#it wouldn't turn on and when it did it froze or bluescreened

[meymeyzart]

LAPTOP GONE

[grounded-gryphon]

I'd Die (Again) for Y'all -- Episode 15

AN: If you are wondering what happened to 14, I'm done fighting it. If I can flesh out 14, later I will. If it ends up being multiple chapters, I'll deal with that later too.

Episode 14 summary -- Danny thinks about Red Robin's request, and agrees to give a code phrase for Ms Lane to identify herself to Sam with. The GIW continue to give Diana a headache, but she manages to start compiling a list of known bases from info they drop. Later, Danny, Jason and Tim are talking when Tim makes an offhand comment about Jason hating him. Jason bluescreens.

------

Episode 15

"Tim…" Jason looked up at Tim from where he knelt on the floor and swallowed. Tim watched his throat bob and wondered how the crystal tension ringing in the air could be so silent. "Tim, I don't hate you. I… the Pits still fuck with my head, some days pretty badly. But I know they lie. I'm… you don't feel safe with me, and you shouldn't. So I stay away, even when the Pits are quiet.

"But I don't hate you."

Tim struggled to breath. To blink. To do anything but stand there like a statue while Jason shattered his understanding of how the world worked.

"I would do anything for you," Jason said. Red Hood said. /Robin/ said. Who had been everything Tim wanted to be, and grew up to be everything Tim wanted. His greatest nightmare and his untouchable dream.

"Anything?"

"Yeah, Tim," Jason dropped his eyes finally, and Tim could breathe again. "Anything."

Tim ached for the pain in Jason's voice. But there was something else mixed with the pain. Something he'd never dared to imagine he'd hear from Jason.

He glanced at Danny. The shit had conjured popcorn from somewhere and was 'sitting' in the air watching the show. Danny saw him looking and winked.

Tim took a deep breath and turned back to Jason. The shit wanted a show. Somehow, that made it easier. The showmanship of being Robin had never come naturally to Tim. He didn't have Dick's cheerful boldness or Jason's brash surety (Jason didn't look very sure of himself now, did he?). His skill was in the sneak and the stalk. But he'd learned, as all Robins had to.

The shit wanted a show and Tim wanted answers. Tim wanted answers, but he didn't dare /ask/ the questions he wanted. Didn't dare make himself that vulnerable. (Jason was vulnerable. Jason was on his knees before Tim, offering /anything/.) He can't ask, but he can accuse.

"You always tell Dick that we'll never be brothers. You threatened to shoot him last time he said it." (Tim had been devastated and relieved. He didn't want to be Jason's brother. But if he was Jason's brother, then Jason wouldn't hate him.)

Jason flinched, clenched his fists. "I… is that what you want? To be brothers?"

"No," Tim said after a long moment. Jason looked up at Tim then, and Tim saw a familiar mix of devastation and relief in his eyes. (Fuck, Danny was right. Dannywasright. Dannywasrightdannywas--) He crouched down in front of Jason and prayed that this time, his analysis was correct. "You're right that I don't feel safe around you. But that doesn't mean I never can. Or that I don't want too."

He leaned in and kissed Jason. Gently at first (he did /not/ hear Danny's soft 'Yess!' in the background. If he heard that, he would have to hurt Danny. So he didn't hear it), deepening after a moment when Jason didn't pull away. When Jason tilted his head to return the kiss: hesitantly at first, then with increasing fervor.

Tim cupped Jason's face in his hands, felt Jason's hands hovering over him, but not touching. Afraid to touch. Tim was disappointed. Tim was grateful. Tim didn't know what he would have done if Jason had touched him (grabbed him, pulled him close, trapped him--). Tim tensed and Jason froze, but Tim refused to stop, refused to let go of Jason's face, his lips, his tongue. Jason's hands fell away and Tim relaxed, tried to lose himself in the kiss he never thought he'd get.

A sound penetrated. Clapping. Someone was slow clapping.

He reluctantly broke the kiss and turned to look a Danny, who was smirking at both of them. "Very nice. 9/10. Bit of a fumble in the middle there, but you stuck the landing."

Tim rolled his eyes and Jason chuckled a bit. "You're an asshole, Danny."

"Certified." The popcorn disappeared with a (Tim almost groaned) /pop/ and Danny hopped down (how did he DO that?). "Here," he said, coming over to crouch behind Jason, "Let me help with that." Before Tim could ask what he meant, Danny had Jason's arms pinned behind his back. "He's all yours, hoss."

If you had asked Tim five minutes ago, he would have sworn that Jason would never let anyone pin him.

But Jason only relaxed into Danny's hold, murmuring, "Protector."

Danny leaned forward and kissed Jason's temple. "Always." He smiled at Tim. "You just tell me how you want him, hoss. Even if he didn't want to be good for you, he knows better than to mess with me when he uses /that/ name."

Tim had so. Many. Questions.

But he also had his priorities straight.

He looked into Jason's eyes. There was no anger there. No rage. Nothing but need and hope and--

"Anything?" Tim asked again, putting his hand on Jason's thigh.

"Anything you want, Tim."

Danny huffed a laugh at that (Why?) and nuzzled Jason's neck. They were so fucking beautiful together. Like statues of the Greek gods brought to life. And waiting for his command.

It should have been weird to have Danny there. It wasn't. It was right. It was perfect. It was.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, Tim?"

Tim swallowed, his throat gone dry. He'd already been offered something he never dared hope for on a platter. Was he really going to…? But Danny just looked at him with a wicked glint in his eyes. "I want you, too."

Danny grinned and Jason shuddered against him. "I thought you'd never ask."

------

Cut scene coming next week.

Masterlist

[not-yet-usernamed]

okay so like 77 right? Is 77 even real??? He can't just be a person after all that. Last time we talked to him he talked about being just completely okay with the fact he might be fake or like manufactured or something but like??? Do you think he knows? The way Not Admin Either (I'm assuming that's who's talking and it's not just like a crash report or something) talks is kinda like Zev has no idea and is not supposed to know that he basically just had his 'servers' overloaded

Now Not Admin Either also mentioned a, quote "Intrusive_Provoked_Virus.Alpha" and also when he's reconnected, "Virus reconnected" which makes it safe to assume we're the Virus. Which makes sense because Zev just crashed, making him the computer. With that information it makes a lot more sense of why we're able to talk to him and why he can't get us to shut up. But also also begs the question of does management know about us, which I'm pretty sure the answer to this is yes. In fact I think it's a pretty safe guess to think that management wants us here talking to him. (I say management for lack of a better word you know what I mean)

Which is kinda weird when you think about it. If we're something management is aware of and wants around (or is just not getting rid of. But that doesn't make sense seeming as they willingly reconnected us) then why 'turn us on' now? Because he got demoted? Did they want him to do something rash? Or maybe they wanted us to distract him so he doesn't do that. What about last time then? Was that a fluke? Maybe the last time it wasn't intentional and then they figured out how to use this at will. Or maybe it was intentional, did they want a reason to demote 77? Maybe this was all a huge plan from the start. But then again I could just be going on a tangent in the complete opposite direction.

Also, did 432 just. Watch all this happen? I assume they wouldn't know what's going on but like? Did they see him just freeze in place lifeless for a few minutes? Because like. Man's just froze like when animatronics stop working that couldn't have looked very normal.

Another interesting thing to note is that the error was "ERROR_427". I don't have anything to really say about this but. That's a detail. And also you think the name "Evan_Brightman.Chr" is important? Again 77 is aware of the idea and is completely okay with the fact that he's like 'manufactured' so. Was he a person before hand? I may just be looking into this too closely honestly.

-Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk! Anot's gonna go microwave some chicken nuggets or something while they think about this a bit more

(OOOOHHHHH THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING

pov 432 watching 77 bluescreen: ��

evan brightman..,, like,, like kevan brighting?? voice of the narrator????? stadmin u cheeky mf /silly)