aragarna

[maximusboltaqon]

YES i know funko pops are cringe or whatever but this is like the only thing of maximus out there and i am Looking At Him,,,,

[simple-skarsgard]

Untouched

Pairing: Virgin!Bill x Sexy!Reader

Prompt: Bill loses his virginity to you obviously lol

A/n: Obviously Bills experienced lmao. So if you wanna imagine this takes place in highschool or college or whatever, you go ahead lmao. But theres no set time for this one shot. I hope you all enjoy cause I think I’ma like this one a lot lmao.

"I'm a virgin."

The words came out of his mouth and hung heavily in the air- expanding and taking up all the space in the room until it filled with nothing but silence. He swore the whole world had stopped moving then and there. For a whole minute he felt his heart freeze and fear began swelling inside him the way the words had in the room.

You were straddling his lap as he was propped up on his elbows with his shirt unbuttoned to show his chiseled body, lazily hanging on his shoulders. Your hands had stopped at his pants and had them unzipped to show his very prominent bulge.

The heat was rising to his cheeks the longer the silence hung between you. He felt as if you were getting further and further away with every passing moment. Fear setting in that he may have ruined everything you had.

"Oh.." was all you said. Just.. 'Oh'...

"I-I'm sorry," Bill sat up and began to button up shirt, eyes forced to look to the ground feeling embarrassed. It never occurred to him that it might've been a problem. He zipped up his pants, shame flushing his cheeks at how tight they were. 

"I should go," were the next words that came from his lips and just as his hands were on your hips to help you off him, your hands cupped his face and turned his sad eyes to meet yours.

"Why do you have to go?" You asked, an obvious disappointment in his decision to leave. Truth was you didn't want him to leave. You wanted him to stay with you and you wanted to make him feel comfortable.

"I just..," his face was tilted to your direction, but his eyes stayed looking to the ground. It was almost like he felt guilty for being .. that thing.

"There's nothing wrong with you being a virgin, Bill."

He inwardly cringes at the word as if it pricked his chest. He hated having to hear it now, it was uncomfortable having to admit it.

You cup his cheek and run your thumb over his cheek bone,"Bill.. Look at me.."

He shuts his eyes tight as if mustering the courage to face the ugly truth before he sighs, visibly letting go of his stress. The tension in his face and body draining as he opens his lids to stare at you with glossy green orbs.

You smile a little and kiss his temple before withdrawing and meeting his eyes again.

"I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do. I know how intimidating this experience can be and I want to make sure that you want to do this. I'm not pressuring you."

"It's not that I feel like you're pressuring me.. I just..."

"You just...?"

"I want to be able to please you!" He admits aloud. His fear of not being good enough surfacing and making itself seen in plain sight. Although he still had clothes on it felt as if that sentence alone had stripped down to his bare skin. Vulnerable and naked.

You’re silent for another moment, not sure how to respond, because how in his right mind would he ever believe he wouldn’t know how to make you feel good? He could have you like putty in his hands and he was totally unaware of it. The number of times you had to touch yourself after a heavy make out session and he would leave. The times you were a shriveled mess in the very sheets he was sitting on in that moment, moaning his name as a blissful orgasm washed over you.. He knew none of that?

While you’re stuck in your thoughts trying to process all this information, Bill is staring at you. Eyes searching you over and raking over your body- still straddling his hips- and just drinking in every curve and edge of your being. He’d fantasized about being able to touch you in this way for the couple of months you’d been together, but now that it came down to it, he couldn’t have been more paralyzed. 

What was he so afraid of?

Zoning back in you look at him and see him staring at your chest, only slightly exposed beneath the v-neck you’d been wearing. He seemed distraught and far too into his head, like he wandered down a path that he couldn’t find his way back from. 

You take one of his hands, the sudden movement slamming him back into awareness so hard he jolts like he’s been caught in a crime. You lead his hand to your breast over the fabric of your shirt and notice the shock widen his eyes like he couldn’t believe what was happening. Almost like allowing a crook to get away with his crime. 

Which wasn’t accurate to say the least. This was no crime. There was nothing wrong in the situation other than how stuck he seemed to be. 

“You don’t know how many times I’ve daydreamed about having you touch me Billy,” you take his other hand and guide it so it slips under the hem of your shirt and travels upward, making sure his fingertips drag along your skin ever so softly. 

Bill’s only response is to blink as he feels his right hand resting over your boob and you drag his left until it brushed over the lace of  your bra. You slip his fingers into the cup of your bra so he feels your breast in his hand, making his mouth go slack a bit.

A part of you wants to giggle, because he is like a school boy drooling over you, but you’re more turned on with the fact that he hasn’t stopped you from guiding him. He was open to being shown how to make you feel good and if that didn’t tell you he was going to be amazing already, then what else would.

“I’ve had so many dreams of you fucking me into my bed and just feel you inside my pussy, Bill.”

You make his thumb brush over your hardened nipple, not failing to catch the release of little breath he’d been holding. Seeing how things are well so far, you decide you’ll take a bigger step and strip off your own shirt, hands reaching behind you to unclasp your bra and drop the articles of clothing to the floor.

Bill’s eyes graze over your now bare upper torso and his hands lazily rest along your waist, but the longer he takes in your appearance, the more you feel the anxiousness in his fingertips as he presses down on your skin. He drags his hands up your body, no longer needing much of a guide. A tiny moan passes through his parted lips and he feels tension growing in his cock.

He tilts his head as if trying to capture your view from every and any angle, fascinated with your appearance. Specifically, because it was you he was staring at. Every little mole, freckle, stretch mark and fold of skin was hypnotizing.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says more to himself than you as he leans in and begins to kiss your chest, up to your neck, not sure if you’d be upset if he were to leave a mark behind or not.

You bring your hands up to tangle in his hair and guide his kisses, sensing he’s still a bit hesitant  on where he’s allowed to kiss. You even tilt your chest up slightly and bring his head down so he kisses just above your nipple. He can feel his heart rate climbing and neediness along with it as his lips part to start leaving open mouthed kisses on your soft skin, letting his tongue graze you slightly.

Upon feeling your fingers tighten in his hair and a small whimper emerging from your throat, he takes it as sign you like what he’s doing and lets his lips close around your nipple to suck on the tender bud while his right hand resting on your hip moves to grip your neglected breast.

He feels the breath hitch in your throat and the way you push his face further into your breast, not being able to restrain your greediness of the attention you’d been craving for so long up to this point.

“You have no idea how many nights I’ve laid here touching myself, wishing it was your hands on me,” your eyes shut and leaning your head back as your body’s instincts take over and you begin to rock your hips against his growing bulge, knowing he too needs attention.

His hot breathes grows heavier against your skin and his moaning grows more audible as he feels the friction against his almost painfully sensitive cock. He takes his chance to switch tasks with your breast- sucking on the other and running his thumb over the other before pinching it to roll it between his fingertips.

You could feel your wetness growing between your hips the longer his touch lingers on your body, losing yourself in the pleasure. Bill sensing he’s on the right track, turns to flip you over, leaving him hovering over you and your legs wrapped around his waist as he begins to kiss you again. His tongue slipping into your mouth and brushing against yours to run slickly against the muscle.

Before you can process how much more turned on he’s left you, his fingertips slip passed the band of your shorts and panties and runs between your folds.

“So wet,” he moans gently as his kisses stray from your lips to your neck as his middle and ring finger slip into you.

Your walls close around his fingers as he begins to move them in and out of your pussy. He hears the swishing of your pussy with every pump and he’s unsure of why that turns him on further, but he’d guess it’s because it’s an obvious sign you’re feeling into him as much as he is into you.. Just a guess though.

As his fingers are working inside you, he leans further back just enough to catch your form beneath him. Your eyes are closed and head leaning back with your back slightly arching off the bed. You looked as if you were drowning in ecstasy and trying to come up for air in his eyes.  

“Wait,” you grab his hand and reluctantly make him stop his movements.

Panic sets off, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,”

“So then what is it?”

You move his hand away before you nudge him off and turn him back so he lays flat on the bed with you straddling his lap.

“It’s that this is about you.”

He furrows his eyebrows,”Babe no I want to-”

You press your hand over his mouth and muffle the words before he can get them out. “Want to make me feel good- yeah I know, but you’re going to have many opportunities to do that, but this is your first time and it’s important to me that you get the attention.”

He ponders a moment, upset that he won’t get his wish fulfilled of being the one to please you, but also understanding where you were coming from. And it wasn’t like you were wrong. This would undoubtedly be the first of many times you and him have sex, and every chance after so would be another step closer to learning your body as he wished. So he complied by nodding in agreement.

The elegant smile Bill loved seeing on your lips spread wider into the goofiest grin before you removed your hand and crashed your lips onto his again. He blinks before reciprocating the kiss and hands instinctively groping your ass as you rock your hips against him. 

Your tongues intertwining and your hands pulling at his hair, making his moans pass into the cavern of your mouth as it continued its movements against his. Your hands began to greedily claw at his clothing and shred them off his smooth skin until you’d stripped him down bare. If he didn’t feel naked before, he sure as hell did now, but you refused to let him get snagged in the web of self consciousness as you still ground your clothed crotch against his naked member.

His hands rested on your hips as he delved into the friction you were giving him so freely and generously. His head tossed back into the bed sheets and his Adam’s Apple bobbing down with the little noises he wasn’t even trying to restrain coming from his throat. His neck being so exposed was only calling you to attack it with desperate open mouthed kisses, hardly being aware of the little control you had was slipping from your grip. All you wanted to do was ride him until he was cumming into your tight little cunt.

“Oh god,” he rasps as his fingers unconsciously dig further into your hips, the sensations in his balls and dick growing to a pleasure he’d never imagined feeling so much better than when he would touch himself.

"Does it feel good, baby?" You cooed letting your lips gently graze the skin of his neck before biting down with enough pressure to make him moan.

He merely nodded with his eyes screwed shut, an expression of desperation with eyebrows turned upward in vulnerability. His tongue flicking out to lick his dry lips as if tasting the bliss that you made him feel.

"You look so pretty," you comment mesmerized by his beauty. Your hand unconsciously slid up his bare torso and gripped his throat. His eyes blinked open in surprise but he made no indication for you to stop. He even reached his hand to guide the placement so your fingers rested along his cheek, fingertips bridging over his jawline and palm on his throat.

"Kiss me," he said breathlessly. "Please."

You did as he asked, your hand still placed where he left it and squeezing just barely feeling his pulse against his jugular. The longer this went the more you realized you desperately needed Bill inside you.

"Are you ready?" You mumble between your desperate kisses.

"Yes."

You withdraw enough and don't break his eye contact as you stripped. His eyes wandered down your body in a new perspective. Imagining you naked was nowhere near as good as it was seeing you. All of a sudden his mouth went dry and his chest grew tight, he was growing anxious. And you seemed to notice because your lustful eyes furrowed with worry.

"Don't be scared, Billy." You reassured him and ran your hands all over his chest."Just relax. It'll feel good, I promise."

He let out a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding and nodded. It never ceased to amaze him just how well you'd learned him in the short time you'd been together. It was impressive, especially since most would never be as caring as you. You always did your best to make sure he was comfortable in any situation and he with you.

"I don't doubt it, babygirl," he leaned up to cup your face and kiss you again just as you lower yourself on his shaft. The pressure in your core making your walls clench around him and his groan unable to be suppressed.

"Fuck."

Your hands reach to cup his face and you kiss him passionately before he can fully process your wet, tight pussy around his cock. You rock your hips and hear the clapping of skin on skin. The sound of your wetness swishing as his dick pumps in you.

Every few moments your movements would falter just enough to catch your breath, especially Bill. The ability to breathe had gone increasingly low and he was grateful for the smallest pause to regain breathing as it seemed to only grow louder and impossible to quiet down. But you didn't seem to mind his now slicked-sweat body and heavy breathing. In fact, it seemed to be more of a turn on.

And he was right. You were infatuated with every noise he used as response to communicate the pleasure he was feeling. The little whines and slight shifting under you to watch his dick slip in wnd out of you. It was all such a beautiful connection that you were grateful to give to him. At least he would know that someone he loved and someone who loved him in return would be the one to experience this with him for his first time.

Then he felt himself twitching in you. He gasp and moans,"Im gonna cum." He blurts out, almost worried. He didn't want to finish before you. He didn't want to seem he couldn't last. "S-Slow down. I won't last."

"Cum for me baby," you encourage breathlessly.

He whimpers and shakes his head in refusal. "N-No."

"Please cum for me baby," you pick up your pace, feeling him twitch in your walls,"I want you to cum in my tight little pussy."

His eyes shut tighter as he visibly tries to hold on. So you gripped his hair and appreciatively accepted his whimper, crashing your lips on his and slip your tongue in his mouth. He moans into your kiss when suddenly he feels himself release into you. His eyes roll back and jaw drops open as you touch every inch of his skin and keep your movements steady to make sure he feels the total wave of his orgasm take him over.

His body tensed and his fingertips tucked into your skin. You felt him ease into the mattress until he relaxed completely beneath you. 

When his eyes fluttered open he sighed with disbelieve at how amazing he’d felt through the entire thing. A few tears in his eyes slipped down his cheeks from how powerful he had cum, but his shock wore down quickly. He frowned and looked at you.

“You didn’t cum,” he sounded disappointed.

“Bill I told you, I couldn’t care less about not finishing,” which you’d been honest with him. You didn’t care about finishing, but you were seeing how much he cared.

His frown stayed in its place, refusing to leave.

You folded your lips before thoughtfully chewing on the right corner of your lower lip before you came to a conclusion that would be a win for both of you.

“How about..,” you run your hands through his hair and scan his face, admiring his cheekbones and his swollen lips,”you go down on me.”

His face went red,”Wh-What?”

You chuckled before your expression softened, clearly aroused,”Eat my pussy, baby.”

Bill would have choked on his own spit then and there had you not gotten off him and splayed yourself out on the bed beside him, bending your knees and spreading your legs as you bit your finger and made bedroom eyes at him.

“Please?” you stirred slightly moving your hips against the sheets,”Eat my pussy, please Billy?”

He swallowed harshly before turning his body to lay on his stomach and situate himself so he was staring at your dripping core. A soft moan passed through his lips. “Oh, fuck..”

He reached to caress your folds delicately before inching closer, glancing up to meet your eyes over the valley of skin of your tummy and between the mount of your breasts. You looked beautiful.

He hesitated, this was new to him and he didn’t want to do anything wrong, but he trusted he’d watched enough porn to have an idea of what to do. So he shook himself free of his doubt and let his hands rub up your thighs, sliding up to grip your breasts. The sounds of your whimpers encouraging him further before he licked a long strip between your folds..

The jolt from your body wasn’t anticipated, but definitely reassuring. He moved around to slip your legs over his shoulder and wrapped his arms around your thighs to keep them in place as he repeated his first movement. The whining from above grew at your lack of being able to move as freely as you had moments ago.

He smirked a bit before he began to kiss your core, his tongue swirling and slicking between your folds and pressing flat against your clit. A low moan rang from your throat as your hips unwillingly rose to grind against his tongue.

“Bill,” you moaned and began to play with your breasts, pinching the sensitive nipples and rolling them between your fingertips. Bill could feel his confidence growing with every response you were eliciting. You were so responsive and he liked it. It was reassuring to know he was giving you the pleasure he so desperately wished he could.

“Rub my clit,” you suggest and he listens, pressing his index and middle finger to rub your clit in circles before switching into a figure eight motion.

“Oh god,” the words rumbling in your throat,”I’m gonna cum, Bill.”

He almost panicked, stopping for a moment before re-initiating his gestures just barely any faster, hoping that it’d bring your orgasm faster. And so it came, your juices spilled from you and along his tongue. Your hips lifting off the bed and thighs trembling in his hold.

Your head fell back into the sheets and jaw dropped as you let out a long sigh of satisfaction and your eyes screwing shut. Bill swore the next time he got you to do that face that he’d be coming with you. He would figure your body out and he would keep this image of you in his head, for it was the most beautiful expression he’d witnessed on you. 

When your hips fell back to the mattress and your legs went slack with exhaustion, Bill licked you clean and kissed his way up your body. His lips peppering your skin until he reached your chin and he looked down at you in admiration until you cupped his face and kissed him passionately, tasting yourself on his lips.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed into your kiss, feeling his own exhaustion catching onto him.

He collapsed at your side and allowed you to cradle him so his cheek was pressed to your bare chest. You twirled his slick hair in your fingers, watching his eyes fall close. He looked defeated in a chaotically beautiful way. Drained but at peace.

“I love you..” Bill says with his eyes closed before they slowly open and he searches your expression almost worried he’d crossed a line he shouldn’t have.

“And I love you, Bill.”

He smiles before letting himself drift to sleep in your embrace. 

A/n: I hope this was satisfying for you guys. Let me know your thoughts.. Also thank you for over 2.7K Followers <3 Go follow my other account : @simple-skarsgod 

Masterlist 

[imagine-lcorp]

Mustand Ride (Part VIII)

A/N: Hello beautiful beans, long time not post but here we are again! Also, i feel like theres too much going on with this story but we’re too far to stop now...So this story continues!! but if you like it and want me to reach the end of it, please leave your comments and tell me what you think!! <3 Kudos to y’all! 

Lena Luthor x Shapeshifter Reader//Word Count: 1,637

Series: Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV - Part V - Part VI -  Part VII - Part VIII

"(Y/N), wake up!"

Lena had no clue of what was happening until it was too late. She had seen the dart between your fingers and heard the cars approaching in the distance. Realization had come to her the moment you dropped unconscious on the floor and, for the first time in a long time, she felt helpless. You had told her to run and she wanted to do so but she wasn't going to let you there. She held you, touching your face and trying to wake you up, until she noticed some cars moving around you. They stopped in the middle of the street surrounding you and when the doors started to open she held you tighter as if to protect you.

A couple of men exited the black SUVs and Lena watched them carefully while trying to figure out a plan to escape. One of the drivers simply walked around the car to open the back passenger door, revealing a red dress and a snake tattoo she knew very well.

"Don't bother. The sedative will last for a couple of hours more." Roulette came out of the van as if she was heading towards any other social party, looking slightly annoyed at her heroics. "Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt you, lovebirds, on your romantic stroll?"

She stood right in front of you and tilted her head towards you. Her men moved quickly, grabbing Lena and trying to hold her in place as the others moved you away. But Lena wasn't going to let you go that easy. She gave the two men that went after her a difficult time, managing to land a few good punches. However, as much as she struggled against them, they finally succeeded at stopping her from doing anything else.

"Stop! What are you doing?" She screamed.

Roulette didn't seem to mind the little fight but she lighted up as her men held you by the arms and took you towards her. She reached out with a hand and pulled your hanging head up to take a good look at you, out of energy and any sign of consciousness. There were so many things already planned for you and Roulette couldn't have been more pleased to have you back. A little smile appeared on her face at the thought.

"Well, my grand reopening wouldn't be complete without one of the stars of the show, Lena. I would send you an invitation, unfortunately, since your friends spoiled the party last time, I think it's better if I don't. Take the little beastie." She let you head fall once again and the men quickly moved you inside one of the cars.

"No! Please, don't hurt-" Roulette gestured to one of the men to cover her mouth. After that, the only thing they heard from Lena was muffled screams.

"I'm afraid I must cut our conversation short, Miss Luthor, but the show must go on." She turned her back towards her and went back inside of the van. "Hope we don't see each other again."

The car door closed and with that Lena felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck. For a second, she wondered if this was what you had felt a few moments ago, a creeping fear and pain before the darkness engulfed you. She thought it had been indeed like that before she closed her eyes, letting the darkness swallow her too.

"Lena." She heard a voice calling her soon after. She frowned with her eyes still closed, her senses coming back to her slowly. She felt drowsy, a hint of pain still on her neck and she knew there was a headache coming soon.

"(Y/N)?" She asked with a hoarse voice.

As she opened her eyes she tried to adjust to the bright light above her, recognizing some of the premises of the place she was in. She was lying on a bed at the medical bay at the DEO and for a moment she was relieved knowing you were both safe. But then she saw Kara seated near her, in full Supergirl regalia, and Alex was there too, trying to hide her concern.

"Take it easy, okay?" She said placing a helping hand on Lena's back as she pulled herself up. "The sedatives they gave you were quite strong."

"How did you find us?" Lena asked.

"You..." Kara looked unsure about how to answer.

"Kara found you on her patrol." Alex intervened.

"Yeah, you were unconscious. I brought you as soon as I could. You're gonna be fine." Kara assured her.

However, Lena didn't feel quite fine. The pain around the back of her neck was still there and all this conversation seemed off. It was then that she remembered your walk around the city, on the block near Nonna Giulia's. The memory of you falling to the ground came next, the cars around you, the red dress, the serpent tattoo, and your dragging feet.

"Kara." She looked at her and then looked around trying to find you. When she didn't, fear slipped through her words the next time she spoke. "Where's (Y/N)?"

Kara and Alex looked briefly at each other. Neither of them said a word right away, it was as if they were deciding who would talk and which words to use. It didn't help Lena's anxiety. Kara had brought Lena as soon as she found her and then had gone to check up your apartment. Everything was left the same with no sign of you.

"We don't know." Alex finally admitted with a defeated sigh.

Lena's heart shrunk. The pain seemed to intensify ten times after that. It couldn't be possible. It shouldn't have been possible that you were gone. How could she have let them take you? She knew how to fight. She was a genius. She should have found a way to defend you-.

"Lena." Kara called her name once she saw Lena's expression change. It was clear she was blaming herself somehow and she couldn't let her do it. She took her hand, making Lena focus back on her.

"Can you remember anything of what happened to you?" Alex moved to face Lena.

Lena squeezed Kara's hand, as if that could possibly give her some strength. There was a lump in her throat but she made herself swallow it.

She blinked a few times, putting the coming tears and the anger at bay before answering. "Roulette."

"Did you see her?" Kara asked.

"She said she needed (Y/N)...for her grand reopening." Lena squeezed Kara's hand even tighter. If she hadn't had super strength, Kara was sure Lena could have had crusher her bones.

"I promise you, we're gonna find (Y/N)."

"We will." Alex agreed.  

The Danvers sisters had wanted to let Lena rest before attacking her with questions but she refused. She told them about your encounter with Roulette, giving Alex and Kara a lead to follow. Alex informed pretty much everyone at the DEO of your sudden disappearance and assured her they were going to use every source at hand to find you. She even sent a quick message to Maggie, hoping she could get any other lead to help them find Roulette.

Lena got out of the bed when their conversation was done, not even Kara could stop her from doing so. Rest wouldn't come easy to her until she had any news about you and, before letting the guilt, the worry, or the pain consume her, she was going to help with everything she could.

"J'onn, any news?" Alex asked once they reached the control room, where J'onn, Winn and a few other DEO agents were already searching for you.

A screen showed a map of National City and many others different views of security cameras of its streets. Thanks to Winn they were able to find footage of the exact moment of your abduction and they have tried to follow Roulette's tracks. Lena observer, however, there was a point were all visuals of her and his men were no longer visible.

He shook his head no. "Our agents are checking every feed they can find. We were able to recreate a part of Roulette's route while you still were with Miss Luthor but nothing else.

"Wait, don't you have trackers on your agents? Can't we locate (Y/N)'s tracker?" Lena wondered.

"No, we can't." Alex cursed under her breath as she remembered. "I had to pull the tracker out after the attack at the bank. It was broken. We we're supposed to replace it tomorrow morning."

Lena felt truly helpless after that declaration. The situation was getting more and more complicated and with your abduction it just turned nerve-wrecking. The DEO had a lot of work to do. Lillian and Henshaw were still on the loose, they had no idea of what had happened with the three shifters in the cells, and now Roulette had made a comeback only to take you away.

"So we're in the dark." Lena's voice trembled.

It hurt Kara to see her best friend like this, as if they had ripped a limb from Lena... and it may have been almost true. Since you had met each other, Kara hadn't seen a couple more in love than the two of you. You were Lena's heart and they had taken you from her. She took Lena's hand to offer her some comfort.

Kara recalled the time she had been involved in Roulette's fight club against her will. She knew how ruthless she was when it came to her business but only you had truly known what Roulette was capable of. But you were not alone in this and neither was Lena. She knew the team would exhaust every possibility to find you and bring you back. She only hoped it didn't take too long.

[fatrainbowmermaidunicorn]

I’m Park Jimin, I’m Human Too (Jimin x You ONESHOT)

A/N: I have written something similar along the lines of fans hating the girl, if you are familiar with my other story, As Long As You Love Me (Park Jimin) :)

And Im sorry if I made this story weird. hope you like it!I

MASTERLIST

And yeah, happy birthday Park Mochi!

"Hey C-Chim..."

"Yeah baby? Whats wrong?" Jimin looks up from his phone and straighten himself up from the couch, lovingly looking at the love of his life. There are no words to describe how in love Jimin is with her. She is everything Jimin could ever want, could ever wish for. She is perfect for him in every way.

"Uh.. do you remember a few weeks back.. when you just got back from tour..." Y/N asked nervously.

"Yeah?"

"A-And what we did the moment we get back from the airport?"

"Absolutely," Jimin winks. "I think that is one of the best yet baby. But what about it? You want a repeat of that?" He smirks.

"Uh..." Y/N blushes. "Remember how we cant control it anymore and we still continue even though we ran out of condoms?"

"O...kay?" Jimin finally get a feeling of where this conversation is going.

"Jimin... I'm uh," she finally showed him the stick that shes been hiding behind her back. "I'm pregnant,"

Jimin took the pregnancy test with shaky hands. True enough, two blue lines, indicating that its positive, that his girl is carrying his baby right now. That theres a mini Jimin in the making.

"A-And before you ask, thats like the 15th test I took... and its all positive. Jimin, I'm sorry!" Y/N's voice shakes, tears are already pooling at the corner of her eyes at his quiet respond. She knew he is not going to take this news easy. There is no way Jimin is gling to be happy about it. An idol with a pregnant girlfriend? Their relationship is not even public! Jimin looks up from the pregnancy test that he is holding and looks at her, confused with her reaction. Upon realizing that Y/N is crying, he quickly steps forward and reached out for her hands.

"Baby? Why are you crying? What are you saying sorry for?" Jimin is freaking out. Whats wrong? Is she hurt? Is the baby already hurting her?

"I'm-I'm pregnant Chim! I have ruined your life!" She wailed out. "How can you ask me whats wrong? Everything is wrong!"

"What?!" Jimin burst into laughter. Y/N immediately stops crying, looking at her boyfriend who is laughing so hard his eyes turnes to slits, with big wide confused eyes. "Baby, why would you being pregnant ruined my life?"

"Y-You are an idol! You are barely home! You dont have time for a baby! You cant even date! People dont even know we are dating!" She listed out all the reasons why Jimin should be running out the door right now, but Jimin just holds her hand tight and smiles at her.

"If thats the case, maybe we can finally let our relationship be public now?" Jimin grins at her. "Its not like I'm under a dating ban. I'm just keeping it public to keep you safe,"

"W-What?"

"Lets make our relationship public baby. I want to introduce my beautiful girlfriend, the love of my life and my future baby that she is carrying to the world," his smile turned wider.

"C-Chim... why arent you angry? Or mad? Or breaking up with me?"

"Huh?" He tilted his head, confused. "Why would I? Baby..." he lifted her chin so she would look at him in the eye. "I love you. I love you very very much. Having you as my girlfriend is a miracle enough, but having a baby with you? A little person who is half me and half you? Baby, that is just amazing! Marvelous! I-I dont know how to describe it but no one can ever be happier than what I'm feeling right now. So no, I wont get mad, angry and definitely not breaking up with you,"

"R-Really?"

"Absolutely," Jimin grins and leans in to kiss her. "I love you so much Y/N, but sorry, you are going to share my love with this little mochi now," he stroke her tummy, although theres no visible sign of a bump yet. "I'm going to be the best father to my mochi baby, and the best boyfriend, maybe future husband?" He winks, "to you. That's promise,"

/////

"You are really sure Jimin? You really want to do this?" Seven pair of eyes looks, no, stares at him. His beloved members and the PD of course. His relationship with Y/N, although it has been years since they were together, were safely kept from the public. Sometimes he himself wonder how they managed to do it, but everyday he thanks the stars to have a girlfriend that is so understanding. He can never take her out on proper dates and she has to share him with his extremely busy schedule. He only gets to see her a few times a month when they are not on a break and Jimin really wonders why Y/N still wants to be with him. Someone so perfect, wanting him. And now shes carrying his child, and Jimin has never been so sure that he wants the world to know. Its time for him to treat Y/N the way she deserve to be treated. And he is sure his fans would understand. He is human too afterall, he falls in love too, and they should be happy that he found someone if they really love him.

"Yeah. I think I'm ready," he smiles. "And I think the fans would be alright with it when they see how happy I am with Y/N. I'm going to be a father guys!" He jumps excitedly. The younger boys went and hugs him, jumping along in excitement.

"Jimin, I dont mean to burst your bubbles, but once you do this, there is no turning nack. Are you really sure?" Namjoon turns him around and asks, his brows furrowing in worry.

"Yeah hyung. Y/N is the one for me. I'm already thinking about proposing to her... so yes. I want to do this. I know and and I'm sure our ARMYs will be supportive," Jimin smile and patted the leader's back. "Dont worry about us hyung. We will be okay. All of us will,"

"Well then Chim," Namjoon smile. "If thats the case, then I am very happy for you and Y/N," Namjoon went over and hug the younger man.

"And we will do the preparation for the official announcement. Whatever happens, we hope you and Y/N will be able to get through it. Congratulations Jimin," the PD smile and went out from the meeting room. The BTS dorm was filled with celebration that night. A congratulatory celebration for Jimin who had found his true love and finally have a little Bangtan in the making.

/////

It hasnt even been an hour after the official news is released that BTS' Park Jimin has a girlfriend and is expecting a baby with her, with a high possibility of a marriage on the way and the news has made it into all the headlines. Although many are happy about the news, congratulating him and complimenting on how beautiful Y/N is and how they are made for each other, there are more who hated the news and immediately despise Y/N for stealing Jimin from them.

It hasnt even been an hour, but the hate comments on Y/N has hits millions. Worse, she actually accidentally read them.

"Jimin wake up right now!" Hoseok shakes his shoulder,waking him up from his deep slumber.

"Hmm yeah what is it hyung? We dont have a schedule today. Cant you let me sleep? Please?" Jimin rubbed his eyes sleepily, yawning.

"I think you need to go to Y/N. Right now Chim," Hoseok urges him, still shaking him so he wakes up.

At the mention of Y/N's name, Jimin's eyes immediately popped open wide.

"Why? Whats wrong? Did something happened to her?" He panics and reached out for his phone, which has no notification from her. "She didnt call or text me though?"

"This Chim. This happen. And I dont think Y/N is okay right now," Hoseok placed his phone in front of the sleepy Jimin to show all the hate comments coming in non stop.

How did she even get Jimin? Shes a troll!

Break up right now! Jimin dont like you!

What did you do to take our Jimin? You must have blackmailed him!

Thast not Jimin's baby! Shes a slut!

Theres no way our Jimin makes you pregnant. Slut slut!

This Y/N is obviously a whore!

"What?!" Jimin was mortified. How could his fans be so crude? So evil? How could they even thought about all these words to describe his girl? The love of his life. And those are just a few. There are thousands more meaner comment from wbere that come from.

"D-Did Y/N read this?" He looks up with shaky eyes to Hoseok.

"We dont know Chim but even if she didnt I think its best that you go to her now," Hoseok looks at him with worried eyes, his brows furrowed. "She needs you there with her, wheter she has read it or not,"

Jimin has never run out from the dorm as fast as he did that day, panting as he burst open the door to Y/N's apartment, only to find her sitting on the couch, face drenched with tears, hands holding her phone tightly, looking back at him with wide, scared eyes. Never has his heart hurt as much as it did that day, seeing the love of his life in pain and hurting, all because of something that is important to him.

"Y/N, baby," he rushed to her at once, engulfing her in a tight hug, stroking her hair as her tears wet the front part of his shirt. "I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry baby. None of what they said is true. Dont you ever believe it. None of it baby,"

Y/N grasp the front of his shirt tightly, not saying anything, just letting her tears falling rapidly down her face. After a while of just crying and sobbing her heart out, letting out every sadness shes feeling, the most  heart breaking sound Jimin has ever heard, Y/N finally composed herself and find the courage to look at Jimin in the eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Chim," she sobbed. Jimin tuck a piece of her hair, now wet with her tears, behind her ear.

"Baby you dont need to be sorry. What are you even apologizing for? Its all my fault. All me baby. I'm sorry you have to read and see all those things. You dont deserve any of it my princess," Jimin cups her face and looks at her in the eye, giving butterfly kisses all over her face. "You know right baby? You know right? You know I love you. I really really love you no matter what they said. And I know this is my baby and nothing is going to change that," he rubbed her tummy softly.

"I-I know," Y/N lowered her gaze, avoiding his eyes, tears are starting to wet the corner of her eyes again. "B-But how could they Jimin? I dont care about what they say, I-I expeceted it, b-but this is too much,"

Jimin is puzzled. What is Y/N talking about?

"What is too much baby? What is it? Tell me baby?" Jimin coaxed, his hands still stroking her hair softly. With shaky hands, Y/N pulled out her phone and showed her one of the hate comments. But to Jimin's surprise, its not just a comment, but with it is attached a photo, which has been saved, copied and repost a thousand times over and now is floating all over the internet. How did he even missed it?

"Baby..." Jimin eyes flickered back to her face.

"Its too much Jimin," she sobbed and hugs him harder. Jimin clenched his fist, eyes closed, as he hugs her back tightly, no longer wanting to see that vile photo. A photo, obviously edited and photoshopped to show Y/N's face on another naked body doing sexual things with a man that is not him. The photo is even captioned with 'Save Jimin, She's a Slut'.

How could they do it to this extend?

Jimin always thought his fans are the best fan in the world. The most loving, caring and understanding fans anyone could ever asks for. Apparently not. They thinks he is a piece of object that they own. Not a human being with feelings on his own. With the right to fall in love and be happy with the girl of his dream. This is too much and Jimin would not just stand around doing nothing. Not when it hurts the most important person in the world to him.

"I swear baby, I'll take care of it. I promise. I promise," he whispered to her, wiping the tears off her face. "I love you Y/N. Whatever happens, we will get through this. I will make sure you will be okay. We will be okay. We and our little baby will be okay, I love you,"

Jimin spends the rest of the day holding her close in his arms, whispering words of forgiveness and love, his hands clench tight, mind spinning thinking of a way to destroy everyone who even dare to ruin their precious little family.

/////

"We already warn you about this Jimin," the PD sigh. "And you still wants to go through with it!"

"I know! But what do you expect me to do? To stay single for my fans forever? Y/N is pregnant with my kid.  We are going to be a family Sir," he sighed, slumping himself down on the chair. "I know this is a risk we need to take, and Y/N and I understand that. But cant we at least take it down? We are not asking you to sue them or anything!"

"We will try our best Jimin. We will take down all those photos as fast as we could," Jimin sighed in relieved. "But we cant stop the hate comments Jimin. If you and Y/N wants to continue this, you better brace yourself. Thats the best advice I can give you," the PD gave him a small smile and patted his back before walking out. Leaving Jimin alone with his thoughts.

As time passes by and all the photos has been successfully taken down, the heat of the news have died down a little. Jimin thought a happy ending might come their way soon as the fans starts to forget. Sure, hate comments and cries of pleading for Jimin to leave Y/N constantly flooded their social media pages, but both Jimin and Y/N has learnt how to ignore it and go about their everyday lives.

Two weeks passes by with nothing more than hate comments, their baby is growing stronger by the day and Jimin and Y/N starts to feel happy again. And that is when everything starts to turn to shit. Someway, somehow, some of the fans managed to get the address of Y/N's apartment, her school and the part time coffee shop she works in. Jimin immediately asks her to stop working after a few girls, who are obviously fans of Jimin as they keep threatening her to break up with him starts stalking her and followed her around all day. But theres not much he can do about her classes and her home. Luckily no one ever followed her home or do anything towards her house and her university care about their student enough to offer enough security and protection as long as Y/N is in school grounds. Out of worry, Jimin made sure one of his managers always picks and sends Y/N home from her classes everyday. Gone were the days where she can freely go out with her friends or go grocery shopping alone. Jimin wouldnt let her and even Y/N knows better than to do it, especially with his fans who always seems to be lurking around somewhere in the corner.

Although Y/N stays locked in the safety of her own home, the obsessive fans managed to penetrate through to intimidate her. At first there are only letters, filled with threatening words sent to her daily. Y/N has soon learn to just ignore it and ripped it off the moment she received them everyday. But soon, more things starts to come her way.

"Delivery for Miss Y/N?" Y/N peeks her head out the door to see the delivery man smiling at her. After signing her name and curiously take the package, Y/N shakes the box. Its square and light, it doesnt make a sound and its wrapped nicely with a big pink bow. Did Jimin send her a surprise?

Excited, she sat down on her couch and starts to unwrapped the box, only to be screaming, immediately dropping the box from her hands once the content is revealed. Y/N's whole body shakes as tears starts to run down her face. Inside the nicely wrapped box lay a single red rose. A dead one. And not just dead, but is swarming with maggots and worms all over its petals. A small card was slipped in between, written on it was a message;

"We are are not kidding. Leave Park Jimin alone if you dont want to rot like the flower,"

With shaky hands, Y/N immediately picked up the box and threw it deep inside the trashcan, not planning to tell Jimin about it. She knows him too well. Jimin will explode and she would never let Jimin risk his career just for her. No. Never.

Trying to forget the rose incident is hard. But its even harder to avoid Jimin and keeping it a secret from him.

"Baby, you okay?" Jimin entered the apartment, looking at her in the eye.

"Yeah Chim. Why do you ask?" Y/N looks up from her magazune and eye her boyfriend who just came from a recording session.

"Well... maybe its because you seem to be avoiding me for a week now?" He stated rather to the point, irritated that Y/N seems to avoid him.

"N-No. You have just been busy. I'm not avoiding you," she gave him a small smile and turned away, knowing Jimin will see straight through her. Jimin did, and pulled her hand so she faces him.

"So you are saying avoiding my calls, not replying my texts and pretending to already be asleep whenever I came over after practice is not avoiding me?" Jimin glares at her. "Tell me whats wrong baby? Did someone bothers you again? Or did I do anything wrong?"

"N-No Chim. I'm just uh tired. The baby is making me tired these days," Y/N tried to create the perfect lie. At the mention of the baby, Jimin's face immediately turned into a huge grin.

"Right. I forgot pregnant woman feels like that. Baby, if you and baby mochi ever need anything, you need to tell me okay?" Jimin held her hands tight. "Anything at all. Tell me and I'll get it for you,"

"Y-Yeah Chim. Of course," she nodded hastily and smile. Wanting nothing more than to change the topic.

"Oh, this came for you downstairs," Jimin passed her a small box. Y/N felt all the blood drained from her face again. Could it be? Could it be that they sent her another disgusting thing? She is very sure she didnt order anything and Jimin obviously didnt buy her anything too.

"O-Oh.. just leave it on the counter. I'll open it later,"

"Why? You are always excited when you received a package. Come on baby, open it. I want to see what my  beautiful girlfriend just bought," Jimin insisted and passed her the box. Y/N refused a few times but Jimin still insisted and she knows he will soon get curious, and she really disnr have an answer when he starts to question. So, praying hard that it isnt something similar to the other box she has received, she takes a deep breath and pulls open the big blue ribbon.

Again, the moment the lid popped open Y/N screamed her heart out, immediately dropping the box and turn around to bury her face into Jimin's chest, crying with all her might, because inside the beautifully wrapped box lay a dead bird, its head dislocated as if somebody has twisted it and a pen stuck on its stomach, blood still fresh and oozing out from the corpse.

"What the?!" Jimin pushed the box with his leg and thats when he saw the note.

"It seems you ignored the rose. Do you think we are kidding? Leave Park Jimin or you will face the same fate as the bird"

"Baby? What does it means you ignored the rose? What rose are they talking about baby? Are you hiding something from me?!" Y/N only looks at him with wide, scared eyes, still extremely shocked from the dead bleeding bird. "Baby, you have to tell me now!" Jimin shakes her shoulders.

"T-they sent me a rose swarming with live worms and maggots last week, threatenkng me to l-leave you..."she sobbed.

"What?!" Jimin was in shocked. He never thought his fans would act this way. Are they even his fans to begin with? "Why didnt you tell me?!"

"I-I dont want you to worry Chim..."

"What?!" Jimin was furious. What is she thinking hiding something like this from him? Just because she doesnt him to worry? Thats her excuse?

"Worry? I'm more than just worried right now Y/N! I'm furious! God damn it, how could they even think to do something like this? And how cluld you even think to hide it from me?! Thats it. You are staying with me at the dorm until we sort this out," Jimin made a decision on the spot, fuming with anger.

"What? No! How can I stay at the dorm. I-I would be a burden to the boys a-and your company and-"

"No fucking buts Y/N! The boys are my brothers. They will understand and they will also protect you. I dont want to hear it. You and our baby is my priority right now. Now pack your things and come with me!" Jimin growls and Y/N knows better than to disobey. Jimin might be small and sweet, sensitive and caring but he is really scary when he is furious and Y/N is not one to challenge him once he is in that state. Without another word, Y/N packed her clothes and neccessities and followed Jimin out, making a new home in the boys' dorm.

/////

"I'm quitting Bangtan!"

"No! You cant do that!" Y/N stood up from her chair so fast, she almost lost balanced. Luckily Taehyung was beside her to hold her stable. Jimin turns and glares at her.

"Really baby? After everything? You of all people should be the one who supports this decision!" He scoffed angrily, still bitter from the fact that she hides things from him.

"No Jimin!" Y/N walks over and held his arm. "You cant do that. Bangtan is important to you. You love being a part of them. They are your brothers and you get to do what you love doing on stage! I wont be the reason that make you leave all that!"

"Too bad baby, its not just up to you now. We have a baby to think about!" Jimin growled.

"Jimin, calm down," Taehyung chimed in, sensing the tension between the couple. "Maybe Y/N is right. Even if you quit, do you think they will stop harrasing her? The fans would be even angrier at Y/N, thinking shes the reason you quit,"

"But Tae!"

"Tae is right Chim. Quitting is not the answer. Calm down okay? At least Y/N is safe now with us. And we have reported the case to the police. We need to think carefully on how to handle this, not make rush decision," Namjoon second Taehyung's opinion, making Jimin sighed in frustration. Still, he knows his brothers' words makes sense. Quitting wont solve anything. What matters now is keeping Y/N safe.

"We will get through this Chim. We will do it together. Dont worry okay? We will make sure Y/N and the baby is safe and we will find a way to stop this. We will," Yoongi patted his back and offered him a small smile.

"I hope so hyung. I hope so,"

/////

"Jimin?" Y/N's voice is small as she calls out his name when they are finally alone in his room. Hoseok, being the nice person that he is decided to let Y/N and Jimin stayed in their room and moved in with Namjoon and Taehyung. He figured they need space and privacy, at least until this whole case is over.

"Yeah baby?" Jimin answered weakly.

"I know you are mad at me. At your brothers. For not supporting and agreeing your decision to quit," Y/N started off. "But... you know they are right... nothing good will come from you quitting," Y/N walks over and face him, looking into his eyes. "Jimin, I love you. And I love our baby. And I just know that we will be happy again some day. Some day, all this will pass. But leaving Bangtan, leaving your career, leaving the thing you love the most in the world... thats a too high price to pay for me Chim. Its something you shouldnt even have to do. Because I will still be here, with you, no matter what happens. We can do this okay?" She gave him a small smile. "Just I begged you, just hold on a little longer and everything will be just fine. I promise baby. I love you Park Jimin,"

Jimin looks at her with heart and eyes thats full of love. How in the world did he get so lucky to have found someone like Y/N in his life? So sweet, loving and understanding? And now shes carrying his baby, and is hurting, all because of him. She can easily choose to leave but she didnt. She stayed. She is the rock Jimin needs in his life and he knows now that as long as at the end of the day Y/N is here with him, everything will be okay.

"I love you Y/N, and I promise. I promise I will make it alright again," he leans his forehead with hers and hold her close before capturing her lips with his, hoping she could feel all the love he has for her.

/////

Jimin looks out at the cheering crowd from the stage. Thousands filled up the arena, as it always does everytime they held a concert. He is always proud of ARMYs. They are the best fan anyone could ever have, but after recent events... he cant believe these sweet people could ever do that to him, to Y/N. Namjoon gave out his last speech as usual after their last song. Saying his appreciation and thanks, but before they can say goodbye, Jimin cuts in.

"Hyung wait. I have something to say," the crowd went wild at Jimin's interruption while the boys all looks at him worriedly, hoping he wont cause a scene. "Hey guys, ARMYs," he greeted with a smile and the crowd cheers with their hellos.

"I'm Park Jimin and I'm human too," an awkward silent fell inside the arena, nobody knows how to react to Jimin's sudden statement. "Thats right. I'm a human. Just like you. Like all of you. I wake up every day, I eat my breakfast, I get ready and I do my work. Just like all of you who has your own job to go to, I have mine too. I love my job, I love coming out with new dance moves, and practice them, singing and recording them and most of all, performing them in front of all of you. Sharing what we have woth you... and I really hope I can do that for a long time," he paused and looks at the confused faces of the crowd. "I'm pretty sure many of you, just like me, like your own job too. So... I just want to ask you, to take a moment and put yourself in my shoe, our shoes and think. It is fair that we are only seen for our jobs, as an entertainer and nothing more? Not to be seen as a normal human being? Are we not given the rights to live, to love like we want to? If all of you have jobs you love, a job of your own choosing, and is allowed to fall in love with whoever you want to, get married, have children and live happily ever after,why cant we? Why does our lives has to be different? To be dictate by others just because of our different jobs? Dont get me wrong, I love performing. And I get how all of you care about us. I appreciate that and I love all of you for it. But I'm happy. I'm happy with Y/N. The girl you guys hated for no reason. Y/N, she has been my girlfriend for so many years by the way, kept hidden because people like me are not supposed to date, makes me happy. And now shes carrying my baby, and it makes me the happiest man alive right now. Can you imagine it? Having a family with the one you love? All of you are humans too, some of you who are lucky might have already experienced it, some is currently experiencing it and some will experience it. But right now, its my turn. I am lucky enough to be given a chance to feel what its like, and you wont let me? Why? Just because I'm an idol? I want to share that feeling with all of you, Y/N wants to share it with all of you. Can I? Will all of you let me? I know its hard to understand, but I beg you," Jimin falls down on his knees on stage and the other six boys slowly followed one by one, kneeling behind him in a line, "put yourself in our shoes and feel how painful it is to not be given the right to fall in love. Idols are humans too. We are human too. And I'm Park Jimin is a human too," Jimin ended his speech with a soft sniffle and the once quiet arena roared in applause, agreeing to what he said. Jimin didnt say anything else and immediately went back stage, feeling as exhausted as ever. He had said what he wanted to say and there is nothing else left to do. The boys came in one by one and they hug each other, forming a huge bear hug, not saying anything, letting their tears do the talking, all seven understanding exactly what each other is feeling.

/////

Jimin who was sleeping soundly as he hugs Y/N tight was awaken with a shake from Namjoon. He opens his eyes to see all six boys and even the PD looking at him with a smile.

"Whats going on?" He rubbed his eyes sleepily, the noise stirring Y/N awake who is also surprised with the crowded guests in their room.

"You did it Jimin," Taehyung yelled and jump on the bed, hugging him tight.

"Huh? I did what?"

"This!" Namjoon pushed an iPad in front of his face and Y/N peeks her hesd and read it together with him. Apparenrly his speech last night has stirred quite a commotion between fans. Not just their fans, but all fandom all around the world. Fans are agreeing to what he said and is now eliminating the common norm of not letting idols and celebrities dates and live their life. They no longer setting up a standard for them to follow.

"C-Chim... y-you did it. You changed the whole concept of idol worshipping!" Y/N squeals. "Not just for us, but for all celebrities everywhere. Oh my god, I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah he did!" Hoseok agreed. "They even create a hashtag about this. Its #IdolsAreHumanToo and #ParkJiminIsHumanToo," he laughs loudly. "You are a hastag now!"

"Seriously?"

"Yup. It has become a campaign Chim. Fans all over the world are helping to eliminate any hate comments or anything like it. They will report and help to bring down any negativity regarding a celebrity life and choices. You really did it Jimin!" Namjoon proudly announced.

"I-I didnt mean for it to be that way. I'm just trying to make them understand. For Y/N. And for my baby," Jimin is still shocked.

"Well, you and Y/N are free now Chim. And your baby will be born into a hate free world where he or she can enjoy his father's performances soon without any worry," Hoseok laughs. "Congratulations Chim. Now all of us can find a girlfriend!" His statement makes the others laugh too as they went out from the room, leaving the two with some privacy.

Y/N looks at Jimin with a big smile.

"You did it baby," she whispered. "You fought for us. For our baby. And you won. I'm so proud of you,"

"And I will keep on fighting for us if I need to baby. I promise you that," he smiles at her, carressing her face. "I am Park Jimin, and I am a human who is in love with this beautiful girl and would do anything to ensure her safety and happiness,"

"And I'm L/N Y/N, and I am deeply, truly, fully in love with that Park Jimin,"

Jimin laughs and cups her face, slowly bringing her closer before he sealed it with a kiss.

A/N: Lets treat our idol as what they are okay? A human being. Its okay to swoon over them and appreciate their talents and looks, but remember they have the right to live like a normal human too. So I hope no one in here wluld sent a dead bird to any of the boys' significance other once they reveal that they have one okay? Hahaha

[morkmywords]

Rainbow Lights| Mermaid au | Nct | Jeno

Masterlist

Mermaid!AU

Length: 3.2k

Note: its done and theres not a whole ton of plot development but its squishy

Warnings: mention of sacrifice

Pairing: Jeno x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Summary: You never thought mermaids were real until one saved you in your most desperate moments.

You sighed in defeat as the waves lapping against the shore drew closer and closer while the ropes binding your wrists was rubbing them raw. The cool dawn light gave your surroundings an almost artificial glow as you were paraded down to the docks by the village elder, you knew this was coming for a while now but it still seemed like a dream. Your body hit the bottom of the small boat with a thud, you groaned in pain as your bound arms and legs prevented you from catching yourself as the two elders climbed into the boat behind you. The chatter of the villagers lining the docks flitted past your ears as you peeked over the edge of the boat to see the fog bank slowly rising before your gaze drifted back to the crowds. The cold gaze of your parents gave you know reassurance and instead only aided the growing feeling of emptiness that had rooted itself in the pit of your stomach as the boat floated away from the dock and the rhythmic splashing of oars against the water drowned out any other thoughts. It was tradition, you reminded yourself as the fog slowly enveloped the small boat.

Since before you could remember you were told legends of the sea gods, they were the ones who made sure there was fish to catch and your entire village wasn’t wiped away by tsunamis or storms. To ensure nothing bad happened every twenty-five years a villager was selected by the council to be a sacrifice for the gods so people could keep on living. The death of one in return for many more to continue living seemed to be a valid excuse and you just had the pleasure of being the one to die. The boat drifted to a stop and you knew what was coming next as the boat rocked when the weight was shifted from the two elders getting to their feet, the only thing visible was the solid gray of the fog around you as one grabbed your ankles and one grabbed your shoulder. Your mind emptied as you hit the freezing water with a crash, your eyes stung as the salt from the ocean water crept into the and you began to thrash around, desperate to free yourself from your bindings. The freezing water covered your like a second skin as you felt your lungs begin to ache as you continued  sinking into the dark water below and suddenly you felt arms wrap around you before everything went black.

----

Your eyes adjusted to the soft orange light that slowly crept into your vision as your vision cleared. It felt like your eyelids were sandpaper as you blinked a few times before taking in your surroundings, the walls had a crystalline effect as the light reflected of of the smooth sides and the rough cut edges, almost like some sort of cave. You rolled onto your side to find a surprisingly soft bedding underneath you, it was almost like a cloud and the orange lamps hanging from the ceiling made it look almost like a sunset. You were about to push yourself off the bed which seemed to be carved out of the same material as the walls were made out of to explore when a shout took you by surprise and caused you to fall. You squeezed your eyes shut and tensed up, expecting a jarring thud as you slammed into the ground but you were only met with a slight bump as you landed on the hard marble floors.

“Are you okay?” the same voice that caused you to fall called out but it seemed closer this time. Your eyes shot open to reveal a boy who was about your age hovering over top of you with obvious concern. You stared back up at hi with a blank expression while the confusion of your entire situation was starting to take root in your mind.

“I mean of course you’re alright, what was I thinking,” he mumbled to himself as he pushed off of you and gave you space to sit up, you gratefully took his outstretched hand as he eased you into a sitting position. You opened your mouth to thank him but the words caught in your throat when you looked at his entire body.

“You’re a mermaid?!” you blurted out when your eyes caught on his shimmering scales.

“Merman,” he corrected you, “I’m a man, so not a mermaid.”

You just stared back at him in shock. His tail was one of the most beautiful things you had ever seen, his scales were a gorgeous mixture of aqua and almost a brick colour which made it very similar to  a sunset over the ocean. It was almost shark-like but elegant enough to make him seem not dangerous or scary when his scales shimmed as his tail rippled around you both.

“Am I dead?” you asked him with wide eyes.

He tilted his head and looked back at you, “No, you’re in atlantis.”

“I’m where?”

“Atlantis.”

“What’s Atlantis?” you asked him, frustrated by his dull answers and so much more confused than anything.

“It’s where the merpeople live,” he explained before lines of colours burst into the space around you and forming pictures, “It’s like a sanctuary for all creatures under the sea and some from above, every ten years your village sacrifices someone and we save them which is how you ended up here.”

As he spoke you stared in wonder as the colours in the air illustrated scenes of where you imagined you were, they danced around like small sea creatures or formed into grand structures with details that were beyond your imagination.

“What are these,” you breathed out as a ribbon of coloured light danced around your outstretched hand.

“The royal merpeople can bend light,” he said before more ribbons surrounded your body, “the glow stones that light this place, like the lamps, they have almost magical powers. The royals can bend their light and they’re also the reason why you can breath right now.”

“You mean we’re underwater right now?” You asked him in confusion, it made sense why when you fell it didn’t hurt as much but how were you breathing? “Yes, the glow stones make it so the water is compatible with both human and mercreature lungs so we can both survive together.” He explained once more before the lights slowly disappeared and you were back sitting in front of him.

“I can’t go back to my village can I?” you asked him and he solemnly shook his head.

“They’ll kill you, thinking you're some sort of sea demon.”

You both sat there for a few more moments, he was awkwardly avoiding your eyes and instead scanning the room from top to bottom while you tried to take in the whole situation.

“You never told me your name,” You exclaimed once your realized you had gone over the most important details.

“It’s Jeno,”

“Hi, Jeno. My name is Y/n.”

----

At some point you he had finally showed you out of the room with a promise of taking you on a tour of the city. Atlantis was like a city of dreams, it was like you had stepped right out of reality when the myriad of colours dancing through the water caught your eyes. The buildings were like something out of a fairytale, towering marble structures reaching so high you can barely see the top glowing from the magic stones which are the key to this place’s existence. The plant life itself was a different experience all on its one with flowering buds of every colour and stalks in every different shape you could imagine dancing back and forth in the currents created by swishing tails. Other mermaids and merman waved at you while they swam past and gave you large inviting smiles which you could only reply with wide eyed confusion which apparently was funny to Jeno. He explained more about the history of Atlantis as you two floated through the old city, it was filled with the ancient buildings from when Atlantis was first created and he told you about the merpeople’s culture. You were nearing the edge of the old city when Jeno suddenly blurted out, “Do you want to get a tail?”

“What?”You asked him in disbelief, “How am I supposed to get a tail?”

“They sell them,” He answered seeming not at all bothered by the insane idea.

“They do what?!” You shrieked, “How?!”

He just stared back at you with an unreadable expression.

“Isn’t that like cannibalism or something?” You exclaimed waving your arms through the water like a madwoman.

Suddenly his concrete expression cracked and he burst out laughing, “It’s not like we cut off people’s tails,” Jeno laughed, “It’s like how humans wear socks but we have them for tails.” “You didn’t have to tease me like that,” You whined before punching his surprisingly solid arm half heartedly which only made him chuckle a bit more. You clasped your hands in front of you and bent your head a little as you felt your cheeks warm at the proximity of the beautiful merman with an angel’s smile beside you.

“So, uh,” you cleared your throat, “Where do we get the tails?”

“The fish market,” he explained as you turned left towards one of the brightly lit tunnels that acted as a transportation system in the city.

You shot him a look and he quickly realized what it sounded like to a human.

“It’s just what we call the shopping district,” he explained, “Merpeople are actually vegetarians.”

“Well, good to know,” you sighed as you neared the crowd of people going to and from the mouth of the tunnel.

“Shall we?” Jeno asked in a mock serious voice before you both jumped in and let the current grab onto you.

----

“I’m never going to get used to that,” You hissed out while holding back another gag, the swirly currents really did nothing but torture your stomach.

“It get easier when you have a tail,” Jeno stated before grabbing your hand without giving you a moment to recover and dragging you after him. The fish market was completely different from the old city, the architecture was still the same but everything had been modernized with glowing signs signalling where shops were and different music drifting through every window. Friends were chatting while carting around outrageous amounts of shopping bags, weaving in and out of different shops which had you memorized and you didn’t even realize it when the mermaid by your side pulled you into a different shop which was quieter than the street outside but the bright music blasting from the speakers would make you think otherwise.

“Welcome to the rainbow emporium where we have tails in every colour of the rainbow!” A smaller merman with bright green hair exclaimed as he came flying out from behind a rack full of sparkles, “Are you here to buy a tail?”

“Calm down Chenle,” Jeno cut in before pushing the exited merman back from where he was only inches from your face, “yes, we’re here to buy a tail.”

“So the rumours were true,” he squealed as sparks a light shout out from him, “You found the new human, and she’s cute!”

“Knock it off, your scaring her,” Jeno hissed as he pulled him back again, “are the other here?”

Chenle’s face scrunched in confusion for a minute as if he was trying to remember before he burst out into a huge smile, “I’ll go get them!” He exclaimed with another burst of the little lights before swimming away back behind the rows of glitter that he previously emerged from.

“I’m sorry about Chenle,” Jeno sighed, training his eyes on the ground and casually rubbing the back of his neck. You could tell he was nervous and found it adorable as he scrunched and scrunched his eyebrows, “he can be a bit…… overbearing sometimes but I promise he’ll calm down eventually.”

“It’s okay,” you assured him, “I thought it was actually quite cute!” you confessed with a giggle and Jeno’s face contorted into a frown. You opened your mouth to say something again but you were cut off by the telltale swish of the racks and pack of voices rounding the corner. You turned around to see Chenle parading back towards you followed by a pack of five other boys with brightly coloured hair, some with lights dancing around them while chatting animatedly and some just floating through.

“I swear broccoli head, if you dragged us out here to look at another bubble I’m going to steal all your glitter!” The one with blond hair who was right behind Chenle hissed.

“I swear it’s good this time Renjun!” He exclaimed before pushing aside the rack to reveal you and Jeno side by side.

“Oh, it’s just another girl,” Another one sighed, “Can we go back now-”

“But she has legs!”

“WHAT?!” They all seemed to exclaim at once before crowding around and elbowing each other to get a better look.

“So the rumors were true!” the pink haired boy exclaimed, “Jeno did find the human, and its a girl!”

“Why does everyone like to talk so much about me,” Jeno groaned but he was completely ignored as the boys continued to crowd around you, muttering about how cool it was that u were human and you had real legs. You were starting to panic as they pushed closer and closer, murmuring between themselves and causing you to feel their tails brushing against your legs. You were about to freak out when you were pulled out of the group and landed against a solid chest behind you.

“She’s been here for only a few day and you guys are freaking her out,” Jeno scolded, “You should know better.” He huffed and all the boys bashfully peered down at the smooth ground.

“At least tell me your names first,” You cut in, the guilt from seeing them upset was getting to you for reasons you didn't quite understand. At the sound of your words all their faces seemed to light up and they went around introducing themselves one at a time with many interruptions by the one you knew was Donghyuck or hyuck for short.

“Now that we’re done with introductions can we find Y/n a tail?” Jeno huffed grumpily. His sudden mood change baffled you but the other boys seemed to pay it no mind before they led you into the many racks of glittering scales. Tails were thrown at you left and right but none of them really seemed to fit your style. Hyuck suggested a bright green tail that matched the colour of seaweed which you obviously declined as nicely as you could since he seemed very excited, Jaemin made you try on a pastel pink tail that was the colour of his hair and sure it looked nice but you didn’t exactly like it. You must’ve tried on a tail in every colour of the rainbow suggested by each one of the boys except Jisung who left a while ago in pursuit of food with Mark’s wallet but still hadn’t returned for some reason. You were so tired of trying on different design that you were about to give up until you picked the last one on the rack and squeezed yourself into it, to say it was perfect would be an understatement. It was the colour of red wine which seemed to compliment your skin tone perfectly and the way it fit was like a dream, not to mention the shape which had a degree of elegance but wasn’t snobby. A cheer went up as you pulled back the curtain with a huge smile.

“It’s perfect!” Chenle squealed as he rushed over to you, “Is this the one you want?”

You nodded mutely, still too excited and unable to talk from how much you loves the tail.

“I do have to tell you something though,” He warned, “If you don't take the tail off when you sleep eventually because of the magic it’s made with you won’t have legs anymore and that will turn into your tail”

Much to his surprise you just nodded and wiggled forward until you got the hang of swimming and floated over to where Jeno was walking in with Jisung in tow. His face was a range of emotions as he spotted you coming over to him but they all quickly changed into concern as you both realized that you may know how to swim but you didn’t exactly know how to stop. He pushed the younger boy out of the way before you slammed into his chest and you both tumbled through the water in a ball flailing of limbs. Once you had stopped moving your head was tucked directly under Jeno’s chin with his arms wrapped protectively around, there were a few hoots and hollers from the boys in the room before you both burst away from each other blushing furiously. You quickly thanked Chenle and the other boys before following Jeno who was already halfway down the avenue fumbling around with your subpar swimming skills, he moved at a fast pace staying completely silent until you both reached his house which you had been staying at before. It seemed much larger now that you were swimming into it instead of out, it was easily the size of a palace with its winding corridors and extravagant decorations, it made you wonder how you didn’t even realize it until know. You continued right out of the other side of the house and into the back gardens which you had been taken on a tour of before but were still just as beautiful.

“I'm sorry about my friends, they can be a little bt much,” he apologized as you steadied yourself on the stone bench beside him, “But now I promise to answer any questions you have about Atlantis or mermaids in general.”

“I can ask anything?” “Anything, and I will answer it as best I can.”

“Well,” you started, “Are you a prince because this house looks like a palace and you said only merpeople with royal blood can bend lights, so?”

“No, I’m not a prince,” he answered you with a small smile, “Renjun is actually the official prince and the rest of us just have some sort of distant tie to the royal bloodline but nothing immediate for at least the last 100 years or so,” he explained in a calm tone. Now that you really thought about it Renjun really did seem like a prince, the air of perfection and the attitude he sometimes had that seemed to be the product of never having been told no but past that he was very kind.

“Do you have anything else to ask?” Jeno inquired with a tilt of his eyebrow.

“There is one more question,” you told him trying to hide your smile, “when are you going to tell me that you like me?”

His jaw fell open, “How did you find out?” he sputtered, trying to scramble to regain his composure.

You giggled at his shocked expression, who knew utter betrayal could be so cute? “Chenle told me when you went to go find Jisung.”

“That little rat!” he exclaimed, “He must be the one spreading rumours about me, I’d better go over there and-”

“I like you too.” Your confession caught him off guard and completely froze his red hot rage.

“You what?”

“I like you too.”

[minnie-marvel]

Anna

A/N: alternately this was called paint stains. this was a nameblurb for @sunflowerannawrites!!! shes amazing and i love her. I have one more name blurb to post eventually and theres one other thing getting posted today. Nena i hope you like this i love you

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

You sat perfectly still on your stool as you watched over the group of Avengers posing in front of you. You almost chuckled to yourself as you heard Tony Stark mutter at least a thousand complaints under his breath about not wanting to keep still. For a moment you thought you were being more patient than him.

There was another stroke of the brush as they all continued to pose for you. You leaned over your canvas from time to time to get a look at their individual faces.  You felt your stomach rumble and were suddenly pulled out of concentration. Man, you must have been hungry…when was the last time you ate? Breakfast? Yeah, you thought so. You had toast and egg whites, man that was delicious. You should add maybe a little bit more pepper to your eggs next time. Wait, you remembered to give your cats breakfast too right? Oh of course you did, you did it right before your walk with Motte. You hoped she’d be alright alone right now but then again your brother was supposed to be home so surely he was watching her for you. Oh man, remember when he came up to you the day before and showed you that hilarious vine of-

“S’cuse me, Anna was it?” Tony asked tapping his foot slightly while still standing stiffly in his pose. You felt your posture straighten up as he mentioned you. “Uh yes?” You asked softly.

“Are you almost done because I think if I stand still for a minute longer I will literally pass out,” he said through tight lips.

“I’m sorry everyone, why don’t we all take a break for an hour or so? That way you have enough time to recover?” You suggested. You saw the group of heroes relax visibly dropping their shoulders and expressions. They started to pile out together walking out of the doors of the large studio. Little did you know that two pairs of eyes were focused more on you rather than getting out of the room with the rest of their avenger coworkers.

Bucky Barnes and King T’challa both approached you from two different sides of the room eyes fixated on your crouching figure that hid behind your canvas and easel taking small gentle strokes as you began to work on some of the background.

“Excuse me,” they both surprisingly said at the same time causing you to look up slightly your brown eyes glancing between the two of them in shock. You didn’t think anyone would actually try to talk to you after all this was just a job. 

They looked at each other and both instantly knew. T’challa straightened his posture and held his hands politely behind himself while Bucky folded his arms over his chest tightly. Wait, was he trying to show off his pecks???

“Yes?” You asked wiping your face smudging a bit of green paint on your cheek. 

“I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to paint all of us,” Bucky said right after T’challa had opened up his mouth to speak. His eyes darted at the winter soldier and his expression scrunched slightly. He didn’t want to be petty in front of you but boy was the temptation there.

“I must say I am quite the fan of your work,” T’challa said sweetly. You blushed in embarrassment at the recognition of your work.

“Ah thank you!! That’s very kind of you to say!” You said setting your paintbrush on the easel to give both men your attention. “Painting is such a passion of-”

“Yeah, I’ve got to say sitting here and painting all this time must be really tiring, I’ve gotta give you credit,” Bucky agreed though shot a glare at T’challa. He, on the other hand, was not afraid to be petty.

“Well, you see the thing about painting is-”

“Well, I must say I admire her endurance to continue to paint even though people might rudely interrupt her,” T’challa said simply trying to keep his tone down.  Oh, this bitch was really trying to start something wasn’t he?

“Well your highness, as much as I’m sure you’d like to continue to admire Anna’s work I had something I needed to ask her.”

“That’s funny white wolf, because I also had something I needed to ask Miss Anna,” T’challa said his smirk showing now. 

“I’m sorry but I just wanted to say-” You tried to at least get more than half of a sentence in before you were cut off again.

“Anna, are you doing anything right now?” Bucky asked tilting his head to the side as he flashed you a charming smile.

“I’d love to take you out for a quick lunch,” T’challa suggested.  

Oh god, you finally knew what these two were playing at. You put your hands up to try and stop them before the poor men ended up dead on the floor. “wait, wait! I think you might have a misunderstanding!! You see I-”

“Anna darling, are you ready?” The voice of your boyfriend made your heart skip a beat.  T’challa and Bucky both exchanged another look but this time it was one of shame. 

Loki took you by your hands lifting them to his lips as he graced you with a kiss your cheeks flushing red as he did. 

“I must say I like the new look your sporting,” he smirked letting a finger trace over your cheek letting the green paint stain his finger. “How did you know green was my favorite color?” He joked.

You tried to hide your smile from him but to no avail. “I was wondering when you’d come along for lunch, what were you doing out here for so long?” he asked before his eyes suddenly looked over to T’challa and Bucky looking uninterested and unimpressed.

“I got a little distracted,” You said honestly letting one of your hands interlock your fingers with his. 

“Well my love, why don’t we get going so that I can finally spend time with you,” He leaned into your cheek kissing it before whispering softly in your ear. “Only being able to see you from so far away on that platform honestly was driving me mad,” he continued. 

“How I longed to have my arms around you again Anna,”  

You could have melted as you started to make your way out of the studio again. “Oh and gentlemen, I may be a reformed trickster but that doesn’t mean I won’t ‘accidentally’ slip a snake into your chambers for flirting with the love of my life,” He said slyly.

Your cheeks were on fire now. “Loki!!!” You whispered harshly. “Be nice!” you told him squeezing his hand. 

“I’m sorry my love,” he whispered back to you quietly planting a quick kiss on your cheek again. “I will try,”

T’challa and Bucky watched the two of you leave hand in hand and sighed together.

“I guess this is game over eh white wolf?”

“Shut up.”

[liamakorn]

Absolution (Part One)

A/N: Oh, boy howdy, it’s here. And it’s a two-parter!! Yas!! The second part is gonna take a little while to come out, considering my midterms are arriving and I need to prepare. But fear not! Soon, you’ll have all the John seed lovin’ I know you sinners want, trust me ;) But for now, enjoy this angst, and let me know what you think! Also, this deviates from the plot slightly, so...theres that XP 

Part 1 -Part 2 -Part 3

(Edit: AH! I forgot to tag @obscure-fae , sorry hun! Better late than never I suppose 😅)

Pairing: John Seed x OC (Not the Deputy) 

Warnings: Mentions of abuse and neglect, John’s in a cage, he’s a little shit. I think that’s it?? Some truly awful banter. Like, one swear? Also, I think maybe I wrote John just a tad out of character. Hope that’s cool. 

Word Count: 2,839 

Rating: PG-13 

Maggie paced across her darkened room, radio emitting a static shrill that she barely paid any mind to.

The news had just come in.

John Seed had been apprehended.

After all the pain he had caused. The death and destruction he had left in his wake. The people of Fall’s End had finally caught him. It was a bittersweet moment for her. While, yes, it was good that his reign of terror in Holland Valley was over, for now at least...he was in Fall’s End. Just a few buildings away.  

And it was Maggie’s job to watch him.

Now, that’s not to say she was alone in the task. Three people had been chosen by the Deputy to watch over the Herald. These three would take shifts, rotating every 8 hours or so. That in itself would be terrifying, but for Maggie, it was worse. Her shift ran from 10 pm to 5 am. Meaning, she’d be spending all night with a psychopath cult leader who carved people’s sins into their flesh. Exciting, I know.

She was still trying to unravel the knot that had settled in her stomach when she left her quarters, finally working up the courage to make her way across town to the Spread Eagle, a well-known bar in this part of Hope County. She smiled at Mary May, the owner of the establishment, and someone Maggie would consider almost a parental figure. Maggie opened her mouth to speak, before shutting it quickly, staring nervously at the door leading to the basement. Mary May nodded, blonde hair swishing with her head.

“He’s restrained, caged, and beaten to high hell. He can’t hurt ya past empty threats.”

The redhead sighed, biting her lip and hesitantly stepping towards the threshold. Moonlight slipped past the dusty windows, illuminating the glass Mary May held in her hand as she raised it in salute. Chuckling, Maggie took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob, marching down the steps before she could change her mind. Waiting for her at the base of the stairs was Alice, a girl of barely 17, who looked about ready to keel over any second. Glancing at Maggie for barely a moment, Alice huffed a sigh of relief, dragging herself out of her chair and trudging to the door.

“Thank. God. I swear, I was about ready to die of absolute boredom. This guy never says anythin’, doesn't even try to escape so I can shoot ‘im!”

With another sigh she starts up the stairs, leaving Maggie to her shift.

“Have fun with doing nothin’.”

Well. This should be fun.

The walls were old, cracks littering the stone no matter where you looked. Most were tiny, barely perceivable unless you squinted. Others were practically the length of the room, suggesting it had been built before even Mary May was born. There were crates of varying sizes stacked against the left wall, probably holding alcohol of some sort, as well as smaller boxes of utensils, glasses, etc.  In one corner there were cleaning supplies, next to a door Maggie assumed to be a closet. In another corner, there were cans of food that had been there since god knows when, beside a row of mostly empty wine racks.

But the thing of interest rested against the far wall. A medium sized cage, one meant for that of a wolf or bear, was propped between the refrigerator and a stack of kegs, leaning precariously against the former. It appeared makeshift, as if it had been ripped apart and someone, probably Nick, taped it back together the best they could.

Inside the cage sat a man, hands tied behind his back, face bloodied and bruised, but still recognizable in its features. His shirt was torn, the scarified tattoo of ‘Sloth’ reading clear across his chest, along with several of his other tattoos. His brown hair was tousled haphazardly; the ends just barely managed to hang in front of his eyes. Oh, his eyes. While his face remained mostly clear of any wrinkles and blemishes - save for the contusions and visibly broken nose - his eyes seemed lined in a pain she couldn’t quite place, and, quite honestly, never wished to be acquainted. To her surprise, when Maggie looked into them, he was already staring back, a gleam in the striking blue depths. As if he was in control. As if she was the one locked in a cage.

Like an animal, ready to strike.

She couldn’t help the shiver that ran down her spine, peering at this man who had caused the misery of so many of her friends. She had never seen him face to face, and while, yes, he was definitely intimidating…

She never allowed herself to finish that thought, lifting her gaze to the chair she would be spending the next several hours sitting in. The thought made her skin itch, but she ignored that, squaring her shoulders and taking a seat, purposely not looking in John Seed’s direction. His gaze never faltered, following her movements with a frightening steadiness.The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention.

This was going to be a long night.

----

It was about half an hour into her shift when Maggie began to fidget. An hour, and she started tapping her boot against the ground. At two hours, she was ready to bust out some jumping jacks, just to have something to do. And still, John hadn’t said a word. She now understood what Alice had meant. The silence was eating her alive.

“I hope you don't mind, I helped myself to your rifle.”

She spat out the words, anything to break the tension; but, even though she intended her tone to be snarky and hardened, her voice was soft and apprehensive, sentence expelled in a single breath. Glancing at the caged man, she was startled to find his gaze already on her, peering through the steel in a way that could only be described as predatory. This time, she didn’t break the connection, staring at him with just as much intensity. Slowly, like a cat, he smirked, tilting his head ever so slightly. While he didn’t verbally reply, Maggie cast her gaze down, playing absentmindedly with the cross dangling daintily from her neck.

“I will get out of here, you know. “

Starting, she almost didn’t realize the words came from him. His voice was rough, gritty from underuse. There still contained a certain charisma to it, though. A lilt that enticed you to listen, to hear more of what he had to say. Maggie got the impression he could talk his way out of pretty much anything if he really wanted to.

She raised her emerald eyes to his, confused by the casual note in his tone. He was very relaxed, she noted, for a prisoner with the hatred of an entire county on his shoulders.

“...no. You won't.”

A snort fell from his lips, as if her statement was preposterous.

“Of course I will. Tell me,”

He rose to his knees, leaning as close to her as his cage would permit.

“When a dragon says, that he is going to eat you... That he is going to swallow you and your entire village whole...what do you do? Do you try to reason with him? Do you brush his threats aside, denying he even has the ability to do so? Or do you run, plead for mercy, worship him in an effort to save your own skin? What do you do?”

Maggie paused, brows furrowing. Was this a trick question? What game was he playing at?

“...um…”

She shrugged slightly, licking her dry lips before answering.

“Offer it a banana instead?”

John faltered, smirk falling for a second. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, and Maggie almost could’ve believed he hadn’t heard her.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he cracked, a soft chuckle rumbling in his chest, before evolving into a full-on laugh that filled the room.  Maggie’s gaze darted away quickly. It took everything she had not to smile with him. And yet, it felt...oddly good...to have made the supposed sociopath laugh, to see under the intense facade he’d put up with the others. She tried not to look into it too much.

----

After a week of the same routine, Alice finally convinced Rook to switch her with someone else, claiming she would ‘literally shoot herself in the foot if she had to sit through one more shift with the silent psycho.’

Sighing lightly, Maggie shuffled down the creaky steps, her catnap doing nothing to relieve the exhaustion in her bones. She should’ve never agreed to the night shift.

Tom, Alice’s replacement, was definitely...different...than his predecessor. A burly, gargantuan of a man, he stood at least a foot, if not more, over Maggie’s meager frame. Not that it was hard to do. At 5’2”, it was rare anybody wasn’t taller than her.

Tom greeted her with a curt nod, back pin straight as always. He marched out of the room without so much as a word, brushing past Maggie, who gave him a mock salute. Once he was out of earshot, she scoffed, muttering to herself, “Does he ever relax?”

A light chuckle met her ears, followed by,

“Whoso pulleth out the stick from his ass, is rightwise king born”

A short giggle fell from her lips, trying, failing, to hide the smile on her cheeks. John always did this. Stayed quiet for the majority of the night, only to make quips and jokes that never failed to make her laugh, no matter how hard she tried not to. At first, it was annoying; but Maggie soon found herself enjoying these moments, looking forward to them, even. Which in itself was something that kept her awake, even as fatigue ached in her bones. The fact that maybe she was even beginning to care for John Seed was a thought she couldn’t quite comprehend.

Taking the seat she had become quite accustomed to, Maggie shifted, trying to get comfortable on the creaky wood of the chair. After a few minutes, she gave up, resigning herself to the dull pain in her back.

John hummed, looking at her carefully. She raised her brows, refusing to back down in this weird staring contest. She refused to acknowledge the fluttering in her stomach, instead focusing on the discomfort of her stool. When it seemed like he wouldn’t speak at all, he finally did, voice low and gravely.

“So...Maggie...what’s your story?”

Her forehead crinkled, the question catching her off guard.

“What?”

A wider, more genuine smile took to his lips, shoulders shrugging in nonchalance that was definitely fabricated.

“If I’m going to be locked in here for the rest of my days, I might as well learn the tale of my beautiful prison guard. So. What’s your story?”

Maggie tried to swallow the lump in her throat, unconsciously tugging on the ends of her hair. He was just goading her. She needed to calm down.  But he just called her beautiful.

Clearing her throat, Maggie paused, collecting her thoughts before speaking.

“Well…”

There was no point in lying now, was there? What was he going to do? Laugh at her?

Yeah, probably.

“Well. My name is Maggie Cartwright.”

John rolled his eyes, motioning, as well as he could, for her to go on. Of course. That was obvious. She squirmed in her seat, crossing her arms and examining the concrete beneath her boots.

“I...grew up in Ohio. Small town, nothin’ special there, except for a barbershop and a dusty old train station that hadn’t run in ages. Anything else even resembling civilization was at least an hour drive away, so people tended to just stay in their little corner, rarely interacting. Same went for my family, we...never really left the house. ‘Cept to go to church.”

He nodded, giving no more confirmation that he was listening than that slight inclination of his head. The words began to spill out of her mouth, eyes still fixated on a stain marring the rough stone underfoot.

“I had a brother, but...he left home when I was barely old enough to walk, so...it was always just me and my parents. My dad was a farmer, always out in the fields, or at the market, tryin’ to sell whatever we had to give; sometimes the clothes off our backs. Mama never worked a day in her life, but she took care of the house, made sure there was dinner ready by the time he came home. If it wasn’t...he’d get...angry.”

“Did he hurt you?”

The question jarred her from her daze, a shaky sigh heaving from her chest. Maggie finally looked back to the Herald, blinking a few times as his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

“Not...necessarily. Of course, there was the occasional smack or punch. When Papa would drink a little too much, or had too long of a day. I’d leave something around the house, or forget to do a chore…”

She stared into her lap, fiddling with her necklace.

“But usually they would just...ignore me. Leave me to whatever it was that kept me entertained. Which wasn’t much, considering I was practically the only kid in town, everybody else moved away. So it was just me...alone.”

Maggie blinked back tears, clearing her throat roughly. She wasn’t even sure why she was telling him about this, or why it was affecting her so badly. She thought she’d gotten over all this but…

“It’s alright to cry, you know. To let all those feelings out, all that wrath.”

She snapped her gaze to his, shaking her head slowly.

“I’m not...I’m not angry, John.”

He gave her a tender smile, raising a brow.

“Yes, you are. I can hear it in your voice. You hated how your father treated you. How he treated your mother. You hated your brother, for leaving, for letting it happen, for abandoning you. You hate how they neglected you. How they overlooked you. Disregarded you. You hate them.”

Her denial died in her throat, the expression he wore making her heart flutter.

“You hate them, because you hated being alone.”

Releasing a shaky breath, she turned away, biting her lip to keep the tears from falling. She couldn’t stand him. That he was right.  Because she was angry, and she had hated them. But that fact that he knew that, that she was so easy to read, terrified her. How could she have been so naive as to have basically laid her heart right in the open for him to see? For him to manipulate?

“Maggie.”

She didn’t turn back, only gave a slight inclination of her head. John sighed, and though she couldn’t see his face, she could almost feel him staring at her, with those big blue eyes that haunted her very dreams.

“Maggie, I know it’s hard to admit to your anger. And I know you might be turning that wrath to me, because it’s the easiest solution, but I understand.”

Slowly, she twisted just slightly toward him, barely even breathing as she listened to what she knew, deep down, was him trying to convert her. To get on her good side so she’d confess.

It didn’t stop her from paying attention, hanging onto every word he spoke.

“I understand that pain. Of feeling abandoned, and alone, even in a place where you should feel the most love. I know how you feel, and I promise, you can be saved. I can help you manage that anger, come to terms with the ache that I know sits in your chest like a stone. I can save you.”

A soft sigh escaped her, head resting against the wall.

“The pain...does it ever go away?”

His breathing was light, the only sound in the otherwise silent room, save for her heartbeat pressing against her ears.

“...no. You just learn to make room for it.”

The worst part? She wanted to believe him. She wanted so badly to feel that absolution he preached about, wanted freedom from the constant twinge in her heart. Finally looking at him, Maggie could clearly see that same twinge in his own eyes, the seeming genuine nature of his claims. She knew better. Logically, Maggie could tell he was lying, anything to get him out of that cage, to recruit another faceless mask into his brother’s cult.

But she couldn’t help but feel that pull. That pull toward the dark and twisted, toward all she had been warned against. She knew he was lying, but her heart begged her to listen, to trust that he would absolve her of all she despised in herself.

And that was her truest fear in all of this. That was the one thing she had been dreading since the Deputy had assigned her this task.  He enraptured her in a way that she couldn’t explain...and Maggie was terrified. 

[aoida-blue]

Death Debts (Jaydick) Part 1/2

For Jaydick week: day 7 Talons/Court of the Owls. Part 1/2. 

A/N: Think of this as a rougher first version, there are still some revisions to come before it gets posted to AO3 (so feel free to hang on till then) but this is me, diving in to hit jaydick week. This part is 15k. Theres is possibly another 5/6k more in the last part. Bloody hell this was supposed to be a oneshot.

Having his own prisoner was never in Jason’s plan to get the hell back to his own universe. Having that personal prisoner be a Dick Grayson, a screwed up Talon obsessed with his (un)death? 

Oh yeah, Jason was having so much fun. 

Helmet torn off, Jason scrubbed at his face, peering at the screen in front of him. No amount of blinking could ease the white screen light that burnt against his eyes. No amount of blinking could change the results on the stolen laptop screen either.

The data didn’t lie. Meteorology activity in the place Jason had woken up, electrical disturbances, blackouts… the whole package. And damn it all if Jason wasn't too familiar with what that meant.

He’d universe hopped again.

Jason shifted in his chair.

Fucking metas. Sure, for a couple of vain moments after the blast of green light, Jason had thought he’d just been knocked out. A hope that gutted out when Jason’s nearby safe house was occupied by a young family, then his second safe house was home to five cats and an old man. The final straw had been the disappearance of all his emergency stashes around town.

It was blind luck he'd found this apartment, an empty penthouse apartment, dust collecting on every surface, but a macbook hidden under the bed.

There were only two outcomes that could get him home. One, that the Batman here was just as crazy prepared as his and had worked with Zantana on the Bat Universe-Corrector (god damn Bruce and his naming abilities). or that two, someone from his universe noticed he was gone, linked it to the meta and then… somehow found their way to him.

Shit and fuck.

“Who are you?”

Jason jerked, falling off the chair and into an easy crouch, hands snapping up his guns by his sides and aiming them straight at the voice.

But only one person stood there and Jason breathed out a giddy laugh, relief knocking through him. For a second he thought it was the meta.

“Thank fuck its only you.” Jason said easily, eying his visitor up on reflex, “Nice getup.”

And it was.

Armour platted, ribbed in gold feather like patterns, high collar and weapons accessible from any angle he wanted to grab them. It wasn’t really what Jason had pegged as Dick’s style, way too cool for him and too many weapons, but hey, different universes, different Dicks. Jason might even like this one better.

But there was something about the armour…

“A bit too much like the Talons don’t you think Dickie?” Jason asked with a notched brow.

Dick stood there, half-wreathed in shadows, face pale and warping down in a frown. He paused, statue still, and Jason felt a prick of unease at the back of his neck, his warning signs kicking off as the blank staring continued.

“What, you don’t recognise me?” Jason tried with a grimace, great maybe in this universe Bruce had left him in the gutter-

Dick moved.

He whirled, spinning, a whistling metallic song as blades materialised in Dick’s grasp. Their sharpened points flashing straight at Jason’s jugular.

It was only instinct, moves drilled in Jason’s DNA, that saved him. Jason lunged backwards, feeling the brush of wind as a blade skimmed past, then grabbed forward as soon as he was able, seizing the armed hand. But Dick was fast, and already another knife from his other hand was slicing up and Jason had to release him to knock it off course. There a microscopic hole in Dick's attack and Jason used it, barreling forward and taking Dick to the ground.

Shit. Dick didn’t just look like a Talon.

Dick hit the ground hard, armour creaking as he didn’t stay down, twisting as if to push himself upright again. Jason didn’t let him, pressing his weight fully Dick, struggling to keep Dick’s rotating wrists from snapping free from his hands.

“Look I don’t want to fight you.” Jason spoke quickly because heck, maybe he was still Dick under that Talon garb, maybe he just needed proof, “Your name is Dick Grayson, you come from the Flying Graysons and-“

An inhuman screech tore its way out of Dick’s lungs, and Jason was bucked off, pushed to the side and Dick rolled on top of him, blades raised high. Death reflected in everyone of those glittering daggers, and Jason moved quickly, he jabbed forward, heel of the palm straight into Dick’s exposed stomach, and when Dick dived down with the blades he was off balanced. Off balanced enough, Jason could force his arms wide as they came hurtling down.

One blade imbedded into the floor beside Jason's ear, reverberating hard. The other almost caught his shoulder, and Jason could feel it pressing against his jacket. And fuck it all, if this continued, Jason was going to die again. He wasn’t a match for this Dick, and Jason knew it instantly. He needed Dick distracted. Luckily-

“When you were very young your parents died in an accident-“ Jason spoke light and fast, desperate to find the word that could be his opening.

There had to be some weakness, some similarity in Dick between Jason's universe and this one.

Dick’s face twisted like there wasn't, like nothing Jason could say would break him. In fact, they made him look more murderous.

“You’re dead.” Dick spat, back arching high like a hissing cat, hands still locked on the dagger handles either side of Jason’s head, “You’re dead-“

Arguably true, at least in the past tense.

But Jason didn’t really want to debate semantics when Dick was distracted.

Instead Jason took his distraction, cuffed Dick under the chin - it wasn’t a good move, Jason didn’t have any power from that angle- but it disorientated Dick enough, Jason could launch up, toppling Dick to the side. Jason went with him as Dick hit the ground, rolling so his legs locked against Dick’s and pressed an elbow tight down his windpipe.

Dick lashed out, jolting and jerking against the hold, but he was unsettled, unbalanced and quickly loosing air.

Jason clung on, ignoring the pain from Dick’s nails as he sunk them deep into Jason’s arm, but finally, finally, Dick went loose. His eyes rolled back in his skull as he passed out.

He held for a long breath, then Jason pulled back quickly, pressing two fingers to Dick’s pulse to check he was just out and not dead. Cause yeah, Jason didn’t want that on his conscience. Even if it wasn’t the Dick he knew. Even if this Dick was totally and utterly a Talon.

Who had certainly killed some one before if that attack was anything to go by.

A strong pulse beat under his fingers and Jason released a fearful breath. Then, aching all over Jason collapsed to the side, huffing out at the ceiling.

“I already hate this world.” Jason muttered to the ceiling.

-=-

Jason was nursing an icepack to his head, a bandaged arm and a hell of a grudge when Dick finally roused again. And when he woke up, it was freaky.

One moment Dick was shifting against the rope, small unconscious twitches, just enough noise Jason had time to look up when Dick’s eyes sprung open and his entire body tensed. It was as if some sort of live wire ran under his skin and it had just been flicked on.

Dick’s eyes snapped to him. Nothing in his gaze but wild instinct.

Jason glared at him, icepack pressed firmly to his head.

Dick’s eyes shot around the rest of the room, then his eyes slipped a bit, relaxed a bit, and Jason was met with the cool disinterested gaze that was so… talon like it made Jason flinch. It looked so out of place on Dick.

How he had ever thought this was His Dick.

And wow that sentence never sounded right.

“That was clever of you.” Dick spoke finally, words a manufactured drawl.

It was a spoken like a threat.Which was clever of him because yeah, Jason had ropes and chains and handcuffs on Dick so managing to sound threatening while bound like roasting hog? Impressive.

Not that Jason would give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

Dick flexed lightly, visibly testing the bonds, and tilted his head. Jason was dead confident in his tying skills, but seeing that movement didn’t stop a small fission of alarm to go chasing down his spine.

“Cloning or advanced mask…” Dick rolled the words in his mouth, “Doesn’t matter. Jason Todd were sentenced by the court. You will die.”

That was a good little information nugget. Jason in this reality had been sentenced by the court. Go this universe’s him. Jason hadn’t accomplished that back home, maybe he would have if the Joker hadn’t gotten to him. Also sounded like this universe’s Jason definitely did die with that death sentence. Which. Least the universes were consistent.

Fuck the universes.

“That’s nice.” Jason said, insincere as he could manage, “Charming really Dickie. Don’t really care.”

Dick twitched a bit in the ropes and a muscle in his jaw jumped.

“You have been sentenced to die by the Court.” Dick said again, like a terse reminder.

“But Mr Bird Fetish,” Jason rest his head in his hand, let his words drag like an unimpressed school kid, “I actually don’t give a fuck about your court right now? Like honest to god that is the last thing I care about at this moment.”

Seriously Jason had a list of Things He Cared About. Right now, Evil Talons Brainwashing Dickie was not even on the list. As far as Jason was concerned that was someone else’s problem. More important on the list were matters like, well, you know, getting back to his own freaking universe. Finding Batman before any other former family members wanted to reveal their own tragic universe counterparts.

Jason had to just remind himself: this wasn’t his shit.

Talon Dick just stared at him, narrowed eyes and creepy as all hell, “You were sentenced by the court. You will die.”

Jason sighed. Yup so not going down that route but-

“I thought I was already dead.” Jason reminded Dick.

Dick’s shoulders jerked, like a whipcord of tension had snapped across them, and then Dick’s head tilted and his eyes widened.

“You were.” Dick spoke clear and even, factual, “But the sentence still stands.”

Jason took a moment to process that. Definitely fuck the universes. Then he stood, dusting off his pants, and drawing the ice off his head with a wince.

“So I have to die twice. Wow that sucks. What did I do to piss you off?” He shrugged, brushing off the thought, he was not going to get bogged down, he wasn’t, “But don’t care, doesn’t matter, more important stuff to do.”

All true. Jason had a fact finding mission to run. He needed a Batman, a Bat Universe Corrector. So Bruce Wayne was going to be his port of call and Jason didn’t need a fancy bat cave computer to find out details about Bruce Wayme. Jason dismissed Dick with a wave, grabbing his stolen laptop and setting up camp on the couch, legs chucked up on the table.

So if Jason Todd had died, and Dick Grayson was a Talon, it really made Jason curious to see what the hell had happened with Bruce. Probably more of a nutcase. Likely more of a nutcase.

Jason opened Google, but like a niggling fly, buzzing around his head, he could feel Dick’s stare drilling into the side of his head.

“What? I’m sure as hell not letting you go so you can grab some buddies and come back – also Dick, your buddies used to be Tim, Damian and Babs not Talons.” Jason played it light and glib, ignored the tiny pit of dread that had opened up his gut about what the heck had happened to them here if Jason and Dick…, “your standards have gone.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Dick said, “They will still find you and-“

“Kill me, wow you don’t say.”

Bruce Wayne. Plugged into Google. Enter and Jason was blinked at the billions of results that filled the screen, flicked over to News and-

Now, this universe was officially the worst.

Bruce Wayne had been missing for ten years since the Wayne Manor Fire. A fire that had started under ‘mysterious circumstances’. No body had been found.

Another quick search and. The Batman sightings were either very old or very odd. Given the existence of Talons… it wasn’t hard to work out what had probably happened.

Jason clenched his fists.

No. This wasn’t his universe. That wasn’t Bruce. Just like that wasn’t Dick tied up across the room. Just like he was still alive and not killed by the Court. Okay. He released his fists, found the cold rationality in him.

The Batcave had been fire proof. And Bruce’s equipment wouldn’t have just vanished with the old man’s death. Alfred was still listed in a sentence as still alive so he’d have them, and Jason would bet anything he’d have gone to the nearest ‘family’ member. So Jason just had to find out where who that was, if there was anyone, and if not, just had a track a unremarkable old man in Gotham’s swarming population.

So yes, maybe this bit would have been easier on a Bat computer. Damn it all.

-=-

Jason had a lead and a 3 am start didn’t seem so bad when he was getting out of apartment had thus far only had disappointments, computer work and near murder for him. He shut the computer with some vigour and turned his gaze on Dick.

“Stay.” Jason told him, setting his hood back over his head, and managed an extra dose of patronisation, “Good Talon.”

Dick narrowed his eyes, “You have been sentenc-“

Jason closed the door quickly, cutting out the inevitable and rolled his eyes. Imaginative this new Dick was not. But then no one had ever accused Court Brainwashing of being the secret to creativity.

Actually Jason didn’t know anyone who’d come back from brainwashing. The thought made Jason hesitate for a moment, pushed up on to the rail, grapple out.

No, Jason reminded himself harshly, this wasn’t his world.

Jason threw himself into the air, grabbing on to the next roof top and hauling himself up and started running again, jumping and leaping over the next roof.

He kept an eye on the streets below, in case different reality meant different street names. But fourth connected to Fifth connected to Old Donell’s to Grey’s, and it was all so familiar. Too Familiar, Jason faltered briefly when it came to make the turn, his feet urging him up toward Ghost’s Corner, near where his old old safe house was, but Jason hadn’t come for that, and his safe house wasn’t in this universe. Instead, Jason made the sharp turn.

Gradually the buildings started to grow higher. Sleeker looking structures took place from crumbling brownstones, and drunk stragglers thinned on the streets below.

It had taken thirty minutes on the sky high route Jason had taken, slower than the cars below, but it gave Jason a good lay of the land around one of the city’s tallest skyscrapers and his target.

Jason crouched a block from it, the tall financial building he was on required some scaling and it wasn’t even two thirds the height of the apartment block next to it. If he wanted to get up to the penthouse of that place Jason was going to have grapple that high balcony and even that was beyond risky. Through his magnifying lenses he could see that fine red line sensor barely noticeably under the edge of the windows and the railing.

Someone that paranoid in a penthouse would probably have pressure sensors.

Add to that, if this was the home of who Jason thought it was? There was bound to be fifty more terrifying surprises.

Jason swallowed.

He was going to have to do it anyway. Set off the sensors, try not killed and then bargain for the piece of equipment he needed. Hopefully, he had it. He was the most likely of everyone in this wretched universe.

Fucking screwed up timeline.

Jason readied himself, reposition himself to a proper crouch and getting ready to leap over the gap when something sharp and cold touched against his neck, finding the very bare crease between hood and neck armour.

Knife or sword, it hissed as it rubbed under the hood.

“Explain your presence.” A voice demanded, sharp and sudden.

Didn’t even need to jump, his meeting had come to him. Jason almost laughed, then quickly decided against as he felt the sword still. Placating, Jason raised his hands, and turned his head slightly, just so he could catch a glimpse of this universe’s Damian Wayne.

Something akin to revulsion and regret twisted in Jason’s stomach at the sight of him. Damian was wearing dark armour, complete with mask, that looked near identical to what Batman wore, but tailored so carefully, and so disturbingly to his small frame. It just made what Jason knew about this Damian feel all the more terrible.

“Speak or I’ll take your head.” Damian’s words were no mere threat.

This was an Assassin and Jason had to treat him as such if he wanted to survive.

“Not here to fight.” Jason said keeping his words light and damn him, quick, “Just to propose a trade.”

Because if he was right, then this world’s Damian had never known Jason before he was killed off - and even if he recognised Jason it wouldn’t be a great trust boost since Jason should have been dead. But, if Jason could get him to agree with a trade… Jason could get the device he needed, and he could trade on the information that was more common knowledge in his world than was here. Like, for instance, the Court of Owls.

Damian could be very business minded and Jason had placed his bets on that.

“A trade?” Damian asked, a touch of archness melded with the cold in his voice, and the sword wasn’t moving, “You were going to break into my home were you not?”

“Look…” Jason trailed off suddenly unsure, he didn’t know if Damian went as Batman or not, and if he used Damian… but surely he’d know that Jason would know his name considering the location… ugh, it was too much so Jason avoided the nouns all together, “I have information on the Court of Owls. Put up as many defences as you like, but you’d like to know what I’m going to say.”

There was a tiny breath from behind him and Jason knew that his hunch was right. He had him.

“And what did you want in return?” Damian’s voice did not give away anything.

Ah the tricky bit.

“To borrow some of your equipment.”

“Which equipment, and how do you know I have it?” Harder, more suspicious.

For all Damian knew, Jason sounded like he was probably looking to make a nuclear bomb.

Jason smiled tightly under his hood, well, the nuclear bomb would be easier than trying to dimension hop.

“You are wearing his old armour -almost,” Which was better than saying you probably inherited it from your dead father, “and I’m not looking for anything weaponizable. More. Scientific.”

“Odd request.” Damian said finally.

Right then Jason’s knees were really started to hurt from the constant crouch.

“You would not even believe my story.” Jason joked lowly, “But the info will be worth it and you can supervise me every step of the way with the device.”

“Assuming I have it.” Damian offered lightly.

This time Jason did move, twisting so he could face that creepy bat-like mask and stare up at him.

“Well.” Jason said dryly, “I’m gonna need to check that you do have what I’m looking for before I tell you anything.”

Damian hummed, a low mocking note.

“Tell me exactly what it is, and I will tell you if I have it then.”

Would Damian help a dimension stuck stranger or just his universe’s stranger? Would he even believe Jason if he’d never gotten to the wacky space-magic part of the Robin internship? What if Bruce didn’t even have it in this universe? Too risky.

“Not that I don’t trust you.” Jason couldn’t help but say, sarcasm dripping from each note, “But I’ll need to see it with my own eyes.”

“What?” Damian asked archly, “Let you wander through all my belongings? That’s not particularly tempting.”

“Yet… if you want the information.” Jason dangled.

Damian laughed, mirthlessly.

“You are in no position to bargain. I have what you want and you have, I’m assuming, no other way of getting it. You will tell me the info, and then and only then will I get you the item you are after and only if I approve of you having it.”

That succinctly put Jason well and truly in a bind. Fuck.

“That involves a lot of faith from my part.” Jason sniped.

Damian smiled, thin-lipped, “You’ll have to trust me won’t you?”

Son of a-

“I think not.” Jason returned dryly.

Damian shrugged.

“Come back at 8pm, and we’ll do this in more comfort in the apartment.” Damian looked at him with something disturbingly predatorily for someone who was half of Jason’s height, “I need to set up my defences.”

Why did it suddenly felt like Damian was going to kill him tomorrow?

Well, this Damian hadn’t had Dick’s or Bruce’s no-killing regime but according to Jason’s research he still had Alfred.

Military trained Alfred.

“Sure, sounds peachy.” Jason agreed, thinly, because there was no choice.

He was going to wear so much extra armour tomorrow. Which fuck- he didn’t actually have because it was all back in the wrong universe.

“Good.” Damian pulled his sword back with a flourish, “Now you were leaving.”

Damian jerked his head at the side, at the hundred foot drop and the closest grappling building out of range. Jason lips pursed, cause, yeah, Damian was so fucking funny.

“Yeah, I was.” Jason sneered, stretching upright, and god, he swore his knees creaked up on the way.

He wasn’t that old, but jeeze, did it feel it then.

Damian was smiling that awful half-smile like he knew how uncomfortable that had been and Jason really wanted to wipe that expression off his face.

Because Jason was a truly an amazing human being, he didn’t. Instead, Jason pulled himself up to his full height and felt some sort of valediction in the fact that yeah, he was still taller than the brat. Damian’s smile dampened a bit like he noticed this too, and that right there, was a perfect farewell.

Jason gave him a jaunty salute, “See you tomorrow Mini Dark and Brooding.”

Damian frowned but Jason took a leap off the roof before he could respond.

He flew through the air, actually making use of his grapples of the way back, looping a long winding track around fourth and fifth until he was sure his black shadow was left behind before he dropped down onto an alley and waited a little more.

All clear and Jason finished his way back to his… stolen apartment. Or something. Whatever the owners hadn’t come home so either it was someone Dick had killed and… done something with the bodies, or they were on holidays. Either way the bills were overdue and everything in the fridges and cupboards was off. So until otherwise, home was were you left your bound Talon prisoners.

Jason cracked the door open, stifling a yawn beneath his fist and kicked it close behind him.

“You miss me Dickie?” Jason called through the apartment, “You’re probably hungry so I should bag a couple of mice for you and a hunk of piz-“

There was a creak and then something whistled through the air and Jason jerked to the ground, narrowly missing a kitchen knife. A kitchen knife currently imbedded dead into the door behind him.

Oh. Fucking-

Jason looked up and saw Dick come charging at him, hands still bound but another kitchen knife in his grip. How the heck-

Jason rolled onto his feet and and jumped back at the slash, then stepped quickly to the side at a stab, and grabbed the handle of the knife when Dick went to swing it a him again.

“You have been sentenced.” Dick gritted out, “And you will-.”

“How did you even get out??” Jason hissed between his teeth as he tried to overpower Dick for the knife.

Dick was strong though, too strong and that was leading nowhere, then Dick’s eyes flashed and there was a leg around Jason’s middle and he hit the ground hard with Dick right on top of him.

As if he was mocking Jason’s earlier take down of him. Fuck there was Dick’s warped sense of humour still in there.

The jerk had loosened Jason’s grip on the knife, and Dick yanked it totally out of his grasp, slashing the inside of Jason’s hand in the process and fuck that hurt- but Jason didn’t have the time to think because Dick had the knife raised in the air pointed right at Jason’s jugular.

“Die.” Dick whispered.

Dick started to bring the knife down and Jason’s eyes jerked wide and he reacted, whipping his forearm up to hit Dick’s chest and rolling them with a jerk of his hips.

“No thanks.” Jason bit out, insincere as he could.

Dick hissed, inhuman and terrifying as they rolled, the knife clattering out of his hands and rolling across the floor. Jason quickly gripped the handcuffs still locking Dick’s wrists together and held them pinned on the ground but Talon Dick played dirty and threw up a knee to hit right between Jason’s legs.

Jason bit hard down his lip and thanked god he had been wearing a cup that day. Still he’d been expecting a Damian sized hit, not a Dick sized one.

Before Dick could try that trick again, Jason knocked an elbow against Dick’s middle, winding him, and rolled them again so he could get a decent leg lock on him.

Dick thrashed against his hold but it was too tight, too strong for him to do anything but wiggle.

“You’re trapped-“ Jason started, going for the old logic route.

Dick cut that idea pretty fast.

“And you’re dead. You are dead.” Dick cursed, seeming more human than he had the entire time.

He was really hung on the idea.

“Yeah well, the court may have killed-“

“I killed you.” Dick spat out and all of Jason’s organs shrivelled up in his body, “I held your teenage body down as it stopped struggling in your pool of blood and they didn’t let me forget it. They made me kill you and they let me keep that memory so you are dead.”

Dick had-

In this universe Dick had killed him.

“People don’t always stay dead.” Jason said, but it was numb, a reflexive retort Jason had used in so many situations.

It felt numb. Jason felt numb. Trying to imagine the bundle of cheer and brooding Jason had known as the young Dick, the sweet Dick Grayson, killing him when Jason had still been a ungainly kid-

It was like a switch had been pulled somewhere in Dick’s head. The Talon froze, body stilling against Jason’s grip. Which was just as well because Jason couldn't feel his own hands too well at that moment.

“They do.” He breathed, and Jason had basically released his hold on Dick but Dick wasn’t moving, hadn’t used the extra space, “They do unless-”

Then Dick just went dead in his arms. Muscles loosing all their tension and relaxing sudden and hard, his head lolling back. Like he’d been switched off.

Jason reflexively checked his pulse, feeling it under his hand. It was like Dick had fainted but his eyes were wide open, still blinking slowly, and his chest was still moving.

Slowly Jason released him.

Dick stayed down.

“Are you…” Jason started.

Dick didn’t move.

This was his chance, the pragmatic side of Jason insisted and he moved.

Jason quickly got up, dragging him back over and tying him to the chair again, doubling the rope, tightening the handcuffs.

Dick just stared into space.

Jason sat back for a moment, staring at him. It was as if he had fallen into some sort of trance.

He had killed Jason. In this reality Dick had killed Jason.

Jason’s stomach flipped strangely and he felt cold and hot all at once, skin prickling.

-=-

Jason couldn’t sleep.

He sat staring wide awake, staring at ceiling, thinking of the boy that would probably try and kill him that night. About the the man across the room who apparently already had. Really made Jason wonder about what Tim, Steph and Cass had gotten up to. If they had plans to kill him too.

At the moment that wouldn’t surprise him.

Still it wasn’t him that Dick had killed, and he wasn’t the Dick that Jason knew.

Jason rolled over to his side , grabbing the pillow and clenching his fingers in to it.

It all wasn’t his problem, none of this was. It didn’t matter how much shit this universe had gotten into because it wasn’t Jason’s responsibility.

But-

But.

The wood floor creaked under Jason’s steps, echoing and making his presence known to about everyone in the apartment block as he made his way across the room.  

Jason didn’t know what drew him there, didn’t really think too much about it, but Dick was still bound, bells added on, still safely locked away.

Dic- no- The talon was staring at the ground, eyes blinking, eyes shifting across the floor boards like the most intense staring contest. Clearly he’d gotten back from… whatever the fuck kind of state he’d been in. The Talon’s fingers fluttered at his sides, not trying to escape, but just – moving. Like there was a keyboard Jason’ couldn’t see.

He must have heard Jason, how could he not with that noise and with his training, but Dick just continued.

“What happened to you.” Jason asked, blunt and point blank, falling back to lean against the wall.

Dick’s eyes shot up to him and there was a strange sort of caution in his expression.

“I am loyal to the Court.”

Jason arched a brow.

“Yeah, no, not what I asked.” Jason replied dryly.

Dick’s head titled, and he looked strangely lizard like in the low light. All dark shadows and narrowed eyes.

“Isn’t it?” Dick drawled, “I know what you are.”

Okay this was totally not the conversation Jason was trying to have. Jason frowned.

“You do.” Jason repeated, a little slowly.

For some reason, Jason doubted that he was going to say Dimension-hopper next.

Dick looked away back to the ground, but his gaze was still on the same spot in the middle of the room, and he looked oddly… subservient.

“I am loyal to the court.” Dick repeated, and this time it sounded almost prayer like, “I am their talon in the dark, their weapon in the night.”

Creepy.

Also unhelpful.

“Great.” Jason opined lightly, “So I guess then you are never getting out of those ropes.”

A muscle in Dick’s face twitched.

“If that is what the court requires of me.” Dick said, low, “I live and die at their leisure.”

Dick thought-

“Woa there.” Jason blurted, standing up, “I’m not with the court.”

Dick didn’t look up, kept his head down. Like he didn’t believe him.

“I’m not.” Jason repeated, “I mean no way in hell would I ever join that creepy gang of shadow elitists-“

Vaguely Jason thought he should have stopped talking, should be using this knowledge to his advantage and boy he needed some advantage in this world. But it was too many shades of wrong.

Dick looked up, slow as molasses, something strange in his expression.

“You’re alive.” Dick said like it was his own death sentence.

Jason raised his hands, “Yes but that was a different universe and had to do Ras Al Ghul and a secret society and a Lazarus pit and maybe the world or universe or something being punched but I don’t-“

Dick’s expression could have been the textbook definition of disbelief.

Jason sighed explosively, “It’s true!”

“Its what you remember?” Dick queried lightly, not outright denial, but there was something odd about the way he asked.

“Yes!” Jason agreed, and maybe, maybe they were getting somewhere.

Dick’s expression shuttered off and he looked away.

“They can change memories.” He said, and he sounded bitter.

Arguing with a wall had probably a better success rate.

“Look I don’t care,” Jason dusted his hands in the air, “Believe what you want.”

Jason turned on his heel and threw himself on the couch, rolling to show Dick his back. It was childish and a little foolish, he knew, but the act gave Jason the tiniest bit of satisfaction.

He remembered only when he hit his borrowed bed again what he had wanted to ask Dick in the first place.

Didn’t move.

-=-

Jason dropped an energy bar on Dick’s lap the evening, didn’t say a word and didn’t look when Dick bowed his head his direction. He had more important things to worry about, but Jason still hid the kitchen knives and locked the door from both sides.

It was stupid, because Jason now held no illusions that Dick was at all trapped in that apartment, but still. Just in case.

He felt distracted on the way to Damian’s penthouse, thoughts drifting back to Dick, regardless of what he did. That was dangerous, Jason knew, because he was about to enter a high stakes Poker game with one of this universe’s most dangerous kids.

Fun times ahead.

Damian was standing out on the balcony , arms crossed and mask pushed back. Jason stepped unevenly on the rooftop when he saw that, saw the blatant disregard for his identity but Damian didn’t flinch, didn’t rush to put it on when Jason landed.

Deliberate.

Damian smiled at him, and it was the sort of smile Jason thought crocodiles had.

“Good Morning.” Damian said with a all-encompassing gesture, “Come inside for refreshments.”

Jason hopped down from the balustrade, eyeing Damian.

“Sure why not,” Jason said with a shrug, and copied Damian’s gesture at the door with as much mockery as he could manage, “After all I hate to be murdered outside.”

Damian smirked, looked him up and down and hummed.

“Funny, I thought you were already dead.”

And Damian swept inside, without even a look behind him, showing Jason his back without any hesitation.

Jason froze, watching him go, because Damian couldn’t know, he couldn’t. Jason reached up and brushed his hood to be sure it was all still opague, but it was fine and… and Jason had dawdled out here too long. He swallowed hard and forced his legs to move.

Inside the Penthouse was just as lush as outside. Big marble spaces, with white furniture and gold trimmings everywhere. Damian sat at the head of the long wooden table in the centre of the space, files at his fingertips, a coffee at his elbow and one placed across at the seat to the left side.

Jason could read so much into that placing, but he inside decided to focus on the fact that the coffee was steaming. The Damian he knew, couldn’t boil water, couldn’t make coffee, so assuming this one was the same, meant Alfred was definitely around.

It was a bit silly, but that made Jason feel a little less like he was going to be murdered. Also made his heart feel a little bit lighter but Jason was ignoring that.

Only a little less. Damian was still here, in this room, unsupervised.

“If you are going to insist on standing there, doing nothing, then I think any future deal we will have will be off.” Damian offered dryly.

Jason grimaced under his hood.

“Call it healthy suspicion.” Jason opted, and strolled over the table, wanting to take his time in getting there, “I mean yesterday was swords at throats, today its coffee…”

“Yesterday you were a stranger.” And Damian looked far too smug.

“And today?”

“I…” Damian paused, for effect like the little drama queen he was, “know more.”

“Do you now.” Jason said, mouth on auto pilot.

The seat was pulled out to the left of Damian, and Jason slotted in easily, but instead of sitting on the chair like Damian obviously intended, he turned at the last moment, sat on the table instead, body angled toward Damian. Predictably Damian’s face twitched.

“I do. But if you want to be coy about it, by all means, we can come back to that later.” Damian stood up, no longer dwarfed up Jason, “What is your proposal.”

How did he know and what. Jason had no idea but-

“As I said, simple, info for the lending of some equipment.”

“How do you know I have this equipment?” Damian asked, and it wasn’t a question, Damian just wanted to confirm what Jason already knew.

Jason leant back a bit, hand on the table behind him and watched Damian closely.

“Because it was part of Batman’s old equipment.”

Damian didn’t so much as flinch.

He had to know Jason was connected somehow. Narrowed down the list of people he thought Jason was then.

“Not very specific.” Damian said simply.

“What I need is very specific. Scientific, you could say.” Jason rolled the last word, he couldn’t reveal his hand, not yet, caution was the wiser move.

“You mentioned. And assuming I had whatever it was,” Damian hand-waved lightly, “How am I supposed to find a scientific specific something, I’m sure there would be a great many items that would meet that description in such a collection.”

And here was the next part of the gamble.

“You’re not. I am.” Jason kept his voice level, “You take me to Batman’s old equipment and I’ll know it on sight.”

Damian arched a brow, took his coffee cup off the table and sipped at it. Taking the moments to ponder, to think, when really Jason was sure, so sure Damian had already made his mind up.

“You must be very sure of what information you have-“

“What I have will be worth it.” Jason injected lazily.

“-and it will require great deal of trust.” Damian continued easily, “Especially someone that’s seen me without my mask, and is still wearing theirs.”

Jason smiled thin-lipped, tapped the hood.

“Sorry, this stays on.”

Damian sighed, like he was such a bother.

“Well if that’s it-“ Damian said slowly, clearly looking to close this up.

He needed some bait.

“I know Batman, Bruce Wayne, was killed by a Talon and I know the Court.” Jason injected, stating what he thought Damian suspected.

Damian froze, and something twitched in his face. Quietly he pulled his hands together and met Jason’s eyes.

“Do you have proof.” Damian said, short, succinct.

But his face was white.

Shocked.

Jason knew it like a kick in the ribs, Damian hadn’t really known Bruce had been killed by the court. The news had made it seem like Damian had been searching for Bruce, but Jason had been so sure that Damian know he was already dead. Particularly if Alfred was here.

And yeah, Jason totally felt like the world’s biggest jerk right then. It hadn’t been hard to piece together that Damian had been looking for his father. Easy to find out about Bruce’s death as a second hand comment from Dick more focused on Jason’s own murder.

Damian however.

Hell, it hurt Jason to think of.

What Damian must be thinking-

He had to get home.

“If you want more, we need to have a deal.” Jason said, and god he was going to be the nicest person in the fucking world to make up to Damian for this (even if it wasn’t his Damian).

He was such an absolute shit right then.

Damian looked young, so young, face suddenly vacant and staring at the ground. It was obvious he trusted the words - but why-

Then Damian looked up, his face a mask of cold indifference that started to shatter the moment Damian put it on.

“Yes, now leave.” Damian demanded, voice trembling.

He felt like something awful, something rotting scrapped on the floor and not worthy of anything, but Jason left, pretended not hear the shattering of ceramic as he launched himself off the rails.

-=-

Dick was exactly where Jason left him that evening. Folded over his chair, staring emptily at the ground. The power bar left unopened on his lap. They both knew Dick could at least get one hand free. But he hadn’t even tried.

Jason rolled his eyes, dropping the hood on the table with more force than he probably should have considering the explosives Jason still had in it. But screw it, he felt like shit, if he blew himself up in his carelessness he probably would have deserved it.

And Jason had even less time for Dick’s dramatics.

“So that’s your plan now?” Jason asked, annoyed more than anything else, “Just starve yourself?”

“I live and die at the Court’s pleasure.” Dick said, low, and subservient.

“Well then, eat cause the Court hasn’t issued your death sentence recently.” Jason snipped and hit the crouch, slumping hard against the pillows.

Guilt kicked in when Jason landed, and he managed to ignore it for one sullen moment. Then he sighed, and rolled over and stared at Dick, still bound, still looking sadly at the ground.

Fuck him.

Jason stood up, with knowing he was going to regret every moment of this, grabbed his combat knife from its sheath and cut through Dick’s binds. Dick didn’t immediately jump up, or try to grabble the knife off him and shank him - which was good- but he didn’t really do anything else either. Instead he just sat there as the ropes fell to the ground around him.

Jason stepped back, hands on hips and waited.

“Well.”

Dick glanced up, blinking foggily.

Jason sighed harder.

“Go on, get up, I’m sure your bursting to pee I’ve had you tied up for a full day.”

Dick just continued to stare at him.

“I’m not holding your hand, get up.” Jason said and pushed at Dick’s shoulder.

Dick was blank.

And yeah, this was the bit Jason didn’t want to do.

“Okay, fine, the court brought me back, and they have instructed me to keep you alive and with me.” Jason said, insincere as possible and Jason knew no one in their right mind would believe him.

Then again, Dick clearly was not in his right mind. His gaze sharpened and he rose.

“I live and die at the court’s commands.” He said, almost sounding relieved.

Jason pointed him in the direction of the bathroom and Dick moved off, not shutting the door behind him of fucking course, but at least he washed his hands afterwards and came back. He didn’t even look at the window or door.

Then Dick stood at attention next to him, and Jason threw the power bar at him and grabbed the phone.

After the day he had, he needed pizza and beer. He had a card he’d pick pocketed off Damian, because Jason went full asshole, he went all the way, and was fully intending to use it.

Dick did and said nothing, waiting on Jason with a eerie sort of satisfaction on his face that Jason couldn’t bear to look at.

-=-

At some point after the beer and pizza and another draining circular conversation with Dick, Jason had fallen asleep. A fact that only became apparent when Jason was blinking sleep out of his eyes and the sunlight was sitting just right on his eyeballs.

“Eulfh” Jason said, unintelligently and sun blind as he pushed himself upright and swung his legs over the couch only to have them whack straight into Dick’s bended knees.

Dick? What was Dick?

Dick, Talon Dick, and Jason jolted back, recoiling his legs onto the couch, adrenaline pumping hard and fast. But Dick didn’t move after him, didn’t pull a knife, just tilted his head and watched him.

Or rather Jason thought, kept watching him.

With the same fascination he’d had last night.

Jason groaned, dragging a hand down his face because yeah, thats right.

“Please tell me you didn’t stand there watching me sleep all night.” Jason muttered into his palm.

“I…” Dick faltered, and Jason peaked out from behind his fingers because huh, that was different, and then Dick frown and shook himself, “No. I didn’t.”

It sounded like a lie. But it was an odd thing to lie about for someone that confessed to killing this universe’s younger Jason without a bead of sweat. Jason shut his eyes wearily.

God. It was too much five minutes after waking.

He chose to forgo breakfast in favour of two cups of instant coffee, and with a look at the clock with a clearer head, he knew Damian was expecting him sooner rather than later. He moved past Dick, who chosen to perch himself on the back of a ratty sofa watching Jason move about the kitchen, and stopped himself.

He was relatively sure Dick was not going to kill him, yesterday had proven Dick was sure he was a court member or another Talon or something regardless of what Jason himself thought. He was less sure on if Dick would leave or not to get in contact with the actual Court. Cause Jason knew that regardless of what Dick thought, the Court would think Jason Todd, dead teen come back to life, would be more ‘actual risk we need to remove’ rather than ‘yay new team member’ like it was to Dick.

“You aren’t going to leave are you?” Jason asked, and winced because god, what a weak way of wording it.

Dick blinked slowly, “There is no need to.”

And it sounded honest. But.

“I’m going to have to tie you up. Er.” Jason said awkwardly, “Because I can’t risk-“

Dick didn’t even looked phased, which yeah more than a little disturbing, just got up, moved over to his chair and sat down, arms behind his back.

“Anything for the court.” Dick said, like a prayer, and Jason tied him up quickly thinking about the million the ways he was going to say sorry to his universe’s Dick when he got back.

Or maybe he’d just buy him an enormous chocolate butt and leave it on his doorstep. That might work too.

He left before he could think about it any further.

Of course, once he left Dick, Jason thoughts turned to Damian, and when they turned to Damian they turned to the way Jason had broke his heart at telling him his father that he had spent the majority of his life looking for was already in the ground.

Oh yeah, this universe was so fun.

Damian wasn’t waiting for him at the door this time, nor was he hovering on the adjacent rooftop with a sword waiting for Jason. No, instead Jason landed, unmet on Damian’s balcony and was forced to awkwardly knock on the balcony door.

Damian opened it.

He wasn’t in his semi-batman garb, he wasn’t dressed like a rich princeling with daggers up his sleeve. No. This time Damian was dressed in dark stealth like clothes, loose and made to blend in.

“Hi.” Jason said shortly, “Are you-“

Damian looked at him, blankly, turned leaving the door open, and walked inside. There wasn’t anything else to do, so Jason followed. Damian took them to the dinner room, and where yesterday had been clean surfaces was today organised chaos. Newspaper cuttings, hand-written letters, photos, all arranged across every inch of the long table.

It wasn’t the work of one night, Jason saw instantly, it was the work of years. Too much information, too many likely and different sources given away by the tells of all the varying forms, the fluctuating quality from a blood stained napkin to official police reports.

In the mess, Jason saw Bruce’s name repeated over and over, both in alias and in truth.

God.

“Explain.” Damian said, short and sharp and when Jason flinched up, Damian was staring at him, “I can work out of some it, but… I can’t grasp it all. You said you had information. Explain what happened.”

Damian had dark circles under his eyes, eyelashes were still clumped from tears, and Jason felt wretched all over again. Damian didn’t deserve this, not in any universe, but Jason? He couldn’t help him. Not long-term. He couldn’t stay.

“First.” Jason tasted the words, bitter in his mouth, “We need a deal. What I’m after, for the intel..” Jason said finally.

Damian’s expressed shuttered further and yes, Jason was a bastard, an utter bastard.

“We do not have time for that.” Damian said, slow and poisonous, “I’ve detected…an opening. What you need I have and I can guarantee that, your information is worth less the more time passes.”

An opening. Oh. Hell.

“You can’t go after the Court.” The words fell out before Jason could stop them, high with disbelief.

The corners of Damian’s eyes tightened, “That is none of your concern.”

Jason snorted, “Oh no of course not. Why should I care when it’ll be my information that gets you killed.”

“Exactly.” Damian agreed, the little snot nosed punk, “Now are you going to give me the intel or I am going to have cancel our deal.”

God. Damn It.

Jason pressed his hand against his hood, wishing for once he didn’t have it on so he could pinch the bridge of his nose because fuck his life.

“Look. I think you need to talk to someone.” Alfred, god, Alfred had better be the same in this universe ready to talk some sense into Damian, “If you go in there swinging, you are just going to get yourself and anyone remotely connected with you killed.”

Damian’s eyes were steel.

“Too much time has passed since his… death and in that time the Court has been growing, unchecked, wilder, more ambitious. More Talons roam the night, unmolested, and that cannot stand.” Damian swallowed, shoulders stiffening at his sides and grit out, “I will not let it stand.”

He spoke with an elegance all too familiar to Jason, one that was Talia all over, more so than his world’s Damian. But the stubborn pig headed ambition? Clearly there was a gene for that because that had to be from Bruce.

Damian was going after the Court. With or without Jason and without a Batclan behind him.

Fuck, this wasn’t Jason’s universe. It shouldn’t matter-

“Ok, new deal.” Jason said almost groaning, “I will provide you with intel and I will accompany you as a partner on your raids. Given that you will give me the device I want before the week is out, and that you will get the fucking Justice League when you see you are over your head.”

Damian smiled, and it felt like Jason had just fallen into the world’s biggest trap.

“I can tolerate that.” Damian told him, righteous all over, then without even pretending to seem unprepared for the situation, laughed right ahead, “Tomorrow we begin. The opening I have spotted is where I tracked a Talon to-“

Fuck it all, Jason was going to have get more info out of Dick wasn’t he?

-=-

Dick hadn’t untied himself, hadn’t done anything since Jason had left and Jason felt his insides jumble a bit at the way that Dick fucking didn’t even seem annoyed that he’d been tied up all morning. Everything was so darn wrong, and Jason tried to ignore that particular thought when Dick left to relieve himself.

When Dick returned, perching him absently on the sofa in the best vantage point of the room - which yeah Jason had noticed but he seemed more in wary alert than about to take out Jason - Jason decided pull another particular bandaid. He sat himself on the kitchen stool, swinging around to face Dick put his hands on his knees.

“Right, its time to talk Dickie.”

Dick blinked at him, unfazed, and god it made Jason want to see what he could do to phase him.

“What does the Court require?” Dick asked, easy as breathing.

“The Court,” Jason said with a grimace, and yeah Dick didn’t even seem to react to that either, “Needs to know what you know about the Court.”

Anyone with half a brain could figure out there was something wrong with that statement. But by the looks of Dick’s easy nod, he didn’t have half a brain left.

“Of course.” Dick said.

Well. Jason thought, that was easy. He’d almost thought that might have been the phrase that had triggered something in Dick, like, oh, say, Jason actually wasn’t the Court. Maybe that would have backed up the fifty times Jason had told him he wasn’t the court, and the insincere way he said he was now.

But apparently not.

How screwed was Dick’s head?

“Where is your base?” Jason asked.

Dick frowned, tilting his head, “My Base?”

Terminology maybe.

“Where do you go after to a mission, where do you sleep,” Jason waved a hand, when Dick’s face was still blank, “Er, where do you hang your claws at night?”

“After a mission I return to where I woke, there I either am given in a new mission or I am… stored.” Dick said the last word strangely and Jason stared.

“Stored.” Jason prompted, but he didn’t want to know, he really-

Dick looked at him, curiously head cocked as if seeing something Jason couldn’t, “A room, off a main corridor and I mostly wait. I’m not to be frozen, not yet, my missions are too successful, and the waking is too slow but sometimes it still happens. Between inactivity.”

They froze him. Or kept him locked up in a room. Jason glanced down having to shut his eyes for a moment, but Dick kept speaking.

“The Freezing tube is small, and the process quick, but its tight, and the waking is…” Dick trailed off.

Sweat broke out on Jason’s hands, his mind dancing on the image of a closed in tube, a tight box under the ground. Every breath he made sucking what little oxygen there was and-

Jason forced his eyes open. Dick was staring at him now, and Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that Dick looked… fascinated.

“Where.” Jason asked, voice rough.

“Past the main hall-“ Dick started but Jason broke in.

“No, where is this place, where is the compound?”

“I…” Dick frowned, “I know where but I can’t… The Court… I can’t…”

Dick’s hands were stretching out and back and Dick’s face was tightening, his frown deepening to sharp lines. Mental conditioning. Of course, Jason wasn’t surprised.

“Okay, don’t worry about that.” Jason dismissed quickly, and Dick’s face eased back into its expressionless resting face, “Could you lead me, a Court member, there?”

“Of course.” Dick said without hesitation.

Well. That was something.

Jason paused, as an idea hit him, he looked around the apartment.

“How long have you visited here?” Jason said slowly, because this place wasn’t just abandoned, not a top storey apartment even if it was a dodgy neighbourhood.

Dick actually smiled, looking over Jason’s shoulder.

“Sometimes after a mission I’d return here, store things.” His expression shuttered to something vacant again, “The owners had threatened the Court. They were sentenced to die.”

And die, they did. Jason had no doubt. It made sense why Dick had run into him that day. Still everything in the apartment was old, older than a couple of years. The papers on the coffee table were yellowed, and the old food in the fridge was puddles of mush.

“How long have you been working for them.” Jason asked.

“Time has no meaning.” Dick replied, back to eerily empty, “I live and die at the court’s command”

The question, Jason had already answered through his research, as scattered as he was. He picked up old papers that talked of a Robin before Jason, and the legal documents for Bruce Wayne looking after a ward named Dick Grayson, then the ward had vanished, unmentioned by papers except a sad missing child report. A year, at least on Jason’s timeline, before young Jason had entered the picture.

Then Talon Dick had killed Robin Jason at age fifteen and Bruce Wayne had gone ‘missing’ two years later.

And Jason didn’t want to ask that question, didn’t want to go down that path. He’d already put together the most likely outcome but he didn’t want to-

It wasn’t his universe, he reminded himself harshly.

But none of that seemed to matter anymore.

“Did you…” Jason asked and stopped, swallowed, forced himself, “Did you-“

“I killed you.” Dick said, and Jason’s voice died again, despite the fact he knew this, hew knew this and it wasn’t the question Jason needed to ask-

Dick’s expression was soft around the edges, something torn about the way he slowly slipped to his feet. Jason couldn’t look away.

“Order of the Court was to kill Jason Todd and I did.” Dick said, voice caught in a whisper, looking like that day he’d thrashed and thrashed until he stilled and barely moved again.

“Why.” Jason asked, unable to stop.

Because he’d been a kid-

“Bruce Wayne was a threat. He needed…” Dick said with a breath and his eyes danced down, danced away and Jason knew guilt when he saw it, “And I needed a lesson.”

He’d said that before.

“What did you do?” Jason had stood, barely registering his stool toppling over behind him.

Dick shifted to his back foot, face creasing, and unlike the confusion before, the lines were deeper, the edges pulled, and Dick’s hands pressed hard into his legs either side.

“I failed the court.” Dick said, “I live and die by the Court’s commands and I failed the Court I must be taught, I must be improved. I failed the Court so I must learn-“

“Dick.” Jason interrupted.

“I live to serve the Court. I die by their wishes. But they did not wish me death for my failures, they wished me to learn-“

“Dick!” Jason yelled and he reached forward, grabbing Dick’s shoulders.

Instantly Dick spun, eyes wide, and grabbed Jason’s shoulders and pushed all his weight onto Jason. Jason wasn’t expecting it, and he toppled back, Dick’s not inconsiderable weight pushing him back but before he could hit the ground, Dick moved, and they twisted to land on their sides and the room echoed with a bang.

Jason gritted his teeth, instantly pulling his arms up to break Dick’s hold -

But Dick had let him go, was already crouching low, staring out the window that-

Yeah, that was a bullet hole through the glass that had definitely not been there this morning. Jason’s eyes tracked that trajectory and saw the wall which had been behind Jason’s head moments prior, with a single bullet hole.

Sniper. Shit.

Jason got quickly up to a crouch, reaching in to pull out his combat knife strapped to his thigh, found the holster empty, and saw the glint in Dick’s hand, and instead quickly pulled out his boot knife instead. Dick wasn’t actively attacking him at present so Jason had deemed it a worry-later problem.

Current problem was a sniper.

Jason kept low, moving to the kitchen, to his guns, when two consecutive shots rang out. There was a crack of wood breaking but Jason quickly glanced back to Dick saw Dick unharmed but tense, and Jason knew he was certainly not hit, so why-

Then the window in the kitchen smashed open and the living room window exploded inward.

Jason just managed to roll to the side, to avoid a knife swipe and a follow up jab and Jason sprung to his feet, swinging out, but his arm was blocked by a forearm to his forearm, so Jason grabbed that arm, and ducked the follow up swing and spun his attacker over his shoulder and on to the ground.

Jason had just enough time to appreciate that yes, yes that in fact was a Talon, and this time with a face Jason didn’t recognise, and also oh shit, that was a Talon, and now Dick was armed too, he would swap sides and join the living room Talon and this Talon, and this time Jason might actually die again.

Then his thoughts were back on the fight as the Talon surged to his feet and slashed fast and hard at Jason. Jason ducked and weaved, blocking what with arms, and let the Talon drive him back into the kitchen and away from the other two. There was a minute gap in the Talon’s defences and Jason drive his knife forward in his own upward slash. He only skimmed the armour, but his knife caught the edge the Goggles of the Talon leaving the woman temporarily half-blind and Jason took his chance, kicked at the Talon’s head, landing a decent blow and then kept his momentum going and spun and ducked into a sweeping kick that had the Talon falling down and actually landing hard this time.

Jason glanced up quickly ready for the next attack from someone else, but instead there was only Dick running toward him, glinting knife in hand and Jason swore.

He lurched back, bringing his knife to a good defensible position, but Dick was fast too fast and Jason had moment to truly appreciate what an idiot he’d been trusting Dick with that knife, when Dick swung down his blade and-

And stabbed it right into the rising Talon’s eye. The Talon who had a blade a whisper of breath over the artery in Jason’s leg.

The Talon gurgled, then collapsed, knife spinning out of his control and away from Jason’s leg, and it was just Jason, squatting in the kitchen splattered with blood, a dead Talon at his feet and Dick hovering close enough to touch.

Dick slowly pulled back and Jason saw the blood he didn’t see earlier, the dark sprays of it on Dick’s armour, and the hand just visible around the corner.

“Well that… was unexpected.” Jason said, as level as he could, and then cause apparently he had a death wish, “You said I was sentenced to die.”

Dick moved, slick and stable, pulling himself up in a loose easy stance, eyes flicking across the windows.

“And die you did.” Dick said, cool as a cucumber with blood dripping down his blade, “The courts orders were to stay with you.”

Well the court orders Jason had lied about.

“Yes.” Jason said, stupidly. Because fuck, he didn’t actually expect it to remain like that in a combat situation.

Dick’s gaze flicked back over Jason’s head, to the living room and back.

“We need to move. I have a couple of other places, not known by others.” Dick said, all business.

“Yeah. Okay.” Jason said pulling himself upright, brain buzzing, mouth moving on autopilot, “Shame this hole was really becoming home.”

The biggest lie he’d ever told, but Jason looked up to Dick’s face, because Jason hasn't been the one storing things here for years, not little knick-nacks, not coming back here again and again…

Dick was looking right at him, “There are more important things.”

It felt like double-speak, and Jason stared at him for a moment, a moment too long because Dick turned, back a shifting wall of armour between them.

“Right.” Jason said, and his throat felt dry.

He needed to get out of this universe.

-=-

Damian's lead was a block of abandoned apartments, scheduled for a demolition last year that had never came. It hardly screamed Court of Owls to Jason as he inspected it with a dry eye crouched next to the mini-batman. The Court of Owls he remembered from his universe were rich snobs, mansions were their sort of thing. Jason could even dimly recall Alfred mentioning an underground lair, a labyrinth where Bruce had been captive. This, with its crumbling brick work and shattered windows, boarded doors, didn’t really look that sort of establishment.

“You sure?” Jason asked, keeping to the shadows.

Damian finished typing on a small computer, folding it away in his back pocket. He glanced over at Jason, white lensed eyes narrowing.

“Its not the Court.” Damian said with a sniff, “There were only four guards inside. Hired guns running high end narcotics. Cops en route.”

Wait.

“What do you mean ‘were’.” Jason asked.

“Were.” Damian repeated like Jason was an idiot, “As in, there were four guards but since I’ve disabled them there are now no guards. I’ve already looked inside but since you are the resident expert-”

“Jesus fuck.” Jason hissed, standing up stiffly because god damn it, “And what if it hadn’t been just four guards.”

Damian blinked at him, a stupid smug smile curling to life on his lips and damn Jason just wanted to wipe that look off his face, “Then I would have dealt with it.”

“And what if it had been the entire court you had just dropped in it? How exactly were you planning to get out then huh? I wasn’t here!” Jason waved an arm down at Damian’s stupid outfit, “I’m sure your ‘good’ and all but these people killed Batman and you had no backup-“

“I had backup.” Damian interrupted, smile faltering a bit at the mention of Batman.

Cocky, brash, fuck that was all too familiar. Jason had almost had this exact conversation before, only from the other side.

God. Was he turning into Bruce then??

“Alfred does not count-“ Fuck. Jason cut himself off but it wasn’t fast enough.

Not fast enough at all, Jason should have swallowed the damn sentence down because Damian straightened, eyes too bright and smile stretching wide. Just like Jason had just confirmed a theory. Fuck it. Damian had to know now.

“You really are pathetic at this cloak and dagger stuff, Hood.” Damian’s voice dripped with success, “Just give it up already.”

“Look. Kid.” Jason gritted out, ignoring Damian’s last comment entirely, it was safer that way, “If we are working together, that means we are working together. We scout, we go in together, or I just don’t tell you shit.”

“This output was from my intel.” Damian crossed his arms, “And if you withhold on me, I withhold on you.”

Fucking. Hell.

Jason pushed out a breath, and paced an angry line across the roof. Fucking hell, how had Dick been partnered to Damian without going crazy??? How?? Jason forced himself to a stop and glowered as best as he could through his helmet. Sure Damian couldn’t see it but it did make Jason feel fractionally better.

“Ok. Look, maybe you don’t trust me-” Jason started.

“You are still hooded.” Damian interrupted with a lazy shrug.

“But I reiterate.” Jason raised his voice a little louder, “If we are working together, we work together. I can hold myself in a fight, I’ve lasted against Talons before and clearly I need what you have.”

Damian shifted, arms crossed, mask warping as he moved through emotions Jason couldn’t quite name.

“I am aware of your fighting prowess.” Damian said, as if it was some great allowance, “And I suppose because of your expertise in the Talons means I would have a greater advantage in the field.”

Yes, Damian would. And a bigger advantage than he knew. Because his universe of not Jason was personally invested in not adding Damian's death to his conscience. The kid was a jerk, but there was a heart in there somewhere. Perhaps buried deep underneath the condescension and the pig-headed arrogance.

"Thank you for that grand and great compliment." Jason couldn't help but respond, words drenched in sarcasm.  

"Your welcome." Damian, the brat, took it sincerely, "Now this was my lead. What are you going to add to this partnership?"

Partnership. The word gave Jason a terrifying vision of his future, playing the wayward Robin to Damian's mini Batman. And damn he needed to go home before that ever happened.

“I need to do some final confirmations." Jason said, "Be ready tomorrow night, midnight.”

Final confirmations being finding Dick’s hideout and checking there were enough Talons around to get Damian to admit they needed the Justice League. Then getting the device, and then getting the hell out of Dodge.

Hopefully.

-=-

Dick’s new safe-house was a cold, magazine-looking apartment in the Westend. Owned by a woman who worked more overseas than she did in Gotham and only came back, like clockwork at the end of each month. Dick had sworn it was unknown by the Court, found only by him on accident when he murdered a man nearby. Which was a another fun fact about Dick's terrible life.  

Jason was due to meet Dick there after his little catch up with Damian, but, four buildings away, Jason swung to a stop. His neck prickled.

Dick's apartment scraped into view around the office building. No lights, no movement, nothing obvious about Jason's location about life. Unsurpising as Dick did tend to live in one spot in the dark but...

Something in the very edge of Jason's vision moved and Jason ducked under the rooftop ledge. He held, still and steady as he could, his hands pressing tight over his guns, a kick of adrenaline surfing high in his veins. Then, gradual as a glacier, he edged up, risking a glance over the ledge.

A figure was leaping high in the air between buildings, caught for a breath in the glare of neon billboard. Then they landed on the office building, two across from Jason, and slipped like water off the edge, effortlessly disappearing down the fifty story height. The shadow glinted with a gold edging that was all too familiar.  

Talon.

Fuck. Dick.

Jason tensed, rising to his feet. Dick was in that apartment he-

A hand flattened over his mouth, yanking him backwards and Jason kicked off the ground, intending to tilt their weight backwards but the figure who grasped him just stumbled back, retreating until they fell under the shadow ventilation unit and Jason twisted-viciously, turning, gun raised close between them-

“Jason.” Dick breathed, goggled eyes over Jason’s shoulder, “Don’t. Move.”

Jason had listened to orders for years, and just like that, the old training came back and Jason froze. They were close, Jason’s gun between their chests the only thing in between them. So close Jason could see the flecks of grey in Dick’s irises as his eyes flicked behind him. So close Jason could see an old scar nicking across Dick’s jugular, so eerily similar to Jason’s own. So close Jason could feel Dick’s tension wind up, like a coiled spring mounting.

The city glare reflected on Dick’s goggles darkened for a short, heart stealing moment and Jason’s hand tightened around his gun.

Jason imagined being caught. Imagined a hundred Talons finding them. Imagined Dick finally turning.

But then the glare returned, and Dick’s eyes tracked over Jason’s other shoulder.

They stayed, pinned together for another eight breaths, each feeling longer and longer, until Dick nodded, a slight jerk of the head and slipped out between Jason and the shaft. Dick poised, head twitching each direction then darted out.

Jason followed, close to Dick’s heels as he dared, down from the rooftops and sticking close to the sides of the old buildings. They stayed close to fire escapes and stopped at any movement above them.

Twice they stopped for an stray cat. Once for a rat in an alley.

Twenty minutes later Dick stopped in a Church roof, ducking behind a gargoyle. A familiar gargoyle and Jason bit down a misplaced sense of relief. Familiarity was not safety. Not by a long shot. A lesson he’d learn a long time before Bruce.

“So. They have clearly marked out all your former kill spots.” Jason told him, because it was obvious that they would have, it was stupid mistake of Jason to assume they wouldn’t have.

First rule of decretive work, work out where the criminal knew, where they had been before.

Dick’s head tilted, and despite nearly twenty minutes of flat out parkour, his breaths were even, “The rebel faction is larger than I anticipated.”

Large enough to be the entire Court. Jesus fuck Jason was literally skating an inch from death with these lies.

“Yes.” Jason said, tried for once to put some sincerity into it, “We can trust no one.”

Dick’s eyes fixed on him, and for a moment Jason thought that this, after all the bald faced lies he had given, that the only lie he’d put effort into had backfired. Jason shifted his weight to hind foot.

“You can trust me.” Dick said, and bowed his head, “I live and die by the Court, I serve-“

Nup. Still skating an inch from death then.

“Dick. I know.” Jason broke in, not wanting to spend more time reliving those fun vows, changed the topic entirely. “You told me once that you could lead me, a Court Member, to the place where the Court was storing you?”

Those sort of sentences had been why Jason had been so blaze with lies before.

Dick’s head rose, and his face had stilled, the faint brushes of expression he’d had before, cleaned off. It was funny to realise just how much Dick expressed himself now, after a only a couple of days in Jason's company.

“Yes. I can.” Dick’s eyes dropped down Jason, to his guns, to Jason’s waist where his swords were still clipped, his mouth tightened, “We will not survive a confrontation.”

That could have been a subtle insult to Jason’s fighting skills, or a general comment about the number of Talons. Jason couldn’t help but think it was a combination of the two and he frowned.

“I don’t want a confrontation.” Jason heard the sour note in his voice and continued, rougher, “We need intel, I want to stake it out, and since we currently have no safe house and no place to be…”

Cause when fate closed a door, or when Jason fucking locked himself in, he broke a window out.

“You are too loud, too obvious.” Dick decided, the most forthright thing Jason had heard yet from him, “Stay behind me, follow my footsteps.”

Just like Jason had been doing for the first half of his life. Fuck. Also-

“Fuck you I’m-“ Jason started and Dick’s mouth did something, flicked out wide, like-

A smile. Dick, Talon Dick, was smiling. His face lighting up like Dick’s, like Jason’s universe Dick. And fuck it all, Dick looked-

“Fuck you.” Jason continued, had to continue, clip his mouth shut, before he said something stupid.

He turned away, a strange feeling in his chest, hollow and too full all at once, and didn’t even get the chance to push it down entirely until Dick’s hand was hitting his shoulder, thumb pressing into his muscle.

“Follow me.” Dick said, and there was now that mirth in his voice as he added, “Softly.”

Jason groaned to himself as he followed Dick off the Church. Because save him, Talon Dick had found his sense of Dickish humour.

-=-

Of all places, Dick lead them to a series of low office buildings, right on the edge of the Docks. Four large old squat buildings, pushed between two warehouses made with a flat roofs and clear, almost painfully clear, rooftop entrances. Certainly not the mansion with the underground labyrinth Jason had been expecting, but then again, that mansion had been for the Court. This was just where they dumped their playthings.

“Here?” Jason questioned, low in the apartment they’d broken into.

Dick glanced at him, and pulled something from his pocket, he straightened it, flicking it forth until it extended, like a telescope. He took a quick look through it, adjusted the view and offered it over, careful to keep the angle the same.

“Here.” Dick confirmed.

Jason glanced through the telescope, it was angled at the a section of wall just jutting out from the warehouse. However, that was not what Jason saw through the telescope. Instead of wall, there was a small series of ledges, leading up to a small landing and a door. At that current moment a Talon was climbing the ledge. Jason pulled the glass away, the Talon disappeared and Jason was back to looking at a boring old wall. It even managed to look brighter as the sunlight slipped across it from the East.

Clever.

“Any other entrances?” Jason asked, offering the scope back.

“Three.” Dick folded the scope away, “The storm water drain, the right warehouse has an entrance and grate on the centre roof. The warehouse is filled with workers loyal to court. The grate is techically an entrance, however its electrified and netted with lasers and I've never seen anyone come in that way. If you wanted to be the first you'd have to be a lot thinner.”

Humour. Again. Dick turned to him, as if waiting for the response his witty remark had got him. Jason pressed the corners of his mouth down flat.

“And I’m guessing the storm water drain…”

Dick sighed, like Jason was missing out on his wit the magnanimous gift it was, “fingerprint recognition before a guarded entrance.”

“They have their own power generator?” Jason asked, casting another eye over the offices.

Normally accessing a target meant sweeping around it, checking records and dates and times of people leaving. They didn’t have the time, not if every moment they spent out on the streets meant the Talons were closer to finding Dick, closer to working out who and what had happened and they couldn’t risk circling the building on foot. It had only been a gut instinct and Dick���s timely arrival that had saved Jason from another conflict before, Talons were too quiet, too subtle.

Even Dick, in this screwed up universe, was softer and faster than Jason could have ever remembered him. Perhaps not as physically strong. But knives never needed more strength to part flesh.

“I am…” Dick seemed to struggle, “A generator I don’t…”

Another one of those few unanswerable questions.

“All good Dick.” Jason brushed off, because they would if they were any good.

And the Court was.

And all Jason had to do now was show Damian that they needed the Justice League and then get the Universe Hopper and-

“Have you seen enough?” Dick asked.

Dick.

Jason forced a tight smile, “Not quite, we’ve gotta take the scenic route out.”

Dick arched a brow. But waved a hand to gesture Jason forward and followed him out.

-=-

Jason’s boots hit Damian’s apartment at 11:00pm, the balcony doors opened and Damian sitting at the long table, sipping at a drink. He glanced up at Jason, not a hint of surprise on his face and gestured to the seat beside him.

“Drink, Hood?” Damian offered, swiping at something on his tablet.

“You’re a bit young to be offering me that, don’t you think?” Jason snorted, and took the offered seat.

There was another tablet on the table and Jason picked it, up, gratified to see it was all ready unlocked, and a map of Gotham lay at his fingertips, he zoomed in on the docks, and icons over each building popped up. Jason resisted the urge to snort, it was a mobile friendly batcomputer for the discerning Gen Z Batling. Good to see Damian was typical regardless of the universe.

“The drink offer was for tea or coffee, not any alcoholic beverages Mr… Hood.”

Alfred. Jason tore his eyes up, to the now open door on the right, and there was Alfred. He looked older in this universe, grief wearing deep circles under his eyes, a hunch in his normally straight back and the bones in hands were pronounced as he held his own cup, sipping from it slowly.

“Hi…” Jason darted a quick look at Damian, who cocked a brow at him, sitting back, and since Jason had already stuffed that secret, “Alfred.”

Alfred’s mouth thinned, and he eyed Jason steadily, as if attempting to peer through Jason’s hood from half a room away.

“I do not believe we are acquainted?” Alfred’s voice was all distrust curled in British indifference.

“We aren’t.” Jason turned back, pointed as he could, to his tablet.

The silence road in the room, high and uncomfortable as Jason pulled up the specs, playing oblivious to the looks Damian and Alfred clearly passed between each other. Then, abruptly, Damian snorted, pulling his own tablet to him, the same office blocks that Jason was looking at already on them.

“So then, I guess your research was successful. This is their hideout?”

The specs on the screen were the blueprints from the council, the latest one, renovations done in 97, had a layout that was as labrinyth-esque as office blocks could go. And a layout that completely contracted the blue prints dated two years earlier, and an exterior that hadn’t matched up visually with what Jason had seen.

“This is more of a Talon storage point. Their weapon hanger really.” Jason cast his eyes up, found them meeting Alfred’s, “If you go after the court, I want you to see all the resources brought down upon you.”

“Yes, yes and so I’d give up, you’d call the Justice League, and you get out with your device.” Damian rolled his eyes, “Your plan is terribly transparent. But there is a flaw with your plan, I’m assuming to test their resources you were planning to get them to react to something, which would inevitably increase their awareness and ruin any surprise we would have had when we go for the Court itself.”

Damian would have been correct. Had Jason not appeared in this bloody universe.

“You are not going to get them by surprise.” Jason winced, thankful his expression was hidden, “The Court is already on alert.”

“Oh really?” Damian’s voice was flat, “Did a Talon go AWOL?”

Jason had known Damian would hear of the scuffle with the Talons. They’d left the bodies in the floor of the apartment after a loud  fight that the neighbours would have called in. But Damian had said AWOL, not dead, and there was no way, no way at all that he could have known about Dick.

Still Damian looked too confident, too knowing.

“The point is,” avoiding the question was as good as admitting it, but there were no good options left to Jason, “That the Court is alert and checking their strength and now is the only time we can blame some one else.”

That was what surprised Damian.

“Blame the AWOL Talon?” Damian shot a fire quick glance to the tablet and then to the Jason, eyes narrowing, “Explain your plan.”

“You’ve still got the motorcycles?” Jason pulled back to the larger layout of the Docks, “I'm going to need to borrow them and a couple of other gadgets.”

"To do what exactly?" Damian pressed again.

-=-

Dick’s armour was on the smaller side, but a cache of hidden buckles and straps meant that it still fit. It was tight, breathing in deep was hard, but the ensemble was light, easy to move in. Too light, Jason had doubts about the armoured nature of the outfit but. Hopefully he wouldn’t need that.

According to Dick the storm water drain was recorded for five miles either direction before the hidden entrance. So, by now, surely, they would have picked up on him, coming from the East.

But Jason’s only company in the tunnel remained the sloshing of his own footsteps, and the squeaking of distant rats.

Jason pressed on, shoulders back stiff and soldier like as he’d seen Dick do. Mimicking Dick’s movements were easy, Talon Dick had Dick’s liquid grace, one that Jason studied for years, that was broken up with a military stiffness that wasn’t unlike the SAS training Jason had endured in his rebirth training sessions.

The tunnel sloped around a corner, and the entrance came into sight. It was innocuous, a bit like a service door, round, vault-like door with a rusty looking keypad beside it. No obvious cameras, no high tech gadgets sticking out, just a very smooth looking job.

Jason went up to the key, and scraped his fingers carefully around the outside of the lock. The lock came up, like a flap, just like Dick had said, and the fingerprint pad stuck out.

Pulling a glove, Jason pressed his finger down. The silicone fingerprint over the top read quick and clean, flashing green and the door popped softly, and Jason flipped his gloves back on.

He cracked the door, glancing inside, hand pressing to the inside rim of the entrance.  

There was a corridor, dark and long leading to a staircase, lit by warehouse styled long lights. Doors bracketed the corridor, every five metres or so, keypads and folders outside each one.

A shadow peeled off near the wall, and Jason held still as a tall, willow-like Talon prowled for him.

“Who do you serve?”

Jason ducked his head, held his hand to his chest, “The Court, I live and die by the Court’s-“

A finger ended with a savage looking metal claw, pressed under his chin and Jason’s hands dropped to his sides as he let the Talon bring his head up. He grasped the knife hilts at his side, and held perfectly still.

The Talon’s goggles were clear, and Jason saw the grey dead looking eyes inside.

“Who are you?”

“A Talon, a weapon in the night, a whisperer following the Court’s commands.”

The claw pressed deeper, pricking with pain.

“Who are you?” The Talon asked again, and there was a flicker of movement down the hallway.

Well. Jason had been expecting to get farther, but…

“A talon.” Jason breathed, hand firming around the handle of his dagger, “A weapon-“

With one hand he grasped the Talon’s arm, yanking down from his neck. The other plunged up, slotting in deep between the Talon’s ribs, just deep enough to risk a puncture of a lung if he pulled it out.

Then Jason shoved him back and it might have been shock, or may have been Jason had nicked something else but the Talon fell like a stone, hands at the dagger, mouth still open. Jason did not have the time to see him land, the darkness was moving, Talons materialising, glittering with blades.

Jason ran. He skidded to the door, ducking low, four blades flying over head, and dropped the flash bang and sprinted.

For a moment the drain lit up behind him, bright as daylight, every scrum line obvious on the wall, the rats scuttling away, and Jason’s exit two metres away and the next it was pitch dark.

And in the darkness, the sounds of boots moving in the water filled the air.

It was a blind grab to find the ladder, and Jason scrambled up, shoving up and driving right into comparatively bright street. He hauled himself up, nearly clearing it when his leg spasmed.

There was no time to think, Jason hauled the rest of himself out, saw the knife imbedded in his calf, pulled it out, tossed it to the side and slid the manhole cover back over.

He hurried to his feet, each step awaking the injury in a fissure of iron-hot pain, but he made the corner before he heard the manhole cover clatter open. Another corner, leading to a small alley and there, in glorious metal was Damian’s bike.

Jason flicked out the key, and hit the gas as soon as he was able. He rocketed out of the alley, three Talon divings for him at the entrance, their fingers scraping ineffectually across Jason’s back and the motorbike’s case, and Jason hit the street hard, skidding around to the major street in view.

His right arm jerked forward and a starburst of pain bloomed in his shoulder, radiating down his entire arm like a hot poker shoving through his veins, shocks vibrating through his hand.

“God damn Talons” Jason hissed out, barely seeing the road under him, the turn and traffic coming up, “Fuck.”

The bike wobbled beneath him but Jason clung on hard with his left, pushing the turn to right and breaking neatly between two oncoming cars. The cleaner, two cars in Jason’s sight and he pressed down as hard as he could, hearing the bike turbo’s whine high and thready underneath him.

“I’m fine. Totally fucking fine.” Jason tried to steady his breaths, but in each inhale it felt as it something was punching him down, pushing the air out.

He needed to access the damage. Fuck.

He pushed south, until the buildings were larger, flasher. Then with a flick in the mirrors he pulled hard into a alley.

As soon as he’d slowed enough, Jason glanced over his shoulder

There was a knife in his shoulder, almost in his armpit, blood trickling down in steady waves. Jason plucked his right hand from the motorbike, and attempted to curl his hands. His right hand twitched, and the fiery breath of pain licked right up his arm localised in a tight ball at the knife.

“Just Fantastic. Exactly what I needed.” Jason squeezed his eyes out.

The knife had hit a nerve. Jason needed to pull it out before it severed it. But. He needed to pull it out in a way that also wouldn’t server it.

Fuck.

“Right. This is fine.” Jason pulled out his empty knife sheath, unclipping it, and sticking the rubber in his mouth.

He bit down hard, the bitter taste of grease hanging in his mouth, and curved his right shoulder in as far as he could manage, and reached with his left hand. He touched the knife, a firm a hold as he could manage.

It flared, deep down to his bones and Jason bit down into the sheath hard. He imagined for a tenuous moment his arm sliced off, and surely, surely, that would be less painful. But the pain didn't stop, didn't end, and Jason's grip tightened.

“Right.” Jason muttered, blurred words with the sheath.

And he pulled.

The whiteness flooded back in, pain like fire igniting in his shoulder and his arm and then the ground raced towards him, the heavy motorcycle bearing him down.

Great, Jason thought, absent and foolish as he slipped, dying in alley, his life was so glamorous.

He was out before he hit the ground, the knife clattering from his hand.