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t-thathandsomedevil · 7 months

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~Her~ || Mattheo R. x fem! Reader

Author note! <33 I hope you like it, I worked on it at flipping school so Its fluff only. I always accept corrective criticism, spelling correction, grammar correction, and requests. Im sorry this is so bad and cringy btw. -A/N❤

1,492 words 7,983 characters

You listened silently to the conversation the other girls at the lunch table were having, feeling awkward at the prospect you didn’t know any of them. “Oh my god I love him so much” a girl with short brown hair and friendly makeup gushed, pointing to a boy at the table across from the one you were sitting at. You turned your head slightly, enough to be able to see who she was pointing at but not enough to be noticed. The boy she was pointing at had curly black hair, brown eyes and light skin and was grinning and talking to a friend. Mattheo Riddle. — “Let's play truth or dare!” Lorenzo said excitedly “I need a new story to post on buzzfeed.” Theodore rolled his eyes and smirked at Enzo “I should’ve guessed. But okay because I am boooorrrrrddddd af” “Okay” Mattheo said, eying the pretty girl in a hoodie with H/L H/C hair sitting quietly and alone, like she always does. “I wanna play and I wanna go first.” Draco said flatly, slicking back his platinum blonde hair. “I want to play as well, like I have to catch up on all my friend’s drama” Blaise said casually while eating his hamburger. “Truth or Dare is my fav game so yes!” Pansy gushed “Okaayy Theodore Nott. truth of dare” Draco asked “Truth.” “Is it true you…. Are dating Enzo?” “Yea.” “Okay…. Enzo truth or dare?” Theo asked, smirking at his boyfriend. “Dare” “I dare you to kiss me right now” Lorenzo rolled his eyes but smiled and leaned in and gave Theodore a soft but long kiss. “You guys are such a cute couple” Pansy noted, smiling wide “ANYWaayy, my turn because Enzo is kissing Theo.” Blaise said.

“no, I’m still going” Lorenzo huffed, shoving Blaise softly. “Mattheo truth or dare?” “Dare” “I dare you to kiss your crush” “Wtf bro I don’t a crush” “Don’t lie I saw you staring at Y/N” “Oooooooohh” Pansy squealed “Someone has a cruuuushhh” Mattheo blushed and scowled “Fine I do like her buuut she don’t know who tf I am” “Don’t make excuses.” — The lunch bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period and you were the first to get up. You hated the cafeteria. It was loud, food was flying everywhere, but most of all, you had to sit with people you didn’t know and who had friends and you just sat there yourself. You looked over your shoulder at Mattheo. The girl from earlier was there. Her short brown bob bouncing as she spoke. As you watched her talk to Mattheo, you felt a twinge of jealousy. Why do I feel jealous?? — “I’m Joyce,” A girl with short hair that bounced annoyingly. “Yea hi Joyce what do you want?” Mattheo asked, trying not to sound irritated. He absolutely hated when girls talked to him randomly and flirted with him and asked for his number and tried to use pick-up lines that stunk worse than public bathrooms. “I like your…. Eyes” She gushed Ew “Yea yea I like your um shirt” Mattheo said curtly “Is that all? Because I have to get to class” “Oh yea” Joyce said sweetly “I have to go to class too. Why don’t we go together?” Mattheo rolled his eyes “What class do you have?” “I have orchestra!” “Well, I have ELA and the orchestra room is downstairs right down this hall.” Stupid…. Joyce blushed “O-oh okay. See you later, then” She winked and gave Mattheo what she thought was a winning smile. Well f I’m late now… — You carefully wrote your name at the top of your page. At least I’m a good student… even though nobody likes me. You thought, pushing the page to the corner of your desk. “We’ll be working as partners” no…… “You can choose your groups, I’m sure your capable” Oh my god no

Everyone buzzed with excitement and found groups with their friends, leaving only you. The door opened and a boy stumbled in, panting. “I’m sorry I was late sir” he said “A girl named Jane was bugging me.” “Okay, I don’t need your excuses,” The teacher surveyed the room “Go work with Y/N.” You flushed and looked away. I have to work with MATTHEO! “Okaayy” Mattheo said, giving you a ravishing grin. “Hey princess” he said when he planted himself in the seat beside you You scowled “I’m not a princess.” “I’m sure you aren’t. What do we need to do?” “You’d know if you came to class on time and not 20 minutes late.” Mattheo laughed, “A girl named James was bugging me.” “You said Jane” “Well something like that.” You rolled your eyes. “We have to write a book report.” “Nooooooooo” Mattheo whined “I hatteeeee book repoorrtts” “You sound like a child” You said, looking at Mattheo coldly. “Okay finee,” he straightened “What book?” “What did you read?” If anything, Mattheo grinned “I read The Lord of The Rings” You rolled your eyes “What happened?” “Umm… I actually read Wattpad fanfic…” “I figured as much” You said, smiling a little “What happened?” As Mattheo retold the story, you looked over his face. He’s actually kinda pretty…. Wtf!? “You good? You look like you spaced out for a sec,” Mattheo said, smirking “W-what, oh sorry, so um yea what continue” “I already finished,” “Oh okay you can write it down, then.” What is wrong with me?? Mattheo’s hand brushed up against yours as he took the pencil from your hand. You felt your face heat up and you bit your lip. “Do you want to go to the library with me during our free period?” Mattheo asked while writing down the book report horribly. “Why?” You demanded “Because I see you sitting alone during lunch and during your free period.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but he only smiled and set down the pencil “See you later, then?” and stood up to leave. You felt slightly disappointed as you watched him leave, but you shook off the feeling and picked up the book report he left. — “How’d it go?” Enzo asked, smirking at Mattheo. “It went amazing.” Mattheo grinned “I asked her if she wanted to meet me at the library during free period. She looked like she liked the idea.”

“you better make the most romantic scene bro. I want tea and I want a nice movie to watch” Theodore said, tossing Mattheo a cigarette. “And I want something to post on Buzzfeed.” Lorenzo said “and Theo you can’t have cigarettes.” “Ugh” Theodore reluctantly handed Lorenzo his box “You too, Mattheo” — You skipped your 4 period class to get ready. Something you swore never to do. You curled your H/C H/L hair and stuck a small flower behind your ear. You sighed “What happened to me?” You curled your lashes, and applied a light layer of blush. The bell finally rang and you felt excitement rise in your body, but you battled it down and put on a straight face. When you got there, you found Mattheo already sitting on a beanbag chair, he had a black Nirvana t-shirt and black cargo pants. “You look nice,” He said “How did you get that all done?” You had a black tank top with a nice necklace and faded blue jeans. “I skipped my 4th period class. It was gym, anyway.” Mattheo laughed “I pretended to be sick and ‘went to the nurse’” “You are such a bad student!” you said, smiling down at the ground as you sat in the beanbag chair next to Mattheo. “And you are a wonderful student,” he winked, “That’s why I like you.” You blushed “Shut up, Riddle” “Okay Y/L/N” “Can I ask you something?” Mattheo asked “Sure, what is it?” “I- this was a dare, but I really do like you,” “I expected as much. Who gave you the dare?” “Lorenzo Berkshire.” Mattheo blushed and looked down “C-can I kiss you?” “Part of the dare?” You asked, unable to keep the hurt from your voice “No- yes, but the dare was to kiss my crush..” Mattheo said, not looking at you. “Please don’t hate me…” You sighed “I don’t hate you, Mattheo. Why do you think I skipped a class to do my makeup?” Mattheo smiled “So can I kiss you?” “Yes” Mattheo pressed his lips onto yours. He tasted like cigarettes, mint gum, and strawberry shortcake, as odd as that sounds. His hand traveled up your back and his other hand went to the back of your head, tangling in your hair. “I love you so much, Y/N…” He mumbled in between kisses. “I love you too…”

— “Best movie ever actually” Theodore whispered to Lorenzo “This is gonna get so many views,” Lorenzo whispered back, typing furiously on his phone. “I’m gonna tease him for this for eternity” Draco whispered, smirking “Your meeeeean” Pansy whispered, her lips pouting “They’re adorable!”

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optimistic-nihilist · 4 months

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deadsetobsessions · 4 months

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Danny no longer has a haunt. So… he decides to find another one. And while he technically has a whole world (other dimensions aren’t an option because he’s going to stay near where Jazz’s grave is, damn it) there’s only a couple of other places with enough ambient ectoplasm to sustain him. Nanda Parbat, Tokyo, and Gotham.

Nanda Parbat had a weird old musty immortal that kept trying to summon him and exchange power for the ability to “take a worthy body and rain as much destruction” as he’d like. As if Danny would need a body to bring the world to its knees.

Tokyo… it’s too far from Jazz’s grave. He could ask Wulf or even open his own portal but when Danny tried it out, Tokyo was too peaceful. Obviously there’s crime, but nothing… nothing big like Danny’s used to.

Danny ends up picking Gotham, even if the sewer zombies and the weird group of rich fruit loops with an adoption problem creeps him out. So, he destroys the portal, packs up his parents’ house and sells it, and hauls ass to the cesspool calling his name. His family’s stuff is stored respectfully in a vault located on the deepest parts of his personal haunt in the Infinite Realms.

And honestly, he’s doing better. Sure, he’s got a shitty apartment near another revenant’s almost-haunt and he feels like he’s drowning all of the time, but Danny isn’t in danger of turning into Dan, he’s catching up on royal paperwork, and he’s got like a job as a barista. In his own coffee shop that paid for using his parent’s money (who, despite their hazardous everything, made a crap ton of money off of their more normal inventions).

Gotham’s got some pretty interesting local gangs, most of which respected the sanctity of Danny’s cafe. Sure, they tried blowing it up and tried extorting money from him in the form of “protection costs” but after three months of failure, they gave up.

(Really, the local gangs gave up when they saw him take three shotgun shells to the chest and continued to work.) (They didn’t know it never hit him. Intangibility is extremely useful.)

The Rogues, on the other hand, just gave Danny flashbacks. Their gimmicks are different, sure, but after years of Box Ghost, Skuller, Lunch Lady, etc., Danny’s more than done with costumed villains. They don’t bother him either. Some of the reason is probably due to Harley and Ivy, who had walked into the cafe and (because they were bruised and scratched up from a fight) triggered Danny’s mother hen tendencies. They were promptly fed and watered and caffeinated and their hyenas were also similarly taken care of. They declared the cafe under their protection and that was that.

Red Hood stops by, and begins to interrogate him. But when Danny met his… helmet eyes? The crime lord paused, paid for his coffee, and sat in a corner table of the cafe for the rest of the day.

And he kept coming back?

But Danny figures it’s because Hood was a revenant and people who had come close to death tends to feel more comfortable around him.

(Considering this is Gotham where people almost die every other day? Yeah, he’s pretty much friends with everyone. Or at least, less likely to get shot.)

(Hood does stay because of the King’s presence and the Pit calming itself, but also Danny’s hot and he’s got a sleeper build and Hood definitely did not imagine himself in the place of the heavy box he saw Danny lift effortlessly onto a table. No.)

But of course, the peace couldn’t last forever. But by then, Danny was so antsy, he welcomed the trouble with open arms.

It starts with a clown. Danny knows who he is. He knows who Danny is.

So, Danny has no idea why the clown thought it would be a good idea to aggravate the owner of Gotham’s official neutral grounds. See, Clovkwork? Danny’s learned how to gauge his own political importance!

“HAHAHAHAHA! COME OUT, DANNY-BOY! LET ME TELL YOU A JOKE!”

Danny comes out and grabs a chair, and with a flat expression, says, “you’re not funny and I hate clowns.”

And then he swings and slams the chair into the Joker’s face. Over and over again until Danny’s sure the clown won’t get back up. The thing about Gotham’s outdoor chairs is that they’re mad out of steel and are bolted down to the ground to prevent undedicated thieves (dedicated thieves can and will steal the bolted down steel chairs). The Joker’s hired muscle just watched this scrawny twenty-something year old yank the steel chair and take some of the fucking ground and the bolts with it and beat the fuck out of their boss who is the literal Joker.

They surrender on the spot and is taken to jail. Danny just smiles at the officers who come by and since he’s got pretty privilege and they don’t want to mess with the guy who, again, owns one of Gotham’s official neutral ground and also beat up Joker without breaking a sweat, the officers just lets him go with a warning.

And then the bats comes, and wow, Danny’s playing mentor to a formally dead person again!

But before that, the Red Hood asks for an autograph on the Gotham Gazette article with a picture of a tired Danny standing over Joker’s prone body. Then Hood stammers through asking Danny out (which Danny said yes to because he’s tired, not blind, and Hood is built like a brick house and HOT).

Batman interrogates him. Danny, who can tell that this man needs therapy and is Sad TM, tells Bats that Danny’s died before and that’s why he’s like this. He also calls Batman a furry, but like in a nice way. And then he kicks Batman out with a coffee and a file on Nanda Parbat.

Now, Danny’s got a date to prepare for and he realizes that maybe this is what Jazz wanted for him- to be happy and mostly safe and happy. (Or, happier, he thinks. It’s been a long time since he’s been truly happy, but this might be a good start)

#bamf danny phantom #danny phantom #dc x dp #jason todd #Jason takes him to a library and they pick out books for each other #Danny asks him on a second date and they talk about the book over coffee #and then they watch the stars (Danny uses his ghost powers to clear a patch of sky)#but Danny just kind of watches Jason’s face and goes yeah this is just as good #Danny dngasf #Danny will throw hands with a clown #Danny thinks the Gotham Rogues are kinda cute #with their gimmicks #unimpressed bc they’re kind of obvious #and he’s seen worse and better #danny is Gotham’s Mom Friend

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autumneverleigh · 2 years

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idk i just wanna sit in a dark library at night in the candlelight wearing an oversized sweater and exchange glances over my book to my lover while the rain pours outside and feel at peace with the world

#dark academia #dark acadamia aesthetic #dark academic aesthetic #chaotic academia #academia aesthetic #dark academia aesthetic #dark academia moodboard #dark academia vibes #dark academism #dark romanticism #library date #books & libraries #library #oxford

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teddys-draft · 1 month

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A love language ✨

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learnelle · 1 year

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Pretty bookshops in France, vol 5.

#Spotted this one while waiting for my bf outside of a library :D Study dates are the best kind of study sessions:)<3 #studyblr #light academia #cottagecore #studyspo #dark academia #bookblr #aesthetic #dark acadmeia aesthetic #books & libraries #booknerd #bookish #bookshop

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obliviatedlemondrop · 2 years

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someone please take me on bookstore dates, and talk with me about books, and our futures and aspirations, and then at the end we exchange our favorite books with each other, and drive home listening to music.

#bookshop #bookstore #bookstore dates #romanticism #chaotic academia #dark academia #escapism #books and libraries #dark academic aesthetic #love #books #alas such thing exists only in my dreams #music #romance

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anxi0usgh0st · 3 months

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if you see this I’m taking you on a date to the planetarium then we’re going to a cat cafe and a library. best places on earth criticism isn’t taken

#concerts are also up there on the list of charlie’s favorite places #and science museums I fucking love science museums.#ever been to california academy of science? insane #first date I’m being a nerd you get what you see #science #cats #cat cafe #cute cats #books & libraries #safe space #date night #date ideas #planets #planetarium #space #outer space

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sikuena · 2 months

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what song are they listening to? (wip).

note - feeling a little burnt out so i probably wont be finishing any pieces within the next two weeks. will still be uploading sketches on instagram though

#klance #modern au #library #voltron legendary defender #lance mcclain #keith kogane #ocifying them #they r boyfriends #lgbt #fanart #vld keith #vld lance #thinking about making a sheet for my hcs of them #headcannons #work in progress #need more piercings #alternate universe #homos #first date

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nemfrog · 2 months

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Dates Due 1916-1930. Beginning right. 1916.

Internet Archive

#date due #library book #time #dates #1916 #September 1 #January 16 #April 10 #Nemfrog

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rudeflower · 7 months

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you need a library card

Almost everyone I know doesn't have a library card, and some of them read less than they want to because they can't afford to buy the books they want???? GUYS BIG SOLUTION TIME

BOOKS! Audiobooks! DVDS! Movie/series/documentary streaming services! Ebooks! Video games! Magazines!

Air conditioning! Wifi! Heat! Meeting rooms to reserve! Copy machines! Printers! Quiet safe place!

FOR FREE! FOR FREE! NO COST! FOR FREE!!!

Let's face is inflation is killing us, and you may have had to sacrifice buying books for fun, keeping the heat at a comfortable temp, cancel a few subscriptions. Enter your library card

"I don't have time to go a library" me neither I use the audiobook and ebook app daily and check out digital books and get them on my phone immediately

"I want to support the author" If you like it then you buy it! You don't have to pay up front for something you might not like ten pages in! Buy a book you know you love even if you don't plan to reread it to support the author!

"I don't want to wait for a book" Fair enough then don't, check out the books you can wait for

This world has home, where you pay to be, and very very few places outside of the home that you don't have to pay to be. If you're losing your head and need to get out for a few hours, you have to pay to exist almost anywhere you want to go. Not libraries.

I've gone to libraries weekly, almost daily at times, my whole life and they have never once asked anything of me. They give.

This world takes and takes and takes and libraries give and give and give and you deserve to be given lovely things.

It is not hard to get a library card, for most people. In most places I've lived you need some form of evidence you live in the area the library serves, and I've brought in a piece of mail, a student ID or an electric bill and been good to go. Many libraries also work with people who don't have documentation like this to get one anyway.

Get a library card even if you don't think you'll use it. Because one day there will be a book you really want that your local bookstore doesn't have, but who has it? THE LIBRARY! GO GET IT!

This is a USA centric post, and also goes out to my non-American cousins who taught me that libraries are a beautiful gift and not a given, and we should take advantage of it more often than we do

Get a library card, love yourself

#i know multiple people who love reading and limit how much they read because they can't afford books!#i don't know where you live but i live in a small city and they could totally! be! rolling! in! library! books!#there are very few things i think people are living wrong if they don't do #i don't care who you date i don't care what you eat i don't care how you dress #i do care that you don't have a library card #libraries #library card

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escapismsworld · 7 months

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Goal: go on museum dates ✔️😍

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comfyymoon · 2 years

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platonic dates. platonic dates. platonic dates. let's go to a bookstore together, let's just buy some coffee, let's go eat our favourite food together, let's buy each other flowers, let's write poems for each other, let's write letter to each other, let's go shopping together, let's go on a walk together, let's just go buy groceries together, let's just get some juice and sit on stairs, let's go to the movies, let's go for a hike. let's just be together.

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introspectivememories · 3 months

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god i know i said i was tired of making eveerything sad but just imagine timber those first few months of reconnecting and they're both drunk on tim's boat, laying on the deck staring up at the stars and bear turns over to look at tim, his eyes are sad and wet, and he reaches out to touch tim's face as if to make sure tim is really there and not an illusion and tim whispers, "bear?" and bernard smiles a little brokenly and goes, "so how long do i have you for this time?"

#tim fully sober now: what do you mean? i'm right here bear #bear still drunk: i got you for almost a whole year last time. how long before you leave this time?#bear: 2 years? 6 months?#tim sadly: you can have me forever bear #bear laughing: i don't even get you that long in my dreams #bear smiles reaching out to poke tim's face: don't worry tim! anytime you want to come back‚ i'll be right here.#god tim who's constantly leaving and bear who knows but cant help letting him comeback into his life again and again #you cannot tell me that bear went to that first date in urban legends expecting tim to stay #he went to that date expecting to get his heart broken again but he loves this boy so he goes anyway #tim who always leaves and bear who waits patiently everytime #sorry im like sobbing in the library #bear is so 'right where you left me' coded #bear who loves tim so much he'll let tim break his heart again and again #head in hands head in hands #dc #tim drake #bernard dowd #timbern #timber

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luxaofhesperides · 5 months

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Ghostlight!

"You came?" "You called."

Danny in trouble, Duke to the rescue! (Or it can be reversed!) Maybe they've been online friends or met in person once and bonded over both having all these unexpected powers. Slightly angst.

There was never a point when Danny thought he would need the panic button Duke gave him.

It was a sweet gesture, a way for Duke to show that he cared for Danny and wanted him to be safe. Never mind that Danny can take care of himself, heals quickly from most wounds, and has been the protector, not the protected, ever since the Accident. If it makes Duke feel better, than Danny was more than happy to keep it on him as a token of affection.

The cultists, however, caught him off guard.

Danny would be embarrassed about being nabbed off the streets so easily if the people who took him weren’t cultists lead by the daughter of a GIW agent, one who disapproved of the scientific approach the GIW took towards ectoplasmic entities and had turned to mystic arts as a way to defy her father. Which, usually, Danny would be all for striking out against the strict expectations of parents and their unwillingness to listen to their kids in any serious manner, but not this time. Not when it ends with him slowly waking up after they chloroformed him, curled up in some magic circle, surrounded by black candles and blue flame, and something in the air that smells of blood blossoms.

There are voices speaking, but he can’t make out what they’re saying over the pounding in his head, his heartbeat stuttering in his chest with each gasping breath he takes.

Whatever they’re doing, whatever’s got him bound in the circle, makes his blood feel like its been lit aflame, agony coursing through his veins. He tries to grit his teeth and bare it, but it doesn’t become any more manageable.

No, it gets worse the longer he’s awake.

Danny tries to move, tries to get to his feet, but all he can do is curl up tighter, a sob forcing its way out of his throat.

“I know you’ve got some connection to Phantom,” he hears someone say, both by his ear and so far away he can barely make out the words. Danny whines, trying to insist that they’re wrong, he’s got nothing to do with phantom, but the voice continues. “Come on, cooperate with us and this will end sooner for you. You can’t lie about this; you wouldn’t be feeling anything if there was no connection.”

A hand brushes against his forehead, burning hot, and Danny turns his face towards the ground trying to move away from it.

“I knew ghosts had to have some tie to the living world. And a living anchor would make the ghost stronger… If only dad would listen to me.” The voice sighs, and the words help him put the pieces together and realize this is the daughter of the GIW agent that came closest to finding him when he first ran to Gotham.

It’s been close to a year since then. He thought they’d stopped looking.

Really, he should have known better.

The hand leaves his forehead and he hears the leader bark out an order. Voices surround him, chanting, as they rise out of the dark.

A red glow begins to fall on everything, enough that Danny can see it through his barely open eyes. A shudder runs through him, and he feels his transformation try to begin.

NO, he thinks desperately. He tries to force it down but it fights against him. It’s agony, pain on a molecular level, the feeling of dying over and over and over again.

NO, he thinks, STOP I DON’T WANT TO DIE SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME.

And then, unbidden, a single word rising in his mind. Duke.

Duke will help him if he knows Danny needs help. Duke has been kind and welcoming and helped Danny find his footing in Gotham, never judging and always quietly offering a hand in support. He’s the person Danny’s closest to in Gotham, someone dear to him, a light in the dark.

He gave Danny a panic button.

Contrary to popular thought, Danny isn’t an idiot. He knows Duke is the Signal. A few too many incidents where Duke had disappeared and the Signal appeared to save him tipped him off. It didn’t help that Duke acted the same in and out of costume, and he always, always grabbed Danny first at the elbow, then slid his hand down to his wrist.

Besides, who else gives panic buttons to their friends? Danny would have done the same to Sam and Tucker if they weren’t always attached at the hip. He’s a (former) teenage vigilante too, he knows how being involved in this kind of thing invites trouble into the rest of his life.

Duke can help him. He’s a hero. He’s saved Danny before.

He’s his friend. Danny trusts (wants to trust, so badly) that Duke will help him even when he’s not fully human, fully alive.

With trembling hands, he reaches into his jacket, to the panic button. It’s a simple necklace with an unassuming metal rectangle dangling off of it. It’s flat and thin, but the top gives way to a button that Danny clicks three times in quick succession.

He waits a moment, trying to breathe through the pain, and clicks it three times again.

Please hurry, Duke, he thinks, hand falling limply to the ground.

“Let’s try this, instead,” the leader says, and the chanting falls to a quiet murmur to give way to her voice as she begins reciting something.

It starts at his feet. They cramp up suddenly, then pain crackles up his bones like lightning, digging deep into him. It feels as if a thousand knives dig into his abdomen, cutting in deep and twisting.

Danny chokes on his breath, then screams, trying futilely to scramble away. All it does is make him writhe on the ground, back arching enough that he can feel the strain of it on his spine, but it doesn’t matter because he’s forcing down his transformation again, smothering Phantom as much as he can.

His breath mists out before him. His fingers go numb, frost spreading across the floor.

Tears slip down his face as Danny pants for breath.

It hurts. It hurts like nothing has ever hurt before, but he refuses to give in. If they find out he’s Phantom, they’ll only do worse.

Please, he thinks again, deliriously.

As if hearing him, a window shatters above him and the cultists break off in screams.

Forcing his eyes open, Danny squints through he tears and watches as the shadows around them rise up, roiling, and crash against the cultists. The force of it knocks them down, leaving them to claw desperately at their faces as the shadows cover their nose and mouths, cutting off their air. The leader is yelling, rage clear in her voice, shooting out magic spells at the Signal.

The Signal is usually a friendly figure. He’s safe, something whose meer presence makes people feel safe. His smile means everything’s alright and when it’s directed to Danny, he feels like nothing bad can ever happen to him again.

The Signal isn’t smiling now.

He’s furious, expressionless and stone cold, bashing away the spells with shadows or light, advancing on the leader like an avenging angel come to deliver justice.

He takes her out with hard hits, striking methodically. It’s not quick. She doesn’t get the kindness of being knocked out; no, he snaps a wrist, breaks her nose, slams her down on the ground and cuts off her air with a knee until her struggles die off and she’s left limp on the floor.

When he rises, surrounded by shadows still moving restlessly, illuminated only by the flicker blue flames of the candles, he should look terrifying.

All Danny feels is relief so sharp it worries him that his chest was cleaved in half without him noticing until now. He shivers against the floor, too weak to reach out to the Signal.

It’s a good thing he doesn’t have to.

The Signal picks him up with careful hands, checking him over for injuries.

“Duke,” Danny murmurs, slurring a bit. The torture is definitely at fault for it, but the sudden absence of all that pain doesn’t help him sound any more coherent. “You came.”

“You called,” Duke says, “Of course I came. I’ve been looking for you for hours. You never showed up for our study date and I know you always try to reach out if you can’t make it. I’m just sorry I didn’t find you sooner.”

“S’okay, ‘m not mad. Was scared, but you made it better. The panic button…”

“It’s how I found you. I’m so glad you were wearing it today.”

Danny tries to smile, but the most he can manage is a twitch of his lips before his head tips forward to rest against Duke’s armored shoulder. “I always wear it.”

Duke’s grip on him tightens for a moment, then he begins walking, taking Danny away from the magic circles and the prone bodies of the cultists who had watched him be tortured and decided to keep going. Danny shudders again, his entire body aching. His transformation is still fighting to come out, but it’s not as strong anymore.

“Let’s get out of here,” Duke says into his ear. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“No! No hospitals, please. I can’t let them know… they’ll find me…”

Duke shushes him soothingly, tucking him more securely against his chest. “Alright, Danny. No hospitals. But I am going to call Batman for a pick up to get you to one of the people we trust for medical care.”

“But Batman doesn’t work in the day.” Danny’s too exhausted to sound confused, but it must go through anyways. Duke laughs lowly, and the sound helps unwind the last of his nerves coiled up tight in fear.

“Danny, it’s well into the night. You were gone for hours. Longest hours of my life.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles,

“Don’t be, it’s not your fault. Hang on, Batman’s nearly here.”

In any other circumstance, Danny would be excited to meet another hero. Especially Batman, one of the original heroes of the modern age. But all he wants is to go somewhere safe so he can curl up and cry, then sleep for three days before he pretends to be a normal human again. Ideally, he’d stay with Duke until he felt safe again, but he doesn’t want to take Duke away from the city that needs him.

His ears perk up a bit when he hears the smooth rumble of an engine stop in front of them. A door opens with a click without Duke needing to grab the handle, and then Danny is carefully being deposited in the back seat.

“Wait,” he says, trying to grab for Duke’s arm only to have his fingers fumble and grab nothing. Duke doesn’t move away, though, and instead grabs Danny’s seeking hand. “Stay? Please? I just—” his voice shudders, cracks, fractures apart. “I just want to feel safe.”

There’s a pause, a stillness in the air, before Duke says, “Okay. I’ll stay.” And then he’s sliding into the backseat, pulling Danny in to lean against him, curl into his embrace.

“Signal,” Batman’s low, gravelly voice says. There’s something in his tone that makes Danny tense up, prepared to take off, and his transformation pushes at his skin, ready to come out.

“He knows who I am, B,” Duke replies. “He’s trustworthy. Besides, just because he knows me doesn’t mean he knows you.”

“We will be discussing this later,” Batman says, dark promise in his voice. It’s just how he talks, Danny’s sure, too used to years of making himself the scariest thing in the dark. That doesn’t change the fact that Batman can be terrifying, and Danny can’t imagine he’ll take kindly to the fact that Danny knows Duke’s identity.

Fear slithers up his spine, and he can’t stop the transformation this time. The rings of white light flash over his body in a second, leaving Phantom in his place.

Danny lets go of his legs first, glad to be free from their aching weight, and without a body made of flesh and bone, the hurt begins to fade away until it’s just an unpleasant memory.

“What—” Duke starts to say just as Batman says, “Signal—”

They must have some sort of silent exchange. There’s only a heavy tension in the car and the barely audible rumble of the engine as they drive towards their destination, whatever it may be. Danny sinks into Duke some more, sighing in relief as a hand comes up to card through his wispy white hair.

“Danny,” Duke says, “What’s this?”

“It’s why they hurt me,” he mumbles against Duke’s chest. “It’s why they keep hunting me down. I want them to leave me alone. I’m tired.”

Embarrassingly, his voice cracks on the last word and more tears fall down his cheeks. He hears Duke move, and then hands, bare and gloveless, wipe his tears away with a gentleness that makes his heart ache.

“They won’t be able to hurt you again. You’ll be safe from now on, Danny, I swear it.”

“S’okay if I get hurt,” he says, “It always happens. Promise to save me if this happens again?”

“I’ll do whatever I can to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But if it does, then I promise to always save you. I gave you that panic button, didn’t I? As long as you keep it, I’ll always find you.”

“You’re a good person, Duke,” Danny says, voice falling quieter as his exhaustion catches up to him. “I’m glad I met you.”

He thinks he feels a soft touch to the top of his head. A kiss, maybe, though it’s not likely. But he wants comfort, and he’s endured a lot a pain so he allows himself to hope and be delusional. With the warm that spreads through him from Duke’s soft kiss to his head, Danny gives in to the siren call of slumber.

“Get some sleep, Danny,” Duke says, voice hushed. “I’ll stay with you as long as you need.”

I know, he doesn’t say, too tired to open his mouth again, You’re always here. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

He falls asleep easily after that. There’s nothing in the world that can hurt him while he’s in Duke’s arms. He’s never been safer.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #dp x dc fanfic #dc x dp fic #prompt fill #my writing #didnt quite get into it but duke and danny bond after always being in the library together!! they decide to study together and grow close #danny def has a crush but hes stressing out abt too much to think much on it.duke is crushing HARD and flirts with him as both duke & signa #anyways danny has mentioned that he's running away from people who want to hurt him and is safe in gotham for now #hes absolutely going to have to answer a lot of questions after he wakes up in the batcave with duke asleep on a chair next to him #batman in that car ride worried abt the identity breach and then mentally practicing his shovel talk bc he knows duke and danny are gonna #end up together. they're just acting soooo close and enamoured and kinda like him and (literally so many options. all of them ig)#danny is going to wake up. freak out. be interrogated. be given protection. and get a date all before alfred manages to get him to eat #good for him :)#thanks for the prompt!!

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