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deanstead · 3 years

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Somebody’s Watching

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Request by danipearl16: Request- Jay has a girlfriend that nobody knows about and then they get a case where she’s being stalked and her stalker is killings women that seem to remind him of her and it turns out to be her ex-boyfriend from high school and Jay starts going downhill a little bit because he’s worried about her. Also his girlfriend is more on the younger than his side by 7 years

Word Count: 4,365

Warnings: cursing, mention of sexual assault/misconduct (non-graphic), mention of non-con touching, stalking, minor OC death, mention of injury, angst, fluff

A/N: Please beware of the triggers before you continue reading! I changed some parts to fit into the storyline but I still hope you like what I did with it! I’m pretty excited about this fic so I really really hope yall will like it! It’s my first time writing such a detailed case in so I hope it turned out well? Please hit me up and let me know what you think! Love yall!

---

You looked up from where you were sprawled on the couch, fiddling with your phone. Jay was sitting at the table, a small frown across his face as he pored over case notes.

Jay usually didn’t bring his work home with him but they’d just closed a big case and he had spent a whole week in the district. So instead of spending more time there to finish the paperwork, Jay had opted to bring it home instead.

You smiled to yourself just as Jay looked up. “Sorry babe.” He said, making a little face at the papers strewn across the table.

Chuckling, you climbed off the couch and moved towards him. You stood behind him, looping your arms around his shoulders, resting your chin on his shoulder. “I missed you.” You whispered.

Jay turned slightly, tugging you so that you now landed in his lap.

“Missed you too.” He whispered, smiling as one of his arms snaked around your waist, holding you securely to him, another hand reaching up to cup your cheek. “Sorry I’ve been busy.”

You shook your head, smiling.

You’d been dating for a while but no one else knew. Both of you had agreed to keep it on the down low, partly because of your age difference. Even though you had agreed you’d keep it quiet at least for the first few months, it had been a lot more than that and it had been going so well that you didn’t really want to purposefully invite anyone into this world that Jay and you had created for yourselves. Rather than keeping it a secret, you guys just hadn’t made the effort to tell anyone or publicize it to the world. This also meant that when he was stuck at the district, you didn’t get to see him but on such days, Jay was always mindful about checking in.

“What’s on your mind?” Jay asked.

“Just thinking I’m lucky to have you.” You responded, leaning in to try to give him a hug. Instead, Jay stroked your cheek and pressed his lips to yours. “Now, I really need to finish this.”

You laughed. “Go forth.”

---

Jay had taken a few well-deserved days of furlough, which he had mostly spent curled up with you. You didn’t have any complaints, it had been just what you both needed.

But Intelligence couldn’t catch a break. It was Jay’s first day back and now, he was already walking up to a crime scene.

Jay pushed the yellow crime scene tape upwards, letting Hailey walk through ahead of him before following behind her.

“What do we have?” Jay asked, approaching the spot where Adam and Kim were standing.

Kim turned. “Kate Whitewood, 22, stabbed multiple times.”

“She’s not in the system. No priors, nothing.” Adam added.

“No belongings on her?” Voight asked, looking around.

Adam shook his head. Jay frowned. “There’s barely any blood here.”

Kevin nodded, jogging forward to join them. “This is probably just the dump site. She must have been killed elsewhere.”

Hailey stood from where she had bent to examine the body. “She has defensive wounds on her. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find skin under her fingernails.”

Jay bent forward slightly. “What are those? Marks around her neck? We need to get her to the ME to get the exact cause of death.”

“Kim, bag her hands and get forensics to run a deluxe.” Voight said, as Kim nodded.

“My CI works this street, let me see what I can find out.” Jay said, turning away.

---

“So Kate was last seen at this bar right in town.” Hailey said, walking in and sticking a screenshot onto the board, which showed a camera view of the street outside the bar.

Kate could be seen on the image, her head turned slightly as she waved to someone, a man standing by her side. Hailey tapped the image.

“We can’t find this guy. His face is always turned away from the camera, facial recognition is out.”

Voight nodded. “Jay, have you heard from your CI?”

Jay nodded, resting slightly against Hailey’s desk, his arms crossed in front of him. “My guy says there haven’t been any deals going down. I think we can rule out drugs or gangs. Streets have been quiet ever since that big bust we did last month.”

“It was 28 degrees out last night, ME couldn’t find the exact time of death. But there were signs she was raped, signs of asphyxiation and five penetration wounds from a knife.” Kevin said, opening the file he had gotten from the medical examiner earlier.

Voight turned to Kim. “Who was she?”

Kim sighed. “Kate was a hard worker, she had just started her job as a receptionist at a dentist’s office in South Loop. Dad’s MIA, Mum’s remarried and relocated to New York so she’s living on her own.”

“Have we found who she was with last night?”

Adam nodded. “I’ve gone through her phone. Looks like she was meeting her friend Grace at the club last night.”

“We need to talk to her. I want to know about the last day of Kate’s life. Timeline. Check all sex offenders in the area. Comb her social media. Let’s go.” Voight instructed.

---

Jay knocked on the main door, glancing sideways at Hailey. The door swung open.

“Grace Archer? I’m Detective Upton, this is Detective Halstead, can we come in?” Hailey asked.

She furrowed her brows. “What’s this about?”

“You’re friends with Kate Whitewood?” Hailey asked, without directly answering her question. She nodded and without missing a beat, Hailey continued, “We need to ask you a few questions about last night.”

Grace stepped back to let them in, her face falling as she led them to the sitting room.

“I heard from her parents. The whole thing’s horrible.” Grace whispered, wrapping her hands around herself.

“Can you tell us what you remember?” Jay asked.

Grace looked up. “Kate’s boyfriend had broken up with her a few months ago, so I took her out. She needed to get out again.”

“Were you approached by anyone?” Hailey asked.

“Several.” She answered.

“Anyone that stood out?”

Grace paused, trying to recall. “Kate didn’t even really want to go. She barely looked at the guys… except…”

Hailey sat up a little. “There must have been something about this guy that she left with, something unique. We have a photo of him on the surveillance tape. Flashy?”

Grace nodded, “Yeah, he had this like... attitude… like he was hitting on us but he was making a joke of it at the same time.” She paused. “The last thing she told me was that she had a great time… I shouldn’t have forced her to come out.”

“This isn’t your fault.” Hailey leaned over and patted Grace comfortingly on the arm. “Thanks for talking to us. Please call us if you think of anything else.”

As Jay walked out of Grace’s house with Hailey, he looked at his partner. “This guy’s confident, he’s smooth and it doesn’t look like he knew Kate or Grace.”

---

For the rest of the day, the team had almost combed through the whole of Kate’s whereabouts before she had disappeared and all they had was a big fat nothing.

Jay typed a quick text to you to let you know that he wasn’t going to be able to come over tonight.

You read the text, smiling a little. Jay was busy but it was cute that he always kept you informed. You stopped walking, typing back a reply to tell him it was okay and to do what he had to do, before you kept her phone back into your pocket.

You walked along the street, the same street you walked on every night, frowning a little. You turned around, scanning the street behind you.

You could swear that it was like someone was watching you, or following you. But the street was empty. This wasn’t the first time you had had this feeling - like the little hairs on the back of your neck were standing but you had nothing to back up this feeling you had.

Holding your bag tighter against you, you pushed yourself forward, quickening your footsteps, only letting up as you passed the safety of your apartment building’s front door.

As you passed the threshold of your apartment and closed the door behind you, you pulled out your phone, staring at it for a while. Part of you wanted to call Jay, to hear his voice and have him tell you that you were just tired, imagining things. But the rational part of your brain convinced yourself that everything was okay, reminding you that Jay was so busy and deep in a case, he really shouldn’t have to worry about you.

Ultimately, you put your phone on the counter, chuckling at yourself. Maybe you really were too tired.

---

By the next morning, another body had turned up, not two streets away from the first dump site.

Jay felt an uneasy feeling spread in the pit of his stomach as he stared at the photo of the new victim that was already up on the board. They had a serial killer in Chicago and this guy’s victim type had physical characteristics that were scarily similar to you.

“Jay.” Hailey broke Jay out of his thoughts. “Emma Green, 23, strangulation marks, six stab wounds.”

Jay turned to his partner and nodded. “Did they go to the same club?”

Hailey handed Jay a file. “No, but look at what we picked up on the surveillance camera.” Jay opened the file, studying the photo.

“This is our guy isn’t it?” He pointed at a male figure who was standing next to their second victim, his face still hidden from the camera, wearing a plain cap.

“Hey guys, I might have found a link.” Kim said, walking in. “I checked the employee records and there’s a bartender that works in both clubs and he was on shift on each day our victims went missing. He’s got a prior for aggravated assault and harassment.”

“We’ll take it.” Jay said, grabbing his jacket and heading out of the district.

Hailey fell into step next to him, glancing at him. “Jay, you okay?”

Jay nodded. “Let’s just get this son of a bitch.”

They travelled the rest of the way in silence. Hailey seemed to pick up that this case was affecting Jay differently but she didn’t press further, allowing Jay to lead the way into the closed club.

“Ben Carlton?”

The bartender looked up from where he was, his eyes falling onto the police badge that was hung around Jay’s neck.

In a sudden motion, he ducked out and ran.

“Hey, stop!” Jay yelled, as both he and Hailey launched themselves after him, Hailey shooting out the front door to try to head him off.

“5021 George, I have a suspect fleeing on foot.” Jay called into his radio, sprinting after the bartender.

The bartender barely made it onto the next street before Hailey flung herself at him around the corner, rolling onto the ground as Jay pulled out his gun. “Don’t move!” He yelled, as Hailey pulled the bartender to his feet.

“Let’s go.” Jay snarled.

---

“It wasn’t me!” Ben yelled as he sat in the interrogation room, facing Jay and Hailey.

Jay sighed internally, watching Ben’s reactions and the way he was answering the questions Hailey was shooting at him.

“Those were mistakes, I didn’t do this!” He yelled again.

Jay pushed himself upright, getting up from where he was leaning against the wall and pushing the photos of the victims onto the table. “This. Look at this. We can place these girls at the bars you worked at just before they died.”

“Look.” Ben said, looking up at Jay. “I saw them but they left before I even finished my shift.”

Jay glanced at Hailey. “Who did they leave with?” Hailey asked.

Ben looked from Hailey to Jay. “Look, I don’t know the guy, he’s not a regular. But he’s white, about their age. I noticed him because he headed for them the moment that he walked in. Like he knew they were there.”

Before Jay or Hailey moved, a knock came from the door.

“You guys gotta see this.” Adam said, sticking his head in.

“Sit tight.” Jay said to Ben, following Adam outside, where Kevin was waiting as well.

Kevin handed the file to Jay. “We got another one.” Jay flipped open the file, which told him what he already feared. Another victim, of a physical type that not only matched the first two victims but also you.

Jay looked up. “His cooling off period is getting shorter. We need to get this son of a bitch.”

---

The feeling was getting a little stronger that someone had been watching you.

You glanced over your shoulder but as usual the street was empty. Maybe you needed to stop staying late.

You turned back towards the front. There were sounds of footsteps but you swallowed the lump in your throat, quickening your pace as discreetly as you could.

It definitely felt like someone was following you now. You were almost running by the time you rounded the corner, colliding with someone.

You gave a yelp of surprise.

“Y/N!”

You had collided with Jay.

You let out a breath, spinning around to look over your shoulder.

“What’s going on? You okay?” Jay’s eyes snapped from you to the empty street behind you.

You turned back to look at Jay. Now that he was standing in front of you, it didn’t seem that scary anymore - maybe you had imagined the whole thing.

You shook your head, taking one last glance behind you. “What are you doing here? You finished the case?”

Jay smiled but the smile didn’t really reach his eyes. “Just wanted to check in on you. I have to go back soon.”

You reached for his hand without saying anything and that’s how the both of you walked back to your apartment, your hand clenched securely in his, almost like the both of you had a tight bubble around you.

You could tell Jay’s mind was far away, and it was even more unlike him to come see you in the middle of a case. You knew there was something troubling him but you weren’t one to press. Jay would tell you when he felt he could or he wanted to.

Instead, you just squeezed his hand.

Almost as if you were prying him from his thoughts, Jay looked at you and smiled. He pulled you closer to him, tucking you under his arm.

“You’re okay, right?” You asked, without looking up at him, just as he escorted you to your door.

Jay turned to look at you and nodded. “I will be, once this case is over.” He leaned forward to give you a kiss. “If anything happens, you call me, okay? No matter what.”

You raised an eyebrow but nodded at him, watching him disappear into the elevator before you retreated back into your apartment.

---

Intelligence had been tirelessly chasing down leads but they now had four bodies and Voight was getting pressure to solve this quickly as well. They needed a break in this case and fast.

“Okay, let’s regroup, what do we have so far?” Voight barked.

“All four victims were raped and found with multiple stab wounds. We know he picks up his victims from bars and appears non-threatening enough that his victims are willing to leave with him.” Jay said, getting up.

Hailey headed to the board, frowning. “We dumped their phones but we weren’t able to find any connection between the victims other than their physical type.” Hailey cast a look at Jay, which Voight didn’t miss. “I think he’s working his way up to something.”

“Hey guys?” Kim spoke up as she walked back in, flipping open the file sitting on her desk. “I went back over the first murder to see if we missed anything. Look at this.”

Kim pulled in her chair, zooming into the photo. “This badge here on his jacket, it’s barely visible so we missed it the first few times. I sent it to the lab to see if they could enhance the image and this is what I got.”

Kim clicked and up popped the crest of a high school. “Look, it’s not just a general badge. Look at the year.”

“Okay, that is the crest for Lincoln High. It’s a jacket given to those who graduated that year.” Kevin said, frowning at it.

“I’ll run the list of students who graduated in that year.” Jay barked, heading straight for his desk, his fingers flying across his keyboard.

Cross-checking was the worst job ever but the moment Jay’s eyes landed on your name on the list of graduates, he pulled it together, eliminating the women, men who had moved out of state or country, until finally he only had three names on the list.

“Okay, I have a Steven Miller, Charles Shoemaker and John Marlin.” Jay finally spoke up as everyone looked up. “But only Steven Miller has priors.”

“For harassment, sexual misconduct, and attempted assault. Sarge, this has to be our guy.” Jay looked up at Voight.

“Do we have an LKA?” Voight asked.

“Already on it.” Adam said.

“Go pick him up.” Adam nodded, motioning to Kevin as they headed out.

Something was bugging Jay. Steven Miller. That name was…

Fuck.

Jay pushed back his chair, entering Voight’s office without knocking and closing the door behind him.

“Sarge.”

Voight looked up, frowning a little at the look on Jay’s face. He put down his pen and leaned back in his chair, looking up at Jay.

“I’ve heard Miller’s name before. It was bugging me, but I remember now.”

Voight sat up straighter.

“I’m seeing his ex-girlfriend.” The words slipped past Jay’s lips. “Sarge, everything makes sense now. The physical type, the way he’s building up because his actual target…” Jay trailed off.

You had told Jay about Steven just once. You hadn’t gone into detail but you had told Jay about the short period that you had been together with Steven – his need for control over all aspects of your life, how he had always been a little rough, how he hadn’t taken any form of rejection well, and how you’d ended it the day he struck you.

“Take Hailey.”

Jay was already halfway to the door.

---

You had left early today.

It had been a while since you had done such an early shift but you’d been feeling more and more uneasy while walking home at night and the news coverage on the murders that were happening at the moment didn’t help.

You didn’t need Jay to tell you that you looked exactly like those girls who had been murdered. It was clear as day.

You fiddled with the key in the lock, opening the door.

You felt your heart drop into your stomach as you registered the person standing in front of you. In your house.

“Steven.” You muttered, your voice trembling, barely registering the butt of a gun heading towards your temple before it went dark.

---

Hailey hadn’t said anything but she knew something was off.

“Jay, what’s going on?” She asked. “How do you know this girl’s the target?”

Jay didn’t answer but pressed harder on the accelerator, gripping the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles were white. The ringing tone going off through his bluetooth speaker in the car making him feel even worse.

“Jay.” Hailey said again. “I’m your partner.”

Jay glanced at her now. “She’s my girlfriend.”

Hailey’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t even know you were seeing someone.”

Jay let a beat of silence passed. “Miller’s her ex. I should have seen the signs, the physical type, everything, I…”

“Jay. She’ll be fine. Come on.” Hailey reassured him, as he turned his truck onto the familiar street.

“She’s still not answering.” Jay said, through gritted teeth. He’d been trying to call you since he had left the station.

Without hesitation, Jay bounded up the stairs, Hailey right behind him. From down the corridor, Jay could already tell your door was slightly ajar.

“Hang back.” Jay whispered, pulling out his service weapon.

Jay quietly approached the door. “Y/N?” He opened the door with his foot, freezing as his eyes landed on you, sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, your eyes frantic as Steven held a knife to your throat from where he stood behind you.

Jay gritted his teeth, using his foot to slam the door shut, knowing that Hailey would know what to do.

“Step away from her.” Jay growled, pointing his gun directly at Steven.

Steven smiled. “I was wondering when you’d arrive. Put that down.”

Jay grinded his teeth but didn’t move. You felt the cold blade of the knife press against your skin and inhaled sharply.

“Put. It. Down.” Steven repeated.

“Okay, okay.” Jay said, glancing at you before putting his hands above his head, disarming his gun and putting it down onto the floor.

Steven smiled again, tucking a stray hair behind your ear.

“Don’t you fucking touch her.” Jay growled.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to tell me what to do.” Steven answered.

“Jay, I’m sorry.” You whispered.

Jay looked straight at you. “It’s going to be okay. You focus on me, you hear me? I’m right here.”

“We broke up a long time ago, what the hell are you doing?” You asked. You were afraid, hell you were trembling, but this was crazy and you had to help Jay to find a way out of this.

“We wouldn’t be broken up if he hadn’t come between us.” Steven snarled, moving closer towards you, his lips almost touching your ear.

Jay growled. “Leave her alone.”

Steven looked back up at Jay again.

“What, you mean don’t do this?” Steven asked, crushing his lips against yours.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” Jay yelled. “Is that what you did? How you forced yourself on all the other girls? What do you want, Steven? What are you trying to accomplish?”

“All I wanted was to be with Y/N! But you took her.” He spat.

“So you decided to go on a rampage?” Jay asked. You saw him twitch like he was looking for something so you started talking, as much as it made you want to gag.

“Steven, why didn’t you just talk to me?” You asked, trying to distract him.

“Talk? All you care about is him!” He yelled, lifting the knife and pointing it at Jay.

It happened in a split second.

The moment he lifted the knife, Jay yelled, “Now, Y/N!”

You threw yourself forward, covering your head with your hands as you heard the gunshots go off, just two. You weren’t sure who was shooting but you didn’t move until you heard Jay’s voice again.

“Y/N, it’s okay, it’s over.” Jay whispered.

You looked up, Jay’s face hovering above you.

“Jay…”

Jay nodded, “It’s okay, come here.”

Jay pulled his arms around you.

“He…” Jay shook his head, shielding your view of Steven’s now motionless body. “Don’t look back, come on.”

Jay tried to lead you out of the apartment, barely making it to the main door before his teammates appeared. “Jay!” Kevin called, as he spotted both of you.

Jay nodded. “Thanks.” Kevin nodded, his eyes lingering on the way Jay was holding you close to his side before making way for Jay to lead you back down to the ground floor where the ambulances were waiting.

Jay led you all the way to the waiting paramedics, not even leaving your side to get himself checked.

You weren’t hurt, not really. There was a little open cut from where Steven had pressed the blade a little too hard when he had been agitated but other than that you were fine. Well, that, and that disgusting feeling that came with remembering how Steven had pressed his lips against yours.

Voight approached you and Jay. Jay squeezed your hand. “I’ll be right back.” You smiled and nodded.

Jay and Voight talked in low voices until Voight turned to look at you. “And she’s okay?”

Jay nodded. “Yeah, she is. I just need to…”

“Do what you need to do. We’ll finish up here.” Voight said, nodding and clapping Jay on the back.

---

The paramedics had dressed the wound on the scene before Jay had brought you back to his apartment.

After getting you into a clean change of clothes and some warm food in you, you had ended up back in your favourite place in the world – on Jay’s couch, in Jay’s apartment, encircled in Jay’s arms.

You lay your head on Jay’s chest.

“So this was all because of me?” You asked in a low voice.

Jay sat up, looking at you. “What?”

“He killed all those women… because of me. I got them killed.” You whispered.

“No, no, baby.” Jay propped himself up, but didn’t let you go. “This is not your fault. Steven he… he did this, not you.”

You looked up at him. “He even… in front of you… he…” You could feel tears welling up in your eyes, you felt disgusting. He’d kissed you, he’d done it in front of Jay and he’d ruined everything.

You hadn’t said that much but Jay just tilted your chin upwards and kissed you. “Jay…”

“I’ll take it all away.” Jay whispered. “I’m sorry, I should have been there sooner.”

You shook your head, swiping away the tears that had slid down your cheeks.

Jay cupped your cheek again, pulling you into his chest. You balled your hand around his shirt, gripping at Jay.

“It’s okay, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” Jay whispered.

“I’ll never let anyone touch you ever again.” He half snarled, still caressing you gently.

You leaned into his embrace, closing your eyes as the sound of Jay’s heartbeat gently lulled you back into the feeling of safety and security.

#jay halstead x reader #jay halstead #resanoona request #tw #jay halstead oneshot #jay halstead imagine #chicago pd x you

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babytaes · 3 years

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the grim reaper(my home)

summary: Everyone depicts the Grim Reaper as a bad character, but he didn't kill you. It's just a trip to the afterlife, and he's actually being helpful by walking you there. Consider what it would be like if you had to travel alone. As she battles through life, Jay meets an unexpected figure, yet she doesn't seem to be terrified of him when he comes knocking on her door, why?

paring: jay x female reader

genre: angst, slight fluff

word count: 6k

warnings: profanity, ummmm rock chic jay.

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖙𝖘: click me before reading!

➳ part of the drunk & dazed series

☆ ҉ ◢▅◣

I wish that everyone knew how their lives ended. It's essentially a game of guessing what will happen to you. Don't even get me started on the subject of Heaven and Hell. You've heard it all, the misery and the heinous methods in which people go out.

But why did death come knocking on the door at such an early age? You'll never know why they chose this age.

You didn't have your entire life laid out for you, nah, what a waste. Seeing it, however, was strange.

Well, there's him, or whatever entity they're referring to. The Grim Reaper.

You didn't notice him until things began to go wrong for you. A black object flashed in and out all of a sudden.

It was more predictable than unexpected.

Usually you would see him after work but I guess he had other plans. Despite your exhaustion, you flopped down on the couch and pulled out your phone to conduct an online search.

You giggled as you aimlessly scrolled through your phone and eventually peeked up to see a dark figure seated across from you.

As you laid your phone down and peered at the figure, you said, "So he finally wants to show his face."

“Don't tell me you can see me right now?” he cocks his head and looks about before returning to you.

“Well, I've only seen glimpses of you for the previous few weeks, but now I'm seeing you in all your glory.”

“Shit” As he hurriedly shot back into the dark shadows behind him, he widened his eyes.

“Wait a minute, don't leave.”

He was still there, hidden from view. He wasn't ready to leave yet. As you moved over to the door, you rolled your eyes at your phone and grabbed your apron. As you put your shoes back on, you exclaim and awkwardly wave your hand in the air before closing the door.

“You better be here when I get back, and keep in mind that we have business to discuss."

He rolled his eyes at your strange conduct as he smiled gently before vanishing back into the dark abyss, now entirely gone from your home.

---

“So Jay, what's on the agenda in Reaper business?” He noticed his old acquaintance gleaming at him as he peered up from his chair.

“Well, Jake, the previous several weeks have been a complete nightmare. They paired me up with this tough guy who was fighting for his life. As he continued, he rolled his eyes.

“It's been quite tranquil since they reassigned me to another case, but something strange happened today. I inadvertently made myself obvious to her, but she was unconcerned.

“Weird.” Jake shook his head and cocked his head to the side as he called out to him.

“So, two pieces of information I just got: it's a girl, and she appears to be somewhat odd. When you get back, I'd like to hear more about this."

As you put on a strange expression, he smiled at the boy as he spoke about jobs he had recently gone on.

“Yeah, there's something odd about it,”

“I also—wait a minute, Jay, I recognize that look.” Jake pauses in his speech for a moment as he approaches you and analyzes your body.

“Please, dude, take a step back.”

He hears on the intercom times for a meeting today for all Reapers to attend, and he laughs at you. Jake makes a peace sign as he hits the door's slab and vanishes from view.

Sitting back in your chair, you raise your feet and begin to formulate a strategy.

“What am I doing here? I'm a doer. Let me just return to her and have that conversation she requested.”

He steps into form and vanishes back to the house he used to be in, softly cheering to himself.

Surprisingly, he can hear your voice but not yet see you, so he emerges from the shadows and takes a stroll through your home, taking in your life.

He saw photos of dogs and people he assumed were family and friends, as well as one thing that attracted his attention.

As he approaches it, he enters a familiar room and sighs as he makes his way to the gleaming object. It was a bracelet with scribing on it of some type.

When he reaches out to pick it up, he feels a searing feeling and drops it swiftly, muttering a torrent of curse words.

“What the hell was that?” When he looks closely, he notices symbols that resemble a cross.

“Fuckin Christ,”

“Do all Reapers barge into your house and search through their belongings on the spur of the moment, or is mine defective?”

Jay, who has jumped up in panic, apologizes by turning around and raising his hands. When he glances up, he notices you resting on the door frame, arms folded, staring at him.

“Well, let's just put this inconvenience behind us and have that conversation you wanted to have, hmm?”

“All right, let's go into the living room, and by the way, your style is really fashionable. I had no idea you people dressed up so well to steal souls. Are there any employment openings?”

As he comes to a halt in his tracks, you turn your head to face him and stare at his unmoving form.

“Hellooo, please don't tell me they gave me a defective one. Jeez”

For a brief moment, everything came to a halt as Jay regained his bearings. "That was strange. Why am I blanking out because she's so strange?”

With a shake of his head, he smiles at you and walks into the living room, where he sits across from you, still perplexed as to who and what you are.

It wasn’t human-like.

“Thank you, no one seemed to realize that the original reaper gear wasn't cutting it for me. Also, I'm presuming you're a young adult, so you know what I'm talking about.”

You pull closer to him, laughing at his words, and lay your elbows on your legs, intently listening to him.

“So Grandma was right, you guys do exist. Tell me more; you know I don't appear to have much time left, so give me your answers.”

He let out a chuckle as he hastily covered his mouth, daring not to be affected by the earth.

He'd been doing this work for quite some time and appeared to be quite confident in himself and his abilities.

But there was something about you that made him feel comfortable and at ease, and he didn't feel like he had to hide, very apparent when a patient screamed at him or when they insisted death hadn't arrived yet.

It was strange, but it was great not to have to put on a show. Outside of the Reaper, he almost forgot who he was for a moment.

Maybe this one could get to know you, the cool yet elegant Jay. Not the dark version of himself. Even if his ultimate goal is to accompany you to the hereafter.

Maybe, just maybe, in that slim possibility, he'll take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about this person and why they're so interested in you.

---

“Before we jump right into this game, I have a question for you: why aren't you terrified of me?” As he stared at your blank expression, he spat out.

“Well, as I already stated, my grandma was a firm believer in the unknown. Even though she is no longer with us, she has taught me a great deal about the supernatural and unknown.”

You got up and walked over to the kitchen, motioning for him to follow you before opening the refrigerator and taking some fresh fruit out.

Jay promptly stood up and walked over to the chair, where he sat, watching your every move as you leapt onto the counter and turned to face him, before placing a mango slice into your mouth.

“All right, my turn, what's your name and what's my illness?”

Jay coughed and sat up straight as he removed a piece of paper from his pocket and read it loudly before setting it down.

“Y/N Y/L/N, you've been diagnosed with Heart Disease, and things aren't looking well for you. I know you haven't been to the doctor in a while, which is also perplexing. And my name is Jay.”

You place the fruit down next to you and cross your legs before responding to his comment, shaking your head up and down.

“Well, that's true; it runs in the family, but I'm not concerned because time is never on our side, and we all have an expiry date, which I believe is approaching soon. Right?”

Jay knew you just had one week left, but he didn't want to break your cheerful mood, so he waited.

“Well, I can't tell you when you'll die just yet, but your time is running out. I'm sure it's terrifying, but-”

Before concealing your lips, you chuckle loudly. Jay snickered as he looked up at you.

“Man, you're such a strange person; how do you manage to be so confident and direct? I'm becoming a little afraid, and I'm the Grim Reaper.” You leap from the countertop and walk over to him.

You cocked your head to the side and placed your hands on his face, pushing your face towards him. As you smile, his face flushes, and as he pulls away from you, he coughs before moving his hand to encourage you to continue.

“You have nice eyes, you know. Okay, now I'll tell you my story. Instead of countless questions, I believe it would be simpler.”

He just nods his head and lets you continue talking about your life.

---

As we all crossed the bridge into the next city over, you glanced out the window at the water. You'd always enjoyed being near water. It brought up memories of trips you and your grandparents took together.

When you arrived at your location, you grabbed your suitcase and exited the vehicle, leaving your parents behind.

“Are you sure you don't want to join us?” As they drove out of the parking lot and onto their vacation, you shook your head and waved farewell to them.

Even though you were 17, you still enjoyed going to your grandparents' house because it provided a sense of security that you didn't have at home. So you'd take them in a heartbeat.

Looking up, you notice Pops standing at the door, arms outstretched, waiting for you.

“There is my favorite grandchild.”

“Gramps, I'm your only grandchild,” you said, laughing as you took him in your arms and grinned as you stepped into the house.

“Oh, that's right.” He takes your stuff and starts to take it to your allotted room while laughing together. “Your Grams is out back,” he shouts as he approaches the top.

‘Thanks” When you walk out to the backyard, you'll find her sitting in her iconic chair, surrounded by books, muttering to herself. She puts the book down and leans in to hug you as she stands up.

“Aww, I've missed you so much. There's just so much you can talk about with your grandfather before he falls asleep. Please have a seat; we have a lot to discuss."

There's a sensation you've been missing, a sense of belonging to a place you once called home. They were the only ones who could supply you with a sense of safety and security, and you couldn't get enough of it.

“We talked about witches and wizards the last time we were here. Now we're dealing with Reapers, or more precisely Grim.”

When she stated those two words, your eyes lit up; it was a favorite topic of yours that she brought up frequently, but now you had more time to delve deeper.

“Let's get started; we've got a lot of ground to cover. Allow us to see The Unknown by opening our eyes. “Are you wearing your bracelet?”

“I never take it off,” you say. You shook your right arm and returned your hand to hers, shaking your head.

As you were swept away in a dark mist together, you grinned and took her hands in yours. Even though they appear to be ordinary, decent folks, there is something you should know about my grandparents. They are one of many people who have gained entrance to the supernatural realm, a place where anything is possible.

You tried to inform your parents, but they were skeptical of fairy tales. They tried to prevent you from seeing them, claiming that "they will stunt my growth," which is ridiculous because I've learnt more from my grandparents than from my parents.

Regardless of how hard they tried to stop you, you always managed to find your way back to them. We were linked, and nothing could stop you until YOU chose to let it. That day, however, never came.

You found yourself in a boat, holding your grandmother's hand, as it carried you across a vast chasm and into town. You come upon another boat that appears to be some kind of creature with a scythe. As he traveled down the river opposite you, strands of golden hair protruded from beneath his hood.

“Wait, don't tell me that person on the river was you now that I think about it?”

“I think it was, man, that was a long time ago,” Jay laughed and shook his head. Also, I had no idea you had access to that world?”

“Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to the story.” As you spoke, he grinned.

“All right, honey, let's go; we can't linger for too long.” You both stepped off the boat and walked into town, taking in the sights. As you climbed the slope, merchants' stands and buildings crept up on you. It was weird to see individuals of all kinds here, going about their daily lives in the same way that those on the surface did.

You see vampires, werewolves, angels, and even ghouls all lingering together and with one another as you walk side by side with your grams. Despite the fact that they all had their own lives to live, they could join together to gather supplies and meals.

What a wonderful thing

You both entered a familiar building, and your grandma greeted the old man behind the counter.

“Oh, my favorite customers. What brings you down here and how is life above the surface? Another book you have in mind.”

Your Grams smiled as she let go of your hand and approached the man at the front of the bookstore, “you always know Melvin.”

As they conversed, you strolled through the big store on your way to the second floor. Before reaching the top, you yell out to Melvin.

“I'm hoping you'll let me take one.”

“Anything for my sweet Y/N, go ahead and look, there's a new one up there.” You hurried up the steps and across to the Book Wall, grinning ear to ear. From baby dragons to spell books, there was something for everyone. Anything you can imagine Melvin’s shop had it all.

When you took one off the shelf, you were greeted by a young boy who stood next to you. You couldn't tell if he was your age since down here, time moves at a different pace than it does on the surface. Still he looked quite young.

It was pleasant to see the creatures up close, even if you had never met them before. You stepped away from him, afraid of his reaction, and made your way to the chair sections. You sat down and picked up a book titled "The Origins of Reapers."

“How did you get here? I've never seen a girl human down here before.” You looked up from your book to see the boy you'd seen previously, frightened that he'd do something. You closed your eyes and shook your bracelet in front of his face.

As he waited for you to settle down, he laughed and sat next to you.

“I'm not going to harm you; all I wanted to do was ask a question. My name is Jake, what is yours?”

“My name is Y/N, and my grandparents have access to the world, so I tag along occasionally, may I inquire what you are?” you said slowly as you sat up straight.

He shifted in his seat and grinned, his face more dog-like. How could you be afraid of him?

“Well, don't be afraid of me since I'm a Grim Reaper in Training. I'm fairly innocuous. It's nice to see a human down here; normally, we only see humans when it's their time.”

You hear your grandmother calling from downstairs before he can continue.

“Coming”

You return his gaze and apologize as you rise, book in hand, and make your way to the stairwell.

“It was a pleasure to meet such a lovely human; please pay a visit to the Reaper Realm when you return. Simply request Jake.” He gave you a wave before yelling at Melvin.

“I'm leaving Melvin; my book is on your desk up here.”

As you return your attention to Jake, you hear Melvin's remark, but he vanishes into thin air as you descend the steps. Your grandmother expresses her gratitude to Melvin for the choice and exits through the front door.

“Are you all set to depart, sweetie?” With a shake of your head, you bid Melvin farewell as you close the door and return to the boat, where you sit down and take your gram's hand in yours.

"Let's go home," says your grandmother.

---

“So yeah, I've been traveling there with them ever since they introduced me to your world.” You came to a halt in the middle of your walk and coughed, wiping a tear from your cheek.

“My grandparents died a few years ago, and I haven't been back in a long time because I used to only go with them. It was doubly difficult because they both died on the same day, and she was telling me that she could see him on that day. I'm hoping she meant the Reaper, because they were the last thing to see them leave.”

You grabbed his arms on the spur of the moment and violently shook them.

“I know you must have records someplace, but could you please assist me in locating them as part of my dying wish? At the very least, let me see where they went; I need to know if they're okay.”

So this was the true you, the one in desperate need of a reconnection with the Gone. You received your response and devised a plan.

“Hey, don't worry... I'll see what I can do. But there's no guarantee. I wasn't on the case at the time, so I'll have to do some digging, but I'll try. “Can you tell me their names?”

Wiping tears from your eyes, you rose from your chair and dashed to your room, calling him over.

When you opened a box from under your bed, there were wonderful memories from you and your grandparents inside. You attempted to obtain more, but everything was returned to the Underworld, leaving you with only this.

Jay knelt down and picked up a photograph of you and them. They were regulars, and he had seen them around town. Hopefully, in the short time she had left, you could help her.

“Elizabeth and Albert Marvin were their names. I'm not sure if there's anything else I can do to assist you, but please do your best." As you hurriedly covered your mouth with your palm, a harsh cough came from your throat, and your chest began to throb as you placed your hand on your heart.

It was obvious that time was not on your side. You rise off the ground and walk over to Jay, looking up at him. You wrapped your arms around his frigid body, engulfing him in a hug.

Jay stood there awkwardly with his arms down as he gently moved you off and returned to the couch area.

“Like I said, there's no guarantee that I'll find them, and who knows, they could not even be alive. But I’ll try my best. It was a pleasure to speak with you, but I must depart because we are running out of time.”

He gave you a beeper before vanishing.

“Please page me on here if you need to reach me; I'll do my best to respond. You look after yourself.”

You waved farewell as he left your house and returned to his, where he continued his exhaustive investigation.

He didn't want to let you down because he felt such a responsibility to you. He would complete whatever task he was given. He would do anything for you if he could see that smile on your face.

“Let's get down to business.”

---

“Jay...Jay wake up” As you awoke slowly from your arms, you felt a push on your shoulder. As your eyes adjusted to the bright light, it took some time to figure out who was interrupting you.

“W-What exactly is it, Jake?” You and Jake have been coming in every day for the past five days, attempting to find a solution to your problem. Jake may have discovered something despite the difficulties.

“So, I just had an epiphany, last time I saw Y/N she was at Melvin bookstore, so let's see if he knows anything about them.” You leapt from your chair and snatched a jacket as you ushered Jake out the door and toward Melvin.

For you and y/n, things were starting to look up.

Maybe you were going to do something good for one of your friends souls.

As you and Jake approached Melvin's business, you inhaled deeply and opened the door, eager to hear what he had to say to you.

Melvin's attention was drawn to the bell sound, and he looked up from his spectacles, saying, "Hey youngsters, what brings you here?"

“Well, we had a question for you regarding an old friend of yours, does Elizabeth Marvin ring a bell?” He pulled a photograph from his back pocket and presented it to him; his face darkened as he held the photograph in his hands and smiled broadly at it.

“Oh, my favorite customers. I don't have much information, but the last time they were in here, they were in a hurry and seemed concerned. “We have to make the crossing,” Elizabeth kept emphasizing.

As you and Jake turned to each other, you both had a frightened expression on your faces.

“Don't tell me they took the Crossing, shit,” says Jay You turned around and proceeded towards the door, thanking Melvin, while Jake grinned and waved farewell before heading out the door. He discovered you slumped against the wall, head down, groaning.

“Jay, please don't thin-”

“Keep your mouth shut Jake, because you know no one survives the Crossing without a guide. There are just too many wicked spirits out there, and you and I both know that getting to the finish is impossible. Jay growled as he stood up and kicked whatever was closest to him.

“Ugh, why did I do that?”

Jake approached his friend and patted his back, unsure of how he would react. It was a small gesture. He knew it was impossible, but he didn't want his best friend to know. They still needed to be encouraged.

“I'm going back to headquarters to see what else we can find; meet me back there, okay?” As he watched Jake go from his sight, Jay nodded and thanked him for his assistance.

He didn't know what else to do, so he had to break the dreadful news to you. It turned out to be for the best. He was good at one thing: conveying bad information to others. What an ironic Reaper. With a shake of your head, you prepared to go to Y/N's flat.

Here goes nothing.

Jay was gone in a flash of dust and now stood in a familiar location, squinting as everything appeared to be different. Jay spotted clothes strewn on the floor, dishes scattered in the sink, and the bathroom's random lights flashing.

He was so preoccupied with the status of the house that he didn't see that your time was slowly eating away at you, that you were holed up under blankets in the bedroom with chest discomfort and dizziness that came and went.

Your once-young body was losing its ability to hold on to life. As you coughed loudly and grinned as you motioned for him to come over to you, you looked up and noticed him standing in the doorway.

You quietly sighed as you slowly climbed up, your hand resting on your chest.

‘So-so any news captain. “I need something to take my mind off the pain.”

As he prepared his message, Jay didn't make eye contact with you as he lifted your blanket over your body and patted it down. This felt different than relaying bad news as the “BIG AND BAD GRIM REAPER” As he was going to burst your bubble, something inside ached. What do people refer to it as? Sadness.

What exactly did you do to him?

“So, Y/N, please wait until I finish before you speak.” He took a big breath and continued, his lips curling in. “We've at a dead end; Jake and I spoke with Melvin, who indicated they were discussing the "Crossing," which in Grim Reaper lingo means "no go." That's a place where no one ever returns; it's only conceivable if you have a guide, which I'm not sure they did. They could be lost or worse, stolen by a spirit, for all I know. I-, I'm sorry, but I'm not sure.”

He heard your voice and looked down, avoiding eye contact. "It's okay Jay," He jerked up and glanced at your frail form, perplexed and terrified. In the light of your candle, he could see better, but death was creeping up on him. He just had a day before he had to take you. He wasn't pleased with the situation or with you.

“It was a big ask, but I'm happy you and Jake did your hardest,” you said, a tear streaming down your cheek. That's all I requested, and despite the fact that it didn't work out, I liked the gesture, so thank you.”

“Thanks for doing business with you,” you said with a grin on your face as you extended your hand to him. As you looked him in the eyes, he took your weak hands in his and gently shook them.

“What, do I have something on my face? I don't want to appear unkempt.” You laughed and reached for your hands to be unlatched from his grip. Rather than releasing go, he drew you closer to him and kissed your gentle lips.

As you released each other, he wasn't thinking; in reality, he was panicked.

“Um- I don’t know what that is but I have to go. Sorry, I'll pick you up tomorrow-” “Please don't go,” you said as you took a big breath and clutched his hand. If I'm being honest, I'm afraid, and I could use some companionship before I take my final breath.”

“Sleep well y/n, we have a long walk tomorrow,” he said as he sat down on the bed and took your hand in his again before turning off the lamp. When you felt a squeeze in your palm, you smiled and laid over, allowing sleep to take control.

---

You were startled awake by Jay, who sat across from you, peering at the clock, as though intently staring at it.

You scooted up and waved a hand in front of his face to grab his attention, but he continued to stare at the clock.

“You have a few hours left, you know? Sorry, I was just doing some math." He turned to face you as you stumbled out of bed, grasping the bedside table before lifting yourself up like a drunk woman.

“Oh, well, it appears that my body is shutting down. Fun.” As you pushed him out of the room, you gave him a thumbs up.

“Let me get dressed; I want to look my best for when I DIE!” Jay was startled and furrowed his brows as he walked slowly to his seat, pondering why this generation was so eager to die.

You put on a cute hoodie your grandmother gave you and threw on some pants. As you fumbled about for shoes, you heard Jay ask a question from the other side of the door that made you pause.

'Are you going to call your parents or someone else?'

When you think back on your life, you were in theirs, but not much of them were in yours, which made you resentful of them. You didn't dislike them; you just preferred to spend your time and energy with people who made you feel at ease.

Your grandparents made you feel that way and you didn't have time to waste on people who you could care less about.

“I guess I'll send a text over.” Huffing, you took out your phone and entered your message into an already-created group chat.

"Hey guys, I'm not feeling well, could you come tomorrow?" you say.

(read 10:25 a.m.)

(typing bubbles)

(bubbles disappears)

Mom: This is such a last-minute thing, but your father and I are leaving tomorrow for a business trip that will last a week. Maybe when we come back. I'll send Sylvia over because I gave her the day off. “Be careful.”

Throwing your phone you yelled aggressively as you looked around your space. Even while you're dying, they don't give a damn about you. What is fucking family anymore? You took one final look at your bed before stepping out and calling Jay, as if you didn't care any longer.

“Hey you good, I heard screaming but didn't want to interrupt if you were nude or something,” he said, looking up at your hesitant face. As you passed him on your way to the door, a smile crept across your lips.

“Oh shut up, come on, I got a request.”

Jay got up and walked past you as you turned to see your whole life stored away in a small space. Even if you didn't know where Jay would lead you, you had a feeling it would be better, right?

“Goodbye” As you walked slowly to your car in the parking lot, you grabbed Jay's hand in yours as you closed the door. As you held his hand even more, you felt it tense up.

“Hey what was that for?”

“You whine a lot, don't you? Come on, I've got a few more dying wishes before you take me and send me off somewhere, let's fucking go.”

He saw you let go of your hand as you walked to the opposite side of your car, hopped in, and turned on the ignition.

“Are you sure you're up for this? I don't want you passing out on me.”

Jay rushed next to you as he reached for your shoulder as a cough steadily burst from your throat, causing you to grasp your chest in anguish. You shook your head and gave your body a couple shakes as you waved your hand at him.

“I'm good, you know the exact time, so give me a heads up whenever I'm close.” “Anyway, less about my condition and more on the fun we're about to have.”

You put your foot on the brake and drove out the parking lot and on your way to the boardwalk that was a good distance away.

“Sit back, it'll be around 2 hours before we get to my favorite spot.”

Jay offered you a troubled expression as he laid his head on the window, pondering the time you had left while gazing out the window.

*8 hours left, you had eight hours left*

---

Coming up over the infamous hill, you notice the blue seas and immediately begin to brighten up as you repeatedly punch Jay in the arm.

“Jay... Jay... JAYYYY loook were here,” He grabbed your hand and swung it the other way before slowly turning to face you before your final punch. Don't bother Reapers while they're asleep; they don't get enough sleep as it is, and constantly bringing souls is exhausting.

“Please stopp I heard you the first five fucking times.” As he turned back to face the water, he rolled his eys and chuckled a little. The way the waves drenched the salty surface back and forth was more than simply water; it was an artwork.

Even though this might be your last moments on earth, you were glad you found someone to spend them with as you saw Jay's look. You put your hand on his shoulder and signaled for you to depart.

He stepped out of the car, mesmerized by the quiet waters, and walked over to your side, his gaze never leaving the sea.

“It's strange, I've seen my days of oceans before, and I've probably gone to all of them many times, but this one feels different. For a little moment, I forgot I wasn't human. Oh that remind me”

Jay rotated in a circle as he appeared to you dressed in more fashionable attire to placate the human crowd. He clutched your arm as he lost his footing for a second, then raced forward towards the boardwalk, thanking you.

“Hurry up, I didn't transform into a normal male for nothing, I want to see what you folk do up here.” He sneaked a glimpse at you as you laughed heartily at him, and before he knew it, you were running past him, his hand in yours, and on your way to the boardwalk's many attractions.

Spilled ice cream cups, lost money from arcade games, the sides of yours and his faces scorching from a lack of sunscreen, and not to mention the continual brushing of each other's hands were all part of the day. You took Jay's hand as the crowds filtered off the boardwalk and brought him to one of your favorite areas, the sand. As you approach the ocean now that the sun has lowered somewhat, it feels chilly.

As you stand in the cool ocean, letting the waves wash over your feet and taking a deep breath, attempting to relax, you feel a touch on your back. When you open your eyes, you notice Jay standing next to you, his gaze fixed on you. You laughed and placed your head on his shoulder; he didn't flinch or react this time.

He'd become accustomed to it and even loved it.

“How much time do we have left? Will I miss the sunset? Please say no.” You drooped your lips and glanced towards him, anxiously awaiting his response.

“Don't worry, you'll have time,” he said, taking your hand in his and pulling you down further away from the water as you both watched at the ball of light travelling toward the horizon.

The dazzling and flaming sun began to be swallowed by the sky as nightfall approached. The sky suddenly fills with beautiful, rich colors ranging from soothing blues to powerful reds and bright oranges, and finally thin, melancholy clouds.

Jay drew you closer, which surprised you, but you didn't mind because it was getting colder and fewer people were leaving the beach, leaving fragments of people strewn about. Jay drew your attention to himself before relaying the news to you.

Allow me to speak before I say what I truly need to say; these past three weeks have been incredible and eye-opening. I had no idea there were individuals out there that battled and were as brave as you. I understand how difficult it must be to go through all of these changes, but-”

A tear trickled down your face as you coughed, interrupting his speech.

*10 minutes left*

“Oh don’t start crying,” “All I wanted to say is thank you for allowing me to experience something different than my typical routine,” you joked as you pushed his chest. I don't get out very often, but tonight was enjoyable; I hope it distracted you from your worries.”

As you clasped your chest and pulled Jay out of worry, a fast cough attack hit your system.

*5 minutes left*

“I-i woul-l-d love to talk more about our fond memories but my chest is hurting and I think you need to get to the point.” You unbunched his shirt from your fist and let him continue, smiling despite your pain.

He embraced you in his arms because he was afraid he wouldn't have enough time to relay everything.

“Fuck it”

He drew you in and kissed you again, this time more passionately than before. Your heart skipped a beat as heat rose from your stomach to your chest, and you weren't sure if it was a legitimate emotion or your condition was approaching. As you drew him closer to you, flinging your arms around his neck and smiling, the fragrance of salty sea water filled your nostrils. This moment, the taste of him… It calmed your racing thoughts and made you feel as if your heart was slowing down.

*1 minute left*

As you backed away from his kiss, your eyesight faded in and out, and as you looked about, your vision in the inner corners of your eyes started to go black. It was occurring, and your time was running out. You staggered into Jay's arms as he spoke into your ear, looking back at him.

“See you on the other side Y/N”

---

When you first awoke, you peered around at the dark waters, then looked up to see the real Jay. His Scythe's blade gleamed in the moonlight, and his velvet hood blew in the breeze. Not turning around you heard his voice, distinctly differently than before.

“Get ready, we're closing in on our dock.”

You slowly stood up and felt a prickling sensation on your wrist as you noticed your bracelet was lightly shining, something it had never done before. Perhaps it was the moonlight reflecting off of it.

You observed three figures standing at the dock through the mist and tried to figure out who they were. You didn't realize it until you got off the boat.

“Gramps and Gram, what?” Your voice trembled as tears streamed down your cheeks. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing.

“Is this a joke,” As you grabbed them in a deep hug, a hand pushed you closer to them.

“We missed you pumpkin.” You turned around and went towards the dark figure, making sure not to hit his Scythe as you drew Jay into a hug as you got snot on his coat.

“I thought you said you couldn't find them,” you remarked. “I had given up hope.” His face was obscured by a black gloom, so you couldn't see him.

“Um, sorry but could you change back to your normal self, just this once.” Jay reappeared in his usual body, simply regular old Jay, in a split second.

“I apologize for forgetting about that, but please don't thank me. It was all my pal Jake over there.” You turned around and raced over to Jake, hugging him and almost shoving him off the dock.

“Thank you thank you so much, I owe you one.” “Don't worry about it,” he said as he stepped back.

After letting go of him, you returned to the location where your grandparents were standing and took their hands in yours. It was time for you to leave, and all you had to do was walk away.

As tears streamed down your cheeks, you came to a halt and turned around to face him. It didn't take long for you to run back into his arms.

“I'm not usually this way, but I'm glad I found someone I can call a friend.” Jay, I hope we run across each other. Thank you for everything; I just wanted to let you know that your efforts are appreciated.”

You let him go and wave to him after pulling him into a goodbye kiss. You hear him calling out to you.

“I think I like you Y/N?”

“Well, I think we should talk about that the next time I see you.” You turn back and continue on your journey, giggling at his childish antics as you fade into the darkness.

As he and Jake hopped back into the boat to return home, Jay's smile never faded.

“I told you so”

“Oh shut it.”

He'd finally found that thing you'd always talked about, that haven where you felt so comfortable that the rest of the world couldn't possibly come crashing down around you. He was overjoyed to have discovered his HOME and vowed to do everything in his power to ensure he never lost it.

“See you soon Y/N.”

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kkoongiee · 3 years

Text

enhypen scenarios — they kiss you under the mistletoe ‹𝟹

prompt, could i request how enhypen members would kiss their s/o under the mistletoe ? ^_^

notes, gender-neutral!reader + a few curse words

heeseung would probably be a little nervous to kiss you, but he would get over it quickly. he would just give u that u know .. look & then kiss u!! duh. i feel like heeseung is that, alriiighhtt let’s get it over with 😭 he just really loves u and kissing u is something he doesn’t always get to do, so giving u a christmas kiss under the mistletoe? feels special & he loves it. u just warm his heart & heeseung likes kissing u so its a win-win situation.

jay is one of those .. everyday is like valentines day yknow? everytime he sees u, kisses u, hugs u, everything — he makes sure he gives u butterflies and makes sure u KNOW how much he loves u. this was no different,, he pulls you in and gives u a nice soft kiss. he is always delicate with you, jay prob has noses touching and smiling after while holding your hands, shaking them a bit.

jake is smiling rly big and u two r probably the most festive couple ever, but does he have big hands?? i rly can’t remember 😭 no but he’ll cup ur face before going in for a kiss. jake just seems like the kinda guy that can do anything and make somebody fall to their knees? well kisses send you into a comatose, they are filled to the brim with love and he is a gentle one as well. he’s giggly and happy afterwards, kinda like a big ass baby.

sunghoon seem a lil fancy with it, arms around ur waist n looking straight at u. he adores u 😭 i just imagine it being in ur families house or his own, right smack in the middle of the doorway so ur parents might just be snooping 🧍 sunghoon giving u a kiss before wrapping u into a tight hug. ur parents will be getting all of the photos, ultimately there for embarrassing u about ur boyfriend. does sunghoon wear a lot of sweaters.. idk i can’t tell or remember rn 😭 but definitely he is wearing one and ur just so warm with him!!!!!

sunoo makes a little joke before giving you a small kiss, he’ll leave you to it, very very happy after a kiss. sunoo seems like he would be surprisingly .. idk like he plans out the day and these sorta things :-) he rly enjoys those things and doesn’t mind it,, he probabbbly put the mistletoe up there but who cares? sunoo seems like a romantic person tho .. can anyone tell im running out of ideas for mistletoe kisses 😭 he wants to make it special so he prob will whip out a present or something afterwards, a little small gesture that’s rly gonna melt ur heart

jungwon will probably be very flustered, but u ultimately wrap ur arms around his neck and give him a kiss before he can take it all in. merp, jungwon can’t even believe it even though he’s kissed you very very many times. he’ll just kiss your cheek after, laughing nervously because wow u r a great kisser. ur cheek is very cold, jungwon pulling away because yow that is freezing. now he’s wafting hot breath towards ur face, ur hands pushing his shoulders because ewwy hot breath 😭 u both love to tease eachother and that’s what your relationship is basically

he is the one who planned dis out. he hung mistletoe in his doorway 😭 why yes ni-ki did, stringing you along to come give him a kiss. you teasingly deny before ni-ki gives you a kiss, his arms wrapped around you tightly before his head rests on your shoulder. ni-ki seems like he’s like someone shorter, maybe it’s just me, but he seems like he likes someone short. but but it’s okay if ur tall, he loves u either way and celebrating christmas with a kiss under the mistletoe will have ni-ki smiling for the rest of the day!!!!!! he cherishes little kisses and huggies!!

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anothertimdrakestan · 4 years

Text

My Future Jason Todd x Reader

Jason really hates one of your friends and you find it it was probably for good reason. 5/4 Fluff and like 1/4 salt bae level angst. I know those don’t add up (.)

1k Words, like 4 cuss words

This has some toxic masculinity/Jason being jealous and protective vibes so if that's not for it’s okay :) I’m just a whore for Jason Todd it’s no big deal lolz... xoxo!

“babe a picture will last longer” your boyfriend’s voice snapped you out of a daze staring at him as he prepared breakfast for the two of you. Nothing was more mesmerizing as watching his back and shoulders ripple as he reached, twisted, and stretched throughout cooking. Not to mention the sweats hanging low which basically forced you to follow the V of his hips down south...

Rolling your eyes you got up and wandered into your kitchen, Jason handed you a cup of coffee and you sipped it resting yourself on his side. Jason always just wanted to be close to you, touching you preferably and moving in together was the best thing that had ever happened to him. While moving in noticeably upset your sleep schedule, you had spent countless nights pacing around waiting for your knight in a shining red hood to come home, ultimately you loved being close to Jason, you could convince him to sleep, eat, and basically function at a normal level which was new to him.

Mornings were peaceful, the two of you went over the day’s plans over coffee and eggs just enjoying each other’s company. Noticing the clock it was time for your first class of the day, Jason always walked with you in the mornings, hand in hand chatting about anything under the sun. After a few cheesy compliments and a quick peck, you headed to class and Jason went off to his daily tasks.

Later you met up for lunch, to Jason’s displeasure you had brought a few friends, including none other than Adrian. Jason despised Adrian, noting that if Damian were a demon child Adrian was the Devil. Jason was never the person to decide your friends, saying he was comfortable with whoever you wanted to be friends with because he was the one making you scream at night. He now knows not to say this opinion in front of anyone. But he hated Adrian with every bone in his body. Maybe it was because you called him Adri, or because he loved keeping his hand in the small of your back when you walked with him, or because he was always far too sweet for friends, in Jason’s opinion.

Unbeknownst to you Adrian and Jason would quietly battle for your affection. When you would kiss Jason on the cheek and turn to talk with your friends about class you missed the possessive smirk directed towards Adrian. And when you sat down at lunch next to Adrian and across from Jason and began looking at the menu at lunch you missed Jason’s glare towards Adrian when he casually stretched his arm over the booth and your shoulder.

You knew Adrian had feelings for you in the past, the key-word Jason constantly missed was had. Meeting Adrian on the first day of college and quickly becoming friends he had flirted with you lightly for years. With Jason in your life you wrote off the romantic advancements as friendship and bubbly personality just appreciating Adrian’s jokes and wit. Jason found no redeemable qualities in Adrian.

As lunch went on you noticed Jason becoming more aggravated, walking out of the diner Jason pushed through Adrian and roughly grasped your hand in his. Looking up at him confused you squeezed his hand and rested your head on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. Whatever anger was soothed in that moment was tripled when Adrian asked “hey y/n do you think I could talk to you real quick?” you obliged rolling your eyes at Jason’s grimace. Reluctantly releasing your hand Jason found a bench to wait at.

Walking a few paces ahead with Adrian he abruptly stopped and looked you dead in the eyes. “Y/n you know I’ve been in love with you for years, school is almost over and I want to head into my future with you. Please, I know you care about me!” he begged, reaching for your hands you stepped back, avoiding his advance. “Adri no. You know I don’t have those feelings for you. Did you not see me with Jason? I love him.” shocked you asserted yourself. “Y/n he can’t love you the way I can he’s so angry and stoic you deserve someone like me!” his words deeply offended you, Jason understood you and loved you, and you couldn’t imagine life without Jay by your side. “Adrian No. I think it’s time for you to go. I’m going back to Jason now.” You turned around shaking your head focused on Jason who sat at the bench, focussed on his phone.

You felt a hand grab your wrist, ripping you into Adrian’s chest. With a yelp you saw a different person, your once happy and upbeat friend looked twisted and angry. “Last chance my love?” venom dripped in his tone and you began to struggle away from his grip. As he began pulling you closer towards him in a flash you saw a fist connect with his jaw. As he stumbled backwards Jason stood in front of you. “Messing with the wrong girl chum y/n is mine.” It had been a while since you saw Jason this angry but for once you were comforted by it.

Adrian backed up with a shrug. “Guess you guys were made for each other, two delusional lovers.” he rolled his eyes at lovers and turned around, walking off shaking his head. Jason started after him “I’ll show you fucking delusional” he mumbled. Realizing he was in Red Hood mode you grabbed his arm pulling him into your embrace. “Babe can you just stay with me right now?” you pleaded, not wanting a bigger scene than already created and just wanting to hold your boyfriend for a little.

Feeling him take a deep breath you began to calm down. Pulling out of his embrace you stared into his eyes. You thought about all the memories the two of you had, the man in front of you was your person. “You know you’re my future right JayBird?” words tumbled out of your mouth, needing Jason to know how much you cared about him. “I wouldn’t want a future without you Y/n” he gave you one of his heart-melting smiles before adding.

“I told you Adrian was the fucking Devil”

“I believe you babe”

#jason todd #red hood #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #red hood x reader #jason todd fluff #batboy #lowkey angst?#jason todd jealous #protective jason todd

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batarella · 4 years

Text

I Don’t Hate You - Part 20 FINALE (Jason Todd x Reader)

*sobs

I can’t believe I finished this fucking thing. And I couldn’t be happier of the outcome. I already sent out my thanks in my last post. So without further delay, here’s the finale of I Don’t Hate You <3

also, I’d like to thank @idkmanicantenglish for the song “Half a Man” which really is all about Jason.

WORDS: 13,753 (the most I’ve written in a single day) WARNINGS: EVERYTHING. FLUFF. SMUT. ANGST. VIOLENCE. A WHOLE LOT OF EVERYTHING.

Masterlist

I DON’T HATE YOU - MASTERLIST

------

This was your story.

Your heart-wrenching, exhausting, shitty, beautiful little story.

A story you’ve told only so much, but when told, it lets you relive the most memorable moments as the words flow right out of you. A story about the last few years that have been more eventful than any other year there was. A story, when given the chance, changed you so much, changed everyone involved.

And it all began and ended in a damned library.

Maybe you’d tell it again someday. Not to some therapist you barely know or a few friends who’d already heard about it from other people. But maybe you can tell it to the person you’ll eventually spend the rest of your life with. To the kids you’ll ultimately have and love. It’s a story about you and a boy named Jason Todd, and how you both changed so much for each other over the course of a few years. Telling it in a way that makes it a happy memory you were glad to live through might change how you thought about it, or how you’ll deal with it after it all ends.

But Jason, your Jason.

You were always going to love him. You were always going to miss him. He will always be the love of your life.

And even with the end so near, you set that aside. Because an end can be the most beautiful when you don’t treat it like one. It can be the best when you treat it like any other day, think about it as if it were to happen again tomorrow. Only then can you fully live through it as a memory you’ll want to relive over and over. When the emotions are genuine and all other thoughts are put aside.

That night, your last night with Jason, it was like the last three years never happened.

It had been so long since you lived through an instant of gaiety and your highest spirits without a single thought of how reality had been so hard on you, so long since you could live without despondency waiting for you outside your door to take you back to where you were supposed to be. It was that night.

The sun had long gone, and not wanting any attention from the outside or the night guards, the library had its lights shut off, door locked from the inside. And once you did, you and Jason, you were transported back to your junior year, your first few weeks at work when it was all bickering fun and laugher.

You sat cross-legged inside the cart, piles of books littered around you in a mess. “This goes to the sciences section.”

“I know. It’s here.”

“No, we moved it all the way to the front. In the new shelves.”

You leaned to the back of the cart, and your neck rested right against Jason’s arm, his nose meeting your hair. “I hate this new arrangement.”

Holding your phone’s flashlight with your one hand and the textbook with the other, you lit up the way as Jason pushed the cart through the long, narrow aisle.

The metal nets under your jeans were starting to imprint on your skin. You’ve been at this for so long, arranging and re-arranging the whole place even when you didn’t need to. And you let it settle. You kept looking up, where you could see his eyes staring at you like you were as beautiful as the moon. When you reached the shelf, you gave it to Jason, who put it right into its place between two old books.

He kept pushing you around, and you loved it especially when your squeals and light screams coming from your churning stomach filled the whole room, when Jason pushed you fast into a long aisle and you’ll feel the rumbling of the cart and the wheel almost falling off. His new strength pushed you farther and faster with so much more ease.

Standing at the far-off end at the main aisle, which faced the longest clear distance all the way to the other side of the room, Jason placed a light kiss on the tip of your forehead. “Hold on.”

“Go!”

You grabbed onto the bars with your sweaty fists, looked straight forward, then you felt the cool, magnificent rush of cold air blowing into your face, your hair, the clothes on your back. Jason laughed along with you as you howled, then you held your arms up, eyes closed. “WOOOOO!”

He stopped just before you hit the wall. Then he walked over to you. “You could have fallen over!”

“That was amazing!” Your outstretched arms started reaching for his neck, standing on your knees in the cart. You were closer to his height now, which made it easier to kiss him. He held your waist and practically stuck his tongue down your throat. “Mmm!” you giggled, and he bit your lip before pulling away.

He walked to the back of the cart then turned it around, without warning, then started pushing you back into that direction. “Again!”

Jason screamed into your ear to match your voice, then pushed you all the way back. “I’ll fucking run.”

“Do it,” you growled.

Jason bent his knees, and with you closing your eyes, he pushed the cart faster than a car would run. You screamed until your lungs gave out, your head in a flying daze. And you looked out. You could see the wind, the books going past you.

Nothing but laughter. Nothing but bliss.

BAM!

“FUCK!”

The front left wheel of the cart, that one wheel that had been all squeaky and insufferable for the last four years of your life, finally gave out on its tiny life on a string and popped out of its socket. The cart started to drift off, then tumbled down to the floor on its side. You were thrown to the ground with it. “SHIT!”

Jason would have helped you up if he wasn’t already on the floor, clutching his own stomach in uncontrollable laugher. You rubbed the side of your shoulder. “NOT FUCKING FUNNY!”

You were on your knees, growling, and Jason still kept laughing already lying on his back, crouched over to hold onto his aching stomach. You crawled over to him and started grabbing his arms. “Jackass!”

He laughed at your face, and no matter how much strength you had you couldn’t pull his arms away, so you threw yourself on top of him, crossed over so your back hit his stomach. “FUCK, your heavy.”

“Stop laughing.”

He snickered, then he started reaching for your shoulders, turning you over to face him. You laid on your stomach, splayed out on his side, and you kept laughing even when he’d pulled you into his lips again. Your arms went under his head and he pulled your body so you were laying on top of him. Wrestling, licking, feeling his lips. His course, yet soft lips. You could feel him smile and groan against you.

“Come on. We have to fix this thing.”

“What?”

Jason pecked your lips and stood up, pulling you to stand. You started dusting off your ass from the lint on the ground and he could help but slap it hard. “FUCKing hell, Jay.”

He chuckled. “Come on. You have any tools here?”

“I think Ms. P has something stashed in her desk.”

Jason started pulling the cart back up, balancing it against the table to stand upright. He went around to look for the wheel, and you fiddled around Ms. Peterson’s desk. At the bottommost shelf, you found the tools you needed. “Well, would you look at that?”

“Nice. Come on.”

You settled on the ground. And he held out the wheel to give it to you. “This little fucker’s been biting me in the ass.”

“I know. I remember.”

He took out the screws and a screwdriver. “I think we just have to screw it back in.”

“Go ahead.”

Jay started to work, placing the wheel where it was supposed to be and held out the screw into the hole, turning over the screwdriver. You laid your head on his shoulder.

“It’s the wrong size.”

“She doesn’t have anything else?”

“This is the smallest one,” Jason threw it to the ground. “What do we do?”

“Well,” you nuzzled into his neck. “We can go out to the supply closet and get more tools.”

“And the guards?”

You smiled. “We’ll have to be really, really quiet.”

Jason pulled your chin and kissed you. “You mean you have to be quiet. I do this for a living.”

You pinched his cheek, then stood up and walked over to unlock the library doors. You peered outside.

“No one’s out.”

“Just be quiet.”

You got out, closed the door behind you, then Jason held your hand as you led the way. “Man, I miss this place.”

You swore you saw the him from three years ago when you looked back, in the school halls holding your hand. “Y/N!”

“What?”

He suddenly pulled you into a corner, and when you looked out, you saw the security guard sitting right by the backdoor to the field. “Shit.”

“It’s over this way. Come on. Just be careful.”

You tiptoed out until you found the place. The supply closet. The same one you hid from Ms. Peterson from that one time. When you went inside, Jason grabbed your face and started kissing you. You held onto his arms, squeezed, then giggled when he pulled away. “We should have made out here more often.”

“I know,” he winked. “Looks cozy.”

Then he pushed you against the wall, you grabbing his hair. And you stayed there kissing probably for half an hour, completely ignoring the fact that someone could have possibly walked in. “Jay,” you smiled. “The screws.”

“Oh yeah.”

He got the tools he needed, then with him leading the way, you made sure to walk past the snoring guard with you walking on your toes. You almost slipped, but Jason kept you up, putting his finger on his mouth.

Then you rushed back inside the library, fixed the wheel on the cart. When he finished, he basically pushed you on the ground and started attacking your face with his lips.

Oh god, you’ve never been so happy.

“Let’s put these all back.”

You placed the books back in the cart, one by one. “What time is it?”

11 pm. You shrugged. “We have the whole night.”

Jason finished placing the books back into the cart, then you held onto the front of the bars as he maneuvered around, placing them onto the shelves.

“Look. Braille books. A lot of them.”

“Yeah, it goes all the way up there, remember?”

You followed him walking over to the place bringing the cart, looking up. He could have reached it by himself now, especially since he was practically as tall as the fucking shelves.

“Get on my back.”

“The fuck you wanna do now, Todd?”

“Just put your legs on my shoulders.”

He crouched over, and while you laughed it off, struggling to swing your legs over when he was so big, you held onto his head as he stood up with ease. “Can you reach it now?”

“Unnecessarily so.”

He gave you the books one by one, and you could reach the top most shelf that was almost to the ceiling. You could touch it with your finger. His grip on your legs was so strong that you couldn’t have fallen over even if you weren’t careful. You placed the books, laughing the whole time, then Jason leaned back down you could get off of him.

“Why didn’t we do that before?”

“You wouldn’t have let me.”

“I would have.”

“You remember almost biting my arms off just by carrying you up?”

He pulled you by the waist, and you turned him around so you could push him against the shelf. “I remember what this aisle was for…”

“Oh,” he winked. “Why don’t we serve its purpose?”

You tangled your fingers into his hair, and his on your waist, then you kissed him so breathlessly hard that you would’ve fallen over just by his strength pushing you back.

Yes. You had him back. Even for just a moment. There wasn’t a trace of cold blood in him. All you felt was the warmth of the soft-hearted, selfless boy you loved. You were grinning the whole time you kissed, then Jason flipped you over so you were against the books.

His lips, even when slow, pressed against you with so much desire, his breaths, his teeth biting into your mouth, you held onto the shelf to keep yourself up.

This was your story. This was the ending you never thought you’d have. Kissing, having him for yourself, never will anything be so perfect as the way he held you, grabbing your legs so they’d wrap around his hips.

You’re always going to love him, for as long as you were sane and capable of love. Nothing, no one can replace Jason Todd in your heart.

He placed you on the table, and with your giggles not so easily concealed, you rocked about on the surface, kissing you so sweet and soft. Jason held your face and started kissing every inch of your face. You smiled.

“Not here, you idiot.”

He scoffed. “I know.”

But he kept going anyway.

You will never, ever, going to forget how strong he was when he holds you, how gentle his lips could be when he holds back from practically devouring your face. How his hunger mixed with his selfless sweetness, how he was so beautiful, the most human person you’ve ever come to know.

He pulled your waist up and ran his hands all over you. You did the same. And it was all without a thought of how things were going to be when you wake up the next morning. You lived in it, pretended it was going to go on forever. And you wanted it to. So desperately.

“I love you,” he said into your ear.

Then you pulled him into your arms, felt his chest squeezed against yours, then you inhaled into his neck. “I love you.”

He kissed you again, a lot slower this time, and his hands started trailing up your body.

Something was out the door.

Voices. More than one.

“Fuck.” Jason got off you and you stood up from the table. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“Hide!”

Two night guards unlocked the library door.

“No one breaks into a library, Jeff.”

“Well, I fucking heard something just now.”

“Check the shelves.”

You held tightly onto Jason’s hand. You weren’t nervous. But you definitely didn’t want to get reprimanded by these two and lose your job. You and Jason hid beneath Ms. Peterson’s desk, and you swore you heard one of them peer in from the other side.

“You think this place haunted?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Well, I don’t see nothin’”

You looked over at Jason, then bit your lips back from laughing. He was barely able to fit under the desk, and you took note of just how adorable he looked making himself as compact as you could. He squinted at you and you silently snickered.

The voices got lower. They must have been all the way over the farthest shelves. You slowly crawled out, peeked over the table.

“Nothin’,” you heard one of the voices say. He was out of sight.

You motioned for Jason to get out. He crawled into the floor, held your hand, then surveyed the room for the quickest way out the door.

“Ey look, Jeff. Old magazines.”

“You think they got porn in there?”

On your toes, you and Jason walked out of there without a single sound.

You bit back your smile, and even with the moment so quick, you took one last look at the library, smiling. “Come on.”

You started racing out the door, out into the warm, summer night. It wasn’t so late, and you barely felt tired at all. Jason walked you out into the driveway.

When you got to your car, opening the door for you, you pulled Jason back into your arms, hands on his waist, then kissed him.

Even when he got into the car, you continued to kiss him. Even when he drove. Even when you felt your lips numb. You kept kissing his cheek and neck and basically everywhere you could, never mind how it could’ve possible ended badly. Jason drove around the city, taking a lot longer than he should. And you loved it.

It couldn’t end. Not yet. You still didn’t want it to.

But even after hours and hours on end, driving around without a destination and singing in the car, windows open for the world to hear, it ultimately had to. You went around the empty Gotham streets, basked in the silence like it was made specially for you. You sang all the songs in your playlist and Jason never hesitated to sing along with you, no matter how much his voice was drowned out by yours.

But in the end, when you saw the time on the car’s dashboard, when you felt the world tapping onto your shoulder, telling you that time was up, you couldn’t believe it.

And when you did,

The whole world sank with your heart.

Jason felt the same. He looked out the windshield, eyes drooped down and his breaths long and uneasy.

You felt it. The end. This was how it ends.

Your story with Jason.

He got out of the car, then you waited so he could open your door for you. He moved so slow, and so did you. Time had to stop. For you.

When he closed it behind you, taking your hand as he took you to your apartment, you felt his hold tighten, fingers rubbing into your skin.

You leaned close to him and placed your head on his shoulder.

Too soon. It was all moving too fast.

He turned to face you, holding your face.

Without even your knowing, a tear had fallen down your cheek.

And he wiped it away with his thumb, forcing himself to smile despite the inevitable staring at him in the face. Your chest was being hallowed out, by a shovel ruthlessly going at it with every bit of your raging thoughts, though silent, it was tearing you part by part.

You didn’t speak. You didn’t know what to say. You didn’t want to say goodbye. For good this time. And you didn’t want all this to stay behind as a memory. Jason placed his forehead tight against yours.

And you breathed him in. You took him in. You felt his eyelashes tickle your lids, felt his hands hold yours and step so close to you, you could feel his heartbeat.

And it finally came. The end.

He kissed you on the lips, so soft, softer than he ever kissed you before. You took note of how his lips felt, how his body was leaning towards you like it wanted you even more.

You heard soft, singing melodies somewhere in the air. And the whole world did stop for you this time. You couldn’t hear a sound. No one was around. And if there were you could have sworn they had frozen in place. You pulled him closer. You never loved him so much as you did at that moment.

And you wanted him. So bad.

No. This wasn’t the end. Not yet.

If this was goodbye, you were going to do it right.

You felt his lips get rougher, hungrier, and yours were, too. His hands held your face so tightly that you swore you’d break in his hold.

You wanted this.

You pulled away, and Jason knew what for.

You held his hand, never leaving his eyes.

And he followed you up the steps.

You unlocked the door with your free hand, taking him to your home. He shut the door behind him, trailing behind you down the hall, to the living room, and eventually up to your room.

You turned on one, dim light, and even then you could barely see much around you. Jason held your hand as you closed the door.

Silence. Deep, comfortable silence.

Jason held your face and pushed you against the wall.

Just once. Just one time. You wanted this so bad. Even if it wouldn’t last, you wanted it just once. And you’ll be able to tell yourself that you can move on without any more regrets. You had him for just one more night. And he’ll be gone in the morning. You wanted the most out of it. You wanted to feel every part of him, know that this was how it was going to end. And there was nothing else holding you back. Not even if you’d let it.

It didn’t take long for it to feel hot, heavier, and when you felt his weight against you, pushing you so tightly against the wall, that you were barely able to move. Your arms on his neck, he pulled you up, let your legs wrap around him, then he left his love all over your skin, marks and bruises by his teeth, all over your neck, jaw, and the top of your chest. He was so strong, so effortlessly pulling you up, you squeezed his bicep.

Then he moved you over to your desk, his arm swiftly swiping all your stuff from the surface so he could place you on top.

Yes.

He took his sweet time. You weren’t going to rush this. No. You wanted him all the way until morning. You weren’t going to let a single second pass where you weren’t conscious enough to feel him, see him. You started pulling at his shirt, but he got so distracted by your neck, sucking into your flesh so painfully good that you gasped. You were leaning back, since he was pushing you with his weight, back almost hitting the surface, but you kept yourself sitting up.

More. Harder.

You pulled on his hair, pulling so tightly to ease yourself from the pain of his teeth, then he winced away, going back to kiss your lips. you sat straight up, pulling up the hem of his shirt.

And when he pulled on the back, practically ripping it off his body, you moaned as if he were already fucking you.

“Fuck…”

He held your hands, let your palms feel every inch of his gorgeous chest.

Fuck.

He was so much bigger, as if it wasn’t already obvious with his clothes on. But without them, he looked like he was fucking photoshopped.

Rock-hard muscle, on his pecs, his stomach… God, his stomach. You wanted your tongue all over his eight-pack. Not even porn had this kind of beauty. And he kept watching you, how your face reacted at the sight of him. And if he could see it, he’d say your jaw was definitely flat on the floor. His abdomen, his sides, his abs… everything was as hard as a fucking wall. You started placing your lips on them.

Scars. Beautiful, sexy scars, all over his skin. The largest one was a deep, Y shaped one in the middle of his chest.

From his autopsy.

And when he saw you kiss over them, he started to pull away.

And you held his hand, placed kisses on his lips, silently reassuring him that he was undeniably beautiful, just as he would in anyone’s eyes. When he softened up, you went back to kissing his pecs, his abs, every surface of his skin.

Then he groaned when your tongue lapped up the middle of his chest, all the way down his abdomen.

He looked like he was going to pounce at you like a panther now.

Jason grabbed your face, held you up so he could bite into your lips, causing you with so much pleasurable pain until you could feel your lips start to bleed.

He pulled your shirt up, his hands not wasting another minute without squeezing every part of your skin. He kneaded your breasts, kissed over your chest and setting your bra down so he could taste your nipples. You leaned back, weight on your hands, then moaned when he started kissing down your stomach.

Jason undid your jeans and ripped them off your legs, taking off your panties along with them. You gasped at the exposure. You hadn’t had sex in… well, you didn’t like to think about it. So you were horribly wet, drenching your table even when he hadn’t even touched you there yet. “Fuck…”

“Shh,” he whispered.

You started gripping on his hair, tugging, an outlet for when he started biting into the thin skin on your inner thighs. And he blew into your soaked pussy, warm air grazing your clit. “Oh!”

He kept at it, leaving marks all over where he could touch except your cunt. And you wanted him there so bad. You wanted his tongue all over your inside, feel him wander around so intimately and hit that spot only he could touch. You pulled on him again and didn’t stop until he was kissing your pussy.

“Fuck, look how wet you are…”

And before he did that, he suddenly grabbed your hips and flipped you around.

Your feet now on the ground, you bent over, your wetness now dripping down your legs. You felt his hand on your back, lightly pushing you down, then you placed your weight on your elbows, forehead touching the table’s surface. Jason got on his knees, then without a warning, lapped over your throbbing cunt with his long tongue. You moaned.

He started spreading your legs. You wanted him to use his fingers, too, but that was to say his tongue wasn’t already enough to send you quaking. You held onto the sides of the table, ass pushed out and his hands grabbing onto your hips. His grip was tight, and the way his fingers were sinking into your flesh, how it went so well with how his tongue inserted itself into your hole, you gasped out his name along with other, wordless cries. He went down your clit, slowly ran his wet tongue all over it in circles and different directions. You were shaking, and the wonderfully delicious buzzing down your legs was almost too much. You pushed yourself further back.

Jason held your stomach, and you threw your head back, breathing so heavy and broken. His tongue kept at it with your clit, then back into your hole, then you squealed when he momentarily went over your asshole before licking your folds again. Fuck.

“Jay…” you cried, then a sharp slap on your ass jolted up your spine. His tongue quickened all over you. and you felt it creep up to you like an animalistic predator. The tensing of your muscles, your arms starting to give out along with your legs. Your mouth formed an ‘O’ and you screamed his name as your first, powerful orgasm washed over you. It was crushing, your every limb trembling at the slightest touch. You felt your skin burn through your cries and your head in a wonderful spiral.

Jason led you through it, made sure he was holding you tight before you’ll fall to the floor, and your cries, you let it bounce through the walls, his name so wonderfully screamed out, it was beautiful.

He let his hand reach down your pussy, massaging the outside to calm you. And before your high had subsided, you turned around, pulled him close in your arms.

You led him to your bed, pushed him down, with your one hand. Then you took your bra off, throwing it across the room. Jason leaned in towards you drooling at the sight of your tits. And you let him have what he wanted before pulling him away.

Your hands on his crotch, you felt his bulge.

Fuck.

He couldn’t possibly…

You felt more of him, rubbing over his length that seemed to go on and on…

Yes…

You pulled away from him so you could take his pants off, along with his boxers, he groaned when his dick shot up and hit his stomach.

Fuck, your pussy already started to hurt just at the sight of that-

“Jay, how-“

“The pit,” he winked at you. “Made a lot of things bigger.”

You kneeled down in front of him, taking him in your hand and drooling over the sight of him. He was so fucking huge now. It could barely fit in your hand.

And for the love of god, his fucking thighs.

“Y/N…”

“I want you in my mouth,” you demanded.

You pushed him to lay on his back, then he inched himself further up so you could kneel on the bed, crouch over so you could lick all way up from his balls to the tip of his cock.

Jason threw his head against the mattress, gripping his own hair and his hand trailing up his chest.

You took his tip in, swirling your tongue all over him. You felt him twitch and that’s when you held the bottom half with your hand. You went back and forth, mouth hallowed out as he hit the back of your throat while you pumped the rest of him with your wet palms. Your other hand kept holding onto his thigh, nail sinking in to his flesh.

“Fuck,” he groaned. Then you released his cock with a pop in your mouth, before going at it again. Your tongue went crazy over his hard, sensitive tip, licking the underside the way he liked it. After all those years you still memorized his body, no matter how much it changed. You kept going, pulling out to spit at him, then tried with all your might to sink him down all the way past your throat, blocking your airways and letting you gag repeatedly. He held your head down, then when you pulled away, mouth drenched in your drool mixed with pre-cum, you gasped for air and swallowed.

“Y/N,” he pulled on your hair, then you sucked on his tip again, opening your mouth wide until your jaw started to hurt, then you pulled your head back and forth, over and over until he started to tense, twitch. Not long after, Jason came inside your mouth.

Your hand kept pumping, and your tongue was held out to catch his seed. He kept going, moaning and squirming on the bed. You swallowed everything you could and kissed the tip.

“Come here,” he growled, just when you thought he might have passed out. He aggressively held your body up so your chest was pressing flat against him. You held his face, kissed him and letting your juices and his cum mix in your mouths, you both moaned.

You started leaning back, and just when you thought you’d grind on his cock,

You grinded on his thigh.

And fucking hell, the muscles, the ripples, how it tore through you in a sensation you never felt before. Your already quaking pussy was sensitive to touch, but now it was a wonder, mind-blowingly pleasurable experience that just couldn’t get you to stop. His tongue slightly seeping out his lips, he took in the sight of you.

“Fuck, you're hot.”

You ignored him and threw your head back. You gripped on your own tits, focused on the friction. His thighs were so large you still had to spread your legs wide. You kept going, going and going.

Then, without you even expecting it, another powerful orgasm ripped through you. You held onto Jason’s chest, and him growing hard again just watching you use his thighs to pleasure yourself. You were shaking, screaming into the air, then Jason didn’t waste a minute before grabbed you by the waist, suddenly flipping you over so your back was against his chest. You were lying on top of him, and on your ass, you felt his hardening cock.

You threw your head back onto his shoulder. Your bodies felt one again. Just like it used to. And with his breath against your ear, you cried at the stings on your skin when his warm fingers traced all over your body. he touched you, all of you. And all you could do was lie on your back, feel his lips on your cheek, feel his chest on your ass while he squeezed your tits so hard you screamed.

Then his other hand went down, to your over-stimulated pussy. He whispered into your ear. Your name. his thoughts. Everything he wanted to do to you. and your eyes went over the back of your head when his fingers inserted inside you, moving around your walls. He squeezed your other breast tighter to go along with it, and when it was so hard, you started to cum again, you held it back.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” you screamed, and he bit onto your ear. You spread your legs wide in the air and let his middle and ring finger pound into you so hard and fast. You heard wet, slapping noises, and the way his long fingers went inside you, ticking your clit with his palm, Jason kept massaging your upper body so gently, immensely contrasting his roughness on your cunt.

“Fuuuuck!!!” you screamed, and your legs were shaking when you came for the third time that night. Each one a different sensation than the other. This one came fast, one strong, powerful surge that went with the pain of his hand so ruthlessly bruising you up. You had to reach down, hold his wrist from going any further just because you couldn’t take it anymore. “Jay -“

“Shh.”

Fuck. The way he shushed you, sent all the nerves in a spiral all over again.

You turned around, and he flipped you over on your back, hovering on top of you. “What do you want me to do?”

You gasped when his cock went over your folds. “Fuck me…”

“Mmm,” he hummed into your ear, kissing your cheek, your neck, then he was back on your lips. He took the time to do that, making sure you were ready for him.

“Please… oh!”

His cock, so large, tore through you so slowly, making sure you felt every bit of him stretch you out to your full capacity. And even when he wasn’t fully inside, he stopped. You were so tight around him you could feel it. You couldn’t even clench. But even with the pain so immense, you pushed on his back to make him go forward.

He sat back so he could look at all of you. nipples hard in the air, back arched so much that it went with the curve of his cock. Your skin was red and flushed, and every touch on you seemed to make your spine jolt. You held yourself up with your elbows, looking at him with that hooded glare that sent his lustful demons rising.

He held your waist, watching his dick go further and further inside you. You screamed so loud at the pain, even when he was so careful with it. But you loved it. Every part of it. Jason dicked you down balls deep, and stayed there while watching your body thrash about.

“Jason, fuck me, please…”

He held your waist, pull you up so the top of your head was the only thing touching the mattress, then started pulling your body back and forth.

Fuck. Your walls, how you adjusted so roughly around him it made you hiss, yet after so many of his long, hard strokes, it built up that wonderful, rhythmic, deep electricity sparked back that one spot he was so expertly thrusting into.

It was slow at first, but when you started gripping onto his arm, he took it as a pass to suddenly snap his hips up to you and bruise your ass. “FUCK!”

Jason kept at it, then you held his neck, squeezing it to ease the over-whelming shocks, and he rocked your body back and forth, letting you back arch so much. Over and over. He wouldn’t stop. And you saw different colored lights flash before your eyes, shutting them close to stop yourself from passing out. The feel of his cock, and the buzz it went with…

It wasn’t even about the orgasm. You were one with him. You always had been.

You didn’t care if you came. For how many times that night. You focused on him. On his love. His touch. His beautiful, lustful love that was as endless as it seemed.

He was yours. Not just for that night.

Jason will always be yours.

Always.

And that was how you wanted your story with him to end.

----

Soft.

Sultry.

It was an otherwise beautiful morning.

Every minute, you could feel it pass.

So slowly, like silent, steady drum beating.

You didn’t let yourself fall asleep. All night, you were in his arms. You let the night pass without your conscious mind missing a second of it. He didn’t sleep either.

And when the sun had come, telling you both that it was time,

That was when he let it dawn over him.

This was goodbye.

Time was ticking. Staying longer would only make things so much more difficult.

He kissed your shoulder, and even when his arms wouldn’t have let you, you pulled back. The way you looked at him, the hurt he could just see, he wanted to beat himself up over it. He wished this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

But the longer he looked into you, he made sure to memorize each and every detail of your face.

You closed your eyes, and he wiped the tear that seeped through them.

Jason, with all his strength that was already so immense, struggled, but forced himself to let you go.

And you stayed on the bed, eyes on the sheets. He didn’t want you to watch him leave. You turned over your back.

And it made it easier for him to put his clothes back on. As slowly as he could. Fuck, every movement hurt.

When he pulled his shirt over his head, he sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the wall.

You had put on your shirt and panties as well, also sitting at the other side of the bed.

He couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Not anything that was only going to hurt more.

But by god, he was thankful he came back. At least now, for you and him both, you said your goodbyes the best way he could. He’ll no longer have any regrets. He’ll no longer wish he did things differently when obviously he should’ve from the start.

Jason stood from the bed, slowly walked over to the door.

You probably didn’t want to voice out your goodbyes. You were still on the bed, clutching on the sheets. And when you caught his eye, you looked away.

Jason could have run back to your arms, tell you he was wrong, that he wasn’t going away, then you’ll go back to make love all day just as you would for the rest of your days.

That was always going to be the fantasy of what he could have done. Maybe even what he should have done.

But he didn’t.

He opened the door, slowly walked out of it and closed it behind him.

Jason was just about to walk out of your front door when he heard your voice. “Wait!”

He looked back.

You raced to him, and you were holding something in your hand. A book.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Complete Collection of Stories

“You have it back,” you sniffed. “Please.”

Jason looked at your hands, mouth open, then he felt a tear on his eyes blur out his image of you, looking at him like he was just the whole world. He shook his head.

“Keep it.”

You bit your lips, then looked down at your feet. You set it on the table aside and wiped a tear from your face.

“Goodby-“

He pulled you to his chest, so tightly and suddenly, you gasped when your mouth met his shoulder. Then he felt your tear wet his shirt. He pulled you even closer, face into your hair. His own tear had fallen, and he let the feel of you loosen the tightening in his chest.

You pulled him just as tight. Just as close.

He didn’t know for how long, but you were in his arms for so long. It might have been just a minute. Or even an hour.

But he knew, the moment he walked out the door, that he made the greatest mistake of his life.

The sobs fell when Jason walked out. Your heart on the floor. Your whole body on the floor. Your back hit the door and you sobbed into your knees.

How many times has he left you? How many times does he have to screw you over for him to know you didn’t deserve any of this? Jason tried walking down the steps, but his legs felt weak. He sat on the steps and didn’t care if people around him saw him cry.

You tugged at your chest. Even though it hurt. Even when it was inevitable, you thanked the world. For giving you just a few more days with him. You thanked the cosmos from bringing him back. Even when it wasn’t meant to last.

As much as he wanted to hate everything, lash out on anything he could get his hands on, he didn’t. In fact, he knew those last days with you, those beautiful last days, will go on until the end of his life.

You once heard. If someone was really meant for you, you will end up together. If that someone was Jason, you’ll have to embrace that new side of you that let the world take control. You sat back, hoping it would eventually change. Even when it seems impossible.

Jason walked home.

You went back to your room.

He fell to his bed.

You tried to go to sleep.

But he couldn’t. Not for the next days.

You loved him even more than you ever had.

This couldn’t possibly be the end.

Why didn’t it feel like an end?

He wished you’ll be okay.

You hoped for the best.

‘Goodbye, Y/N.’

‘Goodbye, Jason.’

-----

1 MONTH

He had the money. He could manage this.

But not working for this long was eventually going to take a toll on him.

Okay. He shouldn’t call it work. Even when it technically was. He was earning money through all those drug rings he’d held hostage and now that he’d been stuck in his home for the last month, he didn’t even know what his goons were up to.

Jason woke up two hours past noon that day, just like he always had. Slowly, he swung his legs over the bed and blinked away the crust in his eyes. He stretched, feeling the warm morning sun in his skin. Then he walked over to the kitchen to make himself some toast.

It had been a month.

And still, he barely wanted to do anything.

No, it wasn’t like the first time you broke up. When his ass starved himself in bed, tore everything around in his room and let his anger take over all his sanity to the point where he left his room destroyed, his bed constantly soaked in his tears, his cries of anger, his eventual plunge into darkness. No, it wasn’t that anymore.

Because he wasn’t angry anymore.

Not at you. not at himself. How could he? He was the one who wanted this. He beat himself up over that so much that at this point he’d grown tired. Now, he was tired. So tired.

His toast popped up the toaster and he grabbed it, took a large bite out of it without anything else.

He got home, calm and silent. And every day that had passed, he never threw anything against the wall, he never starved himself, punished himself by constantly staring at your photos and remembering all your moments he was never going to relive.

He didn’t do anything to hurt himself anymore.

But it didn’t mean he wasn’t just as hurt.

He cries at night. Often all the time. Until eventually his eyes grow tired and he was left asleep in his own tears. Jason let himself remember you, but no longer with any other feeling than greatness, appreciation, sweet, serene thoughts when he looked back.

Of course, it wasn’t without tears. All the time. There were tears.

He sat on his couch, leaned back, and let himself delve into the loneliness that was reality.

He really fucking missed you.

He still, with all his heart, loved you.

You never once called, and he never once reached out. He stayed true to his promise. He felt the pain he’d already expected. Jason wasn’t angry because all this was his choice, for your own good. He stayed on that couch for the rest of the day.

He didn’t fight off his thoughts anymore. Every image of you, he let it play in his head. He didn’t let the emptiness take over like last time. He didn’t pretend he wasn’t hurt. He didn’t pretend that each day went on and he had no control over it. He let each day pass, welcomed it with open arms. He felt every inch of that pain pass through every inch of him. All this, it was happening.

You. He had no idea what you were doing. He could only hope you were doing okay. Not like him.

That night, he went out, hoodie over his head.

And he went over to a bar. Alone. He ordered a drink. He went through the glass before anyone could bat an eye. He ordered another.

A girl took a seat next to him, and he let himself take his attention to her. She smiled at him, then she started talking. He didn’t exactly listen to what she said. He just kept nodding and smiling when he could.

He let her take him to her apartment, and he pushed her against the wall. What was her name again?

He grabbed her thigh, let her bite his neck. He fucked her in her bed, her screaming his name and kissing him all night. He just let everything happen. He pushed all thoughts aside. Or at least, this was what he did to try. He came and stopped right after.

Jason waited for her to fall asleep. And when she did, he grabbed his clothes and walked out of her apartment without so much as a text.

When he got back to his place, taking another drink from his stash and taking it to bed with him, he laid his head against the wall.

Nothing. Nothing changed.

He could have thrown that bottle across the room, let it break and not clean it up until the next few days. But instead, he just let a tear down his cheek.

You were still there. In his head.

Jason looked at the duffel bag in the corner, where his helmet and jacket had been sitting lifelessly for the past month.

That night, Red Hood stopped five muggers and two rapists from all over crime alley.

-----

2 MONTHS

‘I call out into the open,

Hoping for some reason,

That whatever there is, and always will be,

Was for the better

That all this sacrifice.

Wasn’t for no reason.

That you were right, in fact,

And eventually…

I’ll see why you no longer wanted me…’

You scratched out those last two words. It didn’t feel right. He still wanted you. You don’t know how he was feeling right now, but you were sure he still loved you at the end.

You hated how writing songs just felt so much easier when you were depressed. Maybe because you needed to feel strong emotions that had to take over you and drive you into that creative spiral. It was messed up, but you let it happen.

The empty music room helped, but you wore your earphones with your piano chords on repeat just to drown out the noises of students outside the door.

‘I’ll see why you let go of me…’

That’s better.

‘I promised you I’m fine.

That all of this was for you.

You are everything I wish to be and

The light that shines through

All the darkness…

No matter how much they try

To get their hands on me…

Even though you’re not here,

I’m always going to be yours…’

You took out your earphones, then started playing a tune, breaking the chords apart in that certain melody you had going on in your head. When you got it, you started singing the lyrics you just wrote.

You kept singing, pretending he was standing by the door, watching you play and sing with his heart in his hand, clutched tightly and his face all goofy and red. You stopped for a moment, going back to the last line, then you went on.

Okay. Good. That was good.

‘Your dreams of me

I hope they are good to you,

No longer feeding you the pain

That I can feel every time

I think of us. Of what could have been.

I dream of you,

Every night, I do and I let them happen

Even when reality surges

Like a hit to the head

And it hurts so much…

Oh…

But I’ll go through that,

As long as I see you

At night.’

You placed your pen down and went to the piano, playing them out. After a while, revising the way the chords played out, you hit record and started from the beginning.

He was there. Smiling. And you closed your eyes pretending that he actually was.

You never realized all the songs you wrote were all about him, especially the ones that got the highest marks.

You even once wrote a song about sex. With him, obviously. And the thought of it made you blush. You were never going to pass that.

When you looked back, at the park, at the carnival, at the library, the ideas just wouldn’t stop flowing through you. It was sadness, but it had that little painful jab of acceptance lodged in your chest. You were no longer in mourning. But you were still hurt, and not a day goes by when you hadn’t thought of reaching out to the other side of your bed, hoping he was there, or even step into the shower and feel his arms around you. Maybe, eventually, you’ll actually move on.

Now just didn’t feel like it.

So, with your everlasting love for a man you couldn’t have, you continued to sing.

When you were done, you placed the headphones on and listened.

And when you listened to your voice, soothing to hear but had that subtle breakage at the ends when the words hit home the most, you felt the lyrics go through you, felt how it was still there, all over your heart. And it just didn’t feel like something you could easily erase.

“I let you go…

I’m letting you go…

But it doesn’t mean

That the sun comes up to greet me,

And not question how

My smiles are no longer real…”

You closed your eyes, and felt little droplets seep out of your eyes, down to your cheek and chin. You sniffed, wiping them off with your sleeve, then you hit stop.

----

4 MONTHS

Red Hood broke into a window of an abandoned apartment building. There were five men around, all with guns in their hands.

“Am I late for the party?”

They started shooting, and he dodged them by a mere inch rolling on the ground. He pulled out his own guns, but he couldn’t have a good enough aim. Red Hood took to hiding behind the crates before he took one, with his bare hands, then threw it at their direction.

That’s when he started shooting. At their shoulders specially to stop them from picking their guns back up with ease. Red Hood took another crate, threw it at a thug’s body, and when he was on the ground, he leapt up into the air.

One of them grabbed him just before he got to the floor, and he was swung to the wall, hitting his back against the hard concrete. “Fuck,” he said.

He opened fire, aiming at their legs before they could run and tackle him to the ground. Red Hood grabbed a man’s head, hit the back of his neck with his elbow, then slammed him against his knee. He hissed for him. “That gotta hurt.”

“Quit talking, Hood.”

He shot that guy’s shoulder before he could say anything more. “But I love talking to you guys!”

Four guys down. He grabbed one of them by the neck, and held him against the wall. “Tell me where the good stuff is, or I blow your brains out.”

“In there! There!” he pointed to a room. “Don’t fuckin’ hurt me!”

He headbutted him and he was instantly knocked out cold on the ground. He followed it with a shot in the head.

Red Hood ran into the same room, where three men, no longer armed, held their hands up to surrender. Their meth lab looked large enough to house children, all right.

“I’m gonna ask nicely-“

“They’re in there!”

He stood back. That was easy.

He went to the closet they pointed at and true enough, three kids held down with ropes around their legs and arms stared back at him in fear. They started to scream, but Red Hood placed his finger up to where his lips were supposed to be and cut their ropes. “Get out of here.”

They all ran out, and Red Hood cracked his neck, holding out his gun at the three masterminds behind the lab. “Alright. Who do I kill first?”

They were on their knees, hands behind their heads as they cried out for their lives.

“Him!”

Red Hood shot the man who spoke up. Right in the head. He fell to the floor and his blood spread out all over the floor. “Next!”

“Please!!”

“Not me! Please!”

“Wrong answer!” Red Hood exclaimed, then he hit the man’s head with the butt of his gun, before shooting him once in the chest.

“Should have thought of that before you kidnapped from the playgrounds, motherfucker.”

The last one, who’d pissed his pants, was looking up at him visibly trembling on his knees. He whispered all the pleas and prayers he knew, and Red Hood, who never submitted to any of that, placed the muzzle to his head.

He looked like a young man. The youngest out of the other two.

And he didn’t look too much like a bad guy.

Still, he could have orchestrated the kidnappings himself. Maybe even done more to those kids than he thought.

Jason clicked his gun.

“Please! I’m begging you.”

This happened often.

When he took too much time thinking about whether to kill or not,

He saw you.

You’d hate to see him this way. And he could hear your voice, telling him to stop. That he didn’t need to do this. He didn’t have to kill him. Not even the other two he just shot right then.

He fucking hated it when this happened.

Batman fucking spoke to him in his sleep and never once did he falter. He never once submitted to Batman’s demands.

But the moment he hears you,

He stopped.

He killed too many today.

Not just today even.

“Consider yourself lucky.”

“Wha-“

He punched him square on the face. And he fell to the ground in a loud, clean thud.

-----

5 MONTHS

“All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside

It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it

If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them they know not me

Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away

I know I have to go…”

Father and Son by Cat Stevens. You loved that song. The guitarist, a blonde guy named Dustin, looked at you and smiled just as you finished the song. The guy with the beat box, someone you didn’t really know, placed it back into the supply shelves.

You hopped off your stool and started to put the microphone stand away.

“Hey,” Dustin said. “Y/N.”

You turned your head to him.

“You have an amazing voice.”

You recall only talking to him once when you met a few days ago. When you were first assigned together for a live performance in school. “Thanks.”

“You play any instruments?”

You started wrapping the mic around with the wires. “Piano mostly. A bit of guitar.”

“I can teach you if you want.”

He was smiling too much at you, and you cleared your throat. If you were in high school you would have already left the room. But you didn’t. You let yourself stay in that room.

He started plucking on the guitar strings.

“You're really good,” you said to him.

“Thanks.”

You smiled, then when you finished cleaning up after yourself, you started for the door.

“Hey!”

You turned to him. Dustin went over to you with a pen in hand, then held out his hand for you to give him your palm.

“What?”

“My number.”

“Oh,” you gulped.

If you were in high school, you would have screamed at him to get out.

But, you didn’t.

You gave your palm to him, then he started writing down his number. “Call me,” he said.

Then he left the room. You didn’t, on the other hand. You were left standing there, wondering what the hell you just did.

You haven’t moved on. Not even the slightest. Jason had your heart for the last three years, even when he wasn’t here. Why would another 5 months be any different? Sure, you weren’t grieving over his death anymore, and the acceptance had sunk in eventually. But go out with another? Open your heart up to new people?

You weren’t sure you were ready. You didn’t exactly enjoy the idea of it.

But it didn’t matter if you were ready. One of these days, you’re going to have to let everything slide, call that cute guitarist and finally give yourself the life Jason always had in mind for you. What he always wanted for you.

You looked at your palm and swallowed.

-----

7 MONTHS

THE GOTHAM TIMES

The Red Hood: Change of Heart?

‘Gotham’s most feared vigilante, the Red Hood, had always been attached to cases of cold-blooded murders, violent massacres, and heartless debacles in almost every crime ring imaginable. Hood, as he is most often referred to, has been more feared than Batman himself, due to his willingness to take lives, which Batman does not do.

However, in the recent months, cases of murders in crime settings the Red Hood was involved in have dramatically dropped. In good days, which have been occurring more often as time goes by, his kill count has been an astonishing ZERO and will only leave bodies unconscious before calling the police. First thought to be the work of Batman, it has been recently confirmed that the last sighting of the Red Hood, no dead bodies were found.’

Jason skipped over that article before it went on and on. He hated reading about himself. And the pictures they had of him, he snorted. Even the Gotham Times had amateurs for photographers.

Yeah. Okay. He hadn’t been killing for a while. Mostly because he didn’t exactly feel the need to anymore. Not when it wasn’t absolutely needed. Henchmen could still live. Their bosses, not so much. He’d still take lives if they absolutely deserved it.

He didn’t exactly think that much about it. He wasn’t proud of himself, exactly. Even when he probably should be. But he knew there were more things to worry about than give himself any kind of appraisal.

He kept scrolling down his feed.

He almost choked on his booze when he suddenly came across a picture of you, along with five other people in what looked like a singing gig, in a magazine article from Gotham Today.

He never clicked so fast onto the article.

GOTHAM TODAY

Gotham College of the Arts for Christmas Market

‘The musically gifted students from the graduating class of Gotham College of the Arts will be hosting this year’s Christmas Market live performance. It is also expected that they are booked for the Summer festival as well. The Lineup of these talented seniors include…’

Scroll. Scroll. Scroll.

There. Your name.

‘Y/FN. Singer. Songwriter.’

Beside it was a picture of you.

Jason smiled.

You looked so beautiful, with your teeth showing in your grin, your hair up in a ponytail and your makeup looking absolutely perfect. You were on stage, and you were holding a microphone. You looked straight into the camera. Straight at him.

He clutched at his shirt, right above where his heart was.

He shouldn’t do this.

Fuck it.

He went over to your profile.

You weren’t dating anybody, as far as he knew.

But he saw you posted three covers of different Lana Del Ray songs. He ended up watching all of them three times that night.

Fuck.

It didn’t even hurt him anymore. It had been for months. But now he was just laughing at himself just how much you still got to him.

He stared at your picture.

How are you looking at him now? With all the news reports about how he’d changed? Are you smiling? Were you proud of him? Was he a lot better in your eyes?

The whole point of him maintaining his distance between you was because of what he did. Because you didn’t deserve having a murderer as a boyfriend or a husband. Because of all the enemies he’s made.

Well,

What happens now? Now that that’s changed?

-----

9 MONTHS

You felt really bad for not calling Dustin.

And it already had been four months. You kept seeing him often in rehearsals. And basically every week in jamming sessions.

And, well, you decided, ultimately, that you really, really had to at least put some kind of effort to let Jason go. Nine months had passed and still you hadn’t dated anybody.

So last night, you finally called him.

Dustin picked you up from your apartment, and for that night, you went out to a nice little restaurant that served kebabs.

He was really cute. Not cute as Jason, though. And definitely not as-

Okay. You can't be doing that.

“So I was thinking, for the summer fair in three months, I thought we could do Shallow by Lady Gaga? I think it would fit your voice really well.”

You nodded. “Thanks.”

“And, well, for me, I’ll have to be Bradley Cooper. That’s actually funny ‘cuz just last month I…”

You were staring at your food, picking them off with your fork. You just listened to him talk. On and on. You weren’t exactly sure what to say if he asked you to say anything or open a topic. Maybe you should have went to see a movie. You were bad at this. The only other first date you went to was in the Christmas Market with-

Fucking stop.

“Anyway, I feel bad now. You haven’t exactly said anything in a while. Tell me about you!”

You just blurted out whatever shit came up to mind. And when you grew too uncomfortable to talk, you started picking at your food. It wasn’t that he was difficult to talk to. It was just…

Well, for starters, something had been in his teeth for a while and you were too embarrassed to point anything out.

And when you left the restaurant, he dropped you off to your apartment.

“Uhm,” he cleared his throat. “That was fun.”

“I had fun,” you bit your lips.

“I’ll, uh, call you!”

“Sure.”

Dustin went out the car and opened the door for you. He then walked you to your door, scratching the back of his neck. “I think you look really pretty today.”

You nodded, smiling. “Thank you.”

“Can I kiss you?”

Woa. Okay.

You gulped.

You had to do this.

So, even when you weren’t so sure yourself, you said yes.

And when he leaned in, you closed your eyes.

Nothing.

It wasn’t him. It wasn’t Jason.

You immediately pulled away.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

You backed off, and Dustin never looked so uncomfortable. You wanted to bury yourself deep in the ground and never come back. “I’m sorry.”

“No!” you exclaimed. “Don’t be! I swear.”

“I’ll go now.” He pointed to his car with his thumb. “Have a good night.”

“Good night.”

He left, and you stormed out into your room, stuffing your head into your pillow.

WHY.

You sobbed all night, thinking about him. Thinking about how it all felt so wrong. It wasn’t Dustin at all. It was you. You couldn’t bring yourself to see any other guy in that light. Not even if you tried. And you really fucking tried.

You never called Dustin back.

-----

11 MONTHS

He’d changed so much.

And it was all because of you.

Almost a year since he saw you. and still, your voice spoke to him when he needed the guidance. Your face stared back when he had to imagine a face that would lead him into the right path. He hadn’t killed in months. He hadn’t done anything he’d otherwise regret.

Batman was no longer on his tail. He was no longer on Batman’s tail.

Now, he actually was proud of himself.

Because after that first time he came across you again after so many months. The same thought crossed his mind everyday since it began.

Is it possible that he deserved happiness now?

Could he finally be good enough to have someone he truly, genuinely loved?

Could he see himself be with his loved once? Surround himself with the wishes of life he never thought he’d have?

Did he change enough for you to actually be enough to have you for his own?

Will you take him back?

Because after eleven months, he was still in love with you. He broke his promises a few months back and started following you again in school, at work, practically everywhere he could catch you. You were still, without a doubt, so beautiful. And he himself was the one who plunged back into that hole. The abyss that was you. The only abyss he wanted to get lost in.

He loved you.

He still does.

He never actually stopped.

And he wanted you back. So much. He realized that the first time he saw you again about two months ago. As selfish as he was, he couldn’t help but think maybe you’d take him back as well.

He’d worked so hard to prove to himself, to the people of Gotham, and most specially, prove to you, that he wanted to be better. Good enough to actually deserve you.

Because he couldn’t take it anymore. He tried. Lots of women. None of them compared to you. Not in the slightest. And he stopped taking advantage of women just to make himself forget you after a while. It wasn’t right. And besides, he was an idiot to think he’d actually even forget you.

Will you take him back?

Will you?

Standing outside your apartment, hands stuffed to his hoodie, Jason stared at the door.

Just one push of the doorbell, and he’ll see you, face to face, after so long.

He really fucking wanted you. So bad.

Is he ready? Is he enough?

Hours. He stood there for hours, and still, he didn’t.

No.

He had one last thing to take care of.

One last thing, that if done, would change practically everything. Even if he wasn’t so sure, when he’ll probably have to force himself to do it with all his might,

It would change everything. And no longer will he have to be afraid of the monster that he is. What he was. What he could be if he didn’t try.

Jason pulled out his phone.

He placed it to his ear, walking out of your sidewalk.

“Hello?”

Jason swallowed, hearing that familiar, deep voice.

“Dick. It’s Jason.”

Silence. Bitter silence. Or sweet silence. Whatever it was called.

“Jason?”

“Yeah.”

Mend the past. Forget about what had happened. Move on. That’s what he made you promise. He’ll have do his part as well.

“Hi, Jason.”

“Hi,” he gulped.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

Dick was eerily silent in between his occasional mumbles. “I read the reports.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Sorry.”

He was gonna do it.

‘Do it’, he heard you tell him.

“Can we meet? Just talk things through?”

“Oh,” Dick said. “O-of course, Jason. I’d really like that.”

“Don’t tell Bruce yet. I’ll call him, too. In time.”

“Of course. Whatever you need.”

Jason looked back out into your apartment building, at the window with the fire escape.

-----

12 MONTHS

Gotham Summer Music Festival.

You were all dressed up, made up, and ready to go on stage. Your cue was up next, and you had one song to go through before they’ll let you go home. Your culminating activity before graduation, they said. You had to do this right. You weren’t so nervous, but the fact that your grades were on the line, it terrified you that you might actually have to go through a semester again if you don’t do well.

Nothing to worry about, though. If people were completely honest. You’ll do great. You did great in rehearsals. You’ll do great now. It shouldn’t be any different from all the other performances.

You pulled out your phone and opened an article you had saved in your screenshots.

RED HOOD: GOTHAM’S MOST BELOVED HERO

You smiled. Your heart warmed. Jason would have loved this. Seeing you here.

And you would have loved to see him. You were so proud of him, it was crazy.

You should’ve invited him. Maybe he would have said yes. It was because of him why you were here at all. Even after a year, seeing you onstage wouldn’t be so bad.

But you didn’t. You didn’t want to be rejected again. As much as you still fucking loved him, all the way down in the deepest pits in your heart you learned to tuck away when it wasn’t called for, you knew he probably wouldn’t say yes.

But you closed your eyes, imagined what he would have said to you right now, how his words would have sent you all the way up to the sky, and you’ll be able to tell him how proud you were of him, too. In your most perfect world, he’d be yours. Now that you’ve soared. Now that he was the best version of himself.

“Y/N! You're up!”

You stood up and shook yourself off from that trance.

A good crowd. They cheered at you, and you waved your arm up at them. You were singing solo. And with the school wanting a song that went best with your voice, they let you choose.

The guitar started playing. And you were closing your eyes, letting the music play right through you and got yourself into the void.

“I was wrong to say I loved her

I was wrong to think I'm right

But when I told her it was over

My darling I had lied

I've been running from my demons

Afraid to look behind

I've been running from myself

Afraid of what I'd find…”

You chose this song. You chose it because of him. Everything. The words. The emotion. It hit every nerve there was. You kept your eyes closed, really felt the words flow through you. The crowd was silent.

“But how am I supposed to love you

When I don't love who I am?

And how can I give you all of me

When I'm only half a man?

'Cause I'm a sinking ship that's burning

So let go of my hand

Oh, how can I give you all of me

When I'm only half a man?”

You breathed in, taking a second, a tear went down your cheek, then you opened your eyes.

And the world, the once cruel, vile little world that never was so kind to you, finally gave you that smidge of kindness, a pardon of all the years of you beating yourself up, of you going through an inferno of a life, barely being held together with the strings of happiness you desperately hold onto.

Jason.

In the deepest parts of the crowd, so blended in that only you, you could have possibly picked him out of it.

He smiled up at you.

The tears continued to flow.

-----

“And now I'm stuck in this hotel room

By cold neon light

I've been waiting for an answer

But it don't come tonight

And every bottle I had stolen

Lay shattered on the floor

What's broken can't be whole, anymore

That song would have spoken to him a year ago. When he did think he was half a man.

He would’ve beaten himself over it like all those years, then he’d have left the crowd and be on his way. But when you caught his eye, tears down your face, he knew this was the right choice. He knew it was right to come back.

God, he was so proud of you.

He could watch you all day. You improved so much, and you sounded nothing less of an angel by now. You were going to ace this grade and you were going to graduate with your head held high, being one of the most talked about students in the school. He was so, so fucking proud of you.

And if you weren’t looking at him like this, he would have thought you didn’t need him anymore.

But he’ll take that chance. He’ll let you make that decision. For once. You’ll be the one to decide if you still wanted him back. He did everything he could to give you that freedom of a choice. Just a few days ago, he talked to Bruce. He’d been talking to Dick and even Tim every so often.

Even if you’ll say no, even if you wouldn’t have him, he came to thank you. If it weren’t for you he wouldn’t be here at all.

It was as if that year without you didn’t even pass. He was still as in love with you as the first time.

He realized you were the only one he’ll ever be in love with since… well, since he first kissed you.

He walked closer to the stage, his eyes never leaving you. You looked at him, with your tears. ‘I’m here,’ he mouthed at you.

And you understood. You closed your eyes, finishing the song with the whole crowd in wild screams and claps. He clapped for you, then he started walking to edge of the crowd. To the left. He saw you going in there.

Fuck.

Your heart was beating so fast.

And it wasn’t because you basically finished college or that you performed in front of the biggest crowd in your life.

You went through the mounds of people coming to congratulate you. You hurriedly shook every hand you could, then you excused yourself to go out into the crowd.

You weren’t here. Where did you go? He could have sworn you went this way just a moment ago. Jason went back into the audience, walking over to the other side, the one going into the backstage.

You couldn’t see him. He wasn’t where you last saw him. Jason couldn’t have left, right? He told you he was here. He’d be a jackass if he left again. You went into the crowd and got yourself lost.

“Sorry,” he said to a guy he accidently hit with his shoulder. You weren’t backstage. The sun was starting to come down. It’ll be a lot harder to find you in the dark. People were sweaty and smelly and he desperately wanted to get out of here.

You bumped through every person you could. “Excuse me.” You stood in your tip toes, looking for a guy so tall he’d be seen from a mile away. Nothing. You couldn’t see him. You started to feel your heart sink.

He had to see you now. Now. Now. Now. Where the fuck were you-

There. Standing in the middle of the audience on your toes, trying to look for him in the other direction. And he froze. He didn’t know if he should come up to you so suddenly. What was he going to say to you?

You started to lose so much hope, so quickly you wanted to cry.

But as the world continued to remind you that good things eventually do happen, you turned around.

He was almost being hidden by the people passing through, but the moment you caught his eye, everything else was a blur.

You saw him now, with your beautiful eyes shaking as it caught his own. Jason gulped, hands in his pockets trying to conceal his quaking. He took the first step.

The crowd’s screams. The voices. The people around you. They didn’t exist.

You started walking towards him, slowly. You took your time. You were too nervous to just suddenly go up to him. But he looked so handsome and bright and radiant. No one would blame you. You heard soft bells in the distance, or perhaps a soft key in the piano, repeatedly playing the more steps you took.

Jason smiled at you.

You smiled back.

And finally, finally…

You were standing in front of him.

He wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

You didn’t know what to tell him. You took even more steps to close your distance. And when you got close enough, despite the crowd and the noise, you heard him. “Hi…”

You chuckled. “Hi…”

He looked down, at his feet. He was probably blushing at the sight of you. You just looked so beautiful.

Everything. After all that, you’ve both changed for the better.

And even when it took so long, now, you were ready for each other.

Logically. Truthfully. The only thing that one year taught him was how much he dreaded having to go on each day without you.

It just couldn't be. Both of you forcing yourselves to believe you were better off apart. It just wasn't true. In the simplest way, you had to have each other.

It wouldn't be living without you.

No other time felt so right.

Jason took another step closer to you. “You were amazing out there…”

“Thank you,” you said. You took the next step. You were standing so close to his chest, you looked right up to his eyes.

You didn’t want to waste any more time.

“I heard... about the things you've done,” you told him. “I‘m proud of you.”

Jason smiled.

"I'm proud of you, too."

Jason wanted you in his arms already. Not a minute more to pass without you in them.

He took your hand. And you looked at it, before turning up to look so mesmerizingly into his eyes. He had so much to say to you.

Here you were, standing right in front of him.

Yeah. This was the right choice.

He didn't even have to say all that he thought, how you two just couldn't live being apart and how, especially now, you didn't have to. You could have him. He could have you.

You held his face, so gently with your lingering eyes, then you kissed him.

-----

The whole world could have disappeared.

But nothing, nothing could have stopped either of you from a kiss that had been years too late. A kiss that a beginning to another story. One where no longer did you have more secrets, more demons to hide. When you’ve both changed so much for the other that the timing couldn’t possibly be more perfect. You were here. He was here.

Everything was spinning. Everything was light. And with that kiss, flashes of a future you desperately wanted washed over you, and after all those years of hardships and punishments, if this was what it ultimately led to, then it was all worth it.

“Y/N...” he whispered.

Jason held you by the face and kissed you so hard, the whole crowd erupting in applause for another performer he didn’t care about. You held onto him so tightly, letting the sun go down as time went by. You didn’t count the minutes. Not any longer. You both knew, somehow, you just knew. This time, it was going to last.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said. You smiled so brightly against his lips. “Where?”

He looked around. “I have a place in mind. But it’s three hours away.”

-----

Just as it had been chaotic, wild, and overwhelming a while ago, it was the complete opposite now.

The place was closed, as expected, but you and Jason managed to go to the house’s door step. He took you to a place that he owed your story to. You’ve never been here before, but even then, he saw how much your smile lit up the empty Philadelphia street the moment you walked out of the car.

And with you, sitting on the steps of the historical building with him on your side, you both looked up at the sky, at the stars that littered about that weren’t there back at home.

Jason thanked the stars as well. He thanked everything. You leaned on his shoulder, and you spent the night away on that porch, watching how love made the whole world come to a slow, steady pause. He was never going to let you go. Not anymore. You were his. Actually his. Forever.

Just like he used to, Jason reached over to take your chin, and with his lips so soft, he kissed you.

You were sitting outside the house of a man who brought two lost souls together, who often wrote about sadness and depth and ended up bringing two kids to fall in love. The man he never thought he’d thank, but he did.

On the plaque standing next to the house’s door, it read:

Edgar Allan Pоe National Historic Site

--------

I DON’T HATE YOU - MASTERLIST

-------

FUUUUUUUUCK IT’S OVER I CAN’T BELIEVE IT

TAGLIST

@everyartistwas-firstanamateur

@sarcasmismyfirstlove

@damned-queen-of-gotham

@idkmanicantenglish

@wunderstell

@birdy-bat-writes

@get-loki

@everyday-imfangirling

@comic-nerd-dc

@multifandoms916

@icequeen208

@offendedfishnoises

@egdolan

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@supremehaunter

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@hyp-oh-critical

@satan-s-ass

#jason todd x reader #jason todd #red hood #jason todd smut #jason todd fluff #jason todd angst #batarella #batarella fluff #batarella angst #i don't hate you series #i don't hate you #jason todd x reader series #jason todd reader insert #batarella series

188 notes · View notes

ruzek-halstead · 4 years

Text

bundled up

pairing: jay halstead x hailey upton

during one of chicago's coldest winter nights, the power and heat in hailey's building is out. jay humbly offers his apartment - until his power goes out as well.

“get your ass back in this bed because you are not sleeping on the couch.”

masterlist || ao3

warnings: swearing, fluffery

considering both jay and hailey were both born and raised in chicago, they were no strangers to the cold winters. however, it did not make them any less bearable.

today happened to be a chilly friday, where temperatures plummeted down to the negative forties with the windchill. the power was out in many parts of the city and a number of chicagoans were stranded without heat and water. it’s ugly out there, but the districts have all pooled together to help whoever they could. with the help of the fire department, they made it through the worst.

or so hailey thinks.

she groans as she checks her phone. it is a little past nine at night and the unit had a hell of a day hitting the streets. all hailey wants to do is crack open a bottle of wine, take a nice hot bath and go to bed early. instead, she receives a text from her landlord informing her that the power is out in their neighbourhood and there is currently no heat.

hailey’s head hits the wood of her desk just thinking about the icebox that is currently her apartment.

jay peaks his eyes over his computer monitor upon hearing her distressed sounds. “you good?” he asks with a hint of amusement.

the rest of the team had already left for the night, after jay and hailey lost a bet earlier that day. both partners didn’t believe the power would go out because of the cold and the rest of their team bet them a week’s worth of paperwork. needless to say, Jay and hailey lost, and they are prepared for quite a few late nights in the near future.

“apparently my power is out and so is my heat,” she replies, paperwork completely forgotten. “do i even have enough blankets to survive the night?” she adds dramatically. “oh my god, i’m going to have to put on every article of clothing i own.”

on that note, jay checks his phone to make sure his apartment was still intact. “hey, don’t worry about it,” he tells her comfortingly; her eyes flit up to meet his. “you can come home with me tonight.”

“oh no, no,” hailey shakes her head, “that’s alright.”

jay furrows his brows. “you literally just implied you’ll freeze if you go back home.”

“i was being dramatic,” she waves him off, “i'll be fine. thanks for the offer though, i appreciate it.”

jay checks his phone again; it’s nine-thirty and no new messages. “alright, i'm done with paperwork for the night,” he gently pushes the endless piles further into his desk. “come on, let’s go.”

jay is up and grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair and hailey is watching him with an exasperated expression. “jay, i’m going home. i’ll be fine.”

"i'm sure you will be,” he says nonchalantly. “but i'm offering you a warm bed and free whiskey. what more could you want?”

“what i want is to not be a bother and go home,” she stands her ground against his bewildered look. “plus, i don’t have any of my stuff with me and if i have to go get stuff, i may as well stay there,” she explains, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

jay raises a suspicious eyebrow. “i know you always have an overnight bag in your locker.”

hailey pauses in her mission to get into her winter coat and hopes jay doesn’t notice it; of course, he does. “jay, seriously, i don’t want to be a bother.”

“the only thing that’s bothering me right now is your refusal to let me help you when it literally comes at no cost to me,” he replies, his features entirely serious. hailey is being extra resistant, and he isn’t sure why. “i promise i'll be the perfect gentleman, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

hailey shakes her head. “no, that’s not what…” she trails off, her voice quiet. jay dips his head to catch her eyes; she is being even more mysterious than usual. “okay, i’ll take you up on your offer. but,” she says sharply as he starts to grin victoriously, “this is for one night only, okay? i'm not trying to put anyone out.”

jay rolls his eyes but is still satisfied she changed her mind. “right, because that’s what you’re doing,” he adds sarcastically, and she punches his shoulder in retaliation. he can tell she hates to be a bother, but he wishes he could convey how she is the least bothersome part of his life.

they stop by the locker room so hailey can pick up her bag before they agree to meet back at his place. he’s already mapping out things to do or say to make her feel more comfortable and has a pretty decent list by the time he reaches home.

his apartment is nice and toasty when they arrive and relatively clean. he was never a messy guy and he doesn’t have that much in his apartment to begin with. he takes both their jackets and hangs them in the hall closet, watching out of the corner of his eye how hailey looks small and uncomfortable in his living room. he frowns; she should feel comfortable in every aspect of his life.

“hey, relax, okay?” he tells her on his walk back to the kitchen. his hands land on her shoulder and her blue eyes bore into his nervously. “you're not in my way and you’re always welcome here, you know that.”

he's used to confident and sassy hailey and he wants her back.

“you want something to drink?” he asks. “whiskey?”

his hand is already on the bottle but hailey surprises him by entering his kitchen and taking a hold of his coffee maker. “can i actually make some coffee?” jay smiles at her first sign of comfort and nods with enthusiasm. “that walk from the car to the front door just about killed me.”

“you want to take a shower while the coffee brews?” he asks after a few minutes of scrolling on his phone.

hailey's eyes light up. “yes, i would love that!”

he motions for her to follow him and leads her into his room; the bathroom attached to his room is the only one with a shower.

“this is jay halstead’s bedroom?” hailey teases in a higher-pitched tone. she’s smirking wildly and all he can do is roll his eyes. “everything is black, and you only have the basics. why am i not surprised?”

now it’s his turn to smirk. “i'm a very simple man, upton.”

she shakes her head in response.

“here's the shower,” he explains, popping in to turn the lights on. “fresh towel on the rack and extras in the closet over there,” he points. “i'll leave you to it. do you need anything else?”

hailey sets her bag down in the bathroom and quickly rummages through it. “no, i think i'm okay,” she says and looks up at him. “thank you, jay,” she smiles softly.

jay suddenly finds it hard to swallow and is rushing to exit the room. “yeah, no problem,�� he responds quickly. “i'll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

she nods and he’s gone.

his bathroom is very simple but clean. he has his shaving essentials on the corner of his counter, and she’s surprised to see he has a face scrub as well as a moisturizer. but then again, he literally has perfect skin, so she isn’t surprised. she expects to find a 3 in 1 shampoo, conditioner and body wash but is pleasantly surprised when she sees multiple bottles.

she takes her time showering but is still wary of the time. she debates whether or not to use his body wash but ultimately decides smelling like him wouldn’t be so bad. she does have a pair of pyjamas in her overnight bag, but they consist of an oversized dunder-mifflin tee and casual sleeping shorts. she’s not sure if jay had ever seen her bare legs (what with all the black jeans and all) but he was definitely about to. hailey brushes her hair and scrunches it with her fingers before gathering her dirty clothes and folding them into her bag.

when she pads back into the kitchen in her bare feet, jay has his back to her as he prepares their coffees. after years, he knows almost all her preferences, the first being her coffee order. she hums in delight after her first sip.

jay struggles to not drop the mug when he turns around and sees her oversized shirt and shorts. he was expecting anything, but definitely not that. she looks comfortable and tiny and his heart swells with affection. he has to forcefully remind himself that they are partners and nothing else. It’s getting harder to differentiate.

they stand, sipping their coffee in comfortable silence. it’s perfect and hailey wonders why she put up such a fight in the first place, but then the lights go off and everything is black.

jay swears and she hears his coffee mug scraping against the counter. there is an immediate chill as the heater stops functioning and hailey suddenly regrets being barefoot in shorts. jay goes in search of the fuse box to maybe have some luck but to no avail. instead, he lights up a few candles he has stashed in his linen closet and grabs all the flashlights he owns. the candles do a good job of illuminating the kitchen, so he can still admire hailey and her adorableness in his kitchen.

“shit, i'm sorry,” he chuckles. “looks like it’s a lose-lose situation tonight.”

hailey shuffles in her feet and jay prepares himself. “should i go? i mean, it’s the same thing as my place.”

“nonsense,” jay shakes his head. “i have enough blankets here for the both of us.”

jay finds his way back to the linen closet and grabs all the blankets he owns. will absolutely loves fleece blankets and takes any opportunity to gift them, usually to jay, who rolls his eyes and asks why he can’t just gift him a bottle of alcohol like a normal sibling. jay will never admit that the blankets actually came in handy tonight.

“come on, i’ll set you up in my room.”

hailey follows jay down the corridor and back to his room, where he is laying out multiple blankets. he leaves a few in his hands and stands near the door. “let me know if you need anything,” he says with a smile, “i'll just be on the couch.”

hailey sputters and Jay raises an eyebrow. “you are not sleeping on the couch! the whole point of me staying here is that i wouldn’t be a bother.”

“you're not a bother,” he says for the umpteenth time with an eyeroll.

“then get your ass in this bed because you’re not sleeping on the couch,” she replies, and her sass is finally back; he finds himself smirking.

jay relents, setting down the rest of the blankets. “you’re sure?”

“yes,” she sasses with an eyeroll; she has to make up for lost time. “this bed is big enough for both of us and you promised you’d be a gentleman.”

he holds up his hands in surrender. “absolutely.”

jay excuses himself to the bathroom to change into a pair of sweats. he carries a flashlight with him to provide light. he originally intended to take a shower but can only imagine how disastrous showering in the dark would be. he normally sleeps in much less clothing but it’s cold and he wants hailey to be comfortable, so he slips on a t-shirt as well. when he exits the bathroom and shines his light towards the bed, he spots hailey already curled into the blankets. He notices her blonde hair first and then her trembling body.

he automatically adds the remainder of the blankets on the bed and watches as hailey sits up momentarily. “cold?” He asks with a small smile.

“yes,” she says quietly, but then thinks better of it. “what are you waiting for, halstead? are you going to offer me a hoodie or do I have to go searching for one?”

he is amazed with how comfortable she’s become, and he finds himself smirking as he rummages through his drawers. he pulls out an old sweater from his academy days and throws it at her. “anything else, your highness?” His sarcasm is on point today.

hailey pulls on the sweater, her blonde hair getting ruffled in the process. “honestly?” she raises an eyebrow. “i just want you to get in bed and keep me warm.”

his eyes widen at her forwardness, but he catches the slight nervousness in the way she bites her lip. she doesn’t have to ask him twice though, as he slips into his side of the bed.

before he has the chance to do anything, hailey turns to him in the dark. "is this okay?” she asks quietly as she cuddles closer.

his hands find her waist to pull her as close as possible and hailey can feel his sweatpants as her bare legs tangle with his. “more than okay. it really is cold,” he whispers, chuckling.

“yeah,” she replies, and he can feel her breath on his collarbone. “i guess this is better than staying in my apartment all alone."

“are you kidding me?” jay laughs. “hell yeah it is. i'm an amazing cuddler.”

he can feel hailey’s hands against his chest. “wasn’t aware we had the cuddling type of relationship.”

jay pauses. “to be honest, i don’t know where i stand with you. like ever. you scare the hell out of me.”

hailey pulls back slightly; she wants to see his face but it’s so dark. “scared of me? i'm like half your size; how can you be scared?”

“you can be very intimidating when you want to be, hailey,” he replies. “but it’s scary. when you don’t know where the other person stands.”

she nods. “i guess so, yeah.”

“i know we’re partners, and we’re supposed to trust each other unconditionally and maybe I’m reading into it too much —”

“you’re not, jay,” she interrupts. “i think i always knew i was going to fall for you eventually. i mean, how could i not?” she continued, oblivious to the fact jay literally stopped breathing. “i’ve trusted you since the day i met you. you have the biggest heart and honestly, i strive to be even half the cop you are every day.”

jay curses again. “shit, hailey,” they’re still tangled together. “it kills me that you don’t appreciate everything you are because you are the best cop i know. and i'll admit it, i didn’t want to work with another female cop because we all remember how that worked out last time,” he chuckles to cover the awkwardness he’s feeling. “but you snuck up on me. what with all your sass and your stubbornness.”

hailey is smiling so wide and it’s a shame Jay can’t see it. she pushes into him, forcing him to roll over on his back and she follows him on his chest. her hands reach up to his face, tracing the smile on his lips.

“i know you love my sass,” she starts. “and who are you calling stubborn, you hardass?”

jay’s hands are on her waist, holding her steady. “fair enough,” he chuckles.

“jay, i love this right now,” hailey says quietly, “i love being here with you and i genuinely see the potential here. but at the same time, we’re partners and our jobs demand so much of us.”

the giddiness he was feeling starts deflating.

“but i don’t want to put the brakes on us,” this catches his attention. “i like you too much for that. i just want to take it slow. see where it takes us. are you alright with that?”

the happiness he was feeling earlier returns at full force and he finds himself grabbing her hips and rolling them over so he’s hovering over her. she’s giggling and honestly, if that is the last sound he ever hears, he’ll die happily. “i'm more than alright with that,” he answers her question. he can dimly see her face and the shine in her gaze. “when taking things slow, how long should i wait before i kiss you?”

hailey smirks and he can see a dim outline. “i think you’re already a few months overdue.”

he wastes no more time in pressing his lips to hers. he tastes of coffee and so does she, and it’s absolutely perfect. there is no urgency, just bliss. this has been a long time coming and now that it’s finally here, all they can do is enjoy it.

“i could get used to that,” hailey mumbles against his lips. his heart literally skips a beat. “i really want to get used to that.”

hailey dives in for more and he lets her. she can do whatever she wants with him, he’ll let her.

“still cold?” he asks after they pull away and he pulls her into their initial position.

hailey chuckles. “that’s not exactly the word i would use.”

jay smirks but he keeps his cool; they’re taking it slow.

“goodnight, hailey.”

he presses a kiss to her temple.

“goodnight, halstead. dream a little dream of me.”

hailey cuddles closer, her lips hovering over his neck.

“i could do that, but i’ve got the real deal right here,” he squeezes her hip. “and i don’t plan on letting go anytime soon.”

130 notes · View notes

snowdice · 4 years

Text

Finding the Time to Study Fic 2 [Day 19]

Here is my starting post for today’s study break stories session. See this post for more details and feel free to send me asks to keep me going! It’s been a lot of fun so far! I will reblog this post with the story as I write them today. I’ll be constantly looking for ideas of times and places for Janus to have missions, so feel free to send in any you can think of at any point!

If you are a new follower or just don’t want all of these posts clogging your dash, please feel free to block the tag “study break stories” as all posts and voting about it will go there. You can still see the finished product of the story even if you are blocking that tag as I will not tag the edited chapters with “study break stories” but with the tag “folds in paper.” See edited chapters below. Chapters 3-8 and what I have of Chapter 9 are under the cut.

My Masterpost Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted). It’s short, and not really for serious listening, but I had fun with it.

I have nothing really due this week, but a lot of big looming deadlines. Not sure how long I’ll be working today, but I want to do some planning and get some stuff done. :D

Arc I: Finding Cinderella

Chapter 4

Janus was frozen in surprise for a few long moments after Pat disappeared. Which had been, admittedly, his mistake, because, while their window had technically been until 11:17pm and it was only 11:10, the loud crack that whatever Pat had been using for time travel made, garnered the attention of someone else.

“Uh oh,” Remus said, likely hearing footsteps. “Hide.”

That snapped Janus into action, but instead of hiding immediately like a sensible human being, he chose to go for the only link to the man who’d just stolen time travel tech and waltzed away, the mask.

Which was why he ended up getting arrested.

Remy tsked the moment they were all alone in the police car having come to ‘transfer Lee to another facility.’ Remus was already waiting in the front seat, and flashed Janus a smug smile. If Janus wasn’t still handcuffed, he’d slap him.

“Well,” Remy said. “At least you didn’t shoot anybody like I asked. I was joking by the way. I didn’t really want to pick you up from a 1920s police station period.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“Mmm, nah, ‘cause Remus managed to not get arrested this time, so you defiantly screwed something up.”

“Oh, he defiantly wanted to screw something all right,” Remus said joyfully.

“Remus,” Janus hissed.

“What?” he asked. “I’m not the horny one for once. Well, no, that’s a lie, but it didn’t affect the job this time.”

Janus groaned and leaned his head back against the seat.

Remy pulled into a seemingly random garage around 20 minutes later. “Alright,” he said. “Here we are.” He got out of the car and then helped Janus out before uncuffing him. “Here’s your ‘watch,’” Remy handed him the timepiece that had been confiscated when he’d been arrested.

Janus put it on and activated it. “Shit,” he said.

“What?” Remus asked.

“An appointment with cultural outreach has already been downloaded to my calendar for once we get out of decon.”

“Oof. Going to baby jail,” Remy laughed. Remus was cackling.

“This,” Janus said, “was not a cultural faux pas. I did nothing that indicated that I was not from this time. I am not some rookie.”

“Don’t forget cell phones don’t exist in the 1920s,” Remus sang.

“The real question is whether or not my foot exists in your…” Remus disappeared before he could finish, a smirk on his face. Janus growled. “By Remy,” he gritted out. He selected the decontamination chamber from his queue, ignoring the appointment that came after it for now.

He knew exactly where Remus would be standing when he landed, which was why he stepped forward on reentry to ram into him.

He yelped in surprise. “Sorry,” Janus said pleasantly. “I must have also forgotten landing procedures.

Remus laughed good naturally. “Aw, come on Jay,” he said, bumping Janus back, albeit much gentler than Janus had been. “It’s not a big deal. You just go talk with some crusty old college professor who is far too interested in spoons and then everything’s fine.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” he growled. “They’re treating me like I’m an idiot who accidently invented disco in the 1920s when I was conned by some free agent time traveler.”

“‘Conned,’ Remus said. Is that what they’re calling it now?”

“I know where and when you live Remus,” Janus said.

Remus gave him a dopey smile as the decontamination cycle finished and the door unlocked. Janus’s wrist buzzed telling him that the coordinates to the cultural outreach office were now unlocked. Instead of pulling them up, Janus walked to the door.

“Um,” Remus said, following him. “Aren’t you supposed to be going to your appointment?” Janus just kept walking towards their office. “Uh… Jan?”

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that I have to go to cultural outreach,” Janus said. “In fact, no one can make me. If they want me to go have a discussion about the definition of ‘bushwa,’ they’re going to have to have me dragged there.”

“Mmm, I feel like The Boss won’t be too happy about that, and I have a feeling she’d be 100% down to dragging you there herself.”

“Well, then, let her,” Janus said, stalking through the door to his office. “I’m not going to…”

“Ah, Agent Picani,” the woman standing next to his desk, clearly waiting for him, said when he came through the door. “Dr. Picani was informed that there were complications with your last mission and wishes to have a conversation with you and asks that you meet him in his office at the AMO.”

“Oh, um,” Janus said, stumbling a bit before plastering on a regretful half smile. “Unfortunately, I actually have an appointment right now at Cultural Outreach. It’s mandatory and very important, and I have to go now. So, I’ll have to take a raincheck on that.”

“But-” she started, frowning.

“Remus, work on the report!” Janus said quickly as he waved his hand to bring up his timepiece display and jammed his finger at the glowing appointment card in his queue. A few moments later, Janus was at Cultural Outreach.

Cultural Outreach was not part of the TPI, though it often worked very closely with them. It was a collaboration between the government and multiple universities to help government workers, politicians, and other citizens understand and bridge cultural gaps. It had existed before time travel was invented but had expanded to also teach people who needed to time travel how to behave in unfamiliar times and cultures.

After it had to be expanded to provide for the TPI, it had been moved to Silver Mountains University. The building had once just been a museum, but it had been thoroughly renovated and there had been add-ons for office space and some classrooms. It was still a museum, however, its purpose had expanded greatly and there were many areas that were off limits to the general public.

One of these areas was the fourth floor, where Janus’s timepiece had dumped him. This was the floor that was almost exclusively for TPI agents and staff of Cultural Outreach who worked with them.

He immediately turned away from the reception area, hoping that he could escape and go sit on the university’s quad or something of the like for the next hour or so in hopes the woman his brother sent to fetch him would give up and go back to the AMO. Yet, the receptionist apparently saw him.

“Janus Picani?” he asked.

Janus grimaced and turned back towards him. “Yes,” he said.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “You’re 5 minutes late for your appointment and seem disoriented.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Is your timepiece malfunctioning?”

“No.”

“Uh… okay. Well, if you sign in here, I can take you to your appointment.”

“…Fine.”

He begrudgingly stepped forward and touched the screen he’d gestured to sign with his fingerprint, and then let the man lead him down the hall.

The door they stopped at was propped open slightly, but he still paused and knocked. “Professor Eran? Your 2:30 is here.”

Janus had just a moment upon hearing the name to think that maybe there was actually some sort of intelligent design of the universe and whatever being of ultimate power had crafted it was a dick.

The door opened and Virgil Eran’s eyes immediately narrowed on him. “Janus.”

“Virgil.”

“I see you’re still late for everything.”

“I see you’re still a bastard.”

Janus saw the receptionist slowly back away in the direction they’d come.

“Why don’t you come in?” Virgil said faux pleasantly.

Janus did, because he really didn’t have much of a choice at this point unless he wanted to jump out of a window… or push someone out of a window.

Virgil turned back into his office and took a seat behind his desk. Janus unhappily followed him in and sat across from him.

He took his time pulling up whatever the TPI sent him and reading it over. “So, I see you failed your recovery mission and were arrested in 1923.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Janus said. “I shouldn’t be here.”

Virgil gave him that same suspicious look he used to give Janus whenever Janus claimed to have not eaten his hot pockets out of the freezer in the middle of the night. He’d only been lying 80% of the time. Virgil had a tendency to forget what he’d eaten in a half-conscious state at 3 o’clock in the morning.

“I shouldn’t,” Janus snapped defensively. “Nothing went wrong with anyone from the time period. An illegal time traveler screwed up the mission details.”

“Well, it is still protocol to make sure nothing slipped when agents go off script. You weren’t prepared to be in a jail cell, and it is possible that you screwed something up.”

“I didn’t screw anything up,” Janus growled.

“Alright,” Virgil said pulling up a document on his desk. “The mission started on July 27th, 1923 at 9:58pm, correct?”

“Oh, god, we’re not really going to fill out a time sheet. I don’t have time for that today.”

“It is protocol and best that the information is documented when it is still fresh in your mind. Besides, your schedule has been cleared for the rest of the workday.” The bastard was enjoying this. He knew how much Janus hated this stuff.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Janus said, “it was the damned illicit time traveler.”

“And I will be the judge of that,” Virgil said. Janus should have just bit the bullet and had coffee with his brother. “If you truly did nothing wrong, your supervisor will see that when I send this to her.”

Yet, despite the fact that Virgil clearly relished in his suffering, he was charitable enough to do most of the actual filling out of the forms. He’d read out the questions and write down what Janus said instead of making him do it himself. Janus really only had to do a quick quality check and sign it at the end.

He still was an asshole about the details, but really he’d been like that about stupid thing like the settings for the dish washer and how the pantry was organized during their college days before they’d had their falling out, so Janus wasn’t particularly surprised. When they were finally done, Virgil sent it off to get filed by the TPI.

Then, they were left staring at each other with nothing between them but almost a decade of radio silence and a whole lot of awkwardness.

“I should go,” Janus finally said, standing up.

Virgil tilted his head slightly to the side and gave him a half smile. “Don’t lock the door behind you,” he said. “Not that I’d expect you too.”

Janus took it for the clear attempt at a joke it was intended to be and puffed out a breath of amusement with a head shake. “No risk of that,” he said. Then, he turned and walked out of the office.

Chapter 5

Janus stepped back into the reception area and booted up his time piece. Instinct said to go back to the office despite the fact that it was late enough that most people had gone home, but he hesitated. Surely Emile had given up by now, but considering he’d sent someone to ambush him in his office, Janus wasn’t sure if he should trust that. He could just go home, but he already knew his mind was racing too much to sleep tonight so he’d probably just end up staring at the lake for the next 6 hours. So, he decided on the only other legitimate option he had. He pulled up Remus’s home coordinates and selected.

The home that Remus had chosen (after his long line of rejected requests) managed to somehow make no and absolute sense simultaneously to anyone who knew him. It was a small farm in the United States just west of the Mississippi in 1842 in what would be ratified as the state of Iowa in a few years. When asked why he would choose that time and place, Remus always responded with “I thought it was funny,” whatever that meant.

Unlike most time agents who simply used the identities assigned to them by the AMO as a cover, Remus actually lived his part time.

Janus was… fairly certain he was cheating a bit to get everything done, but he maintained his small farm all on his own, growing most of his own food. The neighbors he had lived very far away, but he still spoke with them far more than Janus did his own.

Janus appeared inside the small home, his eyes already shut. “Are you hear and dressed?” Janus called. Something bumped lightly into his legs.

“I’m in the kitchen!”

Janus peaked his eyes open and squatted to pet the cat at his feet. “That doesn’t answer my question!” he called back to Remus.

“It’s a surprise!” Remus said.

“Remus.” Diesel Fuel the cat flopped to her side on the ground as Janus continued to pet her ears. He heard Remus’s footsteps, and saw cloth covering his legs, so risked looking up. He was currently not only dressed, but wearing an apron that Janus was fairly sure was not time appropriate judging by the fabric and cat pawprint design. He had a bit of flour on his hands, and it may have been a bit too white for the time and place, but Janus couldn’t be completely sure.

“What’re you doing here?” Remus asked.

“My day has been an endless series of frustrations,” Janus said. “So, I have come to see the only tolerable being in the history of the universe.”

Remus snorted. “Since I know that isn’t me, I’ll assume you’re talking about the cat.”

“I still don’t understand why you tolerate this creature,” Janus addressed Diesel Fuel. She blinked slowly up at him. “To be fair, he was assigned as my partner. I didn’t have much of a choice in it. You could go always run away and become feral in the woods if you’d like.”

“So could you, technically,” Remus pointed out.

“I’m thinking about it after today.”

“Would you like some bread?” Remus asked. “That’s all I’ve been making this afternoon. Some fresh should be coming out of the oven in a few minutes.”

“Do you have anything stronger made out of wheat?”

“Ew, no, but I do have vodka.”

“Vodka works.”

“Want me to mix it with something?”

“No.”

“One of those night then,” Remus said, easily. “Let me finish up the bread, so I don’t burn the kitchen down. You can go get the alcohol from the cellar while you wait if you want, or you can just flop down on the couch.”

He was going to just flop down on the couch.

He did just that as Remus disappeared back into his kitchen. The cat hopped onto his stomach, proceeding to purr loudly and kneed at chest. Janus petted the cat and listened to the noise of Remus moving around in the other room, letting his mind drift. His mind drifted to Virgil for a bit and he steadfastly did not allow it to drift to his brother. Yet, the thing that most was on his mind was the strange man who had flirted and charmed Janus all night before mercilessly screwing him over. ‘Pat’ he’d said his name was, but surely that was not his real name.

Janus sighed and scratched the cat’s ear. “He certainly wasn’t an amateur,” Janus mused to the cat. “With that amount of precision to get in before we did, he must have someone not on the ground feeding him information. Perhaps more than one.” He was part of a group of time traveling thieves perhaps or something worse. “I didn’t get a good look at his face since he was wearing a mask,” Janus said, “but I spent a lot of time with him, and I’m sure Remy swiped the mask from the police since it had been on me when I was arrested. It’s a good lead.”

He continued to pet Diesel Fuel. Eventually, Remus came back in, noticed Janus hadn’t bothered to get the alcohol and went outside to the cellar. “I’m going to find him,” Janus told Diesel Fuel. “I’ll stop whatever it is he’s doing, and I’ll bring him in.” Diesel Fuel mewed her support, and Janus patted her on top of the head.

Remus came back in with the bottle of vodka and handed it to him without a word. He sat down on the couch near Janus’s feet and patted his lap so Diesel Fuel would come over to him and allow Janus to sit up.

The bastard waited until he was approximately 3 shots in (he didn’t have a shot glass and was just taking drinks from the bottle) to ask the questions Janus really didn’t want to answer. “Are you mad at Emile?” Remus asked.

Janus groaned, trying to wash out the bitter taste of shame and grief with the sharp sting of vodka. It didn’t work. “No,” he said to Remus.

“Then why have you been avoiding him?”

“Shit, I’m here because I didn’t want to think about it. Can’t we just not.”

“Don’t want to think about what?

“It’s none of your business, Remus.”

He could feel Remus frowning at him, but Janus stared resolutely ahead. At least, he did until a foot poked his face. He slapped it away, but it did the job of getting Janus to look at Remus.

“It is my business,” Remus said, foot still in the air. “I’m your partner and your friend.”

“If I’m your friend, you’ll drop it.”

“So, you’re not mad at Emile,” Remus continued, contemplatively. “Did you do something to him, then?” Janus bit his lip and looked away. “What?” Remus asked. Janus didn’t respond. “Look, I’m sure he’ll forgive you for whatever it is. He’s a good guy. Just talk to him about it.”

“I can’t,” Janus said.

“Whatever it is, it’s probably been long enough that he forgives you. You literally just have to have a conversation, say you’re sorry, and everything will be A-OK.”

“I can’t,” Janus repeated.

“Why not?”

“He doesn’t know about it.”

Remus paused. “So, as far as he knows, you just cut contact with him all of a sudden for no reason and have been avoiding him ever since?”

Janus looked at his shoes. “Yeah.”

“That…” Remus said, “is not fucking fair Janus.”

“I know.”

“Then why the hell are you doing that to him? He’s like… soft and feeling-y. He’s probably really upset.”

“I know, Remus.”

“Tell him. Whatever it is.”

“I can’t.”

“Look,” Remus said. “You tell him and he either forgives you or he doesn’t. If he does, everything’s fine. If he doesn’t… well, it’s not like it would be any different from you two never being in the same room the last few years. Either way, you can’t just do this to him. He’ll probably forgive you. He’s your brother. Brothers don’t… brothers would forgive each other.”

Janus laughed softly and met Remus’s eyes. “That’s the problem,” he said. “He’d definitely forgive me.” He turned away and opened the vodka bottle again. “Now, if you’ll shut up for a few minutes, I’m going to drink until I black out.”

Chapter 6

“Really, Khalid,” Janus said, storming into his boss’s office. “A yellow?” It had been about a week since the 1920s incident, and his incident report had finally been cleared. Sure, it wasn’t a red or a black and he wasn’t facing any reprimand, but it should have been a green.

She looked up at him, clearly unconcerned. “There was an incident,” she said. “You handled it well, but there was one. Therefore, yellow.”

“It wasn’t a time travel incident! It was a rouge time traveler.”

“Janus, you helped me make these rules,” she said impatiently.

“Which is why I know this is bullshit,” he snapped.

She rolled her eyes. “If it was anyone else, you would agree with me. While you didn’t go against protocol and had no time related incidents, the fact of the matter is, you were still distracted by this ‘rouge time traveler,’ didn’t complete your mission, and were arrested.”

“He was good,” Janus said. “You can’t fault me for that. He also could be dangerous and you’re busy handing out yellows instead of working to track him down.”

She raised an eyebrow. “We are working on tracking him down,” she said. “We have done an analysis on the mask and found fibers dating to the 2010s and some DNA. Though it isn’t exactly a high priority.”

“We have no idea who he is or what he’s planning to do. Why is that not a high priority thing?”

“At the moment?” she asked. “Because we have reports of a time bomb being activated.”

“What?” Janus asked sitting up. “When?”

“New Years Eve going into the year 3,000 in Brazil,” she said. “Which you’d know about if you’d bothered to check your integration port this morning before storming into my office.”

“It’s my mission?” Janus asked.

“The incident investigation is over and your active again despite the dreaded yellow,” she said, clearly making fun of him a bit. “So, yes, and it’s a high priority mission, so I’ll be running it.”

“Who all is going?” he asked.

“Other than the two of us, Remus, Lena, and Fred,” she told him. “We leave in three hours, so, you might want to run off to Rhi before Fred gets to her and ties her up for an hour on details.”

Janus nodded and got to his feet. He turned back at the door. “I still don’t deserve the yellow,” he hissed.

She waved him off. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Picani.”

He ground his teeth a bit about the dismissal of his worries, but his resentment was slightly soothed by the fact that she’d assigned him to go on such a high priority mission and with only senior agents.

He took the advice and grabbed Remus from the office, noting Lena hadn’t been able to wrangle Fred yet as she was still at her desk, and they both headed off to see Rhi.

A few hours later, they were all in decontamination together, decked out in truly god-awful costumes. The turn of the third millennia had been a wild event, and the best way to fit in was to look like you’d grabbed something from every century in recorded human history, dyed it in neon paint, and rolled around in a vat of glitter.

Remus had opted to stick his head in a vat of thick glow in the dark green paint that costuming had offered them, and it wasn’t even going to be slightly disruptive to their covertness. It was so caked on that Janus couldn’t even recognize him.

In fact, costuming had frowned when Janus had insisted he not get his hair dyed and instead wore a bowler hat. They had required him to have flowers made out of glitter on it.

There were five people waiting for them when they landed 6 hours before the turn of the millennia. Three were touchdown agents, including Remy, and two were on location tech support. Usually it would be overkill to have that many people there just for support even with five agents in the field, but today the TPI needed to be cautious because they were planning on instituting a time lock.

Time bombs were dangerous things that would ripple through time if not contained. Even if it did end up going off (killing everyone in its reach), the time lock would serve to prevent most damage outside of the city and, more importantly, the year it was planted.

Janus had only been in two time locks before, and he was one of the most senior agents in the TPI, outranked only by the founder: Lia Khalid. Time locks were designed to keep all time linear in a certain fixed time and geographical area as well as prevent any time travel in and out. Once it was engaged, all forms of time travel would not work for the duration, bar the pin device. Khalid was already switching out her regular timepiece with the slightly bigger one that was designed to support the time lock.

There was a failsafe back at the TPI that could be engaged in an emergency, which was why tech support was here, but other than that, the only thing that could break the time lock was that timepiece, and it would break the moment the time lock ended.

As soon as it was on Khalid’s wrist, she looked up at them all. “Our information says the time bomb was planted in the costume of one of the ‘Millennium Birds’ who are the organizers of the different events,” she said. Janus had seen a photo of the identical costumes in the mission details. They were all robe like garments with giant fans of feathers coming from the neck that coalesced in a peak a foot above their head to hold a fake bird egg. At least they’d be easy to find. “There are 25 of them throughout the city. We need to find each of them. So, we don’t double count, you’ll need to subtly,” her eyes touched on Remus, “scan each one you find for the bomb and tag them with a tracker if it’s not on them. You can view the already tagged ones, as well as the rest of us on your timepiece even once the time lock is engaged. When you find the bomb, call it in.”

They all nodded, and Khalid looked over at one of the techies. She nodded at her and then the techie flipped a couple of switches. “Three, two, one,” the techie said. There was a slight shift in the air that most people would disregard, but Janus as a seasoned time traveler could feel the change even before his wrist buzzed. He glanced at his timepiece to see it had a big red ‘X’ across its display. He tapped it and was still able to bring up the map of the city with 10 green dots on it all clustered together in their current location.

After that, he tested the scanner on his timepiece that he would use to search for the bomb, just to make sure the time lock hadn’t messed anything up with his equipment. He glanced up to see everyone else was doing the same.

“Keep in contact,” Khalid said before everyone split up. Janus and Remus started by going North while Fredrick and Darlene were to go South. Khalid was a floater who would tag any Birds she saw but was mostly there for backup and orders.

Janus and Remus stepped into the chaos of New Years Eve before the turn of the third millennia. The streets were already swamped with people and it would only be getting worse the later it go.

“Where should we start?” Remus asked.

“Let’s go all the way North to the games area,” Janus said. “We can work our way back here.”

“Okay!” Remus said. “I wonder if they have those fun little genetically modified goldfish as prizes. I’ve always wanted to eat one and see if I end up getting whatever design was on the fish on my body.”

Janus gave him a disgusted look.

“What?! People eat fish all the time!”

Janus shook his head. “We’re not playing the games anyway. We have work to do. Important work.”

“Boo,” Remus replied. Janus chose to ignore him as he spotted one of the Millenia Birds letting people into the gaming area.

They walked over towards the entrance. Janus got in range first and moved to subtly scan the Millenia Bird, Remus doing the same the next moment. After a second, Janus’s timepiece buzzed and lit up red, meaning the bomb was within range. “Well, that was easy,” he said. “It was on the first one we found.”

“Uh…” Remus said. “Jan.” When Janus looked, he was holding up his wrist to show his green lit time piece.

“What?” Janus asked. He quickly moved to rescan the Millenia Bird, and his timepiece came up green as well. Which, meant the bomb was not in range, even though the Millenia Bird had not moved. “But…” He and Remus’s eyes met, and they quickly both started turning in a circle to look at the crowd around him. No one looked like they’d just stolen a time bomb off the Millennial Bird, but then Janus’s eyes caught on a man. He blended in perfectly to his surroundings. He was wearing the disgusting garb of the times, a large light blue piece that bubbled near his hips, and had most of his skin covered in rainbow neon paints. Yet, something about him, the curl of his hair or the way he moved, drew Janus’s eyes to him. He recognized the man immediately even in a completely different dressing style. Yet, what cinched it was the moment Janus’s eyes met his and they seemed to sparkle slightly in the afternoon sun. The next moment, the person Janus knew as Pat, turned to disappear into the crowd.

Chapter 7

“Him,” was the only thing Janus said before taking off after the figure who had just disappeared into the game area.

“What?” Remus’s voice followed after him. “Janus! What?!”

Janus did not pause, just continuing to run after Pat, hopping over two barricades as a shortcut. Janus cursed when he lost sight of the man for just a moment near the prize table filled with colorful goldfish, but he was able to spot him once again walking into one of the tents. Janus blasted into the tent. It was a game where they raced rats, and when Janus entered, Pat was cooing at one of them.

“Who’s a tiny little squishy precious baby?” he was asking one of them, wiggling his pointer finger at it.

“You,” Janus growled stepping up to him.

He turned and tilted his head at Janus with a frown. “Um, me?” he asked, pointing to his chest, all sorts of innocent, but Janus could see a spot of hidden amusement in his eyes.

“Where is it?”

His eyebrows drew together, but it was an act. It was clearly an act! “Where is what?”

“The…” he glanced around them at the people surrounding them. “Thing you just took.”

“I didn’t take anything,” Pat said with a frown.

“Oh, no,” Janus said. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fooling me twice is not an option.”

“I’m sorry sir,” Pat said. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bull. Shit.”

Just then, Remus jogged into the tent. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“It’s him,” Janus said pointing. “He took it. He has it.”

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about,” Patton said. He looked over to Remus with a confused frown.

Remus looked at Janus. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Janus said. “It’s him. It has to be him. He’s the mask guy.”

Remus squinted at Pat. “He is?”

“Whoever you think I am, I’m not. I haven’t worn a mask all night. I just did the face paint,” he pointed to his cheeks.

Remus raised his wrist and his timepiece lit up green. He looked at Janus.

“I lost sight of him for five seconds. He must have stashed it somewhere,” Janus said. He turned on Pat. “Where did you put it?”

“…Are you,” Pat asked, his eyes going back and forth between Janus and Remus, “… the police?”

“We are, actually,” Khalid said as she stepped into the tent. Remus must have called her. She inserted herself between Janus and Pat. “Agent Khalid,” she said, offering a hand with a smile. Pat looked at it in surprise and then smiled back hesitantly as he took it. “Apologizes, one of the big game prizes was stolen by someone matching your description. Would you mind coming down to security for questioning? Just to clear it up.”

“Oh,” Patton said, hesitant. Janus expected him to refuse outright, but then he said. “Uh, sure.”

“Thank you very much, Mr…”

“Jonas,” Pat told her earnestly. “Do I need to be handcuffed?”

“No,” Khalid said. Janus frowned at her, but she ignored him. “It’s just a talk for now.” She gestured to the tent entrance. “Come with us.”

He did without argument, and Remus and Janus followed behind the both of them. Khalid did not lead them back to the base, but to a little spot that said “security” near the center of the event. Remy was already there waiting for them at a desk.

“Remy, would you please take Mr. Jonas to go sit down?” she asked.

“Sure, boss,” Remy said, standing up. He led Pat away.

Khalid turned to Janus and Remus once they were out of earshot. “What is going on?”

“It’s the mask man,” Janus said, “the one from 1923, and my scanner said the time bomb was on the Millenia Bird outside the games entrance, but then it was gone the next second, and I saw him, and then he ran away.”

“So, does he have it on him?”

“No. I lost sight of him, and he must have stored it somewhere, but I know he took it.”

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“He’s the man from 1923?” she asked.

“Yes! Remus, that’s him, right? You recognize him.”

“Well,” Remus said thoughtfully. “He was in a mask, and it was dark in the room with the necklace. Other than that, I only really saw his back, and he was wearing pants. Mr. Jonas is wearing a dress, so I can’t really tell if their asses match.”

“Okay, but I was with him for hours. I swear it’s him, and I swear he took it,” Janus just about shouted.

“We’ll question him,” Khalid placated, “and Fred and Lena will keep looking in the meantime.”

“He knows where it is,” Janus insisted. “I swear.”

“Okay,” Khalid said, before leaving to follow where Remy and Pat had gone. She stopped Janus with a hand on his shoulder. “I think Remus and I will do the interrogation.” He opened his mouth to argue. “You know the most about him, so observe from the sidelines and see if he makes any mistakes that indicate you’re right.”

“That’s just to placate me and you know it.”

“Observation’s over there,” she said pointing.

He got a thumbs up from Remus as he walked by, and Janus glared at his back before walking off to the indicated location.

He watched as Remus and Khalid entered the room, and Remy left it. Remy joined him in the observation room after leaving and leaned against the wall.

Pat was sitting at a table and watched Remus and Khalid with that same rubbish placid confusion that he had before. “So,” Khalid said, “Mr. Jonas.”

“You can call me Nick,” Pat interrupted.

“Lia,” Khalid replied. He smiled at her happily. “So, are you enjoying your day?” she asked.

“I am!” he replied. “It’s a big day. You only get to see the turn of a millennia once in your life.”

“Ah, yes,” Khalid said. “Doing anything special for it?”

“Um, not really,” he said. “Other than the party. I’m going to meet up with my roommates after dinner. Kevin doesn’t like this sort of thing, and Joe couldn’t come.”

“Your roommates,” Khalid said, considering him. “Do you live around here?”

“Uh huh,” Pat replied.

“Do you have any ID?”

“I do, want me to get it?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

Pat unzipped one of the bubbles on his waist and handed her a chip. “Remus, would you mind going out and getting the ID scanner?” she asked, even though her timepiece would be able to read it.

“Ah, shit,” Remy said. “Props. What do those things even look like?”

As Remy scrambled to find something that would pass for an ID reader so “Nick” didn’t get suspicious of Khalid using her timepiece, Janus watched the two alone in the room like a hawk.

“I see you’re wearing a dress inspired by the 2770s,” Khalid noted, as Remus came to stand next to him.

“Yeah!” Pat replied. “Joe made it for me. He’s really good at fashion design!”

“Can I see?” she asked.

With a happy smile, he reached over the table to let her get a look of the sleeves. Janus saw her subtly scan the fabric, probably to make sure it was from the 2990s and not actually from the 2770s. Considering she didn’t mention it, Janus assumed it checked out.

Remy came back with some sort of device then and handed it to Remus who saluted and wandered back into the interrogation room. Khalid pretended to scan the ID in her hand. She handed it back to him without comment. “So, you said you live with your roommates: Joe and Kevin?” she asked.

“Yep!” he replied. “We’re practically like brothers.”

“Would you mind calling them?”

“Erm,” he titled his head like he was confused by the question. “Well, like I said, Joe is a bit busy, but I could definitely call Kevin.

“Here,” Khalid said, “use my phone.”

“I have my own,” he said with a frown.

“Humor me,” she requested.

“Uh, okay,” Pat agreed. He took the offered 2999 phone and dialed a number on it. Khalid reached over to put it on speaker.

“Hello?” a voice asked after a few seconds.

“Um, hey Kevin, it’s Nick.”

There was a sigh on the other end. “Hello Nick, is something wrong? Why are you calling me from someone else’s phone?”

“I’m fine, I think.” He looked up at Khalid. “Why am I calling him exactly?”

“Hello, I’m Officer Khalid,” Khalid said. “I just wanted to confirm that you are Nick Jonas’s roommate, and he does live in Manaus.”

“Yes, we live together with our other roommate,” the man replied flippantly. “Officer? Is something wrong?”

“I believe there was just a case of mistaken identity,” Khalid said.

“Bullshit there was!” Janus hissed, though she could not hear him.

“No need to worry,” Khalid continued.

“I’m good Kevin,” Pat said.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Kevin asked.

“Don’t be Paranoid, Kevin. I’ll see you Tonight for the New Years Celebration. You know I Live to Party.”

“I am hanging up now,” Kevin said.

“No! Comeback.” The line went dead. Pat handed the device back to Khalid.

She took it and smiled at him. “Give us just a couple of minutes,” she requested. He nodded easily, and she and Remus exited the interrogation room. “I… think we’re done here,” Khalid said.

“No, he’s lying,” Janus insisted, and got a dubious look in return. “I know he is! Remus!”

“The alibi is pretty solid…” Remus said, “and he doesn’t have the bomb on him.”

“Oh, come on,” Janus said. “You can’t say there is nothing fishy going on here.”

Khalid and Remus shared a look. “Janus,” Khalid said. “I respect your intuition. It is usually very good, but you have been a bit intense about the man from the 1920s, and I think that may be blinding you a bit...”

“I am not imagining this!” Janus said. “That’s him and he took it.”

“You only met him once while he was wearing a mask,” Khalid pointed out with a frown, “and you didn’t see him take the bomb, did you?”

“No, but he looked at me and I knew,” Janus argued. They both gave him a skeptical look. “Oh, come on!”

“You know that’s a little weak, Jan,” Remus said.

“Let me talk to him,” Janus requested. “Just give me five minutes to talk with him.”

Khalid raised one eyebrow. “Fine,” she agreed. “You have five minutes, but after that, you have to let it go. We can’t waste any more time.”

Chapter 8

Pat looked up as Janus stepped into the interrogation room. “Hi,” he said with an innocent smile that could cut steal.

Janus didn’t say a word as he took a seat; he just watched him intently. He leaned slightly over the table and steepled his fingers in front of his chin. “So, your name is Nick this time?” Janus asked.

“Nicholas Jonas,” he said. “Always has been.”

“Stop it,” Janus said.

“Stop what?”

“Cut the crap. I know.”

Pat leaned forward, mirroring Janus as he leaned closer, interlocking his fingers and laying his chin on top of his knuckles. “What did you say your name was again?” he asked, pleasantly.

“Janus,” Janus replied.

“No, I’m Jonas,” he said, pointing to his chest.

“Not Jonas,” Janus spat. “Janus.”

“Um,” Pat said, eyes alight with amusement. The bastard. “Those are the same words.”

“No, they’re not. It’s Janus. J-A-N-U.-S.”

“Well, that’s confusing,” Pat said with a frown, but his nose was crinkling. “It’s close to my name. You should go by a nickname instead.”

“What?” Janus said. “No.”

Pat hummed. “How about Love Bug?”

“What! No!” Janus sputtered, almost flipping the table, as Pat winked at him.

“BB Good?”

“What does that even mean?!”

“Mandy.”

“No!”

“Okay, okay, how about Macy Misa.”

11594

Janus stared at him for a moment. “Fine. Whatever. What was I even talking about?”

“Hmm. I Believe we were talking about my name and how you think it’s not my name.”

“Right,” Janus said. “So, Nick. That was your roommate, Kevin on the phone, right? He seemed a bit unhappy with you. Any reason?”

“Nah, we’re Cool” said Pat. “That’s Just the Way We Roll.”

“Not because you’re messing up a mission right now?”

Pat’s eyes crinkled together. “A mission?” he parroted. “I’m not messing up a mission.”

“Oh, really?” Janus growled. “Because you’ve been captured by the TPI, and I know who you are and what you’ve been doing.”

“I have no idea what the TPI is,” he claimed.

“Yes, you do!” Janus said, standing up. “You obviously do! Or you wouldn’t be playing this game!”

“Game?” Pat asked. “Macy I ask you what you’re talking about.”

“This is all just a game to you isn’t it!” Janus said, slamming his hands down on the table in front of them.

“Whoa,” Pat said, putting his hands up. “Calm down. Your face is getting all red. You must be Burnin’ Up.”

“I’m not sure what, but something about what you just said pisses me off.”

“And that is five minutes,” Khalid said, bursting into the room. He felt a tug on the back of his shirt and glared back at Remus who was putting his own body between Janus and Pat.

“There was no way that was five minutes,” Janus growled.

“It was five minutes,” Khalid gritted out. “Remus, get him out of here.”

“Come on Jay,” Remus said, dragging him back towards the door.

“Remus, I swear to god.”

“Just chill, Janus,” Remus said, slamming the door closed behind them.

Janus shrugged him off. “You chill!” he snapped. “He’s playing you all for the fool.”

“Wow, Macy,” Remy drawled like an asshole. “I’ve never seen you so fired up.”

“Oh, my gosh. No one is going to believe me, and he’s going to get away with this.”

“You’re not really helping your case, babe,” Remy said.

Remus grabbed him by the shoulders again. “Here, let’s go get some water.”

“I don’t want water,” he said even as he let Remus lead him to another room to get a glass of water.

“Look,” Remus said. “I know the Mask Guy thing really sucked, but you have to look at the facts.

“I am looking at the facts,” Janus insisted, “and the facts are, he’s fucking with me.”

“You don’t know what mask guy looks like,” Remus said. “You didn’t see Nick take the time bomb, he has an ID from this time period and a roommate in this time he called on the phone, and he legitimately seems to not know what any of us are talking about.”

“Did you even listen to our conversation?” Janus asked. “He was screwing with me the entire time!”

“Janus…” Remus said.

“What?” Janus said, narrowing his eyes at Remus’s tone.

“I know you recently had a bad experience, but not everyone who flirts with you is doing it out of evil.”

Janus’s mouth hung open for a few seconds. “That’s what you got out of our conversation?”

“He called you Love Bug.”

Janus felt his face heat a bit at the reminder. “That’s not… I. I’m stealing your cat and then never speaking to you again.”

Remus laughed. “Ah,” he said. “Young lust.”

Janus elbowed him roughly in the side. “No!”

“Yes!” he crooned, pleased.

“You are the worst partner,” Janus hissed. “When I’m right you owe me 10 loafs of your fresh bread.”

“Branching out from poptarts?” Remus asked.

Janus shook his head. He still wasn’t happy about the state of things, but he could feel himself cooling down a bit.

Khalid came out of the integration room after a few minutes, leaving Pat with Remy. “What was that?” she asked him.

“He got under my skin,” Janus said.

“We’ll talk about it later,” she said. “For now, we’re letting him go and then going back to looking for the bomb like we’re meant to be.”

“Fine,” Janus relented. “Just do me the favor of tagging him before he leaves. Just that. I beg of you.”

“Sure,” she agreed. “If it will calm you down.”

He nodded.

“Then, let’s go,” she said. When they met back up with Remy and Pat, he saw Khalid make the subtle gesture that would tag Pat like they would have for the Millennium Birds. Pat sent him what could pass as a sweet smile if Janus didn’t know better. Then, they walked him outside, leaving Remy on clean-up duty for the make-shift security office.

“So, I’m free to go?” Pat asked. His bemused expression edged far too much on the side of amused verses confused for Janus’s taste.

“You are,” Khalid said. “Have fun at the festivities.”

His hands went flapping about. “Oh, you too!” he said. “Well, I guess you’re working, but you can have fun anyway, I’m sure.”

“We’ll do our best,” she said.

He gave her a blinding smile and reached forward to shake her hand enthusiastically. Janus rolled his eyes and looked up at the heavens. “It was nice to meet you!” he said, “and you too, Remus!” He turned to meet Janus’s eyes. “Macy Misa.”

Janus pressed his lips together.

Then, Pat turned and walked away.

“Well, now that we’re done with that,” Khalid said, turning to them. “We have only a few more hours before midnight and we really need to find the time bomb.

“Oh,” Pat called. He’d paused a few yards away and turned back to them. “Thanks for letting me go so easily by the way,” he said, “and just in the Nick,” he winked, “of time too.” Janus narrowed his eyes at him. He smiled back. “Wrist check,” he said holding up his arm to show off the timepiece there. Khalid immediately looked down at her own wrist just to see that the one timepiece that could move through the time lock was no longer there. Pat made a gesture and disappeared.

All three of them stared at the spot he’d been for a long moment.

Janus was the one to speak first. “I want. The yellow. To be erased. From my record.”

Chapter 9

Khalid immediately called everyone back to base.

“What happened?” asked Fred when he and Lena arrived. The tech people were already scrambling to get through to the TPI and get the time lock broken from the outside.

“Remus, Remy, and Khalid got played by Pat or whatever his name is. It certainly isn’t Nick. He was just setting up a joke,” Janus told him.

“Stop being smug,” Remy said. “It’s not a good look for you.”

“Pat is…?” Lena asked.

“They guy who fucked me over in 1923,” Janus said, “and is currently in the middle of fucking us all over because he stole the pin timepiece, and by extrapolation, probably the time bomb too.”

“It will be fine,” said Khalid, “because what he doesn’t know is that timepiece has a tracker on it. Wherever and whenever he went, we’ll have his coordinates.”

“Speaking of,” one of the techies said. “It’s about to break. You might want to hold onto something.” Janus grabbed for a support beam next to him as the techie put a device on the ground in the center of the base. It blinked once, twice, and on the third blink the ground rumbled. There were sounds of panicked yelps outside. The fail safe for the time lock was not nearly as gentle as ending it correctly.

Everything settled after a few moments, and they all straightened themselves out. Janus’s timepiece buzzed to indicate it was now functioning normally. Khalid had returned her usual timepiece to her wrist and now used it to open a display they could all see. “The pin timepiece’s closest time/space coordinates are…” she trailed off. “Right outside?” She frowned. “That’s strange. Why would he still be here?” She turned to march outside, following the coordinates to a trash can. She pulled the pin timepiece out and stared at it. “Fuck,” she said.

“What just happened?” Remy asked.

“He ticked us,” Janus said. “Again.”

“He was stuck in the time lock,” Khalid said. “That’s why he got our attention. He couldn’t leave with the time bomb unless he had the pin timepiece or we broke the time lock. Apparently, he’s smart enough to know that if he took the pin timepiece away from here, we’d probably be able to find him, but he knew we’d break the lock as soon as the pin went missing. So, he must have stashed his own timepiece and went back in time within the time lock to grab it while we were distracted with the past version of him. As soon as the time lock went down, I imagine he left.”

“Probably with the time bomb,” Janus said.

“Probably with the time bomb,” she confirmed.

And everyone knew the only thing worse than a time bomb was a time bomb you didn’t know the location of.

They evacuated after that, of course, and time locked the location once they were out just in case they were wrong, but midnight 3000 struck without thousands of people dying in Brazil, so the time bomb had defiantly been removed from then.

The, they initiated a time travel lockdown for all nonessentials, not willing to let random history students get caught up in an explosion if Pat decided to set the thing off somewhere.

Then, it was a matter of figuring out everything they could about ‘Pat.’ First, they checked the tracker data as Khalid had tagged him with one of the Millennium Bird trackers. It wouldn’t work outside of the zone they’d set up that day, but the record would show his behavior during the time lock after he’d escaped with the pin timepiece.

There had been many little green dots on the map that day as Fred and Lena had actually been doing the job they’d set out to do, but most of those were running around in the south. There had been one green dot, however, that appeared suddenly in the game area about 10 minutes before the time bomb had been stolen.

They could see Janus’s yellow dot almost brush his when he’d been chasing the earlier Pat down, around when he’d lost him briefly. The earlier Pat must have all but handed it off to his future self.

“He doubled back,” Remus commented when they watched the recorded data. It was a ballsy move and one that most people balked at, because there were inherent dangers any time you interacted with yourself from a different point in the timestream. It was ripe for paradoxes. It made everyone at the agency even more worried, because if he was willing to risk that, then what else was he willing to do?

Because of the lockdown of all nonessential time travel, people working for the TPI were not allowed to go home for the night. They were allowed to pick up anyone or anything dependent on them for care like kids and pets if there wasn’t someone in their home time to care for them, but other than that, they were unfortunately all sleeping in their offices for the foreseeable future.

“You are the only tolerable one,” Janus told the cat who upon being let loose in the office by Remus, immediately jumped on Janus’s lap.

“I have literally done nothing to you,” Lena said, but then added. “Yet.”

“You exist. In my space.”

“Can’t we just all get along?” asked Fred. “It’s only been an hour past when we’d usually go home. I went and grabbed milk and I have my giant thing of different flavored hot chocolate under my desk. We can try them all and vote on which is better.”

“Fuck your hot chocolate, Fred,” Janus growled, having been one of the three who had chipped in to buy it for him on his last birthday.

“Don’t go after Fred, jackass,” Lena spat.

“He’s just testy because his boyfriend escaped,” Remus contributed.

Janus’s lips turned down into a frown and he cupped Diesel Fuel’s face. “We agree we’re eating him first, right?” he asked her.

She purred her agreement.

“I’d have it no other way,” Remus replied.

“There is plenty of food,” Fred said, sounding stressed. “In fact, I was thinking we should all chip in on ordering take-out soon. “What does everyone like on pizza?”

“This is not a slumber party, Fred,” Janus pointed out.

“Shut it,” Lena snapped and turned to Fred. “I’m fine with almost everything, except…”

“Bananas and tuna salad!” Remus interrupted.

“…whatever Remus is about to say.”

Janus rolled his eyes as that started a debate about whether or not fruit and/or fish belonged on pizza. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, which was when there was a knock on the door.

He froze when he heard the familiar voice. “Hello, hello,” said Emile, cheerfully. Janus looked up to see Emile standing at the open office door. Shit. Apparently, the man had decided to give up on sending lackeys to come fetch him and had decided to track him down himself when Janus couldn’t even escape without breaking a time lockdown. They met eyes briefly and Janus could see irritation if not anger in his eyes despite his otherwise cheerful expression and tone.

“Janus,” he said when he’d gotten their attention. “I’d like to have dinner with you.” The word choice told Janus everything he needed to know. Usually Emile was careful with how he said things to make sure people knew they had a choice. Typically he’d say something like, “I was wondering if you’d have time to have dinner with me tonight,” or “I’m about to go get food, would you like to come?” Today, there was no choice in the statement.

Janus still dried to dodge anyway. “Uh,” he said. “We were actually about to order pizza.”

“Go ahead,” said Fred kindly. Janus wanted to strangle him. “We can order pizza with olives if you’re not here.”

“I…” said Janus. “Guess, I’ll be going with you.”

“Great!” Emile said. “Let’s go.”

“Oh,” Janus said. “Uh, now?”

“Now,” Emile said a bit of uncharacteristic steel to his tone.

Well, Janus was screwed. He swallowed his nervousness and got to his feet, taking Diesel Fuel with him. He turned to hand her off to Remus with a plea in his eye, but he just got an eyebrow raise in return. Traitor.

Then, he followed Emile out of the office door. “What would you like to eat?” asked Emile.

“Uh,” Janus said. “I don’t know. You asked me to eat, don’t you have any ideas?”

“I don’t actually,” Emile replied. Right.

“…Noddle Bar?” Janus threw out the nearest restaurant he knew.

“The one noodle restaurant? Sure,” Emile answered simply. They walked side by side out of the front doors of the TPI building. Janus actually couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken these stairs. He usually used his timepiece to get in and out.

The noodle bar was only moderately busy at this time. They were quickly able to find a table near the back and Emile pulled his menu up in front of him. Emile hummed as he flipped through the different displays. “What are you having?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Janus said, only then pulling up the menu himself, but still not quite looking at it.

“What about the fortune noodles,” Emile suggested.

Janus shook his head. “I don’t like those,” he said.

Emile glanced at him through the menu displays. “You used to.” Fortune noodles were a bit cheekily named. They didn’t actually indicate anything about your future. They were just supposed to taste like what you wanted from your future. A grad student might experience a feeling like they’d just aced a paper. A child that they got to stay up an hour later that night. Janus had liked the experience when he was younger, but in recent years, he’d begun to taste the underlying chemicals in the dish until that’s all he could.

“Well,” Emile said lightly, eyes on his menu. “That makes me even more worried for your mental health than I already was because of the almost three years of you avoiding talking to me.”

“No small talk, huh?” Janus asked.

“Forgive me,” Emile said, eyes now focused on Janus, and tone much darker. “How has your life been since I last saw your face 5 months ago during a business meeting and you refused to look me in the eye? Anything interesting happen? Shave your head and let it all regrow? Develop an allergy to peanuts? Join a convent and take an oath of silence that you only just broke today?”

“No,” said Janus quietly into the table.

“Great,” Emile said clipped. “Small talk over. Order your food.” Janus reached up blindly to select the first thing that came up on the food and drink menu as Emile punched something into his own and both menu displays disappeared, meaning there was nothing between their faces anymore. “You know, I was willing to give you a year,” Emile said. “I was willing to let you deal with it on your own because I thought eventually, you’d come talk to me about it, but apparently I was mistaken. The next year, I thought maybe you thought I didn’t want to talk to you, so I subtly made myself available, and you never took me up on the offer. I thought maybe I was just not being clear, and I should make my desire to talk to you more explicit, but as you have been routinely, clearly avoiding me at every single turn, I’ve decided I’ve had enough. So, let’s lay it all on the table. Is it me or do you need help?”

Janus closed his eyes. “It’s not you.”

“Then you need help,” Emile concluded.

Janus shook his head.

“Yes,” Emile snapped. “Whatever this is has gone on far too long.”

Janus stood up and slammed his hand down on the table. “And it’s going to keep going on!” he said. The food popped up at that moment. It appeared Janus had ordered lasagna and bubble tea, and Emile had ordered something with spaghetti and a fizzy drink.

“So, you’re just planning to go on being miserable then?” Emile asked, and Janus wasn’t sure if it was worse or better that he didn’t sound angry anymore.

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Janus slapped his hand down on the “To Go” button and his dinner was insta-wrapped by the table. “Yes,” he said.

“What exactly do you think you’re paying penance for, Janus?” Emile asked.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Janus said, paying for both of their meals with his fingerprint.

“That’s a cop out and you know it,” Emile said. “All you’d have to do is talk to me. Or even just talk to someone else. Please.”

“Just…” Janus said, grabbing his bag of food to avoid looking at him. “Just, leave me be.” He walked out of the noodle shop without another word.

Chapter 10

“And I thought Remus was going to be the most disgusting roommate in this equation,” Lena grumbled. Janus and Lena were apparently the earlier risers in the group as Fred was still curled up around a pillow and Remus was sprawled out under his desk.

Janus flipped her off.

“Protein infused Poptarts and caffeinated orange juice for breakfast?” she asked. “Just eat an energy bar and have a cup of coffee like a normal person.”

He took another pointed bite of his Poptart.

“You’re a horrible roommate. This is why they gave us different partners.”

“Yeah, well you snore, asshole,” Janus said after finishing off his meal.

“I’d tell you to go eat shit, but you already did that once this morning.”

A pillow flew across the room and somehow managed to hit the both of them. “S’op fighting,” Fred mumbled. “It’s sleep time.”

“It’s morning Fred,” Lena said.

“No,” Fred mumbled.

Janus ignored them, turning back to his integration port to continue to keep plugging in phrases of interest, but he kept getting nothing.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked after a few moments of him huffing at his screen reader.

“Trying to do anything that may change our current living arrangements.”

She puffed out an amused breath. “Can I help?”

“Can you see any connection between these words and phrases?” he asked, pulling away his screen reader and tapping at the words he’d typed out.

“Paranoid, tonight, I live to party, comeback, love Bug, BB good, Mandy, Macy Misa, I believe, cool, that’s just the way we roll, burnin’ up,” she said. “What are these?”

“They’re things Pat said when we interrogated that struck me funny,” Janus explained. “I feel like he was saying something more than what he said.”

“Hmm,” she said. “PTI for the first three?”

“Maybe,” Janus agreed, “but what about the rest of it? I feel like I’m missing something.”

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“Millennia,” Remus mumbled from under his desk. Janus hadn’t been aware he was awake. “He said something something about it being the only time he could see the change of the millennia.” He turned his head to look at Janus. “Considering he’s a time traveler, that’s definitely a weird thing to say.”

“Millennia,” Janus contemplated. “A different turn of the millennia. Oh no.”

“What?” Lena asked.

Janus sighed, and rubbed his temple. “I know someone who studied the 1700-2200s.”

“Isn’t that good?”

“No,” Janus groaned, “because now I have to go talk to him.” He stood with a sigh and then paused. “How do I even get to Silver Mountains University without my timepiece?”

Luckily Sliver Mountains ended up only being about an hour away from the TPI by time adherent travel, but considering Janus was used to his travel being instantaneous, it was an aggravating trip. He had to show ID and be buzzed up to the fourth floor since it was usually locked to everyone not traveling by timepiece or who worked in the office.

The receptionist was the same man as before. “I’m here to speak to Professor Eran,” Janus said.

The receptionist nodded. “He mentioned you asked to meet him but didn’t know when you’d arrive. He’ll be done teaching his class in about 5 minutes. You can wait over there.”

Janus nodded and sat, waiting for time to slowly tick by. Virgil arrived after a few minutes, lugging a giant bag with him. He caught sight of Janus and wordlessly jerked his head towards the hallway. Janus followed him.

“What’s in the bag?” Janus asked.

“Early 21st century cell phones,” Virgil said, dropping it on his desk. “I let my students mess around with them for their lab.”

“I see,” Janus said.

“What did you need?” Virgil asked. “You said it was official business.”

“You’ve heard about the lockdown, I presume,” Janus said.

“Yeah, it really screws up my research schedule for the summer,” Virgil said.

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“Do you know why the lockdown was instituted?” Janus asked. Virgil shook his head, so Janus explained briefly that they had been trying to find a timebomb on the eve of the year 3000, but it had been swiped by a free agent time traveler. “Some of the things seemed to be references to things that I couldn’t place, and I was wondering if you would recognize any.”

“Shoot,” Virgil requested, seeming intrigued by the prospect.

“Okay,” Janus said. “First, the alias he was using was Nick Jonas.” A weird expression crossed Virgil’s face immediately and Janus paused.

“You said the year 3000?” Virgil asked.

“Er. Yes.”

“Nick Jonas. Year 3000,” Virgil repeated with a snort. “Were Joe and Kevin a part of this too?”

Janus blinked. “Yes, how did you know that?”

“Yo-you’re going to have,” his sentence was broken by a giggle, and actual full-fledged giggle, “have to give me a minute.” With that, he sort of listed to the side and seemed to purposefully fall off his chair onto the floor under his desk.

Janus blinked and when he didn’t surface after a moment, he stood up to lean over the desk and look down at him. Virgil had his arm thrown over his beat red face, as he shook from what Janus thought was suppressed laughter.

“What?” Janus asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Just…” Virgil said, sobbing through his laughter. “Just tell me the things he said.”

“Er, mostly he just had weird inflections on words and phrases. There was ‘paranoid, tonight, I live to party, comeback…’”

“Wait, stop,” Virgil said. “Let me guess a few. That’s Just the Way We Roll, Burnin’ Up, Sucker.”

“The first two were, but not the last one.”

Virgil laughed. “Maybe the last one was just implied.”

Janus frowned down. “What are you talking about? What does this all mean?”

Virgil pulled himself out from under his desk and grabbed his bag of phones. He dug through it for a few seconds before pulling one out and handing it to Janus. “I have a lab for my students where they get preloaded phones from the early 21st century and are supposed to guess the demographics of the person who owns it. This one is an iPhone 3 meant to belong to a pre-teen to teenage girl from the year 2009. Look under music artists starting with the letter ‘J.’”

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Confused, Janus scrolled through the old style phone, finding the music app and opening it easily. Upon getting to the ‘J’s, he immediately paused on an artist called the ‘Jonas Brothers.’ He clicked on it and read a few of the song titles. They weren’t all there, but…

“That rat bastard,” Janus said.

“Scroll to the bottom,” Virgil said. Janus did and found a song titled ‘Year 3000.’

“You’re kidding me.”

“Click on it,” Virgil requested.

Janus did, listening to the fairly standard pop like intro from the time period. It wasn’t until he got to the lyrics saying, ‘He told me he built a time machine’ that he cursed, understanding exactly what Pat had been doing. When the singer a few lines latter proclaimed that his neighbor said ‘I’ve been to the year 3000’ he almost smashed the artifact to pieces right then and there.

“I have no idea who this guy is,” Virgil said, “but he’s a comedic genius.”

Chapter 11

Khalid caught him on his way back into the TPI building. “I heard you went to Silver Mountains to follow up on a lead,” she said.

“Yeah, but it was garbage,” he seethed. “All I learned was ‘Pat’ knows early 2000s popular culture and likes to fuck with us.”

She hummed. “I’d still like a report about whatever you found. Who knows what we might end up getting from seemingly inconsequential data.”

“Sure,” he said.

“Anyway,” she continued. “I have a mission for you.”

“We’re on lockdown,” Janus pointed out with a frown.

“For nonessentials,” she said. “This is essential.”

“What happened?” Janus asked.

“We picked up a small time distortion in France 2027. At the moment, it is small enough not to cause any disruptions, but it is slowly growing, and we don’t know what caused it. Usually we’d just send surveillance agents at this stage, but considering what’s going on, I think it would be best to send a field agent. And it would just be you, because we don’t want to send too many people out at once.”

“Is this related to the time bomb?” Janus asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “At the very least, it’s not it being set off as it was in 2999, but if it’s been altered for some other purpose…”

“I’ll go,” Janus said.

“I’ll send over the mission directive to everyone who needs it. You’ll go in around 3 hours.”

He nodded. “I’ll be ready,” he agreed.

In less then 3 hours, he was dressed for 2027 France and in decontamination. “Well,” he said out loud when he was given the all clear sign, “I hope I don’t explode.” He selected the coordinates on the timepiece and the next moment he was in a small alleyway in the city of Montpellier, France in 2027.

It was a little bit warm, but not stifling even in the mid-afternoon and he could faintly smell the sea on the breeze.

After a moment to get his bearings, Janus made his way out of the alleyway and onto a small street. The street was lined with restaurants and shops as people went about their daily lives. He carefully integrated himself into the crowd and began weaving his way through them. He needed to find the source of the distortion but doing a quick scan with his timepiece told him there wasn’t any sign of it yet. He’d have to wait for it to act up.

For now, he decided to get slightly away from people by heading towards the river. He found a park that had benches along water.

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As he walked towards the river, he noticed a man on the bench, angled slightly away from Janus and looking out at the water. He immediately recognized the man. “You!” he exclaimed.

Pat’s head shot around to look at him, and he gave a slight head tilt. Then, he smiled, amused. “You are not the person I’m here for,” he said.

“Well, I am now,” Janus snapped. “Where’s the time bomb?”

“Time bomb?” Pat asked, eyebrows drawing together, but amusement on his lips. “Oh sweetie, the time bomb happened a long time ago for me.”

“What?” Janus asked.

“Oh, you’re just a baby,” Pat laughed. “Don’t you get it yet? The two of us are out of sync timeline wise. You’ve been apparently running around with a much younger version of me, but all of that happened quite a while ago for me. Don’t worry though, it gets better.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The time bomb has been long deactivated. Here,” he reached into his pocket and tossed him something. Janus caught it on instinct. “Proof. Don’t worry, we took all of the dangerous bits out years ago from my perspective.” It was the core of a time bomb, the time bomb Pat had stolen if he was to be believed. “You can tell your people it’s safe to remove the lockdown.”

Janus curled his fingers around it. “I don’t get it.”

Something on Pat’s wrist beeped and he looked at it curiously before he stood from the bench, “and I don’t have time to explain it.”

Janus jerked forward to grab his wrist. “Don’t you dare.”

Pat reached up to pat his face. “Don’t worry honey, you’ll be seeing me later.” He twisted his wrist and a small electric current sparked between them. Janus jerked his hand away, and Patton smiled at him. “Or… earlier.” He winked, and then he was gone.

Janus cursed, but he didn’t have more than a moment to be angry because in the next second there was a yelp, and something landed on top of him. He was bowled over into a tangle of limbs and pained noises.

“Oh my god, we need to figure out the height thing,” a familiar voice groaned, just as Janus managed to pull himself away. Pat blinked up at him and his eyes narrowed. “You,” he hissed.

“…What?”

#study break stories #not writing

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therucrap · 3 years

Text

RPDR 13 Episode 1 RuCrap

Hello dear internet! I just started a new page for my first ever RPDR RuCrap so please share and follow and I’ll continue if they catch on! Hope you enjoy!

The lucky 13th season of RuPaul’s Trauma Spectacular launches with the promise of “all new surprises” and a brand new twist that will leave you wondering how you ever sat through a boring old premiere with a coherent intro, climax, and conclusion when you could be enduring a dizzying hour and a half of WOW presents Happy Death Day 3: Covid Edition!

We open up on the trusty trauma center - I mean Werk Room - and the first to enter is NYC’s “Dominican Doll” and human drag lingo See ‘N Say Kandy Muse in an elaborate bejeweled patchwork jean mini dress and MATCHING DENIM BOOMBOX and she immediately informs us that we may know her from the now former Haus of Aja which was recently deconstructed like the pair of Wranglers that Kandy is wearing as fingerless gloves. Kandy is no longer alone in VIP because the befeathered Joey Jay arrives and half-heartedly delivers her intro line. “Filler queen!” We discover that Kandy is likely going to provide our Greek chorus confessional this season and all in a soft smoky eye when she informs us uncultured swine that Joey is wearing the cheapest variety of feather - chicken. Kandy didn’t construct an entire outfit from the remnants section of a Joanne Fabrics and not learn a thing or two about quality, sweetie! Joey is determined to beat viewers to the punchline and immediately clucks around branding herself as “basic” and “filler.” Joey is from the city of Phoenix (and possibly the online University as well) but she’s here to rise like a chicken!

Thunder mysteriously rumbles as RuPaul appears on the digitally enhanced Werk room TV but what could this be?! For all you newbies this is one of the several instances in every season where Ru mixes things up and gives us what we really want: a twist that is equal parts confusing, fucks up the natural order of the competition, and is ultimately unfulfilling! Come on season 13, let’s put a bunch of queer people through even more turmoil in a pandemic! Ru has a surprise but they’ll have to head to the mainstage to get the full story that they’ll be recounting to a mental health professional later!

We’re merely four minutes in and here comes Ru down the runway dressed like a glitterdot jellyfish! Our tour guide on Trauma Island introduces us to the main panel of judges for the season - Disco Morticia Addams and the two human Trapper Keepers who are now separated by glass because for the first time in Drag Race herstory we’re in the middle of a international health crisis, mawma!

Now let’s get down to trauma! Ru explains that the queens will be pairing off to lipsync unexpectedly as they enter! What could possibly go wrong? Well if you’re hoping that someone comes in wearing blades on their feet well just stick around because I have quite the treat for you! Our Dungaree Diva and the Chicken Feather Filler hit the Mainstage looking as confused as Shangela researching CDC protocol on her way to Puerto Vallarta last week. The judges interview our test subjects and immediately bring up the Haus of Aja and Kandy clarifies that she’s now an esteemed member of The Doll Haus along with last season’s ever-gorgeous Dahlia Sinn. I personally prefer not to say that Dahlia was eliminated first but instead that she was season 12’s brocco-leading lady! (Writer’s note: if you’re thinking “there’s a drag show called The Doll Haus in my hometown... is it THAT Doll Haus?!” No, there’s a drag show called The Doll Haus in almost every city in America but now, like with the former Sharon Needles, Kim Chis, and Penny Trations of the world, this one’s been on TV and alas, the others must now rename themselves)! Joey also charms the judges with her plucky demeanor and it’s already time to lipsync feather they like it or not!

Gay anthem Call Me Maybe by Canadian legend Carley Rae Jepson begins and Kandy immediately pushes a fake button on her DENIM BOOMBOX to start the party. Honestly... crown her right there on the spot. We will ALWAYS give points for prop work and the Carrot Top of the Bronx does not disappoint. Both are energetic but it’s The Dutchess of Denim who wins by infusing humor and our feathered friend is given “the Porkchop” but before we can even wrap our head around what this means for the state of the competition we snap back to the Werk Room to meet our next unsuspecting victims!

Now dear reader, this is the part where I’m just going to cut the shit. The set-up they’re selling us is that the losers of these premiere lipsyncs will be eliminated from the show but they are obviously not about to Porkchop half of the cast on day one so just stick with me while we suspend disbelief and go on RuPaul’s Totally Twisted Trauma Adventure as she convinces 6 gay people who just spent upwards of $10,000 on clothing, jewelry, and hair and then meticulously packed it into regulation suitcases to travel here during a pandemic after probably not making any money for the last four months (this was filmed in July) that they are going home on day one! This herstory-making twist, like so many before it, exemplifies the show’s worst qualities: a lack of empathy for its contestants, an underestimation of viewer intelligence and ability to decode heavy-handed editing witchery, and its love for completely dismantling its own format every year for the sake of drama. Whatever keeps the Emmy’s coming, baby! When you’re on the other side of one of these twists you usually feel like you just finished your morning coffee only to find out that the barista gave you decaf. Your mind will be blown when it’s happening but the payoff is usually at the expense of the show’s own legitimacy. With that said... this is the punishment we come to gleefully endure every year and we’re not here to complain, we’re here to watch gay people break down, dammit!

It’s deja Ru all over again as we snap back to the Werk Room where Chicago’s Denali walks in on ice skates and immediately ruins any chance of a deposit return for the bumpy, rented roll-out vinyl floors and declares “Let me break the ice!” She’s wearing the expensive feathers that Joey Jay didn’t spring for. Denali might not be the first ice skater on Drag Race but she’s the one I didn’t watch shit on a dick on Twitter last week so let’s give credit where it’s due. Ugh I wish Trinity the Tuck could block THAT from my memory! Next up is Atlanta’s Lala Ri whose white blazer, body suit, and unteased hair is immediately called basic by an icy Denali in confessional. Denali is confident but we know something that she doesn’t and Lala is wearing a sensible dancing ankle boot not two blades on her feet so let’s see how this turns out!

The lipsync song is “When I Grow Up” by Nicole Scherzinger and her assistants who were accidentally given microphones a few times! Denali struggles to conceal her wayward nipples during some ambitious dance moves and all while in skates but Lala gives us a good old fashioned drag performance and a big finale split unbothered by an elaborate costume and ultimately ices Denali who signs off with “Feeling icy, feeling spicy!” Asking these queens to lipsync upon entering is one thing but asking them to improvise their exit lines 10 minutes in is just cruel!

Denali heads backstage devastated where SURPRISE... Joey Jay is sitting alone in a sad room made of plywood walls featuring a bunch of pictures of first eliminated queens, an ominous “Porkchop Loading Dock” sign, and some cocktail tables with no cocktails (how dreadful).

Before we get the full picture and God for bid our bearings on Mr Charles’ Wild Ride let’s leave this plywood hellscape and jump back into the familiar comfort of the Werk Room’s pixelated neon pink faux brick walls where LA’s modelesque Symone stomps in wearing a dress made of tiny Polaroids of herself. She’s stylish, her energy is fresh, and she’s clearly one to watch. Then dear reader life as we know it changes. A breeze comes through the room and God herself blesses us when living legend and matriarch of the Iman dynasty Tamisha Iman from Atlanta arrives in a pointy-shouldered red power suit and proclaims to us simple townsfolk “Holler at me, I know you know me. Holler at me, I know you know me. Tamisha is here!” The sea parts, the crops are replenished, and all war stops on Earth. On stage Tamisha reveals that she’s been doing drag for 30 years (which seems like a long time to us mere mortals) and that she was originally cast last season but was diagnosed with colon cancer two days later and had to stay home for chemo. The lipsync gods wisely choose The Pleasure Principle by Janet Jackson and Tamisha gives us exact Janet arm choreo while Simone is sultry yet commanding as she shakes her Polaroids. The judges determine that Simone was picture perfect and American hero Tamisha Iman is sent to Porkchop’s Shipping Crate of Horrors to join the nest with the fancy feather option and the chicken feather option.

We begrudgingly crawl back onto RuPaul’s ever-circling carousel of doom and plop back into the workroom where accomplished LA celebrity makeup artist GottMik stomps in wearing a wacky toile dress and a full face of white makeup declaring that it’s “Time to crash the system!” GottMik is Drag Race’s first trans man contestant (and first knowingly cast trans contestant at all) for which we cheer excitedly and then immediately look at our watches because that took too long. Next up Minneapolis’s towering Utica wriggles in with a sneeze and declares “She’s sickening!” which is just the pandemic humor I came here for! Contaminate me, mom! This gay scarecrow is wearing a series of crazy patterns and a big strawberry on her head and the two of them appear to be from the same traveling circus. These two Big Comfy Couch characters slink over to the main stage where Utica explains that her cranial statement fruit symbolizes tackling obstacles because she used to be allergic to strawberries as a kid but she grew out of it. In RuPaul’s heavy universe of heart wrenching struggles that contain chronic illness and societal rejection, Utica’s animated world that suffers only of outgrown childhood strawberry problems is a welcome one. These two lanky rag dolls will be lipsyncing to Rumors by her majesty Lady Lohan of Mykonos and the vibe is instantly wacky. I wouldn’t say that either of them are the next Kennedy Davenport but they did complement each other well on the invisible obstacle course they were both miming through. Utica’s hair flops over her eye, there’s galloping and floor humping, GottMik does a split, there’s elbows and knees aplenty, and all that’s missing is dancing poodles. The judges are tickled by the kookiness of both of these human windsocks but Gotmikk snatches the win. Neither of these two are going to win So You Think You Can Dance but luckily this is RuPaul’s So You Think You Can Trauma so we’re in luck!

Our homosexual Groundhog Day continues back in the Werk Room where we meet NYC’s Rosé who gets the Brita treatment where she’s presented as a legendary New York queen and then the editors quickly get to work making her look delusional. She’s accomplished, confident, and Drag Race’s favorite personality type to dismantle and then trick into returning to All-Stars for a redemption only to dismantle again. Rosé’s fresh-faced foil Olivia Lux enters and lights up the place right away in a velvet pink and yellow gown. She’s a humble NYC newby who has competed in shows hosted by the established Rosé and we already know what’s about to happen here. The lipsync is Exes and Oh’s by Elle King which which was a choice. Olivia strips off her gown to reveal a bodysuit so she can really articulate and Rosé does the world’s least exciting split that looked like me trying unsuccessfully separate wooden chopsticks. Olivia triumphs and Rosé fizzles as she heads to the It Didn’t Werk Room aka Porkchop’s sparsely decorated storage closet to be with the other Have Nots.

We’re almost to the finish line and we limp, slightly disoriented, back to the Werk Room where we meet Tina Burner, another NYC theater kid with the confidence of a thousand Patti LuPones who is dressed like a Ronald McDonald firefighter. What she lacks in nuance she makes up for in nonstop fire puns. Next Chicago’s glamorous Kahmora Hall saunters in glowing and is clearly unimpressed with Tina’s constant Joan Rivers impression but maintains a full pageant smile. No choice but to stan. Our final queen is the refreshingly optimistic Elliott with 2 T’s who busts in wearing a bolero jacket, some red pants from the store, and a short pink wig that screams “Sorry I’m late! Here’s my flash drive! I can go on whenever!” Elliott dances in sing-talking her entrance line like the TGIFriday’s server she is: “I’m the queen you want to see. Elliot with two T’s. Okay! Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh! Okay!” Elliot is a dancer from Las Vegas and has the unhinged camp counselor energy of someone with snacks in her purse at all times.

On the Mainstage Tina cycles through the last of her introductory fire puns and tells the judges she was in a boy band which honestly tracks. Tina and Rosé share a similar NYC gotta-get-a-gimmick energy but for some reason production has decided to give Rosé the womp womp edit and Tina the superstar edit. The song is Lady Marmalade because we haven’t been though enough and Kahmora serves subdued sexy glamour, Elliott does the splits, and Tina bobs and weaves between the two with full play-to-the-back-row comedy queen energy. Tina extinguishes the dreams of the other two and RuPaul sends the final two losers to the chokey.

The worst is over (we think) and our frazzled cast of hopefuls finally gets to know eachother in their two very different groups. The winning queens in the Werk Room are celebrating and as blissfully unaware of the doom around them as Miss Vanjie and Silky Ganache at a Puerto Vallarta circuit party during a pandemic. Over in Porkchop’s Junk Drawer the camera looms unnecessarily close to the crestfallen losers’ now disheveled wigs and sweat drenched makeup. Ru’s voice bellows over the speaker to tell this motley crew to get out and then as the last bit of light leaves their weary eyes she checks back in to tell them that she wasn’t serious! Oh good! Finally a moment of mercy for these once hopeful queens on their first day of RuPaul’s Wipeout! She then reveals that the full twist is that she is only going to send one home but they have to vote amongst the group of losers to decide who it is! Yes, that’s correct! This group of broken queens who just met and mostly have never seen eachother perform will now be expected to turn on eachother and give up their last bit of dignity to either grovel or just straight up fight with eachother! This must be what the Donner Party’s last night looked like. The queens look around broken and wounded but still hungry, their eyes barely open, their lacefronts only partially attached to their heads, and start deciding which of their own is about to get consumed. Her highness Tamisha Iman reminds them "Well, I'm the only black girl so don't vote me off” and just like that we are TO BE CONTINUED!

Thus concludes our first headspinning episode that despite being reliably frustrating has once again sucked us in and against our better judgement entertained us to the fullest! As for our 13 queens- you can use code HERSTORY on Talkspace while relaying tonite’s events to a sickening liscensed therapist!

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janetbrown711 · 4 years

Note

Webby Lucy❛❛ Shh, shh. It’s okay. You’re alright. You’re safe now. ❜❜

Before Lucy knew it, Louie picked her up and started booking down the hospital hallway, but she couldn’t help herself to look over her father's shoulders. She saw her mom looking back at her through the glass doors with a worried look that made her feel guilty somehow. She hugged her dad’s neck tighter and buried her head in his shoulder.

“Where exactly are we planning on running here Lou?” Della asked.

“I-i don’t know. As far away from them as possible,” Louie replied.

“There’s got to be a janitor's closet around here somewhere. They’re bound to have something we can use to get that tracking bracelet off, right?” Della asked, as a sound of another explosion and the building shook and Lucy shuddered and Louie tightened his grip on her.

“We have to find where Hazel is and keep her safe too,” Louie shook his head, before glancing down at Lucy.

“It’s gonna be okay Lucy. I won’t let anything happen to you. Not again,” Louie promised. Lucy swallowed and nodded.

She didn’t believe him.

They made a couple turns around and finally found the room where Hazel was sleeping and unfortunately realized that hospital doors don’t lock. Della stood guard as Louie sat Lucy down and took off her boot to see what they were working with.

“It looks really strong. I don’t know if we’ll be able to break it without hurting her ankle,” Louie bit his lower lip.

“Yeah. If you asked me, I’d almost think the best way out would be to just chop the whole thing off,” Della didn’t think before speaking and Louie shot her a look as Lucy began to want to cry.

“S-sorry. Moon thinking,” Della chuckled nervously before rubbing a hand over her face at her own stupidity.

“D-dad I don’t wanna lose my leg,” Lucy said.

“We aren’t going to chop your leg off,” He gave her a quick hug. “But we do need to think of something. Fast,” Louie said as he stood and began to take a look at what they were working with. Unfortunately, not much, this was just a simple recovery room.

“Maybe if we checked the janitor’s or maintenance closet there’d be a pair of bolt cutters or something we could use,” Louie stood.

“I-I don’t want you to go,” Lucy grabbed his hoodie with all her little bandaged hand could. He and Della shared a look.

“You’ll be much safer with Grandma. I’ll just be gone a second, okay?” Louie bit his tongue. He really didn’t want to leave her like this but he knew he wouldn’t be able to protect her and Hazel if/when the bad guys came bursting in like Della would.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Louie kissed her head before running out of the room. Lucy tried to run after, but Della grabbed her arm.

“Honey, it’s best you don’t go following him and stay here,” Della said.

“B-but- I-i...” Lucy tried to argue but the proper words weren’t coming out. She hated being six years old.

“He’ll be back soon,” Della sighed and tried to reassure.

“wh-who’ll be back soon?” Hazel croaked tiredly from the bed.

“Hazel!” Lucy ran to her cousin and hopped onto the bed.

“Louie will be. He left to try and find something to get rid of the tracking devices,” Della explained, remaining at the door and glancing out the window for safe measure.

“The tracking devices-!” Hazel shot up. “Wh-where’s dad?!”

“Hey, take deep breaths kiddo,” Della rushed over and rubbed her back. “He’s- safe, I’m sure,” she bit her cheek. Lucy realized she had no idea where her uncle Huey was, and neither did her grandma.

“I-it was a trap. All of it. You shouldn’t have come for us. Th-they’re going to kill him,” Hazel shook her head as the beeping of the heart monitor got faster.

“Hazel! You need to calm down,” Della snapped and Hazel quickly went silent, but she was shaking and clenching the hospital blankets in her fists. Lucy didn’t hesitate to give her cousin a hug and Della did too. Just then, there was another loud crashing sound and the building shook again, which caused Della to hug them all tighter. Quickly after, Louie burst back in and slammed the door behind him.

“What’s going on out there?” Della raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing. We have to hurry,” He shook his head, preferring not to talk about whatever was actually happening. Lucy didn’t know why but she was suddenly a lot more aware of all the lies everyone around her was telling. She didn’t like it. She liked not knowing. Not knowing made her a lot less scared.

“D-did you see dad? Is he okay?” Hazel asked. Louie and Della shared a glance.

“I didn’t see him, but I’m sure he’s okay,” Louie said. Another lie. Hazel seemed to believe it, as her body got a lot less tense and the beeping slowed down.

They decided to try and break Hazel’s first (especially since Lucy did not like the idea of those giant clampers going anywhere near her ankle). Thankfully, the tracker was around the ankle that wasn’t broken so it wasn’t too painful as they tried to break it. However, no matter how hard they tried, the anklet wasn’t coming off. Even Lucy noticed how he was getting more and more desperate as the sounds outside of the hospital room only seemed to get louder.

“We need to hurry or hide somewhere else. They’ll be here in a matter of time,” Della said anxiously, pulling a chair to barricade the door for the moment, just in case. Lucy looked at her father who dropped the bolt cutters and put his head in his hands.

“Louie, did you hear me? We need to get out of here. Now,” Della said. Louie took in a deep breath and nodded.

“What about me though?” Hazel asked.

“You don’t have any wires on you so we’ll just... disconnect the heart thing and yeah,” Della kinda shrugged and proceeded to try and help Hazel out when suddenly there was a very loud bang and the whole room began to shake. Lucy clung onto her dad for protection, to which he responded by picking her up. Just then, however, there was a loud banging on the door.

“WE KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!” a gruff voice gnashed from the outside. Lucy buried her head into her dad’s shoulder once more.

“If they know, then they must have some sort of device on them. C’mon, let’s put them in the air vents,” Della suggested out of nowhere.

“What- why-?” Louie looked at her like she was crazy.

“They won’t find them, now help me,” Della climbed onto Hazel’s bed and opened the vent. Louie nodded and helped Hazel up but then it was Lucy’s turn to go.

“I-i don’t want to go,” She said.

“Honey, it’ll only be for a few moments. We’ll be right here. Be brave for me, okay?” Louie kissed her forehead. He hated leaving her. He knew it was probably horrible for him to leave her so soon but saw no other choice. Lucy slowly nodded and they helped her up there. Hazel and Della barely had time to fix the vent before they heard the door slam open and Hazel and Lucy heard the sounds of fighting. Lucy instinctively went to Hazel for comfort and she hugged her.

“I hate this,” Lucy said.

“You’re telling me,” Hazel sighed.

“I feel like I’m going crazy... and like I need a really long nap,” Hazel yawned.

“O-oh okay...” Lucy went quiet as Hazel leaned against the vent and closed her eyes, though Lucy could tell she wasn’t quite sleeping, though Hazel became unresponsive to Lucy’s further questions, clearly wanting a bit of space. So Lucy sat with her knees to her chest, listening to what she could of her dad and grandma fighting whoever was down there. She couldn’t make out much of what was happening, but she just hoped it was all okay.

It had to be. She didn’t know much, but she did know she was probably way too young to be facing this. But she’d be brave. She had to be. After all, her mom told her stories of adventures she went on when she was a kid. Maybe not when she was exactly her age but 10 wasn’t that much more than 6... right? It was just four years.

So that meant she’d be brave. She had to be.

For dad.

.o0o.

Louie hated putting Lucy into the ceiling vents alone with Hazel. He had experienced Turaco’s torture before as well and he hated being alone for months after what he went through. He knew his little girl was probably experiencing similar anxieties that would turn into therapy bills when she was older, just as he had.

He didn’t have time to focus on that now, as now he was focused on fighting whoever these goons were alongside his mom. One was a blue jay and the other was a robin but both were pretty good fighters, but they were eventually able to push them outside of the room and into the hallway and they continued their fighting there. However, Louie was not the best fighter in the family by any means and Della was older than she was willing to admit and they were soon ultimately apprehended and put in zip-tie cuffs, and brought to a different room near the lobby of the ER, where a masked figure waited for them.

“I still don’t understand why she obsesses with you so but what the boss orders, the boss orders,” the figure shrugged.

“Who are you exactly?” Louie raised an eyebrow, having never heard that voice before. The goons kicked him in the back of the knee and he and Della knelt on the ground before her.

“A partner with T, but that’s none of your business Llewellyn,” Her eyes flashed on him. Hearing his name instantly made him uncomfortable but her threatening presence above him didn’t help much either.

“Where’s-”

“Hubert and Agent 22.5? They’ll be here in a moment I’m sure,” The woman said as she took out a small tablet and began pushing a few buttons before putting it away. It must’ve been the tracker pad. If they could somehow get to it and use it, then they’d be able to turn it off and maybe even somehow take them off too. They just needed to get to that pad...

“Ah, there they are,” She nodded as two other Hench people brought them in and had them kneel beside Louie.

“She has the tracker,” Louie whispered to Webby.

“I know,” Webby kept her eyes locked on the masked woman.

“So nice of you two to join us. I know the higher-ups and Turaco will be quite happy to hear of your final capture. Do you know how difficult it’s been to kidnap you people after all these years? Your family is so annoying,” The woman commented with snark.

“So what’s your plan here, Cygne? How did Turaco even contact you?” Webby asked.

“Not like it’s any of your business, but Turaco agreed to work with me if, should she be apprehended that I take care of her business and put you all where you belong in FOWL headquarters,” Cygne said disinterestedly. She then handed the tablet to one of the Hench people, a male pigeon, said something in another language, and left the room.

“God I hate Turaco,” Louie huffed.

“You and me both,” Webby acknowledged as she began trying to break free of the zip ties around her wrists.

“Where are Hazel and Lucy?” Huey looked around the room worriedly.

“Somewhere they won’t find them,” Della said, gesturing to the pigeon man, suggesting that they talk about that later. Huey nodded and swallowed his worry, focusing on the task at hand. Webby managed to finagle a very small knife from out of her spy belt and proceeded to work on breaking the zip tie, now making conversation with the pigeon man who had the tablet.

“So... what do you think they’ll do to us once we’re at FOWL headquarters?” she asked. The man stepped back, confused by her sudden conversation and unbreaking gaze.

“Well- I guess kill you? Though I know they don’t have interest in hoodie over here,” He gestured to Louie.

“I take offense to that. I’ll have you know I’ve been offered as a sacrifice at least 68 times,” Louie commented, using snark to cope with his stress.

“Whatever. What I do know is that they want you dead and your kids were just a trap so FOWL will probably just let Turaco do whatever she wants with them,” He shrugged. Louie didn’t like the sound of that. Huey’s face just about turned red with rage but even he couldn’t bust out of the zip tie cuffs so he was forced to have it build within himself. Something did dawn on him hough that caused his face to fall.

“She was right, it was a trap,” He said quietly. The others looked at him.

“Hazel kept saying it was a trap and we didn’t listen.”

“Huey, that’s in the past,” Della tried to make him feel better.

“No, by all means, he should’ve listened. Now everyone he loves is probably gonna die,” The pigeon shrugged, stepping right in front of him. Huey growled and pulled on the zip ties more but he found himself still unable to break them. The pigeon grinned.

“You’re feisty,” he said. Huey spat in his face. Disgusted, he wiped off his face and then slapped Huey across the face, which sucked all the air out of the room.

“Oh hell no,” Webby finally broke free of the cuffs and sprung into action, swiping her knife at him and they broke into combat. Luckily, it seemed Webby was far more skilled than he was and she was able to pin him down and stole the tracker pad, which she smashed into the ground and the glass shattered and it broke. After that, she punched him in the face (which knocked him unconscious) and she pulled out some rope she had on her too (that tool belt never ceased to amaze Louie with how much it could hold) and tied him to a chair. After that, she went to the others and proceeded to cut the other’s free and Webby kicked down the door to see a very confused but quickly angry Cygne on the other side.

“Go get the kids, I can handle her,” Webby ordered as she dove into combat once more. The brothers nodded at each other and bolted down the hallway, Della following suit.

Luckily, with Huey’s muscles added onto the team, they were better able to fight off any of the other henchmen who found them and tried to fight and they were able to reach the hospital room where they were able to take the same vent cover off and help the kids down.

Lucy came down first and she gave her dad what felt like the biggest hug of her life, and then Della helped Hazel down. Once Hazel saw her dad she hugged him like she would never let go and immediately began crying.

“I-i thought she k-killed you. Sh-she said she would. I-i thought- I-i knew- I-i-i-i-” she sobbed, unable to finish.

“It’s okay Hazel, I’m here,” Huey closed his eyes and embraced her. Lucy looked up to her dad too and he smiled softly with teary eyes at her.

“I’m here for you too, Lucy, don’t worry,” he ruffled her messy curls softly. Lucy smiled and nuzzled herself into his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. It was strong and loving, and at that moment despite all of her previous doubts, she knew her father loved her and would keep her safe no matter what.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

#my fics #louie duck #lucilia 'lucy' duck #hazel duck #huey duck #ducktales next gen #della duck #webby vanderquack

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adultswim2021 · 3 years

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Sealab 2021 #7: "Little Orphan Angry" October 14, 2001 - 11:15 PM | S01E07

Sealab 2021 had a hell of a run in it’s first season, and it had to end somewhere. While this one isn’t so bad (especially compared to what came after it), it’s still notably dull when stacked next to the previous episodes of season one. In my opinion, this one kinda kicks off a three-episode slump. The ship rights itself at the end of the season for one more great episode, but after that? Dreck. Almost all of it. The plot: A little dying boy comes to Sealab as part of the Final Request Foundation (an obvious analogue to the real-life Make-a-wish Foundation), but it turns out he’s a nefarious con-artist who is using Sealab’s computers to commit some kind of banking fraud. In fact, he’s not sick at all. He meets a gruesome end, but he’s painted as an unsympathetic villain who ultimately deserves his demise. The main issues with this one is that it’s light on laughs and bogged down by plot. The Sealab crew barely gets a chance to shine; they just show up to say insensitive things to the sick boy, basically. Capt. Murphy’s role in this is to comically misunderstand the nature of the boy’s illness, thinking he has the bubonic plague, requiring him to wear a hazmat suit and do things like scrub Marco’s face with a push broom because he looked at the sick kid. Most screen time is dedicated to the faking-sick boy and his man on the inside, conversing about their various misdeeds away from the prying eyes and ears of the main cast. The good things: a few funny lines here and there, like Murphy saying “I bet your lymph nodes are as big as cats!” (which gets a Jay Mewes style callback at the end of the credits). The new animation is very subtle, and there are whole scenes driven by dubbing over footage old footage with very little alteration. I do believe there are moments where the kid’s faces are pasted onto adult bodies when they are in scuba gear, ruthlessly murdering an agent from the Final Request Foundation trying to expose their fraud. Ultimately, this episode tries, but just misses the mark a bit and doesn’t add up to a great one. It’s not as negligent as other episodes feel. It’s ALMOST good. The characterization of Murphy here is a little off, I think. He’s always been painted as a stupid dope, and when he’s cruel it’s unintentional. In fact, everyone but Marco and Sparks (who has always had a cruel streak) comes off much meaner than they normally do. Here Murphy turns on a dime when he gets the upper hand by learning the sick kid is actually faking it. He exercises this by gleefully mangling the grifter boy with his golf cart. Looking back, Murphy seems like he just wanted an excuse to run down a kid in a wheel chair over and over. He could have blackmailed him for money, but all he demands from him is the kid’s silence. This is officially the jerkass-Homerfication of Capt. Murphy. NOTE: In a previous incarnation of this project, I noted every episode where pizza is either featured or referenced. I might miss some here and there, but I intend to continue that practice here. This episode ends with a pizza party. I will tag every episode with a #pizza hashtag for ease of use, but might not mention it in the body of the review every time. Please include this episode in your pizza-party adult swim marathon. Thanks.

MAIL BAG

Anonymous writes:

I didn't get to say this where you were writing about the Simpsons but I found it physically hurtful when you called a bunch of people from Portland dorks because they didn't come to your Simpsons screenings. Considering the rise of ANTIFA and their violence in our town since you did those maybe people had other concerns in mind than going out on a sunday night to do laundry with the Simpsons. Just one townie's POV. I'm sorry. I forgive you if you'll forgive me. Deal?

Technically I’m still writing about the Simpsons just at a more sluggish pace. Oh, and by the way, I’M ANTIFA just like Paula Poundstone (which is why she was fired from Home Movies, btw). No I do not forgive you.

#sealab 2021 #adult swim #pizza #adultswim2021

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bluejaytaco · 3 years

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What is this? More DND w/ Jay, you say?!

(Things were retconnned.)

(Art, Koejin, and Wreybar walk through the portal. They stepped into the arena right where they left. There’s no one there, but the headless body of Mrs. Red is still laying on the ground. It’s been weeks, but it’s still fresh. Koejin had reached back through to grab for Theodora, but lost her finger in the process.)

Wreybar: (Going slightly insane again and returning to the stage.)

Art: (looking for his sister. Climbs the walls of the arena to get a look around.)

Koejin: (Too focused on looking at where the portal was to care about their current surroundings.)

Art: (Sees pretty much no one, but does see a giant metal bird attacking a tiefling woman.) Hey guys! There’s a girl being attacked right now! We should go save her, considering she might be able to help us leave!

Wreybar: (attempts to throw Red’s body at Art but it’s a 100 foot wall and she’s in her massive dragon form so Wreybar doesn’t get it far.)

Koejin: (snapping out of her daze) Is she hot?

Art:....

(Me: I’m gonna roll to see if she’s hot. (Rolls pretty high)

DM: Art actually goes ‘I donno, let me see’ instead of just saying ‘yeah’ so that he can save her?

Me: ....yeah, pretty much...)

Art.... She’s a 9. I’m going to save her.

Koejin: Yeah, yeah. Alright. (Koejin goes to climb the wall and fails)

Art: (Seeing this) Koejin, use the fucking door, you fuckin drunk dumbass!

Koejin: (Looks at the door that is right by her) Oh, yeah.

(Both Koejin and Wreybar walk outside while Art (rolled low) faceplants on the other side of the wall he climbed.)

Koejin: You know there’s a door, right?

Art: (doesn’t move from his faceplant. Gives Koejin the finger. This reminds her of her missing finger.)

By the time we get over to the woman and the bird, it’s already ripped off her face and was working on plucking out her eyes. It turned and looked at us.

Metal Bird: You.... Are not in my systems.... You are....But not.... you.

We just stood there silently for a moment

Metal Bird: Who... are you?

Koejin: ummm, we’re a travelling improv group. Nothing really to be concerned about.

Metal Bird: (Tilts head) No. Who are you? (It moves closer, black ooze dropping from it but then returning to the bird shortly after)

Art:.... Maybe the better question is... who are you?

Metal Bird:.... Interesting... (it flies off after that, taking the body with it)

As soon as the bird flies away, all the tieflings leave their houses and see us standing there. Art’s father pushes through and sees his son (or, at least, who he thinks is his son) and runs up and hugs him.

Art’s Father: Art... I thought you were dead! What happened?!

Art: (Immediately tenses at the hug and moves away) Uh, it’s a long story. A.... very long story.

Art’s Father: ...Well, come in. You all must be famished. (Leads the way to home)

Koejin: (To Art) Hey, isn’t he like... hella dead?

Art: Shhh, Shutupshutup.

As Art’s father leads us all in to the house, he sits us down at the table and gives us all something. For Art, it’s what his counterpart’s favorite (Asparagus with lime. It’s something I can’t stand and the DM knows this.) Wreybar is given a “beyond burger” which is... just a huge thing of meat. Art’s father turns to Koejin.

Art’s Father: I admit... I don’t know what you eat so... here. (hands her a bottle of whiskey.)

Koejin: (grinning) you know, this is alright.

Art’s Father: (turns back to Art) So tell me, where have you been? What happened to you?

Art: A lot of things but, right now, I just... need to find Reita.

Art’s Father: (Calls out for Reita as if she were in the other room. When she doesn’t respond, he turns back to Art) Where is she?

Art: I don’t know. We were separated. But I need to find her.... as soon as possible.

The door opens and.... it’s Reita. This Art’s Reita, not the one from Universe B. There are black blobs dripping off of her like the metal bird, but she’s fine otherwise.

Art: (Immediately stands and goes to her. He hugs her immediately and takes a quick look at her.) Are you okay? Where were you? What happened?

Retita: (Isn’t harmed but not in the right state of mind to speak. She makes a couple of sounds, but seemed to be just happy to be back with her brother.)

Art: (just nods along like he understands her)

Art’s Father:.... That’s not... That’s not Reita... That’s not my Reita (Glares at Art) You’re not my son, are you? (Pulls out his whip. It looks identical to the one he used on both Art and Reita when they were kids)

Reita: (grips Art tightly and tenses up at the sight of the whip)

Art’s Father: Who are you?

Koejin: (Watching with her whiskey, ready to jump in if things go south)

Art: (attempts to maneuver himself so that he’s in between Reita and Dad. When Reita doesn’t loosen her grip to let him move, he decides to just address it as best he can from his position) Look, it’s a lot to explain. If you could just put the whip down, I’ll tell you everything. (rolled high on persuasion.)

Art’s Father: (relaxes slightly and accepts this)

Art sits his father down and literally explains everything. From their home, to Mrs. Red, to what landed them in the second universe in the firs place. He spends so long on the story that it counted as a long rest. Wreybar and Koejin listened to it as if it were an epic tale which, considering Art’s a bard, it probably sounded like it.

By the time he was done, Reita was curled up and sleeping in the corner. Art’s father just sat back, absorbing it all. (I also should have specified leaving out a few details, because...)

Art’s Father: So.... you had sex with a tentacle monster?

Art:.... Yeah... But why is that the main focus?

Art’s Father: ... You really aren’t from here. And I really was... abusive to you?

Art: (Nods) extremely. In fact, Koejin has your whip.

Koejin: (happily pulls it out to show him. He asks to see it, which Koejin allows reluctantly. He finds his initials in the base and nods.)

Art’s Father: I see... I guess the next thing is that we need to get you home.

Koejin: Yes! Absolutely!

Art’s Father: Well... I have a scredriver... (Art’s father is a tinker. Not much of a help when it comes to god portals, I’m sure.)

Art:... Yeah, I don’t think that’s really gonna cut it.

We hear the sound of someone snort and take a deep drag of a joint from the doorway.

Haida: Yeah, It’s gonna take a whole fuckin’ lot more than that.

Haida explains what happened to make the world so fucked up. Rather than ending the war like our Mrs. Red (with just her own powers and rage over losing her husband, Eltbalm) The Mrs. Red of this world used Ticket Master’s powers. This started the world into a downward spiral in which everything outside the walls of Calor was an apocalyptical wasteland. She recruited some generals to help fight back and keep everyone inside safe. Haida was someone who worked to fight on the outside, but ended up working with Ticket Master.

She pulled a partially robotic Vincent in to talk about his part in everything. Because of his love for Hennessy and his need to protect him, Vincent created an AI called Nerve. It soon became corrupt itself and began working against them. And that was the giant metal bird.

Koejin:.... you named your ‘son’ Nerd?

Art:(shaking his head) You can’t get one name correct. (Context: Koejin was the first one to meet Eltbalm. She told us all his name was Elkbutt.)

Koejin:... Shut up, Fart!

Art: Been holding onto that one for a while, haven’t you?

We hear some weird noises outside. Koejin is the first one to go out and investigate the sound and Art and Wreybar follow behind. There are three black blobs like the ones that fell off of the metal bird and Reita. When the three of us see them, Wreybar apparently heard the first blob say to Koejin that it fucked her mom. She passes that onto Koejin.

Koejin: (gasps) That thing fucked Theodora?! It knows where she is!

Art: (joining in on the whole ‘blobs fucking Theodora’ thing) Let’s kill these shits!

So, we all roll for initiative. The fight moves pretty slow for a bit and Koejin continues to drink. She’s getting drunker throughout the fight and, at one point, Art’s blob and her blob fuse. (Art’s blob is the one that supposedly fucked Theodora)

Art: (seeing Koejin stumbling with her Whiskey) Hey, can I have some of that?

Koejin: Sure (hands him the bottle)

Art: Thanks (just wanted to get the bottle away from her.)... *muttering* can’t believe I’m the fucking babysitter....

The fighting continues and Wreybar is fucking up her blob. At one point, Koejin uses and action to get the bottle back from Art.

Art: (lifts the bottle above his head so she can’t reach it easily)

Koejin: (practically climbs Art to get the bottle back. She ultimately wins)

Art: (just... let’s her have it)

Art, unable to do much damage without spells, pretty much uses any spell he can against these things. One of his most useful is black tentacles. (He maaay or may not have it because of the certain tentacle monster he fucked.)

Koejin:(sees the spell in action and looks at Art)...(imitates him) Hold on, I need to be alone with my spell.

Art: (knowing immediately what she’s implying with him knowing this particular spell) Shaddup, Koejin.

As the blobs go through and whittle down into one, we all band together to defeat it. Koejin, at one point, shoots an arrow through the blob and something comes out the other side. From her angle, Koejin can’t see what it is.

But Art can. It’s Ticket Master’s hat.

Art: (immediately runs around the blob to get it)..... (casts Comprehend Languages)

Blob: (still saying nothing. Just making random blob noises)

Art: (Relaxes and puts the hat in his bag.)

Wreybar finishes off the blob. Soon after we win this fight, we hear Art’s father scream. Art runs to find out what’s going on. (He’s worried Reita might have something to do with it.) Koejin and Wreybar are following behind.

They all walk in to see Reita still curled up and asleep on the floor where they left her. Awww, isn’t she cute?

We then look up to see Art’s father getting choked out by Eltbalm.

#adventures of art the bard #dnd #tiefling #dnd bard #dnd ranger #dnd barbarian #homebrew #homebrew gods #We are the chaotic party #The three of us are gonna have so many fuck ups #And once koejin's sober she's gunna fight with art about ticket master's top hat #He really is an idiot when it comes to Ticket Master #speaking of which #his hand's been suspiciously quiet #shut up jay

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 4 years

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Why (most of) the 2010s Marvel legacy characters didn’t work

For Marvel characters I think it comes off as profoundly undermining when they get legacies, at least in the specific way Marvel attempted this throughout the 2010s.

To explain this we need to actually first look at DC’s characters in order to compare and contrast why legacies for them tend to work out better than they do for Marvel.

Simply put back in the 1930s-1950s (if not even later) DC’s characters were almost always created as powers first, people second. Wish fulfilment fantasy figures over flawed mere mortals.

Consequently you could legacy Green Lantern and the Flash in the 1950s and then do so again in the 1980s-1990s because so so long as you had a guy with a ring and another guy with super speed you were retaining the essence of both characters, the fundamental point and appeal of them.

But the Marvel characters were the other way around and practically deliberately designed to be so.

Thor was the story of the life and times of Thor Odinson. Spider-Man was the story of the life and times of Peter Parker. The Fantastic Four was never the story about a brainiac who stretched, a girl who could go invisible, a kid who could burst into flame and a guy who looked like a rock monster.

It was about a stern scientist obsessed with his work. A nurturing young woman who loved him but was frustrated by his tendency to get lost in his work. Her younger brother interested in sports cars, girls, excitement and other typically hot headed teenage endeavours. And an average Joe who was tortured and depressed that he was no longer human.

Ben Grimm could’ve looked like any kind of monster and the central point of his character would have been retained. The F4′s specific powers, complemented their personalities, but they were not the driving point unto themselves.

In contrast let us consider Captain America, probably the Marvel character who’s done the ‘replacement legacy hero’ storyline the most (at least within 616 canon). How comes he lends himself so much better to this type of story than the other Marvel characters?

Simple, because unlike most of the big name Marvel characters you know of, he wasn’t created in the 1960s or beyond. Cap was the product of the 1940s and was a peer to those same early days super heroes from the Golden Age, including the original Green Lantern and Flash. Like them he began fundamentally more as a symbol and powerset than a person.

But now flashing forward to the 21st century many (most in my view) Flash fans were upset (and continue to be so) Wally West’s ascension to the Flash mantle was undermined and ultimately undone for the sake of restoring Barry Allan to the spotlight. The reason for this upset when Wally himself had replaced Barry? Wally had proven himself a far more flawed, nuanced and complex character than Barry had ever been.

He demonstrated a degree of characterisation in the Flash role that Barry never had. It wasn’t even that he simply had more of this than Barry, but that Barry, just like Jay Garrick preceding him, had little to speak of in the first place. Thus the contrast between Jay and Barry was mostly superficial but the contrast between Barry and Wally was as stark as comparing Spider-Man to 1950s Superman.*

But Wally West, and the entire DC Universe from Post-Crisis onwards in fact, were in that mould precisely because they were trying to be more like Marvel comics has been since the 1960s onwards.

DC in effect began prioritising the people beneath the costumes over the powers.** But Marvel starting in the 1960s had pretty much always been like that with their heroes.

Consequently when legacies popped up and those new characters were pushed as being just as good, just as worthy, or (in some cases) lowkey pushed as being better than their predecessors it naturally rubbed those fans with decades of emotional investment the wrong way. OBVIOUSLY a woman or a POC can be just as worthy and just as capable as a man or a white person as a superhero. But series to series, character to character, it was almost like Marvel was taking away your beloved pet.

Imagine for a moment you had a pet named Rex that you’d known and loved for years.

Then Marvel insisted on taking Rex away from you when there was nothing wrong with him. In his place they give you another clearly different pet with Rex’s collar, who gets Rex’s bowl, Rex’s food, Rex’s toys, Rex’s bed and even Rex’s name and asks you to treat them not as just a new dog but straight up the new Rex.

Except he isn’t Rex. Rex is Rex. The ‘new Rex’ playing with Rex’s toys, doing the same tricks as him or having his collar doesn’t change that.***

Because Rex was more than a collar, his toys or his tricks. He was an individual that you’d known and loved. And even if you know Rex is going to come back ‘eventually’ having Rex taken away from you at all, having the new Rex supplant them (especially if old Rex was screwed over for the sake of new Rex’s arrival) and having so many people insist new Rex is just as great or more great than old Rex (to the point where many people loudly proclaim they don’t even want the old Rex back and the old Rex was kinda lame and boring) is going to create a massive dissonance. Maybe you would’ve been chill with the new Rex is he was just another additional pet called Rover or even like RexY who was similar yet different to Rex, but not actually promoted AS Rex or as his replacement.

Maybe you would’ve been okay with the new Rex if the old one got too old, died naturally or accidentally. But you aren’t okay with it because there was nothing wrong with Rex, you LOVED Rex and Rex had been with you and been around generally forever. So the new Rex felt like he was undermining him, especially undermining Rex’s individuality.

That’s how I think most Marvel fans felt about practically EVERY legacy situation that’s ever cropped up from the 1960s onwards, not even the ones just from the 2010s. I remember the outrage when Bucky was announced as the new Cap. I know there were people salty about Eric Masterson as Thor and the Spider-Man Clone Saga speaks for itself.

Compounding the situation is that more than a few media outlets (despite imo not representing the feeling’s of the majority at all) promoted (and in some cases still promote) the new characters as not just better than they are (see the dozen or so lists talking about how great Riri allegedly was) but along with many fans tear down the older characters whilst doing so.

See every article ever talking about why Peter Parker in the movies (and sometimes in the comics) NEEDS to die for the sake of Miles becoming the new Spider-Man in spite of their rationales rarely making sense from a creative/financial POV and utilizing misrepresentations of both characters to varying degrees. Even fans that appreciate the social/political relevancy of the new characters are going to naturally be upset in response to that and angrily voice opposition when the character they love gets dragged through the mud like that. And that then gets exacerbated when they are labelled as bigots for feeling upset by the changes or reacting against the character they love being dragged through the mud.****

Especially considering they would’ve reacted the same way regardless of who was the replacement hero. Again, fans at first didn’t take kindly to John Walker or Bucky as the new Captain Americas so the idea that backlash against Sam Wilson was entirely or primarily racist was itself profoundly ignorant. Especially when you consider black reviewers such as those on the Hooded Utalitarian were calling it out as bad storytelling and bad representation for black people. SpaceTwinks went issue by issue through Spencer’s Sam Wilson run and called it out as racist, ignorant and naive. NONE of which is me saying that there isn’t more than a little bigotry going around detractors of these new characters nor that there aren’t obviously bad actors.

But those people did not and do not represent the majority and framing the situation as though they do is disingenuous and highly unethical. In conclusion, the backlash against the 2010s Marvel legacy characters was entirely natural, understandable and for the vast majority came from a place of love for the original characters not a bigoted hatred for the new characters skin colour or sex.

It was a testament to Marvel’s, and the wider media, misunderstanding the psychology of most comic book fans.

P.S. In regards to that, though it isn’t exactly talking about what I’ve spoken about I’d highly recommend checking out this video which touches upon the disenchantment Star Wars fans felt over the Sequel Trilogy, which itself could be viewed as doing the same thing Marvel did with it’s replacement legacy characters.

P.P.S. The reason I think the likes of Miles Morales or Kamala Khan succeeded where others failed is chiefly due to their rise to the role of legacy replacements stemmed from their predecessors not being sidelined for their rise to the spotlight. Miles never ever replaced the 616 version of Peter Parker, widely considered by most fans and Marvel internally as the true and legitimate version of the character. Kamala Khan meanwhile picked up the Ms. Marvel only when Carol Danvers discarded it and became Captain Marvel. She was still in the spotlight in her own right, Kamala simply got her own spotlight using Carol’s obsolete name. Which isn’t all that dissimilar to fan favourite Cassandra Cain’s rise to the Batgirl mantle now I think about it.

P.P.P.S. A possible counter argument to all I’ve said is the success of the Superior Spider-Man/Otto Octavius. After all why was he embraced when Sam Wilson and Jane Foster wasn’t? Was a double standard rooted in bigotry at play?

No, but the answer isn’t neat and simple.

I think Ock as the new Spider-Man was more embraced partially because Ock had been around essentially as long as Spidey himself. But more poignantly pre-Superior Spider-Man was so atrocious that a sizzling and sexy idea like Superior (which generated tons of cheap novelty) felt utterly refreshing, even to people who had actually LIKED pre-Superior Spidey under Slott. It’s like how people praised the early Big Time stories despite their problems because compared to BND they were genuinely better.

Plus Superior, for all it’s god forsaken writing, didn’t exist to clearly workshop potential movie ideas or chiefly in aid of a social/political cause. Someone can agree that there should be more black or female superheroes but disagree that the older characters should be sidelined in the attempt to achieve that.

Especially when there were better alternative options such as introducing those newer characters within and alongside the established hero’s narrative or simply introduce them independently as has happened recently with the likes of Lunar Snow.

*This is also why I suspect Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman survived from the Golden Age into the Silver Age. Because they were the DC characters who (more than any of the other ones) had actual personalities/substance to them. **Of course this didn’t begin wholesale with the post-Crisis era. But noticeably the characters who had worked with this new shift in priorities prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths stayed generally the same thereafter (E.g. the Titans, Batman) whilst characters who had largely vacillated or struggled (e.g. Superman and Wonder Woman) were given fresh starts which proved critically and financially successful.

***Not even if he does everything just as well as Rex did or does some stuff differently that’s still good (although the overwhelming majority of the time new Rex is clearly not as good as the old Rex).

****I’ve seen people be called racist and misogynists for calling out Riri Williams honestly ridiculous degree of competency as a hero/tech genius in spite of her age. This is not an invalid criticism, yet disliking the character because of those reasons is grounds to be labelled as something ugly by another (imo minor yet also vocal) contingent of fandom.

Hell I was called a Trump supporting Breitbart reading bigot for calling out Marvel as two-faced due to never putting a black writer in charge of Sam Wilson as Captain America or a woman in charge of Jane Foster as Thor. It isn’t exclusive to comics either as I and other people have been accused of racism/misogyny for disliking the Last Jedi in spite of that film to my eyes being itself racist and sexist anyway.

#Marvel #Marvel Comics #Marvel legacy #DC #DC Comics #Spider-Man #Captain America #Flash #The Flash #Green Lantern #Barry Allan #Jay Garrick #Wally West #Riri Williams #Iron Man #Iron heart #Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi #The Last Jedi

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batarella · 4 years

Text

I Don’t Hate You - Part 17 (Jason Todd x Reader)

JAY IS BACK MOTHERFUCKERS

WORDS: 6706 WARNINGS: A BIT OF VIOLENCE. JASON BEING AN ASSHOLE.

Masterlist

I DON’T HATE YOU - MASTERLIST

-----

“Just coffee. For two.”

The waitress nodded. “Anything else?”

“No.”

She left. Five minutes later she brought in two mugs and poured in your drinks.

You warmed your chilled palms onto the ceramic. You somehow felt cold. Even when it was ninety degrees out. Especially your hands. You blew into your mug and took a sip. Just to warm up the itch in your throat.

Three weeks ago, Dick gave you that first call. You asked what it was about. He said he needed to talk to you in person. When he showed up to your house, he had a sling in his arm from a gunshot wound.

You thought he didn’t need to explain where he got it from. You knew who he was, as well as Bruce. But then he told you that it wasn’t from Penguin or Riddler or even a common thug. That it came from a new enemy going after Batman.

Still a bit confused why he came all the way to your place just to tell you that, he started bringing in a few documents.

First, he showed you pictures of Jason’s grave with a massive hole where his body was supposed to be. You remembered sweating your hair out at the horrible sight, the chills that ran down your back. It wasn’t from grave diggers. No. It was from someone climbing out from 6 feet under the soil.

Then, he showed you DNA test results.

Jason’s DNA, taken from when he was still alive, and a DNA sample from the Red Hood’s blood they had taken from one of their encounters. It was a match.

You demanded to know what was going on. Because whatever Dick was trying to tell you, none of it made even the slightest bit of sense. Dick wished he could explain more, but even he didn’t know the full story.

You couldn’t sleep that night, and barely the next night.

But then the week after that, Bruce invited you over to the mansion to talk. Dick picked you up, and at the dinner table, you, including Alfred, had a long, difficult talk about how he’d confirmed that Jason Todd, officially pronounced dead three years ago April 27, had been brought back to life by some unknown force, took the mantle of the Red Hood.

With you in the brink of tears, Bruce told you they were still trying trace where he came from, studied his techniques that Bruce was sure Jason didn’t know until now. So far, they found out that the Red Hood had been going around the state before he came to Gotham, formed his own crime ring and has taken over the empires of almost ten different drug lords. He was wanted in over six sectors, has left bodies left and right.

And now, he’s challenging Batman with his new style of vigilantism, which included cold-blooded murder. Every time Bruce, Dick, and the new Robin, Tim Drake, come across the Red Hood, they barely come out of it alive. He really wanted them dead.

And he was good at his job, as well. He’s done more good for the people than anything else. But he was also taking the lives of so many, Bruce wanted to put a stop to it.

You asked to be left alone for a while. For days, you didn’t talk to anyone. You stared at the rooftops. You looked at Jason’s old photos, compared them with the Red Hood’s new photos. You tried with everything you could to understand that the man you still loved even after three years of his death was now back, alive, risen from the dead as if that wasn’t actually insane. You mourned for him for so long. You still did. And what was that going to amount to now? You knew he was involved so many things you never could understand. But this? This defiance of the laws of nature?

You barely slept a wink.

Two days ago, Dick told you they needed your help.

You didn’t want to be involved, and you told him that. You weren’t even sure you wanted to see him like this. If this was even the same Jason before his death.

Dick told you that somehow, you could be of help. You could talk to him. Level him back down and give him the peace he needed to stop all the killings. You weren’t sure if that would work, and if anything, it was risking your life. You had no idea what Jason was capable of now. He could kill you. He could be heartless like that. And he was, from the way he was acting now. It wouldn’t be of any surprise.

But Dick and Bruce, they were running out of options. And even without Bruce outrightly admitting it, they wanted Jason back in the family. They missed him, too. It wasn’t just you.

As if the three years of grief weren’t enough. If any part of him was the same Jason you fell in love with, and still love now, this was the thing of your most impossible dreams, that your dead boyfriend had miraculously come back. It was insane. But you knew, with all your heart, you desperately wanted him back.

But you needed the help. Bruce offered to pay for therapy if that was what you needed, to get your head straight, figure things out before you ultimately decide what to do. Eventually, you agreed.

And now, here you were.

You took another sip from your cup, then Dick came up from behind you.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” You stood up to give him a little hug. His hand patting your back, he sat across from you.

“For you.”

“Thank you.” He took the coffee mug. “You’re looking a lot better.”

You held your drink with both hands. “Thanks.”

“If you’re not comfortable in any way, I completely understand.”

You tried to hold back your shaking arms. You didn’t want him to see just how much this all scared you.

“What brought him back?”

“Ra’s al Ghul. The Lazarus pit. At least, that was after he was already resurrected. The pit just fixed his body and made him stronger.”

“Lazarus pit?”

“It’s uh,” he stuttered. “Ra’s has this League of Assassins with his daughter, Talia. And they own all these Lazarus Pits. It’s a sort of a Fountain of Youth. He bathes in it, and it makes him live for six hundred years. It also heals your body from just about any injury.

“They must have found Jason, bathed him in the pit, then nursed him back to health in an attempt to create this someone to go against Bruce.”

This was far, far beyond what you could have possibly imagined. Some sort of the supernatural had always been real. Magic. Aliens. The Justice League. But now that you were involved? This was too much.

But with Jason… your sweet, loving Jason… You’ll do anything.

“You think he’s heartless enough to try to kill me?” you asked.

Dick drank from his coffee mug, set it down, then swallowed.

“I never got to tell you, didn’t I?”

“What?”

Dick bit his lips. “Jason’s not gonna hurt you. I’m sure of it. I wouldn’t have called if it had put you in any kind of danger at all.”

“How are you so sure?”

He looked out the window, at a rooftop from an apartment building nearby. You breathed into your mug.

“About a week ago, I put a tracker on him without him knowing. Then one day I followed him, just to see what he was up to…”

He held his cup.

“He was waiting for you outside your university. And when you got out, he followed you all the way to your house. He’s been at it almost every single day.”

You caught your breath in your throat and watched Dick with your lips starting to shake.

“And it isn’t just that. He does everything to make sure you don’t get hurt. When you go out at night, he’s still watching you. As the Red Hood. One time before you were about to cross an alleyway where thugs were waiting to rob you, he beat the living shit out of them before you even noticed.”

You gulped down, then you drank even more of your coffee just to ease your nerves. You shifted in your seat, then cleared your scratchy throat.

“How long has he been at this?”

“I’m guessing since he first came to Gotham. A month ago.”

The coffee suddenly didn’t taste so calming anymore. “God… I… This is still so much to process…”

“I know.”

“He isn’t going to show himself to me willingly, is he?”

“I don’t think he will. He makes sure you never see him.”

You closed your eyes.

“That’s why I called you. If you got to talk to him, maybe you can get him to listen.”

He loves you. He still does. And he was a broken soul, protecting you when no one was there to protect him. He needed you.

It was that one, single push you needed.

“I want to do it.”

Dick held your wrist and squeezed it tightly. “Don’t worry. If anything goes wrong, Bruce, Tim, and I will be there.”

“It’s not that I’m afraid of,” you said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after this.”

Not a clue. Not a single premonition.

“Honestly, me neither.” He finished his coffee. “But it’s worth a try.”

-----

One. Two. Three.

Those fools had it coming.

Barely a word out of his mouth gushing with blood. The Red Hood held his neck, stuck him up against the truck’s container, then pushed his revolver right under his chin.

“When’s Black Mask’s next shipment?!”

“I don’t fucking know!”

He clicked his gun. “I think you do.”

His filtered voice made everything a lot worse. The driver of a weapons cache truck he caught was trembling off his ass. His two other co-workers were lying dead on the ground. And when Red Hood squeezed his neck further, he gasped for air.

“Tomorrow! At the docks!”

He slammed the butt of his gun right to his face. He fell to the ground, unconscious. And just because he had one bullet left to waste, the Red Hood shot his shoulder.

He jumped out the vehicle and stretched out his neck, closing the truck door while the driver continued to scream in pain. The police should be here soon. He’ll have to get out of there.

“Hey there, bud.”

“Fucking shit-“

The Red Hood, in just one swift move, reloaded his gun and aimed right at the top of the truck, at the black and blue figure crouched over staring at him.

“Get out of here.”

“I just want to talk, Jay.”

He wanted to shoot Nightwing’s smug little smirk right off his face. “I mean it.”

“I won't-“

Red Hood fired at the truck’s metal just an inch away from Nightwing’s leg.

“I won't miss next time.”

“Just listen to me-“

“Fine. You wanna play that game, Grayson?”

He took his other gun strapped from his hip. Nightwing jumped off the truck before he started firing at his face.

Dodging the bullets, he started leaping circles around him, getting closer to where he was standing. Red Hood stopped firing, threw his guns to the ground, then charged for Nightwing’s leg just as he got close enough.

His larger figure stopped himself from tumbling to the ground when Nightwing landed a kick to his helmet. He growled, waited for him to pounce again, then Red Hood ducked under his leg, shot up quickly enough to land his powerful fist right against his chest.

Nightwing was down. He rolled to the floor, but resisted pulling out his escrima sticks. He wasn’t here to beat him down. But obviously, Red Hood wasn’t here to talk, either.

He ducked and blocked Red Hood’s succeeding hits, almost rolling around the empty road. He kicked him in the stomach, then Red Hood headbutted him with his much stronger helmet.

“Jason!” Nightwing blocked him with his arm. “This is about Y/N!”

He stopped.

Then his helmet was about to melt at the immense heat his head was boiling to. “WHAT DID YOU SAY!?”

Nightwing leapt up to a pole. Red Hood grabbed his guns, reloaded them, then started firing.

“Stop it!”

“Fuck you!”

He kept firing at Nightwing’s body, backing off when he got too close. He was going to kill him. He wasn’t getting out of this alive. Not tonight. Mentioning your name like that, it’s going to cost him his life.

“She knows! About you!”

“You fucking ASSHOLE.”

More. More bullets. Nightwing went into one of the alleys and jumped up the fire exits. Red Hood kept firing, the bullets bouncing through the walls. He climbed up the escape and chased after him.

“HOW THE FUCK DID SHE KNOW?”

“I told her!”

“oh, you’re dead, Grayson.”

They reached the rooftop, and Nightwing ran all the way to the other side of the ledge. Red Hood sprinted after him, opening fire. He didn’t care where they landed. He wanted his body to put into the shock in the middle of jumping to another rooftop and fall to his death.

“She wants to talk to you!”

“NOT A FUCKING CHANCE.”

“Don’t you think she deserves to know what happened-“

“LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS, DICK.”

He made sure you never saw him alive. You thought he was dead. He was going to keep it that way.

Then he ran out of bullets, cursing beneath his breath, Red Hood threw his guns to the floor and chased him down.

When he caught him, he pinned him to the ground, grabbing him by his neck. “Jay-“

“I’m going to kill you. Right now. You think I’ll hesitate?”

“Do you really want to break her heart again, asshole?”

“You fucking-“ Red Hood punched him in the face. Then Nightwing folded his legs up, pushed him with the heels of his feet, landing him on the ground. He placed his arm right against his neck.

“You of all people can't lecture me on breaking hearts, you jackass.”

Red Hood punched him again, then got off the floor. Nightwing finally pulled out his escrima sticks, and Jason pulled out the last of his guns from his holsters and aimed it at Nightwing’s head.

They paused, stared each other down with their weapons in hand a yard’s distance away.

“Just… talk to her.”

“I can't believe you pulled her into this-“

“This isn’t about our little game. This is about you, Jay. And you need our help-“

He laughed. “Since when did I ask for your fucking help?”

“Since you killed almost a hundred people in Gotham in the last month-“

“Those aren’t just people, you idiot. They’re Joker’s men. Penguin’s. Two Face’s. They all deserve to die.”

Nightwing tightened his grip on his sticks. “Then just talk to her. She deserves that. You of all people should know just how hurt she is.”

He clicked his gun. “Mention her again, and I’ll blow your brains out.”

“She’s waiting for you at the plaza. Behind the cathedral. It’ll just be you and her. Just let her talk to you-“

Just one pull of a trigger. And this son of a bitch dies for ever even speaking to you. He’ll fucking keep his word.

“You think I don’t know this is a trap? What, you, Bruce, and that fucking replacement will be waiting to ambush me in the dark?”

“Not this time. You have to believe me.”

He scoffed. “What are you trying to do? Change all this?”

“Trust me, I get it. You have no intention in mending anything with Bruce. But if you don’t show up, it’ll devastate her.”

“She’ll be fine. Trust me. She dealt with worse.”

“And you really want to subject her into that again?”

Deep, slow breaths. He lightly pulled the trigger, but Nightwing just skidded to the side and dodged him.

They heard something. Coming from below. Police sirens cleaning up the weapons truck.

Staring each other down, Nightwing and Red Hood slowly backed off. He hated him. All of them. His fucking family that never once cared for his ass, or felt any type of remorse for not being able to save him. The family that never thought to avenge him, set their morals aside to do what’s actually right. They look down on what he does, and yet, he’s done more to control Gotham’s crime than Bruce ever had in his lifetime.

Red Hood set his gun down, then they both sprinted to opposite ends of the rooftops.

He was going to clean up their mess. Again.

-----

It ends tonight.

Everything. Your story. Your mourning. Your commitment to your dead, beloved high school boyfriend. Your unhealthy attachment to what could have been. Your reluctance to move on.

You realized, it all ends tonight.

No matter what happens, no matter how this all ends, everything was going to change.

If he doesn’t show up, it’ll pave the way for you to move forward, knowing that Jason, given the chance that seemed entirely impossible just a few weeks ago, had no intention of even speaking to you, let alone change for his own betterment. It should tell you to let him go, despite you not wanting to. It’ll tear your heart into shreds, more than it already was, but if he was alive, and he still wanted nothing to do with you…

You just hoped that won't be the case. You still loved him. Endlessly.

And if he does show up, it could only end as well as you being able to convince him to stop with the killings, be his better self, be the Jason you knew he still was, and it’ll go on from there. The miraculous dream you never thought to be true. Your loyalty to him, rewarded. And no longer will this life go on as if you were merely running in a slow, painful treadmill with no actual direction, other than to keep the promises Jason asked of you. You’ll have him back. As crazy as it still is, you’ll actually have him back.

But that was the most wishful thinking you could do. It’ll almost never end that way.

But, no matter the outcome, if he changes or not, you’ll finally come to the end of you dreaming about the past. You’ll know he was here. Alive.

That alone fixed some parts of your broken self.

So you got out of your car, walked out into the plaza where you told Dick you’ll be waiting. Behind the Cathedral. Where there was no one around but trees and bushes. The next walkway was yards away, and there were almost no lampposts nearby. If what Dick said was true, and Jason would never try to hurt you, you’ll still be safe.

You leaned against the wall, looked around at the vines eating up an old, wooden bench.

And you breathed. Long deep breaths.

You were going to see him. Finally.

Maybe your attachment to him was made for this. Because somehow, deep within you, you knew it wasn’t over. You knew he wasn’t completely gone. As hopeful as it was, it somehow came true.

Deep. Slow. Breaths.

An hour. Maybe an hour and a half. You waited.

You were going to have to be as patient as you could be.

What were you gonna say to him?

A lot of things. Punch him in the face. Scream at him for ever leaving you like that. Yell at him for idiotically going after the Joker by himself. Hug him. Kiss him.

Your mind was boggling. This was never what you signed up for.

But it was everything you could have hoped for.

You’re seeing him again. Jason. Your love. Your first, and still love. Oh, how your heart warmed. You wanted his arms back. You wanted his lips back. You wanted-

Thud.

A noise.

Coming from the roof.

You stepped out from leaning against the wall. Nothing. Nothing above you.

Another thud. On the grass.

You looked around.

Your heart was thrashing hysterically in your ribcage.

“Jason?”

You walked to the other side of the cathedral’s backside. But there wasn’t so much as a squirrel around you.

Then.

You turned around.

There was a figure.

A large, dark figure, hiding in the shadows. By the trees. A few yards away from the building.

You narrowed your eyes, squinted to get a better look.

It was getting closer.

You wanted to back away, but you didn’t. You were too frozen too move.

When it passed by a single ray of light from a faraway post, you saw it was a man in a dark, hooded jacket. With what looked like armor on his chest.

He got closer. Closer. Close enough for you to see the red bat symbol on his chest.

You took a step back.

He was huge. So fucking huge. This couldn’t be him. Not by a mile.

You took another step back.

And when he got close enough so you could see the red helmet where his head was supposed to be, with white, glaring eyes looking back at you menacingly, you fumbled backing away until you ultimately hit the wall.

The Red Hood.

He walked to you until he was standing so close to your shivering body. You pressed yourself against the wall as much as you could. Your whole body thudding, your head swarming in panic. Your stomach was churching, much like it did when you were terrified beyond belief. You wanted to run away, but his helmet, his chilling red helmet, it stared you down so you couldn’t even move. An inch away from your body, the Red Hood growled.

“Stay… Away…”

You swallowed.

“Jason?”

“Don’t… Don’t even try.”

“You're…” you breathed out, your chest heaving. “You’re really alive…”

He just stared at you, not giving you any chance to move. You were stuck, pressed against the wall, as you stared at him in disbelief.

“How much do you know?”

You were stuttering. Your shaking mouth forced you to. You’ve never been so scared in your life. “A lot…”

The Red Hood slightly turned his head to the side.

You wanted to see him. Really see him. His face… without thinking, you reached up to his helmet.

He pushed your hands away, and you gulped, backing off.

“Whatever it is you're trying to do, stop it. It’s not going to work.”

“I just want to talk-“

“About what? What are you possibly hoping for?”

“Why didn’t you come to me?” you whispered. “Why didn’t you see me first? You have no idea-“

“You think you want to see this?”

He pointed at his chest. “This isn’t what you think it is. I’m not who you fucking think I am.”

Of course he isn’t. You didn’t expect him to.

“You have no idea how much I wanted this…”

“This isn’t what you want. Trust me. Far from it.”

Eyes stuck to his helmet, where his own eyes were supposed to be, you didn’t know what you wanted to say.

“I want to talk to you. I know about what you do… and I still do-“

“Forget about all this okay? As far as you know, I’m still dead.”

This time, as scared as you were, you wanted to punch him.

“Do- do you have any idea how much you hurt me?”

He didn’t answer.

“You fucking don’t.”

“I wouldn’t talk that way to someone with three guns on him.”

“Go ahead. Shoot me. Kill me. If you insist that’s what you are.”

You saw his shoulders rise, his breath deepened. You bit your lips, and you stepped closer to him. You craned your head up his much taller figure.

“What do you expect out of this?”

“I just want to talk…”

“About what?”

His filtered voice. There was barely anything of the Jason you knew. You couldn’t see his face. His whole body grew more than four sizes larger. You couldn’t hear his voice. It was so hard trying to be gentle to someone who just looked terrifying to look at.

“Stay away from me.”

“No,” you said. “Take that mask off and look at me.”

“Listen,” he walked towards you and pushed you against the wall. “I don’t know what you want. You want us to talk? And what do you want out of that? Something more?” he scoffed.

Your mouth turned dry. You wanted to kick him in the groin until he’ll barely be able to walk.

“You left me,” you whispered. “When you said you never would.”

“We broke up-“

“You. Left me.” you hissed. “You have no idea…”

He stopped, looking to the side at the wall behind you.

“You should’ve moved on-“

“Fuck you.”

Tears. Angry tears. They wanted to seep out. He stepped back. “If you know what’s good for you, forget about all this-“

“I can't believe this is how you are after you fucking died and left me to grieve you for three years-“

“Deal with it. I’m not who you fucking think I am.”

And, as it seems, you started to believe him.

This was a cold, heartless villain. The Red Hood. His helmet, his voice, his body. None of it was Jason anymore.

“I just want to talk… Please…”

He shook his head, not even giving you another glance. The Red Hood turned away from you and walked out into the trees until you couldn’t see him anymore.

You cried too much for him. Far too much.

So you didn’t this time. You let yourself slowly realize this was how things ended.

Your phone rang.

“Y/N?”

You breathed. “He won't talk to me…”

“It’s alright. We did what we could. I can come up there and-”

“Can I be alone? Please? I’m going home.”

“Of course. I’m really sorry…”

You hang up.

----

It felt like it was about to rain, even when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

You went up to your bed, folded your knees up your chest and stared blankly at the cold, empty floor. It was back. All over again. The same loss when they told you he died. That wasn’t Jason you talked to. Far from it.

There was no trace of his sweet, comforting voice, of his handsome face that lit up any room he was in. His arms, now twice as large as they used to be, they didn’t give off that soothing rush that calmed down all your nerves when he’d pull you into his chest. His voice, it was far from some fucking robotic filter that hurt your ears. You hated every part of it. You hated that helmet. You hated what he became.

Jason was still dead. He wasn’t coming back.

You hoped far too much of what was impossible to ask for. Because whatever that was, the Red Hood… You didn’t know what you were even expecting. That wasn’t your boyfriend. He couldn’t be.

You wanted to see the Jason who smiled bashfully when he saw you walk down the steps of your apartment, the one who stuffed his hands in his pockets, eyes glistening as he stared lovingly at you. You wanted the guy who wanted to see you every day of the week, miss you on the days when he wasn’t and push everything to the side just to spend every minute he had with you. The one so obsessed with you that he couldn’t possibly ask you to stay away, or ever make you feel like he didn’t want to see you at all. You didn’t like feeling so unwanted.

You hoped, with that tiny part of you that still had it, that he would have met you, looking exactly the same way he did before he died, and pull you into his arms. The dramatic part of you wanted to run to him, and he’d run to you, and you’d crash into an embrace for hours and hours until he’ll ultimately pull away to kiss you.

And instead, you got a red helmeted asshole who told you to stay the fuck away from him.

You clenched your fists, shutting your eyes.

That part of him should still be alive. A part of him should still be loving you as you knew he did. He followed you around, didn’t he? He protected you.

How could he… after all you went through just to hold on to him… this is how he treats you…

Thud.

You reached for your scissors you had stashed beside your bed. There was someone in your fire escape, standing like a brick wall.

A tall man, face hidden by the shadows of his red hoodie. He stared at you, but he wasn’t moving.

Your hands left your scissors.

You knew exactly who it was. You stepped off the bed.

Your heart was pounding so hard within your chest, you thought of running out of your room. But he didn’t look like how he did a while ago. His head was down, almost like he was looking at the ground.

You walked to your window and slid the glass open.

You still couldn’t see his face. The shadows were too dark.

All the emptiness, the darkness, all that consumed you, it was all finally starting to fade out. When you saw how he didn’t have any weapons on him, no armor, no helmet, this was what you thought to see.

You let out a broken, trembling breath as you climbed out into the fire escape, facing the man closer and closer. He slightly backed away, but his back hit the railing. You stood in front of him, frightened, but not enough to run away.

He flinched when he started for his hoodie, but you didn’t back off. Your nerves were on fire but you wanted to rid the shadows, finally see him as you never thought you ever could again after all those years.

Gulping, he leaned in.

You took off the hoodie.

The same black hair that fell down to his forehead, slight curls that tickled his skin. His jaw, angular and strong. His lips, chapped and scarred. His eyes, that deep, bright blue so beautiful that it tore through you and looked right into your soul. They looked through you so woefully, hurt, broken.

And scars. One that tore through his eyebrow, one on the corner of his lip, and one on his cheek.

You breathed, and a single tear fell down your face.

It was him.

Undeniably.

It was him.

It was Jason.

He’s here.

You clutched to his neck, both your arms pulling him so tightly to you that you swore you’ll never let go again. Oh, his warmth. His body. He was here. He was actually here. You stuck your face into his shoulder, holding onto him so hard that you’ll kill him if he even tried to move away.

Jason.

“Oh god…” you cried. “It’s you…”

And you could feel just how much he wanted to pull away. He was meaning to. But fuck him. You weren’t about to. His muscles tensed. His breath hitched. You could feel his chest stiffen-

Then,

You felt his incredibly strong arms around you.

And you sobbed. Silently. Not so much with tears but with your broken breaths, your shaking arms. He stuck his face into your hair and breathed in. Yes. This was Jason. This was definitely him.

You could hardly believe anyone could be risen from the dead. You saw him in his coffin. His lifeless body, white and cold. And he was here, back with the same exact warmth and life. He looked different, there was no denying that.

But the moment you looked into his eyes, you knew it was him.

“Jay…”

He tightened his hold on you.

“Y/N…”

And you cried even more. That voice. The same that said your name in the most beautiful way he possibly could in that voice message you listened to over and over again. He’s here. He’s really here.

Your hands on his face, you pulled away so you could look at him more.

And he looked like he was about to cry as well. The light from your room, it shone perfectly on his face. Every detail, you could revel in. His hands squeezed your shoulders and you pressed your forehead tightly against his.

You wanted to kiss him so badly…

He closed his eyes, but you didn’t. You kept looking at him, watching how his face moved.

Jason took your hands, gripped them tightly by the wrist,

Then pulled you away.

“Uhm,” he cleared his throat, taking his hands off from you and stuffing them back to his pockets. “I came to talk. Like you wanted…”

He looked to the ground. And reluctantly, you backed away.

You leaned against the railing beside him and crossed your arms.

“I don’t know where to start…”

Jason turned to you. “How are you?”

You had so many things to say. You could blurt out all your thoughts and you wouldn’t be able to stop. But you settled yourself, calmed your mind.

“I’m not so sure myself.”

“School?”

“Ending my third year. I went to arts college…”

“Yeah… I know. You like it?”

You nodded. “I do…”

You desperately wanted to hold him again, but you just kept to your shoulders lightly brushing.

“How ‘bout you?”

“Horrible. Thanks for asking.”

You shook your head. You wanted to chuckle, but you weren’t sure that’d be the best thing to do.

“Jay, what happened-“

“You really don’t want to know…”

“I deserve to know, don’t you think?”

Jason turned around, placed his hands on the railing and looked down onto the alley. You did the same, but your eyes were locked on him.

“Something happened. Some reality altering shindig in the cosmos. Ripples, as you might say. I’m not so sure myself. It caused a lot of weird shit to happen. Including me. I woke up in that coffin and climbed my way out.”

You swallowed.

“Somehow, the al Ghul’s found me and nursed me back to health. They put me in the Lazarus pit-you know what that is, don’t you?”

“I have an idea.”

“Anyway,” he continued. “They let me spend time in the League. Some sort of brainwash, but I got over it after a while. I went around different cities in Jersey, then I got to Gotham. You know the rest.”

You looked down at the empty alleyway with him. And you didn’t have much to say. You could tell he didn’t want to be consoled.

“Well, you certainly changed.”

He looked out into the rooftops. There wasn’t any wind, so nothing was blowing into his hair. You watched his face so raw, a matured version of what he once was. But it was still him.

“Aren’t you gonna ask what happened to me?”

His lips went through his teeth, gritting as his muscles tensed.

“I listen to your message. All the time.”

You didn’t think he’d be so shocked, but he was.

“It sent?”

“What do you think?”

Jason pursed his lips, shutting his eyes so he couldn’t look at you.

“I kept your promises…”

You held your hands together, and you stared at them. “I went to college for you. I changed. A lot. I’ve been singing for events around the city a lot.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I watched you a few times.”

You breathed out. Slowly.

“Not all of them, though.”

Jason looked at you, and you looked back at him.

“I couldn’t move on…”

“Fuck…” he cursed. “Y/N-“

“I can't.”

“It’s been three fucking years…”

Your heart just shattered at the way he as looking at you now.

“I haven’t even talked to another guy. Not one date. I wouldn’t let them. I told them…” You shouldn’t tell him, but you really wanted to. “I told them I was still with you-“

“Fucking hell.” He stuffed his face into his hands. “I can't believe you…”

You choked. “I lost you!”

“You should have let me go…”

“I can't!”

You held his shoulder, but he flinched away.

“Why…” you cried. “Why this? I’ve done nothing but mourn for you-“

“I wanted you to live your fucking life!”

You turned away, and Jason looked at the streets by the building, at the empty cars and leaves stuck on the road.

“I wanted you to move on…”

You never once thought you’d have this conversation. Not in your life. “I couldn’t think of it.”

Jason closed his eyes, and you hugged yourself despite the heat. Your throat wanted to climb out of your neck. And your uneasy breaths, it choked you.

Jason let out a strong breath and looked at you.

“You know what I didn’t tell you in that message?”

“No…”

He leaned over the railings, elbows on the metal. He closed his eyes.

“I wanted to tell you that if I ever got out of that place alive, I’ll do everything-everything-I possibly could to get you back…”

You looked up at the sky. Something stung in your heart.

“But I didn’t. I didn’t want to put you in a terrible place. Whether I got out of it or I didn’t, I just wanted you to find what you were really looking for…”

“I want you...“

“Y/N…”

“I still do…”

“You don’t,” he choked. “We were kids-“

“Fuck you, is that what you really think?”

He breathed through his mouth, looking at almost everything around but you.

“This was a bad idea…”

He started for the stairs. And you watched him, feeling him tear your heart out all over again. Just like the first time.

“Jay… Please…”

Just as he took the first step, he stopped when you held his face.

He didn’t pull away. In fact, he leaned into them.

“Don’t leave me again…”

“Y/N,” he bit his lip, leaning closer to you but not close enough to kiss you. “You don’t want this…”

“I do…”

“No-“

“Why not?”

“I’m not bringing you into this. You don’t know who I am anymore.”

“You're worth it…”

“Y/N…”

You brushed his cheek with your thumb. He was about to cry, and you, with your tears already falling, you whispered.

“You are the love of my life…”

He closed his eyes, let you hold his face a bit tighter.

“Do you really want me to forget about you?”

Your breath shaking, it hurt like the world stepped on you when he slowly nodded. “I can't let you hold on to me any longer…”

Everything. It hurt ten times more than you ever thought it could. You never could have thought this would happen.

“Just give me a few days with you… Please…”

“Y/N, no-“

“Please,” you gulped. “I’ve been wanting To just...hold you... for so long. I never thought I’d get to anymore. And now, you're actually here. The cosmos. Whatever brought you back, they sent you here. and if you really… If I can't spend the rest of my life with you anymore, just give me a few days… Please just give me that…”

Jason finally looked up at your eyes, shaking. His eyebrows were up to his forehead, and he looked so terribly beautiful.

“Please… and I swear, I’ll forget about us. I’ll finally move on. You never have to see me again…”

Jason… Your beautiful, perfect Jason…

He took your hands off of his face.

And you turned around before you hurt yourself even more watching him leave you for the second time.

You faced out the building, at the empty sky, then you shut your eyes close before it sank in that this was the reality you had to face. Another nightmare. Just when you thought you could handle it.

You heard Jason’s voice, light and subtle.

“Three days…”

You turned around.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He almost jumped down the fire exit, disappearing before he could possibly change his mind.

-----

I DON’T HATE YOU - MASTERLIST

-----

everyartistwas-firstanamateur @sarcasmismyfirstlove @damned-queen-of-gotham @idkmanicantenglish @wunderstell @birdy-bat-riya @get-loki@everyday-imfangirling @comic-nerd-dc @multifandoms916 @icequeen208@offendedfishnoises @egdolan @xemiefx @arkhamtoddler @elsenthal@mythicbitchx @supremehaunter @ burning-alive @lucy-roo roseangel013bf @ loxbbg reclusive-chicken-nuggethttp-cherries shadowsndaisiesriver9noble zphilophobiazannoylinglyaries @knightfall05x @l-horizon11

#jason todd x reader #jason todd #red hood x reader #jason todd angst #red hood angst #batarella #batarella fluff #batarella angst #i don't hate you series #i don't hate you #jason todd x reader series #jason todd reader insert #batarella series

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ellana-ravenwood · 6 years

Text

“Wanna Join ?” Part 2/2 - Jason Todd x Reader x Roy Harper (erotica)

And here as promised, part 2 of this little dirty polyamorous fic of mine. If you haven’t read part 1, link down below :-). And hum...I don’t have much to add, hope you’ll like it !

FINISHED SERIES : PART 1

IMPORTANT WARNING : THIS IS EROTICA ! THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU ARE UNDERAGED, I GODDAMN MEAN IT. Like there’s cute and sweet feelings in the mix, but also...smut, so if you’re not 18 or more, or if you’re not comfortable with that sort of things etc etc, this story ain’t for you. I have tons of other very SFW story, for averyone to read, and if you wanna check those out instead, it’s right here, on My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives.

_________________________________________________

Jason Todd was happy.

Right here, right now.

In fact, he doesn’t remember feeling that happy ever in his life...

Maybe before his death, when he was just a carefree kid and Bruce asked him if he could officially be adopted ?

The feeling, in his little nine years old heart, to finally belong, to finally have a real family that cared about him...It was overwhelming at the time.

Of course, things were cut short, ruined by that psychopathic clown, who killed him when he was fifteen. And by R’as Al Ghul, who wouldn't let him rest and brought him back...

Since he came back to life, Jason couldn’t recall being THAT happy.

He found new friends, forgave his father, bonded again with his family (becoming quite a protective yet cool older brother to Tim, and more recently, to Damian, finally making progress with him...Finally wanting to make progress with him), learned how to live again etc etc...

But there was always that gloominess in him. That sadness of being let down. Abandoned by his father, the only person he always thought would never let him go...

The constant feeling of not being important enough followed him everywhere, this pain dragged him down for so long...

Until he met you and Roy.

At first, he was such an ass to the both of you, but you stuck around anyway. You didn’t let him push you away...and before he knew it, Roy and you were the reasons he felt happier sometimes, just by being with you.

Before he realized it, he had fallen hopelessly in love with you.

With both of you...

And then you two started dating, and he thought it would be the end. Over. That he would have to burry his feelings deep down and watch you two be happy from a distance. That once more, he wouldn’t belong anywhere.

But one day...One day you invited him to join in on your sexy time, and after a few months of fun, of incredible sexual experience...you realized you were all in love with each others.

Polyamorous.

That’s the word Jason used. And how lucky was he, to have fallen desperately in love with his best friends who discovered they too, were poly ?

Very lucky.

So sure, at first it had been a mess of misunderstandings and hurt, but things cleared pretty rapidly !

After Roy thought Jason was trying to steal you away from him, you caught up with him and came back to the apartment, where Jay proceeded to explain himself.

He remembered how he was afraid because if you guys didn’t share his feelings...he could ruin everything. You’d never abandoned him of course, but it would never be the same again.

And now...

No Jason Todd was happy.

Here. Right here.

That night, he fell asleep in the best spot.

In the middle.

Your head was in the crook of his neck, and one of your leg was thrown around his waist, as you were cuddled against him, your warmth spreading to him pleasantly.

Roy was sleeping on his belly, his body also against Jason’s. One of his arms was laying comfortably across the Red Hood’s chest, fingertips touching you side softly.

And though this position might sound uncomfortable to a lot of people, sandwiched the way he was...Jason lived to feel you guys’ naked bodies against him.

Jason Todd was happy. Here. Between you two.

He was thinking about just that when...he felt like something was wrong.

Yours and Roy’s skin felt...weirdly sweaty and sticky. Not like it should have felt. It was slimy and warm and...It was blood.

Jason sat up in a panic, and shook both of you, but he already knew...he already knew by the empty look in your eyes, by the sudden coldness of your skin, by the amount of blood all around you...You and Roy were dead.

You had left him behind, you were gone, forever. What happened ?!

He...he...He woke up, screaming at the top of his lungs.

************

Jason felt as if he was back in time. When he was eight, and just started to live at Wayne manor’s. When he was all alone in this huge bedroom.

He used to have vivid dreams about his mother’s murder...And used to wake up screaming, just like right now. And each time, Bruce would come running, and would be there for him until he fell asleep.

And though Jason was far from being a kid now...Bruce came in when he heard his (adult) son scream in his sleep. It was mainly just a reflex. Tim and Damian still lived at the Manor, and sometimes they had nightmares.

They were still young enough to appreciated their father rushing in their room to reassure them, to be there for them. And so when Bruce was woken up by a scream...He followed his father instincts and went to the source of the scream, knowing it was one of his boys.

But half asleep, he didn’t realize that said scream came from one of his oldest son...Jason came back to live in the manor shortly after the huge fall out he had with you and Roy. He just didn’t want to stay alone in an apartment, he couldn’t stay alone in an apartment so...He moved back to his old home.

It has been a while, since he lived there. But of course, Bruce and Alfred welcomed him with open arms. And the old butler got his old room in order, with the help of a rather excited Tim (he always admired greatly Jason) and the reluctant help of Damian (who was actually pretty excited too...it meant he could randomly start fights in the corridor with someone else than Drake !).

It was a bit weird, to be back in that huge room...Some of his old stuffs that he didn’t take with him, and that were there since before his death brought memories back to his mind. Of times when it was just him and Bruce. Of Dick and him fighting, but ultimately become close brothers. Of finding a new family. Of Bruce being proud of him because he had good grades at school. Of roaming the mansion with Dick, up to no good. Of scaring Alfred by jumping all around expensive furnitures (though the butler was scared for his well being more than said furnitures). Of Alfred’s cucumber sandwiches...

It was a bit weird, but he realized it was exactly what he needed.

After the heartbreak he just went through. After loosing his two best friends, but also ruining their relationship...

He needed his home. His family. To not feel completely abandoned again.

And as Bruce, his father, half-asleep, came running into his room already saying :

“It’s alright boy, I’m here.”

Jason felt a bit better...But then his dad realizes it’s neither Tim nor Damian. It’s one of his grown ass kid. And he just stands there, between the door and his bed, not really sure of what to do.

He reconnected with Jason not so long ago, and he fears that him barging in after he had a nightmare might be too much for him. Might make painful memories of his father abandoning him (Bruce would never forgive himself, but he had his reason, and Jay finally understood them) resurface for some reasons...maybe some childhood memories that were too painful to think about.

And this was the last thing Jason needed. After what he just went through...

So Bruce stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next, until he realized...Until he realized Jason was crying.

And once again, his father instincts kicked in. Especially since he never saw Jason cry...And so he goes to him, sits next to him, and holds him. Just like he used to do when Jay was eight...And he listens.

He listens to his heartbroken son, to his shattered boy...And he doesn’t let go.

************

Roy is angry.

Lately, he’s always angry.

Maybe it’s a way of ignoring that lingering pain inside him, the one that threatens to destroy him if he stops being so furious ?

But as Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow watch upon his ex-sidekick bashing a random low life head’s in...This has to end.

It’s not like his Roy to loose it like that. Especially not since he met you and Jason. He became a collected man, that always thought things through and..it just wasn’t his thing to use mindless violence.

And it was tarnishing his name. And by the same occasion, Green Arrow’s. Not that Oliver cared much, no. He didn’t give a shit what people thought of the Arrows right now, he just wanted Roy to feel better.

But it was dangerous. There was a high chance of him just getting mad and blowing everything up, telling Oliver to never talk to him again (right when they were reconnecting again at that !).

However, the archer was ready to risk it all. For the boy’s sake...He chuckled. The boy ? But Roy wasn’t a boy anymore. Or things would be easier.

When he was a boy, the one they used to call “Speedy” used to drink everything his mentor said, used to admire him so much and follow everything he taught him...Which is probably the source of their downfall. Of why he felt so betrayed and all when...But this was the past.

Right now, he needed him.

“You know, I think he understood your point...”

Oliver said, walking slowly toward Roy who was just about finishing beating up that low life drug dealer. The red archer turned around and...Had the opposite reaction Oliver was expecting.

He was waiting for Roy to burst in anger, to tell him to go fuck himself. He was almost expecting to fight him in order to calm him down ! But this ? This was a surprise.

Roy let go of the collar of the criminal he was holding, and the man fell back down limply, definitely knocked out. He looked at his former mentor as if he was an hallucination, or a dream, and seemed to come out of a daze and...

He sat down on the floor, or rather, fell down, sunk down on the floor. And his head fell in his hands. He didn’t say anything. He just...looked defeated.

And Oliver never saw, even at his worst, Roy look defeated...Almost shocked, he walked toward him and sat down beside him.

Roy jumped in the air a bit, as if he already forgot that Green Arrow was here and he looked at him curiously, but a lingering suffering was there, behind his eyes. And then, with a weak voice so unlike his normal one, he said :

“I lost her Oli’. I lost both of them”.

Oliver Queen didn’t need to ask who he was talking about. He knew.

Anyone who had seen those three together knew that if for whatever reason they had a fall out, it would be bad. For all three of them.

They seemed so close, even after Roy started to date you...

Oliver laid a hand he wanted consoling on his former sidekick’s shoulder, and was about to say something but...nothing could have prepared him for the flow of words that came out of Roy’s mouth.

He hadn’t talk to him that much in years ! And so Green Arrow stayed there, sitting next to him, and listened.

************

Your heart tightened as you looked upon the last picture that you took all together. You were all so happy then...Or so you thought.

Because if everything went as fine as you thought, then why would Jason decide to kiss you and tell you he loves you ? ...

The picture was taken by him, with his phone. He was a bit in front of you, smiling and making a stupid peace sign, while you and Roy were making silly faces and...You hid the photo, shoving it in your backpack.

It hurt too much to see it. Especially since you hadn’t seen any of them for now almost two months, had no news whatsoever and...Had those impossible feelings for both of them.

It’s funny, that it took Jason deciding to kiss you and tell you he loves you for you to realize what has been there all along.

That you were in love yes...with both of them.

Which is why you so often let Jason in on your intimate moment with Roy...After all, you were the one that initiated the all thing with your simple : “Wanna join ?”

But the way you grew up, the way society worked...You thought it was actually impossible to be in love with more than one person at once, and so you convinced yourself that what you felt for Jay was just a very strong friendship, and you were just in love with Roy.

You convinced yourself you were “normal”, that you just had a regular love story, with only two people in it...Only it has never been “normal”.

Because from day one, Jason was always there. And then when he joined in on your sex session...You should have known it was coming.

The disaster. Things were going too well, and yet not well enough.

Because every time you finished having sex with each other, you craved for Jason to stay too and...You shook your head.

What was the point in remembering and pondering all those thoughts now ? It was too late. You should have never told Jason to join, and stay the way you all were...At least, you would still be together.

And sure, it would have mean repressing a lot of feelings but...you’d still have them. Not like now, as you were in your now empty old apartment (empty of them), gathering a few things you had never dared to come get back before now.

In case you ran into one of them, you know ?

Because you couldn’t face Jason nor Roy, for reasons you weren’t too sure of...Maybe you were afraid of further rejection ? Of fighting and therefor definitely ending everything between all of you ? Maybe...

You didn’t really know, and you weren’t quite ready to delve into your feelings like that, to psychoanalyse yourself just yet.

You were about to leave the apartment when...You heard a noise coming from Jason’s bedroom.

For some reason, you were sure it wouldn’t be Jason himself, because it seemed like he was avoiding you too lately (which was good), and went back to live at Wayne’s Manor. So in your head, it was most likely an intruder and you’d be damn if you’d let an intruder come into your house ! Even if nowadays, it wasn't really yours anymore...At least, it didn’t feel like home without Jason and Roy.

So when you barged in Jason’s room, ready to fight whatever stranger came in, your surprise was huge to discover that it was...Actually Jason.

You stared at each others for a bit, not really knowing what to say.

“You um...look well.”

Jason finally broke the silence, and it brought you back to your senses. In a small voice you answer :

“Yeah well I’m...Well. You look...Alright too.”

Another silence, but it seems like none of you want to leave the room. In fact, you feel a sudden urge to stay, and to talk more to him. To work things out. To try and understand why he did what he did when he did it. To try and understand your own feelings...After all, you still love him too.

And Jason ? Jason doesn’t want to go out either. He wants to explain. He wants to tell you everything, as finally you’re not running away...

He originally came in just go grab some of his stuffs from his room, coming through the window as an old habit, and definitely didn’t expect you to be there. Not after two months...And yet. Yet here you were.

And here he was.

His chance to explain everything. To tell you how he truly feels. To maybe convince you to go after Roy ! And if you don’t love him back ? Well it was alright, he’d settle to see you and Roy happy...It’s all he ever wanted really.

The two people he was oh so desperately in love with to be happy.

You both speak at the same time.

“(Y/N)/Jason I...Oh, you first !”

And then you chuckle, and it’s been months since any of you laughed...

You take a step towards him, and he takes one towards you. And as both of your minds’ are overflowing with what you should say, with what you should admit to each other...Everything crumbles away when you’re just a few inches from each other.

Because the attraction is too strong. It always had been too strong.

And you both resolve to say everything later, as he catch you in his arms and your mouth are looking for each other...Find each other.

Your arms wind up around his neck, and he holds you close, his own arms wrapping around your waist. And before you realize it, both your lips part and your tongues dance around each other, as you press even further in his body. And he...

“I can’t fucking believe it !”

A cold chill ran in your vein, as you quickly get away from Jason (even if you don’t want to), and he does the same. You both turned around and...are faced with Roy, a sport bag on his shoulder.

It seemed like today, all of you thought it was a good time to come back and get some stuffs...But after all, it had been two months, it was suppose to be “safe”.

You’re about to say something, and you can see Jay is too, but Roy shuts you both down by continuing :

“I can’t...But I should know. Of course, with me out of the picture, you both had the way free to each others !

“Roy it’s not...”

“Shut up ! Both of you ! ...I came here because I saw some lights. And because I needed to take a few things. I came here knowing one of you would be here, and to talk. To not leave things like we left them. And what do I find ? My best friends, whom I thought would never betray me, doing exactly that. Again.”

Roy let his bag slip off his shoulder and walks toward you. By instinct, Jason takes a step back, afraid to get punched again like last time. But Roy stops a few feet from both of you and says :

“You know, I’d never think EVER in my life that you two would...Do something like that. I...I love you. I love you both so much ! And you’d do that to me ? Why didn’t you just tell me you wanted to be together ?! I would have accepted it ! It would have hurt, yes, but I would..I wouldn’t feel so betrayed. So left out. And it was the least you could do...”

It was interesting, the way he was talking about both of you, not addressing his speech to only one person. And did he say...He loves you “both so much” ?

“I don’t understand why you would do that. I just don’t...get it. I thought I could trust you. I thought I...I...”

His voice break, and you and Jason take the few steps that separate him from you, but as he notices, he walks backwards.

“Don’t touch me. Don’t come near me. Not after what you’ve just done !”

It hurts. It hurts so much, the way he walks away, fear in his eyes. Fear that you’d break his heart further...

Roy doesn’t want to hear you say that you love each other. That you’re going to date from now on. He doesn’t want to hear you say that everything between you and him was fake. He...He doesn’t want to hear any excuses.

There’s a silence, once again broken by Jason :

“I’m sorry. I...Ruined everything. As usual. I...The day you caught us, two months ago...I was about to tell you guys my big confession. The thing I hid for so long and couldn’t hold in anymore. Not after all this time spend in each others’ arms. I...”

“Let me guess Jason. Said confession is that you love her ? That you love (Y/N) ? Since when ugh ? Did you love her already when we invited you to join in on our fun ? Did you join in just because of that ? After all, it’s true that during our sex session you always paid more attention to her ! I thought, like you always said, that sex was just fun ugh ? That it meant nothing ? And so what now Jason, it does because you love her ?!”

The Red Hood flinches a bit as his friend reminds him of what vision he had of sexual relationships before meeting them. It’s true that, whenever he slept with someone, it used to only be fun but...With them ? Ever since that first night he joined you guys ? It was never fake.

It was never just pleasure. It was...So much more. For him, at least.

Roy seems to be on a streak of words as he keeps going, talking again about how betrayed he feels and how as soon as Jason joined he felt like he didn’t matter as much as he used to. How Green Arrow himself told him that this all situation was shitty. How...

“Oh shut up will ya ?! Let us talk too !!”

Jason says a bit harshly. Roy turns to him and anger, but also pain cross his feature as he says :

“How dare you ? How dare you say such a thing to me while you’re the one that...”

And Jason doesn't think. It’s the first thing that comes to his mind to shut him up.

He grabs him by the back of his neck and crashes his mouth on his, kissing him fiercely and passionately. And Roy...kisses back.

They separate and look at each other, an intensity that wasn’t there before burning in their eyes. But neither of them forgot you, and they turn to you.

They were expecting to see you hurt, even maybe crying or something, as you witnessed both of them kissing very eagerly. But...No.

You look...Turned on. Because your brains sometimes works faster than theirs and you figured things out. And you’re relief. Oh so relief.

You walk to them, and stop right in front of them. Jason’s hand is still behind Roy’s neck, and they’re both so close...You walk in.

In that little circle.

And you lay one kiss on Jason’s lips, and one kiss on Roy’s. It’s funny, they both taste like the other one...You cup their cheek, and despite the turmoil of feelings in their belly, they lean into your touch.

“We are all...Such idiots.”

You finally say, and it seems like the tension that was raised to the max since Roy came in suddenly deflated. Suddenly disappeared.

You all walk a little appart, and you continue :

“It’s...Almost to good to be true. And yet...Jason, do you love me ?”

“Yes.”

The man answer, without an ounce of hesitation.

“Roy, do you love me ?” you ask.

“...Yes.”

He says, albeit a bit slower than Jason, as he’s still unsure what to feel right now. You keep going :

“Jay...Do you love Roy ? And I mean, love beyond our friendship ? ”

There’s a small silence. Jason looks at you, unsure, and afraid to show his real him. His true feelings.

But his father’s words came back into his mind. “Don’t hide yourself, be who you are. And don’t be like me, show the people you love you love them, whenever possible, because they’ll be gone before you realize, and you end up realizing you never told them what you really felt...”

And so he says, firmly, sure of himself :

“Yes.”

You smile tenderly, glad that you understood what was happening with him. But now, you turn to Roy, and there..You’re not quite sure he’s like you and Jason. Not quite sure he can accept that, not quite sure he can love both of you.

And from his answer, everything could change. In two ways.

If he says “yes”, then there’s a chance loves you too, and you could all fix things together; But if he says “yes”, there’s also a chance that he doesn't love you, and just loves Jason and then...Your heart would be broken.

If he says no however, he might still love you, and then Jason’s heart would be broken. And so would be this little trio of yours.

From Roy’s answer...your world could either be turned to the best, or worst.

“...Yes”.

He finally says. And his head slumps down, and your heart drops. Does that mean ? ...He continues :

“I’m sorry (Y/N). I tried not to. But...Ever since I met him I had a crush, and then...we’re just so close. A friendship so strong, and it always blew my mind how much I cared and it was all because...it wasn’t just a strong friendship. It was also love. And I’m sorry (Y/N), I really tried not to love him...”

You freeze. Does that mean...Does that mean he doesn’t love you anymore ? Or never loved you ? It was all fake to forget Jason ? Then why was he so mad Jason kissed you ? ...Oh. Oh was it because since he was in love with him, he...your heart stopped.

You would be out of the picture. You had to step down now.

You could feel tears welling up in your eyes...But Jason’s fingertips caught them before they fell and said :

“We really are idiots, we keep getting stuck into those stupid misunderstanding that we could easily avoid if we...voiced our feelings more. Roy, do you love (Y/N) ? Truly love her ?”

Roy’s head comes back up, and with a vexed look in his eyes he says :

“Of course I love her !! I just said so a few seconds ago ! Why do you think I was so hurt when I saw you kiss her ? Felt so betrayed ? And how was I suppose to know you were going to tell us you both love us ?”

Relief. Again. Relief washes over you. And you start to laugh.

You can’t help it. All of this. Those two months of pain, and this tense conversation. All those quiproquos and such. All those times you didn’t understand the others’ meaning, or actions. How you almost all threw it away because of it...And here it was finally ending.

“Oh my god. I love you both so much...”

You hear yourself say. And they both turn and look at you, something new burning in their eyes. Jason says :

“You...you do ?”

“Oh yes. Yes. And if I’m being honest, have been for a while now...”

It’s Roy’s turns now, to have a small tender smile on his face as he brushes his own fingertips on your cheek, where a few seconds ago tears threatened to fall. And where now, there were tears indeed...But tears of happiness.

“You love us both ?”

You don’t even know which one of you asked that, but the answer is unanimous.

“Yes.”

And just like that, every pent up emotions fly into the air, and you laugh.

Oh you laugh so much...

And you tell each others. Those three words. “I love you”. You tell each other, all of you.

When you stop, you all look at each others, not sure of the next step now that you clumsily professed your love to each other...

Should you...talk more about it ? Try to figure out why you were all in love with two people ? Try to understand why you hid it for so long ? Just trying to be normal ? Should you just talk it through ?

But what was there to talk about. You loved each other. It was official.

Jason always knew it. He always knew he was in love with both you and Roy. You had discovered it right when you all fell apart. And Roy...Roy realized it only a few minutes earlier, when you asked him how he felt.

He knew since a very long time he was in love with you. But as you asked if he also loved Jason...He realized that, yes. Yes he did. And what else could you guys add ?

Nothing.

Or almost nothing.

With a mischievous smile, you turn to Jason and say :

“So...Jay. I think we have one last problem to fix.”

Jason’s eyebrows crease. What now ? More drama ? Please, please no more dramas...He didn’t think his heart could handle it.

But the look in your eyes as you said this...It was the same expression that you had just after him and Roy kissed. Raw heat. And a mind full of dirty ideas.

“I think our man here, doesn’t know how much we love him. How much he means to us. And I think we should refresh his...memory.”

Oh. Oh Jason knew where you were going with this, and he loved it. Your tone of voice was the same than when you were all doing the dirty and...It hits Roy too.

In the most sensitive place it seems, as you both saw something twitch in his pants. You turn to your ex-boyfriend now boyfriend again and say :

“Whaddaya think Roy ? Should we show you some appreciation ?”

Your voice is oh so sultry and it always drove him so wild...He looks at you intensely and says, trying to keep his voice clear though it was already hoarsed :

“Well, I think that would only be fair. After all, I’m the one that thought his girlfriend was cheating on him...That thought his best friends were betraying him so I feel like I deserve some...Appreciation.”

He smiles deviously, and looks between you and Jason. And your heart swells.

Was it really that easy ? Could you have avoided months of angstiness just by talking things through ? ...OH but you were all so stupid.

Because it was really that easy. Once you all realized that you were equally all too important. Once you realized that you couldn’t live without the THREE of you together.

It was really that easy. All that you needed was to...talk. To say : “I love you”. To admit you weren’t in love with just one person. To admit that little trio of yours was more than just friendship...And that you kinda knew it all along.

Of course. Jason joined in on your sex session so easily, of course there was more. You touched each others so tenderly, of course there was more. You got along too well and always craved each others presence, of course there was more...

And here. Finally. You realized it.

But Roy was the last one to realize it, and arguably, the one that suffered the most. Without speaking, you and Jason understood each others.

You would take care of him a bit more tonight. And next time one of you two would feel insecure, then it’d be your turn.

But tonight...Tonight would be all about Roy.

************

And this is how you ended up tearing off his shirt and licking his chest all over, while Jason’s tongue was in Roy’s mouth, kissing him passionately.

Instinctively, you placed yourselves on each side of your boyfriend. Of your lover. You were in front of him, Jason behind.

And when Jay moved away to take his own clothes off, you took his place kissing Roy with all the passion you had in your being. Your arms were around his neck, and his were holding you close by clinging your waist.

It’s only when you both felt Jason moving back in that you separated. Jason gave you a quick kiss, licking your lower lip, and went back to kissing Roy’s neck, sucking and biting there and there.

You pulled away to take your clothes off, stripping sensually under Roy’s intense gaze, before going back to him. He thought you were about to kiss his lips again, but instead you peppered his jaw, chin, all the way down to his collar bone, while Jason was kissing his shoulder blades.

You met again with Jason at the junction of his neck and shoulder, and kissed each others while massaging Roy all over. You then parted, and gave each other a wink, knowing exactly what to do to make sure that Roy would finally feel like he truly belonged.

To make sure he would never feel as if you and Jason focused more on each others than on him during sex.

You elicited so many moans out of Roy’s mouth, that you both feel more aroused than ever...

You’re not ashamed to say it, you are dripping wait at the sound he makes, and at the idea of what’s coming next. And seeing the bulge in Roy’s pant, and how rock hard Jason seems to be, there is indeed no shame to have.

Roy can’t handle it anymore.

“Guys, are you go...I...ah...I can’t...I...”

But he can’t formulate any thoughts, as you and Jason work him up to his limit. It doesn’t take that much, as you suck and bite at his skin, stroking him all over. His pants is still on, and it becomes unbearable for him, needing more friction.

It’s you, who release him slowly.

You kiss down from his lips all the way to his abdomen, and finally pull his pants and boxers down, and oh you missed the sight of his cock springing to life.

Roy moans loudly as he feels Jason slowly getting to his knees too, behind him.

One of the archer’s hand wind up in your hair, while the other want tangles in Jay’s mane, and he’s pretty sure he’s about to die.

You keep peppering kisses all around his inner thighs, without touching him where you want him too, and Jason does the fucking same, kissing his lower back, licking and biting but not going to the point !

He’s about to protest when finally, finally, so in synch that it’s so obvious you were meant to be together, you and Jason take action.

And it’s no better...Or rather, it’s better than anything. But it still drives Roy insane.

One of your hand loosely wrap around his cock, as your tongue leisurely run up and down his shaft in controlled movement. And Jason ? Fuck, Jason just spread his ass cheek and is giving him the best rim job he ever had.

You can feel, by the way his hands are tightening in both your hair, and by the way he kinda raises up on his tip toe, that he’s beyond his head with pleasure.

And so you both lick away. You both give it your all.

But you...You’re a bit sneakier. You take your time. You slowly work an orgasm out of him. Because you know Jason will have to do more, while you’ll keep sucking him...So you slowly swirls your tongue all around him. Sometimes moving to his ball, close to Jay, to grab at each other quickly, exchanging a quick french kiss while also driving Roy crazy by stopping, even if for a second.

You slowly suck on in, lick all over including parts all around his cock to enhance any sensation of his, while Jason preps him...

While Jason preps him for more. Because of course, he’ll do more than just a silly rim job, even if it is already, paired with the blow job, extremely pleasurable.

At one point, you can hear Roy groan in displeasure as Jason gets to his feet...but you know what he’s doing and so you suck on Roy’s head more intensely so he forgets Jay’s absence.

And you do a wonderful job, as both his hands are now in your hair and you feel his hips swaying in and out of your mouth of its own accord...You smiled around his dick, and patiently let him fuck your mouth as Jason comes back.

And he has something in his hand, that makes you moan knowing what will happen. Damn. So hot.

Oh you’re enjoying all this way too much, it almost makes you feel shameful...Almost, because you like too much giving pleasure to one of the people you love like that.

Jason, behind Roy, coats two of his fingers with the oil he went to get, and you feel Roy’s cock twitch in your mouth as Jason places himself right and, spreading his new boyfriend’s ass cheeks again, insert slowly one, then two fingers inside him.

Roy’s eye roll at the back of his head, and he almost falls forward, as Jason knows him too well and hit the right spot immediately. But this...this propels Roy towards you and you almost choke on his dick.

You pull away quickly, and the two men look at you, concern in their eyes. You cough a little, but then smile at them and chuckle.

“I guess that’s what I get for choosing such...Well endowed lovers. Just give me a second, which I think anyway, Coy Roy there needs”.

Roy scoffs, but...Yeah he kinda needs it. He’s pretty sure he could never handle your perfect lips and skills around his cock, while Jason was working him open from behind with his damn professional fingering...

Jason, his eyes fixed on you to make sure you’re ok, thrusts his fingers in and out of Roy. You exchange a look with him, and reassure him. Yeah. You’re fine.

Through half-lidded eyes, and through his intense pleasure, Roy looks at you too, and tries to convey to you his concern but...it’s ok. You get it. Jason is after all pretty skilled with his fingers.

You stand up, and leave a quick peck on Jay’s lips, before walking around Roy to go and slowly stroke your other boyfriend...Yes. Yes you said it was Roy’s night but you couldn’t help it.

You just imagined Jason, during those three years, being desperately in love with the both of you and never saying anything out of fear to ruin things. Suffering on his own...And you just have to give a little bit more to him too.

Besides, right now, there’s nothing you can do to Roy that won’t make him pass out in pleasure. Any more kisses, or blow job would be his end, as Jay works him up to his max.

So kissing one last time Roy on the lips, you walk around him and face Jason. He looks at you curiously, as you reach to stroke his cheek...but the way he leans in. Damn. You love that man.

Without stopping his thrusting motion on Roy, Jason kisses you, and let you stroke his dick slowly, reminiscing of that first night you all spend together, where he watched Roy fuck you as you jerked him off...

This propels his dick to twitch, and you look at him curiously. But he just smiles smugly as he reaches with his free hand to your pussy, and flick your clit teasingly.

You keep this little game of yours for a little while. As you want to show Jason that now, he’s in this too, for good. You stroke him lovingly, and he works you just as expertly as he works Roy. You kiss, passionately...Just for a little while.

Because this is Roy’s night.

With your own free hand, you reach in front of Roy to jerk him too, and the desperate moan he lets out is addictive.

You don’t realize it, but your own moans drive both your boyfriends crazy. And Roy blesses whoever gifted Jason with such a talent with his hands.

For a little while, you stroke both of their cocks, while Jason fingers you and Roy and...It’s mostly Roy’s night, but you also need release.

You move away from them, and they both groan, shooting you a disapproving look as you walk away...But you go towards the bed.

You sit on the edge, and slowly crawl in the middle, gesturing to them to come closer, with your most sensual and sexy moves.

And oh, both their dicks jerks up at the motion. And they know what you want, what you mean. You don’t even need to talk. You never need to talk. You always understand each other oh so perfectly.

Jason let’s Roy go, and they both walk towards you.

But tonights Roy’s night. And you had an idea that they understood in mind.

Roy kneeled in front of you, as you took hold once more of his cock, and started to play with it while Jason was getting ready...

This time, the Red Hood coated his own dick with oil. He settled himself behind Roy, and inserted a finger inside him once again, to be sure he was not going to hurt him...and then..Then Jason spreads Roy’s thighs.

And you see, through said spread thighs, as he gets ready, stroking himself a few times before settling at Roy’s entrance.

Roy takes a deep breath, bracing himself but...it’s Jason we’re talking about. The only man that you him that well. The only person he trusted entirely with handling his body. And as you were licking his cock head again...Jason slowly penetrated Roy.

Slowly. Not forcing his way. Stopping if he felt it resisted a bit, realigning and pushing further...Until he was fully sheathed in his boyfriend.

Roy growled out, as Jason made that sound you loved so much. That desperate little gasp of pleasure. You smiled to yourself as you took a little step back, sitting in front of them. You knew how things would unfold.

Both their eyes were closed, and it almost seemed like they had forgotten you, buried in each other so deeply...But they didn’t.

Jason’s eyes shot open, and he slowly bend Roy down, towards you.

Jay’s cock was easing itself slowly in and out of the man, making smooth thrusting motion, and Roy finally spoke up :

“I...I hated...I hated both of you so much...”

He sighs, as Jason fucks him slowly, and you stroke him tenderly, brushing your thumb over the head of his cock, where some pre-cum gathered.

“I...I can’t believe I hated you so much...”

Jason continues to thrust, with a little more force now, taking Roy’s moans as his queue to go faster and harder. But everything comes to a sudden stop...

Roy’s hand stops Jason’s hips to slam into him again, while his other free hand pulls you off his dick and shows to you to lay down on the bed.

Roy turns to a concerned Jason, who was afraid he just had hurt him, and says :

“It just doesn’t seem fair, that I’m only forgiving you right now...”

And Jay understands. He nods, and let himself fall forward with Roy.

You look at him curiously until...Oh. Yes. Of course.

Roy slides himself inside you easily, as your walls are wetter than they’ve ever been. He buries himself to the hilt, holding himself up with his elbows on each side of your face, and it’s your turn to roll your eyes to the back of your head, because damn, he knew you too well, and hit that particular spot with his first motion.

That particular spot that ached to be hit since the beginning of all this.

And just like that, Jay started to move again, in perfect synch with Roy’s movement inside you. Whenever the archer was thrusting deep within you, Jay was pulling out of him, and vice versa.

Thrust.

“Ah. You’re so fucking beautiful. So fucking beautiful...and I dreamt of this for so long...”

You’re not really sure of who says this, and to whom, but does it really matter ? In the end, no. Because it could have been any of you that said that, to any of you, and it would mean the same.

You all thought you were gorgeous. Beautiful. Sexy. Oh so fucking hot. So who cared, who said what to who ? It was meant for all three of you.

In, out.

"I wanted to fuck you, I wanted to taste you, I wanted to come all over you-"

And who the cares to whom that was destined ? Because you all wanted to fuck each others, to taste each others and man if the occasion arised, to come all over each other...The mere thought made you all moan, tighten around each other, hands tangling in hair, kisses lost on collar bones and tongue licking backs and shoulder blades.

Mouth finding each other hungrily, tongue dancing around each others, and who cared who did it with who ? Because in that moment, you were all so connected. You were all just one being.

Thrust. Gasp from one of you...Or maybe all of you ?

Thrust going faster. Inside Roy’s ass. Inside your pussy. In total synch.

"Your beautiful cock in my mouth. Your come. You taste so good."

Did you say that ? Or was it Roy ? Maybe Jason ? You didn’t even differentiate each others’ voice now, because all of you said what was on everyone’s mind. You were oh so perfectly connected.

Thrust.

“Oh God-”

Someone is on the verge of coming, and you’re not quite sure who...Maybe you ? After all, feeling Jay moving in and out of you so perfectly, lying above you, is driving you crazy...And now...Now...

Is that Jason’s fingers, slowly flicking your clit ? Yes. Yes it is.

Roy’s hands are on either sides of your head, to keep himself and Jay off of you (they would be too heavy), so it couldn't be you...You shoot a look up to Jason and...One of his hand is holding Roy’s hips firmly, leaving marks of his fingers on his skin, but the other one...the other one went down to your clit.

And maybe it was you, who was on the verge of coming and who uttered this “Oh God”, but you didn’t even realize it...

In, out.

Thrust.

Deep thrust.

Hard and fast now.

“Roy...”

Thrust.

“Jason...”

Earth shattering thrust.

“(Y/N)...”

Crippling pleasure.

“Oh Roy...I’m gonna...I’m gonna...”

“Jay, don’t stop, don’t...”

“(Y/N), you’re so warm and tight and...”

“Ah ! Mmm...”

You don’t know who says what. And it doesn’t matter.

Because now...Now...

Now Roy cries out desperately, as you feel him thrust three more times inside you before unleashing his own warmth deep inside, coating your walls with his seed.

And now you tighten around him as he helps you ride out your own orgasm that you didn’t even realize hit you a few seconds before, and through him over the edge. And you cling to Roy’s shoulder, digging your nails inside them.

And he...oh he can’t. It’s two strong, to have a double orgasm like that...Because as he was making love to you (there was no fucking between all of y’all anymore), and came inside you, Jason was hitting all the right spot and made him orgasm again, his ass tensing around Jay’s cock and...

It was the final cries, the final yell of pleasure, groans, growls...The end of this heated love making session.

Jason. Jason was last. And he didn’t hold back.

He thrusted a few more times in Roy’s tight ass, feeling how the man’s walls were closing around his veiny cock, and he came.

Oh he came so much.

Two months of pent up feelings.

And then he was falling on his side, in the bed, and Roy was too, ending up sandwiched between you and Jason.

And sure it was kind of a mess, and you needed to clean up but...Right now, right now you were too spend to move.

Roy couldn’t feel his legs anymore, and all his muscles were painfully throbbing after such two intense orgasms. You were cuddled up against Roy’s chest, a hand lost on Jason’s waist, unable to move ether. And Jason...Jason could have moved, but he didn’t want to. Because moving would mean letting go of both of you, and he just couldn’t do that just now.

Not just as he found you back. Not just as he discovered that he was loved as much as he loved. Not...Not just now.

Finally. Things were how they always were supposed to be.

With Jason falling asleep with you and Roy.

With the three of you falling asleep in each others’ arms (Roy having the best place that night, the middle).

You and Roy had dated for three years, but it’s only now that this little missing thing you always felt fell into place.

It was Jason all along.

Of course.

Roy was almost mad that you all wasted three years like that...

But now it was all over. The missing piece was found and in the puzzle.

You were together. And you all loved each other just the same...

************

Sometimes though, one of you would feel a bit less loved for some reasons (often a result of them overthinking). And it couldn’t be more wrong because the feelings you all had for each others was equal...But eh.

You couldn’t control your insecurities.

So sometimes, one of you would need a remainder that he or she was loved all the same.

If it was you, oh the treat you were in for, as they’d both take very good care of you (and of your holes). Working you to multiple orgasm, to exhaustion, so you would stop having such silly thought of “maybe they love each other more than they love me”.

Because you all loved each other the same.

If it was Roy, you’d have a reenactment of the night you all admitted your feelings to each other. It was always great, and extremely tiring.

And if it was Jason ? Well. Jason was particular. When he felt less loved, you had to leave everything to him. Let him in charge of every movements. Which often ended in both you and Roy sprawled on the bed while he was eating you out and jerking him off, or blowing him off and fingering you...

But you’d always make sure that every single one of you knew his or her place in the trio. Knew that there was none of that “I love you more” bullshit between you. You were all desperately in love with each others, equally, and nothing nor anyone could ever change that.

You were planning on having a long and fulfilling life altogether...And Alfred, aka best butler ever, was already preparing everything for the future “trio wedding”, because he was sure it was only a matter of time before you guys asked each others to get married, and man if the old butler wasn’t all for his master to be happy. And if you and Roy made him happy ? He’d prepare this impossible marriage with three party. Every day of the week.

The end (?).

_______________________________

Ok. Sorry if this is terrible, especially the sex scene (at first, I wanted to write multiple little scenes, but ended up writing a big one so...yeah. Maybe I’ll write more if you like this pairing...or like...trioing (how do we call them ?!)...If you like Jason x Reader x Roy. I’m not good at writing smut and I’m cringing so hard every time I do, but I still somewhat enjoy writing it so...Why not, if you liked it. Sorry...OK. The end. As usual though, feedbacks = life.

PS : Yes, as usual I did NOT re-read myself so sorry for typos. I just can’t proof read something of mine, I cringe too much.

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