#figuring out relationships

[lonelypond]

Classical

NicoMaki, Love Live, 2.1K, 1/1

Summary: Nico, Maki, and Nozomi attend a ballet performance by Eli. With NicoMaki conversations bookending the night.

Classical

Maki had never been in the Communications Residential College before. Nico had a single, but claimed to spend most of her time in the common areas, especially the lounge where she’d left Maki to make a quick change for the ballet they were attending. A student watched Maki over the top of his laptop as she paced the small lounge.

“You’re with Nico?”

“Ummm…we’re going to the ballet together..she told me to meet her here…”

He pointed to the wall behind Maki, cutting off her flood of things he wasn’t going to remember. “I just didn’t see you on the schedule.”

Schedule? Maki turned to see a large whiteboard, the week laid out in a grid, with two other grids to the left, Goncharov and Waa-Mu, days and hours marked. Every space was filled, details with arrows linking projects and classes.

“You don’t know me. How could you see my name?”

“The Nicoboard says nothing about dating. Ever.”

Before Maki could say anything else about any topic, Nico continued, pushing into Berk’s space.

“Nico will be saying nothing at all to you in the future, Berk, if you don’t stop harassing Nico’s guests.”

“Just a reminder, there’s a betting pool on who you’ll date, with side bets for orientation.” Berk smirked.

“Nico is a workaholic so Nico will be collecting the pot at the end of the year.”

“You’re too cheap to gamble.”

Nico huffed, “Who do you think started the pool?”

Maki had started speaking before Nico’s latest comment, “I’m a-spec.”

Berk took a moment to check her out, “Figures. Staying in the safe zone, eh, Yazawa. No tasty temptations.”

“Nico is going to start a book on how soon you take a plunge off the roof, Berk.” WIth a kick that shook the table his laptop was propped on, Nico spun. Maki was leaning in, reading the entries.

“I’m not on here.”

“Told you.” Berk muttered.

“Nico is updating. This was last minute.”

“We planned it last week.”

“Nico only posts work related things.”

Maki pointed to “meet Umi and Kotori for breakfast.”

“We were talking costumes.”

“Hmmmpphh.” Maki’s arms were crossed.

“C’mon, Maki. We’re going to be late. You don’t want Nozomi speculating on why we were late.”

“Ha! I know that one.” Maki looked too pleased with herself, “Nico couldn’t stop talking about Nico.”

Nico grimaced, dragging a surprisingly solid Maki out of the room as Berk took a pic to post on TWIG.

BerkBlerd: Is this THE @No1Nico torturing an actual date? Wrong captions only.

###

Nozomi was dressier than either Nico or Maki and seemed nervous.

“You’re late.”

Nico glanced at her phone, “There’s ten minutes.”

“It’s open seating. We’re going to be stuck in the back rows. You know I wanted to be early, Nico.”

Maki had pulled out her ticket from an inside jacket pocket, ready to hand it to the usher. Nico slid hers out from the back of her phone. Nozomi fumbled in an oversized bag.

“Calm down, calm down. It’s fine. Eli won’t know when you sat down. Or where.”

Nozomi took a deep breath, smiling at Maki.

“Hi, Maki. Thank you for making sure Nico made it before curtain.”

Maki tilted her head and chuckled, “She does talk to strangers a concerning amount.”

“Berk wasn’t a stranger and Nico dragged you out of there.” Nico stomped to the entrance, “Plus, Nico is building her brand 24/7. All hard work.”

“No one should do anything 24/7.” Maki followed. “How are you not exhausted?”

“She is.” Nozomi whispered, too near Maki’s ear for Maki not to jump, “She doesn’t ever stop to notice.”

“Huh.”

Nico led them to a bank of seats on the right, in the second row, close to the stage, bit maybe some sight line issues, but Nico figured Nozomi would prefer proximity. The stage was set with three columns, a matching marbled bench set up stage left.

“George Balanchine. Nice.” Maki was reading the program while Nico searched the audience for familiar faces and Nozomi looked for any sign of Eli.

“Not much overlap between dance and theatre audiences.” Nico grumped.

“This is just a class showcase, Nico. Probably mostly friends.”

“Balanchine would draw out dance aficionados, but he doesn’t really cross into musical theatre.”

“Balanchine? Is he the composer?” Nico asked.

“The choreographer. Igor Stravinsky is the composer for Apollo.”

“Eli’s dancing as a muse. Terpsichore, music, choral song and dance. She’s so serious.” Nozomi swooned in her seat, “It’s so cute.”

“This is about young Apollo, choosing between three muses for inspiration.” Maki pointed out the summary in the program for Nico.

“Have you seen it before?”

Maki nodded. “It gets revived a lot. It was a groundbreaking piece in the 60's. Very modern, yet still classical in every resonance.” She nudged Nico, “The heel shuffles are fun.”

“Heel shuffles?” Nico had only mental pictures of ballerinas on their toes, arms swooping swan wings to the ceiling.

“You’ll see.”

The lights darkened, Nozomi shifted forward in her seat. When the lights returned, Eli was leaning against a pillar, her white tunic a blaze of purity, her hair glowing like it had been painted with liquid gold.

“Gorge.” Nozomi breathed out, eyes wide.

Nico sat up, ready to catch the heel shuffles, whatever they were. Maki settled back, ready to be absorbed in the increasing complexities of Stravinksy’s French influenced dynamic strings.

###

Nozomi pulled out a small flower.

“What’s that?” Nico made a grab. “Not the traditional rose? Or bouquet?”

Nozomi pulled it back to her bosom, protectively. “It’s a hairclip. Eli showed me how to make them.”

Nico turned to Maki, “Bury Nico in flowers.”

Maki frowned, “At your funeral?”

“Opening night, Waa-Mu.”

“O-kay.”

Nico rolled her eyes and turned back to Nozomi, “Going bespoke, huh. Classy. You’ll impress her.”

“I don’t understand.” Maki ran her fingers through her hair, hitting a tangle, “I thought you just wanted to be buried in flowers.”

Nico waved away Maki’s comment, “That’s to impress everyone else.”

“Nozomi. You came.” Eli appeared from behind a column, only slightly less Greek goddess looking in a green turtleneck and tan skirt, hair still in a tight bun. “Hi Nico, Maki. Thanks for coming.”

Nozomi stepped up to Eli, presenting the hairclip, “You were breathtaking. Everyone’s attention stayed on you. I couldn’t look away.”

Eli took the hairclip carefully, delicately, like it was a living thing, “This is beautiful. Thank you.” Eli fluttered her eyelashes, “Thank you so much.”

“Not as dusty as Nico expected. You could have done some of that with tap shoes.” Nico demonstrated a move, connecting with the floor solidly enough to make a noise.

“Balanchine will haunt you.” Then, Maki bowed, “You were amazing. And that lift. You really seemed as light and strong as wings, ready to lift Apollo.”

Eli blushed, “Geoff did most of the work.”

“Lifts are both dancers, Eli-chi. You were what freed Apollo.” Nozomi leaned in, her arm on Eli’s, “I would have loved to see what you did with Apollo yourself.”

Eli chuckled and patted her abs, “I’ll have to spend some more time working on my core.”

“I could use a workout partner. But we can talk about that later.” Nozomi made a move to put her coat on, “Can I buy you something decadent as a reward after that? A parfait?”

"I am hungry." Eli considered, “It does sound sweet.”

Nico groaned, “Nico has an early rehearsal so I won’t be joining you.”

“You weren’t invited.” Nozomi grimaced.

Nico saluted Eli with her signature gesture. “Nico Ni. Nico will see you at the dress fitting Sunday.”

“That sounds good, Nico. Thanks again for coming.”

“Nico enjoyed it. It’s good to know about all the arts. Someday Nico might have to play a ballerina.” Nico swatted Nozomi, “Text me later.”

“Maybe.”

Nico glanced back at Maki, who was staring at the stage, still hearing the music. “Coming? Nico has time to walk you home.”

“I’m walking you home.”

“Either way Nico needs the workout after sitting through 3 hours of other people’s dancing.”

Maki nodded, restless as well.

###

Maki’s steps were slow, her head tilted up, her eyes on the stars. Only a sliver of a moon so the stars spread out to infinity over the darkness of the lake. Nico could almost see their individual colors sparkle when she glanced away from Maki’s stunning profile.

“Do you have a favorite constellation?” Maki wondered.

“No. Nico just likes the general view. Although I can find the dippers.”

“Eli’s dancing almost seemed fitting to be a constellation, especially when she stretched out as Apollo’s wings.” Maki stepped into the movement, arms wide.

“Are there a lot of winged constellations?”

“Not really. Pegasus. Cygnus the Swan. But they’re not visible here. There’s Orion, see the three stars in the belt.” Maki had stopped, near enough to Nico that they were touching, her arm pointing.

“Oh yeah. So arms and legs too.”

Maki laughed, “Roughly. I’ve always been fascinated by the stars. And the planets. I’ve gotten some great shots of Saturn’s rings. Well, not Cassini or Webb telescope level, but pretty good for my telescope and a camera.”

Nico wasn’t exactly sure of some of the specifics of what Maki was saying, but humming along occasionally seemed to keep the redhead happy while Nico made a mental note to read up on astronomy. Nico let silence linger long enough so she was sure not to interrupt Maki.

“Nico’s very private.” Nico announced as they started walking again.

“Sure.”

“It’s preparation for when Nico is a super ultra famous, EGOT, number one actress in the universe. Nico Ni is for everyone, but me, Yazawa Nico, has a private life. My siblings, my mom, the people I care about.”

Maki was obviously listening and choosing her words carefully, “That makes sense.”

“You understand Nico.” Nico dared sliding an arm through Maki’s, pulling her in a little closer, “Nico likes that about you. Maki’s a great composer and Nico loves working with you on Goncharov, but Nico sees Maki more as offstage Nico people.”

Maki stopped, turning to meet Nico’s eyes with a hopeful glance, “What do you mean?”

“Nico doesn’t want Berk and everyone who wanders through the lounge to know about things like our lunch date tomorrow.”

“Do we have a lunch date?”

“Nico is meeting you at Norris with a bento.”

Maki shuffled her feet, “Nico…I…that sounds amazing but…”

“You like to talk to Nico.”

“Yes.”

“Nico likes to talk to you.”

“Good.”

“So we don’t have to worry about what we call things.”

Maki’s half smile was impish. “And you don’t lose your betting pool money.”

Nico shoved Maki back as the redhead roared with laughter. “Nico wasn’t thinking about that. At all. Nico was not being pushy. Not pressuring Maki.”

“But Nico is pushy.”

Nico inhaled, closing her eyes, counting to ten. “Nico is being thoughtful. Maki could try it.”

���Nah.”

“Oh you…” Nico stomped ahead, then turned, arms flying out. “Anyway, what Nico is TRYING to say is that Maki won’t find her name written on the Nicoboard, but if Maki is NICER to Nico, Nico might write in something like ‘stargazing’ so Maki sees it and knows that their time together matters to Nico.”

“So stargazing. For lunch.”

“Yes.”

“People will read it and be confused.”

“Nico doesn’t care. Maki will read it and know.”

“They’ll think you’re crazy.”

“Whimsical and cute. And Nico still doesn’t care.”

“You’re silly.”

“Nico is a genius.”

Maki nodded, biting her lower lip, before sliding her arm in next to Nico and letting the shorter woman pull her along, “Nico is a star.”

“So we’re a constellation.”

Maki dropped Nico’s arm, spinning suddenly, giddy, eyes on the stars again. “I want coffee. Do you want coffee?”

“Decaf.” Nico watched Maki, amused.

“Let’s go to my place. You can stay if you want.”

“Nico gets the couch?”

“We have guest rooms.”

“Nico gets the couch.”

“Sure.” Maki’s grin was bright enough for a sprawling nebula. “Nico can have all the couches. But on the inventory Nicoboard, you’ll probably call them benches.”

“You’re learning.”

“Yep.”

“Smart and pretty. Nico picks good…friends.”

“You just like my benches.”

“Less talking, Star Girl, faster walking. Nico is freezing.”

“Race you.” A switch had flipped in Maki.

“Are you ten?”

“Chicken?”

“Nico is not straining an ankle ‘cause you mainlined adrenaline somewhere.”

“You said faster.” Maki turned, stuck out her tongue, then started power walking, making Nico hurry to catch up. “See, you can do it.”

“Nico can do anything Nico wants.”

Maki decided to wink, causing her to trip, and stumble fall into Nico, who managed to keep them both upright.

“But Nico does not want to take you for x-rays tonight.”

Keeping a firm grip on the embarrassed Maki’s arm, Nico steered them home.

A/N:

Been tired and sick, but miss writing. Hope your Spring is what you need.

Classical was last week's @femslash-friday-prompts prompt on Tumblr.

[tokenducks]

Charles “We’ve got literally forever to figure out what the rest means” Rowland

[greykolla-art]

💕Can you even CONCEIVE how much I suddenly love them???💕

I think they were strolling around town after having a drink together. And that ends in a little cuddle!😂💕💕💕

Dialogue from The Aristocats, of course.💗💗💗

[triona-tribblescore]

I thoroughly enjoy the stage of huskerdust where they have yet to fully admit their feelings to each other uvu <3

P2

[bbbbbbbbatman]

People are so surprised when Clark seems to actually...like Bruce Wayne? Like for his personality?

Like, when people date Bruce Wayne, it's usually for his money, his fame, or both. And everybody knows this, even Bruce, clueless as he is. It's not like he's dating them because he thinks they're his true love, he's clearly just having some fun, and if Bruce is okay with it, well, everybody else is too. No big deal. Bruce gets what he wants, his partners get what they want, and that's it.

So when Bruce Wayne announces he's dating Clark Kent, everyone assumes he'll be just like the rest. Except--he's not?

Outside of his job as a reporter and a few appearances as Bruce's date, he remains pretty private--so he's not after his five minutes of fame. So he must be after some money, right? No problem, Bruce loves spending money on his partners.

Except, it's been like two months but Clark keeps showing up to things in cheap, ill-fitting suits and sources report that he still lives in a small, mid-grade apartment in Metropolis, and he doesn't even have a car. A car is like a chump change gift to a guy like Bruce.

And then people start talking to him because they gotta figure out what this guy's deal is and...Clark seems to...like Bruce? Like obviously Bruce is a likeable guy, but not as a serious romantic partner. But Clark talks about how he likes spending time with Bruce, and spending time with Bruce's kids (which is absolutely unheard of), and he wishes they both had more free time to spend together.

Anyway, people are so confounded by smart, normal guy Clark Kent in an actual loving relationship with the guy who got in a public argument last week because he thought melancholy was a vegetable.

[br3adtoasty]

We would like to interrupt the usual art program with—

✨Some Spiderverse doodles!✨

[emry-stars-art]

When the misunderstanding is mutual but they’re both so sweet about it (coffee shop au edition)

Inspired by the tags below (originally on this post) from @blahblaheverythingisgay and @lovelyprincejehan accompanied by some thoughts:

thank you for bringing this GALAXY brain take to my attention 😂 this guy comes in, all cagey about his past and his scars, always wearing baggy clothes but complaining about compression clothes (being on the run does a number on your joints and muscles), picking out a name for himself??? OBVIOUSLY he’s trans right

They somehow manage to have like three separate conversations about it without realizing they’re talking about two very different scenarios. Andrew only was so wrong for so long because scars on their own (and even being a criminal lbr) are such non-issues that it didn’t even occur to him that Neil could be talking about anything less important than being trans lol

Andrew had his little crisis about it and landed pretty solid on yeah he’s still into Neil regardless, and yeah he’s still super gay. He’ll figure out the rest from there. The only thing he didn't prepare for was Neil being uh. Cis

[dcxdpdabbles]

Would you ever consider writing out the Alley Boyfriends?

Tim's favorite brand of coffee since childhood- for one could not follow Batman and Robin around without losing some sleep- had always been the Heart Attack Coffee. It was known for its high levels of sugar and caffeine, with the added bonus of being cheap.

Heart Attack Coffee grew from a small family-run booth in Gotham's street market to five stores in Gotham, three in Bludhaven, and even one in Metropolis.

Their menu comprises about sixty percent of various coffees, but there are teas, fruit waters, and even pastries.

They rolled out signature drinks per season, and Tim was always the first one in line when the new menu was revealed. He preferred the winter ones- mainly because they were hot and always had a special kick to his coffee compared to the spring and summer that tended to lean more towards ice dreams like teas or fruit waters.

Tim adored Heart Attack with all his might. He collected their special cups, a book on all the different flavors he tried, and even cried for three hours straight after learning the Heart Attack team had made drinks inspired by the Bats.

He doesn't think he drank anything but the Red Robbin Rush for the three months the promotion ran. Yes, his heart was beating like a hummingbird in his chest the whole time, and he was a bit jitty, but it was worth it.

Then came the terrible day Bruce found out just how much caffeine was inside Heart Attack's coffee. Not enough to shut them down with health violations but enough to worry him.

He forbids the family from Heart Attack, suggesting another cafe that were safer. The thing is, Tim does not drink any other coffee. He tried of course, but unless he was the one that made it, the other coffee never came close!

That was Tim's coffee. His special coffee. He had one every day (that he was in town and not away on a mission) so much so the employees knew him by name and what time he usually showed up.

Sean, the morning cashier at the closest branch to WE, would have an experimental drink prepared for him. Sean would let him test out possible new flavors!

That's how valued he was as a customer.

Don't get him wrong, Tim tried to follow Bruce's mandatory boycott. But by the third day, his headache was killing him, and his hands were starting to get itchy.

Not only that. His whole day just felt off when he skipped out on his morning coffee or his after-work coffee. Tam had caught him re-organizing his office at least five times because his office just didn't feel right anymore. It wasn't balanced.

On the fourth day, he walked into a Heart Attack, and Sean smiled at him. He had a blond expresso Rush halfway made when Tim reached the counter. "Welcome back, Tim."

He placed a fifty in the tip jar grinning at the employee. He took his first sip of the golden nectar and felt his very soul breathe as it settled in his stomach. "Good to be back"

Tim figured that Bruce wouldn't notice because, frankly his adoptive dad wasn't the most observant when it came to Tim's habits. He got away with it for about a month.

Then came the faithful day Bruce reminded him why he was Bartman.

"I'm sorry, Tim, you've been placed on the Do not Serve Coffee list." Sean winces, showing the binder to the stunned CEO.

"I've been banned!?" He chokes, running his eyes over his own face in picture form. "What did I do!?"

"Not banned. You can still order caffeine-free teas or fruit waters." Sean reassures, but it means nothing. His apologies and his explanations mean nothing.

Sean-who he was half sure had been flirting with Tim for months- suddenly meant nothing.

Bruce has bought out Heart Attack was nearest WE in an effort to get Tim to cut back on his coffee intake. The man knew he did not like drinking any other brand, didn't function right without it, and still chose to pull this stunt.

Well, if he thought Tim wouldn't drive ten minutes to the next nearest Heart Attack, he was sorely mistaken. He got up twenty minutes early- and Tim loves to sleep okay. Just because he can't have too much of it with his busy life didn't mean he didn't adore sleep- and drove himself there to make sure he was on time for WE.

The employee gave him the same spiel, holding that dreaded binder. Bruce had also gotten to this branch. But Tim knew that while the branches could be bought out, the name was trademarked, so Bruce couldn't own them all!

He tried the Heart Attack that was thirty minutes away, showing up late to work due to him not planning the traffic for the morning rush, and still did not succeed in getting coffee.

. Then he tried the one that forty minutes, on the complete opposite side of his work, and that one failed too. By this point, a whole week had gone by since he last had a Heart Attack.

Not even on missions did he go this long. He usually bought those take-home packages when he knew the missions were going to be longer than three days at the most. They wouldn't even sell him that anymore!

The packages were just packs of Heart Attack instant coffee. It wasn't even the real deal!

He was feeling withdrawal; his headaches were getting worse, while his body felt slow with fatigue, and he was snapping at everything and everyone.

Just the other day, he yelled at Tam for sneezing. Sneezing.

Thankfully, she can give out as good as she gets. She reminded Tim why she was the one who tended to call all the shots around the office despite what others believed.

His skin was starting to burn, which didn't make sense since caffeine withdrawal did not include itchiness, but he couldn't stop scratching. Tim also hasn't slept in a while because his daily evening routines were all off now that he couldn't have Coco Connect!

He thinks he made all of his executives uneasy with his fidgeting and nasty scowl at the last meeting because he couldn't sit still when all he could think of was Heart Attack.

The last Heart Attack, the one right at the edge of the city, the one that was only a street away from Crime Alley and happened to be a forty-five-minute commute for both Wayne Manor and WE, was his last hope.

Out of all of the branches, this one was the least impressive. It was cramped with only three tables, the walls were painted a dark brown, and the light setting was all low.

It was nothing like the bright and spacious atmosphere of the other branches. It was even squished between two large buildings, the narrow doorway making it hard to even see. Tim was sure Bruce had not found this one yet.

When he pushed the door open, he jumped slightly at the chime from the bells on the door. His anxiety had been climbing to ridiculous levels, he needed his coffee.

At the counter, a boy who looked his age glanced up from his red bulky phone. He quickly slipped it into his pocket, giving Tim a friendly, if slightly bored smile. "Can I help you?"

Tim raced towards him, nearly tripping over his own feet. There was a slight note of deranged desperation in his voice as he responded. "Please, I just want a cup of coffee."

The boy nods, pressing a few buttons on his little cheap register. "What kind would you like?"

Tim's heart swelled with hope. "I want a large Blond Expresso Rush and a-"

The boy stops. He looks up slowly at the time, squinting his eyes as if trying to see into Tim's mind. Then, with a slow movement, he reached under the counter to withdraw a very familiar binder.

Tim's eyes burn with unshed tears as the stranger flips through the binder before stopping on a particular page. "I'm sorry, sir, but you are on the Don't Serve Coffee list. I can offer you some tea instead-"

"NO!" Tim yells, causing the employee to jerk back. He knows he must look like a mess, with tears rolling down his face, but he doesn't care. This was his last chance. He can't make it to the branches in Bludhaven or Metropolis, not daily and certainly not without Bruce noticing. " THIS IS THE FIFTH PLACE. BRUCE CAN'T OWN YOU ALL!"

He places his face into his hands and wails. His body is shaking with his sobs, leaning against the counter because he lost all strength to himself up.

The employee stares at him with a strangely understanding expression. "Does this coffee mean that much to you? Is it.... an Obsession for you?"

Tim can only nod because words are hard to push through his cries. The teenager sighs, running a hand through his hair before leaning forward and whispering. "Look, man, I can't give you coffee under the cameras. Meet me in the back alley in twenty minutes, and I'll get you a coffee. Bring Cash."

Tim snaps his head up at once.

"How much? Five hundred, six hundred, or hell, even a thousand? I'll bring whatever you want." He sobbed, knowing he looked sort of pathetic but beyond the point of caring about his dignity.

" Chill, dude, it's a cup of coffee. Three dollars is fine." The other says with a sort of uneasy smile.

"It's not just any coffee! It's my favorite brand, and Bruce bought them out to ensure they wouldn't sell to me anymore!"

The guy holds up his hands. "Okay, okay, this coffee means a lot to you. I get it. Twenty minutes alright?"

Tim stumbles his way outside, reaching for his wallet. He has no cash, but he says an ATM is not too far down the street. He all but runs there and sprints back with a crispy twenties.

He stopped at a local flower store to ask if they would break it for him and was told he needed to buy something first. Not wanting to meet the coffee angel, he picks out a lovely bouquet of lavender roses.

He gets four dollars as his change and races back to the Alley behind Heart Attack. Just in time, too, because the back door opens and out strolls the cashier with a large travel container.

Tim throws the cash and flowers into his hands to rip off the lid and check the inside. It's a Blond Expersso Rush. Even just a sniff has something in him settling. He takes a sip, and all is right with the world for the first time in a while.

"That good?" The boy asks with a slight grin. Tim hums, smiling back as he takes another sip. "I'm glad. Want your flowers back?"

Huh? Oh yeah, he bought those. He shakes his head. "Keep them. Think of it as a thanks for doing this."

"Cool. Never had flowers as a tip before." He jokes, taking a sniff of the roses with a broader grin. "Name's Danny, by the way."

"Tim. Nice to meet you."

"You too."

Tim tips his head back, letting the coffee burn down his throat. It's hot, but that hardly matters. Danny's mouth drops. "Dude, maybe wait for it to not be so hot?"

"I can't." He whines, downing the cup's contents, and only after it's all gone does he realize he forgot to savor it. He throws it over his shoulder in the direction of the trash can. "I don't know when I'll get a chance like this again."

"Don't worry about that. I'll make you more whenever you want. Here, have my number and text me when you're on your way so I can-"

Tim throws himself onto Danny. The other fumbles with the flowers, trying to hold them and Tim simultaneously, but Tim doesn't care. "You are the best person I have ever met! I think I love you!"

The other laughs, patting his hair. "I'm glad. You've been the first to give me flowers, so you're cool, too."

"When do you get off shift? I'll treat you to dinner."

"It's not a big deal, dude."

"I insist!"

"Well if you insist. I just finished, actually. Where do you have in mind?"

Tim leans back to smile at Danny, unaware of the two shadows that leap away from the still-embraced couple. They arrived sometime after Tim finished his cup, unaware he had drunk it since it was lying on the group near the other discarded cups in the trash.

They only saw Tim in the arms of a boy, holding flowers, which represented "Love at First Sight," and the way they heard Tim offer to buy him dinner.

"See B? Tim wasn't buying coffee. He was just meeting his crush!"

"Hmm. Based on what we saw, it's safe to say boyfriend. No one is comfortable with someone unless they have known them for a while."

"I think your right. I wonder when Tim will bring him over to meet the family?"

"Try not to push too much Nightwing. You know T values his privacy."

They both smile at each other knowingly, and even though Bruce suppresses it right away for his Batman persona they don't forget what they saw.

They pretend not to notice every time Tim disappears or that his GPS puts him back in that alley. They'll wait till he's ready to tell them. Besides, the barista seems good to him; Tim is far more energetic and bright these days.

A month goes by like this, where Tim is back to his normal self, no longer needing coffee to be happy. Bruce pats himself ion the back for his plan to help cut him off working so well.

Even though he seems to be texting constantly on his phone.

Neither Dick nor Bruce noticed the narrow eye stare of worry that Jason aimed at Tim whenever he slipped away to meet Danny. He has theories on what is inside those strange containers, but he hasn't gotten close enough to confirm his suspicions yet.

Jason prays he's wrong.

He waits until he knows Tim is gone (he is not. He likes to hide in the cave's shadows to overhear the latest family gossip) before turning to Bruce and Dick.

"Tim's on drugs! I've caught him trading cash for small containers in a shady alley six times. We need an intervention."

Predictably both men freak out.

"What?! I thought that was his boyfriend!" Dick wails, looking over all the pictures of Tim and Danny standing in an alley trading cash, flowers, and containers that Jason took.

"I also thought that was Tim's boyfriend, but if it's a drug dealer, we have to help him," Bruce grunts, eyes hard as he now sees Danny Fenton in a new, less favorable light.

And Tim, who is still hiding in the cave's shadows overhead, can only whisper a heartfelt "shit."

He rips out his phone to text Danny as the rest of the Bats below begin plotting. Thank goodness they don't know what Danny has been giving him exactly. Maybe they can steal Bruce's and Dick's ideas.

Meanwhile, Danny's tiny apartment across the city is starting to appear like a greenhouse with all the flowers Tim has been giving him. His small slip of loving flowers was all Tim needed to hear.

He's taken it as a personal challenge to always have some flowers for Danny as a thank-you for the coffee he made for him.

It was nice. It helped get rid of the boredom his life had developed. He looked forward to Tim's presence. He hadn't had this much fun or clicked as easily with someone since Sam or Tucker.

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear," Danny grins as his phone dings and Tim's picture flashes on his screen.

If anyone asks you're my secret boyfriend who been making me teas in allies

Danny stares at the screen momentarily, before shrugging and texting back a confirmation. "Who the hell would believe that? But I've had a boring week, so yeah, I'm down to be a pretend boyfriend."

He's never met any of Tim's family, but he doesn't think they will be too hard to fool.

[flawlessflesh]

infinity au falin and thistle sketches.

falin is physically affectionate with her friends, but thistle isn't used to that kind of thing so at first he's startled like in canon when faligon was kind to him, but he doesn't hate it and eventually they get to the point of casual embraces and lounging around together backstage before shows. all of this is strange for yaad to witness bc he perceives thistle as an unapproachable, volatile person that you can't take liberties with.

[rhinestonesox]

is no one gonna talk about how Senshi’s journal labels marcille and falin’s relationship as friends with a question mark??? happy pride month to these crazy mfs

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 301

Ellie, during one of her stints of what do I do with my life right now, decides to, with the help of her Original Dad-Person (Look he’s aging and she’s not and it gets less questions the older he gets if he says daughter instead of sister with how the Fentons are getting older too) creates a Boo-Tube channel. No, not a Youtube channel, those are stuck to a single dimension.

Bootube on the other hand? Due to being through the Realms (and wow is Tucker getting so much income from creating it) is interdimensional. Which is so cool honestly. And she doesn’t know what to do at first, and honestly there’s already so many travel blogs that she kind of just… decided to do something that she wished someone had done for her and her brothers and Danny when she was new to the world. 

So she creates the channel CAAW: Clone Awareness, Accommodations, and Welfare. They had to learn things through trial and error, but maybe she can help someone out there learn how to find their own selves, or even help someone not melt. 

[yourlocalabomination]

I am not immune to funny crackships.

+ Bonus

[sisaloofafump]

My favourite hobby is trying to imagine the most no homo superbat moments DC would actually be willing to do but it's hard because we already have:

There's only one room/sharing a bed

Being the other's black mercy dream

Canon in a genderbent universe

Almost-kiss (with an ulterior purpose)

Being the one the other'd miss most if they died

Innuendos & jokes (of varying levels of seriousness) about being married

Rescuing eachother naked

and that's just off the top of my head.

[atomicowboy]

okay FINE i’ll draw them

[arrows-and-ace-thetics]

Reminder that even if your asexuality or aromantism could have a "different source", if these terms help you feel safe and advercate you needs you can still use them!

Maybe you are a "late bloomer" or "too young to know" but maybe the identity means you can explain yourself better, you can find others who feel the same, you can take things at your own pace. That's OK.

Maybe you're on medication, maybe you have some sort of neurodivergence that is affecting things. If these terms help explain your emotions or how you are "lacking" a certain thing, that's OK.

Maybe you're trans and you're not sure how your dysphoria effects it. Identities and feelings are confusing. That's OK.

Cause for every person who realises the terms no longer fit, there's someone who wishes they used the terms earlier. If you have shared experience, if the terms help you define yourself and protect yourself or hell just give a small sense of belonging that's OK.

You're welcome here

[haunted-xander]

I guess old feelings don't disappear that easily