#the jays keep mugging my mother

[boyfhee]

⋆ OUR THING !

aka the things they do in a relationship!

pairing enhypen x gn reader genre fluff warnings teensy bit suggestive

HEESEUNG

places things on the top shelf deliberately because he just wants the excuse to walk up behind you and get that thing for you in the flirtiest way possible

you're tip-toeing with one of your arms outstretched to grab your favourite coffee mug, it's the cutest sight ever, and he's already behind you with a prideful smirk

"you can just ask me to get it for you, baby,"—he's a little too close to you, and you can feel his breath right on your neck, might as well brush his lips against your nape before muttering a quiet 'oops' as if it was accidental— "no need to trouble yourself," "and who do you think is the reason why i need to trouble myself?"— exactly your response because he put your coffee mug on the highest shelf, and yet he shrugs like he's innocent

he has no shame, he will pin your against the shelf and kiss you if he gets the opportunity ( he makes the opportunity ) simply takes the mug from your hand and puts it on the top shelf again, while his lips are on yours. coffee isn't in your fate

oh and he has also wraps his arms around you from behind when you're cooking, or doing anything, but mostly kitchen work. just something about him resting his head on your shoulder, eyes closed, as he hums a song right next to your ear, with a soft smile, swaying with you slightly to the tune, puts both of you at ease

JAY

he may not say it every time but he loves to see you in his clothes. so, picture him going through his closet and he pulls out one of his hoodies, and he's standing in front of you, putting it in front of you to see how it looks, just like mothers at the clothing stores

"hm, i knew blue was more of your colour"— every colour on the wheel is your colour if jay has it in his cupboard— "there, you can keep it," "love, that's third one this week. what are you going to wear?"— and you're genuinely concerned because half of his sweatshirts and hoodies belong to you, even a few shirts for some reason "we can always buy new ones for me"— terrible spending habits

loves to style your outfits. we know his fashion sense is over the roof so you look like a model every time you step out. actually, his goal is to match outfits with you when you go out, whether it's just a colour or a few accessories. not his fault you end up looking like you could get hired by dolce and gabbana

genuinely can't stop complimenting you. it's always him whispering 'you look beautiful,' and 'you're pretty,' and 'i can't keep my eyes off you,' in your ear with one arm around your shoulder or waist

JAKE

he's so silly and cute and smiley. he helps you with things all the time, not because he doesn't want you to tire yourself ( that is one of the reason ) but because he likes helping you around the house, whether it's with your stuff or just usual chores

also, he keeps looking at you with a smile? you'd be putting clothes in the washing machine and he's looking at you with a huge grin while also helping you. basically, it means he either wants a hug or a kiss or both

"jake-"— is deadass t-posing with a smile while standing behind you as you finish putting the clothes— "what do you want?" "what do you think i want?"— says with the same goofy and cute smile and he knows you won't say know because he's irresistible

sometimes, you'd see him at the other end of the house with same i-want-a-hug pose as soon as you return home from work or classes or whatever. then you run to hug him and pulls you in the warmest hug possible, spinning you to the slightest, kissing your cheeks. and you both just continue to hug for next five minutes

if he's in the mood, he will cup your face before you're about to hug him and pull you into a chaste kiss before hugging you. like, one time he kissed you with you were holding the laundry bucket and jake just took it and discarded it aside before pulling you closer because it was between him and you and he didn't like that. basically hugs are a must, kisses are the cherry on the top

SUNGHOON

so weird, he texts you even when you two are in the same room. you'd be sitting on the same couch, just on the opposite ends, and you can see his text notification pop up on your phone screen. he's texting probably something like 'so close yet so far' madam is a little goofy

and his texts are not normal. it's something completely unrelated, weird, maybe an old picture of himself or just some random pickup line. most of the time, he's trying to flirt with you over text

"hey gorgeous,"— his text reads, and you see a shit eating grin on his face as he sits opposite to you on the couch, typing something on his phone— "do you have a boyfriend?" "no"— you reply, and if you think saying no would do something to put an end to this insanity, you're wrong because he comes back ten times worse you can see him put his phone aside before crawling to your side of the couch, and he's almost pinning you against it— "you don't have a boyfriend?"— says with a smirk, leaning a bit closer to you, or rather your lips— "do you want one?"

look, you don't even get to say anything here because he kisses you before giving you a chance to speak. and it's not some random kiss, he's kissing you, as in taking your phone out of your hand and throwing it away to the other end of the couch, putting your arms around his neck before pulling you closer by your waist

he's kissing you with the intention of making out, which is usually his aim behind texting you from across the room

SUNOO

the ultimate sunoo headcanon i have is that you both do each other's make up. it's mostly him doing yours, says he asked his stylists for tips and he's going to try them on you. it's usually for fun, sometimes he follows a gwrm video on youtube on your request when you tell him that he's doing something wrong ( gets a bit sulky because why are you doubting his skills )

loves to do your eyeliner!!!! like he would hold your face ever so softly, carefully applying the eyeliner, saying something about how it won't be his fault if you end up looking like a ghost or something

"let me help you with the lipstick too,"— he's joking!!! and he's blushing slightly as he says that "alright,"— and now he's red. he's so nervous and flustered, and you know he's trying to laugh it off but then he looks at you again and realises that you're series "um ok,"— his heart is about to pop out of his chest

you can feel how nervous he is in the way he holds your chin, or the really flustered smile that's dancing on his lips, or in the way he backs off and leans at least five times to calm himself down

and if u peck his lips while he's helping you with your lipstick, he will literally pause. like it's so cute how easy it is so make him blush, he's probably smiling as saying how you need to stop teasing him. oh, but also, he loves to kiss your cheeks while doing your makeup

JUNGWON

wakes up at least thirty minutes before the usual time because you two end up cuddling and getting late for whatever plans you have for the day

he's punctual but also knows his mind sort of stops working when it comes to you so the moment he sees you sleeping next to him, all morals about waking up early and on time leave his body, and before he himself knows it, his arms are wrapped around your waist and he's pulling you closer to him

"maybe, we should get up,"— he says, his head still resting on yours, eyes closed, his half asleep already "definitely,"— but when you try to get out of his hold, removing his arms from around you, he just scoots even closer? like what happened to waking up early "five minutes more,"— the third 'five minutes more' so far

even if you two are awake, he will lay in bed with you, holding you close while his one arm is around you and the other is caressing your hair, occasionally kisses your cheeks while asking you about your plans for the day

most of the time you two end up sleeping again, but once he gets out of bed, he's making sure you're out of it too. would take away your blanket to force you out of bed, but it's only because he doesn't want to continue with his day without you

NI-KI

late night walks!!! he loves to spend time with you and loves it even more when you two are taking an early morning or late night with your hands interlaced together, strolling down the streets ( brings the 'it's you and me in this world' lyrics to life for him but you won't hear him say that )

"hey, let's go for a walk"— he's nudging your shoulders and would continue to do so until you wake up "it's one am,"— you think it would help you convince him but no, he doesn't care. odd timings are his things, and he would've had it another way if you didn't always give in to his requests

holds your hand and puts it in the pocket of his jacket because he doesn't want you to get old but it's only an excuse. sometimes just kisses the back of your hand while you're talking to him and asks if that makes your heart flutter. if u say no, he will kiss you randomly between words

going to the convenience store is a must. you're getting your favourite snacks and then you two are going to the swings in the park. late night escapades with him are fun and it's only a matter of time before you both are snuggled up together while sleeping on the couch

[daisyblog]

Mothers Love

Our Story Masterlist Summary: Anne and Jay can see the love Harry and YN have for each other.

Based on this request

Since the days their sons got put into a band on The X Factor, Jay and Anne clicked. They bonded over their love for their children, fashion and tea.

The two women helped and supported each other through the boys journey of leaving home so quickly and never really returning. They would often talk for hours on the phone in the evening or have a small conversation over Twitter.

But when Anne’s named flashed up on Jay’s phone one afternoon, she was pleasantly surprised.

“Hello love” Jay cheerfully answered.

“Hi my darling…how are you all?”.

“We’re all doing good…how’s everyone with you…Harry’s home isn’t he, Louis told me”.

“Uh yes he is….that’s what I wanted to talk to you about”.

Jay was slightly confused about why Anne would need to talk to her about Harry but she let her continue.

“Is YN home?”.

Without thinking Jay replied. “She’s over at her friends house…why?”.

Anne paused for a short moment, almost like she was piecing together a puzzle. “Harry’s on a date….and I think it’s with YN”.

Jay chuckled at the assumption that her daughter was on a date with her brothers best friend. “She told me she was going over to her friends house…so I don’t think it’s with YN”.

“Jay…they’re definitely on a date”.

“How can you be so sure?”.

“Harry asked for Robin and I’s advice…he kept asking about what he should do if he liked someone he shouldn’t” Anne explained her assumption.

“I don’t understand why that would mean it’s my YN”.

“I also may have seen her name pop up on his phone” Anne defended her reasoning.

“Oh…uh…um…do you think it could be serious then?”.

“Well we’ll soon find out my darling”.

---

A couple of weeks after the article of Harry and YN getting caught kissing was released, Anne had invited Jay and YN over whilst Harry was home for a couple of days to spend the afternoon with them. 

When Jay and YN had arrived at Anne’s house, they were warmly welcomed by Anne and Robin, with a nervous Harry hovering behind them. But his nerves calmed slightly when Jay greeted him with a hug and a “nice to see you my love”.

Anne could see that YN and Harry were unsure how to act in front of their Mums, so she invited Jay into the kitchen so she could make them all a cup of tea. 

Once their Mums were in the kitchen and far enough not to hear, Harry felt less nervous and pulled YN into his arms “I’ve missed you”.

“I’ve missed you too…so much” YN held onto Harry tighter.

As they both pulled away and looked each other, Harry dipped his head down and placed a peck onto YN’s lips. “I want to properly kiss you…but I’m scared of our Mums right now”, a nervous giggle left his mouth. 

“Oh yeah ‘cause me Mum and Anne are really scary aren’t they?” YN teased. 

“Harry!” Anne’s voice interrupted them. “Your teas are ready”.

Not wanting to keep their Mums waiting, Harry showed YN the way into the kitchen, his hand covering the small of her back. 

As they approached the open kitchen, both Anne and Jay were sat next to each other at the kitchen table, four cups of tea sitting on the table.

“Here’s your tea my loves” Anne gestures to the two mugs sat on the table with steam coming from them.

Harry and YN sat opposite their Mums and took a sip of their teas. 

“Okay…so we thought it would be a good idea to talk about the both of you” Anne broke the silence  that surrounded them.

“Mum…please” Harry began to protest, not wanting to have this conversation with his Mum or Jay.

Anne was quick to interrupt “Harry…we need to talk about this…look you’re my baby but YN is Jay’s…and I want to make sure you’re serious about this”.

“Of course I’m serious…I l-…I’m serious Mum” Harry’s words stumbled out, YN reaching her hand across under the table to lace her fingers with his.

“I’m sorry…I just don’t want anyone to get hurt” Anne expressed her concern.

“I think what your Mum is trying to say is…you’re both our babies and we want what’s best for you” Jay tried to explain her and Anne’s feelings.

For the first time since sitting at the table, YN speaks “Mum..Anne…I know we’re young and it might seem like we don’t know what we want…but please trust us”. 

Anne and Jay shared a look, knowing that Harry and YN were right. They needed to trust their children.

---

The boys were playing their first show of their Take Me Tour at the London O2 Arena, and of course all the boys families were attending. YN was joining the boys on the tour as Lou’s assistant.

Anne and Jay were sat chatting together ahead of the show, expressing how much they were going to miss their sons and Jay saying how she felt even more emotional this tour because YN would be joining them. 

But both women glanced to where Harry and YN were cuddled up on a chair in the corner of the room, watching something on one of their phones and giggling every so often. 

“Aww to be young and in love again” Anne joked and nudged Jay. “I’m just older and in love”.

Jay laughed at Anne’s joke but understanding completely. “I hope their love lasts”.

“A love like that could never end”.

---

The day of Jay and Dan’s wedding, Harry, Anne and Robin were sat in the audience waiting for the ceremony to start. 

“When’s your big day then?” Anne openly questioned Harry.

Harry coughed into his hand, a shy smile on his face. “Hmm…all you need to know is…one day I’ll marry YN”. Harry’s cheeky smile appearing as he glanced to the side to respond to his mother.

It was later on in the evening, guests had taken to the dance floor slow dancing to Thinking Out Loud. But Anne and Jay had found themselves sitting at one of the round tables in the outside marquee, watching as Harry and YN swayed to Ed’s voice. Harry had his hands resting at her hips, whilst YN’s were wrapped around his shoulders. 

The couple could be seen whispering and giggling to each other. “Harry hasn’t stopped staring at YN all day” Anne announced.

“If they keep that up, we’ll be grandma’s before we know it” Jay chuckled, whilst pointing out the couple kissing on the dance floor.

“Do we tell them to stop?” Anne nervously asked, unsure what they should do.

Jay laughed and nudged Anne’s shoulder with hers. “They’re young…let them enjoy…plus I wouldn’t mind being a Nana”.

“You’d be the best Nana” Anne complimented Jay, giving her big smile.

“Our grandbabies will have the best grandma’s”.

liked by mrsjoannahdeakin, gemmastyles, and 769,765 others

annetwist Young love ❤️ Our babies mrsjoannahdeakin xx View all 8,576 comments

gemmastyles Aw cuties 💕

mrsjoannahdeakin The perfect photo! Our babies ❤️❤️

harryfan I still don't believe this is real!

louteasdale my fav couple xx

louisfan Can they get any cuter💘

lottietomlinson yntomlinson...yours next??? ⌞gemmastyles I agree x ⌞harryynfan PLEASE GET MARRIED! ⌞niallhoran Go on, we could do with another wedding x

ynfan ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

ynupdate OUR FAVOURITE DUO! We've had so much YN and Harry content today!

1Dfan they're so in love!

Tag List: (let me know if you would like to be added) @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy@harrys-flower@platinumbarbie143@frickin-bats@harrysbbyh0ney@chronicallybubbly @goldensunflowe-r @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite@kaverichauhan@peterholland04@panicattheuc@indierockgirrl@or-was-it-just-a-dream@hittiesontour@bunnyharold@fanfictioncafe@lilfreakjez@jerseygirlinca@iamahallucinationnn@theekyliepage

[sisterspooky1013]

Gaslight, Chapter 9/48

Rated X | Read it here on AO3

“Ruth told me you requested an emergency appointment. Did something happen?”

Dana wrings her hands in her lap, blinking rapidly against her dry, weary eyes. As per usual, Michelle waits until she is ready to speak. 

“Yes. I mean…not really. I don’t know,” she says haltingly, then runs her hands over her unmade face. 

“Would you like to tell me about it?” 

Dana sighs, shifting in her seat and deciding where to begin.

“My daughter said something to me that—it’s hard to explain, but it threw me off. And then I heard this song—I think it’s the song from my dream, the one about the man. I think it’s the song that was playing when I was with him. And I just feel so…I feel so lost.”

Her throat tightens and she drops her head, breathing deeply to stave off tears. 

“What was it that your daughter said?” Michelle asks, flipping through her notes. “Abigail, right?”

“Yes, Abby,” Dana confirms. “She said something about her other mother. Her mother from before. She asked me if her other mother was going to come back.”

Michelle’s eyebrows lift, and her mouth falls open slightly. 

“And how do you interpret that?” she asks after a beat. 

“I don’t know,” Dana says, exasperated. “Maybe she means me, before my accident. Or maybe there was another woman in her life I don’t know about or don’t remember. Or maybe it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t know, but it’s just one more missing piece.” 

Michelle nods, considering her. 

“Have you started your new prescription, Dana?” she asks. 

“Yes,” Dana answers with a sigh. “I started it the evening after our last appointment.”

“And have you been dreaming?”

“No, actually. Not the last couple nights. Not even after I heard the song.”

“I think we should adjust your medication again. I’m going to send over a prescription right now. Can you pick it up on your way out?”

Dana narrows her eyes, confused. 

“I’ve only been taking the new dose for two days. That seems a bit soon to change it again,” she observes, and Michelle crosses her hands neatly in her lap. 

“I understand that you’re a doctor, Dana, but memory care isn’t your specialty. These drugs are fast-acting, and based on your clear distress, I think an adjustment is necessary,” she says sternly. 

“Of course, I didn’t mean to overstep,” Dana replies. 

“Let’s set up another appointment in a few days, okay? This kind of setback isn’t atypical, and I don’t want you to worry. Let’s just keep a close eye on it so we can get you back to normal soon, all right?”

“Okay,” Dana agrees as she stands, though the idea of normal feels so foreign that it’s hard to imagine. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“Of course,” Michelle says as she walks her to the door. 

Dana is passing through the waiting area when Michelle stops her.

“Oh, Dana,” she calls out. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the pharmacy here carries all kinds of basic necessities. Tylenol, Midol, Loratadine. They even have children’s vitamins, if you need anything like that at home.”

A little chill tickles Dana’s spine and she shivers involuntarily. 

“Thanks,” she says, then heads to the pharmacy. 

That night, she barely sleeps. She does not dream. 

-

She watches two blue jays swooping through the yard. They take from the feeder, then dive down to the ground, swapping places over and over like a choreographed dance. They seem to be working as a team, yet also completely independently of one another. Eat and swoop. Eat and swoop. 

“Dana?”

“Hm?” she looks over to see Cal watching her with a perplexed expression. 

“I said thanks for picking up vitamins for the kids,” he repeats, and she nods with a thin smile. “You okay, mija?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well,” she admits, tightening her grip on her coffee mug. 

Cal crosses the kitchen with a little smirk, standing right beside her as he fills his mug. 

“I can probably help you out with that,” he whispers, quiet enough so the kids won’t hear him, then bumps her hip with his own. 

She forces a smile, and when Cal holds out his open palm to dispense her Numerol, she takes it from him, as well as three quick kisses. 

“Today will be a better day, okay?” he says hopefully, and she nods once.

She bids farewell to Cal and Peter, then walks Abby to the bus. Abby prattles on about sea urchins and The Little Mermaid, and it’s only when they are at the stop and she can hear the rumble and screech of the bus approaching from down the block that she has a chance to ask. 

“Hey, Sweetpea, do you remember when you talked about your other mommy? From before?” she says casually. 

“Ummmmm, maybe,” Abby says, walking circles around the stop sign post. 

“What do you remember about her?” Dana asks. 

“She was big!” Abby says emphatically. “And she had a black dress and her face was purple.”

“Purple?” Dana repeats.

“Yep, purple skin and white hair, and she hated King Triton and Ariel,” the child says animatedly. 

Dana heaves a sigh that is part relief, part irritation.The bus stops in front of them and the door swings open. 

“Have a good day, Sweetpea. Watch out for any nefarious eels,” she says to the child, kissing her cheek before she steers her toward the bus. 

“What’s a neffyrus?!” Abby says dubiously, then boards the bus and waves from behind the window. 

Dana watches it pull away, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. When it’s rounded the corner out of sight, she takes out the little white pill Cal had given her and studies it. 

She remembers something her father told her once, when she was struggling to reconcile what she knew and what she felt. 

“Don’t discount your gut, Starbuck. Sometimes it’s the most well-calibrated tool in the toolbox.”

She returns the pill to her pocket and heads to work. 

-

“You should have seen the look on his face, Dana,” Tiffany says, smiling devilishly. “I could hear him from outside the room being an absolute dick to Destiny, demanding to see the doctor. Imagine his surprise when my black ass walks in. Saving lives is great, but I think that may have been even better, honestly.”

“I can only imagine,” Dana replies. “I had a patient once in med school who refused to be seen by me. He kept saying he wanted to see ‘a real doctor,’ but he was more than happy to be treated by one of my male classmates. Some of them would truly rather die, I suppose.”

“And good riddance to ‘em,” Tiffany adds. 

They return to their work, logging patient notes between bites of mushy pasta salad from the cafeteria. Dana reaches into her pocket for a pen and feels the compact edges of the pill brush against her fingertips. She’s been carrying it around all day, examining it as though she’ll suddenly notice something out of place or find the answer to a question she hasn’t figured out how to ask. She rolls it between her thumb and forefinger, pondering. 

“What is with this tox screen?” Tiffany grumbles, flipping through pages with frustration. “No wonder they take so long to turn anything around down there, running all this shit I didn’t ask for.”

A thought begins to take shape, gathering volume like a snowball tumbling downhill. It would be a misuse of resources, something worthy of discipline were she to be found out. And yet, she finds herself writing the script in her head, forming responses and rebuttals. 

“Have you ever sent something through the lab off the books?” she asks offhandedly, her eyes on her computer screen. 

There’s a long pause, and she can feel Tiffany looking at her. 

“Not personally, no, though I can’t imagine it would be difficult to do. Why do you ask?”

Dana flashes her eyes up to her coworker. She wants to trust her, feels like she has no choice but I’m to, and at the same time she isn’t entirely sure that she can rely on her own instincts right now. 

“I think the pharmacy made a mistake with my medication,” Dana says, fabricating the lie as it leaves her lips. “They won’t admit to it, so the only way to know for sure is to have it analyzed.”

“You should be able to just run that through,” Tiffany says nonchalantly. “I don’t think you need to be all covert about it, double-oh-seven.”

Dana laughs along, but her belly twists. 

“I use the in-house pharmacy,” she explains. “I just—I don’t want to piss them off. It’s so convenient to be able to pick things up at work.”

“Dr. Robbie is kind of a prick,” Tiffany agrees. “I could see him holding a grudge.”

Dana breathes a little sigh of relief. 

“How would I go about that, then? Running it through the lab off the books?” 

“Well, you could put it in with another sample, but that runs the risk that the result will be tied to your patient and get them into a whole big mess, depending on what it is. I do know a tech down there that seems to be sweet on me. Maybe I could ask him for a favor,” Tiffany suggests. 

“That would be great, if it’s not too much trouble. Is there something I can do in return, pick up a shift or take a difficult patient?” Dana asks, trying not to sound too eager about the whole thing. 

“Nah, it’s no big deal. It might be kinda fun to see if I still got it,” Tiffany replies as she stands from her desk and pops her hip out dramatically. 

Dana smiles, dropping the pill into a plastic baggie and handing it over. 

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” she says sincerely, meeting Tiffany’s eye. 

Alone in the office, she feels a pit form in her stomach, accompanied by a sense of dread. She finds herself praying that the results come back and indicate that the pill is exactly what it’s supposed to be: fifteen milligrams of Numerol. But she’s been praying since the day she woke up in the hospital that things would get better, that her life would start making sense. And if the past predicts the future, this too is a prayer that will go unanswered. 

-

“Dr. Rose, I have a patient for you in bed three.”

Dana checks her watch, calculating how much time she has before she’ll be home too late to get Abby off the bus. 

“Do you have the chart?” she asks the nurse, then flips through the details quickly as she makes her way down the hall. 67 year old male, presenting with arrhythmia and shortness of breath. 

When she pulls the curtain back, she is hit with the funk of stale cigarettes. An elderly man is sitting up in the bed, blankets draped across his lap and a blue hospital gown covering his chest and shoulders. He smiles at her, and the familiarity in it makes her immediately uncomfortable for reasons she can’t articulate. 

“Mr. Kennedy,” she says, reading off his chart. “My name is Dr. Rose. I understand that your heartbeat is irregular and you’re having a hard time breathing.”

“Yes,” he says eagerly, touching his chest. “Just the years catching up to me, I suppose.”

He has hooded, watery blue eyes and deep-set wrinkles framing his mouth. The kinds of wrinkles you earn by puckering your lips around the filter of a cigarette hundreds or thousands of times. 

“Let’s have a listen,” Dana says, keeping her tone as business-like as possible to discourage him from being overly friendly with her. 

She presses the stethoscope to his chest and looks at her watch as she measures his heart rate, then motions for him to lean forward and holds the stethoscope against his back as she listens to his lungs. His heart rate is normal and healthy for a man of his age, but his lungs sound rhonchi and wheezy. Nicotine comes off him in waves, stinging her eyes, and she moves away to sanitize her hands and her stethoscope to remove the smell. 

“Do you smoke, Mr. Kennedy?” she asks flatly, and he chuffs a little laugh that devolves into a coughing fit. 

“A bit, yes,” he finally rasps out. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but I recommend quitting,” she says, leaning against the counter furthest from his bed. “If you’re not able to quit, you should at least consider cutting back. You’re taking years off your life each time you open a new pack.”

“Ah,” the old man says with a contrite bob of his head. “You sound like my son. He’s always telling me to quit. It’s hard when you’re an old man. I don’t have many pleasures left in life.”

“You should listen to him,” Dana says as she makes notes in his chart. “I’m going to order albuterol to help alleviate the inflammation in your airways. It’s a breathing treatment we can administer here at the hospital, but we’ll also send you home with enough for the next week. I’m also going to refer you to cardiology. Your heart sounds fine right now, but they may want to set you up with a monitor so they can track changes over time. Do you have any questions?”

“Sure, do you know any single women who might be interested in a gentleman of my regard?” he says cheekily, and she intentionally does not reward him with eye contact. 

“I think you should focus on your health, Mr. Kennedy,” she says blandly. 

“I’m a lonely man, Dana.”

Her hearing cuts out for just a split second, a brief ring slowly replaced by the hustle and bustle and mechanical beeps of the hospital floor. She slowly lifts her head and finds him watching her curiously. 

“Excuse me?” she says, feeling disoriented. 

“Dana, right? It says so right there on your badge,” he points out, and she touches her hospital ID reflexively. 

“Dr. Rose, please,” she corrects him, and he holds up his hands in deference. 

“My apologies, Dr. Rose. Thank you for your time,” the man says, and she escapes from his cigarette soaked room with an unnecessary level of urgency. 

_

Get Abby from the bus. Pick up Peter from daycare. Snacks. Playtime. Start dinner. Welcome Cal home from work. Bathtime. Bedtime. Pretend to read a book while her mind races in a hundred different directions. Tell Cal she has a headache, maybe tomorrow. Lie awake and think. Think. THINK.

The song. The man. The green countertops. The old smoker. “I’m a lonely man, Dana.” The pills. The pills. THE PILLS. Try to sleep. Fail. No dreams, no nothing. It’s like a black hole swallowed her mind, her memories. Her life. 

Wake up. Wake Peter. Shower, get ready for work. Make the children breakfast. Drink coffee. Take Numerol from Cal. Wash it down the sink. Goodbye Cal, goodbye Peter. Walk Abby to the bus. Pretend to be mermaids. Feel like dying. 

Drive to work. Play the song over and over and over. Now I find myself wanting to marry you and take you home. Take the east entrance, just to see. Nearly have a panic attack. Keep smelling the smoker around every corner. Keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

Keep hoping it’s not as bad as it seems. 

-

Tiffany rushes into the office, closing the door behind her and marching straight to Dana’s desk, where she drops a small stack of papers on the desktop with an irate expression. 

“You wanna tell me what the fuck this is about?” Tiffany asks angrily, one hand on her hip. 

Sleep deprived and on edge, Dana blinks at her stupidly and then begins to try and decipher the papers on her desk. Lab results. Inconclusive. Unknown substance. 

“Is this about my medication?” she asks, flipping through the pages. 

“You sure that was your medication you gave me, Dana?” Tiffany questions doubtfully. “Cause that pill sure as shit did not come from the St. Agnes pharmacy.”

“I don’t understand,” Dana says, shaking her head. “What was it?”

Tiffany considers her, and her expression falls a bit. 

“You really don’t know?” she asks skeptically. 

“I’m sorry if I’ve dragged you into something strange, Tiffany. But no, I really don’t know what it is, or where it came from. That’s what I was hoping to find out.”

Tiffany rolls the chair over from her desk and sits close beside Dana. She leafs through the pages, pointing at key fields as she speaks in a low tone. 

“The first test he ran was totally inconclusive. It doesn’t match any medication we have in the system, even nationally. Now this man must really think he was gonna get somewhere with this lab result because he called in his buddy who does some back alley, unofficial freaky shit. And that friend got a hit on some secret government database for this chemical composition.”

“What is it?” Dana asks, her heart racing. She’s been putting this in her body every day for months. 

“Something called—” Tiffany flips two pages and points to a summary. “Galophazine. It’s not FDA approved, that’s for damn sure.”

“What does it treat? What are the effects?” 

“That wasn’t very clear,” Tiffany says, sitting back. “The friend could only deduce, based on the places it was referenced, that it has something to do with memory recall.”

Dana feels a flood of relief, and presses her hand to her chest to feel her own pounding heart begin to normalize. 

“That’s good. That’s what it was prescribed for, to enhance memory recall. What I don’t understand is why my doctor would lie about the name of the medication.”

“I thought you said it was a pharmacy error,” Tiffany says, but then moves past it before Dana has a chance to respond. “But I don’t think this is meant to enhance memory recall. Whatever the friend saw, he came to the conclusion that this drug, Galophazine, is used to suppress long term memory recall. They were testing it out on war vets and people with childhood trauma.”

The earth beneath her feet is suddenly less stable, the air in her lungs thin. She feels lightheaded. She feels sick. If she was lost before, she’s now untethered. Detached. There is no home base to return to. Adrift. Adrift. Adrift. 

“Dana?” Tiffany asks, and Dana realizes that Tiffany is touching her, shaking her arm gently. “Are you okay?”

“I—I think—” 

She swallows against a bone dry throat, scans the room with untrusting eyes, considers the woman next to her. A stranger, perhaps. She has no way of knowing for sure. 

“I don’t know.”

Tagging @today-in-fic

[smilesstardust]

Hailey closed the door behind them as the woman and girl came into the apartment. She gestured the DCFS worker towards the kitchen island to take a seat as she showed Katherine over to the couch and flicked the TV on so they would have space to talk. The little girl didn’t give any indication of her preference as Hailey flicked through the kids’ channels, eventually landing on a programme that was just starting.

There was a small mountain of paperwork waiting for her with the social worker, so Hailey put the coffee machine on to brew and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, trying to drink it at a steady pace as her and the social worker exchanged names and pleasantries. She grabbed two mugs out of the cupboard as the pot of coffee finished, pausing as her hand reached for Jay’s favourite morning coffee mug on instinct before selecting the one beside it instead. She poured coffee into the two mugs and handed one over to the woman, Lia, before sitting down beside her.

Despite the fact they were sat on adjacent bar stools, Hailey still made sure to lower her voice before she spoke to try and keep the conversation as private from the little girl as she could. "Look, Jay having a daughter is news to me, so you’re going to have to go from basics." She sighed. "Birthdate, age, who her mom is, the reason she’s here now."

Lia looked slightly surprised, but took a deep breath and started to explain. "So, Katherine is five, her birthday is somewhere in all this paperwork, but I can’t remember it without checking. Her mother is a woman named Erin Lindsay, she’s-"

"I know who Erin is, that actually makes this make a lot of sense." Hailey cut her off, only to be met with a confused look. "All of us were cops, same unit. I joined about a week before Erin skipped town, but her and Jay had been partners for a few years. What happened was complicated, Erin ended up in a position of quit or get fired and took a job with the FBI. Her and Jay weren’t exactly together then but they weren’t broken up either, so he took it hard when she left suddenly and without a word.” Hailey sighed. “God, that must’ve been about six years ago now."

"Is Mr Halstead not aware…?" She trailed off, clearly not knowing how to finish her sentence.

"I don’t think so." Hailey shook her head. "No, Erin never contacted him again after she left and Jay would have told me if he knew." She said with more certainty. Even with all the difficulties they’d been having over the last year, she knew that Jay wouldn’t have kept something like having a daughter from her. He couldn’t have, because if he had known Hailey had no doubt he would have been involved in the kid’s life.

"So, Ms Lindsay went missing in the line of duty a few days ago. Katherine was brought here because Ms Lindsay has very thorough paperwork stating that if she is unable to care for Katherine then she goes straight to her father, who is named as your husband." Lia stammered.

"I’m not doubting she’s Jay’s kid." Hailey assured her, glancing over at the girl on the couch who seemed to be completely ignoring their conversation. The more Hailey wrapped her head around the bombshell, the more she could see Jay in Katherine. She had so many features that were obviously Jay’s, which was probably why she’d looked so familiar when Hailey had first seen her. "One look confirmed that."

"I understand, and that’s good, but Katherine was transferred over from New York to live with her father. I think everyone involved assumed Mr Halstead would be aware of the arrangements Ms Lindsay made." Lia tried again. "I’m going to have to talk to my supervisor, is there somewhere I can make that call?"

Hailey showed her over to the small office right by the front door, letting her make the phone call in private as she stepped back out into the living room. She checked on Katherine, the little girl still focused on the show that was playing, and got her a glass of water before she stepped into the bedroom to actually get changed out of her pyjamas.

She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and the first t-shirt she grabbed out of the drawer, just in case Lia’s phone call was a quick one. However, there was no sign of the conversation being over when she emerged, so Hailey sat down on one of the chairs beside the couch and tried to follow what was happening in the show Katherine was watching.

Lia stepped out of the office around half an hour after she had gone to make the phone call.

"So, cliff notes are that Ms Lindsay’s paperwork is extremely clear that Katherine is not to go into foster care except as a last resort and if Mr Halstead is unable to care for her then his next of kin should be approached until he is. The paperwork says that’s Mr Halstead’s brother, but legally it’s you since you’re his wife. One of the lawyers we work with was consulted and essentially said to stick with you."

Hailey took a second to try and process, but still didn’t quite compute what she was being told. "What does all of that mean?" She asked.

"You have legal custody of Katherine until your husband is back. So you can either take physical custody or make the decision to place her in foster care until he comes home and can make the choice himself." Lia clarified.

Hailey looked over at the little girl sat on the couch, still staring intently at the cartoon dogs that filled the screen. Both options seemed unthinkable. The idea of caring for the kid was so opposed to what she had expected from the next few months and she didn’t think it was something she would be able to do, but at the same time saying no felt deeply wrong. "No." She said softly after a while. "No, she can stay here."

The social worker seemed slightly surprised. "Are you sure?"

Hailey nodded, more convinced of her decision once she’d actually said the words. "She’s Jay’s daughter. I’m not just going to send her away."

[perpetually-sad-but-its-fine]

chicago pd 10x12

im not ready in the slightest

i do not want to see sean o’neal’s ass on my screen

this beginning is great

hailey sleeping in a bed by herself

OH MY GOD WAIT

HAILEY AND VANNESSA

MY BABIES

WE DESERVED MORE OF THEM

im going feral over a picture

these piCTURES

is that a picture of jay as a kid???

I WANTED TO SEE IT MORE CLOSELY

ALL OF JAYS STUFF

IS COFFEE MUG

good god

o’neal

back the fuck up

nobody likes you

god

hailey

my GOD

JAY PICK UP THE GODDAMN PHONE

COME ON HALSTEAD

SHE DESERVES SO MUCH BETTER 

hailey excitedly looking at the phone only for it to be county jail???

im done

i can't

trudyyyyyy

trudy and hailey my mother-daughter duo

GOD SHES STILL WEARING THE RING

IM IN PAIN

oh fuck you

i hate you

so much

so so so so much

like

fuck off

ugh

‘you came’

SHUT YOUR ASS UP

NOW

oh my god

i hate him so much

and hes barely said anything

‘there is no you and me!’

HER VOICE BREAKING

THE TEARS IN HER EYES

attagirl hailey

as you fuckin should

‘things you could use’

i'll use your face to mop the fuckin floor with your blood

no

stop it

CHICAGO PD

LEAVE HER ALONE GODDAMMIT

i hope you die

genuinely

dammit this isn't gonna go well

hes telling the truth

i don't want him to be telling the truth

but he is

i can feel it

this is already scaring me and she hasn't gone inside yet

OH MY GOD BLOOD

hailey please be careful

what the fuck?

what's this

OH MY GOD

WHATS HAPPENING

no this poor child

noooooooo

im emotionally invested already

agh

why must this hurt me so much

hailey being a compassionate, lovely person

i love her

aW GOD

THIS POOR CHILD

he is scarred

truly

seeing voight interact with this child is truly heart-warming

i wanna see him interact with his grand

whatever happened with olive and little baby daniel anyways?

goddammit

im hurT

callum is gonna get hurt at some point during this episode, isn't he?

HIS HAND WAS SHAKING

THIS POOR KID

oh the hug

im too weak

stop

‘creepy clown masks’

i hate it

so much

this kid is a good actor

trudyyyy

i always love seeing trudy interact with kids

oh god

voight sending hailey back to sean

i don't like it

oh a lovely start

sean

shut the fucK UP

i hate him

so so so so so so much

i want to kill him

SEAN

LEAVE HER ALONE

no

don't trust him

fucker

ill murder you in your sleep

ugh

ew

‘to share them with me’

the look of disgust on everyone’s face

lovely

i despise all of this

the father of samantha’s here

yay

more pain

good god

lady

shut the fuck up about my wife

she did not ask for this

‘hes a psychopath’

and what are you exactly?

kim and adammmm

the look of murder on lim’s face is so true

i love it

‘i will get it all... for you’

SHUT THE FUCK UP

adam looks like he wants to punch him

id pay good money to see that

this isn't gonna end well

i do not like this conversation

not in the slightest

oh ew

no

no

no

disgusting

*gagging sounds*

im gonna throw up

actually

ugh

no

stop

stoP IT

E W

S T O P

no

im actually so repulsed

i will throw up

hailey

don't do something stupid

or rash

oh good

he stopped

my skin is still crawling

nope nvm

its still crawling

i wanna tear my hair out

father

tell the truth

please

oh god

god im actually gonna throw up

TELL THE TRUTH RICHARD

P L EA SE

TELL THE TR U T H

oh lovely

somethings gonna go wrong

and she won't be there

or she’ll be dead

please keep my babies safe

please

she isn't there

i fuckin knew it

so fuckin convenient

how do the becks fit?

richard beck prolly did something

tell the truth man

please

help t h e m

yea richard

why are you lying

tell the goddamn truth

hailey’s gonna come with some sort drop on richard

oh no nvm

its something else

something’s gonna go wrong here too

yay

shootout

I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING TO GO WRONG

joy

one of them’s dead

this chase isn't gonna end well

something’s gonna happen

oh lovely

the van flipped

what're the chances both of them are dead?

oh gunshots

yay

oh samantha

my poor child

oh no

noooooo

samantha

god

i want an explanation to all of this

don't lie samantha

how convenient that both of them are dead

this is something else

i knew that there’s something wrong with the dad

‘you want us to keep an eye on him?’

‘you’re damn right’

lovely

can't wait to see where this goes

its gonna come up later, i can feel it

how come her HUSBANDs name in her phone is ‘jay halstead’

it should've been ‘hubby’

or ‘handsome’

or ‘baby’

or ‘detective hotstead’

dammit

hailey getting so excited with the phone ringing only to find out that its the county jail

‘my husband is jay halstead’

IM CRYING

her voice breaking and shaking

im not okay

no

shes about to cry

EXTENSION????

NO

PLEASE NO

IM CRYING

STOP

STOP

STOP

NO THE RING

STOP IT

I HATE EVERYTHING

sean i despise you with everything that i have

i would like to kill you

god that scar on his head scares me

sean

shut the fuck up

idk how many times ive said that

but shut up

‘its a good speech but youre giving it to the wrong person’

IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A REFERENCE TO JAY??

CUZ ILL KILL HIM

chicago pd writers better sleep with one eye open

im coming for you

[raineydays411]

The best of friends pt3

Peter Parker x Stark!reader

Summary: So it turns out that you do have other friends. Who would’ve guessed? 

A/n: Hello! So.. because i don’t feel like writing the whole fight scene, the events of homecoming already happened before the actual dance and Liz is moving after the school year ends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Am I dreaming or is that you Jason Todd?”

“Yeah its me, don’t cream your pants.”

You laugh, running to embrace your friend, and he catches you spinning you around then putting you down. 

“What are you doing here?” You ask breathlessly, “Doesn’t your dad hate leaving Gotham?”

“Well he had a meeting with your dad today, so we made him bring us.” 

“Ohh, so that’s the meeting dad didn’t want to go to” You think.

“You’re brothers are here?” You look around for the boys, but not seeing any.

Jason laughs, “Just Tim and Damian, I kind of ditched them at the Tower, I think I would’ve gone crazy if I stayed another second.”

“Aw, were you expecting me to be there?” You tease, grinning wide as the boy turned a light shade of red.

“Oh please, if you were there I think I’d die of boredom” He teases back, a matching grin growing on his face. But before you can answer back you hear Mj shout at you. 

“Y/n! Are you gonna keep flirting or can we go on some rides?”

“Yeah Iron baby, are you gonna keep flirting?” 

You roll your eyes at the nickname, despite your protests you know he’s not going to stop calling you that. 

“Hey you’re not here with anyone are you?” “Um no why?” 

You grab his hand and pull him towards Mj and Ned, who were looking at the both of you in shock.

“You’re Jason Todd..” Ned says, surprised to see him here.

“Uh..hi” Jason responds, not knowing what to say.

“Jay and I are friends” You say, “ We hang out at the galas and judge people.”

Jason laughs, “That is not what we do.” 

“Oh? So then why do you mean mug people from the corner of the room?” 

Mj and Ned make eye contact, having a silent conversation as you and Jason banter. 

“So, you’re one of Y/n’s ‘friends that don’t live in the city’?” Mj asks, eyeing Jason and you. 

He slings and arm on your shoulders, “ Is that what you call us Y/n?” He turns to Mj to respond but before he can answer Peter and Liz finally make an appearance. 

“Oh so you two finally decided to grace us with your presence?” Mj drawls 

“Sorry guys, I really wanted this Spiderman plush and Peter was trying to win it for me” Liz says with a giggle. Peter blushes, not taking his eyes off Liz. 

You frown at the sight. Frustration growing in your head, this was supposed to be your day with Peter. And now it was ruined. 

“You spent over an hour trying to win a little doll?” You said bitterly, making everyone stare at you. 

“Ah come on iron baby, we all know those games are rigged.” Jason says from beside you. You tear your eyes away from Peter and Liz, “Rigged or not, I bet I can win a prize before you, Jay-Bird”

“Oh is that a bet?” “Um yeah, I literally just said that.” “Okay fine!”

Then you and Jason are off, running towards the nearest booth that gives out prizes. 

“Umm, who was that?” Peter asking, looking in the direction you ran off. 

“That was Jason Todd” Liz responds, “ You know, Bruce Wayne's son.”

“What was he doing with his arm around Y/n?” he asks with a frown.

“Well apparently they’re friends, he just showed up. We didn’t even notice him until we saw him spinning Y/n around like a washing machine.” Ned says with a laugh.

“What, so they’re like...close?” Peter asks. Mj and Ned look at each other. 

“Um I guess...” Ned says hesitantly.

“Well, I for one, haven’t heard Y/n talk as much as she has been now.” Mj says, a knowing look on her face. Peter made a face, not understanding what Mj was talking about. 

“That's true” Liz adds in, “She’s pretty quiet, it’s kinda weird.”

“Well to be fair you two haven’t been exactly talking to her.” Ned defending you, “ She opened up quite a bit after she got comfortable.”

“Yeah, besides, Peter is the one who she knows the best, I wouldn’t be comfortable hanging out with people I just met.” Mj says, glancing at Peter. 

Peter didn’t know how to feel. At first he was psyched to be spending time alone with Liz. He didn’t even think about how you would feel when he invited her and his friends on your shopping day. This whole day he was trying to get closer to Liz, he forgot that you hardly knew Ned and Mj.  But it was okay, you gained two new friends, and now Peter has a chance with Liz. 

He looked at Liz, 

“She looks so pretty” He thinks, but deep in his mind, a voice kept bringing up an image of your face.

“Oh shoot” Liz says, “ Hey guys, my mom is here to pick me up.”

“I’ll walk you to the car!” Peter shouts, startling Mj and Ned. 

‘Okay thanks Pete!” Liz says, wrapping an arm around his. Peter turns back to Ned and Mj with a grin. 

Ned winks back and Mj just rolls her eyes, going to find you and Jason. 

As Peter and Liz walk, he starts to get nervous. This whole day he has been alone with her, but now...now he has to leave an impression. 

“I had a lot-” “It was really coo-” 

The two laugh

“You go first” Peter says.

“It was really cool of you to invite me, I had a great time.” Liz says with a smile. Peter grins, happy that she had a good time with him. and his friends.

“Yeah? I’m glad, I had fun too.” 

They finally make it to the parking lot where Liz’s mother is waiting.  Liz’s face suddenly looks nervous.

“Hey Peter,” Liz turns to Peter, “ Do you have a date to homecoming?”

Peters breath hitches, “Um..no-no why?” 

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?”

He...he isn’t as excited as he thought he’d be. In fact, this was kind of anti-climatic. 

“Y-yeah, of course!” Peter says forcing enthusiasm.  Liz’s face brightens and she smiles, pulling Peter into a hug.

“Awesome! I’ll text you with the details later?” She asks, pulling away to get into the car.

“That sounds great” Then without warning, Liz grabs Peters face and gives him a quick peck. 

“I’ll see you later Peter Parker.” and with that, she hopped into her mom's car and drove away. Peter stood there, hand on his mouth looking at the spot Liz stood. 

For some reason..he didn’t feel as happy as he should’ve. 

“What is wrong with me?” He asked himself. He shakes his head and turns around. Ready to walk back to where he last saw his friends. 

Turns out, they were all at a booth near the parking lot. And saw the whole thing.

“Dude!” Ned said running up to Peter, “Liz Allen just kissed you! You’re going to HOMECOMING with Liz Allen!” 

“Yeah..I am” Peter says, forcing excitement for his friend,” I can’t believe it.”

“Dude! You’ve been pining over her for YEARS! “ Ned shouts, “ You did it!” 

Meanwhile, Mj is rubbing your arm in comfort as you hold back tears. You saw everything. Peter really didn’t like you the way you thought. You felt defeated, betrayed even. All those moments...they meant nothing to him.  Every moment you held close to your heart. 

“Hey, are you alright Y/n?” Jason whispers, sensing your sadness. 

“um..no not really...” you whisper back, feeling a tear run down your face. Jason wipes it away before you could. 

“Hey, come on lets get you something to drink.” He pulls you away from Mj with a nod. But before he could get far, Peter called out

“Y/n..are you okay?” 

You don’t say anything, your back turned to him so he doesn’t see your face.

“She’s not feeling too hot, I’m gonna get some water and food in her, see if she perks up” Jason responded for you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

Peter looks at the arm, “I can do that” He steps closer to you but before he can touch you, you speak up.

“Don’t touch me, I want Jay to take me.”

And with that, Jason adjusts his grip on you and walks you to a food truck. Leaving behind a disheartened Peter. 

You sit on a bench as Jason orders you some food. Alone, you’re able to gather your thoughts and think about what just happened.  

“Did Peter really not like me? If he didn’t why did he act so flirty with me?” 

It made you mad. It wasn’t fair that he made you feel special then dropped you as soon as someone else came along. He ignores you all day for her, then acts innocent? Screw that.

“Here you go, one greasy ass burger and a bottle of water. We dine like true kings.” 

Jason plops down next to you, “So are you gonna tell me whats wrong or what?”

You scoff, “ Wow, you sure have a way with the ladies.” 

“Whatever.” the raven haired boy rolls his eyes, “ So what’s up? Is it that Peter kid?”

You sigh and explain everything. From when you first met Peter to now. After you were done, Jason stayed quiet. Digesting what you just told him and trying to find the right words to say.

“Fuck him.” He says simply. 

“What?” You say surprised at his comment. 

“Fuck. Him” He repeats looking you in the eye, “ Why are you going to waste your time on someone who doesn’t want you? It’s his lose anyway.”

You stay quiet, not exactly knowing how to respond. 

Two of you eat in silence, watching parents run after their children, and take in the atmosphere. 

“Hey.. we never did finish our bet.” Jason says, standing up. 

You look up at him, a small smile forming on your face. “No, I guess we didn’t.”

“Well come on, I don’t have all day.” He holds out his hand, refusing to look at you. You take it, interlocking your fingers.

You walk in silence, faces red but its comforting. It was nice to see this side of Jason. When the two of you see each other, you both have a this fake persona for the media. You couldn’t truly show who you really were. You only caught glimpses of each others true self when you’d sneak away from the crowds. You both hated those stupid galas Bruce threw. Your dad would force you to go so he wouldn’t be alone, and Jason had to go as Bruce Waynes son. 

A match made in heaven.

“Here we are.” Jason says, releasing your hand. “Ready to get your ass handed to you?”

“Oh you wish Todd.”You scoff, walking up to the man running the booth. 

“Hello little lady, three bucks for a three chances.” 

You hand him the money and get the balls. It seemed simple enough, toss the balls, knock down the clowns, win the prize. 

You wind your arm back, and throw the ball with all your might. You end up knocking down two out of the five clowns down. You go again, getting the other three.v

“You got a good aim little miss. What can I get for ya?” 

“The Iron man please.” You hear Jason scoff from his place behind you, “ Oh, is someone a little salty he lost the bet?”

“Whatever princess, it was pure luck.”

“Luck? or years of training with an expert marksman?” You say referring to the times you trained with Clint.

“Whatever.” He says rolling his eyes.

“Aw come on Jay bird, don’t be so salty.” You coo, “ Here, something to remember me by.” You hand him the Iron man with a smirk.  He takes it with a sigh, trying to hide the smile forming on his face. 

“Yeah yeah, come on let's go play that booth with the balloons.” He takes your hand, dragging you to the booth. 

It turns out to be a game with water guns. You both race to make the balloon pop. Jason wins at this game 

“Ha” He says turning to you with a smirk. “ Aw, come on Princess, don’t be so salty.” He turns to attendant “ yeah can i have the Red Hood, thanks” 

He hands you the Red Hood doll, “ Here, something to remember me by” 

You roll your eyes, “ Don’t you use my words against me.” You take the doll, looking it over, “ Hey, why the Red Hood?”

Jason freezes, as you caught him in a lie or something. “Uhh, cause...he’s from Gotham, and so am I...” 

You squint at him, finding his response weird, “Um, okay?” 

He looks relieved with your acceptance. Weird. 

He takes your hand again and you both walk around, catching up on stuff you’ve missed in the months you haven't seen each other. While you were talking, you could’ve sworn you saw a flash of light from the corner of your eye. 

Oh well.

“Hey guys, over here.” 

You both turn to see Ned and Peter. 

“Hey, where’s Mj?” You ask as the two boys walk up to you and Jason.

“She had to leave, her dad picked her up a few minutes ago.” Ned replied, “We were coming to look for you guys.”

“Oh, are you ready to go?” You asked, “ Is anyone picking you up Ned?” 

“Nah I’m spending the night at Peters, we’re gonna watch Star Wars.” He says excitedly. 

Jason snorts, and you elbow him in the stomach, “ I happen to like Star Wars very much. And even if I didn’t, don’t be a dick to my friends.” 

“Sorry man, you just reminded me of my...brother, Tim. Sounds like something he’d like.” Jason says apologetically. 

“I’m friends with Y/n Stark..” Ned whispered.

Peter was quiet, he hasn’t said a word since he saw you and Jason laughing together. His mood worsened when he saw your intertwined hands. 

“So, you’re feeling better.” Peter states, avoiding your eyes. 

“Um, yeah...guess I just needed some food in me.” You mutter. An awkward silence coming over the group. 

“Hey are we going to ride the subway? It sucks going on there at night.” Ned says breaking the silence. 

“Is it? I know I hated walking around at night back home.” Jason says with a frown.

“Yeah man, my mom had to work late one night and she said she saw two homeless people getting it on.”

The four of you cringe at the thought.

“I’ll call Happy” You say pulling out your phone. You walk away, letting go of Jason's hand.

The three boys are left alone, not exactly knowing what to say to each other.

“So...how do you know Y/n?” Ned asks

“Oh uh” Jason goes to say how he knows you when he stops, he noticed how Peter’s mood seemed to worsen when he saw him with you. 

“Me and Y/n ditch galas together.” He says, “ We sneak into my room and...play games.” 

Peters face darkens, “Play games?” 

“Yeah, you know”

“No. I don’t.” 

“Interesting..” Jason thinks to himself 

“Like poker and shit”He replies, “ She’s shit at it, but i like seeing her get all happy when she wins so I let her.”

Peter smiles, knowing how happy you get when you win at games. Then frowns, knowing that Jason has seen you the same way he has. 

“Hey, whos that?” Ned asks, “ He’s been looking at Y/N for a while now.” 

Peter and Jason whip their head towards where Ned was pointing. Low and behold, there was a guy staring at you. You, too busy on your call with Happy, weren’t paying attention to your surroundings. 

The guy looked like a creep. His eyes roaming your body as if you were a piece of meat. It was disgusting.  But before Peter could do anything, Jason was already striding towards you. 

Now, Peter was strong, but he wasn’t too intimidating out of his suit. But jason? Jason was massive, even for an eighteen year old. He was tall, very well built, and just had this dark aura around him. 

Peter didn’t like him. 

Meanwhile, you were chatting to Happy about the where you were, apologizing for calling him so last minutes. 

“Thanks so much Happy, I’ll see you right now.” 

“Yeah yeah.” He hangs up. You chuckle putting your phone back into your purse. Looking up you see Jason striding towards you. 

“Hey i just-” He cuts you off, harshly slamming his arm above your head and leaning in close. 

“Theres a man staring at you.” He whispers, “ Right over there.” 

You follow his gaze, seeing the man who has a frightened expression. Jason was sending a death glare his way that could have frightened Batman himself. The man scurries off without a second glance.

Jason gently thumps you on the back of your head, “See what happens when you stand there like a space cadet.”

‘Oh..I was?”

Peter and Ned walk up to the two of you

“Y/n, you have to be more aware when you’re by yourself.” Peter scolds. 

“He’s right, or its going to be your own damn fault when someone kidnaps you.”

“Oh right.” You say standing up straight and alert. Jason rolls his eyes.

“We said when you’re alone.” “Right.” you say still alert.

“You don’t have to worry about it when you’re with me, you can space out whenever you want.”

“Oh? You gonna protect me Jay-bird?” 

Jason just smiles, not responding as he looks away from your face. 

“So, is Happy coming or what?” Peter asks rudely, taking you by surprise. He’s never talked to you like that before. 

“Um..yeah he’s on his way.” You respond, “ He should be here in a few minutes.”

Peter nods. Yet another uncomfortable silence falls on the group. 

You start walking to the entrance, and without a word the boys follow you. 

You don’t get it, first Peter ignores you all day and now he’s mad at you? What the hell is he playing at? 

“So I’m assuming you’re staying at the Tower?” You ask Jason, “ Your dad would be blowing up your phone if you weren’t.”

“I turned it off” Jason says with a smirk, “ I’m sure they’ll be alright.”

You laugh at his antics, knowing that he’s gonna get an earful when he gets back. Then. from the corner of your eye, you see Peter roll his eyes and glare at Jason.  Ugh, what a weird day.

Finally Happy, shows up. You pile into the car, a tight fit with all four of you, but you make it work. 

The tension in the car is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Happy doesn’t even make any comments, he just drives to Peter’s house to drop him and Ned off. As soon as he gets there, he jumps off the car as if something bit him. Going into the building without a goodbye. Ned just awkwardly smiles and says bye, then follows Peter into the apartment. 

“Okay...That was weird.” Happy says, “What happened? Usually the kid won’t shut up.”

“I have no idea. He’s just being a dick I guess.” You respond sourly. Looking out the window, signaling that you were done with the conversation. 

You finally get home, exhausted physically and emotionally. As you ride the elevator, you think about today's events. So much has happened today it makes your head spin. You were,’t even paying attention when you got to your floor, Jason having to nudge you to get you to move.

“Jason.”, you hear a deep voice rumble. You look up at the sound and giggle

“Looks like you’re in trouble Jay-bird.” “Shut up, please.” 

You laugh again, “It’s lovely to see you again Mr. Wayne, are you staying at the Tower tonight?”

“Hello Y/n” Bruce says, “ It seems so, seeing as my son has been missing all day and we’ve missed our check in time.” He glares at Jason. 

“Aw come on Bruce, we’ll all have a sleepover, bread each other’s hair and tell secrets” You dad says coming out of nowhere. He pecks the top of your head. 

“Hey kid, how was it?” 

“Ugh, don’t even get me started” You say rolling your eyes, “ How was the meeting?” 

“Ugh don’t even get me started.” Then he turned to Jason, “ Hey, didn’t know you were a fan.” 

You laugh, knowing he’s referring to the plush you won for him. “Where’s the rest of the boys?” 

“Damian fell asleep and Tim is in your fathers lab tinkering.” Bruce responds, “ I was about to head to bed.” 

“Oh me too, I’ve had quite the day.” You hug your dad, “ Night pops.” 

Then you turn to Jason, “ I had fun today Jay, thanks. Good night Mr. Wayne.” 

And with that, you walk off to your room, desperate to shower and sleep this day away. 

“So, care to explain why your phone was shut off?” 

Yikes, poor Jason.

[edupunkn00b]

Punks‚ Poets‚ Parents - Ch. 12: The Good Thing

Prev - Ch. 12: The Good Thing - Next - Master Post - [ A03 ]

Fic rated M, this chapter rated T - CW: Remus likes to swear (not around Jay) - WC: 4100

I will fight, will fight with my heart I will fight, will fight with understanding In my mind the weather never changes Skill overcomes unfavorable conditions A straight line exists between me and the good thing I have found the line and its direction is known to me Absolute trust keeps me going in the right direction Any intrusion is met with a heart full of the good thing - The Good Thing, Talking Heads ---

Friday, May 19, 1984

It was a quiet Friday morning in May and Logan had woken early. He'd finished his fourth cup of coffee by the time Patton stumbled into the kitchen, hunting for breakfast. Logan nudged him to the table and set in front of him a mug of light and sweet coffee and a plate of eggs, whole wheat toast, and fruit.

“Wow, Lo… this feels like my birthday.” Patton looked up at his brother, a brittle smile pulling at his cheeks. “Thanks. I… I really needed this. I’ve got a long day full of home visits ahead of me.”

Logan settled into the seat across from him, hands wrapped around yet another cup of coffee. He was already a quarter of the way through that morning's second pot. He nodded, “You seemed particularly distracted when you came home from work last night.”

Patton stabbed a forkful of eggs and popped them in his mouth. “Yeah,” he mumbled after he’d swallowed and sipped some of his coffee. “I had a review of my open cases with my supervisor.” He took another few bites of his eggs while Logan watched him over the lip of his own coffee mug. “My supervisor wants me to close out half my cases.” Patton gulped at his coffee then stared into the half-emptied cup before he added, “Including Jay’s.”

Logan nodded once, his fears confirmed. Patton could barely look him in the eye last night when Logan had gotten back from watching Jay. Instead, Patton had taken his case files to his room, claiming the need to call it a night. But he hadn’t gone to bed.

Instead, Logan had heard him pacing in his room well past one o’clock in the morning when the teacher had finally fallen asleep. Judging by the deep shadows under Patton’s eyes, he’d stayed up even later than that.

Logan slowly sipped at his coffee, looking down into the dark liquid swishing in his mug. “And what precisely would ‘closing out’ Jay’s case entail?”

Patton leaned forward, dragging a hand through his hair as he finished the last of his eggs. “My supervisor wants me to support the mother’s request for a TPR—a termination of parental rights. Ms. Heaney, um… She was admitted to a treatment facility out West, but the court won’t release her while she has parental responsibilities here in New York.” Patton’s lips turned down, looking like he’d eaten something sour. “Her 18-b lawyer is all for it.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe any parent would agree to that, but….”

“But she has hardly served as a model for parent of the year, has she?”

Patton shrugged, cutting the crusts off his toast.

Logan bit the inside of his cheek, giving Patton time to say more, to tell him what he wanted to know so he wouldn’t have to ask. At Patton’s continued silence, Logan finally murmured, still staring down into his—now empty—coffee cup, “And what would that mean for Jay’s current foster care placement?”

Patton didn’t answer at first and instead took one last bite of his breakfast and stood to clear his plate. He faced the sink, silently rinsing his dishes. He turned off the water and sighed before replying. “I need to find him a permanent foster placement. Jay’s young. He needs a home with the potential for adoption. It won't be easy, though. Pre-adoptive placements for kids with disabilities"—without needing to look, Patton raised a hand to interrupt Logan's correction before he could begin—"kids with perceived disabilities are hard to come by.” He hung his head as he slowly dried his hands and when he spoke, his voice was low. "Another group home may be the only option."

Logan didn’t even try to soften the razor’s edge in his voice. “And in what way is his current placement inadequate?”

"Lo,” Patton sighed, turning around and leaning against the sink. “I know how much you care about all of your students, and this kiddo in particular, it's just… I'm not gonna be able to get my supervisor to sign off on a”—Patton lowered his voice to a whisper—”homosexual to be a permanent foster home for a seven year old boy."

"Patton!” Logan growled through clenched teeth. “That is the most closed-minded, bigoted bullshit I have ever heard you say!”

"I'm not saying I think it's right!" Folding his arms in front of his chest, Patton turned away, shaking his head. "I'm just trying to be realistic. The Bureau will want him in a stable home with a mother and a father."

“Pat, you and I both know that the presence of a husband and wife in a home does absolutely nothing to guarantee the safety and wellbeing of the children within.” Logan glared at Patton, hands shaking. "It certainly did not keep us safe."

“You think I don’t know that?” Patton cried, hugging his arms against himself, tears filling his eyes as his jaw trembled.

Logan frowned, looking down at the floor before stepping closer to Patton and pulling him into a hug, rubbing his back. Patton stiffened at first but soon melted into the familiar security of his older brother's arms. Logan squeezed him tighter, whispering, “I’m sorry, Pat.”

“It’s okay. I know you weren’t trying to dredge up old memories. It’s…” he sniffled, sighing against his brother’s shoulder. “It’s just hard sometimes in this job, you know?” Logan nodded, resting his cheek on his little brother’s head. “It’s why I do it, though. I wanna make sure other kids don’t have to go through what we did.” Logan hummed, quickly wiping away a tear from his own eye, disguising it behind adjusting his glasses.

After a few minutes, Patton started to fidget and Logan released him. Logan sat back down, wordlessly thumbing through one corner of the files on the kitchen table. His hand froze and he looked up at Patton.

"What about single fathers? Does your supervisor feel the same way about them?"

“Well,” Patton’s brow furrowed. “Releasing Jay to his father would be different. But we'd first have to identify and then locate him and the mother herself says she isn't sure.”

“How would you go about establishing paternity, if his father were to be identified?”

Patton shrugged, “We use a standardized blood type test and his mother's statement.”

Slowly nodding his head, Logan hummed in response. “And then you present the lab results in court?”

He sighed heavily, shaking his head. “We don’t have the budget to pay an expert witness for such basic results, so the social worker just signs an affidavit based on the lab report.”

Logan rested his hand on the tall stack of files and stared at his brother, one eyebrow slightly higher than the other.

“You're—you're not suggesting….”

“You are correct, Patton. I am not suggesting you do anything. I am merely asking questions.” His eyes never left Patton’s face. “What would be the recommended course of action for someone who believed he was the child’s father?”

Patton gnawed at his lip, briefly meeting Logan’s eyes. He looked back down at the case file in front of him, the small Polaroid of Jay staring back at him with those haunted eyes. He’d taken the picture himself the night he went to pick up Jay from Mr. Puños’ apartment. The boy hadn’t cried, or screamed, or fought to stay. He’d just stood behind Mr. Puños, watching with those big eyes, looking almost resigned to leave. He’d hugged Puños for a long time until finally the man had stood up and placed the boy’s hand in Patton’s.

“I suppose that if someone believed he was the boy’s father, he should contact me and I can arrange for a blood test. I would also need to speak with the boy’s mother in jail, to confirm his suspicion.” He looked up at his brother. "I imagine Ms. Heaney would feel a bit better about her decision to relinquish parental rights if she knew Jay was going to be with his father."

“Supposing you already had a blood test drawn. And it indicated paternity.” Logan stared into Patton’s eyes.

“Well... that would make things easier, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, I suppose it would.”

Patton stared at Logan for a few moments. “Thank you for breakfast, Lo. I should head into the office. I have a few calls to make and a site visit at Rikers to fit in, so I should probably get ready.”

“I hope the breakfast helped make your day a little bit easier. I should be going, as well.” Logan stood, taking his empty coffee cup to the sink and turning off the coffee pot. He quickly gathered his bag, wallet, and keys, and slipped through the door, giving his brother one last nod before he did.

Patton nodded and gave him a little wave as he left, then opened up the file on the top of the stack. Patton held Jay’s picture as he reached for the phone on the wall, calling his supervisor, hoping to leave a message on her voicemail.

Instead, she answered on the second ring. “Oh, hi there, Bridgette, I, uh, wanted to start your day with good news. It’s about the Heaney case.” Patton winced. “Mm-hm, yes. Well… I had that babysitter take a blood test.” Patton closed his eyes as he nodded, humming in response to his supervisor’s warning about wasting agency resources.

“Well, the, uh, mother suggested it, actually. It, uh, it turns out that he’s the biological father. It’s why she left the boy with him before she….” He swallowed, looking down at the picture of Jay as he listened to his supervisor's reaction. “Yeah, I—I think we might have a real success story.”

---

Logan stood outside the school in the bright morning light. The city around him was relaxing into those brief few weeks of near-summer, just before the oppressive heat started, choking the city until the end of September. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the warmth of the paper coffee cups in his hands, the gentle heat of the the sun, and the excited children's voices around him, pushing away the barbed lump of lead in his chest.

A student called his name as they walked through the gate and he turned to smile, nodding in response when a tiny figure suddenly plowed into his legs, nearly knocking him into the gate. He looked down to see Jay's bright smile shining back at him.

"Well, good morning, Jay, it is a pleasure to see you!" Logan's smile matched Jay's as the boy stepped back, looking over his shoulder to see that Remus had caught up to him.

"I can't even imagine running toward school at this age!" Remus laughed. He kept a tiny bit of distance between himself and Logan, feeling a buzz in the air between them. He gestured quickly in Logan's direction, "I can't say I blame him now, though."

Logan lips twitched in a warm smile for Remus as he cleared his throat and met his eyes. "Good morning... Mr. Puños."

"Good morning, Teach." Logan chuckled and handed him one of the coffees. Remus smiled in surprise but took a sip as Logan looked down at Jay again.

"Jay, please go wait at our class line up spot and I will join you all shortly." Jay peered closely into his teacher’s eyes, a tiny wrinkle pressed between his eyebrows.

Whatever he found behind Logan’s eyes seemed to reassure him and his brow smoothed as he nodded, turning to hug Remus and waving at both of them. Logan and Remus watched him walk through the gate and toward the class line up area on the blacktop. Just before they lost sight of him in the crowd of students, they saw another little child race to catch up with him, calling out his name.

He turned and smiled when he saw the little girl and they continued together toward their line.

Remus' voice cracked as he asked Logan, "Does… does he have… a friend?"

Logan was smiling broadly. "I did not want to say anything in case it was just a non-event, but, yes, yesterday they colored together and shared responsibility for passing out pencils."

He smiled, watching until he could no longer spot their little heads in the crowd. Shaking himself, Remus turned to Logan, "I'm guessing that's not why you met us here, though."

"That is correct." Logan took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses. "I—I do not wish to alarm you, but we have something important to discuss that could not wait until this evening. Something about Jay."

Remus crossed his arms, bracing himself. "Okay. Okay, rip it off like a band-aid."

Looking around at how near they were to the gate, Logan gestured with his chin further down the sidewalk and they walked together, close enough to hear each other's lowered voices, distant enough to not appear like anything more than a parent and a teacher.

Nodding brusquely, Logan began. "There have been some developments in Jay's foster care case and… I have done something… rash." Remus' eyes narrowed as he listened. Logan let out a slow breath. "I know you love Jay and have gone to great lengths to ensure his well being."

"I would do anything for him."

Logan met his eyes. "I am glad you said that, because… because you may have to."

---

"Holy fuck," Remus breathed, leaning back against the rusted wrought iron fence surrounding the school. Logan watched as he took a long swig of his coffee.

"If this is too much to ask—”

"Do you think it'll work?" Remus interrupted.

The icy rock that had settled in the pit of Logan's stomach since that morning's discussion with Patton melted away. He smiled softly and nodded. "I've been doing some reading and… apparently most of New York's paternity laws appear designed to attempt to prevent fathers from denying paternity once established." He shrugged, "The great wisdom of our legislature could not envision a man actually wanting the responsibility of caring for a child.

"I think the bigger question is, though… do you want this?”

"I was in foster care when I was a teenager." Remus' eyes grew dark as he shook his head. "I love Jay. I don't want that life for him." His voice cracked and he stood a little straighter, rubbing a harsh hand over his mouth, jaw clenched tight.

Logan's hand twitched with the effort of stopping himself from pulling Remus into his arms right there in front of the school. He met Remus' eyes and his own message echoed back at him. Tonight.

"So you will likely hear from Patton by midday today." Logan looked toward the gate, the flow of students noticeably thinner. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his inner jacket pocket. "Here is a list of the next steps. Patton has an answering machine on his phone at work. Call him if you do not hear from him."

Remus looked down at the paper. "Okay, I…" He looked up at Logan, smiling with tears in his eyes. "Will you still come over tonight? Maybe for dinner?"

"I would like that." Eyes darting back to the school, Logan sighed. "I need to go." He met Remus' eyes again. "I…."

Remus nodded, smiling. "Me, too." He raised his cup in salute, "Thank you, Mr. Sanders, for the coffee and for—” he waved his hands around him.

Heart beating just a little faster from the warmth in Remus’ eyes, Logan murmured, "It is my pleasure, Mr. Puños," before turning and racing back toward the gate.

---

Remus had just pulled the tray of lasagna from the oven when the doorbell rang. He wiped his brow. June had kicked off with a bang and the heat of the day combined with the heat of the oven to turn the kitchen just a tad too toasty. Remus opened the kitchen window wide as Jay set down the last fork in his hand and then ran to the door, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for Remus to check the peephole. Glancing down at the boy, Remus grinned broadly and whispered, “He’s here!”

Jay ducked under Remus’ outstretched arm as he opened the door, rushing in to be the first to greet Logan in the doorway. “Well, good evening, Jay.” Hugging his leg tightly, Jay let out a small laugh as Logan ruffled his hair.

“Please come in,” Remus murmured, closing the door then brushing a soft kiss against Logan’s lips before Jay pulled him into the kitchen and toward the table. “I hope you’re hungry.” Remus chuckled and kissed him again when Logan’s face flushed lightly, “I meant for the lasagna, Teach…”

Once they’d settled around the table, Logan nodded a quick thanks as Remus passed him the salad bowl, then scooped some onto Jay’s plate. “I found out this afternoon that a spot opened up in the summer program at the school.”

“Oh, that’s great! Are you still running the K to 2nd group?”

Logan smiled, “It’s how I found out.”

“What do you think, Jay? Would you like that? It’s a lot like your after school program now, but with Mr. Sanders instead of Miss Kate.” Jay’s eyes grew wide and he nodded rapidly. Remus turned again to Logan, “What can we do to hold a place for him?”

Logan grinned and took a sip of his water glass. Remus laughed, “You’ve already got him on the list, haven't you?”

He shrugged, “Not permanently… I did not want to lose the spot before I could check with you. It would have been a simple matter to take him off the list if either of you were not interested.”

“It helps to have a man on the inside, huh?”

“I suppose so.” Logan took a quick bite of the lasagna and smiled, “Oh, this is quite good.”

Remus grinned and winked at Jay. “I had an excellent assistant chef.”

“Job well, done, gentlemen.”

They ate together in a pleasant silence for a few minutes before Logan cleared his throat. “I have some other news—good news—well, I hope….”

Remus reached across the table and smiled as he stroked Logan’s hand, “What’s the news?”

“I was speaking with my neighbor and the apartment downstairs from mine is becoming available. It is precisely the same layout… two bedrooms, eat-in kitchen, sufficient closet space. It is rent-controlled, and my neighbor has been there for twenty years, so the rent is quite reasonable.”

“Wow." Remus blinked, nearly speechless. "That would be…”

“If it would be too awkward—”

Shaking his head and laughing, Remus interrupted, “I was going to say that would be amazing.”

Logan smiled. “I can introduce you to the landlord tomorrow, if you like.”

---

Remus and Logan had just finished cleaning up after dinner when Jay bounded into the kitchen wearing his new pajamas, hugging Grover and a small stack of books close to his chest. Remus grinned, “Ready for bed?” Jay nodded and presented the books to Remus. He smiled, eyebrow raised. “Teeth brushed?”

Laughing, Jay opened wide, showing off his freshly scrubbed teeth and the small space from the baby tooth he’d lost earlier in the week. “It’s story time, then.” Jay turned to Logan and hugged his legs, then grabbed Remus’ hand, pulling him toward the other room. Logan followed them but paused near the front door as he reached for his blazer.

Remus caught his eye, “Oh… you don’t have to… Can… Can you stay a little longer?”

He smiled at Remus. “Happily.” Logan waved goodnight to Jay then plucked a book from Remus’ shelf and sat down on the couch to read while he waited for Remus to settle Jay into bed. Engrossed in his reading, he was surprised by Remus’ low murmur some time later.

“Mmm… There’s nothing hotter than a man reading poetry.”

Logan blushed, adjusting his glasses. “I believe that statement to be rather exaggerative.” Laughing quietly, Remus pulled out his journal and a pen.

“Do you mind if I just jot something down and get it out of…” he waved his hand around his head, waggling his eyebrows.

“Of course not.” Remus settled next to Logan on the couch, leaning against his side. He sighed contentedly as Logan wrapped one arm around him. Logan stroked Remus’ arm with his thumb as he watched him write. After a few minutes, he tilted his chin toward the journal. “There is nothing hotter than a man writing poetry.”

It was Remus’ turn to blush as he craned his neck, capturing Logan’s mouth in a slow kiss. After a few minutes, Remus suddenly broke away, exclaiming and writing furiously in his book. Logan grinned, adjusting his arm as Remus shifted, leaning his back against Logan’s chest and tucking up his knees to support the journal as his pen flew across the page.

After several minutes of writing, Remus’ pen slowed and he tapped the edge of the book. “Logan… I….” Remus traced the veins on the back of Logan's hand. “Did I do the right thing? You know… it is actually impossible for me to have fathered, well, anyone. I’ve never… “

Logan nodded and closed his book, placing it in his lap. He stroked Remus’ hair and hummed. “From the bits that you’ve shared with me, I feel confident saying that you and I both know, all too well, that there are far more important parts to being a good father than simply providing… DNA.”

Remus hugged Logan’s other arm against his chest. “I just want what’s best for him,” he whispered. “That’s all I want. If there was a chance that he’d have a better life with some other family….” He winced. “I mean, I… I'd hate it, but….”

“Remus… You should know that… Jay was not doing well at the group home.” Remus shot up and stared at Logan, hands flexing at his sides. Logan quickly assured him, “No-one hurt him, nothing like that. They did everything they could to care for him.”

Remus relaxed slightly, leaning against Logan’s side again. He took a deep breath and resumed stroking Remus’ hair. “After the first day, when the counselor from Foundling picked him up from school… Jay was… he was inconsolable. He wouldn’t eat… they don’t believe he slept.” Logan sighed, “Based on his behavior in class, that would be my assessment as well.”

“How could they let him not…” Remus had to fight to keep his voice low.

“They did all they could. Jay wouldn’t allow anyone near him until he saw the van that took the children to school.” Logan worked to steady his own breathing as he thought about Jay’s devastated expression the second day when he still did not see Remus after school.

“The team at Foundling fully supported returning Jay to you. The director told me that he personally phoned the judge to expedite the paperwork to let Jay come home.” Logan leaned over, and kissed the side of Remus’ head, gently stroking Remus’ face and encouraging him to settle back down against his chest.

“Every person who has gotten to know you and Jay has seen that he needs you.” Logan met his eyes and smiled when Remus’ furrowed brow finally began to relax. “The way you care for him matters more than biology. Only a broken system would refuse to recognize and support that. This is the right thing to do.”

Remus nodded, and laced his fingers together with Logan’s. He kissed his knuckles, then sighed as he hugged Logan’s hand against his chest. Logan watched as Remus’ breathing gradually slowed and his eyelids started to fall. Smiling, Logan opened his book and continued to read.

Less than an hour later, Jay quietly padded into the living room. Logan looked up and whispered, “Oh, Jay. Did you have a nightmare?”

Jay shook his head as he stepped closer to the couch. He stood in front of them, a small smile brightening his face as he watched Remus sleep.

“He must be very tired. Shall we let him sleep?” Jay’s smile broadened and he nodded.

Jay bit his lip as he eyed Logan’s book. “Would you like me to read you a story?” Logan set down his book and frowned lightly at Remus’ sleeping form, puzzling out how to retrieve a story for Jay without rousing him.

Jay held out his hands and shook his head. He raced to the bookshelf and took down a Frog and Toad book. He handed it to Logan, eyebrows raised. When Logan nodded, Jay clambered into Logan’s lap, resting his head against Logan’s shoulder and twisting his fingers in Remus’ shirt sleeve as though it was a security blanket.

Logan smiled, propping the book on his lap to hold it with one hand, his other arm still draped across Remus’ chest. “Two short stories and then you must return to bed. You need optimal sleep and rest.” Jay looked up and nodded rapidly, resting his head back against his shoulder as Logan began to quietly read.

‘One day in summer Frog was not feeling well. Toad said, “Frog, you are looking quite green.”

“But I always look green,” said Frog. “I am a frog.”’

Jay giggled quietly and snuggled closer to Logan. He smiled down at the boy and continued to read.

“Today you look very green even for a frog,” said Toad. “Get into my bed and rest.” Toad made Frog a cup of hot tea. Frog drank the tea and then….‘

---

taglist: @mavenmush @melaniidarling @braingoburr @lunatatic @demon9980 @crossiantgay @psychedelicships @justmeandmygayships @ts-creator-boost @bluerosesbleedred

[fighterkimburgess]

Fluff list number 46 for upstead please.

Me: I’m not gonna publish this yet. Also me: UGH IT’S TOO CUTE I HAVE TO.

Fluff prompt 46: “I don’t know if I want to yell at you or kiss you.” Inspired by posts from @burzekbrettsey and @gins-potter, because it’s too cute.

Want to join my taglist?

--

“I don’t know if I want to yell at you or kiss you right now.” Hailey surveyed the destruction of their living room. She’d gone out with Kim for lunch for two hours, Adam and Jay convincing them that they could look after two toddlers together. Instead she’d returned home to their living room turned into a giant fort, the two men playing the floor is lava and getting the kids hyper.

“MAMA! LAVA MAMA!” Emily ran up to her mother, and Hailey lifted her easily, holding the two year old to her hip.

“I know baby, did Daddy make the floor lava?” Emily nodded, snuggling in for the mommy cuddles she wanted.

“I’ll get it sorted, Hails. C’mere a stórín, it’s nap time. We can play after your nap.” The fight had gone out of Emily, and Jay easily grabbed her and brought her to her room. Hailey put the coffee pot on, realising that if they were going to get it sorted, caffeine was essential. By the time she’d fixed two mugs Jay had the living room nearly fixed. The cushions were back on the sectional, and he’d rescued the pile of stuffed animals and put them back on the shelf. Hailey handed a mug over to him, an appreciative smile on his face.

“I mean it, Ruzek is more a toddler than Ems or Jake. Where does he get the energy?”

Hailey snorted a laugh. “Coming from the guy considering renting a dinosaur costume for his daughter’s second birthday because she was obsessed with Barney? Just face it, you and Ruzek are the fun dads, Kim and I reign you in when you go overboard.”

“Probably cause we didn’t have fun dads, you know? I don’t want Em ever doubting that she’s loved and we’d do anything for her. My Mom always did that, but Dad and I never saw eye to eye on anything. Even if we’re chalk and cheese I want to make sure she knows I love her.” Hailey leaned into Jay’s arm, comfort surging through the two of them.

“She knows. She’s a daddy’s girl through and through.” She reached up to kiss her husband’s cheek, nuzzling against the stubble that was there. “What did you call her when you were picking her up? Store-een?”

Jay sighed, taking a sip of his coffee before answering. “You know my family’s Irish Catholic, right?” Hailey let out a huff, the discussions around Greek Orthodox weddings and Catholic weddings still ringing in her ears.

“I don’t think I could ever forget the look of disapproval on Will’s face when we told him we’d decided on a secular wedding. Sometimes I think we only got Em baptised to keep him happy and make sure she could get into a decent school.”

“There’s worse reasons to do it. But my Mom, she was born in Ireland Irish. I’ve still got cousins in Clare, although I think most of them are in Dublin now. She moved here when she was 21, got a green card and met Dad. But when we were kids she’d always call us Irish names. She couldn’t speak the language, but she got us involved in everything. I’m pretty sure Will has a photo of us playing hurling as kids. Stórín basically means little dear, or close enough. I figured Ems won’t know her grandparents, but this gives her a bit of a connection to them.” When Hailey looked up at her husband, she could see his eyes were wet, and she reached up to kiss him.

“Your Mom would be so proud of her. She’d be proud of you too, you know? Passing the Sergeant’s exam, ready to take over the unit. I know she would be.”

Taglist: @blonde-freckles

[telli1206]

The Heart Will Follow (Ch. 3)

Jay’s never had a crush...until he met Carlos. And now he can’t stay away.

Carlos doesn’t know what to make of Jay’s presence, yet. But what should he do, exactly, about a boy that’s both cute AND terrifying?

A collection of Jaylos isle meetings, inspired by this beautiful headcanon I came across randomly that I can’t get out of my head. 

AO3

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3: Forever In Your Mind

“So...he just...left?”

Carlos bites his lip and lets his gaze drop to his lap. He’ll look anywhere to avoid Evie’s concentrated stare right now. He can hear the concern in her voice, but it feels too new, too...unsettling, to have someone care about his safety. He’s just not used to that. At all.

“I wonder why...” he hears Evie mutter to herself, and he looks up to catch sight of her furrowed brow and lips pursed tightly in thought. When she glances up and sees Carlos watching her, her eyes immediately soften, and she places a hand over his, flashing a warm smile to try to reassure him.

“Jay is so weird sometimes,” she muses, shaking her head. “Who knows why he was out there. The important thing is, he left you alone. Right?”

“I guess,” Carlos agrees, heaving a sigh. He decides against telling Evie exactly why Jay said he had chosen to leave him alone. He couldn’t really explain what Jay had said, honestly. Why would he give a shit about how Carlos’ mom would react? And his...eyes? Yeah, he definitely didn’t need to upset Evie any further with more of Jay’s weird comments.

“I-I didn’t get the impression that he’d try to steal from me again,” he offers, and quirks a smile when Evie beams back at him. 

“Good! So let’s not waste another second then talking about that...that skeezy thief,” she huffs, and shifts her focus back to her open textbook. She flips through a few pages before noticing how Carlos has stilled, and is now sitting stiff and unmoving beside her. There’s a look of distress on his face, and his cheeks are blooming the brightest pink color. 

“Ok. Something else is wrong. What is it?” Evie demands, and Carlos squeaks quietly at the forcefulness in her tone. He’s biting his tongue, but Evie can see the way his eyes are continuously darting to the door and back.

“No! Carlos, tell me you don’t. You don’t need to...” She pinches her nose, sighing in frustration at the way Carlos shifts in his seat, his hands pressed firmly into his lap. “You didn’t go before class started??”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t have to! I swear. It...it just came up all of a sudden.”

Carlos can feel the guilt pooling in his gut already. He didn’t want to ignore all the help Evie had given him, all the advice that she had gathered to survive Dragon Hall.

Initially, Carlos had no regrets about the cup of coffee he drank this morning. More like the exact opposite - he was grateful. 

Cruella had thrown a full mug at his head as he was trying to leave for school, which wasn’t unusual. Even though she had agreed to let him attend classes in exchange for extra chores after school and on the weekends, his departure every morning was a painful reminder to her of the chores that wouldn’t get done until later, including her breakfast dishes.

What WAS unusual about this morning, however, was that Carlos had managed to catch the mug this time without barely a spill of the scalding tar black coffee that it contained. With his mother already stomping out of the room in a fit of angry rambles to no one but herself, Carlos had taken full advantage of the hot liquid, flooding his belly and providing some satiation and warmth against the chill of the morning air.

It wasn’t until now, when the drink had caught up to his system, did the heeding of Evie’s number one warning cause him a tinge of remorse.

“Y-you’re going to have to hold it Carlos!” Evie hissed, her voice shrill with fear. “I wasn’t lying when I said that leaving class ALONE is a suicide mission!”

Carlos tries his best to settle his squirming. He crosses his ankles tightly, keeping his hands pressed firmly down to help ignore the feeling building inside. But the pressure is just too intense to ignore. He looks up at Evie just as the tears start to well in his eyes.

“Shit, FINE,” she groans, smacking her hand to her forehead. “Listen to me, ok? If you’re going to do this, there’s only one way to go.”

-----

Carlos shuffles quickly down the hall, trying his best to be quiet. Evie’s directions were very specific, and he plans to follow them perfectly. The little pangs of regret he feels for upsetting his new friend, his only friend, are still fresh, and he has no intention of hurting her like that again. Not after all she’s done for Carlos already.

“Take a right - you’ll walk past three classrooms and a bathroom. Walk past the bathroom. Do NOT use that one, Carlos. Ok? Keep walking. Promise me you’ll keep walking.”

He squeezes his eyes closed and scoots past the bathroom as promised, despite his borderline painful need to go right now. He’s not going to make it much longer, and he starts looking around at all the isolated doorways, contemplating the option of relieving himself there if he can’t manage to find the very specific bathroom Evie told him he absolutely had to use.

Luckily, he spots it just a few feet away on the other side of the hallway, exactly where Evie said it would be. He breathes a short sigh of relief as he darts across and slips through the door.  

At first glance, the bathroom looks and sounds empty. But he knows better than to trust his senses completely. So Carlos takes a quick scan of each corner and stall to confirm that he is, indeed, alone before sliding into the last stall closest to the window and locking the door behind him.

Carlos completely forgets the world around him then, lost in the exhiliration of finally being able to relieve himself. He’s had to pee for so long he can’t even stop the happy groan that escapes his lips, the pressure inside immediately gone in that blissful moment. He’s so focused on that pleasant feeling that he almost...almost...doesn’t hear the soft creaking of the bathroom door opening.

It’s a slow sound, just barely audible, but he manages to catch it anyway, the years of constant need to remain alert and attentive now on his side. He  sucks in his breath and forces himself to stop his stream, wincing in pain at the involuntary pause. He hops onto the toilet seat ledge nimbly and balances there, remaning motionless, quiet, and with his ears piqued to listen.

The door closes with a soft scrape along the damaged linoleum floor, followed closely by the pad of slow, deliberate footsteps. They pause for a moment at each stall as they move along, clearly looking for something. Or someone.

When they make a stop in front of Carlos’ stall, his muscles tense uncomfortably to make himself be as still as possible. He squeezes his eyes shut and silently wishes for whoever’s on the other side to leave him alone.

But instead, the feet step closer to him, and he hears a dry chuckle.

“Come out, come out wherever you are!” Jay sing-songs. “I know you’re in there, De Vil.”

Evil, poor Evie’s going to hate him for this.

Carlos lets out a breath and drops to the ground with a loud stomp. No point in being quiet now is there?

“Fine, fine! You caught me, ok? Just, let me finish pissing and I’ll come out. I’m almost done.”

“Aw, I interrupted your pee pee break??” Jay teases. “Sorry, pup! By all means, continue.”

Carlos rolls his eyes as he turns back to the toilet. Word travels fast at this school, and his mother’s transgressions were the talk of Dragon Hall within a day of his arrival. The puppy jokes and nicknames that have already started are beyond annoying, but there’s not much he can do about it.

He’s focused on finishing now, trying to hurry himself so Jay doesn’t have time to entertain the idea of breaking in the stall. But only a second later he can hear the lock jostling, making him jump a little and drop his aim. He curses at the pee trickling on his feet, shaking off and hurriedly tucking himself in just as Jay frees the latch and pushes the door open. 

Carlos is met with a wicked smirk, which Jay immediately drops to a frown when he spots Carlos fumbling the button of his shorts closed.

“Boo, you’re no fun,” he mumbles, sauntering closer. Carlos stumbles back, slamming the backs of his knees into the porcelain bowl of the toilet and causing him to arch awkwardly. He turns his body and catches himself on the tank before he can fall farther, taking the opportunity to flick the handle and flush before he launches himself back.

“Hey there!” Jay snorts, grabbing Carlos around the waist and pulling him close when Carlos’ body lands against him. The boy is quick to twist and squirm, freeing himself from the thief and lunging for the door. Jay is faster though, and slams the stall shut with one hand before Carlos can escape.

“Come now, C, did I say it was time for us to leave??” Jay tuts. Carlos presses his face against the stall door, biting his lip hard to avoid a snappy retort. He’s at Jay’s mercy in this stall, and doubts he’ll be a fair match against the boy’s muscles, rippling obviously from the cutoff sleeves of his vest.

A surprisingly gentle hand cups under Carlos’ chin, guiding his face away from the door. Reluctantly, he follows it, until his body is turned and fully facing Jay. His face is tipped upward to meet Jay’s smile, which seems less menacing but somehow still cocky and triumphant. Carlos can’t fight the sneer on his own lips, which only prompts more laughter from Jay.

“Ohhh, someone’s a little fiery, huh De Vil? You’ve got some balls, considering you’re the one invading my bathroom without my permission.” 

Carlos perks a brow, glaring questioningly at the brunette. “Your bathroom? I-I ...really? Ev-I mean, nobody, told me that.”

Jay shakes his head at that, and releases his grip on Carlos’ chin, letting his fingers drop to tease along his jawline instead. Carlos holds his breath at the gentle sensation, pushing himself into the door with enough force that he can feel the latch digging into his back. It’s painful, but if it’s the only way to spare some space between him and Jay, he’ll take what he can get.

“Guess that’s lesson one then, pup,” Jay taunts, fingers still lightly caressing Carlos’ face. “The halls are mine when class is in session. You got that?” Carlos musters a short nod. “Good. And that includes any place there’s not a teacher. You need to use the bathroom? Grab stuff from a storage closet? Or even just hide out in there, you gotta pay the toll.”

“T-toll?” 

Jay still feels too close, so Carlos tries to shift back more, which only produces a sharp pain when the latch scrapes him harshly again. He’s grateful for the distraction, though, when Jay dips in closer and grins wide.

“Yep. Everyone’s gotta pay up. No exceptions.”

Carlos stares at Jay for a moment, but feels uneasy when the boy is more than happy to stare back at him, their noses close and practically touching. He swallows thickly then, letting his gaze fall to the floor between them as he carefully sorts his words.

“I-I...but...Jay. Y-you know. I already told...” he looks up for a second and catches a glance at Jay’s now audacious smirk. And that makes him seethe.

“You know I don’t have anything,” Carlos states flatly, feeling a new surge of confidence. “I already told you. My mom’s a bitch, I barely get food and clothes. You think I have shit to spare for you?”

He shrinks back after his bold outburst, waiting for Jay’s response. But the thief doesn’t move, and his smirk doesn’t fade. He does take a generous step back though, allowing almost an arm’s length between him and Carlos. Carlos relaxes slightly at that, breathing a soft sigh of relief when he’s able to free his back from the painful latch. But even with the space between them now, Jay’s eyes never leave his. Carlos hasn’t even seen him blink! And the lingering stare is making him shiver.

“Well, not all tolls have to be cash and stuff, do they?” Jay retorts, licking his lips a little. “I’ve accepted, other...forms of payment. But you know that, don’t you? Smart guy like you. I know you’ve heard the rumors.”

Carlos swallows again, his mouth feeling horribly dry all of a sudden. He has heard the rumors. How could he not? Jay and Mal are the big bads of the school. There’s plenty of stories being passed around by everyone, mostly pointing out the best ways to avoid bodily harm at the hands of the two of them. And while he has heard that both are mostly appeased by money or things to hock for money, the entire student body is also aware of Jay’s willingness to trade, physical pleasures, as well. Though Evie had made it clear that it’s usually girls that makes those kind of offers, the kind that Jay is happy to accept, Carlos can’t help but wonder if that’s what Jay’s implying right now. Because the way he looks at him, and the constant lazy scans of his eyes up and down Carlos’ body, are giving him pause. 

Can Jay be asking for that? From Carlos? That seems...impossible.

But then Jay leans back in, bracing an arm above Carlos with a brow cocked and a suggestive curl to his lips, and Carlos thinks it might actually be entirely possible.

“I think you know what I’m thinking.” Jay interrupts Carlos’ thoughts with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Up to you, pup. You barged into my bathroom and used my stall. Now, how are you going to make that up to me, hm?”

Carlos chews on his lip, refusing to dare a look at Jay. He’s not sure what to say if he did, so he keeps his eyes trained on his fingers, tangling and untangling them together while he thinks. 

Fuck, he really should have listened to Evie.

Both boys are distracted then by the slam! of the bathroom door and irritably loud clacks across the linoleum.

“Carlos?? Are you in here??”

Evie! Carlos bites back a smile.

“Ev-mmph!”

A hand claps over his mouth, with Jay’s eyes wide and glaring at him. Carlos squirms, twisting away from Jay’s hand and wriggling along the stall door in the process. Then they hear an audible sigh, followed by a few slower clicks forward.

“Carlos, I know you’re in there.”

He wants to answer, but Jay keeps his hand in place, putting a finger to his own lips to silence Carlos.

“Jay, I know you’re in there, too.”

Jay grits his teeth and rolls his eyes as Evie raps harshly on the door.

“Come on, boys. Do you think I can’t see your feet? Stop wasting my time and open up.”

Jay grumbles, dropping his hand from Carlos’ mouth and giving him the chance to scurry away from the door. Jay tries to reach for him again but Carlos slides back quickly, jamming himself behind the toilet and against the cement wall to avoid Jay’s grasp.

“Well fuck,” Jay grunts, giving Carlos a frustrated glare. At that moment they here the latch click, and Jay steps back just in time to avoid the door swinging open.

“Boys,” Evie scolds, her eyes stern as they dart between Jay and Carlos, before finally settling on the dark haired boy in front of her.

“And what do you think you’re doing, Jay?” she scolds, crossing her arms as she glares coldly at him. “You know you don’t belong in here.”

“Calm down, Blue,” Jay snickers. “You know damn well I go wherever I want. Besides, you’re the one in the men’s room, aren’t you? Last time I checked, you weren’t properly...equipped, to come in here.”

He glares back at her, a proud smirk splayed on his lips. But Evie doesn’t falter, stepping forward instead and marching her way slowly towards the other boy in the corner.

“As if I’d ever want to use a men’s room anyway,” she snaps back, reaching a hand towards Carlos, He grabs it, intertwining their fingers with a relieved smile. Evie flashes a grin his way before returning to Jay with a disgusted sneer.

“And you’ve never seen what I’m equipped with, so don’t you dare try to go around talking about me like I would actually stoop to being one of your little fucktoys.”

She gives Carlos a gentle tug and he springs quickly away from the wall, following Evie’s lead to stand behind her, placing her between him and Jay.

“This bathroom is neutral territory and you know it.” Evie grits, leaning into Jay’s face. “You’re this close to doing your own chemistry homework,” she threatens with a pinch of her fingers. “I bet Jafar wouldn’t be too keen on you getting kicked out of school and losing all your marks here.”

Jay scoffs and looks away, but stays silent. Evie breaks into a smug grin, shoving Jay lightly in the chest. “So, Carlos and I are going to leave now, and you can find another form of payment elsewhere. Got it?”

She whips away before Jay can respond and struts out of the stall, dragging Carlos along behind her. They manage to reach the door before Jay stomps out after them.

“Hey! You wanna be a little bitch then we could just re-nig on our deal! What do you think of that? Just leave you to the fucking wolves at this school. Puppy, too,” he adds with a nod to Carlos. “You’ll get beat so bad the first week you’ll be begging for us again!”

Evie’s gaze softens, and she looks at Jay with a bit of pity before turning back to Carlos.

“Sweetie, go right out the door and wait for me, ok?” Evie asks gently, but Carlos’ brow is furrowed, and he looks confused.

“But-”

“Carlos, please? I’ll be right out. We just need to...talk. It’ll just take a minute.”

Carlos watches her for a moment, searching her face. She smiles brightly at him, and he finally nods and walks out into the hall and leaves them alone.

Evie gives an exasperated sigh. “Look,” she starts, and she reachs for Jay’s hand to give it a squeeze. His eyes widen in surprise at the gesture. “I’m going to let this slide, ok? I just...don’t think you’re thinking straight right now.”

Jay throws a heated glare at Evie as her lips twitch into a smirk. “You don’t think you’re being subtle, do you?” she chuckles, shaking her head. “Carlos may not see what’s going on, but he’s the only one that’s clueless, Jay.”

She drops his hand and takes a step back, reaching for the door handle. “He’s my friend,” she whispers, just loud enough for Jay to hear. “And I’m going to protect him, so just...don’t do anything you might regret.” 

Evie pulls the door open slightly and moves to leave, but pauses when she hears Jay snickering behind her.

“What, is that supposed to be some kind of threat?”

She glances up through the doorway and catches a glimpse of Carlos just outside. His eyes are wide with curiosity and worry, and Evie can’t stop herself from smiling.

“Take it however you want, Jay,” she quips over her shoulder. “I was only trying to give you some friendly advice.”

“We’re not friends,” he hisses through his teeth.

"Maybe we’re not,” Evie replies coldly, “But we’re not enemies, are we? Unless you want to change that? You know where to find me if you do,” she teases with a wiggle of her fingers.

“Bye for now, Jay-Jay.”

Evie giggles to herself as she walks out of the bathroom, ignoring the muffled roars coming from behind the now closed door and looping her arm through Carlos’ to pull him along.

“We can study at my house tonight, ok? I just need to see about fixing one little problem and then we can get going.”

[thebookreader12345]

Back Home for Christmas

Pairing: Will and Jay Halstead x Sibling! reader

Summary: Y/N Halstead, the youngest of the three siblings, surprises her brothers when she comes home from duty early

Requested: No

Warnings: mentions of being in the army

Word Count: 1,283 Words

“Um, excuse me? I’m looking for Dr. Halstead,” I tell a nurse, whose scrubs read Maggie Lockwood. 

“He’s upstairs in cardiology right now. Can I deliver a message for you?” Maggie asked.

“It’s actually kind of important.” I say and take off my hat, stuffing it in my coat pocket. “Could you just get him down here, please?”

Maggie sighed. “All right. Take a seat in the waiting room. I’ll page him down here in a minute.”

“Great. Thank you,” I state and turn around, heading back into the waiting room. I took a seat in one of the chairs, and my fingers tapped away at the arm rest. My feet also couldn’t sit still, drumming up and down on the floor. It was a habit I had picked up overseas. Never sit still. My eyes darted around the room, glancing at the people sitting in the chairs. To my right, there was a mother and her daughter. To my left, an older man with a cane resting against his leg. And right in front of me, two young men who looked very similar. Brothers, perhaps. That made me smile, seeing as it was the reason I was here in the first place.

“Y/N? Is that you?” someone asked. I looked up from my lap and saw that the person who spoke was the man I had come looking for. It was the oldest of my 2 older brothers, Will.

“Will,” I greet and stand up. Will smiled and rushed over, bring me in for a hug. The feeling of being in his arms brought back memories from the past few years, giving me comfort. For a few seconds, we just stood there, enjoying each other’s embrace. It had been too long since I’d seen or even hugged Will. The last time I saw him was 2 years ago, when I had re-deployed to Iraq.

“I thought you weren’t getting back until next month?” Will questioned when we finally pulled away from each other.

“Yeah, well, my boss decided to let everyone go home early this year,” I reply. “Besides, I didn’t want to miss spending Christmas with you and Jay again.”

“Speaking of Jay, have you seen him yet?” Will asked.

“No. Not yet. That’s why I’m here. I was hoping you could help me surprise him,” I say to Will. Out of my 2 brothers, I was closer to Jay. Growing up, Jay and I were always found together. When people saw us, they assumed we were twins because of how we acted around each other. But we’re really 2 years apart. He was the one who inspired me to join the U.S. Army. I wanted to be a hero just like him. And while he had decided to come back and become a police officer, I chose to stay and serve.

“Uh, sure,” Will spoke. “What were you thinking?”

“Something small, maybe with Adam and Hailey and everyone else he works with at the district,” I respond. I was very familiar with the people Jay worked with. I had met them countless times, and had even befriended them. Will’s co-workers, however, were new to me since Will was relatively new to the job, but I was certain I would get to know them soon. “Do you think Molly’s would be a good place?”

“Yeah. Definitely. I’ll contact the district and make sure everyone is there,” Will said.

“Great. Look, I promised dad I would go have lunch with him, so I’ll see you later,” I announce.

Will grinned. “All right. Oh, and Y/N? Welcome back.” 

.................................

Will had planned out everything just like he said he would. He invited the Intelligence Unit to Molly’s, and currently, all of us were here except for Jay and Will. I had just gotten a beer from Herrmann, and now I was heading over to Adam and Hailey.

“Y/N!” Adam shouted and side hugged me. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too. Thanks for coming,” I say.

“We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Hailey noted and took a swig of her beer. “When’s Jay supposed to be here?”

“Uh, Will is getting him now. They should be here in a few minutes,” I reply.

“So, how’s the job been?” Adam asked.

“Good. I enjoy it. I’ve earned myself a nickname,” I confess.

“Yeah? A good one, I hope,” Adam said.

I laughed. “Well, that depends on how you view it. According to my unit, I’m Bullseye. I guess I’ve got near perfect aim.”

“Maybe it runs in the Halstead genes. Jay’s our resident sniper,” Hailey disclosed.

“I believe it,” I murmur and take a gulp of beer, the bitter liquid burning the back of my throat. Just then, the door to Molly’s opened, and in walked my 2 older brothers, who were arguing playfully, probably about something stupid. As soon as Jay looked up, and his eyes met mine, a huge grin spread across his face. I set my beer down on the table and ran over to him, throwing myself into his arms. Jay held onto me tightly and spun me around, keeping his grip on me firm.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Jay mumbled into my hair as he set my feet back down onto the ground.

“I wanted to be back home for Christmas this year,” I exclaim. “And I didn’t want to go another second without seeing my brothers. Get in here Will.” Will didn’t hesitate and joined the hug, wrapping his arms around Jay and I. When I was younger, I didn’t really like being the youngest Halstead, and it didn’t help that I was the only girl. It always felt like my brothers were trying to control my life. But now, as I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that they were just trying to look out for me.

“Where are you staying while you’re home?” Jay asked me.

“I was thinking dad’s,” I answer.

“How about you stay with me?” Jay suggested. “Unless you don’t want to, of course.”

I smiled. “I’d love to. Now, go get yourself a beer. We’re celebrating tonight.”

................................

It had been a few days since I got home, and I was having a great time with my brothers. We had a tradition for Christmas where every year, we set up a Christmas tree at one of our apartments. Since I had been gone for 2 years and hadn’t had the chance to get a new place yet, and because I was staying at Jay’s, we decided to put the tree up at his place. Christmas music was playing throughout the apartment with Will and I singing loudly, much to Jay’s dismay, and Will and I were currently placing ornaments on the tree’s branches.

“All right. I’ve got the eggnog out,” Jay called from the kitchen. Both Will and I stopped what we were doing almost immediately and rushed into the next room. Jay had 3 mugs set on the counter, and each of us grabbed one.

“Here’s to Y/N being home for Christmas this year,” Jay chimed and held up his mug.

I smiled. “Here’s to a successful Halstead Christmas.” We all cheered and clinked glasses before taking a big gulp of our drinks. “So, who’s picking the Christmas movie we watch tonight?”

“I’m sorry, but if I have to watch Rudolph one more time,” Jay said.

“Hey! It’s a classic, and we’re going to watch it,” Will argued.

“Not if I get to the remote first,” Jay challenged and took off into the living room with Will following closely behind him. Right here, in this moment, something hit me. I had the best brothers ever, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

___________________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13 @king-crockett​ @dreamingmanip @campingmonkey @winterberryfox @nevertoofarfromivar @anotherfan07 @giagma @mrspeacem1nusone @i-like-sparkly-things

[her-world-on-fire]

Atlas {Jason Todd x Reader}

MASTERLIST

REQUEST HERE

Word Count: 3,720

Prompts: ii. and vii. ❝i am calm. i am nothing but calm all the time.❞ ❝no, you're not. you're fifteen seconds from starting a fight at all times.❞ & ❝i'm surprised you haven't killed him yet.❞ ❝i keep trying but nobody ever let me get that far.❞ 

"JASON CALM DOWN!" I pressed my hand against his chest, looking into his eyes fiercely, we didn't the time for his temper. He broke away and walked away but not before he shot the guy in the leg. "We weren't here, or the next one goes in your brain." He said slowly and then turned back to me. His piercing blue eyes felt almost cold, I blinked in shock. I've seen him angry more times than I can count but this was unsettling."I am calm. I am nothing but calm all the time." He said through clenched teeth, making me scoff as we jumped off of the roof. We broke out into a sprint, by now I regained my composure. "No, you're not. you're fifteen seconds from starting a fight at all times."  Jason was a hothead, he was so angry at the world. He tried his hardest to make sure it was safe at night but he felt like he didn't make a difference so he was pissed off. He was pissed off that so many bad people got to live and kill good innocent people. The bad people got to tear mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, from their families. So his solution ironically was to do the same thing. He would kill those who he thought deserved it. Contradictory but his temper always got the best of him. Normally I would let him be angry, but not tonight. We had an agreement with Bruce, we needed his help. The agreement included no killing. As much as Jason hated it we couldn't do it ourselves this time, it was bigger than us. 

For months we had been trying to investigate why the number of children missing spiked. At first, it was hard to notice. Street kids those who wouldn't be looked for. Then foster kids would be adopted more frequently finally, normal kids began to be abducted. Street kids would never leave each other, they were the closest thing to a family they had. So when they began reaching out to us we got worried and looked into it. We went around Gotham talking to them, they knew who we were and confessed everything. "Something is going on Jay. Something big." We climbed on his bike and went back to our apartment. We had been living together shortly after we started working together. We would always end up together at the end of the night too tired to go back to our own apartment. So we decided to get an apartment together. We each had our own rooms because we needed time apart sometimes. That was one of the most important things I learned. Sometimes you just need to be alone. It can be overwhelming spending so much time with one person. Especially the lack of sleep, and frustrations over unsolved cases, it all just took a toll on us. He took his helmet off and sighed running a hand through his hair. I pulled up my computer and looked into news articles. Of course, nothing had been mentioned about street kids. I was just about to put the paper down when my eyes drifted to a suggestion. 

Percentage of foster kids adopted in Gotham rises

"No fucking way." I breathed, Jason loomed over my shoulder. I looked back at him, we shared a look. This wasn't a coincidence, someone was taking kids. No bodies were being found so why were they being taken? I had a couple of theories already. I stood up from the screen and pulled on  my jacket, "Where are you going?" He asked following after me, keys still in hand. "To find out what the hell is going on." We tried to figure it out ourselves but it seemed like we were always 10 steps behind. So I suggested we get help. Outright, Jason was outraged I even suggested it so I walked away and let him cool down. Sure enough, he came around once he began thinking straight. I handed him his helmet, I had already turned his bike on, I smirked. He tossed his cigarette, "Not a fucking word." He growled as I tossed it to him and he caught it. 

He got on and sped off, to the Wayne Manor. He scowled, as we arrived at the gates. The doors opened and he pulled in, we were greeted by Alfred. "To what do we owe this surprise?" He asked and I elbowed Jason, he remained silent. I rolled my eyes at his immaturity, "It's nice to see you again Alfred. We're here to talk to the boys." Jason turned to me, even angrier than before. Alfred looked between us and I gave him a polite smile as he walked us in. I lowered my voice, "Don't give me that shit. You know the boys are going to listen in if we want them to or not, better they know straight instead of getting crooked details." I rolled my eyes and gave him a begging look. I took my hand in his, I knew this isn't where he wanted to be and I was trying to keep him calm.

He huffed and then we arrived at the study. It took a while to get there since the Mansion was so big. Jason was boiling, he was so dramatic. We were greeted by Bruce, Dick, Tim, and Damian. "Both of you are here this can't be good." Damian commented as Jason growled, "Fuck off, Demon spawn." I gave his hand a squeeze and then looked at him Dick sighed as he and Tim exchanged looks. Bruce was deadly silent, waiting for us to explain why we were there. I wasn't going to speak this time, Jason had to say more than 4 words. I cleared my throat and nudged Jason giving him a stern look. He shuffled forward and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "We need your help." He said directly looking at Bruce, both holding their glares. It was amazing how incredibly alike they both were, and they refused to see it. I brushed my fingers over his knuckles, they were icy cold. His rings were even colder making a shiver run down my spine. I didn't even know if he was going to agree. Jason lost control the last time Bruce agreed to help us and I had to work without him. Jason was a pain the whole time, he kept asking for information but I wouldn't give it. I knew if I did he would follow and piss Bruce off. Bruce didn't speak for a long time. I assumed he was still holding the grudge. 

"I'll keep him in check." I paused looking at Jason to make sure he didn't make things worse. He pressed his lips together, no doubt restraining himself by biting his tongue. Still, he didn't say a word. "Please we wouldn't bother you if this wasn't important." The two finally looked at me. Tim stepped forward this time, he spoke in a flurry. He stumbled over his words, "You're not bothering its really good to see you. Not just you. But not that it's not good to see you. It's good to uh see you both." I smiled, some of the tension was gone now.  Dick clamped a hand over Tim's mouth to keep him from babbling further. The boys claimed he had a crush, I thought it was sweet. I looked up at Jason if looks could kill. Tim drove Jason crazy. Dick pet Tim and sighed as Damian snickered, "We talked about this Tim, too much caffeine makes you jittery." Dick chimed in a sing-song voice, almost gloating he told him so. "Speak for yourself I don't like seeing these ugly mugs around here." Dick smacked the back of Damian's head and he growled. 

Jason almost pulled me behind him, it was pure instinct. He was already on edge being back at the mansion. He hated being here, he felt so out of place. He felt like a failure the rest of the boys were still under his wing, it was like he was replaced and pushed out. I wouldn't have dragged him here if I didn't think I had to. He was immediately silenced when Bruce put his hand out to shut everyone up. He rubbed his temple and sighed, "Jason is an adult, he should be able to control himself. If he can't and crosses a line again you're both done." Jason gripped my hand tighter, I knew he was seconds away from giving up keeping his mouth shut. His patience by now was paper-thin. I decided it would be best if I did the rest of the talking. "We understand."

Alfred called Bruce away and he excused himself leaving us with the boys. I saw Tim nudge Dick, and raised an eyebrow. I only caught a fragment of what Tim said, "Please, just ask." He rolled his eyes at his brother letting out a long sigh before he turned to me. "Is your wiring still acting up?" This caught Jason's attention, the wiring in the apartment wasn't acting up. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for my response. I was confused for a moment until it hit me. In my other apartment my lights used to act up, I told Jason about it but he was asleep so I told myself I would tell him later. I never did. "Oh! No, I'm not in the apartment anymore!" I said, making Tim's head drop in shame. I mentioned something about the wiring and Tim most likely wanted to fix it. He seemed very interested whenever there were problems in my apartment, in fact, I'm sure he fixed every broken appliance. It was another reason to move in with Jason. "Oh," Dick said and then looked to Tim, he stepped forward. "You found a new place already?" I looked at Jason. He squirmed under my glare, the boys seemed interested, they could sense it. 

 "Actually, I moved in with Jason." 3 jaws simultaneously dropped. Jason scowled at them and I smirked, "You didn't tell them as I told you to." My voice seemed nice but my eyes were screaming murder. What if they needed me and couldn't reach me? This was something to bring up in private, judging by his look Jason knew that too. Jason turned to me and I pulled his arm and held a finger, "One second," I made it clear that we would continue the conversation later. The boys couldn't hear anything but he was in trouble. There was no hitting so that was a good thing.  Tim whispered, "They moved in together? What does that mean?" Damian rolled his eyes, and Dick sighed. We made our way back to them. "I'm surprised you haven't killed him yet." Damian paused, "And a little impressed you've put up with him for so long." 

"I keep trying but nobody ever let me get that far." There was a swarm of questions I shut my eyes and put my head on Jason's shoulder. My face turned bright red,  Jason smirked and whispered in my ear. "I knew what the fuck I was doing darling." He said slowly taking in the fact that he was right. I underestimated the boys, and he was reveling. He pulled away and gave a short shout. They all stopped clamoring. "God, you guys were going to give me a headache." I brought my fingers to my temple and looked into their eyes. "One at a time please." Dick pushed the two aside murmuring he had privileges. Despite being older, he was just as curious as to his younger brothers. "Why did you move in?" I looked at Jason pleading, and he shook his head. "Not touching these questions with a 10 feet pole." I groaned but accepted my punishment. Maybe there was a reason for the secret. I thought about my answer for a moment then replied, "Well it was more out of convenience. One of us would always end up at the others, and my apartment had bad wiring. So we chose his. He got tired of having to go to mine and get his things. So he suggested it and now we live together." 

Dick looked between us and nodded, satisfied with his answer. It was like an interrogation, and I was taking all of the heat. It was Tim's turn he even raised his hand. I pouted, he looked upset. I never took the whole crush thing seriously. Now I could really see it, this whole time I thought the boys were just teasing him. "Are you two together?" He hesitated and I froze unsure of how to answer. I didn't want to get his hopes up or break his heart but I honestly didn't know what to tell him. It seemed like it, we lived together, we slept together, but we never really talked about it. I looked at Jason he held the same panicked expression. How do could we explain that sometimes we had sex and then never talked about it? I tilted my head to him, to signal for his help. 

He gave me a look, I asked for this. I really did. Nevertheless, he saved me. He too was thinking of the hookups, making him smirk. I covered my face and turned away trying to regain composure. In fact, I knew under Jason's shirt, there were purple marks trailing down his chest and I had ones that matched. He made his higher, and if my shirt were to shift, he could see.  "We need to figure that out ourselves as well," Jason replied. It was a valid answer, Tim didn't seem to torn up about it. My hands absent-mindedly went over to rub my neck. Suddenly, it was hot. Judging by his look, Dick's suspicions were confirmed. Damian broke the silence pushing past Tim. "Do you kill people?" I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. I ran my tongue across my bottom lip. I was so tempted not to answer. I knew it could backfire. Jason looked to me, wondering if he needed to save me again. I shook my head and looked back at Damian. "Due to my past, yes. I try not to now." Growing up in a sketchy place, I learned at a young age you can't depend on people. I fell in with the wrong people and made questionable decisions. However, every time I did kill I felt justified. I used to be as angry as Jason and I lost control a lot. But now working with Jason I calmed down, one of us needed to have a level head and I knew it probably wouldn't be him. I felt dirty now. I really opened a can of worms with that one. When it comes to his brothers I will never doubt Jason again. 

In the next few weeks, we worked closely with the boys.  Each night we got closer, to finding the source. We spent most of our nights in the Batcave tracing leads. Jason was getting antsy, so he went out and patrolled. Lucky that he did, because he caught an abduction as it was happening. "On 45th! They took a group of kids into a van." Jason's voice shouted in my ear. Dick shot up from his seat. The boys pilled into the Batmobile. I took my bike and followed close behind. Jason gave us the coordinates. "How far out are you?" 

"11 minutes."

"We can't wait that long." I could hear the desperation in his voice. He knew exactly what those kids were going through. He was reliving his trauma. "Jason, if we blow this we lose them all. Wait for us. We can't let a single one alert the rest of the group." He went silent. Sensing the urgency we all sped up even more. The Batmobile was easily recognized and most civilians cleared a path. We arrived and saw Jason's bike parked in a nearby lot. He was set up on the roof overlooking the building making sure no one got out. 

"I'm sending the drone," Tim called and released his bird into the air. He guided it into the building giving us a full view of what was inside. Children were in cages, surrounded by men with guns. In the center of the room, there was a table with computers. "They're waiting for the signal." Dick looked at all of us. "This has to be flawless. No mess-ups. We get one shot." 

"Tim, I want you on those computers. I want to know everything on there. The rest of us have one job. Make sure no one gets away." Having received our orders we all grouped up. Tim ran another scan of the building. "Two from the roof, one from the back door, and two from the front." Jason and I took the roof, Dick took the back door and Damian and Tim took the front. 

We all waited for the signal. "Now." Dick spoke into the comms. All at once, we each infiltrated the building. Tim went straight for the men by the computers. He took them out with ease and then uploaded his drive into the computer. Damian kept anyone away from the table. Jason and I focused on the guards who were standing by the children. We were mindful of their weapons and kept them away from the children. 

Each of the men was bounded, ready for the GCPD. "Which one of you fuckers has the key?" Jason asked looking at each one of the men. Neither of them spoke a word. "Fine." He grabbed the closet man and took his hand. He took his index finger and in a swift movement pulled it back. An agonizing scream came from the man, and a loud cracking noise followed right after. I moved to Jason, "Do you really want to traumatize them even more?" He thought for a moment and then looked back at the man. "What about this one?" He grabbed his ring finger and then man yelped. "It's him!" He pointed to a blonde man across the room. I went over and reached in his pockets, sure enough, there was a key. I breathed a sigh of relief and began releasing the children. "How much longer on the drive?" Dick questioned Tim, "30 seconds." 

Dick nodded and looked at me. "Alfred I need GCPD and medical." 

"Right away, ETA is 3 minutes." 

Jason took the same man by the collar and dragged him out of the room. I followed after him. "GCPD will be here in 3 minutes. We stopped them. We know where all their warehouses are, and everything we need is on that drive." I whispered to him but he didn't budge. "I only need 2. This one's a talker." He moved away and then looked at the man. "Who do you report to?" 

"He'll kill me, he knows everything-" Jason didn't let him finish before he landed a devastating blow right to his face. "I don't have time for this. What is his name?" He grabbed his hair and held his face up. Blood trickled down his cheek. "But my-" Once again another blow landed on his face. The man coughed up blood, Jason didn't ask again. He waited for another few seconds. As he went to strike him again, the man pleaded. "Wait! David Benjamin." He managed to get it out. 

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

Jason and I only got to stick around briefly. Our relationship with the police wasn't as amicable. Due to our spotty record, we had warrants out for our arrest. Once the children were taken by the EMTs we went back to our apartment. Jason was sitting on the fire escape. He still hadn't changed. The blood still seeping in his clothes. "Hey, come in." Jason looked down and obliged. Once he got in I shut the blinds. I guided him into the bathroom. "Let's get these off." I slowly took off his gloves, he inhaled deeply. I looked over them, they were bloody and raw. I sighed and turned on the warm water. "The rest of these too." My hands moved to his shirt and I pulled I off over his head. There were a few small cuts, but nothing that needed stitches. 

Jason had been silent. I knew what was bothering him. He was thinking about those kids, he saw himself in each one of them. I guided him to the shower and helped him take off the rest of his clothes. I helped him into the shower and once he was under the warm water, it was like he was out of his trance. "Get in here." 

I hadn't changed either. I was too worried about him. He was admitting that he needed the company. I agreed and stripped off my clothes. We both stood under the warm water. Neither of us spoke as we washed away the deeds of the night. 

Once we got out of the shower we got dressed and sat on the bed. "We did it, Jason. They're safe now." 

"I know." He said softly. I took his hands and gently ran my fingers across them. He sighed and looked at me. "Let's go to bed." I moved to the lamp by the bed and shut it off. I pulled the covers on the bed back and climbed into bed. I sighed and felt the warmth comfort me. My body ached, but it was worth it. I felt Jason tug me closer to him. I moved closer and rested my head on his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair absentmindedly. "Thank you." I looked up at him and he exhaled. "I don't know what I would do without you." He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my lips. His other hand moved around me and rested on my side. "I love you."

"I love you, Jay." 

After weeks of restlessness, Jason finally closed his eyes and slept peacefully.

MASTERLIST

REQUEST HERE

[ruzek-halstead]

sparks fly

written for @fromiftowhen​ to celebrate chicago pd secret santa 💛

pairing: jay halstead x hailey upton

prompt: fake dating, i don't care how or why... just make them fake date for whatever reason. obviously, it should turn into real dating. 

masterlist 

special shoutout to @haileyyanneupton​ for coming up with the fic idea, collaborating and editing (and also talking me down when i was hella stressed i wasn't going to finish this on time). i appreciate you more than you know!! 💛

i hope i did this prompt and fic justice. i was very intimidated when i first got this because you are such a good writer!!! so i hope this is okay, please enjoy!!

💛

Hailey hadn't gone to many weddings in her life. It wasn't entirely surprising, given her childhood. Her mother would have to furiously cover up her bruises, as would her brothers. Then there was the chance of her father exhibiting questionable behaviour in public after he'd hit the open bar, and they couldn't have that. So, instead, the Upton family always marked the 'politely decline' option and sent the RSVP with a cheque instead. But now that Hailey was an adult and old enough to have friends who were getting married, weddings were becoming the new normal. The months of May to September are the classic wedding months, and Hailey knew that better than ever. She had attended three weddings within the past few months and truth be told, she was exhausted of attending them solo. She thought about finding a date, but it honestly seemed more trouble than it was worth. However, this time, things were slightly different. Her childhood friend, Raquel Sousa, was getting married this weekend. Hailey and Raquel had grown up on the same street, gone to all the same schools, and even attended the academy together. When they were assigned to different precincts, they hastily grew apart, and when Hailey went undercover, they weren't able to contact each other for months on end. They tried to keep in touch with random little messages every once in a while to alert the other that they were thinking about them, but it wasn't the same. But when Hailey received Raquel's wedding invitation in her mail a few months back, her blue eyes teared up instantly in blinding happiness. She was incredibly happy for her friend; so much so, that she took out her phone to message her, and hadn't stopped since. It was how she knew Raquel was incredibly stressed about planning, especially about the seating arrangements. "You need to bring a plus one!" Raquel had said to her two weeks earlier when they met up for coffee. It had been a long day and Hailey was utterly exhausted, but coffee with one of her oldest friends seemed to help. Hailey took a sip of her coffee, narrowing her blue eyes. "Uh — why is that?" "Because my tables aren't even! Specifically your table isn't even, and it would be if you brought a plus one!" Hailey was still confused. "Your argument seems flawed. Why don't you just add someone to the table?" "Because then it would just unbalance another table!" Raquel explained with a dramatic huff. "And I don't want you sitting alone at the table, Hails. There aren't going to be a lot of people you know there, and I'm going to be a little busy." "I won't be alone. I have the rest of the table," Hailey replied, enjoying the way her friend's eye twitched in frustration. Raquel took a bite out of her croissant. "What about that guy you're seeing?" "What guy?" Hailey snorted. "Do you mean the guy I just arrested a few hours ago? Because that's about the only action I'm getting lately." Raquel rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of an amused smile. "No! The one that's all over your instagram. He's cute! Why don't you bring him?" It took Hailey a moment, but she finally figured out who she was talking about. "Oh — oh, Jay? No, I'm not seeing him. He's just my parter." "Well, whoever he is, you should bring him. Or someone, I don't care who, just do me this one favour and bring someone." Hailey stared at her for a moment, before breaking into a small grin. "Fine. I'll bring a plus one." "Yes!" Raquel cheered excitedly. "Just let me know their name by this weekend so I can include it in my display!" She took another bite from her croissant, before raising her devious eyes back up to Hailey's face. "Tell me more about this Jay though..." 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛 The next day following her coffee date, she was receiving hourly messages from Raquel to make sure she actually found a date. Honestly, her friend's confidence in her dating skills astounded her. She spent the day with Jay, but couldn't bring herself to ask him; she just found it so embarrassing. So, instead, she found discreet opportunities within the day to ask her fellow Intelligence members. Kim apologized but said she had already devoted the entire day to her niece and she couldn't back out, not that Hailey would let her anyway. And Vanessa had a date, and no matter how much she loved Hailey, this was a very special date that she couldn't miss. Kevin looked frustrated when he informed her it was his little sister's birthday and he couldn't miss it, but assured her in any other circumstance, he would absolutely love to be her date. Hailey's second last option was Adam and unfortunately for her, he was as subtle as a car alarm. "You want me to be your date to a wedding?" He echoed her question, in a loud voice that travelled from the break room into the bullpen. Hailey noticed from the corner of her eye as Jay's head peeked up from where he was sitting at his desk, working on paperwork; of course his desk was closest to the break room. Hailey instantly slapped Adam's bicep. "Shh!" She admonished, but didn't really have an excuse to share with him when he glared at her in confusion. "Yes, I do. If you're available. Please tell me you're available." "I'm always available for you, Hailey," he replied with flirtatious lilt, but Hailey could see in his eyes it was all just fun and games. They had their fun little run together, but it was clear to both of them, more than ever, that they were better off as friends. Flirty friends, maybe, but nothing more. For a moment, Hailey was hopeful her begging journey could end here; but then Adam frowned. "But I can't," he replied, "I'm helping my sister move this weekend. She'll kill me if I try to bail." Hailey's shoulders sagged and she took a long, deep sip from her coffee mug. "Oh," she responded sadly, "That's okay. Thank you anyway." "Sorry, Hails," he nudged the top of her head, as he waited for her to catch up. "If it wasn't for that, I totally would. Any place with an open-bar and a dance floor, you know I'm there." At this point, they were passing Jay's desk and Hailey was positive he could hear their entire conversation, but she couldn't be bothered anymore. Hailey took a seat in her chair, while Adam took his seat behind her. Before devoting his time to his paperwork, he leaned back and whispered to Hailey, "You ask Halstead already?" "No," Hailey hissed back. "You should," he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hailey whipped her head around, completely nailing Adam in the face with her blonde locks; he disgustingly removed her curls from his mouth. "Stop talking about this before I stab you in the carotid with my pen!" Adam's eyes flashed dangerously. "You really know the way to a man's heart, Upton." Hailey rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smirk at his words. As she turned back around in her seat, she noticed Jay peering at her from behind his computer screen. Hailey avoided his captivating eyes.   💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛 Hailey was walking to her SUV in the district parking lot, debating whether she should turn around and beg Jay to accompany her to the wedding, when she was stopped by Jay himself. "Hey," he greeted her gruffly. He was wearing his puffer jacket over his dark blue Henley (one of Hailey's favourite shirts on him) and his eyes were darting around her face, almost as if he was nervous about something. "Sorry, I just have to ask you something." Hailey looked on expectantly. "Yeah, sure. What is it?" Jay's eyes danced around her, before finally settling on her blue ones. "Were you going to ask me?" He blurted. "What?" "To the wedding," he added, meeting her eyes assertively. "You asked everyone else to be your date, but you didn't ask me. I just want to know why." Hailey's brain was starting to short-circuit. "Uh — well, I thought about it. I definitely thought about it, but I wasn't sure if it was your thing." "We face bullets everyday, Hailey," he smirked. "It's just a date to a wedding. If you want me to go, I'll go." He was clearly leaving her an opening, and Hailey wasn't stupid. He obviously wanted her to say it out loud; say that she wanted him to go. "I want you to go," she said definitively, meeting his eyes. It wasn't often they did things outside of work, except go get a drink, so this was new territory for both of them. But they've been partners for years, and if there was anyone Hailey trusted to accompany her to such an event, it was Jay. An excited smile broke out over Jay's features. "Great! Text me all the details. I'm excited." "Yeah," Hailey answered with a soft smile, "Me too." Jay nodded his head, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. "Okay, well that's all I really wanted to say," he replied, his excited smile fading into a sheepish grin. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Drive safe, Hailey." Hailey could feel her insides melting and it was merely over the fact that he said 'drive safe'. She wanted to hit herself, but that would just make her look crazy. "Yeah, you too. Night Jay." She watched him walk away, completely aware of the butterflies trying to escape under her ribcage. God, he was going to be the death of her. 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛  Raquel was delighted when Hailey informed her she was bringing a date. She was even more ecstatic when she found out it was Jay; Hailey ignored the "I told you so!" Instead, she busied herself with finding the perfect dress for the occasion. She wasn't one for fancy dresses or fancy events (usually she had her blues to wear to fancy events), so choosing a dress proved to be challenging. She could only assume that Jay was going to blow them all away with his suit, because he was already naturally breathtaking. That man in a suit? Lord help them all. Hailey ended up choosing a burgundy dress she hadn't worn in ages. It was tucked in the back of her closet, but when she pulled it out, she knew it was perfect. It was a floor length gown, with cutouts above the hips and a long slit up the side, and if she was being completely honest, she knew it would look amazing on her. Plus, she had to compete with Jay somehow. Hailey already looked fancy enough with her dress. And she wasn't one for hair and makeup, so she kept her curls natural and applied a decent  layer of mascara. She was attempting to distract herself from the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach; it was almost time for Jay to meet at her house, and she was unbelievably nervous. It seemed to work because as she was pulling on one of her block heels, the doorbell rang. Swearing, Hailey hobbled to the front door, attempting to not step on her dress. She hastily opened the door and headed straight for the stairs so she could sit and put on her other heel. "Hey!" She yelled out when her back was to him. "Shit, sorry," she mumbled as she stepped on her dress and nearly fell up the stairs. "I just need to put on my shoe and I'll be ready, I promise!" When she didn't hear an immediate reply for him, she glanced up. Jay had one foot through the threshold of the door, but his gaze was solely focused on her. His jaw was slightly open, and his green eyes were wider than usual. He seemed as if he was staring off into space, but he was staring at her.   In any other circumstance, Hailey would have averted her gaze nervously. However, once she caught sight of how he looked in his black suit, she couldn't look anywhere else. He looked captivating in every way possible; she could see his white dress shirt peeking out from under the lapels of his jacket, and her gaze travelled down his body all the way down to his dress shoes. God, he looked gorgeous. "Hailey," her name dropped from his lips in a ghost of a breath; Jay didn't realize he had even said it until her eyes snapped up to meet his. "You look amazing." She knew she was blushing before she could even feel the heat in her cheeks. So, she looked back down at her hands where they were fastening the claps on her heel. "Thanks," she mumbled. "You look great too. You clean up nice." "Thanks!" When she looked up, he was smiling proudly. "You ready to go?" Hailey nodded her head, standing back up and grabbing her clutch. "I am ready!" She followed him through the door and locked it. Turning back to face him, she stopped and said fondly, "By the way, thank you for doing this. I don't know if I've thanked you already, but I really appreciate this." The bright smile that formed on Jay's lips brought butterflies into her stomach. "Of course, Hailey. The thought of an open bar is nice, but just getting to look at you in that dress all night is reward enough." Out of all the things she was expecting him to say, that was definitely not one of them. She was so thrown off her game, that she managed to trip over her own feet. He easily grabbed her arm because he was smooth as hell, and Hailey truly hated he was using that to his advantage and to her demise. "You alright?" Hailey pulled away from him to make her way to the passenger side of his truck before he did something ridiculous like open her door. “Yeah, of course,” she brushed off his concern. “It’s been a while since I wore heels.” “Well, you look great in them.” Hailey huffed, observing him as he started the drive over to the venue. “Okay, you have to stop.” “What? Stop what?” “You have to stop complimenting me.” She was expecting him to look sheepish or mildly apologetic, but when she spared a glance in his direction, he was smirking wildly. She didn't have to explain; Jay knew. The venue was close by. It was an outdoor wedding; Hailey peered over to the side where there was a rustic looking arch, complete with delicate flowers, placed at the end of a bed of flowers. There were elegant white chairs spread out amongst the ground, and Hailey could see a number of guests had already taken their seats. Over to the other side, was a multitude of tables decorated beautifully in white and silver aesthetic colours. There was also a dance floor in between all the tables, and a stage where instruments were neatly laid out. "This place looks fantastic," Jay commented in awe, "Your friend did an amazing job planning." Hailey nodded in agreement. “She really did.” Before Hailey got the chance to do anything else, she was stopped by a hand on her elbow. “Hailey? Hailey Upton?” She turned to see Jake Patterson; he also attended the academy at the same time Hailey and Raquel, and god, she couldn't remember the last time she saw him. They had run in different circles, mostly because Hailey liked to keep to herself, whereas Jake was more of an entertainer type. She remembered him as energetic and slightly chaotic, and looking at him now, she could see why. "Holy shit! It's been a minute!" Jake greeted her, pulling her in for a hug before Hailey even knew what was happening. "How have you been? Where are you working now? What's new with you? Tell me everything!" Hailey merely blinked, overwhelmed by all the questions. To her left, Jay snickered and earned Jake's attention. "Shit, man. I'm so sorry. I'm Jake, Hailey and I went to the academy together!" Jay extended his hand to meet Jake's in a firm handshake. "It's no problem. I'm Jay, Hailey's partner." "Oh!" Jake's eyebrows reached nearly up into his hairline. "That's awesome! How long have you two been together?” Hailey’s brows furrowed and she glanced at Jay quickly. It took her a moment, but she understood what Jake was getting at. “Oh — no, Jake, that’s not—” Jake’s attention was pulled elsewhere when someone came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. They promised to get him a drink from the bar and Jake’s eyes lit up. “It was nice to see you again, Hailey!” He nodded at Jay before he hurried off. “Did he—” Jay nodded. “I think so.” Hailey couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she met Jay's eyes with a shake of the head. Neither of them addressed the issue any further  as they went on about their night, quickly finding their table after catching up with a few other friends. Being the first to arrive at their table bought a flock of others to follow their lead as the seats slowly began filling up, including the ones around them. "Bride or groom?" Both Hailey and Jay's heads snapped up at the sound of another woman speaking in their general direction. "Bride," Hailey smiled in response as she shook the hand of the woman before her. "I was in the academy with Raquel, actually. What about you?" "My husband is the groom's cousin — speaking of my damn, husband — where is he?" The woman craned her neck around in search for the man who clearly, was nowhere to be found as she settled down in her seat. "Well, at least you can keep tabs on your husband, right?" "Well actually —" "Oh! Richard! There you are! Sorry, dear — talk later? It was lovely meeting you!" For the second time that night, Hailey and Jay turned to look at each other, this time stifling a laugh at the apparent ridiculousness of the concept that they could be in any way romantically involved. Many thoughts were bouncing around in Hailey’s head but she pushed them all aside when the organ started playing and the flower girl and ring bearer started making their way down the aisle. Hailey wasn’t usually an emotional person, and she really had no idea how to react at a wedding, considering she hadn’t been to many, but she couldn’t held the proud smile accompanied by the tears that filled her blue eyes. She watched Raquel walk down the aisle with an almost bursting sense of awe, and she couldn’t be any happier for her friend. When she sat back down, she hastily wiped away the tear that escaped. She wasn’t expecting Jay to notice, but he was an observant detective, so of course he did. He hesitantly grabbed her hand and laid them in her lap. He gave her the opportunity to pull away if she wanted to, but when she looked up at him with a grateful smile, he relaxed in her grip. The ceremony was short and sweet; the reception to follow was the real party. Hailey and Jay were sat at a table with numerous other young couples, most of whom Hailey didn’t recognize. She saw the odd familiar face from back in the day but for the most part, Raquel was right; she hardly knew anyone there. Which is why she was more grateful than ever that Raquel forced her to bring someone, and that Jay was more than willing to accompany her. “So, how long have you two been together?” Hailey turned her head to meet the gaze of the friendly looking blonde to her left. The majority of her table had left to the dance floor or to mingle, but the blonde stayed in her seat while her partner chatted with another man who stopped by their table. “Oh,” Jay chuckled, deciding to intervene. “We actually—”

But frankly, Hailey found it hilarious that somehow, they’d been mistaken for a couple three times that night. So, what was the harm in having a little fun with it? Hailey turned to intertwine her arm with Jay’s and she stared up at him with fluttering eyelashes. Her actions seemed to cut him off mid sentence, and he looked down at her as if she’d gone insane. “Two years,” Hailey replied, leaning her cheek against Jay’s bicep and returning the blonde’s perky smile. She hadn’t gone undercover in a long time, and this gave her a little taste of what she’d been missing. “I’m Hailey, this is Jay.” Jay still looked bewildered, but he plastered on a smile to hide his confusion. “I’m Spencer, nice to meet you both!” She replied cheerily. “Sorry if I sound nosy, but you two are just so adorable! How did you meet?” Hailey glanced up at Jay, throwing him a tiny smile that only he could see. “You want to answer that, babe?” Jay’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he composed himself. “Uh, no babe, this is all you.” “Okay,” Hailey giggled, pulling away from him and facing Spencer. She stayed close to his side and even went as far as to grab his hand as she spoke. “I used to be a detective in robbery-homicide. I found him messing with my crime scene so naturally, I had to rip him a new one.” Spencer’s blue eyes were sparkling in excitement. “Feisty! So, not love at first sight?” “Actually, it was my crime scene,” Jay interjected, finally feeling comfortable enough to step into his character. He shot a smirk at Hailey, who raised her eyebrows. “Plus, you were late. Finders keepers.” Hailey scoffed. “That’s definitely not how it works. And like I said before, it was a robbery and there was a homicide; therefore, my scene.” “But it was a highly important case, so the commissioner wanted Chicago’s most elite unit to take over the case,” Jay shot back, eyes twinkling in amusement. Spencer’s gaze was jumping from Hailey to Jay, giggling at their banter. “And that meant me. Sorry, babe.” Hailey’s jaw dropped. She started this as a game, but Jay was here to win. Hailey turned back to Spencer with pursed lips. "Joke's on him because his boss recruited me a day later." "So, you two work together?" "We're partners," Jay explained, "She always had my six, and now she has my heart." Hailey choked on her glass of champagne, and one look at Jay's smirk, she knew he was just trying to mess with her now. He really drove it home when he stretched his arm along the back of her chair, fingers lingering on her bare shoulders. "That is absolutely adorable," Spencer cooed. Her eyes flickered up behind Jay. "Raquel! Caden! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you two!" Hailey turned to look behind her, spotting Raquel and her new husband. Immediately, Raquel's eyes dropped to Jay and Hailey's intertwined hands and an instant smirk made it's way to her lips. "Thanks, Spencer! I see you've met my friend Hailey." "And her boyfriend Jay!" Spencer tacked on with an excited smile; Hailey wanted to die at Raquel's amused expression. "They're the sweetest."

"Aren't they?" Raquel replied, trying but failing to hide the slight sarcasm in her tone. "I'm Raquel, it's nice to officially meet you, Jay." Jay happily shook her hand, moving onto her husband next. "I've heard so much about you! And congratulations on getting married, it's a beautiful wedding." "Thanks, man," Caden responded, holding onto Raquel's hand. "We need to finish the rounds. But thank you both so much for coming!" "Thanks, babe," Raquel said, leaning down to press a kiss to Hailey's cheek. "You owe me a conversation later!" She whispered. As they walked away, Jay looked at Hailey with soft eyes. "I think it's time for a drink. What do you think?" "I think it's time for a bottle," Hailey muttered, but turned to Spencer with a small smile. "We'll be back soon. Nice to meet you!" As they walked to the bar, Jay placed a low hand on the small of Hailey's back. "You want to tell me what that was all about?" Hailey ignored him until she successfully asked the bartender for a gin and tonic for her and a rum and coke for Jay. "I thought it was funny we kept getting mistaken for a couple, and I thought we could mess around with it for a bit. I wasn't expecting Raquel to show up." At his questioning expression, she continued. "Now she's going to be all I told you so and I'm going to have to hear about it for ages." "Why is she going to say 'I told you so'?" "Because she originally wanted me to bring the guy I was seeing as my date. She thought it was you because you're all over my Instagram," Hailey admitted. Jay nodded his head quizzically, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You always did like to post beautiful things." Hailey's eyes narrowed and without a second thought, she punched him in the shoulder. "That was gross, please stop." Their attention was brought back to the front when the MC announced it was time for all the single ladies to gather on the dance floor to catch the bouquet. Jay and Hailey watched as a swarm of ladies took up the entirety of the dance floor, and when Hailey didn't move, Jay shot her a curious glance. "Go on, Hails. It's your time to shine." Hailey turned to him with an incredulous expression. "I'm sorry, but do I look like the bouquet-catching type? No, thank you." Jay held his hands up in defence and turned back to the crowd. The ladies had backed up so much, they were only a few feet from where Jay and Hailey stood at the bar. The MC counted it down, and Raquel threw her bouquet on three. At the last second, Jay placed his hand on Hailey's back and shoved her forward, straight into the group of ladies who savagely fought each other for the bouquet. But as luck would have it, it landed perfectly in Hailey's unsuspecting arms. Hailey whirled around to glare angrily at Jay, but was distracted by all the congratulations from the other ladies. Raquel smirked wildly in Hailey's direction and held up her glass in cheers. Hailey really wanted to die now. A nudge from Jay's right tore his gaze away from Hailey's blushing figure. "Guess that's as bold of a hint as any, isn't it?" An older man, cradling a glass of whiskey, commented while glancing at Hailey. "You thinking of popping the question?" Jay instantly paled. "Oh, no. It's — it's too early for that." As he looked on at Hailey speaking to Raquel, he realized it wouldn't actually be the worst thing in the world for this relationship to be completely authentic, because honestly, it felt much too real to argue against it any longer. "Maybe one day." "That was ballsy, Halstead," Hailey hissed when she finally made her way back. "I have half a mind to shove this bouque—" "Dance with me." Hailey stopped, blinking in surprised. "What?" "Dance with me," Jay repeated, shrugging like it was nothing. He placed his now empty glass back on the bar and took Hailey's hand to guide her to the dance floor. His hand settled on her waist while hers hung onto his shoulder, while simultaneously holding onto her bouquet. "I was just thinking." "Yeah?" Hailey hummed. "About what?" Jay pulled her closer so he could look over her shoulder as he spoke his next few words. "Someone asked me if I was planning on proposing soon, after you caught the bouquet." He almost laughed when Hailey stumbled and accidentally stepped on his foot. "But the idea didn't totally horrify me." "Jay, what are you saying?" Hailey pulled away to look at Jay; his words were only confusing her even more. "I think you're beautiful and I always have. I think I've known for a while but I couldn't bring myself to mess up another partnership. I like you, Hailey. And to be honest, I was really glad Adam wasn't available to come with you tonight, because I don't think I would've been able to keep my cool. I like you, Hailey, and I'd really like to take you out on a date. A real date." Hailey expected many things from tonight, but a full-blown confession from Jay I-Don't-Talk-About-My-Feelings-Ever Halstead, was definitely not one of them. 

"I — I would love that." A wide smile spread across Jay's features. "By the way, it was totally my crime scene." "Oh, shut up, Halstead."

💛

thank you for reading & i hope you enjoyed! x 

[catxsnow]

W(H)INE T.D.

Summary: Tim learns that drinking wine leads to revealing secrets about you. 

Warning: Fluff, little-bitty angst, underage drinking 

A/N: I’d love to know what you guys think! I’ve written a few large fics before but never imagines and I wanna know if I’m actually decent at them lol

GIF is not mine

Word count: 3k

You knew that Tim loved you.

You knew that no matter how many times he forgot about your plans or didn't do the things you asked of him that he still loved you. No, he didn't forget, Tim had an excellent memory which had often times come in handy for yourself. It was the fact that his second life sometimes over took his life with you.

So, as much as you knew that Tim loved you, you also knew that he loved his job as Robin just a little bit more.

And you couldn't blame him. The moment that Tim found out that Bruce Wayne was Batman and wiggled his way into the life of a vigilante, you were right by his side. If Bruce wanted to adopt Tim, then he was going to have to take you in as well (though not legally). He seemed to enjoy your corny jokes and childish laugh.

You had become friends with Tim from an early age and hadn't left his side since. You were with him through the death of his mother and he was with you through the hardships of your own. Tim was never surprised to see you with a frown on your face after a fight with you parents. He knew that you had never gotten along with them and that they had the tendency to make your life miserable. So when he moved into the Wayne Manor, it was your little saving grace too.

Whenever nights were hard at home, you would show up to the manor, often times drenched in rain and tears streaming down your face. It was always Alfred that would answer the door and while you showered, he would ensure that the guest room you claimed as your own was ready for your night's sleep.

Tim would be waiting for you on your bed and the moment you laid eyes on him you would collapse into his always open arms. He had always been there for you and you appreciated him for that. Not to mention that you also realized that your feelings for him were more than just friendly.

It had been on and off for a little while. You and Tim were trying to decide if a relationship was right for the both of you or if you should just stick to friendship. After months of going back and forth, you finally had enough of the games and decided that you loved him, you needed him, and most importantly, you had him.

Dating Tim was the best thing that had happened to you. It gave you even more time away from your home and parents, and brought you closer to the Wayne family. The moment you started dating Tim, you would no longer sleep in the guest room, but rather his bed. Bruce and Alfred were both aware of this little switch even though you tried to keep it under wraps.

It started as only once or twice a week, and then the whole weekend, and the next thing you knew you had practically moved in with them. You were so close to being an adult and the lack of attention that your parents gave you meant that it was easy to spend your time there. Bruce didn't mind - but he did have a very serious, very awkward chat with the both of you.

The thing that Tim loved most about sharing a bed with you, was that every night that he went out as Robin, he knew that he had something to look forward to for coming home. He knew that he had someone worth fighting for to get home. You were the reason that no matter what trouble he got himself into, he would always find a way out of it.

However, some days, you felt as if Tim cared more about his vigilante status than your relationship status. You knew that this was important to him, you knew that saving people in Gotham was the greatest accomplishment of his, and you supported him through every step of the way.

It was why when you missed him, you would two mugs of whatever hot beverage you were feeling that night down to him in the cave and spend time with him while he worked. Sometimes, you would break into the wine cellar to pour the two of you a couple glasses of wine. Bruce said that you were too young to drink but Alfred always helped pick out a bottle so you kept doing it.

That night, it had been a long day for you and you could only assume Tim felt the same, so you had decided on wine rather than coffee. Tim was down in the cave and Bruce was working late at Wayne Enterprises. But, while you poured the two glasses, you were surprised to see Jason walk in.

"What are you doing here?" You asked, setting the bottle down. You didn't know Jason very well, but knew his story almost too well. Tim tried his best not to remind you of his brutal death and that could just as easily happen to him. You tried not to think about it, but knowing that Tim might not make it back home to you terrified you more than anything.

After Jason came back to life and settled in with Roy and Kori, he made very few appearances at the Manor. To be honest, you couldn't blame him. Being there had to have reminded him of what his life used to be like. He was a different person than he used to be, at least that was what Bruce would tell you and Tim.

"I need to talk to Bruce," Jason looked equally confused that you were drinking. As far as he was aware, you were underage, not that age ever stopped him when he was young. Jason glanced around, though the manor was huge, it didn't sound like anyone else was home. "Are you drinking? On a Thursday?"

"Yes," You answered simply, taking a sip of the gorgeous red alcohol. You slid the second glass over the counter to him, which he accepted. He wasn't much a wine drinker but he couldn't let someone younger than him drink without him. "Bruce isn't here, he's at the tower. Not that this is my home, but you're welcome to stay. I haven't seen you for a while, Jason."

Jason only nodded. When he first met you, he just assumed that you were some girl that was dragging on Tim's arm because of the money. He was wrong, very wrong. After learning that you had a similar childhood to his, he quickly realized that you were a fighter. Though he never took the time to talk to you, he assumed you couldn't be that bad.

After thinking for a moment, Jason sat on the stool across from you. You didn't think that he would stay, he was never one to waste time with conversations that he didn't deem necessary. But, you enjoyed his company. As much as Bruce detested how Jason handled situations, you didn’t find him too bad.

You asked him about his time with the Outlaws, to which he told you these grand stories of things he had gone through. You never agreed with his methods, but you understood why he felt the need to do them. Gotham was the kind of city that would break you in half if you didn't fight back.

He asked you how Tim was doing. You dived maybe a little too deep into your relationship with him and details that Jason didn't need to know about - and didn't ask for. But, he didn't seem to be bothered by it. As much as he wished that Tim wasn't Robin after what had happened to him, he was glad that you were there for him. Dick had Barbra, and Jason, well, he had no one to comfort him after hard nights out.

Nearly two bottles later, you were a little tipsy and had learned more about Jason than you had your entire life. He decided that it was time to get going and that talking to Bruce would have to be done another night. "If you ever need anything, don't be shy to call," Jason told you. Even though you were quite a few years younger than him, he found it easy to relate.

"You too, Jay," You told him. "Maybe stop by more often, I think Tim would like to see you more too." Jason made no promises and headed towards the door. He paused for a moment and looked back at you. 

“Tim’s lucky to have you. Keep him safe, yeah?” 

“Of course.” 

The moment you stood up from you chair, you felt a little bit dizzy and didn't realize you had drank so much. You shook the feeling off and carried the two glasses to the batcave.

Just as expected, Tim was still there, slaving over the computers. He heard you come in but didn't turn around from the screen. You set the two glasses down and wrapped your arms around him from behind. In the reflection of the screen, you could see the smile on his face. You pecked his cheek and then handed him the glass.

Tim still didn't turn away from the screen. He was far too engrossed into his research to give you the attention you so desired. So, you had taken the matter into your own hands. You set your own glass beside his and snaked under his arms so that you could completely wrap yourself around him while he sat in the chair.

You sat in his lap facing him with your legs dangling from the sides and your arms tightly snug around his waist. Without missing a beat, Tim straightened up so that you could snuggle into the crook of his neck. It wasn't the first time that you two sat like this and it surely wasn't going to be the last.

It was nearly twenty minutes that you stayed like that. Even in that cold cave, he always seemed to radiate heat and you were always there to soak it up. Tim loved when you were like this, just craving his touch and the utter need to be close to him even without talking to him.

When you looked up at him, the first thing he noticed were your flushed cheeks and glazy eyes. You had been drinking, not a lot, but enough that it made your face tinge pink. Tim didn't say anything but took a sip of his glass.

"Long night?" You asked.

"Better now that you're here," Tim admitted. He never said it, but he loved when you visited him while he worked. It made the time go by faster, even if most of the time you both worked in silence. "How many glasses have you had?"

"Jason stopped by," You answered. That in itself should have been sufficient enough for Tim to realize. Not to mention that Jason held his liquor way better than you, so while you were pretty tipsy he probably felt sober still. "I think he got me wine drunk so that he could talk about his feelings and assume I wouldn't blab to Bruce."

"What'd you guys talk about?" Tim asked.

"You," he raised an eyebrow. "About how much I love you, and the good things you do in this world and that no matter what I'm always going to be there for you even if sometimes I feel that you care about being Robin more than you care about me."

You didn't mean to say that. You kept your feelings hidden about him being Robin because you didn't want him to feel guilty for something that he was great at. You knew the moment the words left your mouth that it had taken him by surprise.

"(Y/N), you know that's not true," Tim set his glass down so that he could cup your face with both hands. You refused to meet his eye, worried about what he was going to say. "I'm Robin because I want to make this city a better place, I want to make if safe. Safe enough that one day we could have a family and not be worried about getting hurt."

You finally looked up into his eyes. They were filled with concern for you. "I love you, (Y/N). I have for a long time now and being Robin is never going to change that," Tim promised. He kissed your forehead, your nose, and finally your lips. "Why didn't you say this to me before?"

"Because I know you love this job, and I never wanted you to think that you had to choose it or me because that's not the case. I love that you're Robin and that you're brave enough to go fight that evil that lurks the streets. I just wonder sometimes that if I didn't practically live here if I would see you that often."

"I would make all the time in the world for you if that was what you wanted," Tim told you.

"You know that's not what I want," You answered him truthfully. You didn't want to take away this part of his life, never. "Just one normal night a week, even every two weeks is fine. Movies, pizza, wine, or whatever we're feeling for the night. I don't want to take away Robin from you, even if I could."

"That sounds perfect to me, my love," Tim kissed you once more. You guys had tried to maintain that once before but it didn't take long for the tradition to break and once a week turned into once a month, which gradually turned into a surprise maybe twice a year. This time was going to be different.

"Good, now come on," You dragged yourself away from him and instantly missed the warmth. "I'm already a bottle of wine in which means you need to catch up," you stuck your hand out for him to grab. He looked between you and the screen and nodded. Tim typed for a few seconds before grabbing your hand.

"You know Bruce doesn't like us drinking his wine," Tim reminded you as you walked hand in hand to the exit of the cave.

"It's not like he can't afford to replace them."

><

To no surprise, you woke up with a pounding headache. Once Tim agreed to leave the batcave, the two of you had drank for a long time after that. Besides the two bottle that you and Jason had gone through, you must have had another three, at least. Tim caught up and the two of you kept the liquor coming.

Tim was passed out beside you, he was stripped down to his boxers and splayed out with no blankets covering him. You on the other hand, only had his shirt to cover your body and all the blankets on the bed wrapped around you. He wasn't awake yet but you were sure that he was going to be in the same pain you were.

The small amount of light that shone through the blinds made you squint and if you could get up to close them the rest of the way, you would. Instead, you slowly tucked back away into the pillow and closed your eyes, hoping that the pain in your head would go away. It didn't.

You must have laid there for nearly and hour before you heard Tim groan. You rolled over to face him but he didn't say anything. You were right, the two of you had been the most hungover that you had been in your life. A wine hangover at that.  

It was rare, very rare, that either of you ever had more than just one or two drinks, never more than one or two whole bottles. So, this feeling that resided in your head, your stomach, you weren't used to and you sure as hell didn't like it either. Tim had to have been feeling the same way.

Neither of you were making it to school that day and you couldn't believe that you were willing to drink that much on a weekday. It wasn't like either of you to miss class - then again, one day of not going wasn't going to hurt.

"Tim?" you whined. He was awake, but didn't dare open his eyes. Tim let out a noise that you assumed meant that he was listening to you. "Let's not do that again." Once again, he only grunted to agree. Tim rolled towards you and you couldn't tell if it was to avoid the light or because he wanted to cuddle.

Either way, you didn't mind.

Your little amount of peace didn't last long when Bruce came knocking on your door. He saw all the empty bottle in the kitchen and had known that it must have been you too. Nearly six bottle between the two of you? There was no way that you drank all that much - which you hadn't. Jason helped too.

The two of you groaned at the noise and tried to block the sound out. Thankfully, Bruce left and didn't try again. Tim buried his head into your neck, leaving light kisses. If you weren't so hungover you would have enjoyed where that was going.

Not even ten minutes after Bruce left, he returned. This time he had barged right into the room - to which you weren't that shocked about. He did it quite often and you learned to never, ever, sleep without close on after the first mishap. Tim pulled the covers over top of both of your heads.

Bruce, on the other hand, was sitting on the desk chair, with none other than a glass of wine in his hand.

The moment that the pungent grape smell hit your nose, you knew that it was over. Your stomach started to turn and you swear that you nearly through up on the spot. Bruce knew exactly what he was doing and you knew that too. Without being able to control yourself, you leaned into the garbage can by Tim's bed and threw up.

"I told you not to drink my wine."

[greytoiletpaper]

Out on Allen Street, it’s 7 in the Morning

Set in the same-ish Street Siblings universe as First Contact by @cryptids-and-muses and @a-sketchy-character @streetsiblings (they’re awesome), I present my own built-on concept. It’s a bit angstier but sue me I’m an angst ball

AO3 | Deluge

Chapter 1: Drizzle

Jason Todd loved the rain. He remembered it pattering on the roof as he dozed off into the night, curled up with Sparky. Times spent splashing in puddles. Drawing a rare smile from Catherine as bright as the morning sun. Days without Willis, his head stuck in a worn copy of Huckleberry Finn and the ambience set only by the rain as it tracked ran down the window he leant on.

It was raining when Jason woke to his mother’s lax corpse, ears drowning out every sound except the rain’s as it plinked in time with the droplets that dripped down her arm.

--

In front of her, Faizul’s corpse is still. So still that Cassandra Cain can almost block out how the man’s body only radiated pain and fear and agony so strong-and-she-did-that-with-her-hands-her-hands-so-red-and-.

But she can’t, her head is still drowning in the memory, and all she can think about is the fear emptiness that settles in her body. Her gift to understand movement as if it were a language, she learns, is nothing more than a curse when Death comes by her hand. She wrings her red fist, as tainted as her soul because of what she had done. She looks away.

Father David has his arms outstretched, a smile so sharp and so bright that if he were any other man, she would have thought he was proud. He is, but underneath, Cassandra can see nothing but sick and profound glee at what she can do. The decision is easy.

As Cassandra springs out the window, its hinges blew wide open, her father David keeled over, the sky crackles and runs with the long red rivulets off her arms.

--

Now, five months later, Jason ducks his head under the fire escape in an empty alley, the rain in a duet with the nightlife of Gotham. He allows himself some respite as it steadily washes the grime off his surroundings, a pleasant ratatatata above the ambient din that is the dark of Gotham. He is so tired, but he’ll have to move soon if he wants to stay out of sight of kidnappers and killers and whatever else haunts the shadows of Gotham.

A howl slices through the Gotham night as some mug gets his face slammed into a wall. Jason knows this because he can see it right now as the same mook gets decked by a – a girl. Anyone on the streets knows that girls can hold their own but seeing some thirty-something-year-old man get his ass handed to him by a pixie of a girl – he thinks she’s his age, somehow – is something else. Seriously, the guy looks terrified out of his mind as he runs with his tail between his legs after a particularly nasty hit to his crotch.

As if sensing his gaze, the girl snaps her head to him, locking him in place.

“Uh… Hi?” Jason raises his hand in an awkward wave which the girl mimics, albeit a bit stilted, her head on a tilt. The silence between the two of them stretches until the girl seems to see something in him and nods. Out of ideas, Jason digs around his bag and produces a fresh enough apple.

“I’m Jason.” He points to himself.

A beat, and then the girl repeats the gesture.

“Cuh, cuh, cuh,” She struggles with the words, her forehead pinched. “Cuh, ah, ssss.”

“Cass?” The girl nods again, this time rigorously. Unsure of himself, Jason raises the apple to her. “Well, nice to meet you, Cass. You hungry?”

Cass grins, her eyes twinkling as she bites into the apple. Around them, the rain lessens. Just a little.

--

She watches two of her most precious children draw closer, children who will laugh and cry and burn for her love. Gotham watches them come, raises her arms, and weeps with her joy.

“Jason and Cassandra against the world,” Is what Gotham would have said if she had a voice. For years, the city is content to watch her children. She observes Jason and Cassandra as they starve, as they fight, as they grow. On one night, the weather nothing but pluvial, she witnesses them come across the strange car in the alleyway owned by her first child. On that night, she watches as the Dark Knight comes across her most perfect pair of children.

--

“Cassandra,” She looks up at the man they had been living under for the past two months, Bruce. She makes no answer, only staring blankly at him–they were betting on seeing how long it took for the man to get uncomfortable when she does that–who stares back. He continues as if they had not been staring for a full minute, which is not to Cass’ benefit. “Do you know where Jason is?”

Cass, willing to keep trying, keeps her gaze unrepentant. Under her scrutiny, the Dark Knight’s demeanour finally cracks a little. Internally, Cass is ecstatic, but she still really wants to milk it as she keeps up the act.

“Someone call for me?” Jay comes down the stairs. Finally, Cass can break her façade.

“Good morning, slob.” The slob, honest to god, freezes.

“No,” He grinds out of his teeth.

“Yes,” Cass gives him a crooked smile. “slob.”

“Am I missing something here?” Bruce is frowning. Oh right, he was ignorant to their scheme.

“Slob,” Cass repeats with feeling and delights at Jay’s fuming. “S-L-O-B. It means Stupid-Loser-Of-Bets,” She looks Jay dead in the eye again and calls him by the name.

Bruce frowned even further (his body projects such honest confusion that Cass almost laughs). “I was not aware you two had made a bet.”

“A bet I lost because of you, old man!” Jay pipes up, suddenly fuming at Bruce. “You’re Batman, and you can’t even keep from cracking when some girl stares at you for longer than a minute?”

Cass does not hold in her laughter anymore, something she broadcasts to all gathered. Bruce sighs, but at least he waits for her to calm down before he gets to his point.

“Regardless… I need you two to come with me to my office,” As the man leaves, the two share a glance.

“You gonna go after him?”

“You first, slob,” Jay grumbles the entire way to the office, where Bruce waves them in.

For a few seconds, the man awkwardly shifts before he pulls a sheaf of papers from behind his desk.

“I… I quite enjoy having the two of you here. With me,” Bruce admits, looking both of them in the eyes. He takes a deep breath. “I do not want to force this on either of you, but I would love to have you here with me for longer.”

“Permanently, even.”

Bruce lays out the papers on the desk, ‘Adoption Applications’ printed at the top. The letters draw a sharp breath from Jay, and Cass is confident enough with reading to understand what it means.

“Yes,” They both say immediately, and Bruce’s face goes softer than either have ever seen it.

When he asks for their surnames, Cass thinks about saying Cain. Instead, she says Todd.

Shyly, her russet orbs meet his azure ones expecting anger, but everything about Jason only projects love and acceptance. Her grin, something she had not got right yet, is almost identical to the one her brother wears.

“Always wanted a sister. Can’t do much better than you, eh, Cass?”

“Yes Jay,” she pauses. “slob.”

Outside, the sky is open in a light drizzle.

--

If there is anyone in the Waynes that Jason thinks is his favourite, it would be Alfred. An opinion he thinks Cass would be hard-pressed to disagree with. Of course, Cass is still in awe about the fact that Bruce Wayne is Batman (and isn’t that just fucking crazy), so it’s understandable. Conversely, Jason still remembers his first memory of the butler, a kind smile and welcoming arms that promised care for both of them.

“Master Jason,” The boy had looked up to see a crinkle in Alfred’s eyes that he had only ever seen from Catherine. The butler continued, somehow even softer than his usual. “Would you like me to fix that for you?”

Alfred gestured to Jason’s battered copy of Huckleberry Finn that he had cradled self-consciously to his chest. He refused, unsure why the butler seemed to be delighted to see Jason in the way only Cass and his Mom did. But there is something so trustworthy about the man that part of Jason is sure Alfred would do things like that no matter what he asked. So, automatic favourite.

--

Their older brother, Dick (“Aptly nicknamed,” Jay mutters under his breath.), yells whenever he comes to the manor. Most of his visits tend to cycle between him screaming at Bruce or yelling about them. He does make an effort to be a little quieter when he’s talking about the latter. Although, he still looks at Jay with an indecipherable mixture of emotions in his eyes. A pool caught between anger and something unknown to them. It’s not something that upsets Cass, but it puts both of them off, nonetheless.

On the other hand, Barbara is a little more forward in her dislike of the new kids. More often than not, her ire seems aimed at Cass specifically. Privately, Cass thinks Barbara was still angry about Bruce taking her role as Batgirl and giving it to Cass. But, she can see how every time the older girl gets less hostile, another part of her body was long past the role anyway. So, she doesn’t hold it against Oracle.

--

“C’mon Cass, repeat after me,” Jason waves the pages in Cass’ face, which elicits a giggle from his sister. Her giggling unbalances the both of them, so they have to waste another couple of minutes to make themselves comfortable again.

“What’s the use you learning to do right when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?”

Cass repeats the words, but she struggles at ‘troublesome’, so Jason repeats it for her. Silence, and then.

“What mean?” He thinks she isn’t asking about the word.

“Well, Mom used to say that it was just that. It might be harder to do the right thing, but it’d be better since you at least did it properly,” Satisfied, his sister merely nods and tries the words again. This time, she only takes three tries until she gets ‘troublesome’ right.

“I think she would have liked you,” He murmurs between phrases and instantly regrets it when Cass’ head turns to him so sharply she jostles him. He is about to brush it off when she nods her head shyly, snuggling closer to Jason.

He thinks, as they keep reading, that things are going to turn out alright. He has Robin now, and Robin gives him magic. Not only that but he’s also got Cass as Batgirl. Sure, she has that weird stitch mask covering her face, but it’s so fitting that he cannot imagine Cass with any other kind of costume. He knows her, and she knows him. For years she has been the sister he never knew he needed.

Together, Jason muses, they’re going to shake the whole damn world.

--

Whether they're from the Justice League or otherwise, everyone is always ready with a snide comment directed towards them. Or, more specifically, Jason. They use words and insults that don’t make sense to her, but she can see them affect her brother. When she asks, all he does is brush her off with lies and platitudes that they both know are fake. It isn’t until Troia huffs and says something that has waves of hurt rolling off Jason’s body that Cass decides she’s had enough.

“Honestly, I can’t believe you’d think you’d ever be like – ow!” Troia, poise flooded with nothing but condescension (she’s too angry to be elated at remembering a word Jason taught her) that Cass quickly corrects with a sharp jab. Like a deer in headlights, she turns and somehow has the gall to look indignant (another word). “Who did – Batgirl?”

“What, are you doing?” Troia fucking blinks. “Why are you treating my brother like this?”

She doesn’t even look guilty.

“Oh, don’t worry about all that. I don’t think it’s anything you’d understand anyway,”

She bends down towards her, apparently not noticing how still she is. Anyone who knows anything about Cassandra Todd knows her stillness means Death. Evidently, Troia is an exception. She's the only one in the room that's relaxed.

“Some people are simply born for this role. No street rat can ever hope to achieve that.”

Cassandra moves before anyone even blinks, her arms a flurry of jabs and punches and vicious kicks as she catches Troia off guard. Even when she finally regains her footing, the Amazon doesn't stand a sliver of a chance as Cassandra lays into her.

A block from Troia awards a savage stomp on her shin. A punch ducked under and followed through into a sequence of blows to the Amazon’s chest. When Troia grips her lasso and tries to restrain Cassandra, the girl only slinks her way past and wrestles it from her hands. Quickly and efficiently, she wraps it around the Amazon’s waist and pulls. For someone so small, Cassandra manages to lift Troia with the lasso with enough strength that when she releases it, the Amazon goes flying into a pillar in the Watchtower with a sharp crack.

Cass picks up her brother and shields him from the Leaguers, indifferent to their shocked and judgemental eyes.

The message is clear.

Even though they’re lost in a veritable sea of people, it still ends up being just the two of them, and Cass is more than okay with that.

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