#I hope I didn't say something that could hurt Stephanie or others

[unabletomakedecisions]

I don't know where to talk about this but I need to talk with SOMEONE about how NPMD has an ongoing theme (I think it's a theme?) of people getting a taste of what they always wanted before it is stolen from them and they die.

[MASSIVE SPOILERS]

Max thought the nerds actually cared about him and were willing to do something nice for him out of their own free will.

And then he fell and realised the nerds didn't care about him, they only wanted to hurt him (although they didn't actually want to kill him).

Richie finally became friends with the popular footballers (is it football? I'm Australian idk) and they told him they liked + needed him.

And then Max called out and made Richie think they were bullying him again, then told him that he'll always be a loser.

Ruth got her moment on stage and hit that amazing high note, proving to herself that she could be a lead at a musical theatre and be the star of the show.

And then Max booed her, which essentially told her that she could never be good enough to do it, and he killed her before she could ever perform in front of an audience.

Steph's dad and his assistant don't fit this, but they're not main characters.

Pete finally asks Stephanie out for the dance and she says yes, fulfilling both of their hopes for each other's love.

And then... If Max hadn't stopped the bullet, Pete would've died knowing he could never be with Steph, and Steph would have lived on in sadness. And if Grace hadn't called Max away and tricked him, then they both would have died with the knowledge that they failed to save the person they loved most and would never be with them.

In giving up her chastity, Grace stops the cycle from repeating with Steph & Pete, and instead forces Max to die again. Max doesn't actually lose what he wanted most with his second death, because Grace substitutes her want (to become holy again and to have this never haunt her again) for one of his wants (to have sex with Grace).

I don't know if I'm onto something here, if I'm being crazy, or if someone else has already noticed it.

[jupiters-galaxy]

I'm just going to say it, I think a lot of people misunderstand Steph's motivations!

It's true that she's sweet and protective of the people she loves, but this girl is also fueled by SPITE. She likes proving people wrong, she likes to get reactions from people with her snarky comments, and she really, really likes getting reactions from people who have irritated her.

Going back to Abstinence Camp, there's several of examples of this. Upon arriving to the camp she doesn't want to be at, she asks for a blue shirt instead of a pink one, trying to stir up problems. Wearing a blue shirt, as a girl, at an EXTREMELY Christian camp? That was 100% spiteful, and I love it. She was snarky towards Boy Jerry when he was leading a craft, because she was unhappy about being there. Not to mention, she intentionally broke the rules at camp, smuggling in sweets because she wasn't supposed to. A lot of that was her way of quietly rebelling: sure, she couldn't control if she was there or not, but she could control her experience there.

The biggest example from Abstinence Camp, though, is her scene with Pete in the shower-house. Of course, she did actively like him, she genuinely did want to be with him, but that's not the only reason she wanted to hook up with him. She's mad off of her recent interaction with Grace, and she went into the shower-house in the first place specifically to get to Grace. Once she's in there, she sees Pete, and it's kind of the perfect circumstance. She's at Abstinence Camp. She wants to defy the rules by not abstaining! And here's this guy she likes. The idea of doing that probably felt really good at the time.

That being said I do think her relationship with Peter is very sweet in that episode...like, idk, they get along in such a cute way, and you can tell they're mutually attracted to each other. She's doing it spitefully but she also wants him, I love it, I love their dynamic so much. This is in no way related to my point I just really believe in Abstinence Camp Lautski supremacy.

Going into NPMD, the other big example also has to do with Pete! We know she wanted to defend Pete after he got beat up, and of course part of that was because she cares about him and is angry that he's hurt. But I want to point out that Max's motivation to beat Pete up was that Max didn't think that Steph should be hanging out with Pete. That was what pushed her from feeling sorry for Pete to being angry and wanting to get back at Max. One of her big motivators for pranking him was absolutely spite. Who is he to hurt Peter? Who is he to control her? As Steph said, "Who does he think he is?"

Also when I think about it, when she told Pete about her C+ she said "My dad couldn't believe it," and that could be seen as her bragging about doing something her dad didn't believe she could do!

I hope this makes sense to ya'll, I literally love Stephanie Lauter so much and I think this is a really interesting facet of her

[green-eyedfirework]

"Prince Richard," said the cold, cruel general, mouth twisted into a smirk and one blue eye icy cold, "Well, I suppose you aren't a prince anymore."

Dick kept his mouth shut, and hoped that the others kept their mouths shut too.  Jason, who was the first one he'd worry about, was gone, disappeared into the night with Tim on the hunt for ghosts.  Cass was halfway across the land, too far to be hurt, which left Damian and Stephanie.  He could trust Steph to keep Damian in line.  He had to.

"If only looks could kill," Slade laughed, and his men laughed with him.  The hall was full of them, of his warriors, menacing the remainder of Dick's paltry court.  The representative from Nanda Parbat was watching intently.  Dick wasn't imagining the smile on his face.  "What's the matter, Prince Richard?  Not enjoying yourself?"

Dick felt sick.  Sick and numb.  He had been castellan of Gotham for a few paltry months before losing it.  Bruce would be so ashamed.

"It appears that the prince has lost his tongue," Slade laughed, beckoning Dick closer.  Dick knew it wasn't worth it to disobey.

Slade waited until Dick was within arm's reach of the throne before grabbing him and forcing him closer.  Dick struggled for an instant before he remembered where he was, and let Slade drag him forward.

The kiss was savage and domineering, Slade's mouth hot and devouring as he pulled Dick fully into his lap, forcing him to straddle the general as he submitted to the kiss.  His cheeks burned when he felt the hands on his ass.

"No, tongue's there all right," Slade called out when he finally pulled back.  "And I now I definitely know why there are so many odes to the prince's ass."  He paired it with a pinch.  "A big castle and a pretty prince in my lap, what more could I want?"

Slade's men were jeering, and Dick didn't dare turn around to look at Damian and Steph.  If Slade wanted—better him than them.  Please not them.

~#~

Dick shifted on his knees, hands balled into fists by his side, not looking up as the general conducted the final preparations for seizing the castle.  Dick didn't want to see Slade.  He didn't want to acknowledge any unspoken order the man would give with Dick here, kneeling between his legs, inches away from his own throne.

Please let Damian not be watching this.  Please, please, let Steph be covering his eyes, Damian shouldn't see this, he was just a child—

"I have to say," Slade mused, loud enough for the whole hall to hear, "I could get used to a sight like this."

A hand tightened in Dick's hair and he let himself be pulled up, pliant.  He wouldn't cry.  He wouldn't cry.

The man's expression was more inscrutable this time.  "All done taking your kingdom," he said, voice heavy with implication.  "Now just to take its king."

Dick locked his jaw.  He would not cry.  He would not cry.

"Someone go fetch a crown," Slade got up, dragging Dick up with him.  "I've always wanted to fuck a prince."  The jeers in the hall grew louder.  "The rest of you can take whatever spoils you like.  We won't be staying long."

They never did.  They conquered, they looted, and they went on their merry way, a vicious band of mercenaries with no code, no honor, no loyalty.

"Please," Dick finally unstuck his mouth to say, "my siblings.  Please don't—"

"The little prince and his handmaid will be fine," the general snorted, still dragging Dick along.  "You really aren't very bright, are you."

Something hot and thick crawled into Dick's throat at the insult given so bluntly.  If Dick had been smarter, he could've protected Gotham, if Dick had been a better leader, if Dick had just crowned himself king—

He could feel himself start to go numb.  Distant.  He barely registered Slade reaching his bedchamber, or shoving him inside, or the man locking the door behind him.

Overkill, Dick thought dazedly, at the numerous locks on the door.

Dick stumbles back.  Away from Slade.  From the man who will—who was planning to—who—

There was a crown in Slade's hand.  Dick didn't know who gave it to him.  Slade steps forward and Dick steps back, until he hits the edge of the bed, until there's nowhere to run.

Slade drops the crown on his head with a sardonic smile.  It's the actual crown.  Gotham's crown, to be worn only by its ruler.  It's of Gotham, the weight heavy on Dick's head, it's the literal symbol of his country.  And Dick is going to get fucked wearing it.

It feels....really heavy.  Dick is actually developing a headache.  He raises a hand to take it off but Slade catches it and forces it down.  "No," the general says sharply.

Dick should obey.  Dick has to obey.  But it's getting acutely painful and he fights against Slade's grip, trying to free his hands or toss the crown off or something to prevent this searing pain.

"It hurts," Dick gasps, vision blurry.  The room is spinning.

"Maybe if you'd just bloody crowned yourself at the start, it wouldn't have to be this way," says an unsympathetic voice, before the whole room goes dark.

[roryelijah02]

Hello! Hope you're doing well! Wondered if you could analyse the whole 'what does Carol want' thing? There's the Eugene&Carol scene where she tells him to go meet Stephanie and then he says "I sincerely hope you get what it is that you want" - and the very next thing for her is negan giving her alpha's head. And then there's the Alpha hallucination being all 'what do you wantttt'. And then daryl asking her if she got what she wants after nearly jumping off a cliff and she says "no and I won't" but then she's insane with emotion when he says "you still got me". There's probably more. What is ittt, what does she want 🙃🫠 I feel like if you put all the scenes in sequence where they touch on it then you could see her working through that question herself, but then I feel like it's left hanging there and I'm never clear on what it actually is.

Hey there. Thank you so much for your ask. I'm very excited to get into this analysis so let's get started.

All throughout season 10a and 10b, a big focus on Carol's mind is to defeat Alpha. A big motivating factor for why she wants to defeat Alpha is to get vengeance and justice for her son, Henry's, death which was caused by Alpha. However, there's also a big part of Carol that wants to defeat Alpha to avoid anything like what happened to Henry and the other people who died at the end of season 9 happening to anybody else, especially Daryl (more on that later).

During Season 10 Episode 9, Squeeze, when the group are trapped in the cave, Carol has a conversation with Daryl where she admits to him that she doesn't just want to ki*l Alpha but that she also wants to hurt her, make her regret everything and beg for forgiveness before she does so. This is what I believe Daryl is referring to when he asks Carol if she got what she wanted in Season 10 episode 16, A Certain Doom. Carol and Daryl can understand each other extremely well, better than they can anybody else, so I believe that Carol knew that conversation was what Daryl was referring to with his question. This is why Carol responds with "no and I won't" because even though this is a really happy moment for her - she's reuniting and making up with Daryl after they had what was probably the worst falling out they've had since their bond blossomed - in terms of that conversation she had with Daryl in Squeeze, she didn't get what she wanted. She ended up having to reach out to Negan for help with defeating Alpha (my thoughts on why she didn't reach out to Daryl about it later) and he ultimately ended up being the one to ki*l her. So despite trying her hardest, Carol didn't manage to hurt Alpha or make her regret everything or beg for forgiveness, she didn't even get to be the person to ki*l her. Something that is interesting to note here is that Carol released Negan from his cell and asked for his help in Season 10 episode 4, Silence The Whisperers, before she had this conversation with Daryl in Squeeze, so if what she told Daryl was truly all she wanted, she was probably already aware at that point that she wouldn't get it because it would be Negan dealing with all of that for her. That's the first thing that makes me think what she said in that conversation during Squeeze wasn't what she truly wanted but I do still believe that the contents of that conversation was what Daryl was referring to with his question.

Let's move on to the scene between Carol and Eugene. Immediately, something important to note is that whilst Carol and Eugene are friends, Eugene doesn't come anywhere near to being as close to Carol as Daryl is. In fact, to emphasise again, nobody is as close to Carol as Daryl is. Therefore, it is very, very unlikely that Carol would have confided in Eugene, or anybody other than Daryl, about what she admitted to Daryl during their conversation in Squeeze. This leads me to believe that whilst yes, Eugene is likely aware that Carol wants vengeance and justice for Henry, he doesn't know the finer details of how Carol wants to take Alpha down and therefore, this makes me think that he's at least only partly talking about Carol's revenge on Alpha when he says he realy hopes she gets what she wants. I'm lead to believe this further by a couple of other things: Firstly, the context of the scene. This scene takes place in season 10 episode 12, Walk With Us. This is just 3 episodes after the cave incident in Squeeze and it's clear that Carol is in bits over her falling out with Daryl, breaking her promise to him and hurting him. This is proven by how in the previous episode, season 10 episode 11, Morning Star, Ezekiel easily finds Carol at Daryl's old camp and when Carol asks how he found her, his response is "This is Daryl's old camp, right? I figured you needed some comfort." This proves how much Ezekiel is aware about what Daryl means to Carol and how, if there's anyone who can provide her with comfort, it's him, even if that's in an indirect manner. However, it's not just Ezekiel who's aware of this. So many characters in the show are fully aware of Carol and Daryl and what they mean to each other. Some examples are: Glenn asking Daryl what they should tell Carol when they return to the prison without him and Negan calling Carol Daryl's girlfriend. Therefore, it is extremely likely that Eugene is also fully aware of what they mean to each other. Eugene has also just witnessed Carol being punched by Yumiko. This is a traumatic thing to go through in general. However, as Eugene is very possibly aware of Carol's past experiences, he's very likely to know that she needs Daryl for comfort during their conversation, just like Ezekiel had in Morning Star. The other thing is that Eugene tells Carol he really hopes she gets what she wants just after Carol tells him to go and be with Stephanie, who she knows he has a romantic interest in based on their conversation. This feeds into how Eugene is very likely to be fully aware of what Daryl and Carol mean to each other. Therefore, I believe that Eugene feels like Carol needs Daryl in this moment and maybe she needs him more than she's letting on so when he says he hopes that she gets what she wants it's almost like he's telling her to go and be with the person who will make her happy/find her happiness just as she's advised him to do with Stephanie.

Side note: I find it very interesting that Carol encouraged Eugene to go and be with the woman he was interested in romantically during season 10 and then during the first season of Daryl Dixon, Daryl encourages a man to go and be with his girlfriend.

Back to the analysis now and the scene that ultimately solidifies my belief that the "what do you want" notion for Carol throughout season 10 isn't just about her wanting revenge on Alpha has to be the scene where Carol hallucinates Alpha in season 10 episode 14, Look At The Flowers. Whilst it's Alpha on our screens talking, showing Alpha is who Carol sees and hears voicing her thoughts, it's important to remember that Carol is hallucinating in this scene and so all the things "Alpha" is saying are actually coming from Carol's head directly, these are distinctly her thoughts. At this point in the season, Alpha is already dead so it's very interesting that "Alpha" asks her "what do you want?" Because if what she wanted was for Alpha to meet her demise, that's already happened, so there has to be something more, right? And like I previously mentioned, I don't think what she wants is about her conversation with Daryl in Squeeze because Carol had already released Negan by the time that conversation happened so knew it was unlikely she'd be able to take Alpha down in exactly the way she wanted and she definitely can't do it now as Alpha is gone. Therefore, in my mind, there's definitely something more to it about what she wants and I believe this scene gives us a detail that heavily suggests what that is. At some point during her conversation with "Alpha", Carol ends up trapped under a boat with a walker desperately trying to get to her. "Alpha" starts listing off the people that Carol has lost: Sophia, Lizzie, Mika and Henry. She even mentions Ezekiel. However, it's Daryl's name that captures Carol's attention when "Alpha" adds him to the list and suggests that Carol could soon come to lose him too. It's this moment, upon hearing Daryl's name and the thought of him being in danger and losing him that gives Carol the emotional strength she needs to push the boat off of her and kill the walker attempting to get her, dislocating her shoulder in the process. This is a very telling moment for me as once again, it emphasises how important Daryl is to Carol and how she feels like she can't lose him. Many Carylers say there's no Carol without Daryl and I fully agree with them.

So, what does Carol Peletier want? Ultimately, whilst I do believe part of it was about wanting revenge on Alphaz wanting justice for Henry and wanting to protect the people around her from Alpha and the Whisperers, I do think it does come down to being about Daryl but Carol can't admit to herself, let alone other people, that it's Daryl who she wants, who her heart lies with, who is the only person who can properlu comfort her because she's terrified of losing him. Carol's conversation with "Alpha" confirmed that because the minute that she thought he could be in danger, she said that she could never let that happen and it was this notion that gave her the strength to get out from under the boat. It's also why Carol went to Negan for help with Alpha instead of going to Daryl because she knew how dangerous Alpha was - look at what happened to Henry - and if anybody had to lose their life in order to take Alpha down, it makes sense that Carol would've preferred it to happen to a villain like Negan instead of the man she cares about the most, Daryl. I believe Carol's fear of losing Daryl stems from all the other losses she's been through, especially after what she had to do to Lizzie, which makes her feel like she isn't worthy of him. I believe that Carol feels like she has a curse on peiple, where if she gets too close to them and crosses a certain line with them, their life will be in danger because look what's happened to all the other people she's loved - Sophia, Lizzie, Mika. With Henry, I feel like Carol started maybe started to think her "curse" was no longer a thing because she'd been Henry's mom for years without anything happening, but then he dies and it starts all over again. This is why, much as Carol really wants to be with Daryl, she feels like she's not worthy of him, like she doesn't deserve him and like she'll be putting his life in danger if she tells him how she feels about him/if they cross that line. That's why all of those times that people ask, she can't admit that to them, she can't admit it to anyone.

Hopefully, if she gets to work through some of her trauma in The Book Of Carol like the synopsis and information we've been given about the show have suggested, this will leave Carol's heart more open to letting Daryl in in the way she wants 🤞

[anonymouscheeses]

I DID IT! I FOUND RHE PERFECY SONG THAT FITS VAGGIE(VALERIE) IN MY FORBIDDEN CHAGGIE AU!

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS? by Tyler, the creator (the legend himself 😍)

It perfectly fits her relationships with her past partners. Valerie isn't over either of them (Lute and Kamaria) nor will she likely ever be soon. She values them even though they hurt eachother equally while dating. She's trying to get better as a person. Sort of like Blitz from Helluva Boss but she doesn't hate herself... much 😭 she cherishes the time they had together and wishes they still were friends. But ever since Lute decided to fuck Valerie up and take her eye when she just couldn't put a bullet to a kids head from anither gang, their group broke up and split apart. Valerie was the only one who didn't have anybody to lean on during that traumatic time, she's not close to her dad so DEF not him. So during when things got rough, she summoned a demon to protect her. She also wanted company. But that's a secret.

SO YEAH! RELATIONSHIPS DONT WORK WITH PEOPLE? JUST SUMMON A DEMON!

And also the suggestions by all of you in my last au post fit so well with different parts of her story thank you very much mwa mwa! /p

Anyway I'm gonna explain how each song fits vaggie in my au under the cut! vvv

(I forgot who suggested these. But these suggestions weren't by me)

Florida: "I have some regrets so I'll bury them in florida" YEP! PRETTY MUCH VALERIE! She has many regrets and CANNOT escape them. So she just kinda buries them away from focus. Instead of blaming herself or thinking about it. She ignores her mistakes. She ignores what she did to Lute and Kamaria and blames them. She was equally horrible to them though. Toxic yuri alert‼️‼️ (also I love this song. Sure I'm a swifite but- shush silly!)

Crybaby: I mean. Title pretty much explains it! Okkk but srsly! She's the embodiment of angst. She finds herself too emotional but others(cough. Charlie) think she's emotionless. So crybaby the song is what she thinks of herself really and not who she actually is! (I love Melanie. Im a crybaby gorl! 😍) edit: due to recent drama im taking that back <3 FUCK 🍇 ists hope they all die, as a victim.

Waiting on a miracle: FIRST OF ALL. STEPHANIE BEATRIZ. DUHH!! SHE VOICES BOTH ITS PERFECT. ANYWAY- so! This more so takes place BEFORE she summons Charlie from the demon realm. She's at her lowest of all, physically and mentally damaged, she longs for something to fix her life. Of course. Nothing could... FIX it. But, luckily something made it better. Charlie 🥺 annd vise versa! (Or however u say it) because Charlie too was in a horrible time. Her home life isn't the best. So they both are eachothers miracle‼️‼️ 🥹🥹 (Encanto was good. Dolores and Luisa 🔛🔝That's it. Fuck Disney tho)

If you read this- YOUR AWESOME 😈

[damianbugs]

would love to see u talk about the parallels in bruce’s dynamic with steph versus any of the other kids like emotionally and all that <3

i think the best way to start this is to highlight that stephanie and bruce's dynamic is quite literally "never meet your heroes" —

— and that bruce had the opportunity to truly take her under his wing and help her sharpen her skills while also teaching her why being a hero can be important to her personally without trying to be her father (which is the biggest difference between her and any of his other children).

it is also important to note that bruce did none of these things the way he should've.

in a meta reading, it was 100% misogynistic writing, ESPECIALLY her robin run. bruce, as the only grown up man in her life now that her father couldn't be used, was the person who was then used to bring her down at every possible chance. but in a storytelling perspective, i think bruce and stephanie's dynamic has many layers and is absolutely fascinating and incredibly tragic.

Batman: One Bad Day — Two Face

young stephanie watching batman fight her father, cluemaster.

batman meant something far more personal to stephanie than it did to anyone else. although characters like tim and damian had predispositions of what batman meant to people, or characters like jason and duke grew up with the idea of batman being normal in the places they grew up — to stephanie batman was genuinely just a hero.

another thing that really separates stephanie from bruce's other kids is that she is not his kid. bruce was never in a position to try and be her father, and that is not something she was actively seeking out either. to her, batman was always a hero who was kept at arms length. when they did form a more emotional relationship, it was still never familial in the same way the other kids eventually became to bruce.

this is not to say stephanie didn't become immensely important to bruce, but it was always different with her. this is why bruce could share things with stephanie in a way he couldn't with the others.

Robin #92

after a night of training/patrolling together, bruce and stephanie have a heart to heart conversation about the future of batman.

i know a very popular idea is that stephanie reminds bruce of jason, and that is why he was so hard on her, and while there is some truth in that i think there are a lot of moments that can give an entirely different impression;

and that is stephanie reminding bruce of himself.

there is no one who hates batman more than batman himself, as he is his biggest critic. bruce is startlingly self aware of his flaws and mistakes, but has accepted that he can't change them because it would mean putting gotham as risk.

Detective Comics 796

after a brief argument in which bruce heavily criticises stephanie, she asks if bruce is firing her. he responds "No, I'm teaching you."

it makes sense, in a terrible way, that bruce's own stubborn and headstrong desire to wear the cape to save people, to make sure their families don't end up like his did, is reflected in stephanie. this 'tough love' attitude which is more tough than love is nothing but bruce projecting his own desire to 'fix' his faults by doubling down on stephanie, in hope that maybe she'll turn out better than him.

whether or not stephanie is actually like bruce is an entirely separate conversation, but it doesn't change the fact that bruce ruined every opportunity to train stephanie in a way that didn't hurt her self esteem or confidence in being a hero.

but stephanie is one of the most emotionally strong characters. the inevitable tragedy and cruel ending to bruce and stephanie's mentor-student dynamic wasn't completely a loss, because she bounced back twice as skilled.

(and maybe that's just another thing bruce expected from her. to roll with the punches and keep standing back up.)

obviously there is a lot i haven't mentioned about their dynamic and how she was treated in general, and that's just glossing over the shitshow that was war games and her three month run as robin. but this is already way too long and i am not even on topic anymore.

tldr; stephanie and bruce truly were a wasted opportunity to showcase a deep and emotional bond as teacher and student, helping her find her role as a hero and bruce's chance as a mentor. despite it all, they care deeply about each other and stephanie deserved a better version of bruce.

i love them a lot. i wish dc would see the potential and treat them both with the respect they deserve and give their duo another chance. i think they can both teach each other very important lessons.

[hook-on-fandoms]

Wayne Family Trauma

I'm loving the current story line in Wayne Family Adventures and allowing the past trauma come out with small to big breakdowns with Duke, Jason, and Bruce and I'm hoping a couple lines and the promo pic of Barbara means we get one with her too. But there a couple of things I want to happen after. And when I say after I mean AFTER.

Look Tim became Robin going I'm gonna lift Batman up when he stayed in the darkness too much after Jason died. He became Robin to be the perfect Robin to allow Batman to become who Batman was suppose to be again. Tim, to me, is a high stress person. A person that works better under the stress. The thing is that those types of people can sometimes have a harder time when the pressure is released.

So I want sometime after Joker is back in jail and Duke and everyone is fully healed and everyone really thinks everyone is doing well for Dick to be lightly hurt at sometime when Dick, Bruce, and Tim are together and Bruce was turned talking to Tim at the moment. This can be in costume or not and when I say lightly hurt I mean it is practically nothing at all. The stakes could NOT be lower so Tim has no pressure on him to help him maintain himself. And I want Batman's words of if one of the others get hurt cause I was dealing with you then that will be on you to go through Tim's head then and him to have his own freak out breakdown. They get back to the manor (or were already there) and Dick reassures Tim it's okay nothing happened. Bruce ends up telling Dick that he can head home Bruce would like to talk to Tim alone. He has some things to that him and Tim need to have a one on one with that is long overdo. Dick agrees but asks to be let know if everything is okay after.

Bruce and Tim helps Tim calm down and they do talk it out and he does address how he went too far in his fear (to be clear I don't mean this as a I hate Bruce how could he but as a character flaw as people have). Bruce will also talk to Stephanie after this but if anyone has any fun ideas for her please share.

But you might be wondering why specifically Dick? This would work for any of them. Well that is because of the second mini breakdown I want. Dick is between the oldest child and Bruce's significantly younger enough brother that Bruce ended up raising after parents died so kind of acts as a bridge between the other kids and Bruce. He has had to step into Batman's shoes so he knows where Bruce is coming from but he has also made sure to remember how those choices made him feel. He plays the perfect big brother that is gonna make sure his siblings feel respected but are still protected and have all they need. Because one time he let the Joker get under his skin he killed the Joker and Tim had to push himself too hard to bring him back and that just ended up with Dick becoming another adult Tim had to worry about when he should not have had that on him(Tim). So I want Dick to get home to his empty apartment (cause if anyone was there then Dick would have something to do to be useful for someone) and have a mini freak out that he didn't keep track of his siblings enough to realize Tim needed help and instead became a point of stress.

And here one of the others could come for a surprise visit and see this and then we get another talk down reminding Dick he doesn't have to do stuff for everyone he just has to be himself (harkening back to an earlier issue) and he can also lean on them. He doesn't have to be the balancing act between them and Bruce and them and their feelings all the time. I personally want this one to be Jason or Jason and Barbara but others work too.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Bephanie Snippet

I've been looking forward to sharing this one.

Hope you guys enjoy!!

___

I ignored the terrible pit of dread in my gut as I knocked on the door. I had been travelling for almost the whole entire day. I was here on a mission - determined to rebuild what had been broken.

What I had broken, to be more specific.

Something that El always says is that when you make mistakes, you have to take full responsibility for them and take the necessary steps to make things right. This was me doing just that. I was scared, but I knew that I had to put my own feelings aside... like how I should have done, to begin with. This isn't about me. This is about making amends with my husband. Ben. Who I haven't seen or spoken to in weeks.

"It's going to be fine," I told myself. Aloud. I needed to hear those words.

I stood at the familiar front door, my heart pounding with a mixture of nervousness and hope. Sooner or later, the door swung open, revealing you-know-who on the other side. I don't know if I was expecting that.

I mean, he was who I came here for. Of course, I was going to see him eventually. I wanted to see him. I guess I just didn't want to see him first. And I didn't think I would see him first, either... he's staying with his family. But I guess it's better this way. Get over the initial awkwardness of all this. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.

We both kind of stared at each other in stunned silence. It wasn't a tense silence, there was no deep sense of uncomfortability around it. But it wasn't happy or peaceful either.

I mustered up the courage to finally speak (since he clearly wasn't going to). "Hey," I greeted casually. At least, I tried to sound casual. In reality, I probably sounded like a robot.

I was expecting a lot. I was expecting rage, pain, yelling, and some good old-fashioned passive aggression. Maybe even tears, like how he reacted when he first found out.

I wasn't expecting what I got.

"Steph?"

Just my name. Barely above whisper volume. It sounded like a question, a plead, a forgotten feeling. Or maybe that's just how I heard it.

It gave me a small amount of hope that I didn't have going in. I don't know what it was exactly... maybe it was the fact that he didn't immediately slam the door in my face. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't scream at me about what a gross and pathetic slut I was (like somebody said he would... thanks, Reginald). Or maybe it was the look in his eyes. His face was a mixture of conflicting emotions. I could see surprise, pain, fear and uncertainty. But there was something else beyond all that in his eyes, something I hadn't seen in a while – a warm glow. Light. Hope. A glimmer of the old love that had once been the foundation of our relationship. Maybe even a hint of forgiveness?

Ok, perhaps that one was a stretch. But he wasn't completely angry. There was a bit of hurt and anger there, but not as much as I thought there would be.

It gave me a renewed inner strength that I didn't know I needed. I allowed myself to relax a bit and smile.

Maybe there was hope for us after all. Everything can get back to normal. Things can be ok in my life for once!

Stop it, Steph. This isn't about you.

Before I could say anything else, the sound of laughter and chatter filled the air.

I glanced past Ben to see a lively scene unfolding in the living room. His family – parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews – were all gathered, sharing stories and joy. It was a warm, chaotic contrast to the heavy atmosphere between Ben and me. And I wanted in!

I think Ben could tell, because the next thing he did was step aside to let me enter, saying, "You want to come in, then?"

I nodded, my smile growing even wider. In I went.

_

"Stephanie!" Ben's younger adoptive sister, Emily, greeted me with a tight hug. "We've missed you!"

I returned the hug, laughing. "I've missed you more, Em."

Toby (Ben's older adoptive brother) came up from behind me and joined in on the hugging action. "Highly doubtful, Steph. No, but seriously, it's been way too long. How have you been?"

Where to begin... maybe stressed out of my damn mind with this investigation? Guilty for almost wrecking my own marriage? Miserable for hurting all of my friends? Confused about where I stand with Bret (or what my relationship with Bret even is now... this has been going on for months now, and I still have no idea what it is. I don't even really know how I feel about him anymore. Not that any of this even matters. Man... I can't believe I've spent this long talking about Bret - none of this is about him!)?

All because I was bored. And because I could. I didn't think about the potential consequences. I didn't care about how my actions could affect other people.

Man... I'm such a callous bitch sometimes.

Self-loathing rant aside, it was around this point when I began to notice how curious Ben's family was. Everyone seemed to have a new question to ask. I felt like I was being interrogated or something.

"You remember Aunt Thedra, right?" Toby asked, gesturing toward a kind-looking woman with greying hair, who was engaged in animated conversation with a man I distinctly remembered to be Emily's husband Gareth. I nodded without saying a word, despite not recognising "Aunt Thedra" at all.

"You want to say hi to the kids, Steph?" Emily asked, picking up one of her children - a small boy, probably no older than 4 or 5. I found out that his name was Jacob, and that he was the middle kid in Emily's family of 5(!) young children. But he didn't seem too pleased to see me (the kid straight up burst out crying when he noticed my presence), so I said no for now.

"Stephanie, darling!" called the sweet, gentle voice of Ben's mother, Marian. "It's lovely to see you back here again. I'm making some dinner, do you want beef or vegetarian casserole?"

Such a kind woman. Right as I prepared to open my mouth and respond, however, I heard this:

"How come she gets to pick what we have?!"

It was Lily. Jacob's big sister. I say "big" but she really doesn't look that much older than him... maybe a year or two.

"That's Stephanie, Lily," Marian calmly replied. "She's our guest for the night, so she gets to pick what we're having for dinner."

Lily grumbled a little bit more, but eventually, she got the message. I'm assuming she's heard about me in the past because she seemed to have an idea of who I was. How do I know this? Well, once she was done talking to Marian, she turned to me and went, "So, are you Uncle Ben's special friend?"

I kid you not. Straight up said that to my face!

I had no idea how to respond to this question coming out of a five-year-old girl's mouth. But I didn't have to, because just then, Ben's father, Paul, welcomed me with a genuine smile, and yet another warm hug. "Steph, love. How are you? Thought you were avoiding us!"

"No, Paul," I smiled back, returning the hug. "I've just had a lot on my plate lately."

Ben has a pretty large and chaotic family. It's nice to be surrounded by all this noise at a time like this - when your heart and mind are fighting for your attention, and you're hurting after weeks of nonstop despair, it's almost nice to have a room full of distraction. Being in a stimulating atmosphere like Ben's childhood home was a refreshing break from the cold dead silence I struggled to get used to when he left the house.

For a moment, I could almost forget the storm that loomed between Ben and me. But I knew that I had to face the music sooner or later.

_

The evening went by pretty smoothly, honestly - much smoother than I thought it would. Of course, it helped that Ben and I were kind of trying to avoid one another. Mostly to maintain the peace. But also because I had no idea what to even say to him. Which is weird, since I've had hours of travel time to think of things to say to him!

I caught him looking at me from across the room at several points. His gaze held a weird mixture of curiosity and something else I couldn't quite place. I don't know what it was... I didn't want to give myself more false hope by convincing myself that it was forgiveness or understanding. It might be... but it was probably more along the lines of confusion. He seemed more conflicted than anything else.

I don't blame him. I'm confused, too. Not with him. With me. What's wrong with me?! I came here to fix things between us, and I have yet to figure out how to achieve this goal.

...That's a massive lie. I knew what to do. I knew what it would take. I just wasn't sure I had it in me. I was afraid.

How does that old expression go? "He who dares, wins?"

I came here to win.

I sat next to him on the sofa and tapped his arm to get his attention (he was on his phone).

"Hello," he mumbled awkwardly.

"Hey, Ben," I responded with a bit of that same awkwardness. "So, can we talk?"

"I think we should."

"Great. Should we go somewhere private, or-"

"DINNER TIME!" Marian yelled from the kitchen. For such a soft-spoken lady, she sure knows how to yell.

Patching things up with my husband is going to have to wait a little while longer.

_

Ben and I exchanged glances all throughout dinner. I was glad. Non-verbal communication was better than NO communication. Frankly, I was rather pleased that I no longer had to avoid eye contact with him.

Eventually, dinner finished up. Ben, being the kind soul that he is, helped Marian with the dishes and the clearing up of the kitchen. I stood outside and watched him help his mother out, and eventually, even Paul came in to do his part. He turned on some music, and the three of them had a little dance party as they did the chores. Marian called me in to come join the fun, but I didn't want to intrude on a sweet family moment.

"Nonsense," Paul laughed. "Steph, you are family. Come join us, love."

Why did hearing him say that almost make me cry, damn it

Anyway, once we were done with all of that, Ben, who was in a much better mood, took my hand and guided me to a more private part of the house, away from his family's curious eyes and ears.

We found ourselves at the bottom of the back garden. It was a place filled with memories of simpler times in our relationship - barbecues, surprise birthday parties, lazy Sundays, and stolen kisses. The air was charged with unspoken words as we faced each other.

"Your parents are so nice."

"I agree," Ben smiled. "They're the best parents I've ever had, that's for sure."

I laughed quietly at that one. Partially because I just wanted to laugh, and partially because I didn't know what to say. Or maybe I did, but I was scared of saying it. I had a feeling of where it would lead the conversation, and I didn't want to go there.

But he who dares, wins.

I want to be that "he." Even though I'm a she.

"How have you been?"

"Much better now that I have these guys," Ben replied, gesturing to the house full of music and family noise. That sweet sound of comforting chaos.

"I can imagine. You look great!" I offered, trying to keep the conversation nice and light for as long as possible.

"So do you," Ben sighed, his tone inscrutable. "Although you don't need me to tell you that, I don't think."

I sighed, too. "Oh, Ben. I've missed you so much."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Have you?"

"Of course! God, these past few weeks have been a nightmare without you. Did you really think I wasn't going to care at all when you left without a word?"

"I don't know, Steph. It's not like you need me all that much anymore. You have someone else to play with when you're lonely and bored."

I mean... ouch. But true.

"Ok... I deserved that."

"Look, Steph... nothing you do or say is going to change the way you've made me feel. I appreciate you coming all this way. I appreciate that you probably feel bad, and that you might want to make things right, but what you need to understand is-"

"I do! I do want to make things right!"

"Let me finish. It doesn't change anything. I don't need or want anything from you. No apologies, no nothing. All I need is time to move on."

Sounds simple enough. That doesn't mean I'm satisfied with that answer, though. There's a lot more that needs to be said.

"I need to give you an apology, Ben. Because you deserve it, and because after all the hurt I've caused, it's the least I can do. I'm so sorry. I messed up. I know that completely, and I take full responsibility for it. It's not your fault in any way, so I hope you don't feel like it is, even a little bit."

Ben was quiet for a while after I said that. "Steph," he began, "I need to understand. I need to know why."

I'm still searching for the answers to that question myself. "I don't know," I admitted to him. "I guess it was a way to unwind. Or forget about how stressed the investigation was making me."

Ben's face sank when he heard that. "You could've just talked to me about it," he said.

It's true. I could've. But the thing is, that's not really the reason. I don't know what the actual reason is, but it sure as hell ain't that.

"I have no idea. It didn't mean anything to me, Ben. It still doesn't. And neither does he. We've stopped seeing each other, by the way."

"That's great! Problem solved. Yippee."

"Ok, stop. I know that things aren't going to get better between us overnight, Ben. I can accept that. What I won't accept is your decision to give up on us."

"What do you mean?!"

"'I just need to move on'? Sounds like quitter talk to me."

"You quit on us first!"

"It's not a competition, Ben! You and I are married! Married. Do you know what that means?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

Another excellent question.

"Yeah. It means that when things get rough, you deal with things together. As a team. Instead of fucking off to the other side of the country to stay with mummy and daddy because your wife is hurting your feewings. Actually fighting for your relationship and actively trying to make it work, instead of being a damn baby about it. That's what it means."

"Oh, my God..."

A little harsh, I know. But the longer the conversation went on, the more I knew that this was going to take more than a simple apology or a gesture of kindness and love. This was a trust issue. Ben just doesn't trust me anymore. And much like Rome, trust can't be (re)built in a day.

The argument went on until it finally reached its peak, with both of us standing on the precipice of emotional exhaustion. Silence lingered, filled only by the echoes of harsh words exchanged in the confined space. That was it. We ran out of stuff to say. We were done.

Except... not really.

Suddenly, it was almost as if he and I were being drawn together by an invisible force. Our eyes locked in a moment of shared vulnerability, and the charged atmosphere shifted. The anger and hurt that had fueled our fight transformed into a different kind of intensity. I felt my breath getting caught in my throat as I gazed at him. I still couldn't quite read his expression, but I had a feeling he was thinking what I was thinking.

Without a word, without a conscious decision, our lips met in a desperate and passionate kiss. It was a collision of conflicting emotions, a fusion of anger, desire, and the lingering traces of love that had not completely faded.

It was a disjointed, chaotic dance, a paradoxical blend of frustration and longing. It spoke of a history shared, a connection that, despite its fractures, had not entirely disintegrated. At that moment, the outside world faded away, and the only reality that existed was the collision of two souls desperately seeking solace in each other.

It was so... weird. And random. And beautiful.

When we broke away from each other, our eyes met again, now clouded with a mixture of confusion and a hint of something deeper. Hope?

I've got to stop seeing everything as a sign of hope, man.

Anyways, later on in bed, we continued having this conversation. Sort of.

"This whole thing has completely destroyed what we have. I don't know if we can even put things back together... at least not the exact way it used to be. Things'll probably never be the same ever again."

I swallowed hard, the reality of his words sinking in. "I don't want it to be the same, Ben. I want it to be better. I want us to be better. And I believe we can make it better, too. Don't you?"

Ben's expression softened, a hint of vulnerability breaking through. "You don't even know what 'better' means right now, Steph. And neither do I. That's something that'll take a while to figure out."

"Yeah..." I agreed, sighing. "But that doesn't mean we can't try."

I mean, look at us. We're practically halfway there!

___

Book 2 is so dysfunctional, y'all. I'm just realising lol.

But yeah. This is a long one, but it's pretty packed. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts!

Also, who is your favourite member of Ben's family? I love his mum, personally <3

[acourtofthought]

I want to start off by saying I really enjoy your posts. They are always so well thought out and written, you've even given more content to support my own theories. I appreciate you.

I just want to go on a bit of a brain dump on all the theories I've seen since I read ACOTAR from Elriels I think ride on too many things to happen for it become true.

False mate bond

• For starter's this is easily disproven by a number of things, starting with the biggest confirmation, which is Sarah already explained to fans why she mated Elain to Lucien, in the same interview she explained why Nesta was better matched with Cassian. She clearly cared enough about Lucien to give him a better match. You'd think this is all the winning argument Elucien's would need, but for the purposes of this rant, let's say new readers have yet to go down the rabbit hole that is watching every SJM interview possible for clues -

Well, it's confirmed in the span of 4 books in a number of ways, but the biggest ones are

1) Lucien pulls at the thread, Elain feels it.

2) Azriel can smell their bond

Forbidden romance

• What is forbidden? Rhys, the most powerful HL offered his protection and safety to Elain should she ever decide to reject the bond and keep her safe from Lucien, if he ever tried anything. He is also Azriel's brother, he knows him best. If he truly believed Azriel had genuine feelings for Elain, he would without a doubt support them. But Rhy's knows Az the best and knows Az is not in the right headspace to pursue Elain and he is not going to stand by and watch Azriel make a mistake that ultimately could hurt his sister in law. Yes, there was some political motives, but again, Rhys said if Elain rejected the bond, he would protect her from Lucien. So why would that change now? It hasn't. So it is very likely Rhy's know Azriel is not interested in Elain for the right reasons.

Rejected mates

• So you mean to tell me, that Azriel, who had hoped for 500 years that a bond would snap between he and Mor, to angrily telling his brother why didn't the cauldron gift him a mate like his brothers, to mopping around watching his brother's find their mates, would turn around and reject his mate in favor for Elain? PLEASE, Azriel has no reservations about mates, he wants a mate, he knows how special and rare it is. The bond means something to Az, he covet's having what his brothers do and neither Elain or Mor can ever give him what his brothers have, but right now he is so desperate for any affection and believes he is not worth of a mate, he is willing to settle. But I strongly believe SJM has plans to gift him a mate and it is not Elain.

And I think a lot of elriels know this because, it leads me to my last point...

Two mates

So the irony in this is, out of all the ignored SJM interviews elriels pretend never exist (about elucien) they hold onto a 2015 comment with a tight grip. But let's take into context that comment, for one it was in response to a TOG book promotion. It had nothing to do with ACOTAR and even if it did, has SJM introduced multiple mates since 2015- I means she's had plenty of time? It seems to me she favors monogamy when it comes to her mates. She had an interview with Stephanie, who asked a similiar question and SJM kinda laughed it off. I think she is still traditional when it comes to couples. I mean, sure she may play around with threesomes in terms of fantasies and sex, but I do not see her writing any poly ships anytime soon, no matter how much I personally wold love that, as I'm a reverse harem fan, but I just don't think that is SJM's cup of tea and that is ok! Not saying she couldn't and wouldn't go there, but I think the purpose of a mate bond it that it is so rare and between TWO individuals. It one had multiple mates, I believe it wold cheapen how special it is.

There are other theories I've seen, but ultimately for Az and Elain to work SJM has to not only rewrite their characters, but I just do not see how their story progresses the series. As much as I love Lucien, he is not getting his own stand alone book. And I think Mor is getting a novella. So if Elain is getting her book and Azriel is getting his own book, then it is obvious neither are each other LI's, as each book follows a different couple.

Thank you so much!! I love how we can all see one another's posts and it helps trigger a new post idea or it helps us add to one we're already writing ❤️ Your thoughts are all on point and the arguments Anti's come up with are extremely frustrating when they're so easily disproven (yet they still refuse to acknowledge what is canon if it leads to their theory falling apart). Along with everything you mentioned in the Mating Bond, Mor also used her gift of truth on Lucien so it's not something he could be faking (especially considering the fact that Feyre went into his mind and saw that he was struggling with the pull of the bond). And the King of Hybern seemed surprised to find out that Elain and Lucien were mates so he's not manipulating it. As far as Koschei tricking them, what purpose would that serve? It would only work if he were trying to trick Elain and Lucien into wanting to be together in order to pull them away from other people. As it stands, they haven't accepted the bond, Lucien is living with Vassa as a friend and Elain has developed a crush on Az, so it makes no sense. Forbidden Love......when only Az was told to stay away from Elain? ��� That's not forbidden. That's Rhys not letting Az hook up with his sister in law while Az is still in love with Mor and Az was not willing to tell Rhys anything to the contrary. Not to mention, Elain is not the kind of character (especially after SF) who is going to let anyone tell her what she can and can't do. I really like your point about multiple mates because it does seem unrealistic to give one female two mates in a series where true mated pairs are rare. I understand why this specific group is all getting mating bonds (A. because those are the stories SJM is telling and it wouldn't make sense for one in the group to get a bond while the rest do not especially if they're going to be a main character. B. they are all noted as uniquely powerful so it does stand to reason that fate is pairing them off with other uniquely powerful partners). But why give Elain two Mating Bonds? That's saying she's even more unique and rare and special? That because she got one Mating Bond and decides not to get to know him, she's just given another? And I LOVE Elain. She's my favorite female character but even I can admit that's a little too "special" for my liking. The entire point of her story is she's fighting fate because she thinks fate knowing what's best and her making the choice to accept her fate because it's what she wants can't be the same thing. But there is no way SJM won't eventually show that Elain is willing to let go of her stubbornness and truly see what fate sent her way and when she does she's going to realize that Lucien has always been everything she could have wanted.

Yes, a mating bond can be rejected but that's not way to live for anyone involved. Because Az would then always know Elain had a special connection to Lucien and she'd have to spend her life trying to reassure him that she's not feeling that connection. And Az would always wonder if he had a mate still out there, and what would he do if he met her? It doesn't make for a truly HEA because it continually pop up as an issue for the rest of their lives. Thank you for message and all your wonderful thoughts!

[solarrene]

Home Again

Jason Todd X Plus Size reader

Chapter Six

Connections build. Things are confessed left and right. Attractions arises.

Hearts Reflecting One Another .1

It had been a week and days since Y/N arrived in Gotham, in those days, she's finally explored the few of the city with the few of them. Even having a few times with Alfred to go out as well. She managed to drag Stephanie, Cassandra and Barbara for a girl's day out too. A few baking lessons from her was shared with them, with Duke, Tim and Dick joining the earlier three—nothing but another situation that can worry Alfred to death, if he fears it anyway. Then once visited the museum with Alfred and Bruce. 

She was more than appreciative that not only her was comfortable to be more of herself but them as well, despite still not knowing much about them, she still felt welcome. More and more at ease. 

Then there was the certain man with the white hair streak thats been bothering her ever since. No, it doesn't bother her that he hasn't tagged along in their little ventures, not at all. But they did had their encounters though, that's not been on her mind repeatedly by the way, no. 

That night then, he hasn't left her mind. He just had to smile at her, she just had to see the goldness of the candlelight on his skin, she just had to admire how his white streak fell so freely on his forehead, she just had to behold the few of his scars, she just had to see him.

Damn pretty boy.

The passing days continued then, the more it went on, her uncertainty towards what she has been feeling, thinking of him, continued as well. Though the more she tried to deny it, the more she finds herself recalling the moments she's had with him despite he wasn't there every time she was spending time with the family. 

What an embarrassing thought.

But she'll indulge herself this time, again. 

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

The joy she suddenly felt when she sees him was replaced with worry as her eyes could not pass by the redness and a few cuts of his hands on his knuckles. "Jason?....your hands..." she trailed off, stopping in the middle of the stairs. 

Jason halted, looking at her worried gaze and chuckled lightly. ".... Me and my friend went a bit overboard with our training. Sparring matches, something like that" He shrugged. 

"Oh...," she nodded. Training, huh? She did realize that it make sense why he was build the way he is. Y/N huffed, "Well, you did say you tend to hurt yourself a lot," she concluded and continued walking down the stairs. 

"That I did and you'll be seeing new of it more often." 

Her eyebrows furrowed, "I hope not," says her instantly, her face turned serious. 

"You worried about me?" He asked, smug was the curving of his lips and as well as his voice. 

Y/N gripped the end of the banister, taken back by the sudden change of his tone. Though she was still on a step of the stairs and him on the side of it, he still towered over her—his stance now intimidating her. 

This is new. 

Scoffing as she rolled her eyes, "Don't flatter yourself," though the tone same from his. She knew she was but he didn't need to know that, at least not directly anyway. 

Jason laughed. Only now she hears the deepness of his voice, their near distance from each other didn't help either for her to not feel the vibration of it. "Keep telling yourself that," he retorted as he began to walk away. 

"Maybe I will." She whispered to herself, sharpening her gaze to him. Determined. 

If that's what can help me stop this, then maybe I will.

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

"Going out?" Jason asked Y/N midway through his walk in the hallway as they saw each other.

Nodding as she swiftly look down on her attire; a yellow wrapped dress, heels, and her handbag. "Yes, Stephanie said it'll be great to go at the amusement park today." The offers of them going around the city with her at last started with their first day. 

"Yeah, good luck with them, they'll drag you on all everything there." He chuckled.

She did as well, "I'll be making sure I'll come back in one piece then." Y/N slowed down her walk as did him, hesitating to speak and hesitated to meet his eyes. "....I.....Won't you go as well?" asked her, she was feeling that her heart was starting to flutter again.

Why did I say that?

She sees him smile softly and she blinked, mentally shaking her head. "I have something to work with Bruce, you're gonna deal with their shit all on your own," he replied and they were now beside each other.

Y/N laughed, "I see, well then I hope you could go with us next time." Her laughter toned down as she heard herself.

I should stop speaking.

His eyes piqued with mirth, "You're gonna flatter me," he says, smirking.

Oh, I wanna wipe that off his face.

...What am I even thinking?

"Have a good day, Jason." Y/N declared without missing a beat, tightly turning around and walked away. She hadn't heard him laugh so freely like that before. Her sudden frown from his remark was starting to be changed by the curling of her lips.

...Adorable

Annoying.

"Sorry to disappoint you," his voice lightly echoed in the hallway. She can now imagine his shit eating grin and this made her click her tongue.

"Stop flattering yourself." Her voice gritted, the clacking of her heels heavy. She feels her chest rise and fall with every step she takes, so she stopped walking when she was in another direction. Swallowing hardly, she rolled her eyes, "How infuriating." Whispered her.

Then a minute after, she puts a hand to her forehead and sighed.

Why am I even pissed off ?

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

She hums quietly to herself as she makes her way to the library, excited in the idea of spending some time in it as it is late in the midnight. The porcelains clanging gently with the tray in her hands. 

Y/N walks in the library and headed to where the table was, but then she got startled by a figure that came in her view, which was for heaven's sake, Jason.

"Bloody hell," she muttered, then continued to walk to where he was, hands slightly trembling along with the tray as she laid it on the table. 

"Hello, Alfred." He greeted, looking up at her from his book while giving the same annoying curve of his lips, to her anyway. 

Y/N plops herself on the couch across from him, "Oh, fuck off." She spat, curling her robes more to her body. She sees him with a surprised look and at last cracked a smile—making her laugh in a scoffing manner. 

I am beginning to get too comfortable. 

"That would not be Alfred." Jason said. 

"No, it wouldn't," she replied, and began to pour herself a cup of tea. Upon realizing there was only one teacup, she suddenly thought she should have bought an extra, then her eyebrows creased. 

Why even? 

"Aren't you gonna ask me for some tea as well or those cookies?" He asked, putting his book down on his lap while looking at her. 

She says without hesitation, "No. Go make your own," and drank her tea after, staring at him dead in the eyes. The same gleam of delight she's had lately was in his eyes once again. With their nearness from each other, the bright orange of light illuminating in faint darkness, she had now seen the color of his eyes; radiant blue irises and fragments of green in it. 

Enticing. 

"You lost in my eyes, sweetheart?" His voice dripping with delightful malice rang in her ears, making her blink and roll her eyes, shrugging off like she wasn't caught of doing so. The name didn't go unheard by her and repeat it in her mind, her heart skipping a beat. 

Oh, this bitch. 

"I was just about to say how pretty they are but I rather say, go fuck yourself." Her tone more weighting than his and started to stand up from her sit.

I am losing my mind. What the hell. 

Confused to why she's starting to lose composure. 

Jason bursted out laughing, the deep voice of his rumbling in the room, his head thrown back on his seat. No doubt it also echoed through the hallway. 

Y/N glared at him immediately, "Be quiet!" she hissed in a loud whisper. Though her staggering stare was starting to wear off with amusement as well, looking at his joyful yet irritating state made her so. 

How endearing. 

"You are exasperating." She declared, throwing him one last sharp look before walking to the book shelves. Jason's laughter died down shortly and she got herself a book that she sures know will be difficult to pay attention to, seemingly he was there. 

"Yet, you look like you enjoy it." Jason says and she said nothing in return but clicked her tongue. Y/N placed the plates of cookies on the table and slid it lightly to his direction-his small smile didn't go overlooked by her. 

Silence came in as they began to read into their own books, nothing but the cracking of woods in the fireplace was heard. For a good long minutes, she did actually read and comprehended it well, nothing but them full in solacement, indulged in their own worlds. 

But then inevitably, the man in her view became noticeable. From her peripheral vision, she stared at him; a black shirt that fitted him well, his grey sweatpants that hugged his lower form loosely, and, surprisingly-a Wonder Woman patterned red socks. He looked cozy, entranced in his book. She smiled, chuckling lightly. 

Didn't think a man built like him could be this adorable. 

Stop. 

"Cute socks." Y/N said suddenly, breaking off their silence. 

Jason huffed, smiling, "What? I admire the woman, she's great." Says him proudly. 

Y/N nodded, "That she is," 

"What about you? You a fan of any of them?" Jason closed his book again and took another cookie. Y/N squinted his eyes at him as she sees there were only a few left. 

She shakes her head and also closed her book, "Not really, but......I suppose Superman," he raised his eyebrows and tipped his head. "I just think he's....great too." She shrugged. 

"Well I- ow!" Y/N slapped his hand away from the plate of cookies as he was just about to take another one. "You had enough and I haven't even had one yet," she hissed, glaring at him and he just looked at her, the annoyed look of hers making him break into a little laugh.

Now I'm annoyed again, this is irritating. 

She poured her cup another of the tea but not for her as she slid the saucer to his way but didn't say anything nor him when he saw what she did. Only then she realized that it was her cup. 

Why ever did I do that? 

What if he doesn't take it then? Oh, how embarrassing. 

But she was surprised as he took it but still said nothing. "How are your hands and arm anyway?" she was really concerned but she just wanted to change the non-existent subject.

Jason showed his forearm and it was healed now, turned to a scar, "It's fine and my hands are not so bad now as well." He says while he flexed his hands; tall, bony yet thick fingers. Veins etched clearly on his knuckles, as well as the few of marks that healed. 

Even his hands are pretty.

Will you stop.

"Still worried about me?" He asked.

She scoffed before standing up from her chair, "Keep telling yourself that." Said her as she walked to where the window was, opening the curtains to reveal the wide skies filled with stars. She stands in front of it, admiring the view.

"You wound me." The shit eating grin she once saw vague in her mind now clear and crisp as the dark bright sky. Despite being away from the fireplace, she still felt her body to be warmer than it should be. 

Annoying tall motherfucker.

She bit her lip to prevent her from smiling but she knows he was as well and he knew it too, made her smile wide more. "My pleasure." 

She had never spent any midnight like that, filled with so much glee that it made her heart dance again.

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

She's trying her best, really. She can swore but it was not working. Sighing when she stopped walking and looked up at the sky, glad that she was able to see nothing but the light that still shone in the vision of her darkness in her closed eyes. Just because of that certain man she wants to strangle. Not caring that the sunlight is now starting to burn her skin, wanting to be at peace for a while.

Leave me be like this for now, don't think about anyth-

"You good?"

"Will you-" Y/N yelped with both her fists clenched on her sides, and turned around to see Dick—"Stop that?" Breathless as she glared at him.

"Shit, sorry, I didn't know you were like that," he laughed and walked to her.

"Now you know." She replied nonchalantly and began walking again. "I was just thinking how peaceful I was," her hands trailing the tall bushes of greens.

"Seemed like you were stressed out still." Dick shrugged, putting his hands on the pocket of his jeans. "Should I ask what's bothering you?"

Y/N sighed again, "It's nothing that you think is bothering me, I wish that was it anyway, and that's what bothering me." She trailed off mindlessly.

He creased his eyebrows, turning to look at her, "I feel like I know what you're talking about but I'm not sure." Knowing where their conversation was going to go. 

Oh, come on.

"Of course you do," she eyed him.

Dick just looked at her with a flat expression and she sighed yet again. "Does that work with anyone?" She asked.

He smiled, "More than likely." Taking in pride at the gesture he can pull off well with his people.

I'm gonna regret this.

"Might as well just speak it out loud." Y/N rolled her eyes, they found an empty bench, and thankful the both of them as the spot were not filled with anyone but them. 

"You better swear you're not to tell anyone this." Y/N stated as they sat down together and he laughed.

I'm already regretting this.

"If it's really about what I think it is, then I'm sorry because I can assure you that it's nothing we don't already know about." His speculations beginning to be right in his mind. At least he looked actually apologetic. 

"Are you sure you're sorry?" She asked, giving him the side eye and he just pursed his lips—smiling still. Well, he "looked" like it then. Y/N released a loud groan, laying her head back on the back of the bench. "Now I don't want to say it out loud."

He snickered. It felt as if he was pestering one of his siblings. 

"Does annoying people run in your family?"

"You only noticed now?"

Y/N groaned loudly again but this time longer and sat up straight after. Dick was just looking at her with a smile, clearly enjoying this. "Got it out?" 

"Shut up."

Well, here fucking goes nothing.

But before she could speak, he beat her to it. "So, Jason, huh?" He says, now looking ahead but his smile couldn't get any wider as he sees her shocked face from his peripheral vison. He couldn't have been more happy that he was right about it. 

"I truly hate you." She mumbled and he howled out laughing, his loud voice interrupting the serenity of the garden. "Darling, come on.....nothing is funny about this." Y/N frowned, then he looks at her with his eyes glistening of enjoyment and she couldn't stop her lips from breaking into a smile. "Richard" She hissed, her strict tone breaking. Saying his first name felt right for her in the moment. 

When he calmed down, "You wanna elaborate on that?" 

"You wanna elaborate on how you and your lovely-" she emphasized the word with spite, "people know about it?"

Y/N was definitely sure she hadn't been obvious to any of her spiteful feelings towards him, at least she thinks so anyway.

Does even Jason knows?

"I don't need to explain how nosy we can be sometimes....and you both weren't even alone when you were together. Let's just say word goes out in the family faster than any tabloids here." Dick tells, making hands gestures. 

Pertaining to the moments her and his brother had that caught their attention. Like when Tim was in the hallway just above the stairway, when they were talking about Jason's hands, immediately running to his room to call Stephanie about it, then Stephanie told it to Cassandra and Duke, then Duke to Damian, and Tim again to his oldest brother. 

Then with Dick being out of town for the moment at that time, instructed his culprits to look out for them, it sounded more appropriate in his ears, they didn't need any persuasion. In the hallway when they were going to the amusement park, Cassandra and Damian was there. Even unnoticed by Jason. They were that dedicated. Definitely not desperate. But she did not need to know that. 

And so for the library part-

She sighed again. 

Wait.....even alone? Oh my god.

Creasing her forehead as she realized something and turned to him sharply. "What the hell? Even in the library that time?" 

She got her answer when he froze, "...Listen-" his hand raised up. 

"Oh my god." Y/N sinked into her sit, her hands covering her face. Ok, now Dick really feels bad. "How even..."

"Look, I didn't mean to-" she released her face from her hands and glared at him, "Okay, a little bit. But it was Jason's fault! Because I heard his loud laugh, so of course I went to see what it was about then you were there and I may or may have not-" 

"You were there the whole time after? Were you watching as well? What the hell?! " Y/N cried out, hands flailing while standing up from the bench. 

"No! No, I just listened-" Dick followed, stressed out he was as well.

"Is that supposed to make it not bad?" She was now pacing back and forth, Dick was starting to find things funny again.

"Well, at least I didn't watch."

Y/N lowered herself down on the ground, her clasp hands on her forehead. "Richard," she groaned, dragging it a bit long. With her closed eyes, she thinks about the time in that damn library but now with the thought of someone eavesdropping on them. "Fuck." She wailed, dragging it again.

Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing.

Dick snorted but caught himself after, "Sorry." He coughed, then held out his hand to her. She took it unwillingly, not looking at him. This made him laugh again, "Why are you so embarrassed about it anyway?"

Y/N stomped her foot, "Because!" Had there any people around their place, they surely would have been entertained or annoyed. She stopped, stammering, "Well, I...because....-"

Dick smirked, "Because you were....flirting?" He tipped his head aside, looking at her so amusingly.

"Richard, I swear to god." Y/N warned with nothing, she sat down on the bench again and he followed. She sighed, collecting herself at last. 

Were we flirting? 

Oh god, I did. 

We did. 

Y/N pursed her lips and closed her eyes again. Disappointment gnawed in her. Like a child, that she feels; losing control of herself, carried far too away in the moment. But she could have chosen.

And I didn't. 

She opened her mouth as her eyes, taking a short second of breathing, hesitating and finally spoke again. "One minute I'm admiring his smile, then the next I'm cursing him in my mind," Confessed her.

"You like him," Dick declared, his demeanor now serious. Dawning in him that there was something more to her sentiment. 

"I am aware now, yes." She admitted it, crossing her arms on her chest after, clenching her fists. Scared. Heart racing from this realization of her, a confession to herself rather. 

Ah, shit. Just like that. 

Idiot.

"You fool," Y/N whispered as she looks up at the now softening colors of the sky. 

Dick stared ahead, trying to piece the things together, "It's nothing that I think about what's bothering you....is it-?"

Y/N nodded slowly, "Yes, it's....my mother, I suppose.....Grieving and all that." 

How could you even be feeling like this at such a time?

She let out a sharp breath from her nose, shame rising in her. Dick looks at her then, his stare turning mellow. Still piecing things together. "It's bothering you...because you think you shouldn't be...feeling all those?" He said unsurely.

De ja vu.

Y/N smiled bitterly as she remembers almost the same moment of her and Jason, Alfred and Bruce had—with now. The same sentiment, feelings she's having but now it was different. It made her more....dejected. 

"I know I shouldn't be feeling....guilty about it, or feel like my mother's passing doesn't affect me, and that she'd be happy for me....It does affect me and I know she'd be happy for me...I know she would....but sometimes I just," she rambled, shaking her head. Trying to think of what to say, "I just....this feeling in me rising when I'm happy. I've dealt with this before or at least I thought so, it was still there then, I suppose.....I think this feeling....this guilt just came in again because of my realization...about your brother." Y/N confessed, her voice shaking as she spoke her heart out.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, thinking of something right to say, then, "You deserve any joy that you feel despite that you're grieving, it's normal to feel bad about it but it's okay to be happy too." 

She remained silent, then closed their distance together and dropped her head on the side of his shoulder. 

"It's okay to be happy too." Y/N says out loud, echoing his words unsurely but still nodding, like assuring herself once again. He smiled down at her, "It's okay." Continued him. 

Sighing once again for how many, she doesn't know—and sat up straight. 

I need to take control of this. 

"I....," she started, caressing her face. "Jason...he...he's engaging, alluring even, I find myself irritated everytime I find him charming, yet I can't stop myself to....trifle with him." Y/N smiles softly, her mind back to those times-what was once disappointment was now replaced with amiableness. It was clear to her now that she did choose in that repeated times and she....didn't regret it. Yet, her clarity of this gave a new light. "And more than that, he's kind...lovely...how can I not like him so?.....But I can't pursue this rising feelings...I don't think I can right now." Her truth out yet again. Faith in her to be true to her declaration. 

Don't backfire. 

Dick looked up at the sky, gratified he was so much despite her saying she's overlooking her feelings for Jason. He was happy to hear such confession about his brother. If Bruce was here to hear this.....he grinned at the thought. 

"You don't have to do anything then," he shook his head, "I understand, I'm just glad you said something and maybe it helped you realize something." Says him truthfully. "And I apologize if I pushed too far or-" 

"Darling," Y/N interrupted him and his hand gestures with taking a hold of his one hand. "You suddenly taking back you annoying me?" she laughed, smirking. He chuckled, worry leaving his body. "You didn't push too far, I'm fine, I needed to let it out anyway. And it did help, I had few revelations, so there's that." She assured, squeezing his hand before letting it go gently. 

"We should go, I think we may have took our time too long." Y/N says, upon realizing the sky was in its setting colors. They both stood up from the bench and started to walk back. 

"Don't worry, I told them I wanted to talk to you, so they're probably just doing things to wait for us." 

"Really? Them waiting and not eavesdropping?" She teased. 

"I can be sincere and serious when I need to be. Them too." Dick says defensively. Y/N just shook her head, taking note of their behaviors to be usual for them. 

As she gazed at the sky, she can feel the heaviness that she's been carrying the past days wash away. The rustling of the leaves dancing with the wind, their footsteps making noise with the rocks. "Thank you." Y/N breaks their silence suddenly, "for everything again, I suppose." 

Dick smiled, though, there were sadness in it along with relief, sensing how their conversation affected her grievously. "Well, you can call me anytime if you need to shout again or anything." He chuckled. 

"I wasn't shouting-" 

"You were basically wailing and groaning." 

"And whose fault is that?" 

"Not mine." 

"I really hate you-hey, wait! After his loud laugh that you meant, we took our time reading, did you actually stayed there for a while?" 

"Well, I had my phone-" 

"Grayson!" 

"What? Someone has got to contribute to the family gossip." 

"Bloody hell." 

"You and your bloody hell." 

"Does Bruce know?" 

"Not gonna answer that." 

"How will I be able to look at him in his eyes?!" 

"Good luck with that." 

They continued their bickering until they reached the end of the wide range of the gardens. 

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

"How was your time with them?" Alfred asked Y/N when they were now alone in the hallway after when he welcomed them home back again. 

"It was great, I've been in a few botanical gardens before but it was very beautiful there too," replied her, though she was thinking of something else. "Al....me and Dick had a talk, it was....quite serious to say the least." She chuckled, remembering of how silly they must have looked with their childish confrontation. 

"Ah." 

"And you already know, of course," sighed Y/N, her shoulders dropping as they walked and Alfred just chuckled gently. 

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," he assured but Y/N just grumbled something like, 'tell that to damn Grayson'. "I'm listening." He said, waiting for her to speak about it. 

Probably some of them too.

She rolled her eyes but dismissed the thought, knowing they know better than to test Alfred.

"Jason....uh...I-" she cut herself off by groaning, stretching her arms over her head, "It's so stupid, god, I feel like a teenager in high school." Y/N expressed, annoyed at herself.

They walked in the kitchen, ready to their usual doings that was starting to become a ritual. 

Alfred was joyful, nostalgia in him as he sees the struggling woman admit to her feelings. 

"I like him," Y/N says too quickly, falling on the floor and stood up again, she was beginning to get jumpy now, "See?" she whined, flinging her arms around. 

The fullness in Alfred's heart couldn't be.....more. He lets out a hearty laugh and began to work with her following. "No need to be so worry about it now," says him, seeing as she seemed felt like caught about it. 

"I'm not worried....I'm just, I don't know..I..." She stammered, shrugging. "Okay, maybe I am worried," she slumped.

God, I really do feel like a teenager.

Damn him.

"I presume you and Master Richard talked about what seems to be the problem about it?" Alfred proclaimed, there were no doubts in him that her dilemma got to her again.

"Yes.." she trailed off, Dick's words ringing in her ears. "He said that it's okay for me to be happy too."

"And he's right," he nodded to her. "It's not easy to let go of whatever guilt or shame we feel but do remember that as well, you deserve happiness despite of it all." 

She hums, nodding aimlessly, "I know...I know." Y/N let out a little laugh then, "I must sound like a broken record."

"That I don't mind to keep hearing about over and over again." Alfred smiles and she did as well. 

"What the world will come to without you, Alfred." She says, ever so thankful of her to him.

That they all feared too well. 

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

Jason is full of regret this time. So much of it. Regret that he started something not to be played with. Angry at himself. But most of all, vexation. Vexation because despite his regret, something stronger than it was brewing in him and it was beginning to grow and grow more; enthrallment. 

It all went under to him when his attention was caught by the tenderness of her at the funeral, that was supposed to be it. But then continued his observance of her that time, from her happy state that he thought was fake but he was wrong.

Then came that lively breakfast they had on her first morning in the manor. Their short time of mundaneness, her worried voice and stares, the laughter and smiles she got out from him. Of her baring out her emotions to him. 

Each time it was nothing much to him and thought of it nothing but how easy and warm it was. 

He hadn't realize yet then that was the beginning of his undoing. 

Late that he saw it. When he saw the glint of joy in her eyes before the family dinner started that night, the sound of her giggles, how he knew his eyes met her mirth as well,  how he was relieved when she walked out the kitchen because he needed to breathe. How he realized just how late he was. Then he smiled at her across the table before catching himself, how he saw her looking down while smiling, how adorable he thought it was. How the night became more lively for him.

His mind full of her then after that night.

How he felt joy when he heard her worried voice and saw her worried gaze when she asked of his hands. How he didn't stop his teasing, how something in him churned when she met his tone, how he wanted to see more of her irritated face.

When he saw her in the hallway with her yellow dress, how he couldn't take off his eyes of her then. He had seen her dressed up nicely before ever since she arrived but only then he found himself staring at her figure. How he noticed how nicely the fabric hugged her curves, the dress ending above her mid thighs, how he saw how full they were. How pleasing she was much in his eyes. But nothing then made him more amused when he saw her irritated face and voice again.

How it was comical to him when she cursed at him, how he noticed yet again her body, her becoming more inviting when she hugged her robes more, how he had to look away then. How the gaze of her in his eyes intimidated him, how he played it well so smugly even if his heart was starting to pound. How it felt so good to let out a big laughter like that again when she cursed at him with playful venom. How he saw her break out a smile while throwing daggers at him. The warmth he felt when they were both reading, how it felt like the fireplace wasn't contributing to the atmosphere but just because of the both of them. How he saw how pleasant she looked cozied in her chair. How surprised he was when she shared her own cup to him. He never thought to felt giddy again. How they were dancing with so much glee underneath the spite they fabricated. 

Oh, how he felt all those.

As each time that feeling grew, regret leveled to it because he knows enthrallment....that warmth in him keeps weighing more. 

Jason was many things, but naive was never one of them. Amidst of their moments, he knows. Because he saw her faltering when he smiled at her, he saw the heat in her face when they clashed, he saw the looks, her smiles, her flustered. How could he not know when he saw all of those, felt all of them, how he could he not when he saw himself through her eyes. 

So how could not regret drown him out? 

"What are you doing?" Jason spoke out loud, eyes far ahead to the night of the city. 

He grunted when he felt another presence, already knowing who that person is by the sounds that followed. "Don't you fucking speak." Jason taunted. 

"I-" 

"Shut up." 

Dick laughed, remembering Y/N, thinking of how a bit similar they are. Jason side glance him, sensing there was meaning behind it. But Dick didn't need to tell him that. 

"You've been......distracted," Dick says. 

"And it's none of your business." He replied immediately. 

Shit. 

Jason clicked his tongue. 

"So you have been," Dick confirmed, Jason didn't need to look at him to see there was a smile on his brother's face. "I'm just gonna assume I'm right that I'm thinking of what you're thinking as well." Dick couldn't be more smug today. 

"And what's that?" 

"About Y-" 

"Don't." 

"You asked." His brother shrugged. 

Jason started to walk away from him, not having the energy or want to talk about what he knows they will. "We're not gonna do this." He voiced out. 

"So what then? You're just gonna bottle all that up? Ignore it?" 

"Don't start," he replied little, his back turned to his sibling while putting his helmet back on. 

So be it then. 

Dick cursed to himself for what he was about to say. "I talked to her earlier, about you." He's really sorry about that one but he wanted to let his little brother know. 

Jason stopped before he could put his helmet on. "I don't need to be concerned about what you and her talked about." He was lying to himself but right now, his control is holding him. 

"Jay, cut the bullshit-" 

"And what then if I told you? What good would it fucking do?" Jason turned to Dick, gripping his helmet tightly. 

"Is it so bad to even just admit it? Even just to yourself?" Dick's challenging voice was now turning soft. 

Yes. 

Jason breathed out through his nose so deeply while his eyes closed, the clashing in his mind and resistance to his brother exhausted him, rather than what their vigilantism gave him tonight. 

Fuck. There's no point in denying it anymore. 

"Alright, I like her. That's that." Jason said simply but his heart was starting to thump again, the same feeling he's been having when she and him were around each other. 

And now I've fucking done it. 

Dick stayed silent for a few seconds, his lips curling a little. " Say something to irritate me and I will-" 

"Fine, I won't but as if you're not used to it anyway." Dick retorted. 

"You mean sick of it." Dick glared at him. 

Jason sighed and walked to the edge with his brother following. "So, you like her, that's that. So what? You're taking this too seriously and beating yourself up." Dick says flatly as if he wasn't pestering Jason about it just now. 

What the fuck. 

This was the last straw for him. Jason was the one who glared this time, "So I shouldn't take this seriously? You of all people know what this feels like, all of us in the family. To see someone from outside.....For fuck sake, I told Bruce that she can't be tied to this, to us....and now here I am admitting that I like her. I'm angry because this wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to be this affected but I am and that's the fucking problem. Every time I see her now, there's that feeling I want more. And I'm not damn blind to not know she's feeling the same and that's what bothers me more." Jason poured out the thoughts that's been eating him, his loud voice heated, rising and stopping all the while, chest rising and falling with his heavy heart beats that made him more restless. 

Goddammit. 

Was it that serious. 

"Way to boost your own ego there on the last part." Dick says, whistling. Jason didn't say anything but stared at him with so much wrath. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Yeah, I know, we know." He tells. Dick laid his hands on his waist and sighed, "And I do know. I understand you, what you're feeling. But I'm still someone that's happy for his brother because of it." He huffed at the last part, smiling. 

I know that well. 

Jason scoffed, "Like I could expect anything different." 

"And....I really just pissed you off just a bit so you could probably let that shit out." Dick admitted, not looking sorry at all but with just a flat expression. 

"Don't I fucking know it." Jason turned around, ready to leave yet again. 

"That's it then?" Dick asked. 

"That's it." 

"What then?" 

"Nothing." 

"So, you're just going to continue what you're both doing and nothing still?" 

"I've heard and said enough." 

"No such thing as enough drama for me."

"I'm sure there isn't." 

"You know-" 

"Is it too much to ask that I ask you to not pester me with this anymore?" 

"No promises." 

"Why did I bother?" 

"You really won't even ask what me and her talked about?" 

"I rather not." 

"She-" 

"Are you seriously gonna tell me even when you know it'll bother her if she found out that you did and that you literally have no right to?" 

"I was kidding. Great of you to say that by the way." 

"Bare fucking minimum." 

"You just keep surprising me and yet I don't expect any less from you anyway." 

"Shut up." 

Jason suddenly halted from all their running and whatnot. Upon realizing something. 

"Grayson. What do you mean 'we know'?" 

Dick halted as well, he was caught yet again. "You know nothing goes unnoticed by us," he shruggedwarily. 

"Who was in the hallway that time?" 

"I am not a snitch." 

"What the fuck? Was somebody there in the library too?" 

"It wasn't me."

"OH, DON'T FUCKING RUN NOW." 

Some Gothamites heard yelling, maybe a little bit of fighting. But what's new to them anyway?

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

💌🖋️: saw the headcanons once that said the batkids are all nosy and up in everybody's business, and i so agree to it.

[haveihitanerve]

Since some of y'all asked, i decided to write a lil something :)

Bruce didn't know what to do. Damian had been with them a month now and he still wasn't fitting. Bruce hadn't expected the change to be perfect, or to go smoothly, but he hadn't expected Damian to be so afraid. So unwilling to fit into their family. So unsure. So quick to assume the worst of them, that they don't truly love him. It hurt him every time Damian straightened when he walked into the room, every time one of his kids went out of their way to demonstrate the things they were going to do, whether hug or just mess with his hair to make sure he wouldn't freak. Stephanie's nose was still in a brace since the last time she had attempted to hug him, but it didn't stop her. Damian had looked so afraid when he had hit her, but Steph had taken it in stride, wiping the blood away with the back of her hand and apologizing before asking if he'd like to accompany her on a trip to the zoo. Damian had hesitated, but eventually agreed and had come back looking marginally better. He even allowed some gentle contact from Steph now, though he still tensed. Bruce had conferred with his children, with Alfred, with a therapist, and they had all decided to show Damian something of their world, show him he belonged. So Dick picked out their classic favorite movie and Bruce bought way too many snacks, and they sat Damian on the couch in front of the TV. But when Bruce looked over at his son, the boy had pulled out a sketch pad and was drawing, fighting very hard not to look at the screen, his gaze unnecessarily focused. It broke Bruce's heart. But there was nothing he could do. He tried for his son, he offered him praise and affection and stopped talking to Jason because he was afraid of how Damian might react. But nothing worked.

"I don't know what to do Alf." Bruce whispered miserably. "Perhaps, my dear boy, it is time you draw your focus from him for a while. It cannot help him that you are all hovering constantly." Bruce nodded, sighing. "yeah. Okay Alf." "and," Alfred added and Bruce had to grin because he just knew there would be another reason. "perhaps it is time you spend some time with your other children." Bruce heard the reprimand in his butlers voice and grimaced. "I know Alf. I've- just been so worried and focused and- its not an excuse." He sighed. Alfred's voice softened. "Perhaps a good example will help as well. Show him how you interact with the others, and offer him the same interactions. I am not saying you should let Master Jason come home guns blaring, but speak to him, at least." Bruce nodded again, standing. "i will. Thanks Alf." "but of course my dear boy." Bruce headed down to the cave, tugging out his phone and scrolling through his pinned contacts for his sons number. Jason picked up on the last ring. "yeah?" His voice was guarded, careful. Hurt. Bruce cringed. "hey Jaylad. Listen, I know I've been... distant and I'm sorry. There's just... a lot going on at the manor right now. Would you want to come over and eat dinner with me? Talk?" Bruce bit his lips, waiting anxiously. When Jason answered his voice was noticeably more hopeful. "Yeah. Yeah sure. Tonight?" Bruce let out a breath of relief. "yeah Bud. If you can. I'll have Alfred make your favorite." He could feel Jason's smile through the phone. "Sounds good. See you then." Bruce hurried back to the kitchen to tell Alfred, and the butler smiled at him in pride. "I shall begin preparing right away Master Bruce. Do set the table won't you?" Bruce dipped his head and headed to the far dining room, one they rarely used but was still cozy, and set the table for two. Jason texted about ten minutes after Bruce had finished setting up, and he rushed to the door to greet his son. "Jay!" Bruce wrapped his arms around him in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you." Jason smiled awkwardly, hugging him back a little hesitantly. "Uh, good to see you to." "come on, let's head to the table, Alfred should bring food around in a bit." Jason frowned, but followed him down the hall to the dining room. "um B? Why are we eating here?" Bruce sighed, opening his mouth to finally tell his son everything, when Alfred bustled into the room, giving Jason a firm hug before serving dinner, and heading back out again. Jason chose food over conversation, and for a while they merely ate in silence. Finally, Jason cleared his throat. "So?" Bruce nodded, setting his fork down. "You have a right to know, and I'm sorry for not telling you. But recently I got a visit from an old... friend of mine." Jason arched a brow. "friend?" Bruce sighed. "Talia." Jason's eyes widened. "She, she has a son and he's mine. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but it has been a new experience for him here and I did not want you to... scare him." Jason opened his mouth to respond to that when the door creaked open. Bruce felt horror seep into his veins as Damian poked his head inside, opening the door. Jason's spoon clattered to the floor. Bruce's legs tensed, readying himself to stand and explain, but before he could even move Damian was sprinting across the room and flung himself at Jason's neck and Jason's chair shattered against the wall with the force of his standing up and suddenly Damian was clutched against Jason's chest, head buried in his neck, arms wrapped tightly around him. Bruce stared at them, jaw dropped, before it all clicked. "of course." he breathed. "Jay- Damian- I am so sorry." The ruckus had drawn attention and soon everyone was there, staring with wide eyes at their little brother Damian, who recently stole a kitchen knife and hugged it like a teddy bear while sleeping, cuddled up in Jason's arms. "well." Alfred said primly. "How bout that." Dick breathed, looking only slightly put out that the katanna wielding murder child had picked the other murder child for his first hug and not him.

The new relationship was... different. But Bruce couldn't say he didn't prefer it. He invited Jason to stay in the manor for a while, for as long as he wanted, for forever and Jason had agreed, and they had planned another movie night, all watching Damian, curled up in Jason's lap, more than they had watched the movie. And the next time Tim affectionately ribbed Damian, the boy had tackled him in a hug instead of stabbing him. Tim had looked shocked, and then promptly wrapped his own arms around the little boy. Bruce was able to tousle his hair, Cass and Steph invited him to braid theirs, and Dick took him to art classes, pining each of his drawings to the fridge. Damian blushed with every word of praise they threw at him, but Bruce noticed he stood taller, was more sure of himself. Was more sure of his place in the family. Bruce wouldn't lie, it wasn't perfect. But it was better. It was okay. And for him, for his little family, that was more than perfect.

@katy816 @lettheworldburnxx @puppiesandnightlock @justsomebadythatisntme @tooomanyspirits @kassadeen @rt-nique @fureliselost @skylathescholarly

you guys who asked and made me blush 💗💗💗

No but okay guys i want you to imagine Damian Al Ghul. 

Little damian who is only ten years old. Who doesn't understand the concept of affection. 

Who colors instead of watching a family favorite movie because he believes it is a sacred family tradition and he is not truly a part of the family, even though they picked this movie specifically so that he could watch it

Who watches Bruce laugh with Dick and Tim and feels resentment because he has never been looked at that way, even though Bruce tries

Who sees Duke and Cass look at him in concern when he gets injured on patrol and thinks its because they think hes weak, not because they care

Who has never once felt any ounce of love from his Grandfather for just existing

Who jumps when Dick tries to hug him

Who almost stabs Tim for grabbing him from behind for a little sibling cuddle

Who does end up punching Steph in the nose after she tousles his hair

Who tries so hard to fit in to this new environment he was unceremoniously dumped into by his mother and grandfather but who does not understand because these people are kind and laugh and seem to like him????

And Damian is confused and scared and on guard because everything comes at a price and it breaks Bruce’s heart every time he sees Damian straighten when he walks in the room, when he eyes Duke and Tim with suspicion, when he tries to hide injuries because he does not want to be seen as weak. 

Just a Damian who is trying so hard and his family is too but hes still so scared and they don't know what to do….

Until Jason shows up. Bruce has been careful to keep the Red Hood away from Damian, to not shock the kid, not freak him out. And Jason is more than happy to stay away, even though it hurts him a little that Bruce just randomly cut off contact. But Bruce misses his son so he invites him for dinner, just the two of them at the manor, in one of the lesser eaten at dining rooms, and its good and easy and almost like old times…

When the door creaks open.

And Damian walks in.

And promptly freezes when he spots Bruce.

And then stares like a deer in headlights at Jason.

And Jason's spoon clatters to the floor. 

And before Bruce can react Damian is sprinting across the room and Jason has thrown his chair back with the force of his standing up and suddenly his youngest his cradled in his second oldest sons arms, legs wrapped around his waist, head buried deeply in his neck. And it all clicks and Bruce scolds himself because how could he have been so stupid??? But its okay because jason is there now and Damian is no longer shaking and when Tim gives him an affectionate punch in the shoulder there is not murder in his eyes but an unfamiliar gleam and suddenly Tim is tackled in a hug and he stands there in shock for a second before relaxing, his arms wrapping around the kid and they rewatch the movie and hang up Damian's drawings and tousle his hair and its okay. Its not perfect, but its okay. And for the Batfamily, that is more than perfect.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 33 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Dane Hunter

I drive much too fast but luck is with me and I manage to avoid a speeding ticket.

Spotting Julian's car in front of Danni's shop, I park with a screech of brakes, get out and jog across the street.

The interior of the store is dark and I reduce my pace and increase my caution.

Testing the doorknob, I find it unlocked and enter without announcing myself.

Inside, I pause for a breath while my eyes adjust to the dim light, when an oddly muffled voice calls my name.

"Dane? That you?"

"Freya."

Spotting her bent over near the counter, hands covering her eyes, I bolt to her side.

"I'm okay," she says, waving me off. "

Just got some pepper-spray... or pepper dust... in my eyes. I think there's some wolfsbane in it, too. Stings like fuckin' hell and I can't see for shit but I'm not hurt."

"What happened?"

"Skin-changer got Danni."

"Where's Julian?"

"He went after it."

"Alone?"

"Yeah."

"Shit. Which way?"

"Out the back."

She waves towards the other end of the shop.

"You sure you're okay?" I ask as she pushes herself to her feet.

"Yeah. Go after Jules. I'm fine."

I grunt my acknowledgment, in which is a promise to come back for her as soon as I can and slip through the narrow emergency exit and into a familiar alleyway.

It's the same one where Julian had lost the thief, the night of our stakeout.

A little way down, the back door of another shop stands ajar.

I reach it in a few strides, throw it open and burst into the storage area of Stephanie Wong's thrift shop.

Pausing, I sweep the darkened space with my gaze and sniff the air.

Julian's been here, for sure and so has someone else.

There's another smell, too... the dank scent of the tunnels... and it leads me to a gaping hole in the wall, which appears to have been knocked in with a sledgehammer.

"Fuck," I swear under my breath as the scenario plays out in my mind.

Julian in pursuit, alone, with no one to back him up.

Of course he rushed headlong into who-knows-what.

After what I said and did, he probably...

"Dane?" his voice echoes softly from the dark, cautious and low.

"Julian."

I duck into the narrow opening but he's already emerging from the gloom, eyes wide and pale face streaked with grime.

I clamber back through the hole and help him out after me, then grasp his shoulders as if to reassure myself that he's solid and real.

He grasps me in return but his expression is tinged with uncertainty and a trace of fear.

"You got my note?"

I nod.

"How did you know it was Danni?"

"I didn't. I was hoping they could help me break Rhiannon's curse, so she could tell us what the fuck is going on. We figured out Danni wasn't Danni by accident."

"You lost them?"

He hesitates.

"Sort of. They escaped to the Shadowlands. I... decided not to follow them."

I blink.

"Decided not to?"

The thought that he'd even consider something so recklessly dangerous is what alarms me but what I see on his face is guilt.

"I'm sorry," he says.

"I had a chance. I might have caught them and gotten some answers there and then. It was a risk but I'd have taken it. I know you'd have told me not to but that's not what stopped me. Sometimes we have to make choices on our own but when it affects both of us..."

His eyes flick between mine, a painful uncertainty in his expression but something inside me relaxes as I finally let go of the fear I'd been clinging to all night.

"I made the same choice, Julian," I say.

"I chose us. I won't take the Alpha unless you're standing at my side and whatever we do next, we'll do it together."

His eyes widen and then he's in my arms and I'm in his and we hold on tight.

When our heartbeats and breaths have slowed, we release one another and share a tentative, hopeful smile.

Movement in my peripheral snags my attention and I turn.

Freya stands in the doorway but she's not alone.

Her hands are cuffed behind her back and Detective Erickson keeps a rough grip on her arm, a gun in his other hand.

He grins, obviously pleased with himself.

"Well, well, well," he drawls.

"And what do we have here? Three for the price of one. Looks like I'll be getting that bonus after all... once I turn you over to the Fae, that is."

[alice-chan-chan]

isn't that callout a little overdramaitc..? gif layouts look the same no matter who makes them. its not like copying real art

This callout post isn't about gif sets only, though they are still, in a way, an art too. Edits were mentioned too. Every piece of graphics, be it edits, gif sets or manga colorings, is an artwork. There are lots of ways to plan layouts, there are tons of details that make a work unique. Try to copy a company's logo and you will be sued. Posting free graphic works doesnt make them "free to copy by anyone", they still belong to people who made them and should not by plagiarized. There is a huge difference between being inspired by someone's work and plagiarizing it.

I think that in the beginning of making graphics we all copy other graphic makers somehow, because we are not experienced enough to make something original. But as we grow, we usually find our own style and start making our own works. Even if you are not familiar with the process of making graphics - which takes hours or even days btw - I suppose that you probably noticed that there are some traits that are common for a certain graphic maker. This may be color palette, brightness, saturation, thickness of lines, the amount of textures used and details added, etc. Idk, I dont even need to look at the url to understand who made this particular graphics. I can see a person's "trade mark", their style which makes their work recognizable. Of course I'm talking about the people whom I know. I would never mistake Ana's manga coloring for Tsukiko's, they are completely different and cool in their own way. When I see Stephanie's (hanaeichihara) works I know that they are hers.

I didn't notice that Alex, the person who was called out, had made some plagiarized works because almost all of them were from fandoms that I am not interested in. But from what I can see, Alex has skills and talent, Alex should be more confident and make graphic works without following closely other ppl's creations. I reblogged Alex's post by the way. Alex fully acknowledges the guilt. But I personally think that leaving tumblr is a little bit too much. =/ If a person acknowledges their mistakes and actually stops doing harmful things, it is OK to forgive them. I can't speak for the graphic makers who suffered though, they probably can't forgive all of this. But as a fellow graphic maker I want to support Alex in trying to become a better person. I hope that Alex stays and gives a try to making original works. Even if Alex leaves, I still think that it was right to apologize to Stephanie and others.

I am sorry to have bothered you with such a long reply (you probably wont read it bcos too many words). But I myself know how plagiarism hits and makes you cry, I had different types of my creations plagiarized or even claimed by other ppl as their own. It hurts. It always hurts a lot. If you ever spent hours and hours on some work and then it was taken away from you by some person without crediting you, you would probably understand. Or not. I tried my best to explain. x)

[allthingsfangirl101]

A Change of Heart Part 2–Matt Brody

Part 1

Wattpad request by psych0bxtch

Matt's POV

When I heard the flatline, my stomach dropped. The only thing I could hear other than the worst sound in the world was Summer sobbing violently as Mitch tried to keep her from collapsing to the floor.

"No," she kept sobbing. "She can't be. . . Please tell me she isn't. . . Mitch. . . She's my baby sister. . . Please."

"Keep trying," I said under my breath when I finally found my voice. Everyone looked at me as I cleared my throat and took a step towards the ambulance.

"Keep trying," I said louder as they slowly started to unhook Y/N's lifeless body from their machines. "You can't give up on her. She's. . . We need her."

I ignored Summer's questioning look and instead, my eyes glanced towards Y/N. Suddenly, my view of Y/N in the back of an ambulance changed to the last time we were alone together in the South Lifeguard Tower. I couldn't decide if I was more haunted by her laying there unmoving or the look in her eyes when I rejected her.

"I need her," I mumbled. I glanced over at Summer to see her tears slowly stopping.

"Matt?" She said under her breath.

We broke our eye contact when we heard them charging the defibrillator. I held my breath as we all waited to hear the heart monitor start beeping. As we impatiently waited, Summer walked over to me, but I didn't look away from the EMTs working on Y/N.

"What did you mean when you said you need her?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Be very careful with your next words, Matt."

"I can't imagine my life without her," I blurted out. I kept my eyes on Y/N and the EMTs as I continued, "I hate that us almost losing her is what made me realize it."

"No," Summer cut me off, making me finally look at her. "You aren't doing this. Y/N is an amazing girl and you broke her. You broke her, Matt. She finally got the courage to tell you how she felt and you shot her down. Are you telling me that all this time. . . Or are you just suddenly realizing it because we might. . . No. My sister deserves better. Y/N deserves a guy who knows he wants to be with her. Not some Olympic Asshole who picks and chooses when he gets a girl."

I opened my mouth to respond but was interrupted when we heard a beautiful beep. You could hear us all sucking in a synced breath when we recognized the sound. We turned around and saw the EMTs letting out relieved sighs.

"She's back," an EMT said as he glanced over at us. "We got her back."

"Alert the surgical team at the nearest hospital," the other EMT started giving instructions. "We need to get her into surgery as soon as we get there."

The EMTs started talking indistinctly as they hooked her up to more machines. I jumped when they slammed the door shut and the ambulance sped off. I turned to say something to Summer but she was already jogging towards her car. CJ and Stephanie sent me matching glares before following Summer. Ronnie cleared his throat, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with me.

"We're going to the hospital," Mitch said with not even an ounce of emotion in his voice. "Want a ride?"

We rode to the hospital in silence. I watched the buildings zoom by, the anger in Summer's voice repeating over and over again. The glare she gave me sent chills down my spine just thinking about it.

She was right. Y/N is too good for me.

As we sat in the waiting room, I thought back to our conversation in the South Lifeguard Tower. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized I never shot her down. I didn't say anything to her. She assumed I didn't have feelings for her because I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything because I was too shocked.

I looked up and noticed Summer watching me with tears streaming down her face. She had numerous reasons to be pissed at me but the real reason was because of the conversation in the South Lifeguard Tower. I stood up, nervously wiping my hands on my shorts as I walked over to her.

"Don't," she said, her voice getting caught in her throat. "I don't care how guilty you feel about shooting my sister down. I have more important things to think about. Like how Y/N is fighting for her life on a surgery table right now."

"Summer," I stuttered. "Please just. . ."

"Stop!" She yelled, quickly standing up. "My sister is dying, Matt. I don't give a shit that you feel guilty for turning her down. You have no idea how much you hurt her."

"I didn't. . ." I stuttered.

"Of course not," she scoffed. "She took two weeks off from work. Want to know what she did during that time? She spent the entire two weeks crying her eyes out. She was embarrassed, defeated, humiliated, and felt like she couldn't face you. Here's the real kicker; she came back for you!"

"What do you mean?" I asked under my breath.

"You were losing it, Matt," she sighed. "We could all see it."

I looked behind her to see everyone else watching us with the same look on their faces. When I made eye contact with Mitch, he shook his head and looked around the waiting room.

"Summer," I said, my voice breaking as I turned back towards her.

"Enough," she said through her teeth. "Y/N doesn't deserve you, Matt Brody. She deserves better."

* * * * *

An hour later, we still hadn't heard anything from the doctors working to save Y/N's life. We sat in the waiting room of the ER, all of us on edge. Whenever someone walked through a door, we all jumped.

"For Ms. Y/N Quinn?"

We all jumped up, slightly surprising the doctor when he saw how many of us were there. He looked around, trying to figure out which one of us he needed to address first.

"I'm her sister," Summer said shakily as she took a step towards him. "Is she. . . Did she. . . Please tell me she's okay."

"Your sister is one hell of a fighter," the doctor smiled sweetly at her.

"She's okay?" Summer said with nothing but hope in her voice.

"For the most part," he said slowly.

"What does that mean?" Ronnie asked.

"Well," the doctor said, slightly clearing his throat. "As you know, they were able to restart her heart in the back of the ambulance but her vitals were too low when she got to the hospital. As we took her into an exam room, she stopped breathing again. After a few tests, we discovered that it wasn't just the drowning that almost killed her."

"What was it?" Summer asked, slightly taking a step closer to the doctor.

"A bullet."

My breath got stuck in my throat. I looked over at Summer to see her covering her mouth, trying to stop the sob.

"When the hell was she shot?" CJ asked under her breath.

"Underwater," Mitch mumbled to himself. We turned around to see him thinking about something.

"Mitch?" Summer said under her breath.

"Before I jumped in after her, I thought I heard something strange. If I hadn't hesitated. . . I'm so sorry, Summer. I heard the gunshot and that's what made me jump in after her. I should've done that sooner. I'm so sorry."

"This isn't your fault," she said gently. My heart dropped into my stomach when Summer glanced over at me.

"How is she?" Mitch asked.

"We got the bullet out," the doctor continued, "and stopped the bleeding, but she still lost a lot of blood during the surgery. I'm afraid she's slipped into a coma."

"When is she going to wake up?" Summer asked almost instantly.

"We can't be entirely sure," he sighed. "She could be asleep for a few more hours or a few more days. When a patient loses a lot of blood, their mind tends to shut off until that blood is reproduced. But I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to make her feel comfortable until she does. I can take you to see her, Ms. Quinn."

When the rest of us took a few steps closer to Summer and the doctor, he stopped us. "I'm sorry," he said, clearing his throat, "but only family can go into the ICU."

Even though we didn't like it, we sat back down. I intertwined my fingers, struggling to calm my nerves. The next few days were never-ending. While the others went home, I stayed sitting in the uncomfortable ER waiting room chair.

"Matt."

I jumped when I felt someone kick my foot. I looked up to see Mitch standing above me with his arms folded. He sighed as he slightly shook his head.

"Go home."

"I'm good," I said, clearing my throat.

"No, you're not," he sighed. "You haven't slept, you've barely eaten, and you look like shit. Not to mention that you reek."

"I'm not leaving," I said sleepily.

"Matt," he sighed again as he sat next to me. "I know you feel guilty for what happened to Y/N, but the boat fire had nothing to do with you. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I was the one who didn't jump in after her soon enough. I keep hearing that damn underwater gunshot. It replays in my mind and my dreams. This was my responsibility. All of your safety falls on me. I failed Y/N. And Summer."

I suddenly realized how much this has been weighing down on him. His shoulders were tense, his back was hunched, and his eyes were heavy.

"Mitch," I said, making him look at me, "Y/N wouldn't blame you for anything that's happened. You jumped in, you found her, you brought her back to the boat. You saved her, Mitch. All I did was break her heart."

"About that," Mitch said, clearing his throat to cover his laugh. "What the hell, man? She told you how she felt, you shut her down, then she gets hurt and that makes you suddenly have feelings for her?"

"First of all," I sighed, "I didn't shoot her down. I didn't respond right away and she took that as me not having feelings for her. Second, I didn't say anything about "suddenly" having feelings for her."

"Hold on," he said, more anger in his voice. "After all the shit that's gone down, you actually have feelings for her?"

When he looked at me, he saw my answer clearly written on my face. He scoffed as he looked away, slightly shaking his head. When he looked back at me, I felt like a kid about to get scolded by my father.

"Please tell me you realize how much of an asshole you are," he scoffed.

"Mitch," I stuttered.

"Y/N is an amazing girl. You'd be lucky to have someone like her interested in you. Honestly, you don't deserve her anymore. Hell, you didn't deserve her when she told you how she felt. And if you walk into that hospital room and confess to having feelings for her all along. . ."

He didn't finish his threat. Instead, he stood up and wiped his hands on his pants. He was about to walk away but stopped. He didn't bother to turn around as he spoke up.

"By the way," he said through his teeth, "She's awake."

I watched Mitch leave before slowly standing up. I made my way down the hallway, my nerves jumping all over the place the closer I got to her. I hesitated outside her room, continually wiping my sweaty hands on my pants. Whenever I reached for the door handle, I never made it all the way to it. As I tried to reach for the handle again, the door swung open.

"Matt," Summer gasped. She looked over her shoulder before quickly closing the door. "I don't think you should be here."

"Summer, please," I stuttered. "I just want to. . ."

"You've done enough."

* * * * *

After Summer stopped me from going into Y/N's room, I was even more determined to talk to her. I waited for Summer to leave before sneaking back down the hallway. I ducked into Y/N's room, my breath getting caught in my throat when I turned and saw Y/N asleep in the hospital bed.

I felt numb as I walked over and sat next to her. I hesitated to grab her hand because I didn't want to wake her up. Instead, I sat back in the uncomfortable chair and thought about the last conversation Y/N and I had.

~•~

"Your sister is looking for you," I said. I got concerned when I noticed her still facing away from me. I slowly walked over and grabbed the gauze that was frozen in her hand.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, not at all convincingly.

"Y/N," I elongated. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she said again, sounding less convincing than before.

"I'm in love with you."

I heard her suck in a breath the same time I sucked in one of my own. My mind instantly started going 100 miles an hour.

She was in love with me? Since when? Does everyone know? How could I not know?

"What?" I asked under my breath for clarity. I wanted, no needed to make sure I heard her right.

"Never mind," she stuttered. My heart sank when she started to leave the shack.

"Y/N," I said, trying to get her to look at me. My shoulders slightly sank when she remained facing the door. "What did you say?"

"Just forget it," she said quickly.

Right as she was about to leave, I quickly grabbed her hand and slowly turned her towards me. I tried to get her to look up at me but she kept her stare to the ground.

"Y/N?" I whispered. "Did you mean it? Are you really. . ."

"Yes," she forced out. When she finally looked up at me, her eyes sank. My heart clenched when I saw her struggling to hold back embarrassed tears.

"Y/N," I stuttered, "I'm not. . . It's not that . . . I'm sorry."

She roughly pulled her hand out of mine and cleared her throat like she was trying to get rid of a lump.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Y/N," I sighed.

"It's fine," she said before I could get a chance to explain what was going through my head. It wasn't that I didn't have feelings for her. The truth was, I wasn't sure how I felt about Y/N Quinn.

"I should umm. . . You're taking over, right? You're on the next shift? Okay, I'm gonna go then. Bye, Matt."

"Y/N," I said, trying to get her to stay and hear me out. "Please let's. . ."

I physically jumped when the South Lifeguard tower door shut between us. I sat on one of the extra chairs, my mind not stopping. I ran my fingers through my hair as Y/N's defeated and embarrassed look on her face was stuck in my head.

"I don't know how I feel about you," I mumbled to myself. "But I know I don't want to lose you."

~•~

I've always felt this pull towards Y/N. I just thought it was friendship. That is until she told me how she felt for me. I looked over at her, the guilt suffocating me.

"You don't get it," I whispered, shaking my head and looking away from her. "You left before I could explain. I wasn't stuttering that I didn't have feelings for you. I was stuttering that I wasn't sure. I know that's not better but. . ."

"Matt?"

My head snapped up when I heard my name weakly said. I was met with Y/N's Y/E/C eyes. I smiled as I scooted closer to her.

"Hi," I whispered.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you," I started to ramble. "Look, I know things have been weird between us and I hate it. I absolutely hate this tension between us, Y/N. When you were gone, those were the worst two weeks of my life. I was miserable. I wanted to call you but Summer kept telling me to leave you alone."

"She what?" She asked softly but I kept talking.

"And then when you came back? I didn't know what to do or say. Whatever I rehearsed, didn't seem good enough. Then the boat fire. . . You were underwater for four and a half minutes. Mitch gave you CPR for the whole five-minute boat ride back to shore. The EMTs took over for three minutes before they hooked you up to the defibrillator. One minute and forty-two seconds later, you flatlined. That was the longest minute and forty-two seconds of my life."

"Matt," she said weakly, trying to interrupt me again.

"When you told me how you felt," I continued, "I didn't respond but not because I didn't have a response for you. It was because I was evaluating."

"Evaluating," she repeated. "Matt, what does that mean? Evaluating what?"

"Us," I said before I could stop myself. "I mean evaluating who you are to me. We've been good friends since you started at Baywatch, but I've always thought our relationship was stronger than just a simple friendship. And it wasn't until you left those two weeks that I realized it was a lot deeper than a simple friendship."

"What are you trying to say?" She asked hesitantly.

"I'm saying I have feelings for you," I said quickly. I watched as her eyes widened. She was studying me hard, probably trying to decide if I was being honest with her.

To help reassure her, I continued. "Y/N, I'm not just saying I have feelings for you because I almost lost you. I'm saying it because I didn't realize how I felt for you. I had a general idea but I wasn't sure exactly. I know this doesn't make much sense, but it's the truth. I care about you, Y/N, a lot. I'm sorry it took almost losing you for me to wake up and realize that I've loved you all this time."

I held my breath, waiting for her reaction. When her eyes filled with tears, I couldn't tell if they were happy tears or angry tears. The silence ate away at me, almost as much as the guilt.

"Please say something," I whispered. My breath got caught in my throat when she slowly smiled.

"Come here," she whispered.

I scooted the chair closer to Y/N's bed and grabbed her hand. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. The second our lips touched, we instantly started moving them in sync.

Every feeling I've felt since her confession intensified as we finally kissed. It was like everything we've been holding back, burst. Without breaking the kiss, I stood up and carefully crawled onto her bed until I was hovering over her. The kiss got heated as Y/N reached up, grabbed my shirt, and pulled me closer to her.

She moaned when I used the hand that wasn't holding me up to gently rub her hip. I smirked against her lips as I slowly slid that hand up her body. She gasped, breaking the kiss when I found and squeezed her boob. That surprised gasp turned into a painful one.

"Shit," I gasped, moving my weight off of her. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. I should've. . . You've been shot and I. . . I'm sorry. For everything. I never should've. . ."

"Matt," she whispered, cutting me off as she reached up and gently cupped my cheek in her hand. "It's okay."

"No," I stuttered. "It's not okay, Y/N. None of it is. I want to make it up to you. I need to make it up to you."

"Then take me on a date," she said so simply.

"What?"

"Take me on a date," she repeated.

I smiled, feeling like a giddy idiot as I laid down next to her. I let out a satisfied sigh as she immediately cuddled into my chest.

"As soon as you get out of here," I whispered, "I'm taking you on that date."

[a-completely-normal-writer]

Writing Excerpt

This was something that kinda just burst from my brain late last night. I haven't posted things related to my story in a bit, and thought I would show this to you guys before I lose my nerve. Hope you like it!

Ps. Spoiler alert: I did not go to sleep right after my other post last night. Don't ask me how my brain went from laughing about the silly stuff I wrote in my club to this. I have absolutely no idea what happened to me last night.

TW: Mentions of death (it's brief but just in case)

And for a split second Shelbee felt this intense anger at them. Angry that she had never been prepared for something like this. That they had never told her that things, places, and people could just be taken from you.

The idea of death had never been prevalent in her life and now that it was there, so glaring and obvious, she resented that she wasn't prepared for it, wasn't even warned about it. She was allowed to live in this naivety for twelve years of her short life, all because the two them didn't want to hurt her feelings.

No, they wanted to protect you.

Iridescent blue tears form in her eyes as this thought intrudes on her fury, and with those tears bring guilt. Derrik and Stephanie had always done what they thought was best for her, and when Sam came along they did what they thought was best for the both of them.

How could she blame them for that? For doing what they always did, protecting the two of them.

They were trying, trying to leave before things went south, before "shit hit the fan" as Steph would say.

And what had she done when she learned about the move?

Cry, complain, and sulk all because she couldn't have what she wanted. She had no right to be upset with them.

The tears that were forming fall, creating blue streaks down her dark brown cheeks, as the next thought hits her.

This wasn't their fault, it was mine.

[waywardscorpio]

You're Our Omega And We're Your Alpha's: Chapter Two.

A/N: I'm so, sorry everyone. I know, I said a few days. Friday my family and I, was hit with a loss. I will also sometime soon I'll also be posting my Baron Corbin Fanfiction. It will be Baron X Reader as well as an Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics Book. I thank you ladies and gentlemen for being patient with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It probably sucks a little and I apologize for that.

Tag list:

@phoenixoffiretwo @scuzmunkie @callmekda @braunstrowmangirl

WARNINGS: FLUFF, PREGNANT READER, POSSIBLE CUSSING, PISSED OFF ALPHA'S DEAN, SETH AND ROMAN, AND A LITTLE BIT OF RUSEV AND LANA IN HERE WITH MENTIONS OF A FEW OTHERS.

*Seth POV*

"Hey Dean, and Roman, can we talk?" I asked the other two males in the locker room. "Yeah man what's up?" Roman said. "Have either of you noticed Y/N, has been glowing lately? Or that she's been throwing up the past few days?" I asked them. Dean looks at me as he spoke "Yes, I noticed it yesterday." Dean looked at me. "Matter of fact so, did I" Roman says as he fixed his ring gear. "Its been a month since we mated and she hasn't wrestled the last three weeks either. I think she might be hiding something." I said. "Her smell has even changed and she's become very protective of her stomach. She may honestly be pregnant." Dean added. "Come on now. Y/N, wouldn't keep anything from us." Roman said. "She would if she was scared we'd leave her." Dean says.

"Let's go talk to her" Dean offers and I nodded agreeing with him. All three of us got up an walked out the locker room and went to Y/N's, locker room and knocked. "Baby Girl, can we come in?" I asked. "Y-yes" she said. I open the door and walk in with Dean and Roman following me into the locker room. "Princess, what's the matter?" Roman asks softly. "N-nothing. I'm fine" she lied looking anywhere but at us clearly hiding something and scared. "Baby Girl, don't lie to us. We're not going to get mad. I promise" I said softly as I lift her chin to look her in the eyes. "You promise not to hate me or leave me?" She asks softly. I could hear the worry in her voice. "Baby Doll, we could not ever hate you." Dean said as he and Roman walks over to us and stands on each side of Y/N, and myself. "I'm.... I'm pregnant" she said finally and closed her eyes and cowers a little scared she might get yelled at. "We're going to be Dads?" Roman asked a huge smile on his face. "Yes. You're not mad?" She asks softly. "No, ofcourse not, Princess." He said kissing her. "We are happy, Baby Doll" Dean added and turned her head to kiss her. "And we're not gonna leave" I add lastly as I turn her to look at me as I kissed her softly. "Mine" she said softly nuzzling into me and pulling the other two, to us as close as possible.

We stood there in a comfortable silence, before a Crew member knocked on the door saying we had five minutes until mine and Roman's tag team match against the revival, for the tag team titles. Dean, Roman, myself and Y/N, all walk to the gorilla pin and wait for our entrance music to come on. We got to the ring after the entrance music was about over and Lillian introduced. Dean kept a protective stance and arm around Y/N. The revival came out next and was introduced. "Well Michael Cole, it looks like this is gonna be a fight for the titles tonight" Renee said. "Indeed, Renee it is. The Shield is determined to get them titles" he said.

"1...2...3. And the new tag team champions are Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns" the referee says as the match ended. Roman and I, finally got the titles back. The revival was furious as they got out the ring walking up the ramp. Dean helped Y/N, into the ring as as we got the belts. Half way up the ramp the revival turned back around to head to the ring again. The get in the ring and attack Dean and Roman. I grabbed Y/N, and carefully helped her out the ring so, she wasn't in the line of fire and neither was our unborn chil or children. I pull the one that was hitting Roman, off and started punishing him. The other that was hitting Dean, threw him over the top rope, close Y/N. She went to Dean's side. I could hear her talking to him. "Dean are you okay?" She asked on the verge of tears. It's one thing Y/N didn't like, and that's seeing one of us hurt. "Yes, Baby Doll. I'm okay." He said.

"BABY DOLL, MOVE!!" Dean yells at her pushing her out the way and taking a blow to the ribs. Y/N whimpers startled from what just happened. "Baby Girl, go. Get out of here." I yell at her. She was to frightened to move or do anything. I see Lana and Rusev running down the ramp. Rusev went for the revival member outside the ring, an Lana went to Y/N, dragging her up the ramp quickly out of harm's way. Roman superman punched the one and Rusev slammed the other into the side of the ring.

While we were fighting and beating the hell out of the revival we didn't know Y/N and Lana were being sought after by Sheamus and Cesaro. Lana knew Y/N, was pregnant so, she did everything she could to protect her. Becky wasn't here tonight because she had the night off. "Come on, Love." Lana said going into a locker room locking the door and hiding with Y/N as she attempted to keep her calm. "She love. I know you're scared. But we have to be quiet okay?" Lana says softly to Y/N, who's covering her mouth the muffle her cries and whimpers.

The door to the locker room they were in was busted down as the the bar began to search the room for the two ladies. One being our mate and the other being a good friend of ours. Myself, Dean, Roman and Rusev, ran up the ramp quick to look for Lana and Y/N. One of the crew members pointed us in the direction of were the two girls were and who had been following after them. My blood was boiling, eyes dark with rage, and one thing on my mind; and that's was to get to Y/N, before she got hurt, because I wouldnt ever forgive myself if she got hurt or worse. I knew Dean and Roman had the same attitude, rage and only the same thing on their minds as I did. Rusev only wanted to get to his wife and omega before she got hurt. I ran as fast as I could to get to the room. I seen the door busted down and Sheamus, had Y/N pinned to the wall by her throat. She was scratching and clawing at his hand, tears rolling down her face, and one hand protecting her stomach. "LET HER GO!!" We below out loud and deep from within our chest. The roar echoing threw the halls. Sheamus smirked knowing just why he got under our skin. His other hand meer inches away from her stomach. I could hear faint running footsteps from half the Raw and Smackdown roaster coming towards us. Nina Jax, heard her cousins howl and knew immediately there was trouble and a brawl about to break out. "Don't you fucking dare touch her!" The rage only built more but I wasn't gonna attack with Y/N, in the line of fire. Rusev saw red when he seen his beloved wife pinned against the couch struggling to get away to help her friend. She did the last thing she thought of and kicked Cesaro in the balls. Cesaro held his crotch smacking her. Rusev grabbed him by the neck and picked him up before slamming him threw the coffee table.

Before Sheamus let Y/N, he rubbed her belly smirking darkly at her. She started whimpering more her omega side was scared and wanting her Alpha's. As soon as he let her go, Y/N crawled to a corner shaking like a leaf terrified and that's all it too for Dean to go full fledge Lunatic Fridge on Sheamus. Nia ran up and seen what was going on, she could feel everything. Being an alpha herself Nia knew all to well that shit just got real and fast. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU" Dean screams as he bounced Sheamus head off a wall and throwing him towards us and out the door. Sheamus staggers to his feet and attempts to get away. But he couldn't when I tackled him from behind. Nia looked at the scared girl in the corner and seen red herself cause that was her family to. She grabbed Cesaro and dragged him into the hall way. As the brawl went on and the fighting continues it took every referee, security guard, and roaster men and women to pull us The Shield, Rusev, and Nia Jax off of The Bar. The bar laid beat and bloody on the ground. "Enough. What in the living hell is going on?" Triple H yells as he came into view. Dean proceeded to tell him everything and after that let's just say Cesaro and Sheamus were suspended for two years and on injury leave for a year as well. As soon as we were let go me, and the three others along with Nia, Stephanie and Triple H ran to were Lana and Y/N, were. But when we got there they weren't there and we began to panic. A camera man told us that they were sent to the infirmary. We all bolted to the infirmary. Lana was standing next to Y/N, while she was being checked out by the medical team. My heart dropped thinking she was hurt or the baby or babies were hurt and I knew that Dean and Roman were feeling the same way.

After what seemed like hours the doctor said she has no, serious injuries but should be taken to a hospital to be sure the baby or babies are okay. They called an ambulance to have her taken there now. Roman rode with and me and Dean took the car. Stephanie, Triple H and the others called Becky, got ours and Y/N stuff from our locker rooms while we followed the ambulance. "I swear to God if our baby or babies are hurt or Y/N is I'm going to rip out The Bars throats myself." Dean said. He was alot calmer but still pissed off as was myself and Roman.

In the ambulance Roman soothed Y/N by softly rubbing her hand and her belly. "I'm sorry, Alpha. I tried to fight him off but I wasn't strong enough" Roman's heart fell hearing his omega blame herself for something that wasn't her fault. "Shhh Princess. You don't need to apologize for anything. This isn't your fault."

After we got to the hospital, an Y/N was checked in and evaluated the doctors came out to talk to us. "Ms. Y/L/N, family or friends." We shot up out of our chairs and walked over to him. "Is she okay? Is the baby or babies okay? What's going on?" I asked immediately. He could tell we were worried like hell. "Her and the fetuses are okay. She'll have some bruising around her neck for a while. She is to take it easy for the rest of the pregnancy. No heavy lifting, and nothing strenuous. I'll keep her over night under observation to be a hundred percent sure. She is asking for you three as well. You may go see her but don't upset her or agitate her." He said. We nod and quickly go to her room.

Y/N was sitting up a little but breathing softly in her sleep. Roman and I stood on the left and Dean stood on her right. We each gently gave her a kiss  as we laid our hands softly on her tummy. Her eyes flutter open and she looks at all of us. "Hey Beautiful. How you feeling?" I asked her. "My throat hurts a little. I'm sorry I tried to stop him from touching me" she whispered softly. I shook my head "No, Baby Girl don't apologize. It's not your fault. You did your best. Don't worry we took care of them." I said softly to her rubbing my thumb gently over her tummy. She nodded softly as she placed her much smaller hands over ours and went back to sleep after whispering a soft "I love you, Alpha's" we all smile at her. "We love you too, our Omega" we all got chairs and sat by her bed hands resting on her tiny baby bump.

The next morning the doctor released Y/N, from the hospital. He gave us strict orders not to let Y/N, over work herself, or anything that can hurt her or the baby or babies. We took her straight home to our shared house. We got her set up on the couch with anything she wanted. "Baby Doll, are you hungry?" Dean asked her as I was putting in our orders for lunch. She nodded and looked at me. "Spicy Chicken Salad, Hot Wings and a one liter pepsi Please, Master?" She asked. When we were alone at home or when no, one was around she always called us by the names she gave us the first night we mated. We never corrected her because it made her happy. "Yes, Baby Girl. Anything for you." I said and put in her order. "While we wait for the food I'm gonna go get in one of the showers alright, Princess?" Roman said to her. She nodded her head "Okay Sir. May I have a kiss?" He smiles as he walked over giving her a soft kiss on the lips and then went upstairs to get in the shower. "I'm getting one too, Baby Girl" I said kissing her soft before going upstairs. Dean looked at her and walked over to her. "Baby Doll, would you like to take a shower with me?" Dean asked her. "Yes Daddy." She answered and he picked her up taking her to one of the other bathrooms in the house. He turns the shower on nice and warm, and strips her, then himself. Dean helps, Y/N into the shower and then gets in himself shutting the door. Me and Roman finished our showers first and went to were Y/N and Dean, were at. Me and Roman lean on the door way watching how gently Dean was being with Y/N. Roman and I were always worried about Dean finding his mate and then it turns out that all three of us get to share the most smart, beautiful, loving, and amazing omega. We all found our anchor and happiness and we wouldn't have it any other way. Roman pulled me out the room and to the kitchen to talk.

"Y/N's, birthday is coming up in a month. I was thinking why don't we plan something for her that she can do?" He said to me as I got plates and cups on the table for when the food got here. "I think that is a perfect idea. What are we going to do about work? We can't leave Y/N by herself and if she does go back we can't leave her without an alpha strong enough to protect her." I said. "Rusev or Nia? Maybe even Baron? They all adore her. Speaking of Nia, said she wants to be God mother of the little pup or pups." He said. "I agree with the choices. Nia I agree with that. Becky wants to as well. I can tell you this, the pup or pups will have a loving and protective family. Did anyone call Randy to let him know Y/N, is okay and home?" I asked him. "Yes I did. He said him and Nia would be over Friday to spend the day here. Out of all the roaster, Y/N is loved by most of us. She never did nothing wrong to anyone." He replied. "Okay I'll go grocery shopping to get food and drinks for Friday. Yeah, I know she is. She is a hell of a actress in the ring but outside the ring she is as soft spoken and sweet as can be. Hell the first time Dean laid eyes on her he was wrapped around her finger like we are." I said and he chuckles an nods agreeing with me.

Dean walks in with Y/N in his arms dressed. "Feel better Baby Girl?" I asked her. "Yes, I'm just hungry" She replies. "The food should be here any minute, Princess" Roman said to her softly. About five minutes later the food got here. I set the table up and put the food all on the table. "I love you, Alpha's" she said softly. "We love you, Omega" We all say at once. We sat at the table eating in a comfortable silence.

After eating dinner Dean and myself clean up and put the leftovers in the fridge. "Alright Baby Girl, let's get to bed" I said softly to her. "Can we watch a movie until I fall asleep?" She asks. "Ofcourse, Baby Doll" Dean says. She held her arms out for Roman to pick her up, an happily Roman obliged to the silent question. After going upstairs to our shared room with a custom built bed big enough for all four of us, I put in a movie to watch.

About halfway through the movie Y/N, had fallen asleep curled up between the three of us. After making sure she was comfortable and completely asleep the three of us went downstairs to have a talk.

"I talked to Nia and Baron. They said that they'd be more than happy to stay with Y/N, and protect her when we aren't around or she doesn't go to the ring with us." I said to the other two as I pour a drink sitting at the table. "That is great. I swear, I ever see them two again I will break their necks myself for touching or even looking at her" Dean said his temper flaring on the last sentence. "Dean clam down. She'll since you're upset." Roman said watching him as the grip on the glass cup he had in his hand got tighter. "Dean loosen up on the cup before you crush it and get cut." I said. Dean put the cup to the side and took a few deep breaths. "Sorry. I should of made her stay in the back or at home. I knew something was gonna happen." Dean said rubbing his face with his hands angrily. "Dean calm down" Roman and I said. We could since  he was getting upset more and blaming himself. I could hear light pitter patter of Y/N's feet. "Dean she's awake. You need to calm down before you do something you won't ever be able to take back." Dean's chest was rising up and down fast. "Daddy, Master, and Sir?" Y/N called out looking for us. "I'll get her Roman. You get him to calm down" I said and he nods his head.

I walk out to the kitchen "Baby Girl, you okay? Do you feel sick or hungry?" I asked her as I pushed her hair from her eyes. "Daddy's upset. I can feel what he is feeling. I want Dean." She said softly. "Baby Girl, Dean needs time to calm down. For your safety and the pup or pups safety. You know how his temper is and I know he wouldn't live with himself if he accidentally hurt you or the pup(s) any harm when he's upset." She frowns at my words. I hug her gently rubbing her back. "Just give Roman a few minutes to get him to calm down, Baby Girl. Okay?" She nods softly against my chest. After some convincing Roman was able to get Dean, to calm down. "Baby Doll?" Dean said softly. Y/N turned around and looked at him. "Dean what's wrong? I can feel you're upset. What's bothering you?" She asks as she walks over to him. "I don't wanna talk about it right now Baby. I don't wanna get worked up again and possibly hurt you not meaning to because if my anger get out of control I don't want to accidentally hurt you or our baby or yours and the others baby. I wouldnt ever be able to live with myself" Dean said. I could tell he was worried genuinely about her and the babies. "You won't hurt me, Dean. I trust you." Y/N, said softly touching his cheek. I seen Dean physically relax into her soft touch.

"Can we go to bed?. I'm getting sleepy again." Y/N asks softly yawning and rubbing her eyes. I nod my head. We went up stairs, laid down and fell fast asleep.