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flyrobinflyy · 11 days ago

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ROCKIE GET BEHIND ME I’LL PROTECT YOU 🤺🤺🤺

Project: Killcode

batfamily + oc insert

tw: none

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

a short one but OH WELL I WANTED TO SPLIT IT HERE

part forty-two

❝ A WELCOME GUEST ❞

FRIDAY — AUGUST 24 — 2:32PM

NICO CRIED FOR A LONG TIME. He kept muttering things, like how he didn’t actually know his parents, or that he didn’t want to go home, or that he didn’t know what to do. There were a few times the wind started to blow inside the dorm, but he was quick to make it stop — he was a lot better about controlling it now than he had been before.

Currently, all the dorm lights were off but the lamp, the curtains were pulled shut, and Nico was asleep in Bentley’s bed. Both he and Asten were just kind of there, watching his chest rise and fall methodically.

He looked the same when he was sleeping as he had back in Gotham. Bentley couldn’t recall a single time he’d ever slept over that was good, or just for fun, even now. Out of all the times he’d ever seen him asleep, he’d never actually seen him sleep peacefully. Which was just a little bit concerning given the amount of times they’d slept next to each other.

Bentley and Asten were both sitting at their desks, doing nothing in particular. What were they supposed to do when a kid that didn’t go to school there just sort of… showed up unannounced? They weren’t just going to kick him to the curb, that was for sure. He had super speed, so obviously nobody had seen him come in. Bentley thought about telling their roommates but honestly just hadn’t gotten around to it. The whole dorm was a bit sad anyways.

In the dead silence that was their bedroom, Bentley glanced over at Asten. He hadn’t exactly said much since Nico got there. His green eyes were still slightly rimmed with red and his breath involuntarily shuddered every now and then. (Since when was Bentley ever the one out of the three of them who kept his composure? Asten had dragged them through the woods while being chased by a murderous scientist after seeing what they thought were dead bodies, got a bear trap slammed on his leg, and still hadn’t cried half as much as he just had when Nico showed up. Bentley wasn’t sure what made the difference now.)

Bentley sighed after a long time of quiet, whispering: “Are you okay?”

Asten glanced over at him, his sad green eyes bouncing across Bentley’s face for a second before he nodded.

“Yeah,” He replied, looking back down at his own hands. “If I had known he was coming, I wouldn’t have freaked out like that. Sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry,” Bentley replied softly. “I just want you to be okay.”

Asten glanced over at him for a second, but Bentley just sort of looked at Nico.

“I’m okay,” Was his muted response.

Bentley said nothing.

Asten breathed in, looking back over at Nico. “How long should we let him stay?”

Bentley shrugged, watching as Nico shifted the tiniest bit in his bed. “I don’t know. It’s not like any teachers are going to find out during quarantine. Should we tell everyone else?”

“I already texted Valor. He seems to be fine with it, but I’ll make a group chat and drop it in there, too. So everyone knows,” Asten replied, whipping his phone out of his pocket. “I also texted Nico’s mom, let her know that he’s safe. But I didn’t tell her where we are. All she said was thank you.”

Bentley didn’t say anything. He felt his phone vibrate a few moments later from Asten’s group text, but didn’t pull it out.

“I can sleep on the empty bunk in Bellamy’s room tonight. And for however long he wants to stay here,” Bentley suggested, gesturing to Nico. (He ignored the little voice in the back of his head that kept saying: is this even legal?)

Asten nodded. “Okay.”

A sudden exclamation of “Oh, shit!” Emanated through the bedroom door from the living area, and Bentley could’ve swore he heard someone drop something.

He and Asten glanced at each other, before he reluctantly stood. “I’ll go check.”

“Okay,” Was Asten’s quiet response.

With a soft sigh, Bentley made for their door and made his way out of it, closing it behind him as softly as he could. He couldn’t really pinpoint what had happened for a few moments, because there was no one in the living area or kitchen, but then he saw Valor and Koa in the floor near the dining table.

“What happened?” He asked, moving closer to them. Valor was sitting on the floor, and Koa had a hand on the back of his head, pushing it down between his knees like Bentley had seen Bruce do to his brothers (mostly Tim) after they passed out or something.

“This loser fainted because he refuses to take care of himself,” Koa grumbled. “Because I was right, like I always am. But I digress. Will you go in there with Rockie?”

Bentley blinked. “Me?”

Koa glanced up at him. “I mean, he obviously likes you the most out of all of us who are functioning right now.”

“I am functioning,” Valor grumbled.

Bentley glanced at him, then over at Rockie’s closed bedroom door. “Yeah... I’ll go.”

“Thanks,”

Bentley said nothing, but made for Rockie’s door. He was kind of afraid of what he would find inside, because he hadn’t seen Rockie in almost three whole days, but he went in anyways.

Their blackout curtains were pulled shut, making the room nearly pitch black apart from the single sliver of light coming from the bathroom; and Rockie was just… curled up in his bed. Buried in the blankets sort of like Asten had been earlier. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t looking at anything, really, just sort of… staring. His face was eerily blank.

Bentley stepped in and closed the door softly. “Hey… Rockie.”

His green eyes flicked over to him for half a second before focusing back on whatever they had been. It seemed to be the desk sitting by the door, although Bentley thought he might’ve been looking more through it than at it.

Bentley sighed lightly, feeling extraordinarily out of his element. He just sort of took a few tentative steps forward, sitting down softly on the end of Rockie’s bed, near his feet.

Bentley heard him breathe in lightly.

“Where’s Valor?” Rockie spoke, which he hadn’t really expected. His voice was hardly above a whisper, and it sounded different than it usually did, layered with something. Or… stripped. Sort of thick and thin at the same time.

“He’s… taking a break,” Is what Bentley said. (He decided Rockie didn’t need the guilt of Valor’s issues on his back, with everything else.) “He’s… tired, so… looks like you’re stuck with me.”

His attempt at humor fell flat, and neither of them spoke for a little while. Rockie inhaled a few times like he was going to start talking, but… he never ultimately did. They just kind of both were… there. Quietly.

“Valor told me about your friend,” Rockie muttered finally, so quiet Bentley had to process it for a few moments before he actually understood what he said. “Is he okay?”

Bentley wondered how in the world Rockie was checking on someone else in the midst of all of this.

“He’s alright. Sleeping now. His parents just got divorced, so…” Bentley shrugged. “He’s okay, though.”

Rockie didn’t say anything else, and still didn’t look over at him. Ten, maybe fifteen whole minutes of silence passed before he spoke again.

“She cheated on me fifty-seven times in the past two years. And that’s just everyone she slept with,” He said quietly, shifting in the bed. “Who the hell does that?”

Bentley wasn’t sure what to say, so he didn’t.

“I… heard about Asten,” He continued. And suddenly Bentley kinda wanted to throw himself off a cliff even though he wasn’t part of the situation in the slightest. (Who had told him about Asten?) “Valor said that’s why he’s been so...” Rockie trailed off and shrugged subtly. “Will you tell him I’m not mad?”

Bentley blinked. He wasn't... what?

“Yeah... yeah, I’ll tell him," Bentley replied, a physical relief flooding his veins. "He’ll be really happy. He… was afraid you’d hate him.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Rockie replied softly.

Bentley let out a sigh of relief even though it wasn't even for himself. (Maybe now Asten could stop being so sad?)

A soft sniff broke him out of whatever trance he’d been in, and when Bentley looked up, Rockie put his hands over his face with a soft: “Shit.”

Bentley exhaled lightly, scooting himself back on Rockie’s bed until he was against the wall. Then he moved up toward the top so he was next to him, and he rubbed his arm gently. “You don’t have to talk to me about it, you know. You can just lay here.”

A few moments of silence passed.

“How the hell is she so okay?” He muttered, his voice muffled from his hands and his very sudden crying. “I feel like I’m gonna fucking die.”

Bentley didn’t say anything, just rubbed his arm some more. He didn’t know what to say. But he did know that he felt kind of like a piece of garbage and he hadn’t even done anything wrong.

For a while, Rockie just cried. And Bentley just sort of sat there with him. (He felt kinda bad because he was pretty sure Rockie wasn’t crying before he went in there. Although he wasn’t particularly shocked at his ability to make things worse by simply existing.)

Rockie sniffled deeply. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” Bentley was quick to reply. “If I only like hanging out with you when you’re happy, I wouldn’t be much of a friend.”

“If you only hung out with me when I was happy, you’d have never hung out with me at all,” Rockie muttered. To himself, mostly, but Bentley didn’t miss it. It made him remember the Fluoxetine and then he suddenly felt really bad.

He, with a quiet sigh, brought one of his hands up and raked it through Rockie’s hair, who didn’t seem to mind.

He just kind of hoped everyone would be better soon.

tag list that KINDA works lmao

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun

@xiaonothere

@skylathescholarly @flyrobinflyy

#fic rec #batman #batfamily

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flyrobinflyy · 13 days ago

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happy 30k to this post. after i posted it i had to look up examples of the format for like an hour to assure myself i did it correctly

NOBODY FUCKING MOVE.

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flyrobinflyy · 13 days ago

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Gordon is still unsure about these vigilantes

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flyrobinflyy · 13 days ago

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dan mora art appreciation post

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flyrobinflyy · 13 days ago

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NICO NICO NCI O NFIVISKWNEBWQHWIDIFJVUEHEVTISOWBEVRVNICONICONICO NICO I MISSED HIM

shoutout to summer for cutting off georgia and checking in on asten </3 poor rockie, dude :(

AND we love to see some healthy communication between bentley and asten 🙂‍↕️

Project: Killcode

batfamily + oc insert

tw: none

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

OUCH YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE AND MAYBE HATE ME A LITTLE DURING THIS ONE I DID SOMETHING FOR YOU GUYYYYS <333333333333333

part forty-one

❝ ISOLATION ❞

FRIDAY — AUGUST 24 — 12:56PM

THE DORM WAS QUIET FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. Bentley had stayed with Rockie on Tuesday until Valor got back, and it had been just about one of the most heart wrenching things he’d ever been a part of. Rockie didn't stop crying until almost midnight. He couldn’t even manage to get himself off the floor for a while, even after Valor had joined them.

Meanwhile, Asten had turned into an absolute nervous wreck. Bentley had told him Georgia didn’t say anything about him, but it didn’t seem to matter — he was jumpy and fidgety and pretty much always looked one step away from having some kind of breakdown. Rockie hadn’t come out of his room for three whole days, but that was fine — because Bentley was pretty sure Asten would self destruct the moment they laid eyes on each other.

Today wasn’t much better for either of them. It was Friday, but the typical weekend buzz was practically nonexistent in their dorm. Bentley, Varian, and Koa were the only three that ventured out of their rooms, and they were all just kind of… sitting there on their phones. Not doing much. It was almost one in the afternoon, and the sun was shining right into their windows, making it bright and happy even if the mood didn’t really translate to anyone inside.

The three of them looked up when Valor came out of his and Rockie’s bedroom, closing the door softly behind him. He had a banana in his hand (he’d gone to the store yesterday for a long time looking for food that was easy to eat.) and it was completely unpeeled and untouched. He tossed it onto the kitchen counter with a huff, running a hand through his hair. His wings twitched on his back in a way that indicated he was irritated, or worried, maybe.

He looked nothing short of absolutely exhausted — which wasn’t very surprising, since he’d been the one taking care of Rockie for the past three days. Bentley had asked if he wanted help but he always said it was fine, that he didn’t need it, so…

“Is he okay?” Varian questioned quietly. He was on the couch on the cushion next to Bentley, though they hadn’t talked since he sat down.

“He won’t eat,” Valor replied, leaning back on the kitchen counter and sighing heavily. “It’s been three days and he still won’t touch anything. He won’t even drink coffee.”

Koa scrunched his face up. “He hasn’t eaten anything?”

“Not really. He had a little yesterday, and Wednesday, but he threw up both times within, like, ten minutes,” Valor replied, running another anxious hand over his hair. “I don’t know what the hell to do. I can’t force him to eat, especially if it’s just going to make him sick.”

Bentley didn’t say anything, just sort of exhaled lightly.

“I mean, I could try if you want me to… but I don’t think I’m going to get anywhere if you can’t,” Koa replied, shifting on the couch across from Bentley to face Valor. “Do you need a break? You look kinda tired.”

Valor shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

Bentley didn’t say anything.

“Have you even eaten food since all of this went down?” Koa questioned, sending him a sideways glance. “I know you want him to be okay, but-“

“I’m okay,” Valor replied, sending them a tight-lipped smile. “Don’t worry about me, alright?”

Koa opened his mouth, but for some reason, nothing came out.

Valor turned toward the counter, grabbed a cup of coffee out of the microwave that he’d heated up at least four times trying to get Rockie to drink it, and went back into their bedroom without another word.

Bentley, Varian, and Koa all shared glances, each with varying level of worry.

Then Bentley’s phone started ringing.

He pulled it out of his pocket and rose from the couch, heading to his and Asten’s bedroom. The caller ID read Summer.

He swung their door open and stepped inside. Asten was lying on the top bunk staring at his phone, doing a whole lot of nothing, like he had been for a few days now. Like they all had.

(Bentley wished he could do something to make everybody feel better.)

He lifted the phone to his ear and cleared his throat. “Hello?”

“Hey, Bentley,” Summer started with a light sigh. “Georgia just told me…”

Bentley didn’t say anything, just sat down in his desk chair with a soft exhale, sending a glance to Asten, who looked at him for a quiet second before looking back at his phone.

“How is Rockie?” She continued.

Bentley sighed, glancing down at his lap. “Not good.”

He heard her exhale. “Is there anything I can do?”

Bentley shrugged even though she couldn’t see him. “I don’t think so…”

There were a few sounds on the other end of the phone like she was moving. “I… I told Georgia that I couldn’t keep hanging out with her if she was going to treat people like that.”

“But... Isn’t she your best friend?” Bentley questioned with a cringe.

“She was,” Summer replied. “But Rockie’s my friend, too. I know it’s not always alright right to pick sides in breakups, but… I think this one is justified. She didn’t only willingly screw him over, but she willingly screwed over every guy she told she was single, just for her own pleasure. And as much as I love her, I don’t want to hang out with someone like that.”

Bentley didn’t say anything.

“Speaking of. How’s Asten?”

Bentley glanced at the top bunk. Asten didn’t look at him, but just stayed cocooned in his blankets like he had for the last three days, staring at his phone.

“Eh… could be better, I guess,” Bentley shrugged again. “How are you? After talking to Georgia?”

Summer sighed. “I’m fine. She kind of blew up on me, but I have no room to complain. I, of all people, got off the best in this whole situation. I’ll always get more friends. Plus, right now, I kinda have the best ones, so.”

Bentley snickered. “You got that right.”

He heard Summer chuckle, too. “Alright, well, that’s all I was calling to ask,” She continued. “Don’t be a stranger, Wayne. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Bentley smiled faintly. “Bye.”

And the call ended.

“Well. She seems all cozy with you,” Asten stated from the top bunk. Bentley grabbed the first thing he could get his hand on (a big pink eraser off the desk.) and threw it at him, the small pink rectangle hitting him in the side of the head with a bonk.

"Ah! Hey, I'm just telling it as I see it," Asten continued, tossing his hands out.

"Then stop," Bentley huffed. "I don't pay for your commentary on my life."

"Hey, you're the one that came in here," He replied with a shrug. "And its one of the perks that comes with adopting the awesomeness that is me."

Bentley rolled his eyes, and the bedroom fell quiet for a few moments.

He heard Asten sigh lightly. "How's Rockie? Any change?"

Bentley shrugged. "No. Valor said he won't eat anything. He throws up every time he does."

Asten didn't say anything, and Bentley glanced up at him, at the blank way he was looking at his phone -- like he wasn't actually looking at whatever was on the screen, but through it.

"It isn't your fault," Bentley spoke up again. "She's been doing this forever."

A moment of nothing passed.

"He's going to hate me when he finds out," Asten said softly, with an emotion in his voice Bentley couldn't quite place. "If he doesn't murder me first."

"She kept you in the dark. How is that your fault?"

Asten shrugged. "I shouldn't have been in there with her in the first place."

More silence.

"Hey, B?"

Bentley glanced up at him, and he caught Asten's green eyes looking at him from over the rail of the bed. "Yeah?"

"When you told me you spent the night with a girl... were you lying?"

Bentley glanced down at his own feet, swinging them back and forth nervously in the desk chair. "No."

Asten was quiet for a second. "Who was it?"

"Uh... Chloe. Singh..." Bentley replied. Asten scrunched his face up, creasing his brows at him.

"You mean the one who was super weird and inappropriate to you?"

Bentley shrugged. "Yeah... that's the one. But she apologized and stuff... she isn't really like that."

Asten looked back at his phone for a few moments. "Did she kiss you?"

"What?" Bentley blurted, a sudden memory of Vera's face flashing through his mind. He shook his head profusely. "No. Of course not."

"Honest?" Asten asked. "Because if she did, and you didn't want to, that's... not okay..."

"She didn't, I swear. We just talked," He replied, glancing up at Asten, who nodded.

"Okay..."

More quiet passed, and Bentley just picked at his phone case. "Asten?"

"Hm?"

"... Why do you keep getting drunk if it just ends... bad, every time?"

For a few moments, Asten was dead silent. Bentley thought he might not reply, but eventually, he sighed.

"Because it feels good. For a while. Helps me forget how much of a disaster I am," He muttered, looking down at his hands and fiddling with his fingers. "And then, eventually, as the night goes on, it just... doesn't feel good anymore."

Bentley said nothing.

"Recently I've been such a mess that its kind of like... I dunno. A sweet release, for a little bit," He shrugged, eyes staying trained on his own hands. "I thought everyone was being dramatic about how much pain it numbs, but they weren't wrong. No matter how many times you do it, though, it never actually makes anything hurt less. Just makes you forget and do stupid shit for a while."

Bentley breathed in and out. "I wish everyone could just be happy."

"Nah," Asten chuckled bitterly. "That'd be too boring."

Bentley didn't say anything.

Suddenly, Asten's phone started ringing the telltale chime of a video call. He glanced at the screen, and a little semblance of a smile pulled up on his face. "It's Nico."

Bentley put his phone on the desk and hopped up, climbing onto Asten's bunk as he answered the call. "Hey, Nico."

Nico didn't say anything. His screen appeared, but it was only the blue outside sky moving back and forth like he was walking with his phone in his hand.

Bentley and Asten glanced at each other in confusion.

"Nico?" Asten continued.

He didn't appear on the screen, but a familiar sound came through the speakers -- a sound Bentley hadn't heard in a long time. The little rattle-rattle-rattle-hiss-hiss of his inhaler.

"Shit," Was Nico's enlightening response. His voice was muffled by the sound of the wind against the device's microphones, but Bentley managed to pick up on just a little bit of something thick in his tone.

Asten blinked a few times, watching the screen move. "Hey, dude... What's going on?"

There was a few more moments of quiet, and then a quiet little hic! that clued them both in to the fact that he was crying.

Asten opened his mouth to speak again, but Nico did instead.

"My parents just told me they just finished getting divorced. My dad is leaving in, like, two hours to move to Ohio with my sister. And I have to stay here."

Bentley and Asten shared quick eye contact again, this time, full of pity.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?" Nico continued, sniffling deeply, a few quiet sobs racking his body.

Asten opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out, so Bentley talked instead.

"I'm so sorry," Was what he said.

"I thought everything was fine. They acted like they were fine," He rambled as he walked, the wind making a few loud noises in the speakers. "I thought I knew them when I was younger, but then I didn't because they weren't my real parents. Then I thought I knew them after that, but I still freaking didn't..."

Bentley frowned sadly, and the honk of a car came from the other end of the call like Nico was in the road.

"Where are you going?" Asten asked softly, watching the clouds move back and forth on the screen.

"I don't know," Nico sniffled, offering no further explanation.

Asten sighed lightly. "Well, we're in quarantine or some shit right now, but you can always zoom on over here, if you need to. I think I sent you our dorm-" The call ended with three shrill beeps. "-number...?"

Bentley creased his brow and glanced over at the screen. "Maybe he hung up by accident?"

Suddenly, there was a loud whoosh! of wind that sent papers flying off of the desks and a few things falling out of their places around their bedroom. When Bentley looked down at it all, their window was standing open, and...

Nico... who they hadn't seen for almost three years... was standing in the middle of their bedroom. Crying.

Shouting: "Oh my God, Nico!" was Asten's first response. Bentley tried to talk but he didn't really have anything to say. Instead, he kind of just threw himself off of the top bunk all not-gracefully, and Asten followed closely behind.

Nico was just kind of standing there, looking so different but so the same. He looked older and he was a lot taller than Bentley now, but he still had those big eyes that told everyone around him exactly what he was feeling, and that same way of looking so much smaller than he actually was when he was upset. But even then, there was something newer -- a confidence or something that he hadn't had when they all lived in Gotham together.

With no idea what to say, Bentley just stepped forward and hugged him, na the sobbed.

The way Nico hugged him back in a death grip even felt the same as it had in Gotham. That kind of hold-me-or-else-I'm-gonna-literally-die kind of thing he always seemed to have going on. Bentley had flashbacks to the night Nico told him he was adopted, when Asten left them on the side of the road to go get something from Crime Alley. He guessed the circumstances were similar -- feeling completely betrayed by his parents both times in very substantial ways.

"I don't know what to do," He muttered into Bentley's shoulder, his crying sort of making it hard to tell what he was saying. Bentley felt him pick his head up slightly, and one of his arms left his back, reaching out to the side for something that was next to them.

When Bentley looked, it was Asten, looking absolutely stunned at Nico's presence. And he was...

He was crying, too. Maybe because Nico was there. Maybe because of everything he was struggling with. Maybe because Nico was there layered overtop of all the stuff he was struggling with.

Upon Nico's silent request, Asten joined the embrace. And for a minute, even though everything was kind of falling apart, and Rockie was basically catatonic, and the Secret Keeper was trying to kill them, and everyone was sad and crying and angry and afraid... it felt like everything was just a little bit okay.

tag list that KINDA works lmao

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun

@xiaonothere

@skylathescholarly @flyrobinflyy

#fic rec #batfamily #batman

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flyrobinflyy · 13 days ago

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OH MY BOYS 😭😭😭

first of all, koa is an excellent shuffler in my world, because i can’t do the bridge thing (def a bar of standard). second, bellamy being an uno master is PERFECT. I LOVE HIM.

held my breath as soon as rockie said they were going to see georgia all the way til the end whaixovjshwbetkvishwhrg.

bentley going with him to the pharmacist :( and being allowed to see him at his worst :( oh my boys

Project: Killcode

batfamily + oc insert

tw: angst???

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

it’s the OTHER moment youve all been waiting for

part forty

❝ CRISIS ❞

TUESDAY — AUGUST 21 — 11:49AM

BENTLEY LIKED QUARANTINE MORE THAN ACTUAL SCHOOL.

It was actually much, much nicer. He got to do his work at his own pace, got to spend the whole day with his friends, didn’t have to deal with Tyler, and didn’t have the stress of classrooms and late bells and all the things that stressed him out about public high school. He didn’t have to wake up at six every morning, didn’t have to change out of his pajamas. The only thing remotely similar to a normal school day was the fact that a nurse came in every evening to change the filters in Bellamy’s machines. But it was quick, and she never spoke to anyone else. Everything was peaceful.

The Dad 1, Dad 2, Dad 3 group chat was blowing up again with Dick, Jason, and Bruce all checking up on them in varying intervals. Asking if they were sick, how they were feeling, if they liked the quarantine, what they were doing in class. The normal stuff.

Chloe had stopped texting Bentley almost three days ago, now. He didn’t want to bother her if she didn’t want to talk to him. He asked how she was feeling and she left it on read, so he just… y’know. Didn’t text her again. What was he supposed to do? Blow up her phone?

Vera and Layla facetimed and called him often, to talk about everything and nothing and do classwork together. Vera never spoke about her brother, not even about the funeral that Layla had told him she went to, or about being drunk that night, so he never did, either. He just talked to them about whatever it was they brought up. Which was usually, like, being mad that theater was canceled, or that Vera’s band couldn’t practice, or that figure skating was off for the quarantine. Things like that.

Overall, it was pretty… chill. Bentley preferred it over speed walking across campus to seven classes anyways. His teachers had very few expectations — as long as he got the week’s work done by Friday, he was good. So pretty much all the other days he decided he'd do nothing at all.

Like today. It was Tuesday, but he was waiting until Thursday and Friday to worry about work, so he was sitting at the dining table at almost noon, playing a mean game of uno with Asten, Varian, Koa, and Bellamy. They’d played it four times already and Bellamy had won every single game. He was sitting in a living room chair at the head of the table, with Varian and Koa on the bench to his right, and Bentley and Asten on the bench to his left.

“I’m starting to think this is rigged,” Koa muttered with a sigh, bluish-green eyes flicking across the fan of cards in his hands. “All my cards are the same color.”

“It’s probably because you can’t shuffle,” Varian shot back with a playful glare, and Koa gaped across the table at him.

“I’m the best shuffler here! I can even do the bridge thing!”

“Being able to do the bridge thing does not make you a good shuffler,” Varian retorted.

Bentley glanced at Bellamy, who was right across from them with a small smile tugging up on his lips. Bentley smiled, too -- it made him really happy to see Bellamy feeling safe enough to smile and laugh with all his roommates. Bentley remembered how difficult it had been for him, moving into the Manor with everybody. The strange combination of trusting them immediately but also being terrified they’d end up like his dad… was hard. It took him a long time to get used to that sort of thing -- trusting people, being with them all the time, sharing parts of him he typically wasn’t allowed to or had been too afraid to share before. He didn’t know Bellamy’s story, and he didn’t plan on knowing it unless Bellamy wanted to share it. But he was glad that, whatever his past may have been, that he felt safe with them.

Amidst Koa and Varian’s bickering, Bellamy reached into the center and put his final card on top of the deck, again. “I won.”

Varian and Koa both silenced and glanced over at him. Then Varian exclaimed: “Are you serious?!”

“I think he’s a magician or something,” Koa added.

Bentley glanced up at the soft clack of a door, eyes catching on Valor and Rockie as they came out of their bedroom for the first time that day. He expected them to still be in their pajamas, but they were both fully dressed -- Rockie in black jeans and a black shirt, and Valor in joggers and a big blue hoodie that covered his wings.

“And where are you two going during quarantine?” Koa questioned, glancing backwards at them with a mischievous look on his face.

“On a city adventure,” Was Valor’s cheeky response. “Wanna come with?”

“No thanks, I’m trying not to catch the plague,” Koa replied, turning back to the table and gathering everybody’s cards again. “My immune system is such trash that I catch anything that even thinks about going around. It was a literal miracle that I didn’t get sick when Varian did.”

Valor didn’t say anything, but pointed at Varian, who shook his head immediately at the very thought of stepping out of their dorm. “I am not going to risk catching that again. I thought I was going to die.”

Valor scrunched his face up, then shrugged. “Any takers? If not, we're heading out without you.”

Bentley glanced at them, his eyes catching on Rockie's green ones for a second. There was something in them. Something subtle, and he didn't really know what it was, but it was there.

“I’ll go,” He muttered, and Asten glanced over at him, as did everyone else. “I like going to the city. Just let me put some clothes on.”

Valor shrugged. “Okay."

Bentley glanced over at Asten, who was right next to him, vaguely moving his hands under the table. Is that okay?

I think they’d both take a bullet to protect you, Asten signed back. Just reply if I text you. Ringer on.

Bentley gave him a thumbs-up as he hopped up from the table, hurrying into their room and changing into jeans and an old red hoodie of Tim’s. He shoved some money in his phone case if he would need it, and made triple sure his ringer was on before he journeyed back out to the living area.

Apparently, Rockie had made and drank an entire cup of coffee in that time, because he was washing a mug in the sink when Bentley came back out. (He swore he was in his room for less than five minutes.) Valor was standing against the wall next to the door, looking at something on his phone.

“Ready?” He questioned, and when Bentley nodded, he put his phone in his pocket and swung the door open.

“Don’t get sick!” Varian called as the three of them filed into the hallway. Rockie, who was the last one to leave, gave them a two finger salute.

“If we do, we’ll make sure to bring it home to you!”

There was a series of muted groans that came in response as they closed the door.

As soon as they were in the hallway, cut off from the dorm, Rockie's entire demeanor changed startlingly fast. His entire body seemed to deflate, his posture going closed off, eyes immediately dulling as he brought a hand up to rub at one of his temples.

Bentley blinked, glancing at Valor, who was also watching him with a visible level of concern.

“Are you okay...?" Bentley asked quietly, falling into step on the right side of Rockie as they made their way down the hall, Valor staying tight to his other side.

“Yeah,” He shrugged. Bentley wasn't too convinced, though -- he seemed to have lost color just since the door had closed, and his entire mood was different. Like he had taken off a mask or something.

Bentley didn’t say anything, just sort of looked at him.

Rockie glanced over at him, made eye contact for a second, then looked away and sighed: “Okay, well, I feel like absolute shit. But it's fine.”

"We're going to pick up a refill of his medicine," Valor butted in, glancing over at Bentley. "He gets grumpy without it."

"Feel like shit on it. Feel like shit without it. The pharmaceutical industry is laughing in my face right now," Rockie muttered.

Bentley wasn't sure what to say, so he didn't.

"Exhibit one," Valor continued, gesturing to Rockie, who rolled his eyes. The three of them stopped at the elevator, which was new because Bentley had never actually taken the elevator up to their room before. Ever since he, Asten, and Bruce took the stairs, that was always just what he did.

"Is your stomach feeling bad again?" Bentley questioned, glancing at Rockie as he mashed the elevator button.

"Like it's dying. Among other things. Like my will to live,"

Bentley, again, didn't say anything. He and Valor caught each other's eyes, but unsurprisingly, the older boy didn't seem very caught off-guard. (After all, he was Rockie's roommate.)

"Exhibit two," He continued.

Bentley stayed mostly quiet, venturing into the elevator with them without saying anything. Rockie usually didn't talk much, but then, his silence was shrouded with something different -- something cold and mean that made Bentley sort of wary to speak at all.

Valor didn't seem to care, though, because while they were waiting for the elevator to reach the bottom floor, he shoved Rockie's shoulder so hard he collided with Bentley. "Lighten up."

Bentley halfway expected him to, like, punch Valor in the face or something, but he didn't.

"Sorry," Was what he said instead.

The elevator dinged, and they all stepped out.

The lobby of their building was empty, as expected. It smelled like sterile cleaner, and the sun was shining brightly outside, making the entire room much brighter than the fancy light fixtures on the ceiling ever could.

The three of them went off campus the same way they always did -- through the parking lots behind their buildings. The entire school was, more or less, dead. Not a soul was venturing outside but them. Bentley had almost expected there to be security to keep kids from leaving their buildings, but there wasn't a single human being in sight across the entire part of campus he could see.

Didn't the website brag about security? How come he hadn't seen any since he'd gotten there?

The walk through New York City was far less exciting than normal, probably because Bentley just kind of kept looking at Rockie to make sure he was okay. Even if the walk was kind of weird, he didn't hate it -- He wasn't sure why, but Rockie had specifically singled him out in the dorm and basically stared him into coming with them. Bentley would be lying if he didn't say he was a little bit honored to be chosen to tag along when Rockie was 'feeling like absolute shit.'

That's about when it dawned on him why exactly Rockie may have invited him, and it made the whole thing just a little bit worse.

He could've invited him along because he wanted to be with someone else who dealt with her.

Something mean seemed to bloom in Bentley's chest when he realized that maybe his medicine wasn't the only problem there. (And if she was part of it, why couldn't she just leave them the hell alone?!)

They didn't go to Times Square on the way like they had the other day. Which Bentley didn't mind -- because it was so loud and bright and so much there that it would probably bother Rockie if he had a headache of any kind. It was actually a little shorter to go straight to the sketchy pharmacy than it had been going through Times Square.

Bentley and Valor floated around the building as Rockie got his medicine, then left with him, just like Bentley had the first time. Except much quieter.

They were about halfway out of the city when Bentley realized they weren't going the same way they'd come.

"Where are we going?" He questioned softly, and both Rockie and Valor glanced over at him.

"To see Georgia," Rockie replied flatly, looking forward again. Bentley pretended he didn't want to cringe. "She's working today."

(Rockie was going to see her at his worst, little did he know she was...)

Bentley chose not to think about it, as best he could.

They made it to the diner a a few minutes later. It was hustling and bustling like the rest of New York -- Bentley could see waitresses buzzing around on roller skates, delivering food to tables through the window.

The three of them went inside, greeted by a myriad of smells and the overlapping chatter of a few dozen people spread across the interior of the building. Bentley glanced at all of the waitresses that were rolling around, but... none of them were Georgia.

He wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

Rockie seemed to have the same dilemma -- he kept looking around for a few minutes from the doorway, then went in and actually glanced into one of the doors off to the side (a break room or kitchen, maybe?) Before he came back over to them with a perplexed look on his face.

"She isn't here," He stated simply.

Bentley said nothing, and Valor hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think she goes outside for her breaks?"

Rockie shrugged, but went back out the door anyways, Valor and Bentley staying close behind. He looked around the crowded sidewalks, and when he didn't see her, turned to go check the alleys on the side of the building that wasn't on a street corner; where the dumpsters and stuff were, Bentley guessed.

He was too busy looking at his feet and wondering where Georgia was that he ran directly into Rockie's back when he stopped dead in his tracks at the mouth of the alley.

Bentley glanced up at him, and then in the alley, where he was looking, and-

Georgia was there, in her little waitress dress and rollerskates, her hair straightened instead of braided, and she was...

...kissing someone else. A guy, in a uniform similar to her's.

Bentley seemed to malfunction, all of his signals firing at once when he realized that he was there and they were there and Rockie was there and he was looking at them and it was all really happening right then-

"...Georgia?"

Again, Rockie's response surprised him. As opposed to absolutely exploding or going off the rails, he just... whispered. It was just one word but Bentley practically felt the years of betrayal building up behind it like a dam that was holding too much water. When he listened, Rockie's heartbeat was through the roof.

Georgia immediately turned on her heel, shoving the guy away from her with all of her might with a sudden: "Oh my God!"

And they all just stared at each other. Georgia stared at Rockie, and he stared at her, and Bentley stared at Rockie, and Valor's eyes flicked between them all, and everyone was quiet.

"Wha-what are you doing here? B... Babe?" She asked, stuttering and stumbling all over her words, bringing a hand up to scratch at the back of her neck.

"Babe?!" The other guy (that Bentley thought should really go away now.) asked incredulously. "You didn't tell me you had a-"

"Go back inside," Georgia replied without looking back at him, keeping her stunned, wide eyes glued on Rockie. The guy obeyed without protest, even slamming the door behind him.

And then they all just stared some more.

"Georgia?" He asked again, sort of in disbelief, quiet, but with something else, too, that Bentley couldn't place.

Georgia looked around like she was trying to maybe find a way out of the conversation, and when she came up with nothing, looked back over at them with tears pooling at the bottom of her brown eyes. "Rockie, you... you can't blame me. I can't get anything out of you anymore, you hardly even kiss me..."

"Are you seriously trying to defend yourself right now?" It was Valor who spoke up that time, quiet, too, but with the same tone of voice he used on Tyler Abbott after Koa was hurt.

Rockie just looked at her. And Bentley thought he might start crying, but he didn't. It was just nothing -- this freakishly blank look on his face, like he was rethinking absolutely everything he'd ever said and done.

"Rockie, please, c'mon..." Georgia continued, and she even had the audacity to come up closer to him, a few tears falling down her face. "I can't-"

Everything happened really fast. Rockie dropped the brown bag from the pharmacy. There was an incredibly quick succession of three click, click, clicks, the clank of something heavy and metal hitting the concrete. Then Rockie had her by the throat, shoving her back against the wall with his bare hand. His glove was on the ground.

And the only thing Bentley could think in that moment was: oh shit.

Rockie's eyes turned this almost hauntingly white color, and so did her's. His hand started to glow like something out of an action movie, and his feet slowly left the ground as he started to levitate a few inches off the concrete, siphoning the power out of her like some kind of leech.

And it was over as fast as it started -- because Valor grabbed him by the shoulders and jerked him off of her, very nearly tossing him to the other side of the alley.

"Stop!" He ordered, glancing between them with a look of pure disgust splayed across his features. He picked up Rockie's glove and held it toward him. "Go back to the school. Now."

Rockie stared at him with his (green again) eyes for a solid ten seconds.

"Until you two can talk about it, go," Valor continued. Taking another step toward Rockie, he whispered: "Please. You aren't in the right headspace for this. Not right now."

Rockie looked at him for another few seconds with that blank, empty look on his face, before he took his glove, clicked it on, and left.

Georgia turned to go, too, but Valor grabbed her by the arm before she could even get two steps off. "Don't fucking move."

And then he pointed at Bentley. "Go with him."

Bentley turned to go, but Valor continued with an audible urgency in his voice: "Bentley, I mean it -- stay with him, don't let him be by himself. Break the damn door if you have to."

So Bentley went.

He nearly had to run to keep up with Rockie on the way back to Redwood. Bentley couldn't really focus on anything other than the fact that Valor had been so hellbent on not letting Rockie be alone. He wasn't sure why, but he would be damned if he didn't do it -- he couldn't screw up when his friends were counting on him for something as simple as company, even if Rockie probably didn't want it.

They both flew up the stairs when they got back to their building, and Bentley could've swore he almost lost him there. Rockie pushed the dorm door open so violently that it slammed against the wall hard enough to probably make a hole in the wainscoting behind it.

Everyone inside jumped -- Varian, Bellamy, Asten, and Koa were still playing uno but abruptly stopped when he came in, and Bellamy jumped out of his seat and onto his feet like he thought Rockie was coming to personally murder him.

Bentley hardly had time to close the door behind them before Rockie's bedroom door slammed with a wham! loud enough to shake the walls of the entire dorm.

And then it was quiet.

Bentley glanced over at the table, barely hearing the quiet questions Varian and Koa asked him. He only looked at Asten, who already seemed to know what was going on and looked absolutely petrified -- kind of like he might vomit on the spot.

Something in Rockie's room shattered.

Bentley turned on his heel and went to the door, repeatedly telling himself that this was what Valor explicitly said to do. He tried the handle and found it unlocked, so he pushed it open, went inside, and closed it back.

The bedroom lights were off, the blackout curtains keeping it pretty dark inside. The bathroom light was on.

Rockie was standing at the sink, not looking in the mirror, just kind of staring down into the basin. There was glass around his feet that Bentley could see the ceiling in. The mirror.

His own heartbeat was sort of loud in his ears (because Rockie really could kill him so fast), but he he inched his way closer to the door anyhow. He didn't know what to say. What the hell was he supposed to say? Why couldn't he think of anything?

When he got close enough, he spotted the mirror above their vanity -- completely shattered to pieces with only a few slivers left in the frame, and shards of glass peppering the countertop and sink and floors. Thankfully, there was no blood, due to Rockie's gloves, he guessed.

Bentley looked at him, but all he got was the same empty look from the alley.

Bentley tried to come up with something to say and failed, but it didn't matter anyway, because Rockie just looked at him and immediately started freaking sobbing without any warning at all. The bad kind that was so hard it was dead silent.

Bentley sort of felt like he had whiplash from how fast everything went down, and how fast Rockie's mood changed, and he might've even felt like crying, too, but he didn't.

He just sort of gently grabbed Rockie's arm and tugged on him a little, to get him out of the bathroom because there was glass on everything and he didn't trust him to not accidentally cut himself. He expected him to fight back, but he didn't. He just moved with him. Bentley thought he was actually doing okay at leading him to his bed before Rockie hit the floor only halfway there, and Bentley did, too, because he was holding onto him. But it was okay.

Bentley never left.

tag list that KINDA works lmao

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun

@xiaonothere

@skylathescholarly @flyrobinflyy

#fic rec #batfamily #batman

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