#It takes an unusually long time for Bruce to realize it is a person not another animal the batkids are hiding

[bwabbitv3s]

Even with jet lag and being sleep deprived after the overrun business trip Bruce can just tell something is off. A slight turn towards Alfred to see that particular twinkle in his eye and the slightest smile. The tension in his shoulders and the grip on his bag releases and he sighs out in relief. Whatever new addition to the manor can wait until tomorrow. Hopefully this one will be house trained unlike the last set of kittens that had been brought home.

DP x DC

So we've all seen aus where Danny gets adopted by the Batfam because, let's be honest, he's a textbook case of a Bruce Wayne adoptee. But what if we took that, just slightly to the left? Instead of Batman adopting Danny, the Batkids do. Now, the reason why Danny is in Gotham can be whatever you want(I'm partial to reveal gone wrong or an accident happens so he leaves as to not become Dan) but one by one and completely coincidentally(or so they think, maybe Gotham helps push them together) Danny befriends each of the Batkids.

He meets Tim at a coffee shop(maybe he works there) and they bond over the insane amount of caffeine they like in their coffee.

He meets Daimian at some vegan place that Sam would just love if she were there and tho Damian refuses to say it there's something he finds endearing about this street kid who seems to have no clue who Damian is but smiles at him regardless and engages in some surprisingly pleasant conversation about places that serve vegan food or vegan options.

He and Duke have a class together in school and he meets Barbara while studying at the library. Or maybe Duke invites Danny to join a study group and that's how he meets Babs and maybe Cass and Steph too.

Maybe he meets Dick as Nightwing and they bond over their love of puns.

Jason can be met as either a civilian or as Red Hood, but the second they get within a certain range of each other, they get this feeling tugging them towards each other. Some 'I don't know why but I need to go this way' type feels. Jason calls it instincts, Danny can tell this feeling is coming directly from his core. They literally run into each other and immediately get this overwhelming feeling of 'same same like me'.

He ends up growing close with them all individually so when they eventually realize that 'hey, this new friend we've all been talking about is the same dude', well of course they have to keep him. So they all work together to sneak him into the manor(read: kidnap) and get him set up in one of the many unused rooms. And the fact the Bruce was off on a business trip when they did it made it wonders easier, they would definitively have got caught if he was around.

So now Danny is a stow away in this mansion that all his new friends apparently live in and he just kinda goes along with it cuz 'hey, they're nice and he gets somewhere to sleep rent free and the food is to die(again) for'. And yeah, they're the kids of the best detective in the world, they're gonna be good at hiding their tracks(they have to be or they would never get away with anything) but Alfred knows everything that goes on in the manor. He takes one look at this child and just accepts it. He allows the children to believe they are deceiving him but helps them out subtly by accidentally making extra food at meal times.

And if sometimes they want to hang out with Danny in the house they do his clothes and hair like whichever kid he resembles the most and so long as he doesn't talk nobody can tell the difference.

And maybe when Bruce comes back from his trip he figures it out immediately but he doesn't say anything because like hell he's gonna turn away a child in need. Instead he just silently fills out the adoption papers so he's ready when the kids eventually decide to reveal Danny's presence to him.

[ladytauria]

A hello/good-bye kiss that is given without thinking - where neither person thinks twice about it. is so jaytim

you’re right nonny it so is

my first impulse was like—the two of them getting accidentally domestic, bc i love characters falling into relationships without realizing it xD

but then this scenario popped in my head & that’s what came out instead~

>> AO3 <<

Jason hasn’t been sleeping well.

His rest is troubled on a good day, and he hasn’t had many over the last week.

Well. It’s not that he’s had bad days, it’s just…

He misses Tim.

It’s stupid, because his bedroom is literally right across from Tim’s, but— It might as well be on the other side of the world.

He wishes they’d never agreed to stay at the manor for the holidays. It’s been miserable. Sure, he and Bruce are setting a record streak for lack of arguments. It’s been fun to hang out with the others, too, outside of the Cave and the mask. But—

Fuck.

The closest he’s gotten to a proper cuddle in a week was movie night, when he sat on the floor just to have an excuse to lean against Tim’s legs.

Jason knows he only has himself to blame. He’s the one who’s not ready to tell the others that they’re dating, even though they’ve damn near moved in together at this point. He just—he’s not ready for the judgment. The lectures, the shovel talks, the—everything. The reminder he’s not really good enough for Tim.

Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier.

Neither do the small, fleeting moments they manage to steal—the kisses they exchange in the lesser used parts of the manor, the brief hugs and touches they can exchange in front of the others. It’s. It’s fucking miserable.

He’s spent the last several nights lying awake, actively restraining himself from sneaking into Tim’s room. He just… He misses being held.

It’s the lack of sleep he’ll blame his slip-up on later, when all is said and done.

Tim’s got some stuff to do in the city today—Jason does too, but not until later—so Jason takes the liberty of making him a coffee and some breakfast to go, since he knows Tim won’t be down until it’s almost time to leave. He gets a couple of raised eyebrows, but, it’s not unusual for him to take the load off of Alfred, so no one actually says anything.

“You said you had plans today, right, Jason?” Dick asks, where he’s sitting at the breakfast table with Steph, Damian, Cass, and Duke. Bruce is standing with Alfred, the butler adjusting his tie like Bruce is twelve, and not forty-something.

“Yeah,” Jason says. “I’ll be gone for a couple hours.” First he has some packages to pick up, and also, every other week, he does story time at the library he used to half-live in as a child.

Tim shuffles in. Jason is glad Bruce will be driving—he looks like a zombie (and Jason would know). It takes him half a moment to spot the travel cup and paper bag sitting by Jason. He beelines over.

“Th’nks,” he mumbles, immediately popping the lid on his cup to take a long drink.

“Cool,” Dick says. “When you get back I was thinking we could break out the board games.”

Alfred finishes with Bruce. “Provided you all remember the rules, I think that sounds like a splendid idea, Master Dick.”

Jason snorts. One of these years they’re going to have all board and card games banned from the Manor.

“Ready to go, Tim?” Bruce asks.

“Sure, Dickie,” he says. “I’d love a chance to kick your ass.” His fingers catch in Tim’s belt loop before he can head to the door. He leans in, thoughtlessly, planting a chaste kiss on Tim’s mouth. “Have a good day, babe.”

Tim hums, smiling softly up at him. “You too.”

Jason almost doesn’t register the silence.

Then—

“What the fuck?” Stephanie breaks it, and Jason is reminded, abruptly, that they’re not alone.

The blood rushes to his face so quickly he’s surprised he doesn’t pass out; his skin ablaze with his embarrassment. “…fuck.”

That’s one way to announce their relationship.

[ 50 types of kisses ]

[scrawlingwithstyle]

One Good Turn (4/?)

The story of how “you,” an apparently average person, join the Avengers.

A Marvel fanfiction based on my friend’s recurring dream.

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 1846

Tags: @arrow-guy @ifitistobeitisuptous (you didn't ask, but I thought I'd make sure you don't miss it)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Five

Training with Natasha goes well for the first few sessions. Once you’re used to being sore, you make the mistake of trying your luck. Natasha has, in fact, been taking it easy on you the entire time. The moment your attitude goes from confident to cocky, she lays you out flat on your ass.

Your face burns red as she helps you up.

“Don’t get comfortable,” she says, “and don’t underestimate your opponent.”

Not long after that, Tony catches you on your way to the gym with the results from your DNA test.

“There’s nothing too unusual,” he says. “You might want to be careful about sweets, but otherwise you’re basically normal.”

You try not to be too disappointed. Having no hidden X-gene doesn’t stop Barton from being a badass. Besides, you’re making progress with Natasha. You could definitely still be useful.

Stark interrupts your thoughts. “Don’t worry; you’re in great shape. I doubt you’ll develop diabetes anytime soon.”

It takes you a second to realize he’s referring to other findings in your DNA test; just as you’re making that connection, he smirks to himself.

“I’m just joking. Actually there was something else we wanted to talk to you about.” He gestures with his chin behind you, toward the gym door. “When you’re done with Nat today, she’ll take you to the penthouse, and we’ll have a chat.”

You nod, not fully trusting your voice not to break. What could they want to discuss? It’s way too early for you to go on any kind of mission. You don’t feel even remotely prepared.

Or are they going to take back their offer? Tony is fairly unreadable, and he never did tell you if you passed his weird interview.

Nat comments on your demeanor toward the end of the latest session. “You can’t let your feelings affect how you fight. That could be the difference between life and death.”

~

She’s waiting for you when you exit the showers. Your heartbeat seems to climb into your throat, even though she gives you a smile before leading you away.

The elevator ride was quiet. You nervously shove your hands into your pockets as Natasha opens a door into a lounge area. Despite the flat being open, it’s cozy, and everyone appears to already be deep in a conversation around a coffee table.

Steve offers you a warm smile and a seat by him as everyone stops to look at you.

“Everyone, this is our latest recruit,” Tony says from across the table. He gestures around the table. “You’ve already met several of us. This is Thor and Sam.”

Sam smiles and nods, and Thor gives a wide grin. You can’t quite place Sam, but you don’t want to embarrass yourself or him over not recognizing him, so you only wave meekly and introduce yourself.

After spending so much time with Natasha, and kind of flirting with Steve, you didn’t really expect to be quite so starstruck again surrounded by so many of the Avengers.

“You’ll probably meet the others another time,” Tony says, waving a hand dismissively. “Sam just happened to be free tonight.”

You take the seat Steve offered you, and Stark continues.

“So,” he says, clapping his hands together and glancing around, “who wants to share the news?”

You look expectantly around the coffee table, and a hand claps you on the back, startling you. You turn to your other side, where Dr. Banner is sitting.

“Welcome to the Avengers,” he says, smiling.

You have to take a second to process—the words, then your emotions. “I—wow, thanks. I honestly wasn’t expecting that,” you say.

“Wait till you hear the other news,” Bruce says, looking past you.

You follow his gaze back to Tony.

“We have access to very powerful technology for a short period of time," he began. “This technology can be used to do many things, but what we're most interested in using it for is making the mundane... extraordinary.”

Everyone turns to look at you.

“What?” you ask after a moment, looking around the group. “…Is there something on my face?”

Tony sighs. “Were you even listening?”

“Yeah, it can change boring to awesome. What's this have to do with me?” you ask. “I'm just a normal—”

It finally clicks.

“Oh . . . You mean me?”

Bruce nods. “We're not taking this lightly. You acted very well under pressure, despite being ‘normal.’”

“And we're just giving you the option,” Steve added. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

You hesitate. “Is this like a top-secret, government, experimental thing that’s gonna break me, or…?”

Tony rolls his eyes, and Natasha leans forward to answer. “No, it's better. It’s faster, and easier on the body.”

Dr. Banner chimes in. “Fortunately, no government on Earth will ever have access to this particular device.  I can’t imagine the havoc.”

Stark clears his throat, drawing your attention back to the other end of the table. “Do you want to get powers and join the Avengers or not?”

You nod. “Yeah, but… what's the catch?”

“We can literally program two specific powers into your DNA.” His annoyance is palpable. “The ‘catch’ is you'll be an Avenger and we'll need to be able to contact you with little to no notice.”

At the mention of two powers, you already have one in mind.

“I'll need some time to pick my powers,” you reply. “But sure, I'll do it.”

Tony glances at his watch and heads toward the door. “You've got twenty-two hours to decide. I'll be in my lab.”

After he leaves, the rest of the group breaks for the kitchen. Clint, who’s said nothing since you arrived, calls out, “Hey, newbie!” and tosses you a glass, which you deftly catch, to your own surprise. You now realize that training with Natasha is definitely paying off.

It’s not a full dinner, but someone has prepared a huge charcuterie that’s practically a buffet on the dining table. Drinks are set out on the island, but you’re more in the mood for soda.

You catch Bruce’s eye and point to the fridge. “Can I…?”

“Go for it,” he says, gesturing broadly with a grin. “Tony’s casa es su casa.”

You laugh as you place your unused glass on the counter. In the fridge, you find a stash of cola and crack open a can, shutting the door with your elbow.

You’re not really sure how to approach the group, but a question from Sam gives you an opening.

“How did they rope you in?” he asks.

You step toward the group, shrugging. “Dumb luck…” You consider your actions on the train with a half grin. “��Emphasis on the ‘dumb.’”

“They threw a knife,” Natasha butts in, smiling. “They missed, but it still helped.”

Sam shakes his head and chuckles. “Man, they let anyone in these days.”

“What’s that say about you, Feathers?” Clint jokes. “You just joined this year.”

It doesn’t take you long to connect the dots, now. You realize that Sam must be the Falcon.

“I have experience,” he shot back over his drink.

“They helped stop a subway hijacking as a civilian,” Bruce retorts, “with, what, a knife and some string?” He turns to you to verify.

“A few hoodie laces…” you answer meekly from behind your can of soda, “…from the kids.” You don’t let the silence hang too long. “To be fair, I only helped tie up the Hydra agents after Natasha knocked them out.”

“No, no, don’t sell yourself short,” Nat pipes up. “I mean, yes, that’s basically how it went down, but you’re still selling yourself short. Sam,” she turned her attention to him, “try to hit them.”

You gulp down too much soda at once, eyes pricking from the carbonation. “What?” You definitely don’t feel ready after yesterday’s fiasco and having your entire ass handed to you.

Sam chuckles again. “Not up for it? That’s fine.”

You look around the group; Steve seems confident in you, and Natasha gives a subtle nod. Well, if Black Widow thinks I can handle it…

You put your can down and move away from the furniture. “I can give it a shot,” you say, trying to mask your nerves.

Sam raises his eyebrows and puts down his food. “I’ll go easy on you,” he says as he approaches.

He throws a punch, which you dodge. He smirks, then goes for another. You duck out of the way again. “Hmm…” He pauses in thought before switching strategies and going for a kick.

You dodge, grab his leg, and sweep the other one out from under him, landing him flat on his back.

To your surprise, he laughs, and you get a few cheers—the loudest from Thor.

“Not bad,” Sam comments as you help him up.

“Thanks. I’ve only been training for a couple of weeks,” you say. “I’m gonna need a lot more practice.”

You retrieve your drink. You want to ask Thor if he’s really from another planet, but Clint speaks before you get the chance.

“So, do you have any powers in mind?” he asks.

“Just one right now,” you respond. “I’m kind of stumped on the second.”

“Oh?” He leans on the island and takes a sip of his drink. “What’s the first one?”

“Healing. Like, super-fast healing.” It’s been your favorite hypothetical pick almost as long as people have been asking you, “If you could pick a super power…”

Steve chimes in. “Oh, like Wolverine.”

“Well, I actually got the idea from Deadpool,” you shrug, “but same difference, right?”

The room freezes in stunned silence before Clint erupts into loud guffaws. "Oh, my God. Tony has to hear this. F.R.I.D.A.Y., call Tony!”

A holo screen appears over the island. You see Tony working on something, with one arm encased in his Iron Man armor.

“Have they decided on their powers already?” he asks.

Clint, still laughing, gestures to you and says, “Tell him what you told us.”

You can’t quite hold back your smile, and your mouth quirks up on one side. “I want a healing factor, like Deadpool.”

Stark stops what he’s doing and gives you a flat look. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”

Clint laughs louder, and Tony has to speak over him.

“And the other power?” he asks, sounding defeated.

“I haven’t decided yet,” you respond.

He sighs and ends the connection.

You have to ask. “Why is everyone having a weird reaction to my mention of Deadpool?”

Clint wipes a tear from his eye. “He’s been trying to join the Avengers for a while now. He drives Tony batshit whenever he stops in.”

“I’ve only ever seen him on the news,” you say with a grin. “Mostly from a distance. From what I’ve seen, he’s a riot.” A thought. “But if I ever saw him in real life, I’d get the hell out of dodge. His disregard for civilians is astronomical.”

Bruce speaks up. “Yeah, that’s why he’s not allowed to be an Avenger.”

“Fair point,” you say, taking a swig of your drink.

[ayamari-no-goshi]

To Join the Whispers (11)

AO3

Fandoms: Danny Phantom (DP) / DC universe

Summary:  THIS  IS A CROSSOVER. A contact for the Batfamily passed along a rumor that the League of  Assassins were investigating a small city called Amity Park.The old man and Tim managed to find evidence of unusual  paranormal activity in the town. While they weren’t entirely certain it  wasn’t just infested with metas, the locals believed the entities that haunted, for lack of a  better word, the town were actual ghosts. If there was one thing Ra’s al Ghul didn’t need to get his grubby hands on, it was ghosts.That’s probably why Jason was doing this. He had the unfortunate luck to experience both death and resurrection in a way he’d never recommend to anyone else.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, and questionable mental health

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr. Jason Todd-centric

Jason had a love-hate relationship with silence. Sometimes it was great when he needed to be away from annoying people or when a task needed extra attention. But at the same time, sometimes it allowed his mind to wander along dark paths that he didn’t need to consider.

In this case, he needed some sort of noise, but he wasn’t going to get it. Danny was still unresponsive, and Cass was naturally silent, a side effect of not being raised to talk growing up. In a situation like this, he’d usually make a few comments here or there, but he didn’t currently trust himself to speak. He didn’t need to work himself back into a rage venting about Vlad while he was keeping an eye on someone. So, he was just going to grit his teeth and pray he’d be able to meet up with the rest of them soon. Their banter would be a welcome distraction.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Cass to lead him to an old exit that appeared to originally have been used as a servant entrance. Must have been the same one she and Duke used to enter in their initial reconnaissance.

He hadn’t realized the building was old enough to have one. Either Vlad or the person before him must have done a heck of a lot of remodeling. Either way, it worked out for them.

When they exited the building, Jason noted they were at the tail end of what appeared to be an ornate garden. Good. It gave them plenty of cover on the off chance someone decided they wanted to check behind the building. While he wasn’t entirely sure how incompetent the G.I.W. were, their weaponry was dangerous to Danny, and that by itself was grounds for avoiding them. Hopefully, Sam’s parents would be able to keep them at bay again like they did earlier that day.

As they approached the brick wall along the property line, he barely had time to duck down to avoid a green blast. The Waters churned uneasily as he realized it wasn’t responding the same as when a ghost or a halfa was nearby. With a jolt, he realized the blast had to have come from ecto-weaponry.

“Did I get him?” an excited voice boomed from the opposite side of the garden. Jason recognized that voice: it was Danny’s father.

“I don’t think so, Sweetie. We didn’t hear any screams,” his mother responded.

When did Danny’s parents even get here? They didn’t have any reports that the Fentons were on the premises. Or, at least he didn’t think they did. He wasn’t entirely certain what Dickie-bird reported to the old man. But, judging by the gesture from Cass, he hadn’t mentioned the older Fentons.

But this presented a new problem. Those two probably had some sort of detection device which meant they could easily pinpoint Danny’s location. Amity wasn’t anything like Gotham. The buildings weren’t all that tall, and, especially in the wealthier area, the buildings had quite the distance between them. It made grappling nearly impossible. That meant stealth was probably their best bet… unless he decided to steal a vehicle.

Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Bruce would probably bitch at him for it, but if he didn’t manage to damage it… He should stop that line of thought. With his luck, that vehicle would be destroyed.

“What’s wrong, Spook?” Jack shot his weapon again, but this one missed by a few yards. “Too scared to move? I don’t blame you! You’re up against the Fentons!”

“Jack, is it just me or does it seem like there’s a second signature next to Phantom’s?”

“Huh? There is! That means we’ll get two for the price of one!”

Jason swore. With everything else that happened, he forgot the Fenton equipment could detect him too. Great. It’d be easier if Cass wasn’t wearing her Deflector. He could have just handed Danny over to her and distracted the pair until she got the kid to safety, but that wasn’t possible in this instance.

Cass caught his attention with a small gesture. She was going to distract them so he could take Danny to safety. He didn’t like it. That should be his job, but Danny’s safety was more important in this instance. But, the Fentons didn’t seem interested in attacking humans so it was unlikely Cass would get hurt. So, with a hesitant nod, he agreed.

When Cass gave the signal, he began running as fast as he could to wall. While he did that, he could hear the telltale sound of a smoke bomb followed by some coughing. Simple and effective. And judging by the grunts, she also disarmed them.

As he reached the top of the wall, something grazed upper arm. Searing pain blossomed through his body. Shit. At least one of the Fentons had backup weaponry. Gritting his teeth, he did his best to ignore it as he jumped down and continued moving.

“Could really use some directions, Oracle.” Glancing around, he decided it would probably be safer to stay off the road for now.

Static momentarily filled his earpiece. “…Can you hear…? …interference…” That was putting it lightly. It was as bad as the old TVs his school would use. Well, his old school before Bruce adopted him.

“Barely. Too much static.”

“…sent Nightwing… he… Orphan… you.”

“I’m hoping that means you’re giving them my coordinates.” More static answered him, but his phone dinged. Nice, Babs sent him the blueprints for Amity’s sewer system. Hopefully, this place didn’t have any villains in them like Gotham. He really didn’t need to run into this place’s version of Killer Croc.

…

Getting to the sewers proved to be tricker than he anticipated. The closest manhole cover was several blocks away, and, sometime between getting those coordinates and beginning to move, the Fentons moved to their probably not street legal tank. He’d seen and done some reckless driving over the years. But, Jack Fenton’s driving was something else.

The man didn’t seem to care if the vehicle was on or off the road. Fences? He apparently didn’t see them. The only things he actively avoided were the houses and trees, and even then, some of the trees were cut down with some sort of large spinning blade on a robotic arm. Seriously. How the military not contract them yet? Not even the Batmobile had something like that.

Dodging around another house, he took a moment to check his phone again. It was on the fritz too. The screen oddly pixilated on and off, but luckily, he could still read it. The sewer entrance was only two houses away.

As he made a break for it, he caught sight of a green flash. Above him, some sort of dome was beginning to form. It looked similar enough to what Vlad used to trap him in the mansion and the energy shield Danny made during the fight for his liking. If it was what he suspected it was, it’d trap him and Danny.

Caution be damned. He needed to move.

It looked like he was going to make it, but, of course, his luck couldn’t hold out. He was forced to change trajectory as several blasts came his way. Even without them hitting, it still cost him the precious few seconds he had to clear the growing dome. Cussing, he turned to see Danny’s parents running towards him with weapons drawn.

“Stop right there you odd manifestations of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness!” Maddie Fenton charged him with what appeared to be a rifle-style ecto-weapon. Jack was following her but ended up tripping.

“Post-human? Excuse you. I don’t recall losing my humanity when I was forcefully brought back from the dead.” He was pretty sure Pit Madness and the augmentation caused by the Waters didn’t count as losing one’s humanity. Ra’s al Ghul was living proof of that. Man had bathed in those Waters how many times over the centuries, and he still counted as being human. Though, since there had been some reports those same Waters could create zombies, there was probably some sort of fine line he could consider later.

“That’s just what you want us to believe, Ghost!” Jack shouted as he finally reached his wife’s side. “I bet that’s why you’re not trying to fly! You’re just trying to appear human to trick us!”

Jason rolled his eyes, not that they could tell. “I don’t really care if you believe me or not, but here’s the thing.” He adjusted his stance to look as tall and threatening as he could while still having Danny on his back. “My job right now is to make sure this kid gets to safety. I don’t give a shit who you are or who you think you are, but if you attempt to lay a hand on him, you’re going to find out the hard way why you don’t touch someone under my protection.”

He really hoped they took the warning and backed down. If he understood Danny correctly, the kid didn’t want harm to come to his parents. So, if they decided to push their luck, he’d have to be extra careful in how he handed the situation.

Speaking of Danny, he was pretty sure he felt the kid twitch. Good. He was starting to come out of it.

Jack straightened his shoulders in response as he aimed his weapon at Jason. “No ghost talks to Jack Fenton like that!”

On the other hand, Maddie looked over him and frowned before putting her hand on her husband’s arm. If he wasn’t mistaken, her eyes kept drifting to the insignia on his chest. “Jack, something’s not right. Phantom seems unresponsive, and this new one isn’t doing any of the standard displays of aggression.”

“’Standard display of aggression’? I don’t recall reading that anywhere in the briefing.” The Fentons turned to see Dick leaning against the closest house. Both of them jumped in alarm at his appearance. “Hood, do you know what they mean?”

For once, Jason was glad to hear the annoying voice of his brother. “I’m pretty sure they want me to stand in a bed sheet and yell ‘boo’.”

“I could see you doing that. Just make sure not to use the good sheets,” Dick teased as moved closer. He tilted his head and frowned. “What’s with the blue? Did you decide to take after me? Can’t really keep call you ‘Red Hood’ if you’re not wearing red.”

“And risk dying a second time? I’m not that stupid.” One of the first things they learned after being brought to the manor was that the bed sheets were to be used for no other purpose than being put on a bed. There was only one exception, and that was if they needed to be used for first aid purposes, if, and only if, there was no other alternative available. Disobeying Bruce was one thing, but disobeying Alfred was another.

But what did Dick mean by blue? Sure, he borrowed some of his clothes a while back when he was impersonating him, but he wasn’t going to do that again. That costume was much tighter than he anticipated. He knew Dick wasn’t as tall or broad as him so why did he think that was a good idea in the first place? “Do you really think I had time to change costumes? You must be going blind in your old age.”

During their exchange, Jack Fenton pointed at Dick and bounced excitedly. “Look, Mads! It’s one of the heroes from Gotham! Uh, Batwing!”

Jason snorted as Dick gave the man a flat look. “It’s Nightwing.”

While Jack seemingly ignored the correction, Maddie raised her weapon. “Ghosts are nothing but obsessive shadows of who they formerly were. People who side with them have either fallen for their tricks and lies or are possessed. So, which one is it?”

Dick glanced at him. “So, have you pulled any tricks on me recently?”

“Besides greasing some of your gymnastics equipment? No.”

“That was you? I face planted because of that!”

“Guess you need to work on your grip.” Even after so many years, Dick was still the most flexible out of them. Jason guessed the circus training never really went away. But he did have a habit of showing off, so every once in a while, either Jason or one of the others pulled a prank on him in an attempt to get him to mess up. The best ones where when they never even messed with the equipment and just distracted him enough to fall.

Apparently, Maddie Fenton didn’t appreciate their banter as she fired a warning shot near their feet. “Seeing as you’re friendly with him, I’m going to assume you’re either possessed or possibly a ghost yourself.”

“Wait, that could explain the impossible moves we’ve seen him do on the news! Or how he’s recovered from all the reported injuries! It’s because he’s a ghost! Does that mean Batman’s a ghost too?” Jack rambled. “What about the other heroes? Some of them are aliens sure, but is that just a cover for some of the others? What about metahumans?”

Jason shared a disbelieving look with his brother. Did these people really think that anything outside the realm of normal meant that ghosts were involved? They called ghosts obsessive, but this was something else.

Was it possible they were like him and contaminated with ectoplasm? Either Danny or Jazz had mentioned their parents had been working in paranormal sciences since college. So, between the amount of time and their lax safety measures, it was more than possible.

He was going to have to have a long talk with Bruce. Between the concerns of the Fentons’ health and the very real risk their skills in weapon development could be exploited, they were going to have to keep a close eye on the family. But that was something that would have to wait until after he got Danny to safety.

“We should look into that once we’re done with our initial studies,” Maddie agreed as she fired an easily dodged shot at them.

“Oh boy! I can’t wait to dissect these spooks!” Jack’s childlike excitement sent an involuntary shiver down Jason’s back. While it wasn’t the first time he’d encountered someone more interested in research than the safety of the subjects, it was the first time he’d seen someone talk about dissection with a smile like that.

“Want me to distract them while you escape?” Dick whispered as he moved his hands towards his escrima sticks.

“Can’t,” he replied as he dodged another blast, this time from Jack. “Phantom isn’t going to be able to pass through that dome. I’m not sure if I can either. Would have to get their vehicle and turn off its power source first.” After considering it a moment, he amended, “Actually, dismantling it is probably a better idea unless B decides he wants to take it.”

“Right. Change of plans then.” Instead of his sticks, Dick retrieved a pair of bolas and glanced at him.

After Jason’s slight nod of approval, the two of them moved in opposite arcs around the Fentons. Jack seemed to focus solely on him, but Maddie surprised him. While it was mentioned in the file they had on her she had martial arts training, her awareness of the situation and how she moved in response suggested she might be far more familiar with combat than they originally thought. That would also have to be investigated later.

When Jack sent another blast towards him and Danny, Dick took his chance to let loose one of his bolas. Maddie cried out in alarm as she tried to dodge, but Jack didn’t notice it in time. The large man had just enough time to look perplexed before toppling over. Maddie, on the other hand, managed to impressively dodge Dick’s second bolas.

For a moment, Jason debated on firing a rubber bullet at her. While it should be fine, there was always a chance it could cause serious harm. Even if he hit her leg or arm, the force could end up breaking bones. Even the minor explosives he still had could be very dangerous to her. He could try a smoke bomb. That did seem to trip them up before, but it wouldn’t change the status of that green dome. There was also the chance it could hinder them more since the Fenton equipment did allow them to get a hit on him earlier.

Maybe he should start listening to Bruce and start carrying more non-lethal containment methods with him. Or not. It wasn’t like it was going to help him in the current situation.

Fuck it. Rubber bullets it was. While Maddie still had her back turned towards Dick, Jason quickly unholstered his weapon and fired two quick shots at both hers and Jack’s guns. Both shots hit true. Maddie’s was knocked from her hand, and both hers and the one Jack dropped where visible damaged by the bullet. Unexpected, but nice. The sound had the added bonus of causing a momentary distraction.

Dick took the brief moment to knock Maddie out before giving him a sour look as he used some of the cord he kept to restrain her. Jason just gave him a cheeky grin in response while starting to race towards the Fenton tank as Jack starting yelling threats. Dick would catch up eventually.

As he dodged around the house and caught sight of the vehicle, he found a sight that nearly stopped him in his tracks due to the absurdity of it. Orphan could be seen in the open door while Danny’s friend, Tucker, was hesitantly trying to explain that he could help. He’d been wondering where Cass was. Sam was also there keeping looking and occasionally hissing at him to hurry up.

“If he can get rid of that dome, let him help,” he called out making the three of them watch his approach. “Nightwing’s coming.”

“What did you do to him?”

Tucker put his arm out in front of Sam, who looked furious enough to attack. “What do you need? I don’t know what’s currently happening, but between the news and Sam, I know Plasmius did something.” Although he kept his tone even, the teen stiff posture and uneasy frown gave away his nervousness. Danny really did have some good friends.

Jason nodded as he kept an eye on Sam. “Look, I don’t have time for this. We’re trying to him out of the area. Plasmius shocked him, and he’s only just starting to respond again. Both the Fentons and the GIW are nearby, and the Fentons have been tracking him.”

“And just how were you going to get out of here?” Sam demanded as Tucker hopped into the vehicle next to Cass and began pressing buttons. Whatever he did worked as the dome began disappearing.

“Sewer.” When the girl gave him a deadpan stare, he rolled his eyes and entered through the side door of the tank. She followed him and angrily hovered as he gently sat Danny down on one of the seats. “Look, I know us heroes are supposed to have all these ingenious answers and shit like that, but sometimes, the best answer is also the simplest one. We have limited movement here compared to Gotham so we’re working with what we have.”

“Sam, lay off. Danny’s safety is more important right now.” When she huffed, Tucker sighed apologetically. “Don’t mind her, she’s just worried. Would you guys like a lift? Both Sam and I are pretty familiar with Fenton tech.” While he tried to give a reassuring grin, it wavered a bit.

“If you can pilot this monster and put distance between it and the Fentons, I’m in.”

“I’m sorry, what are we doing?” Dick must have caught the end of the conversation as he appeared in the tank, making Sam and Tucker jump. Cass gave a couple silent chuckles at their response.

“Looks like we’re stealing a car tonight after all.”

“Were you seriously considering that earlier?”

“It’s not like it would have been the first time.”

“You know, I should probably be worried about professional heroes openly talking about car theft.” Tucker was watching them carefully with his hand hovering over the panel on the dashboard.

“You can worry about it later,” he mentioned with a roll of his eyes as his siblings shook their heads. “Right now, we need you to drive.” ….

Tucker surprisingly did know how to drive the tank, which Jason learned was actually called the Ghost Assault Vehicle. Having him drive it ended up being a blessing in disguise as he was able to get them closer to the hotel at a much faster pace than they would have been able to on foot, deciding that the halfway point would probably suffice. Tucker also offhandedly mentioned he’d be able to temporarily hack the system and completely shut it down so the Fentons wouldn’t be able to do much until they could get back into it.

It also gave Dick enough time to stubbornly demand to check the still burning wound on his arm. According to him, it appeared to be a nasty burn. When he wanted to clean it, Jason moved away, reminding him he still had that damned belt on. With everything else that happened, he had no desire to get shocked again.

That started an argument, excuse him, discussion about whether or not Dick should remove the belt. Without the necessary context behind it, Danny’s friends might have gotten a few wildly inaccurate assumptions about them, even after Dick specified they were talking about the Specter Deflectors. And to make it worse, between all of their equipment, there was no way Babs didn’t have a recording of that conversation. It was going to be used as blackmail. That was fact.

Once they were dropped off by Tucker, the trip through the sewers actually went well. Sure, they weren’t as big as the ones in Gotham, but they were relatively well maintained and didn’t appear to contain any supervillains. Though, Jason was almost certain he caught a couple glimpses of glowing rats. The Pit didn’t seem to react to them, and they didn’t show any hostility, so they were pretty far down on his list of worries.

In a surprising stroke of luck, there was a tunnel from the sewer system to the hotel they could use. Bruce and Duke were waiting for them when they emerged and led them through the emergency stairwell back towards their hotel room. He and Dick gave a brief summary of events with Cass adding a couple words here and there.

During the short trek, Duke kept sending glances his way. It was clear something was bothering him, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Was it because of Danny? Or was there something else? He’d worry about it later.

Thanks to Tim, they didn’t have to worry about the hotel security catching them moving. It was honestly refreshing to be able to enter a room in his gear without having to use a window. Speaking of the replacement, him and the demon brat seemed to have been discussing something with Steph and Babs over one of the computers when they walked in.

Deciding that wasn’t currently any of his business, he announced he was going to put Danny on one of the beds. Bruce nodded at him as Tim got up to follow in case any first aid was needed.

After getting the kid on the bed, Jason ripped off his goggles and mask and threw them on one of the plush chairs in the room. It had been one hell of a day, and after everything, they hadn’t really accomplished anything other than getting some new bruises. At least Danny was currently out of danger.

Glancing at the kid, he noticed that the dazed and unfocused expression had softened. It now appeared he was resting. Good. He could relax a little.

That might have been a bad idea. As soon as he loosened some of the tension in his shoulders, exhaustion like he’d never felt before washed over his body. He managed to take one step before something bright filled his vision before darkness overwhelmed him.

xxxxxxx

I already briefly mentioned the time Jason impersonated Dick as Nightwing. But as a side note, I have heard that one of Jason's Red Hood costumes after starting to redeem himself was in part created by using parts of some of Dick's. Can't seem to find the panels in question though.

Also, I could have sworn I got a comment asking if Danny's accident is canonically an electrocution or not. I have no idea where this comment went, or if I imaged it. Gonna answer it anyways. It's not explicitly stated in the show, but due to how it was portrayed in the opening and 'Memory Blank' most of us in the Phandom do believe it was some form of an electrocution. As a side note, there's a lot of debate on what ectoplasm might be. It's one of those things that seem to exist in any form it needs to be in the show. But, if it was in a true plasma form in the portal, then there's more credence to the electrocution idea as in scientific experimentation plasma is often either electrically charged or superheated. Ectoplasm is actually mentioned in parapsychology and paranormal studies, but all supposed photos of it during the spiritual craze in the 1800s/1900s are staged.

If it's not obvious, gun shots are very loud and can damage the hearing. The closer you are to it firing and the smaller the area where it went off (like a small room or car) the more likely it is to cause disorientation. If you're at a normal shooting range, the workers will not let you go into the room without ear protection because of how damaging that sound can be.

Hilariously, I recently realized that I can ultimately blame the creation of this fic on cosplay. A former friend coaxed me into cosplaying as the Red Hood as she wanted to cosplay Nightwing a while back which reintroduced me to the Bat Family, and things progressed. I have proof here.

Still taking suggestions for chapter titles. I'm currently going the song lyric approach which has led me to realize how many Avenged Sevenfold songs work really well with the Bat Family and their rogues in general. And random fun fact, in the 2021 Nightwing Annual #1, a flashback shows Jason is both a Slipknot and Lacuna Coil fan per the posters on his wall.

[kettlefire]

Dan had been surprised when he managed to escape. He's still not sure how, and why it even happened. But it had.

He found himself in a city he's never been before. Even after he'd levelled and destroyed his home dimension.

Gotham City.

It was strange, reeked of anguish and hope. Dan loved it. It felt safe, it felt like home even with danger lurking around every corner.

He loved the city. Loved the feeling that radiated from every surface.

Then he met the bats.

They hadn't regarded him like the monster he was, and after getting to know him. After he's told them the truth in an emotional outburst, they accepted him.

Bruce even has him take over Batman if he's too injured to, or there was too much heat and spotlight on Bruce Wayne.

For once, Dan felt seen. He felt safe, and heard. He wasn't a monster. Not to these people. They saw him for the misguided hero he was before he just broke.

It took a while for him to finally feel comfortable. The fear that any moment all of it was going to get ripped away from him, finally let up.

He settled into his new normal.

Dan knew he shouldn't have. Years of experience proved no matter what, his life can never be smooth sailing.

His past was always going to come to haunt him.

It did. Just as he should have expected. In a moment he had no real clue what to do. He was taking on Batman for the night.

Everything was going fine, normal. The usual fights and crimes, and that's all.

Up until it was time to call it quits. Dan had been ready to teleport back to the cave, found the best spot to ensure no one would see him.

Then he felt it. A feeling that hasn't run through him in what felt like forever. A familiar shiver ran down his spine, a puff of soft cold blue smoke left his lips.

Dan tensed, spinning around quickly. His core thrumming in his chest, running through his veins. Prepared for a fight.

Except that isn't what happened.

Maybe it's the years away from the other ghosts. Living his life in secret, hiding away in fear of being found. Being returned to that godforsaken thermos.

The moment Dan's gaze fell onto the ghost, he felt terror run through him. A level of fear Dan hadn't felt since the day he lost his family.

Clockwork. It just had to be Clockwork standing before him, the familiar adult form staring st him with unusual cold eyes.

Dan did the first thing he could think to do. The first instinct that ran through him. It wasn't to fight. To fall back into his darker days.

No, instead Dan ran.

He teleported straight to the cave, tearing off the Batman cowl, and phasing off the suit. It all felt too suffocating.

His lungs felt like they were collapsing. His body immediately falling to hyperventilation, a cold sweat, and the shakes.

His mind ran a mile a minute, but Dan had enough focus to realize it was a panic attack.

He couldn't go back. He couldn't. Not after tasting freedom again. After finding people that cared about him. After finally finding a family again.

Dan almost, almost, lashed out when he felt hands on his shoulders. Turning him to face the other person in the cave.

Tears stung in Dan's eyes as his gaze landed on Bruce. Barely hearing it as the man tried to talk him through breathing.

Instead, Dan broken.

He wrapped his arms around Bruce in an almost crushing embrace. Buring his face into Bruce's shoulder as he shook and cried.

He couldn't process any of the words he knew was spilling from Bruce's lips. But the man's arms wrapping around him, stroking his back as Bruce tried to calm him down.

It reminded Dan was his own father. The father he had before Bruce ended up taking the mantle. It only made him cry harder.

For the first time in a long time, Dan didn't feel like a man. An adult. A hero, or a villian. Not right now, not in this embrace.

Instead, he felt like a kid again. Like he was fourteen, crying into Vlad's shoulder after his whole life had been ripped away from him.

Dan didn't say much in this time. Trying to calm the tightness in his chest, and the burn in his eyes. His brain throbbed, and his body felt like he was dying all over again.

However, Dan managed to choke out a single sentence. Dripped in pure terror and fear. Enough for Bruce to know exactly what he was talking about.

"H-he found me Bruce, I-I can't go back..."

Short DPXDC Prompts #550

Dan will take over for Bruce as Batman whenever he can’t make it to patrol.

[dragonmuse]

Oh yes, pretty please to the fic list thing!! I would love that!!

All right then! Here we go on a journey. I have listed these in the order they occurred to me and then by going through my bookmarks, then sorted by fandom. Some of these I’ve read upwards of a dozen times, some pre-date AO3, but all have been moved over.  I’ve been in fandom a long time, so it’s a long list! 

Letters from the Northern Continent by thehoyden. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  Garak/Bashir. A poignant look at Julian going to Cardassia to help in war devastated areas. Probably my favorite fic of all time, if I was forced to choose just one.

Jeu-Parti by Macedon. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Jake/OMC.  Jake meets an unusual Vulcan who changes the trajectory of his life. Over the course of the series, Jake grows up, becomes a father himself and learns how to love a person, who is both entirely different to him and yet so much the same.

Children Will Look To You (title shortened) by Staight_Outta_Hobbiton. Star Trek: Alternate Original Series.  Bones-centric.  Bones accidentally adopts the children orphaned from the destruction of Vulcan and takes them home to his huge family compound. All the found family feels. The series is WIP, likely permanently, but feels very satisfying as is. 

Most Likely To by Kaneko. Breakfast Club. John Bender/Brian Johnson. Sometimes life doesn’t go like you planned, but you still wind up where you’re supposed to be.

Higher Education by Resonant. Breakfast Club. John Bender/Brian Johnson. Bender makes a life for himself in opposition to his father’s and it turns out pretty well. Bender’s struggle with his sexuality is realistic, heart-breaking and then healed. 

Watchmen Zombie!Au by etherati. Watchmen. Dan Dreiberg/Rorschach. What if becoming a zombie was the best thing to ever happen to Rorshach? Dan navigates the changes in his friend and the world. There is a touch to this story that has never let me go. I think it’s the slow burn of it and the real consideration for how even the most difficult, hardened people can let themselves grow softer. 

Ladders by emungere. Hannibal. Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter. I read a lot of Hannibal fic, but this one stuck to my ribs. A long journey with Will and Hannibal as they sort out their life post-cliff dive, in a house in France.

Responsible Science by lettered.  Avengers. Bruce Banner-centric. This series is mind-meltingly good if you enjoy philosophical debates, troubled protagonists and serious takes on tropes. There’s de-aging, time loops, and more, but they are all taken deadly seriously. Bruce is a fascinating lens to journey with, his sharp edges never dulled down for narrative convenience. 

PWP: Pie Without Plot by orange_crushed and MajorEnglishEsquire. Supernatural. Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC.  Dean gets to hang out in a bakery and run it and accidentally falls in love with doing it. Sam gets a kickass girlfriend. It’s just good, clean , floury fun.

And This Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets. Supernatural. Dean/Castiel. AU where Castiel is a poetry professor, who’s class Dean reluctantly audits as an adult, only to discover that the lone poetry book he published as a young man is Castiel’s personal favorite. This story is poetry in its own right, aching and lovely. 

At Least There’s the Football by sheffiesharpe.  Sherlock. Mycroft Holmes/Lestrade.  This series is about falling in love in a very realistic and heartfelt way. It’s elegant and kind with its characters. 

The Least of All Possible Mistakes by rageprufrock. Sherlock. Mycroft Holmes/Lestrade.  Lestrade has always been a woman in this story. She is also a gorgeously fully realized character that makes me cheer for her and makes me cry for her, even though I’ve read it a dozen times and know how it all turns out.

Of Old Mystics by omphalos and Wolfing.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ethan Rayne/Rupert Giles. This fic is probably the longest on the list, spanning more than half a million words. It’s a novel about chaos and order, love and destruction. 

Little Gods by Teland and Jane St. Claire. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and X-men. Nate Grey/Oz Osbourne. Take the chilliest werewolf of all time and let him go on an amazing journey with one of the most powerful mutants to ever live. It reads like a dreamscape.

Pike and Benny Stash by Viridian5.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie). Pike/Benny.  Just teenage dirtbags falling in love. This was written in 1999 so I think it’s the oldest on the list. I definitely read it as the series was posting, so that’s fun.

Everything About It Is a Love Song by pocky_slash. X-Men. Charles Xavier/Erik Lensharr. Erik shows up when they’re in their seventies and is like ‘come retire with me’ Charles :). It’s just very sweet and tender. 

Zweiundachtzig by Dow. X-Men. Charles Xavier/Erik Lensharr. A modern au where Erik makes jewelry and in sharing a studio with Raven, finds a family and the love of his life. Just makes me want to melt into a puddle really.

Frankenstein and the Newt by orphan. Pacific Rim. Newton Geizler/Hermann Gottlieb. A sprawling series that launched several aus of itself.  It is touching, philosophical, funny and also deadly-serious. The Omelette-verse stories are my favorite, but they’re all great. Contains monster fucking. 

Absolute Beginners by adreadfulidea. Archie Comics. Jughead Jones/Reggie Mantle. This was a Yuletide story and I can’t even say why it grabbed me by the throat so hard. It’s shorter than I usually hold this close to my heart, and really about a single day. I just love it.

Human Interest by MadLori. Brokeback Mountain. Ennis del Mar/Jack Twist. A reporter stumbles on a ranch owned by two men and decides to write about them. Instead she becomes close with them, learns about their past and becomes a part of their future. Sprawling look at what they could’ve been.

Under the Table and Dreaming by hollycomb. Toy Story. Sid Phillips/Andy Davis. Don’t let the pairing or fandom dissuade you. This is the story of two lost kids that find each other, hold on tight and don’t let go. It’s about adjusting your expectations, figuring out what love looks like at every age and stage of life. 

Mod About You by Ellabesmirched. Star Wars. Kylo Ren/Armitage Hux. Modern AU where Hux is a businessman and Kylo is a tattooed, pierced and much kinder version of himself. Lots of drug use, discovery and sex.

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Chapter 4: Unexpected (Bonding)

Prev

AO3

Bruce Wayne felt lost. This wasn’t an unusual feeling for him, but he wasn’t particularly fond of the events that led to him feeling lost. First, he found out he had a daughter. Yet another child that he hadn’t known of their existence. Then, he acted as Batman. He researched the girl and found that her school situation was...less than ideal. As was the supervillain situation in Paris. The girl- his daughter- had been targeted several times. Sometimes the Akuma went after her from the start. Other times, she was unfortunate enough to be in its line of sight when it was on a rampage. Any way you looked at it, she was in danger. No, the biggest mistake in researching her came with the phone number for the bakery run by her parents. Two lovely people who had raised her and taught her right from wrong. Something he hadn’t done. Their phone call was what left him feeling lost. They hadn’t demanded that he stay away from his daughter- from Marinette. No, on the contrary, they thought it was a great idea for the two to bond. Especially once Bruce had mentioned his other children. 

“Marinette was distraught when the only information we could give her about her birth father was his name.” Sabine had said, adding to Bruce’s confusion. 

“You had my name but didn’t reach out?” Bruce asked, trying (and failing) to figure out the situation. 

“We didn’t have much to go on. Just your name and that you were American and worked in business. Bridgette didn’t give any specifics, and back then it didn’t really matter. I assumed Bruce Wayne was a common enough name, especially in the US.” Sabine replied simply. The rest of their conversation had gone similarly, with Bruce growing more and more lost until the end. They hadn’t even suggested a DNA test (though he was planning on asking Marinette, just so that they could be completely certain). They just wanted Marinette happy. Even if it meant meeting and bonding with the man who hadn’t known about her existence. 

---

Marinette Dupain Cheng was not having an easy week. No, her week was sucky. In fact it was beyond sucky, it was shitty. So many things were happening at the same time, and she was just grateful that she wasn’t currently in Paris, since she was certain she’d be akumatized. From being attacked by the Joker for simply looking like a Wayne, to meeting Batman who was just as angry in person, and then figuring out Bruce Wayne really was her dad and accidentally calling him Batman, to fighting an Akuma by herself (one that she could barely handle) and then to top it all off, Adrien is Chat Noir. And Adrien has a crush on her, as Marinette. And apparently has for at least a month. Oh and now he knows that she’s Ladybug and so last night was filled with her Chat Blanc nightmares all over again. The cherry on the top of this mess was the fact that the class was practically ignoring her. She was sure they weren’t doing it intentionally and that they were just kinda distracted by Lila’s tall tales of Gotham. Tales that include her dating one of Bruce Wayne’s sons. She wouldn’t clarify which one, which was probably for the best. They two closest to their age were 12 and 19. Neither a great option for the 15 year old Italian. A shrill ringing tugs Marinette out of her thoughts. Glancing down at the unknown number attempting to call her, Marinette silently prayed that this would turn her shitty week around. 

“Hello?” She answers, wincing slightly at the way her voice sounds after a night filled with screaming and crying from nightmares. 

“Is this Marinette Dupain Cheng?” A deep voice asks. Marinette frowns. 

“Um, yes?”

“Good. This is Bruce Wayne and well, I’m not sure how to-”

“You’re my dad.” She blurts out, face instantly heating up. “Oh crap, I mean, um-”

“Well yes. I do believe I may be your father. I was in contact with your parents earlier, to ask about boundaries and such. Your mother says that you had shown interest in meeting me and seeing how we’re similar?” He says, the question clear in his voice. Marinette opens her mouth to respond, then frowns. 

“Just like that? We’re gonna meet, just like that?” She asks, hoping that her distrustful tone doesn’t push the man away. 

“I’ll admit that I was going to ask if you would mind a paternity test. After speaking with your mother, I have no doubts, but I thought it might make you feel better. And of course, if you would prefer to just act as though I didn’t speak to your parents and go on with your trip, we can do that as well. I just- I was caught off guard, if I’m being honest.” Bruce Wayne- her father- says. 

“I’ll do it. I- I would like to get to know you. I can’t have a relationship with Bridgette, but if my parents are okay with it, I do want a relationship with you.” Marinette admits, holding her breath as she waits for an answer. There’s silence on the other end for a long moment, but just as Marinette’s about to apologize and tell him he can go and pretend she doesn’t exist, he answers. His voice a little softer this time. 

“I would like that.” 

---

The paternity test came out positive, to no one’s surprise. Bruce had given Marinette the option of meeting somewhere more public (like a restaurant or museum) to bond, or coming over to the manor. Not quite ready to deal with the possibility of paparazzi and the rumors (no matter how true they may be) that would stem from a public visit, Marinette agreed to going to the manor for dinner. Which is how she ended up sitting in silence in a town car with a man who seemed like he knew more than he was letting on. 

“So, you’re the one who raised Mr. Wayne?” Marinette asks, not quite ready to call the man “Dad” or any variation of the word. The man nods and she meets his eyes in the rearview mirror. 

“Indeed, Miss. I am Alfred Pennyworth.” The man, Monsieur Pennyworth, says calmly. She tries not to let the frustration that she feels building show on her face. She feels like she should know this man, like there’s something important that she’s just barely missing. 

“Have we met before?” Marinette finally asks, racking her brain as she tries to figure out why this man is so familiar to her. 

“I don’t believe so, Miss Dupain Cheng.” He says, and for the first time since meeting him, it doesn’t feel like he’s all knowing. Instead, it feels like he’s just as confused as she is. Drat. She opens her mouth to question him more, when the huge manor becomes visible in the distance. Eyes widening, Marinette forgets everything else and turns her attention to the beautiful architecture. The giant fence and metal gates do little to hide the massive house. Sections of the house rise above others, almost as if there are towers. Dozens of windows are visible, as is the giant fountain at the front of the house. Ripping her sketchbook out of her bag, Marinette immediately starts sketching out the ideas that attack her mind. Dresses and suits and skirts, all using the architecture in front of her for the basic shapes of the outfits. As the car goes past the gate and the gardens come into view, Marinette can’t hold back her shocked gasp. Shaped hedges and flowers, hundreds of different colored flowers, and trees and- it was beautiful. Almost too perfect. Like something that belonged in a movie. She jumps slightly as the car door is opened, Alfred standing on the other side with an eyebrow quirked up. Right. She was actually getting out of the car. And going into this massive house. And spending time with her biological- nope. She can’t do this. She can’t- 

“Miss Dupain Cheng, if it makes you feel any better, Master Bruce seems to have run into some traffic on his way back from the office. You’ll have a few minutes to gather your bearings inside before he arrives.” Alfred says softly. Relief washes over her and she nods, finally moving to get out of the car. 

“Thank you, Alfred.” She says, smiling at the man. He nods back at her before leading her up the steps to the door. He opens it and then steps back, allowing her to take a tentative step into the house. Her previous panic is pushed aside as she realizes the inside is just as gorgeous as the outside. Immediately turning back to her sketchbook, she tunes out the world around her and just stands in the foyer, scribbling furiously into her sketchbook. 

“Um, hi?” A voice says, making Marinette yelp and jump, eyes scanning her surroundings until they fall on a guy. A pretty tall guy. 

“Hi.” She says softly, also confused as to who this guy was. Not her- dad-biological father-other part of her DNA-father-Mr. Wayne- not anyone she had ever met, that’s for sure. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Dick Grayson.” The man says, extending his hand, a smile on his face. Anyone else probably would have thought the smile was sincere, but Marinette had always been good at reading emotions. And she could tell that he was wary of her. Why would he- oh. Grayson. As in, Richard Grayson, as in this man was her brother. Or, well, maybe he wouldn’t want to be. Maybe he would think that she’s ridiculous or that she’s just here to get money or here to try and pull apart Mr. Wayne’s family or maybe he would think that she was trying to take his place and she would never but maybe he would hate her and- She takes in a deep breath, trying desperately to ground herself and wishing she’d taken up Adrien’s earlier offer of him coming with. 

“I’m Marinette. Marinette Dupain Cheng.” She finally says, reaching out and shaking his hand. He nods, obviously still confused. So Mr. Wayne hadn’t mentioned her. Did he hate her? Did he ask her here to have her sign a NDA? Did he not want anything to do with her? Of course he wouldn’t, he obviously already had a family. A family that he chose, not one that he had by accident. His name was on her birth certificate, surely he would have found her sooner if he actually wanted anything to do with her? He chose Dick Grayson to be his son. He wanted him. He didn’t want Marinette. He-

“Ah, Marinette. I see you’ve met Dick.” The last voice she needed to hear says calmly as he walks through the door. Marinette swallows back the thickness in her throat, the one that tells her the tears will be starting soon. 

“Uh, yes. Mr. Wayne. Um, hi.” She says, flinching slightly when he winces. What did she do wrong this time? Was he really going to tell her to take a hike? If he didn’t hate her before, he surely did now. 

“Bruce, what’s going-” Dick starts to ask but is cut off by screaming voices getting closer to them.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Demon Spawn?” 

“Not my fault your blocking skills are subpar, Todd.”

“Sub- you almost stabbed me, you little shit!”

“Almost, yes. But I didn’t. I’m sure Father will be pleased with my restraint.” 

“You little fu-” “Boys!” Mr. Wayne finally yells as the two screaming walk into view. Both freeze and the younger one’s eyes instantly fall on Marinette, narrowing as he takes a defensive position. 

“Another one, Bruce, really?” The older one asks, making Marinette flinch back. Of course. Two more of his sons-her brothers- who he chose. Another two that he wanted. Not like her, someone he was going to be forced to know. Unless he told her tonight that he never wanted to speak to her again and made her sign a paper saying that she would never contact him again and then they would never have to worry about seeing her again and- oh this is a lot. 

“What were you two doing?” Mr. Wayne finally asks, and that’s when Marinette sees the weapons in their hands. And the blood on the older man’s shirt. The man turns slightly so that that part of his shirt is hidden when he notices her staring. 

“Uh, bonding?” He says, not at all convincing. 

“Who is that, Father?” The younger boy asks, the utter distaste clear on both his face and in his tone. And this is it. This is where he’s going to say that she’s no one, she’s nothing, and then he’s going to make her sign that stupid piece of paper and the last chance she has at knowing one of her biological parents is going to fly out the window. Poof. And then she’ll be so embarrassed, she won’t be able to go back on the trip and then she’ll have to change her name but she can’t completely run away yet because of stupid Hawkmoth and-

“This is Marinette, my daughter.” Well that was unexpected.

Next

Tag List: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo

[preciousthingsareprecious]

Whumptober Day 1: Bound

It's October so of course I'm writing again! We'll see how far I get through Whumptober this year lol.

Day 1: “You have to let go” | barbed wire | bound

Characters: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne

Summary: When Damian becomes the latest victim in a string of kidnappings across Gotham, it's down to Dick to save him and the rest of the missing kids. He just has to get there in time.

AO3 Link

~

The sound of Dick’s boots echoed in the empty hall even as his heart pounded in his chest and his comm buzzed white noise into his ear. Dim lights flickered around him, only just illuminating his path through the old abandoned hotel. But he had to keep moving, had to find the missing kids. Had to find Damian .

He pushed himself a little faster through the hall, pausing only whenever he came to a door to throw it open, then on finding it empty, start his mad dash again. They had to be here, everything pointed to this location.

Batman and Robin had been investigating a series of kidnappings over the past month. Dick had done his best to keep Damian away from the information but the kid was about as stubborn as Bruce had been when he decided on something, so Dick had let him in with the promise they did everything together.

And he’d kept that promise. He’d done so well, and then it had been Dick who’d lost him.

“Stupid.” Dick grumbled, peering into yet another empty room. Every room was empty on this floor, but there were still the ballrooms at the top to check.

He’d been so stupid, taking Damian out to do some shopping then turning away for a moment. A second had been all the kidnapper needed to grab another kid. Another victim. And it was Dick’s fault. For looking away when there was a person out there grabbing kids Damian’s age.

Alfred’s consoling voice from earlier flooded through his thoughts as he took the stairs down two at a time, ‘It is not your fault, you were simply trying to have a good day amidst all this terribleness.’ And what good had it done either of them? Panic in Dick’s chest, and a missing brother.

The only thing that kept him moving was that none of the kids had been found yet. No ransoms had been sent out either, but no bodies meant they had to be somewhere. And Dick was going to find them.

He’d tracked the kidnapper here via an unusual series of shipments of food and chemicals sent to a Dr. Keith Raimy. An ex-professor from Gotham U who’d been kicked out for multiple breaches of student privacy and theft of university property. He'd recently had a paper rejected. It's title? Fear and Trauma: Can We Make Our Kids Strong Enough for the Future, Through Fear Today? Dick had skimmed the paper, and what had been proposed inside had made him sick to his stomach.

The door to the first ball room he tried on the top floor was locked. Muffled, and just through the door, Dick could hear screams. In a fit of rage, and fueled by the panic Dick was only just keeping in check, he kicked it down. The old rotting hinges gave way and the thing toppled backward with a heavy thump.

Silence filled the room for a moment, giving Dick a breath to take it in. Mostly empty, it had rotting carpet and peeling wallpaper. A tattered chandelier hung from the ceiling, pieces held on by a few dangling wires, but mostly disassembled either from time or theft.

Huddled in a group in one corner of an old ballroom, were children. The children Dick had been searching for. From what he could see, they were bound with some sort of rope, and looked rough, but alive and breathing.

At the far back of the room there was a stage, or what had once been used as a stage. Now it was mostly just a raised platform with tall floodlights dragged up to it, a rumbling generator the source of their power. It was cluttered with other equipment too, tables filled with jars and beakers, boxes opened with bits poking out of the top, and a laptop hooked up to a microscope. Standing among the clutter was Dr. Raimy in a stained lab coat just blocking a table.

He had turned to stare at Dick when the door came crashing down. Now, he moved to raise his arm, mouth opening, and in the next breath the moment of silence was broken as the screaming started again. The doctor tensed, shifting a bit to cover the table, but it wouldn’t help.

Clear now, the voice was unmistakably Damian’s, high and terrified in a way Dick had never heard it before and it was coming from behind the doctor.

Dick bolted forward, slipping batagrangs out of his belt. Damian was his only thought. His boy was up there, terrified and suffering all because of the man in front of him.

Dr. Raimy jumped to the side, attempting to make a run for it, and stumbled into another table. It gave Dick long enough to cover most of the distance between them and fling a few batarangs in the man’s direction. One caught his jacket, and the other stabbed into junk on the table making him yelp.  He jerked back, and then turned towards the table he’d been guarding, making a second dart for it, and the figure writhing atop it. Red clouded Dick’s vision as he got his first clear view of his little brother, strapped down to the table with a long strand of barbed wire, and straining against it as he yelled.

Dick roared, and leapt up to the platform, grabbing the doctor as he did so. The man released an aborted shout as Dick flung him back and away from the table into a pile of boxes. He turned for a moment to Damian, catching sight of his brother’s pupils blown wide. He hadn’t even registered the action beside him, trapped in whatever horrorscape he’d been dropped into.

The sound of rustling indicated that Raimy was already pushing himself up, babbling something about science and progress and Batman not understanding.

He stalked forward, raising himself up to as imposing a height as possible and kicked at the doctor, knocking him back into the boxes to stun him. Then, he reached down and dragged the man upwards.

“What did you give him?” he demanded.

“It was--a mixture of my own making.”

Dick shook him so hard that he heard something pop, “Did you make an antidote?”

Behind him, Damian’s screaming changed pitch to something even more desperate.

“ Tell me .” he growled.

“T-there, it’s--it’s in the line of blue vials. Please don’t kill me, I was only trying-”

Dick didn’t give the man the time to finish his sentence, he punched him square in the face, and dropped him unconscious back into the boxes. Then he was over at the vials, thankfully a syringe had already been filled or he’d have to waste time figuring out how much to give Damian. He pocketed it, swapping it out in his hand for a pair of wire clippers and rushed back to the table.

“Damian, I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s alright.” Dick said, voice gentle, “I’m getting you out of here.”

Something must have gotten through to him, because Damian stilled at his words, staring with wide, terrified eyes up at Dick. Dick tried not to look at the red lines of blood on Damian’s arms and chest he worked on clipping the barbed wire, instead murmuring quietly to Damian to keep him calm.

Thankfully, the man hadn’t totally wrapped Damian in the stuff. The single band was thick and strong enough to keep a drugged kid down, but hopefully hadn’t done too much damage. Still, it made Dick’s stomach churn as he lifted it as gently as he could off his brother, Damian making only the tiniest of sobs as each barb still embedded in his skin pulled out.

“Just one more second, sweetheart.” Dick whispered, hoping his voice wasn’t carrying over to the other kids. There was murmuring coming from them by now, as they realized rescue was at hand, but Dick’s focus was on the kid currently in need of the most help. At last, Dick dropped the discarded wire onto the table and leaned back to find the vial of the antidote.

Something about the sound of the wire, or a movement Dick made, or just whatever concoction the doctor had given him triggered something in Damian the moment Dick leaned away. He shot up from where he’d been lying, and grabbed the wire with both hands, heedless of any damage it was causing.

Dick reached for him, ready to pull the barbed wire away from him but Damian scooted back, precariously close to the edge of the table and yelled, “No! Don’t!”

“Hey, it’s alright, why don’t you give me that?” Dick asked, trying to calm him back down.

“Stop!” Damian yelled again, gripping the wire tighter and pressing it to his chest, “Don’t take him!”

“Damian please, you have to let go. It’s hurting you.” Dick tried again, wincing as red started to drip down the wire.

“No! I won’t let you!”

“Okay, okay.” Dick held up both hands, whatever Damian was seeing must have been convincing and he didn’t want to hurt the kid by forcing the barbed wire out of his hands, he’d only tear them up more that way.

“Would you let me give you something?” Dick asked, gently lowering his arms to retrieve the syringe, “It’ll make you feel better.”

Damian eyed him, the look almost like what he’d normally make when suspicious, but just off enough from the drugs, “Yes?” he said.

“Great. I just need your arm, you don’t have to let go of anything or anyone okay?” Dick said, slowly reaching for Damian’s arm with his free hand. When the boy let him place his hands by his elbow, Dick angled it up, then after a moment, praying he hadn’t been lied to, injected his brother with the liquid in one motion.

Damian jerked back, squeezing the wire closer to him and went tumbling from the table. Dick lunged over it, and just managed to hook an arm around the kid, tugging him up. He heard the clatter of glass falling and hitting the ground as the syringe that had still been stuck in Damian’s arm slipped out and shattered.

“No! No! Stop!” Damian wailed, kicking and jerking in Dick’s hold.

Mindful that if he tugged Damian into his chest the barbed wire would do more harm, Dick decided he'd restrain him by pulling his back towards him. That was easier said than done with a flailing kid. At last, Dick had an arm hooked under Damian’s arms and had him held tight against him, seated again on the table. His brother continued to scream and kick and tug at him for another minute, then two, until gradually Damian’s own chest slowed it’s rapid rise and fall and his cries quieted down to nothing.

“Batman?” His voice was tiny, shattered from screaming, but almost lucid.

Dick dropped his face into Damian’s hair and sighed, “Yeah, I’ve got you.”

He let go of Damian and stepped around to face his front. There, he pointed at the tangled barbed wire still in Damian’s hands, “Will you hand me that?”

Damian looked down surprised to see it, “Oh.”

Wincing he released it, and before anything else could happen, Dick balled it up and tossed it away from them. When he turned back to Damian, the kid was staring down at his palms that were red and torn. He hadn’t said anything else, but Dick could hear the tight way he was breathing, the sound almost like whistles, like he was holding back the pain.

He dug out some gauze, wraps, and something to numb the pain, “Here, let me.”

With gentle motions Dick bandaged Damian’s hands. When he was done, he dropped a kiss onto the knuckles of each one, “Wait for me right here? I have to help the others.”

Damian’s eyes went wide, “The kids--”

“Are mostly fine.” Dick said, sparing them another glance, they’d been remarkably patient, but their chatter had gone up from quiet murmurs to full conversations, “But eager to be untied I’m sure.”

His brother nodded. Even though it tore at Dick’s heart to step away, he did. And he took as much time with each of them as they needed. Batman couldn’t focus only on one child after all, especially when others showed signs of having gone through something similar to Damian.  Gradually though, Dick got them all settled down, untied, and called Oracle to let her know to send police and paramedics. Then he swung by Damian to scoop him up into his arms --the kid for once not arguing being carried-- and corralled everyone downstairs.

Dick could see the lights of the emergency vehicles through the windows, and sent the children out before him, lingering back in the building with Damian. The last thing he wanted to do was let go of his brother, even if it was to hand him off to medical professionals. He’d just gotten him back, and the mere thought of having him out of his sight for a second felt impossible to manage. All he could think of were the number of --mostly implausible-- ways Damian could end up hurt or in danger again.

He was starting to see why Bruce had been so protective of his Robins.

"Batman?" Damian's voice was very quiet in the dim lighting.

"Yes?"

Damian shifted so his face was pressed a little closer to Dick's neck, "I'm sorry. I got caught."

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry I let you get taken."

"I-" Damian sighed, "Thank you for coming."

Dick tugged him a little closer, mindful that he still had injuries that needed to be cared for, "Always. Now, what do you say we sneak out and let Alfred finish patching you up? The police are used to Batman disappearing, and I found you before I ever reported you missing."

Damian, hummed, “I would like that, I want to go home.”

Dick pressed a kiss into Damian’s hair, “Then straight home we go.”

[withoneheadlight]

ok i saw this cap of zoë kravitz in hf and she's got such a dreamy expression, she looks so deeply self-absorbed and infatuated by whatever she's imagining and those lines. and i couldn't stop picturing billy exactly like that for days so,

,

There’s a pretty unusual sound coming off the house when Max comes back home, that summer afternoon.

Full volume. Walls shaking. And she quietly walks to the source of the sound, holding back her breath right in front of Billy's room because, there's this second sound? Stranger and way more unsettling and Max's not sure-sure at first but then Steve Perry’s voice takes off and Billy’s follows it and then he's like, singing along and. Well. Max did know Billy liked Journey but not like, their 'stuff for pussies' but uhm, he does, apparently. Rasps his voice all the way through ‘Faithfully’. Kind of, sighs. Longingly? When it ends? But pfff, ok, big brothers are weird. Definitely weirder after being possessed and then kind of resurrected. Even if it's in a good-weird way but, whatever. So Max's just about to sneak to her room, dutifully rolling her eyes, steps muffled by the first chords of 'Edge of the blade' when―

Click. Click. Billy stops the tape. Click. Takes it out. Tap. Tap. Click. Puts on― Billy puts. On,

Heaven.

Bryan Adams’ Heaven.

And Max―

Being a younger sister is a meticulous kind of full-time, private detective job. You gotta learn how the person you’ve been watching so carefully for years and years works. Hafta develop some sort of―sense about your target. And Billy’s been—un-Billy-like? These past two months. Smiling more. Telling more jokes. Playing ‘You shook me all night long’ in a loop on their drive to school and back, not complaining at all but even joining when’s Max who can’t help but sing along so.

So. She retraces her steps. Knocks. Takes the distracted grunt she gets as a ‘Yeahyeah, c’mon in c’mon in’ and,

Creak. Creak. ‘―baby you’re all that I want’

“Billy?”

Billy’s sitting cross-legged on the floor. Radio close to his knees. Cassettes scattered everywhere. Piles and piles of breakwater surrounding Billy’s old, rusty beacon of sound. He’s reading through the song-list of one of the tapes, a smoke locked on the corner of his mouth, bouncing up and down with every little, absent suck he takes, and he looks. He looks―

Self-absorbed and even. Relaxed. Happy. Like whatever he’s thinking about right now is actually carrying his thoughts away to fucking heaven.

“Ehh”

“Uh-hu?”

‘When you’re lying here in my arms!’

“Billy are you. What―” ‘I'm findin' it hard to believe. We're in heaven’ “What are you doing?”

But there’s this orbit around the sun and then there’s whatever one Billy's been spinning along with the last couple of months so he completely ignores her question. Shakes the tape on his left hand. Picks another one from the pile on his right. Asks her.

“Is Billy Ocean too much? ‘Cause I think it’s too much. But it kind of fits into what I'm trying to say so” he says, shrugs, looking up at Max and waiting for the answer of what she realizes was not really a question. Not at all. So she does her little sister job and just, nods “Right. That’s good. I think it’ll slide just nicely into Bruce Springsteen and―”

“Billy” Max insists, waiting for the charm of the third time to work. It doesn’t. Not really. But keeps Billy's eyes on her long enough to squeeze an “A mixtape?” And, uh. That’s what gets it on. The charm “Are you making a mixtape?”

“Uh?”

And it’s like Max just shook Billy out of a daydream. Ash plopping down from his cigarette as his lips try but can’t purse and Max― she’s good. She’s stellar at this detective thing. Recognizes an opening the moment she sees it, right there in front of her, frozen in the middle of shaking Billy Ocean and Bruce Springsteen in the air right before cocktailing them together. Shaken, not stirred, please. Max’s upgraded to James Bond-level just right now.

“You’re making a mixtape for someone”

“Oh-nonoMaxi―”

“But you didn’t have those tapes before. Not even in your secret stash”

“How do yo―?”

“Holy. ShIT. You’ve been listening to somebody else’s music” This is. Oh, God. This. Is. GOLD. Max gotta take a moment. Blink. Breathe. Process. Her hands move by themselves, palms spread toward Billy in a wait-a-minute kind of gesture except. Max’s gonna need way more than a minute for this “You’ve accepted a music recommendation”

“Maaaaax”

“Gosh, you’ve even listened to the tapes enough to. Make―”

“Max!”

“I just can’t believe it”

And Max was glad. Well. As glad as one can be. Bunch weeks ago. Her mom and Neil out for the day. Coming back home a little earlier than she usually does to hear those ugh. Those other noises. Happy screams. Again. After months and months of Billy being basically alone except for her and the party and Steve. And Max’s so glad, of course she is. But she’s also a little sister. And all this investigation work has a high, rightful purpose.

Make her big brother’s life a living. Hell.

“Oh my god, you must be so gone!” Max brings her hands to her mouth. Takes a deep, deep breath that’s more a poorly restrained giggle. Shoots her index at him “Is it Bon Jovi? What I’m seeing right there? Goddam, Billy are you in lo―”

Bam.

Bam. Bam!

The front door.

What a way to spoil the fun. Max doesn’t have time for this. She’s working.

“BILLY?” comes a voice from the other side “Billy are you in there?”

Steve.

Oh.

What a way to make the fun a hundred times better.

Bam.Bam.Bam!

She’s starting to move to get to the door, sinsonging “Well, I guess Steve’s gonna find out you’re so stupid in love you’re willingly listening to―” when she realizes Billy’s eyes have widened and he’s jerkingly trying to unfreeze, he’s mumbling something in around his already extinguished cigarette in the ways of “Can’t” and “Find out” and “Surprise” and “Fucking help me!” While literally trying to shove the huge mass of tapes under his bed, his tone like hurryhurryhurry!, like he would start gagging and throwing his lungs out at any given minute, so nervous he looks.

So Max doesn’t go for the door. Yet. She basks in the enjoyment.

“Oh, is it a secret romance or something?” She sighs happily, leaning against the doorframe instead. “‘Cause you look pretty worried”

Steve’s banging the door now, voice wavering a little as he asks-shouts “Billy? Billy answer me! Hey, bab―Are you ok?”

“Max, please” Billy begs. Begs. Crawling over to where a Madonna’s Like a virgin is laying with the tape looping slightly out “He really can’t find out”

“What? That you’re in lo-o-oh-oh-OH―”

Billy stops at the tone, right there on his knees. Spits his forgotten cig to the side. And in the instant it seems to take him to make up his mind they both can hear Steve shout “Ok. I know you’re in there!. I’m coming in now!!”

“Fuck! Yeah. I am. Ok?” he looks like he just realized he’s tripped. Blushes. “Making it, I mean”

BAM!

And Ohhhhhhh.

Zero-fucking-zero-fucking-seven.

“Steve,” Max gasps. Because. Hear it makes it like. Easier. To process “You. And Steve”

B A M!

“Yeah, Max, Yeah. And this is a fucking surprise and he’s gonna―”

‘I've been waitin' for so long. For somethin' to arrive. For love to come along’

Ok. Oh. Okok.

“Door!” Max hastens him.

“What?”

“You. Door. Run!” She commands, and Billy― sometimes Max can’t honestly understand how he's got the grades he's got, because Billy blinks, looks clueless “C’mon slow ass. Hurry! I’ll hide all this shit”

And Billy finally gets it. Nods. Slow. Then fast. Stumbles up. Literally runs, to get to the door.

Max still gets to hear his labored “Fuck, pretty boy. “That was really hardcore of you. That's how bad you wanted to see me?” And Steve's own breathless “Really?” Before pushing Billy's room door close with her back, and kneeling on the floor to check for stray, incriminating cassettes.

Pretty boy. Maybe Max isn't as clever as she thought she is. Or hasn’t been doing her job right, clearly.

It's when she’s making ‘It’s a kind of magic’ disappear into the rest of the pile that she lays eyes on it. The case. The J-card written almost all the way down to the B-side already. A mixture of songs Billy's heard so many times there are parts where his tapes screech, and others she'd bet her life he wouldn’t have deigned to listen to. Not ever. Definitely not because―no, for, somebody. Bowie and Cher and Cindy Lauper and Bob Seger right next to Metallica and Guns n' Roses and Meatloaf and― there. There. Almost hidden in the back of the spine. A note. A tiny, thin-lettered thing Max really, really shouldn't be reading but―

‘Thanks for driving me back.

Love. Billy’

But. That's what little sisters do too, she guesses. Intrude. Annoy. Snoop. Feel this sudden rush of relief. Of happiness. When Billy laughs softly, on the other side of the door. When Steve laughs back. Maybe a tear. Or two. But just maybe. She’s really good at this little sister thing, after all.

Hopes for stellar.

,

or: that post s3 where steve lets a camaro-less billy drive him around in his own car "really? again, hargrove?" almost every single day, for months, after he comes back, because "you’re gonna perpetually stick yourself to my ass at least let me do the one thing that frikin’ calms me down" which results in steve resigning himself to deejaying in the shotgun even if "jesus, what's that shit, harrington?" "my car, my rules, sweetheart" which results in billy developing a ‘songs steve harrington is in love with’ mental playlist, realizing he’s probably a little bit in love with the way he loves them and, possibly, a little much love with steve and then stealing steve's tapes one day and,

making a mixtape about it.

(the first of a whole lot, of love letters)

[avengerscompound]

Small Gods: Lazy Mornings - 7

Lazy Mornings:  A Captain America Fanfic

Lazy Mornings Masterlist | More Small Gods PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Rating: E

Word Count:  1764

Warnings: mentions of drug use

Synopsis: Steve Rogers has trouble taking time for himself.  When his friends set him up with a person with a very unusual skill, perhaps he can learn that the quiet moments are just as important as everything else.

Chapter 7

On the day of the dinner party, Steve was nervous.  The feeling seemed misplaced for a few reasons.  The first and most obvious reason was that most of the group had already met you.  Thor had even been the one to introduce you to Steve, so it wasn’t like he didn’t already know that at least half of the team would like you.  He knew for a fact that they did.  So there was no need to worry about them telling him that you weren’t good enough for him or of him having to decide if he was going to spend time with you or them because they refused to spend any time with you.  In that respect it was fine.

The other reason he was anxious was that it felt like he was bringing his girlfriend home to meet his parents.  It was a feeling that was absurd for many reasons, not least of which he was over a hundred years old and well past the ‘bringing home the prospective partner to meet the folks’ stage of his life.�� Not to mention that the Avengers weren’t his parents anyway - they were all young enough to be his grandchildren.

There was something of an official feeling about the dinner.  Whether that was just in Steve’s head or not, it felt like he was choosing you.  This was his way of saying ‘this is the person I want in my life and I hope you can all welcome her into your lives because she’s part of mine’.

So he worried that you wouldn’t like them, or they wouldn’t like you.  Or that something disastrous would happen.  Or that it would go perfectly and everyone would love you and you would love them and a good time would be had, and soon Natasha and Wanda would be taking you out shopping or Clint and Tony would be meeting you out for brunch or Bruce and Sam would be inviting you around for movie night, and then Steve would realize that you and he were too different and you’d end up breaking up and then he’d take you away from people who cared about you.

He dressed up - well at least for him.  It wasn’t a tux or anything so grand but he did go for a nice button-up shirt in a soft blue that shimmered slightly in the light, and a pair of charcoal trousers.  He went downstairs to wait for you in the lobby and when he saw you, it felt like the air had been pulled from his lungs.

Breathtaking barely even covered how you looked to him.

You were wearing a floor-length gown in a floaty chiffon that was such a pale blue it was almost white.  It tapered in at the waist where a satin ribbon acted as a kind of belt, separating the loose chiffon skirt from the bunched chiffon bodice that was clipped together on your shoulders with what almost looked like silver buckles.  Each step you took made the skirts billow out like mist around your legs - legs which were clearly visible through the almost translucent fabric.

You looked ethereal.  Like something plucked straight from a dream.  Yet here you were, real and with a smile on your face that told him exactly how happy you were to see him.

“Steve,” you said, kissing his cheek as he curled his arm around your waist.  “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

Already he was starting to get that soft, relaxed feeling he got when he was around you.  He knew by the end of the night he’d be in a deep soporific state and he’d end up sleeping the good restful sleep that used to elude him.

“I wanted to,” he said. “Besides, I didn’t want you to have to walk into that group alone.”

You laughed and let him lead you toward the elevators.  “That bad, huh?”

Steve’s laughter joined yours and he shook his head.  “No.  Well… I’m not sure.  I think Tony plans to interrogate you.”

“For them, I am an open book,” you assured him.

When you were both inside the elevator car, you leaned in against him and he pulled your body flush to his.  You leaned in, bringing your lips to his, and for the remainder of the ride up, the two of you kissed, slowly and deeply, pressed up against the elevator wall.

When the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, it took a moment for Steve to realize.  It wasn’t until a loud ‘woo’ and Clint yelling ‘get it, cap’ that startled him out of the moment.  He pulled back from you and looked around at the group of his friends who were all staring in at the two of you.

“So,” Tony teased, breaking the silence.  “Who’s your friend?”

Heat crept into Steve’s cheeks and he shook his head to clear it before introducing you to the others and stepping out of the elevator.  Just before Tony dragged you away from him, you leaned in, bringing your lips to Steve’s ear.  “I think that was my fault,” you whispered, before being whisked off to the bar.

Thor approached Steve as most of the others all seemed to surround you and start the interrogation.  The god clapped Steve on the shoulder as he stepped up beside him.  “I’m glad to see you so happy,” he said.

“I wasn’t unhappy,” Steve said.

“That’s not what I said,” Thor said.  “Do you think she might be the one?”

Steve took a moment to watch you with her friends.  He could already see the effect you had on people working on Wanda and Bruce who were both the most willing to allow it to happen.  “I love her,” he said, making Thor break out into a large smile.

“That is wonderful!”  Thor boomed.  “Have you told her as such?”

Steve shook his head.  “You know me,” he said.  “The king of waiting.”

“What is holding you back?”  Thor asked.  “Life is fleeting, you should take your moments when you can.  Trust me.”

“I know,” Steve sighed, shaking his head.  “Trust me, I know that from experience.  It’s just… I love being with her, and I love how I feel when I am with her.  I guess I worry that when the novelty of that calm feeling wears off, there might not be anything else.  And, I worry that I’m using her for a feeling I get rather than who she is.  And… I guess I worry about how this works long-term.  She’s a god.  I don’t know what it means to marry a god.”

Thor laughed loudly and squeezed Steve’s shoulder.  “The gods can marry and have happy lives.  As for the rest, you’re overthinking, she’s been around for a long time, do you think she can’t recognize when the connection isn’t true?”

Steve smiled.  “You’re right.  I need to trust my feelings - and hers.”

“I’m always right,” Thor joked.

“Alright everyone,” Tony announced.  “I paid a lot of money for caterers, and they said the food is ready so let's not let it go cold.”

Everyone took their seats, Steve making sure he was sitting next to you.  You pressed your leg against him and skimmed the back of your fingers up the outside of his leg.  The conversation at the table moved easily and Steve was happy that everyone was getting along with you so well.

When the soup was served (a cream of wild mushroom served with goat cheese crostini), Steve was beginning to see the soporific effects of being around you take effect on everyone.  Bruce had that same blissed-out look on his face that he was wearing the day Steve had first met you.  Clint looked slightly high, and Wanda was smiling and quietly watching everyone as she carefully ate her soup.  Everyone else was starting to slow down a little and the conversation had gone from loud and quick moving to slower and quieter.

When the main course came out (individual pot pies served with herb-roasted vegetables), Tony slowly shook his head.  “Does anyone else feel like they’ve been drugged?”

You and Steve laughed.

“That’s me,” you said.  “I’m sorry.”

“You drugged me?”  Tony asked, narrowing his eyes at you.

Steve laughed harder as you shook your head.  “No.  You know what I am though, correct?”

“We warned you,” Clint teased.  “She makes you all soft and sleepy.”

Tony looked at Steve dumbfounded.  “You’re okay with just feeling like this?  You?”

Steve laughed.  “When you get used to it, you can fight it more, and it doesn’t work quite as easily.  But it’s nice to give over to the feeling sometimes.”

Tony shook his head like he was trying to clear it.  “Ugh, I hate it.  I feel like I need to drink eight cups of coffee.”

“Can’t you just relax for a change?” Pepper teased.  “Maybe you’ll like not being a bundle of nervous energy.”

“You know I can’t,” he said and waved over one of the wait staff.  “Coffee, please.  Lots of it.”

Everyone laughed.  “You’re hopeless, you know?”  Pepper teased.

“Maybe so,” Tony said.  “So, you’re both serious about each other?  I’ll be expecting you here at the Tower more often.”

Both you and Steve looked at each other, scared about saying something that would scare the other off.  Steve was the one that spoke first.  “I certainly hope so.”

“I’d love that,” you said, and in a move that was completely out of character for Steve, he leaned in and kissed you.

It wasn’t lewd or graphic - just a gentle and chaste brush of his lips over yours.  It still made the whole group make a mixture of oohs, ahhs and, whoops in an attempt to make Steve blush.  You laughed softly and brushed your thumb over his cheek.

“You make a cute couple, Cap,” Sam said.

“Speed is still illegal right?”  Tony asked as the waiter came back with a pot of coffee.  “I think I’m going to have to start taking speed if you’re going to be coming around regularly.”

Pepper shook her head in resignation.  “You are ridiculous, you know that?”

Steve smiled as the conversation returned to the room a little more energetically than before, as people began to push through the effect you had on them.  It strangely made him relax a little more - if that was possible.  He needed to tell you how he really felt, and now he felt ready.  He loved you and he wanted you to be a more permanent feature in his life.

// NEXT

[strawberrysoup]

Pocketful of Posies || Chapter 6

You’d been hiding for years and years now; from your family, from society, from alphas and packs. Suppressants were dangerous but effective and necessary for an omega who refused to be owned—but no suppressants were strong enough to fool the nose of a super soldier, who together with his pack would stop at nothing to bind you to them forever.

pairings: dark!Avengers x reader

word length: 2.9K

chapters: 6/?

warnings: A/B/O dynamics, power imbalances, noncon and dubcon sexual situations, loss of autonomy, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat — this is a dark!fic, read at your own risk. more detailed content warnings are included at the end of the chapter to avoid spoilers, click through the read more, CTRL + F “content warnings”.

notes: slightly shorter than my usual, but i needed to get some stuff fixed up. if ya’ll like my stories please consider donating to my ko-fi— a bitch is poor lmao

Steve swept you up in his arms and turned to deposit you on the landing upstairs, evidently trusting the others to keep you contained for a moment. There was an audible scuffle going on in the den, Bucky would be heard growling from outside—snapping at someone who made the mistake of asking how he’d gotten out there so fast? Tony was growling at Peter who looked seconds away from begging for forgiveness.

“You guys made it safe, I’m happy to see you Nat,” Steve drew the redhaired woman into his arms and sighed in relief, but you couldn’t tell if it was a question or a statement; honestly you were having trouble thinking, your brain clouded with the sudden onset of absolute and uncontrolled panic.

The moment the black-haired man had been pulled away by the delta currently stomping back up the stairs, clarity had returned to you like a slap in the face. The golden fog that obscured your vision immediately dissipated and just as quickly you’d been overwhelmed with gut wrenching fear. You didn’t actually remember kicking Steve in the face or making a break for the stairs, but evidently you had and you cursed your hindbrain for running towards the stairs—you should’ve jumped straight out the window; you had a better chance at out running Bucky and whoever else was down there than the two alpha primes and their surrounding packmates.

Before you could even take a step towards the still wide-open window, the black-haired man appeared with a green flash and wrapped around you tightly. “Shhh , pet, no. No windows for you, darling, come now—back to your nest.”

In a moment of truly unusual harmony, your consciousness and hindbrain agreed that the bed was the last place you wanted to be. That wasn’t your bed, the omega hissed tearfully, you’d never made a nest—that wasn’t yours. It could barely be called a nest, even. There hadn’t been any careful consideration regarding the placement of the pillows and blankets, there were no articles of clothing or soft items that had been scavenged or stolen to elicit a feeling of safety or comfort. Worst of all was the way it smelled. Obviously, it didn’t reek, the mix of individual scents wasn’t a bad conglomeration, but your hindbrain whined at the unfamiliarity. This wasn’t your pack’s scent.

The cohesion was jarring, and you groaned. Regardless of the reasoning, your hindbrain was aware that you didn’t get to have a pack and that reminder always hurt. It desperately desired one, but an omega’s primary objective was survival.

After all, you in all of your fully conscious state knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you would never have a pack—it wasn’t a matter of wanting or not wanting at this point in your life. You were too old to be regressed into the type of omega that packs wanted, your body too badly reliant on the chemical reactions produced by suppressants after fifteen years to stop taking them. At your age, to be found by a pack meant death.

They would get sick of trying to fix you. You’d die from quitting the suppressants cold turkey. They’d beat you for disobedience until your body gave up. You were nearly thirty and that was ancient for an unbound omega and you couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks. Especially an old dog who was bound and determined not to be taught.

“LOKI!” Bucky bellowed as he stomped past Steve and the redhead on the stairs, looking three shades past furious.

The man holding you let go very quickly after that, spinning you away and moving to intercept the furious delta with an equally unpleasant expression. Why couldn’t you have just fucking kept it together upon meeting Bruce—that blood in the water, shark nosed asshole, if you had reigned in your panic there was no way he could’ve scented you through your suppressants. Steve was a different story, but if you’d been quick and calm you probably could’ve made it.

You scanned the room quickly; Bruce was on the bed, checking on Wanda. Bucky and Loki were on the floor fighting, half entangled with Peter and Sam who were doing their best to put their own fight aside to keep the deltas from killing each other. Steve was still halfway down the stairs with the other redhead, talking to her quietly. Tony was—

“Okay, princess, okay,” Tony was wrapped tightly around you from behind, carefully keeping your head braced between his chin and shoulder when you tried to thrash. “This isn’t fair to you, you’re way too fragile for this right now. Put your head here, breathe with me.”

“Please let me go,” you didn’t realize you were crying until you spoke, words coming out in sobs. “I don’t want to die like this, please—”

“You are not going to die, little love,” Thor sounded so sad from where he came to stand in front of you. “I’m not going to bond you, not while you’re so upset. But the results of the tests Bruce ran showed that you are in danger. I cannot allow that and no matter how angry you are with us, we will not let you suffer needlessly.”

“I’m not suffering! I swear, I swear I’m not suffering I’m, I’m happy! I’m happy living my life the way I have been. Please, let me have the choice, I want to be alone, it makes me happy!”

Trying to explain to a literal God why you deserved personal agency was an exhausting business, especially when said God was as condescending as Thor. His indulgent and sad smile was nearly enough to tip you over the edge, but there really wasn’t a point in getting angry—he obviously couldn’t even fathom the concept that what he was doing was wrong. It’s not like you could do anything anyway, you weren’t built for violence but for running away. Every bone in your body vibrated with rage; the injustice was overwhelming.

For fifteen whole years you’d been just fine. You would’ve continued to be just fine, if it weren’t for some super nosed freaks crossing your path. What were the odds of the only people in the world who could scent you from beneath more than a decade’s worth of suppressant use would have a cabin in Quebec that you happened to clean—and run into said people because they happened to show up early; an incredibly unusual situation.

It made you think about Mrs. Hunt. She’d only called to give you a heads up because of the last time, when the homeowner had tried to assault you even while he’d thought that you were a beta . You wondered how long it would take her to realize something was wrong; it was getting late and you’d yet to return her cart despite telling her you’d be there shortly.

The real question would be whether she tried to help or not once she discovered your presentation. She could try to help, try to stick them with omega theft, but they could claim civic duty like Peter had earlier. Besides, that was contingent upon her wanting to help you considering you’d lied to her for so many years.

“You’re so distressed, won’t you let me purr for you?”

“Don’t! Don’t you dare take away—”

“Little love, please—”

“Don’t call me that. You don’t even know me,” you spat, turning to address the room at large. “What kind of fucking superheros are you? Let go of me! Let me go!”

Tony sighed and hefted you up into his arms, one wrapped around your torso while the other hooked under your knees and pinned you carefully across his body. You struggled uselessly against his strong hold; he wasn’t as strong as Thor or Steve, but his bicep was massive next to your head and you could feel his muscles through his clothes as he walked to the bed.

“We can’t, princess,” he murmured into the side of your head as he lowered both of you to the bed, sitting propped against a mass of pillows in the corner. “We’ll never find an unbound omega in your age range again. Plenty of omegas have been offered to us, but they’re all practically children. You’re our last chance—”

“There are plenty! You said plenty! Pick the oldest who wants to be in this fucking shit show and leave me alone!” Everyone tensed when the tone in your voice approached a shriek.

“We’re not taking an omega who’s not even legal to drink—”

“That alpha is like eighteen!” You tried to gesture to Peter, who gaped at you like you’d wounded him, but your arms were still pinned tightly to your sides.

“Peter is twenty-four, actually,” Tony spoke with mirth when Peter jumped onto the bed and crawled until he was pressed against Tony’s side and your back. “And before you ask, Wanda is twenty-six.”

“We’re so lucky to have found you,” the alpha half purred, pressing his nose into the back of your neck. “We’ll make you happy, happier than you are now.”

“It’s gonna be a rough start,” Bruce laid down in the nest a few feet away, welcoming the woman you recognized as the Black Widow into his arms when she slithered into the bed. “We have to balance your hormones, or you will die. You wouldn’t have lasted another year on those suppressants.”

“Death would be a reprieve,” you hissed shortly, freezing when the tone of the room immediately changed.

All attention was suddenly on you, Bruce still making direct eye contact with those sad puppy eyes, “I know that feeling, sweetheart—”

“We will do it another way then,” Thor interrupted, sending Bruce a quieting but loving look. “I said I would not bond you while you are in distress anda I will never break a promise to you. Open your mouth, this will be quick.”

Steve seemed to sigh in response and followed to stand next to the other prime, “I lost my chance. You’ll help her?”

Thor leveled the shorter blond with a careful look before nodding, both showing signs of deference and affection and respect that you did not care for. The rattle of a belt prompted Tony to turn you, setting you carefully between his legs while continuing to hold down your arms with what could appear to be an affectionate bear hug. He even linked his fingers with yours, squeezing gently as you tried to squirm.

“No. No, no no no, that’s disgusting, I won’t—”

“Shhh , I’ll do all the work little love, all you need to do is swallow.”

He was jerking his cock carefully, a flick of his wrist near the head catching your eye. That was a dangerous weapon, the same way you’d come to learn Steve’s was and you had no intention of letting it anywhere near your mouth. You clamped your lips shut, teeth grinding.

“Stubborn,” Peter snorted a laugh and you would’ve snapped at him had his hand not dove between your thighs, fingers gliding through the slick lips of your cunt until he found your clit.

You had to stop yourself from screeching, the head of Thor’s cock directly in front of your face. “Very. Come on now, open up.”

The fingers pinching your nose shut came as a shock, you’d crushed your eyes shut out without realizing it and they snapped open when your face was assaulted. Steve was kneeling on the bed, carefully cutting of your air supply with one hand and stroking your head with the other.

“Come on, precious, you’ve gotta breathe,” he stated softly, smiling when you were forced to pull your lips back to gasp for breath—until he realized your teeth were still locked together. “Really ‘mega?”

The next thing you knew his thumb was shoving against your molars, literally prying your jaw open. There was no way to fight it without hurting yourself, especially once he wedged his thick thumb between your top and bottom teeth. You barely had a second to anticipate the horror before an unnecessarily large cock found it’s way between your lips.

You tried to shriek, your brain finally catching up to the whole series of events, but it was no use. His scent was overwhelming and his dick stretched your lips, your jaw forced completely open. Thor groaned, a triggering noise as he very carefully pressed forward until your mouth was completely full and he was settled against you tongue.

“Suck for me, little love, just a little,” he grunted, just barely working his member between your lips while his huge hand stroked the rest.

It took a surprisingly small amount of time for a massive load of cum to shoot into your mouth. It was thick, and the way that Thor growled immediately made your pupils blow wide like you’d done a line of coke.  

Your body went lax immediately and you swallowed on instinct when a hand gently rubbed your throat. The fuzz in your brain was the result of arousal, a brutal orgasm that rocked your body at the sound in combination with your body’s sheer delight at the taste of alpha cum. Somewhere you realized that was disgusting but the haze in your brain made you more focused on the hand between your thighs rather than the indignity.

“Man, this shit ain’t fair,” Sam complained, panting from the exertion of trying to prevent Loki and Bucky from killing each other. “They get to cuddle and we—Hey!  Quit that, man!”

“All of you stop fighting,” Steve’s alpha order was brutal and effective.

The sounds of scuffling from behind Thor stopped immediately and there were huffs and snarls and low grumbles but the nest started shifting all around you. You were dropped back to lay against Tony’s chest, having inadvertently swallowed the entirety of the god’s massive load.

“She’s so cute,” Wanda cooed from somewhere to your left.

“We’ll need to go over what we’re doing from here,” Steve sighed once everyone had settled, still watching your dazed expression with a small smile. “But let’s just… nest for a bit, okay?”

The word nest triggered something in your half alpha-cum stoned brained and you looked around the den with a displeased expression. It was a terrible nest; all of the pillows and blankets were in weird heaps and the scent was so wrong. You didn’t really want to nest here, your hindbrain grumbled in agreement, but you’d fix the damn thing. You whined and wriggled until Steve gave Tony the go ahead to stop fully restraining you.

The bed was incredibly soft, which was an upside and crawling across it was like sinking your knees into clouds as you collected the soft heaps of blankets and pillows as you went. You wanted everything off so you could start from scratch, brain muddled by the wrongness of the current layout. You wanted to wash the sheets, the pillow cases, the blankets, all of it. The scent wasn’t right.

“Help her.” It was a quiet request from the Black Widow, who’d also started shifting around to remove the items. “She doesn’t like it like this.”

It was easier to get everything pushed away and in neat piles with the packs’ help, everyone immediately moving to help organize the pillows. You only snapped at the blond beta—Hawkeye, your memory supplied— once for putting a soft blanket on the pile with the not soft blankets. He immediately gave an apologetic burr to which your hindbrain purred back instinctually; evidently a good reaction.

“Why does she like Clint? They haven’t even spoken.”

“She doesn’t like him, she snarled at him!”

“She hasn’t purred at anyone else!”

“Shut up, fuckin’ idiot.”

The noise you made was one of discontent and disdain, the arguing deltas immediately quieting. You didn’t argue with the chirping growl that meant displeased omega, not in a real pack where the goal was to keep omegas pleased and docile. Somewhere your brain reminded you that this wasn’t your pack but the alpha hormones filling your blood and confusing you and yet somehow all you could focus on was whining and pushing at pack members to get them out of the way as your rearranged; clicking your teeth grumpily when you were handed a blanket instead of a pillow or vice versa.

You found yourself being corralled back into the corner, where Natasha and Wanda immediately wrapped themselves around you. Thor had found Bruce and settled beside and settled near your feet where you’d built an intricate nest wall of pillows and blankets. Two of the deltas, Tony and Loki seemed to be glaring at each other—even as Tony laid himself completely on top of the other and they both relaxed into comfortable holds.

It was interesting, watching the pack dynamics as they moved between each other. Clint wrapped around Natasha from behind the same way Carol found her way behind Wanda. Peter had weaseled his way into curling against Loki’s side while tossing a leg over the man’s hip, subsequently laying it over the backs of Tony’s thighs. Sam, Bucky and Steve all found their way into a neat grouping on the bed closest to the stairs, piled as close to the subsequent piles of superheros as possible.

There was some sort of pattern beginning to form in the back of your brain but you were still too confused, too sucked into your own omega hindbrain by the overwhelming introduction of alpha hormone to your system. Instead of following the thought through to the end, you found yourself warm and comfortable and full and falling asleep tucked between the groupings of presentations as if it wasn’t totally, 100% against your will.

 content warnings: forced cum eating, chemical manipulation, dead dove: do not eat

[amiechuchu]

Magic, Mayhem, and All Things In Between

Chapter 3: Background of the Study

[A/N: finally some y/n and loki development. soft loki moments. i am once again back with the self-indulgent fic and i hope you enjoy :’)]

other chapters can be found here

Weeks had passed since you had accepted Mr. Stark’s small favor. Weeks had passed since you began spending the majority of your time with the Asgardian brothers and dear Uncle Bruce. Though the days were filled with chatter, the late nights in the lab were quite the opposite. With only the low hum of machines to keep you company, you realized how lonely it can be. It was unlike the times you spent in the hospital, where you’d be surrounded by fellow doctors, nurses, and patients even at the dead of night. Despite how these late night duties meshed with early mornings, dulling your own sense of time, you didn’t mind it because of the company that you had. Research work, on the other hand, was a different story. Despite your years of experience, the burnout and loneliness that accompanied research work slowly made its way to the deepest parts of your brain.

“Hey,” a voice said as a hand waved in front of you, snapping you out of the trance you were in. It was Loki. “Are you okay, pet? You look rather dead.” The God held up a cup of freshly brewed coffee and passed it on to you.

“I’m fine,” came your quick reply as you received the cup from him, your hands nudging his slightly, “thank you for the coffee by the way.” You gave Loki a weak smile before beginning to sip from the warm cup of comfort that was given to you.

The lack of reaction was unusual. How many times has Loki seen you flustered with just the tiniest forms of physical touch? Probably every single time. Confused, he grabbed a chair and set it down beside you. “Are all you Midgardians always so dishonest about what you feel?” There was that usual bite in his manner of speaking. Though, no matter how hard he tried to hide it in his cold demeanor, he could feel the concern dripping from the words he uttered; the loneliness he saw in your eyes hit too close to home. Did he get too close? Maybe showing that he cared was a mistake.

Keeping your eyes on the warm mug, you hummed in reply, refusing to answer a clear yes. Your eyes glanced up at the God beside you, longing to understand why he’d even bother. Clearly, you were oblivious to any form of care or concern Loki has shown. It wasn’t as if you had your guard up, rather you were quite unfamiliar with the intimacies of talking about your own feelings. Although the question he asked was clearly rhetorical, you still wondered: Do Asgardians not repress their own feelings to prevent them from getting distracted from things that truly matter?

Green orbs stared at yours, noticing the ever darkening bags under your eyes. “I was just concerned,” Loki began, voice softening. The God looked away and focused on the variety of glassware set up on the table adjacent to them, “it has been a while since you’ve left the laboratory. You didn’t even sneak out to the medical wing for a little breather.”

You raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. How could he have noticed all that? How could he have cared at all? After all, you were just a lowly Midgardian, as he put it, and he was a God, a deity, someone with power and importance. “How did you-”

“It pains me that you put me on the same level as them, little doctor,” the God interjected as he faced you once more, “out of all the weeks we’ve spent in this laboratory, you really believed I wouldn’t have noticed.” He noticed the closeness of your proximity; his form inches away from yours, yet your mind was elsewhere. 

“In my defense, everyone else I’ve met in this tower described you as a narcissistic asshole and a war criminal,” you shrugged, “so, naturally, I didn't think you would care at all about my well-being.” You took a sip from your cup, and indulged in the buzz the caffeine began to give you. “But I don’t think you’re as bad as they make you out to be. They just didn’t think of the whole story. Just took out a portion of it. It was unfair - what they did to you. It felt as if you always had the short end of the stick.”

Silence. 

Now, it was your turn to shock your Asgardian companion. Being on the other end of empathy was foreign to Loki as everyone treated him quite harshly. He grew up in the shadow of Thor, the more loveable sibling, and, as much as he wanted to show off his capabilities, that he was just as worthy as Thor, Loki was left in the darkness, to wallow in promises unkept, to wallow in dreams broken, to wallow in his own great tragedy. 

Eyes feeling heavy, You turned your head towards Loki, waiting for a response; though you were a naturally perceptive person, the look on his face was filled with emotions you couldn’t make out. Was he mad? Did you say too much? That analysis was unwarranted, of course he’d be mad. Embarrassed, you looked down on your cup of coffee once more, “I apologize if I said anything out of line. There are just too many things in my mind right now. I don’t think I was able to filter my thoughts very well.”

“Pray tell, dear doctor. What are you thinking of?” Loki replied, deciding to change the course of their conversation. With brows slightly raised and his gaze set at your exhausted form, you felt the God studying you, attempting to break down the essence of what makes the little physician tick. 

Deciding to be a smartass, you replied, “like I said, many things.” You set down your cup of coffee on the table and crossed your arms. “Why do you ask, Loki? These past few weeks you’ve been awfully helpful to the point that Uncle says it’s weird and unlikely for you to do that just for a human. I appreciate it though, but I just don’t see why you should go out of your way to listen to me.”

“Your words wound me, doctor,” Loki chuckled, emerald eyes piercing yours, “can I not be concerned? I see years worth of loneliness and unfulfilled expectations in your eyes to the point that you can’t even deny it. I’m sure you understand what isolation and over independence can do.” Your eyes softened, glistening under the incandescent lights. You were cracking slowly, and the God knew this. He knew what you were seeking: comfort, validation, a shoulder to cry on. It was clear as day.

“Well, I could see all the walls you’ve built. You know everything about everybody, but barely anyone knows anything about you,” you attempted to reply proudly; however, your words were breathy, already beginning to shake. So much for an attempted bark. Embarrassed, you looked away defensively, not taking another moment under his perceptive gaze. It felt as if all the skeletons you’ve kept inside your closet were being showcased all of a sudden, and you hated every second of it. Your stomach churned as your defenses slowly came undone; it wouldn’t take a while now for you to start oversharing, possibly even crying your eyes out. His hand tenderly reached out to the edge of your chin and tilted it towards him. It was warm, soothing. Comforting.

“I could say the same to you, darling. You act as if you don’t build walls around you, yet you keep everyone else at arms reach. I know what loneliness and distrust does to people, and I also know that you shouldn’t hold yourself accountable for all these expectations.” There was a slight pang in Loki’s chest as he said all these truths. He too bore wounds invisible to the eye. He too carried scars from the past. These emotions were far too familiar to the raven-haired God much like old friends, and he was afraid that, by reading these off your face, he’d become attached somehow, mended together by a mutual understanding of each other’s pain. What would become of his plan then? His glorious purpose?

Looking up to him, you realized how small you were, how fragile, how easy it was for him to see through your façade. It was oddly nice to have someone who had a grasp on your inner demons, albeit without consent. You felt a connection in the making.

 Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to trust him.

 *

Days have passed since the God of Mischief and the doctor have shared a portion of the thoughts they hid away in the darkest parts of their head. It was needless to say that the two now had an unspoken connection, a commiseration of loneliness, self-doubt, and crushing expectations. Often, they’d find their gazes focused on one another, with smiles shared and laughter exchanged. Other times, a helping hand would linger longer than usual atop the other’s. A gentle squeeze or the light encircling of one’s thumb, a sign of care and concern; these gestures only happened when the two were alone, knowing that dear Uncle Bruce would be highly against it. However, it wouldn’t be long before the others noticed.

You were grateful that today was a relatively slow day in the laboratory. Majority of the specimens that were scheduled for today’s tests were finished earlier than usual along with the case presentations and progress reports Mr. Stark had asked you to make. Though it seemed like such a small feat, you took it positively; today, you could finally take a breather. You hummed happily as you began arranging the mountain of paperwork around the main table.

Upon reaching for the next pile of papers, a familiar hand laid atop of yours. You smiled and looked at your raven-haired companion, admiring the way his tousled locks framed his oh-so ethereal face. 

“Do you need help, my dear doctor?” Loki asked as his thumb drew circles on your hand. Though his silvery voice tugged at your heartstrings as they always did, your cheeks were slightly tinged a light shade of red at mention of the pet name. The God never called you his doctor before.

“I can manage,” you replied as you turned your hand, interlocking your fingers with his. You kept your gaze on your hands intertwined with his, the way they fit together so perfectly. “It’s surprisingly not as busy today.”

Loki leaned down, his face close behind your neck. “A bit bold today aren’t we, pet?” he jested, breath tickling the side of your ear.

Thor observed the scene from afar, shocked. He never thought that his brother would’ve established a bond with the doctor, not in the way that Loki didn’t deserve any type of social interaction, but in the way that his brother wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. With arms crossed, the God of Thunder continued to watch as the two continued on with their intimacies, wondering when and how this managed to start. He watched the way your eyes lingered on his brother attentively; the way you were able to tug a smile on Loki’s face; the way his face lit up when you were around; the way your gentle touch was able to open a different side of Loki. 

Though he was wary of his brother and his antics, Thor disregarded his suspicions: the two of you were much too happy occupied in your bubble of… friendship? No, it was more than that. So much more. Something was blossoming, and the God of Thunder was sure of it. He was unsure of the status of you and Loki’s relationship, but nevertheless he was still happy. However, he wasn’t so sure if your uncle would be so accepting of it, knowing the bad blood between what had happened in New York.

The doors of the laboratory swept open, startling the two friends. Thor coughed loudly to alert his brother and the doctor, but it was already too late for them to fall back to a more believably platonic position. Out came Mr. Stark and Uncle Bruce from the elevators, both shocked at the closeness of you and Loki. Tony looked more curious than shocked at the development. Your uncle, on the other hand, radiated a crushing aura, and, although Uncle Bruce’s face seemed calm and collected at the moment, you knew very well that there was anger hidden underneath it. He always warned you about Loki and the danger he could bring if you got involved, so it was no surprise to you if his anger came from both concern and disappointment. 

Awkward air filled the room as the two made their way towards the laboratory’s main table. Loki stepped back away from you, whispering something along the lines of you being okay. You nodded in affirmation then looked down, averting any type of eye contact, and started to fiddle with the sheets of paper you had in hand. 

Sighing, you knew it was taboo to speak of the laboratory’s peace out loud since it always brought bad luck. Now, you’re going to have to deal with the consequences.

taglist: @gaycatlord-stuff​  @aces-tattooartist​ 

[artxyra]

What if Damian and the miraculous class are friends and they have movie nights, but since Damian is in Gotham he sneaks out of the manor and portal via Max & Kalki to participate. The Fam get suspicious and try to figure out where Damian is going every week. When they find out he goes to Paris they try to follow him but the portal closes and they use the tubes instead. They end up crashing in on them watching a horror movie which freaks the class out. Insert yelling and things being thrown.

To: Demon From: Angel

Are we still on for movie night?

To: Angel From: Demon

Yes. Just need to get away from the family.

To: Demon From: Angel

😀

Marinette looks over smiling from her phone. Today is a good day. There were no akuma that needed Ladybug’s attention, nor had she broken up a fight between Max and Kim about the latest game. So yes, she was ecstatic to know this is how her day is going.

“Hey Mars, is Damian coming tonight?” Adrien asks seating next to her playing with a strand of his hair. Ever since he came out to her, their relationship has blossomed beyond a crush to a blooming brother-sister relationship. That and Luka were more than willing to take on the blonde without a second thought. She kind of feels bad for Juleka having to see Adrien on a near-daily basis and with her brother no doubt.

“Yup,” Marinette continues to smile, “I just received word that he’s good to go. All we need is for Kaalki and Max to open up a portal at the designated time.”

“Sweet, I hear that Kim was the one picking out this week’s movie. I hope it’s nothing horror-related.” Adrien pouts causing Marinette to laugh that the poor kitty’s face.

“I’m sure it’s nothing too crazy.” Marinette hopes that it was something simple to follow and an action pack rather than horror. She may love horror games but kwami be damn if she watches a horror movie in the dark that wasn’t comedic.

“It looks like break is almost over, we’ll continue you this later.” Adrien sends Marinette a comforting smile before jumping down into his assigned seat next to Nino. Alya and Nino just walked in holding hands.

“Hey, lovebirds, who’s ready for a night full of fun?” Alya greets the two causing them to roll their eyes at the nickname that no longer pertains to them.

“Hey Als, I should be asking you that instead.” Marinette lifts an eyebrow that accompanies her smirk. Nino and Alya’s faces turn red and they side glance each other. Marinette and Adrien laugh at the couple.

“After class, I’ll be giving a quick speech regarding tonight’s plans,” Marinette states pulling out her classwork and books for class. They all nod in understanding. Just then the rest of the class filed in with matching smiles and asking pertaining to tonight’s activities.

To: Angel From: Demon

Save me from the idiots that I call my brothers?

To: Demon From: Angel

Can’t love, I’m sure it not that bad.

To: Angel From: Demon

For some idiotic reason, they are watching me like a hawk today. I’m currently in the bathroom with the doors locked listening to them bicker outside.

To: Demon From: Angel

Yikes 😬. I’m sure it will die down before you’re required to leave.

To: Angel From: Demon

I doubt that.

To: Demon From: Angel

About that, why did we move our weekly movie night from Saturday to Friday?

To: Angel From: Demon

It’s a half-day at school.

Shit. Talk to you later.

Marinette places her phone down and slowly turns her attention to Mme. Bustier. The red-haired teacher tried to keep her students engaged with the content, but she was losing them faster than on average. Marinette turns to her classmates. Alix and Kim were trying to out strength each other, Juleka and Rose was trying to pay attention but the drooping in Rose’s eyes say otherwise, Sabrina and Chloe—well doing what they usually do—living in their own bubble, Nathaniel was sketching something down in his notebook while Max was pretending to take notes as Markov does it for him. Finally, Mylene and Ivan were also in their own world.

Hours seemed to past in Marinette’s mind before Mme. Bustier concluded today’s lesson. She was so caught up in watching the time that she didn’t realize that was sketching an outfit in her own notebook. Whoops.

“Marinette is there something you would like to add?” Mme. Bustier prompts sending the class’s designated designer a smile.

“Yes,” Marinette gets up from her seat and walks down to the podium. “Tonight is our weekly movie night instead of tomorrow. Do you remember what to bring? If not, please message me before the event. Remember that we are having this event at Chloe’s family’s hotel as it a makeshift theatre room.”

“Daddy says we can have the popcorn maker also.” Chloe interrupts. The class cheers at the thought of the infamous popcorn maker that was usually locked behind the hotel kitchen doors.

“Thank you, Bee, for that tidbit. Now, Max, you are to arrive at the bakery no later than six o’clock. The demon is having a half-day today and I’m ninety-nine percent sure that he’ll want to be here no later than that. Everyone else, you are free to do.” With that and a pretend gavel, Marinette dismisses the class to their next class for the day. 

For Damian, being at school felt like a blessing even if it was a half-day. His brothers have been hounding him all morning. It’s like they are looking for something that isn’t there. Damian’s emotions? Yeah right, they all know he only shows emotions to his beloved animals or animals in general. Damian had to double, triple check the security on his phones because who knows what Drake would find if he had access inside it.

For over six months, he had been going to Paris for movie nights with his beloved and her classmates. At first, he had done it through the zeta tubes but after gaining their trust just enough to be in on the Miraculous Team of Paris, his trips became a lot more frequent. He would make up an excuse about going to a classmate, or Jon’s, house for the night, or to work on a school project. He had gotten away with it for a while, but Tim was the first to notice the lie.

Tim and Conner were having their usually meet up when the Damian had told his family that he was spending time at Jon’s, something that was no unusual. All was fine and dandy until Jon came home with a Damian Wayne. Tim, well it was mainly Dick, had grilled into the young hero about Damian’s whereabouts. Jon either lied or literally had no idea. Which prompted the Batbros to start the search on Damian's weekly disappearance.

Everyone took the day off to “spend time” with Damian. They wanted to trap the teen inside the manor and watch his every movement. Like that isn’t an invasion of privacy or trust.

Alfred brought Damian to the manor around noon. This gives them enough time to hide any open-source of weaponry they could find or items that Damian could use against them in battle. That was a lot of items on the list. Dick inquired for Bruce to hold off on the tracking device as a last resort. He wanted to start everything out with a discussion, but Jason laughs that idea out the window as he cleans his guns.

“The young master is residing in his bedroom,” Alfred speaks walking down into the Batcave.

The Wayne family knew this was it.

To: Angel From: Demon

I’m ready.

To: Demon From: Angel

ETA in 5

Damian smirks at his phone. He loves his girlfriend and how quickly she can manage an entire group of classmates and plan a weekly movie night event.

He had packed his belonging that he usually brings with him when he does to Paris. Which isn’t much.

Four minutes.

Damian thought his ears were playing tricks on him, but they weren’t. He could hear the stampede of footsteps that were no doubt from his family members aside from Alfred. Alfred’s footsteps are like a ghost, you never hear them.

Three minutes.

“Hey little D, since you had a half-day today, why don’t you spend it with us,” Grayson asks the second his bedroom door swings open. Alfred the cat sends a glare to his owner’s family.

“Yeah, Demon spawn, we all took the day off to spend time with you,” Jason adds gas to the fire that was already burning intensely.

“Damian…” Not his father too.

Two minutes.

Damian doesn’t say a word. His eyes bounce from one person to the next and repeat. He didn’t know who to answer them. “Tt.” Was the only word? Sound? That had escaped his lips.

“You need to leave like now.” Damian refuses to have his family find out the very secret he had kept hidden for so long. His quick need for them leaving only pushes them to stay. Worried about various reasons from teen problems to joining the League of Assassins again. They didn’t want to take any chances.

One minute.

Damian could sense the user of the horse kwami becoming active. Soon a blue swirling portal opens up behind Damian. Damian looks at his family and side glances at the portal. The portal wins. The family of vigilantes runs to the portal only for it to close.

“Am I hallucinating or did that just happen?” Tim asks wiping the sleep away from his eyes.

“No, replacement, that really just happened.” Jason states. Tim nods in understanding.

“I’ll do track him down.” Dick sulks at the thought that Bruce was right.

It didn’t take long for the results to come in.

“Uh…so how the hell is the Demon in Paris, France of all places?” Jason shouts from behind his older brother and Bruce.

“The swirling portal thingy?” Tim states the obvious, but it sounded more like a question as he sits down and drinks a cup of coffee.

“Boys we’re going to Paris.”  Bruce states over his sons. From afar, Alfred sighs and goes to prepare the zeta tubes with the destination in mind.

“Uh, civvies or uniform?” Dick asks as they all start to make their way to the zeta tube. This was one of those questions that they linger on for a hot minute.

Before they knew it, Damian had gained an hour over his family.

“It doesn’t matter, we need to know where the little demon has been hiding all this time.” Jason screeches talking over to the zeta tube and teleporting to the location.

Bruce turns to the remainder of his sons who shrugged and follow suit.

Entering Paris, they were further from Damian’s location than anticipated. They follow the tracker with some interruptions. Dick wanted to buy something for Kori, Jason wanted food and Tim needed for coffee. After all that was done, they officially made it to the supposed location of Damian’s whereabouts.

“Why would the little demon at a hotel?”

“Hum, this coffee is really good,” Tim says before taking another sip.

“Boys, focus on the mission.”

“I am focus, Bruce.”

“I didn’t say you were, Dick.”

“Touché.” Dick rubs the back of his arm.  

They enter Le Grand Paris with tensions high and were surprised by how calm and relax the employees were. Jason swears this was just a hoax and they were torturing Damian behind one of these doors. An employee asks them if they are in need of anything. Bruce states that they were looking for his son.

“Is he friends with Chloe and her classmates?” The employee asks.

“Who?” Dick and Bruce ask simultaneously. Jason had dragged Tim off somewhere to look at some things.

The employee eyes the family skeptically.

“Well if he’s not friends with Mlle. Bourgeois, then I suggest heading to the police department and report a missing child.” The employee states before walking away. Bruce sighs and pulls out the tracking device. Damian is so close to them.

“We’re going to find him, right?”

“And drag the brat back to Gotham?”

Bruce in the direction that would be location, he gestures for his children to follow.

Damian was having a blast. In his arms, Marinette sat on his arm clinging to his shirt cursing Kim’s name throughout the film. Kim had chosen a horror movie for tonight’s showing and by kwami it was fantastic. There was no comedic relief, actual horror storytelling leaving the class on the edge of their seats.

Adrien was curled next to Marinette in Luka’s arms. He was also clinging to a body, a certain musician as if he was a frightened kitten.

Just as the MC was about to open the door to the attic, a series of figures jump from the ceiling. Screams in real-life match those within the movie. Popcorn, empty cartons of candy, soda drinks are thrown at the figures. A string of curses follows not long after that.

“Damian, tell your friends to stop.” He knows that voice from anywhere, it was Grayson’s voice. Marinette slides herself off himself.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He screeches in English. Most of the class didn’t have a clue what was being said.

“We wanted to see where you were?”

“We thought you were kidnapped?”

“I just came for the scenery.”

Damian’s eyes twitch.

“That’s nice and all, but can you move? We’re trying to watch a movie here and you’re ruining it.” Chloe stands up demanding the bat-family to move. They all look to one another before subtly moving away from the screen.

Damian places a quick kiss on Marinette’s cheek and guides his family out of the room. He was not happy that they came in ruining his night with Marinette. Now he has to make up for it with something romantic, not that he’ll do it anyway.

“What made you believe that I was kidnapped?” He asks, the second they were out of the room.

“The portal thingy.”

“You not answering any of our questions.”

Damian breathes through his nose. “You’re all idiots.”

“Well movie night is a bust, but we all agree to stay here to continue rather than going home.” Marinette walks into the hall after a moment of them talking—well it was more of a screaming match between Bruce and Damian with some input from Dick. “Will your family be fine without you for a couple more hours?”

“Habibti, these dunces are my family,” Damian states gesturing to his family,

Marinette nods, “Well then, hello, and can we keep Damian for the night?”

Damian walks over to Marinette and wraps his arms around her. “I’ll return from before it’s nightfall in Gotham, father.”

“Uh, sure. Boys lets go.” Bruce accepts the came and walks down the hall. Before either of the brothers could pester Damian about this newfound relationship, Bruce gave them all the bat-glare and demanded that they follow.

“You know you’re going to get pestered, right.” Marinette laughs.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Come on, we have a movie to finish.”

With that, Damian takes Marinette’s hand and walks back into the room.  

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[good-rwbyaus]

First, love this blog, and I love Batfamily Emerald a lot more than I thought I would, second what dose Emerald's think with some other batman characters, like Kate Kane, Duke Thomas, Catwomen, Harely Quinn, Taila Al Ghul (The one who's like The batman animated show Taila, not the one who doesn't ask for cosent, yes I'm bitter at the writers), and Alfread? (Sorry if this was worded bad or something)

Well thank you very much for the compliment! I have a lot of fun working on it, and I like these ideas for further expansion on the mythos. Unfortunately my knowledge on some of these characters is a touch limited so you may not get quite the characterizations you expected...

Batwoman: Seeing as the world of Remnant seems to show no real signs of homophobia, let's take a slight liberty and say the Waynes and Kanes have some bat Faunus heritage on Martha's side of the family. (Yes, that means I'm agreeing with the JL/RWBY comic) Kate was kicked out of the Atlas military when her traits were outed, but she holds no shame in who she is. We'll get into Emerald's icons in her old life, but a badass like Batwoman is certainly someone she aspires to be like as a part of the Batfamily. She may be Bruce's kid now, but Kate is the one to give her pointers on how to play the rich girl act for hoity toity social events. Emerald once offered to try and depict Kate's deceased sister with her semblance, to give Kate a chance to say goodbye and get some closure, but Kate said she's "not ready to dive down that rabbit hole just yet..." Likewise, Kate offered to put Em in touch with a good wig maker for her cowl, but Em thought it might look tacky on her.

Signal: Emerald would definitely feel some amount of relief seeing another hero of color is part of the Batfamily, and she and Duke would bond over their street-wise lifestyles before meeting Bruce. Much like Barbara's story of the world's worst knock knock joke, hearing what happened to Duke's parents made Em all the more terrified of having to ever face the Joker. She has teased him for his powers, which in this world may as well just be his Semblance, basically being "a psychic lightbulb", but over time she's learned just impressive his powers really are.

Catwoman: If she had stayed a thief on the streets, Selina would have been her idol and role model. As a Batgirl, Emerald instead delights in every chance she gets to cross paths with the feline felon who feels like she could be the mom she never had. She sees the way Selina flirts with Batman, and she is absolutely here for it. She can also tell Bruce likes Selina too, and will not hesitate to rib him about it and say they should get together. He gives the same standard response about the mission coming before relationships, and the trust required being beyond what he can allow, but she still ships it. The two ladies have interacted solo as well, and get along pretty well, comparing weapons and pickpocketing feats. When Selina finds out what kind of Semblance Em has she is all the more curious, but Em has to stick to her principles and say the thieving days are behind her. She's only half honest about that, but it would feel like a betrayal of Bruce's trust to take Catwoman up on a partnership.

Harley: Harley definitely has wine aunt energy. She doesn't encounter Emerald much, but when she does her personality makes it like hanging out with another teenager. She brings gifts or surprises sometimes, but usually it's something unusual or useless she swiped at random. Emerald was initially really worried when she heard this was the Joker's girlfriend, but it's a great relief to hear that they're "Splitsville, sweetie~" Harley encourages Batman for bringing more girl power onto his team, and compliments her on her outfit. Hearing first hand experiences of what a dumb bastard clown Joker is definitely helps soothe Em's fears of him. Harleen has at one point tried to psychoanalyze this new bat-brat, and gotten pretty damn close, even pointing out some insecurities and problems Em didn't even realize she had.

Talia al Ghul: Emerald first heard her name in passing, in the context of being Damian's mother. Digging deeper into that story leaves her with a whole heap of questions. The idea of Bruce getting so caught up in a relationship with a woman, short lived as the honeymoon phase may have been, that he sired a child was already a hard pill to swallow. The fact that the woman was the next in line for leadership of an ancient assassin group was even crazier. Still, she could see why Bats had taken a liking to her, and where Damian got some of his quirks. Em doesn't fully trust her, especially with Damian himself a bit wary of his mother's behaviors, but she at least gets a kick out of her mysterious attitude.

Alfred: It took Em a while to get used to having someone around who would attend on her and take care of her in such a way. His wry wit did a lot to help her warm up to him, as did his uncanny ability to know when she needed a nice drink or a warm meal. She likes coming to him to ask about Bruce's childhood, and any funny stories he might have about the Robins, but it is from him she also learns the tragedy of the Waynes. the Graysons, and those dark days after the loss of Jason. Em tries not to leave her bedroom too much of a mess in order to make Alfred's work that much easier, but he assures her he will not mind the collateral of her living her life at ease. Because he has known Wayne Manor and its inhabitants for so long, he's another person Em can never fool with her illusions.

[swan-of-sunrise]

Spellbinding (Chapter Nine-Part One)

Summary: After (Y/N) experiences a health scare tied to her evolving magic, she and Loki decide to take some time off from their Avenger duties to visit Asgard.

Pairing: Loki X Reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Nine (Part I) September 28th, 2015 Avengers Tower, New York City (Previous Chapter)

“How’s the book, doll?”

Careful to not move her head too much, (Y/N) glanced up from her novel to look at Steve, who was entirely focused on sketching her from his spot on the floor of the library. The super soldier’s brow was furrowed and his blue eyes were narrowed in concentration as he hunched over his work, his pencil flying over the large sketchbook resting in his lap. During her first week in the tower while she was still getting to know everyone, Steve surprised her by asking if she could pose for him sometime and she agreed, a little flattered that he wanted to sketch her of all people. It’s nice that he finally has the free time to do this, she thought to herself, knowing how busy he’d been the past few months with his role as the leader of the Avengers. “It’s good, but I think I prefer the movie; the humor doesn’t work as well here as it does onscreen, although that may be my childhood crush on Cary Elwes talking.” She turned the page of the book. “Have you seen The Princess Bride yet?”

The super soldier glanced up and nodded before resuming his drawing. “Yeah, Clint made me watch it a while ago, claimed it was the best movie ever made. It’s pretty good, but the best movie ever made’s actually Casablanca; you can’t go wrong with Bogie and Bergman.” He pulled away from his sketchbook to examine his work before swiftly returning to it. “So, how’s everything going with you and Loki?”

“Everything’s going great,” (Y/N)’s smile widened as she thought about her boyfriend and their incredible two months of dating. “He’s actually been talking about bringing me to Asgard to meet his mother…”

Steve’s brow rose and a bright smile played on his lips. “Meeting his mom, huh? Sounds like things really are going great.”

“Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complicated than that. You see, Loki and Thor haven’t explicitly said anything but I’ve got a feeling that Asgard’s not very welcoming of Midgardians, so who knows what Queen Frigga will think of me…” (Y/N) chuckled lightly, but inside her emotions were swirling. After everything Loki had told her about his mother, (Y/N) was a little nervous at the prospect of meeting such an important person in his life, but she’d been sure to hide her discomfort from him; she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by making him think she didn’t want to meet the Queen of Asgard.

“I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you, doll. Just based on the way Thor and Loki talk about her, she sounds like a very kind woman and I’m sure that she’ll like you a lot. Hell, if you could get Tony Stark to like you after almost killing him, then I’m sure that the Queen of Asgard’s gonna be a piece of cake.”

(Y/N) suppressed her laughter at his words and felt herself begin to finally relax. “Thank you, Steve.”

“Don’t mention it,” Pulling away from his sketchbook to examine it once again, Steve smiled and looked up at her. “There, all done!” With an inward sigh of relief, (Y/N) set her book aside and stretched out her aching limbs. “You’re a lot tougher than the others, you know, they usually whine and complain whenever I have them pose for too long.”

(Y/N) chuckled, slowly getting to her feet and stretching her unusually sore legs; I must’ve pulled a muscle during my mission yesterday, she thought with an inward shrug. “I guess I’m just more patient than they are; ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ can take down countless Hydra agents in a single mission without breaking a sweat yet they can’t sit still long enough to be sketched…almost like puppies…”

Laughing, Steve got to his feet and closed his sketchbook. “Well, thanks for posing for me, doll, and I promise I’ll show it to you as soon as I touch it up.”

They walked side-by-side out of the library and down the hall. “I really should be thanking you, Steve; I’ve seen some of your sketches, and it’s an honor to have such a skilled artist choose me as his model.” (Y/N) grinned when he blushed at her compliment. “We should probably head to dinner; I think I heard Tony mention that Clint was making his world-famous lasagna.”

“Damnit, Sam and Bucky’ll try to hog the whole thing like last time…”

(Y/N) stopped walking, a sudden chill in the air causing her to shiver. “You go on ahead, Steve, I’m going to go and grab a sweater from my room. Save me some lasagna from those bottomless pits while I’m gone?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He flashed her a smile and hurried down the hall to the dining room as she turned and headed to her room. Just as she reached her door, however, she suddenly felt lightheaded. Black spots began dancing before her eyes and she leaned heavily against the wall; gasping for a breath, she tried to call out to J.A.R.V.I.S. for help but not a sound came out of her throat. Her knees finally gave way and she fell into unconsciousness before she hit the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Swirls of purple magic clouded (Y/N)’s vision before clearing to reveal two shadowy figures. They appeared to be a woman and a man but they vanished before she could get a good look at them; suddenly, a strangely-familiar voice echoed in her mind…

“She must never learn the truth of her heritage. The truth will not only destroy her, but the world as we know it…as painful as it will be for her, she must never know about her parents.” The voice waivered a little. “Goodbye, my darling (Y/N). Until we meet again in the stars…”

“(Y/N)? Darling, can you open your eyes for me? Please?”

(Y/N) was pulled out of her deep slumber by another voice. A very distressed, yet achingly familiar, voice. With a small groan, (Y/N) slowly opened her eyes and Loki’s worried face came into view. “Loki?”

Loki’s face broke out into a relieved smile but his green eyes were still filled with concern. “Thank the Norns! How do you feel?”

“I feel fine…a little cold, I guess, but other than that…” She trailed off as she looked around the room, realizing that she was once again propped up on a bed in the tower’s sickbay. “How long was I unconscious?”

“About fifteen minutes,” Frowning to herself, (Y/N) recalled her strange dream. If she’d only been unconscious for a quarter of an hour, then it would be scientifically impossible for her to experience a dream; dreams occur during the REM cycle, usually over an hour from falling asleep. However, Loki continued on before she could say anything about it. “Romanoff and I were just returning from our mission debriefing when the Artificial Intelligence informed us all that you’d collapsed. We found you in the hall and took you down here; Doctor Banner and Stark are running some tests to determine what caused your fainting spell, they should be done any minute now…”

(Y/N) wrapped her arms tightly around her torso, trying to generate enough heat to warm herself. “I think I might’ve overexerted myself during my mission yesterday; I’ve never succeeded in making something explode with my magic before and I probably used too much energy doing it…”

The day before, she and Clint were attempting to take a suspected Hydra scientist into custody in a French hospital but were forced into a high-speed chase through the city; the chase ended suddenly when (Y/N) concentrated her magic and blew up the road in front of the scientist’s car, causing it to skid to a stop and allowing them to finally apprehend him. I suppose that arresting that Hydra scientist and seeing my magic advance so much is worth the extra exhaustion, she thought with an inward shrug.

Nodding, Loki took the blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders before taking her hand in his. “I believe that as well, but it’s wise of Doctor Banner and Stark to evaluate your health just in case.” He tightened his hold on her hand as he continued, “Will you promise me that you’ll be more careful with your magic in the future? Remember, you need to stick around and force me to read that infernal Percy Jackson book series.” Although his voice took on a teasing tone as he repeated her own familiar words, she could clearly see the vulnerability swirling in his eyes; she could only imagine how he’d felt, seeing her unconscious and unresponsive on the ground, and her heart clenched in her chest.

“Of course I will, sweetheart…” With a small twinge of pain to her sore muscles, (Y/N) leaned forward, cupping his cheek with her hand and pressing her lips to his in a gentle kiss. Loki immediately kissed back and released her hand in favor of wrapping his arms around her and tugged her closer to him. When she pulled away, his lips followed after hers and she couldn’t help but smile. “So, does that mean you’re finally going to read them?”

Chuckling, Loki pressed his forehead to hers and grinned. “Oh no, my love, I cannot be swayed that easily-” She interrupted him with another kiss, this time with more passion; running her fingers through his soft hair, she gently tugged on the ends and elicited a growl of satisfaction from him. To her pleasant surprise, Loki’s lips began trailing openmouthed kisses along her jaw and down to the skin of her neck, and she couldn’t hold back her breathless moan when she felt his teeth graze the sensitive spot just beneath her ear.

“Okay (Y/L/N), we’ve got your-geez, get a damn room, you guys!”

They broke apart and immediately noticed Tony and Bruce standing in the open doorway, Tony’s hand clamped over his eyes in disgust and Bruce smiling at the ground in mild embarrassment; (Y/N) was awkwardly holding her head in one of her hands and Loki was grinning roguishly, obviously enjoying the billionaire’s discomfort. “On Asgard, one knocks when they wish to enter a room; do they not have that custom here on Midgard?”

Tony shrugged and removed the hand from his eyes. “Takes too much effort. Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., can you let me know if people are gettin’ hot and heavy in a room I’m about to enter?”

“Of course, sir, although Prince Loki has a point about knocking…”

“Anyway,” Bruce stepped forward and glanced down at the medical charts in his hands. “We finished running some tests and it looks that you have a severe cold, most likely brought on by your over-exertion yesterday. I recommend bed rest for the next twenty-four hours to prevent any more fainting spells, and I’m prescribing some Tylenol and chicken noodle soup for the cold; no solid foods, which is perfect because Sam and Bucky managed to polish off all of Clint’s lasagna by themselves while you were unconscious.” The doctor smiled and patted her on the shoulder as Tony muttered threats against the two offenders under his breath. “You’ll be okay, just be more careful with your magic from now on, all right?”

She nodded and smiled up at him. “Thank you, Bruce, I’ll be more careful. Do I have to stay in here or can I go back to my room?”

“You can go back to your room; I’ll make sure to tell everyone that you’re okay so they can stop worrying, and I’ll speak with Director Fury about giving you some time off to recover. Take it easy, (Y/N).” With one last smile, Bruce left the room.

Tony shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned. “Well…get better, Glinda, and no playing any ‘hide-the-zucchini’ for twenty-four hours, you two…” He giggled to himself as he followed Bruce out of the room, and (Y/N) couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes.

“So childish, isn’t-Loki, what’re you doing?!” (Y/N) gasped in surprise when Loki suddenly picked her up in his arms and scrambled to hold onto his neck as he carried her down the hall to the elevator, afraid that she might slip out of his arms and fall.

“Doctor Banner said that you needed to rest, so I’m carrying you to your room.” Loki smiled cheekily down at her as he stepped into the elevator. “I wouldn’t want you to overexert yourself by walking, my lady.”

“Oh, my savior!” She pretended to swoon in his arms and he laughed at her dramatics. The elevator shot upwards, and (Y/N) rested her head against his chest as she asked, “How was your mission?”

“Child’s play. Romanoff and I had absolutely no trouble infiltrating the meeting and collecting intel. How was your day?”

“I read a little while posing for Steve.”

Loki hummed in acknowledgement and stepped out of the elevator when it stopped. “He didn’t show you the sketch when he finished, did he?” She shook her head as they continued down the hall. “He refused to show me the sketch he did of me as well. I suspect that he’s planning a grand reveal of all the ones he’s done of everyone in the tower…thank you, darling.” He said when she opened the door of her suite for him.

“Steve sketched you?” He never mentioned anything about it before, she thought curiously.

“Yes, he did…and I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I return with your soup and medicine.” After gently setting her down on her couch, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and left the room.

Standing up, (Y/N) took a cautious step forward and when she realized she wasn’t going to fall over, she made her way to her bedroom and changed into a pair of lounge pants and a long-sleeved thermal shirt. Her muscles once-again protested while she changed clothes and she dismissed it as lingering soreness from her collapse and her previous day’s mission as she sat on the couch and stretched her legs out across the cushions. Before she could reach for the magazine sitting on her coffee table, Loki returned with two soup bowls in his hands. “That was quick; maybe I should call you ‘God of Cooking’ instead of ‘God of Mischief!’”

“In this case, darling, I’m afraid that you can’t,” After handing her a bowl and a pill bottle, Loki picked up her feet, sat down and placed them in his lap. “Stark forced Wilson and Barnes to cook it as punishment for eating all the lasagna, so you have the two of them to thank for our dinner.”

“So, what’s the story behind you posing for Steve?” (Y/N) asked, blowing on her soup before taking a cautious sip.

Loki smiled and took a sip of his own soup before answering. “Well, during my first months as an Avenger I kept mostly to myself; I stayed in my room reading the books my mother gave me and only left whenever I was assigned a mission. The others, besides Thor of course, kept their distance and never attempted to be anything more than reluctant comrades-in-arms until my second month here. The others were supposed to be out of the tower, so I decided that I wanted to take advantage of their absence and read in the library for a change. When I arrived, however, Steve was already there and busy sketching the city’s skyline. I was surprised, to say the least; I never expected the soldier to have an artistic side, so I asked him about it. He told me about his childhood dream of becoming an artist and asked me about the art on Asgard; we ended up talking for quite a while, and I wound up posing for him.” Loki smile widened, a hint of admiration in his green eyes. “He was the first Midgardian I came to respect and as I gained his trust, the others soon followed until finally, I was allowed an unaccompanied trip to the local library where I met an incredibly clumsy trainee librarian…”

“I think ‘incredibly’ is a bit of an over-exaggeration, sweetheart,” (Y/N) replied grumpily as Loki smirked. “But I’m glad that Steve gave you a chance, otherwise we may have met under very different circumstances.” She shivered slightly at her own words; she was so busy as an Avenger that it was easy to forget Hydra’s attempted abduction of her all those months ago. To distract herself from her darker thoughts, she swallowed two Tylenol pills and smiled brightly. “Anyways, it’s still pretty early; did you want to read together or maybe watch a movie?”

He gave her a disapproving frown. “You heard Doctor Banner, darling, you need your rest…” When she continued to silently stare into his green eyes, he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in defeat. “You know, those enchanting eyes of yours should be classified as deadly weapons; you wield their power as skillfully as you wield a sword.”

Grinning triumphantly, she took another sip of her soup. “Thank you, Loki, I’ll take that as a compliment.” She scooted closer to him and kissed his cheek as he smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. “How about we watch That Thing You Do? I was listening to the soundtrack this morning and the theme song made me think of you.”

“It’s not like that atrocious Grease musical film, is it?”

“I promise you that it’s better, sweetheart.”

“…Fine.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, (Y/N) slowly opened her eyes and smiled as she looked out her bedroom window; the sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the skyscrapers with a soft golden glow. The beautiful sight turned bittersweet as her thoughts shifted to her aunt. When she was little, her aunt would wake her up early on the weekends so they could watch the sunrise together; as they sipped on hot chocolate, the rising sun would brighten their small kitchen and instantly put the two of them in a good mood. Aunt Evelyn would’ve loved Loki, (Y/N) thought, her smile widening as she imagined the petite woman meeting the towering God of Mischief; it would’ve meant the world to her if the two most important people in her life had been able to meet.

“And Loki feels the same.” She muttered to herself, playing with the edge of her blanket as she thought about the situation. With her mind finally made up, she wrapped her arms around her pillow and continued to watch the sun light up the skyline of the city. When the sun began to shine high above the skyscrapers, there was a loud knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.” The door opened to reveal Loki, already dressed for the day and balancing a tray laden with food in one hand. “G’morning, Loki…what’s this?” She asked, sitting up in bed and putting her glasses on.

Loki grinned, setting the tray down on her lap and carefully climbing onto the bed next to her. “Breakfast in bed, of course; I wasn’t sure if you’d be feeling well enough to breakfast with the others, so I brought it to you instead.”

Smiling, (Y/N) kissed him on the cheek. “You’re amazing, sweetheart, thank you.” Egged on by her grumbling stomach, she started on her oatmeal first.

“Are you feeling any better?”

She nodded. “Yep, my muscles are still a little sore but I think my cold is gone.”

“Good, I’m glad…” Loki paused, an uncertain look on his face as his fingers fidgeted in his lap. “Darling, what would you say if I told you I asked Director Fury just now to give the both of us three weeks off?”

“Well,” (Y/N) began, suppressing her amused smile; she had a sneaking suspicion as to what he was getting at. “I’d say thank you, of course, then I’d ask you if he really agreed to that and if he did, I’d suggest that we use that time to visit your mother on Asgard. What would you say to that?” She gave him a knowing glance as she sipped her orange juice.

Loki’s lips curled into an amused grin. “I’d reply that yes, Director Fury’s been impressed with our ability to do our jobs without our, and I quote, ‘sappy romantic shit getting in the way’-” (Y/N) choked a little on her orange juice and shook her head in exasperation. “I’d assure you that he’s given us three weeks off, and then I’d agree with your suggestion, of course.”

“Oh, of course,” She joked before sobering. “I know that you think she’ll love me, Loki, but to be honest, I’ve been feeling a little nervous about meeting your mother.” When Loki opened his mouth to reply, she placed a finger on his lips to silence him; the comical look of surprise on his face nearly caused her to burst out laughing but she remained composed. “However, I also know that as long as you’re with me, I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“You’re such a hopeless romantic, (Y/N),” Loki breathed before taking her face in his hands and kissing her sweetly. They parted after a moment, but he kept her close by pressing her forehead to hers. “You really are going to love Asgard, though, and I promise you that my mother will adore you just as much as I do; how could she not? You’re the kindest, most intelligent, beautiful woman in the entire universe, after all.”

“Now look at who’s the hopeless romantic.” (Y/N) teased, gently bumping his shoulder with her own as she continued eating her oatmeal. As she was finishing breakfast, Loki regaled her with talk of a rumored pranking war that was going on as a result of the hogged lasagna from the night before; I think he may need this time off more than I do, she thought pensively, watching him as he pondered aloud what clever pranks the others would come up with, a truly cheerful gleam in his eyes as he spoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the next morning, however, things were looking significantly less cheerful. As it turned out, Thor learned of their trip and decided that he would also return to Asgard to give his quarterly report on the state of Midgard to Odin. (Y/N) didn’t have any problems with Thor accompanying them; in fact, she welcomed the presence of another friendly face on their trip, but someone else didn’t see the situation quite the same way she did.

“It’s as if I’m forbidden from visiting my home realm without being on a leash,” Loki muttered darkly under his breath as he paced along the tower’s protruding helipad, his displeasure evident in his scowl and the tension of his jaw. “Held tight by my glorified babysitter.”

“Loki, you and I both know that Thor’s not coming as a babysitter; he has a report to give and it just happens to be three months since the last one.” (Y/N) lightly scolded and continued to play with the hilt of her sword from her spot next to the glass doors. She originally decided to wear her uniform to Asgard and leave her sword in her room, but her gut told her that she might need it. Probably to break up whatever fight Loki and Thor are inevitably going to get into, she thought with a sigh as she glanced at the fully armored Asgardian before her. “So, are you going to bring your mother and Samson those flowers and fruits you told me about while we’re there?”

Just as she hoped, Loki’s mood brightened at her words. “Of course; perhaps I’ll bring you along with me when I do, but I’ll have to procure another horse and teach you to ride first.”

“I look forward to it,” She flashed him a smile as the glass doors opened and Thor emerged, also dressed in his full Asgardian armor. “Good morning, Thor!”

Thor grinned down at her. “Good morning, Lady (Y/N)! Good morning, brother!” Loki’s glare did nothing to damper the Asgardian’s good spirits. “Are you ready to depart?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Yeah, but I think the others wanted to say goodbye before we leave-”

“Keep your pants on, (Y/L/N), we’re here,” Tony quipped as he walked onto the helipad, closely followed by Steve, Natasha and Bruce. “But just so you know, I’m only here to see the My Little Pony bridge, not you guys.”

Rolling her eyes as the others chortled, she gave him a hug. “Try not to get into too much trouble while we’re gone, Tony.”

“Trouble? Me?” Tony grinned when they separated. “Have a good time for me, Morgan le Fay.” He walked over to Thor and Loki and called over his shoulder to her, “Bring me back something cool!”

Steve was next; he wrapped his arms around her waist in his trademark bear-hug. “Keep your chin up, (Y/N), and you’ll knock ‘em dead.”

“Thanks Steve,” (Y/N) mirrored his bright smile and turned to Bruce. “Since you’ll be working on that new project of yours while I’m gone, I asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to remind you to take breaks for meals so promise me you’ll listen to him, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I promise,” Bruce ducked his head shyly before pulling her in for a hug. “It’s gonna be weird not having you around for a month, but you and Loki deserve a break, (Y/N). I hope you guys enjoy yourselves!”

Natasha grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the others. “Have fun, (Y/N), but keep your eyes open and your guard up; you’re dating a prince, after all.” Her lips curled into a mischievous grin. “And I wanna hear every juicy detail about your trip when you get back, okay?”

“Nat!” (Y/N) exclaimed under her breath, a light blush spreading across her cheeks at the spy’s suggestive words; she followed Natasha back to the others and was pleased to see them wishing Loki as well as Thor a good trip. “Well, thank you guys for seeing us off; can you please tell the others ‘goodbye’ for us when they get back from their missions?”

“Sure thing, (Y/N),” Steve nodded and ushered the others away from the circle of etchings the brothers were standing on. “Keep an eye on Thor and Loki, will you? They need all the looking-after they can get!”

Giggling as the two brothers scoffed and rolled their eyes from the end of the helipad, she took her place next to Loki and rested her arm around his waist. “You can count on me, Cap.” She looked up at her boyfriend and smiled. “Ready?”

“Ready.” Loki tore his excitement-filled eyes from hers and looked up at the blue sky above them as he tightly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and as Thor thrust his hammer into the air above.

A moment later, they were encased in a rainbow of lights and (Y/N) caught one last glimpse of the four Avengers waving before the three of them were completely pulled into the swirling beam of colors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wx8TZwpDN0l33tES3W3Nk

Chapter Nine-Part Two

Spellbinding Masterlist

Tagging: @nexiva @ravenclawbitch426 @cminr @confusedfandomwriter @momc95 @nickkie1129 @austynparksandpizza @brooke0297 @destructivebliss @outoftheregular​ @itscomplicatedx​ @0-artemis​ @vivloki​

[batbirdies]

When his alarm went off the next morning it took Jason Herculean effort to pull himself out of bed. More than even on mornings when he’d patrolled the night before. There was at least some satisfaction to staying up late, then. This just felt stupid.

Jason barely slept.

He tossed and turned for hours before he gave up and turned on his lamp to read for a while, only snapping it off and burying his book under the pillows when he knew Bruce would be coming up soon. Then he laid there staring at the clouds outside that he could barely make out in the dim filtered light of the moon until his eyes finally felt heavy enough to fight off his tumbling thoughts.

Now he dragged himself through getting ready, took three tries to get his stupid tie on right, and finally managed to stumble down to breakfast, too worn out to be anxious about who would be there. It was nothing to worry about anyway though, just Alfred and a hot bowl of oatmeal.

Bruce and Dick were both still asleep, apparently. Jason envied them more than he had any right to.

*

Alfred drove him in, as usual, but unlike usual, had to nudge him back awake when they got to the school. Jason snorted as he quickly sat upright, leaning away from the window and blinking from the sun.

“Master Jason... are you sure you’re alright for school today?”

“Hm?” He looked back to find Alfred watching him with lowered eyebrows, clearly concerned.

“It’s unlike you to fall asleep on the way in...”

“‘M fine,” he lied, swiping a hand over his face and opening the car door. “Thanks for the ride,” he said around a stifled yawn, quickly snapping the door closed before Alfred could possibly argue to take him back home. He’d already missed a day a few weeks ago when Bruce was being soft, he didn’t want to make it a habit.

Rich folks could get away with a lot but missing class meant missing lessons and Jason wasn’t just there to get a diploma like most of them.

*

About midway through second period, as Jason was nodding in out of consciousness during a vide on The Constitution, he regretted not taking the out.

He still suffered through it though, managing to give a short progress update on his history report without stumbling too badly over his words, then faded for the rest of class.

Even when he wasn’t falling asleep he was distracted, wondering if Dick would already be gone when he got home from school; if he’d even have a chance to try to fix it in person or if he’d be stuck trying to figure out how to do it over the phone. He didn’t want to do it at all, imagining how it would go... Bruce didn’t yell, or at least, he apologized when he did, but Dick was an unknown and Jason hated how anxious and jittery something as stupid as raised voices made him but it did. He’d invited it on himself, though.

He just worried he’d chicken out and he didn’t... he didn’t want to. Willis had always been like that; he never apologized for anything. Not that he was ever sorry in the first place.

Jason aspired to be just about anything but, and he spent a good long while talking himself into it, already convinced Dick probably wouldn’t stick around passed lunch time. Not like he’d ever been there outside of Bat related stuff since Jason had lived there, and he didn’t know how their talk went after he’d gone upstairs but there was a certain amount of dread in his chest that it couldn’t have gone well. Not after everything else.

But then, as he sat enduring his own lunch, almost nodding off and entirely uninterested in eating, he found himself interrupted.

Generally speaking Jason sat alone in the cafeteria. Maybe not obviously so, but he’d sit at the end of the same table most days where a few kids who didn’t bother him usually sat a few feet down. Someone saying his name from behind as they approached was unusual enough that he didn’t immediately realize they were talking to him. Not until they were right there.

“Jason...Jason.”

He jumped, just a little, hunching over the table as he turned to look at whoever it was, wondering if he’d left a book behind in class or something.

Except that it wasn’t another student, or even a teacher—it was Dick Grayson, nonchalant, hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans, standing behind Jason in the middle school cafeteria.