#jason runs away earlier!au

[redjaybathood]

Джейсон не міг позбавитися від відчуття, що його час збігає. Він відчував зле, здебільшого з кожною хвилиною, з кожним шматком, але намагався не давати взнаки. Люди зазвичай цього не очікували, але навіть у такого волоцюги, як він, було відчуття самоповаги. Не дуже багато, він собі зізнався, заплющивши очі та продовжуючи робити що робив, ледь не удавившись на найбільшому, найсочнішому бургеру, який він куштував… за довгий час, а може взагалі. Це був його третій. Чомусь для його організму це виявилося занадто.

Але Бетмен, коли він витягнув Джейсона з діри, яку він називав домом, та привіз його сюди, у передмістя, де він замовив у поодинокій бургерній ледь не все, що було в меню, сказав йому їсти все, що хочеш, скільки хочеш. Тож Джейсон і їв, хоч і знав, наскільки це погана ідея. Люди так і життя своє губили, приймаючи їжу від незнайомців, ще задовго до того, як Джейсон навіть народився.

Але Бетмен не такий, правильно? Джейсон не чув такого, щоби Бетмен узяв тав вбив когось. Відправив у буцегарню чи в лікарню, так, було, але щоб вбив?

Знову ж таки, це може швидше казати про те, що Бетмен дуже вправний у тому, що робить, ніж про його добрі наміри. Якщо подумати, що сталося з тим хлопцем, якого бачили з Бетменом час від часу? Джейсон дуже хотів би вважати, що він просто там закінчив школу, пішов у коледж на західному узбережжі, і це тому Робіна давно ніхто не бачив. Але життя так не працює, тільки не в Ґотемі. А для Джейсона — життя ніколи так не працювало.

Так що сидів він тут та їв ці кляті бургери, і якщо перший куштував як, порятунок, а другий як, свіже м’ясо, салат, помідори та цибуля, то третій, як не пройшло ще десяти хвилин, спричинив нудоту. Та він не знав, що станеться, якщо він зупиниться, так що він не зупинявся. Це було тупо. Якщо його батько чомусь його й навчив, окрім того, щоб ніколи не зв’язуватися із цабе на кшталт Двуликого чи Пінгвіну (тому що якщо твоя винагорода занадто велика, щоби бути правдою, правдою вона не буде), це те, що намагатися відтягнути невідворотнє не значило, що вдарять тебе ніжніше, або що незгода зовсім мине.

Колу? — запитав Бетмен, простягнувши пляшку.

Джейсон із жагою схопив її. Може, це допоможе засвоїти їжу. Він не їв півтори доби, то звісно, що шлунок його поведінку не схвалю��ав.

Кола була що треба, холодна та… Зачекай. Вона була не такою солодкою, як завжди. Джейсон не настільки довго був безхатченком, щоб забути, як вона мала б бути на смак. Вона не мала бути такою… гіркою… з присмаком…

Пляшка вислизнула в нього з рук. Він похилився, зашатався та сповз із кожуха автомобілю Бетмена. У голові залишилася одна думка: нарешті це має сенс. Ніхто, у кого ти тільки-но намагався щось вкрасти, а також вдарив у живіт, коли тебе спіймали на гарячому, не буде вислуховувати твої сумні розповіді, не вирішить нагодувати тебе, бо йому тебе шкода. Бетмен збирався… збирався…

Думка його полишила, якраз коли руки Бетмена схопили Джейсона перш ніж він вдарився об землю. Останє, що він помітив, це що його тягнуть кудись, у машину, і впродовж пари секунд, це було навіть приємно. Як обійми. Майже змусило його схотіти, щоби Бетмен вбив його до того, як він знову прокинеться. Було б приємнішою смертю, зважаючи на обставини.

The fic where Jason runs away

I have around 22k written already, but I want to look it over before posting, so it’s going to be tumblr only for a while, maybe 1k per day or so. No name yet, so let it be known for now as a fic where Jason runs away. It’s Jason, Bruce, and Alfred for now, but you could expect Roy, Dick, Barbara, and some GCPD in the future as well.

POV’s are going to be switched really often. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea - but they won’t repeat the same events and rehash same dialogues, at least. Just, utilizing unreliable narration and limiting point of view of every character as much as I can.

So, here’s the first 1.2k

Keep reading

[pjohoo-reclists]

hey, i was wondering if you had any fics where percy joins luke?

Hi Anon!! You're in luck, I've got a few.

Percy Jackson Joins Luke Castellan Rec List

A list of fics where Percy Jackson joins Luke Castellan and Kronos's side during Titan War. Ships vary. Enjoy!

love is the salvation of the world by crazymateinnit

T | 1.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Luke Castellan

The gods are bad parents, Luke Castellan centric, Good Kronos

In another world, Percy Jackson was the Champion of the Gods. But in this world, Percy was born three years earlier. He found the love of his life in a bitter blonde boy who hated his father but still offered Percy all the love in the world. In this world, Percy took a place in the General’s army. In this world, Percy fought against the gods. OR: Percy falls in love with Luke Castellan and joins him in Kronos’s Army.

i was the good kid (and it got me nothing) by phoenix_flying

T | 2.1k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson & Alabaster Torrington, Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase

Good Luke Castellan, Self-indulgent, Percy joins Kronos

“You should’ve died in Tartarus. But you’re just a kid. Younger then me when I got to camp. I have an offer.” “An offer…?” "You could join us.” OR luke and percys chat goes a lil different

Soulmates on Opposing Sides by Takara_Phoenix

T | 2.1k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Luke Castellan/Octavian

Polyamory, Soulmates, Percy joins the rebel army

[Prompts: triads + soulmates] Luke had a plan. A solid plan. Until his soulmate comes stumbling into Camp Half-Blood. Suddenly, his plans need some adjustment. Or: Percy's flaw is his loyalty, what if he has a soulmate with whom that loyalty now lays...?

you shall be deceived by one who calls you a friend by phoenix_flying

G | 2.3k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase, Alabaster Torrington & Annabeth Chase

Good Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson joins Kronos, Post The Lightning Thief

Percy leaned his head on the window, letting his eyes close. His mind drifted to a car ride with his mom, the radio playing some random station they both enjoyed and a comfortable silence as they drove. He missed her. OR percy meets some of his allies

Stripped by robindrake93

M | 2.4k+ | Last Updated Feb 20, 2024

Percy Jackson/Luke Castellan

Homelessness, Runaway Percy Jackson, Action/Adventure

When Luke asks Percy to run away with him, Percy says yes.

A Heroes Fault by EMMESCRISIS

G | 2.7k+ | Last Updated April 27, 2024

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase

Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Percy Jackson Needs a Hug, Dark Percy Jackson

Percy joins Luke on his quest to bring back Kronos.

If I Could Kill You, I Would by TheGayGhostKing

T | 3.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood

Dark Percy Jackson, Songfic, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

Percy joins Luke at the end of TLO Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Songfic

Dark Side of the Sea by Takara_Phoenix

T | 4.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Jason Grace, Side Pairings

AU - Canon Divergence, Dark Percy, Fluff

When Percy joins camp, he joins Luke's side of the war, because instead of straight-up trying to murder Percy, Luke actually tries to sway him. Later down the road, Percy is sent to sway some Romans... and Jason Grace finds it impossible not to be swayed by the son of Poseidon.

A New Age by Lukes_pet_scorpion

T | 10k+ | Last Updated March 15 2024

Percy Jackson & Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase

Manipulative Kronos, Luke Castellan Lives, Dark Percy Jackson

Percy is fed up with how the gods are ruling. The way they could care less if their own children die or not. They send half-bloods on hard quests just to do their bidding. Well, Percy's had enough. That's when Luke Castellan offers Percy another chance to join him. (This is set during The Sea of Monsters-The Last Olympian)

Not Only is it Thicker (Blood is Stickier Than Water) by Simmshine

T | 10k+ | Last Updated March 26, 2024

Percy Jackson & Luke Castellan, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Luke Castellan & Annabeth Chase

Brotherly Angst, Cain instinct, Percy Jackson needs a hug

Luke had framed him for his theft, Luke was ready to be a catalyst for a war. Luke was serving Kronos, the very root of Percy's torment, his nightmares. The son of Hermes studies his gaze for a moment, before he turns back to the stone to slash what feels like the final indent into the ruin. The clearing is bathed in crimson, but the sounds of the fireworks are distant now as Percy's hands shake. The older half-blood, the one Percy had oh so idolized, raises his sword. Percy knows he is at a crossroads, two decisions offering themselves to him. He can do nothing, let Luke rip through the barrier and escape the camp with him. Or he can do what he's done for weeks now, the one thing that had gotten his father's attention. He can fight. He looks at Luke and part of him cries brother while the other raises Riptide. TLDR; Percy and Luke's encounter goes differently, and Percy finds himself as a harbinger of war. (Meanwhile, Annabeth just wants a her family back.)

[theglamorousferal]

Persephone's Binding Part 14

Hardcover/Anger Management ship Sacrificial Bride au

AO3 Prompt Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Jazz dismissed herself from the rest of the group, fingers tightening on the strap of the bag on her shoulder. Jason's eyes trailed after her as she made her escape from the group, concerned.

"So, how about we get to that shooting competition that we shelved earlier this week?" Danny asks Jason and Ellie.

"Hell yeah, that sounds awesome, I've been practicing with Dante's help!" Ellie exclaimed. "We should probably change first though, last one to the training grounds has to give Cujo a bath in his huge form!" With that she sped down the halls towards the family residence halls.

"Well you heard her, you can navigate the castle enough to get there yourself right?"

"Yeah I can figure it out, you got some guns I can use though?" Jason asked.

Danny grinned, though there was something sad in his eyes. "Yeah, our parents were inventors and until they realized that ghosts aren't inherently evil they made weapons. I'll show you when we get there, see ya in a bit." He vanished from sight, presumably to go change.

Jason jogged through the castle, resigning himself to losing the race considering the two he was racing could fly at high speeds. He changed into his Hood gear and jogged his way to the training ground where it looked like Ellie and Danny were in a snark-off with each other by the targets.

Danny noticed his first and flagged him down. He led him to a building next to the targets and stepping inside Jason had to tuck in the back of his mind that the parents of the Royal family were mad scientists who saw the aesthetics of 1950's sci-fi and stuck with it. Gleaming chrome with green accents shone from the displays on the walls and from the display cases throughout the room. There were bazookas, sniper rifles, hand guns, a cat-o-nine-tails, and a vacuum all along the walls. In the display cases were tubes of lipstick, bracelets, small rods, grenades etc.

"What's with the lipstick?" he asked Danny.

"Oh, they're lasers. Same with the bracelets. This rod extends into a quarterstaff, this rod has a taser at either end. These grenades form a small portal to a random point in the Realms, these ones stun most ecto-entities." As Danny kept going on about what everything in here does, he would add in little anecdotes about how strong each weapon hits a ghost and it was starting to set Jason on edge.

"How often have you gotten hit with these?" Jason asks levelly.

Danny just shrugged. "Honestly not all that often outside of training, my dad was a bad shot and I mostly managed to dodge my mom. Honestly Jazz is the one who hit me the most when she was still learning combat. She also caught me in the Thermos many, many times." He shivered at the memory.

"Excuse me, thermos?" His previous rage was knocked away at the ridiculousness of the statement.

"Oh yeah, when we were still on Earth I had to capture the ghosts and put them back into the Realms. My parents would build things out of whatever we had when their grants started to run out and so they made the thermos as a capturing device. It didn't work at first, I think it needed more ectoplasm than they had access to because it worked after I charged it with energy. When I found out Jazz knew about me being part-ghost, she ended up trying to join us in taking out the ghosts. It...did not go too well." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. "There was a lot of miscommunication, she wasn't listening to us even though we had experience, and we weren't listening to her thoughts on what a specific ghost was up to. She caught me six times that first night I think." He laughed a little. "Eventually we got on the same page and she started training and actually listening to us and we all became stronger for it."

Jason nodded along to the story, glad for more information on the dynamics of the family he's technically at the mercy of right now. He gestured to a pair of pistols on the wall. "Let's get this competition underway, huh?"

Danny smiled at him. "Yeah, let's get to that."

"About time you guys came out here. Let's do this!" Ellie exclaimed when they exited the building. Now that Jason had time to look, he noticed that Ellie was dressed like you would imagine a nomad during the apocalypse would look. She had jeans covered in band patches and other patches and embroidery. She wore battle vest covered in more patches and pins with spikes on the shoulders and a breastplate with the same D-shaped logo Danny had etched into the front of it messily. She had fabric scraps wrapped around her arms under armguards and steel capped boots. Her fingerless gloves also had metal spikes on the knuckles. She also had a pair of aviation goggles over her eyes.

"Well now I definitely need to introduce you to Kon. He's also a superpowered clone who appreciates the Punk culture."

"Really? Hell yeah, that sounds awesome. Hopefully we find your dimension soon then!" They all lined up at the targets. "Now let's see what you can do Lover Boy." She smirked at him.

Jason did his best to not blush. "I'm not gonna push my feelings at your sister. Plus, we barely know each other." He readied himself to shoot, and the competition was off. They all shot true for the short range targets and moved to larger ranges. Ellie misjudged the power on her blast and blew the target apart and Danny sneezed when he fired. Jason was getting used to the fact there was no recoil on these guns as they were energy pistols, but quickly adapted. Once they got bored of stationary targets they moved to skeet shooting and they ended up playing around for a few hours at that before the guns ran out of charge and the two ghosts were starting to get tired.

They all went and changed for dinner where they met Jazz again. She was faintly glowing yellow, her eyes had more flecks of golden light swirling in them and the tips of her hair seemed to be blowing in an unseen breeze. Danny didn't seem to be bothered by the change and took his seat at her right, Ellie next to him, though she looked a bit concerned. Jason took his seat at Jazz's left and Danny began chattering away at Jazz about their afternoon.

"Jason's a pro with the pistols, we'll have to test him against you sometime and see who's better." Danny grinned, all teeth and a spark in his eye. "You're training tomorrow right? You two should spar!"

Jazz and Jason looked at each other and caught each other's eye. After a moment they both turned appraising the other, sizing up their opponent. Jazz grinned. "I think that can be arranged. I do have a meeting with some of the yeti scholars looking into the binding in the afternoon, but my morning will be training yes." She held out her hand to shake Jason's. "Do we have an accord?"

Jason grinned back and clasped her hand, giving it a firm shake. "I can't wait."

[shattersstar]

Please use this as a free pass to write "admiring them from afar" with anyone you want :^)

the hellcat spangled shalalala

pairing: college!au jason todd x reader

prompt: blossoming romance - admiring them from afar

warning: harassment mention (in joking context)

a/n: more college basketball au bc i say so! seriously tho thank u for the request it worked out as a great free pass ☺️ this can be read as a stand-alone or taking place after drawstring. comments r appreciated and i hope y’all enjoy ! and expect another part soonish <3

—

shot at the night series.

—

when your judgment’s on the run, and you’re acting like a stranger cause you thought it looked fun.

The morning sun casted a milky glow, pouring in through the windows and lighting up the store as clouds moved on. Summer began to roll through, exams a thing of the past as Gotham hummed with warmth. You were going to the beach sometime next week, even if it was over a two hour drive away, you were beyond excited. It had been easy to forget all about school, despite the fact the summer term was coming up and you were taking a course. On top of working at a cafe during the week, the gas station on weekend mornings, and still unpacking your new place, you were surprisingly busy.

It was why you hadn’t really seen Jason. Or at least what you had told yourself. You two were in a confusing place, you both knew you liked each other, had worked through some things, but you wanted time. To figure out how genuine your feelings were or if they were just because Jason admitted to liking you. It was nice to be desired, to be sought after, but you didn’t want to string Jason along.

Even if Jason took forever to tell you how he felt and handled it like an ass, he didn’t deserve that.

No one did.

The thought made you sigh as you looked over the columns of scratch and lotto tickets. You had never bought one when you turned of age and always wished you did. It seemed fun, if a bit pointless. You were engrossed with the paper coated in gossamer film that glimmered in the sunlight when the bell above the door rang. You peered through your lashes at whoever came in, heart skipping a beat as the object of your affection breezed through like an early morning fantasy. Jason sent you a quick smile before ducking towards the fridges in the back and scanning through the drinks.

You watched his tall figure from where you perched behind the counter. Elbows resting on the plastic case holding the tickets that no longer occupied your attention. His broad shoulders rose and fell with a sigh, black waves brushing the back of his neck. He was in track pants that hung low on his hips, shirt partially tucked in and giving you a chance to take in how his waist curved and held muscle and fat you could only imagine the delicious sight of.

“You guys don’t have anymore Propel?” Jason called, looking over his shoulder.

You nearly fell over being caught staring, opting to scrunch your nose at the question. “Unfortunately not sir. They don’t sell well because, personally, those drinks are grossly sweet.” You said in your best customer service voice, a grin pulling at Jason’s mouth as he turned back to the fridge.

“Uh huh. Thank you for your input.”

“I live to serve.” You chimed, loud enough for him to hear over the hum of the fridges and the quiet playlist you had put on. Jason snorted from the distance, prompting you to steal another look at him before you busied yourself with refilling the lighter display, which you had abandoned in favour of zoning out earlier.

You had always told Jason you were tired and bored on shift, opening at 5am most weekends. It had become a habit during the school year for him to stop by, usually on a run, but today with a bag slung across his body, you were sure he was heading to the gym on campus. Off season practice you supposed.

You also realized it likely meant when Jason moved off campus, it was still nearby if he was able to stop by before heading to campus. That or he went out of his way to see you, which made your heart skip another beat. You looked back over to Jason at the sound of the fridge door closing, trying to keep your eyes low as you followed his footsteps. He walked up the furthest aisle than down the one closest to the register, lingering while you shifted behind the counter.

“Anything I can help you find?” You called, sweetly.

Jason shook his head no, looking over at you that crooked smile. “Nah, I don’t think you guys carry what I’m looking for.” He opened the energy drink he picked, taking a sip while you smiled in return.

“Yeah unfortunately we don’t carry steroids.” You shrugged. Jason nearly spat out his drink as he laughed, and you were unable to contain your giggles from behind your hand. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, picking up a bag of chips before turning towards the cash. Jason placed both his items on the counter and tossed a granola bar there after pursuing the treats that sat below the register for a minute.

“That’s all.” He said, while you pointed at the drink.

“In future, we ask customers wait till purchase before opening food or drink.” You said, the playful air in your voice still there.

“Oh give my apologies to the owner.” Jason remarked, while you scanned his items.

“Will do…its been a while since you came in. And you didn’t get a patty today.” You muttered, looking at the screen. You had become used to your early morning meetings, even if exams and everything that happened between you two had kept Jason away since the term ended. It didn’t make it hurt less, but it wasn’t because of him. You knew you were the one putting up distance when he finally opened up to you.

“You remember all your regulars that well?” Jason asked tentatively.

“Only the cute ones,” You said, tapping the screen before adding, “Like that redhead you used to come in with whose dropped dead gorgeous. You ever give out his name or number?” You teased, Jason was well aware you knew Roy and his number.

“What does he normally get again?” Jason countered, and you pulled your lip between your teeth as you met his gaze. You stayed silent before raising your hands in defeat, you knew when you lost your battles.

The computer beeped at you for taking too long, and you chuckled awkwardly before pressing a few buttons. You could feel his eyes taking in your side profile as he often did. You wondered how you didn’t know Jason’s true feelings before when you caught him admiring you so often. And worse, how could you think your feelings were anything, but genuine when every time Jason did something like that, your heart raced.

He was so beautiful and could have anyone, a sentiment you felt tenfold when you learned he played for the university’s basketball team, but Jason chose you. He looked at you and made you feel like no one else did and you had been foolish to deny that for so long.

“It’s 9.55.” You said, as he handed you cash.

“You can keep the change.” Jason said, shoving his snacks into his bag.

“I definitely don’t get paid enough so thanks.”

Jason hummed, fiddling with the lid on his drink, and despite the platform the counter sat on, he was still taller than you. You were almost eye level like this, but Jason still had to glance down as he spoke his next words. “You called me cute earlier.”

“Oh I did?” You played dumb and Jason’s jaw shifted, but you knew he wasn’t angry. The ease that normally flowered between you two took over your conversation as he nodded.

“Pretty sure.”

“Well if you wanna file a harassment claim, it’ll be with the owner you owe an apology too.”

“Maybe that makes us even.” Jason said, quiet.

“Maybe…or you could pick me up after my shift if you really wanna square things. I finish earlier today.” You said, gaze flickering between the lotto tickets and Jason’s face. A boyish grin took over his expression as genuine excitement seemed to fill him.

“Fuck yeah—I mean yeah, that’d be great. What time?” He reeled himself in while you toyed with his receipt.

“Noon instead of three.” Jason nodded, that wild glint in his eyes spelt trouble in the best way. He adjusted the strap on his shoulder and while distracted, you placed your palms flat on the counter and pushed yourself to his height. You pressed a quick kiss on Jason’s cheek before settling onto the stool behind you. Jason nearly dropped his bottle as he processed what you just did.

“See you later Jason, I’ll save you a patty if all the construction guys don’t get to them first.” You promised, as he headed towards the door, running his fingers through his hair and looking back at you with indiscernibility. It was shock and awe you supposed.

“See ya baby!” Jason called as he left, dazed tone and pet name threatened to set you on fire as a group of kids barrelled in and darted straight to the freezer. You paid no mind to their yells and counted the hours till Jason picked you up for your first date.

shalalala.

~

title/lyrics from the hellcat spangled shalalala by arctic monkeys

more reading: college/uni hcs + jason todd

[sungbeam]

BIRD HUNT — five

nonidol!choi line x f!reader

gotham city is a gutter running rampant with the ill, corrupt, and the insane. at times, justice and vengeance must be served by one's own hand... no matter the lengths one must go to do so.

▷ genre, au, etc. bat family au, dc comics inspired, dark, vigilantes au, slow burn, ceo/billionaire au, cat woman!reader, murder mystery au, action, suspense, angst, slow burn-ish?, love square??; choi line inspired by dick grayson (csb), jason todd (cyj), and tim drake (cbg), including bruce wayne for choi minho and damian wayne for nishimura riki, inspired by 2022's The Batman

▷ chapter warnings. swearing, mentions of death/suicide/murder, mentions of weaponry, depictions of violence, mentions of corruption, feelings of guilt

▷ word count. 4.0k // taglist. open

« prev · m.list · next »

a/n: i... did Not finish chapter 8 or fix chapter 7, but we ball

FILE_05 : fall where they may

gotham city.

[The funeral ; ten days since your mother was murdered.]

The guilt had been eating away at his heart, chipping away at the bones of his ribcage to expose the most important organ in his body. The ancient Egyptians had once believed that the heart was the seat of the mind; a person did not make decisions purely based on logic, but on what their heart urged them to. And that had been exactly Beomgyu’s downfall as he smiled a little too wide, laughed a little too loud, enjoyed the twinkle in your eyes just a little too much. When that emotion filled his lungs like a gas, he could see nothing but the blurred tunnel focusing solely on you. On what you and him used to be. 

“You’ve done well for yourself then,” he said, his cheeks aching from the grin on his face. His stomach and his chest felt tight from the mixture of hard laughter and ice cream and this terribly well-tailored suit. 

Your expression subdued at the thought of work, and for a moment, Beomgyu’s heart stuttered, fearing he had said the wrong thing. It was strange—he never had to be scared of saying the wrong thing, but for some reason—no, wait. Of course, he wanted this to work. You were someone very important to him. 

You cleared your throat. “I guess I have.” You paused, reconsidering your words. “Well, I’ll probably need to find new employment unless Mrs. Lee has something for me to do, but—”

“Come work for us,” he blurted. It had just… slipped out of him. But there was this thrill racing through his veins and he was not about to regret his words. Your eyes widened just slightly, and he reiterated, “I’m serious, y’know. If you need a job, you’re probably more than qualified for the positions we have open at the enterprise.” 

His knee began to bounce under the table, and the ice cream parlor was suddenly too quiet, too small, as he awaited your reply. 

You licked your lips in thought. He couldn’t read you; why couldn’t he read you? “Beomgyu, did you know that I applied and interviewed for a position at Choi Enterprise?”

Yes. He tilted his head to the side, feigning innocence. “Oh, really?” Tell me what happened, so I know whose ass to kick. 

There was that noticeable narrowing of your eyes and he wondered if you knew that he knew. You were smart, so he wouldn’t be surprised if you figured it out. “Yeah… Soobin didn’t tell you?”

What. 

He blinked, breathed. “Soobin? No, he didn’t tell me jack shit—”

“He was on the interview panel,” you said to him as you idly began stirring your spoon around your paper cup. There were only the remnants of a raspberry sorbet at the bottom. His eyes flickered over your bruised finger tips. When he had asked about it earlier, you had made up some excuse of "being mad at the world." He couldn't exactly call you out on it; he'd once thrown a physical fit and gotten a firm scolding from his dad. “Well, I think he was more just sitting in, but I don’t blame him for anything. He couldn’t have had that much say in who would be hired or not anyway.”

Oh, Beomgyu was going to murder Choi Soobin. 

Beomgyu coughed. “Yeah no. Definitely not.” Totally not because he was one of the heirs to the company or anything. Soobin couldn’t have been older than nineteen or twenty, but like Beomgyu himself, he had been trained from an early age to carry out the duties of a company executive. “And after that you interviewed with Lee Sungjae?” 

You nodded. “Somebody recommended me to his people, and I was hooked up with an interview. They must have passed along my resume or something.”

Now that sounded like something Beomgyu’s older brother would do. But why hadn’t Soobin overridden the interview panel’s verdict? Beomgyu trusted that they made a good decision, but could they not have referred you to a different open position or department in the company? There were plenty of positions to go around. Why recommend you to Lee Sungjae’s office? 

"I'm sure there was a reason for—"

"Gyu—" you cut in with a slight smile on your face, and your eyes were alight again like earlier with something like silent laughter, "—I'm not mad about it. I don't hold a grudge against you or your family or Choi Enterprise."

Beomgyu opened his mouth, then reconsidered. He wanted to tell you, god, he really wanted to. He wanted to tell you it was going to be okay. He wanted to take care of you like you and your mother had done for him those years ago. He'd felt loved and warm and… his chest ached. Dear god, his chest hurt so bad. 

He finally said, "I'm just glad you're okay." Even after I smashed your face into the floor and you knocked your head into my face and sprayed my mouth with pepper spray. 

You smiled then, the corners of which were soft and assuring. "I'm glad you're okay, too."

A grin bloomed on his face then like the spring that Gotham never saw. Flowers and shit. Gotham had all of the allergies, but somehow no flowers. That stuff came from just outside the city limits, but Beomgyu hadn’t minded spending all that gas to find those calla lilies for your mother. 

Beomgyu wondered if you'd like to come by the manor for dinner. It had to be time for supper by now; he didn't like the idea of you being alone in that apartment, even with all the cats—

The shrill sound of his ringtone sliced through the comfortable atmosphere, and Beomgyu swiftly pressed the phone to his ear with a groan after catching a glimpse of the caller ID. You lifted an eyebrow at him curiously at the sound of his generic ringtone—it used to be this one, very loud Green Day song. 

"What?" He bit out.

A chuckle met his ears, followed by Soobin's separate grunt, "You've had your fun, Beom. There's been another murder."

Beomgyu exhaled roughly and dragged a hand through his hair. He caught your eyes then glanced away. "Where?"

When Soobin said the name into the speaker, Beomgyu let out another haggard exhale. He cursed under his breath, hand coming up to his face to massage the pressure points between his eyes. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”

The call did not last long after that, with Beomgyu promising his older brother that he would be there in fifteen minutes. He needed to take you home, after all. When he tucked his phone away, you were already giving him that smile of understanding, as if you had listened into the entire conversation through just his facial expressions and reactions. He hated that you knew that he had to go—he hated that he actually had to go, most of all. 

“Duty calls,” you said first. “Is it work?”

He lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug, the corner of his lips curling upward in a sheepish sort of smile. “Yeah, you can say that. Hey, but I can totally give you a ride home. My brothers can wait.”

You laughed as the two of you stood together to throw away your trash and head out. 

It was a good thing that Beomgyu had the sense to stay in the shadows beneath the bridge as he brought his shiny, black BMW to a stop. The sidewalk outside the entrance to the Iceberg Lounge was beginning to fill up with clubbers dressed in their finest and skimpiest cocktail dresses and button-up shirts. Some of them laughed with their heads tilted to the poisoned Gotham night sky while others let their big mouths run wild to the pretty face hanging off their arm. Maybe you shouldn’t have had Beomgyu drop you off here, but you needed to see your father about something, and you hadn’t the energy to go from one end of the city to the other twice. 

Beomgyu’s jaw was set as he surveyed the outside of the club. “Yn, I know I shouldn’t ask…”

“I just have business to wrap up,” you told him while gathering your things at your feet. “My mom had a… connection here.”

“I don’t think you should go alone.”

“And who’s gonna accompany me?” When you glanced over at Beomgyu, he was already staring back at you with that steely gaze. It was defiant, telling you what you already knew—he would definitely drop whatever work thing had come up to accompany you through the Iceberg Lounge. “You have business to attend to, and I’ll be fine. I’ve been in a couple times anyway and the guys at the front know me.”

His eyebrow shot up. “They know you? That really doesn’t make me feel better.” 

It was so odd, you realized as you took in the full view of Beomgyu’s crisp black suit and his gold Rolex and his characteristically chiseled “Choi” features side by side with the outside of the Iceberg Lounge. The silver-blue neon sign cast an almost ethereal glow across his face, like an angel. But angels didn’t exist in Gotham, at least, not the good ones. You wondered if what your father had told you about the Chois were true. 

The corner of your lips quirked upward. “I’ll be fine, Beomgyu. You have my number now, so you can even text me later and I’ll confirm that I’m completely fine.” You pushed your car door open and welcomed the icy Gotham night across your skin. 

Beomgyu leaned across the car’s center console, the shadows now dancing over the pretty shapes of his face. “You better answer then.”

“Promise.” You grabbed the top rim of the door, primed to close it. “Now you should probably get out of here before somebody recognizes you.”

A flash of admission in his eyes. “Hey, listen. You wanna hang out—you just let me know. Like any time, okay? I—” he pursed his lips then nodded, “—yeah, I missed you a lot, Yn. I missed this.” 

Whatever this is, you wanted to say. Because… well, what was this? You didn’t know why your heart stuttered at the idea of texting him and hanging out with him again. Maybe it was the little teenage girl inside of you banging on the bars of her cage, begging to be let out at the taste of what used to be. That was what this had been—just a taste. 

You could only bob your head. “Get home safe.”

“You, too.” 

You slammed the door to the car and, without so much as a glance backward, you made your way across the street and into the neon light of the Iceberg Lounge. But seconds before you slipped into the raging nightclub, you peered over your shoulder to watch the BMW pull out from the shadows beneath the bridge and slowly begin to drive away. 

Less than five minutes later, you were seated in the living room of your father’s apartment, wondering how thick the floors and windows were if you could not even feel the bass from the floors below. It was a marvel; how much force would it take to break? If you ever had to break in, some way other than the door, then how could you do so?

Tonight, your father nursed a little, white and blue teacup with some kind of dark brew swirling in its innards. There was some kind of piano ballad playing in the background and a bookmarked novel sat in your father’s lap. 

“Where did you even get the idea that the Chois were backing the vigilantes anyway?” You asked him as one of his assistants emerged from a secret doorway in the bookshelves to hand you an unopened bottle of water. It was one of those brand named bottles claiming to be bottled straight from the blood of Fiji—or something of that sort. Water was water, but why weren’t you surprised that he owned this kind of luxury? “I don’t really see how or why. Thanks,” the latter statement being directed to the assistant, who promptly disappeared once his purpose had been served. 

Your father took a sip of his beverage. “Yn, dear, everyone in this city has an allegiance to someone to remain alive, whether they know it or not.” He considered the dark surface of the tea as if he could read the tea leaves lying at the bottom of the cup like corpses. “They do not answer to me, so they must answer to someone else.”

“Couldn’t you just—I dunno—look into their finances?” As soon as you said it, you backtracked, “No. Wait, don’t do that.”

He chuckled and the sound always sounded so oddly hollow. “Ah, still attached, are we? I seem to have noticed that you did not take your usual form of transportation tonight.”

“So you were spying on me?”

“I was merely looking out the window,” he replied while feigning an innocent look on his face. “But back to what we were discussing: you probably already know that men with money don’t like getting their hands soiled.”

You cracked the water bottle open. “So they flick their money in certain directions to make people get their hands dirty for them. That’s just common sense.” After you had taken a generous gulp of your water, you continued, “But you haven’t even the faintest piece of solid evidence that the Choi family is allied—or at least—employing these vigilantes, do you?”

Something flashed across your father’s face, and you realized that the warm and fuzzy feeling in your chest was satisfaction. Oh god, it purred and circled in your chest until it settled there upon your sternum. It felt good to see your father stumped for once. (And frankly, the fact that you knew something he didn't also gave you that fuzzy, feline feeling. No, you had not cared to divulge that Choi Yeonjun was most likely the Red Hood. Something told you it was a secret you would do well to keep.)

At the dawn of your sly satisfaction, your father steered the conversation elsewhere. “Speaking of evidence, I have another lead.”

Immediately, that warm, fuzzy feeling was smothered and your posture straightened. “What is it?”

“But you have to do something for me.” Of course, because what was a lead without you doing another favor for him? You didn’t even prompt him. “The Commissioner of police—you know him? This Kim Namjoon character.”

You nodded. You knew of him, and you had even spoken with him, but he had seemed like a nice man. Then again, there weren’t a lot of nice people here. “He’s your lead?”

He scoffed into his tea cup. “No. That man is irritatingly difficult to persuade—”

“You mean ‘to corrupt.'”

He flicked a hand in dismissal. “Yes, yes, to corrupt. Either way, information will not come from him, so I need you to take it yourself.”

Your eyes shuttered as the statement processed in your head. “I will not kill for you, I hope you know that. I am here for my mother.”

His harsh gaze cut across to you and you suddenly felt so small beneath his stare again. Where had that satisfaction from before gone? You missed the comfortable weight in your chest, but now, all you felt was the thick viscosity of blood choking you from the inside out. “This is for your mother, Yn. If you want something, you have to take it. That is something your mother and I disagreed on, and look where that got her.”

The room descended into silence. 

Your heart thundered in your chest, your ears. It threatened to leap out and rip your so-called father to shreds. “Go fuck yourself. And you say you loved her?” You hissed. You ripped yourself out of the armchair, turning on the balls of your feet to get the Hell out of this place. 

“I did not want you to kill anyone, Yn.” 

His voice didn’t stop you as you continued down the corridor. Maybe this would be good. You could totally do this on your own, right? Wrong. And this awareness had you still listening to his words. 

“All you must do is sneak into the commissioner’s office and steal the report from your mother’s case.”

Your feet stopped moving. “And why can’t you just get one of your goons to do it?”

The sigh that fell from his lips sounded tired, but you sensed the exasperation lacing it. “My man on the inside is close to being found out. Plus, I know that you are capable of getting in and out without being caught. You’re more competent than all of my men.”

You abhorred how your pride swelled at the comment. It was hardly a compliment, but here you were, turning back around. Who were you trying to fool? You couldn’t do this on your own. “Fine. What am I getting again?”

Your father leaned forward to set his now empty teacup on the table. “The file must have a record of the casing from the bullet she was murdered with—the one that was found at the scene. From there, we can track down the make and model, who owned the weapon, and such. A lead, as I said.”

You had only been stationed outside the window of the commissioner’s office for seventeen minutes, but the guilt and pity was raging for this poor man. Commissioner Kim Namjoon had seemed like a nice enough man—a professional enough man—when you had spoken with him that day at the Lees’ home in the suburbs. As your father had said, he was one of the few irritatingly stubborn people in this town who refused to be corrupted by anyone. This one was a good egg in a bad nest. You suspected that he actually sought justice and had a good moral compass, and you also guessed that was the reason why there was a massive stack of paperwork on his desk. The man had been hunched over his desk for the entire time you had been stationed outside waiting for him to leave his office. 

“Take a damn break, man,” you muttered lowly to yourself, but also secretly hoping he would hear you and move his ass. If not for you, then for the sake of his own hair because you were certain he was this close to uprooting all of his hair follicles. 

It seemed the dark angel looming over your shoulder would grant your wish, and Commissioner Kim’s coffee cup had run dry. He rubbed his palms down his face, then stood to stretch his back and grab the emptied mug to head out of his office to get a fresh cup from the pot. 

You saw your opportunity and took it. Swiftly, you maneuvered your lock picks into the window lock, then lifted the pane up and open. You didn’t have a lot of time, but your father had assured you that his alleged “man on the inside” would find a way to distract the commissioner should he finally leave his damned office. You couldn’t really rely on that, so you scrambled over to the wall of file cabinets as quietly as possible and began to shuffle through them. 

Because the responding officers on the night of your mother’s murder had classified the crime as a simple suicide, you could probably guess that the officers in question probably got it thrown in a closed case file. You really wished you had been given more head’s up about this, or even a file number, because while the commissioner’s filing system was awfully organized, each file was categorized and labeled with a set of numbers and letters that did not help your timing. 

Why hadn’t your father’s “man on the inside” let you know which cabinet it was in, at least? (Right, they had given you some dumb explanation like “he works in robbery, not homicide." Well, your mother’s death wasn’t even a homicide, so it shouldn’t matter much—? God, you fucking hated this.)

Your heart hammered against your ribcage as you picked up the sound of nearing voices and footsteps. 

Clock’s ticking, Yn. Come on, let’s find this thing and get the Hell out of here. 

Sweat began to dampen the fabric of your mask, and you could feel your fingers begin to shake. The voices had faded along with the footsteps, but you still could not find the file—

The door to the office crashed open, the handle slamming against the wall as the words “FREEZE!” erupted. 

Guns were pulled—the barrels of the Commissioner’s and an officer’s in your face, and the barrel of yours… you couldn’t—you simply could not decide who to shoot. And maybe it was that hesitation that spelled out your fate. 

Or it was the commissioner’s order for the officer to unmask you. 

Fear filled your veins like a drug, and that drug pumped action into your limbs, forcing you to do something. They needed you alive, damn it; at least, that was what you told yourself in some weak attempt to assure yourself as you slowly lowered yourself and your gun toward the ground. 

Your mind raced—the officer—the officer looked so familiar. Why did he look familiar to you?

Do it. Do it NOW. 

You flung yourself at the officer’s twig-like legs, arms wrapping around his knees to send him folding and doubling over, body crashing through the doorway. The commissioner’s shouts were loud, but for some reason, he wasn’t shooting you like you thought he would—or did you know he wouldn’t shoot if you didn’t first? The gun in your hand became a hammer as you smashed it across the officer’s face, your knee landing oh-so-sweetly in between his legs.

You got in his face; you knew why he looked so familiar now. “You cunt,” you sneered in his face. This was your father’s “man on the inside,” the assistant from earlier. 

Blood spilled from the gash you had dealt to his face. He bared his teeth. “Doing my job, bitch.” And with a bout of strength, he flipped the two of you over and made a grab for your mask. 

Panicpanicpanic—

You were ripped out from under the two-timing son of a bitch, the both of you heaving for breath as you were forced apart. 

The commissioner’s voice came from just behind you, and the realization that he was the one restraining you had you cursing inwardly. This couldn’t get any worse, could it? “Young, go get cleaned up, and for God’s sake, calm yourself, man.” He then addressed everyone else to scram, before hauling your arms behind you. You heard the telltale click of the handcuffs, your coffin lid closing into place. 

Namjoon nudged you in the direction of a hallway just to your right. “Come on,” he said, his tone tired. “I won’t unmask you out here unless you don’t cooperate.”

But he was still going to unmask you, right? Nonetheless, you cooperated, and let him walk you down the hallway into one of the interrogation rooms. When you had settled in the cold, steel chair, with your hands cuffed to the bar on the table, the commissioner settled in the seat across from you. 

“Would you like to call anyone before we begin?”

You shook your head. You didn’t even know your father’s new phone number, and he had never deigned to give you an outside way to contact him. There was this bitter twist of shame in your gut and the question of why you felt so ashamed to be caught loitered in your head. Was it because your father said you were supposed to be competent enough? 

He raised an eyebrow at you, incredulous. “You sure, kid?”

Your fingers curled into a fist, then unfurled. “I don’t have anyone to call,” you forced out.

You saw the pity in his eyes—hated it. He was standing up now, walking around the table to stand next to you. It was like slow motion. The mirror across from you gave you a front row seat to your own unveiling, as Commissioner Kim grabbed one ear of the cat mask and ripped the entire thing off your face.

a/n: listen... it's not as pathetic as it looks... okay maybe it is

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[ssasides205]

How do you think the cupid scene would've gone if Leo had been there?

in an ideal world, dear anon, the cupid scene would not exist at all.

instead, when looking for Diocleptian's Scepter, in Diocleptian's Palace, Jason and Nico run,,, into Diocleptian. I mean, the doors of death are fucked, yeah? and we already had the thing with Midas; this would've not been all that weird.

the encounter then would be more about Jason and Nico having to work together despite their jarringly oposing views, against Jason's favorite Emperor and probably an undead army. Fun stuff.

However, let's take it to this world you've proposed, which, I'm guessing due to what this blog is abt replaces Jason with Leo.

Firstly, since Jason does not actually get to the Palace, would he still contact Reyna? would they meet with her later than they do in canon? would she contact him instead, when she herself reaches that place?

Or is it a case of Zephyros giving them the info abt the scepter earlier, and they never go to Split at all? Unclear.

while I love valdangelo as much as any of us, Leo is even more of a stranger to Nico than Jason is in cannon. However, Leo has his own issues with Eros so what I think would happen, is that the god, affected by the double personality thing, wouldn't be able to settle on just one of them.

he'd be constantly having to change the script, and this is something that Leo and Nico could exploit.

this would also be entirely about the two finding a way to work together, but unlike the fix I mentioned previously, Leo and Nico are incredibly similar. So once they both reached the conclusion that they have to work together, they would do so far more easily.

actually, they'd make one hell of a team up and I'm getting mad that they never get to fight side by side properly. Fire and death sounds like the most obvious combo ever, come on!

anyways, no confessions happen, bc gods above is that scene fucked up. like, my man, there are much better ways for you to canonize a gay character.

I, for one, would've much rather have Nico choose to come out. for example, in this au I just made up:

Leo and Nico defeat Eros together, both taking a moment to breathe before they make the trip back to the ship, Nico with the staff still in his hands. And Leo, bc it would be Leo, breaks the silence by just starting to complain abt Eros, and his whole "confess your love issues" spiel, and Nico gets sort of annoyed and says something that gives a lot away, but only if you're also queer

like: "at least you could've said something normal", but like, worded more subtly

and Leo's all like, "no way, that guy totally wanted me to talk abt the Jay issue, which is totally uncool", bc Leo would come out like that to someone, that's who he is

I'm unsure if Nico would figure it out right then and there, or if it would take him until way later. probably the second though, the internalized homophobia is strong in that one.

once he does figure out, he would like confront Leo abt it, and it would become a whole thing I think. obvs if I were to write it I'd give that conversation a good resolution, but even a bad one would be progress vis-a-vis them coming to terms with their sexualities.

it could've given them reason to interact more, whether positively or not, though I honestly believe they would eventually work it out in the second case. and that eventual camaraderie could have then worked to get Nico closer to the others, probably starting with Jason, considering he was already trying to be his friend before the whole scepter thing.

we could've had Nico finally letting himself process the Percy issue, and Leo processing the Jason and Piper issue, while also both helping each other feel a lot less weird, and alone.

but that's just my opinion.

[rhondafromhr]

More ideas/headcanons for the ‘Nerds Corruption AU’

Link to the original post for those who aren’t familiar: https://www.tumblr.com/rhondafromhr/738012368733356032/dont-get-me-wrong-i-love-max-redemption-arcs-in

-The LIB adopt their human forms after the first time Max, Steph and the nerds summon them and RELENTLESSLY make fun of their true/eldritch forms. “our real forms would melt your minds” yeah sure whatever you need to tell yourself Pokey

-Tinky tries to use having Ted in the bastard box as leverage against Pete, but he just doesn’t care because that’s not his brother, it’s some other Pete’s brother from another timeline so it’s not his problem.

-Once everyone in the group starts acting like an agressive bully the way Max does, Grace finds herself attracted to all of them and has a crisis over it.

-At some point Max tries to apologize for before (“sorry for bullying you guys all these years, you never deserved that, everyone we’re currently bullying does but you didn’t.”) Now that they’re all literal monsters too they just dismiss him like “don’t apologize, we get it now, the power trip is fucking awesome!“

-Max’s signature move of using anti-bullying slogans to justify and get away with bullying is their favorite. They always tell Max how smart he is for coming up with it.

-They decide Kyle can date Brenda now but plot twist! Brenda leaves him for Ruth. Ruth taunts him for this every chance she gets and purposely makes out with Brenda in locations where he’ll have to walk by. Cue Kyle sobbing in the bathroom while Jason comforts him, leading to one of very few sweet, wholesome scenes we get in this universe.

-Ruth is confident enough to perform now, which obviously means they need to sabotage the lead in The Barbecue Monologues so she can take the role. They either just straight up intimidate them into quitting or frame them for vandalizing the school and get them expelled.

-One day Pete randomly remembers the time Brad Callahan pantsed him and he and the rest of the crew just drop what they’re doing to go beat him up. When they get called into principal Blim’s office they tell him they did it because Brad was picking on Hannah Foster earlier (“what do you want us to do? Stand by and do nothing? Being a bystander is just as bad as bullying, we learned that at the anti-bullying assembly!”) Brad has been known to do that so he believes them and lets them off with a warning. When word gets around people actually do mess with Hannah a lot less.

- (already mentioned this in a separate post but I’ll put it here too) after graduation Max, Steph + the nerds run an anime/comic book store together and Richie’s the only one who knows or cares about any of it. He’s rude and condescending to customers, everyone else is not knowledgeable and completely unhelpful, Grace tells every customer they need to go read a bible instead. They have like 1.5 stars on yelp but stay in business because the next closest similar store is in Clivesdale so nobody’s going to go there

-At some point Linda Monroe comes in and sees the gang being rude to Becky Barnes, so of course she takes an instant liking to them. She becomes an investor in the store and sort of a mother figure to all of them. She encourages their bad behavior, giving them tips for manipulating people in a more sophisticated way. Max and Steph get especially attached to her (the three bond over their dad issues) and they go to her house once a week to drink wine and and hear all the hot gossip about Linda’s rich frienemies.

-When Roman finds out about Linda’s new investment he comes to check out the store and he’s as icy towards her as usual. True to form, Max, Steph and the nerds say the rudest, most out of pocket stuff to him (Richie goes after his appearance HARD, not realizing the irony that he looks pretty similar) and eventually he storms off. Linda’s touched that they stood up for her. She cries and tells them how proud she is. Max and Steph cry a little too because this is the first time a parental figure’s ever told them that. After this they become obsessed with impressing Linda so they can hear it again.

-Grace babysits Linda’s kids sometimes and Linda pays her an outrageous amount due to being so out of touch with regular babysitting rates (“it’s one banana, what could it cost, ten dollars?” energy). Grace refuses to babysit for Tom anymore because he can’t match these rates. One night he can’t find any other sitters, so he tries to cancel on Becky but she suggests they spend a night in with Tim instead, leading to some nice family bonding (okay there can be one more cute wholesome moment, I’ll allow it.)

-They’re rivals with Frank Pricely. They hate him because Toyzone cuts into their merch sales. He hates them back for stealing Linda, who used to drop thousands per week at his store. They always scheme to screw each other over. Black Friday doesn’t happen in this timeline solely because they pay Lex to destroy the entire shipment of wiggly dolls. This is also what gets them on the LIB’s radar, Wiggly is absolutely furious.

- (This one relates to the popular “Paul is Richie’s uncle” headcanon) At some point, Paul is at his wit’s end with Richie and makes him move out in the hopes it’ll force him to reevaluate his life and stop being so awful. He doesn’t just throw Richie out, he gives him a timeline and helps him find a place. But he’s not sure if he did the right thing. He mentions this to Ted at work and Ted says his parents did the same to him and he’s totally well-adjusted. Paul just gives him a look and says “Ted…no.” This is the catalyst for him getting involved with the group and eventually getting his own corruption arc.

-After moving out, Richie becomes roommates with Max and Ruth. Steph and Pete have a luxury apartment together downtown (Solomon pays for it because he can’t deal with her anymore and wants her out of his house). Grace has a two bedroom apartment to herself - she had a roommate at one point, but they got fed up and left. Luckily she can afford it with her cushy babysitting gig.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Eyes and Ears

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: An AU where Barbara finds Jason instead of Bruce.

Chapters: 20/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Sheila Haywood, Original Character(s)

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character(s), Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Older SIbling Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd-centric, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Jason Todd is NOT Robin, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Has a Crush, Adopted Siblings

Chapter Twenty: Bash/Ball

"Let me get one more picture," Jim smiled. Jason's shoulders slumped, and he sighed. "It's your first dance. I just want to make sure I get enough pictures. Now, Barbara, come take a picture with your brother—."

"Pop," Jason complained. Jim's eyes widened as he motioned for them to stand close to each other.

Jason held his cape up to his face as he stood next to Barbara. He looked over at her and whispered, "I'm Batman," in a gruff voice. Barbara let out a laugh, and Jim snapped a picture of the two of them laughing.

"This is the last picture, I promise," Jim whispered as he put the camera on a timer and set it on the kitchen counter. "I tested it earlier. Stand right here," Jim replied as he took one photo with Barbara and Jason. After that, Jason said goodnight to Barbara and followed Jim down to the car.

Jim waited a while before pulling off, and he handed Jason his wallet. "Get a twenty out of my wall—."

"You've got a picture of me in here," Jason whispered.

"Well, I think it'd be awful hard to brag about you without a visual," Jim joked, "But really, you're my son. Why wouldn't I have your picture in my wallet? Before this year is over, I'll probably have to build a mantle or something for all the new pictures."

Jason smiled as Jim drove. "I love you, Pop," Jason whispered. Jim took a deep breath so that he wouldn't get all choked up, and he smiled.

"I love you too, Son," Jim whispered, "And I want you to have fun tonight. If you don't call me to pick you up early, I'll be back for you at midnight."

"Do these things really run until midnight?" Jason asked. Jim nodded. "Wow. And you're okay with me staying the whole time if I wanna?"

"Yeah, why not. You stay at school 'til ten p.m. most nights, what's two hours difference?" Jim smiled. Jason put on his mask in the mirror. "I know you didn't go last year, but I was wondering if you were gonna go trick-or-treating with your friends this year?"

"I can still do that?" Jason asked. Jim nodded. "Well, I'll probably just go with Barbara or Reese and A.J. if they wanna go."

"You're not gonna ask the girls?" Jim asked.

"No, they go out of town for Halloween," Jason replied.

"A.J. and Reese are those football boys, right?" Jim asked. Jason nodded and chuckled.

Jim dropped Jason off at the dance and waved goodbye, and Jason entered the ballroom. He walked around the ballroom looking for his friends, and he was approached by a girl who told him he couldn't reveal his identity as part of the ball's theme. Jason nodded and adjusted his posture. Jason figured that if he was going to hide his identity, he might as well play a character. Jason got something to drink and stood with his back against the wall, holding his cup away from him and watching the other kids dance with his nose in the air. Jason committed to playing his own opposite for the night. He walked around the ballroom with his nose in the air. It wasn't until a boy much taller than him brushed his hand and he froze. Jason grabbed his hand, and they both stood there frozen in a crowd of people. The taller boy leaned down to whisper in Jason's ear. "May I have this dance?" he asked. Jason nodded.

"Perhaps," Jason replied as the boy led Jason in one slow dance before disappearing into the crowd. It wasn't until Jason snapped out of the shock of what just happened that he realized who he'd danced with. Jason didn't chase him. Instead, he walked out to the balcony and started pacing back and forth in a panic. A teacher dressed as a plague doctor came out and nudged him back inside, but Jason didn't recognize the voice. He obeyed despite his instincts to ask who the man was. He went back inside and decided to search for his friend.

Not too long after, he heard a loud pop and a hissing noise, and the last thing he remembered was the burning sensation in his eyes. He woke up in the emergency room feeling sick to his stomach. His hands shook violently as the lights burned his eyes. He couldn't see clearly. His throat was sore from whatever chemical he must've inhaled, barely managing to mutter a hoarse warning that he was going to be sick. He vomited into a sick bag and lay back. A hand touched his forehead and made sure the oxygen tubes were in his nose. "I've got you, son," Jim whispered, "Do you remember anything?"

Jason shook his head. His vision was still blurred from the chemicals, and he couldn't see who else was in the room with him. "Jason, literally anything. Try to think," Jim urged him.

"Plague doctor took me back inside," Jason mumbled. His head ached, and he felt pins and needles all over his body as if he couldn't come down from panic. He reached to touch his eyes, and Jim grabbed them. "I wanna go home."

"Jason, we don't know what you were hit with. Every emergency room in Gotham is packed with kids from your school, and it sounds like you're all going to be held overnight for observation," Barbara explained.

Jason closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Jim sighed. "We're not leaving your side, I promise," Jim reassured. Jason took a shaky breath. Barbara reached over and squeezed his hand. "We're thinking it's some sort of fear toxin, but it's not like anything we've ever seen..."

"Who called 9-1-1?" Jason asked.

"You called me," Jim whispered, "You don't remember calling me at all?" Jason shook his head and opened his eyes once more. The room was a little clearer to him, and he could see their faces.

Barbara tried to mask her anger, but Jason could see it written all over her face. She was furious. He couldn't tell if she was mad at him or at the situation, but he felt like he'd failed her. Jim seemed more concerned than anything. "I don't remember anything... I'm sorry," Jason whispered. Barbara stormed out of the room without so much as a word. Jason looked over at Jim.

"She's not mad at you. She just wants to know how this happened," Jim comforted Jason. Jim sat down by Jason's bedside. "It'll probably be out of your system by morning. I know you're probably still feeling a little anxious." Jason nodded and took another deep breath. "You didn't say much on the phone. You just told me there was gas at the school and that everyone was trapped."

[gunebuggieswriting]

̶Good Bad Habits Run In The Family: Chapter Nine

DPxDC Crossover, Jason Adopts Danny AU

[AO3] [FF.net] [Wattpad]

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Danny stuttered a look of shock on his face, staring at Jason with his mouth agape for several seconds before abruptly blurting, “What the hell? You can’t just do that! Holy shit, oh my goodness, you just-” He cut himself off, rubbing his face with both of his hands.

Jason knew that Danny would most likely be shocked by the news, but he was surprised by how strongly the teen reacted. It almost made him waver, to want to reverse revealing himself, which was very personal for him. He knew he couldn’t do that though, and he probably wouldn’t if he could, he wanted Danny to know who he was. Who he really was.

“What? Didn’t expect such a handsome face?” Jason easily teased, putting the domino mask on the counter beside his helmet before leaning an arm on it, trying to appear casual while his head fought with itself. A nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he had made a grave mistake, reminding him of what B had always said about their double lives. Another voice, one that grew much louder as time passed from the part of his life he spent with Bruce, telling him that he was allowed to make exceptions when he felt it necessary. Right now, he found it important that Danny knew who he was, as he wanted the kid to trust him. It would make the helping process a lot easier. Jason really wished he knew how to actually help Danny other than the necessities, but he decided he could figure that out.

Danny sighed, slouching back into the chair he almost felt out of when Jason revealed himself. “I’m sorry,” He said, looking down at the ground, sounding genuinely apologetic. “It’s just that, I can’t believe you trust somebody like me enough to put yourself in such a risk by outing yourself. It’s not something you can do lightly.”

Jason thought how much it sounded like Danny was chidding him, much like one of his family members would. He kept that to himself as his lips pulled down into a frown. “What do you mean by ‘somebody like you’?” Jason asked, and without his helmet, Danny could hear the slight confusion and concern lacing the man’s voice. It was odd how much he could now gather without the voice modulation getting in the way, perhaps it was the main reason the man had it in the first place.

Danny looked Jason in the eye, his own eyes shifting a bit to look at each one of Jason’s. Then he seemed to find what he wanted and looked away again biting his lip. “I’m not entirely normal.”

Jason snorted, and Danny’s gaze snapped up at the man to glare at him. Jason ignored it as he spoke, amusement tracing his words. “Yeah, no shit. I didn’t think you were trying to hide it with the glowing eyes and fangs you had going on.”

“I don’t do that on purpose.” Danny huffed, crossing over his arms, going back to scowling at the counter as red reached his cheeks. Danny was embarrassed to not to have only gotten caught by not one, not two, not even three, but four bats in the month he’s been in Gotham.

“Can you not control it?” Jason asked, his earlier humor not as present as he became more serious. After all, if Danny couldn’t control his powers, it could possibly create a problem. He didn’t believe that the teen would ever do any harm on purpose, but that didn’t mean the teen couldn’t have accidents or make mistakes. It could very well be a factor that Jason would have to account for and possibly form a plan to help with, because Danny couldn’t go around with an unknown power set that he didn’t even know how to use.

Danny thought for a second, before nodding. “Yeah, if I thought about it hard enough. Though, sometimes a few inhuman things leak either due to my emotional state or other factors I can’t actually control.” Jason still felt a little apprehensive, as he didn’t know the extent to what Danny’s powers would do if they could act up according to his emotion. Danny looked at Jason for a second before somehow understanding what the man felt without having to say anything. “Don’t worry, all of that usually only affects my appearance, like the glowing eyes. Though the sharp teeth, which I really do dislike, is a byproduct of my nonhuman part.”

Jason nodded, taking in all of that information with stride, already immune to this kind of bullshit in his daily life. What he did think about was what Danny said at the end. “You said that the longer canines are part of the ‘nonhuman part’ of you. Does that mean you’re also part human?”

Danny winced somewhat, an internal battle waging inside him as he struggled on how to answer that or how much he should let Jason know. Sure, the older boy just showed him something incredibly personal that could let Danny seriously hurt him if he wanted, but that didn’t mean that Danny had to do the same, as he didn’t know how much he should trust Jason. He wanted to trust Jason, but he didn’t know him, he only knew Red Hood. Maybe he could get to know Jason now too.

Realizing that he was taking a bit to answer, Danny suddenly cleared his throat, but instead of speaking simply nodded his head. Jason was glad to be confirmed, as now he knew what he was dealing with. He felt like there was more to it, but he didn’t want to push Danny more than he already has. He felt like it was a miracle that the teen didn’t already run, maybe showing his identity was the right decision after all. “Anything else you’d like me to know?”

Danny frowned, but this time it was thoughtful, and he studied the wall as he racked his brain as to what to say. “Um, I don’t know. You already know what I am, my name, and that I’m not from here. I don’t really think I feel comfortable saying more.”

“That’s alright kid, you don’t have to tell me anything else unless you wanna.” Jason hoped that Danny would become comfortable enough with him that he would tell him more, but right now he couldn’t ask for much. He had a lot he wasn’t going to tell either, so it would be hypocritical of him. “Now, are you gonna take me up on my offer?”

Danny looked back at Jason’s carefree smile, and felt himself relax a bit, he was somewhat surprised to see some hope in the man’s eyes. Now that he could see the man’s eyes he could tell that Jason was actually quite expressive, much more than the helmet or domino allowed. “I don’t think you truly understand what you’re asking.”

“I’m asking you if you want to stay with me in this crummy apartment. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I will find something for you, as you cannot stay on those streets.” Jason sternly said, daring Danny to argue, who couldn’t help but sigh.

“It’s not that, it’s that, I-” Danny’s voice wavered and he took a deep breath to try and open up his throat that was quickly closing. He didn’t know how to explain this without revealing too much, but he wanted to make sure Jason actually wanted to allow him in his life. That Jason wouldn’t regret it. That he himself wouldn’t regret it. “I come with a lot, and it’s not good. I don’t want to put you in any danger.”

Jason snorted, and once again Danny scowled at him. “You mean more danger than I put myself in when I put on a helmet and go out each night kicking ass? I’m used to danger, kid. Don’t worry, I can handle myself.” Danny wanted to argue, say how this was a lot different. This was with an actual government branch funded by taxes and shit. He wanted to warn Jason, to make him see his way, but he didn’t want to tell everything. It was selfish, wasn’t it? He was going to have another person killed because he was arrogant, secretive, scared.

He guesses he will have to tell the man something though. “I’m not worth it, okay? It’s a lot of extra trouble that I can’t put you through. You don’t have to do this, really. I won’t be upset if you can’t take on more baggage.”

Jason was silent for a few seconds, and Danny was too nervous to look back up in fear that what he would see was something he never wanted to see. He didn’t want to see the pity, or the underlying disgusted look he would receive. He had already seen it too much, again would be too much, he couldn’t handle it right now, he didn’t want to.

“Listen to me Danny,” Jason said slowly, his serious but soft tone filling the otherwise silent room. “I’m not doing this because I feel like I have to, I want to. I really do care about you Danny, even if you’re a bit stubborn to realize that sometimes.” Jason teased a little, trying and succeeding in making Danny smile a bit, however small. The man may not be the best at feelings or talking in general, but he understood where Danny was coming from. Afterall, he’s felt it all before.

Danny finally looked at Jason once more, and he was taken back from what he saw. Jason’s eyes looked so genuine, and the smile seemed so kind, it reminded Danny of Jazz somebody he used to know. His eyes watered, and he lifted his hands to wipe at them furiously, he didn’t want to cry right now. Especially in front of Jason, he already had his meltdown of the day earlier. All of his inner thoughts and restraints didn’t help him though, as he broke as soon as Jason pulled him into a hug.

When was the last time he had been hugged, or touched in general without somebody meaning harm? It felt like forever ago, though a lot of his memories were buried so deep they began to feel like they never happened. This touch was warm, and it had a feeling of safety wrapping around him. His brain forced a memory of the last time his father hugged him. His long bulky arms and large stature easily held Danny too, making him feel safe and cared for. He felt an ache in his chest, and he sobbed, hugging Jason back, all of the longing he so desperately pushed down and pretended wasn’t there resurged with a newfound vengeance.

He wanted his a family. He wanted to go back to living in his a home. He wanted to be safe.

Danny knew he must have been filthy, as he’s been on the nasty streets for a week without a shower, and that his tears and snot must be covering the shoulder he buried his face into, but Jason held him regardless. Danny kept crying, and Jason never let go, allowing the poor boy to get it out of his system. He didn’t know what the younger boy went through, but he had a feeling that it was something nobody should ever have to go through, let alone a child. It hurt to see the boy sob uncontrollably, so broken and tired in his arms. He would take care of Danny, to hopefully help put back the pieces that were what made Danny. He knew that even if he did manage to help Danny, he would never be the same, as there would always be a few missing pieces that would have to be remade with something new. He would have to make sure that those new pieces were good.

Danny slowly quit crying, his loud unrestrained sobs dulling to a quiet sniffle as the man released his hold on the boy. Danny seemed so much smaller and tired now, more like a kid than Jason has ever seen him, and he frowned deeply at the sight.

“Can I get a shower?” Danny asked eventually, still swiping at his nose that refused to quit running. “I feel pretty gross right now.”

Jason chuckled a little, standing up and popping his back. “Yeah, you can get a shower. I think I might have some clothes that’ll fit you. Let me grab them for you and you can get a shower.”

Danny nodded, grimacing a bit when he looked at the wet spot on Jason’s shoulder. Jason noticed what he was looking at and peered down himself, turning his head back up to Danny with a shrug. “Don’t worry about it kid, I don’t care.”

Jason left after that, digging through several piles of old clothes he had made to donate to some charities, glad he hadn’t got rid of them yet. He pulled out a pair that he deemed reasonable enough that may or may not fit the teen and walked back to the counter where Danny was now awkwardly standing next to.

Jason threw the clothes, Danny clumsily catching them, clearly caught off guard by the lack of warning. “Here you go, hope they fit you well enough. Though I bet they’ll still be pretty big on a stick like you. I should probably get you some actual clothes and shit tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Danny echoed with surprise, not expecting for Jason to make plans so quickly like that. He hadn’t even said he was staying or not, which at this point, he already knew that answer for himself.

“Yep, unless you somehow have plans for tomorrow.” Jason said, shifting his weight on one leg as he crossed his arms. “Which I know you don’t so you better not argue with me, because I am getting you some damn clothing.”

Without knowing how to reply, part of him confused and the other part of him still disoriented from his earlier crying session, Danny only nodded his head. Jason, pleased with the answer, grinned. “Alright, glad that was so easily settled. The bathroom is just down that hall, the last door on the left. The towels and rags are in the closet, and you can use my soap and shit until we can get your own tomorrow.”

Again, Danny numbly nodded, already becoming more exhausted by the second to properly try to argue with Jason that all of this was unnecessary. That he didn’t need all these things for himself. That he was still planning to leave as soon as he could, or as soon as danger presented itself. After a few more seconds, Danny turned on his heels, slowly as to not unbalance and trip over his own feet, and walked to the bathroom.

He flipped on the lightswitch, placing the bundle of clothes on the sink counter. He shut the door and glanced up, taken back by his own appearance in the mirror that sat on the wall in front of him. His eyes seemed sunken in and dark, his cheeks more hollow then he remembered, his skin paler then when he last cared enough to look at. He looked worse for wear, actually, probably worse than that.

Reaching out a shaky hand he softly touched the mirror, as if he could feel the mere imposter of himself through the cold glass. He jerked his hand back and brought it to his actual face, tracing the light freckles that had become more prominent on his fading skin. His face felt sticky and his hands greasy, but he couldn’t stop himself from peeling back his lip and looking at his teeth. He noticed how the sharp points he loathed had grown, becoming that much more of an annoyance. He feared what they implied.

Resting his hand back to his side and facing away from the mirror he went to the closet and grabbed a very fluffy red towel from inside, with a matching red rag to match. There weren't many options to choose from, as all of them were red. Well, it did make sense, as the Red Hood did own them. Danny couldn’t help but smile a bit from thought, knowing he would probably use this to make fun of the man later.

Putting the towel on the sink next to the clothes, he breathed out heavily, refusing to look at his reflection again. He took the grime covered clothes off, putting them messily in a pile in a corner of the small bathroom. Sliding open the glass door, he slipped into the shower, shutting the door right back. He slowly turned on the faucet handle, though was immediately blasted with cold water anyways, causing him to flinch backwards before ducking under the freezing stream of water and closer to the wall with the handle. He adjusted the water until it was warm enough that he could stand under it without his breath being forced into his lungs but cool enough that his own internal body temperature wasn’t changed too much.

It turned out that being part ghost meant that he was more sensitive to drastic temperature changes. Although, it was odd that he appeared to be more resistant to heat than the cold, which did make more sense when he learned that his new normal body temperature was below that of a normal human. Being a halfa really did have its fair amount of mystery and struggle.

After sitting under the water for a few minutes, savoring the feeling of the constant water dripping soothingly onto his skin, he began to actually wash his body and his hair. As refreshing as it was to clean off all the collected dirt and grime off of him, he stepped out as soon as he felt like he had gotten it all off. He didn’t want to stay in the shower and use the water more than he had to, feeling like he would be wasting it at that point.

Using the towel to dry himself and his hair, he ran his hand through his hair, satisfied at how it felt fluffy once again, even with the dampness of it. Putting on the borrowed clothes, he did take notice of how they were about two sizes too big, causing him to have to tie the strings on the sweatpants as tight as they would go. The shirt, which was a deep blue, almost seemed to swallow him, reaching his knees. Maybe he would need clothes after all.

He wished he could have packed before he left.

It didn’t matter for right now though, as he hugged his small frame and snuggled into himself, smiling from how the air remained warm in the bathroom. He took a large inhale, his lungs becoming filled with the air as he had a wave of calmness pass over him. The smell of soap and lavender wafted into the hall as he eventually gathered himself to leave the comforts of the small bathroom. Walking back down the hall, he noticed that Jason was in one of the rooms to the right at the end of the short hallway.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he peaked in from the crack of the door, finding that Jason was currently setting blankets on a blown up air mattress. The same one he used when he stayed at the warehouse.

“You going to come in or stare creepily from the crack of the door?” Jason asked, glancing back for only a second before standing up back on his feet from where he was fixing the makeshift bed. Danny opened the door more, stepping slightly into the room, barely passing the threshold. “I know this isn’t really a bed, but I think it should be fine for now, until I can get you an actual mattress anyways. Sound good?”

“It’s more than enough. Thank you.” Danny said quietly, mumbling the last part as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was never good at knowing what to do or say when others did something nice for him. It was almost overwhelming at times, and with him so tired right now it wasn’t helping.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just get some sleep. You look like you’ll fall over dead any second.” Jason joked, and Danny grinned from the small inside joke that the man didn’t know he just made. It was something that Sam and Tucker joked about all the time.

“Okay, Mister ‘I stay up all night fighting crime with a red bucket’.” Danny teased back, going to the blow up mattress and flopping unceremoniously on it. He lazily lifted one hand and waved dismissively. “Make sure you turn off the light when you leave.”

“Seems like somebody is becoming comfortable already.” Jason playfully jabbed, walking to the door before turning around, placing a hand on the light switch. He hesitated for a second, making Danny somewhat worried about what he may say, before the man made up his mind and spoke. “Goodnight brat, get some fucking sleep so you’ll be ready for the shopping trip tomorrow.”

Oh yeah, Jason was dragging him shopping the next day, Danny was a little anxious about that. He tried not to show it as he titled his head to look at Jason. “Goodnight old man.”

There was a small offended scoff before the light was off. “I am not old.” Jason gruffly huffed, and before Danny could come up with a smart retort to that the man shut the door. A small laugh, which was more of a huff of air than anything escaped Danny and he pulled the covers over him the rest of the way. He curled into the bundle of blankets and wrapped his arms around himself, soon becoming comfortable.

He had missed sleeping on something other than whatever random abandoned spot he could find, usually being the dirty floor of some collapsing building. He was warm and safe and for the moment everything really did feel like it would be okay. He wanted to stay like this forever, but he knew he couldn’t, so he may as well enjoy it now.

Danny slept the best he had in weeks that night, without the fear of somebody finding him for once. Jason let him sleep for however long the poor teen wanted, as he knew how exhausted the other must have been. Life on the streets was not easy, even for somebody with superpowers. He wished he could have done something sooner, took the teen with him instead of letting him go into the dark streets of Gotham. Maybe he should have, but he couldn’t go back and change it, so he would only have to help Danny however he can now. Starting with getting the boy some clothing that fits and other essentials. It was all he knew what to do at that moment, as he’s never taken care of another person before, let alone a teenager. He didn’t even know if he was responsible and old enough to take care of a kid, as he still had plenty of problems himself.

This would be a learning process indeed, hopefully Danny was willing to learn along with him.

Jason was sitting in the living room at the moment, trying to read a book, but was struggling as thoughts plagued his mind. He put the book down when he heard the door creak open, watching Danny slowly creep into the living room rubbing his eyes. Jason never thought about Danny’s eyes too much, but a quick fleeting thought about how he was taking after the old man and his habit of adopting children with black hair and blue eyes. He mentally chased that thought away, not wanting to be compared to Bruce in any way.

“Good morning walking zombie, what do you want for breakfast?” Jason asked, noticing how Danny stopped midway of a yawn and lazily looked at Jason.

“Obviously brains if I’m a zombie.” Danny responded, watching Jason as he headed towards the kitchen.

“Har har, very funny brat.” He said, playfully nudging the teen’s shoulder as he passed. “So, do eggs and toast sound good?”

“Do I have to eat toast?” Danny asked, somewhat quietly, becoming shy once more.

“Nah I’m just going to shove it down your throat.” Jason answered sarcastically, before softening his features. “Of course you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to. I’m not going to force you to do anything. How about an egg and a bowl oatmeal? That sound better?”

Danny hummed with a nod of his head, and Jason began getting the oats out along with a pan. It took around half an hour but soon breakfast was done and they were both sitting back down at the counter eating. Danny mumbled another appreciative word before eating his own food, shoving it into his mouth much slower than he did the night before.

As they sat there in comfortable silence, Jason believed that he could probably get used to this. It wasn’t bad, having somebody else in his apartment. He realized he liked having Danny around, that he truly got attached to the kid those weeks ago, which he had already figured out way earlier.

After breakfast Jason got dressed into his usual civilian clothes, consisting of a t-shirt with a leather jacket thrown over top, jeans, and combat boots. Danny couldn’t change and instead went out like he was, not minding the oversized clothes as he had been wearing them for most of the time he was on the streets, having kept the man’s clothes then. He only hoped that nobody he had talked to during that time would recognize him, as they would probably question why he was tailing behind Jason. Which he doubted anybody would, as he hardly talked at all during his time on the streets alone.

Jason ended up dragging Danny through a multitude of stores, allowing Danny to pick out whatever he liked. When the man realized that the teen was having trouble even looking at the clothing, Jason had begun picking some out and telling Danny to not worry about the price and just how much he liked it. When Danny tried to argue, Jason quickly brought up how he was well off, being a crime lord and all. That seemed to work as the teen had started picking out clothing after that, trying out a lot of it and showing it off to Jason who put his own input.

It soon spiraled into more of a dress-up game where Jason would make an outfit for Danny to wear. Then the teen would walk out like in the pageants and both of them would rate the outfit out of ten. It resulted in quite a few laughs from the more ridiculous outfits and some new clothes for Danny to wear. Which was a win-win in Jason’s book.

After gathering several bags of clothes they grabbed the rest of what Danny would need for the time he was going to stay with Jason. Danny once again tried to argue, to tell the man that he wasn’t planning on being around for long, but Jason was quick to silence all of the boy’s worries. In the end they got Danny his own soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb for his wild hair, and other things he needed. They took it back and sorted the items out, putting the clothes in Danny’s closet in his new room. When Danny heard that he was going to have his own room, he almost cried again, but stopped himself before he could, holding back his emotions tears.

Done dealing with all of that, it was close to lunchtime, Jason deciding that he would take Danny to a diner for lunch instead of staying home. He ended up bringing him to one of his favorite diners, a small old style restaurant with the red booths and round tables. He didn’t expect Danny to stand at the door and look around with a glaze of something unidentifiable in his eyes, which seemed to be quickly turning into tears.

Jason immediately tried to ask what was wrong but then Danny shook his head and gave the man a watery smile, reassuring that he would be fine. The man didn’t know what could have caused the reaction, but he didn’t press any further and instead guided the teen to a table for the two.

Being a regular at the diner, the waitress walked up with a friendly smile, asking how Jason was doing before realizing he didn’t come alone.

“Aw! Who’s this cute kiddy?” The girl, Amy, asked, grinning and cooed a bit when Danny bashfully tried to cover his reddening face.

Jason laughed and Danny had glared at the man through his hands, causing more laughter. “Meet Danny, he’s staying with me.” He explained, taking the single menu the girl had grabbed, laying it in front of Danny as he already knew what he wanted. “Don’t be fooled by his shy act, he’s actually pretty snarky when you get to know him.”

“This kid? Snarky? He looks too adorable to be mean.” Amy continued to tease, before straightening up, holding out her notepad and pen. “So, what would you two gentlemen like to drink?”

“I’ll just take a sweet tea, without the lemon.” Jason easily ordered, the girl nodding as she wrote it down.

Amy turned her attention back to Danny, smiling more gently. “And what about you kiddo?”

Danny finally mustered up the courage to look the waitress in the eye. “I’d also like a sweet tea, though I would like a lemon with. Please.” Danny added the last part hurriedly, going back to glaring at the menu on the table with rising embarrassment.

Amy giggled a bit, before waving at Jason and leaving to go get their drinks. When she came back Jason and Danny ordered their food. Both of them enjoyed the greasy food with laughs and easy conversation. Jason was pleased to see how much Danny was beginning to open up and be himself around him, even if he was still wary around others. It was a step forward.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door jingle, which wasn’t anything unusual as people walked in and out quite regularly from the diner, but Danny had stopped mid sentence and perked up. He twisted his head with a surprising amount of speed to the door, which was a few tables behind him, and Jason followed his movement. Jason was surprised to see Dick and Tim there, the older of the two looking around while the younger one scrolled aimlessly on his phone.

Jason groaned and slid in his seat, a hand over his face. Why were they here? Actually, the more important question. Why the hell did Danny act like that? He didn’t do that for everybody else who entered and left, but as soon as Dick and Tim did he turned around like he knew they were coming. The teen could apparently sense others from Duke’s report, so maybe he had recognized one of their auras or some shit? Dick hadn’t been in Gotham for a while though, so that must mean he had already met Tim, and he had a feeling that it wasn’t when the teen was in his civilian clothes.

Great, now he had to try and explain to the bats that the superhuman teen they were tracking knows their identities and also try to make sure Danny doesn’t run away simultaneously.

Dick spotted Jason and called out the man, making said man slink further into his seat while rubbing his face. Just as soon as he thought his outing with Danny was going so well too. The teen looked like he was about to bounce any second, watching Tim with rapt attention, like the teen was going to pounce at him at any moment. Jason wondered if Tim already did, because if so, he was going to kick his ass.

“Jaybird, I knew you would be here-” He cut himself off as he finally saw the other boy sitting with him, who was on the edge of his seat still watching Tim. Tim was now also staring at Danny with wide eyes, seeming to already recognize the teen. Jason narrowed his eyes at Tim, becoming suspicious of how much he already knew. Did he somehow slip up and didn’t catch Tim following him around again? He was for sure going to kick the teen’s ass, no matter how much Dick would try to hold him back.

“Oh, who’s this?” Dick said, slipping a charming smile directed to Danny. Danny didn’t respond though, still in an intense staring match with Tim. The air grew awkward as the two others sat there like outsiders to whatever was happening between the two teens.

Jason cleared his throat, Dick’s attention going to him. “This is Danny.” His eyes flickered to Tim, watching as Tim tried not to flinch. “He’s going to be staying with me.”

Dick, not oblivious to the tension hanging between the three others, nodded before stepping back. “Well, we’ll get out of your hair now. Just wanted to let you know that Alfred is expecting you this weekend for supper, and he said that he already made preparations for another person, I guess this is him?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if he’ll want to come though.” Jason answered even though he knew he never told Alfred about Danny, still glaring at Tim who was shuffling uncomfortably from the two pairs of eyes on him.

Dick only nodded, not wanting to address what was going on in fear it would cause a fight of some sort. “I’ll make sure to tell Alfred that.” With that Dick left, dragging Tim with him, who scurried right behind not wanting to be in the diner any longer.

As soon as they left Danny’s head whipped around to Jason, a disbelieving look on his face. “You’re related to Red Robin?” He said harshly in a whispered tone, and Jason groaned again, knowing he had a lot to explain now. On both parties. This should be fun.

[spicysix]

「eddie munson X gn!reader • roadtrip!AU」

2.1k words | prev | next | masterlist | ao3 warnings/author's note: there's a fair in this chapter. i have no idea how fairs work, fwi. also, the fair already existed but we don't know how it went in 1986. i based the (barely mentioned) atractions off the ones on the fair's official website. google is my best friend ♡ also: i was supposed to update only at tuesdays but i might... change that 👀 cause i'm too anxious. anyway this one came earlier bc first chapter had basically no plot moving at all so here's a treat! ♡

Wednesday, July 23

Eddie Munson was not an easy one to convince, that you had found out.

He tried pulling your bag out of his van, he tried pushing you back into your trailer, he tried being mean and rude and grumpy. But he just didn’t know how persistent — your grandma would call it ‘stubborn’ — you were.

So after some more bickering, there you were at the right window seat of his van, that damp sticky wind of summer in your face as Indiana passed you by.

He asked about a hundred times if you were sure you wanted to come, said you had no idea what you were getting into, and didn’t go into detail at any point but really tried to scare you away. Stopped asking once you passed the ‘Leaving Hawkins’ sign and you still showed no signs of changing your mind.

There were two bags, his beloved guitar and a fucking mattress in the back of the van. The back of the van, by the way, that you knew that up until March still had at least one or two rows of benches, but was now bare to open up space for said mattress. Did Eddie really think you had no idea what he was up to? Did Eddie really think it looked like he was just going for a ride to Main Street’s Melvald’s? Did Eddie really think he could disguise the fact that he was fleeing town?

Not like you were going to judge him, if that was his fear. Hawkins was already unkind to him before framing him for murder, but after the whole Vecna thing and Jason Carver’s witch hunt, it was even harder for him to be treated like anything but a rabid contagious animal. In your opinion, he was rightful by wanting to leave behind a place that harmed him in so many ways.

But you also knew that Hawkins wasn’t the only one to treat Eddie unfairly. You knew he did it himself too.

And yet, there you were with him, fleeing town, in the most unprompted — your grandma would call it ‘reckless’ — adventure of your life. Running away with Eddie Munson, a guy you knew barely anything about, only because the thought of him running away alone was too heavy for you to bear.

The ride after the ‘Leaving Hawkins’ sign was completely silent if not for a tape he had on, but it was set to a very low volume — uncommon of him if the trailer neighbors’ complaints were to say something. He said nothing about where you were going, if he even knew where you were going. It was around four PM when you recognized the outskirts of a city you had seen only once, many years ago.

“Are we in Chicago?” you asked, and he hummed.

“Not to stay, though. Wanna go further. Gonna stop at a gas station.” He was like a savage man talking in few words, his face still contorted in a grimace. Obviously still unpleased you joined him.

You just gave your okay — not like he needed it — and looked through your window as you left Chicago behind before he stopped at a gas station right outside the metropolitan area. You checked the panel, tank was full.

“Gonna buy some stuff, you going?” Eddie asked, and you just left the van as an answer.

He went inside the convenience store, but you clocked in a payphone and went straight to it, searching for dimes in the front pocket of your bag. Luckily, you had the Mayfield’s number memorized, and it wasn’t long before your friend’s voice greeted you.

“Mayfield’s, this is Steve Harrington talking.”

“Steve! It’s me! Listen, I had an… occurrence.”

“Oh hey,” he said your name in recognition. “What do you mean? You sound suspicious.”

“I may or may not have fled the city with Eddie.”

“Is this a prank?”

“You wish. I was just leaving Max when I saw him loading up his van, and I just felt it in my gut that he was running away. And, I dunno, my conscience told me to come with.”

“So you… ran away with Munson, is that what I’m hearing? Are you even close friends?”

“Yep, that’s what you’re hearing. And nope, we’re not close at all. I just couldn’t let him come alone.”

“What the fuck, where are you even going?” He was distressed, and you heard Max’s ironic ‘language’ in the background before he shushed her.

“I don’t know, Steve. But we trust him, right. Nothing bad’s gonna happen, but what if he had left alone and we just didn’t know where he was going? I don’t think he told anyone, maybe you should check? He’s kinda pissed that I tagged along, but I’ll win him over in no time.”

“Sure you will.” You ignored him, not sure if he was being sarcastic or genuine.

“Dustin’s heart would’ve broke if Eddie just ran off without saying. At least I can tell you guys where we are. Promise to send you news!”

“Yeah, you damn better! Jesus, you’re completely insane. Listen-”

“Oh, Steve, gotta go, he’s coming back, I’ll keep you updated, bye!” You gave him no time to answer before hooking the phone back as Eddie walked in your direction, not sparing you a glance and checking something on the receipt as he spoke:

“Got some food, drinks ‘n stuff. Let’s go,”

He also didn’t wait for your answer before returning to the van, and you just went after him. He tossed the plastic bags on the bench between you, and you pried on the goods. There was a full US roads map, some chips, protein bars, chocolate treats, a few cans of soda. And two postcards of Chicago. You took them out of the bags and inspected them carefully.

“Mine’s for Wayne. You can do whatever with the other one.” His voice was still gruff with annoyance, but he looked at you from the corners of his eyes and you thought you’d seen a sparkle there.

You smiled to yourself. You’d win him over in no time.

── ⇌ • ○ • ⇋ ──

Sun was starting to set as you crossed the Mississippi River from Rock Island, Illinois, to Davenport, Iowa. Eddie kept going further and further until you were almost leaving the city, and something caught your eye.

“Look!” You pointed at the commotion on his side of the road, drawing his attention.

“A fair,” he observed, and the van was suddenly going slower.

“Think we should go?” He huffed at your question but didn’t deny you. Didn’t say anything for a while. You thought that was a clear no, but after a few more minutes of driving around you realized he was parking the van near other RVs and some camping tents.

“As good as any,” he mumbled before getting out. You got your bag and left the van as well. “Gonna pay for the camping, you can go get us tickets.”

You just nodded and found your way to the fair entrance, a nice arch-type building with the words ‘Mississippi Valley Fair’ and people taking pictures in front of it. It was a big deal, apparently. You had only gone to a fair once, many years ago, and didn’t remember much because you were too young. But all the lights, noise, talking, and laughter were riling you up. And you were thankful Eddie listened to your suggestion.

Tickets paid for, you waited just a few more minutes before Eddie showed up. You handed over his ticket and he nodded in gratitude before the two of you headed in.

There were a lot of people. The place seemed to be constructed specifically to host the fair, and the mixed accents around you confirmed the thought that it was a big deal, people from other cities and states coming to see it in person. A few signs and ads were pointing at specific places, areas and attractions, and you were overwhelmed in the best of ways.

“Where do we even start?” you asked Eddie and he shrugged.

“Bathroom.” And, again, didn’t wait for you before following a sign pointing at a restrooms area. You rolled your eyes, but there was no real irritation behind it.

He was like a feral kitten. You had to go in carefully, understand why he was so wary, make him trust you. You were willing to be patient.

So you followed him to the restrooms area with a joyful skip on your walk.

── ⇌ • ○ • ⇋ ──

Eddie was actually much more fun than he led on initially.

He paid for your hot dogs, yelled loudly in the Viking boat and elbowed you until you threw your arms up with him. Didn’t give you a single second of peace on the bumper cars. Made your belly hurt from so much laughter. At the small zoo, he gave the goats some grass to eat, and mimicked their baaa’s for the children watching to giggle at. You won him a goat plushie at one of the games and he looked proud and actually grateful.

It wasn’t all at once, of course. He opened up to you — slowly, but he did it. You won him over, and by the fireworks show at the end of the fair, his shoulder was pressed to yours in the middle of the bustling crowd and you could feel the tip of his pinky grazing over the tip of your pinky.

It was so easy to simply let go into this headspace where you forgot what you were doing, forgot where you were going, forgot that you were running. You went back to the camping grounds side by side, popsicles in hands, hairs damp with sweat and the moon bright over your heads. But you still felt it — in yourself and exhaling from Eddie in cold waves —, that it was coming to an end, that you were slipping back into the bittersweet reality of things, that you were remembering.

“Wake time tomorrow?” you asked as Eddie opened the van’s back doors and searched for something in one of his bags. He looked at his wristwatch — probably your alarm clock for the next day — before answering.

“Uh… eight? Wanna leave around nine.”

“Okay. You know where we’re headed next?” He eyed you from over his shoulder before shaking his head in a negative answer.

“Wait a second.” He went inside and closed the doors, and you looked around at the people leaving or making up their own camps. He didn’t take long, and soon opened the doors, changed into more comfortable clothes. Behind him, the bags and guitar case were tucked neatly by the side wall of the van, and the mattress had sheets on and two pillows. “You can go in and change, knock on the door once you’re ready.”

You nodded and went inside, quickly changing into something comfortable to sleep in after using some wet wipes under your arms, on your neck, chest and feet. You should’ve asked Eddie if he wanted some too. There was no way you’d be skipping a shower the next day.

You knocked on the door and were surprised that Eddie came in through the front door instead of the back one, grabbing one of the pillows on the mattress and getting himself ready to sleep on the front bench. You showed him the wipes, but he denied them with a quiet thanks before punching his pillow in and lying down. You couldn’t see him anymore. The goat plushie was on top of the dashboard, facing and looking through the windshield, a silent safeguard.

Lying down as well and grabbing the sheet neatly folded by the edge of the mattress, you covered yourself and sighed. It took a while until you were feeling sleepy, some lights outside still on — and the moon was very bright.

“Are you sure you’re still up for this? I could get you back, we’re not that far,” he practically whispered after a while, and you wouldn’t have listened if you weren’t so quiet yourself.

“We’re far away enough, Eddie. And I’m very sure,” you promised, and silence reigned again.

You stared at the back of the front bench for a while until you noticed Eddie’s breathing slow down and go steady and deep, showing that he had fallen asleep. Only then you closed your eyes, smell of popcorn still strong under your nose, and drifted off to sleep. Dreams of a Ferris wheel, you, a mop of wavy hair beside you and Metallica blasting somewhere in the distance.

taglist (is open!): @amira0303 @rupsmorge

[miscmonstro]

The Uno Reverse Adoption Saga 5

First: Chapter 1

Previous: Chapter 4

Next: Chapter 6

Halfa!Trio Au crossover with Batman

Current Characters: Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton, Jason Todd (brief), Scarecrow

Summary: Forced to attend a gala by her parents as she is every year, Sam Manson was resigned to suffer through the stifling three-night gala until something pulled at her core. The something turned out to be a someone. Just who is Jason Todd and can the trio gain enough of his trust to help him before his struggling proto-core collapses?

👻 {Chapter 5 Below!)

Danny crept forward, thermos in hand. Sam flung out a mental arm and he stopped as though there were something physically holding him back.

“He can’t just disappear off the roof, we need a plan to distract everyone first,” Sam said. 

Sheepishly, Danny clipped the thermos to the waist of his suit. “I didn’t even think about that.”

It made everything much, much more complicated. 

“Is the hostage ok?” Danny asked instead, eyeing the incoming heroes. There were two of them and as they slowed their approach it seemed they were talking to the two who had already been at the wall of vapor. That made a tally of four. 

Sam corrected, “Hostages, plural. And there were at least seven crashers.”

“There are four back there,” Tucker observed, noting a flat section surrounded by the telltale yellow tinged haze, “and one hostage.”

Danny, however, peered closer at the heroes. They were still a good distance away and if it weren’t for their night vision, he wouldn’t have been able to discern them. One of the heroes was the Batman himself, looking quite disgruntled. The shorter figure by his side couldn’t be anyone besides the boy wonder, Robin. On Batman’s other side was, surprisingly, Nightwing. The fourth person, Tucker informed them, was Orphan.

“It looks like they have masks. Why not go through the gas?” he wondered, staring at the heroes. 

Tucker turned it over for a moment and Sam scoffed. “It’s obviously the hostages. They can’t get any further or the goons will gas them.”

“Wait,” Tucker said abruptly. “The manor didn’t have anyone in it. Anyone that wasn’t already gassed- no paramedics and whatnot. You don’t think…”

There were specific situations in which paramedics wouldn’t wade into a mess to help people, and considering everyone had masks and that the inside was free of any other danger… 

“They’ve taken the entire manor and everyone in it hostage,” Danny realized with horror. The paramedics wouldn’t go in because they couldn’t without warranting retaliation from the crashers.

“And I’m going to bet, from the match that ghost is waving around, that the gas is flammable,” Sam added dryly. “Great.” 

Tucker warily shared the ratios of power running through the Wayne property; if the building caught fire, even without the gas, it’d burn down quicker than a building of its size ought to. And with the gas? He wouldn’t be surprised if the manor went sky high.  

Sam decided she was going to steal that idea for later, a faded overlay of Vlad’s mansion eclipsing Wayne Manor for a moment. 

“Could we revisit plan a? Think I could overshadow that ghost?” Danny wondered, eyeing the being in question, though silently he did agree with Sam’s mental picture. He studied their opponent. The ghost was, visibly, reminiscent of a living scarecrow. Danny was sure they could take him.

“We have to be very careful here,” Tucker thought. “I think we should find the three missing goons first.” 

He thought about TV shows and how the villain always had a backup plan. If the ghost was working with the humans, who didn’t seem to be under any ghostly influences, then they couldn’t assume that taking out the ghost would resolve everything.

Even after years of knowing him, Sam found Tucker’s ability to connect anything to electronics and pop culture oddly engrossing, but she pushed that thought aside to focus on the problem at hand. She had seen two of the goons earlier, during her scan of the mansion, however both were alone and had been stationary. With no hostages and no reason to confront them she’d flown past, still searching for the ghost.

“I can go back and knock them out,” she offered, perhaps a tad too eager, after sharing the information.

With simultaneous agreement from the boys she dove through the roof, and a moment later Danny followed, intending to find the missing crasher. Tucker proceeded toward the four crashers on the roof, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the details of the scene. He poked at the other two.

“Uh. Guys? Another problem.”

“Ancients, what now?” Danny groaned as he phased through a wall.

“The hostage up here is Tim Wayne.”

Sam sighed, instantly picking up on the newfound issue. “And that means Jason is on the roof or nearby and unaccounted for. Great.”

Danny nonverbally requested Tucker to keep an eye out for the young ghost and he agreed before gently nudging back, reminding Danny to focus. He then looked back to the goons and their unfortunate victim.

Ghosts were, by nature, beings of emotion. As such, they were in tune to it. The mansion reeked of fear, and now that none of them were stuck experiencing it, it wasn’t bad at all. Still, fear was a reasonable human reaction to the situation at hand, and so when Tucker pushed his celebrity awe aside and realized that Tim Wayne did not feel any fear in his current predicament, he was puzzled. 

At most, the young CEO felt slightly nervous, not fearful.

Tucker’s eyes narrowed. It was something he’d have to revisit later. Right now he needed to find out if there was some way that the crashers were communicating with one another and if he could use that to locate the last one. At first glance the crashers didn’t have much, just their spraying devices, the attached tanks, and a gun each, but upon further inspection they had comms as well. They rested on the insides of their masks and disappeared into their shirts.

“Bingo,” Tucker grinned. He reached out, spectral fingers brushing the edge of a wire poking out from the bottom of the crasher’s mask, and followed the frequency it was attuned to.

“And… gottem’,” he said smugly, sharing the general locations of the other comms, and in all likelihood, the other crashers. It was best described as knowing where your hand was in utter pitch black; you knew it was there, even if you couldn’t see it. Sam tapped at the two that she recognized and Danny changed course to head towards the remaining crasher, who was tucked into a dusty attic just below the roof. The last crasher had a visible weapon holster, a tank strapped to her back, and a device of some kind in hand. Unlike the other two, she wasn’t alone. Petrified, just like the majority of the victims within the mansion, were four more hostages. Although they weren’t bound in any way it was clear they would be unable to escape in their current state. 

And then Danny felt it. 

A tug at his core.

“Oh,” he thought breathlessly. It was one thing to feel the pull secondhand and another to feel it for yourself. 

If Tucker sharing the general locations of the comms was akin to knowing your body, then feeling who could only be Jason was like walking into a dark room illuminated solely by a spotlight shining on the man in question- it was impossible to not know where he was.  

And he was there, in that attic somewhere. 

Danny launched himself at the crasher and with one solid swing, sent the woman sprawling to the ground. With her out of the way he was free to follow the slight pull that was growing in strength. He intended to do so but didn’t need to as the moment the woman hit the floor a figure stepped out from behind one of the stacks of old boxes.

“Jason, I presume,” Danny said, switching to the human spectrum. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Jason asked, cocking a gun. 

“I’m Phantom. Manes mentioned you, so I thought I’d lend a hand,” Danny introduced while motioning to the unconscious goon.

“I had it handled.”  With a scowl Jason slowly lowered the gun and glared at Danny, eyes full of scrutinizing mistrust.

Despite that Danny felt himself grinning, almost against his will. Jason was here, safe and in front of him, and while his little core was struggling Danny knew he generated enough ectoplasm to easily patch up the cracks he could sense even from six feet away. 

“Danny,” Sam said sharply at Tucker’s recoil, “no. I can feel your bad decision from here.” 

“Please don’t kidnap a child without consent. Don’t be like Vlad,” Tucker helpfully supplied.

He blinked owlishly. Then the implications of what he wanted to do, of giving Jason’s proto-core his ectoplasm washed over him and Danny backpedaled, physically and mentally. 

“I’m not kidnapping you,” he blurted. 

Sam snorted. “Kidnapping, by definition, lacks consent.”

“What?” Jason questioned, taken aback.

“I mean,” fumbled Danny, “it’s not like I’m a billionaire with a adoption problem?” 

Jason opened and closed his mouth once, then twice, then shut his jaw with an audible click.

Tucker, the traitor, just laughed at him. 

“He probably thinks you were talking about his dad!” he wheezed.

Even Sam chuckled. “Brucie Wayne has an adoption problem. Danny. Jason was adopted.”

“Oh Ancients, you’re adopted?” Danny asked, mortified. “I was talking about someone else, I swear.” 

“You might fit the bill, maybe-billionaire Mr. King,” Tucker said gleefully, sending the impression of a wink. They didn’t know exactly how much of Pariah Dark’s horde had become Danny’s when he’d bested the tyrant, but it was more than enough to fill several rooms of the old king’s lair. 

“I’m not Vlad,” Danny muttered crossly, swatting Tucker’s presence. Besides, what was ghost wealth in the living world?

Jason cleared his throat. “So, what are you planning to do?” he questioned haltingly. He spared an obvious glance at the prone crasher. 

Danny flipped back into hero mode so quickly it would’ve given most people whiplash. “Status?” he thought, followed by a memory list of important items they’d been keeping track of since the mission started: the gas, the hostages, the ghost, the other heroes.

“The stragglers are out,” Sam reported, feeling quite pleased with herself.

“I can’t take out the four here and free the Wayne without the ghost noticing,” Tucker observed. “So we either need to get rid of the gas or take out the ghost, but Batman and co have eyes on him…”

“We’re going to save the hostage on the roof,” Danny said, both to the other halfas and to Jason. “I can distract the scarecrow and Manes can grab the dude.” 

“The gas is flammable,” Jason said harshly, confirming their suspicion. “There are dozens of people who are going to be burned alive if you fuck up-”

“We took out the three inside and the last four are on the roof. We know what we’re doing,” Danny defended. The skeptic criticism of the abilities of team Phantom was constant and yet he still felt oddly ruffled by Jason’s doubt. 

“And the remote charges?” Jason demanded.

“The what now?” Sam demanded, followed by a mental meme full of question marks from Tucker. 

“Uhhhh. Um, no,” Danny admitted sheepishly. “But we can get right on that!” 

Thunder rumbled, rattling the lone circular window nearby, and Jason’s scowl deepened. “Leave it to the bats. They know what they’re doing,” he said, though it seemed to be with a good deal of reluctance.

The thunder gave Sam pause.

“You mean the bats that have been standing and staring at the wall of gas for the past six minutes?” Danny snarked. “Real productive.”

Jason scoffed. “They’re trained for this kid, and the Scarecrow is a menace. Don’t throw your ass into the line of fire when you don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of making it out alive.”

“Firstly, rude, I can totally handle myself,” Danny said, raising a finger for emphasis. Sam shared a memory from a few days ago of him tripping up the stairs to his room. Danny, like the mature teen he was, nonphysically jabbed her side. “Secondly,” he raised a second finger, “I’m a ghost. As in, not alive. They can’t exactly kill me a second time.” 

“Not to mention hell has a good amount of snow…” Tucker snorted.

Jason didn’t seem to know how to react to that. Something sobering seemed to settle over him, something bitter and resigned and agitated. “Being a hero isn’t fun,” he warned. “It’s not a game.”

Oh. He thought the Phantoms were newbies. With an over exaggerated eye roll Danny replied, “I’m well aware, believe me. This isn’t my first rodeo. But if it bothers you that much we’ll just clear a path for Batman and his team and leave the rest to them.”

The rest being the cleanup, which they wouldn’t have been able to handle without compromising themselves anyway given the sheer amount of people around.

Jason, still brimming with misgivings, questioned pointedly, “What can two kids do that the bats can’t?” 

Danny’s answering grin was sharp.

👻 {Boo!)

They were nerds.

It wasn’t easy for the other students of Casper High to see- since their freshmen year the trio’s grades had taken a nosedive following the accident. But before that they had been excellent students, and not due to any particular intent. They were smart, granted in different ways, and it showed in times like this where all the little bits of seemingly pointless information came together and culminated in something truly irreplicable.   

“Tuck sends a heat blast upwards, Danny sends a cold wave downwards, and bam. Instant rain. It should wash away the gas,” Sam explained. “It’s already pretty close to storming so we shouldn’t have to do much.”

“Huh?” the boys chorused intelligently. 

Sam slammed a diagram depicting the water cycle into their heads. It didn’t really help.

“Ow,” Tucker complained. 

Consolingly, Danny gave Tucker a mental pat.

“Ok,” Danny said to Sam, “that works for Tuck but wouldn’t I just, like, freeze the clouds? I mean, dropping frozen clouds doesn’t seem like a bad idea but clouds are big and there are a lot of bystanders.”

“Storm clouds can also be several miles tall,” Sam informed him dryly, “but somehow I doubt that would be a problem for you.”

“Wait Danny, do you still have the Spectorly Splatterer Ectoplasmic Energy Disperser?” Tucker asked.

“Er, this?” Danny responded, pulling up the Fenton device he’d strapped to his side before they’d left for the Zone. “What could I-“

Tucker supplied a memory of the elder Fentons talking about turning ghosts into an ectoplasm spray so fine they’d be unable to reform and the corresponding invention. Not that it worked- ghosts could reform so long as their core was unaffected, and while the Spectorly Splatterer was adept at obliterating a ghost’s form it was unable to harm a core.

“Shoot ice at the Spectorly Splatterer and it should be able to disperse the blast, right?”

“Ah,” Danny hummed in understanding.

Sam made an unhappy noise. “We are not calling it that.”

“SSEED sounds cool,” Danny offered as he fiddled with the output on the device.

“That’s just hiding the repulsive name behind an acronym,” she grumbled, though she accepted it a moment later. 

“Yeah,” Tucker agreed. “Spectorly Splatterer is way cooler than seeds.”

“It’s SSEED you-“

“Annnnd done,” Danny announced. “I’ve turned the output range up as high as it can go. Are we ready?” 

“Do you need me to come with you?” Sam enquired. It would probably be difficult to hold the SSEED and shoot at it at the same time, not to mention Danny was really, really bad at telekinesis.

“Nah, you get to the roof and find an opening to nab the ghost,” Danny said. Lurking beneath his statement was the confidence that he could make a copy last long enough to do the job.

The three split up from where they’d remerged on the roof. Sam got as close to the ghost as she dared while Tucker and Danny flew into the sky, but where Tucker stopped and hovered just below the clouds Danny shot into them, heading high up into the atmosphere. 

“Ready?“ Danny asked when he got above the stormy clouds. He made a copy of himself and handed it the SSEED. With a nod the copy flew upwards and held the device down at an angle. Danny charged up an ice beam and Tucker started heating up the air around himself.

“Of course,” he said. 

While the boys started manufacturing the weather they needed the bats had finally started to move. Orphan and Robin retreated and Batman and Nightwing stepped up, closer to the dangerous fumes. 

“Are you going to see reason Batman?” the ghost called with a grin that revealed his distorted teeth. “Fear is what drives you, fear is what controls you, controls all of us!”

“Enough Scarecrow,” Batman growled, actually growled. Sam was not expecting him to sound so gravely, though perhaps it was due to a throat injury. 

“We’re here to negotiate your demands,” Nightwing stepped in. He was nervous, though nothing physically betrayed that. 

“There will be no negotiation!” seethed the scarecrow ghost, holding up the lighter. “I-“

“Got it!” Danny grinned in their mind as thunder roared above them. A mere moment later rain began to fall in torrents. 

“No!” the ghost screamed. “But I still have a backup!” The four crashers trained their weapons on Tim Wayne. 

“Timmy here doesn’t really need his brain, does he?” Scarecrow taunted, though frustration bled into his words. “I also have four unlucky captives hidden inside the manor. One word from me and they’re lost, slaughtered like hopeless, frightened little animals.”

He then dug around his burlap getup and pulled out a rectangular device. “The rain certainly puts a damper on things!  But I am more than prepared. How much of the mansion do you think will burn before the rain puts it out?”

Sam knew it was risky but she couldn’t let him do that. She circled him and launched herself at him, telekinetically shoving at the remote and knocking it out of his grasp as she kicked out his legs, making him squawk and flail on the slick tiles. 

Suddenly, two of the crashers attacked the other two and seeing this as an opening, Batman and Nightwing rushed forward to secure the Scarecrow and help the hostage, who had scuttled away as his captors had begun fighting amongst themselves. They didn’t know it, but yellow and green were not the natural eye colors of the two goon traitors. Even if they had, the masks obscured the goon’s faces quite well.

Sam silently thanked the other two phantoms and uncapped the thermos as Batman swung at the ghost and was more than surprised when the blow landed. The two began to struggle, though it was clear Batman had the upper hand.

Unneeded as Nightwing was more than capable of finishing off the two disoriented crashers, Danny and Tucker floated over to her, eying the fight warily. 

“How are we supposed to separate them?” Danny wondered and winced as Batman delivered a particularly severe blow to the scarecrow’s skull. 

“I don’t think he’s a ghost,” Tucker piped up randomly.

Sam and Danny shared in their confusion.

“He’s ghost-like at least,” Tucker conceded, “maybe liminal, but he can’t be a ghost. Otherwise this,” he motioned to everything around them with a broad gesture, “wouldn’t be happening.”

Sam, to be contrary, leveled the thermos at the grappling duo and pushed the button.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, she lowered the thermos in quiet disbelief, thinking everything over. Tucker smacked his head.

“It was Jason,” he realized. “He set off your ghost sense before, right Sam?”

“… that makes sense…” she grudgingly admitted.

“But he looks so ghostly,” Danny whined. “It was an honest mistake.” 

“That means we could’ve just overshadowed him from the beginning!” Tucker huffed. 

They watched for another minute as the crashers and the not-a-ghost scarecrow were apprehended by the heroes.

“Well, I think we’re done here,” Danny groused, making a show of dusting his hands. 

“All in a night’s work,” grinned Tucker.

Sam rolled her eyes and despite the dark clouds blotting out the light above them, everything seemed to be brighter. 

👻 {Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.)

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Chapter in a nutshell: Assumptions were made!

I wasn't planning on updating so soon. I wanted to post Sunday but I realized that I'll be at work Sunday and if I know myself I'm going to go straight to bed when I get home lol

Next: Chapter 6

[anawrites3]

📘+ nurse x doctor forbidden relationship au but happy ending sladick

Your writing is so fun to read oh my god. Thank you so much for doing this.

The moment I got your ask I got excited because it's such a good prompt hnnn but I really had to think about it!

Dick would be the nurse, obviously, and Slade would be the doctor. They'd be working on some children's ward and had a lot of work on their hands - and because of that they wouldn't have much time for themselves so they'd try to spend every free moment together, even if it means sneaking around the hospital. It would start with them hiding somewhere in the hospital to talk and make out a bit, maybe they'd even try to do something more but they are interrupted before anything can happen.

After some time someone does catches them when they're together, maybe one of the Titans (other nurses) or maybe Jay or Tim who also work in the same hospital. Regardless of who that is, they'd react in the same way - tell Dick that Slade is just using him because he's so much older and the best doctor they have while Dick is just a mere nurse. And that's exactly why Dick wanted to keep the whole thing a secret.

Then Bruce would learn about their relationship. Dick feels like his whole life is falling apart - Bruce as the head of the hospital is making his schedule so he has no chance of even seeing Slade for a second; they're planning to move him to another ward to put even more distance between them. Slade and Dick still try to see each other outside the work but it was difficult earlier and now Dick's friends and family do what they can to prevent that. They still text and call each other but it's not the same and Dick is just so tired of all this bullshit.

So, he calls a meeting for his loved ones. He has no intentions of explaining himself because he's not a fucking kid but he's going to tell them all to leave him and Slade alone. He's an adult, he knows what he's doing and they can kiss his ass, thank you very much.

"But Slade is a doctor! What if people find out and then they'll talk and you'll have problems because of it!"

"For fuck's- People already talk! Bruce runs the fucking hospital and he's my dad! It literally can't get worse than that."

Happy ending would be that Dick's family would get their heads out of their asses after that. They're still not happy about it but they can see that they're hurting Dick by what they're doing so they decide to trust Dick judgement on this one.

The last scene would be a parallel to the first one, with Dick and Slade hiding somewhere in the hospital to make out and someone walking in. But now instead of hurrying away from each other so noone will know about their relationship, they simply continue to make out while (let's say) Jason complains and gets grossed out haha

…i am adding that to my wip list, aren't i goddamnit And again, anon, thank you so much! I'm really glad you like my writing muah muah thank YOU for being here with me 💕💕

[forevfangirlwrites]

Helloo, idea for actress au where Annabeth remembers she has a party to get to and is running very late and is panicking. She's trying to get ready but is a complete mess and Percy sees her panic and helps her get all sorted from helping her with her hair to helping her find an appropriate gift for the party host

-By this point Percy feels like he's seen pretty much every version of Annabeth (at least like 80%) but he hasn't seen her like this very often.

-Actually, maybe only one other time but the stakes were low then. This time though, they have a party to get to and she's somewhat aimlessly running around in shorts and a bra

-(Not that he's complaining too much about that last point)

-But he's actually ready (because all he had to do was shower, wear clothes and spritz some expensive cologne Annabeth bought him) and Annabeth is very much not

-He stops her while she's panic running towards the kitchen with a dirty mug in her hands by grabbing her shoulders and holding her in place

-The words die on his lips as she just shoots him the most I'm-close-to-breaking-down look he's ever seen and he pulls her into a hug instead

-Then he takes the mug from her (it can make it to the sink later) and leads her back through the bedroom and to the closet.

-Thankfully Annabeth had laid out some options of what to wear the day before and he picks up a dress in a pretty yellow color and hands it to her

-"Thanks" she replies in a small voice which tugs at his heart, and he drops a forehead kiss on his way out of the closet

-The room is a little messy so he makes the bed (so she won't be inclined to focus on that when she comes out) and clears away some other dishes that have migrated to the room

-When he's back, she's dressed and standing in front of her dressing table staring at all the makeup products on it

-"You can do it," he encourages and rubs her shoulders once she sits down

-"I don't know what's going on with me today" she says as she applies foundation or concealer or whatever it's called (he hasn't learned makeup yet)

-He tells her it's okay to be frazzled and she chuckles humorlessly and tells his she's actually a complete mess

-"It's okay to be a complete mess," he amends and catches her small smile in the mirror

-Then he basically just hangs around her as she gets ready cause it seems to be helping and of course he doesn't mind giving her company

-They make it to the party (a small thing with close people Jason had said) but there are about a dozen people and now he's a little nervous

-But then Annabeth takes his hand and that makes it better and he thinks he gets why she wanted him around earlier

-They make it through the day, together

A/N: Hey! Thanks for the prompt and I'm sorry it took such a long time for me to get to it! I added it to the headcanon series so I hope you like how it turned out! Thanks again!

[horsechestnut]

I would love details on the Reverse Robin AU idea, I always adore those. (Though I often feel they miss an opportunity by not having Duke be first. Then again I sort of have a "Either its the first four Robins being reversed, or its all of them and thus Duke is first" system. A lot depends on what swerves the story best.) Sorry for the off topic ramble and no pressure to share, but yeah it'd be cool.

One thing I am notably curious about is how you'd handle the pre death relationship between Bruce & Stephanie. Cos so much of their canon one is filtered through his grief over Jason and projection onto her which led to his awful treatment of her, which led to her desperation to please him. Without that death things would probably be a lot more chill.

Still, I could see a similar death happening if Bruce got to up his own ass with trying to play master mind and it all blowing up in his face (Which I insist would have happened with his crime control plan regardless of Stephanie.)

No apology necessary! I love off topic rambles and am prone to doing them myself (see how long this explanation ended up for reference lol).

Here's a link to a sort of fan-fic/sort of explanation I wrote earlier (Though I think you already found it). I would love to flesh it out into a full fic, but I'm not sure that will ever actually happen.

As for Steph and Bruce specifically though, I think there's still tension between them, but it comes from a different place. Spoiler is a rouge agent, a teenager with no training, no oversight, and a personal score to settle, and Bruce isn't really prepared to handle that. Damian came to him pre-trained and if Tim comes second (which I think he should since he's both before and after Steph in canon) he was doing it because he believed it was the right thing to do. Without Jason Bruce has never had to deal with anyone who's completely untrained before, and without Dick he's never had to deal with a personal grudge as motivation (except his own, and he's really not prepared to get into that), so the combination of them in Steph seems far to dangerous to have in the field. Besides, it sets a bad precedent, he can't just let any teenager start running around fighting crime or he'll have a We Are Robin situation on his hands, and he already has a Robin. I don't think it's really personal for him, it just makes logical sense for everyone if she would stop, but for some reason she won't, even after Cluemaster is dead. (She also reminds him a little to much of himself at that age, but he's not going to think about that).

On Steph's end I think things are a little more complicated. I think the indifference would both drive her insane and give her this sort of false hope. No matter what she does it never seems to be enough, but the parts of her Bruce seems to dislike are all related to Spoiler, not Stephanie, which means she can change them! But there are parts of Steph that are baked into Spoiler, which carry over to Robin in turn that she can't get rid of no matter how hard she tries. Plus there are just enough similarities between the way Batman talks to her and the way Arthur did that sometimes it activates her fight instinct when logically she knows she should just listen to him. And unfortunately Bruce doesn't respond well to being snapped at, but he also never seems to hold it against her for more than a day. So Steph just keeps running in this circle and never knows where she stands with Bruce, and in some ways it's better and in some ways it's worse, because at least with her dad she knew where she stood and could stop trying.

I don't like that answer, trust me I wish I could say things between them would be better, but personally I don't think so. Bruce might be nicer about the way he says it, but I think he'd still want Steph to stop and Steph would still think if she tries hard enough he'll realize he was wrong.

Sorry, that got away from me, but anyway, I think the concept of including Duke is interesting! I just don't really know enough about him to know how it would play out or have thoughts on how We Are Robin could happen without Robin.

[jacksgreysays]

Ever since you mentioned Tim I've been rolling around how one could do a crossover with Shikako like a bouncy ball at the tips of my fingers.

And I've got it! ✨️Due to Trigon's Jashin vibes he accidentally pulls Shikako off course mid-dimension travel to Titans' Tower and due to Jason's post pit vibes Shikabane-hime is pulled to a certain time. Add Tim's pov and we've got a viable crossover. :p

Not a prompt/request; just a fic idea logistics ask. ✨️

I think if we’re going specifically for a Tim & Shikako crossover fic with either Tim POV or eventual friendship then the most direct route would be to set it during Tim’s first year as Red Robin when he’s specifically looking for evidence of space-time shenanigans with bat symbology. Like, yes, it’s aimed at Bruce. But that could also be Shikako. And given his big bad during that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year is Ra’s who is, if not the master of the Lazarus Pit, then the person who has used it the most that’s doubly a more direct connection.

If we want her to show up earlier than that, while he’s Robin proper and not Red Robin, I think it depends on the vibe/energy of the fic we’re going for.

Like, if we want it to be a meditation on the nature of life and death, love and grief, we could maybe lean into the Shikabane-hime = Shinigami and if instead of going for cloning, Tim went for necromancy/magic rituals ala spqr’s The Next Life. We could go for that stretch of time in which Tim’s dad, Kon, Bart, and Stephanie were dead or—a little less bleak, and slightly less soul crushing, but still similar vibes—would be when his mom dies/dad is in a coma and he doesn’t want to be adopted by Bruce so he invents a FAKE UNCLE. So, like, necromancy isn’t too much of a stretch for that boy.

Alternatively, if we don’t feel like breaking his heart first, given how his parents were doing “obscure/random archaeological digs” there could be a “mystical artifact” that the Drakes send home that summons Shikako? Or, given how wacky the original comic run of Young Justice is, it could be from that stretch of time, like one of their quirky one shot type of missions. And, well, they did have a literal ghost on their team so a interdimensional ninja isn’t too off base. There’s also Klarion the Witch-boy who Tim is, if not loosely allied with, then occasional tolerated acquaintances with I think? And he does interdimensional stuff so it’s not like that’s entirely outside the realm of possibility—although that’s maybe moving too far away from the Tim-centric vibe we’re going for.

I’m also just like… Janet Drake is straight up a mystery. She’s so infrequently seen canonically as opposed to Jack who has a personality and a character arc (even if it is small) that it’s easy to attribute any AU-ness Tim may or may not have to her. Like maybe she has a family heirloom necklace that we know is actually Shikako’s Gelel stone. Or she’s made some kind of faustian bargain with the non-Shikabane-hime Shinigami and then X years later, Shikako is there to collect on the Shinigami’s behalf (knowingly or not.)

I mostly bring it up because I do love how malleable Tim Drake is (he’s so fun to throw into AUs!) and the earlier in his Robin career—or even before he becomes Robin—he meets Shikako the more she can do to either prepare/divert him from his very sad, all-the-people-you-love-are-dead fate. Like… instead of Tim being sent abroad as a 13 year old(?!) to learn from some of Batman’s old teachers and then getting found/mentored by Lady Shiva instead, it would be cool if Shikako was there also. Like either as an occasional partner to Lady Shiva, or a similarly temporary student, or something similar. Or maybe instead of Lady Shiva if we want to streamline?

Although I am now recalling many moons ago that my last "in which Tim is trained by Lady Shiva post but NOT to be Robin" was a sneaky Assassin's Creed crossover and given that the Isu in Assassin's Creed are the gods of mythology, it would be interesting if Shikako's in to this world was as a theoretical (actual?) corporeal Isu against Ra's League of Assassins (who are actually Templars who have nearly wiped out actual Assassins and have taken the title for themselves)

But… yeah… most Occam’s razor version is her showing up during his year from hell finding Bruce in spacetime and fighting a creepy immortal man. Most fun version is her showing up when he’s younger than her apparent age (of… 15?) and then these two weird teenagers, one of whom is mentoring the other in techniques/abilities previously unseen in this world, are just… absolutely bewildering the superhero world.

[atmilliways]

Dreams In Which I’m Dying (10-11)

parts 10 & 11 of 16 | 154 & 627 words | Teen +

Donnie Darko AU | parts 1 & 2 | part 3 | parts 4 & 5 | parts 6 & 7 | part 8 | part 9 | parts 12 & 13 | part 14 | parts 15 & 16 (complete)

Summary:

Eddie Munson has never felt more alive than when he’s standing on the roof of Benny’s Burgers, shredding his heart out. Never before has he played Master of Puppets so flawlessly.

10 - Never felt more alive

Eddie Munson has never felt more alive than when he’s standing on the roof of Benny’s Burgers, shredding his heart out. Never before has he played Master of Puppets so flawlessly.

The Upside Down is cold, but not in a way that makes his fingers stiff. It's almost an afterthought next to the chill he’s felt ever since hearing how Chrissy had died. (Or that she died. Or even earlier, at the school on Friday night.) He plays it for her . . . and for himself, too, weaves his guilt over not even trying to help her into every note. And a touch of regret, of desperation, at the last thing he said to Steve being 'Make him pay.'

Eddie plays his solo of a lifetime for a human audience of one. Dustin head bangs along until he has to stop and count down on his fingers, eyes to the sky as the Demobats close in.

11 - Holds up both hands

Eddie Munson holds up both hands in a placating gesture, but there’s no placating Jason Carver. The guy looks more than half out of his mind, with greasy, disheveled hair and his clothes torn and dirty from being on the run from the cops for days. More to the point, he is holding Dustin with a knife to his throat.

They’d scavenged the entire building for supplies to fortify it against the bats. Eddie remembers seeing knives while tearing through the kitchen, but they weren’t terribly useful for barricading so he’d left them there.

Fuck. 

“Jason,” he says carefully. “It’s me you want. Let the kid go.”

Eddie has watched Jason for the past four years, sneering at the school freaks and flashing boyish grins at the cheerleaders in turn. But this guy, glaring like he knows Eddie did something to bring the world crashing down? The one with a chef's knife just below Dustin’s chin, the faintest suggestion of red already on the blade? This guy is a total stranger. This guy is already fucked, knows it, and wants to take a pound of flesh with him on his way down.

“This is where you killed her,” Jason hisses, voice sharp and fervent. “I know it was you, you Satan-worshiping freak.” 

“Jason,” Eddie tries again, but he knows there’s no point. He recognizes the frantic glint in Jason’s eyes from his childhood, in the times he knew to make himself scarce if he didn’t want his dad to break his wrist again.

The gate over his head is two days older than the one in the Hawkins pool, with more vines and corrosion spilling out. I’ve been watching you, it seems to whisper. . . . Or maybe it's something beyond them that Eddie can’t see.

“You know I can’t prove anything,” Jason continues, “but you’re no good without your cult followers.” The knife glints and Dustin flinches, eyes squeezing shut. “They’ll come back to their senses as soon as you’re gone, fall to their knees and repent. . . .” He tilts his head to add into Dustin’s ear, “You’ll thank me for this.”

“No,” Dustin protests, his voice cracking. Eddie can see tears running down his cheeks even with his eyes closed. It makes Eddie’s own eyes burn, because he can’t do shit about the fact that Dustin could get seriously hurt if Jason so much as sneezed right now. 

“Let him go,” Eddie tries again. “Come on, man, I’ll go with you to the police. That’s what you want, right?”

Jason’s smile is humorless and completely fucking unhinged. “You think I don’t know you can get away with it, with the power of the Devil on your side? No way, Munson.” He nods up at the rift in the ceiling, still trailing its ‘rope’ made from the bedding of high school rager crashes past. “If you’re so eager to see Hell, then you should go there and stay.”

“No,” Dustin whimpers again. “Eddie don’t, don’t listen—” He cuts off with a yelp as Jason presses a shallow red line above the kid’s Adam’s apple. 

“I’ll do it,” Jason says simply, with that flint in his eyes. Not a threat, not a bluff, but a promise. “Now do this world a favor, Munson: get out.”

Jason probably thinks the gate will seal up after him once he’s through. When it doesn’t, he might hurt Dustin anyway. But if Eddie stays, Dustin will definitely get hurt. 

So Eddie grabs the rope and climbs, the whole thing feeling like the worst kind of bad dream. At the tipping point between dimensions, where his hair starts to dangle into the Upside Down, he glares down. “You can go suck a fuck, Carver.”

He hauls himself the rest of the way through and drops.