#note holding the fandom up one hehe at a time

[buck-star]

Hii! If it’s okay, totally okay if not!

Can I please request a TFAWS!Bucky x fem!reader where she is his next door neighbor and they first meet when she’s moving into the apartment complex, and struggling to carry in all of her stuff. Bucky, ever the sweet gentleman he is, offers to help her move in and carries her stuff.🥹 And they spend a lot of time together in her apartment that day getting to know each other. After that they’re best friends (who obviously have a growing love for each other) and often spend time with each other in both his apartment and her apartment. Bucky even starts taking her to his lunches with Yori (who definitely catches on and points out the feeling between the two of them hehe) and eventually introduces her to Sam (who also can see the pair love each other). Many situations bring the two of them closer together, like one day when Bucky saves her from a group of men who followed her home from work, and also another time when Y/n (who now has an extra key to Bucky’s apartment, and he has one to hers) hears Bucky having a nightmare and she goes into his apartment, crawls into his arms, and lays down with him on the floor of his apartment to calm him down🥺 Anyways, they’re both idiots in love and finally confess their love each other after so long of being just “best friends”🥺

Hi! Thank you for the sweet request. This is an amazing, cute, adorable and just lovely request. The way both of them find their way to one another and it just so cute. The end isn’t the best I guess but yeah. I’m sorry it took me so long to write it but I finally finished it! I hope you like and enjoy it.

More than everything | B.B

Your new neighbour helps you to move in but soon he is way more than just your neighbour. Your best friend, the one you can talk about everything, he knows every secret, except one.

Pairing -> Neighbour!BestFriend!Bucky Barnes x Neighbour!BestFriend!Fem!Reader

Wordcount -> 7.371 Words

Warnings -> fluff, lots of fluff, idiots in love, some weird guys, nightmares, love confession

Authors Note -> I want to thank @thevillainswhore for proofreading! Thank you so much, my love! I love you!❤️ All and every mistakes are my own.

Events -> Seasonal Delights Bingo: Types of love | G4 | being calmed down by a familiar person's presence | @seasonaldelightsbingo | Fandom Free Bingo: Book Night Edition | B4 | Baby Just Say Yes | @fandom-free-bingo | Fandom Free Bingo: Frosty Edition | G2 | Wiping away tears | @fandom-free-bingo | Build-A-Bucky Bingo | June | Meddling Best Friend | @buckybarnesevents

Masterlist | Bucky Barnes Masterlist

Sweat runs down your face as you lift one of the heavy boxes out of your car. You haven’t even started to move your stuff into your new apartment, yet you feel like you’ve carried an elephant around. The sun is shining a lot today, heating the air and there’s not much of a cool breeze that could help you to cool down.

With a groan, your fingers clutch onto the box tighter. You feel the slow movement of it slipping from your grasp, so you try to squeeze it so it won’t fall down. You’re not sure what’s in the box, but it’s heavy and you can’t have all of your stuff laying around in the ground in front of your apartment.

“Need help?” A rough voice startles you. Spinning on your heel, you turn to face the person who stands there and your mouth drops open while your eyes widen.

The man who stands there with a soft smile tugging at his beautiful plump lips has short brown hair and wears a hoodie and gloves. You secretly wonder if it’s not too warm underneath all those layers of fabric. He reaches out to place his big hands underneath the box you carry and lifts it up like it weighs nothing. You notice the muscles working underneath his hoodie when he holds the carton.

“H-Hi! U-uhm, I would love to accept the offer but I don’t want to interrupt you from whatever you were doing,” you mumble, face palming yourself when the words leave your lips. He wouldn’t offer you his help if he was busy. Instead of judging you he just chuckles, his ocean blue eyes sparkle and his nose scrunches ever so slightly.

“Of course, doll! I’m Bucky, and you?” He asks, looking straight into your eyes and causing your knees to buckle. Bucky’s laugh, his voice — he is just so perfect. You’re not sure if he is just an imagination in your mind or if you’re hallucinating because of the heat and limited drinking.

Clearing his throat, Bucky pulls you out of your thoughts and gets your attention back. “I- I’m y/n. Nice to meet you, Bucky,” you say, smirking softly with heat creeping up your cheeks. You reach into your car once again to get another box out to carry.

“You can place it on top of this one, put two on top,” he says with a grin at you. You narrow your eyes, placing another box on the one he has already in his arms before reaching in to grab another carton.

“It’s heavy to carry that much, Bucky,” you chuckle, but place the third box into his arms as well. With a grunt, he almost falls forward, scaring you before standing straight again. He starts laughing softly, winking at you as you grab a box for yourself to carry into your apartment.

“I once lifted a whole engine for a friend, so your boxes aren’t that heavy compared to a ship engine,” Bucky says. You shake your head, smirking before making your way to the front door and into the apartment complex. “Which floor?”

“Second.” Bucky nods, grinning. As you walk up the stairs and along the floor the two of you walk closer and closer to his apartment, and his smirk grows with every step closer to your apartment.

While you think you embrassed yourself in front of this handsome and sweet man with your stutter and dropped jaw earlier, he only thinks it makes you adorable. There wasn’t someone in a while who looked at him with such softness in their expression — someone who doesn’t seem to know who he was, who gives him the chance to get to know him as the person he is now.

“Oh!” Bucky says when you stop in front of your door to fish the keys out of your pocket. You turn around, tilting your head as he chuckles. “Hi, next door neighbor.”

You giggle. For a moment you’re sure he is making a joke, but he just nods toward the door next to yours and grins even wider. Your eyes widen as you look to the door, then back to him.

“I don’t want to interrupt that sweet little moment where you stare at me and my apartment door because you find out that I live next to you…. But these boxes are going to be too heavy for me to carry soon,” Bucky says and nods at the boxes he is still holding in his arms. You gasp, taking the keys and unlocking the door with an apologetic smile. “It was a joke, I don’t mind carrying those boxes for you all day.”

You roll your eyes playfully, letting Bucky walk into your apartment and follow behind. “You’re the best, thank you so much!” You say as you both place the boxes on the floor.

“Don’t thank me yet, we have a lot more to carry,” Bucky tells you, walking a step closer to you and placing his big hands on the small of your back, pushing you toward the door. Instead of flinching of his sudden touch, you giggle softly, liking the warmth of his soft touch.

The two of you carry all your stuff into your apartment and while Bucky looks like he hasn’t done anything all day, you feel your aching muscles. You sigh deeply when you finally are able to let yourself fall down on the couch.

“How can you still look so— so handsome, so good like you haven’t carried so many boxes and all,” you ask, eyes roaming over his tall body while he stands in front of you. Bucky chuckles, leaning back against the wall behind him. His tongue pokes out, gliding over his lips to wet them and cause them to glisten.

“How about I get some food for the two of us, there is that nice restaurant just a block away,” he suggests and you nod immediately. He pushes himself off the wall, turning around to make his way out of the apartment.

“Wait!” You shout, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn back to you. “Uhm- let me find my wallet.”

Bucky laughs, shaking his head and walking further to the door. “You don’t have to pay me for dinner, and also not for helping you to carry those boxes, so no ‘buts’ here.”

With a sigh, you chuckle and Bucky makes his way to get the food. He already likes you a lot, you’re a sweet and nice person, no judging. He’s sure you wonder why he wears a hoodie and gloves even though it’s hot, but he also appreciates that you haven’t asked him about it, so he doesn’t have to lie to you .

— —

After Bucky came back with the food the two of you sat there in your new apartment, talked and ate. The conversation flowed between the two of you and you feel like you’ve  known Bucky for so long already. He is a sweet and gentle man, taking care of you and making you laugh. Plus his voice and laugh is the most beautiful thing you have ever heard, you could listen to him all day and you would never be tired of it nor him.

The connection between you and Bucky gets stronger with every day. The two of you spend a lot of days in your or his apartment and he becomes your best friend. You know you can trust him, you can tell him everything and he knows it as well.

One night a few weeks ago, Bucky came over in just a t-shirt, asking you if he is allowed to sleep on your couch because he can’t stand the quietness in his apartment. You offered him to sleep in bed with you, knowing that he would never touch you unless you allow him to do so but he shook his head.

“I-I would just love to sleep on the couch, you know,” Bucky mumbled, scratching the back of his head while he looked at you with sleepy eyes. He looked tired, not just because he fell out of his bed, but also because he was suffering from nightmares again.

Your scent is always calming to him. It was his first thought as he was sitting on his makeshift bed for the night, sweat running down his body. Bucky would love to say yes to sleeping in a bed with you, but he knew that his nightmares can cause him to punch something next to him and he didn’t want to risk hurting you.

“Are you okay, Buck? Do you need anything, I can make you tea,” you offered, bushing your fingers softly over his stubble. But again, he smiled softly and shook his head. Your touch was so soft, so loving and he got lost for a moment until you nodded and placed a pillow and a blanket on the couch.

“You know… we can also build a blanket fort,” you suggested with a grin, but Bucky just chuckled and patted  the space next to him.

You sat down, turning to look at your best friend. He smiled, his fingers fidgeting in his lap as you place yours on his and hold his big hands in your smaller ones.

“We don’t have to, if it makes you uncomfortable,” you said, smiling as softly as possible while you stroked your thumb over the back of his hand.

“I-I would love to… but…” Bucky stuttered, his eyes were roaming over your face, trying to find anything that told him that you judge him. However, he could only find nothing but pure love, affection and understanding.

“I just… you remember what I told you about my arm and my past?” You nodded, narrowing your eyes. Bucky inhaled deeply, bringing one of your hands to his metal arm, letting you touch it. He always let you do it, since the day you told him that this arm is a part of him, it makes him special. But you also told him that his arm doesn’t tell who he is because even though he was the winter soldier and had a metal arm there too — it was a different one plus he was under the control of people who used him. But it wasn’t him.

With that he allowed you to touch his arm, it was even claiming for him because you weren’t afraid of him. You accepted and loved him, with the metal arm, with his story. It makes him feel like home.

“I dream about it, almost every night. But when I fell asleep the last time here, I didn't have nightmares. But-but I sometimes punch something so I don’t want to hurt you,” Bucky confessed. You couldn’t help the small quirk of your lips — he felt so comfortable that he doesn’t even have nightmares. But you also couldn’t help the glisten of your eyes; it was awful to know that those dreams made him struggle.

“I’m sorry to hear that. You can always sleep here if you want. And just for you to know… I can take care of myself so if you ever want to cuddle, just tell me, I’m sure I can take care of you and also that you won't hurt me,” you assured him, leaning closer to press a soft kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush softly. He nodded with a thankful smile, bringing your hand to his lips and kissing the back of it with a grin on his beautiful lips.

“Thank you, doll. Now go to sleep, I’m sure you’re tired. I don’t want to keep you awake just because I can’t sleep,” he smirked, letting go of you to let you go back to bed, but you stayed where you were and just let your eyes roam over his handsome face a while longer.

“You sure? I don’t mind staying up with you a while longer if it helps you,” you said but he nodded, assuring you that he is fine. “You can turn on the television if you need some background noises.”

With that, you got up and walked back into your bedroom. Bucky smiled softly, leaning back before getting comfortable and turning on the television. Your scent surrounded him and he fell asleep pretty quick, relishing the first good sleep he’d had in weeks.

That was a few weeks ago and even though Bucky loves sleeping at your apartment, sometimes he is out late and doesn’t want to wake you. Plus he wants to give you some privacy. You’re not dating anyone, but as much as he loves your company, he doesn’t want to scare you away.

With time, you become his everything. You’re the one who holds him when he thinks he falls — you’re the one, his one. And even though his feelings get stronger, he hasn’t told you yet. He’s too scared — maybe you don’t feel the same and he will destroy the friendship you both developed so perfectly.

Bucky knocks at your door. He is on his way to his dinner with Yori but he has to see you. He told the older man a lot about you, but he hasn’t introduced the two of you yet.

In one of Bucky’s hoodies — the one you picked out of his wardrobe when the two of you made a mess in the kitchen — you walk to the door and open it. Your face immediately lights up as you see your best friend, who's smiling softly at you.

“Doll! I’m just on my way to dinner with Yori, wanting to check after you—,”  his voice trails off, looking you up and down. His blue eyes light up as he notices the hoodie you’re wearing, and his nose scrunches with the slight curl of his lips. “Looking good in my clothes, sweetheart.”

You giggle, ducking your head to try and hide the warmth that coats your cheeks. You play with your fingers in front of you, then you look up to meet his intense blue eyes. They look so soft and there is nothing but love and affection in them when he looks at you.

“I’m fine, thank you, Buck. Just came home from work, going to make myself some dinner and then watch a movie, probably,” you say. Bucky narrows his eyes, tilting his head slightly and he looks just adorable like that. “Don’t worry, not gonna watch our series without you! Hope you enjoy dinner with Yori, tell him ‘Hey’ from me.”

Bucky nods, he doesn’t want to move, he would prefer to stare at you a while longer — maybe just forever. He knows the two of you are meeting the next day for your movie night, but he wants to be around you all the time. He inhales deeply, looking toward the kitchen — there is no smell of food, yet.

“W-would you like to join us?” Bucky stumbles over his words. “He would love to meet you, and I would love to have you around. But only if you want to of course!” He hopes that you agree and go out with him — even though it’s not a date, but for him it’s pretty close to one.

Your smile widens as you nod. “Sure! But I have to change clothes, pretty fast— at least my pants.” With that you’re walking into your bedroom to change. Your heart races and the butterflies in your stomach go wild — it’s just a dinner with Bucky and a friend of his. But at the same time it's dinner with Bucky, who is going to introduce you to one of his friends.

Within a few minutes, you made yourself ready for dinner and walked back to Bucky, who was waiting patiently waiting for you with a soft smile tugging at his lips.

“We should put some of my hoodies into your wardrobe so you can always wear them,” he mumbles, his eyes roaming up and down your body and taking every inch in. You look stunning — like always.

You don’t have to wear a dress. Bucky loves you in everything, sweethearts and t-shirts or pants and hoodie. For him you’re always stunning. He can’t take his eyes off you, when he sleeps at yours and you get up in the morning — hair messy and you’re all sleepy. You look like the cutest thing he has ever seen.

“Lets goooo!” You giggle, taking your phone and keys and walking out of your apartment. Bucky closes the door behind you, walking next to you along the floor and out of the building.

Bucky has told you a lot about Yori already, they go out for dinner once or twice a week. Always the same bar and always the same food and drinks but Bucky loves the company of the older man. Even if he has been asking him about you pretty often recently. But Bucky doesn’t mind, he can’t seem to stop talking about how beautiful and sweet you are anyway.

The two of you walk along the street, it’s just a short stroll. He asks you about your day, if you had something nice you could tell him, or if someone upset you during work. Your best friend listens to you the whole time, nodding or chuckling with you.

He always asks you about your day, making sure you had something that made you happy and to get rid of the things that upset you. And even if it ends up with him tickling you until you laugh to have something good to say about the day. As much as Bucky loves to hear and see that someone about the day makes you happy, he loves it more when it’s him who causes your happiness.

Bucky opens the door to the bar. His palms are sweaty and he inhales deeply before following you inside, pointing to the bar where an older man sits. He is obviously waiting for someone while talking to the waitress.

“There is Yori,” Bucky says, his voice sounding slightly broken and when you look at him you notice him shifting from one foot to the other. He smirks at you but it doesn’t reach his eyes — you know that expression.

Bucky often looks like that when people are around and he becomes nervous. Or when someone stares at him with a judgemental gaze, mostly when he is overwhelmed.

You stop in your tracks, turning toward him completely so you block his way toward the bar and take both of his hands in yours. “Buck?”

He hums, letting you know that he’s listening. His ocean blue eyes roam over your face, another attempt of a smile on his pretty lips but once again you notice that it’s not letting his eyes light up like his smile usually does.

“Can you breathe with me? Slowly to calm you down. I’ll hold your hands to help you— feel it?” You ask him, inhaling deeply together with him before slowly exhaling. Bucky nods to answer your question, his thumbs running over the back of your hands. He draws small circles, something that always helps him calm down, feeling your soft flesh underneath his rough fingers.

“S-sorry… just- I’m just a bit nervous. You’re my best friend and I told him so much about you already but he always looked at me with a smirk- that looks like he knows more about our relationship than I do.” Bucky smiles at you, removing one of his hands to wipe a strand of hair behind your ear, chuckling softly. “A-And I just can’t take my eyes off of you, doll. You look so pretty.”

“Thank you,” you giggle, holding Bucky’s hand tighter before you slowly walk to the bar where his friend is already sitting. The older man turns around, his eyes widen a bit, just like the grin on his face, as he notices the two of you. Bucky shifts, offering you the place next to the other man before he takes a seat next to you.

“You look just as pretty as Bucky always described you,” Yori says, causing your best friend to choke on his spit. His cheeks heat up and he scratches the back of his neck as you look at him.

“Told you… told you that I talked a lot about you,” Bucky confesses once again. The woman behind the bar walks toward you, a soft smile appearing on his lips. She silently asks the two men if they want to have the same as always. Both of them nod, Bucky doesn't even look at her, his eyes remain on you.

Then the woman turns to you, offering you a card but you shake your head. “The same as whatever Bucky likes, please.” Whatever it is he always orders, you know you will love it. The two of you have almost the same taste in everything and you know what Bucky loves to eat, so you know that he would never eat something that you wouldn’t like either.

The woman smiles nicely before she turns around and leaves the three of you alone. Yori grins at Bucky, wiggling his eyebrows and you have to admit that’s the funniest and cutest thing a older man like Yori could have done. You chuckle, turning to face Bucky, who could win an award against a tomato.

You place your hand on Bucky’s thigh, running your fingers softly over the firm muscle. “Bucky, do you need some fresh air?” You ask, slightly worried that his skin color could be because it’s too hot or the air too thick for him to breathe right now.

Bucky shakes his head. He places his hand on yours and caresses the back of it with his thumb while he looks into your eyes for a moment. “I’m fine, just- just nervous, you know?”

You nod, then you turn back to Yori, who watches the two of you intensely. His eyes are roaming down to Bucky’s thigh where both of your hands are. “So how long are the two of you dating?”

“We aren’t dating. We’re best friends,” you say, narrowing your eyes at the question. Yori’s smile never fades, his eyes glistening. He doesn’t believe the two of you — or maybe he does but then you both are idiots.

“You should ask her out, James,” the older man says and nods toward Bucky. Your best friend's eyes widen but he smiles softly, shaking his head.

It’s not like he doesn’t want to, but you’re just best friends. You’re everything for him, even though he is more than just in love with you, he is scared to ruin everything. Bucky would do everything for you, but he is still stuck in his past, he is over 100 years old — still looking like a mid 30 year old — but that doesn’t change that he is a broken mess.

“She deserves better than the broken man I am,” Bucky says with a soft laugh. He tries to cover the truth, the pain behind his words but you can see through it.

You would like to smack him for his statement. He may be broken and a mess, but he is still the most loving and sweetest gentleman you have ever met. He never judges you, no matter what it is you have his back, you have his love, you have Bucky. You would actually tell Bucky that you don’t want anyone but him but this would lead into a conversation with more confession — something you don’t want to have during a dinner with one of Bucky’s friends in public.

The night goes well, the three of you are laughing a lot. Yori points out often that the two of you have more than just a friendship, that you both have feelings for one another but you and Bucky play it off. You like Yori a lot, you understand why Bucky likes the older man, why he always eats lunch or dinner with him. After saying your goodbyes to Yori, Bucky and you walk back to your apartment complex. Bucky brings you to your apartment, kissing your cheek softly before he makes his way to his own apartment. Your night is filled with a lot of dreams with Bucky and even Bucky himself has a night — without nightmares — but filled with fluffy thoughts of you and him.

You spend almost your whole free time with your best friend, mostly watching movies or just talking about his or your day. You know everything about his missions with Sam and Bucky suggested that he could take you with him to meet Sam. But this plan changes when Bucky knocks at your door after another mission, his smile as bright as always and behind him another man.

You know that Bucky would come home today, you already made dinner for the two of you but you didn’t know he would bring a friend of his. “Hi, doll! I-I uhm… that’s Sam! He asked to sleep here before he flies to his family tomorrow.”

“Bucky!” You say excitedly as you pull him into a much needed hug. You look over his shoulder to see his friend smirking at the two of you. “Hi, Sam. Come in, Bucky has to give me at least five minutes of cuddles before I let go of him again!”

Both of the men laugh and Sam nods before he walks into your apartment. You let Bucky pick you up, you mean that you get at least five minutes of cuddles from Bucky, and he knows that you can be such a grumpy little thing if you don’t get them. He leads Sam into the kitchen, offering him a drink while he refuses to let you down.

“Does he cling to you like that all the time?” Sam asks jokingly. You turn your head to look at him, chuckling softly.

“Why? Isn’t he such a sweet teddy bear around you?” You ask and poke your fingers into Bucky’s cheeks, squeezing his cheeks softly. “He’s my favourite teddy bear!”

“The cyborg being a teddy?” Sam asks, earning a glare from your best friend. “He’s more like a cold, staring machine.”

Bucky growls into your neck, hiding his face while he inhales your scent deeply. He was away for two days but he missed you so much that he can’t let you down just yet. He doesn’t care that he’s carried you around for ten minutes already, he could do it all day and would never be tired of it.

“I made pizza, your favourite one,” you say and run your fingers through Bucky’s hair, making him sigh into your neck. “Sam, do you like cyborg pizza?”

Sam laughs while Bucky growls once again, but it turns into a chuckle almost immediately. You’re just so cute, he can’t help himself, he can’t stop himself smiling  and chuckling whenever you’re around.

“But I get to keep you on my lap,” he mumbles, letting you down for a moment to place the pizza on the table. Sam watches the two of you, smirking at Bucky. He has never seen his friend so soft and not grumpy around someone. But he likes this version of Bucky, the cute, sweet one, that looks so happy. It's like there is nothing that could make Bucky’s mood bad when you’re around, he smiles all the time, even his eyes are bright and shine in the most beautiful blue.

“I do like every pizza,” Sam nods, arranging the plates you placed in his hands on the table. He puts two of them on one side and one where he sits. Bucky grins at him, placing the pizza on the table before he picks you up and lets you sit on his lap.

Your best friend's arm is wrapped around your waist the whole time, you’re deep in talks with both of the men, getting to know Sam but also some secret and funny things about Bucky.

“And once… it was our first meeting, he landed on top of our car and he smashed the front glass and ripped out the steering wheel.,” Sam says before chewing further on the pizza. Bucky hides his face in the crook of your neck, chuckling softly.

“It wasn’t actually me. It was during the time of the winter soldier,” he mumbles. You run your fingers through his hair, calming him. You know that Bucky isn’t ashamed to talk to you about his past but you also know that he is still slightly tense when it comes to it. And your touch, your closeness and softness, is always calming for him.

“My sister and I are almost done with the boat, maybe Bucky wants to bring you to our little party then?” Sam asks, eying Bucky. “My little nephews and my sister would love you! They already love Bucky, and you’re way nicer than the cyborg.”

“Ey!” Bucky grumbles, gripping you tighter and pulling you more against him. You giggle, shoving a slice of pizza into his mouth. Bucky would love to bring you with him to the party, Sam is a good friend of his, and you’re his best friend, his everything. And even though the two of you aren’t dating, he doesn’t like the way Sam talks about you — that you’re nicer and probably sweeter and more beautiful. He isn’t wrong but Bucky doesn’t like to hear someone else saying such things about his babydoll.

“I would love to meet them, if Bucky wants to invite me,” you giggle. Bucky nods, smirking at you with a mouthful of pizza. He chews on it happily, holding you firmly pressed against his broad chest.

“Would love to,” Bucky smirks, swallowing the pizza before he opens his mouth to let you shove the next slice between his lips. You laugh softly, grasping another and shoving it into his mouth as well.

“So, Bucky said you’re not dating one another?” Sam asks, eyeing the two of you. A smug grin on his face, his eyebrows twitching in amusement. You shake your head, running your fingers through Bucky’s soft brown locks.

“No, he’s my best friend! Why does everyone think that?” You tilt your head softly, causing Bucky to almost choke on his pizza. You’re just so adorable and he can’t help himself but with a mouthful of pizza he can’t chuckle or laugh. “Buck! Don’t choke on your pizza! You need to chew before you swallow!”

Sam makes a lot more jokes about Bucky but in return Bucky embarrasses Sam just as much. The evening is filled with a lot of laughter and jokes. Bucky decides to sleep in your apartment on the couch, while Sam gets Bucky’s apartment — on the condition that he has to promise not to sneak around.

The man was more than just curious what Bucky was hiding in his apartment. Maybe a wedding ring already or maybe some really kinky sex toys? But to not destroy their trust and friendship he promises not to sneak around and he surprisingly managed to not do it.

You spend the weekend with Bucky, he asks you out for some ice cream and invites you also to another dinner with Yori. In the evenings you’re wrapped with Bucky into a blanket, snuggled up on the couch while you watch every kind of movie you can find or play some board games.

On Monday, you had to work again. Bucky told you he would make dinner and you can just come over after work. You know he is making your favourite food, he always does when he cooks for you.

You’re currently walking home from work, a few men following you, nothing too exciting because it’s a public street. But no matter where you walk, they follow you, their voices grow louder and you try to speed up. You can’t walk home, you can’t let them know where you live but they come so close.

“Girl, wait!” One of them shoots and laughs. You hear your blood rushing through your veins. The footsteps of the men behind you coming closer with every step and you feel the panic grow. You try to breathe slowly, try to calm yourself down but it doesn’t work. At least not as long as those guys walk behind you.

“I said wait, whore!” The man growls this time, his pace faster than before and he almost reaches you already. His hand is already reaching out and touching your shoulder. You prepare yourself to be thrown around, to be thrown against a wall or on the ground but it doesn’t come.

You walk further, slowing down the moment you feel a cold arm around your waist. The voices are quieter, almost silent. You inhale deeply, noticing Bucky’s scent and only now you dare to open your eyes further to look at your best friend, who presses you into his side. “Hi, babydoll.”

His voice is soft and shushing, you immediately relax in his warm embrace. Your eyes are locked with his — you’re happy he is there, that he helped you with those weird men who followed you.

“Hey! What are you doing here, Bucky?” You ask, leaning your head against his shoulder while he leads you through the street and toward your home.

“I had to go shopping, your favourite snacks were empty and I didn’t want my best girl to eat something she doesn’t like as much,” he chuckles and kisses your forehead softly. His lips are always so soft and warm, you could get lost in the feeling of them against your warm skin.

“You’re the best,” you giggle. Bucky nods proudly. He opens the door for you, leading you into the hallway before you make your way up to his apartment. Bucky prepared dinner already, he just wanted to get your favourite snacks before you were home, and saving his best girl from some weirdos wasn’t a plan, but he did it anyway.

“I know. Now, get yourself a seat, it’s your turn to decide on a movie first and dinner will be on the plates in just a moment,” Bucky says before he kisses your forehead once again. You take a seat on his couch, making it already comfortable and look for a movie. You can smell the food already, your tummy rumbling and you are already excited to get a taste of this delicious food your best friend made.

You almost confessed your love to him after the dinner, the food was so good and Bucky was so close, his lips so plump and soft you wanted to kiss him so bad. But you couldn’t just kiss your best friend, not before you told him about your feelings, not before you knew about his feelings.

You excused yourself and rushed into the bathroom, you needed a moment to breathe, he was just so soft and warm. Your feelings for your best friend went crazy and cuddling with him didn’t do a good job at calming all your running thoughts.

Even though his lips were really tempting, you didn’t kiss him, his presence made you all dizzy and comfortable — just like always — but you two watched the movie and threw popcorn at one another.

A few hours later you went to your apartment and into your bed. That’s where you are now, your eyes closed but you’re still awake, you can’t stop the thoughts in your mind. Bucky is so present in your thoughts, you tried to hide your love — your feelings — for him but the closer you come to him the harder it gets.

You’re so in love with Bucky, just like he is in love with you. You even have the key to Bucky’s apartment, just like he has yours. So when you suddenly hear a loud cracking noise and a wrecked scream you immediately sit up in your bed.

You know that sound too well, Bucky never screamed that loud but you know the way his voice sounds — it’s him. And your heart clenches as you realize that he has a nightmare, again. He told you once that the only way he doesn’t have one is being close to you. You offered him that he could sleep in your apartment even in your bed with you, but he just smiled. He doesn’t want to be a burden, doesn’t want to take away the little privacy you have. Even though you would rather spend your nights with him next to you, you accepted his decision.

You get out of your bed, wearing one of Bucky’s t-shirts — you stole it — and get the keys to Bucky’s apartment before you run out of yours and open the door to his. You already notice the silhouette  of Bucky in the corner of the living room.

He always sits in a corner after a nightmare, his legs close to his chest and his arms wrapped around himself. The wall behind him doesn’t let anyone attack him from behind and from the spot he is sitting at he can see every entrance.

You slowly walk toward him, turning on just a small light to not scare him even more. “Bucky? Hey, it’s me. Can you hear me?” You ask and get on your knees. A bit of distance between the two of you.

Bucky’s blue eyes are widened and sweat is running down his forehead. He nods slightly, staring at you. His eyes drift through the room every now and then, making sure no one he doesn’t want to have in his apartment comes into it.

“Can I come closer?” He nods again, allowing you to get closer to him. Bucky whimpers, tears stream down his cheeks and you feel your heart clenching at this sight. “I got you, Buck. I’m here, you’re safe.”

You crawl closer to him, your hands reaching out to pull him toward you. Bucky’s head falls against your chest, his hands clawing around your back and he breaks down completely. You run your fingers up and down his muscular back, calming him down.

Bucky holds on to you like you would disappear if he dared to loosen his grip just a tiny bit. “Bucky… we are safe here. You’re safe. We are at home, it’s just you and me here. No one is going to hurt you. I will protect you, I love you so much.”

You don’t even notice that you just confessed your love to him, of course you told him you love him but not like that. The seriousness, the love which is visible in your eyes and for the first time since the two of you know one another Bucky looks at you with a shocked but relieved expression on his face. His eyes still widened from the nightmare but your confession gave him hope — hope that someone as precious and sweet as you could really love someone as broken and messed up like him.

He doesn’t say anything, his face is buried back in your chest after you meet his gaze for a few seconds. He wants to believe that you love him, he really wants but something inside of him tells him that he doesn’t deserve your love.

“I don’t deserve your love…I-i…” Bucky stumbles, he whimpers and pulls you even closer toward him. “I-I want you to love me… b-but I don’t deserve your love…”

“Bucky!” You say, gasping at his words. How can someone as sweet and lovely like him not believe to be able to be loved more than everything, that he deserves so much love? “Hey! Listen to me. You deserve so much love! You deserve all the love in the world. You even deserve the world, Bucky. And I don’t care how broken or messed up you are, I love you!”

Bucky looks up at you once again, his fingers digging into your back. He shakes his head, he wants you to love him, so bad, but he doesn’t want to destroy you. He doesn’t want to hurt you, to break you, to make you like he is. “N-no…”

“Yes, Bucky. You can’t stop me, you can’t make me love you less. No one can, no one will ever make me love you less. I pretended that I could be just your best friend but I can’t anymore. I love you, more than everything, I need you, and I want you to see that you deserve love, all the love!” You say, trying to sound serious but still soft while talking to him.

You’re not sure what came over you to confess all that, maybe because he broke down once you wrapped your arms around him? Maybe it was just the last push after the day and half the night laying awake or whatever it was — you don’t regret it, you could never regret telling the love of your life that you love him, that you care for him — that your best friend is everything for you.

“Doll… you can’t… you— I will break you… I will hurt you. You deserve better than me,” Bucky whimpers, he has you already sitting on his lap, refusing to let go of you.

“It doesn’t matter, even when there would be someone better, I wouldn’t like someone other than you. Please let me love you, let me show you that you deserve to be loved just like everyone,” you mumble, running your fingers through his brown locks.

Bucky nods, letting himself fall more against you, leaning into your touch. He closes his eyes, his heart filled with love and affection. He has waited so long to hear those words from you, and now — no matter how shitty this situation is — it makes his heart race and his feelings for you to grow.

“Can you sleep in my bed then?” He whimpers, looking up at you with teary eyes. You can’t help but chuckle at his cute request, then you nod. Bucky inhales deeply, his breath still shaking but everything worked out so well right now, he couldn’t ask for anything else.

Your love will heal him, he knows it because it has since you got to know one another. Since he helped you to move into your apartment. Bucky knows that he never felt for someone before like he feels for you, no matter how broken he is, he knows that it will never stop him from loving you more than everything.

“I love you too, more than everything,” he mumbles, leaning more into you. “You know… I will never let you go. I will hold you in my arms every night, I will make you dinner, I-i will… be the best version of me I can be.”

“You’re already the best version of yourself, Bucky. You’re the most precious man, the sweetest I have ever met,” you smile softly, cupping his cheeks to make him look up at you. His ocean blue eyes shining with adoration and love, no signs of fear to the nightmare anymore. “Can I kiss you?”

Bucky nods with a soft smile across his lips as he is leaning closer already. You giggle at his impatience. But it was just too long to try not to, so you can’t blame him, it was too long to hold back from kissing one another. With a soft smile, you place your lips on his. And they really are as soft and warm as they look. You sigh softly, letting Bucky pull you even closer and hold you as tight as possible against his broad chest. His lips move softly against yours and he relaxes in your warm embrace, with his lips finally touching yours.

He may think that he doesn’t deserve to be loved — but this kiss lets him forget about all the insecurities and worries he has. The only thought left in his mind right now is how much he loves you, how often he wants to kiss you, that he just wants to hold you and tell you how much he loves you — over and over again. That’s what he is going to do, show you his love for you and he will show you that you’re everything for him, just you, only you as long as you’re with him.

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[reallyromealone]

hello! Could you make a reader!baby who is Gojo's son? and megumi takes care of that baby since he is basically his brother hehe?

Title: a day with big brother Gumi

Fandom: Jujutsu kaisen

Characters: Megumi, gojo

Fic type: fluff

Pairings: -

Warnings: male reader, reader insert, child male reader, fluff, cute, baby reader, platonic (obviously)

Notes:

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

(Name) Was sleepy, lifted gently by his papa from his crib and given his pacifier "good morning, sleepy" Gojo said to his son who looked up curiously and patted his face as the two walked through the estate to the kitchen "the chefs cooked up some delicious apple and carrot puree for you" (name) seemed to wake up a bit more at the mention of foodz causing his dad to laugh.

Seated in his high chair, Gojo fed his son while feeding himself periodically "so here's our plan" Gojo pulled his schedule out for his son to see, pretending the babe had any clue what he was looking at "I got a few things I gotta do but you get to hang out with big bro Megumi"

"Ooee!" (Name) Squealed and smacked the table of his high chair "yeah, you get to hang out all day and! He might take you to the park" Gojo didn't want his son to lack socialization so he took him to the park and a high end day-care when he worked, and two nannies that worked on a week by week basis.

Megumi smiled at the boy who shakily stood, holding onto the coffee table for dear life in his little sheep onesie "oooee!" He Squealed and let go before getting a few steps forward, the two sorcerer's watching intently while Megumi got to his knees and hold his arms for the little one who stumbled into his hold "good job!" Megumi lifted him high up and Gojo made sure to save the video of his son walking to the cloud.

"Now you behave and don't go chasing your reflection again!" Gojo playfully teased his son who giggled when his belly was tickled.

Megumi and (name) were like two peas in a pod, the teen laying on his stomach, propped by his arms watching (name) play with large foam building bricks, making a tower and giggling when his big brother would knock it down.

Then repeat.

(Name) Was a spitting image of his dad, save for a few key features and it was obvious the boy liked to mimic his dad's movements and subsequently Megumis.

"So fun" Megumi said calmly, holding the boy by his belly while helping him down the slide as (name) let out infectious laughter, the two going once more before swing time. "Whoaaa, so high!" (Name) Was by no means soaring high but don't tell him that, tiny feet kicking excitedly with each push "aaaanana!"

After the park the two went to go get some snacks, Megumi eating a popsicle and (name) got a tiny amount of shaved ice while they looked at videos of cats on Megumis phone, the boy absolutely tranced by the felines.

Megumi walked into the estate as (name) slept on his shoulder, diaper changed at a public washroom and ready for nap time.

Gojo kept (name) on a strict schedule, Megumi remembering how much of a nightmare little (name) was before and for everyone's sanity, you NEVER derived from the schedule.

While (name) slept in his crib, Megumi did some homework and ate lunch as he had free reign of the kitchen after living here for a fair amount of time before moving to the dorms.

"Hope he wasn't too much of a goblin" Gojo said to his in another life son, handing him a wad of cash "he was fine, a few fits but nothing I couldn't handle"

[akanemnon]

Yeah…that anon mistaking you for Toby Fox was probably a joke but the fact that more and more people start to treat you like a second Toby Fox, seems both hilarious and terrifying depending on what kinda person you are...at least people aren’t making memes/theories off of EVERYTHING you post (just out of anything relevant to TwinRunes, at least from my perspective…) /silly /pos

On a serious note, how are you holding up and how do you deal with such a large audience as someone who doesn’t like being the center of attention? I know it’s been asked multiple times, and forgive me if even I asked something similar before, but since online fame is almost entirely luck based, therefore I don’t know when or if I’ll ever gather a large audience myself (though I’m not exactly looking for one), I constantly wonder, how do you do it?

Y'see... I actually am not sure if that was a joke or not. Not that I'm comparing myself to Toby here because that's impossible. But... typically, comments like these have a "hehe I'm joking" undertone. And that was COMPLETELY absent. Or maybe I'm just bad at interpreting the tone and intent of it. Wouldn't be the first time.

But yes, I DON'T LIKE that more and more people are treating me like a second Toby. While they're not doing the memes and theories to the degree that Toby is experiencing, it feels like a bargain bin version of that.

I don't like being the center of attention. It freaks me out. I am a regular person, and I'd like to be treated as such. But I know as soon as you become a public figure in the fandom, this gets thrown out of the window. I know some people are intimidated by me, while SOME asks overstep their boundaries. It's a weird mix. You DON'T wanna know half the things that land in my inbox.

But I have to deal with it to the best of my abilities. Even if it's difficult at times. The positive experiences far outweigh the negative, and I'm still thankful you guys like my work this much.

[shayasay]

How they kiss you!

Tbhk males! Ft. Hanako, Kou and Mitsuba!

Note: all characters are aged up (which means 18+!) don’t worry and I’m not gonna tell minors to not read because let’s be honest, it doesn’t stop them. So enjoy!

Hanako!

- Hanako is a perv let’s be honest.

- If Hanako wants a kiss but you guys are in public he’ll drag you somewhere and make out with you

- Hanako likes puts both his hands on your waist while kissing you for some reason

- He also likes when you two have a steamy make out session with tongue, especially when there’s a string of saliva that connects your tongues together

- Will smile after he kisses you watching you as your hands are on his chest and tears pearl in the corner of your eyes from the lack of air during the kiss

- If you’re the shy kind of get flustered easily he’ll tease you for it

“Hm? You look so cute when you blush darling!~”

- Sometimes he’ll try kissing you in front of the others to try and make you flustered

- If you’re eating something sweet like candy for example, he’ll kiss you and move the candy inside his mouth instead!

- Sometimes he’ll just play with the candy in your mouth for a bit n put it back inside your mouth leaving you a blushing squirming mess

“Hehe! You’re so cute darling! Come here I want a kiss!~”

Kou!

- Loves to kiss with tongue as well but also likes to bite your bottom lip with his teeth

- Loves making out with you in private

- If you two do it in public or in front of his brother, he’ll be a flustered, nervous reck

- Kou loves to have his hands on your cheeks while kissing you

- Kou loves when you kiss him after a battle, it makes him happy to know you’re still alive even if you’re both sweaty

- Sometimes you guys cook together in his home and get carried away making out

- You guys got caught by Teru who just stared at you shocked before walking away leaving both of you flustered with Kou running behind him to explain while you check up on the food

“U-Um-… W-Wait it’s not what it l-looks like T-Teru!-“

“But it was though….”

“Babe I love you but you’re not helping the situation. *sigh*”

- If Kou wants a kiss he’ll ask you and if you say yes YIPPEE! But if you say no he’ll pout till you give in and give him one

“Please Babyyyy I want a kisssss~” *he whines*

Mitsuba!

- The first time you tried kissing him he called you a pervert but soon kissed you back

- Mitsuba loves making out with you but if you two get caught he’ll become flustered and say you started it

- He loves when you put your hands on his chest while his are on your waist and cheek

- If you drag him off to somewhere private he’ll joke around and say something like “what are you gonna do to a cute ghost like me you pervert!”

- When he wants a kiss he’ll say things like “I wish someone would kiss me..”

- He’ll stare at you as you stare back confused and he’s like

“I’m talking about you dumbass! Come kiss me already!”

- Even tho Mitsuba might call you every name under the sun he loves you sm

- If you’re the sensitive type and get hurt by what he says, he’ll kiss you and tell you he doesn’t mean anything that he says

“W-Wait I didn’t mean that-… I was just k-kidding! C-Come here…”

- loves when you sit on his lap to make out with him, this is when he’ll deepen the kiss by adding tongue and holding your hips

As mentioned above all characters are 18+ so don’t attack me ty and don’t be afraid to request a character from a fandom! I’ll write it as long as Ik it! Like for example from me to you, mob psycho 100 etc!

Mwah! <3

[arkhammaid]

TEXT FILES : #APHRODISIACS alpha in a beta world

fandom. genshin impact

pairing. wriothesley x gn!reader

content warnings. nsfw, MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI, alpha!wrio, omega!reader, ruts, knotting, talk about breeding, wrio going feral, written in lowercase

word count. 0.6k

notes. hehe :D

kinktober masterlist.

alpha!wriothesley, tortured by the knowledge of him being the only alpha in this world. surrounded by betas, ordinary and normal people, he’s the only one with his designation. even the others, who are not completely normal and have some animalistic traits, aren’t cursed like he is. 

alpha!wriothesley, spending his ruts locked away, suffering through pains and shaking attacks, all because there is no omega near. not a single one and it has his alpha howling in misery. but he can’t change a single thing, he never could. 

alpha!wriothesley, going crazy the moment he smells you the first time. he stumbles over his own feet, shaken to the core to feel the presence of an omega, when he’s in a world full of betas. his nostrils flare— at some point he’s realizing he’s actually panting, trying to get in your scent. 

alpha!wriothesley, having nothing else in mind but you— his omega, his mate, simply his. it doesn’t help that you’re already crushing on him, always blushing when he’s near you. he approaches you, without any shame, asking you out, anything to be closer to you. 

alpha!wriothesley, who thinks he’s dying, when he spends his next rut alone. he doesn’t want to scare you, but he wishes you would be here, with him, in a nest you built yourself and invite him in. he’s howling and ripping his whole den apart, just because he locked himself in. 

alpha!wriothesley, melting against your touch, when you visit him after the torturing days. you coo over him, worried about the self inflicted injuries. his inner alpha is close to purring, his den slowly losing that sour, aggressive scent of his, replaced by your own. it ends up with him sagging against you, head tucked between your neck and shoulders, while he noses your skin, where your scent is the strongest.

alpha!wriothesley, confessing his sin, being an alpha in a beta world, and confessing who you are to him, his omega. he’s ashamed of his own thoughts about you, and his greed for thinking you would agree to his insane request. 

alpha!wriothesley, going feral when you only bare your neck in answer, body loose and trusting. he tries to hold back, he really does, but not even minutes later you’re naked, beneath him and your legs spread. he marks you up, claiming you as his.

alpha!wriothesley, suddenly going into a rut again, his mind filled with the need to fill you up, to breed you, to knot you. he’s frantic, face flushed and heavily panting— but he just can’t help himself. not when you’re so eager, taking him without any complaints and your eyes going oh so wide when he knots you for the first time. 

alpha!wriothesley, showering you with praise, for taking him so well, his knot and seed, keeping it all in— he blabbers about pups, and your pupils widen, just the thought of it making your eyes roll back. he immediately notices it, of course he does, even more words of breeding you, keeping you full and round with his pups stumble out of his mouth.

alpha!wriothesley, scenting and marking you after you fall asleep in his arms. fucking you stupid, knotting you— all this hasn’t been enough. you’re his and he will show it the whole world. you’ll walk around with his marks, just seeing you like this, face still flushed, naked body against his, fills his inner alpha with pride for finally finding his omega.

ARKHAM MAID 2023

[ticklygiggles]

A/N: 3/4 of cute @wertzunge gift ❤️ again, not I fandom I'm into, but hopefully you like it hehe

Summary: 🤫

Words: 1k

Note: nekojita or "cat's tongue" is a term to define people who cannot stand hot foods and beverages!

“There you go.” 

“Oh, thank you very much.” 

Seth gladly took the warm cup between his hands and he smiled softly, his tail wagging lazily from side to side. He brought the mug to his nose and took a long breath, inhaling the delicious aroma of hot chocolate. 

The days had turned cold, and the celebrations were just around the corner. Sixth Street lit up every night with beautiful and mesmerizing fairy lights that flickered in red, green and white. The smell of pine tree, cinnamon and apple tickled his nose whenever he entered an establishment, and Random Play was no exception. 

A huge pine tree adorned the small shop. Seth thought Wise and his sister barely had room to move around, but the Proxy didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest as he put up small ornaments and spheres all around the tree. 

Seth looked at him curiously, his tail moving back and forth in excitement as he watched the spheres move when Wise placed them on the branches of the tree. He never had much interest in the holidays, even less so now that he was an officer, but he couldn't help but feel a little bit of excitement.

When he decided to take a little walk on his day off, he never thought he'd end up at Random Play, but as soon as Wise saw him walk past the store, he practically dragged him inside, saying something about how he felt lonely since Belle left to run some errands.

He couldn't say that it bothered him, in fact, he thought that spending the day like this wasn't so bad. 

After a moment, Wise sighed and stretched his arms above his head, his back cracking into place. 

“I’ll let Belle do the rest,” he said, dropping into a seat right next to Seth. “I'm tired.”

“You've worked hard.” 

Wise chuckled and his eyes moved to Seth’s mug, he frowned. “You didn't like it?” 

“Oh… I haven't tasted it yet, actually. It's too hot.”

Seth looked from side to side as Wise stared at him. He stuttered out a 'what?!' and blushed when Wise started to laugh out loud. 

“What's so funny?!” 

Wise tried to stifle his laughter, “that nekojita of yours is rather cute~!” 

Seth widened his eyes and felt the blush on his cheeks darkening, almost making him sweat. He opened and closed his mouth a few times like a little fish out of water, and that made Wise laugh even harder, holding on to the edge of the table to keep from falling. 

“it's- It's not funny! Shut up!” 

“It is funny!” Wise said with a bright smile. “Now not only your ears and tail, but also your tongue is just like a cat's? Oh, officer, that's simply adorable!” 

Seth’s ears pressed to his skull and the fur on his tail stood up. As Wise continued to laugh, Seth began to growl, baring his fangs. 

“You-! I'll give you a good reason to laugh about!” Seth leaned back a little to push himself up and jump on Wise, knocking him out of the chair and causing them both to fall to the ground. 

Wise groaned, trying to get up before hysterical laughter blossomed from his mouth as Seth's fingers began to tickle his hips. In one of their tickle fights, Seth had learned that this was a very ticklish spot on Wise and he didn't hesitate to use that knowledge while he straddled Wise thighs, keeping him pinned to the floor with his weight. 

“S-Seheheth! N-Nohoho, plehehease! I'm sohohorry!” 

“Ah, now you're sorry, huh? You didn't look too sorry while you were teasing me just now, huh?” A mischievous smile spread across Seth's face and he couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, infected by Wise's loud laughter. 

Seth's agile fingers moved all around Wise's hips, pinching the bone and rubbing deep circles against the sensitive skin. Wise arched his back, laughing brightly and begging for mercy as his hands uselessly pawed at Seth's hands.

“Hehe, how's this? Didn't you want to laugh? You're laughing plenty now, right?” Seth teased with a huge smile on his lips. 

Wise shook his head, squealing as the tickling to his hips didn't cease, on the contrary, it increased as Seth's tail had found its way under his shirt and was wiggling directly against the bare skin.

“THAHAT’S NOT FAHAHAIR!” He cackled, throwing his head back as Seth's fingers moved up to play with his stomach.

“That sucks. I'm still tickling you, though,” Seth chuckled to himself, blushing as he saw his friend giggling and laughing and squirming under him. 

He certainly was still getting used to this. He couldn't remember the last time he tickled or was tickled by someone else that wasn't Wise. He didn't have anyone to play with before, and now that he was an adult, it felt a bit silly to do these kinds of things… but he had to admit it, it was so much fun.

He liked watching Wise laughing so carefree and happily, and Seth knew the Proxy didn't mind being tickled silly like this. He also liked being tickled by Wise, but that was something he wouldn't dare to admit out loud ever… and he thought it was okay, after all, he was sure Wise had already noticed it on his own.

“SEHEHETH! I gihihive uhuhup!” 

Seth giggled, his hands and tail leaving Wise's body. “Ow, you're not fun, I thought you really wanted to laugh?” He asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Wise went limp against the floor, shaking his head no as soft residual giggles still made his body tremble. “I- I lahahaughed pl-plenty ahalready, th-thank you.” 

Seth laughed softly and he got up, helping Wise back into his chair. The officer grabbed his mug and brought it to his lips, giving it a long sip. 

“Haah, so good.” 

Wise looked at him and giggled, his hand moving to playfully scratch at Seth's ear, making him jump and giggle. “I'm glad you liked it, officer. You're welcome to come by anytime for a mug.” 

Seth smiled softly, nodding shyly. He really had a friend to do silly things with now!

[detectivemarvelingcomics]

Not Your Classic Vigilante [Ch. 15]

Alternate Dimension AU TW: Language, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Slight Body Horror, Gore, Graphic Depictions of Monstrous Attacks, Gun Use, Weapon Use, Some Talks About Traumatic Incidents, CW: OC Use, See the OC Guide [Here] Genre: Drama, Action, Angst, Light Comedy Pairing: Batfamily & Batsis!Reader, OC x Reader YN Pronouns: Female (She/Her) Word Count: 11.3K

(15/?) [First] | [Previous] | [Next] [DC Masterlist] | [Not Your Classic Vigilante Masterlist]

Notes: FINALLY SHE'S OUTTTTTTT i'm so sorry for the long wait, loves, I just couldn't for the life of me be satisfied with it until now

Disclaimer: This series is originally by@fandom-meanderer who is a close friend of mine, but she has since fallen out of her Tumblr days and asked me to finish a few series for her, hence why I am now in ownership of the Not Your Classic Vigilante series, I hope I can still live up to her writing as I rewrite this series! (I promise not to change too much, hehe)

2005

Your hand was gripped tightly around your mother’s finger. She was one of a few people you’d ever met growing up and, for the longest time, she was the only one you needed. With you on her right hand and with a backpack filled with your things on her left, she knocked rang the doorbell. When there was no response, she rang it again and continued to do so until it finally opened. An older man stood at the door.

“Pardon me, madam, how may I… assist you?” He hesitates slightly. Your mother moves to the side and gently pulls you toward him and there was a spark of realization on his features.

“I need to talk to Bruce Wayne,” she says. The old man looks behind her before opening the door wider.

“Master Bruce will meet you soon,” the old man says after guiding you both to the foyer. Your mother helps you onto the couch before sitting next to you.

“Mom? Where are we? You tugged at her coat and she folds her hands over her lap.

“A safe place,” she says. You looked around.

“Are we moving here?” Your mother looks away for a moment.

“Yes,” she had a tone about her voice. She was lying. One of the first things she taught you was how to tell someone was lying, she always said it was important because of where you lived, and one of the things you had since noticed is that your mother lied alot, especially recently. You’d been noticing it more often now, she’d always look away from you when she lied and that was how you knew. The both of you have been moving around a lot, staying with different people and checking into different motels, it’s been awhile since you’d stayed somewhere longer than a few days. Every time you would move, your mother would say the same thing: “The monsters found us, we have to move before they get here.” And you, afraid of the monsters, would help her pack as quickly as you could and climb into a taxi next to her. 

Your mother lied a lot. And nearly every time it was a lie, and only some times was it the truth. Even her being your mother was a lie. But she takes care of you, and if that didn’t make her your mother you didn’t know what did. You’re not supposed to know this. She only told you one night when you woke up after a nightmare and came to her. She was holding a glass filled with a deep red liquid, and she refused to look at you all night. She looked over at you, laughed, and told you that you looked just like your mother and “may she rest in peace.” You don’t think she knows she told you, so you kept quiet.

“What are our three rules, (Y/N)?” She asks. You look at your hands.

“Listen before entering, look in hiding spaces, and don’t overstay our welcome.”

“Very good.”

Before the conversation could continue, the older man returned.

“Master Bruce will see you in his study.”

“Alright, watch her, please,” Selina puts her hand on your shoulder and you hold onto her hand.

“You’re leaving me?” You looked up at her.

“I’ll be right back,” she rubs the top of your head, “where is it?”

“Up the stairs and five doors down.”

“Sure.” Your mother ascends the stairs, and you remained on the couch. The older man sits next to you.

“If I may, what’s your name?” He asks. You look at him and look away slowly.

“My mom says not to talk to strangers,” you muttered.

“A very good principle,” he says. “My name is Alfred.” You puffed your cheeks.

“(Y/N)… (Y/N) Kyle…” you answered.

“(Y/N), that’s a lovely name,” he says. He grabs a box from the table. “Do you like sweets, (Y/N)?” He opens the box and your eyes widen at the chocolates inside. You nodded your head and picked a chocolate, but you hesitated before eating it.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know if my mom will be happy if I eat this, mister,” you placed the chocolate back. “She says I shouldn’t eat things from other people…”

“Another good principle,” Alfred takes a chocolate and eats it. “As safe as it is delicious,” he says. With a small smile, you grab the chocolate again and eat it, tasting the sweetness all over your mouth and savoring it as long as you could.

“(Y/N)?” Your mother’s voice drew you away from the box. She descended the stairs and, next to her, was a man with a stern expression on his face. You folded your hands on your lap and looked down. Soon, the man crouched in front of you. “Introduce yourself to her first, she knows not to talk to strangers.”

“Hello, I’m Bruce Wayne,” he says. You squeeze your hands together and your mother sits next to you.

“(Y/N), my dear, this is your father,” your mother introduces you. “You’ve been asking to meet him, remember?” You nodded your head. The man looks at your mother for a brief moment before turning back to you. “Why don’t you say hello?” She asks. You’re silent for a moment.

“Where have you been?” You asked him. The man doesn’t answer.

“He’s been very busy, he couldn’t say hello until now,” she answers for him.

“Why?” You look at your mother.

“I… I’ll tell you when you’re older,” she says. You puffed your cheeks and frowned.

“You have to be nice to him, alright? You’ll be staying here from now on.”

“Just me?”

“Just you.”

“Where will you go?” You looked around.

“Back to the apartment, for now,” she says.

“I don’t want you to leave, though,” you frowned. Your mother sighs and Bruce looks at her.

“(Y/N), do you remember when we first started moving? When the monsters came into our home and destroyed your toys?” She asks. You nodded. “Then you understand why you have to stay here,” she says. You did, kind of.

“But what will I do if there’s a stranger in our bed again?” Though you whispered, it was understood by everyone in the room. That was terrifying, seeing someone you didn’t know just waiting in a place you thought was safe. Selina only shared a quick look with Bruce. “Or… what if I get sick from eating again?” You asked her. You felt terrible that day, nonstop throwing up, nothing was kept down, and you think it was the first time you’d seen your mother cry.

“(Y/N), it’s not safe for you to be with me, but here? You will always be safe,” she says. Tears welled up in your eyes. “Your father will keep you safer than I ever could,” she says.

“But… I don’t know these people,” you said between sniffles.

“You will soon, there’s no one you can trust more than these two,” she rubs your back gently and you wrap your arms around her.

“Even you?” You asked against her coat.

“Especially me,” she responds.

“You have to come visit, okay?”

“Of course,” she holds onto you securely.

“You can stay tonight,” the man says. “It’ll be better for (Y/N), I think,” he says. You held onto your mother tighter.

“… I can’t,” she says. And you turned to her, your expression filled with despair.

“You’re leaving me?” The person you had known your whole life, who took care of you, and who raised you… was leaving you.

“Just for now, (Y/N), you have to trust me, okay?” She stands up and you stood up too, holding onto her legs tighter than you ever have. “(Y/N), let go, have I ever lied to you?” Yes, so many times.

“No,” you lied back.

“It’s only temporary, (Y/N).”

“But… Mom!” Tears streamed down your face. She couldn’t leave you. She took a deep breath. “You can’t leave! I’m so scared!” Your voice pierced the stillness of the manor, and everyone stopped. “What if… what if there’s monsters, what if they get me?!” You hid your face in her thigh. She slowly pulled away from you just enough to crouch to your level.

“They won’t, dear, not here. It’s okay to be afraid,” she coos, “but you have to remember that there are people who will protect you.”

“That’s you, right?”

“Of course,” she sighs, “me, and your dad,” she says. Your glance narrowed at her, and you leaned into her ear to whisper.

“Is he really my dad?” Your voice was so quiet that it strained. You could feel your mother tense as she turned her head to look at you. You couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Yes, he is,” she says. “I never forget a face,” she quickly adds.

“Do you promise?”

“I swear it.” She wasn’t lying. She looks up at Bruce now. “There’s no one who will keep you safer than him,” she says while standing up. “Be good, (Y/N).” You didn’t look at her. “Take care of her, please.”

“We will see to it that young Miss Kyle is watched over,” Alfred responds. Your mother holds you to her one more time, wiping the tears from your face and pulling her scarf off, she folds it neatly and hands it to you, which you accept with shaking hands.

“We will see each other again, (Y/N),” she says. “You’re (Y/N) Wayne now,  do you understand me?” You could only nod.

“Okay,” you shut your eyes and gripped the scarf. And when you opened them again, your mother was gone, and you were standing in a large room with a bed bigger than you’d ever seen and ceilings taller than you’d known. Your father was nowhere to be seen.

“Until we prepare a better room for you, this will have to do,” Alfred says. You looked around, then you approached the closet, opening it slowly and deeming it empty. The curtains were flushed to the wall and were safe, the desk was open enough for you to know that there would be no way for it to be an effective hiding spot, and that left one more place.

But you couldn’t check there.

“Mr. Alfred?”

“Just Alfred is fine, young miss.”

“Could you check under the bed for me?” Alfred only nodded before walking over to it and lifting the comforter. His head touches the ground, seemingly scanning the underside of the bed for a few moments before standing up again.

“No monsters.”

“Promise?”

“I swear it,” he nods and walks to the door. “Just call if you need anything.”

Then he’s gone too.

It’s cold in here.

~

2022

“So, what’s the verdict, Drake?” Marion looks over the clipboard Tim was writing on.

“It’s smarter than we thought,” Tim says, “it’s displayed critical thinking, problem solving, and memorization, all the three signifiers of high intelligence,” he looks at the daemon. It’s been two weeks since he and Jason had arrived and, while the progress on finding out how to return home has been slow, it’s been moving forward at the very least. Until then, the hardest part was integrating into this new society as if they’d always been apart of it to avoid suspicion.

Tim, at the very least, had a puzzle to keep him busy.

The daemon looked at him and huffed silently.

“You’re crazy, Drake,” Inigo says, “giving the thing a bath.”

“Sure, yeah, but I still have my head on and we can’t study it with spears in its back,” he shrugs. The beast seems to keep its eye on Tim while he circled it, though it made no moves. “How’s research on the tags?”

“Drawing no significant leads,” Marion sighs. “Nico, when does the Captain return?” Inigo huffs.

“Tomorrow, apparently,” he says, “I know she’s been losing her mind in bed.”

“She has tried to escape a few times,” Tim laughs.

“You would know, huh? She do that often when you were growing up together?” Marion asks.

“Oh plenty,” Tim laughs, “and I genuinely couldn’t tell if our dad knew or not, I mean, he had to! It’s not like she was slick about it, Jason and I always caught her,” he laughs.

“You two ever do anything about it?” Inigo asks.

“Nah, just helped her out,” Tim shrugs.

“Rebel kid turned soldier is a pipeline that should be studied,” Inigo shuts the lever as soon as the daemon was back in its cage. The sound of heavy locks moving into place echoed in the chamber.

“I’m going to go check on her, pretty sure she’s already tried to leave,” Tim hangs his lab coat over a chair and raises his hand and Marion dismisses him.

“Good work today, Drake, tell the Captain we said hello- Oh! And before I forget, hand this to her too,” she says while shoving a sealed box in his hands. “It’s fragile. Be careful with it and, I’m sure you know, Captain’s eyes only.” Tim nods and enters the elevator. He looks down at the box. It was wrapped various times in twine and nailed shut with the words ‘FRAGILE’ stamped on top of it. Sure, he trusted you, there must be some ground breaking item in here that would help with the monster outbreak, but he couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling at the back of his head. He turned the box slowly and looked at the label on the side.

Project βαV. Confidential. Tim’s brows furrow for a moment before taking a deep breath. He’s the one to talk, right? About secrets? He wonders what really went through your head those years ago. There were always things he just couldn’t tell you, things he’s always wanted to, but in the interest of your safety he always decided not to. Him and his siblings, they were always talking amongst themselves about things with the league or with Gotham’s underground and you were just there. If Cass wasn't there then no one would have taken the time to explain things to you.

Meanwhile, you laid in bed and stared at the clock next to you. Two weeks of bedrest, the audacity of these people. A lot can happen in two weeks and with you not active who knows what kind of emergencies have happened without you knowing. Sure, the Brigade kept you relatively up to date and you knew for a fact that Aldryn couldn’t keep a secret from you, but the anxiety that came from sitting still is one you weren’t comfortable with.

“This is so ridiculous,” you muttered.

“Almost as ridiculous as you not reattaching,” Carter laughs next to you. You looked under your hospital gown, still seeing the healing bite wound across your chest. At least it was still together, is your immediate thought. You sat up in bed and looked at the folder on the stand next to you.

“Think it’s anything I should be concerned about?” You ask while rifling through its contents. Field reports, updates on monitored areas, practical scores, all what you expected.

“Are you asking if you suddenly having a normal human body is concerning?”

“And it wasn’t before?”

“Well…” Carter shrugs. “What do you think, (Y/N)?”

“Hm,” you shake your head. “I’m just wondering why it’s failing now of all the times.”

“Think it might have something to do with Alex’s assignment?”

“Probably,” you muttered. “I never once considered distance to be a hinderance, or more accurately it’s never been an issue, but with him as acting Captain I should’ve taken it into account,” you muttered.

“And what does he have to do with your ability?” You both look up and see Damian at the doorway. You sighed.

“I had to tell you eventually,” you gestured for him to sit next to you and, once he did, you took another deep breath. “It was during a monster hunt dispatch. I had done plenty of them before, the three of us together were known as the best when it came down to it, but this one was different. It was a rank builder dispatch, if we completed the mission to its fullest extent then we’d get promoted. And everything went well until the monster we were hunting cornered us,” you started to explain.

“Real quick, everything was not well,” Carter cuts in. “I almost lost a leg.”

“This is isn’t about you,” you held a hand up, but your small smile contradicted your tone. “Either way I almost died again, but for whatever reason the royal family insisted I be kept alive. As a result of some forbidden magic, boom, reattachment with the side effect of telekinesis with one specific person,” you shrugged.

“That person being Alex, I assume,” Damian hums.

“Yeah, there’s nothing other than that, though. It’s related to some powerful magic thing that I guess Alex has been studying for some time now,” you tapped your finger against the bedding. “It’s been like this for, what, two years now?” You looked at Carter, who nodded.

“Give or take,” he shrugs.

“So that ability you told me about,” Damian starts the thought.

“Is different from my reattachment, yes,” you finished his thought, “but I don’t like using it.”

“Left her with a nasty nickname,” Carter says.

“I hate that shit, it pisses me off every time I hear it,” you rolled your eyes, and they settled on the door right as you heard a knock. “It’s open.”

“Hey, (Y/N),” Tim walks in with a paper bag in hand. “Carter, Damian,” he acknowledges the other two, “I got you lunch! To celebrate your freedom from a hospital room,” Tim hands it to you and you pulled out the burger.

“Finally, real food,” you could’ve praised Tim right then and there.

“You’re not really going to jump right back in, right?” Carter asks. “You just recovered.”

“I loathe to think about what I missed while in exile.”

“Oh, relax, you were on bedrest.”

“How’s the daemon, Tim? Any leads?” You switched the subject before you could get the migraine.

“Nothing conclusive, just theories,” Tim grabs another chair. “Marion says ‘hi’ by the way,” he says. You looked at Carter and Damian. 

“There’s our cue, come on, Damian, I’ll walk with you,” Carter nudges his head toward the door and Damian groans and looks at you.

“Just go with him, Dami.”

“I can keep secrets, you know.”

“I know,” you gestured for him to follow Carter anyway and he huffed before closing the door behind him. After a short while, Tim spoke again.

“Are you 100% sure that they used to be humans, (Y/N)?”

“Positive. One of the ones we fought even spoke, Tim,” you said.

“Okay, okay, yeah, I tried crossreferencing some fur samples with the missing person’s data base here but nothing, no registered sample matches it,” Tim shakes his head. “So… I was thinking,” he pauses.

“Maybe he’s like us?” You whispered.

“Yeah, dropped off here after some traumatic event, but someone got to him first,” Tim leans on his knees now, head propped up by the palm of his hand.

“Let’s talk about it when Alex comes back. I sent him off to do some investigating on some movements we heard in the distant areas, so he’s been monitoring their movements for two weeks now,” you pushed the sheets down and opened the closet next to you before pulling out your uniform. 

“Before I forget,” Tim hands you the box. “From Marion.” You looked at it for a moment before opening it. Inside was a smaller box, also wrapped twenty fold in twine. You said nothing while you packed it into your belt. You pulled out the small note inside of it.

You’re insane, Captain. Whatever you’re planning on using this on I hope you realize what it can do. And for god’s sake, don’t you dare use it on yourself. - Marion

You crumpled the note in your hand and tossed it in the trash.

“What is it, (Y/N)?” Tim asks.

“A last resort,” you shrugged. “I’ve been working on it for some time, I was hoping it would be a good pinch tactic if it came down to it, and with these monsters all over the place I’m starting to think it’s time I expidited its production,” you explained. “It’s nothing crazy, you don’t need to worry yourself about it.”

“If you say so, (Y/N),” Tim clears his throat. He didn’t believe you. But, then again, he wouldn’t exactly approve of what was against your hip right now anyway.

Your senior thesis project, you remembered enough of it to continue it here and perfect it, or make it as close to better as whatever crude version of it you had in Gotham. You and Marion were working on it together for almost a year now with various trials and errors, but if she’s giving you this one then this is the closest you’ll get for now.

“Let’s do some field work, Tim, grab Jason and Damian on the way. The Brigaders are spread out right now so I’m going to have to settle for the family trip.”

~

2006

“Dad?!” Your voice seemed to echo throughout the manor, bouncing on every which wall before you couldn’t hear it anymore. You’d been living at the manor for a few months now, slowly getting accustomed to the new environment while Alfred helped you anytime a camera would flash at your face. Slowly, bit by bit, you got more accustomed to the man your mother claimed was your father, you learned from him, about him, and through him. He was quiet, you noticed, didn’t smile often and didn’t tend to stick around the house for too long either. Most of your days was spent with Alfred, the butler, who often took you outside the manor and taught you a few things you’d have to know. Like the cameras. You hated those. They got in front of your face, blinded you with their lights, and deafened you with their shutters, but Alfred taught you a way to look through them. It was so simple that you were amazed when he told you.

Look straight at the person taking the picture. And suddenly the cameras weren’t scary anymore. The cameras that followed your father around, they never seemed to cease. He was so different from your mother who ducked out of sight and warned you about them, and that constant line of thoughts was always playing on repeat in your head.

You had already wandered the vast extent of it and you’d almost say that you knew it like the back of your hand, amazingly enough.

The only thing you didn’t know was where your dad went during the night, but Alfred always insisted he went to work. Life must be so hard for a CEO.

Alfred told you that you could be like that too someday, if you so wanted.

The manor was larger than you could ever dream of. Despite you having internally mapped the place, there always seemed to be something new if you had the energy to seek it out. But it seemed too big for three people, let alone you. Your echoing voice was just a reminder of the lack of… anyone, really.

Not to mention, it was always so cold. You shivered slightly, rubbing your arms up and down for warmth.

“Dad?” You called for him again and still, nothing. You wanted to ask him to turn the fire on, and you hadn’t seen Alfred all day. You peered over the railing, looking at the ground floor below. “Oh,” you spotted your scarf hanging on one of the light fixtures attached to the wall next to the railing. Perfect timing. Your mom gave it to you before she left your first night here, it was just a small thing of hers that she wanted you to keep, and you thought you’d lost it after tying it to the end of stick and playing baton with it. Looks like you just flung it over the edge at one point. You stood as close to the rail as you could, reaching your small arms through the poles to grab at the fabric, but each time you got closer to it it seemed to move further. You looked behind you, pulling the chair to the edge and climbing ontop of it. You held onto the rail with one hand and, with the other, you made a grab at the scarf, feeling it’s soft material in your hands. “Yes!” You grinned. Then you felt your hand slip down the rail. Then you were falling. Clutching onto the scarf in your hands like it would do something.

“(Y/N)!” Your dad’s voice was beneath you and in moments he caught you. “What were you doing up there?!” His voice was laced with concern. You held the scarf up and he let out a sigh of relief before shaking his head. “That was very dangerous, next time let me or Alfred know you need help,” he says, placing you down gently.

“Sorry, dad,” you looked at ground.

“It’s okay, you know now not to do that though, right?” He asks. You nodded. “Why were you doing something like that anyway?” He looks up, spotting your makeshift stool.

“I was cold,” you muttered. He sighs above you, then takes your scarf and wraps it around you, securing it well enough to stay on.

“That’s it?” You nodded. “In that case, I’ll turn the fireplace on for you,” he walks off and you followed close behind him, watching the backs of his heels to be sure you didn’t tread on them on accident, and finally you were in the office watching him throw logs into the fireplace.

You’d never seen a real one before, and the wood felt rough under your touch.

“Careful,” your father says. Your hands fly off the log and he tosses the last one in before throwing a match inside. You feel him hold your shoulder and push you behind him only slightly before you heard the crackle of fire. You watched it spark to life before engulfing the pile, and you found yourself flinching back at the suddeness of it. Then, near immediately, warmth. “Don’t stand too close to it, you might burn yourself.”

“Okay.”

“You can stay here as long as you want,” he says. You watched him walk back to his desk, his face growing stern as he read through whatever on his computer. You crossed your legs and sat on the ground, reaching toward the fire with open palms to feel it more. “Here, sit on this here, the ground’s cold. And if you need it I brought a blanket,” he left both items next to you. You didn’t even notice him leave, he didn’t make a single sound. You pulled the ottoman toward you and sat down on it instead while holding the blanket in your hands. It was soft to touch, softer than any motel bed you’d slept on, but not as soft as the scarf around you.

You didn’t want to get it dirty.

~

2022

“Captain Wayne?” Bruce’s eyebrow arched and the child nodded enthusiastically.

“Yessir! Our little village is usually one of the Brigade’s stops on their way to their campaigns. We’re lucky to even get a glimpse of the captain!” The child grins. “If you stick around long enough you’ll be able to catch a look too.” They ran off after that.

“Constantine,” Bruce called him over, but the man was too preoccupied on the phone to do say much.

“Liverpool! Where the hell are you, lad? You sent me the wrong bloody address!” He shouts. “You’ll be here? What in the blazes does that even mean? Fine, fine, I’ll hold you to it, but I don’t remember when you got so bold to make to teacher wait here.” Constantine hung up the phone and turned back around. “What?”

“What are the odds of running into different vesions of ourselves here?” Dick asks.

“Not impossible, I’ll give you that,” Constantine shrugs. “But pretty unlikely too,” he adds after. “Why?” Just then, a newspaper flies into Constantine’s face and when he peeled it off he quickly read the headline. “Oh…” he mutters and hands it over to the boys.

“In the wake of daemon attacks Captain Wayne says the Brigade has it handled during hospital stay,” Dick reads the opening sentence. “Doesn’t sound like they have it handled.”

“And that’s why I got called here, probably,” he shrugs.

“Constantine,” a new voice enters the conversation.

“Liverpool!” Constantine spreads his arms wide with an even wider grin. “Look at you, lad, Zee says hi, by the way.”

“She here?” Alex leans over to look behind him, but instead makes eye contact with Dick. “Oh no…”

“What?” Constantine looks behind him.

“Alex?!” Dick’s jaw was nearly on the floor.

“Long time no see, Mr. Wayne,” Alex greets Bruce first.

“Alexander,” Bruce clears his throat uncomfortably. Alex’s hand rests on his chest for a moment before he relaxes again.

“We have a bit of a monster problem,” Alex says quietly. “Let’s go somewhere private,” he nudges inside of one of the homes and the men follow him. “Take a seat anywhere, this is the Knighthood’s outpost,” he says.

“Little shabby,” Constantine wipes the dust off the table.

“Our treasurer got eaten by a daemon,” Alex saids chidingly. He tosses a circular device on the table and a hologram appears from it, displaying a monster they had never before seen. “This is just one variant of them, we have this one in captivity right now and it’s being studied. But it’s traits greatly differ from others we’ve encountered,” he says. 

“And how many is that?” Bruce asks.

“Enough,”Alex grimaces. “We haven’t been able to track where they come from, they’ve been found all over the continent razing villages to the ground and taking out whole squadrons. At first we were able to keep it under wraps but recently it happened too close to the capital, now the media’s all over it,” Alex shakes his head.

“Shocking you kept these nightmares out of the public eye for so long,” Constantine mumbles while he leans forward to take a closer look. “Either way these things are new to me,” he says. 

“You haven’t the slightest idea on what it is? Science is hardly working on this thing, I was so sure it was magic,” Alex continues.

“It would help me more if I saw it up close,” Constantine says.

“If my theory’s right then you will soon,” Alex says quietly. Constantine straightens. 

“What do you mean by that?” He asks gravely. Alex changes the hologram.

“If this pattern of attacks is to be followed then this is the next village they’re going to attack,” he says quietly. Dick steps up.

“What’s the plan then?”

“Wait until the captain gets here,” Alex responds, “our elite squad is spread out right now, but they’re ready to respond to an emergency. Our captain is on the way right now so we’ll discuss it once enough people are here, but I’d say we have a night to prepare. Once I get the manpower I’ll start evacuations, I’ve already sent notice of it to the headwoman so everyone should be preparing now,” Alex reports, his hand over his heart before he beats on it a few times.

“And what should we do?” Constantine asks.

“Help? Watch? Whichever comes naturally,” Alex shrugs.

“Any briefing at all? Weak points? Strengths? Things to avoid?” Dick pressures him.

“Before, yeah, but the daemons have become so specialized that our original modus operandi doesn’t work anymore. It’s like they all mutated overnight,” Alex shakes his head. “This whole monster problem has gotten out of hand, and from the pressure coming from the royal family the entire knighthood is on a tight schedule, and we’re running out of manpower fast, I don’t think we can sustain things by blind fighting anymore, but our strategies are always upended when a new daemon comes in. Just two weeks ago we had one that controlled the weather, for christ’s sake, it almost ripped the captain in half when another daemon suddenly learned empathy and saved us all,” Alex holds a hand to his head now.

“So, you’re desperate,” Constantine says.

“Extremely,” Alex shakes his head. “Onto other matters, why the entourage?”

“I figured a little extra manpower couldn’t hurt,” Constantine shrugs. “Why?”

“Well…” Alex whistles, but is cut off by the sudden roar outside.

~

2008

You are awoken suddenly by the crash of glass on your floor, and the shock of it all was enough to make you scream. You held onto your blanket, clutching it tight within your hands as you crawled toward the edge of your bed, and in an instant you gasped.

And so did Dick.

“This isn’t my room,” he says between pants. You were quick to rush out of the safety of your covers and to his side. He was covered in bruises and shallow cuts, probably more from the glass than anything else, whatever happened to him. But… you could help. Your mom used to come home with bruises too, she’s walked you through how to help her and what to use, you just wondered if there were any in the manor. Or even Alfred, you could call him for help.

“What happened to you?! Who did this?! I can help you,” you brushed the glass off of him and winced when it cut your hand only slightly.

“Whoa! Careful there, (Y/N),” he takes your hands now, observing the cut.

“What about you?” You pulled your hands out of his grasp and reached over to him, but he caught your hands again instead.

“I’m fine, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he struggles to stand up and you tried to help him, but he got up himself. You drew your hands back, clasping them in front of you instead. “I’m sorry, (Y/N),” he says. You looked at him now.

“You’re… you’re Robin?” You asked him. You looked at your walls, crude drawings of the boy wonder littered it. You idolized him, Robin, the sidekick to the dark caped crusader all the boys at school raved about, and there you were, becoming a fan of the boy who helped him.

And here Dick was, someone you considered your older brother after two years of living together, beaten up and wearing the iconic insignia.

“It’s… it’s just a costume, (Y/N),” he says. You shook your head and stood up.

“You’re going to lie to me too?” You looked away from him. Everyone lied to you. And you thought at least he wouldn’t.

“I…” he rubs his arm, wincing slightly. “(Y/N), I’m so sorry,” he says. “I was just playing around with a few friends and we got out of hand, don’t tell Bruce, please.”

“Okay,” you shook your head again, grabbing your blanket that had fallen next to the bed and climbing back on top of it. Dick wiped his face of whatever dirt got on it and looked at you. You pulled your blanket up and over your head.

“I’m sorry.” He repeats. You should’ve known. And maybe a part of you did know. When you saw the videos of Robin doing amazing acrobatic feats, the very same Dick would show you, maybe you did know. And when you would tell Dick how much you liked Robin, when you’d show him the drawings, you wondered what he was thinking.

You wondered if your dad knew.

So here you were, eating breakfast with the both of them. Dick across from you, your dad at the head of the table, and you. It had been a few days since the incident, and neither your nor Dick brought it up. Now, though, you can hear him entering his room early in the morning, his room which was right next to yours, and now you check every morning if he was in there.

“So, (Y/N), I hear you have a test today,” Bruce breaks through the silence.

“Yeah,” you nodded, playing with your eggs.

“What’s it on?”

“Spelling,” you mumbled.

“You’re good at that.”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Is there something on your mind?” He asks, his eyes sliding to you. You looked up from your eggs and glanced at Dick before looking at him.

“Nope,” you shook your head and chugged down the rest of your milk. “I have to go to the bathroom.” You placed it on the table and folded your hands on your lap.

“You haven’t finished your breakfast.”

“I’m full.”

“(Y/N).”

“And I really need to pee.”

“Okay, go ahead, you’re excused,” he says. You rushed off before you could let the cat out of the bag. You’re lying to your dad, great. Not telling is also lying, your mother always said, but it had to be a little better than just… completely lying, right? Plus, you didn’t want Dick to get in trouble, how many times has he helped you out? You could help him out, even if you were a little mad at him. You hid behind the wall, wanting to catch any conversation they have. “Dick.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s good that the two of you get along well, but I hope you know she’s still my daughter,” Bruce says.

“I know.”

“So you understand that I know you two are hiding something, right?” He says. You held your breath and peeked over the wall, his back was still turned to you. “Which is fine, I suspected you two would eventually, as long as it doesn’t hurt her or interrupt that business, it’s fine,” he says. Dick nods, catching your glance only quickly before clearing his throat. Did he know too? Your dad? That Dick was Robin?

“It’s neither of those, sir, I promise,” he looks at the clock on the wall, “and we should probably get going to school too,” he says.

“You’re right, I’ll see you both at home later,” Bruce stands up first and Dick follows. You rushed to the foyer before your dad could catch you eavesdropping and you hauled your book bag up from the floor.

“Whoa, what do you have in there?” Dick walks up behind you and opens the door for you.

“So… many… books,” you threw it into the back seat of the car.

“For school?”

“For fun,” you sighed. You pulled one out and handed it to him.

“American Girl?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Uh… sure, okay,” he shrugs. “Why don’t we keep them in here for now and you can just carry one,” he pulls the stack out of your bag except for one and you reached over and grabbed another.

“Just in case I finish that one,” you say.

“Fair enough,” he shrugs. The car slows to a start and Dick glances at the closed window that separated the two of you from the chauffer. “Thanks, by the way.”

“For?”

“For keeping my secret,” he says quietly.

“Yeah…”

“I’m sorry I lied to you, I just got scared,” he says.

“I know, I would’ve been scared too,” you nodded. You played with the handle on your bag. “But if you ever need help… just ask, okay?”

“I should be saying that to you,” he nudges your softly and you smiled.

“Just don’t get hurt too bad, okay? And… and you have to tell me the coolest stories,” your eyes shone.

“What? You still like Robin even though you know I’m him?” He scoffs.

“Are you kidding? I like him even more now!” You defended. “I always thought you were cool, but now you’re even cooler,” your voice was filled with awe.

“Yeah, yeah, you think everything I do is cool,” Dick laughs.

In the front, meanwhile, Bruce seemed to let out a sigh of relief, prompting Alfred to chuckle.

“God, I was so worried it was something worse,” he says.

“As I’ve told you before, Master Bruce, they’re as thick as thieves, those two,” Alfred says. “Although, you don’t think this will become a problem in the future?”

“What? Her knowing Dick’s Robin?”

“Precisely.”

“As long as she doesn’t get into danger,” he says, “there’s no harm from it.”

“But you worked so hard to separate her from the Batman, and here she is with a direct line to him now.”

“Dick knows what he’s doing,” Bruce sighs, “plus, maybe it’s safer for her to know.”

“And will you ever tell her?”

“Eventually, if she hasn’t figured it out already.”

“Do you think she will?”

“She’s a sharp girl. Selena raised her well.”

“I worry about what she had to go through before she came to us,” Alfred looks into the monitor near him, watching Dick tell a story with exaggerated hand movements and you being more engaged in it than he’s ever seen. “She looks happier now.”

“I hope she is,” Bruce doesn’t look up from his phone. Alfred steals a quick glance at it and spots the American Girl dolls on his screen. Alfred couldn’t stop the satisfied chuckle this time.

~

2022

“Oh we are so fucked,” Jason’s hands drop to his sides when he saw the fires.

“Shit… they’re earlier than we predicted,” you shot a quick text to the other Brigade members. “And we might have another issue on our hands too,” you watched the daemon freeze over the landscape.

“What, the mutants?” Tim shudders.

“No, them,” you nodded forward, spotting Dick electrocute a smaller daemon.

“Shit,” Damien grumbles.

“Shit,” Jason scoffs.

“What’s the plan, (Y/N)?” Tim asks.

“Uh… don’t die,” you shake your head, “and get any survivors out. I’ll rendezous with Alex first and figure out a better plan from there,” you drew your rapier and scanned the field. One, two, three… four of them.

“Captain?” Your earpiece crackled and you pressed down on it.

“Alex, give me a run down,” you watched your brothers each tackle a different daemon.

“One with ice, one normal one, two with super strength, and one with wings.”

“One with wings?” Your face contorted into one of confusion. Until something grabbed you and left you airborne.

“(Y/N)!” Jason called after you.

“Oh fuck,” you grabbed onto the daemon’s claws that dug into your shoulders. Your breathing quickened, the air growing thinner the higher up you got, and you swallowed your thoughts down and reverted to plain instinct. It roared above you and you pulled yourself up and onto its back, looping the rapier around it’s neck and locking it in place with your arm in an attempt to strangle the bird-like monster. Ignoring the stinging pain in your shoulders, the daemon flapped erratically until it took a nosedive, and you held your place as best you could with the wind blowing against you, all you could do was brace for impact. As soon as the bird hit the ground, the earth around it caved in, you felt the shock run through your bones and you felt the fragments inside of your body before they ultimately, painfully, reconnected to each other, and you stood up, dragging your rapier with you and smoothening down your hair. The bird twitched under you and you dug your sword into its heart, pulling the tag from its neck. CH-95. You staggered back, feeling the crunch in your bones and holding back the wince. You never get used to it.

“Just a second!” You held your hand out, catching your breath. This is wrong. Alex was practically right next to you, you should be reattaching with ease, but you weren’t. You were just surviving.

“(Y/N)? Jesus, fuck, holy shit,” Dick let out a string of curses while he helped you up, but he quickly slowed his movements as soon as he had felt the jelly that was your arm. “God, why the hell did Jason bring you here?” He muttered under his breath and you stopped.

“Excuse me?” You looked up at him and pulled your wrist from his grasp, standing up tall and closing your hand into a fist once it had finally finished mending together. You stretched out your fingers now, making sure the mobility was just right. “Like you know what’s going on,” you told him.

“(Y/N) you’re not trained for combat, this is dangerous, hell, one of them just grabbed you and launched you in the sky,” Dick shouts. “Get out before you get hurt,” he eyes your arm, a quick look of confusion danced over his features when he saw it balled into a fist once more.

“Did you not just see how I killed this thing?! What the hell do you think I’ve been doing for three years?! Don’t tell me you bought my bull shit story about that lab! Obviously I was making myself fucking useful!” You didn’t know why you felt the need to argue, now was not the best time to be doing this. “I should be asking you why you’re here!” Maybe it was because you felt like you had something to prove.

“I’m here to bring all of you back home!” Dick shouts. “And instead, somehow, Bruce and I get roped into this monster business and I definitely wasn’t expecting to see the four of you here,” he says. He looks over to the side, seeing Jason and Tim bring one of them down. “You especially, you’re a civilian, (Y/N), get somewhere safe,” he says. You took a deep breath. He wouldn’t know. He doesn’t know the shit you’ve been through, and you had to be fair towards him because of that. But god is he pissing you off, you didn’t even know how you tolerated this behavior before you died and you definitely don’t want to deal with his holier-than-thou-I’m-the-best-leader attitude now.

“I don’t have the time or the fucking patience to deal with you right now, Dick,” you shook your head.

“Captain!” Alex’s voice was loud and you tore your attention away from Dick who was rambling again about how you shouldn’t be here. Alex tosses you your rifle, something that probably fell from your figure when you were unceremoniously turned into an aircraft. One thing you learned quick, even before the transmigration, was how to tune out sounds you didn’t want to hear. So, just as easily as usual, you loaded the rifle and aimed it toward the daemon that Jason and Damian were struggling with and you took the shot. The bullet pierced through it’s head and the beast as stunned long enough for the two to finish it off.

“Thanks, (Y/N)!” Jason shot you a thumbs up and you rolled your eyes while slinging the rifle behind you. You turned back to Dick, no words were exchanged, but the silent conversation was enough for you to figure out what he was thinking. He was pissed. But so were you, so… where did that leave you?

“Got a plan, Lex?” You looked over to Alex.

“I’m going for the ice one, don’t think we can have the newer two on it,” Alex was already running off, joining Constantine in his struggle while Jason had pushed the remnants of a wall off of a few survivors.

“Move over!” You had turned back to Dick to settle the argument, but when you saw the daemon fast approaching you shoved him out of the way instead, and you very nearly got caught in its rampage by just a hair. You ran toward it now, you couldn’t let it run amok any longer with the possibility of heavy civilian casualties, but the stinging pain from your steps was making it hard to focus on anything other than that.

“Help!” The shrill voices of survivors always found a way to be louder than others, and you turned to them quickly, seeing the children hidden behind the broken wooden foundations. Could you even get to them on time in this state? Everyone else is too far to get to them.

And for god’s sake, don’t you dare use it on yourself. Marion’s note appeared in your head. But you’d always meant to use it on yourself, you just couldn’t find the right formula, you couldn’t nail the correct combination that wouldn’t end up with you combusting after taking it. Until now, you fed it to the test specimen and told Marion to keep a close eye on it and, after two months of controlled dosages, the specimen was still alive. But you understood why she was afraid, she was a woman of science and she knew that its boundaries shouldn’t be tested. But you’ve seen it work before, and you knew you could make it better. Hell, you have a degree in this. You have to put it to work at least once, right?

Fuck it. You ripped the package open and pulled out the green vial.

Tim, meanwhile, was the one in shock. βαV, that was the name written on that package, and seeing its effects put two and two together. Bane and Venom.

You never got over that, did you?

“(Y/N)!” He shouted out, not from the recognition, rather, the daemon that had appeared behind you. No time, you moved as far as you could from the monster as it crashed into the wall previously behind you, but it was enough for Tim to run over to you. “Is that-”

“Safe, probably,” you inverted it in your hand. “Safer if I take it than if anyone else did.

“You can’t!” Tim makes a move to take it and you unscrewed the lid, holding it close to your mouth while keeping your sights on him.

“Why not?” You eyed the monster stepping out of the broken building.

“You…” Why couldn’t you? Tim was at a loss. Everything he’s seen, everything he’s observed, pointed to you being the most reasonable choice to drink it especially in this situation. But it just didn’t sit right with him. He held you in this amazing regard, this near unattainable standard that never could’ve been realistic in any universe, one that not even you could uphold. “I never thought that you’d think like him,” Tim mutters. You didn’t answer, instead opting to drink the down quickly.

The world around you rang as you took heavy steps toward the daemon that had regained it’s footing, and as soon as it noticed you it charged with its maw near unhinged, and you caught the daemon’s open jaws between your hands, your hands that were traced with green veins that were clear even through the blur at the edges of your eyes. You took deep breaths, the world around your shifted in and out of focus as if echoing just like the sounds of the battlefield, and once your vision somewhat stabilized you pushed further and ripped the daemon’s jaw in half. You tossed it’s mandible to the side and used your foot to roll it over on its back and you pulled the tag off. DP-82. Your breaths only deepened and you felt your heart rate quicken, like your heart was going to burst out of your chest from the adrenaline. Your hands were shaking, or was that your vision shaking? You felt the venom run through your veins with a burning sensation, threatening to rip your skin open with each pump of your heart. This is insanity, you could barely form a coherent thought.

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to take this so suddenly. Or at least, not all of it.

“Shit…” your teeth grinded against each other and you held your head in your hands, trying to get past the searing headache. You could feel your own searing blood run down either side of your face, and whether that was from the daemon or from yourself it was unclear. Then you felt two hands over yours pull them away from your head, and you looked up.

“(Y/N), take deep breaths,” Bruce says. One hand goes to his belt and pulls out a small vial, and he places it in your hands. “Take it.”

“Not yet,” you shake your head, would it even work? Your vision focusing on the daemon who was sprinting toward the both of you. You pushed the vial in your pocket and you pushed him aside, taking heavy steps toward the daemon before slicing your rapier once it got close enough. And the wound it left was so deep it fell back and you climbed on top of it, stabbing the beast repeatedly and even breaking the tag that was on it. In two pieces it landed on the floor with a simple DT-82 engraved on it. That’s four down. You looked around and spotted the ice daemon cornered by Alex. Readjusting your grip on your rapier with a rotate of the hilt around your palm, you charged forward and stopped only when the daemon had the thought to protect it’s frontside with a slate of ice.

Intelligence? Tim had mentioned it but you were wary to believe him considering the data came from the outlier in the basement.

Either way, this one was going to be harder to get rid of. Such was clear when you held your rapier above you to block the blow, instead feeling your boots sinking into the ground. You pushed through and powered the daemon’s fist off of the blade and you surged forward, redirecting the rapier into a crack between the ice armor the monster adorned, and just as fast you were pushed back. You wiped the fluid from your lips and took heavy breaths.

“Hey, Captain,” Constantine caught wind of the situation easily, “try using that rifle of yours against the ice plate, I have an idea,” he says. You nodded, pulling your rifle forward again and aiming it at the intended spot, but your hands wobbled slightly with the dizzying effect that was controlling you. You squinted your eyes, doing your best to make sense of the monster that was now appearing double. Then, you felt your hands stabilize, and you realized that Alex was holding the rifle steady. You aimed it as best as you could and took the shot, the bullet landing on one side of the plate, then you took more successive rounds until it was seconds away from shattering. You could just barely make out the magic circle that appeared on top of it until it pushed into the daemon and left it screaming while it ripped off its own skin. “Now’s your chance!” He shouts. You grabbed your rapier and sprinted forward, the double vision coming back together as you got closer and, with a push of your hand, the daemon’s thrashing stilled until it was no more. You pulled on the tags around it’s neck: CS-03. You pulled the second vial from your pocket, the top had broken off but there was still a sufficient amount of liquid inside of it, enough to drink anyway. And slowly you regained your senses, and slowly you became more aware of the shouts around you, but they all mixed and garbled into one incoherent noise underneath the ringing.

“Thank you, Captain Wayne!” The townspeople, whoever was left, had arrived again, all expressing their thanks in some way and, as you had found out later, due to Damien and Dick’s due diligence the number of casualties were greatly reduced compared to the previous attacks.

“Are you alright, (Y/N)?” Alex’s voice rang in your head. “It’s a mess in here.”

“It’s a mess out there. What does my mind look like?”

“Fractured.”  His voice was an echo.

“Can you fix it?”

“It’ll fix on its own. Give the antidote time to work.” You nodded your head absently while holding it with one hand. Dick was saying something to you, but you couldn’t hear him. Jason grabbed his shoulder and now it was clear they were arguing but their shouts were incoherent to you. Tim was talking to you now, waving his hands in front of you with his brows knit together while Damian was speaking to your father.

You looked at him.

Your father. Why was he here?

Surely, not for you.

He was looking at you too, walking over slowly and looking into your eyes with a discerning glance. You’d be able to read their lips if not for the blur and the shakiness. 

“Get me to Marion.”

“Certainly. Eve’s just arrived.” Speaking of, the woman ran up to you, unceremoniously  pushing the boys out of the way as her hands cupped your face and moved it around gently. He seemed to ask what had happened to you, the proximity making her voice somewhat clear. Her hand waves next to her and a portal opens up as she guides you into it and, once again, you found yourself in a hospital room.

“Now this is just bullshit.” You thought to yourself.

“How is it your thoughts are louder at a distance?” You looked down, your hand still over your heart.

“Fuck. Keep me updated on what they do.”

“Sleep well, Cap.”

“I’m killing that Doctor if he puts me on bedrest again.”

“I await the headline.”

“What were those two arguing about?” You said nothing while Eve sat you down on the bed, seemingly calling for help.

“Dick and Jason?”

“Were there others arguing?”

“Not… Necessarily. They were talking about you, of course. I don’t think Dick understands the whole situation yet, they’re explaining it to him now.”

“Great. Maybe I will sleep.”

“Can you blame him? The last you he knew was…”

“Weak?”

“Different.” You pulled your hand off of your chest just as the Doctor entered with Marion in tow. Marion hands you a vial and you drink it, ever so slowly the world quieted down and stabilized.

“How do you feel, (Y/N)?” Eve asks.

“Like I’m human again,” you shook your head.

“Are you fucking crazy?!” Marion shouts and your winced. “Did I not leave clear instructions to not use it on yourself? You’re insane, (Y/N), I don’t care if you can reattach, this is your basic biology we’re talking about now. If one calculation was off in our work you could have been like that forever, do you understand?”

“Of course, I understand, I fucking made it,” you grimaced. Marion frowns and slumps her shoulders.

“You talk to her, Dr. Bronte. She’ll listen to you,” Marion grumbles on her way out of the room.

“You know she’s just worried,” Dr. Bronte’s words were obscured by his mask.

Samuel Wyach Bronte was a strange man, brilliant, but strange. He sports a full face mask, a result of a chemical explosion that had occured years prior to your advancement into the role of Captain, leaving only the blue of his eyes clear. He was a tower of a man, standing straight with discipline and holding an air of composure around him. He had been your primary care physician since you started and will probably continue to do so as long as you continued to rip your body apart in combat. But his medical prowess is unmatched, he’s a leader in his field and has since garnered a strong legacy. There is no one more capable of treating your conditions than he is, at the very least.

“But this… this is reckless even for you,” he says, observing your arms. “You have burst blood vessels all along it,” he points at the small patches of red. “What exactly did you take?”

“It’s confidential, and a work in progress still, I wasn’t anticipating those side effects,” you looked at your blistering hands. “You’re not imprisoning me again, are you?”

“Well, that depends on your reattachment.”

“Eve, get Alex over here,” you muttered.

“Right away,” she waves her hand again and the portal opens wide, Alex looks over his shoulder.

“Oh, hello,” he says. Clearly, you just interrupted a conversation he was having with Dick and your dad. “Having trouble?” He asks. Dr. Bronte finds a way to sit up straighter upon seeing the crowd. Alex steps through the portal. “Until next time, Mr. Wayne,” Alex nods his head and Eve shuts the portal.

~

2014

When you found out that your dad was Batman, you were as over the moon as you were when you found out Dick was Robin. Your dad is a superhero, who wouldn’t be surprised at that? You had heard stories about how the caped crusader was unstoppable, how he kept Gotham safe from the night prowlers, and you were so proud of him, you were so proud to be his daughter.

But slowly you saw the toll it took on him. You saw the toll it took on you. On your brothers, on your sisters, and on this whole family. As you got older you realized the truth behind the mantle and the weight it carried.

But it was probably one event that truly spelled that out for you, the truth of what your dad did at night and its consequences. And when you came home that night, you had no idea there was someone else waiting there. Sure, there was the occasional photographer that somehow got past the front gate but, good god, never did they make it under your bed.

So when you walked into your room, ready for a night’s rest but not before sitting at the edge of your bed to type out a quick text to your then partner, you never could have expected a hand to tap at your ankle. When was the last time you were scared to look under there? Years ago. You jumped away quickly, your back pressed against the door while your shaking hands attempted to open it, and before the intruder had the chance to crawl out from under you had already begun your descent down the stairs, and then further into the cave. It was late, you knew that at least Alfred had to be down in the cave at the very least if not your dad, you never would’ve expected to see someone you’d only seen on the news.

Bane. He said nothing, you said nothing, the only difference now is that aside from your racing heart you felt your fear in your bones. He was terrifying, more so than you could’ve ever imagined even from the pictures and the case studies you had seen. The tubes filled with that dangerous green liquid drained into him quickly with every movement he made, and with every passing second it was clear to you that he was getting stronger. Then he took a step toward you, you took a step back, and this repeated until he was close enough to lunge at you. You were shaking. They were never supposed to get this close, they were never supposed to make it to the manor. This was supposed to be a safe place. What was he going to do to you? You thought back to the stranger under your bed. What would he have done to you? What was he going to do to your father now that he’s seen you? Your mind was in a frenzy and you stumbled, you fell frozen in fear, your legs that had taken you so far were rendered near useless. And this time even the batarang that flew at Bane’s head wasn’t enough to calm you.

“Go!” Your dad’s voice echoed. He was tired, you could tell. This was the first time you’d seen him in weeks after the entirety of Arkham broke out. You couldn’t move. “I said go! Call for help!” You stumbled to your feet, grabbing the comm while you ran out of the cave. Your hands were shaking, you couldn’t see clearly, but you pressed the first contact that was there.

“Bruce? What’s going on?” His voice, as always, was your beacon of hope.

“Dick!” You were out of breath, his name was the only thing that came out despite the jumble of words that plagued your mind.

“(Y/N)?” A new and more concerned tone was clear. “Why are you using the comm?”

“It’s dad, he… you need to come to the cave now!”

“I— What’s going on?”

“I… dammit,” the words weren’t forming. “Bane!” You finally shouted out. You were at the front gate of the manor now, it was as far as your mind could take you, whatever response Dick had said was unknown to you except that he hung up right after and you, still afraid, slid down the side of the column and onto the floor.

You ran. You ran. You should’ve stayed behind, you should’ve helped somehow, anyhow, you’re the daughter of the Batman, for Christ’s sake, why aren’t you doing anything other than holding your head between your hands and trying to control the fear? Would Dick even get there on time? Did your dad have everything handled?

“(Y/N)?” Tim’s voice was distant, and even though you knew he was in front of you, he seemed miles away. “Hey, come on, deep breaths, what happened?” He was trying to pull you back into reality. He grabbed onto your shoulder, squeezing it gently until you felt your breaths steady, and once you had come to your senses, Tim pushed you into the bushes, his hands over your mouth and one finger over his, then he looked over his shoulder. You stood in a tense silence, crouched behind the shrubs and unable to hear the reason why Tim had pushed you in here in the first place. Finally, he pulled you out of the hiding spot and, with no hesitation, you ran back to the cave with Tim close behind. Your mouth felt dry, the words still couldn’t come up while you stared at Dick and your dad.

You often tried not to think about how close death was to this family, very rarely did it take one of you, but never did it leave without leaving a mark.

If only you were stronger.

You thought about that for nights on end, you lost sleep over it even. Stronger, what did it mean? You weren’t an acrobat like Dick, you weren’t strong like Jason, and you weren’t smart like Tim. Everything you had ever owned was because your father had handed it to you. If only there was a snap solution to this, a quick way to become useful.

It had only crossed your mind once. Bane’s Venom, that is. Seeing it work inperson was grotesque, horrific actually.

But… maybe if you could…

You dismissed the thought.

Yet when you saw a vial of it in the cave once, many years after your father had healed and you had gotten older.

Well, how bad can it be?

You took it and took a quick look at it, just going over the basic chemistry of it all one day in your university’s lab long after hours, and it was fascinating. A drop of it had killed a mouse, yet Bane nearly overdoses on it every time he uses it and he’s fine.

If you could change it just enough to avoid the body horror, just enough to avoid the blind rage that came with it, you could very well have a type of a super soldier serum.

You could be stronger. You could help your family. You wouldn’t have to run all the time and get out of their way, you could be one of them, standing at their sides, a true member of what you have heard referred to as the Batfamily.

Then your father would have to acknowledge you.

…

Right?

Not Your Classic Vigilante: @gabytodd @peachydokii @marshmallow12435 @f0leysgurl @luminaaz @lolsnack @akuri-shinsou @pansinspace @time-shardz @lovely-maryj @urminebutidontwantyou @y3oudsc @rainnyydaysworld  @underworlder @franini @mayo-0-o @mileskisser @nightw-izhu @alishii @bluebear142077

[bonne-chanson]

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✎𓂃 𝒉𝒊 ! 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒕 ᝰ.ᐟ

i’m a 21-year old university student (they/she) trying to make their way through life at the moment! i love all things classical from music (forever a twosetter) to literature, birds of all kinds, and anime / manga (currently obsessed with bungo stray dogs and demon slayer, especially stormbringer)!

as music is primarily the focus of my life (and my major, hehe), i’ve recently come back to writing to give myself something else to look forward to. i figured i’d pick up the pen again after having spent an entire lifetime holding the violin. ♡ i’ve been on tumblr for a while as a lurker, but this is the first time i’m actually writing for my blog and interacting with people!

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bungo stray dogs (masterlist, works in progress)

armed detective agency: dazai osamu, nakajima atsushi, kunikida doppo, yosano akiko, edogawa ranpo, fukuzawa yukichi, tanizaki jun’ichiro

port mafia: nakahara chuuya, akutagawa ryuunosuke, akutagawa gin, higuchi ichiyou, tachihara michizou, mori ougai, ozaki kouyou, sakunosuke oda / odasaku, arthur rimbaud

stormbringer: paul verlaine, adam frankenstein, piano man, lippmann, iceman, doc, albatross

decay of angels / rats in the house of the dead: fyodor dostoyevsky, nikolai gogol, bram stoker, sigma, ivan goncharov, oguri mushitarou

hunting dogs: fukuchi ouchi, suehiro tecchou, saigiku jouno

the guild: f. scott key fitzgerald, lucy m. montgomery, louisa may alcott, edgar allan poe (more soon…)

government: sakaguchi ango, ayatsuji yukito, tsujimura mizuki

others: shibusawa tatsuhiko, agatha christie

STRICTLY PLATONIC / FAMILIAL: izumi kyouka, miyazawa kenji, tanizaki naomi, kyuusaku yumeno, buichirou shirase, yuan, okura teruko

note: for those who aren’t that far into the anime / manga yet, as there is a lot of double-crossing in the series, i’ve placed the characters in one group each to make them easier to find! and yes, i also write for BEAST!

demon slayer (masterlist)

coming soon…!

note: i’m not too comfortable writing for demon slayer yet, but hopefully i’ll be able to update this list soon!

✎ᝰ.ᐟ 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔:

i can…

write for almost all genres! i’m open to doing things from tooth-rotting fluff to heavy angst, headcanons to one-shots and drabbles, or a good ol’ comfort fic!

also write for smut / yandere! 18+ requests are allowed, but i will have to emphasize that MINORS SHOULD NOT INTERACT. although i can’t completely control what you decide to click on, i would be more comfortable if those under 18 don’t interact with any of my adult / nsfw content.

do requests! i’m currently accepting requests so as long as they’re within what i’ve listed above and the boundaries you are currently reading.

write for all sorts of pairings for character x reader! feel free to specify and i’ll try my best to write them for you (as long as those specifications are within boundaries, of course).

(for bungo stray dogs) write for light novel characters! they will, however, most likely be tagged with spoilers for those who haven’t read them yet.

i will NOT…

write any 18+ / nsfw content for minors—that includes both writing for the characters below 18 and entertaining the nsfw requests of anyone who is also below 18. any work regarding characters who are below 18 is STRICTLY PLATONIC / FAMILIAL. i also refuse to age them up to write them for romantic / nsfw works.

write for rape / non-con, pedophilia, heavy abuse, incest, etc. dark themes in general / dark fics / interactions with blogs who have dark themes are okay with me and i do enjoy them every now and then as long as they remain fiction, DO NOT INVOLVE CHILDREN / MINORS and aren’t too extreme nor do they promote / romanticize any of those listed (and those that fall under those terms) in real life, but writing for those topics and the process of writing for them in general makes me uncomfortable, so i personally don’t write for things like that. also, absolutely NO proshipping (ESPECIALLY with things that involve children / minors) here!

tolerate the usage of AI for creative work, and that includes sampling any of my work for any AI outputs. please refrain from using my written works as references to train / feed AI!

accept requests if i do not feel comfortable writing them in general. if it feels too extreme for me, i won’t bother. sorry!

be able to guarantee that i can publish things on time. i am still a full-time student and have other responsibilities outside social media!

✎ᝰ.ᐟ 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔:

as usual, please be respectful! i generally don’t mind nsfw talk, but nothing directed at me or from ageless blogs / blogs run by those below 18.

DO NOT INTERACT if you are against the lgbtqia+ community / homophobic / transphobic, xenophobic, lolicon / shotacon, identify as a “MAP” (minor attracted person), ableist, sexist, proshipper, make jokes about rape, etc. this is a strict rule of mine as i do not want to make anyone uncomfortable on my blog and because you disgust me if you fall under any of those terms. you will not be tolerated and you will automatically be blocked. GO AWAY!

no personal venting / ranting, please. it is very likely that i do not know you personally, so please refrain from bombarding my inbox with personal issues!

no stealing, reposting, or copying any of my works! translations are allowed, but please ask first and credit me! i also have an ao3 account which i will link here soon.

IMPORTANT: if i’m doing something / have said something that makes anyone uncomfortable, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO REACH OUT AND TELL ME! i’m still new to this whole tumblr thing so the last thing i want is to leave sour interactions with anyone here. ˊᴖˋ

now that all of that’s out of the way, thanks for scrolling this far! i hope to make friends with you guys and have some fun bringing back an old hobby of mine through my fandoms! feel free to fire away in my inbox! ♡

✎ . . . ᝰ.ᐟ

[sixsixtwenty]

All might x Male reader Headcanons <3

(Art belongs to oneul_haru !)

Summary: You and All might/Toshinori met at UA and became friends at first and later became Lovers!~ (Gay hehe) you possess some kind of Anti-Aging Quirk wich where your physical appearance stops aging at 20.

Beginning UA

-You two Instantly became best buddies after you guys first talked to each other during class (you're desk neighbors!)

-When it was Lunch he always waited at your desk until you're finished with whatever you're doing so you two could go get lunch in the cafeteria!

-He always sits next to you At lunch and even insists of holding your tray for you like a sweetheart. but we're gonna forget that one time he dropped both trays on the ground and caused a scene on accident.

-During Hero training you sometimes tend to watch him while he poofs up into his muscular form clearly staring everywhere but he pretends like he doesn't see you doing it

-Innerly he's secretly a blushing mess when he catches you and gets random caughing fits ;P

-One time during Valentine's and went to your lockers you noticed a bunch of love letters in your locker and it seems to be all from the same person. (Toshinori is the culprit as expected)

-GYM BUDDIES~

-After his first encounter with All for one he's been on edge ever since, he thought he might lose you and he didn't want that. so he swore to always protect you.

Current time (after hsi retirement)

-You two are still quite close and the media has caught up to you two being best friends and usually bombard you two with questions.

-Toshinori can't help but always look at you when you're near. he always thinks to himself how beautiful you still are and how he's looking so old and frale now.

-While he's Retired you are still doing pro hero work saving other people and being a star in his eyes.

-One Night after a hot shower you had a call from Toshi. needless to say that call went on for hours through the night with Him expressing his secret love and admiration for you.

-if you reciprocated his feelings he'd be over the moon and probably kicking his scrawny legs while he's sitting/standing/laying down.

-At first he's awkward suddenly being in a relationship with you. not because he's uncomfortable or something it's because he never imagined he could score you.

-I believe you'd be the first to do moves like nipping at his cheek or wrapping an arm around his and giving him little nicknames like "All mine" "Blondie" "little bird"

-He loves them all but he gets extremely flustered.

-it would take a little bit for him to warm up to the relationship but once he does he is such a loverboy, it almost makes you remember his old self in UA.

-He showers you with little handmade gifts, Swarms you in kisses and hugs, Cuddles with you at night and always sends you those good morning and goodnight gifs.

Author note

It's been a little while since i posted anything. i had a big writing block for months now but im back babeh!

by the time you might read this i probably updated my List for fandoms/characters i write for!

[stargirlie-sharon]

royber headcanons

as sweet as strawberry shortcake~!

Fandom: Robocar Poli

Pairing: Roy x Amber

Content: Headcanons, fluffy romance. Also, a bit of a "sweet" theme throughout this post! (and no it's not just the dividers)

A/N: this is a remake/rewrite of this old post! i thought a revamp for my old writings would be nice. plus, i've been on a bit of a writing grind as of late lol. dividers by dollywons

Even before getting into a relationship, Roy has always been leaning on the shy side. Not in cutesy shy way, but in more of a socially awkward way.

Amber's usually the bolder one of the two and gets Roy to come out of his shell. She's always so sweet and patient, with her team or the citizens, and he found that aspect of her charming. And that, was one of the many reasons why he developed a liking to her.

Amber has a lot of knowledge in baking! Cakes, pastries, desserts, she'll get it done, and she'll make the taste unforgettable. She likes doing it on special occasions for the rescue team, but she might just bake one out of pure affection for her team members.

You know that garden of flowers by the Rescue Center? She's grown all of those pretty little things, but she also grows fruits and vegetables as well. She once asked what was Roy's favorite fruit, and it went-

"My favorite fruit? I'd say strawberries. They're good." "Ah, I see."

Amber takes a mental note of that.

Roy has a love for nature. Even the littlest of things in life make him happy, and he values it. That butterfly that landed on his nose while on patrol? Precious.

Roy offers Amber to go out on nature walks often (and no, it's totally not a date that roy was too shy directly say that it was), and in almost all of them, she's slipped her hand into Roy's and he'll find himself holding hands with her, which makes him flushed.

Speaking of being flushed, he gets flustered really easily. So he's usually a bit hesitant when initiating or receiving affection.

Amber is the polar opposite. Whenever she has the chance, she showers Roy in affection as much as humanely possible. (Which leaves him a flustered wreck.)

Oh, and one time during a nature walk, a particular flower within the greenery caught his eyes, and he ended picking the flower and offering it to Amber. Finding it endearing, she couldn't help but give him a peck on the cheek.

"Wh-What- why would y-you-?!" //// "Hehe~ I couldn't help myself, sorry~.." "...Soo.. does this mean we're- um, together?" "...Absolutely."

On the night they announced to the team that they were in a relationship together, their reactions were a little unexpected.

"About time! You guys have been crushing on each other for so long and weren't together yet was killing me. Wooo!!" Helly cheered in triumph. "Wait, what-?" "We all knew, Roy. We were just waiting to tell you once you were official." Poli explained. Jin stepped up, her tone teasing. "It was so obvious. You're a constant mess whenever you're with her, and on top of that, you had Amber being all lovey dovey with you. Your feelings aren't subtle." "J-Jin!!" The medic whined.

Despite their teases, needless to say, they were all happy for them, and they celebrated in harmony.

But when the party calmed down, and the couple were alone together, the ambulance had something special prepared for her significant other.

A strawberry shortcake that she had baked just for him.

"For me?" "Of course it's for you. I made this in honor of our new relationship. I wasn't going to simply forget what your favorite fruit is." "B-But, you know we can't finish all of that tonight."

Amber burst out into a fit of lighthearted giggles. "No, silly. We're just going to have a slice together. And plus, we'll have the rest of it tommorow with the others."

The two cut the shortcake together and ate them under the stars, the pretty lights illuminating the night sky.

Roy cut a piece of his slice with his fork, offering it to feed it to Amber. "Here, open wide." Pleasantly surprised by the gesture, her expression softened. She smiled and took a bite.

For now, it was just them, the stars, and their strawberry shortcake.

thanks so much for reading! i hope your day (or night) is sweet, and if it isn't, then i'm sure the next will~

[thebelugawhalefriend]

Cubby - Yan!Ghost x Fem!Reader

CW: NSFW mentions, Yandere themes, Possession, NOT fandom related

Note: I haven't had any requests to write and my bigger storylines I haven't had muses for, but I don't want to lose my writing spark and crap out. So! Here we are.

Please, feel free to drop any request you have in my inbox ^^ It looks like Papyrus's mail as of now hehe

Something important I must mention!! Ghosts age in this world.

Bumps in the night always spooked you as a kid. Paired with the silent and dark room you were supposed to be kept in, the only comfort you sought was the cold chill that came to your side.

You called him Cubby. Mostly because your visions of him were that of a lion cub's head upon a boy's body. He was just fine with his nickname, even if at first he insisted to be called Benji.

As you grew, you merely assumed your imaginary friend would go away. You'd move, know new friends, even try new activities. And yet, Cubby was always there with you. Even if you'd forgotten to talk to him or even look his way.

It wasn't until you brought your first real boyfriend over at 19 that Cubby lost his innocent feelings for you.

Oh, but this wasn't a case of love lost... This was a case of passion.

Whenever your partner would start anything sexual with you, Benji would throw something breakable or flicker the lights. If that didn't happen to work, well... A few nightmares are more than effective at destroying the sexual tension.

The absolute last straw was when he appeared himself as a shadowy figure watching you two. Your partner's lips were caressing your neck, though they stopped in horror upon seeing his form.

"What the FUCK is that?!" "What? There's nothing there, love! I-" "Nonono, I've HAD IT!"

Just like that, they're pulling up their pants and shuffling out of the apartment. "I am NEVER coming over again (Y/N), do you hear me?! Every time I come to fuck you, some freaky ass shit happens and I'm tired of it! Some fuckin' curse is cockblocking me and you know what? You can live with that! I'm not gonna deal with all that!"

The next few hours were spent crying on your soft bed. You couldn't bear the thought of having your first shot at losing your first time being cursed to fail.

When familiar cold hands hold yours, you look up to see... A man? A lion mask laid right next to him, with a kind green within his eyes. "Did your date not go well, (N/N)?"

"...I know you chased them off, Benji."

"I did you a favor! If anything, you should thank me for chasing off someone only after your body!"

"You didn't know them... How could you-"

"Because I've known you since we were kids. You're a stunning lady now... Men and women are going to want to take what you have and leave you to die. But..." He pulled you into an embrace, "I would never chase someone who truly loved you away."

And he does keep to his word! It's just too bad that every partner you've had didn't love you enough into his eyes. Your last partner really irked him...

The only one who earned enough of his ire to have him killed.

Taking control of their body, he walks them all the way to a nearby zoo. Slipping through the safeguards and bars, Benji slips back out of their body and leaves them within the exhibit's cage.

"Man found mauled inside of the Sea Lion attraction!" The headline reads from your notifications. You couldn't believe it when your partner's face was paired next to the famed sea lions of the zoo.

"Why would they do it... They love animals, but they'd never..." Benji's hand holds your shoulder, "Some people just get way too comfortable messing with animals, (N/N)..."

Here's some extra art of Cubby/Benji for your enjoyment!

[mercars-musings]

Trust & Fish Sticks

Fandom: Dragon Age - The Veilguard

Pairing- Rook & Emmrich Volkarin {Mostly towards the middle & end}

TW- implied/mentioned: animal abuse (dog), dog accidentally choking on a marble; depicted: couples argument, PTSD, stray dog finding a home and safety, scared dog, aggressive dog, starving dog, flirting and some "immodest" touching ; genre: 50/50 sad and fluff, sad with happy ending, silly, cute.

Description-

Hewwo! This is a short sad & fluffy piece I wrote on Rook Mercar taming and adopting the angry dog that keeps barking outside of the dog crates in Dock Town.

Done as part of a Rook Story Prompt Ask Game on Tumblr! {This Ask Game Prompt was: 12. Rook making a new friend.}

Ask Game Here PS. The gods of fanfic decided I had to write this one first @ofcrowsanddragons so I hope you enjoy hehe! <3 /lh

Word count- 2.3k

Read on AO3: Here!

~ MAJOR SPOILERS FOR VEILGUARD BELOW ~

"C'mon girl, I won't hurt you… promise."

A low growl emanated from the mutt's chest as it widened it's stance and slowly backed up into the open cage behind it. She bared her teeth in a rage fuelled defiance, ignoring the tired man's best attempts at calming her.

"Hissera… it's been days, you need to eat something." Az sighed, trying his best to keep his voice steady so he didn't stress the Mabari out any further.

"Rook," a low voice warned, "We're going to be late for the meetin'-"

"I know, I know…" The taller man huffed slightly, slowly raising from his knees before turning to face his friend. "But it's been days Tarquin-"

"And she's survived this long hasn't she? I'm sure she'll find somethin' herself."

The Mabari's low growl seemed to stutter slightly at that, a glint of fear now noticable in her pupils.

Rook continued to stare at Hissera, searching the animals features for a sign of reconsideration, but sure enough the Mabari's growl seemed to return back to full force just moments later. With no other choice, Az simply gave a resigned head shake and slowly followed his fellow Shadow Dragon out of the alley.

~

"Hissera~ I have a treat for you~" Az sang, attempting to rouse the Mabari awake with his loud & extremely out of tune singing.

The dog's instinct to growl was stopped almost instantly by the smell that accompanied Rook's entrance. He seemed to be waving a carton of something that smelled practically heavenly to the half starved dog, so heavenly that it actually convinced her to leave the kennel again in an attempt to inspect the scent.

Taking note of the mutts interest, Rook slowly placed the carton down on the ground and pulled the lid back to reveal it's amazingly tempting contents: a large platter of fish sticks from Hal's stall {taken off the stick of course}.

Hissera had been offered it countless times before of course, particularly from Rook and a few passers by. Though she was always weary of the offer, fearing what may be lurking in it's contents. So, instead of taking the offer as she always desperately wanted to, she would hold her ground and simply continue to growl until the person offering would give up & leave.

Unfortunately {or fortunately depending on how you looked at it}, this time it seemed like she had reached her limit on denying food, as her mouth began to salivate & chip at her already wavering resolve.

Maybe… just this once. Surely, a small bit of poisoning had to be better than her current existence of mind numbing solitude and slow starvation?

Slowly creeping forward, Hissera felt the all too familiar pangs of intense hunger ricochet through her stomach once more, the smell of the fish seemingly making the pain harder to ignore. Luckily the pain did dull and eventually even subsided fully once she quickly scarfed the offering of food down, somewhat fearful that it might disappear if she took too long.

Rook watched the Mabari with a small smile, though a glint of sadness was also evident in his stare.

It had been weeks since Az first noticed the creatures thinning frame & tired eyes that seemed to grow more exhausted by the day. Even her barking had grown less sure of itself as her anger slowly twisted into fear, as if she was starting to realise her days may be numbered if she kept refusing help.

He'd tried time & time again to get her to accept even a small piece of food from him, but each time she reacted as if he was trying to attack her… did she think he was trying to attack her?

What horrible things had she been forced to endure for her to become this hesitant to accept help?

Before he could spend too much time lost in his thoughts, Az was pulled back to his surroundings by the feeling of something wet against his hand. When he looked back down, he noticed the Mabari gently sniffing his hand curiously as she stared up at him, eyes full of hesitancy & concern. Luckily, they also seemed to be filled with a good portion of hope & friendliness.

She was clearly conflicted about something, probably about whether she should trust Rook or not.

The Shadow Dragon chose to stay still, letting the dog handle their exchange on her own terms which thankfully seemed like the right decision as after a few minutes like this, she started grinding her face against his hand in a surprisingly clear effort to get some pets.

Az happily obliged, running his hand through her fur, only being stopped when he reached some matting at the back of her neck. Despite the snag, she still seemed somewhat content, her tail wagging slightly though her eyes still focused on Az's, open & watchful.

~

"What, pray-tell are we meant to do with a dog, Rook?" Emmrich questioned, slight irritation colouring his tone. "And an aggressive one, at that?"

Az winced a little at Emmrichs tone, before glancing over at the Mabari who was quietly growling from behind one of their armchairs. The younger mage mulled over his lovers questions for a few seconds while he ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"She's not… that aggressive…?" Was all he could muster, pathetic as it was.

"She is quite literally growling at Manfred. Manfred." Emmrich retorted, pointing back to where Manfred was waving excitedly at the very unimpressed dog.

"She's growling at us all actually," Az interjected, though the scowl Emmrich shot back made him quickly realise that he wasn't quite making the best case he could here.

"Look… I- I know it's not ideal Kadan, but… Hissera was hungry and shivering and she looks like such a shell of a Mabari… she needs help."

Emmrich paused momentarily, leaving a silence in the air between the two men that all but spiked the Qunari's anxiety to the damn fade and back.

"Oh Spirits preserve me Az… you've named her?" The necromancer whispered.

Rook simply stared back, a shy and nervous look etched into his features as he tried to find the words- any words that would help make Emmrich understand why he needed to do this.

"I know this looks bad- but seeing her… it reminded me of…" the words caught in his throat, just like it always did when he tried to speak about his time in Solas' damned prison. "Em… I know what it's like to be scared and hungry and alone and just desperate for someone to help- when I saw her…"

"Dearest…" Emmrich interrupted, the last of his willpower dwindling at the sight of his Rook looking so upset, "If you can keep her from hurting anyone then… I suppose we can keep her. For now at least."

Relief flooded through Rook's body, his eyes lighting up in excitement as he lunged at Emmrich, swinging his arms around the gentleman's shoulders & pulling him into the tightest hug possible.

"Thank you Amatus, I promise I will figure this out."

~

It had taken 6 months, a few incidents & many, many training sessions but, the newest addition of the Mercar-Volkarin household seemed to finally be settling into a mostly aggression free existence.

The adjustment was difficult, what with her trying to guard Rook constantly; her insistence on growling at random passerby's & of course her tendency to steal random bones from around the Necropolis whenever they weren't staying at their Dock Town residence. But, it was a well earned adjustment that filled Az with an unexpected, somewhat fatherly pride that he had only felt once prior when Manfred set a noble's cloak on fire.

Despite people assuring Az that he could cool it on the training, he made sure to do a refresher at least once a week to ensure that he didn't run the risk of Hissera & Manfred arguing again. Being mindful of each other had really helped the duo's relationship blossom into a close sibling like friendship and it would kill Az if they lost that.

"Okay Hissera," Rook started with a slightly ill fitting, yet still attention grabbing sternness to his voice. "Now, what do we do if Manfred keeps pushing your fur in the wrong direction?"

A low, semi quiet growl began to rumble out from Hissera as she backed away from Manfred, whom was watching intently & cautiously.

"That's great sweetheart," Rook then turned to face Manfred who was still stood only a few feet away from the Mabari. "Now, Manfred, what do we do when Hissera does that?"

Manfred raised his hands in the air, in a clear "I'm not gonna hurt you" motion as he backed away with an apologetic hiss. The motion caused Hissera's growling to slowly come to a stop as her hackles lowered from defensive position to a much calmer one.

"Great job Imekari!" Rook cheered, gently tossing a dog treat in Hissera's direction & a small marble in Manfred's. The pair whined & hissed happily as they began to distract themselves with their respective prizes.

"Wonderful job Dearest," a familiar voice rang out from behind Az, filling his chest with a brilliant warmth that he was sure he would never get enough of.

"Thanks Em," he responded happily, turning to face his lover.

"I will admit," Emmrich started, glancing over at the newest addition to their little family momentarily. The sight of Hissera & Manfred pushing the marble around between them brought a small smile to his face. "I didn't think it possible to get her this well adjusted so quickly."

"Rude." Az teased, "In case you've forgotten, I am the animal whisperer of Dock Town."

"Clearly," Emmrich chuckled, shaking his head incredulously. "You would think I'd learn to expect nothing short of perfection from you my Dear."

The words sent a rush of heat to Rook's cheeks, causing him to glance away sheepishly as a blush began to creep up his neck. Before he could look away for too long though, Emmrich's hand cupped his cheek & forced Az to face him again. A rush of butterflies began to form at the pit of his stomach as he stared back at the gorgeous man before him.

"Y-yeah… you should've." Az stuttered pathetically, desperately trying to think of a playful retort but coming up short due to the sudden proximity of his lover's body to his.

"Thankfully, it's a wonderful lesson to revisit: I always adore seeing you out do yourself my Dear." Emmrich whispered, finding himself quite enamoured by how embarrassed Rook was getting. So enamoured in fact, that he lent in slightly, just enough so their lips were near touching, but not quite.

"How do you always know what to say?" Rook murmured back, his lids half closed and throat growing drier by the second. A well of passion slowly began to burn at the pit of his stomach, pushing past the prior embarrassment he felt at just how much the Mortalitasi could affect him years into their relationship.

"I have a wonderful Muse," Emmrich breathed out against Rook's lips, leaning in a little further to brush their lips against one anothers.

Unfortunately {or fortunately depending on how you looked at it}, before the pair could continue any further, they were abruptly dragged back to reality by a hissing Manfred & a hacking Hissera.

She'd swallowed the damn marble.

~

Thankfully, it only took half an hour of panic & a quick regurgitation spell to get the marble out of Hissera and into the trash.

"Please never do that again," Rook chided as he stared down at the guiltiest looking Mabari he had ever laid eyes on. A few moments passed before he groaned and crouched down to gently stroke the top of her head. "You're lucky I had to learn that spell back at the circle. Do you know how expensive emergency vets are?"

Hissera stayed quiet, staring up at Rook with the absolute biggest and wettest eyes she could muster. The last few months of living with Rook had taught her well, if Az's immediate caving was anything to go off.

"Maker, you have no right to look that cute." He mumbled, scratching behind the Mabari's ear adoringly.

"I could say the same to you, Dearest," Emmrich chuckled from the staircase, forcing the blush from earlier to shoot back up to Rook's cheeks like no time had passed at all. "I'm going to bed, would you care to join me?"

Az glanced back up at the man, his mouth gaping for a moment as the offer seemed to cause his mind to go a little fuzzy with the returning, creeping desire he had felt a little less than an hour ago.

"I-I'll be right up," Rook eventually squeaked out as his eyes lingered on Emmrich's lips.

A small smirk tugged at the corners of Emmrich's lips as he turned to make his way up the stairs, making sure to swing his hips in the way he knew drove Rook wild. A choice that proved quite effective as the younger mage was left swallowing thickly, a heat slowly re-forming in the pit of his stomach which prompted him to quickly address their defacto children once more.

"No more marbles, okay?" Az sighed, interrupted by a petulant whine from the Mabari. "Nu-uh. Anymore complaining & I won't stop Manfred next time he tries to pick you up."

A slight grumble left Hissera's throat, though after a few seconds of registering Rooks words she simply nodded before resting her head on one of the Rooks hands.

"Good"," Az, chuckled as he gave a gentle scratch to her chin. "Now have fun and please be safe you two." Rook warned as he stood up & quickly made his way up the stairs. The noise of a happy skeleton's hiss and a dogs paws trodding along on the wooden flooring, bringing a small smile to his face.

[asher-agere]

I am thisssss 🤏 close to making an agere blog. I’ll probably not make it a sideblog and rather use my second email to make it a whole new blog (I don’t want it to be associated with my main since I’m scared my few friends would find this stuff weird)… I’d like to be able to share a bunch of agere stuff I’ve made. But there is one problem: my motivation to make stuff comes from interaction and if my blogs gets two notes per post I’d end up with no motivation at all. Which might be a problem that I’d probably have to put effort into fixing but that sounds difficult and inconvient so I wouldn’t be able to get myself to put effort into fixing my need for validation ):

Anyways at this point I think a request to go along with most of my asks is very usual so. Yay request time! It’s just a reverse of my second request from my last ask: Can you share your thoughts on caregiver Chūya with little Shirase (during sheep era)? Since the sheep took turns taking care of each other’s regression this would probably happen at some point… and I just like everything to do with Chūya and Shirase :3 especially Shirase I love Shirase. He’s so silly!

- Fyodor Enjoyer

I fully support that idea! Though the idea of not being acknowledged is very scary I agree (ó﹏ò｡) I can guarantee you I’ll support you though, if the posts are from a fandom I’m not in I might not do much, but I’ll interact with everything I understand!!!!! Plus my DM’s are always open, I can totally give encouraging chats hehe. Either way, full support and no judgement either way from here ⸜(｡ ˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ Also yay more Sheep regression! They’re my babies

Caregiver Chuuya + Little Shirase

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

✮⋆˙ When Chuuya first joins the Sheep the concept of age regression is completely foreign to him. He has absolutely no experience with the outside world after all. But Shirase isn’t shy about it one bit. It’s one of the many things he’ll happily ramble to Chuuya about when he’s introducing him to the new lifestyle. Chuuya of course would never judge! If anything he’s fascinated by the idea. Another chance at a childhood? He didn’t even know that was possible…

⛦ Chuuya is very lost at the beginning when he just starts taking care of Shirase. He doesn’t even know how to take care of a kid, much less someone older acting like a kid! But the Sheep is like a very close family. Some other stray members are happy to step in and show Chuuya how to take care of him! Making Shirase comfortable is such a huge comfort to Chuuya, it shows he’s doing something right

✮⋆˙ Shirase is a pretty compliant little guy, he doesn’t need much to be happy! As long as he can see Chuuya he’s good! He’s a big kid he doesn’t even need to hold hands! Well… Sometimes it is really nice though… Chuuya is happy to do so of course! But for the most part Shirase just needs to see he isn’t alone, that’s enough for him!

⛦ Shirase does not like the concept of sharing. Likes he’s aware of it, he knows why sharing is important, and he loves all his siblings in the Sheep of course! But when he gets something nice… It’s hard not to be selfish. At first Chuuya gives in, spoiling the little one and keeping his secrets. But as Chuuya bears the weight of responsibility he forces Shirase to share more. After all the Sheep only have so much

✮⋆˙ Pet names time! I think Chuuya uses pet names like “Bud” “Little Guy” and “Shi” Shirase is a big kid! (He regresses 3-7) He expects to be treated as such! However when Chuuya’s getting frustrated he’ll bring out the full name! Scary ૮₍˶Ó﹏Ò ⑅₎ა. I also think that as Chuuya takes on the role as the “King of the Sheep” he’d call the regressors “My Little Lamb”

⛦ Shirase loves to run around and play! He has soo much energy! I think this would actually be encouragement for Chuuya to get in shape! (No way he’s in good shape after coming from the lab) If Chuuya can get in good shape then he can run around and chase the little one! Shirase is super fast though! And he’ll tell Chuuya exactly that! If he gets caught too easily he’ll cry, and he’ll use dirty tricks to stay ahead! (“Chuu look! Puppy!” There’s no puppy)

✮⋆˙ Shirase can be really mouthy! He’s the type of regressor you shouldn’t let around the babies. Volume control is nonexistent, he says kinda mean stuff without really thinking, and he’s not very observant of other’s feelings. This is the kind of baby to be super careful not to swear around! Chuuya lets a single curse word slip then all day it’s all Shirase will say “What toy do you want?” “Fuck!” “Are you hungry?” “Fuck!” Chuuya swears it won’t happen again. It usually happens again

⛦ Nap time is a nightmare. Shirase can be literally falling asleep in Chuuya’s arms and he’ll insist he isn’t tired. He wants to go play! The best thing Chuuya can do is slowly transition him to sitting still games so that the little one can fall asleep while playing. Then Chuuya just has to scoop him up and they’re all good! But yeah never discuss bedtime or nap time. Shirase knows those words!

✮⋆˙ One thing however Shirase definitely can not do though is spell! Anytime something needs discussed that he can’t hear just spell it out! For example “Yeah we’re gonna take an N-A-P” then Shirase just sits there so confused, trying to string the confusing letters into words… Most of the people in the Sheep didn’t get the best education. Being in a younger headspace only heightens this. Chuuya won’t hesitate to take advantage of this weak point

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

I hope you enjoyed! On a positive note… I’m no longer sick! Very exciting stuff. This does mean I’ll be posting less, but I take all the chances I can get to! As I get back into schoolwork tumblr is my way of reminding myself to take breaks hehe. Have a wonderful day/night to all of you amazing people!!

[arkhammaid]

— ˚₊‧⁺˖THE LIGHTNING ON TRACK | BEFORE THE FAMILY

fandom. formula one & mcu

about. y/n meets the stark clan

content warnings. written in 3rd person + headcanonish, not edited & proofread!

word count. 0.8k

notes. first 'lore' chapter!! i'm excited and hope you all like it <3 i would love some feedback hehe and any reblogs are ofc greatly appreciated!

before...

TONY STARK

y/n l/n grows up surrounded by motorsports, especially motogp. with her mother being a worldchampion, it's only natural that fast cars and bikes are her every day entertainement.

she's raised as an only child and by a single mother, she doesn't even know who her father is. and if she's honest, she doesn't care about it at all. why would she need a father, when she has already such a cool mother?

while her mother loves her independet daugher, she still thinks she should know about her father and tells her the truth. tony stark, also known as iron man, is her father. they had a short relationship, akin to an affair but it ended with both of them being extremely busy with their lives.

but just because y/n is aware who her father is, doesn't mean he's aware that he has a daughter. and he hasn't been for a long time, not until y/n's career in single seaters properly started. he regrets meeting her so late (in her teenage years) but never holds it against her or her mother.

how do the two meet? well, it's quite tragic... with her mother losing her year long fight against cancer, y/n is left alone, since her mother didn't have any close family. not wanting to end up in forster care and stop her career, she seeks out tony and shows up on his doorstep one random wednesday afternoon.

he's shocked, but pretty much believes her, when she tells him who she is. tony is of course no fool and still does a dna test, but even if it came out wrong, he would've taken care of y/n- he immediately felt a connection.

within the same week, tony gains custody of y/n and she moves to new york, but still goes to a boarding school until she's a candidate for formula 4.

PEPPER POTTS-STARK

y/n meets pepper in the same week she meets tony. not as her step-mother, but as CEO of stark industries and close friend of her father.

they immediately take a liking to each other (they both like to bully tony) and pepper can't help but feel for the lonely teen. y/n doesn't have many friends, especially close ones and with her genius mind, she always felt like an outsider. she only truly fits in with other racers, but then it's more about her talent and they're also all boys and older than her. not somehting everyone likes...

when tony finally ask pepper to marry him, y/n is their biggest supporters. pepper is incredibly touched and makes her maid of honor. she goes even so far, to ask y/n, if she would be alright with pepper adopting her. that evening, many tears were shed.

y/n loves pepper just as much she loved her own mother and sees her as another mother figure in her life. she still doesn't call her like that, but sometime she slips up and calls her 'mama', which leaves pepper flustered and deeply touched.

HARLEY KEENER

it takes a bit for tony to introduce y/n to harley, who she meets first as brother. with harley studing in MIT, he only knew that tony had something very important to talk about and wanted him to come home as soon as he could.

but it still took two months, until harley and y/n met, but luckily they hit off. harley knows what it's like to have a smaller sister, so he stepped up as big brother again, while y/n was a bit unused to no longer being an only child. but with harley being a full-time student, it felt as if she was one.

despite harley acting like an older brother to y/n, it still took a long time for them to actually grow closer. harley lost his family few years ago, but the thought of actually having a younger sister again... well, let's say he had a few things to say to his therapist.

but a few years have passed now and they're close, despite rarely seeing each other, with harley working at SI and y/n having to travel the world for her racing.

PETER PARKER

y/n meets peter as tony's intern very early, so she experiences the process of him getting adopted first hand. with both of them beings so close in age, they're close by default.

but it also helps that they have a similar humor (proud genz) and interests. peter starts focusing on engineering, just because y/n is heavily involved with it and y/n does physics and biochem work with peter, to help him as spider-man.

when peter gets adopted and becomes a proper stark, y/n set the goal to become his favorite sibling (he always talks himself out of the pick with "my favorite sister is you", fully knowing he only has one).

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DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SERIES TAGLIST? please leave a comment on this post or send a non anonymous ask!

ARKHAM MAID 2024

[darkhymns-fic]

Trick or Treat?

Colette knew Lloyd usually preferred tricks over treats instead—but as he leaned in close, she realized she wasn't prepared for whatever trick he had up his sleeve this time.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Lloyd Irving/Colette Brunel Rating: T Word Count: 2499 Mirror: AO3 Notes: A short fic inspired by a colloyd doujin by Moritagumi. Happy Halloween! (slightly spicy because of kissing!)

-

The candy was arranged in such bright foil; in shades of black and orange, their material catching the lamplight of the room. Colette had been so tempted to take some of the candy, even going so far as to pluck out a piece from the basket she was given, and twirl it about in her fingers. But, this wasn’t for her! This was for the trick-or-treaters! Or at least, that was what Zelos had told her.

“Hey, Colette! You in here?”

“Oh, yes! Come in, Lloyd!”

Zelos’ mansion had many rooms, enough that she had (shamefully) gotten a little lost the first few times…and today. But, she had found the very room she needed where her costume waited for her; a long dark cloak that she could tie around her neck, along with a crooked, pointed hat. She even had a small broom that she could ride on if she wanted to! She really did look like a witch now, except… whoever heard of a witch that gave out treats to children? Yet the woven basket full of carefully-wrapped candy told her that this was part of her outfit.

That thought was forgotten the moment she went to open the door. They had all gone to Zelos’ home to celebrate the holiday, though she had no idea who would be wearing what. Maybe Lloyd was wearing something cute…

Within the garish hallways, bandaged hands raised up, fingers curled as Lloyd gave a loud, “Boo!”

“Ah!”

What she saw startled her so much that she dropped her very valuable basket full of candy! But in mid-scare, Lloyd quickly caught it, hands pressed with her own. He grinned wide, the ends of frayed bandages falling all around his shoulders and neck, as well as down his arms.

“Heh, sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

But Colette was looking at Lloyd with wide eyes, feeling ready to cry. “Lloyd…oh no. How much does it hurt?”

He blinked at her question, looking at the basket, then to her again. “Uh, what?”

“All those bandages! Did you get in an accident?” She gasped in sudden realization. “Did you fall off your Rheaird? I’m so sorry, I should have flown you instead…”

“Huh? No, no, I’m fine!” Lloyd gave her the basket fully to pull out what looked like rolls of those same white bandages from his pants pockets. “This is just part of my costume. Remember? I told you I was going to be a mummy!”

…Ohhh.

“Ah, that’s right!” Colette giggled, her previous panic already washed away. “Hehe. I forgot.”

“But I even told you about it this morning…”

Lloyd did indeed wear so many bandages, she noticed! Over his hands, he had wrapped it so well that barely any of the ends of it were loose. Though some of it started to unravel at other parts of his body, like his neck, and even over his chest. While he wore a black vest to serve as his shirt, its front was unbuttoned, showing off his handiwork with the bandages that criss crossed his torso. He really did look like a mummy come to life!

“Hey, is that candy?” he asked then. “That’s a lot of it!

Colette remembered then the basket she held, the one Lloyd rescued for her. It now hung around her wrist. “Zelos said I was to hand these out for the trick-or-treaters that are going to come by. At least for the ones that ask for a treat! Though I’m not sure why someone would choose a trick over a treat…”

“That’s easy. Because tricks are fun!” Though even as he said it, his eyes kept glancing to the candy. Maybe he would have reached for a piece himself if he wasn’t already holding a bunch of rolled-up bandages in his palms.

Which made her question then. “Why do you still have all these bandages left?”

Lloyd finally entered the room, taking a seat and then placing the bandages on a nearby desk. “Well… I was also going to wrap the bandages around my head. You know, like a real mummy! But I couldn’t do it very well. And when I used the Rheaird, all those bandages just flew off!” A pause. “I mean, I also couldn’t see out of them…”

“Aw, well, you still look like a mummy to me,” Colette said with a nod.

“No way! You thought I was just all hurt and wrapped up in bandages!”

“Only because I forgot!”

Lloyd sighed, placing an elbow on the desk, bringing up his hand to rest his chin in it. As he did so, he looked at her, and she could feel how his eyes traveled over her. The sight of it made her flush slightly—maybe she looked too silly to be in a witch’s getup, and she wasn’t even using the broom right now to fully look the part…

“Sorry, I don’t look like much of a witch either,” she confessed. “I think even this hat is too big…”

“Huh? That’s not what I was…” 

But his voice trailed off, still staring at her. Ah, did she say something wrong just now? Even so, Lloyd kept looking. And his face looked a little red too.

“Hey, uh,” Lloyd started. “Do you think you could help me with my outfit? Maybe if you wrap up the bandages for me?”

Well, that was sudden, but she was always glad to help! With a smile, she reached out for one of the bandages on the table to unroll. “Should I start around here then?” she said as she stepped forward. Her eyes then fixated on his ear. Maybe if she started wrapping from underneath…to his chin…but then she’d have to cover his mouth and…

Before she even got a chance, Lloyd then grabbed her wrist, making her drop the bandages to the plush carpets underneath their feet.

Ah.

And then his other hand, wrapped in white, reached to take hold of her chin.

Ahh?

“Hey, Colette.” Lloyd smiled again, eyelids lowered slightly as he brought her close. “You think I can have a treat too?”

The question caught her off guard, not to mention the fact she felt out of air suddenly. “Um…” 

“Or…should I play a trick on you instead?” He pulled her in closer, enough that her knees brushed against his own. “I might have to if I don’t get any candy…”

Candy…candy…Oh, Lloyd just wanted candy!

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she quickly apologized before she put both hands in her basket to take out fistfuls of candy—so much that several pieces of it fell to the floor. “Here you go, Lloyd!”

She promptly shoved all the still-wrapped up candy into his open mouth.

“Urkmf!”

And then, just as promptly, Lloyd fell to his knees to spit out all the candy to the floor.

Oops.

“C-Colette!” he called out in between coughs.

“I’m sorry!” she said again. “You said you wanted candy!”

“But not like twenty of them at once!” Lloyd coughed again, another brightly colored foil leaving his mouth. “Bleh…I didn’t even get to taste the actual candy either…”

Ah, she really messed up now. She fiddled with the handle of her basket—she still had plenty of candy left. So, she could fix this! Maybe?

“I can still give you candy?” she said. “Um, just one though! Sorry, we should probably save some for the kids…” And they definitely couldn’t use the ones Lloyd had just spit out.

Wiping his mouth, Lloyd got to his feet. But his eyes seemed to light up at the mention of the candy, a look that sent her heart racing a bit. “Yeah? Um, but without the foil this time though?”

“Of course!” she said, sticking out her tongue in a tease. “I’m not going to make the same mistake twice!”

“Well, knowing you…” Still, Lloyd smiled. “Okay. You want to feed it to me?”

That almost caught her off guard again, but she was already figuring out that Lloyd was teasing her. She wouldn’t be flustered so easily this time. With a nod, she reached for a candy piece in her basket, unwrapping the foil.

“Open up!” she said, holding up the candy. It was colored red, making her think of strawberries. Maybe it was strawberry-flavored? Now she wished she could have a piece for herself, too.

Lloyd grinned, then opened his mouth with a great, “Ahhh.” With a giggle, she deftly placed the candy just at his lips, letting him take it with his tongue.

And that was all it should have been. Instead, his tongue lingered. It lapped at her fingertips, made her pause, made her watch as Lloyd tasted her along with the candy.

He was looking at her again, like before. He then took one of her fingers into his mouth to suck on, slightly.

“L…Lloyd…” she stuttered, but didn’t move away. She didn’t want to. She could only remain still, her face feeling hot as she felt the swipe of his tongue, at how his soft lips wrapped around her finger. “But…the candy…”

And then, just as quickly, his mouth left her. But he hadn’t stopped staring at her, his tongue licking at his lips.

“Hm… it’s really sweet.”

Colette already felt out of breath. Even with her hand free, she could still remember the way he had sucked on her skin, the warmth of his tongue that made her legs shake slightly. And his gaze on her kept her feeling so warm and good, so much that she didn’t pull away when he stepped closer to her again, so close that the tips of their noses touched.

“Did you try the candy too?” he asked. His voice was low, almost a whisper.

Colette swallowed. “No, I’m…just supposed to hand it out…”

And Lloyd smiled again—that smile full of mischief, the kind of smile she recognized from when they were young and he had a fun idea to play, usually a small prank he’d pull on Genis, or on the priests that would insist that he leave the Chosen one alone.

He was pulling one on her right now, wasn’t he? He’d laugh soon, and then step away. Except, he just got closer and closer to her, until he was all she could see.

His hand, still bandaged, went to reach for her chin again. And she leaned into that touch easily, watching how the lamplight reflected off his eyes. “I want you to taste it too,” he said, before he pressed his mouth over hers.

“Ah—” she breathed, and in that small breath, Lloyd took advantage, opening her mouth up more with his tongue. He kissed her harder, taking in her sounds, her breaths. And she could feel the vibrations of his own sounds against her tongue. His wet, warm tongue, and so, so sweet…

She felt the smooth hardness of the candy against her tongue, pushed on by Lloyd’s. She tasted that sweetness, so sweet that it stung. She gasped again as Lloyd balanced that candy piece between their tongues, his own breath coming fast.

Soft sounds played around her, a groan from Lloyd, another moan from her own throat, and the wet sounds of his tongue on hers. As he kissed her, as he tasted her and the candy shared between them. It was so good and so sweet. Like strawberries , she thought. Her arms reached up to wrap around his neck to keep him close, and maybe she felt the turn of a smile against her mouth then. But it was hard to stop, so hard to stop.

She could hardly speak, but to do so might let the candy fall. And she couldn’t let that happen. She could only keep it perched between their tongues, then close her lips over his own. More, more, her mind chanted, kissing him still. They kissed harder, and with less finesse, enough that she felt their kisses become sloppier. But, Lloyd seemed to like that, his tongue sneaking out to lap at her lips and her chin, all while not letting the candy fall.

She felt his other hand grip her waist, fingers pressing against the witch’s costume, bringing her hips to his. She wanted to be closer. She wanted to feel his hands on her even more, and in her wanting, more desperate sounds left her throat. She could hardly breathe, but Lloyd gave her his own breath, so that she would never run out of air.

“Mn…” was what she heard from him, the sound so low that it sank into her chest in the warmest of tones. Heavy like honey, and leaving her body so lethargic she did all she could to not fall against his chest. Lloyd’s…never kissed me like this before… Usually small kisses, or pecks on the cheeks that left her blushing still. But not like this, where he seemed to try to taste her as much as he could, letting his tongue dance inside her mouth.

It almost felt too short when Lloyd finally separated from her, his lips lifting away. The candy had all but disappeared now during the kiss, its taste all over her mouth. But even when Lloyd moved, he lingered, just enough to let her breathe in the air again. A thin trail connected between their lips briefly, evidence of their passionate kissing.

“Oh…” Colette could only say, still catching her breath. Lloyd still held her chin, looking down at her with that intense gaze.

And when he grinned, it was with a small chuckle, the kind she was so used to hearing when something went his way. “You know, between you and the candy… I think Colette tasted sweeter!”

The words washed over her, awaking her from her daze. Colette’s face heated up even more. “Ah…you tricked me…”

Lloyd kept laughing, nuzzling her nose with his. “Not really! I did want to share the candy with you. And kiss you. So…why not two birds with one stone, right?”

“If you wanted to kiss me, you could have just said so…” But she couldn’t resist the smile that lifted her own mouth, staying close to him. “Mm, but is that all?”

Lloyd tilted his head. “What is?”

At that, Colette reached into her basket, unwrapping the candy piece before she plopped it into her mouth. She felt Lloyd watching her, knowing how his eyes followed the path of the candy onto her tongue. “You usually never stop at just eating one piece.”

It could be her turn to trick him now! Though, was it a trick if he knew what she wanted…?

Lloyd smirked, leaning in close until his lips brushed hers. “Yeah? Well, I think you just took mine…”

If she lost her breath again, if her stomach felt all fluttery as Lloyd’s tongue moved against her own, well, she wanted that still. And it was a fun game, to not let the candy piece fall…

[detectivemarvelingcomics]

Not Your Classic Vigilante [Ch. 16]

Alternate Dimension AU TW: Language, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Slight Body Horror, Gore, Graphic Depictions of Physical Assault, Gun Use, Weapon Use, Talks About Traumatic Incidents, CW: OC Use, See the OC Guide [Here] Genre: Drama, Action, Angst, Light Comedy Pairing: Batfamily & Batsis!Reader, OC x Reader YN Pronouns: Female (She/Her) Word Count: 8.6K

(16/?) [First] | [Previous] | [Next] [DC Masterlist] | [Not Your Classic Vigilante Masterlist]

Notes: Coming out of my hibernation to drop the next chapter, as per usual, I will see you in many months (probably) AHjdhsjshkfhfdjs good news is i'm 5k into the next chapter so it shouldn't take as long as it usually does ahhhhhhh

Disclaimer: This series is originally by@fandom-meanderer who is a close friend of mine, but she has since fallen out of her Tumblr days and asked me to finish a few series for her, hence why I am now in ownership of the Not Your Classic Vigilante series, I hope I can still live up to her writing as I rewrite this series! (I promise not to change too much, hehe)

2019

The sky is blue. Your eyes were as heavy as every limb of your body was too, but still, somehow, you could count the few clouds in the sky.

This wasn’t Gotham.

You could feel the blades of grass dancing around your fingertips, you could feel the dirt under your heels, and you could breathe air clearer than you’d ever experienced before, surely, you were in Heaven. You died and you came to Heaven, that had to be the only explanation. As you stood up you felt the creak in your bones and the aches in your joints, nothing felt natural, and nothing felt real. There was still a soft fuzz in your ears, muffling sounds, if any, from coming through to your senses. You held your hands out in front of your face and, just like that, the rush of memories flooded you and the pain picked up where it left off.

Breathing became gasping, clear skies grew dull and blurry, that soft fuzz became your own past screams, or were they your current ones? You could still feel the blades, you could still hear the rushed mumbles of your assailant.

“Damned thing,” you remembered their voice. “Where is it? Why can’t I find it?” They said those same things after they’d pull off a piece of skin or bone from your body. Eventually, you stopped fighting it. What could you do? They seemed to tear through your flesh in an attempt to find something inside of you, anything. And you think you caught a glimpse of it too before your eyes shut for what you thought would be the last time.

A glowing stone, oblong from what you could see, your assailant held it like it was the most precious stone in the world. That was inside of you? How? It was in your chest, you think, but the pain came from everywhere so you weren’t quite sure if that was true.

You clutched your hands to your chest. You couldn’t find a heartbeat, and you couldn’t feel your pulse anywhere else. You hit it, you clawed at it, and you soothed it. Your nails were caked with the blood that oozed from your weeping wounds. The slashes around your body looked somewhat fresh or maybe in the process of healing, blood still ran through them and it flowed over the previously dried stains.

You just died. Why are you here now? Your throat was burning and it was then you realized how long you had been screaming in the middle of this field of grass. You gripped your hair, feeling the strands being pulled from your scalp as your eyes racked over your wound-ridden body. Hot tears rushed down your face and onto the scars, leaving a deep burning sensation in their wake. 

And suddenly you saw a blanket draped over you. A woman kneels before you, securing the blanket to cover your body. She’s speaking to you but no sound came through. She reaches over, wiping the tears and blood from your face with a handkerchief, and looks behind you, seemingly calling out to someone there, but you couldn’t move, everything hurt too much to. She holds your face gently and, slowly, the world settles around you.

“Breathe, it’s okay, you’re safe now,” her voice, you assumed, permeates your thoughts and everything stops ringing. You clutch onto the blanket around you and let her help you to your feet. You nearly stumbled forward from the pain shooting up from your ankles and you swallowed harshly with deep breaths following. You saw a man run up to the two of you and immediately supports your other side, helping you to their vehicle not too far off and settling you in the backseat. He straps you in and says something to the woman before they climb into the front seats and drive off. Your head hits the window next to you and you seal your mouth shut, hoping that you weren’t making a single sound. With no knowledge of where you were, who these people were, and what you were doing alive, there wasn’t much more to do than what you’ve always been good at. Observation.

The car stops in front of a home and the two help you out of the car again, leading you inside and seating you against a wooden chair.

In seconds the man opens the door and another larger man walks in. He had a large mask over their face that only allowed his eyes to be seen, but he was holding a clipboard with one hand and had a large bag in the other. He adjusts his lab coat and you feel his gaze linger on you.

The last thing you remembered before sleeping again was the woman holding onto your hand.

“You’re safe now,” her voice rang again. “Relax, you will be taken care of.” You closed your eyes.

And when they opened again, you were in a bedroom. Wearing a fresh set of clothes and with a few slices of bread and a glass of water on the table next to you, again your hands that were folded at your lap had taken your attention. The scars you had seen earlier were now dressed carefully with bandages, and they were everywhere. You lifted your hand, feeling the now numbed sensation from it. Nothing burned anymore.

You slowly picked up the plate next to you and started eating and, naturally, you downed the drink afterward. As soon as you had finished, the door opens again and the woman, seeing you awake, rushes in and sits on the bed next to you.

“You’re awake, how do you feel?” She asks aloud. You stare at her, then at your hands. “Are you still hungry?” She eyes the empty plate. You shake your head and she smiles.

“I’m Claire, Claire MacLennan,” she introduces herself.

“…” You kept your mouth shut, your words caught in your throat and your voice seemed lost to you.

“I brought you some clothes here, I’ve been moving a few of my old ones to this room so you’re welcome to borrow them,” she continues. You nodded slightly, and then you saw her expression change. “I know, I know,” she soothes you. You hadn’t even realized how much you were shaking until now. “You must have been so scared, it’s okay, take all the time you need, we can talk another day,” she says while holding one of your hands gently between hers. “Take all the time you need.” She releases you and steps out with a final smile.

With a harsh swallow, you pulled the covers back on top of you and you shut your eyes, silently praying that this was all a nightmare and that you’d wake up in your dorm room.

But you didn’t.

You continued to wake up in this same room. Eventually, you found the strength to even walk outside of it. Claire was always there, always helping you, and always soothing you. She showed you around the house and, silently, you offered your thanks. You were afraid that if you spoke you’d break the illusion of this dream, you were afraid that you’d have to accept it as your new reality. So, for a while, and with a selective muteness, you lived alongside this woman. You helped around the house, you went along with her to run errands, and for a while you watched over her bakery too. Nightmares plagued your thoughts every night, and every time she was quick to run over, hold you close and remind you that you were still alive, and just as fast she’d clean your body that had racked with sweat and fresh blood from the wounds you had subconsciously reopened. And soon it became routine, and you realized that you were starting to get comfortable, and that scared you. Her husband worked strange hours, he was always gone by the time you woke up, came home around the time you slept, and repeated that cycle. Then, one day at the breakfast table, a new resolve strengthened in you.

“(Y/N) Wayne,” your voice was hoarse and it felt foreign to you. And just like that, reality began to settle into you. Claire’s expression lit up.

“What a lovely name,” she replies. “I’m sure there’s much you want to ask.” You nodded and, trying to find your voice, you spoke again.

“Where am I?” You asked slowly.

“You’re in mine and my husband’s home in the Bloom District,” she answers. You nodded.

“Could I see a map?”

“Of course,” she pulls a small screen out from her pocket and places it in front of you, turning it on with a wave of a hand. You saw the holographic display spark to life before she opened a map on it. “Here we are,” she points at the glowing dot on the surface. You zoomed the map out.

True to Claire’s words, the district was called Bloom, the city you were in was called Haven, and the country was called Caelum. Strangely enough, a further zoom out showed you were still in the North American continent but it had a different name attached to it.

“Where are you from, (Y/N)? Could you point it out? My husband can take you back home.” Claire places a glass of water by your hands.

“Gotham, and it should be right here,” you point to its general spot on the map, seeing it empty. Claire’s face has a flash of concern for a moment.

“I see…” she says. She closes the map. “Do you remember anything from when we found you a few months ago? You gave us quite the scare there, if you’re alright sharing, what left you in such a state?” She asks softly. You leaned back on the chair and simply shook your head. You didn’t want to remember that. Claire could only nod. “That’s alright. You take your time, this is your home as much as you’d want it to be. I’ll talk to my husband when he gets home to see how we can help you, but until then do you need anything?” She asks.

“A cell phone, if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” she leaves the small screen with you. “Just call if you need anything.” 

“I…” you wanted to ask her why, why was she helping you so much, why was she devoting her time to you, it’s not like she knows you, and it’s not like you know her. You would’ve never done something like this at home, you were raised to be careful and vigilant at all times but… maybe that’s why you let yourself relax around her, something about her countenance was something you selfishly needed at this time. And you didn’t want to wake up from that dream just yet.

You pick up the device. It’s lightweight in your hands with perfect angles, a small slit ran across it from one corner to the next where the hologram would project from.

“I’ll just… move to that room for now.”

“Of course.” You felt her eyes on you up to the moment you closed the door. You sat down at the chair in the room and looked down at the square device in your hands, after you copied her movements it sparked to life immediately. You tapped on the phone icon and stared at the number pad before punching in the first number you thought of.

“Hello?” A voice you didn’t recognize.

“Hello, I’m sorry to bother, is this Richard Grayson?”

“Sorry, miss, but I think you’ve got the wrong number.” 

“I’m sorry about that,” you ended the call. Then you typed the next one.

“Hi, who is this?”

“Does this number belong to Jason Todd?”

“No, sorry."

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Barbara Gordon?”

“Who?”

“Hi there!”

“Hey, is this Tim Drake?”

“No, sorry, this is Leo!”

“Hey there, I was wondering if this number belonged to a Roy Harper?”

“Nope, never heard of him.”

“Hi, is this the line to Wayne Enterprise?”

“Sorry, ma’am, you’ve go the wrong number.”

You stared down at the device, looking at the series of outbound numbers. You knew you weren’t in Gotham, you were somewhere else entirely, but something about the confirmation of it weighed heavily in your heart. You were somewhere far, far, from home. For months you wanted to ignore it, you wanted to believe that you’d wake up back in the nostalgic smoggy skies, but no, you were still here. And so you did the next logical thing and you clicked on the News icon. You had to figure out where the hell you just landed. After skimming through the Sports, Health, and Culture tabs, you finally tackled the larger one.

Breaking News: The Royal Family Approves a New Law Affecting the Housing Crisis

2020 Templar Applications Open

Updated: Monster Hunting Board.

URGENT: Fallen Soldier Identifications to Cease in One Week

This Just In: Foreign Affairs Grow More Tense as Negotiations between the Republic of Chavent and the First Kingdom Press On.

Cease-Fire to Peace, the Negotiations between RoC and the Kingdom Soon to Conclude.

You continued to scroll through the various articles, reading through each of them to get a general sense of the world and how it differs from yours. Then you stopped on one article, recognizing the front picture to be the one of the men who helped you months ago.

The Now Captain Allistor MacLennan on his Recent Promotion Following the Battle at Keelfait Plains.

Following the First Kingdom’s victory on the Plains, the highly accoladed previous Lieutenant MacLennan led a successful charge against the Chaventian Army and was awarded with an immediate promotion. Despite the heavy casualties suffered, his efforts allowed for the cease-fire and the reopening of negotiations between the two nations. One year later he finally shares his thoughts on the subject.

“How do you feel?” You tore your eyes from the screen and looked at the man standing at your door. He looked identical to the one on the page right now. You tried to wave your hand over the screen to turn it off and he sighed, walking over to you and shutting it off himself by pressing on the side. “Allistor MacLennan, but you already saw that.”

“(Y/N) Wayne.”

“Claire tells me you’re from Gotham City,” he says. “That’s a long way from here, you know.” He was different from Claire, very, where she took the time to understand you, this man felt similar to your father in some ways. He was interrogating you right now, you could tell from the glint in his eyes. But that’s not what you care about right now.

“You’ve been there?”

“Once, a couple of years ago,” he says. You lean forward now. “Something happens to you over there?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“…” You sealed your mouth shut.

“Looked pretty bad, surprised you’d wanna go back there.” You bit your tongue back and looked away.

“My family’s there.”

“Right, that’s usually what it is,” he pulls up a chair and sits next to you. “You’re from a different universe.”

“I figured.”

“I have to report dimensional anomalies to the Royal Family by law,” he sighs.

“Then?”

“They’re gonna execute you,” he says, sitting up straight. “More specifically, I’m going to execute you.” You looked down at the small screen in your hands. “Something tells me you’re not ready to go yet, though. Plus, Claire’d have a heart attack if I told her that, so I’ll pretend I didn’t know. You don’t seem the type to try to usurp a government, at least.”

“I’m not.”

“Exactly what a usurper would say,” he whistles. “Either way, let’s make a deal,” he leans forward with his hands folded in front of his lips. “I’ll do my best to find a way to get you home. All you have to do is stay here in this house.”

“What possible benefit do you get from this, moving through dimensions seems… harder than staying at a house does.”

“Claire likes you,” he says. He looks at the closed door. “I’m not home as often as I used to be anymore, and I’ve started noticing her getting quieter. She started talking again when we brought you in, really just talks about you all the time, but for a second she seemed more like herself so…” he clears his throat. “I don’t benefit directly from it, but it’d be nice for Claire,” he says. You nodded.

“Deal.” You’d been wanting to find a way to repay her anyway. Your shoulders slump down, a feeling of relief washing over you. “Thank you, I’m grateful to have been found by the two of you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just not in the mood for death right now,” he says. “But to avoid suspicions let's establish a cover story.”

“Mmhmm.”

“You’re a distant relative of mine, some cousin’s kid, alright?”

“Sure.”

“You’re staying with me for a while since your parents are busy. You used to live in Brefig Row before the war. Keep it vague, don’t give details.”

“Alright.”

“Do not tell anyone you’re from a different universe.

“Yes, sir.” You nodded curtly. “But… I don’t want to freeload, what can I do in exchange for your kindness?” You looked at the bandages around your wounds before you looked at him. He huffs.

“Claire owns a bakery and I’m a Captain in the Knightsguard. Which one do you want to do?” He asks. You thought for a moment, weighing your options, and it reminded you heavily of a conversation you once had with your father. Play it safe as a civilian or protect that safety as a vigilante. “Sleep on it. You don’t have to let me know now,” he says as he stands up. He walks to the door. “Claire’ll fix your bandages later, so stop playing with them.” Your hands left the ends of the bandages, you hadn’t even realized you were tugging at them.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t mention it.” He shuts the door. You follow, leaning your ear to the wooden frame and carefully you listened.

“She’s no threat, I told you.” Claire.

“I just have to be sure, Claire. It’s our job.”

“It’s your job. I’ve been with her these few months and she’s the kindest soul.”

“Claire.”

“I’ve been inside her mind, Allistor, she’s hurting beyond words.”

“I figured that from the five rolls of bandages Sam had to use at first, and then the dozens you’ve bought after. If she didn’t scream bloody murder she probably would’ve passed away on that field.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” her voice had a sort of stern tone. “I don’t want to push her, Al, but she’s not the only one they found. Dozens of people scattered across the world all with clean scenes and unexplainable wounds… none of course as significant as hers but still.”

“Right, I know, Sam’s been telling me to keep it under wraps.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“Neither do I, he doesn’t even want the Royal Family involved.”

“You don’t think…”

“I… she looks so much like her, I wouldn’t know.”

“It was shocking, yes. And her name…”

“Shh, let’s move somewhere else.”

Your breath caught in your throat and you opened the door. Allistor and Claire looked at you quietly.

“Yes, did you need anything?” Claire asks first.

“A pen and paper… please,” you cleared your throat.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find those,” she hums. “I’m heading to the market today, if you’re feeling up to it, why don’t you come along?” She smiles. 

“Sure, I’d appreciate that.” Claire walks beside you and leads you into the next room. 

“How about you, Al?”

“Hm? I don’t need anything. I’ll be in the office.” Allistor remained silently observing you until the door closed.

“Just wait right here,” she seats you down in their bedroom. “I’ll be just a moment.”

“Take your time,” you looked looked around the room and, with a quick furrow of your brow, you looked at her. “How… how did you do that?”

“Hm?” She doesn’t look over her shoulder and continues to pull out sets of clothes.

“My mind…”

“Ah, that! It’s my ability. They call it Empathy,” she says. “I can reach into your mind, understand what you think and feel, and I can walk you through it too,” she says. “I hadn’t used it in a while, I apologize if I startled you.”

“No… it’s fine, I needed that,” you say. She turns back around and disappears into the closet.

“I’ll be right out,” she smiles and leaves. Once the door clicks you make a move to pull the slightly larger sweater off of you.

Silently changing into the set of jeans and a tshirt, you looked around carefully. Picture frames of the happy couple, trinkets with stories behind them, and small hints as to their habits filled the room. You looked at one image in particular. Claire, Allistor, and a man with a mask, the same who helped you, probably. They were wearing uniforms that sported three gilded pins on their right breast. You stepped away just as Claire had finished and followed her out.

~

“Stand up straight in a single line, don’t move out of rank,” one of the instructors said sternly. You stood as straight as you could, glancing around at the other recruits with some level of discernment. You hoped that you wouldn’t regret this. “Chins up, hold your salutes! The Captain is arriving.” Allistor steps up to the incoming class.

“It’s gotten smaller,” he tuts. “Now that the war’s over no one wants to enlist anymore,” he shakes his head and lights a cigar. He stands in front of the first cadet. “Name.”

“Carter Adara, sir,” he holds his stance and Allistor moves down the line.

“Lucián Rubio.”

“Evangeline Chandler.”

“Kaila Anae.”

“Urbi Said.”

“Cosmo Volkov.”

“Seong-Ho Choi.”

“Nixon Jones.”

“Sekou Siby.”

“Alexander Wright.” Your ears perked up at this and your head whipped over to the voice quickly. Allistor was saying something to him and Alex maintained that rigidity you’d long known him for.

What were the odds? He can’t be the same person, surely. In new dimensions, there’s bound to be parallel versions. You wondered if you looked hard enough would you be able to find your brothers? Your sisters? Yourself? You snapped back to attention as Allistor made his way to your row of cadets, and when he finally got to you, you swallowed harshly.

“Name.”

“(Y/N) Wayne.” You answered curtly. Your eyes slid over to Alex’s position, and you saw him turned toward you, an expression as shocked as yours was just moments ago. Then Allistor moved on with the rest of the introductions. You kept your face forward, trying not to draw too much attention to yourself. Joining this Cadet class was probably one of your most impulsive decisions ever, but since that night that you first picked up a sword you knew this had to be the new path you went down on. You wouldn’t be content just sitting still anymore, you had to take action. But you wanted to do it the right way and follow the right steps, it was the least you could do to pay back the two who showed you gratitude. Allistor steps again to the front and you and Alex snap forward.

“Alright, to the 24th Class of Cadets, welcome to your first week of training. It will be difficult, you will want to quit, and you will wish you never signed up for this. Suck it up until your first advancement, once you take that you can quit, cry, or move on. You will follow your instructors to your respective areas and you will get acquainted with your group, you will be training, studying, and living together from here on out.”

“Yes, sir!” The responses echoed across the field.

“Disperse.” Allistor steps away and the instructors take charge.

“Adara, Chandler, Jones, Volkov, Wayne, and Wright you’re with me!” One of the knights called out and you rushed over. “I’m Lieutenant Syke,” he introduces himself. “I will be going over your drills…” and he droned on. You could tell Alex was looking over at you, seemingly studying your actions and likely wondering the same thing you were, but with present circumstances, you zeroed in on your instructions. “From here on out, you’re a unit together,” Syke steps between the group. “Three and three, these are your trios. For upcoming missions, you will act within these pods. Advancement exams are taken individually. Training occurs as a group.” He speaks as if he’s reading off of a list. You look at the two behind you. Alex and Carter. The trio next to you are Eve, Nixon, and Cosmo. “Alright, any questions?” He’s met with silence. “Then we continue with our tour. Training starts at 6 am sharp tomorrow, the schedules will be sent to your dorms,” he hands off the slips with each of your rooms on them. Yours seemed to be 7C.

“The thing with the dorms,” he says. “Well, you’ll know what I mean when you get there, but just know the higher your overall ranking the higher the upgrade.” He waves you all over to follow him, and while the group moved forward you stayed back, and so did Alex. The two of you look at each other a while longer before being called over and following quickly.

“Do you—”

“Are you—”

You both stop speaking and Alex clears his throat, gesturing you to go first.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” You ask him, the tour going deaf in your ears.

“Maybe,” he shrugs, “am I the familiar type?”

“You seem like the type to write letters.”

“And you seem the type to take forever to reply to them.”

“It’s good to see you, Alex,” a small smile settles on your face and he nods, pulling out a letter from his pocket and handing it to you.

“And so the last letter makes it to its destination,” he says quietly. You held it in your hands, it was old, folded, and starting to tear at some ends. In the corner was an international stamp covered with a ‘return to sender,’ in the next was the return address for Alex’s mother’s flat in London, and the destination was to Wayne Manor. “You can read it later, it’s nothing important.”

“Sure,” you chuckled quietly. It’s nice to see a familiar face so far from home… “What are you doing here?” You asked him, a hint of suspicion in your voice.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he crosses his arms. “To be honest, I was just as surprised to see you here. One day I was at home, the next day I woke up on top of some building’s rooftop,” he keeps his voice below a whisper as soon as he realizes the Lieutenant looking his way.

“We’ll discuss more of this later,” you mumbled and he nodded.

“This is it, don’t be late tomorrow,” Syke stops in front of a door with an inscribed 7 on it, next to it is a pile of everyone’s personal items and luggage looking like it was tossed to the side. “You are all dismissed.” He steps away, leaving the unit on its own. Nixon clears his throat and grabs his things, leading everyone to follow.

“Uh… I’m Nixon,” he introduces himself first.

“Evangeline,” she says from the floor, trying to pull her duffle bag from under a suitcase.

“Cosmo.” The man pulls his luggage from on top of Eve’s items.

“Carter.”

“Alex.”

“(Y/N),” you were the last to grab your backpack, but the first to step forward and open the door. You stepped in and then to the side to let everyone in, but you could feel the disappointment in the air.

“Would it kill them to give us bed frames,” Cosmo nudged the mattress with his foot.

“Be glad we each get one,” Carter looks up at the exposed lightbulb. Eve eyes the one dresser to the side that had one drawer per person.

The room was just big enough to fit the six twin-sized mattresses, there was a small raised platform between the head and foot of each, and it had a small walkway down the middle. On the wall next to each bed there was a hinge and indent that dropped into a small table about the same width as the mattress, and at the end of the aisle, just under the one window, was the dresser. On the ceiling were two rods that stretched across the room lengthwise, each with a curtain at each end that was as wide as the mattresses to provide some semblance of privacy.

“Way to motivate your recruits to work harder,” Cosmo steps further into the room.

“This is the leading military force on the continent?” Alex grimaces.

“Well… I’ll take this one,” you dropped your backpack on the mattress closest to the door and Eve was quick to grab the one next to it. You’d slept in worse, you think.

“Anyway…” Cosmo picks up the paper on top of the dresser. “Here’s the schedule,” he holds it up and reads it out loud for you all to hear. Meanwhile, you and Eve untie the ropes holding the curtains up and they fall open, stopping right before the walkway. Everyone starts to act on their own, some fixing the beds and some unpacking their things into the dresser.

“We should grab something to eat, it’s around dinner time right now,” Eve speaks up over the silence.

“I could eat,” Cosmo shrugs.

“If anyone remembers where the mess hall is I’ll follow,” Nixon was next.

“I’ll go since everyone’s going.” Carter.

“Sure.” Alex.

“I’ll follow you all out, I’ll just finish unpacking,” you nudged your head toward your untouched backpack.

“Sure thing, we’ll save you a spot, (Y/N),” Eve smiles and the group filters out. You, meanwhile, open the letter.

Hey (Y/N),

Finally, you’ve responded. I hope all things are going well with you. I’m glad Roy’s been helping you out with moving into the dorms. Things aren’t too bad on my end, Uni’s been kicking my ass but what’s new? I was thinking of coming to visit again once summertime comes but that depends on whether or not I get this legal intern position, it’s at that firm I was telling you about in my last letter.

Magic studies are going just as well, Constantine is still the exact opposite of how you described him, I can’t see an ounce of kindness in that man when it comes to practice. I’ll show you a trick or two when I come over, I’m experimenting a little something right now and if it works I may be able to help out a lot more people than I would in a courtroom. I took your thoughts into consideration and tried a few spirit tricks and it’s been working out really well so far, I owe you a bout of gratitude for those.

How are you and your dad? Your last letter worried me, (Y/N). I know you miss them all, and if I can be frank I know you’re too stubborn to take the first step. I know it’s unwarranted advice, but you need a support system right now. Who better than your siblings, at least. Don’t shut them out, (Y/N). I’ve seen how close you all are, and it’s a shame if you let your falling out with your father stop that. You have time, don’t forget that. Your thesis will only be as good as you are while making it. Talk to someone, if not them, talk to me. You have my number now, and while I love the classic styles of handwritten letters, there’s a more efficient way at the palms of our hands.

Take care, (Y/N), and be safe always.

Alex

It was just a letter, as ordinary as the ones he’d sent you before and as ordinary as the ones you sent him. But it was proof enough, proof that you weren’t alone in this world as you thought you were. And that thought alone brought so much peace than you could’ve expected. A peace that you followed just to the next building, and with an empty spot next to him, Alex flagged you over and you were swift in your movements.

~

2020

“Ugh…” you wiped the caked mud from your face. You felt like you could barely move, your muscles ached with every step and your mind was in the gutter.

This felt like hell, and that’s saying something.

“You good, Wayne?” Carter hands you a water disc and you open it, not even thinking to answer until all the grime was off your face.

“Why couldn’t I have decided to be a baker,” you finally muttered, wiping the loose water beads from your face and hair.

“Last time I checked you almost poisoned half the squadron,” Carter laughs. “Come on, Xan’s waiting for us at the mess hall.”

“Run off, Adara, we’re just finishing up here,” Captain MacLennan swung his sword in the air and kicked yours back in front of you. “Get up, Wayne.” You did. You grabbed your sword and held it steady. “I asked you if you wanted to make a name for yourself, and you told me you wanted to be greater. Work for it.” You steadied your breathing.

“Tell Alex I’ll skip dinner today,” you readjusted your grip and Carter let out a small sigh.

“What are we going to do with you,” he shakes his head. “Don’t work yourself too hard.” 

“Please, I’m just doing this much so he can let me take the advancement exam.”

“Good luck with that.” And with that, he was gone, and once you could no longer see his retreating figure, you charged forward. Every attack you sent was easily deflected, every defense you made easily broken, it was like Allistor could see everything you could do next.

“You’re too predictable, Wayne.” With the flick of his sword, yours flew out of your hand and buried itself yards away from you. “Change things up a little.”

“How would I do that?” You huffed.

“That’s not something I should answer,” he shakes his head. “Find your style. I don’t know who’s you’re using, but it doesn’t suit you.” Your breath caught in your throat.

Truthfully, you’d been trying to imitate Damian’s style, and it’s worked so far. He was the only one you had observed long enough with some kind of sword to even try to imitate and, funny that the Captain caught onto you fast. Maybe it was because Damian was two heads shorter than you, his fighting style had to make up for his height somehow. Or maybe it was because you’d never even considered holding a weapon until fate placed one in your hands.

Allistor tosses the practice sword into its bin. “You’re tired. We’ll stop here.”

“No, one more time,” you took your sword up. Allistor stood still.

“As important as it is to be stubborn and never quit, you should know when to fall back too,” he says. “Tell you what,” the Captain stands up straight. “If you’re able to disarm me once, I’ll consider you ready for the next advancement exam.”

“And if I can’t get it?”

“You never advance, easy as that. It’s the third advancement, a lot of knights stop after their second,” he shrugs. You tossed your sword into the bin.

“Fine then, you know more than me,” you snarked back and the Captain dropped his necklace.

“Go eat dinner, kid,” he ruffles your hair and pushes you toward the mess hall. “Those two are waiting for you, I know.”

“Ugh, I told them to eat without me,” you grumbled.

“Funny thing about trios, spend enough time together it starts feeling weird to do things without ‘em,” he grins and brushes the dirt off your shirt. “Go, eat, then sleep. Claire thinks I’m being too hard on you,” he sighs.

“Can you ask her if the Baker 2 job is still open?”

“It’s not,” he glares at you.

“Figured I’d try,” you threw your hands up and entered the mess hall.

“(Y/N)! We saved you some roast!” Nixon shouts.

“Yeah, we had to take it from those two before they finished it all,” Eve laughs, signaling you to sit next to her.

“Hey! We saved some originally,” Carter defends. “But your drills were taking too long and we figured it’d be a waste,” he adds quickly.

“You two suck,” you frowned and Eve reaches over, wiping the remaining mud from your face.

“Go eat actual food now, (Y/N), dirt can’t be healthy for you,” she says. You stared at the meal in front of you and took a deep breath.

One step to being greater, one step at a time. You were sick of sitting around waiting for something to happen. Now? Now you want to be the one who makes things happen.

And this group around you would become your new driving force.

“Shouldn’t you all be resting for the advancement exam?” You asked after taking a bite.

“What exam? We’re waiting for you,” Nixon steals a piece of bread from your plate.

“Oh, come on, don’t stunt your growth,” you rolled your eyes.

“No way, we entered together we finish together,” Cosmo tosses his gear down. You looked over at him, sporting a new set of cuts and bruises, he seemed to wince as he took a step toward the table. You didn’t miss the slight limp in his leg either.

“Easy to say for the guy who already took the exam,” Eve glowers.

“What?! (Y/N) said it was fine,” he pointed at you with his fork and you nodded.

“I’ll catch up to you all eventually,” you shook your head.

“No way, we take that exam together or not at all,” Carter chimes. “Plus, it’s recommended to take it in your trio, I have no clue how Cos did it without you two.”

“I’m simply better,” Cosmo kicks his boot up on one of the prongs of Eve’s chair, twirling some of her blonde hair around his hands.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she scoffs and scoots away from him, his boot landing heavily on the ground. She brushes her hair out and it lands on the other side of her shoulder.

“Ugh, gross, some people are trying to eat here,” Nixon gags and nudges you lightly. “Back me up, Wayne.”

“You should see what me and my ex used to do in front of my brothers,” you chided, thinking back to the times you’d invite him over to the manor. The way Tim would groan and grovel, at one point you just did it to make fun of them.

“Dear god,” Alex finally chimes in. “The paragraphs.”

“Still though, once we all advance we should have a party,” Eve hums. “Should be fun, I’d love to hear more about everyone’s hometowns,” she grins.

“Why don’t we celebrate Cosmo’s? You’ve gotta be damn good to do that advancement on your own,” your offer. “How’d you do it? Find a way to hack the system?” You asked him.

“Come on, you know me better than that, I do things fairly,” he says. “No point in a victory if it wasn’t achieved the right way.” On the cadet rankings Cosmo was consistently first. Archery, swordsmanship, hand-to-hand, you’ve even heard the Captain call him a perfect knight.

“Right, right,” you pushed your plate toward him. “I know you told them to give me yours so just finish it.”

“You did what?” Eve looks at him.

“Seriously, Wayne, just eat the food,” he grumbles.

“Man what a waste, I hate these vegetables,” you make a move to get up and he pushes the plate back down.

“Don’t waste it, no wonder you take longer than all of us to finish drills,” he says, dragging the plate toward him with his fork.

“Wow, the top of the class is nicer than he seems,” Alex whistles.

“Either that or I’m smart enough to know that making not eating a punishment is stupid if you’re training knights,” Cosmo defends. “Anyway, I’m serious, you need to get serious, Wayne, we can’t wait forever. What insane task does the Captain have you doing now to qualify?”

“I just have to beat him at a duel once,” you grumbled. “Tough luck.”

“Ah, the legend of the lucky dueler,” Eve says with a whimsical tone. “He’s never lost an actual fair duel.”

“That does nothing to make me feel better, Eve,” you frowned.

“How hard can it be, I know you’ve got a trick or two up your sleeves,” Alex says.

“Yeah, but none are technically mine. He keeps going on and on about how I need to find my own style, whatever that means,” you grumble. “I’m just annoyed that he’s actually barring me from taking the exam.”

“He cares in his own way,” Eve eases in. “It’s nice to see he looks out for you, you had a rough start.”

“Rough is putting it lightly,” you shook your head. You really did have a hard time adjusting. The nightmares, the ghost pains, and the day terrors. It was luck alone that you were found by him and his wife that day, and it was still luck that they took care of you after that all. To say you were indebted to them wasn’t enough, you should really credit your current life to them.

It was true, you wanted to make a name for yourself. When your mind became clear again you realized that this was your chance to start fresh, new, and different. In this world, Wayne is just a name. No bats attached, no dirty money to creep up on you, and no legacy to live up to. No shadows to loom over you.

So, on one of those sleepless nights, when the Captain dropped a sword in front of you, you picked it up.

And you haven’t put it down since.

~

It’s heavy in your hand, a simple short sword that had small chips along the blade and its handle was just as worn through. You ran through the motions with it now, practicing the techniques you had been learning and the techniques that got you to pass the first two advancement exams.

“Wayne.” You stopped your movements and looked behind you. Cosmo pulls a chestguard over his nightshirt while he yawns.

“Volkov,” you replied likewise. He picks up a sword and holds it at the ready. He nods at you, giving you permission to move first. You readjusted your grip on the sword and began to circle him, and all the while he matched your movements. With each nudge or twitch of your sword he copied you. “Playing games?”

“Trying to find out why you can’t advance,” he says. You nudged your head in annoyance and he copied that too. You narrowed your glance, and he followed. Then, you pivoted and charged forth. You expected him to block you, but instead he did the same thing and your swords clashed together. The sound of metal hitting metal filled the dorm courtyard, not relenting once and not slowing down. Then, you saw it, a flash in his eyes.

“You got an ability,” you said while the blade of your sword was pushing against his, threatening to cut his neck at a moment’s notice.

“I did want to try it out,” he pushes back and you hold your footing. That was the prize for the 3rd advancement exam, a specially bestowed upon blessing from the Royal family.

“Alright, Volkov, show me what you can do with it,” you pushed forward with enough force that he stumbled back.

“Sure,” he spins the hilt of his blade in his hands and you freeze. You knew this stance. Sure, he’d completed the advancement exam a while ago… “It’s called Mirror, by the way.”

“I figured.” How are you going to beat him? You racked your thoughts and tossed the sword down. He quirks an eyebrow up and you readied your fists.

He’s just a taller Damian.

You charged forward and he responded in kind, throwing out the same moves you had been practicing earlier. Mirror? He needed an ability to do that? You’d been mirroring your siblings since you got here. You evaded like Dick, you swung like Jason, you strategized like Tim, and you charged like Damian.

But even without you to be his subject, Cosmo was at the top for a reason. You swung at his legs and he stepped over, grabbing your arm and swinging you over him and onto the ground. Before he could think of the next move, you grabbed the previously discarded blade and slashed it upwards, stopping right at his neck. He bounces back and you stagger up. In seconds he rushes you, sending a flurry of strikes in every direction. You parry as many as you can, feeling the vibrations ring from your hands to your chest, but the fresh shallowed cut on your face proves you still have much to learn. You hold your sword at an angle and stop his final blow, then you turn it against him, flinging the sword out of his hand and once again slicing near his neck. A small line of blood drips onto his shirt.

“Alright, alright,” he raises his arms up and you drop the sword. “Good one, (Y/N).”

“You let me win.”

“I was just trying to find out why you suck at swords.”

“By mirroring my movements?”

“Sure.���

“And what did you find out?”

“Whatever style that was… we’re too tall to use it,” he shrugs. “You like to rely on your arms a lot, don’t forget to look down every now and then, and try not to trip over yourself in battle, geez, how the hell did you pass the first two advancements?”

“For the record, I carried those other two,” you snarked back. 

“I worry for the future of the kingdom, then,” he laughs tiredly. You wiped the blood from your face with your sleeve. “Did you have to cut my face?” You shot him an annoyed look. Even dead tired Cosmo was a skilled swordsman.

“Blame the technique,” he exasperates. “And you, were you actually trying to kill me?” He pulls at his collar, the edges of it spotted with red. “Geez… Line’s gonna finish the job for this,” he pulls the chestguard off.

“I’ll tell Eve I did it then she won’t do anything,” you shook your head. You look up at the dorms, seeing one of the lights on and a few loud shouts coming from it.

“Carter bet against you.”

“Fucking asshole.”

“If I didn’t have this limp I would’ve won.”

“Sure, Cos, let’s have a fair duel once we move up.”

“Once you move up.”

“You don't have to be cruel about it.”

“Cosmo! You better not have overdone it again!” Eve’s voice rang from the window.

“‘Course not, beauty,” he calls back. “See you tomorrow, (Y/N),” he takes your sword from your grasp. “Go sleep, if I gotta wake up to you talking to yourself out here again I’m actually gonna lose my shit,” he says with a small smile. “Plus, Carter keeps bothering me to check on you.”

“Yeah, right,” you watched him enter the dorms before cleaning up around yourself. You grabbed your duffle bag from the side and walked into the dorms. When did your hands get so calloused? It wasn’t even a thought until you pressed the pads of your fingers to the bridge of your nose. The hardened skin around your palm was just proof of what’s happened and what’s bound to happen.

The third placement exam. The first exam promoted you from Cadet to Soldier. The second exam promoted you from Soldier to Knight, and that’s where most people stop. But the third… if you pass that one you get to have an audience with the Royal Family, and you have heard many a time about how the Captain would be sent on inter-dimensional missions.

Instead of an ability, you wondered if they could get you home.

Imagine the look on everyone’s faces. Would they be shocked? Angry? Happy? Sad? You had run through the scenarios so many times. What would you say to them when you stepped into the manor? What would you look like?

Would you cry?

You could easily see Dick’s face. The slow contort from shock to relief. Jason’s was just as easy, knowing him his jaw would be wide open. Tim would be next to you in moments, studying but meaning well. Damian would have his own ways of looking through you. Barbara would’ve seen you coming from a mile away. Stephanie would pick up where she left off. Cassie would be on the other side Tim wasn’t on.

Your dad…

You paused just as you reached your room. Your dad… dad… Bruce Wayne.

“What the fuck…?” You shook your head and leaned against your bike.

Why couldn’t you remember what he looked like?

You took steady breaths, trying to remember the details and, well, there he was. A tall imposing figure whose shadow you constantly walked around in. As a child and as an adult, the name ‘Wayne’ weighed heavily on you. As the named heiress you had a mountain of expectations on you from learning how to properly run the company to achieving something great for your namesake. You didn’t dare make mistakes, the tabloids would have your face plastered on them the next morning, and if you weren’t careful enough there went a large sum of money to keep them quiet. And for what? Was it because of your name only that you were so careful? Some days you wished things stayed simple, you wished you stayed with your mother and that you never knew who your father was. It didn’t matter that she was a liar, at least she was in a way more truthful than the Wayne facade you held for years.

“(Y/N)? Are you coming in?” Eve asks. You didn’t even realize the door had opened. “You look tired, come rest,” she takes your hand and pulls you in, shutting the door behind you. After many missions, after many evaluations, and after many battles, your unit has moved up to the higher-end living spaces. High enough that you each had separate rooms, at least. You and Eve shared one, Carter and Cosmo in another, and Nixon and Alex in the last one. The three rooms surrounded a significantly larger middle room, it was the least the knighthood could offer high-performing knights.

You sat down slowly, kicking your boots off and pulling your shirt off in the process. Then, you collapsed on the bed.

“Come now, (Y/N), you should at least take a shower,” Eve leans over you.

“I’ll wash the sheets tomorrow,” you mumbled, feeling your eyes grow heavy. You force one eye open. “Did you bet for or against me?”

“Hm?”

“Who did you think would win, me or Cos?”

“I bet in your favor, obviously,” she chuckles. “Cosmo’s too prideful to change his tricks, and after training together for a year you know all of them. I knew you’d win.”

“Thanks, Eve, that’s nice,” you yawn.

“Just like I know you’ll beat the Captain and advance forward,” she smiles.

“Sure…” your voice trails, and just like that you had fallen asleep.

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