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starry-bi-sky · 1 year ago

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I saw a post a few months ago (and damn was it really months? In PLURAL?) that was a cracky dpxdc au where the LOS were making Damian clones but the clones kept getting snatched by ghost portals and dropped into Danny’s lap and Danny just goes “ok ig this is my life now” and takes care of each one until he has his own mini army of Damian Clones.

And I remembered it a few days ago, and now I've been thinking about it again. Because I love clone aus (see: clone danny au, the 'danny is thomas wayne' au) because it itches the part of my mind that loves exploring personhood and the exploration of identity and what it means to be clone.

(What do you do when nothing about you is unique? When your face, your eyes, your hands, your hair, your voice, all the way down to your heart, all belong to someone else?)

(When it comes to nature vs nurture what of you came from your environment and your experiences, and what of you was already programmed into you from the DNA that made you?)

(What do you do to make it unique? What do you do to make you unique?)

And if I could remember who made that post I'd @ them right now because it was their original post that inspired this, but I'm just thinking of if the au only had One Singular Damian clone that fell into Danny's life.

(a read more because im apparently incapable of making posts that are less than 1k words...)

One Damian who knew he was a clone and knew that he was to either bring the original back to base or kill him to take his place, who was being trained the same way but kept getting compared to his original over and over again. Like an older sibling who you can never match up to. Who is still a child who craves adult affection and validation and praise, and can't get it because nothing about him is original.

One Damian who, at six years old, in a twist of fate is sucked through a swirling portal and lands in Amity Park, directly on top of, in front of, or in line of sight of one Daniel Fenton, half-ghost extraordinaire and local hero.

What happens next?

Well, for one, Danny recognizes him immediately. He would recognize the face of Damian Wayne anywhere because his best friend was ranting about him all week about Damian Wayne's environmental stuff he does.

And for two, he would recognize that the Damian Wayne in front of him was not Damian Wayne. Because Damian Wayne was a teenager. And the Damian Wayne in front of him is a child. Six years old.

Getting this not-Damian but also-Damian to go along with Danny is not, not an easy task. The tiny Damian is aggressive, regal, and at this point in time, six years old, barely understanding english. He also has a sword.

It takes all day and a google translator to get this Tiny Damian to finally agree to go home with Danny. It's a miracle. Seriously. A tried and true miracle. And its also only when Danny has to fight a ghost does he finally agree, saying something in arabic that Danny doesn't understand.

Danny flies them both home, carrying Tiny Damian like a koala. The ensuing conversation in his room is not any better. It is tiring, long, and exhausting. Tiny Damian is six years old, and every single thing he says when Danny asks where he came from is met with a poorly translated "that's classified".

Danny keeps an eye on the news. There are no reports of Damian Wayne going missing, in fact he's been rather public. Bruce Wayne is not one to lie about his children going missing, and Damian's secretive behavior and young age draws Danny to one conclusion: Damian is a clone.

He doesn't know why Damian Wayne is being cloned. Frankly he doesn't really wanna know, because whatever organization that did it doesn't seem too pure-of-heart if tiny-Damian's immediate attempt of murder when they first met is of any indication. But he's too busy taking care of his city, that he doesn't have time to deal with whatever shady business Tiny-Damian was produced from.

In the end though, he decides that this Tiny-Damian is not going back to whatever place he came from. Tiny Damian disagrees. It is a long, nebulous problem of Damian trying to run away, Danny catching him, and Danny pulling him back home.

In that time, Danny downloads a language app and starts learning Arabic so that they can talk to each other properly. Damian slowly, slowly, starts picking up English.

In that time, Danny also has to inform his friends and his sister about Damian. Tiny Damian is not a fan of this. That is another argument they have. Tiny Damian does not like Sam or Tucker for a long, long while. He only really "listens" to Danny, citing something in arabic that Danny still cannot understand, but has a repeated use of the word "lieazir". It's the only word that Danny can catch in a sentence immediately, because its what little Damian calls Danny.

Tiny Damian, in that front, is very interested in Danny's powers and in his parents work. He finds tubberware of ectoplasm in the fridge once while they're down in the kitchen and calls it something with the word lieazir in it. The other word is something that Danny later learns means water in arabic.

It makes him feel even more uneasy of whatever place little Damian came from.

It takes weeks for little Damian to finally give up on escaping, and then a few weeks more for him to almost entirely lose his spunk. Danny isn't sure what started it. It was as if he'd been flipped with an off-switch.

(Damian had been so confident that the League would go looking for him after his disappearance. He was wrong, and he is crushed. He is still a child, alone, in a country very big and very busy, where nobody understands what he's saying. He feels powerless, helpless.)

(The lazarus boy who calls himself Danyal is nice to him in a way the league has never been, and he's making an effort to learn Damian's language. But he leaves for hours at a time and Damian doesn't have much else to do but wait in this house for him to come back.)

(He tried leaving, many many times, but he doesn't understand the street signs, the roads, the people. He doesn't know where he is, and he feels scared in a way that he's not felt in the League. Danny finds him every single time, hours later when Damian is lost somewhere in Amity Park)

(And he never yells at him. Never. The first time this happens, Damian puffs himself up and prepares himself for this strange lazarus boy to yell at him. Damian feels like he's tripped on the last step of the stairs when Danyal doesn't yell at him.)

(He can tell he's frustrated by the tone of his voice, but when Danyal lays eyes on him he just looks relieved. He gets scolded on the flight home, but Damian doesn't understand any of it other than Danyal just sounds worried. Not angry. He gets a proper scolding once they get back, with Danyal typing into the google translator and playing it for Damian to hear.)

(This happens every single time until Damian finally agrees to stop running away.)

It's with Jazz's help that Danny finally realizes that Damian was depressed. It's with her help again that Danny tries helping with it. It's like trying to get a stray cat to trust him. And with everything else they've done, it takes a long time.

And it is so, so worth it when it all works out.

Tiny Damian doesn't really like Sam, or Tucker, but he likes Danny. And he finally starts calling him his name. His full name, but his name nonetheless. Danny doesn't bother correcting him. He's not looking a gift horse in the mouth. And it's endearing hearing Damian call him Danyal.

Damian in this time, also begins to take more initiative into learning English. And they teach each other words they know. Danny buys flash cards and writes the english alphabet on them, and then finds a book on arabic to teach himself and Damian. Sam and Tucker and Jazz start learning as well.

And then when Danny knows enough arabic and Damian knows enough english, and Damian trusts Danny, Damian tells him he's a clone. It's a quiet moment, late at night when Danny takes Damian up to the ops center to look at what stars they could see through the light pollution.

It'd be very easy for Danny to tell him, "I know. I could tell from the start.". He doesn't, it's not the time nor the place, and Danny's matured enough to know when to open his mouth and when to keep it shut. He lets Damian, almost seven now, tell him that he's a clone of Damian Wayne. Lets him tell him why he was made, what his purpose was.

(Danny will need a minute later to process the fact that Damian Wayne originally came from some kind of... assassin league with an obsession with immortality. But he's focused on Damian.)

In the end, he puts an arm around Damian Wayne's clone and pulls him into his side. Thanks him for trusting him, it must've been hard to tell him, that he's brave for being able to. And if he wants to, they can find a way to get into contact with the Waynes and let Wayne know about him.

Damian hides his face in Danny's ribs and holds him tight, and tells him he doesn't want to. Danny leaves it at that.

Perhaps it would be more morally ethical to alert Damian Wayne that there was a clone of him running around, that his... uh, grandfather was making clones of him. Hell, Danny would have liked it. But little Damian has asked him not to say anything, and little Damian needs someone to rely on; someone he can trust.

And in the end, its not that hard of a decision to make. Danny knows little Damian more than he knows Damian Wayne, and while Danny likes to think he's a good person, he knows he's not a great one. Nor a perfect one. He cares more about someone he knows than someone he doesn't.

If Sam tries to argue with him about it, then Danny will just double down. If Damian doesn't want to tell Wayne about his existence, then it's not their place to say otherwise.

There's a lot more to talk about over Damian's cloning, like what he wants to do moving forward. But that's a long conversation not meant to be one taken late at night. Little Damian is falling asleep at his side, seemingly much more relaxed than he did before, and Danny wasn't gonna ruin that.

And later he's right, it is a long conversation, and a slow one. Talking with Jazz about it helps him figure out what to do moving forward, and their best bet is to let Damian figure out what he wants to do. So he sits Damian down at the dinner table the next morning and tells him before breakfast that he doesn't need to be Damian Wayne.

He doesn't need to learn all the same things Damian Wayne did. He doesn't need to do anything that Damian Wayne does. And little Damian is seven, and he's smart, but Danny still has to word it in a way that's not too complex for him to realize.

And in the end, what he says essentially boils down to "You are not Damian Wayne, you are just you. Don't be anyone else but you." and it'll take more time to drill that into his mind when all he's ever heard and learned from is that he was a copy of Damian Wayne, and he must act like Damian Wayne. But it'll happen.

It's a hard task when Danny's the only person Damian really trusts and he can't be by his side all the time, but he starts to warm up to the rest of Danny's family. The Fenton parents know of him, it's hard to keep a six year old child a secret for as long as Danny did without eventually having to come clean about it. His parents, much to Danny's relief, are very welcoming to Damian.

Damian figures out what he likes. Slowly. He's six years old, almost seven, and nobody expects of him to figure out who he is immediately. No child knows who they are right off the bat. So like any child he begins to explore. His english is better but still rough, and he struggles to read said language, but the Fenton family are happy to help even if Damian learns words that no normal seven year old does. (Many of them scientific.)

Damian realizes he likes stars, even if said interest is influenced by the association to Danny. Danny is all too delighted to tell him all about them, and in the process takes him flying out somewhere where the light pollution doesn't reach and showing him where constellations are.

Damian is six-almost-seven, so he doesn't find all of them, but Danny helps him figure out the easier ones. He tells him the scientific facts behind them, and then tells him about the mythos of the constellations. Later on they make their own constellations and make up stories about what they are.

(Damian adores Danny out of anyone else in the Fenton Family. The name Danyal turns to Dany. If anyone asks, Daniel Fenton is Damian's big brother.)

(He still refers to Jazz as Jazmine, and Danny's parents as Mrs. and Mr. Fenton.)

He realizes that, like his original, he loves animals, and he becomes vegetarian too. Sam is smug and Tucker is disappointed, but Damian doesn't super care about their opinions. ...he's getting better at liking them, even if he thinks Manson is a bit snobby and Foley is too much at times.

Its inevitable that the conversation of school comes into play. Damian can't stay home all day and he needs proper schooling. So after a long talk with Damian, they agree to send him to elementary school.

...And before they can do that the Fenton Family goes through with legally adopting Damian into the family as Damian Fenton. It takes convincing to get the administration to enroll him into the first grade without a proper schooling background.

(On his adoption form, Damian asks to change his birthday to the day he met Danny. Perhaps its not the most responsible thing to agree to, but Danny wants Damian to find himself. And its not like they know when his actual birthday was.)

And despite where he learned it from, Damian quite likes sparring. And he quite likes sparring with Danny in particular. Danny makes it fun, something that was foreign in his old league training, and Danny never hurts him. It's a lot like roughhousing.

Danny tells Damian how he got his powers, and how his parents don't know. Damian wakes up late at night to Danny sneaking out of the room (their house is not big enough to give Damian an individual room, and Danny agreed to share his) to go fight ghosts.

It's upsetting. Damian knows that Danny gets injured in those fights, even if Danny never comes home until after those injuries have been fixed up. He wants to help, and he voices it, and Danny shoots him down.

It becomes an argument, something that has happened less and less over the months.

Damian is experienced.

Damian is a child.

Damian knows how to fight.

Damian is mortal and fragile. He is a tiny, squishy human boy and the people Danny fights are ghosts who are near-indestructible. Who are intimately acquainted with death but also do not remember that humans are capable of it. Especially when they're fighting.

Damian says that Batman's rogues are capable of the same thing, that he lets his Robins help him fight.

And Danny says he is not Batman and he will not allow Damian to fight ghosts with him. Those ghosts will kill him and it will hurt. Dying hurts in a way that is terrifying and unimaginable and he will not risk Damian experiencing it. Not even Sam and Tucker help him in his fights most of the time, they are not able to. Not in the way Danny can.

Damian doesn't talk to him all day the following morning, but Danny does not budge on his decision. Damian tries to follow him out the next night, and Danny catches him and takes him back. Over, and over, and over again.

Until finally he gets intercepted by Skulker while taking Damian back home and is forced to fight him in front of Damian. (If it had been his choice, he would not have let Damian see it at all.)

It's not pretty. Skulker has new weapons, weapons that hurt, a lot. Danny is stuck between trying to take him down and trying to protect Damian from Skulker's attacks at him and from all the debris being created from the fight. It's with Damian's quick thinking and fast feet that finally helps Danny take Skulker out. But Danny is badly injured in the aftermath.

He doesn't have time to take Damian home and get medical attention. So he takes Damian with him to wherever he has his supplies stashed. He doesn't call Sam or Tucker or Jazz, and has to stitch himself up alone, with Damian watching.

Damian is quiet the entire time, he feels awful. Danny's not mad at him -- well, he is. But not because he had to protect him. He's just tired, and a little disappointed in him. Damian doesn't sneak out again. But he still feels helpless.

Danny tells him that that is why he doesn't want Damian to help him. Ghosts, his ghosts, are hard to fight. They are powerful, and his 'rogues' are mean. They will not care that Damian is a mortal child, if he picks a fight with them, they will fight back. And Damian is not immune to certain ghost powers like Danny is.

Damian is silent. He wants to help. But Danny is right: he is a squishy, mortal, living child. There is not much he can do to help Danny. Not without any gear to do it. Not without any powers to do it. He wants to help. He cannot.

Damian, almost-seven-years old, begins to cry. It is the last thing Danny was expecting, and for a moment he is at a loss of what to do.

Damian reaches for him -- in the Fenton family, physical affection is expected. Damian is getting used to it, but Danny is the only one he likes touching him -- and then stops, cringing away like he only just remembered that Danny was hurt.

He only cries harder.

Danny meets him halfway and pulls him into his arms, situating Damian between his knees from where he's sitting. Through his tears, Damian says he wants to help. He wants to help. He doesn't want Danny to get hurt anymore. He doesn't want Danny to fight ghosts alone anymore. He's scared that Danny will stop coming back.

Danny doesn't have anything to say to reassure him. Can't say anything to reassure him. It'll all just be lies. He's not going to stop fighting ghosts, he can't. He's not going to stop getting hurt, he can't. He's not going to bring Damian with him, he can't. He'd never be able to live with himself.

"I'll always come back." He says though, because that is something he can promise. Whether dead or alive, he'll come back.

When the tears finally stop, Damian doesn't say anything again. He sniffles, and presses his ear to Danny's chest, listening to the steady, slow heartbeat. If he puts his ear to his sternum and strains his ear, Damian would almost hear the low hum of Danny's ghost core, like a small dwarf sun.

"If you die, I'll drag you to the Lazarus pools myself." Damian mumbles eventually, his voice sleep-full. It's spoken in arabic, and Danny only understands half of it.

He laughs quietly, and smoothes his hand over Damian's hair. He hasn't had a haircut since he arrived, it's gotten long and there are curls beginning to form. "Okay."

Damian falls asleep shortly after, and with much consideration to his own injuries and Damian's sleeping form, Danny flies them back home.

It's hard to say, but not much changes in routine afterwards. Damian hovers close to Danny, more than usual. Danny still goes out at night, he still stitches himself up before going back, he still goes back home where Damian is waiting worriedly for him. Damian doesn't like falling asleep without knowing Danny is there.

Now the hard question is: when does little Damian finally meet the Waynes for the first time? There's plenty of ways to go about it, both easy and hard. Perhaps we go this way:

The Fenton family are visiting Maddie's sister in Arkansas. And Damian is dragging Danny around through the surrounding forest. It's his first time being in a forest this large since he moved in with the Fentons. Safe to say he is delighted by all of the nature, and he's dragging Danny along with him.

Danny likes the peace and quiet it gives him, he's found that he enjoys the rural area more than he likes the city. He's happy to let Damian point out every plant he recognizes, even if some of it is in arabic.

They walk around all day until Damian gets tired, and then at night when the sky is clear Danny and him go look at the stars. It's peaceful at first.

On the third day of their visit, Damian drags Danny out far from the house. It's slightly worrying, but Danny can always fly them back if it gets too late.

It's in the woods that Danny and Damian stray much too far from Alicia's house, and from there in the early evening that they run into Batman and Red Robin, both of them in rough 'just got out of a fight' shape.

Safe to say, it was the last thing any of them expected to run into. Damian and Danny had stopped at a small crik to rest, and the two vigilantes came through the tree line on the other side.

It was... quite the staring contest.

Damian, now seven years old at this point, forgot to mention that the Waynes were vigilantes when he told Danny he was a clone. But he was told that Batman was his original's father.

Before anyone can say anything, little Damian wraps his arms tight around Danny's middle and stares Batman and Red Robin down. His sharp edges have softened around the Fentons. But he makes no exceptions to anyone else outside of Danny's immediate social circle.

Danny's arm automatically goes around Damian's shoulders, and he looks between both Red and Batman uneasily. If they were here then it meant that there was something unsafe nearby. Danny did not fight the living, and he wasn't going to put Damian in the crosshairs of anything that does.

"Should... should we leave?" He asks, brows knotted together with a frown. He stands. "Is there something going on nearby?"

Batman suddenly grunts, and looks at him. "It's been handled." He says, and his voice is gruffer than Danny imagined it. Lower. Danny is not all that comfortable with that answer.

"Do you guys live nearby?" Red Robin asks, and Danny can't help but notice that he keeps looking at Damian. Warily. In fact, so is Batman.

He pushes Damian behind him slightly, and Damian's grip tightens on him. "Not... exactly." He says, his eyes narrowing slightly. "My family's visiting my Aunt and my brother wanted to explore since it's his first time out of the city, I guess we wandered too far away if we're running into you."

There's no visible indication of whether or not both Bats reacted to him calling Damian his brother. But he can all but feel little Damian preen at the title, it makes Danny's mouth twitch into a smile as his hand finds Damian's hair.

"Would we be able to go back with you?" Red Robin asks, startling both Danny and seemingly Batman, who looks at him instantly.

"Red Robin." He growls out, and Red Robin throws Batman a look of annoyance.

"We are lost, B. They jammed the comms and our trackers back there and it hasn't come back on yet, his aunt may have the signal we need to let the others know where we are."

They end up walking back with Danny and Damian. It's silent, and awkward, and Danny has Damian walking on his opposite side so he's not near the vigilantes. Red Robin is fiddling with a phone but still can't get a signal.

Batman is silently brooding.

Red eventually gives up and shoves the phone into a pocket on his belt, then turns to make conversation with Danny. "I never thanked you for letting us walk with you. Thanks, by the way."

Danny blinks at him, and smiles awkwardly. "No problem, man," he says, "I'm uh, Danny." He glances down at Damian, who looks up at him with big green eyes, and Damian nods quietly.

He looks back at Red Robin, and says, "This is my little brother, Damian." And Damian peers over his side and glares at Red Robin -- and Batman, who looks over when Danny says his name.

"He looks like Damian Wayne," Red Robin notes, head tilting like he's inspecting him.

Danny huffs dryly, "We get that a lot."

Red Robin smiles at him, its a tilted thing. It makes Danny uneasy. "Where did you say you were from?"

"I didn't," Danny says bluntly, and he really doesn't want to tell them where he's from. Not when Red Robin was acting strange, but they're vigilantes and notorious for their detective skills. If he's suspicious, they'll look into him. "But I'm from Amity Park."

Damian in that moment, peers around Danny again and scowls at Red Robin. Full on scowls at him, as if it were the first months when he met Danny. "You're being nosy." He sneers, his hand squeezing Danny's.

"Damian," Danny hisses, suppressing a smile. Damian jumps like he's been startled, and looks up at him with big green eyes. "He's just being curious."

(He lets his smile slip through briefly, just to let Damian know he's not that upset. A tension leaves his little brother's shoulders.)

"But he is." Damian continues, a whine leaking into his voice. Danny jabs him in the ribs with his fingers, and Damian jumps, swatting away his hand with a squeak.

"Would you rather have us walk in dead silence, Dames?" He goes for Damian's ribs again, a grin stretching across his face as Damian jumps back again and swats his hand. "Hm? Hm? We could just walk in awkward silence for the entire trip back, I know you just love awkward silence, little brother."

(It's funny, saying little brother always sounds so uncomfortable when he reads it in books and watches it on tv. But Jazz always makes it sound so natural when she does it, and Danny finds that he sounds the same too.)

Damian continues to bat away his hands, but it's not enough to prevent him from squealing with laughter when Danny gets a good hold on him and starts tickling him. Danny's grin only gets bigger, and he swoops Damian up with his arm and holds him like a football.

"Is that it? Huh? Me, you, and two vigilantes walking back to Aunt Alicia's cabin in complete, utter silence." He says, "You won't get to hear any of my amazing jokes."

Damian's wriggling, trying to pound on Danny's ribs, he's giggling uncontrollably. It's the best sound Danny's ever heard. "Your jokes are awful! Laeazir! Put me down!" He cries, grinning from ear to ear.

(From the side, both Red Robin and Batman tense up.)

Danny chuckles, and through a short series of flips, has Damian sitting on his shoulders. "I will not. You're sitting up in air jail for insulting my hilarious jokes."

Damian tugs on his hair in revenge, harrumphing at him but making no move to get down. Danny squeezes his ankles playfully, and looks back to Batman and Red Robin.

Both vigilantes look at him like he's grown a second head.

....Red Robin looks at him like he's grown a second head. Batman just stares, and then looks away. Danny tilts his head at them, his smile waning. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost or something."

(Damian tugs on his hair again. A silent boo at him.)

Red Robin jerks, "Oh, sorry." He says, not sounding all that sorry. "It's just... I've lost count to how many times I've saved Damian Wayne from the occasional kidnapping and he's always been very... serious. It's just weird seeing a kid that looks like him be... not serious."

From his shoulders he feels Damian hide his smile in his hair, that's another thing they can put on their "Things That Damian Does That Damian Wayne Does Not" list. It started as a joke, but it's been surprisingly helpful for when Damian is questioning himself.

However, Danny is not a fan of the comparison, and he smiles widely, perhaps a tad passive-aggressive. "It's a good thing that my Damian isn't Damian Wayne then." He says, giving him the slight stink eye.

Red Robin picks up on it quickly, and nods.

The rest of the way is spent in idle conversation. It's oddly casual, even if most of the conversation is Danny talking about himself. It's annoying, but he unfortunately understands the reason. Secret identities and all that.

Damian interjects a few times, some parts to talk to Danny, and other parts to throw shade at Batman and Red Robin. Mostly Red Robin, who seems begrudgingly used to it.

("I'm surprised you haven't asked me much about myself." Red Robin says at one point into the conversation. Over his shoulder Batman glares at Red Robin. "A lot of civilians do when they're able."

Danny stares at him. "You're a vigilante." He says, frowning, "Isn't it superhero 101 that you don't ask superheroes for their secret identity?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Huh. Well, no. I'm not gonna ask you about yourself. I quite like talking all about me.")

When they finally reach the cabin, it's late into the night and Danny has moved Damian from his shoulders to his front in a koala-like carry. Damian's fast asleep with his head on Danny's shoulder.

His family was also frantically searching for him, and Jazz sees him first. She immediately turns behind her and yells "I FOUND HIM!". And then sprints over to him, his parents thundering not too far behind.

Both vigilantes are subsequently ignored as Jazz dotes over him and Danny, and soon enough so is his mom and dad. They're all talking all at once, asking him where he was, they were worried sick, did he know how late it was.

He shushes all of them, loudly. And whispers that Damian is sleeping. His family then immediately quiet themselves, and go back to yelling at him in a more appropriate manner.

"Me and Damian walked too far by accident." Danny finally says when he can get a word in, and then he jabs his thumb in Red Robin and Batman's direction. "We also found two superheroes who need assistance."

The speed of which his family all snap their heads over to the direction he's pointing is almost comical. As is all of their expressions of shock.

His mother is the first to regain her senses, and she sighs at him. She sighs! "Only you, Danny." She says, and Jazz snorts into her arm.

#dpxdc #dpdc #dpxdc crossover #danny fenton is not the ghost king #danny phantom au #dpdc danny fenton #i am incapable of making short posts it seems. heavy sigh #this post is open to add ons if anyone's interested 👉👈#this entire au is essentially the song 'Strange Sight' by KT Turnstall from the Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast #This post mostly goes into how danny and damian's relationship develops because i think that's the more important part of the au #also damian's like six i firmly believe he wouldn't know much english #no no he's learning arabic first and then english LATER. if he would ever even get there with the league #iirc all the damian clones liked Danny so i wanna explore how their relationship got to that point. Like what happened for Danny to get eve #getting one Damian clone to like him enough to go up to bat for him? that takes time and patience and i wanna explore that lol #danny's in his late teens here btw.#Clone Damian is a 7yo child and I'm writing him as such because its fun. I thought about having Clone Damian change his name but nothing fi #little clone damian is also A Tad Clingy. Danny is the First Person to have shown him a kindness and Damian Imprinted On Him Like a Duck #i love clone aus and clone aus love me #clone damian and danny are bROOOTHEERSS #i thought about making clone damian's name damon bc its close to the name damian but also i like the idea that clone damian keeps the--#original name and then makes it his own. something about taking the name you were given thats not really yours and MAKING it yours

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meelusinee · 24 days ago

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A LITTLE LOAF | R.B X READER

word count \ 2.8k | fluffy angst | slash / regulus black x reader

in which regulus wanders upon your bakery after finding voldemort's locket author's note at the end! | thanks to @ikkyfics for the idea!

A LITTLE LOAF SERIES MASTERLIST

THE LITTLE LOAF | REGULUS BLACK X READER

Regulus had dealt with a lot of things in his life.

He had dealt with his mother and father, which was an accomplishment in itself of itself. He survived Hogwarts and the Marauders, along with any of the other Slytherins in his year. Punishments one after another, either watching or suffering through them himself. Pain that he could never really describe, pain he doubted anyone could.

He’d heard screams that haunted even his easiest of nightmares. His cousin, Bellatrix, went absolutely insane. Narcissa had married a Pureblood maniac, birthing a baby that he doubted would be raised to be a decent person. Sirius and Andromeda ran away, neither of them willing to listen to him regardless of how good or bad of a person he really was.

Which left him all alone, nobody but his thoughts and a mark permanently inked on his skin.

He was younger when he believed in whatever he was told by his parents. When he believed that becoming a Death Eater could make his life easier, that it could make it nicer. That things would become better, and that he’d find a community for him.

He grew up once he got that Dark Mark.

It burnt. It burnt like hell, like lava burning into his skin and mind. The Dark Lord’s magic was no joke, he found, feeling like he was being stamped with the core of a spacial star. His mind felt even worse, like it had been carved hollow with windows attached to every crevice and inch.

Regulus ended up crying in his bathroom that night. The tears felt like a balm of ice when they landed on the Dark Mark, though they burnt more than it too.

He didn’t do much about it. He told his friends once, though shut his mouth up no more than two moments after. Barty was insane already, his mark flaunted loud and proud in defiance of his father. Evan wasn’t far behind him, following in his footsteps like a damaged puppy viewing its new master as its salvation.

Pandora listened once. Pandora died soon after.

So he focused on his missions. He did what he could to survive, and he did what he could to help others survive. Paperwork was his specialty, though he was often sent off for other matters. Cloning bodies to pretend like he’d killed them, ridding them of memories and sending them off to the Muggle world. Either that, or he’d go off and kill someone else. A hungry politician or a serial killer, pretending they were someone else.

He wanted to defeat the Dark Lord, though he had no way to know how. As far as he knew, there was no way.

That was until he summoned Kreacher tonight.

“Kill me!” Kreacher had wailed. There was a crack in his voice he had never heard before, not even when he had been punished by Walaburga.

“Kreacher?” he whispered quietly, slowly falling down to his knees as Kreacher ran up to him.

“Master Regulus?” Kreacher wailed once more, banging his head against a rock he had been teleported with. His head was bleeding already, a small bump growing on his head.

Regulus pulled the rock out of his hand quickly, pulling him in a hug tight enough to stop Kreacher from harming himself further. He never got used to comforting people in the slightest, no matter how close he was to them, though he felt as though he owed it to Kreacher. Especially after every time Kreacher comforted him, it was the least he could do.

“Master Regulus,” he said again, voice a lot calmer than when he was originally summoned. His hands reached towards his head, covering the bloody bump as best as he could. “Kreacher has found a way to defeat the Dark Lord.”

“You did?” Regulus said incredulously. “How?”

Kreacher’s breathing became heavy, face green as if he had been poisoned. As far as Regulus knew, he might’ve been figuring it out. “We may need another.”

“Another person?” Regulus whispered, looking around his room as he thought about who he could tell.

His parents were out of the question, as were Sirius and anyone in his stupid Order. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t ask them for help. Pandora was his first thought, though he quickly remembered. Barty most likely would’ve tattled as soon as he heard, Evan right behind him. Dorcas had passed too, having been killed by the Dark Lord personally. He still wasn’t sure why.

Narcissa might help though. She didn’t ask questions often, and he knew she didn’t know enough to connect any dots about the Death Eaters.

“Cissa?” Regulus whispered, trying to keep quiet. He never knew was wandering the halls.

“Kreacher thinks that Master Regulus’ idea is a good one.” Kreacher said, nodding slowly. “Though Kreacher is unsure if he will need to be summoned in order for this to work. The Dark Lord casted an anti-Apparation charm on the cave.”

“The cave?” Regulus asked. “What cave, Kreacher?”

Kreacher sighed as he finally caught his breath. He seemed to look better than before. He wasn’t begging to be killed, at the very least.

Kreacher began to explain what he had found. A cave made by the Dark Lord, with an inability to be Apparated into or Disapparated out of. A door opened by blood, and a potion he would have to drink after passing through a lake of Inferni. Kreacher was not sure if he could Apparate both him and Regulus back out, though Regulus was fairly certain that he could. Even still, he planned on asking Cissa for discreet help just in case.

And after a little bit more discussion, he had a plan.

He planned to leave early in the morning. He planned for this to be easy.

It didn’t turn out easy.

He smeared his blood against the wall. He crossed the lake with Inferni, the boat rocking back and forth as he paddled it forward through the cold water. He had gotten to the poison, with Kreacher holding a small bracelet in his hand. It would vibrate whenever he pressed it. Once for help, and two for an okay.

But now he was in front of the poison. Regulus could already feel his body aching as he walked closer and closer to the pedestal full of water, pain running through his body though it was mild.

“Master Regulus,” Kreacher said to him, hands clasped together. “Remember that I am not allowed to give you relief,”

“No matter how much I beg.” Regulus finished, looking down at the poisoned water. “There is something under this though, right? A Horcrux?”

Kreacher nodded. “Yes, a Horcrux.”

“I didn’t get much material on what it was,” he muttered, looking at Kreacher with furrowed eyebrows as he tried to remember what he had learned. It wasn’t much though, having stayed up most of the night worrying about it. “But I learned that it helps to keep one alive, no?”

“Yes, Master Regulus.” Kreacher said, nodding. “That’s what I found yesterday. They need to be destroyed with the highest form of magic, they can only be formed by committing murder before.”

“Okay.” he whispered, looking down at the poisoned water once more. “Kreacher?”

“Yes, Master Regulus?” he asked, looking up at Regulus.

“Don’t let me go in the water.” Regulus muttered under his breath, grabbing a goblet he had brought himself. He didn’t know how much poison would be in the basin, though it seemed enough to fit.

“Yes, Master Regulus.” he said, nodding.

Regulus sighed before collecting the poison in the goblet, drinking it all in one go. It went down his throat with a burning sensation, like his father and mother casting a Crucio on him at the same time. It hurt, to say the very least.

He felt thirsty.

Extremely thirsty.

There was water down below him. A pool of water surrounding him. It looked so cold, and his throat felt so hot inside of his neck.

He still felt thirsty. Too thirsty to resist.

He felt something dragging away from the water. There was something in there, though he didn’t care. He needed to feel relief in his throat from whatever he had drunken, his throat burning hotter than a neutron star’s heart running down his throat.

“Water,” he rasped out, bile coming up from his throat as he kneeled down near the water. There were hands all around him. On his arms dragging him down and two hands dragging him up, his hair and hands being dragged in different directions. “I need water,”

“Master Regulus!” he heard a voice call out. He wasn’t sure who it was, though he felt his body shifting. It swirled around in the air, vomit and bile coming out of his throat as he felt his body landing somewhere else.

“You’re okay, Master Regulus!” the voice said. He wasn’t sure why it was calling him its master.

Regulus’ vision faded in and out, body aching as he laid down on the ground. He felt his body heating up hot, unable to stop it. His throat and face burned, his body shaking violently. He wanted a release.

His eyes fell closed as he slumped down to the ground completely. His head felt like it was full of water, eyes pounding behind his skull.

“Kreacher,” he rasped out. “Make it stop.”

The house elf looked around, tapping the bracelet to signal that they were fine. He didn’t know what to do.

“Kreacher.” he rasped. “Please.”

Regulus woke up to a blank ceiling, a cold towel on his forehead. He had scratch marks on his arms, and his scalp was burning horridly. Other than that though, he seemed generally fine.

“Kreacher?” he called out. His voice was hoarser than he expected, still burning from whatever he did last night. He didn’t remember it fully.

“Master Regulus!” he called out, a small plate of sandwiches in his hands. “You’re awake.”

“What happened?” he asked confusedly, looking around the room. It definitely wasn’t a place he was used to, rather barren and bland for his taste.

“You fainted from the poison.” he said.

“Ah.” Regulus said, before sighing. “Is there a bakery or something near here? I’m starving.”

“Kreacher cannot go get you food, Master Regulus.” he said, almost disappointed in a sense. “This is a Muggle town, sir. Though Kreacher did find one on the outer corner of this street.”

“Thank you, Kreacher.” Regulus said, a small smile on his face. “For everything. I’ll bring you back something, if you’d like.”

“Kreacher cannot ask that of you.” he said, shaking his head no. “No he cannot.”

“It’s not asking if I offer.” Regukus said, patting Kreacher on the head before standing up. He was a bit wobbly, sure. But he could probably play it off as a hangover more than anything else. Especially if this town was full of Muggles.

“I’ll be back, Kreacher.” he called out, grabbing a coat and walking out to the bakery.

You were currently rolling bread on the counter, visible from the cash register for design. Customers watching you was something you had to get used to for a long time, though now it’s something you take pride in. Especially when people walk up asking questions for their own use, either on tips or just the general process in general.

The bell to the door rung loud as someone walked in. Nobody had come in yet for the day, you didn’t get much business on Tuesdays.

“Welcome to The Little Loaf!” you called out, a wide smile growing on your face as you stood up. Your feet carried you to the register easily, heels clicking on the ground. “What can I get for ya?”

“Uhm,” the man mumbled. He looked at you for a moment or two in what you assumed to be wonder before blinking out of it, shaking his head as he looked at the menu. “A coffee?”

“Coffee sounds really good right about now,” you agreed with a playful chuckle, putting that in the register before looking at him. “Anything else?”

“Uh,” he mumbled, looking over at the display case. “Maybe a breakfast croissant. I’ve never been here.”

You chuckled softly and waved the comment off, offering to detail to him the different items. He ended up with a coffee and two croissants, along with a small breakfast biscuit in a to go bag.

During that time talking you realized that he seemed rather nice. Awkward, sure, but that was probably because he seemed rather new. He had a rather distinct accent that you could easily tell was French, though he didn’t seem to notice it.

You also learned his name was Regulus.

“Thank you for shopping here!” you smiled brightly at him, waving as he walked out. The store seemed to get just a little colder once he did, though you figured that you wouldn’t question that right this moment.

All you had to do now was divide the bread and bake it.

Regulus stood there in shock by the time he walked out the store, face flushed completely red as he found a secluded alleyway to hide himself in.

You were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. He was sure that he made a blubbering fool of himself back there, that you would never go for him under any circumstances. He most definitely was not used to your culture one bit either.

But Merlin, were you beautiful.

He figured that he would need an excuse for something about himself. How would he describe that he communicated through letters sent by owls? Did Muggles even use letters for communication? What would they use to communicate?

What about their courting system? Would you use formalities like he was used to? Would you jump into it like his heart seemed to want?

His face flushed brighter and harder the more he thought about it. He was always one to fantasize about things, though he had never done it to this extent. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as question after question ran through his mind, trying to steady his breath as he took a sip of his coffee.

He learned that you owned the bakery. That you ran it all by yourself for the most part, with the exception of your sister on extremely busy days.

He also learned about what the words ‘love at first sight’ really meant.

Regulus found his feet walking back to the bakery before he could even register it. He tried to stop himself, unsure how asking you for anything would really go. Would you say yes? Would you find him creepy? Would he even be able to communicate with you?

He was a Death Eater still. He had to focus on killing the Dark Lord. Would you being a Muggle complicate or conflict his interests? Would he be putting you in harm’s way if he asked you out?

Regulus found himself not caring as much as his thoughts wanted to though. His face was still red when he walked in, a small smile on his face. “Hi again.”

“Hey there!” you smiled. That smile seemed so perfect, it disarmed him instantly. “Did you miss anything?”

“Not quite, no,” he mumbled, clearing his throat. His accent was rather thick right now, he found, which usually happened when he was nervous. He felt extremely nervous right about now. “How would one reach out to you?”

“Pardon?” you asked, a small chuckle escaping you.

“I mean,” he said before pausing. “Should one want to contact you. How would you suggest they do it?”

“Oh!” you said, before chuckling softly. “My phone number, usually.”

He blinked once. Twice.

“Your,” he mumbled in confusion. “Phone?”

“Yes, a phone.” you chuckled, a bit louder than before. “What, have you never heard of that before?”

He shook his head, clearing his throat again. “No, I have not.” he mumbled. “I usually sent letters where I grew up. Sophistication and all that.”

“That sounds absolutely dreadful.” you mumbled, your face forming a pout. “Maybe you can buy one!”

Regulus nodded, eyebrows furrowing once more. “How does one buy a phone?”

You smiled at him, nudging him from over the counter as you looked him in the eyes. Your eyes were so beautiful, he found himself drowning in them for a moment or two. He wanted to stay there forever.

“How about we meet here tomorrow? Imll take you on a walk to the phone store, we can go shopping!” you smiled, drumming your fingers against the desk.

He blushed even brighter at that, so hard that he was sure he was transfiguring into a tomato. “Okay.”

“Okay!” you smiled, clapping excitedly. “I close shop about 2 in the afternoon, you can stop by after. I’ll make a small treat for us both.”

“Okay.” he nodded, this time with a bit more confidence.

Merlin, he was so done for.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

i'm making this a small little series to work on, since the idea i had when i got the prompt was just too good to put into a oneshot! THANK YOU AGAINNN to @ikkyfics for recommending me the idea (i loaf u sm bestie ur one of the bestest frfr)

AS ALWAYS - please like, comment and reblog!! it helps out much more than you guys might realize, so u should totes do it!

A LITTLE LOAF SERIES MASTERLIST

#fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #fluff #fanfic #extra fluff #slight angst #not much #the marauders #regulus black #regulus black x reader #regulus black x y/n #regulus black x you #regulus black deserved better #and im giving it to him #love at first sight #love at first bite #bakery au #muggle reader #squib reader

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