#and jerome is much the same except that gotham tried saying something with 'oh madness is contagious and never dies or whatever' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

littlehollyleaf · 7 years

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P, T and X?

Backwards (because P is gonna be looooong, damn you for asking :p)

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom

Big big fan of the Tinman trope - characters who think they are emotionless due to suppression/repression or sci-fi/fantasy characters that were created not to have emotions discovering or re-discovering feelings.

This is why I love the angels in spn so much!

This can apply to, like, stoic and/or soldier type characters as well, but it depends… because I can quickly tire of those kind of characters if I feel their repression is being dragged out… like, I love Aeryn Sun in Farscape for this! But Dean Winchester’s bravado thing… grew tiresome, sorry! (although I am delighted with certain ways the show has been explicitly exposing that bravado for what it is lately, even if I’m too detached from the show now to really care like I once did).

No real examples of this in Gotham yet, alas… though this may explain why Foxy has become such a quick obsession :)

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

GABRIEL AND BALTHAZAR ARE ALIVE AND WELL AND RUNNING A CASINO TOGETHER!!

Other than that, not really :p I try to be flexible with headcanons because I know how easy it can be for canon to break them, and I like to keep as canon compliant in my fandom musings as possible. Also, it’s fun to jump between multiple ideas :)

(Foxy being in love with Thomas Wayne is fast becoming a ‘ride or die’ deal though…)

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

*rolls up sleeves, clicks fingers* okay, well, you asked for it - the ‘Foxy and Eddie at Uni together AU’ that apparently the fandom is refusing to indulge me with (rude!)

They meet in a bar -

Eddie is at a table with a bunch of textbooks and a notepad trying to study, because the couple in the room next to him are having really loud sex and he had to get away, but nowhere else on campus was open so late.

Foxy is reluctantly joining in a bar crawl with his older brother and his friends because the uni team won some football match that he doesn’t care about (didn’t know Foxy had siblings? well he DOES NOW, hush!).

Foxy bumps into Eddie’s table while trying to escape for a moment of peace and nearly spills water all over Ed’s notes - Eddie is suitably irate.

Cue conversation where Foxy is bemused that Ed is studying in a bar, Ed is defensive and probably asks a riddle, Foxy gets it right because he’s a smart cookie and Ed starts to warm to him, they introduce themselves, Foxy chuckles over Eddie’s name…

Foxy’s brother and friends finally track him down and try and get Foxy to leave with them for more frat boy shenanigans so Foxy latches on to Ed as an excuse to escape - saying he forgot he had a study session with his friend ‘Enigma’ (because a nickname adds weight to the lie that they have been friends for a long time, yeah? :p), Eddie plays along and berates ‘Foxy’ for being late, older brother and friends shrug and leave Foxy to it.

While Foxy could just leave at this point, he can’t help looking over Eddie’s notes and it turns out the topic is one he knows something about, so he actually does stay and help Ed study.

They become regular study buddies after that.

At some point Foxy’s nickname for Ed becomes ‘Riddler,’ because I ADORE the idea that in another life that name was created for and adopted by Ed out of love and not madness.

After a year or so Ed trusts Foxy enough to admit his real name is not ‘Nygma’ and tell him about his dad and Foxy is all supportive and stuff.

When they graduate Eddie is all alone, except for maybe a rude telegram from his father calling him a cheater, so Foxy insists he come celebrate with him and his family (which I imagine being very large, for some reason - like, a doting mother and father and two or three successful older brothers, with Foxy actually being lovingly mocked by his siblings for being supposedly the ‘least smart,’ because the rest of them are, like, doctors and lawyers and serious obviously helping people stuff, while Foxy is interested in computers and machines and corporations and things…).

There’s maybe been a running gag that Foxy’s mum keeps trying to set him up with different neighbourhood girls whenever he goes home… but all it takes is one dinner with Ed for her to realise that Foxy likes him and they have a cute little heart-to-heart about it.

Only Ed is all in denial about liking guys because of internalised shit from his dad, so Foxy thinks he only likes girls and it’s all very tragic, noooo!

Jump ahead some years to start of the show time and everything is basically the same, but Eddie and Foxy have been friends the whole time and just IMAGINE HOW THIS LITTLE THING WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING -

After the Wayne murder Eddie would rush to see Foxy, because he would know that he and Thomas were close (and how Foxy wished they could be closer), and it would be all emotional and stuff! And maybe Ed would talk about new guy Jim who is on the case and perhaps convince Foxy to talk to him, helping put Jim onto the fact that there is more to the murder than meets the eye sooner.

And Foxy would help Ed with his attempts at courting Kristen - mocking him thoroughly for thinking putting a bullet in a cupcake without explanation was a good idea :p

But more to the point - Ed would obviously tell Foxy all about Tom abusing Kristen and how wrong it is and Foxy, who knows Ed super well by this point, would probably pick up on Ed having foolish ideas and end up finding him lying in wait for Tom with his knife and STOP HIM KILLING TOM, meaning Ed never has his post-murder break down.

Then maybe Foxy convinces Ed to talk to Jim about the abuse and Jim finds a way to arrest Tom. Which makes Kristen mad at first, because in her shame over being a victim she lashes out at Ed for getting involved in her business.

But then the whole Jerome attack would still happen and Eddie would still save her, so they’d end up still going out. Except Foxy would have rushed to the station after the shooting to make sure Ed was okay and there would be hugging and stuff :) And everyone at the GCPD would maybe be a little - oh, wow, the weird guy actually HAS FRIENDS WHO CARE ABOUT HIM and A LIFE outside work, maybe we’ve not been giving him enough credit…

…my scenario is about to fall down a little bit now, because I want to involve Penguin, but without having killed Kristen (which ofc Eddie doesn’t do here!) there is no reason for Ed to discover him in the woods…

So, let’s assume Eddie is still in the woods because he is having a romantic picnic with Kristen and they BOTH end up stumbling on wounded Penguin.

Eddie thinks they should help, Kristen thinks otherwise because Ozzie is a criminal. This prompts the end of their relationship.

Eddie nurses Ozzie back to health. Alas, without Mr Leonard… but maybe Foxy helps. For Ed’s sake, as opposed to Ozzie’s.

In this scenario then, since Ed has committed no murders, he is not distracted by paranoia about Jim and actually goes to visit Ozzie in Arkham, leading him to discover pretty quick that things are Not Right at the Asylum.

But when he tries to get Jim etc to investigate they are reluctant (what with Jim not wanting the truth about Galavan to come to light and stuff), so Eddie sneaks in to investigate alone and promptly gets kidnapped by Strange!!

Um… I’ve lost track of what else is happening in canon at this point… but I’m building up to a climax, stay with me!

So, Foxy would be frantic because Ed is now missing, but… whatever other canon stuff is happening is happening, so Ed’s disappearance is tragically not a priority…

Oh yeah, Foxy and Bruce and Jim and their plan to investigate Arkham - so that happens, and it’s also about finding out what’s happened to Eddie now as well.

Foxy and Bruce end up in the gas chamber as in canon, with a now BRAINWASHED!ED sent by Strange to interrogate them.

Cue a dramatic Power of Love moment between Foxy and Ed, where Foxy breaks through Ed’s conditioning and it’s awesome!

Only Ed has no way to actually free Foxy or Bruce, so he still has to gas them… And still ends up locked away in a cell afterwards…

Clayface!Jim, Selina and Firefly, Firefly fighting Freeze etc all plays out as in canon, as does the bomb.

Selina tells everyone where Eddie’s cell is - cue emotional reunion between Eddie and Foxy and Eddie apologising for the gassing etc etc.

Only this time when Jim and Foxy go to defuse the bomb they TAKE ED WITH THEM because Ed KNOWS STUFF and insists he stay and help.

They defuse the bomb, probably still as a result of misinterpreting Peabody’s request for water because I thought that was GOLD, and in the resulting relief and celebrations EDDIE GRABS FOXY AND KISSES HIM!! Because in thinking he was gonna die he realised how he really felt about Foxy and Foxy, ofc, has loved him FOREVER, so everything is YAY! YAY!

Phew…

THE END

(well… I can imagine more -

like, picture S03 with a Foxy/Eddie subplot

Foxy still joins the GCPD

Ozzie still recruits Ed to work for his mayoral campaign - Eddie agrees because he believes Oswald might actually be good for the city perhaps?

minor differences to everything else but crucially - Ozzie would still fall for Ed, but instead of killing Izzy to win him he would (try to) kill FOXY!

drama! pain! excitement! etc etc. :p

but I’ll stop because this nonsense has gone on far enough!)

#about me #meme #foxma #vampirebillionaire

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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 4 years

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The Best Things ~ J.V. (Part 6)

A/n: Things boutta get bad so like... I'm sorry. Practically nothing but angst this part won't lie. Side note: I know I don't actually have a lot of Jerome x reader content yet, but I wanted to show the reader's descent into madness before they're officially a thing. I promise you it's coming, and very soon :)

Word Count: 4300+

Playlist

MASTERLIST

Y/n shot to his feet, only for the guards behind him to draw their guns. Alfred held up a hand. "Is he alive?" Y/n demanded. He might have lost his mind just a tad, but Bruce was still one of the very few things Y/n Wayne cared about and no one was about to put that boy in danger.

"Yes," Alfred soothed. "I said he WAS kidnapped. We have him back now." Y/n calmed and Alfred seemed to almost smile, as if seeing the amount Y/n cared was very reassuring. That tracked. "He's been brainwashed or something though, and I've gotten special permission from Commissioner Bullock himself to let you out to help me bring him back. If we play this right, we might even get you released permanently. We can figure this whole thing out. You can come back to us. We can be a family again." Y/n thought about that. Seeing Bruce again. His brother meant everything to him. He cared about Alfred too, honestly. The man had been a good father figure to both of them, and a good friend even when their father was alive. Y/n would have a real home, without killing or chaos. He'd be working for the good guys.

Right?

He thought about that word. Good guys. Cops were supposed to be good guys, weren't they? But he'd gotten locked up in Arkham just for being associated with Jerome, and then gotten the shit kicked out of him when he'd simply been himself. He hadn't killed anyone, or hurt anyone. He'd shown affection to another man and had nearly gotten beat to death for it. He'd leave Arkham, the only place he'd ever really been accepted for being gay. Maybe not by that one guard, but everyone else seemed to not care since no one cared about him at all, except maybe Jerome. Oh god Jerome. Y/n would have to leave him. And Harleen as well. The new friend who really got him and had his back the best she could in a place where her words practically had as much affect as Y/n's did. He had a boyfriend and a potential best friend and room to be free... except that he wasn't free.

Why was this so hard?

"Y/n," Alfred interrupted, eyes wide and pleading. "Bruce needs you."

The last time Alfred had said that, Bruce had just witnessed their parents' murders. Y/n pushed down the boy he used to be that was fighting to resurface, trying to find at least a. Middle between then and now. They were so different... there was suddenly a battle again himself, and he was losing.

Finally, he just shut it all down. Everything else could wait for another time. "When can we leave?" Alfred smiled at his words, but Y/n suddenly had a terrible feeling in his gut. Why did he get the sense that everything was about to get really, really bad again?

"Penguins alive?" Y/n relaxed in relief.

Alfred frowned. "Yeah. Um-" He swallowed. "You've kind of really been involved with all the worst people recently, eh?"

Y/n actually scoffed at that, his lips curling in amusement. "I've met far worse people than Oswald, Alfred." He looked the butler in the face. "You might not like to hear this, but that redhead everyone in town hates so much? He wasn't the one who did this to me." Y/n motioned to his own face. "But the officer who did, did it for no other reason than because I'm gay." He let that settle for a second. Alfred seemed shaken a bit. It seemed to finally be dawning on him just what Y/n had been going through since his parents had died. "Now, enough about me." They'd finally pulled up to the GCPD building. "Let's get inside. Like you said: Bruce needs us."

Y/n had been required to be handcuffed, though he hadn't been put in a straight jacket and had been allowed to change into normal clothes as not to upset Bruce upon seeing him. He was still beat up pretty badly though, and had developed a limp as the adrenaline wore off and as his beating really sunk in. Alfred had to keep him handcuffed as they walked in, and the whole place went quite. It was becoming a habit that Y/n could walk into any room and immediately bring silence with him as he did so. All of Gotham had gotten to the point that they couldn't exactly make an opinion on Y/n Wayne. How did someone like him get born into a family like he had been, and turn out like this?

Gay and insane.

It had been in the newspaper. Someone, somewhere had gotten hold of the news that Y/n Wayne was gay and it had been released everywhere. Y/n had read the article a while ago. It's what had prompted Jerome to finally be more affectionate around other inmates, instead of just at night when they were in their cell together. People might give Y/n shit for being into dudes, but no one was going to mess with Jerome. He'd put his neck out for Y/n... It was becoming clear that few others would do the same. Maybe it was the insanity.

Y/n was brought to a room that was a different color than the walls at Arkham. The color outside had been overwhelming after seeing muted versions from a distance through windows that now, the dull color was kind of refreshing. Inside the room was Bruce, but he looked different. Y/n couldn't imagine the last time his younger brother had worn a turtle neck. His father used to try to get the boys to wear them all the time, but, especially in their youth, the boys had hated them and eventually their father had given up. Bruce hadn't worn one since they were both seven, when he used to just do whatever their dad told him to. And since when did he wear anything other than dark blue or black? Y/n found all his usual jokes about Bruce being a casual emo slip from his mind. He didn't know how to approach this new boy. He didn't know him.

To be fair, Bruce didn't really know him either.

"Hello, brother," Y/n greeted, unsure of how to go about this after all that stood between them.

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

Y/n sat down, scooting over as Alfred joined him with a second chair. "Just checking in," Y/n responded slowly. "Alfred told me about what happened. Getting kidnapped. Been there, it's not too fun."

Bruce rolled his eyes."You got kidnapped by a brainless psychopath. I got taken by someone who was trying to help me."

Y/n scoffed. "Help you? Bruce look at you. You're not yourself."

"I'm better," Bruce shot back. Y/n went quiet at that, looking at Alfred with raised eyebrows.

Alfred ignored the look. "Now we can talk all day, but what really matters is that you tell me what you meant when you said someone else was coming to Gotham. I thought that old fellow was the leader of the Council of the Owls, who else would be coming?"

An expression rested on Bruce's face. Far too complacent and calm. The Bruce Y/n was familiar with had the tendency to brood- this Bruce seemed to have no tendencies at all. No cares or anything. It was disturbing to say the least. "I want you both to leave."

"Well that ain't gonna happen, is it mate?" Alfred immediately matched. The butler crossed his arms. "You can't get rid of either of us that easy. Your brother here found time around being locked up to be here for you. Not much is getting us out of here."

"Especially with the city in chaos," Y/n cut in. "Not even your pals in the GCPD will be here to drag us away. Might as well end it now."

When Bruce didn't respond, Alfred leaned forward. "You have to remember who you are."

That seemed to set Bruce off. "I know who I am." Y/n scoffed. "I have a destiny," the younger boy continued, his volume raising as Y/n's mocking noise irritated him.

"Now you listen to me." Alfred had gotten very quiet. "That man that wanted you to detonate that bomb, whatever he promised you- freedom from pain, power - none of it, none of it was real. I want you to remember what is real."

"I know what's real!" Bruce yelled over the end of Alfred's sentence. Y/n tried not to smile. He really did. Bruce glowered as his older brother grinned at him. Mocked him. "You come in here and mock me? You're the crazy one. Don't you dare laugh at me like I'm the one who's lost my mind! I got vengeance for our parents' murder. That's real, and better than running around like an idiot with a lunatic murder!"

"You know NOTHING about lunacy," Y/n interrupted. "I've seen crazy. I've seen grown men beat on teenage boys and call it power. I've seen cops chase bad guys to predictable set ups and act like it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. I've seen so called heroes save to be said innocent people, and then those evil little shits turn on those same heroes the first chance they get. I've seen love get ignored and then twisted. I've seen people laugh at pain and enjoy the suffering of others and then call themselves sane because that person who was dying was a bad guy, so who cares, right? I've seen people define good and bad like it's a dictionary entry and then immediately break the rules they lay down and still try to pass off as the victim of the story. THAT was real Bruce." Alfred put a hand on Y/n's shoulder, and it was only then when he realized he was crying. "I've seen stories about how evil and corrupt men are and how much women are victims, and then looked at Gotham and seen women in charge while I, a child, was raped by a woman again and again who was only using me for power." He cleared his throat. "Not to say that other people don't suffer, I just mean that everything is a grey area. What's real is bullshit and what's fake is seemingly the most honest option of those presented. Not everything is as clear as it pretends to be, Bruce. I'm supposed to be the crazy one. I was supposed to be the one who failed. I was supposed to be the screw up, but we're both in handcuffs and you were the one who was trying to ruin the lives of thousands of people just minding their own business. What was my crime, huh? Trying to be happy? Trying to be true to myself?" Y/n scoffed. "If only mom and dad could see you now."

"YOU SHUT UP!" Bruce screeched.

"Both of you calm down," Alfred snapped. "I was there when your parents had both of you. I took care of your mum and was there as you grew up. You used to be inseparable. No matter what anyone else did or said or thought, the Wayne brothers always had each others' backs. Good and bad is clear. Everyone is capable of it. Everyone does it. No one is innocent of evil, even in small amounts. Both of you have been idiots." He took a breath. "But you're also both my idiots." He looked between the two boys. "You're both my boys, even if I haven't been there for both of you." He looked at Y/n as he said that. "You want to talk about what's real? What's good?" He looked at bruce. "What's real is when you were sick as a kid, and your mum used to sit up with you every night and read to you when you fell asleep. That's real. Or when you were seven and you took that rowboat out and you got lost in that storm. Me and your dad were out, shouting and screaming, losing our minds, and when your dad found you, how he cried. That's real." He looked at Y/n. "When you were twelve and you came to your parents in tears because you couldn't understand why all the girls your age were talking about kissing you and you couldn't stop thinking about kissing the other boys. Your mum calmed you down and your dad told me that no matter what, they'd love you and you thought I didn't know but I did- all this time, I knew." Y/n felt his chest tighten. He felt terrible. "That was good, Y/n." Alfred gripping Y/n's shoulder. "When everyone came to your dad talking bad about you and they thought he'd laugh along, but he put an end to it immediately because you were still his son and he loved you. He was proud of you. When the news people came after you for secrets and they were nosey and pushy. When they crowded and stalked you because they'd caught wind that you had a dark secret and everyone wanted to know what the oldest Wayne son failure was hiding, and your dad nearly lost his mind on all of them, if your mum hadn't stepped in and stopped it cordially. THAT. Was. Good." Alfred returned to looking at Bruce, keeping his hand on Y/n's shoulder. "Your parents died in that alley four years ago, and maybe that man took away the pain of that night." This time he looked between the two boys. "Life has been hard since then, but there is no life, no love, without pain." He squeezed Y/n's shoulder and when the boy nodded, he returned his attention to Bruce. Bruce was the main focus right now, but Y/n had gotten the message. "He could not take away the love that your mum and dad gave you, that you still have in you- that you still have-" his voice broke as he reached over, pressing his hand against Bruce's chest, right over where his heart would be. "Right here." His hand finally dropped after a pause as he continued, "The same love I have for you. For both of you." His face flecked with. "I love you, Maser Bruce. Master Y/n. I would do anything for you. I would die for you. You must-" he cut off, focusing on Bruce. Y/n kept thinking Alfred was done focusing on him, but then Alfred would look at him again, and he hadn't felt so cared for or looked after since his parents had died. It all felt silly now... "You have to find that love again."

Every word hit home. Alfred was speaking to Bruce, but it was becoming more and more obvious that he was talking to Y/n too. Y/n reached over, his hand resting over Bruce's. "We both have to," he whispered softly. "You don't have to do it alone. I know it's been hard and chaotic, but I'm still your brother, Bruce. You're still my brother. And no matter what, you always have me."

Alfred leaned forward. "Come back to us, Master Bruce." There was a commotion outside and Alfred sighed before telling Y/n, "I'll be right back," and then leaving.

Bruce looked to his brother. "Did you mean what you said? I can depend on you?" Y/n nodded immediately. "Then get me out of here." Y/n went to argue but Bruce interrupted. "You can come with me and make sure I'm safe. But I HAVE to do this. I need to finish it. I need to see it through. I need to know if this really is my destiny. I need to understand-" he cut off, choked with emotion. But Y/n knew what he meant. The same thing that had driven him to follow Jerome Valeska of all people. That had gotten him to follow Penguin and ditch his family to begin with. There are just some things you have to do. So Y/n looked around, found a pen, and Bruce pick the locks on both of their cuffs before they booked it, side by side and headed for... something. Bruce hadn't cued Y/n into the plan this far.

In all honesty, it was just nice being by Bruce's side again.

They made their way through the city streets of Gotham at night until they got to a red door with the word "Yuyan" on the front. Bruce went in. Y/n followed. Inside was the statue of what looked like some kind of demon. There was a lot going on. Bruce didn't hesitate- he stepped up and began analyzing it. Y/n was still taking it in when he pulled something and the wall opened up, revealing a hidden passage. The brothers went inside, Bruce having to take Y/n's hand to get the older boy to follow him now.

The two walked down a staircase and through a tunnel. It seemed eery. Weirdly light and far too silent and empty. When people appeared, Y/n regretted his lament about there not being anyone around- they immediately attacked him. "No." Bruce said firmly. They stopped. Y/n looked at his brother with shock. Bruce's expression remained calm. Y/n's would be attackers simply pointed Bruce onward, making way for him to follow their direction.

Y/n hadn't been this scared in a long time. Surely he wasn't in danger. This was Bruce he was talking about. Golden Boy Bruce Wayne who used to cry when they were really little and Y/n would step on a bug. Who shut down after their parents died because he loved them so much that seeing their murder changed him... except that his heart of gold kept him from corrupting like Y/n had. He was driven by justice and refused to let up until evil was destroyed. Bruce Wayne was a hero.

And yet, when Y/n looked at the back of Bruce's head now, he didn't see his younger brother. He saw a man in a child's body. He saw a straight back that was well trained and perfectly postured. He saw clothes Bruce would never wear and a silence Bruce would prefer not to bear, especially with Y/n around to talk his ear off. He saw Bruce leading them down a tunnel of doom, being completely docile after someone tried to kill him. After he almost poisoned maybe hundreds of people with just the press of a button. After, of all people, he had chosen some random old dude weirdo over Alfred and almost killed one of two family members he still had left.

Very suddenly, Y/n realized that he hadn't realized how bad Bruce was. How dumb it was to follow after him right now. And he was more scared than he'd ever been. More scared than even when he looked in the face of a cold blooded, sadistic murderer who had completely lost his mind and only saw an endless world of things to fascinate him. More scared when the doors would close and all he saw was red lips curled in a devious smile as the one person he trusted the most took advantage of him. More scared than when that stupid guard had locked him in that room and he had really thought he was going to get beaten to death for being gay.

Bruce pushed two double doors open with each hand. They creaked as they opened slowly, revealing a room with a green pool in the middle. Bruce leaned over and Y/n stepped forward, reaching out to stop him. Then he felt a pain at the back of his head and everything went black.

Y/n woke up alone.

It was dark, but it only took him a few seconds to remember everything and realize where he was. He looked around- the pool was still there. Otherwise, the room was empty. Y/n groaned as he sat up, looking around again for signs of those people that had attacked him earlier. When he still saw no one, he stood and began walking back the way he'd come. It was even scarier now that he was alone. "Bruce?" He whispered into the empty hallway. He jumped at every noise, resulting in him eventually misstepping and tripping. He would have face planted if his scrambling abilities hadn't improved recently due to all the running away from cops and other crazies alike in his days by Oswald's side. Thankfully he didn't fall because, as he was noticing while trying to get his feet under him, there was blood on the floor.

Oh my god there was blood on the floor.

He sucked in a breath, beginning to look around again. "BRUCE?" His heart picked up and he felt the back of his eyes burning with tears. "Bru-" his shoulder hit a wall and he screamed. Shaking his head to calm himself, he pressed his lips together and retraced his path that he'd taken with Bruce to get in here. Eventually it lead him outside. Weirdly enough, the wall was open again. Which meant that he didn't have to figure out how this side of the trick worked... but it also meant he wasn't alone.

The night air outside was cool, the sun rising in the distance. He looked down at himself- he was filthy. He took a second to think. To remember. The last thing that had been clear to him was that he was absolutely terrified of Bruce.

That's right. Bruce wasn't... right anymore. Well, that meant he couldn't go home. He also couldn't just walk back into Arkham. They might think he'd done something if he came back, dirty and hysterical, without Alfred. So he went to the GCPD department instead, because where the else was he going to go?

He was inside for maybe a second before he saw a familiar face. His eyes went wide and his heart nearly stopped- in his vulnerable state, of course it would be the guard that almost beat him to death that would be there to greet him. The man smirked, tilting his head. "There you are. We were wondering when you'd find your way back." He approached the teenage boy, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Someone else approached. Y/n almost melted in relief to see Harvey Bullock. "What's going on here?" His eyes laded on Y/n. "What... I thought you were in Arkham."

"He was," the officer responded. Y/n had already forgotten his name from when Harleen had said it before. "Alfred Pennyworth came and got him out for the day. Needed him for some Wayne business. I'll be taking him back now."

Harvey looked confused by that. "Why? We were already debating letting him go. Now he's out, there's no reason to immediately put him back in." The guard seemed horrified by that idea. Harvey put his hands on his waist. "He didn't do anything wrong."

"Do you know what this boy is?" Y/n's heart sunk. "He's a homosexual."

Harvey's eyebrows rose. At first Y/n thought it was in surprise, but then he said, "So what?"

The guard looked stunned. "He needs help, Bullock. He was canoodling with Jerome Valeska in Arkham. In public. Like there's nothing wrong with that."

Now Harvey was surprised. Y/n swallowed his emotions and met the older cop's gaze evenly, sticking his chin up. Harvey sighed. Y/n didn't even have to say anything- the old man just seemed to... immediately understand. "He turned to someone who accepted him in a world of people who hate him." It was Y/n's turn to be surprised. "That's not punishable."

The guard scoffed. "Son, have you ever killed anyone before?" Y/n looked away. He thought about the first time he'd ever killed someone, and then thought about all the many times after that he'd done it himself or helped. Another experience he'd picked up while hanging with Oswald. "The thing won't even deny it. And he's proud to be with that redheaded psycho. There's something wrong with him, Commissioner. He needs to be detained and get some help."

Harvey and Y/n both knew that was not the reason the guard wanted Y/n back in Arkham. The two men looked at each other, both put down at the fact that they couldn't stop anything happening. Maybe Y/n should have lied. Maybe he should be fighting. Unfortunately, he'd just lost his little brother and he had no idea what kind of shape Alfred was in. Currently, he had to assume that Alfred was either dead or would be soon, if Bruce could help it.

The guard tugged Y/n's arm and they were headed back outside toward his car. "Thought you were gonna get away from me that easily, did you?" The guard growled under his breath, leaning close to Y/n so the Wayne boy would be the only one to hear. "I finally have a reason to get at you, you little shit. Things are only gonna get worse for you from here. Now I can say you've killed people. No one will stop me from knocking you now."

Y/n looked at the city one more time before he was shoved into the car. The guard pulled out a pair of cuffs and put him in them. He looked at the city the whole time. The entire ride, he took in every inch of it. Every dirty corner. Every dirty human. Every inch of the buildings- no matter how close, far, tall or small they were. If he could see it, he took it in as much as he could. Above everything else, he took in the sunrise.

Maybe it was the fact that Y/n might never see it again outside of Arkham, but it wasn't overwhelming this time.

It was beautiful.

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