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kakyoinscheryblush · 2 years

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Once upon an lost island [Joseph Joestar x reader]

Summary: Y/n was an archaeologist at the Speedwagon Archeology Centre. After being paired up with a famous adventurer Joseph Joestar to an upcoming expedition, she will have to overcome her many fears in order to prove to her agency that she is fit to be one of their best researchers they have.

However, neither Joseph nor Y/n were prepared for what the mysterious island had in store for them…

This work is originally posted on Ao3 on my profile @Tena_HH

Masterlist << Next chapter

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Chapter one, Somewhat a celebrity

Dear grandpa,

New York is livelier than ever, even after many letters we have exchanged over the years. My job is still the same and I swear the rats are getting bigger and bigger. And the Speedwagon Archeology Centre is thriving as usual!

You know how every time I write to you I say there aren't any major discoveries? Well, this time I have a surprise for you!

One of our satellites discovered a medium island in the Pacific ocean two months ago! But I wouldn’t be writing to you so urgently if it wasn’t a major discovery.

The satellite caught a picture of a temple in the middle of an island. Though, it is surrounded by probably kilometres of rainforest.

Today there will be a huge conference with all the famous archeologists you could think of, and the commission will be choosing the candidates for the expedition to the newfound island!

Since the Speedwagon Archeology Centre discovered the island with our satellites, we have to recommend who we will be sending to the expedition.

And I sincerely hope it isn't me. You know I’ve never been good at such things, I’m better off brainstorming in my lab rather than getting eaten by a huge beast or something.

The news reporters are going to be swarming within minutes the conference is done and there will be numerous articles and theories about the island. Even though we ourselves don’t know much about it.

But, I’ll be updating you in the next letter. Until then keep safe and don’t forget to lock Roger in his cage at night!

Your dearest granddaughter, N/n

The h/c haired woman sighed as she put down the pen next to the letter. “I’ll send it off tomorrow…” she murmured as she folded it up and put it aside.

This was the biggest discovery that the Speedwagon Archeology Centre ever had! It felt as if it was just yesterday when everything happened.

And today, there will be a conference where her agency will have to recommend two people to go on the expedition.

It would probably be Jessica and Christoper… The duo was an ace when it came to going on expeditions to unknown places.

Which made Y/n extremely happy since she didn’t have to really go anywhere. Most of the time it was her assistant, Penny Adamas, who brought her the news or a cup of (favourite drink).

Y/n greatly appreciated her and she showed that by sometimes giving Penny gift cards for some clothing stores.

“Ms. L/n! Ms. L/n! We must get you dressed! NOW! ” a short woman with her hands full of clothes slammed the wooden doors open, making the vases around the huge office shake.

“Oh God, Penny! Don’t scare me like that!” Y/n exclaimed as she placed her hand on her heart.

Penny laughed and dropped the pile of clothes on Y/n’s opened books, “No can do in this kind of emergency, Ms. L/n. Also, I picked out this outfit for you! Now go change quickly!”. Without observing the clothes Y/n picked them up and rushed out of her huge office and went into a nearby toalet.

There were five of her other coworkers inside touching up their hair and make up.

“Hello, Y/n!” one of them greeted as she pulled out a red lipstick out of her small handbag.

"Hello to you too, Nicole!” Y/n greeted as she rushed into the bathroom stall and locked the doors.

“Let’s see what Penny has brought me…” she whispered as she unfolded the freshly ironed clothes.

It was a white blouse with a knee length black skirt, black blazer and black heels. https://imgur.com/a/SV7GEcR (look reference)

“Hm, looks promising…” Y/n muttered as she took off her previous clothes and put on the ones that Penny gave her. After she dressed up she neatly folded her clothes and grabbed her shoes.

She opened the bathroom stall doors and walked out, while trying to quietly stepp in her heels.

The other five women left and now it was only Y/n in the bathroom. “Thank God I washed my hair yesterday…” the h/c haired woman mumbled as she brushed down her hair, keeping her (type of hairstyle) intact.

Y/n walked out and entered her office, and spotted Penny observing the artefacts in one of the tall showcases. “What do you think, Penny?” Y/n asked as she placed the clothes onto her chair.

The brown haired assistant whirled her head around and gasped.

“Ms. L/n! You look absolutely stunning!” Penny’s hazel eyes glimmered in happiness. “Of course I do… After all, you’re the one that chose my outfit.” Y/n smiled at her assistant.

Penny laughed and clapped her hands, “Now… Time for some perfume!” she exclaimed as she pulled out a glass bottle with translucent pink substance in it.

Y/n’s eyes widened in alarm, “No- Penny, put that thing down!” she shouted as she hid behind her office chair.

“I’m sorry Ms. L/n, but this has to be done!” Penny shouted as she ran to Y/n and sprayed her multiple times with the pink perfume.

“Gah-” Y/n choked and squeezed her eyes shut. Penny rolled her eyes, “Ms. L/n… Really?”. Y/n fixed her posture and sucked in a deep breath. “Yes, really …” she mumbled as she shook her head.

After a few moments Penny chuckled as she sweated a bit, “Ms. L/n… I may have forgotten to tell you a tiny detail about the press conference…”. Y/n raised an eyebrow at Penny, “What is it?”.

“Joseph Joestar is attending the press-”

“WHO IS WHAT -” Y/n screamed as she grabbed her chair, preventing her from falling on the wooden floor.

Penny grimaced a little, “Mr. Speedwagon invited Mr. Joestar to attend the press… Hehehe… Apologies for not telling you sooner…”. Y/n’s throat went dry as she shook her head.

“O-Oh God… I think I’m about to faint…” she mumbled out as she paced her palm on her forehead.

Penny panicked and rushed to her, “Oh, come on Ms. L/n! Don’t be like that! Isn’t he the person who you always considered an icon in the archeology world?”.

Y/n shakily nodded as her cheeks flared up in embarrassment, “That’s the thing Penny! I will fumble with my words and make an absolute idiot out of myself! I can’t even have a normal conversation with anybody and now I’ll have to talk to the Joseph Joestar!?”

Penny patted her shoulder, “There, there, Ms. L/n… Maybe you can ask him for an autograph when the press finishes?” she suggested.

Y/n sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “Yeah, but which one?” she muttered as she bent over a bit and opened one of the desk drawers, revealing up to 10 magazine covers with Joseph on them.

“Wow, Ms. L/n… I didn’t know you admired him that much…” she teased the taller woman. Y/n rolled her eyes as her cheeks flushed, “Don’t even start, please …” whined as she placed her face in her palms.

“Alright, alright I wont…” she chuckled as she looked at her silver wrist watch. “Oh shit! Your ride is waiting outside the facility!” Penny shouted out as she pushed out Y/n out of her office.

“W-Wait- You’re not going with me?!” Y/n exclaimed and Penny rushed to the table, picked something up and ran to Y/n.

“No, I’m not. I have too much paperwork to finish. Now take this and go!” Penny slammed one of her magazine covers into her chest and closed the doors in front of her.

Y/n stared at the doors for a few moments until she shook her head, folded up her poster and hurried to the elevator and pushed a button.

Once she entered the elevator she pressed the button for the first floor and the metal doors closed automatically.

The elevator opened and Y/n walked out into the huge reception floor. Many people were also in a hurry, many of them wearing lab coats while some were wearing suits and dresses.

“Excuse me- Sorry-” Y/n apologised as she bumped into a few coworkers.

Once she got out she spotted a man dressed in an all balck suit holding a paper with ‘Y/n L/n’ on it. “Sir! That’s me!” Y/n exclaimed as she waved at the driver.

“Took you long enough, princess…” the older driver grumbled as he opened the doors of the back of the limo for her. “I’m sorry sir, it was a real struggle to get out of the building…” Y/n apologised to him.

“Eh, it doesn’t matter, I just wanna get paid…” he muttered as he entered the limo and looked at the back of the paper. “The Sci-Dispatch Press facility…?” he mumbled to himself as he started the car.

Y/n stayed quiet as she swiftly stuffed the magazine cover into the pocket of her black blazer.

The driver started driving and noticed Y/n fidgeting a bit, “You ok over there, champ?” he asked as he looked at her through the rearview mirror.

She looked up into his eyes in the mirror and bit her lip anxiously, “Not really… There is a big press conference that I have to attend and I’m starting to think that I won’t be able to do it…” she admitted in defeat.

“The Sci-Dispatch Press doesn’t like weaklings like you, buster. Let me tell you that… I hear a lot of nasty shit that they do behind the scenes…” He muttered as he opened a piece of bubble gum and popped it into his mouth.

“Want some?” he asked as he outstretched his hand and offered her a pack of pink bubble gum. “No thank you sir…” Y/n replied politely.

“More for me… By the way, the name’s Tony Castellano…” Tony introduced himself.

“I’m Y/n L/n, nice to meet you sir.” Y/n said to the older man. “If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of ‘nasty shit’ did you hear that the Sci-Dispatch Press does?” Y/n peered over to the limo driver who loudly chewed the pink bubble gum.

Tony laughed snarky, “Cara mia, you sure ask a lot of questions… But alright… I overheard that the Sci-Dispatch Press is helping with multiple artefact smuggling from all across the world. Not sure if it’s true, but you didn’t hear this from me, capish?” Tony warned the e/c colored woman and her eyes widened in shock.

‘This is where we will have our press conference about our newest discovery!’ Y/n thought as many alarms balred inside her mind.

Tony laughed as he speeded up a bit, “Keep that capo of yours focused and don’t answer any of the questions you find suspicious.” Tony said as he lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“Thank you for the advice, Mr. Castellano…” Y/n thanked the limo driver who only popped the pink bubble, “Eh, it’s no problem kid. Now go get em’ tiger…” he chuckled as he stopped at the gigantic building.

“Goodbye sir!” Y/n exclaimed as she opened the doors and closed them. Tony laughed a little and dove off.

Now it was time to face her biggest fear…

The press conference in the Sci-Dispatch Press

She sighed as she walked on the stone path that had small pine trees and flower bushes lined up on the side.

There were dozens of news channel vans parked by the building, the reporters scrambling to set up their equipment the quickest.

As Y/n was about to open the doors, a loud screech acoed around. She turned around and saw a white limo that stopped by the building.

For a few moments everything quieted down until the driver walked out and opened the doors.

“It’s Joseph Joestar!” one of the reporters shouted as he and his camera crew rushed to him.

Y/n’s heart stopped functioning and she stopped breathing, ‘He… HE IS HERE!’ she panicked as she saw him flash his signature smile at every camera he looked at.

As he moved, the paparazzi and the news reporters moved with him, attacking him with numerous questions.

“Mr. Joestar! Is it true that you almost died on your last expedition!?” “Will you be attending this year’s gala?” “Are the rumours about you crushing a million dollar plane from your last expedition true?”

And so many noncoherent questions that Joseph tried to answer. “Thank you so much for all the questions, I know my fans are worried…” Joseph said as he flashed his smile at one of the cameras.

Y/n saw that they were nearing her and she quickly opened the doors and rushed in. She breathed out as she observed the scene outside.

Joseph stopped by the doors and answered the questions that the reporters were bombarding him with.

Joseph looked inside and made eye contact with Y/n. He smiled and slammed open the doors.

“Oh, look! My private assistant is already waiting for me! I’m sorry, but I have to get going!” Joseph exclaimed as he smiled one last time and closed the doors.

“Somebody better lock the them or they will break in…” he mumbled as he dusted off his black suit.

Joseph’s bright green eyes fell upon the frozen Y/n. “My dear, you really saved me from the paparazzi over there…” Joseph laughed as he smiled at her. Y/n opened and closed her mouth but nothing came out.

“Dear, are you alright?” Joseph asked the unmoving woman as he approached her. “Uhuh- Yeah- I’m fine-” Y/n mumbled as she fumbled with her hands.

Joseph laughed, “Oh, alright! You’re also here for the press conference, right?” he asked the h/c haired woman.

Y/n nodded shakily, “Y-Yeah… I am… I’m here under the Speedwagon Archeology Centre-” “Oh! Speedwagon! Man, I can’t wait to see him!” Joseph exclaimed in happiness.

Y/n laughed awkwardly, her throat going dry.

“You two! You’re going to be late for the conference!” rushed out a ginger woman with a clipboard and a pen.

“The seats are full so you’re going backstage-” She instructed as she led them to metal doors.

“The curtains haven’t risen so you can go and prepare yourselves.” The woman said as she opened the doors, pushed them in and locked them again.

Joseph and Y/n looked at each other and exhaled.

“Ladies first…” Joseph smirked as he walked to the beginning of ten stairs and stretched his hand. “Urm- Thank you-” Y/n squeaked out as she lightly placed her hand in his bigger one.

“No problem dear, now let’s see who else is behind the curtains…” Joseph muttered as they both reached the end of the stairs.

“Joseph! You finally arrived!” Whisper shouted Speedwagon as he rushed to the duo. “Speedwagon! Hello!” Jotaro quietly exclaimed as he hugged the older man.

“I see you have already met Y/n.” Speedwagon noted as he broke off the hug.

Joseph chuckled as he pulled Y/n closer to him by wrapping his arm around her shoulder, “And I’m glad I did! She saved me from the paparazzi outside…” The brown haired adventurer smiled at Speedwagon.

Y/n’s face erupted in fiery red colour as she felt his strong arm around her. ‘This must be a fever dream! This can’t be true!’ she slightly fawned at the scenario that was happening.

“Nice to see you two getting along, but I must go back to my seat. I, along with some of my associates, are sitting in the first row. Unfortunately we don’t have enough seats for some reporters over there so I don’t think that there would be any free seats for you two.” said Speedwagon as he scratched his head.

He led the duo deeper into the backstage and as they passed they saw six older men clad in navy blue suits and red ties, quietly discussing something.

“That’s the commission of the World Archeology Organisation… Be nice and be quiet, because one wrong move around them, and you can say goodbye to your career…” Speedwagon mumbled quietly.

“You’re saying that as if we’re children…” Joseph huffed, removed the arm that was around Y/n’s shoulder, and crossed his arms.

“Yes, and the child in question is you, Joseph…” Speedwagon muttered as he sighed.

Y/n surprised her laugh with her hand as she averted her gaze from Speedwagon and Joseph.

Speedwagon rolled his eyes, “Alright, you two, stay here unless somebody calls for you…” he said as he quietly walked away.

“I thought this would be much more interesting…” Joseph rolled his eyes, but as he glanced at Y/n, his frown changed to a smirk.

“At least you’re here with me.” he flashed her his signature smirk and Y/n swore she wouldn fall unconscious.

The chattering from the other side of the curtain suddenly quieted down and the dark red satin curtains rose, revealing the commission to the press.

“Hello everyone! I thank you for showing up in such a big number in the name of the World Archeology Organisation!” exclaimed the man in the middle of the table.

Everyone clapped and so did the other five members by the table.

Joseph and Y/n were still covered by the curtain, making the commission the only thing they could see.

The man in the middle rose from his chairs and cleared his throat. Flashes of cameras could be heard from the edge of the podium.

“Today, we all gathered around to hear out our esteemed member of our organisation, Robert Edward O. Speedwagon about the break-through discovery of his agency!” Exclaimed the man as a roar of applause echoed around the conference room.

Speedwagon rose from his seat and humbly smiled, “Thank you, Dr. Jenkins for having us over… This discovery has shaken up our whole laboratory from the minute we noticed the satellite footage on the big screen.” Speedwagon started his speech.

“You recieved photos and a brief explanation in your mail, so I’m going to keep it short. Dr. Jenkins has said that I have to decide two people who will be the two lead researchers on this expedition. And I’m proud to say that, Y/n L/n and Joseph Joestar have been chosen!”

Wait

DID HE JUST SAY HER AND JOSEPH’S NAME!?

“Y/n L/n and Joseph Joestar, please walk to the podium!” exclaimed Dr. Jenkins.

Joseph cheered and without thinking he picked up Y/n and spun her around, “I can’t believe this! This is a dream come true!” Joseph exclaimed as he gently put her down.

Y/n stood petrified on the floor. “I’m just going to touch up you a bit before we go-” Joseph mumbled out as he smoothed out her hair and laughed.

“Let’s go!” he exclaimed as he grabbed Y/n’s hand and dragged her over to the podium.

Roars of camera clicking and applauding almost blinded both of them, but Joseph, an expert when it came to such things, only smirked and waved. But Y/n… she was lost, completely lost.

“Just hold my hand and everything’s going to be alright…” Joseph whispered to her and Y/n shakily nodded.

The whole commission turned to them and Dr. Jenkins humed, “... Interesting choice, Mr. Speedwagon… I know why you chose Mr. Joestar. But what about the girl?” he questioned.

Speedwagon smiled warmly, “It may not look like it, but Dr. L/n has proven to be a great researcher over the course of time she has worked under me. And I think it’s time for her to prove herself to be worthy of working under my agency.”

Dr. Jenkins, and the rest of the commission, nodded in thought. “We confide in your choice for this, Mr. Speedwagon.” he said as he sat down.

“Now, does anybody have anything to add?” questioned another commissioner next to Dr. Jenkins.

The conference room went dead quiet, Y/n was ready to sigh in relief but a sudden male voice echoed through the room.

“Mr. Jenkins, as much as I agree with all of what was said… Don’t you think that having just two lead researchers is a bit… too little for such an important expedition? I mean, there haven't been any discoveries as big as this one for hundreds of years…” the man explained, earning a few gasps and glares.

Y/n’s eyes widened in shock while Joseph released her hand and clenched his fist.

She took a closer look at the suit clad man and observed him. He was visibly taller from most people in the room.

He had longer purple hair and striking red eyes with violet eyeshadow covering his eyelids.

It was none other than Kars

He was the top dog of the archeology world. He was smart and didn’t shy away from newly discovered ruins or such.

Kars was mostly known for doing everything in his power to reach his goal, even if that meant hurting somebody on the way.

“What exactly are you initiating Mr. Kars?” Dr. Jenkins said as his wrinkly face scrunched up in confusion.

Kars smirked as he glanced at Joseph who was clenching his fists and glaring at the wooden podium floor.

“What I’m trying to say is that I would like to join the expedition to the island.” Kars said firmly, leaving no space for disagreement. “He does have a point…!" mumbled out Dr. Jenkins as the other five members whispered together.

The room fell into a big tension as Kars was waiting for the response.

Dr. Jenkins rose from his seat and cleared his throat, “Mr. Kars, you will also be a part of the expedition team, along with Ms. L/n and Mr. Joestar.” he said as he nodded in Kars’ direction.

The cameras flashed in an instant speed, the reporters now piling over Kars and asking him too many questions.

While he was busy, Joseph and Y/n looked at Speedwagon who was sitting in his chair with widened eyes and gaping mouth. “I can’t believe this…!” Joseph sneered as he tried to keep a neutral face.

He wanted to pounce on Kras and tear his skull apart, but he held himself back. If he did what he wanted to Kars, not only would he lose his spot on the expedition but he would also end up in jail.

Y/n wasnt any different from Joseph, only without the whole ‘I’ll murder him’ part. Of course she was afraid of Kars… At this point who wasn’t? Even the commission was afraid to decline his proposition.

Once the crowd of reporters calmed down, everybody sat once again.

“The expedition will start in one week, so I advise you to start preparing now. For any other information, we will send them to you via mail.” one of the commissioners said as all of them rose.

Each one of them walked towards Y/n and Joseph and shook their hands with a thigh smile.

Once everyone left, Speedwagon went up to Kars, “Mr. Kars, you’ve met Joseph a few times, right?” he asked politely.

Kars laughed as he swept a few of his purple hair strands off his shoulder.

“Why, yes I have. But I haven’t met you, dear.” Kars smiled as he turned to stiffened Y/n. “I’m Y/n L/n, and it’s a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Kars.” Y/n said to the taller man.

“I have read a few of your works in the past, so I think that it would be a pleasure to work with you… Would you like to come to my place so you can explain more about this mysterious island, dear?” Kars purred and Joseph placed his arm around Y/n shoulder in an instant.

“I’m sorry but she’s already booked with me.” Joseph retorted and Kars’ smug expression fell as he looked at the brown haired adventurer.

“I don’t remember asking you anything, Mr. Joestar …” Kars scoffed in Joseph’s direction.

Speedwagon and Y/n felt the tension rising and looked at each other with worried expressions.

“Alright, alright… Joseph and Y/n you’re free to go. I have few other things to discuss with Mr. Kars over here.” Speedwagon said as he motioned to them to walk out.

“No problem, Speedwagon! Let’s go, dear…” Joseph gently tugged Y/n with him as they both walked out of the conference room and into the huge marble floored lobby.

“Do you want to get some ice cream?” Joseph asked as a smile climbed up to his face while unwrapping his arm from her shoulder.

Y/n stopped in her tracks and looked at him shakily, “U-Uh- Sure- Why not…” She squeaked out.

Joseph laughed, “Great! I know a secret place where I go when I’m free…”. But soon they stopped as they noticed a pile of reporters from earlier waiting outside with their cameras and microphones ready.

“We can leave from the back exit-” “No need, dear! Now let’s go!” Joseph exclaimed Y/n’s hand and ran to the glass doors.

The cameras flashed as the duo ran to Joseph’s limousine and quickly entered it. “Henry, our next destination is Vincenzo’s Gelato!” Joseph exclaimed and his driver nodded his head and speeded away.

The clicks of the camera became more quiet as they drove in the distance and Y/n sighed in relief.

“Vincenzo has one of the best ice creams in the whole New York! Ever since I was a kid, I always went there for ice cream…” Joseph spoke as his eyes sparkled with joy.

Y/n nodded her head and hummed, she didn’t really know what to say without stuttering, so she kept quiet.

After a few minutes, they arrived at a more secluded street that was partially empty.

"Thank you Henry- Now let’s go!” Joseph opened the doors of the limo and exited. Y/n sighed as she exited the limo, trying to calm herself.

It was a rather small ice cream shop on the corner of the street with pastel green and pink palette decorations.

“Vincenzo!” Joseph exclaimed as he walked the glass ice cream display. An older man, similar to Speedwagon’s age, walked out with a pink apron and white dress shirt.

“Joseph! Long time no see! I see that you brought some company with you…” Vincenzo laughed as he prepared his ice cream grabbing tool.

“Vincezno, this is Y/n L/n, my partner on the upcoming expedition!” Joseph introduced Y/n who smiled politely and waved, “Hello sir.”.

The older man chuckled, “Nice to meet you too. Now, are you ready to order?” he asked and Joseph pointed to a caramel flavoured ice cream.

“Two scoops of caramel, please.” Joseph said and Vincezno scooped out the ice cream and put in a cone.

“And you, dolcezza?” Vincezno asked and Y/n pointed to a f/f ice cream, “One scoop of f/f!”. Vincenzo chuckled as he scooped out the ice cream, “Good choice…”. Once Joseph and Y/n had their ice creams, Joseph patted his suit for his wallet.

“How much is it?” Joseph asked and Vincenzo shook his head, “It’s on the house, Josephino.” . Joseph and Y/n looked at each other and smiled, “Thank you, Vincenzo/sir!” they both exclaimed at the same time.

They started to walk towards a small park that was nearby as they ate their ice creams. “You live somewhere around here, Mr. Joestar?” Y/n asked Joseph wno nodded.

“Yeah, I live in that huge building.” Joseph pointed to a gigantic building that was down the street.

“That makes more sense…” Y/n chuckled as they both sat on a nearby bench. Joseph looked at her and shook his head with a smile, “You can drop the formalities, just call me JoJo!”.

Y/n blushed, “I- Sir- I can’t… You’re my colleague!”. Joseph licked his ice cream and raised an eyebrow at her, “Don’t be ridiculous! Just call me JoJo!”. Y/n nodded hesitantly, “Alright… JoJo…”.

“See! It wasn’t that hard!” the green eyed adventurer laughed as he ate his ice cream.

As the sun was starting to set behind the horizont, it gave the park a soft orange and pink glow.

Both stayed in silence as they ate their ice cream, but Y/n glanced at Joseph a few times. It still felt like a fever dream.

She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Joseph Joestar was sitting next to her and eating ice cream.

After they finished their ice creams, Y/n sighed in sadness. “I’m sorry Mr. Joestar- I mean, Jojo- But I have to get going now…” she said to Joseph.

“You’re leaving so soon already?” he asked as his expression partly fell.

“Unfortunately yes… I left my assistant all by herself with piles of my paperwork and I promised to help her after the conference…” Y/n said and Joseph laughed.

“Oh! I just left Caesar to fend for himself with my paperwork!” he sniggered as he slapped his knee.

Y/n shook her head, “That isn’t quite nice, Mr. Joestar…”. Joseph didn’t even hear her as he was laughing at his miserable assistant. Once he calmed down he whipped a stray tear coming from his eyes.

“If you must go, dear. My driver will drive you to Speedwagon’s agency.” Joseph said as he got up and dusted off his outfit and Y/n followed suit.

Once they arrived at the limo, Joseph opened the doors for Y/n and smiled, “Ladies first…”.

Y/n smiled and awkwardly chuckled, “Thank you…”. Joseph sat next to her and looked at his chauffeur, “Harper, can you drive us to the Speedwagon Archeology Centre?”.

Harper nodded his head, “Of course, sir.” he said as he started the engine and started to drive.

Once they arrived in front of the huge building, Y/n turned to Joseph and smiled, “Thank you Mr. Joestar, and see you next week…”.

Joseph smiled and grabbed her hand, “See you next week too…” he mumbled as he pressed his lips at the back of her hand.

He gently let her hand go and watched as Y/n’s face exploded in mad blush. “Uh- Yes- Goodbye!” she exclaimed as she opened the doors and rushed out. Joseph closed the doors and laughed, “Can you drop me off at my building?”.

His chauffeur nodded and they drove off.

Y/N stumbled into her office and she noticed Penny napping on one of the chairs. “Good grief…” Y/n mumbled as she saw Penny drooling over one of the papers.

“I guess I’ll have to print out a copy tomorrow…” the e/c eyed girl sighed as she sat on her office chair and held her face in her hands.

How will she survive this expedition? She is extremely afraid of bugs and snakes, and seeming that this was a secluded island that hasn’t been discovered yet, there was a huge chance of it being filled up with them.

“Time to do some paperwork…” Y/n mumbled out tiredly as she picked up her pen and started filling out numerous papers.

After a few minutes she turned on her desk lamp since it had gotten darker outside.

As she was filling out one of the papers, her vision became blurry and her eyelids started to close slowly.

“Maybe… I need to take… a little nap…” Y/n mumbled as she rested her head against the paper and breathed out loudly.

She would worry about the expedition tomorrow, but now, she needed to take a much deserved rest…

#jojo bizarre adventures #jjba x reader #joseph joestar #joseph joestar x reader #jojo pt2 #Kars #Adventure #Explorer AU #Joseph Joestar x y/n #Joseph Joestar x you #Romance #Advanturer!Joseph Joestar #speedwagon #robert e. o. speedwagon #archeology #Archeologist!reader

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starry-bi-sky · 5 months

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i've mentioned in a few past posts about an au where Danny is a variant of Jason Todd. I haven't made a post about it yet because I need a good rhythm flowing however i've been listening to Gladiator by Jann and I have been having thoughts.

but first, let me set the au:

Danny Fenton is Jason Todd, or at least, a variant of him. A him from a universe separate to the major Batman timeline - but still Jason Todd, down to the structure of his face and his name itself. The only thing that changes, is who picks him up - and, that he follows old Batman canon, and was an orphan. Jason Todd steals the tires off the batmobile and wallops Batman with his tirejack, and then runs off. Shortly after, he gets picked up by the Fentons.

(Customary line break,,,, word count check: 5k)

And his name changes from Jason Todd to Danny Fenton. He doesn't care much for the new name change, it stems from his mute refusal to share his name to the people that picked him up; an attempt to make him untraceable should he get away from them, and to keep something of his to himself. So they name him something new. He grows to like it enough as he acclimates to his new family.

(He hangs onto the name Jason Todd like a secret - he may be 'Danny Fenton' now, but he'll never forget his time on Gotham's streets. He'll always be Jason Todd.)

(Jazz is the only one who he tells his name to in the family - she affectionately calls him Jay whenever she wants.)

He becomes friends with Sam and Tucker and deals with Dash and his bullying. And when Danny steps in during a fight between Dash and another student, Dash gives him a bleeding nose and mockingly says, "Do you think you're Robin just because you're from Gotham, Fenton?"

Jason looks him in the eyes and he bares his teeth, "Why not?" he asks, spitting blood, "being Robin gives me magic."

The nickname sticks. It's supposed to be an insult; Daniel Fenton is not Robin, he'll never be Robin. Not now, not in a million years. Jason Todd has always wanted to be Robin, so he takes the insult and wears it proudly. He buys a school varsity jacket and painstakingly undos the stitching of all the school's motif on it. On the breast of it, he embroiders in a black circle with the Boy Wonder "R" on it instead. It's not good stitching, but the next day Danny wears it down to breakfast and into school.

In normal au canon, Daniel Jason Todd-Fenton (its a mouthful, just call him Danny) only meets the Waynes after he becomes Phantom - an event that leans more towards Daniel Fenton's accident than Jason Todd's death, but traumatizes him all the same. (Is it too much to want to be mourned? His best friends like to deny that he died - and Danny - Jason? - wishes they wouldn't, even if he did come back.)

(The accident embitters him, even more when his parents don't seem to pick up on it. He stops calling himself Danny Fenton - he's always been Jason Todd. It shows itself in his ghostly form. He doesn't want to wear the thing he died in, not in something that belongs to the Fentons, and his suit reflects that.)

In this timeline, Daniel Jason Todd-Fenton, aged 13, meets Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne after a mishap with magic on the other end of the reality sends the three of them careening through time and space, and spat back out on the other end, in a world not their own. And together.

Danny is paired with a very confused Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson. Luckily, there's a few heroes there to help them. Danny can hardly comprehend the idea that he's in another universe - he doesn't know why Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne are seemingly handling it well.

On their way to a secondary base with the heroes, Danny turns to Bruce Wayne and asks, "So, is it part of rich-person training that you're just totally chill with being sent into another universe, or are you just weird?"

Bruce Wayne huffs at him, rather than get offended, and he smiles that dumb lopsided billionaire smile that Danny's seen on every vogue magazine he's been in. "I'm not so worried with these skilled heroes here to help us get home."

Danny silently concludes that he's just weird. At least Dick Grayson is biting back a smile behind him. "Riiiight..." He says, dragging the vowel out dryly.

When they get to that secondary location -- a safehouse that one of the heroes had set up -- the three of them are sat in a living room-like room while one hero, Zatanna, goes and calls someone from the Justice League. The other two heroes stay with the three of them.

Within a few hours, Danny is face to face with Batman - someone who he hasn't seen since he whacked him in the stomach with a tire iron - and Nightwing. For a moment, Danny swears that the both of them look almost spooked by him.

Batman stares at him for a moment when he enters, and then he goes to speak with Bruce Wayne. Danny doesn't care enough to hear what they're talking about, he pulls out his phone as Nightwing goes to speak with Dick Grayson.

"Are you a fan of Robin, little man?" Someone says, and when Danny looks up he locks eyes with Dick Grayson -- who is leaning around Nightwing to talk to him, the both of them are smiling. And considering who Nightwing was, Danny finds himself turning pink to the ears.

But he will not hide his jacket. He forces a grin through his embarrassment, "Hell yeah, man, Robin's cool." He says, and pushes his arms down to pull out the hem of his letterman, showing off the emblem. "I made it m'self out of a school varsity after the A-Listers started callin' me Robin."

"A-Listers?"

"Popular kids," Danny corrects, loosing his hold on the hem and brushing invisible wrinkles out of the embroidery. "They didn't like that I kept stepping in when they were bullying. Dash asked me if i thought I was Robin because I was from Gotham."

Dick Grayson looks intrigued -- and concerned, and he leans forward onto his knees and raises an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

And Danny grins a shark-like thing, straightening back his shoulders with a burning sort of smug pride and all the sharpness of broken glass left in Crime Alley. "I told him being Robin gave me magic, and then I punched him."

Dick Grayson's smile widens, splitting into showing teeth as he leans back into his seat. Danny isn't sure why he's so delighted - but Nightwing looks incredibly amused, and he suddenly remembers that the Robin himself was there in front of him.

Danny's face burns anew and his arms fold themselves in front of him once again.

"I don't think I ever caught your name, Robin." Dick Grayson goes, his voice thick with laughter, and Nightwing steps off to the side as Batman and Bruce Wayne walk over to join them both. They're just close enough that Danny can see Bruce Wayne raise an eyebrow at them both.

"It's Jason." Danny says before he can think about it, and barely stops himself from frowning at himself for the slip. He amends himself, glancing over at Batman and Bruce as they get closer. "But everyone calls me Danny."

Dick Grayson's head recoils slightly, and he looks a little surprised. "Why Danny?" He asks.

"Why Dick?" He shoots back, and Bruce and Dick both smile at him, with Dick Grayson shrugging with an expression that looks like 'you've got a point.'

In the end, the three of them - yes, three - get sent to this world's Wayne Manor, and Danny is bewildered by that decision to include himself -- he's not a Wayne. Why not just send him to the Fentons?

Batman tells him that the Fentons don't exist in this world, and Danny falls silent. "Oh." He says quietly, a pit growing in his stomach with an ill-kind of dread. He can't keep Batman's gaze, looking away with unease.

No Fentons in this world. No Fentons. Where was he then, in the grand scheme of things? Where was he in this world? What happened to Jason Todd? Was he even alive? He can't keep the worry off his face, and he jumps when a hand lands on his shoulder. When he looks up, Dick Grayson squeezes him gently.

Dick Grayson is steadily beginning to remind him of his sister.

They end up driving back in the Batmobile. It's such a shock to Danny that he momentarily forgets the lack of Fentons. He makes a laugh sound, actually, and immediately he covers his hand with his mouth and stares at the car -- tank? with his teeth sunk into his lower lip.

"Jason?" Dick says, and hearing his name being spoken feels like someone touched him with a livewire. It's weird, it's foreign - he hates, in some way, that it's foreign - and it's so nice. Yes, that's me.

He drops his hand immediately. "Sorry." He says, realizing he'd stopped in his tracks, "I -uh, was just surprised."

"It's not every day someone sees the Batmobile." Dick agrees. Nightwing has his back to them but Danny swears he sees his shoulders shaking a little.

"Yeah," Danny nods slowly, dragging his eyes over the batmobile as Batman opens the driver's side and gets in. He thinks for a moment, of what he should say next - whether to admit that he's seen it before, or to pretend that he's seeing it for the first time. Snd as Nightwing opens the door for him, Bruce, and Dick, he chooses the funnier option; "The last time I saw it, I was stealing its tires."

To his surprise and unsurprise, Danny only gets two pairs of eyes on him. Nightwing gets into the passenger seat as both Bruce and Dick turn their gaze onto him; Dick's eyes big like they were going to bulge out of his head.

"You what!?"

So Danny tells an amazed Dick Grayson that he hit Batman with a tire iron after he stole his tires - something he is very proud about and also incredibly embarrassed about when he retells what happened in the backseat of the batmobile, with Batman and Nightwing listening in from the front seat.

(Bruce Wayne doesn't ever tell Dick shit, he's going to lord this over Bruce's head the moment they are alone.)

"Please tell me this didn't happen in this world." Danny groans behind his palms as he sinks into his seat. Dick Grayson is killing himself laughing on his left, and he saw Bruce Wayne stifling a smile before he obscured his vision with his hands.

Much to his luck, its Batman himself who speaks next, (Danny was being mostly rhetorical). "It did." He says, and his voice sounds like the rumble of the earth before a stampede. It will never not throw Danny off every time he hears it. "It takes quite a lot of spunk to steal the tires off the batmobile."

He can't believe it. Batman is making fun of him. Fucking, Batman.

He wants to die with embarrassment. He groans even louder as Dick Grayson's laughter crescendoes. Danny risks a peak through his fingers, he doesn't know whether to regret it or not because he can just barely see Batman smirk very faintly from his position in the middle.

(His world axis tilts five degree leftways seeing it; like someone dunked a bucket of ice water on him.)

"He ended up being adopted by the Bruce Wayne of this world."

Danny's hands drop with his jaw into his lap. Dick Grayson on his left chokes on his laughter and careens into a coughing fit. Bruce Wayne on his right chokes on air, and quickly recovers himself with a cough behind a closed fist.

"What?" Danny croaks.

Apparently, Bruce Wayne's family is much larger in this world than it is in his. Danny can barely wrap his head around the idea that he ends up adopted by the man, but now he has to learn that Wayne had several children in this world?

He's still not wrapped his head around it when the three of them wind up at Wayne Manor, finally, or even when he's standing in front of him himself. For his effort, Bruce Wayne does a good job at looking unruffled by it.

God, he's weird. Danny's starting to quite like it, actually. How human of him.

He still can't wrap his head around it when he meets the rest of Bruce Wayne's children, all of whom are already aware of the three of them. Danny thinks that someone from the Justice League might've alerted them before they got here.

It makes sense, he supposes.

It helps that they are just as weirded out as he is. A boy named Tim Drake sees him for the first time and blurts out; "Oh wow, you're tiny." In a tone like he's just seen a two-headed snake burst out of the ground.

Danny is still offended. He's still growing. It's not his fault he spent twelve years of his life malnourished. "I'm gonna be taller than you," he tells him seriously, "and when I do I'm gonna kick your ass."

Tim snorts at him.

The other Bruce Wayne -- Mr. Wayne's -- youngest looks at him up and down with a face of carefully controlled judgement. His name is Damian, he's Bruce Wayne's only biological son. Danny can't believe that there's only one.

If anything, Bruce Wayne himself looks surprised too.

"Todd, yes?" Damian says, his green eyes narrowed at him.

Danny feels like the specimen under his parents' microscope, he feels like he's standing on a platform that's being slowly spun by scientists. He looks over at Bruce Wayne in confusion, and then back at Damian. "I- yes?"

Damian Wayne nods, and then leaves.

Danny does not once see himself. That is unsettling in and of itself - surely Jason Todd would have been told about another version of himself in this world, wouldn't he? How old is he here? An adult, probably. Danny doesn't know if he wants to see him. What does he look like when he's grown up? He pulls his Robin jacket around him a little tighter, like a cocoon, like a shield.

"It's weird to hear them call me Jason Todd." He says aloud to himself, and it leaves a weight behind in his chest that shouldn't hurt the way it does. It shouldn't be weird to be called your name. It shouldn't cobweb up your throat to hear your name being said. It was his name. It was his.

Danny acclimates to the manor slowly. The house is big, massive. He's never been in a house so large before, he feels like a stray cat being taken in for the first time, again. He and Bruce and Dick Grayson are all given their own separate rooms - one of many inside this mansion - and the sheer size of his bedroom is bigger than his living room and kitchen combined.

it's daunting. Danny sits outside on the balcony and stares at the stars he can see - Wayne Manor is far enough away from Gotham that its light pollution doesn't obscure the sky here like it did in the heart of it.

Danny finds the constellations he can find and wishes he had his books with him. He finds the library the next day and buries himself in the back, curling up into a comfy armchair next and inhaling each book he can get his hands on.

Tim Drake wanders past him at some point, Danny would have missed him if it weren't for the fact that Drake stared at him strangely when he saw him. He walks away when he realizes Danny was staring back.

It's a rinse and repeat for the next few days. Danny doesn't go to meals, he sneaks food from the kitchen afterwards, and then buries himself in hundreds of books in the library.

Dick Grayson, the one from his world, goes and finds him three days later. Danny's eyes hurt with strain by then, but he is furiously halfway through a Jane Austen novel when Dick sits down across from him.

"Have you been here all day?" Dick asks, he drapes himself across the side of his chair, contorting himself into a position that Danny doesn't think is comfortable when he looks up at him.

Not that he looks up at him long - he hums absently and goes back to reading. Frowning when he realizes he lost his place on the page.

Dick Grayson raises an eyebrow, "Have you at least eaten anything?"

Danny hums. No, he hasn't, and he hadn't thought about eating all day. Until now that is, his frown ever deepening as his stomach pangs with a deep hunger.

"That's not healthy."

"Mhm."

"Are you going to eat something?"

"Mhhh."

And this gets Dick to frown. He straightens himself up, propping onto his elbows to stare at Danny. "Jason." He says strongly. And it's that that gets Danny to finally look up from his page, jumping like he'd again been poked with a live wire as he stares at Dick with wide eyes.

"Yes?"

"Put the book down." Dick orders, gesturing towards the side table next to Danny with a nod. "And come eat something." There's very little room for argument in his voice, he sounds like Jazz when she's trying to parent him, but instead he actually sounds authoritative. Not bossy.

Danny still frowns at him. "You're not the boss of me." He says, sinking back into his chair with a thumb bookmarking his page.

Dick gives him a look and makes a decisive noise, swaggling his head side to side while he does. "I'm pretty sure that for as long as we're here, me and B actually are the boss of you."

He's never really liked authority figures, not ones that tried to boss him around, that is. Danny doubles down, his lips curling into a shadow of a scowl. "Just because you're my brother in another world doesn't mean you can act like it."

"That's not what I mean and you know it."

"I don't want to go eat."

"It's not good for you to skip meals."

"Quit talking like Jazz."

"Danny."

Danny sinks his teeth into his lip and scowls darkly at him, shrinking into the back of his armchair in hopes that it'll swallow him whole. The idea of going into that large fucking dining room fills him with a dread that makes him completely forget his appetite.

"Your fucking- dining room is- it's too big." He grits out, finally closing his book and hugging it tightly to his chest.

Dick blinks at him. "What?"

"You heard me! It's too big. This whole place is too big. It's- what do you even do with this much space? I don't know how this- other me ever lived here."

Dick Grayson surprises him, and his expression softens. "Oh," he says, "I get it."

"You do?" The tension bleeds slowly out of Danny's shoulders

"Yeah, I felt the same way when I first moved in with Bruce. I lived with the circus for most of my life, but I slept in a trailer." He says. And he talks more.

The end result of their conversation ends with Dick Grayson offering to let Danny sit across or next to him during mealtimes, and that he can talk to him if he starts getting uneasy. But he can't keep skipping meals - it was making them all worried.

Danny agrees, and Dick takes him down to the kitchens for food.

"They look at me weirdly too." He grumbles as they leave the library, Danny's book returned to the shelf where it belonged. When Dick looks at him curiously, he scrunches his nose up. "The - your other siblings. They look at me like I'm- I'm someone else. S'weird."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Dick asks, "You are someone else."

Dany shrugs, staring at the ground with a heavy frown. "I don't know."

Danny seeks out Dick more after that. And vice versa. Dick reminds Danny of Jazz, and he latches onto the familiarity like a leech. If Dick is bothered by it, he doesn't show it, whether he's talking to his other world's self, to the Bruce's, or to one of the other Wayne kids.

Damian Wayne seems particularly keen to seek him out, Danny finds. He thinks it means that they're close in this world, and that Damian wants to see more of what a young Dick is like. That's what he would do, at least.

He takes up on Dick's offer of seating near him during dinner, and finds an open spot across from him. Unless he has something to show him, then he sits next to him.

("You can call me Jason." He tells him one day when they're in the Wayne's massive, fuck-off gym and they're both climbing over the jungle gym. Dick's showing him how to be more flexible. It's the most Danny's worked out ever, he likes the burn it gives him.

Dick looks at him in surprise, "Really?" he's doing a handstand on the bars and Danny's more than a little jealous at his balance.

"Yeah, dipshit," he says, rolling his eyes, "I'll even let you call me Jay, it's my nickname."

Dick happily takes him up on that offer, and much to Danny's embarrassment, starts calling him Jaybird. All because of his stupid Robin jacket.)

Danny has yet to meet his other self still, it's scaring him a little. Where was he? And matter of fact, how long until he could go back to his home dimension? The three of them hadn't gotten any updates since they arrived.

Speaking of, he was starting to talk to Bruce more, it was just... strange. Even stranger than talking to Dick. Bruce Wayne in another life would have been his adoptive father, Danny can't wrap his head around it for the life of him.

Whatever did Bruce Wayne see in Jason Todd that made him worth adopting? He's too afraid of the answer to ask. They start talking more after they run into each other late at night. Danny had been hit with a bout of insomnia and was going to the library.

He ran into Bruce on the way. He was just.. staring, out the window, with a faraway look in his eye. He didn't even look startled to see Danny standing there.

Danny asks him if he wants to go to the library with him. It was out of panic. He isn't expecting Bruce Wayne to agree, and they walk there in suffocating silence. Danny keeps looking at him from the corner of his eye.

("You're staring?" Bruce doesn't sound upset, Danny jumps anyway.

"Yeah, sorry." his voice sounds stilted, "it's just..." his jaw wires itself shut for a spell, "...you looked like you were about to disappear."

"Ah.")

When they reach the library, Danny leads Bruce Wayne into the science section and takes out books upon books about stars. He leads him over to the armchair and fire and they both sit down on the ground.

"When I lived in Gotham I would stargaze." Danny says, it's the first thing he can think of. Bruce Wayne looks at him quizzically. "Well, I would try to. The sky's too polluted for that. Mostly I would just watch the skyline and try and spot Batman and Robin, was the same thing."

That cracks a smile out of Bruce. It's a small one, barely there. "I hardly think the two are comparable."

Danny is still serious. "Not to me."

He goes on, talking about how after he was adopted he got his hands on every star book he could find. He loves english and he loves to read, but something about the stars drew him in like a song. He rambles about every star fact he knows with Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne surprises him by telling him facts he didn't know. Danny soaks it up like a sponge, listening intently to him speak. And when they run out of star books to talk about, Danny tells Bruce that it was his turn to find something for them to talk about.

Bruce Wayne smiles again at him, a sly little thing like Danny's challenged him, and gets up. He comes back with a stack of film books, and they spend the next few hours going through them. Bruce Wayne rattles off every single movie fun fact he knows, and there is so much that he knows.

Danny is in awe, and moves to press against Bruce's side to see the stuff he points at in his books.

"You're smarter than people give you credit for." He says at some point, when his eyes hurt from being open for too long and his head leans against Bruce's arm for support. It follows with a jaw-cracking yawn that he tries and fails to stifle.

"Thank you, Danny." Bruce says, his voice soft and soothing and not helping with Danny's weighing exhaustion. His eyes drift, and then jerk open. "Do you want to go back to your room? You look tired, chum."

He bites back a smile at the nickname, and fails to keep it bitten. "No, no, I'm awake." He mumbles, shaking his head slowly. "I wanna hear-" he yawns again, "-hear you talking."

Danny swears he can hear the smile in Bruce's voice as he speaks; "Alright. Now, where was I?"

In the end, Danny falls asleep on the floor of the library next to Bruce Wayne. He doesn't even realize it until he wakes up the next morning. But it's not to worry, Bruce Wayne fell asleep too, an arm thrown around Danny protectively like he was his own kid.

This becomes a thing for them soon enough. When neither of them can sleep, they go to the library and talk and talk about whatever comes to mind.

There comes the dreaded night after they've finished whatever book they were looking at when Bruce, the little shit, turns to Danny and goes; "You never mentioned what happened after you hit Batman with a tire iron."

Danny groans, big and dramatic, burying his head in his arms, and ignores the low chuckle. "I thought he was gonna chase me down for sure." He complains, his voice muffled by his arms.

"Why did you hit him with a tire iron?"

The look Bruce gets is one of pure disbelief. "If Mothman suddenly showed up behind you while you were taking the wheels off his ride, you'd hit him too!"

"Last time I checked, Mothman isn't real." Bruce told him amusedly, and Danny flops over onto his back to stare him down. His arms sprawl out like a starfish, intentionally hitting Bruce in the shoulder.

"You don't know that, Batman's a cryptid and he's real."

Bruce roars with laughter, and Danny preens like a bird.

That next morning when Bruce passes by him for breakfast, he reaches over and ruffles his hair. It's the same thing he does for Dick every morning. It's the first of many, and it gets many stares from the surrounding family.

Bruce has a newspaper tucked under his arm, and when he sits down Danny stands up and skedaddles over to him, leaning over the side of his chair to peer at the paper.

"Any cryptids spotted, Buzz?" He asks, getting a startled laugh out of Bruce, who looks up at him.

"Buzz?"

"Well, yeah," and Danny states it as matter-of-fact. He gestures his head at Dick Grayson. "Dick calls you 'B', and B is for bees, and I can't just call you Bees, that's dumb. So; Buzz."

He grins triumphantly when Bruce laughs quietly, his shoulders shaking imperceptibly. "I know," he tilts his head up proudly, "I'm a genius."

Now he's actually laughing, dropping his head into one of his hands and trying to quiet himself as much as possible. Danny is positively beaming, ignoring the stares of the other Waynes as he flounces back to his seat just as the other Mister Wayne enters the room.

When Jason Daniel Fenton Todd meets Jason Todd for the first time, they both just stare at each other.

Danny recognizes himself immediately in the library, and he freezes up. His tongue ties to the roof of his mouth, and he's unsure of what to say.

He doesn't need to say anything at all, because when Jason Todd looks up and they lock eyes, they both just stare. And stare. Jason Todd is a large, hulk of a man, built like a brick shithouse, with a tired, traumatized look in his eyes and a white streak in his black curls. The same black curls that Danny himself has.

He has no idea what to say. Or if he should turn back around and leave.

Jason Todd sighs at him, "I know they told me you and another world's Bruce and Dickie were here," he says, but it sounds like he's talking to himself. Even moreso when he mutters half-heartedly, "-but I was hoping I wouldn't run into you."

Danny feels small next to him. He doesn't know why. "Sorry." He says lamely, his one foot skips back, "I can leave if you want." It's unlike him to be meek, he thinks. Not after years of Gotham living and dealing with the likes of Dash and his Jerk Jocks.

But this also isn't the streets, and this isn't other kids being dicks. Jason Todd shakes his head, and gestures with one large arm for Danny to come over. "You don't need to do that, you were coming to read, right?"

He nods, and tentatively makes his way over. When Jason looks at him, he sees him cast his eyes over his Robin jacket - he wears it everyday. Danny sees him narrow his eyes, just slightly. But he says nothing.

It's... a strange conversation. Interaction. Jason Todd doesn't talk to him much, and if he does it's stilted and awkward, like he doesn't know how to treat him. Like he's holding him at arm's length.

Jason's getting tired of being treated like a ghost.

They talk about their books. They compare lives. Jason Todd was picked up a few days after he stole the wheels of the batmobile. He wasn't an orphan, he lived with his mom and his stepdad before he lived with Bruce. They both like to read, only Danny has an interest in the stars.

("What do your adoptive parents do?" Jason Todd asks him, one arm slung over the back of the armchair, he looks relaxed. He looks tense. Danny feels like he's back in Crime Alley again.

"They're 'ectologists'." He says, making air quotes over the word. He rolls his eyes, "Ghost hunters. They study the dead and all things afterlife."

Jason Todd makes a dry laugh huff, a sarcastic half-smile on his face. He doesn't explain why he does, Danny doesn't ask why. It doesn't seem like his business.)

Danny wants to ask him where he got that white streak in his hair. It doesn't feel right. It feels like his parents' lab, and that isn't right. Nothing ever feels like his parents' lab.

Jason Todd leaves first after giving him a few book recommendations. Danny isn't sure how to rate the experience. Being in Jason Todd's presence was like standing in a liminal space. An empty parking lot at night. When he leaves it feels like much the same thing.

He struggles to read his books afterwards, unable to shake the feeling of being haunted.