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#i can imagine them all sitting around a table at dinner and tim trying to take lucy's hand underneath but she pushes him away
dylanconrique · 2 months
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once tim meets lucy’s parents it's all gonna click for him why she got so defensive about his belief in her taking the detectives exam.
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robinofgothamcity · 3 years
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♡ prompt: a kid appears in the past, claiming to be yours.
♡ pairing: jon kent (superboy) x fem reader
♡ lyric inspiration: “I will follow you way down, wherever you may go. I will follow you down, to your deepest lows. I will always be around to wherever life takes you. You know I’ll follow you.” 
♡ note: not checked for grammar or spelling mistakes 
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✨  you were walking in with Damian, blabbering about something that he could have cared less about as you approached Jon. the two of them had to head over to the Batcave to talk about a mission that went sideways a few days ago and you were too bored to not tag along with them. 
✨  while you weren’t much of an active hero, you did get called in from time to time to help the Titans or Jon when they needed it, so it wasn’t a secret to you about their identities. Jon more than Damian was more opened to tell you who he actually was and you found comfort in the idea that he trusted you that much baggage. 
✨  “what are we gonna do later? i’m not really in the mood to be going home. everyone has been getting on my nerves lately.” you asked the pair. Damian rolled his eyes as Jon smiled, “you can watch movies back at my place! i’m sure my dad wont mind,” he said with a small blush. 
✨  Damian wanted to groan, feeling the strong sense to cringe at Jon’s foolish attempt to ask you out on a date. you agreed, hugging the taller boy as he fell stiff at the touch. Damian groaned but this time out loud. you gave him a look before dismissing him. 
✨  all of you arrived to the cave, greeting Alfred before heading down to the cage. you had offered to make yourself and the boys coffee while they talked in the cave. Alfred was making small conversation about how your day was and if Damian was doing alright in school. while he knew Damian was smart, he knew in social settings, he wasn’t the greatest. 
✨  finally, you finished making all of their coffee’s and put them on a tray before heading downstairs. you heard noise from the top of the stairs and being careful with the coffee, you zoomed downstairs to try and figure out what was going on. you set the coffee on the small table outside of the cave and opened the door to see Jon and Damian basically fighting someone around the cave. 
✨  you looked at the girl, who looked no older than nineteen, trying to save her own ass as her eyes gleamed red. once you caught her attention, she immediately ran to you, “MOM! THANK GOD!” she yelled. Jon without hesitation ran to protect you but the girl beat him to you and engulfed you in a hug. 
✨  “first off, I’m not your mother and I have no idea who the hell you are,” you screamed as Jon and Damian took her off you. Damian restrained her as you and Jon looked at her, “who are you and who/what sent you here,” Damian threatened as he took the pocket knife he had in his sock and put it against her throat.
✨  “I’m Lois Kent, daughter of ( your name ) and Jon Kent,” you looked at Jon before you started laughing hysterically. you tried to calm yourself down as Lois continued to explain herself, “I’m from years into the future. I was sent back in an accident by Uncle Damian and my dad,” she yelled, trying to get Damian to release her. 
✨  Jon, who had yet to speak word, bent down to her height, “why should we believe you? you very well could have known our identities and made up a stories to ambush us,” Jon said. “run a DNA test if you’re so concerned,” she replied. you gave Damian and Jon a look as Damian asked you to grab her while he called his dad and even Clark to come down to the cave. 
✨  “we can start on the DNA before our dads get here but until then, you’ll be restrained to the chair until we get the results,” Damian practically spat as he grabbed ropes and cords before sitting her down on Tim’s computer chair, “you have a lot of nerve making up such a story,” Jon whispered to her as she groaned, “you make up some crazy story pretending to be our kid and even giving yourself my mothers name to make it even more believable.” 
✨  she sighed, “I’m not lying! I was working on a project with Uncle Damian and you when Uncle Damian accidentally opened up a portal that sucked me back into the past,” she explained, “you named me after grandma because you always said you’d name your first daughter after her.” Jon remained silent, knowing what shew as saying was true. Jon, years ago, made a pact that he would name his daughter, if he had the opportunity to have one, to name her after his mom. 
✨  “and why should we believe you? outside of the DNA test, how can you prove that,” you said walking up to the both of them. she sighed, happy that she was no longer getting lectured by Jon, “I know that you asked mom out after a movie date. the song both of you claim to be ‘your song’ is ‘Follow You’ by Imagine Dragons and that you used to sing it to me as a baby,” she confessed. 
✨  you immediately looked to Jon and stood in disbelief. both you and Jon loved that song and always sang it whenever he picked you up to hang out. “dad always tells me that he always thought you were too good for him and that you deserved to be with someone else but you always end up smacking him in the back of the head when he says that. plus, you always said that you love his small accent,” she continued. 
✨  before you say anything, Damian grabbed three small tubes and asked all of you to spit in them. Damian watched the three of you spit in the tubes and in the back of his mind, he could start to see the similarities in Lois’ facial features and they looked eerily reminiscent to you and Jon combined.  
✨  “our dads should be here soon but until then, don’t make a move!” he yelled before moving back to lab and computers. you sat next to Lois as Jon continued to question her, “how old are you?” you asked her, “seventeen. you guys always say i look older than i am. say, since I’m in the past, how old are you guys?” she asked. you looked to Jon, “we’re also seventeen but we’re not saying anything else,” you stated. 
✨  finally, Clark and Bruce walked in, pure panic written on their faces. Clark and Bruce saw the three of you sitting down together and almost immediately, Clark could sense she was a Kent. given, she looked like both you and Jon, she did have some facial features that looked like Lois. 
✨  “have you ran a test? Bruce asked Damian. he nodded as he showed the three tubes on the table as the spit was being ran through the system, “she claims that her name is Lois. named after his mom,” Damian murmured. Clark felt the pang in his chest. if the DNA test rang positive that she was your kid, he felt proud that Jon named his daughter after his mom. 
✨  you got up from your chair and grabbed the coffees from the table outside, “here, the coffee was supposed to be Damian’s but I’m sure you could use some,” you offered it as you held the cup in front of her with a straw sticking out. Lois smiled, taking a sip, “it’s nice seeing both of you so young. dad always says both of you had me so young but he doesn’t regret a single thing,” you gave her a look, “how young do you claim we had you?” you asked. 
✨  Lois laughed, “well, if you’re seventeen now, expect me to be here when you’re both nineteen.” Jon let out a belting laugh as you stood in your chair mortified at the answer, “nineteen? that’s two years from now!” you whispered to yourself, “I mean, both of you are already married by then,” she continued to say. 
✨  Jon now stood mortified what she was saying. he hadn’t even confessed his feelings to you yet and two years from now, both of you were married with a kid on the way? as you both were talking to her, the results pinged up on the screen, alerting Bruce, Clark, and Damian. 
✨  the three of them looked at the screen in surprise. she was telling you the truth. the DNA matched closest to you and Jon. Clark couldn’t even lie to himself, seeing his feature granddaughter made him emotional. she looked happy, healthy, and beautiful. he was glad Jon had chosen you to be his wife. he always thought you were the perfect fit for his son. 
✨  “the results are in,” Damian screamed to the three of you. you looked to Jon in nervousness, “you’re the parents,” Damian said, now a bit more seriously. Jon looked at you as you had tears in your eyes, “you’re our first daughter?” you whispered to her as Lois now had watery eyes and nodded in agreement. 
✨  Clark walked over and smiled at the three of you as Lois perked up, “grandpa!” she yelled as you started to untie her. as soon as she was let free, she engulfed the three of you and smiled, “it’s weird seeing all three of you so...young!” she repeated. you smiled, “say, that’s Uncle Damian right?” she asked. you nodded as she released all of you.
✨  “GODFATHER!” she yelled, running to Damian. Damian flinched as he heard the name. Bruce couldn’t help but start laughing. he never imagined Damian getting such a title.....like ever. “do you think we’ll have to try and send her back or do you think future us will do that?” Jon asked his dad. “I’m sure all of you in the future are going to figure that out. until then, I guess enjoy time with your daughter?” 
✨  you walked over to Lois, “well, we should get you something to eat. Bruce mentioned that Alfred finished cooking dinner so I guess as parents, you need to eat,” Lois agreed as she walked over to Jon, “weird that they have kids,” Damian said, “don’t forget you’re her godfather,” Bruce mentioned. Clark laughed at the banter as they followed you three. 
✨  over the course of dinner, Lois kept mentioning small parts of her childhood and how all of you turned out. Damian had a kid but had yet to marry the woman with whom he had them with. Bruce as well had found someone down the line to marry and had one more kid after Damian. 
✨  after the dinner, all of you landed in the living room, trying to figure out a way to get Lois back home but within those few minutes, the same portal that brought Lois into the past reappeared. you and Jon stood up immediately, grabbing Lois and putting her behind the two of you. 
✨  three figures stepped out. the future you, Jon, and Damian. all of you were much older than you were now but as soon as your future self saw Lois, you ran to her and engulfed her with a sigh of relief, “I swear I’m never gonna let you do any experiments with Damian and your dad,” you whispered as future Jon and Damian stared at their younger selves. 
✨  “hey dad,” future Damian and Jon said nervously. the two of them shook their heads in disbelief as they gave them slight head nods before leaving before it got any weirder. Jon looked to his younger self, “have you asked her out yet?” he asked. young Jon shook his head no, “don’t worry kid, you will. I’m sure she told you already but don’t worry, life gets so much better with her,” older Jon said as he looked to you and Lois. 
✨  your older version looked to you and smiled, “the movie date both of you have is one you won’t ever forget. trust me, Lois and Jon are the best thing to happen to us. just don’t be scared when you get surprises in a few years,” you joked as you took Jon and Lois’ hand. 
✨  Damian had been staring down his older self down, probably judging and figuring out ways he could improve himself now so he wouldn’t look like that in the future. Lois gave you and Jon a hug, “I’ll miss you guys but like I said, we’ll see each other soon,” she whispered as you nodded and tightened the hug. 
✨  the four of them walked back into the portal as Damian sat down on the couch with relief, “well, don’t yall have that movie night to get too?” Damian said grabbing the remote and insinuating to get out of his house. you flipped him the middle finger as you grabbed your backpack, “you still wanna?” you asked Jon. 
✨  Jon nodded, “of course, we can pick up dinner on the way,” Jon said as he stared at you with heart eyes. now that he saw the future that was ahead of him, he knew this ‘movie night’ he asked you on was a major point in both of your lives and he didn’t want to miss it.
✨  after telling Damian goodbye, Jon grabbed your hand and kissed the back of it, “horror? or comedy?” he asked softly, “horror!” you said back excitedly. 
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dccomicsimagines · 3 years
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What’s Lost is Found - Batfamily Imagine - Part Eleven
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Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five  Part Six  Part Six.Five  Part Seven  Part Eight  Part Nine  Part Ten
***
“Now look at how beautiful it is today,” Dick said as he pushed your wheelchair out of the manor and into the gardens.
You covered your eyes, giving them a moment to adjust. “I guess.” You rubbed the AV fistula in your arm. 
“Are you feeling okay? The dialysis didn’t make you sick again?” Dick rubbed your shoulder with one hand. You swallowed hard. How could your life have changed so much?
“I’m fine.” You smiled when Dick pushed you around a corner to find Kori and Alfred. “Hi.”
“(Y/N), my love.” Kori waddled toward you, kissing your cheek. Her belly was huge. The baby was supposed to arrive any day now. “Come, we decided to have a picnic outside.”
Alfred was setting the picnic table. “Master Dick, will you go get us more ice please?” Dick parked you near the picnic table before running back to the manor. Trees shaded the area, keeping it cool from the summer sun’s blazing gaze. You got to your feet and slowly walked to the table. Alfred watched you worriedly. 
“I’m okay. I just have to get used to walking again.” You waved him off. Two months in a coma weakened you. Not to mention your failing kidneys and your bad arm. You eyed your thin, ghostly arm. The cast had come off the day after you woke up. They told you it took two surgeries to correct it. 
Alfred hummed, pouring you a cup of lemonade. Kori sat across from you. She rubbed her belly. “The baby is kicking again.” 
You perked up. “Can I feel?” She leaned over to take your hand and pressed it against her belly. The baby kicked hard. “Wow.” 
Kori smiled. “They must know you’re here.” 
“How are you such an imbecile that you didn’t know where the ice was located, Grayson?!” Damian’s voice came from around the corner. You pulled away from Kori’s belly.
“Damian’s here? I thought he’d be at the penthouse.” You took a sip of lemonade. Dick and Damian came around the corner with the ice. 
“Master Damian said he’d stop by.” Alfred finished laying out the sandwiches and salads. “Master Tim, Miss Stephanie, and everyone else will be here for dinner.” 
Dick put the ice in the cooler. Damian sat down next to you, glancing you over before he relaxed. You were touched by his concern. “Is Jon back from space yet?” You bumped Damian’s arm. 
“TT, no, he is not.” Damian growled. “Don’t worry about him. He’s an idiot.” He piled food onto his plate. 
You frowned. Alfred started to fill your plate for you, passive aggressively hinting that you should eat. Dick sat down next to Kori. “He’ll be back soon, sweetheart. Superman wouldn’t have sent him to space if he knew you would wake up three days after he left,” Kori said.
“Yeah, sure.” You picked at your food. Alfred sat down at the end of the table in a folding chair. 
“Young Mr. Kent was here all the time. His parents sent him away to give him some distance.” Alfred patted your hand. “It hurt him to leave you.” 
“Couldn’t get him out of the house,” Dick mumbled. “I can’t tell you the number of times we found him sleeping on the floor of your room.” 
Damian huffed, rolling his eyes. You smiled. Your heart ached to see Jon. He was the one person you hadn’t seen yet. Part of you was afraid something happened to him and no one was telling you. “When are you moving back to your swampland?” Damian asked with a smirk. 
Dick rolled his eyes. Kori answered for him. “We are going to wait for the baby to be born and for (Y/N) to receive their new kidney.” Your eyes widened.
“New kidney?!” You gasped. Alfred, Dick, and Damian winced. Kori looked at them, confused. 
“What? (Y/N) needs to know they’re going to get a new kidney.” Kori shook her head at the men. She reached over to rub your arm. 
“We were going to tell them at dinner.” Dick bit his lip, studying you. You sighed. A headache blossomed in your temple. 
You felt sick to your stomach. “Who is it from?” 
Damian swore under his breath. “Like it matters.” 
“Master Damian.” Alfred glared at him. Damian blushed and looked away. You shook your head. Everything had changed so much. 
“I need some space.” You slowly got to your feet and walked off. 
Dick got up to follow you. “(Y/N), don’t walk off on your own.” 
“I’m just going over here! You can see me!” You walked over to a bench a few yards away. “Let me breathe, will you?!” Dick stopped in his tracks. You made it to the bench, panting. Frustration formed a lump in your throat. You were so out of shape.
Dick hovered from where he stopped. You glared at him. His mouth twitched. “Don’t give me that look,” he snapped, marching over to you. “You don’t walk off. Do you understand me?” He grabbed your bad arm. 
“Shut up.” You jerked away from him, but he gripped your arm tighter. You gasped in pain. 
Dick let go, but he pointed his finger in your face. “Do you know how much you scared us all?! You walked off and literally handed yourself over to the enemy! We all thought you were dead until we received word about the auction!” Dick’s hand trembled. The guilt crashed down on you, soaking you with that terrible sinking feeling. “You don’t get to act this way! Not now! Not after everything!” 
Kori came to Dick’s side. “Dick, sweetheart. Stop.” She pulled his hand out of your face. You looked away, hiding the quiver of your lips. Your eyes burned with tears. 
Dick took a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.” He walked off further into the garden. “Give me a minute.” Kori watched him go, tears in her eyes as well. She followed him after a moment. You watched them go.
“And you were saying I have no decorum, Pennyworth,” Damian retorted from the table. Alfred hushed him. You buried your face into your hands, leaning down over your knees. 
Alfred approached with his short, slow steps. He settled on the bench beside you, rubbing your back. “Mx. (Y/N), try to not get too upset. Master Dick shouldn’t have exploded like he did. He was just expressing the worry we all had for you.” 
“TT.” Damian wandered over. He stood in front of you. You sat up to meet his eye.
“Master Damian, you are not one to talk, so don’t even start.” Alfred shot Damian a look so cold, it almost made you think the warm summer day suddenly turned to winter. “You both were reckless and irresponsible. Too much like your father.”  
You smiled sadly. “I know,” you said. Damian raised an eyebrow. 
“I would like to point out if Jon and I did not do what we did, (Y/N)’s condition probably would be worse.” Damian nudged your foot with his. 
“Once again reckless.” Alfred shook his head. “You both pushed Master Dick to the brink. With Miss Kori recovering from her injuries, to finding Mx. (Y/N) gone, then Master Damian.” He kept rubbing your back soothingly. “Try to not push him, Mx. (Y/N). He is coming to terms with everything.”
“I know, but he’s hovering again.” You blinked back tears, refusing to cry in front of Damian. 
Alfred nodded. “I will speak to him. Just understand he does it all out of love and concern.” Alfred got back to his feet. “Now come back to the table. You both need to eat.” 
Damian took your hand and helped you to your feet. “Do you notice he scolds me more than he scolds you?” 
“It’s probably because you’re Batman.” You poked his side teasingly. Damian let you walk on your own, but stayed nearby in case you needed him. You made it to the table, exhausted. Damian, Alfred, and you went back to eating. Dick and Kori joined you minutes later and the meal continued peacefully. 
***
“So it turns out, we’re a match,” Tim said from his seat across the dining room table. Steph sat down next to him, holding his hand. 
“Tim, you can’t give me a kidney.” You shook your head in disbelief. 
Damian huffed, leaning back in his chair. “TT, like (Y/N) would want your inferior kidney?” He glared over at Tim. “And why are you a match when I am (Y/N)’s blood brother?” 
Tim pursed his lips, clearly holding back a snarky retort. Steph spoke up before Tim could. “(Y/N) and you may be biological siblings, but you have too much diversity in your DNA to be a match. Besides, turns out you, (Y/N), and Tim are sixth cousins.” Steph giggled, smirking at the shock on Damian’s face.
“I guess that makes sense.” You smiled at Damian’s dropped jaw. “I mean the Drakes are part of Gotham’s high society and they married each other all the time. That’s how we’re related to the Kanes too.” You reached over to close Damian’s jaw. “Besides, sixth cousins means we’re barely related anyway.” 
“However, I’m still a match and I want to give you a kidney.” Tim smiled, leaning his elbows onto the table. 
“Did I miss it?” Jason ran into the room, looking at Damian. “Damn it, I missed it. I told you to wait until I got here before you told him you’re sixth cousins.” 
Steph rolled her eyes. “We can’t help it if you’re slow.” 
Jason flicked her forehead before sitting down next to you. “So you’re taking Tim’s kidney? Guess that means you’d be blood siblings.” 
You shook your head. “That’s not how it works.”
Horror dawned on Damian’s face. “No, I refuse to allow this to happen.” He pointed at Tim. “I will not let you pollute the Wayne bloodline with your fucking incompetence.” 
Tim opened his mouth, but Steph stopped him. “Let me.” She smiled before laying into Damian. They argued loudly and within minutes, Damian was flying over the table to tackle Steph. Jason egged them on. Tim moved out of the way, coming over to your side. 
“I think Steph is enjoying this too much.” Tim bit his lip.
“To be fair, Damian had it coming.” You blinked back tears. “Tim, you don’t have to give me a kidney.”
“I know I don’t have to.” Tim smiled, taking your hand. “But I want to.” He tapped your nose like he used to do when you were really young. “We’re siblings. Besides, I don’t think I could live with myself knowing you were on dialysis for the rest of your life when I could have just given you one of mine.” 
You squeezed his hand. “But what about Red Robin? You’ll have to be careful with only one kidney.” 
Tim chuckled. “I was actually thinking about retiring.” Your jaw dropped, making Tim laugh harder. “I’ll still investigate and help Damian out, but I won’t go into the field. With Wayne Enterprises, it’s just too much.” He ran a hand through his hair. A move you all inherited from Dick. “Yesterday, I fell asleep during a board meeting. Lucius had to kick me under the table to wake me up.” 
You laughed. Steph and Damian broke a vase on the table by the wall. Dick ran into the room. “What the hell are you two doing?!” He pulled them apart, scolding them like they were two small children. 
“I can’t believe Batman is wrestling with Spoiler.” Duke laughed, coming in with Cass and Alfred. They were carrying plates to set the table. 
“Luckily, preparing dinner took shorter than expected. I would hate to have more casualties,” Alfred said, eyeing the broken vase. Cass clicked her tongue, smiling. She patted your shoulder as she passed. Tim got up to help them. You stayed where you were, startled by the warm feeling in your chest. It felt like you were home at last. 
***
Two weeks later, you strolled the gardens by yourself. You were getting stronger. The doctors said in a week, you should be ready for the kidney transplant.  
You sat down on a stone bench under the Northern Red Oak Alfred always told you had been planted when the first Waynes moved into the manor over two hundred years ago. 
Closing your eyes, you breathed in the fresh air. It surprised you that you found you missed the humidity of Florida. Maybe it was a home to you after all?
A sonic boom cracked the air. You flinched. Birds went flying, squawking loudly. “What?” You stood up only to suddenly find yourself off your feet and in someone’s arms. Lips pressed against yours. Jon’s scent hit your nose. You kissed him, closing your eyes. 
“I can’t believe you’re awake.” Jon was spinning you around. You laughed, squeezing your eyes shut to avoid getting dizzy.
“Jon, stop.” You wrapped your arms around his neck. He stopped to kiss you again. You melted into him. “I missed you.” You pulled away to get a good look at him. 
His hair was longer. A glance at the ground told you he grew another inch as well. Did his shoulders fill out? Your face burned. You definitely didn’t grow any. Probably looked worse. Lost a lot of weight and so weak. Jon studied you. “You look so beautiful.” He kissed you again, sitting down on the bench with you in his lap.
“Now I know you’re lying.” You leaned against him, soaking in his warmth. “I look like I got hit by a truck.” 
Jon blinked. “No, you’re beautiful.” He grinned, tilting his head like a puppy dog. You ran your hands through his longer hair. “I flew here as soon as they told me.” 
“When did you get back?” You kissed his cheek, laughing when he turned to catch your lips with his. 
“Five minutes ago.” He smirked. “We just arrived at the Watchtower and Dad met me in the hanger bay. I zoomed out of there so fast, I’m sure I gave the Flash whiplash.” 
You smiled as you kept running your fingers through his hair. Jon smiled back at you before frowning. “Something is happened in the house.” 
“What?” You glanced back at the manor curiously. “Oh, I bet Kori went into labor. She was complaining of back pain this morning.” 
Jon paled slightly. “Dick is losing his mind.” 
You rolled your eyes. “Yeah? He loses his mind at everything.” You nodded to the manor. “I suppose we should go see.” 
“Do we have to? I mean what if the baby is coming fast or they want privacy...” Jon tightened his arms around you. 
You got out of his lap and took his hand. “Don’t tell me Superboy is scared of childbirth? It’s really not that bad.” You rolled your eyes when Jon didn’t get up. “Come on, it’s early labor. Let’s just say goodbye before they head to the Watchtower for the delivery.” 
“How are you not nervous?” Jon followed you, squeezing your hand gently.
“During the Joker infection a few years ago, I had to help a woman give birth. She was crying in one of the old apartments in the Bowery. I found her and had to keep her calm with thousands of laughing jokerized people outside.” You shivered. “Honesty, this is nothing compared to that.” 
Jon stopped. You turned to look at him only to find him studying you in awe. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”
You bit back a smile. “Maybe. The woman named her kid after me. Robin Maria de León. She should be about two now.” You pulled Jon to keep walking. “They moved out of Gotham after the attack.”
Jon shook his head, kissing your temple as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders. The two of you entered the manor and followed the noise to one of the dens. Kori was sitting on the couch, quite relaxed. “Oh Jon, you have returned. (Y/N) was missing you,” Kori said, flipping through a magazine.
“How is she so calm?” Jon remarked. You moved to sit next to her. 
“Is it time?” you asked, leaving Jon to keep his distance. He was acting like Kori had an infectious disease instead of going into labor.
“It is.” Kori sighed when a loud bang came from upstairs. “Dick is not handling it well.” She set down the magazine. “(Y/N), will you go help him get my bag? Jon, stay here and tell me about your adventure to space.” 
Jon swallowed hard. You patted his arm as you passed. “You’ll be fine. It’s just Kori.” 
It took you a full minute to get up the stairs.  You panted at the top, slowly making your way to Dick and Kori’s room. At least you weren’t as wiped out as you were a few days ago. Progress.
“Where is the damn thing?” Dick slammed a drawer shut before ripping open another. Clothes were scattered about the room. 
“Kori is going to be pissed if she comes back to find the room like this.” You leaned against the door frame to rest. Dick looked up at you worriedly. 
“I’ll clean it up. I just have to find it before we go.” Dick turned away once he was satisfied you were alright. 
“Yeah.” You moved into the bedroom once you caught your breath, picking up and folding the clothes. “What are you looking for?” 
Dick swore under his breath. “I’m looking for Sitka.”
You blinked, stacking the clothes on the bed. “Sitka?”
“My stuffed elephant that I had when I was a kid. I wanted the baby to have it right away.” Dick ran a hand through his hair, glancing around. “I thought I left it here, but maybe I did take it down to Florida.” He shook his head and grabbed Kori’s bag. “I guess I’ll have to go without it.” 
“I’m sure it will turn up.” You smiled when Dick hugged you tightly, kissing your forehead. 
Dick hummed. “I’ll keep you updated. Be good. Unless you want to come with us? It’s going to be a few hours at the least.” He pulled away to look you in the eye. 
“I’ll wait. Jon’s here.” You bit your lip when Dick’s eyes flashed at your words. 
“Tell him that if he sonic booms over the manor again, I’ll break out Bruce’s kryptonite ring.” Dick ran a hand through your hair. 
You smirked. “Sure, you will.” 
Dick chuckled before a shout from below made you both freeze. “Gotta go.” Dick rushed out of the room and back downstairs. You followed slowly, shaking your head at the chaos below.
***
“If you were a sentimental fool, where would you leave it?” You mumbled, glancing around Dick and Kori’s bedroom at their house in Florida. 
“I would have probably left it on my bed or something,” Jon said, checking under the bed. He pulled out a box, opening it before quickly shutting it again. His face burned redder than you ever seen it before.
You frowned, crossing your arms. “What was that?” 
“Nothing you would want to know about.” Jon gagged. “I can’t unsee it.” He covered his eyes with his hands. 
Shaking your head, you opened the closet door and checked in there again. “It wasn’t at the manor, so it has to be here.” 
“I know you want to do this for him, but shouldn’t we be going to the watchtower? Dick called you an hour ago.” Jon pushed the box back under the bed with disgust. 
“No, not until we find it.” You hummed. “We still haven’t checked the attic.” You headed out to the hallway and pulled down the staircase. Jon followed, frowning. “Come on.” Taking out your phone, you turned on the flashlight and climbed up. You ran out of breath at the top. 
“Rest.” Jon pushed you to sit on the top of the stairs. “I’ll take a look.” He took your phone and wandered into the dark attic. 
“I know Dick put the Christmas stuff up here and some of my boxes.” You leaned back on your hands, closing your eyes. “It should be up here. He had stuff up here already when I brought up mine.” 
Jon hummed, opening a box. “Decorations.” He closed it and went to another one. “Why couldn’t you label anything?”
You smiled, getting up to point to the side of the box. It was neatly labeled in your handwriting. “We did.” 
“Damian’s right. I am blind even with supersight.” He shook his head and moving deeper into the attic. The attic ceiling was low. You both had to duck down uncomfortably just to move around. 
After searching for a while, you found a box in the far back. It was covered in dust. No one had touched it in years. You wrinkled your nose, blowing off dust to read the label written in Dick’s messy handwriting. “Stuff. No wonder he can’t find anything if he just labels it ‘stuff’.” 
Jon came over with your phone to give you more light. You opened the box, sending dust everywhere. Jon sneezed. “So much dust.” 
You shook your head, peering inside. Right on top was Sitka. “Found it.” You took out the worn, old elephant. 
Jon raised an eyebrow. “We probably should wash it before we give it to the baby.” 
“Probably.” You handed it to him, frowning at the painting under Sitka. It looked familiar. “Oh my, he kept it.” You pulled it out. It was the painting you made years ago, back when Dick was Batman and you were his kid. “My ‘Jackson Pollock’.” 
“Who’s Jackson Pollock?” Jon settled down next to you, wrapping an arm around you. You leaned into him, tired from moving around. The painting was just how you remembered it. 
“A painter. I read about him and copied his work when I was little. I gave this one to Dick.” You shook your head. “I thought he would have gotten rid of it.” 
Jon hummed. “Judging by what we dug through, Dick doesn’t throw things away.” 
A frown pulled at your lips. Dick never threw anything or anyone away, even when they hurt him. You swallowed hard. “Yeah.” You dug through the box, finding more treasures from the year Dick was your parent. It hurt and pleased at the same time. ”I’m always mean to him. I don’t know why he cares.” 
“Because he loves you.” Jon kissed your temple. “And you’re not always mean to him. I think you’re one of the kindest people I’ve met.” 
“That’s a lie.” You closed the box. Your stomach twisted uncomfortably. 
“No, it’s not.” Jon kissed your cheek. “A mean person wouldn’t have spent all this time trying to find a stuffed elephant.” 
You snorted. Dust got into your nose. You sneezed hard. “Okay, we got to get out of here.” Your eyes watered. 
Jon nodded, helping you up. The two of you left the dark, dusty attic behind.
***
Hours later, you were alone on the watchtower. It was quiet and dark, being nighttime for most of the league members. Jon had went home after he dropped you off here. 
A dull ache came back to your bad arm as it seemed to do every night. You wondered if it would ever go away. Space was so deathly silent. You felt like you had to hold your breath. Sitka was under your arm, dust free and clean for the baby. 
It took you a good few minutes to find Kori’s room in the medbay. She was fast asleep with a bassinet next to her. You tiptoed inside and peeked inside the bassinet. “Wow,” you gasped quietly, smiling at the tiny little baby inside. Tufts of dark hair, same color as Dick’s, stuck out from under the blanket they was swaddled in. Their little hand twitched in their sleep was the same golden orange as Kori’s. 
You stared at the baby for a long time. Of course, you had seen babies before. Even helped someone deliver one, but you had to admit, you never saw a more beautiful baby. 
Carefully, you set Sitka in the far corner of the bassinet where the baby could see it when they woke up. You blinked, realizing at this moment you didn’t know if the baby was a boy or girl. Dick only said the baby was born and for you to come, nothing else. You glanced at Kori, who was still asleep. 
After a few minutes of gazing at the baby some more, you pulled yourself away and slipped out of the room. You turned the corner to head back to the teleporter only to come face to face with Dick. 
“Now you show up.” Dick took a step back, sipping a cup of coffee. Dark circles were under his eyes making him look older than his years. His hair was a mess. You resisted the urge to fix it. “I called you hours ago.” 
“I was busy.” You bit your lip. His mouth twitched. Eyebrows furrowed. He was angry. Why was he angry?
Dick took a moment to swallow before walking around you and back down the hall. You followed, concerned. “I was waiting for you.” He spun around to face you. His lips pulled into a frown. 
“I know, but I was busy.” You raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? You should be happy. The baby is beautiful.” 
Dick’s face softened. He glanced inside the window of the medbay at Kori and the bassinet. “We wanted you to be here, you know? To meet your niece for the first time.” 
“She’s a girl.” You smiled, peeking around the corner. “I should have known. She has so much hair already.” You looked back at Dick, catching loss of focus in his eyes, the slight droop of his lower eyelid. “Oh, so you’re not mad? You’re sad I didn’t get here right away.” You smiled when Dick’s eyes widened. “I learned from the best, you know.” 
Dick took a sip of coffee, sensing you were mocking him with the ‘you know’. Of course, you were. “I guess I’m worried what you would think of adding a baby to our little family. A baby changes things.” 
You shrugged. “Not that many things.” Your eyes stayed on the bassinet. 
“I suppose not.” Dick studied you. “Do you want to hold her? We’ll have to be careful if she’s asleep.” 
Fear stuck you like lightning. It was one thing to look at the baby, but another thing to hold one. “I don’t...I mean...” You bit your lip. 
Dick chuckled. “You won’t drop her.” He went into the room, setting his coffee down on a table before looking into the bassinet. You held your breath when you saw him pause, knowing he saw Sitka. He looked back at you, raising an eyebrow and holding up the elephant. Your face heated up. You looked away. 
“Come on, Mar’i. You need to meet (Y/N).” Dick came out with the bundle in his arms. You froze, terror chilled you to the core. “Don’t be scared, (Y/N).” Dick nodded to your arms. You swallowed hard, copying his. He slipped Mar’i right into yours. You gasped. She was awake, staring up at you with brilliant green eyes. 
“Hi.” You smiled bigger than you had in a long time. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Dick taking a picture on his phone. You ignored him. Mar’i just blinked. “So her name is Mar’i?” 
“Mar’i (Y/N) Grayson.” Dick smirked when you looked at him in surprise. “I mean it fits, don’t you think?” 
You bit your lip, looking down at Mar’i. “I guess it does.” You rocked her. She dozed off in your arms. 
“Thank you for getting Sitka for me.” Dick leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes. “I suppose that’s why you didn’t come right away, huh? That’s why I can never stay mad at you. Always sneaking up and doing something sweet.” 
You sighed, leaning down to kiss Mar’i’s head. She smelled of baby powder and sunshine. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Dick raised an eyebrow, opening his eyes to look at you. 
“Everything.” Alfred’s words echoed through your head. Guilt soured your stomach once again. “I shouldn’t have handed myself over to Bane’s son. I threw my life away and I know that hurt you.” 
Dick blinked. “I forgive you, sweetheart.” He stepped over to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. You leaned into him, using him to help support Mar’i‘s weight. It started to strain your arms. “Just don’t ever do it again.”
You snorted. “I don’t plan on it.” Dick kissed your temple, chuckling as you looked down at Mar’i’s perfect little face. 
***
“Now don’t panic.” Jason poked at your arm as you laid in the hospital bed. Nurses moved around you, prepping you for surgery. “You’re going to have Tim’s kidney inside of you, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be a stick-in-the-mud like him.” 
“Geez, thanks,” Tim said from across the room, where he was also being prepped for surgery. 
You laughed. “Stop it.” You batted Jason’s hand away. “Dick and Kori will be here when I wake up, won’t they?” 
Jason gasped, pressing his hand against his chest like you shot him. “What about me? I’m here, giving my support.”
“More like a headache,” Tim grumbled. 
“Yes, they will be here. They just have to handle the baby first.” Jason kissed your cheek. “Little Mar’ionster.” 
You smirked. “Don’t call her that. You don’t want Kori firing star bolts at you again, do you?” 
“Like she could hit me.” Jason matched your smirk and leaned back in his chair. 
“We’ll take them in now,” the nurse said, gesturing for Jason to leave. “You may wait in the waiting room.” 
“Sure, sure.” Jason kissed the top of your head. “Be good.” He went over to Tim. Tim glared at him, daring him to do something. “Ah, don’t be like that, Timbo.” He ruffled Tim’s hair, much to Tim’s despair. 
Tim knocked his hand away. “Get out of here already.” Jason left, laughing his head off. The nurses rolled your bed into the operating room across the hall. You frowned at the bright lights. 
Tim was parked a little ways from you. “You okay?” He asked, smiling when he met your eye.
“Fine. You?” You swallowed hard, suddenly scared.
“Good.” He winked at you. “We’ll be fine. Once we’re out, we can laze around and watch cartoons like we used to.” 
“Ninja Turtles?” You smiled. The tension drained out of you.
Tim nodded, turning away when the anesthesiologist spoke to him. You gripped at the blanket covering you.
“Relax, (Y/N). You’ll be fine.” A nurse rubbed your arm. You gave her a shaky smile.
The anesthesiologist left Tim and came over to you. “I want you to count down from one hundred for me,” he said soothingly as he injected something into your IV. You closed your eyes, counting only to pass out at ninety seven.
***
“I can’t believe I haven’t watch this before,” Jon remarked, sitting by your feet and leaning back against the couch. You lifted your legs to rest on his shoulders. He kissed the side of your knee, hugging your lower legs. 
“You never watched Ninja Turtles?” Your fingers played with his hair. “That’s it. Can’t be together anymore.” 
Tim snorted from his spot on the couch next to you. “If that was the case, I would have broken up with Steph a long time ago.” 
“Did I hear my name?” Steph walked in with a tray of healthy snacks Alfred prepared. “Speak of the devil and she should appear.”
She set the tray down on the coffee table, handing a small bowl of popcorn to Tim and you. You munched happily. Jon tilted his head back with his mouth open. You fed him a piece. “Thanks,” he said, tilting his head back to the tv. 
Your recovery was going good. You had only a little pain and your body was accepting Tim’s kidney the best it could. The medications weren’t fun and came with their own restrictions, but you were happy to not have dialysis three times a week.  
Tim was recovering as well if not better than you were. He was still on the same healthy diet as you, but at least he didn’t have the same medications you did. 
The four of you watched cartoons and snacked away. Eventually, Tim and Steph left to go back to their apartment. You and Jon kept watching until Jon fell asleep and your legs went numb from laying over his shoulders. 
“Ouch.” You folded your legs back, wincing at the pins and needles. The remote laid next to you. You put on the news out of habit. 
“Today, the court decided the fate of Tourne Wu-San, otherwise known as Bane. Two weeks ago, the court confirmed Wu-San guilty on charges of terrorism.” You froze, shocked that you didn’t hear about this before. Why didn’t anyone tell you? “Wu-San’s sentencing was held off after much conflict from Santa Prisca’s embassy. However, after confirmation of Wu-San’s dual citizenship, the court sentenced Tourne Wu-San to death by lethal injection.” 
“What?!” You jumped to your feet only to fall back onto the couch. Your legs were still asleep. The blood drained out of your face. Jon jerked awake, looking around.
“What’s wrong?” He focused on you, frowning deeply. “Woah, hey. You look like you seen a ghost.” 
Your hands shook. “They’re going to kill him.” Jon took your hand. His hand radiated warmth. You pulled away, unable to accept the comfort. “It’s all my fault. He’s going to die because of what I did.” 
“Sweetheart, what are you talking about?” Jon kissed your arm, moving to sit on the couch beside you. 
You shook your head, pointing at the screen. The TV was playing a My Pillow commercial. “Bane’s son. They sentenced him to die.” 
Jon swallowed hard. His face paled. “That’s rough.” 
“Rough? He’s going to die and it’s all my fault.” You jumped to your feet and paced the room. “I have to help him.”
“It’s not your fault, (Y/N). He made his own choices.” Jon stood in front of you, forcing you to stop pacing. “He has to pay for what he did. If the courts decided that, we can’t change it.” 
Tears ran down your cheeks. The surge of emotions raged through you, but you knew you couldn’t live if Bane’s son was killed. “Yes, we can. We can break him out and free him.” 
“Are you crazy?!” Jon threw his hands up in the air. “He almost killed you.” He leaned close to your face. “You had to get a kidney transplant because of him! People lost their lives and homes because of him!”
You screamed. Jon jerked away from you. “He’s like us, Jon!” You pushed Jon away from you. “He’s like Damian and me! All three of us lost parents that day! We can’t let it continue!” 
“What the hell is going on in here?!” Dick burst through the door. “I’m trying to get Mar’i to sleep and all I can hear is yelling!” Jon blushed. You panted before storming past Dick. Dick caught your arm. “Hey, what’s wrong?” His voice dropped to a soothing whisper. You were confused until you realized you were still crying.
“Nothing.” You yanked your arm away from Dick. “Just leave me alone.” You ran upstairs and slammed your bedroom door shut behind you. Only then did you allow yourself to break down completely.
***
“Have you lost your mind? He’s a criminal.” Damian folded his hands in front of him as he sat in his batcomputer chair like it was a throne. You glanced around the batcave he had made for himself under Wayne Tower and admitted the chair was a throne in a way. This was Damian’s kingdom he built on his own. 
“Damian, we can’t let him die.” You rocked on your feet. Jon hovered behind you. Despite the fact he hadn’t said a word, his disapproval burned into you. “We can’t let the cycle of death continue.” 
Damian raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” 
“Bane killed Dad, then I killed Bane.” You swallowed hard. Those words would always carry a heavy weight for you. “Bane’s son almost killed me and if we allow him to be executed, what’s to stop someone from Santa Prisca to come after us and Gotham again?” You crossed your arms, shivering. “We have to stop the cycle. No more death.” 
“Interesting notion.” Damian rubbed his chin. He spun in his chair and typed on his computer. 
You waited, watching his screens. A smile pulled at your lips when Damian brought up the schematics of Blackgate Prison where Bane’s son was being held. “Damian, you can’t be serious,” Jon said, going to Damian’s side. “He almost killed (Y/N).” 
“Yes, but he didn’t, did he?” Damian kept working. “He could have killed (Y/N) right after they handed themselves over, but he didn’t.” Damian glanced back at you. “He could have killed them during the three weeks they held them, but he didn’t. When he caused (Y/N) to overdose, he knew we would get to them in time to prevent cardiac failure.” You smiled. “I say he didn’t want to kill (Y/N) just as much as (Y/N) doesn’t want to see him executed.” 
Jon glanced between the two of you. “Nope. This is not happening.” He crossed his arms. “I love you, (Y/N) and Damian, you’re my best friend, but I’m not letting you do this. I’ll tell my dad and Dick if I have to.” 
Damian snorted. “I guess we’ll have to do this quickly then.” In a move so fast, you almost missed it, Damian landed a punch to Jon’s jaw. Jon fell like a rock. You gasped, running to him. “TT, he’s fine. Just repaying him for the time he did that to me.” 
“He’s unconscious.” You felt the lump on his jaw. “Damn it, Damian. A bit more pressure and you would have broken his jaw.” Damian huffed, taking off the kryptonite ring and putting back into his belt. 
“I know what I am doing.” Damian cracked his knuckles and walked over to his changing area. “Come along. We have to be done before he wakes up.” 
You were torn between Jon and Damian, but you knew you had to save Bane’s son. Kissing Jon’s head, you got him a pillow and a blanket before following Damian.
***
Pursing your lips, you gripped the stirring wheel of Damian’s flying batmobile. It was in camouflage mode, hovering only a few meters above the prison. You held your breath, counting to ten, then releasing it. Damian entered the prison twenty minutes ago. Where was he?
You glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning now. At your best estimate, Jon would wake up in another half an hour. You had to be back before then. 
A flash of red light came from the roof of Blackgate. You sighed in relief, lowering the batmobile until it was a few feet above the roof. It rocked as two forms climbed to the cockpit. 
“I don’t understand why you would do this,” Bane’s son said, confused. Damian pushed him to sit in the backseat before climbing up to join you at the front. 
“Shut up.” Damian growled in his Batman voice. You shook your head, feeling Bane’s son’s eyes on you. You hit the gas, flying the batmobile away from the prison. “I think we need to provide some more funding. Blackgate’s security has too many holes.” 
“Says someone on the outside.” Bane’s son looked out the window. “Where are you taking me? Are you planning to kill me?” 
You glanced back at him. He didn’t have his mask on. Your heart jumped into your throat. “We’re ending this.” 
Damian huffed. “TT, now it sounds like we’re going to kill him.” 
Bane’s son chuckled. “It does.” 
“I didn’t mean that.” You smiled. It was odd to have the man who was your captor for three long weeks and forced you to overdose, sitting behind you, making a joke. “I meant that we’re going to end the cycle of death. All three of us have suffered enough. We couldn’t allow you to lose your life when you should get a chance to move on.” 
“And how am I supposed to do that? They will search for me.” Bane’s son shook his head. “Not to mention they will know it was you who set me free.” 
Damian glared at him. “What do you take us for? Idiots?” He smirked dangerously. “They may suspect we have something to do with it, but no one will know as long as they never find you.” 
“That is not reassuring me that you aren’t going to kill me.” Bane’s son sighed. “I never wanted this.” 
“None of us did.” You bit your lip. “But we can let it go now. No more killing, no more pain, no more death.” 
You landed the batmobile on the shoreline in the outskirts of Gotham. All three of you got out. Damian helped you. He squeezed your arm, reminding you to take it easy. Bane’s son studied you as if he could already see the damage he had done to you. 
“What now?” he asked, pulling his gaze away from you. 
“TT.” Damian went to the shoreline. He pressed a button on his gauntlet to reveal a camouflaged boat. “Your escape.” He narrowed his eyes at Bane’s son. “It’s autopilot will take you to Canada. Inside is money and documents for your new identity.”
Bane’s son blinked in surprise. “You are really letting me go? After everything I did to your city and to you?” He pointed to you. “They told me I put you in a coma for two months.” 
“Like I said. I’m letting it go and I hope you can too.” You held out a hand. “Go live the life you wanted to live before I forced you to fight your father’s battles.” 
Bane’s son eyed your hand. He paused before taking it. “Let bygones be bygones.” He smiled. “Thank you.” 
Relief washed over you. The tension you didn’t realized you had for so long drained out of you. “You’re welcome.” Bane’s son pulled his hand away. He nodded to Damian before running to the boat. 
You and Damian watched as the boat disappeared into the distance. “We have to go. Kent will be awake soon.” Damian helped you back into the batmobile, taking the pilot’s seat this time. 
“We did good.” You closed your eyes, exhausted.
“TT. Only time will tell, I suppose, but you are right.” Damian flew the batmobile back to the city. “It feels like we did the right thing.” 
***
You sat on Damian’s couch with Jon’s head on your lap. Your hand lazily ran through his hair. He hadn’t woken up yet, much to your relief. You kissed his forehead. Tears filled your eyes. You knew he probably won’t forgive you for this.
“TT.” Damian walked by. “Stop being emotional.” 
“Shut up.” You glared at him only to turn back to Jon when you felt him stir in your lap. 
Jon groaned, opening his eyes. His hand came up to rub his jaw. “What happened?” 
“Payback.” Damian retorted, tossing an icepack onto Jon’s lap.
You shook your head. “Damian punched you.” You took the ice pack and pressed it gently against Jon’s jaw. Jon looked at you, drinking in the tears in your eyes. He probably could feel the guilt dripping off you.
“You did it, didn’t you?” His voice was a whisper as he looked into your eyes. Biting your lip, you nodded. Jon sighed and closed his eyes. “You look like there is a weight off your shoulders.” 
“What?” You twisted a strand of his hair around your finger. He opened his eyes.
“When I first saw you at Christmas, you looked like you had this backpack of rocks hanging off you at all times. Even when I made you laugh, you still had it.” Jon smiled sadly. “But now it looks like it’s gone. You seem...happier.” 
Damian huffed, taking a seat nearby. “That was put as eloquently as you could manage, Kent.” 
“Shut up, Damian.” Jon glared at Damian before looking back at you. “I’m sorry I tried to stand in your way.” 
You grinned, leaning down to kiss his lips. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
Jon moaned into the kiss. “You’re the amazing one.” 
“Stop it! I’m sitting right here!” Damian threw a pillow at you. You caught it easily with one hand. Jon kept kissing you. You never felt so relieved in your life. 
***
Time passed. You recovered from your transplant, thriving the best you could even with the side effects from all the medications. The rest of the family seemed to know you and Damian had something to do with Bane’s son’s escape, but didn’t act on their suspicions. 
After three long months, you, Dick, Kori, and baby Mar’i were moving back down to Florida. Luckily, you were able to make up enough work to graduate from high school like you planned. You were going to a small college nearby for at least the first year.  After everything, you did want to be near family for now.
The car was packed for the drive home. However, you insisted on one last stop. “Are you sure you want to go alone?” Dick asked, getting out of the car. You nodded your head. 
“I’m good.” You walked into the cemetery. Dick’s gaze weighed on you. It brought you some comfort as you remembered how messed up you were when you came here the first time. 
Mar’i started to cry in the distance. Kori soothed her. You walked past graves. Their noise faded until you got to the one you were looking for. 
“Hi Dad.” You knelt down in front of the simple tombstone. The silence was deafening. “I’m doing like I promised. I’m living my life.” You smiled sadly. “And I repaired my mistakes. Damian, Bane’s son, and I are free from the events of that one night.” Your face burned. “Well, I will always carry the burden, but it won’t dominate my life anymore.” 
“I’m sorry I haven’t come earlier. It’s still hard to think that you’re here.” Tears filled your eyes. “I’ve got to stop crying so much. I feel like that’s all I do.” You rested your forehead on the tombstone. “I’m being nice to Dick and Kori.” You sighed deeply.  “Mar’i is beautiful too. You’d like her. She’s got your grumpy look.” 
A laugh escaped you. “I love you so much, Dad.” You pressed a kiss to the tombstone before pulling away. “I hope I do you proud.” Slowly, you got to your feet. “Goodbye, Dad.” You let your hand rest on the tombstone for a moment. “Thank you for everything.” Almost painfully, you let your hand drop away and started back toward the car. 
Dick and Kori were outside, waiting for you. Mar’i was in Kori’s arms, looking at you with those beautiful green eyes. You went to them, allowing yourself to be pulled into Dick’s arms. Kori wrapped one arm around the two of you. You sighed, enjoying the hug. “We can go home now,” you said firmly. You knew truly what was lost had been found.
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purplefair · 3 years
Text
j.t. | all i wanted
pairing: jason todd x unrequited!reader & platonic!dick grayson x platonic!reader
a/n: dear fucking god- this hurt to write- and this is an au where all the robins are living at the manor. reader is close friends with the batboys. also “she” is the new batgirl- also, there isn’t a specific iteration of the characters that is mentioned, i left that up to your imagination. :) and i didn’t know how tf to begin this-
request: yes by @artistichoodiegirl : “i wrote a poem that reminds me of jason. can you write an angst fic based off of it?”
warnings: ANGST OMFG THE ANGST- also, i don’t know if i like the way this came out, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless. :)
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you wanted to deny your feelings for him, but being as that felt physically impossible, you felt like a lost cause. crying your eyes out almost every night all because of a stupid guy. your brain tells you that you’re an adult, that you shouldn’t be so messed up over a guy, that you’re pathetic for feeling this way.
this night wasn’t any different, laying on your bed, wallowing in your own self pity.
dick walked down the hallway to your bedroom to tell you that dinner was ready, but when he heard your sniffling through the door before he was about to knock, he became concerned for his best friend. dick knocked, not giving you a chance to respond before turning the handle and opening your door to find you and your room a mess.
tissues everywhere, empty water-bottles, and and dishes on your bed-side table. he sighed before asking the same question he had been asking you for days, “are you okay?”
you turned to him, and what he saw shocked him. your hair messy and all over the place, eyes and nose red, it didn’t look like you were just sad, you looked ill.
“yeah, i’m just peachy.” you replied sarcastically, trying to deter him from being serious with you. “y/n i’m being serious. you’ve been cooped up in here for what seems like days, the boys are worried about you.” you chuckled, still trying to make it seem like you were okay.
dick walked a little bit further into your room before closing the door, knowing you didn’t like your door open. he moves to your bed, sitting across from you, “is he worried?” you asked, already thinking that this certain “he” couldn’t give less of shit about you.
“yes, jason is. he’s been wondering if you’re okay, why you’ve been avoiding him, and why you won’t even so much as look at him anymore.” you keep your eyes looking away from dick, knowing looking at him would make you sob again. “you know i can’t tell him why.”
“why not? you aren’t going to ruin his happiness with her by just talking to him about how you feel. i bet you’d even find at least some closure by talking to him!” you know he’s right, he usually is about these things. you, again, didn’t respond. opting to keep your eyes away from dicks gaze.
“if you’re not going to talk to him, fine. but at least come out and get dinner, talk to the rest of the family for a little bit, please?”
“i don’t know dick-“ “please, for me?” you shouldn’t have looked at him, his gorgeous blue eyes are impossible to say no to. “…fine. but let me get ready, i look like absolute shit right now.”
“yeah, you do.” that earned him a pillow to the face.
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you closed your bedroom door before heading down the hall and to the kitchen. were you nervous, yeah. did you really want to speak to jason, no. but, you were doing this for your best friend and no one else.
and of course, the sight that you didn’t want to see the most was right in front of you, jason sitting on the couch with her in his lap, almost on top of him.
“hey, look who finally came out of hiding.” you mentally cursed tim for making it obvious. heads turned, but jason’s and hers stayed where they were, as though the couldn’t care less. you looked away from them and moved over to where damian, tim, and dick had been sitting after already getting some food.
you were 90% sure that tim knew about your feelings for jason, you didn’t know if damian knew or cared, and of course, dick being the emotional support friend, of course he knew.
you four sat in comfortable silence, occasionally hearing jason and her giggle, making you want to shiver from how uncomfortable it was. tim seemed to notice this and gave you a look of sympathy, damian lyes back on the couch and muttered to himself, “idiot…” looking at jason.
you chuckled softly, you didn’t know what it was, but damian had a way of making you feel better, even if it was unintentional. of course he knew, your moping had been kind of obvious.
making comfortable small talk with the other boys while eating, jason occasionally looked at you. ‘i should talk to her.’ he thought, before being distracted by the woman in front of him.
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laying on your bed, staring at the ceiling trying not be/ feel pathetic for being upset that he didn’t even speak to you during dinner. you grabbed the pillow on the other side of your bed and pushed it over your face, and screamed.
even though jason has never slept in your bed with you, it felt…cold and lonely. he was something you craved, but knew you could never have, like god just wanted to continue to fuck you over.
there’s a knock on the door and you’re sitting up very quickly, “hey, can we talk?” it was jason.
hoping you looked okay, you gave a little huff and said to yourself, “don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry…”
“come in!” jason heard through the door, turning the handle and making his way into your room. your eyes widened and tried to act normal, like his presence didn’t make your stomach do flips. he closes the door behind you and sits next to you on the bed, you of course still not looking at him.
“why have you been avoiding me? you haven’t talked to me in days, and you can barely look at me. what’s going on?”
you wanted to tell him, you really did. but you couldn’t ruin what they had, knowing it’d be awkward for you, jason, her, and the rest of the boys.
“nothing is the matter jason, i just…haven’t been in the best state of mind recently, that’s all.” you mustered enough courage to turn and look at him, automatically regretting it to find him already looking at you. his eyes full of concern, but void of love. sure, maybe an almost sibling love, but not romantic. before all of this you had tried to make it painfully obvious of how you thought of him. but after she showed up, there was nothing really you could do.
“y/n, i’m going to take your word for it, and not pry. but i still want to talk to you.” “about?”
he looked at you once again, “does it matter?”
no, it didn’t, all that mattered was that he was talking you, something you had tried to avoid but internally yearned for.
asking the most painful question, just to make it seem like you really were okay, “how’re things going between you two?” he laughed, his beautiful smile never failing to mesmerize you.
“they’re going pretty good actually, i think i want to marry her.”
why were you surprised? they had been going for awhile now and of course he’d want to marry her. she could give him everything he wanted.
you tried not to whip your head around at him, you also tried not to burst out in sobs upon hearing those words. he wanted to marry her? “oh wow, that’s…a big commitment.” you laughed, trying to seem normal.
he in turn laughed a little too, “yeah, i know, but she just makes me so happy. i finally have the chance to have the family i’ve always wanted,”
“have two kids, preferably daughters. i am definitely going to name one amber.” of course he would, he’d always loved that name.
the pain in your chest is indescribable, you had hoped that he’d be having that family with you. but , it seems as though you may have waited too long. “that sounds amazing…i’m so happy for you.”
the words sounded disingenuous, but at this point you didn’t care. it hurt too much to see the person you love the absolute most, talk about starting a family with someone other than you.
faking a yawn you stood up, “i’m pretty tired, so i’m gonna have to kick you out now.” jason gazed up at you, faking being offended. “wow, we just started talking again and you’re kicking me out? rude.”
you laughed as he stood up and walked to your door, you following not far behind. when he stood just outside your door and in the hallway, there was an awkward silence. “goodnight, jason-“
“before i leave, can i get a hug? i’ve missed you y’know.” jason held his hand between the door and the doorway.
you hated how much you loved those words, he said he missed you. “yeah, you can have a hug.”
jason pushes the door open and quickly wraps his arms around your waist, and you wrap your arms around his neck. “please never avoid me like that again.”
he muttered in your ear, sounding genuinely hurt by what you had done. “i won’t.”
it felt like minutes before he pulled away, looking down at you and smiling. “you should get some sleep, i can see your eye bags underneath your concealer.”
“shut up, asshole.” you laughed, knowing he was just teasing you. jason stepped out of your room and into the hallway, “goodnight, y/n.”
“goodnight, jason.” you both smiled at one another before he walked down the hall to his bedroom. you closed your door and suddenly everything hit you like a ton of bricks.
he was going to marry her, he wanted her children, and he’s going to name one amber.
he’s going to have the “big, happy family life”, something you knew you probably would be apart of. possibly babysitting his children.
you hated thinking about it, but, as long as he was happy. you’d do anything for him, even while suffering in silence.
now you were left to yourself, again, laying in your bed, staring at the ceiling, tears streaming down the sides of your face and soaking your hair.
“fuck, i’m pathetic.”
you cried yourself to sleep, for the 7th time that week. wishing you would have been brave enough to just tell him how you feel, but instead you’re all alone.
and who else is there to blame, but yourself?
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also, here’s the poem that the requester wrote! <3
I tried to win your love but
I can't compete
when she already won
god she's so much better
you should give her that diamond ring
I was begging for
I bet she's dying for you to get down on one knee
You probably already sing her to sleep
brush her hair
like you used to do for me
now i'm alone
got no one to hold
god my bed is so cold
But I still hope she's happy
make her smile when she's lonely
and give her a home
now that I'm alone..
imagine all of the little babies
you'll have driving her crazy
You'll probably have 2 daughters
I bet you'll name one Amber
you always really liked that name
you'll be such a wonderful father
I know you had those doubts
but I know she'll even them out,
And even though we aren't together
you always have my shoulder
for when your doubts
start to make the world dark
I just hope I'll still be around
to meet all of your little ones
but for now
I'll sit here and watch you…
be happy
I bet she's feels lucky
I'm glad you have one another
to hold each other
and keep the bed warm...
I hope you're happy
and never ever feel lonely
I'm glad you found a home
now that I'm alone...
132 notes · View notes
hot-wiings · 3 years
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The One Where Pro-hero!Katsuki Bakugo's Son, Finds Santa Kissing His Mother. Alternatively, The One Where Katsuki's Son Demands His Father Beat Up Santa Claus On Christmas.
Requested By: Wattpad User
Edited: 12-25-2020
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Katsuki quietly hummed to himself as he worked inside the kitchen prepping breakfast. He had some pancakes and sausage on the stovetop, whereas he kept the bacon cooking inside the oven. He had one arm on [Daughter Name], keeping her attached to his hip as he bounced her and flipped food with his other hand. She was only two and still being young she clung to her father for attention, with it being one of his rare days off for the holidays he wasn't going to say no, he was going to devote it to her and his son.
"Bud, can you toast the bagels for me?"
Katsuki briefly moved his attention from the stove to pull the bag of bagels out of the bread cabinet and tossed them onto the counter. Usually, he'd had done it himself but with his daughter on his hip, cooking was already proving to be difficult. His son rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"I like it better when mom cooks. She never makes me do stuff."
"Hey! You should gladly offer yourself up to help her when I'm not around. Your mother is a Saint, that's why she's sleeping in and you're stuck with me. Now toast the f– toast the bagels."
[Son Name] untied the bag and pulled the bagels out begrudgingly. He was defiantly a momma's boy and loved to give Katsuki lip, undoubtedly universal karma for Katsuki being such a demon to his own mother. Katsuki had to smile to himself as he put food on platters and placed it on the table as well as placing his daughter in her height chair before leaving to wake you up for breakfast.
Katsuki never thought this would become his life. He never thought he'd have a son, his own carbon copy of himself, nor did he imagine he'd follow up with baby number two attached to his hip whenever he wasn't out heroing. Beyond that, he never imagined he'd find someone like you, someone who put up with his crap, someone perfect. He never imagined such a picture-perfect domestic life for himself, one where he cooked, fed the children and owned a cat. One where he had a scheduled date night every week and brought flowers home every other Sunday. He wouldn't ever dare change it.
"Baby?"
Katsuki quietly closed the door behind him and walked over to the window so he could open up the curtains and let light in. You groaned and pulled the pillow over your head as the light made contact with you. You pulled the blanket closer to your body, and a smile tugged at Katsuki's lips. He loved moments like this.
"Sweetheart, it's time to wake up."
"No, you're mean. A big meanie."
Katsuki climbed into the bed and cuddled up next to you. He pulled the pillow off of your head and threw it onto the ground on his side so you couldn't reach back for it. You had major bedhead, and he loved that. Years ago you would've forbidden him from seeing you like that, now he found it hot.
"It's Christmas Eve, you need to get up."
"No, leave me alone. It's my day off, go wake the kids up."
"Already awake, and breakfast is on the table. We wanted to let you sleep in, give you a break for once."
Katsuki pushed your hair out of your face and tried to pull the blanket out of your grip as you fought back a smile. He thought he was being really smooth.
"For being a pro-hero you're such a liar. You don't want me to have a break, you were trying to butter me up so we can repeat what we did last night."
"You were the one who was all over Santa last night, don't blame me if I try to get the use out of the Santa suit before I have to give it back to the company."
He was referring to the Santa costume he came home wearing last night. Everyone at his hero agency had to dress up as Santa and do some charity work for a variety of different places such as churches and hospitals. He came straight home afterward and you put it to good use.
"Mm, I don't need Santa when I have you, I guess."
"Geez, aren't you romantic."
"Just let me put some clothes on and I will be right down."
You rolled off the bed and scampered off to your laundry basket to see if you could find some pajamas to clothe your naked body. Katsuki ripped his eyes away from your back, ripped his eyes away from the marks he gave you passionately. He climbed off of the bed and made his way back downstairs to the breakfast table but he passed [Son Name] in the kitchen putting bagels in a toaster.
"Dad, can I talk to you? Man to man."
"What's up, little man?"
"Last night... Last night I saw mommy and Santa kissing."
Katsuki tried to laugh it off as he pulled the orange juice from the fridge and placed it on the table, your son following him hot on his tail as he went.
"Santa only comes on Christmas."
"That's what I thought, but mom said Santa comes before Christmas sometimes to make sure our trees are working, like in 'The Grinch' but for real, and mommy would never lie to me."
"I'm sure it's not what it looked like, Alright? Your mother loves us both very much and she wouldn't do that to us."
It was exactly what it looked like but it wasn't Santa, it was himself in the Santa suit. Katsuki was grasping at straws, trying to explains this to his son and make it look innocent, trying to make you look good without exposing the secret.
"I know mommy wouldn't do that to us! What I really wanted to talk about was how Santa was really mean. He took her into her bedroom and said some really mean things. He yelled stuff at her like 'that's my pussy' and 'give me a baby'. If he wants a cat so bad can't the elves just give him one, I like our cat."
This progressively kept getting worse, and Katsuki was glad that you were still upstairs. Had you heard their conversation you surely would've killed Katsuki.
"Daddy, you need to stop Santa before he tries to steal our cat, I love Gigi! What if he tries taking [Daughter Name], he said he wanted a baby. Or worse, what if he tries stealing mommy from you. You-you need to beat him up when he comes tonight. You need to set Santa straight."
There were so many things Katsuki could've said or done to de-escalate this. He could kindly explain he was in a Santa suit for charity work. He could have lied and said he and you were arguing about getting another cat. He could have been honest and said you both were talking about having another child, but he didn't. [Son name] was begging him with forming tears in his eyes. He was crying out and calling him daddy. He was such a momma's boy, Katsuki hadn't had his son need or want him like this in such a long time. It felt nice, it felt good, so all Katsuki did was nod and agree with his son.
"They don't call me DynaMight for nothing. I'll blow him into next week. Santa won't think about stealing anyone of our family members ever again."
[Son Name] wrapped his arms around Katsuki and he smiled. He tightly grabbed his father, and let his tears fall into Katsuki's shirt as he mumbled out thank you's.
"I can't wait to see you beat up Santa."
In hindsight, Katsuki should've expected that one. How was he supposed to beat up Santa when he was Santa in the first place. Suddenly a horrible idea crossed Katsukis head. It is despicable, and mean. You would've frowned upon it and discouraged it. Once his son let go of him and walked off to sit at the breakfast table, Katsuki walked down the hall to make a phone call to his coworker.
"Key, Kaminari– What do you mean I only call you when I need something?! I'm a good friend you du– Look, do you still have your Santa suit? Come to my house tonight at eleven, in your suit. I promise it's for a good cause."
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The clock was slowly ticking away. Every second chasing down the hour and Christmas Eve was well on it's way to becoming Christmas. Supper had finished up, Katsuki even cleared the table and helped you do the dishes. He had cooked, and it was a mutual unspoken agreement between you both that whoever cooked dinner did not have to clean it up after. He didn't even try to sprinkle you with water, he was just sweet and soft for the evening.
"Thanks, Katsuki, you're being so sweet today. Let me sleep in, made breakfast and you helped me clean? God, you're such a keeper."
You threw your drying towel onto the now cleared and clean counter before you made your way to the living room to find some Christmas movie on the tv that was age-appropriate for your children. Katsuki was being sweet, too sweet and it made you suspicious. He was pulling out all the cards and tricks he typically pulls out when you get angry that he'd forgotten something, or came home too late.
After you got settled down on the couch with [Son Name] nestled between your legs on the floor and [Daughter name] cuddling into your right side. Katsuki came over and sat a tray of hot cocoa on the coffee table in front of the couch. Katsuki took a seat at your left side and passed you a mug before wrapping his arm around you and pulling you close. You hummed while you sipped from the mug and carefully watched as Katsuki skimmed through the tv channels and put on 'Santa Claus', the one starring Tim Allen, for the kids and you.
He hated that movie. He claimed it was to overwatched. After being put on year after year he wanted a new Christmas movie.
"What did you do?"
"What do you mean?"
Katsuki was taken back by your words. He didn't do anything, at least not yet. He was planning to roast your best friend, but Denki didn't even know it was happening and the only one who could snitch was his son who didn't know it would be Denki.
"You let me sleep in, you made breakfast, you bathed the kids and uhm, me. You cooked and helped clean dinner, now you've brought me cocoa and now you're putting on a movie you hate. So, what did you do?"
To be fair, some of those things Katsuki had planned out into motion before he had even planned to blast Denki into next Tuesday.
"I just wanna cherish you. You're my wife, let me love you."
Katsuki pulled you even closer to his side, nearly making the cocoa in your hands tip over as he placed a tender kiss onto the tip of your head.
"You forgot to get me a present didn't you?"
Your eyes narrowed at Katsuki before he dipped his head own to your ear and whispered hotly.
"I did not forget, you're getting a great present tomorrow morning, and maybe I'll even give you one tonight."
"I'm watching you."
The minutes slid by as you watched the movie together as a family. Everyone once and awhile you give Katsuki a look out of the side of your eye, carefully inspecting him. Soon your son was nodding off at your legs and your daughter was sound asleep in your lap.
"Time for bed."
Your son jumped up, seemingly having excitement from out of nowhere. You carefully picked up your daughter and carried her in your arms as you stood up to carry her to bed. One down, one to go.
"Go brush your teeth and put on your pajamas for mommy, okay? I'll be right there to tuck you in."
Your words were rushed and whispered as to not wake your sleeping daughter, but your son frowned and grabbed Katsuki's hand.
"I want daddy to tuck me in tonight."
"Mm, you sure? I'd love to read you a bedtime story."
"I want dad."
You adjusted your daughter on your arms to help even out the weight as you stared down your son and husband.
"If you're both not in bed within half an hour I will take away a Christmas gift."
You walked off upstairs, still suspicious of the males in your family. No way did your son, the momma's boy, just reject your offer. Now you were positive Katsuki was up to something.
Katsuki waited until you were upstairs to text Denki. He was outside, waiting to make noise under the pretense that his son wanted to meet Santa. Denki could be heard outside, doing goodness knows what.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah! I bet it's Santa, are you gonna beat him up dad, are you gonna show him who's boss!?"
Katsuki rolled his sleeves up and looked back at the stairs, just to be sure you were upstairs and not watching them.
"You can bet your butt I am! Your dads the greatest, watch me go kick Santa's butt."
Katsuki marched to the front door and swung it open before making his way to Denki. He walked the way he did on patrol, the way he did when he was on TV, like a man on a mission, a man with a purpose.
"Ho-Ho-Ho!–"
"Ho-Ho-Ho yourself! Heard you wanted to break apart my family, Santa."
Katsuki aimed one of his blasts at Denki. It wasn't large enough to harm him, but it was large enough to hurt.
"Katsuki, what the fuck dude?"
"That was for being mean to my wife and trying to take away our cat."
Katsuki marched closer to Denki and kicked him in the leg, grinning as he heard Denki groan in pain.
"That was for swearing in front of my kid. If I can't do it, neither can you."
"I'm sorry, Jesus Christ."
Katsuki left Denki on the floor as he walked over to the front door and picked his son up. His son clutched on to him tightly, happy his father saved the family. Happy his father wouldn't let Santa take his cat or mother away.
"Thanks, Dad, you're my hero."
"Well, I am the best hero. I'd fight Santa for you any day, just don't tell your mom."
Even though Denki snitched to you the next day, even though you had watched the altercation through the window, you didn't say a word to Katsuki. You didn't reprimand him, or get upset that he hurt Denki. Instead, you watched fondly with a smile from the window. That was the father of your children, your hero, and the guy who held your heart. He was soft and sweet and held the bar for fathers high. He deserved a pass for this one.
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296 notes · View notes
dickwheelie · 3 years
Text
okay so the other day this gorgeous comic by @tijela crossed my dash and I couldn’t stop thinking about a sequel to it where Jon and Martin actually get to go on their date. so. this is that. set sometime nebulously in season 3. also there is ace jontent (jon content) because against my better judgment I absolutely refuse to shut up about jon being ace. anyway I love you (yes, you) enjoyyyyy
___________
It’s only two minutes after nine in the morning when Jon appears in the doorway of Martin’s cubicle, holding two steaming mugs in his hands. Martin pauses in the act of taking off his coat, eyes wide, and for a moment all they do is stare at each other.
“I—brought you tea,” says Jon at last, as though it’s something he does for Martin every morning. He makes a strange kind of abortive movement with his arm, half-offering one of the mugs. What is happening, thinks Martin. And why is it happening before I’ve even switched my laptop on.
He decides to roll with it. “Thanks,” he says, keeping his voice carefully neutral, as he sits down at his desk and takes one of the mugs. Jon’s hand shakes almost imperceptibly as he passes it over. Martin takes a sip. It isn’t very good. He smiles at Jon anyway. “Ta,” he says again.
Jon doesn’t appear as though he heard him. His brow is furrowed, distractedly, and Martin notices that he doesn’t even drink from his own mug before setting it down on the edge of Martin’s desk. A twinge of anxiety lances through him. “Alright, Jon?”
Jon’s eyes snap to his, and his expression softens. “Yes. Um. Well. Not entirely.”
“Oh?”
“I’m sorry,” Jon says, and he looks it, tired and frayed at the edges as he always does these days, but there’s a softness in his eyes and regret in his lines of his face. “About what happened yesterday—I am so, so sorry, Martin. I let my guard down and I shouldn’t have . . . compelled you—”
Martin shakes his head. “It’s alright.” He’d just as soon put the whole thing behind him; being rejected is embarrassing enough on its own, never mind the rest of it. “You . . . you didn’t mean to.”
“That doesn’t make it okay,” Jon says, insistent.
“I—yeah. I know,” Martin sighs. It’s too early for this.
“And . . . I. Um. I would, actually.”
Martin pauses with the mug halfway to his mouth, and blinks up at Jon. “You would . . . what?”
“I . . . I would be happy to go out with you.”
Jon’s posture is ramrod straight, as it so rarely is, as though this is a speech he’s been rehearsing for.
“Oh! Um.” As the words sink in, Martin feels heat rise to his cheeks. He puts the mug down. “Really?”
Jon nods, once. “Yes.” Some of the confidence leaves his voice. “I-If you still want to, that is. Of course I—I understand if you’ve changed your mind.”
“No, I—or I mean, yeah, I’m . . . I’d love to, yeah.” At least it’s good to know that they’re both being articulate.
“Oh.” Jon looks genuinely relieved. “Good, then.”
Martin’s about to say something resembling a thank you, when Jon barrels onward.
“I was thinking we could get dinner.” Then, almost apologetically: “Is that alright?”
Martin would laugh if the whole thing wasn’t making him blush. “O-Okay. Yeah. Sure. Sounds good. When are you . . . ?”
“Tomorrow is Friday, yes?”
“Yeah,” Martin says, and he bites the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.
“Then . . . tomorrow night? A-After work? Or—” Jon winces slightly, slowing down. “I-It doesn’t have to be right after work. Would seven o’clock be alright?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s . . . that’s good for me.”
“Okay.” And Jon smiles, just the tiniest bit. “Okay, yes. Seven on Friday. For dinner. I’ll send you the details.”
“Sure.” Martin allows himself a grin, around the rim of the mug, and flashes Jon what he hopes is an appealing glance. “See you then, Jon.”
“Yes. Alright.” Jon stands there, staring at him for a second more, then turns around on his heel and disappears down the hallway.
It takes half an hour before Martin can actually focus enough to start work. It takes another full hour after that for Martin to notice that Jon forgot to take his mug of tea with him.
***
Jon taps his water glass pensively as he waits for Martin to arrive. The restaurant he’s invited Martin to is an Italian place in central London that Jon has never stepped foot in before today, but it seems romantic enough, with candles at every table and soft music playing in the background and lighting that makes reading the menu a chore, even with his reading glasses on. The table for two he’s reserved is minuscule, which he supposes must be a good thing. For . . . some reason.
He’s nervous. Which is ridiculous, given his life, but there it is. It feels less like a first date than it should; he knows Martin so well, and cares for him, and trusts him, but still, there’s that nagging anxiety. He just really doesn’t want to mess this up more than he already has.
Jon isn’t sure what he’s expecting Martin to look like when he arrives at the restaurant. He knows he’ll look nice, of course; Martin always looks nice, with his ties tucked neatly into his soft-looking sweaters, with his hair, and his smile . . . Jon gives himself a shake and stares daggers at the drink menu. He, himself, has worn one of the nicest outfits he owns, which he imagines is doing little to combat the bags under his eyes and the numerous scars. Still, he’s made an attempt with his hair, and traded in his usual square frames for horn-rimmed spectacles that, he’s been told, look nice on him.
When Martin shows up, though, fashionably late where Jon had been a quarter of an hour early for their reservation, he puts Jon to shame. He’s wearing a pale blue suit, with a lightly-patterned button-up that Jon can’t quite make out in the restaurant’s dim light, his hair nicely coiffed, his earrings catching the light and sparkling with every step. He approaches the small table where Jon can only sit and stare, already mumbling an apology for making Jon wait, and even after everything that’s happened Jon’s still incapable of filtering himself, so he says, “You look lovely.”
Martin beams at him as he pulls out the chair across from Jon and sits down. Inwardly, Jon winces; he should probably have offered to pull it out for him, shouldn’t he. “Thanks, Jon,” Martin says, happily. He gives Jon a once-over, but in an admiring way, which is not an experience Jon has had in a very, very long time. “You don’t look so bad, yourself.”
“Ah,” Jon says, “thank you,” and he dives back into the menu before Martin can notice that he’s blushing.
They make small talk as best they can, avoiding any topics relating to fears, until a waiter comes by. Neither of them want wine, as it turns out, Martin because of the tannins and Jon because he wants to maintain every bit of control he has to not say or do anything stupid that could ruin all of this.
As they wait for their food, Martin looks askance at Jon’s right hand, squinting curiously. Jon glances down, and his stomach sinks; he’d forgotten he was wearing it. It’s his ace ring, the simple black band he wears outside of work, when he can remember where he’s left it last. He’d put it on earlier in a fit of unearned confidence when he’d seen how his hair looked, and now he’s paying the price.
“Is that—?”
“Yes,” Jon sighs, twisting it around on his finger instinctively. “My ace ring.”
“Didn’t know you had one. I’ve never seen you wear it around the office.” Martin’s voice is soft and uninquisitive, offering Jon the option to drop the topic.
Jon doesn’t take it, because again, he lost his filter sometime in the nineties and he’s never gotten it back. “Yes, well, it’s a bit . . . unprofessional, isn’t it.”
Martin shrugs, his earrings swinging with the motion. “I mean, not really. Tim and I have pride stickers on our laptops and stuff. And—now I think of it, you do too, Jon.” Martin huffs a laugh, but the way he looks at Jon, he can tell it isn’t at his expense. “I don’t get why this is any different.”
“I—you—” Jon flounders for a moment before giving up. “You make a compelling argument. But—I don’t know. The ring feels . . . different.” His voice weakens slightly, along with his resolve. “Somehow.”
“More personal,” Martin says, softly.
“Yes.” Jon’s chest grows warm. “Yes, that’s . . . that’s exactly it.”
“I get it. I mean, I’m not ace, but—I get it.” Martin runs his thumb along the rim of his water glass. “Took me a long time to get that trans sticker up on my laptop.”
Jon nods. There’s a beat of silence, and then Martin leans forward in his chair slightly. They’re already in pretty close quarters, and in the candlelight, Jon can almost count Martin’s freckles.
Martin inches his hand toward Jon’s. “Can I . . . ?”
Jon really hopes his blush isn’t visible, but his luck has never been the best. “Um . . . yes. I-If you want to.”
Slowly, like he’s trying not to scare him off, Martin takes Jon’s hand in his, dwarfing it in his broad palm and wide fingers. The contrast, Jon thinks for a strange moment, is beautiful.
Almost immediately, Martin startles. “Jeez, Jon, your hand is so cold,” he says, and he takes both of Jon’s hands between his, rubbing warmth back into them. Jon’s hands, in fact, had been rather cold, though he hadn’t noticed until now, and they’re certainly not cold anymore, along with Jon’s face and chest, which are rapidly warming up by extension.
He manages to get out, “Ah—sorry. I, um, have bad circulation.”
“Don’t apologize,” Martin says, almost absentmindedly, still staring down at their hands. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”
Jon wants to protest, and probably ruin the mood by bringing up topics that shouldn’t be discussed on a date, but at that moment Martin looks back up at him, meeting his eyes with a smile that makes him look even lovelier. “I like it,” says Martin, out of nowhere. Jon blinks at him. “Your ring.” He holds up Jon’s hand for him, demonstratively. “It looks right on you. It fits. You know?”
“Ah. Thank you,” Jon says. It doesn’t feel like the right thing to say, but he can’t find any other words, at the moment. He feels . . . he’s not sure what he’s feeling. His chest feels a bit full, but not necessarily in a bad way.
Martin is casually glancing around the restaurant, as though he isn’t actively taking Jon apart piece by smitten piece. “This place is posh,” he says. “You come here often?”
“All the time,” Jon says, mustering up some humor. “I’m only in the head archivist business for the salary.”
That makes Martin laugh, at least. “Thanks for asking me out, by the way,” he says.
“Oh,” Jon says, and his hands are still warmly pressed between Martin’s own, and he can see now that Martin’s shirt is dotted with tiny sunflowers, and for a moment he has no idea why Martin is the one thanking him. “Well, you, ah . . . sort of beat me to it.”
Martin laughs. “I mean, sort of.”
“It’s the thought that counts, anyway,” Jon says, borderline nonsensically, grasping at well-worn words and phrases, because it’s all starting to sink in now that he’s on a date with Martin, and it’s going well.
It’s at that moment that their food arrives, and Martin has to let go of his hands, but the warmth remains for a good long while afterwards.
The rest of the date is, as much as Jon has come to both loathe and cherish the word over the past two years, uneventful. Nothing is ruined, not even a tablecloth, and Martin seems genuinely, actually happy in Jon’s company, and Jon feels calmer and safer than he’s felt in a long, long time. They walk back to the Tube station hand in hand, and even in the chill autumn air, Jon feels absolutely warmed down to his bones.
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k0ra-kumori · 3 years
Text
Cannibal!Jason Todd x Reader
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so this is the first fanfic i write in english, i'm brazilian so sorry if there are any grammatical errors. ⚠️IMPORTANT⚠️: THIS FANFIC IS BASED ON DC SUPER HERO GIRLS 2019.
word count ; 2193
pairings ; jason todd x reader
genre ; fluffy / angst
warnings: none
It was almost 9:00 pm, and you were now in the wayne manor with five stallions named, jason todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne and Bruce Wayne, and of course, barbara gordon the batgirl. You were the newest member of the batfamily, you were all at the dinner table waiting for Alfred to serve you the food. "I'm going to drown you in that pot of sauce if I don't remove what I said, Drake!" Said Damian, he was protesting something that Tim had said, and that apparently offended the boy, "Stop it, you two" Dick stepped in to stop that fight, Jason was laughing at everything, Barbara was beside him with a expression of "Send these animals back to the jungle" and Bruce was using his cell phone to distract himself from that discussion, otherwise he would lose his patience and would put all the boys grounded "Master Bruce, here's dinner" said Alfred "Thank you Al, are you sure you don't want to join us?" Alfred just gave a quick excuse and walked away, the butler knew that dinner time was the most disturbed and chaotic time of the day of the bats, so the butler preferred to eat alone or just with one member of the family. "Are they prawns?" You said excitedly "Yeah, if you don't want eat, I can eat them Y / N" Jason offered, he always tried to steal your food, but you always denied it with a bad-tempered or sarcastic answer, Jason was the weirdest among his brothers... "I'm going to eat them Jason, stop asking the same thing every time I sit here" Jason just snarled in reply, "All of you, be quiet please, I'm trying to take a photo of the prawns for instagram!" Bruce screamed, Dick just down his head like a puppy taking orders, Damian snorted and crossed his arms, Tim just rolled his eyes, you and barbara just looked at each other, it looked like Bruce was going to take the perfect photo, this until jason stood up and screamed "Take a picture of this, bitch!" So Bruce's dish was gone, Jason had thrown Bruce's plate away, the pieces of shrimp were scattered all over the dining room, now think of a chaotic family, a dirty dining room, and an angry Bruce, it didn't take long for Bruce to send Jason to his room, he put his adopted son grounded for 2 weeks, Jason is attracted to trouble "I don't know if I survive until after dinner" you said whispering to barbara "You get used to it, it happens at least 2 times a week around here" Babs replied with a little smile as Bruce passed by the girl, probably the man would go to the bathroom to get rid of all the food that his adopted son threw him a few moments ago.
It was almost 9:00 pm, and you were now in the wayne manor with five stallions named, jason todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne and Bruce Wayne, and of course, barbara gordon the batgirl. You were the newest member of the batfamily, you were all at the dinner table waiting for Alfred to serve you the food. "I'm going to drown you in that pot of sauce if I don't remove what I said, Drake!" Said Damian, he was protesting something that Tim had said, and that apparently offended the boy, "Stop it, you two" Dick stepped in to stop that fight, Jason was laughing at everything, Barbara was beside him with a expression of "Send these animals back to the jungle" and Bruce was using his cell phone to distract himself from that discussion, otherwise he would lose his patience and would put all the boys grounded "Master Bruce, here's dinner" said Alfred "Thank you Al, are you sure you don't want to join us?" Alfred just gave a quick excuse and walked away, the butler knew that dinner time was the most disturbed and chaotic time of the day of the bats, so the butler preferred to eat alone or just with one member of the family. "Are they prawns?" You said excitedly "Yeah, if you don't want eat, I can eat them Y / N" Jason offered, he always tried to steal your food, but you always denied it with a bad-tempered or sarcastic answer, Jason was the weirdest among his brothers... "I'm going to eat them Jason, stop asking the same thing every time I sit here" Jason just snarled in reply, "All of you, be quiet please, I'm trying to take a photo of the prawns for instagram!" Bruce screamed, Dick just down his head like a puppy taking orders, Damian snorted and crossed his arms, Tim just rolled his eyes, you and barbara just looked at each other, it looked like Bruce was going to take the perfect photo, this until jason stood up and screamed "Take a picture of this, bitch!" So Bruce's dish was gone, Jason had thrown Bruce's plate away, the pieces of shrimp were scattered all over the dining room, now think of a chaotic family, a dirty dining room, and an angry Bruce, it didn't take long for Bruce to send Jason to his room, he put his adopted son grounded for 2 weeks, Jason is attracted to trouble "I don't know if I survive until after dinner" you said whispering to barbara "You get used to it, it happens at least 2 times a week around here" Babs replied with a little smile as Bruce passed by the girl, probably the man would go to the bathroom to get rid of all the food that his adopted son threw him a few moments ago.
(Time skip)
After the chaotic dinner, you and your adopted brothers would go to a movie, you wanted a comedy movie, Dick and babs wanted to watch romantic comedy, Tim and Bruce didn't care for the movie, Damian wanted to watch terror and Jason was absent because him was grounded, after a long conversation you decided, you all would watch action. "Can someone give me some popcorn?" You asked nicely, and Dick gave you a handful of popcorn to eat, you were enjoying the movie even though you didn't really like over-the-top action movies, you were on the edge of the couch and Tim was at your side with the laptop, this kid wouldn't never stop to work, "Tim, the light on your laptop is blinding me!" You protested "I'm sorry" Tim got off the couch feeling guilty, he sat on the floor between your legs, you blushed a little even though you know that bats get close to other (and new) members of the family. The movie was fine, until you felt a hand on your shoulder behind the couch, you jumped up and looked back only to find Jason with his bloody mouth, "Hey princess, did you see the..." You quickly left the couch, while doing this you accidentally hit Tim's head, worried about your brother you shouted "What is this ?! Why are you all bloody, someone hit you or what ?!" Jason replied "This blood is not mine" Suddenly, all the bats looked at each other (except you) with a look of concern, you noticed that and asked them "W-what was it people? Is there something I don't know about?" Silence, everyone was quiet, until babs dared to break the silence "So ... it may or not may have anything to do with the topic but, what do you think about cannibals?" You raised an eyebrow, what did this have to do with the topic? Oh no, not that...no, it couldn't be, you shake your head and answered a little confused "Cannibals? Why the question?" This time barbara did not answer, she did not want to be the bearer of the strangest news in the family, especially for a new member. you were confused now, they were all quiet and seemed to be hiding something, until you saw something red dripping behind Jason's back, and to break the tension you said "Do you menstruate now, jaybird?" Jason looked at you blankly, he wanted to get away from there now "Y-you know, I remembered that I have a thing, in other place now, I have to go" you knew there was something wrong in this conversation, and you also knew that men did not menstruate, so why was jason's back dripping red? Jason was getting farther and farther away and your question still hadn't been answered, so in the heat of the moment you shouted "Jason, there's a spider on your left arm!" Jason jumped up and started hitting his left arm, that was a bad move, because when him raised hus arm to see the supposed "Spider" a severed arm flew across the room, and as soon as it landed on the floor you shouted in despair "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ?!" Jason changed his expression from frightened to amused and relieved, didn't you understand your adoptive brother's abrupt change in expression, why everyone are so calm about it? He are a fucking cannibal, dammit! "Listen princess, you already know my story ..." Jason was approaching you, but you were just backing up because he was intimidated by the man's size and his cannibalistic desire "But there is a part of the story, which I didn't tell you" Jason grabbed your arm tightly to keep you in place "The part where I was resurrected by Lazaro's pit, and his side effects are usually high cravings for human flesh, and of course, a nice pair of fangs" you were in shock, how could anyone die and come back to life like that? "You're crazy... cannibalism is a crime.", "J-Jason, you better stop" said Tim, while Jason, he was close to your neck, you could feel his hot breath hitting your skin, "If cannibalism it's a crime...so you're my next victim" enough, you got too scared, you pushed Jason and ran, but unfortunately he had legs longer than yours, jason grabbed you like a bear grabbing a little duck "Don't worry, I won't waste a drop of your blood" Jason opens his mouth, showing all
his frightening fangs, he gets closer and closer to your neck, you were already imagining what paradise would be like, and how the batfamily explain your death to the cops when...he started laughing? Did this crazy guy start laughing?! He had his hand on his belly with laughter, "Did you really think I was going to kill you? Hahahaha you should see your face now hahahaha!" A wave of shock and anger has formed within you now "Was that a joke?! You are an asshole Jason Peter Todd! NOW I SEE WHY YOUR MOTHER BETRAYED YOU!" You left the room quickly, Jason wanted to go after you, but his expression changed from fun to sadness, and he couldn't move, how can you say that? Damn, you were a horrible person now "It wasn't funny, Todd." Said Damian, as angry as the rest of the family, "You are going to apologize to her now," Bruce said, anger spelled out on his face" I don't want to, if she is going to live here she has to live with me, and I am like this", "So how? An idiot? Oh wait, a 17 year old boy who has no regard for his own sister's feelings!", Dick was as furious as Bruce. "SHE IS NOT MY SISTER AND WILL NEVER BE!" Jason said and ran off to his room, "Come back here now, we're not done Jas-" before Dick finished speaking, Jason took him by the shoulders and lifted him up to his eyes" I may not be kidding when i say i will eat your head now Dick Grayson, don't end with my patience and don't follow me. "Dick was dropped hard on the ground, everyone was in shock.
(Time skip)
You were in your room, processing what happened two hours ago, what if Jason had been telling the truth about pulling out your guts? What if he didn't like you and is just waiting for the right moment to turn you into a corpse? A thousand thoughts like these were going through your head now, until someone knocked on your door, would it be Jason? Or Bruce apologizing for his son's childish actions? You didn't know, so you got up from your bed and went to open the door, and to your surprise there he was, Jason pathetic Todd. "What do you want?", "I-I want to talk" you hesitated a little, you were now suspicious of Jason until... "Please Y / N, I just want to try to apologize", you let him in, even if it was against your will, you two sat on your bed side by side, Jason was looking away from all sides, he didn’t know what to say, "if you wanted to come in to observe the decoration of my room, go away", you said still angry, he looked at you with a little cute dog face without an owner, you almost felt sorry for being thick, keyword "Almost", " Look, I'm sorry for before, I didn't want to scare you, I really am a stupid cannibal, but it doesn't mean that I go around eating everybody, this is a sequela of the pit, I'm trying to control this sick addiction" you were listening carefully, and you had already forgiven Jason for the bad joke, but what upset you really wasn't even the joke, it was what Jason said about you minutes after you went to the your room, "Jason, I forgive you for the bad joke, but that's not why I'm upset... "I-isn't it?"Jason is blushing, he didn't talk about the feelings so easily, why he apologized if you had already forgiven him? "I'm upset because you will never see me as someone from your family, I've been trying to get close to you for months, but you only talk to me when you need something or when Bruce forces us to go together to patrol the city, and even so, you barely talk to me "silence. Silence took over the room, Jason knew exactly why he was being an idiot to you, he would talk now or he would shut up forever, "I'm sorry if I was an idiot for the second time, I don't feel exactly included in the family and I think that the decision I made was "is kill or be killed." You were confused now, what did he mean by that? "What do you mean?" Jason looked you in the eye, "Yeah, that a few years before I died, I tried as hard as possible to get close to everyone and to be as kind as possible, but it seems that everyone stepped on me, so I decided never to be so kind to not have my feelings hurts, I-I prefer to break the feelings of others than to have my feelings broken, but it doesn't mean that I like to do it, it's something about defense, you know? It's nothing personal, I'm not like this just with you... "Now it all made sense, so Jason ignored you or played bad jokes all the time, he was hurt and he had no one to bandage his wounds. "Jason, I didn't know, I just..." You didn't even have time to blink, when Jason got up from the bed and walked to the door, you thought you blew it, until the tall boy turns to you and says "Now that you know everything, the tension between us will get less, but don’t expect me to be the perfect brother or the charming prince from the movies, Little Sister" he gave a smile that was hardly noticeable, and he was gone, did you really hear that? Did he just call you a sister? You didn't believe it, you've been waiting for this moment for so long.
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firstdegreefangirl · 3 years
Note
Hi, I love your work! May I request a Chenford fic with the lines "Your voice sounds like rocks on sandpaper" and "I know you're tired, but you really can't sleep on the table"
Now that I’ve finally had the time to sit down and write for more than five consecutive minutes, you sure can! These were such fun lines to play with, by the way!
--
Lucy raps her knuckles gently against the conference room door as she nudges it open slowly. The lights are off, but enough sunlight streams in through the windows that it doesn’t really make a difference. She winces when she sees Tim shift in his chair, pressing his face deeper into the crook of his elbow where he’s slumped against the tabletop.
“Hey,” she whispers. “How’s it going, Sarge?” She’s teasing, really, with the use of his new title, knows that they’ve carefully divided their personal and professional relationships. And they are at work, even if she can feel the exhaustion coming off of Tim in waves.
He grunts and flips Lucy off, but she’s relentless. She crouches down beside him and wraps two of her fingers around his. Tim is still for a moment, then he curls his finger back in and shifts his hand until it’s almost holding onto Lucy’s.  
“How you doing?” Lucy asks, when Tim still doesn’t say anything. This time, she earns another noncommittal sound, but Tim shifts closer to her. She leans toward him, just close enough that her temple is brushing against his elbow. “Tim?”
She can’t imagine how exhausted he must be, after 26 hours on duty. He’d agreed to work a double, cover for an officer on the shift after theirs, and Lucy knew he’d been looking forward to getting back into the field for a day.  
What he hadn’t bargained on was getting called back into the office before they’d even gotten to dinnertime, running command with SWAT on a barricaded subject. The suspect had kept them on edge all night; every time they’d thought he was wearing down, he’d add another demand to his list.  
Lucy hadn’t heard from him much, other than a text letting her know that he was going to be off late, a couple of details about the call. He’d sent another message hours later, as she was getting dressed to go back to the station, the words got him, and nothing else.
So Lucy had driven his truck across town again, back to Mid-Wilshire, where they’d walked in together the day before, making plans for a late-night snack after Tim’s second shift ended. And she’d carried two cups of coffee through the bullpen, all the way to his empty office. When she’d turned around, confused, she’d nearly walked into the newly appointed Captain Grey and narrowly avoided splashing hot liquid all over them both.
“Officer Chen,” he’d nodded at her. “Looking for someone?” Lucy had sized him up, trying to figure out her response; she knows he knows about her and Tim, Luna had invited them over for dinner just a week ago, but he’s carefully turned a blind eye around the station to avoid having to transfer any of his officers. After a moment, he’d softened. “War room. Something about chairs without arms.” Grey waited for her to turn around, then called her name again. “I don’t want to see you again until tomorrow, understood?”
Lucy had nodded her thanks and walked away, abandoning the coffees on Angela’s desk as she walked by.  
By the time she’s thought back over the last few minutes, unable to pick up on any details that might tell her why Tim is draped across a table in the roll call room, he’s turned his head just far enough to reveal one eye, glaring at her.  
It’s less aggressive than she thinks he’s meaning it to be, between the heavy bag underneath the eye and the hint of softness Lucy can see behind the expression.  
“Your voice sounds like rocks on sandpaper,” he says, and Lucy rolls her eyes, tightening her grip on his hand.
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” she laughs softly. If she’s brutally honest, Tim is the one with the raspy voice, and Lucy wonders how long he’s been in here. “What are you doing way down here?”
“People look for the sergeant in his office. If he’s not there, he’s busy. Wanted peace and quiet.”  
“That so?” Lucy gives up the pretense, leans her head completely against Tim’s arm and waits for his head to loll against hers.
“Present company excluded.”  
“Well aren’t you sweet?”
“Almost as sweet as Grey. He gave me the shift off to make sure you get home alright.”  
Tim groans again, and it vibrates through Lucy’s skull too. Fatigue isn’t contagious, she knows, but right now, nothing sounds better than crawling back into bed with her boyfriend and not waking up before lunchtime at the earliest.
“I know,” she turns her face to press a kiss against his forehead. “I know you’re tired, but you really can’t sleep on the table.”  
“Was doin’ OK with it until you got here,” Tim mumbles.
“OK, you can’t sleep with me on the table.” At that, Tim lifts his head and smirks. Lucy swats his arm with her free hand. “Shut up, that wasn’t a challenge. We’re at work, and you’ve been awake way too long to be sexy.” He raises an eyebrow. “Tim!”
“You love me in the mornings.” The words don’t quite make sense, but Lucy knows what he’s trying to say.
“C’mon,” She doesn’t argue – can't aruge, because she knows Tim would call her out on the lie, even half-asleep. “Let’s go home and get back into bed.”
Lucy pulls at his hand until they’re both standing upright again and lets Tim drape an arm over her shoulders for balance as they start walking. But he stops her at the door, waits for her to turn around so he can pull her in for a kiss.
“And when we get there?”
“After you get some sleep,” Lucy laughs, shifting away from where he’s trying to reach for his keys in her back pocket. “Which you can start on while I drive us home.”  
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judysupremus · 3 years
Text
C'mon Man, Roller Derby Is Not A Crime. Chapter 10
*Thank you for reading ❤️*
-
The dinner table is tense the next night. The agreement seems to be that they will talk about things after the meal. Trying to make conversation when everyone has one thing on their minds is hard.
Dick is the one who manages to distract them, though, at Damian and Marinette's expense.
"So, Sunshine, is Damian a good kisser?"
"Tt. Why would you want to know that?"
"It's part of my responsibilities as your older brother. I don't want you disappointing our girl!"
Marinette's face is on fire. "You have nothing to worry about Dick!"
"That means I have a whole lot to worry about!" Jason exclaims and it looks like he's just realized what that might entail. He whips his around to look at Bruce. "Have you given him the talk, B?"
Several people cough or try to keep from spitting their food out.
"How do you manage to be so idiotic and uncouth!" Damian can feel the heat in his cheeks but knows it's not easy to see. Small mercies.
"This is not a discussion to have at the table or in front of a guest, Jason." Bruce says and he looks so uncomfortable but mostly in regards to the subject, not the company. Marinette doesn't see how that could be, though. He raised, more or less, four boys.
-
Eventually, dinner does end and Damian takes Marinette's hand to guide her down to the batcave. Tim sits at the large console and begins opening files that may be relevant. Just looking at the computer makes her glad that magic is on her side.
She and Wayzz has talked well into the early morning. After their conversation Marinette needed to talk to Tikki and Plagg. Tikki was her best friend for so many years and she still is - but they can't talk everyday.
Marinette starts and she'll be sharing information they all agreed on.
"I will tell you what I know about the miraculous first as I imagine that will answer most of your questions." Marinette says and when she starts the next part she knows she's using her Guardian voice.
"The miraculous were made from concepts or ideas that exist in the universe when they become tethered to the material world. When the concept was made a small god, a kwami, appeared. In their gratitude to being made corporeal they grant a human their powers through the miraculous." She holds up her hand to stop Tim. "I will show you later.
"What I found out later was that the ladybug and black cat miraculous are the most powerful. The ladybug is creation and good fortune while the black cat is destruction and misfortune. They are yin and yang and represent the ultimate balance of the universe.
"Therefore they can only be wielded in tandem or else chaos ensues. The reason Hawkmoth sought them was because they can be used to make a wish. Any wish. But it comes at a price."
Marinette pauses here and is startled to hear someone speak. "What is the cost of making a wish?" Bruce asks.
She takes a deep breath and starts again. "I can't say exactly. The miraculous will always strive to maintain balance. If someone wishes to cure a loved one of an illness a epidemic may be created. If a wish is made to bring someone back from the dead it could restore their body but corrupt the mind."
Marinette shrugs and misses the shiver that goes around the room. They're all reminded of the Lazarus Pit. "I have been informed, from a dubious source (Plagg), that Atlantis sank because the king wished to keep his people safe from war and drought."
"These are all examples of wishes that seem good and beneficial and by proxy there must be destruction to keep the scales even. What would happen if the wish was nefarious?" Tim asks, ever the puzzler.
"I don't know." She answers honestly. The room is silent except for the echoes of Tim's typing. Marinette is grateful Damian is still holding her hand, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles.
"Why would someone expose those two miraculous if they're so powerful? Why not have other miraculous take care of Hawkmoth? Jason asks.
"Ladybug is the only one with the power to purify an akuma. A ladybug holder must be present to heal the damage." She answers as this was the one thing that never made complete sense. Why have a lesser miraculous that can only be aided or defeated by the ladybug?
"So, what happened to the heroes and Hawkmoth?" Bruise prompts. This part will be harder to explain as she'll be trying to keep her role as Ladybug and the Guardian a secret. Marinette would rather tell them everything.
"I was allowed to keep the mouse miraculous as my identity was only known to Ladybug and Chat Noir. I wasn't called to an akuma battle very often and when I was I didn't usually fight." She really did hate lying like this.
"Ladybug came to see me one day... She said she had strong evidence and that they were going to confront Hawkmoth.They wanted to do it before another akuma appeared."
The cave is quiet now. Master Fu had always stressed that keeping her identity secret was the most important thing. Chloe knows because she was instrumental in retrieving the peacock and the grimoire. And now she keeps an eye on Gabriel and Adrien.
Still, Marinette would prefer to tell them everything.
She takes a deep breath. "And then they were gone. I've always assumed that at least Hawkmoth didn't get the miraculous. I think we'd notice."
Marinette looks around the room. Everyone appears deep in thought and the only one really looking at her is Jason. He's glaring at her.
"What?"
"I can't believe you thought it would be ok to go out in a costume while we were chasing an escapee from Arkham."
She glares back at him. "I admitted it was a mistake and getting mad now won't change anything."
"I have one more question." Bruce cuts in. "If Ladybug won why do you still have the mouse miraculous?"
That's the million dollar question isn't it.
"I don't really know." A lie. "It's part of the reason I took a gap year." Kind of. "I waited to see if someone would come back but eventually I had to move on." True. "Ladybug will be able to find me."
Dick sighs heavily. "I suppose there wasn't much else for you to do."
Tim stops typing and turns to look at her. "So, to summarize, there are two powerful objects somewhere in the world, presumably still in the hands of the heroes, we don't know Hawkmoth's identity or if he was actually defeated, we don't know Ladybug or Chat Noir's identity, and don't know where they are."
Marinette wrinkles are nose in thought. "That about sums it up."
Everyone was hoping that she would have more tangible information. A lead or a feeling or something. And while they know more now the information just makes it more apparent something must be done.
"So, what kind of powers do you have?" Dick breaks the silence and she's relieved that they can move into less dangerous territory.
Marinette grins and let's go of Damian's hand. As she opens her denim jacket she says "I would like to introduce you all to Mullo. Mullo is the kwami of multiplication!" A small floating mouse emerges from a hidden pocket.
"Hello everyone! I'm glad the Guar- I mean Marinette has such wonderful news friends!" The kwami floats around them and is not at all surprised by their shocked faces.
"Mullo, are you ready?"
"Yes, Marinette!"
"Mullo! Get Squeaky!" Their shock compounds as she is covered in a bright flash of light. When it fades they see Multimouse just how Damian described her.
"I didn't think you get get any cuter?" Dick says into the stunned silence.
"What are your capabilities?" Tim wonders.
"In general I have enhanced strength, speed, and agility. I'm invulnerable to most things though I'd rather not test that!" She laughs and it feels so good to be transformed without being in danger. Marinette would still prefer to be Ladybug, though.
"The other heroes had special powers, like Ladybug's lucky charm? What is yours?" Jason asks.
"I can multiply myself, so I can create small clones of myself. Now that I'm over 18 I can keep my transformation for longer after using it."
"Do you have a weapon at all?" Damian finally brings himself to ask.
"My jump rope?"
"Your...jump rope?" It's clear Jason is already considering teaching how to use a gun.
"Yes, I use it like a whip. Though I've not had a whole lot of practice with it." She says thoughtfully. Marinette has only been Multimouse a handful of times and most of those have been combined with other miraculous. She depends on Multitude more than the jump rope and that's probably not good.
"I think that's it! What now?" She asks.
"Now we get you a real weapon." Jason says.
"Now we teach how to actually fight." Damian argues.
"Now we comb through people living in Paris during those years. Assuming Hawkmoth was someone with time and resources." Tim argues.
"Now we go on patrol." Bruce says, cutting off all chatter.
"I'd like to go with you. I mean just to get home. It's not wise for me to be out for very long but...I miss it. Please?" Marinette is using all the tricks she knows and no one is surprise when Bruce relents. She said please.
Nightwing, Robin, and Black Bat go on patrol tonight while Tim and Bruce work on compiling the information Marinette had given them. Jason has already disappeared
Before long they're racing across the rooftops. Multimouse loves how expressive Nightwing is with his movements. The sheer amount of momentum he gains impresses her and she knows who she wants to learn from first.
Multimouse hardly sees Black Bat as she's so quiet and fast. This is really no surprise knowing it's Cass.
In contrast, Robin almost seems explosive. Every movement is precise but it's like he's using the maximum amount of.... brutality. His movements are expressive and they're communicating retrained fury.
Black Bat and Nightwing are kind enough to give Robin and Multimouse some privacy. She unlocks her balcony door, Robin is always relieved to see the sturdy locks she's has, and she guides him inside passed the curtains.
They are greeted by the sight of Red Hood lounging on her couch. Marinette pouts and her transformation drops with a huff.
"Get your boots off my couch!"
"Tt. So this is where you snuck of to."
"I'm just checking in." He says jovially as he stands up and walks over to them.
Marinette starts pushing him out the door. "Well now you can check out."
"Fine. I'll leave but make sure you turn off your comm before making out." He shuts the balcony door behind him and they can hear him leave.
They're both awkwardly quiet for possibly the first time since they met.
Robin clears his throat it sounds obscenely loud. "Have you packed for New York yet?" Why is this so hard?
"Mostly. I'm just trying to decide which derby outfit to wear." Why is this so awkward? "Which one do you think?"
Thank goodness she can't see him stare and blink rapidly at her. His brain freezes on the sheer sparkling tights with fishnets over them. Or the mandatory yellow and black Sirens shirt that's a sleeveless crop top and she pairs with red shorts.
"I like all of them." Suddenly, Red Hood sniggers in his ear and Nightwing comments "Not what she meant baby bird."
He forgot all about the comm and quickly removes it. At least Marinette doesn't look uncomfortable.
----
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liquid-luck-00 · 4 years
Text
Little!Mari
Bio!Dad Bruce
Day 12: Little!Mari
@biodad-bruce-month
Ao3 ~~~ First ~~~ Previous ~~~ Next
Sorry this is late I’ll be late for a bit as I try and catch back up, hopefully.
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Marinette was back in Wayne Manor for the winter holidays. And just like every morning she was awake before almost everyone else. Granted she just came back from patrol and it was already too late to fall sleep.
She had noticed she was running low on transformation macaroons for Tikki, so she decided to make a batch. And she did but she may have fallen asleep after placing the Macarons in Tikki‘s designated cookie jar, accidentally leaving out a couple of the potions.
Jason was the one to find her and noticed that she was asleep so he moved her to her room. So that got the boys to talking. They wanted to make sure that this was the best Christmas break ever, as it was their first Christmas together, so what better way to make their youngest sibling smile like the little sunshine she is, than to surprised her with baked goods like she always does with them.
Surprisingly it was Bruce who stepped up to the plate. Granted everyone kind of just stared at him. Alfred’s expression was a mix of shock and horror. Shock because Bruce was in the kitchen and asking Alfred where a list of ingredients were. Horror because Bruce was in the kitchen and it seemed as if he was going to cook. By the time it seemed he had all his ingredients in front of him Bruce looked up and noticed them all staring.
“Is something wrong” Bruce asked with a completely straight face.
“Yes!!!” Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian all yelled..
Alfred, oh poor Alfred, seemed to be close to fainting as he was probably imagining the mess that was going to be occurring. “ Master Bruce what are you about to make.” Alfred asked.
“Brownies”
“Sir where did you learn of the recipe you are to be using?”
“From Mini”
Once they all knew that the recipe was from Mari, they begin to work, still eyeing him warily.
"Vanilla has anyone seen it?"
"There it is Little Bat must have left it out" Dick handed Bruce the vid that was labeled with the letter 'V' and had a violet cap from a line of vials.
They finished the batter and Alfred set it in the oven.
"That went better than the last time" Bruce sighed as they left the kitchen.
"Now I need to know" Jason stopped Bruce looking straight at him. "When the hell have you baked, and what happened the last time ?"
"same occasion, the same day I met Marinette, she took out the ingredients left and I started making the recipe." He looked at his boys and they were silent for once, giving him their undivided, attention. "And I ended up covered in flour." With that he left.
---
Mari woke up a couple of hours later and heard a knock on the door.
"Breakfast will be served soon Miss" Alfred called.
"Thank you Alfred" she returned rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She got dressed and went down. Everyone was already at the table and they all ate relatively peacefully.
"And finally the masters have made you brownies Miss Mari" Alfred stated setting a plate of brownies in front of her.
"You guys. Thank you." I took two from the plate and handed one to Tikki. "Yummy" that was when there were two flashes.
---
"Mari" several voices shouted looking where she was previously sitting.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no" they heard Tikki but could not see her.
"Tikki, what is going on?" Bruce finally asked.
"Humans aren't..." that was when she began to grow in front of them. "humans shouldn't have transformation potions" She looked around, and so did everyone else. That was when they saw the blue eyes and black hair peeking over the table at them.
"Mini are you okay" Bruce tried asking softly.
"Dad" she called out running over to him. At least she still remembers we are family.
"Mari what is the last thing you remember" he asked her, she was curled up in his lap.
She shook her head. "I don't know everything is fuzzy"
"Hey there Bluebell" she turned to face Jason, who sounded to be the calmest at the table. "Do you remember us?"
She seemed to study them all. "Jay or Red" she faced Jason.
"Bluebell" he responded with a smile.
"Dick or Blue" she faced Dick.
"Little Bat" he smiled and she giggled.
"Tim or Genius" she was now smiling at Tim.
"That's right Bean" he gave a nod and yawn but she laughed at his actions.
"Damian or Qamri" she was now looking at Damian.
"Correct mon Sol" His second youngest said giving her a rare smile.
She then turned towards Alfred "Grandpa Alfie" she was now smiling and bubbly, while Alfred seemed close to loosing his composure at being called Grandpa. He simply nodded his head and gave her a smile.
"Tikki how long do you think this will last?" Bruce asked.
"I'm not completely sure" she responded.
"Fairy!" Mari cried looking at Tikki smiling. Tikki giggled.
"Well there is only one thing to do then" Dick clapped his hands a large smile spread on his face.
Tim seemed to suddenly wake up completely, Damian was eyeing him suspiciously a scowl now on his lips, and Jason well "I'm out, I am not getting caught up in any of your insane plans." he started to rise out of his seat.
"Come on Jay let's have a family fun day. We didn't know Mari when she was, how old are you right now little bat."
She scrunched her nose and furrowed her brows "Um nine if think" she finally responded.
"See we need to be with her" Dick began to plead, giving him puppy eyes.
"Please Red" Marinette looked at him giving him her own puppy eyes.
"Ugh how can I say no to those puppy eyes"
"Works every time" Dick answered.
"Not yours" Jason responded, Dick appeared hurt. "so what's first?"
"Puppies" Mari cooed as Titus and Ace entered the room.
"let's go outside then" Damian stated reaching out for Mari's hand. She readily took it and they walked out, the rest of the family following soon after.
---
The majority of the morning was spent playing with Ace and Titus as well as a very difficult game of hide and seek within the manor.
By lunch she was in the kitchen alongside Alfred. After which, everyone had to deal with an Arkham breakout. So Mari wandered the cave while Alfred manned the comms. She ended up on Dick's gymnastic equipment. Once everyone was back they found out she was on the trapeze.
"Blue your back!" she yelled in mid flight. As she landed she turned and again yelled. "Come and fly with me Azur"
Dick began to move towards the ladder when Bruce grabbed his shoulder.
"I think it's best you come down" he called up to her.
"But"
"She's a natural B just a few minutes" Dick stated as he climbed the ladder.
A few minutes turned into two hours. After a bath she was curled up in the library next to Jason as he gave a dramatic reading of the Odyssey.
That was where they stayed all afternoon until Alfred called them for dinner. After which Mari dragged Tim to the living room to make a blanket fort to end all forts. Where she proceeded to tuck her brother under several blankets to get him to sleep.
All five of them ended up watching Disney Movies all night. Where they all fell asleep in the fort.
---
"Why are we in a blanket fort?" Marinette questioned the next morning.
"Mari go back to sleep" Jason grumbled next to her.
"Jay?" she asked out finally waking up. "Dick? Tim? Damian? What how?"
"Breakfast will be ready shortly" Alfred called from outside the fort.
A chorus of ‘Ok Alfred's’ were heard from inside the blankets.
Her and her brothers all got up and went to prepare for the day, and when they sat for breakfast she was still confuse Id.
"What happened yesterday?” she asked. Everyone shared a look and began to laugh.
"Would you prefer the photos or the videos?" Alfred asked and everyone seemed to laugh even harder.
Next
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Taglist:
@mochinek0 @justafanwarrior @abrx2002 @ranger-gothamite @fantasiame @moonystars14 @mochegato @bigbeautifulandfullofsugar @maribat-is-lifeblood @iglowinggemma28 @miraculous-ninja @talutah0 @vixen-uchiha @danielslilangel @witchsblackfox @pawsitivelymiraculous @lizziejay @marinettepotterandplagg @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @dast218 @sassakitty @miyla-lokidottir @lilkymilky @tazanna-blythe @tired-butterfly @lozzybowe @smolplantmum @queencommonsense @loopingtangent @chez-pezeater @paintedhope7 @technicallyburninggarden @meme991001 @wannajointhecrabcult @melicmusicmagic @trippingovermyfeet @greatcatblaze @fidget-eep @miraculouslydumb @iamablinkmarvelarmy @laurcad123 @hauntedwintersweets @fc-studios @fusser90 @madking-warqueen @buginetye @little-lady-bird @thebooki3h @iamabrownfox 
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Changes... (Batsis OS)
Warning: Angst, self-degradation, OOC Bruce, Angst again, body-shaming (mentioned) Word count:  3094  Summary: Your family notices that you start to change. When you deny the changes they start to investigate... What they find doesn’t make them happy.
This was requested by an astonishing Anon: Hi! First of all, I love your blog! I was wondering if you could write about the bat family defending their bat sister from a fat-shaming boyfriend. Please and Thank you!! 😁 A/N: This went way further and into a completely different direction than I had expected...But I still like it and I hope so will you. It’s not really about the defending and more about the consoling, but I added some defending (more or less) at the end.  I also knowingly tried not to actually say what body type the reader has so that everyone can imagine they’re own version. Body shaming can go in both directions after all.
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Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. They couldn't quite put their finger on it, but something about the way you acted and held yourself seemed different to your family. Other than one would think it wasn't one of your siblings who lived with you who noticed it first. Maybe it was because they actively tried to ignore it, or it was because they didn't want you to be different than usual, but nonetheless, the person who noticed first was Duke. Ever since he became the signal, ever since he became part of the family, you, as the heart and soul of Wayne Manor, made it your personal quest to make him feel included. And as part of this quest, the two of you met up bi-weekly for- how you called them- "brother-sister-dates". You always made 100% sure to cancel everything else in order to attend. So when you cancelled one, saying you didn't feel well and that you'd make it up to him the next time, he was confused. But it wasn't enough to worry him. But when you cancelled the next date because you had "other business that just couldn't wait," was when it started to bother him. But he didn't have any real proof that there was something wrong so he couldn't do anything but mentioned it to the rest of the family when they were going through Gotham on your day off.
It was then that the rest started to realize it too. At first, they saw little changes. That you went to your room almost every day as soon as you came home. That you sat there quiet when it was time to eat dinner. That your smile stopped reaching your eyes. It was almost uncanny. But when they asked you about it, you smiled and waved it off. Said things like: "Don't be silly, everything is alright," or "Don't worry your pretty little heads, I'm fine." That calmed them for a while, but it still gnarled on their minds. But then the big changes came. You started to stay out after school longer, coming back in the evening saying- much to Alfred dismay- that you've already eaten. You asked Bruce to be excused from Patrol for a while, saying that you didn't feel like you were on top of your game and since he also realized that something was wrong, but didn't know what to do about it, he allowed it, saying that a few weeks without you, while you were training, wouldn't be a problem. The biggest change where your clothes. You usually wore things with fun, colourful prints on them. Dresses with roses and tulips. Skirts with numbers and signs. Blouses with Avocados on them. And you usually wore fitting pumps or sneakers. Some people would compare the way you dressed to how they imagined a modern fairy to dress. But now... Now you wore dull oversized sweaters over duller oversized shirts with grey, black or dark-blue jeans and black shoes. Jason recognized some sweaters to be his, others looked like they could be from Bruce himself. It was like you were trying to disappear in the fabric. But again, when they asked you, you found a way to escape the question. It was then that they had enough. Something was very, very wrong with you and they intended to fix it. They wanted their sunshine back. Their Y/N. And so the trailing began. After a rather violent fight about who would be the best choice, it was Cass who was waiting on the roof of Gotham Acadamy for the bell to ring and you to leave school. What happened after wasn't what she expected. When you stepped out of the building there was a boy walking along with you. He had his arm around your shoulder and smiled at you, but- even though you also smiled- your whole posture told Cass that you felt uncomfortable and inferior. The two of you walked to an old, rusty car parked on the school ground and got into it, immediately driving away. It was easy for your sister to keep up with the car, but something bothered her. Here and there she caught glimpses of you on the passenger seat and there was a darkness in your eyes that made her blood boil. The car stopped at an apartment building in one of Gotham's nicer neighbourhoods and the boy, who held your wrist tightly and dragged you along as if you were an in-obedient dog, entered and drove with the elevator to one of the higher level apartments. With some swift movements, Cass found herself standing on one of the windowsills that allowed insight into a room that seemed to belong to a boy your age and was this highly likely to belong to whoever you went with after school. Her thesis proved positive when the door opened and the boy, still dragging you by the wrist, came storming in. After he had closed the door he finally let you go and Cass noticed how you started rubbing the spot where his hand had been. Her anger started bubbling up further, but she couldn't intervene. She watched as you sat down onto his bad, seemingly making yourself as small as possible, while the boy ravaged through his room. Talking constantly and keeping on making a mess with his things, seemingly no real goal in mind. Sometimes it seems like he asked you questions, but he never waited for an answer, only looking at you annoyed before getting back to what he was doing before. That went on for almost an hour, now and then he stopped on one spot for a few minutes, playing with something or just looking at you with some unidentifiable look in his eyes. You never said a word, never moved either. Then he finally stopped and sat down beside you on his bed. His hand found yours, but you made no move to escape his grin. In fact, you returned the hold and kissed him on his cheek. Cass's eyes widened and she was utterly bewildered when the boy turned his head and his lips met yours in a kiss that would be sweet if the boy wasn't such a brute about it. The hand that didn't grab yours moved to your thigh and harshly grasped it. Cass's hand was raised and she was close to crashing the window and getting you out of his grasp, but then the boy stopped kissing you and moved away. He looked...disappointed. Cass saw that he sighed and she saw the look of displeasure in his eyes and the look of regret in yours. You said something and Cass read the words "I'm sorry," from your lips. That seemed to anger the boy even further and the following conversation- or rather monologue- was loud enough for Cass to hear it through the window. The family really had to do something about this situation.
The sun was already leaving the sky when you came home. You hadn't noticed Cass following you on your way, nor did you notice the eerie quiet filling the manor. You only noticed something was off when you got to your room and found your dad sitting on your bed. He was looking at a picture that usually sat on your bedside table. It depicted a scene that happened on a stormy fall day a few years earlier. You had made big plans to go to a fair with all your siblings, but they all had to cancel because of the weather. The disappointment had been crushing, but Damian, Cass and Tim wouldn't let you stay so sad. They came into your room, told you to get dressed in rainproof clothes and immediately left again. When you came outside in your bright yellow rain boots, jacket and hat, you were welcomed by the sight of your family in matching rain outfits in all different shades of black, red and, in Steph and Babara's case, purple. That was how it came to the picture. On it, you were sitting on Jason's shoulders, your arm around Damian who sat on Dick, with the rest of your family in similar positions beside you, all of you soaking wet. Soaking wet, but happy. Bruce noticed your presence and looked up, meanwhile laying the picture back at its place, a sad smile on his face. He patted the space beside him. You sighed, but complied with his silent demand and sat down beside him. As soon as you were beside him he embraced you with one arm and pulled you to him, laying his chin onto your head and keeping you close. You reciprocated the hug warily, not quite knowing what this could be about. Had something happened? Did someone die? were the thoughts that immediately filled your head. After a few minutes, Bruce let go of you again but kept his hand on your shoulder. "Is-Is everything okay?" you asked worried, your brows furrowed. "Don't worry, everyone's fine, I'm not here to give you any bad messages." "Then why are you here?" you asked, now rather confused by the situation. Your father wasn't a cold man or anything like that, but he wasn't the most emotional person either. you were happy to get a hug or an "I'm proud of you" once in a while, but that was how things were with him. "I noticed," he started, but seemed to wrestle for words, "that you have been absent lately." You flinched, hoping he wouldn't notice, but knowing that he most likely did. It wasn't easy to hide things from the 'greatest detective in the world'. "It's really nothing, okay?" you said softly as if you were the one who comforted him, "I'm a teenager. I'm just going through some girl stuff right now." That was your ace. The 'girl-card'. Something Bruce couldn't quite refute and would hopefully get him off your back for the time being. He would most likely ask one of your sisters to ask you again a few days from now, but you would be able to think something up until then. Now you just wanted some peace. "I know that you're lying," blocked Bruce your excuse with a hesitating voice. It threw you off. "What?" "Listen, I know I should've tried to talk to you first, but," he sighed and you noticed that he took his hand away, "I asked one of your siblings to follow you." Your eyes widened, while what Bruce just said sunk in. "You- You did what?" you asked, your voice trembling dangerously. "We all noticed that something is wrong with you. I didn't know what else to-" "How could you!" you screamed, jumping off of the bed and backing away from Bruce. "Y/N, listen-" "NO! YOU LISTEN! IT'S MY LIFE AND, AS LONG AS I DON'T WANT IT TO BE, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHAT'S GOING ON INSIDE IT!" Now Bruce stood up, trying not to seem threatening, but still towering over you. "Y/N, we are just very worried okay? You're keeping things from us, then you start your wardrobe, and now-" he stopped and looked at you unhappily. His eyes were full of sadness and something that you identified as pity. Seeing that expression cooled you down a bit. Your trembling shoulders coming to a rest. Bruce sat down again and looked at his hands as if you were a wild animal that could be driven away when you got looked at wrong. You stayed where you were, maybe not as furious as before, but still angry. For a while, it stayed silent in your room, neither of you moving from where you were. It was as if time stood still. It was Bruce who broke that stasis. "I know about the boy." Your breath hitched and you crossed your arms in front of your chest, thinking that you knew where this was supposed to go. "I wanted to tell you, okay? We only become an item a few weeks ago, I was still searching for a way," you said somewhat bitterly. "That's not what I meant." "It's not?" now you were confused again. "Then- then what do you mean?" "Cass heard what he said to you. What he called you." Your heart skipped a beat and not in a good way. You wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in your throat and all that was left were the tears build up in your eyes. Bruce was still not looking at you, but you noticed that he was clenching his fist angrily. "How could you just let him say these things to you?" You managed to swallow the lump of unsaid words in your throat, finding the energy to say something. "It's not like that... He- He really loves me," you mumbled, still not being able to fight the tears that now threatened to spill. Your dad finally looked at you with a look of utter unbelief plastered over his face. "How can you think that?" "He told me," you mumbled weakly, avoiding his eyes and sliding down onto the floor below you. "Y/N, sweety, please look at me." You kept looking at the floor, not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes. "Please," he said again and his shoes came into your field of view. You took a deep breath and rubbed over your eyes to clean them from the tears that fogged your sight. Then you looked up and met the loving, caring eyes of your father. Not the disappointment you expected, you were used to lately. "Y/N you can talk to me." Now the sobs started to shake your body. "He said he loves me," you stated again, this time louder, shaking your head. Bruce sighed again, clearly not happy about the situation and still worried, and sank down beside you, but still keeping some distance between you. "Do you love him," he asked the question that you had been frightened off. "I do," you said firmly, before looking at your hands and at the still slightly red mark on your wrist, before you paddled back: "I-I don't know. I don't think so." "Then why are you with him? It is okay to change your mind, it is okay if you change. You don't have to be with him just because you liked him a week ago, you know that right?" You didn't answer, you didn't look at him, you didn't move. "Y/N?" "I know... but-" you shake your head and returned to your previous silence. "But what?" "It doesn't matter if I love him. I can be happy that he likes me." Bruce was speechless at what you said but quickly caught himself again. "What do you mean?" The sobs started again and you buried your face in your hands. "You know what he says, what he thinks about me... about my body. He says that no one could ever like someone like me." It was hard for Bruce to understand your muffled speech, but the parts that he understood combined with what Cass had told him about was enough for him to know what you were talking about. "Oh honey," he mumbled and engulfed you in his arms, pulling your sobbing form into his chest "Why would you ever believe him?" Even though he asked a question, he knew not to expect an answer. And he knew it anyways. When someone you liked, even if it was not romantically yet, told you again and again that you were too fat/thin, ugly, a disgrace... After a while, you'd start to believe it. "I know this might sound hard to believe right now, but you're beautiful the way you are. You don't have to change for someone who doesn't deserve you. And if you ever feel the way you do right now, I want you to know that you can come to me, come to everyone in this family, and we will tell you just how amazing you are," Bruce mumbled into your hair, loud enough for you to hear, in a soothing manner. As if on cue the door fell open and your siblings all came tumbling in. And seeing the great vigilantes of the bat family laying on top of each other on the floor managed to get you to let out a mix between a sob and a giggle. Maybe it was time for you to come back to your family...
After the talk with Bruce (and later your siblings and Alfred who all wanted to let you know just how much they loved you), you stayed home for a few days with your father's permission to get back to your old self, not answering a single call or message from your (now Ex-)boyfriend. But you couldn't stay out of school forever so your siblings made a plan. They'd deal with that douche of the equivalent of human trash. Obviously (since some of them were grown-ups with jobs and responsibilities) not all of them were able to come, but the next Monday morning when you, Damian and Cass left the car and stepped onto the school ground, Jason, Tim, Duke and Harper were already waiting near the brick wall surrounding Gotham Academy. When they saw the three off you, they came over and immediately encircled you like your small private army. You slightly rolled your eyes at them, knowing that they couldn't just walk with you through school the whole day, but smiled nonetheless.   That smile faltered when you saw him standing in the entrance, looking angry. Around the same time you caught sight of him, he saw you and immediately started to stomp over to you, seemingly not noticing the people surrounding you. His eyes were focused on you and made your skin freeze, it was like you were fixed to the ground. Harper, who had been walking behind you, noticed your lack of movement and followed your eyes. "Is that him?" she asked loud enough for your other siblings to notice. You nodded. "Damian, take Y/N to her first class please, the others and I have a few things we want to talk about with that jackass," stated Jason with no room for discussion. Not that Damian cared who tried to anyways: "But I also want-" "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but we just want to scare him, maybe rough him up a bit, but not kill him." Damian scoffed, but still took your hand uncharacteristically soft and walked with you to another entrance to the building, taking you away from the riot that was to follow. Let's just say that your Ex never bothered or even talked to you the way he did before (or in general) again.
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robinofgothamcity · 3 years
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♡ starting prompt: based off a tweet i saw that said ‘we always kinda shipped them together. he kept scoffing that he didn’t like her and yet he always look at her first when someone made a joke to see if she was laughing too’.  
♡ pairing: walter hahn (WWE / NXT) x fem reader
♡ lyric inspiration: “come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination. take a look and you’ll see into your imagination. i’ll be begin with a spin....”
♡ note: not checked for grammar or spelling mistakes
"who’s that?” Walter asked his blond friend. Marcel looked up to see you, headphones in and blaring music so loud that everyone was able to hear. “oh, that’s ( your name ). she’s Timothy’s-,” before he could finish the sentence, Timothy came up to you and gave you a quick hug, “that’s his manager. she also works in the front office,” he continued. 
Walter’s eyebrows went down in confusion. never in the time that they were together in RingKampf had he ever took interest in having a manager and from the looks of it, you were the exact opposite of Tim. from afar, you were bubbly, excitable, and cute. 
Tim was nothing of the sort. polar opposites one might say. 
you were sitting in your seat as Tim was eating lunch. dancing to whatever you were listening, Walter couldn’t help but laugh at your antics. he knew Tim like the back of his hand so the decision to make you his manager was either his doing or something that was out of his hand. 
“she’s....interesting,” he said under his breath, making Marcel look at him for a moment, “any particular reason why you’re so interested in her? she’s been his manager for a while now,” Marcel put in. Walter shook his head, deciding not to respond. 
you were Tim, watching as he scarfed down his dinner while you finished up a few papers that needed to get done for next weeks taping. you were supposed to be dressed and ready to go by six but because of Tim’s new storyline with the boys from Imperium, you had to figure out a few things before the match. 
Timothy was a bit hard headed at first, stating that he didn’t need a manager but after a while, he got used to having you around. you were almost like a pest that he cared about like a sister. 
“hey, your friends are over there! why don’t you say hi!” you exclaimed, seeing Walter, Fabian, and Marcel in a corner, speaking to each other, “no. we’re not supposed to be speaking with each other,” was all he said before continuing to eat. 
you huffed before scooting out of your chair, “well, I’m going to say hello. since we’re going to be working with each other, I guess it’s only right to get formalities out of the way,” you stated, making Tim’s eyes go wide in panic. 
he instantly tried to get you to come back but by the time he tried to reach for you to come back, you were already prancing over to them. 
“hi!” you exclaimed happily. Fabian, the friendliest of the bunch gave you a smile, “i’m ( your name )! Tim’s manager. it’s nice to meet all of you!” you introduced yourself, giving them your hand to shake. 
Fabian introduced himself, giving you a hug instead. Marcel on the other hand just took the handshake and murmured his name to you. Walter remained looking at you, not bothering to say anything outside of giving you a simple head nod. 
to the untrained eye, like yourself and others, Walter’s reaction was a given. he was never a man of many words yet to the boys and Tim, they could see that Walter was holding himself back. almost like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. 
you giving Walter a smile, one that would’ve made anyone fall for you but he just turned his head to another direction and started to speak to Marcel in German. you gave Fabian a confused look, wondering why he didn’t tell you much but you felt a hand clasp onto your shoulder a second after. 
“evening boys,” Tim’s voice spoke from behind you. you gave him another look, wondering why he went back on his word from earlier, “they’re looking for you in makeup and they’re pissed,” he whispered into your ear.
your eyes widened, realizing you were beyond late to get your makeup done. you gave them a quick goodbye, shoving your work into Tim’s hands and screaming at him to put it into your office before basically darting off to the makeup station. 
Tim, Fabian, Marcel, and now Alex who had shown up looked at Walter with suspecting eyes. no one said a word but Tim could sense Walter had taken an infatuation with you. 
+
a few weeks passed since your encounter with Walter and the rest of Imperium. since you were working 'against’ them now, outside of the ring, you got a bit close to Marcel and Alex. they would invite you to sit next to them when Tim wasn’t with you. 
you tried to get closer with Walter but he always closed you off. he would say absolutely nothing to you and when had too, it wasn’t anything besides a few words. at first you thought that maybe you just annoyed him to the point where he didn’t like you but eventually, Tim told you that he was just that way with anyone that didn’t know him. 
“good morning to my favorite Germans!” you said, running up to Marcel and Alex, engulfing them into a forced hug. they stood stiff, basically embracing the forced hug, “and Walter!” you added on, giving him a brief wave. 
“where’s your boyfriend?” Alex asked, looking around. you fluttered your eyebrows in confusion, “boyfriend? wanna tell me who that is?” you asked. Marcel gave you a hearty laugh, “Tim. he’s asking for Timothy,” he stated. 
you let out a laugh, louder than you intended as you sat down next to Walter and Alex, “Tim? my boyfriend? that’s like saying it’s gonna snow in Florida. never going to happen,” you joked, trying to calm down your giggles. “very defensive about it, aren’t ya?” Alex added on. 
“people love the idea that we’re secretly together but Timothy is like an annoying brother. I love him but I wanna kick his ass 90% of the time. the other 10 is caring that he doesn’t get killed by you guys.” 
before you could continue, you heard a producer call your name, telling you that you were needed to clear up a few things for Hunter. you told them goodbye and went over to the producer. 
“so she’s single, huh?” Alex said, tapping his chin. Marcel looked at him, “why do you care?” he asked. Alex shrugged, “now that we know maybe this idiot will ask her out,” he mentioned. 
Marcel let out a laugh as Walter stared at him annoyed, “yeah right. he actually has to make conversation first and he can’t even do that with her. I’ve been hearing a few people have been interested in asking her out. not that she knows or anything,” Marcel said quietly. 
he actually had no idea if anyone was interested in you or not. personally, he could have cared less but he knew his best friend better than anyone else. Walter liked you, he was just too much of a chicken shit to actually admit to it. 
“who?” Walter asked almost immediately. Marcel closed the circle in, “for starters, in the NXT roster is Jordan Devlin and Sami Zayn from Smackdown has been rumored to have gotten her number,” Marcel lied. Alex perked at the names, “and how did you find out?” he asked, a bit suspicious that he knew. 
Marcel shrugged, not bothering to say anything for a moment, “oh, just heard a few of the girls talking yesterday while I was working out,” Walter stared at the table, his mind racing with thoughts. he never knew others actually had taken an interest in you, not that it was wrong to do as such but he was taken back that it was more than one person. 
“what has you so quiet all of a sudden?” Walter shook his head, not responding as he got up, taking his jacket with him and leaving the table. “I wonder what his problem is,” Alex murmured. Marcel laughed, “he’s finally going to grow a pair and ask her out,” Marcel stated. 
-
you were working in your office, sorting through a few different files you needed for a storyline in the women’s division. it was already late into the night as you filed the sheets away and started to get your things ready to leave.
“of course this week had to be my busiest week, now I have to call an Uber home,” you groaned. you had put your car in the shop because of a few issues it had and it wasn’t expected to get finished until at least Monday, “god damn it Tim, you just had to leave,” you huffed. 
just as you pulled your phone out, you saw Walter walking out of the locker room, “hey Walter! what are you doing here so late?” you asked, trying not to make it awkward, “I stayed working out late,” he said. 
you nodded, “ah, don’t overwork yourself now,” you mentioned, “but give me a second? I need to call an Uber home. my car is stuck at the mechanics until Monday and Tim already left,” Walter’s eyes widened, realizing this was his chance. 
“I have a car, I can take you home?” he asked, trying not to come off as intimidating. you perked up in relief, “really? that would be so amazing!” you said happily. he grabbed his keys and jiggled them, “my cars on the other side of the building,” he said.
you followed behind, trying to make conversation and interestingly enough, he was actually responding to you like a normal person would. not those snippets of conversations he would say around the others. 
the entire ride home, you were trying to crack jokes, seemingly trying to make him laugh which ended in you making an idiot out of yourself and making him laugh that way instead. Walter had never realized he actually liked you as much as the others would joke he did but now that it was just the two of you, he could sense the feelings were there. 
the ride to your house was a bit on the shorter side. you lived in a small two bedroom house, closer to Full-Sail than he thought. just as he put the car into park to let you get out, you turned around and gave him a smile, making Walter glad that it dark outside and you weren’t able to see his sudden red face. 
“I know this is weird but would you like to come in? I have food I made for myself this morning after I came from work and I’m sure there’s enough for you.” 
Walter sighed in relief. 
“I would love too.” 
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kelyon · 3 years
Text
Golden Rings 23: A Hat
The Storybrooke sequel to Golden Cuffs
Jefferson tries to get help
Read on AO3
Inside a cramped little cottage in a cramped little town in the mountains of a flat planet that flies through space on the back of four elephants on top of a turtle, he is having dinner with his family. 
Technically, they are Leo’s family, but technicalities have never troubled him. These people have welcomed him into their lives. This smoke-filled, boisterous cottage is more home to him than the solemn rock quarry where Jefferson spent the first few miserable decades of his life. 
The meal is mostly over, but everyone lingers over pudding and conversation and beer. A few of his sisters-in-law have gathered up the dishes and are headed back to the kitchen for the washing up.
His daughter sits on his lap. She is almost too big for the gesture and maybe that’s why she wants it so much. It’s certainly why he lets her do it. How much longer will he have with his little girl? Even if they have escaped from the Queen’s curse, they cannot escape time. There will only be a few more years before Grace is more a woman than a baby. She’ll be as pretty as her mother, and just as smart, winding her way through the hearts of everyone who meets her.
But for now, his girl sits on his lap and listens to her family. Beside him, Leo squeezes his arm. 
She leans into him. “No matter where we go, it’s never better than being home.”   
He smiles at her, his wife, his life. Her face is ruddy from drink and smoke. Her blonde hair curls in the heat, teasing wisps escape from her bun. Her plump curves fill out her dress like bursting sausage. She has a shine of bacon grease around her mouth and a touch of beer foam on the tip of her nose. In all the lands in all the worlds, he has never seen anyone more beautiful. 
Somewhere down the table, a baby cries. One of his many sisters-in-law is trying to soothe one of Grace’s many cousins, without much success. The infant has been fussing all night, and now the poor thing’s wails have drowned out the riotous conversation.
“‘Ere now!” Leona’s mother calls down from the head of the table. “Are you going to help that poor babby or do I ‘ave to?”
His sister-in-law--a washed out, nervous looking woman whose name no one can remember--looks gratefully up at Nanny Ogg. “Can you?”
Nanny Ogg snorts. This grande dame--which she translates as “big woman”--is the matriarch of the Ogg clan and the second-most powerful witch in the Ramptops Mountains, though she doesn’t try as hard. She’s had five husbands (and married three of them), fifteen children, and more grandchildren and great-grandchildren than anyone in Lancre can count. 
The baby is passed from hand to hand down the table, squalling all the way. When it finally gets to the head of the table, it is placed into the very solid arms of a round old woman dressed in black. She has a pipe, a pint, and a black pointy hat. (There’s nothing magic about a pointy hat, except that it says that the person underneath it is a witch.) She also has lively dark eyes--like Leo’s, like Grace’s--and the widest grin most people have ever seen.
The current occupant of the old woman’s lap is a mangy ball of fur and claws named Greebo. Though known to pick fights with bears (and not lose), he’s nothing but an old softy to Nanny Ogg. Still, the cat is smart enough to know that he is always second place to any child. As soon as the baby is in the witch’s arms, he scampers out of the way.
Jefferson’s life would have been hell if Nanny Ogg hadn’t given him her approval to marry Leo. They would have married anyway--Leo wouldn’t have let anything stop them--but coming home like this would have been… difficult. There are a dozen tiny ways an Ogg can tell you they don’t like you--and a hundred large and painful ones. But Nanny Ogg’s welcoming nature--and Jefferson’s endless potential to bring her presents from far-off lands--had ensured that they were welcome any time. 
Within a minute of entering Nanny Ogg’s embrace, the screaming baby quiets. Within another minute, it sleeps peacefully, despite the raucous conversation around the table. 
Perched on his knees, Grace looks curious. “Was that magic, Gran?”
“Coo-ee, no, my duck!” Nanny Ogg chuckles. “The day I needs magic to calm a babe is the day you lot can put me in the ground!”
“But you did it so fast!” Grace persists. 
“Coz I been doing it so long,” Nanny Ogg explains. “Ever since your Uncle Jason was a wee thing! There’s a knack to it, but it ain’t magic.”
Grace ponders this for a moment. Children are allowed to speak freely around Nanny Ogg’s table--provided they keep the conversation interesting. “Papa knows a man who does magic.”
Jefferson thinks about explaining, but clearly this is a private conversation.
Nanny Ogg nods sagely. “I imagine your dad knows all kinds of people, the work he does.”
“He was a funny little man,” Grace says. “He has a funny voice and he’s all green.”
“Takes all sorts, luv. We can’t help the way we’re made.”
“He gave me a yellow dress, to match Mama’s pink one. He pulled it out of the air! We were there for--why were we there, Papa?”
“A wedding,” Jefferson answers. “The Dark One and Belle wanted us to be there for their wedding.”
“It was a lovely day,” Leo smiles at him while stroking their daughter’s hair. “Do you remember dancing in that big ballroom, Grace? Remember how he made the instruments play themselves?”
Nanny Ogg snorts. “Sounds like a show-off, if you ask me.”
“Oh he is,” Jefferson agrees. “I don’t know if you’d like him, and Mistress Weatherwax would hate him.”
“Well, there’s not many I don’t like, and there’s not many Esme Weatherwax don’t hate, at least at first.” 
They laugh at that, as they laugh at everything. The conversation moves on to other topics. Later the lot of them move away from the table and into the parlor. Around a fire and more beer, Nanny Ogg brings out her banjo, but the evening still manages to end happily. 
He puts Grace to bed in a room with her cousins, a group of girls near her age. He kisses her and makes sure she has her stuffed rabbit. Then he goes up to the bedroom where Leo is waiting.
His wife is a dream, all satiny pink. All soft and warm and round. Like a sunset cloud with grasping arms. Like candy floss with a libido. She is everything. All the happiness he has now is because of her. This family, this life, their daughter. Everything in his past led to her, everything in the present comes from her, everything in the future will be theirs together. 
They make love, full of food and clumsy with drink. Their lips are loose and sloppy. They giggle and try to stay quiet in this crowded house. Their hands know their bodies. They know how to pleasure each other. They know. They feel. They love. They delight in each other and fall asleep in each other’s arms.
When Jefferson wakes up, everything is gone. 
****
For the ten thousand, three hundred ninetieth time, Jefferson woke up alone. In a giant, empty bed, inside a giant, empty house. He woke up, like he always did, with a gnawing ache in his chest and a burning desire for nothing more than to go back to sleep. Back to his dream. His best dreams were always about them. Leo. Grace. Home.
Sitting up in bed, Jefferson covered his face with his hands and let a dry sob rack through him. Tears would come later. First sob of the morning was always dry.
“Morning” was not the right word. It was a gray spring afternoon, more or less identical to every other gray afternoon he’d woken up in since he was brought over to this world. Over the years--over so many years--he had gotten in the habit of starting his day when most people in Storybrooke began to end theirs. The only reason he woke up at all was to get a chance to see his daughter walk home from school. 
The telescope was in the office, what he tended to think of as the hat room. This side of the massive house faced Main Street. He could see quite a lot--the diner, the Sheriff’s Station, a few important houses. And he had learned quite a lot, just by looking at all these people living their lives. 
Nothing changed in Storybrooke. Children didn’t get older. The old and sick never died. People worked the same jobs no matter how much they hated them. There was a girl he saw walking to and from the diner who had been nine months pregnant for twenty-eight years. Everyone was miserable, alone and unloved in one way or another, but they all carried on with what they thought were their lives. 
Until the day a yellow bug drove into town. 
Looking through the telescope, Jefferson trained his eyes on a lime green winter coat. The coat was bouncing over the shoulders of a young girl as she hopped, skipped and jumped her way around the sidewalk. His throat tightened, as it did every time he saw her. In the lens of the telescope, she looked close enough to reach out and touch. 
Grace was walking with another girl--Jefferson didn’t know her name. She was poor, from Old Town. Her father was gone and her mother worked long hours for low pay. Girls like that didn’t get their accomplishments written up about in the newspaper the way Grace did every time she won the Science Fair. Until a few months ago, Grace had never spoken to this girl. Both of them had walked the same path from the school to the abandoned library, twenty feet apart, every day for twenty-eight years, without ever interacting with each other.
Until the day Sheriff Swan started a youth outreach campaign, and made a point to talk about how much safer kids were if they used the buddy system when they didn’t have an adult around.
Then Grace had looked up from her routine, and she had seen the other girl looking back. Both of them needed someone to walk with. Both of them were looking for a friend. Both of them found one. It was a little thing, but it was a change.
He watched them walk from the library to the house in New Town where Tim and Mia Lewis lived. The people Grace thought were her parents. Every once in a while, they ran an ad in the Storybrooke Daily Mirror--all three of them with big smiles, the adults offering their services in insurance and real estate. 
The lights were off inside the house, so he couldn’t see into the kitchen. He couldn’t see what healthy snacks Mia had made for the girls today. He couldn’t see what game they played to unwind for a bit before Mia made sure they both started their homework. A few hours later, the other girl’s mother would stop by after her shift at Granny’s. He never knew if she thanked Mia for watching her daughter. Maybe it was just understood. Maybe Mia said she was just doing what Sheriff Swan advised, watching out for children who might otherwise get into trouble, being alone and unsupervised.
Once Grace was out of his sight, Jefferson moved the telescope to look around town. Not too many changes today. Archie Hopper was walking his dalmatian. Marco the handyman was making another trip to the hardware store. The stranger on the motorcycle idled outside Marine Automotive; he seemed to be watching Marco. Mrs. Gold was strutting away from the pawn shop with her head held high.
 He watched her, this woman who used to be Belle. It looked like she was going towards City Hall. Curious. Was she applying for a permit? Was there some licence she needed to renew? His fingers itched to pick up the phone and call the Dark One about what he had seen. He was the only other human being in town, the only person who knew the truth about anything. It was just the Dark One, Jefferson, and Queen Regina. 
But he couldn’t bother him too much. They couldn’t raise any more suspicion than they already had with their one secret meeting in the woods. The Dark One was still trying to maintain his cover as “Mr. Gold.” Besides, what difference could it make that Belle was running an errand to City Hall?
With a sigh, Jefferson moved away from the telescope. He’d been awake for more than an hour, it was time to put on pants. 
In no time at all, he had showered, dressed, and chugged down a protein shake. Most days, it was hard for him to summon up the will to cook or eat. He kept his body going with prepackaged meal replacements. They tasted like crap, but at least he didn’t have to think about them. He left cooking for people who thought they had something to live for. 
He made his way to the front doors. The house had a wide driveway that ran under a large overhang. Whenever visitors came, they could disembark from the vehicles and go into the house without the hazards of rain or snow. 
If he ever had visitors.
At the moment, and for the past twenty-eight years, all he had was the most recent copy of the Storybrooke Daily Mirror. It wasn’t a bastion of hard-hitting journalism, but for a long time it had been the only way he could know anything about the town he spent so much time looking at. The newspaper had given him names to put to the faces--Mayor Mills, Mr. Gold, Sheriff Humbert, and later Sheriff Swan. It had been a lifeline, and he still clung to it. For nearly three decades, the dates on the front page had been the only changes he had seen anywhere in this town. 
Today’s date was April 2nd, 2012. The headline was about the continued search for a missing person. Kathryn Nolan, a paralegal working at the firm of Duke & Duke, had been missing for more than a month. There had been sightings of a woman matching her description in various parts of Storybrooke, but by the time the police arrived, all traces of her had gone. Sheriff Swan encouraged anyone with any information regarding Mrs. Nolan’s whereabouts to call the station.
On the next page, there was an editorial decrying the lack of effort put forth by Kathryn’s husband, David Nolan, to aid in the search. Sydney Glass stopped just short of outright accusing Mr. Nolan of gross negligence or foul play. He only noted the amount of time Mr. Nolan spent with the schoolteacher, Miss Blanchard. The article concluded with speculation that perhaps Mrs. Nolan was not missing at all, but had run away from a terminally unhappy home.      
After finishing the paper, he put it away in the office closet and went back to the telescope. The lights were on in the house where Grace lived. The other girl had been picked up. Tim Lewis was home from work. The three of them were making dinner together. Mia was stirring a pot of chili and Tim was taking a bag of corn out of the freezer.
“She doesn’t like corn, guys,” Jefferson muttered to himself. “She won’t eat the chili if you put corn in it. You’ve been taking care of her for twenty-eight years and you’ve never figured that out.”
He shook his head and looked away. Sometimes it was maddening to watch the town like this, to see these people make the same mistakes, over and over. Emma Swan had made some changes, but there were still so many ways to be unhappy.
He watched dinner in the Lewis household. He watched Grace carefully pick out all the corn from her bowl of chili and set it into her paper napkin. He watched Mia shake her head at his daughter. He watched Tim lecture her about wasting food. He watched Grace scowl as she picked up the napkin and dumped the offending corn kernels back into the chili. She ate, but she looked like she was going to vomit.
“I’m sorry, love,” he whispered. He had to get to her, somehow. He had to let her know that he was her father. He had to get her back to Leo.
After dinner, the family watched TV. Grace sat on a couch between Tim and Mia, and flickering light bathed over all of them. They weren’t bad people, her fake-parents. They did love her, and they did the best they could to raise her to be healthy and successful in this world. Whoever Tim and Mia had been before, they were victims of the curse too. They had never meant to steal another couple’s daughter. 
He had to put this right. He had to end this curse. Jefferson didn’t have much power, but he would do anything to put his family back together. 
He moved the telescope away from Grace. After a brief search, he found the big pink house in Old Town where the Dark One lived. The lights were on, but no one was visible through the windows. If he called on the phone, the Dark One would tell him to be patient. The Savior would break the curse in due time. 
But Jefferson had already waited too long. 
Scanning through town, he set his sights on the Sheriff’s station. Storybrooke was peaceful enough that most of the cops could hang up their guns in time for dinner. They were all long gone by now. Even Sheriff Swan was packing up and getting ready to go home for the night. 
Perfect. 
Picking up the sleek, silver cordless phone, Jefferson punched in the numbers he had seen in the newspaper. Through the telescope, he could see Emma Swan hear the phone ringing. She slumped and grimaced in the way of everyone being clawed back into a job they thought was done for the day. Then she straightened up, and picked up the receiver on her desk.
“Sheriff’s station, this is Emma.”
Jefferson cleared his throat. “Yeah, is this the number to call if somebody saw Kathryn Nolan?”
Perking up, Emma fumbled on her desk for a pen and paper. “It sure is. Who am I talking to?”
That question was too complicated to get into. “Yeah, I don’t know for sure if it was Kathryn Nolan, but it looked like a woman in her mid-thirties, caucasian, looked kinda haggard. I, uh, I tried to talk to her, but she just kept walking through the woods.”
“Which woods are those? Where was this?”
“Oh, yeah, it was the north woods. You ever been up on Angus Drive?”
“Can’t say that I have. Still kind of new to the area.”
“Yeah, well that’s where she was. About ten minutes ago I saw her, she was walking towards town. Like I said, I tried to get her attention, but she didn’t listen. I didn’t wanna try to chase after her. Might scare her, you know. Make things worse.”
“Right, right,” Emma said. “So, north woods, Angus Drive, ten minutes ago. And what was your name?”
Jefferson hung up the phone. Then he got his coat and a scarf. It was time to go for a walk.  
****
There were several cars in the massive garage of the house where Jefferson had been a prisoner. For the first twenty-eight years, he hadn’t been able to open the garage door to get them on the road. Even after Emma had rolled in, the cars were still useless. None of them had gasoline.
So Jefferson walked. He had walked along the highway and through the woods and over the town line as far as he could before something terrible happened. He walked into town sometimes, trying to find a way out. When he’d noticed “Mr. Gold” acting strangely, he had walked to the pawn shop.
At this point, he knew the town better than anyone else. Who knows the shape of a cage better than the captive inside? He knew the borders and boundaries, especially the area around the house. He knew where the road made a wicked hairpin turn, where someone who was still kind of new to the area wouldn’t know what was coming and could be caught off guard. 
The yellow Volkswagen had better brakes than he thought--Emma stopped short of actually hitting him when he emerged from the woods onto the road in front of her. He’d been willing to take the hit, half-curious to see if the curse would let any injury last longer than a week or so. 
Emma’s quick driving stopped him from actually getting hurt, but the collision was close enough that he could fall to the ground in a convincing show. She stopped the car and got out when she saw him. 
“Oh my God, are you okay?”
On the gravel shoulder of the highway, Jefferson groaned and clutched his leg.
“Sir? Sir, can you talk? I’m Emma Swan, do I need to call for EMTs?”
“No,” Jefferson gritted his teeth, swallowed the imaginary pain. “No, I live around here. I’ll be fine. Can you just get me back to my house?”
For just a moment, she hesitated. “Uh, sure. Yeah, let’s get you inside, at least.”
She helped him up and into the passenger seat of the bug. Then she began to drive.
“So where do you live, Mr…?”
“Angus Drive.” He answered only the question she had said out loud. “It’s up ahead.”
 “Funny.” Now that the moment of panic had passed, Emma seemed less willing to accept half-answers. “I just got a call about that address. A man said he saw a missing person out this way. Maybe you saw her when you were out. A blonde woman in her mid-thirties?”
He shook his head. “That sounds like your description, Sheriff.”
“First, I’m not in my mid-thirties. Second, how did you know I’m the Sheriff?”
“I read the paper. And who else would be getting a call about a missing person? And, you’ve got your badge on your hip.”
She frowned. “Guess that all checks out. Yeah, I’m Sheriff Swan. What’s your name?”
Again, Jefferson didn’t answer. “This is the house on the right.”
“A house?” Emma said as she parked under the awning. “This looks more like a hotel! Do you have a big family or something?”
Jefferson opened the door, but made sure to wait for her to help him out of the car. “No,” he said. “It’s just me.”
“The sign on the mailbox says Dogdson.” 
“Sure does.”
Leaning on Emma, Jefferson pretended to hobble up the stairs to get into the front door. The curse had never given him a key to this house, so he always left it unlocked. Someday,  when the curse was broken, he would find a way to lock the door behind him and walk away a free man. He would take Grace and walk all the way to the Discworld if he had to.
“Where should I put you?” Emma asked once they were in the foyer.
“Closest living room is over there.”
She set him up on one of the white leather couches with his “bad” leg propped up on the arm. “Want me to take a look at it?”
“No, no, I’ll be fine. Listen, I’m kind of an amateur cartographer. Upstairs, I’ve got maps for all of these woods. They could be useful to you, since you don’t know the area well.”
Hands on her hips, Emma Swan looked down at him. She looked shrewd, suspicious. Kind of like Leo, only skinny. “I never told you I don’t know the area.”
Jefferson grinned. What was the old saying about honesty? Better to tell the truth because then you don’t have to keep track of your lies? “I guess you didn’t.”  
“The only person I told that to lately was a man on the phone who also didn’t tell me his name.” Emma sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch so they were on the same level. “Did you actually see Kathryn Nolan around here?”
He didn’t stop grinning. “No.”
“And your leg isn’t hurt at all.”
It wasn’t a question, but he still answered. “No.”
“Can you give me a single good reason why I shouldn’t arrest you on the very serious charge of Wasting the Sheriff’s Time?”
Jefferson sat up. “I do need your help,” he said. “But I thought if I told you what was going on, you would think I was crazy.”
Emma didn’t blink at that. “People who might be crazy need just as much help as people who might be sane. Let’s start from the beginning: Tell me your name.”
“Jefferson,” he answered immediately.
“Jefferson,” she repeated. “Is that a first name or a last name?”
“First.”
“And the last name?”
He didn’t really have one. Few people in the old world did. “Ogg,” he answered. 
It was the name he went by on worlds where last names were common. Leo’s name. He was part of a proud tradition of men becoming Mr. Ogg when they married an Ogg woman. 
Emma looked him in the eyes, long and hard. “Jefferson Ogg,” she said slowly. “That’s… such a weird name, I don’t think you made it up.”
“I didn’t,” he said. 
“Uh-huh,” she said. “And what do you need help with, Jefferson Ogg?”
“I…” Gods, how could he even start? He would just have to show her. “It’s upstairs.”
She gave him another look, not speaking. Then she pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and pressed some buttons. 
“Texting on the job?”
“I left my walkie-talkie in the car.” She put her phone away. “Just letting my roommate know where I am and to call the dispatch office if she doesn’t hear from me in 10 minutes.”
That was almost funny, that she thought he was dangerous. As if the most dangerous person in Storybrooke wasn’t signing Sheriff Swan’s paychecks. 
“Let’s go upstairs,” he said.
****
It was the first time anyone other than him had set foot in the office. He wondered what Emma made of the room. All Jefferson ever cared about was the telescope and the walk-in closet where he stored the newspapers. Neither of those things drew Emma’s focus.
“That’s a lot of top hats,” she said as she stood in front of the lit-up shelf. There were rows of them, all made of an endless supply of black felt. “You part of a show choir or something?”
“No.” He shut the door behind them, locked it. “The hats… are actually what I need your help with.” He pulled out some of the felt, some sewing needles and a pair of scissors. He tossed them all onto the table in front of her. “I need you to make one.”
Now the expression on Emma’s face was what ‘suspicious’ wanted to be when it grew up. “You think I’m a hatter?”
He stood behind her, nudging her into a chair in front of the raw materials. “I think you can do extraordinary things, Emma. I think you can do exactly what I need you to. I think you can save me.”
Her expression morphed from disbelief to exhaustion. “No, not you too. Have you been talking to Henry? What is it with this town and people thinking I can save them?”
“Because you can!” He put his hands on either side of the chair and pushed her to the table. Then he leaned over her to keep her from getting up. “You are a special person, Emma. You made the changes start, you can make everything good again.”
“Bring back the happy endings, is that what you want from me?”
She was angry. She meant the remark to be flippant. But she was so right it brought tears to his eyes. 
“Yes,” Jefferson whispered. “Yes, that’s all I want. The Dark One says it’s your destiny, that you have already brought--”
“Wait, who?”
“The Dark One,” he said. “Rumpelstiltskin, he--”
“Will you listen to yourself?” Emma pushed herself up away from the table and stood up to confront him. “Do you think you’ve had a conversation with Rumpelstiltskin? What, do you think Regina is the Evil Queen too?”
“Yes!” he shouted. He picked the felt up off the table and shook the fabric in her face. “You have all the pieces, Emma! Why can’t you put them together?”
“Because this is the real world!” she shouted back. 
“Every world is real!” 
She made for the door. The lock kept her busy for just enough time that Jefferson was able to catch up with her. Gently, he pulled her away from the door and stood in front of it. Just being taller than her was enough to make him look like a threat.
“You don’t understand,” he tried to keep his voice from breaking. “There are so many worlds out there. I’ve been to most of them. The Dark One gave me a hat that I can use to travel from world to world. I could use it to get out of here, but I don’t have it anymore!”
Emma reached for her phone. He grabbed her wrist and pulled the device out of her hand.
“It needs magic,” he explained, as calmly as he could. “I’ve made a hundred hats, but they’re just hats, no good to anyone. I need magic. You have magic. You brought magic to Storybrooke the day you came here.”
She frowned at the phone in his hand and stepped back. “There was nothing different about the day I came here.”
“You’re right.” Keeping her in his sights, he stepped away from the office door and toward the closet. “It was the day after you arrived, the day after you broke the sign. October 24th, 2011. That was the day the clock on the library started to tick.”
Emma just gaped at him. “How could you remember that?”
“It was the most important day in the history of this town. The first real day to happen in twenty-eight years.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Can I show you?” he asked. “I’ll even give you your phone back, so you can tell Mary Margaret you’re okay. But I just need you to promise that you’ll hear me out.”
She glared and held out her hand. “You are damn lucky you don’t have a gun right now.”
He watched her press the buttons, then put her phone back in her pocket. 
“You bought yourself another ten minutes because I don’t feel like filling out the paperwork necessary to arrest you.”
Jefferson went to the closet. “It’s in here,” he said. “All the evidence I have is in here.”
She put her hands on her hips, squared her shoulders. “Go get it then.” 
Right, Sheriff Swan wasn’t going to be the first one to go through an unknown door in the house of an obvious lunatic. Jefferson opened it, and showed her the newspapers. Twenty-eight stacks and counting. Each stack was made of twelve bundles, reaching to the ceiling. Three hundred and forty one bundles. The whole of the curse, contained in this room.
“I saved them all,” he said. “Twenty-eight years’ worth.”
“So you’ve been saving newspapers since you were, what, five?” 
“Since the day I came to this town,” he answered. “Since the day anyone came to this town.” Kneeling on the ground, he moved the smallest pile and pulled out the smallest bundle. “Do you want to know what day that was, Emma?”
She didn’t answer, but he took the paper out from the bottom of the bundle and held it up in front of her. 
“Go on,” he growled. “Read it.”
“Uh, it says that Mayor Mills announced a new committee to--”
“Read the date!” he snapped. 
Jaw clenched, Emma yanked the paper out of his hands and looked at the top. She didn’t read it out loud, but he saw her eyebrows furrow. 
“That’s… my birthday,” she whispered. “Like, that was the day I was born.”
“October 23rd, 1983,” he said. “That was the day the curse started. The day you were born was the day the Evil Queen cursed us all to live in a world without magic.”
“That’s--”
“There was no time.” He didn’t let her speak. “Nothing changed, nothing happened. We were frozen. Most of them didn’t notice, but I did. I remembered, I…” He couldn’t go on. “I thought I was crazy. I thought nothing I knew was real. I thought I had lost everything. But you… You’re the Savior. You can bring it back.”
Emma shook her head and looked down at the newspaper again. “Even if all this is true, why am I the one who has to--wait a minute!” She pointed at the paper, at a picture of the mayor. “This is a crock of shit! That’s Regina! Regina wasn’t mayor on the day I was born!” She flipped through the other pages. “Yeah, look at this. Sydney looks the same in this picture as he does today. Look at the school news, I’ve seen these kids!”
“I told you, time was frozen.”
“Or you put a fake date on an old paper just to mess with me!” She kept looking at the newspaper, seeing but not understanding. “Yeah, this ad here, this is Tim Lewis. He gave me a discount on my car insurance. His daughter, Paige? She looks exactly like she does in this ad. Pretty sure she’s eleven, not thirty-nine.”
Jefferson ripped the paper out of Emma’s hands. “She is not his daughter!” He snarled. “Will you listen to me? That girl’s name is Grace. She is eleven. She has been eleven for twenty-eight years!”
“I--” Emma put her hands up and let out a slow breath. “I don’t think either one of us is going to convince the other.”
“I don’t care if you believe me, I just need you to make a gods-damned hat!”
To Jefferson’s shock, Emma seemed ready to do what he asked, maybe in the name of de-escalating the situation. She went back to the table, slowly sat down, and picked up the felt. “You need this so you can go back to Fairytale Land?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t care about that world anymore. I need to go back to the Discworld.”
Emma squinted as she tried to thread a needle. “Discworld? I’ve heard of those books. They’re supposed to be funny, right?”
Jefferson didn’t smile. “It’s a real place.”
Looking up, Emma opened her mouth, and then closed it. “Sure.” She began to half-heartedly jam the needle between two pieces of felt. 
He collapsed into a chair by the telescope. Gods, was she really doing this? Jefferson only knew enough about magic to know that he was better off not playing with it. But if the Dark One was right, then Emma Swan wouldn’t be able to stop herself from using magic. She would do it naturally, maybe accidentally. It wouldn’t matter if the hat looked awful. All it had to do was work.
“My wife is from there,” he offered as a way to make conversation. 
Emma didn’t look up from the stitches. “From Discworld? Does that make her a witch or something?”
He shook his head. “Her mother is. I guess she could be too, if she wanted. Most of the time witchcraft is just knowing something other people don’t know.”
“Like how to make a hat?” Emma looked at him through a tube of felt. “It’s been a long time since my last Home Ec class. This is not going to be pretty.”
“It just needs to work,” he muttered. “Just… get it to work.”
Sighing, Emma pulled out her phone again.
“Has she even answered you?” he asked. “Maybe she’s off somewhere screwing David Nolan.”
A glare. “I’m doing you a favor by working on this hat. So maybe you could do me a favor and not say rude things about my friends.”
“I got you here by talking about Kathryn Nolan. Do you actually care about her?”
Emma kept her eyes on her work. “She’s a person. I care about people. She could be lost in the woods, disoriented and hungry. Of course I want to find her.”
“Do you think she’s still alive?”
“I have to hope so.” She cut one of the threads. “We haven’t found a body, or even body parts. If some monster was out there cutting out hearts and putting them in jewelry boxes, at least then there’d be some evidence.” She gave him a sideways glance. “Do you care about Kathryn Nolan? Or do you think she’s just a fairytale character?”
“I care about her because she’s a fairytale character,” Jefferson said. “Her name was Princess Abigail. She was the daughter of King Midas. She gave me a lot of gold just for trying to find a way to reverse the effects of her father’s… gift.”
Emma nodded, clearly humoring him. “I’d heard that King Midas had a daughter. I didn’t know her name was Abigail. Doesn’t sound Greek, but what do I know?” She was sewing the brim on the hat, after that it would be finished. 
Jefferson stood up. His feet moved on a schedule that was bigger than Emma Swan. He looked through the telescope. It was nine-thirty. Bedtime.
“Do you want to see her?” he whispered to Emma.
“Kathryn?”
“My daughter.”
They were putting her to bed, Tim and Mia both. She was almost too big for the gesture, but maybe that was why she wanted it so much. Jefferson felt Emma’s presence beside him, and he stepped away from the telescope. 
“They never remember to give her the stuffed rabbit,” he said. “That’s the only one that keeps her from having nightmares.”
“Oh, that’s Paige,” Emma said. She looked up from the window. “You… have a telescope pointed at the bedroom of an eleven year old girl.”
“She’s my daughter,” Jefferson repeated. “I’ve lost her mother. Grace doesn’t know who I am. I need to keep an eye on her.”
Emma stayed between Jefferson and the telescope. “Is it because Paige is adopted? Are you her birth father or something?”
He didn’t know whether to scream or cry, so he laughed. Emma kept talking.
“It’s no shame if that’s the case. Believe me, I know how mixed-up it can be to have a kid that’s yours but isn’t yours.”
“Shut up,” Jefferson said through gritted teeth. “Grace is mine. Mine and my wife’s.”
“You said you lost your wife…”
“Yes! And I’ll only find her again once I have a hat that works!” He almost grabbed her by the shoulders, but she was too fast. She made it back to the table and kept it as a barrier between them.
“Enough!” Emma said. She picked up the hat and tossed it over to him. “This is the last of my goodwill, understand? I’m going to leave now. You’re gonna let me out of this room and out of this house. I’m gonna call Tim and tell him to buy his daughter some blackout curtains. If I ever catch wind of you snooping around little girls again, I will personally make sure you rot in jail.”
Jefferson looked down at the crumpled felt in his hands. It was only a hat by the most generous definition. But maybe it would be enough.
When he looked up, Emma was gone. From outside, he heard the rumble of a car engine starting up. As she drove away, the sound grew fainter. He still held the hat in his hands. 
It didn’t feel magical. His old hat had a certain… quality. There was an aura about it, not quite tangible. But there was a feeling he got when he looked at his hat. A feeling of… possibility. Like there was so much more to it than what met the eye. There was none of that in the hat Emma had made. 
Maybe magic was different here. Maybe there was a way. Some way. He had to try. He would never know if he didn’t try. 
He closed his eyes and took a breath. “Please.” With all his heart, he prayed to any power that was listening. 
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the hat to the ground, as he had done a thousand different times in a hundred different worlds. The hat spun and he waited for it to keep spinning, waited for it to grow larger and disappear into a whirlpool of purple smoke. He waited for the hole in the whirlpool, the portal that could take him anywhere.
But the hat barely made a full rotation before it stopped spinning. It sat on the ground, unmoving, unmagical.
Jefferson stared at it, until his vision blurred with tears. Then he began to laugh. 
Of course it didn’t work! Why would anything work in this world? Of course there was no escape! Of course he was going to die in this world! Or worse--he would live forever in a world without time and he’d never see Leona again.
He sobbed. His legs gave out and sent him careening to the floor. He lay face down on the patterned carpet, stared at Emma Swan’s misshapen hat, and wept like a child. 
****
Later--an hour? A year? Did it make a difference?--when couldn’t cry anymore, Jefferson pulled himself off the floor. He made it all the way to the chair before he collapsed again and hung his head in his hands. 
It hadn’t worked. The Savior hadn’t worked. The side of goodness hadn’t worked. Well, Jefferson was never one to get too hung up about paltry matters like good and evil. 
Slowly wheeling the office chair over to the desk, Jefferson fumbled for the silver telephone. He pushed in numbers he knew by heart, numbers he had wanted to call a dozen times in the past month, but never had. Not until now.
He tried to breathe, as the phone rang. But then he stopped when he heard it pick up. A woman’s voice. Belle’s voice.
“Mr. Gold’s residence. Who is calling?”
Jefferson didn’t speak. He didn’t breathe. Mrs. Gold knew that he had slept with her husband. He couldn’t ask her to put him on the phone. He couldn’t even let her know who he was.
He hung up.
With another deep breath, he pulled a book with yellow pages out from a shelf above the desk. He flipped through the thin paper, until he found the name and number he was looking for.
He dialed slowly, taking a breath between each number. He couldn’t sound like he was upset. He couldn’t show any weakness in front of her. 
This was a bad idea. This was the worst idea he could have ever come up with. The last time he’d worked with this woman he had watched her murder a helpless servant once she was no longer useful. How could he know that she wouldn’t do the same to him?
Maybe by the time he wasn’t useful, he would already be in the Discworld.  
He needed magic. He needed to get out. He needed power. So he called the most powerful person in town.  
Regina picked up on the third ring. “Who exactly do you think you are to be calling my home at this time of night?”
“Your Majesty,” he said calmly. “This is Jefferson the realm-jumper. I’d like to offer my services.” 
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reidgraygubler · 4 years
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sunshine (matthew gray gubler/reader)
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Request: nope :) but i do take them 
Couple: Matthew Gray Gubler/Gender Neutral!Reader
Category: fluff w/ angst
Content Warning: light swearing (if any), descriptions of an anxiety/panic attack, talks of depression 
Word Count: 2.3k (2,345 in fact :))
A/N: I was having a bad mental health day the other day and having anxiety attacks out the waa-zoo. So this is just based on my own imagination and dreams. This does contain descriptions of anxiety/panic attacks! If you are sensitive to those, proceed with caution! I know it’s not perfect, so please bear with me. Thank you :)  check out my masterlist!
{***}{***}{***}
I roughly rubbed my nose as I sat on the couch. My body, though shaking, was pressed into the corner and covered by a small grey throw blanket. I was alone, like always. Matthew was out, doing work or grocery shopping. I don’t know. I just knew I was alone. 
The way my heart and mind were racing began to overwhelm me. There was nothing I could do. I just kept my eyes squeezed tight and pulled the blanket around me. I wished he would just come home. My heart was pounding so hard in my head, it was driving me crazy. 
Almost as if he could hear my thoughts from a mile away, the front door opened and Matthew stepped in. I swallowed roughly, pulling the blanket tighter around me as I balled myself deeper into the couch. I pressed my hands to my face and shook my head.
“Sunshine?” Matthew called, walking more and more into the house. I didn’t answer. I swallowed roughly and shook my head, exhaling deeply. “Sunshine?” He called again, his tone was slightly frantic when I didn’t respond right away. I looked towards the front hall and watched as he finally stepped into the living room.
I stared at him with wide eyes. My heart was suddenly in my throat and all I wanted to do was cry. My hands were shaking, and no matter how hard I was trying to still them… They continued to shake. There was a familiar dampness on my cheeks. I couldn’t stop it.
“What’s wrong,” Matthew kept his voice low as he rushed to sit beside me on the couch. I stared at him, my eyes were starting to get blurry because of the build-up of tears. I took a shaky breath and shook my head. I blinked and allowed the tears to roll down my cheeks. 
No words found their way to my lips. I couldn’t answer him. My eyes just stayed glued to him, staring at him. The silence in the room was starting to scare me and only make my heart rate and breathing pick up. I slowly, but roughly, rubbed my cheeks free of tears. But no matter how much I wiped the tears away, they just showed up faster. 
“Sunshine, what’s wrong? What happened?” Matthew asked, turning to face me. He tested the waters, placing his hands on the couch between us. I stared at his hands, taking as deep a breath as I could. “You have to tell me what’s going on. So I can help you,” he whispered, placing a hand on my knee. I felt frozen, paralyzed as I looked at his hand on me. My body continued to shake.
“I… I don’t know,” I bit my lips together and looked up at his face. Matthew was looking at me, his eyes on my face, listening to everything I said. He was very attentive. Whenever I talked to him, it was like I was the only thing in the world that mattered. He always waited for me to finish speaking before he put in his thoughts. Even when I was drunk or a blubbering mess, he’d listen and wait. Patient… he was patient, even when I was in the middle of a panic attack. 
In fact, even when I was in the middle of having a panic attack, he knew just what to do and what to say. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had a panic attack, and it wouldn’t be the last. He was calm and sensitive when he spoke to me. He knew what I needed, even when I couldn’t say what I needed exactly. I was thankful for that.
 “I don’t know… I don’t know what happened. One minute I was in the kitchen, doing the dishes… The next I was… I was…” I looked at him and shook my head. Matthew pouted as he brought a hand to my face. He was careful to wipe away the tears on my face. I sniffled a bit and shook my head. “I don’t know what happened, Matthew,” I whispered and shook my head.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. That’s fine. You don’t have to know,” he nodded, moving closer to me. I looked at him and nodded. He wrapped his arms around me, and I fell into his side. A small sob fell from my lips and made my body shake lightly. Matthew hugged me tightly. He was warm and his presence calmed me a little. 
“I just…” I brought a hand to my face, wiping the tears off my cheeks and shook my head. I stopped talking and stayed quiet. Matthew hummed, telling me it was okay. I pressed my face into his chest and sighed deeply. I felt like I was dying for some reason. “I missed you,” I whispered into his chest. My voice was soft and broken. 
“I was gone for 45 minutes, Sunshine,” Matthew laughed, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. I pouted and looked up at him. “Well, I’m here now and that’s all that matters,” he added in a whisper. I felt a small smile grow on my lips. I felt my body relax the more and more I fell into Matthew’s side. And soon, I fell asleep. 
{***}{***}{***}{***}{***}
When I woke up, I was on the couch, alone. Clattering came from the kitchen, telling me Matthew was there. I looked around the room, and out the window. It was dark out. I wonder how long I was asleep.
I stood up, folding the blanket over the back of the couch before going towards the kitchen. Matthew was standing in front of the stove, stirring something in a pot. I smiled and stepped in more. 
“Hey, good morning, Sunshine,” Matthew hummed as I wrapped my arms around his middle. I nuzzled my face into his back, breathing in his scent. I exhaled deeply and smiled. 
“It’s not morning, Silly,” I chuckled and moved so I was standing beside him. He looked over at me before extending an arm out. I smiled before stepping closer to him. He wrapped his arm around me to hold me closer. I lifted my arms around him. “How long was I asleep for?” I asked, looking into the pot. Mac and Cheese. This bastard knows me all too well. 
“Hour and a half,” he looked down at his watch. I nodded as I watched him stir. “How are you feeling? You good now?” He asked, looking down at me. I nodded.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m better now,” I whispered and looked up at him. He looked back at me and nodded. The way he kept his eyes on me made me feel safe. And I loved that about him. He always had the ability to make me feel safe.
“How about I finish making your favorite food while you clean off the table? We can talk about what happened?” Matthew offered, gesturing towards the table. I laughed and nodded. Though the mess on the table was mostly Matthew’s, I did have some to clean. 
“Yeah, yeah,” I looked up at him. I went on my toes to peck his cheek. He smiled and looked at me. “Sounds good to me,” I smiled before stepping away from him. I went to the table and shuffled the papers together, putting them into separate piles. 
“Do you want water or juice?” Matthew asked as he walked around to the table. He had two blue bowls filled with mac and cheese. I smiled as I sat down.
“I think… Juice,” I looked up at him and smiled. He laughed and nodded. 
“Juice it is,” he placed the bowls down before going to grab two cups and a bottle of lemonade. I smiled at him, again, when he finally sat beside me. 
“You didn’t have to make dinner you know,” I spoke as I began shoveling my food into my mouth. Matthew nearly cackled and looked over at me. 
“Okay, I know I didn’t have to make dinner. However… I wanted to. And, judging by the way you’re eating it… It’s probably a good thing that I cooked.” He chuckled as he poured me a glass of lemonade. 
“I guess I… It’s not that I forgot to eat. My mind was preoccupied,” I cringed and looked at him. Matthew looked at me with concern and worry on his face. I looked back down at my food before scooping a big spoonful into my mouth. 
“Do you want to talk about it?” Matthew asked, looking at me. I moved my lips side to side and cocked my head. I sighed and looked back at him. “We don’t have to talk about it now… But we do have to talk about,” he whispered. I nodded, agreeing that I would have to talk about it. 
“No, no, I know,” I whispered and dropped my spoon back into the bowl. I huffed out a breath of air and shrugged, “I don’t know.” I ran my hand through my hair and looked down. 
“When I left to do errands, you were fine. Hell, you were more than okay when I left. Cracking jokes left and right. Teasing me for shit,” he smiled softly at me. I laughed and nodded. “There’s the laughter I know and love,” Matthew reached over to hold my hand. I smiled at him as I held his hand.
“I guess… I guess I was just faking it. Wearing a stupid mask. I think deep down I wasn’t actually okay. Ya know? And, when you left, I was left alone with my thoughts…” My voice dropped to a whisper. My shoulders fell as I looked at the table. “And then… Once my thoughts took over there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was… Alone and my intrusive thoughts took control.” I shrugged and glanced at him. His attention was solely on me. I swallowed roughly and shrugged again. “I’ve never felt so alone and it felt like the intrusive thoughts just made me feel lonelier. I know I shouldn’t listen to those thoughts. I tried distracting myself, so I did the dishes. But… It was all I could hear. The things and stuff...” I blinked and wrinkled my nose. I looked back at Matthew as tears brimmed my eyes. 
“Sunshine,” he whispered. He pulled his chair closer to me. I turned to face him. He grabbed both my hands and held on to them. “You will never ever be alone with me around. You got that? I’m sure you’ll wish to be alone with how much I’ll be around you.” He smiled at me. I looked at him and stifled a laugh. “I’ll make sure your intrusive thoughts never bother you again. I’ll know when you’ll have them. They have no right bothering you the way they are,” He pouted. 
“I just know this won’t be the last time it happens,” I whispered, looking down. The tears rolled down my cheeks and down the bridge of my nose, dropping of the tip. I sniffled and shook my head. 
“And I will do everything in my power to make it’s over before it starts. Okay,” he whispered, bringing his hands to my face. He gently tilted my head up so I was looking at him. The pads of his thumbs ran across my cheekbones, wiping away my tears. “I’ll sing as loud as I can with your music and tell you jokes and play you movies and lay in bed with you, holding you close while I whisper sweet nothings in your ears…” He looked at me with a smile. I cackled and shook my head.  
“That sounds nothing like you, Matthew,” I laughed and looked at him, “You don’t whisper sweet nothings. You more so just say “You are the sexiest bitch I know.”. Sweet nothings my ass,” I laughed. Matthew laughed as he dropped his hands to my hands.
“Yeah, but that’s beside the point. I can be a sweet nothings person. Or, alternatively, I cuddle you close and give you sexiest bitch compliments,” He smiled and winked. I rolled my eyes.
“I’m sure you can be a sweet nothings person,” I smiled at him. He smiled and nodded.
“You’re allowed to feel this way, Sunshine. Everyone gets depressed sometimes. And that’s okay. You and your feelings are valid,” he poked my nose, causing me to wrinkle it again. I nodded and looked down at his hands, which were wrapped around mine. “You okay now?” He dropped his head to look at me. I smiled and nodded, looking up at him.
“I will be,” I whispered. He smiled and nodded. 
“You know, there’s a reason why I call you Sunshine,” he smiled as he interlocked his fingers with mine. I smiled and shrugged. “And that reason is… You are one of the brightest, happiest sunshiny people that I know. And I know a lot of people. Sunshine suits you. You remind me of the sun,” he held our hands up. I smiled and watched him kiss the back of my hand. “I love you, you know that,”
“Yeah, yeah, of course, you do,” I rolled my eyes before looking back at him with a smile, “I love you too, Goobie,” 
“Okay, finish eating. I wanna watch Avatar,” he dropped my hands before turning back to his food. I looked at him with a pout.
“We talking creepy blue people? Or The Last Airbender?” I asked before I continued to shovel mac and cheese into my mouth.
“The Last Airbender,” he replied, sipping his lemonade.
“Show or... “
“Of course the show, Sunshine.” Matthew smiled and furrowed his eyebrows. I nodded.
“Because that’s the only one that matters,” I returned the smile. 
And that’s how the night ended. When we both finished eating, we cleaned the dishes and went back to the living room, lying on the couch and watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. I laid comfortable between his legs with my head on his belly. I fell back to sleep in Matthew’s arms, not alone, and feeling happy and loved. 
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aperrywilliams · 4 years
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The Right Moment (Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader)
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(Not my gif!)
Masterlist 
———————
Summary: Love confessions doesn't count in Spencer’s strengths. Don't you think?
Word Count: 5010.
Warnings: Curses… is so soft anyway. Fluff.
A/N: I’m so happy. This is my first fic with a beta, so y’all will not suffer with my all writing mistakes of before ones. All the love to the great @imagining-in-the-margins​
——————–
The first time I saw (Y/N), I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing for a few seconds. I could have counted the exact time, but I was so focused on looking at her that I only realized it when I was almost choking on my own breathlessness.
We were all in the conference room waiting for Prentiss to review a new case. She had already notified us a new member would be joining the team, which was a relief considering the amount of cases was getting quite heavy. Even just one more member could be of great help. When the two of them entered the room and Emily began to speak, I lifted my head from the file in front of me.
"Guys, this is the SSA (Y/N) (Y/L/N). She is joining our team since today. (Y/N), meet the SSA Luke Alvez, SSA Tara Lewis, SSA Jennifer Jareau, SSA David Rossi and Dr. Spencer Reid".
Everyone gave their welcome words except me, of course, given my edginess. I just nodded my head in greeting without saying a word. She waved back and quickly sat down to begin reviewing the case.
I couldn't say exactly what was the first thing about (Y/N) that I fell in love with. Perhaps it was her appearance as a determined woman, confident, intelligent, friendly, and very nice. She looked like those kinds of people who are able to fill a room with their mere presence. It wasn't long before my hypotheses about her were confirmed. Indeed, the entire team loved her immediately. She was the first person to say hello to Penelope in the mornings. She teased Luke as she passed by his desk, and bonded quickly and closely with JJ, Tara, and Emily. Rossi loved her too, especially at dinners at his house, where (Y/N) was always the first to compliment the chef.
And me? Well, it wasn't long until we became best friends. She was one of the few people who didn't bother or interrupt my ramblings. There were many times we had to make geographical profiles and visit crime scenes together; clearly not very romantic things. But the time we spent together was growing both inside and outside work. In our rare free time, we would go for a walk or watch a series sitting on the couch at her place or mine.
Those were the moments where I felt I fell more and more in love with her. For a long time, I tried to push those thoughts away by telling myself that it was something platonic, that it was the attraction of someone with a very different personality than mine. I tried to convince myself that eventually, the infatuation would pass and our friendship would persist. But seeing how the months passed and the feeling didn’t subside, I began to sink into despair within myself. I tried not to feed myself any hope.
(Y/N) was leading her life very well and I fit perfectly as the best friend – just that. Someone to trust and a shoulder to cry on. I tried to convince myself having her around was more than enough for me, even if there was no romantic interest from her.
"Do you know what it’s called? The Friendzone." Emily said to me one day after I had to confess my feelings towards (Y/N) to someone. A somewhat forced confession, since the whole team knew it already without me saying a word. It sure was printed on all my face.
"Whatever your name it, I’ll never get out of there". I replied with a shrug.
"But why don't you tell her? You should be honest with her about this, Spencer. You’re friends. You trust each other, right?" Emily inquired, trying to awaken some courage in me to express my feelings to the woman herself.
"Tell her? No, of course not. Our relationship would become weird. I don't want that.” I replied with a shake my head.
"How do you know if isn’t mutual? You two spend a lot of time together, and I've seen how you seeing each other. Maybe she also likes you." Emily was a very good FBI agent, but not the best cupid. There was no point in what she was saying to me. Friends can also spend a lot of time together. That doesn't mean anything.
"Of course it is not reciprocal! Two days ago, she told me she had a date with Tim Robertson from Organized Crime and she was 'excited.'” I emphasized the word ‘excited’ by making the quotes marks with my fingers.
"Uh-oh" she replied with that 'oh poor boy' look. “Spencer, eventually you’ll have to do something. Love is not going to disappear spontaneously.”
I only took a deep breath and drop the subject, but I kept thinking about Prentiss’ words. Was I meant to be the eternal friend? Statistics were not on my side: Studies show that if a man over 30 invites his female friend to dinner on a weekend, only 40% of women will likely consider it a date. But if the invitation is made by a non-friend male, the odds increase to 85%. If a woman is the one inviting her male friend, she is more likely he considered it as romantic date, because men are more frequently to consider everything as a date. Conclusion: I have no chance.
I felt more defeated when (Y/N) told me one day that she was now regularly dating Robertson. The boldest thing I asked her was if she liked him. She confessed to me it was ‘very likely.’
As the weeks passed, the cases came and were resolved. (Y/N) didn't spend as much time with me outside of work anymore. She had a formal relationship with the... guy... from Organized Crime. At this point not even the 'friendzone' comforted me, because I also felt I was losing my friend. What did that lead me to? Frustration. Anger. Introversion. Everything very Spencer Reid style.
One day flying back from a case, (Y/N) sat at the front of me and looked at me with concern, as I plunged into a book.
"Spencer, is something wrong?" she asked, leaning down and resting her hands on the table between us.
"Uhm? No. I'm fine." I replied, barely looking at her.
"Spencer, I know you..."
Oh, how I hate people think I’m an open book and everyone feel free to say they know me!... Even if they are right! For God’s sake!
"Are you upset with me?... You have barely spoken to me these days and we haven't sat down to talk for a long time..." She said, taking the book I had in my hands and laying it on the table. Thus, I was forced to look at her.
"No. I'm fine. Totally fine. And if we haven't talked for a long time, it's because you're apparently very busy…” My last comment wasn't very nice, but I couldn't help it.
"Oh, I see." I took my book again and opened it to resume my reading. "You’re jealous of my relationship with Robertson." She stated seriously.
What? Did she know it too? Had the pilot been told, too?
"No. Of course not. Where do you get that from? You can do whatever you please with your life…” I said with the greatest calm that my boiling blood running in my body allowed me.
“You're jealous because I don't spend time with you outside of work anymore. Spencer, honey, you’ll always be a priority for me. It's just I have less time now, you know? We're just starting something,  Tim and I. But I promise not to be one of those women glued to my partner all the time and neglecting my friends". (Y/N) ended her statement by gently stroking my hand over the book I was still holding. I felt relief and defeat at the same time. Clearly, it didn't feel better.
But (Y/N) was genuine to her word. Indeed, she looked for a way to adjust her time with him so we could return to some movie nights on the couch and occasional walks in the park. It felt good to at least fit into her life again. Of course, this had a flip side: knowing how her relationship with Tim Robertson worked, or not. The guy showed clear narcissistic features and although (Y/N) seemed to be aware of that - as the good profiler she was - her infatuation clouded her judgment. I couldn't blame her, either. I just tried to be gentle in my criticisms, but I saw how easily she dismissed them by always excusing him.
One night I was lying on the couch reading. It was close to 2 am when I heard two knocks on the door and a loud sob. I quickly got up to open the door and saw (Y/N) standing in front of me, crying. When she saw me, she threw herself into my arms and cried harder.
"I knew you would be awake..." She murmured with her head buried in my chest. I helped her into the apartment and sat her on the couch.
"Hey, what happened?". I asked in a soft voice so as not to disturb her more than she already was.
"I broke up with Tim..."
And here I was, with my shoulder ready to contain her tears. (Y/N) clung to my neck sobbing and cursing at the same time. It wasn’t the first time I had to witness a love breakup from (Y/N). As I said before, I was her best friend, and that forced me to know things that I often didn't want to hear, but it was only fair. She also was there for me many times. I had also cried on her shoulder and cursed - a bit - at situations that overwhelmed me.
I tried to comfort her by hugging and stroking her back. The sobs subsided over time, and eventually she fell asleep. I tucked some pillows under her head and covered with a blanket. I sat for a moment to watch her while she slept. I would have done anything not to see her this sad. She didn't deserve to be hurt by an idiot like Robertson. She deserved someone who truly loved her, unconditionally. Someone she could trust, who could be always there for her, who made her laugh and comforted her when she was sad.
She needed someone... like me?
I know, it sounds not so humble. But I would be all that for her and more if necessary. Maybe Prentiss was right. Maybe I should be honest and tell her about my feelings. At least I could know if I'd ever have a chance. Well, I would have to try. Here the results.
First Attempt
The next morning I woke up smelling a pleasant scent from the kitchen: freshly brewed coffee. I got up, rubbing my eyes before I saw (Y/N) making breakfast.
"Good Morning. Breakfast is ready!” She gave me a warm smile.
"Hey... you didn't have to bother with breakfast." I replied in a raspy voice due to the disuse as I slept. "How do you feel?" I hastened to ask.
"Like I broke up with my boyfriend. But it's okay. It'll okay.” (Y/N) said, giving a deep sigh. I approached the counter where she was while she passed me two plates ready with pancakes.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, placing the plates on the table and sitting in one of the chairs. She got two mugs with coffee and sat across from me.
"The usual; men who end up being assholes. The initial spark’s gone. The end.” She shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "You know my taste in men follows an evident pattern, right?" (Y/N) stated with a sad smile.
"Maybe you need to double check your parameters and change it..." I said, testing the waters before I dove in. I didn't know what kind of reaction to expect, but she burst out laughing.
"I've thought about it – don't think I don’t. But bad habits are persistent.” She answered me as she cut her pancakes before popping a piece in her mouth.
"You could try at least..." Bringing out a confidence I thought I didn't have, I dared to take her hand over the table. She looked at me curiously.
"Do you think so? I honestly think I’m meant to be a total failure in love, always.” She told me with a grimace.
“I think you need a guy who understands you. A guy that’s there for you when you need him. Someone you can trust…” I didn’t know whether to persist with the description so as not to sound... too self-referential?
“But that's what I have you for, Spence. You are all that to me. That's why you are my best friend.” She said, squeezing my hand and smiling at me. I held my breath for a second and tried to continue.
"Perhaps... I could be more than that, more than a just..." I couldn't finish my idea because our phones started ringing. We had a case. End of conversation.
Fate: 1, Reid: 0.
Second Attempt
After a hard case that had us seconds from emotional overflow, Penelope had the wonderful idea we should go to a bar to 'drown' our frustrations. Hanging out with the team is always a good thing, although the idea of a bar never seemed entirely appealing to me.
Of course, I usually ended up being the designated driver since my alcohol consumption was minimal or nil. That night was no exception. Sitting with Rossi and Luke, I heard them talk about their love experiences as I watched the dance floor where Emily, Penelope, Tara and (Y/N), with high levels of alcohol in their blood, danced as if the world were to end in that moment. Rossi and Luke’s voices sounded distant to me. I could only focus on how (Y/N) moved on the dance floor and how I wished I could touch her... and kiss her... and...
"Reid? Reid!" Luke's voice brought me out of my fantasy. Not even in my own mind could I have in peace! Not even a single damn fantasy with (Y/N).
"Uhm?" I replied by inertia.
"I was asking you if you agreed with what Rossi said..." He asked. I wasn't even listening.
"Eh. Yeah. Sure. He has more experience… in everything.” I guess that answer was enough for the moment. "I'm going to get something else to drink". I said, getting up and walking to the bar. On my way I looked again to (Y/N), who kept dancing sensually with the others.
My emotional and sexual frustration by now was killing me. I gestured to the bartender for another soda. Focused on my own misery I didn't realize when (Y/N) gave me a gentle knock in the ribs with an elbow.
“Hey Reid! Don't tell me you're going to drink alcohol…”. (Y/N) joked.
"No, just a soda. You know I'm the designated driver today…” I replied as I nervously tapped the surface of the bar with my fingers. (Y/N) in her obviously drunken state suddenly hung her arms around my neck.
“Sorry Reid, always… always… you end up being our watchman. You can't even have some funnnnn…” She sighed, resting her head on my chest.
"It's okay. Seeing you all drunk to the bone can also be some fun.”. I replied, daring to take her waist to prevent her from slipping to the floor. She sighed again.
"I think... I don't feel okay... oh my… I'm feeling drowned… Spencer, I feel sick… I’m very dizzy … I feel like… ”
"Come, let's go out for some air. That’ll make you feel better."
We left through one of the back doors of the bar. Once outside, the fresh air made (Y/N) feel somewhat more restored. "Better?" I asked her.
"Yeah… I guess. But despite how drunk I’m… because I know… I’m soooo drunk… It isn’t pleasant to see that couple fucking on that wall...".I looked in the direction of her finger pointing a wall and the couple there didn't even bother acknowledging our presence. I must say some envy awoke in me. I took (Y/N)'s hand and led her further away from the alley before I pointed to the sidewalk and we sat down.
"Now we don't have to look at them." I told her. (Y/N) nodded. Breathing more coolly, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and smiled.
"Thanks Spencer. I don't know why you have such patience with me…” Oh boy. The emotional moment of (Y/N). Despite that, my love didn’t give up even a single millimeter.
"You don’t have to thank me. That's why we’re… friends, right?” I replied, barely outlining a smile.
"Yes. But… I don't know… you are always beyond that… I feel like I don't deserve you Spencer…” Her sobs began to mix with hiccups.
“For you (Y/N), I’ll do everything I can. Always”. I said it in a sincere tone. I never expected after having said that, that she would throw herself towards me and start kissing me. After the initial stun, my head began to wonder if that was okay.
Her drunken state told me that it was wrong, but it felt so good to have her lips on mine - ignoring the smell of alcohol, of course. It only lasted a few seconds. She pulled away quickly, as if a wave of sobriety hit her abruptly.
"Sorry! ... Spencer, I’m sorry!... I didn't want..." She started to stutter and cry at the same time.
"Hey, no... don't apologize. It’s okay…” I tried to calm her down.
"I don’t know what happened... I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable..." She kept stammering, hiccupping and waving her hands in the air.
"It’s okay (Y/N), I don’t feel uncomfortable... Matter of fact, it’s the opposite." I was going to tell her; I couldn't take it anymore.
"No?..." Her confused face in another context would have made me laugh, but in that moment I was too busy being nervousing about confessing my love to a drunk woman.
"Well…". I took her hands and started stroking them gently. "For a long time I wanted to tell you... and I know we are friends, but I would like..." I had to clear my throat again. "What I mean (Y/N), is I love..."
Unable to finish the sentence, (Y/N) suddenly leaned into my lap, letting out an explosive puke on me. A second followed... and then a third.
The next day all she remembered was the dance floor, and the fact she emptied her stomach on me.
Third Attempt
I hate cases where unsubs try to escape. That always means a chase, and dramatically increases the probability of someone getting hurt. It was in Alabama, and the unsub had hidden himself in a barn. (Y/N) and I stepped in with our flashlights and weapons in search of him. J.J. and Luke were in the backup group.
What we didn’t expect was the bastard climbing onto an attic with his gun pointed at us. When I lit up his face with my flashlight and pointed at him with my gun, I only managed to shout "Stop! FBI!” before I heard a shot in my direction.
I felt a burning and intense pain near my face before falling to the floor. With another shot, (Y/N) struck him in the chest and the unsub fell to the floor.
Oh God, my body hurt a lot. I felt the blood run down my shoulder. The bastard had shot me in the neck! I was going to die in a filthy barn and without having ever declared my love to (Y/N). She quickly knelt down and tried to locate the source of the blood, pressing her hand to my wound.
"We need medics here!" She yelled frantically. I felt dizzy, and (Y/N)’s voice was further and further away.
Was I really going to die there? At least if that was going to happen, I had to tell her. "(Y/N) ..." I said to get her attention.
“No, no… no… don't speak Spencer, keep your eyes open, but don't speak. The paramedics are coming. Come on, squeeze my hand!"
"I have to tell...".I tried to speak but between the dizziness and the pain, I had trouble articulating words.
"Spencer, please. Listen to me. You're going to be fine… everything will be okay.” She tried to reassure me.
"I... love you..." I managed to say, trying to look her in the eye. She looked at me tenderly.
I said it! I said it! I could die in peace now, couldn’t I?
"Spencer, honey..." She said while stroking my hair. I closed my eyes and the paramedics came to check me. One of them asked (Y/N) what happened and how I was doing. She summed up the incident and finished off by saying between sobs, “Please do something. He is dying. He even started to rave."
Fuck!
Then I fell passed out and I don't remember anything else.
The Summary
I could keep on listing the times when I tried to tell her. None of them seemed to be the right moment. And when it did seem to be, something happened. Destiny definitely didn’t want my confession to come to light. So okay, I thought, maybe I should just keep it to myself forever.
One morning, I stepped in the conference room with my usual coffee in hand. There were Luke, Emily, Penelope, Tara, JJ and (Y/N). The conversation was about the latest BAU girls' night. I sat down, taking one of the files settled on the table and starting to leaf through it.
"No! In defense of (Y/N), I must say she was as calm as we were at the table when the guy approached to her.” Tara said.
"Ah, so there was no flirting?" Luke asked.
"Hey! Who do you think I am, Luke? We were there for girls' night, not to catch lovers." (Y/N) replied laughing.
"Of course, they didn't stop looking at each other all night..." Stated JJ with a giggle.
"No JJ! I don't know who you were looking at, but it wasn't me." (Y/N) defended herself. The conversation was inherently awkward for me at that point. I silently didn’t take my eyes off the file in my hands.
"Well, even if she did it, (Y/N) is a free woman and could have run away with whoever she wanted, right?" Luke had a point and that made my blood boil. I'm sure Prentiss noticed.
"Okay, but nothing happened in the end. The guy left and we kept drinking. And here we are, safe and sound.” Prentiss summarized, trying to end the conversation. My hands were sweating, and I looked sideways at (Y/N) who was giggling nervously. Prentiss was probably lying just because I was there.
“Oh yeah, but just before leaving he slipped you a piece of paper with his phone number. I'm sure you saved it in your contacts and called him later!” Penelope said directly to (Y/N), who didn't say anything back. Okay. I was fed up. This conversation had to end at that very moment. I closed the file and dropped it on the table with all the force of my frustration. I got up from the chair, clenching my fists and saying "Enough!" with my jaw clenched. Everyone in the room froze and stared at me in astonishment. Prentiss was the first to react.
"Okay, Luke, Tara, JJ Penelope... to my office. Now." Emily quickly left the room and the rest following her almost instantly. (Y/N) looked confused as the group left, then fixed her eyes on me.
"Spencer?... what's going on ?"
In silence, I closed the door of the room and leaned my back on it, crossing my arms over my chest looking at (Y/N). "You okay?"
"Not. I'm not okay. This is driving me insane.” I said, uncrossing my arms and scratching the back of my neck.
"Tell me, what's going on? Maybe I can help..." (Y/N) tried to get up from the chair to approach me.
"Just don't say anything, okay? I just need you to listen to me, and I need no one and nothing to interrupt me this time.” Just as a precaution I locked the door. (Y/N) opened her eyes with concern.
"Spencer, you're scaring me..." I just stared at her as she remembered I told her not to speak. "I’m sorry..."
“I'm going to start at the end, to make sure you hear it well. Okay?” I cleared my throat and continued speaking. “I love you (Y/N), I've loved you since practically the first day that you walked through this same door with Emily. And no, this goes beyond our friendship. Of course, I love being your friend. But that is no longer enough for me. Every time I see a man in your life, I feel something burning inside me. It hurts me deeply to see you suffer for some idiot who doesn't deserve you. I can’t take it anymore. I tried to tell you so many times, I think I’ve lost count. But if you never even considered the possibility, then I can't do anything else.
You don't even remember that you kissed me outside a bar! When I told you that I loved you while almost dying in a dirty barn, you thought I was delusional! Every time... every single time I thought I gave you signs, you either didn't see them or you didn't care. I don't know what hurts me the most, your blindness or your indifference. You’re a profiler like me! How is it possible that you never…? Damn it (Y/N)! The thing is, I can't live with this stuck inside me anymore. And I'm sorry if telling you all this ends up ruining our friendship, but not being honest with you seems so much worse now. And... and... since I told you this, I think you can go on with your day... Goodbye".
I pulled the lock and opened the door to leave the room. After my confession/outburst, I didn't even dare make eye contact with (Y/N). I was about to cross the threshold when one of (Y/N) 's hands slammed it shut again. I turned around and (Y/N)'s arms wrapped around my neck before she lifted on her feet and collapsed her lips against mine. My first reaction was to raise my hands and smash my back against the door. Stupid reaction, I don't even know why I did it.
That didn't stop (Y/N), who gripped my hair to keep our mouths together. Realizing what was happening, I took her by the waist and brought her as close as possible to me, emptying all my accumulated frustration into that kiss. I don't know how long we were like this.
Okay, yeah, I really do know. It was 2 minutes and 45 seconds. After that time, we both pulled away because we could hardly breathe.
"Wow... (Y/N)... what ...?" I tried to articulate some coherent phrase, but nothing else came out.
"Now you are going to listen to me." She said as she began to play with my tie between her fingers. “First of all: neither blindness nor indifference. Denial only. Spencer... I'm clear on all the times you tried to tell me. Really, even before I broke up with Robertson. Since the time we talked on the jet and I asked you if you were mad at me. I just wanted to deny it all this time. It’s stupid, I know, but I didn't want to hurt you. I was scared I would hurt you if I crossed that border of our friendship. And yes, I also remember the night at the bar. And when you got shot in the barn. I must insist, it was all to deny myself the possibility.
And here comes the second: I did it because I... I love you too. I have for a long time. Why didn't I do anything about it...? Well, it’s kind absurd now I think about it. I did nothing because I was afraid of ruining it. All my relationships end in disaster and I didn’t want that to happen to you. And if that meant locking myself out of the possibility of going further, I was willing to do that so I wouldn’t lose you…”
This time it was I who connected my lips with hers. It felt so good, so soft, and so warm. Not even my best dreams could compare to it. When we pulled back to catch our breath, we looked at each other and started talking at the same time.
"I’m so sorry Spencer... I never wanted you to feel like this..."
"I was waiting for the right moment..."
"If I knew how to compensate you for this..."
"(Y/N), if I had known..."
“What the hell Spencer, why we are so bad at our job…”
"We are the worst ... we should resign..." We both started laughing.
"Come here, Reid." She said, taking one of my hands and pulling me into a hug. "Could you forgive me for making you suffer all this time?"
She didn't need to ask me that. I would do anything for her.
"I let you puke on me... 3 times in one night. I think that exceeds all tolerance limits on my part, don't you think?"
She started to laugh, stifling the noise on my chest. It felt so good to have her this close, to be able to touch her.
"I love you (Y/N), so much." I said, stroking her cheeks and looking at her almost without blinking.
"I love you too Spencer. My friend, my partner… and now, my lover.” She replied, winking at me.
"Hey, that last one you still owe me... with interest due to all the time that’s already passed."
"Don’t worry, honey, you just have to hold on for a few more hours, and I assure you that we will catch up quickly".
———————
322 notes · View notes
jeogiyall · 3 years
Text
Tim McGraw; Y.JI
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
GFX by @dreamystuffers​
Word Count; 3.3k
Genre; Jeongin x Reader, Fluff, Summer Love AU
Warnings; None:)
Find the rest of my Stray Kids Folklore series here!
A/N: This is a part of the @kpopscape ‘Walkin On Sunshine’ summer event! Look out for the other two parts coming in the near future! 
He said the way my eyes shine put those Summer stars to shame. 
When your parents told you that you’d be spending the Summer at your grandparents farm you were less than excited. It’s not that you don't love your grandparents or anything like that. You adore them. No, your reluctance was more about how you don’t love the farm. It’s hot there, and there’s nothing to really do. You have to drive twenty minutes just to get groceries. 
But your parents insisted, so you ended up here. In a room at the very top of the house with slanted ceilings and a floral duvet. The scent of the flowers your grandmother planted is wafting in through your window so you move to open it more after dropping your bags. When you get there, however, there’s already a figure sitting on your windowsill. A boy that looks to be your age with shocking white hair and a smile that makes your heart flutter so hard that you forget to be scared. 
“Hello!” His voice is sweet, chirping like the birds outside, “I’m Jeongin, I work with your grandfather on the farm sometimes. And in the garden. I planted the tomatoes. That’s my truck in the driveway.” You're not quite sure what to say. No ones ever broke into your room and started talking about tomatoes before. No ones ever done anything close to this. You’re sure that if they did they wouldn’t be as cute and childlike as Jeongin.
“Um, hi. I’m (Y/n.)” Your words are quiet and unrehearsed. He seems to take this as a challenge. 
“Hi (Y/n,) I already knew your name. Your grandmas been talking about you coming for your months, it’s kinda cute honestly. I thought that ambushing you in your room would be a bad idea but she insisted that we should spend as much time together as possible. Something about how you used to get bored as a kid.” He props himself up onto his elbows and swings a leg into your room. It’s in such a position that the exposed skin on your leg is brushing against his. 
“I did get bored. It's lonely around here, but you seem like good company.” He finally plants his feet onto the wooden boards of your bedroom floor. This is all getting stranger to you, especially the fact that there’s a boy who you met mere seconds ago inside of your bedroom. You’ve never had a boy in your room before.
“Thank you! I think we’ll have fun, and uh… Not just because your grandmother said so.” He looks around the room for a moment, though you’re not quite sure as to why. It’s not like anything here will give him insight into who you are. It’s not like it’s really your room. He walks through the room, but you can’t make yourself look at him. Something about the way that he’s so comfortable. Or the way that you’re slowly becoming more excited to be at your grandparents house for the summer. Whatever’s happening, it makes it so that you can’t pry your eyes up from the creaky floorboards until Jeongin is standing in your doorway. The distance looks so much farther when there’s another person to measure it.
“Leaving so quickly?” He turns around at the sound of your question, and you notice that he’s still smiling. People don’t usually smile for this long. You try to imagine a smile that lasts this long on any of the people that you know back home, but it looks frightening in your head. It’s not frightening on Jeongin, not in the slightest. He looks endearing.
“I’m afraid I have to. Your grandfather needed help replacing a tractor engine, but I’ll be back tomorrow. The next day, too. And even the day after that.” With that he was gone, his feet thumping down the wooden staircase so quickly that it sounded like a stampede. The remainder of your arrival day was spent unpacking your suitcases. You would’ve sworn that your interactions with Jeongin were some sort of fever dream that was conjured up by the long hours you spent travelling to get here, but even still as the summer sun is eager to set you can hear him and your grandfather banging around in the garage. The sounds creep into your room from the still opened window which you hadn’t bothered to close since Jeongin made his entrance, and don't stop until the sun has secured itself below the horizon and your grandmother is calling you down for dinner. You shout from your open doorway that you’ll be down in a second before gently closing the window.
The entry level of your grandparents farm is quaint, all of the living spaces are relatively squished so as to prevent having to go upstairs each time you want a meal or to sit down. You like it though, it makes it so that each time you come down you can see the entirety of what’s happening. Right now your grandmother is doting over her vegetables that just came out of the oven while your grandfather washes the grease from his hands. The TV is playing an old show with faded color and outdated hairstyles with the volume up ridiculously loud, probably so that your grandmother could hear it as she cooked. You turn it down before taking your spot behind your grandfather at the sink.
Dinner is wonderful, which you expected. Your grandmother has always been a good cook. She carries most of the conversation, your grandfather responding in tired grunts as he scarfs down all of the food on his plate. He always eats like a dog, and your grandmother always chastises him for it, and you always find yourself in the middle giggling at your glimpse of their domestic nature. You can’t help it, they’re too sweet.
Once the table is cleared and the dishes are put away your grandfather offers to turn on a movie for the three of you, most likely to make up for his unresponsiveness during the meal. You agree happily, curling up into the corner of their couch with cushions that are far too fluffy. It almost feels like they could swallow you whole. 
You’re not quite sure of what happens after that, because the very next thing that you remember is waking up to the sound of a lawnmower and the scent of bacon being cooked. It appears that you had fallen asleep on the couch, which was inevitable due to the ‘too fluffy’ cushions. Someone had carefully thrown a blanket over you, then propped your head up with a pillow. You’re almost surprised that they didn’t go ahead and put you in your pajamas, too.
“Good morning, Princess!” Your grandmother chimes from where she’s working in the kitchen. The radio that rests on the windowsill is letting out a crackly tune that she occasionally hums along to, but you can barely even hear it over the machine cranking right outside, “That garbage is so loud in the mornings, but don’t worry he’ll be done in one second. Then we’ll all have breakfast. How does that sound?” In most other circumstances you’d be quite upset to be awake so early. Especially since you’re on summer vacation. But today you don’t mind as much.
“That sounds great, should I help set the table?” She dismisses you with a simple wave of her hand, which you’re barely able to see since you’re still laying down, but you feel bad for not helping. She cooked breakfast, your grandfather has probably been outside working since before the sun rose, the very least that you could do is bring something to the table. When you get up to check everything is already set into place, but you put out a crystal pitcher of orange juice and fill each of the cups with ice.
“Now you didn’t have to do all of that!” Your grandmother chides while sneaking up behind you with the plate of bacon. She puts a hand on your shoulder and squeezes gently before taking her seat at the table.
“I know, I just wanted to.” Your voice is still groggy with sleep and just barely even there, but she smiles gratefully at your answer nonetheless. You take your seat, and just as soon as you do the sound of the lawnmower dies completely. It makes you giggle to yourself a little bit, because in all of the years that you’ve been coming here your grandfather has never been this punctual regarding farmwork and meal times. You once waited thirty minutes for him to finish up ‘one last thing!’ before you could eat, “Someone’s hungry today!” Your grandmother laughs a little and rolls her eyes in a ‘what are we going to do with him’ kind of way.
“He always is, you know what they say about growing boys and all of that.” Her statement confuses you, seeing as your grandfather is well past the age to be considered growing or a boy. You just laugh along and let her continue, though, “I really do think that the two of you could be good friends over this summer, he’s a wonderful boy. He’s not exactly hard on the eyes either.” She casts you a wink, but you are so terribly confused that you don’t even know how to respond. You’d never thought of it that way, but surely you were good friends with your own grandfather! And why on earth did she keep referring to him as a boy? He’s three years older than her for pete’s sake!
You’re about to ask what on earth she means when a person enters through the doorway and answers all of your puzzling questions. The person is not your grandfather, to say the least. No, this person is much shorter than your grandfather. His skin is far less weathered, his hair is only dyed to be white, his eyes bear fewer wrinkles when he smiles. He always smiles.
“Is it time to eat, Miss?” The sunlight coming in from the windows catches perfectly onto the gold of his skin, shimmering ever so slightly against the bits that are sweaty. Now that you know what your grandmother was talking about, you can agree wholeheartedly. He is not hard on the eyes at all. 
“Yes it is, now get your tail over here so that we can bless this food and eat.” You want to ask where grandfather is, when he’ll be back, if Jeongin will be joining you for every breakfast, but your voice is lodged so deep into your throat that you can’t even try. You’re still just stuck on him. He came in from doing yard work and looks like the object of dreams, meanwhile you’re sitting directly next to him and look like you’ve been hit with the front end of the ‘I just woke up’ stick. How is any of that fair?
You all join hands for prayer, which is a long one since it’s your grandmother. You never mind it though, and you especially don’t mind it today. Focusing on your grandmothers untimely prayer means that you aren’t focusing on Jeongins delicate hand in yours. The lines of his fingers are petite, yet his palms are ridden with callouses. You find yourself wishing that you could trace them. When the prayer finally concludes you pull your hand out of his naturally so as to not raise suspicions, but in your brain it feels as though you’re pulling your hand off of a hot stove. 
Breakfast passes in idle conversation, Jeongins speech already slurred with tiredness. He’s apparently been working for four hours already, which he tells you while covering the ice in his glass with orange juice. You glance quickly at the clock on your grandmothers oven to read that it’s currently nine in the morning.
“Do you always start work at five?” He nods in response while drinking from his glass. One of his hands is pulling through his hair, which is still sweaty from the sun outside. Once he put his glass down your grandma makes him get up to wash his hands. Not much else is said, other than leisurely talk about the weather. Jeongin talks a bit about wanting to take a nap when he gets home, and you jokingly agree. He’s on his way to leave when your grandmother stops him and tells you to walk him out. 
“It’s alright mam, she doesn’t have to.” His hands are folded cutely in front of him, thumbs twiddling with one another. It makes your heart flutter. Everything about him does.
“I don’t mind.” Your voice is barely there, wavering as it leaves your mouth and enters the space around you. Jeongin finds himself in that moment with a fluttering heart too, and with heat rising to his cheeks the same way that it is to yours. Both of you blame it on the open windows or the summer heat.
“Alright then.” You walk him out, as promised. The air beyond your grandparents front door is stifling to the point where it feels like you’re breathing in soup. You suppose that’s why he looked so sweaty when he came in. You would be too after five hours in this weather. Thankfully the walk to his truck is short. Awkward, but short nonetheless, “I was wondering if I could show you something tonight. You know, so that you can have someone to spend time with.” He says while opening the door of his truck. You find yourself wishing at this moment that you could be confident. That you could flip your hair, or smile flirtatiously, or do anything other than stare at him with wide and terrified eyes. But you can’t. You don’t even know what to say.
“Th-that sounds nice! What time?” He’s climbing into his front seat as you’re asking, which creates a considerable height difference for the two of you. It’d be a bit intimidating if he weren’t smiling down at you as though he expected a rejection. 
“Nine, it’ll be better if it’s dark.” Before you can think of anything to say in response he’s in the drivers seat with the engine revved and ready to drive off. You mumble something about how you’ll see him then before hurrying back into the house. There are butterflies running rampant in your stomach, wings beating so quickly that you’re sure it will cause a tornado. Your grandmother asks what the two of you talked about, to which you respond that he’s taking you out later. She thinks that you don’t catch her mischievous grin, but you most definitely do. You’re not sure if you can handle the butterflies beating much faster so you excuse yourself and run quickly up to your room.
The hours pass quickly for some reason, perhaps because you’re excited. You accomplish a good amount of nothing throughout the day, aside from painting your fingernails and reorganizing the layouts of your clothes. At seven, while picking out an outfit, you find yourself wishing that in your dumbstruck state you had remembered to ask Jeongin what on earth you two were doing. Normally it wouldn’t matter that much and you’d just wear whatever you wanted, but being in the middle of farmland made you a bit more nervous. What if he wanted you to go and help in your grandfathers stables? You couldn’t wear anything nice to do that. But there’s also the chance that he could want to go into town, then you’d be in work clothes. 
You settled on an outfit at a quarter till’ nine, something that was halfway nice and halfway work clothes. Right as you were lacing up the already dirty pair of sneakers that you brought along there was a soft knocking at your window. You opened it to reveal none other than Jeongin, with his stark white hair and ever present smile.
“Hi. Sorry I’m early, I got excited.” He swings his legs so that they’re in your room and then sits on the windowsill. There’s a light breeze outside, which tussles his hair every so slightly. He looks far less tired than when you last saw him this morning, and much less sweaty.
“It’s okay, we can go now.” The two of you walk through the house, thankfully avoiding your grandparents who would be full of questions, and then to his truck. You don’t ask what you’re doing, it’s not like it matters all that much now. He simply drives into the setting sun and you think of a million conversations to start. All of them fade to nothing the moment that you look at his face. 
He parks his truck on the side of a dirt road then gets out, and you think to yourself that he’s probably just checking on the tires or something like that. Until he opens your door and tells you to hurry up. He leads you into the trees that line the road, taking your hand quickly into his own.
“The ground’s a little hard to navigate here.” He explains sheepishly. If you didn’t know any better you’d swear that you saw a blush creeping onto his cheeks.
He guides you through the woods for a short while. It’s not very dense so you don’t mind it all that much, but you do find yourself wondering where on earth this boy is taking you. For the first time all day you worry that he’s going to murder you. You’re just about to ask when suddenly all of the trees have melted away and you’re greeted with the light of the moon reflecting off of an enormous pond. He directs you to the grassy hills that dip into the water and then sits down. His hand is still in yours, you try not to think about it.
“So this is what you wanted to show me?” You ask while running your free hand through the soft grass. The action plucks up a dandelion, which you proceed to twirl absentmindedly in your fingers.
“Yea, I think it’s real pretty at night. You can see all of the stars and stuff.” You look up at the same time he does, eyes immediately being captured by the millions of twinkling lights. It feels like you’ve never seen stars before.
“It is pretty. They shine so much brighter than back at home.” 
Yang Jeongin has only known you for one day, but he also knows that you shine brighter than any star in the night sky.
Within two weeks you were spending every evening by the lake with Jeongin. He once taught you how to skip rocks, you showed him how to make daisy chains. The two of you would piece together constellations from the thousands of stars overhead. One night the moon was moving across the water in a way that reminded you of dancing. When you mentioned it to him he sprang up from his spot immediately, offering his hand down to you the way that a gentleman would in a movie. You got up and he asked what your favorite song was, when you told him that you could never pick one he proceeded to make one up. The two of you sang stupid lyrics that didn’t fit with the ones before and danced until you could barely stand. You found yourself thinking that your favorite song wasn’t a song at all, rather a moment where the sounds fit so beautifully that it created a symphony. It was the cicadas chirping, the wind blowing, and Jeongin singing nonsense that was made up so quickly that it couldn’t even be off key. It was the sound of a boy who carted you to a lake after you’d known him for a day. It was the sound of Jeongins hands resting on your hips and your bodies swaying to a song that has no beat. It was the sound of your heart drumming as his gaze covered you.
It was the sound of you falling for him.
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