#Danny will get his time to shine eventually!!
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tiny-space-platypus · 4 months ago
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Half baked idea time!!
DC/dp au where it's like late teens/warily twenties punk Danny being tired as shit. Like this man just wants to sit on a roof top, patch himself up, maybe smoke then go back to having to do inner dimensional politics or another fight. But Danny can't have that instead every time he tries a hero either thinks he's going to kill himself and tries to intervene or some sort of fight breaks out and his stupid core makes him have a mighty need to assist. Also, where the hell did all these heroes come from, ancients knew they weren't there when he needed help. He's just a tad bit bitter about the only time he's getting attention from heroes is the only time he doesn't want it. He goes everywhere just trying to catch a break.
Or
Danny tries to find some peace and fucking quiet only to end up freak out the league because dear god this kid is going through it and they need to get him before he becomes a supervillain or something.
Metropolis
Chills for 5 minutes seeing Superman nopes the hell out of there cursing in kryptonian. He deals with his kind enough in the realms he doesn't want to deal with the living either. "Nope! Not today! Not dealing with you today!"
Superman is freaking out because there's a kid that was sitting on top of the daily planet only to disappear speaking his language??? He also had a really slow heart beat? Was that child alright??
Coast city
Danny's on a large skyscape sitting on the edge watching the streets below as he patches himself up and lights a smoke only to have it glow green and ripped from him.
"You know, this stuff isn't exactly good for you. Especially on skyscrapers. Besides you seem a little young to be smoking."
Danny who looks like he wants to tackle Hal pit of the god damn sky for interrupting his break. "I feel like I'm too young for a lot of things but here we are"
Hal starts some sort of space cop speech and Danny decides fuck this and jumps off the building mouthing "Acab" with a salute and disappear giving the green Lantern a heart attack. Since he thinks he's about to save a kid from falling to his death only for the kid to not be there.
Central City
Danny is yet again trying to relax on a skyscraper only to be interrupted by the flash. At least this time the hero doesn't take his smokes instead just sits next to him. It's nice actually, the quiet white noise of the city below shining how stars would in the sky. Eventually Danny would finish his smoke and put it out before shoving the bud in his pocket. (He won't litter) as soon as Danny stood up the flash grabbed him forcing him back to sitting.
"Look kid, I don't know what's going on but there's gotta be a better way than this. I'll help you if you need help just-"
Danny now staring at him. A little dumbfounded then laughed.
"I'm not trying to kill myself. Just wanted to smoke in peace." Danny looks down at the ground from 150 meters up "besides I've fallen from worse"
"Great! Wait what?" The Flash looked relieved for a second then proceeded the second part of what Danny just said. The flash only looked away for less then a second which gave Danny just enough time to disappear scaring the shit out of the hero.
Bludhaven
Danny after having a rather rough fight as phantom with his parents. Bleeding and mumbling curses as he patches himself up on another skyscraper. "Stupid ecto-gun, stupid laws, stupid, stupid"
Just as Danny started to patch a literal hole in his side Nightwing would make his appearance. "Back away-"
Danny snapped at the hero. "You've got to be fucking- I'm trying to kill myself, Yes I'm injured, no I do not want help, yes I'm fine. Will you be going now?"
Nightwing paused then sat next to the kid a little disturbed. As he watches this kid doing stitches on himself. "Bad day?"
Danny snorted as he finished stitching himself up with fishing wire. "Bad life" He then started smoking again making the vigilante frown. This kid was nowhere near old enough to smoke but the kid was also giving himself stitches on a roof so not the worst thing this kid has done so far. "Wanna tell me what happened?"
Danny shrugged. "My parents shot me again"
"I'm sorry what? Again?!"
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dcxdpdabbles · 19 days ago
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all of your au's are so delicious how does your brain come up with so many good ideas???
if possible, would you be able to continue Demon Summoning? demon Danny with a language barrier tickles my brain
Danny's eyes snap open. He springs upwards, shouting, "I'm alive! I live, and I shall conquer," throwing his arms into a double fist bump. A distant glow accompanies his cry, but he ignores it.
It must be his powers. They are always a bit hard to control first thing in the morning.
Usually, if he can wake before his alarm clock, he does this little ritual because when he was seven, Jazz read in a Kamra of the mental power." how being able to pump himself up without someone or something needing to wake him would control his day.
He rarely wakes before the alarm clock, but when he does, he tries to shout his self-affirmation.
He waits for the accompanying "My boy lives! Fear him!" that his dad will usually shout from down the hall. When all he hears is silence, Danny realizes something is horribly wrong.
The darkness around him, for example, didn't come from his closed blinds. He seemed to be in a naturally dark place, sitting on a bed that was only visible because of the burning candles nearby.
The most obvious thing was the stone walls covered in random symbols that looked like a cult had been told to vandalize them.
Danny slowly lowered his arms, feeling less like he was the man who could conquer his day with fortune cookie advice and more like a character who got sacrificed in horror movies.
He glances around, but a soul doesn't seem to be near him. Just four walls made of stone covered in black ink and various colored candles.
"Hello?" He calls out cautiously. "Is.....is this a prank? Jazz?"
A low glow of purple springs to life around his bed, spreading through the symbols. The light spreads across the floor in four different directions, and the moment it reaches the stone wall, it slowly goes upwards.
It's brighter the higher it goes until even the ceiling Danny had been unaware of shines brightly. It gives him a better view of the room when he realizes that one of the walls is made of bars.
He's in a prison cell.
Ancients, Danny is in a prison cell!
How did he get here? Where was here!?
The lights go out in seconds, plugging the room into the darkness, which is only affected by the very dim lighting of his candles. Danny grabs the blankets, pulling them up to his chin with a tremble, shifting his eyes back and forth.
He prays his sister will jump out with her usual cackle, claiming this entire creepy set-up was one rather time-consuming prank. It would be far better than the idea that he was kidnapped in his sleep.
"Jazz, this isn't funny. I'm not laughing. Also, Mom and Dad are going to kill you for getting me arrested, just so you know." He shutters, pulling his protective barrier (the blanket) closer to his chin.
The purple returned and vanished just as fast. Danny blinks, lowering the soft material slightly as he says, "Hello?"
Once again, the light returns.
"Is this voice-activated?" He asks the air, watching more purple. He pauses briefly before blurting out the chorus to one of his Humpty Dumpty songs. The symbols go in and out like a rave light as Danny starts to get into it. He drops his covers to pool around his waist, shaking his shoulders up and down and shimming in place.
Eventually, he switches to beatboxing, one hand covering his mouth and the other pumping a fist up and down as the symbols suddenly become cool and switch between various colors in the color circle.
Danny springs up from his bed, boxing and dancing in place as if no one can see him. An idea forms after he nearly chokes on his spit- he's never been the best beatboxer. He fished his phone out of his pocket, clicking through his downloaded ringtones to find the one EMD song he had.
He turned his music as loud as possible and watched the pretty colors flash around him to the beat. He laughed manically and danced around the room to his own personal rave.
He is about to start attempting to break dance when the cell door suddenly groans. Freezing in place, with one foot in the air mid-boggie, Danny can only stare wide-eyed at the thing swinging open to a man in a bat costume who watches him disapprovingly.
"Oh, I forgot about the prison cell." Danny hisses under his breath.
The man opens his mouth, and the sounds that fall out are sounds that might have been a language. He just doesn't know what any of it means but-
Wait. He recognizes those sounds. It was what the cult people were speaking in
Danny gasps, "I forgot about the cult!"
The man narrows his eyes behind the strange mask before stepping back and slamming the door shut. Danny watches him walk backward into the darkness until the man vanishes.
Slowly, Danny lowers his foot to the ground. "I don't feel safe."
Not even the company light show can make him feel better.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
"Well?" Bruce asks once he's back in the central part of the cave. His family, Raven, and John Constantine surround the Batcomputer, which displays the cameras set up in the demons' containment unit.
He would have preferred more secure holding, but the magic users assured him that natural stone walls with protective wards would be far better for a demon than any man-made prison.
"I'm not sure what he's saying." John fiddles with his pocket lighter, but his eyes never leave the screen. "But that is definitely a high demon."
"He's more powerful than my father," Raven confirms with a grim frown. The curve of her jaw is tense, which only appears when speaking of her parentage. Damian places an arm around her shoulder, offering his girlfriend some support. "It only took him a few seconds to push the wards to their limits after waking up. Then he went around doing a ceremonial dance that was about to shatter the wards, all of them, had Batman not intervene."
"I thought those were your strongest wards?" Dicks asks
"They are," John answers gravely, and the room falls into a troubled silence.
"What's he doing now?" Bruce asks, walking up behind the group but still feeling unsettled. When that- thing- turned to him, the bright glowing green of its eyes felt like the Lazurus Pit waters trying to drown him. He had to retreat quickly, or the screaming voices that appeared when he locked eyes with the demon would have driven him mad.
"He's rattling the bars of the cell," Tim reports, the only one sitting at the controls. "It looks like he is attempting to summon some of his powers as if those twin rings were meant to do anything besides go over his body. Now he's falling to the ground. He's taking the fetal position....he's crying."
They all watched as the demon rocked himself in fetal position with tears streaming down his face. He had a very human face, were it not for the flowing green eyes.
"Well, now I just feel bad," Jason grunts.
"Mate, demons pull this trick all the time. The moment you feel bad for them is the moment they know they won." John sighs. "It's an act. Higher demons are known for doing that. Look. He already broke through the first three levels."
The bottom and wall symbols on the screen shattered in a lovely shimmering boom. The demon screamed, rolling on the ground before it leaped up and broke through the bars in a mad dash.
Everyone gasps as the demon twists around to look right at the cameras. He points towards it while saying something in his strange, chilling language, and the image is lost as the camera fails.
They all twist on their heels, rushing to the containment room only to find that the demon is long gone. On the ground is a disregarded old phone that none of them has seen in years.
It looked like one of the earliest cell phones, with a buttoned keyboard and a tiny screen. Bruce lets his team search for clues as he turns the phone over and feels his heart fall to his knees.
On the screen is an image of Jack Roux.
The boy that they had rescued from being sacrificed only a few days ago. Was the demon not willing to let him go? Was it hunting him down!?
"We have to move." He says, feeling more than seeing his children fall behind him as he runs to the batmobile. "A young life is in horrible danger!"
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greenglowinspooks · 1 year ago
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(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (pt. 2)
Tw: N/A
Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually
(Pt. 1 here) - (Pt. 3 here)
(Masterlist/subscription post)
It was a beautiful morning. Somehow, against all odds, the sun was shining through the thick smog perpetually covering Gotham.
And Danny hated it.
He was in pain, he was exhausted, he was grieving, and all he wanted to do was sleep for at least a week.
In an act of celestial mockery, the sun shone regardless.
After around twenty minutes of tossing and turning in bed, trying to get back to sleep, Danny gave up and pried himself out of bed.
He stumbled through the hallway and into the living room, staring openly at every splash of color he saw in the small apartment. He hadn’t forgotten what color looked like in the time he was in the lab, but it was comforting to see.
Someone cleared their throat. Danny whipped his head around, eyes falling on a scrawny, gangly man sitting down in a worn armchair, hunched over a laptop. He was looking at him with a dull, bored expression.
Right. Scarecrow.
His escape.
The chase.
His mom.
“You look a lot less terrifying without the mask,” Danny blurted out, slapping his hand over his mouth. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t call my normal appearance frightening,” Scarecrow hummed, focusing his attention back onto the laptop, “that’s what the costume is for, after all.”
“Oh.”
After a brief moment of excruciating silence, Scarecrow spoke.
“You any good with computers, Danny? Hacking, and all that?”
Danny jolted. Scarecrow needed his help with something! This was great! Now, he’d have more of a reason not to get rid of him!
“Oh, uh, yeah! Not as good as my friend Tucker, but I think I’m pretty good.”
“And you’re familiar with the GiW’s systems specifically,” Scarecrow continued, beckoning him over. Danny complied, shuffling over awkwardly. “Right?”
“Well, I guess? My friends and I got into their stuff a couple of times before they…”
“Wonderful,” Scarecrow said, standing up with a stretch. He shoved the laptop into Danny’s hands and gestured for him to sit down on the couch. “Then you can hack into their system and extract whatever files you can find.”
Danny stared at the man like he’d lost his mind. He looked back at him expectantly.
Danny sat down.
“Yeah, I-I can do that. Tuck and I built a back door into their system ages ago,” he said, checking the screen. It was clear that for all the skills that Scarecrow had, hacking was definitely not one of them. “But, uh, don’t you have someone else that usually does this sort of thing for you? Not that I’m complaining!”
Scarecrow scowled, and Danny felt his heart fall into his ass.
“Usually, I do,” Scarecrow huffed, “but I chose to leave my most recent job with the Penguin early, so now there’s no way that he or Eddie will help me with anything until I make it up to them somehow.”
“Oh,” Danny said.
He had no clue whatsoever who Eddie was.
Danny got to work quickly, hoping that if he ignored the gangly man, he would leave him be. Luckily, he did just that, leaving to go work on something in another room.
Danny checked the laptop’s security before continuing Scarecrow’s progress, making sure that the GiW wouldn’t be able to grab their location.
It was…threateningly good. Whoever Eddie was, he had somehow crammed the functionality of a top-of-the-line PC into a tiny, beat-up old laptop. It almost reminded Danny of Tucker and his terrifying competence with his PDA.
Tucker.
Amity park.
Home.
Danny snapped himself out of his thoughts, tabbing back into the application Scarecrow had up and began to work his magic.
He had near full access to the entire GiW database within half an hour.
Mumbling out a quick thank-you to Tucker, he called Scarecrow over to appraise his work.
“Fixed up some food for you while you worked,” the rogue said, handing him a bowl of oatmeal, taking the laptop into his lap as he did so, “didn’t know how well you could eat, considering you’re recovering from… surgery, so I decided to stay on the safe side.”
Danny had no clue what this guy’s deal was.
He definitely did not tear up at the first genuine thoughtfulness he encountered in weeks, and he did not look away as he ate so that Scarecrow couldn’t see his face.
At least Scarecrow was too focused on the laptop to notice or care.
Or, maybe, he was just mercifully ignoring him.
Either way, Danny ate slowly, not wanting to make himself sick. He allowed himself to absentmindedly look around the room for the first time, taking everything in.
It was strangely homey. The space was filled with warm browns and yellows, a few splashes of color on the wall in the form of (obviously gifted) paintings. There was a beat-up bookshelf against the wall, clearly second-hand, filled to the brim with psychology books. On every available surface there was a different colored candle, all at different stages of use, clearly collected over the course of years.
Danny knew that the man next to him was a crazed, murderous criminal, but his home was oddly reminiscent of Jazz.
He was not about to cry.
“Danny,” Scarecrow hummed, snapping him out of his spiraling, “can you explain this to me?”
He looked over. The rogue was pointing to a new report, seemingly posted only a few hours ago.
Nodding, he took the computer into his lap, pouring over the contents.
He read the report again.
And again.
And again.
Danny swore loudly, crumpling like a wet paper bag, head in his hands.
“What?”
“It’s…” he swore again, glancing back at the laptop, “they…since you became liminal from synthetic ectoplasm, when we’re within about 500 meters of one another, our ectoplasm signatures resonate, and they can’t track us with any of their technology.”
“How is that a bad thing?”
“If we’re not that close to each other, they can track us down from anywhere in the world.”
Scarecrow went dead quiet. After what felt like the single longest minute of Danny’s life, he let out a truly exasperated sigh, slumping over in his seat.
“Yeah, me too,” Danny mumbled, utterly miserable.
“…I’ll have to move my plans back a little,” Scarecrow sighed, “I can’t drag an injured child with me when I attack the Gotham GiW base, you’ll just get in the way.”
“Oh come on,” Danny whined, “I can take care of myself just fine. Besides, Batman brings kids with him to do dangerous stuff all the time, and he’s fine!”
“Might I remind you that the second Robin died violently,” Scarecrow snapped, “and that Batman most likely has more traumatic brain injuries than all of the Gotham rogues combined. That really isn’t the winning argument you think it is.”
Danny paused, trying to think up some way to win the argument. Then, he realized what he had ignored before.
“Wait, Scarecrow, you’re gonna attack the GiW?”
“That’s the plan,” he nodded, “and call me Dr. Crane. I’m only Scarecrow when I’m in the mask.”
But,” Danny sputtered, “Sca—uh, Dr. Crane—that’s insane! The weapons they’ve got- they’ll rip you apart!”
“Not my first time,” Crane said, making Danny wince. “Besides, I have plenty of experience avoiding gunfire. I’ll live.”
“You…” Danny was silent for a while, trying to think of something to say, “fine, but you have to take me with you wherever you go. As soon as they see either of us on their radars, they’ll hunt us down.”
Dr. Crane sighed.
“…Fine. I need some time to plan anyways. Now, you’re going to help me download these files, properly format them, and send them out.”
“…Why?”
“Well, some of the other rogues might appreciate the heads up, and I’d quite like them to be indebted to me. Besides, I still need to pay back the Penguin for ditching him, and he loves knowing things that other people don’t.”
Danny paused.
“That’s an awful idea, no offense. If any of the rogues know our weaknesses, they—”
“Danny, we’re censoring everything. The only things they need to know about are the GiW specifically, and any sort of laws surrounding them.”
Danny snorted.
“You care about laws now?”
“Yes, because if we get taken to Arkham, they’ll hand us off to the GiW the moment they ask, and it’ll be completely legal.”
Oh. Danny had honestly forgotten that Arkham was an option.
“…Ok. I’ll help you. Who are we telling?”
“I don’t think you really need to know,” Dr. Crane said, the faintest shadow of an amused look on his face, “but I’ll humor you for now. We’re sending the files out to the Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy via Harley Quinn, Two-Face, and Red Hood.”
Danny nodded. He could live with that.
“Alright, then let’s get to work.”
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beesarekindaswag · 10 months ago
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Prompt : The Mean Girls of Wayne Enterprises
Hear me out…. Mean Girls but make it DCxDP.
The public personas that the bats present, modeled after “Brucie” Wayne are the perfect templates for Mean Girls shenanigans.
Imagine : Our favourite ghost boy has decided to venture out into the world after making sure that Amity would be safe and secure (perks of being the recently crowned King). Danny knows he’d never pass the physical tests to be an astronaut but that doesn’t mean he can’t at least achieve part of his space dream. He’d done his research, very thoroughly at that, and overall it was Wayne Enterprises that came out on top. Their aerospace department was miles ahead of the competition - presumably something to do with Bruce Wayne literally being the one funding the Justice League (and if rumour is to be believed, the OG sugar daddy for a certain Bat).
Disregarding Danny’s personal feelings about the JL, the chance to create technology that will be used in SPACE, for space exploration and understanding was too good to pass up.
Just the thought alone filled him with a sense of contentment. Thankyou space obsession.
Which is what had lead to the current situation - an internship at Wayne Enterprises itself. How he landed it, he has no clue - sure, he’s got some smarts (much more than he’ll give himself credit for) but his grades had suffered from his years of literally saving the city (and by extension, the world). Perhaps it was fate? Or more likely, a meddling time god…
Danny wasn’t complaining though.
Only three hours in to the position and he was barely containing his excitement - literally, the fulfillment of his secondary obsession, regardless of how second hand it might be, created such a buzz in his core. He was having to consciously stop his more ghostly attributes from shining through - not even metaphorically shining, damn you LED freckles (yes we’re using the concept of Danny’s ghost from reflecting his love of space - constellation freckles and all)
Now though, he had been released to break in the cafeteria. There was a panicked moment of ‘oh shit, where do I sit?’ But thankfully, his (half) life was saved by one of his new coworkers calling him over with a friendly wave.
“Hey, Daniel, right?”
“I go by Danny but yeah, thanks for the save there” a awkward laugh at his own words, “didn’t expect it to feel like high school all over again”
There’s polite laughter amongst the table and the conversation flows over to casual small talk. At least, it does until out of nowhere, all eyes jump to the doors.
Enter : The Plastics.
Richard Grayson - the dumbest guy you’ll ever meet.
“Once, he asked me why aster isn’t the opposite of disaster”
Timothy Drake - knows everything about everyone.
“That’s why his eyebags are so big - they’re full of secrets”
And the queen bee, Damian Wayne.
“Once he called me an uncultured swine… it was awesome”
(I don’t know what’s better - Damian aged up to match Danny or tiny Damian being Regina)
What follows is a comedic story: Danny meeting the three, them assuming he’s going to be out of touch being from the Midwest (he is but only in the sense that his version of normal is Fenton dumbfuckery) , him eventually getting past their public personas by just not giving a shit for their drama - he grew up with the QUEEN of mean girls, the Wayne boys have nothing on Paulina Sanchez.
Just, Mean girls Waynes… that’s it - that’s the post.
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httpsserene · 6 months ago
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𝖍𝖙𝖙𝖕𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖊'𝖘 2𝖐 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖎𝖆𝖑
welcome to the table of contents for my two-thousand followers special !
i am actually shocked that i reached this milestone, considering my writing managed to convince people to follow me even though i have not been active on this account. you all bolstered me to 2k through two hiatus' that i did not announce, and that i do sincerely apologize for. the next time i plan to disappear off the face of tumblr, i'll give you guys a heads up: no more ghosting :) but seriously, thank you guys for the never ending support, and i will make sure i return the gratitude by being more present on tumblr, and writing more often!
as previously requested and mentioned, this special event is the daniel ricciardo edition. i believe a majority of you wanted a part-two of the overstimulation with daniel ricciardo / max verstappen x black!reader from my f1 kinktober series, which will be included in this special. i also promised a few dr3 fics to some of you that requested--so all in all, all of the daniel ricciardo thirst that YOU ALL requested is listed below the cut. i hope this is enough of a peace offering, and i hope you all enjoy xxx
if you would like to be added to this special's taglist, send me an ask or leave a reply. all episode upload times are at 12 PM EST on their release date. posts tagged as # httpss :// 2k special. all works can be found in my table of contents (m.list).
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𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: it's his one-man show. you ask for danny ric, and he will always over-deliver. 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: daniel ricciardo x fem!black!reader 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: assorted oneshots.
view playlist? ↴
Pilot: Over-Stimulation Kink w/ Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen
You can't remember the last time you've gotten to spend more than three days at a time with both of your boyfriends. You understand how demanding their job is but, you just can't remember the last time they really exhausted you...pleasurably. And then winter break comes around, and they have all the time they need to make you lose your mind.
Episode Two: Say, "Cheese!" | facial | 5/31/24
The day she gets her braces off will be the best day of her life. Maybe all the years she dealt with insults, underhanded compliments, and men who wouldn’t date her because of them, would be worth it when she sees her perfectly straight teeth. Of course, it sucks that she has insecurities stemming from her braces; her boyfriend, Daniel, says that they “add to her beauty.” If she believed him, she probably wouldn’t hide her mouth behind her hand when she grins or laughs. Don’t worry—Daniel has an idea of how to make that smile of hers…shine.
requested! insecure!reader. soft!dom daniel. oral sex (male receiving). serene's fave.
Episode Three: Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss | fake orgasm | 6/5/24
When Daniel isn’t feeling well, it’s no hardship for her to take of him. Except this time, he broke his hand and is proceeding to be an absolute nightmare to take care of. They haven’t had sex since before the accident in Zandvoort because she’s afraid that somehow she’ll end up aggravating his injury. Daniel, however, has convinced himself that he only exists to bring her pleasure. So, she comes up with a plan to soothe his service dom tendencies. Enter, Operation Fake Orgasm. How hard can it be? Spoiler alert: she’s a terrible actress.
requested! servicedom!daniel. vaginal sex. hurt/comfort. attempt at humor.
Episode Four: Tomorrow 2 | body worship | 6/7/24
She’s the least favorite Formula One WAG. At first, she was optimistic, the fans would eventually start liking her—but that was a pretty naive thought. She’s constantly compared to Daniel’s ex-girlfriend—she’s not as pretty as her, she’s not as supportive as her, etc. Unfortunately, in a moment of low self-esteem—she breaks and thinks maybe the fans are right. Daniel comes home and sees you gathering every belonging of yours that’s migrated to his apartment like you’re breaking up with him. He tries to change your mind with his words, but that doesn’t quite reassure you completely; so he has no choice but to do it with his actions, too.
requested! insecure!reader. light angst. multiple orgasms. manhandling.
Episode Five: TSA | soft yandere | 6/13/24
She’s too pure for him. She hasn’t been damaged by life like he has and he hopes she never will be. So, that’s why Daniel can never allow himself to be with her. He knows she’s convinced herself that she can fix him, but he knows the longer he sticks around, the more he’s ruining her. He finds it cynical: their relationship (or lack of one) reads like one of the books she’s obsessed with: right person wrong time or forbidden love. Daniel learns that it might be a little darker of a trope—like one of her books that she never allows him to see a page of.
requested! possessive!reader. mild angst. happy ending. morally grey.
Finale: K.O. ! | over-stimulation | 6/25/24
Okay, Daniel may have won the first round. He cleared her dry spell with no problem and used Max to do it, too. That’s completely fine, she will never complain about experiencing some of the best orgasms of her life. But, Max (the man unable to not have the last word) coerces her into giving Daniel a taste of his own medicine.  As soon as they can manage to walk on two feet, without a wobble. Mark their fucking words. 
requested! part-two of the pilot fic. multiple orgasms. polyamory. bondage.
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evilminji · 1 year ago
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Gold can be exchanged for goods and services (o.o )
Pariah's Keep probably has a shit ton of Precious Goods from various places.
Danny is become King?
If Danny becomes King... then the Zone will somewhat obey him. The Crown and Ring could EASILY tell him where the next natural portal is, where it opens up, and for how long. How many there are. Could probably make a few.
Probably WAS supposed to be making them. Consciously. But, well, Coma(tm).
Would probably count as Kingly Duty to filter and collect. Clean Ecto goes out for souls that remain, a Gateway home for those that wish to LEAVE, so forth and so on.
Effectively, being The Grim Reaper. You don't CAUSE Death. You just guide the way home. If folks so choose.
And that's neat! Horrifying, but neat! And Danny can TOTALLY see how it would eventually drive him completely breakfast cereal fruity nuggets! LUCKILY, he's got a vaguely bro's/Mentor thing going with the ghost who has ALL OF POSSIBLE TIME flowing through HIS head! So Danny should be Gucci!
The headaches suck though.
But WHAT... to do with all this Gold and valuable Space Goods? Most of these aren't even recognized currency on earth! Like the Shells. You could buy a mansion with one of those... on the right planet. On Earth? Pretty paperweight. Hmmmm >.>
Wait.
WAIT!
<o> *points to top of head!* CROWN! It can? Predict and make PORTALS!
Portals lead any WHERE and any WHEN!
:O
Gold... can be exchanged for goods and services. He remembers, holding a gold brick, about to eat so, SO much pizza.
But WAIT! I hear you wondering! Surely, you mean? Within his past? The history and region of space he knows, right? Ha ha :) Nope! Cowards.
Danny is on the alien otter's planet, trading those sweet, sweet Shells for some snacks no human could eat and a shawl for his sister! He's hiding, badly, behind a food stall in the Martian market place. Hoping future hero J'onn Johnes doesn't notice him.
Lying to the Space Cops, bout where his untraceable Space Money came from, on an alien trading satellite. The Green Lantern's not buying it. Oh noooo >.> sudden Fright Knight. Looming Menacingly by the loading doooocks. Everyone's upset! Definitely not related to him! Better go check on that! :) *gets the heck out of dodge* (my king. Please stop using me as a distraction.) (No promises)
But! It's all fun and games? Until your human friends get sick. Like... REALLY sick.
And then you suddenly remember time and space mean nothing to you. One 15 minute flight that way, two doors, a quick flight of stairs, and a literal child's play place slide? You could be in the 32nd century.
That disease is AT BEST, an unpleasant afternoon, there.
Here, your friend could die.
You trade a student two Spanish dubloons. They have no idea what they are. Just like the look of them and know they're real metal. They walk into the pharmacy for you. Don't question your "social experiment paper" lie.
You're back in less then an hour.
The screaming argument about ethics and mortality lasts hours.
She still takes the medicine. Gets better. Won't talk to you for months. Because why does HER life matter more? Why bend the rules for HER? And you can't bring yourself to say what pulses as Truth from both Crown and Ring.
You could because she didn't Matter. Time... would not notice, nor change. She was in no way pivotal to the flow of history, must one more ant beneath its unrelenting march. Mattering only because those who love her CARE. Because one or two little things might change for the better.
But it takes the shine off of it, a little.
Being able to go to the FUTURE. Watch movies and see aliens and humans alike in the crowd. Read books and dance to songs from people who won't be born for hundreds of years. Eat snacks from the farthest reaches of the cosmos. Or the early BCs!
And that's BEFORE other time travelers clock him as That Shopping Guy. The one who keeps popping up... buying things. For what? Unknown. Probably dinner. Half the time it's food. Trinkets. Once it was a really, REALLY nice goat. (His aunt was THRILLED.)
It probably drives Bart crazy. Because NO ONE knows anything about the guy? Everyone just universally goes "oooh yeah! HIM! Yeah, he sure does Exsist(tm). Very... present and exsistant." Like that's not CRAZY! He has so many question. So Many! What is he even BUYING!? Why? Is there an order? Or is he winging it?!
*pulls out list* he needs ANSWERS!
@hypewinter @hdgnj @ailithnight
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starry-bi-sky · 6 months ago
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Cannon Danny, Danyal Au and CFAU met, waht does each other think of the other and do they get along?
I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE WITH FRIENDS IN DMS! WOOO I'M GLAD YOU ASKED! beCAUSE.
Cfau Danny and Canon Danny get along, but Danyal and Canon abso-fucking-lutely do not. It's hillarious. Danyal is appalled that this fucking white boy is another version of him -- that Al Ghul arrogance and pride really shines through here, you can’t get rid of all of it.
Cfau Danny is a sleeper agent, honestly. I'm putting all three of them around the 15 age range because any younger and CFAU won't be as Sleeper Agent. Him and Canon get along pretty well because they’re both pretty similar to each other when CFAU's not in active grief. CFAU is a bit rough around the edges, and canon is surprised by his smoking habit and sharp tongue, but he’s a relatively friendly dude. Just snarky and no-nonsense at times, and intolerant of bullshit.
However the moment a ghost fight starts?? BAM. he shifts into a house of horrors who can and will rip out your throat with his teeth. Banshee boi haha. Canon is floating there all “???? HUH???” watching as Danyal and CFAU full on tackle the opposition.
Canon Danny watches in 4k as Danyal hunts Skulker down mercilessly and tears open the “damn poacher’s” suit with his bare hands. Vlad is only safe because he isn't showing his face (yet).
Frankly all of canon’s rogues are gonna have a blast meeting CFAU and Danyal. They’re both two different flavors of unhinged violence, and they’re on the opposite side of the spectrum. One is an elegant storm of blades with years of fine-tuned practice, and the other is the brutality of the backstreets and Gotham’s cruelty; messy, bloody, and merciless.
Canon and Danyal will eventually start getting along, but they’re pretty — well, correction, Danyal is pretty hostile to canon at first. Its a combination of tension, stress, and frustration with canon and what Danyal perceives as canon’s incompetence. Danyal struggles to understand how canon is anyway a version of him beyond the name and halfa status. He starts understanding better when he sees Phantom fighting and sees his resourcefulness and quick thinking.
I have this funny mental image of the three Dannys all in the quad at school (with Sam and Tucker). Danyal is sitting on the table giving off Major Gargoyle vibes, warding off Dash and other bullies through pure "Little Orphan Tom Riddle" Energy alone, while CFAU is standing off to the side with Canon showing him how to throw a proper punch. Sam and Tucker are staring at Danyal, or they're just casually eating their lunch.
Dash isn't going near Danyal with a ten foot pole, but he'll try his chances with Sleeper Agent CFAU who, despite the "edgy" smoking thing and more alternative style, acts and looks almost the same way "Fenturd" does. He gets socked in the jaw the moment he goes over and grabs CFAU's shirt, and CFAU releases the full verbal force of Crime Alley's fist down unto him.
----
To properly answer your question:
Canon Danny: Thinks CFAU is pretty cool, and views him as kind of like a cooler, terrifying version of him. He's off-put by the smoking thing and totally thrown off by CFAU being a banshee. He's only heard from word-of-mouth about them, and it sounds like a shitty existence to be in permanent grief. He's glad he's never had to fight one.
If this is purely canon Danny and not DPxDC adjacent-canon Canon Danny, then he's glad that Gotham doesn't exist in his world because holy fuck that place sounds like the home of nightmares. But he also kinda wishes there was a Jason in his world, the guy sounded like a really good friend if CFAU is to be believed, and Danny needs more of those in the world. He's infinitely more grateful that Dan is nothing like how Rath sounds. Because Rath sounds like something straight out of an apocalypse movie. (Granted, Dan could be argued to be the same, but he gives off more 'generic supervillain' vibes.)
He thinks Danyal is an asshole at first who needs to get that stick out of his ass, along with his head. But once they start getting along, he finds him rather funny and enjoys his dry wit, along with CFAU's. He's unnerved by Danyal's willingness to kill if necessary, but he admires his dedication and love for his little brother (if Danyal brings him up). He knows he'd be in the same boat with Jazz or Ellie if he was in Danyal's shoes. He recognizes that their core fundamentals ring the same, even if the both of them tend to show it differently.
CFAU Danny: Thinks Canon is pretty cool too. Is thrown off and very unsettled by the idea that Jason might not exist in this world, and that he and this other Danny aren't friends. He genuinely just. cannot comprehend the idea that well, and if he thinks about it too hard he's going to go into a Banshee-Grade Level Grief Spiral and nobody is gonna wanna see that. Soothes his own nerves by telling himself that this other him will meet Jason eventually.
Kinda thinks Danyal is also a jerk, but he recognizes that it comes from a place of fear and general self-defense. He's seen other kids do similar stuff in crime alley where they completely close themselves off from other people -- hell, he does it. It's a safety mechanism, so he's more empathetic with him. They're not buddy-buddy with each other at first, but they're certainly not hostile like Danyal is with Canon. Is entirely baffled and thrown off by the fact that Danyal is related to Bruce fucking Wayne when Danyal tells them about his brother Damian. Can't help but ask about Jason and if he's alive, and is insanely jealous but so happy when Danyal confirms that he is.
Danyal Al Ghul: Homie hates this fucking white boy at first. Canon Danny's general playful behavior and inexperience drives him up a wall because he's incredibly tense and in an alternate dimension. He unintentionally slips back into a League Training mindset, and criticizes Danny's every move during a fight. He eventually apologizes, but just like his father, it's like pulling teeth because he's emotionally constipated. Canon asks Danyal if he was in pain while saying anything, Danyal readily admits to yes, he was. But not because he wasn't sincere about it. Afterwards, Canon still kinda annoys him, but once DAnyal reframes his mindset into viewing him more like a civilian and being more like Ella, rather than being an alternate version of himself, his mistakes become easier to bear.
likes CFAU! They both took one look at each other and thought "wow there is something Fucking Wrong With You" and instantly shared solidarity in that. CFAU is still a sloppy fighter in Danyal's eyes, but he recognizes his own bias, and at least CFAU is ruthless and swift with it compared to Canon. He silently.. mourns??? pays respects?? He Has Somber Emotions about CFAU being a banshee, and offers him basically the Danyal Equivalent of "that's rough, buddy". He's very weirded out about how neither of these Daniels are related to his father, and are not Damian's brother. Has no idea who this "Rath" and "Dan" are because he doesn't (to his knowledge) have an alternate evil self.
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jaidens · 1 year ago
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hi! could you write something where daniel larusso is at soccer practice & his girlfriend is there watching him, and then afterwards when practice is done, they sneak off under the bleachers and talk & hold hands and kiss? y'know, just typical high school stuff 🫶🏻 thank you!
You've Got A Smile That Can Light Up This Whole Town — Daniel Larusso
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pairing [s] : daniel larusso x reader
warning [s] : none
a/n [s] : thank YOU for the request! I hope this fulfills what you asked.
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You sat on the bleachers, doing your homework two classes before. The hot sun beams down on you as you stare at Daniel. In all of his glory, he passed the ball through the green grass on the field. His coach is yelling at the team to “get themselves together” because they had choked the scrimmage.
The coach says they're off for the day and you see him running his sweaty hair back. Daniel picks up his stuff from the ground, takes his water bottle out, and takes a chug from it. You hear his Long Island accent ring out as he talks to one of his teammates, Josh. You were never quite fond of his team, as some of them had messed with your best friend.
A couple minutes later you finished your homework and put it in your backpack. You continued staring at Daniel. It was hard not to. His gorgeous tan skin was shining in the sun. He was slightly sweaty, shaking out his dark-brown hair. Daniel walked around the bleachers and up the stairs, carrying his soccer bag. You smile at him as he drops his bag next to yours and sits down. “Hey, Danny! How was the practice? You smell like sweat.” You teased and he put his arm around your shoulders. “Hey there.. the practice was good. Coach just will not get off of us over a scrimmage.” He says groaning.
“So dramatic aren't you? Wanna go under the bleachers? This heat is killing me.” You say, picking up your backpack and standing up. “And I'm the dramatic one?” Daniel says, grabbing his stuff and following you as you race down the stairs and to under the metal bleachers.
There's a couple people, mostly you and Daniel’s friends that are relaxing. You wave at your friend from chemistry and she smiles at you, just before her obnoxious boyfriend starts eating her mouth again. You make sure there are no teachers and pull Danny’s hand to get him closer to you. It provided a secret hiding place for you and Daniel to spend time together.
Daniel takes his jacket from his bag and puts it on the ground for you two to sit on. “Such a gentleman aren't you?" You said, grabbing his jersey to pull him down to the ground with you. He pulls out a couple of snacks his Mother packs for him whenever he has practiced. It's an assortment of finger food, crackers, and pretzels.
“How was class?” Daniel asks eventually, swinging his arms around your shoulders once more pulling you into his side. You remember, one day, his mother said you fit together like puzzle pieces and you almost cried. He was your best love, the sweetest and most caring boy ever who was completely fearless. “It was good. Mr. Johnson was yelling at this girl today and it was so hilarious.” Daniel laughs along with you as he stares at you while you speak about other classes you've had today.
Daniel was always a romantic after being raised extremely well by Lucille. He would never let you open a door if he was there, even if it was your bedroom door. The way he wrote notes for you and hid them in your books for every class. You always wondered how you were able to catch him. The star of the soccer team and the star of the Miyagi-Do Karate dojo. Even if he was the only one in the dojo.
“How was your day Danny? How was class?” You ask, taking another handful of snacks to eat. He starts talking about an annoying teacher, and a random thing that happened with Johnny. You can't help but admire him, the way he always has a small smile on his face when he explains stuff. His nose squeezes together whenever he eats a super salty pretzel but he continues explaining.
“Are you even listening baby?” Daniel says a few seconds later, after seeing (what he calls it) “your head in the clouds look”. You shake your head out of your daydream. “No! No, I'm listening. You were talking about Ashley Henderson!” You spout out, not sure if you were exactly right. You lay further on his shoulder and you smell his cologne. “Yeah alright." Danny’s Long Island was thicker whenever he was slightly tired. After practice, he would be almost unintelligible as you heard the way his words would stick together.
“Y’know. My Ma asked if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight. We're having her famous lasagna I think. My Nonna taught it to her.” Daniel asks, running his fingers down your spine, something he did unconsciously whenever you laid on him.
You sat up slightly, looking up at his baby browns and his jaw. He has a small scar on the edge of his face from falling when he was younger. You always liked to kiss over it whenever you were alone. Secretly, Daniel loved it too. You let your lips fall on the scar, giving a small peck onto it. "Yeah, I'll come. Lucille always makes the best food. She could serve me mud and grass and I think I would still eat it.
“She does make pretty good food doesn't she?” He says, giving you a small smirk before holding his hand out for you to take. It was something he did after he got punched in the lip and you said he couldn't talk just in case he'd hurt his lip and to “hold out your hand if you want me to hold it.” You grabbed his hand and interlocked your fingers together with his. He smiled at you before leaning close to your face.
You connect your lips with his, giving a slow kiss to him. Daniel slowly reaches his hand to your face, holding it as you continue kissing. Some of Danny's teammates walk up behind him and smack his shoulders before saying, “Get some!” You had to pull away to laugh as he turned away embarrassed.
“Your teammates are crazy Danny.” You say, pointing out the obvious as Daniel runs his hand down your arm. “Yeah I know. I gotta’ play with them baby.” He says sarcastically throwing his head to the side. You laugh at him as he readjusts his hips, slowly pushing them up to fix his back.
You grin as you lay back down on his shoulder. After it got hurt during the karate tournament, you were always careful about putting too much pressure on it. Daniel told you it was fine, but you were still worried. Danny stares up at the clock that sat outside and looks back at you. “We have five minutes until our next class. What do you wanna do for the rest? Jus’ relax or am I thinking what you're thinking..?”
You push yourself up off the ground and stare into Daniel’s eyes. After dating Daniel for a year, you always notice his eyes have a sense of mischievousness in them. Lucille would always point it out too, how whenever he would look at something, there would always be a look in his eyes daring himself to do something.
"Oh, Daniel! No… I'm gonna get to class before I'm late. You know I have Mr. Thompson." You said, gently slapping his shoulder. He always knows you're joking, but you see him pretend to be upset and pout his lip out. You grab your backpack off the ground and his jacket. He grabs your arm and pulls you into a hug. "Hey, I'll see you later," Daniel says. You smile before hugging him again and kissing his cheek before walking off to your class. He waves you off, staring at you and you walk away.
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cheriladycl01 · 1 year ago
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Better than me - Charles Leclerc x Reader P3
Plot: You are a rookie in your first f1 season, adding to the ever-growing amount of Brits performing in the grid.
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"I think this is the perfect outfit" your manager tells you, as you open the door for her. You'd asked for her opinion on what you should wear, knowing that you'd be in pictures with your friends tonight and you didn't want to come across badly on the media.
"Do you want to drive?" she asked, you didn't normally drink but she didn't know if you'd want to let loose and have some fun tonight where you'd performed so well in the race.
"Erm, no I'll drive. You know what I'm like" you smiled, the minute you passed your test on your 17th birthday you never let anyone else drive.
"Well, seems like your all ready. Bahrain has been a blast, so lets go party tonight and get you ready for Saudi yeah?" she smiles and you both head down to the rental Audi you'd been using while here in Bahrain.
You'd pulled up to the venue that Charles had sent you after you exchanged numbers. Half an hour after that you'd been added to a group chat called 'The Grid Boiss'
𝚈/𝙽: 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝… 𝙻𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚌: 𝙾𝚑, 𝚑𝚖𝚖𝚖 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝙶𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜! 𝙶𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚎: 𝙳𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚖𝚎, 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚈/𝙽. 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘: 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚒 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚝? 𝚈/𝙽: 𝙽𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗, 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜! -𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚒𝚍 𝙱𝚘𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚒𝚍 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚢 𝙶𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚎 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛: 𝙶𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙! 𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚣 𝙹𝚛: 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙, 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚡? 𝚂𝚒𝚛 𝙻𝚎𝚠𝚒𝚜: 𝙶𝚞𝚢𝚜, 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚊 𝚙𝚒𝚌 𝚘𝚏 𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎?
You'd laughed at the fact that the whole name had been changed just for you.
"Y/N over here! Come here!" you heard from the left and see a load of flashing cameras as you hop out the car. Your manager had agreed she would park your car while you went in and made appearances.
You walk over to see fans and the Paparazzi, all taking pictures. You start to sign objects thrusted towards you, some getting progressively stranger making you laugh with the fans. You had a few people ask for pictures and hugs so of course you oblige, taking selfies left and right giggling while people ask you numerous questions.
Eventually you say your goodbyes and head into the club, the bouncer not recognizing you, made a scrunched face waving his hand for you to leave.
"I've been invited by Charles Leclerc I'm a" you start but the tall man interrupts you.
"You know how many times I've heard that sweetheart, now lets ,move on and go down the street" he says his hand softly resting on your shoulder.
"I'm a driver, I'm with Audi this year sir. Not a fan" you try to explain but he scoffs.
"Sure you are... and I'm" he starts but Charles and Daniel come rolling out the club dying of laughter, before spotting you.
"Y'N" Daniel shines, pulling you in for a hug and leaning down to place a friendly kiss on your cheek.
"My apologies" the security guard admits. Nodding for you to follow the two guys in.
You take Danny's hand dragging him in, you walk through into the dark room faced by Neon lights and smoke from a machine up at the DJ booth.
"Is- is that Lando?" you shout to Danny and Charles over the music trying to work out in the person in the bucket hat up at the DJ booth messing around with the actual DJ.
"Yes, yes it is" Danny laughs shaking his head.
"Pierre, Alex!" you shout spotting them by the bar.
"Ahhh Y/N you want us to get you a drink?" Pierre smirks, looking behind you a Charles who had an odd expression on his face.
You'd only really given him a short hello when you'd first arrived and it irked him, he wanted you to talk to him, he wanted to get to know you.
But then again, the club wasn't exactly the best place for deep and meaningful conversations.
"Well Charles won today, so maybe let him buy the drinks?" Alex asks also seeing the expression on his face.
"One thing i wont ever say no to is a free drink, however I am driving so no alcohol please" you say twisting round to look at Charles having felt his presence behind you for a while.
"You've been driving all day, and you will drive here and back?" Charles asks, his gaze was so... prominent. It had your head dipping down not to meet his eye.
"I don't trust anyone else to drive" you smile, Pierre grabs you the drink, Charles leaning over you to swipe his card on the reader. He smiled down at you before taking the glass and bringing it to your waiting hand.
"Thanks, love" you grin, nodding you head at him.
"Hey guys, you look amazing Y/N" Lewis says coming over and joining the group, George trailing behind him. You pull him in for a hug thanking him for the compliment before returning it.
"You wanna go dance?" Charles asks placing his empty glass on the counter, looking over you.
"Yeah sure! You guys coming?" you ask the group that you'd situated yourself with for the night.
"Nah, we're gonna attempt to pull Lando away from the booth" Alex laughs, looking up to the stage, Lando was dancing to the beat, headphones on around his neck while the DJ just had his arms crossed watching him.
"Okay, if you need help just come and grab us" you smiled before taking Charles hand, you pull him into the middle of the dance floor.
You both are dancing together, originally you'd been facing each other, just watching each other and the way that they moved. However, as the dancing became more you'd turned around and his hands had swiftly made their way onto your waist.
Between the dancing Charles had gone back and forth getting drinks, having now been on his 4th shot and seventh drink he was beyond drunk.
You pulled him too a quiet corner, so that he could here you a little better.
"Charlie, listen to me. Do you have a way back to the hotel?" you ask, looking around to see if you can find Danny, Lewis or Pierre. The people you assumed that would be taking him home.
"Pierre he took me here" he grins, leaning into you resting his head on your stomach groaning.
"Okay stay here in this seat. I'm going to find him" you direct, you move back onto the dance floor, looking around for people. However, Pierre seemed to not be there, only Alex and George remained, talking to one another.
"Hey guys where's Pierre?" you ask, coming up next to their booth.
"Oh, he left with Lewis, Oscar and Lando a while ago" Alex offers, looking over at George hoping he'll add to the statement.
"Yeah Lando and Oscar were very drunk so they took them home. Why?" George asks.
"Charles is really drunk and he's saying Pierre was supposed to take him back!" you admit, not knowing what to do.
"Well, my cars full. You drove didn't you? Could you take him back?" Alex asks, smiling slightly making you groan.
"Sure, but if he throws up in MY rental, you Pierre and Charles are splitting that" you frown, looking back at Charles who is currently sat in his chair, scrolling aimlessly through his phone.
You walk back over, gripping his arm, he looks up at you with a massive grin.
"Come on, lets get you to bed" you tell him, he nods hopping up swaying a little bit in the process.
"You, are very very pretty" he grins, as he leans into you.
"Come on Charles" you laugh, gripping him so he wouldn't trip taking him to you car.
Tomorrow you'd actually talk to him.
Taglist:
@littlesatanicassholebitch
@hockey-racing-fubol
@laura-naruto-fan1998
@22yuki
@simxican
@sinofwriting
@lewisroscoelove
@cmleitora
@stupidandunnecessary
@clayra-g
@daemyratwst
@cherry-piee
@honey-belden
@moonypixel
@lauralarsen
@vader-is-hot
@ironcowboycopnickel
@itsjustkhaos
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gremlin-bot · 2 years ago
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One (1) New Reply
I finally wrote my prompt I sent to @stealingyourbones back in November! well part of it. This is just chapter 1, so this gets a summary @dpxdcshipweek
Edit: forgot to say that I got help with the usernames from the wonderful @tourettesdog and @half-dead-ham! (If I'm wrong it's bc I'm not at home rn to look at my notes)
Ao3 link: Here Master List: Here
Summary: Danny has always had more internet access than a child really should have had. He tended to spend that time on game forums and different websites dedicated to space. Everyone once in a while he'd venture onto one about heroes and villains. That's how he met Tim Drake-Wayne or BatShadow as was his username back then.
Chapter 1: Blorbo Supplier
Danny just wanted to see uncommon pictures of Superman. It really shouldn't have been this hard. He's an alien, there should be a lot of pictures of him. Frustrated with his lack of results he resorts to looking for the pictures through unpopular social media websites that should have new pictures. His first look didn't meet his goal, and before he could even think of trying again he was distracted by a post. It was a picture of a figure swinging between skyscrapers, backlit by neon light all against a smog filled sky. It was stunning and made all the more captivating by the identity of the subject in the photo. A picture of Batman, The Batman, taken in a way that you couldn't deny it was him. That was impressive on its own, but the quality is what made it shine. Danny had to see if the account had more pictures of Batman, or even other heroes. Looking at the blog, hoping it wasn't a deactivated user, he finds the posts of BatShadow. 
The blog is a gold mine of pictures of Batman and Robin with some villains the duo we're fighting. All with stunning quality, with each subject undeniable as who they were but still giving a sense of privacy. Sadly, Danny couldn't find any other heroes pictured, but Danny could live with that. Batman was his third favorite hero, he blames Sam and all her knowledge on the edgy and obscure. She would be ecstatic about these photos, too bad he wasn't going to tell her. He was being petty. Sam should have known better than to say he couldn't keep a secret, so this is his secret now! Pettiness aside, Danny was going to message BatShadow to see if they had pictures of other heroes they hadn't posted.
Messages begins with BatShadow
(04-17-20xx)
ConstellationCruiser:
Hey, sorry to bother ya
I just saw your posts and was wondering if you have any pics of superman
BatShadow:
I don't know. I would have to look. I don't usually go to an area with him in it much, so no promises.
ConstellationCruiser: 
Thanks!! And that's fine really, it's just that your pics are amazing
BatShadow:
Thanks! Sorry, I have nothing for Supes.
ConstellationCruiser:
Damn
It's fine 
I wasn't really expecting much
I'm just surprised at the quality and quantity ya got there
BatShadow: 
It's super hard to get them without being caught but so worth it!
Danny continued talking to BatShadow about pictures and superheroes. Eventually switching to personal interest. Danny learns that BatShadow skateboards and in turn he tells them all about the stars. By the end of their conversation it was well into the night, Jazz wasn't going to be pleased. It was worth it though.
—-----
Danny ended up messaging again the next day, and the day after that. The other user was interesting and he was just so broad. Especially during these long summer days where Sam was off at some gala trip and Tucker was on vacation with his family. His parents being busy in the Lab at all hours and Jazz working a summer job didn't help. Even with Jazz trying to get him out of the house but it never really was worth it. Not with Dash and his gaggle out. Not without his friends there.
It's not like anyone besides Jazz would care about what he was doing online. Their parents were too caught up in drawing out plans and blueprints for a ghost portal or something. He doesn't care, it's more of the same for him. Don't get him wrong, he loved his parents and they loved him. They just pay more attention to their inventions, and this one happens to be one Danny can't help out with.
He's getting distracted. Danny was supposed to be cleaning the lab, not thinking of long gone days. It was taking way longer than he thought it would. His parents really aren't as careful with their samples as they really should be. After cleaning spilled ectoplasm from the vent grates he will finally be done, then he can get on the computer and add BatShadow on Steam. They were going to play Portal 2 together later.
—----
Tim didn't think he would still be talking to ConstellationCruiser. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, (if there was anyone to talk to in the first place), but he was lonely. So, sue him if he got attached to the other kid with too much free time on their hands. They may not have told each other their ages but it wasn't hard to figure out, they talked too similar.
It was nice to really connect with someone his age. ConstellationCruiser was smart like him, just in different areas. He had learned more about the stars and space travel in the last handful of months than he ever had in his 12 years of life. He knows he wasn't any better, going on about hacking and maybe the new murder mystery that came out. It was fun, learning about the other's interests and different things than what's normal for them. 
ConstellationCruiser's parents seem to have some type of lab in the basement of their house, which was cool in concept but concerning in practice. There have been times where they had to stop in the middle of a game they were playing together to check on an explosion they heard. It happened more than Tim was comfortable with but there's nothing he can really do about it. It's not like he was anyone better about certain aspects of his life either. He avoided the topic of food as much as possible, though it seems ConstellationCruiser is doing the same thing with the topic.
Tim just hopes the other won't worry over him not responding the next couple of days. He probably should warn them but this is time sensitive. Batman needs a Robin. The man is running himself into the ground. His new found grief choking him and by extension Gotham. He has to convince Nightwing to come back, no matter what it takes.
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kl125 · 9 months ago
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In an effort to be more optimistic and positive and not give into the hate train (as well as acknowledge that adaptations will never be exactly the same as the source material, and that’s okay), here are things I genuinely enjoyed in the ATLA adaptation. Spoilers ahead.
- The acting. I think all of the actors did the best with what they were given. In particular, Gordon and Dallas did a phenomenal job bringing Aang and Zuko to life, respectively.
- Yue. I know this is a more controversial take, but I liked what they added to her story. She has more agency and confidence, and I liked the deepened relationship between her and the Moon Spirit, as well as her connection to Sokka.
- Having the people on Zuko’s boat be the battalion that was set to be sacrificed in the war was an absolutely GENUIS change. A fantastic example of taking the source material and using the new medium to expand on the lore and worldbuilding.
- Episode Six. No notes. Amazing episode from start to finish. The show really shines here.
- Expanding the story of Lu Ten and Iroh was really cool. I liked seeing how Zuko reacted to Lu Ten’s death, and how it strengthened his bond with Iroh. That whole sequence made me cry, including the subtle orchestration of “Leaves from the Vine” in the background.
- Along those same lines, Iroh was amazing!! Paul Sun-Hyung Lee brought the spirit and cheekiness of Mako Iwamatsu no doubt!
- Seeing more of the past Avatars, like Kyoshi and Kuruk, was great. I think they could have been incorporated into the story a little better, but overall, they were a net positive. Kyoshi in particular really stands out.
- Gyatso. That’s it. Just Gyatso. Fantastic. No notes! Absolutely perfect!
- Putting the Mechanist and Teo in Omashu actually makes sense, in terms of streamlining some of the important storylines. Sokka and the Mechanist create the War Balloon, which eventually progresses into the air ships, so it was necessary to include that part, and we still get all of that with the change. Plus, Danny Pudi was perfect as the Mechanist. The only thing we miss with this change is Aang getting upset over the changes at the Northern Air Temple, but I think the overall story works without that element (at least for the live-action).
As I have time to digest the story, I might end up liking more of the changes than I think, but for now, those are the main points.
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abeautylives · 8 months ago
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Times I Remember Well
(and Some That I Don’t)
Part 3
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author’s note: Thank you for reading this ridiculous story. Now for the good stuff.
pairing: female!OCxjake
time frame: 2016-2018
word count: almost 7.8k this part
warnings: language, underage drinking (implied), mentions of sex and sexual situations, nudity, oral (m. and f. receiving), unprotected penetrative sex
You know how most people’s lives change pretty drastically when they move away for college?
What, were you expecting me to claim that I was different, special in some way?
I’m not.
If you’re wondering, Sam and I were fine. I guess he’d matured enough to keep speaking to me when he found out I’d almost fucked his brother. I was still immature enough to give him a classic three day long silent treatment over the whole Sam said he thought you were fucking that guy you dated thing.
I even made him agree to never bring me up to Jake again. Ever.
Anyway, my first semester of college kind of kicked my ass. I was smart enough, but I couldn’t decide on a major and it made the whole experience feel like a waste of time. I didn’t meet anyone worth much of my effort to get to know, and I spent a lot of nights alone in my dorm room. I barely even liked my roommate. Meanwhile, Sam was at home breezing through his last year of high school and preparing to actually go on tour.
Like a real tour. It was my worst nightmare. And I had to hear all about it when I came home for winter break. 
But he was excited, of course he was. And I was proud of him. And Josh, and Danny. I couldn’t bring myself to have positive feelings for Jake. After he’d rejected and embarrassed me (again), I’d run off to school determined to lose my v-card to literally anyone who’d never been to Frankenmuth or heard of their band. Fortunately for me, almost no one had heard of either.
So, I did. And Matthew Nowak had been a very cursory and lazy fuck, but he got the job done. I mean, he popped the cherry or whatever, he didn’t make me come, and I never gave him another opportunity to try.
I almost didn’t even go home for Christmas, my dad had been begging me to come see him, but I knew if I didn’t go home, I might never see my best friend again.
Was that a little dramatic? Sure, but the dates for tour were going to start around my birthday, before he even graduated, and he wouldn’t be home for the entire summer. There were talks of getting signed, to a fucking label. Releasing their music to the world. Jake’s dreams were coming true and he was stealing my best fucking friend from me.
He really was an asshole.
I went back to school in the spring a little sad, nostalgic for a time when things were easy and fun, and I always had a weekend smoke sesh in the Kiszka garage to look forward to. There was nothing for me to look forward to in Ann Arbor. Until I met Soph.
Sophie and I were paired up within the first few days of one of our classes, and thank God we were. We clicked instantly, she was almost like a female version of Sam with even better hair.
She got me out of my slump, out of my dorm room and out of my own head.
As we started hanging out more outside of class, we learned about each other’s lives at home, and she let me talk endlessly about Sam. About moving away from Traverse and finding the best friend I’d ever had, growing up with him, becoming an adult at his side.
I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but eventually I ran out of stories and didn’t feel the need to talk about him much anymore.
For a few months, we worked hard and partied harder, and I felt more and more like myself, or my new self, with her help. My new self must have been putting out certain vibes that attracted attention, because I wasn’t hurting for it. Not that I really had back home, but home had narrowed my view, the Kiszkas my whole world. Even when I did date boys, Sam was there to tell me he didn’t like them, then Josh was there shining brighter than the sun, blinding me to them.
Then Jake was there. Ruining me for everyone else, just by existing.
In Ann Arbor, Soph had the opposite effect. Every guy was cute, cute enough to talk to, flirt with, party with. A select few were hot enough to make out with, let them touch our bodies, we would touch theirs. Dance with them, let them pull us close, throw our arms around them and tell them to take us somewhere quieter. 
There was that one time, I’d gone back to this guy’s dorm and he’d put a playlist on shuffle. Ya know, so we wouldn’t be heard. And right before I put his dick in my mouth, fucking Highway Tune started playing. 
Instant no. I left him there with a hard-on and zero promises of returning.
But anyway, Soph and I had fun every weekend, studied every weeknight. By the end of the second semester, we’d decided on my major, and made sure we would share more classes in the fall.
When summer break rolled around, we spent the first half with her family in Grand Rapids and the second, reluctantly, with my mom. Home was weird without Sam, but he was off galavanting across the U.S. Communication between us had been sparse, though he did call me once every few weeks to fill me in, and let’s be honest, brag. I didn’t mind the bragging, much, but even with how well things were going at school, I’d have given anything to drop it all and be with him. 
Even if it meant tolerating Jake. 
Life goes on, time keeps on slipping, the wheel in the sky keeps on turning and all that. 
College was hard, but Soph and I really buttoned up in the fall. More studying, fewer boys, a little less fun, but Michigan gets cold fast and running wild all over campus didn’t hold the same appeal. We vowed to live it up in the spring, maybe settle down and get some boyfriends. Maybe not.
“Holy shit holy shit!”
We were in the library, Soph across the table from me with wide eyes, laptops, books and notes spread out between us.
“Shhh! What? What the fuck?” She leaned in conspiratorially and I turned my phone around to show her the screen. 
“They’re playing in Detroit. They’re coming home!”
“Will you be quiet? Who, Sam’s band?”
That made me laugh every time. I always called it Sam’s band, because he would’ve loved it and someone else I knew would have loathed it.
They hadn’t been home in forever, they were hardly even in the states, and when they’d played the Fillmore in the spring I’d been so bogged down with new classes and so much fucking homework, I couldn’t justify leaving campus let alone the city. 
But they were coming back, and I’d be on winter break. Sam had sent me their schedule, which I’d thrust into Soph’s hands.
“Aww, reunion! I wish I could go with you.” Her pouty face was unmatched, but she was going with her parents to visit family in Ohio for the holidays. For a moment, that realization made me panic. I wanted to go, needed to see my best friend, but to do it alone? Why did that make me nervous?
Maybe because I hadn’t seen him in two years. Maybe because I hadn’t seen him in more than two. I doubted I’d even get to spend much time with Sam, and I doubted further that I’d be able to get him away from the others.
Not that I wouldn’t want to hang out with Danny, or even Josh. But… well, you know.
I wondered if they were going home for the brief break between Detroit and Seattle, and I made a mental note to ask Sam. 
I’d insisted on buying my own ticket to the show, their third added at the Fox after the first two sold out, but Sam wouldn’t hear of it. He set me up with a ticket and access to see them backstage, and I tried not to let it get to my head. It's not like they were famous or anything.
Selling out multiple shows.
I FaceTime’d Sophie so she could help me decide what to wear - I hadn’t put this kind of pressure on an outfit since the night I kissed… yeah, you saw how that went.
We landed on skin tight faux leather pants, an extremely low-cut black and tan floral print top with a fitted bodice and wide, flowy sleeves, and chunky black boots. I planned to top it off with a vintage fur coat Sam and I had found thrifting a few years back. We’d always joked that it originally belonged to the old lady they named their band after. 
“Okayyyyy, so what about your underwear?” 
I stopped spinning in front of my phone, where I’d been showing Sophie the whole get up.
“What the fuck do you mean, my underwear? Who cares?”
“Babe, it’s a rock show! What if you meet a super hot guy with like, tattoos and a tongue ring that wants to rock your world?” I watched her eyebrows waggle as she stuck her own tongue out at me. 
“Yeah I don’t think that’s really their demographic.” 
But… an idea started to form. Sexy underwear would make me feel sexy. Who would be irritated to see me, looking and feeling sexy, arguably hotter now than I’d ever been? Who would be downright furious to watch me get a little flirty, a little provocative with another man? Men? His brothers?
Ohhh, Jake Kiszka was gonna kill me. And it was gonna be worth it. 
The ticket Sam held for me was in the front fucking row. Of the seats, behind the pit floor, but still. How embarrassing, what if I didn’t know any of the words? I didn’t really listen to their music, not since I was in high school, watching them practice or play at Fischer.
As you can imagine, I didn’t need to worry. Every, single, song was familiar. Songs that they’d written or started writing when Sam was barely fifteen. But the people around me knew them all, better than I did actually. 
That was… pretty cool.
I left my seat as the guys were blowing kisses and throwing flowers into the crowd, stopped in a bathroom to check myself out, and followed Sam’s directions to make it backstage. The guys made it there before me, I could hear their excited voices from the hall as a security guard led me to their green room. We slowed as we got closer, and I stopped the guard before we reached the door, composing myself, slipping my coat off, smoothing my hair and controlling my expression. 
You should've seen his face when I walked through the doorway, slow clapping and wearing my best deadpan. They all turned their heads in my direction, but his face was the one I sought out. 
His cheeks were still flushed from the stage (he honestly goes crazy up there) but he immediately turned so bright pink I hoped his head would explode. 
“YOU’RE HERE! Holy shit, you’re here!” Sam rushed at me and instantly my feet were off the ground, he swung me around and I couldn’t help the smile that stretched wide as I laughed with him. 
“You’re sweaty! Put me down, idiot!” He dropped me to my feet and grabbed a hand, lifted it above my head and spun me in a circle.
“Look at you, you look hot, T!” His laughter cracked loud and joyous and my heart soared. He didn’t mean anything by it, of course, but he was right and I knew it.
Danny approached me next, taller and even broader than I ever remembered him being, and wrapped me up in another sweaty hug. “Good to see you, did you get tinier?” We laughed and I slapped him away. Then Josh caught my eye, arms crossed over his bare chest under an open black vest and leaning against the vanity, grinning. 
I moved toward him and he met me in the middle, opened his arms and threw them around me. He didn’t make fun of me, or comment on the way I looked. Our cheeks were pressed together and he turned his face and dropped a kiss to mine. “We’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you guys too, more than you know.”
He let me go and his grin stretched into a blinding smile. “What’d you think of the show?”
“It was fucking awesome, I can’t believe you guys are like, legit rockstars! Seems like yesterday you were jamming in your garage.” Sam sidled up and threw a long arm over my shoulders.
“To be fair, we didn’t really stop jamming in the garage until last year, T.”
I knew that, I guess. But I’d missed it, and I’d missed the moment my best friend grew up. But this wasn’t the time to get weepy about that. I still had a mission to accomplish.
Turning out of Sam’s hold, I faced him. He no longer looked apoplectic, but his nostrils were flared and his arms were crossed, one hand running a finger across his chin below pursed lips. His focus was distinctly somewhere on the floor, but I walked toward him and watched his eyes connect with my boots and then travel, slowly, all the way up my body. 
Get a good look, asshole.
And he did, his gaze lingered for a fraction of a second on my hips, and then again on my chest before it finally met my face.
Say something stupid, I dare you.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” 
My own eyes rolled in my skull. “Good to see you too, Jacob. How have you been?”
His features twisted in confusion for just a moment before he smoothed them back out. Good.
“Fantastic, living the dream, ya know. How have you been, Tiny?”
“Oh, really good!” I crossed one arm, tucking it under my tits and pushing them up while I twirled a finger through a strand of my hair with the other hand. “I’m majoring in English and Writing and aced all of my finals this past semester. Just really living my best on-campus life. Work hard, play hard and all that.”
It was so satisfying, the way he’d accidentally looked at my chest and then failed to look back at my face until I was done speaking. I swear to you my pussy fluttered when he swallowed, hard, before responding. It was that satisfying. 
“That’s- ahem, that’s great. Glad to hear it. Thanks for coming by to say hi or whatever but we need to pack up our gear and head to the hotel.”
Nice try.
“Oh, cool! I’d love to come with you guys, I just miss you all so much.” His face started turning pink again before I looked over my shoulder. “Sammy! Can I come with and hang out at the hotel? Just for a little bit?” I whipped my head back, my hair swinging with it, to see his face before Sam even answered.
I wanted to see if steam came out of his ears.
“Fuck yeah! You can crash with me if you want!”
One corner of my mouth lifted and curled. “Perfect!”
I regret to inform you that no steam came out. But I think it was pretty close.
When I pulled in at the hotel, I texted Sam and he told me they were in the lobby so I flipped my visor down, checked my face and fluffed my hair. After a deep breath, I got out of the car and made my way inside. 
The hotel wasn’t anything too ritzy, and I figured despite it all, they weren’t that famous. Sam still looked and sounded like the best friend I’d grown up with, though there was something about him that had become more attractive. All of them actually exuded more… sex appeal? 
Ugh, musicians. 
My timing was pretty good, I entered the building in time to catch them getting in the elevator, Jake being the last left in the lobby. But we caught each other’s eye and instead of walking on, he backed up a step. The doors closed and the elevator rose without him. 
He stood there, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, and waited for me to reach him. When I did, he spoke before I could. 
“What are you doing here, T?”
I painted confusion on my face instead of the pure gratification I actually felt. “Visiting my friends? What are you-“
“Cut the bullshit. It’s unbecoming.”
Okay, that was a little wrinkle in my plan. I hadn’t even started shamelessly flirting with anyone yet and he was already cursing at me. I doubled down.
“I came to see them, Jake.” I pressed the button to call the elevator back down and crossed my arms.
“And what about me?”
“What about you?” Just as I glanced up, feigning more interest in the LED display of numbers as the elevator came down than this conversation, he stepped closer and gripped my arm. Pulled me closer.
It felt familiar.
“I’m not buying it. Come on.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened to an empty car, but he was already pulling me down a hall toward a stairwell door. It swung open as he shoved through it, yanked me through and pushed me ahead of him, and it slammed shut behind us.
The stairwell was silent, our breathing was amplified and bounced off the walls. His voice made me flinch.
“Third floor. Go.”
Four flights of stairs and two landings separated me from their room. That was fine, I could do it.
Except he stayed behind me the entire time and didn’t speak a word. By the time I pushed the door to the third floor open, my nerves were fried and I was still trying to discern his reasoning for taking the stairs. If he had yelled at me or pushed me to the wall and kissed me in the stairwell, it would’ve made more sense. Instead, he placed a hand low on my back and led me down a deserted hallway to room 307. I breathed a shaky sigh of relief, ready to abandon the plan completely and run to Sam, use him as a personal human shield for the rest of the night.
But he pulled a key card out of his pocket and slid it into the lock, and the heavy door opened to a dark, empty room. 
Jake stepped inside and flicked on a light, holding the door open for me. I didn’t move.
“Jake, what-“
“Get in here, we need to talk.”
It sounded like a terrible idea, I hadn’t come here to talk. I came to spend time with Sam and do enough harmless flirting with the guys to drive Jake crazy. 
“No. Where are the guys?”
He just stared at me for a tense few seconds before he sighed impatiently. “In Sam and Danny’s room.”
“And which room would that be, exactly? I’ll just go knock-“
“Please.”
I know, I know. Did he really have to go and ask nicely?
“Fine, you know what? You have five minutes then I’m the fuck out of here.” He had the nerve to give me a tight-lipped smile, lift his palm and wave me in as I started to pass him and head into the room. Then he let the door swing shut.
We were alone.
The room was pretty standard, two queen-size beds, a table and two chairs. Not exactly rockstar shit. I tossed my coat onto the closest bed.
“You want a drink?”
I dropped into a chair, crossed my legs and folded my hands over my knee. “No, I don’t. What did you need to talk to me about? You have four minutes.”
He pulled a White Claw out of the mini fridge, popped the tab and sat at the end of the bed closest to me. After a swig from the can, he leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. 
“Three minutes.”
“Jesus, give it a rest, T.” He pinned me with a glare and my eyes widened. “Don’t. Don’t act all affronted because you’re not getting your way, I’m sick of it.” 
“I don’t know what you mean, I-“
“Stop! Tell me why you’re really here.”
“To see Sam! I told you-“
He stood from the bed, leaned across me and slammed the can onto the table. I jumped in my seat, but then he bent down and gripped the arms of the chair on either side of me. Right in my face, he ripped me to shreds.
“I’m tired of this, T. Since day one, everything has always had to be all about you, your feelings, your stupid ideas, your fucking games.”
That was ridiculous and it straightened my spine, I sat up taller and put us nose to nose, but he didn’t stop.
“How many times have you come between us and Sam? Pitted us against each other? Run away when you didn’t get your way, with one of us or all of us?”
With a huff, he pushed himself away from me but now I was ready for a fight. Launching from the chair, my body followed his. “And what about you, Jake?  You spent years fucking with me, leading me on, just to humiliate me over and over again!”
“Is that really what you think?!” We were squared up now, hands flailing as we yelled in each other's faces. “I didn’t do shit, and you spent years avoiding me, making me feel awkward and unwelcome in my own house because God forbid I ever be in the presence of such a self-entitled, delicate fucking princess!”
“Oh, you fucking prick. Fuck you-“
“So eloquent, that’s really lovely Tiny.”
You already know that he said that on purpose.
“Don’t. Call. Me. That.” I was fuming, the steam was probably coming out of my ears, and that pissed me off further. Everything about this was infuriating, my night completely off-railed, my time with my friends ruined. I was done.
I threw my hands up and then put them on his shoulders, with all intention to shove him out of my way and walk out of the room with some part of my dignity intact, for once.
But that’s not exactly what happened.
Because once I touched him, the tension reached a breaking point. And boy did it break.
Before I could push him away, his arms were around me, his hands spread across my back, and he pulled me in. 
Yep, he was kissing me. 
Our mouths slammed together and all the anger, all the fury, combusted between them.
My own hands betrayed me and shot from a grip on his shoulders to a grip in the hair at the back of his head, still slightly damp from sweat or a shower at the venue, I had no idea. And I didn’t care.
He ravaged my lips until they felt bruised, opened them with his and forced our tongues to battle for dominance, sucked the air from my lungs until I couldn’t breathe. I pulled away to drag some back in but he hardly gave me the chance, tugging me back in to kiss my lips, bite my jaw, murmuring between the attacks. 
“Why are you really here…”
His hands slid up my back and sunk into my hair, pulled my head to the side so he could continue his attack on my neck, my throat.
“Say it, the truth.”
My brain was in shut down, I forgot what words were and how to make them. His teeth reminded me, scraping along my skin.
“You. For you.”
His lips closed over mine again and he was moving me, two steps backward and we turned, the back of my knees hit the bed where he’d been sitting. Our mouths broke apart, our hands fell away. The sound of our breathing, fast and uneven, thundered between us.
“I’m not gonna stop this time, T.”
My heart stumbled over its next few beats.
“I don’t want you to.”
We fell back into silence as he reached forward and slid his hands up underneath my shirt, rough fingertips pushing the fabric up over my ribs, my chest, I lifted my arms and let him pull it over my head and shook my hair out as he let it drop to the floor. 
There was just enough light coming from the only one he’d flicked on, and the moonlight spilling through the uncovered window, that I saw his nostrils flare. His eyes trailed over my lace and silk covered chest before meeting mine.
“You’re so beautiful,” My breath caught, I held it. “I’ve never told you how beautiful you are.”
I couldn’t speak, emotion squeezing my throat, the words I’d always wanted to hear from him tightening every muscle in my body. So instead, I mirrored his actions and tucked my fingers under the hem of his t-shirt. Soft, heated skin met my touch and I flattened my palms over his hips, up over his stomach and I swear he trembled. Seriously! When they made it to his chest, I could feel the hard, steady beat of his heart, rapid beneath my hand. 
Maybe he knew I could feel it, maybe not, but he leaned in and pulled a soft, sweet kiss from my lips before he took over and tugged the shirt over his head. 
“Jake…” His chest and stomach were lightly toned and completely flawless, a glimpse of which I’d gotten when he was onstage, shirtless under an open jacket. I wanted to tell him just how perfect I thought he was, he’d always been, but the words wouldn’t come. So I bent my knees and dropped to the bed, the barely there happy trail leading up from the low waist of his pants now directly in front of my face.
I leaned forward and kissed it. A strangled noise came from above me, I smiled against his skin. Then his hand was in my hair and he pulled, forcing my face up. He smirked.
“You ever done this before?”
Asshole.
Blindly I reached for and found the button of his jeans, popped it open and worked his zipper down slowly. 
“Please don’t piss me off, or I won’t be nice.”
A chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Just making sure.”
His grip in my hair kept my chin tilted up, eyes locked with his. I peeled the denim over his hips and pulled it down to his knees. Heat rolled off his body in waves, I was dying to look at it, take it all in but there was fire in his stare and I was burning. My fingertips mapped out what I couldn’t see, found the subtle V that led down into his briefs and traced it before I tucked them under the elastic and rolled it down his legs. 
Jake Kiszka’s cock bobbed in the air between his hips and my face. Crazy, I know. I wrapped shaky fingers around him, felt how thick and hard he was before I’d even seen it, tried to picture what I could remember from his dark bedroom.
“Fuck, T.” I tightened my grip on him, just a little, stroked him once. His eyes slid shut.  “I can’t believe you’re here.” I stroked him again and his grasp on my hair loosened, my chin dropped and there it was. As perfect as the rest of him, his dick was big, the head flushed pink. My mouth watered.
For real.
In that moment, I wondered quickly what he liked, how fast, how slow, how hard? My tongue slid out and tasted him, just the very tip, and he snatched my hair up again. The sting in my scalp made my eyes water and I opened my lips and took him in, wrapped them around him and swirled my tongue over his skin. He whimpered.
I could be remembering that wrong, but I swear he did.
He wanted to take control, I could feel it in the smallest amount of pressure from his knuckles on my scalp, but I wanted to be stubborn. I was tired of the control he seemed to have over every one of our interactions. I released him with a soft pop and his eyes shot open. 
“C’monnn,” he groaned. I took my hand off of his dick and pushed him back, he almost stumbled, his legs still trapped in his half-removed jeans. I stood from the bed, spun us around and reversed our positions, then pushed him by the shoulders to sit.
“Patience, Jake, patience.” I flicked the front clasp of my bra open and felt the unrestrained relief as my tits spilled out, then that flutter of satisfaction as his eyes went wide right before going soft and dreamy. What can I say, Jake’s a breast man. “Aht.” He’d reached for them, lifted his hands like he just couldn’t wait to feel them again, but they paused in midair. “I said patience.”
He huffed out a sigh and dropped them, so I continued. Made a little show out of unzipping my boots, sliding them off and peeling the skin-tight material of my pants down my legs. His fingers flexed against his thighs the entire time, clenching into fists and releasing over and over. I waited until I was left in just the lacy thong to instruct him to remove his pants. 
His boots were kicked off and denim tossed away in an instant.
And there we were again. Jake, fully bared to me while we stared at each other, my tits out and pussy covered. But this wasn’t going to end the way it did two years ago. 
Not if I had anything to say about it.
I dropped to my knees and his legs spread, making room for me to kneel between them. His cock jumped when I touched him, just my fingertips, up his shins and over his kneecaps before I placed my palms flat on his thighs. When I peeked up at him through my lashes, he was staring hard, jaw clenched and nostrils flared again. So I continued to trace my fingers over his skin, further up his thighs, over his hips, up and down his happy trail. 
Through gritted teeth, “Baby, please.”
Baby? I was throbbing, slick between my thighs already but that hit me like lightning.
I wrapped a fist around him at the base and took him all the way to the back of my throat.
I had to. 
A string of rough curses fell from his lips and a hand tangled in my hair, but I kept my composure, sucking him in and stroking with my fist, letting him sink as deep as I could without choking. His skin was hot velvet on my tongue, I could taste his desire, his need, and I couldn’t help the moan that rippled up my throat around his cock.
“Jesus fuck.” His hips jerked, I gagged around him, he fisted the hair at the back of my head and yanked me off of him. “Get up here.”
Remember how I wanted to maintain the control here? Yeah, I failed. 
He used his grip on my head to bring my lips to his, his tongue sweeping in to dance with mine immediately, his hands moving down my body to pull me up and into his lap. I threw my arms around him and rocked into it instantly, his roving hands landing on my ass and pulling me in, his dick rock hard and slick with my spit grinding against my silk-covered pussy.
Just like that, I lost control of my insolent mouth too.
The kiss broke and I rested my forehead on his, my eyes trained on what was happening between our hips. “God… I-“ The head of his cock caught on my clit, I gasped at the feeling. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”
Embarrassing, I know. But then… ohh then.
His hands skimmed up my ribs until they were cupping my breasts, thumbs grazing over my nipples. 
“I’ve wanted you longer, T. Forever.”
Goosebumps. Literal goosebumps ran up my arms, I shivered, my nipples tightened, and he pulled one into his mouth. He sucked and lapped at it, thumb still moving over the other, and without hesitation he sunk his teeth in. 
“Fuck yes, yes yes…”
His tongue circled it again and he released it, pressed a hot and fast kiss to my mouth. 
“You still like that, huh?” He chuckled as he opened his lips over the other side. The silk between my legs was soaked, I could feel how easily I was sliding over his cock, and I was getting impatient despite the way I’d reprimanded him hardly ten minutes ago. 
“Jake, please…”
He popped off of my nipple and pulled another kiss from my lips, then leaned back and let one corner of his mouth curl up, self-satisfied and cocky.
Still an asshole. 
“Please what, baby? Tell me.”
My eyes rolled, even as he tucked his face into the crook of my neck, nipped and licked me there.
“I want you inside, please fuck me.” Self-control, out the window.
“Mmm,” he hummed into my skin, “No.”
Before I could be properly offended, and believe me, I was, he gripped my thighs and hauled me up, then deposited me onto the mattress. Well, tossed me, really. I bounced once, arms and legs flailing, hair falling in my face. By the time I pushed it away and propped myself up on my elbows, he was standing at the foot of the bed, dick in his fist. I opened my mouth to speak, to yell at him or beg him to stick it in, I don’t know, but he was stroking himself, and he moaned. My mouth snapped shut.
“I’m not gonna fuck you,” I scoffed, offended, pissed even. “Yet.” He let himself go and placed his hands on the mattress, then climbed onto the edge of the bed and started crawling towards me.
It was so fucking hot. His cheeks were flushed, his hair wild from my hands, his eyes dark. I backed away, moving up the bed until my shoulders met the headboard. He didn’t stop coming, and I didn’t want him to. Instinctively, my knees bent and my legs fell open, inviting him in. But he didn’t settle there, when his hands reached me, he grabbed me by the calf and threw my leg over his shoulder on his way down. 
His mouth opened over damp silk and I cried out, his name or God’s, I’m not sure, but his lips and tongue were moving against me and I may have blacked out. I came to when one of his hands skimmed up my inner thigh, and he broke away long enough to slip two fingers under the material and tug it aside. 
Jake Kiszka’s tongue was on my actual, bare pussy. 
My shoulders sagged against the headboard as I reached for him, burying my fingers in his already tangled and unruly hair, our eyes met and he dragged his tongue over me again and again.
“Shit, you were right, this is better,” I panted. He smiled against my cunt and I felt it. I smiled too.
My cheeks hurt I was smiling so hard, until he laser-focused his attention to my clit. His lips wrapped around it and he sucked it past them, my jaw dropped. 
“Oh, oh my God, oh my God!” He was good at this. Too good. The beginnings of an orgasm were already swirling, tightening in my belly, making my toes tingle. The tip of his tongue moving against me until he opened his mouth over me again, and I felt it plunge inside me. The sounds I was making were unholy but I had no shame, I couldn’t feel anything other than need. I needed to scream, I needed to come, I needed him. 
He brought a hand up around my thigh and ran his thumb over my folds, licking himself as he lapped at me, then swirled it over my clit as his tongue fucked me. Before I could even moan, two fingers from his other hand replaced his tongue inside me.
“Jake!”
His head tilted and he pressed his lips against my thigh, kissed it and grinned. “Yes?” Fingers everywhere, filling me and fucking me, circling the most sensitive part of me - I forgot what I wanted to say, if I had even wanted to. Instead I pulled his mouth back, he slid his thumb away and flicked his tongue against me. 
“Yessss, yes just like that, please!” I let my eyes close and stars were already dancing behind my lids, I was close, so close, and I told him so. I moaned it and his fingers plunged deep and curled. I screamed it and he sucked my clit back into his mouth. 
I came hard, nails dug into his scalp, bucking my hips against his face, screaming his name. 
It was unreal. College guys had nothing, fucking nothing, on him.
Before my muscles had even relaxed, he lifted his head from between my thighs and moved up my body, his fingers still pumping slowly inside me as he kissed my hip, my stomach, my breast on his way up to my mouth. He tasted like me when my tongue touched his, and he eased his fingers from my body. 
“Absolutely fucking stunning, breathtaking.”
His breath was taken? I still couldn’t breathe, my chest continued to heave as he left the bed, taking my panties down my legs with him, and I could barely lift my head to see what he was doing. My eyes closed and I felt the mattress dip with his weight as he returned and settled on his heels between my legs, still splayed open. I cracked an eyelid and found him watching me, wrapped condom held between his fingers. 
Under his gaze, I shifted down until my head rested on the pillows, spreading my legs wider, pussy presented to him on a silver fucking platter.
This was happening. There was absolutely no way this was not happening. Not this time.
“Now, Jake.” Unrecognizable, my voice had a distinct sex kitten-like quality that I loved as soon as it hit my ears. He must have loved it too, because his dick twitched and he gripped it. I reached up and snatched the condom from his fingers, tore it open and started rolling it on while his eyes bugged out and his jaw fell slack.
“Jesus, not your first time, huh?” My hand replaced his around him and I stroked, he leaned over me and I guided the head to my center, moved it through the slick pool of arousal there. He paused, poised to enter me, and met my eyes.
“I’m pretty much out of firsts, Jake.”
His eyes closed, his hips rocked forward, and he pushed just past my opening, the tip not even fully inside me.
I tilted my own hips up, he slipped a fraction of an inch deeper. I whispered, and it was sexy, and seductive. “It could’ve been you.”
He sucked in a sharp breath, opened his eyes and we watched each other’s faces as he sunk deeper, slowly, to the hilt. “It should’ve been me.”
Stunned, speechless, we stayed like that. Unmoving, bodies connected, eyes locked. He broke first, dropping his lips to mine and rocking into me softly. A sound I’d never heard before, quieter than a moan, crept up his throat, trapped behind his lips as they caressed mine. My legs lifted, cradling him between my thighs and wrapping around him. 
It was gentle, sweet. The exact opposite of how I knew it would’ve been, if I’d let him be my first, thinking he wasn’t. 
I felt my cheeks warm, my eyes pool with tears. I blinked them away. This was everything I’d wanted and more. I knew I’d been an idiot to think otherwise. Especially when he pulled back and delivered a quick, deep thrust and there was no pain. Only pleasure bloomed inside me, hot and volatile. 
“Again, more…”
An excellent listener, he repeated it. Again, again, and I met each thrust with my own. Our kiss turned frantic, sloppy, lips and tongues clashing and pushing, pulling and taking. The temperature in the room was rising with the heat of our skin, our bodies slipping against each other. He lifted his chest from mine, hands braced on the pillows on either side of my head, and the conditioned air on our damp skin made us both groan in ecstasy.
I damn near came again, almost commented on it but he dropped back down and shoved an arm between me and the mattress, rolled us both. We laughed as we landed, his hair strewn across the pillow and mine falling in his face. My laughter stuck in my throat when he grabbed onto my thighs and pulled, tucking my knees against his hips and forcing me to sit. I propped myself up with my hands on his chest and fell back into the rhythm, my hips rolling. 
“Goddamn, you feel so good, look so good riding me.”
My head fell back as his words rippled through me, his fingertips digging into me, his hands moving my body over his. He brought one to my chest, squeezed me roughly, rolled my nipple with his fingers, pinched it. Hard.
“Yes!” He did the same to the other, my pussy clenched around him. 
“You like when it hurts a little, don’t you?”
“I- I don’t know, I guess so- ohhh!” He wrapped a hand around each tit and sunk his fingertips into my flesh, then kneaded them both, ran the pads of his thumbs over the peaks. 
“Fuck, that’s so hot. You’re fucking perfect.”
Yeah, I lost my mind a little bit. My hips bucked wildly in his lap. Perfect? Me? My nails pressed into his skin, I dragged them down his chest, reveling in the sharp hiss sucked between his teeth, the way his own hips lifted from the bed and he fucked into me. Sharp, fast thrusts hitting me so deep I was screaming his name. He sat up and pulled my face to his, kissed me hard, bit down on my bottom lip, and then tipped me backwards.
My head was nearly hanging off the end of the bed, but really, who cares? My ankles locked behind his back and he was slamming his hips into the back of my thighs.
Fuck, was I gonna come? He had to be close. I lifted my head, now very much hanging off the bed, to ask him.
Beep. Click.
His hips stuttered and paused, we both whipped our heads to the door, which was fucking opening. 
Josh appeared, his foot crossed the threshold and he was looking down at his phone. 
“GET OUT!!” We yelled in unison. Josh’s head popped up, his eyes went huge, and then he laughed. 
“Shit, sorry guys.” He started backing out into the hall, the door creaking closed. “About time,” We heard him chuckling to himself and the door clicked behind him.
Jake turned his face back to me and seemed to realize for the first time that I was barely on the mattress. An arm wrapped around my back and he shifted us until I could look him in the eyes.
“What the fuck…” I whispered up at him.
His smile was subtle and affectionate before it stretched to a full grin, and he huffed a laugh.
“There was no fucking way I was stopping.”
I matched his grin and lifted to pull a kiss from his lips. “Good.”
He tucked his face into my neck and began the roll of his body into mine again. I let my hands roam across his back as he kissed and nipped my skin and his thrusts picked up speed. The orgasm that had been teasing me before we were interrupted built again quickly, and Jake was panting in my ear. 
But then… then. A whisper. Low and deep, but a whisper nonetheless. 
My name, my real name, hit my ear and I gasped, right on the edge.
“Come for me. Please come for me.”
How could I say no?
It broke, crashed, consumed me. His name on my lips as I tightened, writhed, and shook for him. 
He didn’t stop, didn’t slow, he chased after me and followed into the flames. My name burned into my flesh by his kisses, a guttural groan as he came inside me. 
Easily the best orgasm I’d ever had. Easily.
Because he’s just a man, albeit an incredibly hot, multiple-orgasm-inducing man, he collapsed on top of me. I let him. I ran my hands over his sweat-dampened hair and the soft skin of his back and we both caught our breath. Then he started giggling. 
I pinched his ass. “What’s so funny, Kiszka?”
His head popped up and he propped himself on an elbow, a wide grin splitting his face in half, gorgeous. “I can’t believe we waited so long to do that, that might’ve been the best sex I’ve ever had.”
We both laughed as I slapped his chest. “Might be?!”
“Okay okay, you’re right.” He looked at me dreamily, his eyes bouncing around my face. “It was the best.”
Because I’m a woman, albeit a mind-blowing sex goddess, I started overthinking. I couldn’t help it! You should’ve seen the way he was looking at me. 
“Jake…” He lifted his eyebrows, I lifted a hand to his face, tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “What does this mean?”
Those eyebrows knitted together, a quick moment to think that over. Then he kissed me, soft and slow. 
“I don’t know what it means. But I do know this hotel has free breakfast downstairs, so be up and ready by nine.” His smile stretched again, and I couldn’t help but laugh. 
“Oooh, do you think they have French toast? That’s Sam’s favorite.”
He attacked me, tickled me until I had tears in my eyes, kissed me until I was breathless, and fell asleep with his arms around me.
The truth is, I don’t remember the exact moment I fell utterly, completely in love with Jake Kiszka. Maybe you should ask him. 
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samgirl98 · 10 months ago
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Mending a Family 36/?
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The New Year’s had come and gone. Jason had spent it with this family, including Roy, Raven, and Lian. They had watched the ball drop and celebrated the beginning of a new year. Danny had confirmed he wanted to stay in school, and Jason was almost finished with his car. Jazz had gotten better at sparring, and Ellie was getting bigger every day.
Life was good.
So why was Jason so depressed?
He tried to hide it from his family, but he didn’t think he was doing a good job if the subtle glances and frowns were anything to go by.
Jason stared at the clock. The green numbers read 1:13. He sighed and went back to staring at the ceiling. He felt a chill go down his body and added another blanket. Jason knew a part of his depression was his fire core being at odds with the cold weather, but he knew it wasn’t the whole reason.
Jason closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep. He tried to ignore the heavy feeling on his chest. It felt suffocating. Time passed by, and he still couldn’t go to sleep. He sat up and looked at the time again. It was 1:49.
Jason decided to get out of bed. He shivered. Didn’t he have the heater on? Jason went to the kitchen and put water for tea. He stared at the distance, his mind empty, his emotions a maelstrom.
He was brought back to the present by the sound of the whistling kettle. He quickly took it off the stove. Jason stared toward the bedrooms, hoping he hadn’t woken anyone up. After a few seconds of silence, he sat down with his tea.
Jason stared at his tea, and, eventually, it cooled down.
Suddenly, Jason stood up. He had to get out. He had to…he had to go somewhere. He left a note to Jazz in case she woke up and found him gone, took a burner phone, transformed, and flew. Jason had a few hours before he had to take Danny to school.
Jason flew invisibly, not paying attention to where he was going. Eventually, he hit the border between the US and Canada. He sat on top of a tree overlooking a highway with a brown sign in the shape of Wisconsin welcoming him.
Finally, away from his family, he let his feelings loose. There was no one here who could sense his emotions, who could ask him what was wrong. That’s what he needed.
Tears trailed on his face, leaving steam as they evaporated.
Jason looked up. The stars were shining. He could never see a night sky like this in Gotham. Danny would love this. Maybe he should stay up one of these nights with his son and watch the night sky slowly change as it turned to day. With his ice core, Danny would fall for it.
Jason reached up toward the sky, his hand blocking the stars.
“Dad,” he whispered. Jason gasped at the sudden pain in his chest. It felt like something was breaking.
He hurt so badly. He missed his old family so much. Sobs started wracking through his body before they turned into screams. He wanted his son to meet his uncles and aunts. He wanted his new family to laugh, and cry, and scream with his old one.
Jason wanted his dad to see Danny and to love him. Jason wanted his father’s love.
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
Jason would lose his son and his new family if he returned to his old family. They would see him as unfit and take what he had built away from him.
But, Ancients, it hurt to be away from one family. It hurt having to choose.
A despondent chirp left his lips. It wasn’t one of a parent looking for their child. It was a child calling for their parent. A chirp that fell on deaf ears.
____
Bruce groaned at the ringing phone.
He had just gotten into bed from a long night at patrol, and the last thing he wanted was to talk to anyone. But it was his private phone. A phone only his children would call. Without looking, he answered.
“Hello?”
No one answered. Bruce looked at the number; he didn’t recognize it.
“Who is this,” he growled. No one but his children and Alfred should have this number.
A breath hitched. Bruce sat up. He recognized it. By God, he knew it should be impossible to recognize anyone by just a hitched breath, but he did.
“Jay lad,” he breathed out.
Are you hurt? He wanted to ask. Where are you? He wanted to demand; I’ll get you.
There was a voice in the back of his head that sounded like Alfred told him not to.
“Dad,” Jason said, then there was a dial tone.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Bruce chanted as he called the number.
“The number you are trying to reach is no longer available.”
No! He had just had Jason on the phone, and now, now. He was gone again. Bruce raised his arm, ready to throw the phone. He stopped himself at the last moment.
Bruce had never given Jason the number, but his son somehow had gotten it. It was his only way to get in contact with Jason. Not to mention that he needed it for his other children.
This was a good sign, though. Jason had reached out to him. He hadn’t said more than one word to him, but he had called. Bruce had to cling to the hope that his son would return to him. He had to.
Bruce couldn’t go back to sleep. His thoughts were full of dark curls and a mischievous smile. He heard a sweet laugh echoing through his room. It was haunting.
Jason made it back home an hour before having to wake up Danny. He stood at his son’s doorway, looking at his peaceful face.
How could he have been so stupid to jeopardize his son’s safety just because he was feeling down?
Jason held on to him for a few minutes when his son woke up.
“Is everything okay, dad?”
“Everything is fine, chum. Everything is perfect.”
In the middle of the Wisconsin wilderness, a burnt phone was left smoldering on the snowy ground.
@itsberrydreemurstuff @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @skulld3mort-1fan @theauthorandtheartist @emergentpanda-blog @jaggedheart11 @fisticuffsatapplebees @booberrylizard @fantasticbluebirdfan @thegatorsgooseoose @cyrwrites @kjoboo91 @crystallicedart @amaramizuki666 @spekulatiusmuffin @meira-3919 @kilasmess @bubblemixer @lexdamo @wonderland-daisy @mj-arts-n-stuff @amyheart19 @dolfay @the-church-grimm @undead-essence @aph-mable @lizisipancardo @purrloin77 @writer-extraodinaire @charlietheepic7 @sinfulloccultist @nootherusernameworked @coruscateselene @chaoticchange @itsberrydreemurstuff @gmkelz11 @feral-bunny31 @paroovian @thatonegaybitch68 @d4ydr34min9 @overtherose @fandomwandererer @vipower001 @thordottir45 @blackrabbitt3t @rosecinnamonbun @bianca-hooks123 @epilepticnerd @dat1angel @consouling @flamingenchiladadragon @all-mights-asscheeks @ender-reader @fuyu-bitch @ravenswife
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duchi-nesten · 1 year ago
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Cuddle Couch
Summary:
Valerie just wanted to buy a new couch to replace the one Cujo tore to shreds. She didn’t know babysitting her boyfriend in a furniture store would prove so difficult.
Word count: 4418 || AO3 Link
Silly Gray Ghost for Shiptember prompt: Dumbass x The Only Braincell! :]
--
Valerie’s life was going great. 
No, really, for once it actually was. Or at least as great as a college student who’s barely getting by can have it. 
She decided to go to a small college in the next town over from Amity Park. To be close by in case of a more hostile ghost attack, even though most of the dangerous attacks stopped after Danny became the Ghost King. Something about the ghosts being scared of causing trouble in the king’s liar. 
The few regulars who still liked to show their faces around the town got handled by the Fentons, who got way better and more humane at ghost hunting ever since they found out their son has been the ghost boy all this time. It took them a while to get used to that, and Valerie honestly couldn’t blame them. She herself had to come to terms with the fact that she was hunting down her high school crush for two years. 
Now they were both twenty and dating for a good four years. Since the ghost attacks declined, Danny decided to join her in college. They trusted that the Fentons would call them if a bigger threat showed up in town, so they rented an apartment together near the campus and lived a mostly peaceful college life with their ghost dog, Cujo.
A ghost dog, who lately got very interested in finding out what their couch tasted like. She absolutely blamed Danny for that. He always used the cushions when play-fighting with Cujo, either as punching bags or shields against Cujo’s jump attacks. There were already many teeth marks and rips in the cushions, and it was only a matter of time before the dog got interested in consuming the entire couch too. His eventual success in this endeavor led to the problem that Valerie had to face right now.
“Val, look! They have the meatballs! Like in the memes! We need to get them!”
She and Danny were currently entering an IkeaTM, in search of a replacement couch for the one that Cujo tore to shreds. 
She sighed internally looking over to her excited boyfriend. Sometimes it really felt like she had two puppies to take care of instead of one. His eyes were shining with excitement –literally, there was that ectoplasmic shine to them whenever he got too hyped up about something– and she was sure that had he been in ghost form right now, his spectral tail would be swaying uncontrollably, seemingly wagging.
He was pulling at their connected hands, half dragging her to the meatball stand. Valerie shook her head, trying hard to force down the smile creeping up onto her face. 
“We can get some meatballs after we find a couch, okay?” She told him, turning his attention towards the furniture part of the store instead. “But only if you behave.”
“What? I always behave.”
She gave him a pointed look.
“Okay, I usually behave. But can you blame me?” He let go of her hand to stand in front of her and gesture around them dramatically. “It’s a furniture store, Val. Furniture stores are exciting!”
“Yeah, when you’re like eight years old, not twenty. Don’t act like you’ve never been to one before.” She said, shoving him in the direction of the living room areas of the store. As they walked Danny kept observing everything like it was the first time he’s seen things like a wooden desk.
“I might’ve as well been eight last time I was in one, okay?” he explained, his hand reaching out to touch one of the desks, but Valerie quickly caught it in hers and steered him back in the direction they were going in. “My dad got us banned from every furniture store in the 50 mile radius of Amity Park. Apparently the Ikea furniture isn’t ectoplasm resistant enough for him.” 
Valerie stopped in her tracks, turning to look at him sternly.
“Please tell me you are not banned in this store.”
He shrugged in response. 
Great.
She resisted the urge to groan and instead turned back around to continue walking. If the Ancients were on her side today, no one would realize this supposed-to-be-adult was the child of Jack Fenton. She just prayed he wouldn’t do anything stupid enough to get a ban of his own (which would probably result in her getting banned along with him).
She loved Danny very much, but he really took after his father a lot. And he could be such a child sometimes too.
“Hey, hey, hey Val.” Danny said from behind her. She turned back again to see him standing by a big wooden closet, holding the door open. “Watch me hide in here and scare the next old guy who walks by.”
Case in point. She glared at him unamused. “Danny no.” 
“Okay, then we can both hide in the closet, but you can’t blame me for what happens next.” He sent her a wink combined with the worst Flynn Rider impression she has ever seen.
She slapped him.
“Ow, what was that for?” He whined dramatically. “You know I’m joking!”
Valerie glared at him for a while longer, before sighing and dragging a hand down her face. “Can we just focus on getting the couch, please? I still have math homework to do for tomorrow.” 
She continued their walk through the bedroom areas. The living rooms were finally in her sight now and Oh Ancients there were so many. She heard Danny following right behind her. “Val, you have intro math, that takes like…literally no time.”
“Yeah, maybe for you asshat. You don’t get a say in this, you didn’t get the shit teacher this year.” She made a point of not looking at him this time. The arguing would only slow them down. They could multitask arguing and getting a couch.
“Awh, but Ms. Rekdal lets you guys cheat.” Of course, Danny decided that no eye-contact would not do and caught up to her so they could walk side by side, literally forcing himself in her view. “Didn’t she already post the answers or something? Just copy those.” 
And fine, maybe he was right. Her stupid math teacher decided it was a great idea to share full answers to their assignments three days before the deadline, which meant that the majority of her classmates most likely did copy them. Heck, when Danny had classes with Ms. Rekdal last year, he didn’t even look at the assignments before the answers were posted. But he actually understood math. She couldn’t do that, she was too responsible for this. “I need to do it myself, or else I won’t understand the material and will inevitably fail the exam.”
As she explained that to him they finally reached some living room spaces. There were a lot of different couches there that immediately stole all her attention. Looking closer at the information on one called VIMLE, she almost didn’t hear what Danny said next.
“I can always overshadow you and write your exam for you.”
She whipped around from the VIMLE to yell at him. “COUCH, DANNY.”
“Right, right, okay. Couch.” he raised his hands in a sign of surrender and actually started scanning the furniture with her. 
Valerie huffed and went back to checking out the couch she was looking at. It was a sectional with three seats, one of which was designed for lounging. Some sort of smooth black material which was surprisingly soft to the touch covered the cushions. She braced herself before looking at the price and… yep, one thousand and nine hundred dollars. That would not do. 
She noted the prices on the other couches surrounding her. A soft gray three seater with a bunch of cute pillows. One thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars. Another sectional, this one in cream white colors and material that looked rougher than the cheapest kind of toilet paper. One thousand six hundred and forty-nine dollars. A two seater in faux brown leather that was so shiny Valerie was sure if she sat on it her butt would slide right off. One thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine dollars. 
Why the hell were couches so expensive? Finding an affordable one was going to be so much harder than she had first assumed.
Between her and Danny, they didn’t really have much money. She worked a part time job at a little corner cafe right beside campus, and while it was way nicer and more cozy than her previous job at the Nasty Burger, it barely paid any better. Danny helped out with his parents’ business, which definitely bloomed after ghosts proved to be real. With his ghostly expertise, he was very good at assisting in their research or helping develop some new inventions and they made sure to pay him accordingly. 
Unfortunately, all of this income combined with both of their student loans was still only barely enough to get by. They could afford some cool stuff from time to time, but a couch worth seventeen hundred dollars was way too big of an expense to spend at once.
“Hey Val, check this out.” Danny’s voice brought her out of her musings. She turned her gaze in his direction where he stood over a couch, which was similar to the first one she looked at. The only difference was the stiffer material and the fact that it was blue. “This one is called an ektorp.” 
She made sure to give him the most unamused expression. “And?”
He sent her a broad grin back. “That reads like ecto RP. I think we should get an ecto roleplay, Val, we’re really good at those.” 
“Do you want me to slap you again?”
Could someone please remind her why she loved this idiot? It was hard to remember sometimes. 
Clearly Danny was going to be of no help. Valerie looked around and spotted an IkeaTM worker, who was clicking away on a computer at a desk station close by. Bingo.
To make sure she didn’t lose Danny, she took his hand in hers once more, her fingers briefly brushing over the silly bracelet he always wore. The one she made him when they were younger. She had a matching one at home, made by him. It fell apart earlier today – as it tended to do from time to time, Danny wasn’t the best at handcrafts –but he promised to fix it again when they got back from the store.
A fond smile found its way on her face and she had to force it down as she dragged Danny to approach the man behind the desk. Couch first, feelings of fondness later. She needed to focus. “Uh… excuse me?”
The man raised his head at the sound of her voice. Valerie noted that his nametag read Adam. “How can I help you?” he asked, clearly using his customer service voice.
“My partner and I are looking for an affordable couch for our apartment, uh… Do you have anything…” she motioned to the couches behind them “cheaper?” 
“My wife apparently isn’t fond of the ecto-stuff.” Danny added in a fake serious tone, barely holding back a giggle and Valerie had to step on his foot to shut him up. He barely reacted though.
“Ah, a newly wed couple!” Adam exclaimed, clapping his hands together excitedly. The previous customer service tone gone in lieu of real emotions. Before Valerie could correct him or Danny could make another stupid remark, Adam started rapidly typing something out on the computer. “We have a few models that might interest you! Some ASARUM, KLIPPAN or LYCKSELE LÖVÅS!”
As Adam continued listing what appeared to be some couch names, Danny leaned in to whisper in Valerie’s ear. “Is that guy possessed or is that just swedish? I really can’t tell.” 
Valerie glared at him, but he just grinned back, clearly proud of his stupid joke.
“We also have some LINANÄS alternatives.” Adam continued unbothered.
Danny’s eyes lit up and he couldn’t hold back the giggle this time as he once more leaned in to whisper to her. “Val, did you hear? They have Lil Nas X.”
Valerie stepped on his foot again. Harder than previously. A little wince actually crossed his face this time.
“If you follow me I can show you some of those cheaper options?” Adam asked, clearly oblivious to the shit Danny’s been telling her.
“Yes, that would be lovely, thank you.” Valerie said. As Adam started leading the way, she sent a quick glare towards Danny, before following after the man.
“We have this NYHAMN model, which can turn into a bed.” Adam pointed to a very ugly, gray couch that was honestly more springs than cushion. Valerie felt her back ache just from looking at it.
“Uh…We already do have a bed, so maybe let’s just focus on the couch part.” She said, mustering her most polite smile.
“That’s fair.” Adam said, leading the way to another living room set. He gestured to the brown couch sitting by the white table in the middle of the area. “This is currently our cheapest option. It doesn’t look like much, but it has great reviews!”
It really didn’t look like much. It actually looked like nothing at all. It was very bulky, like a big piece of block, where someone carved out one corner, so it was flat enough to sit on. Valerie was sure she'd seen Danny build a better couch in minecraft.
“And how much does it cost?” She asked unsure. 
“Three hundred and sixty dollars.” The man said with a smile, folding his hands in front of him.
Well, that was at least affordable. It didn’t look like the best couch and frankly didn’t seem very comfortable either, but it wasn’t like they could afford much else if this was the cheapest option.
Sighing, Valerie turned to ask Danny for his opinion, but her heart sank when she noted that he was not there.
Oh no.
“Thank you sir!” She turned to Adam. “I’ll think about this one! I just need to find my boyfriend first.” She said quickly pointing in the direction they came from, which was where she’s last seen Danny.
“Boyfriend? Weren’t you two married?”
Before she could answer that, a random guy, donning the IkeaTM manager t-shirt, approached them. He looked sternly at Adam. “Mr. Hendrickson, I need to call you in for a meeting to discuss your social media presence.”
“Oh, double fuck.” Adam muttered, before catching himself. “I mean, of course, sir! But I’m kind of… in the middle of helping this lady over here.”
The manager guy turned his gaze from the nervous employee to Valerie. He was about to say something, but she cut him off.
“I’m fine! I got the help I needed! I’ll just… go!” she said swiftly turning on her heel and speed walking out of there.
The longer Danny was left unattended, the more likely it was that he would get in trouble.
She scanned the entire store trying to find her dumbass. She quickly looked all over in the bedroom areas, office areas and the bathroom ones. She finally stopped at a fake little kitchen that looked strangely like something out of an 80s movie. Danny would definitely make a malewife joke if he was here right now.
She pulled out her phone, ready to call this idiot when someone put their chin on her shoulder. She flinched and quickly turned around to kick whoever it was in the face, but instead she was greeted with the smiling face of her stupid boyfriend. 
“I’m getting you something and you can’t say no.” Saying that, he pulled out a BLÅHAJ from behind his back.
“Danny!” she yelled, irritated.
“Aaaaaand, just so he’s not alone…” Danny continued, showing his other hand which held a DJUNGELSKOG. “I’m getting this one for Cujo.”
“Danny, I am going to severely injure you if you run off like that again.” 
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
She was so ready to punch him. Or actually pull out her guns and shoot him. It wouldn’t hurt him too bad in his human form, but would definitely send a message. The only thing stopping her was the fact that she did not want to end up banned from the store like the Fenton family did.
“Can we PLEASE just focus on getting the couch? Are you able to behave for at least 10 minutes?” she asked instead. 
“I’m not a kid, I can behave in a furniture sto-” he stopped suddenly, looking behind her and Valerie had to brace herself for whatever it was that got his attention now. “Oh Ancients look at those LED lights.”
Holding DJUNGELSKOG and BLÅHAJ in one hand, he used the other one to drag her over to the colored strips of LED lights. She tried to dig her heels into the floor to protest, but he could be very strong when he actually let himself be.
“DANNY WE NEED TO GET A COUCH.” 
“Okay, but we should get some of these LEDs to put under the couch.” He gestured to the lines of boxes filling out the shelfs, every one of them with a different set of LEDs lights. “Imagine the VIBES.”
She sighed, rubbing her temples in an attempt to calm down. “Danny, baby, we can barely afford a couch.” She said in a softer tone this time.
She wasn't sure if he even registered what she was saying. His eyes were too busy studying all the different colors and lengths of the LED strips the store had available. He picked up one of the boxes and hummed quietly, before turning to look at her. 
“Did you find one that you liked?” he asked.
“I found one we can afford. It's not the best, but it should be enough.”
He hummed again, putting away the box he was looking at and picking up another one. Her patience was slowly running out as she watched him scan the box. She was about to ask him to go check out the couch, when he spoke again.
“We should get a corner couch.They’re great for cuddling.” 
Was he joking?
“Danny, those are expensive as shit, we cannot afford a corner couch.” She’s seen some of those and all their prices ranged in the two to three thousands dollars.
He shrugged at the box and tucked it under his arm, the one holding the stuffed animals. “That’s where you’re wrong!” He smirked at her, with that stupid shit-eating grin he usually only matched with the white hair and green eyes. “See, recently my parents helped me get this grant for this one research that I really wanted to do. The one with, ah you know… mapping out the nearest points of The Ghost Zone?”
Valerie furrowed her eyebrows. “You already have maps of the Ghost Zone.” And he’s had them for years. She had seen them all herself. So many folders, full of drawings, descriptions and models of different parts of the zone. Definitely going farther than just the nearest points. 
“Yeah, I do.” 
“Then …what’s the grant for?”
“Currently? Our new corner couch. And these guys.” he said, raising the plushies a bit to indicate what he meant.
What.
“Wait. Let me get this straight.” Valerie said, confusion clear in her voice. “You applied for a grant… that you don’t need… so we have money for a couch?” Her eyes narrowed. “Was Cujo ripping our old couch apart a part of the plan?”
“Val, my dear, I thought we were past that whole calling me an evil mastermind thing. You should know I’m not smart enough to plan this.” he stated matter-of-factly, putting his free hand on his chest. “I didn’t know we were gonna need a couch. It was more for, y’know, personal expenses.”
“Don’t you have to document what you use those on?” 
“As long as some form of research comes out of it, they do not care.”
“You-” she was a little bit speechless. Turning her voice to a whisper just in case someone could hear them, she jabbed a finger into his chest. “Did you just steal state money?”
“They steal our money all the timeeeee. Just look at our student loanssss.” he whined.
Okay, he had a point. A very good point at that. It was questionably moral, but on the other hand it wasn’t like he actually stole the money. He had been granted it to do the research. Which he has all ready and done. The state does in the end get what they were promised, they don’t need to know the truth about the exact dates and nature of the research being conducted.
Danny clearly understood he was going to win this argument. He laughed a little, looping his free arm around Valerie’s elbow. “So…cuddle couch?”
She shook her, not being able to stop the fond smile that took over her face. “You’re so stupid. Fine.”
“YES.” He exclaimed, almost dropping the objects he was holding. “I’ve seen a cool green one. And it was also an ektorp. It would be perfect for the ecto RP consisting of me bleeding all over it at some point probably.”
“And Cujo peeing on it.” Valerie added unamused. “We really need to get on that potty training. It’s been years.” 
“He does it only when you refuse to cuddle him and you know it.”
“I have homework I need to focus on sometimes.”
He laughed again and started leading her to the couch he was talking about. 
“And you are seriously getting the plushies and the LEDs too?” She asked, taking the BLÅHAJ out of his arm.
“Fuck yeah, I’m a responsible adult like that.”
Valerie smiled and shook her head as they approached the corner couch. To be fair it did look very nice with two wide seats on each side. The light green fabric would fit well with the limited decor of their apartment and as she brushed her hand along one of the cushions, she was amazed at how soft the material was. She sat down to check if it was as comfy as it seemed. And Ancients was it the most comfortable couch she has ever sat on.
She looked at the price tag, sitting on the small table that was meant to complete the living room set, right in front of her. Nine hundred ninety-nine dollars, god damn. That still wasn’t so bad for a corner couch though. She did see two-seaters worth more than this after all. 
“I feel like I shouldn’t be letting you use grant money on a couch.” She said studying the information under the price tag a bit more. It was in fact an ektorp. A hakebo grå-grön ektorp. Whatever that meant.
“But you also want the cuddle couch?” He sent her the cutest puppy dog eyes, rocking back and forth on his feet and hugging the DJUNGELSKOG and LEDs box tightly.
She looked at him, trying very hard to muster a glare, but she knew he saw the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile.
“YOU DO WANT THE CUDDLE COUCH.”
She sighed defeated and put her head back to rest on the back of the very comfy cushion. “Yes. I do want the cuddle couch.”
“WOOOO! LET’S GO!” Danny screamed excitedly. A few of the other customers looked in his direction, probably thinking that this grown ass adult doing a little victory dance with DJUNGELSKOG was insane. He abruptly stopped in the middle of his silly moves when a serious expression came over his face. “So like… how do we buy it? Do I gotta carry it to check out or?”
Valerie couldn’t hold it in anymore. She started laughing, which quickly turned into a wheeze. The way Danny raised an eyebrow in confusion at her outburst only made her laugh more. 
“Come on, I’ve been joking all day and that’s what you laugh at?” He said, smiling brightly and letting out a giggle of his own.
Valerie stood up from the couch and came over to stand by Danny, trying her hardest to contain the laughter. “How about we just find a worker and tell them we want to buy it?” She suggested, gesturing at the couch. 
“And would milady want some meatballs after that?” Danny wiggled his eyebrows, the awful Flynn Rider impression making a reappearance. 
“Fine, I guess you earned it.” She said, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek, before walking away in the direction of the store front. “But you’re paying for the food too.”
“Oh come on! I’m buying you a cuddle couch! And Blah-hash!” He yelled after her, still smiling.
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how you pronounce it. You have to pay for the meatballs, so the swedes forgive you for this crime.”
“What? No! You can’t make me pay for food, only because I don’t know swedish! I bet you don’t know how to say it either!” he defended, following after her.
“You don’t see me going around and attempting it!”
“That’s so unfair. I love you so much and you do this to me.”
He did end up making her put away the card when she tried paying for the meatballs. Her boyfriend was such a dork. But she still loved him very much, he was her dork after all. 
He was also apparently extremely bad at putting together IkeaTM furniture, as Valerie found out the next day, when she came back from school to an absolute mess in their apartment. The couch wasn’t even halfway set up and Danny was laying on the floor defeated , covered in the remains of poor Djungelskog. Cujo was standing over him with the IkeaTM hex key in his mouth, tail wagging happily. It honestly resembled a crime scene and Valerie couldn’t stop herself from taking a picture and setting it as her new phone wallpaper.
Danny confessed to almost losing a bunch of important screws and barely managing to stop Cujo from peeing on one of the armrests when he didn’t pay attention to him. He also managed to phase one of the wooden parts halfway through the wall, which he didn’t notice until Valerie pointed it out to him. How that could possibly happen was a mystery to her.
Thank the Ancients her dad agreed to come over and help them set it up. Otherwise Danny would probably accidentally destroy it.
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Here we officially have part 1 of our miniseries! I hope you enjoy, and I promise we will finally be meeting Sam soon…
Pairings: Danny Wagner X Sam Kiszka (eventually) *slash
Warnings and tags: as always 18+ only, scram minors! Not much for this part either besides a bit of cocky attitude, little bit of animosity being shown, rivalry, enemies to lovers, some swearing, college AU, tennis club AU
Word count: ~1400
Practice went well for Danny’s first time joining the team on the courts. He made sure to exude enough strength and coordination that his teammates knew he was someone to watch out for, but he didn’t show off in a way that would put any targets on his back. At least not yet.
By Saturday, he was more than ready to start his challenge match against Zach, the first person up on the ladder before him. It felt impractical to have to go through everyone on the ladder to get to the one he really wanted to face, but he was assured many times from the club president that it was the only way to progress.
“Going to be a good game today?” Adam asked Danny when they both showed up on the court at the appointed time.
“Hopefully a quick one, let’s get this underway” Danny replied, setting up his spot on the bench nearby.
“So what’s your deal?” Adam questioned curiously, watching the way Danny prepped for the game as they waited for Zach to arrive by making sure his shoes were tied, his grip tape was wrapped tight, shock absorber was still in good shape, and stretching a bit. “We’ve been playing with the same guys on this team for two years now, challenges are made all the time but everyone’s pretty much set on the ladder now, hasn’t been much moving besides the graduates, but you think you can climb the whole thing in just one month?”
“I am going to” Danny smiled, his words ambitious but his face still showing a hint of boyish wholesomeness.
“You’re gunning for the number one spot then? That won’t be an easy task. Sam’s held that spot since joining the team his first year” Adam set to explaining, “Hadn’t been a freshman at the top in a long time, or anyone capable of holding their spot for this long either”.
Danny wasn’t phased by his caution. He’d heard the rumors of the infamous Prince of the tennis club since transferring to this university. Though he was on the team at the last school he attended, there wasn’t much excitement or popularity for their club like there was for the one here.
With the season starting the championship winning tennis team was a hot topic amongst his classmates, and Sam was apparently an even hotter topic. Though his so-called ‘fan club’ Sam had sounded more like a cult following from Danny’s perspective, only a little bit annoyed every time his name ultimately came up with the subject.
When Zach finally arrived, Danny wasted no time with formalities. He greeted him kindly and they flipped a coin to see who would serve first. Danny was heads, so by fate he lined his sneakers up next to the white line, threw the palm sized yellow ball into the air, and even with the sun shining in his eyes he nailed the far left corner of the service box and aced his opening shot.
Danny held the advantage the entire game while hardly breaking a sweat. Poor Zach when he quickly realized he was in a game way out of his league, gave up by the second set, but Danny appreciated his sportsmanship as he held out as best he could until the match was over.
“That was…” Adam trailed off, his hands on his hips and an unbelievable smile on his lips. When he agreed to witness these challenge matches today he came with the intention to gauge Danny’s capabilities, and he had effortlessly exceeded all expectations. He was skeptical before, but now Adam seriously did consider that the top spot on the ladder may be in jeopardy.
Danny took a break on the bench, pulling his hat off to let his curly head of hair breathe while he took long sips from his water bottle. “So when can we set up the next one? Tomorrow okay?” Danny questioned.
Adam was amazed once more. Danny hadn’t even won the second match yet and he was already confidently talking about playing someone else. “I mean, like I said I’m free, but if you keep challenging like this people are going to start talking”.
“That’s fine” Danny stood back up and secured his hat again as he noticed his next opponent approaching the courts, Dylan.
“Let them talk”.
Thursday was beginning to wrap the week up and Danny had resolved himself to acknowledge that this would be only his second but already his last practice with Team B. Of course he had won the two challenge matches on Saturday, then he had two more on Sunday and Monday, which meant by this weekend when he challenged the next two players on the ladder that he would officially have made it to Team A.
He didn’t hold back at practice, and attention was starting to be drawn towards his court as he drilled with the top player on the team. Their challenge match had already been scheduled , Saturday at noon, and by the looks of it now Danny was sure to be the clear winner.
“Well I look forward to my redemption in a few days” Thomas sarcastically approached Danny from the other side of the net, still trying to catch his breath as practice concluded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you” Danny smiled genuinely.
Even if his plan meant he couldn’t feel remorse for all the guys he had to go through to get to the top, it didn’t mean he was an asshole. In fact, Danny quite liked everyone he had met so far. He only hoped the next team would take his rise as cordially as this group had.
“Hey, if I can actually ask you a favor?” Thomas stopped him as they headed into the locker rooms, continuing when Danny gave him an easy sure. “Do you think we can move the match this weekend up an hour? There’s going to be another one later that day and I don’t want to miss it”.
“Oh, you’re witnessing a match that day too?” Danny questioned as he put his things away in his locker.
“Right” Thomas laughed, “there will be plenty of witnesses for that match. It’s Sam’s first challenge of the season”.
“Sam?”
“Yeah, the guy on the top of the ladder. He doesn’t get challenged very often but when he does it draws a pretty big crowd. Can’t wait to see who the sorry sucker is”.
A crowd? Danny thought to himself, wondering how many people would really want to take time out of their Saturday afternoon to watch a game of tennis that didn’t really mean anything. He agreed anyways so long as the club president was going to be okay with it as well.
“By the way, that’s your locker?” Thomas raised a brow and pointed at the tiny space Danny was standing in front of. He sounded slightly concerned, like it wa supposed to be off limits or something.
“Is that a problem?” Danny looked the locker over then back at the other man with a confused look on his face.
“No, it’s nothing” he brushed it off and they agreed to meet at eleven instead on Saturday.
Danny’s fifth challenge went just like his first, and second and third and fourth… admittedly he was getting tired of spending so much time playing on his time off, but then again that was the point. The coaches created the ladder as a way to encourage all of the players on the team to continue practicing on days when it wasn’t mandatory, and so far it had proven to be good motivation.
Or maybe motivation wasn’t the right word to use. Danny was quickly learning that it was more of a spectacle for some. Soon after his match was over he noticed more and more people filling in the bleachers at the courts, until soon they were nearly full like there was an unannounced tournament about to take place. Though the only thing he knew of that was happening today was Sam’s challenge.
“Hey, what’s everyone here for?” Danny caught Adam in passing just before he ran off to join the mass of waiting onlookers.
“Are you going to stay and watch the next match?” He asked, like he didn’t even register that Danny didn’t understand what was going on or why everyone was so excited.
“I wasn’t planning on it?” Danny tried again to dig for more details, “should I?”
Adam smiled widely and leaned in so he could lower his voice in case there was a coach anywhere nearby that didn’t need to hear this. “If you are, you have to place your bet”.
Danny’s brows furrowed in even more confusion, “Bet?”
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to Jake and Josh”.
Tags: @kultavalo @musicislove3389
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wolfjackle-creates · 11 months ago
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Two Ghost Motel Chapter 2
Summary:
Danny is tired. Endless ghost fights with too many responsibilities and too little time; he barely passed sophomore year. When Ember visits town for a bit of fun, she mentions the Two Ghost Motel, a place of peace and refuge for restless ghosts who aren't ready to cross over. “I’m fine, Ember.” Danny’s got a home and friends. He’s fine, really. But when his parents begin experimenting with electricity to destabilize ghosts, it’s too much for Danny. Unfortunately, neither Sam nor Tucker can host him for the night and he’s left wandering in the night, alone. Then he sees it: The Two Ghost Motel. He checks in. “Welcome.”
Word Count: 5k
Warnings: Minor Original Character Death
Fandom: DPxDC (though no knowledge of DC is necessary for this fic.)
AO3, Chapter 1
-----
The next morning, he woke up to pale sunlight shining through the blinds. Danny groaned and threw an arm over his eyes. He didn’t want to go home.
Something shifted next to him, and Danny jumped out of the bed, taking a defensive stance in the air above the bed. Only to relax when he saw Jay blinking blearily at him.
Danny laughed self-consciously as he set down on the floor.
“Your mask makes that sound so creepy,” said Jay through a yawn.
“Makes what sound creepy?”
“You laughing. I wish my mask did that.”
Danny cocked his head. “You don’t have a mask.”
“Yes I do.”
“Why aren’t you wearing it?”
Jay shrugged and rolled over so he was facing away from Danny. “Dunno. I don’t remember what it looked like, so I can’t wear it. Did you forget a lot of things when you died? I wasn’t like this in life. I know that much.”
Danny chewed the inside of his lip as he stared at his companion. “No,” he said eventually. “But my death was a bit weird. I wouldn’t recommend using me as an example of normal.”
That got Jay to turn around and look at him again. “Weird how?”
Danny just shrugged. “Just weird. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Something passed over Jay’s face and he nodded before getting out of bed. “Come on, it’s daytime. Let’s go outside. There’s a basketball hoop out back.”
Danny shook his head. “I should be getting back home. My parents will be expecting me.”
“There’s someone waiting for me, too. I can’t stay here long.”
Danny landed on the floor and began stuffing his few belongings back into his backpack. “Who do you want to get back to?”
Jay paused with his hand on the door handle. “I need to tell him it wasn’t his fault.”
Danny tossed his backpack onto his shoulders and threw and arm over Jay’s. “Well then, let’s check out. Where’re you from? I got here through Amity Park in Illinois.” He led them out of the room to the walkway.
“I’m from a Park, too. But I don’t remember more than that. We never called it Park, though. I think it was an alley? It was near the ocean.”
“You know, I’ve never seen the ocean. What’s it like?”
Danny felt more than saw Jay’s shrug. “It’s impossible to describe. Unimaginably big, though. When you’re on a boat and can’t see land anymore…” he trailed off and Danny didn’t force him to continue. None of the other ghosts he’d met seemed to have Jay’s issues with memories. But then, most of them weren’t as fixated on their past lives, either.
At the bottom of the stairs, one of the boys he’d met last night was still playing jacks, but his friend was no where to be seen.
“Hey, Matt. Where’s Alan this morning,” asked Danny.
It took a moment, but Matt eventually looked at him with a blank expression. “Alan?”
“Isn’t that your friend’s name? I thought it was. The boy you were playing with last night?”
Matt blinked at him. “I don’t have any friends. I play by myself.”
Danny and Jay exchanged a look and Jay walked over to sit opposite Matt. “I know how to play,” he said. “And jacks is way more fun with two players. Want to start over with me?”
A slight smile flashed across Matt’s face, though it was gone as soon as it appeared. “Fine. I go first.”
Jay shrugged. “Betcha I can beat you anyway.”
Danny joined them on the ground. “Mind explaining the rules to me as you go? I always wanted to learn.”
“Sure,” said Jay. “We’re gonna start with the onesies round. Matt, start whenever you’re ready.”
Matt tossed the jacks on the ground and tossed up a bouncy ball. It’d bounce once, he’d pick up a jack and catch the ball, then repeat the process. Jay explained the rules as they went.
Once Matt collected all the jacks, he spread them out again and handed the ball to Jay who began the process again.
“So how long have you been here, Matt?” asked Danny.
Matt shook his head. “Dunno. Ma’ll get me when it’s time to go home.” He was entirely focused on Jay’s hands and the ball.
“Are you afraid Jay’ll cheat?”
“You always cheat if you can get away with it. He’d be stupid not to.”
Danny laughed, “Got it. An unspoken rule?”
Jay picked up the last jack and caught the ball. “Not one I’ve heard.” He tossed the ball over to Matt. “Your turn, squirt.”
It was hard to get Matt to talk and even harder to get him to talk about anything other than the game. But Danny did manage to learn that he was born in New York City in the fifties and that he was waiting at the motel for his parents.
He didn’t seem to know he was dead, and he didn’t remember anything about Alan.
Jay won the first round and Matt was setting up another game before they could protest. This time, Matt won. When he set up the third game, Danny joined in. He failed miserably. His complete incompetence made Matt smile again, though, so he considered it a win and was happy to go for a fourth game.
By the time they finished, the sun was much higher in the sky.
“Oh, shit. I need to get home,” Danny said, once he noticed. He looked around and saw more ghosts were wandering around now that it was day.
Two men in suits were leaning against the wall smoking cigarettes, a woman in a floral dress was walking a dog. And leaning against a railing, looking over the drained pool, was Tom.
“Wait, I met that man last night. I’m gonna go say hi. I’ll check out after I talk to him.”
Jay waved him off as he set up another game with Matt.
Danny ran over to Tom and took up a space next to him. “What are you looking at, Mr. Tom.” The cement of the pool was cracked and ghostly plants like the ones in the parking lot grew through them.
“Doesn’t the water look nice? I remember swimming before. With a child? A boy, I think. And a woman. We had fun.”
Danny looked up at Tom sharply. “What are you talking about? The pool’s been drained. It’s just a cement hole right now.”
“They want me to join them.”
“Who wants you to join them? There’s no one there!”
But Tom merely stepped forward through the fence. Danny reached out to grab his arm, only for his hand to pass right through it. “What?” He’d never had a hard time grabbing a ghost before. “Tom! Wait, there’s nothing there.”
Tom ignored him and kept walking. Danny rushed after him, but the delay meant he was still several steps back when Tom lifted his hands and dove off the side of the pool into the empty hole.
As soon as the man was out of sight, Danny’s ghost sense lessened. He ran to the edge and looked down into an empty pool.
“What just happened?” he asked himself. Something about the pool made him uneasy and he backed away from the ledge. Tom must’ve turned intangible and dived below ground. Or invisible and was playing a prank on him.
His back hit the metal fence hard and he winced. He hadn’t realized how quickly he’d been moving. With a mental shake, he turned intangible and walked through it back to Jay and Matt.
“Jay,” said Danny.
His friend ignored him as he bounced the ball once more.
“Birdie!” Danny half-shouted this time.
Jay missed catching the ball and let out a curse. “What’d you do that for?” he demanded. “I was doing well!”
“I think there’s something strange about this place,” said Danny. “Tom— he just, he just disappeared.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “We’re all just here for a short rest before returning to where we came from. He probably just went home.”
“He thought the pool was filled with water and dove right into it. Said something about someone calling him to join them. And then I stopped sensing him!”
The panic in Danny’s voice was enough to get Jay standing. He placed a comforting hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Hey, Phantom. It’s okay. I’m sure he’s fine. Why don’t we ask the receptionist which room he’s in and see if he went back there?”
“I… Okay. Yeah. Let’s do that.” He looked down at Matt. “Want to join us, Matt? See more of the motel?”
He shook his head. “Mom told me to wait. She’ll come for me.”
Danny and Jay exchanged a look, but Danny just nodded. “All right, kiddo. But you come find me if you need anything, okay? I’m in room 214. And Jay’s in 215. Either one of us will help you if you need it.”
But Matt was back to ignoring them as he tossed the bouncy ball in the air and resumed his game.
Jay grabbed Danny’s hand and pulled him to the front office. “Come on, we’ll go find out what happened to Tom.”
The office didn’t look much different by light of day. The women on the couch had gone, replaced with a man and a boy. Both were dressed formally; the man was reading a newspaper while the boy had a comic book. Danny thought he recognized Spiderman on the cover, though it was hard to see with how the kid was holding it.
The same receptionist from the night before sat behind the desk and Jay hurried them through until they were standing opposite her.
She didn’t so much as twitch.
“Hey, lady,” demanded Jay, “we’ve a question for you.”
“Jay!” protested Danny. “Don’t be rude.” To the woman, he said, “I’m so sorry for my friend. I had a concern about another guest and I wanted to find out which room he was staying in so I could check on him. Can you give me that information?”
But she still sat there frozen as if she were a mannequin rather than a person or even a ghost.
Jay leaned forward and snapped his fingers in front of her face. When she still didn’t react, he shrugged and reached down to grab the log book from under her hand.
That, however, did cause a reaction.
The receptionist’s hand transformed into claws that wrapped around Jay’s wrist. As she stood, she grew until she was towering above them. Her hair transformed into flames that framed her face. The lights flickered and the shadows deepened.
Jay screamed in pain and Danny rushed forward. He shot an ectoblast at the receptionist, then another. She didn’t let go.
She let out a breath of fire. “Motel records are private!” she screeched.
With one hand, Danny threw up a shield to block the flames while he used his other hand to grab an ectoknife he had in a pocket in his suit. Maintaining the shield, he sliced at her arm. It got her to loosen her grip just enough for him to yank Jay free and get between them.
“We’re sorry!” he yelled. “We didn’t realize! We were just trying to find someone’s room number because I was worried about him.” He grit his teeth and braced himself against her attack. He felt himself pushed back a foot, but managed to keep the shield going.
The flames continued for another moment and Danny’s arm began shaking. But then she stopped. He lowered his arm, but remained ready to jump back into the fight at the slightest provocation.
She stood, so tall she had to stoop or her head would be through the ceiling. Her hair glowed fire red-yellow as it licked around her chin and shoulders. Her eyes were black and teeth pointed at she glared at them. Her injured hand to her chest was clutched to her chest, but the other one was poised protectively over the log book.
“Motel records are private,” she repeated.
“I understand,” said Danny. “We didn’t realize. Would you be able to tell me which room Tom is staying in? He was in the office last night when I checked in. We were talking this morning and he disappeared. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”
She seemed to shrink in on herself slightly, though her hair remained flames and her fingers claws. But she was no longer taller than the room. Danny felt Jay shift behind him and froze his feet to the floor to hopefully keep him from making things worse again. “Don’t you dare,” he hissed.
He ignored the whispered, “Hey!”
The receptionist lifted up her logbook and flipped through a few pages. “No Tom is currently a guest at the Motel.”
“Did he check out? Because I spoke to him just ten minutes ago. Actually, how do we check out? You didn’t react when we first came in and tried to talk to you. Only reason we touched the logbook to begin with.”
And suddenly she was back to looking like a normal, human woman. “Is something not to your liking?” she asked with her slight Southern accent. “Is the television not working? Do we not have your preferred snacks in the vending machine? We have coffee, as well. The pot is over there.” She pointed at a table that had two coffee pots and some mugs. Danny hadn’t noticed it last night—was it new?
“I— no. Everything has been great,” said Danny. It was only his experience with Dora’s and the Lunch Lady’s mood swings that kept him from taking a step back.
Behind him, he heard Jay let out a whispered, “The fuck?”
“I am glad to hear it! If you need more towels or anything, there is a tag you can put on your door handle—”
“It’s not that!” interrupted Danny. “I just want to know about Tom. You said there’s no Tom staying here, what about a Thomas? I’m afraid I never got to know his last name.” He was tense and ready to throw up another shield at a moment’s notice, though his hand shook. He felt exhausted already and he’d barely done anything. What was going on? He bit his cheek and locked his knees.
The receptionist just smiled at him. “No one by the name of Tom or Thomas is currently staying here as a guest.”
Danny hesitated and asked, “What about Alan? Or Matt?”
She flipped through her log again. “There is no Alan here, either. However a Matt has been assigned room 117.”
Danny nodded and smiled only to remember he was still in his ghost form and had the full mask. He bowed his head in acknowledgment of her information. “Thank you for your assistance. Just wanted to confirm, when is checkout due by? I need to leave today, but want to try and find Tom and Alan before I do.”
The woman smiled sweetly at him. “We do not have a checkout policy. And we have no guests named Tom or Alan at this time.”
“So I can checkout whenever? Great.”
She repeated herself. “We do not have a checkout policy.”
Jay snorted behind him. In a near-whisper he said, “I don’t trust her.”
Danny kicked his ankle to try and get him to shut up. “Oh, and one last question. How long has the pool been out of order?” Could Tom be from another time? If he was existing in a time when the pool was open, it could explain why he saw things Danny didn’t. Might also be the reason Danny couldn’t touch him.
“I apologize for the inconvenience, however the pool is out of commission at this time. We will inform guests as soon as it is operational.”
“I know it’s out of order, how long has it been out of order?”
All she did was repeat the same apology as before.
Danny let out a grunt of frustration. Behind him, Jay shifted and asked, “What else is off-limits to guests?”
“Guests have access to their rooms and all public areas. Public areas include the walkways to the rooms, the parking lot, the pool area, the basketball hoops, and the paved area behind the motel. The areas behind this desk, the door behind me, and any service areas such as the electrical and boiler rooms are off-limits. No guest is allowed to view any motel records or documents.”
“Good to know,” said Danny. “You’ve been very helpful, thank you for your assistance.”
“Of course. Please come to me with any questions you may have.” Then the woman settled back in her chair and froze in the position Danny had seen her in each time he’d entered.
Only now, there was a thin slice on her one wrist. It didn’t bleed, but the skin was damaged and a thin wisp of gray smoke seemed to rise from the wound.
Danny backed away, and grabbed Jay’s wrist. Only to let it go when his friend hissed in pain. “Sorry! Forgot you were injured there. Let’s get outside and I’ll take a look.” With a thought, the ice covering Jay’s feet disappeared.
“How’d you do that?” asked Jay as they exited the office.
Danny didn’t answer, just led them further from the door. Now that the danger appeared to be over, he felt the ache in his core that indicated he’d over-exerted himself. Which shouldn’t have been possible. He’d had much tougher fights than that one.
But his legs shook with every step and he gave up walking and sat down on the asphalt in the middle of the parking lot rather than near the sign like he’d been planning.
Jay sat across from him. “You okay?”
Danny waved off his concern. “Just a bit tired. She was stronger than she looked. Let me see your wrist.”
Jay held out his arm and Danny could see burn marks where the receptionist’s claws had grasped him.
Danny looked around, even kneeling to check under the cars, and confirmed no one was near them. He reached up and unclasped the mask of his hazmat suit, revealing his face to his new friend.
“Holy shit! You’re just a kid!”
Danny snorted. “Oh, come on. You look like you’re about my age, too.”
“Yeah, but I’m used to being the youngest. Thought you were older than me. Especially since you can do so much more than I can. Speaking of, how did you fight her off? Could I do that?”
“I’m sixteen. How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
Danny nodded as he breathed in deeply. Then he blew out, freezing his breath into frost as he did so in a technique Frostbite taught him. The frost coated Jay’s burned wrist, soothing the angry burn and causing the other boy to sigh in relief.
“Damn, wish I could do that.”
“I’ve got an ice core. Means I can control ice and snow. My doctor taught me that trick. If you have an ice core, you could do it as well. But you should be able to make an ectoshield and shoot ectoblasts and stuff. Those are powers all ghosts have.”
“I’ve never seen anyone here do anything like that. Sometimes they’ll walk through walls or objects, but never anything more than that.”
“Huh, weird.”
“You’ll teach me, right?”
Danny shrugged. “Sure, I guess. Never had to teach someone before, so don’t blame me if I’m bad at it, though. But I want to focus on finding Tom and Alan.”
“Obviously.”
Danny couldn’t help but look back towards the motel. Only this time, instead of welcoming, all he could feel was foreboding. “Something’s wrong about this place.”
Jay looked over, too, but shrugged. “I haven’t noticed anything.”
“What movie did we watch last night?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You came to my room and we watched a movie. Your favorite. You told me all about it as we watched it and we fell asleep at some point which is why you were still in my room this morning. What movie was it?”
Jay looked down and scuffed his foot on the pavement. One of the plants tried to bite at it, but his shoe kept it from hurting him. “I… We did watch a movie, didn’t we. Why don’t I remember?”
Danny chewed his lip and wished he could soften his voice. “Birdie, how long have you been here?”
Jay frowned. “Just a night or two.”
The foreboding feeling grew at that response and Danny shook his head. “I’ve been here for one night. It’s mid-morning now. You are much more familiar with this place and the people here than I am.”
“No I’m not. No one has ever acknowledged me before. Not like Matt did when we played with him.”
“Matt and Alan. There were two of them, remember?”
Jay reached up and rubbed at his face before nodding. “Two, right.”
“Now, please answer the question: how long have you been here?”
“I—” Jay scowled as he glared at a crack in the pavement. “I don’t remember. I remember sleeping in my room more than once, though.”
“And once in mine. Jay, I think this place is messing with our heads. I can’t remember last night’s movie. It was new-to-me, but you were so excited about it. I remember you talking about it, I remember pausing it so you could go on rants. But I can’t remember what those rants were or what movie it was.”
Jay shook his head. “I need to go back; they’re waiting for me.”
“Who, Jay? Who’s waiting?”
Jay jumped to his feet and kicked a rock. “I don’t remember! They need me though!” He punched the air before squatting down and burying his face in his knees.
Danny moved so they were side-by-side and put an arm around his shoulders. “We’ll figure this out and get you home. But we can’t leave just yet. I won’t leave until I know what happened to Tom and Alan and can make sure Matt is safe.”
“His mom isn’t coming, is she?”
“I don’t think so, no.”
“I don’t think my mom was any good.”
“My parents try, but they’re too focused on their work to notice when my sister or I need anything.”
“Why do you want to go back? Can you remember?” Jay looked over at him and Danny pretended he didn’t notice the wetness on his cheeks.
“Yeah, I can.” Danny tilted his head back until he was looking up at the sky, it was overcast, a uniform gray that stretched from horizon to horizon. “I’m… needed back home. If I don’t go back, people will get hurt. Ghosts, too. I stop them from hurting each other. As much as I can as a high school kid.”
Jay hummed. “It’s a lot, isn’t it?” he asked, as if he understood. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and held out a hand to Danny. “Well, what do you say? Let’s see if anyone knows Alan or Tom. We’ll save some people, then get the hell outta Dodge.”
Danny grinned at him and took his hand. “Yeah. Let’s do it.” Once on his feet, Danny reattached his mask.
“Why do you wear that, anyway? Is that normal clothing where you come from?”
Danny looked at his glove-covered hands and shrugged. “Of course not. But it’s what I died in. Been wearing it ever since.”
Jay shuddered. “I’m glad I’m not stuck in the clothes I died in.”
Danny gave a wry smile Jay couldn’t see and shrugged. “It is what it is. I’m used to it by now.”
“So how do I know if I have an ice core or whatever?” asked Jay as they began walking back to the motel.
He was still tired, but the short rest had helped a little and he didn’t feel like he was going to fall over as he walked. “I’ve never tried to describe it before. Can you feel for your core?”
Jay’s brow furrowed. “How do I do that?”
“Ghosts really only have one organ and that’s their core. Think of it as, like, your soul. It’s your brain and heart in one. As long as their core is intact, a ghost can survive anything that happens to them. The body you have around it is just ectoplasm given shape by your own expectations and perception of yourself.”
Jay hummed. “Okay, so you want me to try and mentally connect to my core?”
“Yeah. That’s where ghosts get our powers from. If you have the strength and there’s enough ectoplasm around, you can shape it and use it in interesting ways. And that’s on top of the flight, invisibility, and intangibility that any ghost can do.”
“You’ll have to show me how to do that, too.”
“Frostbite—my doctor,” he clarified at Jay’s confused look. “He made it sound like this was instinctive for most ghosts.”
Jay shrugged. “Well it’s not for me. How do I know if I’ve connected to my core?”
Danny threw up his hands. “I don’t know! Mine feels like a ball of cold ice in my chest, only comforting. When I’m afraid, I feel it jolt. When I push myself too hard, it aches. When I’m happy, it pulses.”
Jay bit his lip and seemed to consider Danny’s words. Silence stretched between them as they walked. By unspoken agreement, the two avoided the main office and instead made their way towards one of the far ends of the motel.
A woman in a patched coat and skirts was sitting on a bench there with a sketch pad on her lap.
Right before they were about to reach her, Jay said, “I had magic when I was alive, you know.”
Danny’s steps faltered. “Humans don’t have magic.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “Some do. Look at the Justice League. But that’s not what I meant. I had a type of magic. Something that made me more than just a regular human. But I can’t remember what it was or how I got it. I wonder if that’s why I can’t find my core.”
Danny shrugged. “I don’t know. It could have to do with your memory issues, too. I don’t think most ghosts have problems like that.”
“All here do,” said the woman on the bench.
“Do you know what is going on here?” asked Danny.
She said nothing, just kept drawing on her sketchbook.
“What are you working on?” asked Jay.
She set her pencil down on the bench next to her and turned the notebook around. On the page was a swirling black mass, far too reminiscent of the portal in his basement.
But then he realized it wasn’t just a dark circle. Ghosts were drawn on top of ghosts. The ones on the edges, he could make out some features—a face or a hat. He thought he recognized the women from the office the night he’d checked in. But at the center, so many figures had been drawn on top of each other that no details could be made out and it looked like a solid drawing.
Instinctively, Danny took a step back. Jay, however, stepped closer.
“Is that me?” he asked, pointing to a figure near the edge. His face was clear, with only the faintest lines from other figures crossing it.
“It is all of us,” she replied. She pulled the book back and picked up her pencil once more to resume her work.
“You’re really talented,” said Jay. “It looks just like me.”
Like the rest of the people they’d met, she didn’t react to his statement. Jay didn’t seem to care, though, and moved until he was standing behind her and could watch what she was doing. Danny hesitated, but joined his friend when he was waved over.
They watched as she started adding a new figure to the mess. It wasn’t long before Danny’s core sunk in fear.
“Dude, I think that’s you,” said Jay.
Danny swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. The more detail she added, the more obvious it was.
“Why are you drawing me?” he asked.
“You’re here, now. One of us,” she said absently.
“I’m leaving. Once I find out what happened to Tom and Alan, I’m leaving.”
“No one leaves,” she said as she continued to draw.
Danny bit his lip, then asked, “Do you know a ghost by the name of Tom? Or Alan? I can’t find them and the receptionist said there weren’t any guests here by that name. But I met them, I know I did.”
“No one leaves,” she repeated.
“I’m gonna leave!” protested Jay. “There are people waiting for me.”
But it appeared the woman was done replying. She just kept drawing Danny, at the edge of the vortex of ghosts, one of his arms extended as if trying to escape. Then, once every detail was finished, she drew a crown over his head.
Danny’s brow furrowed. “Why’d you give me a crown?”
When they got no response, Danny and Jay exchanged glances.
“You’re definitely not wearing a crown,” said Jay with a shrug.
On the page, however, it was the clearest part of her drawing. Nothing crossed the path of the crown.
“Look, lets just go,” said Danny when it was clear the artist wasn’t going to say anything else. “Maybe one of the other ghosts can tell us something.” Danny grabbed Jay’s upper arm and led him away.
-----
Chapter 3
And this marks the halfway point of the fic! Hope you enjoy.
Couldn't resist the little nod at the end there to Ghost King Danny. And it's a trope @i-think-in-metaphors (my artist) likes, so I didn't even try.
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