#I will work soon and then be free to relax and draw something goddamn silly. For my mental health | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

neganandblake · 6 years ago

Text

I think I liked you better when you didn’t have a knife in your hand, Peaches... Chapter 185- Where I belong

When Blake finds herself sold out to the Saviours by her abusive fiancé, she realises that she’s certainly not on her own anymore and finds an unlikely friend in Negan. And Negan does NOT like men who beat their girlfriends, one tiny bit….

MASTERLIST

Chapter 185 - Where I belong

[Negan and Blake spend some well-earned time alone together...]

"Admit it, Peaches," Negan chuckled, pressing a scratchy kiss to Blake's damp shoulder. "The only damn reason you came back was to get me to do this kinda shit for you."

Blake smiled closing her eyes as Negan's hands kneaded down onto her muscles from behind.

The pair were currently sat in the bathtub adjacent to their room, which was filled halfway with a fragrant hot water, that lapped around their naked bodies. Negan with his back against the warm porcelain tub, and Blake leaning against his lean form, having her knotted shoulders slowly coaxed into relaxing by the dark-haired man's talented fingers.

"Oh no, you've seen right through me," said Blake in a voice thick with sarcasm, wrinkling her nose in delight, causing Negan to chuckle into her ear once more and graze his bearded cheek against hers.

Cold from being out on that rooftop, Blake and Negan had headed back inside and ended up here, both wanting to be close to one another as the night drew in, but neither ready for sleep just yet.

Negan's confession up on that rooftop was a stark realisation for the both of them. Both of them knowing now that if this was the path they were about to go down, then this place, their lives, well, they might never be the same again.

But as much as Blake had tried to convince him, Carl and Tara too. It had ultimately been Negan who had come to this decision by himself, urged on by his devotion to Blake and Mia, his family.

But that decision, those changes, and how it was all to be implemented, could wait until morning.

For tonight...well, both adults had ultimately decided that this was their time.

Time they could spend together after so long apart.

Mia had been put to bed by Tanya, and for once, it was unlikely they were about to be disturbed any time soon. And so both were free to enjoy each other in whatever way was needed.

And almost immediately, sitting here in the tub, Blake had drawn Negan's attention to her shoulder blades, stiff from sleeping on a lumpy mattress on a cold floor for nights on end.

On reflection it had still been a damn sight better than the days where she had been forced to sleep, holed up in barns or on draughty floors in boarded up buildings or even sometimes out on the road with just a musty smelling sleeping bag, with nothing to defend her against the elements. But her life over the past year or so had changed dramatically, and used to a soft mattress and a proper bed now, Blake's shoulders had forgotten what it was like to sleep rough as she had done for so long, crying out for some attention instead…

...which luckily Negan, tonight, was willing to provide.

Blake smiled blissfully, so truly glad to be back here with the man she loved.

She regretted leaving, she did. But at the time, felt like she had had no other choice. Feeling so broken and completely removed from herself.

For those long and dark days, she had felt like she was so alone, and despite having Negan and Mia and everyone here who adored her, that anxiety had still risen to the surface, consuming her.

But she was back now and determined to make amends for leaving like she had done.

For, losing a baby…. well, the loss hadn't just been on her, but Negan too. And she had ultimately left when he had needed her.

And so for Blake, that was something she so desperately wanted to prove to him she wasn't about to do again.

"I love you, y'know…" she said in gentle voice, nudging the side of her head against his warmly.

"So you keep fuckin' tellin' me," Negan teased, dipping his head slightly and pressing another lingering kiss to the space between her neck and shoulder.

Blake smiled, cocking an eyebrow upwards.

"What? You sick of hearing it?" she commented with playful interest.

But Negan nuzzled her earlobe with his mouth from behind, his hands drifting down her shoulders, and her sides, palms skimming easily around her slender waist beneath the water's surface.

"Nope, quite the fuckin' opposite, Darlin'," growled Negan with a grin. "'In fact..."

And with that, he gave her middle a squeeze, tickling at Blake's bare sides causing her to let out a sweet laugh.

"... how 'bout you tell me again, jus' how much you love me, Peaches…."

Blake squirmed beneath his grasp as he tickled at her harder, swatting his arm with her hand.

"Stop it," she scolded teasingly, smacking his tanned forearm again. "Asshole!"

Negan chuckled into her hairline at this, tugging her body back against his affectionately.

The pair were silent for a moment, the only sound filling the room was the lapping of the water around them.

"M'just glad to have you back home, Sweetheart," the dark-haired man uttered after a long moment passed.

Blake instantly covered her hand over his, that was currently wrapped tightly around her waist.

She dropped her eyes for a moment into the sudsy bath water, pondering the words as he said them.

Home.

Just that word meant so much to her.

Blake had never truly felt at home anywhere.

When she had been young, it had just been her and her Mom for a long time. They had moved about, going from place to place while her mom tried to find a job so she could take care of the both of them. And so the feeling of being settled hadn't come until college for Blake.

And of course there it had felt anything like a home. More a party on some days, or a place of worry on others.

And even after college, in her and David's tiny rented apartment above a coffee shop in the city, Blake, the only one with a job, spent so many hours out of the house, working all the hours her job would allow, never really felt like that little place was never really home to her.

But here….well, it was a strange thing indeed to think of such a looming, drafty place such as the Sanctuary as being a home, but to Blake it was a more of a home than anywhere she had ever been. And silly dreams of spending the holidays with people you loved, snuggling up in bed, doing just whatever what families did together….well, maybe those dreams weren't so far away in this big old factory.

Because here she was. Sat in a hot and bubbly bath, cuddling up to the man she loved with every fibre of her being, with her own little girl asleep in the room next door.

Now that to her was home.

She smiled, biting gently down onto her bottom lip, before lifting her hand to Negan's bearded cheek and turning her face to his.

He stared back at her, looking a little concerned for second, his dark eyes searching hers, but Blake nudged her nose with his, offering him a reassuring smile.

"I'm glad to be home," she whispered her voice full of honesty. "Where I belong."

And she truly meant that.

Blake didn't allow him to reply, merely moving her lips forward and pressing them to Negan's.

And he was still, for a pinprick of second at least, before she felt him relax a little and begin to kiss her back, grinning wolfishly into her lips as she did so.

Their lips lapped against one another before Blake finally pulled away with a giggle, as Negan pouted like a moody teenager.

"That all I'm gettin'?" he huffed.

But Blake just smirked, pouting back playfully, her lips hovering torturously close to his.

"Well if you play your cards right, Daddy," she purred, her hand disappearing under the water, making for Negan's crotch. "Maybe I can pay you back for that massage…"

And Negan was about to bite down onto his bottom lip with a groan, sounding obviously appreciative of Blake's suggestion…

….when suddenly, from the next room, there came the sound of a fist hammering loudly against their large oak front doors.

Blake paused in what she was doing, pulling her lips slowly away from Negan's…

...as she saw his face change from one of enjoyment, to instead, a look of utter lividness at the disturbance.

"Ignore it," Blake's said soothingly, pressing her hand to Negan's cheek and trying to draw his attention back to her, which seemed to work for a second or two, before the loud bashing against the wooden doors came again, and Simon's calling voice could be heard just outside.

"That goddamn, motherfuckin' shit-for-brains asshole, better have a good fuckin' reason to be disturbin' me tonight," Negan snarled, his eyes blackening with anger. And Blake could only shift over, as Negan quickly pulled himself from the tub, snatching a towel from the side and flinging it around his waist heading for the bathroom door.

Blake was just about to argue, when Negan turned back to her pointing a sudden finger in her direction.

"Don' move, Peaches. Me an' you ain't done in that tub yet, alright?"

And Blake could only smile, sitting back against the warm porcelain bath, as she nodded and allowed Negan to deal with whatever the problem was outside in the hallway.

Blake closed her eyes and slid her body further under the warm water, savouring the feeling, as she heard Negan's barks from the next room and Simon's urgent please and mutters.

But the muffled noises meant nothing to her, as she tried to zone them out, looking forward to Negan's return and the fun they could have together when he did so.

For this place could never be quiet that was for sure. Negan was forever being called away urgently, and made to deal with whatever shit his lieutenants couldn't. So tonight was obviously no exception.

All Blake could hope, was that the problem, whatever it was, was sorted quickly.

And only split second later, as if one cue, the door to the bathroom swung open once more, causing Blake to smile.

"You coming back in to join me, Daddy?" she asked in a vixen-like voice, opening her eyes and expecting Negan to be naked again and ready to climb back in beside her.

But when she gazed up she saw that, instead, Negan's jaw was set, and instead of getting naked, he was in fact, to her disappointment, getting dressed.

Blake, pressing her hands to the sides of the tub, lifted herself up into a sitting position, wrapping her arms over her naked chest.

"What's happened?" she asked, her voice suddenly full of concern, as she stared up at the dark-haired Saviour. " What's wrong?"

But Negan, who was pulling on his abandoned pants, merely gazed over at her, his face full of what Blake could only describe as a resigned and worried frustration.

And she watched as an un-characteristic gulp slid its way up and then back down his adam's apple, and only a few growled words left his pursed lips.

But they were indeed enough to make Blake's blood run cold once more….

"Rick the fuckin' Prick's here..." he said flinging on his white t shirt and staring at Blake, a scowl forming across his darkened brow.

"...an' he's come for his damn son."

Uh oh..

#negan #negans-network #jdm #Jeffrey Dean Morgan #negan fic #negan oc #twd #The Walking Dead #twd fic #negan fanfic #negan otp #negan ofc

84 notes · View notes

liketolaugh-writes · 8 years ago

Text

Everyday Magic

Author: liketolaugh Summary: Kanda thinks of Tiedoll more than he lets on, Allen has always wanted a family, and Link is worried. Or: three idiots raise some kids together.

The war ends when Allen is seventeen, by which time it’s been winding down for half a year already.

It ends not at a battlefield, but at a table. Allen, Komui, and Link are on one side, and the Earl, Sheryl, and Road are on the other. Inside Allen’s mind, Neah is watching everything, suspicious and wary, and just as hesitantly hopeful as any of the exorcists.

Lavi is at the end of the table, watching them with eyes that never forget.

It isn’t easy; it never was. They trade the unbound Innocences for all the akuma in the world – the Earl tries to ask for all Innocences, but one glance at Allen’s arm and he changes his mind. They agree to burn all the research on dark matter and Innocence, and the Earl will destroy the egg.

Step by step, they try to erase the war from the world, because if there’s one thing both sides can agree on, it’s that family is more important than anything.

Komui leads negotiations and Allen plays diplomat, and Link, tracking everything, makes sure nothing gets forgotten.

Allen watches the other side, mostly. The Earl – not Mana, never Mana, but a fatherly and loving man in his own right – looked tired, dispirited but not unhappy. Sheryl was focused, but disinterested in the proceedings, and Allen thought he was only on board because of Road, who looked more genuinely, quietly pleased than Allen had ever seen her before.

She met his eyes and gave him a wink, a soft smile on her face, and he gave her a small, happy one in return, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair.

When they finally finish, all in writing – Sheryl and Link both insisted – the Earl and Komui shake hands, and they both look tired but satisfied. The Earl, in fact, has tears in his eyes, and knowing Komui he wasn’t far off either.

The Earl looks at Road and asks, “Are you happy now, sweetheart?” in a voice that makes Allen’s heart ache.

Road’s mouth stretches into her usual bright and mischievous grin and she chirps, “I don’t know, is Allen going to start a family now?”

Link chokes. Allen suspects that was what Road was hoping for.

Allen doesn’t start a family right away. His own still needs time to recover.

The transition out of Headquarters is abrupt; the exorcists never were much for taking things slow. Most of them relocate to the same area, different parts of a town in England, not too far apart and not too close together.

Allen, Link, and Kanda choose to live together. The relationship is still new, because none of them dared step forward until the war started to draw to a close, and there are good days and bad days, often set to the rhythm of nightmares and memories.

(“I was never loyal enough,” Link says once, and Allen doesn’t know whether he’s talking about Leverrier or Neah, but Kanda snaps, “You’re the most loyal fucking person I know,” and Link almost laughs even though he’s nearly crying.)

(Another time, Allen brings himself to tears trying to sort through Mana and Neah and father and friend and Red, and Kanda and Link make excuses to stay around him the whole night long without demanding his attention.)

A few months after the ceasefire becomes official, Allen’s cycle turns regular for the first time in his memory, and when he tells Kanda, Kanda makes an irritated noise at him and rolls his eyes when he laughs. When he tells Link, Link considers dragging him to a doctor even though it’s a good thing.

It takes a while, but all of them find jobs they like. Link, almost as used to paperwork as to fighting, hesitates over becoming a clergyman but quickly takes to working as a clerk. Kanda works in a factory at first, but grows fed up with it and switches to construction work.

(“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here,” Kanda says once, and he sounds so bitter. Link says, “Neither do I,” and Allen laughs so hard he nearly falls. When he catches his breath, he gasps out, “We’re such idiots,” and he’s maybe crying but he isn’t sure.)

For a while, Allen thinks wistfully of becoming an entertainer again, but barring those few months on the run, it’s been years, and he’s not the same person anymore. Eventually, he makes friends with a market owner and ends up working for him.

The Noah visit – tentatively, at first, as unsure as they get, but eventually they become regulars. At the Kanda-Link-Walker household, they mostly see Tyki and Road and the Earl, but Allen knows Jasdevi visits Lenalee, Sheryl fawns over Timothy, and Lulubell has become good friends with Miranda.

Kanda complains and Link is free with his reservations, but Allen is reaching back as soon as it becomes clear the Noah really won’t hurt anyone, and in the end they don’t try too hard to resist.

(“Your father would have been proud,” the Earl says once, and Allen scrubs at his eyes but it doesn’t keep him from crying. His relationship with the Earl is odd, but it isn’t awkward, anymore. It’s even… good.)

(Cross shows up six months late and tells Allen he fucked everything up, and Allen yells at him for half an hour. He thinks it says something that Cross stood there and took it instead of leaving, but he still doesn’t speak to the man again for a week.)

(They don’t see Lavi for eight months after the negotiations end, and then he shows up at Lenalee’s house at three in the morning with a different style and a different haircut, but he still tells her to call him Lavi. He disappears again a week later, but it’s [almost] enough of a reassurance.)

When Allen is twenty, awake in the middle of the night between Kanda and Link, he thinks again about Road said.

“I’d like to have kids,” Allen said abruptly, a ring of wistfulness in his voice and apropos of absolutely nothing.

Across the room, Link dropped the book he was holding, and it tumbled to the ground and closed. Oops. Maybe Allen should have given him a little more warning.

Nah.

A few feet away from Allen, on the opposite end of the couch, Kanda tilted his head and studied Allen for a few moments, and then nodded. “Alright.”

Allen gave him a bright smile and then turned hopeful eyes on Link, who, once he’d retrieved his book and set it aside, looked a lot more worried. When Allen caught his eye, Link asked, on the wrong side of high-pitched, “Now?”

Kanda turned a frown on Link, picking up on the stress in his voice, and Allen tilted his head, smile vanishing.

“I mean…” Allen hesitated, trying to put his thoughts together, gave up, and said, “Soon.”

Link stared at him, eyes still a little overbright with anxiety, and Allen frowned. Kanda was frowning, too, just as confused, and after a few moments, he accused, eyes intent on Link’s,

“You think it’s a bad idea.”

Link’s eyes flashed, and he half-glared back, crossing his arms.

“Can you blame me?” he returned, only just keeping his tone polite. “We’re barely three years out of a war, Kanda. A war in which all of us fought from the time we were children. You and I still keep our weapons with us! What would we know about being parents? Where would we even start?”

Allen flinched, startled and guilty. Link wasn’t wrong, he admitted to himself, but-

“Don’t fucking pretend like none of us learned anything,” Kanda hissed, looking surprisingly outraged for how noncommittal his initial response had been. Allen looked up, startled but, maybe, just a little bit hopeful. “Do you think either of us believes for a goddamn moment that you picked up baking on one of your missions? Or that all of your loyalty to Leverrier came just from gratitude? Fuck off!”

Link was noticeably taken aback, but his eyes were still burning with anger – and it certainly wasn’t helped by the mention of Leverrier – and he might have interrupted if Kanda wasn’t barreling right over him.

“And you’ve heard the goddamn beansprout talk about Mana! Everything before and everything after might’ve been shit, but to hear Allen tell it, Mana was a fucking saint, and if anyone’s gonna pick that up and pass it on it’s fucking Allen, okay?”

Allen elbowed Kanda sharply, and the man jolted and turned a dark scowl on Allen, who gave him a small, grateful grin, more relaxed now, and then turned his attention to Link, who was still hesitating.

“And Kanda had Tiedoll,” Allen finished for Kanda, a lot more gentle, but firm and insistent, unwavering gaze focused on Link. “You know what Tiedoll was like – raising children was practically his entire life.”

Link held his defensive look for a few long moments, but then he exhaled, relaxing just a little. “You both want children, don’t you,” he murmured, not quite a question.

Kanda crossed his arms, scowled, and refused to answer. Link reached up and tugged at the end of his braid, brow still wrinkled; he looked defeated. Allen’s brow creased with concern, and he shifted to Kanda’s other side to be closer to Link.

“It doesn’t have to be now,” he said anxiously, starting to reach for Link’s hand and then stopping himself. Without missing a beat, Link completed the motion for him, grasping his hand gently, and Allen gave him a hesitant, worried smile. “We don’t even have to have babies, Link. There are lots of orphans that want parents. You know there are.”

Link nodded slightly, though the uncertainty remained, his head tilted slightly. “But would they want us?” he asked pointedly.

Allen laughed quietly, bringing Link’s hand up to press against his cheek and giving him a wry smile. “That’s a silly question,” he murmured, knowing full well that both of them would have taken anyone who would have taken them.

Link huffed a little, not disagreeing, and hesitated for a moment before he continued, “That doesn’t mean we’d be good for them.”

It wasn’t harsh, but Allen’s smile faded anyway. Years later, he was able to see and acknowledge the negative effects of his upbringing with Mana had left, though his love hadn’t diminished in the least. And Leverrier- Well, he had no warmth for that man, even if Link did.

Kanda snorted, turning away again. He laced his fingers, frowning at the ground, and set his body rocking back and forth slightly. After a moment, he said, “Whatever. I’m hanging up my sword.”

Kanda had continued to carry his sword everywhere for the three years since the war had ended. Allen let a smile cross his face, and in lieu of a hug, reached over and grabbed one of Kanda’s hands and squeezed. Kanda let him, and relaxed slightly where he sat.

Link sighed, long and soft now, not quite put-upon but still stressed.

“Give me time to think about it,” he said at last.

“Of course,” Allen promised earnestly.

Link smiled wearily and tugged Allen’s hand back with his, turned it over, and pressed a light, chaste kiss to the palm. “I love you.”

Allen beamed. “I love you too.”

The next day, Link went to the library and borrowed a book about raising children. The day after that, taking care of babies. After that, pregnancy.

Meal prep times were filled with bits and scraps of knowledge, dropped absently from Link’s mouth as his mind worked over whatever he’d read that day; most of his free time was spent intently reading, with that little furrow of concentration in his brow.

Allen did his best to spend his time with Kanda and let Link read, which meant that he got to see the effort that Kanda, too, was spending. The very next day, he picked up some supplies from a store and hung his sword on the wall, head-height so it would be hard, Allen reflected, for little arms to reach.

Not only that, but after a while, Allen realized that Kanda had picked up a few books of his own – blueprints for a crib, for a mobile, for a little rocking horse. He looked at them occasionally and scowled at them and lingered, and the few times they went together Kanda glanced at the children’s books and picked them up and glanced over them before he put them back, and he watched children as they passed by, frowning.

Allen was so, so grateful, and God he loved the two of them.

In the meantime, Allen made calls. He hadn’t built as good a relationship with Tiedoll as Link had, but he reached out now, asking for advice. He asked Marie, who had recently celebrated his child’s first birthday with Miranda, and talked to Komui, once upon a time partially responsible for caring for a very young Lenalee. He didn’t tell anyone that they were thinking about having children, but they’d probably guessed anyway.

None of these things, of course, were lost on Link, and Allen knew long before Link told him what his eventual answer would be.

A month later, on a rainy day, Link’s gaze lingered on the window, watching children splash around in the puddles and their parents shake their heads and roll their eyes and wait on the side of the street.

“I used to do this,” he said aloud, absentminded and quiet, “and wish I had a parent like that.”

Allen half-smiled, wry and distant, and hummed. He’d done the same thing, once, but now-

“I think we should try,” Link added, almost as wistful as Allen when he’d first suggested it.

Kanda sighed, and Allen’s eyes went straight to him, startled. But Kanda’s eyes were soft, and a slight smirk quirked his lips.

“Finally,” he murmured. “You oblivious idiot.”

Allen smiled, blinding-bright, and his attention flashed back to Link just to throw his arms around him and kiss him, hard.

“Thank you,” he sighed against Link’s mouth, a laugh at the back of his throat, and even as Link kissed back, he was smiling, too.

“Thank you,” Link countered, when they parted again.

A few months later, at the height of summer, Allen missed his period.

#kanda yuu #allen walker #howard link #kal #dgm #d.gray-man #autistic kanda #bpd allen #trans allen #my writing #fanfiction #yes! it is the domestic au #and i have yet another story that i'm putting on hold before i post it elsewhere lmao #i'm guessing... like six chapters for this one?#it won't be long #but like #it's not short either #it's not a ONESHOT like i wanted #sdafljka

100 notes · View notes

lydiastormborn · 8 years ago

Text

title: keep the door open for me (2/2)

ship: jaykyle

summary: a chance meeting after years leads kyle to strike up a relationship he’d have never expected to have with jason todd. and, to his own surprise, he’s more than just a little willing to keep it.

a/n: set in a pre-flashpoint continuity with some stuff taken from new 52. maybe kyle and jason aren’t as hopeless at developing and managing a relationship as one could think. (maybe.)

[on ao3]

It’s early in the night and Kyle’s wandering through the streets of Gotham, trying to get through to Jason without success. Koriand’r told him -- sounding a little too smug and amused as for Kyle’s tastes -- that Jason is currently back home, but he’s not picking up and Kyle is trying not to read too much into it. Jason is most likely busy since it’s patrol time -- it was probably stupid of Kyle to jump on the first occasion he had and come, but it’s been over a month and he might have gotten a little impatient. Now it leaves him walking around aimlessly. He’s starting to think that maybe he should go to Jason’s apartment -- wouldn’t that be weird, though? -- when a phone in a telephone booth he passes starts ringing.

Kyle stops, stares at it for a moment -- he had no idea they still work, to be honest -- and picks it up because well, it’s pretty obvious this call is for him.

“It’s kind of hard to hack someone’s comm when they don’t carry comms,” a mechanical voice says, sounding amused. “You Lanterns are such problems sometimes.”

“You could’ve hacked my phone,” Kyle says dumbly, the first thing that comes to his mind. The voice on the other end laughs.

“Careful, I may just do that next time,” Oracle states. “So, why do I find you on the streets of Gotham out of costume? Looking for someone?” And before Kyle can answer, she continues, “Namely, someone tall, with a mean right hook and taste for classic literature?”

Kyle gapes for a moment. “How did you know? Has Ca--Black Bat said anything?”

“I can put two and two together, especially considering you’ve been trying to call Jason’s personal phone for over half an hour,” Oracle answers. “But should I be interested in what Black Bat could say?”

“I…” He sometimes really, really regrets opening his mouth.

Oracle chuckles. “Relax, Kyle, I’m just messing with you,” she says and he isn’t sure if the use of his name is meant to put him on ease or on the contrary. “Hood is with Red Robin on a case in Bowery right now, they should be wrapping it up in…” she pauses for a moment, Kyle hears tapping of the keys, “...twenty minutes tops, if nothing goes more wrong than it already has.”

“Thank you,” he replies because it does save him the trouble. But he has a feeling this conversation isn’t quite over yet.

Oracle wastes no time and gets right to the business. “Listen, as much as I may have eyes and ears everywhere, I actually reluctantly get into things that are not my business. Whatever you and Jason have going on, it’s between the two of you. I just hope you know what you’re doing. I’d hate to see him get hurt.”

This is probably not the best moment to say that Kyle is more than a little clueless about where he and Jason stand right now. A lot could have changed in the span of a few weeks. Maybe it will turn out that he needn’t has come back here… but he hopes it won’t be the case.

“That’s not what I want to happen, either, “ he says sincerely. Then, he adds, “You’re protective. In a kinda scary way, but still.”

“I’m the oldest one around here,” Oracle reminds him. “Not counting the big man himself and Agent A, of course. Looking out for everyone, even if they wouldn’t necessarily appreciate it, is kind of a part of what I do.”

“You’re good at this,” he reassures.

“Flattery will get you anywhere,” she teases. “And one more thing: please try to keep a lower profile this time around. Vicki Vale had a field day coming up with theories about why would a White Lantern stick around Gotham.”

Kyle hangs up, tips of his ears bright red.

…

He indeed finds Red Hood and Red Robin in Bowery, apparently in the middle of an argument.

“What part of ‘keep property damage to minimum’ you didn’t understand, Hood?”

“I keep telling you, Little Red, crashing that car was necessary to stop those low-lifes.”

“Yes, you keep repeating that, but now I’m talking about other five cars that ended up destroyed, too. Along with the storefront of that pawn shop.”

“But they used to sell drugs to kids there, so they had it coming, really.”

“If you wanted to shut them down, I’m sure you there were plenty of other ways in which you could have handled it.”

“Bodily harm included?”

“Interrupting something?” Kyle asks from where he has perched on a railing of a balcony of the nearest building.

Both of them whip their heads to look up at him; in moments like this one, Kyle really hates that stupid helmet because he wants to see the expression on Jason’s face.

“Kyle-- I mean, Lantern,” Tim corrects himself, as if they aren’t the only ones in the alley. Not counting tied up criminals in various states of unconsciousness, of course. “What are you doing here?” His face falls as he speaks. “Please don’t tell me there’s a cosmic threat approaching Gotham. I didn’t drink enough coffee for this kind of an alert.”

Kyle laughs at Tim’s grim, resigned tone. “No, nothing like that. Actually, I’m…”

“Actually, Kyle is here to save me from you and your complaining ass,” Jason tells Tim as he fires a grappling hook and stands on the outer edge of the same balcony as Kyle. To him, Jason whispers, “Good timing, I was afraid I’d actually have to stay and deal with clean-up.”

“Well, I don’t think --” Kyle starts and blinks. Suddenly, Jason isn’t standing, leaning on the railing, he’s hanging off it.

“What the hell, Tim!” he shouts.

Tim, pulling on the line around Jason’s ankle, says, “If you think you can just get out and leave me alone to deal with this mess, you have another thing coming.”

“No one actually died or got hurt!” Jason yells back. “Gravely, at least. The parties responsible are just waiting for the cops to take them in.”

“Property damage,” Tim repeats grimly, with emphasis.

“It’s goddamn Bowery, no one cares!” Jason calls. Under his breath, he mutters, “That little shit.”

“Do you want some help…?” Kyle asks, amused, peering down at Jason.

“No, I’ve got an ace up my sleeve,” Jason tells him. Louder, he says, “Okay, how about this: if you handle this without me, I’ll take take the brat out of your hair the next time Dickie decides you two need some uncalled for bonding time or whatever.”

This gets Tim to pause in his relentless pulling. “Okay,” he finally decides. “But you better not bail out, I’ll call this favor in even if you’re in space,” he warns, pulling the line away and freeing Jason’s ankle.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason agrees and immediately jumps back on the balcony to start climbing up the fire escape. “Thanks, Red, I knew there was a reason why I didn’t kill you back in time.”

“It certainly wasn’t for the lack of trying,” Red Robin says dryly. He tilts his head slightly and Kyle thinks he’s squinting at them. “But really, what are you two up to?”

“You don’t need to know everything,” Jason calls instead of goodbye as Kyle mouths “sorry” and flies up to the rooftop.

“Let’s get further away from here,” Jason tells him and goes running to jump on the next roof. Kyle gets him, but it doesn’t change the fact he feels a pang of irritation as he follows him. By the time Jason decides to stop and Kyle catches up with him, landing softly on the rooftop, the helmet is already discarded and he can finally stare at Jason’s face.

“Hey,” Kyle says and isn’t he eloquent.

Jason, however, smiles at him. “Hey yourself,” he says back and steps closer. “I thought I wouldn’t actually get to see you this soon.”

“Yeah, well, I got some free time and thought I’d drop by,” he states casually, like he didn’t have an internal freak out just an hour ago. “Is this a bad time?”

“Couldn’t be better,” Jason answers and leans in to kiss him. Feeling relieved, Kyle puts his hand at the back of Jason’s neck and presses in closer. It’s a good kiss, maybe their best one, if only for the fact it comes after a long time and tells Kyle that Jason is apparently still interested in this thing they had, and should probably talk about.

But there’s time and place for everything, and middle of the night on a roof is probably not that. Oracle would most likely agree. (Kyle has half-mind to feel self-conscious about cameras all over the city; better late than never.)

Pulling away, he grins. “Missed me, huh?”

Jason rolls his eyes. “Like a goddamn crowbar.” Kyle sighs as Jason nudges him in the side. “Wanna call it a night and go to my place?”

“Very. I think I could use a shower.”

“Get in line, pretty boy.”

On their way, they buy Chinese take outs from Jason’s favorite place and spend two hours watching some silly movie on Jason’s second-hand couch and laughing -- it’s something Kyle wouldn’t have expected, but it’s nice. And if their makeout session after that ends up in the bedroom, he definitely isn’t going to complain.

...

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Kyle says in the morning, his arms wrapped around Jason as they idly lay in the bed, dimmed Gotham sunlight streaming into the room. “Would it be wrong to say we’re dating?”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he winces; Kyle knows his lack of filler is atrocious, but he’s been getting hang of it lately. The question is out there now, though, and he waits for Jason’s reaction. His body went tense and, from where his hand is resting on a scar across Jason’s chest, Kyle can tell his heartbeat picked up. (Earlier he was tracing his hands over Jason’s torso, drawing patterns without even realizing until Jason asked, in a choked voice, if he wanted to get out of the bed and paint or something. That’s the story of Kyle found Jason is ticklish.)

“Dating, huh?” Jason finally mutters, his voice a little tight, but then he exhales slowly and squeezes Kyle’s hand. “I guess I wouldn’t mind dating you all that much.”

Kyle hooks his chin over Jason’s shoulder and grins, wide and stupid and happy, unperturbed even as Jason tells him to close his mouth because he’s drooling all over his arm.

…

Leaving this time around is harder than before, but it also weighs less on Kyle’s mind, as the certainty settles in. (He has a boyfriend, would you believe it.) He feels… lighter, in a way, and it must show because even Carol comments on it.

“It seems like some time on Earth indeed is good for you,” she tells him when they arrive on a sixth planet in the last two days, looking for a fugitive on a special request from the Guardians. Kyle should have expected it wouldn’t be as easy as it sounds.

“Yeah?” he asks, distracted as his ring scans the crowd down below.

“You’re more relaxed, I’d say.”

“Well, that’s what time off from work is supposed to do,” he answers, a little unsure as to where Carol is going with this.

She smiles at him. “Sure. But really, Kyle, do you think you can hide the fact you’re seeing someone from a Star Sapphire?”

Kyle groans. “Carol, we have work to do.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. Are they a superhero? Do I know them?”

“No, I mean, we have work right now, I found our guy -- oh, he realized,” Kyle comments dryly and starts descending. Carol keeps up with him easily.

“Alright, we’ll talk about your mystery person the other time,” she says, readying her ring.

“That sounded creepy, can you not?” Kyle asks and only receives a laugh in response as she dives into the crowd. “Okay, thanks, great talk.”

...

“When Roy said you guys are in Brazil, I expected something less… mundane than this. Weren’t you here on a job?”

Jason, sitting on a bench next to Kory, rolls his eyes as a new song starts playing in the background. “Not my fault you’re late. We already wrapped it up.”

The inside of the bar seems as dingy as it looked outside, but at least the seats are nice, Kyle decides. He’s surprised, but nevertheless pleased at a hard kiss Jason greets him with. Roy whistles loudly from the other side of the table and only laughs when Jason flips him off.

“That was a little intense,” Kyle says when they part. “This time wasn’t even the longest we went without seeing each other.”

“Yes, but I’m still disappointed you had to leave unexpectedly,” Jason answers, idly running his thumb over Kyle’s knuckles. “You didn’t get try my casserole.”

“A loss I mourn, but the universe called,” Kyle replies. “I’m sure it was great.”

“Yeah, well, ask Cass or Tim because they were the ones who came over and ate it by themselves.”

Kyle chuckles, feeling only a little bad for tuning out the conversation between the Outlaws as he leans into Jason’s side to have an arm wrapped around him from the back, content on staying this way for foreseeable future. He’s willing to admit he’s pretty tired after the recent space endeavors and there’s comforting familiarity to be found in Jason’s body heat and smell after all the times he’s accidentally fell asleep on him. Kyle would even go as far as to close his eyes and take a nap, if it wasn’t for the fact they’re in a bar and Jason doesn’t actually seem relaxed at all.

Tilting his head to look up at him, Kyle asks, just loud enough to be heard over the noise, “Are you okay?”

Jason’s face confronts in a weird way; at this angle and lightning, it’s quite easy to see the bags under his eyes. “I should be asking you that. Haven’t you just come back from saving the universe or something?”

“Same old, same old,” Kyle jokes and sighs. “I’m just tired, like, exhausted kind of tired,” he admits quietly. “Think we could wrap it up earlier?”

“Sure,” Jason agrees, already standing up. “We left the ship quite far from here, though. Hotel okay?”

“Honestly, I only care about there being a bed,” he answers. Normally, that kind of reply would get a laugh or at least a twitch of lips out of Jason, but his face remains closed off and now Kyle is starting to get worried. They say goodbye to Roy and Kory and go outside; Kyle stretches and inhales deeply, walking beside Jason into a busy street.

“What happened?” Kyle asks after Jason finishes his second cigarette in the span of ten minutes and seems to have more or less unintentionally scared off other people from walking too close to them.

“I told you, nothing--” Jason starts before snapping his mouth shut. And it’s only a testament to how far they came that, after a moment, he speaks up again, quietly, “I almost killed the guy responsible for the operation we took down today. He was one clever scumbag, mixed up in human trafficking even when he still lived in the States, but he didn’t cover his tracks as precisely as he thought.” Jason shakes his head. “On some level, I realized we had enough evidence to link to him and make sure he doesn’t get out, but what I did after I nailed the fucker was to pull the trigger. Only reason he’s still alive is because I ran out of ammo.” He chuckles darkly. “And I honestly think I regret not having that one bullet more than that my first instinct was to kill him.” Another pause as Jason kicks a stray stone on the ground, and then, “Old habits die hard, they say.”

“Jason,” Kyle says, stopping almost in the middle of the street. They talked about this once before, but tonight (Kyle berates himself for the comparison, even if it’s fitting) Jason is like a bomb seconds away from exploding. Kyle is starting to wonder if there’s something else that set him up off maybe he’s not the only one who had a couple of hard weeks. “Listen, Jason, you know that --” he starts, reaching out to touch Jason’s arm, but he shies away stiffly. Jason glances at him and shakes his head.

“No, I don’t -- the look on your face, you know? I’d much prefer it you were repulsed, or angry. Disappointed even, I deal with that plenty. Pitying or understanding are usually fake and piss me off. But you look at me like… you believe I could do better. And that fucks me up, Kyle.”

“It’s because I know you can, Jason. You have been, even before I came into the picture,” Kyle answers, letting his arm drop to the side. Someone’s bag knocks against his elbow, but he barely registers that. “I know you.”

Jason’s shoulder shake and he says, “Ah, hell, I just. Sorry, I can’t do that right now.”

He walks away, disappearing into the crowd further down the street. Kyle doesn’t remember the last time he’s felt so lost.

...

The next evening, Kyle goes to the very same place they visited the night before and orders a beer, debating whether he wants to get drunk in a nondescript bar in the middle of Brazil or not. Jason hasn’t returned any of Kyle’s calls or texts after disappearing on him yesterday. He only knows from Roy they dropped him off in Gotham, so he should be okay, probably. It doesn’t stop Kyle from regretting how things played out, though.

The universe knows they have their arguments and confrontations -- usually about something small and trivial, and even if it’s something more serious, Kyle can’t stay mad at Jason for too long. Yesterday, however, was more about Jason not letting Kyle to get through him and he really hates that. It also worries him.

He just got on Earth, but maybe he should cut his vacation short. (And Kyle hates himself for thinking that because avoidance has never worked out for him in relationships.)

Just as he finishes his first beer and starts to pick up the specifics of Brazilian Portuguese, his phone starts ringing. It’s embarrassing and a little sad how quickly he goes for it, but it’s not Jason; there’s only a green mask on the screen, no caller ID or whatsoever.

Kyle immediately feels sober as he picks up.

“Lantern,” Oracle’s distorted voice greets him. “How fast can you make it to Gotham?”

“Minutes,” he replies, already getting up. “What happened?”

“Hood assisted Batgirl in intercepting a shipment of illegal drugs and chemicals. I’m a little fuzzy on the details right now, but there was a fight and a fear toxin involved.” Kyle’s stomach sinks a little. “She asked me to call you. Will you come?”

“Five minutes tops. Tell me where exactly.”

That’s how Kyle finds himself flying over Gotham docks in the middle of the night, which is vastly different from how he was on his way to get drunk on the other continent just minutes ago. He regrets not asking Oracle for more information because his brain is so not helping with worst case scenarios right now.

He eventually spots Batgirl’s long, blonde hair in a narrow space between warehouses. Kyle lands next to them, immediately going to scan Jason’s unconscious form with his ring. He isn’t wearing the helmet, only domino, and other than superficial cuts and bruises, he doesn’t seem to be physically hurt.

“What happened here?” he asks, noticing Batgirl’s fingers clinging to the inside of Jason’s wrist, right over his pulse point.

“I... “ Batgirl bites her lip, not looking at him. “I asked Jay to tag along for tonight because he seemed to be in a shitty mood after coming back from the job with the Outlaws. Figured some action at the docks would cheer him up. Of course, since neither of us are really silent and sneaky types, we went in hard and flashy, a surprise fight. It was going well and it probably would’ve went well, but they brought fear gas into the picture. We weren’t sure they worked with Scarecrow, but, well, it figures, right?” She laughs, but it sounds strained. “Anyway, Jason didn’t have the helmet tonight and he didn’t get his filter mask on fast enough. Because he was too busy kicking me away from the source.” She scrubs a hand over her eyes. “As you can guess, it quickly went south after that. It took me some time,” is what she says, but Kyle hears, too much time, “to knock him out hard enough to administer an antidote. It… wasn’t pretty.”

Yeah, Kyle can only imagine; he’s been a witness to Jason waking up from his nightmares several times and it always broke his heart a little. The fact that Batgirl had to deal with Jason under the influence of fear toxin on her own… He swallows and checks the vitals the ring gives him, relieved to find out that Jason is stable, the effects of the antidote starting to kick in. He supposes Batgirl was lucky it worked; he’s heard enough of Scarecrow to know the man likes to play around with his formulas. They could have not been sitting here right now.

“Did you administer it for yourself?” Kyle asks, ever vigilant.

Batgirl blinks at him. “I only really get a whiff of the gas, but yeah, of course I did. But just after contacting Oracle, so that’s why I’m still… jittery.”

Kyle thinks it’s the only reason, but he chooses not to comment on that. Instead, he finally asks, “Why did you have Oracle call me?”

She opens her mouth to reply, but then she glances down at Jason’s still -- or, not-so-still form. He’s stirring into consciousness, slowly but surely. Kyle watches his eyelids twitch, mouth pulled down.

“Kyle?” he murmurs eventually, voice rough, most likely from screaming.

“I’m here,” Kyle says softly, suddenly grateful when Batgirl gives Jason’s hand one last squeeze and straightens up, speaking on the comm as she walks away to give them some semblance of privacy. “It’s okay, Jason, I’m here,” he repeats, pulling Jason’s head into his lap and gently running his fingers over his face.

Jason exhales shakily, the sound going straight to Kyle’s chest and pulling at his heartstrings. He gently removes the crumpled domino and Jason’s hazy teal eyes blink up blearily at him. Kyle smiles, albeit weakly.

“Hi,” he says.

Jason blinks at him a few more times, his eyes a little more focused as he states, “You… really are here.”

“Yeah, well. You gave me quite a scare, you know,” Kyle says. It’s an understatement. “Batgirl, too.”

“Ah.” Jason shifts a little and calls quietly, “Steph?”

Batgirl is next to them in a flash, sounding almost normal as she asks, “Yeah, Jay?”

“Did I… hurt you?”

Stephanie’s face confronts in a way that tells Kyle she wants to cry, but she composes herself quickly. “No. Sorry to break it to you, but you still haven’t kicked Team Batgirl.”

Jason snorts. “Good,” he says. “The shipment?”

“Nightwing will take care of what’s left as soon as he’s done with the hostage situation in Burnley,” she replies.

“Okay.” He cracks his eyes open for a moment longer to look at her. “‘s not your fault, Steph. Lay off.”

She bites her lip, but nods. Kyle looks her over.

“You should take the rest of the night off,” he tells her.

“That’s what Oracle said as well, so I guess I will do that.”

“Will you be alright getting home by yourself?” Kyle asks.

Batgirl waves him off. “Yeah, I’ll go as soon as N shows up.” She glances back to Jason, who Kyle thinks is asleep again. “We can bring him to the Cave, you know. Unless…”

“It’s fine, I’ll take him to his apartment,” Kyle says, not missing a beat.

She nods again. “It’s probably a better idea.” After a pause, she adds, “Thank you. For coming.”

Looking down at Jason, Kyle answers, “Yeah.”

…

When they get to his apartment -- and after Kyle successfully manages to disable the security -- Jason is more or less conscious. He groans when Kyle steers him into the bathroom, but starts taking off his gear to change into something casual. Kyle doesn’t make him shower because it seems Jason isn’t quite up to that and instead reminds him to wash his face. He discards his uniform as well and goes to get some water and meds.

By the time he’s done, Jason is already in the bedroom, laying on his stomach, face pressed into the pillow. He isn’t asleep, though, Kyle can tell.

“Here, drink this,” he says, putting a hand on Jason’s shoulder after sitting down next to him on the other side of the bed.

Reluctantly, Jason raises up a little and glances at the tray. “It’s just water,” he states flatly. “I swear there’s another clear liquid substance in my kitchen.”

“I’m not gonna indulge you tonight. Come on.”

Somehow, Jason summons enough effort to roll his eyes before taking the water. He chooses two of three pills Kyle brought and drinks the whole glass at once only to flop back on the mattress bonelessly.

“You should get some sleep,” Kyle says, filling the silence with the most obvious statement.

Jason mutters something vaguely affirmative into the pillow. After a moment, he turns his head to Kyle and asks, without opening his eyes, “Will you stay? I… sleep better when you’re around.”

Oh, Jason, Kyle thinks, sliding his palm from Jason’s shoulder to card fingers through his hair. “Of course,” he says and watches the tension he didn’t know Jason was still harboring bleed out of him.

They’re silent for a few minutes before Jason speaks again. “’m sorry about yesterday. Running away and leaving you .”

“Okay,” Kyle says simply; they still should talk about that, but obviously not now. So instead, Kyle says the first thing that comes to his mind, which is, “You know, I think Batgirl has us figured out after tonight.” At this point, it’s probably easier to name people who don’t.

Jason snorts sleepily. “‘s okay. Steph ain’t a snitch.” As if gathering his thoughts, he adds speaking slowly, “We were off to a rocky start… but she’s great. You can trust her.”

“You say that, but put yourself in my shoes,” Kyle comments, trying to lighten the mood with a joke. “I’m still not convinced Batman wouldn’t have my head if he knew we are dating.”

Jason raises his hand in an attempt to pat Kyle’s arm, somewhat succeeding. His next words are slurred, probably because both exhaustion and drugs are kicking in again.

“He wouldn’t. You make me happy.”

His hand in Jason’s hair pauses and Kyle is momentarily too stunned to reply, but Jason is already snoring lightly, deep in sleep.

Kyle, however, remains awake for a long time.

…

He must have fallen asleep at some point because the next morning, Kyle wakes up, curled up comfortably on Jason’s bed with a blanket thrown over him. Blinking awake the remains of sleep, he realizes the other side of the bed is empty -- he was tired enough to sleep through Jason getting up.

“Jason?” Kyle calls, coming out of the bedroom and peeking into the bathroom, but it’s also empty and uneasiness is starting to creep in. Stepping further into the apartment, Kyle calls again and this time, he hears a noise from the kitchen. Relieved, he walks in, but stops short at the entrance.

Instead of Jason, he finds Dick Grayson eating waffles by the table and staring back at him, looking almost as surprised as Kyle feels.

“Oh,” Dick says finally, brushing some whipped cream from his mouth. “Now I know why Jay was so stubborn about me not staying here.”

“Um.” Kyle clears his throat. “Say, can I walk out of here, so we can pretend this very awkward encounter never happened?”

Dick chuckles. “Would be a waste of waffles I brought,” he says, pushing out the chair across him with his foot. “Come on, Kyle, sit down and eat something.”

Lingering, Kyle does as asked, but he isn’t feeling particularly hungry. He looks at Dick’s face and asks, “Is Jason okay?”

The man blinks owlishly at him and rushes to answer, “Oh, yeah, don’t worry. Damian and I came to check up on him earlier to make sure the toxin is out of his system completely. But he still seemed to be on edge, so I suggested they take a walk. It kind of felt like it’d be either fight or flight otherwise and I really wanted to avoid that.”

Kyle thinks he can relate to that. “So it’s better to order him out and let off some steam?” he asks dubiously.

Dick shrugs. “I call it ‘giving a way out that doesn’t end in blood or tears’, but I’m a little surprised he didn’t actually protest that much. Guess he really needed to take his mind off things for a while.”

“You think so, huh,” Kyle mutters, can’t help himself from sounding bitter. If Jason was acting like that, they probably wouldn’t had an honest talk anyway, but still.

Perhaps sensing that, Dick slides the plate with waffles to him. “Comfort food really helps. And they’re from Stephanie’s favorite place, and she’s a waffle expert, so.”

Kyle caves in and takes a bite, and then another. Apparently content, Dick leans back in his chair and fixes him with a curious look. “So, you and Jason. I guess I finally understand what Babs and Cass were alluding to a few times.” Kyle has half-mind to bite his tongue and not ask about that particular statement. Dick continues, “How long has this been going on? Since that Blackgate breakout?”

“Pretty much,” Kyle admits after a moment. He likes Dick, but he’s starting to wonder if he should feel at least a little wary, since he’s talking to Jason’s older brother.

“Huh, that’s… over six months, right?” Dick wonders. It gives Kyle a pause as well because he hasn’t realized it’s already been that long since Jason re-entered his life in a completely different light. “You realize you are his longest relationship, right?”

“I’m aware,” he says rather dryly. “I hope you’re not going to comment on my relationship history now.”

“What? No.” Dick shakes his head. “I’m not that much of a hypocrite, despite what Jason claims sometimes.” Kyle finds his expression a little hard to decipher. “It’s just… I’m surprised, but a lot of things make sense now. I’m happy for you.”

He actually sounds sincere and Kyle sighs. “Well, you may want to hold that thought,” he tells Dick. “Jason and I need to talk about some of the recent… events.”

“Ah,“ Dick says, munching on his waffle. “You know, Jason isn’t the easiest person to understand. Character-wise, sure, but also because of what he’s been through. I think… he doesn’t believe that good things that happen to him are going to last, that’s why he tends to sabotage himself. Hurt or leave those close to you before they can do that. It used to give us a lot of grief when we first started reconciling.” Dick smiles bitterly. “Jason has come a long way since then, but it’s not a kind of mentality he’ll ever completely let go of, I think. Some things run deeper than his death, even before he came to live at the Manor.”

Kyle knows all that, on some level, even though Jason still rarely opens up about many parts of his past. “So what do you suggest?”

“I don’t think it’s my place to suggest anything,” Dick answers, raising an eyebrow at him. “What do you want to do, Kyle?”

It’s a good question. One Kyle doesn’t know how to answer, but he starts talking anyway.

“He makes me mad, when he’s being unnecessarily stubborn or mean. And he’s so extra sometimes.” Dick snorts quietly in agreement. Kyle nibbles at his waffle before continuing, “He makes me mad when he downplays how injured he really is or that he’s not okay, and when he jokes about his death and resurrection, even though I know that’s how he’s coping. He makes me feel worried and afraid sometimes because he’s already died once, and I know he has you guys, and Roy and Kory, but...” He swallows, thinks briefly about Alex. “And I don’t really know how it’s supposed to work in a long shot, with him here and me up in space… But I want to try out his cooking, listen to him talk about the books he’s reading, laugh at him for accidentally drinking my paint water again. I want him to know that he’s good enough and that I’m going to stay with him as long as he lets me.” Kyle exhales deeply. “Wow, that last sentence was corny,” he says, but doesn’t take it back.

He isn’t looking at Dick, but he can hear a gentle smile in his voice as he says, “Well, there you have your answer.”

“I suppose I do,” Kyle mutters. Just then he glances at the man across him. “You’re almost annoyingly good at this, making people open up and talk to you.”

This gets a laugh out of Dick. “So I heard multiple times, both from heroes and criminals alike. It’s a useful skill.”

A moment later, there’s a sound of the front door opening, followed by the the voices.

“As far as antiquarian bookshops stand, this one was unexpectedly decent.”

“Drop fancy words, brat, it’s just a second-hand bookshop. And don’t act so shocked that you can find something interesting in worse parts of Gotham, too.”

Dick stands up and squeezes Kyle’s shoulder in an encouraging way. Damian shows up in the doorway, not even phased by Kyle’s presence, and makes an annoyed tt sound when Dick ruffles his hair. Jason hangs back, only making a brief eye contact with Kyle before he turns his gaze to approaching Dick, looking at him with a mix of suspicion and uncertainty.

Kyle doesn’t know what they say to each other because Damian comes to stand in front of him, his back straight and chin held out. He looks very serious as for an early teen, although the fact he’s shoved his hands into the pockets of a hoodie is such a sulky teen thing to do.

“Yes?” Kyle prompts him after the staring becomes uncomfortable.

“Todd is a difficult and stubborn individual, but know that if you break his heart, I have the means to make you disappear, Lantern rings or not,” Damian tells him without preamble. After a pause for emphasis, he adds, “Also, I’d like to see some of your artworks, particularly sketches. We can compare tools.”

“Okay,” Kyle says because he doesn’t know how else he could reply to that.

Damian nods at him, apparently satisfied, and walks out of the kitchen. He and Dick say their goodbyes after that, leaving Kyle with Jason -- Jason, who looks both a little better and a little worse for wear than yesterday, but in different ways. For one, as he comes to sit down next to Kyle by the table, he seems nervous, but not tense.

Kyle opens his mouth to speak, but Jason holds up a hand.

“Wait, let me.” His voice still sounds rough, but less so than the night before. “I’m sorry for recent days. I haven’t been at my best, but you’re still here, so I guess it means something, I guess.” He licks his lips. “I’m not really good at these things, so I’ll just…” From his jacket, Jason pulls out a rather thin book that definitely has seen better days. He flips a few pages and clears his throat before he starts,

“Mi lucha es dura y vuelvo con los ojos cansados a veces de haber visto la tierra que no cambia, pero al entrar tu risa sube al cielo buscándome y abre para mí todas las puertas de la vida.” [source]

Jason lowers the book of poetry, looking at Kyle as he says, “I still don’t understand why would someone like you want to deal with me and a mountain of my issues, but… you make me forget all of that, that I’m not someone good, someone normal. It scares me sometimes and my instinct tells me that I should push you away, that this is not going to last either way. And yet, I also trust you. To have my back in a fight, sure, but also with... this.”

For all Jason may claim he’s not good at this, it’s Kyle who feels clumsy when it comes to pretty words. That leaves him to sincere words. “You make me happy, too,” he says, cupping Jason’s face into his hands. “And I think we both deserve that much.”

“I…” Jason hesitates and huffs a laugh. “You know, I think we should try that. It doesn’t sound too bad.”

No, it doesn’t, Kyle agrees when he sweeps his thumbs over faint freckles spread across Jason’s cheeks, making him crinkle his eyes in a funny way. It doesn’t sound bad at all.

#jason todd #kyle rayner #jaykyle #batfamily #my fics #dc #this is late and long and idk what i think about it just. take it.

8 notes · View notes