Hey... prompt 15? 🥺👉👈
15: “Shouldn’t you be with him/her?”
Shoto's eyes glance over his classmates, looking for a familiar head of green hair so he can ask him to be his sparring partner. However, when he finally spots Midoriya, his heart falls and he swallows thickly.
He's already paired with Uraraka, again.
And, Shoto thinks bitterly, isn't that the perfect microcosm for his entire relationship with his best friend? He'll yearn from afar, for someone he'll never really have, because Midoriya's untouchable and it's clear he belongs to someone else; someone who isn't broken and unlovable. While it breaks his heart though, part of Shoto is glad, because the people who love him only ever get hurt - he wouldn't want to wish that on Midoriya.
So, masking his disappointment, Shoto quickly looks away to avoid staring, but now he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself, shuffling awkwardly, until Iida comes barrelling towards him with a request to pair up.
'Sure.'
He's in a foul mood for the rest of the day - through no fault of Iida, he’s just thinking about earlier. He knows he shouldn't dwell on Midoriya and Uraraka's relationship. They're good together; they raise each other up and inspire each other. They get along well and both deserve happiness.
Shoto just wishes it wouldn't be at his expense, as selfish as that sounds. It’s not like they know about his feelings, anyway.
As he excuses himself after classes finish, however, he's stopped by the very object of his affections, who's directing that beaming smile at Shoto, and it hurts. Midoriya must notice he's upset though, because that smile soon drops and his eyes become concerned.
'Todoroki-kun, are you okay?' He tilts his head to the side slightly. 'I just asked if you wanted to walk back to the dorms together? We don't have to, I just thought-'
'No, no, it's okay. I'm fine.' Shoto lies, pinching his brow and shaking his head. He needs to get a hold of himself. 'I just thought... shouldn't you be with Uraraka?'
Midoriya frowned at that, eyes scanning Shoto as if searching.
'Why would you think that?'
Shoto squeezes his eyes shut, before realising how weird that looks and reluctantly opening them again. Still, he can't bring himself to look at Midoriya as he answers him, so he turns his head and rubs the back of his neck.
'Because you're together... You like each other.' The words grate at his throat, but he refuses to show it. He's aware of Midoriya staring at him; he can't give any indication of his feelings.
'We're... we're not together?'
Despite himself, Shoto suddenly finds himself meeting confused, verdant eyes, and his crush uses that as his cue to continue. 'I mean, I like her, but only as a friend. We both... like other people anyway, so we're not-' He pauses, as if realising something. 'Is this what's been bothering you lately?'
'No.' Shoto replies way too quickly, infinitely glad they're the only ones left in the classroom at this point. In an attempt to divert the attention away from whatever that was, Shoto clears his throat, crosses his arms and tries to sound casual. 'Anyway, who's this person you like? Do I know them?'
Midoriya doesn't respond straight away - observing Shoto in a way that’s almost unnerving - but gradually, a small smile replaces the tight-lipped concern; he looks almost amused.
'You know, all this time, Uraraka's been telling me I'm oblivious as hell for not noticing how absolutely obvious you are.' Izuku's smile widens when Shoto freezes in shock. 'I told her she didn't know what she was talking about. After all, there's no way Todoroki-kun could ever like someone like me, but it seems I was wrong. That was...’ He snorts back a giggle. ‘That was really obvious.'
Shoto's heart is pounding with anxiety at having been caught; his breathing quickens and he scans the room for exits. He can't believe Midoriya knows - Midoriya, who has a crush on someone else - and now Shoto's ruined their friendship with his stupid feelings and now he’s being laughed at and-
His thoughts come to a complete halt when a calloused hand reaches out to take his own. He's shaking - they both are - and Midoriya's hand is sweaty and crooked, but it's nice and Shoto finds himself squeezing back, even though he's not entirely sure what's happening.
'Midoriya?'
'It's you, you dummy.' His best friend admits, quietly. There's a flush dusting his freckled cheeks and the tips of his ears. 'It's you that I like, not Uraraka or anyone else. She was trying to help me confess, that's why we've been spending a lot more time together recently. She's actually gonna be so annoyed that I didn't stick to her plan, but you just looked so upset and when I realised the reason why, I couldn't just let you continue to think that, and I'm rambling again, but you're still listening because you're you, so I'm gonna say it again. I like you, Todoroki-kun, so no, I shouldn't be with anyone else, okay?'
Shoto's lip wobbles as he processes the multitude of information thrown at him, but one thing stands out above the rest: Midoriya likes him... Him. His stomach hurts and he feels lightheaded, but he also feels... giddy, which isn't something he ever thought possible, but if anyone is going to be responsible for that, it's Midoriya.
Midoriya, who just admitted he also likes Shoto.
He smiles at that, his cheeks straining, but he doesn't care - he never wants to stop. Instead, he swallows heavily and nods his head frantically.
'Okay.'
Prompts
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Family Dinners - dpxdc
"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.
The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.
"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.
"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.
"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."
Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.
Ancients, that's so weird!
The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.
Wait. Family dinners?
He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.
"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.
"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.
From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.
"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"
"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"
"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."
"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."
The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.
Come on, Danny, recover!
"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."
"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?
"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."
"Costume? What do you mean?"
Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.
"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!
"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.
"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.
His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.
"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.
Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"
"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"
"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."
"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.
It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.
It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.
Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.
"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."
Once again, the whole table falls into silence.
"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"
"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"
"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."
Danny's grin freezes in place.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."
"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"
Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.
"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.
"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."
An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.
"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.
"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."
"What did happen?"
"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."
"How long in the future was it?"
"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.
Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"
"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."
"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."
"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"
"What?"
"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."
Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.
"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.
"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."
"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"
"Damian, stop—"
"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."
"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."
"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.
"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."
"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."
"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."
"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."
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