#and you will have to wait for more

[malarkgirlypop]

MEDIC! Part 25 (Donald Malarkey x Fem!OC)

He is so handsome! Tonight is the night, of nights. This chapter may contain adult scenes, if you are not over 18, please move along, this is not for you! I hope you all enjoy, we have some great content in this chapter. @next-autopsy this is for you since you waited so patiently, thank you, you're so kind.

Based on the HBO show and the actors who portray the characters, not hate to anyone involved.

Tag list: @next-autopsy, @panzershrike-pretz, @xxluckystrike, @bucky32557038ww2, @b00ks1ut, @footprintsinthesxnd

I made my way back to the house I was boarding in, there was nothing else for me to do for the day. I had helped Gene with the stock take and we had gone over to the aid station to help. But there were minimal casualties and the men that were wounded had only small injuries. 

“Em!” Don called me from down the street. I turned to face him with a big smile plastered on my face. 

“You still have my letters!” Don held out his hand. 

“Oh, shit, I completely forgot.” I said reaching into my jacket and giving him his letters I had gotten him that morning. 

“Did you also forget something else?” He asked, his brows raised. I scrunched my face in confusion, did I? Don watched me expectantly. 

“No? What did I forget?” I asked him. 

“Our date!” Don exclaimed, I covered my shocked face with my hand. 

“Oh I did forget!” I said apologetically. 

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that.” Don huffed, I grabbed him by his hand stopping him from leaving. 

“I’m sorry! My mind was elsewhere. But I am so excited for it. I get some alone time with you.” I winked at him, rubbing small circles on the back of his hand. He grinned, pulling me closer.

“Let’s go then.” He practically took off with my arm, with me barely keeping pace behind him. So much for a walk. 

We walked out of town, when it was more quiet we took each other's hand walking down the path. The scenery was beautiful compared to where we had been previously. The sun was warmly shining down on us and the birds chirped in the trees that we walked past. The fields were filled with tall golden grass and the forest we walked beside was lush with thick pine trees. Don led the way, as he walked us into the forest. 

“Where are we going?” I asked as we disappeared from view of the road we had been walking. 

“I found a nice spot for us.” He said, kissing me gently on the cheek. I lent into him as we walked, happy to be away from prying eyes. It had been so hard to not be affectionate with Don, it took all my strength not to be all over him.

We walked into a clearing, the trees parting slightly so we could see the bright blue sky, the warm sun filtered down through the gaps in the canopy. A small stream trickled through the ground in front of us, I could smell the earthy water from here. Moss covered the rocks that lay on the bank, dripping slowly covered in dew. The sound of the water quietly rushing filled the silence.

“Don, this is stunning!” I said softly, not wanting to disturb the peace with my voice. It was so tranquil and quiet, I could forget the reason we were even in Germany.

Don and I sat down under the tree. He lent against the trunk as I nestled my in between his legs, resting my back against his chest. His arms wrapping around my body holding me close. We sat in silence appreciating the nature that surrounded us and the comfort of being in each other's arms. I traced my fingers along his forearms connecting the dots between the freckles that covered his arms. 

“You never told me who your supposed husband is.” Don broked the silence, his voice vibrating against my back. I was confused at first, unsure of what he was talking about until it hit me. I laughed, tilting my head back to look at him.

“It’s you.” I smiled, he looked confused. “Well you know, Webb, the replacement?” He nodded, “He asked if I was taken, but he asked Skip and Alex. So as you can imagine, they tricked him into believing we were married. Then word got around and the other men didn’t believe them, so they made up a story of how we secretly got eloped. Some of the men know it’s a joke, but I think a few of them still believe it.” Don laughed loudly, pulling me closer to him, hugging me tightly. 

“And you knew about this?” I laughed nodding my head, he buried his face in the crook of my neck nibbling gently at my soft skin. I giggled trying to get away but he held me firm, tickling me as punishment for not telling him. 

He pulled back smiling down at me, as I grinned. He dipped his head down again, but this time kissing me gently on my neck. I tilted my head back as he kissed me gently, sighing in pleasure.

I moved from in his arms to turn around and face him, climbing into his lap. Don didn’t hesitate pulling me close and kissing my lips. I tangled my fingers through his hair as his hand slipped under my top. My skin tingled as his fingers brushed against my back, tracing up my spine. I kissed him hungrily, greedy for more, I couldn’t get enough. 

I held his face in my hands as I desperately kissed him. I opened my mouth for him as he kissed me harder, his tongue entering my mouth. I moaned into his mouth as we kissed, his hand dragging across my stomach, his fingers delicately sweeping across my skin. 

Our lips moved together as we panted into each other’s mouths. I groaned as his hand travelled up my front under my shirt, his fingers teasing the edge of my bra. He pulled back slightly, looking up at me, asking silently if it was ok to proceed. I nodded my head, moving swiftly back to his lips. I gasped as his fingers dipped into my bra, taking a handful of my soft chest. He cupped my breast, squeezing gently. 

“Harder.” I begged in between kisses. Don did as I asked, holding me more firmly, I moaned into his mouth. His thumb brushed against my hard nipple.

“You like that?” He asked as he squeezed. I nodded, unable to form words. Our foreheads pressed together as we breathlessly panted. 

“Tell me Em. Tell me how much you like it.” Don said lowly, almost growling. His fingers taking my nipple in between them pinching slightly. I threw my head back crying out, bolts of electricity flying through my body.

“I’m waiting!” Don said again, as I tried to contain the noises escaping from me. 

“I love it, Don! Don’t stop, please.” I moaned, watching him smirk at me. His free hand travelled to the back of my neck and pulled me back down to kiss him. 

“Who’s there!” A distant voice caused us to freeze. I look at Don, eyes wide in shock, his face mirrors mine. 

“Don!” I whispered, covering my mouth. We don’t move from our position, nervous that any movement will draw the person closer. 

“Who’s that?” I asked in a hushed voice. 

“I think it’s our patrol.” He replied in a quiet voice. I laughed burying my face into his neck, as we giggled quietly. 

“Come on, let's go before they catch us.” He said lifting me off him and placing me to the side. I tucked back in my top, as Don rose to his feet. My eyes shifting down his body, I covered my mouth. 

“Oh Don!” I giggled, pressing myself into him. I could feel him against me. A blush rose to his cheeks as he shook his head laughing. 

“Anyone there?” The voice called again. I silently gestured to Don to be quiet. He grabbed my arm, pulling me through the forest away from the voice that called. We burst out onto the road panting and laughing. I threw my head back in hysterics, amused at the idea we were almost caught. 

“God, when I get my hands on that patrol, I’m gonna kill ‘em.” Don made a strangling gesture, as I laughed still.     

“Oh shit look at the time, do you think they have sent out search parties for us yet?” I asked, looking at the watch I had stolen from Perco.

“Probably, knowing them, but only for you! Not for me.” Don said as we walked down the street. 

“They think you’re doing important business.” I bumped him with my shoulder. 

“I was! Until we were interrupted.” We both burst out laughing at his joke.

We made it back to the town, letting go of each other’s hands. Don said he had to slip away to make sure everything was in order. But he promised he would come and find me for dinner. He parted giving me a kiss on my cheek, I waved as he disappeared into the crowd. I dreamily walked back through town, in my head thinking about the time we had spent together. I was blushing and in a daze, barely even paying attention to where I was going. A hand landed on my shoulder spinning me around to face them. I gasped in surprise, too busy in my daydream to notice my surroundings. An angry looking Lip stood in front of me, both his hands resting on his hips.

“Lip?” I asked. 

“Where have you been?” He questioned firmly. I had never seen him so upset. 

“I went for a walk.” I said, confused at what had made him so angry. 

“We have been looking all over for you! Did you not think to tell anyone that you were leaving.” Lip said sternly, my mouth hung open in shock. 

“I went with Don, I’m sorry I didn’t think to tell anyone.” I stuttered, I felt like I was being scolded by my mother. 

“You went on a walk with Don!” He exclaimed, eyes wide. I nodded, still so confused at what was happening, why is Lip so mad. I didn’t leave for that long, I wasn’t doing anything dangerous. Why is he being so protective all of a sudden? Ron walked swiftly up behind Lip taking the same stance, hands on his hips. 

“She was on a walk with Don, sir.” Lip informed Ron who shook his head. 

“Were you in the forest?” He asked in a serious tone. I nodded, too shocked to speak. 

“Well we just had reports in from the patrol.” Ron started, crossing his arms over his chest. My eyes widened, breath hitching in my throat. 

“The men said they heard ‘moaning’.” Ron used air quotes around the word moaning. My face flushed a deep red. Can the ground swallow me whole? Hello God, if you’re up there, take me now! 

“Care to explain, young lady.” Lip said, raising his eyebrows. This whole situation was absolutely bonkers, why were Lip and Ron parenting me. What is going on, since when did they join forces against me? 

“No, not really.” I muttered feeling so embarrassed. 

“Are you being safe?” Ron whispered, I didn’t know I could turn any redder but I did, my whole body felt hot, boiling. The tips of my ears were burning. I scoffed, taken aback by the question. 

“Oh my god, you two, I am being safe, I went for a walk, nothing happened in the woods!” I blurted out.          

“What is going on? Why are you acting like my parents? Who set me up?” I looked around for the cameras. What, was there a 1940’s punked? 

“We just care about you, and the guys came to us when they couldn’t find you. So of course we were worried!” Lip said in a more gentle tone, his hand reaching out and resting on my shoulder. 

“Ok, well I am safe.” He pulled me into his arms, giving me a hug. Ron moved closer and Lip stepped away. Ron pulled me into a hug as well. 

“Talbert will have some prophylactic’s if you need.” Ron whispered into my ear. 

“Oh Ron!” I whined pushing him away, a cheeky smile forming on his face as he ruffled my hair.

“See you for dinner.” I called the pair as they marched away talking to each other. I shook my head baffled by the strange events that just occurred.      

—----------------------

I settled into my bed pulling the covers under my chin. I sighed listening to the rain that pelted against the window by my head. It was strange sleeping alone, no snores, or breathing, no bodies pressed against mine for warmth. I missed it strangely, even with the pounding of the rain the room felt quiet and empty. I found it harder to sleep by myself, tossing and turning. I had become so accustomed to enjoying the comfort of knowing someone was close by. But now sleeping in the room by myself, I felt so alone. Thunder rumbled overhead, I cringed at the noise. It was once such a lulling and comforting sound. Now all it did was pull me back to those dreadful nights filled with the booms of Kaurt artillery. My nightmares had gotten worse again, they were manageable when we were in Haguenau. I would have bad dreams and wake up, but I could be lulled back to sleep again by the gentle rhythms of the men’s breathing. Now when I dreamed I couldn’t pull myself from the nightmare, constantly stuck watching scenes play out over and over again. They were getting so much worse, it scared me to sleep, I didn’t want to see the images that were shown to me. I closed my eyes hoping for a dreamless sleep tonight, but I didn’t hold hope. 

—------------------------

I crawled forward on the ground, frozen to the bone, barely able to breath. The ear deafening blows of shells landed all around me, I could feel the heat from the blast with each hit. There in front of me, was a scene I was all too familiar with. Alex and Skip yelled at me, beckoning me with their hands to come to them. Their yells were muted, I didn’t get to hear their voices call my name. Their mouths opened, I knew they were calling for me even if I didn’t hear them. I sobbed crawling forward slowly. My body on autopilot replaying the scenes from that night. But in my head I knew their fate. I screamed as I crawled, begging them to leave, to run, to escape. 

“Please! Please! Run! Get out!” I screamed. “Alex, Skip, Please!” I pleaded to no avail. They couldn’t hear me like I couldn’t hear them. My eyes trained on the two men. I squinted, a new face appearing behind them. 

“NOOOOOO! NOOOOOO!” I screamed, their eyes locking onto mine. Don called me from inside the hole, gesturing for me to come to him. My breathing accelerated, my heartbeat pounded. A million thoughts ran through my head. I can’t lose him. I can’t, no. 

“Don! Get out! Please!” I screamed so loud, my throat burning from the strain.  

Then the world stopped, as I watched the shell fall from the sky. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the horrific scene. A wail or scream or a noise, I have never made before ripped from my throat. The men I loved so dearly vanished in front of my eyes. The sound of the shell boomed so loud that the earth shook, but my screams could still be heard over all of the noise. I lay on the snow covered ground screaming. 

“Emily! Emily!” A voice called to me. I opened my eyes, the snow had gone, there were no trees, no bombs. I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling as a face appeared in my vision. George hovered over me, eyes wide in panic. Someone was screaming a horrible shriek filled with so much anguish. It took me a second to process that I was the one screaming. I let it die in my throat. My body heaved with sobs as George cradled me into his arms, sitting on my bed. He soothed my hair as I tried to calm myself down, but nothing worked. I could feel my lungs burning, I gulped in air but not enough to satisfy the fire within them. I was spiralling down. My heartbeat was so hard I could hear it in my ears, my body shook so hard my teeth chatter together, my stomach churned. 

“Get Don! Quickly!” George called to Perco who stood in the doorway looking concerned. 

DON’s POV:

A rapid knocking woke me from my sleep. I sat up groggily in bed rubbing my eyes. God what was the time? I moved slowly, my body still asleep. I swung the door open, a panicked Perco dripping wet stood at my door. My body was not so asleep anymore seeing the look on his face. I straightened. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked Perco, as I stepped back into my room, pulling on my tops and shoes. It looked like we needed to go somewhere. 

“It’s Em.” Perco told me, I stilled looking up at him from my task. His face said it all, she wasn’t ok. I have never moved faster. Sprinting towards the house she was in, as Perco ran in stride with me. The rain coming down in thick sheets soaked us as we moved. I ran up the stairs, the room on the end door was open, I had dropped her off here just this evening after dinner. I stepped into the doorway. Her small frame curled into Luz’s body. It was silent in the room, her eyes were wide as she stared into nothing. Luz’s hands moved over her back in soothing circles but she looked like a deer in headlights. 

“Em?” I spoke quietly trying not to startle her. I watched her raise her head, eyes locking onto mine. Relief washed over her face. 

“Don.” She croaked, Perco had told me her screams had been so loud the whole house woke. She had been screaming my name, over and over again. I knew she had nightmares but I had never seen them this bad. She moved out of George’s arm, pushing herself off the bed. She charged into my arms, hitting me so hard I lost my breath. She clung to me so tightly as if I wasn’t real. She pulled back cupping my face in her hands, as her eyes scanned over my face frantically.

“It was you, you were with them, I thought, I, I thought I lost you.” Em said in a shaky breath, tears welling in her eyes. She pulled me back into her arms holding me close. 

“Thank you.” I said to Luz who had moved past us to leave. He nodded, giving me a small smile, before leaving the room and shutting the door.

We got back into bed, her body pressed to mine. She told me she felt better, now that I was here. I watched her eyes droop close, as I stroked her hair. I could tell she was fighting to stay awake, but she needed to rest. I wasn’t going to leave her, I had promised her that. 

“I love you.” Emily mumbled into my chest, “I love you so much.” She sighed, finally letting sleep take her. 

“I love you.” I whispered softly, closing my own eyes.  

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

Chapter 26

[chloesimaginationthings]

"They call it the MANGLE" - FNAF 2 phone guy

[egophiliac]

doylist explanation for why Gidel is only in Fellow's non-idle lesson animations: probably something about space constraints and making sure two sprites in one seat aren't covering anyone else when they're not in focus

watsonian explanation for why Gidel is only in Fellow's non-idle lesson animations: he snuck in and is hiding from the teachers, don't give him away 🤫

(I've reached my limit of unsuccessful attempts at pulling them before I need to save keys for Halloween, so I've been living vicariously through youtube videos...but the fact that Gidel just pops up from under the desk to wave his arms around happily is really testing my resolve. D: I'm gonna die when they finally get to do alchemy...)

[swiggity-swexual-i-am-asexual]

We all know the semi-canonical ‘all the Robins know to hide/duck inside of Batman’s cape, even as adults’ thing.

We also know that Danny ‘is LITERALLY a ghost’ Fenton sucks at remembering his own intangibility while ALSO forgetting to look ahead of him.

All I’m saying is, Danny Fenton (or Phantom, if you’d really like) would absolutely SLAM into Batman on accident while running on roof tops and Bruce ‘Brooding Instinct’ Wayne doesn’t even think twice about letting the kid hide and scanning around for danger before there’s a record scratch of ‘wait who tf is this?’ kicks in.

[magnusbae]

To illustrate this post by @mayahawkse I would like to visualize to you the difference:

A post in 2023:

A post in 2014:

A zoom out of the same post:

This is what a community looks like.

See how in 2023 almost all of the reblogs come from the OP, from their few hours/days in the tag search. Meanwhile in 2014 the % of reblogs from OP is insignificant, because most of the reblogs come from the reblogs within the fandom, within the micro-communities formed there. You didn't need to rely on tags, or search, or being featured. Because the community took care of you, made sure to pass the work between themselves and onto their blog and exposed their followers to it. It kept works alive for years.

It's not JUST the reblog/like ratio that causing this issue, it's the type of interaction people have. They're content with scrolling and liking the search engine, instead of actually having a reblogging relationship with other blogs in their community.

Anyways, if you want to see more content you like, the only true way to make it happen is to reblog it. Likes do not forward content in no way but making OP feel nice. Reblogs on the other hand make content eternal. They make it relevant, they make it exist outside of a fickle tumblr search that hardly works on the best of days.

If you want more of something, reblog it.

[notbrucewayne48]

"aphobia doesn't exist"

bitch literally not that long ago an aroace youtuber animator was insulted by almost half of its community for being it

[atissi]

kras mazov lookin ass

[rendevok]

Act I ~ The Prince

A tapestry for Let No One Sleep by @azalawa-scroggs on ao3

[canisalbus]

*carefully picks you up and peeks into your conch snail shell*

Ehm... Sorry to bother, but... Could we, maybe, possibly... see Vasco's wife and her lover pictured by your hand? Sorry again, thank you for listening. Take care.

*delicately lays you back into the water to prevent any stress or dehydration*

Unfortunately I don't have her lover figured out yet, but I think Ludovica looks something like this:

[lucabyte]

monologue

[papanowo]

i think dan should get to be a little weird too. as a treat

[duckysprouts]

big brother part 7

[hollytree33]

Hi so I might’ve made a painting of my Inquisitor while trying to mimic Solas’s style so I can pretend he made it

[hailsatanacab]

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

[zebratimw]

"All those empty rooms

We could have been anywhere, anywhere else

Instead, I made a bed with apathy

My heart knew the weight

Ten years worth of dust and neglect

We made our peace with weariness and let it be..."

(Song: The Moon will Sing by the Crane Wives)

[r-aindr0p]

Man the jury is unhinged on those culinary crucible event

I genuinely thought for a few seconds that Ortho would idk casually nuke the food