the sausage is made, if you want a bit of a reality check, if you want to go on some kooky adventures. It's the other side of the tracks. I'm not talking about the big movies, although I dip my feet into big movies. The last 15 years saw the rise of Sam Raimi from schmoe director to Mr. Hollywood. It's been really great to see all my friends blossom. Not everybody makes it. The third [memoir] will be 15 years from now. I figure the next 15 years should be pretty interesting too, to see what happens with the industry. It will be the final confessions, so then you've got your trilogy. Put that next to War and Peace.