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dronebiscuitbat · 3 months

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Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 27)

Uzi found herself awakned abruptly, yanked out of sleep mode by some unseen force. She was groogy, the drone equivalent of a hangover due to loosing so much oil so suddenly and the disappearance of the adrenaline running through her.

After a few moments of dazed blinking, she realized what had woken her up, Tera made a rather loud gurgle from her crib, and the rolled herself into the bars of it, making a metallic rattle ring out into their room.

“I'm coming.” She mumbled, attempting to sit up but finding her self held down by metallic ropes.

They weren't ropes, rather N's arms wrapped tightly around her from behind, at her movement, he held her tighter, nuzzling into the back of her neck. A shiver went down her back, okay her neck was sensitive she knew that now.

“N, come on, Tera needs me.” Her voice was low and sleepy, and her limbs and body hadn't fully woken up yet, leaving her feeling weak and heavy.

“Mmm…” Came a very-much-not-awake reply, his tail came to lock her in place, and from his core came a deep rumbling purr, both trying their best to put her right back into sleep mode. And she would have, had Tera not made another noise;

A beep. A beep that sounded too much like the same noise that came from her systems when she was about to start overheating.

She snapped entirely awake.

“N! Let me go, Tera's overheating!”

Instantly, he uncoiled from around her and sprung to life, eyes coming on his screen as he jolted up.

“W-what?” His voice was husky, filled with sleep, he blinked as Uzi rocketed toward the crib, placing a hand on Tera.

For once, she had a small frown displayed on her face, looking uncomfortable. A little red light displayed on the top right corner of her visor, her silicone was warm to to touch, nearly the same temperature as N on a good day.

She rushed to fill a bottle, trying to comfort the uncomfortable infant, N shook his head rapidly, trying to shake off his drowsiness as he sat on the side of the bed, watching her pace around the room in worry.

She was so occupied with feeling terrible about not feeding Tera, that she didn't even notice the sparks of pain the siphon caused in her panel, it was only after the bottle was safely in Tera's port and the baby was calmed by the feed that the input went through her.

She sighed, the day was so hectic that they'd both entirely forgotten that Tera could overheat if not monitored closely, Uzi was already beating herself up over it. She left her alone, the exact opposite of what she ever wanted to do to her, she was just like her dad she was-

N’s arms came to pull her into his lap, taking care to keep her hand and Tera steady as he nuzzled into her shoulder, she could feel the gentle hum of his core on her back.

Tera finished the bottle, red light disappearing and a smile right back on her face, she giggled up at Uzi, cooing softly at the sight of her parents.

“M’sorry Jellybean, it won't happen again, I swear.” She whispered, even though she was 80% sure Tera didn't understand her, she tickled the babies chassis, making a peel of happy laugher erupt from her speakers.

“She okay?” N asked, voice still sleepy and pressed right up against her audio receptors, his arms wrapped around her stomach and his legs underneath her.

“She's okay, it didn't seem to effect her any, just made her upset.” She leaned back a little into her boyfriends chest, causing another bout of purrs to escape him, he moved farther into her neck, causing her to shiver again.

“I can't believe we forgot…” She glanced to the shoulder he was buried in, and found that he was now looking down at the baby in her arms, one of his hands came to stroke Tera's head, and she giggled in response.

“Today was insane, you shouldn't worry too much.” His voice so close to her ear sending pleasant streams of data directly to her core, and at this point she wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose or not.

“Still, it's my job to remember.” She replied, looked back down at Tera, who seemed to be fully charged and raring to go despite the fact it was the middle of the night

“It's our job to remember, I forgot too.” He kissed her cheek, sending another fluster onto her visor, although a muted one, she was slowly beginning to get used to it.

“Mmm” Was all she hummed out, giving into the urge to nuzzle into his neck just as he had done to her, she felt her core give a rattle before she heard herself purr, the rumble being hardly noticeable to anyone that wasn't N.

“Awww,” He hummed back; sounding amused and a little touched, his tail wagging rapidly behind him.

She could fall asleep again, tucked into her boyfriends arms like this, feeling like the safest thing in the universe, or the luckiest, having him to hold her so tight.

“M-ma?” Both drones froze, looking back down at the droneling, who was looking like she was trying to figure out something.

“Mama!” Maybe it was cliche, Maybe it was dumb, but Uzi immediately felt tears spring into her eyes, getting choked up over Tera’s word, Tera herself was rocking herself happily, smiling from eyelight to eyelight.

“Oh… Is that me?” She lifted the droneling up to her face, smile so wide to threatened to be permanent.

“Mama!”

“Yeah it is.” N confirmed, chuckling as he took in his girlfriends face, smiling and yet on the verge of tears. “Looks like she's not mad at you.”

He lifted the both of them off his lap, setting them on the bed next to him, his smile was stuck on his face as well, and Uzi let Tera roll across the bed, laughing as the droneling launched herself into a pillow.

“You're next, “Dada”.” She laughed at his blush, and at his tail sticking up stiff, but in the next moment he was touching her face, shutting her up.

His eyes were so soft, absent of the worry from earlier today, she couldn't help but smile and lean into it, which only made N's smile grow wider.

“You're so pretty.” He said, low and breathless, a slight blush on his face, but it seemed he was getting used to it too, Uzi looked down at herself, in her black, skull printed pajamas and her bedhead.

“I think you need glasses.” She replied, although the compliment did get to her, and she found herself watching Tera to avoid his gaze.

“Nah… I'm right.” He said with faux confidence, before pulling her in to pepper tiny kisses all over her, her forehead, her cheeks, her visor, anywhere he could reach which was everywhere.

“N!, Hey! Haha!” A stream of impulsive, bubbly giggles left her throat, blushing so much she thought she might overheat, she kicked at him instinctively.

It only lasted a couple of seconds before he pulled away, holding her close to his chest and letting out a content sigh, their eyes locked, causing Uzi to let out a very girly giggle.

“Okay! Okay! Fine! Whatever you say!” N laughed along with her, before Tera rolled and bumped into his leg, he lifted her gently into his lap, causing her to gurgle up at him.

“En!” She belted, seeming to vibrate in his arms, he nuzzled her silicone, causing her to squeal and try to roll away.

“I guess we better start the day, there's no way she's going to let us sleep anymore.” Uzi said, still recovering from his attack on her face, she stood up and stretched, feeling the pressure release from between her joints.

“Yeah…”

They both got dressed, And began a tentative morning routine, N making himself some cold gasoline, while Uzi made a plan for the day (and V peaced out the moment she woke up.)

“Hey uh, did we ever explain to Thad where we went?” She asked as N took a sip out of his mug, and he smiled warily.

“Eh… no? I never did, did you text him?” He asked, holding Tera in one arm as she cooed up at him.

“No…” She laughed nervously, rubbing her arm. “I hope he's not too mad…”

“Don't you need to pick up more oil anyway? We can go together, if you feel up to it… yesterday was crazy, so if you wanna stay home we can-” He suggested, standing, Tera curled in one arm as he walked towards her, almost tempting her to curl up in the other.

“Nope! I'm good!” Which she refused! She could do more than cuddle all day, she wasn't fragile no! She'd almost died plenty of times now.

“Uh- are you sure? You almost died…” He pointed out, sounding worried and maybe a little dissapointed, likely wanting to continue to drown her in affection forever.

“I actively avoid thinking about the times I almost die.” She quotes him, giving him a smirk and eyelights that told him that she was fine now, a good bounce-back after a night of being taken care of.

That was something she wasn't used to, someone taking care of her that… tenderly, and unlike before her near death experience didn't weigh nearly as heavy on her as the others. She felt… good. Not 100% but good.

“That- I uh- you know that sounds way worse when I'm not the one saying it.” He laughed lightly, grabbing the baby bag that was hung over a chair and without much warning, wrapped it around her, pulling her close once more.

“Yeah well, now you know how I feel.” She said as if she was trying to be sarcastic, but failed as all she managed to sound was amused, she hugged him back lightly, both seemingly taking advantage of being able to touch the other freely.

She took Tera and swaddled her into the bag, even while knowing the little gremlin would somehow find a way to undo it without limbs.

“Come on.”

For the first time since they'd brought her home, Uzi and N were walking together with Tera in tow, the droneling not quite happy being contained in cloth and already rolling as much as she could to get out of it.

For the two parents, it was a strange experience.

N normally got stares regardless, he was several heads taller than any other drone and was, well, a disassembly drone. The gut instinct of most was to flee, at least until they realized who it was.

Now they were both getting looked at with a different kind of look, one accompanied by either whispers or smiles or both. Uzi had the distinct impression that this would be the new gossip of the colony for awhile.

But she found herself not minding too much. That was… okay, she looked up at N, who looked bashful at all the looks they were getting, and just smiled, it was okay, they'd be fine.

“Oh my robo-god, it's true…”

“How did that even happen…?”

“That's a lot of drone for him to handle…”

She almost laughed when her receptors caught the last one, yes, the tiny rebellious worker drone was a lot for the very large, armed to the teeth warmachine that was specially designed to murder her kind, yes. She was too much for him.

They walked into the nursery together, Mrs. Rayn propping her feet up on the desk while reading a magazine, she looked over her pair of glasses when they walked in, a beaming smile on her face.

“Why hello, Doorman Family, how can I help you three?” With the smirk on her face and the slight blushes on both parents faces, she knew what she did, she definitely knew.

“Hi Mrs. Rayn!” N replied cheerily, tail slightly wagging at the sight of her, Uzi gave her a small wave, and Tera squealed from her bag, already somehow out of her swaddle.

“Just picking up my oil, had an uh, “accident” yesterday and had to use a whole container.” Uzi explained, holding a hand over the baby bag to prevent the excitable infant from rolling onto the floor.

“I was about to say, you're a couple of days early.” Rayn grinned, putting down her magazine and stretching her fingers before typing some things on her computer.

“Hmm, Tera is due for her toddler body soon. Would you like me to start work on building her one? She's got a lot of energy and nowhere for it to go.” She asked, looking at the wildly rocking baby back attached to Uzi's side.

“Yes! I was going to bring that up soon. I know it's really early for her to have one, but… it would be best for her to be able to start learning limbs, she's already-”

“Mama! Mama! Mama!” Tera screamed, filling the entire room with her voice, Uzi blushed heavily, Rayn looked amused, and like her core had melted.

“How's that feel?” She asked the purple drone, getting a soft smile in return.

“Really good…” She admitted, a tone so soft you could sleep on it.

“I'll get the printers working, it'll be a couple days. In the meantime, let me go get you your oil.” She disappeared into the back, and left the young couple alone.

“So uh, we're going to have a very energetic toddler in a couple days.” N began, sounding a little nervous.

“Yeah.”

“How's that going to be?”

“Uh. Well it usually takes a few years for toddlers to get full control over their limbs, so… a lot of hitting if she's anything like me.” Uzi replied, looking a little amused, Tera probably wouldn't be as… violent of a toddler as Uzi was, but she didn't deny the possibility.

“Ah…” That did not seem to calm his nerves.

“Relax, we got this.” She smiled back at him, booping her little rolling gremlin and making her laugh.

N only smiled back, interlocking their hands.

“Yeah, we got this.”

Next ->

#murder drones #biscuitbites #nuzi #uzi doorman #serial designation n #n and uzi #oil is thicker then blood #this was a comfort chapter for me #cute family fluff time #next one Thad meets Tera.

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backpackingspace · 4 months

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Young odysseus convincing everyone Ithaca is nothing but a poor island with rocks and goats to avoid any raids/conquerors/so he doesn't get murdered for talking to Helen bc "it's not like he's a real choice"

Young odysseus falling in love with Penelope at the same event: wait. Wait shit I fucked up hold on just hear me out

#the odyssey #Odysseus #Penelope #Pre-canon(?)#odypen #Odypen meet ulgy #When the cute “bumpkin” boy wants to marry you but only brought 3 goats for your cousins gifts #AND you caught him spying on your family #There's like a single line in the odyssey where I think some god is narratoring (not 100% sure)#And they have a well actually interjection moment to explain how Ithaca isn't just one island it actually has a shit ton of land #And is technically richer then every other country #Which honestly just makes it funnier that odysseus was like welp time to beg again with zero issues for 10 years #But it will never not be funny to me that young odysseus really shot himself in the foot with Penelopes family for the start #Like clearly it worked out but I bet Penelope father HATES him #Listen odysseus showed up to Helen's courting for the drama ONLY he never planned on marrying her #Bc he knew her husband would be murdered immediately #My man showed up for the drama and stayed for Penelope #Otp #I love them #And need more of these two being rat bastards to each other and LOVING it #Listen neither one of them has let a single thing go in their whole life and they like that about the other #Odysseus going to buy anything for his wife ever #Penelope: Oh my can we afford that this is just a simple rock island with a few goats #Odysseus: dressed head to toe in very very rich cloth that his wife made #Ithaca with the fastest ships bc ody designed new ones #Penelope: literally dripping with jewels that were MAYBE stolen (shut up you can't prove anything and Penelope likes it when he's a bastard #Odysseus: you're so right my bad that was so irresponsible for getting you a gift. Perhaps your father would like to pay instead?

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dangermousie · 1 year

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I love kdrama romcoms.

#kdrama #kim sun ho #hometown cha cha cha #Flashing back to OTP meet-cute in secretary kim being abuse/kidnapping/almost murder by a psycho as kids

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whipitgod · 5 months

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Don’t Worry About The Tomatoes

Hannibal Lecter x Will graham

oneshot - wc :1.2k

summary: not that plot heavy just a mix of fluff and crack jammed into a meet ugly trope/au. will is hannibal’s horrible new neighbor and hannibal struggles to be that angry about his behavior.

warnings: none other than potential bad writing and both of them being kind of ooc lol

a/n: feedback is greatly appreciated!!!! remember to like and reblog if you enjoy this, maybe even follow me ~ this really got away from me, i didn’t really have a solid plan going into but if you like it lmk and ill write a part 2 or something :D

Hannibal shuts his book sharply, standing with a huff and turning to look out the window into the backyard. His newest neighbor has been nothing short of a pain since he moved in a couple weeks before, from the loud rumble of power tools as he made repairs on the house, to the barking of the many dogs that he seems to have.

Hannibal feels somewhat willing to look past the noise of the power tools given that the home is admittedly a bit run down. Truthfully he can't remember who the last tenant of the home was, he thinks he remembers an old woman living in the home alone. The only thoughts crossing his mind as he peers through the window at the man hacking at an overgrown tree with a chainsaw are that he wishes the old lady still resided in the home, and he hopes the man has an unfortunate accident with the loud saw. Hannibal has yet to even see the man, having no idea his name let alone what he looks like, but he’s fantasized of taking his life on more occasions than he can count in the short time that the man has lived there.

“This is ridiculous.'' Hannibal grouses, pushing away from the window with the intent to confront the man, who cares about witnesses at this point; he'd be surprised if the other neighbors don't thank him for his service to the community. As soon as his hand reaches the door knob a loud crash echoes from the backyard, he hopes its the frustrating man falling to his demise,

“I'm not that lucky.” Hannibal muses quietly, making quick strides back towards the window. What he sees is enough to make him gasp in shock, pressing a hand against his heart as he takes in the damage. The branch the man was sawing at had fallen directly onto Hannibal's garden, the plants beneath the branch no question destroyed. He had just gotten that tomato plant staked properly. With a renewed vigor he charges out of the room and towards the back door grumbling quietly to himself as he goes,

“Going to use my bare hands, might not even eat him,” He grabbed the knob and pushed the door open, “going to have to see if there is even anything left to eat.” He continues his quiet murmurs until he spots the man with his back turned to him.

“Excuse me,” Hannibal spat, unable to disguise most of the anger bubbling inside him, “You destroyed my-” he’s unable to finish his complaint as the man finally turns to face him.

Oh god, he’s probably the most attractive man Hannibal has ever laid eyes on. Hannibal sucks in a sharp breath, opening his mouth with the intent to speak again, though he doubts he’d be able to get the words out. He doesn't have to worry about speaking because the man beats him to it,

“Hello?” dear god even his voice is attractive, a rasp coming from what hannibal assumes is years of smoking met with a slight southern drawl, must have grown up somewhere in the south, hannibal rolls the thought around his head a few times all while staring blankly at the gruff man in front of him.

“You must be the owner of the garden I demolished,” the man started, “sorry about that.” He didn't really sound all that sorry, if anything his tone bordered on teasing; if Hannibal was in his right mind he would have found the mans flippant attitude towards the situation unspeakably rude, but he was currently finding it hard to feel any anger towards the beautiful man in front of him. It took Hannibal a moment to even recognize that the man had asked him a question, realizing only when he met the man's curious gaze.

“Hannibal Lecter,” he held out his hand and the other man gripped it firmly. The first thought that went through Hannibal's mind was strong followed quickly by a horrified what am I doing?

“Will Graham,” the man responded, “Again I’m really sorry about your garden.” The man, Will Hannibal's mind supplied, still didn't really seem that sorry; before hannibal could truly think about that he found himself responding quickly,

“It’s not a big deal,” the phrase leaves his mouth before he can stop himself, “It was an honest mistake.” he says the last part with a smile determined not to show the gravity of his internal conflict. Oh god what is wrong with me, his brain supplies in a panicked tone, of course it’s a big deal, it is a huge deal.

“Are you sure?” Will questions returning the smile, “I wouldn't blame you if you were angry with me.”

Hannibal stares at him blankly for a moment, he wants to be angry, he's digging around in his brain trying to find his anger. He can't be angry, not when all he can think about is seeing him smile again. Dear god what is my problem, flashes through Hannibal's mind,

“I'm very sure,” Hannibal affirmed, “I actually planned on digging up the garden and planting some new things.” hannibal prays to whatever higher power there may be that will doesn't notice the flood of different emotions that flash across his face as the words leave his mouth, it seems like his prayer works because Will responds with a smile,

“Would you like my help replanting? Given that I’m the one that crushed it.” Will chuckles softly as the last words leave his mouth, Hannibal also lets out a soft laugh before he can catch himself.

“Oh I couldn't ask that of you,” Hannibal replied, a pitiful attempt at denying how much he wants the help, if only as an excuse to spend more time around the enthralling man in front of him.

“You didn't ask,” will starts with a small smile, “I offered.”

Hannibal returns the smile,it feels like the only thought his brain is capable of is what am I doing? Before he can think better of it hannibal lets out a sigh,

“Well I would be remiss to turn down help when offered,” Hannibal begins, “Would you be free tomorrow to start working?” Hannibal sucks in a quiet breath waiting for the other man to respond, why am I so nervous?

“Even if i wasn't i’d make the time,” Will responds with a teasing smile, “how does noon sound?”

Hannibal has half the mind to think that it almost sounds like Will is flirting though he doesn't have the time to dwell on it before he's rushing out a response,

“Noon sounds perfect.”

Will sends Hannibal another smile accompanied with a teasing look, almost like he understands the effect he's had on Hannibal's blood pressure since the beginning of their interaction.

“It's a date,” Will confirms, “see you tomorrow hannibal.” and with that the man turns and begins walking towards the door of the worn down house, not sparing another look at hannibal as he enters the house and shuts the door softly behind him. Hannibal stands there for a minute staring blankly at the door, his thoughts cascading through his head faster than he can even recognize what they are. He doesn't even realize that his feet had carried him back to his home until he steps through the doorway and the door slams shut behind him, snapping him from his stupor. He lets out a harsh breath attempting to gather his thoughts,

“What the hell just happened.”

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thunderjackal · 7 months

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spspsps tma fandom come get your feed of toxic old man yoai

ANYWAY i think a lot of elias's problems could have been solved if they let him wear dresses into the institute tbh

#peter lukas #elias bouchard #lonleyeyes #THAT IS THEIR SHIP NAME/??? STOP ITS TOO CUTE #the magnus archives #tma fanart #tma #tma s3 #tma s4 #magpod #the mag pod #emotional process went 'oh they're having a meeting together ok they know eachother i bet hes super evil' to 'oh. oh elias is leaving the #insitude with him' to 'OH NO GAY UM HE HAS CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN'#Elias is slaying and by slaying i mean [extended sounds of brutal pipe murder]#thunders funky art #headcanon that Jon and Elias's floaty eyes kind of act as an broadcast of their emotions #and during s4 sometimes a bunch of eyes appear around Martin with little heart pupils and he freaks out #and Peter just sits there sipping his coffee like 'dont worry I've been there done that'

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perpetually-confused2 · 3 months

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I was gonna say I can make him worse but no I cant hes already reached worst person of the year. But he is hot so I forgive him

#meet cute mass murder #first date idea #what if he killed your whole family #then turned you into an ageless undying being #and then ate you #that would be cool I think #ferid bathory #seraph of the end #owari no seraph #chapter 137 screen shot #just one chance #please please please #Im young enough for him #breaking news twinkiest man you know commits terrorism #I wonder if anyone reads these #im just kinda writting whatever

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hauntedfalcon · 2 months

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it's WIP Wednesday Saturday

thank you for tagging me @s0ftpining!

rules: post a snippet from one of your current WIPs and pass on the love by tagging other writers

The not-unpleasant smell of brine brought with it mingled strangeness and familiarity. Two slanted nostrils were set in the fur that Genevieve held, and a handspan behind them were a pair of dark round openings, angled almost too wide to allow for—what was the term she had read?—binocular vision. They were eerie enough when empty, but Genevieve could not help but imagine them watching her with dark, intelligent eyes. Genevieve felt something like cold water pass down her spine. She knew what it was that she touched. You can’t keep this one either, Sparling. Stifling a sigh, she let the seal skin fall from her hand to dangle once more. The kettle was boiling. Genevieve turned toward the stove— And found herself looking up at the rafters, wondering why she suddenly had no air in her lungs. The woman, awake, loomed into view. Her eyes were grey like Genevieve’s, but pale. That was probably a strange thing to notice at a time like this, but it was better than focusing on the woman’s breasts. “You can’t keep me here.” The woman’s voice was rough with disuse; it reminded Genevieve of the noise of water seeping away between pebbles on the shore after the crash of a wave. She snarled, “I’ll kill you.”

tagging @saintmouthed, @rabbit-exe, and YOU

#it's a Mononoke meet-cute in the coping AU about my Candela character!#also it is technically possible to guess from this excerpt which Hozier lyric I have selected for a title #y'all the sheer quantity of selkie media I have been mainlining lately as genre research...#I can report with glee that in 100% of the selkie lesbian romance novels I have read there is consistently at least one murder #this fic is going to uphold that tradition *and* be a statistical outlier!!

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sagaduwyrm · 1 year

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Here I am With All My Flaws (Seeking Form and Shelter)

Dick Grayson had half an hour left on his patrol before he could go home and go to sleep. Then Dante Nightingale and his siblings happened. And oh fuck, why is he so pretty. OR Dante Phantom has two deaged siblings to hide and Gotham is somehow the best option. The cute vigilante was a surprise though. The accidental murder is pretty par for the course.

Side Note: Does anyone know what the ship name for Dick/Dan is?

In his long years as a vigilante, Nightwing had learned one thing very well: Gotham did not know the meaning of the phrase “A quiet night.” In Gotham, a quiet easy night was the calm before the storm, the eerie stillness that preceded death and destruction.

Which was why he was pleasantly surprised to find his shift almost over and nothing worse than a few muggings and one stick-up to show for it.

Then again, this was the plan. Red Robin and Spoiler had the cult case, Robin was with Black Bat tracking down Dr. Freeze, Batman was out of town, and the Birds of Prey were working their way through a new crime family. Red Hood rarely discussed his plans with the other bats, but as far as Nightwing knew, Crime Alley was all normal operations at the moment, with only a minor intrusion by the Falcones for Hood’s men to deal with.

That left Nightwing with the simplest job of them all: petty crime. All he had to do was patrol the streets and make sure that the more minor criminals knew that even with all the wackos and bigshots running around, the bats still had more than enough hands to keep an eye on them too. A quiet, easy job, at least by bat standards. Just another half an hour, then Signal would take over for him and he could head back to the manor, get a quick shower in, snag some of Alfred’s cooking, and crash for the next eight hours.

A harsh crash echoed through the alleys beneath him, like flesh striking brick. Nightwing winced in sympathy and quickly tracked the sound to a nearby crevice.

A man was climbing his way back up to his feet, apparently the one to meet the wall with his backside. He looked skinny as a rake with ragged clothes and the symbol for one of the local gangs sewn onto his shoulder. He was laughing, short asthmatic huffs that were the hallmark of any Gothamite who’d had a too-close encounter with the Joker’s laughing gas and hadn't gotten proper treatment.

“A meta, huh? That won’t save you. We own these streets boy. We’ll own you too.”

Nightwing froze where he was crouching. He had already planned to wait until he understood what was going on, always a good practice when organized crime was involved, but with a meta in the mix, this could get bad. Even numbers on whether it’d be the meta or his opponents in trouble.

Dick turned sharp eyes on the other man in the alley. He was caught half in shadow, with broad shoulders and a sharp, strong jawline, messy hair tied back but swaying gently, flickering like fire. In any other circumstances, Nightwing might have tried to flirt with him. He’d always been a sucker for the sort that looked like they could break him in half.

"Stay. The Fuck. Away. From. Them," the taller man snarled.

Fuck, even his voice was sexy. It was deep and rich, with an eerie undertone like a roaring fire, marking another box in the meta-or-inhuman checklist.

The goon was still giggling. “Ooh, big scary man with a big scary voice. Not going to save you. Hand over the brats or watch them die, fuckhead. We’ll even—” he cut himself off with a sharp cackle. “We’ll even give you a cut of the profits, how about that?”

Every piece of electronics within ten yards shrieked and began throwing up sparks. Nightwing swore and jumped to dodge a falling air conditioning unit, thankful for the layers of magical and non-magical protection on his own electronic gear. He swiftly kicked the now-on-fire unit onto cement, pulling out the pellets of fire extinguisher foam from his utility belt.

When he looked back down into the alley, the meta had the fool by the throat, dangling him a foot above the ground where he thrashed frantically. The meta's eyes were glowing the color of congealed blood.

“You think you can sell my siblings? In this city? ” The man had a very sharp set of fangs, Dick noted, ones that didn’t seem to exist entirely in the physical plane. Mainly, there were too many of them and they were too long to fit in his mouth. Nightwing was sure they hadn’t been there twenty seconds ago. “Try it,” the meta snarled. “If the bats don’t get you, the Red Hood will. If he doesn’t get you, I will.”

The goon had frozen sometime during his speech but was now struggling fiercely, with an almost insane desperation in his eyes. He thrashed and yanked, while the man watched with disgusted derision, apparently unimpressed with the previously willful man’s terror. Nightwing snorted a little under his breath and went to make his way down and break things up before they could go too far. He needed to arrest the perp and interrogate him about his gang’s business. Just because this man could clearly protect himself and his family didn’t mean everyone in Gotham could.

The scrawny man got his foot up and kicked at the other’s torso. The man didn’t flinch, but his fingers did clench around the criminal’s neck in surprise. The meta had claws , Nightwing suddenly realized. Sharp ones.

They went straight through the goon's neck, severing arteries that started spraying blood like a fire hydrant. The idiot was dead before he hit the ground.

The two of them, the vigilante and the murderer, stared at the body in mute shock for a long moment.

Finally, Nightwing dug some words out of the hole in his chest. “Did you just kill him on accident ?” His words held more than a tinge of disbelief. Even in Gotham, or especially in Gotham, murder tended to hold a bit more intentionality behind it.

The man looked up at him, no surprise visible at the vigilante’s presence, but plenty of other emotions crowding his face. Annoyance and exasperation, startlement, bad-tempered fury, and intense stress competed for room in his body language.

“If I meant to kill him,” he spoke slowly, in the same way that the build-up before a volcanic eruption was slow. “He’d be a bloody smear on the wall. I don’t do overkill. Why the fuck—”

he cut himself off with a growl, seeming to struggle for words. “That amount of pressure wouldn’t put a scratch on my siblings. I didn’t expect—” he gestured towards the body, flicking the blood off his claws with a sharp movement— “ that .”

Nightwing gave a hum, carefully cleaning up his body language so the other man wouldn’t be able to read the shock and wariness in it. If the meta’s siblings were similarly endowed and he wasn’t used to interacting with normal humans, that would make accidentally tearing a man’s throat out plausible. It didn’t make it okay though, and the way the man used the phrase ‘bloody smear on the wall’ had Nightwing's hackles up. His hand inched towards the button on his belt that would call for backup.

The meta’s head jerked to the side and his eyes, still steadily glowing red, widened, causing Nightwing to jump. A door set into the apartment building across the alley opened with a rusty creak where the man was looking. Two children levered their heads out the door, peering down the alley with sharp, clever eyes that looked just like the meta’s. They couldn’t have been older than five or six.

Their eyes widened with delight when they caught sight of what must have been their older brother.

“Tay!” they shrieked. They hurtled down the alleyway, leaping at their brother from a distance that made Nightwings breath catch. The man spun in place to catch them, kicking the corpse behind a nearby pile of trash in the same movement.

“Tay! The food started boiling over and I know you said not to touch it but I did because it looked really bad and Danny said I should’ve just turned the stove off but I know you stir it whenever—”

The boy shoved his sister’s face to the side, cutting her off. “I told her she should have just turned it off but she tried to stir it and it splashed on her and she iced it! The whole thing! And I couldn’t get it to melt!”

The meta’s harsh expression melted into exasperated fondness, and he slipped his grasp down to the kids’ ankles, throwing them over his shoulder’s to their delighted shrieks. His claws didn’t pierce their skin.

It was a little easier to understand why he was so ready to murder with the kids right there. They were tiny .

Dick took a deep breath, fighting to get his body to relax into something less battle-ready. He felt his shoulders tense back up though as all three meta’s swung glowing gazes up to his perch.

Blood red, lazarus green, and cyan blue. All mildly alarming colors to see in glowing eyes. Dick was unsure whether it helped or not that, now that he could see the man’s full face, his sharp glare was uncomfortably attractive.

“Tay,” the girl leaned in to whisper in her brother’s ear. Of course, it was a five-year-old’s idea of a whisper, so Nightwing could still hear it. “We aren’t supposed to let the bats know. They’ll make us leave .” She looked very solemnly at his brother after disclosing this information.

Nightwing cleared his throat, determinedly not thinking about the goon who just lost his throat or about the beautifully soft expression the meta graced his sister with. “You really should leave. Gotham isn’t a safe place for any kid, but especially not metas.”

“We aren’t—” the girl’s face scrunched up and her brother slapped her hand over his mouth, before burying his face in their eldest brother’s back.

The man looked back at Nightwing, a hint of a snarl on his face. “You think we’d be here if we had any other options? This city is the only one that will hide us.”

Nightwing’s gaze sharpened. “Hide you from what?”

The man scoffed. “None of your business, Knight of Gotham.”

Nightwing examined him carefully. He was inclined to believe that anyone who so clearly cared about his little sibling couldn’t be all bad. Not to mention, Gotham had all sorts of weird energy fields going on and a strong hostility toward outsiders. The city truly might have been their best chance at hiding from whoever it was whose memory had the younger siblings curling up into themselves and the elder brother broadening his stance as if in preparation for a fight.

Still, Nightwing didn’t like the idea of someone with the man’s power sticking around in Gotham with no one keeping an eye on him, both for his sake and others. Luckily, he had an idea.

“Look. There is a reason we keep metas out of this city. But,” he painted a winning smile on his face and raised a hand to forestall any protests. “We aren’t going to kick you out if Gotham is really your best option.” Well, he said we, but really he was making the decisions here. Batman would just have to deal.

The man’s eyes narrowed. “What are you suggesting?”

“Red Hood’s territory is barely five minutes from here.” Nightwing paused, thinking of his younger brother with pride. “And he would fistfight God to protect his people.”

The siblings winced and the younger boy, now on the ground, peaked around his brother to talk with Nightwing. “We don’t want to intru—” he paused, struggling to pronounce a word for a moment, “ intrude in his ter-ri-tor-y.” The boy beamed after getting the full, clearly practiced, phrase out.

Nightwing cocked his head. That wasn’t a no, just a concern. “It’ll be fine,” he said cheerfully. “Look, I’ll call him right now, and we can get you moved over to somewhere I won’t have to constantly check to see if you’ve been kidnapped from by tonight.” Tonight being in twelve hours or so, because somehow it was nearly dawn, and Dick really wanted to be in bed right now but he wasn’t just going to leave this obnoxiously gorgeous man and his siblings. Who knows what trouble they would find? It took a special kind of bad luck to accidentally kill a gang member .

He pulled his phone out of his belt and pulled up Jason’s contact. Hood would be happy to shelter the family, even if he would probably be a bit twitchy about having metas with unknown capabilities in Gotham. Still, better to have them where they could keep an eye on them and hopefully get the chance to earn their trust.

“Hey, Hood?”

“What do you want, Dickhead?” Jason grumbled back at him. He sounded grumpier than normal, and Dick made a mental note to try to figure out if he’d been injured recently.

“I have a family of metas here that need to stay in Gotham, but they’ve already gotten in fights with one gang. Mind if they move into your territory?” Dick purposely used the same word the boy had earlier so they knew he was checking on their concerns.

“How many?”

“Three!” Dick turned to the kids. “Can you tell Hood how old you are so he knows who to expect?” “I’m Danny and that’s Ellie. We’re five.” The child tilted his head as if in confusion. “I think.”

Dick blinked in mild alarm at that. Lots of kids didn’t know how old they were, but something about how Danny phrased that made his inner detective concerned. He looked at their older brother.

The man grunted. “Dante. I’m twenty-three. Probably.” Something amused sparked in Dante’s eyes at the bewildered look Nightwing gave him, and he drawled out, “Murphy’s Law.”

This did not assuage Dick’s concern or really explain anything.

Jason stayed silent for a moment, before sighing. “Fine. I’ve got an apartment they can stay at. I’ll text you the address and we can talk rent later.”

“Thanks, Hood!” Nightwing bounced cheerily on his toes, mindful of the kid’s wide eyes on him. He was probably not setting the best example standing on a rusty railing, but the theatrics tended to help keep civilians, especially kids, calm.

Hood spoke again, “You’re responsible for getting them moved in and checking on them until they get used to my men, Dick.”

“Sure.” Dick smiled at the thought. It would give him an excuse to do something he was going to do anyway. He didn’t plan to let go of the many concerning things the family had mentioned. It had absolutely nothing to do with his teeny tiny crush on the beautiful meta who moved like a predatory jungle cat and loved his siblings so much he practically glowed with it.

“Talk to you later Hood!”

“Yeah, yeah, fuck off asshole.” As he hung up Dick thought that that had gone better than many of his previous conversations with his little brother.

Crimson eyes were still straight on him, and something about the set of Dante’s shoulders screamed caution. “This is freely given?”

Dick blinked. “What?”

“Your aid,” Dante clarified. “It’s freely given. No strings attached?”

That was the sort of language magic-users tended to use. Dick considered his words carefully. “You are in Gotham. Everything in Gotham is mine and my family’s to protect. If the best way to protect you is for you to stay in Gotham,” an honestly insane idea, but they knew their situation best. “I will help you stay in Gotham safely. So yes. My aid is freely given.”

The meta(?) hummed. “Danny, Ellie, go grab our go bags.” The kids nodded and ran back into the building.

Dick’s heartstrings tugged at the idea that everything they needed could be grabbed so quickly, but his gaze was dragged back to the eldest meta.

Something was different about him. Something in the air, the weight and mass of it pressing on Nightwing's shoulders. Something in his shadow, too dark and too deep. Something in the glow of his eyes…

Nightwing had never seen that shade of red before, he realized suddenly. He was almost certain it wasn’t supposed to exist.

“If you cause my siblings any harm,” Dante looked him straight in the eyes and Dick felt oddly frozen despite all his experience that said he should be able to handle this. “I will peel the flesh from your bones and use your entrails to hang your body from the rafters of your family home.” Dick blinked, finally unfrozen, and smiled brilliantly, the way that made seasoned Gotham rogues take a step back. “Understood.” Dante looked at him with something like respect. “I’ll go make sure they haven’t caused any explosions. We’ll be ready in ten."

He swept out, and Dick let himself collapse against a wall.

He really needed to get himself under control. Being attracted to people who could (and would) kill you wasn’t a good thing for a vigilante, even if Batman made it seem normal.

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