#Richard Hung Himself

[the-song-of-the-day]

February 18, 2024

song #13

Richard hung himself by D.I.

it was released in 1986 in their album Team Goon

Fun Fact: I can’t find anything on the song but here’s something about the band’s name

The band's name initially stood for "Drug Ideology", but now, the initials no longer have any meaning.

[rastronomicals]

8:09 AM EDT September 29, 2023:

Slayer - "Richard Hung Himself" From the album Undisputed Attitude (May 18, 1996)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

File under: Thrash

[nightingale-prompts]

Talents -DC X DP prompt

The public is aware that each of the Wayne children are creatively gifted. It was almost expected. Richard Grayson was the acrobatic of course and no one was surprised but highly praised. So many parents began putting their children in gymnastics after seeing Dick's performances.

Jason Todd took up writing and published his own books at the age of 13. Poetry, anthologies, and historical fiction were the genres he favored. His books still remain on the best-seller's list, especially after his death. His poetry book "Blackouts" is an emotional journey of everyday tragedies and miracles of life. People would often quote lines from his poems after tragic events.

Tim Drake was more elusive. No one knew what he did until his name came up under a national photography award. His album called "The Shades of Gotham" was a contract between parties of the wealthy and the impoverished citizens of Gotham.

Cassandra Cain kept to herself constantly. No one knew what she did for years. People assumed that Bruce Wayne stopped forcing his kids to perform and others argued that she just didn't have any talents to showcase. All wrong of course. Cassandra posted one of her recent projects online which proved she was very talented. It was a beautiful scarf she was making for the winter. Cassandra was gifted with a talent for textiles. She knitted, weaved, and sowed many of the clothes she was seen wearing. It was no secret that some of the clothes the Waynes wore could not be found anywhere else but people assumed they had a tailor to make custom designs but no one knew it was Cassandra.

Damian Wayne did not lag behind his siblings as she quickly showed off his artistic talents. He's still young so he hasn't gone as far as opening his first gallery but one of his paintings has already been put in a museum. Some call it nepotism but art is subjective. The other Waynes disagree since they have hung every art piece Damian makes in their offices and home right next to Tim's photos.

Duke Thomas isn't one to show off too much. But he does go all out in his hobbies. He secretly takes after Jason in writing poetry and has been inspired by "Blackout" since he first learned to read. Duck related to it deeply. But along the way, he learned a different way to express himself. Kids on the streets of Gotham learned a bit of breakdancing and Duke was no exception. Duke is an accomplished dancer and has gotten a few competitions under his belt now.

Now that there is a new member of the Wayne family the public is waiting to find out what Danny Nightingale's talent is. Everyone knew that Waynes were creative but honestly, no one expected this. A play was announced at Monarch Theater and none other then Danny's names was on the ticket as the star.

[afewproblems]

Having depressing Steve Harrington Whump thoughts this sunny Sunday morning.

I usually headcanon Steve's parents as being neglectful and absent given their lack of screen presence in the show and thought about Steve grappling with this throughout his childhood.

Being left alone for days and eventually weeks at a time, starting much younger than was appropriate, but it was the era of latchkey kids and Richard and Darleen Harrington assumed Steve was capable enough to not really need watching. The house never burned down.

Their son was fine.

And Steve would be the first person to agree, to smile wanely while the migraines pounded in his head, a parting gift from Billy Hargrove and the and Russians. He was fine.

It was fine.

Until the spring of 1986 when all Hell literally broke loose.

During the last events of the Upside Down and the earthquakes that almost decimated Hawkins, the Harringtons finally come back to town, horrified to be called in from Indianapolis by the charge nurse at Hawkins General Hospital.

Their relationship does get a little better after nearly losing their only son. They don't talk about it, the lost years of quality time, but Steve has made begrudging peace with it and is happy to have them around now for family dinners and the holidays.

They are even fairly good about his relationship with Eddie once he finally comes out. Richard takes a little longer to warm up to the idea, but Darleen seems determined not to lose Steve again.

And things are fine for awhile, the four of them have found an equilibrium amongst each other. Richard busies himself with offering to help with repairs around their house as needed, the leaky sink in their guest bath or the backdoor that was never hung correctly. While Darleen is always quick to bring over a new recipe for them all to try at the next family dinner.

They don't talk about the fact that this is the most home cooking Steve has ever experienced in his 30 years of life or that he didn't know his dad even owned a screwdriver.

But it's fine.

They manage.

It's only after the adoption of their daughter that Steve begins to notice the changes in his parents in a way that makes his chest feel tight.

"I just, I don't get it," Steve says quietly to Eddie one summer day. Richard and Darleen are out in the yard with Abigail, playing in the sun. Abigail shakes a flower from the garden in Richard's face while he pretends to sneeze exaggeratedly, making Abigail break into peals of laughter.

Eddie frowns at Steve, watching as he crosses his arms tightly around himself.

"There has to be something going on, it doesn't make any sense how they're being with her," Steve bites out eventually. He lifts a trembling hand to his hair and tugs harshly at the roots.

"Okay woah woah," Eddie says slowly as he stops forward and gently coaxes Steve's hands away from his hair, "Stevie, sweetheart, I don't understand".

Eddie watches as Steve's gaze travels out the window once more to see Darleen lift their giggling baby girl above her head before lowering Abigail to pepper kisses all over her cheeks. Eddie smiles at the sight but it quickly vanishes as he looks back at Steve who is looking longingly at his mother.

"Because," Steve says, his voice catches on the growing lump in his throat, "if they were always capable of this, of being there, then why couldn't they do that for me?"

[dreamescapeswriting]

Contracted Love ~ MYG

WORD COUNT: 7.1K

GENRE: CEO AU, marriage contracts, blackmailing, fake dating, fake marriage, falling love and realising you’re scared, (might actually be my fav piece)

PAIRING: Yoongi X Fem!Reader

⤜Copyright: © DreamEscapesWriting - March 2024

⤜MASTERLIST

As Yoongi began to walk through the bustling heart of the city he couldn't stop his mind from wandering back from the meeting he had just left and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at what had happened.

It had been his grandfather's will reading, something that heartbreaking in and of itself but what was getting to Yoongi more was the stipulation that came along with his portion of the will. 

"It is not my wish for you to end up like me, old, alone and afraid of love."

Was that the piece of paper read, his grandfather was giving him strict orders to follow if he had any chance of getting his grandfather's portion of the company he owned and he needed it.

There was no way it could go to his father's side of the family, the vultures as his grandfather called them. They only hung around him long enough to know that they were going to be put into the will and didn't want to know his grandfather any other time. But it was all stupid. In order to collect his portion he had to be married and have a child all within a year.

A man who had hardly dated before was supposed to married and have a child within twelve months if he wanted any chance of keeping his company alive. Now Yoongi could have sworn he heard the ticking of a clock in the back of his mind as a constant reminder that he hadn't got much time.

"Please, I promise I can get it for you by the end of the week if you just give me some more time!" A voice pleaded, interrupting his thoughts and making him freeze on the sidewalk wondering what was unfolding in front of him.

"I've heard this a million times, Yn, I'm sick of hearing it." A male said, angrily staring down at you as you whimpered a little. He was your landlord Richard and he had just served you with an eviction notice for your business.

"Pages & Aromoa's will be a hit in no time and you'll have all the money I owe you." You sniffled but Richard handed you the piece of red paper and walked away, ignoring your begging and driving off.

"Fucking cunt," You hissed before heading inside of the door.

Yoongi stared up at the cafe sign it was basically falling apart but it was easily readable. The brick walls of the cafe had patches of Ivy clinging to the surface as if trying to breathe life into the ageing structure. The windows were slightly grim but offered a glimpse into the warmth inside that awaited anyone walking by. 

The cafe was nestled between two giant skyscrapers, one of which belonged to Yoongi but he'd never even noticed the cafe before. Sighing to himself he wondered if this was the cafe his grandfather had been boasting about before he had died and he found himself walking inside. The bell above the door sounded as he did so but you were nowhere to be seen.

"I'll be just a minute," Your voice called out. Despite the outside appearance of the building, Yoongi was pleasantly surprised when he walked inside. The interior was a sanctuary of tranquillity and refinement. Polished hardwood floors gleamed under the soft glow of vintage bulbs that were casting a warm ambience in the cafe. The perfect place to hide away and work or even read which was something that clearly happened here.

There were shelves lining the walls, stretched from floor to ceiling, the books all looked used and loved. Plush armchairs and cosy reading nooks were all over the place, offering a place for someone to lose themselves in the pages of a good book or work in silence. It was obvious why his grandfather had loved this place and had been talking about it for months.

"Stupid, machine." Yoongi heard you grumbling as you finally came up from behind a counter and smiled warmly in his direction. The smile that sent a warmth throughout his chest he suddenly felt guilty about having.

"What can I get you? And please, don't say coffee because the press is broken and the machine won't work," You pleaded with him, Yoongi's mouth opened to say something but he found himself unable to speak, struck by something he didn't understand. His chest was fluttering and his stomach was in knots, he didn't know what was happening. 

"Oh! Are you deaf? I know some sign language but I can write stuff down if it's easier." Before Yoongi had a chance to protest you were beginning to sign to him, something he didn't even understand himself but he was pretty sure you'd gotten it wrong.

"Can I get some tea?" He didn't know what was going on with his stomach but his grandfather always told him that tea solved most issues. Something warm to settle a raging stomach.

"Sure! I have a whole selction-" You were about to list off the extensive list you had when Yoongi shook his head,

"Early grey would be fine, with Milk."

"To go?" You arched a brow at him, most people that came in dressed the way he was got all of their orders to go. You knew the type he was, a businessman, too busy to learn the name of the place they were in but were loyal to it, it was nice.

"Erm," Yoongi glanced around and then down at his watch. He wasn't due back at work for another hour or so,

"I'll stay," He smiled at you and you nodded, pointing around the shop for him to sit anywhere he wanted. It wasn't like it was going to get busy anytime soon and your regular customer you'd had for a few months had suddenly stopped coming recently.

"Sure, make yourself comfortable." You gestured around the room and Yoongi stayed frozen in place,

"Don't you need my name for the order?" Yoongi countered you smirked a little at him.

"Because it'll get lost in the sea of customers?" You asked sarcastically, laughing nervously at the end,

"I guess that's true." He chuckles a little, and for the first time in a long time it feels like a genuine laugh from him, something he hadn't done for a long time

"He died?" Your voice was so sympathetic as soon as Yoongi told you about his grandfather, Rath, who had been your most loyal and regular customer. The two of you had been discussing your business for a while and you'd mentioned to Yoongi about having to close down soon if you weren't picking up in business.

"I wondered why he stopped coming by," You slowly sank down in the armchair opposite Yoongi and he smiled sadly down at the cup of tea in his hands. 

"Were you close to my grandfather?" You weren't close with the man but he'd been coming in every day it felt like you were friends.

"I wouldn't say close but we did talk a lot whenever he was here, he loved you." You smiled, Rath had spoken so much about Yoongi that you felt as though you knew him but he hadn't been at all what you were expecting. 

You'd expected some small, nerdy-looking guy but Yoongi was the opposite, he was built well, dressed in the finest of suits and looked as though he could be in the pages of magazines.

"I have a proposition for you." He suddenly said. Yoongi wasn't blind, he could see the business was going under and he knew you needed him as much as he needed you.

"Which is?" You laughed a little, looking up at the time and then back to Yoongi. The two of you had been sat talking for almost two hours now and still not a single other person had come in, which hadn't gone unnoticed by Yoongi, who was already concocting a plan in his mind.

"I need to get married." He said bluntly.

"And I need your help to do it." You held back the urge to laugh as you stared at him, you weren't sure what his grandfather had told him but you didn't know anyone in the market at the minute.

"Unfortunately I'm not sure I'm your girl, I can't help."

"But you can. You see, I have a lot of money and you need a lot of money." You knew that already, the Min family were richer than rich, one of the richest families in the world.

"What makes you think I NEED money?" You were trying to play it close to your chest, but it was true. You were desperate for money, your coffee machines were broken and you were behind on four months worth of rent.

"Yn, let's be real, your business is going under and I can help. I can keep you afloat or make you a huge success, whatever you want I can do that." As amazing as that sounded you still didn't know anyone that would be willing to just randomly get married to him,

"But I don't know anyone that wants to be married." You shook your head but Yoongi smirked at you,

"You can marry me," The words registered in your brain and you bit back the urge to laugh in his face.

"Are you insane?" You added a nervous laugh at the end and stood up, moving away from where he was sitting but he was quick to follow you.

"I have a lot of influence, I can easily make this place well known." He told you with a giant smile, your hands nervously tugged at the cleaning rag in your hand and you stared at him. 

"Just for marrying you?" 

"Just marrying me. All fake, no one would have to know we're not really together," Shit like this didn't happen in real life, only in books and really bad film adaptations, there had to be a catch. 

"What do you get out of this? Why do you need a wife so badly?" Was this something he did on a regular? Ask random women to marry him and then never follow through with all of his promises.

"If I get married, I can collect my grandfather's part of the company but I need a wife." He was going to ignore the child part until absolutely necessary, he was sure there was a way out of that.

"Why wouldn't he leave it to you?" You frowned, Rath had seemed so sure of Yoongi, you were positive he would have left his Grandson something. 

"He doesn't want me to end up alone," Yoongi admitted, your heart breaking a little as you remembered Rath mentioning he wished he'd never divorced Yoongi's grandmother,

"Oh."

"You'd get your business up and running, booming, I'd get half of the company away from my vultures of a family and everyone will be happy." You'd heard stories of the other side of Yoongi's family, stories from Rath and things you'd read about in the media.

"Okay...But there have to be some rules in place...A contract?"

"Agreed," Yoongi glanced down at his watch and bit his lip, he was already late for a meeting but that didn't matter.

"Come up to my office tonight, give your name to security and they'll bring you up. We'll work out a contract and hash out all of the details." He smiled warmly at you and you somehow believed him that all of this was going to work.

"My business will be fixed if I do this, right?"

"I promise." He breathed out before rushing out of the door, your heart racing at the thought of all of this becoming true. You glanced down at your outfit before cursing yourself, you were dressed in clothes with holes and your apron was torn to pieces.

"New outfit," You mumbled, heading to the door and locking it up. If you were going to go into business with Yoongi then you wanted to look the part. 

"Come in," Yoongi called as he heard a small tapping at his office door, the day had gone on for longer than he'd liked and he was looking forward to writing out the contract and heading home for the night. 

"Mr Min, Yn is here." His assistant announced before shutting the door, Yoongi slowly glanced up from his desk and his eyes almost popped out of his head.

He had been expecting you in the same scraps of clothes you had worn this morning but instead, you were dressed in a black pencil skirt and a red silk top that was unbuttoned to show just enough cleavage.

"Is this okay? It's the only thing I had left from my office days," You laughed nervously when you noticed him staring at you a little longer than he had done that morning.

"It's-It's erm, perfect." His voice stuttered and cracked as he stared at you. He had no idea that you could look this way and now he suddenly felt as though he was out of his depth. 

"Please sit," He gestured to the seat in front of his desk before grabbing two bottles of water and sitting back down. By now you'd gotten out a worn leather-bond book from your bag and smiled.

"Let's get straight to it," You said, your tone businesslike yet hidden with a little humour. Yoongi smiled to himself, preparing his own notepad.

"We need some rules in place, so nothing is blurred along the way." He stated simply.

"Your business will be my number one priority during all of this. We'll sit down with a bookkeeper and organise your bills as well as figure out anything that's owed." You suddenly felt your chest tighten, you were in a massive amount of debt. Yoongi had already gone into research mode when he got home and knew everything you needed to pay off.

"T-That might be a lot. Are you sure you're up for it?" You hated that you were in so much debt, when you'd ventured out alone to own your own place you'd been so sure it would be great you could pay it back in no time.

"No issue, I assure you, I didn't become the CEO Of Min Media but shying away from challenges." Your debt wouldn't even cause a dent in his savings but he wasn't going to tell you that and make you feel bad about it.

"That means a lot...Thank you," You smiled warmly, the smile sent his stomach into knots once again, he really wanted to see someone about that.

"We need to keep everything strictly professional." You finally stated, looking up from your notepad and back at Yoongi who was, once again, staring at you.

"Agreed." He jotted it down on the notepad.

"Secondly, we can't tell anyone it's not real. It's imperative to me we keep everything hidden. We keep up a genuine illusion to appease my family and the shareholders." He told you, if anyone found out this was all fake he'd most likely lose his shareholdings as well as be the laughingstock of the media world.

"Agreed." You wrote it down, and Yoongi eyed you up. You'd been quiet about your family finding out and it worried him a little. He didn't want you to go around telling anyone it was fake, it would only take one slip-up for the world to know.

"What about your family?"

"What about them?" You asked, staring up at him with a blank expression on your face, Yoongi frowned.

"You can't tell them the truth." He reminded you and you nodded, your lips in a line as you shrugged your shoulders a little.

"Not a problem, I haven't spoken to them in almost four years since I went out on my own to own a cafe."

"Understood. We must present as a united front," He stared at you. His heart felt heavy at the thought of your family ignoring you for following your dreams. 

"We will have to attend social events together, support each other publicly and appear as a happy married couple at all times." You nodded at him.

"I can handle that." It was no big deal, you'd get to dress fancy for a while and it would be fun,

"Living arrangements?" Yoongi wrote down and then stared at you,

"Well, I currently have a place in the lower part of Seoul, you're more than welcome to come and live with me," You teased only to be met with widened eyes.

"That was a joke Yoongi," You clarified with a small laugh,

"You can move in with me." He stated plainly, you frowned at him. As much as you hated your place you weren't sure moving in with him was the best idea.

"Is it necessary though?"

"Yn, once we're seen together you'll never get peace...People will want to know why a soon-to-be-married couple are living separately." You knew he was right, there would be too many questions and you didn't want to have to deal with them,

"Okay."

"I'll arrange a moving van for you tomorrow." He smiled, writing down on a sticky note to remind himself once the two of you were done.

"Can I suggest one more?"

"Sure." He looked up at you, expecting something about asking to be paid, or for more than you were getting out of it. All of which he was willing to do if it meant getting what he needed out of you.

"No falling in love. It's a business arrangement and any romantic feelings that may develop should be ignored." Yoongi was taken back but nodded his head at you. 

"Of course. We have a deal." He smiled shaking your hand across the table.

With a sense of determination, you added a final clause to your contract: Yoongi would take over the financial management of Pages & Aromas, ensuring its stability and prosperity while also shouldering the burden of its debts.

"We will be announcing our marriage this weekend, it'll be held here. In the meantime, I'll pay your rent for the cafe," He stated as you both signed along the pieces of paper, Yoongi took them both into his grasp and filed them in his drawer his eyes lingering over the clause about not falling in love.

"I'd like it if you didn't work for a few months if that's okay?" He suggested, staring at you as you frowned.

"We can fix up the shop a little, have it redone to your specifications and then announce it as a grand opening." 

"What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

"You can do whatever you want, money is no issue."

"It is for me."

"We'll be married, what's mine...is yours," He stated before laying down a black card in front of you.

"Yoongi, it's already enough you're helping my business I can't take your money too." The statement was shocking, everyone Yoongi knew was always after his money, it was why he'd never dated in the past.

"Fine. But please keep it, you can use it as an emergency card, or if you need an outfit for an event...it's yours," He told you as you flipped the card over, already finding your name inscribed on it, had he been so sure about all of it since this morning?

"Okay. Fine."

"I'll have Alan drive you home and I'll see you tomorrow at my place." He smiled warmly at you as you got up from the chair, feeling a little overwhelmed with everything but nodding your head.

With a sense of nervousness mingled with excitement, you stepped into Yoongi's luxurious penthouse apartment. Your final box had been taken up by a group of men and you were unsure of what you were supposed to do now. You walked through the door, slipping off your shoes before your eyes widened at the opulence that surrounded you. The spacious living area was adorned with sleek modern furniture and tasteful artwork while floor-to-ceiling windows offered sweeping views of the city skyline below. You could practically see all of Seoul from up here, how did he get anything done? You knew you'd find yourself people-watching more than you should.

Taking a deep breath to steady your nerves, you set about unpacking your belongings, your mind racing with thoughts of the new chapter that lay ahead. As you sorted through boxes and arranged your stuff in their designated places, you couldn't shake the feeling of being out of place in such a lavish environment.

"Mr Min will be late this evening, he said to make yourself at home," Alan, who had driven you home the night previous, said with a warm smile on his face. But how were you supposed to do that? You didn't know what you were and weren't allowed to do or even where to go. Did he have rooms off-limits to you? More questions flooded your mind but as the afternoon waned into evening, you found solace in the familiar routine of preparing dinner, the rhythmic chopping of vegetables and the sizzle of food cooking on the stove grounding you in the present moment.

You'd always loved cooking, you were hungry and determined to make a good impression on Yoongi. Even going as far as to make your famous cake no one could say no to it.

By the time Yoongi arrived home, the apartment was filled with the tantalizing scent of home-cooked food and freshly baked treats. Stepping through the door, he was greeted by the sight of you bustling about the kitchen, a warm smile gracing your lips.

"Welcome home," You said, your voice infused with genuine warmth, something Yoongi hadn't had the pleasure of hearing in years. His eyes lit up with surprise and appreciation as he took in the scene before him. 

"You've been busy," he remarked, a note of amusement in his voice as he watched you carefully. You shrugged modestly, a warm feeling spreading onto your cheeks. 

"I wanted to do something nice for you. Dinner will be ready soon, and I made cake." Yoongi's smile widened as he crossed the room to envelop you in a grateful hug.

"Thank you, Yn. You didn't have to do all this." You were in shock at the hug at first, your heart thumping as you tried not to overthink it. He was just grateful for the food. You smiled a little, returning the embrace, a sense of contentment settling over you. 

"I know. But I wanted to." You admit before going to set everything down on the table ready to eat. 

It had been almost a week since the news had broke that you and Yoongi were going to be married and he'd been right. People followed you EVERYWHERE. You'd gone grocery shopping two nights after the news was released and you'd been followed by men with cameras, all of them screaming questions at you. Luckily you and Yoongi had already come up with a story for you both, something easy to remember. You'd met because of his grandfather and it had almost been love at first sight. 

Tonight though you were at a restaurant together, your hands linked on the table as you stared lovingly at one another. All of it feels a little too real for you. 

"Tell me something about you that I wouldn't find in a magazine or news article." You begged Yoongi. Since moving in with him you'd done extensive research on him, wanting to be prepared in case any of his crazy family members tried to doubt the two of you. 

Yoongi stared at you, hesitating for a moment as he thought about it. He was torn between the desire to open up to you and betraying your agreement but the look in your eyes made it hard to resist. 

"Well, I've always loved astronomy," He confessed, his eye staring down at the glass feeling suddenly vulnerable.

"There's something about the vastness of the universe that puts everything into perspective." Your eyes lit up with interest, finally, something about him that wasn't run-of-the-mill CEO shit.

"That's beautiful," You whispered, 

"I've always been drawn to the stars as well." You admit, the two of you getting lost in conversation and completely forgetting about the many people snapping photos of you together. Yoongi let himself open up to you more, finding himself falling in a freefall for you. His head reminded him of the agreement you'd made together, no falling in love and he couldn't risk jeopardizing everything. 

"Why haven't you spoken to your family?" He suddenly found himself asking over dessert, your fork freezing midway to your mouth as your throat suddenly ran dry.

"They decided they didn't want me to ruin their family name,"

"But you were following your dreams, shouldn't that be something they were proud of you for doing?" He didn't understand how someone couldn't support the person they loved in everything that they did. 

"The Score family don't follow dreams, they crush them," Your voice was flat and dry as you placed your fork down.

"Score? As in-"

"Lawyers, the best in the business." You hissed out, you hated that all of this was being bought up but you owed it to Yoongi to tell him the truth.

"I don't speak to them, biologically I'm their daughter but legally I'm not."

"You were emancipated?" He watched you closely and you nodded your head,

"As soon as I left the company I did it myself," You admit with a smile on your face, you were proud of what you'd done. Being a lawyer had never been your dream and if the people that had raised you had it their way you'd still be another cog in the inner workings of their awful company.

"Believe me Yoongi, they have nothing to do with me-" His hand was on top of yours, rubbing over your skin in a soothing motion.

"It wouldn't bother me if they were still in your life." He promises, a weight being lifted from your chest as you let out a happy sigh.

The two of you continued to talk all night long, discovering things each other you hadn't known before and it was starting to feel like a true friendship was forming.

Months began to fly by as you and Yoongi worked on your fake relationship and countless parties you attended together, business and personal, but tonight was the one you were most nervous about. You were pacing around in the living room of the apartment waiting for Yoongi to come down and meet you. Your hands nervously played with the purse you were holding, the prospect of meeting his family tonight looming over your head like a dark cloud. 

The door to the living room opened and Yoongi stepped inside, freezing when he saw you pacing around but he couldn't take his eyes off you. You were in a stunning floor-length gown, crimson colour to match his tie but it clung to your body perfectly, seeing you turned his blood to fire. You paced away from him giving him the perfect view of the back of the gown, which had a crisscrossing strap at the back, the fabric shimmering and glowing with every step you took.

"I don't know if I can do this." You admit to Yoongi once you notice him there. You'd been faking it with everyone and everyone believed you so far but were his family going to be so easy to convince?

"Your family...they're going to see right through me." Your voice trembled with uncertainty and Yoongi smiled weakly walking over to you. He was nervous himself but he wasn't going to admit it to you.

"Yn, you're stronger than you think." He told you, his hand gently reaching out and rubbing your arm.

"We'll get through tonight, together." He had no doubt the two of you could convince his family you were together, to be honest, he had a hard time convincing himself it wasn't real. 

"What if they ask about our relationship and I cock the story up? What if they see through me?" He smiled down at you, running his hand over your cheek.

"We'll handle it, Yn. I won't let anything happen to you," And he meant it, if anything were to ever happen to you he knew he'd never survive it. 

After months of spending every second by your side, he felt himself falling harder and harder in love with you until the point where everything was blurred except for you. All he cared about was a future with you. His words were like a lifeline pulling you back from the edge of panic, you took in a deep breath and forced yourself to focus on everything again. 

"And if they don't believe us? What happens to me?" You asked, your voice tinged with apprehension.

"I'll make sure your business is taken care of, I'll not let anything happen to you but for now, let's focus on getting through tonight together." He whispers, kissing your hand softly as you feel a spark running through your veins. No matter what challenges lay ahead, you knew that as long as you faced them together, you could conquer anything that stood in your way. And with that realization, the weight of the world seemed to lift from your shoulders, replaced by a glimmer of hope.

As the two of you made your way through the entrance, all eyes turned to greet you, your presence as a couple commanding attention amidst the sea of glamorous attendees. 

"They're staring." You uttered to Yoongi as he smirked, his arm wrapped around your waist as the two of you walked together, your steps synchronized in harmony. Heads turned, smiles were exchanged and greetings were offered as you passed by people. 

"How could they not? You look like you stepped out of a magazine, you look beautiful." It wasn't the first compliment that Yoongi had ever paid you, in fact, you'd grown used to the compliments he'd give to you all the time. Including the small hugs and kisses the two of you would share even if you were in public, it was clear lines were starting to blur but you weren't entirely sure you minded anymore.

"Look, it's Min Yoongi and his fiancée," Someone whispered, their voice tinged with awe. 

"They're a stunning couple." Her date said back to her, their eyes trailing over you both as you moved through the crowd. 

"Let's give them something to talk about," Yoongi whispered but before you had a chance to ask what he was talking about he was taking you over to the dance floor. 

His hand rested gently on your waist, guiding you with a tender pull as you began to move around the dance floor together, the rest of the world fading into the background. 

Your movements were slow and deliberate, each steps a silent conversation between you as you swayed to the rhythm of the music. Your heart raced with every beat, your breath catching in your throat as you allowed yourself to be swept up by the magic of the moment.

"You look beautiful," Yoongi whispered, your eyes locking as you stared at one another.

"You said that already," You mumbled nervously as he smirked to himself, moving in time with you as you fell back into a comfortable silence. Not a single word needed to be uttered as you knew what was happening to you, you were falling in love with him too fast and everything was falling apart around you. You continued to dance together, neither of you daring to speak the words that lingered in the back of your head. Knowing that acknowledging your love would shatter the delicate illusion you'd worked so hard to maintain.

"So this is the lovely Yn." You turned your head to face Juliain, Yoongi's father and Yoongi wrapped his arm tighter around your waist.

"Lovely dance the two of you did, your mother made me dance shortly after." He chuckles softly but Yoongi remains deadpan and unreadable, his grip on you tightening. You'd heard about Julilan from both Rath and Yoongi and you knew the man was bad news, a slimeball only after money.

"Julilan. Lovely to see you, shame you didn't make it to grandfather's funeral, it was a lovely service." Yoongi said coldly, your eyes staring up at him. Julian had refused to go to the funeral but had gone to the reading of the will, only to see what he was entitled to. 

"I have no doubt, you always knew how to throw a party." Julian laughed but your heart shattered, Rath had been an amazing man and to insinuate that a party was held for his dying instead of a grand funeral boiled your blood.

"Party? A man died-"

"Hush. You don't speak unless spoken to." Julian said in a dismissive tone, your mouth dropping open as you couldn't believe the man in front of you. 

"With all due respect, sir, I am not a decoration on Yoongi's arm I am his Fiancée," You spoke clearly but Julian turned to look at his son who was now red in the face,

"I see she has no manners or concept of brains. Where did you pick her up? A brothel?" Your stomach dropped as you looked down at yourself, was he implying you looked like a whore? The woman who had dressed you tonight told you that you'd looked elegant.

"Don't." Yoongi seethed through gritted teeth,

"Women should be seen and not heard. Act like the trophy wife you are meant to be." Julian was in your face but within seconds he was shoved away by Yoongi, a smirk playing on his father's lips as he realised he was getting under his skin.

"Don't speak to my wife like that." He ordered but you pulled at his arm, you could already see people starting to stare and Yoongi didn't need the bad press.

"You're not married yet. Are you really going to cause a scene over a woman? Behave." He hissed at him, you stared at him as you waited for him to insult him one last time.

"Still just a child." He muttered, about to walk away when you finally found your voice once more.

"A child who has done more than you'll ever accomplish in your life." You hissed out at him, earning a smirk from Yoongi, he had to admit he was proud of you for not backing down from him.

"Why you little-" A hand was raised in the air but Yoongi caught it, shoving his father away from you.

"I see why you hate the man." You mumbled as Yoongi checked on you, his eyes softening once he saw you were okay.

"If he'd hurt you just then." It didn't bear to think about, he was angry, blood-curdling as he thought about the way his father had gone to strike you. 

"He didn't." You whispered to him, your hand rubbing his back softly but it did nothing to calm him down right now.

"I'd kill him."

"Yoongi." You pleaded with him, but he was lost in his own anger.

"He's a disgusting piece of shit and I would have killed him." You stepped in front of him, your eyes finding his as he stared down at you in shock,

"But then I'd have no one to watch the stars with," You whispered only for his whole body to relax and he nodded slowly at you.

"Let's get some food and go out on the balcony, we can go and look at the stars and pretend Julian isn't even here," You offered to him.

Yoongi ventured off to fetch some food and you found yourself alone in the gala, looking around at everyone who was dancing together or mingling. This world was something you'd never thought you'd fit into before but after spending so much time in it, it almost felt like home.

"Ah, Yn dear, there you are." You slowly turned around to see Mia, Rath's ex-wife making her way to you with a giant smile on her face.

"I've been meaning to have a word with you," She said as she reached you, her voice gentle and a welcoming contrast compared to her son.

"Of course, Mrs Min. Is everything alright?" You eyed her up as she smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief. 

"No one's called me that in years, call me Mia." She begged, you nodded at her and slowly made your way out onto the balcony to talk better together.

"I wanted to first tell you how happy I am that Yoongi has found someone like you." Your eyes widened in surprise, your heart fluttering at the unexpected praise.

"T-Thank you, Mia. That means a lot to me." Mia reached out to pat your hand affectionately.

"You know, I've seen the way he looks at you. It reminds me of the way Rath used to look at me." Your breath caught in your throat at the implication of her words.

"I...I'm not sure what you mean." She chuckled softly at you,

"Oh, my dear, don't be so modest. It's written all over his face- He loves you, and I couldn't be happier for the both of you, even if you were faking it at first." You smiled weakly, your heart pounding in your chest as you struggled to process everything you'd just heard. Yoongi loved you - truly, deeply and unequivocally and that sent a surge of panic through you.

"Rath would have adored seeing you both together," Mia added before giving you an envelope.

"In my side of the will I was to give this to the beautiful girl from the cafe, now I assume that's you." You stared down at the envelope and nodded, quickly placing it into your bag to look at another time, when you weren't so stressed. 

"I-I have to go," You rushed out, panic taking over you as you began to hurry through the crowded hall. Your mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear, you loved him too but there was no way you could do this. You raced around a corner when you collided with Yoongi, sending you both sprawling to the floor.

"Yn, what's wrong?" Concern was etched in his features as he reached out to steady you. Your breathing turned tagged as you struggled to compose yourself, slowly standing up.

"I...I need to talk to you," Your voice barely came out above a whisper but Yoongi nodded, leading you to a nearby alcove away from prying eyes.

"What is it, Yn? You're shaking." He reached out to touch you and you took in a deep breath, words tumbling out in a rush as you fought to make sense of everything.

"I just spoke to your grandmother, and she...she said that you love me, Yoongi. And...I...I don't know what to do." Yoongi's expression softened as he reached out to cup your trembling hands in his, his touch sending a shiver of warmth coursing through you.

"Yn, listen to me. I know this is overwhelming but you need to understand something...you belong here with me," You stared up at him as he didn't deny falling for you, tears welling up in your eyes as you shook your head.

"I ran away from this world."

"And now you're back but I promise it'll be nothing like your family's world." He breathed out as you stared at him, his eyes boring into you,

"You belong here, with me."

` "What if you suddenly decide I'm not good enough for you? What if I can't give you everything you deserve?" Yoongi brushed a gentle thumb across your cheek, wiping away a tear.

"You're everything I need, Yn. Your love, your strength, your unwavering support - it's more than I could ever hope for. And as long as we have each other, we can face whatever comes our way." Tears began to melt away as you stared at him.

"I love you, Yoongi." You whispered, the words feeling like a weight was taken right off our chest.

"I love you, Yn, Always." He whispered. 

With a soft sigh, he closed the distance between you and you leaned in slowly to him. It felt like an eternity until your lips met in a tender kiss, time seemed to stand still as you savoured the sweetness of the moment, your hearts beating in harmony as you finally surrendered to the pull of love. It was a kiss so full of tenderness and longing, of hope and promise. 

When you pulled away your foreheads touched and you giggled a little.

"Let's go home, I wanna show you how much I really love you," He winks, as you squeal a little taking his hand and practically dragging him out of the party.

Months Later 

"CEO'S Expecting: Min Yoongi and Min Yn Announce Pregnancy, Anticipate The New Heir To The Legacy?" You read out the title of the "Webber Files" newspaper and stared over at Yoongi with a blank expression.

"I see why their paper sucks," You grumbled, folding it up and staring at your husband who hadn't been able to take his eyes off you.

"Don't look at me like that, the last time you looked at me like that, this happened!" You stated, pointing down at your baby bump and whining at him.

"But we had fun," He wiggled his eyebrows at you and sat down beside you on the sofa, the two of you curling up together on a lazy Saturday morning.

"We did," You giggled as he ran his hand over your bump, smiling happily to himself. Not long after you found out you were expecting Yoongi told you the other stipulation about getting his grandfather's portion of the company and that was a child but you couldn't have been happier it was happening.

"Julian will flip a lid." You laughed at the thought of his father finding out about his son having a child but more importantly, you couldn't wait for him to figure out he was getting nothing in the will besides a small shop in the middle of nowhere.

"Oh, I meant to say. Gran asked if you'd looked into the envelope yet. Whatever that means," He frowns and you reach out for your bag, opening it up to find the envelope still sitting there.

As you took it out and opened it you couldn't believe what you were reading.

"By now I assume Yoongi and yourself are together and knowing My Mia she would have given this to you at the appropriate time, but enclosed are the deeds to your cafe. All yours, all paid for, as well as the number to my lawyer who will arrange for you to inherit some money as an investment to you and your dream.

Best Wishes,

Rath,"

You and Yoongi stared at one another, laughing a little as you realised Rath had been planning your get-together for a very long time.

@chiisaiblog@sw33tnight@kaitieskidmore97@laylasbunbunny@tinyoonsblog@whitefoxgirl@katnisspeetaprim@acciocriativity@choisoorin@heyjiminnie@btsiguess-kpop@halesandy@gothic4under4lord@soulphoenix1618@aerastus@jin-from-the-block@lenfilms@elizaschuyler18@piratequeen-impact @Namgiswifey@delulu18@xyahrinx@katsukis1wife@anthropologymajorkpopmultistan@blairscott@4-chan-inpadella@swga-ficrecs@niktwazny303@armystay89@myyouthdonut@xakx@kittymaryam-thebrowniefairy@kpopmenace143@loveforred@b1nn1e-1s-cut3@elissasimp

[cjlouwho]

prompt: tommy's dad shows up at the 118 out of nowhere

heads up: Tommy's dad is a homophobic asshole here, and he acts as such. Also contains references to past child abuse (hit with a belt, and knocking a kid)

Bobby was in the middle of cooking dinner with Buck, the rest of the team hanging out on the sofa, when the newest probie, Jones, came walking up the stairs. “Uh, Cap? There's a man here who wanted to talk to you.”

The man followed closely behind Jones, who went right back downstairs to continue with whatever he had been up to.

Bobby wiped his hands off on a towel before walking over to the man. “I'm Captain Nash- Bobby,” he introduced, shaking the man's hand. “How can I help you?”

“Good to meet you, Bobby,” the man replied. His shake was firm, almost aggressive. “I'm actually here looking for my kid. Haven't heard from him in a while and last he told me, he was workin' here.”

As much as Buck was trying not to be obviously nosy, he couldn't help but keep glancing over at the guy. He looked so familiar, but Buck couldn't quite place him. When the man caught Buck's eyes, he quickly looked away and grabbed a nearby can, pretending to fiddle with it.

“I'll help how I can. What's his name?”

“Thomas Kinard. I'm his father, Richard.”

The can Buck was holding dropped onto the counter with a loud thud. Everyone's head whipped in his direction.

“S- Sorry. It, um, it slipped from my, uh, my hand.”

“Uh,” Bobby turned back to Richard, “I'm sorry Mr. Kinard, but Tommy hasn't worked here in about seven and a half years.”

“Figures.” Richard shook his head. “Damn kids'll screw you over every chance they get, won't they?”

Buck hurried over to introduce himself before Bobby could even manage a response.

“Mr. Kinard, hi,” he started, wiping his hand on his pants before reaching out for a shake. “I'm Buck. Evan, um, Evan Buckley. You can call me Evan, or Buck, whichever.”

Richard stared at him in a way that Buck wasn't exactly sure what he was thinking. “Buck's a strong name. I like strong names. We'll go with Buck.”

Buck nodded. “Sure. That- That's fine.”

“So, Buck, did you work with Tom before he left here?”

That's when it hit Buck. If this man didn't even know where Tommy worked, he definitely didn't know Buck was his boyfriend. He could feel himself begin to sweat. Could sense everyone's eyes on him. “Um, no, I- I mean, yes. I work with him, um, sometimes, but not- we didn't work together h- here. So, no.”

Richard snickered. “Cat got your tongue, Kiddo?”

“Why don't you go get your phone, Buck?” Bobby suggested. “Let Tommy know his dad is here.”

“Huh? Oh, um, yes. Yeah, I'll do that.” Buck hoped and prayed to God in that moment that Richard didn't notice the phone in his pocket.

“And while Buck does that, you can have a seat.” Bobby led him over to the table, where the rest of the team was now making their way over. “Once Tommy gets here we'll have lunch.”

*****

Buck skipped every other step as he went downstairs, hurrying outside to call Tommy.

He answered on the third ring. “Hey, Evan. What's up? Everything okay?”

They may have the same job, but it didn't stop them from worrying about one another when they were on shift.

“Hey! Everything's fine, but c- can you come down to the station?”

“You miss me that much?” Tommy joked. “You're off in like four hours, Babe.”

“No, I know. I mean, yes, I miss you, but no that's not why I need you here.”

“What's going on, Evan?” He sounded worried again.

“Your... Tommy, your dad came in looking for you. He's, um, he's waiting here.”

The silence lasted so long that Buck glanced at his phone to see if the call had dropped. “Are you there, Tommy?”

Finally, Buck heard the sounds of Tommy shuffling around. “I'm on my way,” he answered. Any lingering happiness in his voice was long gone. “And Evan?”

“Yeah?”

“I'm sorry.”

“Sorry?” Buck asked. “Why're you-”

Tommy hung up before Buck could get out the question. He sighed, put the phone in his pocket, and headed back upstairs.

“-it looks like the damn United Nations in here.”

Buck's eyes met Eddie's. It was clear he'd walked in on the middle of a conversation that shouldn't be happening.

Eddie shook his head at Buck. A silent don't ask.

Buck sat down quietly, his leg shaking with nerves and his stomach filled with knots. Tommy wasn't even there, but he already felt terrible for him as Richard happily went into a very depressing story about Tommy crying after a girl kissed him when he was twelve years old.

*****

Tommy steeled himself before walking up the stairs at the station. It took everything he had in him to not turn around and go right back home.

He couldn't do that though. Couldn't leave his father with Evan, or anyone else up there. They didn't deserve that.

“Tom had half the girls in the school chasing after him, askin' him to prom, and he still went with the most unattractive looking thing you'd ever seen.”

“Missy was not unattractive, Dad,” Tommy said from the top of the staircase. Everyone turned in his direction. “She was sweet and my best friend at the time.”

“Girl had braces twice the size of her face.”

Richard made no effort to stand and greet his son, not that Tommy expected him to.

Tommy was met with apprehensive hello's from the team, and a look of nervous concern from Evan.

“Come sit with us,” Bobby said, motioning to the seat beside Buck. “We were about to eat when your dad came in, so I figured we could have lunch together.”

“Thanks, Bobby.”

Tommy sat down stiffly, avoiding any physical contact with Evan. Not that Evan was trying anything either. He kept his hands firmly planted on his thighs.

“What are you doing here, Dad?” Tommy was purposefully avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the room. Maybe if he tried hard enough, they'd all disappear and not have to witness whatever was inevitably about to occur.

“Figured seven years was long enough to go by without seeing ya. Thought I'd stop by and see what you'd been up to.”

Bobby finished setting out the food and everyone began to pass around the dishes and fill up their plates.

“You know you could've come by my house, Dad.”

“Lost your address. You know I'm no good with computers. Plus, thought it'd be nice to see you in action.”

“Oh, well, I'm off for the next two days so... no action.”

“Where are you at now?”

“Harbor Station. I'm a pilot there, but I work ground ops sometimes too.”

“Back to flying, huh?” Richard sounded genuinely impressed. “Good. That's good. Got you a girl yet?”

The spoon Chimney had in his hand dropped loudly onto his plate as Buck choked on the bite of food in his mouth.

“Sorry,” Chimney muttered as Buck coughed.

He grabbed his water and took a couple sips. “Sorry. Sorry, uh, wrong pipe,” he explained, clearing his throat.

Tommy sighed. “Nope. No girl.”

“Well, soon. You're a good lookin' man. Get yourself out there, they'll come running.”

“Running so hard they injure their best friend,” Eddie mumbled, earning him a kick under the table from Hen.

Richard didn't seem to hear the comment, but Chimney spoke up anyway. “So, Mr. Kinard, what do you do?”

“Nothing now, but I did twenty years in the Marines, oil rigging after that. Retired about seven years now.”

“Tough work.” Hen regretted her words the second Richard puffed his chest at them.

“That's right. I always drilled into Tommy's head the importance of hard work.”

"More like knocked it in,” Tommy muttered.

The room quieted.

Richard took a sip of his drink, then opted for a subject change. “Shame I can't see where you're working now, Tom. Guess you were so busy talking about that other thing you failed to mention you were somewhere else.”

“That other thing?” Tommy repeated. “You mean me telling you I was gay and you laughing in my face? Is that the other thing you're talking about?”

“Well, it was all a load of crap, wasn't it? Just another way to disrespect your old man.” Richard looked around the room as he laughed, apparently not paying any attention to the fact that he was the only one laughing. “That was always Tom for ya. Shootin' off his mouth, causing trouble. I told him one day he'd take it too far.”

“Telling you he was gay was him taking it too far?” Hen wasn't even trying to hide the disgust on her face. Richard was too busy being an ass to notice.

“I just knew it wasn't true. He comes to my house all serious, sayin' he's got something he's gotta tell me. I thought maybe he was going back into the army, the reserves or something. Then he tells me he's a queer. I know the world is changing and all that crap, but I also know my son, and that's not my son.”

Tommy felt on the verge of tears now. He hadn't taken more than a couple bites of food, using his fork to swirl the rice and the peas. He wished more than anything he could make himself smaller. So small no one could see him. He was embarrassed and ashamed that all these people he cared about, all these people who were starting to really get to know him for all that he was, were now seeing the disgrace that was his father. That's all they'd be able to see when they looked at him, especially Evan.

Evan who somehow always looked at Tommy like he'd hung the moon and stars. Evan, who made Tommy feel so undeservingly cared for. Who had just swapped I love you's with Tommy a few weeks ago... Now, this is what he'd see. This is what he'd think about. And who could love that?

“Or maybe you just don't know your son.”

Tommy's head shot up and over at the sound of Evan's voice. He sounded angry. He looked angry. Tommy was pretty sure if he could shoot fire, the whole place would be up in flames right now.

“Excuse me?” Richard glared. “Who the hell are you to tell me whether or not I know my son?”

Before Buck even had a chance to make up some lie, Tommy was reaching over and taking his hand, squeezing tight. “He's my boyfriend,” he said.

Richard huffed out a laugh.

This time, he noticed that no one else was laughing. “You screwin' with me?”

“No. Just like I wasn't screwin' with you seven years ago, I'm not now.”

The way Richard shook his head made Tommy feel like he was seven years old again, about to get the belt for bringing a turtle in the house. “My buddy Vic told me his daughter saw you with some guy on Facebook. Called him an ass and an idiot and you're telling me he was right?”

“Is that why you really came here? To harass me and Evan?”

“I never looked at the picture!” Richard replied, his voice rising. “And I had no clue you weren't here anymore. I came here to see you, to get the truth.”

“Well, you got it.”

“That the real reason you quit the army then? So you could be a sissy?”

Tommy's eyes widened, the question catching him off guard. Out of all the ways this conversation could have gone, he didn't expect it to pivot that way. “You've got to be kidding me. Dad, I did not quit the army, I was discharged.”

“And the reasoning never really made sense to me, son, I gotta tell ya-”

“Well it doesn't have to make sense to you, it made sense to the military-”

“-because no son of mine would go crazy in the army. Absolutely ridiculous to-”

“-which is why I got to leave, and I did not go crazy I had a brief-”

“-make up some sort of excuse like that and think it would fly-”

“Okay! Okay!” Buck yelled over them, motioning for them to stop. “I think you proved whatever point you were trying to make, Richard. Let it go.”

Tommy quieted, but Richard couldn't hold his tongue.

“What?” he provoked. “That's what you said it was, didn't you? After some mission gone wrong, you didn't sleep for like a week or something. Went cuckoo so they let you leave? S'what you told me.”

“Okay,” Bobby spoke up, his voice deep and commanding. “Richard, I think you've been here long enough. You should go.”

“If my kid wants me gone he can tell me himself.”

Through his shame, Tommy managed to glare over at his dad. “I never wanted you here in the first place.” He was shaking, his heart racing, but his voice remained steady. He was grateful for that.

An eerie silence weighed heavily around the table. The two men stared each other down until Richard finally tossed his napkin onto the table and stood up, his chair screeching with the motion. “Don't have anything here for me anyway.”

That was Richard. Always had to get in the final word.

Once his dad had descended the staircase, Tommy released a deep breath. “Well, that was fun,” he said shakily, trying for a smile.

He couldn't quite seem to make one appear.

He couldn't look anyone in the eyes either. The silence was driving him insane. He knew they had to be watching him with pity.

His eyes were burning, his lip was trembling. He was so close to falling apart.

He really didn't want anyone see him, but he also knew he was too shaky to stand. He opted for planting his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands.

After a few quiet seconds, Tommy could hear everyone scooting out of their chairs.

A hand rested on his shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze. “Take your time up here,” Bobby said. “Don't worry if you hear the alarm.”

“You've got family with us, Man,” Eddie said as he passed by, giving Tommy a pat on the back.

Chimney was next with a, “Love ya, Bud.”

“Whatever you need,” Hen added as she passed by, “we've got you.”

The gentle touches and words of affirmation as each person went by was what broke him. He pressed his palms hard against his eyes as his shoulders began to shake.

There was another hand on him now. Rubbing his back in gentle, slow circles.

Evan.

“I'm here, Babe,” he said softly. “I'm here.”

The sob that escaped him at Evan's words sounded more like a whine. Tommy was sure he'd never heard himself make that noise before, but now he couldn't stop it.

Evan pulled him in, wrapping his arms around him tight. Tommy hid his face in the crook of Buck's neck, his hands loosely grabbing at Buck's waist as he continued to cry.

They stayed like that for minutes. Evan continued rubbing his back, holding him, letting him get out all the feelings he'd been holding in for years.

“I'm so sorry, Evan,” Tommy whimpered once he was able to find his voice.

Evan held him tighter. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I didn't...” his breath hitched. “That could've been me. That was... was almost me.”

“No,” Evan disagreed. “No, you're nothing like him.” He turned his head to press a kiss into Tommy's hair. “Can you look at me?”

Reluctantly, Tommy lifted his head and pulled back just enough to look Evan in the eyes.

He sniffed, his breathing starting to come back to normal. He was sure his face was puffy and red. He knew a stray tear or two was still falling too.

Evan reached up and wiped the tears away, his thumbs continuing to brush over Tommy's cheeks so he could keep his attention. “You are not and have never been that man. You understand me?”

“Evan.”

“No, I mean it, Tommy. You think Chimney and Hen would ever give him a chance?” He shook his head. “No way in hell.”

Tommy bit at his lip. “This is so stupid,” he said with a wet laugh. “Crying because my dad was mean to me, like I'm some baby or something.”

Evan ran his hands down Tommy's arms until he intertwined their hands on his lap. “Not stupid. Very reasonable, actually. Quite possibly an under-reaction.” He brought one of Tommy's hands up to his mouth and gave it a kiss. “There's only a few hours of my shift left. I'm sure Bobby wouldn't mind if I left a little early. I can drive you to your place, we'll relax with a movie. Sound good?”

Tommy knew he should say no. Knew he should tell Evan that he was a big boy and could handle a few hours alone until Evan got off work. Instead, what came out of his mouth was, “Are you sure?”

“I'm sure.”

“What about my car?”

Evan shrugged. “We'll pick it up tomorrow.”

“Okay... Okay, yeah. I probably shouldn't be driving anyway.”

After wiping away another tear, Evan leaned in and pressed his lips against Tommy's in one of the softest, yet most loving kisses Tommy had ever felt in his life.

“I love you, Tommy.”

“I love you, Evan.”

“And Eddie's right, you know? Everyone here, including me of course,” he smiled, “we're your family. You know that right?”

Tommy nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

[mr-celestial-writings]

The Oldest Biological Child [Headcanons/Drabble]

Trigger Warnings: Child Neglect, Violence

Trans Masc Reader

================================================

You are Bruce's oldest biological child. Older than Damian, but Younger than Tim.

Sometimes, you wish you weren't. You never asked for your Mom to sleep with Bruce Wayne and get pregnant with you. You didn't ask for her to die protecting you.

You had grown to resent your family. Much like how it felt they resent you for just being born.

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

Bruce Wayne:

When your mom had died, he didn't even pick you up himself. He sent Alfred to do it.

He had set you up in a fairly small room in the manor. You had enough room for your few belongings, but it wasn't anywhere near as large as the room of your siblings.

When you had come out to him as trans, he didn't disregard you, or do anything to discourage you. He helped you change your name and gender on your documents, but that was as far as his support went.

You can't recall a single event where he was there. Birthdays, Holidays, School Events. You went above and beyond, but you never got his praise.

He acknowledged you, but he never bragged about you. He never brought you out for father-child dates like he did the rest of your siblings. You were just... there. A decoration, a Ghost.

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At some point, you stopped trying to be a spark in your father's eyes. You came out to him, not for his support, just so he could go through all the legal stuff.

Honestly, you couldn't care less if he supported you He wouldn't remember your name anyways.

You thought you could bond with your brothers, but you were wrong.

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Richard "Dick" Grayson:

You thought Dick would at least be there for you. He was for a bit. But you were never a priority.

He always had a bag of excuses. "Sorry, Little D wanted me for something" or "I promised I'd help Tim!" You stopped trying after the 3rd year.

When you had come out of him, he voiced his support! But he did constantly slip up and accidently deadname you. He apologized, but the damage was done.

You can kind of remember him as some events. A couple birthdays, you think he gave you a birthday gift once. It was so infrequent though the the memories were starting to fade.

You knew you were never important to Dick, so you were never surprised when he never spoke about you. He seemed to forget about you sometimes.

Somehow, his friends were better to you than he was. They actually remembered you. Hell, you're sure Wally picked you up from school more than Dick ever did.

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

Nobody was ever outright cruel to you. Well, except for Damian that is. But you could tell that Dick didn't really care about you.

You were normal, average. Why would they pay attention to you? Your brilliant mind or beautiful art didn't change the fact that you were an untrained civilian.

You were useless to them.

Well, to most of them. There was one brother who actually tried.

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

Jason Todd:

"Damian is the Son of Bruce, but you, [Name], you are mine."

Jason could see you were lonely, a Ghost. And it hurt his heart. In his opinion, nobody deserved to be forgotten. Everybody deserves to be remembered and heard.

He hung out with you, brought you out to hang out with the Outlaws, Trained you, Picked you up from school. But with his strained relationship with Bruce, he couldn't always be at the Manor.

He gave you the location of all his safe houses and his phone number, though. Anytime you called, he picked up.

When you came out as trans to him, he offered to beat up anybody who harasses you. He dragged you out clothes shopping too. He bought you your first chest binder. Hell, he and the outcasts threw a whole party for you.

He tried his best to be at every event. Anytime he couldn't make it, he brought you out on a Boy's night with Roy, Bizzaro, and himself. He may or may not of bought you a shot on your 16th.

You have a place with Jason and the Outlaws, even if you don't belong with the Waynes.

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

Jason couldn't make up for all the hurt. He knew that. He was one person, there was not snowflakes chance in hell that he could fix years of neglect.

But you knew you could always run to the outlaws. They welcomed you with open arms. His training made sure you could keep up with them. You were part of the team, without them even saying as much.

The third brother was Jason's polar opposite though.

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

Tim Drake:

Honestly, you didn't even know Tim's name until you heard Dick shout it across the manor. It was very much an "Oh hey I have another brother" moment.

You two rarely interacted, just occasional nods to each other if you passed each other in the hallway.

You didn't even bother coming out as trans to Tim. You two were complete strangers. Sometimes you would remind him to put the coffee down and sleep.

Like Bruce, you couldn't remember a single Tim time was at an event in your life. You half convinced yourself he was a mass hallucination until you met his friends.

Like with Dick, Tim's friends were a lot more welcoming to you. Conner had spent more time with you than Tim ever did.

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

You and Tim respected each others space, both of you content with being strangers. Tim had his team(s) and the family, you had the outlaws.

You may not have been as smart as him, but at least you were smart enough to not push yourself.

You tended to keep to yourself and spend more and more time with the outlaws, basically getting adopted by them. Jason even taught you how to drive a motorcycle and do the Akira slide!

You thought you were okay, until the fourth came alone.

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

Damian Wayne:

When you and Damian had first met, he stabbed you. Nowhere vital, but you did call Artemis as you patched yourself up. Goes without saying she picked you up and gave Bruce an ear full before dragging you away. Not how you wanted him to find out you were an outlaw.

Damian didn't stab you again, but he constantly insulted you and degraded you. "Whore's son" "Mistake" "Failure" The list really goes on. He never crossed the line and insulted your gender identity. Points for that.

You understood why Damian was like this. Being raised by assassins wasn't easy, and realizing he had a blood sibling was probably difficult. It didn't mean it didn't hurt any less.

Damian was never at any event, why would he be? You two didn't get along and he saw you as a mistake. And you found that you didn't care anymore.

You basically moved out of the manor at that point, staying with the outlaws more. Jason had taken you up as his own little side-kick. So when you and Damian had run into each other on patrol, it was a showdown. He had threated to tell Bruce, and you had simply said "Do It."

Things were a lot more strained after that.

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

After that run in, you stopped returning to the Manor. On your 18th Birthday, Jason helped you get your driver's license, even bought you your own bike.

You had changed your name back to your mother's last name. You no longer wanted to be associated with the Waynes.

You had drifted away, and you knew they would never drag you back.

================================================

a/n: look, I may be on the Bruce is a Good Parent train, but that doesn't mean that I can't reflect my own trauma and the neglect I endured as a kid onto these silly characters.

Writing is how I cope, after all :)

Also, let me know if you would be interested in a series like this. It would be good writing experience.

[thealtoduck]

Glass Shoes

Jason Todd x Male Reader

Warnings: None

Prequel to The Socialite and The Vigilante | Masterlist

Summary: Your mother Silver St. Cloud introduces you to her boyfriend’s sons Dick and Jason…

(A/n: Sorry if i’m posting a lot of this but i’m having fun :)…)

——

”Where are we going? I thought we were eating dinner with your boyfriend” you asked looking out the window of the car not recognising the area it was driving through. ”We are but me and Bruce decided it was time you and his sons get to meet, so he invited us for dinner at his house” your mother explained.

The car stopped at a gate, your mom pressed a buzzer and soon the gates opened and your mom drove up the long driveway stopping in front of the immense garndeur Wayne manor. Making you question ”Is this what you call house now? Mom, i think dating a billionare is starting to get to you”.

Your mom chuckled and ignored your statement. The two of you got out of the car and she led you towards the front door. You tugged a bit at the uncomfortable collar of the button up your mom had made you wear to make ”a good first impression”.

Your mom rang the doorbell and soon it opened revealing your mom’s boyfriend, Bruce Wayne, ”Silver” he greeted and pulled her in to a hug giving her a quick kiss on the lips. His attention then turned to you and he greeted ”Hi Y/n, how are you?”.

”I’m good but i hate this shirt, it’s itchy” you answered. Bruce smiled and said charmingly ”I promise you won’t have to wear it for your future visits but can you stick it our for tonight?”. ”Okay” you replied as you adjusted the collar again.

Bruce then led the two of you inside, showing you where to hang your jackets. He then led you towards the dining room. The manor was as fancy as it looked from the outside with a very luxurious interior, it had everything from paintings, chandeliers and statues.

You then came to the dining room, it had a high ceiling with a big chandelier that hung over a long dining table decorated with a smooth white table cloth and silver candleabras. As you entered two people were stood waiting for you, it was Bruce’s sons.

If you remembered correctly from what your mother had told you one was named Richard but usually just went by Dick and the other was named Jason. They were both dressed up as well. Dick, the older of the two was tall and handsome, he wore a fancy dark grey suit with a dark blue tie.

Jason was a year or two older than you but even for his age he was quite bulky, he was dressed similar to you, a button up covered by a sweater and dress pants. ”Silver, Y/n, these are my sons, Dick and Jason” he introduced.

Dick was the first one to come over to greet your mother, he shook her hand with a smile and said ”It’s really nice to finally meet you Silver, we’ve heard a lot about you”. He then turned to you with his shining smile and held out his hand.

You took it and he introduced himself in a friendly tone ”Hi Y/n, it’s really nice to meet you, i’m Richard but you can call me Dick if you want to”. ”Hi Dick, it’s really nice to meet you too” you greeted trying to match his positive energy. Then it was Jason’s turn, he approached slightly more drawn back, not as big of a smile as Dick.

”Hey Silver, nice to meet you” he said simply as he shook her hand, he seemed less formal than Dick but not in a way that would be considered rude but in a way that seemed more grounded. When he turned to you his smile got a bit more boyish and relaxed.

You shook hands and he greeted ”Really nice to meet you, Y/n”. ”You too” you answered. The five of you then moved and sat down at the dining table, you and your mom on the left side, Jason and Dick on the right and Bruce at the head of the table.

Soon dinner was served by their butler named Alfred and he had not held back on his cooking for the dinner. The main dishes, the side dishes, even the bread and butter tasted like heaven. Once he finished serving he sat down across from Bruce and joined the dinner.

Most of dinner was spent with your mother asking Dick and Jason questions in an attempt to get to know them better and Bruce and Dick doing the same to you. Dick told several fun stories when asked questions and was good at keeping the conversation going. Jason wasn’t as talkative as his brother and kept his answers short.

Bruce asked you all the regular ”mom’s new boyfriend” questions, where you go to school, what you like doing in your free time, if you liked sports, in that case what kind?…

Overall it was a very nice dinner, once you finished Dick turned to you and asked ”Hey Y/n would you like me to show you round the manor?”. ”Yeah” you said excitedly and the two of you got out of your seats. Dick turned to Jason and asked ”You wanna come?”.

”Sure” Jason said, probably going for the sake of not being left alone with all the adults where he’d be forced to make conversation. It was very hard to tell how long the tour was, the manor was so big and felt almost neverending.

Later in the evening it became time for you and your mother to leave, you both said goodbye to Dick, Jason and Alfred. Bruce then walked you and your mom out to her car. ”That all went pretty well wouldn’t you say” he commented.

”Agreed” she said. Bruce then turned to you saying ”It was really nice seeing you again Y/n, i hope you liked the manor” giving you a light pat on the shoulder. ”Yeah, it’s really cool, thanks for having us” you said politely.

You mother unlocked the car with her keys and you said a goodbye to Bruce and opened the door and sat down next to the driver’s seat, you could see your mom and Bruce give each other a passionate goodbye kiss in the rearview mirror.

You looked away in childlike disgust at scene. Your mom sat down in the drivers seat and immediately turned to you asking ”So… what did you think?” as she started the car. ”They seemed very nice, i hope we can come back sometime, Dick promised he’ll show me how to do a cartwheel” you said.

”That’s good, it felt important you guys finally got to meet, since me and Bruce have been dating for a while now” she stated as she drove down the driveway. Little did you know you would be back quite soon…

——

The next time you saw the manor it felt more intimidating, it was your new home…

Your mom and Bruce had decided to move in together. So you were now unloading the moving truck of boxes containing your and your mothers belongings and bringing them into Wayne Manor. Bruce, Jason and Alfred helped you and your mother carry everything inside.

The room you got in the manor was much bigger than your room in your mom’s old apartment, and that was already pretty big. You didn’t even know what to do with this much space. It took a while to getting used to living in the manor. The sheer size of it made it feel like you were living in a maze of hallways and rooms.

Having a butler that seemed to know everything you needed before you knew yourself also took some getting used to. If ever you felt hungry and were on your way down to the kitchen to make a snack Alfred was already there making you a sandwich and a cup of hot chocolate.

But Bruce and Alfred were both good company and tried their best to take time off their schedule to spend with you. Alfred would even help you out with your homework whenever you needed it.

Jason wasn’t as happy with you and your mom moving in, you assumed he thought it was to early in Bruce’s and your mom’s relationship for something so major. Though beyond your knowledge it was actually because he thought the two of you would be distracting and get in the way of his and Bruce’s mission as Batman and Robin.

Despite you and your mom being unaware of their secret you both noticed something was off. They’d be nowhere to found for a full day and then suddenly appear in the manor as if nothing happened. You assumed the manor was just big enough for you to completely miss their presence at home.

Despite his hesitance Jason still enjoyed your company and the two of you would spend a lot of time together, whether it’d watching movies, playing videogames or studying. You were often found cuddled up together with a bunch of blankets in the living room having movie marathons.

Dick would occasionally come visit from Blüdhaven, when he had the time. He’d take you and Jason out to fun things like taking you to a amusement park or events and parades held in town.

A couple months after you were fully settled in to life at the manor your mom and Bruce announced during a dinner that they were now engaged. Meaning Bruce would become your step-dad and Dick and Jason would become your stepbrothers. And Alfred… well he would still be your butler but now it would feel more official.

——

Though only a couple of weeks later your mom would come in to your room, late in the evening with news. ”Hey mom, what’s up?” you said as you exited your bathroom having just bushed your teeth. ”Come sit” she would say softly sitting down at the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside her.

You’d do as told and sit down next to her, she had a sad smile on her face as she grabbed your hand and said slowly ”Me and Bruce have decided to break off our engagement”. The revelation left you in a stunned silence for a couple seconds before you uttered a confused ”Wh-What? Why?”.

”We realised it just wouldn’t work out between the two of us in the end, i’m sorry Y/n i know this meant a lot to you too” she said putting a hand around your shoulder pulling you in to a hug. You hugged her back and said ”It’s okay mom, i just want you to be happy”.

”We’ll start packing our things in a couple of days, make sure you get some rest now, goodnight” she’d say leaving you to get some sleep but the bombshell she had dropped kept you up that night.

Soon a small creak came from your door making you sit up in your bed and look at the intruder, it was Jason. ”Hey” he whispered. ”Hey, you couldn’t sleep either?” You asked quietly. He shook his head. ”Come here” you said making room for him on your bed.

He sat down on your bed, slipping in under the covers. ”I’m gonna miss living here with you, Bruce and Alfred” you told him. ”We’ll miss having you and your mom here too” Jason said wrapping an arm around your shoulder pulling you closer to him in a side hug.

”Look just because we don’t live together it dosen’t mean we’ll never see each other again” Jason said comfortingly. ”Yeah, i know but i was excited to have you as my older brother” you told him.

”Don’t worry St. Cloud, i’ve always got your back either way” he said making you smile despite your bad mood. ”Can you stay here tonight?” you asked him. ”Yeah” he said and two of you laid down in the bed cuddled together until you eventually fell asleep…

——

In the coming weeks you and Jason would go your seperate ways and not see each other for a long time. You’d attend a fancy academy in Europe and Jason would continue his work as Robin until he was killed at the hands of the Joker. However he would later be resurected and return as the Red Hood.

Little did the two of you expect that you would run in to each other at a gala many years later…

[weeping-statue]

YOU ARE ONTO SOMETHINGG

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I GOT THIS LEMME COOK🫶

“I Don’t Care What You Think As Long As It’s About Me.”

I don’t care- fallout boy

Richard Sterling x AFAB!Reader

A little long 😔 also Richard fans please!!! Lemme know if this is good!!! I need feedback guys cause then I just think my work is buns😞

Positive and negative (politely) feedback is appreciated 🫶

So from what I saw, or should I say what we saw, we definitely know he’s a manipulator.

For whatever reason, you caught his eye, probably because you had money, but anyways, he knew he had to have you. All to himself. He doesn’t like to share. And he doesn’t play nice.

It started off gently with flirty lines and kind gestures to mask what he was really planning. And you almost could tell. He had this feeling to him that something just wasn’t right. But he was kind and surely you were just overthinking.

Spoiler, you were wrong.

So wrong.

He had approached you one day after he felt like he had done enough for you to favor him, and confessed. Reaching his hand out to you.

“Ah my dear, you’re special.. and I must have you. Please, give me your hand, let me court you properly.”

But you declined, respectfully, it didn’t feel right.

Richard looked at you a little stunned. What..? You were supposed to say “yes.” Not “no.” What was wrong with you? He had done so much to make you fall and you’ve declined him? This.. no he wasn’t going to stand for this. He grabbed the nearest object and whacked you in the head with it. Hard enough for you to black out.

When you awoken dazed and confused, with a pounding headache. You saw him brushing your hair with his fingers. A light ‘comforting’ smile sketched on his face. You couldn’t remember much, and looked at him with those curious eyes, asking him what had happened. To which he answered,

“Just a little tumble, my love. When I couldn’t catch you in time, I was devastated. But that doesn’t matter anymore, you’re fine now, and we are in due time to be joined in matrimony.”

You nodded and leaned into his touch. He seemed to care about you, and with your current situation you had to trust him. For now.

Months had gone by and you hadn’t a clue you were saddled in a relationship made of lies.

Richard during this definitely acted a tad suspicious. Either love bombing you or keeping you at an odd distance. Getting overly paranoid and possessive when any males come by you. Simple conversations or not. He’d have rules in place for you, making you heavily dependent on him. Though when he’d get annoyed he’d push you away without a second thought, not apologizing.

What a confusing(red flag)guy

So finally here is where the song comes into play <3

Richard was acting a bit more paranoid than usual. Biting his lip till it bled, pulling at his hair, biting his nails, and mumbling to himself as he stalked you from a distance. He watched as you and Kevin hung out, talking aimlessly about the previous matches. He was flirty and touchy, and loud, and obnoxious. Something that didn’t belong around you. You, in his eyes, were something from the heavens. You deserved better. You deserved him. In a moment of paranoia and anger he came from the shadows he hid in and grabbed you by the arm, whisking you away. Closing the door to the nearest room which happened to be the library. His hands gripping your shoulders as slammed you against the books, leaning down with a crazed look, mumbling to you,

“Say my name and his in the same breath. I dare you to say they taste the same. How he can compare to me. He doesn’t love you, not like I do. He’s a no good, scoundrel, liar and fiend. Unworthy of your attention. These friends you have, don’t love you. They only love your generosity.”

For the rest of the day you were attached to him and he didn’t let you out of his sight for a moment. Even taking it as far to move into your room for the night. Claiming he didn’t trust the people in the manor.

All while poor Kevin was so confused😞

Sorry Kevin, your no fiend <3

trust ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ )

————————————————-

Sorry Kevin lovers for doing your man like that😞 BUT let me have redemption if you bring me a Kevin fic idea..? Or.. perchance headcanons..? ANYWAYS LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

[chaosgremlinmunson]

Soul-Searching

For @steddie-week July 4: body swap

Steve wakes up slowly, he's so comfortable and is surrounded by luxurious silk sheets, a million pillows, and a cool dark room. He blinks for a moment thinking maybe he's still asleep, maybe this is still a dream. His overworked mind thinking of the height of luxury instead of his flat above the coffee-shop he manages working odd hours and barely sleeping. He's making it, but just barely, were it not for Claudia and Dustin Henderson and the casseroles sent weekly he's sure he'd be malnourished. I mean, food or bills? Well, he can get a few tiny staples, but the bills need paid or it's sleeping in his tiny car, the Beemer having been sold out from under him at 19 when he finally told his father he wasn't going to work for him, he was queer, and he was going to find his own way if they couldn't accept him. The fight that ensued insured he'd never be considered a Harrington again, oh he could keep his last name, but make no mistake, that was the day Richard and Diane Harrington's son died. So here he was hallucinating a life he could only dream of, he raised a hand to wipe at his eyes and noticed the ink littering his skin. Black nail polish, and as he sat up long dark curls cascading over his shoulders and face. He rose immediately searching through the dark for a light switch and then spinning to find a mirror only to see the front man of Corroded Coffin staring back at him. He gaped at his reflection turning this way and that, his eyes roving over the body before him before landing on the bare hips in the mirror. To his left the phone rang, and he launched himself over the bed to retrieve it.

“Hello?” He said quietly.

“Hey, yeah, hi.” His voice said back, what the fuck, his voice? How? “So, uh, it seems like I'm either hallucinating, or, and hear me out, I body swapped with whoever you are. I'm um, standing in your…. apartment I guess you'd call it, and uh, honestly I have no idea what to do here man. But, I have a sold out concert in two days and I kinda need my body back to go perform. No offense, I'm sure you're really nice and talented and all, but I, just..” the voice trailed off, he could hear the nerves in his own voice.

“Yeah, uh, not hallucinating. And I'd prefer to give you your body back too. It's a nice body and all, but I am so not equipped to be a metal singer man, I can barely listen to it without getting migraines. Tell you what, are you in Indy? I haven't left your…home? Yet or anything, actually I haven't even found where you have your clothes at, and I'd prefer to have some semblance of clothes on. But maybe you could come to where you live and we can talk?”

“Yeah, yep, that uh, that sounds good. You fell asleep in jeans and tee so I'll just come by in this, and oh your keys were in your pocket. Cool, what kinda car do I look for?”

“It's a small white car just outside the coffee shop downstairs. If anyone tries to stop you just say you have a family emergency and will call them later.”

“Sounds good, uh if they try to stop me what name do I answer to if called?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. Steve, my name is Steve. “

“Sounds good Stevie, I'll be there as soon as I can.”

Steve hung up the phone when the dial tone started and looked around, he noticed a door painted black with a red dragon and decided to open it, he was greeted by an immense collection of black clothes and pulled out the first things he saw, on the table next to it there was a dish with some scrunchies and hair ties, he chose a silk one to tie up the curls after finger combing them carefully. Once he was done with that he made his way downstairs wandering until he found the front door, a small bench sat next to it with boots and other shoes lined up carefully and he sat, waiting.

Before he knew it a knock came to the front door and he opened it to see his own face looking at him wide eyed.

“This is real then.” He watched his mouth say, he nodded and swallowed.

“Hi, Eddie. I want so badly to say it's nice to meet you, but uh, every time I've thought about meeting you it was more running into you, or maybe going to a concert with my ear protection but having the backstage passes to meet the band, flirting and then…well. Anyway, ahem, why don't uh you show me where your coffee is and we can brainstorm how to change us back?”

Eddie led him into the kitchen and he sat on a bar stool while he flitted around making them some coffee. They started talking, it lasted for hours and finally Eddie looked at him for a moment, and then took a deep breath.

“Okay, I want to try something, and if it doesn't work please don't punch me.” He began, and leaned over to pull Steve into a kiss who immediately saw stars behind his eyelids and melted into the embrace. Either this kiss was world shattering, or the cosmos conspired to find Steve a boyfriend. Eventually they pulled apart both panting and slowly opened their eyes. Steve found himself looking at the rockstar now and giggled.

“It worked.” He whispered. “You're you again, and I'm me.”

“That it did sweetheart. I know this seems fast, but do you want to maybe go on a date with me? I don't think I'm going to forget you anytime soon.”

“I'll go on all the dates with you Eddie Munson.” And Steve pulled him back into a sweet passionate kiss.

They would spend the next weeks and months getting to know each other, but they felt as though they'd known each other in every life, for eons. Fate brought them together and they fell hopelessly, emphatically in love.

[rastronomicals]

8:32 PM EDT April 1, 2024:

Slayer - "Richard Hung Himself" From the album Undisputed Attitude (May 18, 1996)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

File under: Thrash

[petew21-blog]

Grey's Swapatomy

"Good morning, chief Webber. How are we feeling today?"

"Good morning. Thank you for asking. I don't want to complain too much but my back hurts from the couch In my office"

"Couch, sir?"

"Yeah, my wife Adele and I... we're going through some stuff right now that we need to figure out. Separately."

Mark now looking really unckmfortable shift the attention to the board with surgeries

"I see that we have a busy day, sir. I have 6 surgeries planned now."

"SIX?!? What? My name is not there even once. Do these people think that just because I'm older I don't know how to hold a scalpel anymore?"

"Chief, I don't think they mean it that way. They just want you to have your earned... rest. That's what everybody want after years of working here."

"You know what, Mark? I'll give you the rest you desperately need."

Richard Webber leaves in anger

"I'm sorry sir. I didn't want to upset you"

Richard now searching through his office found an amulet he got from a tribe leader whose life he saved. He said to him that when he will feel most like his journey was ended by someone, he can then continue the journey of another. He never knew back then what it meant. He definitely knew now.

He went to the scrub room before the OR. Mark was just getting ready, scrubbing his hands. Richard came close to him. Mark stood up, look into Richard's eyes, as Richard snapped the talisman in two pieces. A powder fell out from the talisman onto Richard's feet and Mark's hands.

"Thanks Richard. Now I have to scrub again"

Richard left the room with a gleefull smile

That night Mark producent so much sweat, that his room now was humid like a rainforest. All that was an effect of accepting a new soul. Richard's

Richard woke up. He felt all the sweat all over his body. His much younger and hard muscled body. All the back pain was gone. No more painfull joints

Richard went into the shower. He was now ready to show himself to Adele. How could she reject him now with a body like this. The body Richard knew was able to fuck like a horse. Also hung like a horse

As Richard left the shower, he just took the towel and went through the kitchen. Not expecting anyone, he was surprised to see Meredith's younger sister Lexie.

"Doctor... I mean Lexie, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to surprise you. Give you a gift for all the surgeries that went so well and to show you how much I like you"

Lexie now dropped the underwear she was wearing, standing now completely naked in the kitchen

Adele can wait...

Inbox story request: Would you maybe do a story where Chief Webber swaps bodies with Mark Sloan (Greys Anatomy)?

I never thought I would ever write a story from Richard Webber's P.O.V. 🤣

[redflagshipwriter]

Cupid is Wanted: Chapter five

Masterpost

Damian felt himself go still, a hunting dog reacting to something not yet seen. Brown noticed his tension and her eyes hardened.

Faintly, the car garage door began to hoist itself open.

Impossible. Who could have returned to the Manor? Who suspected them?

“Quickly!”

The two scrambled to erase the evidence of their time in the VHS room and to return to their sickened posting. Damian straightened the rug, turned off the light, and hastily snatched up a pillow that had been dragged over from their sickroom. “Come on, come on,” Brown muttered, hands out to receive the tape from the machine. She turned off the television as soon as it was in her hands.

The front door unlocked.

They flung themselves down the hallway in professional, panicked silence.

Down six doors, down one floor, and then into the first doorway. Damian tucked and rolled onto the sofa. Brown was in the air, a blonde rocket over the back of the sofa and onto his side. “Move your behind-“ he hissed, until she elbowed him in the gut and cut off his ability to speak with an oof.

“This was my sofa,” Brown argued back. “Before we left. You move!” She squirmed into a more tactical position.

“Unhand me!”

They were full-on wrestling by the time the hallway creaked with the weight of a step. Damian could not afford the leisure to look up. They were shamefully well matched in size and musculature, as Brown was a hulking beast of a gym rat girl at 5’6” and Damian was still waiting for his expected growth spurt.

“…Resting well?” Damian craned his gaze up from where he was scrunched halfway off the sofa to see the wretched amusement on Dick’s face.

“I will rest easier when this great lump has been thrown down the mountainside,” Damian snarled against Brown’s fingers. He made a valiant attempt to bite them that managed to scrape her flesh.

“Whoa, okay, no teeth between friends.” Dick pried them apart and left them panting resentfully, faces flushed red.

“He’s not my friend,” Brown huffed. Damian agreed silently. “He’s an adorable little baby-“ she cut herself off with a shriek as she barely escaped Damian’s teeth.

The surprise attack was no use. Dick, who was now demoted to Richard for dastardly acts, caught him around the waist and hoisted him up over his great big silly shoulders. Damian hung there resentfully and glowered. He would show them all one day. He would be larger than them all. It was his destiny, as the son of the Bat, who was quite tall even if not as tall as Damian might have hoped.

Surely it would be any day now that Damian would burst in a stream of glory past his current 5 feet and 4 inches. He was nearly 14 years of age. That was old enough for a growth spurt, one that would compel his wretched family to respect him.

“You seem more energetic than expected. I was worried.” Richard patted his back. “Senior year is important, Steph, I hope you don’t have too much homework.”

Brown let out a rather pathetic fake cough. “I’m fine,” she said bravely. “I don’t have too much, no. We just finished midterms.”

Richard made a cheerful sound that implied he was onto them. “Good thing you got sick now and not last week, then!”

“Fine,” Damian spat. He ignored the way that Brown’s eyes went wide. “What have you come for, Richard?”

He made a tch sound with his tongue upon hearing of his demotion from his preferred appellation, Dick. “I’m here to heal the sick with my tender ministry,” he lied.

Damian waited. He crossed his arms. The position was awkward, given that he was still hanging upside down over Richard’s back.

“You two are obviously in cahoots and I want to be in cahoots.” Richard flipped Damian over back onto his feet with a flourish but did not let go of his grip on Damian’s shoulders. He leaned in slightly with a grin to say, “Let me in, you shits.”

Damian narrowed his eyes. Outrageous. He would not bend to these demands.

“Compelling point,” Brown said. “Unfortunately, there’s nothing to cahoot about.” Damian turned his head back far enough to see her saunter towards Richard, holding the sofa cushion to her stomach with one hand. “Except, maybe.” She trailed off tentatively, hand over her mouth.

“Yes?” Richard asked.

Brown removed her hand and started coughing into Richard’s face, eyes and mouth contorted in a repulsive fashion. “Nasty!” Richard bellowed, taking evasive actions. Damian grabbed Richard’s hands to hold him in place so that he could aid Brown in her noble mission by coughing on Richard’s face. Their elder squirmed and weaved, but he saw spittle land on Richard’s eyebrow before his grip was wrenched away and Richard escaped range. “I’m going to rehome you to the bin!” Richard hollered. He executed an artful roll over a divan and came back up with the single heavy seat cushion. “Get back!” He brandished it at them.

Brown dove for his ankles while his vision was obstructed. Damian took advantage of the same instant to take the high ground, leaping to the back of the chair and then jumping onto Richard’s shoulders with a vicious war cry. The chair toppled to the ground after him. He noted it, but was occupied pulling handfuls of hair and deliberately spitting on Richard’s ear. The movement exposed the upper curve of their enemy's ear. “He is wearing jewelry!” Damian reported victoriously. How mortifying! Richard was attempting to have a personal life!

“You were ready for a date!” Brown accused, trying to cling to Richard’s ankle. He slammed the cushion down and leveraged it on top of her. She went under with a shriek, and Damian was nearly shaken from his perch when Richard lurched downwards to use his weight to trap Brown. She continued, muffled but undefeated. “You weren’t here for us! You don’t care, you had something else to bring you into town.”

“They canceled on you because you are elderly and infirm!” Damian traunted. Richard lost a few hairs when he wrenched Damian off and literally threw him across the room. He landed on his feet effortlessly and extended a hand to point in accusation. “You are taking out your unused energy on us! What will the authorities think of your abominable behavior?”

“Master Dick!”

Everyone stopped breathing. Brown quickly withdrew the hands that she had been weaseling out from underneath the cushion in an attempt to escape. If only he was also unseen. The authorities were already at hand, and he was exposed in the open. Damian felt a cold hand of fear around his heart. He guiltily lowered the hand rudely pointing at Richard.

Damian turned his wide eyed gaze on Alfred. The head of their household looked incensed. “You are not permitted to throw sick children, thank you. You will clean this immediately.” He swept a hand across the disheveled room.

…Yes, sick children. Indeed, he was quite ill. Damian ran through hasty mental calculations of how ill he ought to look. Should he slump? Would it be too much? He would never normally expose weakness, so perhaps it would only seem suspicious.

Richard looked incredibly trapped. “What if I told you that they aren’t really sick?” he tried.

Alfred barely spared Damian a glance, but he felt flayed through. “Then I would be disappointed in them for their deception, but it does not increase my tolerance for testing their aerodynamic qualities, nor their tolerance for being trapped in cushions.”

Richard meekly stepped off of the large cushion. It popped up and off of Brown, who rather looked as though she would prefer to remain out of sight. Her skin was flushed and her hair sweaty. She did still look terrible.

‘...We can still succeed.’

The household existed in a tense silence after Alfred left the room. Damian avoided eye contact with Richard. Despite orders, all three of them straightened the room. Damian tucked himself back onto the sofa and exchanged wary glances with Brown. Ought they apologize? Had they wronged Dick?

Their elder let out a sigh. He sprawled out on a chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Don’t do anything rash,” he said. His earlier lighthearted tone was replaced with a quiet command that made Damian’s back straighten. “You’re working a case. I’ll stay out of it, but I don’t like that you’ve lied to Alfred and Bruce.”

Shame burnt at Damian’s cheeks. He felt hot with it. He looked at his legs, unable to speak around the sharp rock in his throat. He nodded.

It was with a bitter taste in his mouth and a humbled neck that Damian contacted the electronic witch in her tower. “Good evening,” he said.

“Damian,” said Barbara, amused. “Good to hear from you. Stephanie said you might call.”

“…yes.” He swallowed down the bad taste in his mouth. “I hope to request a favor from you.”

The sound of knuckles cracking came across the headset. “I’m listening.”

Damian shuddered. Disgusting.

[thevoidstaredback]

Tales of Conquest, Warnings of Fools:

Letters Between Brothers

I found Bruce, we’re on our way back now. ETA 2 days. Have the med-bay prepped.

***

Damian rushed to the Batcave as soon as the alert came through on his phone, he found Grayson doing the same. Everyone had likely gotten the message, but they were the only two close enough to actually get to the Cave and read what was sent. When they arrived, however, they both froze. In big, bold letters on the largest screen was the confirmation that he had been waiting a year for. Drake had found Father, and is bringing him home.

He felt an overwhelming something overcome him. Father’s alive. Father’s okay. Father’s coming back. Drake is bringing Father back.

“Damian!” Grayson shook his shoulders, “Are you okay?”

It took a few more seconds, but Damian nodded his head, “Yes, Richard, I’m fine.”

Richard froze for a second. “What did you..call me?”

“‘Richard’?” Damian raised his eyebrow. “That is your name, isn’t it?” When Richard didn’t answer, standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face, Damian went to the elevator, “I will inform Alfred of Drake’s status report. You should tell the others.” The doors closed behind him, cutting off his view of the Cave, and he found himself able to breathe again.

Father’s coming home.

He was quick to leave the office, making sure the grandfather clock closed behind him. Finding Alfred was easy, telling him about the message Drake just sent was not. He stood dumbly in the kitchen doorway, half in the dining room and half in the kitchen.

“Is there something I can help you with, young master Damian?”

Damian’s mouth felt dry and his eyes felt wet. “Um,” A stutter? Really?

“Young master Damian?” Alfred approached him, “Is everything alright?”

He swallowed. “Yes, Alfred, everything’s fine.”

“Good,” the panic Damian hadn’t noticed left the old man’s face, but there was still an expression of uncertainty. “Drake sent an emergency message: He’s found Father. They’ll be returning in two days. He requested that the medical bay be prepared, but he did not specify.”

Alfred lost some of the composure he so dutifully held. His shoulders slumped and relief fell off of his frame like a weight. He suddenly seemed much older than he ever acted. Between three blinks, he was back to his perfect butler self. “I will have everything ready for your brother’s and father’s return.” he nodded.

Damian nodded back and turned to leave the room. He was numb all the way to his bedroom, only stopping to pet Alfred the cat, but only for a few seconds.

He closed the door behind himself, locking it, before sliding down it to sit on the floor. Father was coming home. He knew that he couldn’t be dead! He knew he wouldn’t have stayed dead! He curled his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs, buried his face in his knees, and cried.

*

They heard the Batplane before they saw it only because the doors opening to let it land let in a rush of wind.

Only Damian, Alfred, and Richard were in the Cave to receive Father and Drake. Todd hadn’t answered Richard or Alfred in nearly nine months, and the only way they knew he was alive was because Red Hood was still ruling Crime Alley. Gordon had been elated to hear of their return, but was currently otherwise occupied. Cain and Brown were still in Hong Kong, but they had promised to be back as soon as they could.

The next people Richard had contacted had been Superman and Wonder Woman. He alerted them that something had come up and that Batman and Robin would not make it to the meeting on the Watchtower the next day. In a very Batman fashion, he didn’t elaborate and hung up on them.

Damian had to wonder, though, through the preparations of getting everything ready for Father’s and Drake’s return, what would Father think about how everything fell apart after he went missing? Things hadn’t been perfect before, but they had held together. Now, they’d all fallen away from each other, despite Richard’s best efforts. Even then, he’d stopped after four months of almost nothing but rejection and static.

The second the drophatch was fully down, Alfred and Richard were on the plane, loading Father onto a gurney so they could wheel him to the med-bay. It was hardly a fight, with Father being as out of it as he was, so it was a quick process. Soon, Alfred, Richard, and Father were in the medical bay, leaving Damian and Drake together.

It was a quiet few moments, the two watching the three older men from across the Cave until they disappeared behind the door. Finally, Damian turned to Drake. “Thank you,” he said, “for bringing him back.”

Drake scoffed. “It’s not like you ever believed me that he was alive.”

“I did,” he ducked his head down, “but I did not help you, nor did I try to convince the others. For that I-” He’s been working on this part, actually, since Drake sent the notice of return. “-I apologize.”

“You,” Drake asked, his tone full of disbelief, “are apologizing to me?”

He nodded. “I recognize that I have been…uncouth towards you, and I would like to rectify our relationship going forward.” He inwardly scolded himself for sounding so stilted and awkward. Speaking to people had always been Danyal’s area of expertise. “I understand, however, if you would prefer to not have anything to do with me. In which case, I will do my best to stay away.”

Drake was quiet for a few minutes, not moving or speaking. Soon, though, Damian figured his older…brother wanted nothing to do with him, so he started to walk away. He didn’t let his disappointment show, though. He had no business feeling that way. It was his own fault after all, his own actions that pushed Drake away. He pushed everyone away, actually.

“Wait-!” Drake called. Damian turned slightly to face him. “I, uh, do you mean it?”

“Do I mean what, Drake?”

“Wanting to be…friendlier? You really mean it?”

Turning back fully. “Yes,” he didn’t meet his eyes, “When I was with Mother, she taught me to take what should be mine by force and or of elimination. Grandfather, when I saw him, taught me that my weaknesses should be quashed and that the weaknesses of my enemies should be exploited for all they would give. While you have been searching for Father, the Manor has felt empty, cold. It’s not at all what it was when I first arrived and I cannot help but feel as though a part of that is my own fault for pushing everyone away, even before Father went missing. Todd hasn’t communicated with any of us for nearly nine months, Gordon has been busy with her day job and her father, Cain and Brown have been in Hong Kong with low contact, you’ve been MIA for almost a year-!” He hated how tears welled up in his eyes. “Richard has been trying to keep everything together by being someone he was never meant to be, and the one person I was ever allowed to rely on probably hates me!” He hated the sob that escaped him. He hated that he was breaking down.

Drake sighed quietly. “You really are just a kid, huh.” Slowly, he approached Damian and put his hand on his shoulder. “Is this alright?” After a second, there was a nod. He pulled him into a hug, wrapping one arm around his waist and the other around his shoulders to hold his head to his chest. “What about this?” Another nod.

Damian wrapped his arms around Timothy’s waist, burying his face into the older boy’s chest, staining the material with his tears. He hated that he was showing weakness, but he couldn’t really find it in himself to care at the moment. “I just want the Manor to be warm again.” he whispered.

Timothy pet his hair softly. “I know, kid. I think that can be arranged, but I don’t know how long that will take.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Damian sniffled and pulled away, wiping his tears as soon as Timothy’s hands dropped to his sides. “We will not speak of this.”

Timothy chuckled, “Alright.” His right hand moved to hold his bottom left ribs. “First step to taking care of that promise, though,” he wheezed, “is getting me some medical treatment.”

“You’re an idiot, Timothy.” Damian scolded with no heat behind his words. He carefully slid under Timothy’s left arm, lopping his right around his waist to hold him up. “You better not be hurt enough to be at risk of dying.”

“And break my new promise to you?” Timothy sounded offended, though he was smiling. “Never.”

“I will stab you in the spleen.”

“You’d injure me more, brat.”

“That would be the point, yes.”

“Did our heartfelt moment just now mean nothing to you?”

“Seeing as emotions are not labeled on a linear scale, therefore unable to be counted on a negative scale, yes. It meant nothing.”

“You hurt me, brat.”

“Good.”

Quiet covered the two for a moment. “Y’know, this doesn’t make up for the year’s worth of shit you put me through after you first got here, right?”

Damian nodded. “I know.”

“Good.” Timothy’s words were slurring now.

Damian shifted his grip to carry more of the older boy’s weight. “Rest, Timothy. Alfred will look over you when he is done with Father.”

Timothy shook his head. “No. I gotta- file miss’on ‘port.”

“You cannot even see straight, Timothy-”

“‘m bi.”

“...you cannot see gay right now, either. Sleep. You can file a mission report when Alfred clears you.”

“‘ou’re not gon’ let me go, are ya?” Timothy droned tiredly.

“That would be the correct assumption, yes.”

Timothy huffed. “Fine.” Then, he collapsed.

Had Damian not been ready, he would’ve dropped the older vigilante on the Cave’s floor. As it was, he’d already been holding most of his weight. While it was awkward to carry the taller boy the rest of the way across the Cave and into the med-bay, it was not hard.

He ignored the looks he got from Richard and Alfred as he laid Timothy down on an empty cot in the corner of the room furthest from the door. Without saying anything, he left them to go back to the Manor. He stopped by the Batcomputer, though, to see if any of the others had sent anything. There was one from Todd simply reading ‘The old man didn’t die? Tsk’. He left it on the screen and entered the elevator, taking it up to the Manor.

Father’s office was warmer now that the man was back home. The Manor itself seemed to be that much brighter, as though the building was aware of its master’s return. The constant hum of electricity in the walls seemed to have a cheerful not to it. Even the sky he could spy above Gotham City proper was showing dull blue through the smog!

Alfred the cat joined him as he walked up the stairs to his room. It was nestled in the corner a door down from Timothy’s, four doors down and across the hall from Todd’s, four doors down from Richards, two doors down and across the hall from Cain’s, and one door down and across the hall from Brown’s. The doors themselves seemed less imposing as before, ready to re-welcome whoever stayed behind them.

He hesitated in front of his own door, the slab of hardwood looming over him. Steeling himself took a moment too long, but he finally managed to open the door. “There’s nothing to be scared of; it’s just your room.”

Inside, nothing had been disturbed. The traps on the window and around the room lay ready to be set off, and none had been activated or disarmed. He found his attention drawn to his desk between the two windows, the silver chain around his neck feeling heavier by the second.

Danyal would want to know Father is safe and home.

Damian hasn’t even bothered to read Danyal’s last three letters.

Danyal would want to know that he’s okay.

Damian’s a coward.

*

One week after Father returned home, Richard made the official statement to the press. He told them that the Private Investigators they’d hired had found and brought him home. The kidnappers had all been incarcerated.

Father had yet to wake up.

Timothy had awoken three days later, completely cleared for civilian life and desk work. He wasn’t yet allowed to go out as Red Robin, but he did file his mission report. An entire year’s worth of adventures had only taken eighteen hours to log. Damian suspected things had been left out, but he didn’t mention it.

Todd hadn’t sent anything after his initial message, but he was now reading the messages sent to him by Richard.

Cain and Brown could not yet pull themselves from Hong Kong, but they were in near constant contact with Richard, Alfred, or Tim.

Gordon had managed to rejoin them as Oracle the day after Timothy awoke, jumping at the opportunity to talk to any of them.

Damian found a little part of him that was upset by everyone suddenly rushing back together, but he did not have a valid reason to be upset. Richard and Timothy had reason to be upset, and it was not up to Damian to be upset for them. So, he buried that little voice and went on with his routine.

He and Richard were still going out as Batman and Robin, but that would only last until Father was cleared for duty. Then, Father would retake the Batman Cowl, Damian would remain Robin, and Richard would go back to being Nightwing. Honestly, Damian had no idea how to feel about that. He ignored that voice, too. Instead, he focused on the WAR case he’d taken from Richard.

WAR; We Are Robin. A meta-human opened up the movement with his team, eight months ago. He seemed to have realized that Richard had takenFather’s place under the cowl and had acted accordingly. Or, this had always been a plan for him, but that was unlikely because the kid is fourteen and untrained. He acts during the day, leaving the night to the trained vigilanties, and he has a network that spans all of Gotham, probably already branching out into neighboring cities. As soon as he could, Robin reached out with intents to set up a meeting. The response was swift. Three days after Timothy woke up, Robin left the Batcave in the middle of the day to meet R.

He stood on the roof of Wayne Enterprise with Oracle in his ear, ready to call for backup if he needed it. He wouldn’t. After nearly five minutes of waiting, R landed on the rooftop in front of him, several feet of space between them.

The teen moved with all the grace of a sportsman, untrained in combat, but not wasting a single movement or breath. His suit was yellow and black, the visor of his helmet tinted white, and the Robin R sat proudly in the middle of his chest. The red stood out garishly against the bright yellow

“Robin,” the teen greeted.

“R,” Robin nodded back.

“I’m surprised,” R’s stance was casual, but ready to move at a moment's cue. “Last I heard, Batman was hunting down those of us involved in WAR. Then, he stops and I get a message from you a few months later. What do I owe the pleasure?”

Robin hoped that this child wasn’t nearly this insufferable as a civilian. He sniffed, still new to the whole negotiating aspect of vigilantism. “I wish to invite you to work with us.”

There was a beat. “Excuse me?”

Robin continued. “Batman has a rule of no meta’s in Gotham because the danger the city poses to you could potentially make you a threat to the citizens. You operating within city limits has upset him, naturally, but it has done the city good.”

R stared at him for a few seconds. “Does he know you’re here?”

“No, but he will if I need him to.”

Another few beats. “Alright, I’ll bite.”

Unfamiliar with the phrase, Robin ignored it. “In exchange for wearing the Bat Symbol on your chest, you will be under Batman’s protection, and, by extension, the protection and assistance of everyone who wears the symbol.”

“You don’t wear the bat,”

“It goes without saying that I work for and with Batman. I do not need the symbol when the title is enough.”

“If you say so, kid.”

“I do.”

“What will the big bad Bat think about you going off on your own like this?”

“He trusts my judgment,” Richard does, at least. Sometimes. “He will leave you alone as long as I can vouch for you. I will do so as long as you follow Batman’s rules to the best of your ability.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that as long as you are wearing the bat on your chest, you work for and with Batman and his allies. Courtesies extended to us will be extended to you, and vice versa. Once you are cleared, our identities will be shared between each other and your training will begin.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait. Training? Revealing identities? Isn’t that a bit too far ahead to be thinking right now?”

“Not in the slightest, Thomas,” The older kid noticeably stiffened, his stance ready to flee rather than fight. “I know who you are. Batman will likely find out when I present this proposal to him. It is in your best interest to agree to work with us.”

“That sounds an awful lot like a threat, kid,”

Robin tilted his chin down. “I apologize, that was not my intention.” His nose scrunched up. “I have been working to better my ‘people skills’, as the others called it.”

R snorted, relaxing a bit, “Since you know who I am, do I get to know who you are?”

Robin shook his head. “Telling you my name would reveal the others. I have cleared you myself, but Batman will need to clear you before we tell you who we are.”

“Doesn’t that mean I have to wait to get the bat, then?”

“No. It means that you will have to wait before we can start your training.”

“Alright. So, when do I get the bat? Because, and no offense to you, but this red R totally throws off my whole vibe.”

A smile quirked at the corner of Robin’s lips. “I will have to for you tomorrow. Meet me back here at fifteen-hundred hours.”

“Can do, kid.”

With the clear farewell, Robin jumped off the roof of the building and grabbed a few streets away, feeling like he was flying. Then, once he landed, he used the entrance hidden in the back of the empty parking garage to get down to the cave systems under Gotham. From there, it was an easy hour walk to the Batcave.

*

Once again, Damian finds himself staring at the locked top drawer of his desk. The key was in his hand, the chain dangling from it. It felt heavy, warm to the touch, though that’s probably because he’s been holding it for three hours.

There was a knock on the door, but he didn’t answer. Someone said something on the other side, but he didn’t hear it. The drawer was taunting him; the key was mocking him. He was stuck in a limbo between opening the drawer and facing the music or leaving it be and risking his brother’s wrath.

“Damian?” Richard had come into the room and was now standing in front of him. “Is everything alright, bud?”

Damian set the key on the bed next to him before standing. “Yes, I am fine, Richard. What do you need?”

Richard eyed the key, but didn’t mention it. “B’s awake. I thought you’d like to go talk to him.”

“Very well,” he left his room, waiting for Richard in the hallway, “Let’s go.”

Richard looked very much like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He quietly led the way down to the Batcave, using the fireman's pole in the first floor closet instead of the elevator in Father’s office. Then, he took Damian to the med-bey.

There, sitting propped up on the bed, was Father, brushing off Alfred’s insistence for a check up. He looked up when the door opened, his face softening at the sight of his children. “Dick, Damian.”

“Hey, B,”

“Father,”

Father opened his arms and waited a second. Richard didn’t hesitate, rushing into the man’s hug. “You’re an idiot, Bruce!”

“I know,” Father cooed softly, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you ever disappear like that again, do you hear me? Never again!” Richard cried, “And you can’t die, either! If you do, I’ll kill you myself.”

Father chuckled, “Alright, alright. I promise.”

Richard pulled away after a few minutes, wiping his sleeve across his face. “Good, good.” He sniffled. “I should let everyone else know you’re awake.”

“How’s Tim?” Father asked.

“He’s fine,” Richard reported, “He woke up a little over a week ago.”

Father’s next question was, “How long was I gone?” followed closely by, “How long have I been back?”

Richard laughed wetly, humorlessly. “You were gone for a year. We told the press that you were kidnapped. Speaking of, I posted an official announcement of your return; you can look at it later. As for how long you’ve been back, well,”

“Timothy recovered you three weeks ago,” Damian cut in, “After two days, you both arrived in the Cave. You were unconscious upon arrival, Timothy passed out shortly thereafter. He woke up after three days and was cleared to go out six days later.”

A dark look crossed over Father’s face. “How’s Gotham?”

“Not totally destroyed,” Richard’s attempt at a joke fell flat. “I’ll, um, I’ll let you two talk.” He was swift to leave the room, leaving Father and Damian alone.

Damian stared at his Father, taking in his appearance and noting down every injury he could see. He seemed haggard, tired despite having only just woken up. He wanted to ask what happened, but he didn’t. “It’s good to see you, Father.”

“Damian,” Father’s arms twitched like he wanted another hug. Damian picked up on it and walked forward, wrapping his arms around his Father. Father embraced him, his grip tightening around him. “Damian, I’m so, so sorry I left you alone. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” he responded, “I do not hold it against you.”

“You should.”

“Will it happen again?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“That I will not blame you.” He hid his face in his Father’s shoulder, “Do not leave us again.”

“I’m sorry,”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry!”

He didn’t say anything, opting to hold his Father close. He had been scared, but so was everyone else, so was Father. Damian couldn’t begin to imagine what Father had gone through. Where had he been? Why had it taken so long to find him? Why didn’t he come back? Why couldn’t he come back? Timothy hadn’t been forthcoming with any answers, but that was okay. Damian could wait until either Father or Timothy shared.

After several long minutes, Father pulled away and Damian sat on the edge of the bed. “So, when were you planning on telling me about your brother?”

Damian stiffened. “What?”

“I got thrown into the Time Stream, I think. A kid who looks strangely like you, if only a little older, helped me when he could. So, either there’s a clone of you with access to Time Travel running around, or you have a sibling you haven’t told me about.”

“I-” he found himself unable to form the words. After a few false starts, he finally managed, “He disappeared when we were children.” Father tensed. “I have only come back into contact with him fairly recently, but that is because he reached out first.” Father relaxed, but Damian didn’t.

“You’re talking to him now?” Damian didn’t answer. “Are you talking to him still?”

He shook his head. “No. Too much has been happening since you went missing; I did not have the time.”

Father frowned. “Tell me what’s been going on, and then we’ll contact him together. How does that sound?”

Damian didn’t know how to feel about that. “That sounds good.”

The door to the med-bay opened and Timothy came in. “Bruce!”

“Tim,” the man smiled smally, “Thanks for finding me.”

Timothy snorted and leaned against the wall. “Someone had to, old man. Besides, those clues you left were way too vague for anyone else to figure out.”

Richard came back in after Timothy, choosing to sit in one of the chairs in the room. He didn’t say anything, but he did have a sad look on his face.

Father met the eyes of all three children. “Tell me exactly what’s happened in the year I’ve been gone.”

Timothy groaned. “Where do we even start?”

“You can start by telling me your cover story,” Father said, “And then you can tell me where everyone else is.”

Richard grimaced, his nose scrunching up as if the idea of explaining anything was appling. It was, actually, but Damian didn’t say anything. “Well, we told the press that you went missing.”

Father waited for him to continue. When he didn’t he prompted, “And the Justice League?”

“They, um, didn’t know?”

There were several long seconds where Father stared on in disbelief. “You didn’t tell the Justice League that I’d gone missing?”

“We did tell them!” Richard objected. “We told them that Bruce Wayne had gone missing-!”

“-and that Nightwing was doing undercover work, and that Red Robin was on a mission overseas.”

“And what about Batman?” Father asked, though it didn’t sound at all like a question.

Richard curled back slightly. “Batman and Robin were the ones to tell them…”

Father sighed long and hard. “Batman went missing, and Robin went after him.”

“Batman went missing, and Red Robin went after him.” Damian corrected, “Nightwing went undercover, Black Bat and Spoiler went to Hong Kong. Batman and Robin watched over Gotham with assistance from WAR.”

Father took a deep breath. “I’m…I’m sorry you had to do that, Dick.”

“It’s- Well, it’s not alright, but I can forgive you. It wasn’t your fault. Besides, Gotham needs Batman.”

“And Batman needs Robin,” Timothy added.

Suddenly, Father turned his gaze back to Damian. “You..?”

Damian nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry, boys,”

“So you keep saying,” Damian stated. “Father, I have been trained since birth to take over your mantle. Being Robin is just another step I must take. Timothy could not have gone after you as Robin without unwanted attention. Richard had no other choice than to become Batman because Gotham needs Batman. He will, however, be going back to Nightwing as soon as you’ve recovered enough to work, and after he’s had a break.”

“Baby bird-”

“You have been ripping apart at the seams, Richard,” Damian scolded, standing up to face him, “If you do not willingly take a break, I will knock you out and have Goliath watch over you.”

There was a moment of silence. “Um,” Timothy asked, “Who’s Goliath?”

“My dragon bat.” Damian answered as though it didn’t sound absolutely insane.

“You’re what?”

*

“You weren’t kidding, were ya, kid?” Thomas whistled.

Damian shook his head minutely. “I do not joke, especially not in uniform.”

Thomas sat on his new bed, taking in every inch of the room. “Yeah, but Wayne? How do you do it? The whole world thinks that there’s no way Bruce Wayne could be Batman, especially not after he went missing. How did you guys pull that off, by the way?”

“Simple,” Damian replied, “Father went missing, so Timothy went to look for him. I became Robin and Richard became Batman. Nightwing went undercover.”

“I-” he paused, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But what about the whole Bruce Wayne is Batman thing? How does he do it?”

“A trade secret,” was the answer, “You will learn eventually.”

“Damian! You can’t just leave me in the dark like that!”

Damian was by the door, so he turned the lights off. “Yes I can.” Then, he left. He could hear Thomas laugh for a few seconds before the older boy ran to match his pace.

“I thought you didn’t joke around?”

“I don’t.”

“But you just-”

“And no one will ever believe you.”

“No one will ever believe what?” Richard asked, coming out of his own room as they passed it.

Thomas blinked. “Damian made a joke.”

Richard raised an eyebrow. “Damian made a joke?”

The boy in question clicked his tongue. “Tt. Why would I make a joke, Thomas?”

“But you just-” Thomas spluttered, “-and the lights!”

“Lights?” Damian raised his eyebrow this time, “Lights are your thing, Thomas, in case you’ve forgotten.” He walked on, leaving the two behind him in the all.

“Hey!” Thomas whined, “Not funny, kid!”

He heard Richard laugh behind him, a smirk making its way across his face as he turned the corner. That was too easy. It will continue to be..fun, but only as long as Thomas plays along, willing or not.

Timothy joined him at the top of the staircase. “Did you really joke with Duke?”

Damian shook his head. “No,”

“Liar,” Timothy accused.

“I am not,” he denied.

Timothy shook his head with a sigh, following Damian down the stairs and to the dining room. Richard and Thomas joined them soon after. Father was absent, and so was Alfred. Todd had been leaving Richard on read still, which was better than not even looking at the messages. The girls were all missing, too, but they were otherwise engaged anyway. All that was missing, Damian thought as he looked around the table, was Danyal.

What would his family think about Danyal? Damian wondered. Father knew, but Damian wasn’t quite sure how, though he wasn’t too keen to ask because he didn’t want to answer. A part of him wanted to keep his twin brother a secret. A smaller part told him to tell everyone. The letters in his drawer agreed to being selfish and keeping him a secret. He wasn’t ready to share his brother with his family, even if Danyal had shared him with his.

“It’s good to have you back, B,” Richard said. When had Father arrived?

“It’s good to be back,” Father agreed with a nod, taking his place at the head of the table. The room felt warmer, more full than it had in a long time.

Timothy, who was a chair down from Damian, was typing on his phone, likely wording emails and trying to figure out the press. Now that he was back, that particular responsibility fell from Damian back to Timothy.

That was another thing Damian was slightly upset about, even though he felt he had no right to be. Everyone leaving had dumped all of their responsibilities onto him and Richard. Richard wouldn’t let him take some of the fall, so Damian had had to forcefully take some of the weight from his oldest brother, stressing himself out in the process.

“The press has been dying to get their hands on your story, B,” the seventeen year old stated, “Dick’s official announcement about you coming back has only made them more bloodthirsty.” He looked at Dick for a second before looking back down at his phone. “How did you deal with this?”

“That was my job, actually,” Damian said, “Richard was far too busy and stressed to be able to deal with the media properly, so I took it upon myself to do so.” He got looks from everyone at the table, though pity was the most prominent emotion.

“That explains why they weren’t hounding me as much as I thought they were,” Richardmuttered.

Thomas agreed, “That also explains your socials.”

“You follow my socials?”

“Everyone follows the Wayne socials, especially after Bruce went missing. Everyone wanted an update, and Damian was the only one to provide them via the family’s accounts and his personal ones.”

Timothy blinked, openly staring at Damian. “You don’t have any media training.”

“Not officially, no, but Grandfather praised me for learning in the moment; It prevented mistakes from happening again.”

A beat. “I’m gonna need to see all your posts in the last year from all the accounts you posted from, just to make sure we stick to the story you’ve created.” Timothy put down the phone he was holding and pulled another from his pocket. “Also, what’re the passwords to the family accounts? I’ll need those, too.”

“Good job, Damian,” Father said. Damian preened.

“Masters, if you’re quite through?” Alfred came into the room with the silver tray of mail that had been by the door. All new letters because the old ones had been sorted through and read shortly after Timothy woke up. “I will be back shortly with lunch.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Father nodded. He took the tray, sorting through the letters and handing them to their recipients. There was none for Damian. He tried not to let that hurt him as much as it did.

Part 5 Part 7

[asgardianhobbit98]

Four for Valentine: Week 3 "Eavesdropping"

Fandom: DC, Nightwing, Batfamily

Pairing: Nightwing / Female Reader

Important tags: Probably the most overdone trope in the world but hey, it’s Nightwing fluff, we deserve more Nightwing fluff; fluff; proposal; eavesdropping; established relationship; female reader.

Summary: You overhear Dick and Bruce talking on the phone and find out Dick is wanting to borrow money... This sets off some alarm bells in your mind as their relationship is so strained it must be something very important for Dick to ask for money. Turns out, though, that it's not all as bad as you thought it was...

Written for my "Four for Valentine" event 🩶🩷

Tag list: @fizzyxcustard @middleearthpixie @glassgulls @evenstaredits @knittastically @heilith @lathalea @way-too-addicted-to-fandoms @nowandthane

if you want to be removed or added to my tag list, please let me know 🩷

You had been done with work maybe two minutes earlier than usual. Yet, in those few moments before he noticed you, you managed to overhear enough to scramble your brain completely.

Dick was on the phone with someone you deduced to be Bruce – not because you were in any way a detective like Dick, but because you literally overheard an annoyed ‘Bruce’ come from Dick’s mouth.

Awkwardly standing behind him, you listened in on what was going to become a life changing moment of eavesdropping.

It wasn’t like Dick had any secrets from you to begin with, so eavesdropping wasn’t perhaps the reason behind why you suddenly felt so awkward. It was more the fact that, quite honestly, Dick’s relationship with Bruce was.. complicated. And on top of that Bruce was a very intimidating character all on his own. So you didn’t want to interrupt in the slightest in fear that he might get annoyed with you (not that Bruce ever could get annoyed with you). So you stayed right there on the side of the street, staring at Richard’s back as you overheard everything…

“It needs to be perfect. She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on, I can’t just give – But it’s just a little… Yes, I know. I know. I know what I said. I just can’t afford this one right now. I’ll pay back… Really? No, I want to pay back. Thank you Bruce. I mean it. I owe you one. No, I do. Thanks. Bye.”

Once he hung up, he turned to find you awkwardly stood behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin, which was unusual as Dick was really difficult to scare. The man had a sixth sense or something, probably from his time at the academy.

“Did you just overhear-“

“No! Not at all,” you were quick to say.

But inside, that lie didn’t quite cover the beating of your heart and the worry spreading through your chest. Dick would never borrow money from Bruce because of their complicated relationship. So what was so important…

Assuming it was you that he was speaking of was something you were comfortable with. After all, this man had devoted himself to you since that day, three months into your relationship, that you’d caught him mid mental breakdown in the shower… and you had jumped in, clothes on, to just hold him. He went through so much. So much pain. So much anguish. He saw such horrors as a detective in Bludhaven. You just wanted to be there for him. So of course you were. Without judgement. Without fail. And apparently he’d had little to no such support before. Because from that day on, Dick had been in love with you.

You’d fallen for him a bit earlier, but once his love was locked in, you only fell deeper in love with him. He was so gentle, so caring, and so extremely goofy… Just to make you laugh, smile…

Perfection. He was perfection to you. And so, you didn’t feel it was a presumption to think he had been speaking about you. The only thing your brain was trying to figure out was what he was borrowing money for.

…

He drove you home, as always.

You didn’t live together yet, but you practically did.

On the days that he could get away from work to pick you up from your job, drive you home safe and walk you up to your door, and subsequently enter after you invited him in for dinner or a movie marathon or to just talk, Dick didn’t go home. He had clothes in your closet, his own set of towels, his own bar of soap. And you had the same objects in his flat.

Why the two of you didn’t live together yet was mainly because Dick was a little reluctant. Not in a bad way. But he was worried for your safety. He never brought his work home unless it was too much on him and he needed to talk or cry to you, but he was terrified that “work” would follow him home some day and it would put you in danger.

You weren’t quite sure why, considering Dick always managed to put everyone in jail. And if he didn’t, then Bludhaven’s protector, Nightwing, sure did. Still… you let him fret about your safety and you didn’t push him on the subject.

You hadn’t mentioned living together for three years now. It had turned into a comfortable routine to simply pretend to have daily sleepovers.

But as Dick walked you up to your door that afternoon, using his own key to unlock it for you, you were quieter than usual and forgot to offer the usual invite in.

He tried to ask if something was the matter but you just kept up the ‘no no! I’m okay!’ façade as best as you could.

The routine continued as normal for a while after that; the gentle homely everyday life the two of you had created, where Dick would sit himself down at the kitchen counter with some reports he wanted to finish, or read through, whilst he watched you cook happened just as always.

He cooked sometimes too in the beginning of your relationship but that hadn’t lasted long as he was, quite honestly, useless in the kitchen. You blamed his childhood where he’d literally had a butler. He blamed the fact that he was just better at other things. Whatever it was he was better at, you used to joke, you hadn’t seen it yet.

He’d always chuckle and pretend to be hurt before pressing kisses to your temple, hugging you tightly.

This evening was a little different from others though. He finished some reports. You cooked. He would look up and stare at you… And that was where the difference came in. You wanted to turn around and catch his gaze as usual, send him a little loving smile… But you didn’t. You were too caught up in the conversation you’d overheard, not sure why. Your mind was trying its hardest to come up with something: a reason for why Dick would borrow money for you…

Of course Dick noticed that. He was a detective, and a damned good one when it came to you.

“What’s wrong?” he asked once more. There was a mixture between worry and haste in his words whilst he stood to move over to you.

You were absentmindedly stirring the boiling pasta which wasn’t needed as much as you were doing it, but it was something to avoid his loving gaze. He hugged you from behind, and you instantly leaned back into the hug, enjoying his little kisses and his little nibbles at your neck. “You’re quiet and you’re avoiding me. You never do that.”

True. Even if you were sad or upset about something, even him, then you’d never become distant.

Humming in delight at his show of affection, you let go of the wooden spoon and let your hands rest on his arms around you. “I’m sorry, Dick. I don’t mean to worry you.”

“So something is wrong?”

“No… I don’t know.”

He let go of you to gently turn you, catching your gaze with a tilt of his head. “What do you mean?”

You desperately reached out to hold his hands, just to touch something and to ground your thoughts a bit, because honestly you weren’t quite sure why you were so fixated on this but… you were.

“I guess I sorta overheard your phone call earlier…”

“Oh…” His eyes grew big, and he tensed.

Oh no.

“Love, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but why were you asking Bruce for money?”

Dick shook his head quickly, “Wait no, this isn’t…” Dick sighed. “Just. Stay there. Well, don’t let the food burn I guess but stay there.”

He suddenly rushed off, leaving you with more questions than anything else, really.

“Dick? Wait where are you going?”

He grabbed his jacket and just reassured you it was all okay and that you shouldn’t go anywhere… then he left.

Huh? You stood, dumbfounded, in the kitchen, pasta boiling, sauce bubbling…

And now you were less worried, and more confused. Dick hadn’t seemed weirded out or like he was off to never come back, he just seemed stressed about something not going his way and you really had no idea what was going on.

Fighting the urge to get a little upset about his lack of communication, you finished cooking and prepared two plates of food.

In the end, you ate yours all alone, and put his plate in the fridge for him.

You cleaned up the kitchen, you watched the sun go down over Bludhaven, you stared at the clock, you paced for a while, you tried to watch TV for a while…

Hours later, you gave up waiting and moved to the shower. You sent a couple of worried text messages with no response. You got ready for the night as best you could despite the growing pit in your stomach.

Did he run out for good after all?

Had something happened?

He had seemed stressed, maybe he didn’t drive safely?!

…

At some point during the night, you’d heard the key enter the slot and the front door open. It wasn’t like you could sleep, after all, so you’d propped yourself up on your elbows and waited. It was Dick’s footsteps that entered. He shifted around a bit by the door, then his steps disappeared into the flat.

Confused, and at this point a little hurt despite not knowing what to be hurt about, you just laid back down and turned onto your side.

What a strange day.

…

Not quite sure if you got a lot of sleep in or not, but at least aware that you had fallen asleep now that you knew Dick was safe, you were suddenly stirred awake by Dick crawling onto the bed.

He sat on his knees next to you, reaching for your shoulder to wake you, but paused when he noticed you move your head to look at him. It was dark as all hell in the room, so you only saw his shape for a while. Until he bent back to turn the lamp on behind him.

You squinted your eyes for a bit as they got used to the light, noticing him shift his hand to hold something out to you, but not seeing what until a bit later and…

Once you saw what it was, you just sort of stared.

There were even more questions in your mind now. He had run out for this!? Was this the thing he wanted to buy that he required Bruce’s help with!? If so, you understood why because… this ring looked expensive. Not only that, but you saw the little black box had an insignia from a rare jewellery store which one couldn’t find anywhere but in Gotham City.

Had Dick really gone all the way to Gotham just now to… “What’s this?” you asked, voice filled with sleep.

“A ring.”

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at him. “I know but… Dick, I asked earlier-“

“It was this. I saw this a couple days ago when I visited Bruce.”

Huh? When had Dick been to Gotham? So many questions…

“I wanted to get it for you. It’s… It’s perfect.” He was still sat there on his knees, both his hands holding the little black box open for you to see.

You were still half asleep in bed, head lifted from the pillow, sheets wrapped around your body snug. “What… Dick I don’t get it.”

“Marry me.”

OH.

“I mean…” Dick laughed a bit awkwardly, “Do you want to marry me?”

Were there still questions that you had? Yes. Many. And a lot of them were going to be answered those days before the wedding when Dick decided to come clean about his secrets, but for now… For now, you were elated.

This silly man had driven to Gotham to get the ring once he understood that you were beginning to get onto what he was planning… For what? Just so he could still surprise you?

Probably. He liked surprising you.

So of course you laughed. A little bit at him rather than anything else. He looked a little miffed by this reaction, so you were quick to sit up in bed and reach your hands out to lovingly cup his hands holding that… insanely expensive looking ring. Which you loved, by the way. Even if you were scared of wearing it in fear of breaking it.

“This is what this was all about?” you asked.

He nodded his head, his blue eyes clearly not quite sure yet of whether you were okay with this or not.

So, you were quick to smile at him and nod your head to ease his mind: “Yes, silly. Of course I want to marry you. You didn’t have to ask. And you didn’t have to get such an expensive ring. All I ever need is just you.”

He smiled. Oh did he smile. It only made this moment even more precious to see him smiling this much.

After three years with him you didn’t think you could see any new sides of his, but that smile… that smile was different than anything you’d ever seen before. That smile was adoring and devoted and close to crying all at once… and you loved it. It was a special smile, you’d find out. One that only happened during a couple of special moments in his life. Like right now when he looked at you through a new lens of love.

“All I ever need is you too. But I wanted to get you the most perfect ring, to show you how much you mean to me.” He leaned over and pressed a long, deep kiss to your lips, before pressing his forehead against yours, noses touching as he slipped the expensive ring onto your finger…

[aestheticaltcow]

Our Present

The Bear Masterlist

Previous part

Richie walked back into the party, confused about what had happened. He attempted to push it into the back of his head as he watched Eva and her friends run around the backyard trading friendship bracelets. He smiled to himself as he got his phone out of his pocket to take a picture to send you.

After singing Happy Birthday, eating ice cream cake, and opening presents, Richie was finally alone with Tiff. “Oh hey- I thought you left.” she laughed as she picked up empty paper cups to throw in the trash. “Yeah… what did you say to Y/N? She kinda just left… said something about talkin’ to you.” Richie asked, watching Tiffany lose the color in her cheeks. “Richie, I didn’t say anything. I swear.” Richie shook his head, “Nonono, Tiff, you said somethin’... I wanna know what you said.” she sighed and put the trashcan she’d been carrying through the living room down, “Okay- I guess I did say somethin’...” She leaned against the wall, avoiding eye contact with him. “What did you say?!” Richie demanded, trying his best not to yell, “Calm down.” Tiffany warned, crossing her arms over her chest. Richie paused, “Okay, I’m sorry, but what did you say to her?”

 “I think I gave her perspective?” Tiffany swallowed, “On what?” Richie’s face scrunched in frustration. Tiffany pushed her hands through her hair, “Okay, Richie, we’d been together for two years when she was born-” “Tiffany. What did you say.” Richie crossed her arms over his chest and stared down at Tiffany. She entered the kitchen, “I asked if she wanted to travel or get married or have a kid someday…” “I need to get out of here before I lose it.” 

“Daddy?” Eva asked from the top of the stairs as Richie huffed toward the door, “Hey, sweetheart.” he faked a smile, “Are you mad at Mommy?” he shook his head. “Don’t worry that pretty lil head about it. I had fun at your party- did you have fun?” Eva nodded, and Richie’s face softened. “That’s good… Happy Birthday, princess. I love you, okay?” Eva nodded. “I love you too, Daddy.” 

As Richie pulled into his parking spot, he noticed your missing car. Richie felt his heart rate increase as breathing became harder. He haphazardly parked and ran up the stairs. He struggled to get his key in the lock but opened the door, “Baby! You here?!” Richie yelled as soon as he’d entered the apartment. When he got no response, he walked toward your shared bedroom. He noticed your missing shoes from the cubby by the door. He shook his head, refusing to believe you’d leave him without saying anything. “Yo. Baby?” he opened the bedroom door to see the bed made and more of your possessions missing. “No. No. She wouldn’t…” he fished his phone out of his pocket and hit your contact. It immediately went to voice mail. He hung up and dialed again as he paced through your bedroom, looking into the closet to see that some of your clothes were missing. “Baby. Answer the fuckin’ phone.” Richie sighed into his phone when your voicemail came through his speaker. 

Richie walked back into the main part of the apartment and saw a note on the counter. “Sorry to leave you like this, but we want different things. My Dad said he’d come by to pick up the rest of my stuff later in the week. -Y/N” Richie stared at the paper with disbelief. He shook his head, crumpling the paper as he exited the apartment, slamming the door on his way out. You weren’t leaving him like this. 

Richie knew your parents weren’t his biggest fans, but you had to be there. Your car wasn’t parked outside their building, but you had to be there. Richie couldn’t let you leave him like this. Maybe he should have followed you when you’d left the party? He knocked on your parent’s apartment door to reveal your mom, “Richie. What are you doin’ here?” she questioned, surprised at his presence. “Hey, Mrs. Y/L/N, have you heard from Y/N?” “She left your ass, Richard.” your Dad laughed. Richie scoffed, “Have you heard from her?” Richie asked again; your mom nodded. “She said something about self-discovery? I’m not sure; she was a mess.” Richie nodded. “Thank you… can you call me if you hear from her?” she nodded. “I will, Richie.” 

Anger, hurt, confusion… Richie was ripping his hair out at what had happened between the two of you. He thought the two of you were on the same page about marriage and kids. He was sitting at the bar working on the front-of-house schedule when Lily, a friend from your serving days, approached the bar. “Hey, Richieeee…” she grimaced. “No.” Richie answered without looking up, “Richie, I asked Milo and-” “I don’t care. Answers no.” Lily sighed, “Fine. I guess I’ll just tell Y/N-” “Lily. Walk away before I fire you.” he huffed before walking back to the kitchen and into the back alley. 

Before turning the corner to go to his usual smoking spot, he heard some busboys talking about you, “Should I try to shoot my shot again? Y/N’s so fuckin’ hot now.” “Dude, she rejected you last time you tried.” “Yeah, but now she’s on the rebound- bleached her hair, postin’ sad shit on Instagram… I think I have a shot.” “You fuckin’ wish. She’s like a relationship girl, not a rebound girl.” Richie clenched his fist before quickly turning around to go back inside. He needed answers.

A few weeks had passed since the breakup, and on a rare day off, your Dad showed up at Richie’s apartment to pick up the rest of your belongings. While he didn’t like Richie, he could also see that his daughter was a bit harsh in how she’d ended the relationship. The two men awkwardly stood in the living room, “You want a beer or somethin’?” Richie asked, “No. I don’t like you, Richie, but it was cold of Y/N to break up with you the way she had.” Richie chuckled. “Yeah… where is she? She blocked me, but I gotta talk to her.” “You didn’t hear it from me, but she’s at her friend Connie’s place.” 

You slipped your headphones off when you heard yelling coming from outside your bedroom door. “She’s not fuckin’ here!” Connie yelled as you got closer to the door. “That fuckin’ bullshit- her car is outside!” Richie’s voice boomed. You swallowed before leaving the bedroom, “Connie, it’s okay- come on. Let’s get this over with.” you said, beckoning to Richie. He stood there in awe for a moment before sheepishly nodding. 

The two of you stood awkwardly before Richie finally piped up, “Y/N, you can’t just fuckin’ leave me like that.” you sighed. You knew it wasn’t the right way to end the relationship, but the thought of this. conversation triggered many memories from the past, and you couldn’t face Richie. “Richie-” “No. No. This is all bullshit. Just come home, baby.” he pleaded. You shook your head, “Why not?! Do you not love me anymore?” he asked, trying to fight back the urge to throw you over his shoulder and just take you home. “I love you, but I want to get married and maybe have a kid or two-” “Okay. Let’s get fuckin’ married then,” he interjected. You sighed, “Richie, I want you to want to marry me because you want to-.” “You said it was just a piece of paper. What fuckin’ changed?” he was struggling to contain his feelings at that point. “Just- Richie, please just go home.” you pleaded as tears started to form in your eyes, “I love you, Y/N. You wana get married- I’ll marry you. You wanna have a kid- I’ll give you a fuckin’ baby. I want to be with you, Y/N. Just come home, baby.”

You stared down at the floor until you felt Richie’s hands delicately grip your hips. As he pulls you closer to his body, your hands move to his chest and gently push him away. “You should leave Richie,” you whispered, not daring to look up at him. Richie sighed and dropped his hands. You felt his thumb under your chin and allowed it to push your chin up and finally meet his eyes. “I’m not givin’ up on this. Just think about it. Okay?”

Weeks passed, and you couldn’t shake your feelings for Richie. You tried to write it off as your first real relationship. Of course, it would take a while to get over. However, it seemed like everything had just reminded you of him. You tried to focus on your work; you tried to distract yourself with stupid reality TV. You were going to the gym every night. Lily tried to convince you to download Tinder to get your mind off of Richie, and Connie was team ‘get back together with Richie because you’re pathetically in love with him and should’ve never broken up in the first place’; you were stuck between a rock and a hard place. While you couldn’t get the man out of your head, could you really just be happy being his girlfriend forever? You stared up at the ceiling when your phone started vibrating next to you. You sighed and rolled over to see the caller ID was Carmy, “Hello?” you quickly answered, wondering why he’d be calling you at almost midnight. “Come home already.” Richie’s voice came through the speaker, “You took Carmy’s phone to call me?” “The jagoff’s passcode is 1111. He was askin’ for it.” “Dumbass is gonna get his phone stolen.” “He left it in the office- practically askin’ for it, ya know?” “Yea… I miss you.” “Then come home.” “I don’t-” “Y/N, just come home. I need you- I’ve been think’ a lot. I wasn’t the best husband to Tiff, and I guess I'm just scared I won’t be a good one to you either- GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE CARMY I SWEAR TO FUCKIN’ GOD!” “Can’t really yell at Carmy to get out of the office when you snagged his phone, Richie… but, um, I get what you’re saying.” “Yea?” “Yeah.” “Come home?” “Okay.”