#Jason is minding his own business when Dick just runs through the alley and grabs him like a football

[varpusvaras]

Time travel AU where Dick travels back in time to a point where he's just starting out as Nightwing, and he spends exactly five seconds panicking about his situation before his brain latches to the single thought of MY BABIES!!

And so Dick speedruns adopting all of his siblings before Bruce can even see them once

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Satisfied, Part 49

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~~~

Marinette chewed on the inside of her cheek anxiously as her watch beeped to indicate that the Gala was starting. She gave Chloe about thirty minutes to enjoy herself and then sent the text behind her back. It didn’t matter if anything she said was legible, Chloe would understand.

The alleyway was completely silent as she waited for the familiar sound of a text tone. She looked up at the sky. The stars overhead twinkled. It was a perfect, cloudless Christmas night... and she was going to be spending it in an alley, then in a warehouse, then attempting to prevent a massacre. How fun. She should be enjoying her time with her boyfriend, dancing at a Gala, but apparently it wasn’t meant to be.

She drummed her fingers across the brick behind her, her irritation spiking. All that work on an outfit for herself and Chloe only for them to get about thirty minutes of use total. Man, if only she could have gotten the bunny miraculous from future Alix. That would have been a good thing to know ahead of time.

Ding!

She was pulled from her stupor and sighed, mouthing the words. Kaalki sprang to her glasses and she felt the familiar rush of energy as she transformed.

And, with that, she was off into the night. Her hand dipped down into her pocket to brush the miraculi she’d brought along. She had a plan, she reminded herself, it just all needed to work out. All she needed was a bit of luck --.

Ah. She was screwed.

Her boots clicked on the rooftops as she made her way through town.

The receiver in her ear beeped and she touched her hand to it.

“Ready, Mari?” Said Jason.

“Not really.” A grin broke across her face despite the circumstances. “If we’re all dying tonight I’m gonna be honest.”

“Don’t say that! You need to be more optimistic!” Said Dick.

She snickered. “Mmmm, fine. Either way, I’ve kinda known you guys’ identities for a while. You Waynes really aren’t as slick as you think you are.”

She used the stunned silence as a chance to turn down the volume on her comm. She’d need it.

There was a chorus of people yelling some form of ‘wait what?!’ and ‘how?!’ and, even with her volume on the lowest setting, she still winced and brought a hand up to her ear.

“I’ll explain later.”

If she could.

But, hey, Dick said to be more optimistic and she could at least keep morale up by pretending like she thought everything would work out.

She hummed lightly as the henchmen came into view. She leaned over the side of the rooftop, watching them wander around aimlessly in search of her. She pressed a hand to her comm. “Right, I’m gonna deafen.”

Everyone mumbled their ‘goodbye’s and ‘good luck’s. She smiled and changed her setting.

Her feet hit the ground and waved to the henchmen. “Right, right, I’m here.”

She doubted they would tranquilize her this time, considering they’d want her in her best shape to keep her portals. So, she beamed as they walked towards her.

She let them force the bag over her head and raised her eyebrow as they led her through the streets on foot. Maybe they were just tired, but that didn’t mean that the tiny difference in routine didn’t give her an extra little dose of anxiety about the whole situation.

But then they pulled the bag off her head and she was in a warehouse. And Harley tackled her in a hug as usual. Everything was fine. She barely even wheezed when she hit the floor, used to this by now. She grinned and hugged back.

“So, is there anything we need to do before we head out?” She asked, resting her head back against the cold stone. Harley had moved off of her by that point but, hey, she was tired and she didn’t want to get up.

“Nothing in particular,” said Riddler, scrolling through his phone idly like always.

She smiled at him. “Cool, I got you something.”

He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“Guess.”

He broke into a grin and turned around in his chair to face her. “Do I get any hints?”

“Only that you wouldn’t need any to solve this kind of puzzle.”

He seemed to think for a while, then rested his head on the top of his chair. “It has to fit in your pockets even with your hands in there, so… a rubix cube?”

She tossed him a Megaminx magic cube. “Close enough.”

He caught it and started fidgeting with it, a smile on his face.

Harley pouted. “I can’t believe he got a gift. I’m your favorite!”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Well, he always looks bored. If you were bored all the time I’d give you something, too.”

“Ha! You didn’t say I wasn’t your favorite!” Said Harley, grinning as she pumped her fist in the air.

She rolled her eyes and rested her head on an arm. Her eyes flickered around calmly and she came to realize that everyone was still in the middle of the room. “Where’s Joker?”

“He’ll be here soon,” said Penguin, a hint of distaste in his tone. “He’s busy with his hair.”

Her shoulders relaxed and she allowed herself to close her eyes. “I’ve always wondered if he just woke up like that or not. Y’know, with the chemicals and all.”

She felt someone come over and lay their head on her stomach and she peeked an eye open to see who it was and then closed her eyes again. Catwoman. Cool.

She rested an arm over her lazily. “You really are like a cat, huh?” She teased.

“Hey, sweetheart, promise me something?” She heard the woman mumble.

“Sure,” she said, sobering a little at the serious tone.

“We all agreed that, if things don’t go well, you aren’t allowed to come save us.”

She frowned. “Um… what?”

“You’re a kid. You need to promise that, if we start getting captured, you have to run. Or portal, whatever. Don’t try and save us. Get out. Okay?”

Tears threatened to come to Marinette’s eyes. Man, couldn’t they all just be terrible people to their cores? She wanted to just put them in jail like she did any other random criminal she stumbled across with Damian, but they just had to be nice to her.

“Okay,” she whispered, her voice tight. “I promise.”

She felt her nod. Or, maybe, she was just burying her face further in her stomach. Either way, Catwoman must have heard because she didn’t press the issue further.

She didn’t even realize she had fallen asleep until she was nudged awake. And by ‘nudged awake’ I mean she was kicked in the shoulder so hard it probably would have broken if she wasn’t in costume. Nonetheless, she still cursed and brought a hand over to cradle it. “Ow? What the hell was...?”

She opened her eyes to see Joker standing over her and her voice faltered. She fought the urge to scramble away in fear, her eyes flickering over his mask. “Uh… Joker, sir, your… face is upside down…”

“It’ll be a great punchline, trust me.”

She nodded slowly and pushed herself up.  “Portal time, I’m guessing?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” said Penguin.

Everyone lined up so she wouldn’t have to make a super wide portal so early on. She was second to last, between Harley and Joker, and she could feel him staring at the back of her head. Her skin crawled.

She took a deep breath. Right. This was going to work out. She just had to… be optimistic.

Damn. If only it was as easy as Dick made it seem. She steeled her nerves.

“Right, good luck, everyone!” She chirped.

She opened a portal at the front and everyone filed through.

She closed the portal behind herself and they made their way through the house. The heels of their shoes clicked against the stone floors as they slipped through the halls. But this was quickly drowned out by the sound of people chattering.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek anxiously as they stepped out into the courtyard. It was always weird when a silence came over a room, because it was never all at once. Silence rippled through the courtyard until the only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat.

And then the screaming started.

Marinette closed her eyes and opened the portals on either side of the manor, blocking the gates. People stopped running to watch the blue portals stretch over the wrought iron. A few brave souls tested the portals to see what would happen and then came back out the other side.

The Rogues went to work, darting through the crowd in search of children. She saw Catwoman climb up a wall with inhuman speed and begin to use a lasso to pull kids out of danger.

Hey! Wait a minute! Marinette’s hands found their way to her waist and she cursed. Fine. She didn’t need a weapon, not as NightMare.

Unable to do much else, she settled for running around and grabbing kids like everyone else. She would grab as many as she could carry, vault over the wall, set them down and apologize profusely, then jump back over for more. She didn’t want to go quickly, she needed the bats to have a bit of time to give plausible deniability, but she was kinda on a time crunch...

Her eyes wandered over people, searching wildly for a familiar red suit. Honestly, why were there so many people in bright red? It’s really not a flattering color and -- there!

She found Chloe hiding out in a corner, probably waiting for the bats, and rushed over. Her gaze flicked over her hairline. She’d smashed her bug. Good.

Marinette grinned and dug into her pockets and held up the bee miraculous. “Tradesies?”

Chloe’s eyes widened and Marinette fastened the pin to the girl’s hair, then pulled the earrings off of her.

“This matches your outfit way better, anyways,” she chirped, giving a tiny wink before putting on her earrings. It felt great to have them again. She grinned. “Tikki, Kaalki, unify!”

“Good luck, right?”

She grinned. “Of course, Queenie.”

They pressed a kiss to each other’s cheeks and darted off in different directions.

Marinette couldn’t show up as a mix of Ladybug and NightMare, and she needed to keep the portals up, but that didn’t mean that she could just sit around doing nothing at all. She settled for jumping onto the roof and yoyo-ing a few people to safety when no one was paying attention.

She felt someone behind her and whipped around, her hand coming up to punch them, only for them to dodge.

She relaxed when she saw it was only Tim. “Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s my fault for just standing there! That was creepy.”

She giggled. “It’s fine, sweetie.”

She felt his fingers interlock with hers and a tiny smile made its way across her face, only to fall as they looked out over the sea of people.

The Rogues were nearly out of kids to take to safety, it seemed. Chloe was on the outer edges, shuffling along and attempting to get as many people out as possible without being spotted.

Their grips tightened on each other’s hands. It was starting to hurt but neither of them were eager to let go just yet.

She swallowed thickly. “How much longer?”

“We’re waiting until they get the kids out, since they’re already doing it for us.”

She nodded slightly.

And then they heard gunfire. Their eyes flicked back down to see Penguin shooting people with an umbrella. It might have been a comical sight if he wasn’t mowing down people at an alarming rate.

She felt Tim’s grip slacken on her hand and held tighter. He paused and she reached out, taking his face in her hands and pressing a short kiss to his lips.

“Good luck,” she murmured.

“One of us has to have it,” he whispered jokingly.

She gave a quiet laugh and let go. He gave her a tiny wink before hopping down.

She surveyed the battlefield, trying to ignore the pools of red and concentrate solely on the vigilantes and Rogues. It was about one-on-one, but the bats did slightly outnumber the Rogues.

Didn’t mean much when they were refusing to kill anyone, though.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek.

Just a few more minutes, she only had to wait a few more minutes…

~~~

Me: oh the Gala stuff will probably be like 3-4k words max so i’ll just have it all in one chapter

Also me: takes 2k words to get through the first part alone

~

Taglist

@comet-kun @thatonecroc @trippingovermyfeet @swiftie-miraculer13 @nickristus-dreamer @moongoddesskiana @i-am-ironic @indecisive-mess-named-me @thebooki3h @insane-fangirl-of-everything @deepestobservationwombat @theymakeupfairies @fatimaabbasrizvi @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanofalittletoomuch @iamablinkmarvelarmy @nathleigh @lilkymilky @silvergold-swirl @dino-lovingreen-angel @thestressmademedoit @kissa-chan @ladybug-182 @alysrose-starchild @t1dwarrior-of-earth @spyofthenightcourt @rowanrouge @nik-nak-3 @momothefemur @aestheticnpoetic @labschaos @our-preciousss @mochinek0 @eliza-bich @mythogaychic @severelyenchantedwonderland @sashakoi @smolplantmum @bluesimani @tropestropestropes @kitsunebell @keepingupwiththemalfoys @sassakitty @2confused-2doanything @too0bsessedformyowngood @all-mights-asscheeks @demonicbusiness @meg-an-ace @fantasiame @qualitypeacepainter @multplelifes @kokotaru @spicybelladonna @ultimatetornshipper

<3

[thebookwormfairy]

Captain The Retired Police Dog Part 6 (Final)

BookwormFairy: Sorry for taking so long, but I'm here with the final part of Captain the Retired Police Dog. I just wanted to thank everyone who've read, like, reblogged, commented, and wrote their own stuff with Captain. When I first started this I had no idea how big ot would get. I will be doing more stuff with Captain, but this is the end of this story. Thank y'all so much for accepting both me and Captain into the fandom.

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

The rest of the trip was like a dream for Marinette

Every chance they got Marinette and Damian would spend time with eachother

And after Ace met Captain she would come along on all of their outings as well

Damian would take Marinette every where in Gotham

From the fashion district to the zoo Damian made sure Marinette didn't miss out on anything

They couldn't explain it, but something just clicked with them

It was like they were meant to be

Damian even met Marinette's parents

Kinda

He video chatted with them and was actually invited over during the summer

Which he whole heartedly accepted but warned the bakers that his family might "unexpectedly" show up with him.

Only to be told that they would be more then happy to meet them as well

Basically Damian took up all of Marinette's free time

Though sometimes, much to Damian's annoyance, the other batboys would come and "kidnap" Marinette and Captain and take them back to the manor.

Marinette didn't mind it so much, except when they didn't even wait for her to get back to the hotel

When the class was done touring Luxcorp, Jason rode up on his motorcycle and took Marinette and Captain

Jason picking up Marinette and grabbing Captain's leash: Hey French people I'm taking her and her dog. Bye

Ms. Bustier: Are you okay with that Marinette?

Marinette: Yeah I know him

Ms. Bustier: Okay have fun

Jason was less then impressed with the teacher's response but took the duo anyway

Another time Tim hacked into the schedule and change the bus route to drop Marinette off at Wayne Tower

Then Dick feeling left out did the responsible (and legal) way and called Marinette's parents to get their permission to take Marinette back to the manor.

Damian was not impressed with his brothers

Neither was Bruce

On the outside at least

On the inside he was so happy to see Marinette and Captain again

Captain wasn't sure how to respond to these strange new people in his and his girl's lives

After a couple of days they did grow on him

But he still didn't let Jason pet him

Mostly because Captain found the older boy's attempts hilarious

And his girl seemed to blossom in this new pack

Captain could see that the spark that he brought back into his girl's eye turn into a whole galaxy

She was almost always smiling and laughing now

To top it all off Alix and Kim finally pulled up their big kid briches and tried to reconnect with Marinette

At first Marinette was very weary of them

And Captain out right growled at them

But slowly they were able to earn Marinette's trust back

Not enough to be able to come on Marinette's adventures with her, but enough so that Marinette would seek them out when stuck with the class

And they would seek her out

Not even Lila could bring her down

And she tried

On this trip alone Lila has stolen several of Marinette's projects, tried to get her sent home with no success, has tried to get Captain detained, and has even tried to lock Marinette in several closets throughout the city, but Marinette somehow always got out.

All in all Lila was harmless

Until the last night of the trip when Lila went too far

Damian had tagged along with the class on their finally outing in Gotham

They went to a teens club somewhere near crime alley

Which is why Damian was with them

They made sure to leave the dogs with Alfred so he could take them back to the manor.

The night was going great

Marinette spent the night dancing with Damian, Alix, and Kim

But mostly Damian

Everything was perfect

So of course Lila had to open her big fat mouth

Lila: Oh yeah I've helped super heroes all over the world. I've even helped Batman put away a few rogues.

Villian kid (Edwin) near by: Oh really who?

Lila: You know all the big guys the Riddler, the Penguin, Two-Face,

Edwin: Hm, the Riddler.....

Lila: Yeah he's not so tough.

Lila continue to bad mouth the Riddler as Edwin called his dad to tell him all about this little, french goody goody who helped but him in Jail.

Riddler over the phone: What an interesting development, I wonder if she would like to play a game? *evil laugh*

Marinette slow dancing with Damian: This has been a great night

Damian: I have to agree with you there Angel. *Damian nuzzles Marinette's hair* I don't know what I'm going to do when you leave.

Marinette: I don't either, but I know I never want this to end.

Damian: Even with my annoying brothers

Marinette: Partially because of your annoying brothers. You know I'm an only child, but I always wished I had siblings, so they're like the brothers I never had.

Damian chuckling: don't let them hear you say that. You'll never get rid of them.

Marinette: Who said I would want to. Especially with how close Captain, Ace, and Titus has become. We'll have to fly out to eachother just so they can see eachother again.

Damian smirking: oh most definitely we be terrible pet owners if we didn't

Marinette catching on: You are so right. You'll be coming to Paris during the summer so I guess I'll be coming back to Gotham during the winter.

Damian pulling Marinette closer even though it didn't seem possible: That's not soon enough.

Alix: Hey love birds you do realize that the slow song ended 2 songs ago right?

Damian glared at the pink hair girl as Marinette backed up slightly blushing

Kim: I don't think they did Alix. How cute?

Damian: Yeah yeah let's go get something to drink.

As the small group made their way towards the bar

But before they could reach it chaos erupted in the club

Teenagers were running towards the exit trying to get away from something the group couldn't see

Somehow in the made dash out Marinette was separated from Alix, Kim, and Damian as they got pushed out of the club, but Marinette was pushed further in the club and gets corralled by a group of minions dressed in green

She scanned around the group of teens that were left seeing that all her classmates made it out except for Lila who was standing in the front of the group, but was trying to get behind the frightened teens

Marinette ended up standing next to her facing on of the famous rogues of Gotham the Riddler

Riddler: Hello kitties so sorry to interrupt your night out, but I heard one of you tattletells are the reason I was thrown back in that hellhole we call a prison so I'll give the little pest a chance to step up and we'll play a little game if they win you will all be let go and the pest will die, if they lose, well you all die. Either way that person dies so come on speak up or should I just kill everybody right now.

Lila without a second thought: It was her Marinette!

Marinette: What?!?!

Lila: Yeah it is all her she was the one who was bad mouthing you.

Marinette whispering to Lila: I knew you were mean Lila, but this is just pure evil

Lila smirking at Marinette: Why so shocked Dupen-Cheng? I know you, you wouldn't put innocent lives in danger so there's no way you'll deny it and this way I can get rid of you for good.

Marinette continued to glare at the evil girl as she was pulled up towards the Riddler

Riddler: Well aren't you a little cutie. Is what the loud mouth said true are you to person who helped put me in jail?

Marinette through clenched teeth: Yes

Riddler: Well here's the game goody goody I'm going to tell you a riddle and if you answer correctly we're going to play a game of Russian rullet *Riddler holds up an old revolver* you might get killed, you might not, but if you get on wrong then you get shot with this *Riddler holds up a newer hand gun* instant death. Are you ready?

Marinette trying to hide her fear: Yes

Riddler: Oh what a brave little girl. What is full of holes. But still holds water?

Marinette a little surprised by how easy the riddle was: A spongue

Riddler holding the old gun to Marinette's forehead: Correct

Riddler pulls the trigger as Marinette flinches but only a click is heard

Riddler: Well you live for another riddle. What can you break without picking it up or touching it?

Marinette: A promise

Riddler : Correct again

Riddler repeated the process and got the same result

This process continued for another 10 minutes and both Marinette and the Riddler were starting to get annoyed

Marinette because the riddles were to easy and Riddler because she wasn't dead yet

It should be impossible for her to be still alive

The gun did not have this many rounds

Riddler growling: Okay, Jim and Kate go to the zoo and get eaten by the sea lions but nobody freaks out, why?

Marinette rolling her eyes: Now you just stealing riddles from TheOdd1sout. They're both fish.

As Marinette answers she hears a loud crashing sound

Riddler and his goons look up at the noice and Marinette takes the opportunity to escape

She swiftly pulls Riddler's belt off him causing his pants to fall

She then uses the belt to knock both the guns out of his hands the wrapping the belt around of one of his hands flips over his shoulder grabs his other arm and tie them behind his back using the belt

To add insult to injury she kicks him in the back of his knees bringing him completely down

As Marinette looks up she sees the goons being tied up by Batman and his sidekicks all with shocked looks on their faces

In fact everybody was completely shocked by what Marinette just did

Though unnoticed by her Robin's shocked faced soon turned into a lovesick smile

That's his girl

Batman walking up to Marinette: Good job civilian, we'll take it from here, there are some people waiting outside for you.

Marinette: Thank you Batman

Marinette and the rest of the captured teenagers ran out of the club as soon as possible

They were so busy trying to get away from the trauma they just experienced nobody notice Robin slipping away trying to meet his Angel up front

As Marinette made it out she was bombarded by police officers and camera flashes from reporters

Gordan: Okay boys break it up I'll take this one

Gordon wrapped his arm around the young girl who reminded him of his daughter

Gordon: I know you've been through a lot tonight but can you please tell me what happened?

Marinette nodded her head going over everything that happened including what Lila said to her

Gordon was shocked by what Marinette told him both about how she took down the Riddler and how Lila basically tried to kill her

Gordon: Okay thank you, you go over to your friends while me and my officers gather more information.

Gordon pointed her towards Alix and Kim

As she runs towards her friends she was engulfed in a group hug

Marinette pulling back from the hug: Are you guys okay? You're not hurt are you? Where's Damian? Is he okay?

Kim chuckling: Classic Marinette worrying about others instead of her self

Alix: We're fine Marinette. We got out pretty quickly but we got separated from Damian in the mad rush

Marinette got a worried look on her face as she started twisting around searching for the man she loved

Damian bursting through the crowd: ANGEL!

Marinette running towards Damian: DAMI!

The young lovers ran to eachother embracing eachother in a long hug

Marinette buried her head in his chest letting out a sob as everything caught up with her.

Damian burying his face in her hair: Shh Angel everything's okay now. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you. I should have never let go of you

Marinette sniffling into Damian's chest: It's not your fault Damian you had no control of our separation

Damian: I still should have tried harder to stay with you.

The two stayed together refusing to let eachother go afraid that if they did so the other would be lost

They stood there for 30 minutes just hugging eachother as Kim and Alix joined them trying to cheer Marinette up

Gordon walking up to the small group: Several other people collaborated with your story. Ms. Rossi will be takened to the French embassy to be held until your classes flight back to Paris tomorrow we just need to know if you want to press charges?

Damian angry: Of course she'll want to press charges! That girl tried to have her killed!

Marinette softly: I'll handle this Damian. *Marinette turns around to face Comissioner Gordon with Damian's arms still wrapped around her* I would like to press charges Mr. Gordon this has gone on too long, I would also like to look into getting a restraining order on her.

Gordon: of course, we'll make sure that Paris police force understand what happened and your request.

Marinette: Thank you

Ms. Bustier yelling: Okay everybody time to head back to the hotel.

Gordon: Wait one moment Miss but Ms. Rossi is going to be retained at the French embassy for attempted manslaughter of Ms. Dupen-Cheng

Alya: What? Is that what Marinette told you? You shouldn't listen to her she's nothing but a liar.

Gordon: Actually we're doing that not only on Ms. Dupen-Cheng's testimony of events but several other witnesses who heard and saw Ms. Rossi threaten and admit she was trying to get Marinette killed and we also have video from the security cameras showing the same thing. Boys take her away!

Lila most certainly did not go quietly she was yelling all the way to the police cruiser threatening that as soon as she was back in Paris she will be Akumatize and finish the job that Riddler couldn't

Marinette watched terrified as Lila was taken away knowing very well that she would keep her promise if given the chance

Damian tightened his hold on Marinette trying to comfort her: Dont worry Angel I won't let her do anything to you

Marinette pressed herself to Damian trying to get as much comfort from him as possible.

Ms. Bustier grabbing Marinette's arm: Come on Marinette it's time to go.

Marinette looked over at her classmates seeing the murderous glares directed towards her from some of Lila's more dedicated followers

Marinette: I don't want to go back to the hotel Ms. Bustier

Ms. Bustier sighing: Please don't be difficult Marinette. You've already caused enough trouble tonight just get on the bus before you ruin the night for everybody else

Damian: EXCUSE ME! ARE YOU-

Marinette: I'VE CAUSED ENOUGH PROBLEMS?!?!? ALL I'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO IS NOT CAUSE PROBLEMS!! AND IT'S NEVER ENOUGH! WELL I'M TIRED OF BEING YOUR PERFECT EXAMPLE! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PRESSURE THAT PUTS ON MY SHOULDERS! IT'S YOUR JOB TO TEACH YOUR STUDENTS TO BE BETTER PEOPLE NOT MINE! AS SOON AS WE'RE BACK IN PARIS I'M DONE! I'M TRANSFERING FROM YOU CLASS HELL I'M GOING TO TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL IF I CAN BECAUSE I AM SO DONE! I'M DONE WITH THE BULLYING, I'M DONE WITH THE PRESSURE, AND MOST OF ALL I'M DONE WITH YOUR PACIFIST BULLSHIT!

Marinette was huffing from her outburst finally letting everything out after such a long time.

Marinette could her some clapping throughout the crowd but ignored it turning her attention to Damian.

Marinette: Do you mind if I stay at the Manor tonight?

Damian: Of course Marinette let me call Alfred to come get us and I'll escort you to your hotel room so you can gather your stuff

Marinette: Thank you

After a couple of minutes not only did Alfred show up, but so does Tim, Jason, and Dick

All ready to to kick ass and take names of anybody who even dare look at her the wrong way.

When they got to the hotel they surrounded her like a wall blocking her from reporters and classmates

Marinette gathered her stuff as fast as she could thanking herself for being smart and packing ahead of time

Once they got back to the Manor Captain tackled Marinette

Licking and cuddling into her trying to comfort his girl

He couldn't believe he let her be put in so much danger

He should have never let her out of his sight while is such a dangerous city

Captain let out a whimper trying to convey how sorry he was

Marinette: It's okay Captain I'm fine, I'm safe and everything is going to be fine better than before even.

Captain still stayed close to her side

Titus and Ace did also sensing the distress rolling of the girl followed her

As Marinette slipped into the bathroom she was finally able to comfort and thank Tikki for saving her life by using her power to make sure the bullet never got shot

And also promised to slip some cookies to her as soon as she could

After getting a good hug from each of the Wayne's and Marinette grabbing some cookies for Tikki she made her way to her guest room just wanting this night to be over.

When the Batfam was sure Marinette was in for the night they made their way down to the batcave to discuss what happened

Damian: Father if you think I'm going to let Marinette out of my sight after what happened tonight you're crazy

Bruce: Think this through Damian smothering isn't going to make her any safer it's just going to make her resent you.

Jason: I dont like it anymore than you do Demon Spawn but he's right. You can't hover over Marinette her whole life, but we do need to look into what's going on in Paris more.

Dick: You're right Jason, Rossi was saying something about being Akumatized and killing Marinette that can't be good.

Bruce: Your right Dick. So when Damian goes to Paris in a couple of weeks we'll come along and assess the situation and see if we need to step in

Damian: If Marinette gets even a scratch on her I'm going to do more than just step in I'm going to find whoever responsible and dual them to the pain

Tim: Did you just quote Princess Bride

Damian: I watched it with Marinette a couple of days ago

The rest of the batfam: Awwww

Dick, Jason, and Tim giving Brice a weird look

Bruce: Don't judge me

Marinette tried her best to fall asleep that night cuddling up to Captain but she jus couldn't

When the clock showed it was 1am Marinette decided to seek out Damian

Marinette: Captain? *perked up and looked at his girl* Can you please help me find Damian?

Captain jumped off the bed and headed to the door

Before Marinette opened the door she turned towards Tikki

Marinette: Tikki I'm going to go see if I can sleep with Damian do you want to come with or stay here?

Tikki: I'll stay here Marinette. I don't want you stressing about keeping me hidden tonight

Marinette: Okay Tikki good night.

Marinette followed Captain down a couple of doors before they stopped in front of the door

Marinette knocked on the door and after a couple of minutes Damian opened the door looking a little ruffled from sleep

Marinette: Sorry to wake you Damian, but can I please sleep with you tonight

Damian: Of course Angel come on

Damian and Marinette settled into Damian's bed seeming to fit together perfectly as Marinette rested her head on Damian's chest and he wraps his arms around her keeping her close

Captain made himself comfortable next to Titus but also lays across the young couple's legs

The next day Lila was sent on a later flight back the Fance to a town outside of Paris so that she wouldn't be akumatized by Hawkmoth and she can face the consequences of her crimes

Marinette shared a long goodbye with the Wayne's in the airport

They were nice enough to upgrade Marinette's seat to first class and even got Captain a seat so he didn't have to stay in the cargo hold

And as Marinette said her goodbyes to the people who've became her second (or third is you count Jagged, Penny, and Clara) family Captain was saying goodbye to Titus and Ace

Captain: I'm going to miss you guys so much you have become my pack and I wish I could take you with me

Titus: And I wish you could stay, I love you

Titus gave Captain a big lick to the side of his face

Captain: Thanks Titus, I... love you too

Titus: I'm going to cry

Ace giggling: Thanks for that Titus

Ace nuzzling Captain's neck: I love you Captain I wish we can stay together.

Captain nuzzling her back: I wish I could to your my mate and I hate to be away from you for so long, but my girl needs me, but I heard our humans talking and they do plan to visit eachother again so we will be together again. One day permanently I can tell.

As the girl and her dog boarded the plane they may be leaving their loves behind today but it won't be forever

Thanks to this trip Marinette is a stronger person, and Captain learned to be a little softer

As Kim pass he tried to give Captain a pat on the head only for Captain to give him a little growl before he could

Like I said he learned to be a LITTLE softer

Bonus

2 weeks after returning from Paris Marinette recieved a very interesting call from Damian

Damian: Hey Angel weird question but is Captain fixed

Marinette: Oh no, after everything that happened to him it just seemed cruel to do that to him too. Why?

Damian: Because Ace is pregnant Captain is the only one who could be the father

Marinette shocked: What?

Marinette looking at Captain: You little hound dog.

Captain: What?

@felicityroth @northernbluetongue @mystery-5-5 @sidefrienda @tbehartoo @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @sonif50 @t-nikki10 @dawnwave16

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Lights Out 

                                                  Prologue

It's a cold and cloudy, wintry Tuesday morning, the type of day you would rather be curled up in your home with something warm, then out in the freezing cold. The streets were calm and quiet than usual, which was odd regarding Gotham City. People were bustling about through the biting chill of the breeze to their destinations, not paying any mind to one another. Among the bustling crowd is a (h/c) girl making her way to the local cafe, where she works as a barista and baker. Briskly walking to get away from the cold, she weaves her way through the crowd with thoughts of warm coffee and fresh baked goods in mind. Walking up to the front doors of the cafe, she unlocks the door letting herself in, heading to the backroom. She opens her locker and puts her stuff inside before heading behind the front counter. Putting her apron on she starts baking the pastries for the day. While preparing the mornings stock of goods,  she hears the cafe door chime, she looks up seeing her coworker walk in. "Hey Y/n. Here early as always." she says groggily. "Hey Amelia. Yeah you know I have to be here early to start baking." Y/n laughs. "Right, we'd be out of business without your delicacies. I get that but how can you be up so early?" Amelia yawns, "Well I actually wasn't sleeping. I had a couple of papers due, so I stayed up to finish them," She admitted dusting off the remaining flour on her apron, finishing the pastries. "Alright, alright, but you better go home and get some sleep after your classes," she says with a hand on her hip and the other pointing in a scolding manner. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." 'Ameila, always the mother hen,' Y/n laughs to herself, getting back to work.

        After finally opening the cafe for the early morning rush of freezing commuters, Y/n gets to work taking customer's names and orders while Amelia gets the pastries ready. It's not long before the rush comes to slow, a few people sitting around taking in the warmth before beginning their day. It's almost time for Y/n to end her shift after she takes her last order of the day, a tired looking college aged guy walks through the door bundled up in an expensive looking winter jacket with a hoodie underneath and a pair of joggers. "Hey there, Tom. Here for the usual?" the cheery (h/c) girl asks, " Yes but I think I'll try one of your pastries today." He says with a tired smile,  " What would you recommend Y/n." "Sure thing Hun. I like most of the stuff here except the lemon tart, but that's mainly because I don't care for the bitterness so early in the morning, add your plain black coffee to the mix and you're in for one hell of an after taste." She laughs and he chuckles before she continues, "But my favorite is the apple and cinnamon muffin, especially for a cold morning like this." "Yeah the lemon and black coffee doesn't sound so good, but the apple cinnamon sounds like what I need. I'll take that," Tom chuckles, paying for his coffee and muffin.

      'She seems happy even for this early in the morning,' I think. 'But isn't she always.'  Smiling to myself as I walk to my usual table in the back, I sit down and pull out my laptop checking over a paper for my first class before thinking back to the barista. I come here every morning before class for my regular coffee, trying to keep my eyes open. I use to make the long trek a few blocks away from campus before this place opened up right by my apartment. I made the lazy decision to try the place out when I couldn't make myself trudge the extra few blocks. I thank my tired state of mind for that everyday since. My first time here, it was packed, I almost walked right out, but something stopped me. With my feet rooted to their spot in line, I patiently waited my turn. When I got to the counter with my beverage already in mind, a black coffee, can't go wrong with that. I lost my train of thought though once I was greeted by the barista. 'Hello, what can I get you this morning?' Came her sweet resounding voice. I could tell she was trying to hide the tiredness in it and she was doing a good job at it too. If I didn't know any better I'd think she was a natural morning person, but being a detective aided me with miniscule things like that. 'Uh, yeah. Could I get a black coffee?' 'Sure thing! What's the name?' 'Tom,' I reply not thinking clearly, being caught off guard by both her and my tiredness 'Okay, Tom, that'll be out in a few,' she says handing me my change. I walk off to the farthest table in the back and wait for my coffee. "Order for Tom! One black coffee and a cinnamon muffin!" I'm pulled from my musings by a familiar voice calling my "name". I mentally face palm every time I remember the encounter. If Dick, Jason, or even Damian were there, they'd give me so much hell for it. I get up from my spot to get my order. "Here you go. Hope you enjoy the muffin." She smiles as I take my coffee and muffin back to my table. Sitting down again, I can't help but note the same smile she always wears, looks more like an accessory than genuine at this point. But I don't think she's realized that herself yet. 'God, what am I thinking. I don't even know the girl and I'm already trying to wrap myself up in her' I sigh putting my laptop back in my bag and leaving. As I'm walking to campus, drinking my coffee and eating the apple and cinnamon muffin, I can't help but think about how the muffin melts in my mouth. Warm and soothing, with a sweet and crisp taste. It really is good, no wonder it's her favorite. Reminds me of the cute barista,"Y/n," I whisper her name. As much as I try, I can't help but smirk as the name rolls off my tongue.

            A few minutes after "Tom" left, Y/n ended her shift, heading to her first class of the day.  The only thing on her mind being the new murder mystery book she'd gotten from the bookstore a few days before. She just couldn't wait to continue reading it again. If it wasn't the book on her mind then it was the next episode of her other new obsession; Crime Time Mysteries. A new TV series about old and new cases some solved and some unsolved. Some of the cases even happened in Gotham. Not that that was a surprise. It's the one thing that keeps Y/n in town. As odd as it sounds, crimes have become a big part of her life, in regards to books, movies, and the media. Her father was a crime author. She grew up helping her father with his ideas. So it goes without say why she can't help but be pulled in by the enigma that is Gotham. Even at the cost of her own freedom. 

                                                             Accused

What's going on?  

Where am I?

      Why am I covered in blood?    

Amelia?

        Amelia, where are you?  

   Sitting up, you looked around trying to gain your bearings. Once your eyes focus on the room room around you, you can tell your on the bathroom floor in Amelia's apartment. 'What the fuck is going on...?'  Helping yourself up, you stagger out of the bathroom, you hold yourself up against the hall walls, your legs feeling like their jelly, you have to force yourself to stay leaning on the wall. Staggering to the living room, you drag yourself from the hall to the kitchen counter, using it as leverage to support your body weight. Getting to the entrance of the kitchen leading to the living room, you slip on something, falling on your ass. Laying on the guard, you can feel something sticky all over your arms and legs. Lifting yourself up on your knees, you look at your limbs and around you seeing some sort of dark liquid all over the floor in the dark apartment.    Registering the metallic smell of blood, your not fully comprehending what you've walked out on. Your head is pounding and your whole body is numb but hurts all the same. You try to get yourself up again but fall, laying on the ground, you just stay there trying to focus on gaining your senses back.  

   Your jolted out of nowhere, having blacked out, by the sound of banging on the apartment door and you hear yelling too. Having gained feeling back in your body, you sit up again, looking around and taking in your surroundings. Your completely horrified to find yourself covered in blood. Getting up you try to stand up but you trip over something, looking over your shoulder, your petrified to see Amelia's dull, blank eyes staring at you. Screaming you try to crawl away from your dead friends body. Too caught up in your own horror, you don't notice the apartment door being kicked open. Gotham City's police department is rushing into the apartment and surrounding you. Your so confused and frightened, you're being yelled at, accused of murder.  You don't know what's even going on. You're being pulled up harshly and thrown into a wall, having your Miranda rights shouted to you. You're so out of it, you don't register your body throwing and flailing around trying to get out of the officers hold. You can't even hear your own voice as you scream that you didn't do anything.

   Finally being able to weasel yourself away from the police officers, you run to the apartment window, throwing yourself through it. Rushing after you, the officers aren't able to grab you before you've thrown yourself through the window pane, and begin to fall along the side of the apartment complex. Landing in a dumpster, you lie their for the briefest moment, before launching yourself out of the dumpster. Hooked on pure adrenaline, you're barefoot, covered in blood, wearing sleeping shorts and a tank top running down the empty alley trying to look for somewhere to go.

   Coming across a hole in the side of a building, while wandering around an alley, you try squeezing yourself through the hole, being able to get yourself through. Pulling yourself into the building, you look around seeing the place is some warehouse that looked abandoned. Sighing to yourself, you walk around, wandering up a staircase leading to an office. You sit yourself under a window, trying to calm down from all the adrenaline, you take the time to really take in your appearance. You're covered in blood and dirt, with bits and pieces of glass in your skin. Your tank top and sleep shorts are ripped and torn, and your bare feet are caked with more dirt, blood. There are even some pieces of rocks, gravel, and glass in the bottom of your feet. Trying to figure out what the hell happened, you try to focus on remembering the last thing you did. But you can't think straight, your head is throbbing. Curling in on yourself from the intense pain, you let yourself fall into a heap on the ground, giving into the overwhelming pain, you let yourself drift off again. But there won't be any peaceful sleep from this day on, only the restless need to run. Run for your freedom, for your life.  

A/n: This is a story I’ve been working on my  wattpad account. I have a few other WIPs on there too, that I might post later on depending on the feedback I get on this one, This is the story regarding the mystery/thriller obsessed Reader who ends up being accused of her best friends murder. While on the run she meets a local hero who can already tell that Y/n is innocent. They offer to help her prove her innocence. With her knowledge of crime based media, the hero and Y/n compile all the evidence that’ll prove her innocence, once and for all. Along the way they’ll come across heroes and villains alike, who all have their own intentions for being involved. 

[supeson]

pirate’s progress

You’ve been going out twice a week for about a month now, and he can’t figure out why. Alfred had told him one night, after patrol. He was bone tired, ready to drop into bed, only to get up in about four hours for work. 

“Glad to see the both of you got back in one piece tonight. I was worried I would have to go to sleep in this big empty manor by myself.” Alfred gathers up pieces of the suit to wash later in the day, while Bruce showers off from the night’s events. 

“Both of us?” He asks, head popping out from behind the flimsy curtain. He grabs the hanging towel and disappears again. 

“Yes, sir, both of you.” Alfred says your name with a hint of amusement. “...has been leaving the house after you go off on patrol. They always come back right before you come in for the night, sir. I assume one or more of the children is helping them. They seem to come home in pairs.”

“Hm.” Bruce doesn’t say anything more, but Alfred knows what’s going through his mind. He can see the wheels turning. He’s done his job.

                                                            *

You’re not very good at hiding where you’re going, Bruce thinks as he follows you from the Manor to the city. You’ve gotten a lift from a friend, and the two of you go out to eat. You’re at the restaurant for about an hour, before you say your goodbyes, a bag of food in hand. Bruce watches you as your friend asks if you want a ride home, but you decline, saying you have some business in the city. For a split second, before his rational mind can catch up, he thinks you’re cheating on him. You would never of course, but still.

You walk for about three blocks, checking your phone constantly, before a hand pops out from an alley and taps you on the shoulder. Bruce almost immediately jumps down from the rooftop he’s on, but you start...laughing? You follow the hand into the alley, and Bruce grapples his way across the street. The alley is well-lit, and there’s a small sports car sitting in the center of it. 

“You think you’re ready to try your hand at parallel parking tonight?” Dick asks, rounding the car, opening the passenger side door. 

“Oh fuck no. Is that on the test? I don’t think I can do that, Dick, what if I-” Your eyes are wide, and Bruce thinks it’s adorable. He continues to watch the scene unfold before him.

“Relax, you’re a good driver. Besides, Jason’s here to help too,” He says, popping the seat forward. 

“Did you bring my end of the deal?” Jason asks, hand feeling around on the top of the car. 

You roll your eyes. “Yea yea here are your burritos.” You slide them across the roof of the car and he catches them without even looking. 

“Great. Hop in and we’ll start cruising.”

                                                               *

The three of you drive around for an hour or two, making several stops along the way. Bruce follows along in a disguised car, suit stashed in the back. He quick-changed into a regular outfit, content to watch you drive around. He’s confused as to why you didn’t just tell him you were trying to get your license in the first place, he could have taught you how to drive. After all, Alfred had taught him. 

Jason brings it up before he can. “So why not ask the big bad Bat to teach you? I’m sure he could hire the best instructor in the world. Probably teach you stick too.”

You let out a sigh through your nose, focusing on your mirrors and the road. “Because I’m trying to be more independent. I don’t want to have to rely on other people when I’m a fully capable, mostly functioning adult. I feel bad needing to be driven around all the time. Alfred’s a busy man, and I can’t always rely on one of you guys to take me somewhere.”

“But I’m sure Moneybags Wayne wouldn’t mind. He’d do anything for you, y’know,” Jason says, stuffing the last of a burrito in his mouth. 

“Yes, I know, Jason, but that’s not the point, the point is that this is for me. I’m doing this for me.” You’re getting a little annoyed, and it shows, and Dick gasps, going “Speed limit!”. You make a noise and brake a little, dropping back down to an appropriate speed. Dick points you to an empty parking lot, and you pull in, braking and putting the car in park. You leave it running, and get out, stretching your legs. Dick gets out too, coming around to talk to you.

“Hey, don’t listen to Jason, he’s just a jerk for no reason. It’s a good thing you’re trying to get your license. You’re improving your quality of life.” Dick lays a hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring smile.

You kick at a rock in the parking lot. “Yea, I know. Being a dick is built into his DNA. Was that before or after the Pit?”

“A little bit of both, I think,” A voice says from behind you. The two of you turn around to see Bruce standing there, his own car behind him, off. 

“Hey guys? Bruce has been tailing us since we got in the car, just thought you should know,” Jason says, head hanging out of the driver’s window. 

“Oh go choke on it, Todd.” You’re a little pissed, to say the least. You were hoping to surprise Bruce with your license, driving up to Wayne Enterprises or something. Dick goes back to your car, whacking Jason across the head as he passes him. 

Bruce walks the two of you further away. “So why didn’t you want to tell me you wanted to get your license. I could’ve taught you how to drive. Or, at the very least, hired someone.”

“But that’s just it! I wanted to do this myself! I wanted to get my license, and never have to ask anyone to take me anywhere anymore! I’m tired of relying on others to get where I need to go. I wanted to surprise you by me being the one to drive you to work, or to an event. Hell, even down to that pretentious gelato place you like!” You’re crying now, the frustration overflowing in your tears. 

“Well, I’ve seen how well your drive, as evidenced by tonight. Do you want to drive us home?” He asks, rubbing your back. You wipe at your cheeks and nod. 

“I think if I have to get back in the car with Jason, I might see how many quick stops it takes to put him through the windshield of Dick’s car.” Bruce barks out a laugh and leads you to his car. 

His two eldest watch as you leave the lot. “Y’know, they might actually bring down his insurance. He won’t be too inclined to make every Batman injury a Bruce Wayne vehicle accident if they’re on his policy,” Dick points out.

[jinmukangwrites]

Explosion

Whumptober day 2

Summary: Tim’s definitely not feeling the best, and Jason reevaluate some things.

Warnings: Blood, description of injury, Jason swearing

-o-o-o-o-

Tim comes to first noticing how dark it is, and then the pain hits before he can process much else. He hisses as a bolt of pain races up his spine and he writhes as that bolt travels through his chest and down his arms then up to the base of his skull in the world's most agonizing migraine.

He can't focus on anything, he can't even move. His stomach is rolls and he desperately turns his neck, resulting in another wave of pure suffering tossing over his entire body, the smell of acid and blood reaches his nose.

He forces himself to stay still, holding his breath, chanting don't move don't move don't move over and over inside his mind. After what feels like a few minutes, the pain subsides, he releases the breath he was holding slowly to not trigger anymore waves of pain. Once he gets himself into a steady breathing rhythm, he begins to think.

The migraine is powerful, but his still movements and steady breathing has seemed to calm it to just a strong headache. He can think. Tim's always thinking, there's no way he'll let a little discomfort stop him from doing it.

He thinks about where he is, and the answer quickly becomes apparent that he has no clue. He can feel harsh, jagged rocks under his back, pressing into his shoulder blades uncomfortably, but that's the most that he has. He's not quite willing to open his eyes yet, just a tiny fearful of what he'll see or won't see, so he instead begins to focus on the last time he knew where he was.

It takes a minute. The last thing he can remember is from when he was standing behind Bruce as Bruce worked on the computer, pulling up different files relating to something to do with guns. He needed Tim to investigate something while he and the demon brat worked on a different case. Tim… left after that, going as Red Robin towards some kind of… warehouse? Yes, it's a warehouse. It's all slowly coming back.

He went inside the warehouse, finding it empty besides a few wooden crates. He opened one and… and…

Fire. Pain. Red and heat. A large boom that has his ears bursting.

Darkness.

An explosion.

He was just in an explosion.

He opens his eyes now, to keep himself from panic, his breath hitching. The first sight he sees is the result of his rebelling stomach from earlier. He wrinkles his nose and looks away, careful to not move his neck. He has a suspicion of why his spine hurts so much and he's not willing to prove it quite yet. He's on his back, so he has to look to the left to look up, and thankfully the sight of the sky greets him.

He's not buried, but when his eyes travel to his lower body all thoughts of relief leaves him.

No, he's not buried, just pinned under a giant support beam. It's over his stomach, but with all the rubble it's miraculously positioned so he's just very efficiently pinned, not at risk of suffocation. He would sigh in relief, but seeing the beam seems to remind him that he's in pain no matter how dulled it is from his persistent lack of movement. He winces at the aching in his chest and hips, he can feel various cuts and burns along his arms, and along his face come to think of it. The scent of blood in the air is so prominent that he knows he's bleeding, but his entire body has much the same ache so he can't pinpoint where the blood could be coming from.

He could be bleeding to death. His spine could be permanently damaged. Great. Another thing to add to his list of things wrong with him, he'll put "spine damage" next to "missing spleen" and "bleeding to death" next to "that one time Jason snuck into the Titan's tower and beat the shit out of me".

He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Now isn't the time to panic. Now is the time to take stock of himself and evaluate his next metaphorical step (because he doubts he'll be taking any actual steps soon). He counts to ten in his head and then begins to slowly wiggle his toes, and thankfully they do actually wiggle. He can move his feet. He can feel his legs. Okay, so he's not paralyzed, but if he lays here for too long he very well can start planning on it.

Okay, okay next step. See if he can contact anyone. He bites his lip and lifts one of his hands to his ear. Waves of pain travels with the movement, but he's able to ignore most of it until he finally places his fingers on his comm link.

"R-Red Robin to cave," he says, his throat hurts and his voice rattles something in his chest. He resists the urge to cough and instead clears his throat of phlegm. "Is anyone there?"

A spike of pine erupts in his lower back and he groans, tenses as a second wave of pure agony races through his body. His vision swirls and his stomach feels the need to rebel again. He doesn't know if his body goes through with the urge, all he knows is the darkness creeping in from the corners of his eyes, echoes of his name from far away, and then be completely loses consciousness.

"… help…"

-o-o-o-o-

Dog notices something's wrong a whole second before something actually goes wrong. It isn't anything dramatic, just a small boof that makes Jason look up from the book he's reading. He raises an eyebrow at her but Dog isn't looking at him, she's looking out the window of Jason's apartment, her cute doggy face scrunched up in what seems to be worry.

"What-?"

And then, the ground shakes. It's not like an earthquake, more like a rumble one can associate with a large truck driving by, rattling the walls and clinking glass dishes in the cupboards. He would have almost assumed it was just a truck driving by if not for the large boom that split the air, startling Dog to her paws and Jason to his feet. Dog barked unhappily as Jason ran to the window, looking out into the night with wide eyes.

He knows that sound. The sound of an explosion.

More sounds reaches his ears, sounds of a crumbling building nearby, but not close enough for him to see through the mess of buildings on his block.

Dog barks again and Jason turns from the window to see Dog pulling something out from under his bed. Next thing he knows, he's watching her tug out his hood and place it down at his feet with a small whine. She licks her nose and gives him a head tilt, and he can't help but smile despite the anxiety slowly clawing into his chest.

He grabs his hood and pats her on the head. "Good girl," he says, before he lifts the hood closer to his face. Something reaches his ears from inside the hood. He scowls, wondering if he accidentally kept the comm link on inside it, and places it on his head, hoping to maybe catch onto anyone having a conversation about that explosion.

"-o cave…" a weak voice says. Tim. Jason's stomach clenches. "Is anyone there?"

Then, Tim makes a pained noise and bursts into very painful coughs.

"Tim?!" Jason asks, a strange sense of alarm sending red flags into his brain. Tim doesn't reply, just continues to cough. "Tim!"

Jason swears and rushes past Dog to dig out the rest of his uniform, he's in the process of tugging his leather jacket over his arms when a very weak, wobbly voice says a single word.

"… help…"

Jason is out the door before he can think about it.

-o-o-o-o-

As much as Jason hates to even attempt it, Bruce doesn't answer the comms. Neither does Damian. Jason can only assume it's because they're on their own private line; because the alternative is Bruce ignoring them which sends Jason's mind to a very unhappy place.

Bruce cares about Tim, and Jason repeats this to himself like a mantra as he speeds faster on his motorcycle. If anything happened to Tim, Bruce would be there. Bruce would never ignore Tim's cry for help like he would ignore Jason. No, he's just on a different frequency so he and the demon spawn can communicate without background chatter.

That's it.

He's probably elbow deep in fighting bad guys so he wouldn't have noticed a building exploding on the other side of town.

That's all it is.

Alfred is a different story. He would normally be in the cave assisting with all the communication or emergency research. If he doesn't answer, it can only mean Bruce gave him the night off or he's busy doing something else. Barbara and Dick are back in Blüdhaven last Jason heard, working on exposing some major underground prostitution ring of some sort so there's no way they would have heard the cry for help. Kate, Steph, and Duke all normally do their own thing like Jason does, and Cass is all the way in Hong Kong again, so it's a miracle in of itself that Jason even heard Tim.

He forgot to turn off the comm, forgot to take it off the general frequency the entire bat clan shares like some sort of mushy gross group call from the last time he was on it. Wasn't his choice. Dick forced him to get on it when there was a city wide terrorist attack a few days ago. You know, a normal Tuesday.

Though, it's not like it matters much now. Tim has gone silent, the connection's fizzled down to a steady static. It doesn't stop him from hissing Tim's name every so often, trying to make contact. It never works, but anything is better than sitting there with the constant static.

A car honks at him as he pushes his bike faster, running a definite red light. The explosion came from somewhere in the Narrows, which could only mean a whole lot of bad. Cops are slow to report there, mostly because of the constant stream of crime that plagues the demonic island. If Jason got some cops on his trail in Crime Alley and lead them into the Narrows, it might just help.

Because Jason knows that if Tim was caught in that explosion, there's a very slim chance Jason would be able to do actually do anything helpful. Tim sounded like he needed medical attention; something that Jason knows he's not the best at.

He swerves between two cars and someone flips him off through their window, but he keeps going, desperately fighting off the terror that he's too late.

"C'mon Tim..."

-o-o-o-o-

Tim comes to a bit slower this time, a bit more numb. His eyes flutter open and he vaguely notices that the moon is in a completely different position than it was before.

He lets out a groan, a hiss through his teeth, but is careful to Not. Move. At. All.

He doesn't want to repeat his last coughing fit from hell.

Instead, he blinks and focuses on breathing, on the meditation practices Bruce taught him and the ones he thought himself. He thinks that he should try again to contact someone, but if the simple action of holding his hand to his ear was enough to knock him out last time, he doesn't want to risk it again. He can feel cold seeping into his skin, scratching at his bones. He can't quite tell where his legs are anymore, and he's not sure if it's because of spine damage or if it's because of the beam cutting off the circulation.

Or if it's just a result of blood loss. He feels nauseous and he hasn't moved a finger yet. There's a dull pressure in his thigh, that he can feel. He kinda doesn't want to know what that is.

He's so deep in his own mind, trying to keep himself calm and trying to decide if he should try again to contact someone, that he doesn't notice the loud humm of an engine until it's shut off, the sound of footsteps on uneven ground following just a second later.

It's very close by.

Now Tim's very close to panicking. It can be anyone. It can be criminals. Criminals who saw the explosion and came to see if there's any pickings left before any cops get to the scene. Red Robin is a sitting duck, there's no hiding his mask on his face or the cape below him. He'll be completely helpless if anyone with bad intentions stumble upon him.

He sucks in a breath and holds it, clenching his fingers and fighting off the nausea swimming in his gut.

If he's found by a bad guy, there's no way in hell he's not going to go down without a fight. Spine damage and nausea be damned!

"Red Robin!" A voice calls and Tim almost passed out from the relief alone.

Relief, and then complete confusion, but he tries to focus more of the relief.

Jason. Jason's here. Tim doesn't know why (or even if he's here because he wants to help...), but Jason is here.

He opens his mouth, takes a deep breath, and yells. "Here!"

The act alone makes him dizzy, so he doesn't hear Jason reply; he doesn't even realize Jason found him until there's a hand on his head. He flinches and winces as once again a bolt of agony races up his spine.

"Shit, shit," Jason's whispering, wiping Tim's hair out from his face. Tim blinks and forces his eyes to focus on Jason's… face. The hood is thrown off and laying on the ground, there's nothing but that almost too small red mask to cover his identity. "Fuck."

"F-forty dollars…" Tim groans, but tries to force a smirk on his face.

Jason gives him a look like he thinks Tim is insane, but then his face splits into what almost looks like a genuine grin. There's a tightness to it that Tim doesn't understand… or want to understand. "You're in a debris sandwich, and you're concerned about how much money I owe the swear jar?"

"S'me… someone's gotta enforce-" he cuts himself off with a fit of wracking coughs. The action pulls at every ache and pain in his body, especially his thigh. His vision swims and if takes a while to realize Jason is calling his name, patting his cheek in a series of quick, somewhat gentle slaps.

"Stop…" Tim murmurs, willing the blurriness out of his vision.

"Then don't scare me like that, jackass," Jason mutters. Tim only hums, biting back his remark that Jason owes the swear jar another five dollars, as Jason reaches towards his jacket and pulls out a burner phone.

"Wat'r you-"

"I'm calling to see what's taking those damn cops so long."

"Oh."

Jason's attention leaves Tim as someone answers the phone, and Tim finds his mind wondering. He's so numb. And tired. Everything hurts at the same time too, which is weird. To be numb and in pain. He licks his lips and let's his eyes drag to the side, looking at the distant buildings and lamplights.

Never in his dreams did he think he could ever feel safe with Jason around. But right now, he feels that. Enough to finally let his guard down, relax his shoulders and let the tension fade. Tim and Jason had a rocky start, an understandably rocky start, and since their first meeting there has always been a tension. Tim is a reminder of Jason's failure, of Jason's mistakes. Tim is a reminder that Jason's been replaced.

Tim wouldn't blame Jason if he just called the cops and then left with an indifferent goodbye. But for some reason, he gets the feeling that this time Jason wouldn't do that.

"Hey, you listenin'?"

Tim blinks and lets his eyes land back on the former Robin. Jason has his hand raised part way like he was getting ready to smack Tim again but it lowers when Tim's eyes land on his.

"Yeah?"

A smile that looks more like a grimace passes over Jason's face. "An ambulance is on its way. I also finally got ahold of B, you'll be in the caring arms of Leslie in no time."

Tim hums. "Can… can you get help me up?"

Jason winces. "I uh, don't think that's a good idea, baby bird. We'll leave it for the paramedics. Try not to move your neck, okay?"

Tim almost nods. Man, he must be out of it. Instead he hums again. "Stay with me?"

Jason actually looks startled, as if the question itself shocked him. Or the implication that he wouldn't stay. Tim frowns when Jason doesn't answer, but finally Jason clears his throat and settles down next to Tim after a few silent seconds, placing his hand gently on Tim shoulder.

"Of course…"

-o-o-o-o-

The rest is a blur. Tim blinks in and out of consciousness when the paramedics arrive. The moment the beam's hefted from his body he blacks out, but he doesn't quite escape the pain. He hears sirens, can feel straps keeping him in place, but the pain always drowns it out pretty quickly.

But Jason is there... the entire time. He can hear Jason yelling at the paramedics when they were about to take off his mask. He can feel a warm hand in his. Encouraging words reaching his ears with the voice he never expected.

Then, there's a sharp pinch in the crook of his elbow, and the black consumes him completely.

-o-o-o-o-

Jason sighs and leans forward in the cheap plastic chair of the clinic, studying Tim with sharp eyes. He almost looks like a mummy with the amount of bandages on him, and the neck brace makes him look absolutely ridiculous. One of his thighs are heavily bandaged, and Jason winces at the memory of Tim pinned under heavy metal, skewered through his leg from a metal bar is some sort. There was a lot of blood, but not as much as there could have been.

It could have been a lot worse.

Tim could have been buried. The beam could have toppled over on his head or something as vital. The bar could have impaled his heart.

Tim could have died on impact. Jason could have stumbled upon nothing more than a mangled corpse.

And the thought sends his stomach rolling.

The thought sends him somewhere else. Somewhere in the Middle East. He's almost afraid to blink, that if he closes his eyes for even a second he'll open them and he'll be back there; a crowbar hitting his flesh violently, repetitively, a wheezing laughter breaking off every so often to ask him what hurts more. Overhand? Or Backhand?

He'll see the woman who should have been his mother sobbing in her restraints as he foolishly decides to try and rescue her. He'll see the bright numbers of an electronic counter, numbers too low to do much more than panic.

If he blinks, he's afraid he'll go back there. But keeping his eyes open has him thinking too much, thinking about what if it were Tim back there?

At first, he used to take pleasure in making people suffer the way he did. Beating Joker half to death with a crowbar was so intoxicating back then. Beating Tim half to death used to be a memory that he smirked at. Poor little Robin, had no idea what he got into, what kind of man he tried to step into the shoes of.

Seeing Tim like this now… it just makes him feel like he should maybe throw up.

He sits there, staring, listening to the beeps of the machine and ignoring the vibrations of his phone announces that Bruce is finally on his way. He does nothing but wage a war of if he should blink or if he should breathe or if he should just stand up and go, but then the decision is made for him when he notices a pair of half lidded, blue eyes looking at him.

"T- Replacement," Jason says, reaching forward to press the button that will let Leslie know Tim's awake. It's important to her to be one hundred percent updated on everything, especially since Tim doesn't have a spleen and anything can go wrong.

Tim blinks lazily before more awareness floods into his gaze. He focuses on Jason, and then a very strange smile tugs the corners of his lips up.

"Didn't… didn't think you'd stay," Tim mumbles, practically trips over his words.

Jason's heart clutches. How could he have ever hated this kid? This incredibly dorky kid whose both so incredibly trusting and untrusting at the same time? How could he have ever patted himself on the back for beating the shit out of him? For smiling at the thought of doing it again?

"Someone had to make sure you didn't move when you woke up," Jason replies, trying to go for nonchalant.

Tim's tired grin widens into a smirk. "Nah, you w- you were worried."

Jason glares. Oh yeah. This is why he hated Tim. He's the ultimate smart ass. "Yeah, well, don't expect me to dig you out next time you get yourself almost buried alive."

Tim chuckles and his eyes flutter, the good stuff in his IV beginning to pull him back under. "M'not worried."

"Why so?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tim's eyes flicker closed. "Trust you…"

And then the world of the awake leaves Tim, and Jason is left sitting there, shocked once again at how trusting Tim is. How trusting of Jason he is. He's heard from Dick that he's basically Tim's hero, told to imagine how hard it was for Tim to even attempt at filling the shoes he left. Jason can imagine, he had to fill Dick's pathetic pixie boots once upon a time.

"You were Robin when he was a kid, you were the coolest thing to him, and he wanted nothing more than to live up to your legacy. Sure, I was first, but Tim was always your biggest fan," Dick had told him one rare, quiet night. Jason didn't believe it. He still doesn't quite believe it.

Leslie thankfully chose to come into the room before he could go further into that train of thought.

Bruce and Damian burst in soon after, to which Jason decides to finally take his leave. Bruce is already looking at Jason like he's done something wrong and the demon brat is scowling like he's looking for a fight and Jason just… isn't in the mood. He bids them goodbye and rushes out.

He almost makes it home, but then he's stopped in his tracks when he sees something in a passing store window. He sighs.

He's gone soft.

-o-o-o-o-

Tim can hear Bruce, his voice is muffled like he's on the other side of a door, and when Tim opens his eyes he finds that that's exactly the case. He lets his eyes roll over to where he almost expected Jason to be, but the sight that meets him is much different.

A simple teddy bear sits in the chair, dressed in a red and green suit, a yellow badge stitched on with a red R embroidered in the center, a cape tied around it’s neck.

There's a sticky note pressed into the fur of the bear, it's written sloppily and rushed, but Tim can just make out the words.

"Get well soon, Replacement"

He smiles and looks up to the ceiling, deciding whatever just transpired between Jason and Tim… it was good.

And he isn't complaining.

Though he could have done without the neck brace.

[dc-marvel-life]

When Did This Happen

Request: Crossover. Jason Todd X Stark! Reader. Tony sends his daughter to live with Bruce during infinity war. Jason comforts her with happy ending and when Tony comes backs they are engaged.

Pairing: Jason Todd X reader and Tony X daughter!reader 

Word Count: 2110

A/N: This was taken place during infinity war and right before the five year jump in endgame

Y/N was rushing trying to fit all her clothes into one suitcase as fast as she can. Her dad, Tony Stark also known as Iron Man, told her that she needs to leave soon because of this alien guy with a really big glove is trying to kill everyone. Tony is very protective of his only daughter and doesn’t want her hurt. A few years ago, while Tony and Bruce were missing around trying to make Ultron, they accidentally made a portal to another universe. Of course, they were curious and went through the portal to find out they are in a city called Gotham. They explore the city and then found out that there are superheros in this universe with other teams just like them. They found out the most popular and well-known team was called justice league. Tony and Bruce was able to get a meeting with the justice league so they can talk and also find a way out because they were stuck there. Once they all met, everyone got along just fine and expectantly Tony and and Batman. The justice league help them make a bomtube to get back to there universe and still come back. They all keep in contact with each just in case they needed help from one another. Once Thanos became a real threat he knew that he need to get Y/N out of here as fast as he could. He called up Bruce Wayne and asked if Y/N can stay with them for a while. Bruce said yes and that Y/N can stay as long as needed.

“Y/N are you all packed and ready to go” Tony said in a hurry.

“No I have a little more packing to do dad I will be-” Y/N said but was interrupted by Tony closing her suitcase.

“I am sorry but we don’t have that much time sweetie. Here take this, I made a bank account over there. When you get there you can spend as much money on new clothes as you want, but now it is time to go” Tony hands Y/N a black card. Tony gets Y/N’s suitcase and heads towards the portal that he made in his lab, where Happy and Piper are standing to say bye.

“I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with you guys. I can fight,” Y/N looks at Tony “just give me a suit and you will see” Y/N begs Tony with tears in her eyes.

“I am sorry sweetheart, but you need to go because if you are here, all I am going to worry about if your safety. I just want you safe and out of harm. Now Bruce Wayne is a nice man with kids too, and some of them are around your age. I promise everything is going to be okay and we will see each other again” Tony says while giving Y/N one last hug. Then Happy and Piper come over and hug Y/N too. Y/N grabs her suitcase while Tony turns on the portal.

“Bye” Y/N says then walks through the portal and ends up in a telephone booth in a dark alley. Y/N exits the booth and looks around at the dark surroundings. Then all of a sudden, bright lights blinds Y/N, and hears a car door opens and closes.

“Hello Miss Stark, My name is Alfred and I will be taking you to the Wayne Manor. Do you need me to grab your bag. Y/N shakes her head no and walks towards the car. Alfred opens the door for Y/N and puts her suitcase in the trunk. Y/N is sitting quietly in the back of the car already missing home. Without realizing the car stops and Alfred opens the door of Y/N.

“Miss Stark, we are here” Alfred says.

“You don’t need to call me Miss. Stark you can all me-” Y/N says then stops once she sees the mansion that she is in front of.

“What do you want me to call you Miss Stark” Alfred says while seeing what is wrong with Y/N.

“This house is huge” Y/N says in shock. Now Y/N has seen some big houses, and she has lived in them, but nothing can compare to this place.

“Oh yes it is Miss Stark, but don’t worry. You’ll get used to it” Alfred says while getting Y/N’s suitcase.

“Y/N, you can all me Y/N Alfred” Y/N says and nods. Alfred and Y/N walk up to the house together with Y/N dragging along her suitcase, and the front doors open. Y/N can see a very well built almost middle age, but a little younger than her dad at the door. Once she gets closer, she sees that there are other people behind him.

“Hello Y/N and welcome to my home. I know this might be scary for you by coming to a stranger’s house and have to stay with him for awhile, but I promise you that everything will be okay. I know your father well and I will do everything in my power to make sure that you are safe. Before you get settle in, I want you to meet my sons. There is Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian” Bruce says their names and pointing at each one. Y/N’s stare was on Jason the whole time without him even noticing.

“So you had all these kids and still have time to be Batman” Y/N says trying to get her mind off of Jason and how hot he looks. Bruce chuckles.

“No I am his only blood child here” Damian says while still checking her out to see that if she is a threat. While Dick was excited to have another person in the house he can talk to that wasn’t any of the boys, Jason was just interested in her from the start but he didn’t know why, and Tim was too busy in his head trying to work out a code.

“Okay that’s cool” Y/N laughs just thinking that Damian is a cute kid.

“Do you want me to show you to your room Y/N” Alfred says.

“Yes please” Y/N says and follows Alfred to her room then he gives her a mini house tour, so that she doesn’t get lost. After the mini your of the place, Y/N went back to her room and pulled out a phone. Tony made a phone where they can still be in contact with each other, so Y/N sends him a text saying that she is safe and that she is liking the place already. Then Y/N starts to get sleepy after the long day, so she turns it in for the night.

A few days past and Y/N has started to get used living her already. Of course she knows about everybody’s night activities and yes is okay with that. It is just like being home for her. She helps Alfred around the house with the cleaning and cooking. She doesn’t know how he does it all by himself including in this mansion. She even helps when the boys come back from portal by cleaning, tending, or stitching up wounds. Damian normally doesn’t ask for her help, but when it is a hard to reach place, she comes over and help and he doesn’t say a thing. Tim normally doesn’t come back with anything too serious. Dick normally does it himself, but ask Y/N for assistants. Bruce is a big boy and doesn’t need help unless he is bleeding on the floor. Jason on the other hand always needs Y/N to help him with something big or small. Just the other night Jason ask Y/N to look at a paper cut and to kiss it better. It was just a normal night in the batcave and everybody got back okay. Everybody was tending to their own things and Jason was looking for Y/N to help him clean a small knife wound that he got. He looked all around the cave and couldn’t find her.

“Hey guys, have you seen Y/N yet?” Jason says kind of worrying.

“Well she normally calls her dad before we come back, so she might still be talking to him” Dick says fully out of his suit. Something wasn’t sitting right with Jason so he quickly cleans his wound and goes to Y/N’s room. He knocks on the door and doesn’t get a response.

“Hey Y/N, it’s me Jason. Are you alright?” Jason says while knocking on the door lightly. There is still no response and he hears slight crying coming from her room. He turns the knob to see if it is lock, and it is not so he walks in and sees Y/N in the dark in her bed in a ball. In no time, Jason rushes to Y/N’s side and holds her tight. Y/N automatically holds Jason tightly like he is going to disappear into dust. After a few minutes of crying Y/N finally starts to talk.

“My dad didn’t pick up the phone. He always picks up the phone just to make sure that he is alright. I have been calling and texting him for hours and still no response” Y/N says with a few tears falling out her eyes. Jason wipes away the tears.

“I bet he is just busy kicking some alien’s ass tonight and will get back to you tomorrow” Jason says and Y/N just nods her head.

“Can you stay with me tonight? I can’t be alone tonight” Y/N says.

“Of course I will” Jason says and pulls the blanket over them. That night was the night where they just talked the whole night. That was also the first night where Jason realize that he cared deeply about Y/N. For the next few months, everything was going fine and Jason and Y/N got even closer to each other, and spent a lot of time with one another. Jason finally got the nerve to ask Y/N out and of course she said yes. Everybody thought they were just the cutest couple even Damian thinks so.

Then year has past and only a few days have past in Y/N’s universe, time does work differently in every universe. Now after all the events are taken place and Tony is return to the Avengers’ base fully woken and sees that Piper is okay, he needs to make sure that his daughter is okay too. He goes to his lab and fires up the port, he goes through it and ends up in the phone booth just like Y/N did on her first night there. Tony was able to get a cab to take him to Wayne Manor. He pays the cab driver and runs up to the door and knocks. Alfred comes a few seconds later and opens the door.

“Is Y/N here?” Tony says out of breath.

“Yes she is sir, let me get her” Alfred says and goes and get Y/N. Y/N was confuse who was at the door for her because she never got any visitors. She got up slowly with Jason slowly following behind her. Once Y/N gets to the door and sees it is her dad, she jumps up and give him a hug.

“Oh I have missed you so much” Y/N slightly crying tears of joy.

“I have missed you too sweetheart. Now it is time to go home” Tony says and Y/N smile turns into a frown. Tony is slightly confused about this because he thought she would be thrilled to come home by now.

“What is wrong sweetheart?” Tony asks in concern. Jason comes behind Y/N and hugs her protectively.

“Dad we are engaged” Y/N says and holds up the ring that is on her finger.

“When did this happen!” Tony says in surprise.

“Let’s go inside and talk okay” Y/N say while pulling Tony in. Y/N talks and explains to Tony everything that has happen and that they are in love. Tony accepts what has happened to his little girl and lets her stay.

“You better come and visit me, and not make me a granddad too soon okay” Tony says and laughs.

“Alright dad” Y/N says and hugs Tony one last time before he leaves. She hopes to see him again soon.

[unavenged-robin]

"Would you believe I fell down the stairs?" With Dick and either Jason or Damian, please, if that manages to spark something ;)

Months (YEARS???) later it has sparked this. Sorry for the angst that it’s about to happen. Here on AO3.

The music coming from the pub is so loud that it’s almost deafening, and the bright colored lights flashing in time with the beats make it even more difficult to have a clear view of who is inside. So it’s only by sheer luck that Dick spots the kid among the faceless crowd, leaning in a corner, a beer in hands, the hood pulled over his eyes leaving only the profile of his face uncovered, but it’s still enough for Dick to recognize him. He freezes.

The bust is just about to begin: the other policemen are ready to break-in, weapons in hand, their commander has the walkie-talkie raised to his mouth to give the order, and for the briefest moment Dick’s ashamed to admit that he actually considers doing nothing about it.

After all, he owes this kid nothing, and sure as hell he owes nothing to Bruce.

Worst of all, he allows himself to bask in the idea of calling Wayne Manor to ask for Mr. Wayne himself to come and pick up his new pupil at the Blüdhaven police station. Even indulges into the selfish fantasy of being the one to welcome Bruce in, make him sit at his desk to list him all the wrongdoings of his unruly kid. It would feel like a retribution, and a nice one too. But it would also be petty, and unfair, and definitely something Alfred would frown upon.

So he runs inside along with his colleagues, badge in one hand and the unloaded gun in the other, and cuts through the now screaming crowd in the most harmless way possible to get right to the kid. It’s not easy, and he manages to catch him by the scruff of his neck just one moment before Jason can climb the pub’s wall and get to the open window above their heads.

Dick brings him back to the ground with little kindness, shaking him enough to make him lose his balance and throw off the punch that, predictably, Jason tries to land on him.

“Don’t even”, he chides with a snarl, and after a quick glance around he tosses the kid into an empty room, away from the ruined disco party behind them. They don’t have that much time, and Dick doesn’t want to have to explain to another officer why he’s hiding what they would see as nothing more than a possible suspect.

“Get off me!”, Jason shouts out, falling on his butt with no grace whatsoever. The beer bottle crashes to the ground, pieces of glass flying all over.

“Shut up!”, Dick snarls, closing the door behind them with a loud thud. “You better have a very good reason to be here, or I swear to god I’ll call B and-”

He cuts himself off when Jason rolls on his side, bounces back up on his feet and into a fighting stance, making his hood slide backwards and exposing his face. The neon lights shine on his swollen skin, and Dick takes in the yellow bruises, the split lip and the black eye all in one single look.

“What the hell happened to you?”, he asks, taken aback.

Jason looks at him with eyes made of glass, but after a moment the fog seems to clear out, and the kid tilts his head to the side and relaxes his shoulders.

“Oh, it’s you”, he says, and Dick can’t tell if there’s relief or disappointment in his voice.

On the other side of the wall the yelling gets louder, more violent as the thugs hidden in the crowd begin to react. The first gunshot echoes high above the music and Dick’s muscles stretch under the adrenaline rush. He should be out there doing his job, not here in this room taking care of one of Bruce’s pet projects.

He swallows a lump of anger and takes a step towards Jason, raising an uncertain hand. He doesn’t even know what to do with it, if he wants to put it on the kid’s shoulder in some kind of reassurance, or just grab him to prevent another escape attempt.

But Jason pulls himself back before he has time to make a decision, slipping away from his reach.

“Hands off, man!”, he hisses, making a show of dusting off his jacket. He looks as angry as Dick feels, and that’s not going to help anything, he expects.

“What happened to your face?”, Dick asks again. “Did you get hurt on patrol?”

Jason rolls his eyes at him with nothing less than contempt.

“I don’t get hurt on patrol”, he sneers, lifting up his chin.

What an insufferable brat, Dick thinks.

“For that to be true you’d have to be a nice, good little soldier who always does what the boss says”, he answers in a scoff. “And somehow I doubt that’s the case, since you were out there drinking beer and not paying attention to your surrounding.”

He’d like to say he doesn’t enjoy watching the kid’s face turn into a beet red under the scolding Dick just delivered. He does feel guilty about it, though, because the flushed cheeks only make the bruises more evident.

“Answer me”, he says, more gently this time, before Jason gets a chance to turn his embarrassment into anger. “Who did that to you?”

It’s the wrong question. Jason’s shoulders slump down and the kid looks away for a moment before catching himself. He snaps on attention almost immediately after realizing what he was doing, straightening his back again. Dick watches the kid shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket and gather the most casual grin he can pull given the circumstances, and he almost can hear in his head the sound of Bruce’s voice lecturing about deception and never giving your real feelings away in a fight.

“Would you believe I fell down the stairs?”, Jason asks, and his smile is wide and bright and it pulls at Dick’s heartstrings.

“No, I wouldn’t”, he answers, but before he can add anything to that there’s a furious knock at the door and Dick turns around, considering what to do. He doesn’t want to deal with this, but there’s no way he can not deal with this. He sighs.

“Take the window and wait for me in the next alley. I’ll be out in half an hour top”, he says, turning back to Jason, who’s looking at him with an almost funny mix of anxiety and fake arrogance.

“I don’t-”, the kid starts protesting, but Dick raises one finger to stop him right away.

“If you’re not there when I get out, I’m going to call Bruce”, he warns him. “And don’t waste your breath trying to convince me he knows about you being in the middle of a drug ring, kiddo.”

Jason looks positively ruffled at those words.

“Don’t call me a kid”, he grumbles.

“Don’t make my night even more difficult than it currently is”, Dick retorts. “Now shoo. I need to take care of the bad guys you were cahooting with.”

“I wasn’t cahooting with anyone!”, Jason yells, looking beyond offended. Again, Dick feels the urge to grin at him, maybe even pat his head, like you do with children and cute dogs. It’s weird to have such conflicted feelings, like annoyance and something that could be almost affection, for the same person.

“Out of here, kiddo. Before I change my mind and haul your ass to jail.”

He wouldn’t do that under any circumstance, but by the panicked look on Jason’s face, the kid doesn’t know it.

Good, Dick thinks with a tinge of enjoyment.

He waits for Jason to start climbing again, then opens the door on the mess that’s still raging on the dance floor.

“Clear!”, he shouts to no-one, before throwing himself back into the crowd.

*

Despite his threats, Dick doesn’t really expect to find Jason still waiting for him when he finally manages to get away from the scene.

He’s almost startled when he finds the kid perched on an upturned garbage can, hands still hidden in his pockets, hood once again lowered over his eyes to hide his face. He looks unnervingly small like this, and Dick forces himself to remember that Jason’s only fourteen. He’s young. Not as young as Dick used to be when he first donned the yellow cape, but still too young to be out and about on his own.

Anger and annoyance shrink without permission into feelings closer to nostalgia and remorse. Dick feels the need to shake his head to clear his thought once again.

“So”, he says tentatively, mimicking the kid’s posture by shoving his fists into his jeans’ pockets.

“Did you call Bruce?”, Jason blurts out, looking at him with wide eyes full of concern and resignation, like a man who fears to be handed over to his executioner any moment now.

Dick didn’t expect the threat to be so effective, to be honest. When he was Jason’s age things like this were almost an everyday occurrence.

“Of course not”, he reassures him. “But I should. I know you feel ready to do things on your own, but you aren’t yet. And coming to Blüdhaven to do the solo Robin thing instead of staying in Gotham may sound smarter to you but I don’t-”

“I’m not doing any solo Robin thing”, Jason interrupts him, scowling and kicking his feet.

Dick blinks and pauses in his lecture.

“…What?”, he asks. “Then what the heck were you doing in there?”

He tries to meet the kid’s eyes, looking for an answer he knows it’s not going to be given out loud. He just doesn’t understand. Jason has no business being here, in one of the pubs only known to Blüdhaven’s lowlife, if he isn’t on a stakeout as Robin.

Again his gaze lingers on the kid’s bruises and the way he’s now biting his lips, waiting for another chastisement. Dick should really call Alfred. Let him deal with this, whatever this is. He’s in no mood to tangle with whatever Gotham mess the kid’s bringing to his door.

He pinches his nose with two fingers, then crosses his arms over his chest.

“Alright, then just tell me this one thing”, he proposes, and Jason looks up, a vague halo of hope in his posture. “Does this have anything to do with Bruce?”

Jason hesitates, then shakes his head no.

Of course not, Dick mentally sighs.

“C’mon, my apartment’s not far”, he offers eventually. He starts walking and doesn’t turn back to check if the kid’s following him or not.

*

“Stay still”, Dick says, tinkering with a pair of tweezers.

“You’re hurting me!”, Jason bellows, trying to wiggle his hand out of Dick’s grasp. Dick’s not having any of that and blocks him by his wrist none too tendery.

“You’re hurting yourself”, he points out, swabbing the cut with a gentler touch. “I need to get all the glass out.”

Jason huffs and by the corner of his eye Dick can see him glancing around his bathroom, trying to distract himself. Funny he should be so squeamish.

“I’m almost done”, he offers with half a smile.

He works in silence for a few minutes, removing shards and the last blood clots, then bandaging the kid’s hand, paying particular attention to his bruised knuckles. He hasn’t asked any more questions about the injuries or the reason why the kid was in a place where he absolutely should not have been, but he can tell a trouble when it’s sitting on the edge of his own bathtub.

“There”, he says, awkwardingly releasing the kid’s hand.

He wonders what he should do about the whole situation now. Calling Alfred still sounds like the most sensible thing to do, but that would mean having a conversation about this, getting involved. And getting involved in Gotham’s drama is exactly what Dick’s trying to avoid. This is something for Bruce to worry about, he tells to himself.

“I have a couch.”

Jason stops fiddling with the loose threads of Dick’s bandage and gives him a questioning look.

“A couch?”, he asks.

“Yes. For you to sleep into”, Dick clarifies. “Tomorrow I have an early shift, I can give you a ride to the bus station first thing in the morning, and you can go back home.”

“Oh. Okay”, Jason says, sounding oddly polite when he adds: “Thank you.”

It feels like he wants to say something else, and Dick waits, uncertain about what he could do or say to make him feel more welcomed. It should be simple, he knows. It’s obvious by the way Jason’s been acting all night - the initial anger at being caught quickly turned into grumpy acceptance, the fact that he waited for Dick and followed him to his apartment, that he let him bandage him up without too much fuss - all of this speaks of a need for acceptance, for someone to talk to, someone that can understand him and his peculiar life. He looks like he needs a friend. A brother.

And it would be so simple indeed. The words are already burning on the tip of Dick’s tongue: you can talk to me. We’re family, you and I. That would be enough, Dick’s sure of it.

And yet those words die prematurely on his lips. He can’t talk about family. Not with Bruce’s new son. It’s too difficult, too complicated to explain it to someone so green.

There will be time, Dick thinks. Eventually, he’ll understand.

He smiles, then pats the kid over his head, hastily withdrawing his hand when Jason tries to slap it. Dick laughs.

“Good night, kiddo. See you in the morning”, he says before walking out of the bathroom without looking back.

[violetsmoak]

Appetence [2/?]

AO3 Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/20251420/chapters/47997634

Blanket Disclaimer

Summary: Red Robin is investigating the disappearance of a friend and stumbles into a spot of supernatural trouble. He doesn’t expect to be saved by Jason Todd, miraculously alive five years after his death and now with the inexplicable ability to commune with the dead. Meanwhile, when Jason returned to Gotham he meant to maintain a low profile and not get involved with Bat business. That was before he found out how hot his Replacement is.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

JayTimBingo Prompts This Chapter: N/A

First Chapter

Canon-Compliance: Alternate Universe; Jason still died but was not found by Talia when he was resurrected. All other events mostly follow the same chronology as New Earth continuity, with mentions made to events in New 52

Author’s Note(s): Enter Tim. And Tim's investigation. And Tim's tendency to make bad decisions.

Beta Reader: I’ll get back to you on that.

________________________________________________________________

Red Robin crouches on a rooftop in the Bowery, watching the thief he was just interrogating scramble from the alley. He was a bit harsher than usual tonight—the full ‘hang ‘em by the feet’ routine that’s more Batman’s thing than his, but he’s getting frustrated now.

Dante’s been missing for a week now, and in this town, that’s never a good sign. And if no one’s seen him…

His gut and five years of stalking the night as a vigilante are telling him he shouldn’t get his hopes up about finding his friend, but he can’t work up the courage to stop. To just, pack up and head back to California.

Things between him and the Family are…tense.

Bruce hasn’t quite been able to look at him without suspicion since the whole incident with Captain Boomerang and Freeze. Dick’s as focussed on Damian as ever, and whatever attention he has left over has been going to mentoring Duke. Steph and Tim are in another extended “off” period of their on-and-off-again relationship, Damian’s…Damian. And Cass isn’t around often enough to mitigate any of that.

As much as Alfred assures him it’s not the case, Tim’s been feeling more and more like Gotham doesn’t have anything for him any longer.

He never thought he’d ever feel like that.

Gotham is dank and dark and terrifying, but it’s home. It’s flying through the air and running across rooftops and diving into trouble at the last second to save the day. It’s everything he wanted when he was a kid, secretly following Batman and Robin around with a camera almost as big as he was.

But every year now, it feels like the city is a little danker, a little darker, a little more terrifying. A lot more hopeless.

Part of him thinks that hopelessness started growing following Jason Todd’s murder. Tim did his best to be there for him, but it’s been an uphill battle. And every year, the fight for Gotham’s soul becomes an even bloodier war of attrition, consuming more and more innocents.

Reminded of his goal tonight, Tim decides to involve himself more directly.  

He rappels down to the alley floor and resigns himself to several hours of canvassing a hostile neighborhood. Though fear is an excellent motivator for some, for others a different approach is needed.

People are unlikely to tell a stranger—even a rich stranger—anything worthwhile. Especially here in the Alley, where throwing money at problems get people’s backs up. There’s a sense of pride down here, and an us-versus-them mentality that even the most destitute ascribe to.

And vigilantes are pretty firmly in the ‘them’ column.

Tim has better luck than most here; Red Robin has been frequenting this place a lot over the years, almost from the moment he put on the cape and tights. The other capes never bothered much with it—except for Jason, who when he was Robin made a point of ending his patrols with a quick check of his former home. Tim sometimes thinks that maybe his tendency to come here is an homage to that, a way of keeping his predecessor’s legacy alive.

Of course, he’s never said anything like that to anyone in the family. Even years later, the grief is still too raw. If he’s asked, Tim maintains that he’s cultivated a careful network of informants and contacts in the Alley, and nothing more.

I mean, it’s not like I can go wandering around Crime Alley in the middle of the day.

Tim Drake-Wayne’s face is too recognizable, causes too much trouble. People are desperate here, might try to grab him and use him to extort money from Bruce—and he’d have to let him because he’s not supposed to be able to handle himself. Bruce would come, of course, or whoever’s nearest that Oracle can get on the comms, but it would mean interrupting actual crimes in progress, with actual people who are in danger.

A worse alternative would be if whoever has Dante—and Tim’s sure someone has him because the kid wouldn’t just vanish on his own—they might harm him. Because Tim is the adopted son of the man funding Batman, and if they think he might cause them trouble, most people willing to kidnap are also willing to murder.

All of which assumes that they haven’t murdered him yet.

Tim’s plan of approached hinges on the locals actually being in a helpful mood tonight, but he soon discovers that’s not the case. No one’s feeling talkative tonight, even when he ramps up the intimidation a little.

Either there’s someone out there they’re more afraid of, or they really don’t know.

It’s only in the early hours of the morning when he’s considering returning to his Park Row apartment in defeat, that one of the working girls finally takes pity on him.

“Watchin’ you go back and forth is makin’ me dizzy,” Rhonda says. She’s been working the corner of Park Row and Fifth since before Tim’s time, and though she rarely goes out of her way to get involved with the capes, she does tend to be bluntly honest if the situation is right. “Who you lookin’ for?”

“This kid. Or anyone who’s seen him,” he says, pitching his voice into his approximation of Bruce’s Batman growl. He holds out the glossy picture he’s been flashing around all night; he took it off a security camera and increased the size of. “He was working at the bodega on the corner of Parker and Main just outside the Alley.”

“A bit weird for a cape to give a shit about some kid from ‘round here. Don’t you freaks normally deal with the bigger freaks?”

“Have you seen him or not?” Tim insists, ignoring the jab.

“Who’s he to you, sugar?” she asks, glancing at the picture Tim brandishes. “And don’t give me no bullshit.”

Tim sighs, knowing better than to test her; she’s got Alfred levels of talent when it comes to lies.

“He’s a friend of sorts,” he explains. “Sort of…a protégé. I’ve been looking out for him the past few months.”

Which is sort of true, though not in the way he’s implying.

During WE’s years board meeting to examine the various applications for the Scholarship Program, Tim took note of an applicant whose overall qualifications were outstanding and whose even on paper looked like a major boon to the company.

But the Board of Directors took one look at Dante Garcia’s prior assault conviction at age twelve and decided to toss his application. Without even reading the excellent essay the kid wrote to explain the reasons he had been fighting (to defend a friend from a police officer with a grudge). Or how the experience made him want to become an advocate for those who couldn’t afford it.

It was a brave move, being upfront about the criminal record, but likely Dante knew it wasn’t exactly something he could hide. His record wouldn’t be sealed until he was eighteen.

Tim tried to argue that one mistake made for good reasons shouldn’t deny a bright kid the opportunity and that Dante was clearly of the same caliber as Tim, just without the last name to help him.

(He hadn’t mentioned that Dante reminded him of another boy from long ago, given a second chance and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.)

He was still outvoted.

From the way the old bastards were looking at him, Tim felt sure it was more because of who he was than who Dante was.

The petty bastards never did get over the fact they have a teenager for a boss.

In spite of the Board not agreeing with his vote, Tim already decided he intended to help Dante. He tracked him down to speak to him in person and get a better measure of him.

He was immediately impressed upon their first meeting, especially when he discovered how easy it was to converse with him. He has an intelligence that reminds him of Duke, but his attitude put him in mind of everything he knew about the second Robin.

“I’m going to figure out a way to get you a scholarship,” he told him two weeks into their acquaintanceship. “Even if it’s not from the Foundation, we’ll figure it out. I’d be willing to hire you on at the Neon Knights if you’re interested. Criminal records aren’t exactly a deal-breaker there.”

(Especially since most of the people working there were once part of or are in the process of escaping gangs.)

“That sort of thing will look good on a resume and open doors for you, including getting you into events and putting your name out there,” Tim continued. “The Knights also sponsors educational initiatives, so you can get your general credits out of the way and eventually transfer into a college program of your choice.”

Dante stared at him, suspicious. “Why you doing this, man? You don’t know me from Adam.”

“Because I was taken in by a man who didn’t think someone’s last name or financial background should be an obstacle to greatness,” Tim replied honestly. “My brothers and sister came from harsh backgrounds, but he didn’t let that stop him from taking them in and trying to help them achieve their potential. They’re all good kids that could have gone a very different way if he didn’t get involved. Because he had the ability to do so. Having influence means nothing if you don’t use it to do good.”

“So what’s the price of this?”

“That you’ll be expected to pay it forward. And you’re already going to be doing that when you get your degree and start helping people. You’llhave the influence. Just keep your nose clean and away from the gangs, and you have a real shot, kid.”

“Excuse you, white boy, you’re my age. None of that ‘kid’ shit with me.”

Tim laughed.

It had still taken time after that to convince Dante that Tim’s offer was legit, but once he decided he was trustworthy, they’d started hanging out more. What started with Tim sponsoring a kid with huge potential turned into an actual friendship—and he didn’t have many of those with people who weren’t in the caped community. There was something about that he wanted to protect.

When Dante’s mother called him one day in tears, explaining that Dante had never come home from work and the police wouldn’t let her file a missing person’s report until 48 hours had passed, Tim didn’t hesitate to get involved.

At first, he’d worried that Dante’s disappearance was related to Tim—had someone discovered his identity and then decided to use his friend as leverage? The likelihood of that was low, however; anyone who did know his identity would come at him more directly, or at least have contacted him with some kind of threat.

Which meant what happened to Dante wasn’t vigilante related, but simply bad luck.

That doesn’t make Tim any less intent on figuring out what happened.

His thoughts must be projecting through his body language somehow because Rhonda’s usually sharp eyes soften a bit and she sighs. Looking around, she ensures there’s no one nearby, and then says, “You need to talk to Salvatore.”

“Who?”

“He’s a pimp, hangs out down the corner. He hooks, too, which is fucking weird. Does it because he likes it,” she says, making a disgusted face. “He tends to be the guy that’s always the last person to see someone before they go missin’, if you know what I mean?”

“You think he’s involved?”

“Nah, he’s too paranoid to do that. Likes to keep his hands clean, or pretend to. But he’s right near where your friend disappeared. And…” She hesitates here, sizing Tim up, and then nods to herself, “He’s got a rep. Lures new boys on the street into the business. He’s got a scary success rate at it, too.” She shivers. “Makes sense, he’s a scary motherfucker. Lots of his kids go missin’, but he always had some excuse. Letters and texts and shit provin’ they left the city or somethin’. No one knows how he does it, so you get him to talk, you’ll find out what you want to know. But I don’t see it happenin’.”

“Still. Thanks for the information,” Tim says and digs into his belt for a wad of cash. To his surprise, Rhonda shakes her head.

“Anyone sees me takin’ that from you right before you go after Salvatore, they’ll know I talked. No one’ll think I’d be stupid enough to give anything up for free. You come back a few days after you deal with that bastard, I’ll take it then.”

“That’s oddly trusting for someone like you.”

“Honey, you’ve been watchin’ these streets long enough I know you’re good for it. And catch me or anyone else ever telling you jack shit ever again if you stiff me.”

Tim snorts. “Fair enough. What’s this guy look like so I can find him?”

“Trust me, you’ll know him when you see him. Just don’t tell that creep anything ‘bout me sendin’ you in his direction.”

She doesn’t wait for his answer before sashaying away, returning to her activities for the night.

Tim keeps to the shadows as he heads to the corner Rhonda indicated, thinking he might have to wait around for a few hours—or even return the next night—if he’s going to find his next suspect.

It turns out he doesn’t need to.

A man who can only be Salvatore is leaning against the wall at the mouth of an alley, fiddling with his very expensive looking phone.

He is a tall, muscular, almost impossibly good-looking man with high cheekbones, intense blue eyes, and a full, cruel mouth. There’s something in a way that mouth lifts at the corners that makes Tim’s stomach thud, memories of a similar grin and devil-may-care laugh he only ever got to see through the lens of a camera or across a crowded ballroom.

But this isn’t him. This guy looks more like a crocodile than a robin.

“Well, hello there, handsome,” the man purrs when Tim materializes beside him, eyes flicking up and down Tim’s form with a look that does nothing to dispel the predatory image. “Looking for a pick-me-up after a hard night’s work?”

Tim ignores the innuendo dripping in the man’s voice.

“I’ve been given the impression you’ve seen this boy,” Tim says coolly, holding up his photo. “That you were the last one to see him. I need to know what you know.”

“I’m sure you do, baby, but I don’t come cheap, and neither does anything that comes out of my mouth,” Salvatore drawls.

Tim shrugs; if it’s money he wants, that’s not a problem. “I’m sure we could come to an arrangement.”

“Oh, I know we can,” Salvatore chuckles. “But not here.” His eyes flick around like he’s scoping out someone watching; his irises flicker strangely in the dim streetlight. “Not where someone might see us talking. I could lose customers for talking to a mask—and I’m all about discretion.”  

“They’re already seeing us talking.”

“And as far as they know, you’re just asking about the price of the goods,” Salvatore purrs, moving so slowly as to telegraph his moves and stroking his fingers across Tim’s chest plate, and down. “Can’t imagine seeking justice satisfies all your urges, does it, little bird?”

Tim’s hand snaps upward, clamping around Salvatore’s wrist and exerting just enough pressure to earn and choked gasp of pain. “I am here for information. Nothing more, nothing less. Either you tell me what I want to know, and I compensate you, or you tell me what I want to know and leave here with a bunch of bruises that will definitely affect your bottom line. Assuming I don’t drag you to the nearest precinct in handcuffs.”

“Baby, I’m almost tempted to take you up on that,” Salvatore says, licking his lips. “But I also know there’s worse on the streets than me. Who knowswhat your friend might have stumbled into?”

Tim’s jaw clenches. “Meaning?”

“Meaning we’re doing this little info exchange my way, and that involves not being out in the open. This is private business, after all.”

This time Tim’s nose curls, sensing an implication there. Either this guy’s not too bright, practically broadcasting his intentions to a vigilante, or he knows something important enough he thinks Tim will do anything for it.

Tim considers him, trying to evaluate how he wants to play this. Obviously, he doesn’t trust Salvatore, but he needs information even if it’s the vaguest of statements.

Salvatore’s clearly unarmed—no weapon’s hiding anywhere with that little clothing. And Tim was trained by Batman and Lady Shiva.

Buddy, aren’t you in for a surprise.

“Fine,” Tim says. “Lead the way.”

Salvatore’s pupils dilate, once again catching the dim light in a manner that makes them seem like they reflect.

Then he jerks his head toward the dark, shadowy alley behind him.

Against every instinct of self-preservation that managed to survive the brilliant idea of a twelve-year-old becoming a vigilante, Tim follows.

⁂

Next Chapter

[angstytodd-inactive]

Seduction Backfired

Request: Can I request Jason and his gf where they have to pretend to be a married couple, (dressed in a dress and suit for a gala) in order to get some info about some bad guy. Her plan was to try to seduce the bad guy into talking and she does but something goes wrong at the end and the bad guys are on to them. Jason grabs his motorbike and his gf jumps on too and they ride away noticing that the bad guys are following them now. Just a badass couple who outwit the bad guys, parkour stunts etc and

Pairing: Jason Todd X Reader

Tagged: @fourtyninekirbygamzeegirl @asanotheronebitesthedust @jasonredtoddhood

     As much as Jason loved going on missions with you, it pained him to see you flirting with someone that wasn’t him, even if it was to get information.  It especially irritated him due to the fact you were supposed to go undercover as a married couple.  When Jason had heard this, he felt almost giddy at the aspect of being your husband; but, he didn’t know that it would entail you seducing someone else.  

     Shifting his attention away from the two of you, he looked at the orchestra playing and took a sip from his champagne.  It was a damn good attempt and distracting him, until he heard your laugh from across the bar.  Whipping his head to see you, he watched as your fingers danced across the man’s arm, with you giggling at what the man had said.  

     At the moment, you were flirting with a man that was said to have information of when a cargo ship carrying explosives would arrive.  You had been with him for the past twenty minutes, but nothing had happened.  All you knew was what Bruce told you, and the man had yet to even say a word about it.  He had even started to look bored in your company.  

     Just as he was about to move onto another girl, the hidden earwig had gone off.  From your end you could hear Bruce saying “Do what you need to do to keep his attention Y/N.”  Not knowing what he meant you began to internally panic.  From the background of the telecom you heard Dick yell in the background.

     “SEDUCE HIM IF YOU HAVE TO”

     Before you could even think it through, you pushed the man back into his seat and looked him up and down.  From across the room you could see Jason glaring at you.  His eyes were narrowed and his hand clenched tightly against the champagne glass in his hand.  He was jealous.

     Smirking at Jason, you brought your head centimeters away from the man’s ear.  Putting on your best sultry voice, you said “Why don’t we go somewhere a little more private.”  You watched from the corner of your eye as Jason sat up in his chair and watched you.  As you slowly backed away from him, you stopped and gently bit his lobe.  

     That had peaked his interest.  Getting up from his seat, he gently grabbed onto your waist and lead towards the stairs.  Looking at you with a smile on his face he said “That sounds like an amazing idea if I say so myself.”  

     You knew that at this point you couldn’t back out of this.  Before you were completely up the stairs, you looked behind you at Jason.  He held your gaze, until you were up the stairs and out of his line of sight.  

     Once you both reached the door, he pushed you against it and crashed his lips onto yours.  The way he was pushing himself onto you showed that this wasn’t an act of passion.  Everything that was happening showed that this was just him wanting sex and nothing else.  Yes you were doing this for information, but you couldn’t help but feel guilty for even suggesting it.    

     Fumbling with the door knob, you turned it open and lead your bodies inside.  Pushing him onto the bed, you gave him a sly grin and turned to look in the mirror.  Meeting his stare, you trailed your hands up your torso until you felt the zipper against your fingers.  Just as you began to pull it down, he stood up and cornered you against the mirror.  

     His hand reached out to do what you assumed was pushing your hair back, but instead he went for your ear and pulled the earwig out.  Once he had it in his palms he crushed it and turn his hand to let the broken pieces fall to the floor.  

     “I don’t like being lied to Y/N.”

     You could feel your heart racing after hearing your name come out of his lips.  When you introduced yourself you gave him a fake name to keep your identity a secret.  The man’s lip curled up when he saw the look of surprise in your eyes.  “You’re not the only one with intel sweetheart.”

     With his attention directed at your face, you slipped your hand to your thigh where you had a knife strapped.  The tips of your fingers felt the handle he grabbed your hand and held it next to your head.  Using his own hand he reached down to grab the knife himself, when the door to the room burst open.  

     Jason, and just in time.  With the man’s attention diverted to Jason, you took the opportunity to pull your hand out of his and threw a lead punch directed at his jaw.  As he stumbled back you drew your opposite arm back, leaned your weight onto one leg, and sprung up to throw an uppercut.  Jason took ahold of the man’s shoulders and threw him into the mirror, effectively knocking him out.  

     After kicking the guy on the floor Jason looked up at you and smiled.  Taking a moment he looked you up and down and let out a loud wolf whistle.  He laughed and said “You come here often Doll?”  You giggled and rolled your eyes at him.  The guy on the ground groaned; which reminded you of the situation.

     Because of the current situation you decided to not ask him how he knew something was going down before your earwig was even crushed.  It was like Jason could read your mind.  “Timmy contacted me through a private channel and told me there was someone listening on the other line.  That’s how they knew about the plan.”

     With no time to waste the two of you ran down the stairs and into the ballroom, before entering the room Jason pulled you to the side.  His hands came out to comb his fingers through your hair, and then to fix your smudged makeup.  The look of adoration on his face quickly turned into a look of frustration and lust.  

     “Do you know how crazy I felt watching you flirt with another man while I was across the room.  Watching him touch you in ways that only I should?”  He gripped your back and pushed you into his body.  

     “If it were up to me right now,” he paused.  “I’d have you on your knees and begging for forgiveness after what you did tonight.”

       He opened his mouth to continue but he cut himself off.  His hand flew up to where his earwig was, and you stood for about a minute until Jason turned to you.  

     “Tim figured out how to secure the line.  Told us to get out of here as soon as possible without drawing attention to ourselves.”  Of course.  If the man upstairs had someone feeding him information then there had to have other guys in the building.  Going through the ballroom wasn’t an option; and neither of you thought this would happen, so as of now you needed to come to a decision.  And quickly.

     Glancing up Jason, you gave him a nod and began running towards the kitchen.  Within seconds, you were at the end of the kitchen and pushing through the backdoor to get to the alley; where you hoped Jason’s motorcycle would be.  Weirdly, there the bike was, as if someone knew you would be leaving through the back.  Without even questioning it you made your way to the bike and grabbed a helmet.  Jason was right behind you, and had started the bike as soon as you were sitting safely.  

     Right as Jason started up the bike a group of men in black suits had charged through the door you had come from.  Revving the engine, Jason pushed the visor to his helmet down and sped away from them.  Any smart person would know that it wouldn’t be as easy as driving away to get away from a group of bad guys chasing you.  Just as you reached the street corner you could hear the screeching of tires against the road.  

     Jerking your head back, you saw two cars behind you that were followed by a man on a motorcycle.  It was obvious that they were the group of men who you had run into just a few minutes ago.  Unconsciously, you leaned in closer to your boyfriend and gripped his jacket tighter when you noticed just how close they were getting.  Sensing your urgency, Jason increased his speed and started darting in and out cars to try to throw them off of your path.  Unfortunately, because it was so late at night there weren’t really a lot of cars you could weave between.  Eventually you’d both practically be left out in the open.  You knew it and so did they.

     Despite the fact that you were driving between cars, the group of men were still on your tail.  The three vehicles were driving in a V formation, and as you kept looking back you noticed that the front car was getting closer and the other two were slowing down to trail behind.  A movement from on top of the car drew your attention, and there you saw the man you tried to seduce standing from the sunroof, with a gun pointed at you.  

     He yelled “Kinda rude for you to dip out of me sweetheart.  And to think we were just about to get busy too.”

     As a warning shot he pointed to the side of the road and pulled the trigger.  After that he adjusted his grip to aim at your back, but Jason swiveled the bike and drove in a random formation to throw him off.  Jason then sped up even more, to the point where the speedometer was coming close one-fifteen mph.  Flowing his action, the car in the front sped up, unsuspecting to the incoming traffic.  It was such a close call between your bike and the trucks that you could feel the movement of the trucks as you zoomed by.  The same couldn’t be said for the car behind you.  You couldn’t watch, but you heard as the car was crushed in between the two trucks that were on the road.  The shattering glass could be heard, as well as parts of the car falling onto the street.

     One down, two more to go.  Having the first car crash gave you guys a chance to increase the distance from the others.  You were almost fifty meters before the other two were behind you again.  They had slowly increased their speed, and started to get in a formation to where they could box you in once they were close enough.  To the right of you there was a drawbridge whose lights were flashing.  Looking back at you, Jason gave you a smirk and nodded his head towards the drawbridge.  Nodding at him, you scooted in closer to keep yourself from slipping.  Over the sound of the air whipping past you, you could barely make out Jason’s voice.  

     “Ya know doll, you look sexy as fuck right now.”  You snorted.  Only Jason would try to get laid while getting chased by guys with guns.  You yelled over the wind.  “If we get out in once piece I’ll let you get this dress off me.”  Hearing that made him rev his engine and jerk the bike to turn onto the next road, taking you to the drawbridge.  

     As you got there the sides of the bridge had began to unlatch and lift up.  Your stomach churned as you grew uneasy.  The last stunt Jason pulled to get the car off your trail was barely easy, but this was even worse.  If Jason didn’t get there in time there was only one option.  Which was to go down.  Something you knew you probably wouldn’t survive.  Long before you the car had stopped, knowing that it wouldn’t make it.  Now all you had to do was ditch the motorcycle. When you neared the edge, Jason increased the speed to where if you needed to suddenly stop it would cause more damage than good.  Jason pulled the bike up to increase the chance of making it to the other side, but just as the end tire of the bike lifted, a shot rang out.  The back tire had been shot, throwing your bike off course.  

     By total chance, the bike had still made it to the other side.  The front tire skidded against the road when it made contact, and Jason slowed down to come to a safe stop.  The motorcycle behind you wasn’t as lucky.  When the man shot there was a slight kick back that turned his bike slightly, and made him miss the other side.  As far as you could tell it was over and you could get back to the manor.  

     Jason turned his torso to face you and planted a kiss on top of your forehead.  He said “I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time we get back home.”

[tothemaxie]

Benched - JayTim Secret Santa

For @cinnamonskull//@jayskulll for JayTim Secret Santa I'M SO SORRY! I've had HELL with getting my tablet back up and running, and between that, hospital appointments and moving back to uni, my life has spiralled out of control. BUT - I'll do an art request for you to apologize. <3

“Tim maybe, quite possibly, might have broken a few ribs... And his collarbone... And now he's stuck on surveillance. But he's found a way to make it a little more fun...”

It started four weeks after Tim had shattered his collarbone (well, that and three ribs). Definitely one of the worse breaks he'd had to endure, but he'd made sure the other guy ended up worse (concussion from a last second swing of his bo-staff as he went down). Despite Tim's insistence he'd be fine and to full health within a week, Alfred and Bruce had shared 'That Look', and Tim had sighed - knowing in that moment that he'd be well and truly benched for at least six weeks. Apparently, Damian had understood the shared glance as well, if his spit of laughter was anything to go by.

It took Bruce two weeks to even allow Tim on surveillance from the cave, which had had the desperate vigilante going near stir crazy! Everything felt a little nicer once he was back at the computer. It meant - although he couldn't jump in - he could offer at least some assistance if someone in his family got into trouble. But (not really all that surprisingly) his family didn't really get into trouble they couldn't handle, all that much. So, there were just a lot of slow research tasks to take up his time...

That was, until he realized that watching could be fun... Specifically, watching his extremely talented, extremely hot boyfriend kick bad-guy butt to the gravel.

Tim knew almost everything technical about the way Jason fought; he had to, that's how he worked. But he'd never previously stopped to just watch it from a more... Artistic perspective. To see the precise angle his leg raised to during a roundhouse, or to hear the near-satisfied groan down the mic in his helmet that followed a really secure knockout. Tim really did want to pretend that it wasn't thigh-tremblingly hot, but there was no way to deny. Especially when he'd have to bite back a moan every time Jason acknowledged his presence, with a quick update comment, or glance into a public surveillance camera.

It was all so crazy intense to Tim that he could be watching his boyfriend like this, getting off a little on every movement, while Jason himself had no idea. It always made his breathing hitch and his boxers tight. And up until this point he really had no indication that he was a complete pervert. Maybe he wasn't? Maybe this was normal? The thrill of the forbidden... He always loved the forbidden. Jason was a testament to that.

But, all in all, his little routine worked well for him! Pretending to work on various cases for as long as possible, before having his eye caught by the way Jason threw a fucking right hook, damn. Then, quickly looping the in-cave surveillance (he would literally beg Kon to throw him into the sun if Bruce ever found out about this), and jerking off under the desk. Followed by swiftly cleaning himself up and ignoring the shame he felt next time he spent any time with Jason.

But there was a problem. Because a week in, shit started getting serious.

It began with Jason sitting in on some of Dick's little, impromptu stretch class sessions in the soft matted sparring area in the cave. Tim had just been finishing working on some DNA samples Bruce needed chasing up, and he really didn't mean to listen in... But then, he heard his name. And he was far too intrigued to go upstairs after that!

"C'mon, Jay!" Dick had laughed, and it was obvious they were just using this time to chat now (good, Tim had surmised, they never did seem to get to spend enough time together). "It's Tim! You've been with him almost a year now, d'you really think he's that close-minded about this stuff?"

"No." Jason responded almost too quickly. "If anything, Tim's too open-minded when it comes to sex!"

Past the other boys' laughter, Tim's tummy tightened with excitement and anticipation. They were talking about his sex life... And they didn't even know he could hear it all.

"Is there such a thing?" Dick teased, his tone sweet and somehow too innocent for the conversation.

"Good point!" Jason's voice was light and easy, and Tim could imagine the smug smirk that looked just way too hot on him... "But yeah... Tim's like- he's everything, in bed, y'know? God, he's just-"

And then Jason released the most primal, passionate groan Tim have ever heard from him. Tim blinked back in surprised arousal. Still, he leant closer to the wall, listening in closely.

"Okay, okay! Don't give yourself an aneurism!" Dick laughed, and Tim could just imagine Jason blushing (in that perfect way he did when he hoped no one would notice).

"Shut up!" The yelp of displeasure jumped out of Dick as Jason obviously punched him on the arm in protest to his big brother's teasing.

"Relax!" Dick forced through his laughter. "It's nice to see you two... Getting along."

"Holy shit, I know." Jason sighed happily. "Seriously, Dick, you have no idea what the kid does to me. And when he struts around the apartment in just my shirt - pretending he doesn't know I'm definitely watching - he has thighs to kill! Like seriously! His legs could literally destroy a man!"

"They probably have in the past! He gets that from me!" Dick noted proudly, but Tim was too busy just totally swooning to listen. Jason liked his legs? Despite their ongoing relationship, Tim still found it unbelievable that someone a hot at Jason could even want to take a glance at him that way. Let alone actually find him attractive!

"You're such an ass!" Jason's laughter snapped Tim from euphoric enjoyment of listening in on his brothers' private thoughts. "And I gotta get going! He's probably waiting for me!"

"Shit!" Tim hissed under his breath, ducking away from the wall and quick-shuffling to the desk. Falling against the chair slightly as his tried to sit, he jolted his sling-ed arm and yowled out in pain.

"Woah, babe!" Tim started at Jason's sudden appearance beside him. "Careful with yourself, you dingus! What are you even still doing here?"

"Oh, Umm!" Tim bit his lip, temporarily forgetting that he actually did have a genuine reason for being here. "Yes! DNA profiling! For Bruce!"

Tim threw a terrible attempt of a sincere expression over his shoulder, just in time to catch Jason and Dick's shared smirk...

-----

The second time Tim struck gold (and by gold, he meant watching in on something slightly more explicit than just Jason flipping a gun and revving a bike) came two weeks after the stretch session incident. It was Tim's final week being essentially grounded, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't getting super restless about being benched at this point. But it hadn't been too difficult to drag his mind away from moping when he caught sight of Jason's patrol route that evening.

His boyfriend really seemed to be enjoying his night out in Gotham. Every move he made was somehow even more smooth and clean than usual, and Tim could tell from the satisfied laughter that punctuated eat hit that Jason knew it, too.

Tim was entranced, totally spellbound by Jason's pleasure in his own skill. The smugness in his body language made Tim shiver with a sense of sensual familiarity. It was the same sort of smug as that that was in the smirks Jason would throw him when they'd fool around and Jason just knew whatever he was doing was getting to Tim. It was Tim's favourite kind of smugness...

But just as Tim was getting to enjoy himself - like, really enjoy himself - watching Jason take on three gang thugs at once, it was suddenly all over, and Jay had them all easily taken out. Tim pouted a little at this, disappointed that the show he'd been enjoying so very much had apparently ended, and moved to switch screens, maybe replay the last few minutes just to finish getting off to...

But then he noticed the urgency in Jason's step as he slipped out of view of the camera Tim was currently working from, into a shadowed alleyway, and Tim quickly snapped his feed to Jason's in-helmet surveillance.

Jason had his head tipped back, looking up at the night sky, the camera stable enough that Tim could figure out he was obviously lent back against a wall. It was then that Tim noticed the heavy breathing coming from Jason's mic.

Suddenly concerned his partner might be hurt, Tim grabbed frantically for the earpiece mic he'd earlier shut off and shoved across the desk. Clumsily fumbling the buttons, he opened his mouth to desperately demand Red Hood's status when he was cut off but the lewdest moan he'd ever heard Jason make.

He dropped the mic and stared at the screens in front of him, more - now explicitly sexual - groans following the first. His cheeks flushed a dark pink as he frantically searched for any nearby shops or buildings that had any CCTV he could get into nearby. Within a minute, he was messily typing in code to take ownership of a camera that he could turn directly to Jason's position and-

He fell back into his chair heavily, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. No fucking way was he this lucky. No. Way. He flicked the keyboard to zoom in - to be certain. And - yes - that was definitely Jason Todd palming his cock through his uniform, halfway down a dingy alley. Tim Drake had to be dead, 'cause this was heaven.

Tim returned his own hand to his cock at this sight, though he was totally unsure of how he could last very long at this rate. He was drowning in the sounds of Jason's pretty gasps and moans as it was, but the moment Jason cautiously flicked his head from side to side to check nobody could see him, Tim was gone. Far too surrounded by the satisfaction of getting this private show to last any longer...

-----

Tim felt a little sentimental on his last night stuck in the cave. He spent the evening spinning on his chair, watching the tiny figures hop across the monitor screens, and somehow managing not to get turned on by every little movement Jason Todd made. He knew he'd was set to go back on patrol tomorrow, so he was really making the most of getting to play Oracle one last time. Despite how easily he'd gotten distracted recently, and how frustrating it was to be grounded, he really did enjoy the 'clever-guy surveillance job'. And so, he totally revelled in his last night on the job, feeling suitably like Q from the James Bond films he'd watch with Dick on the weekends.

All in all, it was a clean, successful evening in Gotham - perfectly mundane, by all accounts (and maybe he was a little disappointed at that). And every was back in the cave, safe, fairly early that night (bar Jason, who chose instead to go straight home and skip Bruce's compulsory, post-patrol briefing), Bruce subtly ruffling Tim's hair and telling him to get to bed, before they all left him alone to shut off the monitors.

As usual when Jason bailed pre-briefing, Tim set to checking the surveillance in he and Jason’s go-to safe house to ensure he got home alright. Mindlessly clicking through the cameras in each room searching for Jay’s presence, Tim considered whether he’d bother to pop across tonight. Jason would probably be tired after patrol and he really wasn’t sure if it was worth it. And then he was checking Jason’s bedroom and choking on his coffee. Because – he noted as he, once more, wondered how in hell he got this lucky – Jason was totally lay back on his bed; half undressed; one hand balled up in the spare cape Tim had left in the safe house, pushed to his lip; the other moving tight and fast around his cock.

Tim outwardly gasped at the sight, as he whipped his head around to check everyone was definitely out of the cave, before settling his wide eyes back on the screen. Slipping his head set on, he flicked up the volume and settled back into his seat. Every gasp from Jason’s lips went straight to his cock and sent thrilled shivers down his spine, but it had nothing on the way his boyfriend groaned his codename out through gritted teeth. Tim’s eyes rolled back as that moment alone almost made him cum in his boxers. He watched, entranced, as Jason twisted Tim’s cape up tighter and tighter around his fist – even through the slightly pixilated feed, Tim could see the fabric straining.

“Fuck… Red Robin…”

Tim let out a squeak of guilt-ridden arousal at the sound of his name from Jason’s lips. He resisted touching himself, because he knew he wouldn’t last if he did. It was all too much – seeing Jason so vulnerable and exposed this way. Attempting to remove his mind from overthinking that point too much, he refocused his eyes on the screen. On Jason.

“Tim…” Jason moaned out again, causing Tim to let his eyes fall closed, “You enjoying- mmm- the show, babe?”

Tim’s eyes snapped open. What?!

“Know you’re there, Timmy…” Jay laughed through his laboured breaths, his fist around his cock slowing just slightly.

Heart racing, Tim flicked on the mic and connected to Jason’s earpiece, “…hi?”

“That all you got to say?” Jason followed up the words with a deep moan and a thrust up into his hand.

“I’m sorry..?” Tim cringed at the way his own voice shook through the words.

Jason released another breathless huff of laughter, “For this time, or all of them?”

He knew? Tim shuddered, caught between humiliated and even more turned on. “All of them..?”

“Here’s the- mmf! -Here’s the deal,” Jay started, “You get here before I cum, you’re forgiven, you lil creep!”

“I- Umm…”

“Now, Tim!” Jason gasped out, and Tim was out of his seat and disconnecting the feed quicker than he’d ever done anything else in the cave ever before…

-----

I hope you liked it. Again, I’m REALLY sorry!

[camsthisky]

Shuddering Darkness

ao3 | ff.net

Summary: Jason hadn't meant to let any of this happen. It happened anyways.

I've been working on this for the past couple months, and this is something like the fourth or fifth time I've rewritten it. The last draft was less than 6k. This one is about 400 words short of 8k. It's been a long time since I've had to wrangle a fic so much, but I just think it's because it's from Jason's POV and Jason's always tought for me to write in general.

Thanks to those of you who donated! I really appreciate it! And thanks to @preciousthingsareprecious for all of the suggestions!

“A case?” Dick asked, sounding bewildered. “And you need my help why?”

Jason scowled underneath his helmet. Dick couldn’t see it, but it was totally aimed his way, and it made Jason feel a bit better. He hated to go running to Dick like this, but he was running out of time and options.

An up and coming drug lord, Darren Sommers, was trying to expand his drug business by kidnapping children straight from the streets of Gotham and hooking them on his new experimental drugs. The more kids he hooked, the more people seemed to be interested. He was also one of the most revolting men Jason had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on, and he’d met a lot of disgusting men. Killed a lot of them, too.

Only, most of the others didn’t have a lot of backup. Sommers did. Seven beefy guys armed to their teeth. All of them obviously professionals. Traps all around his base of operations.

Jason hated to admit it, even to himself, but he wasn’t going to be able to take this guy down by himself, especially when he didn’t know how Sommers was even getting to these kids on Red Hood’s watch.

He hadn’t wanted to go to Nightwing, but he wasn’t sure if waiting for a few nights to look for the help he wanted would damn even more kids. Some part of him thinks he should feel grateful it was Dick he’d run into tonight, instead of Bruce or the Demon Brat, but Jason’s not up to feeling the gratitude right now.

“I can’t figure out how Sommers is getting to the kids in Crime Alley,” Jason told him, crossing his arms in front of him, “so I need you to see if B has anything on the guy in his files. Something that gives me an edge.”

“I can do that,” Dick said pretty easily, but he was still giving Jason a weird look, doing that stupid head tilt thing that reminded Jason of a dog. “But you know you can check yourself. B isn’t going to mind you in the Cave.”

“I don’t have time,” Jason fibbed.

Which, yeah. He was stretched a little thin, but he might have been able to make time to search through the Batcmoputer’s files for a few minutes. But he and Bruce were still on rocky ground, and Jason wasn’t sure if showing up out of the blue was going to make the ground give out from under them. It seemed like half the time Bruce opened his mouth, Jason ended up wanting to punch his damn teeth out.

Luckily, Dick accepted the answer, even if it was with an understanding nod and a sad smile. “Yeah, no problem, Hood. I’ll get back with you tomorrow night.”

Jason nodded, and they went their separate ways, Dick—for once—not begging Jason to stay a few more minutes and talk, or come back to the manor, or find the other. He seemed to sense Jason’s rapidly declining mood, which wasn’t hard. Even Jason knew he was snappier than usual, no snark or sarcasm to be found.

Jason just wanted a bullet in Sommers’ head, so those kids wouldn’t have to worry if they were going to disappear next. Sommers was in Red Hood’s territory, and he was going to pay.

“He has a son,” Dick told him when he dropped onto the rooftop next to Jason. His voice was trembling, and he looked withdrawn. Angry, but he was bottling it up. Maybe if Jason knew Dick just a bit less than he did, he wouldn’t have picked up on it. But he did know Dick. And Dick was pissed.

“What?” Jason asked, his voice quiet, because he couldn’t have heard right.

“Sommers has a son,” Dick said again—and that was more than anger. That was rage Goldie was giving off in waves. No unusual for Dick Grayson, Jason knew, but a lot rarer nowadays. With the Demon Brat around, Dick’s temper didn’t show its ugly face much. But now? It was almost palpable. Jason would hate to be Sommers right now.

“What does that have to do with the kids disappearing?” Jason wondered, his eyebrows furrowing. “He—oh. Oh. Son of a bitch.”

“Yeah.” Dick didn’t sound so angry anymore. His shoulders dropped, and he ran a hand over his masked face. “He’s been using his own son.”

It made sense, as sick as it was. The bastard was using his own kid as a spy on the streets so that he could snatch the other kids. The other kids didn’t trust grownups, but for the most part, they were okay with other kids. A bit wary, but nothing like it’d be with an adult.

And somehow Sommers had come to that conclusion, too, and had used his own son as a means to an end.

This information made Jason’s gut twist in anger and revulsion, because Jason’s remembered another kid, eager to please someone he looked up to as a father, being given a uniform that would get him killed a few years later.

And Dick, too, had been Robin. Had created Robin, becoming something of a brightness for the people of Gotham to see and trust, or distract before Batman swooped in and took over the situation. The two situations lined up too well, and Jason felt as the anger gripped its claw in his skin. He knew from experience they wouldn’t let go anytime soon, so he embraced.

He would use it.

“I’m leaving,” Jason said, his voice wavering in his own rage.

Dick’s head snapped up. “I’m coming with you.”

“What?” Jason asked. “No way.”

“You already for me involved, Hood,” Dick argued. “Just let me help.”

Jason actually found himself considering it. Dick was an amazing fighter, and an amazing detective. Jason knew that working with Dick on this would double his chances of catching this guy before he got too far.

But. Working with Dick also brought up a few problems. He was already working with the Bats wat too often as it was, aiming for non-lethal spots when he was with them, and sometimes even using rubber bullets. If Dick tagged along, Jason would either have to intentionally not kill the guy, or Dick would try to stop him.

(He could always try to gut Sommers later, though, when Dick wasn’t looking, because this guy needed to be off his streets. Permanently.)

“Fine,” Jason said at last. “But we do this my way.”

“No killing.”

Jason gritted his teeth, even though he’d been expecting it. “Fine. You follow my lead, but no killing. Agreed?”

Dick shot him a smile. “Agreed.”

Jason turned away, taking out his grapple and shooting it in the direction he knew Sommers’ base was. He was going to get this bastard, and he was going to put a bullet through his head. He didn’t care how long he had to wait.

“What are we doing?” Dick asked, looking confused as they crept towards the skylight of the warehouse.

Jason didn’t answer, too busy peering in and—yes. There he was. Derek Sommers’ son was in the warehouse. He couldn’t have been older than twelve, fiddling with a game on his tablet, and Jason couldn’t help the disgust that roiled in his stomach again as he thought about how Sommers was using his own kid.

He had to try very hard not to think about Batman while he looked between the kid and Sommers, who was standing on the other side of the warehouse, talking on the phone as he looked over a stack of packages, probably all filled with the experimental drug.

“Red Hood?”

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Jason said, finally looking up at Dick. “I’ve cased this warehouse three times, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen his son here. We need to get him out of here before we can go all out.

“Problem is,” Jason continued, “there’s about seven bodyguards down there, all armed to the teeth. One of them is bound to be watching the kid, since he’s basically the delivery service.”

“We’ll need a distraction,” Dick realized. “You or me?”

“Me,” Jason replied immediately. “As soon I go in, you get the kid, and you get out. Hide him at the nearest safe house, and come back so we can finish the job.”

He probably could have worded that a little better, but Dick didn’t seem to pick up on it. Instead he shifted minutely, and grimaced at what they could see through the skylight.

“What?” Jason snapped.

Dick looked up at him. “Look, I know I agreed to follow your lead, but eight men is a lot to distract at one time by yourself. Maybe we should call Red Robin or Batgirl as backup, just in case this goes south.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Jason told him, his voice cold. “And I know the best way to take these guys down. They hit hard and pack heavy, so knock out their footing and they crumble. They’re not invincible.”

“Neither are you.”

Jason made an irritated noise in the back of his throat. “Look, Nightwing, this is the first time the kid’s actually been here in the past week and a half since I tracked Sommers down, and Sommers looks like he’s getting ready for another delivery. This can’t wait.”

Dick still looked unsure, but he sighed. “Fine, but the second something looks like it’s going wrong, I’m calling for backup.”

“Fine,” Jason spit out. “Now get ready.”

Once Dick had successfully snuck in, in position to grab the kid and beat it, Jason had eased open the skylight, making sure not to let the hinges creak. He threw a few smoke pellets in the direction of the men and the packages, and once they hit the ground, Sommers and the guards engulfed in smoke, Jason fell through the skylight himself.

He landed right on the edge of the cloud, watched as Dick snatched the kid and whisked him away in silence, and then he threw himself into the cloud, determined to take down as many men as he could while he had the advantage of surprise. He had to buy time for Dick to hide the kid and then loop back around to help him take these goons out.

The smoke lasted about three minutes, and in that time, Jason had taken out three guards (they didn’t go down as easily as he’d hoped). He had four left, and then Sommers himself. His opponents recovered, though, and that’s when the shooting started. Jason rolled away from a shot, taking covering behind a pillar, and shooting back when he got an opening.

He managed to take down one more guard when Dick suddenly fell from the ceiling, surprising one of the other guards, leaving two more and Sommers for Jason to handle. Dick took him out fairly easily, and Jason laid cover fire for him when the remaining men tried to go for him.

And of course, that’s when Dick decided to get even closer.

The thing is, Jason knew how to fight close combat. He was good at it, too. Still, he used guns for things like this, and he kept his distance, perfectly timing his shots to use the least amount of ammo as possible without getting his face shot off or something like that. He was good at both.

Dick, though. Dick was a close combat fighter through and through, and it was just now that Jason realized he wasn’t very effective in a firefight. Sure, Dick could weave and flip through a spray of bullets like no other, movements too unpredictable to shoot at properly, but that didn’t make him immune to a stray shot or two.

And when Dick elbowed one of the two guards still standing in the face, and Jason cursed when he realized how exposed Dick was in that position. Especially when the last remaining guard lifted his gun and aimed it at Dick—and Jason was sure Dick’s heart was the target.

“Nightwing!” Jason yelled, raising his gun, and not even hesitating to pull the trigger at the shooter.

He was too late, though. The guard that had shot at Dick crumpled to the ground at the same time that Dick cried out in pain, barely completing his swing to the face of the guy he was fighting before he crumpled to the floor.

He didn’t get back up.

Jason cursed again, hurrying towards Dick while the last guard stumbled around rubbing at his jaw. Sommers had slipped away during the fight, but Jason couldn’t care less at this point. Up close, Jason could see that Dick wasn’t bleeding from just one bullet hole, but three.

Dammit.

“Get up off your fucking ass, Nightwing,” Jason snapped, even as he hauled the unconscious vigilante over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry, and lugged him out of the warehouse.

That guard, the one Dick had hit in the face, was still moving, and Jason had seen a few more guards stirring. Not to mention that Jason didn’t think Sommers would stay hidden very long. Not while his kid was missing. No, they’d come after Dick and Jason the moment they regrouped. Jason needed to get the two of them out of here. Fast.

The problem was, though, the only safe house nearby was the one where Dick had stashed the kid, and if Sommers regrouped fast enough, Jason could be leading them right back to the boy.

Jason didn’t know where else to go, though.

After a few minutes of lugging Dick away from the warehouse, Jason finally found an alley where he could put Dick down for a moment and assess the situation.

He’d fucked up. Badly. He should have taken Dick seriously when he’d told Jason to call in backup. But he’d been so blinded by the fact that Sommers had used his own son, like sometimes Jason swore Bruce did without realizing, that he’d just gotten too angry. Let his emotions cloud his judgment.

Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, and now Damian. All Robins thrown into a uniform at too young of an age. Now stuck they were all stuck in this world without a way out. There was no way that any of them could be normal anymore, and Jason thought that Bruce should have realized that after he died, and yet the Replacement had still become Jason’s replacement.

There were times that Jason thought that he was finally able to take a step away from thinking about that, about letting that fact cloud his judgement. But it infuriated him. Blinded him. To the point where he screwed up and made shitty decisions that led to his brother bleeding out without a safe place to recuperate.

He should have listened to Dick for once in his goddamn life and called backup.

But it was too late for shoulda, coulda, woulda’s and Jason needed to get back on track. Dick’s mouth was slack, his head lolling back against the alley wall. Jason had to take a glove off to check his pulse, and he sighed in relief when he found it easily. It was weak, but still there.

The bullets hadn’t hit anything that suggested that Dick was going to die here and now, either. There was a bullet in his right arm, one in his upper left thigh, and the last—the one that Jason had barely prevented hitting Dick’s chest—was in his right shoulder. No arteries hit. The Kevlar seemed to have taken most of the impact and slowed the bullets down.

So that begged the question, why wasn’t Dick awake by now? It couldn’t be blood loss. Jason had seen Dick lose more blood and stay standing, not to mention Dick had dropped like a puppet with his string cuts. Nothing like a faint.

Jason resisted the urge to punch something, and decided it was better to mark the problem of Dick being unconscious for later. Right now, Jason was a little more worried about where he was going to drag Dick’s ass to keep the two of them and the kid safe.

After putting a couple pressure bandages on the wounds to make sure Dick didn’t bleed out on him any time soon, Jason took off his helmet, took the comm. unit from Dick’s ear, and put it in his own. He didn’t have one that he could connect to the Bat frequency—which was just another gap between him and Bruce—but Jason was glad that Dick, at least, wore his. It would make things a little easier.

He tapped the comm. “Red Hood to Red Robin.”

“Red Hood?” Tim’s voice came in, sounding almost bewildered. “What are you doing on this line?”

“I’m borrowing ‘Wing’s comm.,” Jason said. “Nightwing’s down and he needs medical attention.”

“Take him to Leslie’s,” Tim told him, his voice strained. “Or the Cave. Just don’t involve Nightwing in your stupid grudge with—”

“That’s not the problem here,” Jason snapped. “We’re being pursued, we’ve got no mode of transportation besides grapple hooks, and Nightwing’s not in any condition to swing. Hell, he’s not even conscious. I need an extraction. Yesterday.”

There was a pause, a burst of static that had Jason flinching and rubbing his ear, and then Tim was back on the comms. “I’m on the way with the Batmobile, and I’m following Nightwing’s GPS. Hang on.”

“ETA?”

“Ten minutes.”

“We don’t have that kind of time,” Jason breathed out. “They could be on us any minute.”

“Give me something I can work with, Hood,” Tim growled, sounding too much like Bruce for Jason’s liking. “I can’t magically transport there. I’ve still got to drive all the way across town.”

“Sewers,” Jason said, the word tasting sour on his tongue. “I’m going to take Nightwing and hide in the sewers for ten minutes. They shouldn’t know to follow us in there, but it’s probably going to suck for Nightwing.”

“I can’t track your signal in there. I won’t be able to get to you until you get out.”

Jason thought hard and fast, putting his helmet on over Dick’s comm. unit and then lifting Dick back onto his shoulders. “We’re on the edge of Crime Alley,” Jason finally said. “It might be a little tricky, but I’m going to try to make it to Robbinsville. Where are you right now?”

“Upper West Side.”

“What are you doing there?”

“Long story. Robbinsville?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be there in eleven minutes. Don’t die.”

“Been there, done that,” Jason told him.

“Fine,” Tim snapped. “Don’t let Nightwing die, then. He’s your responsibility until I get there. Red Robin out.”

Jason rolled his eyes, huffing out an annoyed breath. Sure, Tim seemed to have grown a back bone since Jason had last spoken to him, and Jason would be somewhat amused if the situation weren’t so messed up. But he’d also like it if Tim didn’t automatically start assuming the worst of him. He wasn’t going to mess up a second time.

Sighing, Jason for the manhole cover nearest him. Tim to go sewer diving. This was going to be fun.

Not fun. So not fun.

First of all, Dick was heavy, and trekking through sewer water with Dick on his back was horrible. Man. What Jason wouldn’t give for a shower. The worst part, though, was that Jason wore he could hear voices behind them, and he hated the burst of panic he felt at the thought of Sommers and his guard chasing them.

“Damn it,” Jason whispered, the word echoing around them. The walls felt like they were closing in, and Jason didn’t like the uncomfortable prickling under his skin. He didn’t want to stay down here any longer than he had to. It was too reminiscent of memories long past.

“Think…this way,” Jason heard someone say, the voice echoing and bouncing around the sewer walls so that he couldn’t tell how far away it was, and damn it all. They had actually followed Jason and Dick into the sewers.

And of course Dick chose that moment to groan in pain, and Jason heard another, “This way! I heard something!” coming towards them, and Jason hoofed it as quietly as he could. It was only when he passed by a small little alcove in the wall that he paused, barely large enough for Jason to squeeze through.

It would be unpleasant, and they’d be trapped if Sommers decided to look in there, but one look inside told Jason that it would probably just fit him and Dick. And with Dick on his back slowing him down, Jason would never outrun their pursuers.

Jason took the chance. It was their best option at this point.

It took some maneuvering, but Jason got them but situated in the hole just as Sommers and his guard—two guards, dammit. One was cradling his jaw and the other was limping. It looked like Jason hadn’t shot him enough times—passed by them.

“Where did they go?” the guard with the hurt jaw asked as he walked by.

“They can’t have gone far,” Sommers insisted, urging them onwards. “And based on their direction, they’re heading for Robbinsville. Keep going. If we don’t find them in the sewers, we’ll cut them off on the streets.”

Jason held his breath until the men turned the corner, and then kept holding it until all Jason could hear was indistinct murmurs that echoed along the sewer walls.

And then it was just Jason, Dick, and some sewer water in this uncomfortable hole. Lovely.

Jason sighed and let his head rock back against the wall. The only way for both him and Dick to fit and not be lying on top of each other had been to pull Dick practically onto his lap, Dick’s back pressed to his chest and his head resting on Jason’s shoulder.

He was just getting ready to lift them both out of this hellhole and start the long trek through more dirty sewer water when Dick groaned. Jason froze.

“Nightwing?” Jason asked.

Dick groaned again, rolling his head back and forth restlessly as his face scrunched up in pain.

“Hey,” Jason said. “I really need you to wake up now, because the less I have to carry your gigantic ass, the happier I’ll be.”

“Where’re we?” Dick slurred, and Jason couldn’t tell whether his eyes were open or closed with the domino mask on, but he supposed it didn’t matter either way. Jason was just glad he was even talking. “Jason?”

“Are you awake?”

Dick hummed, and then his nose wrinkled up. “Why does it smell like a sewer?”

“Because we’re sitting in a sewer,” Jason told him. Something had seemed to settle at the sound of Dick’s voice. “You dropped like a rock and I had to haul you out of that warehouse. Do you know how much you weigh?”

“Yes,” Dick breathed, sounding more exasperated than anything. Then he tensed up. “Backup?”

“Red Robin’s on his way,” Jason told him.

Dick didn’t respond to that. He stayed still, barely breathing, and panic rose back up in Jason. Had Dick fallen unconscious again—no. No, Dick was too tense for that. There was something else wrong, and Jason was just about to ask when Dick said, his voice barely above a whisper, “God, my shoulder hurts.”

“You got shot, genius,” Jason said, but his words fell flat, because Dick was keeping abnormally still. Which almost never happened. There wasn’t really a time where Dick wasn’t moving.

“Doesn’t feel like a bullet wound,” Dick told him, gritting his teeth, the tendons in his neck standing out, and Jason felt that panic double. There was something really, really wrong here. “I feel like I’m on fire or something.”

Jason was at a loss. The only way he’d be able to check Dick’s shoulder was if he took off the pressure bandage and the Nightwing suit. But in the sewers? That was just asking for an infection. Not to mention Jason could feel their time slowly slipping away from them. Eleven minutes. How much time had already passed? Seven? Eight?

Not to mention the fact that Jason was starting to feel the walls close in on him again. They were stuck here in this hole barely big enough for the two of them. It was dark, enclosed, and it was starting to feel more and more like a different time. And the only way Jason was stave off those memories was to keep himself focused on Dick. On their task.

They needed to get out of here.

“Can you walk?” Jason asked.

Dick grunted, and Jason took it as a yes. He was careful about levering Dick up, but maybe not as much as he could have been as they squeezed back out of the hole. Still, the entire time, Dick kept quiet. The only thing that told Jason how bad Dick was feeling was his tight expression and heavy breathing.

Jason pulled Dick’s left arm over his shoulders, wrapped his own arm around Dick’s waist, and they started forward. Dick leaned most of his weight against him, but Jason didn’t care at this point. It was better than carrying him.

Getting out of here, though, was probably going to be hell. But they had to.

After a short while, Dick apparently found enough breath to start talking sparsely again, but his voice was as tight with pain as his expression was, and Jason wondered if maybe he should tell the idiot to shut up or not. But just the thought of silence as they walked through the sewers made Jason want to let go of Dick and sprint forward, away from here, so he didn’t.

“I hid the kid in the safe house,” Dick breathed out as a conversation starter. “Called Oracle, too. She’s taking care of him until the Commissioner…can come pick him up.”

That made Jason feel a little better. “Did he go willingly?”

Dick‘s head drooped as he started to surrender a little more weight to Jason. Jason adjusted, and they kept going. “Kind of. I had to explain…the situation. He told us—" Dick laughs breathlessly. “He told us to kick his dad’s ass for him, though. Said if we didn’t, he’d do it himself.”

Jason huffed out an amused breath. “Wish I could have been there for that conversation.”

Dick hummed. “He reminded me of—of another spunky kid I knew. All he needed was a tire iron.”

“You weren’t even there for that,” Jason said, rolling his eyes.

“Didn’t have to be,” Dick teased. “I’ve heard the story enough to visualize it. Still can’t believe you smacked B with a tire iron.”

“I was a kid,” Jason defended himself. “And tires would have brought in a lot more money than begging. Especially those tires.”

Dick laughed again, but it had a slightly loopy quality to it, and he didn’t speak once he’d caught his breath. He was starting to lose the battle with consciousness, surrendering even more weight to Jason and barely picking up his feet as they moved forward. Jason didn’t say anything, though.

This was where the sewer opened up, and Jason could see their exit and zero bodyguards, so he figured they were pretty safe to climb up. Out, however, was a different story. They’d have to risk it, though, because Tim wouldn’t be able to find them otherwise.

“Okay, Goldie,” Jason said, shaking Dick back into what he hoped was awareness. Dick let out a pained breath and turned his head towards Jason, but didn’t speak. Jason swallowed and kept talking. “We’ve gotta climb out of here. The Replacement should be waiting on the streets above us, but I can’t get the both of us out of the sewers if you aren’t conscious. Do you think you can hold on?”

“Yeah,” Dick breathed, but it barely sounded coherent. Still, Dick shifted his arms to curl around Jason’s neck with a pained groan. His grip was tight enough that Jason took a deep breath, checked that his guns were reloaded, and started up the ladder.

It was a rough climb, that was for sure. Jason tried to go as fast as he could, because it was clear that Dick was starting to fade out again, but Dick as also heavy. Jason was about ready to die—again—by the time he pushed the manhole cover out of the way and out onto the street.

Out in the open night’s air, that unsettling feeling that had been crawling underneath Jason’s skin disappeared, so did Dick’s arms. They both laid on the pavement, Jason panting for breath and Dick most likely unconscious again at this point.

Jason couldn’t find it in him to care any less.

“Red Robin to Red Hood.”

“Go,” Jason said, trying to sound less exhausted than he felt. He wasn’t sure he succeeded but Tim didn’t comment on it.

“I’m tracking your GPS. ETA is about forty-five seconds.”

“There they are!” someone shouted from down the street and Jason groaned.

“Fucking hell,” he murmured. “Hurry up, Red.”

“Working on it,” was Tim’s annoyed reply, just as the gunshots started up again. Of course, it was too dark, and the goons were too far away to make any accurate shots based on how many bullets hit the sidewalk about twenty feet away from Jason, but the bullets could just as easily stray.

Twenty-five seconds. A long time when maniacs with guns were running straight at you and there was an unconscious vigilante you had to carry away from said gun-toting maniacs. Just as Jason was starting to push himself to his hands and knees, though, the Batmobile came screeching down the road from the other side, tires squealing as Tim rounded the armored car to act a shield from the men.

Jason sighed and slumped back down on the street below him. The door to the passenger side, which was closest to Jason and Dick, opened to reveal Tim, who hopped out immediately.

“Help me get him into the car,” Tim demanded, and Jason did as he was told. He was too tired and wound up to snap back. Together, they managed to drag Dick into the car and situated in the backseat. Tim climbed back in, Jason following after, just as the bodyguards made it to the Batmobile.

Tim stepped on the gas, and soon they were speeding through the city at eighty miles per hour, leaving the bodyguards far behind. Jason sighed and slumped into the passenger seat, taking off his helmet.

The silence in the car was palpable, and Jason couldn’t help but snap a sharp, “What,” at Tim.

“What was that?” Tim asked, gripping the steering wheel far too tight.

“What was what?”

“That!” Tim cried out, gesturing with one hand to the streets of Robbinsville they’d already left far behind them. “What did I just bail you and Dick out of?!”

Jason shrugged. “We were taking out a drug lord who was targeting a bunch of kids.”

“Taking him out,” Tim repeated. “You were going to kill him.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Probably,” Jason admitted. No use in denying it now. “Maybe not tonight. Why do you even care? I get why Batman would, but—"

“You’re kidding, right?” Tim yelled, cutting Jason off. He peeled his cowl off and turned wide eyes towards Jason. The kid looked—Jason thought he’d sounded angry, but Tim looked more scared than anything. “I just had to bail on Steph and Cass to save your sorry ass. I honestly wouldn’t even care if it were just you doing something stupid—”

“Contrary to popular belief,” Jason bit out, “I do know what I’m doing.”

“—but you went and dragged Dick into it!” Tim spoke over him, “who was supposed to be helping me, Steph, and Cass catch the Arkham escapees. We were a man short, and because I had to come bail you out, they’re down two people!”

“I didn’t force Dick into helping me, you know,” Jason said, a tinge of bitterness in his tone. “Goldie’s a big kid who made his own decision to ditch you guys.”

“Oh, I’ll deal with Dick when he’s conscious.” Tim’s grip on the steering wheel tightened even further, and he sped up, pushing almost one hundred mph. “But it was idiotic for you two to take on a case without at least telling someone where you were and what you were doing!”

“You can’t—"

Tim wasn’t listening, though. “But because you two decided to go off on your own without telling anyone, Dick’s hurt and no one even knew you needed help! You both could have been killed and nobody would have known until it was too late! God, I thought you actually learned something from the time you went off and got yourself—"

Tim cut himself, leaving the Batmobile in complete silence. Jason was honestly a little shocked. Tim sounded like he was channeling Dick, Bruce, and Alfred, all at the same time, and Jason wasn’t sure how to take it.

This was shy little Timmy? Sarcastic and exhausted to the point of bluntness, Jason got, but there was something of a leader in that voice. He sounded just like Dick did when he reprimanded Jason back when he was Robin. Or Dick leading the Titans way back when Jason got to hang out with them a few times.

Maybe it was all that time Tim spent with his team or whatever, but Tim was yelling at Jason like he was twelve, and he’d almost mentioned Jason going off and getting himself killed, and Jason didn’t appreciate either of those things at that moment.

Tim’s expression crumpled before Jason could ground anything out in response. “Will you just—Will you check on Dick? Make sure he’s okay? He’s too quiet.”

Jason let out a breath and compressed his anger, focused it towards being helpful. He could argue with Tim later, when Dick wasn’t passed out and bleeding in the back of the Batmobile.

“Fine,” he said, and he climbed into the backseat, where Dick was sprawled out across the seats, his mouth slack. Jason tapped a cheek experimentally, but Dick’s didn’t even twitch. So, Jason went about addressing the wounds. None of them had bled through the pressure bandages very much, which proved Jason’s theory that Dick wasn’t going to bleed out any time soon.

He took off his gloves, and with relatively clean hands, he peeled back each pressure bandage slowly, carefully, and checked each wound. He checked the shoulder wound last, and he was just about to push the bandage back down when he noticed—

Jason sucked in a sharp breath.

“What?” Tim asked, his heck craned towards Jason, but his eyes stayed on the road. “What is it? Is he okay?”

Jason breathed out, closing his eyes, because Bruce was going to kill him, and then Damian and Tim and everybody else Dick was friends with—which was a lot of people, so there would be a line of people waiting to just pummel him. He would probably deserve it, too.

Dick wouldn’t kill him, though, but that might just be because he wouldn’t be able to. Not with an injury like this.

“Jason?” Tim asked, his voice small.

“I think you need to get to Leslie’s,” Jason finally said. “Now.”

“Why?” Tim asked, taking a sharp turn and speeding towards Leslie’s clinic. “What’s wrong with him? Is he—he’s not going to die, right?”

“No,” Jason said, stripping off his leather jacket and using it to keep Dick’s right arm immobilized to his chest. Jason was just making all sorts of mistake today, and the self-loathing that tightened his throat was almost overwhelming. “But his shoulder—it’s bad. The sooner we get to Leslie’s, the better.”

Tim stepped on the gas, and Jason held Dick down, the rest of the ride to the clinic was spent in silence.

Two hours later, after Tim dropped Jason and Dick off at Leslie’s and then left to back Steph and Cass up again, Jason was sitting next to Dick’s bedside, his face in his hands.

This was so completely fucked up. Dick shouldn’t be unconscious, shouldn’t have had a bullet surgically removed from his shoulder, shouldn’t have been lying here unconscious and in pain.

But he was. All al because Jason couldn’t stop for two minutes and think.

And of course, that was when Bruce—Batman—walked in. He didn’t say anything to Jason at first, and Jason appreciated it when all he did was pull back his cowl and sit down next to Jason, staring at Dick’s unconscious face (from painkillers this time, Leslie had assured him, not because of the pain).

The sat there for a while, but with each minute that ticked past, Jason felt the tension grow stronger and stronger. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Aren’t you going to yell at me?” Jason asked, barely a hint of heat in his voice.

“No,” said Bruce, still not looking at Jason. He kept his steady gaze on Dick, and he didn’t elaborate.

“It was my fault, you know,” Jason continued, not sure why he was trying to get Bruce to be—something, he didn’t know. Mad, betrayed, sad, anything but this weird calm blankness. “I came up with the plan. I refused to call for backup. I didn’t immobilize his arm when I should have, and now he’s—”

Jason let out a frustrated breath, and they lapsed back into silence, but Jason was never one for silences when it came to Bruce. It was easier when there was yelling, but with Bruce not saying anything, Jason was having a hard time staying in control of himself. He wanted to punch or kick or shoot something, and for once, it wasn’t Bruce he wanted to do that to.

It was himself.

“Why aren’t you angry?” Jason asked again, even quieter this time.

“I’m furious,” Bruce told him, and Jason closed his eyes, a lump in his throat he hadn’t known still existed making itself known. It had been so long since he’d felt like he could disappoint Bruce like this and feel it. He hated it. “I’m furious that you two made such a rookie mistake. But yelling at you isn’t going to help right now.”

Jason opened his eyes again, swallowing past the lump, and said, “I guess not.”

Dick moaned in pain then, and both Jason and Bruce were on their feet.

Dick’s eyes cracked open, his baby blues bright with pain and hazed from medication. The fingers of his good hand spasmed wildly, like he was searching for something to hold onto, and Jason could only watch as Bruce slipped his hand into Dick’s, squeezing lightly.

“Dick?” Bruce asked lightly.

“Dad.” Dick’s voice was halfway between a sob and a plea, and Jason felt something in his chest tighten at the sound of it. He’d never heard Dick sound so broken before. Dick opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it once more before he was able to choke out, “Bruce, it hurts.”

“I know,” Bruce hushed him, using his other hand to sweep Dick’s sweaty hair back from his forehead, and Jason stepped back to make it easier for Bruce to crowd Dick’s space. “I know it hurts, Chum, but I’m here.”

Dick’s face crumpled up, and then there were tears streaming down his face as he looked up at Bruce’s face. Jason hoped it was just the medication that was making Dick like this, because Jason didn’t like watching Dick break down. It was like watching a city wall topple. A wall that Jason hadn’t realized could actually be broken down.

“The boy,” Dick whispered. “And Jason—”

“Jason’s fine,” Bruce told Dick. “And the Sommers boy is with Jim and Barbara. The police picked up Darren Sommers, too. Everything’s fine.”

Jason threw a look at Bruce. “But his shoulder—”

“—will be fine,” Bruce told him. “There weren’t any complications, and as long as we keep an eye on it, he should be able to start physical therapy in a few months.”

“Jason,” Dick whispered, his grip on Bruce’s hand visibly tightening. He didn’t look like he was following anything very well, his eyes still hazy with drugs he was on. He looked like he was seconds from sleep. “Jason was with me.”

“Relax, Dickiebird,” Jason said, leaning forward slightly so Dick could see him without moving too much. “I’m right here.”

Dick relaxed his hold then, and every ounce of energy left in his body at that moment seemed to fade, and then he rolled his head towards Bruce and whispered, “Don’t leave.”

“I won’t,” Bruce promised, and that seemed to be enough for Dick, because within seconds, he was asleep.

Jason ran his fingers through his hair, blowing out a breath. It had been a long night, and he definitely wasn’t going to leave Dick’s side when it was his fault Dick was even in this state. He sat back down heavily in his chair, and Bruce was letting go of Dick’s hand and sitting down next to him a moment later.

“You really got the guy?” Jason asked.

“Yes,” Bruce said, an edge of hardness in his tone. “They picked him up in Robbinsville, and the police have enough evidence collected against him to put him away. And his son will be living with his aunt in Metropolis.”

“That’s good.” Jason didn’t know what else to say.

Bruce was silent for a moment before he looked at Jason, who met his gaze evenly. He wasn’t one to back down from a fight, especially not against Bruce, no matter how much he knew this was his fault.

“Can you just tell me what you were thinking?” Bruce finally asked. “Why didn’t you tell anyone what you were doing? And why was Dick with you instead of with Tim and Cassandra?”

Jason tensed. “I don’t control Dick, you know.”

“He went with you for a reason, Jason,” Bruce told him, his voice calm, but Jason could hear the anger in his tone.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but it made that lump in Jason’s throat make itself known again, and he felt like he was twelve goddamn years old again, grounded because he’d made a rookie mistake and could have gotten him or someone else killed in the lapse of judgement.

The worst part was that he was completely right. Jason had made such a rookie mistake. Dick had come with him and wanted to call for backup, but Jason hadn’t let him. Jason had been so blinded by his anger that he’d thrown himself into the situation without stopping to think, and Dick had gone with him.

“I think,” Jason sighed, slumping back in his chair and letting his head hit the wall behind him with an audible thump, “that Dick was worried I was going to do something stupid. Guess he was right.”

“He was worried about you,” Bruce said, and he sounded tired and resigned.

Jason stared at the ceiling for a moment longer before he said, “Yeah. He tried to call backup, too, and I told him only in an emergency. The stupid idiot went along with my stupid plan anyways, and look where it got him.”

“Dick will be fine.”

It sounded like a practiced line, and Jason swallowed the anger that threatened to rise up. How often did Bruce say that in the face of one of his soldiers getting hurt? Did he say that while looking for Jason, only to find Jason dead?

“Yeah,” Jason said instead of voicing his thoughts. “Dick’ll be fine.”

“I’m getting you a new communicator,” Bruce said out of the blue.

Jason snorted. “Sorry, B, mine’s not broken.”

“It doesn’t connect to our private channel, though.” Bruce was giving Jason an odd look, something almost unsteady in his gaze. “The new one will. You radio if you need help.”

“I can take care of myself,” Jason hissed, sitting up abruptly. “I don’t need you to look after me like I’m some little kid—”

“It’s for emergencies,” Bruce interrupted, his gaze moving from Jason back to Dick, and Jason deflated, realizing the issue. “Radio if you need help.”

Jason forced himself to breathe. “Fine,” he ground out. “I’ll call one of you if I need help.”

Bruce nodded. “Good.”

And that seemed to be it. No yelling. No spitting words of hate and anger in the heat of the moment that they’d both probably regret only hours later. No glares or disappointed looks. Just acceptance and then silence.

Jason, though, didn’t want to break it anymore. The quiet moment, sitting here next to Dick’s bedside together without fighting, gave Jason a moment to breathe. To think.

And Jason thought that maybe receiving a new comm. wouldn’t be so bad. It may even be a step forward from this stupid dance he and Bruce seemed to be doing around each other, the one where they both got angry and refused to help each other. Maybe with a comm., Jason might even be inclined to use it.

“Thanks,” Jason said at last.

“Thank me by using it,” Bruce told him.

Jason nodded. “But only for emergencies.”

Maybe this meant things were getting better between them, and for once, that didn’t sound so bad.

[my-one-love-is-music]

Tim Travel Ch. 4

As it stands right now, I think there might just be two more chapters to this. Well...more like one chapter and a shorter epilogue. I'm not sure if they'll both be 10k or what, it's going to rely heavily on how the story progresses. Ever since I started this fic I've been winging it so I'm not for sure yet how long it's going to take me to wrap things up.

But that aside, I'm back yay!!! These past few months have been super busy for me and have not given me much time to write let alone sleep. But things are finally settling down and I'm getting ready to go back to school so that should help things at least!

Enjoy the new chapter! Fun new developments happened and I enjoyed putting it together! ^.^

Also on AO3!

Tim slowly came back to consciousness. He was warm. So warm and relaxed and happy. He turned his face into the pillow underneath his head and smiled. He didn’t remember falling asleep. Or making it to his own bed, but he didn’t really care. He just knew that he’d been tired and he was comfortable and didn’t want to leave. He rolled over and snuggled further underneath the blanket, pausing when he felt something move beside him.

He frowned and slowly opened his eyes, bringing a hand up to rub at them when he wasn’t able to focus right away. He was face to face with a black shirt.

“You finally awake now? I thought you were going to sleep the whole night away.”

Tim’s gaze slowly travelled upwards until he was met with Jason’s smiling face. Jason’s very close smiling face.

“What?” he asked rather eloquently.

“You fell asleep next to me on the couch after we finished the pizza. I thought you’d be more comfortable in here if you were going to sleep until tonight, but when I tried to set you down and leave you wouldn’t let go of my shirt and I didn’t want to accidentally wake you up when you’d already fallen asleep.”

Tim groaned and buried his face in his hands. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks and finally took notice of where Jason’s arm had come to rest across waist and his fingers were brushing against the skin of his back where his shirt had been rucked up.

“What time is it?” he asked, trying to keep his mind from focusing on how good it felt to have Jason’s soothing touch.

Jason stretched to look over his head. “Just after 8 pm.”

Tim closed his eyes and let his hands fall away. “I guess I really was that tired.”

“I told you. You need to take better care of yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah. No need to gloat.”

“Are you up for patrolling tonight?”

“Of course!” Tim scoffed, looking up at Jason who looked relaxed and content in his bed. Tim decided not to think about what other implications that held. “I’m fine, it was only a nap.”

“If you say so,” Jason said, taking his hand away in favor of rolling onto his back to put his hands behind his head.

Tim shivered, skin suddenly cold despite the blanket that was on top of him. He pulled it tighter around himself and copied Jason, forcing himself to stare at the ceiling in the hopes that it would keep him from fixating on the fact that Jason had napped with him. Jason had napped with him. In his bed. With his arm around him. For what was probably five hours.

He told himself that he should be weirded out by that. That he should be freaking out about it or something. Especially when he knew about how Jason felt. But there was…nothing. Nothing except the desire to have Jason’s arm around his waist again.

“I guess that I should get going,” Jason sighed, sitting up and swinging his legs off the bed. “I need to get back to my place and get ready for patrol.”

“Yeah, sure,” Tim said, quickly following him back out to the living room.

Jason grabbed his jacket from where he’d left it on the couch earlier walked over to the window.

“Still going to use the window, I see,” Tim said, crossing his arms with a smile.

“Of course!” Jason shot back, laughing. “It’s more fun that way.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Tim said softly as Jason pushed open the window and crawled out. He waved quickly before descending the fire escape to the alley below.

Tim sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Hoping that he could keep his mind from thinking about what had just happened, he picked up the empty pizza box and the plates that they’d used earlier. He tossed the box in the trash and settled himself in front of the sink to wash the plates.

He stared down at his hands as the soap was washed down the drain. He left the plates to dry next to the sink and shut off the water. He dried his hands quickly and tossed the dish towel on the counter before he settled down on his couch with his laptop. He opened his web browser and typed in his search before he could stop himself.

He hated that he was relying on a Google search about dating to help him out with this, but he really had nowhere else he felt he could turn. One of the few people who he could talk about more personal things with was Dick, but after his reaction to him and Jason just going out to a bookstore and grabbing lunch as friends, this would give him a heart attack.

Tim scrolled through the online quizzes, not wanting to take the time to even answer those and pulled up several articles from teen websites since that was apparently his life at the moment. As his eyes scanned over the words, he felt himself despair more and more, because as ridiculous as some of the things on these websites were, he couldn’t deny the truth that it hinted at.

He shut his computer rather forcefully and jumped to his feet in favor of pacing around his living room since sitting still was the last thing he wanted to do in that moment.

“Okay, okay, so…” he took a deep breath. “So I like Jason. Probably in more than just a friendly way. I like him in more of a romantic way.” He groaned and scrubbed at his face. “So I like him in a romantic way. No big deal, Tim. That’s completely fine. You already figured out that he likes you.”

He continued to pace in silence before stopping and throwing his hands in the air. “But what do I do about it?!” he exclaimed. “How am I supposed to talk to him? Where do we go from here?”

Tim fell back onto his couch. He let his head fall back and stared at the ceiling. “Someone tell me what to do? Please?”

He waited and sighed when his apartment remained silent. “Right. I’m on my own for this one.”

He lifted his head and looked out the window. It was just barely dark enough to justify going out on patrol, but he had no idea what else to do and at least covering the streets of Gotham would keep him from stressing about everything. He could focus on saving people and anything else that may come up and if he ran into Jason…he wouldn’t think about it until he got to that point.

Tim jumped up from the couch and hurried into his bedroom. He flung the doors of his closet open and grabbed his suit from where he kept it stashed. His clothes were left strewn around the room as he shimmied into the tight costume. He snapped on his belt and checked it for his grapple gun and bo staff. Pleased with what he found there, Tim grabbed a domino and slipped it on over his eyes, blinking a couple of times to ensure that it would stay in place while he swung across the rooftops.

He hurried through his apartment and shut off all the lights before slipping out the window and arming his security. He took a breath of the late night Gotham air as he got up onto the roof. There was still some lingering heat from the day, but a slight chill was emerging now that the sun had gone down. It was nights like these when the temperature was just right that he could see the smallest hint of the stars through the smog of Gotham.

He let out a long breath and jumped from one roof to the next, keeping to the shadows for the moment. He’d rather not be seen. He wanted to keep to himself and just be without having to think. Fighting was the same. He knew as he landed on top of a mugger, forcing him to the ground. His senses were zeroed in on the person to make sure that he didn’t get himself hurt and the other people involved weren’t hurt either.

As the sky darkened just a bit more and the streetlights failed to properly light the sidewalks and buildings, Tim took the chance to run along the edges of the rooftops and grapple from street to street. He enjoyed the thrill of it. Reveled in the cool air that whipped through his hair with each twist, turn, and flip.

He stopped to catch his breath, the air stinging his lungs from all of the running that he was doing. He felt better after getting the chance to clear his head. He knew that it wouldn’t last for long and that he’d have to get back to patrolling soon, but he wanted to soak up every second that he got of his reprieve.

Tim sat down on the edge of the building and let his legs dangle over the side. He wrapped his cape around himself to keep it in place as the wind ruffled his hair. He felt the sweat starting to cool on his skin uncomfortably, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it besides keep moving and he wanted to grab a minute to think. Not that he should really be thinking considering he was having a freak-out before he left for patrol because he couldn’t stop himself from overthinking.

He almost expected Jason to pop up out of the alley and join him even though they’d just seen each other. He thought that he should probably be a little critical of the fact that he wouldn’t mind seeing him again and that he was letting the minutes stretch out a little longer than he normally would have in the hopes that Jason really would show up and join him. Not that he really needed to use that as an excuse. Jason was more than capable of showing up anywhere on his patrol to talk to him.

Finally, Tim sighed and got to his feet. He couldn’t wait around all night in the hopes that he might show up. He shot his grapple to the rooftops on the opposite side of the street and swung over before continuing his run across the buildings. He kept his focus on anything that looked suspicious or out of the ordinary, by Gotham standards anyway, but things were quiet for the moment.

Tim hadn’t even realized that he was actively seeking out Jason until he was over by his patrol route. He stopped at the edge of the building and took a minute to listen to the city around him. Things seemed rather quiet and peaceful. He didn’t even hear any gunshots that might give away where Jason was fighting. He sighed, disappointed and turned his back on the area, intent on getting back to his own patrol route. He couldn’t exactly ignore his own responsibilities.

He felt distracted by everything. He wanted to take it all apart like he would with a new piece of tech. He wanted to know why he was suddenly feeling this way and why Jason had developed feelings for him. He had an idea as to why that had happened, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept. And he didn’t want to be left with any inevitable form of fallout if Jason’s feelings only ended up being some form of prolonged hero worship that hung over from when he was younger.

“Red Robin.”

Tim nearly jumped and whirled around, caught off guard by the person who’d approached him. He relaxed when it was just Dick who was behind him.

“Nightwing,” he nodded. “Is there something that you needed?”

“Yeah, I was just curious about something and wanted to ask if you knew anything about it.”

“Okay,” Tim said, confused. “What is it?”

“Well, I just came from talking with Batman…”

Tim nodded. That wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary for Dick. He always took a little bit of time to check in with him during patrol.

“What’s so out of the ordinary about that?”

“Well it wasn’t that exactly, but while we were chatting…we were interrupted by Red Hood.”

Tim felt dread pool in his stomach. “He didn’t start shooting, did he?”

“No, he didn’t. He came to talk.”

“To…talk,” Tim said slowly.

“Yeah, I didn’t believe it at first, but he came to talk.”

“Well, what did he say?”

“He said that he wanted to apologize for some of the things that he did when he came back. He was angry and he knew that that didn’t justify his actions, but he didn’t know how else to deal with all of the emotions that he was experiencing. He wanted to try and make things better. He didn’t want to have this divide between all of us,” Dick explained.

Tim stared at him. It almost didn’t seem real that this was happening. “He actually said that? He actually came to talk to you about this?”

“Yeah. It was pretty incredible.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“After that, Bruce wanted to talk to him alone and I was more than happy to give them their space because I’m sure the conversation that’s coming isn’t going to be a pretty one, but the one thing that I did still manage to catch was that he was doing this for you.”

“For me? Why would he be doing that for me?”

“He said that he didn’t want to make you choose between your family and your friendship with him. He didn’t want to put more stress on you if he couldn’t get along with the rest of us and he decided to take steps to try and fix that. He wanted to make things better for you.”

Tim felt his breath caught. He stared at the space in front of him, not really seeing what was there. He swallowed and tried to figure out what he was feeling, but his heart felt too big for his chest, like the emotions were just going to burst out of him, and he thought that he might start crying because it all just seemed like too much.

Jason had done so many things for him over the past few days. He’d been there and looked out for him and taken him out to have a fun day on the town. Any lingering doubts that Jason was only acting out of some old sense of hero worship were quickly dispelled because there was no way that he would’ve taken that big of a step because of that.

“Red Robin? You okay? Nothing’s wrong is it?” Dick asked, worry thick in his voice.

Tim shook his head and smiled. “No. Nothing’s wrong. Thanks for coming to talk to me, Nightwing. But I should get back to patrol. I’m sure I’ll have a busy night ahead of me.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you later, little bro.”

Tim watched as Dick turned on his heel, albeit a little hesitantly, and jumped from the building, doing a flip in mid-air before he shot his grapple and hurried away.

Tim needed to find Jason. He needed to talk to him. He needed to do something. Because he couldn’t just let this go. He couldn’t let it go on for another second longer without letting Jason know how important everything he’d been doing had meant to him. He didn’t even know if Jason was still talking to Bruce or where he was. He could only hope that he’d be lucky enough to run into him along the way.

He pulled his grapple from his belt and ran to the edge of the building. He had a pretty good idea of where Bruce would be at that time of night and got turned in that direction. The buildings flew by and he was more than a little grateful that there wasn’t any crime to be seen as he hurried across Gotham. It was a blessing because getting derailed by a criminal was the last thing that he needed in that moment.

He stopped on one of the taller buildings and took a moment to catch his breath. He turned in a circle but didn’t see any shapes on the horizon. There was no sign of the other vigilantes who might be out that night. Tim growled in frustration and brought a hand up to his ear, patching into Oracle’s frequency.

“What can I do for you tonight, Red Robin?” she immediately asked.

“Do you have eyes on Red Hood’s location? I need to find him.”

She hummed. “That last I saw of him was when he approached Batman over on Belmont, but they’re gone now. Give me another minute and…there. He’s sitting on top of a building over on William, but you might want to hurry. Things usually pick up over there at this time of night.”

“Thanks, Oracle. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course.”

Tim shut off his comm and turned back in the direction that he’d come from. He crossed over several streets and looked back and forth, searching the rooftops for any figure that he might catch sight of in the distance.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration when he finally reached William Street and still didn’t see him nearby. He took a minute to let himself breathe and calm down and listen to the sounds of Gotham. The muffled sounds of a fight reached his ears and hurried over the rooftops, finally reaching an alley where he found Jason fighting off a group of men while a woman cowered in the corner.

He grinned and jumped into the fray, taking two of the guys down in quick succession as Jason finished with the rest. Tim ziptied the goons while Jason consoled the woman and helped her to the mouth of the alley and in the direction of her home. When he was finished, Jason put in the call to the GCPD and Tim hurried to the roof ahead of Jason.

Tim was shifting nervously from foot to foot by the time Jason caught up with him. His shoulders looked like they were sagging underneath his leather jacket and Tim could only imagine what sort of weight he felt like he was carrying on his shoulders. Tim worried at his lip, his earlier confidence and determination suddenly drying up in the face of uncertainty because what if he was wrong? What if Jason didn’t actually like him in that way?

“Hey Red,” he said, sounding tired. “What brings you over here?”

“Hood…are you…” he trailed off and cleared his throat, taking a slightly shaky breath. “Are you wearing a domino underneath your helmet tonight?”

Jason cocked his head. “No, why do you ask?”

Tim ran a hand through his hair. Things were going to be more difficult this way. “I needed to talk to you about something, but I didn’t want to be talking to your helmet.”

“Um…okay. We can meet up after patrol if you want? Or patrol together?”

Tim nodded before he even finished talking. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

“You’re starting to make me nervous. You seem like you’re a little on edge. It’s nothing bad is it?”

“No! God, no. It’s not bad, just important, that’s all.”

Jason nodded slowly. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Don’t worry. It’s just something that I need to get off my chest. Sort of. Look…I know I’m not really making sense right now and it’s probably not going to get any better during the rest of patrol so if we could just go and punch some bad guys that would be preferred.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Tim let out a breath and mentally chastised himself for his awkward behavior before following Jason across the rooftops. He tried to stay focused to keep a watch for any crime that may be happening and make sure that he didn’t end up on the pavement, but his eyes kept getting drawn to Jason’s back. He found that he couldn’t do much more than stare at him because he was so close to finally getting everything out. And he was really hoping that it wouldn’t all blow up in his face over it.

The minutes seemed to drag by as their footsteps made muted thumps across the rooftops. There was the wail of sirens in the distance that provided a constant soundtrack to the city. A car alarm sounded in some far off neighborhood and Tim wondered if it was someone trying to break in or because a cat jumped down on the hood again.

Even the action of taking out a group of thugs or stopping a robbery couldn’t draw Tim’s focus away from Jason. It didn’t mean that he got careless. He was as careful and as accurate as ever as he dodged hits and took out armed gunmen with a swing of his bo.

Jason was his own kind of force to be reckoned with. One that few people came out of unscathed. Tim had first-hand experience of that and knew just how deadly and precise he could be.

For once, they didn’t talk much during patrol. A heavy mood hung over their heads like a thundercloud. Tim wanted to get rid of it. He suspected that it was left over from the talk that Jason had with Bruce, but that didn’t make it any easier because he knew that he was the cause of it. He didn’t want to be the reason that Jason was unhappy.

“Are you seriously okay?” Jason asked, breaking into Tim’s thoughts just as he was about to jump from a rooftop.

Tim tripped over his feet and flailed his arms as he fought against gravity and his loss of balance. Jason snagged his cape and pulled him backwards into his chest.

“Sorry. Bad time to ask a question when I knew that you were caught up in your thoughts. But seriously, what’s wrong? You seem kind of off.”

Tim took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. His heartbeat was starting to slow after the surprise of being jolted back to reality. He stepped forward so he could turn and face Jason.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I was just kind of caught up in my own thoughts there. It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

“Are you sure that you can’t talk to me about whatever it is right now?” Jason asked, shifting from foot to foot.

Tim sighed. “Sorry,” he apologized again. “I know that I’m probably just making this worse since I’m being so vague, but I really don’t want to talk about this to your helmet and since you’re not wearing a domino underneath, it’s going to have to wait.”

“Do you want to just cut patrol short or take a quick break so that we can go talk?” Jason asked.

The offer was tempting and Tim was wanting to take Jason up on it, but…

“We can’t,” he said, shaking his head. “As much as I would love that, what if someone needs us? We owe it to the city to be here if they need us. It’s our job to be able to separate ourselves from our personal lives when we’re out here and even this shouldn’t get in the way.”

Jason nodded. “Okay. I understand and can agree with that. So…no more distractions then? Let’s just finish patrol and then we can worry about whatever it is that has you so on edge, okay?”

Tim nodded, feeling like a little bit of the weight that he’d been carrying around had been lifted off his shoulders. “Sounds good to me, let’s go.”

This time, Tim did manage to jump from the building without being startled and continued his run across the buildings with Jason by his side. He felt more free this time and was actually enjoying himself now that he wasn’t so focused on his thoughts and feelings. Jason seemed to feel lighter, too. He was keeping up with Tim’s pace easily and turned his head every now and then in Tim’s direction in what Tim imagined was him grinning at him. Even though he couldn’t see it for sure, Tim grinned back.

~~

The rest of their patrol went much better than it started. They’d relaxed back into a comfortable silence and even chased each other over the rooftops a few times to have some fun. All while stopping criminals along the way. Tim had nearly forgotten why he’d sought Jason out in the first place until the early morning commuters started to fill the sidewalks and he was brought back to the task at hand.

“You wanted to talk to me about something, yeah?” Jason asked when they landed back on the rooftop of Tim’s apartment building.

Tim immediately felt his nerves bubble to the surface at the reminder and he shifted from foot to foot nervously. “Yeah. I did.”

He waited a beat before hurrying over to the fire escape and climbing down to his window. Jason was right behind him, just as silent as they slipped through the window without a word. Tim unclipped his cape and set it on the coffee table with his domino before he risked turning on a lamp in the living room. Jason pulled off his helmet and set it next to Tim’s things gingerly.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Jason asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Tim ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath to steady himself. “While I was out on patrol, Dick came to talk to me.” He glanced up at Jason’s face and found that he looked more confused than anything. “He told me that you went to go talk to Bruce.”

Jason’s eyes widened slightly and he quickly pulled his hands from his pockets.

“I have to go,” he said, turning towards the window.

“Wait!” Tim said, panicking. He grabbed on to Jason’s arm to stop him.

Jason’s shoulders were still tense, but he didn’t pull away. Tim swallowed quickly and started speaking quickly, hoping that anything he said might convince him to stay. That wasn’t even the most important thing that he had to say either.

“He told me that you were trying to mend things with the rest of the family and I just wanted…I just wanted to thank you for that.”

Jason’s head turned to the side a little so he could look at Tim out of the corner of his eye.

“It means a lot to me. And I wanted to thank you for taking that step. And doing it because of me,” Tim finished softly.

Jason turned so that he was facing Tim and their hands were hanging loosely between them.

“You don’t need to thank me,” he whispered.

“Don’t be silly. Of course I do. It means a lot to me. And it made me realize something. Something that I need to tell you before I wait too long.”

“What?”

Jason’s statement hung in the air between them, falling softly towards the ground like the last fall leaf would in the chill November air. Tim swallowed and opened his mouth.

“I…I wanted to tell you that I…I…”

Jason waited patiently as Tim let out an uneven breath. It had seemed so easy to just let the words come out when he’d thought about it. Actually saying them seemed damn near impossible in the moment.

“This,” Tim breathed, grasping Jason’s jacket and pulling him close. Jason’s eyes widened as the space closed between them and Tim snaked one of his hands up into Jason’s hair. Tim closed his eyes as their lips came together. The kiss was stiff. Jason left frozen in place. Tim prepared to pull back, assuming that he’d made some huge error in judgment when Jason surged forward.

His arms wrapped around Tim and pulled him close. One of his hands cradled the back of Tim’s head as he deepened the kiss. Tim sighed, relaxing into his arms as his heart sang, lighting up his blood with electricity. When Jason’s tongue swiped his bottom lip, Tim didn’t even hesitate in opening his mouth.

The need for air broke them apart too soon. Tim closed his eyes, completely overwhelmed by feeling and relief and leaned his head against Jason’s chest which earned him a kiss on the head.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you were going to tell me that you have feelings for me,” Jason said.

Tim breathed a laugh and looked up at Jason with sparkling eyes, finding nothing but adoration there. “It’s what I would’ve said if I actually could’ve gotten the words out.”

Jason bit his lip, trying and failing to hide his enormous grin. “Well I’m kind of glad that you couldn’t. I’d take a kiss like that any day. I never thought that it would happen, if I’m being honest.”

“Well maybe we can make it happen a few more times?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

Jason pulled Tim over to the couch and into his lap when he sat. Tim tried to straddle Jason’s thighs and sit back towards his knees, but Jason wasn’t letting Tim get very far away, choosing to keep his arm tightly wound around Tim’s back so that their chests were touching. Tim was perched slightly above Jason and he used the position to wrap his arms around Jason’s shoulders.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Tim was ducking his head to bring their mouths together once again. This kiss was even better than the first one. And they just kept getting better and better.

Tim sighed happily when they finally pulled apart for longer than a second and leaned their foreheads together. He shifted uncomfortably as his knees gave a twinge from being stuck in the same position for too long. He wiggled out of Jason’s hold, much to his dismay and sat in Jason’s lap instead so that he could lean his head on Jason’s chest.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Jason murmured.

Tim tilted his head up so that he could get a better look at him. “How come?” he asked.

Jason stole another kiss before he started speaking. “I’ve just…I’ve been hoping to have something like this for years. You were so much fun to have around during those few days when you went back in time, but it wasn’t until after I was…brought back that things really began to change. I thought about you more to keep me grounded and when I actually came back to myself, I knew that I would’ve given anything to see you again.

“And…then I did. And I thought that…maybe I could have you. Even if it wasn’t in a romantic way. You were there on that rooftop and I couldn’t believe that I ever hurt you after everything you did for me. I spent so long thinking about you that sometimes I wasn’t sure if you were even real.”

“But I am real,” Tim said with a grin.

Jason grinned back. “You are. Thank god you are. I don’t know what I ever would’ve done if I never saw you again. I knew I’d never be able to forget you.”

Tim shook his head and rested his cheek over Jason’s heart. “You would’ve found someone else.”

“Never,” Jason swore.

Silence hung between them for a moment before Tim found the words to speak.

“So what happens now?” Tim asked. “I didn’t really plan for what might happen after I told you how I feel.”

“Well I think we covered the minutes after the confession pretty well with the whole making out session,” Jason said lightly. “What do you want to do? Do you want to just wing it? Do you want to officially be dating? Are you my boyfriend now?”

Warmth bloomed in Tim’s chest at the word boyfriend and he curled further into Jason who tightened his hold on him.

“I like that,” he said softly.

“What? Being called my boyfriend?”

Tim nodded.

“I like it, too,” Jason murmured.

Tim opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a large yawn. Jason chuckled beneath him.

“It’s late, you should get some sleep. Besides, don’t you have school today?”

“Unfortunately,” Tim grumbled.

“Come on, up you go,” Jason said, helping Tim out of his lap so that he was standing next to him.

Tim bit his lip and shot a nervous look at Jason. “Stay with me?”

Jason blinked at him, almost as though he couldn’t quite understand what Tim was asking. “Stay…?” His eyes flicked to the bedroom and he grinned before nodding.

“I’m gonna go change. You can take the bathroom if you want,” Tim said, backing away.

“Okay, yeah.”

Tim hurried into his room, nearly slamming the door behind him and started pulling the different pieces of his uniform off. He was grinning and he could do nothing to stop the giddy feeling that rose in his chest because of everything and nothing and just because of Jason. He glanced at the clock and nearly huffed in frustration at the few hours that he’d actually get with Jason before he’d have to be up again and going to school.

Trying not to think about it, he pulled on a clean pair of boxers and a baggy shirt and shoved his uniform away, knowing that he could take care of that later. Alfred wasn’t there to have an aneurysm over a few unfolded clothes. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to curb the grin that was pulling at his lips, but just ended up failing miserably.

He pulled the door open so that Jason could enter whenever he was done in the bathroom and moved to even out the blanket from where it had gotten ruffled during his nap that afternoon. Tim flicked on the lamp before turning off the glaring overhead light and crawled underneath the covers. He gazed at the door and watched as the lamp in the living room was shut off.

Jason walked through the door to his bedroom a moment later. He’d stripped down to his boxers since none of the other pieces of his uniform really accommodated sleep. Or they were probably too sweaty to sleep in. He crawled in on the other side of the bed and snaked an arm around Tim’s waist so that he could pull him towards him.

Tim rolled backwards and easily met Jason’s lips in a tender kiss. He sighed and pulled away to turn off the lamp before settling back down against Jason’s chest. He felt warm and happy and like nothing could take this from him. He thought that he probably should’ve been worried about some negative effects that would’ve been brought on for accidentally messing with the time stream, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

Not when gentle kisses were being trailed across the back of his neck, a warm chest was pressed against his back, and Jason’s legs were tangled with his underneath the blanket.

~~~

Tim groaned when his alarm went off and pulled him from a decent sleep for once. He ignored the ringing in favor of burrowing further into Jason’s chest to hide from the world, drawing a chuckle from him.

“Come on, Timmy, you have to get up and go to school,” he said, trying to stifle his laughter.

“Noooo,” he groaned. “I don’t want to. I want to stay here with you.”

Jason pulled Tim from where he was trying to hide in his chest and stole a quick kiss. “You’ll have plenty of time to see me later, but you can’t miss any more school after what happened last week.”

Tim sighed and pulled himself away, grudgingly turning off his alarm and shuffling towards the bathroom. He hopped in the shower to scrub the previous night’s grime from his skin and was welcomed by the smell of coffee when he stepped from the bathroom. He peeked around the corner and saw Jason bustling around the kitchen.

He changed quickly and hurried back out to join him.

Somehow Jason had already managed to make a full pot of coffee now that he knew how to use Tim’s coffee maker, several pieces of toast and scrambled eggs. Tim hadn’t even known that he’d had eggs in his fridge. He briefly wondered how old they were.

“You made breakfast?” he asked as Jason turned around with two plates of toast and eggs.

Jason shrugged and Tim saw the light blush that dusted his cheeks. “I thought that it would make your morning a little easier and this way I knew you were getting something more to eat than just a few cups of coffee.”

Tim smiled and grabbed a mug for his coffee while Jason sat down at the table. Tim sat across from him and dug into the food with an appreciative hum. They ate quickly, the food disappearing as the inevitable time when Tim would have to depart drew nearer.

Jason was kind enough to wash the dishes as Tim gathered everything that he needed for school and stuffed it into his backpack. He sighed, dreading the long day ahead of him.

“It’ll be over before you know it,” Jason said, pulling him in for one last kiss.

“I highly doubt that…” Tim tried to argue.

Jason rolled his eyes and shoved him towards the door. “Just go. I’ll see you later, yeah?”

Tim looked over Jason and how he was trying to seem relaxed with his arms crossed over his chest, but Tim could see the underlying uncertainty. The worry that he was still overstepping his boundaries in what they were doing and what their relationship had become. Tim smiled warmly back at him.

“Of course! And don’t feel the need to stay cooped up in here all day. I know that you already know how to get through my security and could easily leave and come back.”

Jason grinned. “You got it.”

Tim shook his head fondly and left his apartment and Jason behind. By the time he realized the happy and fond smile he was wearing was still plastered on his face, he couldn’t find it in himself to care that it would most likely be there the rest of the day.

~~

Tim was more than a little relieved when he finally got to walk out of the double doors to his school when the last bell rang. He breathed in the semi-fresh air, since the air was never truly fresh in Gotham, but it was conditionally in his case after being stuck in a building all day, and froze in his tracks when he caught sight of who was waiting for him at the edge of the sidewalk.

Jason was leaning against his motorcycle trying, and failing, to look at ease around everyone, but Tim could tell that he was tense and nervous. That didn’t stop the grin that immediately pulled at his lips when he caught sight of his new boyfriend. He hurried over to him and Jason seemed to relax slightly now that he was there, but still managed to look nervous.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Well, I asked if I’d be able to see you later and it’s later, so…”

Tim chuckled. “You didn’t have to come all this way to just pick me up.”

Jason shrugged. “I wanted to.” He took a deep breath. “I actually…just came from the Manor. I wanted to see you after everything that happened there.”

Tim’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You went to the Manor? Why?”

“Well…after last night, I’d told B that I wanted to try and make things work a little easier. And I thought since we’re, well, dating now, that it would be better to start sooner rather than later. I don’t want my relationship with everyone else to put a strain on ours. I want to be able to spend time with you without having to worry about someone dropping in because they’re worried about what I might be doing.”

Tim grinned and tugged one of Jason’s arms free so he could link their fingers together. Jason squeezed his hand and he squeezed back. “Thank you. For trying. It means a lot to me. And I think that they might be worried even after you work things out. But…I don’t want to have to hide from them. They’re my family and your family and you’re my boyfriend…”

Tim trailed off, embarrassed and Jason pulled him into a one-armed hug. Tim felt his face heat up at the pleased grin on Jason’s face.

“Alfred-uh…Alfred also invited me to dinner with the family on Sunday…” Jason continued.

“Really?” Tim clamped down on the hope that was rising inside of him. “What did you say?”

“I told him that I’d be there.”

Tim gaped at Jason. He moved his mouth to try and get some form of words to come out.

“You’re really going to be there?”

Jason nodded. “If I’m going to try and mend things with them then I should go. I can’t promise that it’ll be easy or even go remotely well…but if you’re there with me, then I think I’ll be able to do it.”

“Thanks, Jason. It means a lot to me. What you’re doing.”

Jason blushed and squeezed his hand again. “Well, you can thank me by coming out to eat with me.”

“Where are we going this time?”

Jason grinned. “It’s a surprise!”

Tim laughed and eagerly climbed onto Jason’s bike behind him.

~~

The week passed in a whirlwind of getting caught up with school and W.E. for Tim. When he wasn’t bogged down with work, he was patrolling Gotham and spending a lot of time with Jason which he was more than grateful for. Now that they had officially decided to start dating, Tim was more than happy to just spend the night eating dinner and cuddling on the couch while watching a movie. It felt a little crazy how quickly he came to want the physical affection that Jason was all too willing to give.

It was one of the things that was going to make the Sunday dinner at the Manor more difficult to get through. Jason had said that he was going to do his best to be civil, but that wouldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t get upset or angry at some point. And unless Tim wanted to give the rest of the family a few tells that they were in a relationship, he’d have to pull back on the physical contact that had become second-nature to the two of them.

Tim was just glad that Jason had offered to pick him up on his way to the Manor. It saved him from making the trip himself through Gotham traffic and gave them a few minutes alone even if it didn’t give them the chance to talk things over.

He felt more than heard the steadying breath that Jason took as they pulled up to the front of the Manor. This night wasn’t about to be anything simple or easy. Tim just hoped that they could get through it without a huge fight.

Tim gave Jason a comforting squeeze before he pulled his arms away and climbed off the bike. He handed his helmet off to Jason who took his time stowing them underneath the seat which Tim couldn’t really blame him for. Alfred pulled the door open as they climbed the steps to the front door and smiled.

“Welcome Master Timothy. Master Jason, welcome back.”

“Thanks Alfred,” Jason said, relaxing for the moment as he drew comfort from Alfred’s calm demeanor.

Alfred stepped to the side and allowed the two of them inside.

“Can I take your coats?” he asked, shutting the door behind them.

“No thanks, Alfred. I’ll keep mine with me,” Jason said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

Tim knew that it was his escape if things got bad. He’d be able to leave immediately if an argument started. Tim couldn’t blame him for that. He handed his own coat over to Alfred and watched him slip it onto one of the hangers that was kept in the hall closet.

“Everyone else is waiting in the dining room if you’d like to join them. I’ll bring out the plates in a few minutes,” Alfred said when he was finished.

“Thanks, Alfred,” Tim said, stepping forward when it seemed like Jason wasn’t about to make a move forward. There was no indication that Jason was taking a breath to steady himself this time, but Tim could make out the movements of his hands in his pockets as they curled into fists.

He gave Jason a reassuring smile and turned to continue down the hallway, letting Jason follow at his own pace. Despite his earlier visit that week, Tim knew that this was still something that Jason needed to do himself or it wasn’t going to happen.

Tim slipped into the dining room first and found Bruce, Dick, and Damian already seated at the table.

“Tim!” Dick exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and hurrying over to pull Tim into a hug.

“Hi, Dick,” Tim said with a chuckle.

Dick gripped his shoulders and put some space between them so he could give him a look over.

“I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“You just saw me the other night,” Tim argued.

Dick rolled his eyes and pulled Tim against his side so that he could walk him over to the table. “I mean outside of patrol. Speaking of patrol, where’s Jay?”

“He’s coming. Just give him a minute. And we can hang out soon, okay?”

“We better,” Dick said, sitting him down next to Bruce at one of the two remaining place settings. Jason would be sitting next to him unless Dick decided to move which would be the best. It would keep him further away from Bruce and allow Tim to give Jason some support if he needed it.

The sound of the door opening caught all of their attention. Jason stood in the doorway, looking indifferent, but Tim could sense the nerves that were thrumming underneath his skin. He offered Jason a small smile and watched as he walked around the table to sit down next to him.

Bruce looked at Jason coolly and Dick’s smile looked more than a little strained. Damian was watching Jason with narrowed eyes, but that wasn’t very different from his usual approach to dealing with people.

“If the Masters are ready, I shall bring in the first course,” Alfred said, popping up from who knew where.

“Yes, thank you Alfred,” Bruce answered, voice not giving anything away.

Alfred bowed slightly before he slipped back out the door. An awkward silence fell between them, no one knowing how to begin conversation. Tim racked his brain for something to say, but was saved by Dick clearing his throat.

“So…Tim how are things at school? You’ve gotten caught up with everything that you missed when you were gone, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve gotten all the homework that I missed finished. There wasn’t too much that I had to get through and it was all really easy. More busy work than anything. Things have been pretty relaxed since I’ve been back. Thanks for wrapping up my case for me, by the way. After being sent back in time, I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with that scientist again.”

“Yeah we really didn’t need you getting sent back in time again. Who knew where you would’ve ended up again?”

Tim sensed a shift in Jason’s mood next to him. Things were already going sour. “If I had been sent back again, I would’ve just done what I did this time and left you a message. It wouldn’t have been a big deal and you would’ve already had the technology to come and pick me up.”

“It certainly would’ve helped keep the timeline from getting altered,” Bruce broke in.

Tim swallowed nervously and fought to find something to say before Jason got pissed off. Thankfully, Alfred pushed open the door to the dining room and wheeled in a tray filled with covered platters. He walked around the table, depositing them in front of everyone and removing the covers as he went.

“Enjoy, sirs. Once you are finished with these, I’ll bring in the soup for this evening’s dinner,” Alfred said, before placing the covers on the cart and leaving the room.

Tim grabbed his fork and nervously began to pick at his food. He could see that Bruce wasn’t touching his food and suspected that he was having a staring contest with Jason over his head.

“The timeline wasn’t altered that much. And only in small ways,” Tim said quietly. “All major events stayed the same. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing, but I took steps to ensure that things changed as little as possible. I obviously couldn’t do much when it came to my presence in the Manor, but…” he trailed off.

He felt more than saw Bruce’s gaze on him. It was heavy, filled with so many old memories and past hurts and current pains. This wasn’t what he’d hoped for when it came to Sunday dinner, but maybe if they could just get past this little road block, then things could be better.

“You don’t have to fight,” Tim continued, finally looking up and meeting Bruce’s eyes. He knew that Dick was watching him carefully and Jason was no doubt surprised, by his words, even if he wasn’t showing it. “You and Jason. All of us. We don’t have to fight. Sure, things aren’t like they were back then and they aren’t ever going to be, but that doesn’t mean you all have to constantly be at war with each other. Jason’s here because he wants to try and mend things. And you need to try and reach out, too.

“I know that you’re not always the best when it comes to dealing with emotions, but…you can do better than this. We all have an idea of what Jason’s done. I don’t know if he intends to change how he operates or what he plans to do in Gotham, but I know that the times we’ve met up on patrol haven’t been bad. He hasn’t killed anyone in front of me at least. So…can you at least try to get along?”

Bruce’s eyes slid from where they were scrutinizing him and looked past him at where Jason was. Tim slowly turned his head, catching sight of Dick watching all of them and Damian trying to feign indifference at the whole conversation. Jason was looking down at him. His features remained stoic, but Tim could see the spark of warmth in his eyes that he allowed to shine through. Jason glanced up from him and narrowed his eyes when he met Bruce’s gaze.

“Tim just wants us to get along again. He’s right when he says that things aren’t going to be the same as they were. But I’m willing to try,” Jason said evenly.

“Are you willing to lay down your guns and stop killing?” Bruce asked.

Tim wanted to bang his head on the table because of course that was what Bruce was going to boil everything down to. As much as he cared about Jason, he didn’t know how to put it into words other than how Jason operated in the field.

Jason stared back at Bruce resolutely. “I’m not willing to put the guns away. They’re my weapon of choice and what I’m most comfortable with, but…” Jason trailed off and looked at Tim. His gaze was full of meaning and if he hadn’t been guarding himself to protect their relationship from the rest of the family at the moment, Tim was sure that it would’ve been filled with love. He turned back to Bruce. “I’ve already shown that I can patrol without using deadly force. Tim has witnessed that.”

Bruce stared at Jason for a moment before he nodded. “Your progress when you’ve been around Tim has been apparent, but are you willing to act the same way when there is no one nearby to hold you accountable?"

Jason tenses next to him and Tim had to stop himself from reaching out. “How do you know that I already haven’t?”

“Death records rarely lie, Jason.”

“Unless they become outdated,” Jason shot back.

Tim snorted and immediately covered his mouth with his hand when he realized he’d broken into the moment. Bruce raised an eyebrow at him and Jason smirked ever so slightly.

“Sorry,” Tim muttered.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Jason,” Bruce broke in, because of course that’s exactly what he would go back to.

“It’s a start,” Tim said, staring down at his food before lifting his gaze to meet Bruce’s defiantly. “As much as you want him to live up to your perfect ideals, it’s not going to happen. He’s not who he used to be as much as that pains you. And me. But the best he can do is try. And if he happens to slip up a bit, we’re all going to need to hear what he has to say to try and understand why it happened and what pushed him to do the things that he did.”

“Tim…” Jason murmured, quietly.

“This isn’t just a one-way street or a one-sided relationship. You’re going to have to give a little, as much as it might pain you to do so. And Jason’s going to have to do some things that might make him uncomfortable sometimes. What’s important is finding a new balance between everything between the two of you. It might not always be pretty, but life rarely is. That’s something that we can all attest to,” he said, looking at everyone around the table.

“Those are certainly wise words, Master Timothy,” Alfred said, stepping back into the room. “And something that can be considered over tonight’s soup.”

Tim smiled tiredly at Alfred. The night was going to be a long one and the emotional toll on all of them was already great. And it was probably going to get worse because that’s just what happened between all of them. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t all come out of the dinner the better for it.

“That sounds like an excellent idea, Alfred,” Tim said, sagging back in his chair.

Alfred walked around and gathered their appetizer dishes. Most of them had gone untouched during the conversation: Damian and Dick were the only two who had really eaten. Tim was more than a little relieved to have the soup placed in front of him. It was broth based which would be easy on his stomach. He just hoped that he wouldn’t become so upset that it would be all he could stomach for the evening.

Before he could lift his hand from where it was sitting in his lap, Jason’s hand reached over underneath the tablecloth and gave his hand a squeeze. Tim kept himself from looking over at Jason, because every other person of the room would catch the action and become suspicious, but he did take the time to squeeze back before proceeding to eat his soup.

He just might be able to make it through the evening after all. He just hoped that the emotional strain on Jason wasn’t much worse than what he was experiencing. It was hard enough for him to be in the Manor as it was and stressful conversations would only make the evening worse than it needed to be.

~~

Tim nearly let himself fall to the floor as soon as he stepped into his apartment after the dinner was over. Things had been tense and draining, but he knew that it was a step in the right direction. Things could’ve gone far, far worse and he was grateful for how tame everything had stayed.

The door shut behind him quietly and arms wrapped around him, holding him close.

“Thank you,” Jason murmured softly.

Tim tilted his head back and smiled tiredly. He took in the exhaustion framing Jason’s features and the slightly hollow look in his eyes.

“Sorry I couldn’t do more to keep it from being so tiring.”

Jason shook his head. “Don’t apologize. Things would’ve gotten so much worse if you hadn’t been there. We probably would’ve ended up screaming at each other or thrown plates of food. Alfred would’ve gotten pissed at us then.”

Tim turned in Jason’s arms and wrapped his arms around Jason’s shoulders so he could rest his head against his chest. “I’m glad that I could help. Hopefully Bruce will actually listen to some of what I said and things can get better. It’ll probably be slow and the two of you will do things that will piss each other off, but…”

“But that doesn’t mean that it won’t get better,” Jason added. “I’m not looking forward to this,” he said with a sigh.

“Aren’t you, though? It’s a chance to have a family again. It’s not going to be like it was. And there’s still a lot the two of you need to talk about in order to find a semblance of normalcy, but it’s a start. And you’re not alone in this. Even if I was the one who pushed this on you.”

“You didn’t push this on me, Tim,” Jason said, cupping the side of his face so he could bring their gazes together. “I did this because of you. You may not realize it, but you do help to inspire the best in me, even if that might be when I’m doing some bad things sometimes. You give me the strength to face all of those painful confrontations when I can’t find the courage in myself.”

Tim smiled. It was less tired this time and he was glad that there was a bit of a spark coming back to Jason’s eyes after everything he’d gone through that evening. He snaked his fingers into Jason’s hair and guided him down for a kiss. Jason pulled him tightly against him as they got lost in each other for the moment. It was a relief to let go. To let all of those feelings fall away until it was just the sweet emotions they felt for each other.

They pulled apart. Tim opened his eyes slowly and took in Jason’s lazy smile that was completely open. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and his gaze snapped over to the window. Tim squinted, trying to make out something in the darkness beyond that wasn’t distorted by their reflection.

“Tim?” Jason asked.

Tim stepped away and shut off the light before he moved over to the window. The lights of Gotham came to life and shone through the glass.

“I thought that I saw something.”

Jason moved up beside him. “Threat level?”

“At the moment? Low. Whoever it was looked like they were leaving.”

Jason wrapped an arm around Tim’s waist where they stood scrutinizing the tops of the buildings and the shadows where the lights didn’t quite reach.

“Want to check it out.”

Tim sighed. “Kind of? But I also just want to set up some extra security measures and stay here with you to call it a night. I know it’s selfish, but…”

Jason chuckled. “I thought I told you to be more selfish?”

“You did, but if this is a security or safety risk…”

“Then you’ll be able to handle it if they come back for you. I’m sure that whatever it was can wait. If they are looking to hurt you, they’re going to need to formulate a plan. And if they’re rash and come back tonight to attack, there are two excellent crime fighters here who can take them out in a heartbeat.”

“Point taken.”

“Come on,” Jason said, giving his hip a squeeze before letting his hand fall away. “Set up those extra security measures and then go to bed. You need the rest.”

Tim smiled ruefully. “What, no patrol?”

“Are you seriously suggesting that you’d rather go out and patrol than stay here and sleep?”

“I only want to sleep if you stay with me,” Tim said, biting his lip.

“You wouldn’t be able to pry me away with a crowbar even if you tried,” Jason said easily as he headed towards the bedroom.

[carbonjen]

You're cute :3 in addition to being cute, I also enjoy your writing! If you're up for writing some JayDick angst/hurt/comfort, could I get some Dick whumpage, and Jason probably getting hurt too but by something ordinary (no capes), like a car accident etc. But also some fluff because they share a hospital room and I can just see that being sweet, funny and angsty all at the same time (probably Jason brooding let's honest). Good luck with your finals! *sends good thoughts your way* thank you!

Aww thank you! It’s really weirdly convenient that I got this prompt a month ago but I’m filling it right after I do a 2016 selfies post. Weird. 

So this was supposed to be a bit more angst, but it turned out more fluffy. If you really want angst though, check out the comments I put in the tags of this post and maybe that will tide you over?

Shot Through the Heart

Jason tipped his head back on the pillow under his neck and sighed as he waited for the doctor to come into the room to tell him he was okay. Jason already knew he was okay, but they had to bring the doctor in to look at the wound and the xrays before Jason could be released. 

His shoulder was a dull ache in the back of his mind, but the pain medicine was a good distraction from the wound the knife had left. Jason had stopped a robbery happening in an alley. What he didn’t expect was the guy to have a knife. He’d been stabbed in the shoulder, unfortunately for the guy that stabbed him, Jason had reacted on instinct, punching the guy so hard he was knocked out cold within seconds.

Jason’s doctor finally came in the room, it had been hours and Jason had been left to flip channels on the hospital TV. 

He looked Jason over, making notes on his clipboard before he stepped back. “Everything looks good, but we’re going to hold you here for the night just to be sure, then we’ll get you out of here with some pain meds.”

“I don’t need pain meds,” Jason replied. 

“I think you’ll change your mind when the next round wears off,” the doctor replied. “We’ll have you moved in just a few minutes.”

A few minutes turned out to be half an hour later. The nurse insisted on putting Jason in a wheel chair even though he insisted that his legs were fine and he could walk. 

He was put in an empty room and Jason thanked the gods and texted Roy to bring him some food, books, and a phone charger so he’d have something to do. The lights and constant noise around him made Jason think he wasn’t going to get much sleep. 

Jason was waiting for Roy to bring him his things because Roy was busy doing god knows what when Jason heard noise outside his room. 

“I’m fine, really,” a smooth voice insisted from outside the room. 

“And as we’ve told you Mr. Grayson, the doctors want to make sure there’s no internal bleeding after a fall like that.”

The source of the voice laughed and Jason watched as a man in a sparkling blue spandex costume was wheeled into the room. Jason’s mouth went dry because this had to be the hottest guy he’d ever seen in his life. He was pretty with his mid length black hair and sparkling blue eyes, but he was handsome as well with a strong jawline, slim muscled body, and high cheekbones. 

He looked over to Jason before turning back to the nurse, “I’ve had worse falls from higher heights,” Grayson insisted as the nurse helped him into the bed. “I’ll be sore for a few days but then I’ll be fine.”

“Doctor’s orders Mr. Grayson,” the nurse said as he left them alone. 

“If it helps,” Jason said, turning to look at the pouting Mr. Grayson, “I don’t want to be here either.”

“What happened to you?” the guy asked, turning his head to look at Jason.

“Got stabbed while trying to stop a mugging,” Jason said. “What about you?”

“I’m a performer and I travel with the circus, Haly’s Circus,” the guy clarified. “You may have heard of it. Anyways, I was doing my aerial routine when one of the animals escaped and knocked me down from my silks in the middle of a routine and I landed kind of hard on the ground.”

“You’re a circus performer?” Jason asked. “No way.”

Roy took that moment to arrive, a bag of takeout in one hand an overnight bag over one shoulder, and a sleeping Lian in a stroller in front of him. 

“Sorry I’m late, Jay, Lian and I were at the circus when an animal got out and a guy fell and I didn’t see your text until I had left and I had to run home and you know-” Roy stopped when he realized they weren’t alone in the room and then his eyes went wide. “You’re the guy that fell.”

“Guilty as charged,” Grayson said with a shrug. “Did you enjoy the show otherwise?”

“Uh yeah,” Roy said. “But are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dick said. “Believe it or not I’ve had worse falls.” 

“Huh,” Roy said before turning back to Jason. “I would stay but I have to get Lian to bed but I brought you chili dogs and Chinese food and your favorite books and I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“Don’t worry about it, Roy,” Jason said as Roy set the things down on Jason’s bed. “Buy Lian some ice cream for me, okay?”

“Will do,” Roy said. “I’m glad you’re okay, but next time you stop a robbery, please check to see if the guy is armed first.”

“I will,” Jason said with a roll of his eyes.

“And uh, I’m glad you’re okay too,” Roy said as he saluted the circus performer before leaving the room.

As Roy left, Jason opened the bag of food. Dick felt eyes on him and turned his head to see the circus guy staring at the bag. 

“You want some?” Jason asked. “Roy always gets way too much.”

The guy’s face lit up and it made something warm flutter in Jason’s stomach. “Yeah that would be awesome. Do you mind if I push our beds together? That might make it easier to eat.”

“Go ahead,” Jason said. The guy seemed nice, and he was hot, so Jason was fine with it. 

“I’m Dick by the way,” the guy said. “Dick Grayson.” He pushed the beds together and then climbed in next to Jason. 

“Jason Todd,” he greeted as he handed a container and a pair of chopsticks to Dick. “So I have to ask, what’s it like being in the circus?”

“It’s pretty awesome,” Dick said as he started eating the lo mein Jason had passed him while Jason bit into a chili dog. “I’ve grown up there so I don’t really know what it’s like to live in the real world, but I don’t mind that. Everyone there is my family and I get to make people happy when I perform.”

“That sounds pretty amazing,” Jason said. It sounded way better than his job. He worked at a garage part time and as a firefighter the rest of the time. He was happy with what he did, but it wasn’t the life he’d always dreamed of.

“We’ll still be in town tomorrow if you want to stop by,” Dick said. “I won’t be performing, but it’s still a great show.”

“Yeah,” Jason said. “That sounds pretty nice.”

Jason and Dick bonded over the food Roy had brought them, and then they chatted as they watched TV shows and crappy movies on the small TV screen across the room. At one point, Dick had scooted completely into Jason’s bed, their sides pressed together and Dick’s head on Jason’s shoulder as they commented on the movie they were watching. 

“This is my favorite scene,” Dick said as he looked to Jason to see if he was watching. 

Jason wasn’t watching the scene though, he was watching Dick, who’s eyes went a little wide when he realized the small distance between them. 

“I don’t know if I’m reading this wrong,” Jason said as he leaned in and looked at Dick’s lips. 

“You’re not,” Dick whispered as Jason leaned in and kissed him, his mouth warm as it moved against Dick’s. 

The hospital beds weren’t made to comfortable fit two people, and they definitely weren’t made for two people trying to find a good position to kiss. Neither of them cared though, as they explored each other’s mouths. 

The sound of someone clearing their throat at the door made them both pull apart, Dick nearly falling out of the bed and Jason catching him. 

“I uh, brought you some clothes, Dick,” a guy said from the doorway. He was dressed in jeans and a tshirt. “I’ll, uh, leave you guys to it, I guess.”

“Thanks, James,” Dick said as he slipped out of the bed and grabbed the bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” James said as he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

Dick gave Jason an apologetic look and it melted Jason’s heart. “We’ll probably be seeing him again tomorrow,” Dick said. “He’s one of the dog trainers.”

“That’s cool,” Jason said, trying to hide his embarrassment from being caught making out with Dick like a horny teenager. 

“So uh, after I put on my pajamas do you want to go back to where we left off?” A slight blush rose on Dick’s cheeks, pretty and pink over his tanned skin. 

A blush of it’s own made it’s way onto Jason’s skin and it was probably way less pretty. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Dick pecked Jason on the cheek. “Good.”

[jinmukangwrites]

Nightwing Bad Things Happen Bingo: Locked Up and Left Behind

X/Done Heart/Next WiFi/Requested

Ever since Jason was brought into the Wayne family, kidnappings came to be a rare occurrence. Dick’s theory was that most criminals realized how stupid it was to go after Bruce Wayne, especially now that he was more public with funding Batman and the Justice League. Dick had been kidnapped hundreds of times and not a single perp got a single coin out of it. Just a lot of bruises from Batman and a long sentence to prison.

Jason… when he was alive… got kidnapped once or twice, but he was usually rescued fairly quickly since the only people risking getting Batman and the League on their tail were idiots. As he grew up and Bruce hadn’t met a single demand of any kidnapper and still got Jason back safe and sound, and as time went by kidnappers just kind of… gave up.

And then Bruce adopted Tim, and no one remembered that kidnapping was a thing until Bruce got the phone call.

Dick happened to be there. He was over visiting the manor mostly because Alfred mentioned how lonely the manor had been and how Tim spent most of his days locked up in his room. Another reason for being there was that Bruce was still hurting and brooding over the grave, as if it was his fault Ra’s Al Ghul and Joker decided to be evil. Dick was still aching too, he would be lying if he said he didn’t hope to see a shit-eating grin on a familiar boy’s face when he walked in.

He was sitting in Bruce’s study, just lounging on one of the chairs set off to the side that were set there just in case Bruce actually wanted to talk to people in his office. Bruce usually didn’t, but that never stopped Dick from barging in, plopping himself down on a chair, and pulling out his phone to play whatever weird app he found a couple minutes before. This time it was a color by number game.

He was working on the number 25 when the phone on Bruce’s desk began to ring. Bruce looked up from whatever papers he had been going through and lifted an eyebrow at the phone. It was almost three in the afternoon and Bruce had no scheduled talks or meetings with anyone, so the caller could be just some random phone solicitor that got lucky enough to call Bruce Wayne. After a few more rings, Bruce sighed and lifted the phone to his ear.

“Bruce Wayne speaking,” he said in a perfect businessman tone.

Dick rolled his eyes and went back to his game, but his attention was quickly back on Bruce when he heard a sharp growl. “What it the meaning of this?!”

A deep pit suddenly formed in Dick’s stomach as his mind went through all the scenarios that could get this reaction out of Bruce.

“Don’t touch a hair on his head,” Bruce practically yelled into the phone and Dick felt like he needed to puke. Bruce looked genuinely worried. “You hear me?!”

It hit him like a truck when Dick realized school ended more than a hour ago.

Tim should have been home.

“I want to talk to him.”

Dick remembered all the times Bruce said that, but it was Dick he wanted to talk to. There were a number of different ways the criminals would react to that. Some would hand Dick the phone, some would shove the phone against his ear, some would refuse, and there were a rare, heartless few that-

The sound of a agonized filled scream sounded over the phones speakers, reaching Dick’s ears. He stood up from the couch and stood there helplessly as Bruce yelled into the phone.

A rare, heartless few that proved life by making it known they have no problem taking it.

Dick could hear sobbing over the low, incoherent voice of the kidnapper from the phone. It made Dick want to join in on crying.

Suddenly, all noise cut off with a beep and Bruce was left yelling at a ended call to not hang up!

“Bruce?” Dick asked. Dick never had that much experience with being on this end of kidnappings. Sure, it had happened a couple times with Jason but Dick never got used to it.

If the way Bruce was getting up from his desk and slamming the phone down on sharp and jerky movements was anything to go by, Bruce had never gotten used to it too.

“Go to the school. Trace his steps,” Bruce ordered.

“What about you?” Dick asked, already backing up towards the study door.

“I’m calling Commissioner Gordon, then Batman will join you.”

-o-o-o-o-

Batman never joined. The reason being so was that Bruce Wayne got another call from the kidnappers to negotiate the life of a 14 year old boy while with Gordon. He was practically being forced to stay at home with a couple cops to watch over him. Thankfully, Gordon didn’t exactly know Dick was back in town.

So he was forced to find out out on his own what happened. He first went to the school and checked the cameras. Tim made it out in one piece, he was busy talking to some friends and their conversation lasted until he got to the front gates of the school. There were no more cameras from there, so he checked the traffic cameras. There weren’t many, just mostly at the intersections to check for people running red lights, but was able to follow Tim a couple blocks. He was probably going to the public bus stop since Alfred was out of town—he insisted on just taking the bus and Bruce and Dick didn’t fight him on it.

Dick checked the cameras at the bus stop and waited… Tim never showed up.

So, in-between the last traffic intersection and the bus stop, Tim was taken. That’s a whole block of street.

As Dick Grayson, dressed in inconspicuous attire, he walked up and down the street with a picture of Tim. He couldn’t find any cameras so he had to resort to asking side street shops, homeless people, and street performers if they’ve seen “my little brother”.

Hmm, he looks familiar… oh yeah, he was that kid who waved at me earlier. I think he was just walking down the street.

He gave me a twenty after my song. Nice kid. But he looked a little nervous. He turned the way he came from and walked quickly away. I hope he’s okay.

Yeah the brat ran into me like a bat out of hell. Knocked my groceries everywhere.

Ah, he ran into the alley. Was there anyone following him? Ah… I think a car turned into the alley a bit after him. Make and model? What are you a cop?

Spare some change? Oh. That boy… Yeah… I saw him… look, I can’t just give information for free… oh thank you kind sir. Right, so he ran in here looking all crazy. I hid behind the dumpster because… crazy people are bad news for people like me. It’s a good thing I did because this black van pulled into the alley and drove up next to him. Some guys came out and grabbed him, I think they drugged him I don’t know, and drove off. Yeah, I did nothing! Its none of my business.

The homeless person shuffled away to heaven knew where and Dick was left standing in the middle of stinking alleyway, limply holding a picture of Tim. Black van. Classic but effective. It’s also easy to find on a traffic cam.

-o-o-o-o-

Dick checked every camera he could and after a few agonizing hours, he finally found the van just barely skimming the corner of the feed of a camera on the inside of a gas station. The van purposely avoided every camera that watched the streets, but Dick thankfully lucked out. The van was black and there was a blurry image of a man at the steering wheel. The more he looked, he noticed the black of the van was actually a sloppy paint work. Probably spray paint. He zoomed in and used every program he had access to to clear up the image. Under the black paint was a logo… if he could just get it clear enough to read…

Finally, the logo became clear enough for him to read. Without wasting a second, Dick slipped into his suit and swung out into the now darkening city.

-o-o-o-o-

It was the logo of an old grocery shop down in the slums. It remained open mostly because it was the only cheap place to get okay food for the people that lived in the area. The grocery shop used to do house orders, which is the reason they would have cars with logos on them.

It only took Nightwing thirty minutes to arrive at the store. It was closed and the lights on the inside were off. Didn’t matter, Nightwing just went there really to see if he could find a list of the employees, but when he looked to the side of the building he saw a familiar van.

All of a sudden, things were so much more urgent because Tim was in there.

He snuck over to the windows and looked inside. The aisles were short and close together, most were pretty bare, waiting for someone to restock. Other than that, the building was eerily empty.

He silently picked the lock on the doors and went inside like a shadow. It was silent, not even a humming of the AC could be heard. He swallowed and continued deeper into the building. He turned into a door that said “employees only” and slipped in.

The other side of the door was split into three areas. One lined the back of the fridges where chilled items like milk and eggs could be stocked easily. There were boxes stacked on top of boxes in that section, it was also about the temperature of a fridge, but other than that, it was empty. The second section was filled with large metal structures for normal storage. Glass jars and chip bags stuffed into boxes sat on the shelves. Nightwing took his time looking around each corner of the section, there were too many places for someone to hide it seemed, but after extensive search, Nightwing’s search came out to be fruitless.

The last section was behind a large metal door with big red letters that said “KEEP CLOSED”. Nightwing had to put his whole body weight into sliding the door open, and when he did he was met with below zero temperatures.

The freezer.

He stopped at the entrance and looked into the darkness of the freezer with nothing but his night vision. There were metal shelves and pallets littering the floor. Too many places to hide, but not a very comfortable one. He could see his breath puff up in front of his face and the cold was already biting through his suit. At first glance, the freezer looked empty. He sighed, watching his breath rise, already considering leaving and looking for other places the kidnappers could have hid.

However, for the first time since he got to the grocery shop, he heard something.

It was muffled and scared sounding. Whimpers and sniffles.

Tim.

Nightwing went deeper into the freezer, ignoring how he could already feel goosebumps forming on his arms. He turned around a shelf and came to a stop when he saw Tim.

Or at least, Tim was the first thing he saw. He was tied to a metal chair with his hands probably duct taped behind him. His ankles were restrained in a similar way to the legs of the chair. He had a length of tape stuck over his mouth and even more wrapped around his head to blindfold him. A dark stain covered his shirt near to his shoulder, probably blood from whatever they’ve done to him when Bruce asked to talk to Tim. He was shivering, stripped down to just his undershirt and boxers. Snot ran out of his nostrils and trailed over the tape gagging him.

Unfortunately though, Tim wasn’t alone.

There was a man standing casually behind Tim, one arm wrapped around Tim’s shoulders and a hand pressed a gun to Tim’s temple like it was the easiest thing in the world. He had a ski mask on.

“Well,” the man said and pressed the gun harder into Tim’s temple, making a horrid mark, “I was expecting Batman.”

Expecting?

Stars exploded at the back of his head.

Nightwing felt the world tilt and his body go down with it. He stumbled and landed on the ground, just barely able to catch himself on his hands and knees. He immediately pushed himself to his feet to face whoever had snuck up on him while he was busy being terrified of how terrible people could be, but the world exploded into blinding light.

Or someone just turned on the lights and his night vision freaked out.

Nightwing called out and squeezed his eyes shut. His skull ached from whatever he had been hit with and the cold was numbing his hands. He could only imagine how cold Tim was.

He heard something swing, but he wasn’t fast enough to dodge some kind of bar as it swung at his head. It cut the skin above his eyebrow and knocked him off his feet. He landed roughly on the ground and groaned when hands latched onto him and began to take his escrima sticks.

He forced his stinging eyes open, thankful that his mask had automatically turned off the night vision, but the sight that he saw was the man grinning from his eyes and holding the gun store an uncomfortable angle under Tim’s jaw.

“Stand down or I blow the kids brains out.”

Tim tried to shove the man off to the best of his abilities, but the man held him too tight. Dick had no doubt the man would shoot Tim. By the looks of it, he already stabbed him. Nightwing forced him to relax into the ground. He forced himself to allow gloved hands to lift him up and shove him against one of the shelves of the freezer.

Forced himself to remain still as his suit was put in the process of being stripped from his body.

“Where’s Batman?” The man asked. Nightwing glared and ignored how his shoulders were shaking. He clenched his jaw to stop the chittering before it started. The man sighed at Nightwing’s silence and pressed the gun harder into Tim’s jaw. Tim made a strangled whimpering sound at the back of his throat. “Where’s the Bat, Nightwing?”

Nightwing loosened his jaw and shot a quick glare at the men, there were multiple, who had finally stripped home down to his underwear. All he had was his mask which he hoped beyond hope they would leave alone. Before he knew it, his hands were zip tied in front of him with multiple and heavy duty ties. “Not coming,” Nighting growled out, “he couldn’t make it. Sent me.”

The ties dug into his skin as the men shoved him forward and forced his arms upward, where chains were hanging. His arms were wrapped up in the chains and a lock and key held them tight against his bare arms. The metal felt colder than ice and the air on his bare skin felt like torture. His jaw was shaking even as he tried to keep it still.

The men backed off and the man who held the gun against Tim finally lowered it. Nightwing couldn’t help the shuddering breath of relief that came out of him. The man cut the tape holding Tim’s ankles to the chair and hefted Tim up by the back of his shirt. Tim shook his shoulders but he didn’t look strong enough to shake off a fly, let alone the grasp of a psycho.

“I suppose we’ll have have to hope you’re telling the truth, or else the kid gets it.”

“D- don’t do this,” Nighting tried, as last resort, “there’s oth-other w-w-ays-”

His whole body was shaking and his fingers were already numb. The man laughed and began to drag Tim out of the freezer. No one said anything more as one of the other men slapped a piece of tape over Nightwing’s mouth and followed the leader out. The lights were shut off and the door of the freezer was rolled shut. There was the sound of chains on the other side of the door and Nightwing realized that they were locking the door shut. Even if he got out of his restraints, he would still be stuck.

He shivered in the dark, desperately looking for ways to escape and save Tim, but as his nose began to run, he already knew there were no options other to wait. He couldn’t move from his spot and his limbs were too numb to try and escape the locked chains. All he could do was wait and try to keep his body temperature up for as long as he could.

He lasted an hour and a half. He stopped shivering and blood trailed down his arms from the ties. His legs were so week he could hardly stand up any longer, leaving him to dangle from the chains, which would have hurt if his whole body wasn’t so numb.

His eyes were too heavy to keep open, and he realized that with Bruce being public about his funding both forced the idiots to stop trying, and the smart ones to get smarter.

-o-o-o-o-

Just, honestly, from now on, expect these to end early. Find the rest on AO3!

[jinmukangwrites]

Locked up and Left Behind, Nightwing

Nightwing Bad Things Happen Bingo

@badthingshappenbingo​

Link because for some reason this isn't working and I'm getting tired of it...