#hes going to pair her with tim dick or some other guy

[thatawesomenerdygirl]

Bat-army

This was a brain fart 😆

A very short one :)

**

"I work alone, Superman," Bruce insisted, his frown deepening because he just knew Clark was right behind him with his brow quirked.

"That's rich coming from you," Clark pointed towards the makeshift kitchen area Bruce had built because his wife insisted on having one so she could make something when she came around. That kitchen area currently occupied by none other than Mrs. Wayne herself.

And Dick.

And Jason... and Tim and Damian.

They were currently arguing about whether they wanted pancakes or waffles before they go out. Damian was standing on the countertop, pointing his sheathed sword at Tim.

"It would be easier for mother to make waffles," Damian hissed at the older boy, a scowl that resembled Bruce's marring his face.

"You know what, you are right," Tim raised his hands, "but we should pair it with chicken, maybe we should cut open bat-chicken and fry it."

The smug look on Damian's face turned into a pure horror as he imagined his beloved chicken—the one he had gotten just two nights ago—on a platter, fried. "Mother! Father! Did you hear what he said!?"

Mrs. Wayne gave her son a noncommittal hum as she flipped the pancake she was cooking—she was making both waffles and pancakes, while Bruce grunted quietly, the parents were not taking sides.

Jason laughed so hard he fell off the stool, continuing to lay on the floor, clutching his sides. "I can see the light," he gasped, trying to get some oxygen into his lungs between laughter.

"Don't go towards it!" Dick nudged his 'dying' brother with his foot.

Clark looked amused, "you brought the whole army here, we don't need Justice League anymore," he added with a chuckle.

"They wanted to come," Bruce responded, turning around so he could take a look at his family. The scowl he had softened just a little without him knowing.

"If you guys are all here, then who's protecting Gotham?" Diana came around the corner, looking majestic as usual, taking her spot beside Mrs. Wayne so she could learn a thing or two.

Bruce had a little smirk on his face, "Alfred."

[butch-chastity]

im sorry but I really do not think james gunn is going to treat cass well and the idea that he is even remotely interested in her fills me with dread

[on-the-clear-blue]

Dead Man's Diner pt 4

"THOSE FUCKING BITCHES SAM!" Danny shouted as he stormed into his apartment, slinging his backpack off by the door as he toes his shoes off.

Rounding the corner of the hallway, Danny was met with Tucker, shirtless with only a pair of plaid boxers on, staring at him with sleep glazed eyes, he had a box of cereal in one hand, and a bottle of oat milk in the other, raising the bottle in a salute, Tucker stuffed a handful of cereal into his mouth before taking a swig of the milk, holding up a hand to stop Danny from speaking as he chewed, only letting his hand fall before he spoke.

"What?"

"The Bats are fucking assholes!"

Tucker looked back at the bottle of oat milk, sighed and placed it back in the refrigerator, chucking the box of cereal on the counter, Tucker grabbed Danny by the shoulders.

"Of course they are Jerks Danny..." his grip tightened as he started to shake the Halfa, "I have ten deadlines and 5 missed calls, I really want to geek out right now about you meeting the local heroes but I really don't have the time, so yes, jerks, tell me about it later okay?"

Danny phased through the tough grip on his shoulders, letting out a giggle as he watched Tucker fumble as he no longer had someone to help steady himself, "I did yell specifically for Sam, Tuck so you can't get mad at me! Go huant the Wanyetech building, I know for sure those dudes are way more dead inside than I am!"

Getting a groan from his friend at his dead pun, Danny continued into the apartment, snatching Tuckers cereal box off the counter as he went to sit in the living room.

Spotting Sam typing something on a lap top, her big over the ear headphones blaring as he flops down next to her, which thankfully was enough for her to notice him.

Offering g the box of cereal to her, she sent him a tired smile as she slipped the head phones off and took some of the fruit flavored rings, "Hey there Deadstuff...how was work?"

Danny sent her a grin, "Well, Clocky decided to throw me a bone and I think I got this? He is a little bitch boy that sends me all over the place but this time it was a dined, Lunch Lady taught me how to cook." Pasuing to stuff a new handful of tasty fruity goodness, Danny spoke around the cereal in his mouth "Cookin' ish so much more cool when da food isn't trying to kill you"

Slapping Danny's arm as she rolled her "Don't eat with your mind full and tell me what got you so riled up" Sliding her laptop of her self she tucked her knees up before stretching them out over Danny, who was already going off on his story.

"Wait wait! You had Nightwing in you're restaurant and you didn't get me an autograph?" Same shot Danny a scowl, who at least had the decency to look sorry

"I was going to but they fucking dined and dashed Sam! Even when I was actively Phantom, I never, ever just left a bill!"

---

Dick knew that perhaps eating the food was a slightly bad idea, given the look B gave them when him and Tim pulled into the Cave.

He was standing there, arms crossed, thankfully cowl down, what made the sight infinitely less intimidating was Damian doing the same next to him, his head tilted to look down at them and perhaps standing on his tittpy toes a little bit.

Dick wanted to coo at the father son bonding, but remembered he had to act at least a little chastised at the moment "Yes I am sorry B, It was my decision to head in, there was no outward danger so we just took a chance."

Wincing at the gruff grunt he got from that Dick powered on, "I will write a more detailed report, but personally if anything wrong it's likely that the kid working there is Meta? I dont-"

"He can't be meta! He is very clearly a ghost Dick!" Tim interrupted already flipping through some notes he had made on the way back home, "its the only explanation...or he is a 5th dimensional Imp with a passion for cooking but I really hope not those guys suck to deal with..."

Dick nodded at that, but had to say some thing foe his own superfan imp "Nightmite is a chill dude helps sometimes with cases back in Bludhaven!"

Giving a sigh, Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose, "No mites, no metas, no ghost, go to Medbay I am running blood tests on what sweet hell you have ingested."

---

Bruce ran the test again, sure that it was wrong, praying that it was wrong.

TEST COMPLETE

TRACE LAZARUS WATERS DETECTED

Underneath was lists of chemical make ups of the samples Tim took and his sons blood, there were varying levels through out the food samples, some lighter but others were heavy on it.

What was stumping him was...it was nearly perfectly pure, the pits naturally over time get polluted, with the dirt and sediment that falls in, and with the various amounts of bodily parts and fluids that are dipped in it.

But the trace amounts Bruce was finding were a better quality than Ra's own personal pool, not the one he dips in to regain his youth that the LOA make a ritual out of, no the privet one in the Alps that was clear as glacial water.

It didn't make any sense to Bruce, who would be spreading Lazarus water around? Ra's would not simply share his secret pure stash...

Lost in thought, Bruce sat back glaring at the test results.

---

"And after I thought I was giving great service, they fucking left, no bill, no tip! I didn't even get to see Nightwings ass as he left! People say it's a godly experience! I was robbed!" Letting out a huff Danny shot Sam an incredulous look at her sudden burst of laughter. "Sa~am, this isn't funny! Never meet your heroes! I am taking this to Twitter! They shall know my fury!" His words only served to make Sam laugh even harder.

Stifling a grin Danny took out hos phone, a old busted thing that was more ducktape and prayers than actual technology, but dear go's did it still work.

<@i-haunt-spirit-holloween

[@.realwing @not-that-red-robin.real yall are toxic twinks came in to my workplace and fucking dined and dashed 0/10 Nightwing has a flat ass.]

Hitting send, Danny put his phone down, choosing to let the nights happenings go past his mind and just hang out with Sam before showering and finally going to bed.

---

Tim was hunched over his lap top, going frame by frame of his body cam footage, he *needed* to figure this out, it was like an itch in his brain that he would go through bone to get through.

His work payed off as he clicked forward another time, his feed went static before it showed a blurry blue blob in place of the diner! Proof! It was there!

Jumping at the sudden bang of his bedroom door being thrown open, Tim whirled to around to see Dicks distressed face, standing up, Tim prepared for the worst, something happened. Bruce was dead agian it had to be-

"TIMMY I AM A TWINK AM I??" Was Dicks wail as he flopped down on Tim's bed.

Letting out a shuddering sigh, Tim looked longingly at his laptop before closing it, "Dick, what the fuck."

Rolling around on the bed, Dick finally looked up at Tim "Littlewing sent me a tweet and...ugh just look!" Thrusting out his phone as he spoke

Pasuing at the mention of Jason, Tim  looked down at the screen and froze

"Holy shit...we forgot to pay didn't we...fuck Jason is never going to let us live that down."

Tim still remembered the first time he witnessed one of Jason's famous "make Bruce spend more money" rants about tipping.

It was glorious.

Tim now realized he would be one of two that was likely going to have to face it next.

"UGH?? You focus on the money and not the other parts? Tim I was called a toxic twink with no ass! This is a declaration of war! I have never been so offended!" Dick sat up, eyes narrowd while Tim opened up the tweet on his own phone.

"The comments agree Dick, I am sorry, you now have a flat ass congrats and welcome to the club" Tim said dryly, trying to go to the posters page, since it was clearly Danny who posted it.

Only the app crashed when he tried to. And again when he tried to a second time, and his web browser crashed when he tried opening it there

Tim was baffled on what was happening while Dick lemented on his bed before deciding to hack it later.

<@not-that-red-robin.real

[@i-haunt-spirit-holloween super sorry about that send me venmo and I'll pay with tip]

<@i-haunt-spirit-holloween

[@not-that-red-robin.real Fuck that face me like a coward bitch bet you wont]

<@not-that-red-robin.real

[@i-haunt-spirit-holloween...bet]

---

Somewhere in a safe house in Crime Ally, Jason let out a little giggled as he scrolled through the comments on the funniest post he had found in a while, Jason was surely going to have to speak to Timberly and Dickiebird about paying their bills but right now?

He was kicking his feet watching Dick have a public meltdown as Nightwing.

Finally, he wouldn't be the only one who had to retake the Bat Media course.

How was he supposed to know doing peace signs next to a person he just shot wasn't allowed?

[igotanidea]

Run baby, run: AK!Jason x reader

part 2 to Somebody's watching me.

She looked so peaceful. So innocent.

And completely oblivious to the fact that the casual outing she went to with her friends was carefully observed by a pair of eyes, hidden under a metal helmet.

Or was she-?

He was like a predator.

Waiting for a single mistake of his prey to take a change and lunge at the opportunity fate presented him with.

Whatever the mistake may be in this case.

But sooner or later she was gonna make one.

Part ways with her friends.

Get drunk and bibulously let some guy touch her.

Dance to the music to the point of exhaustion and end up on the couch in a stranger’s house.

And he would be there to prevent the aftermath of that.

***

For the last week she was going crazy.

Ever since that one night when she saw a silhouette on the rooftop it felt like someone has been following her every move, ever step, lurking in the dark, so close to her and yet, just beyond reach. However, when she tried to tell her friends about they look at her like she was making a joke. So obviously she stopped doing as much as even mentioning it, cause the last thing she wanted was to be abandoned by the only people in her surroundings.

Even if those friends didn’t really deserve the name.

But still – those were the only one she had.

Incomparable with the Waynes she used to spend her time with years ago, before all went to shit. But Jason’s disappearance left an everlasting scar. The only thing she wanted was to forget it all, and yet – the only impossible thing in her life seemed to be letting go of the past. And being in the company of Dick, Tim, Babs and the rest of the clan was making her skin burn and her stomach twist and turn with the incoming, checkless panic attack. Like her entire body and mind felt the pressure of the past on her fragile conscience and damaged soul.

And the only thing she felt like doing in the Manor was either screaming or crying. 

So she moved on, or so she tried to convince herself of.

***

Mistake number one was left her drink unattended when she went to the toilet.

Rookie move with the possible grave consequences.

But it was gone when she came back. Only fueling her paranoia.

Mistake number two was letting her eyes off her companionship and being left alone by the exit with some drunken and already horny guys.

But when with shaky hands she pulled out her phone, desperately searching through her contact list for a potential backup, those men were already dragged into the nearest dark alley and knocked down.

But her worst mistake was not calling the cab and deciding on actually walking home. In her opinion it was a way to get some air and calm her rapidly racing heart, but she freaking forgot it was Gotham.

Like a freaking fool.

Under any other circumstances she would never and the fact that the though of going on foot even crossed her mind was the perfect reflection of her shattered mind spinning like a freaking Ferris wheel.

Something was wrong.

Something was awfully wrong and she felt like she was a main character in some horror movie.

Like that girl, who you watch on the screen, screaming at her to not go to that creepy attic from where the most suspicious sounds come, and then do the exact same thing when faced with a threat.

A ruffle of the leaves. The sound of an empty soda can rolling on the street. The flap of bird’s wing.

It all made her feel like a Freddy Krueger was coming after her.

And maybe she was not so far from the truth.

Her pulse was over the moon, heart running out of her chest, breath quickening, legs starting to move faster and faster and faster as she started running. Not really watching where as long as it was forward and away from whatever imaginary individual was chasing her.

With wild hair, tears in her eyes and blurry vision.

She was so stupid. So fucking stupid and mental, belonging in the mental institution due to her damaged brain refusing to stop dwelling on the past trauma.

“WATCH OUT!”

Before she was hit by a car a strong pair of arms grabbed her by the waist pulling her back to the pavement. She closed her eyes in fear letting whoever her savior was hold her trembling form. As weird as it was, for some reason being in this embrace felt… good. And familiar. Like she belonged there.

And if it was another wave of schizophrenic images coming from her brain she refused to accept it, freezing at the spot and waiting for it to pass.

But the stranger’s seeming grip on her body did not falter. For a longer while that seemed both like an eternity and like a second.

“Y/N….”

It must have been a wind. It must have been a wind. It must have been a wind.

“Y/N…”

The second the voice hit her ears again she turned around abruptly, but there was no one there.

She was going crazy.

With wide terrified eyes, slowly coming back on earth she finally took in her surroundings.

Realizing, to her undeniable terror, that she was right next to Dick’s house. And even worse – noticing the lights in his windows. Which meant he was here and not in Bludhaven. And not patrolling. Which was an uncommon, if not impossible conjuncture.

The past finally caught up with her.

“Y/N?!” Dick noticed her outside and opened the window, holding back the instinct to just jump outside (from 3rd floor) like an acrobat he was. “Y/N?! What are you doing here? Are you ok?”

“No…” she sobbed “No, I’m not okay…” she finally broke down in the middle of the night, on the empty street.

“Damn!” a few minutes later Grayson was downstairs holding her for dear life. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Whatever happened, you are safe with me now, I promise.”

She couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. Crying from fear and stress and helplessness.

“Shhh… come on, let’s get you upstairs and cleaned up. I got you.”

When Dick was slowly guiding her to his apartment, the same predatory red eyes were focused on the pair and the sudden need for vengeance sprouts buds, growing roots deep into the long-petrified heart, crushing down the ice it was covered with.

No one was going to take her away from him this time.

Edit:

part 3 : Smooth criminal is up!

@vaniasagitaa @gone-batty-fics @astrelz @not-herexo @deans-spinster-witch @calicocat45

[deliciousbasementtrash]

Playing Nurse for the Batfam

From Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #67-69 on Webtoon; Artist Inker Starbite

Summary: you are a nurse working for Gotham General Hospital. Batman has offered you a job. You are meeting the whole family for the first time. What could go wrong?

Pairing: Slowburn Jason Todd x reader, (maybe a why choose with Dick Grayson as well?? Idk tell me what you guys want)

Warning: Adult language, knife injury

Word Count: 1.5k

Note: These characters are not my own they belong to DC. The only character that is 'mine' is the reader. I am going to be as nondescript as possible for the reader as well for physical attributes. This is a continuation series; I’m not sure how long it will be. Also for some reason, my replies to comments are not showing up. I’m not ignoring your comments Tumblr won’t let me respond :( But please, please comment I live for it 

Part One, Part Two, Part Three

Part Four: Dinner and a Show

Anxiously, I took the napkin from the table and began twisting it vigorously. I felt Alfred leave his seat as he rose to meet his family. I swallowed hard, not wanting to look at all of the people that were entering the room. They just seemed to keep coming. How many people were in Bruce’s family? 

Before I had time to register it a hand was outstretched near me. It nearly made me jump. The stranger cleared his throat and smiled, “Hello, I am Dick Grayson. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

In an ungraceful motion, I put the napkin on the table and stood up to greet him properly. I took his hand in mine and firmly shook it. His hands were large, calloused, and a little clammy. It was almost like he was a little nervous to meet me. But that couldn’t be right. 

“Nice to meet you, Dick Grayson. I am y/f/n y/l/n,” I said, trying to make eye contact with him. Dick was an extremely handsome man. He was almost achingly pretty. With his soft blue eyes, dimples, and dark curly hair, he could definitely charm the pants off anyone if he really wanted to. 

His smile grew when our hands met. He just stood there for a moment looking at me, and then he pivoted to the side. He introduced Tim Drake and Duke Thomas. Tim was cordial and did the customary new person greeting, Duke was somewhat rambling. 

“Your powers are truly something to be admired, thank you so much for everything you have done,” Duke said as he excitedly shook my hand. 

I smiled at him and rubbed the back of my neck, “It’s really not that big of a deal but thank you, Duke. You guys are the ones that make the real change.”

Duke opened his mouth as if he were going to disagree, but a red-headed woman with glasses wheeled up to us and joined the conversation. 

“You boys are hogging her. Hello, I am Barbara Gordon. This is Cass, she doesn’t say much, and this is Stephanie, she says too much.”

I greeted them both, slightly overwhelmed by the amount of new people. I was trying my best to act ‘normal’ and be as social and charming as I could be. A younger boy who strongly resembled Bruce stood far away from me. He surveyed the room, taking in the reactions. He seemed so serious for his age. I wasn’t sure if I should make the introduction or not. 

“Where is Jason?” Bruce asked the room. 

“He is running late,” Dick said, “he said he had some ‘other shit that needed to get done first.’”

Faintly, I saw Bruce tense, but just as quickly as it came, it went. “Alright, everyone leave y/n alone and go sit down.”

On my right, there was Alfred, who felt my anchor to the world. On my left, there was Dick Grayson, who felt like he was trying to get me to smile and laugh every chance he got. 

The table soon became loud with conversations that finally were not about me. However, I felt eyes on me the whole night. Damian Wayne was across from me, staring at me the whole time like I was an intruder. 

“So, you are a healer,” Damian said, skeptically. 

I swallowed a bite of food and nodded, “I am.”

“What can you heal?” Damian asked, twirling his dinner knife in the air. 

“Flesh wounds, broken bones, blood loss, head injury, organ injury,” I trailed off not knowing what else to say. 

“How does it work?” His eyes narrowed at me.

“I’m not really sure. It’s as natural for me as breathing or blinking.”

“What are your–” Damien asked but then Bruce interrupted. 

“Son, you do not need to vet our guest. Let her enjoy herself.” 

Damien was suspicious of me and curious I wanted the boy to feel comfortable, “It’s okay, Bruce. It’s natural to be curious about it. What other questions do you have for me, Damien?’

“What are your limits?” Damien asked.

I felt the table go quiet. They all were curious and wanted to know my weaknesses. I instinctually did not want to answer, but I knew that if I wanted to be accepted I would need to be vulnerable and honest. 

“I cannot heal a majority of terminal illnesses. Spinal injuries can go one way or the other it depends on the severity. I cannot heal tumors. And…. and healing is draining. If I am not smart about it, I can make myself sick.”

“Sick how?” Dick asked, leaning in. 

“Well, it’s hard to explain. When I healed Bruce, it was after my shift at the hospital, I barely ate that day or slept the night before. So, when I put all that energy into healing him, it was exhausting. I nearly passed out on the ground next to him. When I got home, I slept for 16 hours straight. That is a more mild case though, it can get more… severe.”

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Bruce mumbled. 

The boyish charm on Dick’s face vanished, “How severe can it get?”

“Oh, you know tremors, fever, bloody noses, vomiting, seizures. It can get bad. I’ve learned my limits the hard way, but I’ve learned them. Growing up my limits were more extreme. I couldn’t heal a paper cut without getting a headache. Small stuff like cuts and bruises doesn’t bother me at all now though. It barely scratches the surface of my limits.”

“Prove it,” Damien said. 

“Excuse me?” I asked, annoyance filling my tone. I can handle his constant questions, but being told to prove it vexed me. 

“You say you can heal cuts and bruises without it ‘scratching the surface.’ Prove it. Prove you’re not a charlatan witch.” It was a movement for a boy too quick for his age he took his dinner knife and sliced along his own arm.

“Damien!” Barbara yelled. Dick leaped across the table but it was too late, blood was already pooling. Bruce and Alfred cursed. 

“Why did we allow Damien to have a knife at dinner?” Tim asked over the yelling. 

“Tim, do you really think we gave him that knife?” Bruce asked, incredulously. 

Anger surged as I slowly made my way around the table full of people yelling until I was in front of Damien. I glared at him as I rested my hands just above his cut. The room became silent as I healed him. The cut closed, and I replenished the blood that he lost. 

Damien looked at me, dumbfounded. The whole room did expect for Bruce and Alfred.

“It’s one thing to hear about it, but to see it… you really are a miracle.” Duke said the words and I flinched from them. 

I looked at Damien and let my anger show through. “I will not heal you if you pull something like this again. I don’t care how much your father pays me. I am not a monkey that will dance for you on a whim. Do not harm yourself to make a point or prove something again.” Damien angrily ripped his arm away from me. I didn’t care. It was unacceptable. He should never hurt himself intentionally like that just because he knows I can heal him. I turned and faced the room, “It was lovely meeting all of you. I hope you all have a nice evening, good night.”

And with that, I turned around and left for the night. Maybe I shouldn’t be as mad as I am right now, but I know I need a moment to myself. I heard light footsteps beside me as someone lightly jogged to catch up.

“I’m sorry about Damien we are still house-training him,” Dick said, trying his best to lighten the mood. 

I didn’t crack a smile, “It’s okay, Dick, really.”

“He can be intense sometimes, well we all can,” ever so lightly he reached up and grabbed my elbow, turning me so I faced him. “We are a lot. We are loud. We are sarcastic. We all think we are right all the time. We fight. We can be obsessive, protective, and socially inept. You will constantly have to patch us up–”

I shook my head, my eyebrows pinched in confusion, “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“You need to know exactly what you are getting into. It won’t be fair to you if you don’t know,” he said, absent-mindedly his thumb stroking the inner part of my elbow. He probably didn’t even know he was doing it, but I was acutely aware of it.

I just nodded, “Thank you for telling me. I appreciate the honesty. Besides, if I can handle my family, I can handle yours. Good night, Dick.”

“Of course, good night, y/n.” It looked like he wanted to say more, but I didn’t have the energy for it. 

I walked toward my room, suddenly so exhausted. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my palms, and accidentally ran into a wall. 

“Um excuse you,” a deep voice said.

Taglist: I am just starting a taglist; if you would like to be included please comment :)

@soundsfunbutno

Also please vote below for what you would prefer

Thank you guys

[in1-nutshell]

Nightlight meets the Batfamily

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronain reader

TFA

Nightlight didn’t know why she got transported to this smelly dinging alley.

All she remembered was helping Professor Sumdac carry some heavy material’s then feeling fuzzy and landing in the ally.

Worse, several important wires responsible for transformation had come out of their sockets.

Nothing could get wo—

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

Nightlight looks at her window and sees a small figure leaning on her frame. They were bleeding. She opens the door, and the figure falls into her front seat. It was a boy in a costume.

Nightlight: “Hey kid! Are you okay?”

The boy slowly lifts his head groaning.

Nightlight: “Kid is there a hospital or place we can go to get help?”

The boy groaned more, his eyes closing. Nightlight wraps her seatbelt around the boy. He yelped as the belt went over his wound and tightened.

Nightlight: “Sorry, can’t have you bleeding out. Now, is there a place we can go and get you help?” The boy hazily nods: “…putting in coordinates… wanna sleep bats…”

Nightlight puts the coordinates in and speeds off.

Nightlight: “Hang tight kiddo. Help is on the way.”

Nightlight’s spark was in overdrive when the boy suddenly slumped in her seat.

She was surprised when a secret entrance opened into a large cave.

She honked her horn several times getting the attention of an older human and another human in a wheelchair.

Carefully opening the door and letting the boy get carried off by the older man.

The woman rolled over to her.

Barbara: “Bruce? Bruce where—” Nightlight: “Who’s Bruce?”

The human woman in wheelchair made a startled noise.

Barbara: “Who said that?” Nightlight: “I did.” Barbara: “You’re the car? But how the batmobile—wait how—”

Nightlight pops her hood.

Nightlight: “If you can connect those wires, I’ll explain everything.”

The woman hesitates but eventually plugs in the wires. Nightlight transforms and stretches a bit. She looks down at the woman and kneels offering her digit.

Nightlight: “Thank you Ms…” Barbara: “…Oracle.”

Nightlight tilts her helm a bit.

Nightlight: “Oracle? Not a traditional human name I’ve heard. Or is it a code name?” Barbara: “Code name. Now, explain.”

Nightlight explained her situation to ‘Oracle’.

The older human, Alfred, soon came towards the pair telling them that ‘Red Robin’ was now stable.

The bot vented in relief and introduced herself to the older human.

She eventually sat down by the med bay while happily chatting with the older man when ‘Red Robin’ had woken up.

Tim groans as his eyes adjust to the light. Alfred goes to Tim side gently patting his head.

Alfred: “Good sleep, Master Tim?”

Tim groans as he adjusts himself to sit up in the bed.

Tim: “I guess. But I was having the strangest dream about the batmobile talk—”

Tim looks over at the giant robot in the cave waving at him.

Tim: “…I think I’m still dreaming. The batmobile is a mech.” Nightlight: “I’m no mech kid. The names Nightlight.” Tim: “…” Nightlight: “Yeah, don’t worry we’ll explain everything, right Barbara?” Tim: “It knows your names?!”

It takes a bit to explain to Tim what happened, but he does eventually understand and does say thank you for the rescue.

Nightlight simply pats his head.

Now… to tell the others about their temporary companion.

Tim was half tempted to bring Nightlight with him to his team’s hide out until she could go back home.

But it was ultimately decided that The Batman should be let on this.

The batmobile and two motorcycles pulled into the cave. The vigilantes get out.

Jason: “And that’s why you don’t film pigeons while you’re on patrol.” Damian: “Todd I swear--.” Bruce: “Enough both of you.” Bruce: “Did anyone check in with Red Robin.” Dick: “I thought he was with you. He was calling for the batmobile… are you guys seeing this?”

Tim, with bandages, was in the palm of a giant robot that looked oddly similar to the batmobile.

Nightlight: “Then I somersaulted Starscream and shoved the bomb right up his—Oh! We have visitors.”

Nightlight was picking out tiny ‘batarangs’ while Tim, Barbara and Alfred explained the situation.

Jason wants proof of the transformation.

Nightlight does then goes back to her root mode.

Jason: “So, she’s kinda like the female robot alien version of you B.” Nightlight: “I am not—” Bruce: “She is not—" Dick: “What did you say your job was again?” Nightlight: “I’m a detective. I solve mysteries, put the bad guys in cuffs—”

Jason gives Bruce a smug look.

Damian: “Did your parents die when you were young.” Dick, Tim: “Damain!” Nightlight: “Umm, no? I don’t have any parents. That concept is more of the traditional Earth thing. I have had mentors though.” Dick: “… How about a complicated love life?” Bruce glares at all his children: “Okay now how about we stop—” Nightlight: “I have a Conjunx if that’s what you’re asking.” Batfamily: “Conjunx?” Nightlight: “I believe its translated as ‘Spouse’, on Earth.” Jason: “… how come the robot version of you has her life together and you don’t.” Bruce: “Jason--” Tim: “Last one! Do you have a tendency of adopting orphans or kids in general?” Nightlight laughs a bit before thinking back at most of the members on Team Prime: “… I have become a figure to some extent.” Nightlight looks over at Tim before plucking him up and placing him on her shoulder: “Anymore questions?” All Bat kids looking up: “…” Nightlight: “If you want up—” Batkids: “Please!”

Bruce broods in silence as his kids are carried up the bots shoulders and helm.

[pogueswrld]

*•.¸♡ thread of pleasure ♡¸.•*

pairing: jason todd x fem!reader

summary: reader is tired and jason decides to please her.

prompt: "You can either have sexy time or a home-cooked meal tonight, but not both because I am tired."

warnings: 🦢 smut w/ minimum plot!!! domestic!jason (he's husband material yk), pet names (heart eyes), pussydrunk!jason (he gives reader good head), handsfree cumming/cumming in his pants... Yeah, basically reader is given the princess treatment <3

note: I didn't know how to close this one up so the ending is abrupt and weird, sorry babes :/// anyways here's some Jason brain rot 😵‍💫😵‍💫

Y/n released a deep sigh when she finally shut her apartment door closed, the build-up of her entire day came crumbling down on her shoulders. Her eyes were tightly shut and her hands gripped the plastic grocery bags.

With another heavy sigh, she blinked her eyes open and pushed herself off the door to set the bags on the counter.

Her week wasn't out of the ordinary, but for some reason, it felt far more draining the all the other weeks she's worked combined. And with Jason going on patrol more often, she felt extremely alone whenever she went to sleep without him and woke up to him already gone.

She stared, deadpanned, at the six bags before her before pressing her lips together and coming to a decision. She knew that if she started making dinner now, she will be able to have a meal prepared by the time Jason makes it home- they'll have dinner and then she'll immediately crash and not see him again until tomorrow night.

However, if she decided to not make dinner, she and Jason might be able to spend at least two hours before she decides to go to sleep.

But then he won't have dinner, she thought, a pout forming on her lips.

To find a solution, she dug up her phone from her back pocket and sent out a single text to the familiar number of her lover.

You can either have sexy time or a home-cooked meal tonight, but not both because I AM TIRED

Jason was with Dick and Tim when he received the message through the AI on his Red Hood helmet. As soon as he spotted the notification, his face lit up with a grin, and then he read the text and couldn't help but bite his lips in a poor attempt to contain the grin.

He was thankful that tonight's patrol was mostly calm. Nothing more than a few petty crimes that either Dick or Tim can easily handle.

Helplessly, he turned to his brothers. "Hey, guys?"

Tim turned to him first, humming in question. Dick glanced up after, raising one questioning brow.

"Would you guys mind if I ditched?"

The other batboys shared a stare, "Right now?"

Jason only nodded, thankful for the helmet over his face to cover his smile.

Dick shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Jason had jumped off the roof they were idling from and disappeared into the night.

When she didn't get a reply, y/n shrugged and emptied the bags of food. She checked her phone again, still on delivered, and made her way into her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. Unaware of the boy unlocking the door to her apartment.

Jason walked in with two boxes of pizza balanced on one arm while the other made sure to lock the door of the apartment. The click of the door reached her ears, and she turned her head to the door as she fixed the massive shirt covering her form. She padded out of the room and smiled at the sight of Jason placing the boxes of pizza on the kitchen counter. He's still in his Red Hood custom.

She's biting her bottom lip to hold back a grin.

"You couldn't reply to my text to let me know you've seen it?"

Jason turned at her voice and smiled, the Red Hood helmet sat at the counter. His grin revealed the pointy teeth underneath, and he visibly softened at the sight of her. He shrugged.

"Figured I could just show up."

Y/N bites her lip as she slowly approached him, purposely slouching as she hums, burying her face in his chest when he opens his arms for her. She sighs into the embrace, her arms wrapping around his middle. He rubs her back, gently pushing his fingers on the stress points on her shoulder blades and spine, and the girl simply groans as she pulls back slightly, her lips forming a cute pout.

"Missed you so much." She mumbles, her lids heavy as she blinked up at him.

Jason took note of her tiredness and smiled softly, brushing back some of her hair. "Miss you more, angel. C'mere." His index hooks itself under her chin and tilts her head upward to meet his lips, her eyes flutter closed at the contact and she hums against his lips.

Jason has complete control over the pace of the kiss, and he's gentle as he cups her face and pulls her closer; deepening the kiss. He swipes his tongue across her bottom lip and she happily parts her lips for him, allowing him to kiss her deeper.

She lets out a sigh as her hands climb up his armored chest and try to hold onto the neckline of his suit. She tugs on it once, silently begging it to pull it off. Jason smiles and pulls back to see her, his hands already working on dismantling his suit.

"Someone's desperate."

Y/N grins. "You brought pizza."

Jason chuckles at her, his chest armor falling to the floor, revealing his black undershirt. "You wanna eat it before or after I eat you?"

Her face flushes and her jaw drops, a single laugh escapes her lips and she shakes her head. "After." She breathes before launching herself at him again. Her arms hold him close by his neck, and her lips press against his tightly.

Jason smiles against her lips as he pulls the shirt off his body, his hands grabbing and pulling at her body, keeping her impossibly close. He trails his hands down the sides of her body, causing goosebumps to rise all over her body. He hooks his hands under her ass, his fingers kneading and groping at her thighs before mumbling, "Jump." breathlessly against her lips.

She lets out a whine before following his demand, her legs immediately wrapping themselves around his bare waist.

Blindly, Jason sits her on the counter. The grocery bags and the boxes of pizza are somewhere beside her, and he carefully pulled her to the edge of the counter. He pulled back from their heated and messy kiss, saliva connecting their bruised lips together. He stared down at her, observing the way her parted lips look as she panted for air and blinked at him from underneath her lashes.

"Fuck." He rasped, an image from a while ago of her on her knees looking up at him the exact same way flashed into his mind, and he groaned as he leaned down to press harsh and soft kisses down her neck.

"You're so pretty..." He trailed off, his teeth nibbling and grazing her clear skin, marking his way down her body. Y/N gasped, arching into him as he softly bit into a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. One of her hands leaned behind her, holding her up for him, while the other grabbed his bicep.

"Jay-" Her words were cut off with another gasp as his hands that were previously on her knees pushed them apart, settling him between her legs.

"Yes, pretty girl?" He mumbled, his words muffled against her skin. He's grinning as she whines, her back arching to push herself closer to him.

His crotch area was bulging, a tent forming where he desired her most, but he'd be damned if he used her for his pleasure while she was so tired. No, he was going to pleasure her thoroughly.

"Need you to talk to me, baby. I can't read your mind." He whispered against her skin, his hands pulling up her -his- shirt and letting it pool around her hips. He let his fingertips trace up her thighs, occasionally pinching the fat, but never actually touching her how she wants him to.

She whines, her head falling on his shoulder. "Touch me." She mumbled, a blush flushing her face and the tips of her ears.

One of his hands pulled her face off his shoulder, gently forcing her to meet his teal eyes. His pupils were blown wide, she can't even see the color of his eyes. He's smirking smugly.

"Good girl." He cooed. His eyes glistened, "Where?"

Y/N was breathing heavily, her hand grabs his that was on her thigh and pulls him to her core. He cups her through the cloth, her dripping arousal seeped through the fabric and left a dark patch. Jason chuckles, the sound rippling through his chest. "Hmm, alright. That wasn't very hard, was it, angel? Now keep your eyes on me, I wanna watch you."

His other hand hooked around the elastic of her underwear and pulled it off of her in one swift motion. She gasped and watched with half-lidded eyes as he dropped to his knees. He looked up at her, grinning devilishly.

His stare sent fire through her entire body, and a shiver ran down her spine in anticipation of his next move.

His eyes moved down from her face to her dripping core. He ran his thumb up her slit, collecting her wetness. His tongue wetted his lips, and Y/N let out a desperate noise at the sight.

He looked heavenly on his knees for her, his hair disheveled and messy, and he was still in his combat pants with an obviously painful bulge. She felt the wind being knocked out of her chest, and she leaned down and grabbed his face, pulling him close and clashing her lips against him.

"I love you." She mutters before pulling back, returning to her previous position.

Jason's lips parted in shock at her rapid movements, he blinked at her, his mind blank. Then he beamed, his head leaning on her leg, hearts pouring out of his eyes. His lips pressed soft kisses up her leg, leading up to her thigh and under the fabric of her shirt.

"I love you," He breathed against the skin of her inner thigh, causing a ticklish sensation to fly through her. She giggled breathlessly, then gasped as she felt his lips wrap around her clit and suck harshly.

She jerked, her hand immediately latching onto his locks as she moaned loudly. Her eyes fixated on him, just as he asked. He's looking up at her through his lashes, lust and something else stared back at her, something far more intimate.

His tongue pressed against the sensitive bud and lapped up at her juices, and she shuddered as she realized it was yearning.

His arms hooked around the thickness of her thigh, pulling her closer to the edge, closer to his mouth as he devoured her. He felt intoxicated with her, a particular sensation fluttering through him. He couldn't get enough of her, and the way her face contoured with pleasure made him moan against her. Every noise she made traveled straight to his cock and made him twitch against the fabric of his briefs.

His moans sent vibrations through her, accompanied by his fingers thrusting steadily into her, curled just right to stimulate a spot within her that made her see stars, Y/N was in heaven. She whimpered and whined, her hips unsteadily and subconsciously bucking into his mouth, chasing a thread of pleasure just barely out of reach; tying itself at the bottom of her stomach.

"Jason- I'm- oh fuck- please~" She whined, writhing above him as she tiptoed across the edge of a climax. Jason mumbled something, his words muffled by her clit, and she whines loudly as the wave of pleasure crashes down on her.

Her eyes were shut tightly, and her legs tightened around his head, closing on his ears. Her hand tugged at his hair, roughly pulling at his roots- he liked it though, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he moaned against her. His fingers never stopped their movement, helping her ride out her orgasm.

He looked up, caught the way her mouth was agape in a silent scream, the way her brows furrowed in immense pleasure, and shudder as his throbbing cock strained against nothing and emptied itself in his boxer. He muffled a groan against her and his tongue lapped up her release happily.

He didn't move from his spot on his knees until Y/N was jerking and shivering, her hand pushing his head away from her clit to stop him from overstimulating her.

"Sensitive-" She breathed, panting as she looked him over. He sat back on his heels, his eyes blinking at her from underneath his lashes, his tongue swiping on his glistening lip, his nose and chin drenched in her juices. His hair is a mess, and his pale skin is tinted with pink where her thighs were wrapped around him.

Jason sends her a lopsided grin and brings the fingers that were inside of her up to his mouth, he keeps his eyes on hers as he sucks them clean, purposely making a pop sound as he pulls them out of his mouth. "Hmm, my favorite dinner." He winks at her and Y/N's face flushes red.

"Shut up," She giggled, jumping off the counter and leaning down to catch his lips in a kiss. He tasted of mint, Jason, and her. She grinned against his lips and pulled back, helping him stand on his feet. Her eyes curiously glance at his previous bulge and noticed the dark patch, her lips parted before she glanced back up at him.

He was red in the face, embarrassed. The tips of his ears, neck, and cheeks were flaming pink as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Did you cum in your pants? Handsfree?"

Jason shrugged. "...Maybe." His answer was quick and short, averting his gaze from her.

Y/N giggles, reaching up to cup his chin in her hand. She forced his eyes back on her, a grin on her lips. "That's really hot and attractive, and incredibly thoughtful for some reason."

Jason smiles at her, his eyes nearly glowing. "What can I say? Making you cum is one of my favorite pastime activities." Y/N giggles at his words and wraps her arms around his shoulders, Jason wraps his around her waist and hoists her up in the air. "Let me clean you up then we can have dinner, yeah?"

Y/N squeals as her boyfriend carries her like she weighed nothing across her apartment and to her bathroom.

[miryum]

"Movie Night"

Summary: Detective!Jason Todd x detective!Reader based on Jake and Amy's relationship

Series Warnings: Swearing, descriptions of violence (but nothing descriptive), guns and other police stuff

Chapter Warnings: Big Hero 6 spoilers

Series Masterlist

“Okay, so, the finalists are Chicken Little, Big Hero Six, or Spaceballs.”

“Spaceballs? Who nominated Spaceballs?” Tim asked. His tongue was already stained purple from his slushie.

“I did, because it’s a cinematic masterpiece,” Y/n said. “So what’s it gonna be? Chickens and aliens with amazing pop culture references thrown in, bot-fighting turned superheros, or a wonderful story about Mel Brooks and the guy from While You Were Sleeping?”

Dick and Steph voted for Chicken Little while Cass, Tim, and Damian for Big Hero Six. Jason, Y/n, and, surprisingly, Wayne voted for Spaceballs. (“It’s a classic.” “See?! Even the Captain agrees!”)

“We’re at a tie,” Dick said obviously.

“No shit, Sherlock.” Y/n rolled her eyes.

“Fuck off, Watson,” Damian said automatically.

“Grayson and Brown, which show do you prefer?” Wayne asked. He had a large box of popcorn next to him and was uncharacteristically wearing only khakis and a plaid button-up shirt.

“Big Hero Six,” they both said.

Y/n groaned loudly. “Fine.” She tugged the blanket off of Jason and wrapped it tightly around herself. Jason glared at her but didn’t say anything. 

In Bruce’s home theatre, Steph, Dick, Cass, Y/n, and Jason were seated in the front row, each with buckets of stove-made popcorn resting on the armchairs. Tim, Damian, and Bruce were in the back row with the promise of Clark joining them later when he was finished with his editorial. Clark had invited the team over to get to know them without Wayne’s knowledge. Y/n happily accepted and forced the rest of them to accept as well.

Y/n was cuddled next to Jason, curled around his arm. Steph secretly snapped a picture of the pair and Cass snickered. Cass leaned over and whispered something in Steph’s ear. Steph giggled and nodded. A ping radiated on the rest of the team’s phones and screens were sneakily looked at. “That’s becoming blackmail,” Dick whispered. 

Jason yanked the remote away from Dick and pressed play on the movie, grumbling. 

The opening theme started playing and Y/n and Dick hummed along dramatically.

“Okay, but why is Tadashi super hot?” Y/n whispered the moment he stepped on screen. Jason rolled his eyes.

“No idea,” Tim agreed. Y/n peeked back at him and nodded appreciatively. 

“They died when I was three, remember?” Hiro said from the screen. 

“I hate when movies over-explain like that,” Damian crossed his arms grumpily.

“Should I have picked up a parenting book? Probably!” Cass exclaimed before stuffing her face with a donut.

“I love Maya Rudolph!” Steph squealed.

“Do you think Cain grows up to be Aunt Cass?” Jason asked quietly.

“Ba-la-la-la-la,�� Y/n mumbled with Baymax.

“I try to picture me without but I can’t! ‘Cause we could be immortals! I-i-i-i-immortals!” Dick bounced in his chair and sang along to the track.

“Sing it, Dickie!” Y/n shouted, pumping a fist in the air.

“There are many improbabilities in this movie,” Bruce rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea. (“Like Spaceballs doesn’t?!” Steph exclaimed.)

“I agree,” Tim said. “Though I would love to test some of the stunts. Do you think the precinct has enough funding to build an inflatable superhero?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Okay, but I feel really bad for Callaghan,” Y/n mumbled towards the end. “He just wants to find his daughter. He’s too overcome by grief to think straight. He’s just like Hiro, actually. The only difference is that Hiro had friends to help him past it and cope, while Callaghan had no one. It also ties into ethics. How far would you go for a loved one? We can see Hiro’s character arc with him coping with Tadashi’s death and then Baymax’s, but Callaghan is stuck in the anger stage of grief. Maybe even the denial stage.” 

“Holy shit, L/n,” Tim said after a moment. “That was a really deep analysis of a children’s movie.” 

“And surprisingly accurate,” Damian added.

“How long have you been thinking about Big Hero Six?” Jason asked. Y/n simply shrugged in response, yawning. She had just finished a big case and hadn’t had time to sleep yet.

“How do your detectives see the horrors of the field every single day and come away emotionally unscathed,” Clark leaned towards his husband. “Yet cry over a Disney movie?”

“I’m unsure,” Bruce admitted.

Dick was currently sobbing into Cass’ shoulder and she was uncomfortingly patting him on the shoulder. Steph’s eyes were welling up and Tim was grasping her hand, needing the comfort. Damian was slowly munching on his popcorn, eyes wide and enthralled by the movie. Jason was doing his hardest not to move as Y/n softly slept on his shoulder. 

As the credits rolled, Dick quickly pressed play on the remote and Chicken Little immediately started playing. 

“Sarge!” Tim complained, just wanting to go home and sleep. Jason shushed him, not wanting to rouse Y/n. “Oh, pipe down, loveboy,” Tim hissed. “Some of us don’t have time for another movie.” 

“Timmy, you must’ve known that this night wouldn’t end with just one movie,” Steph rolled her eyes. “And stop acting as if you don’t love us. We all know you do.”

“Cass?” Jason asked softly so only she could hear. “Can I tell you something?” The woman hummed in response. “I- uh… I didn’t ask Rose to be my girlfriend. I- In fact, I thought it better if we remained friends.”

A smile filtered through Cass’ facade. “Good job, Todd. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.” He glanced down at a sleeping Y/n. Her hair was mussed and her mouth slightly open. Y/n took a deep breath and shifted, pulling Jason’s arm even closer to her. “I think I made the right choice.” 

“I think you did too.”

“Should we leave them?” 

Steph looked helplessly at Clark who smiled softly. “Sure. They look too comfortable to disturb.” 

Damian slowly held up his phone and took a picture of Jason and Y/n. Y/n was tucked under Jason’s arm and his head rested on hers, both snoring softly. The blanket was draped over both of them and the fabric of Jason’s shirt was clenched in Y/n’s fist. 

“For detectives,” Wayne observed, “they aren’t the smartest.”

[jaysgirlx]

❝ 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 ❞

❥ pairing: dick grayson x civilian f!reader (part 2 of a series)

❥ summary: dick has to find you after all he put you through you don't deserve what your ex is doing to you.

❥ warnings: moreee angst, fighting, acts of violence, many mentions of depression, anxiety and thoughts of death

❥ wc: 3.8k

"I think the best plan here may be to pay the price, Grayson," says Damian walking into the Batcave, nearly dragging a half-awake Tim.

"That's just dumb, for all we know he'll just use the money to take her away with him. Steph and I will get her back. This guy is clearly a coward" Cass says in an annoyed tone while leaning on Duke who kept quiet.

"What if he has used his own money to hire people to fight us, he can't be that sure that we would actually pay the price," Bruce says interrupting the conversation. "And I do mean "we", y/n is practically family Dick if you decide you want me to pay the ransom we will"

"That's quite a lot of money to risk Bruce," says Barbara "Cass may be right, he might just take her away once he gets the money"

"Stop it you guys, just let me think!" Dick nearly screamed, trying to hold himself together. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see that it was Jason, "I know you're not exactly happy with me right now. But out of all of us, we need to be strong Dick. In a situation like this, we need you as our leader"

Dick didn't know how to feel, of course he needed to be the leader but he couldn't even manage to be a good boyfriend to you. Could he even save you? Were you still even alive? The blood on that envelope had been dried for fucks sake. And Steph had told him she hadn't seen you in 2 months, not since you moved back into your place.

No wonder he couldn't track you, you had been kidnapped for 2 goddamn months, and was his fault. He fucked up and left you alone to heal, he didn't realize how stupid of an idea that was. But for now, he needed to let go of that, he needed to find you and rescue you.

"We're not paying the ransom, even if y/n is still alive…he'll most likely take her with him," Dick says, causing everyone to stop their chatter. "Babs I need you to try and locate them, I know it may be a lost cause but it is our only bet"

He pauses for a second formulating a plan. You had been kidnapped for an estimate of 2 months now and if you were still alive, that meant your ex was still here. Which means he needed money.

"Tim, could you do a background check on y/n's ex? Find out his patterns, if he doesn't get money from me he'll definitely be looking for other ways to obtain some" Tim who was half awake, nodded and opened up his laptop to work alongside Barbara. Dick kept silent for a while before asking the rest of them to try checking abandoned warehouses, or any other places they possibly thought you could be.

Bruce tried talking to Dick but he tuned him out. Over the years he learned how to pick out the bits and pieces Bruce wanted him to hear and ignore the rest but right now he was tuning him out completely. The thought of you being dead made him sick, things weren't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to protect you, he loved you that's all there was to it. He felt a hand on his shoulder and it was Jason. He didn't say anything and that's exactly what Dick needed. He needed a moment to breath and just think.

He knew you ex was crazy but he didn't really know anything else about him. He didn't know if maybe there was a past of crimes he overlooked or maybe your ex was even the man he claimed to be. For fucks sake, he wished he had listen to you more when you talked, when you had practically begged him to. He thought that he was doing you a favor but all he did was put you in danger.

He could only hope that you would forgive him.

It was cold and empty. The air felt harsh to breathe and you never felt so dead. You weren't sure if something was holding you down or if you just couldn't move.

Everything hurt.

There where flickering screens in the background while soft hum got louder and louder. You could barely make out what was happening around you and maybe you didn't even want to know. Your eyes searched the room, you were in a bed covered by what seemed to be a blanket. You were tied down, your body was just weak. Where were you? What time was it? When was the last time you had eaten food? Were you dying?

The flickering screens finally caught your attention and there you saw him standing in front of a bunch of TVs, your ex-boyfriend and all your memories came flooding back. He kidnapped you...how long ago was that? And where were you? Your mind could only think of one person: Dick Grayson. You meant it when you told him, you couldn't be with him any longer but that didn't mean you didn't still love him. You'd be crazy not to when you and Dick had met you not he was some flirty playboy who flirted with every girl until he showed you otherwise. After dumping your crazy ex and going to Divk for comfort, you realized how caring he could be. So you entered a relationship with him with high expectations that he'd always treat you so well and everything between you to have been perfect.

Then he'd started cancelling plans last minute and you knew something was up. Dick didn't like secrets and it was the biggest surprise when he confided in you that he was Nightwing. You were obviously worried, worried one night he wouldn't come home but you accepted him because you loved Dick Grayson, not Nightwing. You met Jason soon after and the two of you hit it off, Dick wasn't fond of the friendship but Jason didn't mind looking after you. Jason saw you like family. Yes, he was dangerous but he knew it would break Dick's heart if anything ever happened to you.

A quiet sob fell from your lips while you thought about Dick. You hadn't even realized your eyes were filled with tears and that your fingernails were digging into your palms. You wanted to cry and shout, but you knew that was dumb. You didn't know if anyone was coming to save you but that didn't mean you wouldn't try and keep yourself alive.

While you tried you calm yourself down, you saw a black figure walking over towards you. You knew it was Roman so you closed your eyes.

Pretend to be asleep.

He won't notice.

You steadied your breaths and allowed them to fall into a pattern while his steps grew heavier and closer. His hand gently stroked your face, making you mentally gag. "You used to be sooooo perfect for me...but then you put your nose where it didn't belong" You felt something cold and thin press across your face. A blade. If you hadn't been scared before you definitely were now.

The fear inside you wasn't just from the blade but more of what he was going to do with you after. You know he isn't going to kill you because he would've done that by now but no possible way he wants to stay in Gotham. Were you still even in Gotham? There were still so many unanswered questions, but all I knew was that this room was decorated with old TVs that it seemed that Roman had been using. Still, all that didn't matter, staying alive and staying put did. If there was any chance you were in Gotham and anybody was looking for you, all you had to do was just hold out a bit longer. Dick would come for you, if anybody would, it had to be him.

The cold feeling of the blade eventually left your face and after a couple sentences of mumbling and mutters, those heavy footsteps finally walked away and slammed a door behind him. A opened your eyes and your breaths became more frantic, you knew for sure now that you were alive and that you could handle this. Small bits of pieces of what you had experienced here popped into your head but you shoved it back down. Now wasn't the time. You need to calm down and think. For all you know staying put may not work. You wanted to still be angry with me but how could you be when all you wanted was to be in his arms again. You need to see him again, even if it's just to hug him.

You needed to see Dick one last time because you were still so hopelessly in love with him.

Dick is standing in front of your favorite cafe. It was on the verge of closing and he could never understand what appeal you found in it. You said the coffee was really good especially when you put a bunch of sugar in it but didn't that apply to most coffee? For a brief moment, he smiled at the thought of maybe being able to share coffee with you like that. Just one last time, if you'd still have him.

Dick had always been fascinated by you. You were so accepting of him and his family and there was never a moment where he doubted your love. He never meant to accuse you of cheating, if he could take it back he would. If he could re-do that entire night over, he'd do it properly. He'd apologize for canceling your date and explain to you how he had been feeling for your safety. He shouldn't even have let you go that night, he should have told you the truth.

For the last month, while Tim and Barbara endlessly searched Gotham's cameras CCTV, and public records the rest of the siblings spent their free time tearing through every abandoned warehouse in hopes of finding you but they failed every single time. Every day Dick contemplated paying the ransom and risking losing you if you weren't already gone. He needed you back and he wasn't the only one worried about you.

Your parents were worried sick, all they know is that you were kidnapped but it still hurts them. Your relationship with them may not have been the greatest but that didn't mean they wanted to lose you completely. They never liked Dick, they tried to be supportive but Dick once showed up. He knows now how badly he mistreated, how much he fucked up. All you did was love and care for him and he let you down time and time again but wouldn't this time. He was going to find you and never leave your side again.

He left the cafe and went towards the phone store nearby. Dick had bought you your latest phone but never got around to connecting it to Barbara's location system which tracks all of them including Bruce. Which meant he had to go to that store and see if they could track it using the information when it was bought. He even managed to find the box it came in in your apartment.

He was able to find out that your phone was either dead or broken because it was disconnected. He thought he had reached another dead end until the cashier said its last location was tracked which was supposedly a play near Gotham's most popular TV company's buildings. The only abandoned one is the former headquarters but just getting into there is difficult, there is no way you'd be there and no one knew right?

He left with that thought on his mind and a cup of disgusting coffee full of sugar.

The quiet hum of the computers and the small chat between his sibling filled the room while Dick tried to eat his dinner. He picked at the fried rice Jason had picked up for him and the rest of his family. All it did was remind him of you and the way you always wanted to order out instead of eat something home cooked. It wasn't cause you were bad at cooking but more because you loved trying new foods every once in a while. Dick bit down on his tongue hard, tasting a cold metallic taste that barely brought him back to reality.

It had been nearly a month since you had gone missing. Daimen thought you were dead. Cass and Steph kept going through your apartment, looking for something to stop them from giving up. Jason was silent. Bruce was angry, he saw you as the perfect fit for Dick. He had never seen his son happier. Babs knows you're a survivor, you wouldn't die on her like that.

"Dick, snap out of it", Barbara said slowly reeling him back into reality. You and her had always gotten along so well, especially after Barbara got shot, you were there for her like a sister. That when he knew, that's exactly when Dick knew he was in love with you and couldn't handle watching people he cared about in pain. "Tim and I found some stuff...we have good news and bad news"

"Just tell me" He grunted out, whatever it was he could handle it, as long as there was a chance you were alive. You had to be alive, you still loved him and he had so many apologies to give you once he had you back into his arms again.

"Once I hacked the CCTV of y/n's apartment I was able to get a couple of photos of this "Roman Jennings" guy and I had Tim cross-reference them with what we knew already knew about him.." she paused as if what she said next could break Dick "This guy doesn't exist in Gotham. Not only do no records tie to him...there's no information on him anywhere"

Dick knew that most of Roman's murders had been made look like suicides and hadn't been caught but he hadn't realized that maybe "Roman Jennings" doesn't exist and that they might've been following a false lead the entire time. How could he waste a month on this? What if she's really dead-

Calm down, Grayson.

Worrying will get you nowhere.

"I'm guessing that's the bad news?"

"Yup, the good news is that, on the cameras near that abandoned TV company's old headquarters, I found the same guy leaving and entering the building every day for the last 6 weeks. I'm not completely sure but I think that's our guy" Dick was sure he heard her completely but that didn't matter. Your phone had last been located in that area and it was the only lead they had. He knew you didn't have much time and there was no way he was just going to sit here and wait.

"I'm going to check it out, Babs sends me the coordinates," Dick said as he put down the food on the counter. The silence that was surrounding him, should've been a sign that for the words that come next but Dick just couldn't think about all that right now. He needed to get to you, bring you home. Bruce felt a need to interject but he felt that it wasn't his place. But Jason had no problem with interfering especially in this situation, "Y'know you're not going in alone right? And definitely not without a plan"

Jason grabbed onto Dick's arm, roughly pulling him away from the door. The tension between them had never been resolved, no matter how many times Jason tried to make it clear that he never had any romantic feelings for you. Jason saw you as family and tried to be there for you especially since most of the time you got upset because of Dick. Bruce was ready to step in now, seeing as Dick was now angry, stressed, and running on practically no sleep. Dick rips his hand away in anger and pushes Jason, "Jason I really don't need your opinion on this, y/n has been trapped for almost 3 fucking months now. If I don't go right now, she could die"

"If you go in alone and angry, you might just be the reason she dies. Do not fuck this up for the rest of us" It hadn't really occurred to Dick that maybe this wasn't just about him and that the rest of the family had cared about you. Dick had always seen Jason as a wedge between the two of you but he never really thought he actually cared. He thought Jason just did it to mess with him. Before Dick could even respond, Steph spoke up, "She's our family too Dick, we all want her home but we have to do this right"

"Y'know she's the only one, I can talk to about menial matters," Damian says quietly, "She made it easy to just talk about those small things even the stupid ones" Maybe the stress of the situation had caused him to forget how much of positive impact you had on his family and how much this was affecting them. "Look I'm sorry guys I just…

"Want her back?" Bruce says looking over at him "we all do, so just give us a couple more hours to plan how we're getting inside and what we will do?"

Duke who had been quite quiet finally speaks up, "I think you should rest Dick. If you're going to be the one to get her out of there you need rest. Proper rest"

"I second that!!" Cass says, appearing from behind Duke. All Dick could do was nod, he was tired and stressed and just needed a little bit of sleep. He left with a weak smile and found of the guest rooms in the manor. Once he hit the best he was out like a light. That night he dreamt of you, your smile, your cute hobbies, your contagious laughter, and more. While he slept he dreamt of you, kissing you, loving you and even marrying you. Dick Grayson was utterly in love with you and couldn't wait any longer for you to come home to him.

The next morning after that was stressful, to say the least. Barbara and Tim had calculated the best time to infiltrate the headquarters when Roman wasn't there. Except that was during daytime which meant no Nightwing. Attracting attention could only get more people hurt and Dick wasn't going to risk it. Jason, Cass, and Steph agreed to come along while Damian was on standby with Duke and Bruce. Tim and Barbara would be feeding Dick information through an earpiece and would be doing the same for everyone else.

Their plan wasn't perfect but it was the best they had. Dick would in with Steph, while Jason and Cass stayed outside to not only stop Roman from entering but also catch him. Jason and Cass had no problem being ruthless if they had to be but since there was still light out they would have to keep a low profile. Officer Gordon borrowed them police uniforms which they hoped would be enough to scare Roman away if he even sees them. If not, they were ready to fight if it came to that.

Dick and Steph quietly entered the abandoned building, they went through a back door Tim was able to locate after finding the building's original floor pans. The entire building was very old and quite huge so, Tim mapped out the building for them so it would be easier for you to be found. If you were even in there. Inside the building was extremely cold but it didn't seem abandoned. It actually looked like a home. Which was a good sign, it confirmed someone was staying here. It meant there was a chance you were here. "Did she talk about me?" Dick asked Steph, trying to break the harsh silence. The two hadn't spoken up since the two of you had broken up. Steph didn't take sides but she wasn't exactly happy to hear how Dick was treating you and behaving.

"Depends, what are you willing to hear"

"Anything at this point"

Steph was quiet for a while, the two of you had searched through about 2 offices and 4 other open spaces and nothing had come out of her mouth. Dick was just about to let it go just before Steph finally spoke up, "She hated loving you. Not in a bad way, just in a way that made her miserable but feel ungrateful. She thought that she was difficult to love especially since you had been the one to approach her. She hated fighting with you but she hated the thought of her not being enough more"

Dick knew he had fucked up at every turn of your relationship but he hadn't realized how much that really had affected you. how much damage he did. In his mind he was just hurting himself but this whole time you had been the one suffering. "We all have underlying issues Dick so not everything that went wrong was on you and believe me y/n really loved you. After she'd been done ranting, she'd always think of how happy you made her and how sweet you were to her when you actually showed up. There's no doubt she would have married you"

"Would have?"

"You accused her of cheating Dick, she loved you endlessly and you just threw it in her face," Steph said after checking another room that was once again empty. "You hurt her in a way that shouldn't be forgiven and you'd be very lucky if she did forgive you"

"I know, I know! I would do anything to take back what I said to her, what I did to her. Do you know what I would give to be able to restart our entire relationship from the beginning? Do you know what I would give to open this next door and believe she's in it?" Dick kicked open the door in anger, the room was filled with lit-up TVs that seemed to be surveilling the abandoned building and parts of Gotham.

Dick wasn't sure if was he hallucinating from all the anger, stress, and need but there you were in what seemed to be an air mattress with a blanket and a book. You looked weak, like you hadn't eaten much but you seemed okay? Like you weren't hurt physically because Dick knew the deepest scars were always mental.

"y/n?"

Your name barely left his lips but it was just loud enough for you to hear. You turn to look at him and first he can see the surprise on your face and the relief but that quickly changes to a soft smile. A smile that could break his heart and fix it in an instant. A smile that he hopelessly missed. Dick never stopped loving you and he could only hope you still loved him and maybe, just maybe in that moment that's all that matters.

❥ taglist: @meowkn, @kazzattack @chichinaylo, @yourlocalcringydaydreamer, @orchidsangel, @nia-jul, @mayfieldss, @millyhelp

[killxz]

Lost and Found

Pairing: Young Justice!Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

a/n: i've loved young justice since I was like 8 and i recently rewatched it again and i was disappointed that they didn't let dick or tim realise that jason was right there. so if i can't have it, imma make it. also, i've been writing on the web version of tumblr and i always make the text on my post small and i just realised that the small font on the app is miniscule 🤏🏻. so sorry to anyone who i may have given myopia to. TUMBLR STOP EATING MY DRAFTS! also don't forget to like or comment in your enjoyed! this takes place in season 3 episode 6 'Rescue Op'.

Conner broke down the door.

"This is why you don't go in unprepared." Dick mutters as you and the others rush into the prison cell. "Now, hold still." Brion and Forager grunts as Dick pulled out the control devices on the back of their necks.

"There you go, girl." Conner pats Sphere after he tore down the chains holding her in place. "You gotta figure the Shadows are on their way," You peered out of the door down the hall.

"Then let's go!" Dick orders, urging everyone out of the cell and down the dark hallway. You and the others ran down the winding paths in the dark, relying on Oracle's directions to escape the base. When Conner kicks down the final door, you see the so-called 'Sensei' some bald guy with Apokoliptian tech and a red-hooded ninja.

The group glared tensely at the trio, preparing for battle. Dick, ever the meditator, steps forward. "We just wanna leave," he says, hands up in a placating manner.

"Your trespass must be punished," Sensei declares, waving his glowing blue sword menacingly. You almost laughed. "Wrong answer." Conner growls as everyone kept into action. You faced off with the red-hooded ninja, blocking his katana slashes with your own. Somehow, this felt...familiar? It was like you fought with this person before. It almost felt like...

It's impossible, you told yourself firmly. He was dead. You just hadn't gotten over it yet. You got your head back in the game and started lashing out at the ninja with your own moves. With a clever strike, the ninja's katana clatter to the ground a few feet away. "Ha!" You exclaimed triumphantly. A bit too soon, perhaps. The ninja lunged towards you striking your blade out of your hand. You winced. "I guess we're doing this the old school way, then," you got into a defensive position. The ninja jumps towards you, aiming a punch which you blocked with your forearm, ignoring the sting that ran down your arm.

He then did something that made your blood run cold. He did a roundhouse kick , followed by a punch. Your mind was whirling. Bruce thought us that move...

Taking advantage of your distraction, he lunges towards you pinning you onto the ground under him. You yelp as your back hit the hard ground. Instinctively, you wrap your leg around his waist and rolled over, causing you to be onto of him. The ninja's hood and fallen off in your little tussle, showing a familiar head of messy black hair. You eyes widened.

It can't be... He's dead. Jason's dead.

"Jason?" You wavering voice whispered. The ninja flinched, his movements coming to an abrupt stop. With shaky hands, you reached for the mask covering his eyes, lifting it slowly. Beneath it, you see sickeningly familiar teal eyes. "Jason? B-but how? You're dead..."

"Enough." Ra's Al Ghul's voice echoed in the garden, causing all the fights happening to stop. Jason snatched the mask from your hand and put it back on, hooking his legs around yours and flipped you over, causing you to crash against the ground. Jason got off you and went to stand by his apparent master's side, leaving you shell-shocked on the ground, trying to process what had just happened. Dick rushed to your side. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked worriedly.

You could only shake your head wordlessly, your mind still too shocked to come up with coherent words.

"Well, young man, are you proud of this little debacle?" Ra's Al Ghul smirked. "I believe the detective will be quite disappointed." He glanced at Dick. Dick growled in response. "I assume you came to recover these children?" Ra's continued. "Take them and go."

"Not without my sister, Tara Markov!" Brion bellows. You smack a hand to your head. Seriously, this man has more anger issues than Conner when you, Dick, Wally and Kaldur first rescued him from Cadmus. "We know the League of Shadows has her!" He continues.

You zoned out for the rest of the conversation, your eyes locking onto somehow-resurrected Jason's form. As if he could feel your gaze on him, his head turned to your direction before turning away again.

As Ra's Al Ghul and the others engaged in a tense discussion about Tara Markov, your mind couldn't escape the overwhelming shock of seeing Jason once again. He was supposed to be dead, lost to the relentless grip of the Joker, and yet here he stood, seemingly loyal to the League of Shadows. The flood of emotions and memories rushed over you like a tidal wave.

Flashbacks of your time with Jason during his Robin days, his cheeky smile, his reckless enthusiasm, the secret, sweet moments you both shared, and the unwavering loyalty he showed to his comrades filled your mind. The pain of losing him all over again was too much to bear.

As the conversation with Ra's Al Ghul continued, you couldn't help but feel a growing sense of hopelessness. You had come to rescue Brion and the others, but now your heart ached for something else entirely. The prospect of reconciling with Jason, the possibility of bringing him back to your side again, seemed like an unattainable dream.

"Get out." the annoyed voice of Ra's snapped you out of your thoughts. As the others group together to get their bearings before they leave, you made your way to Jason, tugging on his arm to face you. "Jason..." Your voice was quiet, broken.

"Ah, it seems like you have found out who he is," Ra's chuckled. Anger rose within you as you whipped towards him. "What did you do to Jason?!"

He chuckled again, unbothered by your outburst. "Nothing, in fact, I have done you and your little Bat family a favor."

"By brainwashing him?!"

"He's not brainwashed, he's just...learning right from the beginning." Ra's shrugged.

You scoffed. "And that's supposed to be better?!" You stepped forward angrily, ready to bash in his skull. Jason grabbed your arm and shook his head silently. He tugged you away from the crowd and came to a stop behind the trees out of everyone's sight.

He took off his eye and face mask, leaving his face bare for you to see. He whispered your name, something that you have not heard in a long time, something that you used to desperately wish you would hear again. "Look," He begins. "I'm fine, okay? I'm perfectly fine-" You tug him into a fierce hug, squeezing tightly.

"You're not okay," You sniffle. "I missd you, so much..." Jason hesitantly wrapped his hands around your considerably shorter frame, squeezing lightly. "I-I missed you too," He mumbled, burying his face in your hair and pressing a kiss on the crown of your head.

You pull away, looking up at him. "Do...you think that things can go back to they once were?" You asked quietly. "There was something I didn't get to tell you, before...you died. I-"

Jason cuts you off by grabbing your chin and pulling you into a kiss. It was a tentative, cautious one, his lips as light as butterfly wings. He was waiting for you to take the initiative. You pressd your lips against his, hand snaking up to grab at the hai at the base of his neck, cuasing him to groan softly. His hands snake around your waist as he tugged you closer to him, your bodies flushed against each other,

In that moment, the world around you seemed to fade away, and the only thing that mattered was the connection you had with Jason. It was a connection that had never truly broken, no matter how much time had passed.

As the tension built between you, Jason's lips met yours in a hesitant, tender kiss. It was a kiss that held a confession of emotions too strong to be expressed in words – love, regret, longing, and the hope for a second chance.

When the kiss finally broke, you both pulled away, but your eyes remained locked onto each other's. It was a silent acknowledgment of what had just transpired – a rekindling of a connection that had been lost in the chaos of life as a vigiante.

Jason's voice was soft as he spoke, "I never thought I'd see you again."

You smiled, tears glistening in your eyes, and replied, "I never thought I'd see you again either, but I'm glad I did."

The moment was broken by Dick calling out your name. "Where are you? We gotta go!" You looked back at Jason, placing a hand on his cheek. "I'll come back for you," You whispered. "I promise."

Jason gives you a slight nod. "I'll be waiting. I...love you."

You kiss his cheek, stepping back. "I love you too, so much." You push the branchs of the tree aside, half stepping out into the light. "'I'll see you soon."

a/n: part 2? ;)

[suzukiblu]

may I ask if you have any fic recs handy?? dw if not

Hmmm, well, let's see, what have I read recently that I especially liked . . .

. . . oh okay yeah I got way too into this, lol. wELP, such is life!!

Eyes Like Kryptonite, by dragonez. Supercorp. Lena Luthor gets an either time or dimensionally-displaced Kryptonian on her balcony who inexplicably seems to think a Luthor can help him, and then she has to deal with that. Kara does not love this development (but definitely loves Lena) and Conner just wants to get home to his family.

I Want It That Way, by WynterSky. TimKon. I cannot even explain to you how good this fucking fic is. Just--TimKon, but make it 90's. Why are you still here? Go read it. Go read it NOW.

Catherine/Bruce Medieval AU, by iselsis and PotatoLady. Catherine/Bruce, past Catherine/Willis. What it says on the tin, and also omegaverse. I am WAY too into this fic, hah, "Bruce saves Catherine and takes in her and Jason both" is so, so small a genre but so, so GOOD a genre. [ tw: past rape ]

You and me and them. Let's be pack. Let's show the world we chose each other, by Ace_of_Hearts4444. TimKon. Tim finds out Kon is a newly-presented stray omega in an AU where being packless is a Big Fucking Problem and Young Justice has some fucking FEELINGS about that fact.

The tale of a cat who stole a diamond boy, by Ace_of_Hearts4444. TimKon. I'm not really into "Tim is Stray/Catlad" AUs, but I am VERY into this TimKon concept. Also, like yes, obviously Tim is exactly unhinged enough to do this.

in the shadows, by Kieron_ODuibhir. Batman was Bruce Wayne's imaginary friend, but now he's Dick Grayson's. I could cut a bitch for more of this concept, oh my GOD. 💔

A Hummingbird Suspended, by poisonivory. Thad/Match. Thad gets out of the Speed Force and wants to fuck shit up, but unfortunately Match is very attractive and has even more unfortunately grown some morals.

Gut Feeling, by Ao3time. Lois finds a superclone in a lab and welp he's hers now. No takebacksies.

With Violet Light, by Evilpixie. Jason Todd wants to blow up the Batmobile and ends up a Star Sapphire. There's, uh, an adjustment period.

This isn't how things are supposed to go. But we've always been unorthodox., by RenkonNairu. Superbat, TimKon. Kryptonian omegas are not the same as human ones, and human alphas are not the same as Kryptonian ones. And therefore Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake are having a fucking time of it with Clark Kent and Conner Luthor, and Lex is just doing his damnedest to ruin as much shit as he possibly can. [ tw: rape ]

Talk That Slick Talk, by thebodydies. Kenan/Kon. Kenan meets a weirdly friendly stranger who's apparently trying to pick him up. Kon is literally just wearing fucking glasses, man. Also I desperately need more of this pairing, especially in this interpretation, please and thank you. [ this is just smutty kinky smut and you should immediately go bask in it ]

( annnnnd not-DC-but-still-superheroes bonus round!! )

I wanna be that guy (the girl under you), by Stackthedeck. SpideyTorch. Peter Parker/Johnny Storm + kink = gender?? [ more kinky smut for you to go bask in!! ]

[brucewaynehater101]

To the person who reblogged it with the Add On of Annie shape-shifting and the Bats thinking she's 100% just using that form to trick Tim, I love you. You are so correct. It makes them want to separate the pair even more. Which makes Tim even more Protective of her.

If we wanna go down a path where BatFam isn't as good to Tim, he can be trying to explain each of his siblings to Annie and she's just getting more and more worried about how they're treating Tim. He's not saying all the bad things they've done to him to turn her against him but like. He says that the first time he met Jason, Jason beat the shit out of him but Tim believes he's the real winner because the guy was wearing an adult sized Robin costume and jokes about wondering which pants leg he stuffed the cape down. Then when she asks him why he isn't Robin anymore, he just says, "it was a surprise to me too when he became Robin and i wasnt anymore. Dick said that Damian needed it more than I did. Which, I guess he did so it's ok. I forgive them for everything."

Tim isn't meaning to be worrying, he's just saying the truth and sometimes making jokes about it. But Annie is smart and can read between the lines. So the first time the Bats actually manage to separate her from Tim and Jason grabs onto Tim's shoulder, the person who she knows is dangerous, who kills criminals he doesn't like, who already hurt her brother at least once and she will *not* let that happen again. She whips out her arm, turning his fist into a giant hammer just like Clayface does and knocks Jason away screaming, "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" This freaks out Tim because he doesn't know if the others know about her connection to Clayface so he grabs her and bolts again.

Maybe Gothem isn't safe for Annie. Jason could very well hurt her for that, he's already showed he doesn't trust her. Maybe Tim should spend some time with Kon in Metropolis.

I feel like Tim disappearing until the situation calms down is a valid response, especially for a family that tends to act volatile in tense emotional situations.

It'd be super cool for Annie and Tim to chill out with YJ because of this. Dealer's choice on whether they ever return to Gotham, but the break would be fun.

Also, I 100% agree with that characterization trait of Tim's. He so would downplay his trauma and turn it into something to laugh and joke about (it's one of my favorite deflection/coping skills as well). Seeing that represented more in fics would be nice (just Tim, his self-deprecating humor, and brushing off traumatic events). Having the consequences be explored would be a nice plot point as well

[klbwriting]

The Jason Todd Anomaly

Chapter 4: I’ll Buy Breakfast

Pairing: Jason Todd x female!Reader

Fandom: Red Hood

Warnings: none

Summary: Jason is curious about Y/N and keeps an eye on her at the gym

Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1

This was the fourth day in a row that Jason found himself at the gym with Y/N.  He had moved his training time, wanting to keep an eye on her and what exactly she was doing at his gym everyday.  He suspected she might be that idiot masquerading as a vigilante but so far she wasn't giving any tells.  He was off training by himself, lifting weights, using the speed bag, but still watching as Y/N trained with Marco.  Once she was coming to use the weights he would bounce, not wanting to actually talk to her.  He couldn't figure her out all the way.  He had looked her up, she wasn't anything super special, she was born in Gotham, lived in a decent neighborhood, was in college before everything went to shit.  Now she worked at the GCPD as a record keeper and the chief's assistant, and trained a lot.  Other than that he couldn't find anything about her that was suspicious.  His next step was to go to her apartment, search around and see what he could find.

But for now, he was working the speed bag while Y/N stretched in the ring, waiting for Marco.  When he came out of his office he called out to Jason, walking beside the ring, his arm in a sling.  Jason walked over, already not liking this.  Y/N looked between the men, standing straight up again.

"Can you get in there and help out Y/N today?  Obviously I can't hold the pads for drills and since I got shot I need to go to the police station and fill out paperwork," he said.  Jason scowled a little but Marco just stared at him expectantly.  Jason finally grunted and nodded, clearly annoyed but he couldn't argue with Marco.  The man had been around forever and he respected the man, so he climbed into the ring.  "Thanks man, I'll be back in awhile, lock up when you guys leave."  He headed out the door and Jason grabbed the pads.

"You all ready to start?" he asked, sounding bored.  Y/N nodded and put on her gloves as Jason held up the pads for crossover drills, left, right, duck, just like Marco had showed him.  "So why are you here all the time?"

"I...got mugged...cut pretty bad...wanted to...protect myself..." she answered, throwing her punches as she went.  She stopped for just a moment, showing him a scar along her bicep.  "Took 150 stitches and a lot of rehab to get me going again."  Jason nodded.

"I have one like that" he said, turning his calf to show her a scar that looked similar to hers.  "150 stitches as well."  He held up the pads again for her to keep running drills.  "Do you live here or the safe zone?"  He didn't know why he was making conversation with her.  He knew all this, he could just do this in silence, but he was curious, maybe she would drop some information for him, give him a sign of her being Anomaly.

"I live in the Safe Zone, this just happens to be the only gym I like, we only have the GCPD gym and it sucks" she said.   "What about you?  You still live in the Wayne building?" He shook his head.  "Why not?  Its in Two Faces territory but I'm sure you guys could afford to pay his tolls."

"None of us live there, or want to live there.  I don't know about the others but I don't personally like living where Bruce supposedly raised us" he said.  He tossed the pads and put on some gear to do some sparring.  Y/N wiped her head with a towel, taking a sip of water.  She was watching him curiously.

"Supposedly raised you?  Didn't he adopt you?" she asked.  He nodded slowly before shrugging.

"I was the second kid, and a troublemaker on top of that.  Dick was the one who listened, Tim was always quiet, stayed out of the way, and Damian was Bruce's actual kid and an absolute fucking troll.  Plus, Bruce is not a great dad, I think he only adopted us for the clout" he said.  Y/N cocked her head to the side as he got into position.  She seemed to decide against saying anything and they started sparring.  She was good, using her weight and muscle to slow down his speed.  They sparred pretty hard for awhile before sitting and removing the headgear.  Y/N took a drink before tossing Jason her water.  He drank and splashed some on his hair.

"So sounds like you rejected that silver spoon life" she said.  "Privilege not your thing?"  He shrugged.

"I wanted to be more than just some rich guys charity case" he said.  "He wanted us to be little soldiers of good, show off how great he was, I couldn't do that."  He rubbed a hand through his hair.  This was all true, he just left out the fact that Bruce did train them to be good little soldiers.  Jason just wasn't a good man.  "What about you?  You got mugged, decided to train up to be what?"

"I just was tired of being afraid, tired of people bullying me" she said.  "I mean, you've noticed I am not stereotypical in my appearance, I've always been bullied and I'm just, so tired of it.  So I won't be bullied again, not by kids at school, and not by random muggers trying to steal my wallet."  She looked over at Jason.  "Are you hungry?"

"Um, ya actually," he said.  She nodded and stood, offering him her hand.  He took it and stood, starting to untape his hands.  "We could go to the diner?  Meet at the door in 20 minutes?"  She nodded and headed to the locker room.

Jason waited for a minute at the door, now dressed in his jeans and white tshirt, leather jacket over his arm as he checked him phone.  He glanced up when Y/N came out of the locker room, dressed in jeans and long sleeved shirt, her hair down and flowing down to just below her chest.   He couldn't lie, she was pretty, very pretty.  And...what was he thinking?  He shook himself and pushed open the door for her.

"Thanks, um I'm buying breakfast," she said, heading out the door.  She waited for Jason to lock up, watching him slide on the leather jacket.  Damn, he was annoying but he was also super hot, and for a second she imagined what it would be like to have those arms around her but then she dropped the thought.  He finished locking up and motioned for her to continue.

"I'm the one with the neverending money stream, I'll buy breakfast," he said.  She shrugged and nodded.  Sure, let the rich kid pick up breakfast.  She didn't know  where this seeming friendly rapport was coming from, they had been at each others throats just last week, but she didn't hate it.  He was a pretty good trainer and when she talked he actually seemed to listen to her.  She heard his phone go off and he answered, frowning and hanging up rather quick.

"Everything ok?" she asked.  He quickly put a mask of content on his face and nodded.

"Ya, I think it was a wrong number, no one was there" he said.  She knew he was lying but who was she to question him?  If he wanted to keep something private she would let him.  "Anyway, why didn't you just leave Gotham?  I know there's ways to get out of the city."

"I grew up here, I mean, we all saw Batman and now the Robins, they make everyone think they can be safe here.  Although the only one who seems to actually to have done anything is Red Hood, if I was going to pick any of them I would probably put him in charge," she said.  Red Hood was annoying when he was getting in her way but in the grand scheme of things he was the one actually making a permanent change, not just putting a bandaid on the situation in the city.  She looked at Jason and saw he looked surprised as he held the diner door open for her.   "What?"

"Red Hood?  You think Red Hood is the one that should be running the place?" he asked, unable to hide the surprise.  No one actually liked Red Hood, they were either scared of him or thought he was a loose canon that needed taken down.

"He actually makes change, and good changes.  I mean, everyone here is fed, there are supplies, really low crime even compared to the safe zone, and he actually is gaining territory" she said.  "He's doing something right." Jason smiled a little bit as they sat down and were brought coffee.   "Now...you said you were buying right?"  He nodded.  "Awesome."

[folliesandfolderols]

Writing prompts days 24, 25, 26

(Once again combined because work murders my ability to have a word count and be a functional human being.)

From this prompt list. I set a goal of writing at least 150 words per day in 2024, which sounds pretty pathetic but if you take into account the fact that I haven’t written any fiction since 2019 it felt like a feasible target. And then somehow it turned into “I’m going to write a single interconnected story utilizing all of these prompts” which ?????, what can I say, I am incredibly foolish and there's no limit to my capacity for self-deceit.

read from the beginning here

Days 22 & 23 here

~~~

149. “I don’t care, I just need these clothes off so I can fully feel you against me.”

~~~

For all his half-serious warnings about Oracle watching them both, Tim almost couldn't keep his hands to himself for the rest of the night. It was as if he were possessed by the need to grab onto Damian and hold tight, whereas Damian apparently had no problem making responsible choices with his own hands. And mouth. And everything else.

The third time Tim leaned down from a higher vantage point to kiss the top of his head, Damian grumbled, "If you're going to do that, we would do better to head back to your apartment now, because I will be of no use to the city at this rate." Despite the complaint, the corners of his mouth kept pulling up in a smile he immediately tried to wipe from his face. "You are distracting."

Tim grinned down at him from the fire escape where he hung suspended by his knees. "Think of it as a training exercise. After all, you never know when you might have to fight Killer Croc when you'd rather focus on a date with a new significant other." The thought made him feel vaguely uncomfortable. Probably because he wasn't used to the idea of Damian being romantically interested in anyone. It would take a while to adjust to the youngest of them having grown-up relationships.

Ugh. He shouldn't have eaten dinner before he came out because now hanging around upside down was nauseating him.

He straightened up and started climbing away from Damian. "Well?" he tossed over his shoulder. "Are you going to join me up there? Or do you want to be unprepared some night in the future?"

"The fact that you are questioning my preparedness makes me wonder if you suffered a head injury before joining me," Damian shot back, but Tim heard the whir of his grapple gun passing him to hook onto the roof ledge all the same.

No matter what distraction Damian claimed, Tim couldn't help but notice that they made a good fighting team. When he was younger, Damian would have charged in as if he were unaccompanied, desperate for glory and to prove Tim's inferior birth. Now, after a decade of rigorous intervention by Dick and even sometimes Bruce, he still charged in without hesitation, but he worked in tandem with Tim, staying aware of where they both were in a fight and covering Tim's back when necessary. He even managed to spit out a "thank you" once when Tim came to his aid.

Altogether, they managed to interfere with five muggings, rout a few robbers, give lollipops to a couple of kids playing on a fire escape before helping them get back in the apartment they'd locked themselves out of, find the kids' mother and give her a WE HR department card so she could stop working night shift at the shit diner down the corner, and rescue one terrified cat from a telephone pole before it was time to turn in for the night. Tim hadn't had so much fun on patrol in a while. He made a mental note to add the possibility of more frequent pair-ups into the scheduling algorithm for those who might want them.

"Are you going back to the Cave first?" he asked Damian once they'd restrained their final criminal for the night and dumped him outside the nearest GCPD substation. They stood on a couple of gargoyles grimacing from the bank across the street, keeping a desultory eye on the guy and timing how long it took for someone to notice he was on the doorstep.

Damian hesitated. "Would it be all right if I didn't?"

Tim angled his body to hide his mouth from the cameras in the area, then noticed one of Babs's aerial drones buzzing behind Damian. He sank to a crouch as if peering at the cops hauling their newest arrest to his feet at the door and cupped his hand over his mouth. Oh, wow, would you look at that amazing sight, unbelievable. "You wanna just shower at my place? Won't Bruce have questions about all the times you've been spending the night?"

Damian shrugged. "If he does, I'll continue to profess our dedication to the weapons smuggling case. He can't deny that we've been making progress on it."

Tim smiled behind his palm. "Come over now, then."

He beat Damian back to the Nest by a few minutes—not enough to do more than take off his domino and pry off his gloves and boots in the foyer before he heard a soft knock. He dropped the latter onto the floor and swung the door open. "I left it unlocked for you."

Damian shrugged. He'd removed his domino, but otherwise was in his full gear. "I don't wish to assume I can invade your space without an explicit invitation."

Tim pulled him inside by the front of his tunic and locked the door behind him, then reset the alarm system. "Consider it issued."

Damian's hands came up to grasp his shoulders as soon as Tim turned back to face him. "May I kiss you?" His expression was as remote as if he were asking the time.

Tim meant to answer, but got distracted for a second staring up into Damian's eyes, trying to read whatever he was hiding behind the dispassion. God, he was so attractive. Just really, really beautiful, aesthetically speaking. Tim wanted to lay him out like a buffet.

A tiny shift in the muscles around Damian's mouth signaled a suppressed smile. "Drake. I'm fairly certain you meant to answer the question I asked."

"Oh?" Tim asked distractedly, then, "oh! Yes, yeah, of course, please do kiss me."

Damian lowered his face to Tim's, and Tim practically melted at the warm, careful press of his lips. Damian wasn't tentative, per se, but he was exploratory, each movement of his mouth testing Tim's response. If I do this, will you like it? This? Let me in, please.

Tim kissed him back, dizzy with the unaccustomed physical comfort of someone else’s care. His hands slid up to cup Damian's neck, feeling the frantic pulse beneath his fingertips. Damian shifted his grip to Tim's hips and dragged him flush against his front. Their body armor kept Tim from feeling much more than the rise and fall of Damian's chest against his torso, and his cup was already starting to chafe. He pulled back just enough to speak, but Damian made the tiniest sound of protest so he had to keep kissing him between words. "Let's—" kiss "—go back—" kiss "to my room." kiss kiss kiss

"I have not yet showered," Damian replied. "Nor taken off my boots, for that matter."

Tim tried to kiss his neck and grimaced when he got a faceful of Kevlar instead as Damian shifted. "I don’t care, I just need these clothes off so I can fully feel you against me. We can shower together."

Now it was Damian's turn to say, "Oh. That would be . . . acceptable."

Tim couldn't repress a grin. "I'm glad you agree."

Day twenty-seven here

[heyitsani]

Built to Fall Apart

@jaydick-week Day 5: College AU

Word Count: 18,193

Rating: Mature 

Warnings: No actual smut (but pretty damn vocal about it), slight angst, alluding to possible sexual harassment, and liberal use of the word ‘fuck’

Pairing: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd

Summary: Neither we prepared for what it would mean to fall so hard, so quickly. And then to have it all taken away in the briefest of moments

Notes: Listen. I'm sorry okay? I'm back on my Taylor Swift bullshit. But she's got some catchy tunes and I am forever inspired by her lyrics. Blame Mel, she always encourages it. 

Not edited because I'm lazy. I'll eventually stop being lazy, okay?

You can also read this on AO3 here

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

“Yo Dickie! Where you at?!”

Dick snickered at the familiar nickname from Wally as he likely walked from room to room in this hallway trying to find the dorm Dick had been assigned. He glanced over at Donna as she lounged on his bed, smirk lifting one side of her painted red mouth.

“You going to let him know where you are?” She drawled, stretching out further on his bed and Dick just grinned at her. “One day he’s going to get his revenge for all the shit you’ve put him through over the years.”

Shrugging a shoulder, Dick turned and leaned against the dresser as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve been saying that for ten years and yet here we are.” She gave him a knowing look before a clatter sounded outside his door and it flew open. Looking away from Donna, Dick took in a redhead that was not his redhead crowding his doorway. “Hi,” he said slowly, looking over the guy ladened down with bags.

“Hey,” the guy said as he stepped in and dropped all his stuff on the unoccupied bed. “I’m Roy.”

Dick glanced over at Donna, who shrugged before standing from the bed. “I’m Dick. Is there something I can help you with?” As far as he knew he wasn’t supposed to have a roommate. Though, that had been true as of a week ago when the school had given him his dorm assignment. They had said there was a chance it might change, but they’d let him know.

“I got a few more bags down on the curb if you wanna help?” Dick just stared at the guy. The more silence that passed between them, the stormier the man looked. Dick was still waiting for him to explain what exactly he was doing in the room, but nothing came. Exchanging a look with Donna, Dick went to ask but Roy beat him to it. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“There you are!” A jubilant voice shouted from the doorway. Dick didn’t bother looking over at Wally and just held up his hands to pacify Roy.

“Nothing, man. I just wasn’t aware that I had a roommate,” he explained, hoping that the man wasn’t about to start their semester off with hating him. Roy kept his eyes narrowed on Dick for a moment before slowly, ever so slowly, his expression turned back into one that was more neutral. “I’ll help you with those bags,” he offered, hoping to pacify the situation further. “Oh,” he glanced at his two friends, “this is Donna and Wally, by the way. Don’t mind him-” he tried to warn Roy before Wally threw his arms around Roy and gave the other redhead a tight hug. “He has no idea what boundaries are,” Dick said flatly, giving Wally a stare that told him to stop.

Donna chuckled and held out a hand to Roy, which he shook with a small smile, before she grabbed the collar of Wally’s shirt. “We’ll see you down at the café in an hour, Dick. I’m sure this idiot has neglected to meet his own roommate. And Tim said he wanted to have lunch with you after you got unpacked. I’ll call him.” Wally let out a loud squawk in complaint as Donna practically manhandled Wally out of the room and left him and Roy alone in their door. “One hour,” Donna’s head popped back it with narrowed eyes on Dick. “Bring Roy,” she smiled at the man again before vanishing for good.

“Sorry about that,” Dick shrugged. “Wally is basically harmless, and Donna is…” he pressed his lips together and tried to think of a good way to put it but came up short. There was no real way to describe his best friend since childhood. She had been a force to be reckoned with when they were toddlers and she only got worse when they hit puberty. He pitied the person who tried to go toe-to-toe with her.

“She’s a snake in the grass?”

“I’d never say that to her face. She’ll think you’re flirting with her,” Dick laughed, and Roy raised a brow. “She’s not the girl next door. She has made grown men cry and I pity the person who thinks they might be able to tame her.” Dick knew he wasn’t doing the woman justice, but it was better to scare of any guys who might think she’s fair game. Or that they might have a chance. He’d seen it too many times. “Plus, men are just tools to get her what she wants.”

“I have a girlfriend.”

Dick raised his brows and nodded. “Cool,” he said, gesturing to the door so they could get the bags Roy had said were still down on the curb. But he stopped short when he went to follow and found Roy had stopped in the doorway.

“Thanks man!” Roy’s voice had turned from the suspicious neutral tone to something much more friendly and warm, causing Dick to take a step back and try to figure out what the hell had just happened. He sounded like a completely different person, and he needed to know who it was that could elicit such a change. Pushing up on his toes, Dick tried to see the person on the other side of Roy, but his new roommate was large enough to block the majority of the doorway. So he waited for Roy to turn, bags in hand and come back into the room.

Then Dick saw him.

Dark curls with a streak of white front and center, sat in a mop on top sun kissed and freckled skin that held turquoise eyes and full lips that had pulled into a friendly smile for Roy. A strong neck gave way to a wide set of shoulders, a broad chest, and slim waist. But that was nothing when compared to the thick thighs incased in a pair of joggers, short circuiting Dick’s brain completely. His mind immediately filled with images of himself seated on those thighs, arms wrapped around the man’s shoulders, sweat trickling down both their backs, moans breathed into each other’s mouths.

“Oh,” the man’s deep baritone said, gaze finally catching on Dick standing there like an idiot.

“Hi,” Dick breathed, unable to articulate anything more.

“Seriously?” Roy’s voice broke through Dick’s haze, and he glanced over at the man who now looked annoyed, but also amused. “You’re a dick chaser with a name like Dick?”

Dick’s mouth opened and he blinked, glancing at the newcomer briefly. “I don’t actually discriminate,” he admitted. The man let out a snort and Dick looked over at him in time to see his eyes working its way back up his body. Dick tried not to preen under the appreciative gaze. He knew he was a good-looking man. He had a very extensive workout routine that toned and sculpted him in all the best ways.

“Whatever, Jay likes dick anyway,” Roy waved a hand at his friend. Jay, apparently. “Jason this is Dick, my roommate. Dick, this is Jason, my idiot best friend.” Holding a hand out, Dick tried not to react when the warm palm slid into his and gripped his hand tightly in a firm shake. He tried to force his mind to push out what that hand would feel like squeezing other parts of him. And the flush on Jason’s cheeks told him he was likely having the same thoughts.

Dick cleared his throat and pulled his hand out of Jason’s grip, walking over to his bed and dropping down on top of it. “So where are you two from?” He asked curiously.

“I’m from Star City,” Roy said as he opened his bags on his own bed and began shoving things into drawers. “Jay’s from Gotham.” Dick raised a brow at that revelation. “Let me guess, you’re born and bred LA?”

Dick opened his mouth to speak but Jason cut him off. “Don’t be a jackass, Roy,” the man said. Dick could hear the Gotham accent bleed through, a street accent and it made Dick want to listen to him for hours.

“Actually, I didn’t have a home city until about four years ago when my brother and I did actually settle here in LA,” Dick offered, shoulder shrugging. He didn’t bother getting into why that was, mostly because he hated talking about the loss of his parents, but he also didn’t want these virtual strangers to pity him.

“Orphan?” Jason’s voice broke through his thoughts. Dick looked him, something familiar in his eyes. With a silent nod, Dick answered him. “Yeah, me too. Not as recent, but when I was eight.” Dick wasn’t really sure what to say to that, not wanting Jason to think he felt sorry for the other man. Mostly because he hated it when people felt sorry for him because of what happened to his parents, but also because he didn’t enjoy kinship in this situation. He didn’t want to connect to a man he was so obviously attracted to because of their tragic pasts.

“Most orphans aren’t as lucky as Jay though,” Roy broke into the conversation. “He was adopted by the all-powerful Bruce Wayne.” Eying Roy, Dick tried to figure out if the man was pulling his leg or not. With a flick of his eyes, he looked back to Jason who just shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Enough about Jay though. I want to know how you didn’t have a home city growing up?”

Heaving a sigh, Dick readied himself for an onslaught of questions. “My parents, brother, and I were part of a traveling circus act. Trapeze artist,” he explained. “We traveled with Haly’s Circus until an…accident,” he said, trying to make it clear he didn’t want to talk about that, “and then Tim and I went through all the legal hoops to get him custody of me and settled here in LA.”

“Wait,” Jason took a step toward him and squinted at the posted Dick had framed and already hanging above his bed. “You used to come to Gotham. Bruce took Damian and I to see the circus a few times. I remember you all. The Flying Graysons,” he gestured to the poster. Dick just nodded. “I was twelve the last time I saw you but you four were amazing. You were supposed to come back a few years later but…” Something seemed to click in Jason’s memory and Dick steeled himself for the revelation. “Damn.”

There was silence and Dick didn’t bother saying anything.

“Damn what?” Roy looked between the two of them before settling on Jason. “What?”

But Jason just shook his head and looked at Roy. “Nothing, man. Let’s go get some food, I’m starved. You want to come, Dick?”

“I’m actually supposed to meet my brother and friends. They invited Roy to come along if you want to join us instead?” Dick offered as his phone let out a trill, alerting him to a text that was likely from Donna or Tim. “They’re at the café just down the block.” He looked at Jason and Roy, who exchanged some kind of silent conversation before Jason looked back to Dick and smiled.

“Yeah, man. That’d be great.”

Dick looked at his phone, typed out a quick reply to Tim saying he was on his way and that he had two people coming with him, before jumping up from his bed.

~**~

Dick put his feet up on the dashboard of Tim’s car as Jason drove them down the highway toward San Diego where they were spending the long weekend on the beach with Donna, Wally, and Roy. He knew his brother would throw a fit if he saw Dick’s feet up there, but since Tim wasn’t there Dick did it.

“Get your feet off the dash,” Jason scolded, sending him a narrow eyed look. Dick just laughed and let his feet drop. “So disrespectful. I don’t know Tim very well, but you can’t convince me he’d allow that.”

“There’d be vague threats about cutting off my feet at the ankles,” Dick smiled brightly at Jason before turning his eyes out the widow next o him. “I can’t believe you convinced him to let you drive this car. It went into storage when my parents adopted him and he left it there until two years ago when Connor begged to fix it up. Now he rarely lets anyone drive it.”

“I can’t believe he had a classic Ferrari stored away. This is a thing of beauty and should be worshiped.”

Dick rolled his eyes.

“I will forever worship your brother for allowing me to drive it.”

“You’re a dork, you know that right? It’s a car.”

Jason snorted. “And that is why he has never allowed you to drive it. You don’t have any appreciation for this machine. You put your goddamn feet on the dash.”

“Actually,” Dick smirked, “I’m not allowed because I don’t have a driver’s license.” Jason jerked, eyes wide glancing at him as he tried to keep his focus on the road at the same time. “What? I don’t have a car and I don’t plan on getting one. It’s better for the environment when people take public transport.”

The car was quiet except for the music coming through the surprisingly modern radio that Conner had put in. Dick knew people judged him for not knowing how to drive, but he honestly didn’t see the need for it. He didn’t have a car, so what would the purpose of it be?

“You never wanted to just hop in a car and get away from everything?”

Dick thought about the idea and shrugged. “I think that our lives have been very similar but very different. I’ve never had the pressures you must have with who your dad is. For me, getting away from Tim would be devastating. He’s who I go to when I need to get away from things. He’s my best friend.”

“Don’t tell Wally that.”

“Wally thinks he’s second fiddle to Donna and she’s not dense enough to believe she comes before my brother.” Jason nodded. “Is Damian not your best friend aside from Roy?”

Jason was quiet and Dick watched his profile while he drove, wondering what was going through his head right then. The thoughts he was sorting before he answered Dick. He was so beautiful when he was thoughtful. How many times had he caught himself staring at the man over the past two months, wondering what was going on in his brain? How many times had he just come to an absolute halt of thought by his smile? Dick couldn’t say. All he knew was that he wanted to stare at him all the time. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of it.

Now if only he could figure out if Jason felt the same way.

“Damian and I have a complicated relationship. Not a bad one,” he quickly explained. “It’s just not what you and Tim have. We didn’t have to solely depend on each other the way you two did. And he left for college right when I was being adopted. It put a bit of a cloud over our heads, I guess you could say.” Dick frowned. He couldn’t image not being close to Tim. Even before their parents had died, Tim had been his best friend. “I love my brother and I always will, but we are very different.”

Dick kept his eyes on Jason’s profile as he tossed the words around in his head. He considered the small glimpses he had gotten from Roy and Jason in regard to Damian Wayne. He thought about what Google had shown him when he had looked up the entire Wayne family one night, weeks ago, curiosity getting the better of him. Damian was said to be a very stoic person, focused and driven, but not particularly friendly. The press knew he was serious and very good at business, but terrible with the public. He wondered if that was the reason Jason seemed to be much better with people than what the press said about Damian. Had Bruce Wayne made it a point to groom Jason to be better for PR?

“Fuck,” Jason muttered, eyes narrowing at the road. Dick sat up straight and looked forward to see what had caught Jason’s attention as he felt the car slow down to a stop. Brake lights. Frowning, Dick pulled out his phone and checked maps to see what was going on. “What does it say?”

“Nothing good,” Dick sighed. Dialing Donna, he put the phone on speaker.

“What’s up Dickie? You two almost here?”

“No, we’re about twenty miles out and the road is closed. We don’t even have a detour road.”

“I’m pulling up the map now.” There was a pause and Dick moved around the map to see the closest side road or anything that would get them to the Air BnB they had rented. Nothing. All that was showing up between here and the off ramp they should be taking was a hotel. “Fuck. The reports are saying they won’t reopen until tomorrow. Something damaged the road itself.”

Dick looked at Jason who was already looking at him. The man shrugged, brows raised as if to as ‘what do we do?’ and Dick shook his head.

“Looks like you’re not far from a hotel. I’ll call them and get you a room. You guys can come out when they reopen the road tomorrow.”

“But now I’m gonna miss Wally’s BBQ,” Dick whined, dropping his head back onto the headrest of the car. “He only does it on special occasions,” he explained to Jason when he made a questioning sound. “It’s better than sex.” He smirked when Jason choked on his own spit.

“Jesus Dick,” Donna laughed. “Don’t kill your driver.”

Dick just snickered and looked out at the road.

“Looks like they’re turning around the cars not willing to just park it for the night,” Jason changed the subject back to the situation at hand. Dick just smiled. “Put it under my name, Donna. I’ll have Dick send you a picture of my card to put it down on.”

“Daddy Wayne’s money comes in handy, huh?” Jason laughed and Dick watched him lean to the side to pull out his wallet from his back pocket. Taking the offered object, Dick opened it up and stared.

“You have like seven cards in here. Which one?”

“The black one,” Jason huffed, looking a bit uncomfortable. It wasn’t until Dick’s fingers touched the cool metal of the card that he understood. But instead of making it worse, Dick simply pulled it out and sent the pictures off to Donna.

He looked at Jason, not surprised to find him watching Dick warily, as he handed the wallet back. Dick just gave him a small smile without saying anything. Jason’s gaze turned grateful and Dick felt that warm feeling in his chest bloom even more.

“I’ll get it booked and let you know. Drive safe.”

“Thanks Donna,” Jason called out.

“Yeah, thanks Wonder Girl.”

“Behave, Boy Wonder.” Dick’s eyes rolled as he ended the call and leaned back, looking back over to Jason.

“What?”

“Why do you two call each other that?” Pursing his lips, Dick tried to think of when they first called each other by those terms of endearment but he was struggling to come up with a date. Or general time. “Do you not remember?”

“I don’t,” Dick admitted. “I’ve known Donna since before my parents died. Her aunt, Diana, knew my mom from childhood. So when she came to live with Diana, Donna and I naturally got to know each other. Each year, when the circus came through their town, we would stay with them. I don’t remember the first time she called me Boy Wonder, but she was first. I do remember that.”

“And Wally? You both call him Kid Flash.”

Dick snorted. “Because he used to shovel his food in faster than the speed of light.” Dick remembered the first time Donna had introduced him to the skinny redhead. He had immediately liked Wally. And when Donna had told him about the kid’s homelife, Dick had liked him even more. If he could still be carefree and happy with a dad like that, then he was all right in Dick’s books.

“You and your friends are weird.”

“They’re your friends now too, buddy.”

Jason huffed, “Don’t remind me.” Dick just laughed.

~**~

By the time they finally made it to the hotel, Dick had polished off their road snacks and was complaining that this place better have food. Jason found himself agreeing, although a lot less vocally, as they pulled into the parking lot and sighed. The sun was just starting to set over the ocean they could see in the distance and Jason was tired. Who knew sitting in traffic could be exhausting.

The pair of them grabbed their bags and headed inside so Jason could get them checked in. Dick was his usual friendly self with the staff, chatting as Jason handed over his card and signed the papers needed. He watched the man with a bit of awe on how he could be so good with people. Jason knew he had skills with the public, knew how to be social and impress people, but Dick was on a whole other level. He walked into a room and the charm he bled into the air around him attracted all kinds of attention.

Some of that attention good. Some of it questionable. Like the look the desk agent was giving him as Dick prattled on about Wally’s BBQ, of all things. The woman looked like she would strip down right then and there if he asked.

Fuck’s sake.

“Are we good?” Jason asked, voice gruff and annoyed. He couldn’t watch this anymore. Dick turned wide eyes on him and Jason felt a little bad for sounding like he was in a terrible mood. He wasn’t, he just didn’t like having to watch this woman drool over the man he wanted. The man he had wanted since he saw him standing in Roy’s room on move in day.

“Oh, yes! Here are your keys,” the woman said sweetly, handing them to Dick and ignoring Jason. “If you need anything at all, please call down. My name is Callie.” Dick smiled, thanked her, and took the keys before turning to Jason.

The moment they had turned to head to the elevator, Dick wrapped his arm around Jason’s and moved in as close as possible. “Get me away from her, for the love of god,” Dick whispered, and Jason breathed a sigh of relief. It was an act.

“I’ll save you, Boy Wonder,” Jason said quietly, tilting his head down to Dick’s. He could see Callie watching them out of the corner of his eye and was satisfied to find her scowling. So to drive the point home that Dick was not interested, Jason pulled his arm free from Dick’s and wrapped it around the other man’s shoulders instead. He tensed for just a moment when Dick responded by wrapping his arm around Jason’s waist and slipping his hand into the back pocket of his jeans, fingers pressing in a delicious pressure.

They stood like that, waiting for the elevator, and Jason couldn’t help but think about how much he wished the fabric separating Dick’s hand from his ass was gone.

He shook that thought out of his mind the moment the elevator dinged, and they stepped on. He sent a smirk to the still scowling Callie as he pressed the button to take them to their floor.

“You’re incorrigible,” Dick laughed when the door shut and they moved to put some space between them. Jason leaned against the wall of the elevator, watching Dick look out the glass window to the unmarred view of the ocean beyond the hotel grounds. “It’s so beautiful. I hope we get this view.” Jason glanced out the window and had to agree. The sun turning the sky orange and pink over the sparkling water was quite breathtaking. But it wasn’t as breathtaking as seeing Dick bathed in that same light.

“You’re beautiful,” Jason felt the words slip from his mouth before he had the chance to contain them. He wasn’t sure what made him say it, but the look on Dick’s face told him it was the right thing to say. Golden cheeks flushed prettily, and Jason wanted to reach out and touch them, see if they were as warm as they looked.

He wanted to kiss Dick Grayson. He had never wanted anything more.

“Jay…”

Dick gave him that smile, the small soft one that Jason had only ever seen in private when he had said or done something just for Dick, and Jason knew he was a goner. Forever. There was no way that anyone else in the entire world could make him feel this way. So completely and utterly lost in them. Jason wanted to lose himself to this man.

The ding of their floor arrival jolted both of them and Jason blinked, turning to the opening doors. He smiled at the elderly couple waiting to get one and stood aside so Dick could exit first, following him immediately. He walked closely behind Dick as he headed for their room at the end of the hallway. Stood as close as he could manage as Dick unlocked the door and pushed it open. Smiled down at Dick when he looked over his shoulder before stepping into the room that was probably costing Bruce a pretty penny, given the size and luxury.

The door clicked shut behind him and Jason let his eyes scan the room.

“Oh,” Dick said softly. Jason looked over at him and paused, noticing what had caught his attention. “Guess we’re sharing tonight.”

Jason felt his entire body light up.

He didn’t care about anything else right then. He dropped his bag to the floor and closed the distance between them, throwing all caution to the wind as he cradled Dick’s face in his hands and finally gave into his desire to kiss him.

Nothing had ever felt as right as this moment. He had planned to find the chance to tell Dick how he felt at some point this weekend, knowing he would chicken out if they were back on campus, and this had seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Dick’s quiet moan and hands gripping Jason’s shirt told him all he needed to know about whether it was the right choice. Their bodies slotted together more perfectly than anything Jason had ever experienced. He had kissed his fair share of boys over the years, but none of them felt like this. None of them made him feel like his core had become molten lava and would burn him from the inside out. None of them had fit so perfectly against him that it just stroked his desire even more.

Without bothering to question himself, Jason walked Dick backward to the waiting bed. He bent, keeping their lips and tongues moving together as Dick fell into a seated position on the bed. Jason’s hand moved from Dick’s face to press into the plush mattress on either side of Dick’s hips, slipping between his legs as they opened for him.

His mind raced with all the things he wanted to do in that very moment and was just about to reach for Dick’s shirt when the annoying sound of Dick’s phone ringing filled the space. Jason pulled back, considering telling Dick to ignore it, but he knew that ringtone.

“Hey Don,” Dick said breathlessly, making Jason smile slow and wicked. Instead of moving away, Jason slid his lips down Dick’s cheek and latched onto the skin of his neck. He took pride in the sharp gasp Dick let out when his teeth sunk into the skin he had just been sucking on. “What? Sorry Don, I…” Dick panted as Jason pushed him back into the mattress and slipped his hands under his tank top. “I gotta go. No, I-fuck,” he moaned when Jason pinched a nipple to try and get him to end the call.

“Get it, Boy Wonder,” Jason heard Donna’s laughing voice over the line as the hand holding Dick’s phone dropped to the bed and he released it to grab at the comforter. “He likes tongue!” Came one last shout before the line dropped and Jason just pushed the phone off the bed.

“Tongue, huh?” Jason muttered against Dick’s throat. He let his run down to the exposed collar bone, nipping at the bone before pulling back just enough to push Dick’s shirt up the rest of the way, whipping it over his head and tossing it somewhere behind him. Jason’s eyes were immediately drawn to the way Dick’s chest expanded and compressed with each panting breath. Skin dusted in gold and the occasional freckle and mole. It made his mouth water with the desire to claim every inch of skin. He wanted to leave marks all over Dick, so no one would ever look at him and think they stood a chance. “Dick, fuck. I’ve wanted this since I first saw you. But I need to make sure this isn’t just a fuck. I want you. All of you.”

Dick’s sapphire eyes opened, and he held Jason’s gaze, eyes speaking volumes. But it wasn’t enough, Jason needed to hear it. He needed Dick to say it. “I want all of you. This is…it isn’t just a fuck.” Dick pushed up on his elbows and Jason’s gaze slipped to his full lips for a moment before looking back to those eyes that drew him in like a moth to the flame. “I want you to fuck me, let me make that clear. I want that. But I want this too,” he spoke quietly, lifting a hand to press it right over Jason’s pounding heart.

And Jason felt his heart rate increase at the gentle press of Dick’s hand.

“You have it,” Jason whispered, covering Dick’s hand with his own.

~**~

“Hey just a heads up, my brother…he’s,” Jason sighed and pulled Dick to a stop to try and think of the right way to describe Damian. He knew his brother was a lot to handle for a lot of people, but Jason also knew Dick wasn’t exactly most people. He seemed to have a natural talent for making people fall in love with him. Maybe not the same way Jason had fallen, but in their own ways they always fell. He wasn’t sure if Damian would be the same story, he never fell for anyone, but if anyone could do it Dick was the one. “He’s just a little old fashioned and stuffy, I guess. He’s kind of like the opposite of Tim.”

Dick’s head tilted to the side in a motion that made Jason want to grip his face and fuse their lips together for the next hour, but instead he just waited and clung to Dick’s hand. “I’m Mr. Charming,” Dick said, smile brilliant. “I’m sure I can handle him.”

“I’m sure you can too, just wanted to give a warning.”

Dick just laughed and linked their arms before tugging him forward to continue their walk to the restaurant where Damian was undoubtedly waiting. The man had probably shown up thirty minutes early. Jason himself had insisted that he and Dick show up fifteen minutes just because his brother was such a stickler for being early to everything. And he desperately wanted Dick to make a good first impression. Which was why he had asked Donna to have a say in what the man wore. Though he had been surprised when she sent the text that said Dick had picked everything out himself after Jason had picked him up, finding him in a pair of dark jeans, lilac button up, and black blazer. It was proper, but it was still very much Dick’s style.

Jason loved him a little more for it.

“Jason,” a deep voice greeted him as they stepped into the bistro downtown that Damian had decided on for this meeting. It was classy enough for the Wayne exec but casual enough for someone like Dick who attracted wealth but didn’t enjoy it.

“Damian,” Jason smiled at his brother, releasing Dick so he could give the man a hug. “Thanks for coming,” he said quietly so just Damian could hear, before releasing him and turning to face Dick. “This is Dick Grayson, my boyfriend. Dick, this is Damian my older brother.” He had explained to Dick already how Damian was Bruce’s actual son and that Jason had been adopted when Damian was a teenager getting ready to go to university. It had been an issue between the two when they had been younger, Damian feeling as though Jason had been a replacement, until he realized that that was just Damian’s insecurities showing.

It had taken a while for them to really become brothers after that, but Jason could say with certainty that there was no one who loved as fiercely as his brother did. Once you were under his umbrella, there was very little you could do to get out from under it. He hoped Dick found himself there as well.

Dick, with a broad smile, deflected Damian’s hand and wrapped the man in a hug that Jason had known was coming and felt no need to warn his brother about. Because seeing stiff-nosed Damian undone by someone like Dick Grayson was something Jason had been dreaming of for years.

“It’s so great to meet you, Damian!” Dick released the man and grinned over at Jason before looking back to Damian. “Jay has told me so much about you, I feel like I already know you. Tell me all the embarrassing stories you have about your brother.”

And there it was.

Damian turned amused eyes on Jason, and he, in turn, gave his brother a warning glare.  

“Let me tell you about the time Jason decided to become a beekeeper in his junior year of high school…” Jason groaned as Damian launched into the story while they were led to their private table in the back.

By the time they were leaving the restaurant, Dick had Damian listening intently to a story of when Dick’s parents had still been alive, and they were part of the circus act. Jason didn’t think he had ever seen his brother so involved in a conversation before. But Dick had pulled the man in with both hands and now Damian was just as lost to his charm as every single person in Dick’s orbit. He had watched just ordinary people fall for it all before, but he knew his brother and to watch this happen? Jason was convinced Dick had some kind of superhuman ability.

“Are you heading back to Gotham today?” Dick asked as the three of them stepped into the sun of the mid-afternoon hour. “Or do you go back tomorrow?”

“I’m afraid I have a flight this evening.” Dick frowned and Jason wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “I had a wonderful time, Richard. I am very glad someone as bright as you has found his way into my ruffian little brother’s life.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “How old are you?” He teased, smirking at Damian’s glare. “Call when you land?”

“Certainly,” Damian confirmed before Dick had him wrapped up in another hug. And to Jason’s surprise, Damian’s arms came around and returned the embrace. He wasn’t sure he had seen Damian hug anyone that wasn’t their father, Alfred, or Jason ever. He knew Dick had made a good impression, but he hadn’t expected it to be this good.

“Have a safe flight! Hopefully next time you can plan for a bit of a longer stay.” Dick pulled back and went back into Jason’s arms, Damian smiling at the pair with a nod. The three of them were distracted when a sleek black car pulled up along side them and parked before the driver stepped out and greeted Damian.

“Call Father, Jason. You don’t call him enough.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” he sighed, stepping forward to give his brother a brief hug before the man gave them one last nod and slipped into the opened backseat of the car. He and Dick stood in their spot until the car had pulled away and headed down the street. “That was amazing,” Jason said, turning to look down at Dick.

Dick’s brow raised. “What was?”

“The way you charmed my brother! I’ve never seen him hug someone who wasn’t family before! He doesn’t even hug his…Jon where I can see.” Dick just shrugged a shoulder and grabbed Jason’s hand.

“I liked him. He was very posh and proper,” Dick said, tugging Jason to walk with him. “But he was very interesting. And he had some great stories.” Dick’s smile turned playful with a hint of evil and Jason narrowed his eyes. “Donna is going to die hearing some of those.”

“Don’t you dare!” Jason yelled as Dick released his hand and shot off toward campus. Dick let out a squeal of laughter as he darted out of reach and ran faster.

~**~

Dick was just stepping out of the guest room bathroom, a towel wrapped firmly around his waist and another rubbing as much water out of his hair as possible, when he found himself being pushed back against the counter. He had enough time to let out a confused sound when Jason’s mouth covered his own. The towel for his hair was soon forgotten and the one around his waist parted easily as Jason lifted him by his hips so he was seated on the marble, legs separating so Jason could slot himself between them.

“Jay wha-” Dick tried to ask before it broke off into a moan when Jason’s teeth sunk into the flesh on his throat and his head fell back to open up the area for more of Jason’s attention. He clung to Jason, at his mercy as the man continued to suck, bite, and lick his way over Dick’s throat. They hadn’t had a moment where they felt safe enough to do this since coming to spend the week after they had finished for the summer with Tim and his husband, but apparently Jason had gotten tired of refraining.

But then Dick remembered why they had been holding off.

Pushing at Jason, panting and trying to adjust the towel to cover himself, he caught Jason’s eye. “Tim is home,” he breathed, chest heaving as he hoped to remind Jason of the thin walls and lack of lock on the door. Jason shook his head and Dick frowned. “What?”

“Date night. Conner got off work early and picked him up ten minutes ago, saying they wouldn’t be home until after midnight.” Dick’s eyes went wide with the implication of that. They were alone. Truly alone for hours. “Now stop pushing me away and let me fuck you. Been teasing me with all that fucking skin on display in this LA heat,” Jason muttered against Dick’s lips, pulling his towel open with a firm tug.

Dick sucked in a sharp breath, whether from the blast of cool air or Jason’s fingers wrapping around his half hard cock, he couldn’t really say. He could say that he didn’t really care either way. Not when Jason tugged on him in that way he knew got Dick teetering on the edge way too quickly. Not when Jason’s other hand was sliding along his back, dipping fingertips into the crease of his ass hinting what was to come.

They finally made their way to the kitchen to figure out some food after two hours of making up for all the lost time from the first five days of their trip. Dick pulled himself up on the kitchen counter by the sink as Jason dug through the fridge in hopes of something to throw together. When he let out a frustrated sigh, Dick nudged the drawer under him open and pulled out a handful of takeout menus.

“How did you know those were there?” Jason asked as he took them and flipped through the options.

“Timmy and I weren’t good in the kitchen at first,” Dick admitted. Jason looked up at him and Dick knew he was curious since Dick didn’t really talk about the time at home after their parents had died. Just little hints here and there. But there was something about being home with Tim again that made him want to tell Jason about it. The good and the bad. “We ate a lot of takeout in the first year or so, until I started watching videos and making meals along side them. Then Tim tried too. After that it was rare for us to order food, but the habit remained. Stack of menus, in the drawer closest to the sink.”

Jason put the menus down next to Dick’s hip and stood between his legs. “Your parents didn’t teach you?”

Dick shook his head. “In the circus, we had a cook who prepared group meals. Ma would make us her special lemon cake for each of our birthdays that was a Romani tradition, but other than that neither of them ever had to cook,” he explained. He smiled down at Jason, feeling that familiar ache in his chest at the mention of his parents. But Jason seemed to know and just took up one of his hands, kissing it softly.

“Wait,” Jason frowned. “The lemon cake you make me?” Dick nodded. “Why didn’t you ever say that was a family custom?”

He shrugged, frowning. “Does it matter? It was just a little something. Nothing big.”

“Of course it matters, Dickie. That’s really big. Does Tim know you do that?”

“Sure, but it’s not a big deal. It’s just a lemon cake.”

“But you don’t make it for Donna or Wally.”

“I love them both like they’re family, but it’s a different kind of family,” Dick explained. “Tim makes it for Conner.” He wasn’t quite ready to admit that it was a custom with his family to make it for someone who you wanted to keep in your heart forever. Partners in everything. He and Jason had been together for over two years, but they were still young. He didn’t want to push something like forever on Jason when they still had so much of their lives ahead of them.

But Jason seemed to know because warm hands pressed into his cheeks and Dick was staring into turquoise eyes that held nothing but silent understanding. He didn’t need to tell Jason because he already knew, and he accepted it.

Leaning forward, Dick pressed his forehead into Jason’s and closed his eyes. They were in his home with Tim, but being right there with Jason was his true home. The same warmth that he felt when he laid in Tim’s bed, watching crap movies and laughing with his brother. The same warmth he had felt in his parents arms before they died. That was the warmth he felt with Jason. This headstrong, overprotective, gentle man that had just appeared in his doorway with yet another redhead for Dick to add to his life was the epitome of what Dick thought home should be.

~**~

Sliding up behind Dick as he rinsed their dishes, Jason wrapped his arms around his waist. When Dick had proposed the idea of spending their summer together and splitting it half with Tim in LA and half in Gotham, Jason had immediately said yes. The previous summer had sucked, the distance between them taking all of the fun out of the entire break. He hadn’t wanted to go through that again and was so glad Dick had come up with the solution he had managed to overlook. His dad had seemed a little annoyed that Jason wouldn’t be home the entire break, but with the help of Damian he had accepted that at least he was getting his son for some of the break. The only downside was Alfred would be gone for the time he was home, visiting family back in the UK.

“I love you,” he muttered, lips pressed into the skin of Dick’s neck. He felt the soft release of breath through the movement of Dick’s back at the words and tightened his arms around the other man’s waist. The water shut off and Jason didn’t bother lifting his head from Dick’s neck as the man tugged of the rubber gloves he used while washing this dishes, even though Jason had teased him immediately for it.

He didn’t move until Dick twisted in his arms and faced him. He looked down at the man in his arms, wondering how the hell he had managed to get so lucky. He must have been a great person in a past life to be given to a man as wonderful as Dick Grayson. He would do it a million times over if it would allow him to keep him too.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jason smiled. “Because you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am so thankful to whoever it was that set you in my path.” Dick smiled that special smile for him and slid his hands up Jason’s arms, wrapping them around his neck.

They stood there swaying slightly to the song coming out of the speakers set up throughout the entire house, a slower melody that Jason couldn’t name if you held a gun to his head. But he didn’t care. He just wanted to bask in his time with Dick. He just wanted to be there with him.

“You’re a cheeseball, you know that right?” Jason chuckled and Dick just grinned. The song changed. “Dance with me,” he said, releasing Jason and grabbing his hand to move to the more upbeat song that now played.

Jason shook his head in amusement, but let Dick move them around the kitchen to the beat of the song. He pulled Dick’s back to his chest, hand slipping into the waistband of his low slung sweats, as they moved together.

“Jason Todd, you rascal,” Dick chided him, a smile in his voice.

“What can I say? You are entirely too temping and earlier wasn’t nearly enough to fully satisfy my cravings for you,” he whispered into Dick’s ear.

Suddenly Dick was out of his arms and rushing down the hallway, calling over his shoulder, “Then come take your fill!”

Jason didn’t hesitate to chase him down the hallway.

~**~

Jason had been sitting at his desk typing up the last few pages of his final paper for his business communications class when the text had come through. He had even ignored it at first to finish the paragraph he had been writing. But when three more alerts pinged, he figured whoever it was didn’t want to be ignored any longer.

So he clicked save and opened his phone to see why Roy was suddenly bombarding him.

Tell Dick I said congrats!

I assume he’s with you.

You better not be ignoring me to celebrate his job offer.

Bastard.

Job offer.

Jason had no idea what he was supposed to do with that information. He hadn’t known Dick was even going through an interview process, but he apparently had because he was getting offers. He scanned his memory to see if he had just missed it because that was a big deal. Graduation was just a month away and he should have been thinking about what that would mean for Dick’s career.

For him, it was simple. There was a job waiting for him at Wayne Enterprises and he was looking forward to heading the charity department. Bruce had been holding that role for him the past four years, filling in while Jason got his degree so people couldn’t say he had done no work to get the job. But it had always been his plan and he had never been quite about it. So why hadn’t he even thought about what Dick would do once they graduated. Had he just assumed the other man would follow him to Gotham?

But he didn’t think he had.

But he also hadn’t talked to Dick about it either. So maybe he subconsciously had made that assumption. Especially since Dick had never brought it up. At least not that he could remember. The last year had been a bit of a blur between both of their classes consuming more and more of their time. Dick’s internship with Google taking up even more of it. They had been busy and Jason honestly was struggling to come up with a time that they’ve sat down and talked about anything serious the past six months.

A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts and he robotically got up to pull it open.

He wasn’t surprised to find Dick there.

He was surprised to find an uncertain look on his face.

“Dickie,” Jason smiled, reaching for the other man’s waist and tugging him into the room before shutting the door. He leaned down for a kiss but found his lips hitting Dick’s cheek instead of his mouth like Jason had planned. “You okay?”

Dick just nodded and skirted around him to move further into the room. Every movement was setting off alarm bells in his mind and Jason felt a cold fist of worry squeeze his heart in that moment. Something was wrong. Either Dick had done something he knew Jason wouldn’t like or he was worried to tell him about the job offer. Jason wasn’t sure which one he would rather it be. Because if Dick was worried about sharing the news then that meant he was worried how Jason would react.

“Dick?” He tried again to get his boyfriend to look at him. “Is this about the job? Roy said something about you getting an offer.” Dick’s sapphire eyes widened and looked at Jason almost as if he were a deer and Jason had caught him in his headlights. The chill increased.

He watched Dick’s mouth open and close a few times before the man went back to not looking at him.

“You’re starting to worry me, Dick. What’s going on? I didn’t even know you had been interviewing.”

“I wasn’t,” he finally spoke, voice quieter than Jason had ever heard it.

Jason furrowed his brows, confused. “You weren’t? So this job offer just fell in your lap?”

Dick shook his head. “No, not in the way you’re thinking.” But that made no sense. People didn’t just offer jobs to people who they didn’t know. They didn’t give jobs to people without knowing them, talking to them, and seeing what kind of work they could do.

But that was it. There was only one place where Dick could work without interviewing. One place he had been showing his skills and knowledge to over the past year or so.

Jason dropped onto the edge of his bed. “Google?” Dick winced. “But that means…” he couldn’t bring himself to say what that would mean. Google had two locations. LA and Mountain View in the Bay Area. Both of those options were the exact opposite of the part of the country where Jason would be after graduation.

“I haven’t accepted, but Jay,” he paused, sitting on the chair Jason had been sitting in just moments ago, “how can I say no? This job is a dream. I love the company and Public Relations is my strong suit.” It was true. Dick was made for the public. He was good with people, they could make him the face of the company and people would drop to their knees for him. He could talk his way into any kind of deal and make someone give him the world, the whole time convincing them it was their idea. He wasn’t manipulative, just convincing. People just wanted to please him. They wanted to impress him.

“And what about me?”

Dick looked pained and Jason clenched his jaw.

“We could try long distance. There’s been talk about expanding to the east coast. If they do that, I can push for Gotham. I could try and get posted there.”

Jason shook his head. “But they’ve been talking about that expansion for years. Who knows when that would happen and I’m just supposed to sit back and accept something that could maybe one day happen as good enough?” He could feel himself starting to get angry and he hated it. It was rare for him and Dick to really fight over anything. They had had spats over the years but nothing serious. And never had Jason felt anger toward Dick. Annoyance and disappointment. Never anger. “Do I even have a voice here? Or is it just Dick Grayson deciding what’s best for the both of us, my opinion be damned?”

“That’s not fair,” Dick snapped. Good. Jason wanted him to get angry. He wanted a fight. He wanted some sign that maybe this wasn’t as simple as Dick seemed to be making it. “Why should I have to be the one to sacrifice my career goals just because your career has been waiting for you since before you left for college? Not all of us have our daddy to give us a cushy desk job in his family company.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed on the man. Dick knew Bruce and his money was a soft spot for Jason, despite having been a Wayne since he was eight. He still struggled with wanting to feel as though he earned his keep and wasn’t just handed everything on a silver platter. Not that Bruce or Damian would allow for anything less than hard work. But he knew what the world thought. He knew what the employees at the company thought. That’s why getting the degree had been so vital to him. He had to prove he could put in the work and earn his title.

“Some of us have to make our own way after we lost everything.”

“I work my ass off to prove myself every single day. You throw a smile at someone and they’re worshiping at your feet,” Jason threw back. He knew they needed to stop, they needed to back away and take a breath. He had seen Dick’s temper before and he knew the man would fight dirty if he had to. But the fire blazing would not be tempered, and Jason didn’t know how to stop this before it got worse. “I never once lied about what my plans were for after college. I made it clear from that very first lunch where I would end up. Did you even try to find something else? Or did you just think of yourself?”

“Of course I tried to find something else,” Dick exploded, jumping to his feet and glaring at Jason. “I applied to every position I possibly could in Gotham! I even applied to WE. But I have a stack of emails saying I’m not qualified or ‘sorry we’ll keep your resume on file for the future though’. I have spent weeks trying to bring this up to you, to talk to you about all of this, but you were always too focused on anything else. ‘Sorry Dickie, I have a paper due tomorrow’ or ‘Sorry Dickie, pulled an all nighter so I’m gonna crash’.” Jason cringed because it was true. He had been pushing Dick to the side recently because he had been so focused on school that he had let other things slip. “I have been asked so many times if I was okay by Donna or Wally. Hell, even Roy noticed something was wrong. But my own boyfriend couldn’t look away from his damn laptop long enough to see that I was fucking drowning trying to find a solution to a problem you won’t even negotiate on!”

It was true and Jason hated himself because of that. But he wouldn’t let Dick know that. He couldn’t. He was too angry to admit that Dick was probably right. He hadn’t even tried to compromise. He had just assumed that Dick would find a way to come with him. He didn’t even think about the fact that Dick would have to leave behind the home he and Tim had struggled to create for themselves after their parents died.

“Have you even thought about what would happen after we graduate? Have you even considered how I would feel leaving my only living family because of this?” Dick’s voice was strained and Jason could see the tears building in his eyes, the hurt radiating off of him. Jason felt frozen. He had been selfish. But part of his whispered that Dick had never said anything. How was he supposed to know Dick was unhappy if he never said? “Do you have anything to say? Or is this another battle I’m having to fight on my own?”

“You wouldn’t have had to fight it on your own if you had just said something Dick!” Jason spat out his name, anger and defensiveness making it sound like an insult instead of his name. And by the way Dick jerked back, he had taken it as one. But Jason wouldn’t take it back. He wouldn’t sit here and let Dick lay all the blame on him. He couldn’t. “I can’t read your fucking mind. How am I supposed to know you’re unhappy if you don’t use your big boy words and tell me?”

Dick’s eyes narrowed and a shadow passed over his eyes. And in that moment Jason knew something had changed. He watched his boyfriend slowly stand to his feet, staring at him with those furious eyes and saying nothing more as he made his way to the door.

“Dick,” Jason said as he opened the door, standing to try and stop whatever this was Dick was doing.

“Don’t worry about having to try and read my mind anymore. I’m no longer your problem,” Dick said, back to Jason, before he walked out into the hallway and shut the door behind him.

Jason stood there, frozen, staring at the closed door.

Dick had just broken up with him and all he could do was stand there, knowing they couldn’t come back from this.

Three Years Later

“Is there no chance they’ll be delivered on time?” Jason asked into the phone as he spun in his chair and looked out the wall of windows in his office, watching the rain pound against the glass and onto everything outside. It had been raining almost nonstop for two day and while he had always enjoyed rainy days, he didn’t enjoy when they coincided with an event he had been planning for months. Especially an event focused on raising funds for impoverished children in Gotham. He had wanted this event to run smoothly, for everything to be perfect, but the universe seemed to have other ideas as she released this downpour on them all.

“Sorry, Mr. Todd-Wayne. The flights from New York have all been cancelled,” the woman from the business he had ordered the decorations from said. “Even if the rain stops in the next hour, I don’t think we would be able to get it on a flight before tomorrow.”

Jason sighed and rubbed the crease between his brows, trying to find a solution for this problem. “What if I hired a truck to drive them?”

There was a pause, some typing, and a whispered request. “Would it give you enough time to get set up? With the rain, the truck would likely arrive in the morning if it got out of the city by late-afternoon today.” Jason did some quick calculating, listing off all the other things that would need to be done after the ballroom was decorated. Could he pull it off? “What if we sent a few extra hands with the decorations? Our people would already know how to set everything up, they would just need to know where.”

“And the cost?”

“Consider it an apology for the situation. Our company loves working with Wayne Enterprises, we don’t want this to blemish our relationship.”

“Camille, the weather is not your fault. We could never blame you for that.” Jason shook his head and turned his chair back around, refreshing his computer to look at how much wiggle room he had in his budget. He did a quick run on the calculator next to his computer, “I can pay three people $25 an hour if you send them.”

“Mr. Todd-Wayne-”

“I won’t have them working for free.”

“We would pay our own people.”

“Give them this as a bonus then. It’s a big ask.”

He heard Camille sigh and he knew he had won. “Let me know when the truck is due to arrive, and I’ll have everything ready to load. Small covered is fine. We have everything packed. I’ll find a few people who can help me out.”

“Thank you, Camille,” Jason smiled into the phone. “I appreciate the extra mile. I’ll call shortly.” There was a goodbye on the other end before Jason hung up his phone and immediately began pulling up truck companies in New York City. He worked quickly to find someone with the right kind of transport and then relayed the information to Camille. By the time he had finished everything, he found he had worked through lunch and a knock on his door told him someone had noticed.

“Jason,” Damian said as he walked into the office. His black suit looked pristine as always, but the green tie he had on had been loosened and Jason frowned at the sight. It was rare for Damian to look anything less than put together when he was in the office. Not even at the end of the day had Jason ever seen his brother without every single hair in place.

“Dames?” He questioned, looking his brother over for some kind of sign that told him what was wrong. “What’s happening?”

Damian frowned back at him before taking a seat on one of the chairs situated on the opposite side of his desk. “I saw the guest list for the gala tomorrow evening.” Jason raised a brow. “Why didn’t you mention Google was sending Richard?”

“Because it doesn’t matter.” Damian raised a brow of his own. “What is going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your tie,” Jason pointed out. Damian looked down and frowned at the loosened knot of his tie before fixing it quickly, perfectly. And just like that, his brother looked exactly as he always did. Polished and fashionable. He looked like the WE CEO that he was raised to be. And if Jason hadn’t seen it happen, he never would have believed Damian’s tie had ever been touched. But he also didn’t know how to really ask his brother without pushing him into a corner that he knew his brother hated. Emotions and Damian didn’t really mix. There were only two people Jason had ever seen his brother able to fully express himself with and that was his Jon and…well, Dick Grayson. “Damian, is it an issue that Dick will be there tomorrow?”

Damian’s green eyes went a little wide and he seemed to freeze in his spot. Almost as if he hadn’t been expecting to be asked that when he had come to Jason’s office to question him about it. And Jason just found himself so confused over what was happening right then. What had his brother been expecting in all of this? Why had his tie fallen askew? Grabbing his cellphone, he shot off a quick text to Jon to ask if the man knew what was going on with his brother.

“There is no issue with his presence,” Damian offered, eyes looking past Jason to the windows behind him. “I just wanted to be sure you would be okay.”

Jason snorted. “Dick and I may have ended our relationship three years ago, but we’re not strangers to each other anymore Dames. Three years is a long time and we’re both adults.”

“But neither of you has moved on from the other.”

Jason didn’t point out that Damian wasn’t exactly an expert on relationships given he didn’t have that inclination. But his heckles rose and begged him to. He hated people pointing out the fallacies in his love life. That he was handsome, successful, and a good man and that meant he shouldn’t be single. It made his temper want to flare hot and rabid. He ignored it and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I can’t speak for Dick, but I’ve been busy.”

Damian looked at him, his eyes narrowed and the all too familiar considering look on his face. Jason hated that look. It only came out when Jason, or anyone, was doing something Damian didn’t understand and didn’t ultimately approve of either. He knew he was in for some kind of lecture. But he was given a distraction when his phone dinged, and he looked down to find a response from Jon.

He’s nervous.

Jason’s brows raised and he looked back to his brother. “Why are you nervous to see Dick?”

“What?” Damian sputtered, brows pinching. “I never said I was nervous. Who are you talking to? Is that Jon?!”

Jason turned off the screen on his phone and looked at his older brother, unimpressed. “Damian.”

“I-” Jason watched Damian shift in his seat, the nervousness he could see clearly now going up a few more notches. Jason wasn’t sure he had ever seen Damian nervous like this. Maybe years ago, when he introduced Jon to him, Bruce, and Alfred. But even then, this was different. “You two were very important to each other while in university. I got used to the idea of him joining our family. Then, very suddenly, he was gone.” The fight that had ended their relationship had taken all of them by surprise, even Jason and Dick. He knew Damian had been confused as to what exactly had happened and until Jason had snapped that there wasn’t going to be a reconciliation, hadn’t believed it was really over. And though Damian had been so upset about the loss, Jason had never really bothered to figure out why.

But he was maybe starting to understand.

“You know I never would have begrudged you if you had wanted to remain in contact with him,” Jason said quietly. He might have been a little annoyed because Damian was his brother after all, but he knew Dick had been one of the very few people Damian found himself really loving.

“I was told that would be…bad form,” Damian told him, and Jason laughed. “Others insisted that it was not done. That it would make it seem as though I was on Richard’s side. Or something along those lines. I didn’t really understand it. Jon told me to talk to you, but that seemed insensitive.”

Jason’s laugh gave way to a chuckle, and he shook his head. “For most people out there, yeah probably. But Dames, you’re not just some random guy. You look at the world very differently than many people. I get that. I wouldn’t care.” It had been difficult to understand, when he had been a teenager, that his older brother didn’t experience the same sexual and romantic attraction to people the way he did. When Damian had introduced them to Jon, they had all thought Jon was his boyfriend. But then Damian had come out as aro ace and Jason had been stunned. He hadn’t known people could feel that way, but he had just shrugged and accepted it because even though he and Damian weren’t close at that point he still cared about his brother.

It wasn’t until later, after he had done all the research he possibly could, that he really began to understand. How Damian’s disdain for him in the very beginning likely stemmed from the insecurity he felt about his own identity and not from Jason being an orphan. Comments about Jason being a better model made more sense and helped Jason understand his brother a lot more. So he tried to put himself in Damian’s shoes and understand how he saw the world. After that, there had been no going back. Even if he had wanted to. His brother was “different” according to society. Jason saw him as a man who loved so completely in a platonic sense that there was just no need to love any other way. He wasn’t defective or broken, he was complete just how he was.

“Damian,” Jason sighed and let his eyes fall on the polaroid photo that he had tucked into a frame holding a picture of Damian, Bruce, and him on his desk. He stared at the smiling faces of him and Dick. The other man had been trying to snap a selfie of them with it, but Jason had tripped and they had crashed down to the sand. The camera had captured their laughing faces close up. Just their profiles taking up the entire frame, eyes closed in laughter, and smiles wide and crinkling the corners of their eyes. Dick had given it to him for their anniversary later that year. He had written on it in his sloppy handwriting All roads lead back to you. “You should restore that friendship if that is what you really want. I won’t blame you in the least,” he finally said to his brother, eyes still trained on the photo he had no idea why he still kept displayed like this.

Or he did actually know why, he just didn’t want to admit how much he still missed Dick Grayson.

~**~

When his boss had asked him to accept the invitation by Wayne Enterprises for a charity gala, Dick had hesitated. He knew from his connection with Roy that Jason was the one who was usually in charge of any kind of charity related event. And he was always in attendance for them. Which meant if Dick went, he would certainly run into him at some point during the evening.

And Dick wasn’t sure he could handle that.

But his boss had given him the spiel to tow the company line. That public relations was his domain and that no one else did it better than him. That he was the person who people would always turn to when it came to having a face out in the public. Not only did he have a good face for the public, but his personality only enhanced it. People couldn’t help but listen and follow him. He was an icon, or so they always told him. Dick had always just felt a connection to people in general. It never had anything to do with the attention he received. It had everything to do with being surrounded by people.

So he had reluctantly agreed to go to the gala, having his assistant, Jonesy, book the two of them flights and getting himself fitted for the proper tux for the event. He had allowed for a salon appointment to be booked for him to get his nails freshened up and his hair artfully styled to look almost like he hadn’t bothered styling it at all. He tried not to be annoyed that he could have easily styled it this exact way himself and just let his assistant have their fun getting him all the appointments they would have had to get just about any other member of the Google high up enough to go to an event like this.

“The donation has already been made, we just really need your face to be there for the press and to rub elbows with other businesspeople. We’re negotiating that new office in Gotham right now and the people want to see what we bring to the table,” Dick had the head of his department on speaker as he rode in the back of the town car they had rented to bring him to Wayne Manor. He didn’t bother paying attention to what he was being told because it was nothing he hadn’t heard before for other events. Instead, he let his eyes take in the grandeur of the house Jason and Damian had grown up in as they approached. “Dick, are you even listening to me? This is important.”

“I know how important it is, Dave. How many times have you sent me to do this sort of thing? And not just stateside,” he reminded. There was a huff of amusement on the other end and Dick smiled at Jonesy, who was rolling their eyes next to him. “I have Jonsey here, trust them to keep an eye on me if you need to, but you did send me on purpose.”

There was silence before Dave agreed and told him to try and have some fun, but not too much fun. Dick looked at Jonsey and they reached over to click the ‘end call’ option on the iphone in his hand before leaning back into their seat.

“Should I have told Dave to ask someone else to do this?” Dick looked back out the window and sighed. They were about seven cars back in the line of people getting out in front of the manor. The hoards of press lined up, taking video and picture of the attendees, went mostly ignored by Dick as he scanned the windows of the beautiful house. “Dick?”

He hummed but didn’t look over at them.

“Dick are you okay with this? Dave didn’t know about the relationship between you and Mr. Todd. Not that it would have changed his desire for you to be the one here today, but…” But it might have garnered some understanding on why he was not his usual self in regard to this particular event. “We can go in, make a round, and leave quickly if you need.

Dick looked back to them and shook his head. “No,” he said firmly. “What Jason and I had was life changing. I’m always going to love him. But we’re adults and it isn’t as if we haven’t seen year other over the years since we broke up.” Jonsey gave him a look and Dick shrugged, straightening and smoothing a hand down the front of his tux. They were next in line to get out and Dick was ready. He could go into this home and be his usual charming self and get them the connections they needed in order to get this office in Gotham. “The show must go on,” he whispered to Jonsey, who gave him an unusually sympathetic look before they opened the door and slipped out of the limo and stood with the door open for him.

Allowing himself one last deep breath, Dick nodded to himself again before he too slipped out of the limo, buttoning his jacket as he went. Immediately, he was accosted with flashing lights and calls of his name. So he let a slow smile spread across his lips and raised a hand to wave in the general direction of the calls of his name. He had a general policy that he didn’t speak to the press unless it was part of the event. Tonight’s event was not a press related one and with a glance behind him to make sure Jonsey was following, he made his way up the stairs and toward the open door of the manor.

“Mr. Grayson,” a warm, British voice greeted him, and Dick paused at the sight of Alfred. He had never met the man in person, but Jason had talked about the grandfather-like figure in his life enough for it to feel as though they had met.

“Alfred,” Dick replied, his smile melting into something more genuine and warm. Holding out a hand, Dick shook the man’s hand before gesturing to Jonsey. “This is Jonsey, they’re my assistant.” Alfred greeted them with a nod and handshake before gesturing for them both to head inside.

“I should like to exchange candor with you later, Mr. Grayson.” Dick paused at Alfred’s words before agreeing and continuing to make his way inside.

The inside of the manor was just as grand at the outside, not that Dick was surprised. Bruce Wayne and his family had been wealthy for generations. This family home was old and well cared for. He had loved it the first time he had set foot in it and he would forever love it.

Even if he felt like a stranger in it now.

“Richard.” Dick looked to his left at the sound of his formal name and froze at the sight that greeted him.

Damian Wayne in all his formal glory, glass of what looked like whiskey in hand.

Dick didn’t even pause to think about his actions before he was reaching forward and wrapping his arms around the taller, broader man’s shoulders. “Damian,” he breathed, eyes falling closed for just a moment. He felt something loose in his chest when Damian’s free hand settled on his back in a return embrace. Pulling back, Dick let one of his hands remain on Damian’s upper arm as he smiled at the older man. They stood there like that for a moment before the clearing of a throat drew Dick’s attention away from Damian and to a man taller than Damian, brown hair and bright blue eyes. “You must be Jon.” Dick moved his hand from Damian’s arm to hold out to shake the other man’s hand.

“It is good to finally meet you, Dick,” Jon smiled brightly, shaking Dick’s hand firmly. Dick watched the brief glance between Jon and Damian, but Dick found he was too shocked to have Damian even here to decipher what it could mean. “I was surprised when Damian mentioned you would be in attendance tonight. He was as well, though he’d never admit it,” Jon chuckled, and Dick smiled at Damian.

“I wasn’t aware Google was sending any one on their behalf, was all.” With a tilt of his head, Dick just watched Damian attempt to save face.

“I’ve missed you too,” Dick offered, a deep breath and steeled backbone later. But it wasn’t a lie. He had loved Damian in his life. Outside of his relationship with Jason, Dick had enjoyed having a friend in Damian. Almost another brother. “I have watched news of WE to keep up to date on as much of your life as I could. I wanted…” He paused, glancing at Jon for a moment before looking back to Damian. “I had wanted to call, but I didn’t want to cause trouble.” 

Damian’s features took on a pained look and Jon leaned over to whisper something in the man’s ear before sending a smile to Dick and slipping away. Dick looked from Jon’s retreating back to Damian, confused. “I, too, had wanted to reach out. I do not understand societal standards on remaining in contact with a sibling’s failed relationship, but well-meaning people had told me it would look like I was taking sides.” Dick’s shoulders slumped slightly, and he nodded. That was exactly why he hadn’t reached out. “But my brother has recently informed me he would not have taken it that way, that he would have understood.”

That caused Dick to pause. Damian and Jason had talked about him? A full conversation where Jason had told his brother that he could be friends with Dick despite their status as exes. Dropping Damian’s gaze, Dick looked away and considered what that meant. That Jason could handle Dick being in his orbit for the sake of his brother. That stupid, selfless man cared more about his brother’s relationships and friendships than he cared about his own comfort. Because surely, Jason would know that Dick and Damian remaining friends would mean eventually Jason would encounter Dick in person. And while the two of them had seen each other a handful of times over the years, that had only been at a distance. They had never actually had a real conversation since that fateful night.

“Richard?”

Blinking, Dick looked back to Damian with his smile firmly in place. “I’m sorry. I suppose I’m just…surprised Jason felt that way. Though, I probably shouldn’t be. He’s a good man.” Damian nodded. “I would very much like to keep in contact this time.”

“As would I.”

“Dames, have you seen…” A voice cut Dick off from speaking again, a familiar warmth rising in him as that person came up behind him. Turning, Dick saw exactly who he knew would be right there. But he wasn’t prepared for the emotion that struck him square in the chest at the sight of the broad shoulders and chiseled jawline. Nor was he prepared for what it did to see those turquoise eyes so close again. “Dick.”

His name falling from those lips had always been enough to undo him. For years, it had sounded like a prayer when Jason would say his name. The last time Dick had heard Jason say his name, it had sounded like a curse and it had stuck with him. This time though? It fell somewhere between and what weight had lifted with Damian’s presence seemed to settle back in with Jason’s.

“Jason,” he responded, taking a step back to put a bit more distance between them.

Silence remained between them after that and Dick could see Damian glancing between the two of them out of the corner of his eyes, but he couldn’t look away from Jason’s gaze. And Jason didn’t seem to want to look away either.

“Was there something you needed, Jason?” Damian finally broke the silence.

Jason remained fixated on Dick for a moment before he blinked and the spell was broken. “Uh yeah, sorry. I was looking for Dad and you. It’s almost time for speeches.” Dick took a deep breath as Jason looked away from him to his brother, letting it out slowly as possible to try and center himself. He was so focused on the action that he didn’t feel someone come up behind him and place a hand between his shoulder blades, causing him to jump.

“Oh,” he sighed when he turned to find Jonsey there looking concerned. “Jonsey, I didn’t know it was you.” They gave a small smile, eyes flicking over to Jason and Damian before going back to Dick’s eyes and raising a brow. “Oh, um. Damian, Jason, this is my assistant Jonsey. Jason, you’ve probably already spoken to them when we accepted the invite.”

Jason held out a hand and shook Jonsey’s. “Yes, I do remember speaking with you. Thank you for coming.” Jonsey remained silent as they shook hands and then took Damian’s offered hand with a smile and a nod. “I do need to steal my brother away so we can get the speeches in order. I’m sure he’ll find you later Dick. Excuse us,” Jason offered a smile to both of them before leading Damian away, who offered Dick a smile over his shoulder as he followed his brother.

“Are you okay?”

“I need a drink.”

“You sure?”

“Fuck no, but I have rounds I need to make, and I am not going to survive them without a drink.” Dick heard Jonsey sigh before a hand was on his elbow, leading him toward the bar. He gave one last glance in the direction that Jason and Damian had gone in before forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. The job he was being paid to perform.

The air was crisp when Dick stepped out onto an empty balcony a few hallways away from the main part of the gala. It wasn’t like him to have the need to step away from a social event, but even he had his emotional limits. And being in the same room as Jason Todd had definitely helped him reach them. That smile, the way his eyes crinkled around the corners, the expanse of his shoulders and the way the tux he wore did nothing but accentuate all the parts of him that Dick had found mouth wateringly tempting, it had pushed him to the point where he needed to find a spot to breathe. One where he would likely not be bothered. Because he needed to gather his senses about him again and get his head back on straight.

Holding conversations about charities and conservation efforts that Google was involved in and how they planned to move forward with those efforts needed focus. He didn’t have that focus right then. He only had eyes for turquoise eyes and thick thighs.

“Fuck,” a breathy voice said from behind him. Dick’s eyes closed and he let his chin fall to his chest for a moment before he turned, knowing that voice anywhere. “I didn’t think anyone would venture this far into the manor.”

Glancing to the room behind Jason, who stood in the doorway of the balcony, he wondered what the odds were that he had managed to pick a spot Jason regularly escaped to. “I was hoping the same thing,” he admitted, looking back toward Jason. The other man pulled his brows together and took a step onto the balcony, door falling shut behind him with a soft snick of the latch.

“Never thought I would see the day where Dick Grayson couldn’t handle a social engagement.”

Dick chuckled. “Even I have my limits.”

Jason only hummed as he walked over to the opposite side of the railing, leaning his arms on the concrete structure, looking out over the gardens below. Dick’s eyes immediately fell to the man’s ass, more out of habit than anything. But for a brief moment he could practically feel the curve of it under his hand, nails digging into firm flesh. His heart did something strange in his chest before he forced himself out of that vision and back to the present. He found Jason still looking away from him and released a breath for not being caught ogling the man.

“This event is really grand,” Dick spoke up, wanting to break the quiet that felt like it could strangle him if he let it remain. “You seem to have quite the knack for the work. Bruce must be proud. I know Damian is.”

Without turning his head, Jason glanced at Dick out of the corner of his eye and Dick held his breath in anticipation. Three years, it had been three years since they had held a conversation that hadn’t been them yelling at each other or a hello in passing. He didn’t know how to talk to the man he had once been able to tell anything to. He didn’t know if this man was the same as the past version of him. He certainly wasn’t the same as he had been back then. But there was so much he wanted to say. To the point that his chest ached with the words that wanted to escape.

He couldn’t say them though.

They had fallen apart for a reason and Dick knew they were good reasons. And they were things that hadn’t changed. His career was still in California and Jason’s was still in New Jersey. There was no denying that they were both incredibly good at what they did. It would be too big of an ask for one of them to leave their whole life behind just so they could find what once was.

“Dick,” Jason’s voice was quiet and Dick had no choice but to look his way. A moth to the flame, his eyes found Jason’s as the other man straightened and turned to face him fully. “I don’t know what to say to you anymore.”

Dick’s lips parted as Jason spoke the words that were his own truth as well. He swallowed hard, begging his mind and his heart to settle on something to say in return. “I miss you,” was what finally tumbled out of his mouth, and not at all what he had expected. But the look that flashed through Jason’s eyes told him it was the right thing to say. Longing. Unbridled longing. The physical manifestation of what Dick felt in his core.

“But nothing has changed,” Jason whispered, coming closer. It wasn’t an accusation because it was true. For both of them. “The problem still remains. And I’m not,” he trailed off, stopping a few paces away and looking toward the doors that would take them back inside. “I’m not that Jason anymore.”

“I don’t want to be a stranger anymore,” Dick admitted. He thought about what he had said to Damian earlier and sighed. “You were everything to me and then suddenly you were nothing.” He had walked around for months feeling as though his chest had been torn open and his heart carved away. “But you’re right. Your life is here and mine is in California. That was the roadblock then and it’s still there now.” Jason’s face was pained and Dick wanted to reach for him, but he held firm. If he gave in and touched Jason, his heart wouldn’t survive. Not again.

But that left them right in the place they have been for the past three years.

“Ah, Master Jason,” a familiar, elderly voice called from inside the manor and Dick blinked, looking out into the night to avoid looking at Alfred. He took a few deep breaths to get himself back under control. He felt raw, torn open again. “Oh, I was not aware you had company. Your father and brother are looking for you and I knew you had likely come here for a moment.”

“Sorry, Alf,” Jason offered. “I just needed a moment. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one.” Dick turned to look at Jason and Alfred, who were standing by the balcony doors looking him.

“Too warm, too loud, and one too many drinks,” Dick laughed, slipping easily into the social mask he often wore at these events. “I should probably get back inside as well. Jonsey tends to fuss.” And thank god they did because it had saved Dick from some pretty shifty situations since they had been hired as his assistant.

“Dick,” Jason started when Dick began heading back into the manor, but Dick shook his head.

“I really do need to get back in, but,” he paused and glanced at Alfred, who was watching him closely with a blank expression, before looking back to Jason. “I’m glad we could talk.” He gave the taller man a small, private smile before pushing inside and headed back into the bustle of the party.

He made it about two steps into the crowd when Jonsey appeared, eyes wide and concerned. Maybe his mask wasn’t as firmly in place as he thought. “Are you okay?” He glanced over the top of their head to the faces milling about the room, his breaths quickening slightly. “Dick.”

“I need to leave.”

“Richard?” His eyes fell shut at the sound of Damian’s voice behind him. He did not want Damian to see his cracks. “Are you well? You look a little pale.” The man appeared in front of him and Dick looked at Jonsey before looking back to Jason’s brother.

“I’m feeling a little poorly. I was just telling Jonsey we should probably head back to our hotel.” Damian’s brows furrowed and he watched Dick with those observant eyes, unsettling him even more. “Our flight leaves tomorrow evening, can we have lunch?”

“I will call you in the morning.” Dick just nodded and gave a tight smile. He didn’t say anything more as he allowed Jonsey to take his elbow and lead him toward the exit. He managed to hold himself together long enough to get into the waiting car before the cracks gave way and he was left with an exposed heart and shallow breaths.

~**~

Lifting his finger to his earbud as he crossed the street in San Francisco, Jason accepted the call that was coming through distractedly. “This is Todd,” he said, waving thanks to a driver who stopped just short of hitting him as he rushed across the busy street. It was a fucking nightmare in this city. He had never seen pedestrians think they owned the road and drivers not care for a moment that they might hit someone. It was pure madness and Jason missed the regulation of the streets of Gotham.

“Jason,” a smooth voice sounded, and it was like a balm had covered his anxiety.

“Dickie.” He stopped in the middle of the crowded sidewalk and took a deep breath, allowing the small comfort Dick’s voice brought. Then he swore when someone shouldered past him and told him to get off the sidewalk if he was going to stand there like a ‘fucking idiot’.

Dick laughed, obviously hearing the comment. “Where are you? Gotham streets sounding more like San Francisco today.”

Jason frowned as he moved to stand next to the building he had stopped by.

“I’m not in Gotham.” He didn’t want to tell Dick he was actually in San Francisco since he hadn’t figured out a good reason why he would be there just yet.

“Oh.”

There was something off about the way Dick said that and alarm bells started going off in his mind. The disappointment was heavy in that single word and Jason leaned back against the building, eyes closing as realization hit. “But you are, aren’t you?”

“I’m checking out the new building for Google. They sent me last minute on a redeye. I got in at like 8am.” Jason tried not to laugh. Given his own flight was a redeye, they likely would have landed around the same time on opposite sides of the country. How fucking perfect.

“I flew out last night too. A meeting that popped up last minute. I’m sorry, Dickie,” Jason sighed. “You should call Damian though. He’s got meetings most of today, but he’ll want to see you.” Quickly pulling up Damian’s contact on his phone, he shot off a message to his brother and told him Dick was in town and knew that Jason wasn’t but didn’t know where so not to tell him. Damian was the only person who had known the purpose of this trip and while he trusted his brother to keep it a secret from the company, he knew his brother loved Dick too much to not have a loose tongue.

I just received a text from him. I will meet him for dinner with Jon, but will refrain from saying what your trip was about. I will tell Jon to do the same.

Jason sent off a thanks before closing out of that thread.

“I sent him a text. When do you come back?”

“I have another redeye tonight.”

Dick sighed. “Same.”

Jason scrambled for something to say to perk Dick back up, but he was coming up short. Then he thought of something, a small something. “Has Jonsey told you about the Spring Gala yet?” Jason had sent the invite specifically to Jonsey over Google in general just so Dick would be the one to come.

“No?”

“WE’s spring fundraiser is in March,” he explained, pushing off the wall and continuing back in the direction of his interview in an hour. “I sent the invite right to Jonsey instead of the PR department. They should have received it this morning, but I suppose it’s still fairly early.”

“Or they’re hiding it from me. They can be a bit…protective.” Jason frowned. They wanted to protect Dick from him? What? “They’re the only one outside of Tim and Donna who know everything. I told them a few weeks after they started working with me. A few too many martinis at a work thing and a guy who got a little too handsy.” Jason almost stopped walking in the middle of the street he was crossing at that revelation. But he picked up his pace and kept walking, letting his mind race through those facts.

“Dick?” He questioned without actually questioning. Dick was silent on the other end and Jason glanced at his phone to make sure they were still connected. They were. “You don’t have to tell me what happened,” he offered instead. But he desperately wanted to know because when it came to Dick Grayson, his imagination always ran wild.

“Nothing happened, Jay.” Dick’s voice was quiet, like wherever he was wasn’t someplace to talk about this. “I’ll tell you about it someday. Just not today.”

Jason didn’t say anything as he reached the building where his interview was taking place. He took in the tall building and frowned. It looked like WE’s building but being in this city felt wrong. It wasn’t home. He didn’t want to be here. But he knew that if he wanted to work this out with Dick, then he needed to try. He hadn’t before and that had been the problem. He had been the problem. He wouldn’t be the problem this time.

“Did I lose you?”

“Huh?” Jason snapped back to the conversation. “Oh no, sorry Dick. I just got to my meeting, so I need go,” he explained. “I’m bummed I missed your visit to Gotham. But we’ll figure out a different time to see each other, okay?”

Dick hummed. “Yeah, okay. Good luck with your meeting.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Have a good dinner with Damian, okay?” Then Jason remembered that Dick never actually said Damian had responded and he had just revealed that Damian and him had discussed it already.

“Wait, how did you know we’re doing dinner?”

“Uh, gotta go!”

“Jason Todd!”

“Bye, Dickie.”

~**~

Dick had just settled down at the table of the small café in Gotham when his phone rang. He didn’t bother to check the caller id since he was expecting a call from a potential job interview. Instead, he simply accepted the call and said, “This is Dick Grayson.”

“Thank god for that since that’s exactly who I was attempting to call,” an amused voice answered, and Dick’s chest filled with a familiar warmth. How perfect it was that Jason would call him when he had no idea that Dick could literally see WE’s building from where he was sitting, getting lunch.

“Jason,” Dick greeted, a smile spreading easily across his lips. “Shouldn’t you be working right now?”

Jason’s chuckle sounded and Dick settled into the feeling that the sound always filled him with. How easy it had been to fall back into this friendship after those few awkward phone calls. “That’s actually why I’m calling. I was wondering when you get a break for lunch? I’m in Mountain View for a meeting.” Dick straightened in his chair and blinked. It took a moment for him to process this.

“You’re in California?”

“I am.” There was a pause before Jason sighed. “You’re not.”

“Fuck Jay,” Dick leaned an elbow on the table, resting his forehead in his hand. “I would have rescheduled this trip if I had known.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” he grumbled over the line and Dick couldn’t help but smile.

He silently signaled to the server who had come over to take his order to give him a few more minutes before he focused back on the phone call. “I still love the thought,” he told Jason. “I would have dropped anything I was doing to have lunch with you.”

“If you were here.”

Dick sighed. “Yeah, if I were there.” He thought about how just weeks earlier this exact situation had happened when Dick had called Jason for lunch while being in Gotham for a different interview and to check on the new Google offices. How could this have happened twice? He didn’t want to consider this a bad omen for what they were trying to navigate here, but it felt like it could be. It felt like they would always be in this terrible dance, never able to actually come together in the middle. “I miss you,” he admitted softly, giving himself a moment to let the waves of sadness crash over him.

“Me too, Dickie,” Jason’s voice was quiet, filled with the same sadness that Dick’s carried. “We’ll figure it out, okay?”

“Will we?”

“Yes,” Jason insisted. “I have to believe that. I need to believe that. Don’t you?”

Dick nodded. “Yeah, yeah me too.” Looking down at the table top, Dick shook his head. “Well, at least the Spring Gala is in two weeks. We’ll definitely see each other then.” He tried to sound enthusiastic, but he just felt defeated, and he was sure it bled through.

“And you’ll stay for a few days?”

“I will. Do I need a hotel?”

“No, I want you in my bed. I’m milking those days for all they’re worth. Every second I can spend with you.”

Because who knew when they would get another chance? That thought slammed into Dick like a ton of bricks and immediately he knew what he needed to do. He knew what choice to make.

“Hey Jay, I need to go. But call me later?”

“Yeah, okay. Love you.” Dick’s heart strained. They had started saying it again a week ago and it still startled him each time.

“Love you, too,” he said quietly before hanging up the phone. Glancing up at the server who peeked their head back out to check on him, he smiled. After placing his order, he dialed his boss’ number and leaned back in his chair. “Dave, we need to talk.”

~**~

Dick stepped off the elevator that took him to Jason’s penthouse, adjusting the garment bag that hung over his arm as he pulled his suitcase along behind him. He hadn’t told Jason what time he was landing because he had wanted the chance to get himself into the right state of mind for what he was about to reveal to his boyfriend. He had been a nervous wreck the entire flight from California and Jonsey had told him to calm down more than once, but it had been pointless.

This was a big deal and he was nervous.

Knocking on the door that was just a few paces away from the elevator, Dick waited for Jason to answer. He allowed himself two more deep breaths before he smiled as the door swung open to reveal a tousled Jason.

The man stood there, wide eyed and mouth open. His hair and the creases marring his cheeks told Dick all he needed to know about what Jason had been doing just before he knocked.

“Dick,” Jason breathed, reaching forward and pulling him into his home. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming today? I would have…” Dick stopped him by pressing their mouths together, cutting off the speech he had known would come. Releasing the handle of his suitcase, Dick let his garment bag hang over the bag without bothering to remove his lips from Jason’s. Jason just hummed into the kiss and pulled Dick against his sleep warm body. And Dick just wrapped his now free arms around Jason’s waist, relishing in being this close to the other man after months of separation and missing each other. “I have to be still dreaming,” Jason muttered against his mouth as Dick slowed the kiss.

“Not a dream,” Dick told him.

“Lie.” Pulling back, Dick looked at Jason with raised brows. “You’re always my dream.” Dick couldn’t have contained his smile even if he had wanted to. “A dream come true.” Jason leaned forward and pressed their mouths together again. And though Dick had come here with intention of telling Jason what was happening, he let himself have this moment for a little longer.

Eventually they slowed down and Dick was able to keep a little space between them as Jason offered to make some coffee and Dick groaned in appreciation, having missed out on sleep thanks to nerves. Thankfully, he didn’t have plans for the day and could just crash. Hopefully in Jason’s bed with Jason, but he would settle just for the bed if he had to.

“Are you hungry? I could make breakfast,” Jason offered as he typed into his phone. There was a ping just moments later that he replied to. Dick raised a brow when he finally looked up. Jason smiled. “I just told Damian I’ll be working from home today. He’s not happy to have to have my team handle everything but they’re more than capable of getting the last minute things into place.”

“Breakfast would be great.” Dick could remember the amazing food Jason always managed to whip up when they were in a place with a kitchen. And Jason had always seemed to like cooking over ordering in.

Jason gave a nod before he pulled out ingredients for what looked like blueberry pancakes. Dick approved.

“So, why didn’t you tell me you were coming in today?”

Dick took another sip of his coffee and allowed himself a moment before he spoke. He had no reason to be nervous, but he was. “I have something to talk to you about.”

Jason glanced over his shoulder, frowning at Dick. “Should I be around the stove while you say this?”

“Uhhh,” Dick looked at the pan and then back to Jason. “I just think we need to talk about the distance.” Jason froze for a moment before reaching over and turning off the stove top. “I guess that answers that.”

“No,” Jason shook his head. “I want to give you my full attention for this. Because I have something to say about that too. But you brought it up, so you go first.”

Dick blinked. “Okay,” he said slowly. He gave it another moment of watching Jason curiously before he steeled himself. “The past three months I have been making inquiries and have had a few interviews at various companies here in Gotham. I’m tired of being apart and I know I had said that it wasn’t fair that it be put on me to move, but I don’t care anymore.” He took a deep breath and looked at Jason, who was looking at him with wide eyes again. “I just want to be with you. I don’t care if that means I have to uproot.”

Jason didn’t move as he finished, still looking too stunned to form words and Dick smiled at that.

“What about Tim?” Jason asked finally.

Oh. Dick hadn’t realized he had never ended up telling Jason about his brother. “He and Connor moved to Metropolis a little over a month ago. When he heard what I was trying to do, he told Connor he wanted to go since Connor had been asking for years.”

“So you got a job here? In Gotham? What about Google?”

“I told Dave I planned to accept one of the job offers I had gotten and he told me not to. He didn’t want to lose me, so he talked to his boss about moving me from Mountain View to the new offices in Gotham.” Dick smiled. “There weren’t supposed to be PR personnel here, but even the CEO didn’t want me to go so they made an exception. I’ll still have to travel and have to go back to California for a few days each months but-” Dick was cut off when Jason quickly moved forward and pressed their mouths together with a laugh.

Dick let him kiss him for a moment before pulling back just enough to ask, “What is so funny?”

Jason smiled brightly and cupped Dick’s face with his hands. “I have two offers for jobs in the Bay Area that I was going to tell you about.”

It was Dick’s turn to be stunned.

“But…” He didn’t even know what he wanted to say.

“You were right, back then. I wasn’t willing to compromise, and it nearly ruined us forever. I didn’t want that to happen again. I didn’t want history to repeat itself just because I was unwilling to do everything it took to keep you,” Jason told him. “I didn’t want you to think it always had to be you coming to meet me. That I didn’t love you enough to go to you.”

Tears filled Dick’s eyes on their own accord, and he surged forward, wrapping his arms around Jason’s shoulders tightly. “I fucking love you, you know that? I would give up everything to be with you. None of it matters,” he whispered. “Even if Tim hadn’t moved, I would have come.” Jason’s arms were a vice around his ribs and Dick buried his face in his neck. “Don’t leave Gotham. I already packed my office up to move out here.”

Jason laughed into Dick’s hair, and everything felt like it clicked into place in that moment.

“I’ll stay in Gotham as long as you’re sure about moving here.”

“I’m sure.”

[ngc-5194]

Hi, lovebird!!! Hope you're doing well 🥰🥰🥰 For the headcanon asks, 👗 for the batfam, please? Don't know dc super well but curios to know what you think!

happi!!! hey!! how are you? :DD hope you're doing well <3333 and oo! good question! there's a lot of them though, so i hope you'll excuse me for how long this is

👗 A headcanon about their clothes

Alfred - it's quite easy to believe that he simply lives in his butler clothes, varying how many layers of it depending on the situation and/or temperature, and this would mostly be correct. however, he also owns one of those old-timey nightgowns with a matching cap and candle <3

Bruce - suits or slightly simplified dress clothes, mostly, if he's not in one of those phases where he lives in his batman suit. he wears t-shirts occasionally if he is, perhaps, working out or taking a day off. this man has never worn a pair of sweatpants in his life.

Dick - ok he's running a little bit behind year (and in some cases, decade) wise, but he is perhaps the prime example of an actually fashionable person in this family. in spite of, or pehaps because of this, depending on your point of view, he also has matching outfits with at least one of the dogs in his life.

Cass - she has no real concept of 'fashionable', mostly dressing for comfort and practicality, meaning lots of muted, darker colours, but it's cass. she could pull off just about everything. she is the second example people point to when asked if any of the waynes have a fashion sense.

Jason - this man can not settle on a style for his life (or lack thereof). up to 11-12 years old he dressed in, well, whatever he could find, and for practicality and protection against the elements. from 12-15 you could find him in just about the nerdiest outfits known to man; like, he wears his school uniform for fun kind of nerd. post his whole dying and coming back to life escapade (including, in this case, his time in the hospital and then on the streets again, because, well, hospital issue 'clothes' and then whatever he could find again.) (also ignoring his year with the league, because then he's wearing whatever talia puts him in, so a wide range of possibilities there.) he has many reasons for not knowing what's going on fashion-wise in the world, so he settles for his leather-biker look. this is not, however, his look all the time. he bounces between just about every style you can think of until inevitably he winds up cobbling them all together. also a fan of matching outfits with other people as a way to show affection. as far as he's willing to let the family know, however, he lives his life in his leather jacket.

Steph - steph absolutely had a scene kid phase and it hasn't fully left her yet. she's leaned in heavily to the purple theme more recently and she's not planning on giving it up any time soon; not only does she look incredible in purple, it also makes laundry easier. she is the only reason tim has any semblance of nice-looking outfits and absolutely knows it.

Tim - if not for steph dragging him to thrift shops this man would live entirely in his hero costume and/or old t-shirts and sweatpants. he used to dress disgustingly preppy but then messed up his previously perfectly kept sleep schedule so horrendously that it's no longer worth the effort or energy to him. the one and only time he couldn't get steph to help him beforehand he went on a date with bernard in a full three-piece suit. to the swim park.

Duke - wears more bright colours than the rest of the family (minus maybe dick) combined. also mostly dresses for comfort and convenience but refuses to lose looking sick as hell for these perks. the kind of guy to plan out outfits the night before even if he isn't planning on leaving the house. flips wildly between not wearing yellow and all and wearing more yellow than previously thought possible. utterly refuses to fall into the bat-tradition of wearing tons of black because boring.

Damian - if he's not in his school uniform or formal wear of any kind, he can be found in deceptively regular-looking clothing. except, of course, that his t-shirt was not 20 dollars, rather, it was, at absolute minimum, somewhere around the 80 dollar mark. this trend follows his entire casual wardrobe except for what he wears when doing charcoal. many would think that he could simply wear the apron he wears when painting, and he does also wear his apron, it's simply that charcoal is a cursed, evil, hateful being that takes great joy in getting absolutely everywhere.