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sterredem · 16 days

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Hey, I can't find if your requests are open (if they aren't please ignore this). Can you do an arthur leclerc x fem!driver!reader where she gets into f1 and he doesn't (angst!!) and she comforts him?

Unfair

First ending

Face claim: Pinterest girls/Barbara Palvin/Bianca Bustamante + other women in motorsport.

(That I use these people doesn’t mean that I know or support them, I just use them because Barbara has a lot of good pictures in the spoor and Bianca has good pictures in the car and on the podium)

Summary: The request

Word count: 2549

Warning: Angst, lying(?), happy ending, fluff at the end

A/N: this took a bit to write but u really like it. It is a bit different then the request (a bit more Angsty) but I think it is my best yet (which isn’t hard with this being my 3rd fic). I hope you enjoy and don’t forget to like/comment/repost and please give me feedback🫶🫶 Btw sorry for the long wait.

The other ending will be posted soon!

Also I hope you like the graphics, it took literally hours to make😭😭

They both knew that this could happen. That was the risk with dating your coworker in a motorsport. And especially formula 2.

So when y/n heard that next season she would drive in formula 1 with Porsche, she was really excited. Of course she was. She was going to be the first Women in a few decades to drive in Formula 1. And for a relatively new but very good team. With Porsche being in F1 since the 2019 seasons it was the newest, but unlike HAAS they were actually good.

And she was happy that she got a contract. She would drive a few of the best names of motorstoprt. And her team printable, Sebastian Vettel had promised her big things.

But when she actually thought about what this all meant she begun to get scared. She would need to tell Arthur. Arthur who always wanted to be in Formula 1. Arthur who is her best friend and her boyfriend.

How could she tell him? How could she tell him that she would get to live their dream? How could she tell him that he would drive alongside his brother before him?

This was all a mess. And the worst part was that she sined a NDA so she couldn’t tell him until the announcement was up. The only people that currently knew where; her family, her trainer and her manager.

She tried to do everything she could so she can tell him. But she just couldn’t, so she needs to live with a big secret for a few months. And when it is announced that she would go to Formula 1 she doesn’t know is he will ever forgive her.

And not only because she didn’t tell him and they promised they would tell each other everything. No but because they promised to get there together, to both get into F1. And now, Y/n would get to drive there and Arthur would be left behind in F2.

So she would need to live a secret until it was revealed to the world. The only thing she could get out of the contact is that she could tell Arthur a day before the announcement. Which she still wasn’t happy about but it was something. So when the time came to finally tell him she was a nervous wreck. Understandable.

The day before the announcement finally came. And Y/n was really nervous. So when Arthur finally came home she made some of his favourite food and got mentally ready to tell him.

And to say Arthur was confused was an understatement. He came home to his girlfriend cooking his favourite food and looking very nervous. So of course he was worried. Would she brake up with him? Dis something happen? But he wanted to wait for her to say something. And that happens after they were done doing the dishes and were laying in the couch.

“Hey Arthur can we talk?” Y/n nervously while playing with her fingers and not really looking at Arthur.

“Yes mon ange what is wrong?” Arthur asked relieved that she will finally talk about what is wrong. He tried to look at her but couldn’t lock eyes.

“Promise me you will hear me out before you react of get mad.” She said while finally looking in his eyes. But they aren’t filled with the usual adoration or love, no the where filled with nerves and a bit of fear.

“Of course mon ange. What is going on?” He asked growing more and more worried. While trying to grapple with his hand. And failing.

“So you know that PREMA is dropping me right? Well when it was announced some people reached out to me and offers me something…” she slowly said while looking at him for his reaction.

“Well one of those people was Sebastian Vettel and he offered me a place on Porche in Formula 1. And as you can understand I couldn’t refuse, so we got talking and they gave me an amazing offer.” She said while looking at his reaction. Which wasn’t the best, it got from worry to confusion to some sort of mild anger.

“So last August he gave me a contract and I signed it…” she said falling a bit silent at the end. And before Arthur could talk she began again.

“And I really wanted to tell you before, really. But they made me sign a NDA and I could only tell my manager and close family and some of the other team for legal reasons. And I tried everything, and initially I could not tell you until the announcement but I made a deal and I could tell you the day before. And now that is, so today is the day before. And again I am so sorry. Please don’t be mad.” She ranted while tears formed in his eyes while seeing him become more and more mad.

“Y/n… what? Is this some sick joke?” He asked while slowly fake laughing and looking at her with betrayal in his eyes.

“Baby please understand that I could not tell you.” She said slowly looking away.

“Don’t baby me! I know you couldn’t tell me after the contract, but you could tell me that you had an offer! And how could you take it? You know how much I want to get into F1?” He asked with betrayal in his voice.

“What was I supposed to do? Not take the offer and never get in Formula 1 just so you could have it or that we could go at the same time? And I could not tell you about the offer because I didn’t even know until I talked with Sebastian, my manager hid it from me because he didn’t want to get my hopes up!” She said now with tears going down her cheeks.

“I understand that but please! Did you even think about me?” He asked a bit louder.

“Of course I did! I just told you! I wanted to tell you the minute I got the offer! But I couldn’t because of that stupid team! I wanted to you to have a seat for F1! For whatever team, but I can’t! If I can I would give you my seat! But Arthur you need to understand that I need to think of myself sometimes! This a big deal for me! I will be the first women in Formula 1 in a few decades, and I will be the first women to be in the middle or upper field! I could be the first to be in a podium of even win!” She said now almost fully crying.

Arthur was silent for a bit while thinking about what she said. “Y/n i know all that. But you also need to understand that it is hard for me. Charles is in F1, Ferrarie dropped me, Jules and my dad died and wanted me and Charlie to drive, and now my girlfriend, who is also my childhood best friend, lied to me for months and you expect me to be okay with it? Merde Y/n you can’t expect this from me. I think I need some time alone.” He said trying to stay calm with tears in his eyes.

Y/n looked at his shocked about what he said. Did he want to break up? Did he want a part time break? Was he going to leave? She knows that she can’t hold him accountable for it, she did lie to him after all.

“Arthur please. I understand what you say. And I don’t hold you accountable for that, but please don’t leave.” She said now with them both full on crying.

“Mon amour, I won’t leave you, I am just going to go to my mom for a bit. Think about everything and then we can talk about this in a few days.” He said while wiping her tears away.

He slowly stood up and walked to there room to grab a few of his things. She still sat on the couch thinking if she should stop him or just let him go.

She decided on the later one, because it was better to give him time to think about it before things were said that they don’t mean.

A few minutes later Arthur came downstairs with a bag of his stuff. He grabbed his coat and keys and looked at Y/n again. “I will message you when I am there. Please understand that I still love you and I am not breaking up, but I just need some time.” He says with a half smile.

“I understand, please take all the time you need. And when you are ready to talk I am here.” She said while also half smiling with more tears forming in her eyes. “I love you, please be safe”

“I will” he says while walking out of the door and closing it. Y/n slowly slid down the wall with her head in her hands thinking everything over again.

Was this the right thing? Was she selfish for accepting the offer? Would she lose Arthur? Were they ever going to recover?

With all this on het mind she slowly stood up and walked upstairs. She got into the bathroom and did her night routine. After that she looked at the time and saw how early it still was so she decided to just watch some Gilmore Girls (you can chose whatever this is just my comfort series) while laying in bed trying to distract her from the argument they had earlier.

After watching it for a few hours she decided that it was getting late and decided to sleep and see what the day would bring tomorrow. The day that it would be announced.

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Liked by Susie_Wolff and 3.115.785 others

F1 BREAKING: Y/n y/l/n will be driving for Porsche the 2025 season!

We all welcome her to the grid and are excited to see her!

#y/n_y/l/n #Porsche #F1 @Y/n_y/l/n @Porsche

Comments

User1 OMG I AM SO EXITED

User2 so happy to see she got a seat after PREMA dropped her

Susie_Wolff So happy for you! I am happy to see more girls in Formula 1

Yourusername Thank you Susie! Exited to see you again!

Yourusername I am so happy and thankful for this opportunity!

User3 we got a women in f1 before gta 6

User4 So exited for more women in motorsports!

User5 women shouldn’t be in motorsports! It is a man dominated sport for a reason!

User6 why is Arthur not simping over his girlfriend like usual?!

User7 he could just be congratulating het irl don’t make a big deal out of this

User8 I agree with user7, just because he isn’t in the comments on a insta post doesn’t mean something happened. We shouldn’t speculate on there lives with absolutely no information about them at the moment.

After the announcement was finally up Y/n felt worst then the slash before. Her and Arthur still hadn’t talked. And it welt like weeks (it was only 10 hours). She missed him, missed his laugh, his boyish smile, their useless conversation for hours, his kisses and hugs. Everything.

So when she finally got a massage from him she was happy to say the least.

|———————————<3—————————————|

See you then*

|———————————<3—————————————|

For the next part there is a bit of explaining necessary. You can: keep reading this and then you have how the request is (with a fluffy ending and comforting) OR you can klick in the link and that will take you to the alternative ending (you will need to scroll down again until this part and then you have the Angsty ending)

Angsty ending

|———————————<3—————————————|

After a few more massages back and forth they decided to meet up at their house instead of the cafe. So when the next day came she waited for Arthur to come back.

After a few hours of watching Gilmore Girls she heard the front door open. She paused the show and stood up from her bed, she walked downstairs and came face to face with Arthur.

“Hey” she said a bit awkwardly. She looked in his eyes and saw that he looked very tired and had red eyes. He had probably cried, the same with her.

“Hey, how are you?” He asked with a tired and raspy voice and the French accent.

“I’m doing okay. Want something to drink?” She asked trying to fill the awkward silence.

“No I’m fine. Could we just talk? I think it is the best if we just get it over.” He said trying to get to the point as fast as he can so they could make up again. He had missed her a lot, while he was at his maman she had given his a long and good scolding for leaving her and not listening her out. He realised that it was indeed a bad choice to leave her, he was just angry and upset so he did the only rational thing in his mind.

“Yeah of course.” She said while slowly walking to the living room. She looked back at him to see if he followed her and he did. She walked to the couch and sat on one end of it, wanting him to decide if he wants to sit next to her or far away from her.

He sat next to her.

“Okay so first of I want to say I am so sorry that I left, I know it was the wrong thing to do. But I was just angry, confused and upset with everything and then I said stuff and you said stuff and I just couldn’t anymore. But now I am ready to hear you out.” He said tampering a bit while fiddling with his hands.

“I understand that and it is completely okay, again I am really sorry I didn’t tell you but I can explain it to you.” She said while looking in his eyes.

“Okay so as I said; Kate, my manager, got a lot of offers from teams after my contract with PREMA expired, but she didn’t want to get my hopes up so she told me nothing. I only knew about it when she set up a meeting with Sebastian, we talked and he had a really good offer. A long contract, good money, good car and a good team. So I couldn’t say no. But then it came to PR and telling people, I asked who u could tell and I could only tell my team and my parents, I couldn’t even tell my siblings or friends. I asked if I could tell you but I couldn’t, they wanted to keep it low-key so that it would be a big surprise. The only thing I fixed is that I could tell you the day before. So I did and you know how that turned out. I really wanted to tell you but I also needed to sign a NDA so I couldn’t tell you about the contract or the car. And this may sound really bad and it may sound like I chose a bad team but no; they only did it to protect us. Me because if it came out before there could be serious danger for me. And for you so you could many still enjoy F2 and get into you’re dream team. But now I realise that how I handled it was really wrong and I am so sorry. I hope you can forgive me because I really missed you.” She said the last part a bit out of breath.

Arthur looked to be deep in thought. He thought about everything she said. And he understood it. But now he was really upset with how he reacted.

“Mon amour I am so sorry. I should have heard you out earlier” he said while grabbing her face. “I and so sorry for how I reacted. I hope you can understand why. I as just confused, jealous and upset. I was confused because for me it came all of a sudden and upset because again why would you tell me? And I was really jealous because you wou get to be in F1 and drive with my brother before me.”

“I completely understand my love, and I understand it about the jealous part, I would too.” She said while grabbing his face.

After talking for a few more minutes they decided to go to the bedroom and watch something.

“Hey love do you want to watch that French series that you talked about?” Y/n asked while playing with his hair and cuddling.

“Yeah for sure mon amour” he said with a smile on his face. He looked up at her and admired her beauty. “You looked beautiful ma belle” he said with a slight blush.

“She looked down at his and smiles “wel thank you handsome. You don’t look that bad yourself.” She said blushing.

After watching a few episodes of the show and talking they decided to go to sleep.

But before she fell asleep she heard Arthur whisper something.

“Je t'aime mon amour, merci pour tout.” (I love you my love, thank you for everything.)

141 notes · View notes

lavendercharm · 2 months

Text

Linger, Chapter 5: Kiss With A Fist/Human Nature

A/N:

Ya'll. Writing this chapter felt like a marathon. But I think I'm ultimately very happy with it. Please let me know what you think!

This chapter is a bit longer, and I think it deserved to be named after two songs because of that. "Kiss With A Fist" by Florence + The Machine definitely fits the first half of this chapter and was one of the first songs I added to my playlist when writing this story, so I knew I wanted to use it for the big public confrontation.

The vibes toward the end are different. I discovered this song earlier this week and haven't been able to stop listening to it, so maybe I'm just reaching to try and justify including it lol. But "Human Nature" by Barrie is what I decided to use for the second half of this. Cause they're spitting facts when they say "Human nature doesn't always come easy" lmfao.

This is far from the end of this story, but it may be a second before you hear from me, depending on how busy the next few weeks are. I say that - watch me turn around and post something this weekend lol.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me thus far. I love you and I'm so grateful to know you're along for the ride.

---

Summary: From the moment you meet her, you can't stand Melissa Schemmenti.

Warnings: Strong Language

---

Barbara Howard did not take days off. It was only recently that she allowed herself her first mental health day, and while she could see the benefits, she had been eager to get back to her classroom, her students, her best friend, and even her coworkers. The life of a teacher was unpredictable, and the life of a teacher at Abbott Elementary came with its own unique set of challenges, but Barbara had seen a lot in her decades of teaching. With some hard work, support from her fellow teachers, and the grace of God himself, she had seen and survived it all. Barbara Howard could conquer anything thrown her way.

However, if Barbara had the magical gift of foresight, she might have chosen Monday morning to take her second mental health day in her entire history at Abbott.

As it was, Barbara could not see into the future, and so she entered the teacher’s lounge at 6:30 AM, on the dot. She claimed her usual spot, made herself a cup of coffee, and began sorting through her lesson plans for the week. She enjoyed her few moments of serenity in the lounge prior to the arrival of her more talkative coworkers. It wasn’t unusual for Melissa to arrive a bit later, especially on a Monday, so Barbara thought nothing of her absence. She politely greeted Janine and Jacob as they entered together; she did the same for Gregory shortly after. As the three younger teachers gathered at their table and discussed their weekends, Barbara continued her work, occasionally reacting to what she overheard. And when you entered the lounge, your first time visiting in the morning, Barbara was mildly surprised, but she shot you a warm smile all the same. She noticed you seemed to be a bit tense, but she chalked it up to the fact that you were still very new.

Melissa had talked her ear off about you last Monday, of course, explaining your tardiness and the shots you’d taken at her about her age. When Barb pressed her for details about your confrontation and what you’d said to each other, she simply said, “I took care of business, a’right?”

While Barbara agreed it was unprofessional of you to arrive late, she also knew Melissa better than anyone else in Abbott did; she knew Melissa could take things too far. Melissa was as passionate as they came, which meant she was one of the best teachers at the school. On the flip side, she also had a short fuse. Barbara knew she didn’t have all of the details, but she didn’t think much of it - you were a sub, after all. She expected she’d never actually meet you.

So when you arrived in the lounge for lunch the day after your explosive argument, she was shocked. While skeptical of you, she couldn’t help but admire your tenacity. You’d come face to face with the wrath of Melissa Schemmenti and still returned to Abbott. You’d introduced yourself, and as far as Barbara could tell, you were perfectly polite and well mannered. The displeasure and hostility radiating off of Melissa was felt by everyone in the lounge, but aside from giving her close friend a pointed look, Barbara chose to ignore it.

You’d continued showing up the rest of the week, greeting Barbara every day before taking a seat with Janine and Jacob, as well as Gregory, occasionally. The younger teachers seemed to have taken an instant liking to you, the four of you sharing stories from previous schools or discussing the latest movie releases. You’d even had a good-natured exchange with Ava one morning. The principal had leant against the corner with her phone and talked you through her “roster”, whatever that meant. Barbara was sure she didn’t want to know.

Barbara observed how seamlessly you integrated into Abbott’s social circles - with the obvious exception of the red head who always sat to her right in the lounge. Melissa pretended you didn't exist, which would have been fine if it wasn’t the elephant in the room. Your first day in the lounge, Janine had tried to talk to Melissa about you. She’d turned to Melissa with a huge grin on her face and said, “Man, Melissa, you’re so lucky to have such an awesome sub as your aide.”

Melissa had glanced at Janine over the rim of her cat-eye glasses, and in a sharp tone, retorted, “What sub?” That’s all it took for everyone in the room to grasp her unspoken message: If you value your life, drop it. The only reaction Barbara saw was a sharp flash of your eyes before you turned your back to the older woman and called Janine over, changing the subject.

But last Friday, Melissa caught up with Barbara after the school day ended and explained that you’d just given her two VIP tickets to the Eagles game on Sunday. If there was anything that would help Melissa forgive your transgressions, it was that. Once again, Barbara found herself impressed with you - you took the initiative to make amends and you’d knocked it out of the park. She was happy for her friend. She’d told Melissa, “Just think of how much you’ll be able to accomplish now that you and that young woman can work together. Now, you and Gary go enjoy that ball game.”

A week after your first morning at Abbott, all of the water was seemingly under the bridge, and the staff room could breathe easy again. No one paid much mind to the anxiety radiating off of you. For the most part, the energy in the room was calming as the day began.

The sudden CRACK of the door slamming into the shelves violently ripped the room’s occupants out of their morning zen. It was enough to cause everyone to nearly jump out of their skin. Heads whipped in the direction of the doorway as Melissa’s furious form charged into the lounge. Her attention was initially on Barb, but as she opened her mouth to speak, her eyes locked on you. The blush of fury rose instantly in her cheeks. She ripped her bag off of her shoulder and tossed it in the direction of her regular table, nearly hitting Barbara in the process, and as her eyes narrowed, you could practically see the steam rolling off of her as she hissed out, “You.”

And that’s when Barbara knew any chance of a peaceful morning had gone out the window.

—----------------------

As your weekend began, it didn’t take long for it to sink in that you were well and truly fucked. You completely failed to consider the consequences of your little scheme. There’s no way in hell Melissa wouldn’t be out for blood at the start of the next school week. The smartest thing to do would be to never return to Abbott, move to a new city across the country, and change your legal name. You went back and forth between chastising yourself for being ridiculous, and being so ridden with anxiety that you couldn’t eat. You felt so stupid - what did you think would happen?

Ultimately, you reached a point where you couldn’t handle the crushing weight of what you’d done alone, so you’d spilled to Ava. Her response had been about the least reassuring thing she could have said.

You did WHAT? I didn’t know you were crazy like that! You’re gonna die girl. I’m not even joking. We gotta go out this weekend, cause it’s your last one alive. I’ll make sure you have fun tho. Do you own any latex?

After refusing Ava’s offers to make your last days on earth worthwhile, you spent most of the weekend drowning in anxiety and imagining how Melissa would bring about your demise. You decided you had to do your best to prepare. You literally couldn’t afford to not go back to Abbott, especially after getting your headlights repaired Saturday afternoon. Under the anxiety, you could feel the ember of your rage, still pulsing with a red-hot glow, so you decided to grasp ahold of it. What you’d done was shitty, sure. But compared to smashing headlights? All you’d done was get even.

Seeing as you couldn’t afford to uproot your whole life and leave Philadelphia, the next most logical thing to do was to never be caught alone in a room with Melissa ever again. You were pretty sure this was something you could pull off - you figured you had two weeks left at Abbott tops, and as long as you had kids or other teachers in the same room, you would have witnesses who could recount your violent death should Melissa murder you.

This is what caused you to arrive at Abbott on Monday morning a full hour and a half before you needed to be there. You’d dithered in your car for about fifteen minutes, debating driving away and then talking yourself out of it. Eventually, you braved the outdoors, darting into the building and down the hallways as quickly as you could. You practically sprinted past Melissa’s classroom door - the lights were out, but even though you logically knew she wasn’t in yet, your mind conjured a vivid image of her jumping out of the shadows like a monster in waiting. You slowed down and tried to control your breathing as you entered the teacher’s lounge, and you were immediately soothed to see how many people were already there. Even better, Melissa was absent.

As you passed Barbara, you gave her a hesitant smile. You actually liked Barbara, as much as you can like someone who’s polite and whom you don’t know very well. You figured it may be the last chance you get - surely the woman would turn against you once Melissa told her what you’d done. Janine, Jacob, and Gregory were all sitting at your usual table, and after preparing your morning coffee, you quickly situated yourself in a seat, thankfully facing the door to the lounge.

“Hey!” Janine said, shooting you her adorable, slightly gapped-toothed smile. “How was your weekend?”

“Oh, uh… it was fine,” you said, your eyes darting toward the door as it opened. Not Melissa . “Mostly caught up on chores… had to get some work done to my car, fun stuff like that.”

“Car problems are tough,” Gregory said, spooning a bite out of his bowl of plain oatmeal. “What was wrong with it?”

“Uh…” you hesitated, unsure if you wanted to share what was really wrong. It would inevitably lead to questions and the last thing you wanted was for everyone to know the details of your feud. It was one thing for everyone to know Melissa didn’t like you - there were very few people Melissa actually liked in general. But it was another entirely for them to know she’d smashed out your headlights. Something generic - a bad alternator, maybe - would suffice.

You didn’t even get the chance to lie.

Despite the fact that you could see the doorway, the resounding SMACK of the door slamming open still made you jump. Before your brain knew what it was processing, in stormed Melissa Schemmenti, thick heels clacking on the linoleum tiles. She wore a form fitting pink sweater, the neckline questionably appropriate, and skin tight black pants. Her saint necklaces shimmered from their home on her collarbones. You supposed she wanted to look hot when she killed you.

It only took a moment for her eyes to lock on you, and in that moment you knew things were about to get ugly. To your surprise, seeing the flustered state she was in created a feeling of immense satisfaction. She was furious because your plan had worked. You didn’t even fight the smile that began to find its way onto your lips. The anxiety wasn’t gone, but you relished in the triumphant feeling of landing a critical hit.

“ You,” she hisses, tossing her bag from her shoulder. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

Your eyebrows shoot up, feigned ignorance in your voice as you point at yourself and respond, “Who, me?”

She starts toward you, and everyone else at your table scatters. You’re shocked to see Janine step in front of you, her hands up placatingly. “Melissa-”

“Shut it, pipsqueak, and get out of my way ,” she growls, her gaze over Janine’s head burning holes in you.

“Hey!” You spit out, anger spiking and crowding out your anxiety. You’re suddenly standing. “Don’t call her that!”

Janine turns to you, holding a hand in your direction now too. “It’s fine, she calls me that all the time-”

“It’s not fine!” You shout, fists balled. Your eyes are glued to Melissa’s. “You think you can say and do whatever you want because no one will stand up to you. Well, I’m not going to put up with it!”

“Oh my god, please stop this. I will never psychologically recover from seeing your dead body,” Jacob pleads, wedged between the corner of the room and the fridge for cover.

“Can’t believe I was dumb enough to trust ya,” Melissa growls. “And after all that bullshit about ‘olive branches' and bein’ cordial.”

You smirk. “Oh, right! How was the game?”

Melissa starts forward again and Janine has to physically hold her back. She’s shockingly effective in spite of her small stature.

“Ya know I didn’t get into the game! Gary and I went all the way to the stadium, but you gave me fake tickets! We wasted our whole afternoon and got harassed by security!” she shouts.

“So what are you gonna do about it? Beat me up? Call the cops on me?” you challenge.

A deeply offended look crosses Melissa’s face as her jaw drops. “Are you callin’ me a snitch?” she snarls. She surges against Janine one more time, who manages to keep her back again. “That’s low, even for you!” Melissa says nastily over Janine’s shoulder.

“Oh, that’s low?” You ask incredulously. “Low like smashing someone’s headlights out?” There’s an audible gasp from Jacob in the corner, and you feel the heat of everyone’s gaze turn from you to Melissa, the whole room enthralled by your verbal tennis match.

Melissa glances around her before pointing an accusatory finger at you. “Ya can’t prove that was me!” You thought someone would have to have been born yesterday to believe that; anyone who worked at Abbott knew that’s exactly something Melissa would do.

“Oh yeah, because everyone else here keeps a bat taped under their desk like a neurotic asshole!” you proclaim, throwing your hands up in the air.

“I’ll show you ya stronza- ” Melissa hisses, pushing past Janine and beginning to reach for you. Your arms come up to instinctively protect your face, but before she can reach you, a figure closer to your height blocks your vision.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Barbara Howard bellows. The whole room comes to a standstill, frozen in time. Even Melissa has been stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock as Barbara looks accusingly between the two of you. You feel immediately ashamed. “Are you both not grown adults? I cannot believe the absolute foolishness I’ve just witnessed!” She rounds on Melissa. “Especially from you!”

“Barb, she-” Melissa starts.

“I don’t care if she insulted your cooking to your face, you do not behave like catty teenagers! We are professional, grown people! Acting like this in front of your peers? Disgraceful! ”

She rounds on you, her eyes narrowing. “And you. To think that I was beginning to think highly of you. You went to all that trouble to make fake football tickets, just to get back at Melissa? Have you ever heard the phrase ‘An eye for an eye’ ?”

The pit of shame in your stomach is sickening as you slowly lower your arms, your eyes unable to meet Barbara’s. Feeling like a petulant child, you couldn’t help but mutter, “She started it.”

“And now I’m ending it!” Barbara yells. You feel her grip the sleeve of your sweater and pull. You stumble after, seeing her grasp Melissa as well. “You are both coming with me!” The rest of the lounge doesn’t move a muscle as Barbara Howard physically drags you into the hallway.

She marches with both of you in tow, Melissa sending you the nastiest glares she can muster from the other side of her friend. Stopping in front of a classroom full of bright colors and tiny chairs, Barbara turns to both of you. “This has gotten completely out of hand! You are both going to sit in my room and we are going to work through this. I don’t care if it takes all day - you will NOT be allowed out until you can act like civilized adults!” She folds her arms and gestures her head forward. You stare back for a moment, thinking she must be joking, but the woman doesn’t budge. After a moment longer, you enter the classroom. You’re followed closely by Melissa, who stalks to the other end of the room.

Barbara closes her door and pulls down the window blind. She turns to you both, her eyes closed and her shoulders rising in deep, even breaths. Eventually, she opens her eyes, and commands, “Take a seat.”

You glance around and only see chairs for children. You begin to protest, but the look on Barbara’s face prompts you to simply grab the nearest chair and plant yourself in it. Your knees are comically close to your chest and you don’t know where to put your hands. You settle on resting them on top of your knees. Melissa is pacing back and forth, muttering to herself - you guess she gets to ignore Barbara’s request.

“Now,” Barbara begins. “We are going to talk out your problems so we can put this whole mess behind us. Your students deserve you at your best, and you cannot be your best when you’re at each other’s throats!” She’s stern, chastising, and you feel ridiculous. “Where did all of this animosity start? Why are you angry with Melissa?”

You can’t help but scoff because the answer should be obvious. Barbara presses her lips together in annoyance and you quickly reply, “Well, where do I begin? Aside from smashing my headlights out, she’s done nothing but disrespect me since I stepped foot in her room. She was insulting me before she even learned my name!”

“I never learned your name,” she pipes up spitefully, and you whip your head around to glare at her.

“Memory not as good as it used to be?” you retort. A muscle in her jaw jumps out as she clenches her jaw, her face coloring once more.

Before she has a chance to rip into you again, Barbara cuts you both off with a stern, “Knock it off!” She looks exasperatedly between the two of you before pinching the bridge of her nose. “The Lord is testing me today,” she whispers to herself, shaking her head. She turns her attention to the fiery woman across the room. “Melissa?”

Melissa comes to a stop, planting herself and leaning her weight onto one hip. She rolls her eyes, gesticulating wildly as she speaks. “If we’re goin’ back to the start, then first things first, she strolled into my class thirty minutes late. Didn’t even have the decency to apologize.”

“You didn’t give me a chance to!” you protest. “I hadn't even stepped into the room before you were criticizing me. It’s not like I did it on purpose, it was a complete and total accident. And then you started insulting how young and inexperienced I look.”

“I was just givin’ you a hard time, that’s all,” she says indignantly. “How was I suppose ta know you can’t take a joke?”

Your head whips toward her. “And smashing my headlights? Was that a joke?” you retort incredulously.

Her eyes narrow and her tone is venomous as she hisses, “Nah, that was for throwin’ away my school supplies, stealin’ lunches, and callin’ me a bitch.”

You hear Barbara’s sharp inhale and jump to defend yourself. “Those supplies were all broken or unusable! You have so much on your hands with two classes and I was just trying to help you. Also, Janine gave me that lasagna because I forgot my lunch, I didn’t steal anything. You wouldn’t give me a chance to explain myself before jumping down my throat. Not to mention calling me degrading names in Italian!”

Barbara raises an eyebrow and gives Melissa a knowing glance. “Melissa uses gabbortz quite often, it’s nothing to get offended over,” she says, an attempt to reassure you.

Melissa’s eyes dart to Barbara’s as she huffs, “Uh, it’s gabbadost , Barb. And I mighta used somethin’ more… vulgar.” To your disbelief, the red head practically looks sheepish at this admission. Her arms cross in front of her as she shifts her weight, and your eyes are drawn to how the motion causes her cleavage to swell ever so slightly. Feeling heat flood your cheeks, you dart your eyes all over the room, attempting to find something else to fix them on. Luckily, neither woman seems to notice. Barbara’s eyebrows are furrowed in an inquisitive way that suggests she’s waiting for the shorter woman to elaborate. Melissa lets out a puff of air. “I mighta used the ‘P’ word, a’right?”

Barbara’s eyes widen as her mouth drops open in a gasp. “The ‘P’ word? Melissa Schemmenti, you don’t mean-”

“Yeah, yeah, the one I save exclusively for Kristin Marie. That ‘P’ word.” You don’t know who Kristin Marie is, but Barbara looks positively scandalized.

Tearing her eyes away from Melissa, Barbara stands and turns away from both of you, hands on her hips and head shaking in disapproval. As she takes her turn pacing across the room, the disappointed silence from the older woman allows the weight of the last week to settle on you, and you find yourself suddenly exhausted. You lean forward, your head in your hands and the shame rising inside of you like a tidal wave. How did you get here?

“Well, I think you both have been sufficiently horrible to each other,” Barbara says, turning toward you. “Now explain how this has all made you feel.”

You and Melissa groan in unison. “Come on, Barb,” Melissa starts, but Barbara holds up a single admonishing finger to silence her. The Italian woman becomes subdued immediately, and you notice how different Melissa’s reaction is to being silenced by Barbara.

“How has this made you feel?” the older woman presses, her tone of voice a warning to comply. Melissa leans against the wall, refusing to budge. You all sit in tense silence for what feels like an eternity, and you wish the floor would swallow you up. She was using the same tactics on you that you might use on two fighting eight year olds.

Eventually, you can’t handle the tension any longer and you burst out, “I feel totally disrespected!” You look to Barbara and she gestures for you to continue. “I uh… I feel belittled, and like you don’t take me seriously, but I think the worst part is I never got the chance to prove to you that I belong here… you wrote me off before you even met me. I’ve worked hard, and I love what I do, so to have you disregard me right off the bat, just because I made a mistake and I look young… it felt pretty shitty,” you admit, the confession coming out of you in one long rush.

“Especially because… I was excited to work with you,” you add quietly. You’re suddenly enamored with the floor, unable to bring yourself to look either woman in the eye. You feel exposed and vulnerable, and you’re majorly uncomfortable with it.

You’re forced to endure your feelings of discomfort for a few more torturous minutes. Suddenly, your eyes widen in shock as a husky voice meets your ears, and it takes a moment for your brain to process the words.

“I guess I feel a lot of the same,” Melissa admits. You raise your gaze to meet hers, and she’s staring at you intently, the earnestness reflected in her jewel-green eyes making your heart skip a beat. “Felt like you didn’t really care when you were late. Some a’ these kids? They got plenty of adults outside of these walls that don’t really care. That’s the last thing they need here. And then ya walked in and you look so young… I couldn't resist teasin' ya. But then you got me back and I got defensive, and I shouldnt’a.” She shifts her weight, casting her eyes to the floor. “I bought all those supplies with my own money,” she admits. “So seein’ you throwin’ em away, it really rubbed me the wrong way. But… you were right. I was tryin’ to stretch em when there was no more room to stretch. And then seein’ my lasagna on your desk… I know I can be a real hot head, and I took it out on ya and it wasn’t fair.”

As you look at Melissa, her red hair shining under the fluorescents and her evident unease at her own candor, there’s a swelling feeling in your chest and a warmth slowly spreading in your limbs. “Melissa,” you say, and her head snaps up to meet you. You search her eyes, waiting for her to snap at you for using her first name. She doesn’t. She simply waits, holding your gaze, and you can’t quite read what’s behind her eyes, but you suspect it’s something far softer than she’s shown you before.

You allow yourself to swim in those emerald pools for just a second longer before you admit, tenderly, “I’m sorry.” You see her shoulders drop ever so slightly, tension releasing as she allows your words to sink in. “I’m sorry for what I’ve said about your age. I’m sorry for throwing your things away without asking. And I’m really sorry about the Eagles tickets. That definitely wasn’t my finest moment.” You say the last bit with a touch of humor. You pause for a moment, before adding, “I’m not going to apologize for the lasagna, though. Janine insisted on giving it to me, and it was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever tasted.”

You see her eyes widen, her brows raising in surprise. A genuine satisfied smile graces her lips, and you can’t help but momentarily wish things had been different over the last week so you could have seen more of those. That smile made her entire demeanor change.

“Well,” she says, eyes flashing with her own humor. She shoots you a sly grin, and you return a small smile of your own. “If I’m bein’ real with ya, I’m impressed. Fake tickets? Pretty diabolical,” she continues, admiration in her voice. Her smile fades, though, and she brings her hand up, pressing a knuckle to her lips briefly in thought. She sighs, murmuring, “I’m sorry too. I shoulda given you a chance before jumpin’ to conclusions. And, uh… I’ll pay for ya to get your headlights fixed.” She mutters that last part, and you notice that she didn’t apologize for smashing them - but you know it’s as close as she’ll come, because you’re not sure she entirely regrets it. You’ll take what you can get.

“Thank you,” you murmur, and once again you suddenly can’t look at her anymore. Luckily, Barbara draws your focus to her as she clears her throat. You both look toward the older teacher as she stares down at you, a smug, triumphant smile dancing across her full lips.

“Now, was that so hard?” She asks, her voice teasing both of you. For the first time in days, you feel like you can breathe fully again. Melissa rolls her eyes, pulling herself away from the wall, but you detect a hint of relief radiating off of the woman as well.

“Don’t expect us to hold hands or nothin’ Barb,” she says as she heads for the door. When she reaches it, she pauses and turns to you. She considers you for a moment, and you begin to feel warm underneath her gaze. Finally, she says, “Well, ya comin’? We got lessons to plan for the day. How do ya feel about teaching Science?” Her tone is gruff, commanding, no nonsense. The carefully curated tough exterior of Melissa Schemmenti is back in place. But you’ve seen the slightest glimpse of the human being underneath.

“Right behind you,” you reply, and a tentative grin breaks out across your face as you stand and begin to follow the short woman. You pause briefly though, a thought entering your mind, and you turn to Barabra. Your hands grasp each other behind your back as you rock forward onto the balls of your feet, and you convey your gratitude by giving the older woman the warmest smile you can muster and uttering, “Thank you, Barbara.”

She returns your smile, her own radiant and warm, and you can’t help but feel like you’ve been blessed a bit. “My pleasure, dear. Go on, I’ll see you at lunch.” You nod in agreement, and turn on your heel, following after your lead teacher. You’re not friends - seeing as your time is limited at Abbott, you don’t imagine you ever will be. But you feel lighter, and there’s a newfound respect for the short woman. And for the first time since you stepped foot inside Abbott Elementary, you feel excited for the day before you.

-------

A/N:

Yes, I'm sorry, Gary will be briefly mentioned/perhaps even making small appearances. Stay strong lol. Controversial opinion but I don't hate Gary. Did I think he was good enough for Melissa? HELL NO. Do I think he should have respected her wishes and listened to her when she explained her boundaries? HELL YES. But ultimately he was just a big dumb guy who was infatuated with Melissa Schemmenti, and to that, I relate. Still, I wasn't mad about that split.

Fun fact - if you've watched season 3 episode 4 already, I wrote the Ava roster line before that episode aired. I died laughing when the kids were talking to Gregory about his roster. We don't need to talk about the firefighter exchange... denial is my favorite state.

#melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti #Spotify

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yandere--stuck · 3 months

Note

if you have any more thoughts on the Joker Junior extending the family take I'd love to hear them!! Would J be interested in having Nightwing with them? Or Alfred? I'm not sure how well either of them would take to the venom, but if they have Batman anything's possible

Less ideas and more of an actual fic, oopsie!

---

Three weeks. Three long, agonizing weeks without Tim. Three weeks of hoping beyond all hope that he was somehow fine. That they'd all look back on this and laugh.

But, no. Eventually, Bruce was able to get word that The Joker and Harley had holed themselves up in the abandoned Arkham Asylum, and something in his gut that made him sick knew there was some correlation.

Part of him hadn't wanted Barbara to come along, but he also knew he wouldn't be able to stop her even if he tried. So, the two of them traversed through the crumbling asylum together and followed the echoing sound of Harley's voice singing a lullaby.

“Hush, little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird,

And if that mockingbird don't sing,

Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring….”

Closer, closer. It took both of them every bit of will they had not to sprint through the halls as fast as their legs could carry them. As Harley’s voice grew even louder, Barbara split up to find another way in while Bruce took the lead. His heart nearly leapt from his chest with anticipation as he closed in on her location.

“And if that diamond ring is brass,

Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass,

And if that looking glass gets broke-”

The moment Harley saw him burst through the double doors, she perked up, greeting Bruce with a smile. She was cradling a flower vase in her arms, which she set down onto a covered table. Craning her neck, she shouted over her shoulder. “Puddin’, Hubby's home!”

Bruce’s eyes followed Harley’s gaze, spotting Joker on the second floor where he rested on a recliner. With a flourish, The Clown rose to his feet, turning away from his rabbit-eared television set and popping a pipe from his mouth, tossing it aside.

“Well, hello, dear!” Joker strolled down the stairs, stopping just shy of Batman. He wrapped an arm around Harley, the two of them smiling sweetly at their bat. “Welcome home.”

Bruce all but snarled in their faces, leaning close and baring his teeth. “Where's Robin?”

Both clowns shared a quizzical look.

“Robin?” Joker repeated with a quirk of his head. “There's no Robin here!”

“Maybe he means our little J,” Harley offered.

The Clown Prince of Crime snapped his fingers. “Of course! That's it.”

Meeting the Bat's eyes, smiling back at his scowl, Joker gestured to the other side of the room. To whatever was being concealed behind the large blue curtain. And Bruce couldn't help his rage, shoving the couple aside roughly as he moved to cross the room.

The Joker stumbled back, recovering with the shake of his head and click of his tongue. “He must be so stressed out from work.”

“I hate it when he gets like this. He never knows when ta relax,” Harley shook her head and reached underneath the table, pulling out a bazooka from beneath the tablecloth. She fired, and a band of ribbons erupted from the muzzle, knocking Batman to the floor with a hard thud and wrapping him up like a gift - bow and all.

“Good thing he has us. Hmm, now what say we bring this little gift of ours back to the bedroom to unwrap?”

Joker's grin stretched just a little wider as he noticed the movement of Batman's hand - holding it up just so as if to signal someone, just out of eyesight, to stand down. Joker's eyes crinkled. Perfect. He wondered, was it the eldest birdboy? Or maybe they'd be getting two bats with one stone?

“Y'know, Bat's, we've been doing this little run around for years,” Joker spoke again, approaching his prone enemy. “It's been loads of laughs! But the sad fact is - none of us are getting any younger.”

Harley joined his side, patting her stomach. “That ol’ clock's a tickin’!”

“Quite right, Pooh! So, Harley and I were thinking it's about time the three of us finally settled down together.”

“But rather than experiencing the joys of pregnancy, we decided the best way would be to just marry into the family.”

Hand-in-hand, the clowns walked over their Bat's prone form to each rest a hand on the curtain in front of them.

“But no matter how happy we are to join you, we were a bit disappointed that we didn't really have the chance to nurture them, too,” Joker lamented. “And after all, what better way to officially join the family than to impart a little bit of our personalities to the kiddos? He needed a bit of molding, of course, but-”

The couple yanked on each side of the curtain, the blue cloth sliding and billowing out as it parted - revealing a child strapped to a medical examination table.

“... What kid doesn't?” Joker finished with a grin, drinking in the Dark Knight's reaction.

Bruce couldn't help the exhale of ‘no’ that left him. Couldn't even blink, too horrified to look away from what had been done to Tim. The horror set in all at once, like freezing water flooding through every nerve in his system.

Joker brought Tim forward with the click of a button, the table rolling forward and bringing the boy into the light.

Tim...

His face an acid-washed white. His hair an unearthly green. His Robin costume now replaced with an exact recreation of Joker's own suit. And his face… Contorted in a pained smile and his eyes wide and afraid, unblinking.

“Say hello to Dada, JJ,” Joker cooed.

Tim's eyes, seeming to glow red in the light, shifted from Joker to Batman. He leaned further into the light, locking eyes with Bruce, and laughed. He laughed in a way Bruce had never, ever heard before. He unbound himself from the table, leaping to the floor on scrawny legs - God, how much weight had he lost in such a short amount of time. What had they done to his boy?

All at once, the cold shock and dawning horror inside Bruce shifted - and his whole body was alight with rage, like a fire inside threatening to escape through every orifice as he ripped through his bonds. The shout he made was near inhuman, launching a batarang he had cut the ribbons with directly at Joker's head, only for the Clown to dodge it with ease.

Harsh giggles flooded from Joker's throat, wiggling a finger in a ‘come hither’ motion before jumping onto the now vacant medical table, rocketing off with the click of a button, causing Bruce to almost stumble and reorient himself to take off after him - and leaving Barbara to deal with Harley.

—

Giggles bubbled from Tim JJ's throat as he stared unblinkingly down at his father, body crumpled on the floor, cape draped almost protectively over his prone body. And with giddy glee, The Joker Papa J hopped down from the giant building blocks he was perched upon, where he had sliced at Batman and sent him tumbling down only seconds ago.

It was all a blur for Bruce. The chase. The horrific videos of Tim… Tim's torture. Three weeks. Three weeks of that Hell. Electrocution. Beatings. Torment. Starvation. And it was all his fault. He'd failed him. The rage that had filled him nearly completely, made him seen red, had all been snuffed out.

First Jason. Now Tim. And Bruce still couldn't bring him to end this. His vision swam, and he could barely even focus. Not on Tim. Not on the man who tortured him. But… Wait. Where was-?

With a final hop, Joker landed in front of Batman in a crouch, hovering over him with a sly grin.

“You've lost, Bruce,” He rasped, and just hearing the name on the clown's lips made JJ seize up, his forever-smile momentarily twitching and a flood of nervous giggles escaping him. The clown continued, voice low. “Robin is mine… And now, so are you.”

And with a hearty heft, Joker lifted Bruce up by the scruff of his cowl and cape, as if presenting him. The grin of his face, the look in his eyes, as he looked down on his enemy. So proud of himself, so smug.

And Bruce. He looked in a daze, lost and beaten. Blood dripped from his lips.

This isn't what Papa promised. He said everything would be okay now. That he'd see Dad and Dick and Babs and Alfred again and he wouldn't be mean or hurt him again, because Papa knew he would be good now…

But when Joker met his eyes, something in them changed - his smile warping to somehow become comforting, happier. The darkness in his eyes dissipated, replaced with an excited shine. And with a free hand, The Clown grabbed for a large gun that looked more like a toy than anything.

“Here ya go, sonny-boy!” He said, tossing the weapon.

JJ scrambled forward to catch it. He couldn't help but notice how light the gun felt as he cradled it in his shaking, gloved hands. For a moment, he couldn't look away.

“Make him one of us,” The Joker urged, voice like a hiss.

It wasn't a conscious decision to aim the gun. It just happened. Like one minute, JJ was there and gone and back again. His hands shook so hard that he could hardly keep the weapon straight. Could barely even look at him. At the mask. At the man behind it.

“Tim…” Batman breathed. JJ had never heard his voice sound so small.

JJ would swear he couldn't breathe if it weren't for the rapid rise and fall of his chest and the wheezing, giggling exhales that escaped him as he struggled to calm down. Tears threatened to pool from his eyes.

This wasn't right. But, Papa knows best. He said everything would be okay afterward. He said he wouldn't be punished again. But, he couldn't. But, he couldn't run, either - too scared. Too weak. He wanted to be home. He wanted his family. He wanted to stop crying, to be able to breathe, to run into his fathers’ arms-

“It's alright now, JJ,” The Joker soothed, recapturing the boy's attention. “Just pull the trigger, and everything will be okay.”

JJ wanted his Papa to be telling the truth. He just wanted everything to be okay. He just wanted it all to stop. Bruce, please forgive him.

His finger squeezed around the trigger-

Joker's laugh filled the room, just as a green mist began flooding from the gun’s opening. It spread through the air and quickly covered both men. Joker laughed long and loud as he clung to Batman. He pulled his Bat into an embrace, a smile so bright and wide it made the corners of his mouth rip, as Bruce began to choke and hack.

The man seized up and shook in Joker's arms. Slow at first, but soon trembling and writhing in agony, barely restrained and pained chuckles escaping him. So much hurt flooding through every nerve and system that almost faculties left him. His lungs burned, his face ached, he couldn't feel his extremities and wouldn't have been able to hold himself up without Joker's hold on him. Bruce wasn't sure if he could speak or even breathe anymore, but somehow his body found it in itself to betray him, forcing laughter from gritted teeth.

Joker took a knee, gently laying Batman to the ground. The bat spasmed and jerked. Tears began to fall from behind his mask, shining on his cheeks in the light. Gloved hands caressed the sides of Bruce's face. Green eyes glinted in the light as they watched each movement of the other man - every sputter, every gasp, every choked out laugh, every pained, slowly blooming smile that wobbled onto his face.

“You must be so scared, aren't you, sweetheart?” Joker cooed. “You've been scared this whole time, haven't you? Ever since that night in the alleyway...”

Batman didn't reply - couldn't. His eyes crinkled as his smile grew involuntarily. All he could do was return the man's gaze with a manic smile that wasn't his own.

Joker stroked the top of his cowl lovingly. “But it's okay now, Bruce. You don't have to be scared anymore. You don't have to be strong. Don't have to hold yourself back. Me and Harl will build you back up to what you were meant to be. We'll be brave for you now. And do you know why?”

Bruce couldn't respond. For one, the agony of whatever this was, whatever Joker had planned for him, blotted out almost all thoughts in his mind completely. Could only tremble and writhe and cry and laugh. Laugh. Laugh. The laughing made it hurt just a little less. But he could still barely even register what the other man was saying. What he could register, though, was the image of Joker slowly leaning down to press his lips to Bruce's cloaked forehead.

“Because we love you.” Joker finished.

—

“Ohhhh, Harley!” Joker's voice rang through the cavernous halls of the abandoned asylum. “Barbie's turn!”

Barbara's stomach sunk to her feet and her heart skipped a beat. Barbie? No. No, there was no way, he could have known her name. Oh God, what happened to Bruce-?

In the middle of her ruminations, Harley caught her by surprise. A jab to the face, the pull of her leg to trip her up leaving her scrambling to correct her fall- only for her to feel hand grasp tightly at the nape of her neck, coiling painfully at the root of her hair. She was shoved onto her stomach, face-to-face with the dirty, cracked tiles of the former asylum’s floor.

“You know what that means! C'mon, Barbie,” Harley grunted, fingers twisting in the roots of her hair. She lunged forward, slamming her face to the floor with a sick crunch. “Let's go party!”

And everything went dark.

… Barbara awoke with a groan. The smell of pennies flooded her nostrils. Her vision was bleary and swam as she struggled to open her eyes.

A dark figure entered her vision from her periphery, and it loomed over a figure clad in purple. And for a moment, just one moment, she allowed herself to hope.

But, that hope crumbled just as quickly as Joker's voice entered her ears.

“You're okay, Bruce, you're okay, sweetie. You're gonna play nice now, right?”

Barbara couldn't help but shudder at the sound of Bruce's laugh in reply.

Hands found their way to Barbara's hair again, this time much softer. Not grabbing, just brushing and stroking almost soothingly.

“Wakey, wakey, eggs ‘n bakey,” Harley sang as she carded her hands through the younger woman's hair. “Y'know, I've always wanted a daughter. A little girl of my own. You think you'd ever want Mama to braid your hair for you? It's so pretty!”

“Ah, welcome back to the land of the living, Barbie,” Joker greeted. “Your Dad and I were just talking about you. A real chip off the ol’ block. Now all we need is to make it official.”

Barbara watched as Tim approached Bruce, pushing a gun of some kind into his hands. The Batman held it in his hands, smiling down at the weapon - but seemed almost hesitant. Unsure. Like he knew this was wrong. Like the weapon would somehow come alive and bite him.

“Batman, listen to me,” Batgirl pleaded. “Don't do this. Whatever they've done to you, this isn't you.”

“Oh, but it is! And soon it'll be you, too,” Harley corrected, walking back to give herself some distance.

“I know you're torn, Batsy, but I promise this is for the best,” Joker rubbed circles into the other man's back. “We'll all finally be together. Once we get Barbie here, then we'll get Dick and Al. And we'll be a family! They'll never be hurt again. You'll never be hurt again, sweetheart. I won't let anything bad happen anymore. You'll get your happily ever after. You won't be afraid ever again, I promise.”

Tears stung at Barbara's cheeks as she begged. “Batman, please!”

And for a moment, she thought she somehow got through to him. They locked eyes and Bruce smiled at her with a smile that isn't his own. But, she thought she could see understanding or recognition or something in his eyes, and was sure he'd toss the gun away and start kicking Joker's ass.

But, she was wrong.

With a hiss, green toxin flooded all around her. Even over her screams, the sounds of Joker, Tim, Harley, and Bruce's laughter smothered her completely. And soon after, so did her own.

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sugarbell · 2 months

Text

Batfam X Neglected Fem Reader Part 3

A couple months had passed since you had gone to the fundraiser. Things between you and Harry were great, you two weren’t necessarily dating, but you couldn’t say there wasn’t chemistry either. Him and you were just…existing. You weren’t rushing to put a label on anything, and you weren’t rushing to make it public either. Well, at least you weren’t. Harry…he was a bit different. One moment he’d be whisking you away behind a coffee shop to mouth at your neck, (no, you two hadn’t kissed yet, much to Harry’s dismay. He’s always swearing you’re teasing him when you wear that strawberry lip gloss.) and the next, he’d be wrapping his arms around your waist in the middle of the street. To which you’d push him off with a knowing smile, or bat his hands away from you.

Honestly it was a surprise that nobody had caught you two yet. However, you two weren’t exclusive. Harry was a jealous person, and he was by no means a patient one. But nobody had ever made him… feel like you had. He knew that rushing things, or becoming too possessive would scare you off. And he couldn’t afford for that to happen. So he had made it clear that you two were able to fool around, or even be with other people until you were certain that you were what each other wanted.

And sure, Harry has fucked plenty of other girls in the time that you and him were…well, existing. But each time he imagines it was you. Many girls had left his bed in the morning, or even night of, muttering and complaining about how he couldn’t even remember their name. “It’s Rachel! Not Lana!” One particular bitch had said. God, he could still remember her screeching his ear off about how he could at least try to remember the name of the girl he was just inside. And yeah, that was all good and well, but how could he get you off of his mind when he was in love?

Things between you and Diana were also great. Her and you had gotten much closer over the months, and she has kind of become like the cool fun aunt that you can go to about any and everything. Just a few key details were left out. Like how you were basically thrown to the side like rubbish in your house, and how your family were vigilantes that went out to fight crime at night.

Oh! Speaking of vigilantes, and the like…you hadn’t just spent the past eight months getting closer to Harry and Diana. You had been watching, waiting, and training. Every single day, you would sneak down to the batcave and watch your siblings train. Eventually, you became so good at gymnastics that you almost rivaled Dick! Your fighting skills were incredible as well, you were sure that you would be able to go against some, if not all of your siblings and possibly even win.

Your tech skills from watching Barbara and Tim, (mostly Tim, since the boy almost never slept) weren’t spectacular, but they were enough. I’m just a couple months, you were already almost as good as your siblings, and you were excited to see how much farther you could go with more training. All of your training came from watching and monitoring your siblings. Gauging their flaws, and making them your strengths. Taking their strengths, and perfecting them, with moves of your own incorporated.

In another month, you were sure you were ready to take on the world. You had spent all this time practicing, training, studying, watching, waiting, perfecting, and now the time had come. You had crafted a suit, using scraps of old suits from your siblings, and dyeing it was easy enough. You were extremely happy you took that extracurricular sewing class for about a year and some change, (trying to impress Bruce) and seeing your hero suit together was easy as well.

The whole suit consisted of a pair of black and red fishnet tights, a black one piece bodysuit, (that was more like a bathing suit, but hey, it made you feel confident. And every time you wore it you remembered what Diana had told you back at the fundraiser. So you hadn’t actually been out to fight crime just yet, but you had put your suit on and practiced many times.) a red jacket that was light, had your emblem on it, (that of course you designed yourself, did i mention you’re a badass artist?) and also had compartments, should you need to carry anything else. A pair of red, black, and white And of course, to protect your secret identity, a red mask.

Your chosen weapon were two red billy clubs that could be connected by a long cable that you would use to swing around the city. They could connect to form one long red stick, and they could disconnect to make just two sticks that you mainly used in close combat. They could shift from a manrikigusari-like weapon, to nunchucks, but you mainly used them as two Eskrima sticks.

You would go by the moniker ‘Red Canary.’ As said before, you never fashioned yourself a phoenix, or a dragon, or a butterfly or anything beautiful and meaningful. But you had pictures yourself as a creature with wings…just needing something to help her. Something to let her do good in the world and maybe then you could fly free, and find peace. As Red Canary.

Your first mission was unexpected, and you didn’t have your suit on you. You were in an art supply store, picking up new easels and paints, since you had been doing nothing but specifically painting the past week. And a man came in, probably in his late thirties, to rob the store. The cashier was obviously confused and a little scared, since the guy was waving around a gun in his face, and that’s when you knew you had to step into action.

Anyways, who the hell robs an art store? What kind of mid-life crisis was this guy having? It was fairly easy to disarm (the gun wasn’t even loaded anyway) and incapacitate him until the cops showed up, but by then you were gone, with free art supplies no less! The nice cashier had insisted you take them. The rush it had given you was inexplicable. You couldn’t describe it even if you tried.

You had come home all giddy, and a little sweaty. You had run home, still hopped up on adrenaline. You felt like you could fly. Maybe you could. Although it probably wasn’t in your best interest to take a swan dive off the roof. You had gone upstairs to your bedroom to take a shower and wash away the sweat from your body. You sang giddily and danced your way to the shower as you stripped and got in. The warm water facades down your body, easing your muscles and calming you. By the time you got out, around thirty minutes later, you heard a ruckus downstairs. You rolled your eyes. It was probably Jason and Tim or Tim and Damian. Or Steph and Cass are fighting over who gets the last chocolate chip cookie that Alfred made.

It made your heart pang a bit realizing that you’d probably never be a part of even the craziest things that went on like that. It dampened your mood. You dressed in your comfort outfit—a pair of black sweats, a white tight cami, and black fuzzy socks decorated with cute pandas. You brushed through your still wet hair and put the dark strands up in a messy bun, the shorter strands falling around your face.

You sighed and waited in your room until the ruckus in the kitchen was over before you went downstairs to get dinner, Alfred had set out a plate for you like he always does—or you were going to anyways when you decided against it. This was your home too. Why should you have to sneak around just to appease the others. You thought back on the words of your brother. “Do us all a favor and make yourself scarce.” You frowned as you got up and opened the door to your room. Ok your way downstairs you saw Cass heading into her room with a plate of food. If she did see you she didn’t acknowledge you.

When you went downstairs, Jason and Tim and Damian or whoever had been rumbling around with each other down here was already gone. You sighed. You wanted to walk through the kitchen with your head held high, with your brothers in here. However, the more you thought about it, the more you weren’t sure if you even would when the time had come.

You grabbed the plate, covered in those fancy tin covers you see in movies where they bring out your dish. Bruce had a whole cabinet filled with those and threes strange antique plate things. It reminded you of your mom. You’d heard from Diana, who you’d been in contact with way more often now, you two texted all the time. She’s become like an aunt to you. She’s told you that your mother loved tea and also collected tea sets and whatnot. It made your heart warm.

You smiled faintly at the memory and went to make yourself a mug of tea. You took one of the fancy ones that Bruce kept in the cabinet. An ivory colored mug with pretty peach flowers and brown branches painted across the middle. You froze mid-pour when you saw Bruce enter the kitchen. He looked extremely tired. Probably just came back from patrol. You managed to giggle mentally despite your initial shock because did they really think you didn’t know that they were vigilantes? You pushed the thought away when you saw him reaching into the cabinet for a mug. His mug. A large gray one-huge, but plain. He filled it with fresh brewed coffee that Alfred had probably put on a bit before you came downstairs.

Bruce said absolutely nothing to you, in fact he acted as if you weren’t even there. Like you didn’t exist. “H-hi, Bruce.” You broke the silence and he seemed to be a little shocked, his eyes scanning the kitchen for a second before they tiredly landed on you. You hated the way you spoke. Your voice laced with desperation. “Uh, hi……Lana.” He said. He glanced at your eyes and immediately looked away from them making you furrow your brows. “Did you, uh,…need anything?” You swallow hard when you hear him say this. He really thought the only reason you’d speak to him is because you needed something? Even if it was, it wasn’t for your lack of trying. He had made it that way. “No, i..just wanted to say hi. Good night, I guess?” He hummed distractedly as he scooped only one half of sugar into his black coffee. Yuck. “Uh yeah, you too.” And then he left, not even sparing you another look.

By the time you made it back to your room you were confused. Why did he have such a strange reaction when looking into your eyes? It made you puzzled. He looked down like he was…frightened or shocked or something. You knew he hadn’t seen you in a while but…still. Your thoughts were interrupted when a meek nod sounded at your door. It didn’t sound like Alfred’s usually sure and practiced knocks when he came to remind you to eat and not sketch or paint all day. You curiously went to the door and opened it.

Tim stood there, tired and sleep deprived as ever. He held his phone in his hands and his red headphones were around his neck. He had the same ones you did. You didn’t notice his pale cornflower eyes flick down to your chest, where you wore nothing but the flimsy white cami top without a bra. The shirt was riding up on your stomach, above the hand of your black sweats, and your nipples poked through the fabric. You being too confused and shocked as to why he was here. Tim’s room was the absolute furthest from yours and all of your rooms weren’t even on the same floor.

He glanced back up to you, his cheeks dusted a light pink. “Hi.” He spoke. He looked as tired as he always did, even more so than Bruce, but there was alertness in his eyes now. “Uh, hi?” You said. He gave you this weird smile thingy like he was expecting something from you and you didn’t know what it was. He looked sheepish and a little embarrassed as he looked down again, his eyes stuck on your tits before dropping to the floor, his cheeks deepening in color-again of course, you didn’t notice. You tended to be a bit more naive about these things than most people were.

“……charger?” Was all you heard him say when you snapped back to reality and looked up at him, your brows furrowing. “Sorry, what?” His face fell a little before he looked back up at hoi. “I said do you have an iPhone charger? Nobody else but Jason and Dick have iPhones but they’re out at some bar together and I wasn’t sure if you had an iPhone or not.” He said embarrassed. You kicked yourself mentally for thinking he could even possibly want anything else from you.

You didn’t know what you thought. If he wanted to hang out, or something but it’s obvious you were definitely wrong. You sighed, brushing the smaller, drying hairs form your face and heading back inside your room without a word. You rooted around, but left the door open, and Tim couldn’t help but stare. Your sweatpants obviously didn’t show your legs or anything but they hung low on your hips and he got a view of the pink band of your panties and the skin of your hips and back due to the tightness of the shirt you wore. He ripped his eyes away, cursing himself for being such a guy. Such a pervert. To his stepsister, no less. He shoves his hands in the pockets of his own sweatpants before you turned around with a spare iPhone charger and a base. You handed it to him with an unimpressed look. You were mad, mostly at yourself for being so stupid. He took it and gave you that sheepish embarrassed grin again. “Thanks. Also maybe- you shut the door in his face before he could finish speaking, not wanting to have him ask you for anything else. You couldn’t believe he came just to get something from you, but then again, what did you expect? Nobody in this family gives a damn about you.

You threw yourself onto your bed and grabbed your headphones, turning the volume up all the way as you snuggled into your covers and fell asleep.

Tim’s P.O.V.

‘God, I’m such a creep. She’s so pretty—holy crap, has she always been this pretty?’

She’s bending down, oh cool, to get me a charger. Sweet. Wow… I get distracted by looking at her exposed skin which is, yes, I know, demented. But..at least we aren’t related by blood and I guess that makes it…better? I don’t know. All I know is that I definitely never realized this before. Shit. Have the others known? Jason, that degenerate probably already had his eyes on her… She hands me the cord and she looks…mad? For some reason but I’m not sure why. Did I do anything?

I mean it’s not like we talk or even see each other that often for me to upset her anyways. Hell, I barely get a chance to see her because she’s always out, or shut up in her room. She slams the door in my face just as I’m about to stutter out some awkward question asking if she wants to hang in my room and play video games or something.

Great going, Tim. You hardly even know your sister and you’re already managing to make her hate you. Gotta find a way to make it up to her somehow. Whatever I did.

(Sorry, this one is kinda short and I’m pretty sure I suck at endings, but here you go! Part Three!)

#batfam x neglected fem batsis reader #dc

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elizabethemerald · 1 year

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Summoning the Cat: Part 3

Selina stared at her kitchen, her mind far flung from her appliances, though she was thinking about her home. She had felt so relieved to have Danny and Jazz safe in her penthouse. Now she was starting to see that having two teenagers in her life would result in some necessary changes. She only had one spare room in the penthouse and two kids who needed beds.

The penthouse had been more than enough when it had been just her. She had the master bedroom, which she kept mostly clear of any evidence of her evening work so she could bring home partners if she wanted to. Unless her partner of choice was the Bat, then half the fun was stripping out of her catsuit in front of him, not that he would be getting anything like that in a long while, even after he pulls his head from his fantastic ass.

Technically the floor plan of the penthouse stated that there were three bedrooms, including the master, but one of them was now a dedicated “office,” where she kept all her tools for her after hours work. The last was only a comfortable bedroom because of the frequency that Harley and Ivy stayed over. She had thankfully changed the sheets since the last time they had spent the night.

Danny and Jazz refused to be separated and had shared the bed together. She wondered how often the two kids had found what comfort and support they could with each other. She hated the Fentons even more for what they had done to her kids, and she hated Bruce for being such an uptight bitch. They would have been much more comfortable sleeping in Wayne Manor.

Every time she had gone to check on the two kids one of them had been awake, while the other at least pretended to sleep. Danny would sit up, with his eyes shining in the dark, analyzing her for any threat, when he recognized her he would lay back down. Jazz would tense and press herself back against Danny, like she had to shield him with her body. Selina had kept her movements slow and obvious, her hands always visible and while Jazz didn’t visibly relax like Danny did she also didn’t do anything drastic like throw a lamp or roll Danny off the bed like she was expecting gunfire.

How incredibly defensive the kids were of each other aside, even though Selina wanted nothing more than to sit them down and demand they tell her exactly what they had gone through to have reactions like that, but she didn’t want to make the same mistakes Bruce was making, the penthouse was too small for an adult and two teens. They deserved to have their own rooms even if they didn’t want to use them yet.

Her kitchen was another shortcoming of the penthouse. Selina could cook and unlike Bruce she could actually cook well. She usually didn’t choose to do so, simply because she could afford to eat at the best restaurants and didn’t feel any need to do things she didn't want to, like dishes. However with two teenagers she would need something in her cupboards other than various fine alcohols. And the homebrew ales that Ivy made.

Dick had brought numerous snack foods that considering how much had been eaten last night would probably only last a few days more. He had also brought several very sugary breakfast cereals, that Selina wasn’t sure was the healthiest for a vigilante, much less a teenage ghost boy. The man also hadn’t brought any milk? Did he expect them to eat the cereal dry? Or perhaps right out of the bag? How were so many of Bruce’s children such disasters?

Fortunately there were people in the world who actually knew how to function as adults. Barbara had ordered groceries to be delivered to Selina’s penthouse and Jason had sent along some of his favorite easy recipes that made a lot of food. He had written in additional notes on the recipes that showed his personal experience with the dishes. She would start with a simple breakfast, eggs, pancakes and bacon. A celebratory, special meal then she could figure out what her kids liked and learn to make that.

As she mixed the pancakes (Jason insisted that pancake mix was for children and bachelors) Selina idly considered her living situation. She could certainly afford a nice house in one of the better neighborhoods in Gotham. If the kids wanted she would even be willing to move out of the city completely, though that wouldn’t be her first choice. She could get a house with a yard, close to Gotham Academy so Danny could continue his school and Jazz could finish hers. Each of the kids could have their own room, and she could certainly afford a house with enough rooms for her, her kids and her equipment.

She smiled to herself at a fun image of her and the kids watching a movie together, Pam and Harley there as well to keep an eye on the kids. They would also need room for the various bat children to come by, either just to visit or to get away from Bruce’s brooding. Actually that thought gave her pause. Her and the rest of the Sirens could pool their resources and get a larger house. Room for a gymnastics room for Harley, a green house for Pam, spare rooms for any special interests the kids had. That wasn’t a bad idea at all. Selina turned her head slightly at the sound of a door opening down the hall.

“Good Morning Ms- Are you cooking?” Selina turned to see Jazz watching the stove warily.

“Yep, I thought we could have some pancakes, bacon and eggs. Once I figure out your favorite breakfasts we can have those.”

Jazz looked surprised and confused for a moment before taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

“Do you need any help?” Jazz still watched her warily, actually she wasn’t watching Selina, she was watching the food as if she expected it to explode or attack.

“No, I’ve got it. Thank you though Jazz.” Selina gave her a warm smile.

There was a few seconds of silence as Jazz just watched her cook before she seemed to shake herself and focus.

“Uh, Ms. Kyle, can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course, Jazz. And you can call me Selina too.”

Jazz processed that for a second before she continued.

“Selina, Danny is probably going to come out and ask you something when he fully wakes up, and while I kind of think it’s an unhealthy coping mechanism, I still think it might be a good idea.”

Selina considered that for a moment before plating the eggs and bacon and some of the finished pancakes. She handed one plate to Jazz, made herself a plate, and set some aside to stay warm for Danny. She leaned against the counter opposite where Jazz sat.

“Could you expand on that?”

Jazz’s jaw ticked to the side and she looked down at her food. She closely examined the eggs and bacon for a moment before she took a cautious bite. The bite seemed to be satisfactory so she continued eating. She explained in between bites of food.

“I know we haven’t explained everything about what Danny and I went through, and we haven’t explained everything about what ghosts are or how they function. I'll leave that part of the discussion mostly to Danny since he knows the most, but one of the most important parts of a ghost is their obsession.”

Selina was a little confused by the sudden change in topic, but she let Jazz continue. It was clear the girl was carefully weighing her words as she spoke. Selina was starting to realize she had a super powered ghost son and a traumatized older sister/therapist daughter. She doubted parenting books covered these kinds of topics. Maybe she would call Alfred or Ma and Pa Kent to see if they had any advice for the situation.

“Every ghost has their obsession. It’s kind of a personal topic, so Danny probably won’t discuss it too in depth, and I won’t out his obsessions without his permission, but it can be anything from books to music to boxes.” Boxes? Selina didn’t ask, but she was curious. “And that doesn’t translate directly to humans, but it’s how Danny has started to see things in his life, so it’s important to bring up.”

Jazz had finished eating and was now just moving the remaining food around on her plate.

“From Danny’s perspective, our parents, or I guess, my parents’ obsession was and is Ghosts. Specifically hunting and exterminating ghosts.” Jazz held her utensils with a white knuckled grip, her eyes still firmly on her plate. “They’ve had that obsession for our entire lives, they would forget our birthdays, or even to feed us if something ghost related came up. They moved us half way across the country to Amity because it was a hotbed of ghost activity.”

“When we were younger we just accepted that our parents were a little crazy and we took care of each other. Danny would always make me the nicest cards for my birthday each year.” Jazz had a tear in her eye at that. Selina moved around the counter so she could sit next to her and rubbed her back gently. “After Danny’s accident, so much of their obsession became about hurting him. They wanted to take him apart, molecule by molecule.”

Selina kept her emotions off her face as she kept gently rubbing Jazz’s back and shoulders. However, inside she was boiling with rage.

“I think in Danny’s mind he blames himself for how our parents acted when he became a half-ghost. He thinks if he had fed into Jack and Maddie’s obsessions they wouldn’t want to hurt him. That’s how he helps the ghosts who came to town, he could help them feed their obsessions and redirect them away from harmful avenues. Do you understand so far?”

“Yes I do.” Selina nodded. “Ghosts have obsessions. Your parents were unhealthily obsessed with ghosts to the detriment of both of you. Is this related to the unhealthy coping mechanism you mentioned?”

Jazz nodded and finally looked up at Selina, eyeing her carefully. Whatever she was looking for in her face, Jazz seemed to find, because she continued, now more hesitantly.

“So, from Danny’s perspective, your obsession is being a master thief, or maybe cats.” Jazz leaned back from her slightly as if she was afraid Selina might react poorly to that statement. However Selina could only smile in return. She could certainly see why Danny might see things that way. When she didn’t react badly Jazz continued. “I think Danny is afraid that if he doesn’t take part in your obsession with you, you’ll reject him just like my parents did.”

Selina felt like she had been slapped. Danny was afraid she would reject him. He thought he had to be a thief to impress her. Jazz clearly feared or at least considered the same thing. She took a moment to gather herself before she responded, her voice choked.

“He wants to become a thief like me?”

Jazz nodded then began speaking very quickly, clearly trying to convince Selina that this was the best course of action.

“While I don’t think that’s the healthiest way to look at your relationship, I do still think there are benefits. The athleticism you are known to utilize in your work would help keep him healthier as well as give him the skills to dodge attacks when he’s Phantom. It would also give the two of you time together, mother and son, a shared hobby is an excellent conversation starter. And! And-”

“Jasmine.” Selina said her name softly, so she wouldn’t startle the poor girl. “That sounds like a brilliant idea. You and I can work together to set safe limits for Danny, to make sure he has a proper balance between the hero work he’s done in the past, the after hours work he does with me and his “normal” life. How does that sound?”

Jazz smiled in relief and her whole body seemed to sag in relief.

“Yeah. That sounds good. Before when we were in Amity, he would have to fight ghosts at all hours of the day or night. He wasn’t getting nearly enough sleep. Balance is good. Especially a balance with his ghost powers. If he uses them too much it can exhaust him and risk attracting ghost hunters, but if he doesn’t use them he can hurt himself.”

Selina smiled, she was definitely going to have to give the Kents a call. They would have some good advice.

“What about you, Jazz?” Selina asked, Jazz looked at her confused so Selina explained her question. “Danny and I could have a mother-son activity learning to be a thief together. Would you like to join us?”

“Oh! Oh no. I want to be a therapist, and I don’t think it would look good if I had a criminal record like that.” Jazz didn’t seem disappointed to not be a thief and she had relaxed now that Danny’s mental and physical health had been discussed.

“Oh, well how about this then? You pick something you like to do, any hobby or activity, could be knitting, yoga, gymnastic, competitive hot dog eating, anything, and you and I can learn about that thing together?”

Jazz just looked more confused.

“Competitive hot dog-? Why would you want to do that with me?”

Concern blossomed in Selina’s chest at the same moment her rage was fanned into an inferno. Jasmine looked genuinely baffled by the idea that Selina would want to spend time with her. If she ever met the people who had raised her she would tear them limb from limb.

“I want to spend time with you. And with Danny. Individually and all together.” Selina decided for clarity’s sake she would spell out her desires explicitly. “Danny is my son and I would like to make that official again as soon as I can. I would like that for you as well.”

“But I’m almost eighteen?”

“Being my child isn’t something that ends when you’re an adult. I wouldn’t kick Danny out when he turned eighteen, and I won’t do it to you either. You don’t have to call me mom, or mother or anything other than Selina. You don’t even have to think of me as your mother. But I do want to be there for you. I want to be able to care for you. I want a relationship with you.”

Jazz’s confusion was slowly morphing into distress. The girl was running her nails up and down her legs almost hard enough to rip the fabric of her pants. She was certain Jazz would have scratches all the way up and down her legs. Selina carefully contained her grimace. She needed to talk to Harley about finding these kids a therapist ASAP. And maybe one for herself wouldn’t go amiss, at least until her murderous impulses subsided.

“If it’s too hard to think about it like that, for now, how about you think of it as me paying a debt. You took care of my son. Protected him, fed him, practically raised him.” Jazz nodded to confirm her assumption. “I owe you for doing so much for my son. And I would like to pay you back anyway I can. If that means paying for your student loans for an Ivy League school, or if it means learning underwater basket weaving by your side. I’m ok with whatever.”

Jazz now finally looked relieved and understanding, though there was still a little confusion on her face.

“That sounds fun. I’ll put together a list for you. Though where do you come with these examples? Hot dog eating? Basket weaving?”

“I have a lot of weird friends.” Selina said with a laugh. “And various bat children that are flying around Gotham can be even weirder.”

Jazz laughed now, then she tilted her head to the side, her head cocked as she listened to something Selina couldn’t hear. She mentally filed that information away that apparently Jasmine had some similar ghostly abilities to Danny.

“Danny’s awake now. He’ll probably be out in a few minutes.” Jazz said.

Selina nodded and stood before returning to the stove.

“Well then let’s make sure he has some fresh pancakes. I’ll also reheat the eggs and bacon for him.”

Jazz smiled at her and only a few minutes later Danny emerged. He obviously wasn’t a morning person and looked only barely functional.

“Good morning Jazz. Good morning Ms.- Are you cooking?” Danny asked, his sleepiness fading quickly before the apparent threat of someone cooking.

“Yes I am. Jazz and I already ate breakfast, but I want to make you some as well.”

“Do you need any help?” Danny was just as earnest as Jazz had been. Selina added, ‘parents were unsafe in the kitchen’ to her mental list of shit the Fentons had done to traumatize her kids.

“No, I’ve got it, thank you for offering though. You can have a seat. Your pancakes are almost done.”

Danny took a seat next to Jazz and hugged her before stealing a last bit of bacon off her plate with a grin.

“Ms. Kyle?”

Selina fought down a grin at how similar the siblings were. She turned to face Danny.

“You can call me Selina, Danny.” He smiled at her sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Uh, yeah. I was wondering if I could be a super cool cat thief like you?” There were stars shining in Danny’s eyes as he asked, but there was also underneath the excitement a level of trepidation she would have expected of someone disarming a bomb.

Selina was glad Jazz had warned her that this conversation was coming. She didn’t know if she would have been thrilled or horrified about Danny’s desire to join what he considered the “family business,” but now she had exactly the thing to say.

“That sounds like a great idea. I’ve always wanted an apprentice.” Selina said warmly. “We can work together to figure out a schedule that allows for a good school, home life and work balance. How does that sound?”

Danny gave a playful groan and shoved Jazz, a large smile on his face. His playfulness hid his relief at her acceptance.

“What is it with people and trying to get me to balance things!”

“It’s just what people who care about you do.” Selina said, keeping her voice light even as she sent Jazz a commiserating look. Then she pulled a pad of paper out of one of the drawers and tossed pens to the kids while distributing sheets of paper. “How about this? Each of us right down a list of fun hobbies. Things we really like, things we’ve never been able to try but always wanted to do. And then we can explore some of these things together while I work on putting together your training.”

“Like yoga, or a hot dog eating contest?” Jazz asked with a smirk.

“Hot dog eating contest! That sounds like a great idea!” He immediately wrote that down on his list underneath several items that made it look like a trip to the planetarium was in their future.

“Excellent. Here’s your breakfast, we can work on our lists while we eat, then we can discuss what we want to do next!” Selina said, gazing warmly as her kids filled in their lists. It looked like Jazz had written underwater basket weaving with a question mark next to it on her list along with a few other options.

#dp x dc #Danny Phantom #Selina Kyle #jazz fenton #summon the cat #writing emerald

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shakespeareallanpoe · 4 months

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Batfamily Secret Santa

With the holidays coming up here's my headcanon for what each of the batfamily members would get each other if they were doing a secret Santa. (And yes, I know Bruce is canonically Jewish, but I believe either Tim or Dick are some denomination of Christian so I'd imagine they have a mixed holiday celebration at the manor)

Bruce (got Stephanie)

Ok so Bruce is super generous on a good day and I can't imagine Steph wouldn't be dropping hints since Thanksgiving, so he'd probably give her everything she asked for plus a new movie Wayne manor doesn't have, so after the celebration they could watch it together as a one-on-one bonding thing since he's pretty big on quality time in some versions.

Dick (got Bruce)

Bruce really doesn't expect anything for the holidays which is perfect because I have this headcanon that Dick is actually really bad with giving gifts. Someone bullied your little sister? Not on his watch. Life advice? He'll pull from his past experiences to tell you what not to do. Emotional support? Bro he's there. But birthday/anniversary/holiday gifts? Expect a mug with Snoopy's face because you both watched Charlie Brown together once. In July. He's just that kind of gift giver. So I'm thinking Dick would get Bruce a dinosaur themed 1,000 piece puzzle because Bruce likes dinosaurs and he likes puzzles so boom! Match made in heaven, ya boi is a genius. 😎

Barbara (got Jason)

Babs is a pretty practical person so her secret Santa to Jason probably consisted of a gift bag with manly smelling body wash, a gift card to Barnes & Noble, and a CD mixtape of Jason's Spotify favorites so he can pop it into a car and listen to it during long car rides.

Duke (got Damian)

So Duke is a pretty creative person when he's passionate about a project and his ideas are definitely one of a kind, but I think for some time he would really struggle with coming up with a secret Santa for Damian because he isn't all that close with Robin. He knew Damian appreciated weapons but he's also the type of person to not want Damian to think that weapons are all he is by getting him one. Presents for Damian's pets are off the table since Damian spoils them on every day of the year, so Duke would probably gift Damian something for the child he is, since Damian never had a childhood. Maybe a telescope so Damian could look at the stars with his family on clear nights. Just like what Duke's mom gave him as a boy for the holidays one year.

Cass (got Dick)

Cass didn't receive material gifts for most of her life so she probably enlisted Alfred's help. Given that the butler knows Dick pretty well, they decided to give him a gift basket with blue ribbon that had a T-shirt of his favorite band, some flash fuzzy socks (Wally would approve), and his favorite holiday candy. Dick is really more of a quality time kind of person if you want to make him to feel special, so it didn't need to be elaborate anyway.

Jason (got Cass)

I don't care how much people try to make Jason into a sexist, ignorant-to-the-fine-arts kind of person. Jason doesn't give a fuck about gender stereotypes and he loves learning, especially about classical things like literature or fine arts. For his secret Santa to Cass he got them both tickets for a weekend trip to Russia to see a ballet in person in one of the grandest cities in Russia. Cass has obviously been to many places across the world, but it was always for a mission and nothing more. For the holidays, Jason gifted her two days where they could travel and explore the culture, living like locals or being those stereotypical tourists just for shits and giggles. Just a few days without work to relax and live happy lives as regular people. When Cass got her gift Jason pulled her aside afterwards to explain it, so she wouldn't cry in front of everyone. And she did cry. Just a little. So did Jason.

Tim (got Duke)

Tim wouldn't think too hard about Duke's gift since he knows the people Duke hangs out with. Or could find them. Getting Duke a gift was as simple as casually running into Duke's friends and asking them about what Duke likes. Not that he or Duke's friends ever mentioned this to Signal, so when he opened his secret Santa and found some hyper-specific things amongst some more generic gifts, he began to wonder just how much Tim knew about his life.

Stephanie (got Babs)

Steph is absolutely the type of person to get someone for Christmas something they want themselves. So a lot of the gifts Bruce gave her look similar to what Babs got from Steph. Not that she means anything by it, but in her mind if it's worth wanting, someone else close to her probably wants it too. And Babs doesn't mind. She already bought herself a new desk light after the old one got knocked down one too many times, so it doesn't matter if she has a cute keychain to go on it.

Damian (got Tim)

Regardless of his age I think a younger sibling will always be a younger sibling. Damian would probably give Tim a large fancy gift bag filled with tissue paper... and nothing else. He'd do it just to see Tim's reaction to rifling through the bag for several moments to come up empty. Then, when Tim admits defeat, Damian would hand over a gift he asked Jon to pick up for Connor, nicely wrapped with Tim's forged signature and everything. He wasn't about to get Tim a gift but it's okay because he knew Tim would've somehow forgotten to get his boyfriend a holiday gift anyway. (And he did)

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pynkgothicka · 2 years

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Hi can I have a scenario of yandere alpha Bruce dick Jason Tim and Damian x Omega pergent wife reader

Like how they take care of them how much of a mother hen they are what would they do when they get kidnapped and end up in early labor

Batfam Early Labor/Pregnancy Hcs

a/n: I didn't really focus on the omega aspect and made these more fluff than anything

Tags/Warnings: Kidnapping, Nothing else Really

Bruce treats you like a princess, he'll purchase the best of pillows and the finest of silks to ensure your comfort. He'll keep you trapped and yet comfortable. He only allows Alfred to come see you, that's rare because Bruce will always make time for you, especially since you were pregnant with his pups. He needed you in the best condition for birth, and oh Lord when you go into labor, quicker than he planned out, he locks the both of you in your room and gets you through your labor/birth his own damn self. He did his research and he knew what was needed.

"Everything is going to be just fine, I'm here for you. We're going to get through this together."

🕸️

Dick is also super sweet when he first gets his hands on you. He makes sure your nest is his nest. He takes off from vigilante work to care for you. He doesn't trap you in just your shared room, but more so his apartment. He makes sure you move at least a little bit everyday. Even if it means going on walks in the building, in which he has to hold your hand the entire time, just to keep you safe. However when you go into labor while you're on your apartment walks, he takes you to the nearest hospital and argues his way into being at your side 24/7.

"They said something about you being missing and that they had to bring you to the authorities. That won't happen on my watch alright? Just stay here and get back to health, I'll take care of everything. Have I ever let you down?"

🕸️

Jason is very new to the whole pregnancy thing. In fact he really has no clue what he's doing, so he's phoning everyone who would possibly have any clue on what to do. Barbara was actually the best one to come and help. She was understanding of everything and gave him tips on Omega pregnancy and the tolls it would take on your body. Jason knew that all he had to do was stay committed to what Barbara set up, yet he was finding that to be quite the challenge. In fact, you had to remind him of a bunch of things he had to do during your day. So you being the head of your pregnancy plan, when you went into labor, and was in far too much of a pain to help him, Jason was lost and he didn't trust hospitals enough to leave you alone. So he phones up Barbara.

"Barbaras on her way! Oh God, I'm going to be a father." Jason proceeds to faint.

🕸️

Tim, being the smart guy he is, is already planned in advance. He's considered every possible outcome to your pregnancy. All the way from early labor to doctors and hospitals. Tim already decided that he was going to be the one helping you give birth. If he didn't do it, who would? Not anyone he knew and you shouldn't even be in contact with others so if you're mad about his decision it's your problem. Other than his strict ways, he will always try to be welcoming with your transition to your new life he's given you. He's just far to awkward and calculated to actually go at it right.

"I'm sorry if I'm too focused on this pregnancy of ours but I just want what's best for you. I don't usually show it but I do care about you, I just know what works and, please, just trust me alright?"

🕸️

Damian, reluctantly, is now the head of the League of Assassins. So he has all the help in the world when it comes to your pregnancy. He has you dressed in the finest of silks and will literally kill if he sees anyone who is a threat to his future heir and queen. He's far too protective of what's his. Early labor is something he has covered with the help of all the people he has watching over you. By the time he gets there, they've calmed you down and he's there making sure everything is going smoothly and alright.

"I'm so happy your under good hands. You're going to be alright my love."

Taglist: @animefan3223

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dextixer · 9 months

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"It was planned from the start" is the equivalent of Nostradamus predictions in RWBY community. And my hatred for Monty "whisperers".

There have been many discussions in the RWBY community about what has been planned in the show, what has not. If that is good or bad etc. I think almost EVERYONE in the RWBY community has experienced such discussions at least once, especially if they were active during BB shipping days.

I am not here to talk about what has been or what has not been planned in the show, rather, i am here to talk just about how vaguelly CRWBY talks about what it wants from RWBY, and how the completely insane fanbase of RWBY instantly uses any vagueries as proof that something has been "planned from the start".

Nostradamus, what?

Some of you might wonder, what does Nostradamus have to do with any of this? Everything. You see, Nostradamus is known for "predicting the future" back in 16th century. And many things that have historically happened after his death have been said to have been predicted by him, such as Napoleons rise to power, Hitlers rise to power and even 9/11.

And yet, all of this is... Well... Bullshit.

Despite his fame if one reads his predictions one can realize that they are incredibly vague and general. To such an extent that they could apply to MULTIPLE different events in history. This is actually a tactic is often employed by liars to deceive people.

Because at the end of the day, if you are general and vague enough, people will fill in their own gaps in what you mean.

RWBY Plans?

Which brings me back to RWBY. A lot of IDEAS of RWBY have been established from the very start, and even talked about in interviews by Monty himself. Monty wanted there to be organic romances, for the characters to mature over time together with the audience etc.

The thing is. A lot of these statements of intention are vague. They are vague ideas of what Monty WANTS to do with RWBY. But not specific ways.

We also know very well that a LOT of things in RWBY have changed heavily. Raven is a great example, because post V2 the writers straight up admitted that only Monty knew what he wanted to do with Raven, so they had to improvise and pretend that V2 post credits scene with Raven and Yang did not exist.

V9 for example was a Volume that was vaguelly planned before, a separate world to explore the characters. But besides that, its specifics have not been at all decided. Hell, even when this Volume was supposed to happen was not decided or planned at all beforehand. As admited by the writers themselves.

But many of this, we already know. We know that RWBY has been planned in vague directions and intentions with specifics being figured out, in some cases literally while the show was STILL airing.

That matters little however. Regardless if something is planned or not, what people care about is the quality of the work. Unless one is a RWBY fanatic that is.

Monty "Whispering"

In the most recent volumes, with more and more information of documentaries and writers thoughts coming out, and especially with advent of BB being confirmed. Many people started seeking out old clips, especially old clips of Monty to start and claim things.

Many of his vague or general statements started being treated as "CONFIRMATIONS" by Monty himself about how everything in V9 and other times has been "planned from the start".

Tweets like these became very common from pieces of shit that are Monty "Whisperers". One of the most famous one being the clip where i think its Barbara asking whether or not she can confirm a same sex romance and getting answered negatively by Kerry. Which would not be disgusting on its own, but for one thing, Monty was in that same video. And despite Monty saying NOTHING in that video, people started shouting from the rooftops "SEE! MONTY PLANNED IT FROM THE START" "MONTY CONFIRMED BB" and other such statements.

And its fucking disgusting.

And before V9, some of these people were the ones i activelly followed. But after V9, and seeing the criticism it received, they seemingly completely changed overnight and became as disgusting as the worst of the fanatics.

And this kind of behaviour is the most disgusting of all.

I have often said that using Monty to criticize the show or defend it, is disgusting. The man is dead. Let him rest. And yet, these people use his corpse as Nostradamus of the RWBY community. They look at his vague or general statements, and then apply them to SPECIFIC instances in the show to say that "LOOK, CONFIRMATION!".

And what else am i supposed to say besides it being disgusting?

I dont care about plans

I want to end with the simple statement. I do not care if RWBY has been planned or not. We know of instances where things have been vaguelly planned and where they were written literally when the show was still airing. We know that. None of that changes the quality of the writing.

What i DO care about is this recent phenomena of RWBY fanatics treating Monty as Nostradamus. Finding his old clips and then constantly applying his general/vague words for their own ends. Despite saying that they hate when people use Montys name in vain, these people do it most often, and in most disgusting of ways, directly not just invoking Monty but his words.

Remember when people gave shit to people who said "Monty said that team RWBY is a sisterhood!"? I do. And yet now these fanatics do the exact same shit, taking Montys general words and then applying it to their own ends. And then they feel self-righteous about it.

Fuck em.

And this is kind of the entire point of this thread. To point out this disgusting trend, trend from people i once considered to be normal fans. But it seems that such fans rarely last.

#rwby #rwde

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diejager · 2 years

Note

May I please ask for headcanons for yan Diluc with a darling who’s a hrydro catlusy user that fight like Katara form avatar

This took me a while, but voilà.

And thanks for the 500 followers!! I really appreciate everyone that's followed me so far!

Yandere Diluc

Tw: obsession, yandere behaviors, stalking.

Note : not proofread.

Wc: 788

Opposites attract. You, who wielded hydro like a ballet dancer and Diluc, who wielded pyro with his mastery of violence.

You two first met on his nightly patrol around the city. You were training under the full moon when the time was perfect for hydro to be more effective. He was walking by, observing the monsters near the lake when he saw you moving water at the water bed. You weren't simply using like Barbara or Mona, you were bending it to your will. Although it looked rough, your body flowed gracefully like waves crashing against each other.

It captivated him. You weren't deemed dangerous in any way, more of entertainment that Diluc could learn to watch. Your angelic move paired with the powerful aftermath of your attacks drew him deeper.

He swept it off as being interested in something new, the curiosity of the unknown. Yes, that's all there was to it. He would get bored and forget about it; he would forget about you.

Fate had a different idea though, he kept seeing you wherever he went: while working in his tavern, while taking a midnight stroll to ensure Mondstadt's safety, while conducting business around the city and while he hunted monsters.

He saw you the most at his tavern and outside the city, practicing with your catalyst and helping people around you. You did whatever favour they had with smiles and nods without asking anything in return. You did charity work similar to the likes of the traveller, but you were gentler with your approach than Paimon was. You shook hands and gave hugs too.

The same admiration he had for the traveller went to you, except, this one held much deeper sentiments. He valued people who did charity work without recognition like you. He also valued gentle and heart-warming people like you for their scarcity. His curiosity and admiration evolved into something deeper and darker.

You were constantly on his mind, he wondered what you did today, what you ate today, who would he be jealous of today from getting the smile from you, and what other amazing moves would he see from you today like the day before. His mind and soul permeated you, you became his drug like the water was to the earth.

He sneaked out more often to watch you practice than to protect the region. He wanted to see you dance and move the waves as if you were one with them. You were like a nymph that controlled water to its will without a single objection.

He pondered often, what if he got you a mentor, one that would teach you how to control hydro better. They have to be the same gender as you, of course. He might end up killing the person he paid if they ever got too close to you for his comfort, but you knew where the limit was. Strict and blunt to those that needed it, cruel and merciless to those that meant bad, etc.

You weren't a pushover, you weighted your options and thought through them with a clear mind. You didn't overuse your good heart, it was all in moderation unless they were the children or the elderly. He could understand you, very well actually.

You would hunt together, protect the city he loved so much as a power couple; as Mondstadt's power couple! Slaying slimes, hilichurls, mitachurls, anything and everything dangerous to Monds together.

You could bathe, eat, drink, sleep, work and spend time together. He knew what you liked. He knew what disliked. He knew what you did and what you would never do. He knew you would love living with him, love him for him and not his title or his fame.

Yes! Diluc could practically envision it! A life with you. It would work perfectly if it were with you, a romantic relationship would only work with you.

If... if only he could get his hands on you, it would be perfect. He would be able to do everything he envisioned if he succeeded if he made you fall in love with him. Diluc's a bright man, he was as smart as he was rich, so he'd find a way.

Whatever he had to do to get you, he would. He wanted your raw, natural talent for the hydro element and catalyst, for your heart that you showed proudly and for you.

He couldn't wait to watch you dance in the cold lake behind his home, watch you play and move water like a second limb.

Maybe one day, he'd join you while you trained during a full moon when the light reflected angelically on the surface and showed your beauty tenfold.

Truly - opposites attract.

#yandere x reader #x reader #yandere #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #diluc x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere diluc ragnvindr #yandere diluc x reader #yandere diluc #diluc ragnivindr x reader #genshin diluc #genshin impact diluc

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thisiswhereikeepdcthings · 1 year

Text

There's no "I" in Team but there are two in Migraine

Bruce had no issue with teamwork, despite what his children and colleagues might think. Teamwork was great. If done properly it was efficient, and it was good to have backup. Competent backup, at least.

Bruce helped found the Justice League. Obviously he was a supporter of teamwork.

However.

Some teams he really could have happily lived out his life without them ever existing.

He had a list.

One: Dick and Clark Kent

Clark had been the first hero he had introduced Dick to. It was a move he had regretted ever since.

He was glad the two of them got along, of course, but did they have to get along so well?

He could withstand torture but the two sets of sad puppy eyes attacking at the same time was on another level altogether.

Two: The Titans

Pros: Dick was making friends.

Cons: Dick was either away with his friends, or they came home with him. Really, all Bruce wanted was to spend one week without putting out any fires caused by teenage superheroes. Literal fires, not metaphorical ones. Well, actually there were plenty of those kind too.

Three: Dick and Jason

When Bruce first brought Jason home he wasn’t sure how Dick was going to react. And so maybe he panicked slightly and didn’t end up telling him for three weeks. In his defense, the voicemail he had left asking Dick to call him soon was left before the newspaper article came out.

Perhaps not his best moment.

Eventually, though, the two boys were introduced.

There was some yelling that took place, mostly directed at him, but other than that things seemed to go rather smoothly. Assuming, that is, that smoothly meant neither of them seemed to care about getting to know the other one, and mostly kept to themselves and their own activities.

And then, four months, two weeks, and five days after Jason first came to the manor, Bruce came home to discover the two of them had bonded over some unspoken activity that neither were willing to divulge. Alfred knew and didn’t disapprove so it couldn’t be that bad, but from then on out it was…well…

Bruce began the daily habit of checking his blood pressure.

Four: Talia al Ghul and Lois Lane

Bruce didn’t know how the two of them had met and he didn’t want to. See, Dick, he was okay with not knowing things. Sometimes. In this one instance, at least.

Five: Dick and Slade Wilson

Worst three weeks of his life.

Six: Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn

He was happy for them, he really was. He just wished they could be happy together somewhere less structurally damaging.

Seven: Jason and Harley Quinn

Explosion therapy was not a thing, despite both their arguments otherwise. They didn’t even give him a Joker effigy to blow up. They could have at least asked. He would have happily paid for that one and all the rest of them.

Eight: Tim and Barbara

He wasn’t that old. He knew how to use his computer.

Nine: Jason and Cassandra

Too competent. They should never have been allowed on the same team for any game ever. If he heard one more complaint from any of his other children he was going to seriously lose it.

And then there was that one time the two of them disappeared for a week and no one, not even himself or Clark, could find them. They had turned back up with grins and minimal injuries, and Bruce had tried to not investigate, he really had. But he needed to know, regardless of how much he regretted it later. (A lot. He regretted it a lot.)

Ten: Dick, Jason, and Constantine

Bruce hated magic.

Eleven: Jason, Diana, and Barry Allen

No one knew how or why the three of them had teamed up. It had been four months of secret meetings and pointed looks and minor heists that couldn’t technically be traced back to them but Bruce knew. And then there was the regular day-to-day hero-ing. Diana, he could understand. That’s what she did. Jason? Had always been vocally opposed to getting too involved with the Justice League, but had also always looked up to Diana, so maybe that was understandable? Allen? The man was retired. And he wasn’t suddenly out of retirement for some reason, no. He was just there to “lend a hand” to the other two.

At least Bruce could comfort himself in knowing Jason was spending time with two respectable individuals. It was certainly a step up from his unfortunately ongoing acquaintance with Rayner.

Twelve: Stephanie and Hal Jordan

They should never have been allowed to meet. It was a disaster. For Bruce.

Jason had been the one to introduce them, as he had proudly let Bruce know after the first breaking news cycle hit.

Thirteen: Duke and Damian

Bruce would have told Jason how thankful he was that he was acting as the moderating adult influence with those two if he didn’t think Jason would start doing the opposite out of spite.

Jason would make a great parent someday.

Bruce would love a six month vacation.

Fourteen: Alfred and Martha Kent

He didn’t really need to explain this one, right? Everyone could just move on, continue with their lives and so on and so forth.

Fifteen: Damian and Batcow

Because a boy needs a cow and a cow needs an emotional support duck, turkey, cat, dog, rabbit, goat, and raccoon. Apparently. Tim and Jason were, in Bruce’s opinion, far too enthusiastic to provide research as evidence whenever needed (or not needed, as was usually the case).

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papermoonloveslucy · 3 months

Text

LUCY & THE SWANS

BALL, CAPOTE & PALEY

The new FX series "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" depicts a world that Lucille Ball knew all too well - wealth, fame and celebrity. Although she does not inhabit the New York Society of Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Ann Woodward, C.Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness and others, she and her Desilu empire lie just outside of it - her influence on the era keenly felt.

Episode 1 of the teleplay ("Pilot") begins in 1958, and takes us to the executive boardroom of CBS in New York. There, Bill Paley (Treat Williams) holds forth, a photo of Lucy and Desi prominently hovering over his shoulder.

In this room, the Paley and the CBS brass made programming moves played out on a schedule board. The Monday 9pm time slot is occupied by "I Love Lucy", with a small photo of Lucy and Desi (the same one that hung on the wall) tucked into the title card - as if they needed reminding of who they were! The only slight faux pas is that "I Love Lucy" (as a half hour series) did not run in 1958. Its final episode aired in May 1957. It then became an hour-long celebrity-driven musical comedy hour under the banner of "The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse." Paley and CBS probably wanted Lucy and Desi for a 7th season, but Desi had other plans. He wouldn't kill the Ricardos (metaphorically) but relegate them to specials, interspersed with Desilu productions of new drama and comedy. It is possible that the action of "Feud" in this scene lies somewhere in that murky period between Desi's plans, and Paley's wishes for a seventh season of the half-hour format.

In actuality, during 1958, the 9pm Monday time slot was occupied by "The Danny Thomas Show" (filmed at Desilu) and "The Ann Sothern Show" (produced by Desilu). Monday also featured the Desilu Western "The Texan," making the only half hour of CBS's Monday primetime NOT created by Lucy and Desi "Father Knows Best."

Episode 6 ("Hats, Gloves, and Effete Homosexuals") set in 1978 includes a luncheon conversation at La Cote that mentions Lucille Ball and Lucie Arnaz. Truman's new boyfriend Rick (Vito Schnabel) is a handyman who once fixed Ball's air conditioner in Palm Springs.

Truman has promised to bring Rick to see They're Playing our Song on Broadway starring Lucie Arnaz. Rick says that he met little Lucie while she was swimming laps.

BILL & BABE PALEY

The power and influence of William S. Paley cannot be underestimated. He literally built CBS (the Columbia Broadcasting System) from a small radio station to a multi-media conglomerate, serving as Chairman for much of its existence. He shepherded CBS from radio to television, and was responsible for giving the green light to Lucille Ball making the transition from "My Favorite Husband" to "I Love Lucy," bringing her real-life husband along for the ride. Without Paley and Lucy, CBS would not have gotten a foothold in an industry dominated by the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).

Paley's second wife was socialite Barbara Cushing Mortimer, who he married the year before he met Lucille Ball. Mortimer is best known as Babe Paley, and she was Truman Capote's favorite of the Swans. In "Lucy's Barbershop Quartet" (1963), the group needs to find a replacement singer for the group and Viv suggests the unseen character of Barbara Cushing, who is a soloist in their church choir. Although Lucy, Viv, Thelma, and Dorothy were definitely not swans (more like Danfield Ducks) the writers were tipping their hat to the big boss's wife.

A few years later, in "Lucy Meets Danny Kaye" (1964), Kaye telephones Bill Paley to see if he has any spare tickets for his show to give fan Lucy. The best he can do is tickets to "The Jackie Gleason Show." Paley does not appear, nor do we hear his voice.

In real life, Paley and Ball were both in the first group of inductees to the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1984. Ball and Paley sat at the same table together at the ceremony.

In 1976, he joined those paying tribute to Lucy on "Lucy and CBS: The First 25 Years." Paley and his wife Babe had homes in Manhasset Long Island, and Squam New Hampshire, respectively known as Kiluna Farm South, and Kiluna Farm North, where they entertained a myriad of celebrities, Lucille Ball among them.

TRUMAN CAPOTE

On screen Lucille Ball had little to no interaction with writer Truman Capote. But in her personal life, Ball was guest at at least one of his lavish parties. Gary and Lucy's photo album included a photo of the Mortons at a December 13, 1975 party hosted by Capote, Allan Carr, and John O'Shea in Lincoln Heights, a wealthy neighborhood of Los Angeles. The 'mug shot' was part of a party game where guests were 'arrested' and forced to pay bail in order to get released. The money was usually donated to the host's favorite charity.

In July 1978, Capote joined Lucille Ball at Westbury Music Fair to see Lucie Arnaz perform in "Annie Get Your Gun".

Capote's one foray into acting was in Neil Simon's Murder By Death (1976), a camp comedy send-up of Agatha Christie-style murder mysteries where Capote played the eccentric host, Lionel Twain. The film featured a few stars with close connections to Lucille Ball.

Peter Sellars (Sidney Wang) starred in Will The Real Mr. Sellars...?, an oddball film from 1969 with a very brief cameo by Lucille Ball courtesy of hidden camera footage.

Elsa Lanchester (Jessica Marbles) famously guest-starred on "I Love Lucy" as a woman who may - or may not be - a hatchet murderess. In 1973, she appeared on "Here's Lucy" as kooky bank robber Mumsie Westcott.

Although screen writer Neil Simon never wrote for Lucille Ball, or even appeared on the same screen with her, they did share credits on two television shows. He was a staff writer on “The Garry Moore Show,” which Lucy appeared on in 1960. Simon and Ball were both featured on “Bob Hope’s World of Comedy” (1976), but were not onstage at the same time. It was Lucie Arnaz who worked closest with Simon. She starred on Broadway in They’re Playing Our Song (for which Simon wrote the libretto) in 1978. She then took over the role of Bela in Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play Lost in Yonkers in 1992.

MISC. SWANS

Vivian Vance doing an in-character commercial for Swan dish soap on "The Lucy Show." Swan was made by Lever Brothers, and was discontinued in 1974.

SWAN SONGS

LUCY: "Would you begrudge an expectant swan her song?" RICKY: "You seem to forget that this particular swan has no talent." ~ Lucy's Show Biz Swan Song (1952)

LUCY: “It’s time for that swan to hit the come-back trail.” FRED: “That swan’s got a little ham in it.” ~ The Indian Show (1953)

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wandering-words · 1 year

Note

Hello! I love your writing! Would it be possible to ask for 3 and 13, maybe?? Avanine, please! Thank you!

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoy my writing! Sorry this prompt fill took longer than usual to fulfill, I just wanted to wait until “Mom” was out to make it perfect :)

3 - forehead kisses & 13 - family

As much as Ava pretended not to listen to anything Janine said, she knew what Janine’s relationship with her mom was like. She knew that Janine’s mom was careless, neglectful, and didn't respond to Janine’s constant calls or texts. She also knew that Janine still loved her and chased her for affection despite her misgivings, which made Ava feel something in her stomach that she couldn’t identify.

All of the pieces came together when Ava recognized Janine’s mom, Vanetta. She’d never asked the woman’s last name, just knew that Vanetta knew how to work a club more than anyone else.

Sometimes even more than Ava.

Because while Ava knew how to work a crowd, she was careful about what she revealed about herself, if anything. She danced on whoever she wanted, but she was quick to leave and not make it too personal.

When they danced on tables together, Vanetta was always the person to take a customer to one of the club’s back rooms while Ava would reject any advances made her way, slip an unassuming wrap around her shoulders, and exit the club quietly and quickly.

It was painfully ironic that Vanetta was Janine’s parent, being so neglectful of her own child while being so mindful of strangers and the money in their pockets.

Ava might be able to beat Vanetta in a fight, or at least she would get brutally hurt trying, but she didn’t want to cause a scene. Not when Barbara was so poised, her posture perfectly straight and her voice calm and soothing as it always was. This was a better fight for Barbara to fight, using her words and calm sensibility.

It was only when Ava saw Vanetta waltzing out of the school, her glossed lips pursed into a thin line and her absent brown eyes trained on the exit, that Ava felt a white hot rush of anger sweep through her.

Vanetta gave Janine so much shit, and it hurt Ava to see Janine look so downcast, her eyes watering as if she were about to cry with every mindless quip Vanetta threw her way.

Only Ava could talk to Janine like that, dammit. And it wasn’t so personal from the principal, either, it was always a dig about something shallow, like Janine being uncool or her height, and it wasn’t like Janine cared about Ava’s opinion anyway.

But she actually cared about Vanetta. Wanted to try to have some semblance of a proper mother-daughter relationship, one that was based on love and respect and support.

Janine was nowhere to be found, so this could stay between them, anyway.

“Vanetta,” Ava ground out, and Vanetta turned to Ava with a sharp glare.

“What do you want? If you’re going to cross any boundaries like that Howard woman, then I don’t want to hear it.” Her fingers were splayed on her hips, and she looked at Ava with a glare so intense that Ava almost backed down.

“Look, I don’t want a fight,” Ava said, throwing her hands up, “but the insults? She actually cares about what you think.”

Vanetta scoffed. “What insults?” Her accented voice, which already lilted higher with some words, seemed almost shrill. “She’s the daughter I’m actually proud of!”

“You’re only proud of her because she gives you money.” The words slipped out before Ava could stop them, and at Vanetta’s shocked expression, one that quickly morphed into a sharp glare, Ava knew she’d gone too far.

“That is none of your business!” Vanetta shrieked.

Kids were still trickling out, looking at the two of them with wide eyes, and then Vanetta looked her up and down, kissing her teeth.

“I would beat your ass if the kids weren’t still here,” Vanetta muttered, quietly so only Ava could hear, gritting her teeth, and Ava shrugged, pretending like the words didn’t affect her.

(She claimed in her head that she could beat Vanetta in a fight. She claimed the contrary for the cameras, just so that she had an excuse to leave after throwing a petty insult towards Janine, but if given the chance, then maybe she could if Vanetta wasn’t wearing those sharp green acrylics.

But the woman wasn’t worth her time or energy. And Ava was pretty sure, deep down, that she couldn’t actually take her.)

Then she turned and left the building, turning to give Ava one last threatening glance as if she’d hunt the principal down herself just to get back at her, before slamming the doors behind her.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

It was Janine, and when Ava turned around, not expecting to hear the shorter woman’s quiet voice, Ava deflated just slightly.

When she noticed the camera crew packing up, the cameras too disassembled to be put together fast enough to catch their interactions, Ava deflated just a bit more.

“Look, I recognize her from the club. If she can take enough time to care about that, she should take the time to care for you, too.”

Ava didn’t like to be sincere like this, but with no camera evidence and Janine looking so small and unsure, the words just… slipped out.

Janine just looked bashful, a wide smile creeping up on her face, but she looked down at her feet, as if by looking at her shoes Ava couldn’t see the pure joy emanating from her face.

(Maybe Janine actually cared about what Ava thought.)

At this point, the hallway was empty. Most of the staff had headed home, and the only sound that Ava could consciously process was the clacking of her heels against the reflective beige floors as she got closer to Janine.

Janine looked up at Ava with wide, fearful eyes, but Ava didn’t want to fight her, not really. Usually Ava would take an opportunity like this to throw a shallow insult Janine’s way, but the thought of doing that in this moment, a moment charged with an electricity Ava didn’t want to couldn’t process, she didn’t.

Instead, she did something even more horrifying and embarrassing.

Before Ava could fully process the implications of her actions and what they meant for the currently charged dynamic between them, Ava was cradling Janine’s cheeks and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

A kiss that told her that she was there, that she supported her, that she was in Janine’s corner whether she acted like it or not.

Janine’s smile grew even bigger, and the shorter woman’s arms were wrapped around Ava’s neck before Ava could step away.

“Thank you,” Janine murmured into her shoulder, and Ava knew what she was thanking her for.

Not for the confrontation, because Janine handled Vanetta quite well on her own, but for the acknowledgement that Ava didn’t hate her, and that she was, in fact, on Janine’s side. That she was rooting for her.

And that was enough for both of them.

#abbott elementary #avanine #ava x janine #ava coleman #janine teagues #vanetta teagues #no one has been writing about vanetta yet #so I'm changing that

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andipxndy-writes · 11 months

Text

crushes

fandom: abbott elementary warnings: none requested by: @nyx101sthings word count: 6.7k

cross-posted to ao3

summary: Let's be honest: Gregory's crush on Janine was obvious to everyone. Or, rather, almost everyone. But that didn't mean they were all going to talk to him about it. No, instead they were just going to sit back and watch, maybe get some popcorn, act as though they didn't know a thing when almost all of them were also aware of Janine reciprocating the crush and neither of them realising. The one person who didn't know? Well, he's obviously determined to get them together. In other words: how the teachers at Abbott realised that Gregory and Janine liked each other.

crushes

1: Melissa

Melissa first noticed Gregory’s looks a month into his first year there. Sure, he was only a sub, covering for someone who wasn’t there, but the way he was looking at Janine made her think that he was going to be there a lot longer than just the year.

Of course, she wasn’t the type to voice her suspicions, considering that sort of gossip was the sort of thing that could absolutely embarrass a teacher and make the rest of their career absolute hell—

Oh who was she kidding.

“So what’s up with the lovesick puppy?” she asked as she sat down next to Barbara. The two were on their lunch break in the staff kitchen and, for some reason, there were no other teachers in there. Not that they were complaining. They were likely all on lunch duties or going out for lunch or something like that.

Barbara looked up from her sandwich at Melissa’s question, raising an eyebrow at her. “Lovesick puppy?”

“Yeah, you know.” The redhead unwrapped her sandwich as she spoke, not once taking her eyes off her co-worker and best friend. “That boy can’t keep his eyes off Janine whenever she’s around. Like he’s never seen anyone that small, but he actually likes it.”

“Well, considering the young man’s height, it may very well be the case that he’s used to being around tall people anyway,” Barbara pointed out, and Melissa scoffed.

“We’re all used to being around taller people in general,” she pointed out. At Barbara’s raised eyebrow, she corrected herself: “Taller adults. But that doesn’t mean we stare at Janine all day wondering how she could be so small.”

“We’ve had two years to get used to it.”

“There is something up with that kid,” Melissa insisted. “He just… he stares at her. Like he can’t stop staring at her. It’s so—”

“Weird?” Barbara offered, and Melissa knew that the woman was probably hoping to stop her from saying anything else.

She wasn’t going to give her that luxury.

“—freaky.” She ignored the way Barbara rolled her eyes at her. “I’m serious! He just always stares at her, like there’s nothing else he’d rather be looking at! It’s concerning! He might walk into a door or something.” Which would be more entertaining than concerning for Melissa, if she was being honest, but she still had to show that she cared at least a little bit for the other teachers. Or she would look like a real bitch.

And she was only a bit of a bitch.

Barbara’s lack of response simply told Melissa that her work bestie was thinking the exact same thing, but she believed she had the decency to not say it out loud. Or, at least, that she liked Gregory enough to not go around saying those kinds of things.

Such a godly woman.

“Come on, you can’t seriously be telling me that you don’t find this whole staring thing as creepy as I do.”

“Well.” Melissa raised her eyebrows at Barbara. The other woman was clearly considering her words carefully. Which only made Melissa want to laugh, really, because there wasn’t any way that you could consider your words carefully in this situation without sounding like you were calling Gregory a creep. Not in her opinion (and she knew that her opinion was right).

“Well, what?”

“Is it really that bad to have a man admiring you? Not that I can really see what Gregory admires so much in Janine,” Barbara added on quickly, only for Melissa to hold her hand up to stop her.

The redhead knew that was an outright lie coming out of the kindergarten teacher’s mouth. “Come on, you know the kid’s at least attempting to be good at her job despite her shortcomings.”

“If that was meant to be a pun,” Barbara let the empty threat hang, making Melissa laugh. “Regardless, if it isn’t harming anyone for him to do a bit of admiring—”

“Sure, sure, as long as it isn’t interfering with his job.” Melissa waved off the argument. She supposed Barbara had a good point. If it wasn’t getting in the way of him doing his job, and if it didn’t get in the way of Janine doing her job either, then there wasn’t any point bringing it up as an issue.

——

Melissa noticing that Janine had a crush on Gregory took longer than it should have for her, admittedly, but she wasn’t surprised by it in the slightest. Considering how long she’d been with that tool, Tariq, Melissa got the feeling that any piece of decent meat would be good enough for her.

Gregory, though? The guy was nice, but Janine had to have better standards.

The only thing that Melissa would commend her on was not being obvious about it as the guy who was so obviously crushing on her — Melissa didn’t know whether the young woman knew it yet, considering how dense Janine could be, but if she did know then she was setting good boundaries and standards. And if she didn’t know, well. Then Gregory had to open his big mouth and say something.

“That little knock thing they do is kind of cute,” she commented to Barbara over a little girlfriend coffee date. Her coffee mug steamed in her hands as she glanced out of the window, as though she could see Janine and Gregory walking past right then. Except she couldn’t because neither of them would come to this side of Philly on a weekend unless they’d planned to meet up with someone, and as far as she knew their dating lives were either uneventful or not the type to come down this way.

(Not that she was complaining about that — those bubbly upstarts could leave this side of Philly for the rest of them.)

Barbara raised a single eyebrow as she sipping on her cup of tea, watching Melissa. “Knocking thing?”

“Yeah, knocking thing.” Melissa rapped on the table as if to demonstrate. “Becomes a bit of a pain in the ass when you realise they’re using it to ask each other for conversations during class hours.”

That was what made Barbara roll her eyes. “During class hours?”

“Yeah.” Melissa watched her friend carefully, recognising that steely look in her eye. The look of a mother who wanted to tell off her child. “Barb, don’t. Don’t interfere with that little cutesy thing they’ve got going on. It’ll either blossom or fade.”

“They’re asking each other for conversations during class hours.”

“Blossom, or fade.”

The repeated phrase was enough to get Barbara to deflate a little, and she sighed into her tea. “Fine.” She took a sip of her hot beverage. “Let’s hope they pick one soon.”

For the safe of their classroom wall, Melissa hoped for the same thing.

***

2: Barbara

Contrary to what she’d told Melissa, Barbara had noticed Gregory’s affection for Janine within two weeks of him being at the school.

It wasn’t like he was hiding the whole thing. He probably thought he was doing a whole lot better at it than he actually was, but Barbara absolutely knew that the man looked and acted like a lovesick puppy.

That sort of thing was hard to hide from onlookers. (Particularly when some of those onlookers were camera crew specifically paid to watch every hour of their working days — she hadn’t seen the footage yet, and doubted that she would see it anytime soon, but she got the feeling that the majority of those longing looks that Gregory was sending Janine’s way were being caught on camera.) It was sweet, though, if Barbara was being honest. It reminded her of her younger days, when men had tried to date her (or rather, court her) and she’d turned them down but had still received those longing looks. Longing looks that remained even after she’d got married.

That sort of thing had been unavoidable when she was younger. When people had found her undeniably attractive, a brand-new teacher ready to take on the education system and make the world a better place through the nation’s children.

Looking at Janine, she idly wondered whether it was the optimism for improving the educational system that had made her attractive all those years ago.

Instead of trying to gossip about it, though (like she knew certain teachers would), she decided it would be better to let the whole thing run its course. After all, as with most of the men that had crushed on her in the past, it would most likely fade over time.

She could definitely pinpoint the first moment she’d noticed it, though. Heading to Janine’s class to ask her for something (she’d borrowed a pen from her that morning, and Barbara wanted it back), she’d almost bumped into Gregory standing in the corridor. He was standing there to make sure his kids were walking into the classroom properly, of course, but his eyes weren’t focused on the kids. Barbara could easily see that his eyes weren’t focused on the kids.

No, they were focused on the young teacher with her back to him, who was guiding her own kids into her classroom.

Barbara decided to wait for a few moments to see if he would notice that there was someone else there, before clearing her throat. The way he jumped and turned quickly to her was entertaining to a couple of the kids until Barbara glared at them.

“I would advise that you keep an eye on your children instead of watching how other teachers do it, Mr. Eddie,” she chided lightly, hoping that she sounded more like she was offering advice than telling him off. “Some of these kids know how to make you… work for your money.”

He stared at her for a few moments, before nodding. Not even an appreciative smile on his face. “Of course. Thank you for the suggestion, Mrs. Howard.”

She continued to watch him for a few moments, to see if he would follow her advice straight away, but he was still staring at her, so she nodded. Like she was finishing the conversation. “Fantastic. Now, if you’d just let me past? I need to speak with Miss Teagues.”

“Oh!” Gregory quickly moved to the side, forcing the last of his kids to walk in a wider circle around him to get into the classroom so that Barbara could pass. “Of course. I apologise, Mrs. Howard.”

“It’s no problem at all.” She gave him one last smile before passing him, giving one of his kids a high-five as they passed her before heading over to Janine. Even as she walked over, she was very sure that she could feel Gregory’s lingering gaze on herself and the younger teacher before he followed his kids into his classroom and started the lesson.

That boy really had to practice getting better at hiding his feelings.

——

What took her longer to notice was the fact that the feelings weren’t exactly a one-way thing. No, they were reciprocated.

“Are you still with that boy?” she asked, and she knew that the expression on her face was some sort of mix between disgust and surprise. She also knew that Janine’s reaction to her comment was a very poorly veiled offense that she quickly tried to cover up with laughter.

“Who, Tariq?” the younger teacher laughed, scratching her arm (a nervous habit, Barbara had noticed) as she glanced away. “No, no. I, uh… we split up.” She gave half a shrug. “We thought it would be, you know, better if we went our separate ways. He had his path in life, I have mine.”

Barbara wasn’t exactly convinced that Janine was so sure about that herself, but she nodded anyway, offering the young woman what she hoped was a comforting smile. “Of course. Everyone has their own path in life, and that means that someone you may have known for a specific period in your life needs to leave. Not everyone needs to be in your life all the time.”

“Of course, I know that.” Janine was still laughing a bit, and it sounded more forced now, like she was trying to convince herself more than Barbara. “But I’ll be fine! Really. I just need a bit of time to adjust to paying the rent, and I’ll be perfectly okay.”

Barbara wasn’t sure what to think about the language that Janine was using, but if it was the sort of language that convinced her that things were going to be okay — if this sort of positivity was what was helping her through this breakup, then she wasn’t going to tell her to stop using it. God knew that she didn’t need the girl being all negative on her anytime soon.

Before she could say anything, though, she spotted Gregory coming out of his classroom from where she and Janine were standing outside the second grade classrooms. The man was very clearly getting ready to leave, briefcase in hand and coat on as though he was completely done for the day and ready to go. But the interesting part wasn’t even Gregory coming out of his classroom and getting ready to go.

It was the way Janine watched him as he left the classroom, her eyes focused on him. It was the way her hand moved from scratching her arm to gently playing with her necklace, the way she ever so slightly bit her lip as she stared at him. It was the way her lips curved up the slightest bit, as though she wanted to smile, but didn’t know what exactly she was smiling at, so decided against it. It was the way she watched him keenly, as though she was waiting for him to turn around and talk to her.

It was the same way Barbara had watched Melissa stare at Gary when he’d first started coming in and sorting out the vending machine for them. It was the same way that she’d seen her daughter stare at Gregory the first couple of times that she’d seen him.

It was the same way her sister had described her looking at her husband when they’d first met.

She barely hid the smirk that threatened to grow on her face when Gregory turned towards them, and Janine’s face lit up.

“Hey, Janine, you good?”

“Yeah!”

“Your car still in the shop?”

Barbara’s eyebrows rose as she looked at Janine. “Your car’s in the shop?”

“Yeah, it’s in the shop.” Barbara didn’t know whether Janine had intended to ignore her or not, but she had.

“You want a ride home?”

Barbara could practically see the blush on Janine’s face. “Sure! Let me just grab my stuff.” That was the point at which Janine seemed to realise that Barbara was still there, and the smile she gave her this time was ten times more realistic than the forced laugh from earlier. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Howard!”

Barbara simply watched Janine rush in and grab her stuff, and then glanced at Gregory. Gregory, who smiled awkwardly at Barbara, as though he felt as if he knew that she knew he was crushing on the woman getting her stuff ready. She simply chuckled as she popped her head into Janine’s classroom.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Janine,” she said, before turning to walk back to her classroom. “You too, Gregory.”

Even as she walked back to her classroom, though, she shook her head.

If those two were as oblivious as they were behaving, then this whole crushing thing they had for each other was going to be their entertainment for the rest of the academic year.

***

3: Ava

Gregory’s crush on Janine was obvious. Too obvious. Ava was pretty sure she’d spotted it super early on, but she also knew that she couldn’t let on that she knew about it. Because as fine as that man was, he also had a sense of pride and she wasn’t going to hurt that.

No, no, a man with a wounded pride simply made him less attractive. She had to keep the one good looking man on her staff as attractive as possible.

Still, the looks were pretty obvious. Aside from the fact that almost everything was on camera (and she got access to that footage, mostly to make sure they caught shots of her good side), that man spent way too many working hours staring at the shortest teacher in the school. And that was a long way down to look, in Ava’s opinion. (She was much closer to his height and probably better looking, too.)

All jokes (and shade) aside, Ava didn’t realise all his staring was because he actually liked Janine until she spotted the way he hung out around her after school. Like some sort of cute little lost puppy looking for someone to give him a good cuddle. In fact, from the look on his face, Ava was very much tempted to head straight over to him and offer him those cuddles (knowing full well that the offer would make him uncomfortable but would also stop him from feeling so lost), but then she realised that he wasn’t just staring into space. He was staring at someone.

She slowly turned, following the direction of his gaze, and almost choked.

Like yeah, sure, he was standing near the door to Janine’s classroom and watching her help a kid out in getting their coat on before they ran out to find their parent or whatever, but what about that warranted staring for hours when you could be doing literally anything else?

Still, she had to admit, whilst him standing there was a little creepy… it was a little funny. Cute. Interesting, even. She didn’t get why a guy like him would stoop down to Janine’s level—

“What’s up, hot stuff?”

The way he jumped and turned to face her was entertaining. The look of shock on his face was pure gold. The way he wasn’t immediately fawning over her was a little disappointing but they could work on that. She had other people who did that already anyway.

“Ava.” She ignored how he still didn’t refer to her as Principal Coleman when he wasn’t around any of the other students — so whenever he didn’t have to. Which was valid. It meant that she could relax around him, right?

“Mr. Eddie,” she greeted with a grin on her face. She shifted to lean on the wall beside the doorway to Janine’s classroom, so that Gregory had no choice but to look at her if he also wanted to look at Janine. Just so that she could feel as though he was paying some sort of attention to her. “Your class all gone? What are you still doing here? You could be going out, taking a lucky lady out on a date.” She flipped her hair. “I could even be that date. You wanna take me out on a date?”

Gregory cleared his throat, folding his hands together behind his back. “I don’t really think that’s appropriate, actually.”

She just grinned at him. “Oh that’s fine. I’ll just ask you again when we get out the main doors. It’ll be appropriate then, right?”

“Hey, Gregory.”

Of course, at that moment, Janine thought it would be a very smart idea to interrupt the conversation — her kid had left through the other door, and she’d grabbed her things to get ready to head home (or to the staff room to grab her stuff before heading home, Ava didn’t really know what her leaving routine was but that was likely because she had a tendency to ignore it). When the tiny woman noticed that Ava was also there, she gave her an equally bright smile — one that made Ava want to roll her eyes at least a little bit.

“Hi, Ava!” Her brows furrowed a little in concern. “Did you need to speak to me about something? Should I go and put my stuff down? Are you calling an impromptu meeting or something—”

“No.” Ava scoffed. “Hell no. I have plans. Sales to make, people to see. Important stuff. Nothing to do with you.” She waved her hand around casually, gesturing vaguely to Janine (no matter how vague she tried to make it, it was obvious that it was aimed at Janine anyway). “I just want to make sure you actually leave the building. Don’t need any squatters.” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she saw the look of irritation flash across Janine’s face, but before the smaller woman could say anything (and before Ava could think about trying to apologise), the principal turned towards Gregory and shot him a sweet smile. “Good night Gregory. Make sure you get home safe. I want to see that gorgeous ass in the morning.”

She knew for a fact that he was staring with some sort of horrified look into one of the many cameras scattered around the school, but she didn’t care. Because she also knew that those two would probably stand there chatting for hours if they had it their way, and she’d warned them about leaving the school. Glancing over her shoulder, she almost smirked at the way Gregory had physically relaxed around Janine, hands in his pockets as they chatted.

Hmm. She’d have to ask Gregory how long they hung around for tomorrow. Couldn’t have teachers loitering around the school after everyone else has left. That was her job.

——

Realising that Janine liked Gregory back was easy. Stupidly so, in Ava’s mind. That woman was about as bad at hiding her feelings for the incredibly sexy tall man as she was at reaching things on high shelves.

Like, sure, maybe it wasn’t the totally obvious staring that Gregory did when he thought the cameras weren’t watching him, but that tiny woman gravitated like the moon to a planet. With emphasis on moon to planet because moons were small and planets were large… right? (See, Ava did learn something at school.)

If Ava was being honest though, at first she thought that Janine was doing that incredibly annoying thing of picking a person and sticking to them like glue until they either befriended her or got annoyed with her. She’d watched her attempt to do it with Barbara, Melissa, and that whole slew of new teachers she started teaching at Abbott with. (Jacob was the only one who seemed to go along with her stupid method of making friends, which made a lot of sense to Ava. Weirdos attracting weirdos and all that.)

It was when she realised that the two of them talked just as much alone as they did around the other teachers that she realised something was up. Yeah, yeah, she’d always seen the chemistry between them that was there before and all that, but talking? Alone? Janine cornered people, but that look on her face when she was talking alone with Gregory was a different sort of look.

It was the same look that Iggy gave her when he thought she wasn’t really paying attention to his expressions during a conversation. Which at first she’d thought was creepy, but then she realised it was cute because he was paying attention to her and she definitely appreciated having someone paying attention to her at all times.

But it was the look of someone who believed that the person they were talking to way important, and Janine very clearly thought that Gregory was important. Important enough to have conversations with alone instead of with the group, and long conversations at that.

Of course, when she mentioned this in passing to Iggy, he told her that she was probably reading too much into it. Like her snooping wasn’t the sort of thing to get the right results. Except Ava knew she was brilliant at snooping and retrieving the right information and she knew for a fact that something was up with Janine.

Her suspicions, of course, were only confirmed when she overheard Melissa and Barbara talking about it in the staff room one lunch time, when Gregory and Janine were out on lunch duty. She paused in making her coffee to overhear the conversation.

“Are they still doing the knocking thing?”

“Yeah, I can see them doing it from across the corridor.”

“…Don’t you think it’s getting disruptive now?”

“If it was disruptive, it would’ve been disruptive from the moment they started doing it.”

“So are you saying it’s not disruptive?”

“I’m just saying that it’s… well, it’s them being them about it.”

“Flirty?”

“Those two don’t know how to flirt.”

“So you two have noticed the little looks and talks between those two as well?” Ava suddenly asked, turning around to face them with her coffee in one hand and the sugar in another. “It’s about time! I thought I was the only one!” She put the sugar down as she made herself welcome at their table, ignoring the way the two women stared at her. “That man’s been staring at her like he was thirsty from the moment he arrived in this building, and her? That girl wants to glue herself to him like her life depends on it.” She grinned at the two women. “I knew I couldn’t be the only person who noticed.”

Barbara and Melissa glanced between each other, almost as though they were having a silent conversation, before Melissa slowly leaned closer to Ava.

“What else have you seen?”

Ava could not deny that her eyes practically lit up when she heard those words. Now was her chance to spill.

***

4: Mr. Johnson

Mr. Johnson prided himself on being the person who knew anything and everything around the school. Sure, he knew that all those teachers gossiped and spread news and couldn’t keep secrets between them, but he saw everything happen first-hand. He had eyes and ears everywhere. He knew what was going on.

He also knew that the other teachers knew this, so he suspected that was why they tried so hard to gossip amongst each other first so that they didn’t feel like he was spying on them. He was fine with that. He let them believe that he didn’t know everything first. He was willing to let them fall into that false sense of security.

He knew that there was something about Gregory liking Janine before they ended up sitting by the computer screen trying to catch the deskers. Sure, it had been a lot more interesting seeing Gregory’s reaction to Janine up close, watching that young man’s eyes glue to her on the screen like a man seeing an angel. But the way he looked at her from afar? The way that man watched her? That was too obvious.

Pinpointing the exact moment he realised that man was fawning over Miss Teagues was difficult, though, because it was more like you didn’t know and then you knew. At least, that was the way it was in Mr. Johnson’s mind. One day, he had no idea — he just walked around, pretending he was minding his own business whilst snooping on all the teachers and kids, and the next day he just knew that Gregory liked Janine. He knew there was something about her that he was obsessed with. He knew there was something about her that meant Gregory couldn’t take his eyes off her when she was in the room.

Of course, it then became Mr. Johnson’s mission to figure out exactly what it was that made Gregory tick. What made him like Janine? What made him pick Janine over any of the other female teachers? What were that young man’s turn ons and turn offs? It was like his own personal research project, and the results? They were just for him. Like his own personal private research project.

Snooping on the other teachers didn’t exactly help him to figure it out.

What it did help him to figure out, though, was how bad Gregory was at hiding his little crush on Miss Teagues. Staring at a woman for hours on end because you liked her was not the way to go, but clearly Mr. Eddie hadn’t worked that out yet.

The day he realised exactly what it was that made Janine stand out from the rest, he was mopping the end of the corridor. A couple of the kids had stayed behind after school because their parents couldn’t come and pick them up, but he couldn’t wait for everyone to leave before starting on his cleaning, or he’d be there until the morning. That was why he started at the very end of the corridor, beginning his mopping with his Beats headphones covering his ears. But not even LL Cool J could distract him from what was going on at the other end of the first floor corridor.

Gregory was, as usual, standing outside of his classroom and doing his usual staring. Borderline creepy, but he had a soft smile on his face so it seemed a little less so. There was a camera on him, of course.

But his eyes were drawn to the young woman standing across the corridor from Gregory, knelt in front of a child as she helped them to sort out their coat zipper. The way she was talking to them and smiling at them, even though Mr. Johnson couldn’t hear what they were saying he had an idea of what was going on. Something about that zipper being difficult to sort out, so it’s not their fault that they couldn’t do it up, or something like that. Or maybe she was showing them how to do their zipper so that they could do it next time.

Either way, whatever she was doing or saying was enough to have that young man’s eyes glued to her. Which was more than a little interesting.

And then, suddenly, she was done. The zipper on the coat was up, and the kid was grinning at her with that huge gap in their teeth, probably from a tooth they’d lost or something. Maybe one of the other kids had even punched it out. But the little gap-toothed angel bid his teacher farewell before running off down the corridor, massive backpack on their back bouncing along with them as they headed in the direction Mr. Johnson assumed their parent would be.

The moment he focused on the teachers again, he watched as Gregory quickly looked away when Janine turned towards him, as though he hadn’t been staring the whole time, and smirked to himself, continuing to mop.

That boy was head over heels for her.

——

You would think that, after figuring out that Mr. Eddie had a crush on Miss Teagues, observing the opposite would be the same. And in the case of Mr. Johnson, you would be right.

Maybe she wasn’t as obvious about it as Mr. Eddie was, but he could still see it. He could still see the way she tended to linger around him and talk to him more than with other teacher. She smiled more when she talked to him. She always found a way to sit next to him in meetings, and he didn’t get annoyed like the other teachers.

She even forfeited sitting next to Jacob for some of those meetings.

The moment he first noticed it, though? He was in one of the school’s many rooms, looking out of the window across the school parking lot. He watched as Janine arrived in her car, the tiny teacher’s vehicle recognisable in the parking lot as the only one that regularly needed work done on it. Like she couldn’t afford to go to a garage or something. The body looked good today, but the exhaust? Sounded bad.

But then she didn’t get out of her car. Mr. Johnson stood at the window, watching her, waiting for her to just… get out of her vehicle and come inside. Like the usually did. All peppy and excited about her teaching day, irritating the rest of them with her positivity at that time of the morning without coffee. But she was sitting in her car, not moving. Maybe even waiting for something.

That was when he realised that she was waiting for someone.

And the only reason he realised that was because a couple of cars down, a certain Mr. Eddie parked his car. Obviously it was a smoother ride than hers, and his exhaust definitely didn’t sound like shit, but as soon as his engine turned off and his car door opened, Janine’s car door also opened. And she was climbing out at the same time as him. And she was smiling brightly at him.

Mr. Johnson didn’t need to have the windows open to know the conversation they were having. He just watched the two of them with a smirk as Janine closed and locked her car, before heading over to him, still chatting and smiling brightly. He shook his head a little as the two of them spoke for a bit, before heading towards the school building together.

There was no way in hell that those two could be less subtle about their crushes on each other. But waiting in that car for him to arrive before walking into the building with him? That was dedication. And a dedicated woman was a strong candidate for a good partner, if Mr. Johnson did say so himself.

He watched them as they walked towards the main entrance, nudging each other playfully and laughing. Like they were more than colleagues.

More than friends.

“Those two couldn’t be more oblivious if they tried,” he muttered, shaking his head with a smile.

“Mr. Johnson?” Ava’s voice came from the door to the room, but he didn’t bother looking over at her. “What are you doing? The ground floor toilets need cleaning before the tiny menaces come in and wreck them.”

He wanted to sigh, but Ava had a point. Those kids sure knew how to wreck a toilet.

“Just keeping an eye on the lovebirds,” he commented casually as he moved to head out of the room, pulling his mop along beside him. “Someone’s gotta make sure those two are keeping that little game they play interesting.”

He didn’t say much else as he headed out of the room, but he knew that Ava headed over to the window to see what he was talking about.

He also knew that Ava already knew about Gregory (that much was obvious), and probably also knew about Janine as well. And he knew that he didn’t need to wait around for any comments that she was going to make about them to the open air.

He’d probably overhead everything again later, during lunch time in the staff room. Those women could spread some juicy gossip when Janine and Gregory weren’t there.

***

5: Jacob

Jacob was oblivious. To everything. That was what he realised when he found out that Gregory liked Janine.

He was oblivious to his own friend liking his work bestie.

He wanted to claim that it wasn’t obvious. After all, it wasn’t as though Gregory had told him that he liked Janine in that way, and everyone had a habit of staring at Janine. Granted, most people only stared when she was saying or doing something that was kind of stupid, but Gregory’s staring wasn’t out of place. He was looking at Janine for good reason most of the time that Jacob noticed. Like, a good, valid reason that was relevant to the situation that they were in.

And Gregory never seemed to stare when Janine wasn’t talking about something important or valid.

Besides, he was a good teacher. Whenever Jacob hung around them both, he didn’t feel ignored by either of them. Gregory let him be his friend, and they talked. He was a good guy.

In other words, there was no way that Jacob would’ve been able to tell that Gregory had a crush on Janine until he’d been told outright.

And apparently every other teacher knew about this whole crush situation, meaning that he was the last person to know. He’d been left in the dark.

Clearly.

When Gregory told him, though, things started to make sense. They all shared the same staff room and parked in the same car park, but somehow Janine and Gregory walked into the building together every day. They all sat at the same table, but Janine always offered Gregory food first, and Gregory always gravitated towards talking to Janine over anyone else.

Of course, that led to his next discovery.

Janine liked Gregory too.

“Why doesn’t anyone tell me any of these things?” Jacob demanded, looking between all of the other teachers in the room. And by all of the other teachers, he meant Barbara, Melissa, and Ava. “You all knew that he has a crush on her, and that she has a crush on him! And no one thought to tell me?”

“We thought you knew!” Melissa argued back. “It was pretty damn obvious! Those two ogle all over each other and have their own little… knocking thing they do to talk to each other during classes.”

“They talk to each other during classes?” Jacob looked like he was about to cry because of a major case of FOMO. “Neither of them talk to me!”

“You’re on a different floor,” Barbara pointed out. “What are they going to do, climb the stairs to have a conversation?”

Jacob’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he really thought through what he had said. Huh. She had a point there. Even as he watched Ava literally pour have a tub of sugar into her coffee, he realised that there was no way he could ask for his friends downstairs to come up and talk to him when they had whole classes to keep an eye on.

But Gregory and Janine liking each other?

“We need to get them to start dating.”

“Absolutely not,” Barbara cut in, stopping Jacob in his tracks, at the same time that Melissa said, “Those two would be absolutely unbearable together.”

“If those two are going to get together, it needs to happen naturally and without us interfering, or it could go terribly wrong,” Barbara pointed out patiently. “We need to let them figure it out themselves. Besides, this has been a big growing year for Janine, and we don’t want to interfere with that by taking over her love life.”

“Plus, I can’t just have two teachers start dating because y’all start shipping them or whatever,” Ava commented casually, sipping on her coffee. “If they date, it’s not going to start on my premises. Can you imagine the kinds of things the parents will say about me if I let two teachers start dating? I’d rather they think they’re doing it behind my back when I actually know what’s going on.”

Jacob looked between the three of them incredulously, his brows furrowed. “You’re just going to… let this go? You’re not going to help them out?” he asked slowly.

“Absolutely not.” Melissa pointed her finger in his face. “And we forbid you from helping them out too.”

“Let it grow organically,” Barbara encouraged. “It’ll be much healthier for them both. Trust us.”

Jacob looked between the three women. Two of them were significantly easier to trust than the third, admittedly, but he supposed Barbara had a point. It would be better for them if things grew organically, if they just let things happen instead of forcing them between the two.

But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Fine,” he muttered, sitting back in his seat with a sigh. “We’ll let it grow organically.” The idea of those two not getting together because they didn’t do anything to help their relationship along kind of worried him, but he pushed it aside. Just to prove to himself that he could listen to them and let the relationship grow organically.

The moment he saw Mr. Johnson walk past that staff room door, though — the moment he saw the man give him a smirk and a little wink — he knew he couldn’t just sit around and wait for them. He had to help them out.

And if that meant talking Gregory into asking Janine out, then so be it.

Now to just find a time to talk to him about it in private…

#writing: mine #writing: fanfic writings #abbott elementary fanfiction #fandom: abbott elementary #Abbott Elementary #gregory x janine #melissa schemmenti #barbara howard #ava coleman #mr. johnson #jacob hill #written for: nyx101sthings #oneshot

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