#ask me if you want to see the Jason shrimps

[salparadiselost]

Oh to be a shrimp living in a jungle

[roppiepop]

JayTim K-POP AU WIP

A plastic box gets shoved to his chest.

Only because he allows it, obviously, because the little gremlin of a brat is still several lifetimes away from being able to get a drop on him.

Though the demon spawn is also a picture of silence, lips pursed and shoulders tense where his fist extends to press whatever he bought on Jason’s pecs.

With a barely audible sigh, Jason peels that arm off to see what it was that demanded his attention so badly that the kid broke into one of the few safe-houses Jason thought was off the Bat-radar.

The answer is a thick box, covered with a glossy sleeve. On the cover are a group of five men piled on top of each other, composed artfully to look like a playful candid rather than an unfortunate accident. The only other thing on it is a logo stylized to look like a clock. Jason might be able to read where the lines form ‘SPF50’.

He sends Damian a blank look. The kid visibly heckles.

“Tt.” he starts, “This isn’t for me- I would like to emphasize that, for the record.”

Pause. Damian crosses his arms. “It’s Jon. He gave me an adequate birthday gift. It would be a dishonor to reciprocate with anything less.”

Jason replies to that with a hand gesture. What the hell does that have to do with him?

Damian looks at him like he’s rotten meat. Jason returns the glare twofold.

A frustrated groan. The kid almost swipes his arm back- like he was about to reach for his katana before realizing he’s out of costume. “Are you daft, Todd? I am asking for a favor. Name your price.”

“Yeah, Shrimp, I got that.” Jason bites back, “I’m just wonderin’ why the hell anythin’ related to this-“ he holds up the album, “-would be somethin’ I have an in with.”

Without missing a beat, Damian swipes back the album and pulls a card out from the middle to show him.

It’s a low angle selfie, cutting the pictured man off at the forehead. Stray locks, black with a blue-ish tint, fall just at the edge of the frame, and shadow a pair of striking blue eyes. Below that is a lopsided grin showing off a row of straight teeth. The rest of the picture is a swath of yellow- maybe a hoodie? Its laughably big though, dipping low enough to show the prominent curves of the man’s collarbones.

“This is why.” Damian says, before Jason could get a word in. “Your paramour, he’s Jon’s favorite in the group. He must be detestable if he has stooped low enough to romantically engage with you of all people, but nevertheless. Have him and his group sign this album and I will owe you one favor.”

“Huh.” Jason starts. Stops. Considers if he’s in the mood to start a fight. Sighs instead. “You’re outta luck, kid. I don’t know any of these guys.”

Damian’s eyes narrow. He steps forward in a stomp. “Don’t try and lie to me, Todd. Everyone has confirmed you are dating this idol. Agree to my terms before I am pushed to use force-Ow!”

Jason’s fingers moved to flick Damian’s forehead before he even registers that they did. “You can’t force me to do anythin’, Brat. I’ll send you back to your Mom.”

He flicks the other’s nose this time before he can respond, garnering another indignant squawk. “And two- just because you heard Blondie constantly yammerin’ about it doesn’t make it a public fact.”

Jason moves for the chin this time, but Damian has jumped away from striking range and looks a second away from hissing.

Jason would probably hiss back at him if he did. Something about this kid is just makes you want to mess with him.

But Damian seems to already be in retreat mode, sulkily skulking back to Jason’s fire escape with a deep scowl.

“Fine.” he says, right by the threshold of the apartment. “You prove yourself yet again useless. But just so you know Brown isn’t the only one talking- Father also suspects.”

And he’s gone just as Jason opens his mouth.

“Bruce?”

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Lily of the Valley

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Jason Todd dies and comes back to life. As the League takes him in, he navigates his morality and family values over the years.

Chapters: 18/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Talia al Ghul, Ra’s al Ghul, Damian Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Sheila Haywood

Relationships: Jason Todd/Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: Immortal Jason Todd, League of Assassins Jason Todd, Protective Talia al Ghul, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Jason Todd Needs a Hug, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Hurt/Comfort, Adopted Children, Resurrected Jason Todd

Chapter Eighteen: Fool's Conecap

Ra’s provided Jason with the address. It was near his old apartment, but it was uncharacteristically modern compared to the run-down buildings in Park Row. A white picket fence surrounded the house. A painful feeling struck Jason in his chest once he realized where he was. A group home. Jason did everything he could to avoid group homes after his mother passed, and a dreadful fear passed over him as he approached the front door. A small boy with taped glasses answered the door. “Who are you?” the small boy questioned.

“How are they treating you here?” Jason asked. The small boy shrugged. “They’re beating you up, huh? I used to get beat up, too.”

“It’s not that bad… Three hot meals a day,” the small boy replied.

“Well, if you want something more than that…” Jason wrote down a number and slipped it into the boy’s cast. “There are ways out of your situation,” Jason suggested. “Now tell the one in charge I’m here for the file.”

The boy shut the door, and a woman answered shortly after. She handed him a thick file, but she didn’t let go. “Are you Jason?” the stern-faced woman asked. Jason studied her face, grimacing when he saw something he didn’t like. He didn’t trust her. “You look like him… Willis used to give me that same look when he was a boy.”

Jason snatched the file from her. “Keep a better eye on your boys. It’d be a shame if someone shut you down for child abuse,” Jason muttered.

“Good luck proving—.”

Jason stepped so close their noses nearly touched. “You’re right... I have awful luck. It’s more likely you’d have a horrible accident,” Jason threatened.

Jason wanted to kill her right there, but she knew his father… And that was worth looking into. “You’re welcome to try it, Shrimp,” the woman replied. Jason swallowed his anger before walking away.

The file was his assignment, and he didn’t have the time for side quests. He took the file, called a cab to the outskirts of Gotham, and hiked the rest of the way to the jet. To his surprise, Saru sat in a lawn chair outside the jet, silently reading. “What are you doing here?” Jason asked.

Saru smiled at him. “We haven’t gone on our date yet,” Saru smiled.

“I thought you said—.”

“I did… But I realized this is where you come from. I thought we could have an adventure of our own here. Ra’s said it’d be alright,” Saru replied. Jason felt a knot in his stomach. “Go put those files away… And then you can show me around.”

Jason started toward the jet, but something stopped him in his tracks. “I’m going to change first,” Jason replied. Saru nodded, waiting outside while Jason searched for something to wear. She distracted him from his disdain for the city. He hopped off the jet and scratched his head. “Sorry for the wait, Saru.”

Saru smiled and took his hand. Jason smiled. “I understand your feelings about Gotham… But I want to see your home. It’ll help me understand you,” Saru explained. Jason blinked hard as they hiked to the outskirts of the forest. While they walked, Jason described his interaction with the woman. But he withheld the parts about her knowing his father. “Want me to kill her?”

Jason laughed. “I mean it. I could easily kill her for you,” Saru offered.

“I know, but you don’t have to. I’ll handle the old witch when it’s time. Does Damian know you’re here?” Jason questioned. Saru swung his hand.

“Who do you think asked me to go? He worries. Damian doesn’t like that you go on missions alone,” Saru replied, “But don’t tell him I told you that.”

The car picked them up, and Jason immediately fell asleep. Saru chuckled gently. “How long have you kids been together?” the driver asked.

“Oh, um—. This is our first date,” Saru answered.

“Okay, nice. Is it looking good for him so far?” the driver smirked as he adjusted her rearview mirror.

Saru squinted. “We’ve been friends for a few months, so yeah. I’m sure we’re gonna go out again,” Saru replied. She stared out the window silently, ignoring the driver for the rest of the ride.

Jason’s eyes shot open once the car parked, and Saru leaned over. “Are we close to your home?” Saru asked.

Jason shook his head. “Let me take you somewhere better,” Jason whispered.

“What’s better than your home?” Saru questioned. Jason grinned as he took her across the street and cut through the park. “Jason, where are we going?”

“Remember when I told you about the perfect sandwich?” Jason asked. Saru nodded. She remembered everything Jason said to her. She squeezed his hand as he led her through the alley to a small sandwich shop crammed between two taller adjoining buildings. “This is the ‘U’.”

Saru smiled as she stood in line with Jason. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I’ll have what you’re having.”

Jason approached the register with rosy cheeks and a sweet smile. Jason ordered the spicy garden burgers with extra sauce and crinkle-cut fries. “I remembered you don’t eat meat. I’ve had every burger on their menu. This one’s one of my favorites,” Jason paused. He wanted to make sure she was interested. “I didn’t get to go last time I was in Gotham, but I’m glad I’m here with you now.”

Saru pressed her forehead to his shoulder, and he squeezed her hand. “Thank you for taking me to your favorite place,” Saru smiled. Jason nodded.

“Thank you for coming with me,” Jason whispered, “Oh! Our sodas.”

They stood by the soda machine while Jason filled their sodas. The man at the counter called their order number several minutes later. They walked to the park with their two large bags and sodas, sitting beside each other on a bench. Saru neatly unwrapped her burger and took a bite. “Mm! Jason!” Saru shouted. Jason smiled as he bit into his and shut his eyes. They took a second bite, and Saru wiped the corner of his mouth with her thumb. Jason finished chewing and swallowed hard. Saru leaned in, and Jason met her halfway, pausing when their noses touched.

“I haven’t ever—.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Saru whispered. And then Saru kissed him. Jason pulled back, startled at first. “Is this too much?”

“No,” Jason whispered, “I—. Could I kiss you again?”

“I’d like that,” Saru smiled as they touched noses.

Jason giggled as their lips touched, and Jason’s parted as he whispered a warmly sincere, “Wow.”

Saru pecked his lips, nose, and both cheeks. “Our burgers are going to get cold,” Saru chuckled. Jason nodded, and they ate together. “This is delicious.”

“Are we on a date?” Jason asked.

“Yes,” Saru answered.

Jason’s face was red hot as he ate his burger, but Saru didn’t mention it. She didn’t want to embarrass him. “I like that your hair is long… You noticed mine, but I never mentioned how much I loved yours,” Saru grinned.

“Thank you, I like your hair that way… Whenever I see your ribbons, I feel like—. That’s you. That’s how I picture you,” Jason replied. Saru sipped her soda to hide her smile. “Was that a strange thing to say? Saru, I probably—.”

“You’re fine. It’s honest and sweet. That’s why I like you,” Saru replied.

“I should be honest with you about why I’m stalling,” Jason paused, “Shouldn’t I?”

“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to,” Saru replied. And she meant it.

[d-amore]

Certainly, an extraordinarily beautiful woman was a threat to Bruce Wayne.

WOOO the melissa and bruce meeting fic!!! hope you like it :3c later (maybe today maybe tomorrow) i'll post the bunnygirl and batman meeting

— Let's go, Bruce, please!

Jason pointed to the lead news in that day's newspaper: "New restaurant fronting new tree-lined street is the talk of the week." The story continued: "Probably the new darling of Gotham's elite, its main praises are the quality of its food...and the beauty of its waitresses."

— This new restaurant is getting people talking! It says here the food is great and the waitresses are beautiful! — he smiled, elbowing him — I bet it helps you forget...

— I got it, Jay — he rolled his eyes, getting up from his armchair — go get ready then. And, Alfred, you’re coming with us.

And for some reason, it was always busy. Bruce had been to many places like this in his three decades.

It was a good restaurant, the kind of place that tries really hard to please the wealthy: spacious, bright, with jazz or classical music playing in the background, always located in the most upscale part of town, something that says "hey, I have a lot of money!"

And of course, something that couldn't be missed: a waiting area with a waitress/secretary.

— Sweet mother of Jesus. Bruce Wayne? — The woman looked the customers up and down in surprise, but quickly straightened her posture — It's an honor! Table for how many?

— Table for 3, please.

— Sure, sure! — She picked up her walkie-talkie and whispered — Table for 3 by the window. It's Bruce Wayne.

He rolled his eyes; he didn't like it and, deep down, he felt like he didn't need so much attention. Another waitress appeared and led them past rich, curious eyes to a table next to a large window, right in front of the much talked about tree-lined street, one of the few in Gotham.

Jason, of course, sat as close to the street as he could. Alfred sat in front of him and Bruce at the end.

— Good morning, boys. Here's our menu — another female voice handed them the leather-bound notebooks — I'll be your waitress today, at your service!

Wayne looked up to see the girl with the melodious voice who was serving them, analyzing her from top to bottom in a matter of seconds, as quickly as he would analyze a criminal. But this time, it wasn't to know how to best approach a threat.

Unless an extraordinarily beautiful woman was a threat.

A beautiful woman with long, wavy blonde hair falling over her shoulders. A beautiful woman with skin so pale that it gave her an almost divine appearance (her skin was certainly as soft as it looked). A beautiful woman with eyes, oh, such mesmerizing eyes: smiling, honey-colored eyes that complemented her sweet appearance. A beautiful woman, and may God and the ethics councils forgive him, whom looked so stunning in that red uniform.

Certainly, an extraordinarily beautiful woman was a threat to Bruce Wayne.

— Here, my name — she handed him the little piece of paper with her name printed on it — if you need anything, just call!

— What do you recommend from here? — Jason asked, having already scanned the menu as quickly as his father had scanned the waitress.

Alfred had barely picked up his reading glasses. It was hard to compete with Master Wayne and Master Todd.

— Well, I particularly recommend the fish in shrimp sauce. Besides being delicious and coming with several side dishes, it's my mother's recipe — she smiled — I brought it with me on the trip and managed to introduce it into the menu. But, if you want to try a little bit of everything, we have an all-you-can-eat buffet on Fridays and weekends.

— You heard that, Bruce? We can...

— We'll have this fish — he decreed, firmly turning his gaze to the window — and 2 600ml waters and a 300ml coke.

— Noted, sir! I'll bring it in a few minutes!

She left, and only then did Bruce read the name of the person who had served them.

Melissa.

With quick, but well-behaved steps, the waitress finally entered the kitchen, leaning against the first available wall to process what had happened. As her heart beat faster, a group of women formed around her.

— So? What is he like?

— Lucky you!

— What did he order?

— He must be picky, right?

— Girls — she sighed, a stubborn smile on her pink lips, handing the order to a cook — he is much more handsome than in the magazines.

— Lord! — the women melted together.

— He's a dream!

— I wish I had a rich and mysterious boyfriend!

— If he were mine, I would never work again in my life!

Definitly, Bruce Wayne was an event wherever he went.

— Girls — another waitress came in laughing, pulling a cart with dirty dishes — you should have seen how much he stared at Mel! It looked like he was going to propose right there!

— WHAT? — they shouted in unison.

— No, no, guys! — she waved her hands, as red as her uniform — Thaís, you must have seen things! He's too much sand for my little truck! — she crossed her arms — besides, he for sure would prefer a model over a waitress.

— I don't know... we're talking about the unpredictable prince of Gotham, after all.

— And he's never be shown with a girlfriend!

— Only with hookups! Maybe you have a small chance!

— Stop! Stop that! — She picked up a tray, without really thinking about why she needed to pick it up — before I start seeing things where there aren't any!

— Here's the bill you asked for — she handed him the note — the cashier is right there. How was the food?

— Delicious! — Jason exclaimed.

— True, very good — Alfred agreed, stacking the plates as he usually did.

— Oh, sir, you don’t have to do thi-

— Wonderful — Bruce stood up, a bright smile on his face. God, he was a tower. — Miss Melissa, would you please follow me to the cashier?

— Huh? Um, however you wish... — they walked to the small line — ...but... if I may ask, why-

— How long have you been living in Gotham? — He took a wad of cash out of his wallet and began counting it. Melissa couldn't help but stare intently.

— About... 5 years, I think.

— Here's a tip for serving us so well — he handed her part of the wad, a shine of shyness appearing in his eyes — if I come back here, would you continue to be my waitress?

She didn't know exactly how to answer.

[aphverse-confessions]

Shrimp anon here: I quickly wanna adress the two points brought up by the previous anon (link -> https://tinyurl.com/intial-confess). I'll try to keep this as brief as possible (apologies for being such a ramble). To address point one, nobody is 'going to war over' Jess being into RPF fanfiction? If I'm understanding the implication of 'going to war' because my previous two incredibly lengthy confessions... Me writing a long paragraph articulating and explaining my discomfort towards Jess's prior behaviour towards mlm isn't 'going to war' about it'? The point of my second ask wasn't 'Jess shipping RPF IS BAD AND IMMORAL™!!!', the point of my second ask was that 'Jess's treatment of MLM was really questionable. Her involvement with fetishization of mlm has caused harm to people (via Septiplier and queerbaiting), reflecting on her previous actions is deeply discomforting as a queer person'. If someone doesn't understand the rationale behind a point I'm including/making (which was the case in my response confession), I want to explain that point as thoroughly as possible in order to offer my own perspective. It's important to me to clarify and to explain why I feel a certain way in depth to open up a larger disscusion. I sincerely apologize if my tone came across as snippy, rude or aggressive otherwise 🙏 Point two: I'm not acquainted with Aphblr or the Aphmau fandom socially (I prefer to keep to myself), although that absolutely should be condemned. Believe me anon, as a person of colour myself, I have seen fandom racism rampant online and go unchecked because the larger (majorly white) fandom refusal to address it. When it comes to addressing the racism within Jesson's writing; in my original ask, I highlighted the racism within the writing as a pressing issue that wasn't being addressed by the fandom at large. It also kinda really rubs me the wrong way as a person of colour, who has sent previous confessions*** addressing the racism of Jesson's writing in depth and detail is.... Ok I'll be blunt here: the implication that my point of mlm prioritized RPF wank over fandom racism... Is a feeling alright™. Discussing my discomfort with Jess's treatment of mlm and by extension queer people, as a queer person myself especially a queer poc, is not underplaying fandom racism nor is it ignoring said racism. Conversations about fandom racism and queer issues (such as the treatment of mlm) can and should co-exist with one another and can very much intersect without having to exclude the other. ***(links for said confessions for reference: https://tinyurl.com/confess-1 / https://tinyurl.com/confess-2) I don't wish to continue having back-and-forths about the morality of Jess's enjoyment RPF, since I don't want the original points and contents of my ask getting overshadowed ;_;(link to my original confession -> https://tinyurl.com/og-jesson-confess). For everyones sakes, let me wrap up the intial Septiplier point with a pretty bow. If you don't consider Jess's consumption of MLM and/or Septiplier a pressing issue due to the myriad of other problems (racism, grooming, Jason, etc), that is absolutely valid and understandable. If you do consider Jess's consumption of MLM as a pressing issue due to the harm it caused (queerbaiting and Septiplier), that is absolutely valid and understandable. It can be considered a smaller problem or a bigger problem from person to person, and thats understandable. Theres nuance to be had with both points and we shouldn't take to one extreme while ignoring the other. As I said before, I want to open up broader discussions within Aphblr and to encourage people seeing different viewpoints. The initial conclusion of my initial MLM+Septiplier points were to open up a different perspective and to open up a discussion. All and all, I do want to apologize for the trouble my confessions might've caused ;_; Thank you Aphverse Mod for being such a trooper with my essays. Here is your shrimp for reading till the end 🦐

.

[medusapelagia]

Brother of my brother 1

It's official. I'm unable to write drabble, so I'll split this in three parts. I love the concept so maybe I'll write more, but for the moment this is it! Please let me know if I should continue it or not :)

Tags: AU, Angst with a hopefull ending Relationship: Eddie Munson/Steve Harrington Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Fucking Steve Harrington. Always surrounded by his stupid goonies that adore him like a god. The king of Hawkins High. Eddie fucking hates him and he has his motivation. “Fuck him.” “Who?” Jeff says, sitting with him in the cafeteria. “Steve fucking Harrington.” The basketball team is still celebrating the winning of the Championship games, and some of his teammates lift him in the air singing “King Steve! King Steve!” until one of the teachers scolds him saying how dangerous that is. “Yeah, I know, rich, good-looking, great at sports… he has it all right?” Gareth sighs at his side. He is right. But there is a reason why Eddie hates him. And it’s more personal than he would love to admit.

“Fuck him.” “Yeah! Fuck him! Fuck you all stupid jocks!” Gareth yells at the other table and the group of guys get to their table with a threatening look. “The fuck did you say?” “What? Are you deaf church boy?” Eddie replies. Jason Carver gets closer to him, ready to hit him when his girlfriend tries to stop him “It’s not worth it.” She says, and Carver stares at Eddie angrily but nods at his girlfriend and leaves the cafeteria with her. “Run, church boy! That’s all you are good at!” he reinforces the message, still angry with the fucking jocks. “What the hell Eddie! Stop it!” Jeff tries to stop him, but Eddie frees himself from Jeff’s grip and jumps on the table. “Run little innocent sheep! Run or the devil will come for you!” he continues, looking unhinged while he threatens the students of the high school. Everyone in that fucking school hates him and he hates everyone. And someone in particular. Someone who is looking at him, with an arm on his girlfriend’s shoulder, ready to protect her. “Do you see something that you like, Harrington?” he asks jumping off the table and in front of him. He pushes Nancy behind him and faces Eddie with no fear “You are just a clown Munson. Last time a clown scared me I was five years old.” “Uh… we finally found someone with some balls, do you mind if I check if it’s true?” he asks him trying to grab his dick, but Steve is quicker and twists his arm. “Don’t fucking touch me.” His grip is strong. Maybe he will break his wrist and he will go back to the hospital. Again. He fucking hates Steve Harrington. He fucking hates him. And he has his reason. “You are going to break his wrist!” Wheeler screams and suddenly the grip on his arm gets looser and he moves the hand, trying to understand if something is broken or else. “You are fine, but don’t fuck with me. Let’s go, Nancy. I don’t wanna be late.” “What the fuck was that?” Jeff asks while Eddie keeps looking at Steve’s silhouette that leaves the cafeteria. “I fucking hate him!” he says, taking his lunch box and his backpack. “Where are you going? You are going to miss Mrs. Click’s lesson.” But Eddie has already left the cafeteria and he is waiting at the picnic table to deal with some rich guys. Fucking rich guys. That could have been him. That should have been him. He is so fucking angry! “Would you tell me what the fuck you think you are doing?” Dustin Henderson is sitting in front of him at his workplace and Eddie is too angry to deal with him right now. “I’m working and you should be in class!” he states, lightening a joint to ease the tension. “I know. Listen, I know that you don’t like Steve, but he is a good guy! I swear! When I lost Mew he looked for him all day and then rescued him from a stupid tree and almost killed himself in the making. He is not a nerd like us but he is cool.” “Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi!” “Don’t quote Cesar to me, Eddie.” He always forgets how clever the little shrimp is. “What do you want?” “I wanna know why the hell you are so angry with Steve! He doesn’t talk to you, he didn’t even know that you existed since three weeks ago!” Three weeks ago. When Eddie got into an accident and got to the hospital. When he discovered the fucking truth. “It’s none of your business.” He replies leaving the table. Dustin calls his name but he is already at the van and driving toward the quarry,

[ask-will-and-nico]

"No, I'm one of the lucky ones there. No food allergies." Will smiled. "Good..." He turned to the waiter and ordered the variety nigiri plate. Jason got a steak, and Nico got those shrimp rolls Will had mentioned. Part of him didn't want to order anything, but he had to eat a full dinner or his medicine wouldn't work. It was honestly kind of lucky his meds had that stipulation, it helped convince him to eat even on his bad days.

“You know, Nico used to be an artist before he started law school,” Jason said. Nico wasn’t sure why Jason would bring that up. And he would hardly call himself an artist, he was just someone who liked to draw and paint. He raised his eyebrow at Jason, silently asking. Jason acted like he didn’t see Nico, folding his napkin in his lap. I’ll, on the other hand, looked surprised, both of his own eyebrows raised up high. “Really?” Will asked. Nico shrugged. He never really liked talking about himself much. “I wasn’t really an artist. I just liked doodling and stuff. Helped me work through some stuff,” Nico said with a shrug. “That’s really cool,” Will said. “What was your favorite? Painting or drawing or what?” Will asked.

[ghosttownwherenoonegoes]

Ok I’ve never done a request but it’s stuck in my head and I can’t write. Eddie Munson would absolutely melt if he was laying in your lap and you started playing with his hair🫠

SCREAMING CRYING!!!😭😭😭All day at work today, I was thinking about this. I daydreamed away the entire shift, spent it all with Eddie, and I did my best to remember everything I was thinking of!💖

Summary: Sometimes, Eddie just has to turn the music off, shut his bedroom door, and let himself cry. Being the freak doesn’t bother him most of the time, but every now and then, it all gets to be too much. With your fingers in his hair and his body against yours, Eddie knows he’ll be okay. Someday.

Contains: reader comforts Eddie, Eddie crying, fluff, canon angst (bullying; Jason versus Eddie), nicknames (honey, sweetie, etc.)

I listened to and had Solitude by Black Sabbath in my head as I wrote this; the feeling of that song is what inspired and prompted this piece (as well as the request itself - thank you so much for being my first one!)💔

(On another note, I couldn't believe this is Ozzy singing but all my research says it is - they added a delayed effect to his voice so it sounded like there were two. He sounds so different to the Ozzy I know, but it makes me love the song even more. It's so melancholy but soothing and that's the vibe I wanted for this piece).

Word count: 3, 198.

Tagging @the-slasher-madame @alliecheer007-88 @moonlighteeve @sabbathsworld @spencestyles @eddiebunson

And a big thank you to @gemstone-roses for reading this over and helping me with the ending! I just don't know when to shut up😂

At school, Eddie was the personification of a hurricane. He was loud, chaotic, unafraid to stand atop a table and make some noise. He was always right in what he said, but the way he delivered those truths left much to be desired for the majority of the school population.

Only you and the other members of Hellfire Club truly appreciated the words, the theatrics, the way Eddie liked to deflect attention away from the kids he mentored by making himself the centre of attention; it was so seamless a display of protection that even the kids themselves missed it sometimes.

But you saw Eddie's actions for what they were, you heard his speeches for what he was really saying, and you knew and loved Eddie as no one but you and his uncle got to see him.

Not just the way he behaved at school, but also the way he truly was.

Eddie was... soft.

There was a notable edge to him, to be sure - he wasn't afraid to play into his reputation when he needed to, and he definitely wasn't afraid to get violent. He had a switchblade with a sharp tongue to match, though words were his preferred weapon. His voice became high pitched when he was pissed off or scared, he complained about things and swore about them the whole time but he did them anyway because he knew it was what was right. You saw bravery in his mundane. He sewed patches onto his own jacket, his tongue sticking out in concentration. He would look up towards the ceiling to take deep breaths when he pricked himself, calming himself down before he carried on; wanting the end result no matter what it personally cost him. He got excited when he saw stray cats in the trailer park, he did as many chores for his uncle as he could between having to wake up for school and his uncle coming home from the night shift. He listened to you and his friends, supported and encouraged those who needed it, helped those who were too scared to ask him for help. Gave people a place to sit when no one else would let them, gave Dustin all the time in the world to say what he wanted to say, even and especially when others got impatient with the little shrimp.

Eddie was strong, resilient, sweet, charming, intelligent, creative, passionate, truly such a good person; beautiful inside and out...

And incredibly sensitive.

You saw the act which Eddie played into when he was at school and you loved him for his eccentricity. He owned it and encouraged others to do the same. You saw the man who worked hard at his music, who worked hard to make his clothes his. The man who sold drugs at a higher price than they actually were but only to people who were mean to him. Kind people got a discount. Friends often got drugs for a steal, or he wouldn't charge them at all. It wasn't the best way to make money, but Eddie did it anyway, just so that he could better help Wayne with the bills and upkeep of the trailer. In short, Eddie did the best with what he had and you admired him strongly for that.

But what you admired him for the most was the way in which, when the hour was right, when the sun dipped below the horizon and the sky bled into purple and dark blue hues, Eddie dropped it all and showed the rawest parts of himself to anyone who cared enough to look, to really look.

A part of you found that, the darker Eddie's mood, the more beautiful he became. Perhaps it was in the heartache with which you watched him, or maybe it was because you knew how precious a soul he was and only you got to see him when the world had forced him to his knees, or maybe it was just because you knew he was safe with you, just as you were safe with him. He was so, so pretty, even in his pain, and somehow did you only love him more.

You watched as he paced around the kitchen area of the trailer, going in a full circle before moving through the living space and down the long corridor towards his bedroom. He punched lightly at the door, then spun on his heel, dark hair flying like lightning, and repeated the circuit. He was muttering to himself, dark eyes staring at the ceiling or out the window or down at the floor. Not at you. If he looked at you, he'd crack, and he didn't want to crack. So he didn't look.

He just kept pacing back and forth, back and forth, trying to work out his energy, getting more and more aggravated by the circuit.

He was on his thirteenth one before you intervened, your concern simply too great and your want to help him even greater.

"Eddie?"

A non-committal grunt as Eddie spun past you.

"Eddie."

A faster circuit, a harder punch on the bedroom door, he came back through the kitchen, swore under his breath, turned -

"Eddie!"

He stopped dead. A shuddering breath. Dark eyes looked through you. Swimming with too many thoughts to listen to, words too small to matter but cutting him up all the same, screaming inside his head. Too much too much too much too much -

Eddie put his hands over his face, his shoulders bowing inwards as he cried. He sniffled, didn't make much noise, but he was all you could hear. Great heaving breaths picked up and Eddie followed his body's movements down, down, 'til the world literally and metaphorically had him on his knees, sobbing on the kitchen floor in the trailer.

"Oh, honey," you cooed as you immediately stood, walking over to Eddie. You didn't run or make your urgency physically known; you didn't want to spook him. You hadn't ever seen him like this; never before had he allowed you to see him totally shatter. "Oh, sweetie, deep breaths," you bent slowly, giving him plenty of time to move away, but Eddie gave no indication that he even knew you were there.

How many times had he ended up here and been left all on his own?

How many times had he scraped himself up off the kitchen floor?

How many times had he pulled himself together, hands swiping across wet cheeks as he suppressed sniffles, not wanting to worry his uncle or friends?

How many times had he completely moved through his upset, coming into school like it was no big deal, and no one noticed?

How many times had he screamed for help inside his head, paralysed by his emotions, and unable to voice them to anyone, so he had suffered silent and alone? All the while begging to be seen, heard, helped, loved?

How many times?

The seemingly endless possibilities made you feel sick and you swore there and then that this was the first of every time that you would be there for Eddie, just as he always was for you, no matter any personal cost.

You rubbed his back in slow movements, your hand firm against the softer material of the Dio logo cut off an old band shirt and lovingly stitched onto the back of the denim jacket he had personalised himself. "I've got you, Eddie, I'm here, you're not alone." You blinked hard against the stinging of tears in your eyes and made a concerted effort to focus on Eddie. If he saw you cry at all, let alone for him, then he would forget himself in the face of tending to you, and you didn't want him to do anything other than to feel his own feelings. He had a lot of them and they needed to come out just as they were.

Sobs turned to sniffles but Eddie still didn't look at you. That was okay, you were content to let him take his time. As best as you could, you angled your hands so you could dash tears away from his cheeks. Eddie flinched away when your thumb got too close to his eye and you bit back a smile; he was reacting to you, so he was beginning to come around. That was a good sign.

Fuck, but the way he whimpered before he raised his head to look at you, his dark eyes pools of melted galaxies and stars, burned out before their time but still trying to reach someone with their light. "I know you do." A hoarse whisper. He sniffed harshly, "I feel pretty fucking far from okay, Y/N."

Sweet boy. He made your heart bleed.

Eddie ran a hand over his tear-stained, damp face, shaking his head. He seemed as though he was trying to physically remove his thoughts from his mind, get to feeling better. No one ever got to see Eddie Munson cry. He kept that part of him hidden from the world, but you were his world and now his walls were crumbling down, so fast that it made the both of you dizzy. You were practically frantic in your want to comfort him, to help him. His dark curls brushed lightly across the strong slopes of his shoulders and you tucked some strands behind his ears, wanting to see him. As your fingers ran through his hair, catching on minute tangles, Eddie's eyes slipped closed and he tilted into your touch like a cat. He took a deep breath, pure instinct, and pushed back against your hand. No, not pushing... nuzzling.

“What's the matter, Eddie? You can talk to me; you're safe here with me, I promise. I've got you.”

Eddie sniffled again and you kept playing with his hair; full strokes from his hairline down, down, to the very tips, your fingers gentle, slow. Trying to love him as he deserved... so intensely that he didn't know what to do with himself. You gave him the space and the time to come to you; if he spoke, wonderful. If he didn't, that was okay too. Whatever he wanted. You just wanted to be there for him while what happened, happened. You moved out of the crouching position and sat cross legged before him, getting yourself comfortable.

“Do – do you believe the - “ Eddie whimpered again and you made a soft noise, something between an “oh” and an “awh” as you sought to comfort him, not wanting to interrupt but needing to acknowledge that you were there with him, fully present in the moment and your every nerve fixed on him. “The stuff they say about me?” Freak. Devil worshipper. Cult leader. Never gonna graduate. Waste of space.

“Oh, honey, no. I don't believe anything they say. How could I? They don't know you. But I do. I know you and I love you, Eddie. So much and for so many different things it makes me dizzy sometimes.”

Eddie's dark eyes looked at you fully for the first time and your next breath caught in your throat at how filled with pain his face was. His eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, his bottom lip bitten to all hell as he had worried at it with his teeth. His tongue was probably sore, too, from having bitten back scathing remarks all day. Even when being mean and scary would have been easiest option, to treat others as they treated him, Eddie was only ever kind. He had a darker streak, it was true, and there were numerous times he had delivered below the belt punches with his words, but those were times in which he had had to be mean. A cornered animal would only take so much before it attacked.

“You're none of those things, Eddie, you're - “ Here, you hesitated. Did he want to hear what you wanted to say? Was it right to vent about him to him when he was feeling like this? Or would it be welcomed? What if -

Fingers spidered across your knee, squeezed. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Together, right?”

Oh, help you. Your heart bled even as you nodded in agreement – there he was sobbing on the kitchen floor, trying to encourage you to open up to him. Even in his pain, he was so kind and it made you want to cry for him, because of him.

“It's just... they're so wrong about you, Eddie. They don't see you for who you are. Not the patience you give Dustin when he rambles for five minutes just to say what's effectively one sentence, not the kind way you mentor people who have no one else to sit with, not the way you taught me how to play D&D just so I could sit with the rest of Hellfire and feel included, not the way you try so hard with the things you're passionate about. Like your guitar, your campaigns, your jacket... it took you weeks to make it just as you wanted it. They see what they want to see and they believe what they want to; judging you without even trying to know you, and that's their loss. You're nothing like what they say, Eddie, please, I - “ you ran your fingers through Eddie's hair, and again his eyes fluttered shut and he melted into your touch, “I love you so much for who you are, in those moments when it seems like everyone's watching but no one's looking, in those moments when you're playing up to the persona they think you are, in those moments when you're crying alone. You're not a freak, or a cult leader, or anything else. You're you and you're... fuck, you're so beautiful, Eddie.”

Silence. Eddie, processing. You, waiting. Supporting. Patient, caring. Loving.

Finally, after what seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes, Eddie sniffled and exhaled through his mouth before he stood up, your hands falling to your sides. He looked down but not at you and held out his hand. Your fingers widened so that you could slide them between Eddie's and he gave you a tired, sad smile as he pulled you up to stand with him. You followed him, already knowing what he wanted, and you were the first to clamber up on the double bed. You laid down flat on your back, eyes fixed on Eddie. He looked as bad as he felt, you were sure, and it made your heart ache. He didn't come towards you immediately; he was... hesitant? Sometimes you had a little trouble reading him, but you knew how kind and tender-hearted he was, and you used that to guide you. Eddie just needed to be loved in moments like this more than anything else.

“Oh, c'mere,” Fuck, but you almost cooed as you raised your hands, arms slightly away from your sides, “take what you need from me, pretty boy.” You tried to keep your voice as soft as you could without dipping into the volume of a whisper. You wanted Eddie to stay in his vulnerability, to feel safe in being open and raw with you. You knew he was still processing your monologue and he would address it when he felt like he had the right words to say. Eddie took emotional situations like this seriously; about as seriously as he took Hellfire. His passions and his devotions were one and the same. It was one of the many things you admired and loved about him.

Eddie almost stumbled over to the foot of the bed as he clambered up with the same grace through which he stepped up on lunch tables, his body crawling up the bed until he could let himself gently collapse. Even like this, even almost unaware of himself, Eddie was still considerate, making sure to watch bony elbows and knees as he laid atop you. He wasn't happy or comfortable if you weren't. His face pushed into the warm crook of your neck as his arms slid in the gap between your back and the mattress, his fingers wiggling and rings digging into your back. You pulled up, helping him, and Eddie sighed in content as he hugged you to him, his dark curls tickling your chin. His sigh was thick with tears both shed and unshed, his body a weight against your own which seemed to bleed heat. Your hands found purchase in his hair, fingers scratching at Eddie's scalp.

“You're so beautiful, Eddie.”

You felt Eddie turn his head, pushing his face against your skin. A dry but soft, painfully gentle mouth peppered the skin there with kisses. Trying to convey his overwhelming emotions with words he just didn't have; too highly strung. Too tired. “Do you - “ Eddie sniffled, his voice cracking at the start of the next word. You almost didn't hear him. “Did you mean all that, what you said back there?”

You kept stroking his hair, root to tip in soothing motions, fingers carefully and gently manually undoing any tangles you encountered. There weren't many; Eddie took good care of himself. “Every word, beloved.”

Your tone left no room for argument and Eddie made a soft noise, something between an “oh” and a “hm” as he squeezed you tight, pressing every plane of his body against your own. He couldn't get close enough but you didn't shush him or tell him it was okay; you gave him nothing like that. You simply remained quiet, let him take what he needed from you, and you matched his energy as best as you could. You kept stroking his hair, playing with the ends as you felt him melt into you; you were as stable beneath him as the mattress was beneath you and you refused to so much as shift your weight. You didn't want Eddie thinking that you were uncomfortable; he was so vulnerable and you wanted to be the solid ground which his proverbial feet were missing.

You couldn't have known that simply by being who you were, you were already all of that for him and more.

Eddie squeezed you again and then in one big exhale, he physically relaxed and you could feel from the lack of tension in his shoulders that he had just let the whole day go; you admired how he was able to do that. When Eddie decided not to let something bother him any more, it no longer did. Sometimes he just needed a little help getting to that point, and that was more than okay. He was so brave, so strong, so stubborn.

“I love you so fucking much, sweetheart.” Eddie's face rubbed at your neck, back and forth, like a cat headbutting the hand pulling away from its head because it wasn't done yet, and warmth bloomed in your chest. It burned until all you could do was lay there and smile into Eddie's crown.

He was feeling better.

“I love you too, Eddie. The sanest of them all.”

[necro-maxing]

Something so satisfying about the idea of Jason moving out of Gotham and moving in with Kyle in NY after all the drifting from place to place, self-discovery, and the death of his best friend. (Oh lord here we go, Jay's gonna write a half-baked fic again):

It's a shitty apartment, but Kyle offers up what little space he has to give Jason a home, because God knows the man needs a place to call home now. The closest thing he had to call home in a person is dead, or a family that doesn't even really see him as a person half the time so much as a problem to be fixed or contained; Kyle doesn't expect to take that place or be anything excessively important, but he does have a couch and a few extra cups of instant noodles he can share.

And then Jason lives there. He's been there for a month, and Kyle is noticing changes. Jason isn't anything like what Kyle expected when he first met him years ago; he calm, he's quiet, he's smart. He's multidimensional, and that never really rang true until Kyle noticed Jason seemed comfortable enough to let his guard down.

Kyle also notices other changes. Such as a lack of being hounded about rent by the landlord, an increase in actual food in the apartment, and a stack of books that used to occupy the floor on an actual bookshelf. He debates asking a lot of the time, but he never finds the right way. Instead, he leaves it alone for a year.

The year rounds out. Kyle finally asks, because his entire apartment doesn't look half as bad as it did when Jason moved in. He finds Jason in the kitchen, cooking, and the whole place smells like Kyle's childhood. Spices that make his nose tickle and his mouth water fill the air, and he finds Jason leaned against the counter, scrolling through his phone with one hand and stirring the pot on the stove with the other. He's humming, a tune Kyle can't place but recognizes, somehow.

"Hey, Jay?" Kyle starts, eyeing his roommate as Jason looks up and, be still his beating heart, smiles at him.

"Oh, hey." Jason says, putting his phone down on the counter. He's giving Kyle his full attention, a gesture he usually reserves for important conversation. "I would've texted you about dinner, but y'know. I kinda just started."

"Nah, that's fine." Kyle says, waving off the statement. "I did want to talk to you, though. About uh... the apartment?" He doesn't miss the way Jason's shoulders tense, the way his jaw sets. He curses himself as he realizes how that must have sounded, knowing Jason must be expecting the worst now.

"Sure. Let me just-" Jason says, turning to knock the heat on the stove top down to low. Kyle watches him, the way his fingers just slightly falter with the knob. He's nervous.

"Its nothing bad, Jay." Kyle says quickly, and almost as if he's said some magic word, Jason visibly relaxes. His hand draws back from the stove dial slowly, and he turns to look at Kyle. "Its just... have you been paying the backrent? And... all the furniture and the food- Jay, I can't afford to pay you back."

"Whoa, whoa, slow your roll, bud! Who said anything about paying me back?" Jason asks, furrowing his eyebrows as he leans back against the counter. "Dude, you're letting me live here, and between your day job and running around doing... whatever it is Lanterns do, I don't know your life, you don't exactly make the big bucks. The least I can do is help you keep your shithole in your hands. And respectfully, after week three, if I had to eat one more cup of shrimp-flavored noodles, I was gonna murder you in your sleep."

"Jason." Kyle sighs, tucking his hands in his pockets as he eyes the floor. "Thanks, man. I've been stressing out for a year now about where in God's name I was gonna find the means to pay you back for this."

"And now you can rest easy, dreamboat. Now, do you or do you not want me to finish dinner before the game? I'm not gonna sit here and listen to you bitch about missing anything again." Jason warns, lifting the spoon out of the pot to wave at Kyle in a mock-threat.

"Right, right. Let the chef work his magic, and we all go to ved happy." Kyle laughs, holds up his hands defensively as he moves to leave the kitchen area. He pauses then, leaning into the room again to eye Jason. "Oh, and Jay?"

"Hm?" Jason doesn't look up, eyes focused on his methodical stirring. Kyle grins to himself, deciding that if Jason is so comfortable with him as to call him fucking dreamboat directly to his face, he may as well enjoy it.

"You make a great housewife, sweetheart." He ducks just as a knife flies into the wallpaper beside his head, laughing as he scrambles away from the kitchen as a flurry of yelling in the heaviest Gotham accent he's ever heard barrels out the door after him.

"I'm so poisoning your food, Rayner!"

[sweet-villain]

Don't Worry About A Thing~E.M

@harrys-tittie asked:

Eddie seems like the type to get so frustrated and overwhelmed he punches a wall and ends up breaking/fracturing his hand, but doesn’t realize at the time because adrenaline. Very soon after he’s being babied and taken care of by reader <3 I love big softie Eddie

He's gritting his teeth with his nose scrunching up as he folds the notebook in his hand as he watches you throw your head back at something Jason has said. Since when did you and Jason were friendly?

Chrissy came in his line of vision. Her eyebrows knitted together as she held her books in her hands. Eddie was breathing harshly as he stared at her wondering what she wanted.

" Are you okay? You look a little red" A little? Eddie was fuming.

" 'm fine, Chrissy" she frowned as she went to touch his arm but he stepped back as he shook his head. His name of curls bounced.

" Please don't touch me" he said through his gritted teeth. Eddie returned to look at you talking with Jason about god knows what. It really bothered him. Chrissy turned her head to look at what he was looking at.

" It's nothing, Eddie. You know her mom is friends with his mo, right?" Eddie shook his head. He knew that. But it's the way Jason was looking down at you and you were laughing.

You hadn't noticed the metal head staring holes into Jason Carver's head with Chrissy by his side.

" Don't you have class?" She asks him. Eddie growled as he shook his fist.

" Not right now!" he shouted as he back into the crowd hearing the bell rang, hurrying out of the hallway. He couldn't stand there anymore and continue to watch you flirt with Jason.

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Eddie's gaze harden watching you walk with a tray of food in your hands as Jason walked with you by your side. You were too busy in conversation with Jason about how your mom kept insisting he'd bring his car around for your dad to look at. His mom mentioned he was having problem. Your dad was a mechanic nearby shop.

Dustin set his tray down with Mike next to him, Gareth has sat down looking at Eddie who couldn't keep his eyes from you. But it's the way he was staring that sent the Hellfire boys chills down their spines.

" Eddie?" their dungeon master didn't even move his head or turn his attention to Mike who had called him. Eddie gripped his lunchbox in his hands, his knuckles were turning white and his nose scrunched again.

He was beyond angry.

What did Jason Carver had that he didn't? Why didn't you giggle at his stupid joke? Why did it have to Jason?

Eddie really needed a smoke as he stood up with his lunchbox in his hands and hurried out of the cafeteria. You spotted your best friend scurrying off.

" What's up with Munson?" Jason asked you. You shrugged, a frown on your face as you looked over to the Hellfire table and they had the same expression. You shrugged it off.

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Eddie couldn't even focus on tonight's campaign as he sat in his throne with his hands folded together with one leg over the other as he stared into space.

Everyone had arrived in their seats and they were ready to start. They all shared a look among one another not knowing what was wrong with Eddie.

" Eddie?"

They were met by silence. Dustin got up from his chair as he walked over to Eddie, waved a hand.

" Hello? Anyone there?" he asked, bending his head down to be eye level with Eddie. Eddie's brown doe eyes stared at Dustin, seeing the little shrimp clearly. His lips were in a thin line as he tilted his head.

" Sit" he spoke. The tone wasn't friendly as they were used to hearing.

Dustin eyes got wide as he walked back to his seat. They all waiting for the campaign to start.

" Are we going to play or what?" Gareth asks. Eddie unfolded his hands as he moved to the edge of the seat as he peered at the rest of the Hellfire boys.

Eddie wasn't going to make this easy for them. Not when he was fuming inside. He was full of jealousy and confusion.

" Oh we are playing " Eddie says as he peers at them. His eyes are not in the shade of brown, darker and the air felt thicker in the theater room.

They all looked at each other in worry.

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You pushed through bodies of people that were dancing, making out or grabbing a drink. You made your way to the kitchen, to the punch bowl that was spiked. As you grabbed a red cup to fill it, a hand held out a red up filled with punch already.

Jason's face came into view.

" Here you go, I saw you making your way to the kitchen"

" Thank you" you raised it up to sniff it, and look at him debating weather to drink it or not. " I didn't do anything to it" he says. You stumble back as someone pushes past you through the crowd. Your head turns in time to see the Dio vest and the mane of curls.

" Prick" Jason mutters underneath his breath as he spotted Eddie was the one who pushed past you. You rubbed your shoulder feeling it hurt a bit from the way Eddie pushed past you.

Eddie never stopped fuming when he walked into the party. He was doing some deal that were too good to be true to pass up and then he spotted you.

You wore a skirt and a cute long sleeve top with high boots. He was in awe of you. Snickers next to him caught his attention.

" You'll never get a girl like her, freak" Eddie looks away as his nose scrunched up in anger. He closed his eyes as he contained it, gripping his lunch box.

It got worse when he saw you dancing with one of the jokes that pocked fun at him. His dark gaze caused a shiver down your spine. You spotted the scrunch of his nose. You loved it when he did that. You can see something is bothering him.

You let go of who you were dancing with as you followed him through the crowd as he turned to go upstairs. He hasn't noticed you following him. Eddie needed to cool off before he had to make another deal.

His hand tried every room until he found the bathroom, and before he had a chance to shut it, a hand stopped. His head turned to glance at who it was. When he spots you, he can't help but roll his eyes as he sets his lunchbox next the sink.

His hands grip on the sink as he avert his gaze.

" What's wrong?" you ask him. He can't help but snicker. Now you care about him?

" What's so funny?" He shook his head as he turns his head to look at you over his shoulder. " You" he says.

" Me? What did I do?" you had a hand on your chest, confusion written on your face. Eddie turns around as his back leans against the sink throwing his hands up in the air.

" Little miss princess get tired off the popular crowd?" your eyebrow knitted together.

" What are you talking about?" your back is to the wall as you look at him. He rolls his eyes.

" Stop that" his eyebrows are knitted together now. You point an index finger at his face. " Rolling your eyes is rude"

" So is forgetting your best friend exists" he says, hurt in his tone. Your heart sinks to your stomach. Why didn't he say something sooner if he feels like that?"

" I didn't-" he laughs.

" Don't humor me Y/N. You are very well aware all you do is talk to Jason fucking Carver" he spats.

" Jason-" he shakes with anger.

" Stop putting your attention to Carver! Don't you remember what he put me through? What he put you through? Remember the time he put gum in your hair? Not one, but three! Stop talking to him like he's your boyfriend! HE'S NOT! Stop giving him attention!"

You don't know how it happened but Eddie slams his fist against the wall and you hear the crack. Your eyes go wide seeing Eddie breathing hard, nose scrunched, eyes darker and his hand was broken now and bleeding from the looks of it.

Why was he acting like this?"

" Eddie, your hurt" you say inching your hand to grab his. Eddie doesn't comprehend that he broke his hand as his only focus is on you. He doesn't comprehend that your touching him and the pain he should be feeling.

His eyes closed for a brief moment as his breathing calms down. A whimper escapes his mouth as pain shoots at his hand. He hisses at the burn.

" Eds" you look over at his hand. He glances down, whimpering as he moves his fingers or tries too. " I need to get you an ice pack" you say dropping his hand and turn around to head to the door when he calls out your name.

" Yeah?" you ask. " Be quick" he pouts raising his hand to place it above his heart. You nodded as you exited, racing downstairs to get an ice pack and wrap it around paper towels. This was the best you could do as you headed back upstairs.

" Eds, it's me" you knocked on the door, he opened the door as you slide past the small opening. Locking the door with your other hand, you face him.

He had taken off his rings.

He offers his hand to you while you hold it and gently place the ice pack that you got from the freezer onto his hand. He hisses at the contact, gritting his teeth.

There is silence between the two of you. Eddie watches as you continue to hold but he can tell there is something your thinking about.

" What is it?" He asks. You bite your bottom lip as you raise your head to look at him. " Why were you so angry? Why did you need to hit the wall?"

He sighed as he looked away.

" I don't know" he mumbles. You give him a look that says he isn't bullshitting you. You knew him.

" I don't like you talking to Carver, it makes me feel things" he says.

" What kind of things?" Eddie groans as he shakes his head, not wanting to say what he wants to say. The words want to leave his mouth but it's his heart that's terrified. He is terrified to lose you.

" Eds, please" you beg him. His brown doe eyes lock with yours making him melt.

" I like you, sweetheart. It kills me every time you talk to Carver"

" You're an idiot, you know? Being angry for no reason when you could of just talked to me. I like you too, Eddie. Liked you since freshman year" his eyes grow wide with happiness.

He winces as he remembers his broken hand.

" I need to take you to the hospital" he groans as he shakes his head. " No, I hate the hospital" he whines as he stomps his foot like a child.

" Eddie bear" his eyes light up at the nick name, " I'll be there with you, holding your other hand"

His hand comes up to cup your face as his thumb caresses your cheeks. He doesn't know what he did to deserve you but he wasn't going to let go of you any time soon.

[butwhyduh]

Getting tall

Summary: Damian finally hits his growth spurts and the fam have opinions. Some damijon, timkon, jaytemis, and dickori mentioned.

Damian was an adorable tiny murder baby when he first showed up at the manor. Like a feral kitten. Short end of normal growth at 10 years old and thin too, Dr Leslie found. Make sure he eats 3 square meals and snacks when he wants and he’ll be just fine. Alfred had made it his mission, as he had done for both Jason and Tim, to put weight on Damian.

The first family member he outgrew was Cass. She reached over to ruffle his hair only to reach up above her head rather than below it. She didn’t mind. 5’4 isn’t very tall. She’d just have to remember that the next time they spar. Height wasn’t an important factor to her.

It was a few months later that Damian hit a massive growth spurt and grew 4 inches. He passed by 5’6 Stephanie.

“Hey little dude. What are they puttin in your food, miracle grow?” She asked when she noted how tall he was and how big his feet had gotten. Damian was a bit like the giant puppies all gangly. Alfred was adjusting the Robin costume monthly after Damian rushed to put it on for patrol one day and every time he raised his arms he felt his stomach show. Clothes were constantly being bought that met his newest height increase. The Kents were very appreciative of the barely worn clothing Jon got as Damian went through another pair.

“I’m perfectly normal in growth,” he said pulling on the hem of his shirt that was growing shorter by the day. Stephanie eyed him but left it. Tim hated the height jokes they would make when everyone started passing him in height. Nowadays Tim just rolled his eyes and deferred all short jokes to Bart who Damian was now taller than. Bart didn’t care at all because he was short but he was also at least top 3 faster people ever so who cares right?

For a very short time, Damian was taller than Jon. He liked that. Jon thought it was pretty funny.

“D, I’m going to be taller. My dad and mom are both taller than yours. I’ll be taller in the end,” Jon said with a grin before Damian pushed him off the roof. Jon giggled and stared at Damian with obvious heart eyes. The kid was definitely smitten.

Tim was half an inch taller. He didn’t acknowledge it in any way. But it wasn’t surprising. His mother was tiny, his father lower end of average, and Tim probably skipped too many meals with working during an important growth phase while he was becoming Robin. 5’8.5 is a perfectly normal height for a man. He had an easier time with stealth.

Bruce watched as his son grew more handsome and taller everyday. He recognized things he hadn’t taken the time to see with Dick or Jason and had missed completely with Tim. Aftershave, cologne, and deodorant budget went up exponentially and Damian was barred from bringing any of his shoes in the house and his Robin uniform had to double washed occasionally. He spent far longer in the bathroom doing his hair and agonizing over any spot on his face.

Bruce even once caught Damian do the lean on the doorframe while talking to someone they like when Jon visited once. He had to give the worst birds and bees talk of all time. Bruce also noted how Damian had Talia’s nose and his lip curled the same way hers did when he smiled. He stretched when walking to the breakfast table the same way Dick did.

Damian didn’t get another true growth spurt for 2 years. There was plenty of jokes that he jumped up to his height and didn’t move again. Jon was once again taller than Damian. Alfred was ready this time with the massive amount of food the 15 year old could put away and panels in his costume for easier adjustments.

Talia smiled proudly at her son as he grew taller than her. He was turning out handsome like his father but kept her feature and in her mind, that was the perfect combo. She never told Damian because she didn’t him to grow arrogant.

Dick didn’t notice it right away. He was so busy with Bludhaven and the Titans that he didn’t notice Damian had gotten a full inch taller than him. He only realized when him and Damian practiced a complex move that required a taller and shorter partner while training. They paired up as they always did and the maneuver completely fell apart. Dick was mentally putting together why it failed when Damian walked over and it clicked. Little D was not so little anymore.

“You’re taller than me,” he said brightly. Damian immediately grinned.

“So now you’re little D,” Damian said back. Dick laughed at that one.

“Don’t let it go to your head. I can throw you around like a tilt-a-whirl,” Dick warned. Of course, that’s exactly what happened the next time they sparred when Damian tried to use his height advantage.

“I can beat Jason so don’t think you can beat me just by being bigger,” Dick said standing over Damian who rolled his eyes.

Dick had no problem with Damian getting taller. It was his own height he had a complicated relationship with. See, Dick grew up as an acrobat. Being tall is a disadvantage. More weight to swing, more body to move. And his father had told him growing up that almost every Grayson man has been 5’8. It’s a legacy as strong as flying above the circus crowd.

And so when at 15, Dick was very distraught with the fact that he hadn’t stopped growing at 5’8. It felt like a part of his history and family legacy had died. He wasn’t one of the 5’8 Grayson men. He never told anyone beside Kori, late at night where she told him she loved him tall or small. She had already far outpaced Dick and was on her way to being 6’4.

Duke and Alfred and Damian were the same height for a short while. Duke would joke that he could just wear the Robin’s costume since they were the same size. Damian would threaten to disembowel him if he touched it and that made Duke laugh even more.

When he grew taller Duke once again joked with Damian calling him a not so jolly green giant and Alfred considered his nutrition attempt a complete success. Damian went from a tiny kid to a tall strong young man.

Damian and Jon were practically the same size for a while. Jon barely bent his neck to rest his chin on Damian’s shoulder as his partner worked on a complex mechanical part. Then Jon hit another growth spurt to end in his final height of 6’2, same as Bruce and his father. Damian enjoyed having a taller boyfriend for a while but would never say anything. High school dances were nice.

Bruce could see Damian getting taller and stronger and was practically grown. Dr Leslie warned Bruce that growth could continue until Damian was in his early 20s and he could end up a quite tall young man or stop tomorrow.

Jason liked being the tallest and biggest in the family. He had an entire inch in height on Bruce and was at least 20 lbs heavier. He was built like tank. When Jason had died at 15, he was terrifyingly thin. Alfred had tried his best but Jason had suffered malnutrition and hunger from practically birth. He was short and thin and Dr Leslie had told Bruce he probably always would be. And so when Jason came back to life a giant 6’3 and over 200 lbs, it was a shock. It took him forever to accept his size as anything more than an amour to create fear in his enemies. The first time he had accidentally scared a woman walking in the street at night, Jason had hated that he was so big. But within his family, it had become a source of pride. He was certainly taller than Dick and Alfred and even Bruce.

So when he visited Cass’s birthday party and Jason stood next to Damian and realized that the kid was taller than him, he was a little shocked. Damian had reached his final height of 6’4.

“When the hell did you get so big?” Jason asked while cake was being served. Dick nosed in the conversation.

“Little D is taller than you now,” he said with a teasing grin at Jason.

“And yet you insist on calling me Little D,” Damian said with an eye roll.

“I call him Big D,” Jon said with a smile. Dick blanched and Jason coughed out an awkward laugh.

“Good for you, bro,” he said patting Damian on the back. Jon blushed at the sudden understanding.

“No! I mean- he’s taller than me. I didn’t mean- uh,” Jon stuttered. Damian grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him away from his brothers who were laughing.

“It’s weird you know,” Jason admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

“The fact that he is dating Jon?”

“No, they’ve been together forever. That he’s taller than me,” Jason said.

“Are you- does it bother you that you aren’t the tallest?” Dick asked with a gleeful smile.

“No,” Jason said abruptly.

“It could be like how I learned my little brother was bigger than me,” Dick teased. “All of a sudden you were just massive. My tiny little brother was this big dude. Good thing I’m comfortable with my masculinity.”

“Your girlfriend is like 6 inches taller than you. If that isn’t emasculating then there’s nothing I could do,” Jason answered.

“Yeah, she’s always been taller than me,” Dick said with a fond smile. “You can’t talk with the Amazon you’ve been hanging with.” He pushed Jason’s shoulder with a grin.

“We’re just friends-I guess,” Jason said uncomfortable. “That’s not the same-“

“Well at least Tim will always be our little brother,” Dick changed the subject but mentally noted Jason’s reaction to the mention of Artemis.

“Yeah, he’ll always be a shrimp,” Jason agreed.

“Honestly fuck you both,” Tim said from across the room. With Kon standing next to him he certainly looked tiny.

“Hey, it’s my birthday and I am the shortest and I can still kick all of your butts,” Cassandra reminded them both and they laughed but neither corrected her because they knew she was right.

[chrisevansszn]

Valleys and Mountains Pt 2.🏔

1.5k words

Link to Part 1!

What to do? You love Chris, but you don’t think he can correct this. An affair for an entire three months. How did you miss all the signs? You have sex with him a few times a week, you tried to be the best wife you could…how did your marriage get here?

***

“Chris & Y/N, thank you for coming in today. This is a place where you can express exactly how you feel. Now, who wants to go first?”

“I will.”, Chris said. “I think a divorce is the best option.”

Your head swiveled so fast in his direction. The nerve of that son of that bitch! The doctor saw my face and had to take control.

“Ok Chris. You said that very quickly and without hesitation. Are there any other steps before we pull the plug on this marriage?”

Chris rubs his beard aggressively. You turn your body forward and stare out of the window in front of you. It’s raining cats and dogs outside. You stand up.

Chris and the therapist look at you.

“I need a minute please.” You walk out of the room and down the hall. You just needed out for fresh air. Therapy was the worst decision you ever made. You could hear footsteps coming down the hall; you turn around to see Dr. Grant.

“Are you ok.”

You took a deep breath.

“Yes, I am ready to continue.” You walk about to the room with Dr. Grant.

Chris didn’t even look your way. You guys have a mountain to climb.  

“Ok now. Chris you said you thought that divorce was the best option right now. Can you elaborate on that?”

“Sure. Yes, I fucked up big time. I cheated, but I vowed to put my marriage first because I realized that I made the worst fucking mistake on Earth. Then to find out that my WIFE wanted to get even and decided to go out and fuck some bum ass dude!”

You turn to Chris. “Sounds like we are even to me.”

If looks could kill, you would be a dead woman.

Ok yes, you did cheat on Chris after finding out about his affair, but he started it.

You were out shopping at the mall when a man approached you.  He was tall, about 6ft 3in, nicely tailored suit, and smelled excellent. His said his name was Jason and he owned business building homes. Very impressive. You chatted with him for a few minutes. He had to see you wedding ring. He asked to exchange numbers but that was too much for you. You put his number in your phone and said you will be in touch.

Maybe…maybe not.

You went a couple of days thinking about Jason, but you were so scared to reach out. You and Chris were in separate rooms and are avoiding each other as much as possible. He knew you needed sometime to yourself. After a couple of weeks, you send Jason a text message.

“Hi Jason. This is Y/N the lady from the mall from a couple of weeks ago.”

He responded very quickly.

“Ms. Y/N. I didn’t think you would reach out to me. I’m very happy you did!”

OK…that was nice. You two continued to text well into the night. Asking each other questions and getting to know each other. You finally looked at your clock and it was 2:17 a.m. You text Jason goodnight. You knew you were playing with fire, but you wanted more.

The next morning you woke up to a good morning text from Jason. Well, alrighty then!

You were in your bathroom getting dressed when you heard a knock at the door. It was Chris. He had such a pathetic look on this face. The cheating absolutely hurt you but him telling the girl that he was going to leave you for her….that’s what hurts the most.

You stand up straight and look at Chris.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Can we sit and talk tonight?”

You take a deep breath.

“What are we discussing?”

“Us. I am a mess without you. I can’t sleep, I’m barely eating, and I just want to lay next to you and hold you.”

“That last part isn’t happening. We can discuss tonight.”

He nodded his head and walked out. You picked up your phone and sent a good morning text back to Jason. You finished getting dressed and headed out for work. The day went by super-fast, maybe because you were texting Jason the entire day.

You made it home dreading to hear what Chris possible has to say. You got out of the car and grabbed your things and walked inside. It smelled really good. Did Chris cook? You turned the corner to the kitchen. Chris is standing there in your apron. You shook your head and giggled, not too hard though.

“Welcome home.”

“Thank you.”

You set your things in a kitchen chair.

Chris made some shrimp pasta, a garden salad, and garlic bread. It wasn’t too bad. He really can’t cook. He made you a plate and pour you both a glass of wine. This is the first time you have been face to face with Chris in about 3 weeks. It was extremely awkward. You both eat in silence for a few seconds.

Chris sat his fork down and sat up.

“YN, I know I have fucked up really bad. I can’t express how embarrassed I am that you have to go through this, how sorry I am for stepping out of our marriage, and how stupid I realize I am for what I’ve done.  I am willing to do any and everything that you ask of me to make you love and trust me again. I’m very serious.”

You drink from your wine glass.

“Is that so? Anything?”

“Anything baby, I promise.”

“I want to meet her and ask any question I want to.”

Chris turned pale in two seconds.

“You want to meet her?”, He could barely get it out.

Fuck no, you didn’t!!

“Is that a problem?”

“Y/N please. I just want move forward.”

“Clearly you didn’t mean ANYTHING.”

Chris put his face in his hands. Finally, he looked up.

“No.”

“No?”

“No. That is giving her power.”

You took another sip of wine.

“You know what. I had no plans on actually meeting the girl. It was a test to see how far you would go with “anything”. Dinner was good.”

“Why are you playing games?”

“Me…playing games?”, you laughed.

You then stood up, guzzled your wine, and headed to your bedroom. WHAT A JOKE! You ran yourself a bubble bath and put on some relaxing music. You floated away into a head space far from reality…..that included Jason. You pick up your phone and sent a flirty text.

You two went back and forth sending text and then you went for it.

“Can I see you tonight?”

Y/N WHAT ARE YOU DOING??

He stops replying! Oh my God!

“Sure. Where?”

Whew thank goodness! You decided on a park that’s far from your home. You got out and decide to take even further by sending him a nude pic. Now, there is no turning back!  

You threw on some yoga’s and a top and took off your wedding ring. You didn’t want to make a scene leaving the house. You grabbed your keys and wallet and walked out the door. Chris was sitting on the porch having a beer.

You looked over at him.

“I will be right back.”

He nodded.

You jumped in your car and headed to the park. Jason was already there when you pulled up sitting in his truck. You got out of your car and got in his truck. You gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Hi beautiful.”

“Hi. How are you?”

“Better now.”

You instantly leaned in for a kiss.

“Oh, it’s like that?”

“Very much so.”

You and Jason made out for a few minutes and then you climbed on top of him in the driver seat. You begin gyrating on this dick and you felt it grow. Is that what you want to do? If you do this….you aren’t any better than Chris.

Jason took out a condom and held it up. He gave you “are you sure?” look. You took the condom out of his hands and opened it. Jason sat up and slid his pants down, and then you took your pants off. You put the condom on Jason and sat down on his dick nice and slow.

There is no going back now!

@whxre4cevans

@supernatural-fan151

@fallenoutofrose

@itscrazycherryblossomcollection

@coldmuffinpartycloud

@art-estrange

@coffeebooksandfandom

@arabescapr

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

eleanor shellstrop, secret winchester

given her age she’s a little older than Sam which means Eleanor and Sam are MIDDLE CHILDREN. She considers herself the Oldest Sibling because she does, jerkoff, and if you have a problem with that you can eat her farts!!!

she inherited the important Winchester gene to repress repress repress.

she’s a TERRIBLE hunter, she HATES it, but she is excellent at remembering random connections between hunters. She’s like imdb for for hunters. 

Chidi hosts ethics classes for interested supernatural beings. Meg is his best student. 

Bela is alive because I say so and always tries to get Eleanor to work with her. She also tries to seduce Tahani three times a year. 

Garth and Jason are BEST. BUDS.

Pillboi becomes part of the hunter’s network sourcing blood and organs for creatures who don’t want to murder humans. This means he has a bunch of incredibly dangerous supernatural beings with a vested interest in his well being. Pillboi might date Benny at some point.

Sam is constantly trying to get Eleanor to TALK about her FEELINGS, like, fork off, man! Just because we share a dad doesn’t mean we’re FAMILY.

Michael to Sam: i was totally rooting for you to take over hell. it’s so exciting to meet you! like meeting royalty that isn’t racist or imperialist. so not like meeting royalty at all.

dean: what the fuck is jeremy bearimy

sam: this broke me. the dot over the i.

getting drunk and swapping Traumatic Childhood™ stories with her brothers and realizing that they have a lot in common, actually, and maybe they aren’t as terrible as she thought

she and Sam bond over striking out on their own

Adam is the only one of them who had even SLIGHTLY a normal childhood and he’s just like. guys you all need therapy. 

SAYS THE DUDE WITH AN ARCHANGEL AS HIS COPILOT, Eleanor says

she and dean watch Venom together and have this slow-dawning realization that THIS is what Adam and Michael’s relationship is, WHAT THE HELL

going to bars and having competitions over who can get the most numbers

eleanor giving dean the Talk about liking dudes

at some point just yelling at him that he loves cas, now would dean PLEASE get his head out of his ash and DO something about it, we are SO TIRED of your heteronormativity, dude!!!

“if I can finish college you sure as fork can” and she dumps a bunch of nontraditional student info on Sam

Eleanor helping during investigations because “i’m a world-class liar, baby!”

she and Sam also bond over their hatred of clowns

teaches Sam some signs that she knows but they’re all VERY suggestive and she doesn’t tell him that. She’s got your back, Eileen

Eleanor flirting with Billie, accidentally has a threesome with her and Rowena

Dean making her elaborate shrimp dishes when she’s sad (usually when Chidi has to go lecture somewhere)

Eleanor: I’m an Arizona dirtbag but YOU are serial killers. I’m gonna be the velociraptor of this family.

(has big “a TRANSFORMER is the scribe of god???” “that’s megatron” energy)

She and Jason ask Sam for HYPOTHETICAL legal advice

for some reason can’t use her nephilim powers until after she dies and comes back

#WinchestersNeverDie

she doesn’t really use them for anything except shrimp and margaritas and pranks

is Jack’s vodka aunt

he just BEAMS every time he sees her

teaches Jack normal human behaviors since NONE of his fathers are even remotely normal

“oh my god, NO Jack, don’t return your cart to the cart corral. leave it in the parking space. that’s what humans do.”

she’s helped a demon through an existential moral crisis. jack’s soul stuff? not a big deal. she’ll walk him through it.

loans him some of her powers so maybe he doesn’t even need to use his soul

“this kid is too nice. satan is your dad. be meaner, jack”

“this is my cousin, the son of the devil, who uses his magical godlike powers to right the wrongs of the world. i am the child of gabriel, the angel who explained shirt to people, and i use my magical godlike powers to manifest a never ending supply of shrimp”

“are we SURE i am not lucifer’s child?”

Gabe: nope kiddo you’re mine

Gabe: this sarcasm-fueled trashbag is my daughter and i love her very much

they go cop tipping on weekends which is where they flip over cop cars

you know those posts that talk about Gabe being Jesus’ dad? That

Eleanor: i’m sorry the FUCK do you mean JC is my BROTHER

Eleanor, five hours and a panic attack later: are there any other famous siblings I should know about????

Gabe: well we don’t talk about Rasputin

Sam: i’m sorry WHAT

she never meets soulless!sam which is good because pre-death Eleanor and soulless!sam would have been like. ponzi-scheme and bounce to bermuda with the money types

Crowley proposes to her once a month

also the height difference between her and her brothers is VERY important and hilarious

she’s yelling at Sam about something and Dean picks her up and stands her on a table so she can be eye to eye with him

[k0ra-kumori]

Cannibal!Jason Todd x Reader

so this is the first fanfic i write in english, i'm brazilian so sorry if there are any grammatical errors. ⚠️IMPORTANT⚠️: THIS FANFIC IS BASED ON DC SUPER HERO GIRLS 2019.

word count ; 2193

pairings ; jason todd x reader

genre ; fluffy / angst

warnings: none

It was almost 9:00 pm, and you were now in the wayne manor with five stallions named, jason todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne and Bruce Wayne, and of course, barbara gordon the batgirl. You were the newest member of the batfamily, you were all at the dinner table waiting for Alfred to serve you the food. "I'm going to drown you in that pot of sauce if I don't remove what I said, Drake!" Said Damian, he was protesting something that Tim had said, and that apparently offended the boy, "Stop it, you two" Dick stepped in to stop that fight, Jason was laughing at everything, Barbara was beside him with a expression of "Send these animals back to the jungle" and Bruce was using his cell phone to distract himself from that discussion, otherwise he would lose his patience and would put all the boys grounded "Master Bruce, here's dinner" said Alfred "Thank you Al, are you sure you don't want to join us?" Alfred just gave a quick excuse and walked away, the butler knew that dinner time was the most disturbed and chaotic time of the day of the bats, so the butler preferred to eat alone or just with one member of the family. "Are they prawns?" You said excitedly "Yeah, if you don't want eat, I can eat them Y / N" Jason offered, he always tried to steal your food, but you always denied it with a bad-tempered or sarcastic answer, Jason was the weirdest among his brothers... "I'm going to eat them Jason, stop asking the same thing every time I sit here" Jason just snarled in reply, "All of you, be quiet please, I'm trying to take a photo of the prawns for instagram!" Bruce screamed, Dick just down his head like a puppy taking orders, Damian snorted and crossed his arms, Tim just rolled his eyes, you and barbara just looked at each other, it looked like Bruce was going to take the perfect photo, this until jason stood up and screamed "Take a picture of this, bitch!" So Bruce's dish was gone, Jason had thrown Bruce's plate away, the pieces of shrimp were scattered all over the dining room, now think of a chaotic family, a dirty dining room, and an angry Bruce, it didn't take long for Bruce to send Jason to his room, he put his adopted son grounded for 2 weeks, Jason is attracted to trouble "I don't know if I survive until after dinner" you said whispering to barbara "You get used to it, it happens at least 2 times a week around here" Babs replied with a little smile as Bruce passed by the girl, probably the man would go to the bathroom to get rid of all the food that his adopted son threw him a few moments ago.

It was almost 9:00 pm, and you were now in the wayne manor with five stallions named, jason todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne and Bruce Wayne, and of course, barbara gordon the batgirl. You were the newest member of the batfamily, you were all at the dinner table waiting for Alfred to serve you the food. "I'm going to drown you in that pot of sauce if I don't remove what I said, Drake!" Said Damian, he was protesting something that Tim had said, and that apparently offended the boy, "Stop it, you two" Dick stepped in to stop that fight, Jason was laughing at everything, Barbara was beside him with a expression of "Send these animals back to the jungle" and Bruce was using his cell phone to distract himself from that discussion, otherwise he would lose his patience and would put all the boys grounded "Master Bruce, here's dinner" said Alfred "Thank you Al, are you sure you don't want to join us?" Alfred just gave a quick excuse and walked away, the butler knew that dinner time was the most disturbed and chaotic time of the day of the bats, so the butler preferred to eat alone or just with one member of the family. "Are they prawns?" You said excitedly "Yeah, if you don't want eat, I can eat them Y / N" Jason offered, he always tried to steal your food, but you always denied it with a bad-tempered or sarcastic answer, Jason was the weirdest among his brothers... "I'm going to eat them Jason, stop asking the same thing every time I sit here" Jason just snarled in reply, "All of you, be quiet please, I'm trying to take a photo of the prawns for instagram!" Bruce screamed, Dick just down his head like a puppy taking orders, Damian snorted and crossed his arms, Tim just rolled his eyes, you and barbara just looked at each other, it looked like Bruce was going to take the perfect photo, this until jason stood up and screamed "Take a picture of this, bitch!" So Bruce's dish was gone, Jason had thrown Bruce's plate away, the pieces of shrimp were scattered all over the dining room, now think of a chaotic family, a dirty dining room, and an angry Bruce, it didn't take long for Bruce to send Jason to his room, he put his adopted son grounded for 2 weeks, Jason is attracted to trouble "I don't know if I survive until after dinner" you said whispering to barbara "You get used to it, it happens at least 2 times a week around here" Babs replied with a little smile as Bruce passed by the girl, probably the man would go to the bathroom to get rid of all the food that his adopted son threw him a few moments ago.

(Time skip)

After the chaotic dinner, you and your adopted brothers would go to a movie, you wanted a comedy movie, Dick and babs wanted to watch romantic comedy, Tim and Bruce didn't care for the movie, Damian wanted to watch terror and Jason was absent because him was grounded, after a long conversation you decided, you all would watch action. "Can someone give me some popcorn?" You asked nicely, and Dick gave you a handful of popcorn to eat, you were enjoying the movie even though you didn't really like over-the-top action movies, you were on the edge of the couch and Tim was at your side with the laptop, this kid wouldn't never stop to work, "Tim, the light on your laptop is blinding me!" You protested "I'm sorry" Tim got off the couch feeling guilty, he sat on the floor between your legs, you blushed a little even though you know that bats get close to other (and new) members of the family. The movie was fine, until you felt a hand on your shoulder behind the couch, you jumped up and looked back only to find Jason with his bloody mouth, "Hey princess, did you see the..." You quickly left the couch, while doing this you accidentally hit Tim's head, worried about your brother you shouted "What is this ?! Why are you all bloody, someone hit you or what ?!" Jason replied "This blood is not mine" Suddenly, all the bats looked at each other (except you) with a look of concern, you noticed that and asked them "W-what was it people? Is there something I don't know about?" Silence, everyone was quiet, until babs dared to break the silence "So ... it may or not may have anything to do with the topic but, what do you think about cannibals?" You raised an eyebrow, what did this have to do with the topic? Oh no, not that...no, it couldn't be, you shake your head and answered a little confused "Cannibals? Why the question?" This time barbara did not answer, she did not want to be the bearer of the strangest news in the family, especially for a new member. you were confused now, they were all quiet and seemed to be hiding something, until you saw something red dripping behind Jason's back, and to break the tension you said "Do you menstruate now, jaybird?" Jason looked at you blankly, he wanted to get away from there now "Y-you know, I remembered that I have a thing, in other place now, I have to go" you knew there was something wrong in this conversation, and you also knew that men did not menstruate, so why was jason's back dripping red? Jason was getting farther and farther away and your question still hadn't been answered, so in the heat of the moment you shouted "Jason, there's a spider on your left arm!" Jason jumped up and started hitting his left arm, that was a bad move, because when him raised hus arm to see the supposed "Spider" a severed arm flew across the room, and as soon as it landed on the floor you shouted in despair "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ?!" Jason changed his expression from frightened to amused and relieved, didn't you understand your adoptive brother's abrupt change in expression, why everyone are so calm about it? He are a fucking cannibal, dammit! "Listen princess, you already know my story ..." Jason was approaching you, but you were just backing up because he was intimidated by the man's size and his cannibalistic desire "But there is a part of the story, which I didn't tell you" Jason grabbed your arm tightly to keep you in place "The part where I was resurrected by Lazaro's pit, and his side effects are usually high cravings for human flesh, and of course, a nice pair of fangs" you were in shock, how could anyone die and come back to life like that? "You're crazy... cannibalism is a crime.", "J-Jason, you better stop" said Tim, while Jason, he was close to your neck, you could feel his hot breath hitting your skin, "If cannibalism it's a crime...so you're my next victim" enough, you got too scared, you pushed Jason and ran, but unfortunately he had legs longer than yours, jason grabbed you like a bear grabbing a little duck "Don't worry, I won't waste a drop of your blood" Jason opens his mouth, showing all

his frightening fangs, he gets closer and closer to your neck, you were already imagining what paradise would be like, and how the batfamily explain your death to the cops when...he started laughing? Did this crazy guy start laughing?! He had his hand on his belly with laughter, "Did you really think I was going to kill you? Hahahaha you should see your face now hahahaha!" A wave of shock and anger has formed within you now "Was that a joke?! You are an asshole Jason Peter Todd! NOW I SEE WHY YOUR MOTHER BETRAYED YOU!" You left the room quickly, Jason wanted to go after you, but his expression changed from fun to sadness, and he couldn't move, how can you say that? Damn, you were a horrible person now "It wasn't funny, Todd." Said Damian, as angry as the rest of the family, "You are going to apologize to her now," Bruce said, anger spelled out on his face" I don't want to, if she is going to live here she has to live with me, and I am like this", "So how? An idiot? Oh wait, a 17 year old boy who has no regard for his own sister's feelings!", Dick was as furious as Bruce. "SHE IS NOT MY SISTER AND WILL NEVER BE!" Jason said and ran off to his room, "Come back here now, we're not done Jas-" before Dick finished speaking, Jason took him by the shoulders and lifted him up to his eyes" I may not be kidding when i say i will eat your head now Dick Grayson, don't end with my patience and don't follow me. "Dick was dropped hard on the ground, everyone was in shock.

(Time skip)

You were in your room, processing what happened two hours ago, what if Jason had been telling the truth about pulling out your guts? What if he didn't like you and is just waiting for the right moment to turn you into a corpse? A thousand thoughts like these were going through your head now, until someone knocked on your door, would it be Jason? Or Bruce apologizing for his son's childish actions? You didn't know, so you got up from your bed and went to open the door, and to your surprise there he was, Jason pathetic Todd. "What do you want?", "I-I want to talk" you hesitated a little, you were now suspicious of Jason until... "Please Y / N, I just want to try to apologize", you let him in, even if it was against your will, you two sat on your bed side by side, Jason was looking away from all sides, he didn’t know what to say, "if you wanted to come in to observe the decoration of my room, go away", you said still angry, he looked at you with a little cute dog face without an owner, you almost felt sorry for being thick, keyword "Almost", " Look, I'm sorry for before, I didn't want to scare you, I really am a stupid cannibal, but it doesn't mean that I go around eating everybody, this is a sequela of the pit, I'm trying to control this sick addiction" you were listening carefully, and you had already forgiven Jason for the bad joke, but what upset you really wasn't even the joke, it was what Jason said about you minutes after you went to the your room, "Jason, I forgive you for the bad joke, but that's not why I'm upset... "I-isn't it?"Jason is blushing, he didn't talk about the feelings so easily, why he apologized if you had already forgiven him? "I'm upset because you will never see me as someone from your family, I've been trying to get close to you for months, but you only talk to me when you need something or when Bruce forces us to go together to patrol the city, and even so, you barely talk to me "silence. Silence took over the room, Jason knew exactly why he was being an idiot to you, he would talk now or he would shut up forever, "I'm sorry if I was an idiot for the second time, I don't feel exactly included in the family and I think that the decision I made was "is kill or be killed." You were confused now, what did he mean by that? "What do you mean?" Jason looked you in the eye, "Yeah, that a few years before I died, I tried as hard as possible to get close to everyone and to be as kind as possible, but it seems that everyone stepped on me, so I decided never to be so kind to not have my feelings hurts, I-I prefer to break the feelings of others than to have my feelings broken, but it doesn't mean that I like to do it, it's something about defense, you know? It's nothing personal, I'm not like this just with you... "Now it all made sense, so Jason ignored you or played bad jokes all the time, he was hurt and he had no one to bandage his wounds. "Jason, I didn't know, I just..." You didn't even have time to blink, when Jason got up from the bed and walked to the door, you thought you blew it, until the tall boy turns to you and says "Now that you know everything, the tension between us will get less, but don’t expect me to be the perfect brother or the charming prince from the movies, Little Sister" he gave a smile that was hardly noticeable, and he was gone, did you really hear that? Did he just call you a sister? You didn't believe it, you've been waiting for this moment for so long.

[sohotthateveryonedied]

You Gotta Fend for Yourself

Read here on AO3!

Summary:

Bruce is Tim's emergency contact. He gets a call to meet Tim at the ER.

“I’m looking for a patient.” The woman behind the ER desk looks bored as she eyes Bruce, takes in the pressed suit and diamond cufflinks. The way he fidgets, drumming his fingers on the desk and trying very hard not to look as anxious as he feels. It’s easier to reign in his worry when he’s wearing the cowl. “Name?” “Tim Drake.” “Give me a minute.” She types his name into the computer, and Bruce can’t help but wonder how she manages to type with such long fingernails. “Your son is in bed eight. It’s over there, against the far wall.” She points him in the general direction. Bruce considers correcting her on the fact that Tim is certainly not his son, but he doesn’t need to tell this complete stranger that. Let her think what she wants. He thanks her and goes where directed. His chest loosens when he finds Tim sitting on a medical cot, neither bleeding out from a gaping wound nor missing any limbs. Instead he’s playing some sort of racing game on his phone, indifferent to the bustling emergency room around him. An oxygen mask sits beside him, forgotten. He and Bruce should really have a conversation about the importance of listening to medical professionals. “Hey, kiddo.”

Tim looks up and his eyes go wide. “Bruce. You...actually came?” His voice is hoarse, like he’s been gargling sand. “Of course I did. I am your emergency contact, after all.” Tim blushes. “I told them not to call you. You really don’t need to be here if you’re busy, I can get a cab home. And I’m sure I can talk the doctors into letting me check myself out without an adult, so—” “It’s okay, Tim. Really. You actually saved me from a board meeting.” Tim doesn’t look at all reassured. Bruce sits on the side of the cot beside Tim, who moves over a few inches. “Your teacher told me you went into anaphylactic shock in the middle of geometry.” Tim rolls his eyes. “I got a candy bar from the vending machine and the wrapper forgot to mention there were walnuts in it. It’s not that big a deal.” “Oh, sure, not that big a deal. You just stopped breathing for two minutes. Totally normal.” “I’m breathing now, aren’t I?” Tim takes an exaggerated breath. “See? I’m fine. And, for the record, it was the teacher’s fault. I had my hand raised for a whole minute trying to tell her that I couldn’t breathe, and she didn’t even look at me. Eventually I just passed out.” Bruce blinks. “You raised your hand? While your life was in danger?” “I didn’t want to be rude.” Lord, beer me patience. “I’ll get you an EpiPen to carry with you from now on.” “I usually have one, but I used it up a couple months ago and kept forgetting to ask my dad for another one.” A shrug. “Don’t you keep one in your utility belt?” “That’s for civilians.” Bruce’s eyebrows crease. “It’s for keeping people safe, not just civilians. You’re a person, so I want you to use whatever you need to keep yourself from dying in the middle of class. Got it?” Tim nods, a little sheepishly. “Yes, sir.” “Good. Now, how are you feeling?” Tim flicks the IV tube. “Cortisone and a shot of epinephrine earlier. I’ll be fine.” Even so, Bruce can’t stop himself from checking Tim over anyway, just to be sure. He needs to see that Tim is okay with his own eyes. He feels Tim’s throat for any residual swelling, checks his pulse. “Can you breathe okay?” “Yep.” “What about your mouth, does it feel numb or tingly? Any swelling?” “No and no.” “Are you dizzy at all, nauseous?” “You do realize we’re in a hospital, right? Surrounded by actual doctors?” “Yes, and I don’t trust a single one of them unless their name is Leslie Thompkins, Alfred Pennyworth, or Bruce Wayne.” “You’re insane.” “Good. Maybe then you’ll stay alive long enough to see the new year.” Bruce takes out his cell phone and drafts the beginning of an email in his notes app. “I should call the school and give them hell for not looking after you. Or at least for not being more aware of their vending machine snacks.” He knew Tim never should have been allowed in a public school. That’s like locking the most perfect, innocent kitten in the world in a cage with rabid coyotes. Completely irresponsible. “You’re overreacting, B.” “You could have died.” Tim scoffs. “Stop being so dramatic. This isn’t even the worst allergic reaction I’ve had. My parents were terrible at remembering to tell the nannies about my walnut energy, so there were a lot of close calls.” Bruce should be more surprised at that information. After he sues the school for the wrongful almost-death of a student, he should sue Drake Industries just for the hell of it. “Where are your parents? Are they on their way?” Jack Drake is as disagreeable a man as disagreeable men get, but he’s always revving for conflict. Bruce will definitely be able to sway him to his side of this matter. They can bring it up to the board of education, draw up new regulations for the school’s allergy protocols. Tim scratches absently at the rash on his neck. Bruce swats his hand away. “Dad brought Dana on a business trip to Philadelphia. It was only supposed to last the weekend, but they decided to stay a few extra days.” “A few?” “Eleven, to be exact.” Yikes. Big yikes. “You at least called them, right? They’ll want to know you’re safe.” “I called Dad when I first got here, but he didn’t pick up so I left him a message. I’m pretty sure he got it, because Dana keeps texting me to make sure I’m okay and asking if they should come home early. Dad still hasn’t said anything, but I’m sure he’s worried too.” Even as Tim says the words, it’s clear he doesn’t believe them. Never mind, fuck Jack Drake. Bruce can find another parent to start an alliance with—one who actually cares about their kid. Maybe Crystal Brown is free tonight… Bruce flags down a passing nurse. “Can I get some discharge papers for my son, here?” Might as well throw that in, give himself some extra authority. Whatever gets them out of here quicker. “Thank god,” Tim says. He plucks out the IV and swings his legs off the bed. “I’m sick of this place. You can just drop me off at home and I’ll be all set?” “Drop you off? You’re coming home with me, Tim.” Was that part not clear? “It’s cool, really. I’ll be fine after some rest. You don’t have to look after me.” “I know I don’t have to. I want to.” Bruce thanks the nurse who brings over the discharge papers in record time. People really don’t appreciate nurses enough; he should donate a few million to boost their salaries. He pushes the clipboard into Tim’s hands. “Here, fill these out and we can get going. I’ll call ahead and have Alfred make supper.” “And then I can go home?” Bruce shrugs, eyes fixed on his phone screen as his thumbs fly. “You already have a room made up at the manor, so I don’t see why you can’t stay over tonight. Besides, I’d like to keep an eye on you, just in case.” Anaphylaxis can be a tricky thing. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a mother hen?” “Once or twice.” “Well, they’re right.” Bruce snorts. He works more on his email draft to the school, making a mental note to censor out the swear words during revision. He’s getting flashbacks to years ago when Jason had a close call with some shrimp at a party for a museum opening. Bruce nearly decimated the catering company for not putting out warnings for potential allergens. “Tim?” “Hm?” “How come I’m your emergency contact?” Tim freezes. He doesn’t look at Bruce and twiddles the pen, quiet for a moment. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t know who else to put? I figured it would never actually be needed, so it wasn’t like you’d ever find out about it anyway. But don’t worry, I’ll change it tomorrow so you don’t need to do this again.” “No,” Bruce says, a little too quickly. “Keep it. It’s...more logical for it to be me. And I really don’t mind.” “You sure? You don’t have to.” “I want to. Partners look out for each other, right?” Tim’s cheeks are flushed under the allergy-induced redness, but he nods. “Right.”

[anotheronechicagobog]

Rangers, Lead The Way - Chapter 3 - Kenny with Maggie

written by @anotheronechicagobog

warnings: swearing, nudity, profanity, mention of school shooting, guns, weapons, I’m pro gun control (even though I’m Canadian) and this kinda reflects that, mention of PTSD, child neglect, also I fucking hate nazis

When someone called before seven in the morning it was work, a death notification, or one of his fellow trio of lovestruck fools. So when the annoying ringtone Hana installed as a prank and he couldn’t figure out how to remove started blasting on his nightstand at 2:17 in the morning, he was more annoyed than apprehensive. “Crosby.”

“Hey man, sorry to call you so late, but it’s about Maggie.”

“What’s going on?”

“One of her first arrests as an FBI agent just broke out of prison, and she’s been temporarily assigned to the unit being tasked with finding him. Yours. I expect you’ll be getting a call in the next five minutes or so. Maggie can take care of herself, I know that, but...”

“It’s hard when you’re not there to watch her back. Don’t worry, I’ve got her.” 

“Thank you. So much. I appreciate this, so, so much.”

“Hey, a couple of months ago I was you. I feel you man, don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Listen, I’d love to keep talking but I’ve got another call coming in and it looks like that work call you were warning about. Talk to you later.”

“See you on the flip side, man.”

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Jess stood in front of everyone with that look on his face that vaguely reminded Kenny of his stern ex-navy fourth-grade teacher. “Everyone, this is special agent Maggie Bell, you may remember her from when we worked with her unit on a couple of cases, but this time it’s just her joining us. Is there anything you’d like to add, Bell?”

“I’m excited to work with you all, but please, call me Maggie.”

“Alright, let’s get to work, then. Maggie, Jason Anderson was one of your first arrests with the bureau, can you brief us on that case and highlight any details you think may be pertinent?”

“Definitely. Well for starters, Anderson is a cheating scumbag and it only gets worse from there.” Maggie’s bluntness broke through the formality that was stifling the bus, smirks and chuckles abound, and it seemed that only he didn’t have the sense to at least try and hid his amusement. An understanding but disapproving look had Kenny composing himself to speak up. “Well then, let’s jump down this rabbit hole.”

Maggie was sitting next to Hana, giving details about the fugitive they were currently after. He was one of Maggie’s first arrests as an FBI agent, so the bureau thought it would be beneficial to have her work with the team. So here she was, dressed in jeans and a sweater as opposed to her usual suits, combining her razor-sharp intelligence with Hana’s. They’d commandeered the top floor of a police station in Boston and were relying on Maggie and Hana’s wit to find out where he was. Jason Anderson, 42, was an illegal weapons dealer. He’d previously been put in prison for distribution and possession of prohibited firearms, and for giving an AK-47 to a school shooter. He was being transferred to a higher security prison because it came to light that he was continuing his business from behind bars, but the security team had been too small and unprepared for the escape plan pulled off by a team of eight. Those eight men were their biggest clue oddly enough, as they’d been dropping like flies since the escape. Michael Howard, 40, was Anderson’s ex-brother-in-law. And the connection between all the, now dead, prison breakers. Unfortunately, Howard’s sister, and Anderson’s ex-wife, had cut contact with both of them along with the rest of their families after Howard introduced Anderson to his mistress and encouraged an affair that created two children. The mistress, Bethany Karnstein, had gone AWOL hours ago when she left her job in the middle of her shift and didn’t pick her kids up from school. 

The kids were safe with Anderson’s parents, but they couldn’t answer their questions when they asked where their mother was. The kids did identify Michael Howard as one of their mom’s friends though, he’d come to watch them while their mother was in the hospital about six months prior. They didn’t look shocked that FBI agents were asking about their parents, but they still didn’t know anything. 

At the moment, they were splitting up. Jess and Barnes were headed to follow up with Bethany’s clueless boss, he and Clinton were about to go follow up on a possible sighting, and Hana and Maggie were staying on the bus. Thankfully, since Kenny was stressed out enough at the prospect of having to watch out for Maggie on top of worrying about Hana, them being assigned together eased his mind. 

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

It was around midnight when he and Clinton were finally able to rendezvous with the rest of the team. There was no sighting, Bethany had one of her affair partners call in a false tip, and when he and Clinton had quickly sussed that out it lead to a shootout and car chase. Jason, the dumbass stupid enough to commit six different felonies for a woman who has two kids with a violent arms dealer, was lying in a heavily guarded ICU bed. They’d managed to get his cell phone but he was beyond unconscious when they’d finally managed to get him to stop shooting at them. “Hey Hana, I brought you something.”

“Jason’s cell?”

“That too, but I was actually talking about this.” He held out a large coffee that she desperately needed if the way her eyes lit up was any indication. “Thank you.” Hana let out an over-dramatic groan as she downed the first sip. “Hey Crosby, thanks for my coffee too.” He looked at Maggie sheepishly, realizing that he’d only gotten two, one for himself and the other for Hana. “I was the one who drove to and then parked in front of the coffee shop while he went and got those, how do you think I feel?” Clinton’s playful jab caused a round of giggles but the knowing look from the older man made Crosby a little nervous. He was sure his feelings towards Hana weren’t super well-hidden, but he really didn’t need anyone on the team tipping Hana off. “Anyway, here’s Jason’s cell. Do you think you can crack it?”

“Normally with this many characters I’d say no... But, his password is seven characters long and his lock screen is Bethany, so... There we go, unlocked.”

“... That was a really poor choice of password.”

“And girlfriend.”

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

After working for fourteen hours straight they were all spent and headed to the hotel that the FBI had secured rooms at for them. Jess, Barnes and Clinton were all in one car that was headed straight to the hotel to get everyone checked in. Kenny, Hana, and Maggie were in the other car that was making a detour on the way to pick up Thai food. Hana and Maggie were chatting amongst themselves, but Kenny was still kicking himself for the slip-up he’d made while placing the order over the phone. 

“Hi, can I place an order for pickup? Great. The name’s Kenny and the phone number is 123-456-7890. Okay, I’ll get two orders of shrimp rolls, one vegetable pad Thai, one pork Mee Khob, one chicken pad Keeng, and two orders of chicken Kao pad puk, hold on one second- Maggie you want green curry, right?”

“... Yeah, how did you know?” I’ve heard your partner talk about you almost non-stop since he met you because he’s head over heels in love with you, but I can’t say that, can? Especially because you, Hana, and Hailey don’t know that OA, Jya, and I know each other... For some reason, so sorry Maggie, Hana but I’m going to have to lie my ass off here. “Uh, sorry, I thought I heard you mention it earlier, plus you look like a green curry kind of person.”

“Ha, alright, yes I’d like some, thanks.”

“- Sorry about keeping you on hold, I’ll add one green curry to that order. Do you want me to pay over the phone or is it okay if I pay when I get there?”

“Kenny!”

“Sorry, what’s up?”

“Our exit is coming up in... 150 metres, you need to turn right.”

“Shit, thanks, Hana.”

“Are you okay? You seemed like you were in your own world there.”

“I’m fine, I was just thinking. Where do I go next?”

“Go straight for another 700 metres, it’ll be on the right.”

“Got it.”

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

“Alright everyone, the food’s here!” They’d all decided to gather in one of the meeting rooms the hotel had to the left of the lobby, Kenny had admittedly bellowed a little loud, but it brought all of his straggling coworkers into the room from their various spots in and around the lobby.

“Finally, what took you guys so long?” He knew that Jess was just hangry, and frustrated that they hadn’t caught the fugitive yet, so he let the snappy comment slide.

“Crosby almost missed the turn.”

“You let Crosby drive? Rookie mistake” He gave Hana a teasing look of betrayal before turning to Clinton. “I’ll have you know I am an excellent driver.”

“You’ve driven into a lake.”

“That was one time three years ago! And we were in a high-speed chase with a guy on a BMX bike who made a sharp turn near a kid’s birthday party, I didn’t exactly have many options.” He sounded more upset than he actually was. Moments like these were nice, where they got to hang around each other and just be friends, and Maggie was fitting in wonderfully with everyone but especially Hana, who sat in between him and Maggie as she started telling a story about OA with her face absolutely glowing.

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

Jason’s cell proved to be far more useful than he was. Bethany had been texting him from a rural address that turned out to be a cottage rental that was supposed to be vacant. The owners had a basic security system that had alerted them that someone was in their cottage, when the local LEOs investigated they immediately recognized the suspect but were able to play it off as having gotten a noise complaint, before going back to their vehicle and calling the FBI, while hiding their vehicle so that they could keep watch over the cottage. There was always a tense atmosphere when people were getting greedy for a raid, Kenny supposed the fresh air and appealing scent of pine trees eases tensions slightly, but not by much. Everyone knew that the worst could happen. That their loved ones could get an overly formal call at an unholy hour, telling them that the worst would happen. Everyone always did their best to try and prevent that, but there was only so much that they could keep out of fate’s unforgiving hands. His heartstrings pulled slightly as he flicked his eyes over to Hana. She was his special someone, even if she didn’t know it, and for a brief moment, he wondered what it would be like for her if he- No. Nope. You can’t think like that, especially not before a raid, and especially not about a woman who was only supposed to be your friend. The final preparations were complete and they were getting in position to breach. Hana still hadn’t been cleared for the field yet, so in the back of his mind, he was appreciative that there was one less person to worry about, with her wirelessly monitoring their body cams and coms. Although that was kind of moot point honestly, because Maggie was with them, in fact, Maggie had taken Hana’s position behind him. “You ready Maggie?” She put her hand on the back of his vest as the SWAT leader started counting down. “Always.”

The door was busted down and all the FBI and SWAT agents funnelled into the house through the three entrances. The sliding glass back door was where Jess was entering, the side door was for Clinton and Barnes, and He and Maggie were going through the front door. The front door went straight into the family room to the right, the eat-in kitchen was on the left, and directly across from the sliding glass door. Flashbangs went off as everyone started shouting, announcing themselves. There were screams and cries of panic, something not unusual in their line of work, what was also not unusual was finding Bethany naked on her knees with Michael Howard standing in front of her dressed in the same manner. Michael’s eyes went wide, and his thought process played out like an open book.

Shit. Feds.

Get gun.

... Gun is not in my holster because I’m not wearing clothes.

Run.

... Can’t run cause Bethany is clinging to my legs.

Kenny had to give the guy props for trying to tackle him linebacker style naked as the day he was born as he stood firm and checked him, sending him flying onto the ground. “Turn onto your stomach, now!”

He writhed around, trying to resist arrest, shouting “SUCK MY DICK YOU PIGS!” And trying to thrust his bare nether regions at everyone, Kenny in particular. “Howard Michael, you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you acknowledge that your rights have been read to you?”

“FUCK YOU!”

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” One of the SWAT officers approached them with an itchy-looking wool blanket and took their suspect into custody. Maggie and Kenny shared a look before making their way to the two bedrooms that were to the left of the kitchen, they hadn’t been cleared yet and now they were trying to move fast to make sure that no other accomplices got away. Kenny took the right door, Maggie, to the left. “FBI! Freeze!” Kenny was met with the disturbing sight of a dead body on the bed. His throat and wrists had been slit and he was surrounded by lumped together blood-soaked sheets. He immediately recognized the dead body as the last remaining accomplice in the breakout. “Hey, Crosby? I need your help in here.”

“What’s up Maggie?” When he entered her room he stopped in his tracks. There wasn’t a bed, instead, there were two cribs for two babies, both of whom were in an equally freaked-out Maggie’s arms. “Here, let me help you.” Kenny helped lighten her load by taking a baby in his arms. “Hi sweetheart, what’s your name?”

“Kenny, these babies can’t be older than six months, you know she can’t respond to you, right?”

“I know, but they’re so little and scared, I want to at least try to comfort them.” The little girl hard curled up into his chest and nestled her face into his neck. “It looks like you’re doing a great job to me.”

“Who’s kids even are these?”

“I’m really trying not to think about it.”

“I’m praying to every deity there is that they’re not Bethany and Howard’s kids.”

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

There had to be thousands of deities, gods, godlings, divine beings, and not one of them could come through for those poor kids? The six-month-old twins Baxter and Hazel were the children of Bethany Karnstein and Michael Howard, who had murdered a man in the room next to their children’s room. The social services department where they were was basically non-existent, so while they waited for a social worker to drive from four and a half hours away they were watching the babies at the local police station while Jess and Clinton were questioning Michael. Baxter was much more social, jumping between the FBI agents, SWAT, and local LEOs, but he was now babbling quite happily on Maggie’s lap, whereas Hazel had immediately taken to Hana and refused to be held by anyone but her and Kenny. He looked at her fondly, Hana was holding the baby close to her chest and humming the tune to a melodic song he couldn’t remember the name of. Hazel looked up at Hana with wide, enchanted, trusting eyes, and all Kenny could do was feel his heart melt. A stray thought placed itself at the forefront of his mind and before he could stop it, he was picturing Hana as a mom, and as captivating as that thought was Kenny had to shake his head to stop it from going too far, they were just friends, it wasn’t Hana’s fault that he’s in love with her. I need to look somewhere else, anywhere else. 

His eye-line shifted to Maggie and watching as she bounced an absolutely delighted Baxter on her lap. He knew that OA wanted a family, wanted a wife and a couple of kids, and looking at the tender way Maggie was holding and entertaining Baxter, he could see her being a mom too. Man, if OA saw this he’d have a heart attack, it’s his dream come true.

Kenny saw Hana shift positions out of his peripheral vision and turned to look at her and was immediately concerned. She had a look of discomfort on her face. “Hana? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Her tone was tense and Hazel immediately picked up on it and made a scared noise. “Are your arms tired? Do you want me to take her?”

“No. We’re fine. Maybe you should hold Baxter instead.” She snapped and finally looked him in the eyes, she was clearly angry and upset, but she seemed betrayed as well. Kenny leaned back into his chair his shoulders sinking in tandem. He was silently thankful that since everyone was milling about and talking it didn’t seem that anyone heard the exchange, though Maggie did look at him with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders in response, completely bewildered. Maggie shook her head sharply, rolled her eyes, and scoffed. ‘Men.’ She mouthed. Kenny was completely clueless, had either of them noticed him watching them at they were offended at that? He watches Hana work away on her computer all the time and it’s never been an issue, but then again that was always subject to change. His inner ramblings were cut off when Jess and Clinton came back from the interrogation room. “Michael didn’t talk much, but Hana decrypted his cell and he has incoming and outgoing calls to a recluse retiree Evan DeLuca who lives forty minutes from here. Crosby, Bell go check it out, Clinton and I are going to take a break from interrogating Michael for an hour or so, Gibson and Barnes, you two can interrogate Karnstein, see how much she knows and just how involved is she in all of this. We can watch the babies while you’re in there...”

“Admit it, boss, you want a break just cause you two want to hold the babies.”

“Get moving Crosby, Barnes is already out the door.”

“You got it.”

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

They were twenty minutes into the tense car ride when Maggie finally spoke up. “Just so you know, you’re an idiot.” Flabbergasted Kenny let his mouth fall open and close a couple of times before tightening his grip on the steering wheel only to release it after taking a breath. “You’re probably right, but can you please tell me why I’m an idiot? What did I do wrong?”

“Can’t tell you that.”

“Why not? You were the one who brought it up.”

“Just... Focus more on Hana, okay?”

“Are you sure? I mean, I thought about it, and maybe that’s the issue?”

“Trust me, it’s not. Just focus on her, got it?”

“Okay... I’m confused as hell, but okay.”

“Isn’t that your usual state of mind?” He didn’t have to look over to see the teasing grin, he could feel it. “Woah, low blow, Maggie, low blow.”

“If you want to hear about a low blow, you should hear about how OA and I had to chase a clown fairy princess twelve blocks at two in the morning.”

“Please, go on.”

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

Well. That went terribly wrong. As much as Kenny could appreciate the peace and aesthetic of small towns and cottage areas, he hated working in them because there was never any backup! Forty minutes may not seem like a lot of time, but when you’re in a firefight against a man who has access to a seemly endless supply of weapons of war, that was an eternity. He’d literally fired a bazooka at them, how in the fuck did he get a bazooka?! So, the good news about this situation? They’d found Jason Anderson. Bad news? They’d found Jason Anderson with an arsenal large enough and powerful enough to take down a small army. They’d managed to take cover, but Anderson clearly had night-vision goggles because, despite the fact that it was past eleven and pitch black, he always knew where they were. Oh, and Evan DeLuca was probably a dead retiree, not a recluse. That’s just great, another body to add to Anderson’s growing total. Now, all that he and Maggie had to do was not become part of that number. If only it were that easy. They’d managed to get around the side of the house where there were only two medium-sized windows on side of the house facing them instead of a large doorway like at the front and, presumably, the back.

When Kenny got Jess on the phone it was nothing but panicked observations, and the notification that they’d found Anderson, as he and Maggie ran for cover. His phone wasn’t even near his face when he made the call, so he’s not quite sure what all made it through, only that they were still thirty minutes away from the address.

“We need a plan.”

“He can see our movements so we’re going to have to be sneaky about it.”

“I’ll fire on him, cause a diversion, do you think you can try to sneak around back?” 

“Are you crazy?! We didn’t have time to grab our vests, that’s suicide. Besides, how many rounds do you even have left?”

“I’ve got a mag and a half.”

“Really? I thought you fired a bunch of shots at him earlier.”

“I did, but I’ve been carrying extra ammo for this case, I figured I’d need it at some point considering we’re going up against a weapons dealer.”

“Smart-” She was cut off by another several hundred rounds being fired at the, thankfully incredibly thick, tree they were hiding behind. “We don’t have much of a choice Maggie. Head around back, I’ll try to distract him and not get shot.” He knew she’d argue with him, so he didn’t give her the chance to. He ran out from behind the tree and fired through the only window of the two that was open. There wasn’t any light on in the house, so Kenny really wasn’t sure what he was aiming for. After the sixth shot he heard “fuck! Fucking fuck!” And felt a wave of relief; he’d hit Anderson. Hopefully enough to keep him subdued. He ran around to the front of the house only to be met with the sight of Anderson pulling the pin out of a grenade. He ran back out faster than he entered and hugged the outside of the entrance just outside of the doorframe. “GRENADE!” The explosion went off where he’d been standing when he burst through the front door, shrapnel from the grenade exploded through the doorway seconds after he’d gotten out and he could hear some of it embed itself in the interior of the wall behind him.

When Kenny entered through the doorway, they were face to face. Kenny's gun was raised aimed at his forehead, and Anderson stood there weaponless. Pulling the trigger, Kenny made the mistake of thinking that it was over, that Anderson was done for. Click. Horror and vindication simultaneously coursed through Crosby and Anderson. The gun was empty. He'd spent all the rounds. Before he could lower his useless gun Anderson was on him like a feral animal. Despite the gunshot wound to Anderson’s right shoulder, he was just as lethal without a weapon as was when he had one. Anderson had him by the throat up against the wall and was pressing his thumbs into Kenny’s throat. Kenny threw two quick punches to Anderson’s jaw, releasing him and making them stumble away from each other. It quickly turned into a fight on the floor. They were biting, kicking, hitting each other, trying to get the upper hand. Kenny managed to land a solid elbow to Anderson’s head but that seemed to be the tipping point that only enraged him. The next thing Kenny knew Anderon had pushed him up and smacked him on the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs, and started to choke him again. Kenny tried to lay in a punch like the first time, but Anderson saw that coming, just dodged away from the fist and started pushing his thumbs into the centre of Kenny’s neck harder. 

“FBI! Put up your hands!” Anderson growled but did as he was told. Kenny lay there gasping for breath knowing that it was too easy, Anderson had another trick up his sleeve, and Maggie was too smart not to know it too. She stepped closer, her gun pointed to the back of Anderson’s head, one hand reaching to her waist to grab her cuffs... That’s when Anderson made his move, spinning around and grabbing her by the waist, Anderson pulled her to the ground, the force caused her to let go of her gun. She tried to reach for it but Anderson pulled her towards him by her hair and put her in a chokeholdJaytill hazy from the lack of air Kenny grappled at him from behind. Trying to do something, anything, to save Maggie. Whatever he did worked because Anderson turned back to face him only now he had a bruise on the side of his face that was already swollen. Anderson tried grabbing Kenny by the neck again, but it was clear he was low on energy and just trying to fight until his last breath. Too bad for Anderson that Maggie wasn’t going to let that happen. 

Crack.

And then Anderson was unconscious, lying on top of him, and Kenny barely had the strength to move the gun dealing scumbag off of him. “You good?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He looked at the gun in Maggie’s hand and Anderson on the ground. She was holding her gun by the barrel and there was some blood on the handle. “You cold-cocked him?”

“Yeah, I tried shooting him, but I mistook my gun for yours. I told you that you wouldn’t have enough ammo.”

“That you did. Thanks again, for saving my ass.”

“Any time.”

“I’m gonna call the team and let them know they don’t have to come in guns blazing... Especially because we are surrounded by improperly stored weapons and ammo. I’ll probably call for an ambulance too, to come to check you out.”

“What? Me?”

“Yeah, he had you in that chokehold pretty hard.”

“He strangled you, twice!”

“Three times actually, you weren’t here for the first one.”

“Even if you have to be dragged over by the ear, you will be getting checked out by the ambulance too.”

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

“I’m going to preface this by saying Maggie’s fine, she doesn’t even have a concussion.”

“... That was the absolute worst way to start this call. Are you aware of that? Oh the heart attack you’re giving me? What the fuck happened?”

“Long story short, we found Jason Anderson and he tried to kill us.”

“And the long version? Actually, wait do I even want to know?”

“Probably not, but you want to know anyway because you think it will make you worry less, even though we both know it won’t, don’t you?”

“... Yes.”

“We got shot at a lot, got pinned down behind one of the massive trees they have out here, split up with me providing the distraction, I almost got blown up, my magazine was empty from providing cover so we went hand-to-hand, the door at the back was blocked by crates of uzis so it took her a while to get back, I got strangled three separate times, managed to land good hits, so did he, he threw Maggie on the ground when she showed up and she hit her head, he put her in a chokehold, I got her out of it by pinching his armpits really hard after punching wasn’t working, he tried to strangle me for the third time and Maggie cold-cocked him with my empty gun cause she couldn’t find hers. The paramedics cleared her, she’ll be fine. I think that Hana’s gonna try to drag us to the local clinic when we get back to town.”

“She’s okay?”

“Completely, she doesn’t even have a headache or sore throat, and she really saved my ass back there. She’s good. She’s with Hana right now actually. Hana was really off when everyone showed up, she’s been pretty worried and she won’t believe me when I say I’m okay but she’ll believe Maggie. You know you could probably call her, check up on her yourself? We were talking with the paramedics and she kept talking about this halal burger place you brought her to and she’d do anything for one of those right now... But from the look on her face when she brought you up, I’d wager she was actually talking about you. She misses you, even spent an hour talking about you when we all got Thai food in Boston.”

“Alright, thanks, man. I don’t know what I’d do if she wasn’t okay.”

“Gee, thanks for showing your concern for me. You know, your brother in arms-”

“Alright-”

“Fellow ex-ranger-”

“Okay-”

“Favourite blonde-”

“I’m glad you’re alright Kenny. I just can’t believe you two went up against Jason Anderson and walked away unscathed.”

“Actually my throat is pretty sore and the paramedics found some shrapnel in my right leg, all of it was shallow but some of it got pushed in deeper during the fight.”

“... Just go to a hospital, man. Seriously. Also, Hailey is my favourite blonde now. Sorry.”

“What?!”

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

“We have a problem.”

“What kind of problem, Hana?” Jess may have sounded cool, calm, and collected, but anyone who knew him was able to tell it was the opposite. Jess LaCroix likes for things to get done and stay done, according to Tali that’s why he hates doing the dishes, and this threw a serious wrench in everyone’s plans to escort the culprits, and children because children’s aid still hasn’t shown up, back to Boston and then go home to New York.  

“Anderson’s set up a buy, a big one. Everything in that house except for two AK-47’s, ten grenades, and eight rounds of ammo for the AK-47, is for a single buyer, they’re meeting at the base of a hiking trail in two days.”

“Fuck. There were uzis and bazookas, who the hell are these guys.” Anderson was just a weapons dealer, and he was dangerous enough, Kenny really wasn’t looking forward to meeting whoever the buyer was. “I don’t know, I couldn’t find out, but there is some, I guess, good news. They think that he blew up an FBI agent and that that’s who’s in the hospital under armed guard. They think he got away, want to do the exchange earlier than planned, they want to meet in two hours, the same location.”

“Hana, we have the opportunity to also take down some pretty dangerous buyers too, that’s great news, why don’t you think so?”

“Kenny, they don’t know his exact face but they have a description. Six feet tall, blonde, blue eyes, muscular-”

“You think I have muscles?” Kenny realized his attempt at lightening the mood wasn’t welcome when no one chuckled along with him, muttering a quick apology before looking back at Hana, whose face displaced what he could only describe as contained distress. “Kenny, you’re pretty banged up, you shouldn’t be going out there.”

“Hana, I’ll be fine. Everything’s mostly superficial, SWAT hasn’t gone back to Boston yet, and we may not get another chance to get these guys. It has to be done, and quickly. I’ll be okay.” She took a deep breath and looked down at the papers on the table in front of her. She did not like it, that much was very obvious, but she looked frustrated that his logic was right, and that they’d have to go through with his, admittedly not very well thought out, plan. “Alright, I guess I’ll go and get the tech set up.” Jess coughed to draw attention to himself, along with everyone else in the room they’d been ignoring, and Kenny felt his cheeks heat up. “Sorry, is this the plan we’re going through with and should I get the tech together?”

“While I get the local LEO’s to give us some info on the terrain?” Jess looked them both over before nodding. “Sounds like that’s what we’re doing, thanks for doing all the planning guys, everyone, go get prepared.”

“Kenny, can you come and find me after you’re done talking to the LEO’s? I’d like to talk for a sec.”

“Sure thing Maggie.”

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

His talk with Maggie ended up just being a quick, and confusing, talk.

“I know that it’s been a rough couple of days, but I’m still you really need to be careful.”

“I know, it won’t be like back at the house, there’ll be back up this time, and I’ll have ammo in my gun this time.”

“This isn’t the time to joke but... Okay. And one more thing, be nice to Hana.”

“Aren’t I always nice to Hana? I feel like she’s upset with me but I don’t know what I’ve done wrong.” Maggie sighed before giving him a long look and was clearly debating whether or not to say something. “It’s not that you’ve done anything wrong, it’s just that... current circumstances have been stressing her out. Like me being your partner right now, it’s thrown her off a bit. And she said you’ve been acting strange so she’s worried about you for that on top of your physical safety, and Zadie has been calling and texting her quite a bit asking for updates about you, and it’s just been a lot for her.”

“Why didn’t she tell me any of this?”

“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone who isn’t directly involved in the issue. Look, all I’m saying is that you need to be careful, and maybe tell Zadie to not ask about you while you and Hana are working.”

“I didn’t even know she’s been doing that, it doesn’t matter that Hana isn’t in the field, her work is still crucial and she can’t afford to be distracted. Are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Good.”

Maggie was still pretty vague, but when Hana was wiring him up, he promised her he would be careful and cautious, that he was sorry if he worried her, the relief on her face made his heart twinge. He hadn’t meant to make her so concerned.

Two sets of headlights drove up the gravel road that leads to town, bring Kenny back to the present. Two men stepped out of each car and he immediately had to stifle a groan. He was now standing alone in a hiking trail parking lot alone, but with back up hiding in the trees, with four nazis. They were all in their fifties wearing blatant white supremacist clothes. He counted a trump shirt, a confederate flag, an all lives matter shirt, and a swastika shirt. “You Jason Anderson?” Confederate spoke first, and his voice was so loud and boisterous it shook his beer belly. “I am.”

“Is that FBI agent you blew up dead yet?”

“I really didn’t come here, when the feds are really pissed and packing heat, to make small talk. Are you buying or not? I’ve got them all loaded up in the back.”

“Can we see them first?”

“After I see the cash.” Trump shirt looked at confederate for confirmation before walking to the second pick-up truck, because of course, and returned with two stuffed duffle bags. Kenny unzipped them the second they were in front of him, and sure enough, stacks of $100 bills shoved inside in a disorderly fashion. Kenny pretended to count but he was really biding his time, trying to find ways to get them to spill their guts. “What do you guys want with this much firepower, anyway? It’s a bit much for hunting.”

“There’s an abortion clinic a couple of hours away in Boston, we’re going to teach those whores to respect life.” And here I was thinking that these scumbags couldn’t get any worse. Kenny sighed and popped the trunk, revealing the crates of guns, that all had the firing pins removed making them useless, but assholes one through four didn’t need to know that. “Alright, take a look. What do you think?”

“I think... That we just got an arsenal for FREE!” All four aimed their newly attained weapons and... Didn’t fire. “Really? Did you honestly think I’d put ammo in there? Whatever, FBI YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!” They didn’t even have time to start running before the most wanted unit, Maggie, SWAT, and LEO’s had burst out of the trees, guns raised.

Fucking morons.

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

“Hey man, how’d the bust go?”

“Great, we arrested the head of the local faction of the KKK and his minions, apparently. You know, the second the guns were in their hands they tried to blow me to pieces. They thought we, or Anderson rather, would have them all loaded up for them so they could make away with the guns and the cash. You should’ve seen them when they were arrested, they were genuinely surprised that their plan didn’t work, and that no one wanted to hear their bigoted crap. And Anderson’s ex-wife decided to take in all four of Karnstein’s kids, those he had with her husband and brother, which is great because we were worried about what was going to happen to them, but she said she just wants to keep all the siblings together and that’s an example of sainthood if I ever saw one. And before you ask, yes, Maggie’s fine.”

“I’m getting a little predictable when it comes to her, aren’t I?”

“A bit, yeah- hold on one second... I’m back.”  

“What was that?”

“I got another call.”

“From who?”

“Zadie.”

“The girl you’re dating who happens to be the roommate of your best friend and the girl you’re in love with?”

“... Shut up.”

“Hahaha no. Look, we’re both idiots, all three of us were until Halstead figured out how to get off. I can’t talk to Maggie about how I feel, not yet and maybe not ever. Losing her husband left horrendous scars and she needs me to be her partner and her friend, she doesn’t need to deal with how I feel. But you and Hana? You could happen, you could talk to her, I know that you spoke with her about your PTSD and she’s told you about serious things in her life and herself. Both of you have a trust and bond that doesn’t need to be tested. It’s tried and true. You don’t deserve to be miserable, drowning yourself in distractions and being a distraction. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

“Okay, I will. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think you and Maggie are as far away from each other as you think. She talks about you all the time, she told me so many stories about you two in the field. She trusts you implicitly, and the face she makes when she talks about you... There’s nothing platonic about that. So you need to think about talking to your girl and moving forward too, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Am I really not your favourite blonde anymore?”

“Haha, no you’re not, sorry.”

“You knew her for like three days!”

“Eh, still.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“... No, I don’t. But... Maggie told me about the clown fairy princess and I’m gonna tell Halstead about it the next time I call him, which we’ll be in an hour cause I want to catch him before he goes to work. So, HA!”

“Crosby!”