#Glows Fics

[broken-glowsticks]

What Once was Mine

Chapter 14 - Spending the Night

Genre: Childhood friends, Eventual Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Love corner/love triangle, love rivals, Series. Not all chapters will be proofread!!

Warnings: 18+, mdni, mentions of sex and alcohol consumption, additional warnings will be added to individual chapters as needed.

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You felt better after talking to Felix, it helped you put your thoughts in order and make a decision.

After returning to the studio and finishing dinner, the boys returned to their work as you and Felix cleaned the trash from your meal. Following that Felix pulled out his homework, attempting to knock out as much as possible as you settled in and watched a movie on your tablet. It was quiet, but it was nice, the five of you simply enjoying having the others around.

It was a few minutes to one in the morning when all of you collectively decided to call it a night. Felix had groaned about how he was totally going to fall asleep in his first class of the day while Jisung sauntered over to you.

“I was going to crash at Chan's place tonight, do you need me to drive you home?”

“No, it's cool, I drove myself here, I can drive myself back,” you said with a thumbs up, one Jisung reciprocated.

“Okay, cool then. Text me the second you get home, I promise I'll be home again soon. We can have dinner together,” he said with a smile, pulling you into a tight hug. Changbin wasn’t the only one who missed seeing you.

“Actually, bunny,” Changbing said once you and Han had finished your hug and you had bussied yourself with collecting your belongings. “I came here with Chan and, I was thinking, maybe I could go home with you?” Changbins voice came out in a nervous whisper as he finished his sentence, causing goosebumps to flourish across your skin. “If that's okay, of course.”

“Of course it's okay,” you reply almost immediately, your voice also hushed. You almost melted at Changbins grin.

“Let's go then?” You nodded fervently at Changbin before hastily finishing collecting your things and giving everyone a goodbye hug.

“You gonna talk to him tonight?” Felix asked gently in your ear, so no one else could hear.

“Maybe, right now I just want to enjoy getting to have time with him.”

“Just don't chicken out,” Felix teased, making you scoff as you playfully shoved him away.

“Whatever, get home and get some sleep. We don't want you sleeping through all your morning classes.”

“Ready to go, Princess?” Changbin asked, appearing behind you and resting his hand on your waist. The two of you shared a smile as you nodded and Changbin gave a friendly goodnight to Felix.

“Goodnight you two~!” Felix called as you and Changbin walked out the door.

It was a surprisingly chilly night as the two of you left the building and made your way to your car. You were thankful to still be wearing Changbins jacket but also felt bad as he clung to you in what you assumed was an attempt to stay warm, however you were surprised when you reached your car and learned that actually Changbin had clung to you as a distraction while he, once again, swiped your keys. You decided to not complain, too cold and tired to argue, as you made your way to the passengers side and slid in.

It was a comfortable drive to your apartment. Changbins hand rested on your thigh as he drove while your arm had snaked around his, your eyes drifting closed as you focused on the momentum of the car and the gentle lull of your music coming from the car speakers. You were slowly starting to fully fall asleep when you were suddenly woken up by a gust of cold wind. Your eyes snapped open to see Changbin leaning over you, in the middle of taking off your seatbelt. When did you get to your complex?

“You woke up, thank God, I really didn't want to have to go through your stuff for your key,” Changbin chuckled as he slung your bag over his shoulder and lifted you from the passenger's seat.

You shuttered as your body was assaulted by the cold air, your mostly bare legs squeezing together to maintain as much body heat as possible. You prayed you'd get to your door soon as you clung to Changbin.

You didn't get to your door nearly as fast as you wanted, but were beyond grateful that when you handed Changbin the key and the two of you fell into your apartment that the air was warm.

“Bed time, bed time,” Changbin sang softly as he continued to carry you, making his way to your room and pushing the heavy door aside. “Do you wanna change?” His voice was low and muffled as he pressed a sweet kiss to your hair.

“Mmh, no, just wanna get to bed,” you mumbled, nuzzling roughly into Changbins’ neck. You weren’t sleepy anymore, having been jolted awake when Changbin took you from your car's warm cabin. All you wanted now was just to get cozy in bed and warm up with your boyfriend.

“Alright Princess,” Changbin chuckled, pulling back your fluffy comforter and attempting to lay you down only for you to refuse to let him go. “Someone's clingy tonight, ” he said with a small grin, one that grew when you began to pull him onto you, a small grin of your own.

“you're just warm,” you said as you wiggled, attempting to make room for him on the bed without letting him go.

“I'm supposed to sleep in my jeans?” Changbin teased as he lifted you towards the other side of the bed.

“You can take them off after you get in bed,” you replied, just drowsy enough to make you confident and shameless.

“Do you plan to help me, Princess?”

“I can,” you whispered, feeling the bed dip beside you and the press of Changbins’ kiss your forehead.

“Promise?” Changbins lips kisses continued across your face and down your cheeks before stopping at the corner of your mouth, “hmm?”

“Promise,” you breathed before slotting your lips against Changbins’, one hand coming to rest at the nape of his neck while the other trailed down his torso to hook a finger into his jeans. Your thumb swiped over the button a few times, smiling playfully until Changbins teeth caught your lower lip, tugging at it harshly and causing you to yelp.

“Don't tease, Princess,” he warned, a hand sliding under your shirt to swipe at your covered nipple.

You mewled softly at the sweet tingle before giggling, muttering a small apology before working Changbins button loose and dragging down his zipper. Changbin laid in wait, keeping himself busy by kissing and gently licking at your sore lip while you slid your hand into his pants and palmed his stiffening cock. A low groan vibrated in Changbins throat as you pumped this shaft a few times then swirled your thumb over his tip.

“Plan on spoiling me again, Princess?” Changbins voice was breathier than he anticipated as he spoke between kisses, kisses that grew sloppier as you continued to tease his tip, collecting his arousal.

“More than you know.”

“Bunny, are you sure, I thought you were tired?” Changbin teased, rubbing his nose against yours.

“I’m sure,” you breathed, lifting yourself from the bed and pushing your boyfriend on his back before climbing on top.

“Binnie, I've missed you,” you said candidly as you began to trail your hands up Changbins’ abs, lifting his shirt as you spoke, “I want to be closer to you. I want you. I especially want to finish what we started in the pizza parlor, y'know… before things got awkward,” you finished with a shy little giggle. As you spoke, a bashful smile spread across your boyfriend's face. It made you want to ride it.

“Lift your arms please,” you instructed, removing the fabric of his shirt from his body before tossing it aside, your hands roaming as you leaned down and kissed up Changbins torso to his eager lips. As you kissed, your hands continued to feel him up, inching downward until they once again landed at his jeans. “Lift your hips.”

Obediently Changbin lifted his hips, allowing you to yank his jeans down far enough to let his dick spring free before interrupting your momentum.

“Am i supposed to just lay here naked, while you're still wearing all of this?” Changbin asked, his hands tugging at your shirt and his jacket.

“You make a very fair point,” you conceded, leading changbins hands to the waistband of your shorts and lifting your hips. With ease, Changbin yanked the material down, bringing your panties down as well.

You gasped as the comparatively cold air hit your already dripping cunt and the need to ride Changbins’ face hit you again. Without a word you stood above him on the bed, his curious eyes watching you intently as you kicked your shorts and panties from the bed and dropped to your knees over his head, your core hovering above his lips.

“I didn't know I'd be getting dessert,” Changbin said with a grin, his arms hooking around your legs and fingers gripping the plush of your thighs.

“Been wanting to do this for a while,” you said, hands finding your headboard as you looked down at him.

“I have too,” Changbin admitted before closing his eyes and diving in.

Your breath hitched as his tongue swiped over you, his warm muscle collecting your wetness before swirling around your eagerly awaiting clit. Repeated, low groans pushed through your pressed together lips, the blissful sensation causing you to close your eyes and tilt your head back as you felt Changbin lick and suck. It felt so good and you just couldn't help but begin to rock your hips over his pretty lips.

Changbins’ grip tightened on your thighs, his fingers digging your skin as loud, sloppy noises began mixing with your increasingly pitched up moans. Those moans began to turn into near screams as Changbin dipped his tongue between your folds, his nose rubbing harshly against your now sensitive clit. It was getting harder to focus and keep yourself upright, you didn't even realize when your legs had given out and you had fully released your weight onto Changbins’ face, all you were aware of was the overstimulating sensation of your boyfriend absolutely devouring your as your vision began to get foggy.

“Binnie… B-Bin…!” You slurred, trying to warn him with shallow pants of your growing orgasm. But words failed and soon you were creaming all over his face, your hand fisting his soft, black curls as you rocked your hips harder against his face, riding out your euphoria. Your orgasm hit you so hard that your knees gave way, causing you to topple over and land on the bed with a soft thud.

Changbin didn't give you a moment to let you recover, kicking off his pants and boxers entirely before climbing over you. You had managed to get a good look at him, your white slick stuck to his face, before he wiped it off with his arm and crashed his lips against yours. The two of you kissed fervently, limbs wrapping around each other as you tried to etch the absolutely erotic image of you cum all over his face into your brain.

“Condoms… bedside drawer,” you mumbled between kisses, your nails dragging across Changbins’ back.

Changbin shuttered at the sensation, savoring your kisses for a few seconds more before pulling back. You whined at the loss of his warmth, caushing Changbin to playfully pinch at your skin a few times.

“Do you wanna do this, or not?” He teased, turning his attention back to the side table drawer, rifling through the damn thing before finally finding a condom tucked between a headband and a random sock. “Found you,” Changbin grinned, turning back to you and tapping the corner of the small wrapper against your lips. “Help me?”

With a giggle you opened your mouth, taking the corner between your teeth. Together the two of you opened the wrapper and Changbin slid the condom over his almost too-stiff dick with ease before slotting himself back between your legs.

“Ah, I'm suddenly getting a little shy,” You blurted as Changbin glided the tip between your folds, collecting the slickness from your orgasm.

“I kind of am too,” he admitted, slowly beginning to push in the tip, “I wanted this during our last date, but you weren't ready…” Changbins voice was low and soft as he slowly eased himself into you. He was girthier than you remembered, this felt different than when you took him into your mouth the day you spoiled him. The stretching of your walls as Changbin filled you caused a strange swirl of pain and pleasure to wash over you, making it hard for you to focus on his words. “I'm glad I get to do this with you now.”

When Changbin finally bottomed out, a sharp jolt of electricity cut through the mix of pain and pleasure, causing you to reflexively claw at his back, your cunt squeezing around him. Changbin hissed out a swear as he stilled, gritting his teeth at your nails on his back while you adjusted to the foreign sensation. He wasn’t focused on your scratching anyway.

“God, you feel so good, bunny,” Changbin muttered, pressing kisses to your neck and behind your ear.

“You're so big…” you admitted in a hush.

“Does it hurt, baby?” You shook your head adamantly, your arms circling his broad shoulders tightly.

“‘S just different… Don't break me,” you joked, rocking your hips as a sign that Changbin could move.

His actions were slow at first, a gentle attempt to acclimate you to his girth. You appreciated his tact at first, it felt as if one wrong move and Changbin truly could split you in two, but as your body grew used to his width, the more you wanted more. You couldn't quite place your finger on it, but something about the size of your boyfriend - both in stature and girth - made you want him to treat you much rougher than he currently was. You adored how he didn't want to hurt you, how he cared for you so deeply and wanted to cherish you. But you so desperately wanted him to put his strength to use, for him to pin you down or toss you around. You felt like he was holding back and wanted him to let go.

“Binnie, baby, I'm okay now,” you purred into his ear, “you don't have to hold back anymore. It won't hurt.”

“Bunny, are you sure?” Changbin all but groaned, his hips stuttering for just a second as his grip on his self control slipped. “What if I hurt you?” Locking your gaze with his, you gave your boyfriend's heart quite the pulse with the salacious gaze you gave him.

“I like a little pain.”

Those five little words were all he needed. Without even removing himself from you, Changbin circled his arms around you, pulling you close to him before rearing back and lifting you off the bed entirely, sitting himself on his knees. Mercilessly he began drilling into your pussy, strong arms holding you up with ease. It was as if you weighed no more than a basket of feathers.

The change of position allowed Changbin to hit your favorite spot and all you could do was hold on for dear life as the sounds of squelching and your euphoric cries filled the air. You weren't going to last long in this position, you were still rather sensitive from your first orgasm and Changbin was absolutely slamming into your cunt. Before you could even realize it was building, you were creaming all over Changbin's thick dick, but he didn't relent, continuing his assault to your cervix.

One of Changbin's hands came to rest on the curve of your ass, his hand kneading into the flesh as he guided your hips in a motion he desired. You barely had any strength in you, but somehow you managed to gather enough to comply, angling your hips as Changbin pounded into you over and over again.

“God, I'm gonna cum, bunny. Fuck. Baby, I'm gonna cum so hard,” Changbin growled against your collar, his teeth grazing the skin only to clamp down once he hit his high. Your body bounced as Changbin's hips faltered before stilling entirely, his length filling you so entirely that you almost came again yourself. The only thing that was keeping you grounded was the sting of Changbins’ teeth bared against your skin.

With a few more rolls of his hips, Changbin finally came down from his high, his tongue running gently over where he bit you. He never let you go.

“That's gonna leave a mark,” he mumbled idly, ghosting his lips over the sore spot. You winced slightly but giggled all the same. You were fine with it if it did, you liked the idea of having a little memento from tonight.

“As long as you didn't break skin, it's fine.”

“I got lucky then,” Changbin replied with a small chuckle, pulling your face to his for a sloppy kiss, one you returned eagerly. Maybe a little too eagerly, as you started to feel heated again, excitement thrumming under your skin as you caught his tongue and sucked. Changbin gave a little grunt at your action, his hand wrapping around the back of your neck and pulling himself from this kiss reluctantly. “Trying to egg me on for another round?”

“And if I am?” Your hooded eyes looked at him daringly, your question a challenge.

“Then I'm gonna fuck you so hard you're not gonna be able to walk, Princess.”

“Promises, promises,” you teased with a giggle, biting your lower lip before Changbins stole it with his teeth and plopped you back onto the bed.

---------------------------------------

I'm baaaaaaaaaack. Soooooo I have a good chunk of the story planned, almost all the way up to the end. My husband gave me a laptop, and I've been slowly getting back into the groove of writing!

I don't plan on posting every week like I used to, jfc... How the hell did I ever manage that? I might post only monthly. All I know is that when I do post it will still be on Saturdays.

Taglist: @groovygroovyhyunjin @hhwangsmoon @luvyblossom @doggezz @kayleefriedchicken @hyunjinhoexxx @zadkielr @bincxtesworld @jisunglyricist @kpop-kink @amarecerasus @its-kitten-now

[savanir]

DP x DC prompt [16]

Danny has been with the Wayne’s for a while now and his status as a halfa is starting to affect some things he comes in contact with a little bit.

At first he thought this only happened back in his old home in Amity Park because the ectoplasm samples were kept in the fridge, and though that does speed up the process, it turns out Danny causes the same things to happen just fine on his own. It just takes a lot longer.

This means he now occasionally has to replace or decontaminate some of his things every once in a while. and with the electronics the same applies but usually the protections that Tucker has made do the trick too.

Danny has been very careful, he never borrows anything that’s highly susceptible to ecto-contamination from the others and whenever he needs something from the kitchen he just goes to Alfred (he really doesn’t want to see how the old man might react to the coffee machine starting to act weird because of Danny). Just, the last thing Danny wants to do is inconvenience the Wayne’s by ecto-contaminating something of theirs.

It’s really only when Danny slips back into vigilante-ism that things go sideways.

And Danny really tried. His obsession is space, not heroism, so he figured he’d be fine just focussing on his education. But he kinda forgot about the fact that he just really really loves being a hero.

He loves the thrill, the danger. He loves giving a smackdown and just in general having a good fight, he loves helping people, he loves being a force of good. And yeah, he kinda also likes the praise, but nothing weird and overbearing (some people go way too far in their hero worship, but that’s a story for another day)

So after some back and forth and arguments with Bruce who, contrary to popular belief, was absolutely not thrilled that his latest traumatized kid who was being kept safe in the mansion so far now decided that no, he wants to be part of the family business too please.

Danny eventually threatens to just go out anyway without any of his help and that just gives Bruce flashbacks to the time when he had just taken Dick as his ward. Not to mention some of his other kids and… dammit.

Well then… Danny can go explain things to Jason himself once he finds out and is probably going to be mad about it, Bruce is not taking the blame this time.

So Danny (name pending, he could just go with Phantom again, but he also wouldn’t mind using something bird or bat related) gets back into the game once again! And that’s fine that’s cool. But back to the original point.

Danny figured that he would just do what he’s been doing so far with any bat gadgets as well, and maybe it would be even less of a problem cause he’s pretty sure that these things break a lot more often because of all the fights and stuff.

What Danny had not really thought about though is potential intense high emotion situations. Like for very specific example; Scarecrow taking an obsessive interest in him because of Danny’s ghostly ability to feed on fear (somewhat) and the situation getting out of hand, him getting very hurt, Batman having to carry him out of there while Danny was kinda bleeding a bit (a lot). Bruce being worried and Danny wanting to be anywhere but there anymore and-

Well, you get the point.

So, take all that and add high tech bat armor and what you get is suddenly sentient batsuit.

It actually took a bit for anyone to catch on that something was going on, but it was eventually figured out. and once that was the case Danny couldn’t really help his seemingly endless stream of apologies.

But how can anyone ever blame him for bleeding out on Bruce and the weird reanimative properties of said blood making it so Bruce’s suit can now “talk”

Bruce described it more as like a martian mind link, which would explain why only he could hear things. it’s probably only for the wearer.

It can’t move on it’s own, it needs someone to wear it. But it can sense things and react for the wearer and honestly all that alone is more than enough reason to find a way to exorcise it… if not for the whole,

“but if it’s a sentient ecto entity now we can’t just ‘kill’ it, we literally abolished the anti ecto acts just so that can’t be done anymore”

it’s probably a good thing the suit has grabbed all the ‘Batman’ and made that what it is. All the core values are there, so there isn’t going to be any risk of it killing someone at least.

Still though… what to do now?

[voiider]

I need codependent Danny/Jason as a little treat (for me) and I love the idea of them having some sort of instant connection the moment they meet (bc ghost stuff idk)

Danny who's been dropped in Gotham with no way home (alt universe??) and he's been here for 36 hours and having a Very bad time senses a liminal being and immediately latches onto them heedless of the fact that his new best friend is shooting at some seedy guys in an alley and goes off about how stressed he is and how he can't make it back to the ghost zone and what a bad day he's been having (and it's important to note Danny is a littol ghost boy literally hanging off of Jason's neck as he floats aimlessly) and Jason is like "who are you??" And Danny is like "oh sorry I'm Danny lol" and then just continues lamenting his woes

And honestly ? This might as well happen. Nothing about this Danny guy(is he human?) gives Jason a bad vibe and tbh he's never felt more calm and level headed before so he just keeps up his usual Red Hood patrol and doesn't even think about it when he heads back to a safehouse and feeds Danny dinner (breakfast) before crashing for half the day

The only thing I actually need is Jason meeting up with the bats for some sort of Intel meeting and they're like "uhhh who's that" and Jason is like "that's Danny." And does not elaborate (very ".... What do you have there?" "A smoothie" vibes)

And it takes them a while to realize that these two have known each other for less than 12 hours and are literally attached at the hip

[justaz]

okay i get it “merlin is magic incarnate, it doesn’t make sense for him to not be able to perform healing spells” i get it! completely agree! HOWEVER let me offer this counterpoint:

the bit of healing magic emrys was supposed to embody was given to arthur instead. thats what kept him alive from magical threats for years before merlin got to camelot. he uses it unconsciously and thinks his expeditions/quests are just super lucky bc if his knights get injured it’s always something minor (because arthur’s healing magic seeps out into his men as well and keeps them from death). if someone were to get dangerously hurt, they tend to heal a lot quicker when arthur tends to their wounds. its so subtle that no one jumps to magic. it also kind of makes them yin and yang as the warrior set to oppose magic holds a morsel within and the embodiment of magic becomes a warrior to protect his king.

[luxaofhesperides]

Accidental Bride Sacrifice ; requested by @starlightcat04!

Danny has long since gotten used to the feel of summonings. They don’t happen often, but sometimes the right components are put together to force him into answering, and he’d have to go as the new Ghost King.

Which no one told him was a thing! He hadn’t protested too much about the whole Ghost King deal when they finally told him about it after he graduated high school. It gave him a good excuse to ditch life in the living realm and not worry about college or a career, and let him really embrace his ghost side. 

The summonings are a problem, though. They always feel staticky and bad, like a dumpster that just got struck by lightning. The taste of iron on his tongue, a clear sign of blood being spilled, lets him know that it would be one of end the world for us summonings, because some people can’t put in the effort to do it themselves, apparently. 

But this time, the summoning feels different.

Danny pauses, eyes going unfocused in the middle of his conversation with Jazz. He had been looking forward to spending the week with her, now that she’s on winter break, but his luck is as bad as always.

“I’m being summoned,” he tells her, cutting off her rant about a transphobic professor she had. 

“Oh, no. Do you need me to do anything? Should I go with you to beat up whoever it is that’s summoning you?”

Danny tilts his head to the side, considering. The taste of blood is noticeably absent. In fact, this summoning pull doesn’t make him feel sick at all. It makes him feel warm, as if he’s just been wrapped in a hug.

“No,” he says. “I think I’m good. This one feels different.”

“A good different?” Jazz asks, worry clear in her voice.

“Yeah. A good different. I’ll come back soon, okay?”

“Alright. Be careful, Danny.” Jazz pulls him into a quick hug, then steps back to watch as Danny stops fighting the pull of the summoning and disappears into a swirling white rings that flashes into existence behind him, blinding her for a moment, and is gone when she manages to blink the spots out of her vision. 

For a minute, Danny drifts in a void of stillness, traveling through the realms as the summoning draws him closer to the correct realm. And then he’s rising out of the ground in a dark building made of concrete, candles of green flame scattered all over the place.

“Great One!” someone in a hooded cloak cries, raising his arms in jubilation. “Our calls have been answered!”

“I’ll fucking kill you!” a mechanical voice yells from farther back. When Danny looks past the cultists’ heads, he spots a man in a red hood and leather jacket chained to a pole, along with a bunch of other people in strange costumes tied up, desperately trying to free themselves. 

“Silence!” The leader of the cult, or who Danny assumes is the leader, snaps at the hooded man and gestures to the people off to his left. They force another costumed person forward, this one in yellow armor. He can see the blood running down their face from beneath their helmet and from their nose, dark lines of blood cutting through their brown skin. 

The cultists throw the armored person forward, forcing them to kneel. Then they bow to Danny and step back.

“Great One,” the leader says, voice unpleasantly reverent and grating, “Welcome to the mortal realms. We offer you this sacrifice to feed your strength. He will make a fine general for your undead army in your crusade to rid this world of its filth.”

The people in the back begin shouting all together, panicked voices overlapping, and Danny is left staring down at the cultists in shock.

The summoning had felt so nice. What the hell was this? He did not sign up for another ‘end of days’ insane cult. He just wanted to be hugged. 

His silence makes the cultists nervous. They begin to shift uneasily, whispering to each other, and the leader clears his throat, then pulls a large crystal dagger out of his cloak. “We shall prove our devotion to you through an offering of a hero’s blood!”

And then he moves towards the sacrifice and Danny snaps out of his shock to yell, “Wait!”

The entire room freezes. Even the costumed people in the back go still. 

Danny winces, then tries to smother his power, make himself more palatable to the humans of this dimension. “Wait,” he says again, and he sounds closer to human now. If he could, he would drop his ghost form entirely, but he knows better than to endanger himself like that. “What, exactly, did you summon me here for?”

The cult leader stares at him for a moment. “To… To rid the world of filth and allow your loyal followers to spread word of your power. You will be worshiped again, Great One, and serve as a reminder to man that Death shall always prevail.”

“Okay, I get that, but I was talking more along the lines of the summoning. What ritual did you use? What specifically were the summoning requirements?”

Normally, he’d be able to figure it out himself, but these cultists didn’t use a summoning circle. So they did something else, something less visible and therefore harder to figure out, in order to bring him here.

A woman standing off to the side speaks up, stepping forward hesitantly. “I had pieced together a few summoning spells from this book to bring you here. You had to accept our chosen sacrifice to your side in order for the summoning to work.”

“Hold up that book for me, please?”

She does, and Danny flies down to grab it from her hands. “Point out which lines you used,” he says, already reading a few of the words written down. It’s definitely ghostspeak written down, which should be near impossible for living humans to translate without being skilled in magic.

“Ah, these ones.” She points to each line, reading them out for him, and Danny starts understand what, exactly, went wrong.

“Is there a problem, Great One?”

Danny returns the book then floats over to the sacrifice and picks him up. The costumed people make alarmed noises, but quietly quiet down again when all Danny does is move him away from the cultists.

“Okay,” he says, “So. The lines you used to summon me were not translated properly. What you interpreted as ‘accepted to stay by the king’s side in loyalty and strength’ is not meant to be, like, him being part of my undead army or whatever. It’s a royal marriage vow.”

“They married us?” the sacrifice shouts, disbelieving. The cult leader buries his face in his hands and sighs.

“My deepest apologies, Great One. We meant no offense. We simply wanted to aid in your destruction of this depraved world.”

Danny scrunches his nose and shakes his head. “Yeah, that’s not gonna fly with me. I do not do the biding of random people, especially those who are ready to murder innocent people for no reason. Frighty, if you would.” He snaps his fingers, calling up Fright Knight who always enjoys getting to torment the people who summon Danny for murderous reasons.

Fright Knight appears in a swirl of darkness and screams. Shadows swallow the room, and when they recede, no cultists remain.

“Thanks, Frighty. Have fun with them. I need to figure out all… this.”

Fright Knight bows to him, then disappears. Danny lets out a breath, then floats down lower to be eye level with the sacrifice. “Hey,” he says gently, with a smile, “I’m so sorry they did this to you. I’m Danny. What’s your name?”

“Du— Uh, Signal,” the sacrifice says, sounding rather dazed. 

“Signal,” Danny repeats. “Like… a traffic signal?”

“No. I mean, maybe? But it is Signal. That’s my hero name, not my real name.”

“Oh, you’re a hero!” His getup makes more sense now. Danny checks him over for any signs of injuries. So far, only his head and nose seem to be injured, but his wrists are tightly bound behind his back. Carefully, Danny calls upon his ice and shapes it into a sharp knife, then cuts through the zipties.

He helps Signal up to his feet, floating by his shoulder. “All good?”

“Yeah, man, all good. Let me just get the others free.”

“Oh, I can do it!” Danny flies over to the other costumed people, who must also be heroes. All it takes is one link in the chain being frozen and broken for the entire thing to go lax, allowing them to free themselves. Hooded guy spares Danny a single glance, then hurries over to Signal to check on him. The other three, a man with a blue bird across his chest, a blond girl with a yellow bat outline on her chest, and a guy with bandoliers and a golden bird emblem, all watch him warily as he floats back towards the center of the room.

“So,” the blue bird man says, “If they summoned you with a marriage vow, and you accepted, does that mean you’re planning to steal Signal away from us?” He’s smiling, but it’s not a nice smile.

“No! I had no idea they did this! I am so sorry you all got caught up in this. You most of all, Signal.”

Signal shrugs, nudging hood guy away from him. “Nah, man, it’s all good. This is definitely the better outcome.”

“I don’t know, being married off isn’t really a good thing.”

“Hey, at least they married me off to a decent guy.”

“You don’t know that,” Danny says, “What if I’m secretly evil?”

“If you were secretly evil, you’d be destroying the world right now. I think you’re fine.”

The blond girl waves at him, demanding his attention. “Quick question! They were calling you ‘Great One’. Are you a god or something?”

“Not really? I’m the Ghost King. So I’m a ghost who rules over other ghosts and also a majority of the Infinite Realms.”

She nods as if this is all totally normal for her, then shoots Signal a grin. “Congrats on bagging a king! Not the worst way to spend a night, right?”

“Can you break the marriage?” blue bird man asks, the lines of his shoulders tense.

Danny awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, not looking any of them in the eye. “I honestly don’t know. I can look for a way! But I genuinely have no clue. This was unexpected.”

“But you accepted.”

“I didn’t know what I expected! It just felt like a hug, and I wanted a hug! I thought I was being summoned for something nice for once!” Danny curls up, bringing his knees up to his chest, and hides his pout behind his hands. He knows he’s being childish, but he can’t help but be upset that he couldn’t have this one good experience from being Ghost King. 

It’s always responsibilities and death cult summonings and fighting ghosts who don’t think he should be king. Sure there have been some good things, but they’re comparatively few when looking at all the other stress and pain that comes with the crown. Sue him for wanting to have a nice night for once. Hell, at this point, he’d take being summoned to help with some kid’s homework, because at least then he could have a quiet night helping someone.

“Hey, man, can you come down here?” Signal asks. 

He wants to stay out of reach, hiding himself away for a bit longer, but Signal is his new, surprise, accidental husband, so Danny lowers himself to the ground and peeks through his fingers to look at him.

He tenses when Signal hugs him, soft and warm and comforting. It takes a moment for him to realize what’s going on, and then he’s melting into Signal’s embrace, dropping his hands to wrap them around Signal’s back.

Distantly, he can hear the other heroes talking quietly amongst themselves. He blocks out the sound as much as he can, determined to enjoy this hug while it lasts.

Which is… fairly long. Signal makes no moves to end the hug, so Danny closes his eyes to really savor the moment. 

“So,” Signal murmurs into his ear, “As newlyweds, how about we get to know each other a bit better before we start working on fixing all this?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Let’s ditch these guys and take some time to ourselves.”

“I promise I’ll get this fixed,” he says, just to make sure Signal knows. “Genuinely, I am so sorry to have married you through an old Realms vow when you had no say in it.”

“Hey, if it lands me a very nice, very attractive king, then I don’t mind at all. I could have done without the murderous cultists, though.”

Danny huffs out a small laugh. “Oh, for sure. Thanks for being so cool about this. Want me to fly us out of here?”

“Yes please,” Signal says. Danny smiles and tightens his grip on Signal, then lifts them both up. “I’ll see y’all later! Have fun with the rest of your patrols!” he calls out to the other heroes, who start shouting at him.

Danny flies them right out the roof before the other heroes figure out a way to kick his ass. The city they’re in is smoggy and dark, tall buildings rising up into the cloudy sky, and police sirens ring through the air. There’s no where that looks like a particularly nice spot to land for a conversation, so he asks Signal where he’d like to go and follows his directions from there.

They end up phasing through a building, then into the floor, which leaves them in what Signal calls The Hatch. 

Danny takes a quick moment to freak out over being in a hero’s secret hide out, the composes himself and finally pulls away from Signal.

“So,” he starts, looking around The Hatch and taking in the giant computer, the workstation, the motorcycle farther down the way, “What did you—Woah!” Danny spins around, slamming a hand over his eyes the instant he realizes that Signal is taking off his helmet, leaving his face bare.

It’s not like he’d know who Signal is anyways, being from a different dimension, but it’s the principle of the matter.

Signal laughs when he sees Danny’s attempt to keep from looking at him. A warm hand wraps around his wrist and gently pulls it away. “It’s okay, Danny, you can look,” he says. “It would be pretty weird if my own husband didn’t know my face.”

Slowly, giving Signal to change his mind, Danny opens his eyes. He moves his gaze up, going from Signal’s armor to his face, his very cute face and his warm brown eyes, and Danny stares for a moment. 

“Hi,” he whispers.

“Hi,” Signal says, fondness coloring his voice. “My name’s Duke. Are all Ghost Kings as cute as you?”

“Duke,” Danny repeats. “Hi. Um, no. The last one really sucked, actually, which is why I fought him. He was so bad the Infinite Realms didn’t want him anymore, so though I technically didn’t beat him in single combat, it was enough for the Infinite Realms to kick him out and get me on the throne.”

“Man, I can not wait to hear more of your stories. Think we got time for that while we search for a way to undo that marriage vow?”

Taking his chance, Danny says, “Sure! It’s a date.”

He’s awarded by Duke’s bright smile and idly wonders how long he can keep them married. Hopefully long enough for them to get into a real relationship where he can propose properly. And then he can get Jazz’s blessing too—

“Oh shit,” Danny realizes. 

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell my sister or she’s going to actually kill me.”

Duke winces. “And I should probably tell the others before Spoiler makes a mess of things… B is not going to be happy with me.”

They share a despairing look, already dreading the amount of scoldings they’re both going to get. He’s not looking forward to it.

“...Put it off until tomorrow?”

Duke nods. “Yeah. That’s a tomorrow problem. For now, how about a late dinner?”

“Sounds perfect.”

. . .

[send me a ghostlights prompt!]

[ikarakie]

the first time wayne meets steve is actually far before the events of '86. in fact, it's in winter of '85.

he's on his way back from work when he pops a tire. he's pissed off, it's cold, still dark, and the beginnings of fucking snow are falling around him, and he doesn't have a spare. the nearest payphone is probably three miles walk, and he's just readying himself to make the journey when, miraculously, a pair of headlights turn onto the back road.

the car slows to a stop behind wayne's, and he's struck by how fucking nice it is. a brown bmw 733i, one he thinks he's seen around a couple times. when the driver steps out, he realises that, yes, he has seen this car. because the boy behind the wheel is the harrington boy, and wayne curses every god out there.

he expects some snark. a good attitude and for the kid to make him grovel for help or outright deny any assistance. instead, he approaches with these wide bambi eyes, the absolute picture of concern.

"are you alright, sir?" he asks, perfectly polite. wayne huffs.

"popped a tire, ain't got a spare." he doesn't- doesn't know why he's telling him. really doesn't. but something about the kid makes him falter, makes his steely exterior give way ever so slightly. the boy crouches down to the tire in question, frowning as he inspects it. then nods, grinning. he says nothing to wayne as he heads back to his car, and for moment he thinks the kid's gonna leave him in the dirt. but, instead, he pops the trunk and hauls out a spare, rolls it over to the car.

wayne only watches, fascinated, as he jogs back to retrieve a little set of tools. sits his ass by his tire and starts going at it. he's in a thin, short sleeved tshirt and jeans. he must be fucking freezing- wayne is, and he's got a thick coat, gloves and a hat on.

"what're you doin', boy?" he asks, unable to sound anything but bewildered. the kid blinks at him.

"changing your tire, sir?"

"i ain't got anything to pay you back with." wayne warns, wary. the kid shrugs, continues his task.

"that's okay, i wasn't going to ask you to." he pulls the popped tire off and lays it by his side. "it's just a good thing we have the same size, huh?" he grins, a little shy. wayne has never felt so thrown off in his life.

was this really james and cynthia harrington's boy? would someone of those people's blood really sit in the cold to change a strangers tire? expecting nothing in return? "where's your layers, kid? it's cold as ass out here, you'll catch a chill."

"oh, i gave it to my friend." seriously? seriously? "i'm alright sir, not to worry." he says this despite his red cheeks and reddening knuckles.

he finishes fitting the tire a second or two later, and once he's inspected it, gives wayne an endearingly dorky thumbs up. it reminds him of eddie in all the best ways. "all done, sir!" he collects up all his tools and threads an arm through the hole of the tire, balancing it on his shoulder. "i'll take this for you, i have to drive by the junkyard anyways." he doesn't. wayne knows the harrington's live in loch nora, and that's the opposite goddamn direction.

"you really a harrington?" he asks, not missing the confusion and maybe even slight disappointment he's met with. "just- no offence, son, but i always thought they were nothin' but bad." he deflates even more, if possible. "how did they raise such a kind boy?"

it's such a sudden change, how quickly he's smiling, bright enough to light the damn road if he wanted. it's all bashful and excited, it makes wayne wonder if he's never heard a good word about himself in his life, which seems insane.

"i still got a bit of an asshole gene," he jokes, a little dry, "but i'm trying to be better, you know?" he motions to the tire. "if you can help, why shouldn't you?"

wayne wants to squeeze him, but refrains. thanks him a couple times over and forces the boy to take his hat before he goes, (despite his complaints). harrington bids him farewell and a safe drive home, and he's driving off before either realise they never learnt each other's names.

(wayne finds his out later, though, when eddie meets him at the door, worried that he's late. only after he's walked his nephew through the story three times and sworn up and down, yes, it was true, and yes, it was definitely harrington. steve harrington.

when they meet again after '86, in eddie's hospital room, that boy from all that time ago holding his nephew's hand, he does give him that hug. thanks him, for both this time and the last.

steve wears the hat in winter of '86. it makes wayne smile.)

[suntails]

hijo de la luna

[strange-birb]

Jason🫡 my bb

Jason Todd design for secret band AU. Honestly not too different from typical Jason design. I have him as the guitar player.

Most changes for all of them is on stage lol

His hair I love his hair and playing with the ways to style it!!

He unlike Tim and Steph is going to be in pretty much the same clothing per show(keeps it simple….kinda)

Anywayy I love Jason so much and I just picture him screaming and shredding. I’m placing him at a dimebag level for my own personal satisfaction and amusement……

Part 1. Part2.

:)

[mmelete]

Fanart for @imperialkatwala and @polynomialpandemic’s Fic! (Btw go read it on Ao3, it’s really good <3)

non-writing one beneath the cut:

[likeprongstostars]

ITS HEREEE!! based on summer, strawberries and nectar by @messymoony

it takes me about two seconds to grab my pen every time someone mentions jegulus as any creatures and mar here rewrote my brain with that fic

[intotheelliwoods]

So theres... this fanfiction,,,, I May Be Invisible, Bit I Still Look Good by @dandylovesturtles !!! And there is no fanart for it!?? Excuse me?? That is changing today. It is such a good read, and got me feeling so many emotions!

I hope my sense of humor gets across well aha

This was also just what I needed to get back into digital art and practice expressions apparently!

Sketch version of the second image under the cut!

[broken-glowsticks]

What Once was Mine

Chapter 13 - Support

Genre: Childhood friends, Eventual Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Love corner/love triangle, love rivals, Series.

Not all chapters will be proofread!!

Warnings: 18+, mdni, mentions of sex and alcohol consumption, additional warnings will be added to individual chapters as needed.

Previous • Main • Next

It was a quiet drive to pick up the corn dogs, your mind swirling. You couldn't help but replay the situation in the pizza parlor, baring through your embarrassment as you scanned to see if you could have done anything to make it better, only to feel more defeated when you came up empty. The only thing that was keeping you grounded was the heat of the pizza searing into your legs and Changbins hand in yours.

Changbin had remained silent the entire drive, not wanting to push you if you didn't want to talk. But he would have to be a massive idiot to not notice the tension you were carrying. He so desperately wanted to know what exactly was wrong and what he could do to help. For now he settled on holding your hand tightly, his thumb tracing gentle circles on your skin as he drove in silence.

Once you had run inside to grab the corn dogs did you finally break the silence upon your return.

“Hey, uhm, sorry for what happened back there…”

“Why are you apologizing, bunny?” Changbin asked gently, waiting for you to buckle up before starting your car up and pulling back onto the road.

“It's just… that must have been so awkward, having to be in the middle of that… of me and Hyunjin.”

“Well… I didn't love getting interrupted, but…” Changbin tried to choose his words carefully. He knew why Hyunjin was reacting like that, it must be hard seeing the girl you love kiss someone else the way you were kissing Changbin. But you didn't know Hyunjin loved you and Changbin wasn't going to just reveal that. He wasn't that kind of person.

“But… what?” Your eyes finally pulled from the middle distance when your boyfriend went silent. He had such a pensive look on his face.

“I loved how you clung to me,” he finally said in a whisper, his hand searching for yours again. His eyes never left the road as his fingers ghosted over your palm, skin gliding against skin until your fingers interlaced and squeezed together. “I have to confess something.”

“What… what's that?” Changbins lips pressed into a thin line before he spoke.

“I know about you and him, that you used to sleep together.”

The air in your lungs vanished as your world turned on its axis. How did he know? When did he find out? Did Jisung tell him or did he figure it out before you two even started dating? These and many more questions flooded your mind as panic pulled at you. You felt dizzy. Changbin, however, was calm as he continued before you could even open your mouth.

“I'm not mad, baby. I knew for a while, before I even asked you out actually. I knew and I wanted you anyway,” He explained, his voice leveled and gentle, meanwhile you were trying to keep from hyperventilating in the passenger's seat.

“I knew that when we got together there would be some awkward moments between you two. That's why I'm not even upset over how he reacted or that you wanted to go after him when he ran off. I know you two are just friends now and that you would've done the same thing if it was Han, Felix, or Chan. But the entire time… you clung to me, you never stopped looking to me for comfort. It didn't even dawn on me to be upset or that I was in the middle of something cause I was too focused on being there for you. I just… I love how you wanted just me. And I loved that you clung to me and didn't go after him.”

The car fell into silence again as you sat speechless, gawking at Changbins' gorgeous profile. You suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy inside as you replayed his words in your head, truly letting them sink in. He didn't care. He didn't care about what happened before he started dating you or that things are awkward between you and Hyunjin. He didn't try to interject himself into that sensitive moment, he wasn't even embarrassed about kissing you in such a public place. All he cared about was that you turned to him and that's where all his focus whent.

“I don't deserve you,” you said with a relieved smile, finally able to breathe again as you rested your head against his shoulder. “I have the best boyfriend in the whole world.”

“And don't you forget it,” Changbin grinned, finally casting you a sideways glance before pulling the back of your hand to his lips, the car ride now being filled with silly chatter and stolen kisses at red lights the entire way back to the studio.

○●☆♡☆●○

When you opened the door to the studio, you were pleasantly surprised to see Felix perched on the couch.

“Sunshine!” You cheered happily, setting down the food on the only table in the room and plopping next to Felix to squeeze him in a hug.

“‘Sunshine’? Since when did you two get so close?” Chan asked, a small smile playing on his features.

“Pfff, you'd notice if you ever left your room. I bet you didn't even know I was over a few days ago,” you said with feign annoyance, pulling Felix closer.

“Wait, you were at my place?”

“Yeah, she was!” Felix laughed, hugging you back as tightly. “See, you just proved her right. Daaaaad,” Felix said in a childish voice, turning to Changbin.

“Who, me?”

“Yeah, you and big bro work too hard. You're neglecting mom and meeeee.” Changbin laughed at Felixs’ antics as he pulled out a roll of paper towels and grabbed himself some food.

“If Changbin is the dad and Chan is the big brother, what am I? Another brother?” Jisung asked, standing to serve himself some food once Changbin had moved out of the way. The studio was too small for so many people to be shuffling around at the same time.

“The dog,” you and Felix replied in unison flatly.

“What? Lame!” Jisung whined as he settled back into his chair, “hey, did you guys get anything to drink?”

“Shit. No, we didn't,” Changbin replied.

“Also lame,” Jisung huffed, stuffing a corn dog in his mouth.

“If you wanted something to drink, you should have specified,” you said, standing and distributing food to Felix and Chan to minimize the shuffling.

“Well, why didn't you just get some at the pizza place?” Jisung razzed, taking a bite of pizza.

“That's ‘cause of-” your hand faltered as you handed Felix his pizza, your brain catching you before you could even mention Hyunjin or the awkward moment that happened between you and him

“Because ooooof…?” Jisung asked, noticing your stiff motions. You and Jisung have not only been friends since forever but have been living together long enough to know when there's more going on, especially when you make it obvious.

“Bunny's just being shy, I may or may not have been… distracting her,” Changbin cut in with a cocky grin, making Jisung wince.

“Gross, sorry I asked,” Jisung said with an overdramatic gag, deciding to focus instead on his food.

You smiled as you went to press a kiss to Changbins’ temple, mouthing a silent thank you as you finally snagged some food for yourself. A thank-you Felix definitely noticed.

Ever since the day you came over and explained your sensitive history with Hyunjin, Felix had been keeping tabs on you. He knew he was the only one in the friend group who had all the details of what went on between you and Hyunjin, not to mention an unbiased opinion on everything. Also, that night brought you two together. Felix and you not only chatted about your past, but he also had shared plenty of secrets himself that night, which only forged a stronger bond than you and him had ever had before. That intimacy is why he felt the need to be so protective of you, especially since he knew that currently too busy Jisung- the guy you'd usually turn to in times like these - wouldn't be able to give you level-headed advice when it came to dealing with Hyunjin.

With Felix’ eyes following you so closely, it was easy for him to notice you checking your phone while everyone carried on in boisterous conversation, a strange emotion crossing your face as you stared at the screen. Shoving the phone into the pocket of Changbins’ jacket, you slid from your spot next to the man in question to slide closer to Felix, your voice a murmur when you spoke.

“Lix? Can I talk to you later?”

Felixs’ eyes darted to you before he quickly looked away and gave a subtle nod, trying his best not to tip anybody off as the two of you ate amongst the loud voices in the room. It was when Felix asked to go to the bathroom that you volunteered to go with him, claiming you needed to go too, and if you were to get lost, at least you were together.

“Who's bright idea was it to not put a bathroom on this floor?” Felix asked the moment the two of you had left the studio.

“They also didn't install any name plates either,” you laughed.

“I know! I was wandering around, counting doors, trying to figure out what Chan meant by ‘we're the third one back’!”

You and Felix shared a laugh as you entered the elevator, going down a floor to reach the elevators. The two of you were silent as the elevator took you down a level to one of the floors that actually had bathrooms and you remained that way for a bit until Felix's hand slid into yours and squeezed it.

“So what's got you all gloomy?” Felixs’ voice was somewhat quiet, quiet enough that you could hear your own footsteps echoing through the hall.

“Hyunjin so happened to have walked into the pizza parlor me and Changbin were at and caught us making out,” you admitted sheepishly, giving Felix some context.

“No fucking way,” he said a bit louder, his head whipping towards you. “And then what?”

“It was so awkward. He was so hurt, he couldn't even hide it.”

“The message you got, was it from him?” You nodded, your lips a thin line as you and Felix stopped and sat on the sill of the large window at the other end of the hall.

“He texted me to apologize for running away, that he just threw him off. But… he's hiding something again, I know it. I know last time we talked about how I'm not owed everything, but Felix, the way he looked at me. I'm scared he's hiding something big and that he's only hurting him by hiding it.”

Felix pondered for a moment what you had told him before asking for a bit more of a detailed account of what happened. Once you had finished, Felix thought a bit more, pulling you from the window sill and walking you back to the elevator before replying.

“If you're so worried, then why not go talk to him again?”

“I dunno Sunshine, last time we were alone together we almost kissed. Changbin just told me how much he trusts me, I don't want to risk anything by going back.”

“Then talk to Bin, tell him you're worried about your friend. He'll understand Y/N. You don't have to be scared.” It was your turn to think things over.

Felix was right. You didn't have to pick one or the other anymore. You had drawn your lines in the sand, and you knew Hyunjin respected that. He proved that with his immense regret about almost kissing you, all you had to do was talk to your boyfriend and keep him in the loop. With resolve, you had made up your mind. When you and Changbin had a moment, you were going to let him know about your plans of seeing Hyunjin again.

---------------------------------------

Oof, little bit of a shorter chapter this week 😬 Baby was extra clingy these past few days, and my husband even had some PTO, so of course I was gonna spend time with him! Buuuuut that does mean I kinda rushed this chapter a bit more than intended, so it's even less proofread. Oh well 😅

Way to go Binnie for clearing the air and being such a kick ass boyfriend this chapter tho! Lowkey I'm too in love with him 😍 lmao, get ready for Hyunjin angst next chapter 😈

Taglist: @groovygroovyhyunjin @hhwangsmoon @luvyblossom @doggezz@kayleefriedchicken @hyunjinhoexxx @zadkielr @bincxtesworld

[oldblog-batsyheere]

I keep imagining this one scene- usually its Jason or Tim or Damian, or all the Batboys or the Batfam sitting there with cultists or the league trying to summon the ghost king- but put it as just Dick who is a little surprised that he passed the requirement of having died so he can be used to summon this eldritch being that rules the dead.

And when he's bound, placed in front of a Lazarus pit and everyone is still trying to reach him, the being is summoned- and Danny just lurches through the pit hacking and spitting and cursing because this ectoplasm is nasty, what have you people been doing to it?

And the cultists are expecting Pariah Dark. They demand he takes them to the real ghost king. And Dick just has to watch this being with snow white hair and glowing green eyes start to float up and take this sheen of other to him as he goes "yeah no".

And Dick is maybe a little drugged, and has a concussion, but he feels he has an excuse for what comes out of his mouth.

"Nightwing, come in. What's going on?"

"B, I think I found your next kid. I'm gonna marry him. Even if he climbed out of a Lazarus pit and looks a little spooky."

"-what?!"

[small-spark-of-light]

FINALLY FINISHED THIS PIECE LETS GOO :DDD another artwork for one of my fics!!! this time its my recent sickfic

here are some bonus doodles!!!

[luxaofhesperides]

Ghostlights where Phantom saves Duke or the Signal, and a week later (at a Wayne gala or some other place) Duke recognizes the light/aura coming from Danny

Putting off gala prep was perhaps not the best plan. Duke spent the past month insisting that everything is fine and he has it under control. Duke is also a lying liar who lies, and now he’s frantically trying to pick up his suit in time to get it dry cleaned and altered as necessary. 

Alfred would be disappointed in him, but in Duke’s defense, he had to go out of town on a mission to bust a growing drug cartel, and then spent half a week visiting a shelter for metas on the run (unofficial and hidden away) to help everyone find new homes and learn to control their powers. These things take time!

Unfortunately, gala prep also takes time, and since it’s a charity gala for funding the education of every Gothamite student, it’s not one he can slip out of. The entire family is being strong-armed into attending and not making a scene until the donation period in the first half is over. 

Duke knows he’s not the only one who’s scrambling to get ready for a gala that’s taking place in three days, but they’re not helping him, so it feels like he’s the only one messing up. 

“Sorry!” he calls behind him as he sprints through a group of people. 

He could have asked someone to drive him, but he knows they’re all busy and doesn’t want his own poor time management to cause problems for anyone else. Even though he’s sure Bruce is looking for an excuse to get out of a mandatory Wayne Enterprises board meeting that both Lucius and Tim dragged him to.

RIP Bruce. He will be missed.

The Diamond District is full of people walking the streets, sprinting between parked cars and waiting for their rides. They’re all dressed nicely, making him feel out of place. It’s a feeling that’s never left him since he joined the Waynes but it’s particularly bad when he’s left to navigate these spaces alone. Rich people and socialites are a different kind of human, one that Duke doesn’t care to understand; there’s greed in all of them, turning them heartless, and they can give as much as they want to charity but it won’t change the fact that all they do is a performance to make people like them, rather than a desire to do anything good. 

The sooner this is over, the better. He keeps going, hoping that he can still make it to his appointment with the tailor. Alfred recommended the store, then set up the appointment, so all Duke has to do is trust their judgment as they get him fitted. He’s still got twenty minutes until the scheduled time, but some unspoken rule makes it so he has to show up fifteen minutes early for better service or risk being turned away and told to reschedule. 

Duke slows to a walk when he catches sight of the store, the trying to catch his breath and look more composed before he reaches the door. He takes a moment to straighten his clothes a bit, then opens the door and steps in.

The bell jingles pleasantly above his head. The store is empty of any other customers, and the employee at the front counter looks up with a plastered on smile. 

“I’ll be with you in a moment!” she says, then looks down at her phone and types something out before placing it under the counter. A tablet comes out instead and she swipes through a few screens, then sets it down and look at Duke again. “How can I help you, sir?”

“I have an appointment? For a suit fitting. Under the name Thomas.”

She taps on the screen for a minute, then nods and gives him another customer service smile. “Alright, I’ll go ahead and grab the tailor. They’ll be out with your suit soon. Please, feel free to take a seat or browse some of our suits. We just recently got a new collection in from Italy.”

“Sure, thanks. I’ll just… be here, I guess.”

The employee takes her tablet and disappears through a door, leaving him alone in the store. He doesn’t want to sit down, not while his heart is still trying to settle from his sprint through half of Diamond District, so Duke wanders around the neat stacks of dress shirts and vests, pants and belts and shoes lined up neatly against the walls. 

He takes a moment to shoot Alfred a text that he’s at the tailor for his fitting appointment. Steph’s sent him a long string of videos online, and he’s just about to go through them when the bell rings again. 

Duke glances up and watches a guy walk into the store. He looks around, makes eye contact with Duke, then quickly looks down, taking a seat by the door.

Probably another upper class citizen uncomfortable with the fact that someone in jeans and a hoodie is shopping for suits. Shaking his head lightly, Duke wanders deeper into the store to get some distance between them so they could ignore each other more easily. It’s only until the tailor comes out, and then he can go to a fitting room and be done with this whole thing, so Duke resigns himself to suffering through the tense silence. 

How long is he even supposed to wait? He can only look at clothes in one of three colors before he gets bored. 

He goes to another rack, trying to see if he can notice anything different about these shirts. 

And then he hears a shoe scuff against the floor behind him. He tenses up, but before he can turn around, a belt is wound around his throat, pulling him back and choking him. 

Duke drops his weight, tucking his chin and gets a hand against the inside of the belt to try to push it away. His back hits someone’s chest and he’s trapped, focused on trying not to be choked to death while also keeping his vigilante abilities and meta powers secret. 

More footsteps come from behind, and a soaked cloth is pressed against his nose and mouth.

Chloroform, he realizes, familiar with the smell from Bruce’s training. But training isn’t enough to keep him from being knocked out, and he quickly slips away from the waking world, falling to the ground. 

Just before he passes out completely, he hears the employee who greeted him say, “I’m not sure how much Wayne would be willing to pay for him, but let’s start high and negotiate lower. New kid can’t possibly be worth that much…”

Duke wakes up groggily, memories of what happened quickly snapping into place. He’s too out of it still to get up, but he’s awake enough to be offended. Sure he’s the new kid, and barely even a Wayne, but he’s still worth a lot!

Kidnappers these days. So rude.

He doesn’t hear anyone around him, and it feels like he’s lying on a cold concrete floor. Basement, maybe? Warehouse? Storage unit tucked away somewhere? There’s nothing much to see when Duke is able to open his eyes, squinting bareilly at his surroundings. His arms are tied behind him, wrists bound, but they left his legs alone. 

If he could just hit the panic button on his bracelet…

Duke wiggles around, fighting through the lingering effects of Chloroform, and manages to sit up. If he strains his hearing, he thinks he can hear voices outside of the empty room he’s been left in. There’s a window high up, too high for a normal person to reach without help, but if he can use the shadows to travel through it, then he may be able to escape on his own. 

First things first: he needs to free his hands before anyone comes in to check on him.

They used zip ties on him, which is inconvenient. He’s learned how to get out of them, but it’s difficult enough without being drugged and having to do it behind his back. 

He’s feeling the zip ties bite into his wrists just as there’s a crash from outside the room. His kidnappers yell, alarmed, and are quickly silenced. That’s rarely ever a good sign. Duke renews his efforts to escape, ignore the pain in pushing against his binds like this. 

The door opens. Duke hears the small click of a lock disengaging and freezes. Then he gets to his feet, still unsteady, and prepares to ram his head into anyone who comes near him like some sort of deranged battering ram, or a drunk raging bull. 

Duke is ready for the worst: a gang hoping to steal away a Wayne hostage, a Rogue, Gnomon popping in to cause trouble for the sole purpose of getting on Duke’s nerve. 

He’s not expecting another teenage boy, who is literally glowing, to poke his head in and zero in on Duke. He blinks, then smiles; it’s friendly and sincere, nothing like the employee who helped kidnap him. 

“Hey!” he says, coming into the room properly. He’s floating a good foot off the ground, eyes a bright neon green, with white hair that sways as if he’s underwater. “Are you okay? I saw them drag you out of the back of the store and followed them, but I got a bit lost. Sorry for taking so long to get here.”

“...It’s fine?” Duke offers, trying to wrap his head around what’s happening. “I wasn’t expecting a rescue so soon, anyways. Think you can help me out here?”

“Yeah, of course!” he flies closer, then drops down to the ground behind Duke. He hums lightly under his breath, and then Duke feels a cold touch on his wrist and the zip ties are suddenly gone. 

Duke blinks, then brings his arms in front of him. He moves around a bit to make sure he’s not hallucination, and sure enough, he’s free and unbound because a random meta teenager vanished the zip ties into the ether, or something. 

“Thanks, man. Any idea where we are?”

“Not a clue. I got lost coming here, and I was following them. I don’t think you should trust any directions I give.”

“Fair enough,” Duke laughs. “I’m Duke, by the way.”

“Phantom.”

“Well, thanks for the save, Phantom. Can I treat you to something?”

“Like, coffee?”

“Sure. Or brunch, or ice cream. Whatever you want, really.”

Phantom considers it for a moment, then shakes his head. “Sorry, I would love to but going out in public looking like this,” he gestures to himself, “Is not a great idea. Thanks for the offer though. You got a ride?”

Duke pats his pockets, then sighs. “My phone’s gone. I still have my wallet, though.”

“I fly you to someplace you can call someone, if you’d like.”

“You sure? I could probably just walk out of here and call a taxi.”

“I don’t think walking around by yourself after being kidnapped is a great idea,” Phantom says, doubtfully. “Seriously, let me fly you.”

He should just hit the panic button and wait for someone to show up to get him. He shouldn’t go to some unknown location with a meta he literally just met. 

But, you know what? No one else can say they got kidnapped twice in one day, so Duke nods and says, “Sure, sweep me off my feet, Phantom. You gotta commit to this rescue.”

Phantom laughs. And then he does sweep Duke off his feet into a princess carry with a cheeky grin and flies them out the building, which turns out to be an abandoned apartment building slated for demolition. 

“Keep this up and you’ll be replacing Superman in no time,” Duke jokes.

“I think I could manage it,” Phantom replies thoughtfully. “I mean, I’m already prettier than him, don’t you think?”

“Oh, definitely. The glow really brings out your eyes.”

Phantom gets him a few blocks away when Duke recognizes where they are, and quickly directs him into Crime Alley. They land on top of one of Jason’s safe houses, and while he’s sure there’s enough security to take out a SWAT Team, that’s absolutely not going to stop him from breaking in to use one of Jason’s burner phones and eat his leftovers. 

He’s set down on his feet gently, and as soon as Phantom sees that he’s fine, able to walk and everything, he floats back up, just out of reach.

“Be careful, okay?” he says, getting ready to leave.

“I’ll do my best. Hey, are you gonna be in Gotham for a while, or…?”

Phantom gives him a tired smile. “Nah. I’m just passing through. As long as my luck doesn’t get even worse, then I should be out of here in a few days.”

“Shame,” Duke says, giving Phantom a very visible once over. He’s pretty tall, and Duke can see some muscle on him, and the tight black outfit really adds to his look. The glow that comes out of his chest makes him look ethereal and Duke is beyond glad that he got such a charming rescuer.

Phantom doesn’t blush like a normal person. He glows brighter instead, curling into himself a bit as he looks away, unable to stop the smile from growing on his face. 

“I guess,” he shrugs. “Are you really going to be alright from here?”

“Yeah, man, I have a friend who lives here. I’ll just bother him until he agrees to give me a ride.”

“Alright.” Phantom drifts away, glancing behind him before turning back to Duke. “I’ll get going then. Take care, Duke!”

Duke waves and watches as Phantom begins to fly away. Then Phantom… disappears? Or rather, his body does but Duke can see an orb of light making its way across Gotham, almost like a star fallen from the sky.

He stays on the roof until the light is long gone. When he’s finally ready to go in and steal from Jason, the sun has completely set. 

And he still doesn’t have his suit.

Duke sighs, and mentally prepares himself to other day of stressing out about the gala.

Three days of stress and last minute scrambling leave Duke in the Gotham Museum of Modern Art with Steph, Tim, Cass, and Damian. They’re hiding in the photography gallery to avoid other guests, taking a break from being polite and letting thinly veiled, passive aggressive insults slide over them.

.

.

.

“How much longer must we suffer this before we can go?” Damian grumbles, looking like he’s do anything to get his hands on a blade. Which, considering how many people tried to either pinch his cheeks are say some racist remark about him and his mother, is totally fair. Duke would just punch them, but sometimes a little drama helped get the message across. 

“At least two more hours,” Tim says, not bothering to look up from his phone. From what few glimpses of the screen Duke caught, he’s leading a Titans missions through text and clever hacking. Though it may be more accurate to call is a Young Justice mission since there’s no way any of this was authorized by a Justice League member. 

Also Anita, suited up as Empress, is there. If they aren’t on the news for property destruction and absolutely batshit wild shenanigans, Duke will have to check on Tim to make sure he’s not a pod person sent to infiltrate the family. 

“Think we can sneak out without anyone noticing?” Steph asks, looking at the emergency exit longingly.

Cass shakes her head and points to the door leading to the ballroom. When they look over, Dick makes very deliberate eye contact with them and give them a smile that looks stretched across his face.

Tim winces and pushes Duke. “Oh, something went down. Go take over for him and let Dick rest in here for a bit.”

“Man, why does it have to be me?” he grumbles even as he stands. Dick lets out a heavy breath and gives Duke a grateful smile, patting on the shoulder before shoving him out the door. 

As soon as he’s back into the main hallway, the music and chatter swell, no longer muffled by the thick walls of the photography wing. A few people come and go from the ballroom, no doubt looking for the restroom. 

Or more private places for… other things. Things they definitely shouldn’t be doing in an art museum.

He really can’t wait for this night to be over.

Duke joins the rest of the guests, fake smile on his face, and quickly makes his way to the snack table. He might as well make the most of his time stuck out here. Maybe he could even cause another relationship scandal by implying that Bruce is sleeping with one of partners when in hearing distance of a couple. Maybe even both of them. 

Bruce would go with it. It’s hilarious and he also needs something to make these events bearable.

Sadly, he doesn’t see any good targets as he scans the ballroom. A few people are dancing, while others are talking in small circles, closed off from outsiders. There’s an entire table of old ladies with glasses of wine in front of them; Duke considers hanging around them, since they confess to a lot of crimes after a few glasses. It’s fascinating. 

Also, he does kind of miss hanging out with the one old lady who’s declared herself his high society grandmother and told him stories of how she used to go to bars to find racist people or Klan members during the Jim Crow era, seduce them, then poison them and get their addresses so a few gangs she was friends with would fuck them up.

Granny Kaliasto is the coolest person ever. 

Just as he’s about to finish his last mini rolled crepe, Duke catches sight of one of the few teenagers still in the ballroom. The others, mostly stuck up rich kids no one actually likes, have already left to take over some other part of the museum to gossip until their parents decide it’s time to go home. These two are clearly not part of that crew, what with the girl being very goth and in a poofy, ripped dress, and the boy having already taken his jacket off to keep over his forearm, the top button of his shirt popped open.

They might be cool. He’s hoping they’re cool because he desperately needs some company to keep from dying of boredom while the gala continues on.

Duke walks over to them, going around the side of the ballroom, until he’s close enough to hear them talking.

The boy has his back to Duke, but the girl sees him. She immediately scowls and slaps the boys shoulder, eyes locked on Duke.

“Got another comment about my dress?” she says, voice sharp and acidic.

“Another?” Duke repeats. “I was just bored and wanted to talk to people who were my age. Sorry?”

The boy smacks the girl’s arm, then turns to face Duke. “Sorry about her! Sam is just naturally rude and aggressive. Tonight’s been a bit rough, with this crowd.”

Duke goes to say something, but the words stick in his throat when he sees the boy’s eyes shift from deep blue to an electric green. When he focuses, he can see a faint glow in his chest, the same glow he saw in Phantom.

“Dude? You alright?”

Sam looks him over judgmentally. “I guess it’s nice that I’m not being ogled for once, but don’t do that shit to Danny either.”

“Wait, that’s not what I was doing!” Duke hurries to say, snapped out of his shock. “I just… you look a lot like someone I met recently.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. What was your name? I’m Duke, by the way.”

He holds out a hand, and the boy shakes it with a small smile. “Danny. I don’t think we’ve met. I mean, I’m only here because Sam wouldn’t come to this gala without me, so her parents flew me in.”

“You from out of town?”

“Sam and I are from Illinois. Her parents are traveling around the east coast right now, and they decided to spend a week in Gotham to talk business.”

“I’d ask how it is, but outsiders tend to really hate Gotham, so…”

Sam barks out a sharp laugh. “Oh please, we can handle Gotham. Our town might not be as big and well known as Gotham, but we got our own shit to deal with there.”

“I do get shot at a lot back home,” Danny adds thoughtfully. “And that’s without the ghosts.”

“Woah, what?”

“Up for a bit of a story?” Danny asks, impish grin on his face. By his side, Sam brings a hand up to cover a manic smile, shoulders already shaking with laughter. 

This is already better than the grandma gang. Duke leans against the wall, getting settled in, and says, “Always, man. Hit me with it.”

The next hour an a half passes quickly with Sam and Danny dramatically narrating some of the things that have happened in their town. Duke listens, absolutely enraptured, and doesn’t even notice the Waynes file into the ballroom again. 

Unfortunately, they bring with them the attention of most of the ballroom, including Bruce and Sam’s parents. 

She cuts the current story about Box Ghost short with a heavy sigh. “Hold up, I need to greet the Waynes properly while my parents are watching.” She steps in front of Duke and Danny, holding out a hand with a pained smile.

Tim takes it first, giving a solid shake, and introductions start. 

Free from the rules of high society, if only for the moment, Duke leans closer to Danny and whispers to him, “Phantom. Wanna get out of here?”

Danny flinches and turns to him looking panicked. “How did you know?”

“I kinda got magic eyes. I see a lot of things normal humans can’t. Don’t worry about it. I still owe you, so you wanna get out of here?”

He watches as Danny glances around the ballroom, then back to him, clearly weighing out his options. Then he nods and says, “Know where to get a good milkshake around here?”

“Sure do.”

“I guess you’re the one rescuing me this time.”

“Not a rescue,” Duke corrects, and casually picks Danny up over his shoulder into a fireman’s carry, “A kidnapping.”

Danny laughs and waves Sam and all the others goodbye as Duke marches out of the ballroom.

“Don’t bother me for the next two hours!” he calls to the Waynes, “I’m going on a date!”

There are shocked gasps and murmurs all through the crowd. But as he spins around to wave at his shocked and easily amused family, he also catches sight of Granny Kaliasto raising her half full wine glass towards him.

She really is the coolest.

He’s definitely telling her all about this at the next event they attend together. It’ll be nice to have a few stories of his own to share.

[ummick]

"Thanks to the whole crew for the hard work! 💪🏻" - september 15, 2024 📷 @.nico_lapierre / instagram