#Drugs mentioned but only about Jason's mom

[klemen-tine]

No Prince Charming

(Batfam x Mom!Reader)

Anonymous asked:

Hello, I really like your work.

I saw that you have an open request, so I want to share an idea that has been sitting in my head for a long time.

Reader married Bruce for convenience. (In my head, the reader is a woman, but I'll leave it to your taste) The wedding takes place shortly before the appearance of the first Robin. Bruce and reader have a cold relationship. Reader comes from the wealthy population of Gotham. Therefore, reader is well educated and intelligent. So after a while, when Dick already appears, reader understands what her husband does at night. But reading doesn't say anything about it or hint at it. The reader doesn't want to get involved in any of this, it scares her. And although the reader is planning a divorce, she takes care of all the members of her new family. And although she is neglected in the family, the reader becomes a parental figure for children. But the children won't admit it. When Damian appears, the reader doesn't say a word to Bruce. But Damian treats reader very badly. And that becomes the trigger. The reader slips Bruce the divorce papers.(not to mention that they are getting divorced, since Bruce is likely to protest) and when Bruce signs them, he leaves the estate, leaving the divorce papers and the wedding ring on the bed when no one notices. And only then does the family realize what they have done with their neglect of reader. Their yandere trait is waking up in them and now they need to somehow find their reader.

Sorry if it's too much.

And I apologize for the English, I am writing with a translator

❤

Warning: Non-consensual drugging, not descriptive sex. It's just mentioned, no details. Hinted at Dick's trauma with his sidekick.

It was a marriage of convenience. That's all it was. Bruce Wayne knew Y/N L/N since childhood, and while they weren’t close, Y/N was the only one who never treated him any differently after his parents were murdered. Maybe it's because her own father was murdered, and she understood that sometimes the greatest support was to act like nothing changed. 

Fast forward to young adults, Bruce Wayne was now Brucie in public, and Y/N was the unstoppable woman leading her own company by the reins. Bruce had come to her with an offer, one that had her brows raised and painted lips smirking. For Bruce Wayne, this will help solidify his position as someone who was not Batman, and for Y/N it would finally silence the hecklers that gnawed at her heels and bit into her shoulders. 

A frigid marriage, filled with cold greetings, Brucie still entertaining women, Y/N still controlling her company with painted lips, and rumors surrounding them. Despite the coldness, Y/N knew a lie when she saw one. She knows a front when she comes face to face with one, and it is why when she saw Batman in the hallways of Wayne manor, staring at her in shock and apprehension, she rolled her eyes and continued to sip her wine as she made her way back to her office. 

“Please don’t stain the carpet. Alfred just shampooed them.” They never brought it up again. Bruce was no Prince Charming, despite the front he put on for strangers. There were no whispered promises, no flowers, no gifts, nothing but ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes.’ 

Then, along came Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson. A child who had blinked up at her with large blue eyes, and Y/N could feel her heart crumble. She had welcomed him with open arms and smiles. She had welcomed all of the Robins in. Her manicured nails getting shorter each time, so she doesn’t have to fear hurting one of them, and her smiles became softer. Y/N had never tried to replace any of their mother’s, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel like one. 

But it was Bruce they had a closer bond with. Which is why they started following his behavior towards her. Clipped words and rolling of eyes were common, as were the cold shoulders and tense silences. 

“You’re not my mom! So stop asking how school was!” Y/N stared at Jason in shock and curiosity about where that outburst had come from. Alfred was the only one to say anything. A stern, “Master Jason,” and a look that had even Bruce cowering had the young boy apologizing. Y/N ignored the way her heart slowly broke, as the quirky child full of smiles, sass, and who loved classics, turned his back on her. 

As if she wasn’t the one to introduce those books to him. 

Y/N doesn’t blame them for their cold behavior towards her. She doesn’t blame Dick’s disregard, Jason’s hurtful words, Tim’s cynical looks, Steph’s taunts, and Damian’s heated actions.  

Y/N had cried at Jason’s funeral, she helped Bruce fight for custody for Tim, she had consoled Dick after some of his own traumatic experiences, and she sat there and listened as Damian compared her and Talia. Talia, of all people. She had met the woman once, and Y/N had nodded at her. Y/N never judged Bruce for sleeping with the woman. Hell, Y/N would have too.  Y/N can recall the day Damian came to their manor, and the short look Dick had given her when she and the child made eye contact. 

Y/N doesn’t know if it was a look of concern or mockery, but she knows he did look. 

She was there for Richard when his trauma with his sidekick happened. He may have never told her, but Y/N is a woman. A woman who has known people that have suffered the same way Dick has. That are still suffering like he is. 

“I’m sorry Richard.” 

“What do you even know?! You know nothing! Absolutely nothing so just butt out!” Dick glared at her with blue eyes that had put the arctic water to shame. Y/N stood there and took it all. She stood proudly with her shoulders back and chin up. 

In public, she was a stoic mother keeping the children in check while Bruce goofed off. She was the woman who failed her children, because she chose to continue running her business. Her very, very, very successful business. A business that had taken her and her mother from the bottom of High Society, to the top 10%. A series of great investments, smart marketing, and pretty words have lined her pockets with money that she could easily retire on. 

Yet, all that money couldn’t save her mother. The woman died of a heart attack, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing Y/N could do besides bury her mother. 

“Bruce please.” 

“I am busy.” 

“I know but Bruce, this is my–” 

“Ask Alfred.” He had turned his back and Y/N was stuck staring at the retreating man with a new feeling of heartbreak. The tabloids ate up that she was alone at her mother’s funeral. A private event that no one was allowed into besides close family and friends. 

When she came back, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped, Damian had picked the time to make his disdain known again, “–and my mother would have never let herself go like that. You look horrid, unbefitting of a Wayne. A disgrace.” 

Blank E/C eyes stared into raging green and she sighed, “Thanks, Damian.” She spared him no glance after that, and she walked towards her bedroom to take a hot shower. It was there, under the hot spray of water that she finally cried. She cried for the last part of family she had, and the years she lost from marrying a man who didn’t even like her enough to attend a godforsaken fucking funeral. She cried for the children she couldn’t even call her own. 

She cried for the life she missed by marrying Bruce fucking Wayne. 

“Honey, are you happy?” 

“Of course Mama.” 

“You never could lie to me sweetie.” Her mother kissed her forehead and looked into E/C eyes with nothing but love, “You’ve worked so hard, sweetie.” That acknowledgement alone had her almost in tears, “But please start working for yourself now.” 

Taking a deep breath, Y/N hopped out of the shower and called her lawyer. Divorce papers were in her hands within 24 hours, and her bags packed in 3. 

She stood next to Bruce, ignoring the scowl on his face as she ‘disrupted’ his work. Y/N kept her face neutral, because if she smiled it would give it all away, and handed him the page he needed to sign. 

For a billionaire and for a vigilante, he sure didn’t read the damn paper. Which is fine. Great even, because now, after being here for over a decade, Y/N is free. She laughed in her room, laughing so hard that it almost tore her throat. Leaving a copy of it on Bruce’s bed once he was gone, she grabbed her suitcase and accidentally ran into Alfred on her way out the door. 

The old man took a look at her clothes, her bags, and her expression before sighing, “Shall I drive you for the last time, Lady Y/N?” Y/N smiled, bitterly at the thought of leaving Alfred, her only solace in this cold mansion. 

“To the airport, please.” The ride was silent, and Y/N didn’t look back as they left the gates of the mansion. It wasn’t until they were halfway there that Y/N spoke up, “My lawyer will call in a few days, just to hash out the details.” 

“Is that so?” 

“There’s nothing I want. No assets, no money, nothing will be taken, I just want a divorce.” She just wants the law to recognize that she is not a Wayne. That she will never be a Wayne. 

“Lady Y/N, perhaps a check for compensation for the emotional strain would be nice?” Y/N laughed, bitterly and sad, “I don’t want his money. I want nothing to do with him anymore.” 

“And the kids?” 

“They don’t need me. They never did. I doubt they will even notice.” Gotham International Airport wasn’t crowded, and that may be because it was 1pm on a Tuesday. Alfred helped her with her bags, and the old man stared at the woman before him. He remembers meeting her for the first time, a confident young woman who had a way with words and was unfairly intelligent. Matching wits and able to speak confidently in a room of people who thought little of her. 

It's good to see some of that coming back. 

Y/N hugged Alfred, “Thank you, Alfred. For everything.” The older man sighed and watched as the woman took her bags and walked away. Not once did she look back and Alfred decided to stay until her form disappeared in the building. He sighed heavily and when got back in the car, he dialed a number he knew by heart. It only took three rings before the voice of the man he raised answered, “Alfred, is everything okay?” 

“Master Bruce, I fear you may have lost something precious, and I do hope you, and the young masters, have a plan to make this up to them.” He hung up afterwards as he merged into traffic, and he hoped his message finally hit something within his son’s dense skull. 

When he returned back to the manor, he began the preparation for making dinner. All was silent throughout the manor, until the door opened and the rush of the footsteps began marching towards him. 

“Master Richard, I urge you to not run.” 

“Bruce told me there was an emergency and to hurry to the manor?” Alfred sighed, “While it is an emergency, it is not one you can fix on your own.” No, this was something for Bruce to fix seeing tha all the problems stemmed from him. 

Dick raised a brow, “What kind of emergency is it?” Alfred pursed her lips, “Miss Y/N Wayne is now Miss Y/N L/N once more.” He turned to look the man he has considered his grandson in the eyes, and he could see the revelation sink in. 

“Y/N divorced Bruce?” Alfred nodded, “The papers have been signed.” 

“Bruce would never sign those papers.” Alfred raised a brow, “They are signed and waiting for him to read.” Dick slowly walked out of the kitchen, “Is she still here?” Alfred turned back to the food and Dick began speed walking towards Y/N’s room. As a child it never occurred to him why they would they never slept together, but as he got older he understood. 

He knocked on her doors, calling her name like he used to as a kid. 

Dick had always understood that Bruce’s and Y/N’s relationship was not one of a couple in love. He also understood that Y/N’s treatment in the manor by the residents of the manor was unfair. Whenever he could, he would correct Damian’s harsh words, but even he himself couldn’t fully bring himself to be all that kind to her. 

He tried. He desperately tried, because he saw all that she did for them behind the scenes. He saw the mistreatment and judging looks others would give her as her ‘husband’ was out fooling around. 

Dick saw the blank look she had given Damian after her mother’s funeral. The one none of them had gone too. 

“What do you mean you didn’t go?” His voice panicked as he talked to Tim, “I didn’t go. I was under the assumption someone else would go.” 

Y/N could have been Gotham’s biggest bitch, but not even then would she have deserved that. What made it worse was that Y/N was not a bitch. She wasn’t cruel, or unkind. She was as much of a philanthropist as Bruce was. Always aiding those whose needed it and desperately trying to make Gotham a better place. 

Dick opened her doors and was greeted with an empty room. Gone were the picture frames, and the closet was empty along with the bathroom. Her prized jewlery, the things she took care of almost obsessively, all of it was gone. 

He could remember beng 9 and sitting next to her as she cleaned one of her sapphire earrings. Thin fingers with long nail held the earring next to him, a scrutinizing look on her face before she would break out into a grin, “As I thought, nothing could ever compare to our Dickie’s sapphire eyes.”

“Holy shit.” 

“What’s going on- why is Y/N’s room empty?” Tim looked throughout the room, and Dick could see the wonder across his younger brother’s face. Right, between all of them, Tim and Y/N had the least amount of time spent together. 

Dick stared at his brother as the image of Y/N smiling at a string of pearls entered his mind. She had explained to him when he asked that pearls, while feminine, also symbolized new beginnings. She had gotten it when Tim’s custody was signed over to the Waynes. 

“She’s gone.” Tim met Dick’s eyes, “Like… taking a vacation gone?” Dick gave a humorless chuckle, “She divorced Bruce, Tim. Y/N is gone.” This must have been what Alfred saw when he broke the news to Dick. The confusion and then realization coming to light in those blue eyes. 

“Bruce would never sign those papers.” Dick had said the same thing, and yet here she was. Gone. As if to emphasize his point, Dick made an exaggerated expression and motioned to the empty room. 

Tim looked around and he could feel a headache forming, “Bruce is gonna be pissed.” Dick groaned, “Fuck Bruce for a second, the only stable-mentally healthy-adult figure that isn’t Alfred is gone, Tim.” The boy didn’t look all that bothered, “Well, if she’s happier then I don’t mind.” 

Of course he doesn’t mind. Why? Because this little stalker most likely knows where she’s going. Tim did a good job hiding it, but Dick was raised by Bruce. He is trained to spot the mciroexpressions of people, and even if they are his own siblings. 

Tim is panicking. The very thought of Y/N leaving had not once occurred to them, and for Tim who loves planning, this was not once ever in the plans. 

Not once. Y/N had been a staple within the manor, and to imagine her not being here was rough. Evenw hen she left for business trips, it was fine because they all knew she was coming back. SHe would come back with souvenirs, handing each of them something that reminhded her of them, before running upstairs to get out of the family’s judgemental line of sight. 

“Fucking hell.” 

++++

Bruce entered the condo with ease. His steps light as he walked through the dark room, noting the all the furniture. There was no Y/N in the living room or kitchen, but when he looked out the balcony door, he could see her back. She was leaning against the edge of the infinity pool, without doubt a hot tub of some sorts because it was too cold to be swimming in a regular pool. 

She didn’t even turn around to look at him, her attention focused on the view of the snowy mountains and raging seas in front of her. Bruce could see the wine bottle left on the side of the pool and the glass that looked like it was finished only a short while ago. When she did turn around, E/C reflected the stars and dimly lit light around the pool, making them shine and sparkle like they were the galaxy.

Bruce isn’t blind. He knows Y/N is an attractive woman who had many people lusting after her even when they were married. Talia even made a note of it, “You should see if she wants to join next time.” He should have known that his clipped response was a sign. 

It was all there, and yet he did everything within his power to ensure that he would not fall in love with her. Falling in love has always been out of the question, and when Y/N came into his life, Bruce made it his mission to do just that. The woman before him had never complained, and she never seemed to fault him for it, but he could tell there was resentment. If he couldn’t have allowed himself to fall in love with her, he could have at least offered her friendship. One that made life more bearable for the both of them, and set a good example for the kids. 

“What are you doing, Bruce?” She didn’t seem shocked that he was here, let alone in her vacation condo. Bruce took off his shirt and pants, stripping down to his boxers before joining her in the hot tub. He had grabbed two glasses of wine before doing so, handing her one and taking a sip from the other. 

 “Is it wrong of me to want to join my wife on her vacation?” 

“Ex-wife. The documents are signed, and besides this is a girl trip.” Bruce re-read those documents and kicked his foot for not fucking reading them when he first signed them. He should have known she was up to something. 

“Y/N, come back to the manor.” He stared into E/C eyes as she took another sip of the wine. Bruce had come with a speech prepared, ready to convince her to come back with him, but it was all lost as he stared and observed the woman in front of him drink delicately from the glass. Y/N L/N has always been a woman of class, even when she was near the bottom of high society. It wasn’t her good looks that landed her in the top 10, possibly even top 5%, and like every classy woman, she was only allowed to regret a few things. Their marriage is one, but leaving is not even an option on the list of things she wants to regret but can’t. 

He knows this. She knows this. 

And yet, Bruce could only focus on how beautiful she looks, and how beautiful she would look sprawled on the silk bed sheets. Y/N has aged like fine wine, looking even more beautifully and worth more and more with each passing year. Aging gracefully and beautifully as the years passed and still catching the attention of others. 

It's a shame his younger self was more into whiskey than wine. 

He wonders how different their relationship would be if he had gotten to know her before and during the early years of their marriage. Without a doubt it would be easier to talk to her. Easier to convince her to come back to a manor that now misses her.

“And why should I?” It’d be easier to answer her with a compelling reason, one that would have her actually debating on whether or not to come back. Bruce reached over and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and he’s shocked that she even let him do that. She didn’t flinch, nor did she lean into his touch. Y/N stood still as he moved the H/C lock behind her ears. 

“The manor misses you.” He’s never heard her laugh the way she did in that moment. Throwing her head back and exposing unblemished skin to the night air as she laughed, and continued to laugh. Her shoulders shaking from the force and slightly distilling the wine. 

Once she was done, her cheeks were red from the laughter and she was gasping for breath, “Yeah, okay. So Alfred misses me, I’ll make sure to give him a call then.” She turned her back to Bruce and began walking towards the edge of the pool. 

“The boys, girls, and I do too.” Chateau Petra was on his lips and the feeling of cold wine hitting his face and upper chest had him closing his eyes for a second. When he opened them, Y/N’s wine glass was empty and on her face was a hard expression. Cold E/C eyes glaring into his as she pulled herself out of the pool, and grabbed the rest of the wine bottle. 

“Sleep on the couch. You’re going home tomorrow.” Her steps quiet as she stalked into her home and she headed for the bathroom. Bruce sighed, and stared at the night sky with a new look in his eyes, ‘Desperate times call for desperate measures.’ He would like to believe that he is above this. He wants to believe that this was the worst case scenario happening and therefore this needs to happen. 

Has to. The very thought of Y/N being away caused an itch to form under his skin and a burning fire in his chest. A fire he never knew blazed in him until it went out. Now, more aware and protective of it, Bruce found himself craving the warmth in ways that had his mouth foaming and muscles tensing. He looked down at the water and saw the red wine diluting and sprawling throughout the pool water, looking like blood for only a second. 

A smile curled on his lips and he pulled himself out of the pool water, drying himself off before making his way into the shower with his ‘ex-wife.’ They may have never been lovers, but they were two adults living under the same roof. 

So, of course they have had sex. 

Hate sex is the best and worst sex. It is the best because Bruce can go as hard as he wants to and Y/N will love it. It is the worse because hate sex is all Y/N will see this as. Y/N will only see it has hate sex and not for the love Bruce feels for her. She won’t feel it in the way he caresses her skin or in the way he leaves his bite marks on her thighs. All Y/N will see this as, is hate sex. 

Which is fine. If hate sex is what Y/N needs to see this as to work then Bruce will take it. He has time. He has plenty of time to show her how much he cares and loves her. Those divorce papers will be long gone, every single one of those copies non-existent. He loves her. He loves her in the way a cactus loves the sun, or how the stars love the moon. 

Bruce was so enamored by her, that he couldn’t help but to fall deeper. Her soft hands, that have never broken a bone but have broken many hearts, cradling scarred shoulders and sharp cheeks. She didn’t flinch when his own rough hands gripped her’s, bruising and secure, and she didn’t flinch when intense blue eyes met hers. In fact, she smiled, like this was all a joke he was the butt of it. 

It pissed him off that even she could have secrets and inside jokes that he doesn’t know about. As she laid there, her eyes now closed and body relaxed, Bruce pulled out a syringe filled with something that will keep her asleep. Only for a few days. Barbara is already working on getting rid of the divorce papers and the kids were preparing for her return. 

Bruce kissed her forehead, smiling down at his Sleeping Beauty. If need be, the manor will be her castle and the kids her vines covered in thorns. Bruce, in all his daunting and terrifying glory shall be the dragon, keeping her locked within her castle because nowhere was safer than the castle. Only she could keep him calm, and only she could make him feel human. 

Batman was never Prince Charming.

_________________________________________________________

Not my best work in my opinion... but I still like tbh.

@problematicreblogger

@kurai-hono-blog

@rosecentury

#yandere batfam #yandere dc #platonic yandere #batfam x reader #platonic batfam #batfam #platonic batman #bruce wayne #batman x reader #yandere dick grayson #yandere jason todd #yandere tim drake #yandere damian wayne #alfred pennyworth

[the-daydreaming-show]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞 — “I am, I have been, and I was born hungry.”

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: An abandoned son makes a decision. The cared for son is taken away.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫(𝐬): Bruce Wayne X ScarletWitch!Reader; Jason Todd x Batmom!ScarletWitch!Reader; Tim Drake x Batmom!ScarletWitch!Reader; Jason Todd x Tim Drake.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: kidnapping, mention of PTSD, weapons, threats (silent), drugs and forced drug use, death of Janet Drake, and mention of Jack Drake in the hospital, Jason is mansplaining, manipulating and manslaughter his way through this sequel.

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: This took a while because I had a precise plan for this sequel, but writing this chapter, something possessed me and changed everything. So, now I'm not sure what's going to happen, it's all in destiny hands now on!!!

Thanks to our beta reader, the wonderful @igotmessymind for her work, as always, I appreciate you very much!!

Now, I would like to make a special mention of @andieperrie18, who made a playlist base on the Batmom Scarlet Witch.

And I need you to admire this masterpiece, because this playlist doesn't just include songs. NOO, It also has dialogue between Batmom and Bruce at the beginning, and it's just gold. Also go to check the other playlist in her channel, they have some good stuff. The small talks and slow dancing with Bruce Wayne is one of my favorites!!!

So, thank you very much to you @andieperrie18 for your love and the dedication it took to make this playlist. I don't have enough words to show my adoration and gratitude for this playlist. So everyone, please go give them love to the playlist while reading this chapter!!

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐬 / Prelude / Next Part

Jason knew he was not walking on good ground. He hadn't been since he was revived in the Lazarus Pit. He hadn't been when he had killed criminals to try to control Gotham's crime. Nor when he had to escape from Arkham Asylum after Batman had locked him there, under the excuse that it was best for him.

Lies. 

All were lies.

He knew it now more than ever as he looked at his wall.

Jason was sitting in an old chair facing the wall, where a variety of photos, newspaper clippings, maps, and notes were displayed. 

Seeing that wall told him that he was definitely slipping into a new territory of madness. 

But-he-couldn't-stop. It was like he was on a slide, and he couldn't dig his heels in to stop. A part of him didn't want to stop. 

Just as he hadn't wanted to soften the news of his return to Bruce, that part of Jason wanted revenge with every atom of his true self. And now it was pushing him towards that wall. 

Another part of him, though, didn't want to do this. It was the part that still made him want to put his hands in his mouth to eat his cuticles, like he had done as a child. That part wanted to approach you on the street, and calmly let you explain why you hadn't sought him out. So that he could move on somehow, in a way that would make you proud of how Jason had handled everything.

But you had abandoned him.

After Bruce found out he was alive, Jason had hoped that once he told you all of it, you'd show up at his door. Jason had been ready to listen to your logical arguments and leave the whole killing thing behind. 

¿Who cared about revenge and Gotham if there was a chance to get back with his mom? 

Not to Jason.

You didn't; you never showed up. 

And now the part that wanted revenge was screaming too loud for him to hear anything else.

So there he was, sitting in a chair, arms crossed, as he carefully admired the wall he had created.

There were pictures of you picking up Timothy Drake from school, taking him shopping, hugging him at galas, and chatting with him at fashion events. Events that you had probably only been invited to, but you had convinced the team to let you take someone else, the same way you did with Jason when he was young. You probably took him to eat at your favorite restaurant every Friday after school, like they did with him. You probably also turned off the light in his room every night after saying goodnight, like you did with Jason.

No shame; you had given everything that was Jason's to that boy. 

That's why you weren't looking for him when you found out he was alive. You had replaced him with that kid, the same way Bruce had, and you deserved the same kind of punishment.

You deserved his revenge. And you will receive it.

You were in your office, in your brand's office building, a few blocks from Wayne Tower, where your entire clothing brand has done most of its business since you married Bruce. The official and original store of your brand is still in Metropolis, where it all started, but you moved the main offices to Gotham when you got married. So all of your children spent time between Wayne Tower and your building.

Usually, that was where they ended up after school.

Tim was supposed to go there after school. Typically, you would go pick him up. But that day he was staying a few extra hours at school for his Debate Club, and he would walk with his friends to their houses and meet you before you left the office that afternoon. So you were surprised when, as you were evaluating some new designs, your phone lit up with your youngest son's phone number.

“Mom,” Tim’s voice immediately sounded on the other end of the phone when you answered. He sounded nervous.

“Tim, honey,” you said, looking up at the clock. “Did I forget to pick you up?”, and immediately, your mind goes into paranoia, convinced that Tim had asked you to go look for him, and that's why he was calling you, and you had forgotten.

“No, no. Mom, it's fine,” he assured you quickly. You could hear chatter in the background, like someone was encouraging him to talk. “Mom, do you know today is Friday, right?”

Obviously, you remembered that it was Friday. On Fridays, when Tim came home from school, the two of you would go out to dinner at your favorite restaurant as a traditional mother-son activity.

“Yes, I've noticed,” you said, closing the sketchbook to give the boy your full attention.

“And we always go to eat at Julián's on Fridays after school, without fail,” he continues explaining. You assumed he was going somewhere, so you murmured an affirmation. “Well, you saw Dylan, my chemistry classmate. He and others are going to eat at a pizzeria near the school, and they invited me. After eating, we are all going to go to his house to play video games. If you're okay with that, I would like to go. Or I'll just go eat and go back home early. I-” Tim was already in babbling territory; you could barely contain your laughter when you interrupted him.

“It's okay, Tim. I don’t mind a change of plans, darling,” you assured him, and you could see his shoulders relax even from your building. “I'll take advantage and visit your father's office; I'll ask him to accompany me on an impromptu date.”

“Okay, okay. Yes, that sounds good.” Tim was smiling as big as he could, while around him, his classmates were singing victory for the afternoon they had organized. “I'll let you know where we are and call you when it's time to come home. I love you.”

Before you could tell him that he didn't need to tell you exactly where to be and at what time, Tim hung up the call, too excited about the whole thing. To which you inevitably laughed, happy that Tim had an activity, say a boy his age, and that he was so excited about it. You had met Dylan a couple of times; he was a good kid, so you were sure everything would be fine.

Jason watched Tim walk with his friends all night.

After observing him for weeks, he realized that the chic lived based on a fairly consistent routine. One that repeated itself almost around the clock for some reason, but Jason suspected that it had to do with the post-traumatic stress the boy must have had after the Joker's attack on his biological parents the year before. The boy's mother was six meters underground, and his father was on medical care for life because of all this. Jason almost felt bad for him. Almost.

This also meant that you and Bruce were very aware of the boy's routine, so if Tim were to disappear for even a couple of hours, it would ruin your plan. So he chanced it, waiting for the ideal moment to feed his need for revenge.

So when the sixteen-year-old decided to leave school one afternoon in the company of a group of other kids his age, he was clearly not on his way to your office like he usually did.

Jason took the phone out of his pocket and gave the order to start.

The group of friends went into a hidden, but sufficiently crowded, pizzeria a few blocks from the house of the boy Dylan, to whom Tim seemed closest in the group.

Jason had quickly discovered that Tim was a smart kid. He was too smart for Jay to trick him or accidentally cause him to fall into a trap of some kind.

But he had also discovered that Tim was, like Bruce, an idiot for justice.

He had watched him risk his life more than necessary for civilians while he ran around as Robin, when Jason from afar could have found about five ways to save the civilians without getting in the way. Tim jumped in to save them with his own hands every time there was a lethal risk. It could be that the weight of not having helped his parents was still eating him alive too.

But one way or another, Jason would use that to his advantage.

Jason walked into the pizzeria, followed by five other men he knew Tim would recognize. It was because he had gotten them out of jail, especially because Robin had dragged them and put them there, with the aim of getting them to help him. The proposed men didn't know he was there for that reason; they were just doing their job for the money, unaware of the mental games Jason was playing with the teenager.

And Tim Drake understood what was going to happen the moment he saw Jason. She looked him in the eyes and smiled as she casually glanced at the table of the group of friends, who were still wearing their school uniforms.

“Timothy, little one,” Jason greeted casually, putting his hands in his pockets and watching as Tim's eyes went to the way that movement revealed the reflection of a gun on his hip. “I've been looking for you!!”

Jason knew exactly how Tim would react and looked at the situation. They had both been trained by the same man at the end of the day. They were a reflection of each other, and that is why it was a dangerous game. “Are you hungry, Timothy? Because I am starving.”

Jason wasn't talking about the pizzas, and Tim knew it quickly. But he couldn't do anything, not with Jason so armed and clearly accompanied. Both were surrounded by so many civilians, and Tim's friends. His new friends, who had been patient with him and had accepted him into his group, which he had been joining since they were children. But they still tried to integrate him and invited him to things, again and again, until that day he accepted for the first time in months.

The table had fallen silent at the extra situation, but Tim seemed to know the stranger who had sat down, so they didn't say anything. But Dylan, as kind and caring as he was, saw the way the color had drained from Tim's face. So he spoke.

“Don't worry, Dylan,” Jason told him, which took Dylan by surprise since he had never told the stager his name, and he got genuinely worried now. “He just needs something to drink; he's just dehydrated. Timmy works a lot and doesn’t take care of himself.”

While talking to Dylan, Tim watched as Jason grabbed his glass of soda that he had been drinking while they waited for the pizzas. Without anyone else noticing, Tim watched as Jason dropped a pill into the drink, which was probably intended to knock him out, or at least drug him enough to make it manageable for Jason.

All without anyone else noticing, just so he could see it and know what was going on. He was faced with the reality that he couldn't do anything, and he couldn't fight, not at such a potential price. He was trapped. 

It made Tim feel alarmingly alone, despite being surrounded by people.

“Here, drink something.” Jason handed him the glass, where the gas from the soda easily hid the bubbles that the pill made as it dissolved. “It will do you good.”

The two stood face-to-face for a moment as the older brother offered the glass, and Jason didn't need to make the threat for Tim to understand. 

Or Tim drank the soda and voluntarily sedated himself. Or he would get him out of there in a much more aggressive way. And some bullets could be lost in that situation, so Jason could make sure that his friends were the ones who received them.

Tim could see the decapitated bodies of Black Mask's lieutenants, found shortly after Red Hood appeared in Gotham, before Bruce discovered his identity.

So he grabbed the glass and brought it to his mouth. Tim gave Jason a last pleading look, to which the boy just smiled sweetly. And your youngest son just wanted to scream for you, but you didn't know Jason was alive, and you suspected that's exactly what Jason wanted.

He wouldn't put you in danger.

Bruce would handle everything; Tim trusted that.

Tim downed the glass of soda in four gulps and didn't remember anything else after that.

𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: @some-lovely-day @simonsbluee @yuki-chan23 @miyakana @myst3batz @otchae @d3m0n8ch1ld @marsenbie @mynameisnotlaura @andieperrie18 @totallynotme420 @igotmessymind @amarawayne @calsjack @kodzukenmaaa @mellowdiy @noah-uhhh-what @blarba-girl @dead-sane-stuff @huhuhhuhh @ashlynnmalfoy @kimmis-stuff @undecided-shipper @justafanficsreader @poppyalice2001 @holdyuhmuda @jiabae @mara-moon @avitute @lafrone

#batfamily x reader #all for us #jason todd x batmom #batmom #tim drake x batmom #batmom!reader #batfam x reader #dick grayson x batmom #scarletwitch!batmom!reader #scarletwitch!reader #bruce wayne x fem!reader #batfam imagine #batfamily #batfamily x batmom

[planetwaynez]

RUNRUNRUN

Stalker!Jason Todd X Fem!reader

Notes: I was at the gym today and RUNRUNRUN by Dutch Melrose started playing and I just got this thought about Jason being a stalker. So this is heavily inspired by that song and by Devil's Night by Penelope Douglas. Also this is my first smut, so please be kind <3

WARNINGS: SMUT! stalking behavior, toxic thoughts, toxic behavior, explicit sex scene, mentions of drugs and alcohol, mentions of being stalked, mentions of stalking, breaking in, non consensual consensual recording, chasing someone in the woods, crude words, stalker!Jason, he is kind of a misogynistic guy... if there is more, let me know, I might have missed something! +18! Enjoy <3

Words: 3,4k

Synopsis: He can't control himself anymore, after months of watching you he has to have you all to himself.

TAGS: @fandxmslxt69 @iglowinggemma28

The neon lights give the house an eerie look, the music is loud and the young Uni students are high or drunk at this point. But I am not. I keep my gaze on her and I know that just not drunk or high, she is always sober. I know her like I know myself, and I know I can't wait anymore to have her under me.

Her costume is ridiculously cute, the white flowy dress with fake blood splashed in it makes her look like a predator even though she is my prey. She just doesn't know it. The ripped veil is sitting perfectly in her braided hair and her heels gave her legs a delicate look. She is the most beautiful corpse bride of this stupid Halloween party. 

My grip tights in my plastic cup when I see a guy approaching my girl, he is clearly flirting with what is mine and I feel anger boil in my stomach. I want to go there, grab her by the waist and drag her to my apartment and do unspeakable things to my little one. But not yet. I need her alone and tonight is the perfect night to finally have her.

I've been watching her for months. I know the way she likes her coffee in the morning, what is her favorite sandwich, what is her favorite shirt and her favorite pair of shoes. I know she doesn't wear her glasses when she is home, even though she needs them. I know her week schedule and her favorite classes and which one she is failing. I love to watch her through the cameras I put in her apartment. I love to see her dancing around the kitchen or to watch her pleasuring herself in the shower after a frustrating date with a stupid guy. She doesn't know yet but I am the only one for her.

I watch as her friend goes upstairs with a random guy and my little one stays alone in the corner, with her bottle of water and her cute outfit. I walk slowly to her, taking off the paintball mask I am using tonight, it's red and black and it looks like I slit someone's throat and it splashed on it. It 's perfect. 

"What are you doing all alone here, corpse bride?" I ask with a friendly smile on my face, she looks at me and she smiles. I know how she likes to be persuade, and I won't waste my opportunity. 

"My friend ditched me for some guy" she answers, turning her whole body in my direction, giving me her full attention. 

"That's too bad, you look too pretty to be all alone by yourself" she laughs, in that way that I know she's flirting. And it's with me. 

"Do you think so?" She asks, lining in my direction so I can smell her additive perfume. I want to throw her on my shoulder and flee with her. Instead I take a deep breath and smile again.

"I do, Little One" I step closer, wanting to touch her but I let her choose what comes next. 

She opens her mouth to say something when someone calls her, it's one of her friends and they want to go home, after all it's almost 3A.M and I know she has an important place to be tomorrow with her mom. 

"Sorry, big guy, I have to go" and she steps back, still smiling and walking backwards to her friends. I fist my hands, I had her. I had her and now she is leaving. 

I watch her go to her friend's car and put my mask back on, I jump on my bike and go after her. I need to know she is going home and I will be there when she comes to our future home.

…

I wait patiently in her room, in the corner sitting in her desk chair, surrounded by her perfume making my head drown in thoughts of her.

I hear the front door open and her giggles with her friends, then there's just the sound of her feet on the cold floor of the apartment. 

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, savoring the moment. She opens her bedroom door and flicks the light on.

I am still wearing my mask and I open my eyes to see her at the door, frozen with fear. This is going to be fun.

"This is not fun, Kyle," she says. Oh, stupid Kyle, her friend that loves pranks. She thinks I am him? That 's insulting. "You need to stop with your pranks"

I just keep breathing and look at her, she doesn't move either, my little one stays at the door, staring at me. Under the mask, I smirk.

"Kyle?" She asks again, her feet moving away from the bedroom. I stand up, stalking her like a predator stalks a prey and I can already sense her fear. 

"You really need to stop this, Kyle" she keeps backtracking, with her hand up, sweat trailing down her throat. I really want to grab her throat while I fuck her senseless. 

"You know I am not him, baby" I say, my voice deeper than normal from being silent for a long time. She gulps and takes a run to the living room door. 

I go after her and, right before she gets to her freedom I grab her by her arms, throwing her at the ground. 

"Who are you?" She asks and I tsk with my tongue at her, such a silly little girl. 

"This doesn't need to be so difficult, you know?" I say, crunching down to talk to her, near her pretty face. "You just gotta be a good girl for me" 

She shivers and tries to escape again, but I pin her down with my own body. I need to suppress a moan when I finally feel her so close. 

"Please let me go" she whispers, begging so pretty for her freedom, however I don't intend to give it back to her.

"Sorry, Little One, but I can't" I get close to her, closer to her neck and inhaling her perfume. "You are mine now."

She cries out, desperately trying to get out of my grip. I chuckle and just for fun, let her go. 

She gets on her feet and takes a deep breath and looks at me with all the determination she can gather inside her. Cute.

I stand between her and her door, but I know my Little One and she launches herself to her window, to get to the fire escape staircase. I let her, because I know she won't be able to reach the street. My intentions are to take her to the woods, behind her apartment building. 

I let her go and give her a minute of advantage, calmly I go to the window and climb down stairs, looking at her distress, before she can gather herself and run in the direction of the street, I stand in front of her, her head is low and she's catching her breath. She looks up and visibly shrinks.

"You have fifteen seconds of advantage, Little One. After that, I am going after you" she gasps and tries to go in the opposite direction, but I push her back. She falls into the floor, her butt hitting the concrete and she whimpers. "Remember what I said? This doesn't have to be difficult, just do what I say."

She gets up and looks behind her, taking a deep breath, she runs for the woods and I howl watching my little one be my good girl. 

I walk slowly to the woods, taking my time and letting her advantage be taken, even though I know fifteen seconds are nothing. There's not a single thing that will keep her from me.

So when I get to the edge of the woods I howl once again and run to where I know she went. 

…

My girl is predictable, I know she will stick with the trailed path of the wood that runners and wickers use, so I have to be the bad guy once again.

I am close to her, she is panting and probably crying her pretty eyes out, she's also filled with hope that by the end of the trail she will find help. However that won't happen. 

I get her in my arms once again and she finally screams. With everything that she got so I put my hand in her mouth, silencing her and throwing her in the woods ground. She looks at me and I can see the anger in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" She knows why I am doing this, she is not a dummy like most people think. 

"You know why I am doing this" I reply, watching every move of hers attentively. She stands up, backtracking until she is against a tree and I walk to her, her eyes are focused on me and only me. That makes me feel like the king of the world, having her attention.

"Because you are crazy." She says, and I sigh. Not the right answer. 

"Try again, Little One" she looks away, tears in her eyes and her brief moment of confidence shattering. I don't like this.

"I know who you are," she sniffs, holding back her tears. Her hair is a mess and I just want to hold her in my arms. "You are the guy that put the cameras in my apartment."

I smile. I knew she would remember. 

A month ago my pretty girl found one of my cameras and from there, she was smart enough to find the other ones. She didn't take them out. She left them there.

"Exactly. I am also the guy from the party" she gasps and looks at me again, I can't see her pulse quickening in neck and I need to wet my lips to not devour her right here.

"The guy with the teal eyes." Oh, was I so remarkable to her? I smirk. I suppose I was. I suppose I am.

"Yes, baby, so if you remember me so well and know about the cameras and never took them off, why are you running?" She gulps. She is searching for a way out. 

I step just a little bit closer, just close enough that our breathings are mixing together. 

"You like the chase as much as I do, don't you?" I ask but she doesn't answer, my little one just runs again, this time further into the woods.

And I go after her. Because she can complain as much as she wants, run away as much as she wants, if she didn't want me she would have called the cops when she found out about the cameras. She is just as mad as I am.

…

She's hidden somewhere in the woods. The moon is higher in the sky and it seems like the night got darker as time went on. Have been chasing her for almost an hour by now and I know she's tired. She's a sedentary, a moment or another she will crumble. Her body will give into its urges.

I step into dead leaves and tree branches on purpose. I want her to hear me and I want her to know where I am. 

In the quiet of the night she made a mistake, her breathing got louder and I know she is hidden behind a big tree, just a few steps away from me. I walk to her and she runs. Again. 

I like the chase, but I am getting tired of her running from me. My patience is over.

I run faster than her and grab her throat, pushing her body against mine. She takes a deep breath and stops squirming, we are in the middle of the woods, just the two of us.

"You are mine now, Little One." I tell her and she does exactly what she should have done earlier. She gives in.

Her body relaxes against mine and she whimpers. "I can't lie to you, I've been enjoying your attention." 

That makes my cock harder on my pants and I growl against her ear.  "I know. And I enjoyed every single show that you performed for me" I tell her and she squirms, trying to turn around. 

"Please, I've been dying to know your name" I turn her to me and pin her against a tree, my hand still on her neck. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes glossy. 

I take off my mask and let her see me, my little one wets her lips and arch her back, trying to get closer and closer.

"Jason" I answer her and I love the smile that crosses her face. 

"Jason" she moans, closing her eyes and enjoying my name on her tongue. "I finally have a name to call out." 

I growl again, pushing myself against her making her open her legs, letting me rest my hard on against her covered pussy. 

"Oh, Little One… I can't wait to have you" with one hand I caressed her bottom lip and the other goes to her hair. 

"From me you can't have everything you want, Jason" And I kiss her, open mouthed, our tongues touching and her hands grabbing my hair. Our hips moving together. I need her.

One of my hands goes to her right breast, holding it and flicking her perked nipple through the fabric of her flimsy dress. She moans so prettily against my lips. 

"Please" she bags as I distance myself from her, memorizing her features and her lustful look.

"Please what, baby?" I kiss her neck, biting and licking, making her whimper and move her body against me.

"Please, take my dress off" I mumble happily, taking her dress slowly, enjoying the view. 

I know what she's wearing underneath, I watched her get dressed through the cameras. But still, I stop and lick my lips, loving the view. No bra, just white lacy panties that barely cover her. I let my hand travel through her body until they are on her ass cheeks, hoist her up and make her cross her legs on my waist.

I rip off her panties, and she closes her eyes, biting her lower lip. She looks beautiful.

I let myself enjoy some more and collect her wetness on two of my thick fingers, playing with her clit and making her whimper and beg for more.

"Please, Jason, please!" I loved hearing her begging when I watched her in the shower but hearing her bag me? Calling out my name? It makes me want to eat her alive.

"So pretty, Little One" I tell her, moving my fingers slowly, putting just enough pressure on her clit. "I can't wait to have your pretty pussy gripping my cock."

She moans moving her hips, trying to get more. I slide two fingers inside her, feeling her walls tight around them. I grunt, controlling myself. 

"Jason" she moans with a smile on her face and I lower my head, biting her ear lobe, her neck and finally sucking one of her nipples on my mouth, moaning with her sweet taste and soft skin. One of her hands grips my hair and the other one my arm, moaning and whimpering for me and just for me.

I watch her throw her head back and shout, coming on my fingers. "Good girl, just like that" 

She shivers and opens her eyes, they are still full of lust and raw need. "I need your cock, Jason, please." 

I need to suppress a moan when she says that, so sweet to me. So good. It took time to make her behave, but now? She is just perfect. 

"My baby needs to be fucked?" She nods, her doe eyes glassy and needy. "I will fuck you really good, Little One" I will fuck her until she forgets about her name, or about any other guy. Until it is just me in her pretty little head. 

I take off my shirt and she lets her hands loose, caressing and ranking her nails on my skin. Her lips are on my neck, giving me a hickey here and there and I hold her by her waist, strong enough to leave handprints on her. 

"Baby" I call her, yanking her head back by her hear and looking at her fuck out expression. I haven't even started yet. 

I kiss her hungrily, letting my tongue slide against hers, my teeth biting her lips, her body moving to feel mine even more. Her bare breasts touching my bare chest. I feel good, too good. 

I break the kiss, taking off my pants and my boxers, letting my cock spring free, hard and proud. 

She whines "it's too big". I arch an eyebrow and let my cock slide against her wet pussy, and she is already squirming, trying to get more and more.

"I will fit" I tell her, holding her throat in my hand. "You are made for me, Little One" 

She shivers and there is that look in her eyes. That look that drowned me in the first place. That raw need, to be touched, to be seen and needed.

"Was I?" She asks and I smile, playing with her lips. "Yes" I answer, moving my hips, letting my cock feel all of her pussy.

Making her a needy mess. Slowly I slide inside her, holding her neck slightly tighter, feeling her walls squeezing me so deliciously.  She whimpers and moves, a few tears running down her pretty face.

Mine. 

She 's all mine. 

I bottom out, feeling like I finally found my place in the world. And its between her legs. 

"You are so perfect, baby" I prise, playing with her nipples, making her moan and move her hips, fucking herself on my cock.

"Jason!" That's all I need, my girl screaming my name while she fucks herself on my cock.

"Such a greedy girl, aren't you?" One of my hands stays playing with one of her nipples, the other one holds her neck. I want to leave bruises on her that she won't forget next morning that I was the one inside her. "Can't wait for me? Can't be a good girl?" I ask moving my hips away and then slamming back in, making her arch her back and scream, her nails streaming down my back, leaving marks of her own. 

"I..I can be… your good…girl" she says between moans and whimpers, her eyes closed.

"So be a good girl and watch me fuck you" reluctantly she opens her eyes, looking at me, making an effort to not close them again, making an effort to pleasure me. 

I growl next to her face, keeping eye contact with her, my hips moving fast and hard against hers. I move one of my hands to her clit and play with it, moving in the same pace as my hips, my little one moaning and trying not to close her eyes.

"Go on little one, scream for me" and she screams my name, moving her hips with mine, her eyes full of lust and need. I want to fuck her forever. 

"I… Jason!" She moans, her pussy tight against me, fluttering around my cock and making me moan too. "I am coming!" 

"Come for me, Little One, be a good girl and make a mess on my cock" I tell her and kiss her lips, feeling her come around me. I grunt, painting her walls with my cum.

We stop, breathing hard and looking at each other. I analyze her face, cheeks red and eyes glossy. She looks thoroughly fucked out. 

"You ok, baby?" I ask her and she smiles, her hands playing with my hair. 

"More than ok" she says, giving me a pack on the lips. My heart flutters and I just want to lay down with her.

"Good" I properly kiss her, hands on her waist and our hearts beating together. "You did so well, baby" 

She mumbles something  happily, her arms around my shoulders. "Take me home, Jason" 

"I will" I put her on the ground and dress her then dress myself hugging her close to my body. "I finally have you, I won't let you go."

"Please, don't. I've been waiting for you." 

I get her in my arms and I carry her back home, so I can't have her on every surface of the house just to myself. 

#jason todd #dc #dc imagines #red hood #jason todd x reader #dc comics #jason todd imagines #jason todd smut #jason todd x fem!reader #red hood x fem!reader #red hood smut #jason todd x reader smut #jason todd headcanon #jason todd hc #red hood headcanon #red hood x reader #red hood x reader smut #planetwaynezwrites #stalker!jason todd #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd is red hood #jason todd fic #red hood fic #red hood fanfiction

[spidernuggets]

Jason Todd x Reader

That song "Loser Baby" from Hazbin Hotel has been on my mind ever since I watched the video, and I'm like, ooooh, prompt idea ✨️✨️

Basically, Jason and Reader are both members of the Titans, Jason's going through some shit, thinking he's alone to deal with it because the other members never cared about his problems, so Reader is there to sort of comfort him!

WARNINGS: mentions of suicide, drug use, weaponry use

Notes: Based on HBO Titans, timelines are mixed, idk how a molotov cocktail works, just go w it, unrealistic gun use

Another day, another failed mission. Why? Jason took the impulsive decision to dive in, head first, into the first danger he saw, which led them to be ambushed by other criminals. Sure, they got the majority locked up, but now the others are spread around Gotham now trying to get backup.

And like most times, when Jason messes up now and again, the members start pointing fingers while Dick was at GCPD.

"We went through the plan a million times, kid," Hank grunts. "You wait for Dick's signal!"

"Yeah, yeah! I heard you the first time," Jason spits back. He's been hearing this ever since the whole fiasco ended up until now as everyone got back to the tower. "Get off my back, will you, at least I fuckin' tried, asshole."

"And we would've completed the mission successfully if you tried after Dick gave the cue," Kory chimes in. "You need to work on your patience."

"Whatever," Jason mumbles storming back into his room.

Just as he was, you were exiting your own room, located just beside Jason's.

"Hi, Jay, how was the- oh...kay?" Just as you were greeting the young vigilante, he ignored you, slamming his door shut.

You walk into the lobby. Though you were a member of the Titans, you didn't participate often in missions. You design and create weaponry for the other members, especially Dick and Jason, as they don't have any powers. You excused yourself from joining the missions because although you knew how and when to use your mechanics best, your combat and stealth skills aren't as advanced.

You picked up this interest of building and experimenting after a few downfalls earlier in your life before Dick found you and took you in.

You grew up on the not so upper class side of Gotham City, and you were not an intentionally planned kid. Your parents made bad decisions, weren't married, and both were struggling in their own way. But your dad soon realised that it was all too much for him. He couldn't take care of himself, let alone take care of a kid, his kid. Soon enough, he reached his limit and swallowed a few too many pills.

That's when your mom went spiralling into her own depression. She smoked more cigs, snorted more coke, and drank more alcohol. And when you were old enough to comprehend the profanity she spat at you, she figured that you were smart enough to live life on your own. So she kicked you out. Later that night, when you came back, just to double check if your mom was just on a high and didn't mean what she said, she was gone. The only evidence to prove she was there were the smashed bourbon bottles and and cigarette butts scattered across the floor.

You sat yourself on the couch, legs tucked into your chest as you wrapped your arms to secure them in place and waited patiently for your mom to come home.

But she never did.

Some bad people were after you, claiming that your mother had owed them a shit ton of money. When you told them you didn't know where she was, they said that you'd have to continue to pay back her debt. You had nowhere else to go. So every time they'd come knocking on your door, you'd bolt out through the fire escape.

You had a molotov cocktail in your hand, a little something you saw your dad do once when he was in a difficult situation such as yours. This is the first time you've tried to use it before. You're scared that saving the bottle would be a waste of time. What if you threw it and the fire just went out? What if it wouldn't have the effect you'd expect? What if it would hurt you too in the process??

You just prayed. Prayed for some sort of miracle. In your other hand, spray on deodorant that you stole from the grocery store a walk away from your apartment.

There's a recently abandoned one-story house just down the road.

Lure them there, spray the room, blow 'em up.

You repeated the plan to yourself. So many things can go wrong. You couldn't do anything but pray.

Your chest ached when you got to the building. You covered your face as you choked, inhaling the deodorant that you sprayed around the room.

"There they are!" One of the men yelled towards your direction. You waited. Just a couple seconds.

You ran out the back window as they crashed through the door. Looking back, you waited as much as you could, making sire as much of the men entered the house.

Now.

You lit the cloth on fire, using your mom's lighter, one of the things you kept, and threw it through the window. And just like that, the fire caught onto the particles of the deodorant, and as the bottle smashed to the concrete floor, the building as a whole burst into flames, the painful screams of men remaining in the house.

"Oh my god, it worked!" You said to yourself, panting as you continue to run away.

From then on, you experimented with other, easier ways to create the same kind of effect. You used scraps of metal, lead wires from lightbulbs, plus lightbulb shards to create explosives to protect you.

Soon, your knowledge of weaponry expanded. You managed to steal a gun from one of the men that were after you. You liked to know how things worked. And you liked to manipulate how they worked.

You spent your time disassembling your new gun and eventually created a new weapon of your own. You'd pretend to be too scared to use it, bad man grabs it off you, aim it at you, pulls the trigger, and boom. The bullet blows to the other end, towards their face.

Too bad luck wasn't completely on your side for long.

You screeched as you walked past an alley, your hair being grabbed and pulled by a large man. "Think you can get away from me, bitch?" A gruff voice spat.

Tears pricked the corners of your eyes, grasping as your scalp that's burning your skull. You heard the glint of a knife as the sharpness poked at your side.

"Please, please, no, please," you whispered, begging for your life to be spared.

"You better pray for a miracle, cunt," the man said, jabbing the knife into your side, then throwing you against the wall, leaving you to bleed out.

Your vision blurred and came to the conclusion that you were going to die.

That is... if some random stranger found you and decided to bring you back to what you found out to be "Titans Tower." Learning his name to be Richard 'Dick' Grayson understood you had no one to take care of you and that you were the one who caused that explosion. He also found your little gun, and the great detective saw how it's been rearranged.

When you woke up, you were in an unfamiliar area. You were bandaged up well, but you were still scared. You hissed, trying to sit up. At the same, Dick walks into the room, a trya with soup, a glass of water and a small tablet next to the glass all prepared.

Dick smiled, introducing himself and apologising for bringing you unconscious. He offered you a shelter, but also wanted to know more about you. How you ended up in the situation, who was after you, and how you managed to rearrange the gun.

He then took you under your wing, giving you your own room and even your own materials to create more weapons for yourself. These ranged from melee weapons, explosives, and hand to hand combat weapons.

Dick tried to train you in physical combat, but you admitted that no matter how hard you tried, your fighting skills won't really improve. So you offered to just create new defence weapons for the team and operate missions from the tower as the team went out.

A couple of months later, you met Jason Todd. You'd be lying if you said he wasn't attractive, and his flirtatious attitude didn't help with your attraction towards him.

You also admired how skilled he was in fighting. Fighting a person while blindfolded? Fighting two people while they're all blindfolded? You wished to be just like him. But you were too shy to talk to him.

Jason speaks before thinking, and you were scared that he'd make fun of you for being part of the Titans without knowing basic combat and stealth skills. So you avoided him as much as you could.

But your guard was down as you had your headphones on, sitting on the couch in the lobby, sketching out a design for new throwing blades that could inject a liquid into the body to knock someone out for around half an hour.

"Why do I never see you around?" A curious voice chimes. One of your headphones laid off your ear, so you flinched when you heard someone begind you.

"Uhm, I.. I don't know what you're talking about," you quietly say, not sure how to confidently talk to the attractive boy.

"You're never out on missions or in the training room. Why are you here?" He says, arms leaning on the back of the couch, face dangerously close to yours

You shrugged. "I kind of make the weapons, I guess. I got those Rs of yours to send a shock wave of electricity," you replied, trying to identify yourself.

Jason tilts his head. "So, how come I never see you around training or missions? With weapons like them, I assume you would be useful out there."

You shake your head. "Fighting isn't really my forte. And my aim is never accurate," you explain, bracing yourself for the taunts.

"Huh. Want me to teach ya?" He offers.

Your head shoots towards him. "Uhm. Thanks, but Dick already tried training me. Trust me, I'd just be wasting your time and be a pain in your ass," you say, fidgeting with the pencil in your hand, kooking away from him.

"Nah, you trust me. I can teach you way better than Dickwad can. And if you still think fighting just isn't a thing for you, we can stop."

You stare up at him for a few moments before sighing and agreeing.

Surprisingly, Jason was able to teach you the basics, but that was as far as you could learn. Nonetheless, you were grateful that Jason taught you something that you could learn. You couldn't thank him enough. In return, you designed weaponry specifically suited for his fighting style.

From then on, you and Jason developed a beautiful friendship. Unfortunately, your crush on him only grew more.

But you and Jason were always there for each other. You never ran out of stories and fun talks to chat about. And eventually, little by little, the two of you opened up about your not so different pasts.

So when Jason stormed into his room after coming back from the mission while making absolutely no contact with you, it got you worried.

"Jeez, what happened?" You say as you walk to where the other members stood.

"Jason being Jason as always," Rachel mumbles.

"Uhh, Jason was just being eager. He's been trying to solve this case for weeks," Gar tries to reason out.

"If that little shit just stuck to the plan, his case would've been solved," Hank raises his voice as Dawn tries to calm him down.

"Just be patient with him. He didn't mean it," you try to calm everyone down.

"We can't be patient with him if he himself can't be patient," Donna calls out from the fridge, grabbing a drink.

"Listen, he's been through enough already, cut him some slack," you begin to get pissed off.

"If you're referring to when he got kidnapped, that was his fault too," Rachel says, sitting down on the couch.

"You know what wasn't his fault? Drawing crosses on your mirror, Rach. And that made all of you blame him for the other shit planted in your rooms. Do you know how much that shit hurt him? And none of you didn't even apologise! So, sorry, on behalf of him, that he wanted to show he was still strong enough even after he was kidnapped and dropped from a skyscraper. But have a little decency and time to understand why he acts the way he does," you ranted, not letting anyone reply as you stormed away.

During your times spent with Jason, you didn't miss his ADHD meds lying around, and eventually, he opened up to you about his therapy talks with Leslie, and you're glad it's somewhat helping. You just wushed you would be as much helo to him.

You knocked lightly on the door. "Jay?" You called out to him. You sighed when you were met with no response. You know he didn't tell you to come in, hut you were so worried for your best friend, so you entered his room.

His rock vinyl was spinning, and you took the pin off, making the loud mhsic stop abruptly.

Staring out the window, Jason turns to you, glaring at you.

"C'mon, it's just me, Jay. You can talk to me," you say.

Jason scoffs. "Yeah, sure. Then you'd think of me like the others do," he says, his gaze returnint out the window.

"And how do they think of you, Jason?"

He shrugs. "Like a fucking loser," he croaks.

"That's because you are a loser," you deadpan. Jason's brows furrow in confusion as he looks at you once more. He honestly thought you'd start to go on a long, petty rant about you thinking otherwise.

You sighed, walking over to him, hding his hands and bring him over to his bed, sitting him down.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Jay. Your life sucks and I don't know if it's going to get better. There's a chance that it's not. You are a loser. You're spontaneous, make dumb decisions that don't always go well. But, you know? It's not entirely your fault. Your childhood sucks, your current family sucks and most of your teammates sucks. And you're just doing your best. You may be a loser, but guess what? I am, too. I can't fight, I can make weapons, but my aim is shit. My dad died, and my drug addict mom left me. I'm always alone i the tower because everyone else is out doing cool, superhero shit. I understand your pain, Jason. That's why we tell each other the shit we've been through. Because that load might be too heavy for only ourselves to carry. But I'm sure as hell it would be light as a feather if we carry both of our problems together," you choose your words carefully, your hands remaining on his, your thumb stroking his scarred skin.

Slowly, you move your hands, shifting them to link your pinky with his while he remains silent. "Jason, I promise you. I'm always going to be here to listen. I'm always going to be here for you. To help you in any way I possibly can."

Jason doesn't verbally reply. What he does, though, is nod and lean his head against your shoulder, tightening his grip around your hands.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #red hood #jason todd is my life #titans jason todd #dc titans #i love jason todd #jason todd titans #red hood x reader #jason todd headcanon #hbo jason todd #hbo titans

[tfyoulookingatgiuxs]

Drunk with my friends

Nancy Wheeler x Reader

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: That evening, you and your friends had organized a girls' outing. The party was getting better and better and alcohol was playing a bad joke on you.

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: +18!! SMUT!! MDNI!!! Blurb, alcohol, toxic religion, fem!reader, use of Y/N, your surname is Williams, lesbian sex, fingerings, voyeurism, cheating, cunnilings, spanking, slight mommy kink, dirty talking, pet names (good girl, baby girl etc...), praise kink, begging, bad language, mention of drugs.

𝐀/𝐍: I love Nancy. Sorry for my english, this is not my native language. Please support and reblog! Hope you enjoy this one! (DIVIDER NOT MINE)

"Come on Nance! We're going to have fun!" You urged Nancy who still seemed unconvinced.

You, Robin and Chrissy planned to go on a girls' outing and of course, Nancy was the mom of the group. Meaning she's always hesitant about partying and staying up late at night.

"That's right, nothing will happen" Robin chimed in "I don't know girls, are you sure? What if we drink too much?" Nancy said worriedly. You rolled your eyes as Chrissy watched the scene in silence a little lost in Robin "We'll be at my house. No danger, no boyfriends, no drugs, just alcohol and even if we drink too much nothing too bad will happen" You said walking closer to her placing your hand on her shoulder, she smiled at you "Alright..." She said making a big smile from you and Robin.

In your house. The evening was truly crazy. You having fun to the music while laughter filled the living room.

In the last period, you felt stressed and it had been a short time since the last time you had a night out just for you girls. But let's not talk about boyfriends! You were dating a boy you met thanks to a friend of your mother. He seemed very kind and helpful towards you, your mother wanted at all costs for you to find a meeting point with him. He was also strongly religious, as your father liked, so both of your parents took the opportunity to introduce you to him and find a way for you to get together. Real shit. Yes. As forced as it was, you liked him at first and so when he reciprocated you got together, but lately things were getting worse and worse.

He only thought about reading and barely said hello to you. He also specifically told you that acts such as sexual pleasure were not to his liking, so he would not have sex with you until you both make the decision to have a child in the future. You couldn't blame him if he had been raised badly by his mother. He barely knows what it means having fun. You would have left him, for sure, even if you were afraid of disappointing your parents.

Nancy was engaged to Jonathan. For now she didn't have many problems about it but the only thing that was wrong was the distance which made her insecure.

Chrissy was engaged to Jason, the most popular boy at Hawkins High. Lately the two have done nothing but argue, and the little cheerleader would like to have some time to have fun and be carefree.

Robin on the other hand...has no one. She's a lesbian in love but not engaged, so she's the quietest one of all.

It was ten in the evening and you could still hear your screams as you were putting a large quantity of alcohol in your stomach.

From speaking you began to play spin the bottle, in a certain sense... it was spin the bottle but with the words 'truth' or 'dare'.

“Come on Y/N, it's your turn” Robin told you and you flipped the empty Coke bottle onto the board. The tip of the bottle ended up on the yellow segment where 'dare' was written.

“Now you have to dare someone to do something,” Robin explained. You looked at the three girls to decide and set your sights on Nancy, who was also dead drunk by now.

“I dare Nancy to show me her tits” You said shamelessly. Ever since you started your evening you can't take your eyes off her breasts. You didn't know if it was the effect of the alcohol or what, but damn did you want to see them. Robin and Chrissy were speechless but they seemed to enjoy this ambiguous dare.

Nancy, throughout all this she looked at you with wild eyes "You're a pervert Williams, you couldn't wait to look at a pair of tits" She told you and you followed the divine movement of her lips while the two spectators remained watching without saying anything, curious how it would end. "Exactly, I'm curious to see yours" came a surprised noise from the lips of Robin and the cheerleader.

Alcohol was playing tricks on you, but this was not a joke...

You don't remember how, or rather, you two don't remember how. But you both ended up licking each other's tits, while Robin and Chrissy watched and cheered you on.

Nancy let out a few moans as you sucked on her hardened nipple.

The atmosphere had heated up and Nancy was the center of your attention. She was beautiful and her curious look as she looked at you was even better. Robin couldn't believe her eyes. In an instant two of her straight friends had become lesbians or any other sexuality in a matter of minutes. Was it the alcohol? Very likely in Robin's view. But not from yours. Sure, you were drunk, but you never denied yourself the attraction you had for Nancy. She was a beautiful woman, but not only in the aesthetic sense, but in everything. She was tough and she could stand up to you, she was responsible and when she ordered someone to do something...God you couldn't help but fantasize.

What were once fantasies were becoming reality and you couldn't miss this opportunity. You lifted your face and pressed your lips against hers kissing her. Robin and Chrissy, looking at you, started to warm up too, and after various comments, they too let themselves go. All four of you were a couple kissing sitting on the living room floor. Nancy reciprocated by adding tongue and you couldn't help but moan, wrapping your arms around her neck.

Fuck you. Fuck everything. Boyfriends, parents, friends and problems. Fuck you. All of you were now free as lust crawled between your legs. You in particular wanted to make bad decisions and bring down every perfect thing you had half-heartedly created.

Now you would have shouted the worst swear words at your shitty life. Fuck religion or any other shit, pussy was your religion now.

Sure enough, Nancy made you lie down on the floor and broke away from the kiss "Nance..." You said panting. She didn't say anything, just watched as you tried to catch your breath. You gave her a pathetic, submissive look, and Nancy couldn't help but giggle in your face "Poor thing..." her hand slid down your dress until it reached your skirt. Her left hand held your thigh tight making you keep your legs open, while with the thumb of her right hand she touched the wet part of your panties making you moan softly “I knew it Y/N, you are a dirty pervert, what should I do about you?" She said grinning as she pulled off your underwear.

You didn't answer and Nancy slapped your ass and you groaned "I said what should I do with you?" She repeated "Anything you want..." you blushed "Good girl..." she told you and then touched your wet folds with two fingers.

You also took a look at the other two. Both were definitely without clothes and Chrissy was making circular motions on her clit while Robin placed a few kisses on her neck, praising her and urging her to continue. You let out a moan as you felt Nancy's fingers enter your pussy. She didn't even give you a second, she started moving her fingers in and out making you moan pleasantly.

To think that in a few weeks you would have to go for confirmation. You will not be able to pray well if you have a guilty conscience and know that you have sinned so much. But you didn't care.

You had always been a devil with a halo.

Being still one would have changed little in your life.

You couldn't help the pornographic sound your pussy made as Nancy's fingers went in and out faster and faster. The living room had become a mass of moans from all four. Chrissy was about to come again, for the second time, while you were ready to reach your orgasm.

It was a beautiful feeling, and you rolled your eyes to the back of your head as her fingers were hitting that sweet spot inside you "Ohh- mommy, please..." You begged, not realizing what you called her. Nancy, the nickname didn't bother her and she didn't say anything about it "Shut up and cum" she just told you, and you didn't have to be told twice. You came screaming her name, wetting her fingers while tears ran down your face.

“Very good sweetie...” she praised you and saw your luxurious look. She pulled her fingers out of your pussy and tasted your juices “Mmhh…” she looked you straight in the eyes and sent shivers down your spine, making you close your legs.

"Ah-ah-ah, no no Y/N. Open these legs" she grabbed your thigh and you obediently did so "Good" was the last thing you heard and you looked again at the other two girls. Both were on the sofa, now tired and asleep. Of the two, Chrissy was the truly exhausted one.

You arched your back as you felt Nancy lick your clit. She continued sucking and licking until you came. Her whole face was now full of your cum, but Nancy didn't seem to mind, in fact, this allowed her to continue more wildly, torturing your poor clit "Ugh- mommy..." You repeated that nickname as your moans they increased more and more "It's too much, please...-" You begged but Nancy didn't want to listen to you, she slipped her tongue inside your hole making you tremble more than usual. You were about to come once again. Tears continued to fall down your face as you felt your third orgasm approaching “NancyNancyNancyNancy-” You repeated her name until she pulled away making you come “Fuck...” she said, wiping her lips of your cum.

You gasped and your vision went blurry.

The next day you woke up in the living room. It was early in the morning and the way you found yourself definitely shocked you. You and Nancy were half naked while Robin and Chrissy were completely naked on your couch. You immediately understood what had happened, and above all who you fucked last night. Nancy lay next to you, eyes closed as she was in dreamland. You got drunk with your friends. And that led to you fucking each other.

From that day on you decided to plan another girls night out.

#stranger things #spotify #nancy wheeler #nancy wheeler x reader #nancy wheeler x fem!reader #stranger things nancy #nancy x reader #ashnikko #pride #lgbtqia #lesbian

[jasntodds]

Petrichor [12]

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader (little bit of fwb)

Words: 12,719

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, angst, blood, violence, canon violence, manipulation, gunshot wounds, mentions of drug use, drug use, reader is fed the fuck up, description of withdrawal (kind of??)

Summary: ❝Pylades: I’ll take care of you. Orestes: It’s rotten work. Pylades: Not to me. Not if it’s you.❞

Gotham is home, not just for Jason but for you, too. And now that you’re both finally back home, together, you’re ready to see where this next chapter brings the two of you. He’s your best friend and you’re his. And you both might want a little something more with being back home, the place you both feel most comfortable. Surely, nothing could possibly go wrong now.

A/N: I really do just love angst so much lmao You can add yourself to the tag list below, ask me to be tagged, or you can follow my library blog @jasntoddslibrary  and turn on notifications if you prefer that!! I love feedback, I swear it keeps me posting on a weekly basis 😭

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The next day Jason is with Crane. Jason is still reeling from last night. Dick knows pretty much everything now and that wasn’t a part of the plan. Jason thinks it’s only a matter of time before Dick shows back up and destroys the entire thing. It’s only a matter of time before Dick ruins everything all over again. And he thinks about you and how mad and worried you were. It’s all growing a bit too heavy for him, even with the drug. But, he pushes Crane anyway.

The sooner they get this plan in action, the better. The sooner Jason can take care of Dick, the better. But, Crane isn’t having any of it. Crane wants to go through with his plan but he’s also not telling Jason a single thing about it. It’s like Jason is just a piece in his game, a pawn. Doing all of the bidding and only knowing what’s going on when he actually needs to in order to do Crane's bidding. But, Jason shakes that thought off because Crane cares about him. Crane wouldn’t be just using him. Right?

“I met that girl of yours.” Crane states, getting tired of Jason’s pestering about going after Dick.

“I heard.” Jason quips, his voice snippy and harsh.

“She is a handful, isn’t she?”

Jason knows what he’s doing and he won’t. He can be as high as Crane wants him to be but he still has a line. And that line is you. It is always you. Anyone but you.

“I can handle her.” Jason states.

“Can you? You can fight better than her. You've had the training. But, like Dick Grayson, she walked away from last night.” Crane lets out a wistful sigh. “And she threatened to kill me.” Crane looks to be hurt as the words leave his lips. Jason knows better than to think someone threatening Crane's life would hurt his feelings. “Doesn’t it bother you that her and Bruce didn’t kill the Joker for you?” Crane asks and Jason’s eyes land on the floor. “I mean,” Crane lets out another sigh. “That maniac killed you and they couldn’t be bothered to kill him for you. Sam is at least a killer now but not for you. I, though, I brought you back.” Crane gives Jason a sinister smile as he places a hand on his shoulder.

Jason hates it because Crane makes a point. Bruce couldn’t even bend his morals for him. Bruce said he was his son and he took him in, he let him be Robin. Bruce was supposed to protect him and everyone else. But, then he couldn’t even kill the Joker. He’s not asking him to kill Two-face or The Riddler or even Crane, but he should have killed the Joker for him. That’s the part that hurts. And you turn around and starts taking out lowlives but you didn’t even hit the Joker first. Not even for him and you've been wanting his blood on your hands since your mom died. But, somehow, that wasn’t enough for even you. Jason, though, does know someone killed him. And he knows what you said about what him dying did to you. He thinks that person just beat you to it. Bruce though, even Dick. Dick could have killed him, too and he didn’t. No one that claims to care about him at all killed the Joker for him and none of you brought him back. Jonathan Crane brought him back from the dead. Not the people who care bout him.

“This isn’t about her. It’s about Dick.” Jason shakes his head because you're still the line. Despite it all, you're the line he won’t cross.

Jason knows, under the haze of the drug, you would have brought him back from the dead if you knew how. And if it were something you knew he'd want. You would have fought and chewed into fate and the Reaper with nothing but your bare hands just to bring him back. You would have killed the Joker if someone didn't beat you to it. After everything going on, you're still the one person who hasn't given up on him.

You're the line.

“See, that’s your problem. It’s not just about Dick Grayson. It’s about all of Gotham and your girlfriend is a part of that.”

“Okay.” Jason states, unsure where else he could possibly be going with this.

“She’s going to be a problem, just like that older brother of yours.” Crane warns as he turns back around as he walks into the little office building. “She’ll come after me eventually and then I bet she’ll come after you, with Dick Grayson at her side.”

“She’s not a problem.” Jason defends.

You could have killed him last night. If the first knife would have missed, you would have had a second one already in the air on its way to his jugular. If you want someone dead with a knife, you're more than capable but instead, you didn’t. You've had opportunities to kill him and fight him at full force but you don’t. You aren’t the problem, no matter what Crane says.

“Isn’t she? She still wants you to join their side and turn me in, the person who has helped you the most. Haven’t you thought about her using you? Her fear drove her to you and now she’s lost. She doesn’t know who is without you because she got to try to fix you and distract herself from it. You got her to live in that fancy mansion.” Crane says and Jason, right about now, is pretty glad he left out more about you.

Crane pushes sometimes for more information but Jason deflects and pulls information about anyone else he can. Jason won’t let Crane target you. That’s not how this partnership is going to work. It doesn’t matter. Jason Todd doesn’t make very many promises, but he made a promise to you and he’s not breaking it. You don’t break your promises to him.

“She’s not using me. I can get her to join our side.” Jason states, his voice growing more annoyed.

“Then why haven’t you?”

“That wasn’t part of the plan.” Jason lies.

“If I told you to give her the drug and help us, would you?” Crane asks, his brows slightly furrowing with the question because he’s already pretty sure he knows the answer.

Crane doesn’t know you already took the drug. Crane also doesn’t know the real reason Jason burned down his lab. Jason told Crane he was just covering his tracks after Hank. He knew Dick would be digging deeper and he might find it. That isn’t actually a complete lie, that’s probably what would have happened if Dick didn’t already find it. But, the real reason was that he didn’t want you going back and making more of it and taking it. He feels the comedown and sure, while he’s high or when he’s desperate not to feel that way again, it feels worth it. In those moments it always feels worth it but you were always better with dealing with your shit than he was. He doesn’t want you involved with Crane and he doesn’t want you addicted to the drug. You deserve better.

He’d never give you the drug. He’d never ask you to work alongside Crane.

“Yeah, she would do it. She’s just as fucked up as I was.” Jason lies through his teeth, shifting his weight to his right foot.

Crane nods his head but he met you. You're not scared, not in the way Jason was. He can tell you have her own issues but you're not like Jason when Jason showed up at Arkham. “Maybe she’s not who you thought she was.” Crane sighs. “You should really be focused on taking care of her with Dick, if that’s your goal that is.”

“No.” Jason states firmly. “Not happening.” Jason scoffs. “She’s not a fucking problem. She fights with Dick all the damn time and she fought him last night with me. Nothing to worry about.” Jason shakes his head, still a little confused what that was even about.

“Oh, I’m not worried.” Crane states. “You are. If you don’t take care of her, you’ll always be stuck here. You’ll never be able to get to your full potential because you’re too worried about what she’ll do. Maybe what she’ll think of you. Though, I have to say, she is not pleased with you over that Hawk fellow.”

“And she still fought Dick for me.” Jason urges. “Clearly, she doesn’t have that big of a problem with it.”

“I’m just giving you my advice. You want to be fearless but you’re still scared of what she’ll do and what she thinks of you.” Crane tsks.

“I’m not taking care of her. I want to go after Dick. Look, we know the drug works. I’m exhibit one.” Jason states, trying to deflect from you. It can’t be you.

“You’ll see, my boy.” Crane states.

The night before rings through your head like a migraine you can't quit. You and Dick got back pretty later, or rather early in the morning. Dick was instant he could take care of the gunshot wound on his own. He'd done it before, apparently. So, that left you to your room alone and sleeping didn't come too easy.

You could have had both of them but Dick just wouldn't listen and Jason doesn't listen and you're too damn loyal to him. If it were anyone else, you could have thrown a knife to injure them and you would have had him and then could have gotten Crane. But, it's Jason and you don't want to hurt him even if hurting him could bring him back and end up being for his own good. You just won't take the risk. And it sucks. And then you almost got shot because Jason and Dick can't work out their problems like normal people with an actual conversation. You're stuck in the middle of the two of them and you don't even know how the hell that happened.

And then there's the way Jason looked at you when you asked him to come home.

The drug must have been wearing off because he looked scared and for the life of you, you don't know why he would be so scared to come home. Yes, he killed Hank and that's bad but everyone attacked Gar while possessed and moved on from that. Gar killed people when he was being controlled. Jason is killing people while he's manipulated and drugged. None of them have attempted to do anything about any of the people you've killed. Dick just let Bruce walk right out after killing the Joker. Jason shouldn't be scared to come home and you feel horrible he clearly does. Getting him back just got a lot more difficult it seems and you're starting to second guess where you should stand in all of it.

You walk into the Batcave where you find Gar and Kory, looking to be researching something on the Batcomputer. You're best guess is they're trying to track down Jason. That's the only thing anyone is doing these days anyway.

"There you are!" Gar yells with excitement and relief as he rushes to you.

Gar's been worried. You and Dick went off without an explanation and didn't come back last night. Neither of you could even be bothered to answer a phone or keep the phones on for that matter. Kory hadn't heard anything and neither did Connor. He's relieved to see you're okay, even if you're looking a little out of it.

"Oh, yeah, hey." You let out a sigh as Gar brings you in for a hug.

"Where were you last night?" Kory questions. "And where is Dick?"

"And what happened?" Gar asks as he pulls away.

You furrow your brows, looking between them as your heart misses a beat. "W-what do you mean?"

Have they really not seen Dick? You might not have slept long or well but Dick is still, somehow, usually always awake. At least here like maybe the manor is haunting him in its own way. But, Kory and Gar are watching you expectantly and you worry maybe something went wrong with the whole gunshot thing.

"I don't think it's some coincidence you and Dick disappeared yesterday and stopped answering your phones." Kory crosses her arms.

Your jaw opens and closes a few times. "Uh..I mean...yeah..." You offer a yikes expression, squinting your eye slightly.

"Explain, now." Kory states sternly.

"Well, uh, you see...you haven't seen Dick or...heard from him?" You ask slowly.

"No." Kory grows more annoyed by the second.

"Not since he dropped Dawn off." Gar offers, hoping you get to the point soon.

You suck in a breath as you tug your sleeves over your hands. "Uh, yeah...so Dick got, uh shot. But, he was fine."

"So, you just went to bed?!" Gar asks.

"And you didn't think to come get me? Or any of us?" Kory demands.

"He said he had it and he's been shot before. I wasn't gonna argue with him."

"Since when? You argue with him all the time." Gar shakes his head in disbelief. Of all times you aren't going to argue with Dick, it's when he's shot. He could be bleeding out somewhere.

"Yes, I was not in the mood last night." You defend your stance as regret starts to chew at your stomach.

Kory lets out a groan. "And where did you last see him?"

"In the living room? Before I went to bed." You state but before you start giving up more answers, the one and only finally makes his way into the Batcave. "Oh, thank fuck." You let out a breath of relief.

"What happened!?" Kory asks quickly, immediately rushing over to Dick who's a little unsteady on his feet.

You and Gar watch the two of them and you can't help the grin that comes to your lips. Rachel made jokes about the two of them and said she thought it was weird but they'd be cute together. You get it now. Kory ran to him in the same you would have if it were Jason. Dick is clearly the idiot between the two of them.

You eye Gar. "Bet you ten bucks it'll be Kory to close the deal when she gets tired of waiting for him to get his shit together."

"I'm not gonna bet on that." Gar whispers with a soft grimace.

"Because you'll lose?" You raise, offering him a smirk.

"Yes." Gar chuckles. "I don't know if Dick is capable of having that conversation unprovoked."

You nod, rolling your eyes. "Batboys." You let out a sigh. "Okay, I give Kory a month."

"Four, tops." Gar sticks out his hand and you shake it with a soft laugh before you and Gar follow Kory and Dick to the medbay.

Dick takes off his shirt and reveals a gunshot wound on the upper left side of his chest. You furrow your brows. It looks nasty and his entire chest is covered in blood, most of it dry but some of it still looks fresh. Kory shakes her head, grabbing the supplies to stitch up the wound. Gar and you watch for a few minutes, mostly grimacing at the sight of it.

"Dude, that looks horrible." Gar scrunches his nose.

"Five inches over and we'd be burying another body." Kory says as she starts addressing the wound.

"Dude, seriously?" You huff. "You said you'd take care of that." You roll your eyes. You wonder how he could be so dumb. And reckless. It's not like it's a cut or a scrape. It's a literal gunshot wound close to his heart.

Kory stops what she's doing to look at you, Gar nearly snapping his head at you. Dick just glares at you, looking more annoyed than usual.

"What?" You ask, looking between all of them with wide eyes. "What'd I do now?"

"Let him go to bed with a gunshot wound and not tell anyone." Gar mutters under his breath, making you snap your entire attention on him. That's uncharacteristic.

"I'm not gonna force someone to let me help clean up their wounds." You mutter right back, earning a glare of disbelief from Gar. "Okay, unless it's Jaon or you." You snip back. "Sorry." Your eyes widen, looking between the three of them.

Gar keeps his stare on you. You're supposed to be friends and you're not looping him to anything anymore. You and Dick go off to fuck knows where and Dick almost gets killed. They're trying to find Jason since he went dark and you two can't be bothered to work as a team with the team. It's ridiculous. You're supposed to be a family.

"Explain." Kory warms, looking between you and Dick.

"It's nothing." Dick states, watching Kory stitch the wound.

"Nothing?!" Kory yells. "You two went off last night without a word! We deserve an explanation."

Dick pauses and you're not about to be on Kory's bad side. If Dick wants to piss Kory off, that's all on him. You do not want to do that. Kory is usually very nice but you have a feeling being on her bad side could get ugly. Plus, it's Kory.

"Jason's working with Jonathan Crane so we kidnapped him and took him to the cabin to lure Jason there. Then Jason and Dick started fighting and I helped. And then a helicopter came and Dick got shot." You explain simply.

The room falls silent for a few seconds as everyone looks between you and Dick. Kory wants to know why everyone who manages to get involved with Bruce Wayne ends up being some of the most reckless people she's ever encountered. Gar is piecing together everything you've told him and now he's even more frustrated. You and Dick went after Scarecrow and decided you could take him on and Jason on your own without any issues. You both didn't even have a backup plan. And Gar is realizing you not only took Jason's drug, but if it's Scarecrow, it was probably something he designed. You took a drug Scarecrow designed and knew that. Then neglected to tell everyone that piece of information.

You both could have died last night and everyone is supposed to just be normal about that. After everything.

"Wow, thanks." Dick quips.

"I'm not gonna disobey Kory. That's all you." You shake your head as you cross your arms over your chest but you can feel Gar's eyes still boring into you.

"And whose side were you even on last night, by the way?" Dick questions.

"You two morons almost fucking shot me!" You yell. "I was on your side. Hello? Do you not remember that and then you got the first swing on him. I was with you guys until you two almost shot me."

"That was Jason." Dick argues. "He pulled the trigger, not me."

"Because you grabbed his arm! It was aimed at you originally, not me." You let out a scoff.

"Enough." Kory warns, growing tired of the back and forth. The specifics of the fight last night don't matter right now when she's trying to fix a bullet wound that could have been fatal. She is so sick of losing people. "Barbara's responsible for this?" Kory asks.

"One of her snipers is, yeah." Dick answers.

"On her orders, I'm sure." Kory states. "Maybe I should go and have a word with her."

"I think there's been enough bloodshed for today." Gar adds in. "That was way too close, man." Gar's voice is soft but drenched in worry.

"I almost had him." Dick defends.

"No, I had him." You protest. "I had a knife ready to go. He never would have done it. I could have gotten him just fine but then you had to take the damn gun and I almost got shot." You pause for a second and if Dick would have just trusted you, maybe you really could have gotten him back. "We almost had him."

"Neither of you are listening!" Kory yells, looking between the two of you. "You scared us. Going out on your own, getting shot. It's not okay."

"I didn't want to put you guys at risk." Dick says. "She was here when I got the call. She's the only one that ever got through to Jason before. That's the only reason she went." Dick states calmly while Gar looks back at you as if waiting for you to explain why you didn't at least tell him.

"I'm not dragging you into it." You look to Gar as you shrug your shoulders.

"Oh, bullshit, guys." Gar spits and he's sick of this.

"Excuse me?" Dick questions.

"Dude, Hank blew up!" Gar yells. "Dawn left us forever, and Jason went dark. You're killing people!" Gar looks at you. "This family is dying and you two go out alone and Dick gets shot?" Gar yells before he starts growling lowly, his entire face turning green while his teeth turn into fangs. "Do you even hear the words coming out of your mouths!?"

"Gar?" You question slowly as your eyes grow wide. You've never seen him this upset before.

"Gar!" Kory yells, trying to snap him out of it.

"Hey." You stand in front of him, putting your hands on his cheeks. "Hello?"

His eyes land on yours, refocusing his attention and the fire in his bones starts to calm. The green fades from his face as his fangs start to retract. He's so upset and hurt and terrified for the lives of the people he cares about most, he didn't even realize he was starting to transform and Gar doesn't lose control.

"What?" Gar asks, his eyes scanning your face.

"Take ten." Kory states and she also feels like they're starting to lose everyone.

"Come on." You offer your hand to him as you turn around to walk away. Gar joins his hand with yours. "Don't do anything fucking insane without looping me in." You look over your shoulder at Dick, sending him a glare before you turn back around. "You were turning green." You whisper to Gar as you walk hand-in-hand across the Batcave.

"Because you guys could have died last night! I'm sick of losing this family!" His voice is panicked this time.

Gar might wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he is also very good at controlling his emotions. He never just loses control but he is today and it has you feeling even more guilty than you already were. Dick has Kory and Babs. You have Gar and Molly. Conner didn't really know Hank and he doesn't really know Jason. Gar, though, he knew Hank and was friends with Hank. Jason is his best friend and yet everyone has someone besides him. Everything has been a mess and Gar is the one left trying to fix everyone and help everyone but who helps him?

"Come on." You tug him along with you until you reach the living room. You let go of his hand and take a seat on the couch. "Yell at me for it. Go for it. You're scared and mad at us, fine. I get it. So, yell about it. I'm not gonna tell you to take ten. Turn green, turn into a tiger, go for it." You say with ease while Gar just stands in front of you, growing confused.

"What...? But I...I don't know..."

"Look, if you need to yell, do it. I deserve it and Dick does, too. You let me bitch to you for months. So, yell about how you're scared. I'm not gonna be hurt or mad. If it'll make you feel even a little bit better, do it. You take care of all of us, all the time. Take care of you." You offer and it's true. If he needs to yell about it, he should. You're not worried about him turning into a tiger. Gar deserves to let everything off of his chest. He always lets everyone else vent to him.

Gar's eyes narrow slightly. "This feels like a trick."

"It's not. I'd yell at Jason sometimes. He just kind of let me and then he'd yell at me. It was never that we were really yelling at each other, but just yelling. Because we were scared or mad. It usually helped. So, go for it." You shrug softly. "I do deserve it though so ya know."

Gar lets out a breath and decides he'll take the opportunity. He is just scared for all of you. Losing Donna was really hard. And losing Jason was worse. He was close with Json and that sucks. And now he's back and he's dark, working with a maniac. Hank is gone, there's no getting him back. Gar just can't lose more people and he's pissed that you and Dick don't seem to care how any of them feel about it. You're supposed to look out for each other to make sure you don't get blown up or beaten to death but Dick and you just go off on your own without a word.

"I'm just mad at you guys and I'm scared you're gonna go out there and get yourselves killed." Gar groans. "We had no idea where you guys went. You guys left and didn't loop us in. We're supposed to be a team and I know you're between teams but we're at least supposed to be friends! Jason is my friend, too! I want to be on his side. But you guys aren't telling us anything! I don't want to lose any more people."

You're tired of everything and you're tired of keeping secrets especially when Gar is looking at you desperate for answers. He says you're between teams right now but what if you don't want to be anymore? Jason is going to do whatever Crane is putting him up to and Dick is going to off and do his own thing anyway. Nothing you're doing has been working anyway. Maybe you're tired of being the one in the middle.

"The call about Crane came in and we left. I was with Dick and I don't think he would have looped me in if I wasn't already there. You're my friend. You're right. And that's why I didn't tell you." You state. "It's just...I wanted to protect you, I guess. I, uh, I've been dodging Molly's calls and texts, too because of it. I'm with you, I'm sick of losing people. So, I didn't tell you."

"Okay and I get that but this is what we do." Gar urges. "We help each other and we help other people even when it's dangerous. It's dangerous but you and Dick still go out there alone. At least if we're all working as a team, we have a better shot of making it home."

You chew the inside of your cheek and you think your heart might stop beating soon. "I fought him, ya know? And I know what that was like because even though I was high, I'm sober now and I remember every detail. And it fucking sucks that happened. I didn't want that to happen to you. I don't want him to have a bigger reason to target you." You shake your head and you shrug slowly and weakly. "He's not your fight, Gar."

"Yeah, he is." Gar urges. "Why wouldn't he be? He's my best friend."

"Because I owe it to him." You nearly yell. "I owe it to him to fucking save him because he saved me more than once and I never fucking told him. I missed it. I will never forgive myself for it. I have to save him this time."

"You don't have to do it alone." Gar's voice nearly breaks and he desperately wishes that's something you would understand. You never have to do this stuff alone. That's part of being a team and a family. "He's our friend. He's our family. We weren't here and that sucks! But he's not just yours to save. What if you can't do it alone?" Gar asks. "You're up against a freaky drug, Jason who I don't think you could really fight if you had to, and Scarecrow!"

"I know." You nod your head. "I don't know, okay? I know I can't do it alone. I'm sorry. I really am." You suck in a breath. And you're realizing you do a lot of things alone. It's as if it's easier to do them alone and only disappoint yourself, risk your own life than drag other people in the middle of it. "Really, I'm sorry. I was...scared if I tell you then you have to tell Dick and what if that got Jason killed, ya know? I don't know. I'm sorry though."

"You can tell me." Gar says. "I know you're worried about him but you can tell me and I won't tell Dick." Gar stresses. "Not if there's a risk it'll get Jason killed again."

"I know." You nod. "I'll try harder. I'm really sorry, Gar." You let out a breath. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna stay out of it today and take a breather. Might head to Excellent Gotham later, just so you know." You offer a soft smile.

"It's okay." Gar nods his head and offers a soft smile back. "You're going to be able to do that?"

"Yeah, I think better when I take a step back and I need to find a way to not be in the middle." You let out a soft chuckle. "While not doing it alone. But, if something happens..."

"I'll let you know." Gar's eyes widen. "Thank you." Gar clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "That did help a little actually."

"Told you." You laugh softly as you get to your feet. "Want some food now? Yelling really works up an appetite."

"Yeah okay." Gar chuckles as you get up. "Oh! I can tell you about Blackfire."

"Blackfire?" You quirk a brow.

"Kory's sister. She was kind of tapping into Kory's head and she attacked me yesterday so we went to find Blackfire. Some scientist was holding her captive." Gar states excitedly.

"Um..." You stutter. "Well, we already have so much in common." You laugh softly. "But yeah, no, please explain literally all of that." You say eagerly as the two of you make your way to the kitchen.

Jason and Crane are standing in the washing area of an operating room, watching as the surgeon and the nurses prep a kid for something. Jason isn't sure why Crane made him come here. He said he wanted to show Jason something. It's important he understands what's going on and Jason's part in all of this. If Jason were being honest, he thinks Crane is full of shit this time and he just wants to get out of here. This feels wrong.

Then it gets worse.

A woman comes in holding a sword and starts slicing up the surgeon and nurses. Jason's eyes grow wide as his breathing stops. Blood sprays over the walls and window right in front of Jason. A nurse backs against the window with her hands up and begs for her life only for the woman to slice her, too. This isn't right. Why would Crane do this? They're doctors. They're helping some kid live and Crane has this woman come in....and kill them. She takes something with her before looking at the window and offering Crane a nod. Jason questions if all of that bloodshed was for that one thing. She didn't have to kill them. But, she did.

"You are expendable. If you're not happy here, you are replaceable. Remember what I said." Crane says as he faces Jason and that's when Jason realizes this whole thing might be to help Crane, but the show was a threat.

Crane is withholding the drug from him today. Jason finished the inhaler and then Crane refused to give him more until they came here. He's withholding it on purpose, let Jason's fear kick in just enough to keep him in line and make him desperate. And it's working.

He's scared again.

He's scared he'll end up like the surgeons and nurses. He's scared Crane is the one who's going to turn on him. Red Hood is supposed to be the face of the whole plan. That was the point of creating that alter ego. Crane wants Jason to get rid of you and just do whatever he says, when he says it. He wants him to divert from the original plan while telling him nothing about what's actually going on. He can't do that. That is his line.

Crane can try all he wants but no amount of drugs or manipulation will get him to cross that line. He might believe Crane sometimes about you, maybe he has a point sometimes. But, he won't kill you. You could have killed him at any point but you don't. You could have pushed him off a roof but you didn't. When Jason gets desperate he thinks of that because you're the one that stood on that ledge with him despite your fear of heights. You're the one that talked him down that day no one else and he owes you something for that alone. He won't go after you. He doesn't fucking care what Crane has to say about it, he won't do it.

The more he thinks about it, the more mad he gets. Crane thinks he's expendable, just like Bruce. But he's not. Why does everyone think he's so fucking expendable and replaceable? Why is nothing he does enough? He turned on all of his friends for Crane. He killed Hank for Crane. That's not enough to prove he's not replaceable and expensable? It's infuriating. He'll prove Crane wrong. If Crane wants to get to you, he'll have to go through him first. If Crane wants to wait to distribute the drug, that's a Crane problem, not a Jsaon problem. And he knows exactly what he can do to prove Crane he's not expendable and he can be trusted.

Later that night, you find your way to Excellent Gotham. The other Titans have been busy trying to locate Crane and Jason. You kept yourself busy with a scrapbook page while they did their own thing. It's not really all that nice distancing yourself alone. You figure Excellent Gotham at least provides dinner and you can talk to Tim, someone who doesn't know everything that's going on and doesn't come with the feeling of guilt. If Tim wants to talk about who the Titans are and Batman and Robin, that's fine, too because it's what you always did. Before everything. It'll feel normal anyway. At least Excellent Gotham is a good distraction and lets you take the breather you need. If you're going to be any help, you need the step back. You're too close to it all.

So, you stand at the counter with Tim on the other side as a large smile consumes your face, a take-out counter resting open in front of you.

"Okay, okay, why Bruce Wayne? Like, okay if Dick were Robin, how does that make Bruce Batman?" You question as Tim leans against the counter.

There's a genuine smile splitting your face as you point at him with your fork before going in for another bite. You've been here a few hours, checking in with Gar every so often, a way to try and keep your word to him. And this is helping. You might be in a heated discussion about who everyone is but it feels normal. It doesn't feel heavy anymore. It's just a normal conversation with a friend and it doesn't feel fucking sad. It just feels warm.

You don't remember the last time you felt warm.

"He's rich." Tim scoffs, a grin plastered across his face. "And why else would he let Dick go out there?"

"Unless he doesn't know. Bruce is a busy man. Dick being Robin doesn't mean Bruce is Batman and that's if Dick is Robin." You argue with a laugh. "And that means you'd also be wrong about Jason."

"No, no, I know I'm right about Dick and Jason." Tim pauses, the smiling falling. "Is...is that okay to talk about? Jason?"

"Yeah." You nod with a soft smile. "I, uh, I like talking about him."

"Okay well," Tim picks right back with enthusiasm. You find it amusing how into this he is. Especially since he's right. "He has to be Robin. He has the same fighting style. He walks the same way, how do you explain that?" Tim raises. "And Robin 1.0 and Robin 2.0 share the same height difference as Jason and Dick." Tim states. "If they're the Robins, Bruce has to be Batman."

"Unless!" You yell with a laugh, flinging your fork around. "Dick recruited Jason because they're brothers! Like I said, Bruce is busy. What if Batman is just some guy? Like Kick-Ass. Doesn't have to be some rich guy and maybe he's recruiting kids." You argue and truly, you're only defending Bruce because you think it's funny. And Dick would kill you if you outed fucking Batman.

"Batman can be Batman because he's rich." Tim laughs. "Uh, where has Bruce Wayne been? Where has Batman been? They disappeared the same time!" Tim laughs.

"Bruce is on business! Maybe there's a Justice League thing!" Your laugh reverberates through the restaurant. This feels like home. "How the fuck would I know where Batman is?" You put your fork back in your food. "And that's still assuming Dick is Robin! He's not. Explain Dick having a stick up his ass. Robin is more free-spirited!"

"Sorry to interrupt this very important conversation." Mr. Drake states, walking back to the counter. "But Tim, where is Stephen? Get him on the damn phone and find out where he is. Or you're stuck here all night."

"Shit." Tim mutters, checking his phone to see Stephen's shift started an hour ago. "Okay, hold on." Tim says. "And we'll continue this." Tim laughs as he calls Stephen on FaceTime. "Where are you, man? Your shift started over an hour ago."

"Priorities. My girl's parents are out of town. I'll be there in a second." Stephen says through a grin.

"Seriously? I could have plans." Tim protests.

"What plans?" You snort. "You're here with me arguing about Batman."

"Whatever. Just hurry up." Tim says as he hangs up and three men walk into the restaurant.

Tim is about to start talking all over again with even more enthusiasm and proof but he gets a look at your face, eying the men as they walk further into the restaurant. Maybe you’re just paranoid but they look like they’re up to something. It’s that their walk is steady, determined, but careless. Their eyes don’t land on the menu or Tim or Mr. Drake. They’re pointed at the register. And that’s when you see the reflection of metal sticking out of the last guy’s waistband. He looks to you and then it starts.

The throbbing kicks in like a freight train. It’s an armed robbery and they plan to go out swinging. You’re quick, rushing to Tim as they pull out their guns. Gunfire surrounds and encompasses the restaurant as you tackle Tim to the floor behind one of the counters.

Tim leans against the counter, ducking his head with every echo of a gunshot. His eyes are on you as you take a breath, as if to be debating what you’re going to do. And Tim knows you knew this would happen. You were running to him before they had their guns pulled. And his thoughts are confirmed when you look back to him with fury in your eyes.

It’s been less than five seconds but it gives you enough time to gather yourself. It’s all you need. These people are not going to walk in here and murder the people you care about. They picked the wrong restaurant on the wrong night during one of the worst months of your life.

You lift your hoodie, pulling a knife from the belt around your waist before you pop up from behind the counter.

“Ya fucking missed, assholes!” You yell over at them as the knife leaves your fingers, connecting with one of the guys’ eyes, embedding itself deep into his skull as he drops to the ground.

The throbbing starts again from the side and you duck down just before a shot comes your way. You take another deep breath before grabbing another two knives and throwing one, hitting one of their jugulars. The last one still standing locks eyes with you, his gun pointed right at you. He has this…grin, one you almost swear you’ve seen before but you’ve never seen him before this. His breathing is steady and he actually looks relaxed while you have your arm ready and aimed with a knife, right at him.

His pupils are blown.

And then your heart sinks because Crane is free on the streets and these guys came in here completely fearless. This one finds the whole damn thing amusing. Maybe he’s just high on something else, or maybe you’re right and Jason and Crane have moved to disruption. Excellent Gotham wouldn’t just be a coincidence.

“Give me the money and it’ll be over.” He says so easily you nearly roll your eyes.

“Kiss my ass.” You throw the knife, hitting this one in the arm with the gun.

Then you throw another one, hitting him just below the eye. He drops to the ground in a hard thump, leaving the restaurant a glass and gun-shelled mess. The smell of gun metal seeps into the air while an eery and dense silence consumes the place.

Tim calls your name not ten seconds after the last man drops. There’s panic in his voice, a sense of dread. You rush right over to him where he’s against the food counter now, his dad leaning against the side of it. Blood seeps through Tim’s hands are he tries to hold pressure on the wound. You kneel down, seeing Mr. Drake breathing heavily. Your eyes scan over him, quickly running over the crash course Jason gave you in gunshot wounds once.

“He’s been shot!” Tim yells, desperation in his eyes as he looks to you, silently pleading for help. He knows you're Bluejay. He can only assume you've had some sort of training in this. More than he's had.

You can feel the lump in your throat grow and the spinning of your head. Blood never really bothered you and it didn't with Dick. But, it was mostly dry with him earlier and this, right now, is fresh and active. Your bones feel like they're going to vibrate through your skin and your teeth grind together, trying to push every thought out of your mind that isn't first aid. 

You have to help.

“Okay, move.” You urge as Tim pulls his hands away. Your hands are shakey as you lift Mr. Drake’s shirt, seeing the wound oozing and you think you might prefer knife wounds instead of gaping holes. “It’s gonna take the ambulance ten to fifteen to get here,” You rush out. “So, we–”

“Is that…?” Tim asks, cutting you off as his eyes are on the window. He only even looked up to see if he saw someone for help or Stephen but instead of help, he just saw one person.

Jason Todd.

You look up just in time to catch a glimpse of him before he turns around. This cannot really be happening right now. Jason Todd is supposed to be dead. It was all over Gotham City News. Bruce's newest adoptive son was killed in a freak accident. This is going to be a lot harder to explain to Tim and you want to explode. If he's here, you're right.

Why the fuck would he be here and why the fuck would he target the place you frequent?

“Okay, keep pressure.” You look to the door, seeing Stephen rush in. “Stephen, call an ambulance and grab some towels!” You yell as you get to your feet. “Stay here, hold pressure with the towels. I’ll be right back.” Your words nearly slur together as they come out as fast as your mouth will let them.

You rush outside where you see Jason, his back facing the open windows of the restaurant. You can’t believe this. Of all the things he could do, of all the damn people in Gotham he could target, he really came for you. For your friend and his family. You can’t fucking do it anymore. This is insane. If he wants to go after Dick, fine. Sibling rivalry bullshit taken to an extreme. But this? This is targeting innocent fucking people.

“Jason!” You seethe as you approach him. “What. The. Fuck!?” You scream, nearly vibrating from the anger coursing through your veins.

But then Jason faces you.

The anger washes away as your mouth opens, looking for words. There are dark circles under his eyes, a hollowed expression of the charism that used to radiate off of him. Maybe it’s the dark lighting but you swear the green in his eyes is pale, his skin is pale. He looks like a shell of who he used to be. He’s been acting like it but now…he really looks the part and you’re getting the idea that something really bad is happening.

Jason’s eyes are wide, tired, and exhausted but wide as he sees you come to a dead stop a few feet away from him. Why are you here? You’re not supposed to be here. You should be with Dick and the other Titans. He didn’t see you inside of the restaurant. Not before the gunfire or after. How did he miss you? It can’t be you. He just wanted to show Crane he was right. He wanted to prove he could do this. He chose Excellent Gotham on purpose, a way to show Crane it’s a threat at you without being a real threat. He knows you went to Tim for help. You weren’t supposed to be here.

Jason questions your name, closing the rest of the distance between the two of you.

His hands immediately come to your face for just a second and they send a chill down your spine. His fingers are like icicles and they're clammy, completely different than how they usually are and it breaks your heart. He keeps his right hand on your cheek, while the other hand goes to your waist. His eyes scan you over quickly, desperate to make sure you weren’t hurt in the gunfire. He didn’t take the drug again yet, he was saving it for after. He’s scared. Panicked. Desperate and guilty. You have blood on your hands and on your clothes. Can’t be yours. Not you. 

Please not you.

“Are you hurt?” Jason rushes but his voice is weak and fragile, echoed in pain.

You eye him and you’re stuck between wanting to punch him and wanting to kiss him in hopes to make it all better again. He’s slipping so far away from you and you’re scared how far he’s willing to fall. Crane is doing something to him. He has to because he didn’t look like this last night. He didn’t even seem like he cared this much last night. Right at this exact moment, he feels like the old Jason. And you nearly get sucked right back into his gravitational pull.

“What…” The venom is gone from your voice. “What is he doing to you?” You ask, your hand comes to to his face. Not him. Not again.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jason’s voice breaks.

“You know I’m always here. I was hanging out with Tim. Jason…what the hell is he giving you?” You look him over and you notice him favoring his leg. You haven’t seen him much since he’s been back from the dead but this is the first time since that first day you’re noticing it. You always notice it.

“Are you hurt?” Jason asks again and he can feel his heartbeat in his throat. He wants to spit his own heart right onto the ground in hopes it’ll stop the pain in his chest.

“No. I’m fine. It’s not mine.” You urge, catching him glancing at your free hand. “Jason, what is Crane giving you?”

Jason shakes his head, dropping his other hand to your waist. He misses you. He’s been so damn high all the time, he’s been able to ignore the longing in his chest. The one who always swore was his heart searching for yours. He could ignore it with ease but Crane has been keeping the drug close to his chest and this batch isn’t very good. He can feel it more tonight. It’s wearing off quicker. He can feel the worry for you and the care and the fact he fucking misses you. And the guilt for everything that’s led you both here.

“Same shit.” Jason grits his teeth. “You took it, you know.” He hates the words leaving his lips because they sound bitter and angry but it’s not at you. He just wants you to be okay and he wants to get the fuck out of here.

“No.” You shake your head, your voice soft. “Are you sure it’s the same drug? Jason, you look…is he withholding it from you?” His skin is cold and clammy under your fingers and his hair is flatter than usual.

You’ve seen it, what withdrawal looks like. You saw it on the streets and that’s what Jason looks like. Why would Crane do that? He’s insane and he doesn’t actually give a shit about Jason but Jason has been doing all of his bidding. You figure Jason is here with the drug. That’s why he just stood here while Excellent Gotham was attacked, he probably gave it to them. Surely, that has to be part of the plan. But, if that’s the case, then why does Jason look like he’s been thrown headfirst into withdrawal? And why would Crane be doing this?

“Stay the fuck out of it. I have it. It’s the same shit. It’s fine.” Jason grits his teeth. He wants to break. He wants to lose it for the first time since that first day on the roof with you. It feels like it’s been months since and it’s only been a week. And you look at him with worry and fear and you have always had a way with getting Jason to breathe. But, he can’t afford that right now. Not you. “Please.”

"It's fine?" You spit. "You look terrible, Jason. It's not fucking fine."

"Yeah, it is." Jason removes his hand from your waist and digs in his coat pocket, pulling out a full inhaler. "Fine." He wiggles the inhaler for you to see, the liquid sloshing around in the clear canister.

After all of that, he's going to wave the drug around as if it's fucking easy. He's going to stand here and pretend like it's all fine and well when he almost got you and Tim shot? He's actually lost his damn mind now. If he's going to stick with Crane despite everything, fine. You've stuck by his side since day one all those months ago. Fine. If it's going to be like that, fine because you can't take it anymore. You love him more than anything on this planet but this is not fucking fine. He's not fine and he has got to realize that. 

"Fine!?" You shake your head, eyes bugging out of your head in disbelief. "Get off me." You shove his hand off of you as you take a step back. It's not fine. None of this is fucking fine. He's not fine. That drug isn't fine. Working with Crane isn't fine. Doing what he just did isn't fucking fine. It doesn't matter what his reason is. "You...you just got Tim's dad shot. Do you know that? What have the Drakes ever done to you?" You look at him with disgust. "You could have gotten Tim shot, my friend. You could have gotten me shot!" Your voice cracks as you yell at him, your arm flying out to the side. You might be worried about him but you're not going to let him almost kill your friends because you're worried about him.

"That wasn't the plan!" Jason screams in desperation, his words clawing at the hope for you to believe him. "You went to Tim, didn't you!? I know you suck at figuring out codes! Tim is a genius. I just wanted to scare him!" Jason defends his stance, leaving out Crane wanting Jason to target you. If you knew this was a fake threat, maybe that'd be worse.

"Bullshit! Bull-fucking-shit! You gave them the drug! That's why you're here! You did this! You knew what would happen and you did it anyway!" You bark back. "You just wanted to scare him!? Then do it your damn fucking self, Jason! You just didn't want the blood on your damn hands so I couldn't blame you! But you did this!" You point a finger at him and Jason isn't sure he's seen you so mad and...disappointed.

"You weren't supposed to be here! I didn't think they'd shoot anyone!"

That's not a lie. He didn't think. He just did it. He knew they'd go in there and rob them. Maybe they'd have to close down for a little bit. For safety. He didn't think about anything else. Thanks to the drug Jason claims is helping him and curing him.

You don't fucking get it. It doesn't matter that you weren't supposed to be here. That's a load of shit anyway. You're always here. Tim and his family are innocent, regardless on if Tim helped you or not. He doesn't know anything, not for sure. Jason's reasoning is flawed and it's cruel. It fucking hurts.

"Tim is my fucking friend! I don't care I wasn't supposed to be here! You....fuck." You let out a desperate groan, tilting your head back. At some point, enough is enough and he isn't even taking responsibility for this. You just can't do this anymore. You look back to him, eyes turning glassy. "I was fucking fine with you being a crime lord or whatever, taking out those fucks hurting people. But this?" You point at the restaurant. "These are innocent people! Hank was innocent! Dick is innocent! I can't fucking stand here and watch you kill innocent fucking people! And innocent fucking people that I care about and that care about me!" You say it all so quickly, you barely register what it would mean.

No no no no no. He fucked it all up. Like he always does. He just ruined it all. Everything is gone. Everything is going to shit. It's all messed up. He did all of this. How did he even get here? You can't walk away from him. You always swore you wouldn't. Please, not you, too.

You're all he has left.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Jason asks, jerking his up quickly as he tries to give the question some bite.

You let out a heartbroken laugh that's mixed with a cry as you look to the sky and hope a blackhole will open up just to swallow you whole. You have no choice.

You have thrown him life preserver after life preserver, and all he ever had to do was hold on and you'd reel him back to safety. But, all Jason has done is chew right through them and wonder why he's still drowning. You can't keep trying to save someone who doesn't want to be saved. He was always your lifeline but you were clearly, never his.

"You win, Jason." Your voice is defeated as Jason's brows furrow. The lump in your throat grows so large you can barely get the words out. "You win. I can't do it anymore. I'm done. I can't." You shake your head as a tear falls down your cheek. The words taste like blood-covered glass, killing you with every cut and slice.

If you're always on his side, then what he's doing can't be that bad. If you're always on his side, defending him, why would he ever stop? You've tried everything else to get him home and none of it is enough. And it is killing you, knowing this is it. There is one last option because something's gotta give. Maybe if he hits rock bottom, having no one, maybe it'll turn him around. It's the only thing left to do because begging him doesn't work, loving him doesn't work, fighting him doesn't work, arguing doesn't work. Nothing else works and you hate it because you don't mean it, not even a little bit but you have no other options and you're devasted by what he is right now.

So, you say the one thing you can't take back.

A last-ditch effort, knowing he may never forgive you.

"I'm giving up on you. You get what you always wanted. I can't do it. I have tried and tried, but I can't do it anymore." You give him a tired shrug as you dodge his eyes.

If you see the heartbreak in his eyes, you'll take it back and you can't do that. If Jason always has you on his side, why would he turn things around when he hasn't yet? You could have died two nights in a row. He is actively targeting the Titans. You can't meet his eyes because he is targeting innocent people. It might be under Crane's control but, until he gets clear of him and gets clean, this has to be on Jason. Jason has to be the one to deal with the consequences and you will never forgive yourself for it.

Jason's world stops. Not you. Not another person. Why does he always do this? How did he even get here? You were never supposed to be involved. He should have included you from the start. He almost rips the inhaler from his pocket and hits it, right in front of you, anything to get rid of this pain in his chest. It's as if his heart just exploded through his cage, shattering every bone on its way out. How are you doing this?

You're all he has left.

Jason shakes his head, fighting back tears of agony and anger. "You're just like everyone else." Jason's voice cracks.

You knew it was coming but something about it makes you want to burst into tears.

"No." You shrug because he should know how badly this hurts you, too. This is the last thing you want to say to him, ever. "I'm not. I am not like everyone else. Don't ever say that shit again. You have done this. You came after my friend. My innocent friend, Jay." Your voice cracks as you try desperately to hold back your sobs. "All you have done since coming back from the dead, is hurt me." You pause, taking a ragged breath and Jason's face falls. Is that true? "And I have done everything to protect you. To be by your side. And you have done nothing but hurt me. So, no. I am not like everyone else. You just gave me no choice, Jay." You're quick to wipe a few tears away as your voice is weak and soft, lacking all fire and bite it had just seconds earlier.

He can't do it. He could try to make up for this. He could try to explain. He could just quit. That would do the job just fine. But, he doesn't. The heartbreak kicks in with anger and he just wants to be spiteful just like he always is as if fighting the person is going to change their mind. He knows it won't change yours but he does it anyway because he's hurt and the hurt has nowhere to go besides the open and cold air of this soulless city.

"You swore you never would but look at you now!" A lump grows in Jason's throat. "You said you don't break promises. Crane was right about you." Jason sneers as he closes the distance between you, looking down at you but he's not threatening or intimidating. You see the heartbreak in his eyes. You will feel guilty about this in every life you live.

Jason Todd has always deserved better.

"Okay." You shake your head slowly. "Sure, Crane doesn't know me. But you do. You know me. And you know I'd never be giving up if you left me another option. But, sure, believe Crane. Fuck it, right?" You scoff and all you want to do is cry. Or break every bone in your body because maybe that would be less painful. "I'm sick of losing my family." Your voice is quiet, barely a whisper. "All I ever wanted was you. And you died." You shrug your shoulders, keeping your eyes on him. "And all I wanted was you." You say quietly and Jason wants to shatter, his breath catching in his throat as his vision starts to go blurry. "And still, all I want is you but...I don't know what else to do."

You can see your breaths mixing together in the winter air between you. Everything led you both here and all you both want to do is take it back. The winter air chisels at your face and hands, hacking away at every hope you could have had. Jason's eyes are locked on yours, dissolving into heartbreak and you think this is what hypothermia must feel like.

But, Jason is too scared of what will happen if he does take it all back. He's still under Crane's manipulation. He's too stubborn. And you're terrified what will happen if you back down. If you back out of it, who will he target next?

"So, that's just it? I didn't mean to hurt anyone in there. It's not my fault." Jason huffs and the anger starts to evaporate as the heartbreak comes in the form of agony and devastation.

"Sure." You nod and you don't want him to feel like he's trapped with Crane. You have to give up because that's your option. But, you can offer him someone else and maybe that'll be enough. This all boils to Dick anyway. "The same way your drug isn't Crane's fault. Look, I'm done. I can't do it. Dick though, he believes in you still. So, if you want to come home, call him. Don't contact me. If you get clean, then you can. Until then, don't call me. Don't text me. Nothing. And stay the fuck away from the Drakes, Molly, and Gar." You try to hide the quiver in your voice but Jason catches it.

"Please, don't walk away." Jason says softly and you nearly collapse into the ground. His words are like knives aiming right for your heart. How does he do that?

You rest a hand on his cheek. "I can't leave it like that so, I'll always love you, Jay but...I want the old you back." You nod as your hand falls from his cheek. You turn around, going to leave him but you hear Jason take a few slow steps after you before they stop.

Jason's voice cracks as he says your name, his version becoming so blurry he can't see. "I...I'm sorry." Jason says quietly, looking to the ground as a tear falls from his eyes. "Don't...please," He looks back up to you. "Don't give up on me. I have a plan and it's all gonna work out. This was just an accident."

You swear he's never going to forgive you for this. This is the hardest thing you've ever done. Even if he understands one day, he'll never forgive you and it's the hardest pill to swallow.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was." You nod softly. "I can't save you. You don't want to be saved, not yet. You have to save yourself, now, Jay. And for what it's worth, I..." You pause watching tears come to Jason's eyes. "I love you, Jay." You nod your head as you sniffle. "And I am so fucking sorry I couldn't save you. From Deathstroke, from the Titans, from the Joker...from Bruce. And from Crane. I'm sorry I was another person that let you down and I'm really fucking sorry I'm walking away." You shake your head as you lick your lips. "But I don't think you'll get it through your head if I'm in your corner. I've tried everything to stay." You suck in a breath as a few tears fall from your eyes. "I tried to stay for once because being with you was worth it to me. But I don't think it's helping you so...get clean and we can talk. The second you get clean, I'll be here." You nod once as the ambulance finally starts to arrive. "Those are for us. You should leave." You turn back around and head back inside of the building, leaving Jason in the cold.

How could he fuck up this bad? He just wanted to show Crane he was right. He just wanted to prove himself and instead, he's the one standing out here all alone. Guilt and shame gnawing at the last good parts of him. And he just can't do it anymore. The pain and the fear and guilt and everything about it. It's too much and too heavy and maybe he's a little spiteful. So, he puts the inhaler to his lips and takes a hit.

They said it was a skinny batch but he didn't realize it would feel like this. It's numbing a lot of everything but not enough and it all still feels too heavy. When things get heavy, he always went to you but he just fucked that up. It's his fault it's heavy. This is all his fault and you're supposed to be on his side but you're not. He's all alone again and all he has is Crane. It's not supposed to be like this. How the fuck did he even get here?

All he wanted was to be somebody to someone. To be enough.

Back in the restaurant, the paramedics are getting Mr. Drake into the ambulance, rushing him off to Gotham General. Tim watches with sad and hollowed eyes, his hands are covered in blood and his shirt is soaked. You squeeze your eyes shut, looking away before you shake it off. You can't lose it over Tim's dad. That's not fair.

"Do...do you need a ride?" You clear your throat as the ambulance drives away. "I have my bike. I can take you." You offer with a steady and firm nod.

"Uh...yeah," Tim looks at his hands, something lost in his voice. "That...that would be great. Thanks."

"Of course." You nod, reaching down for this hand. Your hands have been covered in blood enough times to almost seem normal. "Come on."

The two of you head outside to your bike and you wonder how you're supposed to explain this. Dick talked to you months ago, when you first came to the tower. It was all about vigilante life and what it entailed. It would be making hard decisions but knowing those hard decisions would be for the greater good. It's not killing people because enough people hurt and kill innocent people enough. Vigilantes, heroes, don't do that. It was about keeping the identities of everyone a secret to protect yourself and them. You've never had much of an issue keeping secrets.

You hold your own close to your chest, lock them away where even you forget they exist sometimes. But, those secrets aren't these. Those secrets only ever hurt you, only ever made you feel alone. These secrets that you're forced to keep hurt everyone you care about. They hurt Molly because you couldn't tell her about Bluejay or Robin or Jason or Red Hood. You and Jason would bail on her and you'd both would show up riddled with bruises and aches and pains. It hurt her because it worried her. It hurt her because Jason died and she never got to know him as Robin, the part of him that meant the world to him. She only got to know a portion of him.

But telling Molly meant telling her about Dick and Bruce and the other Titans. It wasn't your secret to tell because it would out all of them. And she still doesn't know he's alive because telling her means leaking something Jason wanted to keep a secret and that's going to hurt her even more.

This hurts Tim because his dad was just shot and he just saw Jason Todd who's supposed to be dead. Now, he's going to think his friend is lying to him about your boyfriend being dead. Lying about an alter ego is one thing, lying about someone dying is cruel. Even if you weren't close.

And it hurts Gar because Gar ends up in the crossfire of everything. He's the one up worrying when you and Dick don't come home. He's the one scared for what Jason is going to do because you couldn't tell him about the drug in order to protect Jason and keep his secrets for him. And then there's Jason.

You can't tell Jason what's going on with the Titans because of Crane. You can't tell him everything you want to desperately scream from the rooftops. That you're sorry and you don't mean it and it hurts you, too. You can't tell him you're scared Crane is going to snap and kill him. It'll drive the wedge further between you. All of these secrets are piling on top of each other, slowly building to the tallest building in Gotham and it's only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses. All it does is hurt everyone you care about. That doesn't seem very heroic.

"Here, take my helmet." You offer the helmet to him once you reach your bike.

"Uh, no it's okay." Tim shakes his head. You're driving.

"Put the helmet on." You say sternly as you mount your bike, sending a glare to Tim.

Something about the look you give him makes Tim grab the helmet. "Right, okay." Tim nods and puts the helmet on before he gets on the back.

"Hold on." You state before Tim holds onto your waist.

You drive to Gotham General, pulling up to one of the entrances without blocking the ambulance entrance. Tim gets off and takes off the helmet, handing it back to you. He knows you know something. And if he's being honest, he's annoyed you didn't tell him. You aren't that close but...his dad just got shot and Jason fucking Todd knew about it. It was a hit. He stood outside and did nothing. Why wouldn't his own girlfriend know he's alive and planning a hit? You have acid generation and combat clairvoyance while also being an excellent marksman. Tim swears it can't be some coincidence you were there tonight.

"I'm really sorry about your dad." You state softly, holding the helmet on your thigh.

"Thanks." Tim looks back at the hospital. "That was Jason Todd outside, wasn't it?"

You nod softly and you know you can't deny that. Tim saw him "Yeah."

"I thought he was dead." Tim questions as his voice holds hints of venom, something you haven't heard before.

"Yeah." You nod again and you hate yourself for tonight. For everything. "Don't, uh, don't tell anyone. It's a long story." You hang your head, dodging the look Tim is surely giving you.

"You knew?" Tim scoffs, looking at you with annoyance and disappointment. Why the hell would you let everyone believe he were dead? "He faked his death or?"

You look back to him and all this sucks. You're sick of lying and hiding secrets. It's tiring and lonely. It's so fucking lonely.

"No." You shake your head. "He, uh...he really, uh...he really died." You suck in a shakey breath before you shake your head quickly. "I-I can't tell you anything else." You let out a bitter scoff. "That's shit and I know that. I'm sorry."

"Did he target us because of you? Because of the Titans?" All Tim wants is some clarity. There had to be reason. Tim helped you with a code. That's what it was.

"Not a Titan." You sigh with exhaustion, lacking any and all fight you'd normally have with the statement. "I don't know why." You lie but you're sick of this. Keeping these secrets is making you out to be the bad guy with everyone and you're not. You're just trying to protect everyone you care about so, you're not going to tell him in so many words but you're not going to cover it up either. "Um...yeah...maybe it was because of me but uh...I, uh, I never...I never thought he'd figure it out or....or come after you. I should have left you out of it."

Tim nods bitterly and he wants to understand but his dad could have been killed. "That code, it wasn't a murder mystery thing, was it?" Tim asks and you just suck in a breath, not offering him anything else. Technically, you aren't lying and technically you aren't telling him anything. He already knows. You don't need to so he nods. "I saw what you did. You knew they were going to start shooting. I was right."

You shake your head, looking to the sky and it's gloomy as always but it looks like it might snow. You scoff looking back to Tim. "I saw the guns."

"Bullshit, you know," Tim gestures a hand to you. "You're supposed to be a hero, like Batman and Robin but..." Tim shakes his head.

"Fuck Batman." You mutter as your jaw clenches.

"You're supposed to help people." Tim says sternly.

The lump in your throat grows and you bite your cheek so hard the taste of iron floods your mouth. It's not supposed to be this hard. And why does helping people have to be so black and white? Good and bad? It's not. Whether anyone likes it or not, the guys you want to target and take out permanently and the guys Jason was going after, that was helping. Making sure they can't hurt anyone else ever again. That's helping. Dick thinks he can help all of the Titans and he fucks up sometimes which gets people hurt, but he still helps. Sometimes people get hurt and that sucks but does that really make everyone else irrelevant? Does that really make everything else wrong? Or the motive and reasoning?

Helping people shouldn't be black and white, good and bad, morally good and morally evil. There needs to be a grey area because you have people like the Joker who needed to be killed for the greater good of everyone in Gotham. And you have people like Jason who isn't in his right mind and is being manipulated but should still be helped. It sucks Tim's dad got shot and you will regret going to Tim for help forever, but you're helping him by not telling him anything, even if you want to and even if he doesn't see it that way.

"I am literally begging you to please go inside and leave this alone, Tim." You force the words through gritted teeth. "I can't fucking tell you anything else, okay? I want to. If it were up to me, I'd fucking tell you what's going on but I can't. It's not my shit to say." You look to the ground and then back up to Tim, rolling your shoulders softly. "So, I'm sorry." You shake your head, giving up and cluing him enough. Technically, you're not admitting to anything, just admitting that you know what's going on.

"You just confirmed it." Tim says softly. "I'm gonna figure out what's going on and--"

"Tim! Please, go be with your dad. Trust me." You practically beg him because if he digs into this, what's going to stop Jason from actually going after him? Tonight might have been a threat or whatever, but at this point, you don't know if he would actually go after someone like Tim. You need him to just take what you're saying and understand it.

"That's my dad."

"I know and I know it sucks. I get it which is why I'm telling you to go be with him." You say softly as your voice cracks.

Tim nods softly, understanding why you're saying it. "Thanks for the ride."

"Just...text me about your dad, okay?" You ask. "I'm really fucking sorry."

"I will." Tim nods because he's beginning to think maybe this isn't on you. He might know who you are but you aren't as cut and dry as Batman and Robin always were. You're more morally grey and maybe it is more complicated because it involves Jason. You look terrified. "Thanks for saving me."

You nod quickly. "Of course." You say softly. "Good luck." You suck in a breath, popping the helmet on and taking off.

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A/n: I still promise reader and Jason get a happy ending lmao This just had to happen lol but I do make up for it a little bit next chapter (pretty sure it's next chapter)

Tag list: @fairyofshampoo // @italiana-20 // @jasontoddsmentaldisorders // @purplerose291 // @lovelessamai  // @makaelaseresin // @lenidaslenchen // @mayfieldss  // @ghostkingblake // @im-done-with-this-im-out // @velvetskies // @lilylovelyxo // @cryinghotmess // @yesimwriting // @vivian-555 // @stainedstardom // @baebeepeach // @legend-o-zelda // @harleycao // @somehow-lovable-trash  // @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx // @deyja-the-duck // @jasontoddslover //  @captainmarvels-blog // @totallynotkaibiased // @scarlovesyou // @whydoyoucare866 // @littlemeowmeow1000 // @ginger24880 // @septixtrash // @kplatzman // @urmomsgayforme5

#jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #red hood x reader #red hood x you #jason todd fanfic #jason todd fanfiction #red hood fanfic #red hood fanfiction #titans fanfic #titans fanfiction #dc fanfic #dc fanfiction #petrichor

[whoahoney]

hi ml, I’m not sure if you’re taking requests! but I’ve seen a few people request work from you. if not that’s totally fine and I’m sorry for the inconvenience! but I have this imagine in my head😭

eddie x best friend, they get tickets to some rock/metal concert (you pick:)) & she gets insanely jealous when she finds him making out with some chick in the pit, so then she finds a random guy to flirt with in the pit, and it all goes downhill from there, then he finally confronts her abt it & they both sorta confess mid arguement😭 I feel like that’s such an Eddie thing to do. “I love you you stupid ass fucking bitch”💀

You’re so lovely, thank you for this!! 😭 this helped my writers block 💖 I’m a sucker for friends to lovers!

Eddie Munson x Best Friend!Reader

Summary: Eddie and Y/n face difficulties and repressed feelings in the pit of a Judas Priest concert.

Content Warnings: 18+ (Minors DNI), fem!reader, drug use (they high asf), toxic friends to lovers, language, angst/comfort, reader pushes Eddie around a lot out of anger but nothing wild, PDA in the pit, groping

Part 2

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Eddie and Y/n had spent the last 3 1/2 hours in the freezing cold, waiting in line for the pit to open at the Judas Priest Concert in Indianapolis. The friends had saved for months to be able to purchase tickets, Priest being apart of the foundation of their friendship.

The two met at the beginning of high school; both outcast for their shared love of a darker aesthetic and louder music, and soon finding solace within one another one rainy day when Jason Carver broke her tape and Eddie happened to notice it was Judas Priest. He quickly offered to give her his own copy, which she happily accepted.

It wasn’t long before the two developed feelings for each other; sneaking glances, hiding the dirtiest thoughts that floated around in their brains when they were alone together in each other’s rooms, not to mention the jealousy they’d feel when seeing the other pay any attention to a member of the opposite sex.

Y/n had gotten used to Eddie’s easy way with words around the girls at the bars in the city they frequented, both of them having their ways to combat the green monster. Eddie had yet to get used to guys offering to buy drinks for his crazy beautiful and dorky best friend and wrap their arms around her front to keep her close to their chests; the way he’d wanted to forever.

Most times they went out resulted in bickering and tension for unknown or unspoken reasons; Eddie getting upset about creepy dudes touching his friend and loudly breaking it up, or Y/n seething in the corner with a whiskey in hand as Eddie leaned closer to some blonde at the bar, only noticing his friends displeasure when she paid her tab and obnoxiously reached into his pants pocket for his keys without a word to him or a glance to the girl he was entertaining.

Of course he’d always go after her, but not without exchanging words.

‘What is your fuckin problem?’

‘Every time we go out you always gotta—‘

‘So you like weird dudes looking at you like that? You think they wanna take you home to mom, really? Think again!’

‘You and sluts, Eddie, what the fuck is up with that?’

‘You could do so much better!’

Always ending with

‘I’m sorry…’

‘I just wanna protect you’

‘You only deserve the best.’

‘I wouldn’t be with anyone that had a problem with our friendship’

‘You’re my best friend’

So the last couple months consisted mostly of the two staying in at their own places, ordering take out, watching movies, and of course smoking and drinking. The evenings they didn’t get together they typically shared a phone call after work, most of the time during dinner.

Y/n would giggle at Eddie’s garbled speech over the phone as he shoveled Chinese noodles into his mouth, ranting about the disappointing ending of his latest novel and listing the ways he could’ve made it better.

Eddie enjoyed hearing Y/n’s stories of her days spent taking classes at the community college, slowly but surely crawling her way to a degree while only doing part time. He enjoyed hearing her spill endlessly about her major, learning from her the more she spoke and reveling in the passionate way she described it all.

They hadn’t been able to hang out in a couple weeks, phone calls coming by more frequently than their physical beings, but this meant the time spent together the day of the concert would be even more fun and special.

Until the cold front moved in.

The two didn’t mind getting closer, playing thumb war as a poor excuse to hold hands. It wasn’t long after that until the doors opened and the two held onto each other tightly, heading through security just fine until they hit the pit.

They bumped and cursed their way through as rogue fans went in hard with elbows. They got about midway before the wiggle room ended, though they were satisfied with their view of the middle of the stage. Eddie looked down at his best friend and smiled fondly at her.

Her eye makeup tonight reminded him of the way she used to do it when they first became friends, thick and dark on the top and bottom lash line, a little smokey on the edges.

She caught his stare and blushed a deep pink before averting her eyes, “What is it? Is my makeup already fucked? Lipstick on my teeth?” She flashed her front teeth as he chuckled and shook his head.

She quickly ran her tongue over her teeth and crinkled her brow in confusion. “Did you take your edible already?” She giggled as they shuffled forward.

“Pfft, no.” He lied.

Y/n rolled her eyes, knowingly.

“If we’re playing that game, I didn’t either.” She stuck out her blue tinted tongue from the gummies they shared. Eddie chuckled and stuck his own out, the matching blue patch sitting in the middle of his tongue.

Y/n shivered at the thought of his mouth tasting the exact same as hers did at this moment. She saw the couples surrounding them, guys holding their girls to their sides or fronts protectively, the way she wanted to be held by Eddie so badly. There was a couple times the instances occurred though it was always after drinks and under jealous pretenses.

It wasn’t real.

Eddie was just protective. Maybe a little territorial. But Y/n didn’t mind it. If anything she wished he would indulge in it more.

By the time the show started, the lights began flashing brilliant purple, blue, and yellow, the crowd was roaring so loud the space between Eddie and Y/n was quiet enough to speak.

“C’mon, follow me, we’ll get closer.” He nodded, spotting a way through a couple gaps. He stepped quickly without grabbing her hand properly—used to her being hot on his heels, when suddenly a girl cut her off midway, following Eddie through the gaps and disappearing as the crowd closed in.

“Eddie! Eddie Munson!” She called, jumping up to try to spot the usually easy to find mop of curls, but lamented when she realized there were a million of them now. She went the way she last saw him go, calling for him the whole way and searching for him in a sea of people who held no interest in her personal space or search for her friend.

“Eddie Munson, you fucking bastard!” She cursed, ducking through wandering hands and bitchy looks while their favorite songs played. She felt tears prickling at her eyes as her limbs became heavy from swimming against the current and groaned when she reached a dead end without finding him.

She leaned against the railing for a breather, a stray tear escaping before she gathered her bearings and decided to continue in a new direction. With a breath she turned to look at the stage and spotted the Dio backed vest just a few feet ahead.

Her heart soared, a laugh of relief coming from her as she took a step towards him, when suddenly a woman’s leg wrapped around his side. Y/n now noticed the fingers tangled in his hair as he stumbled backwards towards the railing. The blonde from before attached to his mouth like a sucker fish, though he seemed to be enjoying it.

Y/n stood gaping and cemented as Beyond the Realms of Death played, the song she had hoped to hear the most. She saw the way her fingers curled around his arm, how his roamed down her back and pulled her closer by her leg. Her chest ached when she saw him practically melt against the girl, his rings digging into her bare flesh.

Y/n choked out a sob when the girl moved to his neck, probably sucking a hickey at the crook of it where Y/n had rested her head many times. Eddie cracked his eyes open as he sighed blissfully, meeting her broken gaze as her makeup ran and ran and ran.

His eyes widened, dropping the girls leg from his waist and taking a step towards his friend. “Y/n!” He called as her eyes turned from hurt to pain and then anger within a second. She marched forward, the blonde’s confusion going unnoticed by Eddie as he took bounding steps away.

“Y/n—“His words were silenced with a shove to his chest and a mighty grunt from his friend, directing him into the pit where she originally wanted to be.

“Fuck you!” She spat on her way past him. He caught her arm and spun to her to face him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lose you! Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, you looked so concerned with your tongue down that bitch’s throat. Save it.” She shrugged away from him.

“Is that what this is about? Oh, come ON. What is your problem? We’re friends, right? Friends help friends get laid, why can’t you just be my friend? Why can’t you let me have anyone?” He cried.

Y/n’s eyes widened as the fucks fled her body, biting back an unhinged smile stretching on her face at his words. To be fair, she probably looked horrifying, but inside of her a switch had flipped and she suddenly felt eerily calm.

“Y’know what, Ed? Don’t worry about me. Have a good fucking show.” She said with a seemingly earnest smile on her face as she wiped the last falling tears and mascara streaks from her cheeks. Before Eddie could manage a response she turned on her heel and made her way deeper into the crowd, tuning into the noise and choosing to deal with her crumbling heart later.

Eddie followed after her, watching the top of her head swerve through the crowd for almost a whole song until he realized the person he’d spotted wasn’t even her to begin with. Worry began to set in as soon as his edible did. “Y/n?” He called, turning in circles as people chastised his tall figure for obstructing the view.

Before he could finish calling her name again, he heard her giggle. He turned, almost sighing in relief at the thought of her just trying to mess with him by playing a short lived game of hide and seek, when he spotted her under the arm of some punk with a head of fiery curls, the two practically touching noses as they sang Love Bites to one another, making daring little touches against one another’s face and hands.

Eddie seethed as the guys arm slipped from her shoulder to her ass, using his other index finger to tilt her chin to meet his lips. Eddie grabbed her hand that was poised to cup the guy’s cheek right before their lips could meet, and jerked her away and into him, barreling towards the back of the pit and ready to leave.

He could hear her shouts of protest though he wasn’t met with any resistance from her as he guided her through the crowd. He led her out of the arena and into the deserted hallway, the roar of the crowd and the muffled wailing of the guitar sounded through the stone walls.

Eddies face was hard with anger, his jaw clenched tightly as he ran a hand down his face. Y/n finally ripped her wrist away and shoved Eddie again, his back hitting the wall—a stifled groan rippled from his chest as he did.

“You’re such a goddamn hypocrite, you know that?” She barked. Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Who’s the real hypocrite here? I can’t have the same reaction you did? You just had to try to—“

“You call that the same reaction? I didn’t even kiss the guy and you made us leave the entire concert but you were almost swallowed by a human goldfish and I can’t be a little upset?” She cried, her eyes betraying her anger by glossing over.

Eddie swallowed thickly. “We were just talking, and-and the crowd made us get really close—She grabbed me, I just didn’t—“

“I don’t care to hear about it.” She dead panned, wiping her face and turning to either walk back into the concert or leave the place entirely, she hadn’t decided.

“Oh my god, yes you fucking do!” He cried, hot tears prickling behind his eyes as his throat closed up, the sight of her walking away from him unbearable.

She spotted the exit at the end of the hall and turned to yell to him. “Yeah, I do, Eddie, just not the way you do!” She shoved through the door carelessly marching into the freezing cold.

She ended up in an ally, a couple dumpsters on either side. Y/n groaned and turned in worried circles as she tried to fight the choking sobs that threatened to escape her. Streams of hot tears poured from her eyes as she crouched down by the trash and pressed her fists into her forehead to relieve the pressure of the heartbreak beating into her head as she heaved.

Suddenly the door shoved open and Eddie stomped out, ready to go down swinging if she fought riding home with him, when his face softened at her broken form on the ground in front of him. She peaked up at him, shooting him a glare right before he yanked her up and pushed her against the wall this time.

“Eddie—“

“No. My turn.” He almost spat, the breath of his words hitting her mouth and nose as he spoke. His hands planted on either side of her head as he caged her in. “I have spent so long trying to show you. Trying to get you to decide—that maybe if we did our own things it’d help. I’m—Every time, Y/n. Every time someone shows interest in me, the first thing I do is compare them to you—to my best friend. My… my perfect best friend.” His voice weakened.

“For a while it felt like-like you were just trying to protect me, like you felt I could do better, but now it’s like you just don’t want anyone to have me, and—and I just can’t understand why??” His voice cracked. “Every time I think we’re going somewhere I hit dead ends and I’m okay with being friends, I’d die before giving that up, but if we’re only friends you can’t—“

“What??” Is all she managed. “What do you-what do you mean—Eddie, you’ve practically kept me at an arms length since you started dating people! But lately, it’s like—ugh!” She exclaimed in exasperation. “It’s felt like maybe you might see me differently—but then you just jump on the first chance you get. At our concert?” She hiccuped and looked to the ground when her vision became too blurry.

“Sweetheart…” He cooed.

“Stop it! I do wanna be friends but it hurts every time we—“

“I love you, you stupid fucking bitch!” He took her face in his hands and spoke over her loudly, gently shaking her with urgency.

Y/n’s eyes widened, a soft gasp leaving her at the confession. Her throat closed a as her brain short circuited, her tears spilling down her cheeks. “I—wha—“

He scoffed and crashed his lips against hers, mouthing at her stunned lips until they melted and moved against him. She let out a whine of relief, perhaps all the years of longing pouring out of her when he opened the floodgates.

She leaned back against the wall, his hands cradling her jaw while his fingers wrap around the nape of her neck, gently clenching the roots of her hair.

Her hands started the same, quickly moving down his neck and roaming his chest. His breath caught noticeably when she wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him flush against her, raking her nails down his back gently and pulling a sigh from him.

They finally pulled away, though Y/n pressed her head into the side of his neck, the opposite side of where the blonde had spent her time. The two sat in silence, holding one another and trying to form whole sentences and figure out where to go next.

“I love you too… I always have..” She whispered, not missing the sharp inhale of surprise he drew in. “You stupid fucking asshole.” She giggled before pressing a long open mouthed kiss to the side of his neck. Eddies eyes rolled back in his head when she began sucking softly.

He was ripped from his trance when she shoved him away towards the door, grabbing his hand on her way past in his dazed state and tugging him back inside. “But we’ve waited too long for Judas fucking Priest to miss it just for you to fuck me behind a dumpster.” Eddie cackled madly and ran after her.

Part 2

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Taglist 🤍

@loving-and-dreaming

#eddie munson requests #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson drabble #eddie munson oneshot #answered asks #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson angst

[samgirl98]

Mending a Family 35/?

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When Jason was young, there had been no Christmas tree or decorations. They had been too poor for that. As Willis used to say, would you rather be warm or have useless shit lying around? Funnily enough, he always had money for booze.

 His mom, Catherine, used to take him to midnight mass every Christmas Eve. He used to love to go, not because he believed in God, but because he could spend time with his mom in a warm building. Even though his mother had sounded off-key while she sang Christmas carols, Jason thought she had sounded like an angel. The church would always be decorated for Christmas, and, at least for a little while, he could pretend he was like every other family, spending a Merry Christmas.

Christmas days didn’t have gifts, but his mom would give him gingerbread cookies while Willis slept off his hangover.

Then Willis had been arrested, money had become tighter, and his beautiful mother had fallen hard for drugs. The last few Christmases with Catherine Todd had not been spent in a church but in a rundown apartment while Jason cared for her.

Bruce was ethnically Jewish but not a practicing one. He didn’t observe the Sabbath, go to a synagogue, or celebrate any Jewish holidays. The only thing he did was light up his mother’s menorah every year.

He also ate Chinese food on Christmas day while waiting for Alfred’s dinner.

Jason’s first Christmas with Bruce had been full of decorations, with a massive tree with mountains of presents stuffed beneath it. Jason had had fun decorating with Alfred. Even Bruce had helped. Dick hadn’t shown up to celebrate Christmas with them. That year, Jason had fallen in love with Christmas. Not because of the presents, but because he had spent it with people he loved and who loved him back.

The following year, it had been spent in front of Titans Tower. He had wanted to bring Dick back home as a present for Bruce. It hadn’t panned out. The last Christmas in Wayne Manor had been celebrated with Dick, Bruce, and Alfred. There had been tension between Bruce and Dick, but they had put their differences aside.

The following year, Jason had gotten himself blown up. He didn’t know if he had been alive for that Christmas or not.

After that, he was in Nanda Parbat or out learning how to kill. Then came his explosive return to Gotham.

The whole point was that Jason hadn’t thought about Christmas in years. It was just another day alone.

This year, it was different. He had Danny, his son. He had a younger sister and two nieces. An older brother and an older sister. He had been tentatively excited. Then Jazz had sat him down and told him how much Danny hated Christmas. There was a lot of trauma around the holiday because the Fenton parents used to fight over the existence of Santa Claus, of all things.  

So before decorating, he had asked his son if he wanted to do Christmas or not. His little boy had hummed and asked if there would be any fighting.

The question had broken Jason’s heart.

“No, chum, no fighting allowed.”

“Good, cuz ghosts have the annual truce during Christmas time.”

(Jason filed that tidbit of information for later and had asked Ghost Writer about it.)

“Okay, if there’s no fighting or turkeys coming to life to kill me, then yeah, why not?”

Jason had blinked at the turkey bit. The fuck?

So, for the first time in a long time, Jason celebrated Christmas again.

They hadn’t gone all out. Jason had bought a small tinsel tree and put some wrapped gifts under it. There wouldn’t be a big dinner (Alfred cooked a huge dinner for the family) or Christmas carols. The only decoration they put up was a wreath at the door.

They never once mentioned Santa Claus.

Neither Roy, Lian, nor Raven came over. They had other traditions and people to hang out with. Jason had understood. In a way, it had been a good thing. He didn’t want to overwhelm Danny.

On Christmas morning, the little family opened the presents in pajamas and then spent the day watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate. Instead of cooking, Jason ordered carry-out.

That night, while he tucked Danny into bed, Danny thanked him.

“For what, chum?”

“For giving me the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Jason kissed his little boy’s forehead and went to bed. It hadn’t been extravagant, but it had been a good Christmas.

Merry Christmas

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#mending a family #dc x dp #dp x dc

[meet-me-backstage]

⎈

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 ⎈ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 🦇 Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 🦇 You get dragged into the unfathomable events at Starcourt Mall by your hopeless crush on Billy Hargrove and new-found middle-schooler friends. You struggle to cope with the trauma, which gradually costs you your popular cheerleader reputation when you return to high school for senior year. Though this loss first appears to be the end of the world, you learn that there's worse things than levelling down in popularity.

Though even in darkness, there is always a light - for you this is Eddie Munson, who you gain an unlikely friendship in and fall for him in the process.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔, 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈!

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🦇 smoking, mention of and consumption of drugs, horror themes, violence (in the upside down and probs Steve losing another fight (•̀ᴗ•́)و jk jk he's king), nightmares, mention of and consumption of alcohol, mention of and a near death experience, death, bad language, blood, bullying, mention of vomit and vomiting, some domestic (mainly verbal and emotional) abuse(‼️), mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of suicide, mention of self-harm, allusion to eating disorder and smUUT so you have to be 18+ to read this series❗️

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 🦇 4.9K words.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 🦇 bad language and that’s about it I think guys!

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 - 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠!

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝! <𝟑

⇜ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐱 ⎈ 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝

You hadn't received your monthly note from 'Ozzy the Tiger' in June, which you figured would be a shining ray of light in your grounded era. You became more disheartened as each day passed, it becoming more and more evident that you weren’t going to receive another note ever again.

It made you question yourself. Had I done something wrong? Had I been forgotten by Ozzy the tiger? You never thought it'd hurt so bad to stop receiving those damn notes. You realised just how much those little notes meant to you in a time where you felt most unlike yourself. Being weak and alone had become all that you knew, like you’d either been lost or hurt by everybody you knew, leaving you with nobody to turn to… not even Ozzy the tiger.

Even at school, you noticed that everybody had somebody - Chrissy now had Jason. The entire cheer team, apart from you, had somebody from the basketball team. You sat at the end of the lunch table with them all still, though you may as well have been sat alone because nobody spoke to you, not even Chrissy.

You didn't feel welcome anywhere... forgotten. Until the day before summer break... you received a note...

🦇 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟓 🦇

You read it over and over, in fact, you’re pretty sure that the note has been in between your fingertips since you’d first received it. Billy... it has to be Billy.

Though you had been sure for a small while, you physically couldn't confront him about the notes because you’re still grounded... you’d been wanting to ask for weeks now if they were from him and why… if they were from him of course. The only good thing about being grounded was that you’d had a lot of time to think, but once you came to a conclusion - finally - you wanted nothing other than to get everything off of your chest.

You’d been in your room for so long that you thought you’d never leave, sure that your mom and sister were entirely happy to let you rot in your room all day ever since summer break started.

Today is the first time in a month that you’ve been out of your home because your mom and Rebecca had decided together that your behaviour had been 'good' enough… They'd allowed you to go to Starcourt on your own for a work shift at The Gap.

“Can I not just stay and help for another hour?” You plead after Dana had insisted that you leave early.

"Definitely not, you’ve worked hard enough today, especially as Chrissy didn’t bother to show - but it's been so great to have you here again. It's been chaos without you with all the kids being on summer break - don't be a stranger!" Dana waves with a sweet smile. You are surprised at the fact that she even remembers you, you’re surprised a lot of people remember you - some other kids from school even had said 'hello' to you in the midst of their shopping sprees.

You wave back, grinning as you leave the store, "I'll be back, promise!"

As you approach the centre of the mall you notice a familiar head of red hair, it is Chrissy... and Jason - they are walking hand in hand to the escalator, you immediately guess that they're going on a cinema date... you don’t want to interrupt but you have to speak to her about the last note you’d received as a matter of urgency.

You look back and forth between the exit of the mall and Chrissy... I have an hour before I’m expected to be home - that’s plenty of time… "Fuck it," you mutter to yourself before you start running up the escalator. By the time you reach the top, Chrissy and Jason are stood in the queue for the cinema, "Chrissy!"

She turns, her eyes darting around until she sees you running towards her, she grins widely, though her eyes clearly express confusion, "Oh - hi!?" She opens her arms for you to hug her, "Where have you been? I've been so worried - I tried to call but your mom told me you had a flu and not to bother visiting!" She pouts, still holding onto your arms.

You laugh awkwardly at the lie your mom had told her... the only way I could've been ill this last month was from the lack of food I’d had, "I've er - been okay - all better now, especially now I've found you."

"Are you sure?" She looks closely into your eyes and blushes, looking away, "I mean, you look tired - are you sleeping?"

No, because this goddamn note has been keeping me up and I've not used any energy up for me to sleep off because I‘ve practically been Rapunzel locked up in a tower with her mom and I couldn't call you about it because mom or Rebecca would probably listen in... and I'd be damned if they found out about the notes, "I - er-."

"Make it quick - we're gonna be late," Jason steps forward and gestures towards the shrinking queue that is disappearing through the entrance to the cinema.

You roll your eyes before taking a deep breath, “Alright - I've been - kept up by a note I got from Ozzy, I've lost hours of sleep over it because it was asking me for forgiv-," you hadn't realised you’d been rambling until you notice Chrissy looking extremely overwhelmed by your sudden and loud voice, while Jason just looks frustrated.

"Oh my - are you dumb or what - isn’t it obvious it's Billy!" He bursts, louder and more abruptly than even he expected because as soon as he said it he did a 360 with his entire body, checking to see if anyone was looking. You are too caught up and shocked by his outburst to be embarrassed, Chrissy mirrors your actions by staring at Jason with wide eyes.

"How - would you know that?" You mumble, trying to keep your emotions at bay.

Jason's eyes wander, seemingly unable to look you in the eye, "He told me," he scratches the back of his neck and you tilt your head, "Look - he felt bad for what happened at that party and he wanted to make up for it somehow," he speaks defensively, like you’re stupid for being surprised by his confession.

"And - where would Billy be right now?" Your voice raises in pitch. You blink at Jason afterwards and gulp.

Jason shrugs, still not being able to make eye contact with you. Your heart beat keeps creeping faster, this power that you now have over Jason makes adrenaline flood through you, so you take a step closer to him and move your head so that he's forced to look at you, "At the - swimming pool."

"The community one?"

He looks you dead in the eye now, "Yes - the Hawkins community pool, he's a lifeguard there... the pool closes at six so you'll miss him if you don't run along now," he states in a threatening way, reclaiming his power, and like he'd chuck you over the balcony if you didn't leave him and Chrissy alone.

You glare, not saying another word before looking at Chrissy, "Enjoy your date," you smile sweetly and spin yourself around. As you run you hear Chrissy call a 'good luck!' but you don’t turn back. You barge past people on the escalator and ignore them grumble about ‘the youth of today’ being so ‘ignorant’.

You peek into Scoops Ahoy on your way out of the mall, Chrissy and you had stopped going when Jason swooped in and stole her. You stop running to double-check it is actually Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington working there now, but you’re quick to continue sprinting after checking your watch.

5:52pm. Thats wicked! What am I even going to do when I get there? What will I say? Fuck you, Billy! No. Thanks for the notes? I hate you but a part of me still really really really likes you so much and thinks you're a decent guy. No. Is this a bad idea? Yes.

But even when you’re stood, gripping onto the handle of your bike which is between your legs, in front the entrance of the community pool you still hadn’t found your words. You realise that you can’t leave because you’re now completely drenched from the rain and you’d be grounded for another month just for making the carpet dirty at home...

Mom would probably double kill me because of the state my clothes are in right now.

You don’t want to face them, you also don’t want to face Billy now but at least you have the excuse that Heather works as a lifeguard here too, and Billy knows that you are in the cheerleading team together - friends, more or less.

It’s raining heavily and people are frantically running past you to leave the pool. There are others stood by the building for shelter.

You reluctantly start your search after leaving your bike beside another disregarded bike under shelter, looking to see if Billy is sat on the lifeguard chair or helping by guiding people to shelter... but he wasn't. He is nowhere to be seen outside and neither is Heather. Maybe they're inside. You run inside the building, simultaneously wiping the rain from your eyes, but your sleeves are so wet that not even that helps you. You shake your head and try to ignore the cold shivers running through your body because you needed desperately to see this note - situation through… and you’re so close to solving it that you can’t leave now.

There are two workers behind the main desk who look to be a little older than you. You recognise them from Hawkins High but you’ve never spoken to them before - and they definitely recognise you, "Keg queen - sucker punch!"

"I do have a name," you lean on the desk that is separating you from them.

The girl has her hair in a ponytail and keeps on glancing at the guy sitting down, "Sorry - it’s just - what everyone calls you," she apologises half-heartedly, "Oh - I'm Katie - this is Adam, by the way - we've seen you at the parties," she tells you excitedly and Adam looks up, which she notices and stops talking, "How's it going?" She asks eagerly after clearing her throat.

"Just fine, I'm actually er - looking for Heather, or Billy," You state awkwardly and Katie seems to look more interested, leaning onto the counter.

Adam lowers the magazine in his hands, "I already had this conversation with two girls about Heather. Neither of ‘em showed up for work today, bailed out on me so I had to call Katie to fill in."

Your mouth is hung open, you’re entirely puzzled - Katie interrupts before you can ask for Billy's address, "Is there a secret party that we don't know about?"

"Couldn't give top secret information out, could I?" You lie, smiling smugly before straitening your back suddenly, "See you around guys, I've gotta go - hopefully you get an invite," you wink, pointing at them as you walk backwards. Katie pout her lips but is quickly distracted by Adam, who shows her something in the magazine - you take that as an opportunity to look around because they aren’t exactly aware of their surroundings, especially as people are screaming and running just metres away.

Billy could be around here somewhere - maybe he did something stupid like get himself locked in storage.

It gets much quieter the deeper you delve into the building. You check the changing rooms first and find... no one, but you still call out his and Heather's name quietly as you wander until you hear faint mumbles coming from ahead.

"Heather - Billy," You call again in a hushed voice, your eyes squint to try and see through the mirror in the door where the noises seemed to be coming from. It led into the showers and as you walk closer you still can’t hear what these voices are saying because the showers are on, "Heather - Billy!" You say a louder now before sucking in a breath and opening the door, closing your eyes, "Heather or Billy, if you're in here please don't be doing anything weir- oh," you hesitantly open your eyes, instead of seeing Billy or Heather, you see two girls, "Sorry for um - barging in - are you two - okay?"

You notice that one of them, the girl sat on the floor in a puddle of water, has blood trickling from her left nostril and is shaking, maybe startled by your sudden entrance - she nods, pursing her lips... the other girl looks shocked, like you weren’t meant to be here.

"Are you sure?" You start to walk closer only for the brunette to start crawling away, she has an eye mask wrapped around her wrist and she uses her other hand to wipe the blood away messily, “Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you - I've got tissue to clear that up bette-."

"She's fine," the redhead states, her voice is hurried and she rolls her eyes as if you’re being an inconvenience, "We're kinda busy figuring - stuff out - so if you could leave that'd be great."

Her tone is sassy but her voice gets quieter as you notice a picture of Heather in her lifeguard uniform on the floor, taken from it's spot on the noticeboard opposite the main desk. You crouch down, pick it up and squint your eyes. Why would they need this picture? Kinda weird. "Do you know Heather or is this some kind of weird - capturing lifeguards ritual?" You ask playfully, to which the two girls share more awkward glances.

"We're just - looking for her becaaauuuse - we found her bag!?” The redhead admits, sounding unsure - you realise that they must have been the girls Adam mentioned that had been asking about Heather. “We want to return it to her.”

"By sitting - here with her picture and an eye mask with all the showers on?" You tilt your head and furrow your brows, "That's one way of 'looking' - I guess, but why don't you go to her house? It's not far from here, I'm her neighbour actually."

They keep exchanging looks, like they know something that you don’t. It frustrates you so you roll your eyes and stand up before turning to leave them to their strange search party.

Middle schoolers. You huff before halting your steps. Wait, the redhead… I recognise her, she stepped out of Billy's car the first time I ever saw him. Did she know that Billy was likely to be with Heather? It would be pretty obvious since they both happened to bail out today.

You open the door again and hold it as you look over your shoulder, "Chances are that Heather is with Billy - he bailed from work today too, but you probably know that already."

"You know Billy?" The redhead asks suddenly, her voice stopping you from completely leaving.

You scrunch your nose, "Yeah - er, I know Billy from school - we go back - a little," You say unsurely and the girls continue to stare. You huff out a laugh, "Anyway, 'm gonna - go and leave you to-," you tilt your head, "whatever you're doing in here."

"Wait - where are you going?" She asks while the other girl picks herself up off the floor and stands by the mouthy redhead.

You sigh as you’re stopped from leaving the shower room again, "Not that it's any of your business, but I've got some stuff to clear up with Billy - and I'm pretty sure he's with Heather - so my best shot is her house, I think,” you smile before opening the door again, thinking it'd be the last time.

It wasn't... because the door suddenly slams shut on it's own with brute force, so fast that you almost fall backwards. You manage to balance yourself on your left heel and quickly grab onto the door handle again but you quickly realise that after a few pushes that you’re not going to get it to open. It must've been shut by someone on the other side... probably Adam or Katie locking up for the day. “Shit! Adam - Katie, can you unlock the door please!" You call out but receive no answer, so you bang on the door repeatedly until your fist starts to ache. You sigh, resting your forehead against the door, “Great,” you mumble under your breath and shake your head against the door, refusing to believe that you’re going to spend the night in a damp shower with these strangers, “Adam - Katie! It’s the sucker-punching - keg queen! If you let me out I’ll invite you to the secret party!”

“Will you shut up?!” The mouthy redhead interrupts your desperate rambling.

“No offence, you seem like-,” you clear your throat, “lovely girls, but I really don’t have time for a slumber party with either of you in this very cold and wet room. I need to - get outta here - before Adam - and - Katie - leave,” you keep fiddling with the door handle and start to kick the door between words, but you continue to have no luck in anyone hearing you from the other side.

“No,” the quiet girl finally speaks, making you slowly turn to face them with wide eyes.

You nervously point at the door with your thumb over your shoulder as you maintain nervous eye contact with them, "Um - with all due respect, I don't have to listen to either of you soooo," the once quiet girl is looking at you blankly, but sternly, while the other is clearly worried about the scene you’d just caused, "We're just gonna f-forget whatever this is," You, now extremely unnerved and even more desperate to get out of this room, grab the door handle for what felt like the hundredth time.

You throw your side at the door, using the entirety of your body weight against it and this time, to your amazement… the door clicks.

You silently chuckle at the small triumph, but your relief is short-lived when you reach for the handle, but are stopped by the sound of the brunette’s voice getting closer.

"No.” She sure is intimidating for a girl younger than me, "We can't - forget." You instinctively back yourself up against the door while the redhead holds onto the quiet, scary girl's arm and steps in front of her.

"Look - what we're doing is serious, this is not equal to - one of Billy's girl... conquests," the redhead boldly states.

Pfft - 'conquests'.

You roll your eyes while sudden determination courses through you - all the uneasiness and confusion you felt suddenly leaving your body.

Those notes meant something, I'm not sure what, but confronting him about it today would be my best chance at finding out before - he potentially leaves for college, or worse… he falls for someone who isn’t me. Those notes he'd been slipping in my locker prove that I am not Billy Hargrove's conquest - he really cares about me.

You decide in that moment to stand your ground, "No, you look - believe it or not, I am not a - 'conquest', he cares about me and I care about him a lot… and Heather is my friend - so I am either leaving here on my own to go find them, or I am staying here - but you have to explain to me what your - deal is and then we can go together," you speak desperately and stomp your foot on the floor. You cross your arms and your eyes are wide, staring intensely between both girls.

It became a staring contest between the three of you, the girls seem to realise that you are refusing to back down, which causes you to smirk and turn on your heel to leave… again, but for good this time.

"Wait, what's your name?" The quiet brunette asks, her voice even more gentle than before.

You don’t even look back now that the door is half open, but you hesitantly sigh out your name anyway.

"If you go alone you'll be in big danger," she confesses, hushed but still bold nonetheless.

At 'danger' being mentioned you swiftly turn your upper half to face them because it had been the last word you’d expect to hear in relation to this situation, "Danger - what kind of danger?" You nervously chuckle.

The redhead looks at her friend in complete disbelief.

You blink between both girls and a small, nervous smile tugs at your lips… it’s all lies to discourage me from searching.

"Death," the word rolls off of her tongue with no hesitation.

She's a wicked liar. You laugh, "You - you guys a-re good!"

They stare, puzzled by your laughter, "You will die if you go alone - you need us-," the redhead looks at her friend with wide eyes and quickly places her hand over her mouth.

They are being... serious?

Your eyes are wide and you shut the door carefully yourself, choosing to stay with them, "I - I don’t understand. You’re - not joking?" You whisper and you can see that the two of them are debating via eye contact before they turn themselves from you and start whispering. The redhead is the most reluctant to tell you anything, while the other girl argues that they’re in too deep with you to let you go - only making you more curious.

‘She could help us.’

‘How?’

‘Heather can trust her more than us.’

‘But-.”

‘They’re friends - and friends don’t lie.’

‘Okay, but we have one bike… that’s not gonna hold three people.’

“That’s not a problem, I have my own ride outside!” You chirp into their not so secret discussion, smugly smiling when the redhead shoots you a glare over her shoulder.

They come to a mutual decision minutes later, "You can come with us - but you have to trust us when we tell you that this could get really dangerous," the redhead speaks now, she looks at you with such sincerity that you instantly trust her.

"I'm coming with you."

She raises her brows and looks at her friend again, probably thinking that you’re being stubborn as hell - they both sigh and nod, but the redhead still looks very reluctant to be letting you in on their search party.

The quiet one reaches her hand out to shake yours, "I'm Jane," she speaks as you take her hand and she nods towards her friend, "This is Max," Max forces a smile.

You can tell that they are nervous, especially about your presence, they act like you’re an extra heavy bag that they have to carry all the way to Heather's home in the rain - which doesn’t exactly make you feel welcome… especially with the addition of Max’s constant glaring at you while you rode on your bikes alongside each other.

Once you reach Heather's home you try desperately not to look at your home to the right of it. To avoid being seen you quickly run to the door and knock. You hear the girls shout 'wait!' as they run after you, squeezing either side of you to stand in front and knock again, "I already knocked - maybe they're not in."

"Shut up - we're going in one way or another!" Max whisper shouts. Jane stands in a power stance, spreading her legs slightly which Max notices and realisation spreads across her features, "Please don't scream, yell - or ask any questions, okay?" She nods, staring into your eyes again.

I’ve never met kids as intense as these two.

"Of course, why would I..." Somehow the door unlatches itself as Jane bows and tilts her head, staring intensely, like a missile setting it’s target. How did she do that?! Your eyes widen at the realisation.... What have I got myself into? "S-cream," you mutter with a shaky breath before biting your lips together and staring into the hallway that you’d seen many times on occasions where the Holloway's would invite your family over for dinner.

The warmth of the home had once felt inviting to you, but not in this moment, you freak out as you sense the reality in a situation that feels entirely otherworldly. You try to stay calm, but your eyes are glued to Jane, wearily watching her every move. She notices this and looks at you oddly, like you’re weird for thinking that this situation is batshit crazy.

You open your mouth to whisper, "How did you do that? Do you have - powers?" As the words leave your lips you realise just how crazy you sound... how could someone have super powers? This shit only happens on the tv, how could it be happening now? “I don’t understand - were you born with them? Are you real? Is this really happening? Am I even real? Do you have two hearts? Are you an alien-.”

Max rolls her eyes at all of your questions, “I told you it would be a bad idea to bring her with us,” she whispers to Jane.

Jane ignores Max and takes a step towards you, which makes you move to step back, but before you can move away from her she grabs both your arms. Your nerves make your arms shake in her hands and you stare down at her with widened eyes, trembling lips and goosebumps all over your body. Jane’s large brown eyes softly gaze into yours and her grip on your arms tighten, “I’ll tell you everything once we know that Heather and Billy are safe - promise?” Her small, sweet voice raises in pitch as she lets go of one of your arms and lifts her pinky finger.

Your gaze softens too, “P-promise.” You connect your pinky finger with Jane’s, her mouth twitches upward into a shy, warm smile. Though your heart is still racing from the craziness of this situation and your lips continue to tremble with questions you so want to ask her, you are temporarily satisfied with her comforting words.

The three of you proceed to walk further into Heather’s home.

You come face to face with a picture of the Holloway family and you hold your shaking hand up to it, "Please be ok-."

A loud laugh echoes throughout the house, making you jump and quickly turn your head in the direction of the sound. You smell cookies, the familiarity of the delicious smell gets more intense as you creep closer and peek your head into the room enough not to be detected… you see Billy sat with Mr and Mrs Holloway, it looks like they'd just eaten dinner, and are drinking wine while music blares from the record player.

Max and Jane are the first to show themselves while you try to fix your extremely damp hair, stained clothes and smudged make up - you wipe under your eyes frantically.

Billy can't see me like this.

"Max!" You hear Billy's voice - it makes your heart swell with excitement because you’d not heard it in months.

"We didn't mean to uh... barge in... we tried to knock - but maybe you didn't hear over the storm," Max speaks and Jane looks at you before her attention is snapped back to the table.

"I'm sorry - who is this dripping all over my living room right now?" Mr Holloway speaks with authority and you hear Billy apologise. A chair squeaks as he introduces Max as his sister - I figured.

"What on earth are you doing here? Is something wrong?" You hear Billy ask, his voice getting closer, he must've been the one to get up from his chair.

"We just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Okay? Why wouldn't it be okay?" He sounds genuinely concerned, but is smooth and something, like he is trying to calm the situation with it.

He has changed, he’s no longer... mean, maybe I had slapped some sense into him.

You reach into your pocket to squeeze the damp 'forgive me' note he'd slipped into your locker and suddenly you feel the courage to show yourself. You jog in as if you had been running after Max and Jane, "There you are!" You say, pretending to be out of breath and everyone looks at you, Mrs Holloway grins, saying 'It's so lovely to see you!’

Billy just stares. It isn’t a cold stare, he even starts to smile at the sight of you before him. He utters your name and he seems to... Is he blushing? He looks down and grins, "You know, I was hoping to see you... after everything - you look beautiful, by the way," he looks up at you with fond eyes, like he'd completely forgotten that you’d slapped him and that you both had been avoiding each other for months.

"S-so do you," you manage to stammer out, giggling shyly afterwards. He does he always look so good? You wonder as you notice his outfit. He is dressed up nice in a blue shirt and jeans, you can’t help but imagine what he looks like underneath them for a brief second and blush at your realisation that you’d both been admiring each other for what felt like ages.

"Where is she?" Jane suddenly interjects, which breaks yours and Billy's eye contact.

He looks slightly annoyed that your moment with him had been interrupted but unlike the old Billy, who would've argued, he withheld his frustration, "I'm sorry - where is who?"

"Well, they're a little burnt... I'm sorry," a voice you immediately recognise as Heather's fills the room, she walks in with a tray of cookies and looks at you, Max and Jane, she falters in her step a little.

"Heather - this is my sister, Maxine," he gestures with his hands a lot and looks at you again, smiling almost... adoringly, "you obviously know er... my little miss keg queen over here," he continues to look at you and you have to look away because you’re afraid of turning into a puddle of mush in the middle of the Holloway living area. Instead you look at Heather, who smiles at you warmly, to your surprise as you had always been well aware of her indifference towards you even though everyone assumed that you were friends just because you’re in the cheer team together, "And, I'm sorry, I did not quite catch your name."

"El," El? I thought it was Jane? Another question added to my long list. Thunder rumbles outside and you look at Billy, searching for comfort but he is staring at Jane, his eyes slightly glossy.

"El - now what is it you were saying, El? You were looking for somebody?" He asks, having no clue as to what Jane is talking about. You stand closer to Max and Jane because there is - something about this thunder storm that is unsettling you, which you find odd as the sound and sight of thunder and lightning usually calms you down.

Jane murmurs, confused, which especially catches the attention of Heather, who is still holding tightly onto the tray of cookies. Max steps in, "Your co-workers - we saw them at the pool - they said you guys didn't come in today and...," she looks at you, her mouth still open, unable to come up with an excuse for you.

"Oh," your heart beats out of your chest, "I - was at the pool because I wanted - I wanted to talk to you, to clear things up between us," you manage to look at Billy without losing all control of your limbs, "and I overheard Max and - El’s conversation with your co-workers," you ramble, sounding confused when you mention 'El's' name and you feel your face getting hotter, "We all were just - really worried and decided to come here," you nod.

"My keg queen, always looking out for me - I'm fine, sweetheart," he grins widely at you, his voice smooth like velvet. He gestures towards Heather, looking between all three of you, "Heather however - she wasn't feeling so hot today so we thought we'd take the day off to nurse her back to health-," That's so kind of him, "But you're feeling just fine right now, aren't you Heather?"

"I'm feeling so much better," Heather grins, the Holloways look up at their daughter lovingly.

Billy smiles genuinely, he's stood differently too, in a less intimidating way - his whole demeanour had changed so much since you last saw him, almost too much... you find it quite strange. Jane and Max glare, but you choose to smile back at him... still blushing at his sweet treatment towards you.

"Would you girls want a cookie? Little miss?" Heather pipes up again, smiling warmly as she holds the tray towards you. You always wanted to be accepted by her, but of course, being your neighbour meant that she’d seen you playing basketball with your brother, Mason, ding dong ditching houses in the neighbourhood (the Holloways had been victim to that game), flipping the bird at the paper boy whenever he’d hit you with the morning paper… not so typical cheerleader behaviour in her eyes.

What’s the harm in one cookie anyway?

You reach out to grab a cookie, but Max is quick to shove her arm in front of you to stop you from doing so. You open your mouth to protest, but the look she gives me is so fearful... and even though you thought that they'd played a playful joke about the possibility of 'death' at first, you think about the possibility of the cookies being poisoned, so you decide against it and let your hand fall back to your side, "I think we'd better go," Max states.

You hesitate because a part of you wants to stay because there is still so much that you want to say to Billy, but you feel both of your hands being taken and pulled by Jane and Max in the direction of the front door.

"I'll escort you to the door," Billy speaks, already following behind you. You feel goosebumps beginning to form at his close proximity and once you’re stood beside the front door you turn yourself around to say goodbye. Instead you gasp because you hadn’t realised just how close his face is to yours. "Hopefully we can - catch up alone sometime soon, yeah?" He smiles warmly, his eyes glassy, making them twinkle under the moonlight.

You smile again, your body shivers from the cold, but is also really warm at his presence, right now you want nothing more than to gravitate towards him, "Sure - that'd be p-perfect," you continue to look into his eyes, you find it nearing impossible to look away, but Max and Jane tug at my hands again... the pull startles you, it’s almost as if they’d just shaken you out of a trance.

"Thanks for the... notes-.”

Billy furrows his brows and tilts his head before opening his mouth to respond but they tug at your hand again, “C’mon, let’s go,” Max states, cutting your final chance to speak to Billy tonight short.

You start to walk away, hearing the door shut behind you. You stand in the rain watching Jane walk ahead and Max grabbing her bike... they’re so quiet, it feels like they're trying to leave you without another word.

"Where are you going?" You call after them, then you turn to look at Heather's house one last time, seeing Billy still looking out of the window to the side of the front door. He suddenly smiles again, noticing you looking and you quickly wave, give him a strained, squinted smile because raindrops are violently falling into your eyes... at least he can’t see me blushing again. "Jane, Max - wait up!" You call, picking up your bike and catching up with them, they now have the hoods of their red and yellow raincoats pulled over their heads.

Max abruptly turns to face you, her eyes squinted, "Isn't your house like - right there? You're gonna get a cold for no reason."

"Right - sorry er - I guess I’ll - see you around,” you start to turn yourself around, already noticing that the lights are on in your home, your heart sank at the sight of it and so does the thought of returning to it. You think of going back to the trailer park with your dad, but you’d have to cycle all the way across town… you just hope that everything would fizzle out by morning and you could return home then.

"Stay with us?" Jane suddenly suggests with a worried tone in her voice, she doesn’t look settled even though everything is supposedly fine... Billy and Heather are okay, "Besides - I think you have some questions for me?"

You could not have turned back around to face them quicker, your face lights up with so much intrigue, “I have so many questions!”

Mom and Rebecca definitely wouldn't be able to find me if I cooped up for the night in a random power-holding middle schooler's home.

You hop onto your bike and enthusiastically cycle towards the two girls, almost slipping due to the slipperiness of rain on concrete, causing Max to playfully roll her eyes and smile to herself.

“So are you?!” You breathily ask, struggling to speak with the rain and wind blowing against your face.

“What?!” Jane answers with a strained laugh.

“An alien with two hearts?!” You ask, humour evident in your voice.

The three of you all giggle while cycling in unison before Jane shakes her head, “Just a - girl!”

⇝ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ⎈ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆!!!!! 𝐈𝐭'𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 <𝟑

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’ 𝐨𝐫 ’𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧’ 𝐭𝐚𝐠-𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰!

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 ↯

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

@sadbitchfangirl @ali-r3n @hostedparties-and-starvedmybody

𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧

@introvertedmouse @munsonology @fastnights @kathieycarrerarosshley @marjoriea13 @goldengunspinkrosses-blog @lolalanaie @neteyamsluvts

⎈

#eddie munson #eddie munson fandom #stranger things 4 #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson slow burn #eddie stranger things #stranger things #from here to eternity #Immie writes #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #billy hargrove #stranger things 3 #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson writing #eddie munson x f!reader #eddie munson fix it fic #eddie munson fem!reader #eddie munson friends to lovers #eddie munson ff #eddie munson fic #billy hargove x reader #stranger things writing #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fic #eddie st4 #eddie munson st4

[roseworth]

vote in my poll boy but also im gonna skew my own results by giving my opinion. here’s my personal ranking of rose writers

sean mckeever: FRESH HELL <3 literally THE rose book. also tt03 #57 slayed. he ALMOST gets knocked down on the list because a) the fucking shitshow that was terror titans and b) he backtracked on like 3 different character arcs as soon as he started writing tt and it pisses me off. but he redeemed himself with fresh hell

geoff johns: i hate johns so much. but he solidified sooo much about rose as a character that he has pretty much the definitive rose. what he did completely defined rose's relationship with her father and her attitude towards the titans/being a hero in general. whether they realize it or not, every rose writer after johns is writing his version of her. as much as i hate him he is one of the best rose writers and i will stand by that

christopher priest: i have not made it a secret that i love ds16. there are some aspects of his characterization that i dont agree with but for the most part he killed it tbh. hating her dad but still coming back to him, loving her brother but still keeping him at arms length, HOSUN!!! HER HMONG FAMILY!!!!!!! ily priest

ed brisson: SLAY. the only reason he's not higher is because i dont like the fact in general that she chose to be on stormwatch (she would not do that), and he used baby rose in ktr and didnt even mention lili (and DID mention that foster family. im still mad). other than that!!! everything about her struggle to be a good person in batb was soooo good, and so much about ktr was so good for her <3 thank u mr brisson

marv wolfman: i feel a little bad not ranking him higher given that. he created rose. but she doesnt really do much in the issues he writes. which is fair given that she was a new character that was just made to hang around on the sidelines at the time, so theres not a lot to judge in his writing. but he definitely laid the foundation that johns expanded on, and he was the one that made her so uh thnx marv

jt krul: i wish he had gotten more time :( i wish he had gotten to do whatever he was planning with lili, i wish we could've gotten to see more of his rose. his rose was def a different take than before given that she was more... mellowed out ig? it was a lot more lighthearted, just her hanging out with the team, being an older sister to damian (<3), and looking for her mom. hes not my fav just because i like it when shes a crazy bitch instead of a normal girl, but i completely understand why people like his rose. not to mention tt03 #77-78 slays so unbelievably hard

jay faerber: NANNY ROSE <33333 i love love love rose in titans 99 <3 this version of rose is DRASTICALLY different than any other rose, which is the reason hes in the bottom half, but i like it in the sense that its nice to know that she was just hanging out in between the two worst things to ever happen to her (her mom dying & slade drugging her). rose with roy and lian lives rent free in my head every single day of my life i love it so much, also that issue with rose & toni was so fun. titans 99 rose you will always be famous

adam beechen: he is going to hell for what he did to cass but for rose? he was fine. he helped with that one really good wilson family arc (tt03 #43-46), and wrote the only pre-52 rose & jason interaction (#47) so he gets points for that. and batgirl 2008 was pretty good for rose. but unfortunately he just didnt make enough of an impact on me to be ranked any higher

matthew rosenberg: unfortunately im mentally ill so i have a detailed explanation of what i think of rosenberg's rose but the short version is: i like him, he writes a good rose. its fun, shes well-written for the most part, but there are some :/ parts about it to me. i think if he continues writing her he'd be ranked higher but for now hes sitting pretty near the bottom of the list

devin grayson: i used to really like devin grayson's rose but. i have since changed my mind. it doesnt feel like rose. this is NOT the rose that stabbed her eye out because she thought slade was disappointed in her! shes too Quirky Girl here even though this is theoretically during the period where shes being drugged (honestly. i dont think grayson actually knew about the super soldier serum. and if she did it does not show) and we've seen rose in this era in tt03 and bg00, and this arc does not read as the same character at all. it was a good arc for her, and she had a lot of good moments here! but the characterization overall wasnt great

joshua williamson: i won't go on a whole tangent about the way williamson writes but. he has no sense of character voice, his characters all feel like blank slates to get the plot across, there are no character decisions being made besides what's needed for the plot. theres not a lot that i can put my finger on and say that its bad, but there are so few choices being made that its hard to say anything about his rose. to put a completely different character in rose's place in robin 2021, all you'd have to do is switch a few words around. williamson uses a vague idea of who a character is to guide what he wants them to do, and all his characters come out shallow. his rose wasnt BAD but it wasnt good at all

scott lobdell: every day i blow on a dandelion and wish for scott lobdell to kill himself

#re: williamson. for some reason the 'he cant write character voice' rule does not apply to ollie #like everyone else in ga23 is very eh. but hes nailed ollie's voice #the plot sucks. the pacing sucks. the decisions usually suck. but he can write ollie in a way that he cant write anyone else #trying so hard not to go on an entire rant about how williamson writes characters. i swear im trying to stay on topic #rose wilson

[burgundybmw]

Munson's Mixtape

Mixtape Masterlist

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Cunningham!Reader

Word Count: 2,485

Warnings: Mentions of drugs, brief mentions of creepy male behavior (not Eddie), more references to Mrs. Cunningham being a shitty mom.

Summary: Chrissy has been acting weird, and like a good big sister Y/N drives to Hawkins from Notre Dame to check in on her. Only to find out she has plans to meet up with Eddie Munson. Things take a turn for the worse and now Y/N gets wrapped in to the horrors of Hawkins. Hey, at least she has the company of the guitarist she was sweet on back in high school for comfort.

Author’s Note: I took some creative liberties with the Eddie and Chrissy scene, that's going to happen a decent amount throughout the plot. However this fic is mostly canon compliant (unless the Duffer Brothers do something I don't like in Volume 2). Also I made the reader's physical description vague, I know Chrissy and her family are blonde and white but that doesn't matter for this fic. I'll get into how that makes sense in later chapters! no spoilers. Also reader is about 20 here, same age as Eddie.

Track Two

Y/N kept a distance from Chrissy as she followed her sister into the wooded area behind Hawkins High. As she watched her bob in between the trees, Y/N began to realize where she was headed. There was this old picnic table within the clearing of the woods. It used to be a meet up spot when Reefer Rick was dealing to the student body of Hawkins. She went there once as a sophomore to pick up weed for a Halloween party Marissa Clarence was hosting at her house. Rick always gave her the creeps, constantly asking if she wanted something stronger. Y/N didn't mess around with any of that, and repeatedly told him no. She also didn't like the way he stared at her, like she was an extra in Cheerleaders Gone Wild Vol. 6. After that experience she always made someone else on the team pick up stuff for any future parties. To her knowledge Chrissy didn't smoke, and Rick was supposed to be serving time in county jail for drug possession. So Y/N had no idea who her sister was meeting with, and the thought didn't bring her any comfort.

As she got closer to the clearing Y/N hung back behind the tree line, keeping a close eye on her sister as she stared off into space. Chrissy was nervous, arms wrapped around herself and searching around the trees as if some monster would pop out any second. All of the sudden Chrissy's face changed, she looked terrified, the kind of fear you have when you're walking alone at night and realize someone is following you. Before Y/N could react, she saw Eddie Munson walking towards Chrissy, stumbling as she ran into his chest.

Eddie looked different since she last saw him. His hair was even longer than it was senior year, and it looked like he grew a couple inches, possibly filled out a bit more. From the distance she was from the table, Y/N could only partially hear some of the conversation between Eddie and Chrissy. He looked happy to see her, and Chrissy's nervous expression began to vanish. Y/N's stomach began to swirl at the thought that Eddie and Chrissy were close. Her sister never told her that they were friends, she always talked her ear off about Jason Carver. Were Eddie and Chrissy having some sort of affair?

Once Eddie opened up his black tin box Y/N realized that her previous suspicions were right. It looked like Chrissy was just looking to buy off of Eddie, he must of taken over Rick's position of Hawkins High's dealer of choice. Y/N let out a breath of relief, but quickly realized that she wasn't in the clear yet. She hoped that Eddie wasn't anything like Rick, pushing hard drugs on to teenagers. A little weed is one thing, she'd be a hypocrite to chastise Chrissy for that, but anything else was a cause for concern. Y/N took a few steps closer towards the clearing, staying behind the trees so she could hear their conversation.

Eddie dramatically threw himself off the table and Y/N stopped behind a large maple trunk. Her heart was racing, thinking she had been caught, but he was blissfully unaware that there was someone else in the woods with them. From this distance she could hear her sisters giggles at Eddie's antics. Y/N sunk down to her knees at the base of the tree, face inching around the corner to get a better look.

"Different? Yeah. Well, uh, my hair was buzzed, and I didn't have these sweet old tatties yet." Eddie lowered the collar of his shirt to display the ink on his skin. Y/N didn't know he had any tattoos, he must have gotten them after she graduated. They looked good on him.

"You played guitar right?" Chrissy asked, Y/N remembered Eddie's old band. She tried to go to one of his shows over winter break but her mother wouldn't have it.

"Still do, still do.. We play at the-" Eddie began before Chrissy interrupted his thought.

"The Hideout! Yea! My sister Y/N wanted to go to one of your shows around Christmas but Mom wouldn't let her. Said it was a bar filled with old drunks" Y/N could feel her face grow hot, she told Chrissy that when she stole a bottle of her mother's chardonnay and brought it up to her bedroom. Booze was like a truth serum to her, she would just go on and on spilling all of her inner thoughts she would be too embarrassed to say normally.

"I mean she's not wrong... it's not exactly The Garden but you gotta start somewhere, right? so... wait.. did you say your sister?" Eddie asked hair whipping around to face Chrissy.

"Yea Y/N Cunningham? She was in your year, well your first senior year. She used to tutor you?"

"Yea, no. I ugh.. I remember her. Um how's she doing?" He turned around then, playfully punching the tree behind him.

"She's good! She's a cheerleader for Notre Dame now, majoring in Philosophy."

"Philosophy?" A brief look of surprise on his face. "Makes sense though. She ugh, she used to carry that Dostoevsky book with her. I remember Nate Hawthorn called her a commie at the library one time and she rolled her eyes told him that if he payed attention in global he'd know that the book came out 37 years before the Russian Revolution..." Eddie laughed, hair swaying over his shoulders as he reminisced. "That's cool... good for her. She probably gets a lot of shit for that." Y/N nodded in response, as if they could both see her. Her mother lost it when she told her what she was planning on majoring in. They compromised in the end, she continue 'wasting her time' on philosophy as long as she went to law school after graduation. Y/N didn't want to be a lawyer like her father, but didn't want to argue about it any further. She liked her philosophy classes, she could debate and argue with her classmates in a free space, without fear of jumping outside the comforts of some social circle like she had back in high school.

"Yea Mom wasn't too thrilled, but she's happy and that's what matters to me." Chrissy replied. "You know, you're not what I'd thought you'd be like..."

"Mean and scary?" Eddie moved his hair to hide his face, the same quirk he had with her back in high school.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, well, I actually kinda thought you'd be mean and scary too."

"Me?" Chrissy whispered, massive smile on her face. Y/N could see that her sister was eased by the natural charm Eddie possessed.

"Terrifying.. I should have known better though. I thought the same thing of your sister when she started tutoring me." Y/N frowned at that. Did she really give off that impression?

"She wasn't though!" Eddie quickly responded. "She was actually one of the few decent people at Hawkins at the time. You know, she never once called me a freak?" Chrissy shook her head, she was a sophomore at the time, they only briefly interacted in the halls and cheer practice. Y/N hung around with her fellow seniors, and Chrissy didn't want to look like the annoying little sister who always tagged around her big sister.

"Yea she ugh.. she was kind to me. I remember that, her kindness. I knew she was busy with pom poms and being Madam President and all that, but she took the time to try and help me. I know the guidance counselor made her do it, but she seemed to really want me to succeed. I felt bad for failing her..." he trailed off.

"I promise you didn't fail her! She knew you were doing the best you could, she never mentioned you disappointing her or anything." Eddie's face was a bit red as he listened to Chrissy speak, fiddling around with the rings on his fingers.

"She ugh.. talked, about me? To you?" he asked, clearly nervous.

"Yea like all time! She said you were.. what's the word she used... Refreshing!" Eddie's eyebrows furrowed at that, and Y/N mentally begged her sister to stop talking.

"What do you mean? Refreshing?" he asked.

"Well like, she thought a lot of the guys she hung around with at the time were shallow and pompous. She liked that you weren't like that. Y/N said that you were unapologetically yourself! And it was refreshing that you didn't care what people thought of you, that you weren't scared to say what you thought, or scared to act the way you do. She thought you were brave." Eddie's head fell back as he let out a fully belly laugh. Both Cunningham sisters looked at him with confusion written on their faces.

"Oh god, ha... if only she knew." He shook his head, putting his face in his hands.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the not caring about people talking shit about me is mostly true, but not afraid to say what I think? Me? Brave? Couldn't be further from the truth." Chrissy waited for him to continue, a not yet awkward silence falling between the two.

"You see, I am in fact scared like all the time" Eddie admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

"No way!" Chrissy yelled.

"Yes way!"

"I don't believe you" Chrissy shook her head, ponytail swishing behind her.

"You see here Miss. Cunningham, I can prove it to you"

"How?"

"Well, I was smitten with... this girl right. Totally head over heels, ha, it was pathetic really. I didn't have a shot in hell with this chick, totally out of my league. First of all, she's smart as hell. Like, Einstein level smart. Not only that, she's gorgeous, and sunny? Yea, she's sunny. She lights up any room she walks in. She's the type of girl you'd be proud to bring home to your parents. Show her off ya know? I would've given anything to call her my girl..." Y/N's stomach sank at the admission. She knew she had no right to be jealous of whoever this girl was, she had no claim over Eddie Munson. She hasn't even spoken to him in nearly two years, and yet, the green eyed monster was sitting pretty over her shoulder, seething with envy.

"So what did you do?"

"That's precisely my point, I did nothing. Didn't have the balls to ask her out, and whenever I did talk to her I was always fumbling around. I couldn't think of the right words to say. I tried to do it with music, but that clearly didn't work." he scoffed. Y/N could picture it. Eddie sitting there, writing a song to woo this mystery girl, performing it, only to be shot down by her. Well good riddance, Eddie was better off.

"Even when she left I thought about her. I couldn't tell you how many times I sat in my van, keys in the ignition, ready to go drive to her and tell her how I feel, be all John Hughes about it... but I was too chickenshit to actually do it."

"Well maybe it's not too late! You could totally do all of that!" Chrissy replied. "You're a good guy! I'm sure if you showed up at her door with a bouquet of roses or something and admit how you feel she would say yes!" Y/N really wanted her sister to shut up now.

"She probably doesn't even remember me. Some loser she knew from Hawkins, probably has some Tom Cruise lookalike boyfriend now. But thank you... Anyway, flattery totally works with me, so.. 25% off discount for the half. Fifteen bucks. You're robbing me blind here, ya know." Eddie reached into his tin box, grabbing a plastic baggy of weed from his stash. Chrissy's faced changed suddenly, the nervous look back on her face. The smile she had on before vanished and forgotten.

"Do you have anything... maybe... stronger?"

Eddie's face changed as well, a look of concern now gracing his features. It's one thing for a cheerleader asking him to score some dope, but hard drugs? For Chrissy Cunningham? Y/N really hoped he wouldn't give her anything. Flashbacks of her younger self in the same Hawkins cheer uniform Chrissy wore went through her mind. With Rick trying to push coke or ketamine on to her.

"I mean... yea I do, some Special K Rick left back at my trailer, but are you sure? I don't usually deal with that shit, it's hard stuff." At this moment Y/N really wished she has telepathy, her mind screaming at her sister say no.

"Yes." Shit.

"Well, my campaign is starting in like 20 minutes, and you have to get back to cheer for the laundry basket game. So, I guess I can drive you to my trailer after. If you're 100% sure."

"I'm sure" Chrissy was dead set on this. Y/N was livid, there was no way in hell she would allow it. She's seen what K does to people. At the beginning of the semester she went to this frat party with her roommate, and a bunch of the brothers were sitting in a circle passing it around. They all looked like zombies, eyes hazy, words slurring, barely capable of sitting up right. Nearly catatonic. She'd rather die than see Chrissy hurt herself like that.

"Alright then, I guess I'll see you after the game. Meet me in the parking lot, you know what my van looks like right?"

"I do."

"Okay, ugh see you then." Chrissy got up and left to head back to the school, but Eddie stayed behind. Y/N watched her sister go until she was out of sight, and turned to Eddie who was packing away his things. That's when Y/N stood up, and marched over to the clearing, not caring at this point if she made a sound.

Eddie heard a branch snap and looked over towards the noise only to find Y/N Cunningham stomping towards him. Fists at her sides and a sour look on her face. He was in absolute shock, had no idea how long she'd been there. He prayed to any god that was out there that she didn't hear his conversation with Chrissy, figure out he was talking about her. Eddie would rather the ground swallow him whole then have Y/N know he was still hung up on her all these years.

Eddie hastily stood up, nearly knocking over his stash when Y/N waltzed up to him. Standing inches away, staring at him with those expressive eyes that haunted his memories. She looked pissed, and if that look wasn't directed towards him he'd let his thoughts run wild with how good it looks on her.

"Care to explain to me why you're planning on giving Ketamine to my 18 year old sister Eddie?"

A/N: Let me know if you want to be tagged in any of the fics!

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x cunningham!reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #stranger things #stranger things s4 #stranger things season 4 #stranger things eddie munson #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanficton #chrissy cunningham #eddie x reader #eddie x y/n #eddie x you #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst

[th3sp4rr0w]

(Originally I put the summary under the cut, but now it's just the chapter for Tumblr-only users)

Prompts for Day One; Drugging/Sick/Poisoned

Alt. Prompt for Day One; Bloody Knuckles

Prompts Used; Sick, Bloody Knuckles

Tw; Blood, Injury, Homophobia, Slurs, Dental Trauma, Vomiting Mention

Life had changed a lot since attempting to steal the bat-mobile’s tires. 

Before, he’d just been Jason Todd. Poor little Jason Todd, who’d found his mom dead, whose father was doing who-knows-what at this point. Homeless Jason Todd, who’d run away from any foster home they’d ever stuck him in, who sold stolen tires just to try and somewhat survive. Then, he’d made the stupidest, best decision of his life. 

He thought he was going to die there in that street, facing the man that had even the bravest goons running to try and receive mercy. He did what he thought he could and hit him with a tire-iron to try and escape. Then, the furry had kidnapped him. He’d just tried to steal from The Batman, then he’d actually managed a hit on him with a make-shift weapon- he hadn’t wanted to think about what was next then. 

Batman didn’t end his life and hide his body where nobody would find it. He’d asked if he was okay, gave him food, offered his home. Introduced him to his butler because, wow, Batman trusted him with his secret identity? Batman was Bruce Wayne? Multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne?? The guy that was on the news last week for getting drunk and falling into Gotham harbor during some fancy rich-people-boat party? 

Bruce was surprisingly... nice. When he found out Jason’s mom had died and his dad was apparently locked up, he took Jason in. He and Alfred put up with all of his shitty behavior over the first few weeks, introducing him to his older brother Dick (seriously, who wants to be called that?) and even making him Robin. Sure, the beginning months were rough but in a couple weeks, Dick promised to take him to see a movie he was excited for. For the first time since his mom died, he felt like he had someone who cared about him. Which, yeah, it was nice to have people that wanted to know about his day and were coherent enough to respond to him, and he’ll forever feel grateful for the people in his life that hadn’t just turned away from the sight of him, but it was especially good to have people who cared about him because- 

Jason sneezed, coughing directly after. There was neon green snot on his arm as he pulled back, a string connecting it to the septum of his nose, making it impossible to know which nostril had decided to betray him. He could feel the gunk in his lungs trying to escape before settling down without much more fuss. 

Gross. 

Immensely glad he had decided to change into a short sleeve after sweating through Dick’s hoodie during a hot flash, he carefully followed the string until it reached his arm and broke it with a short wipe. He peeled back the covers enough to blindly reach over to his nightstand, intensely focused on the snot to make *certain* that it didn’t smear anywhere, he wasn’t cleaning that up right now. His hand bumped his alarm clock, then his water bottle (thank God for Alfred), his tea thermos (once again, thank you, Alfred), and finally hit something soft. He pulled at the tissue box, pulling it up in the air until the tissue released from its prison, coming over to wipe at his nose before finally cleaning his arm. 

Yes, he was sick. He had been eating breakfast before school the other morning, excited to read his essay for English class that afternoon and chatting happily with Bruce about it before he’d stopped mid-sentence, causing said man to lean over and ask if he was alright. That had turned out to be a mistake, as what had once been a delicious pancake spewed out of him along with whatever had been for dinner the night before. It tasted like stomach acid mixed with syrup. 

Jason... probably won’t be eating his pancakes with syrup for a while. 

He coughed again, barely covering his mouth before another glob of mucus made its debut, flying out onto the tissue. He stared at it in disgusted fascination. 

He heard feet from the hallway before Dick lightly kicked open his door, a tray of soup in his hands and what sounded like a bottle of meds rattling in his pocket. Bruce had left earlier that morning for a mandatory meeting, Alfred had left for his weekly grocery run (which took twice as long as any grocery trip should’ve reasonably taken with Bruce and Alfred’s particularity for certain brands/quality, often resulting in hunting through several grocery stores before finding what they needed), and Dick had taken off work just to look after Jason. They knew he probably could’ve managed, but he was glad he wasn’t alone.  

Dick looked at Jason, the look on his face making it clear he had just heard the boy cough up his left lung. 

“You okay, Jay-bird?,” he asked, setting the tray in front of him. 

Instead of replying, he showed Dick the tissue in all its neon green, saliva-ridden glory. Dick whistled before pulling an exaggerated face. “That came out of you?”  

Jason leveled him with an unimpressed look, “No, Dickface, I found someone else’s used tissue and decided to bring it back here to save it for an occasion like this,” he deadpanned. 

The older teen threw his head back and laughed, “Glad to know you’re feeling better.” 

Jason ‘hmphed’ before slumping back down into his pillows, tossing the tissue at his older brother’s face. “Still can’t focus, though,” he said as Dick tried to dodge the makeshift projectile. 

Dick stared at the tissue, now on the floor, before responding. “Why don’t you pull up something to watch on your laptop?” 

“Headache. The sound makes it feel like someone’s putting nails into my head.” 

He winced in sympathy, pulling the rattling bottle of meds out of his pocket before tossing it next to the tray. “What about reading?” 

Jason groaned, “I just told you; I can’t focus for shi-, iii, choo!” 

He sneezed again into his elbow, his leg jolting a bit and spilling some of the soup onto the tray. Dick handed him another tissue and looked at him with that stupid expression on his face. 

“Man, you’re having it rough right now, huh?” 

“You think?” he said miserably. “I can’t watch anything, I can’t read my book, and the neighbor kid’s dad is home, so he hasn’t been responding to my texts!” 

Dick frowned. He only knew of one “neighbor” around, but he was a bit young, wasn’t he? He’d press it, but Jason looked so miserable...  

He’d save the interrogation for a different day. 

“I think Bruce has some old case files if you want to take a look? They’re already solved so no pressure to focus and you can get some practice.” 

Jason thought for a second. That... did sound more enjoyable than sitting here, bored out of his mind and miserable. He quirked his eyebrow, “Sure, but if he gets upset I’m telling him it was your idea, Dickface.” 

Dick laughed lightly. “Deal. Eat your soup, I’ll go get the files.” 

Jason heaved himself off the pillows, frowning. “Paper copies?” 

Dick rolled his eyes and shrugged, leaning towards Jason’s nightstand. “You know how he is, has to have a million copies and back-ups of every single case and incident we’ve ever had,” He picked up each of Jason’s cups, checking the fullness of each before taking both under his arm, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he still has a copy of the incident report I made him write up when he scared the living daylights out of me on patrol and made me drop my ice cream.” 

Jason made a sound close to a laugh, “You made him do what? And I thought I was bad when I first started going out as Robin!” 

Dick smirked. “I had just started going out as Nightwing, actually.” 

Before Jason could react, Dick was out of the door and down the hall, laughing. Jason shook his head. 

Things weren’t perfect. Sometimes Bruce was too paranoid and made them do dumb tasks. Sometimes Dick was super annoying and wouldn’t listen when Jason told him to stop touching him. Sometimes Alfred, well-meaning as he was, didn’t get that something in Jason kept screaming and could only be soothed with chili dogs and churros from a questionable stand in Crime Alley. Sometimes something in Jason felt like a wound that wouldn’t heal no matter what he tried and he didn’t know how to say that out loud just yet. Even with all the books he’s read and the things he’s done, he doesn’t think he’ll ever have the words to describe the feeling that keeps him awake at night. 

Yet, he loved his family all the same. He hadn’t had anyone to love since his mom passed. He knew it’d never be the same. And yet...  

Dick creaked the door open with freshly refilled cups, one of some water he was certain he’d poured his favorite electrolyte mix into, the other of Alfred’s tea, along with a whole stack of papers in neatly labeled folders. He smiled at him and forced him to take medicine, kissed his temple (“To check your temperature!” “That’s fucking weird!” “Language! Let me love you!” “No!”) and ruffled his hair. He made sure the covers were tucked tight and that he had eaten at least a good chunk of his soup. He somehow replaced the almost-empty tissue box without Jason noticing before he left. He’d glued little bats to it and left a note; “Get better soon, Little Wing!! <3” 

Things may have not always been stellar in that apartment in the worst part of Gotham City, but he knew deep down he’d always miss it. Always miss his mom, her humming and the way she’d smooth down his hair. Miss the way when she was coherent enough she could throw together a meal out of next to nothing that would feed them until they were satisfied. Often enough, in the beginning anyways, there were even leftovers for lunch. He’d always miss her and the time they shared. 

Things would never be the same, but that was okay. He had grown to love everything about the family, his family, that had taken him in. Dick and the way he’d wake everyone up on a Saturday morning with obnoxious off-key singing. The way Bruce would check over every inch of Jason to make sure he’d bandaged every scrape and soothed every bruise. The smell of the kitchen when Alfred was cooking, and how he’d allow Jason to watch from the doorway for a few minutes before inviting him in to walk him through what he was doing and why. 

He smiled to himself as he started looking over the old cases. 

It was surprisingly easy to keep track of them when there was no pressure. He had the majority figured out before he had gotten to the end of the file- though, whether that was because he had done any detective work or just remembered Dick and Bruce telling him about these cases before, who's to say?  

He even recognized some from his very first Robin days, before he had met Dick properly and he watched over Alfred when he was cooking to make sure he wasn’t putting anything in the food. He remembered Bruce’s training and hiding in his closet to sleep most nights. 

How times change. 

He finished the file in his hand, putting it neatly on top of the pile beside his bed. He opened the next one without bothering to read the title, only to do a double take. 

He... he knew Bruce had looked into his parentage, and potential siblings. He had known he’d had an older brother, one that died before he was born, Dan? He thinks his name was? But according to this, he had a twin.  

He glanced up at the title- Willis Todd Family and Criminal Record. His eyes went back down to trace over the paper. 

This just couldn’t be right, could it? Except it was Bat-approved, so it had to be right. He had a twin in an unknown location. 

His.... his mom hadn’t given birth to him. 

Of course, Bruce wasn’t going to leave his kid’s name laying around in the Batcave. He’d been smart enough to mark out their first names. “D__ Todd” “J____ Todd” “D_____ Todd”. 

He’d also marked their mother’s name. “S_____ H______”. He had also written down that he’d had a wife named “C_______ Todd” that passed away a few years ago. 

He wasn’t mad that Bruce didn’t tell him. He’d probably thought he’d known or wouldn’t want to know that he’d been abandoned by the woman who’d given birth to him. Probably thought he wasn’t interested in meeting the woman who had decided he’d be such a waste of time, or a twin he’d never known. 

In a way, that was right. He had Dick. He was already scheming on cajoling Bruce into adopting the neighbor kid (seriously, six months ago the kid’s mom passed, and his dad already moved them out of their old place and married to someone else, who does that?). He didn't need another brother who probably didn’t know of Jason’s existence. 

He knew “S” wouldn’t be a replacement for his mom. No matter what happened, Catherine Todd had been the one who cared. She soothed his fevers, protected him from his dad when nights got rough, taught him how to read. She was the one who showed him the value of a good story, whether that was on the page or being quick on his feet in a pinch. His mom was the only one who had believed he’d ever get out of the life that had snuffed out her light. 

But he missed her. “S” wasn’t a replacement, but she might be a good addition to the family he had around him. 

Jason grabbed his phone, taking a picture of the relevant papers, careful not to mix them up. Anything that had the blacked-out name was logged to pour over later, when he felt a bit more human. He placed them all into the same folder he’d found them in and on top of the stack of cases he’d already looked over. He opened the next one. 

He knew his family would help him in a heartbeat if he asked. For now, though, he’d sit on the information he had. He wanted to know how he felt about it before he went to anyone else. 

He’d tell them when he was ready. 

A while later, the door was gently eased open. Bruce Wayne carefully made his way in, smiling gently at the sight. 

There was his youngest, blanket half on the floor, sprawled in bed the way only a kid could be comfortable. Just like Dick had said, he saw case files spread around him, miraculously not getting creased by the 15 yr old as he breathed through his mouth. There were a number of files on the floor, looking like they had once been stacked before being tipped over (probably by the blanket), now strewn across the room. 

He started gathering those first, organizing them as he went. He paused as he saw which file he was picking up next. Shit. 

Dammit, Dick. No, he shouldn’t blame his oldest for his mistakes. That would just prove to Dinah that she was right, and he needs therapy. He should’ve had this separate from his other case files, the way he’d done for Dick when he investigated his parent’s death. He never learns, does he? 

He looked over to Jason. Okay. He... should let Jason come to him. Give him time to process, assuming he saw the file at all. There’s no need to put Jason through unnecessary stress, especially since he’s just getting settled into his expectations with Robin, and school, and getting over being sick. 

He finished grabbing the rest of the case files on the floor, moving to the papers strewn around on the bed. He smiled down at Jason as he grabbed at the files.  

Having them in a stack he set on the edge of the nightstand, he carefully took in Jason’s state. He was breathing better, less pale. He could tell he was still stuffy, but less so than the day before. 

He brushed his sweaty hair back and pressed a kiss to his forehead before pulling the covers back up to his chin.  

He made sure Jason was snug and secure before grabbing the files and going to the door, easing it open and nearly closed again. 

He watched from the doorway as Jason let out a gentle sigh and shifted in his sleep. He let a fond look cross his face. 

He’d do anything to protect his boys. They hadn’t had the easiest lives, and he knew he was partly to blame in that regard, but he loved them. 

No more harm would come to them, he swore it. He’d lay down his life to ensure that if it came to it. 

He closed the door silently and walked away. 

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

In a small nowhere town in Illinois called Amity Park, teen Danny Fenton crawled in through his bedroom window. 

He sighed, pulling the first aid kit out of its usual place underneath some floorboards. He opened it up before pulling off his shirt to patch himself up. He drenched some gauze in disinfectant before pressing it to weeping wounds of scarlet and neon. He’s... not actually sure if he’s doing this right, but hey, everything’s healed so far, so he must be doing something right. 

He pressed fresh gauze pads to the worst parts, securing it with some medical tape before wrapping the whole thing loosely with two ace bandages he’d stitched together to make it long enough. 

He’s definitely sure he shouldn’t be doing that, but he usually sweats too much on gym days for the tape to stick and he didn’t want another awkward conversation. 

The rest of the cuts and scrapes got band aids decorated with stars, courtesy of Sam. By the time he was done, all that was left were bruises and he looked vaguely like a mummy that had been reanimated. He flopped face-first on his bed just in time for his alarm to start shrieking at him. He sighed before getting back up, pressing it off. 

 He got dressed on auto pilot. Last night’s patrol resulted in too many scrapes on his arms and he already used the skateboard excuse three times in the last month or so... 

Eh, it’s cold enough. He pulled on his NASA hoodie before stumbling into the bathroom to brush his teeth and use the toilet. 

By the time he got downstairs, Jazz shoved a rolled-up pancake at him, “Come on! We still need to pick up Tucker and Sam, we’re going to be late, grab your bag! Hurry!” she hissed. 

He blinked before doing as she said, sinking his teeth into his breakfast and grabbing the bag he left on the couch last night. 

“Bye, mom and dad!” he called behind him. He didn’t hear anything back as he shut the door. Typical morning, really. 

He opened the car door before he tossed his bag on the floor in front of him, plopping down in the front seat. He yawned and took another bite of delicious pancake. 

Jazz watched him, clicking her seatbelt and adjusting the mirror of her dingy little car. “When did you get back last night?” 

Danny blinked before reaching for his seatbelt blindly. “Um... not long before my alarm went off. Maybe half an hour?” 

Jazz blinked. “You’ve only gotten half an hour of sleep?” 

He snorted. “Had to do first aid. Just crawled into bed when my alarm went off.” 

Jazz winced in sympathy and started the car. “What happened?” 

Danny groaned. “Skulker. Teamed up with Technus. Remind me to keep those two souped forever.” 

Jazz snorted as she pulled out of the driveway. “You have to release them sometime, Danny.” 

Danny ‘hmphed’ playfully. “Okay, okay. A year. Minimum.” 

Jazz laughed properly this time, turning onto Tucker’s street. “Danny!” she exclaimed. 

She slowed down as they laughed together, pulling to a stop in front of Sam and Tucker. 

“Hey, guys,” Danny greeted as Tucker threw open the back door, crawling through the seat until he was behind Jazz, Sam close behind him. 

“Hey, Danny,” the other boy responded as he settled in, placing his backpack on the middle seat. 

“Hey Jazz, hey Danny,” Sam said as she shoved her backpack next to Tuckers, pulling a can from the side pocket and bumping Danny’s shoulder with it. 

Danny looked at it before grabbing it, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I owe you my life, have I ever told you how much I love and admire-”  

“Danny!” Sam interrupted, exasperated. 

“What did you give him?” Tucker asked. 

Danny twisted around as much as the seatbelt would allow, holding the can up like it was a prize he had won in a contest, “Zesti!” 

“Oh ancients,” Jazz groaned, “You gave him more zesti? I just got him weaned off of that!” Despite her words, she made no move to take the can that Danny had now opened. 

“I know, but,” Sam said, “I was out with him until 2 last night and I know he didn’t go home until after I went to bed.” 

“How do you know this?” her tone was suspicious as she looked at the gothic teen through the rearview mirror. 

Sam gave a guilty smile, “I texted him last night just before I fell asleep and he said he hadn’t gone home yet.” 

Jazz shook her head as Danny took small sips, savoring the sugar-bomb, caffeine-laced heart attack inducer. She said nothing. 

The teens devolved into chatter, asking about homework and grades and where to meet up for lunch. All too soon, they were parked in the student parking lot, expected to truck up to the school in time for their first classes. 

They hauled up to the school, the trio of friends breaking off with Jazz as they go to their respective parts of the building. 

“Dude, I’m so sorry if I got you in trouble with Jazz!” Sam exclaimed as they walked. “I forgot she thought you quit.” 

“It’s fine, as long as she thinks it’s just once,” he replied. “It’s my fault for freaking her out that one time.” 

“I still can’t believe you managed to overdose on caffeine,” Tucker muttered. “I mean, seriously, it’s not even a drug!” 

Sam snorted, pushing him lightly, “It’s technically a drug, Tucker.” 

Danny watched with an easy smile on his face as Tucker’s brain practically made windows error noises. “Does this mean you’re drugging Danny right now?” 

“Shut up!” Sam hissed as they passed a teacher with a ‘What did I just overhear?’ face on. 

Danny held up his energy drink can and the teacher rolled their eyes while nodding, as if that had explained everything. 

“Alright, this is me. You guys gonna be okay?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah, probably,” Danny said. 

Sam looked at him a few more seconds before producing a second can of zesti. “Don’t chug it, please,” she said while handing it to him. 

Danny’s face lit up before he kissed the can, “Thank you, I owe you forever, what do you want I’ll give you anything-” 

“Go to class!” she pretended she wasn’t laughing at his dramatics. 

He laughed as he stuck the can in his pants pocket, waving goodbye before following Tucker to their first period. 

“Seriously though, man,” Tucker starts out, “Please don’t chug that. We don’t need a repeat of last time.” 

“Okay, I admit, last time was pretty bad,” he agreed, “But, last time I hadn’t slept in like a week and had 5 of the extra strength ones. These bad boys only have 150 milligrams each, which is about two cups of coffee, and-” 

“Why do you know this?”  

“I did research after I passed out last time. Turns out, 1500 mils of caffeine probably would’ve killed a normal person,” he shrugged. 

“Dude.” 

“What? Anyways, you know it takes more caffeine to affect me anyways, so 300 milligrams isn’t actually that bad to start out with.” 

Tucker shook his head. “You’re going to die, man.” 

Danny grinned and opened his mouth. 

“Don’t even think about it!” the other boy mock scolded. 

He laughed in response. 

Soon enough, they were in their respective seats in the middle of the classroom as the math teacher droned on about triangles. Danny was pretty sure he could puzzle out the math problem on the board if he needed to so he let his eyes drop a bit as he sipped on his sweet, sweet nectar. 

He felt something hit the back of his head as muffled laughter grated his ears. “Dash,” he thought to himself. It was exactly his M.O. 

He didn’t turn around as he felt the paper drop into his hood. He fished it out blindly and looked at it, smoothing it out. 

“Daniel!” he heard the teacher call. “Since you’re so keen to pass notes in my class, why don’t you read it out loud?” 

He heard the other kids “ooo,” as he stared at the note. “Are you sure, ma’am?” 

She rolled her eyes, “Yes, I am, Mr. Fenton.” 

Danny quirked an eyebrow. “Daniel Fenton is a faggot,” he read out, listening as the class burst into laughter, “Yeah, laugh it up, that’s so original everyone! I’ve never been called a-” 

“Okay, okay!” the teacher attempted to deescalate. “Mr. Fenton, if you knew it was inappropriate, why did you read it?” 

“Hang on- you told me to!” he protested. “Why am I getting in trouble? I’m the one that got hit in the head-” 

“Hush!” She said, “Meet me here after school!” 

“Wait- you’re not even going to ask who wrote it?” 

“I don’t care,” she dismissed, “You’re the one who read it aloud.”  

Danny looked at Tucker, his jaw hanging open in sheer astonishment. Tucker shrugged, wide-eyed. 

“I can’t believe that worked!” he heard someone exclaim quietly behind him. 

“I know! I oughtta throw stuff at Fenturd more often!” This time he could pinpoint the voice perfectly. 

Dash Baxter. Just as he suspected. It was exactly like this stupid school to let him get away with everything he ever tried. 

He sighed and went back to nursing his drink. 

The day went on like that. Every single time Danny tried to keep his head down and pay attention to his classes or even just do his own thing, there was Dash, throwing things at him, threatening him, or doing whatever he could to make his life miserable.  

It had been like this since the schedules got revised for the second semester and he got stuck sharing the exact. same. schedule. as the blond. He felt he was going nuts with the number of stupid comments and slurs the jock threw his way. 

“... He just won’t leave me alone!” he recounted to Sam and Tucker from their usual spot under the bleachers at lunch time. 

“Let me guess, the teachers do nothing?” Sam said with a sneer. 

“Absolutely nothing! I mean, seriously, he literally threw a paper calling me a slur and now I’ve gotta go see Mrs. Kelley later!” he complained. 

“What?!” Sam exclaimed. 

“Yeah! She made Danny read the paper to the class because she thought he was passing notes and then got mad at him when he did,” Tucker piped up, “Straight up said that she didn’t care who wrote it, just that Danny read it.” 

“That is bullshit,” she seethed. “Absolute bullshit! Why is he allowed to do whatever just because he’s on the football team?!” 

Danny snorted. “Because he’s the precious star quarterback? Lancer has said that he won’t write Dash up, especially during football season, because if he gets too many he can’t play in certain games.” 

Sam scoffed, slumping against the cool metal. “I hate this stupid ass place.” 

“Same,” the boys said in unison. 

Danny raised the second can of zesti to his lips, taking his first sip out of it. 

“Is that the one I gave you earlier?” Sam asked, picking at her salad. 

“Yeah, I saved it so I wouldn’t crash halfway through the day.” 

“Dude, you do this too often,” Tucker muttered. 

Danny snorted into the can. “Guilty,” he said, “But hey, how else am I supposed to stay awake during class?” 

“What time did you get in last night anyways?”  

Danny pursed his lips. “I have no idea. By the time I was done with the first aid, my alarm went off.” 

“Wait, how bad did you get hurt?” Sam asked. 

Danny pulled up the hoodie, showing off the patch job that had seeped through some. They both winced. He dropped the hem of the hoodie, “I also had a shit ton of scrapes on my arms this morning,” he rolled his eyes, bringing the can to his mouth once again, “I think they’re healed now, though,” he took a sip. 

“Damn, dude,” Tucker said before taking a bite of his burger. 

“I thought the scrape on my knee was gonna be a bitch to hide,” Sam muttered. 

Danny looked at her knees. Sure enough, below the two layers of fishnets (red on bottom, black on top), there was an angry, scabbed over scrape on Sam’s knee. “Why didn’t you say anything last night?” 

She shrugged. “Didn’t notice until I went home. I can’t even think of when I might’ve gotten it.” 

He shook his head. “You two, I swear,” he muttered. He yawned before leaning against Tucker. 

The other boy laughed before throwing his arm around his friend. Lunch continued like that, laughing and talking like they had all the time in the world. 

Surprisingly, the universe was merciful for once- no ghosts to take care of in the middle of class. Sure, Dash tormented him from the sidelines, but he was fairly used to that. 

When the final bell rang out, he made his way towards the geometry room, texting their group chat as he went. 

Ghost Boy 

Gotta stop by Mrs. Kelley’s before heading out. 

Please wait for me 

Psychologist in Training 

What did you do this time? 

The Pharaoh 

Not him this time 

Black Dahlia 

Dash again, Danny got in trouble, as usual 

Psychologist in Training 

Amazing. Need me to go over? 

Ghost Boy 

Nah, ill be fin. 

*fin 

Kill me 

The Pharaoh 

NB? 

Ghost Boy 

Hell yeah 

Be out soon (I hope) 

Danny put his phone away as he entered the room. He dumped the rest of the zesti into his mouth before throwing the can in the recycling box. 

Mrs. Kelley looked up at him before gesturing him to her desk. She slid a paper to him, “I want your mom to sign this.” 

Danny’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s this for?” 

“An incident report. Do you have any idea how many times you’ve been late? How many you’ve come in falling asleep at your desk while drinking an energy drink?” she asked, glaring at him. 

“No, ma’am,” he answered. 

“Too many,” she snapped. “You’re a bright boy,” she started, and Danny had already wanted to leave, “But you’ve been too distracted. You could easily make straight A’s in your classes, yet you’re pushing a high C. That’s unacceptable.” 

Danny frowned. “Isn’t a high C passing?” 

He caught sight of a familiar figure as she answered, “Yes, but you have the potential for so much more. Have your parents look over this,” she tapped the paper in his hand, “And please think about what I’ve said.” She followed his gaze out of the classroom, smile brightening as she recognized the “star student”.  

“Mr. Baxter! What do you need, sweetheart?” 

Dash smiled politely, “Oh, nothing, miss! I was just making sure Fenton was okay after that note in class.”  

Danny felt his eye twitch as Mrs. Kelley coo’ed over how “considerate” the blond was.  

“Seriously, miss, it’s no trouble!” he heard Dash say. “In fact, why don’t I walk you to the parking lot, Fenton? Wouldn’t want whoever wrote the note to show up to bother you again!” he said, the perfect picture of concern. 

He looked to the teacher, who nodded. He sighed, gritting his teeth, “Why yes, Dash! Why don’t we walk to the parking lot together!” 

Dash looked at Danny, surprised. He must’ve wanted to throw a fit when Danny said no. “Wonderful! Come, Fenton.”  

Feeling like a scolded dog, he reluctantly followed Dash out the door. They got to the end of the hallway before Dash grabbed the smaller boy by the shoulders and slammed him against the locker. “What was that?” he demanded. 

Winded, Danny wheezed a second before answering, “What was what, you psycho?!” 

“That!” Dash demanded, “’Yes, Dash, lets walk together’!” he mocked in a high-pitched tone, “You made me sound like a fa-” 

“Shut up!” Danny hissed, “If anything you made it sound like you’re gay for me! I’m the one out of the two of us who’s had a girlfriend so-”  

He got cut off with sharp metal digging harder into his back. 

“Listen up, Fenturd, and listen well, if I ever hear you say some shit like that again, I’ll-” 

Danny couldn’t help it. He cackled, unrestrained laughter echoing eerily in the hall. Dash scowled. 

“What’s funny, asshole?” 

Danny grinned. “Out of the two of us,” he started, managing to wiggle out of Dash’s laxed grip, “You’re the one with the power. You have everything,” he giggled. 

“Shut up-” 

“No, you shut up!” Danny yelled. “You’ve been fucking with me all day! All year! Fuck, all our lives!” he screamed, his voice shrill. 

Dash raised his fist. He snapped. 

Dash was stronger but Danny was faster, fist flying into Dash’s mouth. The hit landed, causing him to stumble back. 

Danny kicked him in the knee, fists flying towards his face, “I’m so fuCKING SICK OF YOU-” 

“ENOUGH!” a familiar voice rang out, grabbing Danny by his hood. Danny kicked out wildly, his foot landing on the side of Dash’s head as he desperately tried to scramble to his feet. 

It was so unfair.  

Five seconds. Not even five seconds to respond to Danny, resident twig, punching Dash, the star quarterback tank of a teen, yet Dash could beat Danny black and blue for fifteen minutes and nobody would bat an eye- 

“I HATE YOU!” he kept screaming. “I HOPE YOU DIE! YOU MAKE MY LIFE FUCKING MISERABLE-” 

Mr. Lancer dragged him into his classroom as Danny kept struggling in his grip, muttering out curses of “Oliver twist!” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream!” as he went. 

He finally wrangled the distraught teenager through the door, hurriedly closing it as sobs overruled Danny’s primal need to scream obscenities. 

He let his body collapse by Lancer’s desk, grabbing out his phone to press... anybody’s contact, really. He pressed buttons until something worked, the phone ringing twice before someone picked up, miraculously on speaker. 

“Dan-Danny? Are you crying, what’s going on?” Jazz’s voice asked from the phone. 

He opened his mouth just to cry harder. 

“Ms. Fenton, is that you?” Lancer asked. 

“I- yes? What’s going on, what’s wrong with Danny?” 

“Is that Mr. Lancer?” he heard Tucker ask in the background. 

“Yes, Mr. Foley. Danny’s in my room, if you all are still on campus, come to my room,” he glanced back at Danny, “It would seem your presence is needed.” 

“We’re on our way,” Jazz responded. “What happened?” 

Lancer pursed his lips. “I’m not at liberty to say, I’m afraid-” 

“PIETHE OF THIT!” the door opened with a bang. 

Lancer placed himself between Dash and Danny. The blond was holding his hand under his mouth, pouring blood. 

“What is-” 

“THAT PIETHE OF THIT KNOCKED OUT MY TOOTH!” he fumbled out, trying to get around the teacher. 

“Dash-” 

“I’M GONNA KILL YOU, FENTON!” he yelled out. Two teachers shot in, trying to calm him down. 

“FUCK OFF, DASH, YOU FUCKING DESERVED IT!” the tears kept coming and the words were strained. 

“YOU TOOK OUT MY TOOTH!” he continued to lisp. 

“HOW YOU LIKE IT? HUH?! YOU PUT ME THROUGH THIS EVERY FUCKING DAY!” 

“Danny!” Jazz called, echoing through the phone before she hung up. She appeared in the doorway with Sam and Tucker in tow. 

Dash spun around, trying to get in Jazz’s face as one of the other teachers blocked his path. It didn’t stop him screaming out, “LOOK AT WHAT YOUR FUCKING BROTHER DID TO ME!” 

Jazz gawked at him as Sam and Tucker had to fight smiles and anxious laughter. Danny shot up, unsteady on his feet but still trying, “DON’T FUCKING YELL AT HER!” 

“ENOUGH, NOW!” Lancer yelled out, causing both boys to look at him immediately. “Dash,” he gritted out, “Leave. Now. Go to the nurse and try to find the tooth. You three-” he pointed to Jazz, Sam, and Tucker, who paused and had looked up from where he was currently crouched on the floor, “In here. Now, please.” 

Sam looked at Tucker, helping him stand as they filed into the room, staring unabashedly at Dash. He glared at them, following the other two teachers out. 

Jazz immediately went to fuss over Danny, checking him over. She grabbed his left hand, rubbing carefully at the split, bruising flesh. They were still bleeding. 

“What happened?” she asked softly. 

Danny sniffled, his tears slowing. He shrugged, collapsing into her arms. 

“Dude, did you seriously knock out his tooth?” Tucker asked. 

Danny nodded as Lancer interrupted, “Let’s not get into semantics, Mr. Foley. I called you three in here to calm him down, not to go over the gory details,” he scolded. 

“Sorry,” he replied, though he didn’t sound apologetic. 

“... I’m not surprised you snapped, though,” Sam admitted. 

Lancer raised an eyebrow, asking a silent question. Sam flushed a bit.  

“Dash has been messing with Danny all year, especially after the schedule changes,” she admitted. “We had to change our lunch spot so we could avoid him easier.” 

Lancer hummed in recognition. “I guess I’d better call your parents,” he indicated the Fenton siblings, “If they even answer,” he muttered under his breath as he went for his phone. 

With Lancer distracted, Tucker pressed something into Sam’s hand. She looked down at it before her eyes widened, looking back at him. He nodded. She opened the front pocket of her backpack, pulling out an old mint container and dropping something into it. 

The rest of the day was a blur. His parents arriving, his mom throwing a fit that his hand hadn’t been looked at yet, the principal's office. Dash’s parents arriving and threatening to sue before rushing him to urgent care. Dash’s dad calling back, screaming about how Dash is probably going to be pulled out of football the rest of the season. 

The car ride home was awkward. There was no Nasty Burger, just his dad’s livid face in the mirror as he drove them home. The lecture he got from his parents after was probably well-intentioned, but he had no interest in following it as his brain shut down. 

He barely made it to his bed before he collapsed, crying some more before he fell into a fitful sleep. It was just beginning to get dark when a cold mist pulled from his lungs and out of his mouth, waking him before he had the chance to really sleep. 

He sighed, transforming into Phantom. 

It didn’t matter if he felt like hot garbage, or had a breakdown, or anything close to that. Amity Park needed Phantom. 

He flew off into the night, shutting down his emotions as he went. He could deal with those another day. 

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

I'm excited to share this with everyone :) I've had a lot of fun drafting and writing and I can't wait to see what people think

#dp x dc #ailesswhumptober2023 #jason todd #danny fenton #danny phantom #dc robin #robin #batman #ai-less whumptober day one #Kite Flies Over The Nightingale Nest

[bigfan-fanfic]

How do you feel about Damien’s Mom Talia Al Ghul? Because some people said she’s a victim of bad racist writing and she’s had a bad portrayal in the animated movies. Is Talia really just victim of bad writing or she’s actually a horrible mother/person? I’m just confused because when I read the comics about Talia and the bad things she did and I just assumed that’s was part of her character because she’s a morally questionable villain of course she’s not a “good civilian person.” I knew DC is a dark adult comic book series and I already expected going in that the villain characters like Talia would committed terrible/horrible actions against the heroes. Like for example when she drugged Bruce and took advantage of him, I was slightly shocked but wasn’t surprised. Cuz to me this was the dark stuff DC was known for doing.

Alrighty, so the answer is a little bit of both!

TW for sexual assault mentions, miscarriage, parental abuse, etc.

There's a TL;DR ("too long, didn't read" summary) under the cut if you don't wanna read my report which is pretty awesome and was fun to write.

So, nobody seems to be able to agree on who Talia is at her core, and that's generally par for the course for a comic book character with multiple writers. She's been around since 1971, so that's already 52 years! And like Greek myth, there's just a lot of different interpretations of the character.

Let's get to the nitty gritty before we talk history. In 2006, writer Grant Morrison established that Talia drugged and raped Bruce, conceiving their son Damian (and also for some reason adding a whole unnecessary "artificial womb" thing? I don't get it either). However, this is based off the fact, which Morrison later admitted, that they misremembered the story they based the Batman and Son arc off of, and later comic arcs (in 2012 and 2014) would retcon the incident as consensual. Put a pin in this.

Talia was originally more of a damsel in distress slash prize for Bruce. Remember, this was the 70s. Her main deal is being the daughter of Ra's al Ghul and thus if Batman marries her, he becomes the heir, which Ra's wants. Despite not wanting to succeed Ra's, Bruce and Talia do share romantic attraction and Ra's considers them married. Then, later on, they do actually marry and she gets pregnant, and then Talia realizes that Bruce will always be in danger having to protect her and their child, so she fakes a miscarriage and they dissolve their marriage. She gives the child to an orphanage, and he is given the name Ibn al Xu'ffasch, or "son of the bat". This is the story arc Morrison adapted later.

Talia was kinda badass in the period before 2006, where she was sort of an anti-villain. She breaks out and starts having her own self after Ra's engages her to Bane whom she despises. She, under the name Talia Head, runs LexCorp as CEO while Lex Luthor is President of the United States, and basically not only tips Superman off about all his plans, but sells LexCorp's shares to Wayne Enterprises leaving Lex functionally penniless. Then she gets brainwashed and basically evil-fied by her half-sister Nyssa Raatko who literally kills her over and over, resurrecting her each time in the Lazarus Pit as an extreme form of torture and reprogramming. She usually does more evil shit after this like joining leagues of supervillains and such. However, her motives of helping Jason Todd recover and train are usually ascribed to her love for Bruce and not wanting Jason to kill him.

Then after 2006 she goes full tilt crazy ex girlfriend and murders people, trained Selina Kyle to resist any and all psychological coercion to reveal Bruce's identity, and PLANTS A DEVICE IN DAMIAN'S SPINE THAT LETS HER CONTROL HIS BODY, and reveals that she's started cloning him because she thinks he's too weak and disowns him.

Then comes the New 52 (the part where DC did a reboot to make everybody darker and "more realistic" that absolutely nobody liked, so it started in 2011 and then DC did another reboot in 2016 to make it better) and Talia is just off the wall completely evil. Genocide, cloning Damian, killing Damian, being resurrected, then fighting an ancient alien cult and claiming she's redeemed, then literally rejoining the League of Assassins moments later.

Incidentally, apparently Grant Morrison wrote Bruce, Talia, and Damian from their own experiences as a child of divorce, which is just... wow. Like... that's just a lot to unpack there, but we're just gonna step past it.

As of the DC Rebirth reboot, Talia is more or less sort of back to being anti-villain, still yes a killer, but also more emotionally open and supportive of her son and back to trying for true redemption.

Let's take, as I usually try to do, the sum total of these experiences and from other sources and try to average it out.

Unfortunately, despite the retconning, a lot of people now still see Talia's rape of Bruce as canon. I did too for the longest time, and honestly, although it makes Talia despicable and completely irredeemable in a very visceral way, it also does allow for interesting dynamics for Bruce and Damian, the batfam and Talia, Bruce in general, and allows there to be discussion for the tragically underconsidered circumstance for female-on-male sexual assault, and by having Batman, who is often used by hypermasculine dudebros for their weird ideals of stoic toxic masculinity be a victim, and be vulnerable, and go through this could be a deeply powerful arc that nobody in comics really wants to touch. It does however, deprive us of an interesting and nuanced Talia and instead catapults her right into mustache-twirling evil.

Ultimately, Talia is the daughter and heir of Ra's al Ghul. She sees no problem murdering people, and in fact she usually shares her father's genocidal ambitions of culling much of the human race to help preserve the planet. Ra's boils down to an ecoterrorist and genocidal maniac, and Talia his henchman, though when she does strike out on her own, I can't quite get a handle on her motivations. She does tout a desire for "equality and peace" but there's really no standard she gives for what this means, so I can't really see if she's just crazy or if she has good intentions.

I think, even at her best, Talia is a perfectionist and is very strict, intent on Damian being who she wants him to be. I think she has very little empathy or compassion for others, although parts of her, at her best, regret this and she tries to grow. At her worst, she is irredeemably evil, and at her best she is... morally shady to the point of never really being able to be thought of as a good guy.

I can't speak to whether or not racism plays a part in her portrayal either as mustache twirling villain or whatever. I don't know that it's necessarily bad writing because I don't know if Talia was ever intended to not be a horrible person or morally ambiguous, apart from the early days when she was mainly a figure to be pursued by Batman. When it comes down to it, adding sexual assault to her list of crimes is not going to change much because she's a mass murderer, an ecoterrorist, an abusive mother any way you slice it because she's training her child as an assassin, and generally just not great. A fascinating character, yes, but a terrible person.

TL;DR: Talia al Ghul is a terrible person in general, but the Big Incident you refer to has been retconned and is based off a poorly-remembered story. However, considering she's a mass murderer, assassin, eco-terrorist, and also let's face it classist villain, she's still not great even if you remove that from her rap sheet. She's done some cool stuff like putting Lex Luthor in his place and that one Elseworlds story where she left Bruce and gave her son to an orphanage to protect him, but otherwise, once she was made her own character and not just a love-interest-of-the-week, Talia has been morally ambiguous at best and irredeemable at worst. I can't say if it's racist or not because I don't know the motivations in her writing, but I don't know that it's necessarily bad writing to make her unsympathetically evil.

#talia al ghul #reports outside the fic #comic history #please read I actually did research on this

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Code Blue Ch. 36- Time in a Bottle

Summary: Josie gets new wheels and an unexpected visitor. Her stress catches up with her. Megan sets her off and blurts out something shocking. Lee and Jo go for a ride. The outing doesn't go as planned. Josie finds something heartfelt. Lee comes clean. So does Jo.

*Warnings* Language, angst, domestic dispute, anxiety attack, graphic depictions, drug mentions, roofie rape mentions

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Chapter characters: Josie, Luke, Megan, Lee,

Salem, Massachusetts

March 8, 2023

You pulled around to the back of your mom's house where the old barn sized brick garage was that Jason used to run a small motorcycle repair shop out of years ago. It now only consisted of a small art studio you created for your hobby, the lawnmower and the storage of three bikes. One was Jason's Harley and two were yours, an actual bicycle that used to be your grandmother's and could definitely pass for Almira Gulch's bike in the Wizard of Oz, and the other was the bike Jason got you and taught you to ride, a much smaller 1978 Yamaha DT 125, and that would be your go to for awhile now while you stored your Monte Carlo in the garage, out of sight, hopefully out of mind from the bar thugs that Luke pissed off and would be looking for it. How were you going to explain this one to Lee when you show up at this place on a motorcycle that he didn't even knew you owned, let alone could ride?

You leaned on the Harley's seat for awhile, thinking of Jason and how you used to ride it with him. He never wore a helmet but always made you wear one. You loved the thrill of the ride, the speed, the freedom you felt with the wind blowing through your hair, so much so that you had begged Jason to teach you to ride, but of course not with his bike. You could barely hold the monstrous beast up, so that's when Jason purchased the smaller one for you. Little but fierce, the two wheeled dirt bike was, reaching a max speed of 70 mph...and your plan was to get Lee on it with you, for it was his turn to go to one of your safe haven's you had once told him about. It was there you also planned to get the truth out of him.

Your thoughts went back to Jason while you brought your bike out, wondering what he was doing right now as you locked the garage back up. The only way you could get ahold of him was through Craig, which you refused to do, or there was Sonny, where you knew Jason was hiding out, but if you were seen going there, it might raise some red flags, for it was no secret you didn't like the mob boss or his bitch of a wife, Carly, who happened to be Jason's bff just as Sonny was and both always seemed to come first in his life. The blonde entitled vixen was someone you and Britt both would rather not be around. It was too odd of a situation considering Jason used to screw her before she married Sonny.

You propped the bike on it's kickstand in front of the garage and went inside, practically being ran over by one of your mom's dogs.

"Damn it Tater!! Get back here!" you shouted to the stocky jailbreaking tan colored mixed breed of NO CLUE. He was your mom's dog and the other, Marmaduke, was your dad's Great Dane who was always lounging on the couch like he owned the place. The dwarf sized horse pretty much did.

"Mom?? You here?? Tater took off!" You hollered up the stairs and then went in the kitchen when she didn't answer. The damn smell of Megan's cigarette smoke freshly lingered through the house and you could see the film of it in the rays of sunlight shining in from the window, which you then opened and turned on the stove's exhaust fan. Ballsy bitch is all you could call her, knowing if you smelled it, your mom certainly would and so did the poor dogs. No wonder Tater was itching to be free, besides the fact he despised Megan.

The answering machine was beeping, so you played it as you made a mountainous ham sandwich with mayo, lettuce, onion. pickle and cheese.

Knowing your mom wasn't home due to looking out the window and not seeing her car in the driveway, you let out a shrill scream after hearing the realtor's message about the closing sale of the Haunted Star which is probably where she went.

You sat down at the table, aggressively cutting your manly sandwich in two and then....

"Fuck!" You snapped, slamming the knife down. The thought of Orlando's sleezeball father owning and running Jason's boat, probably with Ethan at his side, had you seeing red. And it never would have happened if Jason hadn't fake his death, or more so hadn't changed his will. Of course, if he hadn't put the boat in someone's name, it would have gotten tied up in the state. Another mess that wasn't needed. But your mom, she didn't have to sell it!

Fuming, you shoved the sandwich into your mouth, chewing through heavy breaths with your cheeks looking like a chipmunk stuffed with nuts until your phone beeped, then you heard a motorcycle in the driveway.

"I have your dog."

With your eyes wide, you quickly chewed your food until you could swallow it without choking to death and then ran to the back door to see Luke sitting on your bike with Tater proud and grinning at his feet.

"You....followed me??!!"

"Well, technically no. I'm out for the day to house and job hunt, but...I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and make sure you got to where you were going safe and sound."

"So technically, you did follow me."

"Look, I meant no harm. I'm not some stalker, just looking out for you is all AND I found your dog in the process. He was running in the street, trying to bite my tires."

"And just how did you know it's our dog?? He could live down the street."

"But he doesn't. Tag on the collar says so."

"Oh..." you quietly replied, feeling like a complete dumbass as he grinned at you. To deflect from your humiliation, you stepped around the corner to view his ride.

"So you ride huh? Nice bike. Triumph speed 400?"

Luke smiled pretty big. "Ahhh, you know your bikes. I like yours too. Yamaha DT 125." he said as he got up and stroked the handle bars, then smirked. "I like a woman that likes to ride. Wanna take mine for a a spin? Unless it's too big for you to handle?"

You offered a slight glare and shake of your head, hearing the double meaning in his tone.

"I'm quite happy with the one I have. It's the perfect size for me." you flatly retorted, hoping he would get your own double meaning of...you have a well equipped boyfriend.

He did, but didn't care. "Hmmm, to each their own. I do like the feel of driving a smaller one beneath me. Maybe I could drive yours someday. I'd sure like to."

"You're something else, you know that?" you said, rolling your eyes. "I really need to go now and so can you. Thanks for the looking out that I didn't ask for and don't need. Come on Tater."

You turned and let the dog in and then went to go in too until his words ceased your steps.

"I'm sorry...this isn't really me. I...I'm just so used to being a certain way with people. Not many friends, remember?"

"You mean you're used to being an egotistical arrogant asshole. I can see why you don't have many friends."

"Ouch. Guess I deserved that."

"Maybe. Look, I don't enjoy being mean to people...I'm just...guarded and I..I guess that's my way of protecting myself and I'm super good at reading people too. I can see this is your own defense mechanism, your way of showing people no one can touch you, keeping people at a safe distance with your humor...and that's exactly what you're getting from it. Distance. And I get why you're like this, I do. Landy is somewhat the same way, minus the sexual innuendos. But I trust him. He earned it. I really don't know how to trust you because the real you I have yet to see, and I...I thought that I had...but Landy says THIS is the real you...so you tell me Luke...which is it??? Because I am sick to death of being toyed with by everyone I thought I could trust!"

You could feel your chest tightening again, but something felt different this time and Luke's words began to fade as he went on.

"You say you get why I am like this...well it's not all because of my dad if that's what you're referring to. I've been fucked over too Josie, christ, who hasn't right? And.....Josie??"

The next thing you knew, Luke was carrying you into the kitchen and sitting you down, then he was ripping off paper towels from the holder.

"Here, hold still, put your head back."

"Wh..wha...why? What's..."

"You have a bloody nose and you almost collapsed. I think you're just overly stressed." he explained calmly as he held a wad of the paper towels under your nose and pinched the bridge with his fingers. "Has this ever happened before??"

"I...no...I mean well, yes, but it's been a long time...I..."

Now you were beginning to panic, clutching onto his coat with one hand and his wrist with the other as you gasped for breath through your mouth.

"Hey there, come on, look at me, you're ok, you're ok, it's just a little blood and it's stopping." Luke softly said with a cool composure and soothing tranquility, once again, knowing just what to do in an urgent situation.

You did as he said and looked into his hushing hazel green eyes as he demonstrated breathing in and out of his mouth in long relaxing breaths for you to follow.

"That's it. In and out, nice and slow."

"Really??"

His eyes grew wide as his breaths became still.

"Oh..NO no no..I swear I didn't mean..."

Your bellowing laughter halted his words, turning him a rose shade of red when he realized he had just been bamboozled.

"Good one Josephine."

Luke hopped up with a grin and moistened a clean wash cloth, then sat back down and began cleaning the blood off of you.

"Point made. If I want to be taken seriously and trusted, then I need to stop being fake. That's as real as I can be right now." he said in all seriousness as he dabbed tenderly at your skin.

It couldn't have been a worse time for your trolloping sister to come home, freezing in her tracks as she caught sight of Luke all hands on with you.

"Well well, who do we have here sister? Do tell cause he certainly don't look like Dr. Dreamy tending to your bodily fluids." she quipped as she took out cold pizza from the fridge, plopped down with her feet up on the table and began eating while basically undressing Luke with her eyes.

"Ughhh, go AWAY! I'm in no mood for you!" you snapped and knocked her feet off the table, in which she put right back up.

"I'm Megan, since my sister is so rude."

"I know who you are." Luke abruptly said inn a not so nice manner.

"Wowza, the rudeness is contagious today. And you are??"

"You know the guy you're fucking this month? I'm his brother...Luke."

Megan's brows instantly furrowed as she stopped chewing.

You smugly grinned at his immediate dislike of her and his snarky remark.

"I seee...well, you could always join us. I'm completely open to that." she retorted with a little smirk.

"Megan, you would be open to anything up to and including a horse's cock." you raved with great satisfaction.

She tossed her pizza in the box and sat forward with a taunting smile.

"I hear Lee likes cock too."

If blood could be heard boiling, it would be yours. All was silent as you reciprocated her glare and then, you flung your chair out behind you and lunged at her with a scream as Luke caught you in mid air, which sent Megan's chair flying backwards and her onto her ass in panic.

"Let me go Luke!!!" you shouted as you ferociously wriggled in his firm grip of locked arms around your waist.

"Sorry love, can't do that. She's not worth it."

"Oh YES SHE IS!!"

Megan stood up in a fury and shouted back something that completely floored you.

"Did you know your perfect ass boyfriend was in love with Ethan and they got married???!!! How's that for being open??!"

"Get out of here now!!" Luke barked, furiously pointing to the doorway while gripping you tightly with one arm. "Or I'll let her go!"

"With pleasure!"

Megan stormed up the stairs and slammed her door as you stood frozen and wide eyed with tears balancing on the rims of your lower lids. Luke cautiously released you and you went back to the table and slowly sat down in tremendous shock.

"Is...is it...true?" you asked Luke with a jittery voice while you peered up at him, tears now falling as you began to visibly tremble.

"Josie...I..."

"Did you know??!" you raged as you closed your eyes, gripping the seat of your chair with white knuckles.

"It's not my business."

You flung back up, mad as hell. "Bullshit!! You make everything your business. You know my entire life so don't fucking tell me your own brother and friend's life was unknown to you."

"Josie...did you seriously think I would just tell you that? It wasn't my place to tell first of all and..."

"And what?? You KNEW the trouble Lee and I were having over Ethan. You KNEW Luke, that I was begging him for answers that he was refusing to give me, that I DESERVED to know. I should have heard it from him and instead, I hear it from my cunt sister of all people...I...I...I seriously can't take anymore."

"Josie...your reaction right now is probably why Lee was afraid to tell you."

"Are you seriously defending him??? My reaction right now is because of how I found out. Lee had every fucking chance to tell me and if he would have, I...I would have understood, we could have worked through it...but the fact is....he didn't tell me. I get it, I get it that he was afraid, but I think it's a hell of a lot more than that and you know why?? because Megan just said it! He was in love with him! Is that a lie Luke???"

"Josie...I won't do this. You will have to ask him. I'm sorry."

"You know what? Just go."

"I don't think I should leave you like this and alone with Megan. I want to help you but I just can't.."

"GO LUKE!" you cried and whipped the door open.

He began to walk out and stopped as he reached you. His hand came softly to your cheek as he spoke sympathetically.

"I really am sorry. If you need me...I will be here. This...is the real me."

You whimpered as you stepped back from his touch without looking at him. Luke's eyes fell and he then slowly walked out.

Down the wall you slid, dropping to your butt and drawing your knees to your chest, then bawling into them.

After a good five minutes of hyperventilating, you found your phone and with hands shaking something awful, you texted Lee.

"I'm picking you up. Be outside your lake house at 3 and wear hiking attire. It's now or never Lee."

You needed to leave before your mom got back so she wouldn't see you this way and Lee's lake house was not far from your apartment. You sent her a text about your car being there, then you fired up your bike and took off to stop at your apartment for a long much needed hot shower since you had a few hours to spare.

You parked the bike at the curb, then literally hauled ass up the stairs and jogged down the hall to your apartment so you wouldn't run into Craig, for you knew you would just blow up at him if you did.

Now that you were alone with the steaming water pouring over your head, you couldn't help but to break down again, crying for the entire twenty minute shower.

It was the first shower you had taken at your new place, a shower that you and Lee planned to share together and you began to imagine him there with you but it kept turning into him with Ethan, telling him he loved him. It took everything in you not to just scream at the top of your lungs, but you didn't need Craig huffing and puffing and blowing your house down. Instead, you sucked all your anger down, then got out and dressed to ride, then saw his reply.

"Ok. I cannot wait to see you sweet girl."

Although you were running on fumes from lack of good quality sleep, you were completely wired as the cool pre-spring air, smelling of the nearby bay, powered over your face at 50 mph as you cruised through the twists and turns of the country-like, forest filled area. And soon, Lee would have the intoxicating experience as well, whether he liked it or not.

As you gracefully made the last curve before his lake house, you took in many deep breaths to try and relax the damn butterflies in your stomach that were both nervous and excited to see him, and the anger that resided in your soul.

There he was, as you pulled up, sitting on a stone bench by the side entrance at the top of his drop down driveway, looking lost in thought. Those thoughts were soon stolen by the shocking sight of you on a motorcycle as you climbed off and kicked the stand down with your biker style black boots. Needless to say, his face was priceless as his eyes studied you from head to toe.

"You...you ride??" Lee asked as he remained seated, looking your two wheeler over in astonishment. He really wanted to go and scoop you up into his arms because he had missed you immensely and also because you looked sexy as hell in your biker gear, but something about your demeanor and your text told him he had better keep his distance. He figured you were still angry about yesterday and the way he bailed after the heated kiss you initiated. Actually, he knew your anger would be more over the fact that he had indirectly and wrongfully accused you of messing around with your landlord, which he had instantly regretted after he left. If he only knew how wrong he was as to where your anger stemmed from....and he was about to very soon.

"It would appear so huh?"

Yep, your tone confirmed it. You were pissed.

"Yeah. I just never knew. You never told me."

"It seems there's a lot we don't know about each other."

His head lowered, eyes on his hands as as he fidgeted with his thumb.

"You're still angry with me."

"You ready?" you flatly asked, ignoring his statement.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there."

Your words were simple and brief, but made their point.

"Ok...I umm... I have something inside I'd like to give you. I was going to give it to you yesterday but..."

You cut him short as he stood up to catch the helmet you whizzed at him, in which he caught gracefully in one hand.

"The only thing I want from you is the truth. As I said, it's now or never."

Although Lee was now becoming frustrated, he was more so worried because this was it. Judgement day. He knew he had to come clean or lose you for good, which he knew he still could either way.

He put the helmet on and sat on the bike behind you, which he basically just walked right over the back end to do, being the beautiful giant he was.

"Can...can I put my arm...around you?"

"Suit yourself."

As you fired up the bike, he slid his right arm around your waist, making you both pause for a moment at the feel of each other's touch. For you, the butterflies invaded your chest and attacked your heart as one seemed to remain underneath his hand. For Lee, he almost cried.

You turned on your 80's walkman radio that you had hooked on your belt and rode off. Lee cringed at the song that came on. Another sign of what was to come is the way he now looked at things, all thanks to you. Judgement Day by Five Finger Death Punch. Aside from the ominous coincidence, the sound of the music was kick ass to ride to.

The speedy ride went on for about two miles, the wind blowing your jasmine scented hair into Lee's face as he closed his eyes and desperately inhaled you. He was quite impressed at how you handled the bike and the damp road. You were just as good at that as you were on the ice. Each curve you hugged forced Lee closer against you, driving the undeniable chemistry between you both to an all time high as he now had both of his hands clasped over your stomach, nice and snug. To you, you wondered if he was a bit afraid, having never ridden with you before or ever even rode a bike at all for all you knew, but you also figured that if he had any reservations about it, he wouldn't have hopped right on. To him, he gripped you so tightly for three reasons. To feel you and be close to you along with his instinct and desire to protect you. If for any reason the bike would go down, he would never let you go.

You veered off onto a secluded gravel drive that ran along an inlet of the bay and parked. Lee reluctantly let go of you and stood up, taking his helmet off as did you and then you walked off.

"This way."

Lee followed you through the multitude of trees down a narrow dirt path to where he stopped to view the lake that was visible in the nearby distance.

"I take it you know this place?" he asked as you stepped up onto a large rock and leaned against a tree.

"It's one of my safe havens I told you about, that I told you I would bring you to one day."

His head turned to you, his eyes filled with happiness that you trusted him enough to bring him to your special place.

"The one you and Jason came to?"

'Well, not this part. I found this area all on my own. The one I went to Jason with can be seen from the lookout deck just down the way. There's an old out of order train viaduct in the woods that runs over the river. I was always afraid to go up there because of the height. The drop is tremendous down to the rapid waters and I can't swim if you recall, but Jason always held on to me, assuring me the breath taking view would outweigh my fears and over time, he was right, I got used to it and now I can go by myself."

"I see." he smiled and then gazed at you. "Well, this place really beautiful and I am sure that one is too. I see what you mean. I told you someday if you let me, I will teach you to swim and over time, it will be like riding a bike..or ice skating. So uh, what's the story with the bike anyways? Where's your car?"

"At mom's, where the bike was stored. Jason got it for me. He taught me to ride and I...I haven't touched it since...he died."

Ugh, you wanted to tell him so bad that Jason was alive. Secrets were what got you both here in the first place. The past 24 hours held so many things Lee didn't know and you decided you better start somewhere before he found out another way just like you did about him and Ethan, so you kind of just blurted it out in a nutshell.

"I have to keep my car hidden from these bar thugs that are after Luke Jr. because he kicked their asses last night and then got in my car and they chased us."

"I'm sorry, what??"

"I...saw Orlando go into the pub and so I went in to see how he was doing since he has been sort of off the grid lately...and then he...saw his dad and took off after him. I followed him, because he had been drinking a lot and well, you know how he gets. It was a good thing that I did because he was carrying a hammer in his pocket and he confronted his dad. He was going to attack him, actually he tried to but I was able to confiscate the hammer and talk him down."

Lee stared at you for a moment, then he dropped them to the ground.

"Jesus." he whispered, lightly shaking his head.

"Is..is he alright? Are you alright?? What did his dad do?"

"He said some pretty awful things to Orlando and to me too and then he took off. Lee, my mom sold the Haunted Star...and Luke Sr. is the one who bought it. I found that out right after I saw you when I talked to my mom. He raved about it to my face, rubbing the salt in my wounds because he knew it was Jason's boat. He's going to ruin it, turn it back into a crime filled gambling ring, I just know it. And I'm sure Ethan will be right beside him."

"God, Jo, I'm so sorry. I know how much that boat meant to you with it belonging to your family....and I...so...how did Orlando's brother come into all of this?"

"Well, I went to take Orlando home and shortly after we got in my car, Luke came out of nowhere said we needed to go and insisted he drive and..."

"So you just let him drive your car that you let no one drive but you?"

"I let you drive it...and well, yeah, I had a few beers myself and honestly, it was for the best because apparently Luke had followed his dad to the bar to handle him after Landy's encounter with him and things turned ugly with these guys and then they came speeding after him which then turned into them chasing us until Luke was able to lose them. But now they know my car."

"My god Jo, you...you didn't think to call me?? I would have been right there. Orlando's my best friend and you're my....."

Lee paused and then walked off, making his way down to the inlet's lookout, a small wooden deck big enough for maybe three people, perched up on a sizeable rock embankment overlooking the water.

You sighed and then followed him, knowing you still had to tell him the about the aftermath at Orlando's place which made you feel nauseated. As he said, Orlando was his best friend so he deserved to know.

Lee briefly leaned on the metal railing and then turned to you when he heard you step up behind him.

"I'm sorry. It was late and raining and Luke was handling things just fine, well, for the time being anyways."

"What do you mean...anyways? Jo...what happened?"

"Honestly, I don't really know. I mean, we went back to Landy's and..."

"It's Landy now eh?"

"Lee, don't. Do you want to hear this or not?"

"K. Go ahead."

"Orlando..." you emphasized. "And I were in the kitchen talking. He was telling me some stuff about Luke and Luke heard some of it, which he didn't like and things got heated between them, like, Luke, he just snapped. They fought and then Luke put him in this choke hold and wouldn't let go. I ended up hitting him on the head something, which, he is fine by the way, but...I had to do it. But, even so, Orlando wasn't fine. He ended up collapsing and wasn't breathing and..."

"Jesus Christ! Is he alright????!"

"Yes, yes, Lee, he is ok now. Luke and I...we um...we performed CPR and had him breathing within roughly a minute...."

"You didn't think to call 911?? Fuck, what the fuck is wrong with Luke??"

"I was going to call but I couldn't find my phone and Luke said Landy would be dead before they got there, which he was right considering he wasn't breathing. He would have called if we couldn't get him back Lee."

"Wow, well Luke sure seems to know just what to do. An asshole and hero all in one night. I'm a doctor Jo, remember?? You still should have called them because they could have been on their way if you couldn't revive him, not to mention they could have shocked his heart. I could have tried to help as well. Do you think I would have cared what time it was or if it was raining Jo?? Seriously?" Lee reeled as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah I know Lee but I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I'm sorry. But at least Orlando is fine. I stayed the night to watch over him and Luke too. I hit him pretty hard, he was cut and bleeding and could have had a concus..."

"Well this just keeps getting better. Poor Luke. He tries to kill his brother and you were worried about HIM."

"Yeah Orlando said the same thing ok, but Luke feels terrible Lee and is going to do all he can to make it up to Landy. He's not Ethan."

"As he should feel terrible. How is he not like Ethan when he goes and does the same fucking thing and you...you defend him because he feels bad? If Ethan had shown remorse, would you have defended him too?? Tell me Jo... what started the fight?? What was it that Luke overheard? He don't just flip out like that for no reason."

"Of course I wouldn't have defended Ethan because it's fucking ETHAN! And as far as that fight, it's between Orlando and Luke so how about we get to the real reason we're here?"

"You're not telling me everything. I can feel it."

"Hello pot, meet kettle!! I have been upfront with you since day one about everything that affected us Lee, my deepest darkest secrets and even about things that didn't affect us and you can't even respect me enough to do the same."

"I respect you more than anyone in this world, more than anyone I have ever had respect for Jo. I love you, only you and you know I do. why can't the past be the in the past where it belongs??"

"Because it's not IN the past! It's right here, in our face because you won't admit what I already know. If none of it mattered, you would have told me the first night I met Ethan and then I wouldn't have felt like I do now, how YOU'VE made me feel! I will not be second, I will not share your heart."

"If you already KNOW, then why do I have to tell you??"

"Are you kidding me right now?? Because I want to hear you say it!! You promised you would tell me yesterday and you ran away with the lame excuse of accusing me of being unfaithful with my freaking landlord. I swear to god Lee, this is your last chance or I...am...gone and I will NOT come back. I know my worth thanks to bullshit like this and if I didn't love you so fucking much, I would have left a long time ago...but with that said, I am at the end of my rope, holding on by a mere thread, waiting, always waiting for you to catch me before I fall, and if you let me fall Lee....you will never be able to pull me back. I deserve to know the truth that you feel is so damn important to hide. I want to hear it from you and not my damn sister!!"

"Wait...whh..what??" he asked as his eyes were now beginning to glisten with tears. "What did she tell you?????"

"YOU tell me! You tell me now."

"Jo, baby I don't want to do it like this, please...please don't make me. I swear to god it doesn't matter, that's why I haven't told you. YOU are ALL that matters to me, YOU my Jo."

"Liar!" you cried and shoved him.

Lee froze, peering down at your telling eyes. You knew. He could see it. His hand rubbed over his mouth and then through his hair as he released a whimpering sigh through trembling lips.

"I....I'm not a liar...I'm...afraid."

"Afraid of losing me or...Ethan??? You can't have us both!"

Lee gently took your face in his hands, his tears now falling.

"I don't want him!!!! I want you baby, god I Love you Jo!! So fucking much I can't see straight. It's been 8 days without you and I feel like I'm losing my mind. Why...why can't you believe me?? You used to. I won't let you fall. I'm right here, I've got you. Please...stay with me."

"You really have to ask me why?? Because everything changed when Ethan came back. YOU changed. The secrets, the panic attacks, the fact that you wouldn't tell me the truth, the fact that you wouldn't make him go away!!! It's going to be longer than 8 days Lee...it will be FOREVER!" you cried and pushed his hands away. "You're the one who told me to breathe, and I did it. This, THIS is what I did it for?? Because now I can't breathe. I am torn between holding onto what you promised and accepting the reality of you not being able to deliver. I'm falling Lee."

His breathing began to race and became hard as he turned around, placing his hands on the railing and vigorously shaking it as he bellowed out a long garbled shout.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! I...I ca...I can't...I...breathe....I..."

Lee began holding his chest again, just like he did that day at the lake house when he had a full blown panic attack. You grabbed onto him as his legs became unstable.

"Lee??? Oh god...ok, ok...it's alright. Look at me baby, I'm right here, I'm right here. Hold on to me."

"Please...pl...please...don't...don...don't let..me fall. I'll...I'll t...tell you...just...t..take me..home."

"Lee, I don't think I should ride with you like this, you could fall off..."

"Take me home Jo!!!!!" he shouted as he stared off in panic, almost as if he were blinded by the attack.

You put his arm over your shoulder, securing it by holding his hand, then placed your other arm firmly around his waist and began to walk him back to the bike.

"I want you to lay your head on my shoulder and lock your arms clean around my waist and don't move, do you hear me?"

"Mmm..hmm..y...yes."

He did as you asked and after you got going, you secured your left arm over his so you could steer with your right and use the accelerator. You released him long enough to brake as you pulled up to the lake house and as soon as you stopped, he sprung off the bike, still in a panic and quickly stumbled his way inside before you could even catch up to him.

"Lee! Slow down!"

You raced in behind Lee to find him at the kitchen sink with his head under a stream of cold water, spurting out hard gasping breaths as his shaking hands clutched the faucet. You struggled frantically to free yourself of your coat and then grabbed a towel out of the laundry room.

"Lee, I'm right here." you assured him as you stroked his ice cold saturated hair. "Come on, the water, Lee it's freezing. Let me dry you off."

He remained leaning over the sink, his eyes planted shut and his mouth gaping and dripping water as you turned it off.

"Baby, stand up."

He did, eyes slitted open as you placed the towel over his head and dried him.

"God, I am so sorry. This is all my fault, I was too pushy and aggressive and selfish, letting my own feelings consume me. I had no right to treat you that way. So much has happened in the past 24 hours and I let it get to me, things that had nothing to do with this and..."

Lee yanked the towel away. "No...you had every right!" he snapped as he fought to get his jacket off, still gasping and panting, almost to the point of hyperventilation.

"Let me help y..."

"I got it!!" he snapped once again, giving his caught and twisted sleeve a powerful tug and he then let the coat drop to the ground, becoming more distressed and anxious that he couldn't stand still. In his continuing panic, he turned and staggered to the stairs.

"Lee, where are you going?? Wait..."

"Let me go. Just leave me alone." he ordered, pulling his arm from your hold and tripping his way up the stairs.

Your hand came to cover your mouth as you stood frozen with gaping eyes, not knowing what to do because he wouldn't let you help him. What you were feeling was indescribable. You shouldn't have pushed him so hard, giving him an ultimatum like that but you honestly didn't know what to do anymore.

Doing what he did best, you found his whiskey and poured a shot, then downed it as you stood alone in silence, listening for him and staring at the stairs, then your eyes glided back to the kitchen where you caught sight of something on the table. An envelope with your name written in huge letters...JO.

You picked it up to find some crunched up paper wrapped in a bowtie made out of the same material. Was this what he wanted to give you? It had your name on it, so you opened it. Inside was a silver chain necklace with a seashell shaped glass piece attached...and inside appeared to be the tiniest of scrolls tied in a red string.

You then opened the envelope.

"Jo, inside is my love for you...forever. Time in a bottle."

And then under his own words, he wrote the lyrics to the song "Time in a Bottle"

"If I could save time in a bottle The first thing that I'd like to do Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever If words could make wishes come true I'd save every day like a treasure, and then Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time To do the things you want to do once you find them

I've looked around enough to know That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes And dreams that had never come true The box would be empty Except for the memory of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time To do the things you want to do once you find them

I've looked around enough to know That you're the one I want to go through time with."

You fell into the chair, once again covering your mouth, this time to silence your crying. After about fifteen minutes, you couldn't take it anymore and made your way up the stairs to check on him, only to find him sitting quietly and perfectly still in the hallway on the floor against the wall, knees bent up, elbows propped on them and his hands clasped together as he rested his mouth against them.

"You...ok?" you softly asked and then slowly approached him.

Lee was finally relaxed and didn't move or say a word until you were standing in front of him. He finally stood up and when he did begin to speak, you let him, with no interruptions.

"It all happened hundreds of years ago to me, but in reality, it was 4 years ago, shortly after Jacob died. Ethan came for the funeral. He stayed for quite awhile and we hung out a lot. He was different then, at least I thought he was a good person. I had no idea what he was involved in, I just needed a friend. A real friend. Sure, I had Orlando but as you know, a doctor's life doesn't have much time for friends...and he didn't want to spend time with Ethan, understandably as we now know."

"We went to a lot of parties during my leave from work. My brother's parties. Drug filled parties where Ethan and I...it was more than the one time Jo. It was many. He...he told me he loved me about a month later and during one of our drug induced nights....I told him I loved him too. I had no idea what I was doing. I was so lost and he was there. Giving me the love I was deprived of. Keeping me medicated to eventually get what he wanted, of course I didn't realize that then. Then one night, he...asked me to marry him and I stupidly accepted, although at the time, I thought it was what I wanted. We flew to Vegas, just me and him. My nerves were on overload. I...I didn't want to go through with it. It didn't feel right when I was sober. Nothing ever did."

"He coaxed me into getting high, which didn't take much to do because I was dope sick and then...there I was, higher than Mt. Everest, saying I do. We went out and partied more to celebrate, gambling our asses off. Later that night, I was coming down from my high and more clear headed. Realizing what I had done, I freaked out and wanted to leave. I told him we needed to get an annulment or however that works, because I wasn't in my right mind. I told him i didn't want to do this with him anymore. It was like I had some sort of epiphany. In my panic of packing my things, he made me a drink. A drink I had no idea was laced with, well...it was roofied. I figured it out later that it was his plan to consummate the marriage to make it more difficult to dissolve...He ummm...."

Lee became quiet and teary eyed as his head lowered, not wanting to look at you.

"Jesus...Lee...did he....force himself on you??"

His eyes slowly rolled up to yours as a tear fell.

"I couldn't prove anything, nor did I want to. I didn't want anyone to know about any of what we did. I told myself that Ethan too, was out of his mind on the drugs and didn't mean to do what he did and I just wanted to forget it all ever happened. We flew back the next day and never spoke of it. I then checked myself into rehab for 90 days without his knowledge and when he found out, I refused his visits and calls. After I got out, I filed for a simple annulment to erase it all, but it was not granted. In Massachusetts, you have to have solid clear proof of your claims and...I had none to show we were both incompetent due to impairment and even if I had proof of what he did to me, I sure as hell wasn't going to make that public and of course without proof, the marriage would have been considered consummated, so...I filed for divorce which I was able to do since I had lived here more than a year. I claimed irreconcilable differences just to be simple and after that, I didn't see him for another year. He had been back and forth between the U.K. and Boston and when I saw him again, I had then forgiven him by blaming it all on the drugs for his actions as well as my own and we remained good friends, still hanging out from time to time but that was all it was, I swear it Jo. I knew what I had felt for Ethan was never real and the moment I knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt was when you came into my life and let me know what love really was, my lady strange. I never felt this way for him, or for anyone, ever. That's how I knew it was real this time. I never loved him Jo....I love you."

Lee's voice choked up when he said those last three words to you. His tear stained eyes never once blinked nor did they move and the way he gazed in your eyes as he said it, demolished your heart into a million pieces as if a wrecking ball had swung right in. You now felt like the biggest fool in the world for ever doubting his love for you, and the guilt, it was unbearable, for what you had believed about him couldn't have been further from the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.

"I know that you do." you whispered with a whimper.

"I...my god Lee...what have I done? Can...you ever..forgive me? For ever doubting you. You told me over and over you felt nothing for him and I let all of my insecurities and everyone else make me doubt your love when I didn't even know the half of what really happened. And now...I...I forced you...I caused all of this...I hurt you so much just now. I..I feel like such fucking scum. I..I listened to my sister and Ethan and even Luke..."

"You didn't know because I kept it from you, that's not your fault. It's mine Jo. There's nothing to forgive sweet girl. God I should have told you so long ago and saved all of your justifiable doubts. Jo, if anyone is scum, it's Ethan. And I'm disgusted with myself for it taking this long for me to open my eyes. I now know he knew exactly what he was doing that night and that he's bat shit crazy on top of it."

"Lee...why. Why were you so afraid baby?? Why did you ever think I would leave you because of it?? You did nothing wrong. Even after everything, you told me the truth and...I'm still here Lee. I can't imagine a world without you."

"For that exact reason. I was afraid because I didn't think you would believe me and I thought I would lose you. And I thought that I had. This entire week, all I have thought about is the last time we made love and how you were just gone when I awoke. I can't even begin to describe to you what that did to me and then I see you a week later and you smelled like cologne. God, I am so sorry for overreacting."

"I know, I got your texts last night." you told him with a smile. "I need you to know, in case you're wondering about me staying at Orlando's too...it was merely to watch over him."

"Jo, I'm not mad about that. My god, you saved his life. If anything baby, I'm so grateful."

"But I...I have to tell you something because I won't keep things from you. I...I did sleep in his bed..BUT...that's all I did...sleep. WITH clothes on. Orlando had fallen asleep and when I came to check on him, I was so exhausted that I ended up falling asleep too. I was just afraid he was going to stop breathing again and..."

"Shhh. It's ok. I believe you and I understand. I am glad you were there for him. Luke, well...that's another story. He's a great friend but...let me just say...I don't trust him around you. I know his track record."

"Yeah umm, I kinda picked up on that and even Orlando told me some things. Lee...he came by my mom's today. I guess he followed me from Orlando's to make sure I got there ok since I was in my car. I...I just wanted you to know that."

"Yeah, I did catch that when you said you heard things from your sister...and...Luke? What the hell did they tell you Jo?"

"It was Megan really. Luke, it's what he didn't say actually. He wouldn't verify what she said, saying it wasn't his story to tell and I guess that only made my thoughts worse. She...she told me that you and Ethan had been in love and married and that was all she said. Obviously Ethan has told her about it. God, I never should have let her get to me like that! I mean, I was literally so stressed out today, I began to panic and got a bloody nose too, can you believe that? I guess I can at least give Luke credit for helping me with that because honestly, if he hadn't been there, I would have had an attack like you did AND I would have strangled Megan, which he stopped me from doing. Oh...and I formally met Tracy too. Boy isn't she just a peach?"

Lee's face cringed about Tracy. "Ohhh, yeah. I should have warned you about her. Tracy's just Tracy, not more I can say on that. After being married to Luke Sr, can't say I blame her too much but with that said, I'll never let her disrespect you. As much as I would rather it had been me to be there for you, I'm glad Luke helped you out, but just be careful. He's trouble as you can see. It follows him and now it follows you because of him and well... it seems like Megs has finally met her soulmate...and you know what Jo? I just don't give a fuck about the two of them anymore. Can we just try and move on together and just leave them in the dust where they belong? They can't touch us. No one can because we're still here through all of the bullshit. I know I didn't take more needed steps to rid of Ethan, but I will do it now. And whoever these bar creeps are, I'll protect you. That is...if you still want forever with me..and even if you don't, I will still do it. I can't say it enough. I love you so damn much Jo March."

You took his hands into yours. "You're all I want. Life just means nothing without you. I know you you love me and I love you. Nothing will ever change that. It's just that forever word....it scares me. Something always interferes every time we are happy and I've already had a glimpse of life without you. I don't want to feel that again."

Lee stroked the back of his fingers down your cheek, then took your hand and guided you to the small window seat in the hall.

Once you both sat down, he repeated the stroking gesture to your cheek with a soft smile.

"As you said, we're still here. We've made it through so much, we'll make it through anything else thrown at us. Everything is out in the open now. Ethan can't hurt us anymore. We won't let him or anyone else. Jo...I'm in this for the long haul. We can do this forever thing and be scared together. You're the one I want to go through time with. You're stuck with me babe."

His grin was so beautiful. He...was so beautiful.

"I...I found your gift. I hope it's ok that I opened it? It's so beautiful Lee and the most heartfelt gift I have ever been given."

"Of course it's ok, it's for you. The little scroll inside...it's the word forever...written by you that you left me last week. I had it reduced and then I put it all together."

"Wait...YOU made it?? Oh my god...I..I don't even know what to say."

"Don't say anything. For god's sake, just kiss me already."

You almost cried when your lips met his. "I've missed you so bad." you whispered in between kisses and then took his mouth again. How could he be so perfect, feel so perfect. You could kiss his supple lips....forever.

"What do you say we turn off the world and you stay with me tonight? I'll make you dinner and we can have some wine, dance even? I just want to show you in every possible way what you mean to me and I have so much to make up to you."

"Lee, if anyone has things to make up for, it's me. And...I need to start with something else you don't know."

You had made up your mind. You would not keep Jason's secret and you knew Lee would never betray your confidence. It was simple really. You loved your brother immensely...but you loved Lee more.

Lee tilted his head, his eyes sparkling, attentive and curious.

"Lee....Jason's alive."

@redeemer46

#lee pace #lee pace fanfiction #code blue #love stories #dark fiction #dark stories #doctors #angst #luke evans #luke evans fanfiction #jolee

[littledemondani]

all mine - prequel

pairing: eddie munson x reader

warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, fem!reader, toxic mom (reader's mom is verbally and emotionally abusive and has a diet culture mindset), jason and reader are in an established relationship, mentions of drug use (weed), drug deal (reader buys weed from eddie), angst, fluffy at times, canon divergence - if i missed anything let me know!

word count: 4.1k

summary: you just needed something to take the edge off, to deal with the incessant belittling brought onto you by your mother. but you didn't know it would lead to an unlikely relationship with eddie munson.

a/n: i know i should be finishing part two, but i really wanted to write something pertaining to how eddie and reader met. you don't need to read part one for context, since this is technically the beginning of their story. i've also written some blurbs about them, which you can read here.

masterlist | taglist

another day, another round of backhanded compliments and third-degree insults at the hand of your own mother. they had started to become a daily occurrence ever since you had become head cheerleader, a title you didn’t think you deserved nor wanted. it was bad enough when you were just a regular member of the cheer squad — which you never wanted to be a part of, but were forced into because your mother insisted you follow in her footsteps — and it just got even worse after the fact. 

she expected you to be exceptionally lady-like, by the way you dressed, talked, and acted. however, you were anything but lady-like. you hated wearing dresses, skirts, bright and happy colors like pink, orange, blue, and yellow, jewelry of any kind; you also didn’t like wearing a lot of makeup, only mascara and a tiny bit of eyeliner. it drove your mother absolutely fucking crazy. you were a cheerleader, and your boyfriend, jason carver, was captain of the varsity basketball team, you needed to look nice for him in order to keep his attention, as your mother had so graciously put it one evening when he was picking you up for an ice cream date and your outfit happened to be a pair of cut-off jeans with a black tank top and your worn-out black converse that had doodles on the midsole and toe-cap. 

you had tried to reason with her that it wasn’t a big deal, you were just going out for ice cream, and not to some high-class restaurant — as if there was one in the small podunk town of hawkins, indiana.

needless to say, your efforts at squashing her protests against your casual clothing choice fell on deaf ears, and you trudged back up to your room to change into a baby pink sundress that your mother bought for you against your will, and white keds.

each hurled insult felt like knives being pushed deep into your chest. how can a mother do this to their own child? make them feel like no matter what they do or say it’s never good enough? you do everything she asks of you, you never question her, never talk back, bend over backwards to meet her expectations of you, and yet, she still always finds an issue with everything that you do.

on this particular morning, she had started in on you about the portion of food you had eaten for breakfast. your father sat idly by while she chastised you, nose buried deep in the newspaper that had been delivered only moments prior. he was no help at all to you when she got in those moods, even when you looked at him with desperation in your eyes to just do or say something. but, like you, he didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire of your mother’s warpath, and actively chose to not get involved.

it felt like the room was spinning. your mother’s voice had started to fade off into the distance, but her words still echoed in your mind. all you could feel was rage — unbridled, raw, and overwhelming. 

you had taken a lot from her over the years, stayed silent and tried to be a good daughter, but everyone eventually reaches their breaking point.

“you know what,” you said, slamming your hand down and standing up from your seat at the dining table. “i’m not doing this with you today, mom.”

“honey? i’m only try—.”

“trying to help me, yeah, you say that all the time, but you know what? it isn’t helping me. AT ALL.” you stormed out of the dining room and into the living room, grabbing your backpack from the sofa and swinging it over your shoulders.

your mom came barreling into the room, eyes wide with fury at being talked back to. “y/n, as your mother, i’m only doing what i think is best for you.”

“no, mom, you’re doing what you think is best for you. it’s never been about me!” you picked up your car keys from the hook next to the front door. “you only care about how you feel, what you want, what you need. news flash mom, the world doesn’t fucking revolve around you!”

she looked at you incredulously. she couldn’t believe the atrocities spilling from you. she tried to speak, but you held your hand up, shaking your head.

“i have to go to school. don’t want your perfect daughter to be late, now do you?” with that, you walked out of the house, slamming the door behind you.

“what’s wrong with you?” your friend, rebecca, asked as she walked up to the lunch table you all always sat at. “you look like your dog got run over.”

you looked up from your lunch, having been poking around at it with your fork rather than actually eating it. “it’s nothing,” you lied. “didn’t get enough sleep last night. i’m exhausted.”

“uh-huh,” she eyed you carefully as she sat across from you. “i know you well enough to know that’s a bold-faced lie. but it’s okay! if you don’t wanna tell me, i won’t press you.” 

you sighed deeply, closing your eyes for a moment before opening them again.

“it’s my mom…she…we got into it this morning,” you admitted. 

“y/n, i’m sorry,” rebecca said, frowning softly. “is it the same shit?”

rebecca was the first person you had confided in, besides jason, about the issues with your mother. not because you felt she was a good enough friend for that, you had barely spoken more than a few words to her outside of cheer practice, but because she had witnessed your mom berating you after a football game in the parking lot when you thought nobody else was around. 

turns out, rebecca was well-versed in the art of having a toxic mother, as her own put her through the same treatment yours did with you. the two of you became close, and you liked having someone you could vent to, who would understand you and your feelings when shit got too hard to deal with.

especially since jason didn’t understand any of it. he always thought you were being too hard on your mother. that you just needed to hear her out because she loved you and was only looking out for you. it was easy for him to make that judgment, considering his own parents worshiped the ground he walked on and he could do no wrong in their eyes. he was their golden boy, the poster child for perfection, just as he was to everyone in hawkins. 

“i think she wants me to be exactly like her and that’s never gonna happen. i’m not her!” you dropped your fork onto the plastic tray with a sigh.

“maybe you should tell her about how you feel,” rebecca suggested. 

“yeah, like that’ll change anything,” you scoffed. “i’m tellin’ you, beck, she’ll just say that i’m being ridiculous and misunderstanding her.”

rebecca gazed at you solemnly. “you’re probably right, but at least you’ll have some peace of mind knowing that you got it off of your chest.”

your throat tightened, and the sting associated with tears welling in your eyes made its presence known. you quickly glanced away from her, wiping the few tears that managed to escape with the sleeve of your sweater.

you spent countless nights wishing your mother was different. wondering why she couldn’t just be proud of you, regardless of whether or not you’re a cheerleader, or in band, or played sports, or joined an academic club, or just didn’t give a shit about any extracurriculars. because at the end of the day, you’re her daughter, and her love for you should supersede all of that useless shit that won’t matter once you graduate from high school in a few months. she should want you to be happy, should lift you up and support you, not tear you down and make your formative years hell.

“you know…you should definitely start smoking weed,” rebecca said, breaking the silence. “i’m telling you, it works wonders. it helps me when my mom starts her shit. it’ll help you, too.”

“i can’t do that,” you shook your head. “my mom would kill me.”

“she doesn’t have to know,” rebecca countered. “you have that shed in the back of your house, right? the one your dad never uses? you can smoke in there if you’re afraid to do it inside. i promise you, it’ll make everything so much easier.” 

the thought does sound nice in theory. being able to shut your brain off? even for a moment? to deal with the unnecessary pressure your mother put on you? to deal with her constant judgment?

rebecca watched as the wheels turned in your head; a look of consideration sweeping across your tired features.

“okay…but…there’s only one problem. i wouldn’t know where to like, i dunno…get it?”

“well, it’s your lucky day, because i know just the person for that,” she grinned. “patrick’s guy he usually would get from moved out of town a couple weeks back. he was all bummed about it, but one of his buddies on the football team told him where he gets his. it’s actually pretty good shit.”

she talked really fast, almost like she was trying to hurry before someone walked by and heard her talking about her boyfriend’s drug habit.

“who does he get it from?” you asked slowly, brow raised as you glanced at her.

“eddie munson.”

winters in hawkins were the absolute worst. snow still covered the ground from two days prior and more was set to fall in the coming week. you hated the cold and everything that came with it. the dark, gloomy days, the freezing temperatures, the snow, etc. if you could snap your fingers and have it be spring all year ‘round, you definitely would.

especially right now, that you were standing outside by the side of the school, with no cover to shield you from the biting wind. your hands felt frozen, despite having gloves on, and the pockets of your winter coat didn’t do much to help. you silently cursed at mother nature for creating winter to begin with.

you weren’t sure how long you had been standing out in the cold. you glanced at your watch, which read 3:45pm.

fifteen minutes. he had said to meet him at 3:30. 

you scoffed, rolling your eyes as you shoved your hand back into your coat pocket. maybe he had lost track of time? or maybe he didn’t take you seriously? or he was playing some kind of prank on you? whatever the case, you were fed up with being in the cold, and wanted to go home to the warmth of your bed. 

you kicked at a rock before turning to head towards the parking lot when you smashed face-first into a solid mass, letting out a yelp of surprise. 

“whoa! hey! sorry! didn’t mean to scare you,” a voice, soft, yet full of amusement chuckled above you.

you pulled back, coming face to face with the man of the hour, himself: eddie munson.

he was panting a little, like he had been running or something, his curly hair was even more wild and unruly than it normally is, his black combat boots wet with shards of grass sticking to them. he was wearing two jackets, a light, black one underneath his signature leather jacket, his denim vest overtop, and dark denim jeans. wasn’t he cold? it didn’t look nearly warm enough to keep him comfortable in the frosty breeze.

eddie noticed the concerned look on your face, leaning in a bit closer, brown eyes furrowed as he carefully asked, “you okay?”

“uh, yeah, yeah, just—didn’t expect to literally bump into you,” you chuckled through your nose. you glanced around you, suddenly feeling a bit awkward and nervous.

“right, okay,” he shook his head. “so, um, we can do this in my van? if you want? ya know, to get out of the cold. you look like you could warm up some.”

you hadn’t realized you were practically shivering; the wind having picked up suddenly and out of nowhere.

“sure,” you nodded, giving him a small smile.

he lead the way to his van, which surprisingly wasn’t that far of a walk from where he had asked you to meet him, thankfully. he opened the passenger door for you, a charming smile plastered on his features as he dramatically gestured to the empty passenger seat. “welcome to my castle on wheels.”

you giggled, slinging your backpack off your shoulders and tossing it onto the floorboard. eddie watched as you hopped up into the van, waiting until you were completely situated before closing the door and hurrying to the driver’s side. he got in quickly and turned it on, then put the heater and blower on the highest setting.

glancing around the van, you couldn’t say you were surprised by what you saw. cassette tapes were strewn everywhere, most of which were bands that you had recognized and some you didn’t, a few receipts were also scattered on the floorboards in the front and the back, an empty cigarette pack laid next to your feet; a denim jacket was laid out in the backseat, though it wasn’t covered in patches and pins like his vest, along with his backpack that sat right next to it, unmoved.

you knew of eddie, since he was in your english class, but you didn’t know him very well, if at all. the only thing you really knew about him was that he was theatrical, eccentric, had been held back twice for failing a majority, if not all, of his classes, and that your boyfriend couldn’t stand him at all. you always felt bad for him whenever jason and his buddies picked on him. you had stood up for him, demanded that jason cut his shit out and leave him alone, only to be met with, “he’s a freak, y/n. people like that deserve to be made fun of.”

eddie cleared his throat and you were pulled from your thoughts, shifting in your seat like you had just been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to.

“sorry,” you said shyly, wringing your hands together in your lap as you looked down at them.

“don’t be,” eddie shook his head. “i know it’s a bit of a mess in here.”

“oh no, that’s not what i thought at all,” you stammered. “really.”

he looked at you with a raised brow, almost like he didn’t believe a word coming out of your mouth.

he didn’t.

“right,” he scoffed, opening the black metal box he had sitting in his lap. he took the bag of weed out and held it up for you to see, his brown eyes fixated on you. “anyway, i’ll do you a half ounce for, uh…twenty. whaddya say? plenty of bang for your buck. should last a while.”

a group of students walked by, all laughing rambunctiously, and you turned your head in their direction. your chest was heaving slightly, and your eyes were wide with anxiety as you scanned the crowd. a small part of you was worried it was jason and his friends ⎯ that he had come looking for you and would find you here with eddie. you didn’t care about what he would say to you, but more-so what he would say and do to him. the thought made you shudder.

“hey, uh, we don’t need to do this,” eddie rolled his eyes, putting the baggie back inside the metal box and closing it up. “just give me the word and i’ll walk away. or, you can walk away.”

he was annoyed. why did he even agree to sell to you in the first place? he wasn’t in dire need of money ⎯ he had made more than enough earlier in the day when trevor mcclendon bought over a hundred dollars worth of cocaine for the party he was throwing that upcoming saturday. and even if he was, he definitely didn’t need the money from jason carver’s girlfriend. of all people.

“no, no! i-i don’t want that,” you flicked your gaze back to him.

eddie turned to look at you at the exact same time, meeting your gaze. his hardened exterior faltered the second he looked into your eyes. you were scared. no? anxious? no. desperate? that seemed more like it. not desperate in the way that you had gone a long time without weed and needed a fix ⎯ no, he had seen that look one too many times to know that isn’t what was going on with you. it was one that called for help, that begged for it, and it left him wildly intrigued.

“have you ever felt…forced to be someone that you’re not?”

your voice was low, barely above a whisper, and eddie may have missed it had he not been watching you like a hawk.

everything about your body language screamed that you were uncomfortable with even talking about it. your hands were fidgeting in your lap, you kept shifting in the seat, chewing on the corner of your lip, your eyes quickly darting to look anywhere but at eddie. he didn’t expect this coming from you. not that he knew you well enough to say that this was completely out of character for you ⎯ he just didn’t think the ‘queen of hawkins high’ would ever be pretending to be someone that she wasn’t.

“uhh, well, i used to,” he cleared his throat. “back in like middle school, and shit? but uhh…then i realized it didn’t do much, ‘cauuuse i got shit on anyway, so i just said ‘fuck it’ and started doin’ my own thing. been a looot happier ever since.”

the memories of that time in his life come to the forefront of his mind. of when he got teased a lot for having long hair (though now that he thinks about it, it wouldn’t have been considered long compared to how it is now), when the other kids would laugh and call him poor because his shirts had a hole or two in them, and, of course, for being into dungeons and dragons.

he remembers coming home one day, his little eyes red and puffy from crying. he couldn’t understand why the other kids were so mean to him. all he did was keep to himself, aside from the few friends he had made who happened to like metal just like him. wayne listened to him, held him, as he cried in his lap, begging to just be like everyone else. that maybe, just maybe, they’d leave him alone.

that night, he asked wayne to cut his hair, and even though wayne tried to talk him out of it, eddie was persistent. so, wayne grabbed a pair of scissors and the hair clippers, and did as the kid wished.

he shudders at the thought, shaking his head as if to rid it completely. 

you don’t know how he does it. how he can just be himself despite everything that he gets thrown at him. the other students wouldn’t dare confront him, all being too afraid of what he’d do to them, but you know what they say behind his back. devil worshipper. cult leader. freak. weirdo. 

sitting here with him, in his van, and seeing the slight vulnerability he’s sharing with you, you start to think maybe eddie isn’t as bad as everyone makes him out to be.

you must have been silent for some time, lost in a train of thought, because eddie’s voice pulls you back into the present.

“you know, this isn’t the first time we’ve, um, hung out.”

“no?”

“you don’t remember?”

when did that happen? you tried to wrack your brain for when you had ever hung out with eddie munson.

“uh, i’m sorry,” you chuckled awkwardly, shaking your head.

“it’s okay. i wouldn’t remember me either, y/n,” he said in a funny voice, making you giggle.

“you really don’t remember me?” he asked, looking at you like he couldn’t believe you, his arms crossed in front of him. 

“i’m sorry!” you giggled, putting your hands over your face playfully, trying to hide from him.

“middle school talent show,” he said and you took your hands off of your face, listening to him intently. “you were doing the cheer thing that you do? which was kinda cool, actually.”

he made a high v and diagonal motion, though it was really bad and made you chuckle. suddenly it hits you, the memory of that day, and you gasp in realization. 

“oh my god, yes! you were with uhh, your band…uhh,” you snapped your fingers several times, hoping it would come to you. “corroded coffin!!” 

“yes!” he punched the air excitedly, clapping. “you do remember!”

“jesus,” you laughed, beaming as you looked over at him. “i shared my french fries with you that day! how could i forget?”

it all came to you — sitting next to eddie backstage before your performance, striking up casual conversation with him that turned into the two of you giggling uncontrollably, sharing the french fries that came with the burger meal your father had brought you.

“i dunno, maybe i wasn’t as memorable to you as i hoped i’d be,” he admitted, chewing the corner of his lip, brown eyes still trained on you.

he had the tiniest crush on you back then, though it was extremely short lived once he realized that day at the talent show was all it would ever be between the two of you. you had your circle, he had his — your worlds were never meant to collide.

“no, it’s just you looked soo..diff—.”

“different? yeah,” he chuckled. “well, my hair was buzzed and i didn’t have these sweet ol’ tatties yet.”

giggling, you glanced at where eddie had pulled down the front of his shirt, noticing the black ink barely poking out, a stark contrast against his creamy skin.

“you played guitar, right?”

“yup,” he nodded, beaming with pride. “still do.”

“i remember thinking you were pretty good,” you admitted, the memory of watching him play with his band from the side of the stage flashing in your mind.

eddie’s smile grew. that same feeling he had all those years ago, when you first sat next to him backstage at the middle school talent show, came crashing back to him like a tidal wave.

“uh, so, in other good news, flattery works with me, so…twenty-five percent discount for the half,” he said as he flipped open the black metal box and took the bag of weed out again. “fifteen bucks. you’re robbing me blind here, ya know.”

“oh god, eddie, no,” you shook your head. “no, you don’t have to do that.”

“really! it’s no biggie,” eddie insisted, reaching over the middle console to hand the bag to you.

“no!” you giggled, pulling the twenty dollar bill tucked away in the back pocket of your jeans. “i’m not gonna cut you short.”

before he could protest, you took the bag and slipped the twenty into his hand as fast as you could, tugging your bottom lip between your teeth.

he playfully rolled his eyes, but accepted your offer nonetheless. you stuffed the weed into the front part of your backpack, making sure it was safe and secure. when you finished, you turned to look at him.

“thanks, eddie,” you smiled gratefully.

“anytime,” he replied with a genuine smile.

your gaze lingered a moment longer before opening the door to leave. you hopped out first, wincing as the bitter cold hit you like a ton of bricks, then, grabbed your backpack. 

“wait!” eddie called out, effectively halting your movements.

you looked at him curiously with a tilt of your head, wondering what else he could have forgotten to tell you.

“you should come see my band play,” he rushed, brows pinched together before softening his expression. “we play at the hideout every tuesday.”

a smile tugged at the corner of your lips, but you tried to hide it. “it’s not a sleazy bar, is it?”

“i mean, it’s not the garden, but you gotta start somewhere,” he chuckled, resting his arm on the middle console as he leaned over. “we usually get a crowd of about fiiiive drunks.”

you laughed, shying away from his gaze for a moment before flitting your eyes back to him. “what time?”

“eight o’clock,” he answered. he didn’t know why he was so nervous about asking you, or why his palms started to sweat whenever you took a while to answer.

you slung your backpack over your right shoulder, smirking at him as you said, “see, ya around, munson.”

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson imagine #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction

[jasntodds]

Caving In [1]

Pairing: Gar Logan x Fem!Powered!Reader, Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader

Words: 13,538

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, angst, mentions of various injuries including a mention of road rash, bruises, cuts, and a burn, mentions of death, some fluff I suppose, a mention of drug addiction, jason todd is a smartass and so is the reader, reader gets arrested (not long and doesn’t go to the station or anything like that), a mention of the Joker and Two-Face

Summary: ❝Tell me Atlas: What is heavier, The world or its people’s hearts?❞ You never expected your life to end up this way, turned upside down by an infamous Gotham villain. It’s been a living hell, every single day, until Dick Grayson brings you to Titans tower where you meet Gar Logan and Jason Todd.

A/N: I came out of the gate swinging with a long chapter. But, I have literally been writing this every single day for a month straight and I have never been more excited about posting a series before. I am VERY proud of this series so please lemme know what you guys think!! I am easily motivated to post more often when I get feedback 😂 The first few chapters take place between season 2 episode 1 and season 2 episode 2. You can add yourself the tag list below, ask me to be tagged, or you can follow my library blog @jasntoddslibrary​  and turn on notifications if you prefer that!!

series masterlist | masterlist | tag list

You didn’t have what you would consider a horrible childhood. In the grand scheme of things, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. You had a mom who loved you and did her absolute best to provide for you. You rarely ever fought and your mom took care of you. You had a few friends, none that really stuck around when shit hit the fan, but you don’t blame them. So, you had some friends and that was cool while it lasted. Your dad was ad deadbeat addict you only remember seeing once and the way you see it, good riddance. You had your mom.

Had.

However, that was then and this is now where you’re standing on the street, using a car window breaker to break into a car late at night in the middle of Gotham City. Gotham has a habit of breeding some real fucked up psychos. You’re almost positive it has got be the water and it’s only a matter of time before everyone in the city either turns into Batman and Robin or The Joker and The Riddler. The psycho doesn’t care who you are and if you have a family, they take and take and laugh in the face of everyone else’s agony. So, here you are breaking into a car as you’ve done for last few months since the Joker decided to do what he does best. Kill.

Whenever you break into a car, which is almost nightly now, you remember judging those who did before because this is someone else’s property. They probably worked hard for it and who are you to take it from them. But, no one ever said surviving was easy. You get it now, a little guilty about it but not guilty enough to stop.

“Sweet.” You huff to yourself, smile on your face as you find a hundred dollars in the center console. “Idiot.” You mumble as you stuff it in your pocket.

You rummage around the car some more, hoping to find more. If the person was dumb enough to leave a hundred dollars, maybe there’s something you could sell. You push around a few unimportant things like papers and a pair of old shoes, not finding much. With the shrug of a shoulder, you consider this car a win and back out of the car only for the flashing of red and blue to catch your attention from your peripheral.

“Ah, fuck me.” You groan, turning on your heels and sprinting as fast as your legs will let you down a close alleyway.

The sirens sound behind you. There’s still a smile plastered across your face with the lights behind you and your feet smacking puddles. The city lights guide you in and out of other alleys and down side streets. It’s a bit of a thrill. The air is wet on your skin, thick with moisture from the previous storm. The city streets have that smell of wet pavement and fresh rain, something that lives in your bones. Running through the streets of Gotham is a regular activity but you find it fun, adrenaline in your blood and city lights guiding the way.

This is not the first time GCPD has found you breaking into a car but they didn’t catch you then and you don’t think they’ll catch you now. The only one really competent at catching anyone committing a crime is Gotham is Batman and Robin but they don’t normally go after kids robbing cars. It’s not exactly hot radar here.

Your chest heaves with every step but you’re having a blast. The burning almost doesn’t bother you with every stride, lungs feeling like they could collapse at any moment. That’s part of the thrill, how far can you run before they catch you or your lungs explode. Well, normally, but tonight the pavement is a little too slick. You go to run around a corner, shoes slipping on the pavement, sending you right into the pavement.

“Shit!” You scream out, feeling the road rash on your arms and your legs, knowing you ripped your clothes from the fall.

“Hands up.” One of the cops says as they catch up, getting out of his car.

You roll your eyes, racking your brain in hopes you can come up with a big bad escape plan. You do not want to go into the system. “Can’t you see I’m little hurt here, asshole?”

“Looks like that’s on you.” His voice is annoyed. “Get up.”

“Again, I’m hurt.” You pout up at him. “I should really have an ambulance. It’s your fault I fell.”

“How do you figure?” The cop questions, making it evident this is not how what he thought he’d be doing tonight.

“You were chasing me.” You shrug a shoulder, looking at your elbow, grimacing at the sight of blood and gravel in your arm. “I wouldn’t have fallen had you just let me go.”

“You committed a crime. You’re not getting off.”

“I’m a minor living in Gotham City who just broke into a single car. Our courts can’t even keep the fucking Joker behind bars, you think I’ll be put away? Please.” You let out a scoff following by a hollowed laugh.

The one thing you have never learned how to do is hold your tongue. It’s always been a little bit of an issue but ever since your mom died, it’s gotten worse. Who do you have to hold your tongue for? You have no one. At least if the cop arrests you, you’ll have a warm bed to sleep in and probably a meal. Not a good one, but beggars can’t be choosers.

“Get up.” The cops sneers, grabbing your arm and yanking you up. “We’ll take you to the hospital to get checked out. Where are your parents?”

“Dad’s somewhere getting high, mom’s in six feet under.” Your voice is nonchalant as you shake your arm free, your knees and arms feeling like they’re vibrating from the pain.

The cop looks down at you with a sigh. Unfortunately, this isn’t an unusual thing for him or any other cop in Gotham to deal with. Kids with parents who are either dead, nonexistent, or not participating in their lives is normal thing here. Far more normal than any other city. You have a smart mouth and you robbed a car but you’re also alone, parentless, and clearly homeless. He doesn’t really want to take you to the station. It’s another kid thrown into the prison system.

“You’re gonna call CPS, right?” You ask from the back of the squad car as the cop drives.

“That is protocol.” He says, glancing to you in the rearview mirror.

“I think that’s a horrible idea.” You scoff, plopping back in your seat, crossing your arms to the best of your ability with the stinging road rash.

“Can’t just let you live on the streets.”

“You could.” You sigh. scrunching your nose.

“Don’t you want a place to live?”

“Yeah, but the system is corrupt. You would know. Why the fuck would I wanna go there? I can take care of myself.”

“You’re in the back of my car and for what? A few bucks?”

“I’ve been doing fine. The pavement’s wet.” You pout. If you had shoes with actual grip, you wouldn’t have fallen.

“Look, I’m sure you’ll be fine, okay?” The cop’s voice is quieter this time, trying his best to be reassuring. “Lots of kids turn out fine.”

You roll your eyes, ignoring him as you watch the city pass by. There’s something in your gut that just knows this is not going to end well for you. Foster care, group homes, it never sounds like it’s going to end well, not for you. Maybe others, sure. Not all foster homes and group homes are bad, but you can feel it in your bones, the shattering of your world consuming you with every passing building. This is going to get really fucking bad.

1 Year Later 

Your eyes peek open, lids heavy and weighed down as your chest heaves. Your face is in agony with an aching pain your right side. Your head is throbbing as you blink your eyes, swearing it feels like you’ve been hit with a sledgehammer. The pavement is cool beneath you as your eyes move up the walls in front of you, a red and worn-away brick. It’s all moving so slowly for you, almost like a YouTube video lagging at 480p. Slow and staggered, taking in one sense at a time as you come to.

You feel someone beside you, their hand is warm on your arm and he comes into focus from the corner of your eye. Your heart rate spikes, the drowsiness vaporizes and the throbbing of your head suddenly makes everything click. Your eyes widen and you grab his forearm with your hand, a burning and stinging sensation makes him yank his hand away.

“Fuck!” He yells, looking at the growing chemical burn on his arm and back to you as you try to scramble to your feet, legs weak and stinging. “Wait!” He yells at you, trying to get you to stay put, processing what’s going on.

You get to your feet, the man following your lead and standing up, holding his arm across his stomach. Your eyes scan him over and look behind him, trying to ignore the throbbing in your head to come up with a clear plan to escape him. You’re not going back to the basement or to the heinous piece of shit who clearly left you here for dead.

“Who are you?” He asks, his voice is stern, jaw squared while he looks to your hands that outstretched in front of you. Your palms are flowing a florescent green aimed right at him.

You shake your head, matching his stare, teeth grinding. There's a firey anger in your eyes, almost telling him to go ahead and try you. You’re in agony, every muscle feels likes it’s being eaten by fire ants and you’re using every bit of strength to square off with him. But you hold that hard stare not willing to move. The pain will have to take a backseat this time.

“Look,” He lowers his voice trying to ignore the stinging pain of his arm. “I found you here. I was making sure you were okay.”

You scoff. “Sure. You just check on random people passed out in an alley?” You’ve lost a bit faith in humanity recently.

“You burn everyone who tries to help you?” He quips.

Your eyes narrow, not playing the game of getting ‘helped’ again. “Bold of you to assume people help.”

He sighs, dropping his head while his hair falls onto his forehead. “I’m Dick.” He picks up his head, stepping forward just one step and you take one back. “You’re hurt.” He gestures to your side where blood is seeping through the fabric of your shirt.

You look down and see the bright red staining the white fabric. Oh, that’s not good. A sense of queasiness comes over you and that’s when you really start taking in what’s happened. Flashes of the day before haunt your eyes, clouding your view of Dick. You slam your eyes shut which just seems to make the memories worse. The throbbing becomes a catastrophic earthquake in your head, begging to crumble everything in its path. Your hands come to your head, trying to get it to stop as the world around you starts to spin.

Dick takes a few steps forward. “Hey, are you okay?” Dick asks, looking down at you but before you can tell Dick to leave you alone, everything falls black, your legs going limp as you pass out, Dick catching you on the way down. “Alright, then.”

He looks you over, taking notice in the several cuts, bruises, and scars you have on your exposed skin. He has no idea what happened to you but he does know one thing, he’s going to find out and he’s gonna find out how you burned him. Dick’s always had a thing for saving kids so he picks you up and decides to take you to the tower. You were terrified, at least he knows you’ll be safe there.

Back at the tower, the elevator doors open and Dick walks through caring you with broken skin. Gar and Rachel are in the living room, their attention pulled back as they hear him come in.

“Hey, what are--” Gar pauses from his seat on the ottoman while Rachel stands up from her seat, eyes wide and confused as Dick comes into view.

“Who is that? What happened?” Rachel asks, her words fast as she walks over to Dick, Gar right behind her.

“I found her.” Dick states, his voice a bit exasperated. “Gar, can you help me?”

“Uh…sure.” Gar nods, knowing it’s because of Dr. Caulder that Dick’s even asking.

“Rachel, go spar with Jason.” Dick says and Rachel shakes her head but does as she’s told while Dick and Gar head off to the infirmary wing.

Dick places you on a bed while Gar stays behind him. This is weird. He knew Dick had a thing for picking up strays, that’s how him and Rachel ended up with Dick. But, it’s very weird being on the other side of that and actually seeing him bring someone home, especially someone who’s as banged up as you are and unconscious no less. It makes Gar pretty uncomfortable.

Dick directs Gar to grab bandages and the saline solution so they can clean some of the blood cuts that are visible to them. Gar does as directed without saying a single word. He just follows Dick’s lead and helps him clean a few cuts on your arms while Dick cleans a gash on your cheek. Whatever happened to you was bad, that’s something that everyone can see clear as day. But, they don’t know how it happened or why and maybe that’s the scariest part about it. Whatever happened, was bad and what if you’re more than a random person from the streets? Or what if you are and someone is hunting you or something? It’s a terrifying thought.

As they finish up, Gar sees Dick start addressing his own wound. He hadn’t noticed it before but now he can see a red burn on his arm. But, when Gar asked Dick about it, Dick brushed it off a bit by just saying you had done it when you came to for a minute. He didn’t seem to be too concerned about it which made Gar more confused by the whole situation. Not only are you just some girl off the streets but you also have powers and have already burned someone. That sounds a bit dangerous but Gar isn’t one to question authority so he goes with it.

They finish up before leaving you alone. Dick and Gar head to the comms lab where Dick gains access to the security cameras where he found you. He’s mostly showing Gar how to do the same, just in case something happens and Gar ever needs to know. Gar is more of the tech guy in the tower anyway. So, Gar watches closely as Dick brings up the city’s security cameras and they find footage of an older car that looks to be in decent condition pulling into the alley. A bald man with a medium build gets out, looking around to see if anyone is around. He walks to the back of the car and opens the door, pulling you out, looking completely lifeless. He dumps you up against a wall before getting back into his car, pulling out of the alley and driving away as if nothing happened.

Dick shakes his head, his jaw clenching and he just cannot understand how people do that to kids. Being a detective and Robin, he saw it a lot, grown adults beating on kids or getting verbally horrible with them, taking them to drug deals. It’s a mess and he cannot understand why adults do that to kids like it’s normal and it’s okay. There will never come a day where it doesn’t send his blood into a rapid boil.

“Do you think he…did that to her?” Gar asks, looking up to Dick with worry in his eyes.

Dick looks at him, seeing the concern embedded in his face. “I’m not sure.” Dick keeps his voice level, looking back at the screen. “But, by the looks of it, yeah or he knows who did.”

“Why would someone do that?” There’s sadness etched in every word. Gar doesn’t like real violence very much. He doesn’t know why anyone results to it unless it’s a dire situation. Similar to Dick, he just doesn’t understand how someone can do that to another person.

“Maybe we’ll get some answers as to what happened when she wakes up.” Dick nods his head, trying not to worry Gar more. “Why don’t you go join the others? I’ll watch the cameras until she wakes up.” The question was more of a request, rather than an actual offer and Gar knows that.

Gar nods his head and leaves, head swimming with the who, what, when, where, and why of the situation. Maybe you’re dangerous and that’s why it happened. You did burn Dick so you at least, have powers. But, maybe there’s more to it. Maybe you tried to defend yourself and it didn’t end in your favor. Gar knows it’ll be picking at the back of his head until they find out more but for now, there’s nothing he can do but listen to Dick and join Rachel and Jason.

You finally come to a few hours later. Your eyes open slowly, seeing a wall with a TV mounted to the wall in front of you, similar to a hospital room. But, it’s aesthetically warmer as you look around. The walls aren’t white and the lights aren’t fluorescent. The bed is definitely more comfortable and so is the blanket. For a split second, you almost forgot about your encounter with Dick and think maybe you really could be safe in a hospital but that second fades.

It comes back like a polaroid printing. Slow and fading the images, dulling the colors as it develops. It’s blotchy, the alley and Dick standing in front of you. A part of you isn’t entirely sure you can picture his face. All you know for certain is that he’s tall with brown hair and then you remember burning him, which wasn’t entirely on purpose. But, that’s it, it’s like it all just stop developing like maybe someone moved the camera right as they clicked the capture button. It just gets blurry and blank so you look around a bit more.

You notice gauze bandages wrapped around the cuts on your arms, an IV sticking out of your hand. You touch your face where there’s a bandage covering the large gash you had and you sit in a state of foggy confusion. Who is that guy and did he bring you here? If so, why? What’s his motive? Everyone has a motive and it’s never just to be kind. No one is ever just that nice. And where is here anyway? The room is big but it’s not a hospital, there isn’t anyone walking the hallway from where you can see. There isn’t a window looking into the room on the wall or on the door. It’s like a standard room so it’s not a hospital.

Dick walks into the room as you’re looking around, you only notice him when you look over and the dread fills your bones. It shouldn’t be too shocking given the amount times you’ve been hurt but you didn’t hear him come in and that sucks. Surely, with the laminate flooring and him wearing shoes, you should have been able to hear his footsteps but you didn’t. You can’t remember if his voice was muffled in the alley or if it was clear and that’s a bit unsettling. But, this has happened before and the hearing always comes back in a few days.

“You’re awake.” Dick says as he walks to the foot of your bed, his voice sounding a little muffled. You just stare at him, not wanting to talk until you know what’s going on. “What’s your name?” He asks and you get that look in your eye like you did in the alley, filled of anger and spite, with the slightest touch of terror. You shake your head slowly, standing your ground on not talking. “Alright,” Dick sighs, putting his hands in his front pockets. “Not talking?” Dick asks and you give him the quick raise of your brows, tilting your head slightly to your right.

It’s not that Dick thought this would be easy. He remembers being taken home by Bruce, how new and scary everything was. He had just witnessed his parents die and then some strange billionaire picks him up, decides to adopt him. It was weird and this is weird. It’s a little different and he doesn’t know your story, but he can understand your hesitance in talking.

“Well,” Dick lets out a breath. “Do you remember what happened?” Dick asks. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. Just nod your head. The alley?” Dick clarifies and your eyes narrow but you nod your head twice. “Do you remember how you got there?” Dick asks and he sees your eyes fade as if you’re not with him anymore. The heart monitor starts to steadily go up.

You remember everything, the haunting in your bones running your blood cold. You remember everything in vivid detail. He asks that question and you’re right back where you were, right in that room in that chair, in screaming agony. It’s all there, right in the front of your head and you might not be there now but you swear you never escaped.

“Okay,” Dick gets the hint that you do remember but it’s nothing good. “The tower is safe, fully secured if you’re worried about someone coming to get you.” That brings you back and of course you’re worried about that. But what does he know? “No one here is gonna hurt you.” Dick assures you and he can see the slightest bit of relief come your face. “There’s Gar, he came in and helped me clean up your cuts. They’re pretty bad.” Dick explains, getting no reaction. “Rachel, she’s nice, good kid and then there’s Jason, he’s a bit much sometimes but he’s a good kid, too.” You raise a brow at him, as if to be questioning why there are three other teenagers here. “It’s a long story.” Dick states and you give him a long singular nod. “What’s your name?”

You debate it for a minute. If you tell him, he might be able to find who did it and call him to come get you. But, you look to the badges on your arms and you figure he could also just run a blood test of some sort and figure it out. If this is some type of medical center, that’s something he could do. There is also the slight chance he actually wants to help and maybe telling him your name is just that. Telling him your name.

“Y/n.” Your voice is graveled.

The corner of Dick’s mouth pulls into a small smile. “I’m Dick.” He says and you nod again, remembering that detail. “How’d you burn my arm?” He asks, this time a little sterner and you match him again, shaking your head slowly.

That’s not something you’re going to discuss with some random, run-of-the-mill average person. Having powers and talking to a seemingly powerless person doesn’t seem to end well for the one with powers. So, she keeps her mouth pressed into a hard line.

“You’re not gonna tell me, huh?” Dick asks and he chuckles softly. You sure are stubborn. You shake your head giving him a small but sarcastic grin. “Alright,” Dick nods his head. “How’s food?”

The idea of food is almost nauseating from lack of food recently. The more you think about it the more foods come to your head. Burgers, pizza, pasta, even a bag of chips. All of it is making your mouth water. You are fucking hungry.

You nod slowly.

“I’ll have Gar bring something in for you.” Dick says as he starts walking towards the stand next to your bed. You move slightly to get away from him, your right side aching with the movement. “I’m just grabbing the remote for you.” Dick assures you, keeping his voice level while he opens the drawer and pulls out a black remote. “Here, there are streaming services connected. You can watch whatever.” You narrow your eyes as if expecting it to be a trick of some sort. “It’s just a remote.” Dick tells you and you take it from him slowly, carefully dodging his hands.

You give him a thankful nod as you turn the TV on, a welcome screen lighting up the once black screen. Dick gives you a warm smile before heading for the door, choosing to let you be by yourself for a few minutes. You watch him leave and once he’s out of view, you put your attention to the TV. This whole thing feels weirder by the minute but you’re injured and it hurts to even move. So, you scroll through recommended movies and find one that you remember your mom always saying you should watch together. You never got around to it so you turn it on now, letting the movie help you forget everything that’s happened.

It's half an hour before someone knocks on the open door to your room. You look over to see a cute boy with green and black hair wearing a black shirt with a red logo at the door. He gives you a wide and cheeky smile, holding a plate of pizza.

"Hey, I'm Gar." He greets you, walking in and to the side of your bed.

You look between his eyes and his hair. Green hair. Interesting choice. "Y/n."

"Here." Gar offers the plate to you gently.

You eye it carefully, not sure if you should really take it. What if it’s been poisoned? For all you know, these people are also crazy. But, you look back to his eyes and they’re so warm and welcoming, his smile kind and hopeful. And you are hungry. So, you take it with reluctance, careful not to brush his hands.

"Dick wanted me to bring it to you." Gar states.

"Thanks." The word is quiet as you rest the plate on your lap.

Gar watches as you seem disinterested. Dick told him you were not too talkative and seemed scared, that’s why he asked Gar to bring it in. Rachel is kind of course but Gar tends to be a little warmer and Jason is an unpredictable smartass. Gar seems like the best shot to find out information and he knows that’s why he’s here. But, he feels a bit bad for it and he kind of just wants you to eat.

"There's, uh, there's different kinds of pizza in the kitchen. If you wanted something else I could--"

"It's okay." You offer him a gentle laugh. His words were rambled as if he were nervous and you think it’s kind of sweet. "Cheese is fine." You pick the slice, Gar sticking his hands into his pants pockets.

He watches her for a few seconds, noticing the marks on your wrists, brows furrowing. The marks look like they're ligature marks. The very middle is a brighter color as if to have been rubbed raw. A sting punches Gar's heart and he moves his eyes to the TV, not wanting to look at any more injuries you might have. He’s seen enough for today.

"Oh, I love this movie!" Gar gushes, watching as the goonies walk through a cave, trying to escape the Fratellis.

You glance over to him, barely turning your head. "Yeah?" You ask before taking a bite of your pizza.

"Have you never seen it?" Gar asks, looking back to you, ready to start rambling about it.

He loves movies, especially classic. Movies and video games, that’s how he killed his time at Caulder House and that’s how he kills a lot his time here when Dick isn’t having them train. He likes the adventures the characters get to go and the ones he gets to partake in for video games. Being hidden away like a dirty secret, it was the only way for him to have some type of adventure and the love of movies and video games grew. He could talk for hours on end about them.

"No?" You chuckle softly, finding the excitement in his voice amusing. "Looks old."

"1985, Steven Spielberg." Gar beams.

"Oh, okay so you know the movie." You chuckle, chewing your lip and it feels so casual with him.

Maybe it's just because he brought you food. Or that he seems the same age as you and he looks non-threatening, especially with the green hair. He also just seems ready to talk about anything which you thinks is a little funny. And he's not asking you any questions about who you are or what you can do. On top of that, he’s not looking at you the way Dick was, with some sort of expectation of something. Maybe that’s just Dick’s face, but it’s like he expected you to just talk and talk about what happened. You don’t want people to expect something from you anymore and Gar doesn’t. He just likes the movie.

"D-did you w-wanna watch it?" You raise the question, eyeing him from the corner of your eye. It’s been awhile since you’ve had contact with other people, let alone someone your own age who just wants to talk about a movie.

"Really? Yeah!" Gar jogs around the bed, going to the chair that's by the windows and pulling it closer to your bed. "Cool." Gar bounces in his seat. There’s a reason he has this poster hanging in his room, he will watch it at any given opportunity.

You laugh at the boy who's a little too excited to watch a movie but it's kind of nice. "I like your hair." You say quietly.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Gar smiles softly at you. "Oh watch this, Data has awesome gadgets." Gar's attention goes back to the screen as you watch Data's shoes up from the back, oil spilling from the heels.

"Well, that's cool." You raise your brows, finding it interesting.

"Right?!" Gar exclaims. “He even has a winch attached to him!” Gar says. “But, that’s later, sorry, don’t wanna spoil it.” Gar looks down for a second and then back to the screen.

“No, that’s really cool.” You nod at him. “I liked the zipline between their houses.” You let out a laugh. “I actually think my mom would have killed me if I tried that but it was sick.”

“Yeah, right? Dick should let us put in a zipline.” Gar looks back at you, the excitement etched across his face.

The two of you sit and watch more of the movie while you finish the pizza. You look to him every so often, subconsciously making sure he isn't planning anything or looks like he might be ready to do something fucked up. It's as if you’re fully prepared for him being nice to turn out to be some type of act but instead, he just keeps his eyes on the screen and points out fun little facts he has about the movie when the scenes come on. It's a little confusing for you. You don't really understand why he'd be in here over a movie unless he was told to. It’s nice, of course, but Dick was a bit persistent which makes you wonder if that’s why Gar came in here in the first place.

Gar looks back at you, catching you look at him. He lets out a sigh, looking back to the movie and the smile falls. "You, uh, you wanna know why I'm here, huh?" He looks back to you.

You scrunch your face. "Kind of." You shrug, watching Gar grow defeated. "I-I don't mind....you in here. I-I just don't...d-don't know why you are." Your eyes are slightly narrowed.

"Dick asked me to see if I could get you to talk." Gar confesses. He’s gotten you to say more than Dick did so he didn’t see a point in hiding it. Maybe honesty will get them a little further.

"Mmm, yeah that tracks from the two minutes I've known him." You roll your eyes.

"Well, uh, in his defense, you did burn him." Gar slows his words down as he looks at you again.

You shrug, looking your hands on the blanket. It's a little bit of shame flowing through your veins. If Dick really was just trying to help and your head told you something different, that's really an issue. You wouldn't want to hurt anyone that was really trying to help you. You’ve just spent so much time in the defensive mode it's like your mind forgot what it's like to shut it off for a minute.

"How'd you do it?" Gar asks carefully.

"Mm, nice try." You shake your head at him, appreciating the effort but it’s still a no for you.

Gar shrugs, looking back to the TV. Having powers can be dangerous and Gar knows that so maybe you knowing you’re not alone will help. "I can turn into a tiger. If you're worried about sounding like you're a freak or--"

"Sorry, did you say...tiger?" You question, your voice nearly yelling.

"Yeah." Gar laughs. "I guess, it's uh, kind weird." He hangs his head a bit.

"What? That's fucking awesome. How do you do it?" Your words all slur together as you sit up, crossing your legs and leaning forward.

Gar laughs as he watches as you get excited. The only one who's ever seemed interested in it, kind of like this is Rachel. It's making Gar feel incredible and powerful. "I don't know. This doctor cured me from a mysterious disease. This was one of the side effects." Gar gestures to his head. "Turning into a green tiger."

"That's the coolest thing I have ever fucking heard in my life. Can I see?" You forget every ounce of suspicion you should have in this unfamiliar place but how many times do you run into someone who can turn into a tiger? Batman has cool gadgets and a cool car and Superman can fly but neither of them can turn into an animal. Turning into an animal is basically the coolest thing in the entire world.

"Maybe...." Gar pauses, a grin tugging at his lips. He's not so sure Dick would be happy if he decided to transform just because you asked. "So, what about you?"

You sigh and if he's gonna tell you, maybe you can tell him something. Turning into a tiger is still a power. "I can produce acid with my hands." You flip your palms up, gesturing toward Gar but not too close. Your palms glow a fluorescent green. "I can control how much and how strong it is." The green fades as you put your hand back down in your lap.

"That's awesome." Gar's brows knit together. "Have you been like that your whole life?"

You shakes your head, the mood shifting in the room. "No, something new. But, uh, we're not gonna talk about that."

"Okay." Gar gives you a side smile, accepting that he got an answer.

He doesn't really like to push people for answers anyway. He knows the only reason Dick as him to come here is because Gar is the most likely get something out you. Jason is....an asshole and would likely call you a freak. Rachel doesn't really have a lot of control with her powers so if something happened, that probably wouldn't end well. Gar was really Dick's best option in trying to get any answer of you and Gar does want to help. He helps people. He'd say it's one of his better qualities.

You let out a sigh, watching Gar get back into the movie. "I'm-I'm gonna have to like...talk to him, aren't I?"

Gar looks back at you, pursing his lips with a shrug. "Yeah, but hey, he's really not a bad guy. He can help. He won’t force you to talk, but it’s not a bad idea."

You scoff, seeing flashes of the last night you spent on the streets of Gotham. "Yeah, you know the last person who told me that...." You pause, seeing Gar's eyes soften. "Well, I ended up here." You gesture a hand over your face, knowing it can't look pretty by the sense of the throbbing. "So."

"I'm sorry." Gar says softly. "For whatever you went through."

"Thanks." You say quietly. "Is there anyway I can....borrow a hoodie or something? It's...cold." You pause and you’ve always been good at deflecting.

He nods. "Uh, yeah, yeah. I can grab you one." He stands up quickly, moving to the doorway. "I'll be right back." He smiles sweetly at you before leaving, jogging down the hallway.

Gar jogs to his room, rummaging through his clothes, looking for an oversized hoodie. He could have asked Rachel because he knows Rachel has to have something, too but he almost worries that Rachel will go bring it herself. It's obvious you don't really want to talk to anyone and Dick asked him to do it. He wasn't even supposed to actually leave you alone until Dick told him to. He's never been very good at staying put when he's told to. Call it a flaw. So, he goes through his clothes quickly and finds a gray zip-up hoodie.

"Gotcha." Gar says triumphantly before quickly turning around.

"What are you doing?" Dick asks with exasperation, arms crossed as he stands in the doorway.

Gar's eyes widen. "Uh, hey, Dick. I was just grabbing Y/n a hoodie. She asked."

"Didn't I tell you not to leave her alone?" Dick questions but his tone isn’t mad or upset and Gar nods. "It's alright." Dick shakes his head and offers Gar a gentle smile. "Just trying to help?"

"Yeah." Gar nods slowly. “I feel bad for her.”

"I'll bring it to her." Dick holds out a hand and Gar hands over the hoodie. "Did you find anything out?"

"She can produce acid from her hands. They turn green so I guess it can be obvious." Gar explains, feeling a little bad about it since you obviously don't want him to know but Gar isn't going to lie to Dick. "That's really it, though."

"Good work. Thank you." Dick says with a closed, half smile.

"You're welcome." Gar says, not exactly pleased about it.

Dick leaves Gar in his room, heading back to you. While Gar was talking with you, Dick came up with a plan. He has to find out what's going on. So, he's just going to try and make friends with you. Surely, you seeing that Gar is just another kid and is happy and healthy should help. He'll try to level with you. Not push you or badger you, just level.

You catch a glimpse of Dick coming through the doorframe caring a grey hoodie and you just shake your head. You aren't sure what you expected. Is it too much to ask that you just doesn't want to do talk to this Dick guy?

"Gar was bringing this to you. I stopped him." Dick says, offering the hoodie to you as you narrow your eyes at him.

Everyone always has an ulterior motive. You’re trying to figure out what his could possibly be. Taking in kids who need help? Who have powers? If that's what he's doing, is he building a team of teenage weapons? Is he powered, too? Does he not think it's a little bit weird? But you’re cold and take the hoodie from him.

"Acid, huh?" Dick asks, walking to the front of your bed, your eyes following him still narrowed. "How much control do you have?" Dick asks.

Your brows raise, looking side to side. What a weird fucking question. "Uh...I-I don't...I don't know. A lot, I guess?" You pause, watching him carefully. "Why?"

"I'm just wondering. If you're going to stay here, it's best for me to know." Dick explains and he's so calm despite the fact you burned him.

Stay? You don't know these people, why would you stay? Is that something that people do? Just stay with complete strangers in hopes they aren't serial killers or something? What if they're all a group of serial killers?

"Why would I stay?" You challenge.

Dick shrugs. "Do you have anywhere to go?"

You chew the inside of your cheek, pulling the sleeves of the hoodie over your hands. "No." Your voice is broken, as you dodge looking at Dick.

That's a fair point. You don't have anywhere to go. The only place you’ve ever known is Gotham and that basement. That's it. You don't know anyone in the city or have a phone to call anyone back in Gotham, not that you want to really. At least in Gotham, living on the streets wasn't easy but it was familiar. You knew the cars to break into, the stores to rob and get away with it. You knew where all the cameras were and the GCPD shift schedule. But, this is San Francisco and you are clueless.

"I know it seems..." Dick pauses for a second as he leans against the wall behind him. "Scary maybe?" He pauses again, you looking up to him. "But, really, I just wanna help."

You think about it for a few seconds. This is the most comfortable you’ve been in a year. You’re on high alert and you don't think your brain will ever rest but you’re warm, in a bed, watching a movie. You had pizza. You can't remember the last time you had pizza. And you got all this by not robbing anyone or squatting. Maybe a night or two couldn't hurt.

"O-okay." You say quietly.

"Yeah?" Dick offers a side smile, surprised you said okay. "Did you want to stay here?"

"Um...if that's...okay." Your words are soft and unsure. "As long as you're not gonna like....kill me, I guess."

Dick chuckles softly, looking to the floor and back to you. "We're not gonna kill you."

"Well, that's great then." You shrug, tugging at the sleeves again. "Um...what about the others? Do they have powers?" You ask before continuing. "Gar said he can turn into a Tiger so...."

"Yeah, he can." Dick confirms it and catches the smile wanting to split your face. "Rachel, she has powers. We're still trying to figure them out. Then there's Jason, don't mind him." Dick warns with a grin. "You'll get used to him but he doesn't have powers. He's pretty good at combat, though."

You nod, as if to be accepting what he's saying. "So, you just...pluck kids off the street or?"

"For someone who doesn't answer a lot of questions, you sure have a lot of them." Dick offers a light-hearted chuckle.

You tilt your head with a shrug. "I-I, uh, haven't, uh." You furrow your brows. "Haven't had much contact with anyone really. In a while." You suck in a breath. “I am also just an inquisitive person.”

Dick nods. "Rachel found me, actually. She needed help, I didn't want to help but..." He pauses thinking back to the whole mess that unfolded. "I couldn't just leave her on her own."

"Now you want to help?"

Dick nods once more. "Yeah, she doesn't have anyone else. I lost my parents so I get it. I didn't have anyone either until someone decided to reach out."

You nod slowly, grasping it now. It's like a passing of the kindness kind of thing. Someone helped him as a kid, showed him some of the greatest kindness so now he's out here doing the same. Assuming what he's saying is all true, that is.

"What about Gar and Jason?"

"Gar was with Rachel, we got separate and he helped her. Wanted to come with and he didn't have a place that he felt like he belonged. Jason....well, he needs more guidance. He's not really allowed to go back to being who he was yet. I took him in."

Your eyes narrow with suspension again. "Is he like a bad person or something?" The way he talks about Jason compared to the others is a little weird. He speaks highly of Rachel and Gar but seems to have a harder time doing that with Jason. There is some sort of history there that you are very intrigued about.

"No," Dick answers quickly with a shake of his head. "He's just a little reckless."

"Ahh." You say quietly, knowing that being reckless tends to be a little fun but also understanding the consequences. If it weren't for recklessness, you'd still be in Gotham. "So, what now then?"

"I can show you around, show you to a room that'll be yours if you’re feeling up for it."

"I'll have a room?" You ask with a scoff. "How fucking big is this place?"

Dick laughs. "It's pretty big."

"Sweet." You sit up fully, crossing your legs. "Then what?"

"Do you have other powers?" Dick asks, feeling like maybe he'll get an answer.

The other one isn’t a big deal, really. It doesn’t hurt anyone and will maybe just protect you. To you, right now, it doesn’t seem like not telling him is really going to be much benefit to you anyway but you also doesn’t know exactly how to explain it.

“Uh...” Your brows furrow as you search for words. “If...someone tries to....hit me or attack me,” You start. “I get this intense throbbing in the back of my head and I just....know where they’ll come from.” You explain.

“Combat clairvoyance, how long have you had that?” Dick asks, finding it interesting.

You shrug your shoulders. “It’s a new thing, like the acid.”

“Okay,” Dick nods his head. “Anything else?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” You answer honestly. Maybe you have more, maybe not. You’re hoping with everything in you that you don’t have some hidden power, one is more than enough for you and you’re stuck with two.

"Okay then." He seems satisfied with answers, choosing not to push to find out how you got your powers for right now. "Want the tour or did you want to rest some more?"

"Tour." You say without even thinking about it. You’ve been in the same room for months and you’re tired of being locked in one room. You want to see everything.

"Alright." Dick chuckles. He walks to the side of your bed and offers you an arm to help you.

"I'm fine." You shrug him off, pulling the blanket off of you, revealing your black leggings that have holes at one of the knees and one on the other shin. "Are there like....clothes I can borrow?" You ask as you get out of the bed carefully, your legs feeling a bit weak as you stand.

"I’m sure we’ll find something. Hoodie is Gar's though." Dick explains.

"Cool." You flash him a smile. "He's cool."

"Yeah, he's a good kid." Dick smiles back at you as the two of you exit the room.

Dick leads you down the hallway and decides to start with the kitchen and living area. It's right in the middle of the tower and figured that might be a good place to start. You take in the open-concept rooms. You’re relieved it's not all white. You remember watching HGTV back in Gotham and everything was always white. It's like these grown adults had a problem with color. Who would want to live in a place that looks like a hospital? But this tower isn't like that. It has a dark color palette. The floors, the walls, all dark but big floor-to-ceiling windows line the back wall of the two rooms giving the place plenty of light. A large fireplace sits in the center of the living room, not against a wall. You like it a lot more than you would ever openly admit.

"Kitchen, living room." Dick gestures a hand out, letting you walk in front of him to look at the rooms.

"It's nice." You say, looking back at Dick. "You an interior designer or something?" You quip, looking to the windows, seeing the city.

Dick just looks at you, looking unamused before a smile cracks across his face. "No," He scoffs. "I didn't decorate the place."

"Mmm, a shame. It would give you at least a point in my book." You look back to him and give a sarcastic grin.

"You're keeping a point system?" Dick’s brows riase, unsure if you’re joking or not.

"You don't?" You scoff with a chuckle.

It was a sarcastic comment but you’re not gonna let that go. You'd keep the bit going for as long as you know Dick now. He's stuck with a point system.

"What's next?" You ask.

"Follow me." Dick walks past you, leading you down a dark hallway.

You follow closely, looking at the rooms you pass which all have doors closed. The spacing of the doors indicated they're all large rooms. You couldn't tell what the housing market is like, something you never could even in Gotham but you'd have to bet this is at least a million-dollar house, apartment? Whatever it should be called. It's so fucking big.

You’re pulled from your thoughts as you reach what seems to be a training room, a boy with black hair hitting a punching bag off to the side. You take in the area and are actually seriously questioning if Dick is turning kids into weapons. What would the point be to have a room like this if not? And there is already a kid working out so it’s being used. Maybe it’ll be beneficial to you. Learn a few things and escape when the time is right.

"This is the training room. When you're able, you can train here with everyone else."  Dick explains, putting his hands in his pockets as you stand at the open sliding doors.

The boy turns around hearing Dick talk. He looks at you with bruises and cuts across your face. He grimaces at the sight of you. Gar told him Dick brought you home but he didn’t think it was that bad.

"What the fuck happened to your face?" He asks with a scoff.

"What the fuck happened to yours?" You strike back, Dick doing a double take with the fire in your words.

"My face is fucking perfect, fuck you." Jason sneers, he was just asking a simple question. He didn't expect for you to have a comment back.

"Yeah, who the fuck says? Fuck you." You sneer back at him.

The immediate question of your face just caught you off guard. It seemed a bit rude, the way he asked and you’re not gonna let him talk to you like that. But, by the way his nostrils flare, you can tell that challenging him will be fun.

Dick watches the two of you, not even sure exactly what he expected from Jason but this should have been it.

"Hey," Dick shakes his head.

"She started it." Jason pouts his glove-covered hand at you.

"You asked what happened to my face!" You defend. “And my name is y/n.”

"Because you look like someone fucked you up. Maybe get in here and spar a bit, it'll save your face next time if you’re that offended." Jason snips.

"Jason, right?" You look to Dick and Dick nods.

"Heard about me, huh?" Jason gains a cocky grin as he walks closer to you.

"That tracks." You nod with the roll of your eyes. If he’s like this all the time, you get why Gar and Dick have both said you’d get used to him. But, what they don’t know is that people like Jason are always really fun to fuck with.

"What?" Jason asks, the smile still wide, almost expecting everyone to talk highly of him.

"Just heard you're really good at combat." You smile at him, playing into his ego and deciding to have a little bit of fun with him.

"Yeah, maybe I can show you a thing or two." Jason looks you up and down.

"I can show you." You do the same, mimicking his actions.

Dick stands there a bit in shock as to what is happening right now. You blatantly refused to talk to him and warmed up a bit to Gar. But, had he known introducing you to Jason would get you talking, he might have just done that first. What is even going on? And why are you humoring him? 

"Can we not--" Dick starts but Jason cuts him off.

"Look, babe, it looks like you're the one who needs help." Jason offers and you can't tell if this is him being nice or if he's trying to get laid or what but whatever the fuck it is, it is not working. But, either way, you know this is going to be fun.

"Okay, I'll bet you, you can't fucking touch me." You challenge him while Dick snaps his attention to you. Did you suddenly forget you were injured?

"You need more rest. Let's continue--"

"What's the bet?" Jason plays along.

You smirk at him, looking him up and down again. "Mmm, I don't know. If you can't land a single hit in thirty seconds, you owe me whatever I decide. If you win...."

Dick is standing there, asking the universe "Why him?" what did he do for this? He was just trying to help and now he's here with two of the same people. Of all people you had to be like, it had to be Jason. Can't be another Gar or Rachel. No, you have to be like Jason because Dick can never catch a break.

"I'll let you let off this time." Jason offers, catching Dick by surprise.

"Deal." You stick out your hand, Jason catching a glimpse of the mark on your wrists, pausing. "Don't make it fucking weird."

"Deal." Jason widens his eyes before sticking a hand out.

“Be careful.” Dick warns them.

Normally, Dick would step in and stop this. You’re injured and shouldn’t be doing anything really but he is pretty interested to see the combat clairvoyance in action. Jason is reckless and hot headed but he’s not violent and Dick doesn’t believe Jason will go full out. So, Dick doesn’t stop you as you walk to the middle of the floor, straight face.

"Come on, babe, let's see what you got." You mock Jason and Jason wastes no time in moving towards you.

Jason takes a swing, you dodging him making him miss, ignoring the pain your side. Your ability to mess with someone like Jason should also be a superpower. You will do everything in your power to not let any of your injuries interfere with this. Jason stutters for a second before trying again, missing. You give him a side smirk with the raise of your brows, taunting him. Jason huffs before putting more power into it, going faster this time and you put your arm up just in time to block him.

"What the fuck?" Jason mutters, throwing punches and trying to kick you while you keep dodging and blocking him.

It's fun for you and you know nothing about combat but you remember seeing videos of Batman and Robin fighting. He reminds you of them, the way he fights. If those two are any indication, he really must be good at it. But, this is also unfair to him and you think it's funny. You like how he's growing more and more frustrated, nostrils flaring with every miss. Jason takes another swing, right for the center of your face, you catch his fist, less than an inch from your nose.

You look past his fist, not letting him go, deciding to mess with him a little more. "You're kind of cute, ya know?" Jason narrows his eyes but his arm doesn't relax. He knows the tactic and he’d be lying if he didn’t find it a bit amusing that you tried it. "Nothing?" You raise a brow.

"Nice try." Jason yanks his fist away, going to the floor to trip you but you’re just quick enough for him to miss.

"Okay, that's enough." Dick walks to the middle with you, tired of watching and if this goes on any longer, he knows he'll be hearing from Jason about it. It's never something he wants to deal with.

“I won, thanks for that.” You beam at Jason. “Needed it.”

“You're just not playing fucking fair." Jason yells behind Dick.

"So, you thought it was fair to try hitting me, someone who has no combat experience and is injured but it's not fair for me to not tell you that I can avoid being hit?" You question and watch Jason become flustered.

"You started it." Jason groans and you can't help but find it funny.

You completely understands why Dick and Gar weren't very vocal about Jason. You get it now. He's definitely something else. Most people would probably find him annoying and an asshole, which he is, but you find it amusing more than anything. Plus, he looks like he carries damage. Something about the way he moves, the lost and distant look in his eyes. It's interesting.

"Yeah," You grin with a shrug. "And what are you gonna do about it?" You taunt, a wide, challenging smile on display.

Jason's brows furrow as he jerks his head back. He's never had anyone challenge him like this before and he's not a fan of it. He takes the same shit he dishes out but it is kind of fun going back and forth about it. But he really doesn't get it. No one comes out of the gate swinging like that.

"We're gonna continue the tour if that's okay with the two of you." Dick looks between you, his voice more a statement rather than an actual question.

"Okay." You offer him an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, I got shit to do." Jason mumbles, walking back to where he was when you first walked in, eyes trailing on you a little longer than he really wanted.

You smirk to yourself, watching Jason walk back to the punching bag. It's weird because he's kind of an asshole but something about him feels like home. Maybe it's because he isn't tip-toeing around you or offering you some weird type of kindness that makes your skin crawl. He doesn't look sympathetic and look at you with pity. Not after you talked away. Dick and Gar do though, it makes you shift and you hate the uneasiness about it.

You follow Dick back down another hallway decorated with lights and a few memorabilia-type things. It gives you the impression this isn't some new superhero thing, despite the younger ages of the other kids. It looks like this place was lived in for awhile, haunted by previous heroes.

"This is your room." Dick opens a black door, sitting in between two other rooms and showing you inside.

It's plain and simple. A TV sits on an entertainment center against the left-hand wall. Large windows line the first half of the room and a bed sits against the right wall. It's as if the room is literally divided into two parts, a living area and a sleeping area. Two small backless shelving units divide the two areas. A dresser is next to the left-hand side of the door, a turntable and a lamp sitting on top. They're empty and so is a bookshelf next to the left side of the bed. It's so empty.

"We can go tomorrow to get you some clothes and a few things if you want." Dick offers as you walk into the room fully taking it in.

"Uh..." You stutter, turning around to face him. "I-I don't have...money?"

Dick smiles gently. "It's okay. I got it."

Your eyes narrow at him and you cannot figure out why he would do this. "Okay...why? Like why are you doing this? Everyone has a motive so what's yours?"

Dick shrugs a shoulder, putting his hands in his pockets. "The people here are special and so are you. It's hard being out there and being special."

"So what makes you special then?"

"Same as Jason."

"Ahh." You nods your head once. Interesting. "What if I don't wanna fight?" You ask.

Dick shakes his head. "You don't have to, you just have to learn to control your powers. It's up to you if want to learn more. But you'll be safe here."

You feel like this is some type of dream about to turn into a nightmare. You’ve had a dream before where someone comes to rescue you from the dreadful and dreary basement but then they turn. They find out about your powers or they're just as fucked up as her foster dad and they just use you. An endless string of torture. This doesn't feel like that, not really, because this isn't a dream. You’re wide awake but it's hard to believe.

"Okay." You say, turning back around and walking to the TV.

"You can stream from it if you want, it's connected to the Wi-Fi already with the accounts, like the TV in the other room." Dick explains.

You look back to him. "Cool." Your voice is quiet and you always just liked to watch TV and movies.

It wasn't a coping mechanism or some type of escape from the hell for Gotham. Some people find fun in sports or art or social media, your thing was TV. You just found it fun to see the stories play out in front of your eyes, not reading, just watching. A part of you think it might sound dumb if you said TV was one of the things you missed the most.

"Well," Dick sighs. "I'll leave you be then. If you need anything, I'll be around and so will everyone else. Gar is to the right and Jason left, Rachel is across the hall." Dick explains.

You nod, still just looking around unsure how to even feel about being here. Is there a way you can plan an escape if shit hits the fan? Always have some type of escape plan. Anything can happen and you won't be captured again and held captive. But, Dick is really nice and there's a part of you that is certain if he were kidnapping kids and holding them here against their will, he would have let Jason go a long time ago.

"Uh....t-t-thank you." You stutter catching Dick right before he leaves the room. "For saving me."

"Don't mention it." Dick smiles at you, feeling good about the decision to help you. "Just don't burn me again."

"Yeah..." You scrunch your face. "Sorry."

"It's alright, get some rest." Dick says kindly before leaving you to yourself, shutting the door behind him.

Meanwhile, in the training room, Gar and Rachel have joined Jason. Rachel, thus far, is the only one who hasn't met you and she's curious. And if Dick is gonna bring another person so soon, all three of them feel like they need to talk about it. They should get a say if someone gets to join their little found family.

"What is she like?" Rachel asks.

"She's nice, seems scared though." Gar shrugs while Jason scoffs.

"She's a bitch." Jason walks over to the two of them. "And she's a freak."

Rachel rolls her eyes. "You think everyone is a freak." Jason has also called her a freak on more than one occasion.

"She was nice to me." Gar shrugs, casually knowing it's not exactly easy to be nice to Jason even on a good day.

He's his best friend, of course, but he's not easy to get along with. It's kind of up to Jason and what kind of day he's had. Gar, on the other hand, is the easiest one in the tower to get along with. He's just nice to everyone even if they aren't nice to him.

"Did she tell you how and why she burned Dick?" Rachel asks, ignoring Jason as he takes a seat beside Gar.

"She can produce acid with her hands." Gar states, ignoring the groan leaving Jason. "She didn't say why."

"Maybe that's why Dick brought her, to help control her powers." Rachel offers.

"Maybe." Gar tilts his head with the raise of his brows, not really thinking that's what it is. "I think he just has a thing for picking up strays."

"I wasn't a stray." Jason scoffs in his own defense, the idea of Bruce sending him here still sour in his mouth.

Rachel glares at him, unamused while Gar just shakes his head and ignores him. "You could talk to her." Gar says. "She's only talked to us, maybe a girl will make her feel better about being here."

"Yeah," Rachel laughs softly. "There's too much testosterone here." Rachel looks to Jason. "Is that okay with you?" She asks mockingly, not actually asking for his opinion.

Jason shrugs, seemingly to have not gotten the sarcastic tone. "She is hot, ya know, besides the cuts and shit so yeah. Need something pretty to look at it."

"Gross." Gar grimaces.

"You're such a fuckboy." Rachel shakes her head, looking back to Gar.

"Hey, fuck you." Jason retorts. "All you do is stare at Gar, I want someone to look at."

"I do not!" Rachel fires back, cheeks tinting red.

Gar watches the two of them, shifting in his seat having never noticed if she did stare at him or not. He's hoping she knows they're just friends. He is not very good at letting people down softly, mostly because he trips over his words and makes everything worse by trying to spare their feelings.

"Right." Jason scoffs, getting back to his feet. "You're with me, right?" Jason looks to Gar. "About y/n?"

"Uh..." Gar tilts his head, forehead wrinkling not even wanting to get into this.

He thinks it's a little insensitive. Of course, it's exactly what he expects from Jason but he's not gonna get dragged into it. You just got here and you’re very clearly traumatized. He's not looking at you in any type of way besides with sympathy and empathy. Though he does think you’re pretty, even with the cuts and bruises Jason wants to so rudely dismiss but Gar won't say it. It's not his place or the time. Surely, they can let you settle in and let you just do your own thing. They don't need to be talking about you.

Jason shakes his head. "We gotta find out more about her though, right? Like who the fuck is she?"

"Does it matter?" Rachel counters.

"Yeah, man, I don't think it's up to us." Gar adds in.

Jason puts his weight to one leg. "What if she's like...here to kill us or some shit? Shouldn't we know?"

"Pretty sure Dick would have looked into that already." Gar states, eyes slightly narrowed at him.

Jason is paranoid and dramatic and over-enthusiastic about being a hero. Gar thinks it's the coolest thing that's ever happened to him, becoming a Titan. There are so few people who get to say they're a Titan and Gar is one of them. He's so excited to get out there and fight these big bad guys but not until Dick says they're ready. Jason, on the other hand, has the experience and doesn't think he even needs to be here. Gar can tell Jason is just hoping you will be part of a big bad plot.

"Did he tell you that?" Jason counters.

"He doesn't need to, Jason." Rachel grows more annoyed with Jason with every passing second.

"Come on, you wanna know, right? How she got her powers? Ended up here? Think it's some coincidence or some shit with Dick finding her?" Jason argues, looking directly at Gar knowing Gar won't be able to resist. "We can find out."

"Gar." Rachel says.

It's the way she said his name that he knows it's threatening but...Jason has a point. If Dick and you don't find out, no one else will know. He doesn't think Rachel will rat them out or anything. Jason is always just very persistent and he'll probably do it himself, if Gar is there and he gets caught, maybe Dick will go easier on him and they won't have to listen to it.

Gar sighs. "Fine but just to sure."

"Unbelievable." Rachel stands up. "You two are terrible. We shouldn't pry into someone else's privacy."

"What if there is someone though? Jason kind of has a point." Gar counters, still sitting on the ground. “I mean, you were being chased by people who wanted to kill you. Maybe it’s better if we find out just to be safe.”

"You don't have to come." Jason shrugs a shoulder, looking at Rachel.

"I wasn't going to. You two do whatever you want." She waves her hands in annoyance before heading to leave the training room. "I'm going to be normal and just talk to her." Rachel leaves the boys to themselves, knowing they won't be far behind to go to the computer.

Gar and Jason stay in the training room a little longer before making their way to the infirmary. They saw the cuts and Gar helped Dick clean them up so Gar knows they can get blood from the garbage to run your DNA. It's definitely an invasion of privacy that doesn't quite sit well with him but what if Jason is right? He's paranoid, sure, but what if Dick didn't look into you? What are they supposed to do? It can't hurt. Dick sometimes seems too trusting, he didn't really ask Gar any questions before letting him join the little group. If Dick is just waiting for you to start talking and you’re a part of something bigger, that would be very not good for any of them. That's the reasons he lists as to why this isn't some horrible thing they're doing.

"Y/n Y/l/n." Jason crosses his arms as they see your picture show up on the screen.

"Born in Gotham City." Gar says, sitting at the computer, matching the stare on the large screen before looking at Jason, then back to the screen. "Uh...let's see. Her mom was killed...by the Joker." Gar's voice grows sad and quiet, looking over to Jason knowing his dad was killed by Two-Face.

"Shit." Jason huffs, a sense of what one might describe as guilt comes over him knowing what it's like.

"Dad has a rap sheet for drugs." Gar looks back to Jason and then back to the computer, growing more uncomfortable with the similarities of the two of you. "She was arrested for breaking into cars, put into foster care. That's all there is." Gar reads it off before looking back to Jason.

Jason squints his eyes at the screen, knowing how close he was to being you and something in the pit of his stomach feels horrible for how he treated you. It makes him feel uneasy, knowing he could have been you had he just robbed the wrong car of the hubcaps, had you robbed the right one. It’s a reality check.

"Look up the guy." Jason says, hiding the uneasiness in his voice.

"Jerry Johnson, what a name." Gar mocks. "Uh....former scientist from Gotham."

Gar lets the words sit in his mouth. The thing about Gotham is that it really does breed special kind of people. The fucked up kind of special. Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Penguin, the Joker, the Riddler, what is happening in that city? It doesn't take much for Gar to figure that your powers didn't come from anything accidental, that you were some type of test subject your foster dad used. That explains a lot, your attitude toward Dick. The defensiveness. Gar wonders how he came out the other end not like that. He wasn't really an experiment but...it was some crazy scientists who thought Gar changing into a tiger was better than dying. It is but it's not always easy and he's not always a fan of it. It's hard to imagine how you might feel.

"Fuck, dude." Jason huffs, looking down to Gar. "Think that guy did that to her?"

Gar shrugs, not wanting to think of someone being victimized like that. Beat, tortured, chained up. It makes his stomach twist. "Maybe." Gar clears his throat. "We should...get out of here." He looks away from the computer.

"Yeah," Jason says quietly while Gar exits out of everything.

"It doesn't seem like she's the bad guy." Gar's voice is defeated and maybe a part of him was hoping you would be. It would give them something to do but this just got really sad, really fast.

"Guess not." Jason mutters and Gar can't tell if he's disappointed or just lost in his thought about it.

"You okay, dude?"

"Yeah." Jason gives him a grin. "Just fucked up."

Gar curls his lips in with a nod. "Yeah."

While the boys sit and figure out how they're supposed to handle this newfound information without letting you or Dick know how they found out, Rachel went to your room.

You’re in your room, sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and watching Zombieland. The movie's been out for a while but you’re so in love with it. There's zombies who don't just walk and eat people. They actually have speed and the characters aren't dumb. There are rules to surviving any type of horror movie and this guy in the movie just gets it. It's by far one of your favorite comfort movies. And you’re having a great time, just relaxing for the first time in a year. It's like you can almost breathe clearly again, wrapped in a blanket on a couch and in a warm home. But, then a knock sounds on your door and you’re reminded that you’re not alone.

You get up, taking the blanket with you. "Uh....hey?" You ask, seeing the girl with purple hair, dressed head to toe in black with a weird red gem in the center of her forehead.

"Hey," Rachel smiles softly. "I'm Rachel."

"Y/n." You offer, hand still on the door.

"I just wanted to come and meet you. I know you met everyone else." Rachel explains nicely.

You nod and you almost feel like an animal at a zoo but that's not Rachel's fault. It's like when someone new comes to school halfway through the school year and suddenly everyone wants to talk to them. They're like a new toy.

"Yeah, uh, yeah." You nod, sliding your hand off the door. "Did....you wanna come in?" You ask, not sure if you should or not. It all feels so bizarre.

"Sure." Rachel smiles softly, walking inside while you shut the door. "How do you like your room?" Rachel looks around at the empty place, wondering how you would decorate it.

"It's okay." You answer with a shrug. "Kind of boring, I guess."

"Dick will get you stuff to make it yours." Rachel explains.

"Right." You nod slowly before going back to your spot on the couch.

You don't have much else to say. You’re not actively trying to be standoffish. Rachel is just being nice but you don't even know how you’re supposed to talk to people and you’re truthfully tired and want to enjoy your movie. You just didn't want to sound like a bitch and tell Rachel to leave.

"What do you think about the guys?" Rachel asks, sitting on the opposite end of the couch, not getting too close to you which you really appreciate. Rachel figures talking about the guys might be an easy way to get you to warm up to her.

"Uh..." You furrows your brows and a smile creeps onto your face. "Gar's really nice." You say quietly. "Dick is okay, I guess. Jason's an asshole."

Rachel lets out a laugh. "I know! It's been just us for a month." Rachel leans her head back dramatically making you laugh. "You'll get used to him. Gar and Dick make it easier."

You shake your head. "I don't mind, actually." You huff with a smile, earning yourself a surprised and confused look from Rachel. You shrug. "He's funny to fuck with. He gets all mad and I think it's funny."

"What'd you do?" Rachel asks, intrigued why someone would find it funny but also kind of wants to see someone actually get under Jason's skin and not be bothered by whatever ignorant comment he'll say.

"I asked him what was wrong with his face when he asked about mine then I challenged him to a bet. He lost." You hold your up proudly.

"What was the bet? Teach me. He bugs me." Rachel says dramatically, her eyes wide.

"I can do this thing," This time when you explain it, your head is held with pride and confidence. "I can sense when someone is gonna attack me, told him he could hit me and he couldn't."

"That's awesome! Can I be there next time, please?" Rachel pleads.

Rachel and Jason haven’t gotten along since her dad possessed him. They got along fine when they met in Chicago but then things got a little rocky. Rachel actually doesn’t like not getting along with him, especially living under the same roof, but she can’t pinpoint exactly what it was that made him not like her. She’s tried to be nice but it never really gets her anywhere with him. So, seeing someone put Jason in his place sounds like a good time.

"Sure. I don't think Dick thought it was very funny." You let out a soft chuckle, warming up to Rachel. She is very nice.

"Gar will think it's hilarious. They spar together more than us and Gar puts up a good fight but Jason always wins." Rachel rolls her eyes.

"Gar doesn't seem like a fighter."

Rachel shrugs a shoulder. "He's not."

"Probably a good thing, he's cute." You blurt it out, shocked you actually said that out loud. "I have said too much."

"No, it's okay. He is." Rachel laughs softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" You backtrack. "Are you a thing?"

"No!" Rachel exclaims. "No, we're just friends. No one here is like a thing or anything."

"Oh, okay. That's a bit surprising. Though, I guess you wouldn't be into Jason." You joke.

"God, no." Rachel grimaces with the thought. "I'd rather die." Rachel says making you laugh. "Is that Gar's?" Rachel points towards the hoodie.

"Uh...yeah. He loaned to me. I asked for a hoodie because it's a little cold in here."

"That's really nice of him." Rachel offers a soft side smile.

"Yeah..." You tug the sleeves over your hands.

"Can I ask what happened to you?" Rachel asks carefully.

You shift in your seat. You’d love to go as long as humanly possible without saying anything about it. It's just traumatic. It's not even like it's a secret. It's just hard to talk about and you don't know these people at all. It feels like something more personal than to just go around and blasting it to complete strangers. If Dick makes you say something, you will but until then, you'd like to just tell them on your own time. Not when you’re asked.

"Uh...it's....a-a long story." You look to the TV and Rachel can see that a part of you just shut down with the question. It's obvious that it's bad but Rachel didn't think it would cause a distant reaction.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me or anything but if you want to talk about it, you can talk to me." Rachel's voice is quiet.

"T-thank you." You glance at her from the corner of your eye. "Uh...it's okay. I, uh, I just don't wanna talk about it yet." You shake your head.

"That's okay." Rachel smiles softly. "No pressure. We all have shit here." Rachel huffs with a laugh.

"I can tell." You whisper. "No offense." You say quickly. "You seem fine, actually but everyone else has....a vibe. Even Gar, feels like there's something going on. Jason can't be that big of an asshole without having trauma and Dick seems like he picks up teenagers off the street because of trauma."

Rachel laughs. "Yeah, pretty much." She lets out a sigh. "My dad is a demon who tried to kill me."

You furrow your brows, forehead wrinkling as you slowly turn to look at Rachel. "I'm sorry, what?"

Rachel nods. "Gave this as a trophy." Rachel taps the gem that's embedded to her forehead.

"Well..." You pause. "What the fuck?" You laugh. "It's not funny...I just....did not think I'd hear that."

"Yeah," Rachel laughs softly. "I didn't expect to find out my dad was a demon. I guess it explains a lot." Rachel scrunches her nose.

"Yeah, meeting the parental figure that fucked shit up can sometimes have answers even if it's not the ones you want." You say quietly, feeling Rachel staring at you. "Long story, dad's an addict. Got the answers I didn't want but needed."

"Jeez." Rachel sighs.

"Yeah," You say, realizing you’re saying too much and figured this was enough for the night. "Hey, uh, I'm like...really tired." You tug the sleeves of the hoodie over your hands again. "Can I get some sleep?" You ask slowly, trying not to sound harsh.

"Yeah, of course!" Rachel says quickly, getting up from her spot. "I'll see you tomorrow." Rachel smiles at you. "You can trust us, just so you know. We're a family here."

"Thanks." You answer before Rachel heads for the door and leaves.

You almost hate to admit but you think maybe you could fit in here. It's a bunch of people with trauma trying to make something work, maybe even work through it. You actually like everyone that lives here from the small interactions you’ve had. Everyone seems genuine, even if one of them is an asshole, at least it's genuine. None of them seem to be here being held against their will. Rachel and Gar made you feel comfortable. The door isn't locked and you can leave when you want. Something about it still feels too good to be true but for this moment, just this moment, you let yourself sit in peace with the hope that it's all going to be okay again.

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