#one that looks so much like Danny clinging to life in a way that they haven't seen before and help him.

[gummybearstastelikesadness]

Jack and Maddie Fenton attend tons of ghost and supernatural conferences across the midwest, occasionally spreading out to the coasts or neighboring countries.

One of these times is a supernatural conference on the east coast, Gotham, New Jersey to be specific. Some of their ghost tech reacts prompting them to go hunt the ghost down.

Only to find a boy no older than their own son wandering the streets catatonic in a dirt covered suit.

#dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dp x batman #dp x dc prompt #danny phantom #Now this can go multiple ways: the Fentons can see a boy that needs help #one that looks so much like Danny clinging to life in a way that they haven't seen before and help him. #They can react negatively prompting Danny to run alongside a new somewhat responsive ally. #Or my favorite way to take this the Fentons already know about Danny (and Dani) and decide what's one more spooky kid in the family? #Surprise Danny now you get a new brother! We found him like a stray cat in an alley! #No he obviously doesn’t have a family already don’t be silly Danno! #my own reminder note for this was: Fenton parents find amnesiac Jason Todd after a conference in Gotham

[hailsatanacab]

a father's son

Happy holiday truce, @dashing-through-ecto!! I was your gifter this year, I hope you enjoy the fic! Based on your prompt: "Do you need any help, Dad?"

Word count 2.2k - ao3 link

Things have not been going well for Danny Fenton.

Not only did he fail in intercepting Lancer’s call home, so now Mom and Dad know about his latest grades—he didn’t even get enough answers for an F this time, not when he fell asleep within the first five minutes—but they also caught Jazz taking the trash out for him.

“That’s one of your chores, young man! Heaven knows you don’t have many of them, which is why you need to be responsible and actually do the ones that we give you! It’s just not good enough, Daniel James Fenton, do you hear me?”

The full name.

It’s not often he gets it, but it sucks each and every time he does.

What sucks even more is that now, with what little free time he has, he’s cleaning the lab. It’s just not fair!

Broken glass skitters along the floor as he sweeps it up into the dustpan, ectoplasm still clinging to the bottom of the beaker. 

He can’t even goof off—can’t even use his powers to finish quicker—because his dad is sitting at the workbench tinkering with whatever his newest interest is.

Great. Looks like he’s stuck cleaning the boring, human way.

The lab is quiet, but it isn’t silent. 

Ectoplasm drips, maddeningly, from the gloop stuck on the ceiling. That’s a form of torture, isn’t it? Danny’s pretty sure he’s heard that before, that the constant sound of water droplets will drive someone insane. He can relate, because this is certainly testing him.

Dad’s talking to himself, too, little murmurs about what he’s doing, where he should be soldering, how it should be working and why it isn’t. 

Vaguely, Danny wonders what he’s working on. Sure, it’s probably some ghost thing, but that’s not all they do! His parents made some pretty great advances before the portal switched on and monopolised all of their thoughts.

Yeah, that might be wishful thinking, but stranger things have happened! You never know.

Every 30 seconds, the motor on the ecto-filter whirrs into life, syphoning off the excess, pure ectoplasm from the portal and filtering it into something less volatile. In theory.

Underneath everything, the portal hums.

A droning beat that pulses in the same rhythm as his heart. Sometimes, he catches himself staring at it, leaning closer as it calls to him.

It scares him.

“Shit!” his dad shouts, dropping the soldering iron with a loud clang. 

It’s enough to knock Danny out of whatever daydream he’d lost himself in and he whirls around to see his dad sucking on one of his fingers.

They lock eyes, both widening as they realise what’s happened.

“Ah, I mean, suffering spooks! That really hurt…” He shoves his fingers back into his mouth and his shoulders droop as he considers Danny. “Don’t tell your mother.”

Danny laughs.

“Are you alright?”

“It’d take more than that to put Jack Fenton down! All good, Danno, don’t you worry,” he smiles back before shaking his hand out and turning back to whatever he was working on. “Or, I would be, if this hunk of junk was cooperating with me!”

“What’s up?” Danny asks, curiosity getting the better of him.

Normally, he likes to stay out of the lab, as much as he can. 

Obviously, what Phantom does doesn’t count. Phantom can’t help but come into the lab, set ghosts loose into the Zone, trash whatever weapons his parents have got going on, sneak out into the Zone when he can for some much needed R&R. The ectoplasm just hits different there.

“I’m trying to repurpose this toaster, but the ecto won’t run smoothly through the wiring. I think it keeps getting cooked by the element.”

“Oh? Do you need some help?”

Danny doesn’t like spending time in the lab, because if he’s in the lab then he’s either Phantom and he’s trying hard not to be seen or heard, or he’s Danny and he’s being punished.

But his curiosity is piqued.

“Yeah, come here, have a look! Perhaps another Fenton brain can knock some sense into it!”

So, he does.

Hell, anything beats cleaning the lab.

“You’re trying to run it through here?”

Dad nods and shifts in his seat to give Danny a better view.

“But you can’t, because the ecto is tripping the heating element… which is way higher than a toaster has any right to be, wow. No wonder it’s destabilising the ectoplasm, that would destabilise anything.”

Danny pokes around the casing, wiggling the wires back and forth to get a better look at the absolute mess his dad has made of it all. Sometimes it amazes him that his parents' inventions work at all.

“That’s what I’m thinking! But it has to be that high so we can completely break down the ecto!”

“You want it to break down?”

“Yep!” Dad says, clapping him on the back hard enough that he wheezes. He grins down at him when Danny turns around reproachfully. “Think of it, boyo, if we could figure out how to flash fry that ectoplasm high enough so that it evaporates—which it should do, it’s goopy gross liquid, after all!—then you wouldn’t be stuck down here cleaning for so long! We could take it to the streets after a ghost fight and clean up the whole town!”

Well, it’s not a Nobel Prize level invention… Danny’s pretty sure at this point that his parents would be laughed out by the Nobel committee. But, a quicker cleaning of the lab does sound nice.

It would mean he’d be stuck down here a lot less.

Besides… It's interesting.

“What if we…” Danny trails off and pulls the metal frame towards him, grabbing the tweezers as he goes. Vaguely, he’s aware of his dad leaning over his shoulder, the weight of him watching is a comforting presence that he’s not felt in a long while. 

The real trouble is that you need ectoplasm to affect ectoplasm, and that’s not going to work if the object of the game is to evaporate it. 

So what if they don’t introduce the reactive ecto until the end?

He makes quick work of stripping down what his dad’s already done and starts again, this time focussing on keeping the heat contained separately away from the ectoplasm. Just as he’s piecing together a trigger to concurrently shoot a blast of ecto towards the heated tip, Dad exclaims as he realises where he’s going with it.

“Oh! Danny, you’re a genius! Look at that!” Dad laughs and squints closer at what Danny’s doing. “Just wait until your mother sees this, she’s going to be so happy!”

Danny can’t help but grin as he ductapes everything to a piece of toaster casing to give it the first test try. Dad’s enthusiasm is catching as he whoops when the first puddle of ectoplasm burns off in acrid smoke.

They spend another couple of hours perfecting it, welding a case together and branding it with the Fenton F.

It’s not pretty—but then again, when are his parents’ inventions?—a long stick with a cattle-prod-like taser at the end. Instead of electricity, it launches ectoplasm from one rod and superheats the other. When activated, all you need to do is touch the tip to a puddle and poof! It’s gone.

Danny shivers as he watches another pool go up.

But, no! He’s thinking about it wrong. It’s not a cattle-prod, it’s more like one of those sticks you see people using on the highway to jab at the litter on the floor. It’s for cleaning. It’s going to make his lab cleaning chores way easier! It’s—

“Danny, just look at it!”

Danny looks at it, and then back to his father’s face when he can’t bear to see the smoking ecto anymore. It’s painfully happy and Danny does his best to be happy, too.

“Here!” Dad shoves the contraption into Danny’s arms. “You use that and finish what you’re doing and then when you’re done—I can’t believe I’m saying this, galloping ghouls, I’m so happy, I’m working with my boy—we can get to work transferring it over to the Jack o’ Nine Tails! Imagine it, Danny, with one whip and that pesky poltergeist Phantom will be gone!”

Danny freezes.

It feels as if Dad’s just dumped a bucket of ice water over him.

“Poof! Up in smoke!”

The fumes are getting to him. That must be it. His head is swimming and his stomach is churning. There’s a ringing in his ears and it melds with the sharp, stinging whirr of ectoplasm sizzling. It pulses in time with the portal behind him.

He stumbles, almost goes down—almost throws up—but it doesn’t matter. Dad doesn’t see him, already turned away back to the work bench.

It doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter.

You know what, it’s okay! It’ll be okay, Danny can sneak back down here later tonight and he can undo it all, it doesn’t matter!

Take a deep breath, now, finish cleaning the lab, ignore Dad—it doesn’t matter—and get this over with. Being here makes his skin crawl, he needs to finish—

“I’m so proud of you, Danny.”

For the second time, Danny stops.

Dad doesn’t say anything else, just sits with his back to him, opening and closing his hand over a screwdriver with the Jack o’ Nine Tails splayed out in front of him.

It takes longer than Danny wants to find his voice, but he manages to croak out, “What?”

“I’m proud of you, Danno. I know this year hasn’t been easy for you, don’t think we haven’t noticed. Your mom and I have been talking about how you're doing at school. We're not blind. We know kids can be cruel, and that Dash Baxter… But we're so proud of you for not rising to it. We love you so much, Danny.”

A lump grows in Danny’s throat and his eyes prickle.

His fingers bleach white where they grip the Fenton Evaporator too tight.

“Look at what you can do when you try, Danny! This is the boy that I know, this is the Danny that I love. I’m so proud of what we’ve done here today. It’ll make the world a better place, just you wait! Now, come on, boyo, pass me that soldering iron and let’s really get stuck in!”

And… And Danny does.

With shaky limbs and tears threatening to spill, Danny reaches over and passes Dad the soldering iron, watching as he gets to work, and when his dad asks him to get his hands dirty—“Here, run this wire up the rope, there’s a good boy!”—he does.

Danny does it all and he does it well.

He sucks in a deep breath, swipes a hand over his eyes, and he helps his dad.

He laughs when Dad tells his stupid jokes:

“Quick! What’s red, white, and blue all over?”

“I don’t know, Dad, what’s red, white, and blue all over?”

“A ghost that we’ve beaten into oblivion!”

And he hopes that his mom is going to be just as proud as Dad says she will be when she sees what they’ve done.

It’s easy, really.

If he doesn’t think about it, if he tucks his mind away and just lets his hands get on with it, then he’s just helping his dad and he can do that. He can do it.

He can do it.

So, no, he doesn’t sabotage what they’ve built. He doesn’t add in a failsafe. He doesn’t loosen a few screws, or overload the element, or untwist a few wires.

Danny does his best and at the end of the day his dad holds up the new and improved Jack o’ Nine Tails and absolutely beams at him. A work of art, he calls it.

Danny doesn’t sabotage it then and he won’t sabotage it later, because it’s a work of art. This is what he and his dad built. Together.

Danny can’t help but grin back, happiness curling in his belly even as it gives a sickening lurch.

He doesn’t eat dinner that night, he can’t.

He stays downstairs long enough to present the new weapon to Mom—very pointedly ignoring Jazz’s look—and then he heads upstairs. There’s an English essay he needs to get started on, after all.

He doesn’t miss the look Mom and Dad share, the fond tenderness, the love, the hope, all directed at him.

He’s happy.

They’re happy.

They’re proud of him.

And despite it all, he had fun today! 

When he lays down on his bed, he smiles and he can’t stop the laughter bubbling up as he thinks about his dad. At one point, he had been holding up a circular piece of metal he’d cannibalised from the lamp shade to his eyes, moving it back and forth as he pulled his funny faces, and some of that full belly laugh creeps back in as he remembers doing the same back.

He laughs so hard until he cries, and he cries, and he cries. 

Today, he and his dad built a weapon. 

Tomorrow, it'll be used on him, but that's okay. 

It's okay because today, today his dad was proud.

#danny phantom #holiday truce #holiday truce 2023 #jack fenton #angst fic #hope you enjoy!! sorry it's slightly late 😬 #and happy holiday truce!!!!

[melrodrigo]

Tardy, part 10

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11

Tara Carpenter x Fem Reader

Summary: Tensions rise as two of your friends are found in a suspicious position.

Warnings: Mentions of violence, angst

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: I’m sorry if this sucks…writing this chapter sucked the life out of me.

Sitting in the ambulance doesn’t feel right.

You don’t think you deserve to be here, getting taken care of; while the rest of the gang goes on searching for clues. You lean against the van door, struggling to keep your eyes open.

You can’t bear to watch as the police lift Ethan’s body and wheel him into their black van.

You’re so tired that you can’t even cry.

You turn and bury yourself in the crook of Tara’s neck, trying to distract yourself with her warmth, her smell, her. She hasn’t left your side for a second since the paramedics arrived, and she doesn’t seem to mind you clinging desperately onto her either.

It might be how exhausted you are, or the fact that her comfort makes you feel so safe, it lulls you to sleep quickly.

It feels like a blink of an eye before you’re getting woken up to the sound of Sam interrogating Anika and Mindy.

“Found them just a couple minutes ago, they were knocked out,” Tara whispers to you, reading your face in the blink of an eye and knowing exactly what you were going to ask.

You inspect the pair carefully. They look like they’ve been through it.

Along with red marks all over her arms, Mindy has a little scrape of peeled skin at the top of her head.

Anika’s looks even worse.

There’s a huge purple-ish green-ish bump just right above her eyebrow. It’s in the shape of a perfect rectangle like someone had tried to knock her out with a brick.

“Where have you guys been?” Sam’s asking, sort of calm but sort of rough at the same time. There’s no doubt there is an underlying tone of suspicion in her voice.

Mindy sighs heavily, seeing right through the fake calm facade Sam’s putting on.

“Sam, we swear we do not know anything.” She’s saying, eyes wide. “We saw Ghostface coming, we ran! And the next thing you know we both got knocked out. I mean, look at the wound Sam. I know Ghostfaces have done this before, the whole hurt yourself thing. But I swear. Please, Sam.”

She looks put-together, all things considered. But Mindy’s always been one of those people, she goes through life swiftly; with nothing on her mind except for obscure indie horror films and her girlfriend.

She doesn’t sound like she’s lying, you’ll give her that.

“So you just left Danny alone?” Sam asks, clearly not as persuaded as you are.

Anika breathes loud, a sound of growing impatience.

“We were being chased. I’m sorry Sam but if it was between Mindy and Danny there’s no way I’m picking your boyfriend.” She explains, waving her hands wildly. “And we don’t even know if he’s Ghostface.” She ends, the last statement said in nothing but a hushed whisper.

Sam can’t say much about that. She breathes heavily, very much resembling the look of an angry dragon as she stands; towering.

You snuggle into Tara, deciding that you in fact do not want to be a part of this conversation.

She looks down at you and smiles, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. Then she’s wrapping her arms around you and slipping a hand in your back pocket.

She wiggles around in there a moment before you feel her fish something out and shift away from you slightly, smiling.

“Now what’s this?” She’s whispering teasingly, quiet laughter shaking her body.

You crane your neck to look at it, but all you see is a backside of a tiny piece of paper, all yellow and old looking.

Paper? You don’t remember having paper in there.

Tara stills as she reads it, her heartbeat under you quickening at a rapid pace.

“What is it, babe?” You question, tightening your grip around her waist.

She tilts her whole body to show you what’s written on the paper.

Scribbled crazily on the note in thick red liquid, are five words.

NITEHALK CINEMA - TONIGHT. BE THERE.

You stare at it for a long time, like if you looked at it hard enough it’ll dissolve into thin air. The words look almost anthropomorphic, threatening to jump out and grab you by the neck.

“Huh.” You state, turning to blankly stare at Tara. She blinks back at you, obviously also taken aback.

You guys have a silent conversation until Tara carefully untangles herself from you and makes her way toward the older Carpenter.

You see her hand Sam the paper, all eyebrows furrowed and soft voices. Sam snatches it from her, but your view gets blocked off when a paramedic comes to stand in front of you.

You eye her a little wearily, confused as to why she’s standing there.

“Hey, hon.” She says, eyes crinkling at the sides when she smiles. She has some age, you can tell, but she still looks youthful and full of life.

You relax, almost melting at her term of endearment.

You were always a sucker for one of those. Especially if they were coming from an attractive middle-aged woman.

You quirk an eyebrow, signaling that she can keep speaking.

“So, I had a quick look at the wound on your stomach there. You’ve got an infection, sweetheart. It’s nothing to worry about if you get to the hospital immediately.” She tells you, sternly.

An infection?

You open your mouth to answer her, tell her that there’s no way in hell you have enough time to do that, but Tara’s heading back before you can say a thing; and you mumble a quick, “Don’t tell her anything.”

Because the last thing you need is Tara fussing over you when there should be Ghostface hunting to do.

“So what happened?” You ask your girlfriend, grabbing and positioning her so she’s standing in between your legs.

She doesn’t say a thing about it, but you see the blush start forming.

“We’re going to the damn theater together, and we’ll end the motherfucker. Once and for all.” Tara says and then tilts her head to the side, eyes flirting between you and the paramedic as if she’s just realizing she’s here. “Everything okay?”

You cut in quickly, shooting the paramedic a look and wrapping an arm around her waist for reassurance.

“Everything’s great.” You smile.

-

“Aren’t we rushing into this kind of fast? Like..why are we going to a random place Ghostface clearly wants us to go to?” Chad asks, his voice betraying his fear for the whole plan.

You’ll admit, it was a sort of sudden decision, even for you.

As soon as Tara showed Sam that paper, Sam turned into an animal. Asking for papers from the medical staff still around and gathering all of you to listen to her new plan; excluding Anika and Mindy.

“Seriously?” Anika’s saying, right after Sam informed her that they weren’t invited to listen in.

Sam doesn’t relent, just stares her down with those fiery eyes she only has reserved for situations like these.

“If you want me to believe you, you’ll have no problem staying out of this,” Sam says, nodding matter-of-factly.

“Well, I don’t want to be kept out of the loop and die.” Anika mumbles, but backs down nevertheless; walking back to join Mindy dejectedly on the sidewalk.

Now, you guys are stuffed into Sam’s van, ready to take on the weirdo in the white mask once again.

Funny, this is giving me déjà vu.

But after Sam’s monologue last night, where the older carpenter had talked about sacrificing herself, it seemed to ignite a fire deep in you; one that still wanted to fight.

You know you’re not the only one who’s feeling this way.

One quick glance at the gang and you can tell everyone’s feeling motivated. You can only hope it lasts so long.

Well, everyone except Chad.

You contemplate reaching over and gripping his hand for support, but wonder if it’ll be weird because you haven’t exactly had the best relationship with him, but decide fuck it, we’re friends, and do it anyway. He sends you a nervous but supportive smile back.

Sitting still hurts. Any kind of movement only worsens the pain. It’s like the conversation with the paramedic opened your eyes because you can feel every little thing bothering you now.

By the time you guys get to the theater, your anxiety’s at an all-time high.

Beads of perfectly shaped droplets fall from your forehead at a rapid pace, and your heart feels like it’s up in your throat.

You push open the doors and try to quell your fears by acting brave. The facade disappears immediately when you see what’s in the theater.

You pale.

It’s a shrine. A goddamn shrine of Ghostface.

“Well isn’t this nice? Ghostface has a fan.” Tara mumbles, pushing past you to see further in.

Everyone slowly files in and looks around curiously, murmuring soundlessly between pairs.

You sway as you walk further in, head whirling. You stumble and hit a glass box, and you have to grip it to steady yourself.

You stare at Sam unloading the big black bag shed packed full of weapons from just last night, getting prepared.

It doesn’t help with the haziness. You need to get your mind off this shit…you need something. Your head drops to peer inside the glass box.

You think your heart literally stops when you see the collection of pictures, paintings, a summarized biography, and a bloody knife. A familiar photo makes your breath hitch.

Stu Macher : The Second Ever Ghostface

You blink. Try and steady your heartbeat by closing your eyes and sucking in a deep breath.

Just when you feel like you’re about to pass out, Tara steps up beside you, putting a hand on your back to help steady you.

“You okay?” She whispers, a concerned expression painting her features.

You look down at her, flash her a tight-lipped smile.

“Yeah.” You try and say with as much positivity as you can muster.

She sees right through it, frowning so big you’d think you’d just told her you were Ghostface.

“I know when you lie to me.” She says pointedly, pouting.

You sigh, it’s no use to lie.

“No, I’m not doing great currently, but that’s not our top priority here Tar.” You murmur softly.

She punches you in the arm, with all the power of a marshmallow bouncing off you and crosses her arms.

“It’s a priority to me.” She huffs.

You raise an eyebrow. Tara wasn’t one to give you words of affirmation, but whenever she would, she’d get adorably shy.

She’s not this time. She’s standing tall and sure of herself, staring at you like if she lets her eyes off you for even a second you’ll run away.

You contemplate telling her about what the paramedic said.

You should, you know that, but you don’t want to worry her more than she already is.

She’s tired too, you can tell. It shows through the dark circles beneath her eyes and the way her hair is just a little more ruffled than usual.

Tomorrow I will, you think. After all this is over.

You settle for wrapping your arms around her and whispering an I love you in her ear.

Tara stills, obviously surprised at your confession. It surprises you too. You guys had never really said it before, even though you’re sure the both of you felt it.

“Um..I’m sorry. It just sort of came out, you don’t need to say it back. I understand.” You say quickly, sheepishly.

Tara quells your fears with a kiss, full of passion and urgency.

It feels like it always does, so goddamn dreamy. Her and her kisses never fail to send you straight into cloud 9.

When you pull back, you’re a little dazed.

“Well…okay.” You say, smiling goofily.

Her expression matches yours, albeit a little more composed. Her red cheeks and neck don’t fool you though.

“I love you too….idiot.” She says, adding the last bit to help put her racing heart at ease.

You snicker and shake your head. Your eyes drop down to the box again, but you don’t feel nearly as bad anymore.

“Man, I’m related to that guy? He looks like an alien dog.” You whine, only sort of half joking.

Tara chuckles heartedly and pats your back softly.

“He kinda does.” She murmurs.

“What does that mean…are you saying I look like that too?” You question, eyes wide and piercing, trying to look intimidating. To Tara, you look like a lost puppy.

“I never said that.” She quips, smirking. She’s teasing you.

“Yeah, but you didn’t rebut me so I’m led to believe you agree.” You press, forming your lips into a pout.

She reaches out to try and wipe it away, but you tilt your head; trying to fight for some semblance of control here.

She tries again, leaning to grab your face and kiss you, but you swerve as quickly as possible, a small part of you a little sad at the act.

The part that wants you to win this “argument” is bigger though. And it takes control once again.

“Nuh-uh. No kisses until you admit I don’t look like an alien dog and that I’m actually mighty gorgeous.” You say, proud smile; sure you’ve won.

“Oh really?” Tara smirks, leaning back until her back is pressed against the box and your hands on both sides of her waist.

She calls your bluff. “I don’t think you’d be able to take it; not kissing me.”

You have to bite back a gulp at her boldness.

God this girl was going to be the death of you.

You challenge her, happy to have your beloved banter with your girlfriend back.

“Funny…I vaguely remember you being the one who couldn’t keep her hands

to herself for a second. And who was the one that was so impatient the first time we had sex she tripped over and landed face first into the mat?” You tease, watching Tara’s cheeks heat up.

“Hey! We promised not to talk about that.” She grumbles, disregarding her bet from 5 seconds ago and tilting up to meet your lips.

You smile against her lips, victorious.

When she sees it, she huffs slightly, mouth still connected to yours.

“Whatever.” She says, pulling back.

“Guys!” Sam’s voice booms through the theater, echoing a couple of times before fading out.

Creepy.

“Get over here! Safety in numbers, remember? Who knows where Ghostface is? For all we know, he’s already in here watching us.” She continues to yell, watching as you and Tara saunter over; hand in hand.

Her words send chills down your body, and you’re suddenly aware again of your beating heart.

You look behind Sam, seeing multiple Ghostface mannequins standing tall. It’s scary how much eeriness some pieces of fabric can create.

“Well, isn’t this a dainty place to be having our conversation?” You chuckle nervously, turning your head to the left, then the right; where you see nothing but all 9 Ghostface mannequins from the Stab franchise, or in this nightmare reality, real life.

“Can you just shut-“ Sam begins, obviously done with your bullshit attempts at lightening the mood.

The lights turn off in the theater all at once, leaving you guys in complete darkness; all stunned.

“Up.” Sam finishes, and you can already hear her feet start to shuffle as she looks and grabs around.

You feel her rough hands as she grabs at your wrist and pulls, too hard for your liking.

“Sam- Could you be a little gentler please?” You huff, trying to weasel your way out her grip.

“What are you talking about?” Sam voices, but it feels kind of far away from you. The grip around your hand suddenly feels weighted. “I’m not touching you Y/N.”

Before you can react, the hand is coming up to your mouth and pressing hard, muffling any sounds that’ll come out.

“YN? Baby? What’s going on?” Tara asks, worry seeping through her words.

You try and scream, or say anything, but the sound dies in your throat when you realize there’s something pressed against your nose.

It’s a cloth: a smelly one at that. You realize what it is immediately, all those true crime documentaries finally coming in handy. Chloroform.

The fumes are practically shoved up your nose, and you feel your knees buck underneath you.

Fuck, Tara.

You wiggle and thrash around, but nothing works, the chemical’s doing its job, because in the next second; you’re gone.

#tardy #tara carpenter #tara carpenter x reader #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega #scream vi #tara carpenter x you #tara carpenter x y/n #wednesday addams x reader

[woodland-gremlin]

How to Adopt Your Clone Pt. 4

Previous

Those words cut through her core, cracking it.

“No, no, no, no, nO, NO!” she cried, shaking her head, trying to get rid of the memories of what she did under Plasmius’ hand. The people she hurt. The lives she destroyed. The ones she kept ruining, no matter how hard she tried not to. But no matter how much she cried and raged at the world nothing could change that for the first few months of her life she was brought up by the man in front of her. That she was just as much of a he was.

Clutching her chest where her core rested Ellie felt the pain of a cracked core, her very being attacked. With Plasmius denying her agency, claiming that she was still under his thumb, he attacked her Obsession Freedom. It hurt. She didn’t want any of this. All she wanted was to be free.

“Oh, no need to cry Danielle,” Plasmius cooed, “It is only the truth.”

“As true as the possibility of Maddie divorcing Jack and marrying you!” a voice claimed, cutting through the heavy weight in Ellie’s mind.

“What?” Plasmius questions before taking an ecto-blast to the face, a small shadow falling with him. Then with a flash of light he and the shadow were sucked into the thermos.

Ellie turns towards the voice, somehow still holding onto Superman through all the chaos.

“Danny?” she croaks.

“Ellie!” Danny cried, rushing over towards the distraught clone’s side.

“Hey,” he whispers, floating near her, “How are you feeling starlight?”

Ellie sobs, not understanding why Danny would touch something as dirty as her. Didn’t he know that she was a monster? That all she ever did was hurt people? She hurt him! She lied to him, lead him right into Plasmius’ hands to torture! So why-

“Because I love you Ellie,” Danny says with a sad smile, “You aren’t a monster, Vlad is.”

What?

“You’re mumbling starlight.”

“That doesn’t, doesn’t-” Ellie tried to say, quickly losing control of her words, the weight of the day setting in.

“Ellie,” Danny says softly yet firmly, “What happened with Vlad wasn’t your fault. He abused and manipulated you. Told you that it was the only way to save you and your siblings. You were only a few months old and scared. It was never your fault.”

Ellie clings to those words like they were a life line, hoping beyond hope that Danny was telling the truth. That she wasn’t a monster but, even then doubt creeped in.

“Now I need you to breathe,” Danny says, seemingly ignoring her incredulous look, “Yeah, yeah, I know neither of us need to breathe but it will help. The Fruitloop was working with Spectra this time making everything ten times worse. 0 out of 10 would not recommend.”

Ellie chuckled through her tears. Spectra was a bitch, but her powers were top notch. It would explain why the Creep’s words cut so deeply this time. What the explanation did not do was make horror go away, or why her chest felt like it was on fire.

“Now let’s get you to Frostbite. Spectra already put a few ghosts in the hospital during her escape, so we should get you checked-”

Ellie tried listening to the rest of what Danny was saying but everything started to sound and feel like static. Her vision blurred and her eyes felt heavy, like everything weighed 10 times more than usual. It felt like she was back in that horrid lab, melting into a pile of goo just like her siblings. But the worst part was her chest. It felt like it was split in two, her very being cracked open.

“Starlight? Ellie! Ellie!” Danny screamed as Ellie’s consciousness faded.

To be continued . . .

Next

#danny phantom #dcu #dcxdp #dp + dc #dp x dc crossover #danny fenton #danielle “danni” phantom is called ellie #danni phantom #ellie phantom #danny fenton adopts ellie #danny fenton adopts danni phantom #adoption au

[rainybyday]

Wayne Spirit Add-ons Pt 2

+Danny has baby pictures of everyone but Alfred which Bruce both loves and hates because Danny also included some moments of his life he did not wanted to remember (but he loves because it includes all his children as babies)

+Danny leaves photos of blackmail to whoever he thinks will need it the most for reasons

+Tim and Bruce got extra special treatment for when they ripped into Clark about his treatment to Connor (he felt like he was going to burst when he saw them do the same with Lex Luther)

+Danny knows when the Lazarus Pit is acting up from Jason and immediately goes to him to calm the pit

+Danny leave Ectoplasm snacks for Jason, then Cass and Damian later on which they all love (and no other bat can have unless they want to feel a bit more then dead)

+Danny hates when any member of the family either gives each other a cold shoulder or are fighting to the point where he turns everything around him to the negative degrees (that is the signal for every bat to stop because they are making their resident ghost cry)

+All the bats have a competition over what is Danny’s name and his appearance before Duke came around, turns out Bruce won because he did see a glance at him once as a child very young

+Leaves as soon as he sees Catwomen near Batman because… no, just no. He saw him as a baby, he dose not need to see his boy flirt much less kiss anyone thanks

+Danny starts banging his head over the pattern of Dick’a partners 

+Danny reviled himself when Bruce once got kidnapped (before he was an adult) by scaring the ever living shit out of his kidnappers which started the rumor that he was protected by Gotham’s spirit (which later turned to the Wayne’s when Dick got kidnapped, then Jason, then Tim and so on (every kidnapper learned the hard way))

+There’s a couple of ice blue crystal designed tables that the bats put little trinkets and things they want Danny to have or allow him to borrow because their ghost deserves all the presents (they have to pamper him somehow)

+They fight to have Danny with them during Summer which doesn’t work out for them because Danny only goes to whoever he thinks has the most brain cells at that time

+Will pull a lot of pranks at gales to entertain Bruce as a kid and then to all of his children when they clearly want an escape

+Everyone knows Danny is the happiest when they are in the Watchtower because they have a trail of snowflakes behind them when ever they go

+Batman almost killed John Constantine when he tried to exorcist Danny once he saw him clinging on to Batman’s back like a parasite at a meeting

+Captain Marvel/Shazam takes one look at him and waves with a greetings to him with a smile (he gets brownie points with ALL the bats (to the point where other hero’s see how Bats is bias towards him))

+Superman feel very uneasy when he first met Batman

+Mess with Bruce Wayne and you will find your dreams fill with nightmares of endless pools of green and a child who drools the same shade of green as the child grins at them (“Your next.”)

+Danny can not take any of the Bats seriously because he seen them all grow up and is not afraid of any of them, finds their imitation tactics cute (verbally coos at Bruce when he did it the first time and almost cried out of pure joy when Dick, still as Robin, tried to copy him)

+Danny added fuel to Bruce’s adoption addiction by leave adoption papers every time he brings in a child (jokes on him when the Bruce finds out how old Danny is)

#danny fenton #danny phantom #batman #dc x dp #dp x dc #damian wayne #batfam #tim drake #jason todd #bruce wayne #dick grayson #cassandra cain #alfred pennyworth #wayne spirit au

[gyllenhaalstories]

WE'RE NOT COWBOYS — DANNY SHARP

summary: danny likes his banks robberies short and sweet. he avoids collateral damage at all costs... most of the time.

warnings: reader is gender neutral! bank robbery, weapons, injury, blood, some sort of comfort/fluff mix? your guess is as good as mine. 18+ NO MINORS.

word count: 2515

gif credits: @/stephendorff (cropped) / divider credits: @/firefly-graphics

notes: i watched ambulance again and i could not resist writing whatever this is. 💵 thank you for reading & REMEMBER TO REBLOG!

"Why is it taking so fucking long?" A man shouted from God knew where. "Where's Mel? Has anybody seen Mel Gibson?" More men answered 'no sir' in sync.

You sobbed, the pain stung so bad that even crying hurt. You were stuck in a cycle. The more you cried, the more it hurt and the more it made you want to cry.

A tall, bearded man stared down at you. He rubbed his knuckles, soothing the pain he caused himself by punching you in the face. You had taken him by surprise, squealing of fear while he hurried out of the vault with the last of the money and valued goods he stole. He took a better hold of his rifle, he tried to assess if your life was worth wasting a bullet on.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna kill that guy!" The first person spoke again and marked a pause before continuing, he chuckled while he specified his wish. "I won't! Okay? I won't. Not until today's precious cargo is safe and sound."

Nope, you were not worth it. He abandoned you by the bank tellers' desks, shaking like a palm tree in a storm.

"There you fucking are! Thought you got lost, that's not very Braveheart of you." You heard some mumbling you assumed came from the man who punched you. He received more reprimands and threats in exchange for his tardiness. "Do I have to tie you to one of those kiddy leashes so you don't run away? I saw some parents walk their child with that shit last week. Los Angeles, man... It'll drive you crazy!"

You heard instructions being given, the men were wrapping up and leaving the building. All men except for the one who's footsteps echoed louder and louder. You covered your mouth with your free hand, trying to be as quiet as you possibly could in this moment. You closed your eyes too, maybe if you could not see him then he would not see you. Wrong.

"Hi."

You ignored him, rocking yourself back and forth until another wave of pain made you wail.

"Hey, hey, hey. Listen to me. You're okay, you're fine."

You made the mistake of looking up and locked eyes with this man dressed in fancy attire. He looked like a manager with his tailored suit and dress pants, he even got a shiny name tag to go with it. You failed to read what the tag said.

"My name's Daniel," he offered you a smile you could barely decipher with your vision, blurry from the tears. "Everyone calls me Danny."

You did not budge, bloodshot eyes staring at his foggy figure.

"You're hurt." He noticed a drop or two of blood on your brow bone. "Who hurt you? Was it Mel Gibson?"

You nodded frantically, but stopped. It hurt too much.

"That fucker." He said under his breath, but covered it up with another disingenuous smile. "You stay there, okay? I'll be right back. Don't move."

He ordered you to stay immobile and you listened. Where would you go anyway? Maybe he had an army of Mel Gibsons out there. All you knew was that they swarmed in the bank, you froze in place and, because of your reaction (or lack thereof), you failed to follow the other workers and visitors when they were bunched up in a corner of the facility.

Danny speed-walked his way back to where he came from, instructing his men to leave without him. He'd be fine, there was just a small inconvenience he had to deal with.

The next thing you heard was his familiar footsteps hurrying back to you.

"Good job! You listened." His tone was somewhere in the middle of patronizing and comforting, but at this very moment you preferred to cling to his words and to do as he said. "I'll take a look, okay? Let me look at you." He crouched down.

You pulled your hand slowly away from the left side of your face, where you were punched. You flinched when Danny approached you.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. And I'm gonna make sure the guy who did this..." He looked at your wound then back into your eyes. "Pays for it. Got it?"

You nodded, slower this time than before. You figured out what he meant by that and the thought was sinister.

"Oh, poor little thing." He grinned, his facial expression softening when he assessed the gravity of your state. "It's just a black eye. You'll be fine."

You were starting to wonder what being fine meant to him.

"It won't hurt for long, trust me. I've gotten my fair share of those. I'm a little bit of a troublemaker." He winked at you and giggled.

The adrenaline rush started to drop, leaving you shivering.

Danny quickly noticed. He kept an eye on you, noticing how much you flinched and tensed up when he moved, while he took off his jacket and the black cashmere sweater he wore underneath. "Can ya feel that? It's soft. It's cashmere. I love cashmere." He draped the sweater over your body, hoping that it would stop you from shaking like a leaf. "I'll get you something for the pain."

Your mind began an epic race. If this guy was anything like the villains you saw in movies, he'd probably drug you or kill you the second he earned your trust. Oh God. He was earning it already! You were doomed, this was how it ended for you... Sitting on the dusty floor of the bank and being sweet talked towards your demise.

While your mind spiralled endlessly, Danny had searched the place around. He located a vending machine, probably destined for employees for their lunch break. Now, all he needed was a handful of coins. Lucky him, banks were full of coins. He scavenged through messy desks and even messier drawers until he found what he wanted. He headed towards the machine and, while waiting to select his desired item, he made a quick phone call to Castro.

"Mister Sharp, I can't do this right now! No, I'm not watching the soccer game. I'm just busy, the guys are arriving! What am I supposed to do? Okay, got it. I'll go! I'm coming! Yeah, I'll get a car! I'm running! Are you good? You seem stressed again. Stress is bad. I heard tea helped, have you tried to drink tea? Wait, how am I gonna make it back here? Mister Sharp? Do you need flamingos this time?"

You caught no word of that, despite how his employee was shouting through the phone, too busy listening to your own thoughts. Only Danny's silhouette walking towards you pulled you out of this misery.

He pressed a cold can of soda on the corner of your eye. "It will soothe the pain and you won't swell as much. First time getting punched, huh?" You shrugged, he took that as a yes. "I remember my first time... It was with my brother."

You frowned, the phrasing could not have been worse.

"No!" He yelled, clearing everything up. "I mean the first punch. He punched me. We were playing cowboys and he just popped one right in my face. He said it was an accident. I believe him. He became a Marine, maybe that moment inspired him."

You were not in the right state, both physical and psychological, to unpack what you just heard. Instead, you focused on the cold aluminum of the can and how it numbed the stinging pain.

"There's gonna be a car waiting for us soon. I'll take you back home? You can take something for the pain, lay down and sleep it off. It will turn different colours while it heals, but you'll look as pretty as ever in no time."

You swallowed the lump in your throat that was telling you to not trust him. He was a stranger. A dangerous stranger, at that. Your gut feeling rang all sorts of alarms, but still... You wanted to believe him.

"If anyone asks, you can tell them you were clumsy. Hit yourself while opening the cupboards. They'll buy it, people are so gullible."

The flag could not have been more red than that.

Speaking of red, there was a red reflection coming from the windows.

"There he fucking is, took him long enough." Danny sighed with a roll of his eyes. His demeanour changed radically when he aimed his attention back to you. "Think you can stand up? Here, let me help you." He offered you strong hands to pull you up.

Your legs were shaky, your knees barely held you up on your feet but you managed.

"I gotcha." Danny wrapped a solid arm around your waist, silently encouraging you to lean on him while he guided you towards the exit.

You held the soda can tightly, subconsciously preparing yourself to use it as a weapon if needed.

Danny's employee, Castro, held the door open for you. He drowned the both of you in a river of excuses before his boss could even speak a word. "T'was the only set of keys I found, sir! I made it as fast as I can like you told me to! I always listen so well, maybe not about the flamingos though... But you know, maybe one day you'll think of paying me more. I'm kinda like the employee of the month."

"Employees of the month wouldn't forget the first fucking rule! What is it Castro? We don't touch these cars." The two men repeated this last sentence together like a parent lecturing his child.

You looked around. Your gut was telling you to run while they were arguing, to run and save your life.

Danny's grip tightened around your waist, as if he guessed what went through your mind. He discarded of Castro, sending him off to God knew where again. He opened the door of the luxury car for you.

You sat down, let him buckle your seat belt. It oddly felt like you were a hostage he tied up to prevent you from running away. Perhaps because that was exactly what you were.

"Tell me, sweetheart. Where do you live? I'm taking you for a ride. How romantic!"

*~*~*

Danny sang along, badly if you dared to admit it, to the songs on the radio while he drove you back to your place. He parked the car and walked around to the passenger side. He most definitely overcompensated his insanity with chivalry.

You got out of the car and sighed of relief. He was right, people were gullible and you were the best example of it. "Hey, Danny." You handed him his sweater. "Thank you."

"You can keep it. As a souvenir." You sure would remember this terrifying day and you did not need an expensive cashmere sweater to remind you of it.

The two of you walked until you reached the front door. "Can you promise me something?" Danny hooked a finger under your chin and made you look in his direction. "You can keep a secret, can you?"

You nodded.

"Good. You seem like a trustworthy person."

You smiled faintly.

"Got a beautiful smile too." This hint of praise was not manipulative, well not intentionally. "Listen. We're not cowboys. Well... I'm not. I'm not a cowboy. I do things right. Nobody else got hurt today, you know? You shouldn't have gotten hurt." Danny brushed his finger gently over the bruise. "But you gotta promise me to keep this between you and I."

He felt you tense up, a breath getting caught in your throat.

"You have to. I know you can. I told you how to cover it up." It referring to the black eye, to the context and reason behind it, to this day that was taken straight out of some of your worst nightmares. "This is a day just like any other day for you."

You opened your mouth to disagree. All you wanted was to take some money out of your bank account and go about your day. You did not even get to do any of that and you got a nasty bruise as a bonus.

"By keeping this a secret, you're saving a life." He nodded slowly with a grin on his thin lips. "Yours." His eyes darkened and his smile faded. "We're not cowboys," he repeated. "I only wanted the money and I got it." He shrugged it off like it was nothing. "You don't want to become collateral damage, do you?"

You hoped there would be no other day like today.

"And you won't." He swayed between threatening you one second and, on the next, he was reassuring you. "As long as you promise me." Danny's hands, that were resting on your shoulders, dragged down your arms.

He held your hands in his, it stopped you from shaking. What was it about this man that felt so soothing? You had heard him scream at his legion of bad guys. Yet, with you, he was rather calm and composed. Almost caring.

"We got a deal? Ah, fuck, wait." He rolled his eyes, faking to have forgotten something. His other hand disappeared behind his back and, for one second yet again, you regretted not having trusted your gut feeling. You stared at a stack of cash, fresh out of the bank that he robbed not that long ago, that he pulled out from under the back of his belt. "Now. Do we have a deal?" He presented his pinkie finger to you, waiting for you to seal this promise.

You glanced at the money, then at his face. You were met with eyes as blue as the sky behind him. You locked your finger with his and took the money with you. "Deal."

He started to walk away, turning his back at you. You were left with an immense promise to keep, enough money to take your mind off it for a while... And a cashmere sweater that smelled of his cologne. "Danny!" You called out his name.

He turned to face you, too quickly to have time to put on a fake smile. Danny started to second guess if this whole thing... If you were a good idea. But you cut him short.

"Will I see you around?"

The smile that started to spread from ear to ear was anything but fake. "Fuck yeah, you will. On TV. they'll be talking about it on the news. Impressive, huh? I never get tired of that shit." He took a deep breath, his chest swollen with pride. It took him a moment to register the intention behind your question. He arched his brow, amused. "Oh, you want more of this?" He gestured towards himself.

You agreed to meet again.

He told you he'd pick you up in this same car, so you knew what to expect. It was fine when Danny broke the rules. He could break all the rules he wanted. He was not a cowboy, but he sure was an outlaw.

#jake gyllenhaal #danny sharp #jake gyllenhaal fanfic #jake gyllenhaal imagine #danny sharp imagine #danny sharp fanfic

[britcision]

Guys I dunno how to tell you this this is my favourite fucking chapter so far and before this one the last one was

I know it looks like we’re getting distracted and side tracked off on tangents but I’m having the time of my fucking life and more than half of my favourite bits weren’t in the plan

(We’re still on track and makin’ our way but oh boy the funniest things are all accidents)

AO3 link is as ever still on the first couple of chapters!

First:

Previous:

———————

That’s Not A Twink That’s An Anime Girl

They did eventually have to let Dick out of his snow drifts.

As a former circus acrobat, Dick had the best excuse of all of them to use his vigilante training in public; he’d wormed out of Jason’s grasp, flipped over Duke and made a run for it.

Unfortunately for him, gravity was actually literally optional for Danny, and Danny didn’t even have a superhero identity to protect in Gotham.

He could turn a lot more easily on the slick ice and snow to give chase, a little flight added when friction failed him. On his own, Danny would have probably had to actually fly to take Dick down.

Of course, odds of eight-to-one would weigh on any man. Not a single member of the group wasn’t thoroughly soaked by the hour’s end, sweat under clothes and snow clinging over them.

The journey up to Wayne Manor ended up being done in chunks as the sun began to sink and the cold set in for their more human friends.

Jason, Danny, Duke, and Tim had to go back to the mall to retrieve motorbikes.

(Technically Danny didn’t actually need to, but what he did need was an excuse to get Jason alone for a minute, and he’d put up with snickering from Sam and Tuck to do it.)

Steph, Cass, Damian, Sam, and Tucker called for a cab rather than pack themselves into Dick’s now snow filled car, and their numbers were excuse enough for Danny to slip away.

Which is when Tucker realised he could have probably hitched a ride on Tim’s bike, and spent the whole journey hugging Tim Drake-Wayne.

Buuuuut it’d also mean riding a motorcycle through slushy snow. The dilemma on his face made Danny grin all the way back to the mall, despite the damp now clinging to his clothes.

Sure, the car might reach the manor first and they’d get warm and dry, but that just meant Tucker’d miss out on more Tim Time.

The snowball fight had clearly done Tim good too, he was much more energised as they walked back to the mall, complaining to Danny and the others about Amity Park’s underhanded tactics.

Danny sure as fuck wasn’t going to apologise, but he did have a much more important question: how the fuck did Jason do that landshark-disappearing-into-snow bullshit?

Which… well, was also a chance to fuck with Tim and Duke.

“Seriously Jay, I can go intangible but that snow trick was bullshit,” Danny complained with a wicked glee in his heart, reflected in Jason’s grin.

Tim nearly tripped over his own feet. Duke caught him, his own eyes wide.

“You can what?!” Tim asked in a slightly strangled voice, and Danny gave him his most innocent smile.

“Oh, has Dick not told you? Yeah, it’s one of my things, from the generic end of the list,” he explained casually, turning his arm intangible and phasing it through Jason.

Who made a face.

“Okay but why does it feel like that left a residue?” The larger man complained, scrubbing at his shirt.

Which. Danny paused, frowning down at his hand. Stuck it through his own chest experimentally.

“Y’know, I didn’t know it did that… not like I go through myself often, but I can definitely feel it,” he agreed, sticking his tongue out as he wiggled his hand around, then drew it back.

Duke and Tim looked fascinated and nauseated respectively. Danny gave them both a cheerful shrug and kept walking.

“It’s probably my pit water,” he theorised, and Jason groaned loudly.

“Danny, did you just fucking mix our forbidden smoothies?” He complained loudly, and Duke damn near choked himself on a strangled laugh.

Danny fully had to stop and turn to stare at Jason, delighted awe on his face.

“Oh, I’m calling it that forever. That’s my new favourite thing. Skulker is going to shit his entire liver when he hears “forbidden smoothie”,” he decided gleefully.

Jason smirked and bumped shoulders as he passed, forcing the others to keep moving to keep up. Duke almost jogged to lean around Jason and give Danny a curious look.

“Who’s Skulker?” He asked innocently and Danny grinned at him.

“Oh, one of my rogues. He likes to talk a big game but he’s pretty easy to deal with. All bark, no bite,” Danny explained cheerfully.

Honestly he was a little surprised Skulker hadn’t shown up in Gotham to bother him yet. He must have been having a hard time finding a portal, because it’s not like he’d stop.

Tim and Duke did seem a little reassured by his casual dismissal, but still concerned. Jason cut them off before they could ask anything that might be useful.

Yeah, Jason was kinda Danny’s favourite.

“So how the fuck do I get your smoothie out of my jug?” He asked with an overly disgusted face. Danny fought not to laugh.

“You are so asking the wrong person dude, I didn’t know it happened until just now,” he pointed out and Jason rolled his eyes.

“I’m taking at least six showers when we get to the manor,” Jason grumbled melodramatically, and Danny laughed aloud.

Then paused.

“Wait, how many bathrooms are there? Can we all shower?” He asked Tim and Duke.

Neither of whom looked ready to admit they didn’t know what was going on. Fuck Jason knew his family well.

Duke shrugged, the mall finally coming into sight, and diverted towards the underground parking.

“Well, there’s enough for one each. And Alfred could do laundry for you so you can change right after if you take a long one,” he offered, glancing down at his own now damp clothes.

Best part of a snowball fight: changing back into something warm and dry.

Danny snickered, plucking at Jason’s oversized sweater.

“The way you assume I’m wearing a single thing that I actually own is adorable,” he told the younger man sincerely, grinning as his cheeks heated.

Sure, it was more subtle on dark skin than Danny’s light tan, but he’d been friends with Tucker since he could walk. He knew exactly what to look for.

Was not quite ready for it to be combined with a sly grin right back.

“What, nothing of yours?” He asked suggestively and Tim laughed, quickly catching on.

“Did Jason give you everything?” He asked teasingly, both younger Wayne wards now grinning at their older brother.

Jason’s little pink blush was definitely still Danny’s favourite. He grinned right back, refusing to follow them to a place that didn’t exist.

“Some of it’s probably yours,” he told Tim blithely, tugging at his sweatpants. Which, as predicted, immediately changed Tim’s expression to annoyance.

“Why is everyone wearing my pants today?” Tim grumbled, and Danny’s grin widened.

“They looked a little tight on Tucker if you wanted to help him take them off,” Danny teased and Tim levelled a dry stare at him.

“I do have a boyfriend,” he pointed out coolly, like that was gonna stop turnabout from being fair play.

“Ask him to come help then,” Jason cut in, ruffling Tim’s hair, “you know Connor’s always welcome for dinner.”

For a long moment Tim’s expression froze, clearly actually considering the suggestion. Then he shook his head, sighing and calling the elevator.

“Probably not today. What floor do you guys need?” He asked as the doors slid open, stepping inside.

Quiet day at the mall. Probably the fucking cold, combined with hangovers from the new year.

And as much as Danny was thirsting to ask about that, he also very much needed Jason alone before they got on the road. Hopefully they weren’t on the same level.

“Two,” Jason said, and Tim nodded, hit two and then four. Looked to Duke. Who grinned.

“Three. Sorry Tim, you’re taking the scenic route.”

And for once the universe worked in Danny’s favour. Something fucked would probably happen soon to compensate.

He and Jason left the elevator together, waited til the doors slid back shut, and then headed off towards the bike. Danny didn’t make him ask.

“She’s definitely liminal. Not like, bad? Honestly she wouldn’t even register back in Amity Park. Damian’s is a bit worse, but he’s younger, it happens. Ecto energy likes kids,” he explained when Jason made an inquisitive noise.

He definitely wasn’t bitter or anything. He’d been just young enough to take it in like a magnet.

His parents probably wouldn’t have survived the same accident.

“It’s kinda the only thing horror movies get right. Ectoplasm can form from emotional energy, and little kids, they feel everything that much more. Tapers off when you get older, so Damian’s still a magnet. Cass is stable.”

He kinda wished he had better news, but honestly? After a dunk in the kind of rancid ectoplasm Jason described, Danny was taking it as a win that neither of the others were haunted.

Jason nodded gruffly, pausing beside his bike to pull his helmet back on. Not that it’d stop Danny from reading his mood; his aura pulsed stress-stress-stress-worry like a beacon.

Danny stepped closer, resting a hand on Jason’s shoulder, stilling the movement.

“They’ll both almost definitely become ghosts if they die again,” he explained softly, voice low enough to pass unheard in the echoing space, “but they’ll be fine. Think of it like insurance; you’re never going to lose them.”

Jason snorted, the sound distorting strangely through the helmet, but didn’t pull away.

“Is that what you tell yourself about Sam and Tucker?” He asked, trying to sound derisive but there was a tinge of hope there now.

Danny gave him a gentle wave of sorry-sorry-comfort back.

“Yeah.”

**

Back in the elevator, Tim looked at Duke expectantly. Who sighed.

“I am not a fuckin’ pokedex, Tim,” he reminded the older boy with a roll of his eyes. Which his brother totally ignored, still waiting.

Tim could fucking stare like nobody’s business.

The elevator chimed again and Duke stepped out, not the least surprised when Tim followed.

“I dunno. I thought I almost caught something in the park, but it was just a blur. Tucker and Sam both have more of an aura than Danny, but Danny’s clearly something. I just dunno if it’s a meta gene,” he explained reluctantly, and Tim nodded, already adding the information to his wrist computer.

Which he wasn’t supposed to wear out of costume.

Duke wasn’t gonna tell; he’d be a damn hypocrite if he did, he wore his Signal boots with the bike half the time. They were just much more responsive than normal boots.

“What makes you say that?” Tim asked, still typing away. It’d save Duke from having to add it all to his report, so it kinda counted as a favour.

Duke shrugged, still trying to narrow down the feeling.

“Honestly? Most people with the same meta gene fuck up a little the first time they show off around me. It’s the x-metals; I boost them, whatever they’re doing goes too hard.” Tim’d been the one to help him work that out, but it would all go in the report.

Tim nodded, gesturing for him to continue and Duke sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Danny… didn’t. Unless that’s the residue they were both talking about, and if the fucking Lazarus Pits can cause intangibility we have got to warn Bruce. But that’s not the only thing,” he added quickly, before Tim could speak.

The older boy quieted obediently, but Duke could see he had his thinking face on. Putting pieces together, all those wheels turning as one.

That was practically a fuckin’ meta ability, and it wasn’t like Tim got a boost from him either. Maybe Duke needed to do some more experimenting.

“Most metas, even the nonhuman ones, have at least some aura. Some of them can hide it, but I can get a feel for their powers from it. Danny… I dunno. I can almost feel something, but I can’t see it.”

That was the thing that unsettled Duke the most, honestly. Almost all of his powers were purely light based; seeing what other people couldn’t. Even his shadow manipulation still worked around light.

It was fucking weird for there to be anything he couldn’t see, and he could go way beyond the visible spectrum. Whatever Danny emitted, it went beyond even that.

For a guy who could even see a little into the future, it was weird.

And since Danny had showed off flight, super strength, and intangibility already? And called them the generic end of the list?

Duke was definitely leaning on the “extreme control of his aura” side of the equation.

Tim looked concerned too, which was kind of validating. It kinda sucked being the expert on things no one else could understand, because Duke always worried he was overreacting, but if Tim tagged it too? Well that was validation.

“The only bit of good news is that we can probably rule out the pits as the source of his abilities,” Tim muttered as he scanned back through his notes so far.

“They coulda been trauma activated by his death in the same way as a meta gene,” Duke pointed out thoughtfully, leaning back against the wall.

It wasn’t like they were racing home, and until someone else came down the elevator? No rush. Tim had another floor to descend anyway.

Tim himself shrugged, adding another couple of notes to his file.

“It’s definitely possible, but even if it was a million-to-one chance, I can’t imagine Ra’s keeping quiet about something this useful, or letting someone like Danny run around if he had any idea he existed,” Tim explained, making a face.

And… yeah, no point trying to argue with Tim about Ra’s al Ghul. Duke pulled a face too and sighed.

“Well, he still seems pretty sure we’ll know all about it if we can get into Amity Park. Or when Jason decides to fucking tell us,” he added with a roll of his eyes.

Tim glanced up at him, smirking.

“You noticed too?” He asked innocently, and Duke snorted. Reading Jason’s micro-expressions might not be a survival skill exactly, but it was still a bat family hobby.

“He definitely fucking knows!” He complained, the switch from Professional Hero to Baby Brother getting easier and easier as time passed.

He still had his own parents, he didn’t need Bruce to adopt him, but he’d been an only child for most of his life. Having a new army of big brothers and sisters? Kinda ruled.

And he knew most of the others felt the same. They’d all be alone in their own ways, and the stubborn independent streaks were still there, but…

It was good to know someone had your back. That no matter what happened, how the adults in your life fucked you over, you could always go to Dick’s in Bludhaven.

Could always call Jason to bitch about whatever you needed off your chest, and yeah, there was always the worry that he really meant it when he said he’d “take care” of your problem? But he also listened when they said no.

Hell, it’d been Jason’s couch that Duke had crashed out on about a year ago, back when Jason was still damn near on the Big Bat’s no fly list.

He’d been on his way to school for the start of his winter semester when an absolutely blinding migraine took him to his knees. For whatever reason, Jason had been close.

Duke hadn’t even been able to glance at his phone to call for help; even opening his eyes a crack felt like he was being blinded. He’d barely recognised Jason’s voice asking if he was alright.

Hell, back then he hadn’t known if Jason recognised him out of costume. They’d always had a more friendly relationship than Jay did with the other bats, but this had been just after Jason finally texted Dick back.

Back when Red Hood would take a casual shot at any mask crossing into his turf. Not to hit, but a definite reminder of the border.

And Jason had lifted him bodily and carried him into Crime Alley. Put him on his couch to sleep it off in pitch darkness, and made him some of the best home made soup Duke had ever had.

Duke got why the older teens were still a little wary. He’d seen the Pit Rage live and in person, and it was fucking terrifying. It just wasn’t all Jason was.

And yeah, the family also had a whole army of fellow teens who’d know exactly what you were talking about, between Steph, Tim, Cass, and Duke himself. Even Damian, as much as he pretended not to care.

Kate and Babs were always willing to spread their wings out and give them all a place to shelter. And hell, if adult supervision was needed, they even had Harley, Ivy, or Selina.

Duke may not want to be a Wayne, but he’d take everything the bat family offered with both hands.

Tim sure as hell had not adjusted from being the baby to being third oldest though. He gave a huge heaving groan to match Duke’s own, flopping back against the wall.

“I know, right! And he knows we don’t know shit. He’s just enjoying watching us scramble cuz he knows we can’t just tell Danny we don’t know,” he grumbled, scrubbing both hands through his hair.

Duke hesitated.

“We… probably could just tell Danny,” he said slowly, brows furrowing. “It’s not like he doesn’t want us to know.”

Tim gave him a sidelong look.

“Yeah, after we admit we didn’t even manage to google him. Y’know, the kid who clocked Dick’s identity from his ass,” he added dryly.

Duke hesitated again, brows furrowing.

He knew that shouldn’t matter. Knew the smart move really was to ask for help sometimes. Knew damn well that it was Tim’s stubborn streak that kept him in the cave all night, while Tuck, Steph, and Cass watched movies upstairs.

Finally he let his head drop, sighing.

“The longer we wait the dumber we look if we have to ask later,” he warned Tim but his heart wasn’t in it.

It didn’t matter that Jason was probably the only member of the family with all the pieces; whoever caved and asked for help first? Yeah, social suicide.

Tim shook his head, pushing off the wall and scowling out into the rest of the garage.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll talk to Tucker about the Amity Park problem tonight and we’ll know by morning.”

Which… Duke hid a smile.

Asking Danny? Definitely cheating, worthy of scorn and derision.

Asking Tucker? Apparently completely different. Although technically he wouldn’t be asking Tucker for the same information.

Just admitting the exact same fault.

Pulling his keys from his pocket, Duke turned and wiggled them at Tim as he headed for his bike.

“Hey, if you hurry you could try to beat Danny and Jason to the manor. Get to Tucker first,” he added, grinning as Tim hit the call for the elevator.

The shorter boy rolled his eyes, waving a hand in Duke’s general direction.

“I’ll get to him once everyone’s warmed up. He wanted a look at my set up last night anyway,” he said almost off handedly.

Duke’s grin spread.

“Oh hey, that’s perfect! Just take him to your bedroom after you’ve both just been wet and naked and show each other your most private parts!” He called loudly, wondering if any of the supers were listening.

They’d find out soon.

Tim choked, blushing cherry red and spun to yell something after Duke just as the elevator doors opened. Duke waved cheerily back, turning away to head for his motorcycle.

“See you at the manor Timmy!”

**

Reconvening at Wayne Manor was… well, chaotic. Even more so than the gala the night before, though that might have been because this time, none of them had a firm plan.

Jason and Danny arrived first, greeting Alfred on the way in. The butler was not hugely impressed by the “foresight” which had led to a snowball fight when Danny was wearing an oversized sweater, sweatpants, and little else.

Any protestations that Danny was fine and was normally this cold anyway quavered under an archly raised brow and Danny privately swore never to let Clockwork meet Alfred.

They would get along far too well.

And that’s how Danny ended up actually using one of the spare bathrooms while Jason, who had worn a proper coat and thus escaped Alfred’s wrath, grabbed him a change of clothes.

The fact that this once again included one of Jason’s shirts, when Tim, Dick, Duke, and Steph all existed and also had spare clothes here, felt a little targeted.

It hung from Danny’s shoulders like a kid in his dad’s clothes, but Jason was probably also the only one with a shirt that said “Soup Powered Fuck Machine”, and the bit was fucking worth it.

Danny tied off most of the excess fabric into something just a bit longer than a crop top and settled in to drink hot chocolate with Jason and Duke and wait for the others to come back down.

(Which, by the way? Best hot chocolate he’d ever tasted. He was stealing the recipe 1000%, it was so rich and creamy and thick and had grated curls of chocolate on top of the whipped cream.)

Any lingering questions Duke might have been hiding about the shirt? Answered themselves when Tucker walked into the room, saw Danny, and laughed so hard he wound up in the fetal position.

Yeah, Jason was never getting this shirt back.

This was Danny’s shirt now. He was gonna wear it for his next fight with his rogues.

Sam actually did have her own clothes, so she’d accepted the offer of laundry while she showered (though she was a little annoyed the laundry room was so far from any of the bathrooms that she couldn’t do it herself), so she’d rejoined them in a mix of Steph and Cass’s clothes while she waited.

She had also been unable to keep a straight face upon seeing Danny’s new country girl fashion statement, rolling her eyes and punching his shoulder as she dropped to sit next to him.

“We call the thermos Soup Time,” she explained when Cass cocked her head curiously… which probably actually confused the rest of the bats a little more.

“The thermos you threw at Killer Croc?” Dick asked, still towelling his hair dry.

Sam raised a very slow eyebrow at him, her smile toning down to a smug smirk.

“Yeah, sure, I definitely threw it at Croc,” she agreed dryly and Dick cackled, throwing his towel down on Tucker’s still curled body.

Without even seeming to open the door Alfred appeared with another tray of hot chocolates, handing them out to those who hadn’t yet gotten one and taking back empty mugs.

He even had a second hot chocolate for Danny, who was going to marry the man. Even if he was old enough to be his grandpa.

Maybe Tucker did have a point about trying to get into the Wayne family for the perks… which Danny was never going to stop teasing him about, now that he and Tim were getting on so well. Boy could make his own ins, he didn’t need Danny.

Even Tucker roused himself for a mug though, crawling out from under Dick’s towel, glancing at Danny, and bursting out laughing again. Still, this time he could keep himself steady enough to stand, take the mug, and join Tim on another couch.

Alfred gave a quick glance around the room, probably counting heads, and cleared his throat.

The assorted vigilantes quieted immediately, and Danny’s respect for the old man grew just a little. It was already pretty fucking high. Not much more room to rise.

And somehow that perfectly serene, composed face managed to convey a deep sense of satisfaction.

“I am afraid we are presently waiting only on Master Bruce to begin dinner. If you would all proceed to the dining room?” It was phrased as a polite request.

The Wayne brood leapt to like it was an order. Danny pressed his lips shut on a laugh as he followed, catching Sam’s eye to see her grinning.

Up in front, Dick hurried to walk alongside Alfred.

“Oh, is Brucie not home? Or do you want me to go dig him up?” He asked brightly, and Alfred gave him a tight smile, pushing open the door to the fucking plainest most normal dining room Danny’d ever seen in a mansion.

Sure, the table was huge, but rather than being ornate, heavy, or flashy, it looked to be hard wearing oak. Clean, well polished, and not even that polish could hide the dents.

The chairs too were comfortable, nice, and a lot more tasteful than the Manson’s or Vlad’s. Well padded, well used, but not… fancy. Even the walls were simple, the elaborately framed portraits and art pieces on the wall replaced with…

What looked like kid’s drawings. Framed, cherished, and it clicked.

No chance in hell that this was the manor’s formal dining room.

The table was huge, but not that big with the number of people in the room. More than half of it was filled with just the kids, and sure there was space for the Amity Parkers, but not a larger group.

This was the family dining room. And that was fucking adorable.

Steph’d definitely walk him through every picture on the walls to help him find Jason’s. Today was going to be great.

He almost completely missed Alfred’s reply to Dick.

“I’m afraid not, master Dick. He was expected back nearly two hours ago, and yet…”

Even deep within the manor no one could have missed the sound of the front door slamming open, and anyone who did would have been alerted by the bellowing yell that followed.

“OOOOOOOH BRUCIE! I TOLD YA WHAT’D HAPPEN IF WE HAD TO HAVE THE BOUNDARY TALK AGAIN!” An extremely loud, very chipper given… well, everything voice filled the room.

The Gothamites’ heads all snapped around with expressions ranging from delight to exasperation.

“How the fuck did she get here so fast,” Duke hissed, leaning in towards Tim, but not far enough that Danny couldn’t hear, “weren’t she and Ivy in Brazil?”

Tim, definitely the exasperated one, gave a helpless shrug. Whatever he replied with was lost under Dick, bellowing back with clear glee in his voice.

“FAMILY DINING ROOM, HARLS! FIRST HALL ON YOUR LEFT!”

So, they were all going to meet Harley Quinn today. That’d be fun. Danny had always wondered what she was like in person, and apparently she was a close enough friend of the Waynes to be welcomed in.

Sam and Tucker’s faces would be fun.

Alfred’s was a perfect mask of patience that even Clockwork would envy, and he had already pulled a new place setting from a chest of drawers.

It didn’t take Harley long to find them, striding down the hall wearing some fucking unseasonal shorts, a baggy long sleeved sweater, and her trademarked blonde pigtails with the pink and blue tips.

And a bedazzled baseball bat slung casually over her shoulder, just in case anyone missed the mark.

She greeted Dick with a kiss on the cheek, then chased down as many of the others that hadn’t immediately fled to the other side of the table. Barring Damian, none of them seemed to mind.

Jason had made an attempt to flee, but no. No, that wasn’t happening, and Danny “accidentally” got in his way. Boxed him in between chair and table, grinning all the while until Harley made her way to them.

“And there he is! My poor suffering boy!” Harley cooed, cupping both of Jason’s cheeks in her hands and yanking his head down with a lot more force than a woman her size should have been capable of, pressing a large smooch on each cheek.

For all the glares he shot Danny, he managed an almost sheepish smile for the woman herself.

“I’m fine, Harley. Really. You didn’t need to come,” he protested with absolutely none of his heart in it, a pink flush rising to complement the sparkly pink lipgloss smooch marks.

“Nonsense, baby boy, if Brucie needs his head pulled from his ass I’m always here,” Harley told him firmly, patting his cheeks and rounding on Danny.

It was kinda less funny now that she was bearing down on him, all of her airhead dramatics belied by the piercing, analytical stare she pinned him with.

“Huh, did Brucie pick up a new one while we were gone? It’s been like a week, we’ll talk about his adoption issues too,” Harley declared firmly, snagging Danny by his collar and yanking him in for a cheek smooch too.

And yeah, holy shit, she really was a lot stronger than she looked. Like, almost ghostly levels of super strength.

Batman’s “no metas in Gotham” rule was looking flimsier and flimsier, cuz while she’d been a rogue in the past, this? This was not a rogue’s welcome, and Danny actually did like most of his rogues.

Just not “kisses on the cheek”, although the grabbing and pulling was familiar.

Still, better not let Vlad know. Wouldn’t do for him to feel too welcome in Gotham.

Harley released him a moment later to give him a dazzling smile.

“Hi, you’re a little older than most of Brucie’s new kids but that’s fine, I’m your Aunt Harley now and if you ever need any help with anything, especially getting Brucie’s ass in line, you just call me, okay doll?” She told him firmly.

Jason was fucking grinning at him over her head, and it just plain wasn’t fair that he was a whole head taller than them. Danny flipped him off behind her back, and gave the woman herself a sheepish smile.

“Actually, I’m not one of Bruce’s, I’m just-“

“Jason’s-boyfriend,” Steph stage coughed behind him.

Harley’s eyes widened, Danny had a go at kicking blindly behind him and hurried to correct her.

“Just Jason’s friend,” he stressed the word and suddenly those almost frighteningly piercing eyes were roaming across his face again.

It was like if Jazz had been dunked in a vat of glitter but could still see right through him. Then Harley grinned again and patted his cheek.

“Sure thing, sugar. Still, if you stick around long enough Brucie’ll make a go of it, so be careful,” she warned him cheerfully, then lunged for Steph, got her in a headlock, and smooched pink lipgloss into freshly washed hair.

Danny couldn’t help chuckling softly as Harley scanned the room, clocked a bemused Tucker and wide eyed Sam, and her eyes narrowed for a moment.

Then she nodded, apparently deciding they probably also weren’t new niece and nephew, and skipped back over to Alfred.

“So! Not that this ain’t great, but ya clearly got some company over so if ya could just point me towards the B-man I’ll borrow him right quick?” She offered with a broad grin, not actually grabbing Alfred.

Up went the respect-o-meter again. Restraining Harley Quinn was hard for seasoned heroes, her restraining herself? None of the birds could claim that apparently.

Alfred gave her the same polite smile, setting her a place at the table.

“I’m afraid Master Bruce has not yet returned from his lunch appointment, Miss Quinzel. He should be returning shortly if you would care to join us for dinner?” It almost didn’t seem like a question, given what he was doing.

Harley waved a hand easily, making a face that was almost apologetic.

“Oh, nah, I’ll just go get ‘im for ya and send ‘im back over. Maybe with some new bruises,” she added almost as an after thought, then shrugged and grinned. “So! Where’d ya last see ‘im?”

It seemed like their missing Brucie problem was about to be solved, and the rest of the Gothamites were now taking their seats around the table.

Tucker, who’d cautiously followed Tim’s retreat around the table after Harley’s chaotic entrance, was now sat between Tim and Damian, and probably regretting his life choices.

Sam, whose parents hadn’t actually specifically forbidden her from speaking to Harley, seemed to be trying to make up her mind about something. Probably going to talk to Harley directly.

Steph and Jason had considerately left two spots in between them as they sat, and Danny let himself drop into the chair next to Jason as Alfred answered.

Well. Nearly into the chair.

“Master Bruce’s lunch appointment was approximately four hours ago in a private room at Chez Vous with one of our gala’s guests, a Vlad Masters.”

Yeah. Danny missed the chair, thunking all the way to the floor with a startled squawk.

“He fucking WHAT?!” He exclaimed, yanking himself back up, staring around the table at the equally startled Waynes.

Like they hadn’t spent the first part of the gala telling these people specifically that Vlad was a fucking mind controlling sociopath who was targeting their dad. What the hell.

Alfred raised an eyebrow very slowly at him, concern now creeping into his expression.

“He went to met Mr Masters in a private room for a late lunch, Mister Fenton. I am not aware of any other plans, but-”

And Danny was probably committing a cardinal fucking sin by interrupting him but he couldn’t hold in the groan, sinking down into the actual chair this time and thunking his head off the table.

Across the table, Tucker snickered at him.

“Let me guess. You forgot Vlad was still in town?” He asked, and Danny let out another utterly heartfelt groan.

“I forgot Vlad was still in town,” he whined as Jason stifled an entirely inappropriate bout of laughter.

There was one more important piece of business though, and Steph jumped straight to it.

“Wasn’t someone supposed to warn Bruce about Masters last night, so this couldn’t happen?” She asked in a low voice, leaning into the middle of the table.

Tim made a face, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I said I would, but… I got distracted…”

By beating his brains out against Amity Park’s ghostly firewalls apparently, and Danny did feel kinda bad for completely forgetting to mention that. In his defence, he hadn’t technically known that the Batcomputer was not ghost virus proof.

Should have guessed. Hadn’t known.

Tucker, who still had no idea about the vigilante thing, was quick to reassure Tim.

“You had a medical emergency, of course you were distracted,” he said quickly, patting the younger man carefully on the shoulder and glaring at the other assembled Wayne brood, “and any of them coulda mentioned it too!”

Dick raised a hand with a half smile that was mostly apology.

“Actually… Bruce went straight to Tim’s side after the gala. Think he stayed all night, but I never actually saw him. We coulda texted though,” he added sheepishly as the rest of the family made general noises of agreement.

Except Duke, who shrugged.

“I only learned about Masters when I met you guys this morning,” he pointed out, and Danny kinda doubted that but Duke had missed the original Masters debrief so he had the best excuse.

Alfred stepped closer to the table, and for the first time his presence actually registered as something other than the polite, nigh-unnoticeable model of efficiency.

Which probably meant he’d picked up on Danny’s super subtle hints that the situation was not fucking good. Good for him.

“And precisely what information was supposed to be shared with Master Bruce?” He asked, still politely, still calmly, but there’s a hint of warning that had most of the table stiffening up.

Tucker answered, giving Alfred an apologetic smile.

“Vlad Masters is a super creep and probably using his mind control powers to try and make Mr Wayne sign over everything he owns,” he explained easily, like it was nothing.

Harley’s eyes had widened, but she didn’t seem overly worried, just shouldered her bat again.

“So it’s also gonna be a rescue mission, huh? Vladdie a local boy or are they still gonna be in the same place?” She asked, the rest of the table tensing as one.

Because yeah. Next step was extract Bruce, and kick Vlad’s ass, and probably maybe try and get any contracts Bruce had signed in four hours? Which could now be anywhere.

Sighing heavily, Danny hauled himself to his feet. Feeling like a fucking idiot aside, he probably should have already left. He was pretty sure he knew where Chez Vous was?

“No, you guys stay put, I’ll go get him,” he said as cheerily as he could, cracking his neck.

Harley’s brows drew down in a frown and she prodded him with the bat.

“No offence kid, but ya look like a stiff breeze will flip ya over. You’re not going alone,” she told him firmly, and yeah, Danny could also feel Jason damn near vibrating from beside him.

Concern-worry-protect-coming too.

Putting a hand on the big guy’s shoulder before he could rise, Danny pushed just enough to keep him in his seat. Felt the moment of shock course through the much bigger man, and his grin became just a little more genuine.

“Sorry but if any of you come along, you’ll only make it harder for me to get Bruce back safely. Vlad’ll just take you guys over and make you fight me. I really wouldn’t worry too much though, he’s never actually beaten me,” he added with a reassuring smile.

Sam snorted a laugh, dropping into the empty seat beside Steph and crossing one leg over the other. Reassuring the Gothamites with her own complete lack of moving.

“Yeah, Danny’s been cleaning his clock since he was fourteen and it’s something like 700-5. You’d think he’d give up eventually,” she added, rolling her eyes.

Cuz yeah, Vlad might have gotten the upper hand through sneaky traps a bunch of times, but in a straight fight? Danny usually won, even before he had the power of the Infinite Realms at his back.

It wasn’t that all eyes turned to Harley. It was more that suddenly a bunch of them weren’t looking at her so pointedly they might as well have.

She regarded Danny and Sam a moment longer, then shrugged and dropped into the chair at the head of the table.

“Guess I’m stayin’ for dinner, or at least til Brucie’s back. And hey, it can be hard for folks ta come to terms with things like that. ‘Specially if they’re adults takin’ offence ta gettin’ their butt kicked by kids,” she added, a bright gleam in her eye.

Sam snickered, leaning back in her chair.

“Voice of experience?” She asked innocently and Harley tipped her a wink.

“Hell nah, you ever seen a Robin fight? ‘Sides, most of the folks who’ll shit a brick at bein’ beat by a kid get just as huffy at gettin’ beat by me,” Harley explained with a broad grin, flexing her own muscles.

It was just a little hilarious to see the differing reactions from the young vigilantes around the table.

Damian was still noticeably grumpy, though he almost felt more worried to Danny’s expert empathic eye. But then, his dad was in the lion’s den.

Dick and Tim looked like they were sharing an inside joke, and Danny had to figure they were the other Robins that went against Harley the most.

Steph, Cass, and Duke all looked decidedly self satisfied. Jason…

Jason was ignoring the rest of the table, still frowning up at Danny but not fighting his grip anymore.

“I should still come with you,” he argued like the rest of the conversation hadn’t happened, his voice low and urgent. And… yeah. Protection Obsession, 1000%.

And his Fright Knight now, fuck you very much Clockwork, but he was also not even fully formed. No way Danny was taking him to fight Vlad as his first ghost.

He gave Jason’s shoulder a quick squeeze, lowering his voice under the rest of the conversation.

“You’ll know if I need you, Jay, but Vlad used to be able to control me too. He’s not a great first run,” he explained softly.

Jason very clearly didn’t like it, brows drawing in even further, and Danny made his grin a little brighter by contrast. Brushed confidence-easy fight-be back soon across his aura.

“Besides, he’s more a sneaky fuck than an actual fighter. Not worth both of us heading out,” he tried, rolling his shoulders.

Jason raised an eyebrow, entirely unimpressed.

“By that logic it should be me going instead of you,” he pointed out, and Danny pouted. Fuck him for technical accuracy.

“Look, next time, okay?” He whispered, leaning in til his mouth was next to Jason’s ear. Tim was now watching them rather than Sam and Harley’s banter.

Perceptive little shit. But he wouldn’t catch shit if Danny covered his mouth to talk. For now, he had to persuade a cranky protective halfa not to go kick Vlad’s ass.

How the turntables and so on.

“Once you’ve got your powers in you can take him every time, alright?” He whispered, then leaned back and grinned at Jason. At least he wasn’t glaring anymore.

“I’ve got this. I’ll be fine,” he said as reassuringly as he could. And then. Pausing. “Uh… but I’ll probably… y’know. Do the thing to find him.”

Vlad couldn’t hide from Danny’s expanded aura, not without leaving this dimension. But that’d mean Jason also got another dose.

The understanding dawned across the big guy’s face, fell into a complicated expression. Finally he nodded stiffly.

“Fine. But leave it up so I know how it’s going?” He grumbled back, lips barely moving. Probably as a countermeasure for Nosy Little Brother.

Danny grinned and ruffled Jason’s hair, stepping away.

“Sure thing bud. I’ll be back with Bruce as soon as I can,” he said more loudly, more to the whole room, and let his aura flare out into the city until it touched Vlad’s.

Yeah, that beat trying to navigate the city from above for the second time ever.

A sudden absolutely awful impulse hit him, and his grin stretched just a little beyond what was humanly possible.

Why the fuck not? The reveal was gonna drop soon enough, Tuck and Sam already knew how much he wanted to show.

And most of the table were watching him.

Danny rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and had a brief moment of nostalgia. Because if he was being theatrical…

“I’m going ghost,” he called as loud as he could, letting the glowing rings of his transformation wash over him, changing him to Phantom in front of a table of gawking bats.

Then he jumped into the air and flew out of the manor through the wall, Sam and Tucker’s laughter ringing in his ears.

Now he just had to hope he could reach Bruce before Vlad did anything he couldn’t easily fix.

**

Tim was the first to speak. Other than the raucous laughter of the Amity Parkers the dining room had been dead silent since Danny’s… well, it was a transformation.

Reaching out blindly with his other hand, Tim caught Duke’s arm.

“You saw that, right?” He asked, his voice a little hoarse.

Duke nodded slowly, still staring at the wall Danny had just disappeared through.

“Not that I know what the fuck it was… but yeah…”

Because… yeah. They’d known Danny was some kind of meta at this point. Guy really wasn’t trying to hide it. But that was…

“What, you ain’t seen that before?” Harley asked from the head of the table, her voice filled with a sudden glee.

Across the table Jason snickered, and Tim’s attention zeroed back in on him.

He’d known. He’d stiffened up before Danny had transformed, still hadn’t fully relaxed and Tim could guess why. Whatever he’d told Danny to “leave up”.

It didn’t look like he was in pain, more like he’d braced himself for something that hadn’t fully happened yet. But since apparently all secrets were just on the table now…

Tim turned to Tucker.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked, and Tucker sighed happily, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“An overdramatic little fuck?” Sam offered from the other side of the table, also still grinning. Tucker wheezed loudly, slumping back in his chair.

Tim shifted his attention to Sam instead, giving up on Tucker for now. To be fair, he was kinda surprised Jason wasn’t also laughing at them.

It must have made a comical scene.

“Obviously. But that… going ghost? What did he mean?” He pressed, leaning in across the table but not lowering his voice.

Sam and Tucker exchanged thoughtful looks, Tucker’s laughter fading to giggles as they clearly weighed their answers. Then Sam leaned in too, folding her arms on the table and leaning over them.

“How much were you actually able to look up about Amity Park?” She asked, and the rest of the table leaned in to listen.

Even Harley, thoroughly devoid of context, kept quiet for a change. She could smell a good story when she heard one.

And as much as it pained him to admit…

“Nothing at all,” Tim confessed with a brief shake of his head, eyes narrowed. “I couldn’t even find the weather account you showed us.”

Beside him Tucker took another deep, fortifying breath and steadied himself in his seat.

“Yeah… warned you about that. Any tech not actually from Amity needs a baseline level of ecto before it can get through the firewalls,” he explained, and as glad as Tim was to have him back in the conversation…

“But that isn’t how firewalls work,” he protested, knowing full well the other boy knew, “Facebook doesn’t have a separate server or separate firewalls for some small town in Illinois versus the larger world, and even if it has something to do with the IP…”

Tucker raised both hands quickly and Tim subsided, a little relieved to have been cut off. The frustration from last night was building again, and he really didn’t want to deal with that right now.

“Okay, you’re definitely right almost all of the time, but Amity Park’s is… different,” Tucker explained quickly, glancing around the table and almost immediately focusing his full attention back on Tim.

Dismissing the others as below the level needed to understand the conversation, or assuming they’d keep up on their own? They all could, none of the bats were slouches on cyber security, and the distinction didn’t matter to Tim.

Yet.

They were also probably all a little below Tucker’s own technical proficiency, from everything Tim had seen (and Steph and Cass’s admitted failure to break his server encryption).

(Oracle still hadn’t broken the same server.)

Tim nodded anyway, not willing to talk and slow the explanation any further.

They could have been doing this more than twelve damn hours ago.

“Firewall isn’t exactly the right term for it either, but about five years ago… well, we decided the rest of the world couldn’t know about a lot of things that happen in Amity Park. It wouldn’t be safe,” Tucker added, watching Tim’s face carefully.

He looked almost guilty. Like he could guess how much frustration this had caused Tim. Hell, if Danny knew their identities then Tucker, his guy in the chair almost certainly did too.

And since they weren’t pretending to all be civilians anymore…

“The GIW were already censoring the hell out of us,” Tucker continued, rolling his eyes, “it was actually really annoying. They actually did the IP thing, but you could VPN around that. But we didn’t want the rest of the world, other governments to come to the same bullshit conclusions about ghosts and keep causing trouble.”

“Ghosts like Danny,” Duke cut in, not a trace of doubt in his voice.

Tucker glanced past Tim for a moment and nodded.

“Pretty much, but Danny’s a special case. Most ghosts can’t actually do the magical girl transformation,” he added with a snicker, and Sam rolled her eyes, tapping the table for attention.

“What Tucker’s dancing around telling you is that what we call the Amity Park firewall is basically alive. It has nothing to do with IP addresses or any regular tech shit because it runs on ectoplasm.”

“It’s not actually alive,” Tucker cut back in with an exasperated huff, “it’s just something I came up with with some help from Technus. He’s the spirit of technology so he can possess computers, not people, and together we made a safety net.”

“All of Amity Park is saturated in natural ectoplasm,” Sam explained, ignoring Tucker’s pointed glare, “so now whenever someone’s trying to connect online to anything based in an Amity Park server, our ecto looks for your ecto in whatever device you have. No ecto, no data.”

“It’s not that simple,” Tucker whined, like this wasn’t already a level of complexity that made Tim’s head spin.

But it was the spinning that triggered an almost ignored memory.

“Ecto… that’s what Danny nearly said last night, when he was talking about the Lazarus Pits,” he said with a sudden sharp frown, attention jumping between the Amity Parkers and onto Jason.

Who shrugged. Like this wasn’t news. How the fuck had he even met Danny in the first place?

“Show of hands, who here’s surprised that the pit waters actually come from the land of the dead?” Jason asked dryly, gaze sweeping along the table.

Tim’s attention flashed directly to Damian and then Cass, the two of them sat on a full diagonal from each other. They were the closest thing the family had to experts.

Neither looked surprised, although Damian’s eyes were narrowed. New information then, and likely something he’d be looking more into. Cass just looked thoughtful.

Harley’s hand was up though, and the table gradually turned to its gravity. She shrugged.

“Had a bet with Ives that it was super tainted kool-aid. Not that we know much about it,” she added with a shrug, and Jason snickered.

“You’re half right anyway,” he told her and the raised hand was replaced by a pair of fists pumping into the air, but silently for once.

Even Harley wasn’t gonna interrupt a lore dump.

Jason returned his attention to Tim.

“Apparently the pits are made of contaminated ectoplasm. Super tainted,” he nodded to Harley, “because the regular stuff? Doesn’t bubble, doesn’t burn, and doesn’t kill people who touch it.”

Tim’s eyes narrowed for a moment, looking Jason over, hunting any trace of a lie. He’d made himself an expert on Jason’s features, on what every micro-expression might possibly mean.

Jason was a damn good liar, but Tim knew every tell that meant he spoke the truth.

Still, he glanced from Jason to Cass, sat on Jason’s other side. The Asian girl raised an eyebrow at him, then nodded.

Human lie detector confirmed. Good to know. Even if she was rolling her eyes at him for checking.

Duke leaned in further, half his body now hovering above the table as he grinned at Jason.

“So does that mean you’ve got ectoplasm in you, if you still have the pit rage?” He asked, which didn’t really seem like something to smile about.

Although not exactly worse than the idea of Jason just still having the pit in his veins. At least Jason didn’t seem to be really bothered by it.

He just shrugged.

“I guess so?” He offered suspiciously, his face still carefully neutral as he watched Duke. Whose grin broadened.

“So does that mean if you look up stuff on Amity Park you’ll get through?” He asked innocently. Jason rolled his eyes.

“I’m not a phone, Duke,” he said dryly, and Tucker snickered.

“It’s actually kinda funny you say that, cuz Danny’s been sucked into video games before,” Tucker said innocently, giving Jason a sidelong look.

Which… raised a couple of questions, since Jason didn’t seem embarrassed by it. Tim’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

“Is that something that could happen to Jason?” He asked cautiously, and for some reason Tucker actually laughed.

“Oh, it’s something that could happen to anyone,” he said sounding very smug, and Tim tore his attention off Jason to stare at Tucker, wondering what the hell he was thinking.

Tucker just grinned back and Tim’s best guess… well, it couldn’t have been a bad experience. It had definitely afforded him the full attention of everyone at the table.

Harley stuck a hand in the air again.

“Okay, I know I ain’t one o’ the kids, but I’m gonna need to know a whole lot more about that,” she declared, and Tucker laughed, shaking his head.

“Another time? I gotta get back to get ready for school early tomorrow at the latest but if you wanted to hang out again…” he trailed off hopefully, his attention slipping from Harley back to Tim.

Tim was not going to blush. This was a chance to gather more intel in future. And just hang out with a friend! There was nothing more to it than that.

He chuckled softly and nodded, settling back into his seat.

“Yeah, I think it’s safe to say we’ll see each other again,” he agreed, and definitely didn’t enjoy the way Tucker beamed at him.

Given their reactions, he probably did some kind of tech support while Danny… Danny was probably the ghost who’d protected Amity Park.

Had they always known who Jason and his family were? Tim knew he should reserve judgement until he could find an unbiased source and work out what had actually happened in Amity Park, but…

Well, it wasn’t like the Amity Parkers were hostile. There was always the chance it could be a long con, but Tim didn’t think so. They’d given too much away.

For now, it seemed safest to assume that they were fellow vigilantes, and were at least as aware of their identities as Danny. Tucker might even have been the one to work it out.

And if Tucker could solve their technical problems and give them open access to Amity Park, Tim could take that and confirm his theories.

If they had something to hide, Tim should be able to work out at least where to look based on what Tucker gave him.

“We’ve gotta wait for Danny to get back for him to infuse your tech, buuuut I can get you started on the data download if you can hook me into your set up,” Tucker said with an almost seductive smile.

Or maybe Tim thought it was seductive because it came with an offer of increased tech. And sure, he wasn’t hooking a stranger straight up to the Batcomputer, but…

Well, that’s what the fully isolated laptops were for. And Tim could bring one of those up from the cave, but… well, the Amity Parkers showed trust first. And they really had less reason to.

They’d been abandoned by the Justice League, and apparently personally picking up that slack. The least Tim wanted to do was promise them that it hadn’t been malicious; they really hadn’t known.

And to promise that he personally was going to find out how this had happened, and make sure it wouldn’t happen again. Last night wasn’t going to be in vain.

He’d ask the others about it, but as things stood right now, Tim would really like to see Tucker get a proper look at the Bat Cave.

**

Vlad was a little surprised to find he’d been having an absolutely charming afternoon with one Brucie Wayne.

He hadn’t expected to actually like the man, but one on one he had a kind of self effacing charm that Vlad rather appreciated. Far more tolerable than most of the arrogant rich bastards he had to deal with.

He had been so very interested in the running of Amity Park too, in the challenges of being a mayor and a business owner, and so few people really appreciated the struggle.

Of course, Vlad wasn’t going to out any of Daniel’s little secrets. It wouldn’t do to upset the boy more while he was trying to mend fences.

Even if he had left Vlad to the mercy of some hapless buffoons and the criminals they were chasing the night before.

So he kept it light, to issues like road maintenance, funding local fixtures like the library and the schools, things he thought Brucie had a chance of understanding.

Brucie had also noticed that their boys were becoming… close.

Well, it would be almost impossible for him not to have. And it was only natural that Brucie wanted to know more about the boy getting close to his son.

It was almost a little strange how easy it was to speak well of Daniel. For so long Vlad had been fixated on his inadequacies, on all the things he could fix if Daniel would just accept his help.

On wanting to mould Daniel into someone like himself. He hadn’t really considered that Daniel… might not want to be like him.

Vlad was rich, successful, on top of the world by every modern marker, but he was also alone. He had no one and nothing that he would call his own, that he could leave his fortune to.

Of course, as a half ghost it wasn’t like he was actually going to die, but not having a successor was part of what tugged at his core.

And Daniel… Daniel was much better at bringing people close than Vlad. He had dear friends, and easily found himself with new ones. Daniel was likeable, and Vlad had to admit that he himself… wasn’t.

People cozied up and tried to bribe Vlad, but perhaps it was the very things he’d seen as weaknesses in Daniel that made them actually like the boy.

So he focused on those instead, the qualities that had always baffled and confused him. The loyalty, the trust, everything he’d once tried to use to tear Daniel down.

And utterly failed at every turn. After so many years, yes, Vlad had detected the pattern. It was just so hard to keep from falling into it.

So when he felt Daniel’s aura wash out and across him, wary but amused on top of the aggression, he startled just a little. Made sure to obviously check his phone, and gasped when he saw the time.

It was obvious what must have happened.

“Oh my, Brucie, did you have another appointment today?” He asked in only mildly faked surprise, concealing his amusement expertly. “Dear Daniel has just contacted me, it seems you’ve been missed.”

Daniel likely thought Vlad was up to the kind of nefarious schemes that he… well, had come to Gotham to commit, in all honesty. But obviously those plans had changed with his little badger’s personal interest.

Perhaps he should have told Daniel that? Ah well, the boy would learn soon enough. He settled back in his seat, letting his aura broadcast his intent.

Calm-welcome-nothing to hide.

Felt Daniel’s disbelief, but that was fine. It was the truth.

Brucie visibly startled as well, taking his own phone out to check the time. Probably wondering why his own brood weren’t contacting him if he’d been missed so much.

“Oh… yes, I’m terribly sorry, I think Danny must have been invited to our family dinner, which I’m late to,” Brucie added with that lovely self effacing smile, shrugging. “I must have put my phone on vibrate. I’ll just tell them to start without me.”

Or his children didn’t expect him to check it, apparently with reason.

Vlad clapped his hands together and rubbed them a few times.

“Well, no matter. I do believe Danny is on his way to retrieve you, so we’d best wait where we are. I will pick up the bill, of course.”

They’d had the private room in the restaurant for around four hours now, which wouldn’t come cheap, but Vlad could be generous. Especially if Daniel expected him not to be.

Brucie made the usual noises of gratitude and appreciation, and mild confusion. Well, that would be answered by whether or not Daniel bothered to transform back before bursting in.

Either way, it wouldn’t be Vlad’s choice to reveal his little secret.

“I have my car with me, but if Danny’s on his way here…” Brucie trailed off, glancing to the window with a perplexed frown on that handsome face.

Whoever dealt with the man’s wrinkles for the cameras would be very upset, but Vlad got the feeling Brucie could afford the best. He had such an expressive face, and yet nothing was ever out of place.

Almost as good as ectoplasm for keeping one young.

He was probably wondering why Daniel was coming instead of one of his own children, and while Vlad could come up with an excuse about needing to see the boy anyway… well, he was bursting in on a very pleasant afternoon.

Vlad wanted to mend fences, not solve all the boy’s self inflicted problems.

Still, he gave Brucie a smile, touching the pad that would summon them a server again.

“Oh, you and Daniel can take the car I’m sure. He’ll just be here to make sure I’m behaving myself,” he added with a wry chuckle, settling back in his seat.

Something very much like alertness flicked across Brucie’s face, and Vlad could feel a flicker of suspicion for the first time from the other man.

Well, Vlad had baited him.

He certainly wasn’t as empathetic as Daniel, but he liked to keep an eye on his company, and this was the first trace of something more that he’d gotten from the man.

He waved a hand cheerfully, chuckling. The man likely had links to his city’s precious Bat and all his opinions on those more than just human. Best allay those concerns even if he was leaving.

“I have been known to talk peoples’ ears off if I get onto a subject like football, and four hours is surely long enough for him to suspect I’ve roped you into watching a game. Though if you did want to attend…” he let himself trail off, watched the man’s shoulders settle as he laughed.

“Oh, I’m not much of a sports fan myself, but I try to keep up with the Gotham teams when I can.”

The female teams at least, according to the tabloids, but Vlad wouldn’t judge. Much.

Brucie gave him that charming smile again, settling as well as the server came in and once again refilled their drinks.

“I didn’t realise Amity Park had their own teams in a league, though,” Brucie added with that softly furrowed brow. Like thought was such a strain for the man.

Vlad gave the server a quick smile and inclined his head.

“I will take the bill now, I believe we’re ready to go. And we don’t have our own teams in any of the major leagues,” he explained indulgently to Brucie, lips quirking up at the very thought.

Imagine trying to play a home game in Amity Park. It was hard enough getting the school teams out to their rivals.

And it gave him a chance to talk about his secondary Obsession.

“No, I have ownership of the Green Bay Packers, back home in Wisconsin. I really must warn you to stop there if you don’t want their full stats for the last four seasons or worse,” Vlad teased with a soft chuckle, taking a sip of his water.

Both of Brucie’s eyebrows rose and the man smiled back, settling into his seat.

“Well, Danny will be here soon to cut you off anyway,” he commented, that charming smile looking far too comfortable on him.

And he did have a point. Giving him a nod of acknowledgement, Vlad relaxed and let the gentle sea of Obsession take him, enthusiasm ramping up with every word he spoke.

It was nice to have permission for a change.

**

Despite his cheerful words, Danny couldn’t help but tense as he flew across the city. He’d make it within minutes, way faster than anyone trying to actually use Gotham’s streets, but…

Vlad had had Bruce for hours already. Danny was gonna hope that whatever he was doing, it was just more of his shady businessman bullshit.

He really, really, really didn’t want to fight overshadowed Batman.

Of course, remembering the looks on the flying furry brigade’s faces gave him a definite boost in mood. He didn’t actually wanna show up at Vlad’s giggling, buuut that was a problem for future Danny.

Present Danny was busy specifically not worrying so that he didn’t worry Jason into coming after him. Maybe telling the guy about Vlad’s lightning juice hadn’t been a great idea?

Of course, the good thing about the expanded aura was that he could still feel Jason’s like they were right next to each other.

And who’d have thought Jason was also a fucking mother hen? Poor guy was still tense, although at least Danny could still feel just a little amusement.

Yeah, Jason was getting to enjoy the full fruits of Danny’s theatrics. It wasn’t fair, but it made the whole thing better. Gave him something to keep his mind off Danny.

As if on cue, a strong spike of incredulous-funny-what the fuck came from his favourite non-clone halfa.

Danny was nearly at the restaurant now, and paused just above to send a questioning pulse back. Felt Jason startle, and could almost see him roll his eyes.

Later-come back-done?

The fuck were they talking about? Maybe the bats were right to always have their own little comms in. Danny sent a reassuring wave back.

Soon-anticipation-just arrived-curious.

And yes, Danny did expect the caution-stay safe-coming after you that he got back, but he wasn’t sure Jason would get the full effect of him actually rolling his eyes.

One last check for Vlad’s aura and Danny turned invisible, phasing through the roof and walls to have a look around.

Vlad was alone in a private room, with nothing but some glasses of water and a mostly empty bottle of wine. Alright, food was probably over a while ago, but the water might be a good sign.

Vlad wasn’t known to take care of the people he overshadowed.

Danny did a quick search of the rest of the building, stopping just shy of accidentally sticking his head through a bathroom wall when he felt a familiar presence.

Yup, Bruce was in the bathroom. Probably not overshadowed, which might just mean that Vlad was finished with him.

Not taking the risk, Danny made his way stealthily back to the private room, popping into visibility behind Vlad’s seat.

At least his aura being everywhere made it hard for Vlad to get a fix.

“What, did I not pay you enough attention last night, Vladdie?” He complained, draping an arm across the back of the man’s chair and noting the way he stiffened.

Also, these chairs? Much more pretentious. All carved and ornamental and bleh. Nowhere near as good as the ones at Wayne Manor.

Vlad didn’t actually turn to face him, reaching out and picking up his water glass instead. Filling his hands, so it’d be harder for him to take a shot at Danny?

Or just Vlad being Vlad and dismissing him.

Vlad took a long, slow sip before replying.

“While I would have preferred more of a chance to speak with you, Daniel, my presence here is solely to your benefit I assure you,” he said cool as a cucumber.

Danny narrowed his eyes, giving another poke of his aura. It didn’t feel like a lie.

“How so? Gonna rob Brucie blind and give it to the poor? I guess green also works for Robin Hood,” Danny mused, fingers drumming on the back of the chair.

Vlad actually looked at him then, a sharp sidelong glance before the man relaxed again, chuckling softly.

“Nothing of the sort. But if you and young Jason are going to be closely… connected, I will be seeing much more of Brucie, and I thought perhaps I could help lighten the… impression you left.”

Wait.

Was Vlad blushing?

Danny peered forward for a better look, utterly at a loss for what connection Vlad might be talking about. Cuz yeah, he and Jason were friends, but…

Oh.

Oh!

Vlad bought the closet scene.

Somehow that outcome had never even occurred to Danny and he felt himself flush, cheeks going green. Fuck, the goal had been to cause a scene, but Vlad actually thought…

Wait.

“So you’ve been here trying to convince Bruce I’m not an evil harlot corrupting his boy?” Danny asked, barely concealed glee rising with every word.

Because if this was funny, if this was fucking hilarious, he didn’t have to be embarrassed by it. Vlad didn’t need to know shit about his actual sex life, but if he’d actually called Bruce to try and polish up Danny’s new slutty reputation…

Vlad cleared his throat pointedly, still not looking directly at him.

“And luckily for you, he is somewhat willing to believe you have some good traits,” he said archly, and that fucking floored Danny.

“YOU think I have good traits?” He asked incredulously, cutting off whatever Vlad was about to say.

The man even took it pretty well, just one of those loud sighs like Danny was a particularly tiresome child, not a full grown adult man.

“I understand where you might have got the impression I don’t, Daniel, but if I thought you had none would I have pursued you so harshly?” He asked, finally turning in his chair to face Danny frankly.

Which meant he got both barrels of the sceptical face Danny was making.

“Dude, you say that like Obsessions are fucking logical,” Danny said dryly, and Vlad actually chuckled.

Not even condescendingly.

Like Danny made a point.

“Quite. Unfortunately for myself, the effects of my Obsession went into how I planned to achieve it, not in the goal itself. You have always been a remarkable young man, Daniel.”

And that was at least familiar ground.

Danny rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, and I’d be even more if I let you lure me off to your creepy castle in Wisconsin to become mini-Vlad. Brucie can’t ship me to Wisconsin,” he pointed out, just about resisting the urge to poke Vlad in the chest.

The old guy was being weirdly noncombative, but it had been a while since they saw each other. Actual years, which Danny couldn’t imagine would have been good for the other halfa.

Much as it sucked being someone else’s Obsession and he’d loved being free of the Fruitloop… he wouldn’t wish the ache of an unfulfilled Obsession on anyone.

Fuck did that mean Vlad had actually moved on? Was that something he could do? Please let it be something he could do.

The older halfa chuckled again and took another sip of his water.

“No, I’m well aware that he can’t. But our time apart gave me little to do but consider what I know of you. You have grown to a fine young man, Daniel, perhaps with all that I have ever lacked.”

He looked up again, their eyes meeting, and Danny very nearly recoiled. Almost stepped back and away from the other halfa’s aura so that he couldn’t feel Vlad’s pride seeping into his skin like grease.

“Okay, this is getting fucking weird. Do I have to kick your ass to get whatever contracts you made Bruce sign back?” He asked sharply, trying to get the conversation back to somewhere he understood it.

Vlad hesitated a moment, then settled back again, clearly reading Danny’s discomfort in his aura if not on his face because the pride settled away.

Back in Wayne Manor, Danny felt Jason keying up, the slow growing happiness cutting straight back to danger-warning-protect-need help?.

Danny forced himself to calm too, closing his eyes for a moment to focus on the feel of Jason, not Vlad.

He just.

He didn’t know what to do with Vlad being proud of him. That had only ever meant he’d fucked up somewhere horrible before.

Calm-safe-I’m safe-not hurt.

“Still in contact with young Jason?” Vlad asked, letting the subject change even if he didn’t answer Danny’s question.

Danny cracked an eye open to peer at him.

“Yeah, he wasn’t a fan of me coming to see you on my own. Not to pick up his dad,” he added before Vlad could get the wrong idea.

Actually. It was still kinda funnier if Vlad kept the wrong idea.

From what Danny could read of him, no worries about that. Vlad was amused, but not comfortable.

Yeah, well, he could join the club. Danny gave his shoulder a gentle poke.

“Anyway. What did you really want Bruce for?”

Vlad glanced at his watch, then at the door.

“Well he’ll be back any second to tell you himself, Daniel. I wasn’t sure if you’d shared this little secret yet so I didn’t mention any of our shared nature, but he was the one to invite me out.”

Which also felt like the truth. Both parts. Danny hesitated for a moment, not quite sure if he was ready for this particular secret to be out to the Batman.

It’d be out the second the man got home if no one had texted him yet, but that was a long car ride away unless Danny flew back, and he didn’t want to leave Bruce unsupervised again.

Just because Vlad was being weird didn’t mean he wasn’t being Vlad.

Still, he’d know if Bruce was overshadowed right away, and if he wasn’t he could ask the man himself what Vlad had been up to.

And Vlad was in human form. Not like he could transform any faster than Danny if shit was about to go down.

The decision pretty much took itself out of his hands when the door began to open and Danny jumped back out of grabbing reach (just in case) and changed back.

Which was when he remembered what he was wearing.

**

Lunch with Vlad Masters had been… informative, and Bruce was a little surprised just how much time had passed.

Masters might be an unscrupulous businessman but he was clearly devoted to the things he cared for; Daniel Fenton, Amity Park, and the Green Bay Packers.

He just couldn’t quite reconcile how those three pieces fit into the picture at hand. To hear Vlad tell it, nothing untoward had happened in Amity Park in his whole time as mayor. And yet… the calls were real.

Even if Masters hadn’t hit the button personally, someone in his office must have.

Was there a chance that Danny had some sort of mind control abilities? That he’d removed the memories of those in Amity Park who’d opposed him?

It would explain why Masters would so fervently champion a boy he’d had almost nothing to do with. Oh, Danny Fenton had been born to two of Masters’ college friends, but they hadn’t seen each other for years before Danny’s birth.

As far as Bruce could tell the two had never even met before Danny was at least fourteen; Vlad had lived in an actual castle in Wisconsin and been a regular on the gala circuit for his area.

Friend of the family or not, it was suspicious that the only adults he’d spoken to so far had such diametrically opposed views on Danny.

Vlad was obviously hiding something. About Amity Park, Bruce was completely certain. The man’s accounts simply did not add up with the evidence. About Danny…

Bruce had his suspicions, but there was very little clear evidence about the man himself. Danny was technically an unknown quantity. And the center of far too many mysteries for Bruce’s peace of mind.

Bruce slipped away to the bathroom to let his thoughts settle not too long into Vlad’s lecture on the history of the Packers.

If Danny was coming from the manor they had a while yet before he’d be there, so he could let Vlad ramble on for a while once he returned.

His cheeks hurt from keeping up Brucie’s smile, but that was nothing new. The gala last night was still weighing on him, but it made it easier to put the act back on.

If Danny was coming here, and would accompany Bruce back to the manor, they would have a while to talk in the traffic. Finally a chance to speak to the man himself and let Bruce get an unbiased read.

Something had happened before Vlad claimed to have received a message from Danny. Something that made him start, and while it could have been the man’s phone, Bruce doubted it.

Even silent vibrations actually made some sound, and Vlad had barely glanced at the device. Not long enough to read any kind of complicated message; he hadn’t even unlocked it.

Vlad must have thought he was hiding it, but he’d been amused by whatever happened. Amused, and known immediately it was Danny. That Danny was coming.

Whatever else he might be, Vlad was certainly not a particularly skilled liar. Not to Batman.

Washing his hands, Bruce wondered if he might not be able to get Vlad back onto the subject of how Danny would be coming.

On his own, or at least Vlad hadn’t mentioned anyone else. And using Bruce’s car to get back? There were hardly bus routes between the manor and the city.

Unless Danny had some kind of meta abilities. Damian’s report had included his suspicions, and Duke and Dick had both seen him fly away.

That would put him here sooner than expected, but Bruce was certain he’d have noticed a flying meta in his city. Unless Danny only flew for certain situations.

Bruce paused at the door to their private room for half a second, letting his Brucie mask settle comfortably into place. Letting the smile spread. And pushed the door open.

Something bright flashed inside and Bruce tensed, anticipating a trap. One he would have no choice but to fall into, as he was now. But as the door cleared, he saw…

Vlad at the table, just as Bruce had left him. And Danny Fenton settling like he’d just moved sharply, wide blue eyes and messy hair above a shirt that was far too large for him tied off at his waist, and.

And.

Impractical for the weather. The trousers were closer to the right size, but arms and feet were bare, along with a slice of midriff.

Completely dry. It was still snowing, and the streets were covered in snow and slush. There was a slim chance he’d left a coat somewhere, but even his hair was dry.

Windswept and dishevelled hair, suggesting flight. His boys were right, and Bruce made a note to check in with Oracle later. See if he had been detected in the air.

Startled by his presence. Likely not because he didn’t expect Bruce to be there, not if he’d come expressly to pick him up. More that he’d been distracted by whatever had him moving so sharply.

Staring at him.

And then there was nothing else to observe, except…

Wearing one of Jason’s shirts. One that Dick had given him as a joke. It hung off him, exacerbating their size difference.

Danny was small. Closer to Cass’s size, and this close up Bruce could see the lean muscle, but there wasn’t much of it.

In pure hand to hand Bruce could probably take him, but whatever abilities let him tank a fight with Killer Croc left the actual outcome an unknown.

Blinking hard to distract himself from just how and why Danny had managed to show up in Jason’s clothes, he pulled on his big happy Brucie smile for the room.

And suddenly Vlad was incensed.

Bruce would swear the man had been smiling when he opened the door, but at some point while Bruce gave Danny a quick once over his mood had turned to rage.

He smothered it down quickly, but his jaw was still tight when he spoke through gritted teeth.

“Daniel, I believe this is the first time you have met Brucie,” Vlad said, his tone so frosty Bruce nearly shivered.

Not controlled by Danny then. At least, not controlled in a way that made him deferential. Not unless this was a slip in Danny’s control.

The boy looked startled still, looking down at himself like he’d forgotten what he was wearing and giving Bruce a sheepish smile.

Honestly he could have been wearing the world’s finest suit and not allayed any of Bruce’s suspicions, but it wasn’t Brucie’s job to let that show.

Instead he cranked the smile up a couple more notches, stepping forward and holding out a hand to shake.

“Yes, Danny, my kids simply won’t stop talking about you! I was sorry I couldn’t say hello last night,” he added, wanting to see how Danny would react to a little dig.

Nothing he couldn’t deny as being purely sincere.

Danny made a face and then pulled a smile on over it, stepping forward quickly to shake Bruce’s hand.

Some people only needed touch to take control of another. Bruce felt nothing of the sort, but Danny’s hand was oddly cool. Not unaffected by his clothing then.

“Yeah… sorry about that. About… well, all of it,” Danny said with a sheepish smile and one shoulder shrug that nearly had the shirt’s overlarge neckline fall off his other shoulder.

He scrabbled to right it, and Bruce firmly stifled the impulse to relax.

It was familiar, something any of his kids might have done. It could easily be an act to lure him into a false calm.

Brucie laughed and clapped him on the other shoulder, keeping half an eye on Vlad, who was still stewing at the table.

“Oh, I certainly got up to much worse in my day. You’re only young once, right?” He offered jovially, tipping Danny a playboy wink.

The boy blushed to the roots of his hair.

Interesting.

As much as Bruce wanted to pull at Vlad a little more, try and work out his sudden change of mood, he would much rather begin his observations of Danny Fenton directly.

“Still, we should get going or we’ll miss all of dinner,” he said with a cheerful smile, nodding to Vlad. “Thanks for a lovely afternoon, Vlad! Maybe we’ll catch a football game before the season ends.”

The man’s disposition brightened like he’d flicked a switch, though he still shot Danny an almost smug dirty look.

“Oh, that would be charming, Brucie. I’ll get you tickets for the Packers’ next game, we’ll have a splendid time.”

Danny snickered beside him, shoving his hands in his pockets and grinning back. Not afraid of Vlad either, for all that the other man was older, richer, and more influential.

“Yeah, Vladdie here knows aaaall about packers,” he said with a sly smirk, looking down on Vlad from his standing position.

Vlad responded with a look that Bruce had previously only seen on Clark’s face, around when Dick started teaching Kon sex jokes. And in the mirror.

Steph called it the “your puberty was my death sentence” look and insisted every one of the mentors used it. Bruce personally wasn’t convinced Oliver Queen knew what shame meant.

He’d abandoned his son. Bruce would never forgive that until Roy asked him to.

Perhaps he did have more in common with Vlad than he’d thought though. Watching the children get old enough for innuendo sucked.

Luckily Brucie could pretend not to get it.

“I know, he was telling me all about their recent games before you arrived,” he said cheerfully, oblivious as anything. And watched how both responded to innocence.

Vlad still looked pained, possibly by the pair of them now. Danny… Danny was smirking, clearly not convinced.

That was concerning. The boy knew who Nightwing and Signal were, there was a chance he knew Bruce’s identity too and this at least pointed in the same direction.

Still, no need to confirm anything for him. With another cheery wave to Vlad he held the door open for Danny.

“So, shall we? Would you like to take my car or do you have your own way back?” He asked, subtly prodding to see what Danny might say. And perhaps a hint how he’d gotten there.

Danny hesitated for a moment, glancing at Vlad. Like there was something between them, something to do with him.

Yes, Bruce would have to meet with Vlad Masters again in future. After he’d gotten to speak to Danny.

“I’ll come back with you,” Danny said with a shrug, nodding towards the door and then moving through it at Bruce’s wave.

He kept half an eye on the boy as they headed down to the restaurant’s garage and the sleek black car Bruce had driven over.

It’d be at least twenty minutes to drive back to the manor at this hour, maybe longer. Time enough for a short interrogation.

“I already messaged the others and told them to get started without us, I hope you don’t mind,” he said in his best charming Brucie voice, beeping the car to unlock it.

Danny shrugged, moving around to the passenger door, apparently entirely unbothered by bare feet on freezing concrete. Bruce almost wished he had some spare shoes for him.

“Yeah, it’s cool. I figured. So, any idea how long it’ll be to get back?” He asked, slipping into the car and sitting cross legged on the front seat.

Bruce followed suit, turning on the car and then the heat right away. Doing what he could.

“Probably not more than twenty minutes. Your seat is heated too by the way, here. You made it down very quickly, were you in the area?” Bruce asked, watching Danny from the corner of his eye as he strapped in.

Would Danny just tell him?

He’d not been hiding from the boys. If he really didn’t think this had to be a secret, he could just tell Bruce.

Danny shrugged again, opened his mouth, and Bruce’s phone rang, cutting him off.

His phone should be on silent. Bruce gave Danny an apologetic smile, pulling it out and planning to push the caller to voice mail. Wondering if he might have turned the ringer back on without meaning to. Or if Oracle had pushed through.

There was no one else he needed to talk to more than Danny right now.

Of course the universe would mock him for that thought.

The caller ID blinked accusingly up at him from the lock screen.

John fucking Constantine.

Bruce hesitated for a moment. Torn. The mystery or the responsibility?

Any other member of the Justice League would be ranked as a more reliable source of information than a possible suspect, but after the night Bruce had had? After what he’d learned?

The problems in Amity Park may have begun or ended with Danny Fenton, but the problems in the Justice League traced neatly back to John Constantine.

When it came down to it, Bruce knew he had a responsibility.

He gave Danny another, more apologetic smile.

“So sorry… do you mind if I take this quickly?” He asked, holding the phone carefully so Danny couldn’t see the screen.

The boy’s face cracked into a grin and he shrugged a third time, getting comfy in the expensive leather seat.

“Hey, if you keep one eye on the road you’ll be the safest driver I’ve ever ridden with. You don’t wanna be too late though, you’ve got another extra guest for dinner and she seemed real impatient,” he said with a slight smile, turning on his heated seat.

About to get out of the car, Bruce paused again.

“Oh? Who was that?” He asked half rhetorically, already listing the women in his life who could possibly make this situation worse.

Top of the list…

“Harley Quinn.”

Of course.

What did she want now?

Bruce forced himself not to think about it, swinging up and out of the car and holding the phone to his ear.

One disaster at a time. No matter how many the universe was piling in his lap after nearly a month of nothing. He’d known it was too good to be true.

At least the garage was empty, and the car soundproofed. Danny wouldn’t hear a thing.

“Constantine. How did you get this number?”

**

In a secluded corner of the House of Mystery everyone’s favourite magical scapegoat stubbed out a cigarette and reclined back in his seat.

“Oh, is this not fun when people do it to you? And here’s me thinkin’ barging into other peoples’ business was how you lot showed affection,” he said dryly, fingers tapping off the glowing purple ward scrawled on the phone case.

Phone numbers were for plebs.

He could fuckin’ hear Bats grinding his teeth through the phone. And yeah, maybe winding him up further wasn’t the best idea, but fuck it.

If John had good ideas, he’d never have given the fucking Justice League his contact info. Case in point.

Winding up the big Bat was the price they all had to pay for royally pissing him off all fuckin’ night and all fuckin’ day.

Kept an impressive handle on the growl though. Must have been somewhere semi-private.

“Constantine. You’ve been out of touch for more than eighteen hours and there is a serious-”

John cut him off, waving his cigarette around as if he could shush the man from here.

“Oh no no, big boy, you’re not fuckin’ blaming that on me. You’re the one fucking up all my communicators, and you’re going to fuckin’ stop. Now.”

And yeah, maybe he did enjoy the very tiniest inhale of surprise he could hear. Or was that Batsy counting to ten?

“What do you mean.” The trademarked growl was definitely creeping in, private place or not. Well, good. John being too annoying to kill was what kept him alive.

Better spell it out for the fucker though.

“I’m a fuckin’ magician, Batlad. On a couple of Hell’s most fuckin’ wanted lists. I can’t be fuckin’ found by people fuckin’ wishing me fuckin’ harm, and let me tell you how goddamn delighted I am to learn that that now includes you!”

All he’d wanted to do today was drop off some results for the junior spandex brigade about some of the glyphs and wards they’d found at a dig.

Just trying to stop them from blowing their fucking hands off. A humanitarian mission. John fuckin’ hated kids. Handless kids only slightly worse.

And he couldn’t contact a single member of the fuckin’ Justice League because some asshole was trying to use them to hunt him down.

Zatanna had needed to come to the House personally to circumvent the wards she’d helped him build.

(Good to know how well they worked though. Assuming they were working and he’d done something to piss off the big Bat enough that he was out for blood.

There was technically a chance they’d been calibrated wrong and Batsy wanted to bring him ham. Less likely than harm, in John’s humble opinion.)

Still, the only way to unfuck his communications was to find and defuse whatever had pissed the skulky bitch off, and while Zatanna had agreed to drop off his work for the kids, he needed to know what else they’d found.

He so was not going to fucking Alaska in January.

And with that as his alternative, John forced his most chipper smile onto his lips. Apparently people could sense that through phones. Who fuckin’ knew.

“So. You’ve fuckin’ got me. What the hell do you want?”

—————

Tag list: @welcometosasakiworld @kyrianclawraith @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @trickerdi @mayoota-blog @xysidhe @idkmrpianoman @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof @eonic @onyxlightdragon @larks-and-katydids @peachesandcreamfemboy @jesus-camp-the-sequel @may-rbi @mothman-the-mothman87 @viyatrix @stargirl1331 @idfk-man10 @thedepressedrobin @skulld3mort-1fan @rootsmudge @ravenshadow17 @cankoking @phantom-dc @mentalcarebear

Next Chapter:

#danny fenton dead and loving it #dp x dc #dpxdc #dead on main #dead on main ship #danny x jason #chapter 10 #that’s not a twink that’s an anime girl #i regret nothing #also i want the shirt #real bad #ghost king danny #halfa jason todd #fright knight jason todd

[lowkeyrobin]

this one is lowkey weird but can you please write edr platonic!ellie x reader where ellie plays more of a motherly role towards the reader and is cheering them up after they had a bad day 🙏🙏

sorry i lowkey only request evil dead but ur the only dude that writes them and you write them so well 😭 -🛒anon]

OMG HELLO WELCOME TO THE FAMILY 🛒 ANON (the shopping cart is my favorite emoji omg) ; and oh my lord thank you so much!! and yes I've never really drifted out of this fandom, I only got more attached to it LMAO, please spam me w edr reqs bc I love writing for it lol 🫶🫶🫶

ELLIE BIXLER ; motherly love

summary ; you had a bad day and retreat to the Bixler's apartment

warnings ; language, motherly type of affectionate nicknames (baby, sweetheart, & honey)

genre ; platonic fluff

word count ; 543

masterlist

You'd had a rough day at school, which you ranted about the whole rainy bus ride home with Danny. You'd already gotten confirmation that you could come over from the blonde, considering his mother loved you like you were her own, and also because your own mother couldn't love you like how she did.

You threw your things down in your apartment and immediately ran down to the Bixler's, knocking on their door. Kassie opens the door, welcoming you in as she informs you why Bridget wasn't in school today since she was sick. You quickly find Ellie, working at her desk.

Once Bridge scoops up Kassie to help her with the hot glue gun, you turn to the woman you viewed as your mother, tears welling in your eyes. She quickly looks to you, and stands up, wrapping you in a hug.

"Oh, baby, what happened? Are you okay?" She asks, knowing that you got off the bus with Danny no more than ten minutes ago. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with my life, and my fucking guidance counselor was like 'you're gonna be a senior soon, you need to make something of yourself' and I don't know what I'm good at! And fucking no one knows how to shut their mouths and I have no friends other than Danny, and it fucking sucks and I hate this stupid shit!" You rant, crying into her arms. Her red hair slightly drapes over your shoulders and your head, wrapping you in a sort of protection, in a way.

She hugs you a little tighter and rocks you a bit, comforting you by listening and rubbing circles into your back. She listens calmly, holding you tight to give you a sense of protection from the world so nothing could hurt you.

"You're okay, honey, it's okay. I can help you"

"I'm tired of feeling like a fucking loser! I want to do shit with my life, I don't wanna be a deadbeat like my stupid parents!"

"It's okay, you're okay." She strokes a hand through your hair, listening to your weeping, your tears temporarily staining her shirt. "I'll help you, honey, it's okay"

You look up at her, your arms wrapped around her midsection tightly. "Please help me, I can't do this anymore"

"I will, baby, you're gonna be alright. You're gonna get through this. " She lightly smiles with a nod, reassuring you.

You loved that she didn't dumb down your problems or tell you it wasn't a big deal, or that you needed to grow up. Ellie understood you, she understood you more than nearly anyone else in this world, she was your favorite human. You started calling her mom long ago.

She made you dinner and brought over leftovers for you frequently. She bought and brought you old clothes, she was there to comfort you when you were down, and there to help motivate you when you got so depressed that you couldn't function.

"I need help, Mom. I'm scared" You sob, clinging onto her.

"You're gonna be okay, I promise you, I swear to you. Just calm down, okay?" She whispers, noticing you beginning to hyperventilate and hiccup.

"I love you"

"I love you too, sweetheart"

#lowkeyrobin #evil dead rise oneshot #evil dead rise preferences #evil dead rise x reader #edr x reader #ellie bixler x reader #ellie bixler #danny bixler x reader #bridget bixler x reader #beth bixler x reader #gn reader #gender neutral reader #they/them reader

[chadillacboseman]

Summary: Alex and Danny have a little quarrel in the cage. Featuring Kate and Danny (@thesingularityseries) Echo (@roofgeese) Alex (me!) and Alora (@bihanspookies). Art by Quiddling!

--

The crowd in the fight pit roars and Alex waves his arms to pump them up further. From the stands, Kate whoops loudly and Danny screws his face up in a disgusted grimace.

"You ready to get pummeled, Carver?" Alex sneers and Danny scoffs. Alex outweighs him by 50 pounds, a fact that isn't lost on the former.

But he's adapted since last time.

Alex lunges before Danny can queue up an illusion on his gauntlet. A quick strike to his midriff has him wheezing, skittering backward to cling at the chainlink for support.

Alex laughs, the sound muffled under his mask, as Danny regains his composure. Carver is a bastard, and Alex savors every hit he can land with childlike joy.

The two of them have butted heads constantly, to the point that Kano finally sent them settle their differences in the pit. Danny plays too fast and loose with civilian lives, Alex cares too much.

"Kick his ass, Demir!" Alora calls from the crowd, her hands cupped around her mouth to amplify the sound.

Alex grins and circles Danny like a big cat, his fists raised. If he had it his way, he'd break every bone in the spy's body, but he has to keep it contained or Kano will hand him his ass.

Danny doesn't look afraid though, he's smiling as he raises his gauntlet and an illusion comes to life. Alex's eyes widen.

Mikhail Federov stands before him, just as he remembers. He feels like a child who has just seen a shadow in the closet, so frightened that his mind goes blank. From in the stands, Kano chuckles as he watches Alex freeze.

"Carver you son of a bitch," he says it with a grin that has Kabal cocking his head in question.

Danny leaps through the illusion and levels a knee into Alex's ribs. Alex topples to the ground in a heap and Kate pulls her lip between her teeth in worry.

"Not so big and mighty now, are you?" Danny snarls as he kicks Alex in the side.

"Call him off, Kano!" Kate cries and the aussie laughs.

"Nah, I wanna see how this plays out."

Alex rolls and jumps to his feet, clutching at his ribs protectively. How the fuck did Carver know about the Federovs? He shakes his head to clear it, but his ribs throb in a way that tells him at least one is broken.

He's mad now, more angry than he's ever been.

Echo watches from beside Erron, her placid expression hiding the worry that builds in her chest. She recognizes the man from the illusion- Mikhail Federov, Alex's old boss. Leave it to the Brit to play dirty.

"Think the fuse is lit now," Erron nods toward Alex, who looks as if he's going to rip Danny's head off.

"Scared, Demir?" Carver smirks and Alex wants to wipe the expression from his face with his knuckles, "Now every merc in this building knows."

The thought makes Alex hesitate. He's right.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Alex hisses and Danny throws his head back in genuine laughter.

Kate recognizes when the detonation is imminent.

"Fuck him up, Alex!"

Alex sprints toward Danny and the latter's smile fades. He's never seen him move that fast. The first ironlike fist hits Danny in the face and he stumbles backward into the chainlink with a pained groan. The second hit comes to his gut and he doubles over, unable to catch his breath.

"He's gonna kill him," Erron muses and Echo almost feels the corners of her mouth tick up.

The next punch makes Danny drop to his knees and Alex grabs him by the hair, jerking his face upward so their gazes meet. Danny's nose is bloodied and his cheek is already swelling.

Alex is so caught up in his blind rage that he doesn't see the knife Carver pulls from his boot.

A quick swipe on the back of his ankle has him hissing in pain and retreating as blood pools on the concrete beneath him. Danny scrambles to his feet and watches as the crimson puddle grows.

"Not fair!" Kate calls from the stands and Kano laughs.

"What fun is there in a fair fight?" he asks and Kabal rolls his eyes.

Adapt or die. Truly the Black Dragon motto.

Alex tries to put weight on the bleeding ankle, but he's sure his achilles is severed. Danny has learned since their last spat.

The Brit grins and nods at the pool of blood with a tut, "You really should get high top boots, mate."

"When I see you outside this cage," Alex grits as he holds his foot just above the floor, "I'm going to break your fucking neck, Carver."

"I'd like to see you try," Danny makes a beckoning gesture with his hands that makes Alex see red, "Go on then."

Alex lunges, one-legged, and grabs Danny around the middle, leveraging his weight to bring the Brit to the concrete. Danny yelps in surprise and Alex pins him, the sharp point of his knee driving into his gut to keep him in place.

Danny tries to shove him off, but Alex hits him in the face, this time shattering his glasses. Another hit has his mouth filling with blood. Still, he grins, even as the blood drips from the corner of his mouth in a thick crimson rivulet.

"You can't un-ring a bell," Danny mocks, "No matter how hard you hit me."

Kate doesn't catch the words from the crowd, but she sees Alex's face twist above the mask. Danny knows how to hit a nerve.

The next punch breaks his nose, he's sure of it.

Alex takes hold of his face, his massive hand enveloping nearly the entirety of it, and slams Danny's head into the concrete. There's a sickening crunch and Kano finally rises from his seat.

"Alright, call him off. We don't need Carver dead."

Kabal zips into the cage and grabs Alex by the shoulder. Alex shrugs him off with a snarl and moves to repeat the motion, but Kabal finally pulls him away.

"C'mon, Demir, you proved your point," he says it quietly enough that only Alex can hear it over the roar of the crowd.

Kabal glances down at Danny, whose face is so bloodied that he's nearly unrecognizable. Kabal offers him a hand and he rises, wincing at the way the cheers make his head throb.

Alex had won the fight, but Danny had won the war.

The former has already departed, ducking for the locker room before Danny can say something else to piss him off. Kate follows him, hot on his heels, concern painted on her face.

"Alex-" she tries to get his attention, but he levels a fist into a locker and dents it with a grunt.

"Alex, you're safe with us," she says quietly and he drops onto one of the wooden benches, his hand now bloodied. His shoulders shake and she knows he's barely holding back tears.

"I would have killed him" Alex says quietly and she pats his arm, "I should have killed him."

"If anyone deserves it..." Kate trails off and offers him a warm smile. His mouth twitches under his mask.

Back in the cage, Danny spits and runs his tongue over his teeth. All still there and in one piece. His glasses are a lost cause, laying in two pieces at his feet. He'd have Echo order him a new pair, it was about time anyway.

Beside him, Kano is droning on as usual.

"-lucky I had Kabal intervene when I did, or I think he'd have caved your head in," Danny catches the last part of his rant and scoffs.

"I had my boot ready," he gestures to the toe of his boot that holds a concealed knife.

"Hard to stab a man when he's got you pinned."

Danny shrugs.

Kabal glances between the two of them; this fight has surely caused a rift that he's not sure can be repaired. Kano's idea of team building had backfired spectacularly, not that he'd ever admit to that fact.

"Don't be surprised if you find a live grenade in your bed," Kano continues and Danny laughs.

"I'm not scared of that big idiot," Danny waves dismissively and Kabal gives him a pointed look.

"Maybe you should be."

#oc alex #mk alex #mk danny #mortal kombat ocs #he did in fact go on then <3 #suggested listening: Riot by Hollywood Undead #surely this will come up later! #putting them in the get along shirt fr #Danny not telling alex when he spots enemies through his scope #Alex being more reckless with his explosives #holding them by the scruff like two tom cats

[oyesmendes]

what's happening in mexico?

a/n: this has been a work in progress for SO LONG and i'm so glad i finally got to finish it off; not my best work but i hope you enjoy some daniel content!!

masterlist

bodies pressed up against each other. loud music. copious amounts of alcohol. this was exactly how daniel expected his night to go. after double points in mexico, he was standing at the DJ booth with lando and martin, the pair mixing some track that was riling the crowd up. they were dancing and laughing, brushing arms with beautiful blondes and brunettes, taking shot after shot. this was the life of formula one drivers outside the track.

wasting off the adrenaline left after the race, the night was going exceptionally well for daniel. he had that signature smile that could light up an entire universe, women clinging on to his sides the entire night. the sense of accomplishment after a largely failed season - he doesn't remember the last time he's felt this free.

that was, until he heard you.

the sound of your laughter he could recognise anywhere. it was like music to his ears. and as if on cue, the rest of the drivers at the club made a beeline towards the magical sound. he spots you first, dressed in that little black dress. you were here.

-

"Y/N!" pierre shouted, grabbing your attention away from a conversation you were having with a stranger you just met. you grinned at him, enveloping him in a long hug, the stranger long forgotten. yuki and charles had also made their way over, engulfing you in hugs you missed terribly.

it was like instant attraction - a strong magnet luring everything made of metal towards it. charles gave you a side hug, leaning towards you, his lips right by your ear.

"how have you been?" he asked, voice barely being heard over the loud music

"i'm good!" you yelled, moving to the beats blaring through the speaker.

daniel watched the interaction between you and the other drivers from the DJ booth, knowing nothing's changed - you were still surrounded by people who absolutely adored you, who wanted a piece of you all the time.

suddenly, lando's voice boomed in daniel's ear,

"i didn't know she'd be here!"

the brit gave him a sympathetic look. but daniel forced a smile at him, mouthing 'it's okay' before disappearing into the crowd. lando shakes his head at martin, who had briefly turned his attention to them while hyping the crowd up. he looks to see where daniel had gone, but the aussie very much disappeared into the sea of people.

you continued to dance the night away, now surrounded by the drivers. pierre and yuki were close by, until a very drunk stranger waddled his way towards you; and you swore you watched everything happen in slow motion - the stranger tripping on his own two feet, then a lukewarm glass of long island splashed all over your dress.

pierre's reflexes unfortunately failed him in this instance, only pulling you away after your dress was entirely soaked with alcohol. the said stranger had also suddenly sobered up, apologies pouring out from his mouth when he saw that you were surrounded by a group of mildly intimidating men.

daniel watched the entire situation unfold, his grip of the glass tightening unknowingly when he saw pierre's arm wrapped around your waist. you excused yourself from the group momentarily, making your way to the bathroom. he quickly stands, brushing off the girl that was desperately trying to get his attention and followed you through the crowds.

you washed the stubborn stain out after a couple of tries, the front of your dressed practically soaked. but you were too buzzed to even care, swinging the toilet door open to get back to your friends. the muted sounds was suddenly blasting in your ears, and it took you awhile before realising daniel was right in front of you. your eyes scanned the tanned man, focusing on his black vans and ripped jeans.

"danny." you whispered. he steadies you with his arm, pulling you towards him as a bunch of girls squished their way through into the washroom. his eyes meet yours for the first time, and all the anguish he felt over the last couple of months melted away.

"sweet pea." he breathed out. you smiled at the nickname he had given you years ago when you first met. you pulled away from him, wiping off the rest of the liquids on your dress with a piece of tissue.

you leaned towards him, your lips brushing his ear.

"congrats on P7!"

he raised his brows, "you watched?"

"i always watch, danny."

he nods. you never missed a race, not since the both of you started dating during the early years of his career. but he never expected you to continue, especially after how both of you left things.

"you look good in this dress." he complimented. you smile at him, an awkward tension in the air. but it was quickly interrupted by a very drunk pierre.

"Y/N!" he slurred, tumbling towards you, and you caught his arm with ease before he face planted to the floor.

"where have you been?" he whined. you laughed at the french man, "washing this off, remember?" you pointed to the wet stain on your dress that was fading as time passed.

pierre straightened himself, his glassy eyes meeting yours, "did i tell you..." he pushes your hair behind your ear, "that you look absolutely beautiful tonight?"

you chuckle, "first time i'm hearing it from you, actually."

"well," pierre leans forward, his lips brushing your ear, "why don't you let me tell you more?"

your eyes dart to daniel, who's jaw seemed to tighten, watching the both of you interact. you steady the frenchman away from you, smiling politely at him.

"you're drunk, pedro."

"not drunk enough!" he shouts, a childlike pout on his face. you could see daniel turning away, disappointed and tired. it felt like history was repeating itself all over again, in front of his own very eyes. you pushed pierre off you, letting the boy lean against the wall while you grabbed daniel's arm.

"danny," he stops in his tracks, turning towards you.

"can we talk?" you ask him, but daniel walks off towards the exit. you sigh, holding on to pierre and guiding him back to the group of drivers. once he's in the safe hands of yuki, you made your way out, where daniel was standing by a curb on his own.

"don't go again, danny."

he turns as you approached him and he takes a step back, "what are you doing, pea?"

"i'm trying." you state.

"why didn't you try earlier?" you could sense the hurt in his voice, and you sigh, folding your arms in front of you.

you look up at him, both of your eyes still glassy due to the alcohol, "i did, you just couldn't see it."

"don't put this on me, Y/N."

"there's only two of us here."

daniel rolls his eyes, "it didn't seem like it then, and neither does it seem like it now."

he gestures to the group of drivers - waiting for you by a lamppost.

he sighs, "it was never us two, pea. you always had someone else's eyes on you, you always had the attention of another man."

"can you blame me?"

"can i blame you?" he scoffs.

"yeah, can you blame me? name a time you introduced me as your girlfriend. name a race you walked through the paddock gates with me. name an event you brought me without introducing me as your 'longtime friend'."

you watch as his brows furrowed together, "you never committed to me, daniel, and yet i was still unconditionally yours. i still showed up at every race, every event you begged me to go with you."

"but then you left." he counters.

you laughed humourlessly, "oh if you could only see the positives."

-

"should we go over there?" lando asked charles, who had pierre clambered all up on his arm. they could hear bits and pieces of the conversation as the pair started to get heated.

"i think we should let them hash it out." charles said while pushing pierre so he could stand up straight. the frenchman stood up momentarily, looking around him,

"where's Y/N?" he mumbled, stumbling forward. charles grabbed his arm tightly, holding on so the frenchman could not wander far.

-

"i left because i wasn't feeling appreciated, danny. i left because just like any other girl, i wanted commitment. i wanted you to look at me and say 'would you like to be my girlfriend?'. i wanted us, daniel. and hell, i still want us" you knew you were taking a risk in admitting your feelings right here, but you knew it was tonight or forever hold your peace.

daniel went silent for a moment, ruminating in the words you just spoke. then he grabs your hand and flags down the next taxi to pass the both of you. you don't question him, following along as he tugs you into the vehicle.

"the Hilton hotel please." he tells the driver.

-

"uhm, where are they going?!" lando shouted, watching as the taxi drove past the group.

"well, knowing us, either they're going to have hot sex and make up; or they're just going to have hot sex."

-

"i was an idiot." he says after moments passed. you turn to him, and there's an expression on his face you couldn't read.

"i was an idiot. i wanted to focus on racing, i wanted to excel in my career- and you were always there so i- i got comfortable and i took you for granted."

you nod, but the car come to a slow halt, and you both realise that the ride back to his hotel was equivalent to a ten minute walk.

the driver clears his throat to get their attention, "señor - this is the hilton hotel."

daniel pays him, and the both of you climb out of the car. he takes your hand, guiding you through the empty lobby as the conversation still hangs in the air. he leads you to the bar, and you order two glasses of iced water. because you knew if you were going to do this, you were going to do this sober.

the bartender slides the glasses to the both of you, and you inhale at least half the glass. daniel does the same, and as you put down your glass, he grabs your hand.

"i'm sorry, sweet pea. for everything." his chocolate brown eyes meet yours, and your heart softens at the sight.

"i'm sorry i left too. i'm sorry i haven't been there."

daniel kisses the top of your hand, a soft smile gracing his face.

"it would be an honour, if i could- if you would like to have me as your boyfriend." he asks; and you couldn't hide the smile on your face as much as you tried. so you leaned forward, kissing him softly on the lips,

"i would love to."

taglist: @primadonnasdream @dr3lover @chicadelapartamento512-blog @thebagginsofbaggend @d0ntjudgemy50shades @cowspew @justthatgirlxox @ggaslyp1 @fromthedeskofjoii @lorenakaspersen @words-4u @o0itsjustme0o @totowolfff @gulsolsikke @enjoymyloves @rmaddens @care2703 @katcontrreras @tattered-taless @piceous21​ @kyomihann @sgkophie @idkiwantchocolate @bigdiccricc @organasith @anthonykatebridgerton @icecoldtires @vamossainz55 @ophcelia @dudde-44 @ladyf1 @kissatelier @leclerc16s @nmw-am @dan3avocado @ally4and33 @amsofftrackk

let me know if you would like to be added/removed from the taglist!

#daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo #formula 1 one shot #formula 1 fanfiction #formula one fanfiction #formula 1 fic #formula1 #f1 #pierre gasly x reader #charles leclerc #yuki tsunoda

[jankandjonch]

Reasons for Waiting

This was requested by my sister. You can blame her for the pain. *Based off of Dorothea by Taylor Swift.

words: ~1000 content warnings: sad, friends to almost-lovers to strangers

_______________________________________________________

“Hey, honey?”

“Yes, Daniel?,” you huffed. He knew you didn’t like him calling you that in front of anyone. Let alone his whole family, and all of the Kiszka’s too. Not that they could hear, you’re definitely out of earshot and he’s speaking low and slow.

“Are you gonna miss me?,” he sounds hopeful, but still so sad and small.

“Of course I will, Danny. I’m going to miss you every second of every day. That’s not even a question,” your hand found his, tangling your fingers together.

He was the lucky one. He was going to have constant distractions, being on the road and traveling the world, being around his brothers and meeting millions of… girls. You’ll be stuck here, back home in Michigan. Waiting around for him. It’s not like you could ever move on.

“We were so close, weren’t we?,” he’s got tears in his eyes now, to match the ones in yours.

“And so, so far,” you let out an unamused laugh.

“So far from where we wanted to be, but we still had a good run, right?,” he brushed a tear off of his cheek with the back of his hand.

“We did. I guess it wasn’t really a run, though. Since you never pulled the trigger,” you dropped his hand from yours, instead favoring to tickle his side a bit to make him laugh, before wrapping your arm around his back.

“You didn’t either!,” he laughed, tears still streaming out of his eyes. He lets a beat of silence go by, just enjoying the feeling of your fingers as they find the hem of his shirt and skirt underneath it to touch his warm skin. “Long distance would be a really, really tough way to start a relationship, honey. I don’t think either one of us is strong enough for that.”

“I know, baby. I know.”

“I wanted to give it all to you, you know? I pictured us getting an apartment out in Saginaw. Working some dead end jobs, just to make a life together work. I never pictured this. I never thought the band would actually make it,” he’s crying in earnest now, you are too. Chests heaving for breath, clinging tighter onto each other. “I almost want to just..”

“Daniel Robert, don’t you ever say that. Music means so much to you, and I would never allow you to throw it all away for me,” you had a hand on his face, making him look into your eyes. Sharing just how much hurt was hovering between the two of you.

“I know,” he mumbles, dropping his face into your neck and taking a shaky breath. “Look, it doesn’t have to be forever, right? I’ll wait for you if you’ll wait for me. Me and the boys, we can go to Nashville and get the band really going. Make some good money, and I can afford to support us both with it. You can move down there with us,” he knows he’s dreaming, but damn does it feel good to have a sliver of hope somewhere in his heart.

“Yeah,” you smile softly against his forehead, knowing it was a farfetched dream too. “I’ll always wait for you, Dan.”

You knew you meant those words. It’s not that he didn’t mean his too, but you weren’t naive enough to think that him launching a rock n roll career was going to keep him humble and waiting. You knew he would do his best to keep in touch, for as long as possible. It’d be a month, maybe six, maybe a year. But it would fizzle out. He’d make new, interesting, shiny, musician friends. You’d keep him as close as possible for as long as you could, though. Vowing not to waste a moment.

~

It was four months, one week, and 4 days.

He started out FaceTiming you every day, showing you his moving in progress into his and Sam’s apartment. Taking you grocery shopping with him so you could remind him what ingredients he needed to make that stir fry you always made him that he liked so well. Propping his phone up in the studio, just to feel your presence while he and the boys played, something they all seemed to enjoy — waving at you, asking you how you felt about a certain lyric, and of course Joshua asking you to take his side in every argument.

It shortened about a month in, to texts every day, but FaceTimes maybe once a week. Then those turned into empty promises of calls, and eventually around month three it was only sporadic texts. Albeit they were lengthy, filling you in on days or weeks worth of information at a time. Month four was when you knew it was going to end soon. You had seen the video a mutual friend posted on instagram, Danny in the back corner laughing and play fighting with a girl. You weren’t jealous, not even sad. You had known it was going to happen.

Above all else, you were ready for the end. To be able to finally let out the breath you had been holding onto for all these years. The boy that was never yours, who almost was, only when it was too late. One week and 4 days later you got text, assumably a drunken one.

“Just wanted to say thanks for always being there. You made my roots something to be proud of. I’ll carry a piece of you with me forever.”

You found yourself smiling as you cried, mourning the death of the friendship you had with him, but feeling so, so incredibly proud of the man you watched him become.

“If you’re ever tired of being known for who you know, you know you’ll always know me. I love you, Daniel.”

#danny #danny wagner #daniel wagner #daniel r wagner #daniel robert wagner #gvf #greta van fleet #danny wagner angst #danny wagner blurb #gvf angst #gvf blurb #greta van fleet angst #greta van fleet blurb

[thewritingbeforesunrise]

Miracle Aligner.

18+ ONLY. MINORS DNI

____________________________________

A/N: When this picture came out, it actually killed me. This is how I imagined our beloved Danny while writing this story.

The title is taken from the song "Miracle Aligner" by The Last Shadow Puppets. Every time I listen to this song, it makes me think about Daniel.

I really hope you like this.

If you are interested, you can join my taglist here.

Word count: 4K

Pairing: Danny x female!reader

Warnings: NSFW 18+ONLY, graphic sexual content, language, fingering, oral (f!receiving), mirrors.

Summary: As the saying goes, still waters run deep…

____________________________________

You were standing against the barricade at the center of the stage.

The iron was cold and was digging into your chest uncomfortably.

The sea of people behind you was already pushing relentlessly and worthlessly forward, even though the concert was still a couple of hours away.

The situation worsened when the lights went off and the curtain fell.

The crown erupted when they saw the boys on the stage and went completely wild all around you. But still, you managed to keep your place.

You couldn't believe how close the boys were, you could almost touch them.

During the concert, you couldn't take your eyes off Josh, who was prancing around and jumping in front of you with the most astonishing smile you had ever seen.

You even made eye contact with him a couple of times and he made you blush and giggle like a schoolgirl.

When Josh started handing out the roses, you could only focus on him and his bright eyes.

In a heartbeat, he was in front of you and you panicked a little. He held your gaze and delicately handed you a rose, his warm fingertips grazed your much colder ones and you heard his sweet voice.

"And one for you, beautiful" he said and winked.

You blushed wildly and held the flower to your nose, its delicate smell engulfed you with pure happiness.

You lifted your gaze and you felt a cold chill run down your spine.

For the first part of the show you couldn't shake off the feeling of someone watching you, but you had been so enraptured by Josh and his bright presence that you failed to notice a much darker pair of eyes fixed on you.

They belonged to Daniel.

You noticed them and it was like a punch in the throat.

You felt completely breathless.

Your change of expression must have been so sharp that he chuckled at you behind his kit, not missing a single beat, like the master he was.

For the rest of the show, you couldn't take your eyes off him as he kept looking at you.

It seemed like his main goal was to make you die from embarrassment.

He kept licking his lips and flicking out his tongue while beating on his drums like a monster, maintaining an excruciating eye contact with you and sending your way the dirtiest and smuggest smirks you had ever seen.

By the end of the show, you were a panting mess with a ruined pair of panties clinging onto your skin uncomfortably.

You felt like floating when he came closer to the barricade to throw his sticks. You were holding onto the barricade for dear life and when he came closer you swore you saw him wink at you, showing off his toned naked chest and arms as he threw the sticks high in the air.

Then he disappeared backstage.

~

The lights were on now and you were about to reunite with your friends that you had lost at the beginning, when you felt a light tap on your shoulder.

Before you could turn around, your friends came barrelling towards you, grasping your arm and yanking you towards the exit along with them almost making you fall.

When you actually managed to regain your balance and turn around, nobody was there even though you thought you saw the yellow vest of a security guard walking away in the distance.

You mentally cursed your friends but you went along with them anyway.

Your journey didn't last long, since you were dragged by them, yet again, into a bar just on the other side of the road from the venue.

You felt gross from the concert and you were really tired but you didn't want to be the killjoy of the situation, so you didn't complain and went with them.

After a while, you were taking a sip from a much needed bottle of water and the feeling of being watched returned along with the chill down your spine. You blamed the cold water for a while, but even after some time it didn't go away.

As you turned around, you spotted him.

He was sitting at the bar with an untouched beer by his side. He was alone and he was already staring at you. He looked fresh out of the shower, his curly hair was still slightly wet. His expression was serious, almost too much and you felt another chill run through you.

When his eyes met yours he lifted the bottle towards you and, along with a wink, took a sip.

You turned around and panicked a little. Your friends were lost in the music playing obnoxiously loud from the speakers and didn't see you make your way to the bathroom.

Once you entered there, you placed your water bottle on the sink and washed your hands with cold water to clear a little the fog that was engulfing your mind. The bathroom was very clean, much to your surprise, and many full length mirrors covered the walls.

As you peered at your reflection you noticed that your cheeks were flushed and hot and your breathing was fast. You felt dizzy.

You looked like you had just finished a marathon.

You splashed some water on your face and you felt immediately better. The coolness of it was helping you think straight.

That was until the door opened with a sinister creak. At first you thought it was one of your friends but, after a second, your heart stopped beating.

There he was, in all his glory.

He looked even taller in person and oh, so intimidating.

He was standing still near the door and his stare caused another shiver down your spine.

You watched from the mirror as he approached you slowly until his hands grasped the sink on either side of your hips trapping you there. You could feel his warm breath on your neck and goosebumps raised on your skin.

You were staring at your hands on the sink, the mere idea of looking him in the eyes was too much for you right now.

He chuckled then and grazed your shoulders with his nose. His big hand gently grabbed your chin lifting it so you were forced to meet his eyes.

You tried to avert your eyes but he didn't let you.

His stare was so intense that you were feeling dizzy and faint. When he spoke your eyes almost rolled back.

"You seemed to hold my gaze just fine back in the venue, doll" he said, his voice raspy and low into your ear.

"What's wrong now?" He said and you shivered again.

He smiled devilishly and went on.

"Well, at first you didn't even pay attention to me, you were practically hanging from Josh's lips, weren't you?" You could pinpoint a bit of jealousy in his tone.

Again you tried to lower your eyes but he squeezed your jaw lightly as a warning.

"I was a bit jealous at first, I won't deny it. You were looking at him like he hung the stars" his other hand started grazing your arm gently making your breath catch in your throat.

"-but then, you finally looked at me, and... finally you stopped paying attention to him and you were all for me." He said this right into your ear, making goosebumps raise onto your skin. Your legs clenched together, imperceptibly.

"I loved what I saw in your eyes." He said and his lips brushed over your ear on purpose.

"I saw desire" and his hands grasped your hips tightly making your heartbeat quicken.

"Lust" he whispered and pressed his hips firmly against your ass.

You couldn't escape him, well, not that you wanted to.

The strength with which he was pressing you against the sink stung deliciously on the muscles of your thighs making you exhale a breathy sigh that he immediately noticed. You could see it in his eyes, the little spark that your feeble sound elicited from him.

"And a little bit of fear, too" he said this with a big smug smirk on his face, while one of his hands wrapped loosely around your throat.

"Can you feel what you do to me?" He said and pressed forward with his hips again.

"I saw such a fiery fire into your eyes, that I couldn't help it, I had to find you and make you mine." He whispered.

The hand that was wrapped around your throat squeezed lightly and you couldn't stop the little noise that escaped you.

"You are so silent, love, what's wrong mh?" He nuzzled his nose against your jaw, then went on.

"Cat got your tongue?" He said mischievously into your ear as he slowly licked your earlobe.

You whimpered and breathed out a plea. You didn't know what for.

Suddenly his stare in the mirror was serious, he kissed your shoulder gently and whispered

"Are you ok with this? If I'm overstepping your boundaries just tell me ok? I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to. Just please say something" the last bit came out almost whiny, but you could tell he was being honest.

Finally, you managed to answer him.

"Sorry, I...I am just a bit shocked I guess, I can't believe you are actually real. But yes, I am more than ok with this" You whispered.

A grin spread on his lips and he lowered his mouth on the soft skin of your neck from behind. His lips skimmed on your skin and then he bit down harshly making you gasp. His eyes never left yours in the mirror.

"Did you feel that?" He said, lips touching you on the same spot.

"Yes" you breathed out.

"Then, this answers your question. I am very much real, love." He said, his breath hot onto your skin.

He spun you around and pressed you against the mirrored wall. There, there was a little countertop.

He grabbed your hips and eased you on top as if you weighed nothing.

"What's your name, darling?" He asked as his hands stroked the skin of your back under your shirt making you shiver.

At that moment, you lifted your gaze and you noticed that the opposite wall was basically another mirror and you could see him standing tall between your legs. His broad back stood out thanks to the cut out tee-shirt he was wearing. You grasped his shoulders and you told him your name.

God, he was gorgeous.

"Nice to meet you Y/N, I am Daniel" he said and extended his hand to you. You couldn't help but giggle as you squeezed it, your hand felt so small in his much bigger one.

You wanted his hands everywhere.

His gaze darkened when he noticed your eyes on his hand.

"May I kiss you?" He whispered, his lips grazing the skin of your neck agonizingly slow.

"Please" you breathed and his lips were on yours, hot and heavy.

You kissed him back instantly, timidly pushing your hands in his still damp curls. You stroked his scalp lightly and he moaned into the kiss. His hand did the same to you while his tongue grazed your bottom lip.

You let him deepen the kiss and you whined when his hand curled around your throat, again.

You were the first one to break the kiss because your lungs were burning. His forehead rested against yours as he spoke.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you during the show, and you got me so hard it was almost painful. It was so difficult to focus on the music, while all I was imagining was you sitting on my lap and taking my cock so pretty right there in front of everyone" he said breathlessly and you moaned at that.

He pressed strongly against you, making his erection grind onto your center.

You couldn't help, but start rambling and confess your very similar thoughts to him.

"The way you were looking at me, I couldn't stop thinking about it, I kept imagining you bending me over your drums and..." You blushed wildly and stopped talking, squeezing your eyes shut.

But he wanted to hear you say it.

He pressed your head against the mirror with a light thud and lifted your gaze to his.

"I want to hear you say it" you shook your head but he didn't relent.

"Say it or I am walking out of here leaving you here hot and bothered and I swear, I am not coming back" he said with such ardor that you knew he was serious.

"I...I couldn't stop thinking about you bending me..." you stopped to exhale a shaking breath and then went on.

"I kept thinking about you bending me over and eating me out from behind right there" you said and hid your face in the crook of his neck.

Embarrassment winning over you.

"I am here to please you, love" he whispered into your ear.

In a second, you found yourself standing and facing the mirror again, as his hips pushed you forward.

"Can you feel what you do to me? Such an innocent face, but what a filthy mind" he said as he grinded right against your center.

You grasped the edge of the countertop to keep you upright, you didn't trust your knees anymore.

"Still OK with this?" He whispered and you nodded frantically, begging him.

Your panties were clinging onto your skin uncomfortably now and you needed him to do something about it.

You felt one of his big hands unbutton your pants and he had to detach from you to peel them down your legs. He grinded again and again against your center.

The rough material of his jeans-clad erection provided you the friction you needed, reducing you to a writhing mess.

He knelt behind you and your breath caught in your throat.

"Oh hell, look at this" he said, sounding very proud of himself.

You had to lean your forehead against the mirror. The coolness of it was helping you ground yourself but, at the same time, the fact that you could see everything in the reflection behind you was shameful.

The sight was filthy.

The fabric of your light blue panties was ruined, a big wet spot adorning them, the result of his action and your thoughts.

He dragged his nose lightly against your clothed slit and your hips jolted forward.

But you couldn't go anywhere. The stone of the countertop was already digging into your skin.

"I need to taste you, may I?" He said and you didn't even think twice

"Please do it" you moaned and his hand sharply connected with your ass cheek.

You couldn't hold back the much louder moan that left you at that.

You were shocked, because you didn't expect that but even more because you didn't know you liked that.

Nobody had ever treated you that way in bed.

Your eyes met his in the mirror, and the smirk adorning his face was almost too much.

You couldn't hold his gaze but he grabbed a fistful of your hair and made you look at him.

"You like that don't you? Don't be embarrassed, if it feels good, I don't know why you shouldn't have it, baby. Just tell me, are you OK with this? Be honest with me"

You moaned a yes as his thumb circled your still clothed clit.

He spanked you again and your eyes rolled back into your skull.

"Let's see if you are as sweet as you look." He said and hooked his fingers into the waistband of your panties.

He looked at you as if he wanted to ask you if you were ok with that, but you quickly voiced your approval. You needed him too much.

"Yes, you can take them off" you whimpered and he obliged.

The feeling of the fabric unsticking from you made you shiver and bite your bottom lip.

You saw him putting your panties into his back pocket through the mirror and you whimpered.

You felt exposed now.

The mere air hitting your wet center was making you squirm.

And the feeling of his eyes burning on you was making you shake in anticipation.

When you felt the featherlight touch of his knuckles on your slit you jolted forward as much as you could, while being pressed into the countertop.

"So reactive" he chuckled.

Without warning, he spanked you again and you screamed.

You felt the sting fade away slowly as he soothed your skin with soft touches.

The act caused the wetness pooling between your legs to trickle down your thigh and you felt him groan at the sight.

One of his strong hands snaked to your front and wrapped around your throat.

"Now I am going to taste you, doll, and then I am going to make you cum on my fingers, are you ok with this?" He whispered into your ear, keeping eye contact through the mirror.

Your head was resting on his shoulder as you nodded, your eyes already lidded with pleasure.

His fingers squeezed the sides of your neck.

"Give me your words" he drawled into your ear.

"Please" you whined and his grip tightened.

"Please what? Let me hear your pretty voice. Tell me what you need and I am going to give it to you" he growled and your wetness increased.

"Please Danny, make me cum on your fingers" your whisper was almost silent, but he heard you.

You felt the warmth of his hand a fraction of second before it came in contact with you and your eyes rolled back, instantly.

His fingers glided over your slit, spreading your wetness all over you.

You tensed and stifled a loud moan.

His big warm hands spread over your ass cheeks, almost covering them completely and squeezed, making you whimper.

His thumb started stroking your clit with a constant rhythm and you clawed at the countertop.

When he knelt behind you, an undefined sound left your lips.

Thanks to the mirror on the wall opposite to you, you could see his every move without turning around because everything was reflecting on the one in front of you.

When his tongue traced your slit slowly, you leant your head against the cool mirror and let out a relieved breathy whimper.

"So sweet" he whispered, his lips barely leaving your center, and delved in again, this time with strong licks that had your legs shake.

In front of your face, the mirror started to fog from your pants and heavy breathing.

His thumb started stroking your clit again. It felt so good that you raised on your tiptoes and arched your back.

You felt the strong feeling of your orgasm almost shake your whole being when, suddenly, he stopped.

You whined loudly at the loss of contact and he laughed.

"Shh, baby, what's wrong? Did you want to cum?" He smirked, stood and forced you to look him in the eyes through the mirror with a firm grasp on your chin.

You didn't answer him and he spanked you again.

A yelp left your lips and he spoke.

"What did I tell you?" He growled.

"You said you were going to make me cum" you drew a shuddering breath.

"Wrong, baby. I said I would make you cum on my fingers, not my tongue, right?" He whispered, keeping a steady eye contact.

When you nodded, he buried his middle finger into you to the knuckle, without warning.

With a loud curse, our eyes rolled back and your head fell against the mirror with a low thud.

Fuck.

He started moving his long digit agonizingly slowly in and out of you, making you shiver.

With your eyes squeezed shut, you were already panting, fogging the mirror in front of you even more.

Suddenly he curled his finger, catching your g-spot and your legs almost gave out.

You were gripping the counter so hard you were afraid of breaking your nails.

After a while, he added another finger and you moaned his name, breathlessly.

He was standing behind you now, you could see his silhouette reflecting onto the fogged mirror.

You felt his warm breath fanning over the damp skin of your neck and shivered.

His curls were tickling you.

His lips started sucking a mark on your neck and his fingers picked up speed, catching your sweet spot, repeatedly.

You whined loudly and he spanked you again, making your whine turn into a scream.

"Please, Danny" you pleaded with him and he snickered.

His hand grabbed your hair and yanked you towards him, making your back arch even more.

"Please what, love?" He growled.

"Please, make me cum" you whispered, almost completely spent.

He took pity on you and knelt down again.

He bit your ass cheek, making you groan and then his lips encompassed your aching clit, sucking it into his mouth and flicking it with his pointed tongue, quickly and purposefully.

You came on his face, violent sobs shaking your whole being as he kept you upright with a strong hand on your hip, while with his other he kept a fast pace deep inside of you.

When you calmed down a bit, he slid his fingers slowly out of you but kept his mouth on your center, sucking and licking expertedly.

You were still shaking from the first orgasm, but you could feel the white hot pleasure of your second one slowly pooling into your depths.

A yelp escaped your lips when his teeth grazed against your overstimulated clit, but it quickly turned into a moan when you focused on the feeling of his nose nudging your clenching entrance repeatedly.

"Danny!" You gasped and bit your bottom lip to stifle another scream.

His tongue quickly dipped inside of you, while, with the bottom row of his teeth, he grazed your clit.

You came again, your head pressed hard against the mirror and you dug your nails into the skin of your hands.

He chuckled as your whole body shook for the umpteenth time.

His mouth stayed on you until the last wave of pleasure hit.

Then, he placed a delicate peck on your clit and stood.

His hands stayed on your hips and he slowly maneuvered your shivering, spent body to face him.

Your breath caught in your throat when you saw his face again.

His curls were a bit disheveled.. His nose, mouth and chin glistened with traces of your arousal.

His lips were curled into a proud smirk, and when he noticed you couldn't hold his gaze in embarrassment, he chuckled.

He swiftly kissed you, making you taste yourself on his lips and tongue.

Then he broke the kiss and spoke.

"That was exactly what I was thinking about doing to you back in the venue. The thought of tasting you made me so fucking hard it was almost painful to play. You have no idea. Every time I hit the bass drum with my foot, the fabric of my trousers dragged against my cock. I almost made myself cum on stage thinking about tasting your pretty little cunt." He whispered into your ear.

You were still recovering from the wonderful orgasms he had gifted you, but his words almost caused you to moan again.

Instead, you gripped his biceps, your nails scraping his skin gently, but you didn't utter a word, because you still didn't trust your voice.

"You like this, don't you? You like when I whisper dirty little secrets into your ear, right?" He purred into your ear, your skin prickling with goosebumps as his warm breath fanned over your sweaty neck.

You were enraptured by his beauty that was enhanced tenfold by his proximity. If from afar he was mesmerizing, from this close he was almost intimidating.

His deep brown eyes were full of emotion and need as he helped you get dressed again.

Once you were fully dressed minus the panties he kept hidden in his back pocket with a smirk, you mustered up the courage to speak.

You raised on your tiptoes to be able to whisper into his ear.

"What if I got down on my knees for you now, Sir?"

_____________________________________

Taglist: @why-ami-on-here @sammyslappers @spark-my-nature @highladyofasgard

#greta van fleet #greta van smut #greta van fic #gvf fic #fanfic #danny wagner #danny gvf #danny wagner x reader #danny wagner smut

[krikeymate]

Just tryna sleep but my brain has me thinking about Sam not coming home one night. It’s not intentional, she’s staying over at Danny’s and they fall asleep watching a late night movie together.

Usually she sends a text, letting Tara know she’s on her way back or going to be late or just a general update on her whereabouts. Danny falls asleep first, Sam wasn’t planning on it at all but its after a double shift and she’s just so damn exhausted that she doesn’t get the chance to text before she’s asleep. They sleep through the night, Sam waking up in a blur confused about where she is before looking at her phone and seeing all the messages and phone calls.

Meanwhile Tara is full on losing her mind. It’s okay at first, she’s sure Sam is fine and will message any second. But with each passing hour her worry only intensifies. She phones the twins, local hospitals, Kirby, hell she even phones Gale. Full fledged panicking about if she was okay, if something had happened. They all tell her that Sam will be okay, to keep them updated.

But as she’s pacing their living room the thought hits her that maybe Sam has just left. The thought is enough to floor Tara, dropping down onto the couch as her hands shake and she tries Sam’s phone one more time. She had done it again. She was too much again. Pushing too hard, not making enough progress in therapy, having outbursts, endless nightmares. She has made Sam leave, again.

It breaks her. She cries and cries and cries until Sam comes home the next morning and finds her. And Tara clings to her like her life depends on it, apologising again and again and again in pure desperation for Sam to understand, for her to love her, for her to stay.

It's ok when I make sad things, they make me feel good. When others make sad things it just makes me sad ☹️

Sam is gonna HATE herself for doing this to Tara. All that time she spent demanding she know where Tara is all the time, that she always pick up, to respond to her. Then she turns around and does this? She gets complacent, she got too comfortable, she let her guard down. And it hurt her sister.

She hurt her sister again. Tara's a mess. The incident triggered her sister in a way Sam didn't expect, wasn't prepared for. She's never seen Tara like this before.

It's like her little sister is, well, little again. Small and clinging to her side and begging Sam not to leave her. She has to call off work. It takes days for Tara to calm down, to be more like the girl she's come to know than the child she used to be. When she does, Tara becomes quiet, embarrassed by her breakdown. She tries to hide away in her room. Sam won't let her. The incident has shown her just how much her sister needs her. And to think she was worried Tara didn't need her, didn't want her.

She'll never let this happen again. She changes Tara's ringtone, she sets alarms. She'll never sleep through Tara's messages again.

#/mp #ask box #Scream #Sam Carpenter #Tara Carpenter #topic: trauma #-after 6

[scarletsaphire]

Hey folks! This is my fic for the @valentines-core-exchange, going to @ghostypeppers! I did Johnny/Kitty, before they died. I hope you like it!

Johnny wasn’t one for reflection, or introspection, or really any of the -tions. At least none that he could think of, which was admittedly just those two. It just wasn’t in his nature to think back on things, or think things through, or think about what he really wanted, or think at all. It took too long, and he was never good at it anyway.

He always tried for Kitty, though.

He didn’t do it well, and he certainly didn’t do it as often as he should have, but he tried. It was why he stayed in their hometown so long, couch surfing with whatever pitiful mother would let him stay for a few nights before kicking him back on the street like his own pops had done. Johnny wasn’t about to leave her, and he wasn’t going to make her drop out just to stay with him. She deserved a chance at a good life, even if he’d given up on his.

It didn’t stop either of them from burning rubber the moment she had her diploma in hand, tearing across the country with nothing but the few bags they could fit on his bike and her arms wrapped around his torso. It had been their dream, ever since they started dating, to leave that shit hole of a city behind them, to never look back, even for a moment.

Johnny thought that would’ve been easy. There was nothing fond to look back on, not for her and certainly not for him. As far as he was concerned, the only good thing to ever come out of that place sat in his lap, with the scent of just-bleached hair clinging to her skin.

On nights like this one, it was harder said than done.

It was raining. It had been for the better part of their day, and both they and their stuff were soaked completely through. Maybe if they had a place to stay for the night, it wouldn’t have mattered as much. Sure, they didn’t need an excuse to sleep naked with each other, and they’d certainly done more than just “sleep” in the past, but having one didn’t hurt any.

But they didn’t have a place to stay. Every motel, hotel, and hostel had been either booked full or charged more money than either of them had seen in weeks, so instead they were stuck outside. Johnny’d tied the tarp he covered their bike with up against a lamp post and a stop sign off in the corner of the parking lot, giving them the illusion of cover if nothing else. There was hardly enough space for the two of them, even with Kitty in his lap, and the ground was wet and cold and hard beneath him. To say the experience was miserable would be an understatement.

Even he couldn't resist looking back on life when things went like this.

He didn't regret leaving. Johnny couldn't imagine ever regretting that. It was the closest thing to a life goal he'd ever had, and he'd take a thousand nights on the pavement over another week in the house he'd been raised in, because at least in the morning he knew he'd be able to get off the pavement. What he regretted was dragging Kitty down with him.

He wouldn't take credit for how things turned out for her. Mostly because she'd slap him if he tried. She always said that she worked hard to fail this spectacularly, but he wasn't an idiot, no matter what everyone already told him. He knew that if he hadn't shown up in her life, she might be at home safe, or at least making dumb decisions at three in the morning with a home to go back to.

He first met her under the bleachers during 3rd period. He intended on taking a smoke break, probably until lunch, when he could slip back into the building to grab whatever slop they were serving up. He'd figure out if he'd stick around for the rest of the day after that. He hadn't expected for someone to already be hiding out down there.

At the time, Kitty's hair was long and blonde, pulled back into a high ponytail. She had nice clothes, and neat makeup, and beautiful brown eyes that hardened into a glare the moment he walked into sight. He remembered just standing there, the cigarette he'd already gotten out nearly falling out of his hands. She was gorgeous. Breathtaking. The hottest chick he'd ever seen. Or at least, the hottest one he'd seen today.

Her attractiveness was only magnified by the venom that seemed to drip out of her voice. "Oh, you are turning your ass right around, do not even think about trying me."

It took Johnny a minute for his ears to catch up with his brain, and then another minute where his mouth did nothing but flop open and closed like a fish. When he finally figured out how to work his mouth again, it twisted into a smirk. "Well, I'd much prefer it if you turned your ass around, but if you insist I put on the show..."

She sputtered. "What did you just say to me?"

"I'm saying that if you want a look at my ass that bad, you only need to ask, kitty."

"Oh, so you're going to pull that card huh?" She took a step towards him. "Well, if you want to play like that, you should know that this kitty," she spat the pet name out, "has claws. And I'm not afraid to use them."

Johnny let out a low whistle, and held up his hands. "I can recognize a no when I see one. I'll find somewhere else to smoke."

He turned around, lifting his leg to climb out of the bleachers, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Wait," she said, and Johnny turned back around with one eyebrow raised. "Do you have another?"

"Maybe," Johnny said slowly, lowering his leg back to the ground. "If you pay the right price."

She removed her hand from his shoulder and held it out to him expectantly. "What I'm willing to do is let you stay here instead of having to wander across the football field in plain sight of the teacher's lounge."

Johnny weighed his options. He was normally after actual money when he sold cigarettes to students. "You know what?" he said finally. "You got yourself a deal, doll." He passed the cigarette he was still holding into her waiting fingers, before pulling out another for himself.

"I do have a name you know," she said, lowering herself to the ground. Johnny followed suit.

"Not one I know of," he said. "So until then, I get to call you whatever I want, sugar."

She opened her mouth to answer with what he assumed would be her name, before closing it slowly. "You know what? Call me Kitty all you like. It ain't like you're going to need to know my name anyway." She held her cigarette out for a light, and Johnny obliged before lighting his own.

"And here I was hoping I'd be able to see you again. Maybe tonight? The place on 8th street?"

Kitty snorted. "In your dreams. You're lucky you're getting to see me now."

She brought the cigarette to her lips, and Johnny watched how her lips pursed around it as she inhaled, parting a moment later to let the smoke billow so gently from her mouth. "Damn right I am," he said, lifting his own cigarette. Before it reached his face, his arm was knocked off track. "Hey!" Johnny exclaimed. “You punched me!”

"Yeah, and I'll do it again if you aren't careful."

Johnny swallowed hard. "Understood." This time, he was able to smoke unimpeded. Neither of them said another word, not until the faint echo of the bell marking the end of the period came from the school, and Kitty stood up.

"You heading out already?" Johnny asked without moving from the ground. "And after everything you did to make sure that this spot stayed yours."

"Yeah, well I'm done with it. If you want my sloppy seconds that bad, you can have them." Kitty didn't bother looking behind her, just waved him off as she climbed through the bleachers.

"See you around, Kitty," Johnny called just as she was about to disappear from view.

"In your dreams, dickhead," she called back, and then she was gone.

The cigarette Johnny held now was not the brand he liked, and it left a foul layer of something coating his tongue and teeth. But unlike the rest of their things, it was dry and warm and best of all, they'd gotten it for free, a pity gift from the clerk at the last hostel they tried.

"You two look like you need it more than I do," he'd said. He'd been right.

It took a few tries to get his lighter to work. He lit Kitty's first, just like he always did, and then lit his right after. The soft, orange glow that lit up their faces was a nice reprieve from the torrential rain.

"You're thinking," Kitty said.

"That doesn't sound like me," Johnny replied.

"Yeah, that's why I know you're doing it. I can hear the rust in your brain."

Johnny laughed. "Damn. Shows what I get for forgetting I had one."

"Yep," Kitty said. "So, are you gonna tell me what you're thinking 'bout, or will I need to pull it out of you?"

"Well, that entirely depends on how you're doing this pulling." Johnny couldn't see her face, not with how she was positioned in his lap. He didn't need to; he could envision the way she raised her eyebrow, the quirk of her lips in a smirk, the slight roll of her eyes. He could see her hair clinging to the side of her face, the green streaks of hair dye the rain had washed out covering her cheeks and forehead. 

She grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked in one smooth, practiced motion. "Like that."

"Fine, fine!" Johnny called out. She let go, and he moved his hand off of her hip to rub at his scalp. "You know, I'm normally a fan of hair pulling."

"I think you're a fan of the things that happen alongside hair pulling," Kitty corrected. "Now, spill."

He held his free hand up in the air in surrender, before letting it settle back into her lap. "Fine, fine." He took a deep drag of his cigarette, coating his mouth in the flavor and smoke. He held it in a beat longer than he normally would, before letting the smoke curl past his lips. "Do you... ever miss the life you were supposed to have?"

Kitty snorted. "What, churning out babies for some bastard like my sister’s doing? Not a chance."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Like always," Kitty added immediately. For a few moments, there was only the sound of their breathing and the pounding of rain against the tarp above them. "You're still worried about something."

"Who, me?" Johnny asked.

"Yes, you. Fess up."

He took a deep breath, this one not carrying any nicotine with it, before answering. "I wish things weren't like... well," He gestured with his cigarette at the parking lot they were in. "...this."

He felt rather than saw Kitty nod her head. "You know, my parents always warned me about guys like you," she said. "Always said that someone like you would come into my life, seduce me, and then leave me high and dry on the side of the road with nothing to my name, and when that happened, they wouldn't let me come crawling back to them. They were right. You're a mess. You have no money, no prospects, no job, and even if we were in any town long enough for you to get one, we both know you wouldn't be able to hold it down longer than a week."

Johnny waited as she puffed her own cigarette. She wasn't finished. At least, he hoped she wasn't finished. "It'd be easier to count the number of waitresses you haven't flirted with while we traveled than the ones you have," she continued. "We fight all the time about anything and everything. And then I leave. But you know what?"

She ground the cigarette butt into the ground next to her, casting it to the side without a thought. "You've never once been the one to leave me. Even when I yell that we're done and run off into whatever city we've found ourselves in, you always hang around until I've come back around, even though staying in one town too long makes your teeth itch. And every time we're anywhere new, you insist on bringing me to a pet shop to 'meet the natives,' and last week when we arrived in Scottsboro you had me pick up Chinese for us because that calico decided you were the perfect nap spot for like, three hours. I have to admit, she has good taste. "

Kitty spun around in his lap so that she was facing him now, wrapping her legs around his waist. "My parents were right. Running away with you means we're never going to be anything important. If I had stayed at home, maybe I'd be married to a doctor or a lawyer or an accountant or any kind of respectable job, and maybe I wouldn't be freezing my ass off out here. Maybe you did ruin the life I was supposed to live. I would've hated it anyway. At least this way, I get the chance to actually live , not just slog through the life someone else picked for me."

She leaned closer to him, lifting her face so he could smell the smoke on her breath. She looked exactly as he knew she would. "We're never going to amount to anything, but if we were to die tomorrow, the only thing I’d regret is not running away with you sooner."

Johnny smiled, extinguishing his own cigarette without breaking Kitty's gaze. "Careful, kitten. It almost sounds like you love me."

"Well, maybe I do," she said. "You just need to shut your brain back off and realize it."

"That is something I can do," he replied, just barely above a whisper, before leaning in and capturing her lips against his own.

She was right. They were never going to amount to much of anything. They were never going to be good people. They were never going to have a normal life.

That was fine by them. Normal never suited them anyway.

#danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #Valentine's Core Exchange 2024 #johnny 13 #dp kitty #pre canon

[miamordanipedrosa]

DANORGE

this is from the ship ask game but I decided to make this it's own post bc danorge is special okay? okay.

first of all, an ideal daniel ship for me is always him being a perfect babygirl and being treated accordingly. just like I would. he's my country wife, my baby boy, my hot piece of ass and he needs to know is. now, george is the perfect man for this.

the dynamic

I'm gonna be honest, this ship sort of snuck up on me, I didn't expect it to take off quite as much? like, I know Daniel likes the young guys, bc he likes fucking around and fucking with them bc they think he's fun and look up to him you know? he likes the peer pressure. and george didn't seem the kind of guy to be that subjectible to this bc he's always been very focused, correct, driven, etc. although as I got to know him a bit better I realised he does like some shenanigans (eurotruck with charles you will always be famous.).

anyway, I think one of the reasons why their friendship grew so well is that george is so incredibly earnest in his admiration of the people around him, and fiercely loyal. I think george would never be that guy who has to act cool around his friends. he's the type of guy to hype his friends up to others, and that's what he does with Daniel. like that post that goes sth like hyping my boyfriend up before he enters a room like you better clap for my specialest little boy. that's literally george with daniel. that's his babygirl, his country wife.

now, I think that perhaps daniel liked the way george engaged with his banter from early on, like when he asked for his merch, I mean that was still fanboy ish behaviour, but more recently, when Dan struggled, he was so so loyal and always defending Daniel to the press, I think he really did become a close friend. emotional support brit. like I said, george is really really loyal, you can see that in his other relationships with drivers (alex and lewis mainly) and it seems like he's really a safe person for daniel. I mean look how danny clings to him. adorable. (sth sth the child in me is safe with you etc). I just love seeing how genuinely at ease dan seems in every interaction with george..

important moments

I already put in some links up there but doing a collection of some more here.

all the media pen interactions are gold: x / x / x / x / x / x / x

hyping his boy up: x / x / x / x / x / (also remember the time he said to Lando 'if you're curious about winning just ask Danny' bc I still think he deserves a good * for that. lova ya georgie)

btw here's a good danorge post of some moments as well

the helmet swap....tears man, tears....

just general cuteness and shenanigans: x / x (recent addition) / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x

rpf pairing

okay soo actually AGES ago, me and jay @dnfstrategist used to talk about this danorge au that was like, george being a business/law student with daniel as his silly, artsy/sporty boyfriend (I don't quite remember, we definitely need to revisit that) and I am still gagging for an AU like that. like them as a couple? so so loyal to eachother, enjoying all the shenanigans, george the strong dependable one wanting to praise and spoil his bf always, daniel so fond and happy and at ease with george...bragging about his smart successful husband...they are marriage for life material fr

they have SO much potential it makes me sad that there is so little danorge writers out there.... there's mainly a few little smutty fics (which is great ofc!) and then one longfic which....oh boy I tell you, def a big big rec for this but be careful it absolutely destroyed me but such amazing writing fr fr.

and I think that's all for now! if I think of more stuff I'll add it later but I think this is it...if u made it all the way here thank u for ur attention! and anon I hope this makes up for the wait <3

#danorge #rpf mention #ship ask game

[toast-tales]

hey, if you’re in a writing mood it’d be cool to see a slice of life thing with Danny and Christopher

i really enjoyed itwom btw -v- (am eepy so don’t have words to say how cool)

Hey there anon! I'm so glad you enjoyed my silly lil story <3

And wouldn't you know it, I've been looking for an excuse to share one of the few little snippets I wrote for fun a while back. I'm not sure it's exactly what you were expecting for "slice of life," but I wanted to toy with the idea of Danny and Christopher being the same size and stuck in the human world together.

(And if it's not what you were wanting, well, my askbox is always open! :3)

The Supermarket

“Do you actually need all of that stuff?” Danny scoffed, watching every new addition to the basket with a judgmental gaze. 

“I do have a routine to keep up with,” Christopher said with a smirk—though it didn’t have the same amount of overwhelming confidence as usual. Danny could tell that everything weighed on him more than he let on, and while she wasn’t exactly at ease herself, the giant was clearly much more out of his element. 

Well, if he needs whatever the hell THAT is to feel a little more comfortable, she thought, eyeing a bottle of something she assumed might have been some sort of hair product, I guess I can let it go.

While he was perusing a shelf of soaps, her eyes wandered along the rows of products. The relationship she had with her memory at the moment was rocky. It didn’t come back to her immediately, as she’d hoped. Sometimes when she read a label, the name would sound familiar, but just on the edge of her own understanding. They had some things in the human city, of course—like shampoo and toothpaste. But certainly nothing of the variety here in the supermarket. She tried to get a closer look at things, reading the labels and trying to make sense of the fuzziness in her head that came when she tried to remember each item’s purpose and relation to her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her skin, before realizing that Christopher had materialized behind her. Even at this size, or perhaps, especially at this size, his footsteps were soft and silent. 

“Do you need any help, doll?” he asked, leaning down slightly so that his voice fluttered next to her ear. He stood close to her, almost pulling her in towards him in a half-hug with the arm he had draped across her shoulders.

“N-no,” she stuttered. She wouldn’t ever say it aloud, but she didn’t mind Christopher touching her like this, not in the way she would mind with almost anyone else. His physical proximity to her when she was tiny was a near-constant, always being held or picked up or sitting near him or being in his stomach. In an unfamiliar world, where they were both out of their comfort zones and faced with no small amount of uncertainty, having Christopher in such close physical proximity was one of the few things she could cling to that were familiar and safe. Even if she wasn’t quite used to someone of her own size touching her like this—not in a way she was comfortable with, as most touch made her skin crawl—the presence she had grown so acquainted with helped to pull her back to reality and out of her own head. 

She ever so slightly leaned into the giant’s arm. Not enough to make it seem obvious, or she’d never hear the end of it. “I uh…I need this…” she glanced down at the bottle in her hands, whose contents and purpose were still foreign to her. “…mi-micellar cleansing water.” 

Christopher glanced at it for a moment. He began to rub small circles on Danny’s shoulder with his thumb. “You’re not sure what that is, are you?” 

The slow, methodical touch almost distracted her from the frustrating haze of her memories, or lack thereof. She didn’t see a point in keeping up the lie. “No,” she scowled, putting the bottle back on the shelf where she’d found it. “I don’t know what half this shit is for.”

“It’s alright, Danny.” Christopher didn’t move away from her yet. He squeezed her shoulder, communicating more than he could have with words. “I’ll make sure we get what we need, okay?” 

Danny could feel her chest rise and fall a little heavier as the frustration began to bubble under the surface, but she swallowed it back. “Yeah, okay.” 

As if it was as natural and casual as anything, she felt Christopher leave a soft, quick kiss atop her head before he pulled away from her. It left her standing there in shock, glad she was facing away from him so that he couldn’t see the way her cheeks blazed. She was so lost in the fog of her brain that she couldn’t even find it in her to protest. Because she didn’t mind it.

It reminded her of home. 

#itwom #itwom snippets #oc christopher #oc danny #toast asks