#but yeah fuck it let's get The Court of Owls back in here

[wahbegan]

It's a bit creepy the way they keep making Batman villains anti-authoritarian cult leaders whipping the disenfranchised up into violent mobs these days innit

[avionvadion]

What do you think would've happened if Lucifer was at Blitz's trial?

He honestly probably wouldn’t have cared or bothered to act, just letting Satan handle everything, until Stolas brought up Octavia 🤣 because how DARE they try to separate a father from his daughter. Luci has his own anxiety about growing distant with Charlie, he wouldn’t just sit and watch as Stolas was forced to keep a distance with Octavia.

The hell that icy peacock MEAN by “the wholesome” parent!???? Get outta here, birdie, let the owl stay in contact with his daughter. Let her visit if she wants. Sure, strip Stolas of his titles and powers, Lucifer could care less about that, but KEEPING HIM FROM HIS DAUGHTER when his only crime is lending the grimoire to an imp!??? FUCK THAT SHIT.

Also, peacock man is annoying. Give the ownership of Stolas’ assets to the Spanish parrot. He seems chill- and clearly has an appreciation for music. Hm? Why the parrot? Because Lucifer doesn’t like the peacock, that’s why. Huh? That’s not a viable reason? Uhhhhhhh then because he’s the big boss of Hell and he said to do so, now can we please end the trial so he can go back to his daughter’s hotel, he misses her. Thanks, Satan, buddy-o, ol’ pal of his! Byeeeeeeeeee.

*Lucifer poofs out of the court, squeezing a rubber duck in his hands*

Satan: *is visibly annoyed* “WHY’D HE EVEN COME HERE!??? HE WAS DISTRACTED THE WHOLE FIRST HALF OF THE TRIAL!!!”

Yogirt: “Deeeeeeeep breaths and relaaaaaax. Amethyst energyyyyyy. Don’t be a Ruby, m’kay. Easy, easy. Thereeee we go, just breeeeathe. Let out the negative energy, embrace the flow. Feeeeeel that positivity. Do you feel it?”

Satan: “…Yeah, yeah. I feel it. Welp, with that- Court’s adjourned. Time for lunch!”

[thatbigbisexual29]

Getting Pushed Off the High Horse (Haikyuu!!)

Soooooooooooo... hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted a fic, and I deeply apologize! Life has been busy so hoping on the computer and writing is kind of a hard task, I'm sure some of you can relate. And don't worry, I'm still working on that lee!Hobie fic, but after that's posted I might stop with the Spiderverse fics for a while. I still love the movies, but I've ran out of tickle fic content for that certain fandom. So I'll try posting something new! Hence this fic! I've been a fan of Haikyuu for a while and started watching it again *shoves down at least 50 animes I've been putting on the back burner* Okok I've been rambling now, so here you go! Enjoy! :3

“Hell yeah! That spike was even better than my last one! Eat my dust Akaashi! Woo!” was what Bokuto was currently shouting at his teammate.

It was very uncaptain-like, but his friends knew him well to know that this was a common occurrence. Whenever the team practiced together, Bokuto’s gloating personality shone. Akaashi didn’t mind the showboating, he honestly didn't. But today was not the day.

First, he woke up 30 minutes late to school, had to make up an exam in his first period, spilled his lunch all over himself, read a passage wrong in his English class and got laughed at, found out he failed that first period exam, got a C on another exam, got fussed at for sleeping in class, and accidentally packed his dirty uniform rather than a clean one for practice, so he stunk really bad. Out of all the days the gods wanted to test him, this was the day. And Bokuto was no help. In fact, he was the one that caused Akaashi to spill his lunch. He apologized… but not after he cackled like a lunatic! He even threatened to make ‘soup crotch’ his new nickname. A ‘don’t you fucking dare’ look ended that threat quick and Bokuto even offered some clean clothes he had. Which was surprising since… well, since it’s Bokuto. 

And now, after that extra mean spike Bokuto just served, Akaashi’s anger was near its boiling point. He glared at his captain from the other side of the next, wanting so badly to wipe that smug smirk off of his stupid face. Bokuto caught on and had some shit to talk.

“Oooh, is someone mad he can’t block my spikes? You should have gotten used to it by now~ Isn't losing to me your strong point? Since you’ve been losing to me ever since we met, I thought you would have rolled over and accepted your fate already~” Bokuto purred, snickering when Akaashi’s glare grew sour. The ravenette responded with a quick, “Shut up, owl.”

“Don’t let him get in your head!” Konoha shouted. Akaashi shook his head and tried to focus. But today’s events just kept piling up every time he looked at Bokuto’s stupid, annoying face. He took a deep breath in and exhaled in an attempt to calm himself. As soon as these practices were over, he could go home. He just wanted to go home.

Washio served the ball and the game was in motion. After the back and forth tosses, Bokuto took his stand.

“Pass it to me!” he called. Akaashi kept eyes on his friend, watching the ball spin in the air towards him. He watched as the ace readied himself then ran to the net, Akaashi right in front of him. They jumped at the same time, Akaashi ready to block. Bokuto had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, one his best friend could spot a mile away. Then, there was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Take THIS, soup crotch!!!” Bokuto’s scream echoed across the gym as the sound of the ball slamming on the court followed suit. When they landed, Akaashi struck. He immediately ducked under the net and tackled the older boy to the court. Surprised, Bokuto let out an undignified squeal before bursting into maniacal laughter. He guarded his head as Akaashi attempted to collide his fists to the other’s shitty hair. He wasn’t trying to seriously injure, he would never go that far, but a few bruises wouldn’t kill the ace.

“I! Told! You! To! Shut! Up!” Akaashi growled between blocked hits. Bokuto just laughed and laughed as he grabbed Akaashi’s wrists and held them up.

“Hahaha! Looks like soup crotch can’t take the teeeasiiiing~” Bokuto just had to keep it up. Akaashi’s eyes burned bright with a murderous fire. Without knowing what else to do, Akaashi ripped his arms from Bokuto’s grip and shoved them into his armpits. That probably wasn’t the best idea since his pits were extremely sweaty, and because Bokuto decided to show everyone his best rodeo bull impression.

Bokuto proceeded to shoot his arms to his sides and hug his chest, cackling hysterically as his friend attacked a particularly bad spot. Their teammates watched on with exasperated yet understanding smiles. And plus, they didn’t dare intervene. Not when Akaashi’s face looked like he was happily skinning his prey alive.

“Yeah, yeah! Nothin’ to say now, huh? Huh? You were all big talk not one second ago, where did that talk go? Where did it go Bokuto?! You shut up real quick when someone gets a few tickles in, don’tcha? Come on, tease me again! One more jab, one more mock, one more word I dare you!” Akaashi bellowed with a sadistic smile on his face. Bokuto howled with mirth as he rocked side to side, kicking his feet to try and lessen the tickly feeling somehow.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! A-AKAASHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI! NAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! EHEEHEEHEE- GAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!” screamed Bokuto. He could never handle tickles well, his friends knew this. Even a squeeze to his side would send him through the roof. But this was plain ol’ mean. Akaashi knew his weak spots better than anyone, and how to tickle just right so Bokuto ends up crying.

“Oh nuh-uh! You deserve this, you bastard! How are you able to read the court, but not your friend?! Why do you have to be so. Damn. Annoying?!” Akaashi growled as he now focused on Bokuto’s ribs, alternating between his massaging technique and his clawing technique. The poor ace finally managed to roll onto his stomach, but somehow, not being able to block out the tickles from behind made him even more ticklish. 

“REEHEEHEEHEEEEE!! AKA-AKAAHAHAHAHAHAHASHI! SAHAHAHAHAHAHAHARRY! I’M SAHAHAHAHAHAHAHARRY!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S JUST- BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT’S SOHOHOHOHOHOHO EHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEASYYYYY! REEEEEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEEE!” Bokuto cried. He attempted to crawl away, but Akaashi kept him down by laying his shin over the small of his back. The rest of the Fukurodani team, who decided to take a water break since this might take a minute, laughed from the sidelines.

“Oh my god, he sounds like Scooby Doo!” One of them remarked. The others cracked up even louder, joined their voices with Bokuto’s in the echoing gym. Akaashi himself couldn’t stop himself from smiling earnestly either. Bokuto was a dummy, that fact wasn’t to be argued with. But at least he was a loveable dummy. Even when he’s more aggravating than sin. All the teases and jabs he made to Akaashi were all friendly. He didn’t have a sinister bone in his body. He probably thought that he was cheering up the setter, so no harm was truly intended. Such a moron, Akaashi thought to himself.

“Apologize! Or else!” Akaashi demanded, pausing the tickling and placing his hand on the back of Bokuto’s thigh. Bokuto flipped himself on his back with a panicked scream.

“I’M SORRY!!!! I’m sorry for calling you soup crotch! And for making you spill the soup! And for hitting those nasty spikes! Please please please please have mercy Akaashi!” Bokuto begged. Akaashi smirked and stood up, putting his hands on his hips.

“That’s right dumbass. Learn to cheer your friend up in different ways.” Akaashi was about to walk away when he felt Bokuto’s weak hand clasp his shorts. The ace panted heavily and gulped a few times, wanting to say something but unable to get it out just yet. Akaashi rolled his eyes fondly and waited.

“Aka- *gulp* Akaashi… *pant pant pant* Let’s stop by a store… *pant pant* and get… *gulp* meat buns? I’ll *pant* pay…!” Bokuto asked. The setter looked at him surprised, then smiled and nodded.

“That’s fine with me. Now get up and drink something before you pass out.” He pulled the ace to his feet and pushed him towards the bench. After practice, Bokuto kept to his word and bought them each five meat buns from a local convenience store. Akaashi didn’t need that much, but it was the thought that counts. He reflected back on today while walking home with Bokuto, who wouldn’t stop talking, and smiled. Eh, today wasn’t so bad, he thought. 

[hes-striker]

The Mastermind’s Liar

Part 2

Written by @bunny-is-cute

‘Remember your lines…play your part well and I’ll even throw in some extra money to keep your mouth shut for this.’

Striker stood on the platform, mentally preparing himself. He knew this would be the moment everything changed between him and Blitzø. He raised a finger to his lips, remembering the short but not unwelcomed kiss from mere hours ago.

It feels like such a long time.

Striker closed his eyes, letting his nervous jitters come out in the sound of his rattling tail. He needed to perform like never before.

He closed his eyes, ‘Wesson…Winnie…this is for you…’

“…we don’t know who wanted Stolas dead but it wasn’t Blitz,” he heard the familiar shrill voice of Moxxie just above him.

‘Fuck. They brought him in here?’ Striker thought to himself. ‘Did they arrest everyone?’

“Oh? Well, perhaps we should ask…” he pauses to snap his fingers.

‘Here we go’ Striker told himself as he felt the platform rise. He got into position, his tail still rattling off his nerves.

“…the hit man! Himself!” Andrealphus proclaimed to the entire courtroom.

Striker was back into his “cool” mode, trying to look as intimidating as he could despite his breaking heart. His eyes darted to Blitzø, who stood with his mouth bonded shut along with the rest of his body. Though his eyes…Striker saw the betrayal in his eyes…

The betrayal he was doing right now.

“Who has agreed to give his testimony in exchange for immunity!” Andrealphus finished.

‘And for my kids’ lives you Fucko!’ Striker thought to himself as he spat out the bit of weed he had in there, something he used to get into his character.

Funny. Months ago, this side of him wasn’t a ‘character’ but how he truly was. Ruthless. Cold. Heartless.

How much had changed in such a short time?

He stepped forward with his head down at first, but he looked at and gestured to Blitzø, just as rehearsed, “It was him alright,” his heart cracked with hurt, “Paid me to kill the Precious Goetia to cover up what he was doing with the uhh,” he paused, his mind unable to remember the damn lie. He looked a tad nervous before he looked at his hand, scribbled down with the damn fancy word he just couldn’t remember.

On his hand were also the scribbles of “Wes and Win” as a reminder of who he was doing this for.

“Uhh…Line?” Striker asked aloud.

“The Grimoire!” Andrealphus muttered loud enough to be heard.

“Yeah, that,” Striker said and gestured to the Icy Owl, hiding his contempt over the other.

Tired of this charade of a testimony, Blitzø managed to struggle out of his restraints enough to declare in open court, “WHAT?! Look I am an assassin, okay? If I wanted to kill Stolas I WOULD HAVE DONE IT MY FUCKING SELF!”

Everyone in the courtroom gasped, and Striker could distinctly hear Moxxie cry out, “We’re going to fucking die!”

Striker lowered his head, pulling his hat down to hide his shame.

“Hang on that’s not what I meant, okay?” Blitzø tried to clarify, “I’m just saying I could’ve totally fucking killed Stolas myself.” He realized immediately what he said and tried to correct it. “B-but I would never do tha—“

“What a disappointment,” Satan himself spoke.

Striker was trying to keep it all together, his tail was shaking like a baby’s rattle whenever Wesson was holding it. He blocked out whatever else was saying, but when he heard Satan’s voice again, he listened with a broken heart.

“For the treacherous crime of stealing a Goetia’s grimoire for illegal use, bringing harm to a Goetic Prince, and accessing the mortal coil without clearance or procedure: You, Blitzo, and your crew are hereby sentenced to death.”

Striker felt his heart shatter. He gritted his teeth so hard he swore they cracked. What looked like a smug smile to others was just Striker trying to hold his composure. The platform he was on lowered automatically, just in time for his tears to be hidden.

“And due to your bold actions against the laws of Hell, your execution shall be broadcasted across the Seven Rings to remind all of imp-kind why our power must never be challenged again.”

“NO!” Striker shouted, reaching up to the air as the top closed on him.

He was just too late.

Striker fell to his knees, his breath caught in his chest as he realized how much he’d fucked up.

“Blitzø…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

[andrewrenaissance]

Funny Ways

Summary: You own a coffee shop near Andrew’s shooting location and he loves to visit it as often as he can. (It’s not just for the drinks.)

Requested: Kinda based on a request where Andrew courts someone who’s very shy in comparison to him. (I really tried to do well with this assignment but I am not sure if it is going to be enough for you. I kept re-writing parts of this over and over and sadly I don’t think I can do better than this atm. I am really sorry.)

Warning: None

Words: 4.1k

Masterlist

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“And here he comes again,” your friend announced from the spot by the window where she was watering some plants. You paid her just for the busy morning hours and then later in the afternoon when more people come again, but she liked to stay and hang around in the meantime anyway sometimes.

“Who?!” You asked from inside the closet as you tried to put away the box with the Christmas decorations back onto the top shelf.

“Is that an owl in your storage, Y/N?” the only customer who was currently present in the café wondered playfully.

“Julian, if only I were older, I would marry you just for the never-ending stream of bad jokes,” your friend acknowledged. “The lover boy. He went back to the newsstand now, but he is definitely headed here…. Is he buying the newspaper? Who even does that anymore? I mean… my great auntie does, but she’s over eighty and doesn’t even have a smartphone. Newspaper are an old people thing.”

“I buy them. And I am turning eighty in six years, mind you.”

Sighing, you put the box on the floor and peeked out into the room. “She didn’t mean it badly,” you assured Julian as you watched him put his newspaper away. “What lover boy? Who are you even talking about?” You looked at her, eyebrows furrowed together in a puzzled expression.

“Oh, you know who I mean,” she snickered, looking at you.

“I don’t. That’s why I am asking. And watch out, you are spilling the water now!”

“Fuck.”

You decided you rather didn’t see her wipe the water away with her sleeve.

“I am talking about Mr ‘Heya. How’s your morning today? Can I-‘“

“He does not talk like that,” you argued, shaking your head at the terrible accent she just did.

She shrugged, and her mouth began to spread into a smile. “So you DO KNOW who I mean.”

“I recognised the voice you tried to imitate, but I don’t get why you are calling him a ‘lover boy’.”

“It’s gotta be love that is bringing him here pretty much every day. Or he has some stalker-ish tendencies.”

“Or both,” Julian noted.

“Yeah!”

“Or it’s the drinks,” you corrected them both.

“Honey, they are not that good, and if coffee and tea are what he’s after, there’s Starbucks pretty much right across from where they are filming.”

You rolled your eyes. “Andy said he prefers to support small local business whenever he can,” you tried to explain, but it only made your friend’s eyes glisten more.

“Andy, huh?” she smirked. “Sounds like you two are getting pretty familiar with each other, which is good. It seems like he is really interested in getting into your business.”

An annoyed, partly defeated groan left your mouth as you threw your head back. “First of all, that is literally his name,” you stated and then waved your arm vaguely in the direction of the door. “If you mean to be a pain in the ass, you can just leave.”

“Ehm,” someone coughed by the door. “I don’t remember that being on my to-do list. I don’t mean to be a pain in the ass, or anywhere else, actually.”

All the other three pairs of eyes in the room turned towards him and you let your arm fall back down.

Lover boy raised his hand to give you all a little wave before he used his thumb to point somewhere behind him. “Heya… Is it okay if I stay then, or should I still leave?” He wondered with a tint of humour lingering in his voice.

You brought your hands to your face for a moment while some small part of you hoped that the ground would just open and swallow you whole.

Facing him again, you flashed him a little apologetic smile. “Of course you can stay,” you sighed and motioned for him to come on in and leave the door shut behind him.

“Thank you,” he grinned at you and then nodded to the others, wishing them a good morning. It would be rude not to, since these two occupied the space pretty much every time he came around before going to work.

“Maybe my Empath is showing, but I have a strong feeling I arrived into something I shouldn’t have,” Andrew added playfully while his feet brought him closer to the counter.

“We had a secret team meeting you just hijacked,” your friend replied, making him chuckle.

“My apologies.” He bowed in her direction slightly before he turned to you, his eyes narrowing just a little. “You didn’t tell me there was a team. All I got was this card.”

He put the small paper card on the counter, just one square left for you to put your stamp on, which would reward him with a drink on the house. He was already on card number three, but never actually used it to pick up the free drink. Instead, you had some strangers, people you have never seen in your shop, coming in with a filled-out card and requesting a free drink. Though he never said a word about it, you had a feeling that it had something to do with him.

“Well, that’s because it’s secret,” you reasoned, and made your way out of the closet.

His fingers drummed on the countertop as he shrugged. “I guess that makes sense.”

At this point, there was no need for him to say his order out loud. The coffee order in the morning was always the same, and so you just moved over to the machine to fix him his drink the way he liked it.

“And what requirements does one have to fulfil in order to be able to apply?” He wondered playfully.

“You don’t apply. We send out invites to those we deem worthy,” your friend answered. “If you haven’t received anything, it’s probably not your time.”

You could feel his eyes on you while you were turned away, but it has never made you feel uncomfortable or anxious. There were customers who would stare a hole in your back while they waited impatiently and essentially made the process take even longer. He was not one of them, though. You knew that when you would look back and your eyes would meet; he would not be glaring at you or complaining that you should hurry. Rather than that, he would offer you a soft smile, which made your stomach turn a little, but in the best way possible.

You decided to test it again now and peeked at him over your shoulder while machine in front of you buzzed.

And there it was. Both corners of his mouth raising up as soon as you locked eyes. You bit the inside of your cheek after you smiled back and looked away.

He was cute, charming… That much was clear to everyone who came into his vicinity. Everyone had to be at least a tiny bit in love with him, his easy-going and genuine attitude. You were sure that it was pretty much impossible not to be. The more you talked with him, the more you realised he had a good head on his shoulders (not just a pretty one). He was smart and kind… Definitely the type of person you would find it worthy to shoot your shot with. Especially with how smoothly you two seemed to have clicked.

But you knew better than to do that. Your friend’s theory would be fun and exciting if it turned out to be true, but realistically, the chances were not very high. No matter how down-to-earth Andy was, you were well aware of how drastically different some aspects, huge aspects, of your lives were. The best you could do was to enjoy the little temporary friendship that’s been growing between you two and not let it get spoiled by some childish crushes and foolish hopes.

“Where’s the baby Jesus with the Santa hat?” Andrew wondered when you turned around again.

“Buried in a box where he belongs.”

“Now, that sounds kind of harsh, you know. Given who he is…,” he pointed out amusedly.

“I took all the Christmas decoration down just yesterday. It was high time,” you explained.

He inspected the room, his eyes widening as he took in the change of the surroundings. “Even Rudolph’s gone,” he noted the absence of the dog poster with a bright red nose and reindeer headband. “I loved Rudolph.”

“He’ll be back in November,” you assured him as you slid the cup over to him.

“I’m taking your word for it.” His eyes glistened, and a smile settled on his face. “I’ll make sure to come back here and check then,” Andrew promised right back as he slid over some cash in exchange.

“And please, don’t forget to give me my stamp. It’s the last one, I think,” he reminded and leaned over the counter a bit to check the card.

“Happy, now?” You checked with a chuckle while you filled in the last square and then passed it back to him.

“Absolutely thrilled.”

You shook your head slightly in amusement and dug for the change to give back to him, but he already started to walk off. You looked over at him with a bunch of coins in your hand, but he just waved you off.

“Save it for Rudolph.”

“Also,” he stopped in his tracks for a second, “I spent quite some time thinking about what you had said the other night and I have a lot of thoughts to share,” he warned you with a grin. “We gotta talk about that,” Andrew said before he took a sip of his drink and let out a pleased hum at the taste and warmth that spread through him.

“I should be wrapping up around six. And since you are sticking around for the bingo ladies tonight, I should be able to still catch you here as long as I hurry,” he trailed off.

You didn’t say anything. Not when you felt your friend’s eyes pierce through you with every word he spoke. You could already tell that you had a big storm coming your way, and you were not looking forward to it at all.

The silence made him feel a bit anxious and his forehead wrinkled slightly. “Bingo grandmas are happening on Saturday, right?” He checked.

“Yes. Yes, they are.” You nodded after you swallowed the lump that settled in your throat. “As long as you hurry, I should still be here,” you promised.

His expression relaxed at the affirmation that he remembered the information you have previously given him correctly.

“Brilliant,” he beamed as he backed to the door. “See you then. Have a nice day, y’all.”

The handle on outside of the door was still in his hand when you noticed your friend’s mouth opening.

“No. No. No,” you started talking before she could. “Don’t say anything, please,” you added, ready to head back to your Christmas decorations issue.

“Ooooo. I am going to say something,” she said, not minding your pleas at all. “You have a date with him?!”

“It’s not a date.” You rolled your eyes. “It’s barely a scheduled meeting. You’ve heard him,” you said and motioned in the direction where he just left. “It’s not even certain that he will come.”

“But it has happened before already! What the hell did you say ‘the other day’? When was it? Why do I know nothing about this?” She kept firing her question one question after the other while she followed you.

“I didn’t say anything because I knew that this is exactly how you would react,” you explained, lifting the box. “You would make a big deal out of nothing, like you always do.”

“And what’s the nothing in this case?”

“He stops by after shooting sometimes. When they wrap up early and I am still around.” You shrugged your shoulders before you raised up your hands. “It’s nothing, really. He doesn’t know anyone around, so he stops by to chat.”

“I am sure he knows his crew,” she noted.

“Yeah, the crew he spends most of his time with. Sometimes it’s nice to catch a break from the people you work with, you know.”

“I am gonna try to not take that personally,” she huffed.

“It’s just nice to hang around and talk with someone else.”

“Is that what he said?”

You blinked and stayed quiet for a moment.

His hair was a mess, and dark circles underlined his soft brown eyes. He might have claimed otherwise, but he did look like he was in a desperate need of sleep. Yet, he had still entered the shop when he saw you were still around and kept you company.

“The universe works in pretty funny ways, doesn’t it?” He yawned, running his finger ran along the brim of his cup. The other hand was propping up his head while he watched you move around the place. He had offered you some help. It had made him feel a bit uncomfortable and useless when he just sat there while you were cleaning. But you had declined, and your eyes had looked stern enough for him to decide to better not mess with it.

Maybe some other time you would take him up on that offer, but not today, not after you have heard him talk about the sleepless night he had last night and how he had spent most of it getting thrown around all over the place.

“And you discovered that at the bottom of your cup?”

He laughed, the sound making your heart flutter with fondness. “Not exactly.” He shook his head. “Those big brain ideas have been plaguing my mind on and off for way too long, honestly. But I was once again reminded of it here.”

“Well, I am sorry to hear that I’ve added that to your plate today,” you chuckled.

“Oh, no,” he scoffed. “Don’t be sorry. It’s not bad. The opposite, actually,” he assured you with a grin.

“Is that so?” You raised your brows curiously.

“Yeah. So many small, almost miniscule elements have come into play to bring me here, and if those hadn’t happened, if I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have bumped into you.” He spoke those words with such ease, unaware of the effect they had on your poor little heart that got caught off guard by them.

“Which would have been a shame,” he continued, and a smile twitched on his lips. “Because it’s pretty rare for me to find people for whom I would ditch the opportunity to sleep,” Andy joked. “Just for the sake of hearing them ramble about a book I don’t even know.”

“You said that it is on your to be read list!”

“It is. I just put it there now.”

“Yeah. Kind of.”

**********

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Andrew couldn’t help but cuss out as he rushed out of their shooting location.

He had been so confident and excited about finally being able to make it to your café in the evening again. It has been a while, way too long for his liking, to be honest, since he had been able to do that.

He missed it.

He missed it.

The worst thing was that he had kept checking the time in order to not be late, but then one of co-stars struggled with their solo scene and asked him for help, some kind of guidance since they, for whatever ridiculous reason, found him talented and experienced enough to do so.

He could not tell them no.

But then the time slipped from between his fingers, and it was past seven when he finally made it past the gates.

He must have looked like a fool to the people he was passing. Some guys even asked him if he was alright when he almost bumped into them, and they spotted the dirt and blood on his face.

“The blood’s not real!” He informed them in a hurry, hoping they were not that overly cautious type of citizens who would call the police after such an encounter.

One more corner.

He was lucky that the roads weren’t busy in this area because he would most likely get hit by now anywhere else with how recklessly he had thrown himself across the street.

You were still there. Already on your way home though, as he watched your figure move and bend to get all the locks on the front door. It reminded him of the first time he had met you, and his feet stopped.

Some buildings and shops already had their Christmas decoration on display, the array of lights banishing the dark from the streets. One shop in particular caught his eye since bright yellow light shone through the display windows. At this hour, it seemed to be the only place that was open, except for some pubs that he had passed and that were only now leading out their customers.

It was an early morning and most of the people seemed to be just getting ready to start their day. He had barely slept throughout the night, though, the jet lag kicking him particularly harshly this time.

The idea of getting some fresh air and exploring the area before the hustle would begin sounded much better than just staring at those poorly decorated walls in the rented flat .

There was no harm in checking it out and rewarding himself with a cup of nice and hot beverage, which would hopefully bring some feeling into his fingers again.

“Have you tried Open Sesame?” Someone asked from behind him while he struggled to open the door.

He spun around and his eyes landed on you. Your face fresh and bright, looking better than his ever would so early in the morning.

“I haven’t. Think it’s worth the try?”

“It’s not like you have anything to lose, have you?” You pointed out with a smile, and he could swear that his hands felt a bit warmer in his pockets.

Probably because of the faster pace his heart picked up.

You raised your brows at him, and he mirrored your expression for a second, wondering whether you really expected him to follow your advice. But just like you said, it wasn’t like he had anything to lose at the moment. The only thing he could gain was hearing you laugh and somehow, he could already tell that he would enjoy the sound of it.

“Alright, then.” He nodded and turned back to the door, holding the handle in his hand once more while he spoke the magical words.

The laugh that reached his ears was definitely worthy of making himself look like a fool.

He gave the door a little push and then a little pull, as if hoping that those two words worked, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“Have you got any other tips up your sleeve?”

“Well, reading the opening hours sounds like a good start,” you suggested and tapped on the glass, reaching past him.

His cheeks turned a brighter shade of pink, which was no longer caused by the cold alone. That did sound like a good start, and yet it hadn’t crossed his mind then when he let the yellow light lure him in.

“I saw the light and…”

“So you are a moth?” You chuckled while you fished out the keys out of your pocket.

“Apparently, yes,” he laughed and stepped aside, providing you with the space to reach the locks and open the door.

“I am sorry. It was stupid of me to assume. I should have checked. I will come back once you are open.” He looked at the opening hours and then down at his watch. “In 45 minutes.”

Andy turned around to jog down the couple of stairs, but you stopped him.

“I guess that technically, the door is already open now,” you pointed out, since leaving that man to stroll around in that cold for another 45 minutes seemed just cruel.

Your eyes met since your voice made him spin around again, and you nodded for him with your head come in. “You will just have to wait a bit longer before I set it all up.”

He didn’t let you make that offer twice, or worse, change your mind.

“You know, it’s not good for you, nor the planet to keep the lights turned on all throughout the night, hoping they will lure in men who cannot read such as myself,” he trailed off once you were both inside and shrugging your coats off.

“That’s very thoughtful of you. Hopefully, you will sleep better knowing that I turned them on just a little while ago but needed to run off to pick up something I forgot at home,” you explained and set on the counter something that looked like a baby Jesus with a Santa head on its small head.

“Now…. What do you drink?”

“I am so sorry,” he breathed out heavily once he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, just when you turned around.

“You don’t need to apologise,” you laughed a little, shaking your head at him. “It’s all good.”

“No. It’s not. I said I would be here…”

“But you weren’t, and that’s fine, really,” you insisted. “I am not upset.”

“Well, I am,” Andy huffed and licked his lips a bit nervously at the confused expression you shot him. “I wanted to be here,” he explained somewhat lamely and took a step to the side so that you could walk down. “And I am pretty damn upset that I wasn’t.”

“Look, I’ve already cleaned all the machines, and you have seen how long that can take. If you want, I can get some soda or juice, but I am sorry, I am not making a hot drink again…,” you reasoned. Your expression still rather puzzled because the fuss he was making around it didn’t make much sense.

Andy brought both of his hands up to his forehead and then ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not about the drinks, you dummy,” he sighed and then blinked at you a couple of times.

How could you still not get it?

Or perhaps you just didn’t want to understand the messages and signals he was sending out?

“Now when you put it like that… I am a bit sorry about that too, actually,” you confessed in a hushed voice.

“I feel sorry and upset because I didn’t get to spend the time with you. And I fucking love spending time with you.” His words were slow, their pronunciation loud and clear as he wanted to make sure that the message would be understood the same way it was uttered.

The whole world seemed to have stopped for a minute as he watched you, the nervous pounding of his heart sounding in his ears.

His heart fluttered, and he felt a smile growing on his face.

“So….,” he cleared his throat a bit. “Since we have established that we are both, at least ‘a bit’ bummed out about not hanging out… How does a walk sound?” He suggested with a seemingly careless shrug, which was actually not careless at all. “I could accompany you home,” he offered.

“It sounds pretty good.”

“Good,” Andy grinned and was ready to set out, until you grabbed on his hand, making him turn around. He looked down at your fingers wrapped around his and couldn’t resist the urge to smile.

“It’s the other way,” you explained with a chuckle and let go of him as soon as you got your directions straight.

“You didn’t need to let go, you know,” he pointed out innocently after a couple of steps, trying not to smirk, but you just kept on walking.

“Have I ever mentioned the fun fact that my sense of direction is bloody awful?” Andy wondered with a raised brow, his face otherwise all serious now. “I call it a fun fact, but it is no joke. One moment I will walk in one way, eyes set on the destination and then before you know it I’m wrongly headed some-“

He stopped mid-sentence because your hand on his stopped him from heading away, just like he planned. Smiling triumphantly, he locked your fingers together and glanced to your face to make sure that you were alright with that.

As soon as he saw that smile creeping in, he couldn’t stop himself from quickly lifting your hands and pecking the back of your hand.

“I guess we’re lucky you always managed to find your way back into the shop despite those shitty senses,” you commented teasingly, making him chuckle.

“I told you the universe works in funny ways, didn’t I?”

[redhead-batgal]

Can you make a Jason x ex-talon reader

Where Redhood gets trapped in a room with batmans newest Sidekick. He teases her thinking she's some spoiled rich girl after seeing her at a gala. She reveals that she was a Talon for the court of owls. Bruce had help her see the light and freed her from the courts grip . They both get free and go their separate away. Later they meet again on patrol the Reader breaks the no killing rule to save Jason.

Type: One-Shot

Pairing: Ex-Talon! and Vigilante! Reader x Jason Todd/ Red Hood

Content: Violence, Killing, language, guns, and sarcasm

Word Count: 1,151

P.S: Soooo I don't know a lot about the talons and court of owls, I know a little bit, so like some stuff in here might be wrong. So yeah, sorry. I improvised a little bit.

Also, I changed it a smidge. Instead of going out on patrol again she just saves him cuz it fit better for what I was writing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tight rooms always seemed to make your blood churn. They reminded you of your training and all you had use to be. Of what life was previously like before you had turned the other cheek and saw the light.

It didn't help that one of the most morally grey of the bats was in the room with you. Red Hood had gotten hit during the fight and fallen into this room. You followed after to make sure he was okay only to hear the lock click and the founds of footsteps and voices fade.

Trapped, you were trapped in a room again with a person. An injured person. Part of you thought to watch him bleed and die, the old part of you, you so badly wanted to push back.

So, you walked over to him and sat by his side. He grimaced and you looked up at him. He leaned against the wall and gave you a strange look. Yanking off his helmet he snorted,

"What? Princess doesn't like the sight of blood?"

You didn't say anything just raised an eyebrow however he just continued on.

"I mean come on Bruce, I get the replacement, glow stick and Cass but you?" He gestured to you, and you didn't say a word, "a rich princess? Seriously, the old man is losing his touch."

You let out a slow breath, he thought you were a rich girl. Born and raised in wealth until your parents' death. That Bruce had adopted you and brought you into this life, not that you had been living in it since before your birth.

"Like why did he even bring you to that gala? It wasn't necessary, was it? Everyone knew he adopted you and all that."

You opened your mouth hearing your voice crack as you spoke,

"It was to make sure the Owls knew I was serious."

He went silent for a moment, and you looked over to him. His face was pales and twisted.

"Owls?"

You nodded, "Yeah, Owls."

Red Hood paused for a moment and your felt his eyes on you, "You-you were a talon?"

You hesitated, memories flashing at the back of your mind. Blades and screaming, metal clashing against metal and and- blood the smell of blood thick in the air.

"One of the best." You whispered

"What happened? I thought all of you really fucking believed in the court."

"Bruce happened."

He paused again and you looked to see him blinking, "oh."

"Yeah."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah." You sighed, your body going tight.

"So, you... you were an elite assassin?"

You nodded slowly and Red Hood let out a soft 'huh'. You didn't look at him, knowing he was probably wondering why he was still alive and whether or not he should trust you.

"Do you know if their training is anything like the league and Talia's?"

You finally looked to him and saw him giving you a sort of smile. You narrowed your eyes, letting yourself relax a bit before shrugging.

"I don't know. Sorry."

"Nah, nah it's cool. You'll just have to show me what you got some time, I mean we gotta see which technique is better."

You smiled slowly noting the amusement in his voice.

"Da-Robin says it's the league."

"Of course, he does, demon brat likes to believe anything he was taught is the best."

You chuckled and let out a sigh, "I don't know what the leagues training was like but the courts... it was brutal."

"Did they revive you in the pit every time you failed?"

"No, they'd lock us in the labyrinth and once we were able to escape, we were allowed to be amongst the other talons again. Until then we were stuck in the labyrinth."

Red Hood went silent, and you smiled slightly looking at him.

"I'm assuming that I win?"

Red Hood snorted leaning against the wall. Seeing his pale face, you realized that it was probably best that you tried to keep him conscious until help arrived.

Heavy footsteps caused you to freeze, the door creaked and hissed as it was shoved open. Instead of seeing Batman or Nightwing, you saw a figure cloaked in black. A familiar figure that made your blood go cold for a moment.

Talon... did they send a talon after you?

The figure moved into the room, and you saw them fully. They weren't a talon, thank God. However, it shut behind them with a click and your stomach rolled you were locked in.

You heard a familiar sound then, metal against leather and you pushed yourself to your feet. The figure revealed a blade and you reached towards the batarangs Batman and given you.

Your mind raced, telling you all the places to hit that would incapacitate or kill your target... no. no. Your opponent.

Twirling the batarang in your hand, you stepped in front of Red Hood and the figure let out a growl. You narrowed your eyes and began mirroring their movements.

They tilted their head and you tilted yours, you saw eyes narrow and nostrils flair. You mimicked it, then pawed at the ground with their foot and gripped their sword tighter. You did the same expect with the batarang. They raised their and so did you. They began to shake, and you copied it. Then there was a guttural sound.

They moved forwards quickly and you jumped out of the way only for your mind to scream and your hand launch out grabbing the back of their shirt.

Red Hood, you couldn’t let him be killed because of the fight. And you couldn’t keep fighting forever, at some point you’d get tired and Red Hood could get hurt.

The figure ripped from your grip and you tumbled forwards. Watching as they raised their blade to stab Red Hood . You wouldn’t be able to move quick enough to block it, what were you going to do?

Instincts, old instincts you’d been trying so hard to forget kicked in and you thrust the batarang forwards. It flew up and straight into the figures throat. Ripping through what you knew was an artery, you closed your eyes as you heard the figure sink into the ground with a thump.

You swallowed and opened your eyes. Moving towards Red Hood you put yourself in between them. Red Hood blinked looking at you.

“They're dead… you killed them.”

You looked away letting out a breath, “I couldn’t let you die.”

Red Hood’s arm hooked around your waist pulling you in closer and you felt his breath on your ear.

“Thank you, I-I know what breaking that rule means to you.”

You nodded not replying at you closed your eyes. Bruce would toss you out. You had returned to exactly what you were before.

But, Red Hood was alive. And that was because if you. Alfred would fox him up and at least you would remember that there was at least one life you had saved instead of taken.

“Thank you.”

Tag List:

@andromedaj2003 @daemonnix96 @Zvtanna @masset-fotia @thomasbeloved @thefallingstarlight @krswrites

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

All Men Have Limits - VII

Character: Dick Grayson x Reader x Bruce Wayne

Summary: A certain bat believes that Y/N is in way over her head, that she’s too naive to act in her best interest. So, whether she wants it or not, the vigilante family is going to help and protect her before she gets herself killed.

Word Count: 3,500+

Warning: Mention of domestic violence

Previously on…

“The Court is holding session two weeks from now,” Y/N announced to the group.

“How do we know they’re going through with it after all the recent attention?” Damian challenged.

“They haven’t missed one in over over 20 years.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Dick asked.

Y/N took in a deep breath, “We need a diversion.”

“Diversion?” Jason asked.

She nodded. “The Court has two kinds of protection: the Talons and then the protection they either buy or blackmail. The Talons are at every meeting, making sure nothing goes down and protecting The Court.”

Y/N eyed all of them before continuing – except for Bruce. The two of them hadn’t spoken since their argument, and Y/N hadn’t so much as acknowledged him.

“We need to do something to drag the Talons away from The Court – something big,” Y/N clarified.

“Like what?” Tim asked.

She didn’t say anything. Instead she just awkwardly shifted her weight.

“No,” Dick shut down, being the first to put it together.

“It’s the only way,” she countered.

By now the rest of them had figured out that Y/N wished to put herself in danger once again.

“They almost killed you,” Dick started to get heated.

“Yeah, and they’re even more anxious to kill me after the trouble we caused them. We all know it. The quickest way to get the Talons out of hiding is to dangle me in right front of their faces. Make it so easy that they can’t say no.”

They all went quiet.

“It’s a good idea,” Jason broke the silence.

Jason wasn’t one to beat around the bush. He was brutally honest. Also, he wasn’t scared of a risk. 

Dick glared at him.

But to his surprise, so did Bruce.

“We don’t use our own as bait,” Bruce finally spoke for the first time.

But he wasn’t even looking in Y/N’s vicinity.

That didn’t stop Y/N from rolling her eyes at ‘our own,’ as if she were actually treated the same as everyone in this family.

“Fine,” she snapped. “So what’s your genius plan for getting the Talons away from The Court and where we want them?”

Bruce was quiet, but clearly because he was thinking.

“B, we only have two weeks to get this together,” Dick tried to reason.

Y/N just continued, “While we’re distracting the Talons, the FBI and Gotham PD can raid The Court’s meeting. Security will be at an all-time low and they won’t be able to fight their way out with the distraction of a Talon defense.”

“We can think of another way,” Bruce said. Then he addressed all boys, “We’re heading out for patrol in 15.”

Dick stood up to join them.

To everyone’s shock Y/N and Bruce simultaneously said, “You’re staying here.”

Dick’s brow furrowed. “I’m fine.”

“You’re still injured,” Y/N argued. “You’re stitches aren’t even out yet.”

“You’re staying here with Y/N,” Bruce added on.

Tim, Damian, and Jason all looked at each other in amusement from seeing Bruce and Y/N gain up on Dick.

Bruce muttered out radiuses at the other three boys for patrolling.

“Just to be clear, I’m going back to being a lone wolf when this Court of Owls bullshit is over with,” Jason announced. “But I have to admit, the drama is entertaining.”

“Aww! Come on, J! You know you love the quality family time,” Tim teased.

“I personally can’t wait for him to go away,” Damian mumbled.

“Do you know what a swirly is?” Jason asked the youngest boy.

“No.”

“Do you want to find out?”

Damian looked at Tim for some kind of hint. But Tim just aggressively shook his head in warning.

“Enough,” Bruce warned, but he wasn’t all that annoyed.

When they all left for patrol, Y/N walked to her computers.

“What are you doing?” Dick questioned.

She gave him a look, “Uhhh…doing my job?”

“You did your job,” he countered. “Give yourself a break.”

Y/N knew he was technically right. She already had everything they needed to show the FBI and Gotham PD in order to take down The Court of Owls. Now they just had to wait – even if Bruce wasn’t on board with Y/N’s plan on playing bait.

“Plus,” Dick smirked. “I need someone to entertain me.”

She playfully glared at him. “Oh, I see. So this isn’t about me needing a break. It’s about you needing attention.”

He had no shame. “Maybe.”

Y/N shook her head at his ridiculous, but couldn’t hide her smirk.

“How about I teach you some self defense?” Dick offered.

“Dick! What part of ‘you’re recovering’ is so hard for you to understand?”

He had the audacity to laugh at her reaction. “Fine. Fine. But you should learn a few things at some point.”

Then Dick started walking to the training area, specifically where all the gymnastics equipment was.

Y/N hadn’t seen anyone using it while she was down there, but she assumed it was mostly for Dick.

Without warning, Dick did a press handstand mount on the balance beam, and then he held the handstand.

“Dick! Stop!” Y/N said in a panic.

And she did exactly what he wanted, leaving her computer and walking down to where he was on the balance beam.

“What?” He shrugged as he now stood on the balance beam. “It’s just a handstand. Relax.”

“I swear to god, Dick Grayson, if you do a fucking flip on that thing…”

“You’ll what?” He challenged with a smirk. “Come up here and stop me.”

Y/N crossed her arms and glared at him. “Fine. I will.”

Dick was beaming from his success.

Y/N might not be a gymnast or a vigilante the same way as all of them, but she wasn’t completely hopeless when it came to athletics. She managed to lift herself up enough to sit on the balance beam.

However, standing up was an entirely different thing.

“Fuck,” Y/N muttered under her breath.

“You got it,” Dick encouraged.

But he was still walking across towards her as if the thing was a runway.

“Have these things always been this fucking narrow? I thought it was like width of bleacher seats.”

Dick chuckled as he offered her a hand.

“I got you. Come on,” he urged her softly.

Y/N slowly stood on the balance beam, but gripped Dick’s hands tightly.

“I have some newfound respect,” she laughed lightly as she looked down at their feet.

“Harder than it looks,” Dick agreed.

“Do you think you could’ve gone to the Olympics?” Y/N genuinely asked.

He shrugged, “Who knows. Probably not.”

But Y/N knew he was most likely being modest.  

Then Dick let go of her hands to grip her waist, “Try walking.”

“I feel like we’re in Dirty Dancing. You know, like the scene where they’re working on lifts and walking across the log in the woods.”

He smiled.

Y/N lost her balance a little bit and panicked.

But Dick’s grip on her waist was strong. “You’re OK. I got you.”

It was hard to focus on balancing and walking when his gentle voice said things like that to her, making her stomach drop and her heartbeat quicken.

And it all proved to be too much when Y/N really lost her balance and there was no stopping her from falling. She shoved into Dick too hard, making him lose his grip as well.

But as they fell, Dick quickly maneuvered their bodies so he took the fall and caged her body protectively.

Y/N instantly sat up in hysterics.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Are you OK?” Y/N cried out as her eyes went down to where he still had stitches, half expecting blood to be on his t-shirt from the wound reopening.

But Dick was laughing his ass off.

“It’s not funny!” She slapped his chest.

“I’m not made of glass, Y/N.”

She couldn’t keep her own amusement in check much longer and started laughing along with him.

But then Dick’s phone lit up and vibrated beside them. It must’ve fallen out of his pocket when they fell.

Y/N didn’t mean to look. She really didn’t. But her eyes couldn’t stop from reading the name ‘Barbara Gordon’ on the screen.

Her smile dropped for some reason.

But Dick didn’t see the problem.

He casually reached over and looked at the message.

Y/N moved off of Dick. “Texting your ex?”

Dick narrowed his eyes at the framing of her question. “Do you know every woman I’ve ever dated?”

She smirked at that. “Maybe.”

“Yes, I am. She’s a friend.” He tilted his head. “Don’t you stay in touch with any of your exes?”

Y/N shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t really have any ex-boyfriends. Just…” she hesitated, “people I’ve hooked up with or whatever.”

Dick nodded slowly.

“Why hasn’t she been around?” Y/N changed the subject quickly.

“She’s been working her own case – had to go undercover for awhile.”

She nodded. But wasn’t looking at him as they talked now.

“You know…just because that’s what’s happened in the past doesn’t mean that it always has to be that way,” he told her quietly.

“Easy for you to say.”

Dick winced a bit. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her gaze finally moved up from the floor to his. “You’re a serial monogamist. Being in relationships is easy for you.”

“That’s what you think of me?” Dick couldn’t hide the hurt in his voice. “You think I don’t know how to be alone?”

“I didn’t say that,” she quickly defended.

“But that’s what you were implying.”

Y/N got up from the mats and started to leave.

“No. Don’t do that,” Dick caught her arm.

“Do what?” She challenged as she pulled her arm away from him.

“Don’t make up problems that don’t exist, Y/N.”

She huffed at that.

“Yeah, I’ve been in serious relationships for most of my life. Not because I didn’t know how to be alone, but because I loved them.” He shook his head. “I know men have treated you like shit, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do the same.”

“What are we even talking about, Dick?” She shot back.

How did they get from messing around on a balance beam to discussing their non-existent relationship?

“Don’t play dumb, Y/N. You’re one of the smartest people I know. Act like it.”

It wasn’t until now that Dick saw how Bruce and Y/N were similar. He’d never met anyone else that could push people away like they did. But it was clear they both thought it was easier and less complicated to isolate themselves. 

Maybe that’s why they gravitated toward each other. Like if the faced it together than they were cheating their way out of their own rules.

Except Dick couldn’t help but wonder what Y/N’s life could look like with someone who really loved her, who showed her that she didn’t have to face the world alone. Obviously he wanted to be that person for her. But his ego wasn’t too proud to allow someone else to do that for her. Even if it hurt like hell.

“Dick, I can’t–”

But he didn’t let her say another word, and his lips crashed against hers.

She tried to be stubborn and pull away, but he wasn’t letting her get away.

Dick deepened the kiss. This wasn’t like the night of the gala. It wasn’t innocent and soft. No, this was filled with fire and infatuation.

Dick wasn’t being polite anymore. His hands slipped under her t-shirt to grasp her waist, needing to feel her and refusing to allow fabric between his touch and her skin.

Maybe he was trying to prove something to Y/N now.

But just when Y/N was about to push it further, Dick pulled away.

Their lips were both swollen.

And he kept close to her, tempting her with another kiss – but not giving in.

“You don’t want to talk about it? Fine.” His voice was raspy.

Eventually he’d push her to talk about them. For now, he’d let her figure things out.

“But don’t convince yourself that I’m no one to you.”

———————

Y/N couldn’t sleep.

Her mind was restless.

She knew Dick had been right: she was trying to point out issues that didn’t exist, picking unnecessary fights.

Getting Dick frustrated was a great way to stop herself from actually reflecting on how she was starting to feel about him.

Instead of tossing and turning in bed, Y/N decided to go to the library. She hadn’t spent much time there – too busy practically living in cave. But it had intrigued her since she arrived. It was so beautiful, and even large enough to hide in.

She was a hour or so into a book she grabbed from the shelves when someone cleared their throat.

Y/N jumped in fright and looked up to see Bruce leaning against one of the book shelves.

His hair was wet and he was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. Clearly he’d just taken a shower.

“You’re back early,” she noted.

It wasn’t even 4AM yet.

“Quiet night. The boys had patrolling handled.”

She just nodded and went back to her book.

But Bruce’s presence made it impossible for her to even focus enough on the words to keep reading. So, she faked it.

“I owe you an apology.”

Her stare snapped up.

“I should not have spoken to you the way I did.”

Y/N was silent.

“It was unfair, and I was mistaken. I apologize.”

Y/N watched him for a moment before saying, “Apology accepted.”

She expected him to leave after that. He’d checked his little box. Now they could both move on.

“I was scared,” Bruce confessed. “That I was going to find you dead. And then I was scared Dick would lose it and…” His words died out.

“Well… you hid that very easily.”

“I have to.”

“I know. But you don’t realize how frustrating that can be for other people.”

Bruce sighed and frowned. “I understand.”

Y/N finally put her book down and got up from the love seat to slowly walk to where Bruce was standing.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” she apologized softly. “And I’m sorry for scaring you. I was only doing what I thought was right.”

Bruce didn’t even realize what he doing until he pulled Y/N into his arms and felt her bury her face into his chest and hug him back. He tightened his hold around her, breathing in her hair.

Y/N was surprised by his hug, but she was grateful for it.

She closed her eyes and breathed him in. It was either his body wash or his cologne, but Bruce always smelled like musk and wood. Y/N was rarely close enough to smell it this well. But when she did, it instantly soothed her.

“Why are you up so late?” Bruce asked when they finally pulled away.

Y/N let out a long sigh, “Just couldn’t sleep.”

“Come on. I’ll make you some tea.”

“You do not know how to make tea,” she answered while trying not to laugh.

“I am not as hopeless in the kitchen as you’d imagine,” he told her with a smirk.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she replied, as she followed him downstairs.

True to his word, Bruce made Y/N lavender tea, making it just as Alfred had taught him as a child.

He gave her a smug smirk when he handed her one of the mugs and saw how surprised she was by him.

Y/N never expected he would linger. 

But an hour later, they were still sitting on the barstools at the island.

The conversation was slow, but light.

Now that Y/N had spent so much time with the family, she mostly talked about the boys with Bruce, asked him questions about each of them.

It was easier for him to talk about them than himself – or them. 

Little did Bruce know, Y/N was learning so much more about him from the way he talked about all of them.  

Bruce was subtle, but Y/N could tell how proud he was of all of them – even Jason, who he had a tumultuous relationship with. He loved them with all his heart, even though he was terrible at showing it.

“Damian’s the only one who still lives here. Tim has a penthouse in the city. And Dick is constantly jumping around place to place. But it’s been...nice having them around so much recently,” Bruce admitted with hesitation.

“And what about Jason?” She asked. “He never seems to stay here.”

Bruce hid his sadness and disappointment well, but Y/N could still see it.

“I’m lucky Jason even speaks to me,” he answered darkly. “He tends to like his space and prefers to…keep to himself.”

She nodded, not forcing the subject more.

But then her eyes got a glimpse of the clock. And she looked inside her now empty mug. How long ago did she finish it?

“I should probably attempt to get at least a couple hours of sleep,” she murmured as she got up from the stool. 

Bruce nodded, and did that thing where men stand up as soon as a woman does.

No matter how many times he did it, Y/N was always caught off guard by it.

“Thank you for the tea,” her voice was so quiet, but sincere. She smiled, “I’m sorry for ever doubting your skills.”

He grinned and watched her leave.

But when Y/N reached the edge of the kitchen she turned around. “If I asked you a question, would you answer truthfully? And I mean really answer.”

Bruce observed her for a few seconds. 

He knew she deserved his honesty.

They constantly answered each other’s questions with questions. It was like a dance – or a fight – which one probably just depended on the day.

He nodded.

“It’s okay if I am. Really, it is.” She took a short inhale. “But was I just another one of Bruce Wayne’s conquests?”

The desperation for honesty was so clear in her face and voice. If he said ‘yes,’ it would hurt her, but she would get over it. After all, that’s what she’d been assuming all this time.

Bruce did not have the words. Furthermore, he saw this for what it was: the two of them approaching dangerous territory.

But he owed her this.

Bruce didn’t break her stare as he carefully shook his head.

“Goodnight, Bruce.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

——————

LATER THAT NIGHT/EARLY MORNING…

Bruce knew Dick would be in the gym in the manor.

Everyone trained in the cave, so Dick knew no one would find him there. And he could workout in peace without being reprimanded about resting and being cautious about his injuries.

Dick had been sprinting on the treadmill when Bruce walked in.

When he spotted his entrance in the mirror, Dick stopped the machine.

He was dripping in sweat, proving that he’d been training hard – too hard for his condition.

Wonder where he learned that from…

“What’s up?” Dick asked as he wiped his face with a towel.  

“I had a feeling you weren’t resting,” Bruce said as he crossed his arms.

“I’m fine,” Dick shot back.

But he did a double take when he realized how deep in thought Bruce seemed to me. He was staring off, an extremely unusual thing for him. 

“Bruce?” Dick asked with concern. 

“Y/N’s parents abused her,” Bruce told him firmly all of the sudden. “Her father was an alcoholic – beat her and his wife. Her mother emotionally and mentally terrorized her. After running away countless times, Y/N was finally able to emancipate herself at 16.”

Dick’s entire body froze. “How do you know that?”

“She told me.” 

Bruce didn’t mean to sound smug. 

But Dick still took it that way. 

“For obvious reasons, she didn’t go into great detail. But I filled in the blanks with research – though she’s hid her past well, as you can imagine. She was homeless after that. Broke in where she could. Tried to stay off the streets. Even dressed like a boy for safety.”

Dick felt sick as he listened. Stories like this were all too familiar to their family. 

“One day, she saw someone coding on their computer at a coffee shop. She had always overachieved at computer science in school, and it intrigued her. As you and I both know, she caught on rather quickly.”  

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because she’s not going to,” Bruce replied as if it’s obvious.

Dick scowled, still not putting together the deeper meaning. They had never shared a conversation like this before. And it was confusing him.

Was Bruce trying to shove his past with Y/N in Dick’s face?

“I was the first person she ever shared her past with,” Bruce said slowly. “And it took me far too long to realize that I mishandled her trust. I did not deserve it.”

Dick could see the regret on Bruce’s face as he spoke.

But Dick finally understood what Bruce was actually trying to tell him: ‘If she does you the same honor, don’t you dare make the same mistake I did.’

“I understand,” was all Dick responded with.

Bruce gave a curt nod.

“Need I remind you that the cave has cameras?”

Bruce saw them kiss. But little did he know, it wasn’t their first.

Dick only quirked an eyebrow as if it say, ‘So? What of it?’

-----------

Part 8

Guys, I was 30 minutes early. You’re welcome. 

I want to point out that Y/N’s dark past was always part of the story. But I avoided actually including it because I am not a fan of fanfic writers often romanticizing abuse or mental health issues or other serious matters. I just want everyone to know that I take things like this seriously and I’m not just using them as a plot point. 

So here is a resource if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence. 

[batsandbugs]

The Great IKEA Game

Chapter 4: The Three Stooges 

AN: At least it hasn’t been two months again 😅. Let’s check in with the other batboys and see how they’re handling Damian and Marinette’s chaos. 

Chapter 1 Chapter 2  Chapter 3

Tim wondered when his day took a solid dive off the cliffs of normal and into the waters of weird.

It probably started when Dick dragged them out of bed at eight in the morning – on a Saturday – piled them into the car, and drove them an hour and a half out of the city to an IKEA. If they had actually been there to shop they would have either burned the store down or killed one another. 

Not that those things were off the table yet. 

Tim had work, actual work, that he could be doing. But no, instead he was playing a demented game of hide-and-go-seek, which was careening into an all-out war. The destroyed shelving units, shopping carts, and forklift were unmistakable evidence of that.

How had the demon spawn accomplished this in less than a minute?

Bruce would kill them, once he came back from off-world.

That is if Alfred didn’t get to them first.

“Uh, order 177? Shit, my pay isn't enough for this.”

The words shook Tim from his stupor. He walked over to the counter.

“Hi,” he said, flashing his most charming CEO grin. “I have a quick question?”

The server's fixed smile contrasted with his dull eyes.

“I need to know what way the boy who ordered this headed.”

“No.”

Tim sighed, “Look, it’s important. My brother-”

“I mean, no, it wasn’t a boy.”

Tim paused. “Huh?”

“It was a girl, a teen girl. Black hair, big blue eyes, French accent. She was sitting over there,” he waved at an empty table. “But I think she walked away before that happened.” Referring to the giant train wreck occurring a few aisles over.

“Oh,” said Tim. “Thanks.”

“Do you want the order?”

Tim held back an annoyed sigh.

“Sure.”

So that’s how he, Jason, and Dick, sat at the abandoned picnic table, staring at the abandoned meal bought with Damian’s credit card. Jason grabbed a couple of fries and shoved them in his mouth.

“That’s evidence, nitwit,” hissed Tim.

Jason ignored him, stabbing a meatball with the plastic fork. “What? It’s going to go to waste. Girlie obviously ain’t coming back for it.”

“We should be more worried about how a random girl used Damian’s credit card!”

“She could have stolen it?” offered Dick.

“Demon spawn would have broken her arm before getting pickpocketed,” countered Jason, eating another fry. Silence. A weird glint appeared in Jason's eye. He turned to Tim. “What did you say the girl looked like again?”

“Black hair, blue eyes, French accent.”

“Shit,” muttered Jason.

“What?”

“I think I ran into her earlier, about an hour and a half ago. Asked her if she had run into demon spawn – she sounded confused and tourist-like. But maybe…”

“Maybe she’s working with him?” offered Tim.

“Could be.”

“Damian? Working with another person? A stranger?” Dick shook his head. “Doesn’t sound like him.”

Jason shoved another fry into his mouth. “The brat’s a competitive little shit, if he thought teaming up would help him get ahead, he’d do it in a heartbeat.” He pointed a fry at Tim. “Can you look at the security footage?”

“I’m already two steps ahead of you,” Tim said, flashing his phone with the hacked in security camera footage on-screen. Jason and Dick huddled in close as a small girl walk on screen and stood at the counter.

“Yep, that’s her. Can you ID her, Timmy?”

Tim rolled his eyes, “This is a smartphone, Jay, not a laptop.”

“I thought Mr. World’s Second Greatest Detective would be prepared for anything.”

“Well excuse me for not having facial recognition software, on my phone.”

“Guys chill.”

“Shut up, Dick,” Jason and Tim said in unison.

The footage played out and they watched the girl order two meals and pay with Damian’s credit card. They switched to another camera when she left and sat at the picnic table. A few minutes later Jason and Tim walked into frame.

“Look, there! She tenses. Look at her body language, she’s panicking. She knows who you two are.” Dick looked shocked that, yes, Damian had teamed up with a partner.

They watched the girl panic, although she managed to keep her body from reacting too much. She placed her phone to her ear and walked away from her spot.

“Who is she talking to?”

“Maybe Damian was watching out of sight?”

“Shoot, Tim, she’s out of frame. Do we have another angle?”

It took another minute or so, but Tim found the right security camera catching the mysterious girl leaving the food court. As she walked away the image on the screen flickered, and a moment later the shelving units fell.

“Oh crap,” swore Jason. “Do you think she has magic? Fuck, it would be just our luck if demon spawn teamed up with someone dangerous.”

Dick shook his head. “It could be a coincidence. We didn’t see her do anything. The chaos could have been a coordinated effort between her and Damian.”

Tim wasn’t so sure. “Come on Dick, you’ve been in the game long enough to know just because something looks one way, doesn’t mean it's true.”

They watched the girl hurry out of sight, this time it was much more difficult to follow her progress through the store. She would randomly duck in and out of showrooms, coming out differently than how she came in. If the three boys hadn’t been trained in stealth and detection for years, they would have had a challenging time tracking her.

Jason whistled low. “Who is this chick? I’m impressed. She has serious skill.”

Finally, she ducked into a showroom and didn’t come out. Tim couldn’t find a camera giving them an unobstructed view, but it didn't matter. They had a destination.  

“This was ten minutes ago, they could already be long gone,” said Dick.

“Or they could still be hiding there,” countered Jason.

“We’ll find out when we get there.” They walked out of the cafeteria and past the closed aisles. The forklift that had been buried under the collapsed shelving unit was being unearthed by a flock of bewildered employees.

“Ten bucks says she has magic,” said Jason.

“Yeah, no.” Tim was good at math and the odds of everything happening just as she left was too big to be a coincidence. “I’m not stupid enough to take that bet.”

“Come on you guys, let’s focus here,” chided Dick.

Walking back through the showrooms Tim kept an eye out for any sign of his brother or his accomplice, but it was as if they had disappeared into thin air. Arriving at the last location they had spotted the girl, they waited for a touring couple to leave before descending on the tiny, boxed room like the detectives they were trained to be.

It didn’t take long to discover the lasered off vent.

“Shit,” groaned Jason. “They could be anywhere by now.”

“Tim can you-”

Tim had his phone in hand, “I’m already on it. I’ll have the vent layout in a minute.” He felt insulted they even needed to ask.

Jason peered into the vent, “Damn, I think we’re too big to follow.”

 Dick sighed. “I miss my vent crawling days; they just don’t make them as big as they used to.”

“That’s what she said,” snickered Jason.

“Focus you two,” Tim snapped. “I’ve pulled up the air duct plans.” He flashed the screen to his two brothers who settled down. “This particular vent runs a couple of places. We have one entrance at the back of the store in the storeroom. Then another veering off near the daycare center, and the last which comes out near the unloading dock.”

“I’ll take the one next to the daycare center,” said Dick. “I’m the only one who isn't demented,” pointing to Jason, “or sleep-deprived,” pointing to Tim.

“Hey!” exclaimed Jason.

Tim sneered, repressing a Damian-like growl, “I wouldn’t be so sleep deprived if you hadn’t dragged us out of the house at eight in the morning. I arrived in from patrol at three.” He hadn’t had coffee in hours, and the weight of his body pressed on him like a panini maker.

Dick ignored them. “Jason can take the one at the loading docks, and Tim you’ll be able to bypass security and get into the back the easiest.”

“Sounds good to me,” grunted Jason.

“Alright,” agreed Tim. “The second any of us spots them, text the group chat, will box them in from there.”

They nodded and headed off their separate ways. Despite the tiredness in Tim's bones, there was a heady rush of the hunt thrumming in his veins. Damian, and whoever he had decided to pair up with, were going down.

Tag List: (Closed, sorry!! I’m so glad you all like it though.)

@multplelifes @bluesimani @justhugefangirl @nik-nak-3@redscarlet95 @purplesundaze @incredulous-reader @k-poplunardreams @our-preciousss @blackmagicforever @vgirl-10123 @lozzybowe @wannajointhecrabcult @dast218 @chaotic-mess-of-a-life @fidget-eep @kawaiigiantjudgefish @queenmj10@tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff @crazylittlemunchkin @fandom-writer642 @nach0ava @ladybug-182 @sam-i-am-0222@spyofthenightcourt @how-to-fuction-properly@emotionalsupportginger @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmy-mind @mystery-5-5 @theatreandcomicfreak @weird-pale-blonde-person @whatthechickenfriedfuck @myazael@pawsitivelymiraculous @urbanpineapplefarmer @karategirl119@consumeconstantly @hauntedstudent99 @ertyzeta @thornalchemist23 @iloveitwhen @animegirlweeb@byronsacademics @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @moonlitjiminie@iglowinggemma28 @constancetruggle @catgirlkittypryde @waffelyunsure @maskedpainter @lilkymilky @unhappyraspberry @avengerthewarrior @quotesandanime @tbehartoo @clumsy-owl-4178 @g-arya @chocolateherringtacofan @jalaluvsu @crazyrandomrebel @fatimaabbasrizvi @thenillabean @goblinwhoships @bluefyoto94 @nerinalith @loopingtangent @demonicbusiness @hecate-hallow @themcclan @tropestropestropes @paintedhope7 @whitetiger1249 @glitchon @vulpixmina @kitkat81804 @kissa-chan @beautiful-disasters-sunshine

[nadisabug]

How You Meet // Volleyball! reader

Pairing: Bokuto Kotaro / Nishinoya Yu / Oikawa Tooru x fem! volleyball! reader

Genre: Crack. Pure crack.

Warnings: cursing

Word Count: 2.5 k 

Summary: You are a volleyball player in the same position as the boy, and he is taken aback at your beauty and skills. 

A/N: all of the boys would just be so supportive and hrng need me a volleyball boy

Haikyuu Masterlist

Bokuto K. 

Bokuto would prolly be the one that suggested cheering for the Fukurodani girls team

Like he and his bros are bored between matches

And he notices the girls are on in a different court

So he manages to drag akaashi and a couple others to go watch with him

So they enter the stands...

Bokuto walk through the door to the stands and he is immediately blown away.

"Y/n!" Your setter nearly screams. You, eyes still trained on the blockers across from you, answer with a small smirk that sends Bokuto's head spinning.

"Here I come!" You yell in response, vocalizing your claim on the ball. You squat then set off running towards the net. At the last moment you push off of your feet and jump, albeit not as high as Bokuto could, but high nonetheless for your stature. Your arm shoots up and makes contact with the ball with a satisfying smack.

In front of you are two freakishly tall blockers, and Bokuto doesn't know how you'll get the ball past. But, as soon as the ball leaves your hand, it seems to find a small gap in their block and blows past it, landing on the other side of the court in the blink of an eye.

Once everyone lands on the floor again, both teams look up at the referee. He blows his whistle and raises his arm towards the Fukurodani side of the court. The Fukurodani girls erupt into cheers and surround the girl apparently named Y/n.

The setter cheers, claps Y/n on the back and shouts. "That's our ace!"

Bokuto watches her in awe as she flashes a gorgeous smile and shyly tucks a stray hair behind her ear.

"C'mon, are you gonna sit or just stand there like an idiot?" Akaashi tugs Bokuto by the back of his collar, not giving him a choice to stand there for longer.

"She's the ace..." Bokuto mumbles dreamily.

"Yeah no shit, that was insane, blowing through that block." Akaashi mutters, no choice but to agree. He drags Bokuto to where the rest of the team has already sat down and pulls him into the seat.

"She's amazing," Bokuto breathes, his eyes still locked on you.

"Quit it before you start drooling," Akaashi rolled his eyes.

But Bokuto couldn't. From your receives to your serves, every movement you made he was mesmerized. And before he knew it Fukurodani had won consecutive sets.

Once he saw you and your team leave the court, he shot up from his seat.

"I've gotta meet her!"

Akaashi looked up at him with wide eyes. "Wait-"

But Bokuto was already leaping over chairs and scrambling to the door. Akaashi stood up too and, with a resigned sigh, followed him too.

Bokuto didn't stop running until he made it to the first floor. He skidded around a corner and finally locked eyes with you. He couldn't help himself and ran up to you, absolutely panting from the running he had done.

"You-" pant "were fucking" pant "amazing!"

Embarrassment flooded your system and you looked down at the floor nervously. The setter walked up and put herself in between you and Bokuto.

"Back away from our ace, owl-boy," she hissed. "Don't think we didn't notice you drooling over our captain during the game."

Normally you would be more confident, but once one of your teammates pointed out the boy in the stands going absolutely apeshit for you, it started to eat at you. The embarrassment of a guy - a hot one at that - calling your name from the stands and drawing everyone's attention was just too much for you.

"You're the captain too? No wonder! I am too, Im-"

"Bokuto Kotaro, I know who you are," you cut him off and put your hand on your setters shoulder. "It's okay, I can handle him."

Warily, your setter backed down and joined the rest of the team cooling down.

"You know who I am?" Bokuto beamed, his chest puffing up.

"Of course," you rolled your eyes. "You're one of Japan's top five aces. And you go to our school."

"Why hadn't I ever seen you before?" Bokuto gushed.

It was at this point that Akaashi finally caught up. "Because you leave all the grunt work to me," he sighed. He looked at you and gave you a slight nod. "Y/n."

"Akaashi," you smiled and replied.

"You know her?" Bokuto nearly yelled.

"Duh," Akaashi rolled his eyes. "We coordinate stuff together like the buses or practice."

"I wanna know her," Bokuto pouted at Akaashi. Akaashi rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What he's asking if you'd go get lunch with him sometime," Akaashi looked at you, speaking for Bokuto.

You felt a heat rising to your cheeks. 

“Sure,” you smiled. It couldn’t hurt to go out with the absolute hottie who was cheering for you all game. 

“Great!” Bokuto shouted and grabbed your hand. He started pulling you away from your team. 

“W-wait, right now?” You looked back at your setter for help, but she just shrugged. 

“I’ll cover for you!” She called as you got dragged away by the excited boy. 

You had no idea what you were in for. 

Nishinoya Y. 

Noya was definitely the one who suggested watching the girls

Girls playing his favorite sport?? What could be better?

He was able to drag most of Kurasuno to watch the girls 

Daichi ofc came to support the other captain, Yui Michimiya

But little did he know after he sat down that he was in for a big surprise

The whistle blew and a girl with h/c hair stood at the sidelines with her sign. She and another girl from the team switched out, and when they did there was a commotion in the stands. 

“Oh my god, finally! L/n is back in!” A girl in the row in front of the boys cheered.

“I know, I still can’t get over her last receive,” the other girl gushed. 

Noya looked back at you and noted the reversed colors of your jersey. 

So, she’s a libero huh, he thought to himself. He looked you closer and thought that you were a little cute. 

The game resumed and a long volley started. It looked like it was about to end when the other team set up for an unblocked spike. The setter had feinted and sent all the blockers to cover another spiker so that their one player could hit unmarked. Not a single soul was on that side of the court, and Noya could feel himself wincing as the spiker hit the ball. That was going to hurt. They were already down too many points and really didn’t stand a chance of winning. 

He waited for the ball to hit the ground, but in the blink of an eye, you were there and the ball was up. 

You called the name of your setter and quickly she set it up for one of your spikers. Since the other team had thought the had this in the bag, they were not ready for the counter attack and Kurasuno got the point. 

“Did you see that?” Hinata gushed and leaned over Noya’s shoulder. “She totally just did rolling thunder! She was like whoosh and swoosh and the bam!”

Noya nodded enthusiastically. “That was an amazing receive!” 

After that, Noya began cheering every time you made a receive, even if it wasn’t a hard one. You started noticing very early on and part of your attention was focused on the short king in the stands. You did your best to ignore it and keep your head in the game, but its kind of hard to ignore a hot boy cheering for every move you make. 

You were almost glad when the game was over. 

“Hey, Y/n,” one of your blockers smirked. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a fan.”

“I will murder you with my bare hands,” you growled, tired of the team’s teasing. They had not let up on the whole fan thing since Noya had started up in the stand, and frankly, you were tired of it. 

“Ouch, save some of your love for your boyfriend,” the blocker smiled. She then looked at something behind you and smiled even wider. 

“He’s not my boyfriend! Listen if I see that guy again, all shit will break loose- what? What are you smiling- oh.” You turned around to see the boy in the stands standing awkwardly behind you. 

“Hi,” he smiled and waved. He was acting quite demure, a stark contrast from his shenanigans in the stands. Now that he was closer, you kinda had to admit. He was kind of, sort of cute. “You were really good out there. Really impressive. Sorry if my cheers were distracting, you were just so good.”

You seemed to have lost your steam, because you couldn’t bring yourself to yell at this genuinely kind and supportive boy. Instead you rubbed the back of your neck nervously and broke eye contact. “Uh, thanks,” was all you could mumble. 

“Wanna practice together sometime?” He suggested, a nervous smile on his face. 

“Yeah sure, if you can keep up,” you responded. 

“Oh don’t worry, about me,” he puffed out his chest dramatically. 

“Okay,” you laughed a little. You pulled out your phone and handed it to him. He looked at you quizically for a second. “Number?”

At that he flushed bright red. “Oh, uh, yeah,” he stumbled over his words, typing his number in quickly. Once he was done he handed the phone back. 

“I’ll text you sometime,” you smiled and walked back to your team. Immediately after you turned around you heard an energetic voice shout. 

“Did Noya-senpai just get a date?”

After that you heard a scuffle that you only assumed was Noya silencing the other boy. 

Oikawa T. 

Okay lets be honest

The last place he wanted to be was in the stands watching girls play

First of all he could have his ~fans~ doting on him

Second of all he could be practicing

Third of all he could be watching the team they were slotted to go up against next

But all of those other options were out of the question when Iwaizumi decided that Oikawa needed a break

(and also didn’t need to be near his fans)

So grumpily Oikawa will sit in the stands to watch your game, but he’s not really watching

Instead he’s watching a match on his phone

that is until Iwaizumi says something that peaks his interest...

“Holy fuck, that’s the captains fourth service ace.”

Oikawa frowned. It was a simple sentence really, one he had heard a million times. The difference was that usually it was aimed at him, not someone else. 

Oikawa looked up from his phone to see who was apparently the  Aoba Johsai girl’s team captain. It was hard to tell from this far away, but Oikawa’s senses told him that she was a looker. The way she carried herself it was obvious that she was confident in what she was doing, and that to Oikawa was enough. 

He put down his phone and leaned forward in his chair. He was invested now, whether he liked it or not. 

He watched as the referee blew their whistle and you lined up for your serve. You threw the ball up and jumped, hitting it mid air and sending it straight to the other teams side. It landed in bounds with a satisfying thwack, completely unimpeded by the other team’s girls. 

Iwaizumi let out a low whistle. “That’s five.”

“I can count, thanks,” Oikawa snapped dryly. 

Iwaizumi looked over, cocking his eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were paying attention.”

“Well I am now.”

Iwazumi shrugged and turned back to the game. You lined up for your next serve and hit it, but this time the other team’s libero picked it up. After that your team had a chance ball. 

Oikawa huffed. 

“What, shittykawa?”

“She should have kept aiming at their number 4. She got confident aiming for their libero,” Oikawa stated matter-of-factly. 

“How do you know she was aiming for the libero?” Iwaizumi retorted. “What if it was just on accident?”

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “You don’t get five services aces and not be able to aim in the air.”

Iwaizumi shrugged. “I’m just saying it could have been an accident. Like you said, she was on a roll aiming and scoring off of their number four. Why would she switch that up?”

Oikawa pursed his lips. 

“You never know unless you ask,” Iwaizumi added slyly. “Not that you will.”

Oikawa whirled on Iwaizumi. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean,” Iwaizumi started without looking over at Oikawa. “You don’t talk to girls unless they fawn all over you.”

“Not true,” Oikawa huffed.

Iwaizumi just shrugged. 

“That’s not true!” Oikawa repeated in frustration. 

“Then prove it,” Iwaizumi replied bluntly. 

“Besides, how do you know she won’t like me?”

Iwaizumi laughed. 

“What?” Oikawa grit his teeth, starting to get annoyed at Iwaizumi. 

“You don’t remember?” Iwaizumi shot Oikawa a side glance. 

Oikawa just glared at Iwaizumi. 

“Hey, fine.” Iwaizumi sighed. He turned back to the game. “You hit on her at school a while back and she didn’t give you the time of day.”

Oikawa snorted. “I do not ‘hit on’ people.”

Iwaizumi shrugged. 

“Fine, come with me then,” Oikawa nearly growled. He got up from his seat and marched away. Iwaizumi sighed but got up. The game was already over and he was upset that he couldn’t enjoy it, but what did he expect from watching it with Oikawa. 

Oikawa stomped his way all the way downstairs and was a fuming mess when he finally stopped in front of you. You waved off the teammates you were walking with to go ahead and stopped to see what The Oikawa Tooru wanted from you. 

“Did you purposefully aim for the libero after the five service aces?” He growled. 

“I don’t know what crawled up your ass, but usually you’re supposed to congratulate someone on that kind of shit,” you smirked, enjoying Oikawa’s bad mood.  

“Congratulations,” he forced a smile and said sweetly. “Now did you or did you not?” 

You grinned. “How about we make a deal?”

Oikawa cocked an eyebrow but let you continue. 

“You watch out next game, and let me know if I did.”

Oikawa scoffed. “That’s hardly a deal that favors me.”

“You’re smart,” you shrugged. “You’ll figure it out.” You took your leave at that, leaving Oikawa behind, still frustrated. 

But he couldn’t help but want to watch your next game, for some odd reason. Maybe this deal wasn’t too bad. 

Taglist: {OPEN}

[jinkicake]

You Call Him Daddy?!

You accidently call them daddy in front of the team.

Azumane Asahi x Reader

Bokuto Kotaro x Reader

For anon, ily! I had so much fun writing this. ʕ*ﾉᴥﾉʔ LOL I like writing crack aus, they make me laugh. This is semi-smutty so keep that in mind! 

WC- 1,758

~~~

Azumane Asahi

It was all Tsukishima’s fault you two got exposed

The little brat could not stop bickering with you and you ended up saying something you never in a million years would have said

You missed Asahi, he has been so busy with school and volleyball, you felt a little lonely

Which led you to watching his practices, just sitting there and doing your schoolwork while you wait for it to end

Then you two walk home together

Tonight, however, most of the team was staying back to continue practice further while the coaches left and called it a night

You were so bored and tired, you wanted to leave but stuck through it just for him

Of course, a certain snarky blond caught onto your attitude

“Why are you still here?” Tsukki would glance down at you, making it painfully obvious of the height he has on you

“Is that any way to talk to someone who’s older than you?” You’d narrow your eyes back at him

“You don’t count because you have the height of a middle schooler.” His words irk you and you know he is just doing it because he is bored but you fall right into his trap

“(Y/N) you look like you’re going to explode, ignore Tsukishima.” Daichi would try to calm you down but you wouldn’t break the eye contact with the first year

“Ahhh you look like you’re going to cry. Are you going to cry to your mommy and daddy, senpai?” The blonde sneers and you speak without thinking

“Yeah, I am! Asahi!” You whine and stomp your foot, not noticing the blank look on Daichi’s face and the disgusted one on Tsukki’s

“You call him daddy?” The blond stiffens, trying to hide his laughter as his shoulders start to shake

You can only open your mouth in horror as you neither confirm nor deny his statement

“Oh my god, okay, let’s call it a night.” Daichi would try to end the practice right then and there

“I’m not done!” Hinata would childishly pout 

When you glanced at your boyfriend, all the color would drain from your face because you could tell that not only did he hear, but the rest of the upperclassmen as well

“Go, daddy~” Sugawara would tease, pushing his ace’s shoulders, motioning for him to go to you

At this point, Tsukishima would lose it and burst out laughing causing a chain of reactions

Noya jumping on Asahi’s shoulders and Tanaka in tears on the floor

Ennoshita and Daichi try to shut them all up

Even Kageyama’s cheeks were stained red as he tries to hide that he heard what he just heard

By the way your boyfriend’s eyes harden when they met yours, you’re going to have to do a lot to make this up to him

Asahi is not one for public humiliation 

Good luck, he might look like a softie but he is going to ruin you

You can’t help but squirm in Asahi’s lap, the tops of your knees are pressed against the side of his thighs. His large hands grip at your hips and hold you flush against the top of his thighs, you freeze against him.

“Daddy, I’m sorry.” You whimper pathetically, genuinely sad that you made him feel so uncomfortable today. A harsh hand is brought against your bare ass and you whine at the sting.

“Daddy isn’t too happy with you right now princess, I don’t want to hear any noises from you.” Asahi would gently rub his palm against your red ass, trying to soothe the skin before he delivers another harsh blow. You know better than to irritate him even more so you lay there motionless, biting the inside of your cheek to hide your moans. One after another each blow stings more than the last. Tears start to pool in your eyes before they spill down your cheeks, Asahi is quick to wipe away these tears. He waits patiently for your sniffles to reduce before spanking you once more. A few more hits are delivered before Asahi finishes his work.

He leans down to press soft kisses against the burning skin and you hiss against the touch. His lips trail all over your skin, mouthing at every red area. Asahi moves and situates you to rest on top of the bed, still on your stomach but with your ass now high in the air. He moves to kiss along the inside of your thighs and you can’t help but reach back and grab a handful of his hair.

“W-wait daddy, are you still mad at me?” The worry swirling in your eyes makes Asahi’s heart clench in his chest and he can’t help but cup your cheek gently.

“Baby I was never mad, a little embarrassed but never mad, I could never be mad at you.” His lips press gently against yours and you moan softly against his lips, gripping his hair tighter when he slips his tongue into your mouth.

“Can I continue angel?” Asahi pulls back to run his nose along your own and you nod your head. “Use your words.”

“Yes, daddy.” And with that, he dives back between your legs and has you withering on underneath him all night.

Bokuto Koutarou

It was the annual summer training camp and you decided to visit during the day to watch your boyfriend and a few of the games

You were going to leave at night but decided to stay back and talk with your friend, who was one of the managers of Fukurodani

“It’s so boring, what can we do to make the time go faster?” Yukie complained and Kaori nodded along in thought

“Truth or dare?” The other girl throws out and Yukie’s eyes light up mischievously

It was all going well, the three of you doing stupid dares or telling dirty secrets 

Until Kuroo walked by

“I’m telling you, he would be such a daddy.” Kaori’s mouth practically waters as the tall captain walks by and she immediately looks at you “I dare you to say daddy, really loud, like you’re asking for something”

You freeze and immediately shake your head, having to refrain from looking at your boyfriend

“Why not! It was your turn anyways and you picked dare, we just want to see if he will turn around! Hurry before he leaves!” Your friend continues to pushy and you can only watch her with horror in your eyes

Deep down you’re praying, begging to anyone who will listen that Bokuto won’t hear you

“Umm, d-daddy?” You call out lowly, eyes darting from Bokuto to Kuroo

“LOUDER!” Kaori forces out in a hushed whisper

“Daddy!” You huff out, letting your frustrations take over as you glare at your friend “See he didn’t even look you dumbass-“

“What’s wrong (Y/N)?” Bokuto innocently walks up to you and if it didn’t make matters worse, the whole gym fell quiet

“I-I, umm, we were playing truth or dare.” You swallow loudly and Bokuto shrugs before patting your head, skipping back to the court and demanding that Akaashi throws him a serve

It took a minute for all the gears in everyone’s heads to start working

“(Y/N)!” Yukie tackles you to the ground, eyes wide as she stares down at you “You call him daddy?” Her eyes are demanding you to tell her and you can only dart your eyes all around the gym

“Do you need me to block for you, daddy?” Kuroo taunts as he walks up to Bokuto, his arms crossed over his chest as his laughter resonates throughout the gym

“Shut the fuck up Kuroo.” Kenma sighs as he walks past him, ignoring his dejected best friend who trails behind him at the words that fell from his lips

Konoha, Sarukui, and Washio all watch their captain closely as if they can’t believe what just happened, their eyes darting back and forth from you to your boyfriend

“Why do you all keep staring at me?” The owl practically snaps, his eyebrows furrowed as he tries to focus on the ball Akaashi threw for him “All I did was check on my girlfriend.”

“After she called you daddy.” Konoha coughs and Bokuto’s eyes close as if he’s in pain

“You’re not confirming nor denying it, daddy.” Kuroo coos again as he walks past the court and Bokuto narrows his eyes at his friend

“You’re just mad because Kenma won’t call you that.” Bokuto snaps before dramatically turning back to the court, throwing his hand up in a signal for Akaashi to toss him another ball

The gym goes silent once more, gaping as Kuroo only nods his head and accepts defeat

“WHAT THE FUCK-“

Yup, just another typical joint practice

“P-please daddy.” You whine as Bokuto stills his movements, his hips flushed against yours, unwrapping your thighs from around his waist. 

“When you called out for daddy today, was it for someone else?” His question causes you to tense and you advert your eyes. “Thought so.” His hand smacks your ass harshly and you moan loudly. “Daddy doesn’t share.” Bokuto continues to land slap after slap, not stopping once to soothe the sting. “Oh you like that, don’t you pretty girl?” He groans when he feels your walls clench tightly on his length.  

“Yes, daddy.” Your breath hitches in your throat after every slap and you lift your hips, trying to get away. Bokuto only grips your hip with his other hand, planting you directly into the mattress with nowhere to move. “Koutarou, fuck.” You hiss when his hands start to roughly grip one of your cheeks, the stinging subsiding under his harsh grip.

“That’s it, only ever say my name.” Bokuto growls into your ear before moving his hips again, his thrusts drill into you one after another. It doesn’t take long for him to find your sweet spot and tears are pooling in your eyes at the feeling.

“Thank you, daddy, you feel so good.” Each whimper that slips past your lips is muffled when Bokuto presses his lips to yours. His kisses are so gentle compared to how roughly his body is moving. 

“Tell everyone how much you need daddy.” He lowly chuckles and you sigh out when he begins to kiss your neck.

“Only for you~” You giggle, too far gone when one of his hands moves down to press against your clit. “Harder daddy, harder!” You beg and cry when he begins to play with the little bundle of nerves.

“Give in to me, give into daddy.”

[stxleslyds]

I saw your rant about the Red Hood Movie lol (I agree DC keeps hurting my boy Jason) and you said something that interested me, you mentioned that you don’t like it when Jason is drawn with a bat symbol on him but why? Personally I feel that him wearing the bat symbol makes sense because he’s always tried to fit in with the family and it’s his way of connecting with them because he’s never had a family before. He gets along with his other siblings sometimes so I don’t think it’s ooc. I consider ‘bat symbol’ Jason an era of the past and am perfectly fine with his new Red Hood logo it looks sweet (but I wouldn’t be angry if he had the bat symbol on or not in the future). I’m curious what you’re thoughts are!

Hey there Anon, I have to be honest with you, your ask has been proven very difficult to answer, this here is my third draft. I have decided that instead of explaining my thoughts as I was trying to do in my previous drafts, I will now just link you to some of my past posts when I bring up certain points that make me think Jason should have never worn the bat-symbol on his chest.

Just a heads up, I am not a fan of Batman, the “Batfamily”, or Jason being dragged to any Bat-related content, I think it makes his character bland.

In order to make the answer clear to me as well as to anyone who reads this post, I will be separating my thoughts on how I think Jason’s relationship with Bruce has led me to think that he shouldn’t wear a bat-symbol or be involved with any Batman related content, and how Jason’s relationship with his brothers has led me to think that he isn’t part of any Batfamily or has ever been written as someone with true reasons to consider the others his brothers/allies/friends. I will separate each of those two groups in four different sections: pre-New 52, New 52, Rebirth and Infinite Frontier.

First though I would like to say that Jason as the Red Hood wearing a bat-symbol doesn’t make sense to me from the most basic of things, Jason’s vigilante name has nothing to do with Bats. Who wears bat-symbols? Batman, Batwoman, Batgirl, Batwing… All people that who have the “Bat” prefix on their names, nobody else wears a bat-symbol, Nightwing, Robin, Red Robin (Robin), none of them wear it, so why would Red Hood do it? It just makes zero sense. But anyway, that’s just me being annoying, I guess.

Jason and Bruce’s relationship.

First let’s go back in time to when Jason hadn’t died yet. You said that Jason wore the bat-symbol so he could connect with his family because Jason had never had that before, well, I see things differently, Jason had a family and that was his mother, the mother that he cared for when she was sick and the mother that he saw die to drugs after his father was put in jail. He had a family with her. And then he had a family with Bruce when he was Robin, but because Bruce started to neglect and not pay enough attention to him after he realized they weren’t seeing eye to eye in various things, Jason was pushed to act the way he did when he found that his birth mother was alive and “being manipulated by Joker”.

Jason’s father was abusive with his mother and didn’t care for Jason, Bruce wasn’t ready to be a father (even after Dick) and when Jason started to not want to follow his every rule Bruce neglected him, later his birth mother betrayed him and was one of the people involved in Jason’s death.

My point here is that Jason had a family with one person who died to drugs and then every other “family” that he found ended up betraying him or neglecting him. So, I don’t really think that Jason has much trust in the whole concept of “family” at least not when it comes to any of his experiences outside of Catherine Todd.

Now let’s move to the events of Under the Red Hood where Jason comes back to comics. Jason doesn’t hate Bruce then but he felt betrayed by him and felt like Batman’s whole crusade was not good anymore. Jason expressed several times in that book the fact that he didn’t believe Batman was good for Gotham and that he became a better version of Batman, the Red Hood.

Red Hood could do things that Batman didn’t dare do, he was better. So, why on earth would Jason wear a bat-symbol then? Well, Jason never wore a bat-symbol pre-New 52 when he was wearing his Red Hood suit. NEVER.

Jason didn’t care for Dick or Tim, he saw Dick as inferior to him because of Nightwing’s no killing ways and he was completely indifferent to Tim, his only interactions with him were when he cut his throat a little bit in Batman: Hush and when he called him “the pretender”.

So, Jason wasn’t looking for family he just wanted Bruce to kill Joker for him, and Bruce didn’t. When things got complicated and Jason realized that Bruce was too much of a coward he improvised, he told Batman that in order to stop him from killing the Joker Batman would have to shoot him (Jason). Batman didn’t use the gun, but he did save the Joker by throwing a batarang at Jason’s throat. When Joker detonated the explosives in the building they were in Bruce once again saved Joker from the rubble and didn’t look much for Jason.

That my dead Anon is the first time Bruce betrays Jason in such a big way that made me think that Jason would have never wanted to interact with Bruce in a good way. I will repeat it now, Bruce SAVED the Joker instead of letting Jason KILL the Joker.

After Under the Red Hood we got to see that Jason was alive and well in Green Arrow #69-72, where he made an appearance, there I can say with a 100% certainty that Jason hated both Batman and Bruce. He actively did things that pissed Bruce off and was searching for conflict with the man.

Jason and Bruce don’t interact much after all that because at some point Bruce “died” and that’s where Battle for the Cowl comes in. There is where we see one of the craziest Jason characterizations, there Jason took on the mantle of Batman because Gotham needed Batman (what? Red Hood was created to replace Batman!). But in that book Jason actually harmed both his brothers and left them for dead. In that book we also see a horrible message that Bruce left for Jason where Bruce told him that “Jason was broken and he tried to fix him” and that “Jason was my (Bruce’s) biggest failure”. I don’t know about you Anon, but if my father saw me that way, I would be packing my bags. And Jason didn’t look like he was looking to connect with his “family”.

After all that we don’t see Jason until Batman and Robin vol.1, where we see the weirdest characterization of Red Hood, this Red Hood hates Batman and would kill anyone just because. Jason had zero need to connect with his family there.

I just want to remind you here that Jason never wore a Batman symbol until here in his Red Hood suits, he only wore the symbol when he “was” Batman and that was OOC.

So now I welcome you to the New 52, where Jason wears a bat-symbol on his Red Hood suit for the first time. I HATE New 52 Jason Anon; you will find zero love for him here. That man wore a bat-symbol on his chest even though he didn’t believe in Batman’s ways and while he had this internal conflict about whether he hated or not Bruce. This Jason gave up a memory from his Robin years with Batman because he didn’t care enough to keep it, then he was seen acting like an ass towards Bruce and Barbara in the “Court of Owls” event.

But this whole shit show was written by Lobdell and one day he decided that Jason cared about what Bruce thought and let us know that maybe Jason secretly admired Bruce (in the post I will link here! I talk about what happened in those issues among other things). That story would be followed by Batman and Robin vol.2 #20, or what I like to call “the second time Bruce betrayed Jason in an even more painful way”. I am not going to explain what happened there, but I will like here! the post where I talked about what happened there and why I think that Jason should have never been on good terms with Bruce again from that moment on.

In that post I also discuss how much of an abusive and manipulative person and father, Bruce has and can be. He is a disgusting human being and Jason called him out about it but DC loves to write Bruce being abusive and then swiping it under the rug, Jason being on good terms with Bruce or wearing a bat-symbol on his chest is just horrifying after witnessing that issue, and it normalized Bruce’s abusive behaviour when issues later the same writer (Tomasi) had Jason interact with Bruce as if nothing had happened.

After that Jason was seen interacting with Bruce when the latter lost his memory, Jason even hugged Bruce there, it was OOC, and like I said it normalized Bruce’s abusive behaviour or at the very least made it look as something of no real importance.

Now, we are entering the Rebirth era of Bruce and Jason’s relationship, Jason was still wearing that fucking bat-symbol on his chest and this time around Jason even made a deal where he wouldn’t kill anyone while in Gotham (RHatO vol.1 #6), Lobdell even wrote them as being all buddy-buddy after the mess that was the New 52, absolutely disgusting.

Jason didn’t interact with Bruce in Rebirth that much, in fact the next time that Batman made a big appearance in the Red Hood book was in Red Hood and the Outlaws vol.2 #25, yeah, the issue where Batman beats the living shit out of Jason twice because he thought that Jason had killed Penguin. Father of the year, Jason wasn’t dying to be part of Bruce’s family, he was just brutally beat to be part of it. Bruce also ripped the vat-symbol off of Jason’s chest and told him that he didn’t “belong” with him or in Gotham any more. The AUDACITY of that bitch, can you believe? Jason belongs in Gotham as much if not more than Bruce.

Later when Red Hood and the Outlaws became Red Hood Outlaw, we saw Bruce and Jason interact again when Bruce informed Jason of Roy’s death, hugged him and also told him that he was still not allowed in Gotham, what a swell guy that Batman lad!

After that Batman went after Jason Todd when Jason came back to Gotham (without King Batman’s permission) and told the world that Jason Todd was alive and well and taking over Penguin’s Casino. Jason actually threatened Batman with revealing too much information about himself to the world (meaning, Jason threatened Bruce with revealing his secret identity) and that was that. Jason and Bruce only saw each other a few times when DC needed to make money with one of their boring ass events like Joker War and Bruce was shown “welcoming” Jason to Gotham in Red Hood Outlaw #51 or #52, I don’t remember but either way, it was absolutely hilarious and made zero sense. I am sorry, but after Bruce being a manipulative, abusive and all around a horrible person, I don’t feel anything except rage when they make them interact as if they cared for one another.

Shit hits the fan in Infinite Frontier with Urban Legends: Cheer, once again instead of explaining what happens there, I will just link you to the six posts I made about that mini. Part one, Part two, Part three, Part four, Part five and Part six.

Here I will only talk about the comeback of the bat-symbol in Jason’s life. Like you said Jason used (still has in some books) his own logo on his chest after Bruce ripped off the bat-symbol and told him to fuck off. That Red Hood logo was still done with the bat-symbol in mind and I just thought that it was ugly, like, there is no need for a logo if you are going to give him an ugly one along an even uglier suit. But that’s not what matter here, what matters is that the bat-symbol IS making a comeback because at the end of UL: Cheer, Bruce gives Jason a brand new (ugly) suit that has the bat-symbol again. That gift comes as a slap to the face after the disaster that was that book, from every point of view that mini should have not come out to the public. But it did because it forced the “Batfamily” down our throats through Bruce deciding to welcome Jason back to the “family” by giving him a suit with HIS logo on the Red Hood suit that kinda looks to me like Bruce saying “glad that I own you too as well”. The whole bat-symbol thing doesn’t sit right with him and sadly I don’t see it like a “Jason era of the past”, I see it like a metaphorical jail for Jason’s character, he is not free to be the character that he is supposed to be (a perfect opposite to Batman that shows that duality MUST exist in Gotham), and instead all we get is another Batman wannabe that is just as boring as the Batman himself.

Jason and his brother’s relationship.

The funny ha-ha thing with this is that we are not supposed to see Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian as four brothers (and to be honest I have never seen them four as brothers, as far as I see it, Jason hasn’t had a brother since before died). DC always makes it clear that Damian is Bruce’s only son so yeah, there is a big misunderstanding there within DC themselves, they have no problem with trying to sell us their absolutely nasty version of a family but at the same time they refuse to acknowledge any one except for Damian as Bruce’s son.

Even though I don’t necessarily believe that Jason sees his brothers as such I still call them that way because they were/are all Bruce’s children.

But this is not about Bruce so let me talk about Jason’s interactions with his brothers in the pre-New 52 era. So, as I said earlier in this post Jason didn’t think Dick was a big deal in UtRH because *just* like Batman Dick never killed and his way didn’t work or whatever (if only Jason knew what Dick did), and with Tim, Jason was mostly indifferent, he only hurt him a little bit in Batman: Hush (for the little bit that he took Clayface’s place) and then he referred to him as “the pretender”. Then we jump to the events of Teen Titans for Tim and Nightwing for Dick. In Teen Titans #29 Jason went to Titans Tower and beat the living hell out of Tim just because, now that thing was OOC and written by Geoff Johns but it existed and it further proves that DC writes this “family” through violence every time they can and then they just hope we forget it happened. With Dick, well, there was the Brothers in Blood arc where Jason dressed up as Nightwing and killed people in his name, he did it because he wanted to “bond” with Dick because he thought that Dick had killed Blockbuster, the whole arc was a mess and I can tell you this about it, Jason wanted to bond for all the wrong reasons and Dick was written as actually preferring Jason to be dead.

Then we jump right into Battle for the Cowl and even though (once again) this Jason was extremely OOC he did try to kill both Damian and Tim and fought Dick too, so, so far, I am not seeing Jason wanting to connect with his brothers, it was more like him going “be robin to my weird ass version of Batman or suffer!”. It was just weird.

Then there was Batman and Robin vol.1, where Jason’s Red Hood was just a blood thirsty and crazy and he didn’t want to be part of any family. I might not like Jason being written as part of the family but what this book had going on was not it.

Now, get ready because it is New 52 time again and this is messier than his relationship with Bruce in this timeline. The most recognizable relationship (or lack of thereof) was Jason and Dick. Lobdell just let us know one thing about what Jason thought of Dick and that was HATE. Jason HATED Dick, why, you ask? Oh, um, no one really knows, the only panel we were shown as “proof” of why Jason hated Dick was when Jason was acting like a little bitch when Dick was teaching him stuff during patrol (RHatO vol.1 #6). But, yes, Jason “had” (apparently) a good relationship with Tim. Yeah, no gracias, listen, Jason and Tim having brunch for two pages (RHatO vol.1 #8) isn’t making me believe that Jason cares or sees Tim in a good light, just throwing a brunch between them isn’t proof of them being the best of brothers but then again Lobdell loved giving Jason every character trait and relationship that Dick once had (examples: Tim, Roy and Kory). That brunch didn’t mean much because later on during the Death of the Family event Jason almost killed Tim (Teen Titans #16) to “save” his father from Joker (talk about bad writing). Jason and Damian had a very weird and forced “bonding” moment in that same event (you can include Damian to the relationships that Lobdell borrowed from Dick), all of the sudden Jason cared for Damian and he was acting all brotherly, because “they worked together” as different people in Batman Incorporated #4, this weird interaction between Jason and Damian (it can only be called weird because it looked out of place and you cannot change my mind, even Jason thinks it is weird in those panels) happened in RHatO vol.1 #17. In that same issue is where Jason tells Dick that he was trash because he didn’t want to say hi to Kory and kinda tells him that Dick “underestimates” Kory, listen, New Teen Titans isn’t a book that I enjoy reading most of the time but Lobdell needs to do some re-reading himself, Dick isn’t trash to Kory, Lobdell was trash to Kory. Anyway, at that point in time, Jason had a bad relationship with Dick, a secret admiration for Bruce, and a weird ass relationship with Tim and Damian.

Before we go on let me tell you what I think about the whole New 52 dynamic. Jason was used as a replacement of Dick Grayson. Dick was the one that had good relationships with his brothers and father, Jason up until the start of New 52 didn’t care for Tim or Damian, hated Bruce and kinda had a soft spot for Dick. In the New 52 the tables were turned. Jason’s relationship with Tim was never developed in paper, they for some reason were friends only when they stood together like they did in Robin War and Batman and Robin Eternal, there was never development or a reason as to why they “were in good terms”, they just *were*. The whole Jason and Damian thing didn’t last long because Damian died and then the whole mess of Batman and Robin #20 happened with Bruce.

Ahh, Grayson #12, the time when Jason and Tim’s last braincell died, they threw so much shit Dick’s way and for nothing. I will forever be mad at this, they really thought that Dick of all people faked his death, and because Bruce was conveniently amnesiac nobody dared say “hey, wasn’t it Bruce the one that told us that Dick was dead?”, seems to me like New 52 Jason and Tim can go be friends with that one braincell all by themselves. This is not family; this is people teaming up with whoever so DC can sell another weird comic event. Also at that time Damian was alive and Jason couldn’t have cared less about him being there (maybe it was because Jason was there when Damian was resurrected? Who knows?).

And now we jump to Rebirth because I hate the New 52. Tim was nowhere to be seen. Jason just forgot Tim existed and it wasn’t until the Red Hood Outlaw era in which we saw Jason interact with Damian again. What we did see, was a reconciliation between Jason and Dick, Jason was written as acting completely different in RHatO Annual #1, Jason respected Dick and his work and also said that Dick “had been a better brother than he had given him credit for”. Then Jason appeared once in Nightwing and they talked about Dick’s new girlfriend. And that was that for a long while.

As I said, during the RHO era Jason and Damian shared a couple of issues in the Teen Titans run, I have talked about these issues before in two posts (Post 1 and Post 2) but I will summarize what happened there here quickly.

Apparently, Jason and Damian had been working together in secret (never shown in actual comics), Jason gave Damian targets and intel of people for Damian to put in his secret prison for villains. When Damian and the Titans go after a target something goes wrong and the Titans end up hurt. Damian goes after Jason without a second thought and accuses him of betraying him, a physical and emotional fight ensues and it ends with Jason promising that if he sees Damian again, he will kill him. That’s all for Jason and Damian being on good terms in Rebirth.

But it all changes in Infinite Frontier, in August of 2021 we see the *real* comeback of the “Batfamily” in Robin #5. Dick, Damian, Jason, Tim and Stephanie appear in this issue but the only things of essence happen between Jason and Damian and Dick and Damian. Only one of them made sense, and it wasn’t Jason and Damian.

Jason was there to bring Damian back to Bruce. Listen, the last time Jason and Damian were seen together they were actively hiding their work from Batman and then they ended promising to kill each other, and now Jason came fresh out of Urban Legends: Cheer #6 wanting Damian to go back to Bruce. Damian tricks Jason into a hug, but surprise! it wasn’t a hug, Damian electrocuted Jason to get him of his back.

And that’s all.

-

I understand that there have been moments where Jason has been written as wanting to connect to one or two people from the “family” but its never developed or based on something of true essence. You might consider it actually strong family connections but I just don’t see it that way.

Jason wearing a bat-symbol after the abuse and manipulation that Bruce put him through in new 52 onwards is just dumb to me. And given Red Hood’s origin, Jason wearing a bat-symbol in the first place is absurd and goes against everything that he once was.

Jason officially started wearing the bat-symbol again in Detective Comic's back up story written by Rosenberg and will continue to use it in the ongoing book Task Force Z.

The bat-symbol is annoying but Rosenberg writes Jason beautifully so yeah, I am biased there...

We just have different opinions on the matter Anon, but don't take this post as an attack towards you and what you think, it is just that I just don't like Jason being involved with anything Batman.

I hope you have a fantastic week Anon!

[hood-ex]

For a batfam prompt: Dick as Nightwing, fear toxin, and Bruce?

Dick was in the middle of trying to stanch the bleeding from his nose when his comm started beeping in his ear. He sighed at the terrible timing and quickly wrangled off one of his blood coated gloves to receive the call. 

“Talk to me,” he said, voice sounding high and distorted as a result of pinching his nostrils closed. 

“Whoa,” Babs said. “What the hell is wrong with your voice?” 

“Got a bloody nose,” Dick explained quickly. It was really uncomfortable trying to breathe and talk only through his mouth. He was definitely going to need a huge glass of water after this. “What’s up?” 

“The Owls are what’s up. I need you to get your tush to the cave ASAP.” 

Ah, fuck. 

“What kind of trouble are our freaky electrum filled friends getting up to?” he asked, already tugging his glove back on and booking it back to where he’d left his bike half a block away. He knew he looked fucking ridiculous running while holding his nose, but it seemed pretty insignificant compared to the idea of Talons running loose and slaughtering people. 

“Just one friend, actually,” Babs said. The lack of urgency in her voice made some of the anxiety in Dick’s chest dissipate. It also made him realize that they were talking about a member of the Court and not the Talons. 

“Oh yeah?”

“She was schmoozing it up at the Aparo Auction House with Brucie Wayne and a hundred other rich people.”

A feeling of disgust settled in his gut, his mind replaying the time he infiltrated one of the Court’s underground auctions. The same auction that had tried to sell off the crowbar Joker had beaten Jason with. 

A shiver traveled all the way down to his toes as he leapt over a puddle that was in the middle of the sidewalk. His bike was now in his sight. He could tell it was his because of the way its blue accents gleamed in the moonlight. 

“Looks like Scarecrow and the Court have been doing business with each other,” Babs said in that slightly distracted way of hers that Dick was used to hearing when she was trying to talk while rubbing at her eyes. It was something she did a lot since her eyes were always strained from looking at computer screens for hours on end. “Fear toxin was released through the vents at the auction. It caused an absolute shitstorm of chaos, as you can imagine.”

“Damn,” Dick said, straddling his bike. He was secretly glad he was wearing his thermal suit so he wouldn’t have to ride to Gotham on a cold seat. The only thing he was annoyed about was that he was getting blood all over his handle bars and helmet. “Is B okay?” 

“Yeah... about that...” 

The anxiety in Dick’s chest cranked back up tenfold. Irrational images of Bruce lying dead in a red-stained tuxedo flashed through his mind. He shook his head, mentally yelling at himself to cool it. If something like that had happened, Bab’s wouldn’t sound as casual as she did now. 

“He keeps thinking you’re dead,” she said, and for a second, Dick thought he misheard her over the sound of his tires peeling off down the street. “Red Robin says he keeps switching between rationalizing that you’re alive and thinking you bit it.”

“Huh,” Dick said, not really sure what to make of that. It wasn’t the first time Bruce had delusions of him or someone else dying while on fear toxin. Dick was just slightly surprised because it had been years since he was the sole subject of Bruce’s fear. He wondered if it was tied to Bruce knowing that a woman from the Court was at the auction. Bruce might have associated her with Dick in his mind since the Court had been after Dick for the last few years. 

“All I’m saying is that you might want to hurry home quick, Hunk Wonder. Robin and Red Robin are out distributing an updated antidote to the people who got dosed at the auction. B’s antidote won’t really kick in for another thirty minutes.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen.”

“It should take you longer than that,” Babs said suspiciously. 

Dick grinned under his helmet. “It would if I wasn’t making my way there like Sonic the Hedgehog on a caffeine high.” 

“D-Nightwing!” 

“Gotta go, O! I’ll catch you at Cass’s birthday party next weekend!”

Dick disconnected the call, knowing full well that Bab’s hated when he did that and was sure to give him an earful the next time they talked. But that was a problem for future Dick to deal with. 

The ride to the batcave was filled with a lot of weaving and a few angry honks directed his way. Dick was pretty sure he might have even shaved off his expected arrival time by two minutes. He was very decidedly not going to share that with anyone else except for Roy. Roy was the only one who would appreciate it without giving Dick the third degree about safety precautions. 

The cave was about as lit up as it could get when Dick’s bike came to a screeching halt next to one of the batmobiles. Alfred had probably turned on all the lights since they’d learned over the years that shadows and fear toxin really didn’t mix that well.  

Dick left his helmet on his bike and hurried over to the cot Alfred always had them lie on when they were sick or injured. Sure enough, that was where Bruce was currently sitting, his feet bouncing in agitation against the floor. He was already out of his batsuit and was dressed in a soft looking blue shirt and gray sweatpants. 

Bruce’s eyes were squeezed shut and his arms were wrapped tightly around himself, his knuckles white. Dick wasn’t really sure what the correct way was to approach him, but he figured letting Bruce know he was there was probably a good first step.

“Hey, B, I’m here,” Dick said, walking slowly up to his dad to try and give him enough time to work out what was real and what wasn’t. 

Bruce’s head jerked at the sound of his voice, his bloodshot looking eyes immediately seeking out Dick’s own. He looked... well, not okay but not terrible either. Mostly just pale and a little shaky. 

It was the way Bruce was staring at him that made Dick feel nervous all over. His eyes were wide and haunted looking as they soaked Dick up like a sponge. It was the kind of raw look Dick had only ever seen on parent’s faces when they realized their baby wasn’t coming home. 

It was Bruce after Jason’s death. It was Bruce after Damian’s death. It was Bruce after T—

“You want to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?” Dick asked quietly, becoming more alarmed as he noticed Bruce was breathing so quickly that his chest was practically heaving. 

Bruce’s voice cracked as he murmured, “Dick?”

Bruce’s increasing panic didn’t make sense until Dick reached out his hand to comfort him and saw all the blood coated over his glove. 

Oh wow. He was a fucking asshole, wasn’t he?

He jerked his arm back to his side and whirled around so that Bruce couldn’t see all the dried blood on his face.

“I’m okay, Bruce. I’m okay. I got a bloody nose from patrol and... just wait, okay? Let me clean this off.” 

You’re such an idiot, Dick thought as he jogged towards the shower area, ripping off his gloves as he went. Once he was hidden from Bruce’s sight, he quickly peeled off his suit because, yeah, he found that blood had dripped on it as well. No wonder he was staring at you like you’d actually... like you were really...

He grabbed a clean towel from the pile they kept on a rack, and then he wet it and went about scrubbing all the blood off his skin until his face looked raw and the towel looked rusted. He was shivering by the time he was done. The cave was always cold and the water definitely wasn’t helping with that. 

Dick looked in the mirror and made sure there was no more blood on him before he went to their extra clothes supply rack. Weirdly, the shirts and hoodies from his own pile were missing. He barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes, knowing Tim and Damian had probably been taking his stuff again. Tim always forgot to replace the clothes he borrowed after washing them, and Damian usually hoarded the clothes in his bedroom. 

Bruce and Jason’s stacks were still pretty well stocked. Dick made a considering sound in the back of his throat as he looked between them. Jason would definitely blow a gasket if he realized someone had taken his clothes, and contrary to popular belief, Dick really didn’t like fighting with Jason. On the other hand, wearing Bruce’s clothes was kind of weird. 

Says the guy who wore his batsuit, his traitorous brain reminded him. 

Shrugging, Dick grabbed some red gym shorts from his own pile and a black t-shirt and hoodie from Bruce’s pile. He did end up taking Tim’s Nike slides because his own slip on shoes had been stolen by two kleptomaniacs.

By the time he’d gotten himself dressed, he saw that Alfred had returned from upstairs and was coaxing Bruce into eating an artfully prepared sandwich. Dick wouldn’t mind eating one as long as there was no sign of cucumbers in it. 

“Ah, Master Dick,” Alfred smiled, looking both happy to see him and also relieved that he wouldn’t have to deal with Bruce by himself. Bruce whipped around to where Dick was, and their eyes locked briefly before Bruce dropped his gaze like he was embarrassed about needing to reassure himself that Dick was actually there. 

“Hey, Alfie,” Dick said with a small smile of his own. He plopped himself on the cot next to Bruce, and before Bruce could protest, he grabbed Bruce’s fingers and forcefully pressed them against his wrist where his pulse was beating steadily. Bruce’s fingers trembled against his skin from the effects of the toxin, but he didn’t try to move them away. Instead, his shoulders relaxed into a more comfortable position, and he ended up leaning some of his weight against Dick’s shoulder. 

“You gonna eat that sandwich?” Dick asked Bruce who had closed his eyes and seemed to be silently counting the beats of Dick’s pulse. 

Alfred would normally intervene at a time like this and insist that he could go get Dick his own sandwich, but this time, Alfred stayed silent and watched them both with a knowing look. 

“No,” Bruce shook his head lightly. “You go ahead and eat it.” 

“Are you super-duper sure? Or just super sure? Or just duper sure? What level of sure are you?”

Bruce finally cracked the tiniest of grins at the game Dick used to play with him back when their worlds were a little smaller. Back when Casa de Wayne only had a population of three. 

Score, Dick thought with a smile of his own, feeling proud of himself. 

“I’m super-duper sure you can eat the sandwich,” Bruce said. 

That was essentially code for: I’ll throw up all over the floor if I have to eat even a bite of that sandwich. Dick took it as a sign to back off. 

“Well, as long as you’re super-duper sure,” Dick said, making grabby hands at Alfred for the sandwich in question. Alfred only looked mildly exasperated as he handed it over. 

Bruce’s fingers tightened around Dick’s wrist. “Trust me, I’m good.”

When Dick looked over at Bruce, he realized that Bruce’s eyes were open, and this time, they looked much clearer. The antidote seemed to have finally made its way through his system. 

“Good,” Dick said, playfully jostling Bruce’s shoulder. 

There was no stopping his surprised laugh when Bruce jostled him back. 

[mochegato]

Hope on Board

Chapter 25 – Out of Time

Chapter 1     Chapter 24

Dick woke up to a far too early knocking, more like pounding, on his door.  He and Jim Gordon had been up half the night talking about the corruption in the police force and whether Dick should join, before deciding he could make a difference if he did.  He would be able to help Jim slowly weed out the corruption if he was working with him from the inside.  They’d even filled out all his applications for the Police Academy, starting in a month. He would have to be away from Marinette and the twins during the day, but he would be able to come home to them every night.  If she let him.  And she would know where he was.

But all that talk meant he had only gotten a few hours of sleep last night and he was dead tired this morning.  He really just wanted to go back to sleep, but the pounding on the door continued unabated.  He groaned and made his way to the door.  “Answer your damn phone, asshole,” Jason growled at him, pushing past him to look around the room.  “We’re fucking thrilled if you and Pixie got back together, but let us know you both aren’t dead.”

Dick shook his head and scrunched his face in confusion. “That we’re what?  I haven’t gotten to talk with Marinette yet.  I’m hoping that’s how it will go, but I think that’s probably overly optimistic.”

Jason’s expression turned in an instant from annoyed to scared.  It was not a look he was used to seeing on Jason’s face.  Jason never got scared, or if he did, he never showed it.  “Pixie is here, right?” he asked again, enunciating each word clearly.  “She’s with you.”

“No…  I just woke up.  I was talking with Commissioner Gordon all night.  Why would you think she was with me?” Dick shook his head again, trying to make sense of what he was saying.  Had Marinette planned on meeting him here?  Maybe she came back and fell asleep.  He ran to her bedroom to check, but the room was exactly as it had been for the past few weeks.  No sign of Marinette.  He returned to the living room and shook his head.

“Shit!”  Jason looked around desperately.

“Tell me what is going on right now.  Why did you think Marinette was with me?” Dick asked carefully.  His breathing became strained.  This isn’t the way this was supposed to go.  He had saved her.  He had stopped the Court of Owls.  He stopped their plot.  She was safe.

Jason pulled out his phone and called Tim, talking as he did, without bothering to acknowledge Tim when he answered and putting him on speaker as soon as he did.  “She’s missed all her appointments today.  Adrien said she said she was going to talk with you today.  She isn’t in Adrien’s apartment or Wayne Enterprises. Her phone is in her studio, but she isn’t,” Jason answered slowly, eyes darting around as if calculating something. “We figured she must be here.”

“We didn’t set the time yet.  I haven’t heard from her.  When was the last time someone saw her?” Dick asked frantically, running to his bedroom to start getting dressed.

“I’m going to start going through security footage around Adrien’s apartment and her studio,” Tim reported.

Jason’s phone started flashing with another call. “Patching Adrien into the call too,” he informed them and pushed a few buttons to enable it.  “Adrien, tell me you have something.”

Adrien’s voice hesitated for a moment.  Dick and Jason shared an apprehensive look.  “I have something, but it’s bad…  Someone told me you’d know how to get in contact with Batman?”

Jason froze and looked up at Dick with a panicked expression.  There was no way that was good.  “I think we might have a way to contact Batman, why?”

“I know where she is, but we’re going to need Batman and his team to get her back.”  There was barely a quiver to Adrien’s voice as he spoke, but years of training made it come across as clear as glass to the others on the call.

“Where is she?” Dick yelled into the phone.

“Dick?  They don’t have you?  That’s good… I guess.  It means they only wanted her… Actually, no, wait, maybe that’s worse,” Adrien prattled.

“Who is they?” Dick demanded.

“Some people with owl masks.”  There was a hedge in his voice as though he didn’t think they would believe him.

Dick stopped breathing.  The Court had taken Marinette.  No, no, no, no.  He had stopped them.  He had made sure Marinette was safe.  He had protected her from them.  That’s what the past few months of hell had all been about.

“You can get ahold of Batman, right?” Adrien asked again, in a more strained voice.  “I know someone who’d like to talk to him.”

Jason furrowed his brow and looked to Dick to see if he had any ideas.  “Who?”

“Chat Noir.”

Jason looked at Dick communicating their intentions and agreement through minute body quirks and purposeful looks.  “We can get ahold of someone.  We will make sure someone is on the top of the Wayne Enterprises building in half an hour.  Is that enough time for him?”

“He’ll be there,” Adrien confirmed confidently.

Jason cut Adrien’s connection and glared at the floor in thought.  “Why would they want Marinette?”

“The plot you stopped was all about the power grid, wasn’t it?” Tim interjected.  “Trying to run up prices for some of their members who owned supply and power companies?”

“Yeah…” Dick answered uncertainly.

“Then there was no reason for them to be at the Stone concert, right?  Those execs were from Netflix, no way associated with this,” Tim elaborated.

Dick drew in a deep breath and cursed.  “They were there watching Marinette.  They were planning this all along.  They wanted Marinette from the beginning.  Why?”

“Everyone go get suited up.  Get there as soon as possible.  I’ll text the others,” Jason stated, moving quickly toward the door so he could get to his apartment.

<><><><><> 

Batman, Red Robin, Signal, and Red Hood made it to the rooftop with time to spare, since they were already close to their costumes. Nightwing, Black Bat, Spoiler, and Robin had further to go to get to their costumes and had to trickle into the meeting, but they kept track of the conversation through the coms until they could be there in person.

“Chat Noir.” Batman stepped forward and nodded.

“Batman.  Bats and Birds.” Chat Noir nodded to Batman and the rest of the bats.  “I was thinking there would be more.”

“They’re on their way but listening in,” Batman assured him briskly.  “Let’s start with how do you know where she is?”

Chat looked over to the edge of the building at the sound of two sets of boots landing, he continued to speak as he silently acknowledged Nightwing and Robin.  “I’ve been keeping a close eye on Marinette since the pharmacy incident.  You might say I’ve had a catbug on her… with her permission of course.  She sent the scout to find me when she thought they were in her final location.  They didn’t seem interested in immediately harming her or the scout would have stayed.  We have time, I just don’t know how much.”

“Do you know how she was taken?” Batman asked.

Chat nodded, annoyance settling in his expression as he did. “A couple men dressed as cops approached her at her studio and said something happened to Dick, her boyfriend… kind of… it’s complicated.  She went with them.  By the time she figured out they were not headed to the hospital, there was a knife digging into her bump.”

“Any ideas on why they took Pi… her?” Red Hood broke in.

“They said something about a Grayson, so I have to imagine it’s to get at Dick Grayson, the babies�� father, for some reason or to get her twins perhaps for ransom.  I don’t suppose you have any ideas why they would want to get back at Dick, would you?  Is he a member?  Did he double cross them?” Chat mused.

“What?” Nightwing exclaimed.  “No!”

“Well…” Spoiler hedged as she and Black Bat landed.

“Dick Grayson didn’t do anything to them,” Nightwing gritted out.

Chat Noir studied Nightwing carefully then suddenly whipped his head over to Red Hood, running his eyes over him in a calculated manner and moving quickly to do the same to Red Robin.  “Fuck.  That’s why he said you guys would know how to get in contact with Batman.  That’s why you’ve been disappearing.” He stuck an accusatory finger in Nightwing’s direction.  “Why the fuck didn’t you just tell her that, you fucking dumbass!”

“See!  Even the catman agrees.” Red Hood exclaimed.

“She wasn’t supposed to get stressed and I didn’t want her knowing I was putting my life in danger every night, constantly,” Nightwing attempted to defend himself, but even to himself, his voice sounded unsure.

“She put up with me for years.  She is perhaps the world’s foremost expert in dealing with idiots who constantly put their lives in danger,” Chat exclaimed exasperated.  He had to have known that.  Marinette had talked to him about how frustrated she had gotten with Chat.  Hell, he was there for some of those conversations with Dick, while she glared at Chat the whole time.

“You think memories of that didn’t add stress?” Nightwing exploded, stalking slowly toward Chat as he spoke.  “She still has nightmares about it.  And pregnancy hormones make nightmares even more realistic. You weren’t there almost every night when she woke up crying because she saw you sacrificing yourself in new ways or when she dreamt it was me instead of you.  And the last one she had before our fight…  She sobbed almost nonstop for almost an hour.  I was terrified for her.”

“And you weren’t there when she was sobbing because you said you loved her then ran away like she didn’t matter,” Adrien returned just as angrily, standing his ground against Nightwing.  “Or when she broke down because she couldn’t trust you anymore. Because you spent months lying to her. Not because you had a secret. Secrets she understands, intimately. Because she trusted you and you lied and without an explanation, she had to assume you lied about everything.”

“I was protecting her from the Court of Owls,” Dick yelled.

“So that’s what the cult is called?  Bang up job, there.”  Chat growled back.  He moved away to collect his thoughts and deescalate the situation.  Fighting now wouldn’t help Marinette.  They needed to work together to rescue her.  Finally, he sighed and rubbed his hand across his forehead like he was trying to ward off a migraine.  “She owes me a hundred euros for this.  So, what’s these guys’ deal?  Do they know who you are or are they asking for ransom?”

“We don’t think they know who he is, but ransom isn’t really their deal either,” Red Robin answered.

“Why would they want her otherwise?” Signal asked.

Chat opened his mouth a few times before cocking his head to the side and furrowing his brow and grimacing as if trying to figure out how to say what he was thinking.  “Could they know about… her association with the Paris heroes?”

“What exactly is her association with them?” Batman asked

Chat opened his mouth and closed it quickly.  “That sounds like a question for Marinette.”

“Well she isn’t fucking here is she?” Red Hood pointed out curtly.

“Close.  Very close,” he answered carefully.

“Clearly,” Spoiler huffed motioning to Chat.

“Closer than that.” He grimaced.  He was definitely skirting the line of flat out telling her secrets, but if it saved her babies, he was sure she would be okay with it. He just wasn’t sure yet if it actually related at all.  “But I don’t know how they could have found out.  She hasn’t been around any costumed heroes in years.”

“And they said this was about Grayson,” Robin pointed out.  “It is far more likely they know Grayson’s identity and this is punishment for stopping them.”

“If they’ve been tracking her since the concert, maybe earlier, it isn’t just about ruining their plans,” Red Robin clarified.

“They were doing what?” Chat’s head whipped around to look at him.

“I saw a talon at the Stone concert.  That’s why I disappeared.  I was investigating,” Nighwing explained distractedly.  “We can figure out the reason later.  Let’s focus on freeing her, making sure she’s okay.  You said you know where she is.  She’s probably terrified, and she doesn’t need more nightmares.”

“Yeah, she’s being held under here,” he pushed a few buttons on his baton and sent the location to the Bats.

“How did you do that?” Signal asked with amazement in his voice.

“Magic,” Chat answered, flaring out his fingers.  

“So what’s the plan?” Stephanie asked.

“Oracle do you have the building layout?” Batman asked into the coms.

“I’m having trouble getting in.  It looks like they have several layers of security and self-contained power.  It might take me a bit,” Oracle responded.

“We wait to see if we can get insight into the building then create the plan.  Our tech person is having difficulty getting in,” Batman stated so Chat could hear.

Chat nodded and teetered back and forth from his toes to his heels, anxiety ramping up in the silence.  “So, any tips or tricks I should know before fighting these guys, if that’s what’s happening?”

“The guys with glowing yellow eyes are highly trained. The rest will try to kill you, but they’re like drunken toddlers, it’s the yellow eyed bastards you have to watch out for,” Red Hood answered as he leaned against the half-wall running along the edge of the building.

“They’re not drunken toddlers.  They’re dangerous too,” Batman emphasized affronted.  He’d fought those guys in a group.  They had almost overpowered him.

“Okay fine,” Red Hood waved him off, “but not like the talons.”

“Any weaknesses for those yellow eyed talon guys?” Chat asked apprehensively.

“Not really.  They’re highly trained, highly skilled, superhuman speed, superhuman healing,’ Nightwing answered.

“Fuck,” Chat answered with a whistle.

“Appropriate response,” Red Robin nodded.

“They need a substance to keep healing,” Batman corrected.

“So if we injure enough of them they won’t have enough substance for everyone?” Chat offered.

“Not the route I want to go, but yeah,” Signal agreed.

“And cold.  They’re susceptible to cold,” Batman added.

“Cold?” Chat clarified, suddenly listening very intently.

“Yeah, it interferes with their healing,” Red Hood explained.  “Makes it so their injuries stick.”

“So if we could make it freezing cold down there…” Chat trailed off.

“Doesn’t have to be the whole place, just where the talons are,” Red Robin mused out loud.  “There likely won’t be many, if any.  They can’t be expecting us yet.  They were too careful.  If it wasn’t for Chat’s scout, we’d have no idea.  But yes, if you can make them cold, we’d have a better chance.”

Chat stopped and looked contemplative for a few moments. “Let me make a quick call.”  He turned around and walked a few steps away. After a few minutes he returned. “Snowflake will be here in 35 minutes.”

“The ice chick from New York?” Red Hood asked.

Chat nodded in response.  Damian eyed him suspiciously.  “That’s awfully quick.”

“She’s going to catch a ride with Uncanny Valley and Uncanny will be able to hack into their security as soon as she gets here.  She just has to be close.  We can get the plans from her and break into their security system.”

“How can she do that?  No offense to your friend, but if Oracle can’t do it, it’s unlikely anybody else would be able to so quickly,” Red Robin asked.

“Thank you,” Oracle cut in.

“Uhhh… magic?”  Chat offered with less enthusiasm than before.

“Let’s move to a closer position while we wait.  We’ll come up with a plan once we have more information,” Batman said already taking out his grappling hook.  “We have family to save.”

Chapter 26

Tags:

@dickinette-february @demonicbusiness @ichigorose @iloontjeboontje @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @golden-promises @trippingovermyfeet @emimar7 @laurcad123 @lady-bee-fechin @thewitchwhowaited @redscarlet95 @jayjayspixiepop

[red-jaebyrd]

Somebody That I Used to Know

Here is the long awaited sequel to “My Brother’s Keeper”. Sorry it took so long I was in in the process of moving out of state. Thank you to @brokenhearted-queen for your awesome beta work! I really appreciated it.

This wasn’t part of the plan, but since Jason and his brothers had arrived in Bludhaven nothing had happened according to their plan. They weren’t supposed to make contact with Ric this soon, this fast, but it happened. They had agreed in the beginning to simply sit back, watch him, and make sure he was safe from The Court of Owls.

As far as Jason knew The Court had been trying for years to acquire Dick to their cause to become their Talon. In each encounter they were not successful. Opportunity struck when Dick had been shot in the head. What better opening did an evil organization need to swoop in and take advantage of an asset with amnesia? Jason, Tim and Damian could not allow that to happen, which meant they had to get to Ric first.

The plan eventually was for Jason or Tim to insert themselves into Ric’s life and keep him safe away from the Court.  Acquire the intel they needed to further implicate The Court and figure out a way to reverse the damage they had done to Dick and hopefully fix it.

But then Ric’s cab broke down and Jason had a crisis of conscience. He couldn’t in good faith just leave Ric with a busted cab on the side of the road, so Jason helped and then got invited to have a beer. It was only supposed to be one night; one beer and Jason would disappear and “run into” Ric again at a later time.

Except Jason’s curiosity had got the better of him and he had allowed himself to get attached. All those nights talking with Ric, Jason came away learning new things about himself and  his long lost brother, or rather, a man that looked a lot like his brother, but wasn’t his brother. Jason found that Ric was very easy to talk to. Not that talking to Dick was difficult, but sometimes conversations with Dick would turn into the older man telling Jason what he should have done, rather than just letting Jason talk.

Jason had discovered that he could truly talk to Ric about everything, especially all the shit that had happened to him lately like losing Roy and the fallout with Bruce. To his surprise there was no judgment from Ric, just empathy; no unsolicited advice, just commiseration. It was unsettling yet welcoming as Jason began to realize that this was the exact brotherly relationship he had always wanted with Dick. How fucked up was it that it had to take a bullet to the brain and amnesia to make this happen for both of them.

Before Jason knew it, he and Ric were becoming fast friends. Ric didn’t suspect a thing and everything was going back to the original plan. Only this time, they had an active eye on Ric instead of solely relying on CCTV footage.

All of it was going great until that fucking Talon had attacked them, Jason and Ric had moved together, fought together in sync like no time between them had passed. Like a bullet to the brain hadn’t changed anything between them. Muscle memory had taken over and Ric was not letting up. It had been just like old times all those years ago out in the field as Robin and Nightwing fighting and kicking ass. The victory had shattered when Ric called him ‘Little Wing’.

All the air had left Jason’s lungs as the familiar nickname reached his ears. Ric saw it too as his smile faltered realizing the strange name that had come out of his mouth.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Ric stared wide eyed at Jason, his breaths coming in ragged as the fight had ended. “What just happened? I don’t know why I called you that. Why did I call you that?”

Jason looked around. They were out in the open standing over an unconscious assassin in plain sight. This was not the place to have that conversation.

“Later, not here. It isn’t safe,” Jason said in clipped tones. He grabbed Ric by the shoulder and steered him toward his car. “I promise I’ll explain everything. Get in the car.”

Ric was quiet the whole ride to Jason’s apartment while Jason told him everything; how Jason knew him; how long they had known each other and their connection to Bruce Wayne. But once they got inside, Ric didn’t hold back and Jason couldn’t blame him.

“All that time pretending to be my friend, was it all an act?” Ric snapped.

“No, I wasn’t pretending,” Jason confessed. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Was I just another case to solve, another problem to fix?” Ric shouted, gesturing wildly at Jason and pacing the small space of the living room. “Or was it all just… just a means to an end…to get what you wanted; to get him back.”

The accusation sucked, but it wasn’t that far from the truth. Jason glanced over and saw Tim eavesdropping near the hallway. Jason motioned for Tim to come into the room. Tim hesitantly inched his way slowly next to Jason waving nervously at Ric. Ric ignored him.

“No, it wasn’t like that, Ric. I swear,” Jason sighed, putting his hands out in a calming gesture. He looked over at Tim for help.

“He didn’t lie about his name, only about who he was to you, or used to be to you, to Dick,” Tim rambled talking with his hands and almost hitting Jason in the face. He quickly shoved them in his pockets. “Not everything was a lie; he just didn’t provide specific details about how he knew you.”

Ric glared at Tim causing the teenager to look away in shame. Tim quickly shuffled way from Ric and Jason and sat on the couch.

“Really not helping, Tim,” Jason sighed, running his hand down his face in exasperation.

Ric looked up and finally noticed Damian who was edging into the room from the hallway. Ric’s jaw clenched in anger. “You’re working for him!” he shouted, pointing accusingly at Damian. “Did he…did Wayne hire you to find me?”

Damian shrunk under the accusation. He looked close to tears even with a scowl on his face. This was getting worse by the minute. The boy stomped off to the kitchen out of sight from Ric.

“Bruce didn’t send us. We’re not doing this for him,” Jason scoffed. “Fuck that. We’re doing this for us, for you. You belong with us, not here on your own.”

Ric crossed his arms in defiance. “I’ve been doing just fine on my own before you guys came along and fucked things up.”

“Bullshit!” Jason argued, leveling a look at Ric. “You’re waking up in strange houses, drinking all the time to numb the pain and dull your memory from all the nightmares. I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it from your own mouth what those nightmares do to you. Your memories are coming back and you're scared shitless.”

“Fuck off!” Ric bellowed, stalking away from Jason toward the dining room table. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Jason had hit a nerve. He glanced at Tim and hoped he saw it too. Tim nodded and headed to the desk grabbing a thick file folder from the top drawer.

“You have to believe us when we tell you that you’ve been played by the Court of Owls this whole time,” Tim interjected, handing Ric a thick file folder. “They took your memories of us with a regimen of drugs and deep hypnosis. They knew that taking away your memories of us would make it easier to groom you into their Talon. So if anyone lied to you, it was them, starting with Dr Haas.”

Ric haphazardly flipped through the documents in the file and then set it down on the table in front of him. He jammed the heels of his hands in his eyes. “I can’t. I can’t do this right now.” He crossed his arms angrily and turned to Jason, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I thought you were my friend, but you lied to me.”

“I -” Jason started, but shook his head in frustration.

But that was just it; Jason had never lied to him at least not about anything they had talked about at The Prodigal. He may have omitted names in their discussions as well as certain details concerning their shared history, but Jason was truthful about everything else. All of their conversations were based in truth. Jason made sure he had never lied to him, not like Dick had done all those years ago while he was ‘dead’. It still pissed Jason off whenever he had thought about it.

“You know, I didn’t have to say yes to that beer, but I did and let’s just say a part of me was curious to see you.” Jason shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe I wanted to see if you remembered me, but I didn’t need you to remember. In all honesty I didn’t want you to remember so imagine my immense relief when I met you and you didn’t have a clue who I was. I was just a random stranger to you.”

Jason walked over to the table positioning himself next to Ric who was still standing in front of the table staring daggers at the folder. Jason leaned against the table and tilted his head to get Ric to look at him.

“And every time we sat down and had a beer, all the baggage and history of all the horrible shit I had done in the past was not rubbed back in my face by the guy who had my brother’s face,” Jason continued. “The ‘Golden boy’ was gone and in his place was this guy, my friend who never offered a lick of advice to me but instead just listened to my bullshit without judgment. I got to do the same in return for him with no agenda of jogging memories. It was perfect.

“So yeah, I’ll admit that I took advantage of a bad situation. I bent the truth a bit and left out certain details. But, I never lied to you, not like you lied to us all those years ago.”

Ric’s head snapped up at Jason’s last sentence. His brows furrowed in confusion.

“Jason, low blow. Now’s not the time for this discussion!” Tim cut in standing between Jason and Ric.

Jason narrowed his eyes at Tim and crossed his arms. Tim opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. Instead he shook his head and walked away leaning against the wall. Jason took a deep breath and refocused his attention back onto Ric.

“Once upon time you faked your own death and didn’t even let us in on the secret.” Jason said coldly. “For months we thought you were dead. Don’t remember that do you, Dickie? Well it sucked.”

Ric rubbed his right cheek and returned his focus to the contents on the table.

“You said your lie was to protect us, but it was really to protect you, to protect Bruce, to protect the mission. You put the mission ahead of us, because that was what we had been taught. It’s how he raised us in this life.”

Jason slumped in the chair next to Ric and caught a quick glimpse of him biting his lip. Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he continued.

“And you know what, as much as it sucked, being lied to by you and believing that you were dead, I get it now. I get why you had to lie and carry that secret. So yeah, I kept who I was from you and I put ‘this mission’ ahead of your feelings, but I did it because you’re a Rob-.” Jason stopped to clear his throat. “…because you’re our brother. I did it because that’s exactly what Dick did for us.”

“I’m not him anymore. I-I don’t…” Ric shook his head, gesturing at an old picture of Dick from the file folder. “I –I really don’t know who I am right now.”

Jason closed the file folder and pushed it out from Ric’s reach.

“I know who you are. You’re my friend, Ric and like I told you at the bar, you’re still the same guy I met on the side of the road with a broken down cab,” Jason reaffirmed. “You’re still the same guy I have beers with and play pool. And you’re right. You’re not Dick Grayson, but that’s not gonna stop us from trying to protect you from yourself and every other motherfucker lining up to take advantage of an amnesic former vigilante.”

“How do I know I can trust you guys?” Ric challenged, crossing his arms and leveling a look at Jason.

“You don’t, but just hear us out,” Jason said, getting up and pulling out a chair for Ric. “If you don’t like what you hear you can leave. We won’t stop you.”

Ric furrowed his brow at Jason for a split second but sat in the chair keeping his arms crossed.

“Excuse us for a second,” Tim said as he steered Jason by his sleeve into the kitchen out of earshot from Ric.

“What are you doing?” Tim whispered loudly as he kept his grip on Jason’s sleeve.” We can’t just let him leave.”

“We can’t force him to stay.” Jason retorted, yanking his arm out of Tim’s grip.

“The hell we can’t.” Tim argued. “Damian and I worked too hard on this to give up now.”

“Do you think I want to let him leave? You don’t think I want to tie him to a chair and make him stay? We can’t force him to stay, otherwise he’ll take off and then what?” Jason snapped. “Once he hears everything we have to tell him, he isn’t going anywhere.”

“You better know what you’re doing, Todd.” Damian said, glaring at Jason as he opened the cupboard to retrieve the box of tea bags.

“I do. Stay in the kitchen, understood.” Jason instructed, putting his hand on Damian’s shoulder. “Tim and I will handle this.”

Damian nodded, placing a teabag into the mug and pouring hot water into it.  

Jason and Tim made their way back into the living room to talk to Ric. Jason’s palms started to sweat at the thought of getting this all wrong and Ric storming out of the apartment in anger. Jason was already taking a risk by giving Ric permission to leave if he didn’t like what they had to say. But Jason had to remember that they weren’t showing Ric video footage of his shooting, nor were they force-feeding him memories of Dick Grayson and his old life. They were simply explaining their presence in Bludhaven and showing Ric evidence of him being duped by The Court.

Tim kept wringing his hands despite the determined look on his face.

“This is gonna work, Tim,” Jason reassured squeezing Tim’s shoulder. “Like you said, you and Damian worked too damn hard collecting evidence and research. He’ll believe us.”

Tim nodded, swallowing thickly.

He watched as Ric fought to sit still in the chair. Ric uncrossed his arms and leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs. He ran a hand up and down his neck in exhaustion before massaging his temples. He then straightened up, crossed his arms again, and started bouncing his knee up and down so fast Jason was surprised Ric’s calf wasn’t burning. He looked like a spring ready to snap and hightail it out of the apartment. Finally Ric got up from the chair to pace the space of the living room. Jason knew he wouldn’t last long sitting still.

“We were only going to keep an eye on you and not interact until absolutely necessary,” Jason explained entering the living room from the kitchen.

Ric continued to walk around the apartment. He looked like he was listening, the tension in his shoulders was still present, and Jason could also see the muscles working in Ric’s jaw. Jason glanced at Tim to take over.

“We hadn’t planned on ever really talking to you…” Tim continued clearing his throat. “…not this soon at least. Our main intention was just keeping you safe, because you’re important to us.”

Ric finally stopped pacing and turned around to face Tim.

“I don’t know you,” Ric said flatly. “I barely know Jason.”

Tim’s shoulders sagged in defeat at Ric’s words and Jason could see the muscles in Tim’s jaw clenching. Jason knew the kid was fighting back tears. Jason walked over to Tim blocking his view of Ric and gave him a one armed hug. It wasn’t a Dick Grayson hug, but it would do in a pinch.

“Kid, you alright?” Jason quietly asked crouching at Tim’s level to get him to look at him.

“I will be,” Tim sniffed and took a deep breath. He plastered on a fake smile that did not reach his eyes and returned his attention to Ric.

“I know you don’t know me, but you trust Jason and I know a part of you wants to trust me too,” Tim reasoned, leveling a look at Ric. “Deep down your gut is telling you that we are important to you too, isn’t it?”

Jason watched as Ric’s shoulders slumped and his anger deflating as Tim’s words sunk in.

Ric stalked over to the table toward the file folder and opened it. He thumbed through it slowly and thoroughly.  Jason and Tim watched as Ric took in all the evidence Tim and Damian had collected over the last few weeks. Photos, notes, detailed documents of his past medications and prescriptions and their intended effects on the nervous system, particularly his. Ric sunk into the nearest chair as he held aloft a sketch of his neurologist, Dr Haas.

“This is all so fucked up,” Ric turned to give them both his full attention still holding the picture of Dr Haas. “So what you’re saying here, what these documents are saying is that I was drugged and hypnotized with suggestive thoughts to alter my memories so that I could be lured into an old secret society called “The Court of Owls’?”

“Sounds far-fetched but it’s on par with their reputation,” Jason added.

“Yes, you are the key to them continuing their work,” Tim clarified, pointing out certain photos of the Court to Ric. “You are who they refer to as the ‘The Gray Son of Gotham’. Their intention was to raise you into taking over your great-grandfather’s position, to be their Talon, basically their enforcer.

Tim pulled out a chair and sat next to Ric.

“We wanted to get close, but not so close that we would give ourselves away to you.” Tim continued, talking nervously with his hands. “That all backfired when Jason ‘met’ you sooner than we had intended. Still, the meet proved to have been beneficial because now we had an active eye on you.”

“So you were spying on me?” Ric quipped. “Were you also wearing an earpiece?”

“No,” Jason retorted, appalled that Ric would even suggest such a thing.

“Jason wouldn’t wear one,” Tim replied nonchalantly.

“Shut up, Tim.” Jason said through gritted teeth.

Jason turned to Ric. “Everything I ever said to you was never made up or fabricated. Again, I never lied to you. I swear. I just omitted names and certain details. Everything you told me, I never shared outside the bar. I promise.”

“Ric, are your memories coming back?” Tim asked.

Ric cringed at the question, his shoulders inching toward his ears. He swallowed thickly and looked over at Jason. Jason gave him an encouraging nod to answer the question.

“Yes, I think so,” Ric answered, looking down at the file folder and thumbing through the photos. “Mostly in dreams, but tonight was the first time I remembered something while I was awake. I think the muscle memory of fighting that Talon with Jason triggered something.”

“How so?” Tim probed.

“I called Jason ‘Little Wing’. At the time I didn’t know why I said it,” Ric explained. “It just came out as the most natural thing to say to him, but in the car I remembered that I used to call you that when you were younger?”

“When we had fought together as Robin and Nightwing,” Jason finished. “I hated the nickname at first, but I learned to like it later on. You still call me that now even if I’m not so ‘little’ anymore.”

Ric nodded and rested his chin in his hand and slowly scrutinized every piece of paper in the file folder with his free hand. He didn’t say a word the whole time. His brow furrowed in thought as he read page after page of notes. Ric’s silence was starting to unnerve Jason. He was still always so used to Dick being chatty regardless of his emotions. It was what made him annoying and endearing all at the same time. Jason had to remind himself that Ric wasn’t Dick. Maybe silence was how Ric liked to process things.

“I don’t want to go back to Gotham,” Ric said breaking the silence. “I’m not ready to see – I don’t want to see Bruce just yet.”

“Don’t worry, we’re not going back there for a while,” Tim assured. “It really isn’t safe to go there. We’re going to lay low here for the time being. You can stay here until we clear this mess with The Court.”

“It’s just that everyone who says that they know me keeps wanting me to be someone I can’t remember and I can’t handle it right now if he…”

“You don’t need to be anyone other than yourself, Ric. It’s okay. No one here is going to tell you how you should or shouldn’t be living your life.” Jason said the last sentence louder so it carried over to the kitchen. “Right?”

“Correct,” Damian answered from the kitchen.

“We’re still interested in getting to know you. Will you give us a second chance, please?” Tim asked. “We won’t push an old life you can’t remember down your throat.”

Just as Ric was going to answer Tim he stopped and sniffed the air. “What’s that smell? Is the old man here?”

“Alfred? No, it’s just the kid making tea,” Jason replied, his mouth going suddenly dry.

The smell wasn’t just from any ordinary tea. The scent was of home and comfort that brought with it memories of simpler times when a cup of tea fixed everything. The rich aroma of Earl Grey tea filled the living room and flooded Jason with memories of sad times turned to happiness with a simple cup of tea with Alfred. Jason almost couldn’t take it. Tim stared at him with wide eyes. Ric looked lost in a memory triggered by the strong scent of bergamot. It was Alfred’s comfort tea. At least that is what Dick had named it all those years ago when they had tried to coax Jason out of a bad mood. It was the type of tea Alfred had made on bad days that contained just enough caffeine to counteract anything from crying jags to bad moods. It was the tea he’d make in the special Robin’s Egg blue teapot with matching cups. It was Alfred’s way of comforting them the only way he knew how, with a cup of tea and a listening ear.

Jason didn’t even know he had Earl Grey tea in the apartment. Alfred must have stocked his pantry with it the last time he was here and now Damian had found it.

Damian walked into the room handing a steaming mug to Ric. “Drink this. It –.”

“–will make you feel better,” Ric finished. “He – he used to say that to me on bad days while he handed me a cup of Earl Grey tea.”

Damian sat in the empty chair next to Ric, cradling his own cup of tea. “He said it to all of us, Richard.”

Silence filled the apartment as Ric and Damian drank their tea. Tim gathered the scattered contents of the file and placed them back into the folder. Jason made his way into the kitchen to collect himself. He slumped against the kitchen counter and took a deep breath.

The evening’s events replayed themselves in his mind’s eye. Jason shook his head as he thought about what they could have lost tonight. They got lucky that Ric hadn’t bolted out of the apartment and disappeared. Tim had known that playing to Ric’s instincts would pay off. Jason had known that if he stated his case and showed the evidence, the detective buried inside of Ric would wake up and believe them. It had been a gamble, but it paid off. Jason rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. Exhaustion was starting to settle into his bones.

“Hey, you okay, you’ve been in here a while,” Tim asked, poking his head into the kitchen.

“I’m fine. What are they doing now?” Jason asked, changing the subject.

“They finished their tea and now Damian is trying to get Ric to play ‘Cheese Vikings’.”

“Is it working?”

“I think Ric is warming up to him. They’re no longer scowling at each other, so that’s progress.”

Jason nodded.

“What’s wrong, Jason?” Tim asked, squeezing Jason’s shoulder. “You did it. You brought him back to us.”

He knew he should be happy, relieved that all four of them were finally under the same roof. But Jason couldn’t help but feel like he was slowly losing his friend. He didn’t go into this to just get Dick back, even if that is what he had told Tim and Damian at the start. He went into this to also keep Dick safe. But then he met Ric and they had gotten to know each other, which is when everything got complicated. There was always the possibility of Ric getting his memories back, that was a given; and with getting those memories back there was the possibility of Jason losing his friend. Jason just thought he’d have more time, but then that Talon fucker attacked them and Ric had called him ‘Little Wing’, and all bets were off.

Was it even possible at this point to have his brother back and still keep his friend? Jason didn’t know.

Jason grabbed two beers from the fridge. He opened one and took a swig.

“I’m happy he’s safe now. It’s just been a long night.”

Jason wasn’t going to bother explaining his apprehension to Tim. The kid was finally smiling after months of wearing a perpetual scowl to match Damian. There was no doubt Tim was happy that Ric decided to stay with them, and he should be happy. He and Damian worked damn hard collecting and curating all that evidence just to prove to their brother that he had been duped by the very people that were supposed to be helping him.

“You’re lying.”

Jason glared at him. “Just drop it.”

Both of them made it out of the kitchen and into the living room with Ric and Damian. Ric now had a controller and seemed to be doing an okay job navigating the game.

Jason handed the unopened beer to Ric and sat in the armchair next to the couch.

Ric handed the controller back to Damian to open his beer and took a drink.

“You know, I’m still a little mad at you,” Ric groused with no heat in his voice.

Jason smirked. “I know, but you’ll get over it.”

[buferfliz]

We Belong Together

So Kuroo is one of my faves and i wanted to write something for him. I will eventually write something for all of my favorites. For now i hope you all enjoy this. Thank you to my awesome sister @silentprincessofhyrule​ for this awesome banner.

Warnings: This is mostly fluff with some angst. Swearing, toxic person/relationship, happy ending

Key: I’m sure you all know this but just in case, y/n = your name and gf/n = girlfriend’s name

         Peas in a pod. That was what you and your two best friends heard most from your teachers, parents, even just neighbors when you were younger. They weren’t wrong, the three of you were always together from the very start.

         At first it was just you and Kenma. You lived on the same street and were the only two children. He was only a year younger than you and so you were just naturally drawn together.

         Kenma was quiet, kept to himself, but that was fine with you. He was sweet and kind and fun to be around. Besides you were loud and outgoing enough for the two of you anyway. Most of your time together was spent playing games and talking about whatever was on your mind. The two of you enjoyed each other’s company.

         When Kuroo had moved onto your street, you were the first to say hello. You thought he was cute even if he was on the shy side, not that anyone would ever be able to guess that nowadays. It hadn’t mattered though, you were friends with Kenma and so you were used to that sort of thing.

         The three of you bonded over games and eventually started playing volleyball together. You’d even managed to find some co-ed training camps so the three of you could play in actual games together. You always had fun playing with them even if they were way better at it than you were.

         When you started middle school, the two of them joined the volleyball team and you became their number one fan and biggest cheerleader. Sure you were sad that you couldn’t play on the same team with them, not that you had ever intended on joining a school team, but that didn’t stop you from going to every game and practice. After they were done with volleyball club for the day, the three of you would do your homework together then play games at Kenma’s or watch movies at your house or play a little volleyball in Kuroo’s backyard.

         The three of you were inseparable and that continued through middle school, on through high school, and even still now in college. Your schedules didn’t always match up perfectly but you spent as much time together as you could and every morning the three of you would commute to college together.

         You’d all chosen to live at home while attending college to save on money. Besides you all lived close enough to the campus that commuting wasn’t a big deal. But you all had also decided to do it so that all of you could still be close to each other and see each other whenever you wanted, just like it had always been no pesky dorm rules to stop you. The three of you truly treasured each other and the time you spent together.

            You rushed into the gym hoping to see your friends before their practice match with Fukurodani began.

         “There you are chibi-chan, I was beginning to think you got lost.” Kuroo says as he approaches you.

         “Yeah sorry about that. My professor went off on a tangent and kept us late.”

         “Well that’s ok, you’re here now.” He smiles at you.

         “Hey, Hey, Hey kitty cat.” Bokuto says when he spots you talking to Kuroo.

         “Hey Ko, how are you?”

         “Seriously bro? What’s with that nickname?” Kuroo asks him.

         “What? Your mascot is a cat and it sounds cute. She doesn’t mind that I call her that. I mean I could call her my baby owl instead.”

         “No. Kitty cat is bad enough and she isn’t yours.”

         You just laugh at the exchange between the friends.

         “Hey y/n, are those two at it again?” A calm voice asks from behind you.

         “Oh hey Kenny. You know they are but I think it’s cute.”

         “Cute? I think not.” Kuroo says.

         “The only cute thing here is you kitty cat.” Bokuto says to you in a flirty manner.

         “Aww, thank you Ko.”

         It was always like that with you and Bokuto. You were just friends but there was always flirty banter between you two. You never saw anything more to it than just a playful exchange. Bokuto then makes another comment that causes you to laugh and maybe that’s why you missed the look of jealousy that briefly flitted across Kuroo’s face.

         Turning your attention back to your two best friends, you give Kenma a hug and then you give Kuroo one as well. As you hug Kuroo, you feel as though his grip around you seems a bit tighter than usual but you decide to just enjoy the feel of it.

         “Good luck guys.”

You head towards the bleachers and find your usual seat in the front row. You can’t help but to think about the hug you had just gotten from Kuroo. You feel your heartrate pick up as you remember the warm strong embrace. The truth was your feelings for your two best friends had changed. They were still your best friends and they always would be. But while your love for Kenma had taken the sibling route, your love for Kuroo had taken the romantic route.

         You feel a little ache in your chest thinking about it because you have convinced yourself that Kuroo would only ever see you as one of his best friends. You’ve told yourself that you’re ok with it because he’s a great friend, but every day you can’t stop yourself from hoping that today would be the day. The day that Testsuro Kuroo, Tetsu as you affectionately referred to him, would realize that he was in love with you. No matter how unrealistic it might be.

            Kuroo throws the ball into the air, jumps, and hits it. Hard. Too hard actually, it goes sailing out of bounds.

         “Shit,” he curses to himself. “Sorry guys.”

         “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get the next one.” Yamamoto assures him.

         Kenma gives his best friend a concerned look as the coach calls for a time out.

         “Are you ok?” He asks him as they head over to the bench.

         “Yeah I’m ok, don’t worry.”

         In truth, he wasn’t ok. The way Bokuto so casually flirted with you earlier and the way you had laughed at whatever stupid thing he had said bothered Kuroo more than he would ever admit. And he knew it was ridiculous for that to bother him, you were both his friends and he wanted the two of you to be happy. If you were to get together, he knew that Bokuto would treat you right. But the thought of you with Bokuto, or anyone really, upset him because the one you should really be with was him. He would treat you so well, take care of you no matter what. He knew you better than anyone, with maybe the exception of Kenma. He knew what you wanted and what you needed and most importantly, he would love you more than anyone else ever could.

         His mind was racing, to the point where he couldn’t even hear what coach was saying. He knew that he really had to focus but the only thing that was currently on his mind was you. That wasn’t really anything new but he could usually focus on volleyball whenever he was playing. He found himself looking for you, knowing you always sat in the same spot whether it was normal practice or a practice match. Front row right behind the bench. He looks at you just as coach finishes talking and the team begins to head back onto the court.

         You give him a sweet smile and he feels his own smile spread across his face. Ah there it is, he thinks. The smile that lights up your face as well as the room and makes his heart race in the best way possible. He loved that smile.

         He heads back to his position with a new focus on the game. He doesn’t even let his mind wander when he and Bokuto are staring each other down across the net. Your smile had been just for him, even if it was just a supportive one from one friend to another, but it had been enough to chase away the jealousy that had overtaken his mind earlier.

            After the game, you said goodbye to Bokuto and Akaashi and waited for Kuroo and Kenma to come out of the locker room. As you waited, you thought back to the game. Kuroo had not been acting like himself, he seemed distracted and almost angry. You were worried that something was wrong but he seemed to get back on track after the time out. So maybe he was just too fired up at the beginning, it had happened before when they played Fukurodani. The competitive streak between him and Bokuto was always on full display when they played each other. Whatever it was, you were glad he had settled in after that.

         You were roused from your thoughts when you heard a voice speak.

         “Hello? Earth to chibi-chan.” Kuroo says as he waves a hand in front of your face.

         “Oh sorry. What was that?”

         “Kenma asked what you wanted to eat. Where were you?”

         “Just spacing out. You guys took so long I was afraid I might fall asleep.” You tease them.

         “Sorry about that,” Kenma says, “Lev called Yaku short again and we had to make sure that Yaku didn’t murder him.”

         “I swear Lev must have a death wish to keep bringing that up.” You laugh.

         “Yeah tell me about it. And I get stuck breaking it up because I’m the captain.” Kuroo says with a sigh. “It gets tiring.”          “Aww but you’re such a good captain Tetsu, I’m sure the team appreciates everything you do for them.”

         “They damn well better. Anyway, food. I’m starving.”

         “How about we just get some take out and go play games back at my house? I’ve had enough intense activity for today.” Kenma says as the three of you leave campus together.

         In the end, that’s exactly what you ended up doing. Now with full stomachs you’re all playing a game together.

         “Damn it Tetsu! Stop saving all those fucking turtle shells for me, use one on Kenma for a change.”

         “But you react so much more to it than him kitten, it’s far more entertaining.” Kuroo laughs.

         “No. You don’t get to call me that when you keep knocking me off the road.”

         Kuroo laughs more and you end up getting hit with yet another shell.

         “I swear I’m going to kill you Tetsu!” You yell at him while giving him a little glare.

         “You both suck at this game, so what does it matter?” Kenma says with his eyes fixed on the screen, his character lapping you for the third time.

         “Shut up Kenny!” You throw a pillow at him and hit him in the back of the head causing him to drive off the road. “HA, now who sucks?”

         Kenma turns and gives you a look that promises revenge.

         “Oh shit.” You get your arms up just barely in time to cover your face from the pillow that Kenma has launched at you.

         “Ok fine, two can play this game.” You say before throwing a pillow back at him, the two of you laughing as you take turns hitting each other.

           Kuroo just watches the scene before him, well just you actually. He loves riling you up because your expressions are all so cute. Whether you’re laughing and smiling like now or pouting and scowling like you were before when he kept messing you up in the game, he loved them all.

         He didn’t really want to admit it, not even to himself though it was undoubtedly true, but he was hopelessly in love with you. It had been a few years already since he first felt it and denied it, though if he was being completely honest with himself he’d had a crush on you since you were kids. But kids don’t really understand the meaning of that or at least he knew that he hadn’t. Still he had managed to act the same as he always did around you, leaving you none the wiser to his changing feelings towards you.

         Even when he had first become friends with Bokuto, which led to you and Kenma becoming friends with him, he had managed to ignore the flirty way that Bokuto interacted with you. But now it had started to bother him. He just didn’t know why it now did. Ok he did know. He couldn’t lie to himself about his feelings for you anymore and there was a very real possibility that you could end up with Bokuto, the two of you got along so well and he wasn’t some jerk that you wouldn’t look twice at. So he couldn’t hold back his feelings but he couldn’t tell you either. What if he ruined everything? Too bad that didn’t stop the jealousy from rising up like it had before.

         As he sat there staring, he heard his phone go off signaling the arrival of a new text message. Before he could pick it up off the floor next to him, however, he was nailed in the face by a pillow followed by your laugh. The laugh that was music to his ears.

         “It’s your fault this whole thing started Tetsu, so don’t think you’re getting out of it.” You say to him.

         “Oh you’re in for it now kitten.” Kuroo says with a smirk before hitting you with a pillow.

         And so he was dragged into your pillow war as well.

            Fifteen minutes later, the three of you were all out of breath from throwing pillows but also from all the laughing. You always loved the time you got to spend with these two men. You glance over at Kuroo who has a smile on his face as he catches his breath.

         Oh how you loved that smile of his, how you loved everything about him really. You so badly just wanted to curl up in his lap and have him wrap his arms around you. Everything just felt so right when he would hug you, like you just belonged there, wrapped up in his arms.

         Of course that wasn’t likely to happen, he was super popular with the ladies and could have his pick of any one of them. He didn’t even have to make a move. Girls were always asking him out on dates but he would always turn them down. You figured he was just too preoccupied with volleyball and his studies. Still whenever you heard that yet another girl had asked him out, you would feel a pain in your chest and your stomach would churn as you waited to hear if he had said yes because you knew that one of these days he would. Just the thought of it devastated you but you knew that you would have to deal with it when it happened because you wanted him to be happy.

         Yeah happy with me, the little voice in the back of your head supplied. You know that you would love him more than any other girl could because you already did and you would take such good care of him too. But you couldn’t risk it. What if he didn’t feel the same and it ended up ruining your friendship? You couldn’t lose him from your life and so you remained quiet about your feelings.

         You tear your gaze away from Kuroo and see your phone blinking. Unlocking it you see that you have new messages. From Bokuto.

         “Oh hey guys, Ko wants to know if we want to hang out on Saturday. Also he told me to tell you that before you say anything, he texted you first Tetsu but you didn’t answer.” You say to him as he picks up his phone to check.

         “So he did.” Kuroo replies.

         “It’s fine with me as long as we don’t do too much, he has way too much energy.” Kenma chimes in.

         “Well you’re not wrong there.” You chuckle.

         “Yeah ok.” Kuroo adds.

         “Do you want to text him and let him know Tetsu? Or should I?”

         “I’m sure he’d rather hear from you than me, so you can do it.” He says a bit more sharply than intended.

         You raise an eyebrow but just shrug your shoulders and message Bokuto back.

            Kuroo makes his way to your house. It had been decided that they would all go there and watch movies.

         You lived alone now after your grandmother had passed away in your first year of college. She had left the house to you as well as whatever inheritance she had. He didn’t know where your parents were and he had asked you about them once but you said that you didn’t know where they were either. Your grandmother was all the family you’d had.

         It had been two years already since she passed. He remembered how upset you had been and how he and Kenma had stayed with you every night for a month. They helped you with anything you needed and took turns holding you as you cried. They also made sure you were taking care of yourself and they tried to keep you busy, hoping that it would help you with your grieving process and it had helped. He was happy that he had been able to be there for you and help you heal.

         That was also when he realized for the first time just how hard he had fallen for you. When he saw you cry his heart shattered and he wanted nothing more than to wipe your tears away, kiss them away really, and see you happy and smiling once more. He never wanted to see you cry again. He had no idea if you felt that way about him though and so he went back to denying and suppressing.

         Kuroo reaches your house and hears humming coming from the backyard. He pushes open the gate and finds you watering the garden. Your grandmother had started it when you were all younger and now you took care of it.

         “Hey chibi-chan. The garden looks great.”

         “Hey Tetsu” You happily greet him with a smile as you put the hose away.

         There it was again that smile, his smile. He was certain that you didn’t smile at anyone else like that, not even Bokuto. But maybe that was just him hoping that was the case.

         You come over to him and give him a big hug. He breathes in the coconut scent of your shampoo. He loved that smell, you’d used it for so long now and it was just so undeniably you. If he ever smelled it elsewhere it would immediately bring you to the forefront of his mind. You separate from him sooner than he would’ve liked but Kenma and Bokuto had arrived and so you went over to greet them.

         The night went by in a blur for Kuroo. There was food and movies, a couple of games, and you had all chatted about whatever. The only thing he could focus on, however, was the way that Bokuto looked at you, the way he made you laugh, the way he touched your arm and he felt that jealousy bubble up again. All he could think was that should be me. Why can’t I just tell her?

         Because you could ruin everything if you did, the sabotaging voice in the back of his head told him.

         He needed to get his mind off of you, needed to distract himself from his feelings for you. But do I really want to? He was unsure, that was until he saw Bokuto give you an innocent little kiss on the cheek when he left later on. It was no different than the friendly kisses on the cheek you would get from Kenma but it made him angry. And he knew it shouldn’t so he decided then that he did need to find a way to distract himself from his feelings for you.

            It had been a couple of weeks since the movie night at your house and Kuroo had been acting strange ever since. He didn’t hang out with you as much as he usually did and when he did hang out he acted distant. Things you would say or do that would normally have him laughing hysterically, now didn’t even really get a response like he wasn’t even paying attention.

         What was wrong with him? Did I do something to upset him? You had no idea but it was breaking your heart little by little. Now you were sitting in Kenma’s room, playing a game with him.

         “Do you know what Tetsu’s problem is?”

         “Not sure. He hasn’t talked to me about it but I don’t think his new girlfriend is helping.”

         “Girlfriend?” You ask with surprise.

         This was the first you’d heard of it and you felt your stomach lurch, threatening to spill its contents.

         “Yeah. I guess she asked him out a couple of weeks ago and he said yes but she isn’t a nice person so I don’t know why he’s dating her.”

         “Am I not worthy of hearing about this? I mean we’re supposed to be best friends.”

         “He didn’t tell you? That’s weird.”

         “I’m going to text that jerk right now.”

         You pick up your phone, open the text thread, and send him a message.

You:  “You have a girlfriend? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tetsu:  “Oh yeah. I guess I forgot.”

You:  “Forgot? We’re best friends and you just forgot?”

Tetsu:  “Yeah, sorry.”

You:  “Well do I ever get to meet her?”

Tetsu:  “I guess. Are you at Kenma’s? We can stop by there before we go out.”

You:  “Yeah I am.”

Tetsu: “See you in a little bit then.”

         You put your phone to the side.

         “They’re coming over here. Sorry Kenny.”

         “It’s fine but you’re going to hate her.” He responds as he continues to play his game.

            Ten minutes later you hear a voice come from Kenma’s bedroom door.

         “Oh wow, is this really your room Kenma? Are you sure you’re old enough to be in college? Because it looks like a 12 year old lives here.” Kuroo’s girlfriend says.

         Your eyes widen at how rude she just was. She’s pretty but Kenma is right she isn’t very nice.

         Kenma just rolls his eyes and ignores her as he continues to play.

         “Haha, yeah Kenma loves his games.” Kuroo laughs but you can tell it’s one of those fake ones people do when they’re embarrassed. “Anyway this is my girlfriend, gf/n.”

         You decide that you will do your best to be nice for Kuroo’s sake.

         “Hi, I’m Tetsu’s frien—“ Before you can finish speaking she cuts you off.

         “Yeah, yeah I know who you are.” She shoots you a glare. “Ok I met her. Can we leave now? I don’t want to look at this bitch anymore.” She says with disgust.

         You see annoyance flicker across Kuroo’s face at her words.

Oh hell no is she getting away with that, you think.

         “Excuse me? What the fuck did you just call me? If there’s a bitch in here then it’s clearly your rude ass.” You get up off the bed where you were sitting and go to approach her only for Kenma to stop you.

         “Calm down.” He says as he wraps his arms around you, hugging you to him to keep you in place.

         “Yeah ok. Let’s go.” Kuroo says as he leads her away from you and out the front door.

         Once they’re gone, Kenma lets you go.

         “I told you that you were going to hate her. She’s rude to everyone.”

         You clench your fists and let out a frustrated shriek.

         “What a fucking bitch! Why the fuck is he dating someone like that?”

         “I’m not sure.” He tells you though the look in his eyes suggests otherwise, still you decide not to press him for an answer.

            Kuroo sits on his couch. It had been a week since he’d introduced you to his girlfriend, gf/n. Ugh, that didn’t even sound right to him. The only one he wanted to call his girlfriend was you.

         Why was he even dating her? Oh right, to forget he’s in love with you. Too bad it’s not working. It’s making him think about you even more actually because he can’t help but compare the two of you.

         She was pretty. You were beautiful.

         You were sweet, kind, thoughtful, caring, funny, and smart. She had been nothing but rude and nasty to everyone, including him a few times.

         You fit so perfectly in his arms like it was where you were meant to be, He had to stop himself from pushing her off of him when she would hug him and he would always come up with an excuse to dodge having to kiss her.

         He felt an ache in his chest with every beat of his heart as he thought about you. He’d been acting like such a jerk to you too since he started dating her. He knew he needed to break up with her, you were right, she was a rude bitch.

         A knock on his door stirs Kuroo from his thoughts. He gets up and opens it, on the other side stands Kenma. He glances around before he speaks.

         “Is she here?”

         “Who? Oh, gf/n? No, I’m supposed to meet her later.” Kuroo tells him and lets him into the house.

         “Good. We need to talk Kuroo.”

         “What’s up?”

         “First of all, you’re being a jerk to y/n. She’s supposed to be one of your best friends yet you’ve done nothing but blow her off and ignore her. It’s messed up.” He looks right into Kuroo’s eyes as he says it.

         Kuroo flinches slightly at Kenma’s words despite already knowing it was the truth.

         “Second of all, you need to get rid of that bitch you’re calling a girlfriend. She’s not a nice person. She’s rude to everyone. The team doesn’t want her to come anywhere near them so tell her to stay away or you’re going to have a problem on your hands.”

         “Ok fine. I’ll tell her not to come to practices anymore. She’ll probably be happy about that actually.”

         “And lastly, not only is she rude to all of us but she gets downright nasty with y/n. I have to keep stopping her from punching your “girlfriend” in the face.” He says, using air quotes when saying girlfriend. “The other day we were eating lunch together and your “girlfriend” came over to us. She ignored me completely which I was fine with but she had the nerve to insult your other best friend. You remember her, right?”

         He winces at Kenma’s words.

         “The bitch told y/n to stay away from you and that you didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.”

         Kuroo lets out a groan and pinches the bridge of his nose as Kenma continues to speak.

         “I’m not really sure what you’re thinking but deal with it instead of running away from it.”

         Being called out on his bullshit causes Kuroo to get defensive.

         “I’m not running away from anything and her name isn’t bitch, it’s gf/n.”

         Kenma lets out a derisive laugh.

         “Yeah, funny how that’s all you call her by, her name. Don’t people usually have pet names for their girlfriends? Like kitten?” He pretends to think. “Or maybe, chibi-chan?” He gives Kuroo a pointed look before leaving.

         “Damn it! What the fuck am I doing?” He says to the emptiness of the room after Kenma’s departure.

         Damn Kenma’s observational skills. He loved them on the volleyball court but not when they were used against him.

         I can’t just let him think he can read me so easily so I won’t. He had his pride and he could be stubborn when he wanted to be. He was not going to let Kenma know how easily he had seen right through him.

         Kuroo looks at the clock and sighs. Time to get ready to see his “girlfriend.”

            The following Saturday you were sitting in your living room with Kenma and Bokuto. You invited them over to watch movies again and had hoped Kuroo would come too.

         “Is Kuroo coming?” Bokuto asks.

         You sigh.

         “No. I invited him but he said he had plans with that bitch.”

         That was her name now as far as you were concerned after the multiple times she had gone out of her way to be nasty to you.

         “Why is he still with her? I thought he was supposed to be smart. He must know that she isn’t worth his time. I saw her screaming at him outside the gym last week when we went there for another practice match so she isn’t even nice to him. Did you talk to him?”

         “I did.” Kenma answers. “He didn’t listen, obviously. Though thankfully she stays away from the team now. I think that’s what she was screaming at him about actually, I heard some of it. Apparently we’re jealous of how happy she makes him or some nonsense and he should stop being friends with us.”

         “He didn’t really respond to her from what I saw when I walked by, he didn’t even see me.” Bokuto says.

         “Yeah he just stood there and let her scream. He really needs to get rid of her.”

         “Are you serious? She just screamed at him? I swear I will knock that bitch out for treating him like that. I’m going to corner his ass after practice on Monday and try to talk some sense into him. Maybe he needs to hear it from someone a little louder.”

         “Yeah you tell him kitty cat.” Bokuto cheers.

         “Oh I will. Don’t worry. Now let’s pick something to watch.”

            True to your word, there you were Monday after practice waiting for Kuroo to emerge from the locker room. Once he came out, you grabbed his wrist and dragged him along to the now empty gym.

         “Why did you drag me in here?”

         “Because we need to talk. Look I’m just going to say it, you need to dump that nasty bitch.”

         Kuroo sighs.

         “Look just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean I should dump her.”

         “That isn’t even it. She isn’t even a nice person. You deserve someone so much better than her. Someone who is sweet and caring like you. Someone who is smart and funny like you. Someone who will take care of you and treat you like the amazing guy that you are. Someone who will love you for you. And I’m sorry but that isn’t her. You deserve someone who makes you smile and happy every day not someone who screams at you and treats you and all of the people you care about like shit. You’d be so much better off without her Tetsu.”

            Kuroo listens to all you have to say. You were right of course. He knew this. He knew it before Kenma had even spoken to him. It had been nothing more than an experiment and it had failed miserably. Maybe that made him a jerk for using someone like that but he had gone into it genuinely hoping that he could find someone else he liked. He should have known that it would never work though, he was way too in love with you. Even if he had found a sweet girl who he liked he still would never have been able to be with anyone but you.

         This had all taken way too long for him to truly understand. He had just been way too worried, or maybe it was scared, that it would all blow up in his face and so he did exactly what Kenma said. He tried running from it instead of dealing with it and now here he was. His feelings for you had only grown more intense and it was just his sheer stubbornness that was preventing him from doing what needed to be done.

         He felt beat up and drained from this “relationship.” He needed to get out and he needed to tell you how he felt.

Your voice brings him back to reality.

         “Tetsu, I’m one of your best friends, I want you to be happy. And I’m not the only one who’s worried about you either. All the rest of your friends are too, Kenma, the guys on the team.”

         He knew it was true that you and Kenma and everyone else were concerned about him. He knew it was time to end this before it got even worse and it was already terrible.

         “Even Bokuto is worried about you. He doesn’t even see you as often as the rest of us but he knows you’re not happy.”

         Bokuto, yes he must have gotten together with you by now, he thought as he remembered all the laughs and flirtation that went on between the two of you. He told himself he could be happy for you both, you were his friends, even if it also broke his heart. And yet he still felt the slightest glimmer of hope that maybe he still had a chance. It was that little bit of hope that was keeping the jealousy he felt simmering in his gut from rising up. That is until you blindsided him.

         “He agrees with the rest of us, how you deserve someone better. We were talking about it the other day when he came over my house.”

         His mouth went dry and he could hear his heart thudding in his ears. Bokuto had been at your house. Alone with you. He felt his stomach drop and his heart clench as his mind wandered, led astray by the jealousy that he’d only had a tenuous grip on.

         What had the two of you been doing in your house? Cuddling? Kissing? Had he touched you? Had the two of you done something even more?

         He couldn’t control it, the jealousy had taken over and his anger surged. He was more angry at himself than anything else, he’d lost his chance because he had been too chicken to tell you his true feelings. Unfortunately, he let it come out and he directed it straight at you.

         “Is that all? Why are you even here? Just to lecture me? Shouldn’t you be under Bokuto somewhere instead?”

            Your mouth drops open at his words. Had he really just said that to you?

         “What the fuck did you just say?” You feel your pulse quicken as your own anger rises.

         “Oh I’m sorry, is it Kenma’s turn then?” He replies in a mocking tone.

         Your anger surges and before you even realize what’s happening, your fist connects with your best friend’s face. You didn’t even register the pain in your hand when you shoved him after.

         “I came here because I care about you and I’m worried about you and that’s what you say to me? Go to hell Kuroo.”

You turn and run from the gym refusing to let him see the tears that had begun running down your cheeks.

            Kuroo regretted it all as soon as he said it. Regretted it even more when you punched him in the face. Who knew you had such a vicious right hook? But the fact that you called him Kuroo instead of Tetsu hurt him more than any punch to the face could. You hadn’t called him that since you first met when you were kids. He had fucked up badly and all because he couldn’t be honest with you or himself. This whole situation could have been avoided.

         He knew he deserved all of it though, including the black eye you’d given him. That had been three days ago now and he hadn’t even caught a glimpse of you since. He ended up dumping his “girlfriend” that night and it was like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He would have felt happier than he had in a month if he hadn’t said what he did to you.

         He should never have let it go on for as long as he had, maybe he could have gotten his chance with you. Instead he was lamenting the fact that he had hurt the one person he loved more than anyone, the one he had never wanted to hurt. What a fool he had been.

         Laying on his bed, he stares up at the ceiling when he hears a familiar yet less cheery than normal voice enter the room.

         “Hey” Bokuto says as he stands in the doorway and leans against the frame.

         “What do you want?” Kuroo asks in a somber tone.

         “What did you say to her bro? She was so pissed but I think she was more sad than anything.”

         Kuroo feels his heart clench at the thought that he had made you sad. Your anger he would gladly take. But your tears? He couldn’t handle that.

         “It doesn’t matter.”

         “Look I know she went to talk to you about, uh, gf/n. Right? Anyway, she’s just worried about you and so are the rest of us. She isn’t a good person for you, she’ll just drag you down. You deserve b—“

         He cuts Bokuto off.

         “I deserve better than her? Yeah well unfortunately the one who’s best for me is with you.” Kuroo says in a dejected tone.

         Bokuto furrows his brow in confusion.

         “What are you talking about?”

         “You know who I’m talking about, you’re always flirting with her and shit. Congrats, I’m happy for you. Just make sure you treat her well.”

         “Wait, do you think y/n and I are a couple? Just because I say flirty stuff to her? That’s just for fun, it’s not serious. Besides why would that bother you…oh I get it now. You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

         “What difference does it make? You can stop lying to make me feel better. I know you spend time at her house, she told me herself that you were there the other day. I’m sure you two got really close while you were alone together.”

         “Dude, seriously? We watched movies and I wasn’t alone with her. Kenma was there too, you can go ask him yourself. I’ll just wait for you to come apologize to me afterwards for being such an idiot. Don’t worry I’ll forgive you because I’m a great guy like that.” Bokuto tells him before flashing a confident grin and leaving Kuroo’s house.

         After Bokuto leaves, Kuroo goes rushing over to Kenma’s house and bursts into his room where he finds him playing a game. Kenma glances away from the screen at Kuroo’s entrance before looking back at it.

         “You were at her house with Bokuto?” He asks, slightly out of breath from running over.

         “Wow, you’re so dumb Kuroo. I thought you were supposed to be so smart. Yes I was there with Bokuto and you should have been too but you blew her off again and went out with your “girlfriend” instead.”

         “Shit! I can’t believe I forgot about that.” Kuroo says as he sits on Kenma’s bed and puts his head in his hands.

         “Yeah, well, you were preoccupied. Where is the bitch anyway?”

         “How should I know? I dumped her three days ago.”

         “Well that’s good at least. Honestly you should have just told y/n that you loved her from the start, geez.”

         “I know but I was too scared that she might reject me and then never want to talk to me again.”

“You know that she would never do that, she cares about you too much.”

         “I know that I should have dumped that girl after you talked to me too but I didn’t like how easily you saw through me and I didn’t want you to know that you were right. I really am dumb.”

         Kuroo lets out a sorrowful sigh.

         “Do you think she’ll ever forgive me, Kenma?”

         “Of course she will but you better beg for her forgiveness and finally tell her the truth.”

            Two more days passed and Kuroo had apologized to Bokuto for being an idiot and Bokuto forgave him just like he said that he would.

         You, however, had expertly evaded all of his attempts to get ahold of you and he was starting to wonder if he’d ever even see you again let alone talk to you. He still hadn’t caught a single glance of you, you wouldn’t answer his calls or respond to his messages, when he went to your house you would ignore him.

As he left his tenth message of the day for you, he made his way over to Kenma’s house. When he entered his friend’s room, he was greeted with his first glimpse of you in nearly a week.

         “Sorry Kenny, I have to go.” You say as you get up and head for the door but before you could leave Kuroo catches you by the wrist.

         “Wait chibi-chan.”

         You just look down and shake him off before disappearing out the front door.

         “She told me what you said to her. You fucked up so bad Kuroo. You totally deserved that black eye.”

         “Yeah I know I did. But how am I supposed to talk to her and apologize if she doesn’t want to be anywhere near me?”

         “I don’t know but you better figure out something before you lose your chance for good.”

            Tears roll down your cheeks as you water your garden. You didn’t know what else to do after you fled Kenma’s house. You weren’t even sure how you felt anymore, aside from sad at the whole situation. Sad about what had happened between you and Kuroo, you knew he couldn’t have meant what he said he was just upset but it still hurt you, and sad that he was dating someone so awful. He was far too kind, thoughtful, and caring to be with someone as vile as that girl. Most of all you just missed him, your best friend, the sweet goofy guy that you had fallen madly in love with.

         You swipe at your cheeks to rid them of the tears when you hear that voice, the one that you loved so much.

         “Hey chibi-chan, can we please talk?” Kuroo asks. Closing the gate behind him, he approaches you.

         You stop watering and look at him.

         “Are you even allowed to? What would your “girlfriend” say?”

Just as you are about to put the hose down and go into your house, locking him out, his voice stops you.

         “I dumped her. You were right, you all were. I was just being stubborn or stupid. Maybe both.”

         “Definitely both. I’m glad you started thinking with your brain again instead of something else.”

         Kuroo laughs to himself.

         “Yeah, funny thing is I never even kissed her. Forget about anything else.”

         “Wait. Are you serious?”

         “Yeah. There’s only one person I want to kiss and it wasn’t her.”

         Before you can process what he just said, he rushes on.

         “I am so sorry kitten. I never should have said what I did. I didn’t mean it at all. I know you’re not like that.” He moves in front of you and gets on his knees. “Please forgive me, I’m begging you. I wouldn’t be able to handle losing you.”

         He looks up at you with pleading eyes and remorse written all over his face.

         “You hurt me when you said that shit Tetsu.”

         He felt some relief at hearing his name, at least he wasn’t Kuroo anymore.

         “I know I did. Let me make it up to you. I’ll do anything. You can punch me again if you want, which by the way where the hell did you learn to hit like that?”

         You couldn’t help but laugh at that.

         “You didn’t mean it?” You ask even though you already know he didn’t.

         “No, of course not.” He says before mumbling under his breath, “I was just being stupid.”

         “What was that?” You ask having not quite caught what he just said.

         “Nothing. Please forgive me chibi-chan. I need you in my life.”

         You let out a sigh. You knew he was being genuine and you loved him too much to not forgive him.

         “Well lucky for you, I don’t want to lose you either. You’re too important to me.”

         Kuroo’s face brightens.

         “Does that mean you forgive me?”

         “That depends. Are you back to being my Tetsu? Or are you still the jerk that you’ve been for the past month?”

         “I’m your Tetsu, I promise kitten.”

         “Hmm..” You pretend to be lost in thought looking at him before a mischievous grin breaks out across your face.

         Kuroo raises an eyebrow at you and then you’re spraying him with the hose you still have in your hand.

         “Oops, my finger slipped.” You laugh as he shakes his arms to get some of the water off.

         “Oh you’re going to pay for that.”

         You let out a little shriek when he rises to his feet. You drop the hose and run.

         Kuroo chases you around your yard, both of your laughs echoing off of the nearby trees. It doesn’t take long before you feel a pair of strong arms wrap around your waist, lift you up, and spin you around. This causes the both of you to fall onto the soft grass. You land on your back and Kuroo somehow manages to land on top of you, using his forearms to brace himself so he doesn’t crush you.

         Hovering above you, he stares deeply into your eyes with a serious intensity.

         “I want to kiss you so badly. I have for a while now.” He glances to your lips before returning his gaze to your eyes.

         Your eyes widen with his confession, your heart racing in your chest.

         “So what’s stopping you then?”

         A big smile spreads across Kuroo’s face and then he’s pressing his lips tenderly against yours.

         You lose yourself in the kiss, lips parting slightly allowing him to slip his tongue inside your mouth and begin a dance with yours. Your one hand finds its way into his hair while the other one rests against the back of his neck. Your heart pounds and your mind races. How many times had you imagined what his kiss would feel like? A countless number it seemed and yet the real thing was so much better than anything you had ever imagined.

         You could feel all the love and care he was pouring into this kiss and you did the same. It seemed like hours and yet seconds at the same time when he separated from your mouth.

         “I’m so in love with you chibi-chan. You fit so perfectly in my arms and I know that it’s where you belong. I want nothing more than to hold you close each and every day. I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was afraid that I might lose you if you didn’t feel the same. I’m a dumbass.”

         “Oh Tetsu, I’ve been in love with you for a while now and I thought the same damn thing as you. So I guess we’re both dumbasses.” You let out a chuckle and he does too.

         “I guess we are, but that doesn’t matter now. Will you be mine chibi-chan?”

         “Nothing would make me happier.”

         “Good then I’m going to hold you close every day. You’re mine and I’m yours from now on.” He says with a smile.

         “Always and forever, my Tetsu.” You say with a smile before he captures your lips once more in another loving kiss.

[iphoenixrising]

So. No lie buuuut wow. Your work is well done. What other aus would you tackle if you had the time?? Inquiring minds need to know babe.

Aw, thank-you so much babe! I’m glad you enjoy my works.

Hm, other aus I would tackle (like I for real don’t have enough already LOL) if I had the time and inclination? Welp, there are quite a few tbh. I’ll throw down some of them, but don’t expect to see these any time soon. I have so many half-ass docs I need to finish already, you know?

But here’s a few of them:

- Civilian CEO Au, in which Tim becomes the CEO of Drake Industries and realizes how shady the business practices are. His clean-up attempt means he makes multiple enemies and pretty much gets his ass in danger. Cue some very understanding vigilantes saving his bacon on multiple occasions. And why are the wards of Bruce Wayne showing a sudden interest in WE’s competitor?? (Eventual smut, identity porn, and angst are a must.)

- Alien!Tim Au: Crash landing on Earth, meeting the Teen Titans is more than Tim was hoping for when his ship started malfunctioning close to Earth’s orbit. Word around the galaxy is how bad ass the Justice League is, so most thought human kind is mostly super beings of immense power. Some cute discoveries (how had no one introduced him to pizza before? It’s odd looking but tasty), some crime fighting with alien tech, and learning how humans “make love” with the team captain, Robin! (This one might be fun to do a one-shot or something some day)

- Self-Indulgent Identity Porn Au: what if Tim Drake took it upon himself to find people to train him so he could become a vigilante like Batman and Robin? A world where Tim didn’t go to Dick or Bruce to become a vigilante, but still gets training so he can try to stop Batman from destroying himself after the death of his second Robin. “Batman needs a Robin,” the masked kid tells him softly, “and I’m sorry I can’t be that for you. But what I can do is help you stop destroying yourself. I can help you save Gotham if you let me.” “I can’t have another kid’s death on my hands,” the exhausted vigilante sounds broken, gloved hands lying limp by his sides while the kid is bandaging the bleeding wounds in his abdomen. “Whatever happens is on my head, not yours. I know your Robin died, but I’m sure as hell not him.” What Batman doesn’t know about Sparrow? He’s literally the kid next door.  (I just want to write an au where Tim takes his vigilante career in his own hands, and gets attention from villains and heroes alike when he’s training to become an associate of the Batman.)

- Talon!Tim au: I know, I KNOW. I’ve written short things about Tim taken by the Court of Owls to become the next Talon when the Court failed to get Dick, but I’d really like to explore this idea more. The aftermath after he breaks the Court’s brainwashing more specifically. How does he find a new normal after everything he’s been through?  - Irresistible Omega Tim: Also something I’ve kind of explored when babes brought this up in Asks. I did a post about babe’s idea of Tim holding down Gotham after B gets lost in time here, but I’d really like to take something like this and make it about Dick and Dami coming back to Gotham after some hard talks and soul-searching (basically Dick refusing to let Dami go back to the League of Assassins, dragging him back to Gotham with the argument that Dami would be dishonoring Bruce’s memory and etc.) to find Tim exhausted and beat the hell up after weeks of patrolling on his own.  Not to mention Tim presented while they were gone, so now there’s that.  I want Tim to have a relationship with young Dami that’s positive, with an understanding Tim since he knows Dami’s an abused kid with a horrific background, and Dami doesn’t know what to do with Omega coddling (eventually he sinks into it tho) and Pack Alpha Dick fairly salivating to take care of their Pack Omega. Jay, Cass, and Steph wander in once Tim presents because Omega are the glue of the Pack, and just! Baddies taking an interest in Robin even though he wears scent blockers and suppressants and everything, but Smut, discovery, family, and supportive everyone ever.  The fandom damn well needs this. - Yet another idea for irresistible Tim: What if! Babes, what if, Tim presented during that reunion with Kon after he came back from the dead and B was still lost in time? When Tim called him “Clone Boy” and took off the cowl. Just WHAT IF HE PRESENTED RIGHT THEN? What if Kon, an Alpha because Lex wanted an Alpha heir or whatever, could literally scent the stress and strain on Tim the moment the cowl comes off, can tell everything about Tim’s mental state right at that moment because he’s one of the few people Tim implicitly trusts, is dying inside because he knows he won’t be able to sway Tim away from “the Mission” unless his bestie is literally bleeding out... until Tim starts sweating and swaying, eyes going dazed, scent getting...sweeter? (Ugh, this Tim so battered and beaten down after all the fuckery with Ra’s and losing his spleen, and broken by losing his place as Robin, and just when he’s ready to throw in the towel, when he’s so fucking broken, he fucking presents. After pretty much figuring he’d be just a Beta, no, no, he’s a rare male Omega. A male Omega that smells like everything any Alpha could ever want. Tim glances up when he feels hot all over, even with the cold air on the rooftop passing over them, sees the way Kon’s pupils dilate.  “Kon?” “I need you to come with me,” is abruptly out of his best friend’s mouth, “you’re going to take a break from this Batman hunt and come with me, T.” “Wh-What?” “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you, promise.”

So. SO yeah. Those are a few :D