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not-a-space-alien · 1 year ago

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Savage Sunset Chapter 27S

Story masterpost

Complementary chapter

Warnings for this chapter: None

In this chapter: Ari Does It Again

Author's note: This chapter originally had a "Is it because I'm black?"/microaggression joke in it from Jerome. The reason why I put it in there is because I've heard my black friends make this joke and thought it would be a funny addition. However, when I was going back and revising this story, upon revisiting it I decided it was actually kind of in bad taste. The chapter has been revised to remove it and I apologize to anyone who read the original version and found it inappropriate.

***

Ari rolled the map out onto the table, all four of them leaning over it.

“Okay,” she said, planting a finger on the map. “I got this from Patrick and he said it’s using the most up-to-date flyby data of vampire territory, and the Kithrara estate is here. This is the main estate, where the head of the family is. Valen mentioned that his husband is the oldest son of the current head, which means that estate would be over… here.” Her finger slid along the border.

“It’s so far in,” Lex said, dismayed.

“Not as far in as most of the noble houses, apparently,” Ari said. “Apparently this is considered close to the border as far as vampire estates go.”

Lex leaned over, hemming and hawing. “If we set out around midnight, we’ll get there as the sun rises.”

“This is crazy,” Bailey said. “This is suicide. We all know that, right?”

All four of them looked at each other.

“I’m going to help Valen,” Ari said. The same simple-minded, utterly stubborn Ari who’d simply driven over to get Lex in vampire territory all those years ago, as though it really were just that simple. “It’s my fault he got put through hell and back, and I’m going to make sure it never happens to him again. Anyone who wants to bail… I won’t think less of you.”

The overhead lights buzzed in the silence.

“Right.” Ari took a deep breath. “The most crucial advantage we’re going to have is that we can be out and active during the day. It’s key that we hunker down at night and don’t get spotted. As long as we can manage that while getting Valen’s attention, all five of us can get out of there alive.”

“We need to get a message to Valen that the others won’t notice or won’t understand,” Jerome said. “Something that will mean something only to him.”

Ari smirked. “Lex, go rifle through your plushies. We have a very important cat to bring with us.”

***

They loaded the van up with supplies. Hunting gear, food, water, sleeping bags. Toilet paper. Bottles to piss in.

This was going to be a long road trip.

They drove towards the border while it was still night, to give them as much time as possible in vampire territory while the sun was up. Sunrise happened right about as they passed over the border, streaking past the skull-laden sign that demarcated the two territories.

Ari saw the back of the sign in the rearview mirror, the side declaring HUMAN TERRITORY, VAMPIRES WILL BE KILLED ON SIGHT. “Here we go.”

They went over bumpy, unpaved roads for a while. Ari bitched nonstop about the effect on the car’s suspension.

It only stopped when they got back onto a paved road, at which point all four of them waited in tense silence with bated breath, as though afraid making too much noise would summon a hoard of vampires immediately.

“Okay,” Ari said. “We’re in vampire territory, and nothing bad has happened yet.”

“Okay,” Bailey said.

“Okay,” Jerome agreed.

“Yeah,” Lex said. “We’re doing it.”

They passed by a house, the first vampire-made architecture of the trip. It had no windows. Everyone’s skin crawled.

It looked like a farm of some sort. There was a barn, again without windows. There were horses and cows standing in the field. All four of the humans had no idea what to say.

“I didn’t know they farmed,” Jerome said. “The fuck they need to farm for?”

“To feed human captives?” Lex suggested.

“Maybe they just like horses,” Bailey suggested. “A horse girl can be a vampire, I guess.”

They realized the breathtaking scale of the farm as they drove past it, way, way larger than a human farm. Made sense, for a species that could heft a horse with their bare hands and run the entirety of the farm in under a minute.

It was almost easy to forget, here in the rural part of the territory during the day. There were birds and animals out and about. There were plants and roads and water towers and powerlines. There were buildings, always without windows, in case any of them were close to forgetting.

Lex got out the map and started navigating. The buildings started getting closer together. The sun climbed higher in the sky.

Ari turned down a road that had a row of houses. All four of them buzzed with anxiety, knowing the only thing keeping them safe from a hoard of bloodthirsty vampires was the time of day.

The panic faded as they went along and it just looked…normal. There was a stray cat on someone’s lawn. Someone had a gnome by their mailbox. There was a corner shop–the first building they’d seen that had a window, which was shuttered with a heavy metal sheet and bars. There were absolutely no people around, the streets utterly empty, everything standing abandoned in the light of day. It was ominous.

A blur suddenly ran past in front of them, a ways up the road. All four of them let out startled yelps.

“No way,” Jerome said. “Is someone out and about during the day?”

The blur slowed down and resolved into the shape of a person, swathed in a thick suit that looked like a hazmat suit, complete with darkened lenses, every inch of their skin covered. It was emblazoned with what appeared to be the logo of a company of some kind, and they were pulling a cart behind them full of packages.

It was hard to tell what the vampire was looking at, but it was definitely facing their van. Ari rolled to a stop. They waited there, hands creeping towards their weapons.

The vampire tilted its head at them, as though it wasn’t sure what it was seeing. Then, it raised a hand and pointed.

It took a second to figure out towards what. But then they realized.

Towards the border.

“Oh,” Ari said. “Ah. No. No, we’re-” She pointed down the road, where they’d been heading. “We’re going that way. That way.”

The vampire lowered its hand slowly, then gave a shrug. Your funeral. It ran off, becoming a blur of motion to take its cart off to who knows where.

“They have a special service that comes deliver shit to you during the day,” Bailey said. “What the hell. I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Probably costs an arm and a leg,” Ari muttered. “It’s fine as long as they don't come back, I guess.”

It was about half an hour more of navigation until they came up a long driveway towards an iron gate squatting in the middle of a huge stone wall. The gate had a decorative letter K on it.

“Okay,” Ari said. “Nobody get out of the car yet.”

They drove slowly around the perimeter of the estate. When they could see over the wall or through hedges, they caught glimpses of an immaculate, manicured lawn, rose bushes, flowers, fountains. Ari slammed on the brakes at the shock of seeing the huge stone water fountain running with blood, before they realized it was just water lit by red lighting to look like blood.

Their scouting revealed an area on a hill nearby where they could park the van and stay out of sight, but be able to see into the estate over the fence.

That just left the thing they had to get out of the van for. Ari pulled back up to the front gate. “Okay, we need to leave the cat somewhere either Valen will see it, or someone will see it and bring it to him. Maybe on that patio. Jerome, get out and leave it there.”

“What! Why do I have to do it?”

"You have the longest legs. I bet you could get over the fence the easiest."

"So I have to die to vampires because I have long legs?"

"Two of the people in this van are fat fucks, and you're the fastest runner and have better upper body strength than Lex. Get the cat and give it to him.”

Lex rifled around in her backpack and pulled out the stuffed cat that had been in the coffin, the one that had helped Valen sleep.

“I’ve seen this movie,” Jerome said, taking the stuffed animal. “If I die first, I’m coming back to haunt your asses.”

He opened the side door, the first time the door had been opened in hours. They all cautiously peered out. Jerome hopped out and approached the fence. He gave a mighty leap, but there weren’t any handholds on the gate. He slid down the slick metal and plonked back on the ground. “It’s no good, boss, I need some help.”

Bailey got out and knelt down, hefting Jerome onto his shoulders and tossing him over the gate. Jerome landed with reasonable grace and took off, running the cat up to the patio. Bailey peered through the bars, watching him with worry.

Jerome appeared back at the gate. “Got it. Uhh.” He eyed the gate. “Little help again?”

Bailey tried to give him a boost through the bars, but it didn’t really work. “Just a second,” Bailey said. “Lex, toss me some rope.” Under less dire circumstances, he might have made a joke about leaving Jerome behind, but they were all swamped with so much anxiety about being in the open on the estate of the family responsible for thousands of kidnappings and murders it was all they could do to stay functional.

Lex complied, digging out some rope. Bailey unfurled it and tossed it over, then pulled. Jerome used it to rappel up and over the gate, landing in Jerome’s arms on the other side.

After a moment, Jerome playfully sunk deeper into Bailey’s arms, feigning bashfulness. “Well hey, handsome, how you-”

“Later,” Ari interrupted. “Get the fuck in.”

Bailey carted Jerome back into the van, and Ari floored it to get away from the gate and back to the hiding spot they’d identified earlier.

She killed the engine. All four of them got out and pulled branches and leaves and bushes over to camouflage the van a bit more. They then got back in and locked the doors.

“Okay,” Ari said. “Now… we wait.”

They took turns sleeping. The ones who were awake were bored as fuck, but they’d brought some books to read. When the sun started to set, they took turns watching the patio through binoculars.

“We got movement,” Lex said, when some of the doors in the estate began opening. The sun was completely down now. The vampires were starting to wake up and be active.

They were in vampire territory after sundown, in the dark. Whatever laughing and joking there had been stopped immediately. Nobody could focus on reading. The minutes crawled by so, so slowly. They jostled to watch through the binoculars.

“Someone’s picking it up!” Ari said, tugging Lex’s sleeve. Someone who appeared to be a groundskeeper had been in the middle of doing something with the hedges when he saw the stuffed animal and walked over to the patio. He scratched his head, picked it up, and walked back into the house. He came back outside a minute later, empty-handed.

Ari let out a tense breath. “All right. Valen will recognize it and hopefully make the connection that we’re here, so hopefully it’s been put somewhere he can see it.”

“What’s the next step, boss?” Bailey said.

Ari ground her teeth. “I’m not sure. Valen is a smart guy, so I was hoping he’d figure out some way to just come out to us.”

Bailey wrung his hands. “We should figure out something else in case he-”

“Yeah, yeah I know, I know.”

They passed the time tossing ideas to each other and hoping no vampires stumbled across them. They were behind the estate, with no reason for anybody to be coming by, so they should be in the clear. But-

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, someone’s coming this way,” Jerome said, rapidly tapping Bailey on the arm.

More pairs of binoculars were lifted up to check. The someone was dressed in a maid outfit, and she was taking a sort of meandering approach up the hill behind the estate.

“Why the fuck you coming over here, girly?” Ari muttered. “Get back.”

“Wait, maybe it’s-” Lex started, and they all froze as the vampire started running through the vegetation on the path leading up to where they were parked, disappearing from sight.

“Shit, shit shit shit shit.”

“Fuck.”

“Shit and fuck.”

Weapons were drawn, guns were loaded, stakes were readied.

The sound of light footsteps rapidly pattering nearby ramped up very, very quickly before there was a huge THUD and the van shook. There was also a surprised oof and the sound of someone tumbling to the ground.

All four of them waited with hearts hammering, not opening the doors just yet.

The vampire’s face popped up in the windshield, her hands on the hood of the car, bouncing excitedly. “I found you!”

The doors flew open and all four of them came out with weapons drawn.

“Ah!” the maid cried, stumbling backwards. “No, no, it’s okay! It’s okay! Don’t!”

They slowed down, cautiously lowering their weapons.

“Mistress Kithrara sent me out to find you!”

“Mistress-” Ari said. “Valen?”

“Yes! Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re out here!” She sounded delighted to be in on a secret.

They all looked at each other.

“Okay,” Ari said. “Great. What did… Uh, Valen, send you out here for?”

“She was worried about you sitting out here all alone! It’s dangerous for you to be here!”

“Yeah, we know,” Bailey muttered.

This was incredible. This vampire was just…a normal person. The only vampires they’d ever interacted with were the ones who came over the border, which they usually only did for one reason, and Valen. It was weird to be reminded that most vampires were just kind of…normal.

Ari turned to the van. “What the hell! You put a huge dent in the side of my car!”

“I’m sorry!” she said. “I didn’t see it! I could smell it was around, but you covered it up!”

Ari sighed, rubbing her scalp. “All right, no use crying over spilled milk.”

“No use…?” the vampire said.

“Don’t worry about it. Hey, do you think you could pass a note to Valen without anyone else seeing?”

***

They wrote a note that told Valen to bundle himself up and walk out of the house at sunrise. If he could do that, maybe it really could be that simple. The vampire took it and ran off.

So they waited, hoping she was being genuine about not alerting anyone else.

Luckily, the only incident for the rest of the night was Bailey farting in the van, and everyone else being too scared to roll the windows down for fear of being heard.

The sun rose once again, and they all breathed a little easier watching the figures at the estate down below scramble to get back inside, shuttering doors behind them.

Once the sun was fully out, Ari pulled the van up again, nosing it towards the front gate.

They waited.

The front door was hidden by the angle of the stone wall, but soon a ghostly figure clad in white, wrapped up head to toe, appeared cautiously crossing the lawn. There was a second person behind them, following along obediently. A human under persuasion.

That raised an eyebrow, but nobody said anything.

Valen picked up his pace when he caught sight of them.

“Come on, baby,” Ari said under her breath. “Give me my boy.”

Valen opened the gate by pressing some unseen button behind the wall. Bailey and Jerome opened the side door wide, hanging out and urging Valen to come in. The vampire did so, crying as he stepped up.

“We got you,” Bailey said.

“No need to worry now,” Jerome added.

Ari and Lex turned around to see him. He was a mess, crying limply in Jerome and Bailey’s arms. The human behind him stepped up to follow–she was holding a cat carrier.

Well, whatever. They came to rescue a vampire, they could rescue a vampire, a human, and a cat. Bailey shut the side door as soon as everyone was in.

“Let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Ari said, slamming the gas.

***

Tag list <3

@aceouttatime

@annablogsposts

@cc1010foxy

@darlingwhump

@dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night

@dokidokisadness

@emcscared-whumps

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@nicolepascaline

@oddsconvert

@pigeonwhumps

@pumpkin-spice-whump

@some-thrilling-heroics

@soursagas

@thecyrulik

@the-scrapegoat

@whuarri

@whump-cravings

@whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

@whumpycries

@whumpsday

@writereleaserepeat

#hurt/comfort #angst #whump #vampire whumpee #whumpblr #blood

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mrhowells · 2 years ago

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Smallville 4x05 + 4x06

thus begins the Lois drought (but we shall make the best of it)

HE'LL BE THERE LIKE A FLASH???? YES PLEASE

they look so funny in their matching flannels in this setting😭

cuties

"I just want to live a normal life, hang out with my friends and play football."

good luck with that😬

AAAAAAH THAT'S SO COOL

he stole his wallet while saving his life LMAOOOO

"sit down for a long talk", please that is such a dad thing to say, I love him😭

ok I love everything that is happening right now

you know what, you SHOULD start "like a club, or a league or something"

he looks so happy I'm gonna cry😭😭

he's actually playing football with the cows, bless him😭

oh GREAT, it's Lionel🙄

OH NO I REALIZE WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE LIONEL YOU BITCH

ok but Tom acting as Lionel?

OH MY FUCKING GOD NO SERIOUSLY I'M LOSING MY MIND HIS INTONATION?????? THAT'S LIONEL

please don't tell me this is how Lionel finds out about Clark's powers? How much does he know at this point, I can't really remember

well FUCK

Lionel you're in her son's body wtf do you think you're doing

this line would be hilarious if it wasn't so fucking creepy

HE'S SMELLING HER WTF STOP I DON'T WANT TO WATCH

the passive aggressive shoulder pat💀💀💀

first Martha and now a minor? I NEED HIM TO LEAVE THIS SHOW LIKE YESTERDAY

*takes bathroom break to throw up*

can someone please realize that's not Clark already💀💀

TOO MANY CREEPY MEN THIS EPISODE (yes Jason I'm looking at you too)

guess we can add sexually assaulting another high school student to Lionel's list

no because CAN SOMEONE PLEASE REALIZE ALREADY

thank you Martha, on her queen shit as always😌

oh FUCK did this whole swap thing heal Lionel? We're not getting rid of him I knew it😭😭 yuuup, he's healed🤡

Lana and Chloe having zero faith in Clark, what's new💀 Someone give him a hug please he just went through hell😩

OMGGGGG Lex came through for us, bless🥹

This season is so much more fun than 1-3 so far😌

#ellie's smallville thoughts #smallville #4x05 #4x06 #clark kent #jonathan kent #martha kent #lex luthor #lionel luthor #bart allen

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aredhel85 · 4 years ago

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Another Clex story, I hope you enjoy <3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25729498

#smallville #clex #clark x lex #clark kent #lex luthor #jonathan kent #martha kent #lex makes friends with a cow #fluff and angst #poor attempt at humor #fanfiction #my fics

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lacrimosathedark · 2 years ago

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Batfam Tiktok Headcanons

I saw someone do this so I must also do this.

Dick: Has no idea what he’s doing. He does the general heartwarming stuff. Cute videos of Haley, messing with his brothers, dancing with Cass. Does a bunch of older memes and plays on older memes. Also takes short videos when he volunteers at charities to give them a spotlight.

Cassandra: Does sign language vids and dance vids. She makes her siblings do pas de deuxs with her. She also learns popular dances from Dick and Duke and makes them do videos with her.

Jason: Booktok 100%. He’s a classics nerd but damn if he’s not going to mock the dumb shit. But also takes snippets of true crime podcasts and mocks them for getting caught or being unoriginal. Also takes news of what I like to call “The Adventures of Florida Man” and comments about how he’s seen that before, and probably in Gotham.

Stephanie: She totally has a prank channel. She has to keep everyone on their toes. Also the most up to date with trends and memes and participates in nearly every trend.

Tim: He is Jim from The Office. He just stares at his camera while his family or friends or boyfriend does some dumb shit behind him. He just sits and drinks his coffee. He also roasts people, including public officials. Though more often his family.

Duke: Mostly a cop call-out account. He has a history with the police, and most of Gotham’s cops are dirty. He likes to highlight the good ones (so people know who they can trust) and gets in the face of the bad cops. He’s a lawful evil little shit and the only reason the cops don’t do anything to him is he’s Bruce Wayne’s foster kid. And Duke revels in it. Also does dance trends with Cass and memes with Steph. He has a separate channel for Signal where he shares video of the Batfam and their friends and allies. Also villains doing dumb shit. He takes a distinct pleasure in making Riddler look stupid.

Damian: 100% an animal channel. People thought he was a pet channel, then he had Bat-Cow. People thought he was a farm channel then...then he goes and boops a FUCKIN LION WHAT

Bruce: Was forced to make an account by his children and almost solely makes videos responding to two people in particular: Oliver Queen and Lex Luthor. He frequently criticizes Luthor because he’s the DC equivalent of Jeff Bezos and he sucks, but he’s very refined about it. With Ollie, he usually, as politely as possible, pretty much says “you’re a fucking idiot” to most of his rants, specifically when they are idealist or hypocritical. However, he does occasionally just do the thing where you like green-screen playing the video behind you while he drinks his coffee when Oliie does say something he agrees with.

#Batfam #Headcanons #DC Comics #Batman #Bruce Wayne #Dick Grayson #Cassandra Cain #Jason Todd #Stephanie Brown #Tim Drake #Duke Thomas #Damian Wayne

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tobi-smp · 4 years ago

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What are your thoughts on Tommy threatening Michael and people saying Tommy is treating Tubbo like a sidekick?? I hunger for discourse

my thoughts are that people are so desperate to hate on tommy that they’ll jump on anything, Especially if it involves a character that they actually Do like. people on twitter were legitimately making discourse about how tommy was gonna kill michael back when he was still in Jail for no reason other than them seeing the worst in him no matter how outlandish. so those same people see tommy making a Very Obvious Joke about it are absolutely salivating at having an excuse to pretend like that was justified. I could Hear them rubbing their hands together like lex luthor as soon as it left tommy’s mouth

michael is a minecraft mob. in roleplay we acknowledge michael as tubbo and ranboo’s son, and tubbo and ranboo are both emotionally invested in him (both in and Out of roleplay), but michael is still a minecraft mob. he isn’t actually sentient and cc!tommy knows that. as long as there isn’t an Actual attempt made at michael’s life we don’t have to think about the real world implications, because michael is still a minecraft mob. cc!tommy can’t hurt his feelings with an ooc joke

ranboo’s reaction is a Very good indication of whether this was intended to be serious or not. we All saw how he reacted to sam and puffy, even before michael was upgraded from pet to son. if this was intended to be an actual threat then ranboo would’ve reacted as if it was, which he didn’t. moreover, tommy has a Long History of being emotionally attached to all kinds of mobs to the point of caring A Whole Fucking Lot about their safety, from his named pets to random slimes in the wild. this stream Specifically had him having an in character in lore breakdown over henry’s death, A Cow. the people who are trying to demonize him by insisting that he’d seriously kill or even threaten to kill A Canonical Toddler that his friends care deeply about are wack as hell. the slander is real here and it’s just Silly

as for tubbo being a sidekick it’s just like. first of all, again Very obviously just taking any opportunity to shit on tommy Like Always. absolute sharks with blood in the water I swear. second of all, it’s something that c!tubbo genuinely feels but that doesn’t make it like, tommy’s Fault any more than any of tommy’s insecurities are tubbo’s fault. placing it on tommy’s shoulders as if he’s Done something wrong both isn’t fair and isn’t healthy. c!tommy doesn’t have millions of followers on youtube, c!tommy is a traumatized teenager living in a dirt hovel that’s had everything he’s ever cared about ripped away from him over and over again. he’s not the “main character” and he isn’t acting like he is, he’s trying desperately to feel safe and to find a way to be happy despite the sinking feeling that there’s nothing left for him because he’ll Always lose whatever ground he gains. tommy and tubbo are Both traumatized, they’re Both victimized. pitting them against each other because you think that, What? one is too cocky? one is too loud? is totally ridiculous. it’s not a serious argument that can be made because In Character tubbo and tommy don’t do what they do for attention or fame, they aren’t entertainers they’re former child soldiers. “main characters” and “sidekicks” Don’t Exist.

#dream smp #tommyinnit #ranboo #tubbo #michael dream smp #michael #meta #long post #Anonymous

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themonotonysyndrome · 3 years ago

Note

alexis x darling x quinn x sam headcanons cos they're my favourite polycule

Alexis & Quinn co-own bars and strip clubs in Dahlia (Darlin met Quinn at one of the bars he and Alexis owns)

I imagine by this time, Alexis and Sam are on speaking terms (she still harbours feeling for him but they're both just friends)

Sam comes to the bar one night and hears Quinn & Lex arguing again and goes behind the bar to get himself a drink

And that's when Sam saw them, sitting all alone, drink in hand, hair messy, their outfit revealing every curve of their body...it took a lot of resistance for Sam not to give into his desires there and then

Darling would be like a doll between the three vampires, Sam is already infatuated with them and once Quinn and Lex come into the picture - Darling can kiss their freedom goodbye

Sam and Darling meet again and another bar owned by Alexis & Quinn and this time, he buys them a drink, remembering the one they had last time he saw them

Darling is a little nervous at first, they're distant with the pack and haven't got anyone else and so, they let Sam in

Alexis meets them while they're with Sam and whole she is still in love with him, the sight of Darling is enough to get her predator instincts running

She doesn't know why she can't get that damned shifter out of her head. It drives her crazy, she hates it yet she loves it

She hates seeing them with Sam but loves seeing them because their blood always smells so good

Quinn notices her seeming distracted and once she shows him the reason (Darling) he quickly understands and wants them all to himself

He introduces himself to them, being friendly and charming, he kisses their hand and walks them home after Darling drinks a little too much

Alexis gets jealous when she sees them together and introduces herself to the shifter who returns her sultry smirk for a shy nod and small smile

Alexis wonders what their blood tastes like, feelings begin to rouse in her before she realises it

Darling isn't oblivious, they're aware of how attractive they are and that they've got three vampires head over heels for them. It feels nice. But soon Darling wants more.

Lex and Quinn agree to share them but when Sam finds out he isn't happy. He doesn't do sharing. Our southern vamp can be possessive over things he wants

Sam's already in love with them and reluctantly agrees. He invites them over to his place only for Quinn and Lex to knock them out and tie them to a bed until Darling gives in

Which they do.

Darling is the shortest out of the four meaning they'll get thrown over Lex, Sam and Quinn's shoulder if they misbehave

Alexis likes having them begging under her, gripping her shoulders as pleasure overwhelms them both

Quinn and Sam like watching, it gets them both off but nothing compares to being inside of them

By the time anyone from the Shaw pack finds out, it's too late, Darling is their little obsession. All theirs.

Whoa, Anon! You're giving us so much luggage to unpack! I'll admit, I needed some time to get my thoughts together for this ask but it's a labour of love~

Also, I'm tagging @marrsdean because I think they might enjoy this!

Alexis x Darling x Quinn x Sam is a polycule couple that I never imagined before! I think we could work something here. Let's get to it:

Me and Mars' headcanon that, unlike Vincent who helps run half of Will's assets, Alexis launched her own nightclubs/bars and strip clubs business all over America. Each one of them turns out to be a nice cash cow for this Vampire Princess.

Maybe in this AU, Quinn came across Alexis first, surprised to find a kindred spirit. So these two decided to stick together - Quinn handles the security for Alexis, by the way - constantly moving from one state to another.

For now, I can't see how Alexis and Sam reconcile (I kinda see Alexis as a sore loser, so being able not to have what she wants? Like Sam? Could make her really bitter and petty. But for the sake of this AU, we'll just gonna push through) but after an icy truce, the two could at least be in the same place without tearing each other up.

So now we have a trio of Vampires that aren't actually friends... more like acquaintances.

But when Darling enters the picture... their attention is immediately on this gorgeous Wolf Shifter.

And well, if Darling needed to grip on the tight leash around Massmaker!Sam and Massmaker!Quinn in the Imperium, they need to get ready to be pampered by three powerful and rich Vampires that want nothing more than to monopolise their Wolf.

#monotony's rambling #redacted asmr #headcanons #darling (listener)#sam collins #quinn #alexis #a wolf + vampires polycule #what would you even call this dynamic?

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spinthewheelofromance · 2 years ago

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Meet the LI's

As a BIG point of reference. The colors are off because tumblr is restrictive haha. Lex:

Full Name: Lex Bergstrom (Lex Burg-strum)

Pronouns: Xey/Xem/They/Them (genderqueer)Sexuality: OmniAge/Birthday: 19 (Jan 1st)

Height: 6’3”

Ethnicity: Norwegian/Swedish

Position: Switch

Likes: brunost, improv, acting, cooking, baking for others, being a bastard (damn bitch, you lanky and have an attitude), romance novels/manga, gaming, cousins (best friends), Vocaloid, rain, Nightcore (understandable but damn.) Their lizard named Brann

Dislikes: talking shit, ableist comments on eye, xyr body, carrots (ew), sarcasm (although they do it, wow hypocrisy), band kids (it's mostly a joke….maybe), xyr Christian parents (told them they're sinning for how they changed their name), basketball (played it in high school)

Love Language

Giving: nothing Acts of Service/Quality Time

Receiving: Words of Affirmation

Rania:

Full Name: Rania Habib (Raan-ya Haa-beeb)

Pronouns: She/Her (trans) Sexuality: Demi/Omni Age/Birthday: 19 (July 21st)

Height: 5'1 (Lumi height lmfao) (rude </3)

Ethnicity: Cyrpus/Egyptian/Japanese

Position: Power bottom/Switch

Likes: halloumi cheese, very gen Z humor (fried memes make her snort), fashion! (Decora; japan), studying (English literature student but works part-time at the in-school bookstore), koshary (dish), plushies, her books <3, cats, long naps, societal issues, her cat BiBi

Dislikes: being told she's over-cluttered, being held back in her studying (she wants to finish it in one go if she can, although she takes breaks), being owned things, popping candy (surprisingly), her fucking shit and wack ass classmates, existence, girl can't cook sorry

Love Language

Giving: Words of Affirmation

Receiving: Physical Touch

Darius:

Full Name: Darius Harris (Dar-ee-us Hair-is)

Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Pan Age/Birthday: 28 (October 26th

Height: 5’6”

Ethnicity: African American

Position: Service Top

Likes: laughing cow Cheese, his kid. His kid very much, loves his kid (will do anything for her), his job, surprisingly! He actively likes knowing the town and speaking to the regulars every day, DND! (Nerd), jazz (plays a few different instruments;) ), fruit loops (on God he eats it uP), coffee snob, his apartment decorations, hockey, dad jokes

Dislikes: smoking, Starbucks, newer pokemon games, Mcdonald's fries (they really went downhill in recent years), garbage not put on the curbside (PLEASE PUT IT IN THE RIGHT PLACE HE TRIES HIS BEST), people who tell him he works a shit job :( (he likes it a lot how dare you insult his trash), glitter (that shit gets everywhere), (monarchy shhhh secret)

Love Language

Giving: Quality Time/Gift Giving

Receiving: Acts of Service

Perkins:

Full Name: Perkins Arsenault (Perk-ins R-sen-o)

Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Bi Age/Birthday: 21 (April 22)

Height: 6’2”

Ethnicity: Québécois/Canadian

Position: Switch

Likes: oka cheese (blue cheese is second best), his mom's <3, cheese. His cows!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Millie <3), calligraphy, nature hikes/long walks, road trips, baking bread, yoga, gardening, sunset/sunrise, fruit snacks, those pamphlets you get when you travel

Dislikes: Animal cruelty, large crowds, the cold, pineapple on pizza (IT DOESNT BELONG THERE), peaches, hotel mints (he’s been tricked far too many times thinking it was just chocolate), doing nothing

Love Language

Giving: Acts of Service

Receiving: Quality Time

Milo:

Full Name: Milo Davis (Mee-lo Day-vis)

Pronouns: He/They/She (Intersex/Genderfluid) Sexuality: Bi Age/Birthday: 25 (September 1st)

Height: 5’11”

Ethnicity: Australian

Position: Top (youre welcome Lumi)

Likes: goat cheese, strawberry milk (secretly), his tattoos, oil paint/acrylics, rock, leather clothes, BBQ fanatic (cooks really well), specific paint brushes (Rembrandt), quietness, fucking with people (will make you believe stupid things), ex-wife (1 year). Mom <3, AAA meetings, yellow, punk fashion and ideology

Dislikes: hot dogs (will kill on sight), alcohol (ex ad.), Fighting, fake rock fans, watercolor paint, math, pickles (has cried before), mocking. Loud noise.

Love Language

Giving: Quality Time

Receiving: Physical Touch

Andrés:

Full Name: Andrés (Roberto) Rodríguez (Han-dre) (Rode-dre-gaze)

Pronouns:They/Them (amab) (agender) Sexuality: Pan Age/Birthday: 20 (July 7th)

Height: 5’3”

Ethnicity: Cuban

Position: Switch (Top leaning)

Likes: queso nabacoa, guayaba, dancing (hip hop), family!!! Big time especially his grandfather, soccer (inter Miami CF), photography, cigarettes, caffecito

Dislikes: puns (sorry for your loss in humor bro), water (can't swim for shit, will drown), horror movies (horror in general), anyone who says bullshit about his team <\3, being dismissed when he talks about his interests

Love Language

Giving: Quality Time

Receiving: Acts of Service

Merry:

Full Name: Merry Winsterfield (Mare-ee Win-stir-field)

Pronouns: She/They (enby) Sexuality: Omni Age/Birthday: 25 (May 5th)

Height: 5’5”

Ethnicity: American/Irish

Position: Bottom

Likes: cheddar, video games, Instagram-worthy dinners, social interaction, skateboarding, mom's side of the family, beer!

Dislikes: unfashionable people, being criticized, overworking herself, ducks. Hates ducks (they scare her), her dad, panic attacks

Love Language

Giving: Quality Time/Physical Touch

Receiving: Gift Giving

Liam:

Full Name: Liam Hugon (Lee-am U-ong)

Pronouns: He/Him (trans) Sexuality: Pan Age/Birthday: 22 (March 17th)

Height: 6’1”

Ethnicity: Vietnamese/American

Position: Switch (Bottom leaning)

Likes: brie, designer clothes, big-time fashion nerd, sewing!, Drawing (has to do with fashion but has drawn other pieces), reading, Bún thịt nướng (good AF tbh, pop off Liam), high-end restaurants…like reservations are impossible to get in I mean bro, does work out (has an in-home gym ;) ) and helps out at the community garden, providing for loved one's, has a dad who was very supportive of his transition (although he's a traditional man)

Dislikes: one of the aunties that keeps telling him that he's not "a real man," and etc. Good old transphobia from old traditional people, am I right, lads, yelling, cucumber (will fight you if about how gross they are), ex (toxic mf? Can't imagine), anything that's pure wool….just ew. Being recognized in the streets/paparazzi (although not famous famous still has a following important enough)

Love Language

Giving: Gift Giving

Receiving: Words of Affirmation

#cheesegame #cheese game #spin the wheel of cheese romance #visual novel #otome #otome game #dating sim #indiedev #asklex #askrania #askdarius #askperkins #askmilo #askandres #askmerry #askliam

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cicinicole-14 · 3 years ago

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*sing to the tune of family madrigal from encanto*

🎶so many thoughts I think it’s time for a headcanon roundup (headcanon roundup!)🎶

[apparently the only thing we do in the jolex gc is trauma dump and have hcs. idk what writing is anymore but here y’all go]

It’s been a really tough couple years. With Alex sending her that fucking letter and jo showing up at the hospital calling him out on his bullshit and them reconciling. To izzie’s brain cancer coming back again and this time her not beating it. To jo and Alex working day in and day out, dealing with thousands of miles and handful of states between them through a long distance relationship, a move into Jackson’s old penthouse, the adoption of luna and becoming a family of five in less than two years.

The twins had been enrolled in elementary school in Kansas that year, and Alex jo and izzie had decided they wanted to let them finish their kindergarten year there before moving them to seattle.

Izzie had decided to undergo some chemotherapy but when it had yielded no results, they’d made the move to seattle, hoping that shepherd could find something to help.

She hadn’t and izzie had finally had to let go, saying goodbye to her babies while they were only six years old.

And then the decision to add luna to their family after jo had delivered her during covid, the twins having been enrolled in first grade online due to covid their first official year in seattle.

So when second grade had finally come around and mandates had been lifted, kids were able to return to in person schooling, the twins had been excited to finally meet their friends from last year face to face.

Jo’d been acclimated to helping the twins grieve and everyone in their circle all knew the stories and knew what had happened.

She’d been thrown when she’d arrived home around bedtime, Alex walking down the stairs after getting all three kids down before he looks at her.

“We have a problem and I have no idea what happened but Lex has been upset and said she only wants to talk to you. I barely got her to eat dinner tonight she took about three bites. Will you bring her an uncrustable or something?”

Jo’s mouth opens and closes quickly before she grabs two pb&js from the freezer and books it up the stairs still in her scrubs.

She knocks softly on Alexis’s bedroom door, letting her know she’s coming in. “It’s me, Lex”

She opens the door and peeks in, seeing Alexis’s dark eyes shining in the nightlight lit room. She pads over softly, laying the sandwiches on the nightstand and scooting the girl over on her bed before she slides in next to her, grabbing one of the sandwiches and opening it, taking a bite.

“Dad says you wanted to talk to me?” She says casually.

Alexis doesn’t reply, just plays with the worn pink stuffed cow in her arms.

Jo let’s her sit quietly, knowing she’ll talk in her own time. “How was Lu today? Did she eat her dinner tonight or just throw it on the floor and make daddy clean it up?” She asks, taking another bite.

“She ate, more than me even.”

“Why? Did daddy burn the food?” She knows he didn’t, she’s just trying to get her to talk.

“No.”

“Want a bite?” She asks, offering the uncrustable to her.

Alexis takes the half sandwich that’s left and takes a bite, keeping a hold on it. Jo takes it as a win and grabs the other sandwich, opening it and taking a bite of that one now, realizing she was hungry.

The two eat in silence together, side by side in bed before alexis looks up at jo as she shoves the last bite of uncrustable into her mouth.

“‘Member last week when you helped me with the ‘my family’ picture?” She asks and jo nods.

“I do.” She says, not completely knowing where this was going yet, but trying to follow along.

“Mason said that you can’t be me and lunas mom because we didn’t look ‘like. That you and daddy look like eli so only he’s your kid. And I told him it’s cause my mommy died, and then neveah and peyton called me an orphan and i said that you’re jo, but you’re still the mom.”

Jo rubs a hand over her face, appalled at how brutal some of these kids could truly be.

She could honestly flick all three of them right in the forehead for the comments they made to alexis and how they made her feel.

She takes a deep breath, “I love you.” She says softly, wrapping her arms around the seven year old. “You know that looks don’t make a family. That it doesn’t matter if we have blonde hair or brown hair or blue hair even. It doesn’t matter if we have dark skin or light skin. And after Mom died, I got the privilege to become your mama jo, but regardless of your mom dying, I would always be your family and luna will always be your sister and eli will always be your brother and daddy will always be your dad.”

“I know. It just made me mad that they said you couldn’t be my mom or lunas mom and called me weird because I call you jo. And–and” she starts, getting herself worked up again and starting to tear up.

“You know that it doesn’t matter what you call me or what anyone says, Lex. You’re as much as my child as Luna is or as Eli is. Okay? And if you decide that you want to call me mom in hopes that it might help at school, or anything, I’m fine with that. This is all up to you. But I will be here just like a mom will. I promise you that.”

Alexis looks up at her with watery brown eyes. “Can i call you mama jo then?”

Jo holds her just a smidge tighter, running her hand through Alexis’s long blonde hair, cradling her head against her chest.

“Lex, you call me whatever feels comfortable to you.”

“Luna calls you mama, and eli calls you jo so I put them together, mama jo.”

“I will be mama jo to you, as long as you’ll have me. I’ll email your teachers tomorrow and maybe we’ll send you to school with the ‘that’s their family’ book for show and tell?” she says and Lex nods. “You ready for bed now? It’s way past your bedtime.”

Alexis nods. “Will you read me the family book?”

Jo nods, grabbing it from Alexis’s nightstand and opens it, starting to read to the tune of the Addams family.

Jo finishes the book and closes it, grabbing the sandwich wrappers and slipping out of the bed.

“Night mama jo, love you” she hears the tiny whisper.

“Night, Lex, love you too.”

#cici writes #jolex #headcanon roundup #the jolex gc #jolex gc things

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years ago

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You got any thoughts on Superman Birthright?

Probably my second or third favorite Superman origin, and the one that has my favorite Clark/Lex interactions.

Real pity it didn't get to stick as the "canon" origin because I like it a lot more than the Byrne origin that preceded it and the Johns Secret Origin that succeeded it. Smallville's influence is undeniable, but not a detriment, I like the Kents as flawed younger parents rather than wizened flawless mentors (if they have to be alive still when Clark becomes Superman that is). Pa Kent struggling with feelings of alienation with regards to Clark growing up and taking more of an interest in his heritage is still one of my favorite Pa/Clark moments in Superman's history. Ma Kent being a UFO buff is a great idea, apparently Waid had a story about that he never got to tell. I wonder what it was? Would probably make for a nice Annual or fill in story now that he's back at DC.

Lois is great of course, for all the reasons she usually is, as is Perry who gets way more panel space here than he usually does. Lois and Perry's relationship here is hilarious, love the gag where he writes out two lists of reasons to fire or keep her respectively. "No good place to hide the body" had me cackling. Jimmy though is just kind of there, he's the pal who has Supes back as always, but he's heavily overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Only real disappointment for me in terms of the core cast members.

There's a lot to like here in it's handling of Clark Kent as well. Love that Waid actually shows us Clark has travelled the world to gain some perspective, that he's not naïve or clueless, simply idealistic. He's seen the cruelty of the world up close, and he's also seen the way people react when they realize they're dealing with someone who has "gifts" (whether that's himself or Lex).

Showing us some of Clark's pre-Daily Planet journalist career is also a big pro for me, that's an area of Clark's life I wish got fleshed out more. Waid manages to establish a divide between the Clark and Superman identities that still makes the two feel different without it being a repeat of Pre-Crisis. It's a return to Superman being more "real" while Clark is more of a disguise, but "Clark" isn't bumbling so much as overlooked and ignored (which if you've lived in a big city is pretty much exactly how you get treated as a newcomer). His co-workers barely acknowledge his existence, Lois isn't giving him the time of day, Perry tears him a new one for not having a story to turn in about the ongoing alien invasion on time, Clark has to suffer in the trenches over the course of the story to prove himself.

Like Morrison's Action Comics run, this origin tries to fold a lot of the original Golden Age attitude back into Superman. This incarnation is a man with a temper, him shooting a gun then catching the bullet before it hits the guy who sold guns to a school shooter is literally a recreation of a Golden Age panel. Yet this isn't a "retro" take at all, despite being from Christopher Reeve's biggest fan. Waid writes Clark as someone who makes mistakes, fucks up in ways you don't typically see Superman do, and has a lot of doubts about whether or not he can live up to the task he's set before himself. Doesn't help that Metropolis doesn't welcome him any more easily as Superman than it does as Clark.

Public opinion about him is divided at first, then swings heavily to negative as Lex frames him for a false flag Kryptonian invasion, only to finally recover after he saves the day and exposes Lex. Personally I like Superman to have to work for that glowing reputation he usually enjoys, and if Lex is involved in trying to turn the public against him, so much the better. The anger and contempt towards Lex he demonstrates in particular sets the tone for the relationship between the two in the modern day.

Speaking of Lex, my God, this has got to be one of my favorite takes on him, and on his relationship with Clark, both pre and post Superman.

As adults Waid nails the Post-Crisis status quo of Lex being a selfish piece of shit who hides his nature behind a façade of philanthropy. For all his attempts at projecting an aura of power and intelligence, both of which he has in spades, Lex is so clearly defined by the lack of love and understanding he was shown as a youth. It's Superman "disrespecting" him, by not being happy to pose for photos with Lex after seeing him commit an act of sabotage, that pisses Lex off. For this "crime" Lex does everything he can to smear Superman to the public, and entertains holographic fantasies of dissecting Supes to copy his powers. He quips that killing Kal is "genocide" since he's the last of his people, something he demonstrates no empathy for at all given he laughs in Clark's face when he realizes Superman doesn't know he's the last.

Waid's Lex is probably one of the most monstrous incarnations, yet one of the most sympathetic as well. For my money, Waid is the one who convinced me that Clark and Lex being friends back in Smallville is a good thing.

One reason is that Clark gets to see how people react to "gifted" individuals. By observing the way Lex is treated for being unlike the rest, Clark gets a taste of what's to come if his own abilities were ever exposed. This has the dual benefit of establishing why Clark puts so much effort into making people feel at ease, and also establishing Lex as sympathetic for being unable to hide like Clark can.

The second big reason is that it shows why Clark thinks there's a chance Lex can be redeemed. Birthright Lex wasn't a monster from the start. At first he tried to help, but it always backfired. Doubling the efficiency of the milking machine scared/hurt the cows and upset Pa Kent, his ideas for how to improve the local government got rejected, and of course his experiment with Kryptonite. Sad twist of fate that Lex mistaking Clark's look of pain for the fear/disgust he sees everywhere else is what causes Clark to eventually give him that look of disgust for real when they reunite as adults. But having their first interactions be friendly instead of hostile makes Clark's hope that Lex can become a force for good feel grounded in reality instead of hopelessly naïve.

Can't gush enough about Yu's art either, he can make Superman look bright and inspiring, or scary as hell. His take on Metropolis makes it look and feel like a "City of Tomorrow", someplace exciting and dangerous, a city that needs Superman to protect it. Yu's Krypton is also one of my favorite incarnations, love that he gave Lara the S-curl! That's one idea from the DCAU I wish had become sacrosanct for all future origin retellings. Lara doesn't get to have enough influence on Kal to my tastes, so any little bit counts.

Sadly overlooked as it was coming out due to Azzarello and Lee doing For Tomorrow, it seems like it's risen in status after the fact. The S-shield being a symbol of hope on Krypton in addition to the El family crest has carried forward thanks to the DCEU (which is hilarious given Waid's feelings on that franchise).

Waid has another Superman project coming up next year with Brian Hitch that appears to be a "Year 2" follow up to Birthright. No clue if it will actually take place in strict continuity with Birthright, honestly it feels weird to have anyone but Yu do a direct followup to that, but Waid has said that a Superman run from him would basically be an issue 13 that continues from this story. I'm excited to see Waid take another big swing at Superman, I think he still has it in him to put out a great story, and Birthright being out of continuity may end up being to everyone's benefit. If this ends up being Waid's last Superman story, I hope he gets to do whatever he wants with the Birthrightverse. Kill off the Kents if that's his desire, I know he prefers them dead (as do I). Fingers crossed whatever he comes up with is good.

#superman #superman birthright #lex luthor #mark waid #dc comics

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allthebooksandcrannies · 4 years ago

Text

Life With You Makes Perfect Sense (You're My Best Friend)

TimKon Fanfic

Read on AO3 or Read my other works here

For context: this takes place during the time when Stephanie Brown was Robin after Tim's dad figured out his identity and made him retire. In the comics, Conner finds this out by coming to Gotham to look for Tim when he fails to show up at Titan's Tower and bumping into Robin Steph. Batman refuses to give Conner Tim's address but tells him that he has all the same skills Superman has to find him himself. Conner tracks down Tim's voice and confronts him in his bedroom. In the comics, he ends up leaving and doesn't appear to hear from Tim again until he comes back to the Robin role. This fic takes place as a sort of "what-if" to fill in that missing time.

I took the dialogue in italics from the first and last scenes directly from my copy of the TPB Teen Titans: Beast Boys & Girls (2005), though the body language that goes with the dialogue and everything else in the fic is mine.

Title comes from Tim McGraw's "My Best Friend"

Tim woke up clinging to the whisps of a dream that fled from the screeching of his alarm. As he blinked himself back to consciousness, he grasped vainly for the subject of the dream and was left feeling inexplicably wistful.

His fumbling fingers managed to silence the alarm, but there was still the unfortunate matter of having to heave himself out of bed, his limbs feeling heavier and more uncooperative than they had in weeks. Apparently, all the extra sleep he’d been getting since he retired still wasn’t enough to make Monday mornings suck any less.

He pushed away the traitorous voice in the back of his head that suggested that maybe his exhaustion had something to do with his conversation with Conner the other night.

Conner had shown up unannounced and asking questions Tim hadn’t expected to have to answer again. “Why didn’t you show at the tower yesterday? And what’s with this new Robin? The girl?”

“Last week…” Tim paused, trying to decide how best to make Conner understand. “My dad found my costume. He found out I was Robin, and he went a little—” Tim paused, unsure, “—overboard. I’ve been wanting to tell him for months anyway.”

Conner turned his head towards where he could hear Jack moving around, easily locking onto his vitals. “He seems totally relaxed now. His heart rate is normal and—”

Tim glanced back at Conner nervously, but still refused to look at him head on. “I quit.”

“You what?” Conner exclaimed.

“I’m not Robin anymore. I gave it up.”

“Why?” Conner couldn’t wrap his mind around what he was hearing.

Tim tried to explain, needing Conner to understand. His approval felt vital in that moment. “I never liked living two lives. I never planned on doing it for this long. And I never wanted to lie to my dad. Now I don’t have to anymore.”

Conner shook his head in denial. “Come on. You can’t do this to the Titans. That girl isn’t… She’s not Robin.”

Tim wanted to stop thinking about that night, but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t. The look on Conner’s face when Tim told him he wasn’t coming back to the Titans, how Conner refused to meet Tim’s eyes when he talked about how much he and the other Titans needed Tim, not just Robin. All of it. After all, what right did Conner have to come in and tell Tim how to live his life? Conner was born into this, he didn’t have a Before to compare the hero life to. He didn’t understand what it was like to be torn between two halves of himself.

At that thought, Tim paused about halfway through pulling on a shirt, and immediately felt guilty for even thinking it. Conner had just found out he was half Lex Luthor after all. He was probably the only person Tim knew who would understand exactly how Tim felt being stuck between his Dad and Bruce since the truth came out.

Tim pulled the shirt on the rest of the way with a mental sigh. He wasn’t really mad at Conner. Things had changed really quickly, and the other boy had made a lot of good points. As he ran through the rest of his morning routine, Tim’s mind continued its highlight reel.

“Let it go.”

“You’re my best friend, Tim. How can I? The Titans aren’t the Titans without Robin. They just aren’t.”

“Just because I’m not wearing a cape doesn’t mean we can’t hang.”

For the first time since Tim had explained his motivation, Conner finally met his eyes again. The resignation there made Tim’s throat tighten. “It won’t be the same. I’ve heard that from too many friends. Friends I never talk to anymore.”

And Conner wasn’t wrong. When was the last time he had talked to Cissie? Sure, he still got the occasional update on what she was up to from Cassie on Titans weekends, but that wasn’t the same. It was so easy to lose touch with people who left the hero game. Hell, he hadn’t even spoken to Dick since he quit, and they had supposedly been brothers.

Conner had every right to be worried. But what else was he supposed to do? There was nothing else he could have done to protect everyone’s identities, and it wasn’t like his Dad was about to let him go to group hangouts with a bunch of superteens.

Tim mulled it over as he mechanically choked down a bowl of cereal. His dad had been pretty adamant about the no contact thing, and Tim was trying to be the respectful son his dad deserved. But Conner wasn’t something Tim was willing to sacrifice for his new mission. Besides, what was the harm in just staying touch, it’s not like he was putting himself in danger.

Still, it was probably better safe than sorry. If he got his hands on a computer at school, it wouldn’t be hard to track down the Kents’ phone number. Then it was just a matter of waiting for Dad and Dana to be out long enough for him to have sole access to the landline.

Yeah, Tim thought as he threw his bowl and the sink and headed out to catch his bus, that would work. It would be enough. It had to. Tim just wished he didn’t feel like he was betraying his dad all over again.

-0-

If anyone could read his mind right now, they would be impressed by the amount of self-restraint Conner was exercising to control his strength as well as he was despite how frustrated he was. Unfortunately, poor Lottie the Cow could not read his mind, and, unlike Krypto, she wasn’t hiding any secret Kryptonian powers of her own.

After the third time he used just a tad too much pressure in his attempts to milk her and she shied away from him yet again, he had to concede defeat. As he swapped out with Pa (who was all too willing to pass off the stall mucking), Conner let himself feel the indignation he hadn’t been able to get out of his head since he spoke to Tim.

It just wasn’t right! Anyone with eyes could see how much Tim loved being Robin. Conner knew how much pride he took in being able to hold his own against some of the most powerful people on the planet. How Tim’s heartrate still sped up with excitement every time he swung off a building or when he flew with Conner.

His dad wanted him to be normal so bad? What was more normal than a teen managing to sneak out without their guardian knowing or taking their dad’s car out for a joyride with their friends. So what if the car was a Batmobile or if the adult he was sneaking past was a Tamaranean princess?

And the worst part was that he wasn’t even mad at Tim, not really. Sure, he had been pissed in the moment, but mostly he was just hurt. They had all finally gotten back to normal, and now Tim was leavingagain. It just wasn’t fair. Conner just wanted his best friend back, but every time they got over one hurdle another one showed up. And this was something Conner couldn’t punch.

“If you shovel any harder, you’re going to snap the end off again.”

Conner whirled around, barely managing not to break the poor tool in his surprise. Martha just raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, a full basket of chicken eggs resting on her hip. “You want to tell me what’s eating you?”

Conner didn’t meet her eyes, just grabbed the now full bucket of manure to take it to the compost. “It’s nothing, Aunt Martha.”

Her brow wrinkled in concern, which was not what Conner had wanted at all. She took another moment, clearly choosing her words carefully. “Well… I know you don’t owe me your thoughts son, and I don’t pretend to know what it’s like to do what you and Clark do.” She started walking alongside Conner before continuing. “But I have raised one Kryptonian and I can listen with the best of them. So, if you need to get something off your chest…”

Dumping the bucket into the compost, Conner almost refused out of habit. Instead, he hesitated, casting his eyes to the side as he grasped for an answer. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. “It’s kinda a long story…” the note of disappointment in his voice seemed to surprise both of them. Martha didn’t miss a step as she steered them back towards the house. She too glanced at the rising sun and then sent Conner an appraising look. “hmmm… School is important. It would be a shame if you had woken up ill this morning and couldn’t attend.”

Conner felt himself gaping like a fish as he followed her inside.

-0-

Tim was pretending not to notice Dana hovering when the doorbell rang.

And wasn’t that a fun situation. Tim wasn’t quite sure how much Dana knew. He knew his dad hadn’t told her about Robin, as per the arrangement. But he wasn’t sure what story she’d been given instead, or, more likely, if she’d just been left to draw her own conclusions.

Regardless, she clearly knew Tim had been hiding something because she had been acting strangely ever since. Making excuses to keep him in view, asking much more probing questions about his day and who he was spending it with, checking out parenting books on “troubled teens.”

She hadn’t said anything to Tim about whatever it was she thought was going on, but she had always been over-protective of Tim. Sure it could occasionally cross over into infantilizing, but, after a lifetime of people only worrying about Tim’s wellbeing when it affected them, it was kinda nice to have a parent care so openly.

Still, this was starting to get ridiculous. It wasn’t like he was running a drug empire from the kitchen table, and writing an English essay while someone keeps sneaking glances at you while cleaning the stovetop wasn’t exactly easy.

So, the doorbell was a welcome distraction.

While Dana rose to answer the door, Tim tried to focus back on his paper, as if he could make it write itself with the force of his glare. However, there was no amount of effort that would ever keep him from recognizing that voice.

He was at the door before he even realized he’d made the decision.

“—don’t know why he didn’t mention it, ma’am, we made these plans last week.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m really comfortable with letting you boys go without clearing it with Jack fir—"

Tim peeked around Dana’s shoulder to see Conner Kent, glasses and all, staring up at his stepmom with an almost comically earnest expression. “Dana?”

She glanced back at Tim, not letting go of the half-open door. “Your friend—”

“Conner,” the boy in question supplied helpfully.

“Right,” she said with a forced smile, “Your friend, Conner, was just telling me that you two made plans to get together to study tonight? Tim, honey, you know your Dad wants you to let him know before you make plans to go out with people we don’t know.”

Tim did know. It was one of many new rules that his dad had decided to implement after he found his Robin gear. The restrictions chafed, but, as his dad pointed out, he definitely deserved the lack of trust at this point.

But when he caught the cocky “play along” grin over Dana’s shoulder, Tim stomach filled with warmth at the familiarity. He quickly schooled his expression into an appropriately sheepish smile. “Sorry Dana, I guess it just slipped my mind.”

Dana softened, her grip on the door slackening just a tad.

“If it helps, Mrs. Drake,” Conner broke in, “we can just study here.”

Tim wondered if Conner had learned the earnest and polite young man routine from watching Clark or if it was just natural talent. Either way it was enough for Dana, leading her to relax and open the door completely.

“Oh, that would be perfect! Tim, honey, why don’t you get you and your friend set up at the table? Will you be staying for dinner, Conner? We’re having Chinese tonight, and it’d be no problem to order an extra serving.”

“That would be great, Mrs. Drake!”

Dana headed back towards the kitchen, presumably looking for the takeout menus, leaving Tim and Conner in awkward silence. Tim decided to break the tension first.

“I’m sorry, Conner, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I know you were just trying to help.”

“Wait, that’s supposed to be my line! I’m sorry, Tim. I didn’t mean to make it seem like I didn’t think you could make your own decisions.”

“So, still friends?”

“Please! You didn’t think I’d come all the way to Gotham to ditch you now, did you?”

“Why did you come? If that was it, why not just come in the window?”

Conner shifted his weight, hand tightening minutely around the strap of the backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Well, I was talking to Ma earlier, and she helped me realize that even if Robin can’t hang out with Superboy, that doesn’t mean Conner Kent can’t spend time with Tim Drake.” He looked up from his shoes, his blue eyes putting the Gotham sky to shame. “That is… if it’s okay with you?”

If you had asked Conner, Tim’s answering grin could have lit up even the darkest Gotham alley.

-0-

Fifteen minutes later found Tim and Conner side by side at the kitchen table, various homework from various subjects strewn out about. Leaning over under the guise of checking Conner’s math, Tim murmured under his breath for only Conner to hear: “So Conner Kent wears flannel now?”

Conner snorted. “I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing they sell in Smallville,” he whispered back. “Why? You a fan?”

“To be honest… I miss the leather,” he replied thoughtlessly.

“Is that so?” Tim realized what he’d said out loud a moment too late. “I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind,” he smirked.

“Oh, shut up,” Tim replied with a little shove that did absolutely nothing but prompt Conner to break out into full body laughter so loud it drew Dana in from the living room to see what was going on.

When she found a blushing Tim whispering back furiously and sending her embarrassed looks, she let out a chuckle of her own before leaving them to it. She had a good feeling about this kid.

-0

It quickly became routine for Conner to come by after school to do homework a few days a week. Tim had worried that it might have been getting Conner in trouble, but Conner had assured him that he had worked things out with ‘Ma so that he still got all his chores done in spite of the extra hours he was putting in Gotham. And as for Batman, well, if he didn’t want him coming to Gotham to see Tim, he shouldn’t have told him how to find him.

And at least he wasn’t dangling the latest Robin in mid-air anymore.

Whether by fate or weird coincidence, however, he still hadn’t managed to run into Jack Drake while he was monopolizing his son’s time yet. The first night Conner stayed for dinner had ended with them all waiting for half an hour after the food arrived before Jack remembered to call and let Dana know he would be working late. It wasn’t the last time either. And the nights he did come home for dinner were the nights where Conner had already planned to head home early to have dinner with his own family.

Not to say Conner minded. He had some thoughtsabout Jack Drake and the way he treated his son. It was probably better for everyone that Conner spent as little time with the man as possible.

But there was only so long that could last, especially since Tim was practically dying to get out of the house for more than just school or Jack’s father-son excursions.

Unfortunately, as time went on Jack had only gotten more paranoid about where Tim was going and what he was doing, not less. Lately, Tim was practically on lockdown since it was such a pain to get permission to go anywhere without his dad or Dana. The last time he had gone out to the diner with Bernard and Darla his Dad had “just happened” to stop by for a to-go coffee. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he had been making sure Tim really was where he said he was.

His only saving grace was Dana. While she still enforced his dad’s rules (apparently not wanting to undermine his parenting), Tim had overheard her arguing on his behalf with his dad on multiple occasions, insisting that Tim was a good kid who had earned a little bit of freedom. Granted, these conversations rarely accomplished much besides getting Jack to dismiss her concerns as a lack of understanding due to not having children of her own. Still, Tim appreciated the support. Particularly since Dana had clearly decided that she liked Conner and essentially left them to their own devices while they were “studying.”

Now in addition to actually doing their homework, they were able to spend time talking about the rest of their lives, especially the normal civilian stuff they never seemed to have time for during Titans weekends. Everything from friendships, to TV shows, to their relationships with their parents was fair game. Tim had felt like he knew Conner before, but this was a whole new level. And the more he learned, the more he wanted to know.

And that’s why he had recruited Dana.

It hadn’t been hard. For once in his life, being completely honest with an authority figure about what he wanted was enough. It probably shouldn’t have felt as weird as it did.

Dana had given him a strange look when he mentioned he wanted to hang out with Conner outside of studying, but she had agreed that she didn’t see a problem with it. After all, if his father was alright with him spending time with Bernard (who Dana knew firsthand was not exactly the best of influences) then surely he would be okay with Tim spending more time with “a nice young man” like Conner. He just needed to meet him first.

It would be fine. Probably.

And that was how the two of them had ended up setting the dining table while Dana put the finishing touches on what she assured Tim was Jack’s favorite meal.

“Dude, you’ve got to take a breath,” Conner whispered as he reached around Tim. “I’ve heard your heart beat slower going up against literal mercenaries.”

Tim snorted. “I’ll take Deathstroke over this any day.”

“Hey now,” he shot back with a scandalized hand to his chest, “I’ll have you know I am delightful company!”

Tim’s futile attempts at a mock glare were interrupted when he could no longer hold back the urge to giggle at the absurdity of the situation. He could go up against the worst the world had to offer without thinking twice, but the idea of his dad and his best friend in the same room had him on the verge of a panic attack.

He shot Conner a grateful smile. “I just really need this to go well.”

Conner slung a careless arm around Tim’s shoulder but spoke with a level of seriousness he rarely let people see. “And it will, I promise. We make a good team, remember? We can handle this.”

Tim nodded and drew in some deep breaths to calm his racing pulse. Conner didn’t say anything else, just let him take the minute he needed. Just as Tim had gotten a hold of himself and was about to gently shrug off Conner’s arm, Conner pulled away of his own accord with a parting squeeze of Tim’s shoulder.

“He’s here,” he explained, gesturing to the front door with his chin as he finished off the last place setting.

Sure enough, a moment later Tim heard the telltale click of a key in a lock. There was a very slight possibility that his breathing may have quickened again just a bit if the bemused look Conner sent him was any indication.

Tim most definitely did not stick his tongue out at his friend before heading to the entryway to take his dad’s coat.

Conner and his snicker followed a beat behind Tim. When Jack’s gaze finally landed on Conner, Conner felt his spine straighten involuntarily. Jack didn’t say anything at first, and in the stretching silence Conner felt himself trying to channel every bit of the big blue boy scout he had in him.

Jack’s eyes cast over every bit of Conner’s appearance, from his glasses to his button up to his clean but scuffed sneakers. Conner was uncomfortably reminded of being a literal lab specimen under observation.

Suddenly, Jack’s expression morphed into a charming smile Conner didn’t trust for an instant. He stuck out a hand, and Conner was so caught off guard by the sudden transition that he almost forgot to shake it.

“You must be Tim’s friend. Carter, right?”

“Er—”

“It’s Conner, Dad.”

Jack waved Tim’s correction away. “Right, right, Conner then.” He started walking off to the living room, clearly expecting them to follow. “Dana tells me that you’ve been coming over to study quite a bit lately. I hope your grades have seen a better uptick than Tim’s have.”

Conner sent a questioning glance Tim’s way but didn’t get a response other than the visible tension in the other boy’s jaw.

“Not really sure what the point of a study group is if it doesn’t actually raise your grades any,” Jack continued.

Assuming that the biting comment was rhetorical and feeling supremely awkward, Conner didn’t respond right away. But as the three of them each pulled up a chair, Jack’s impatient expression clued Conner in on the fact that he was actually supposed to answer.

“Er…yes sir. I’ve been really lucky to have Tim’s help getting caught up.”

Jack was saved from responding beyond a noncommittal hmm by Dana’s arrival with the food. As she placed the casserole dish of what looked like enchiladas on the table, Dana gave them all a forced smile.

“And it’s been so nice getting to know one of Tim’s friends, Conner.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Drake.”

“So how did you and Tim start hanging out?” Jack questioned absently.

They had prepped for this question. Conner used the opportunity to launch into an overdramatic retelling of a group project they had worked on together and how they realized that they worked well together. Like all the best lies, it included just enough details not to be suspicious while still having a kernel of truth.

His story succeeded in breaking the ice enough to get conversation started, and Conner felt himself relaxing. He had meant what he said to Tim earlier, but he didn’t exactly meet that many new civilians. But Tim had prepared him well, and this wasn’t his first undercover op. He skillfully navigated around dangerous truths and gave the performance of his life as the perfect All-American teen.

Maybe he should have felt guilty about lying to these people who had opened their home to him. Clark probably would have had something to say about it. After all, on paper Jack had every right to be upset. His son had literally been throwing himself in front of bullets for strangers for years behind his back. Not only that, but he’d been doing it alongside another adult he had trusted to have his son’s best interests at heart. Surely any good parent would have been just as upset, right?

But Conner was very aware that Jack Drake was not the parent he believed himself to be.

Good parents didn’t ship their kid off to boarding schools from the minute he was old enough to attend, and then never show up for the few weeks their kid is home.

Good parents don’t look at everything that makes you you and try to sand it away so that you’ll fit some perfect ideal they have in their head of what you should be.

Good parents don’t look at the emotional scars and bruises they’ve given to their child and tell them that its their own fault for making them do this, for not being enough or for being too much.

Jack Drake may not have laid a hand on his son, but he’d still done plenty of damage, and Conner was forced to watch Tim thank him for it.

So, no. Conner didn’t feel an ounce of guilt for lying to the man who constantly left his favorite person more confused and conflicted than any mystery Batman had ever handed to him.

Tim may not realize that he deserved better yet, but that was alright. Conner would flatter and charm and play meek and responsible without feeling a single thing if it made Tim’s life easier.

As the conversation shifted to what was new with Dana’s sister and her kids, Conner met Tim’s eyes again. Tim subtly tipped his glass approvingly toward Conner, and Conner sent back an answering wink.

Well, he corrected internally, maybe he’d feel one thing after all.

-0

Gotham wasn’t exactly known for its tourist attractions. It was kind of a risky financial decision to try to open anything that encouraged a lot of people to congregate in a city where crowds drew Rogues like killer moths to a flamethrower. And that went double for anything that could be construed as children’s entertainment.

Luckily, Gothamites were both stubborn and spiteful, so there were a few places, like the traveling carnival currently set up near the harbor, that popped up every now and then with that brilliant fuck you energy that so clearly defined the city.

After last week’s dinner got off to its admittedly awkward start, Conner had hit his stride. Seamlessly switching between the perfect “aw shucks, me?” smile when asked a question about himself and then an earnest “tell me more about…” to turn the conversation back to Jack’s interests, Conner would have earned even the Batman’s reluctant approval.

By the end of the night, Jack was riding the high of getting to speak about himself to a willing audience for so long. It was all too easy to get Jack’s permission for Tim to hang out with Conner outside the house… as long as he still made sure to call and check in on the hour, of course.

Tim hadn’t hesitated to get them tickets for the second night the carnival was in town (not wanting to tempt a Rogue’s attack on the first), and the night had finally arrived.

Now, sharing a seat on the ferris wheel with the other teen, Tim couldn’t understand why he’d been so worried. He’d always been the first to insist that there was so much more to Conner than people gave him credit for.

Tim found himself glancing at Conner out of the corner of his eye. Luckily, the other boy was too busy leaning over the railing to watch the sun set behind the city skyline.

Most people looked at Superboy and saw a brash, arrogant, and (if he was lucky) comical teenager. They dismissed him as the brawn to other Titans’ brains. They couldn’t understand how he could be so different from Superman.

Tim knew better than that. Sure, he could be all those things, but what teenager wasn’t? Especially considering all the shit the authority figures in his life had put him through. And yeah, he was funny too.

But Conner was also a damn good friend. He was loyal and brave and empathetic and fiercely protective of the people who had earned his respect. He paid attention to people, and he cared so deeply, even though he tried to cover it up with nonchalance and a confident façade. He might be bulletproof, but Tim would protect that vulnerability he saw until the day he died.

“Alright. Where’d you go?”

Pulled back into the moment rather suddenly, Tim was startled, but he didn’t have to worry about coming up with a suitably mysterious response here. “What?”

Conner snorted and raised one hand to slide his sunglasses just far enough down the bridge of his nose that he could meet Tim’s eyes.

“You’re looking at me weird. What’s up?”

As Tim tried to decide how to answer in a way that wasn’t completely cheesy, the ferris wheel paused again, this time with the two of them at the very top.

“I just—I’m just really glad you’re here. Thanks for coming to Gotham.” He didn’t just mean today either. He meant all of it. The first time he came to find out why Robin wasn’t at the tower, the time he showed up at Tim’s door even what would have chased anyone else away, and every other time they had hung out since.

He didn’t have to specify that though. The blinding smile that broke out over Conner’s face made it clear the message was received.

Conner took a moment, trying to school his expression into something a little smoother, but it was a lost cause. Eventually he just settled for clearing his throat. “You don’t have to thank me, Tim. There’s no place I’d rather be. Besides,” he continued as he casually threw an arm across the back of Tim’s seat, “everyone knows Gotham has the best sunsets.”

His heart pounding, Tim took a deep breath and let himself sink into Conner’s side. For a second, Conner stiffened and Tim worried that he’d made a horrible mistake, that he’d ruined everything.

It was only when he felt the comforting weight of Conner’s arm move from the seat to wrap around Tim’s shoulders, pulling him closer, that Tim let himself believe that this could be okay. They could have this.

The leather of Conner’s jacket was cool against the side of Tim’s face. The sky was a brilliant mess of golds and reds and purples. And Tim was with the person who made him feel safer and more himself than anyone else on the planet.

“Yeah, I suppose we do, don’t we?”

-0

That evening, Tim sat down on his bed, pulling his camera out of his bag. He was looking forward to developing them. Maybe he’d give Conner a few of the shots if they were any good.

knock knock

Tim looked up to see Dana leaning up against the doorframe she had knocked on.

“Hey, Honey. Did y’all have a good time?”

Tim couldn’t have held back the smile if he’d tried. “Oh yeah, it was awesome!”

Dana smiled back just as warmly. “Oh, I’m so glad!” Tim believed her. That was the best thing about Dana, she was one of the most genuine people he knew, and for some reason Tim couldn’t fathom, she had always seemed to care so much about Tim.

“Do you mind if I come in, sweetheart? There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about…”

-0

“I swear to god I used to be good at keeping secrets,” Tim groaned as he allowed his head to thunk dramatically against the diner table.

Conner didn’t look up from his menu, but he did use his TTK to save their waters from tipping over. “Sure you were,” he deadpanned.

“I was literally trained in deception and resistance to interrogation by one of the best detectives in the world.”

“Yup.”

“She still doesn’t know I was Robin. Neither of them have made the very obvious connections between you and a certain Boy of Steel for some reason.

“It’s the glasses.”

“It is not the glasses.”

“It is,” he said. “Conner Kent wears glasses, and Superboy doesn’t. Therefore, obviously different people.” His forehead crinkled. “Do you think a sweet potato milkshake would be any good?”

“It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve ever eaten.” Tim squinted back up suspiciously from where he was still sprawled on the table. “Also, I feel like you are not being nearly sympathetic enough to my plight.”

Conner finally gave up the pretense of looking at the menu and dropped his chin to rest on his hands on the tabletop, so his face was only a few inches from Tim’s long-suffering expression.

Unfortunately for Tim’s dignity, Conner’s crooked grin was infectious. “How long did it take her to figure it out?”

“Ugh, she apparently she knew the minute she saw me, but at least she promised not to tell Dad.”

Conner snickered.

“Don’t laugh! She tried to give me the talk, Conner!”

That just sent Conner into full-body cackles. Tim watched him throw his head back and couldn’t help but feel proud. He did that. But he wasn’t done pouting yet either. It was the principle of the thing, after all.

“Sorry—” Conner gasped, “Sorry babe!” He leaned forward to place a kiss to Tim’s forehead, reveling in the way his boyfriend blushed so immediately. “You can hide just about anything else, sure, but you’ve got absolutely no poker face when you’re happy.”

Tim grumbled good naturedly like the absolute gremlin he was before finally deciding to sit up when a rather unimpressed waitress stopped by to take their order.

When she walked off, Conner turned back to Tim, casually taking one of Tim’s hands in his as though they weren’t both still completely in awe of this new development.

“So…” Conner started. “You were supposed to get together with your Wizards & Warlocks friends over the weekend, right? How’d that go?”

Tim’s eyes lit up as he started telling Conner about the most recent developments to their current campaign. Conner did his best to make sense of all of the characters and jargon he had no reference for, since it clearly meant a lot to Tim. Though that was made a little trickier by how much fun he was having just watching Tim.

He rarely got to see him so animated, due to the expectations constantly heaped on Robin and Tim Drake alike. When talking about something he enjoyed, however, Tim came alive. So, Conner listened, asking real questions that sparked off another tangent every time he started running out of steam.

Conner wondered if Tim’s eyes had always sparkled that much when they were hidden behind a mask. He didn’t think so, but either way he was just grateful Tim trusted him enough to let him see.

-0

“So then Ives—oh, Dana, can you pass the bread? thanks—Ives ended up rolling a Nat 20 on persuasion, which completely messed with my pla—”

“Alright, alright, I’m about tapped out on Witches & Wizards—” Jack interrupted, his hands raised in a timeout gesture.

“Jack!” Dana admonished.

“It’s actually Wizards & Warlocks, Dad.”

“Whatever it’s called! There’s only so much of this I can hear before my brain rots.”

Tim forced an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Dad.”

Jack waved away the apology with his buttered roll. “Forget about it. Hey, how’s your school’s basketball team this year? I was thinking we would go to the game this Friday, just the two of us.”

“Oh,” Tim said, “I don’t really know. Umm… what time is the game? Because I already made plans to go see a movie with Conner on Friday before he has to go away for the weekend for some family stuff.”

Jack frowned and Tim found himself straightening up involuntarily. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with that Conner kid. What’s up with that?” he asked accusatorily.

Wary of stumbling into a trap he couldn’t see, Tim tried to feign a casualness he didn’t feel. “I don’t know, I guess I just realized we have a lot in common, but I hang out with a lot of people. Why do you ask?”

This apparently wasn’t enough for Jack because he didn’t let it go, even putting his fork down so he could make sure his full attention was on Tim. “You don’t though! You almost never talk about Bernard anymore, or that Darla girl! The wizards thing was weird enough, but now if it’s not that then it’s Conner this or Conner that! If you’re not careful, you’re gonna give people the wrong idea about the two of you.”

The tightening in Tim’s throat would have been painful if it weren’t for the numbness he felt sinking into his bones.

“And now you’re suddenly too good to hang out with your dad anymore? I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m concerned about the person you’re becoming lately.”

“No! No, Dad it’s not like that—”

Tim looked at a wide-eyed Dana desperately for help. Ever ready to defend Tim when he needed, Dana didn’t disappoint.

“Oh, Jack, honey,” she laughed a little too loudly, “leave the poor boy be. He’s a good kid, and it’s healthy for a teenage boy to want to spend more time with his friends! I don’t see the harm in it. Honestly, shouldn’t we be proud of him for honoring his commitments?”

Jack’s glare was as hard as steel and just as cold. “Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t be proud of. I think I know how to parent my son.”

Dana broke eye-contact first, and Jack seemed to be the only one immune to the rising tension. Eventually he paused his meal consideringly. “Though I suppose you do have a point, Dana. Tim and I will just have to go to the next game, hmm?”

Grateful for the out, Tim nodded quickly. “Sounds great, Dad.”

-0

Tim had been looking forward to seeing this movie since he’d seen the first preview, but he hadn’t been paying attention at all for the last ten minutes. Oh well, he could come back and watch it again later, maybe with the guys in his W&W group.

In the meantime, it was definitely worth the sacrifice. Kissing Conner in the back row of the theatre, Tim had never felt more like a normal teenager in his life. This might be just as fun as running over rooftops.

-0

Conner swung Tim’s hand back and forth between them as they walked, feeling a bit like a little kid. Most people probably would have been on edge walking through the streets of Gotham right after sunset, but most people weren’t literally bulletproof.

As it was, Conner would have been content to stay out there all night if it meant he got to keep holding Tim’s hand while he chattered about the photos he had taken on their last outing to the botanical gardens and how they had turned out. Conner had learned more about camera lenses in the last ten minutes than he had in his life, and he was loving it.

Unfortunately, the Titans would be expecting him in an hour or so, and Tim’s dad would probably take exception to his son being out all night under mysterious circumstances. So, it was with a heavy sigh that Conner finally arrived at the Drake’s brownstone.

The boys came to a stop before reaching the front steps, neither ready for the night to end. Conner leaned forward to press his forehead to rest against Tim’s.

“You know,” he whispered, “I know I said I wanted Robin to come back to the Titans —and don’t get me wrong, I would still love that— but I’m also kinda loving having you all to myself.”

Tim chuckled and when that laugh turned into a crooked grin that made Conner’s stomach flutter, he couldn’t resist kissing it back off.

WHAM

Tim and Conner jumped apart as the door to the brownstone slammed open. Jack glared down at them.

“Tim. Get in this house, right now.” When Tim hesitated to move, Jack’s tone only grew even more demanding. “I said get in this house Timothy Jackson Drake.”

The sound of his full name seemed to spark Tim back to life, as he scrambled back towards the house. Conner gently caught one of Tim’s hands just before he was out of reach, and the other boy looked at him like a started deer.

“Do you want me to…” Conner trailed off with a meaningful hand wave at the side of his head. Do you want me to listen in, he was asking.

Tim thought about it for a second before shaking his head. “But maybe don’t go far?”

Conner nodded decisively before meeting Jack’s hateful gaze defiantly for just a moment. He shoved his fists into his jacket pockets before storming off to the corner. As soon as he was out of view, however, he took advantage of Gotham’s perpetual lighting problem to fly up to the roof of the house next to Tim’s, ready to be there the minute Tim needed him.

He settled in to wait, trying to focus on anything but the shouting coming from the Drake residence.

It was probably took longer than it should have for Conner to realize he wasn’t alone, but, hey, he was distracted. Sue him.

“You can come out. I can hear your heartbeat.”

Black Bat unfurled from where she had blended perfectly into the shadows cast by the air-conditioning unit.

“What are you doing here?” Conner asked.

Cass joined him in sitting on the edge of the roof to watch the brownstone. “A while ago…there was a killer…hunting the last robin. I still check in.”

“Every night?”

“No…but most nights.”

Conner considered that for a moment. “So, I’m guessing you saw…?”

“Yes.” Conner thought he could detect a playful edge to her voice. “You are not very subtle.” Okay, no, he was definitely being teased.

trying to play along, he bumped her shoulder with his own. “Well, we can’t all be bat-level sneaky. The universe couldn’t take it. Some of us have to be showy enough to balance the rest of you out.”

Cass hummed consideringly. “That’s fine. Batman will… train it out of you.”

Conner let himself fall back dramatically in mock horror, and Cass giggled. The sound did not match the mask at all, but somehow the juxtaposition seemed fitting for a member of the bat family.

“It’s how he shows his love, promise.”

Conner smiled, the tension of the moment briefly eclipsed by the mental image of the Batman trying to mother-hen a super. Clark would never let him live it down.

Suddenly, movement drew his eye, and Conner saw Tim. Ready to hear the verdict, Conner rose to fly back down.

“Thanks,” he turned to say, only to find himself met with an empty roof.

Bats, man.

-0

Tim followed Jack into the house, his heart pounding so hard Clark could probably hear it in Metropolis. His lips and fingers felt weirdly tingly before going slightly numb. His brain was going a million miles an hour but his body just felt slightly distant.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to happen at all. He wasn’t ready for this, it was supposed to be on his terms. But it was happening and it was happening now.

Jack stormed into the living room where Dana was half-risen in concern. She froze at the thunderous expression on his face as Jack being to pace the room like a caged lion. Meanwhile, Tim was a stone statue standing just in the room’s entrance. He felt a little bit like one of the artifacts his parents had brought back as souvenirs from their travels, just another relic meant to show off to friends that just ended up cluttering an empty house. And were Tim’s ears ringing?

“What the fuck did I just see, Tim?!” Jack burst out.

“Dad, I—”

“Don’t you fucking dare try to talk yourself out of this. Do you think I’m some kind of idiot?!”

“No! Of cour—”

“Jack, honey, whatever this is about, maybe we—”

Dana’s attempts to calm Jack only seemed to enrage him more, and she was cut off by the CRASH that came from Jack pitching one of her vases across the room. She froze, her eyes darting between Tim and Jack.

“Do you want to tell her what you’ve been doing behind our backs, Tim, or should I?”

“I—Conner and I--We” Tim sputtered unintelligibly, but Dana got the gist. She closed her eyes for a moment too long in sympathy, and Jack’s fury turned on her in an instant.

“You knew? You knew what was happening, and you didn’t put a stop to it?”

“Jack! There’s nothing wro…”

Her voice trailed off as Jack stalked closer and closer to her chair until he towered over her. She shrunk down. Jack leaned down over her and braced himself on the arms of the chair, effectively trapping his wife.

“Do you even care about what this could do to us?” His voice had gone low and picked up a dangerous quality that reminded Tim of the way Batman spoke to criminals he interrogated. But Tim had never been afraid of Batman.

He went on, his head tilted mockingly. “Or, are you just too stupid and selfish to realize how this reflects back on me?”

And, as he watched Dana start to shake, something in Tim snapped.

He was across the room in an instant, wrenching Jack’s arm behind his back so that he was forced to step back and turn around to keep it from breaking. The second Jack let go of Dana’s chair, Tim shoved him stumbling in the opposite direction.

“Leave her alone.”

Jack spun back around. “Did you just shove me?” he asked in pure outrage.

Tim’s chin raised defiantly. “I told you I could, didn’t I?”

At the reminder of the night Jack found out about Robin, Jack’s face twisted back into something ugly.

“So what?! I risk my life to save you from those freaks the first time, and this is the thanks I get? How the hell is anyone supposed to take me seriously when my son is—”

“I didn’t ASK you to save me, Dad!” Tim shouted. Years and years of bottling his resentment and frustration had led to an inevitable explosion, and Tim didn’t care who got burned. “I loved being Robin, I loved getting to help people, and getting to show what I can do. I worked so hard to earn Robin, and I gave it up to make you happy and I still can’t do anything right for you. I am so sick of pretending to be someone I’m not in the hopes that maybe someday it’ll finally be enough for you.”

“Tim—”

“No! It’s my turn now!” Tim’s words were acid. If he didn’t get them out now, they would burn him from the inside out. “I will never be the perfect kid you and Mom thought you deserved. I get that now. But I am enough. Bruce thinks so. Dick thinks so. And Conner thinks so too. I am more me with him than I am with anyone else. You already took Robin from me. I won’t let you take this from me too.”

Jack puffed up in rage. Seemingly having forgotten his lesson, he stormed into Tim’s space. Tim took a few steps back on instinct before he came back to himself and planted his feet, forcing Jack to stop to avoid a collision. Their faces were only a few inches apart as they glared at each other.

Tim realized he was almost as tall as his father.

Stubbornly trying to regain the control he could feel slipping through his fingers like water, Jack summoned every bit of authority he had in his body into his tone. “You aren’t seeing him again. This never happens again. Do I make myself clear?”

It was a good effort, but Tim had fought the Justice League. He regularly stared down the worst Gotham had to offer and said not here, not today. There was a lot he was willing to do to keep the peace. But Tim was fed up, and this was one thing he refusedto compromise on.

“No.”

There was nothing as immovable as a Bat who had made up their mind.

Maybe Jack finally recognized that because, for just a moment, Tim thought he saw something like sadness in his father’s eyes before they hardened like steel.

“Then get out.”

Tim blinked, his confusion enough to break through the bubble of anger that had been clouding out all else. “What?”

“I said get out of my house. And don’t come back.”

“Dad—”

“I don’t know who you are anymore. But you aren’t my son. I guess Batman ended up killing him after all.”

Tim’s eyes widened. He wasn’t sure whether it was the grief or betrayal that cut worse, but he kinda wished the numbness would come back. He drew in a deep breath, pulling what was left of his anger around him like a shield. Or maybe a cloak.

He spun around on his heel and marched back toward the front door.

The movement seemed to break the trance of confused horror that had held Dana like a vice as she watched the argument unfold like a demented tennis match.

“Tim!” she called after him. She reached out vainly as if that would be enough to close the distance that had opened up between them like a chasm. “Tim, sweetheart!”

Tim couldn’t turn around, but that didn’t make Dana’s heartbroken tone any less painful to hear.

He didn’t stop once he was out of the door until he was halfway down the street. And then, it was only because Conner landed right in front of him.

“Hey, what happened?”

Tim couldn’t answer. He couldn’t make eye contact right now either. But Conner didn’t press him.

“Okay,” he reassured, “that’s okay.” He raised one hand for Tim to take if he wanted. “Can I give you a lift then?”

Tim took the hand.

-0

Tim directed Conner to touch down at the Manor’s front door, not wanting to risk the possibility of Bruce having changed the security codes by now. Even still, he was certain they had tripped some sort of alarm when they flew over the property.

He was proven correct when Alfred pulled open the door before he’d had the chance to knock. If he noticed that Tim still hadn’t let go of Conner’s hand, the butler didn’t say anything.

“Master Timothy! What an excellent surprise!”

Despite everything, Tim found his mouth pulling into a fond smile at the old man. “Hi Alfred. Is Bruce home? I need to talk to him.”

“Right this way, sir!” Alfred said, already pulling the door open, and Conner allowed himself to be pulled along with nothing but a supportive hand squeeze.

Tim felt his heart pounding as he followed Alfred towards what he quickly realized was Bruce’s study. Suddenly unable to bear the silence anymore, Tim burst out: “Alfred, have you met Conner?”

Alfred’s face twitched into what only the bats would recognize as the butler suppressing a fond smile of his own. “I have not, sir. Though I must admit I had guessed.” Addressing Conner directly this time, Alfred continued, “My name is Alfred Pennyworth. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Kent.”

“Oh, uh…” Conner stammered before Martha Kent’s training kicked in. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Pennyworth.”

Alfred hmmd approvingly but left it there. Luckily, Tim was saved from further attempts at small talk by their arrival at the study doors. Alfred bid them goodbye before slipping away with a subtlety Conner had only thought attainable by bats.

Tim drew in a deep breath before knocking hesitatingly on the ornate doors. The “come in!’ came barely a moment later, and Tim pushed them open with the resignation of a convict approaching the gallows.

On any other day, Conner would have been looking around at anything and everything in the office appreciatively. But today he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Tim who had gone ramrod straight, his own gaze locked onto the man standing up from his desk at the other end of the room.

Bruce Wayne rose from his desk, in that moment somehow managing to look twice as intimidating in a tailored suit as he ever did as Batman. His eyes roved over both boys, taking in everything from their still intertwined hands to Conner’s civilian garb to the way Tim looked like he might be on the verge of passing out. His face was inscrutable the whole time.

Eventually, Bruce’s gaze met Conner’s own defiant glare. “So…” he drawled in perfect deadpan, “are the glasses genetic, or is the entire caped community conspiring to drive me prematurely gray.”

Tim let out a sudden laugh so strangled Conner was mildly concerned he was choking. Conner could empathize.

Apparently amused by their reaction, the Batman smirked,and Conner’s soul left his body for a moment.

When it became clear that they weren’t going to say anything on their own, Bruce continued. “Well, Conner, something tells me that Tim and I need to have a conversation. Will you be joining us, or do you have somewhere to be,” he asked mildly.

Conner gave Tim a sideways glance, under no delusions about who’s comfort Bruce was really concerned with here. Tim squeezed Conner’s hand one more time before finally letting go, and Conner took that as the dismissal it was.

“Actually, sir, I think better head to San Francisco before Victor starts to wonder where I am.”

Bruce nodded turned his attention to Tim. Conner made sure to supportively squeeze Tim’s shoulder back on his way out. He tried to ignore the part of himself that made him feel like he was abandoning Tim to the lions.

-0

Once Conner had pulled the door shut behind him, Bruce let go of the bit of Batman that had made its appearance the minute the proximity alarms had let him know that someone had flown over the property boundaries.

“Tim.”

Tim still wasn’t making eye contact, his gaze getting no closer than Bruce’s mouth. Bruce resisted the instinct to drop into the Batman voice. While it would be a sure-fire way to get Tim to look at him, it also would do nothing to actually make the kid more comfortable. Tim would assume that it meant he’d done something wrong, and that would just make everything ten times worse.

Instead, Bruce fought to keep his tone as even and gentle as possible. “How about we sit down,” he asked with a gesture toward the twin armchairs by the fire.

Tim nodded stiffly but still wouldn’t speak. Bruce held in his sigh. Just as he reached his own chair, there was another knock on the door, and Alfred pushed his way in without waiting for a response.

“Forgive me for interrupting, Master Bruce, but I thought some soothing tea might be helpful.”

Bruce smiled at the older man. “Thank you, Alfred. That would be great.”

Alfred nodded and brought his tray over to the side table before pouring each of them a cup. As he turned to leave, Tim’s quiet “thanks” was almost inaudible, but Alfred caught it anyway.

“You are most welcome, young man” he replied, making sure to send Bruce a pointed don’t screw this up glance on his way out.

Bruce settled down into the chair next to Tim, their knees almost close enough to touch. Tim’s hands were wrapped so tightly around his teacup that Bruce worried he might shatter it, but he didn’t take so much as a sip.

“Tim. Can you tell me what’s going on, son?”

Tim finally looked up from his cup again, his gaze settling on Bruce’s mouth again.

“I’m not really sure where to start.”

Okay, Bruce could work with that. “Does your Dad know where you are right now?”

Tim snorted humorlessly. “I really don’t think he gives a shit where I am or what I do at this point. He—” Tim broke off to clear his throat before trying again. “He kicked me out.”

There was pure defeat in Tim’s voice, as if he’d always known it was a matter of time, but he still managed to be disappointed anyway. That more than anything filled Bruce with a level of rage rare even for him while simultaneously breaking his heart.

Not trusting himself to speak at first, Bruce instead gently pulled the poor teacup out of Tim’s grasp and took his hands in his own. Tim’s fingers were trembling.

“Because he found out about you and Conner?” he clarified softly, not wanting to risk a faulty assumption when everything was so fragile.

Tim nodded again anyway. “We fought about some other stuff too, but… yeah, it was mostly about that. He saw us together, and—”

Again, Bruce really wanted to shake Jack Drake senseless. It was bad enough he always seemed to take this wonderful kid for granted, but to see a father intentionally hurt his child over something so inconsequential? It was unforgiveable.

“I’m so sorry, Tim. I know how much you wanted this to work out.”

Tim’s eyes filled with tears, and Bruce was pulling him against his chest even before he consciously recognized what he was seeing. As his son fell apart in his arms, Bruce found tears coming to his own eyes as well.

It had always been obvious how desperate Tim was for his father’s affection and approval after being starved for it for so many years. This was the final deathblow to the hope that one day it would be enough.

So, Bruce held his son, running his fingers through his hair. Eventually, Tim had cried himself out and pulled away, his embarrassment clear on his face. Bruce pulled a clean handkerchief (courtesy of Alfred, of course) from his pocket and handed it to a grateful Tim. Once he had pulled himself together, Tim looked back at Bruce, finally meeting his eyes.

“Does this…Does this mean I can come back to the Manor?”

“Oh, chum…” Bruce reached out to cradle one side of Tim’s face in his hand, his thumb reaching out to brush away another rogue tear. “I promise, you will always have a place in my home. Got it?”

“But what about Stephanie? You already have a Robin…”

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Well, first of all, your place in this family is not contingent on whether you’re wearing a mask or not. And I’m so sorry if I’ve made you think otherwise. You are just as welcome here if you never put a mask on again as you would be if you went out tomorrow.

And secondly,” here he grimaced, “I may or may not have fired her for putting herself in danger after I told her to stay put. So… Robin’s yours if you still want it.”

“And you’re really okay with me dating a guy?”

Bruce chuckled. “Tim, I’ve taken in three boys by now. You think I never considered the possibility that at least one of you might bring home a boy someday? Granted, I would have put money on Dick being the first, but the point still stands. It makes absolutely no difference to me if you’re gay, buddy.”

“Umm… I think I’m bi actually.”

“Alright then, but my point still stands. I trust your judgment, and I don’t care who you date, as long as they make you happy.”

Tim gave a watery smile. “Thanks, Bruce.”

“Anytime, kiddo.” Then fully out of emotion points, Bruce cleared his suddenly tight throat. “Now, mind coming with me to the cave?”

Confused, Tim cocked his head, but rose accommodatingly. “Sure, what do you need?”

Bruce shook his head as he spun the clock hands and opened the secret passage. “It’s not what I need, but what you need.” He beckoned Tim to follow him down the steps, which he did obligingly. “I need to grab some more Kryptonite.”

“Bruce!” Tim squawked in shock and indignation. His brain immediately went into panic mode, thinking about all the ways Bruce trying to shovel-talk Conner might go horribly wrong, or at least be horribly embarrassing.

Bruce turned back, completely baffled by how adamant and unexpected the refusal was. “Tim,” he started. And oh no, that was his I don’t know why you’re arguing with this perfectly reasonable request voice that always managed to piss Dick off.

“If the two of you are going to be spending time together in Gotham as civilians, you need to be prepared in case the two of you get caught up in one a Rogue attack.” He turned back around and continued on over to the vault where he kept the Kryptonite. “Oh, and don’t let me forget to give him one of these new rebreathers I’ve been working on next time he comes over. The last thing Gotham needs is a Kryptonian getting dosed with Fear Toxin or Joker Gas.”

Kryptonite in hand, Bruce spun and nearly walked into a frozen Tim who was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression. “What?” he asked, the smallest bit of defensiveness bleeding into his voice.

Tim’s voice turned slightly skeptical. “And that’s the only thing you want the Kryptonite for?”

Now it was Bruce’s turn to be confused. “Yes???” he asked, mind whirling to figure out what he was missing.

Tim realized he had definitely misread where this was going and felt torn between laughing at Bruce’s complete confusion and the urge to hug him.

He decided to go with the second one, and if Bruce still had no idea what was going on when he hugged Tim back, well, that just made it better.

-0

Conner was happy enough to take the call that saved him from having to help seed the backfield. He was twice as happy to hear it was from Tim, who he hadn’t heard from since Conner left him at Wayne Manor three days ago.

“Tim?”

“Conner…”

“Tim, is that…you?”

“It’s me.”

“What’s up? What’s going on? I hear gunshots.”

“Tell the Titans not to give up my room. Tell them I’m back.”

Conner grinned. “I knew it.”

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dangerousconnoisseurdonut · 3 years ago

Text

Omega Auction of the Century Preview

@jeromiah and @nostalgic90s proposed a most intriguing idea of Omegas being so rare, they are auctioned off, and Bruce would go for a frankly insane amount as he is the most eligible of Omegas around. This is just the start of an idea, but I have to get ready for work and want to know what people think of it so far!

Bruce couldn’t completely withhold his shudder of fear and revulsion as he heard the second Omega on the auction block went for a cool ten million, upped from the eight million the last one went for, simply because the first one had been a male and this one was a slightly pudgy (but not unattractive) female who came from a family of six, so she had a good chance for being a strong breeder. Oh, but how he and Brooke hated being referred to that way; as if they were cows or horses just waiting for a stud to come along. In school, they had both received a lot of flack from their peers, often being referred to as breeding stock or even whores once (Brooke had broken Grace Van Dhal’s nose when she said that). It was only their parents large donations to the school that they had taught them proper courses at all as many just enrolled Omega’s in more simple math courses, home economics, home estate management courses, and the like. When their parents had died, the school had tried to put them in those courses, thankfully their Uncles Lucius Fox and Ed Nygma, with their Alpha Dr. Leslie Thompkins, had simply pulled them from the school and taught them everything they needed to know.

Sadly, he thought as the third Omega was taken out for the block, it was probably all going to be for naught; rich Alphas and Betas didn’t really care how smart the Omega was so long as they were fertile and not an imbecile as they worried about the child inheriting such a thing (too bad you couldn’t keep stupid Alphas from mating). And, as Bruce was a rare intersex Omega, his fertility was somewhere around 89%, meaning he would probably get pregnant right away when they took him on his birthday and went into Heat. This was one of the reasons he was being saved for last; his high fertility rate combined with his company and his higher than average intelligence made him a very appealing Omega. Combined with the fact his twin sister was also an Omega, Bruce and Brooke could very well break the record for highest auctioned Omega in the United States, possibly all of North America, which was a steep forty million last year when Lex Luthor bought his Omega, a farm boy by the name of Clark Kent. Some people thought he overpaid, until the rumours started circulating that Lex had had a crush on the boy through their high school years, but the boy had largely appeared straight. At least, he thought as the third Omega, a boy that went for only seven million due to him having a scar on his abdomen from when he had needed to have his appendix taken out as well as his sister having had a miscarriage, Lee, Lucius, and Ed would get a large ‘dowry’ for them as the family of the Omega got around 40% of the bid.

As the fourth, and last Omega before them was hauled out, he bemoaned what they were making him and Brooke wear; all Omega’s had to wear very revealing clothes so as to entice the Alphas into spending big bucks on them. They had originally wanted Bruce and Brooke in something not even a prostitute would be caught dead in; some kind of lacy piece that frankly looked more like lingerie than any type of clothing. But, after a few well placed threats from Ed and Lee, what they was wearing was more fit for a rave or rock concert, but at least it wasn’t entirely see-through. They had put him in tight leather pants, a mesh t-shirt that left nothing to the imagination, and Lee had given him his favourite leather jacket to wear. Brooke was wearing some kind of leather halter top the covered her breasts and did nothing else, as well as a short skirt and fishnet stockings and her favourite knee high boots, all covered by her favourite leather duster. Soon though, he heard the last Omega, a beautiful young girl who came from a long line of strong Alphas and other beautiful Omegas, no Betas found in her family tree, even if her family wasn’t that well off, no doubt they would enjoy the 40% of the twenty million she was just sold for. They were soon being ushered onto the stage, and barely managed to hold in his whimpers as all the men and women in the room were looking at them like they were rib-eyes and they were all starving. Brooke had his hand clamped in a death grip as she looked out as well.

“And here we have, Ladies and Gentlemen, saved the best for last; twin Omegas, Bruce and Brooke Wayne! The last of the Wayne’s, they actually score high in mathematics and sciences, Bruce is intersex…” Bruce drowned out the announcer as his and Brooke’s ‘accomplishments’ were listed, and took stock of just who was there, and felt more than a little sick at who he saw; crime bosses like Thorn, Falcone, and Maroni were there (God, but he hoped Maroni didn’t win them as the man had four Omega’s already, and more than one of them had been accidentally photographed with shiners). There were creeps like Hugo Strange, who was rumoured to experiment on Betas, and Kathryn Monroe, who was rumoured to be something of a cult leader. Then, there were just straight up assholes like Roland Daggett, an unscrupulous CEO that was suspected of taking several shortcuts to get what he wanted, their old classmate Brant Jones, and the one who made him the sickest of all; Theo Galavan. Bruce prayed to whatever powers were listening that Galavan didn’t get them as he would no doubt dissolve Wayne Enterprises as he despised the Wayne’s, and it had been all Thomas, and later Lee, could do to keep Galavan away from Bruce and Brooke when they were younger.

“Shall we start the bidding at $500,000? Thank you, Mr. Daggett, that’s $500,000 to start us off.”

“$550,000!”

“You insult the pair, Salvatore! $750,000!” Bruce was pretty sure that was Carmine Falcone, and prayed that either they were going to be the old man’s, or his son Mario, who was said to actually be rather kind, as opposed to the daughter Sofia; word had it the woman was a straight up whack-job.

“You both insult such fine specimens; $1,000,000!” Hugo Strange bid, and Bruce quickly hoped someone outbid the man quickly as he was losing feeling in his hand due to Brooke’s squeezing.

“$1,500,000!” Bruce saw another acquaintance, Tommy Elliot enter the ring, and really hoped he had matured some since he punched his lights out.

“$5,000,000!” Please, God, no was all Bruce could think as Galavan threw his own hat into the ring.

“$6,000,000!” Bruce was both relieved someone outbid Galavan, but also a little disturbed as it was Kathryn Monroe who bid; he had nothing against older women taking younger lovers (he refused to call them cougars as he found it offensive), but it wasn’t really his thing and besides which, while he may be bisexual, he largely swung for his own team.

“$10,000,000!” Bruce looked up at the familiar voice and saw Barbara Kean and her partner Tabitha Galavan had just thrown down a substantial gauntlet, and he wondered why as not only were Barbara and Tabitha lesbians, they had two Omegas already, and one Beta; his friends Ivy Pepper, Bridgit Pike, and Selina Kyle. He figured this way, he would carry the pups and they wouldn’t have to worry about it. They were probably his and Brooke’s best hope as they would be with their friends and while Barbara could be a little intense (and Tabitha was well known for her whip), he didn’t think either woman would be abusive to their Omegas; Selina had certainly never complained about how Bridgit and Ivy were treated.

“$15,000,000!” Daggett came back into the ring with a strong bid, and Bruce was beginning to feel a little sick as he placed his other hand over Bryce, who whispered a sorry into his ear.

“$23,000,000!” Bruce was rather surprised when Fish Mooney threw a bid out as the woman was usually too busy to have much to do with Omegas, but among the crime bosses littering Gotham, she was one of the better ones to be owned by.

“$30,000,000!” Bruce gripped Brooke back as Galavan countered with a number not many would be willing to counter, even for twin Omegas.

“$40,000,000!” Barbara and Tabitha countered, and it seemed like they were in a vacuum as there didn’t seem to be any noise whatsoever. Bruce prayed that it was too much for Galavan to go above his sister as the announcer exclaimed,

“We have $40,000,000! Thank you Miss. Kean and Miss. Galavan! Do I have anymore bids? That’s $40,000,000 for the Wayne twins to Miss. Kean and Miss. Galavan going once! Going Twice! Going Three ti-!”

“$50,000,000!” Bruce was almost certain he or Brooke were going to pass out as they felt the air pressure drop at an unprecedented number, even for a pair of Omegas. He looked out into the audience and saw that many had mentally withdrawn from the battle, and felt his heart sink as he knew not even Barbara and Tabitha would go against such a bid.

“We now have $50,000,000 to Mr. Theo Galavan! That is a new record! Thank you, Mr. Galavan! Do I have anymore bids? Sirs? Ladies? Well, then that is $50,000,000 to Mr. Theo Galavan, going once!” Bruce prayed anyone would outbid Galavan; he would gladly cover the difference if at least his sister was safe, but none raised their hands.

“Going twice!” Bruce felt Brooke clutch his shoulder as her own shook with the realization that no one was going to outbid their worst nightmare.

“Going three times!” Bruce saw Galavan smirk as his dream of destroying the Wayne legacy was about to come to fruition.

“So-”

“$98,316,010.99!” Everyone was stunned and swirled their heads, trying to figure out who had placed such an outlandish (and rather peculiar) bid, only to see a man decked out in a tight leather outfit and completely bald; he didn’t even have eyebrows, but all knew who this man was. Victor Zsasz, one of, if not the most, Gotham’s most deadly assassins, the Penguin’s bodyguard and enforcer; a man not to be trifled with under any circumstances.

“S-sir?” The announcer, who before had been annoyingly enthusiastic about selling off young men and women, was now very scared as the assassin actually walked up on stage with two of his Zsaszette’s as others referred to them, both of whom smiled gently at the frightened Omegas.

“That, is a joint bid from my boss, Oswald Cobblepot, Jervis Tetch, Victor Fries, Jim Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, and the Valeska twins, Jerome and Jeremiah. They couldn’t decide which one they wanted, so they pooled their resources for the pair of them.” Zsasz explained before he took a good look at the twins and asked,

“Do either of you feel comfortable wearing that?” Bruce shook his head as Brooke whispered,

“No, Mr. Zsasz.”

“OK, we got some clothes in the car you can change into before we leave, make you look less like a pair of hookers and more like a pair of wealthy brats. Unless, of course, someone wishes to bid against the seven most dangerous men in the city?” Zsasz looked out toward the crowd, making eye contact with Galavan in particular, who actually looked to be gearing up to try and outbid the psychopath, when the announcer said,

“Going once, going twice, going thrice, sold! Sold to -”

“Just call them the Legion of Horribles; it’s quite the mouthful otherwise.” Zsasz said as he and his girls checked the pair for any bruising or scars, and somewhat surprised to see a few here and there, but they weren’t abuse scars; these were battle scars.

“Sold to the Legion of Horribles! They just have to do one final check-up and then you can pick them up at the side entrance.”

“Most valuable darlings in the world, and you make them sound like a pair of cheap hookers, nice.” One of the Zsaszette’s complained before the pair were escorted off the stage.

Please tell me what you think of it so far, as there’s a lot more to come!

#Gotham #gotham au #bruce wayne #brooke wayne #abo #victor zsasz

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oreoambitions · 5 years ago

Text

A companion to this piece for @liapetros and @jellybabykid

Lena is still standing over Lex with a smoking gun in her hand when she calls Jess. Her brother's blood is seeping across the floor, and her best friend is a liar, and she doesn't know what else to do. So when Jess picks up the phone, she says, "Lex is dead. I shot him."

And Jess replies, "Don't worry, Ms. Luthor. I'm on my way."

Lena isn't sure what compels her to add, "Kara Danvers is Supergirl."

There's a long silence on the line. Lena can hear the vague background noise of Jess getting ready to come to her rescue. "I know," Jess says at last. "She didn't tell me; it was the way she looks at you that gave it away."

Lena hangs up . The room feels empty and crowded all at once, and she's just committed a crime, and she's just said goodbye to her brother for the last time, and there's been so much betrayal, and she feels like she can't breathe. She cries and she hates herself for it. She doesn't even know which part of it all she's crying about.

She's barely made it back to her apartment when Alex calls. She looks at the cellphone ringing on the kitchen counter and she considers turning the ringer off - honestly, fuck anyone with the last name 'Danvers' right now - but she thinks better of it. Maybe Kara's been hurt. Maybe she needs help. There is nothing, not even a betrayal like this, that will keep Lena from coming to Kara's aid when it really matters. Not a damn thing. She lets the phone go to voice mail anyway, and she pours the drink she's been too upset to touch down the sink before she calls Alex back.

Alex does need help, but not with Kara. She leads Lena down into the basement of the DEO, deeper than Lena has ever been before, to a medbay Lena has never seen. It makes her wonder what other secrets the DEO might have been keeping all this time. The figure on the bed is so still that Lena might have thought she were dead if it weren't for the rasping sound of her breathing, shallow and fast, and the sickly green light flickering through her veins. Lena looks at Red Daughter and sees Kara and almost cries out in spite of herself. Not Kara, she tells herself. Not Kara, not Kara, not Kara.

"Red Daughter," she says out loud. She still has to swallow down the tears that are threatening an encore but here, trembling in the doorway of a top secret government medical facility, is not the place. And this is not the time.

"She's not getting better," Alex says.

"Kryptonite poisoning?" Not that Lena really needs to ask. She pulls a box from her pocket. A suit meant for Supergirl, but then, Supergirl is Kara is Red Daughter in a way, so what does it matter? As the suit unfolds over Red Daughter's body, Lena thinks to herself that in an odd way she is all that's left of Lex. His Kryptonian pet. His legacy.

"How did this happen?"

"Supergirl was down; Lex had a Kryptonite cannon. Red Daughter threw herself in front of the blast."

Lena thinks of Lex's mocking laughter, of gun metal hot in her hand, of the smell of blood. "She's going to live," she says. It's more of a wish than a declaration, but Alex doesn't need to know that. "She'll need a transfusion."

Alex nods. "I'll get Supergirl. Now?"

"Tomorrow. They both need to rest."

Lena sits in that dark room all night holding Red Daughter's hand while the suit filters kryptonite out of her blood bit by bit. Fast enough to keep her alive. Not fast enough to make her better. Only Supergirl can do that, and it chafes at Lena's pride, but there it is. Lex was right about one thing: humanity is only worth so much in the company of gods. Still, here is one god who would be dead now if it weren't for Lena. That's not nothing.

Alex arrives in the morning looking cowed and leading a stonefaced Jess, who has come bearing food, a change of clothes, and Lena's laptop. She tells Lena that she "took care of it" and Lena nods but doesn't bother to answer the unspoken question on Alex's lips. So that's that. Lex is gone and gone and gone. But it's not important now, because Red Daughter is very much alive, and until she's stable that's all that matters. Jess looks at the vitals on the monitor without comment.

"Will that be all, Ms. Luthor?" she asks.

"Can you clear my schedule for the next few days?"

"It's already done."

Thank the fucking Lord for Jess.

Supergirl appears in the doorway later that same morning, perfectly still for once in her life, tears in her eyes, not quite meeting Lena's gaze. She kneels next to Red Daughter's bed and squeezes her arm and whispers something in Krpytonian which Lena isn't sure Red Daughter can even hear through the helmet, let alone understand, but then again, she isn't sure she can't. Then Supergirl rolls up her sleeve and pulls up a chair.

"How long will this take?"

It takes four hours, and it's awful. Kara shudders as the first of the Krpytonite hits her system and Lena wants to look away and she wants to tell Kara that she knows it's her and she can't do either of those things. She watches that eerie green glow creep through Kara's veins and feels sick. What if this doesn't work? What if they both die by Lena's hand?

Red Daughter stirs an hour in, groans, coughs, calls for Alex. Alex shoots Kara a puzzled look but she takes Red Daughter's other hand anyway. "I'm here," she says, and Red Daughter stills. Half an hour later they have to bring in a bed for Kara when she can't hold herself up in the chair anymore. An hour after that Red Daughter's vitals start to improve.

Kara is in the kryptonite suit for three days. So is Red Daughter. Lena spends every waking moment perched on a chair between their beds, ostensibly working, but mostly crying. They're both unconscious most of the time, so it's not like there's anyone but the DEO's security camera to see her moments of weakness. She prays a lot, but she couldn't say who it is she's praying to. God? Rao? The man in the moon? She prays in silence because she's never sure when Kara is and isn't awake. Red Daughter doesn't wake at all.

On the fourth day, Alex moves Supergirl upstairs.

On the fifth day, Sam calls.

"Everyone is talking about what happened," she says. "I keep thinking that I should have been there to help." And then, "I crushed the handle on the car door today. I wasn't even mad, I was just trying to open it. I told Ruby it was a hit and run but she's not stupid; she's going to figure this out."

Lena listens to Red Daughter's rhythmic breathing and considers telling Sam that there's another Kryptonian in the world. Instead she says, "You're going to be okay. Did you enroll in that meditation class you were talking about?"

On the sixth day, Red Daughter wakes up.

It's the sixth night, really. They've finally taken Red Daughter out of her kryptonite suit and have brought in the sun lamps. Lena, used to sleeping in a dark room, is tossing and turning on Kara's vacated hospital bed but too stubborn to leave. What if something happens in the night? What if Red Daughter gets worse and Lena isn't there to help?

So she's on her feet in an instant when she hears whimpering from across the room, and she's already there to gently push Red Daughter back against the bed when she starts to thrash against the wires and the needles connected to her body. Two blue eyes meet hers, and the struggling stops.

"Can you tell me your name?" Lena asks. She tells herself she's asking because she wants to better understand the mental state of the patient. In truth she just wants to avoid another secret.

"Alex?"

"She went home for the night, but she'll be here to see you in the morning." Probably Alex would be here in half an hour tops if Lena were to call her right now, but Lena doesn't see the point.

"No," Red Daughter says. "Alex. Your brother."

Lena takes a breath to speak, but no words come out. Red Daughter's gaze is flickering back and forth between her eyes, and one hand has found Lena's.

"He's dead," Lena manages at last. And then, because the avoidance of secrets goes both ways, she adds, "I killed him. After his fight with Supergirl."

Surprise, grief, anger, and relief cross Red Daughter's face in succession. All she says is, "Good. And Supergirl?"

"She's okay. She was here a couple of days ago. Gave her blood to save your life."

"Then we are even."

"I suppose you are."

They stare at one another. Lena is suddenly aware of how close she is, one hand still on Red Daughter's shoulder, the other in her grasp, their thighs touching where Lena is perched on the edge of the bed. The sun lamps are too warm for her comfort.

"Can you tell me your name?" Lena asks again.

Another succession of feelings: confusion, grief, anger, sadness. "Alex called me Linda."

"Do you want me to call you something else?"

"I don't have anything else."

The first time Linda tries to walk, she falls down and then sits on the floor crying. When she finally pulls herself together, it's to ask how long she has until she has to leave.

Lena and Alex look at one another and then at Linda.

"What do you mean, leave?" Alex asks.

"If I don't have my powers, I'm worthless to you."

Lena has to get out of the room because otherwise she's going to lose her temper in front of Linda, and Linda will think it's her fault and not Lex's. She paces in the hallway with her hands balled into fists so tight her muscles twitch, and then she puts her head up against the wall and she lets out a long frustrated growl.

"I think we should move her upstairs," she tells Alex. "I think it will be good for her to see people."

When Linda can finally walk on her own again, Alex agrees.

Lena goes back to work. Kara texts once in a while, but Lena doesn't answer often or at length and Supergirl doesn't stop by. Lena wonders whether Kara knows that she knows, or whether she's just picking up on the unspoken tension. She tells Kara that she's just so busy with work that she can't spare the time to hang out, but of course Kara is aware that she's spending every free minute with Linda. Lena justifies it by telling herself that Linda doesn't really have anyone else.

Linda says she misses reading, and so Lena begins to bring her books. A trickle at first, but she goes through them so fast that by the end of the week Lena is bringing her a stack every day. History and romance, biology and social theory. It takes her two days to finish all seven volumes of Harry Potter. She does His Dark Materials in an afternoon. Alex gives her a copy of Bridge to Terabithia; Lena bans her from providing books after that.

Ruby is suspended for shattering another student's rib cage. She swears it was an accident; she doesn't know how it happened. Her school enrolls her in anger management classes, and Ruby says she doesn't need them but she can't say it without getting angry, and so the classes stay. Sam is inconsolable over the phone.

"She doesn't know what's happening to her," she says. "I don't even know what's happening to her."

Lena wants to say, It's the same thing that's happening to you. Instead she says, "Have you considered talking to Supergirl about it?"

Sam says, "I'm sorry Lena, I have to go."

Linda starts attending physical fitness classes in the gym with the DEO recruits. She doesn't speak to them, and they don't speak to her, but Lena hopes it's good for everyone involved. Once in a while Supergirl lingers in the doorway, watching Linda's progress, but she makes the human recruits too nervous to visit with any frequency. When Linda is in the medbay, she doesn't visit at all.

And then one day Lena gets a text message from Alex: Linda left in the middle of class. She seemed upset. Lena walks out in the middle of a meeting and trusts that Jess will make it somehow okay.

She finds Linda leaning against the wall in the medbay bathroom. Her tears have dried, but her eyes are still puffy and red, and she's still wringing her hands. She looks at Lena warily, as though she expects to be in trouble. Lena supposes that if Lex were here, she would be.

"They said I wasn't real," Linda whispers. "I'm just a copy. And it's- It's true, isn't it? I'm nothing. I'm never going to fly again. On the ground, I can’t even keep up."

Lena feels something old and painful inside of her shift. It feels like childhood, and not in a sunshine and butterflies kind of way. It feels like cowering under Lilian's gaze. It feels like Lex throwing her work in the dirt. You'll have to do better than that if you ever want to be a real Luthor.

Lena reaches out a tentative hand to stroke Linda's cheek, and when she doesn't pull away, she brings the second hand up to cup her chin.

"You feel real to me," Lena says.

Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise when Linda kisses her, but it is. She steps into Lena's space and before Lena can register that she should perhaps step away Linda's mouth is on hers and it's... good. Linda tastes like sweat and tears and something Lena can't define. She brushes her tongue over Linda's bottom lip and her breath hitches when Linda moans and slips an arm around her waist.

It's like that cliche: it feels like a puzzle piece slipping into place. Only Lena knows the edges don't quite line up, and the colors aren't right, and she's only going to make more work for herself in the long run if she leaves this piece here, this imperfect fit. She knows it when Linda deepens the kiss and Lena has to keep from gasping Kara's name into her mouth. She knows it, but she doesn't walk away.

Sam agrees to come to National City. "I can't take this anymore. I have to do something."

Lena promises to talk to Supergirl for her, and it's probably the most uncomfortable promise she's ever made. "Next week?"

"The week after; we have a thing with Ruby's school next week. Will that work?"

"I'll make it happen."

Lena opens a blank message to Kara's personal phone and considers asking her right then and there if she would be willing to talk Sam through understanding and controlling her powers. But that would mean admitting that she knows who Kara is, and it would be a petty way to break the ice, and Lena has marks on her neck from last night when Linda discovered that she could make Lena squirm by sucking just so, and all of this is just wrong. She closes the messaging app.

Two days later she falls down the stairs in the DEO. It's these damn heels. A Luthor should be allowed to wear practical shoes. She steps just wrong and falls backwards, has only an instant to acknowledge that she's probably about to break her neck when Linda catches her.

"You have to be careful," Linda admonishes.

Lena laughs. She laughs because Linda was at the bottom of the stairs talking with Alex when she fell. She laughs because there's no way Linda could have gotten to her in time.

"Congratulations," Alex says, patting Linda's shoulder as she walks by. "You've just graduated from medbay."

They agree that even though Linda is recovering her powers, she should stay in the DEO, at least for the time being. The night she moves into her new room she asks if Lena will stay with her. Lena agrees without hesitation. They share a bed for the first time, but they've agreed in advance not to go any further than that. Linda's arms are so gentle around Lena in the night, her fingers absently rubbing circles across Lena's hip, her breath hot on the back of Lena's neck, and the whole thing is driving Lena absolutely mad. She has that wrong-piece feeling when she turns to kiss Linda's mouth.

"Are you ready to fly tomorrow?" she asks, mostly to distract herself from the heat pooling between her legs and from the thought of Kara holding her like this, pressing kisses to her jaw, slipping a thumb under the waistband of her shorts.

"I'm ready if that's what you need me to be," Linda replies.

"I don't need you to be anything," she says.

Linda smiles at her sadly in the half light. "Of course you do," she says. "You need me to be her."

Lena doesn't ask who 'her' is. She doesn't have to.

#supercorp #supercorp fic #commiecorp #ficlet #angst #sorry #supergirl #kara danvers #alex danvers #lena luthor #sam arias #red daughter #linda lee

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