#apparently I missed something I had to do with him

[dcxdpdabbles]

I am feral for fake dating au and alley boyfriends goes so hard, I am on my hands and knees begging for a part 3

Tim's afternoon meeting gets canceled due to three of the members coming down with the flu. Usually, he would have just sent them a recording of what they missed, but since the three were presenting and the meeting was meant to be with the five department heads, he feels it would be best to reschedule.

There was only so much HR could report to him, after all. This meant he had the entire afternoon off.

Tim usually uses the free time he finds himself with to get a head start on other work. Maybe even some crake some cases. But today, he knew Danny was off from his job. His roommate was likely at home watching that new show he really got into.

Last night, he explained the entire plot over their dinner- Danny came from one of those families that always ate dinner at the same time- and went as far as to reveal fun facts he learned about the production team in charge of his show.

Tim didn't understand why Danny was so excited to know the lighting effects used only for a particular character. Nor did he find it as fascinating.

However, watching him get excitable was endearing enough that he listened to the whole thing. Then, he sat down to watch the show, finding it adorable that Danny couldn't stop speaking to the screen as if the characters could hear him.

Tim stares at his computer screen, trying his best to get himself to focus. The data sheets needed some work, but he had two weeks to complete it, and he really wasn't in the mood to verify so much work if he wasn't completely focused.

He glances at the clock, watching the little red hand tick. He insisted on having a face clock in his office instead of just having an electrical one because he found the ticking sound comforting.

Now, it merely annoyed him. That only happens when he's been trapped inside the office for too long or gone out as Red Robin so much he neglected his Tim Drake side. He could take the afternoon off, but what fun would that be?

He had also been trapped at home for a long time, working remotely whenever he could. Tim wanted to go out, but he didn't want to do that alone.

It would be so dull to just go to the same places on his lonesome as it would be sitting in his office or in his room. He could play video games or watch a movie with his roommate, but it wasn't the same of getting outside for a little while

His eyes landed on his cell phone. He could call Danny and ask if he wanted to go out today, but he had no idea what to do. He could take Danny shopping again- apparently, his roommate had no actual use for suits at his barista job, so the two had gone to the mall and gotten him some jeans and t-shirts, but the other seemed tired of that the last time.

Tim didn't want to spend money at the movies either because he wanted to do something active. The problem was that Danny hated spots with a passion and wasn't one for hiking or walking. They could go to a place to eat, but going out just for food wasn't something they could fill a whole afternoon with, not to mention Gotham's cold wave had most of the hang-out places closed until summer.

How hard was it to think of something to do in a city this big?

His eyes shift over to his computer before he caves. He quickly changes the docking station on his work computer to his personal laptop, eyes dancing between his two monitors.

He types into the search engine Where to take your roommate in Gotham City.. The first result is a list of locations, but Tim finds that they are all well-known tourist places, which is something he would rather avoid. He's just not up for a big crowd.

The following result is restaurants to try, which again isn't enough to fill the entire afternoon with- he notes to visit the ramen place because Danny mentioned he wanted to have some three days ago. He grows irritated with the similar lists he clicks until he stumbles across a new store that opened only a week ago.

It's new enough that most people don't know about it, which means they could enjoy a fun new activity since it is a random Tuesday.

Tim checks the store times, confirms that they could be there for a few hours and then reaches for his phone. Three taps later, a dull ringing sounds in his ear as he waits for Danny to answer.

Initially, he didn't want to go shopping, but he thought Danny would enjoy this shop more than any clothes store.

"Yellow?" Danny chirps in his ear, warm and bright. His voice reminds him of the comfortable nights when he's brewing Tim a lovely London Fog Late.

At once, Tim feels himself relaxed. "Hey, Danny. I have the afternoon off. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out?"

"Oh, sure! What do you want to do?"

Tim looks up at the screen. "How would you like to go to a place that lets you design your own succulent and offers an entire room filled with decorations to personalize it?

"I'll be ready in fifteen minutes!" Danny shouts the sound of crashes accompanying his voice as he likely leaps from the couch. "How expensive is it?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll pay for everything." Tim tells Danny just as Tam and three interns wander into his office. He holds up a finger at them, listening to Danny loudly proclaim he wants to be the one to treat Tim.

It's sweet, but Tim had so much money he didn't know what to do. Danny was saving up to buy his own car- and the last time Tim offered to buy him one, his roommate had refused to make him the Red Robin Rush for a week.

"Don't worry about money, Danny. Just get dressed, and tonight, you can make it up to me the usual way." He says, feeling a slow, smug smile spread across his face as Danny rushes to the coffee station to check through the tea they had.

"I'll do something even better. It's a new trick I picked up, but it's guaranteed to keep you up all night." Danny tells him as he fumbles with his clothes- likely changing- which is loud enough to echo from his phone speakers. An intern shifts, uncomfortable on his feet.

Tam raises an impressed eyebrow, which, for some reason, makes Tim slightly embarrassed. His face turns a bit red as he hastily tells his roommate. "I should be picking you up in an hour."

"Wait, what do I wear for this? I will not repeat O'malley's."

Tim's face turns redder at the reminder of last week's blunder. It wasn't his fault that what he considered casual clothes were what Danny thought were formal. He told the man to meet him at the restaurant after work, not considering it upscale since it was only served dinner, and once again, Danny's outfit had him stopped at the door by a worker who didn't think he was dressed the part.

"Just wear that outfit I like. The blue one." He tells him about the black sweatshirt with blue stripes and a fluffy black and blue sweater. It was the warmest, most stylish thing Danny women meant for streetwear, and he knew it would be a bit chilly in the evening.

"Alright. See you soon. Text me when you are outside. Byeeeee"

"Bye," Tim hangs up and offers the three interns and impressed secretary a sheepish look. "Sorry about that. How can I help you?"

Tam steps forward, waving a hand at the two young men and single women older than him by a few years. They straighten up as his PA speaks. "I just wanted to introduce the interns that start tomorrow; it won't take more than five minutes if you have to be somewhere soon."

"It's lovely to meet you all. " Tim smiles, ignoring the wide-eyed stare the one on the left is giving him. The introductions don't take long at all, but Tim still feels restless when he grabs his coat and rushes past Tam's empty desk. He leaves a note on her desk telling her he took the afternoon off and practically skips down to the parking garage.

He is unaware of the rumors circulating among his employees after a particular intern on the left let it slip he overheard Mr. Drake talking to his lover like their relationship was....like that. He is even more unaware that the second he picks up Danny from the front of their building, five shadows break into his penthouse and search the place for any drugs.

He is too busy picking out crystals with his roommate, who babbles about their effects on ghosts, memorized by his silly random knowledge again.

Meanwhile, Bruce is horrified to find some green liquid in the second bedroom. He's not sure why Tim or Danny have to separate rooms if they truly are lovers, but the fact this was hidden in the room by the other boy gives Jason's idea of Tim living with his dealer aan uncomfortable amount of credit.

He returned a sample to the Cave when his other children reported nothing. They refrained from planting any bugs just because Tim would find them, and it would stop him from trusting them should they have to give him a proper introduction.

Upon conducting some tests, despite the similar appearance to the Lazarus pits, results showed it's closer to the formula of Mr. Freeze's ice ray but in liquid form.

Why would Fenton hide this? What was he up to? Did Tim know that Fenton had cut an entire part of the wall to hide jars and jars of this goo?

[wanders-in-wonderland]

Doctor’s Orders

“Miss, please follow me into the exam room.”

I look up to see a sweet nurse smile at me and wave me over. I smile back at her and stand up from the waiting room chair, following her through the doors of the clinic. She leads me into a standard exam room and after giving me quick instructions to take off my clothes and get comfortable, she leaves me, promising the doctor will be here to see me shortly.

I look around the sterile room, taking in framed stock images tastefully arranged along the walls and the stack of various medical pamphlets about STDs and safe sex. I take a deep breath and start to undress. I’ve waited so long to come see this doctor and I’m not going to let my nerves get the best of me now. The doctor I’m here to see is a specialist in anorgasmia, the inability to orgasm.

I’ve never been able to achieve orgasm, no matter what I’ve tried. Numerous partners have tried, I’ve purchased countless toys and lubricants, even going as far as trying hypnosis. Nothing has worked and I had almost given up hope when I’d stumbled across this doctor and his specialty.

It took months for me to get an appointment, and the screening process was incredibly intensive. Apparently, he’s extremely selective in the patients he chooses to see so when I got the call that he was willing to fit me into his schedule, I was ecstatic. Maybe I can finally say goodbye to my inability to orgasm.

A soft knock at the door startles me and I watch as the doctor opens the door and steps into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. He’s younger than I thought he’d be. I’d been picturing a middle-aged man, maybe with some greying hair and glasses. Instead, he’s handsome, fit, and I can see the sparkle in his eyes as he greets me cheerfully.

“Good afternoon! I’m sorry for the wait but I hope you’re comfortable! It is lovely to meet you.” His voice is smooth, comforting, and when I extend my hand out to shake his outstretched one, his touch is gentle but strong.

I smile back at him, feeling some of my previous anxiety fade away. “No worries at all, I’m happy to be here.”

I watch as he opens grabs a chair and sits in front of the computer, logging in to pull up my medical chart. “Now, let’s see here, you’re here for anorgasmia I see.” I feel my cheeks flush at the clinical way he’d said it and he catches my blush as he glances up from the computer screen.

He gives me a comforting smile, “Don’t be embarrassed. A lot more women experience anorgasmia than people think, and it’s something that we can fix. I promise, there is nothing to be embarrassed about here.”

I give him a small smile back, the sincerity in his words soothing me.

“Now, I know you filled out a very long questionnaire already and I’ve already reviewed that so we’re going to get right to a physical exam to start.” He pushes away from the computer and stands up, walking over to where I’m sitting on the exam table.

“Can you take off your bra and underwear for me, please?” I nod, steeling my nerves before following his instructions. My nipples immediately harden into peaks at the cold air of the exam room and I feel so exposed with my entire body naked in front of him.

He unhooks stirrups from the bottom of the exam table and clicks them into place. “Prop your feet into there for me and spread your legs,” his voice is purely professional and I do what he asks. Placing my feet into the stirrups leaves me completely exposed and a small shiver goes through me as cold air brushes against my core.

“Now lean back and look up at the ceiling for me. We’re going to start with just a simple physical exam to make sure everything is normal anatomically. Then, we’ll move on to a few other tests for sensation and sensitivity. If at any point you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to tell me, okay?” He looks at me with care and I nod back, feeling comforted by his words and clear attentiveness.

He rolls his chair to between my propped-up legs and takes a seat, facing me. “My hands are a little cold but don’t worry, we’ll warm up in no time.” I let out a gasp when his indeed cold hands come to rest on my thighs. His fingers are gentle as he brushes against my center, his movements confident as he pokes and prods around.

I stay still as I feel him gently pull me apart, letting cold air rush against my core and clit. I bite back a gasp at the sensation. I feel him press against my clit, maneuvering my clit hood out of the way to reveal the bud. A swipe of his finger against my exposed bundle of nerves makes me jolt and I let out a sharp gasp this time.

“Sorry! How did that feel?” He asks, his voice apologetic.

I take a second to gather myself before answering. “It felt intense. Good but almost a little overwhelming.”

“Hm, that’s good,” he says, “That means you have a fair amount of clitoral sensitivity. We’ll do a more in-depth examination later but it’s a good sign.”

I hear the scrape of his chair against the floor and glance up to see his standing. “I’m going to grab some lubricant and we’ll do an internal exam next.” I nod and watch as he squirts a dollop of lube onto his fingers.

He settles himself back in between my legs and I shiver at the cold feeling of the lube. He’s purely professional as he spreads the lube over me and slowly works a single finger into me. I bite my lip to tamp down any sounds I want to make.

“I’m going to test your g-spot next,” he says and I feel his finger crook upwards inside of me, brushing against the spongy clump of nerves inside of me. The sensation shoots through me and I led out a slow breath.

“That’s it, you’re doing really well. Tell me if anything hurts, okay?” His fingers scissor inside of me and I let out a soft whimper. “Does that feel good?” His voice comes out in a lower register than before. “Come on, use your words. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me how it feels.”

I whimper again, “Mm yes, it feels good.”

“Good, so you have no problems with vaginal arousal and lubrication,” he says, his voice almost a purr now. “Don’t hold back, we want to make sure you’re giving your full reaction to everything that’s happening to help me understand what’s happening here.”

At his words, I let out another whimper, feeling the slow drag of his fingers against the sensitive walls of my pussy. He presses his fingers against my g-spot again and my back arches as pleasure shoots through me.

“Tell me, is this level of sensitivity and sensation reflective of how you normally feel during intercourse?” I take a second to catch my breath and think before I answer him.

“I think so, I’m usually pretty sensitive to sensation, it just never seems to culminate into an orgasm. A lot of times, I get too overstimulated to continue and I can’t cum.”

“Hm, I see,” his voice takes on a more contemplative tone. He pulls his fingers out of me, and I almost want to whimper at the loss.

“Well, I have a few theories but I’m going to do a more hands-on test to get a clearer answer of what we’re dealing with here. Lie back for me and relax.”

I lean my head back, staring up at the ceiling of the room and I feel him walk away for a second. He reappears at my side for a moment, and suddenly, I feel something encircle my wrist and hear a click. I jerk in surprise, glancing down to see that he’d cuffed me down to the table. My eyes meet his and smiles at me.

“Don’t worry, this is just to keep you still during the examination. The less movement there is from you, the easier it is for me to do my job. If at any point, you feel uncomfortable, tell me and we’ll stop, okay?” His words soothe the panic that rose up in my chest at the idea of being restrained and I give my consent. He smiles at me and makes quick work of clicking my other wrist into a cuff. Next, my ankles are strapped down to the stirrups and my thighs held apart by more cuffs. There’s even one that goes around my waist to keep my torso still.

“Good, how do you feel? Are any of the restraints hurting you?”

I shake my head in response, “No, I’m okay.”

He smiles at me again and I watch him open a drawer from across the exam room. “We’re going to introduce some equipment to help me get a better gauge of what we’re dealing with here.” My eyes widen as I watch him pull out several industrial looking sex toys.

“Let’s start with clitoral stimulation,” he says, setting down the toys except for one. He shows me the toy, it looks almost like an electric toothbrush with a wider body and a very thin head. “This is a very precise vibrator. Most commercial vibrators people tend to purchase have a much larger surface area, which can be very good for folks who are highly sensitive in all areas, but it doesn’t offer much precision in targeting specific parts of the clitoris. This one doesn’t have that problem since it has a much smaller head. Now this one is also pre-set to have 10 very well-calibrated intensity settings. Depending on your reaction to each setting, I can make better conclusions about your clitoral sensitivity. We’re going to go through the settings from low to high and I want you to continue to be vocal and tell me what you’re feeling, okay?”

I nod, “Okay, but what if I get too overstimulated?”

He gives me a comforting smile, “Just tell me and we’ll stop and re-evaluate if it happens.”

I nod again and he sits back down between my legs to get started.

I hear the toy click on, presumably at the first level based on the low, quiet buzzing sound its emitting. I gasp when I feel his fingers gently pull my pussy apart to reveal my clit, already erect and throbbing from his earlier treatment.

A moan escapes from my throat when I feel the toy make first contact. It feels so much more intense than any other toy I’ve ever had. The precision of the toy and the ease in which he handles it means that the vibrations are pressed right against my exposed clit, forcing the collection of raw nerves to submit to the sensations.

“How’s that?” He asks, his voice making me scramble to get ahold of myself to give a coherent response. “It feels so intense but in a good way.”

“Good, that’s good. Just relax and let yourself feel.” He murmurs, keeping the vibrator pressed tightly against me.

My eyes drift shut as I feel the sensation overtake me. The pleasure is forming a haze around my mind, every thought getting chased away by the feeling between my legs.

I hear his voice again, “I’m going to increase to the second setting. Just stay relaxed for me.”

I let out a whimper in response as the toy clicks up a level. The pleasure intensifies but there’s also a building sensation of raw overstimulation that is starting to arise. We’re nearing the point where I would normally stop and take a break but I don’t want to tell him that yet. I want to let him keep going, because maybe today is the day I finally get to cum.

I bite back a whine and clench my fists at my sides.

“Increasing to level 3 now.” He says, resting a hand on my thigh as his other one holds the toy firmly against me. The increase this time makes a cry rip out of me and my eyes fly open to meet his.

“Ah- it’s so much, I’m getting overstimulated.” I whimper out, my hands clenching and unclenching in an effort to control myself. He nods but doesn’t make any move to pull the toy away or decrease the setting.

“Try and tough it out for me for a bit more, I want to see if we can overcome the overstimulation.” He gives me a comforting smile and gently pats my thigh.

I take a deep breath and nod, letting my eyes drift shut.

“Increasing to level 4 now,” he says and the vibrator switches to a higher intensity before I can protest.

“Wait! Wait, please, just give me a moment, please!” I gasp out as the sensations shoot through me entire body. He shakes his head, “You’re doing great, just relax and let it happen.”

I whine as tears are gathering in my eyes. I’m walking the very thin line of pain and pleasure as the vibrator forces breathtaking feeling onto me while riding my nerves to the sharp edges of overstimulation. I hear his voice again and my heart drops when I register his words. “Increasing to level 5.”

A scream bursts out of me as all of the sensations compound and increase. It’s too much, I can’t do this. I can’t tell if I’m close to cumming, I just know that I’ve been absolutely thrown over my threshold for sensation and I can’t take anymore. I sob out my begs to my doctor.

“Please! No more, please stop! STOP! It’s too much! I can’t take it!” My body is shaking and I’m fighting with everything I have against the restraints but nothing gives. His hand on my thigh has turned into an iron grip, holding me down so I can’t even shift my hips to escape the relentlessly accurate vibrations.

“PLEASE! STOP!” I sob. There’s nothing to save me. He doesn’t listen, he might’ve said something to me but I’m too far gone to hear. All I know is the torturous pleasure dominating every single nerve of my body.

Beneath the horrible overstimulation, I feel a warm thread of something else. Something pulsing through my body, filling me with pure pleasure. I whimper as the feeling starts to build, my every muscle seeming to tighten in response to it.

There’s a knot building in my stomach, spreading throughout my body. Coupled with the overstimulation, I feel ravaged and decimated, every nerve pulled bare and shocked by the live wire of sensation that’s forced upon me. Before I can even begin to articulate it, I feel the vibrator kick up another setting and I scream as it shatters me.

I cum. For the first time in my life, I cum. My scream seems to shake the very foundation of the building we’re in as the pleasure, pain, and sensation flood my body, every cell of my body bursting with it. I can’t do anything except ride the relentless wave of pleasure, my entire body a slave to the whims of that horrible, terrible, delicious, mind-altering pleasure.

I slowly come down from the high of my first orgasm, gasps shaking my body as my mind struggles to reengage with reality. I blink tears out of my eyes, and I look up to see my doctor standing over me, holding the toy that he’s mercifully removed from my clit.

“Good job, sweet girl,” he purrs, running his hand up my thigh to cup my pussy gently. The soft motion is enough to make me whimper. “How did that feel, darling?” The terms of endearment make me pause but I’m too hazy to really digest it all.

I clear my throat and swallow, my voice raw from the screaming and begging. “I- It felt really good but it was so much,” I whisper, “I don’t know if I can do that again.”

He smirks and suddenly, I’m hit with a wave of uncertainty. There’s a glint in his eye that wasn’t there previously and it makes me nervous. Something about the way he is looking at me is so different now than earlier, with his cool professionalism and niceties. Now, I feel like a specimen under a microscope and he, the scientist who plans on dissecting me.

“I think, I think I need a break. Can we finish this appointment another time?” I murmur, pulling slightly at my restraints and looking at him.

He lets out a low laugh that makes my skin pebble with nerves. “Oh no, now that I know what the problem is, I can’t let you leave until we fix it. What kind of doctor would I be if I let my patients leave without being cured?”

I shake my head, “I don’t understand,” I whisper. “You made me cum, doesn’t that mean I’m cured?”

He smirks at me and he slides a finger into my pussy, making me gasp. “Not at all, we’ve proven that you indeed can orgasm, but there is still much to be examined in terms of the extent of your orgasms. Plus, we have several more levels of this vibrator to get through and we haven’t even begun to work on your pussy and g-spot yet.”

My eyes widen at his words and the curling feeling of fear truly takes root inside of me. “Wait no, please, I don’t want to continue with any of that anymore. Please, just let me go!”

The look on his face is one of glee as he sees my terror become apparent. “Now now, you don’t want to leave against my medical advice, do you? Plus, darling, you consented to following through with my professional recommendations when you signed up to be a patient. There’s no backing out of this now. And especially when I know how sensitive of a whore you are, darling.” He chuckles.

I whimper, “Please, no, I don’t want this.”

He bends down to lean in close to me. “Well, I don’t give a shit about what you want. You are the most unique case of sensitivity I’ve ever seen, and I plan to take full advantage of that while I have you here. So be a good girl for me and enjoy this.” He presses his lips to the side of my neck and the feeling makes me tremble.

He ignores the rest of my protests and goes back to sitting between my legs. I watch in fear as he holds up the vibrator and clicks it on. “We stopped at level 6 last time, that’s where we’ll resume. And scream all you want, sweet girl, these walls are soundproof and won’t let a speck of sound through.”

I do indeed scream when he presses the vibrator against me again.

This time, there’s no build up of pleasure or stimulation. It all slams into me all at once and I writhe against my restraints as everything overwhelms me. I vaguely hear a low laugh permeate the space around me but I can’t focus enough to pick out any other noise amidst my own sobs.

My doctor stops giving me any verbal cues, not that I’m coherent enough to even understand at this point. All I know is the punishing vibrator held against my clit, ravaging my body and turning me inside out. The claws of pleasure are embedded deep into my psyche and my body is at its complete whim.

I have no idea how much time has passed or whether I even stayed conscious for the entire duration of the torture but eventually, I realize that he’s stopped. The vibrator is off but my body was still shaking from phantom sensations, every inhale of air a sharp stab, and every sob a reminder of how broken I am.

Slowly, I register the sound of his low laugh. I whimper as I blink away my tears to look at him. “You, my sweet girl, are truly remarkable. I don’t think you realize since you were so out of it, but we were at the highest setting for the past ten minutes and you didn’t even cum once. I’ve never come across someone so fucking sensitive and yet so resistant to orgasm. It’s incredible because you don’t seem to become desensitized either.”

I whimper and my voice cracks when I speak. “Please, please, just let me go. I can’t handle any more. I won’t tell anyone about this, please just stop doing this.”

He smiles at me and for a brief moment, I see the professional, nice, kind, good doctor from earlier. But all my hope is washed away when I feel his fingers press against my core again.

“I can’t do that, darling. We still have your precious pussy left to work on,” his voice is filled with excitement and it makes me want to cry because I know what is coming next and I’m not sure I will survive.

I watch him exchange the vibrator for a huge dildo. He smirks and presses a button on the underside of it and the entire thing begins to vibrate. “I think we can go ahead and skip to the higher settings here.”

Tears fill my eyes and I shake my head at him as pleas fall from my lips. He ignores me as he lines the dildo up with my core. I tremble as the vibrations make me shudder without the toy even breaching me yet.

He catches my eye and I watch as he gives me a wink and proceeds to slam the dildo home inside of me. I arch my back and let out a devastated cry. The toy fills me to the brim, the vibrations ravaging my sensitive walls and my g-spot in a way that makes my eyes roll back.

I’m sobbing and shaking as he drives the dildo in and out of my pussy. Every movement against my overstimulated walls tortures me. The pleasure digs its claws into me and drags me back into its embrace. My entire being submits and I feel my mind’s grasp on my sanity loosen as every single facet of my existence narrows to pleasure.

Each thrust seems to make my sensitivity grow, every single muscle in my body aching and begging for relief. I feel his hand clamp down on my thigh as the other continues to work the dildo inside of me. I want to rip myself out of my body to make this torture end but there’s nothing I can do. Every push and pull shoves my body higher and higher to a peak that I can never seem to reach. There’s no culminating release of pleasure to make this all better, no soft wash of an orgasm to soothe every jagged nerve. There’s only him and the torturous pleasure he imparts onto my very soul.

An unfathomable amount of time later, I feel him finally turn off the toy and pull it out of me. I barely register the lewd sound of my cunt clenching around the toy, my pussy still weeping with arousal even after the devastation he brought upon me.

“Please,” I whimper. “Please, are we done? Please, I can’t take anymore, please let me go.”

He brushes my hair off my forehead and he smirks at me. “Oh, sweet girl, I can’t let you go now. I’m going to be keeping you as my perfect little toy. There are still so many other things I want to try on you. I’m going to push every single limit you have until you break for me.” A soft whine escapes from me and I know there is nothing I can do to convince him otherwise. My head lolls from exhaustion and I feel my grasp on consciousness start to loosen.

The last thing I hear is his voice. “Sleep, sweet girl, I’ve got you.”

[goddamnitmahtin]

The Fenton Effect

(Or that one time a few Waynes joined a polycule)

(This got really long)

Danny sighed as he looked out at the rest of the city from Tuckers office. His boyfriend had secured himself a spot at Wayne Enterprises for something something technology and his office was on like the bajillionth floor of the building. It had an amazing view though. If only there wasn’t so much smog in the air it might have been beautiful at night.

“Danny I thought you were picking up the kids today,” Tucker said with surprise as he walked in.

Danny shook his head smiling, “Sam said that she wanted Dante and Ellie to bond with her new girlfriend after school today so she will be picking them up.” He made his way over to Tucker, giving him a kiss on the cheek, “I heard that you had some free time today so I could tell you away for a bit. It’s been a while since the two of us have had some time to ourselves without children running around.”

Tucker eyed him suspiciously, “Did you call my boss and ask to take me out for a bit?”

Danny chuckled, “Maybe…” He sat down in a chair, “Well actually I was going to steal you anyways but I just happened to bump into Mr. Drake. He recognized me and told me that if I were to steal you for a bit he didn’t see anything.”

Tucker sighed, “Danny, you and Sam are always stealing me from work for dates, eventually I’m going to get written up!”

Danny pouted in response, “We only do it when you insist on double shifts for week. It’s almost like we miss our boyfriend. Besides if Me CEO agrees with me that you work too much, that’s saying something hun!”

Tucker thought for a moment and then looked back to Danny, “Okay. Let’s go out for a couple hours.”

Danny hopped out of the chair again, “Yay! There’s this new restaurant I found that is supposed to have amazing steak.” He took Tucker’s hand and led him out of the office.

“Mm you know how to treat a man don’t you?” Tucker said in response, letting Danny pull him along.

“I try,” Danny said back wiggling his eyebrows as they went to the elevator.

…

Jason sat on his bike. He wasn’t in his Red Hood gear at the moment since he was just doing some recon. According to Tim, there was a newer family in town that he needed to look into. Apparently one of his employees had a boyfriend that appeared to be an un registered meta of some kind. Which normally wouldn’t be a problem but there was also the detail that when Tim did a background check on the family, it came up that they had two children neither of which had birth certificates or adoption papers or anything. Like they had appeared out of nowhere. Though Tim doubted it, he had still sent Jason to check it out in the off chance trafficking or some other fishy shit was going on.

He looked at the photos Oracle had provided of the targets he was looking for. Two of the 3 were supposed to be arriving at this restaurant soon. An African American man, the one working for WE, named Tucker Foley. The other… well this was interesting. When Jason went to look at the photo of the other man he was looking for named Daniel Fenton, he noticed the photo was grainy and distorted.

“Babs why does this Fenton guy’s photo look like a horror movie filter?” he said into his comms.

“That’s the best I can provide you with Jason, I’m sorry. All photos anyone takes of him are like that. I tried to clean it up the best I could. The last known photo of this guy without distortion I can find on public domain is from a yearbook photo when he was 14,” she responded.

Well fuck okay. Something was definitely up.

“Could you send that yearbook photo my way? As long as the guy hasn’t made any drastic changes to his appearance like dyed his hair or some sort of Botox I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out,” he said softly as he didn’t want the car that pulled in next to his bike to hear him.

“On its way,” he heard from Babs before he started to pretend to be scrolling through his phone while the occupants of the car got out and entered the restaurant.

While on his phone he noticed a new message from Cass. She had met up with the woman of the family he was tracking. They had gone to the primary school to pick up the children and was on their way to get ice cream.

The message was followed by a selfie of herself holding hands with a goth woman with purple eyes and black hair. Jason recognized her as Samantha Manson from the third profile Babs had given him. On Samantha’s shoulders was a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes, laughing and reaching for the camera and at the woman’s side holding her hand was a small boy who looked the same age as the little girl who looked almost like a carbon copy of her. Probably twins. He was waving to the camera.

Jason immediatly noticed slight distortion around the children in the photo. Similar to the distortion from the Daniel Fenton file but not nearly as extreme as he could still identify the children in the photo if he were to see them out and about.

He sent Cass a thumbs up in response.

“I’m assuming you got the message too?” He spoke into his comms.

“I did. Looks like the kiddos might be whatever kind of meta this Daniel Fenton is. They do both carry his last name,” she responded.

“And his face…” Jason said as he pulled up the yearbook photo Babs sent him, “Are we sure these aren’t just his kids? Who cares if they weren’t properly documented, that kind of stuff happens all the time in small towns. Have you ever seen Clark’s papers? A fucking mess.”

He heard Oracle sigh, “I have unfortunately. I would be inclined to believe your theory except for the fact that based on their ages, they would have been born when Fenton was 15 but according to my records and from what I can get from Tim, Fenton is more inclined towards men.”

Jason scoffed, “Is that it? That’s not much of a reason at all. People experiment. I’m into guys too but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a few girlfriends before figuring that out.”

“AND,” Babs continued (Jason had apparently interrupted her), “There’s also the bit where based on the DNA samples Cass has picked up from the kids and Tim has picked up from Fenton, all three of them have 100 percent identical DNA.”

Jason paused. If the DNA was all identical, how is it that two of them are male and the third is female? That wouldn’t be possible without some external fuckery. Not to mention two identical children who only have the DNA of one parent and not the other? This was definitely not right.

“Are you convinced we should look into it now?” He heard Oracle’s voice say into his comms.

“Yeah yeah I’m gonna poke around,” he said while hopping off his bike, “Let me know if anything else comes up.”

Jason ruffled a hand through his hair, took a fucking breath, and walked into the restaurant.

…

Sam wasn’t nervous…. no not at all. She was just taking her kids to get ice cream after school. With a really pretty lady….

Sam had met Cass a few weeks ago at a small cafe when she was stopping by to get Danny a coffee since he was holing himself up in his workshop for two days at that point and she was hoping the smell would tempt him out of his hole. The two of them got to talking, well signing, while waiting in line and they had hung out a few times since then. Danny and Tucker made fun of her crush but who wouldn’t crush on such a beautiful lady?

Now they were standing in line for the ice cream cart in the park. Not many people went to Ivy’s park but that just made it better for Sam because the line was never long. Besides, None of the plants ate you if you respected them and the ice cream was guaranteed to be Ivy Approved which meant it was ethically sourced.

Currently, Dante was signing to Cass (Cass had told Sam that they didn’t need to sign back if they didn’t want to but Sam had told her that signing was an important thing she wanted the kids and herself to get better at) about his new favorite star that Daddy taught him about and Ellie was playing with one of Ivy’s safer sentient plants. Sam kept an eye on her.

“Now what did I say about the plants at Miss Ivy’s park Ellie?” she called.

“I can look but no touch unless Miss Ivy’s says so,” Ellie called back, smiling. She seemed to have made a friend with a rather large flower.

Sam nodded and smiled when the child remembered.

She then felt a tap on her arm and looked to see Cass signing, “Not many people come to this park, you seem to not be afraid of the rogue who has claimed it?”

Sam shrugged and signed back while she spoke, “Poison Ivy may be an extremist but I respect her want to preserve natural flora and fawna. My boyfriends and I have already decided that we want to teach the children to respect those things as well since they are important for the health of the people and the Earth. So we come here since Ivy does not have anything against innocent children but if one of them were to misbehave with a sentient plant, they would have an easier time understanding why it is wrong because Dante and Ellie have higher empathy than most.”

Which was true. But also the reason it worked so well is because since the plants were kind of sentient, Ellie and Dante could tell if they accidentally killed one and it made them sad enough to not want to hurt them. They found that out on accident once and since then the children have been strangely fond of the park. But she wasn’t going to tell Cass that.

Sam was nervous that Cass didn’t like that but honestly they were her children and Cass didn’t seem opposed to the park in the first place when the kids suggested it.

After a few moments Cass nodded in response and signed, “Boyfriends? As in plural?”

That was not what Sam was expecting her to ask and it made her blush in embarrassment that she hadn’t explained it sooner. “I am polyamorous. I have two boyfriends. The three of us raise the children together,” she signed although he had a hard time remembering the sign for polyamorous so she ended up spelling it out.

“You all date each other?” Cass signed, curious.

Sam smiled, she didn’t seem to be judging her lifestyle which was something she didn’t find very often. It was part of the reason they had to leave Amity Park in the first place. It was helpful when Tucker got the Timothy Drake scholarship which was a full ride for Computer Science and Engineering at Gotham University.

When they moved into Gotham after that, they weren’t allowed to live on campus with him so Sam and Danny had to start out in a small apartment near Ivy’s Park so they always kept some plants in the window for protection since they had children of course. Since then, Sam had gotten a job as a personal assistant for some rich woman her family was friends with and Danny was working part time at as a bartender during the night shift and was a stay at home Daddy during the day until the kids were old enough for school.

When Tucker graduated he was immediately hired on at WE and not long after that, they bought their much nicer house in a much nicer neighborhood close to Wayne Manor. Was it mostly Tucker’s salary? Admittedly yes, WE pays very well to ensure the employees live in good neighborhoods. But Sam made quite a bit as well and since Danny got the space to tinker with his gadgets and quit bartending as often (he still did it occasionally when his old boss would ask), he had started making a good amount selling his one of a kind clocks mostly. Sam just knew Clockwork was so proud.

Sam signed as she spoke again, “Yes, Tucker is bisexual and Danny and I prefer the term pansexual. We are all together because we are poly (spells it out), and we are open to any of the three of us dating others as well as long as we all discuss and we are honest. Because we have kids we want to make sure our bond and trust is always strong. We want to be together for a long time. See the littles grow up and all that fun stuff.”

Sam was excited to talk about it with someone other than her boyfriends or Jazzy on the phone. No one ever actually wanted to listen about that stuff because people didn’t like things they didn’t understand right away.

They were at the head of the line now though it was going to have to wait until after they got their sweets. Sam corralled the kiddos and asked them what they wanted. Dante and Ellie decided they wanted to share a sundae and Sam ordered herself the Ivy recommended option of the week. She also offered to pay for whatever Cass ordered but before she could, the woman was already paying for everyone.

Sam lead the kids to a park bench where they all sat down. Ellie and Dante immediately started to rock paper scissors for the cherry on top and it wasn’t long until Dante tried to cheat and Sam confiscated the cherry so they wouldn’t start fighting. She didn’t need them to accidentally use their powers in public.

“You didn’t have to pay,” she said, “But thank you.”

Cass smiled and very softly said, “It’s okay. I like you.”

Sam’s cheeks burned. Cass had told her that she did speak sometimes and that her mutism was selective but she didn’t expect her voice to sound so… pretty.

…

Jason immediately found the targets in a corner table. Most notably a corner table that Fenton had a view of every exit from. Only people who are used to either defending or fleeing at a moment’s notice did that. It wasn’t helping the theory that something was going on.

Fenton hadn’t changed much from the highschool yearbook photo. He looked slightly taller and he had slightly broader shoulders than before but overall the guy was still lanky and thin. His hair was still dark and he still styled it in a similar way. His eyes were still huge and round on his face. The most noticeable difference to the photo though? Danny was much MUCH paler. Almost like a walking corpse. And the eyebags were hard to miss.

Jason sat himself at a table within earshot of the two, ordering himself a beer and some appetizer he didn’t actually read. He was much too focused on listening.

For the most part, it seemed pretty normal stuff. Work, flirting with one another, commenting on the food. But then it got interesting when Foley brought up their supposed children.

“Dante told me you taught him about the dog constellation the other day. He told me Sirius was his new favorite star,” Foley mused.

A chuckle from Fenton, “Yes, he has been super into animals recently so I showed him some constellations like the dog, serpent, eagle, bull. That sort of thing. We used your old PDA to look up where they were in the sky and even pulled up pictures of some of the stars. He was floating with excitement when I showed him the Sirius star. He lost control though and Sam had to help me get him off the ceiling.”

Floating?

“I never thought I would say that I am glad that they don’t have all their tricks yet. Imagine if either of them went intangible when they were infants. I would have had a heart attack,” Foley responded.

Intangibility?

“Tell me about it! Highschool would have been a hell of a time if either of their eyes started glowing. We wouldn’t have had babysitters while we were in class,” Fenton remarked.

Glowing eyes?

“We already hardly had babysitters. I remember taking Ellie to math class,” Foley seemed to chuckle at the memory.

Jason noted all of the strange things the two seemed to be expecting of the children at some point. It was definitely not non meta human type stuff. One thing he did note though was that they seemed to have had the kids since infancy which at least boosts the chances of the children being their own and not trafficked or stolen.

Fenton got up apparently to use the restroom and Foley got up from his seat to sit in Fenton’s while he was gone. More suspicious behavior. But from what Jason could tell, out of the two of them Fenton was the one who would be the first to react. He sat with the view first and only after his leaving did Foley feel the need to take up the same position.

Jason considered leaving right then but he knew that he wasn’t going to get answers that way. The other reason he didn’t leave right away was a message from Cass.

Cass: They are polyamorous.

Jason didn’t know what that meant. He sent back a question mark.

Cass: They are polyamorous. Fenton, Foley, and Manson are all dating each other. They raise the kids together in one household with 3 parents.

Jason thought about it. That would make sense as to why they all shared one address. There was one thing though that it did open up. If Fenton was indeed dating both of the other two, that would mean that he was attracted to women. The kids biologically very well could have been his and he was simply a teen dad.

Jason: Has Manson mentioned carrying them or any mention of a mother?

Cass: No. She treats them as her own but she shows no sign of previous pregnancy. Plus neither of them look like Sam at all.

Jason: Noted. Keep me updated.

If Manson wasn’t the biological mother, it didn’t mean someone else couldn’t have been one. Jason didn’t really know how any of this polyamory stuff worked but from the way Foley was describing it, the relationship had already been established when the children entered their lives. Unless Fenton was unfaithful in some way? Jason sighed, biting his knuckles as he felt the pressure in his chest. The pits were acting up.

Jason looked up from his phone once he felt it calm down just to see blue eyes glaring at him. Fenton was standing a few feet from his table, his eyes staring directly into Jason’s soul. The man looked offended as if Jason had done something to him.

Suddenly he felt the Lazarus pits acting up again. It felt like he was shot through the chest with a spear of ice. Like… he was getting told off for saying something bad. And it felt like… it came from Fenton? Somehow?

Jason tried to make sense of it, looking at the man in front of him but he seemed to be satisfied with whatever the fuck that was and went back to his table, giving Foley a kiss on the cheek.

“You alright Danny? You glitched for a second there,” Foley said.

Fenton scoffed, “Some dead guy’s core let out a signal that pissed me off. Tried to insinuate that I cheated on you and Sam. Fucking prick.”

Jason panicked. How did this fucker know he died? Things were getting weirder and weirder and now this guy knew things about him that he shouldn’t have… he had to keep following these guys.

…

Okay so Jason didn’t get much after that. He followed Fenton and Foley back to WE from a distance. Or at least at a distance that was far enough for the pits to not act up. Ever since Fenton got close to him at the restaurant, the pits were going crazy. It was like the man made it feel different. There was no anger or violent urge. It was like he wanted to do something but he didnt really know what it was. But he knew it wasn’t hitting people like usual.

Nothing much happened and once he and Cass were recalled to the Batcave, he retreated and went to go meet B and the others. Even Tim had taken a lunch break for once to meet up.

“So what are your reports,” Bruce asked.

Before Jason could get a word out, Cass started signing excitedly and very fast. He didn’t catch hardly any of it.

“Cass, slow down a bit,” Bruce said trying his best to sign back what he knew.

Jason paid closer attention this time as Cass signed at a pace everyone could understand.

“I think Sam is really nice and a good mom. We went to the school together to pick up the twins and they were very happy children. Ellie was very bubbly and and Dante was much calmer. Sam took us to the park to get ice cream after and we talked a lot. She, Danny, and Tucker are in a polyamorous relationship and are raising the kids together. They said that they were open as well if any of them wanted to date others. They trust each other a lot and love the kids a lot. Sam had good values and was teaching the kids the same. I think they are unconventional but very happy as a family. Like us.”

Jason watched as the others nodded, some seeming to understand it more than others. Someone was definitely going to have to sit Bruce down and explain it. He was also going to ask for more of a crash course later. Probably from Cass directly. Or maybe Babs if she knew.

After a few moments of processing what he did understand Bruce turned to Jason, “And what did you find out.”

“Shit’s weird with Fenton. I’m going to go back and get more intel,” Jason stated, “But from what I got on the kids? They’ve been taking care of them since infancy. Mentioned parenting them as babies in high school. And they seem to think that they are going to develop powers. Glowing eyes and intangibility. Fenton mentioned the boy Dante being able to float already. Definitely metas.”

“Maybe we are being over paranoid. It sounds like a teen pregnancy situation in a small town where paperwork isn’t always filed properly,” said Steph, putting her hands in her hips.

Jason shook his head, “Nah that Fenton guy is fucking weird. Did shit that Bruce taught us. Made sure the table was seated in a corner where he had a view of every exit. Civilians don’t do that shit.”

“Only people who are expecting a fight do,” Tim agreed.

The entire room knew that was one of the first things Bruce taught them when it came to safety in public. In their line of work they always had to be vigilant for every possibility.

Bruce conceded, “Jason, keep following Fenton. I have some things I need to look up I think.”

…

Danny was fucking PISSED. How fucking dare that guy have the nerve to not only think that but then broadcast the insinuation from his weak ass core? He would never EVER cheat on Sam and Tucker! He would NEVER betray their trust like that!

He fiddled with his newest clock commission angrily, his core feeling personally attacked. There was a fear that wasn’t really working right and he was probably going to have to remake it but honestly he didn’t really care at the moment.

“Danny…” he heard Sam call. Her voice made his core feeling personally the slightest bit better.

Danny leaned up from his clock and looked to see his beautiful girlfriend in the doorway, “Hi Sam.” He sighed, trying to let the anger fall away. How could he ever betray his loves?

Sam must have read his face like a book because she walked over and slid her arms around him from behind.

“You’re brooding baby,” she cooed, leaving a kiss on his cheek.

“I just can’t believe that guy! The fucking nerve,” Danny growled. Though his growl didn’t have any sort of malice behind it at the moment. Sam knew how to calm him down. Physical touch was one of his love languages.

“Danny it’s been a week since you saw him on your date. And you put him in his place. I know you would never do that. Tuck knows. That’s all that matters,” she said softly.

She was right of course. But Danny’s ghost instincts were super protective and he couldn’t help it sometimes. But again, she was right. He let himself take a deep breath mostly for her benefit to show he was trying to get over it.

“Good. Keep taking deep breaths. It’s okay to feel protective and it’s okay to let the feeling subside when the danger is gone,” Sam continued to talk softly, knowing she could talk sweetly to him until he felt better.

It was working. Danny focused on letting his core relax, the danger was gone. The only entities in his haunt were himself, his partners, and his children. No threat.

Next thing Danny heard was whooshing sounds as his kiddos flew into the room, both in their ghost forms. Their hair was white and their eyes glowed. Ellie’s glowed green and Dante’s glowed red.

When Dante first transformed, Danny, Tuck and Sam were unsure if they were going to be red or green since they were red back when he was Dan. When they did glow red, Danny guessed that it was most likely because it was what was familiar to him.

“Dante found a cool rock,” Ellie said excitedly.

Dante then presented the cool rock for Danny and Sam to look at. It was purple and looked like one of the crystals Sam liked to collect.

“Where did you find it,” he asked, just to make sure they didn’t just steal it from the collection Sam kept in her room.

“It was on the floor in Papa’s office,” Dante said proudly. Ah. It must have fallen out of one of Sam’s pockets at some point.

Danny smiled, looking at his son’s pride in finding it, “Good find buddy!” He turned his head to look at Sam, “What kind of rock is it Momma?”

Sam ceremoniously took the rock from Dante and used Danny’s bright work table lamp to get a look at it, “This seems to be a purple amethyst. Good work Dante.” She smiled brightly, encouraging the excitement of the kiddos for the find.

“Purple amythest,” Ellie repeated excitedly.

“It’s really pretty Momma,” Dante said, looking at the small polished stone. Danny could feel his son’s core buzzing happily about it.

“Why don’t you keep it in your room Dante? Then you can look at it whenever you want to,” Sam said smiling and giving it back to the floating red eyed child.

“Really?” Dante asked.

“Of course kiddo,” Danny added. He felt Dante’s core give off a burst of happiness. It made him smile.

“I’ll go put it in my room!” the boy said happily and flew through the wall out of the room.

Ellie then began to pout, “How come I don’t get a pretty rock?”

“When you find one, you’ll get to keep it too,” Sam smiled, “Now I believe your Papa mentioned a Bluey marathon scheduled for tonight. Why don’t you go get your brother and maybe together you can convince Papa to make you some popcorn?”

Danny felt Ellie’s core start to buzz with excitement and determination as she nodded and flew out of the room fast.

Once Ellie was out of the room, Sam gave Danny a kiss on the cheek, “Since Tuck is watching the kids tonight, how about we go get you some more relaxed?”

Danny chuckled, feeling his core buzz. He closed up the clock he had been working on and came to a stand, facing Sam.

“More like wear me out,” he said, giving her a kiss.

“Well of course,” Sam smirked as she took his hand and led him to her bedroom.

…

Jason watched Fenton for like a week. A whole ass week and he got absolutely nothing on the guy. The only times he ever left his house was for dates with either Foley or Manson or to pick up his kids. At this point Jason was positive they were his in some capacity. The DNA proved that much and he seemed like a pretty standard stay home dad. There was one time that week where after school he took Dante and Ellie to an observatory but as long as Jason wasn’t close enough for the pits to react to him he seemed like just some guy.

Jason slumped onto the couch in the first floor living room of the manor. He didn’t like being here but everyone was out busy today and apparantly someone in the family needed to be there to sign off on some sort of delivery. He didn’t understand why Alfred couldn’t just sign it but the butler had refused, insisting that Jason be the one to do it. It was so annoying.

It wasn’t like he had anything to do that day anyways. Periodically he had all his guys in his organization take a day off and he had promised them today. Not to mention he was “on rest” from patrolling after his fucking helmet broke after falling down a fire escape. Embarrassing as fuck. But he still had to wait for a new one because that was his last spare.

He just didn’t understand. On the surface level, Fenton seemed like a normal ass dude. But he knew what he felt. And knew what he heard. The fucker could tell Jason was kind of dead. And he did.. something to him at that restaurant. The pits kept pulling him toward the guy like he was some sort of fucking magnet.

“Master Jason, the delivery is at the front door sir,” Alfred said appearing out of fucking nowhere.

“Thank you Alfred,” he said as he got up to go do the stupid signing thing. Once it was done, he could jet outta there and start following Fenton around again.

Jason made his way to the front door and opened it only to find it was none other than the creepy fucker himself. The pits sparked in his chest making him squeeze the door a little too hard.

“You,” said the pale man, his eyes burning with disgust. The pits didn’t like that. Suddenly, Jason had an urge to make sure the anger on the man’s face went away. At first Jason thought that was fucking stupid but honestly… being nice might be a good plan.

Now that they were face to face in proper lighting, Jason was able to really get a good look at Daniel Fenton. Of course he knew what the guy looked like. Obviously. He had been stalking him. But this was the first time he had been able to really register it.

Like he had noted before, his hair was dark and he was pale as fuck. But what he hadn’t seen before was the way his hair was blacker than anything he had ever seen before, shining in places that the locks caught the light almost like little stars in a night sky. His eyes were big and bold, an icy hue that that sent shivers down the spine. He was pale of course but not in the way that made one think he had never seen sun before, more in the way that dead bodies look during funerals. All the blood drained from the body. His cheekbones were sharp giving his face a sunken in look like he was malnourished even though Jason fucking knew he wasn’t. His stature was lean and lanky but clearly he was hiding some muscle because he was carrying a big ass clock that no doubt weighed a shit ton like it was nothing.

Jason hated to admit it. He really did. However. Daniel Fenton was attractive.

…

Danny couldn’t fucking believe it. That dead motherfucker was a Wayne. His core buzzed with anger and he had to take a breath to calm it.

“Yeah it’s me,” said the asshole.

Danny sighed and maneuvered the clock into one arm and gave paper to the guy, “Just sign it.”

Now after doing this he realized that casually holding a heavy ass clock like a football was not the normal thing to do since the man obviously took note of it as he stared a little too long before taking the sign form. However, he already made the decision and he was gonna have to stick to the bit.

Once this guy signed the paper and took the clock he could just leave. Just fucking go. And he could make a note to never take a commission from this address again so he wouldn’t have to see him again. He could do that.

“Hey, I’m sorry about what happened,” the really fucking large man said as he signed the paper. Danny checked the guy’s core. He was being genuine. And it was also giving off confused vibes. Ancients, why- This guy didn’t even know what he did. Fucking of course. Ughhhh and now because Danny was a good person he was gonna have to explain it to him. Fucking great.

Danny sighed, “It’s… fine. Where do you want me to install the clock?” He wasn’t going to talk about this shit openly. He could do it once they were inside.

The man seemed confused but let him in anyways, “I don’t really know where B wants it. For now I guess you could put it on this table over here.”

Danny noted the small table in the entrance hall and put it down where he was told to. Once his hands were free, he collected the sign form from the man and folded it, storing it away in his back pocket.

“Now, I assume you have a shit ton of questions,” he said.

The tall man nodded, “So fucking many.”

A butler escorted them to a sitting room of sorts and disappeared again without a sound.

“Are you okay with him possibly overhearing any information I give you….” Danny realized he didn’t actually know this guy’s name.

“Yeah that’s fine,” said the man, sitting in a chair. Danny decided to sit across from him on a couch. It was off putting how docile this guy was acting with just how fucked up his core seemed to be.

“My name is Daniel Fenton. You can call me Danny. It seems you were never really explained to about this whole being dead thing,” Danny started. He didn’t really know how to go about this. With Dante and Ellie it had always been free knowledge for them to ask about whenever they needed but there was no sit down conversation where he had to like, reveal their identities or anything.

“No. I wasn’t aware there were rules,” the man said, a smile tugging at his lips at his own joke. Now normally, Danny would laugh at that. Because let’s be honest, he would. But he was a bit caught up in realizing that this guy he spent that last week hating was fucking huge. Tall as fuck. At least 6 foot. And his wingspan had be just fucking outrageous. His shoulders were wider than Danny’s front door at home.

Once he noticed that, Danny took an actual good look at the guy. His hair was black mostly, with a signature white streak in the front, no doubt a side effect of dying. It seemed to be a permanent feature rather than something brought on by transformation like for Danny and his kiddos. His eyes were blue, a solemn almost sad blue but they were still very beautiful. He had eyebags for days, probably didn’t get the proper nutrition very often only eating human food with no ecto in his diet. Sleep was probably not a thing either. He was nothing but muscle all over, no doubt an effect of him dying and then getting better. He was covered in scars as well that looked as though they healed a little too quickly to be proper. All in all, everything pointed to gaining the very sliver of his ghost powers without any of them making it to the finish line. Even so, he was the type of guy anyone with eyeballs would swoon over.

“Mr…… Wayne?” Danny guessed. He immediately felt the man’s core recoil in disgust. Okay so not Wayne.

“Todd. My name is Jason Todd. My dad is Wayne. Not me. Just- just call me Jason,” the man said quickly.

Danny nodded and redirected, “Jason, before I start explaining all this stuff, when did you die and how come that’s not the case anymore?”

He again felt Jason’s core want to pull back but none the less he still answered, “I was… I don’t know? 15-16? I don’t fucking remember it was a while ago. Anyways, apparently I got revived by the Lazarus Pits so I was only dead for like 6 months or something.”

Danny nodded solemnly. He knew what it was like to die young. And of course Jason’s core and ghost powers were all fucked up. Those pits were nothing but a shit ton of toxic, contaminated ecto. He wasn’t surprised that when given the chance to create a halfa they would do it in the shittiest way possible.

“Okay so basically, you’re gonna want to buckle in cuz this is about to be a lot,” Danny said, making himself comfortable. They were gonna be here a while.

…

Tim paced his office. Back and forth back and forth back and forth back and forth back and forth. This was a bad idea. Yes, the Fentons had been cleared but it was still a bad idea. To be honest, he didn’t really want to think about the fact that his favorite employee had been searched by his family for suspicious behavior a month ago.

Yes. His favorite employee. Tucker Foley. Not just his favorite employee but the best one who had never turned in a report late or found a problem he couldn’t fix. Technically his name was Tucker Fenton but the name change wasn’t official yet. Polyamorous marriage was illegal so the family had to send in papers to change their names legally so they would share a last name with their children.

Tim had been eyeing Tucker since he met him which was honestly far too long after he had joined the company. He had been so busy that he had never actually seen the guy face to face until he happened to pass his office and saw the man dutifully typing away at his computer.

He remembered just how immediately he noticed the attractiveness of the man and at first was sad to hear he was in a relationship. He thought he was with a woman named Sam at first. And then a few weeks later he started seeing Danny in the office too. Tucker was poly. Had two partners. And two children with them. A family man.

Then his family started tracking them all and it gave him an excuse to hang around Tucker at the office as much as possible. Of course he only ever got normal vibes from the guy until he noticed some background tabs running on the PDA he used alongside the desktop the company provided.

Of course Tim found time during a date Danny and Tucker went on for lunch to snoop through it. The tabs were all mostly data except one that was in the process of breaking down a government firewall with a prewritten program. Some organization called the GIW. Tim looked through the rest of the computer. There were files on Tim and the rest of his family. Files on WE. Files on the company’s funding and where it all went. He had done his homework before taking the job clearly.

Of course it all looked suspicious at the time. But things had changed since then. Danny Fenton had sat Jason down and explained a lot of things. Who they were, why they were in Gotham. Who they used to be. It made alot of sense.

And it made sense why Danny readily shared the information so freely. After Tim found the files on the PDA, of course he hacked it and sent it over to Babs. After Jason made a fool of himself at the restaurant, the PDA started having files added to it. Of the Bats and the birds. And a very well written and polite file stating that Tucker knew his PDA was fucked with. The vigilante files were his way of telling everyone he knew who they were.

So the Tucker guy was fucking smart and didn’t really give two shits about computer privacy. Now any normal sane person would have found this very concerning but for Tim it only fueled the highly inappropriate crush he had begun to develop on the guy. How hot is it that the guy was cordial enough to write a file detailing that he knew they were watching him and that he was honored to have been hacked?

So… there Tim was in his office. Pacing. He was about to do the craziest shit. He was about to ask out the hot guy from the tech department. Was it a good idea? No. Absolutely not. This guy was about as crazy as he was. Oh but he liked that. He really fucking liked that. He also loved the tracker he found in his shirt after stopping into the guys office to give him some paperwork. It had taken him about a week and a half to find it and since Tim only had 3 shirts he wore to the office, he wore it around alot in that time.

After that, Tim left his own tracker in Tucker’s PDA only for Babs to find a new file on it that simply stated, “Found it.”

How fucking hot was that? He found it in no time even after Tim had taken the time to make sure it was inside the thing. Since then they had been placing trackers on one another whenever they passed, taking turns and making sure the other knew when they had found it. Tucker was always faster. He had yet to take longer than 24 hours to find it no matter where Tim hid it. It was like the hottest kind of flirting Tim could fucking imagine.

So… now that Tucker was cleared of any suspicion, he was free game. When Cass told everyone in the Batcave that the relationship was open to other partners, he nearly had to turn around in order to hide the excitement from his face. He kept his cool though, obviously, he was a professional.

He didn’t mind Tucker Fenton having other partners. He didn’t mind that he had kids. He wasn’t the only one either. He could tell that Cass was crushing hard on Sam and sure enough a week ago, the two of them were official. Now he just had to make his move and ask Tucker out. That was all.

Tim heard a ding on his phone. He looked to see who it was. Barbara.

Babs: New file just got saved to the Fenton PDA.

Tim’s heart raced. Tucker had probably found the tracker he had slid under his collar during their meeting that morning.

Babs: You two really need to bone, this is getting ridiculous.

Tim: WHAT DID THE FILE SAY BABS

Babs: I didn’t open it. The file is literally titled “For Tim Drake (if anyone else opens this I’ll make sure a virus melts your software)”

Hot.

Tim: Pull it up on my desktop.

Babs: On its way you sicko.

Tim rushed to his computer to see a file open on the screen. It was a google doc that Tim was given permission to edit. At first, the doc seemed blank but he knew Tucker well enough now that he knew that there was more to it.

He used his mouse and clicked Select All and sure enough, white writing appeared on the screen. He changed it to black so he could read it properly and he found a series of dashes and dots. Morse code.

Tim felt his heart rate rise at the little game. He had told Tucker in passing that he couldn’t read Morse code but he knew how to sit down and translate it if he wanted to. And the man was so perfect he had remembered.

Tim got out a piece of paper and started decoding the message that looked to be like a poem of sorts. It didn’t take long at all. It turned out to be a series of quotes from media and literature that Tim had at one point brought up enjoying in passing.

“All we can know is that we know nothing. And that is the height of human wisdom.”

“She had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy; but her manners were excellent.”

“Knowledge is power.”

“Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror.”

“Elementary, my dear Watson.”

“O Captain! My Captain!”

“Unless I be relieved by prayer, which pierces so, that it assaults mercy itself, and frees all faults. As you from crimes would pardon'd be, let your indulgence set me free.”

“To die would be an awfully great adventure.”

Tim stared at the quotes knowing that there was more meaning to them. Knowing Tucker, there was probably a certain letter or word from each phrase he needed. He wasn’t provided with a key to solve it so it must have been pretty simple. Then he got it. And his heart raced.

He responded by calling his secretary to tell one Tucker Fenton (Foley) that he needed to send in in his schedule for the next week.

Not 20 minutes later did he see new writing on the google doc, “I’m free Friday night.” Who cared if it was a bad idea.

Tim smiled wide, texting Babs excitedly.

Tim: TELL B I CANT PATROL ON FRIDAY

Babs: Why?

Tim: IM GOING ON A DATE

Little did Tim know that the moment Barbara saw the message, she breathed a sigh of relief, “Fucking finally.”

…

Okay so here was the deal. After Danny had explained everything (including the pits actually being a core and the fact that Danny’s children were the de-aged results of cloning and timeline fuckery), he had started helping Jason stabilize his core. And Jason was thankful for that but at the same time… as more and more time went on spending his off moments with the guy, his core was acting all kinds of weird. He didn’t really know how to tell Danny about it because the last time he had tried to explain the weird pull and very odd pleased hum his core had whenever he was around Danny, the guy had waved it off as because he was the Ghost King and all that. Jason was trying to believe that was the case but now that he was in the Fenton household sitting across from Danny in his workshop… it was hard to ignore.

“Well Jason, you definitely look a lot better than a week ago,” Danny said while staring into Jason’s chest. He knew that it was because his core was supposedly around that area but with the fact that he was wearing a t shirt that had shrunk in the shutter dryer in his apartment, he was feeling a little exposed.

“That’s good,” he said clenching his fist to try and ignore the almost purring sensation his core made at the compliment.

“Just a few months and you’ve been reconstructing it really well,” Danny said continuing to stare.

Jason nodded, he had been trying to do the things Danny told him to, added pure ecto to his diet and tried being more open to listen to his core. Although most of the work had been done by Danny, placing his hands on Jason’s chest, shuffling his shattered core pieces around and trying to fit them back together. It had been a joke for a long time that he “came back wrong” but according to the literal Ghost King, it was actually fucking true.

Jason noticed Danny was still staring. His core buzzed, liking the attention. He had to try and distract himself.

“So I noticed when I came in it was awfully quiet. Normally Dante and Ellie meet me at the door,” he said, clenching his fist tighter. He had to change the subject.

Danny looked up from his chest, “Oh uh yeah. Sam and Cass are on a date and Tucker took the kids out to an escape room with Tim. So it’s uh… just us at home at the moment.”

Jason wasn’t as good at reading body language as Cass but he knew enough to know that Danny was acting stiff around him which he wasn’t used to since before they started his core reconstruction therapy.

“I get you all to myself then,” he said chuckling trying to be lighthearted. Was Jason normally this civil around other people? Fuck no. But with Danny… he really couldn’t help it. It honestly felt more like the old him before he died. Before he went all… murder psycho because he literally came back wrong.

He watched as the shorter man in front of him began to actually gain some color in his cheeks. Holy hell he didn’t know Danny was capable of that. He thought the dead guy look was a permanent thing. Jason kind of liked it though.

“I guess you do,” Danny said allowing a small smirk onto his face.

Oh. OH. Jason’s core really liked that. And it must have done one of those things where it told all the other dead people around because Danny’s smile grew wider. What Jason didn’t expect was feeling a mutual positive energy from Danny’s core in response.

Jason felt his own cheeks start to burn the slightest bit, not really knowing why.

“Actually Jason… I didn’t ask you here today just to check on your core. Or because I’m technically your king and I can,” Danny said.

Ah yeah that. Jason knew that because he was dead Danny was technically like, royalty to him. But it had never really clicked since he never acted all high and mighty like that whenever they were together. Which was a lot. But now that Danny mentioned it… he technically could have have power over Jason that he could use whenever he wanted.

His cheeks burned a bit more at that, his core reacting the same way it did before. He really needed to get more control over the sending out core vibes thing because Danny reacted to it again.

The Ghost King’s cheeks grew pink, “I didn’t know you were into that,” he said, leaning back in his chair, the motion causing light to reflect off of his hair like stars, “I wanted to talk to you because your core has been flirting with me non stop since we started your reconstruction therapy.”

Ah fuck. Jason knew Danny was hot but his core was really betraying him by telling him that.

He looked away, embarrassed. Admittedly, it wasn’t like the thought to flirt hadn’t ever crossed his mind. After Babs, with come help from Cass, really explained what polyamory was to him, he had entertained the idea once just to see what would happen but Jason very honestly didn’t know if he liked the idea himself or if it was just his core longing to be close to its king. Or at least that what he was telling himself

“Listen I’m not mad Jason,” Danny said. Jason felt cold fingers brush his cheek to turn his head to face the man. His body reacted the same way if always did when Danny touched his chest for reconstruction. Like a very pleasant bolt of lightning had stuck him, the buzz spreading throughout his body.

Jason knew Danny was a touchy kind of person and he had accepted that but god fucking damn it was still a lot of physical feeling from one touch that he wasn’t used to.

Jason had dated other guys before. He had been more than close and personal with a few. But touch was always a dull feeling when it came to anybody. Danny was the only person he could really… feel. Like back when he was alive. Every touch felt real and not disconnected. He could actually feel the pressure of a hand on his skin and the tingle of when skin brushed his own. It was… electrifying for the lack of a better term.

“I just want to talk about it,” Danny said.

Jason didn’t know how to talk. He didn’t even really know how he felt. He was running on pure instinct and LOTS of willpower to fight said instinct.

“Danny, I- don’t know how-,” Jason started, not really knowing how to communicate into words about it. Clearly he didn’t have to as he could tell his core had betrayed him again.

“It’s okay. I can talk. And if I say anything you don’t like or agree with, you can let me know. How’s that?” Danny asked. It was right about now Jason noticed that Danny hadn’t let go of his face and he was really close. His core liked that. And honestly, so did he. Jason didn’t mind staring into those big blue eyes for a bit. He nodded.

“I like you Jason,” Danny started. Jason’s core? Loved that. But Jason’s brain and probably his heart was waiting for the “but.”

“And so does my core. I think you are good for me,” Danny continued. There was no “but.” It made Jason’s innards do a fucking somersault into the splits.

“Wait you do?” Jason asked, studying Danny’s face. He was still blushing which was a good sign but sometimes you just need to be sure and double check you know?

Danny nodded, making Jason’s core buzz excitedly. Now up until this moment, Jason was very much repressing his own thoughts when it came to Danny. He was slow to catch up when it came to, well, feelings. Well let’s just say Jason was all caught up now. And his cheeks were burning as his lips curled into a smirk.

Jason felt a very strong core response from his king, full of flustered and dare he say lustful emotion that made his core and his chest burn with a desire to pull towards him.

Jason was no good with words. Terrible infact. And Danny knew that about him. So if he had any chance of communicating effectively, he had to take his foot off the brake and let his instinct do what it wanted.

“I’m about to do something stupid,” Jason warned. And then he pulled Danny closer into a kiss.

He felt Danny’s core purr in response as Jason’s lips felt like they were dancing on lightning. Everything felt right. He let his core say whatever the hell it wanted because it knew what to do. He just focused on how right right everything felt.

After they broke apart from the kiss, mostly because Jason needed air in a way Danny really didn’t, he locked eyes with the gorgeous man in front of him. Now that he wasn’t restraining himself, he was letting himself take in Danny’s beauty.

“Be my boyfriend,” Danny breathed, an icy sensation tickled Jason’s ear as Danny’s breath left the slightest bit of an icy fog in the air.

“Deal,” Jason responded, his breath catching up.

Jason’s body burned with sensation and he wondered if this was what being alive felt like and Danny pulled him into another deep kiss and hurriedly dragged him to a bedroom.

…

Extra:

Bruce at some point after all this: Where are all of my children?

Alfred: Well sir, almost half of them are at the Fenton household at the moment and the others…

Bruce didn’t even listen to the rest, he just sighed. He should have known. Fentons had that effect. He still remembered Jack from college.

[niniwritesxo]

‘will you let me hit?’

nam-gyu x fem reader

(part two of ‘we’re teaming up’)

——————————————————————————

it’s been 2 days since the mingle game and you haven’t really seen nam-gyu since. which is good because you didn’t want to face him anyway.

ever since he rescued your ass you felt weird, did he feel bad for you? ugh.

the crazy thing was how you recognised him instantly because of that stupid smirk he always wore on his face.

9 years earlier

‘nam-gyu i already told yo-‘ you open your mouth to speak but he cuts you off, looking up from his book making direct contact.

‘noona..tell me, if i ace this exam….you know what never mind.’ he laughs at his own stupid idea, shaking his head.

you hated it when he called you that, you were like 8 months older than him anyway. it made you feel like a ancient woman.

‘hey! you can’t be like that’ you say grabbing the book in his hand so he would look up at you.

‘if you ace this exam?…’ you ask him genuinely wondering what he was going to say.

‘..will you let me hit?’ he asks with a smirk, his hand lifting up to fix his hair.

you let out a laugh as i hear his question, was he fucking kidding?

‘nam-gyu, you can’t be serious, miss park literally begged me to be your tutor, that’s all i am to you.’ i reply, trying to stay as ‘professional’ as possible.

besides you had a boyfriend, jaewon. he was a dick to you but you’ve been together for almost two years now and honestly you don’t know what to do without him.

talking about the devil, your phone starts ringing and you see the number id, it’s jaewon.

as you pick up the phone nam-gyu looks pissed, he knew jaewon from school but they weren’t friends, not even close. they fought last year over something so stupid you chose to forget about it.

he grabs the book out of your hand rolling his eyes, he flips to the right page and starts reading.

‘hey nam-gyu i have to-‘ you feel guilty leaving him right now because you didn’t even finish the paragraph but jaewon needed you.

‘yeah sure see ya’ he responded with venom in his voice.

he hated how you did everything for him, you would drop everything to see him, how fucking stupid? you were like a fucking dog. nam-gyu didn’t even like you that much but you didn’t deserve to be treated like that.

present day

‘how is that dipshit boyfriend of yours?’

you shoot up at the voice, looking to your right seeing that dumb smirk again.

‘married’ you respond sighing, finally making eyecontact with him.

‘wow really, when did he ask y-‘ he starts, trying to act interest when he couldn’t give less of a fuck.

‘to kang mina’ i finish my sentence scoffing at how dumb i sound

kang mina was like the queen bee of our school, she wasn’t smart, she was just really pretty. and i guess that’s what jaewon fell for seems like beauty does matter.

he can’t help himself but laugh at you, the way his hair would hit his cheek, his dimple would show. it all reminded you of the past.

‘holy fuck he didn’t marry you?’ he laughs.

‘and kang mina? fuck she was such a bitch’ he stops laughing and looks at you.

‘hey y/n, my offer still stands you know’ he says tracing little circles on your right thigh.

i remember having a conversation with nam-gyu’s ex girlfriend a few years back, she told me about his personality while dating. apparently he is a master at manipulation.

he had all sorts of tricks up his sleeve to make girls melt for him, it didn’t matter what he wanted, he always made sure he got it in the end.

i scoff trying to remember his stupid ‘offer’

‘your offer?’ i ask him foolishly looking at him with a annoyed face.

‘these games can get..pretty stressful, so if you want to relieve some stress..’ he starts again fiddling with his rings like a nervous teenager.

‘fucking spit it out nam-gyu’ i say impatiently, rolling my eyes at the man in front of me.

‘if you want me to fuck your brains out, you know where to find me’ he responds quickly, looking up at you.

and then he did it, biting his bottom lip. he did that whenever he got under your skin. you hated it.

you recognised it all too well, nam-gyu has always been a horny spazz and the look he gave you just now? confirmed he is still that same old guy you once knew.

‘get lost nam-gyu’ i scoff looking at him.

the man finally takes his hand of your thigh and decides to walk away, he turns around and walks over to the purple haired guy he is always with.

meanwhile you are still sitting on your bed, realizing you are squeezing your thighs together all of the sudden.

out of all the 456 people here, nam-gyu made you horny? what the fuck are you supposed to do now?

——————————————————————————

okay guys soooo i tried a different writing style, do you guys like it? :3

this will become a series btw! and there will be smut, (i know you horny mfs are waiting for it lmao)

[moonlightrafe]

High Infidelity

summary: When Aegon goes AWOL, you find yourself at his house searching for answers when you stumble across his not so-baby-brother.

pairing: Modern!Aemond x Aegon's girlfriend!Reader

word count: 2.6k

warnings: Explicit smut, alcohol consumption, cheating, angst, unprotected p in v sex, creampie, 18+ MDNI

note: Haven't written about Aemond in months?? omg hi I missed him <3 apparently the fandom is dying down a bit? Idk, enjoy!

The phone rings and rings, but there’s no answer, not even a quick text to explain his silence. Your trust with Aegon had always been on shaky ground, but this time feels different. You remember the stories, the warnings from your friends— Even his own sister had her doubts. One night after too many glasses of wine, Helaena had slipped up and told you she wasn’t sure of his intentions with you. But none of it mattered, you were determined. You swore you could fix him, that things with you would be different.

Now, every second of silence feels like confirmation of what you’ve tried so hard to ignore. This isn’t the first time he’s blown you off for his friends and part of you wants to believe there’s an innocent explanation, but another part can’t shake the feeling that this is just him being who he’s always been.

Before you drive yourself crazy, you decide the best course of action is to just go to his house and demand an answer… If he’s even there.

When you pull up, the house is dimly lit. You know Alicent is out of town for the weekend, so the only people who might be home are Aegon and his siblings.

The front door is left unlocked, probably Aegon’s doing, so you are able to let yourself right in.

“Aeg?” you call down the hallway as you open the door to the foyer, but you only receive silence in return.

Once you make your way up to Aegon’s bedroom and peer inside, it’s empty; save for Sunfyre, Aegon’s golden retriever.

“Hi, baby,” you greet the sandy dog with enthusiasm, leaning down to pet his head.

“Where’s daddy off to now, huh?”

He just tilts his head at you and you sigh.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with him.”

You’re startled as the door opens, your heart lurches in your chest thinking it’s Aegon, but instead you find yourself face to face with his younger brother, Aemond.

“Looking for Aegon?”

“Yeah,” you reply, trying to hide your disappointment, “he hasn’t been answering me. Do you know where he is?”

Aemond shakes his head, leaning against the door frame.

“Out, I assume. He left earlier with no explanation.”

His tone carries a trace of bitterness, though it’s not directed at you.

“Right,” you sigh, “typical.”

Aemond tilts his head, studying you for a moment before speaking.

“You could wait around for him, but I wouldn’t count on him showing up anytime soon. He’ll come back when he feels like it.” His lips twitch into a faint smirk, “or when he runs out of bad ideas.”

You can’t help but laugh softly, despite your frustration.

“Yep, that sounds like him.”

There’s a beat of silence before Aemond pushes off the door frame and steps closer. You’re not his problem, he should walk away, leave you here—and yet, the words spew out of him like vomit: “You don’t have to sit here, drowning in Aegon’s mess… You can chill with me.“

His offer catches you off guard.

“I don’t know,” you say hesitantly, though the idea of not sitting here stewing in your irritation is tempting, “wouldn’t that be weird?”

Aemond shrugs, his gaze steady.

“Only if you make it weird.”

“I need something to take the edge off.”

“Yeah, sure. Um, we can check downstairs, I’m sure my mom’s got something—"

“That won’t be necessary,” you tell him, “I know Aeg has got to have something in here.”

You open Aegon’s closet, revealing a cluttered mess as the scent of unwashed clothes hits your senses. You look at Aemond with a shit eating grin, revealing a large bottle of tequila.

"Come on, then," Aemond says as he nods toward the hallway.

"Alright, lead the way."

You follow him out of Aegon’s room, bottle in hand. You didn’t know much about Aemond, you had rarely spent time with him. Except for family holiday parties or vacations, but he typically kept to himself.

Aemond’s room, to no surprise, was the total opposite of Aegon’s. His bed was neatly made, the floor freshly vacuumed and the smell of fabric softener lingered in the air. It was comfortable, easy to relax in.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea," you admit as you slide down to sit on the floor, your back resting against the edge of Aemond’s bed.

Aemond rummages through the mini fridge he has sat in the corner before setting a can of cola in front of you.

“You don’t have to hang with me,” he shrugs as he slides down beside you, a soda of his own in his hand.

Before you answer him, you quickly crack open your drink and take a large swig of the liquor in front of you, grimacing as it burns the back of your throat.

“No, no,” you choke out, passing the bottle to Aemond, “I want to. Aegon is out doing Gods knows what, why shouldn’t I enjoy myself? Like you said, I don’t need to sit and stir in his mess… And I’ll drink his stash while I’m at it.”

Aemond smirks at your comment, cracking open his soda before taking a swig.

“I doubt he’d even notice. Half the time, I think he forgets what’s in there.”

He takes a sip, his sharp profile illuminated by the faint glow of the desk lamp across the room.

You tilt your head to look at him.

“You and Aegon really are opposites, huh?”

“That’s putting it lightly,” he scoffs, his tone carrying a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

“I like being around you,” you admit quietly.

“You’re…different. In a good way.”

The bottle is in your possession again, this time you chug it.

“Different,” he repeats, his tone unreadable, “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”

“It is,” you assure him, slightly coughing as you do so.

“You’re smart. Thoughtful. You’re not… The mess that Aegon is. It’s…refreshing.”

Aemond’s lips twitch in the faintest hint of a smile, and he leans his head back against the bed, studying you with an intensity that makes your skin heat.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever been called ‘refreshing’ before.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” you tease, though your voice wavers slightly under his gaze.

The air grows heavier between you, silence stretching but not uncomfortable. You feel his shoulder brush yours as he shifts slightly closer.

“You’re different too,” he says, his voice softer now.

“You’re way better than any of Aegon’s past girlfriends, my entire family agrees. You don’t just…blend into the background. You make people notice you. You made me notice you. Honestly, I don’t know why you put up with Aegon.”

You blush furiously at his words. Now things are taking a different turn, forcing you to take yet another swig from the bottle.

“And you can hold your liquor,” Aemond notes, and you ignore him, going back to his original comment.

“I don’t know," you sigh, “I mean, we have history… Aeg and I,” you wince as memories of the two of you flood your mind.

“He’s really not that bad... Plus, the sex is good,” you explain as your cheeks flush.

Aemond raises a brow at your words, his lips twitching into a sly smirk as he leans back against the bed, stretching his long legs out in front of him.

“History, huh?” he muses, his tone laced with something that feels dangerously close to mockery.

“Sounds to me like you’re defending a bad investment.”

You roll your eyes, feeling the heat rise throughout your entire body.

“I’m just saying, Aegon has his moments. When he’s not being… well, himself.”

Aemond chuckles, the sound low and smooth.

“Moments. Right. I’m sure those are worth the chaos he drags behind him like a storm cloud.”

You narrow your eyes at him, though the corners of your lips threaten to lift.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to make a point?”

“Maybe I am,” he counters, shifting slightly so his shoulder brushes against yours, "tell me, does ‘not that bad’ really sound like a glowing endorsement? Or are you settling because it’s easy?”

You are unable to tell if Aemond is trying to help you, or if he’s just being cruel and judgemental.

Your eyes stay locked on his as he takes a swig from the bottle.

“Easy doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

“No,” Aemond agrees, his voice dipping lower as his smirk deepens, “but it doesn’t make it right, either. Or satisfying. At least, not in the way you deserve.”

There’s something heavy in his words, and the way he looks at you makes your stomach flip. You try to keep your tone light, teasing.

“And I suppose you think you know what I deserve?”

He leans in just slightly, his eye flicking to your lips before meeting your gaze again.

“Maybe. Or maybe I just know you could do better.”

Your heart pounds in your chest as the air between you grows charged. His voice drops even lower, barely a whisper now.

“If the sex is all that’s keeping you interested, then maybe you’ve been wasting your time.”

You’re caught between wanting to retort and being completely undone by the intensity of his stare.

“And what would you suggest, Aemond?” you ask, your voice faltering slightly.

His smirk softens into something more genuine, his gaze never leaving yours, “I’d suggest you let someone show you what it’s really supposed to feel like.”

Your breath hitches, and you turn to face him fully.

“Aemond…”

His eye drops to your lips for the briefest moment, and then he’s looking at you again, his expression unreadable but his intent clear.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmurs, his voice barely audible but filled with restraint.

You don’t. Instead, you lean forward, closing the space between you. His hand lifts, brushing against your cheek as his lips meet yours, soft but insistent.

When you finally pull back, breathless and heart pounding, his forehead rests against yours, a rare vulnerability in his gaze.

“This,” he murmurs, “might not be a good idea either.”

“But it feels right,” you whisper, surely the tequila talking for you, but he nods, a small smile tugging at his lips before he kisses you again.

“Come on," he says before rising to his feet, grabbing your hands to pull you up with him.

You wrap your arms around his neck, the two of you falling backward onto his bed, with Aemond top of you, his lips crashing against yours again, pressing you hard into the mattress.

His hands snake underneath your shirt, squeezing at your tits, tugging at your bra before he removes the garment from you completely. He groans, his hands moving cupping your tits, squeezing them, kneading the flesh between his hands almost desperately. He is then busy fumbling with the zipper on your jeans, pulling them off you, leaving you in just your panties.

Aemond moves off of you and pulls his sweatpants down hastily, revealing his cock to you. He’s thick, hard, and throbbing — ready for you to take. He takes his hand and wraps it around the shaft, stroking it slowly. His eyes meet yours and your heart rate goes through the roof, blood roaring in your ears.

You sit up on your knees, moving toward him, your hand reaching toward his cock. His head falls back as you grip it with one soft hand, stroking gently, running your thumb along the most prominent vein.

Aemond grits his teeth, watching as you lean in, your tongue darting out to lap at the tip of his cock, spreading the pre cum that’s already leaking from him. His hand moves to collect your hair into a makeshift ponytail, watching as you take his cock into your mouth. You gaze up at him, your lashes fluttering as you hollow your cheeks, taking him in far enough to hit the back of your throat. Your mouth is so fucking wet and warm that Aemond doesn’t know what he can do except twist his hand in your hair and buck his hips slightly as you suck him off.

Your hands move to cup his balls, squeezing gently, massaging them, before you pull your mouth off his cock, replacing it with one of your hands as you mouth at his balls. He lets out a low moan of your name, his free hand tugging at his own hair, the feeling of your mouth being almost too much for him.

Just as he feels his body tighten, about to reach his end, He pulls away, pinning you back down to the bed, a grin on his face, “Uh uh, baby, I’m not letting the fun end this soon.”

Aemond pushes you backwards onto his bed. He eagerly glides your panties down your legs, revealing your pussy to him and you hiss at the exposure. All swollen and wet with arousal, a growl erupts from his chest at the sight.

“My brother is a fucking idiot,“ he groans as his eyes scan over you and he gently spreads you open with two of his fingers.

As he maneuvers himself to line up with your entrance, he taps his cock against your velvety skin, eliciting an embarrassingly loud moan from you.

“You’re sure you want this?” he questions, his eyes darting back and forth between yours.

“Yes, I’m sure! Just, please —”

He takes no time to run his cock through your thick folds a few times, and they wrap around him perfectly. So warm and inviting, he can’t help but let out a whimper at the contact. You watch him eagerly as you bite down on your bottom lip. You both know he won’t last long once he’s fully inside of you.

He slaps the head of his cock against your clit, watching the way your whole body quivers before slowly pushing the tip inside you. You’re so fucking tight, he thinks he might just cum from this alone, but he grits his teeth, slowly pushing, inch by inch, until he’s balls deep inside of you.

You cling to him, your arms around his neck as he begins to cant his hips against yours, slowly at first, then faster and faster. He hears your breathy little gasps as he pounds into you, your pouty lips forming into a perfect ‘o’ shape.

You look so gorgeous like this, he muses, as he rasps against your ear, “so perfect for me, baby, tell me how good I make you feel.”

“Feels so good, Aem,” you babble mindlessly, rolling your hips against his, your eyes rolling back.

Aemond’s ego is currently through the roof. Comforting Aegon’s girlfriend with his cock buried inside her? He wishes Aegon could see him right now.

His large palm rests on your lower belly, adding pressure to each thrust. With each snap of his hips, you feel yourself on the brink of insanity. Each drag of his thick length has you closer and closer to coming undone as a coil builds inside you, threatening to snap at any moment.

In one swift motion, Aemond now has your thighs up to the level of your breasts, allowing him to pound deeper into you, the weight of his body against yours is intoxicating — making you a drooling, babbling mess.

The tip of his cock continues to prod your sweet spot relentlessly and with a perfectly angled thrust, you’re soaking his cock, clenching down on him with force.

“Gods, such a good girl for me,” he says proudly, still pounding into you through your orgasm, “that’s it baby, cum on my cock.”

You keen at his praise, shaking around him as your cunt sucks in his length. You quickly pull his own release from him. He’s muttering profanities as he spills himself inside of you.

Once he pulls out of you, you move to lay next to him, smiling when he cuddles into you. His head rests on your chest, with an arm slung around your waist. Your legs are intertwined. You feel at ease.

Everything is going to be crazy when you have to terms with what just happened. But for right now, safe and sound in Aemond’s arms. The pain of Aegon’s absence is long forgotten.

“Thank you,” you murmur softly.

“For what?” his tone casual, although you swear you catch a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“For not being like Aegon.”

[yoonjae20]

A series of snapshots of how the public views Danny’s return [Bruce/Danny; Spirit Halloween]

I can't believe it's been already 5 days since I last written something. University has kept me so busy.

Anyway — on to the next part! I tried something different for the first half, I hope it's not too jarring. I thought it would be fun to have a sort of outside view of how the public see Danny and Bruce.

Read on ao3. Masterpost.

Previous. Next.

“Did you guys see the interview Lois Lane did with Bruce Wayne and his husband?” 

“I was so shocked when I heard the news. They do look cute together though!”

“I still can't believe that the most eligible bachelor of Gotham had been married all along! It does explain why he never dated anyone.”

“I know right! But they must be super private for it to only come out now.”

“Actually they said in the interview that his husband was busy with other affairs outside the country.”

“Don’t you think it almost makes it sound like he’s a royalty from a far away land? He was so serious when he said he needed to take care of his duties and responsibilities.”

“No way you are believing that conspiracy theory. There’s a thread that debunked it already. Apparently he’s from some no name city in the Midwest.”

“I did think he had an accent I couldn’t place. Did you watch the clip of the interview where Lois Lane asked who proposed first?”

“Wait, what? I can’t believe I missed that, I hadn’t had time to watch the full interview!”

“Me neither.”

“Here let me pull it up.”

“-So who proposed first?”

Danny and Bruce look at each other for a moment and the latter groans at the expression his husband wears.

“Please not, love.”

“But it’s such an adorable story!” 

“Now I’m only more curious,” Lois chuckles. 

“Well we were quite drunk that day to be honest,” Danny laughs. “It was almost midnight when we decided we needed a hotel. Unfortunately all rooms were booked other than a Love Suite.”

Lois leans forward, eager to hear more.

“The receptionist said they don’t have a room for us both unless we are a couple-“

Bruce buries his face into his hands.

“And Bruce said and I quote ‘Actually we are fiancées.’ I don’t know if the receptionist or Bruce was more flustered when we woke up in the morning.”

“Wow!” Lois exclaims. “I never thought I’d see the day where Bruce is embarrassed.”

Bruce still doesn’t look up from where he hides his face. 

“Yeah he couldn’t look me in the eyes for the entire following day,” Danny snickers. “I actually asked him when the wedding would be while we were eating breakfast. He almost choked on his food!” 

The clips ends and the girls giggle.

“And still people believe Bruce Wayne isn’t a huge himbo.” 

“I do wonder how his youngest came to be. Did he cheat while his husband was away on business?”

One of the girls opens her mouth but before she can share her opinion the other interrupts.

“If you tell me you believe the rumors he’s a clone too then I’m gonna hit you, Sarah.” 

“I’m just saying that we never saw his mother in public!” 

A loudspeaker announces the next stop.

“Come on, we’ll have to hurry to get the bus.”

Their voices fade as they leave the subway. 

“Huh, isn’t that Bruce Wayne’s husband? Who is that next to him?”

“I think that’s Jason Todd, you know the one who died and came back a few years ago? Apparently he was in witness protection or something.”

“Wow, I almost didn’t recognize him. They look so familiar with each other.”

They watch as the older man cackles as he throws fries in his mouth while the younger scowls and playfully punches the man’s forearm. 

“Yeah I heard that now that he is back in Gotham he has been on several outings with the rest of Bruce’s kids.”

“Even with his youngest?”

“Yeah they went to the zoo. With his oldest son he visited him at work I think. He also went to his daughter’s performance. I’m not sure if he did something with the Drake boy.”

“Talking about the devil…”

The door to the Batburger opens, Tim Drake as well as the rest of Bruce Wayne’s brood following him. The older man cheerfully greets them, ruffling the hair of Tim as he sits down next to him. Soon their happy chatter fills the fast food restaurant and the ones watching them move on to other topics. 

“I was skeptical but they do make a good pair.”

Bruce Wayne and his husband are greeting their guests for the charity with matching suits and beaming smiles. Bruce leans to whisper something in the man’s ear and he nods. He politely excuses himself before he hurries out of the room with a champagne glass in hand. 

“Indeed. I’m a bit surprised how well adjusted his husband is, considering I can’t recall ever seeing him at a gala.”

Bruce watches the man go with a genuine smile before he turns back to the people surrounding him.

“That brings me back to when Mr. Wayne first returned to Gotham. I can’t help but feel he looks more at ease now.”

“I know what you mean. He’s mellowed out a lot over the years. To think he had a secret lover he had been hiding all this time…”

“And he seems to be getting along with his kids too. Talking about them-”

Damian Wayne approaches his father, telling him something. Bruce hums before he excuses himself and his son as they go in the direction his husband had gone too. The two high society members quickly forgot about the strangeness of it. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tim Drake so serious.”

“To think that Mr. Wayne would have died without his husband there- It sickens me.”

“The fact that his son has to hold the press conference must mean his injuries are even worse than speculated.”

“I heard that he might need to relearn to walk too.”

“His husband looked furious when the reporters swarmed them once they arrived at the scene — honestly I would be too.”

“They have no shame.”

“I wouldn’t want to be them or the Clown now.”

“I can’t believe Red Robin and Signal let him slip away. Where were Batman and Robin anyway?”

“I have no idea either. And here I thought Batman favors Mr. Wayne and his family.”

“It did seem that way. If the Clown washes up dead, I’m betting on Mr. Wayne’s husband.”

“One can only hope.”

Danny opens the door with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Those damn vultures. If he had known how annoying they would be, he would have convinced Bruce to go live with him in the Infinite Realms — although he knows that despite their love for each other, his need for revenge had outweighed everything else once he finished his travels across the world. 

He shakes his head and steps in the room, eyes trailing to the bed — Bruce should be still out on pain medications-

“Bruce!” Danny chides when he sees the man struggling to stand up from where he is seated on his bed. “What are you doing?”

He hurries to the man’s side and helps him back into the bed as he groans.

“What happened?”

Danny frowns as he sits down the chair next to his bedside. It pains him to see Bruce so obviously weak, face drenched in sweat — if he finds that Clown, he’ll-

“There was a Rogue attack during the charity gala,” Danny explains as he pushes away the dark thoughts — he can plan with Jason later. He is sure the boy will take him up on the offer. “Don’t you remember?”

“What about the target?”

Danny sighs as he leans back, eyes tired — he hadn’t slept a single wink since the incident, but leave it to Bruce to be concerned about anything other than his own health.

“Tim and Cass managed to detain them. We got surprised before you and Damian could change into your costumes.”

Danny knits his eyebrows together as Bruce raises a hand to his temple, obviously straining his memory to recall what happened. 

“You should rest, darling,” Danny leans forward and puts his hands over the man’s left hand. “My ectoplasm sped up things, but you were quite hurt. I'll tell the kids that you are awake.”

He moves to stand but Bruce grasps his wrist before he can move from his spot. It’s feather light — nothing like the reliable, strong grip Bruce normally has. Danny gnaws at his lips as he waits for Bruce to compose himself. 

“Stay,” he says, voice exhausted before he murmurs, “please.”

If this were any other circumstances Danny would have snorted at the man’s display of rather lacking emotional vulnerability, but this is also the first time in many years that he has seen the man seriously hurt and had been powerless to prevent it even though he had been right there. The comfort Bruce is seeking right now — it’s also something Danny needs. To make sure the man is still alive. 

The man scoots over as Danny climbs in the hospital bed and pulls him closer once Danny makes himself comfortable. Danny falls asleep to the rhythmic, slow sound of the man’s heartbeat.

Danny wakes up to hushed voices talking. He keeps his eyes closed as he becomes aware of his surroundings.There’s a hand in his hair and he can hear the rumble of Bruce’s chest as he speaks-

“-He looks too exhausted.”

“You should have seen him when he brought you to the ambulance,” Jason chuckles. “I thought he was gonna bite the next reporter that shoved themselves in his way.”

“We can be glad Daniel was there Father,” Damian says before he hesitates. “I don’t think I would have been able..:”

He trails off and the atmosphere turns somber. 

“Has there been a press conference yet?” Bruce asks as he shifts to hold Danny a bit closer.

“Yes, Tim took care of it,” Jason says. “He and Dick will come by tomorrow.”

“Very well,” Danny can feel Bruce nodding. “Go return to the manor, it’s getting late and I’m sure Alfred won’t appreciate you coming home after curfew.” 

Danny doesn’t need to open his eyes to know Jason is probably rolling his eyes.

“You say as if all your kids aren’t running around as vigilantes at night,” Jason says. “Besides I’m going to one of my safe houses for the night.”

Bruce grunts, displeased and Jason sighs. 

“Fine I’ll go to the manor,” he gives in. “But only because these are special circumstances.”

Bruce lets out a hum, now obviously pleased.

“Should we wake Danny?”

“No, Iet him sleep,” Bruce says, before a bit of amusement slips into his tone. “I’m sure the nurse will let it be once she recognizes him as Bruce Wayne’s husband.”

Jason scoffs, but doesn’t protest. Damian says goodbye to his father before both of them leave. It’s several minutes later that Bruce chuckles.

“I know that you are awake.”

Danny opens one eye, peaking at Bruce who is looking at him with a soft smile. He’s propped up against the headboard and Danny is relieved to see him looking better than when he stepped in the room a few hours ago. 

Danny sits up and raises an eyebrow.

“My breathing?” he asks and Bruce snorts. 

“It doesn’t need a Detective to notice that you suddenly started breathing again although you didn’t while you were asleep.”

Danny huffs out a breath — that tell is the only reason why Danny can never deceive the man. 

“I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation,” Danny says as he leans against the man.

Bruce frowns as he tucks Danny into his side.

“Have they-”

“They all have been very accepting and lovely Bruce,” Danny interrupts. “You have good kids. I just feel bad that I have been monopolizing their attention. After all, you are their father even if some of them try to deny it.”

“You are now too,” Bruce says, surprising Danny, “if you want.”

Danny smiles as he answers, “I know. But that’s up to them.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone who can refuse you.”

Danny snorts.

“You are just biased, darling.”

Bruce shrugs, expression content. 

“Guilty as charged.”

Danny laughs as he shakes his head. 

Yeah, they’ll be fine — no matter what others might think about them. (And if he has to kill a Clown for that to happen, he will gladly do so.)

[hivemuthur]

The Game of Teaching Body - Ch. 3.

viktorxfemale!reader mature! (for now, I will mark later chapters as explicit when the time comes)

AU university, AU modern era, slow burn, frenemies to lovers, teasing, pinning, banter, eventual romance and therefore smut, Viktor is simultaneously a menace and needs a hug, TA Viktor

Ch.1. | Ch.2. | Ch.4. | Ch.5. | Ch.6 | Ch.7. | Ch.8. | Ch.9. | Ch.10. | Ch.11. | Ch.12.

word count: 5,7K

tag: #the game of teaching body

summary: I don't even know. Just... read it. Trigger warning for this chapter: Hamilton, The Musical.

Cross-posted on AO3 + POV3rd Person Version

—

“How come you’re in the science department and doing a theatre gig during Open Days?” Sue asked, lying sideways on her bed, her legs resting on the wall and crinkling up her Blur poster. Her hair was splayed across the floor as she ate a lollipop, following your pacing with nothing but the movement of her eyes.

“Apparently, Theodor is violently ill, and Hale volunteered my flesh in a ritual,” you scoffed. Ridiculous. You’d told Hale there was no way in hell, but he had thrown himself at your feet, weeping theatrically in front of his entire group, while they chanted, “Do it, do it!” like some cult.

You picked up the pieces of costume Hale had brought you after the fitting. They were supposed to be tailored to your size, yet everything was still slightly too big. “There’s no one else in this world who knows Hamilton by heart,” you muttered bitterly. At that moment, you cursed your good memory and your love of musicals more than ever.

“And it’s like… fine that you’re going to play… a Black guy?” Sue whispered the last part, as if it were illegal to even say it. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“Sue… he wasn’t Black, Jesus. It’s just the actor... ah, whatever. Will you come?” you pleaded, your voice laced with desperation. It was clear you wouldn’t go through with it unless Sue promised to cheer you on and then make fun of you for the rest of your days together.

“Y/N. Look at me,” Sue said, attempting to make a serious face as the lollipop left her mouth with a quiet pop. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“I don’t deserve you,” you said, crouching down to kiss Sue’s forehead before licking her face for good measure.

“Ugh, you’re so gross. Break a leg!” Sue shouted after you as you ran out, as though you were, well, running out of time.

You tore down the corridor like a madwoman, half-dressed in 18th-century men’s attire because you’d promised Hale you’d make it to rehearsal. Taking a sharp turn around the corner, your forehead collided violently with something hard, and the sound of metal clattering on the tiled floor filled your ears.

Groaning, you rubbed your head and looked up to see that you’d knocked Viktor clean off his feet. What hit your forehead was a hardback version of Bioengineering Fundamentals. Jayce, standing beside him, had to prop himself against the wall to keep from falling over with laughter.

“Jesus, Viktor, I’m so fucking sorry,” you blurted, scrambling to your feet and grabbing him by the waist to help him up. He was so shocked he didn’t say a word. Finally, once you’d managed to gather his scattered notes and hand them back to him, he started laughing.

“Is there a burning need to found a country somewhere?” he asked with a grin, sending Jayce into another round of hysterical laughter.

You tried to regain your composure but failed, laughing along with them. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?” you asked, shooting Viktor a glance and frowning in a friendly way.

The moment felt strange. You hadn’t addressed the A- you’d received on your infamous paper, and you’d been meaning to ask him about it. But he’d fled the classroom before you could ambush him, and it had been like that for the past two weeks.

“Well, for your information, I am helping a friend in need,” you said, patting Jayce’s shoulder as he wheezed with laughter, wiping tears from his face.

“And who are you supposed to be?” Jayce barely managed to ask through his hysterical fit.

“Aaron Burr, pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Before you could think, you took Jayce’s hand in yours, bowed, and placed an introductory peck on it. Thankfully, Jayce thought nothing of it, and the gesture sent him reeling with laughter again. You just rolled your eyes and added, “No time to explain. Come see, the show is in the main courtyard in… shit, in thirty minutes.”

You were about to run off again, but Viktor’s questioning look stopped you. Over your shoulder, you hastily called, “I’ll tell you over a beer!” and fled.

Wait. Had you just invited both Jayce and Viktor to witness your ridiculous performance? And invited Viktor to have a beer with you? That was it—you had completely lost your mind.

Bursting through the backstage doors, you were half out of breath, clutching your costume hat in one hand and your scarf in the other. Hale spun around dramatically, his hands thrown up as though he’d been about to make a grand declaration to the heavens.

“Y/N! My saving grace, my knight in shining breeches—you’re here!” he exclaimed, rushing over to you as if your delay had shaved years off his life. “I was moments away from throwing myself upon the mercy of the audience and telling them the show must not go on. But you’ve come to save us!”

“Cut the theatrics, Hale. I’m here, aren’t I?” you huffed, pulling on the hat and shaking out the rest of your costume. You hadn’t even had time to finish dressing properly.

“Barely,” Hale teased, though his expression softened as he rested his hands on your shoulders. “Really, Y/N. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

You waved him off, pretending to be nonchalant despite the flush creeping into your cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. You owe me your firstborn or something.”

The rest of the theatre group began to gather around, buzzing with pre-performance energy. Hale snapped into action, leading them into what you could only describe as the most bizarre pre-show ritual you’d ever witnessed. It involved everyone joining hands in a circle, chanting what sounded like a mix of inspirational quotes and nonsense phrases, all while Hale stood in the centre, waving his arms like some kind of benevolent priest.

Trying not to laugh, you leaned in and whispered to him, “You know you’re definitely going to start a cult one day, right?”

Hale turned to you with a mock-offended expression. “How dare you, Mr. Burr? This is high art.” He extended his hand toward you, palm up, a twinkle of mischief in his eye. “Now, are you ready?”

You smirked, placing your hand in his with exaggerated formality. “No time like the present, Mr. Hamilton.”

Hale grinned wide, squeezing your hand once before leading the group toward the stage.

When you stepped out into the courtyard, the cold evening air hit you, but the sight of the assembled crowd gave you no time to focus on it. The makeshift stage was set with a minimalist backdrop, and the audience sat on scattered benches and blankets in the open space. As Hale began his introduction, your eyes scanned the crowd.

It didn’t take long to spot Sue. Your friend stood right at the front, waving frantically and holding up crossed fingers. “Go, Y/N!” Sue yelled, loud enough for the whole audience to hear.

You groaned, covering your face in mock embarrassment, but you couldn’t help smiling. Your gaze drifted to the opposite side of the crowd, where you caught sight of Jayce and Viktor. Jayce, as expected, gave you an enthusiastic thumbs-up, grinning ear to ear. Viktor, standing beside him, met your gaze and offered a subtle nod. His smile was small but unmistakably amused, his golden eyes sparkling in the glow of the stage lights.

A flutter of nerves ran through you, but you straightened your posture and took a deep breath.

Hale’s voice boomed across the courtyard. “Ladies, gentlemen, and beautiful creatures, friends, and foes, tonight you are in for a treat! Our school prides itself on breaking all boundaries, and tonight is no exception. I’m honoured to announce that we have a very special guest joining our cast—a true star from the science department!”

The audience chuckled, and you found yourself bowing awkwardly as Hale gestured toward you with a flourish. You waved sheepishly, suppressing your own laughter at the absurdity of it all. It didn’t help that the audience seemed doubly amused by the fact that you were playing a male role. Boundaries broken, big time.

“Now,” Hale continued, his dramatic flair still in full force, “let us take you back to the revolution!”

You held back a laugh, planted your feet firmly on the stage, and braced yourself for what was sure to be the most ridiculous evening of your academic career. Closing your eyes, you waited for your cue. It was just a couple of songs, and you really knew them by heart. You decided to sink into your role completely, just as you had during those boring summers in the Sheffield suburbs when you and Hale acted out the entire Hamilton soundtrack in your backyard. You had been training to be Aaron Burr for at least five years.

When you performed the first song, you were timid. Alexander Hamilton started with a gentle recitation, balancing on the verge of rap and poetry. Thankfully, you weren’t the main singer in this number, but you did catch the crowd’s surprised expressions as they locked onto the stage chemistry between you and Hale. As you felt the voices of the group swelling behind you, your courage kicked in, and you let yourself sink into the experience. You sang bravely with the choir, hit your cues, and couldn’t help but smile when you saw Sue clutching her chest in awe and Jayce swaying to the music. Viktor, of course, didn’t move an inch.

The next part was far harder. Wait for It was entirely Aaron Burr’s song, and you had no time to transition from the comfort of performing with the group to the isolation of a soloist. As you walked up and down the stage, singing your lines, you closed your eyes and let the music carry you once again. But as you sang the verse I’m willing to wait for it, it struck you that the words felt far removed from the American Revolution. You weren’t singing about history anymore—you were singing about something personal, something closer to your own life. And so, you poured your heart into it.

The crowd was enraptured, and as the song came to an end, you felt tears welling up in your eyes. Not for any particular reason—just the release of tension, the rush of it all.

They finished the set with Non Stop, and it was brilliant. This was what Hale was born for: an artistic, half-sung, half-rapped banter that he got to perform with his best friend while wearing ridiculous, fluffy shirts and oversized hats. You watched him, pride swelling in your chest.

It wasn’t perfect—and yet, it was. The crowd laughed at your mid-song mock conversation, and you had to stifle your own giggles at how absurd it must have looked. Hale was over a full head taller than you, and yet here you were, sparring and singing like equals.

The applause was deafening. You and Hale exchanged a quick, wide-eyed glance before stepping forward to bow. The crowd’s enthusiasm only grew louder, forcing you both to retreat backstage before being called out again, not once but three times. You couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, your cheeks flushed as you waved to the audience. You had no idea how you’d gotten roped into this, but somehow, it felt worth it.

On your third return to the stage, the crowd’s energy reached a new level. Sue stood in the front row, pumping her fists in the air and yelling, “Aaron Burr! Aaron Burr!” The chant caught on like wildfire, spreading through the audience until it echoed off the courtyard walls. Your face turned an even deeper shade of red as you covered your face with your hands in embarrassment.

Hale, ever the showman, raised his hands dramatically, silencing the crowd. “Ladies, gentlemen, and all beautiful creatures,” he declared, striding toward you with the exaggerated flair of a Shakespearean actor. “Clearly, the world is not ready for her!” He paused for effect, then bowed deeply before you, extending the microphone as though it were Excalibur. “I give you... Aaron Burr.”

You shook your head, grinning despite yourself, and took the microphone with mock solemnity. “Thank you, Sir Hamilton,” you said, your voice dripping with exaggerated formality. You turned to the audience, gesturing toward Hale with the mic. “First of all, I’d like to clarify that I am, in fact, his hostage. This whole performance? His idea. I’m just a humble victim of his orchestrated chaos.”

The audience laughed, and you spotted Sue in the front, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

“And as you can see,” you continued, a mischievous glint in your eye, “the science department at this fine university has so much to offer. I mean, we clearly do everything around here.” Your words were met with more laughter and applause, and as you glanced out into the crowd, your gaze landed on Viktor.

To your surprise, he was laughing. Not just smiling politely but laughing—his shoulders shaking slightly as his lips curled into a grin. For a moment, you froze. You weren’t sure what to make of it, but the sight warmed you in a way you weren’t prepared for.

Hale leaned into the microphone, snapping you out of your thoughts. “All right, all right, that’s enough of a spotlight for Mr. Burr here,” he teased, taking back the mic. “Now give it up one more time for the entire cast!”

The crowd erupted again, and you took another bow, trying not to stare too long in Viktor’s direction as you exited the stage. As soon as you stepped off, Sue threw her arms around you in a tight hug.

“You didn’t tell me you’re a fucking genius!” Sue practically screamed.

“Ah, not much to do around Sheffield,” you laughed, happy but relieved it was over. There really wasn’t much for them to do around Sheffield, so you all knew your musicals better than your own mothers.

“I too bow to your genius, Mr. Burr,” Jayce’s voice startled you as he dramatically bowed before pulling you into a tight hug. “What the hell, Y/N? What are you even doing in the science department?”

“I… wanna be in the room where it happens,” you quipped, your grin widening as Hale laughed loudly—the only one to catch the reference.

“I had no idea you had it in you,” Viktor said, his tone carefully measured. He looked like he was trying not to meet your gaze, but there was something in his expression—a faint flicker of admiration he was trying to hide. You, caught up in your post-performance high, mistook it for mockery.

“Oh, you have no idea. I have so much in me, Viktor. You’re not ready for me,” you fired back, your inhibitions long gone as you basked in the adrenaline and laughter around you.

Hale’s arm slid around your shoulders from behind, pulling you close as he grinned mischievously. “Pub, pub, pub,” he chanted, looking expectantly at the group.

The others exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. Hale pumped his fist in victory, letting out a triumphant “Yes!” as they began gathering their things.

“Wait, I can’t go dressed as Aaron Burr!” you exclaimed, tugging at the ridiculous fluffy shirt you were still wearing.

“You are Aaron Burr, my love,” Hale declared with dramatic flair, spinning you toward the door as though you were about to take the stage again.

“That would mean one day I’m going to kill you, Hale,” you retorted, crossing your arms in mock indignation.

“Darlin’, dying by your hand would be a blessing,” Hale shot back with a flourish, clasping his hands to his chest as if you’d already delivered the fatal blow.

The group erupted into laughter, but Viktor’s voice cut through, calm and measured as always. “It suits you,” he said, his gaze lingering on you, his lips quirked in that rare, faint smile that always seemed to unnerve you.

You blinked, caught off guard. “What does?”

“The outfit,” Viktor clarified, gesturing subtly to your absurd costume. “It is bold and... untraditional. Very much like you.”

You weren’t sure if that was meant to be a compliment or an insult, but the warmth in his tone made your cheeks flush, nonetheless. “Well, I’m glad someone appreciates my theatrical side,” you said, quickly looking away to avoid overthinking the exchange.

“Let’s go already!” Jayce called, clapping his hands to corral the group.

“Fine, but if anyone recognizes me in public, I’m blaming all of you,” you muttered, pulling the coat Hale handed you over your costume.

“And if they don’t recognize you,” Hale added with a wink, “we’ll just have to start singing again.”

“Oh god, no.” You groaned, but the grin tugging at your lips betrayed you.

The group headed out into the crisp night air, your laughter echoing through the hallways as you made your way to the pub—you, still dressed as Aaron Burr, walking just a little taller with the glow of the performance still lingering in your chest.

You arrived at the pub late, yet it was still packed with current and future students seeking refuge after the Camden Open Days. Hale insisted on getting you drunk at his own expense, so when everyone finally had a drink in hand, the group settled by the fireplace, next to a pair of freshers too occupied with devouring each other’s faces to notice.

“I didn’t think it was possible for someone to be having an even better time than us tonight,” Hale said in an exaggerated whisper, clearly hoping the couple would flinch. They, of course, didn’t.

Jayce and Viktor sat on the couch; Sue crouched on her heels by Hale’s head, while you propped yourself against Hale’s hips as he sprawled with his back to the fire, propping his head on his elbow. His eyes lit up as he spotted Mel approaching the group.

“Thank you for adopting me; my bitches ditched me,” she said with an apologetic smile, planting a loud kiss on Jayce’s cheek before settling on his lap. “I hear we have a new rising star?” she added, bowing her head in recognition toward you.

“Please, I don’t think I can handle so much fame,” you groaned theatrically, palming your face. “But I’m honoured to finally meet you,” you added with a warm smile.

“Honey, I wouldn’t miss this opportunity—Hale doesn’t shut up about you,” Mel teased, grinning at Hale, who accepted the jab with stoic calmness.

“I don’t see why I’d ever have to shut up about her,” he replied, deadpan. “She’s the love of my life.” You only smiled knowingly. He meant every word of it.

Mel raised an eyebrow at Hale’s declaration, then turned her attention to Viktor and Jayce, a sly grin spreading across her face. “Speaking of friends for life—when are you two finally going to accept my invitation to hang out with my girls?”

“I thought you said they just abandoned you?” Jayce asked, faking concern as he patted Mel’s head with exaggerated pity. “I’ll have to have a word with them first.”

You raised your eyebrows, a realization dawning on you—had Viktor lied to you? You watched as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly searching for a clever response. Yes, he was definitely busted.

He was saved by Sue, who hadn’t looked up from her phone the entire time. She raised her hand, as if trying to answer a question in class. “Guys, do you mind if I… well, ditch you?”

Five pairs of questioning eyes turned to her, and she sighed before adding, “I might or might not have a date.”

“Sue! Spill the tea, or we’re not letting you go!” Hale exclaimed, bouncing upright and causing you—who were still leaning against him—to jolt and spill a little of your beer.

Sue played coy for a moment, but then she decided to own it. “Alice. She’s from your group. She… approached me after your show.”

Hale clapped his hands together dramatically. “In that case, I sense the rise of another power couple! Sue, you have my blessing.” He placed a hand over the crown of her head with mock benediction, earning a round of laughter.

You leaned forward, curiosity piqued. “Will you be coming back tonight, or should I plan to sleep with one eye open in case Alice kidnaps you?”

Sue simply flashed a mischievous smile. “No promises.”

Mel smirked, resting her head on Jayce’s shoulder. “Well, in that case, Jayce, my room will also be free tonight. Don’t go breaking anything, though. My deposit’s on the line.”

Jayce groaned in exasperation, but his ears flushed red, which only made Mel laugh harder.

Your gaze drifted to Viktor, catching the subtle shift in his posture. It seemed the conversation was circling back to him, and he looked like he was already bracing for it. Before anyone could call him out, he cleared his throat. “Well, in that case, I’ll leave the royal couple to their moment of glory. You’ve earned it after such a successful evening.” He offered a polite smile and rose from his seat.

Hale straightened and turned to you, offering you an exaggeratedly regal nod. “What do you say, my love? Do you want to hang with your old man a little longer?”

You grinned, raising your drink in mock solemnity. “Always.”

With that, the group exchanged goodbyes, Sue leaving with a conspiratorial wink, Mel tugging Jayce toward the door, and Viktor giving a brief nod before slipping into the night.

Once you were alone, Hale sighed contentedly and stretched out in his seat. “Well, Mr. Burr, looks like it’s just us. Let’s reminisce about how we conquered the stage, shall we?”

You laughed, leaning back against him. “You mean how you carried me through the whole thing? Sure, I’m in.”

“You were amazing. But you’re no Aaron Burr, I hope you know that,” Hale said seriously as he leaned you against himself, pulled you closer to his chest, and wrapped his arm around your shoulders as was his habit. When you didn’t respond, he added, “If anything, you’re Hamilton.”

“I think I’ve been all of them at different points in my life... but thank you.” You squeezed his hand and smiled to yourself, the high of the performance slowly fading, leaving you tired but content.

“And how’s it going with Mr. Grumpy? Still making your life hard? Do I need to have a word with him?” Hale mused, gently rocking you back and forth in his arms. He listened through enough rants about Viktor to see where this was going.

You sighed, leaning your head against Hale's shoulder. “I don’t know,” you admitted. “One moment, I want to gouge his eyes out. The next, he secretly fixes my test and then avoids me for two weeks, just to make it impossible to say thank you.”

Hale chuckled softly. “Why do you think he does that?” He’d seen enough clumsy advances in his lifetime to spot one from a mile away. This one was a piece of cake.

You shrugged, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. “Probably bored out of his mind. All I ever see him doing outside of class is working on his PhD thesis with Jayce.”

Hale tilted his head, a sly grin creeping across his face. “Or…?”

You scoffed and straightened up. “Please, don’t be ridiculous.” The thought was absurd. If anything, you had the potential for a competitive friendship—food for the brain and all that.

Hale’s grin softened, and he shifted, turning you to face him. He placed his hands firmly on your shoulders, his gaze suddenly serious. The theatrical Hale disappeared, replaced by the steadfast best friend you rarely got to see. “Listen to me,” he said quietly, his voice steady. “I don’t care how many times I have to do this, but I’ll keep doing it until you understand what you are.”

You averted your eyes, your face heating up. You let your head hang slightly as you muttered, “Yeeees, I know—I’m a queen.”

Hale shook his head and tilted your chin up so you couldn’t avoid his gaze. “No,” he said firmly. “You are a king. And you bow to no one.”

You blinked, the weight of his words sinking in. For a moment, your chest tightened with emotion, but you managed a small, lopsided smile. “I really fucking love you, you know?” you murmured, your voice quieter now.

***

Hale gave you a long hug by the fountain before you both went your separate ways to your designated dorm buildings. He kissed your forehead and tucked a cigarette behind your ear, for when you’d inevitably want to brood with a smoke and a cup of coffee.

You took a quick shower, slid into your pyjamas, and decided to make use of the cigarette. You wandered to one of the secluded corners of the dorm, where you could lean out of the window and contemplate life with a fag and a cup of tea instead.

You were deep in thought, analysing everything Hale had said to you that evening when a quiet, deliberate grunt startled you.

“I don’t think such behaviour is legal here, Mr. Burr,” came a dry voice. Viktor appeared out of nowhere, leaning casually against the windowsill where you were curled up.

You let out a sharp breath, your hand instinctively going to your chest. "Jesus, you made my soul leave my body for a moment."

Viktor's lips curved into a small, amused smirk. "Ah, it means you know exactly that you are doing a bad thing." His hand extended, reaching out to steal a huff of your smoke.

You rolled your eyes, leaning back against the window. "Please give me a break, I’ve been a good girl all this time." You couldn’t help yourself and gave him an exaggerated eyelash bat as you passed the cigarette to him.

Viktor’s gaze lingered on you for a moment, then he tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "Have you?" he asked, making sure your eyes were fixed on his lips curling around the cigarette filter.

He paused to inhale, his voice lowering slightly. "Been a good girl?" And exhaled the smoke into your face.

You felt a weird lump forming in your throat, your fingers tightening around your cup of tea. You knew Viktor was pushing your buttons, but part of you couldn’t help but enjoy it—though you weren’t about to admit that out loud.

"I mean, I try," you replied, your voice casual, even though your pulse had quickened slightly.

Viktor remained silent for a moment, studying you carefully, the playful smirk still lingering at the edges of his lips. "Hmm," he said finally, a thoughtful tone in his voice, as he passed the cigarette back to you, your fingers brushing. "Trying doesn’t always mean succeeding."

You narrowed your eyes at him, feeling your defences rise. "And who’s to say what’s a success or not?" The implication made you uneasy. Or excited, all the same. Your chest tightened, and you straightened up a little, leaning slightly away from him, as if the tiny bit of distance between you could somehow shield you.

"Someone who’s been paying attention," Viktor replied softly, his gaze never leaving yours. His voice was smooth, almost coaxing, and his posture remained relaxed, leaning casually against the windowsill. His eyes glinted, knowing he was starting to get under your skin—just as you were getting under his. Especially after today, when he had seen you in a completely different light.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter if I am a good girl or not, as now you have joined me in my crime, and we can share a cell when they come for us.” You let out a quiet laugh to cover the discomfort taking over you.

"Oh, I will deny everything." Viktor's lips curled into a smirk, the playful gleam in his eyes not quite hiding the challenge behind them. He took a drag from the cigarette that was being passed between you, exhaling slowly, the smoke swirling between you like a silent declaration of intent.

"You’re good at that, aren’t you?" You raised an eyebrow, your tone teasing, but there was an edge to it now—more biting than before. You leaned back slightly, crossing your arms over your chest.

"And what are you getting at now?" Viktor's voice lowered just a touch, as he studied you with an expression that bordered on amusement and curiosity. His eyes never left your face, as though waiting for you to reveal something you didn’t even realise you were giving away.

"Ah, nothing, Viktor. Thank you for that test." You waved a hand dismissively, sliding off the window ledge, ready to flee. Your pulse quickened. It wasn’t just the words—they were playing a game, and you weren’t sure if you were prepared for it. Your stomach fluttered at the thought.

"I see. You have looked through me and now you can read me like an open book?" Viktor's expression shifted slightly—there was a challenge in his voice, but also something else, almost a hint of fear that he quickly masked with another drag of the cigarette.

"Precisely," you replied, your voice smooth, but a little more breathless than you meant. Your fingers tightened around your cup of tea, the warmth of it grounding you, even as Viktor’s presence seemed to fill the space around you. You wanted to stand your ground, but his proximity was starting to unsettle you in ways you didn’t expect.

There was a beat of silence between you. Viktor took a step closer, watching you cautiously, his body language suddenly more intense. The playful edge in his voice was gone, replaced by something more serious.

You felt your heart rate spike. "What’s that look for?" you asked, half-expecting him to keep pushing, to keep testing you.

Viktor tilted his head slightly, lowering his gaze as if studying your every movement. "You think you have me figured out, don’t you?" His tone was a bit quieter now, almost thoughtful. You knew nothing.

"Maybe," you said, your voice faltering for a brief moment as you tried to regain control of the conversation. Your eyes flickered to the ground, then back up to him, a challenge sparking in your gaze. "But I’m starting to think that’s part of your charm. Always keeping people guessing. It’s exhausting, though." You tried to sound nonchalant, but even you could hear the tension in your voice.

Viktor didn’t answer right away. Instead, he leaned in just a fraction closer, the tension between you growing thicker. He took a long drag from the cigarette before exhaling toward you, the smoke swirling lazily around you both.

"Maybe you’re starting to enjoy the challenge," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, a subtle yet deliberate provocation laced into his tone. “I didn’t fix your paper. That was Heimerdinger’s decision,” he added, lying without a flicker of hesitation. At this point, it felt necessary.

Your chest tightened, and you swallowed hard, your breath catching as you felt the weight of his gaze on you—sharp, unrelenting, and entirely too perceptive. "Maybe I am," you replied to his tease, your voice quieter than you intended. It trembled just slightly, betraying your unease. You weren’t sure when it had become so difficult to breathe. “And… um… that’s good to know.”

Viktor studied you for a long moment, his lips curling into a small, almost imperceptible smile. He didn’t say anything at first. Then, slowly, he took a step back, handing you the cigarette again. His fingers brushed lightly against yours as he passed it to you, the touch lingering for a split second longer than necessary. Your breath hitched, and your pulse quickened.

"I think you’re more like me than you care to admit, Y/N," Viktor said, his tone low and measured, his gaze steady and unyielding.

You stared at him, your mind racing, your heart thudding in your chest. For a moment, you couldn’t bring yourself to respond. His words felt like a dare, a challenge you couldn’t ignore, even though part of you wanted to. "Don’t flatter yourself," you managed, your voice steadier now as you tried to recover your footing.

He chuckled softly, the sound laced with something serious rather than mocking. “I wasn’t trying to. But I think you might be right. We’ll see.” He turned, starting to walk away, only to pause and glance back over his shoulder. “Were you to decide there’s something you don’t know yet and need help—my office door is always open to you.”

You lingered for a moment, watching Viktor as he walked away, his steps steady and calm. You took a slow drag from the cigarette, letting the smoke fill your lungs before exhaling into the cool night air.

“Hey, Viktor?” you called out, your voice softer now, almost teasing.

He turned his head slightly, his profile outlined by the faint light from the hallway. “Yes?”

“Say hi to Mel’s friends from me next time you see them,” you said, a sly smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

Viktor’s expression remained unreadable for a moment, his eyes narrowing just enough to signal he understood your jab. Then, without missing a beat, he replied, “Go to sleep, Y/N,” his voice low and quiet, but with enough bite to draw a small laugh from you. You shook your head, flicking the ash from the cigarette as you watched him leave.

Your thoughts lingered on him longer than you wanted to admit. Viktor, with his sharp words, his unreadable smirks, and the maddening way he seemed to see right through you. You closed your eyes briefly, exhaling one last trail of smoke before stubbing out the cigarette. “Go to sleep, Y/N,” you muttered under your breath, mimicking his accent. Your lips curved into a faint smile despite yourself. But sleep wouldn’t come easily tonight, you knew that much.

[paishoeyeroh]

Bearer And The Bound

☰ Pairings: Sukuna x Reader, Slight Megumi x Reader

✧ Summary: When you stumble upon an ancient ring in an abandoned house, you unknowingly bind yourself to a cruel, powerful demon who thrives on torment. Trapped in a reluctant bond and forced to navigate a shared existence, Sukuna plots your downfall while you fight to survive his sadistic games. But as your fates entwine and secrets of Sukuna’s dark past begin to unravel, the lines between enemy and ally start to blur.

✧ Tags: True form Sukuna, Enemies to Lovers, Dark Romance, Demonic Bonds, Heavy Angst, Slow Burn, Sukuna is Bad at Feelings, Possessive Sukuna, Tension, Forced Proximity, Eventual Smut, College/University AU, More Tags To Be Added Later

✧ Status: Ongoing

✧ You can also read it on AO3

☰ CHAPTER ONE: The First Command

Chapter Summary: A seemingly harmless trip to an abandoned house takes a dark turn when you stumble upon a mysterious ring.

“There is no way I’m going into some creepy old house. What is wrong with you, Yuji?” Nobara says, her arms crossing over her chest defiantly. “Do you know how many diseases I could get just from walking around in a place like that? It’s probably crawling with mold and rats.” She wrinkles her nose, making a face as if she’s disgusted just thinking about it. And to be honest, you have to agree with her. Yuji first brought up visiting the “haunted house” as he had called it earlier in the day, after having heard about it from his classmates.

“I heard some of the other students talking about it in class,” he exclaimed excitedly. “Apparently, people keep hearing things late at night coming from that old house. They said no one’s gone inside in years, because anyone who does comes out freaked out of their minds. Sounds like the perfect place to check out, right?!”

Since then, he had continued to bring it up, trying to convince you, Nobara, and Megumi to join him.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun!” He looks around at everyone animatedly, his eyes shining with enthusiasm. “Just think about it—it’s like the perfect adventure! People say it’s haunted by some ancient spirit or something. Doesn’t that sound awesome? I’ve always wanted to see a ghost!”

Nobara scoffs, still unimpressed. “A ghost? Seriously? You think some lame ghost story is gonna get me to go into that dump?” She flips her hair over her shoulder, rolling her eyes.

Yuji copies her stance, crossing his own arms, a teasing grin taking over his face. “I mean, if you’re too chicken, Nobara, it’s fine. Just say that.”

“Excuse me? Chicken? What are you, twelve?” Nobara snaps, her eyes narrowing. “I’m not scared of some old building or dumb ghosts. I just don’t want to waste my time with pointless bullshit.”

She looks over to you and Megumi—who’ve been watching this whole ordeal in silence—for support, but when she only gets blank stares in response, she sighs in exasperation.

“Fine. But if I’m going, they’re going too.” She points a perfectly manicured finger towards you and Megumi.

You shift on your feet, feeling nervous about the idea of going into a creepy abandoned house, haunted or not. You enjoy watching the occasional scary movie about ghosts or other paranormal entities, but when it comes to the real thing, you’d rather stay as far away as possible.

“I don’t know, guys… what if something goes wrong?”

Yuji turns his attention to you, placing a warm, reassuring hand on your shoulder. “Look, we’ll be in and out. Just a quick look around, and then we can say we did it. It’ll be an adventure! Plus, what if something really does happen, and you miss it? You’ll regret it for sure.”

You chew your lip, mulling over Yuji’s words. Man, he’s more manipulative than anyone gives him credit for, and it’s working. After all, you wouldn’t want to be the only one hearing the story secondhand if something exciting actually did happen. You hate missing out.

“Alright… I’ll go,” you answer, looking to the ground nervously.

“That’s the spirit!” He pats you on the shoulder a little too enthusiastically with the hand that’s still lingering there, making you jolt. He turns to Megumi, expectantly. “Megumi? Whaddya say?”

Megumi rolls his eyes and sighs, looking thoroughly irritated, though that isn’t an out of the ordinary expression for the dark haired boy.

“I had a feeling you’d drag me into this. I’ll come. But—“ he interrupts Yuji mid cheer, “I’m only coming because if I don’t, someone,” he gives the pink-haired boy a pointed look, “is going to end up getting himself in trouble.”

“Yes! This is gonna be so fun!” Yuji exclaims, ignoring Megumi's comment as he punches the air in victory. “Come on, I’ll drive,” he exclaims over his shoulder, already heading to his car.

“Yeah, fun…” Megumi mutters under his breath, as you all start following after him, “until we’re all running for our lives.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Once you arrive at the house, it’s nearing dusk. The sun paints the sky a bright orange, and as you climb out of the car, you can hear the cicadas chirping around you, hidden away in the tall, long-forgotten grass that grows around the abandoned house in front of you. You thank whatever powers may be that Yuji has decided to drag you all here while there’s still daylight, because honestly, it looks creepy enough even now.

The house looms in front of you, a decaying remnant of what must have once been an impressive structure, though time has not been kind to it. The roof sags in the middle, as the weight over the years has bowed it down, and several of the windows are shattered, jagged shards of glass still clinging to the frames like broken teeth. Vines crawl up the sides of the house, their tendrils weaving through the cracked wooden siding as though they’ve been trying to pull the house down into the earth.

The front porch is an even sadder sight, the wood rotted and splintered from years of exposure to the elements. A broken rocking chair lies on its side, one leg missing, and the front door hangs slightly ajar, swaying ever so slightly in the breeze, the action producing the faintest creaking noise.

Even the air around the house feels different—thicker, heavier. The chirping of the cicadas and the rustle of leaves seems to die off as you approach, leaving an unnatural silence hanging in the air, as if even nature itself is avoiding it.

“Alright, let’s get this over with before I change my mind,” Nobara says, standing in front of the house tapping her foot impatiently, her voice firm.

Yuji grins wide as he steps ahead, pushing the door open further with a loud creak, revealing the dark, dust-filled interior. The door scrapes against the floor, half off its hinges, and it stirs up a cloud of debris, making you choke.

Megumi waves a hand in front of his face, trying to clear up the dust cloud. “Jesus. Watch where you step, guys. This place looks like it could collapse at any minute.” His voice is laced with caution as he glances around warily, his eyes scanning the decaying wood that makes up the floor.

Your nervousness increases as you step inside, the heavy scent of mildew making your nostrils flare. The floor groans underneath every step you take. You look around, surveying the environment. The wallpaper is peeling in long strips, and there’s holes in the walls underneath, revealing the skeletal remains of the structure. The furniture, looking like it was once grand, now lies in tatters, draped in cobwebs.

The house seems to breathe around you, the creaks and groans making it hard to tell if someone, or something, might be lurking inside. It makes your skin start to crawl.

Nobara walks ahead of you, waving a hand in front of her face to swat away a cobweb. “Ugh, this place is disgusting! I swear to god, Yuji, if I get tetanus from this…”

Yuji, already way ahead of both of you, clearly excited to explore, is shining his phone’s flashlight over every corner of the room. “You won’t! And just think of the story we’ll get to tell afterward.”

“Assuming we all make it out without the house collapsing on us,” Megumi replies dryly, trailing behind everyone. The beam from his light reveals a staircase over to the left, looking like it might crumble if anyone dared to step on it.

The group moves through the entryway and into what looks like an old living room. Everything is covered in thick layers of dust, and the once ornate carpet is faded, stained, and torn. Your flashlights cast long, eery shadows across the room.

Suddenly, there’s a faint sound, a soft scraping noise that seems to come from the far corner of the room.

Nobara spins around. “Did you guys hear that?” she asks quietly, her eyes wide.

Everyone freezes, the sound echoing in the otherwise silent house. You grip your phone tighter as your heart rate increases.

“It’s probably just the wind, right?” Yuji laughs nervously, his grin faltering.

Megumi looks at him, his voice tense. “Wind doesn’t make that kind of noise.”

You all stand still, listening intently. The scraping noise comes again, followed by rustling. Nobara raises her flashlight, shining it toward the noise, and just as she does, something small and quick darts out from behind a piece of furniture.

A rat.

“God, seriously? It’s a fucking rat,” Nobara groans in disgust, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. “I knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have come here.”

Yuji laughs, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck, “Phew, for a second there I thought we were gonna see something really freaky.”

You continue to explore the house, passing by broken picture frames, shattered glass, and the remnants of what was once someone’s home. Everything seems frozen in time, like the house has been abandoned for centuries. It fills you with a sense of sorrow, knowing that a family probably lived here once, creating happy memories within these walls.

You enter another room. A small, dusty study, by the looks of it. The wallpaper here is even more faded than the living room, barely clinging to the walls. Shelves line the walls, filled with old, crumbling books, and there’s a desk in the corner covered in papers that look too fragile to touch.

Your flashlight sweeps over the room, and as the beam lands on a small, unassuming wooden box in the corner, something catches your eye. The moment the light hits it, a soft glow reflects back at you. A ring.

The ruby stone set in the center gleams with a beautiful glow, as if it’s beckoning you toward it.

You kneel down, your fingers hesitating just over the ring.

“Woah,” you exclaim, mostly to yourself.

You carefully pick it up, turning it over in your hand. The metal feels cool and heavy, and the stone is striking—a deep, blood-red ruby that catches the light in a beautifully mesmerizing manner.

Nobara peers over your shoulder. “That’s actually… pretty nice. You should take it. I bet it’s worth something.”

“Can it really be worth something if it was left in a place like this?” Megumi asks, stepping closer to inspect the ring.

He’s probably right, you think. Although, maybe someone dropped it accidentally while they were inspecting the place, much like you’re doing now. The chances of that are slim, though, as it seems as if it was placed perfectly in the center of the wooden box you plucked it from. Like it was waiting for someone to find it.

Despite the warning signs rising in your gut, you slip it onto your right ring finger, just to keep it safe. It fits perfectly.

After another fruitless search through the rest of the house, you all decide it’s time to go.

Yuji looks disappointed, his hands shoved into his pockets as you make your way out the front door.

“Aw, man,” he pouts, glancing back at the house, “I really thought we’d see something cool. All that build up for nothing.” He throws his hands up toward the sky, falling to his knees dramatically. “This sucks big time!”

Megumi sighs exasperatedly, pulling Yuji back up to his feet by the collar of his shirt, pushing him toward his car.

“Like I said, it’s just an old house, idiot. What, did you expect some ghosts to come running out to greet you?” Nobara scolds, shaking her head.

You all pile into Yuji’s car, the atmosphere lighter now that you’re outside again, and as you drive away, you can’t stop glancing down at the ring on your finger. It seems to shimmer faintly, even in the dark. Almost like it’s alive.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

You step inside your apartment and flick the lights on, happy to finally be home. As you kick your shoes off and make your way over to your bedroom, you let out a yawn, rubbing your tired eyes.

The adrenaline rush from being in that house has left you exhausted; you don’t even bother with your usual nightly routine, instead preferring to slide underneath the blankets and straight into your bed. As you switch your bedside lamp off and the room is engulfed in darkness, you can’t help but feel like something is… off.

An unsettling feeling has suddenly washed over you. You try to shake it off.

Relax, you tell yourself, you’re just on edge from the events of the night.

Even if nothing paranormal happened in that house, it was still utterly creepy.

A few moments pass. Just as your eyes start to feel heavy, the wind outside your windows lulling you into the beginnings of sleep, your consciousness starting to fade…

You hear something.

What, you’re not sure. It’s faint at first. A creak of the floorboards, perhaps, or a barely-there whisper you can’t quite make out. It makes your heart skip a beat, a sense of dread settling itself in your gut as you lay there, unmoving, waiting to see if you hear anything else.

And you do. Louder this time.

A low, rumbling laugh. It’s mocking, and it cuts through the silence like a knife.

Your eyes snap open, panic fully rushing through you now. A sudden chill spreads through the room, the air now feeling heavy and cold. The ring, still placed on your finger, long forgotten in your exhaustion, suddenly burns hot, a searing pulse spreading from the ruby stone through your hand, making it throb. You hiss as you flex your fingers to try to ease the pain as you sit up in bed, your eyes quickly darting around the darkened room, trying to find the source of the sound.

And once your eyes fully adjust, you find it.

In the corner, just barely illuminated by the soft moonlight filtering in through your blinds, stands a figure. Tall, imposing, and unmistakably not human. His form is casted in shadow from the night, but his four glowing red eyes pierce through the darkness, locking right onto you. His grin, wide and sinister, is the only other thing you can make out in the darkness.

Your heart pounds wildly in your chest, your breath caught in your throat. He then speaks, his voice deep, rough, and dripping with cruelty.

“Did you really think that ring was yours to take, little girl?”

The malicious, pure evil in his tone makes your blood run cold. You hastily reach over to flip your lamp back on, hoping the warm light will save you, prove to you that this is a dream, that you’re just hallucinating. Surely this cannot actually be happening. But the light provides you no such comfort. If anything, it only sharpens the nightmare before you.

In the now dimly lit room, you can make out the details of the creature standing before you. His size is massive, his stature incredibly broad, with tattoo-like markings adorning his forehead, running down his cheeks, all the way to his chin, and a lone streak swiping across his nose. Blush pink hair adorns his head, flicking up off his forehead haphazardly. He looks to be wearing some sort of traditional Japanese robes, the color of deep crimson, embroidered with ancient looking symbols. That’s when you notice this entity has an extra set of arms, each of the fingers long and clawed, each nail sharp and black as night. He stands motionless, ominous energy rolling off of him in waves that make it hard for you to breathe.

Your scream finally breaks free from your throat, as his sinister laughter fills the space around you. You scramble backwards on the bed in the opposite direction of him, your instincts taking over in a rush to get as far away from him as possible. You fall off the bed with a heavy thud, landing on your back, pulling another sharp cry from your lips, this time from pain.

In one swift movement, faster than you can blink, the figure stands over you crumpled on the floor, his face gleaming with a wicked delight. He raises one of his hands, his long, clawed fingers curling, as if preparing to strike. Your arms fly over your head in response, trying to protect yourself from whatever impending blow he was no doubt about to impose on you. You shut your eyes tight as frightened tears start to spill down your cheeks.

“Please,” you sob, “don’t kill me.”

Your voice cracks with desperation, and to your surprise, the room falls eerily silent. You stay like that, waiting.

Nothing happens.

After a moment, you peek through your fingers. Sure enough, the entity is still there, his hand still raised mid-strike, as if he’s frozen. A look of frustration has overcome his features as he lowers his hand, taking a step back. He studies you for a moment, his eyes narrowing.

“Now look what you’ve done, foolish little human,” he spits. “Don’t get too comfortable. This game is far from over.”

Without another word, he turns to head back to the darkest corner of your room, his form melting into the shadow, and then he's gone.

The room falls silent once more. Your breaths come in ragged gasps, your body trembling uncontrollably as you remain huddled on the floor, tears still streaming down your face. Your mind spins, trying to make sense of what just happened.

What the fuck was that?

The figure—no, the monster—had just disappeared into the shadows as though he had never been there at all, but the weight of his presence still lingers, making it feel cold, empty, wrong. Your eyes dart around the room, waiting for him to reappear at any moment to finish what he started.

But nothing happens. He’s gone.

You sit up slowly, wiping at your face with shaky hands, trying to gather yourself, but your fear doesn’t fade. The memory of his cruel laughter, his piercing red eyes, and the sheer malice radiating from him is burned into your mind. You can still feel the heat from the ring pulsing against your skin, a reminder of what just took place.

Did you really think that ring was yours to take, little girl?

His words echo in your head. Your eyes fall to the ruby stone on your finger, shimmering in the faint light. You try to pull it off, figuring the ring was the reason any of this was happening in the first place. You tug as hard as you can, nearly dislocating your finger in the process, but it’s no use. It doesn’t budge. It’s as if it has shrunk, melding itself into your skin.

You give up, crawling back onto your bed, hugging your knees to your chest as you try to steady your heart, but your thoughts are a jumbled mess. Why was it doing this? Why was he doing this?

You think back to the way he moved, the way he seemed to freeze when you begged him not to kill you. There had been a clear look of frustration in his eyes when he lowered his hand. Why did he stop?

The questions swirl in your mind, each one heavier than the last, with you realizing there’s something you’re missing. Some piece of the puzzle you can’t quite see.

There’s no way you’re getting any sleep, not with this fear still gnawing at you. The room feels too small, too suffocating, and every tiny sound makes you jump. The wind outside rattles your window, making you flinch.

All you can do is wait, now. Wait for morning. Wait for answers.

Wait for him to return.

[galaxymagitech]

Hi hello!! For the fanfic snippet thing, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this bit of Olive Branch! Especially what's running through Bruce's head at the moment.

---

“I’m not scared of you,” Jason says. It’s very much a lie, and he shouldn’t have said it. After all, Bruce already knew he was angry, but now Jason brought in the idea of fear. And he knows Bruce caught the lie.

Bruce watches him, the bottom of his mouth drawn in like he has something right on the tip of his tongue.

“Spit it out.”

“Your…your scar.”

Jason laughs nervously. “I have a lot of those.”

“On your neck, Jason. The one on your neck.” Immediately, Jason’s hand clamps down on the side of his throat, as if trying to staunch the bleeding. “Was that me?”

Jason doesn’t trust himself to answer.

“It was an accident,” Bruce lies, because that has to be a lie, right? “You know it was an accident, right? I was compromised. I got distracted. It was an accident.”

Jason knows that it wasn’t. Bruce’s aim couldn’t have been that far off. He ran the angles in his mind a thousand times, even hacked into the security cams. Watched it over and over and over and over and over again until it was burned into his memory. The Joker moved to the left, throwing Jason slightly to the right. The Batarang flew past his head on the right, too far from any target for Bruce to have been going for a direct shot. And the rebound…the rebound hit Jason across his neck, tearing a gash from the back left to the front left. If Jason hadn’t been thrown sideways, it would have hit him in the back of his neck and with the force of the Batarang— “Okay,” Jason lies right back, “I believe you.”

“You don’t,” Bruce says, voice hollow. “Jason, I was aiming for the gun. It was an accident. I swear—”

“I believe you,” Jason repeats. It’s all he can really do. Batman doesn’t miss. Batman certainly doesn’t miss as wildly as Bruce is claiming he did. Bruce doesn’t care enough to have been that badly out of it. “Can we please focus?” He rasps out the words, mouth suddenly dry. He takes a sip of the coffee, hiding his face behind the mug, because apparently it’s safe. Probably safe. Maybe Jason gave Bruce the idea and he slipped something into it while Jason was out of it. He forces himself to take a sip of the coffee anyway. He’s fucking pathetic. If Bruce wanted to capture him right now, he could do it easily.

Thank you! I loved writing this fic so I’m super excited to talk about it!

So this is near the end of Olive Branch, where Jason post-Batarang agrees to meet with Bruce for what he thinks is basically a negotiated surrender. Bruce, on the other hand, thinks he’s meeting in a cafe with his son to try to recover their relationship. And he has no idea how much he freaked Jason out with the batarang incident.

Shortly prior to this, Jason had a panic attack because he thought Bruce put something in his drink. Depending on your version of canon, Bruce has trauma related to this, so that’s already like a “my son thinks I’m a monster” moment. Add onto that the fact that Jason just revealed that he only thinks this is a negotiation…

Well, Bruce is crushed. He genuinely thought that after their confrontation, Jason had calmed down and was ready to just have a conversation. Bruce misses him so much—he was desperate to talk to Jason, to the point where he tried not to even talk about Jason’s killing and already made a huge concession shortly before the panic attack.

At this point, Bruce has realized Jason hates him and is only here for business. And he doesn’t understand, but…he knows he can put his foot in his mouth and doesn’t want to spook Jason off, so he offers to talk through an intermediary. If he ruins this now, he could lose his chance to ever talk to Jason again. But if he backs away, then maybe he can have Jason home again, sometime in the future.

“I’m not scared of you,” Jason says. It’s very much a lie, and he shouldn’t have said it. After all, Bruce already knew he was angry, but now Jason brought in the idea of fear. And he knows Bruce caught the lie.

Jason’s reasoning, while incredibly unreliable throughout this fic, is actually spot on here. Bruce had been trying to figure out what was going on in Jason’s head—if he was still so angry, why’s he willing to negotiate? But if he’s not angry, then why is he assuming such terrible things of Bruce?

And then Jason lies about not being scared of Bruce and the question becomes: Why would he think Bruce would hurt him?

(I imagine that Bruce has watched footage of the confrontation over and over again. He knows he hit Jason with the batarang, but due to the angles, he doesn’t know exactly where he hit, how bad it was, etc. All he knows is that he threw it and then Jason fell to the ground, bleeding. He’s been telling himself that it must’ve just grazed Jason, that he can’t have hurt him thatbadly because he seems fine, right?)

Bruce watches him, the bottom of his mouth drawn in like he has something right on the tip of his tongue. “Spit it out.” “Your…your scar.” Jason laughs nervously. “I have a lot of those.” “On your neck, Jason. The one on your neck.” Immediately, Jason’s hand clamps down on the side of his throat, as if trying to staunch the bleeding. “Was that me?”

Bruce had been wondering this since he spotted the scar, but only now does he allow himself to actually consider the possibility. He really doesn’t want to ask it. If you’re working with a live bomb that could go off at any moment, you don’t want to poke it. And he doesn't want to think about what it would mean if the answer is "yes," because a cut there deep enough to scar that badly could easily have been lethal. But he also has to know how badly he hurt his son.

(The second Jason deflects, Bruce knows.)

Jason doesn’t trust himself to answer. “It was an accident,” Bruce lies, because that has to be a lie, right? “You know it was an accident, right? I was compromised. I got distracted. It was an accident.”

Bruce isn’t actually lying here. (In my intent—obviously others can interpret the fic how they want.) But what he’s saying is extremely unbelievable because:

Jason knows that it wasn’t. Bruce’s aim couldn’t have been that far off. He ran the angles in his mind a thousand times, even hacked into the security cams. Watched it over and over and over and over and over again until it was burned into his memory. The Joker moved to the left, throwing Jason slightly to the right. The Batarang flew past his head on the right, too far from any target for Bruce to have been going for a direct shot. And the rebound…the rebound hit Jason across his neck, tearing a gash from the back left to the front left. If Jason hadn’t been thrown sideways, it would have hit him in the back of his neck and with the force of the Batarang— “Okay,” Jason lies right back, “I believe you.”

I actually did look at the angles a while ago while trying to determine the feasibility that this was an accident. It looks like Jason does get thrown to the right, and the batarang still misses him on the first pass, only hitting him on the rebound. Meanwhile, Jason is holding the gun in his right hand. There’s no way Bruce was aiming for the gun or the Joker—not unless he was so emotionally compromised that his aim was really, really bad.

So, there are three interpretations here:

Bruce was aiming to rebound the Batarang into Jason’s neck. He was either slightly off (and it hit because the Joker, predictably, threw himself sideways) or he was going for a potentially lethal shot to the back of the neck. Jason and the Joker both believe this one.

Bruce was so distracted that he really messed up the angle. He was either going for the gun or the Joker, and missed horribly. This is what actually happened in this fic.

Bruce was aiming for a non-lethal shot to the backof Jason’s neck. To my understanding, this region is better protected by bones than the rest of the neck, so with comic book science, maybe Jason would have been temporarily unable to lift his head, but would have survived and recovered. Still, it’s incredibly risky. I think there’s a decent chance that comics!Bruce did this.

(There’s a possibility that, despite how it appears, Jason wasn’t actually thrown to the side. In this case, Bruce missing an attempt to hit the rebound into the gun and hitting Jason’s neck instead is a bit more likely.)

(I am not an expert in thrown weapons, so take this analysis with a pillar of salt, of course.)

“You don’t,” Bruce says, voice hollow. “Jason, I was aiming for the gun. It was an accident. I swear—”

Bruce is truly desperate here. Jason genuinely believes that Bruce took a kill-shot at him.

Telling Jason isn’t an accident isn’t going to help. It 100% sounds like someone trying to make last-minute lying justifications. Like “I didn’t mean to hit you!” etc.

And part of that is because I believe Bruce doesn’t actually know what happened. He had lost every ounce of his control (and we know Bruce has serious control issues) over the situation. So, he threw, and his mind was either blank or his memory of his reasoning is just completely gone. But the details of that moment are just consumed by panic. He knows that he wasn’t aiming for Jason’s neck—knows he would never do that—but he also doesn’t exactly know what he was aiming for instead. And that makes his justifications sound much weaker. (It's also why he missed so badly—he absolutely wasn't thinking straight in that moment.)

“I believe you,” Jason repeats. It’s all he can really do. Batman doesn’t miss. Batman certainly doesn’t miss as wildly as Bruce is claiming he did. Bruce doesn’t care enough to have been that badly out of it. “Can we please focus?” He rasps out the words, mouth suddenly dry. He takes a sip of the coffee, hiding his face behind the mug, because apparently it’s safe. Probably safe. Maybe Jason gave Bruce the idea and he slipped something into it while Jason was out of it. He forces himself to take a sip of the coffee anyway. He’s fucking pathetic. If Bruce wanted to capture him right now, he could do it easily.

With Bruce’s control issues, he really struggles to just move on. He needs Jason to know that he didn’t mean to. It’s essential. It matters more than anything else. Jason holds an incorrect belief about Bruce’s love for him, and Bruce needs to correct it.

Meanwhile, Jason is completely panicking. He’s in “placate and diffuse” mode—the fawn in the fight-flight-freeze-fawn reflex. And he completely discounts the possibility of the truth, because he doesn’t think Bruce cares about him enough to be so emotionally compromised that he missed that badly. The solution here, obviously, is that Bruce does care enough that he was that emotionally compromised.

Immediately after this snippet, Jason’s fear shows itself again, which jerks Bruce out of his (kind of self-centered) need to clarify. He just totally gives up on that part of the conversation and sort of steps back emotionally for the rest.

[leaderpinhead]

Jack - Pushover

Prompt: @flashfictionfridayofficial weekly prompt Rating: General Characters: Jack Howl, Yuu Masterlists for my other fics

“You’re such a pushover , shyheeheehee!” 

Jack’s ears pricked at the familiar snickering before a shadow fell over him. He paused his post-run stretches and tipped his head back to see a smirking Ruggie. He frowned. “What are you talking about?” 

Ruggie’s hissing snickers made Jack’s ears twitch harder. “Do I really have to spell it out for you?” Ruggie reached down and patted the top of Jack’s head. “Good puppy, Jack! That was such a great run! I’ll take you out again later!” 

Jack growled and swatted Ruggie’s hand away from him. “That’s not what Yuu said at all!” 

Ruggie’s snickers slowly died. He clicked his tongue and shook his head sadly. The smirk he still had on his face didn’t match his show of sympathy. “Poor, poor Jack. As your more experienced senior, I’ll give you a bit of advice. Having someone give you pets in public immediately kills all respect from the guys.” 

Jack fell back into hamstring stretches. “I could care less what anybody thinks. Yuu doesn’t mean anything by it.” 

Ruggie sighed like Jack was missing the point. The sound made him tense. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you the next time a buncha guys back at the dorm try to throw their weight around. You might not care much about politics, but that doesn’t change how others do.” 

Jack grunted and listened to Ruggie’s footsteps fade away. He did a few more stretches before returning to the dorm. He kept telling himself he really didn’t care what the other guys in the dorm might think, but Ruggie’s snickers kept tickling his ears. 

When Jack heard Yuu call his name later, he automatically stopped mid-step. A quiet snicker to his left made his ear flick, and a quick glare sent the Pomefiore boy scurrying away. He slowly turned to face Yuu. “Yo.” 

Yuu stopped in front of him without saying a word. Jack frowned. There was a pinched look on her face that made her mouth pucker like one of those fishes in Octavinelle. Jack had learned what that look meant. Something had made Yuu anxious (probably the upcoming exam in potions), but she didn’t want to show it. And when she was this anxious, she usually... 

“Jack,” she said in a tone so serious Jack immediately snapped to attention. She held out her hands with her palms up. “Lend me your assistance.” 

Jack wasn’t sure when exactly they had agreed to this “code.” It must have been at some point after the mess with Azul but before winter break. Jack’s response was always, “How much?” to which Yuu would tell him a number before he allowed her to touch his ears. She never went over the number of ear-rubs she requested, and whether it was the motion or the touch, it always seemed relax her. Jack didn’t mind it if it helped. 

...he hadn’t minded it. 

His ears swiveled to lay against his hair. He scratched the back of his head. “I’m gonna be late for class.” 

The lie tasted sour on his tongue. Her tight expression relaxed briefly enough for her shock to be apparent. Her hands fell to her side where her fingers twisted the edges of her uniform jacket. Her eyes dropped to her feet. “Oh. Sorry. I should go find Ace and Deuce then. We can’t be late either.” 

A sharp twist in his gut made him nauseous, but he didn’t stop Yuu from turning away. He did the same and managed to take a few steps in the direction of his class. He made the mistake of glancing over his shoulder. Instead of leaving for class, Yuu had stepped closer to the wall to allow other students to move through the hall unhindered. She twisted her fingers, frowning intensely at a single spot on the floor. 

The invisible knife in his intestines dug deeper, but Jack resolutely took a few more steps. He could’ve sworn he heard Ruggie snickering. A quick glance around the hall didn’t reveal a snickering hyena, but he got another glance of Yuu anxiously picking at her nail beds. 

With a heavy sigh, Jack quickly crossed the hallway to stand next to Yuu. She didn’t notice him until he leaned his head down far enough to enter her field of vision, making her involuntarily jump. “Go ahead.” 

“Are you sure?” 

Jack grunted his affirmative. Yuu knew better than to ask twice, and her hands quickly found his ears. One, two, three—she petted his ears six times before letting him go. The mouth pucker had been replaced by a wide smile that made her look a little less anxious. “Thanks! I’ll see you after class. Let me know if you want to go on another run today.” 

Jack rubbed the back of his neck and watched her practically skip down the hall. He had no idea why that always worked. That knife was no longer plunged into his gut though, so whatever. Jack didn’t know he was smiling until a snide laugh ruined his good mood. “Such a good boy, Howl.” 

Jack loudly snarled at the snickering group of hyenas, which sent them scurrying away with a few fearful yips. He grinned. If a snarl was all it took to send a few idiots scurrying, then Ruggie’s warning might not have been a big deal after all. Ruggie may have seen him as a pushover, but there were clearly bigger pushovers than Jack on campus. 

[yoshi-disney]

I wanted to write a Arcane CaitVi "The Wolverine (2013)" style au/S2 rewrite, what do you think??

(For context, in that scene where Caitlyn shoots at Isha and Jinx, she accidently shoots Vi in the shoulder, Jinx shimmer dashes Vi away, Caitlyn starts screaming because she thought she'd just murdered Vi, and leaves Piltover. Vi is alive tho lol. Also this is a first draft so this will be edited if/when I decide to publish)

How could she have let this happen? How could she have let herself fall so far, she thought as she watched her bullet pierce the shoulder of Vi, her sweet Vi. Vi's yell of pain seeped its way into Caitlyn's mind as Vi fell to her knees, blood gushing from the wound. Jinx looked at Caitlyn, then to Vi, Caitlyn was too stunned to speak, so Jinx took the opportunity and took Vi in her arms, and shimmer dashed herself, Vi, and the child away. Vi was gone now, and Caitlyn, in her anger, frustration, and vengeance, killed her. What could she say to that? She promised Vi she wouldn't change, Caitlyn had broken that promise, and now, it got her killed. Memories of Vi came flooding back to her, all the memories she thought one day they could've made together. All Caitlyn could do at this point was fall to her knees, and scream. Caitlyn was inconsolable after that. She cried as she met up with the others to end the mission, cried as she dragged herself home, cried as her father held her throughout the night, cried as she laid in bed, waiting till morning to see if all of this was just a bad dream, and she once again cried when reality hit her. Caitlyn stayed in bed for the rest of the week, barely touching any food given to her. She held a violet in her hand, caressing it and kissing it on her worst days, those days where guilt would take over and cause her to fall apart. One day she heard Ambessa Medara addressing her father, saying something about her becoming a commander, but then she heard her father belt out, "FOR GLORYS SAKE GIVE HER SOME TIME!!" He yelled. Caitlyn had never heard her father yell that loud before but she was glad he did, the last thing she needed right now was even more responsibilities. Just as soon Tobias entered her room with a saddened look on his face. "What was that about?" Caitlyn asked. "Ambessa's been adamant about you becoming the Commander of the Enforcers." Tobias said. Cait, still not looking at her father, sighed deeply. "What did you say?" She asked. "I told her that, well, you're not ready, and to piss off for good measure." Cait cracked a smirk at that. Tobias smirked as well and patted his daughter on the shoulder. "How are you feeling?" Tobias asked. "I miss Vi," Caitlyn said. Tobias nodded, understanding. "I'm sorry I was so, harsh to her when she was here." Tobias said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Caitlyn had yet to tell him all that had happened that day, all Tobias knew was that Vi had died on their mission to kill Jinx, the murderer of his wife, and his daughter's mother, and the deaths of her mom and apparent best friend broke Caitlyn to the core. He remembers the night Caitlyn came home, without Vi. She wouldn't stop crying, gods that sound was haunting to his mind, all he could do was hug her, and make her comfortable in her time of grief, keeping the world away until his daughter was ready to face it again, which could be a long time, but he'll wait for as long as his daughter needs. "Would you like anything?" Tobias asked. Caitlyn remained silent for a few moments until saying, "I could use some soup," she said. Tobias nodded and kissed his daughters forehead. Little did he know that this would be the last time he saw his daughter for 7 months, because when he returned, Caitlyn was no longer in bed, in fact, she was nowhere to be found in Piltover.

Caitlyn was gathering violets from the garden, creating a bouquet to remind herself of her frie, no, love's name. She had come to love Vi, and without her, the color in her life was gone, there was nothing left but black and white, except for the color of violets, her favorite color and flower. And every now and then a certain tint of red would pierce through her dark thoughts. As the scent of violets wafted up to her, she remembers that day before they spoke to the council, the way Vi looked at her, the joy in her expression, the calm. And it almost made her fall to her knees, but she had to keep going, to the airships, she needed to leave. She needed to find someplace new, start over, she had taken a large amount of her inheritance with her, enough to start a life in a new land. She put on a black cloak and snuck into Piltover Station, and bought a ticket out, she doesn't care where, just out. And as she entered the airship and it took off, Caitlyn took a deep breath, and for the first time in a while, had a dreamless sleep.

Cait awoke in her bed, an odd pain in her shoulder but nothing that some ice in the morning couldn't fix, she looked around, it was almost like she had never left, like her mother was never dead, "like I never shot Vi" she thought. Speaking of which, Vi had entered the room as quick as a flash, she was holding a water glass and seemed worried. "Cait, is everything okay?" Vi asked. "Yeah, I'm okay" Caitlyn said, astonishingly out of breath. "Cupcake I heard you screaming from the kitchen, what happened?" Vi asks setting down the water next to Caitlyn's side of the bed and laying next to Caitlyn. Caitlyn sighed, "I was thinking about that, day in the sewers." Caitlyn said. Vi's face turned into a frown, "oh, I, I see." Vi said, holding her own shoulder, right where Cait had shot her. "Oh, my sweet, sweet Violet" Caitlyn said caressing Vi's cheek, Vi closed her eyes, "listen, it's, it's okay." She said. Cait threw her arms around Vi, "I promise, I won't hurt you, or anyone else, ever again." Caitlyn said. Vi hugged her back and kissed Cait's cheek. "Don't make promises you can't keep." Vi said. Then Caitlyn awoke with a start, she was on the edge of a cliff, the campfire long went out, the air was cold, and the radio was playing orchestral music. Caitlyn got out of her sleeping bag and took a sip of water as she looked at the scenery down below, a large plain with a river, a perfect place for someone who doesn't want to be found. "Good morning Violet." Caitlyn whispered, feeling the ground beneath her, staring into the sky. Suddenly the radio went out, she shook the radio, the batteries were dead. Caitlyn got up, took an axe and began her trek into town. She began marking her path by striking an X into evrey tree in her path, many of them already have X's, but it became a force of habit at some point. Speaking of habits, a bear had growled as she crossed her path. Caitlyn had seen this bear before, and it was like the two had an unspoken respect, Caitlyn never bothered her, the Bear never bothered Caitlyn, they simply acknowledged each other's existence, and went about their day. As she made her way into the small village, she noticed a truck full of hunters with guns, beer, and really, STUPIDLY LOUD music. The hunters already seemed drunk, throwing slurs at each other and banning on their truck. Caitlyn entered a store and picked up some batteries, when she overheard one of the hunters talking with the cashier. The hunter was a man around her age, beard, looked like....Jayce, almost, but with a lighter skin tone. And the cashier was a woman, also around her age, straight blonde hair with a light skin tone. The hunter was obviously flirting with the cashier. "That'll be 135," the cashier said. "135" the hunter said, "cmon, can't get me a little discount." The cashier looked at him sternly, "cmon, at least a number?" He said, "I'd rather go out with the bait," she said pointing to the worms. Caitlyn snorted under her breath. The hunter looked at Caitlyn and then looked at the cashier, grumbled, and slammed the money on the counter and took his stuff. The hunter went to his truck full of rowdy hunters. The cashier sighed as Caitlyn went to the counter with her batteries, the cashier seemed to take a liking to Caitlyn, she smiled at her, Cait smiled back. Then one of the hunters shot a gun into the air, causing them both to jump. Caitlyn sighed and shook her head. "You're not a hunter are you?" the cashier asked her, with a seductive tone almost, but Cait wasn't having any of it. "Not anymore," she simply replied and took her batteries and left.

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK AND IF YOU THINK I SHOULD TURN THIS INTO A FANFICTION!!!

[cas-edspace]

why the hell not:

Random Hermit Headcanons

———

Everyone is completely comfortable with being in hybrid form with Tango.

Anyone who normally hides it, just lets out the ears, wings, etc with Tango. He isn’t aware that not everyone has seen Etho’s face, ears, or that no one realizes that there are two vampires on the server. He also makes sure they eat, (dad) (acts of service) (and the vamps do not feed on Tango, because that gotta taste like lava or an equivalent)

—

…Just realized that I planned on adding someone to this random hc hc listing and he’s not even in Hermitcraft but who cares: Here’s one for Scott;

He’s a shapeshifter, and no one seemed to caught onto that yet. Not the floating crystals in Last Life or the fact he was suddenly half fish in Limited Life.

—

Doc and Martyn are jokingly “fighting” over Ren, but the guy somehow doesn’t realize? The pup is just rping as pirates, pirate rats, and his ears apparently doesn’t pick up “He’s mine” comments.

Zero braincells <3

—

Etho keeps thinking about the family dynamic from Limited Life, because Scar randomly calls Cleo Mom still and… gave himself a step parent? And reassigned Etho’s role?

(This is based off of the Hungry Hermit conversation:

Scar: I wanna see mom and dad play!

Tango: Yeah, sure, I’ll play

.

.

Etho: Who’s mom?

Tango: Does the answer change if you’ll play or not?

Etho: I’ll play (don’t remember exact line)

(^This actually happened, so did this v)

Scar lost his permits

Tango: *sighs* I’m going to sound like a total dad here, but where did you last have them? Retrace your steps.

Scar: (something something, doing this from memory is great, it is 2am) Alright, dads come over here

Etho and Tango follow

. . .

Etho is asking himself about the complexity of the dynamics, does Bdubs know about the new step parent? Did Scar tell him or is he supposed to- Is he overthinking the bit? Absolutely, and should he just forget it? Yes, but it creeps back up

—

Impulse is a dragon hybrid (not demon), which means he can talk to Jean, the Ender Dragon. And he does!

Doesn’t stop her from trying to kill him, though

Rest of ZITS make fun of him for this.

—

Speaking of Z, Zedaph wasn’t always a pink sheep hybrid

Cue stereotypical (cliche but I do like em) Lab experiment trauma- jk, no, he did that to himself. With science! …and not with using dyes, like he most definitely should’ve done. No one knows what other side effects that the experiments had may have caused him, but Zed is happy because he’s pink.

—

All older hermits have killed Watchers

Grian doesn’t know this.

Hermitcraft has proved itself again and again to not be easy pickings. There are reasons that the server is lasting.

—

Joel misses his wife- wait that’s just normal Joel-

—

Gem is Ares in God Games, in EPIC the Musical

Change my mind

—

Boogeyman kills leave permanently deep scars on the slain.

Bdubs once saw Tango without his shirt and… Seeing those long, jagged, deep as the day he got them scars that goes from his right shoulder to just above his left hip…

Bdubs now struggle sleeping through the night, seeing the marks he left…? The Boogeyman curse is not forgiving and makes it impossible to hold back. And Tango’s back proves it.

—

Doc can cheer…leading? He is a cheerleader. But not for the Dallas Cowboy ifykyk

—

Cub somehow cannot be trolled. we don’t know how he does it

—

When Pearl zones out, she’ll float upwards. Her dogs are trained to go get someone to help Pearl before she zones back in and falls to her (not) death. Being a ghost on a server is hard

—

Wild Life powers doesn’t fully go away. I’ll elaborate on a different post

Because this is too long, and it is 2:30 am now and I should sleep

[traceofexistence]

current playthough chart

[cecoeur]

How do you sleep at night? No one to hide behind Betrayed every alibi you had You had every chance to make amends instead you got drunk on bitterness And you still claim that you're innocent, it's sad

[avnasace]

( 5.1 archon quest spoilers )

so it was really up there right on his helmet this whole time huh... big fuckin abyssal star... for like 2 years...

[oddly-casual]

Fiona and Cake spoilers seriously

(Something I noticed abt Betty and Simons relationship)

I love Betty and Simon’s relationship, I think their back story is so cute and romantic and all that lovely stuff don’t get me wrong.

But there’s this under tone of Betty constantly giving things up for Simon and we don’t really talk about it a lot???

Like, Betty let Simon have his moment with the artifact and the pubic, she also doesn’t go to her trip in favor of going on an expedition with Simon. Then when she goes to leave again she stays for Simon.

Even Fiona is like “you went with her on the bus?” And Simon just looks all confused like “what? No, why would I do that?” Like- hello???

Then after that she gave up her entire life and mind to get Simon back to the point where she literally says “I don’t know who I am without him anymore.” And that just sucks! Since the beginning Betty has been the one giving up the most, her mind, her own possible career, and it’s a story of love of course and it’s very sweet but it’s also a story of sacrifice.

Their love wasn’t a perfect solution, it was already sort of imbalanced when it started and I lowkey love how we see those cracks even before they’re together.

Again, I love their relationship and I think it’s sweet. I just think we should talk about Betty’s side more, especially when she tells a story of what most women do in relationships, sacrifice.