See, I think Charles’ annoyance and frustration with the Cat King really was just pure protectiveness and not any kind of jealousy - it’s understandable, because Edwin is not telling him what happened even though something clearly did, which is not typical for them. Edwin doesn’t usually hide things like this! Of course he’s worried!
Charles’ reaction to Monty, on the other hand, is difficult to explain in a way that isn’t jealousy. You could say he’s being protective again, but Charles shows no sign of distrust in Monty, and had no idea of who Monty was or that he might betray them - he was actually very chill with him, except in a select few specific scenes. You could say he just doesn’t like him because he got brushed off during their first meeting, but not only does that not seem like Charles at all, it also doesn’t make sense, since, again, in most instances, Charles is genuinely friendly and is happy when Monty compliments him and seems to have come around to liking him (it completely flies over his head that this is a petty jab at Edwin on Monty’s part but oh well hahaha). You could say it changes up their status quo a bit and that bothers Charles. I do think this bothers him a bit, but I think, unlike Edwin, Charles’ fear and frustration here is directed more at situations (the Cat King whisking him away for several hours, as an example) than others. He’s sociable and likes being able to talk to new people. There’s absolutely no way he’d begrudge Edwin doing the same - and he doesn’t… with Niko. Edwin and Niko hit it off and become very close and that never bothers Charles at all. He’s incredibly endeared to her, just like the rest, and for the most part, he’s chill with Monty too, and smiles pretty knowingly when Edwin confesses to him having awakened some feelings. The only exceptions, where he shows definite annoyance, are when Monty first shows up and gets really in Edwin’s personal space to show him the astrology chart he made, and when Edwin is so sucked into the book Monty gave him that he doesn’t hear that Charles is talking to him, to which he annoyedly says that they seem to have been “spending a lot of time together”.
You could say he’s unused to having anyone get in Edwin’s personal space like that, but, again, Niko. She’s very tactile with him and he doesn’t seem to mind all that much; they spend time together watching things. If it was just someone getting close with Edwin in general, not only would that be weirdly possessive for the character, but it would also mean he would show discomfort with anyone getting close, I think. Does Charles see Monty as more of a potential threat than Niko, seeing as he knows her and her personality and doesn’t know Monty? Well, maybe, but again, Charles shows no sign of distrusting Monty at all.
Monty is a boy. Okay. So something about seeing Edwin so close to a boy that is not him, getting lost in thought over something this boy gave him, really rubs Charles the wrong way. Charles appears to catch on just as quickly as anyone else that there is something (or it looks like something) between Edwin and Monty. He is not surprised when Edwin comes out to him in episode 6, and in fact, seems to have just been waiting for him to verbalize it. He smiles and is not bothered at all by Edwin showing (what he thinks is) a romantic interest in Monty - he just doesn’t like it when Monty clearly shows a romantic interest in Edwin. Um. Well. Well.
Charles is jealous. I really don’t know what else to say.
Look, when I first watched this show, I actually didn’t want them to end up together romantically - I love the idea of one having fallen in love with another who does not reciprocate and the two of them still loving each other just as much. That Edwin’s confession made them closer instead of making things awkward is such a beautiful outcome to this build up and I absolutely love it. However. On my two rewatches, I caught a lot more little details, and I think it would be very strange if the show did not follow up on this. That, plus the deliberate quality of these “jealousy” moments where the camera focuses on him, Charles’ Orpheus coding throughout the show, the fact that Edwin’s arc was far more about realizing his feelings for Charles specifically than just coming to terms with his sexuality, and that even the actors admit that Charles’ response to the confession kind of left things open, it really seems to me like the path leads to a romantic endgame for them, or at the very least, that this possibility will be explored in more depth.
**This is just my reading of it. Please do not use this post as a gotcha for anyone who loves them as a platonic duo or people who really love Crystal and Charles together (because let’s face it, they’re super cute too). I’m just doing my rambles. As per usual.
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Da da da... he’s dead
[DP x DC fic]
[Love at first... murder? - part 6]
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Part 1
Ao3
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In-chat nicknames:
OGnerd = Jason
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Miss Harleen Quinzel had been having a relaxing evening on the couch with Bud and Lou when she gets a message on her phone. Seeing it’s from Red Hood, who barely texts… well anyone, she quickly opens it.
All he sent her is an image. There’s no text accompanying it and Red Hood already went offline. Harley looks at the selfie Red Hood sent her.
It doesn’t seem like anything special until she sees the body on the floor next to him in the picture.
She freezes.
A big grin stretches across her face and she starts laughing. Not a giggle or a cackle, just a full-blown belly laughter full of happiness and relief and with tears gathering in her eyes.
From another room, her girlfriend’s voice sounds.
“Harls? Are you alright?”
---
An announcement had just been made of the Joker having escaped Arkham once again. And just when Tim thought tonight couldn’t have gotten any worse, Jason sent a message in the groupchat.
---
28 days without the Joker breaking out of Arkham
OGnerd: Due to personal reasons I won’t be patrolling Crime Alley tonight
OGnerd: Don’t follow me.
---
And, Jason being Jason, immediately turned his phone off after sending the messages.
So of course, Tim immediately went to follow him. After updating the groupchat name…
Fortunately for Tim, and unfortunately for Jason, Jason has not been informed of Tim’s stalker tendencies yet. Jason knows he’s nosy, but is unaware of the actual following people around and spying on them aspect.
It was child’s play for Tim to follow the tracker in Jason’s helmet to see him visit… a flower shop?
Tim’s first thought is that he might be following a lead of some kind seeing as he’s in his Red Hood outfit and all. But that thought evaporates the moment Jason walks out of the flower shop with a bouquet of… are those sweet peas?
Slightly bewildered, Tim continues to stalk follow Jason from a safe distance as he steps onto his motorcycle and leaves the flower shop.
He follows him to an apartment complex, where he sees Jason proceed to knock on someone’s window, flowers in hand, rather than just breaking in.
Tim watches as someone opens the window and after a while gets led outside by Jason and eventually down onto the ground and to the motorcycle.
Perplexed at how gentle Jason seems to be with the random dude, Tim barely remembers to move after them when they leave again on the motorcycle.
---
Tim could hear the yelled question from outside.
“THAT CLOWN I PUNCHED WAS THE JOKER?!”
That sentence leaves Tim with so many questions.
Not only has Jason’s friend— date? — interacted with the Joker. But he has also punched him, and all that without even knowing that it was, in fact, the Joker.
Watching as the guy put his head on the table in embarrassment, even making Jason concerned for the guy, Tim can only think that damn, Jason really knows how to pick them, huh.
Tim decides to leave them alone. It seems likely that Jason and his mystery boo had something to do with the Joker still not having made an appearance, but he’ll interrogate Jason about it later. He’d rather not be found out and killed for stalking Jason on his date, thank you very much.
While he’s moving further away from them, his coms crack to life with B’s voice.
“Everyone. Meeting at the clock tower in 10. Don’t be late.”
Tim swallows as he changes course to head to the clock tower.
Now, how to keep everyone off Jason’s back so he doesn’t commit familicide?...
---
Once everyone minus Jason was at the clock tower, they got the debrief.
The Joker had escaped Arkham two days ago, and no one has heard anything from him since. Not only that, but they didn’t even know he was gone until a day later.
It was an all-hands-on-deck situation, even Dick came from Bludhaven to help out on the search.
After the debrief is done and they’re about to start the search, B suddenly speaks up again.
“Where’s Red Hood?”
His response is silence as no one speaks up, just awkwardly glancing around. Dick almost started whistling but got elbowed in the gut by Damian. Steph, does, start whistling quietly.
B wasn’t deterred, however. With a sigh, he talks into the coms.
“Oracle—”
“Already on it. I’m currently trying to trace the tracker in his helmet and remotely turn on the cam and audio footage.”
There’s a pause in her speech.
“It looks like there’s some strange interference. The cam footage is being corrupted, and so the is audio.”
B’s expression stays stoic as always.
“The tracker?”
“Glitching. It almost looks like it’s teleporting around the map. It won’t give me one specific location and even disappears entirely every few seconds.”
B lets out a grunt before Babs continues.
“Though it looks like the places the tracker appears are all quite close to each other, so I might be able to interpolate the coordinates of the teleporting tracker and determine a general area for his location.”
“You know,” Tim speaks up foolishly, “in my personal opinion, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. We should probably just leave him alone for the night“
Tim sweats as he can feel B’s gaze on him as he replies to Oracle. “Keep us updated”
---
They had split up and searched for two hours so far, stopping some minor crime on the way, but they hadn’t been able to find any clue as to where the Joker might be.
Oracle has managed to find the moment of his escape on the cameras, but after a while the files start to glitch and the rest of them are completely missing. Someone wiped the files.
They decided to regroup at the clock tower to discuss some more strategies.
“Oracle, report on Red Hood’s location.”
“I tried to get the general location of the tracker and I traced it all the way back to a restaurant, but I’m almost certain it just started moving. I’m currently tracing its path to try and extrapolate the new location.”
“Good. Keep us updated.”
Tim tries to speak up when Oracle starts talking again.
“Oracle here. I think the tracker is moving towards… the Gotham Observatory?”
“What the hell is Jason doing at the observatory?” Duke wonders.
Going on a date with a mysterious twink who’s definitely not a native Gothamite and seems to randomly punch clowns?
At first, Tim couldn’t believe Jason going on a date with someone seemingly so oblivious/naïve.
But when he puts it like that… yeah, ‘mysterious twink that punches the Joker without knowing it’ sounds like it would be Jason’s type…
“No real names.” Is B’s response, evoking some eye-rolls.
“Nightwing, go check on Red Hood at the observatory. Observation only, but step in if necessary. Report back”
B probably sent Nightwing cause he’s the least likely to get maimed by a pissed-off Red Hood.
Before Dick is able to take off, Tim nervously speaks up “You know guys, I think we should just leave him be for tonight and focus on finding the Joker”
The silence on the roof and across the coms speaks volumes.
B is the first one to speak up.
“Why are you covering for him?”
“I’m not covering for him!” is Tim’s immediate response.
He is, but if he revealed anything he has found out, Jason would murder him when (not if) he finds out.
B raises an eyebrow at him.
“Ohhh, Timbo’s been keeping secrets~— Ow!” Steph is heard saying, before being elbowed by Cass.
The others stay silent as they watch the exchange.
Damnit, why did Alfred have to teach B that eyebrow raise?
Tim caves.
“Alright, I am covering for him. But I can’t tell you what for. He’ll kill me”
Damian scoffs “Todd probably bribed Drake to keep his mouth shut. Don’t worry, I can make him talk”
Damian tries to step forward, katana raised, but gets held back by the scruff of his Robin costume by Dick.
“Richard, let me go!—”
“Nope, Little D. Let’s not commit fratricide today”
B doesn’t pay them any mind.
“Red Robin, if you have information on Red Hood and the Joker—“
“It has nothing to do with the Joker, I swear!” Tim tries. “Jason is just… having a relaxation day! He’s taking a uh, small break.”
Well, it probably has something to do with the Joker, but Tim has plausible deniability.
“So we shouldn’t bother him today, uh, at all. He really needs this, uh, self-care day. I mean have you seen the amount of grey hairs he’s been getting from the stress lately?”
The sound of Damian’s struggling against Dick’s hold is the only thing he hears.
B is just silently glaring at him.
“He’s on a date!” Tim bursts out.
…
Fuck.
The only sounds that break the silence are the small ‘oompf’ from Damian as he is dropped by Dick and Dick’s excited squeak of “Little Wing is on a date?!”
Uh oh.
---
Somewhere far away, in another realm, a manic cackle echoes across an expanse of green.
---
Taglist (for now, I’ll probably stop if I cant keep up):
@i-always-say-yea @uraniumwizard @why-must-i-be-like-this @griffinthing
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