#okay todd FINE i’ll play your space game again

[judyalvqrez]

So the Shattered Space DLC is just Prey (2017) with religion, got it.

[butwhyduh]

Holiday Party

Damian Wayne x reader

He’s about 16 yrs old here.

Warning: Christmas? Kissing

Christmas series 4

You were early. Damian looked out his door to see no one around and he rushed downstairs to meet you at the door. You were being dropped off by your older brother who gave Damian a look from the front seat of his car that all but said he’d mess Damian up if he hurt you. Funny to think about your brother trying to beat him up but he would never consider it. Damian opened your car door for you.

“Beloved, you’re early,” he said with a grin. Your brother gave a rough hey and Damian’s face dropped and he gave a curt nod. “I’ll have Alfred drop her off so you won’t have to pick her up,” Damian told him. Your brother nodded again before leaving.

Damian barely held your finger with his own as he walked you up to his room. He didn’t want his brothers to see him being affectionate. He pulled you into his room and engulfed you in a huge hug. He wasn’t short little Dami anymore but had been hit by puberty like a bus and was almost 6 foot tall. He smelled like cologne and his sweater was so freaking soft. You felt the fabric on his chest with your hand and he stiffened and coughed a little. Oh yeah, he could feel that. You flushed.

“So you want to watch a movie?” Damian said pulling away.

“Yeah. Sounds great,” you said sitting on his bed pulling your shoes off. You slid up the bed to lay on his pillow as he grabbed his laptop.

“Drake doesn’t know but I’ve set it up that every film he downloads, I get a copy too so I’ve got a bunch. Though his taste is pretty sappy for some of these,” Damian said wrinkling his nose.

“Probably to watch with his girlfriend. Or maybe he’s a sap,” you laughed. Damian climbed on the bed and laid the laptop on the other side of you. His arms temporarily caged you against him and you couldn’t help but think of him on top of you. Damian laid back as the film started playing. He put two pillows behind his head to watch from behind you. You laid on your side and he wrapped an arm around your waist loosely.

The film was probably great. All you could think of was how close your boyfriend in the softest boyfriend sweater was right beside you. You slid farther back until your back hit his chest. He inhaled audibly but didn’t move. Damian cursed himself. You had definitely heard that.

You ran your hand along the arm of his sweater as the movie went on. He smelled a little like soft cologne and spiced tea. Everything was fine until there was a sex scene. Nothing graphic but enough to where you were both very aware of your situation. Damian slid his body a little back from you making a little space between you and him.

You turned to look at him and he couldn’t help but brush his lips against yours. You slowly turned in his arms until you were making out while laying on your side. Damian held your face softly with one hand. Your fingers slid into his hair. His tongue slipped into your mouth gently just exploring you.

The door to his room opened.

“Master Damian, your father needs you in his study at your earliest convenience. Also... do take care with your visitors. You are only 16,” Alfred said, looking pointedly at the ceiling before leaving. Damian flushed on his tan skin. you covered your mouth and giggled, embarrassed.

“At least it wasn’t your dad,” you said. He nodded as he stood up.

“I won’t be long. Just watch the movie and I’ll be back as quick as I can,” Damian said and you noted that his lips were pink and maybe even a little swollen from kissing.

“Yeah, no problem.”

It took all of 1.7 minutes for Bruce to notice his son’s lips. His eyes narrowed a little and he looked critically at Damian who was staring at the computer screen.

“Damian, you are of the age where sexual education is important. You are practicing safe sex, yes?” Bruce asked in an even tone as if almost casually but really he wanted to seem calm. Damian twisted so fast to look at his father.

“I am not,” he said quickly.

“You aren’t??” Bruce asked shocked. “That’s very dangerous-“

“I’m not having sex. At all,” Damian said completely red. Bruce calmed.

“None? Because condoms-“

“Father, I’ve been taught. And if I do have sex I will be safe but I’m not now,” Damian said. He refused to look anywhere but the screen. “How did Alfred tell you so fast?” He complained.

“Tell me? Is there something to tell me? You know what? Don’t answer that. I trust you. There is a bowl of condoms under the sink in the bathroom off my study. All of the boys use it and it stays full. No questions asked. And the family doctor is very discreet for any questions you might have,” Bruce said delicately.

“Okay. I got it. Thanks. But please stop. Tell me about the case,” Damian practically begged.

——————————

It was not a few minutes but a full 2 hours later that Damian came back to his room. You were asleep. A movie played in the background and you hug his pillow. Damian smiled a little before waking you. It was almost time for his brothers to arrive. You sat up quickly. You’d never fallen asleep at his place.

“Sorry I was so long. Family stuff,” he said vaguely. He did that all the time. “It’s almost time for the party.”

“Oh I need to get ready,” you sat up. You’d planned to get started a little earlier. You didn’t dress fancy around Damian; he didn’t care. But his family’s Christmas was fairly formal.

“Is this okay?” You asked 20 minutes later. Damian nodded with a little smile.

“You look beautiful in anything, beloved. But this is exceptional,” he said and you flushed. His way with words. “It’s time to go down stairs.”

Damian took your hand and you walked downstairs. His eyes lingered on you longer than necessary. Somehow Tim and his girlfriend and Duke had beat you both downstairs. Damian pulled out a chess board and Tim and Bruce once again dragged work into every room they entered.

“I won’t go easy on you,” Damian warned. He was far better at strategy but your moments on the board were incredibly erratic to the point that he couldn’t predict your next move.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else. If you did, I’d expect a body snatcher,” you said and he hazarded a small smile. Damian didn’t want to appear too pleased. Bruce was watching him while maintaining conversation. You understood his weird stoic family dynamic enough to ignore it.

Damian won 3 out of 4 games. You could admit that your win was more luck than skill but you took it. Dick and his girlfriend arrived and the party moved to the dining room.

After a few minutes, a man you had never seen showed up humming to introduce himself and his date. The butler seemed very happy and for a minute you wondered if it was his son. No, this was the mysterious brother who was always fighting with the family.

“Dami, who is that?” You asked whispering.

“Jason Todd, one of my father’s wards. And I suppose his girlfriend,” Damian said. You nodded and watched as they sat down. Later in the evening, the eldest, that Damian had even called his brother, proposed to his girlfriend.

You were given a small glass of champagne and you looked at it quietly. Did they forget you and Damian were 16? Not exactly legal. But you didn’t say anything and you both drank the tiny amount of alcohol with everyone else. Damian squeezed your hand and gave you a tiny smile.

The party moved to the parlor with a billiards table and a dart board on the wall. The adults were served more alcohol and pudding was served informally. A tasty sticky cake that you dare not asked the ingredients was quickly eaten. You and Damian sat on a loveseat in the corner where you could watch the others play billiards and other games. Tim and Jason played a heated game of 9 ball. Jason was a natural. Tim was all strategy.

You leaned against Damian’s shoulder as the storm raged outside. You were full and the room was warm.

“It’s far too dangerous to drive out tonight. It’s turned into a blizzard so you all will stay here. There are plenty of rooms and beds for everyone and anything you could need,” Bruce announced to the group. Jason sighed and Damian opened his mouth. “I’ll call her parents to let them know. Don’t worry Damian.”

Damian relaxed and wrapped an arm around your shoulder. You began to doze as the pool games played. He ran his fingers along your outer arm and watched from the corner of his eyes as you fell asleep. He enjoyed your body warmth and soft sweet scent subtly.

An hour later you woke as you were slowly being moved. Strong arms cradled you and you could smell Damian’s pleasant unique scent strongly. You gripped his arm as he carried you out of the room. He hushed softly to let you go back to sleep.

“You got him shot?!” One of the women in the room yelped and you jolted awake.

“It’s okay. Go back to sleep, beloved. Don’t mind my stupid brothers,” Damian said quietly. He gently laid you on his bed and pulled you in the covers. His soft sheets quickly lulled you to sleep.

While you slept, he grabbed blankets and settled on the floor. Half an hour later, right as Damian was falling asleep, Bruce opened the door quietly. He saw the boy on the floor, nodded, and shut the door.

[enamoured-x]

Can I get a Riot with plus sized WOC with a whole BAWSE ass attitude running her own shit. Rio hears about her from Mick and he goes to meet her and is hella surprised by her but loves it?

Hey, babe! So I didn’t incorporate part of this request because I don’t usually describe how the reader looks in any of my drabbles! (unless the story’s main focal point revolves around looks or if it’s an oc). It’s always up for interpretation and this way it’s never tailored to anyone specifically and anyone can fit into the reader! Does that make sense? Either way, I had so much fun with this and I lowkey want to include more parts and make it a mini series but… we’ll see. I hope you like it still! (gif not mine)

Rio hated to say that he was single and most definitely ready to get back into the game. And he hated to say that luck was not on his side. He went on a few dates but nothing ever stuck. Most of them seemed like they were only going out with him to spite their over protective dads. He was also having a hard time trying to sort out who would accept him and everything he does. That was obviously hard because there wasn’t a full proof plan for that. All the girls he gave a chance to seemed like they’d walk away as soon as they got a whiff of what he did. It was frustrating. He needed someone who understood him, someone who wouldn’t bat an eye at who he was. Which was what he expressed to Mick one night while they were playing pool. He usually wasn’t so straight forward with his feelings but he was growing tired of the failed attempts of finding someone right for him. 

“You’re looking in all the wrong places.” Mick had told him as he took his turn.

“The hell you mean?”

“All these girls you’ve asked out are just like those suburban bitches. They’re too clean. You need someone who knows what it’s like to be dirty.” Mick explained as he kept taking turns after knocking balls in the sockets left and right. 

“And where the hell do I find someone like that?” Rio asked, finally taking a turn on the table. 

“I think I know someone you might like.” Mick suggested.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try.” He shrugged and Mick agreed to make a call tomorrow. 

You were busy today, well you were busy everyday it seemed like. You knew it came with the territory of building your empire. You had appearances to keep up, money to collect, and people to put down if they messed with any of it. It was hard, most days you were glad to get home and curl into bed. But lately you felt like there was a piece missing, someone missing. You were craving intimacy and love, something real. You had tried your hand at some blind dates that your friends set up but they were all busts. Guys who were threatened by a powerful woman such as yourself. Guys who clearly wanted to own you in some way or another. You needed someone who could match you. Someone who was fine letting you take control sometimes, someone who was your equal. Someone who wouldn’t be threatened by your power, only enthralled by it. 

You felt like fate was hitting you over the head the day your old friend, Mick, called you. He had explained that he wanted to set his friend up and figured you two would get along really well. You had thought you were done with other people controlling who you went out with but Mick was different. You grew up with him and he knew what you liked and what you didn’t. He knew what you did as well, so you figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot. 

Fate was not with you the day your date was supposed to be though. Your right hand had explained to you that two men who had owed you money were trying to skip town. You had eyes on them at all times for this very reason but you never thought they’d be stupid enough to do it. So you had to call Mick to cancel, he seemed to be relieved as he was about to call you to cancel as well, explaining that something came up. You were fine with it. You could reschedule, after all. So you and your right hand, Gabby, went to pay the idiots a visit. When you got to the run down warehouse they were supposedly staying at, they were more than surprised to see you. 

“Trying to run out on me?” You asked the men as you stepped into view. They had been laying low here. The sun would be setting soon but it was in full force right now as it shone through the windows, illuminating the space. 

“Back the hell up.” One of them said, pulling a gun out and aiming it at you. Gabby straightened up and pulled her gun out, aiming it at him. You huffed out a laugh.

“Drop the gun, don’t make this worse for yourself.” You didn’t bother mentioning that they had already fucked up. 

“Her first!” He flicked the gun in Gabby’s direction. You rolled your eyes but gave no orders to her. 

“You’re a lot stupider than you look. First you try to cheat me and then you point a gun at me. Some would say you have a fucking death wish.” You said, not worried in the slightest about the situation. You had the situation handled. You just liked to play with your toys one last time before you tossed them. 

“Look, I don’t have the money, okay? If you would give me time I could get it for you. You’re not the only one I owe money to!” He was frustrated and scared. The man next to him, Todd,  looked ready to run as he watched the scene unfold. 

“Oh, Johnny, are you in bed with someone else?” You asked, feigning offense as you put your hand over your heart. 

“Who?” Gabby asked him. 

“Me.” It was your turn to draw your gun and point as you whipped to the side to see two men. You lowered it slightly when you saw Mick. The other man you hadn’t seen before. He was fucking hot though. The tattoos, the laid back demeanor. Now what not the time.

“Mick?” You said his name, waiting for him to explain what the fuck was going on. 

Gabby kept her gun on Johnny, making sure he didn’t try to run. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” You asked Mick. 

“This is Rio.” Is all he said, motioning toward his friend. You heard about Rio in passing, but nothing that ever concerned you. You kept to your side of the city and he kept to his.

“We’re here because these pieces of shit owe me money and we caught word that they were trying to leave town.” Rio said as he glared in their direction before looking at you again. You didn’t miss the way his eyes roamed you up and down. 

“Well, he owes me money too. Get in line.” You sassed. You didn’t want to be doing this right now. You tucked your gun back in your jeans knowing they weren't going to hurt you.

“Mmm, I think I should be getting paid first.” Rio said, making your blood boil. Who the fuck did he think he was?

“Well I was here first so wait your damn turn.” You crossed your arms. 

He stepped closer to you, a small smirk forming on his lips. 

“Why don’t we ask them who they’re going to pay first?” He suggested and you both turned to look at the two men. You were pretty sure they were about to piss themselves at the attention now on them from both of you. 

“Seems like we’re not getting paid.” You confessed. You already knew it wasn’t going to happen on your way over here. If they were planning on skipping town and laying low in this shitty place, they barely had a few hundred to their names each. Nothing that could touch the thousands they owed you, and who knows how much they owed Rio.

“Well, if that’s the case, I can take these two off your hands.” He said and you scoffed.

“I can do it just fine, thank you.” You bit back. It was always the same shit, people thinking you couldn’t handle your own because you were a woman. Like you couldn’t get dirty.

“Maybe you can share then, mama.” He offered. You bit your lip. You looked to Mick who seemed amused but he nodded his head at you, silently vouching for Rio. You then turned to see the men practically shaking now. 

“There are two of them…” You trailed off and Rio smirked. 

“Fuck you!” Johnny yelled. 

“Rock, paper, scissors? Whoever wins gets Johnny.” You suggested. Rio shook his head and laughed. 

“You’re savage, I like that. But I’ll let you take him.” You were surprised at Rio’s words but you smiled. 

“I’ll shoot you before you even get a chance!” Johnny yelled. You kept your eyes locked on Rio’s, now having a little more respect for him. And finding him suddenly more attractive. 

“Your magazine is empty.” You said, not bothering to break your stare from Rio. He looked pleasantly surprised at your words. 

“Wha-what? No it’s not.” He stumbled over his words. You had it on good authority that Johnny and his buddy got into an altercation a few days ago, resulting in a shootout. Of course you were just betting, but, you figured if he already used all his bullets, there was no way he’d spend what little money he had left to buy more. Besides, the gun was threatening enough. At least enough to get out of town without any problems. But he forgot to factor you in. He was counting you out and people usually regretted it. 

“Really? Then shoot me.” You finally turned to him raising your arms from your sides. He swallowed hard at your words. 

“Go on, do it. Sure, Gabby here would put a bullet in your head as soon as you pulled the trigger, but at least I’d be gone, right?” You taunted him as you stepped closer to him. His hand was shaking. You knew it was a bit reckless to put all your eggs in one basket, stupid to go off a hunch that he was out of bullets. But that's just how you operated. And besides, the way he was acting, well it was a dead giveaway in itself that you were right. 

“It’s okay, Johnny. You tried.” Is all you said before you were close enough to snatch the gun out of his hands before he even knew what was happening. 

“Run and I’ll shoot you in the legs.” Gabby said as the two men started to back up. They stopped at her words. 

You released the magazine and showed it to Rio just for fun. Empty. You even made a show of checking the chamber but nothing. You smirked. You loved being right. Rio nodded his head in approval. 

“Shall we get this over with?” You asked him. 

Thirty minutes later, you and Rio were walking out of the building. Gabby and Mick taking care of the bodies for you both. Weirdly enough, they seemed to be getting along quite well. 

“Have to say, you were kind of a badass back there.” He said as you two stopped walking once you got outside. 

“Kind of?” He laughed. 

“Okay, okay. You were a badass in there.” You smiled at his correction. 

“And you were alright, I did get here faster than you.” You pointed out. 

“Was getting ready for a date before I showed up here.” His words were the last puzzle piece. You had already sorted out that Rio was most definitely the man Mick was trying to set you up with. 

“Yeah, a date with me.” You said. 

“Wait, you were who Mick was talking about?” He asked confused but he was still smiling. 

“It would seem so.” 

“But how did you know?” 

“Because you’re exactly my type.” You refrained from saying you never really had a type but you most certainly did now. He smirked at you.

“Well, how about a late dinner?” He asked. You were pleased he still wanted to go out with you after everything that just happened. 

“You read my mind.”

[chickenmuffinsoup]

baby talon dick au + more jason

It was strange, Jason decided, being twice the size of his older brother.  He was exactly as Jason remembered him—except, of course, the glowing yellow eyes and blue veins that criss-crossed tan skin unnaturally paled.  But it was him, impossibly, miraculously.  And he was, perhaps more impossibly, still himself.  He still flitted around any given space like an acrobat—Alfred had caught him up on the chandelier three times already.  He still laughed riotously at the dumbest jokes, still rambled on and on about whatever he was currently passionate about.  

It was only little changes now.  Now, Dick couldn’t stand to be cold, wrapping himself up in every blanket he could find to prepare for every night.  Now, his speech was stilted, and there were still moments he’d forget himself, and call himself ‘Talon.’  And before, Jason really didn’t remember Dick doing what he was told quite so often.

That, and he hadn’t so much as touched a single person other than Jason.  He kept painful distance between himself and everyone, stiffening the slightest bit when someone—even Alfred or Bruce—got too close.  He remembered them, that much was clear, but his memory was spotty, and they’d been beginning to suspect it might’ve been tampered with.  But with Jason, it was different.  With Jason, Dick was his usual tactile self.  He leaped off the banister into Jason’s arms, he climbed around onto his shoulders, he even held Jason’s hand sometimes.  It had weirded Jason out at first, but he’d gotten used to it quickly.  Truth be told, Jason himself was a tactile person, it had just been so long since he’d allowed himself such easy contact with another person.

Speak of the devil, Jason felt a light weight slam into his back and wrap tiny, undersized eleven year old arms around his neck.  

“Jaybird!” Dick exclaimed, clinging to his back like a spider-monkey.

“Watcha doin’ there, buddy?” Jason asked, pausing from the sandwich he was making.  Another strange thing: apparently now he talked to Dick as if he were a child.  Dick was a child, but he was still technically Jason’s older brother, and that was still a trip.

Dick hooked his chin over Jason’s shoulder.  “I dunno.  Do you wanna play a game?”

“Sure, kiddo,” Jason said.  He didn’t call Damian “buddy” or “kiddo,” despite Dick and Damian being the same age.  Technically.  “Just give me a second to eat this.”

“One Mississippi!  Your second’s over, let’s go!”  Dick tugged on Jason’s neck, trying to get him to start moving.

“Asshole,” Jason laughed.  Dick didn’t stop tugging as Jason shoved his sandwich in his mouth.  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” he said, mouth full.  He carried Dick into the living room, where Dick jumped off of his back and went running to the cabinet under the tv that they kept all their boardgames in.  In finding what he wanted, Dick pulled every single other game out of the cabinet as he went, tossing them beside him carelessly.

“Tt.  I hope you’re planning on putting that back.”  Jason almost (almost) jumped.  He hadn’t noticed Damian, buried in an armchair with a sketchbook in his hand.  

Dick didn’t even look up, and Jason suspected he’d clocked Damian immediately.  “Do you want to play, Dami?” he asked, now with a deck of ratty old Batman cards in hand.

Damian glanced imperiously down at where Dick was kneeling on the floor.  “Play what?”

“Go Fish!”

“Go…what?”

Dick was scandalized.  “You don’t know what Go Fish is?”  At Damian’s continued confusion, he turned to Jason.  “He doesn’t know what Go Fish is?”

“Don’t look at me,” Jason said, shoving aside some games to make room for him to sit, perfectly aware Dick would not be putting them away anytime soon.  “He came like that.”

Dick pursed his lips and looked at Damian.  Since Dick had come home (after nearly killing Damian, Jason should probably add), Jason honestly couldn’t tell if he and Damian were best friends, or if they hated each other.

Damian glared at Jason.  “Whatever the game is, I’m sure I can beat you, Todd.”

“It’s a luck game, Damian.”

“No it’s not!” Dick exclaimed.  “It’s skill!”

“Sure it is, buddy,” Jason said.  He and Dick, back when they were both kids, would play an inordinate amount of card games.  They definitely played Go Fish the most (funnily enough, Dick did win most often, which Jason supposed would lend credence to his idea that it was about ‘skill’), but they’d generally played a lot of different card games.  Jason had come to find Dick couldn’t remember how to play anything but Go Fish.  “Damian, are you playing or not?”

Damian slunk down from the chair, closing his notebook as he went.  “I’ll play, only so I can beat you.”

Jason rolled his eyes, and decided to pick his battles carefully.

“Yay!  I’ll explain how.”  Explaining Go Fish was more of a joint-effort.  As Dick fumbled with the cards he was attempted to shuffle (which was so unlike his usual grace), he attempted to explain, only he frequently lost track of what he was saying, and Jason had to jump in.  It was...a little concerning, to Jason, and it confirmed his suspicion that most of Dick’s ability to do things like play Go Fish relied on muscle memory.  Once he was required to think it though and explain it to someone else, he faltered.

“Go Fish!” Damian declared smugly, towards the end of their second round.  He had one card in his hand, and was taking far too much pleasure in repeatedly saying “Go Fish!” when anybody asked for a card.

Jason sighed and grabbed a card from the pile.  “Oh,” he said.  “I’m out.”  He laid down his new pair of eights along with his other pairs.  Damian leaned over and Jason had to hold back a laugh to see him counting under his breath.  “And I win,” he said with a smirk, knowing Damian had just come to the same conclusion.

Damian scowled.  “You probably cheated.”

Dick giggled, dropping his ten remaining cards, none of which were matches.  “Jay always cheats.”

“I played this one fair and square.  Like I play every game of Go Fish.”

“Whatever,” Damian said.  

Jason had absolutely no reason to antagonize Damian.  So, naturally, that was exactly what he did.  “Don’t be upset you lost to ‘the superior Robin.’”

“Tt.  You are not the superior Robin.  Only Robins that manage to stay alive can be superior.”

Jason happened to glance back at Dick to see the playful smile drop off his face.  Jason’s retort died on his tongue.

“What?”  He looked between Damian and Jason, eyes wide.

“Nothing,” Jason said, kicking Damian lightly to try and give him the message.

Damian kicked him back, much harder.  “Did Todd not tell you?  He managed to get himself killed.”

Dick was staring at Jason now like he’d never seen him before.  “What do you mean?” he asked, with a kind of dawning horror.

“Todd got tricked by the Joker and ended up exploding,” Damian said blithely.  

“Damian, shut the hell up,” Jason said.  Could the kid really not pick up on the mood, or was he, as always, being purposefully belligerent?

“He came back, eventually, but he’s the only one of us dumb enough to die for real.”

Dick stood suddenly.  Damian seemed surprised by the motion.

“Dick-” Jason began, but Dick took off running.  Jason glared at Damian.  “What the fuck did you say that for?”

Damian blinked quickly, trying to wipe the bewildered expression off his face.  “I didn’t do anything.”

“You know what you did,” he said, although in reality, he wasn’t sure that Damian did.  He stood up now too, and cast Damian one last angry look before leaving the room.  He jogged up the stairs, and stopped on the second floor instead of the third.  The third floor was where Dick’s current room was.  It was situated between Alfred’s and Bruce’s, with everyone else across the hall or not much further.  That wasn’t where Dick went.  Dick would have gone to the second floor, to his old room.  His old room was a mausoleum, completely untouched and exactly the same as Dick had left it.  After Dick’s “death,” no one could stand to look at it, but no one could bear to change it.  So everyone simply relocated to the third floor, leaving a messy eleven year old’s room like some kind of memorial no one had the heart to visit.

Jason stepped into the darkened room to the sound of sobbing.  Something tight in Jason’s chest tugged him over to the bed, and when he sat on the edge of it, Dick’s breathing hitched and his sobbing stopped suddenly.  He hadn’t moved, his face was still buried in the pillow he was gripping.

“Hey buddy,” Jason said.  Dick didn’t respond.  Jason couldn’t remember if Dick liked to be comforted when he cried, or if he would want to be left alone.  There were so many things he didn’t realized he’d forgotten about his brother, so many details the years had washed from his mind.  “Are you okay?” he asked, and hoped his voice didn’t betray just how lost he felt.

Dick shook his head, not looking up from the pillow.  For lack of anything to say, Jason slowly reached out a hand to place on Dick’s shoulder.  When he first made contact, Dick stiffened, just for a moment, before he relaxed and suddenly he was crying again.  

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Jason said desperately.  That wasn’t the affect he’d wanted.  “Is this about what Damian said?  Because I’m fine.  We’re all fine now.”

Dick clutched the pillow tighter and if anything, sobbed harder.

“Dick, please, I’m okay-”

“No!” Dick exclaimed, shoving himself upright violently.  His golden yellow eyes gleamed unnaturally in the low light, glistening with shedding tears.  “No, it’s not okay, you’re not okay!”

“Dick…”

“I was meant to protect you.  I was meant to keep you safe.  I was meant to!  And you—you died, for real.”

“I’m better now,” Jason tried.

“You died.  And—and I know you died in my colors.  You died in my colors with my name and I couldn’t keep you safe.”

Jason tried to swallow down the pit in his stomach.  He did die as Robin, but it wasn’t Dick’s fault.  It was Bruce’s fault, it was the Joker’s fault, it was Jason’s fault, not Dick’s.  “It wasn’t-”

“Now I get it.”  Tears started streaming down his face again, but this time, they were silent.  “Why you’re so different.  Why you’re not the same anymore, why you’re angry all the time.  You’re not my little brother.”

Jason stared, dumbly, mouth open, unable to formulate a response.  He wanted to say yes, yes I am, I’m still Jason, I’m still your little brother, but that wasn’t true?  Was it?  He wasn’t the same person anymore, and he certainly wasn’t Dick’s little brother.  They couldn’t be who they were before.  Time and circumstance irrevocably changed that, for both of them.

Dick’s breath hitched again, and he barely choked out his next words.  “My little brother died, and I didn’t save him.”

There was nothing left to say.  Jason didn’t know which of them moved first, but the next moment Dick was sobbing into his shoulder and Jason had his arms wrapped around him.  He felt his shoulder getting wet from Dick’s tears and felt his own eyes start to water.  It felt like finally admitted the truth he hadn’t wanted to face: their roles were reversed.  Jason’s older brother may have miraculously come home, but Jason had grown up.  It was time to face the truth, and stop running from his responsibilities.  He was the oldest now, with the specter of Dick lifted (more or less) from the house.  His younger siblings, Dick included, were his to take care of now, and it was time to do a better job of it.

[fanficimagery]

Natalie’s Half-Sister [Part 3 of 3]

Summary: Imagine being surprised by your sister and landing an interview with a hospital all the way in LA. Looks like it's time to finally make a decision- stay in Texas or move out to LA.

Words: 2.9K Warnings: None really. The ending sucks. I started to run low on inspo.

David's trailing after Natalie and Jeff, the three of them walking through the Texas airport to grab their luggage.

"As you can see, guys, we're in Texas to surprise Y/N who we haven't seen in about two months." Natalie and Jeff turn around, flashing peace signs and smiles. "Natalie's here because it's her sister and Jeff is here because he's secretly in love with Y/N."

Jeff rolls his eyes. "Will you stop telling the internet I'm in love with Y/N! She's gonna see this and stop talking to me." His smile completely says otherwise and David laughs as he continues to record.

"That wasn't a denial. You heard it here first, folks. Jeff's got himself a crush."

"Don't be an idiot."

"Whatever. You literally worked your ass off to clear your schedule this week so you could make the trip out here with us."

"Will you two hurry up!" Natalie grumbles. "I wanna make it to Y/N's house before she leaves for the football game."

"What football game?" Jeff asks.

"It's a Friday night in Texas," she says. "High school football is a big thing around here, and Y/N has a nephew in band and another on the football team."

"Well I guess we're going to a football game." David smiles.

          - X - X - X - X - X -

Homecoming is tonight and while you have one nephew playing in the football game, your other nephew who's in band is also running for Homecoming King. You had your entire outfit planned out, but after an unexpected cold front pushed through earlier that morning, the night time temperatures are expected to plummet and you need to rethink a few things.

There's still a couple of hours before you need to leave, so you're relaxing while you can. But just as you've gotten comfortable watching some mind-numbing reality tv show, your doorbell rings. Then quietly groaning, you get up to go see who's there.

As soon as the door is opened, Natalie and Jeff pop confetti cannons and David shouts Surprise!, recording the entire thing. Your mouth drops open, but then you're quick to smile and laugh.

"Oh my god!" Immediately pulling Natalie into a hug, you hug her before switching out for David and then Jeff. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you guys doing here?"

"I missed you!" Natalie gushed. "And where I go, David goes."

You smile and then look at Jeff, raising an eyebrow at him. "What?" He chuckles. "I missed my best friend."

You coo and hug him again, David giggling. "I caught that on camera. I'm showing Todd."

"Shut up."

Ushering the trio into your house, you help them bring in their bags as Natalie casually mentions just how long they'll be here for. "Okay so I got two spare rooms and a couch. Or if someone wants to bunk together, that's fine too."

"I want the room." Natalie and David say simultaneously.

Everyone looks at Jeff and he shrugs. "I haven't had a good nap or night's rest since Y/N left. If you think I'm sleeping in any room other than hers, you're delusional."

You laugh. "That's good to hear because I was wondering how I was going to wrangle you into my bed without seeming clingy."

You quickly show David and Natalie to their rooms, and then lead Jeff to yours. He whistles as he walks in. "Now this is what I'm talking about," he muses. "Your place looks homey."

"Well I hoped it would. I've lived here for five years."

You meet Natalie and David in the hall, leading the way back towards your living room.

"What's up with this weather?" Your sister asks. "I was expecting heat and humidity like you're always complaining about."

"If you wanted that miserable Texas weather, you should have been here last night. Cold front pushed through this morning and it's only expected to get colder. Especially when the sun goes down."

"So we're going to be sitting in that tonight? Natalie said something about a football game," David wonders.

"Yeah. But not just any football game," you grin. "It's Homecoming which means the stands will be packed, and a King and Queen will be crowned before the game starts. Which speaking of," you then address Natalie. "Devon is running for King."

"Aw. Yay!" She muses.

"Yeah. So if you guys are gonna join, we have two hours to run to Walmart and find you guys hoodies if you didn't pack any."

"Well I guess we're going to Walmart!" David laughs.

          - X - X - X - X - X -

Natalie easily ends up finding an outfit from your closet to wear to the game while the boys opt for their regular jeans and shirts from their luggage, and a hoodie bought from Walmart.

You're finishing getting dressed when David and Jeff enter the room, relief evident in their features when they see you're pulling a high school themed t-shirt atop a black long sleeve rather than having caught you less dressed. Your hair is down and curled, and a sparkly headband drapes across your forehead. Natalie then exits the bathroom in a similar outfit to yours.

"What time does this game start?" Jeff finally asks.

"Seven thirty, but we'll need to get there about an hour or so earlier," you say. Glancing around, you asks, "Has anyone seen my garter?" Their expressions are rather confused, and your eyes roll. "Homecoming garter," you reiterate. "You wear it over your clothes, not under."

"Oh."

You snort at their simultaneous exclamation.

"Is this it?" Natalie picks it up from your bedside table. "Aw. Cute!"

You take it from her, bending down to step into it with your right leg and draw it halfway up your thigh. The artificial, white chrysanthemum has been sprayed with glitter and a small football player and musical notes have been glued on it. Ribbons, at least six inches long and in your old high school colors, hang down. Two ribbons bear the names of your nephews, two others bear the words HOCO 2019, and there are two miniature cow bells dangling.

Your sister and friends stare at it in confusion, and you huff a laugh. "Girls are typically supposed to wear mums that are pinned to their shirts and boys wear garters on their arms, but I don't like pinning something heavy to my shirt and bra strap, so garter it is."

"I've seen memes about mums," David says. "But the ones they show are usually bigger and being held up by a strap around the neck."

"Oh you'll see those," you tell him. "I personally think those are ridiculous, but the teenage girls love them. Just wait and see." Then after slipping your feet into a pair of boots, you make sure you and your guests have everything they need before leaving.

          - X - X - X - X - X -

You luck out and find one of the last parking spaces in the parking lot, and then pull out four small fuzzy blankets from your car trunk. Jeff, Natalie, and David seemed skeptical of you needing them, but after seeing several other people walking in with blankets, they agreed that maybe it was a good idea to have them close by.

You pay for four tickets, after convincing Jeff and David that they could buy dinner later, and then lead them towards the bleachers. They're surprised by how many people have shown up and David is far too amused when he sees just how crazy big the mums get. Then leading them towards your usual spot, close to the band and halfway up the bleachers, you all take a seat and watch as they look around to take in the hyped atmosphere.

"This is crazy!" David laughs, looking around at the packed stands. "I can record. Right?"

"I don't see why not. Just bleep out last names."

"Of course."

Both football teams take the field to warm-up and music blares from the scoreboard speaker.

"Not to be a downer," Jeff says, leaning towards you so you can hear him, "but is your old high school football team even good?"

"Well right now they're five and one," you say. "Tonight should be a good game."

The band soon marches out and takes their place in the stands, as well as the dance team. You clap and cheer for them all, waving at several familiar faces that have made an appearance or three with your nephews at your house. Girls in beautiful dresses start making their way towards the field and Natalie coos at them.

Then just before you can cave and wrap yourself in a blanket, one of the cheerleaders rushes up to you. "Y/N!"

"Hey, Dee. What's up?"

"Devon needs an escort. His mom is not going to make it."

Your eyes widen. "What?"

"Devon really wants you to walk him on the field. He nearly started crying when his mom called."

"Fuck," you curse softly. "Is he sure? I mean, his other aunts are here too. Is he sure he-"

"Yes," Dee assures you, smiling. "So are you in or out? I need to go make the change up in the press box if you agree."

"Do it! Do it!" David gleefully urges you.

Natalie is eagerly nodding and Jeff nudges you. "Go on. I'll keep your spot warm."

"Fine. I'll do it."

As you take off with Dee, Jeff, Natalie, and David remain in the bleachers.

"So what are the odds of Y/N's nephew getting king?" Jeff wonders.

"If I remember correctly, Devon's been in band all four years of highschool."

"So he's a band nerd."

"He's not a band nerd," Natalie chuckles, swatting at David. "He's pretty popular, but I'm not sure he's as popular as the football players running for king as well."

"Okay and what about the football player nephew?" Jeff wonders. "What's his number?"

"Uhh.. fifty-six. Right there." Natalie points him out and the boys hum.

"Geez he's tall," David laughs. "Hopefully he hits hard."

Jeff grins. "Yeah. I wanna see some hard hits."

Time winds down and soon enough the Homecoming court takes the field. Boys are escorted by a female family member and girls a male family member. One by one they're called forward, their extracurriculars listed off and what their future plans after graduation are. Then when Y/N and her nephew Devon are called, Jeff, Natalie, and David join the small group of Devon's family to cheer the loudest.

A prince and princess are named first, the crowd cheering and screaming in delight. Then when it's time for the king, David turns his camera on and zooms in on Y/N and Devon. The crowd seems to hold their breath and then.. Devon's name is called. He's won king.

Natalie jumps up, screaming, and David and Jeff laugh as they join the crowd in cheering Devon on. Pictures are taken, congratulations are given, and soon Y/N joins her guests in the stands.

"Holy shit," you breathe in awe, laughing in disbelief still. "He did it. He really won."

"That's so cool!" Natalie gushes. "I'm so happy he won."

"You and me both."

You take your seat and then ten minutes later the National Anthem is being played, followed by the school songs. You clap along when appropriate and cheer for the football team when they run on the field, yelling for your other nephew Ivan.

The game soon starts, the high school bands do their job of keeping the crowds hyped, and you're constantly jumping to your feet to cheer on your nephew's team. It doesn't take much for Natalie and David to join in with the excitement, and while Jeff is a little more subdued you can still see he's having fun.

Just before halftime, your nephews team is leading by only three points. The visiting band is supposed to perform first, so you, your sister, David and Jeff take the moment to leave your blankets behind while getting in line at the concession stand for some hot chocolate and snacks.

This time when you're seated, you and Natalie take a seat one bleacher lower so the boys are at your backs. You and Natalie cheer on Devon who's performing in the band, and then settle back down for the third quarter. And just as the game gets underway, a small family in front of you starts to have trouble with the cold. Well the parents don't, but their children do. And feeling guilty, you unwrap your blanket from around your shoulders and tap the mother on her shoulder. She refuses the blanket at first, but after pushing it on her she accepts and wraps her children in it. They visibly sigh in content and you go back to watching the game, ignoring your sister's beaming smile directed at you.

Arms wrap around you from behind, Jeff using his blanket and body heat to keep you warm. "That was the nicest goddamn thing I've ever seen."

"I felt really bad," you mumble.

"Hashtag couple goals." Natalie laughs at David's remark, and you and Jeff roll your eyes at the camera now directed at you.

Your nephew Ivan ends up making a touchdown in the fourth quarter and his team barely pulls off the win in the end. And by the time the game is over, you're more than ready put your car heater on full blast and drive to the nearest Whataburger before going back home.

Then sitting around a table at Whataburger and fiddling with your half eaten food, you say, "I know this place isn't what you're used to, so I hope you have at least a bit of fun during your stay."

"Trust me, this is perfect," David says. "The partying kind of caught up to me and I've been meaning to take a break from it all." Natalie nods along with his assessment.

"I like a good party," Jeff then says, "but sometimes a person just needs some down time. And their best friend." He nudges you with his shoulder and you huff a laugh. "Don't think too much. We'll be happy to do whatever you want to do."

"I have a couple of interviews lined up this week, but afterwards I'm all yours."

The reunion between your dad and Natalie is a tearful one, and then a regretful one when David and Jeff hit it off a little too well with your dad and brother. David and Jeff thought their friends were bad with the sex jokes, but more often than not you and Natalie were left blushing as the boys died of laughter whenever your dad and brother did their best to embarrass you.

Your job interviews also went fairly well, but you just weren't feeling those particular hospitals. Natalie guessed you were still holding out for something in LA, but you just didn't know. You thought any hospital would do, but apparently you were picky.

The cold weather then proceeded to go away after day three, and your sister and friends regretted taking the cold for granted. Texas heat and humidity were no joke, and they finally got to experience it firsthand. Especially when a severe thunderstorm took everyone by surprise and a bolt of lightning struck a tower nearby, triggering the tornado siren. You'd never seen your sister or David look so terrified, but after a phone call from your dad that the siren was a false alarm, everyone calmed and stayed awake until the storm passed.

Natalie, David, and Jeff only have one more day with you, so they're taking full advantage of being lazy before they have to get back to work.

David and Natalie are laid back in your recliners, dozing off after a fulfilling lunch, whereas Jeff has laid out on the couch with his head in your lap as you scroll through your phone. Your phone dings with a new email and you click over to see whether it's important or spam.

Important. It's important.

"Up, up, up." You tap the top of Jeff's head until he moves, you then standing up. All three occupants of the room glance at you. "I, uh, I need to make a Skype call so please steer clear of my bedroom until I come back out."

Natalie, David, and Jeff watch you go.

"What do you think that's about?" David wonders.

Natalie shrugs. "Dunno. She'll tell us when she's done."

Nearly an hour later, the trio are anxiously waiting. They'd tried eavesdropping through the door, but unfortunately couldn't hear anything.

You finally return to the living room, expression neutral and feeling like there's been a weight lifted off your shoulders. "So," you start, startling them. "I got an email earlier. From a hospital in LA." That seems to pique their interest. "The board of directors wanted an interview with me, but since we're states apart, they had to settle for an interview over Skype."

Natalie slowly grins. "And?"

"They like me." You huff a laugh, your body relaxing as Natalie squeals. "They were impressed with my resumé, and most of that Skype call were the other nurses who'd taken over and gave me a tour of the hospital, as well as introducing me to other members on staff."

"Wait, so you got the job?" David asks, beaming.

You nod, laughing. "I got the job!" Natalie, David, and Jeff all cheer, jumping to their feet and hugging you in congratulations. "The girl whose position I'm taking over still has to finish out her contract, so I won't be starting until mid-January."

"That's awesome," David muses.

"Yeah. So I'll be spending Thanksgiving in Texas and then fly out afterward since the family is all doing something different for Christmas. I don't wanna be pulled in three different directions, and anyways I rather spend Christmas with my sister."

"Yesss! I'm so happy!" Natalie gushes.

"You and me both." You sigh. "I'm so ready to start this next chapter of my life, especially with you guys by my side."

[sassycassie-s-writing]

Playful Friends

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Jason Todd/Red Hood

Rating: PG-11/T-

Original Idea: I have a lot of time to think during my job right now so... yeah.

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) Been a while since I really wrote and this felt so good!

@welovegroot @jason-redhood @bat-shots @jason-todd-squad

^^^^^

“Jason!” I exclaimed as my friend opened his apartment door to accept me into a big bear hug. I laughed as he squeezed me. “What is up, my dude? I missed you!”

He chuckled, a deep, resonant sound rumbling low in his chest where it pressed against mine, and patted me head. “Not much. Work’s been murder lately,” he said. “But, yeah, I missed you too. It’s been a couple weeks since we could chill. Are you thinking Mario Kart? Because I’m thinking Mario Kart.”

I laughed and let go of the hug. “Oh, you wanna get creamed?” I teased.

“I was thinking more of a rematch for last time,” he replied playfully.

I patted the side of his face. “You’re just mad that I’m better than you at Rainbow Road.”

��No! I’m not!” He paused for a second. “Seriously though, how do you never fall off?”

Winking, I edged around him to slip into his apartment to get out of the cold. “Practice,” I said.

Jason laughed, shut his front door and spun around. He came over to me—I assumed for another hug—but he surprised me by scooping me up, laughing the whole time. I shrieked, scared, before he carried me to his couch and dropped me on it. “There. Now the night can really get started.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t scare me like that ever again,” I snapped. But the actual anger in my tone was diminished somewhat by my laughing. Jason smirked and flopped onto the couch next to me.

“So, shortstop, what brings you to me tonight?”

I whacked him in the arm. “Stop calling me that! We can’t all be as tall and muscular as you!”

Jason just laughed. “Okay okay. I’ll keep the short jokes to a minimum.”

“Sure you will,” I muttered sarcastically, not believing him for a second.

“I will!”

I scoffed. “Shut up. Let’s just make a homemade pizza and let me whip your butt at Mario Kart.”

Jason laughed again. I loved his laugh. He sounded so genuine.

Actually… that was one of my favorite things about Jason in general. He was just genuine. I knew a lot of fake people—ones who put on masks to hide who they really were. Who detached themselves from other people for one reason or another. But not Jason. Jason was real. He felt his emotions and owned them. At least… he did with me. I’d never really seen him around too many other people. Not even his family. Our friend Roy occasionally crashed our game nights but usually hanging out with Jason was a one-on-one thing. He claimed he liked it better that way.

Which I could understand. It was easier not to have to perform emotions for people. And Jason and I had established that we could be real with each other a long time ago. Any space with just the two of us in it was a no-judgment zone. I’d cried in his arms more times than I had in the presence of any past boyfriend. Because Jason and I got each other.

“Alright. Let’s get started on the food and we can play while it bakes.”

Which is exactly what we did. Between the two of us, Jason was the better cook. I mostly sat on the counter and watched. But he let me put the cheese on so I could pick how much. He filled half of it with his toppings and left the other half plain for me. Then it was in the oven and we were on the couch, probably disturbing the neighbors by shouting at each other about how dare you and don’t you dare red-shell me!

Oops.

Jason dropped his controller on the ground. “How do you beat me at Rainbow Road every. D*&%. Time?!” He ran his fingers through his hair and I caught sight of the white streak that hid under his bangs. He’d never told me how he got it and I never asked, but the curiosity was eating me up inside and had been for years. It just never seemed like the right time to bring it up.

I patted his knee. “Because God or the universe or something decided that I could be better than you at one thing. One single, solitary morsel of existence. And that morsel is Rainbow Road in Mario Kart,” I said.

Jason rolled his eyes. “You are better than me in so many ways. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh sure,” I said.

Jason got up as the oven timer went off. “You are,” he insisted.

“Apart from the fact that I can’t cook to save my life, and my sense of style is far less refined than yours. I snooze my way through classic literature yet I claim to love reading. You are a classy dude—even if you try to hide it under a frat-bro façade. You’re a fantastic cook, really well-read and academic. You dress like the most elegant businessman possible when you want to make an impression. And let me tell you: you make an impression. And then there’s me. I look like a vampire who just emerged from her coffin after a three-hundred-year nap half the time. So yeah. Rainbow Road in Mario Kart is basically the only thing that I’m at better than you,” I said.

Jason had pulled out the homemade pizza in the time it took me to spew all that at him.

“Thanks for the confidence,” he said. “But you’re wrong. Your life is so much more put-together than mine. I am a trash fire about ninety-percent of the time.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree,” I said as Jason slid the pizza off the baking tray and onto a big serving plate and started to slice it up—being careful to keep the toppings separate from the plain side.

“S’pose so,” he agreed.

We dished up the slices we wanted and sat next to each other at his breakfast bar.

A few moments of comfortable silence stretched on between us. We’d always had that easy-going relationship where we understood that we didn’t need to fill every moment with conversation. Hanging out with Jason was basically me-time and I was pretty sure he felt the same way about me.

After a minute, a thought struck me. “Jay, I think you’re working too hard. We should take a trip. Go to… I don’t know. Miami? Orlando? We should just fly to a beach or Disney World for a couple days and get away from everything.”

“Beach is more relaxing, Disney World is more escapist,” Jason mused. “But I can’t just leave Gotham yet.”

“How come?”

“Too busy. I really have to get this project done. But it’s easier when you come over and hang out for a while,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” I teased, raising an eyebrow.

“Hey, if you’re going to tease me about a genuine moment, I could just… not invite you over. I can handle myself just fine on my own, thank you very much,” he said. He took a bite of his pizza to punctuate his point. “I don’t need some girl coming around and poking holes in my pride the way you do.” He had a playful tone to his voice, so I egged him on.

“Then why do you?” I asked. “Hmm? Why do you invite over some girl to poke holes in your pride?”

“Maybe it’s because I think you need some entertainment. Thought you might be getting bored.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Yeah it’s all for you.”

I scoffed. “You are so full of it, Jason Todd!”

“Oh yeah.” He laughed. Then his face sobered up. “But, for real, I wanted you to come over because… there is something I’d like to talk to you about tonight. But not now. When pizza and ice cream are over with.”

I laughed. “Okay. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah it’s fine. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about.”

“Okay.”

We finished our pizza and after waiting a few minutes—playing another couple rounds of Mario Kart that I beat him at—we had digested enough to have a quick dessert. We each had a bowlful of ice cream, laughing and joking around. Jason stuck his spoon on his nose  and then tried to lick the ice cream off his nose when the spoon fell.

I sighed and set my bowl on his coffee table, leaning back on the couch. “Oh man. I missed this. How come it’s been like three weeks since I saw you last, man?”

Jason also sighed. “Been busy and… I’ve been kinda trapped in my own head,” he said, setting his bowl on top of mine on the coffee table.

“How come?”

“Op—you’ve got a little bit of…” He reached out and wiped the corner of my mouth with his thumb. “Ice cream,” he finished.

I snickered and wiped at my own mouth. “Thanks. So what’s up? Why have you been stuck in your head?”

Jason took a deep breath and sighed. “Remember the last time we saw each other? We got in that argument?”

“I recall,” I said.

“Don’t bristle. I know you still think you’re right and you probably are. But that’s not what this is about. I’m not trying to restart that argument. I wanted to… explain something else,” he said. I cocked an eyebrow.

“What?” I asked.

“Look. When you and I first met, all those years ago, I knew there was something powerful in your soul. Your fiery spirit. Your emotional and mental strength. It was stunning. And I was very intrigued on how you would use it. Then a few weeks ago when we got in that argument…” He sighed again. “I don’t know. I saw it again. That passion—that drive. And… it was beautiful.

“And… you know, I know Roy likes to joke that I’m a big brother to you. But… is that all I am? Is that all I am… to you?”

Jason reached out and touched my wrist with his fingertips. My mouth was slack but I hadn’t let my jaw drop yet. Was he really saying this?

He wasn’t done yet though. “Is this just me? I’ve seen the way you look at me and maybe I’m delusional but it doesn’t look like a platonic gaze. I could keep acting like I’m cool with this weird limbo between friends and something more—but I’m not. I just… I need you. I’m dying for you.” He took another fortifying breath. “Now, I’m not expecting any sort of immediate answer. Take your time figuring it—umph!”

His sentence was cut short by me leaning forward and planting my mouth on his.

Jason’s whole body relaxed. His shoulders curled forward and his hands slid over my waist. He let out a small, low sound—a cross between a coo of contentment and a moan of relief. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He withdrew from the kiss just enough to whisper against my lips, “So… is that a…”

“Shut up, Todd,” I teased. “I’ve been waiting for this. I just didn’t want to scare you off.”

Jason laughed. “Sure,” he replied playfully.

I kissed him again, and he reciprocated hungrily.

“I’ve been waiting years to call you mine,” he whispered.

[linaofthemyscira]

White House Down (Part 3)

Pairing: Secret Service!Jason x Fem!Secret Service!Reader

Words: 2215

Prompt: Duke Thomas, the President of the United States of America is a huge target for the world. However, Jason Todd, one of the best Secret Service agents in the White House, doesn’t let President Thomas out of his sight. Then you come along, and let’s just say you’re a bit of a distraction. While Jason wrestles with your presence, the White House is attacked which throws his whole world off. Now Jason must work with you to save one of the most important people in the world and the fate of the United States.

Warnings: foul language, sexual themes

A/N: Hola this is part three, and here is where it starts to get a little more intense. Bear with me y’all.

--

The next morning, Jason was feeling pretty good about himself. After Jess had followed him on Instagram and he followed her back, he discovered she was your roommate and quickly figured out how she knew about him in the first place.

He was prepared to expose you that morning at work. Jason couldn’t stop thinking about how you’d react, he kept laughing to himself as he imagined what your expression would look like.

“She’s...somethin’,” he muttered to himself as he put on his jacket and grabbed his bag and keys. Jason made his way down to his apartment building’s parking garage and headed towards his motorcycle. One of his neighbors, a woman about your age, passed him with a small wave, but he didn’t even notice her. His mind was still on you.

“Uh, rude,” she said as she passed him. Jason shook his head a bit and looked back at her.

“Shit, sorry, Bree,” he apologized.

“You looked a little lost in space there, you thinking about someone?” she asked with a certain smirk, hoping it was her.

“What? No, I was just...thinking about work, that’s all,” Jason lied to Bree. Bree’s smirk faded and she rolled her eyes

“You’re always thinking about work, Jason,” she turned away from him and started walking in her direction again.

Jason shrugged her semi-snarky comment off and continued to his motorcycle. As soon as he approached it, he stuck his lunch bag in the lockbox, mounted the bike, started the engine and made his way to the White House.

--

Your morning wasn’t as smooth as Jason’s. Since you had stayed up late looking at various pictures of his face and abs, you forgot to put your alarm on and you woke up about half an hour later than you were supposed to.

You rushed to take a shower, put your clothes on, brush your teeth and gather your belongings so you could catch your train on time. It was only your second day of work, you couldn’t afford to be late this early in your job. You didn’t even have time to eat breakfast, so you hoped that the Secret Service break room had bagels and a coffee machine for your sake.

Fortunately, you had made it to the metro in the nick of time and got on your train before it left you behind. You caught a few z’s on the train to catch up on your sleep, but when the metro speaker said you were arriving at your station, you jolted awake and made your way off the train in a hurry.

When you arrived at the White House, the security guard at the gate gave you a suspicious look, as if you weren’t supposed to be there. You got out your badge and sluggishly showed it to him, but he was still giving you a weird look. As he handed you your badge back and opened the gate for you, he asked a question which made your morning one more notch worse than it already was.

“Hey, uhhhh [Y/N], how about I take a fine girl like you out--” he started.

“No thank you. Have a nice morning, buddy,” you snapped and headed through the gate. The security guard frowned as you rushed through the gate and made your way to the entrance you were supposed to use.

The first person you saw when you entered the break room was the last person you wanted to see that morning.

Jason Todd sat at the wooden table, his leg propped up so his ankle sat on his knee, coffee mug in hand along with that day’s newspaper. He barely glanced at you as you made your way to the coffee machine to make yourself a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, [Y/N],” he greeted you without making eye contact. Jason fought to keep his devilishly charming smile off of his face so he wouldn’t indicate he was about to expose you.

“It is most certainly not, sir,” you said dryly. A little part of Jason enjoyed you calling him “sir”, but he pushed that feeling down as he watched you make coffee.

“Why is that?” he asked.

“Didn’t get a lot of sleep, are we done talking now?” you hissed. Your attitude had taken Jason aback, he didn’t expect you to snap at him.

“Is there a problem, Agent [L/N]?” he stood up.

“I’m already not having a great morning, Jason, and my patience is thin enough. Quite frankly, I don’t want to deal with your teasing thing today. So you can keep whatever you were going to say to yourself, thank you very much,” you turned to him.

“I’m just trying to be your friend, [Y/N],” he stuck his hands in his pockets. You rolled your eyes and turned back to the coffee pot to pour the liquid into the mug. Jason inched closer to you, but you were oblivious.

“Well be a good friend...and leave me alo--” you turned back to him, but crashed into his chest, sending the coffee into his dress shirt and yours.

“Shit!” he backed away from you immediately, the hot coffee slightly burning the skin under his shirt.

“Fuck me,” you muttered as you practically slammed down the mug on the counter and took off your jacket.

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” Jason flirted. You looked up from the puddle of coffee on the floor straight at him.

“Excuse me?” you growled.

“You said--” he started. Jason took off his suit jacket and then began unbuttoning his dress shirt and loosening his tie.

“I know what I said. I’m talking about what you said. In case you hadn’t noticed, this is our workplace, not some bar.” You spat. Jason scoffed amusedly as he took his tie off and put it with his jacket.

“I’m not the one who talked about my boss to my roommate,” he shot at you. You froze like a deer in headlights and gaped at Jason as he smirked at you.

“I didn’t,” you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Uh, I think you did talk about me...to your roommate. Really, [Y/N], it’s no big deal, I’m quite flattered,” Jason took off his dress shirt, revealing his rather taut undershirt.

“How can you even prove that?” you asked him. Jason brought out his phone and after a few clicks and scrolls, he showed his followers, with your roommate’s Instagram handle at the top.

“How would she know who I am...without you?” he asked you lowly.

“Stop doing that,” you snarled.

“Doing what?” he said coyly.

“Fuck you,” you snapped at him.

“I know you want to. How long did you spend going through my Instagram, [Y/N]? Be honest,” Jason chuckled.

The amount of sexual tension in the room was so high, it made your blood boil. You couldn’t stand how much you liked his flirting, especially when he flashed his pearly whites in your direction. What kind of game was Jason playing? You were work colleagues, it would be extremely inappropriate for you to engage in a romantic relationship with him.

“We’re done here. If you excuse me, I’m going to change my shirt and clean this up,” you stepped around the coffee and grabbed your bag on your way to the door.

Jason wanted to say something but he kept it to himself. You flounced out the door, stomping to the nearest bathroom.

“The fucking nerve…” you said to yourself and tried to clear your mind from your horrible morning that had been made worse.

--

After you and Jason cleaned yourselves up from the coffee spillage, you headed to the President’s oval office and kept watch outside with Tim. Jason and Roy stayed inside with President Thomas. Everything was quiet, the only sounds came from your walkie-talkies receiving messages.

“How was your first day?” Tim broke the silence. You turned to Tim in slight surprise and shrugged.

“It was pretty okay,” you kept your response simple.

“That’s good. Usually, Jason puts new members through a strenuous test on the first day which results in people switching squads. I’m kinda surprised you made it through,” Tim told you. You quirked an eyebrow in confusion but went back to staring straight ahead.

“Then again, it’s pretty clear that Jason likes you…” Tim added. You whipped your head around at Tim, glowering at him.

“I don’t need to know the details,” you told him harshly.

“Okay, okay,” he held his hands up in surrender.

You two returned to a blanket of silence, not saying anything to each other mostly because there was nothing to say.

Suddenly, you had an unsettling feeling in your stomach and you turned to Tim to see if he felt the same thing, but he seemed fine.

“Tim….something’s not right,” you whispered. Tim turned to you confusedly, his arms still crossed from before.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I just know that when something bad is happening or going to happen, my stomach starts flipping,” you told him.

“Maybe you just ate the bad bagels in the break room fridge,” Tim dismissed you.

“I didn’t eat any fucking bagels, Tim. Something is happening. I have to know what it is. I’ll be back.” You frowned and left your post.

“[Y/N]! Get back here!” Tim shouted after you, but you had already turned the corner of the hall. Jason heard Tim yell and went to investigate. When he opened the office door and found just Tim, Jason’s previous smile turned into a scowl.

“Where is she?” he growled.

“She took off. She said something wasn’t right and she went to see what it was.” Tim explained as he pointed toward the way you went. Jason didn’t say a word as he took off, following your steps.

Meanwhile, you navigated your way throughout the White House, taking a few turns here and there before heading outside on the patio. As you looked out at the White House lawn to see if anything was there, you were stopped by another body. You stumbled backward, but whoever it was caught you before you made contact with the ground.

“[Y/N]?” you heard the voice of the person. You finally tore your eyes from the lawn and looked up to see Dick’s face hovering above yours.

“Mr. Grayson! I’m so sorry,” you squeaked. Dick planted you back on your feet, right side up again before straightening his suit.

“Please, call me Dick. And it’s okay, I’m just surprised to see you here.” He told you.

“Oh, well I felt that something was wrong and I had to find out what it was...in case someone got hurt,” you explained. Dick furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his neck.

“Weird. I felt something wrong too,” he revealed.

“[Y/N]!” you heard an angry voice behind you. Dick looked up while you looked back and saw Jason storming over to the both of you. “You left your post! What the hell is your problem?! Get back to your post!”

“Jason, calm down--” Dick began.

“Stay out of this, Dick. Insubordination is not something I take lightly,” Jason switched his gaze from Dick to you. You rolled your eyes at Jason and crossed your arms.

“Jeez, who put a stick up your ass? I felt something was wrong and I had to check it out. I’ll go back to my post when I think that everything is okay,” you turned away from Jason.

“I don’t see anything wrong, [Y/N]! How many times do I have to tell you that this isn’t the Marines?! Everything is o--”

BOOM

A massive explosion in the distance caught Dick’s, Jason’s and your attention. You both looked in the direction of the explosion, trying to find where exactly it was. From miles away, you saw smoke and small flames and you gasped.

“Agent Grayson, the Capitol has been attacked by terrorists! First responders are on the way but it doesn’t look good,” Dick’s walkie-talkie spoke. You and Jason looked at each other before looking at Dick. Dick grabbed his walkie-talkie and hesitated to speak into it.

“Everyone remain calm. Enable soft lockdown protocol. Do not let the president out of your sight. I’ll keep everyone posted.” Dick sent a message to all his agents. He received a few “copy that's”, then he turned to Jason and you.

“[Y/N], I’m sorry that this had to happen on your second day,” Dick told you.

“It’s okay I guess?” you said confusedly.

“Who the fuck bombed the Capitol building?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten word on the terrorists. Jason, you and your squad need to be on high alert, is that clear?” Dick told Jason.

“Understood,” Jason nodded. You looked away from the talking men and spotted black vans parking in front of the white house gates. You quirked your eyebrow in confusion, but as the doors of the vans opened and people with massive guns poured out, you realized what was going on.

As one of the people pointed his gun straight at you, your eyes widened and grabbed Jason’s and Dick’s hands. But it was too late, and the bullets started flying.

“GET DOWN!”

--

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[arkhamknxghts]

Oop I got carried away anyways jaykyle headcanons

•Kyle does his best to be the Santa that Jason never had don’t @ me

•Jason: I want to cut my hair I want a change

Kyle: I support you I’m going to dye my hair

•Kyle: “which safe house are you at im omw”

Jason: #4

Kyle: where’s that one

Kyle: nvm just meet me at the bank

•late night movie theaters Jason falls asleep against his shoulder and is laying down in his lap if the seats are connected

•Kyle: wtf I only have $3.77 in my bank account

Bruce or Jason overhearing and so Kyle wakes up with $3,003.77 in his account

•Jason: Bruce did an okay job at being my father figure we can share I guess

Kyle: sure I’ll put your achievements on my mom’s fridge im sure she won’t mind

*puts jason’s drawing of a flower on it*

•Kyle picks up photography and filmmaking so he tried to film everything him and Jason do together.

*first kiss, first sober kiss, first night he spent over, first roadtrip, first date*

•Jason drives during the road trips because he’s calm and collected while driving and he reactions to bad drivers near him quickly

•Kyle to Jason at 1am at a gas station: I love your bags

Jason: I appreciate it

*kyle kissss him under each eye and Jason flinches*

•Kyle snorts and Jason cries when they find something hilarious

•Jason: so Alfred taught me how to make bacon and eggs without setting something on fire in kitchen here’s some breakfast in bed

•Bruce always reminding Kyle that a part of him is still going to be protective over Jason despite Jason’s history “so don’t think that just because he… doesn’t mean I will…”

•Hal was trying to find a reason to dislike Jason but he sees that Jason and Kyle get along so oddly that there’s nothing plus him and Jason bond over their love to annoy Bruce

•he still annoys them both about protection tho

•Hal: is Jason that good of a fuck that I have to deal with bats even more now

Kyle not understanding what “of a fuck” means: yes

•Kyle coming home to a load of take out food that Jason ordered

•Forehead kisses for you

•Kyle’s phone storage running out because most videos on his phone are of Jason doing some silly thing like dancing towards the camera at a party or other video shots he wasn’t done editing (his favorite is that one time Jason was getting frustrated at putting up furniture but Jason looked so good in Kyle’s shirt and messy hair it makes Kyle homesick when he watches it), up close to Jason covering his eyes, (this one was early in their relationship) Jason smoking and looking sideways at him with glassy eyes, Jason looking at Kyle with these sleepy googly eyes and Kyle will look at the photo with so much pride and another is Jason with a butterfly on his face which took 5 years off of Kyle’s lifespan

•Jason: can I

Kyle: YOU MADE IT FLY AWAY AGAIN DAMNIT

•Jason is comfortable crying in front of Kyle, Kyle reminds him that he loves him with snot and big tears and all

•Jason brings Kyle back a picture and a souviner from every country’s iconic structure

Kyle starts to tear up

•Kyle “I brought you a rock” Rayner

Jason “this is the best thing anyone has ever gotten me I’m going to sleep with it for the next month” Todd

•Kyle brings back books and other materials that aren’t on Earth back to Jason because he know Jason loves learning more about anything there is to learn everyday

•Kyle knows that Jason has the curiosity of a child, that’s what makes Jason so fun to be around with

•Kyle doing the upside down Spider-Man kiss with Jason when he comes back if he’s still wearing his green lantern unfirom

•on Jason’s bad days, Kyle will cook or turn the radio on at a soothing volume for Jason to feel a little better

• when Jason still doesn’t get out of bed Kyle will just spend the day with Jason’s silent form by watching tv and covering them both up with a blanket

•Kyle: do you want to get up? We can try to look up ways to make your explosions even bigger

“No thanks” in a soft voice

“Okay just get your rest tomorrow can be a brand new day”

“Thanks”

•he reminds Jason that he doesn’t need to go anywhere when it’s his death anniversary and of course its understandable to still be upset about

•Jason will force Kyle to take a break at times or just to let himself go

•convo on the couch with the rain pattering outside the window ”I miss Alex, her birthday is coming up” “I’m sorry” *7 seconds of silence* “do you want to talk about it?”

•Kyle: this piece is trash

Jason: our definitions of trash are very different

•Jason: so I found this frame for you

Kyle: you mean stole it?

Jason: no one else grabbed it

•Kyle: wtf he teaches me something new everyday

•Kyle wanted to do a cheesy ice skating date and it was fun and games until he found out that Jason is practically an ice skater mid way, leaving Kyle to throw snowballs at Jason from the sidelines because he sprained his ankle when he fell

•Jason carrying him to the apartment because “it’s only 6 blocks away I’ll be fine”

•Kyle: can you teach me how to shoot a gun

Jason: cAn yOu TEacH mE hOw tO sHoOt a gUN? What the fuck no

•Jason: can you take me to Oa? Dick wants to visit

•Kyle: cAn YoU tAkE mE tO oA? Hell no

•early in their relationship they exchanged nothing but drunk kisses at all the celebrations or parties like they were that annoying couple that took almost every fucking place to sit because they were just making out so no one really knew if they were together because they seemed like they already were ???

•Kyle makes fun of Jason when he’s driving because he’s overly cautious unlike Kyle who drives with one hand on the wheel at all times

•their first date or kiss or the fuck they refer it to was the first time they got together was some kind of mess. It wasn’t planned at all. It started from going to the cave for a meeting, Kyle asking Jason what’s to eat around Gotham, Jason taking Kyle to his favorite place and next thing you know they’re having a deep meaningful conversation in the back of one of the cars they borrowed from Bruce’s and they started to make out, Jason and Kyle had an argument of whose place is closer and they ended up going to Kyle’s hotel. Jason told himself he was going to leave early in the morning but that bitch was so tired from last night he stayed in until 12 and then they were like oh btw I always had a crush on you

(Thus is where Kyle’s first photo of Jason happened, when he was laying in bed still asleep, messy hair and all)

•weird conversations with no context like:

•”I’ll bet you that I can play the violin for $15”

“It wouldn’t even surprise me that this point”

•Jason while giving a foot massage to Kyle: your feet are the only feet I’m willing to touch

Kyle: good don’t foot massage cheat on me

•kyle: yeah he almost looked like he was never mind I’ll just sketch it out hold on

•Jason: does your facial hair grow out faster in space?

Kyle: I don’t know like *deep sigh* like it can

•*off key singing when making dinner “will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful I know you will I know you will I know that you wil-“ “you don’t know me” from across the room

•Kyle has an hour long video of Jason lip syncing Moana word to word

•everytime bruce and Jason have a small argument Hal would act like he’s Jason’s dad. “Hey lad do you want to bat with me?” “Do you want to catch a burger with me?”

Kyle: that was supposed to be me what the hell

Kyle: I JUST THINK ITS FUNNY THAT

•Bruce: this is what we’re not going to do

•Kyle: Jason get your father figure or whatever you try refer to him as he keeps talking to my mom about a Wayne industries job

•Kyle out of no where: we should go skinny dipping

Jason: WE SHOULD

Kyle: babe stop yelling I’m right here

•Kyle washing the blood out of Jason’s hair when patrol or a mission goes wrong while Jason tries not to fall asleep

•Kyle hyping up Jason whenever Jason changes anything ranges to “why are your fingers fat they look like hotdogs sometimes” “you don’t see me asking why are you the way you are though”

•”add that to our sex playlist” “ok”

“please drop me off here I’ll just call Bruce or Alfred to pick me up”

•Jason sleeps better with Kyle, like Kyle is willing to wake him up at a reasonable time depending when he comes back and will try his best to stay up until he comes back from patrol

•All I’m saying is that Kyle helps Jason and Jason helps Kyle

•Bruce once walked in on Kyle decorating Jason’s hair with shampoo, he just silently closed the door

•Jason is very proud of Kyle like he tries to find time to talk someone’s ear off about his boyfriend. He treats the stories of Kyle without the ring with just as much pride as the stories of Kyle with the ring

•every birthday they try to make their gift/surprise bigger than the last one for an example Jason thought that putting fireworks outside the window and he somehow manipulated it to catch on fire when the window is open so he thought this was a good idea

•Kyle somehow managed to get his hands on C4, gunpowder, and tickets to the aquarium

•I’m not saying Jason appreciates s the color green because of Kyle after hating it since his robin days but that’s exactly what I’m saying

•told Kyle that he green reminds him of Kyle not just being of the lantern gig but because it reminds him of how warm and hopeful it is like him

•their dynamic and timing of the relationship is perfect with each other because they’re not around each other so much where they get annoyed of each other quickly

[bkwrm523]

So, this was supposed to be submitted to @imaginemycroftholmes , but my desktop is being obnoxious about it.  Posting it and tagging them, with permission.

Name: Sara

Age (note that if you are under the age of consent your score will be significantly lower for Marriage, Friendship and Partnership): 30

Gender: Female

Occupation: Administrative Assistant (fancy way of saying secretary)

Nationality: USA

Country of origin: USA

Personality type (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator): INFP

Education: Bachelor’s degree

Marital Status (if not applicable put N/A): Not married

Number of children (if not applicable put N/A): 0

Who would you shoot out of John, Sherlock, Mycroft and why: Mycroft.  The Holmes brothers are more likely to understand if I’ve been forced into it.  Sherlock tends to be a bit more emotional and unpredictable than Mycroft.  Also, Sherlock’s been shot a few times, that we know of, and Mycroft hasn’t (that we know of), so I think it’s Mycroft’s turn (it said “shoot”, not kill.  I have terrible aim and I’ve never used a gun; Mycroft is probably safe)

Height: 5’2 (of sass and insecurity)

Position in the family (oldest, youngest, middle): youngest, only non-firstborn in my immediate family

Best subject: Literature

Favorite Subject: Literature or History

Worst subject: Math

Last song listened to: Rag doll by Aerosmith

Favorite color: Purple

Thoughts on Molly and Sherlock’s impending relationship: If they’re finally hooking up, then I’m super happy for them!

Illness/allergies/impairments: I suspect I’m autistic, and I have anxiety and depression.  They’re both usually under control.

Last sentence uttered to another living human being: Where’s the turkey?

Hair color/length: short (about chin length when I remember to get it trimmed often enough).  Natural color is a very nice dark brown, but I usually dye it red.  I’ve considered dying it purple, but it hasn’t been possible so far due to my job.  Maybe in the future.

Who do you feel more sympathy for Sgt. Donovan or Anderson’s wife: Anderson’s wife.  I’m not exactly the most informed in the situation, but Sgt. Donovan hasn’t seemed to show any remorse when she’s wronged someone, has a bizarre vendetta for Sherlock, and probably knew Anderson was married when she got involved with him (okay, I’m guessing on a lot of these).  The only thing I know about Anderson’s wife, is that her husband cheated on her.  Possibly my opinion would change if I knew more.

Eye color: Blue

Constantly cold, hot or prefect: Usually hot. (meaning I prefer colder temperatures, to clarify)

Seven Noteworthy skills (ex: can play an instrument, fire most guns, ride a unicycle, etc.): I’m a pretty good liar (probably not by the standards of Sherlock or Mycroft, but I can fool the average person).   I’m a decent gamer (PC).   I don’t speed-read, but I’m a pretty fast reader. I’m not good at coming up with positive things about myself. I’m a very good reader - I read Hamlet by myself when I was 12 just to prove that I could.  Read a couple other advanced books at a young age to prove that I was good at it. I’m a writer - I don’t have much inborn talent, but I’ve worked really hard at it for as long as I remember, so I’ve learned to be very good at it. I’ve been dealing with mental issues (as listed above) by myself from a pretty young age, so I’m used to coming up with my own coping mechanisms.

Nine noticeable sins: (ex: moody, bad listener, selfish, etc.): I’m impatient. Shy I tend to be a bit selfish, but it’s a flaw I’ve been working on for years and am pretty good at stepping on those impulses these days. I’m not good at detecting subtleties in conversation; you often have to be blunt with me or I may not understand. I’m a second generation geek I’m not good at communicating it when I’m in emotional distress and need help I’m not good at keeping in touch with friends

Languages known/spoken: English, I can swear a little in Orcish

Cats, dogs, both or other: I don’t have any pets, but I’m a dog person and I’m allergic to cats.

How often you help your community (1 never, 2 sometimes when prompted, 3 average, 4 often, 5 weekly): 2

Favorite Holmes family member: … this feels like a trick question, so I’m gonna cheat and say Sherlock & Mycroft’s dad.

Body type (1 obese, 2 overweight, 3 averages, 4 fit, 5 skinny): 2

Number of past lovers (put N/A if virgin or not seeking marriage): N/A

Level of cleanliness (5 slobs, 4 messy, 3 average, 2 pretty clean and 1 spotless): 4

Would you rather piss off Sherlock or Mycroft: This is a really tough one, but I’m gonna say Mycroft.  They’re both reasonable people, but I feel like Mycroft is less emotional, and therefore would be easier to reason with so I could make amends.  

Rate your mental health on a scale of 1-5 with one being terrible and 5 being fine: 2.5

Rate your confidence on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being poor and 5 being Sherlock levels: 2

Combat level (1 sitting duck, 2 somewhat okay, 3 can hold their own, 4 pretty damn good, 5 a proficient fighter): 3

Circle of friends: Very very small.  About five or so people I chat with on a daily basis.

Who do you side with more Sherlock or Mycroft: … I dunno.  I don’t like to get in the middle; infp’s tend to loathe conflict and I’m no exception.  I will say I think the Holmes clan has been epically unfair to Mycroft lately.

Level of intelligence on a scale of 1-5: I’d say a three, but I think people who know me would say I’m being modest and give me a 4.  I’ll let you decide which to believe.

Who do you side with more Mycroft or Mrs. Hudson: Mrs. Hudson.

Introvert or Extrovert: Introvert.

Political alignment: In the USA’s system, I’m an independent that leans towards democrat.  I’d rather decide each issue individually than tie myself to any one party.  The UK’s system, I’m not sufficiently familiar with to say.

Who would your rather be trapped in a long car ride with Mummy Holmes or Holmes Senior: Mummy Holmes, I guess; she’d probably be easier to have a conversation with.  I don’t think I’d mind with either of them, however.

Go to outfit for everyday: Jeans and a tshirt on my days off (tshirts I buy plain solid ones, then I buy fabric paint and stencils and put geeky stuff on them).  I have work attire that’s usually black formal pants, black modest undershirt, and a button down formal shirt in some sorta color.

Go to outfit to impress: I refer you to the formal outfit above.

5 hobbies (not to be confused with noteworthy skills): Gaming (PC), creative writing, reading (fiction), sewing, watching movies

Opinion of Rosie Watson and Mary Watson: Rosie seems like a perfectly sweet and normal baby.  I’m so sorry she lost her mom, though.  Mary, I’m glad she was happy with John at the end, and I’m so sorry it didn’t last.

Favorite music/book/movies: Music, I really don’t feel that strongly about.  I listen to heavy metal, but I wouldn’t say I have a favorite song.  Books and movies it’s the opposite problem; I love too many to pick just one.  However, I have a go-to answer to both questions for the purpose of conversation.  Favorite book - The Hobbit.  Favorite movie - Havey (to clarify, the one starring Jimmy Stewart)

How well you take rejection on a scale from 1-5: with five being the best?  I’m gonna go with 4.5.  Not a five because I’m not that overconfident.  Yeah it may hurt, but we’ve all been there before (either being rejected or doing the rejecting, whatever), and I’m an adult.  Last time I got rejected, I just said “okay”, walked away, and we remained friends for years after.  It never came up again.

Religious or religious affliations: Agnostic.  I try to be a live-and-let-live type, as long as the other person doesn’t harass me to try & convert me.

Kids or no (note this is wanting them not the ability to have them): I don’t have any at the moment for financial reasons, but I do want them one day.

Out of the Holmes family (Siger, Violet, Sherlock and Eurus) who would you kill, maim, kiss or roommate with and why:

Kill: Eurus.  I know I’m being self centered here, and I am sorry for that, but she comes off to me as a whiney baby that couldn’t take platonic rejection and decided to punish everyone for it.  Grow up. Maim:  Violet, I guess.  I don’t really have super strong negative feelings about anyone else, but she seems to have an attitude that Mycroft is less important than Eurus, and that irritates me. Kiss: Sherlock.  I can tell him it’s for a bet and kiss him on the cheek.  Also, I definitely don’t want to be his roommate; I like sleep. Roommate: Siger.  Don’t know that much about him, but he seems nice.

Do you think what Mycroft did with Eurus (at the time) was justified and needed: YES.  And his parents’ response to finding out about it all was, IMHO, immature and extremely rude.  It’s understandable that their emotions were high in the situation, but there was absolutely no excuse for taking it out on Mycroft.

Please bold the following that you wish to have with Mr. Holmes: Friendship Partnership Marriage Mentorship

A detective who was mere days away from cracking an international oil smuggling ring has suddenly gone missing. While inspecting his last-known location, officers find a note: 710 57735 34 5508 51 7718. Currently there are 3 suspects:Bill, John, and Todd. Can you break this answer and tell me the reason.  I’m gonna have to admit defeat on this one.  I could google it, but I’d rather not cheat.  I have no idea, sorry.

What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?  Your name.  Heard this one before :)

Dwayne Johnson was running away with the loot from a heist in his car along with Vin Diesel. One tire was punctured and he dropped down to replace it. While changing the wheel, he dropped the four nuts that were holding the wheel and they fell into a drain. Vin Diesel gave him an idea using which they were able to drive till the rendezvous point.  Take his loot and get into Vin Diesel’s car.  There’s no reason I can think of why they can’t share a car.  Unless you can space out the remaining nuts on the tire to hold the tire onto the car; probably wouldn’t be good enough for very long, but should be good enough to get them to the rendezvous point, or far enough to ditch the car somewhere safe.  Whichever.

[write-my-dreams]

JayTim Day 1: Carnival

Author: write-my-dreams

Pairing: JayTim

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Summary: Jason takes Tim (along with Dick and Damian) to a carnival in Metropolis.

Read at Ao3

Tim didn’t care that he was seventeen. He could seriously use a drink right now, painkillers be damned. The last few days had been hell. Absolute hell. He’d broken his arm going up against some of Scarecrow’s thugs. Bruce had benched him until he healed, refusing to take no for an answer. Cassie and Kon also refused to let him work with the Titans until he was back to full health. Balancing Wayne Enterprises, his relationship with Jason, spending time with friends, and patrolling as Red Robin had kept Tim’s life beyond busy. Now that he couldn’t be Red Robin he felt restless. Bored. Like the walls were starting to close in on him. 

He glanced up from his computer when Jason came through the door. “Timmy! On the computer again I see. Put it away. We’re going out.” 

Tim glanced at his screen. He’d just been going over the presentation he was giving tomorrow. “Okay. Where?” He put his laptop on sleep mode and set it aside. Jason was doing his best to keep him entertained while he healed.

“Metropolis,” Jason replied. “There’s a summer carnival in town for the week. Dick found out about it and said we should all go. I said I could stop by his apartment to pick him and the demon spawn up if you’re interested in going.” 

Tim blinked. He hadn’t expected Jason to suggest a ‘family bonding’ activity. It’d be nice to see Dick again even though Damian would be involved. “Okay. Give me a minute to get my things then I’m ready.” The alternative was nitpicking the presentation or finding something else to amuse himself. He had been thinking of planting a virus into Ra’s al Ghul’s security network…

Damian approached the colorful gates with trepidation while Dick bounced on his toes. Tim and Jason exchanged amused looks. Damian usually acted like the bored parent being dragged along by his eager child whenever he was out with Dick. 

“Poor little baby bat looks like he’s being tortured,” Jason muttered to Tim.

Damian stopped to glare at him. “I am not a baby, Todd. Cease calling me such an absurd pet name.” 

“Fine, demon spawn.” He laughed and took Tim’s good hand. “Tim and I are going to the games to win Cass the biggest teddy bear we can find. You two have fun. Keep an eye on Dick and don’t let him get kidnapped.” Jason ruffled Damian’s hair with his free hand for the sole purpose of irritating him. Tim ignored the angry snarl as they walked away. It’d been a long time since he’d last been to a carnival as a guest. There just wasn’t time in his life. “What’s going on in that big brain of yours?”

Tim squeezed Jason’s hand. “Not much. I’m just trying to remember the last time I went to a circus or a carnival. I know Dick and I went the last time Haly’s Circus came to Gotham, what, three years ago? You know how Gotham doesn’t really attract fun.” Too much chaos in the city and too many costumed freaks. 

Jason cocked his head. “Roy and I took Kori to a few carnivals last year.”

“What’d she think?”

“She loved it, though she almost made herself sick with cotton candy and elephant ears at the first one. It was fun though. We went on every ride and I think played every game. We won a lot of prizes. So many I could barely fit them all into the car.” 

Tim smiled as he visualized it. He stopped as he noticed the rack of prizes behind the ring toss. Given their location, there were plenty of Superman prizes. Shirts, plushies of varying sizes, even a few body pillows. “I’m going to win Kon a Superman plushie.” 

Jason snorted. “Go for it.” He took a closer look at the prizes. “You should win him the body pillow. Or give it to Bruce. The looks on either of their faces would be priceless.” He pulled out his wallet, grinning as they stepped into the line. 

Tim rolled his eyes. “Selina won’t be thrilled if she comes by and finds him in bed with a Superman body pillow. Besides, we both know that Dick would steal it. He’ll probably ask Damian to win one for him so he has an excuse to cuddle him.” Somehow he’d have to hide the pillow from Dick so he couldn’t take it for himself. 

When it was their turn, Jason paid for Tim’s three tries. The carnie gave Tim’s sling a skeptical look as he handed over the rings. Clearly he thought there was no chance Tim would manage to toss a single ring over the bottles. Completing a ring toss would be no difficulty for him at all. Something Tim demonstrated, to the surprise of the carnie and the line behind them. “I’ll take the body pillow,” Tim said with a grin. “My friend just loves Superman.” He tucked the pillow under his arm. He was meeting Bart and Kon tomorrow so he’d surprise Kon with his very own Superman body pillow. Tim made a mental note to message Bart to record the whole thing. 

“He’s going to be so confused.” 

“It’ll be great. Oh, look over there.” Tim pointed at two different stands. One involved knocking over bottles with a ball and the other was a shooting game. Each offered massive teddy bears as prizes. “Steph will love that big purple one.” He imagined Cass would be just as confused as Kon, but she would appreciate the gesture. Jason held Kon’s pillow while Tim did the ball toss to win Steph’s teddy bear. Tim could just barely fit both under his good arm as he watched Jason take out each target to get Cass her prize. “Let’s stop at the car and drop these off. I won’t be able to eat any cotton candy like this.”

“Or elephant ears.” Jason carried the bears so Tim could manage the pillow. “Wonder what Dick and the demon spawn are up to right now?”

“Probably going on rides.” Tim glanced up at the Ferris wheel. He wouldn’t mind going on a few himself. He would happily avoid the funhouse or any of the cheesy ‘House of Horrors’ attractions. He adjusted his grip on the pillow when they reached the car. “Looks like Dick and Damian did the same thing we did.” There was an oversized cat plushie in the trunk along with a big pillow bearing the Superman logo. Tim shook his head as he set the pillow next to it. As if Dick didn’t already have his own supply of Superman shirts. And underwear. Quickly he banished the thought of his brother in underwear out of his mind. 

The bears just barely fit in the trunk. Jason shut it then locked the car again. “What do you want to do next? Ferris wheel?”

“Not quite. We’re at a carnival, which means we need to eat some cotton candy and greasy fair food."

Jason grinned as he took Tim’s hand. “I like the sound of that. Are we going on any rides or are we going to be too busy eating carnival food?” 

“Why don’t you pick? I’ll buy us a bag of cotton candy then we’ll ride on the Ferris wheel. What’s next is up to you.” 

“Twister,” Jason said promptly. “We’ll have to get an elephant ear at some point too.” 

Tim nodded. “Sure.” 

About an hour later, they’d been on most of the rides they were interested in and demolished a bag of cotton candy, a deep fried candy bar apiece, and were now working on an elephant ear. Tim watched Jason scan the carnival as he chewed a piece of the fried bread. A steady relationship had done wonders to ease Jason’s anger. He and Bruce still had their issues, but Tim hoped that would eventually change. Especially if Bruce could see this version of Jason. Eyes bright, having fun, chatting away between bites of the enormous cinnamon elephant ear they’d bought to share only for Jason to eat most of it. Seeing Jason so happy made Tim’s heart swell with love. He didn’t care about their rough history. What they had now was all that mattered. 

“Tim?” Insecurity crossed Jason’s face. He dropped the piece of bread back into the basket. “You’re staring at me.” 

Tim leaned in to kiss some of the cinnamon away from Jason’s mouth. “Because I love you. And you’re hot when you’re smiling and excited.” He kissed Jason again, this time just because. “We should do things like this more often.”

Jason drew him closer. “Yeah? My workaholic can be pried away from his computer and his case notes without violent protests?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Yes. If it’s to spend time with you.” He grinned as a blush replaced the insecurity. “Want to go ride the Ferris wheel again and make out in the car?”

“I should make out with you by the cotton candy seller. She was checking you out. So was the fortune teller.”

Tim snagged a piece of the elephant ear. “Better them than some creepy old man.” He didn’t mention who crossed his mind. Jason’s scowl made it clear they shared the same thought: Ra’s al Ghul. Tim took another piece and changed the subject. “Since we’re eating so much unhealthy food we’re going to have to work out tonight. You especially. I’d hate to see your butt get fat.” He smirked at his boyfriend. 

“Or your thighs.” Jason gave Tim a wicked grin. “Sex after we drop off Dick and Damian?”

Tim stepped closer. The carnival faded into background noise around them as he leaned into Jason’s space. “I can think of a good way to work off some of these calories. Like I said, you better work hard.”

Jason’s eyes darkened. “Is that a challenge, Timmy?”

“It is.” Tim pushed up on tiptoe to kiss him. “Don’t disappoint me.”

“You know I won’t.” 

[slutforbatfam]

The Robins x reader w/ low body positivity

  a/n: I did some like scenarios (I guess that’s what you would call it idk) of the robins because one of my friends was feeling a bit down about his body(yes, I’m saying that males get self conscious of their bodies too which so many people have the misconception that they don’t) and I decided to make some robin scenarios for anybody else out there who was feeling a bit down about their bodies and I want all of you to know that you are beautiful just the way you are.  (I know some parts were longer than others and I’m sorry but I hope they’re all equally lovable.)

(side note: I didn’t do Stephanie Brown even though she was a robin at one point because most people know her more as batgirl rather than robin and also the fact that she wasn’t even really robin for that long of a time so I decided to not put her in this but if someone wants me to do her I’d be glad to do it.)

(another fucking side note:  This post is quite long and I’m so sorry but it’s because I added all the robins.  Sorry again, if its like so long and annoying.  It’s just easier for me to upload it all at one time but I’ll post them separately if it’s more convenient for others.)

Dick Grayson

You were standing in the mirror getting ready for a night out with your friends as a pair of arms wrapped around your waist.  Before you could stop yourself the words, “Do I look fat?” slipped out of your mouth.  Dick’s arms slacked a little as he looked into the mirror at your face.  “What?” he asked with a slightly amused look.  “Never mind.  Forget what I said. It doesn’t matter.”  “No no no.  It does matter.  Why would you think that?”  He grabbed your wrist and turned you around saying, “You look gorgeous.  And besides you’re the sweetest, hottest person I’ve met, (y/n).”  Then, he proceeded to press kisses along your jawline.  You felt your cheeks burn a bright red as he looked into your eyes sweetly and said, “You know we can do other fun things here, rather going out today.” “No, I made a reservation, Dick.  But maybe, afterwards we can have a little dessert.” you said seductively while walking out the room.  *later after dinner*  “This isn’t the type of dessert I thought you were, (y/n).” you heard Dick whine for the 2nd time.  “It’s not my fault you have a naughty mind.” You said while slowly licking your spoon to free it of the rest of your ice cream.  Dick rolled his eyes as he tried to make a move on you for the 4th time while running his hands up your thighs and whispering your name into your ear softly.  You guys did have a fun night though after dessert *wink wink*

Jason Todd

You were running your hands up and down your body tracing your self conscious spots.  Jason came out in his swimming trunks and grabbed the bag that you had pre-packed from last night.  “Come on, (y/n).  We have to start going.  I wanna kick Dick’s butt at volleyball when we get to the beach.”  You smiled softly as you nodded and grabbed your sandals and a cover up.  “Is Alfred picking us up?”  “Yup, Bruce told me that they should be arriving here in about 5 minutes.”  Jason pressed a kiss to your cheek and he placed his free hand on your ass.  *at the beach*  “You sure you don’t wanna take that off and go for a swim or join us in volleyball?”  Jason asked you for the millionth time.  “No, I’m fine.”  You whispered as you looked around at the girls who had joined the family’s game of volleyball.  “At least take off that cover up.  You look like you’re burning.”  Jason’s voice started to change into a sound of worry and slight irritation at your stubbornness.  You shook your head while sighing and crossed your arms like a child who was rebelling.  Jason took a seat next to you and pulled your cover up off and started putting more sunscreen on you.  “Okay, if you don’t wanna play I’ll leave you alone but if this is because you feel self conscious then I’ll keep bugging you till the day ends.”  he said while puffing out a deep breath.  “You look great, y/n.”  He said before letting out a frustrated sigh and started again, “I suck at this.  I just want you to know that you’re hot, y/n.  Especially, at night when we play rumble.” he chuckled softly at your red face and kissed your collarbone then he got up to go play volleyball again.  “Hey,  I’m back guys.” he yelled out cheerfully as he hit a ball out of his face and towards Tim’s face.  You smiled at him and looked around as you thought “How did I get so lucky with a dumbass like him?”  Then, you went out onto the sand as a ball flew past your face by inches.  “Oh, it’s on, Drake.”

Tim Drake

Tim was typing away on his computer as you read over his shoulder.  “Is it an essay?”  “Yeah,  it has to be 5 pages.” he said without even looking up at you.  You smiled at the way that his eyebrows furrowed when he was concentrating, and the frustrated look that came upon his face when he was trying to think of a good word to use.  You left the room quietly and went to the kitchen to make Tim and yourself some food.  You fixed (y/f/f) and placed it on a plate.  You walked back into the room and placed the food in front of Tim.  “You should take a little rest, Tim.”  He smiled up into your (e/c) and then he kissed your wrist.  You watched him eat and just picked at your own food and took small bites.  “Are you not hungry?” “Uhhh. No not really.”  He looked into your eyes as he tried to see if you were telling the truth. You met his eyes as he looked away.  “You always (n/h) when you’re lying or nervous.  Also, you think I haven’t noticed that you pick at your food a lot lately.”  You laughed and said, “Of course.  I wouldn’t be able to fool one of the best detectives.”  He smiled softly and kissed the space between your lips and jaw.  “You’re perfect to me, y/n.  I….um...I”  Tim looked at you and stroked him thumb on your hand.  “Tim?” you asked getting concerned.  “I love you, y/n.  Why would you think that you’re not pretty or whatever.”  You smiled as he took another bite of the food and you kissed his forehead as you said, “This is why I love you.  You adorkable twat.”  Tim rolled his eyes slightly as he pinched your cheeks.  “I’m gonna go back to my paper.”  

Carrie Kelley

(side note:  I don’t really know that much about Carrie’s character so if I suck ass on this one, I’m sorry.  Also, this is like the millionth side note.)

You walked past Carrie as she was packing for a small camping trip that she was having at one of her friend’s backyards.  “Hey, do you know where my shirt is?  You know the one that has a whole bunch of holes in it but I still wear it.” You yelled in the direction where she was.  “Uhhhh.  I don’t think so.  Maybe you left it in the laundry?” she yelled back. “Why are you looking for it?”  You walked into the doorway of her room and said, “I was gonna wear it to go workout.  Or at least look like I went working out.”  She laughed slightly at your statement.  “I wish I was more like you, Carrie.” you said, “You’re cute, fit, and….just everything.”  Carrie looked up at you in surprise and laughed a little. “You’re perfect too, y/n”  She started to stand up and grabbed both of you wrists.  “You’re cute, pretty, awesome, great, and so much more that even I can’t name them all.”  You smiled at her comment as she pulled hair out of your face.  “Thanks.  I don’t know what I’d do without you.”  “Nothing.  Absolutely nothing because we’re like puzzles.  Without us together nothing will be right because we won’t make the picture.  I love you and you should know that.  You’re gorgeous.”  Your face started to light up like a red stoplight and you stroked her cheek in appreciation as you pulled her into a soft kiss.  

Damian Wayne

(side side note:  so, (b/f) means best friend and (l/f/t) means least favorite teacher.  (e/c) means eye color.

You came back from the day's class and walked into the apartment that you shared with your (b/f).  “Hey, babe.”  your friend called out to you as she pulled you into a one sided hug.  “Hey.”  You proceeded to drag yourself to your room in a tired feat.  “God, I hate (l/f/t). He always gives a pile of homework that isn’t even related to the actual class.”  You started taking your clothes off and sighed as the air passed your skin in a slight breeze. “Is that so?  Is the teacher doing his job correctly?”  you heard a voice come out from inside your closet.  Your whole body froze with goosebumps as you grabbed your sandal from the ground.  “Who the hell are you?”  you questioned as you pulled open the door and got into a defensive stance.  Your boyfriend Damian Wayne pulled you into a hug as he spinned(a/n: is spinned even correct.  IDK anymore at this point. I’m tired) you around and dipped you.  “Really?  A sandal.  Now, I know you can do better than that, y/n.”  He let out a soft chuckle as you struggled slightly and sat on the edge of your slightly messy bed.  Damian’s face went red as he noticed your half naked state and looked away.  “Put some clothes on.”  You looked down at your bare skin and grabbed a random shirt on the ground in embarrassment.  “You ready to head out, my love?”  Damian asked from outside the room.  You looked at your outfit one last time before stepping out the door.  *at fancy restaurant*  Your (b/f) was laughing with their s/o as you and Damian slipped into your own conversation.  Damian’s gaze looked past yours towards a blonde girl in the back of the room.  She was tall, skinny with perfect skin.  She kept winking and making smoochy faces at Damian.  Damian’s hand moved to your thigh and he smiled at you.  “Isn’t she pretty?”  you asked looking at the thigh that Damian’s hand was resting on.  “Huh?”  Damian looked down at your (e/c) eyes and stroked your hair.  “See.  You can’t even answer, Damian.”  “No.  It’s just that it’s so startling that you would think that.  You’re beautiful.  At least better than her I mean she’s making moves on me who is clearly taken by a beautiful beast like you.  You make me feel more attached to life, my love.”  He pulled your lips to his in a gentle gesture as your (b/f) suddenly burst out laughing and said, “Suck the food not each other’s faces guys.  At least wait till we’re home you two.”  You pulled your quickly reddening face away from Damian’s.  *later that night*  You and Damian just sat in you room and watched movies that you liked in a peaceful silence that couldn’t be anymore perfect than you imagined.

[dylan-hague]

Chapter 36

Titans Tower. May 11th, 2018. 4:34 PM.

Damian had to admit… being on bed rest had its perks.

Don’t misunderstand, he still hated not being out in the field; not using his talents to keep Jump City clean made him feel lazy, and not being able to do so made him feel impotent. But at the very least, he was able to contribute as an extra mind back at home base, and his father and sister had come to do their part to keep Jump protected for awhile (leaving Gotham in the hands of Todd, Kelley, and the GCPD until they returned). And aside from that, Damian did enjoy being able to spend more downtime with his friends than usual; even though they kept to their regular schedules, Damian’s regimen had always been more demanding than those of the other Titans. Now that he wasn’t constantly training, he was able to enjoy time with his teammates. A movie with Jon and Jaime, television with Garfield and Tara… he even found time to talk to Kori and learn a bit more about Tamaranean culture, which he’d brushed off before rather harshly. And of course, being stuck at home also came with the added bonus of spending more time with his fiancée; Raven insisted on being by his side at almost all times, which he quietly thanked Azar for again and again. It made his predicament of being stuck in a wheelchair for the remainder of his recovery much more bearable knowing it was her wheeling him around. (Damian still couldn’t wrap his head around the decision to put him in a chair; the doctors specifically said that he was fine, that there was no serious injury aside from his concussion. But apparently, walking around the hospital revealed that he had been damaging the muscles in his back little by little with each step, so now he wouldn’t be allowed to walk again until the wounds healed completely and the stitches came out.)

Hands down, though, the best part of the experience of being stuck at the Tower was getting to FaceTime Grayson and Barbara to see how Tommy was growing. For the past three days, Damian got a call at about three in the afternoon, and when he answered his phone, there on his screen popped up the little five-week-old baby, blinking and waving his hands around, reaching for his mother’s phone. He and Raven would sit on the couch or in Damian’s bed and coo into the camera, and he and Grayson would carry on about whatever cases they had been working on lately (the debate on the ethics of this had long since been abandoned, especially considering the fact that both Red X and Nightwing had been taught by Batman that any information relating to a crime was to be shared amongst members of the family, so that they could help one another protect their respective cities). Tommy was certainly still small; Damian had been told he was on the small side as an infant, but he never realized just how small that meant. Tommy was a month old, but he still fit perfectly well into his newborn clothes… perhaps all babies were like that, but it had never occurred to Damian before. Damian had held kittens bigger than his nephew. Still, looking into those bright blue eyes every day made the frustration of his current lack of mobility much easier to bear.

And then there were days like this one. Days that felt like they were spent almost entirely in bed, his Beloved curled up next to him, eyes shut as the afternoon sun cast yellow-orange rays of light in through his window. Days that felt still, quiet. Days that made the long-term goal of retiring seem more and more appealing. After all, if he wasn’t out fighting crime all night, wouldn’t that mean more quality time he could spend with his Raven? That sounded like a dream… of course, Damian knew he could never just quit. As much as it killed to admit it, the Son of Batman knew that the people of his city depended on him. But perhaps years from now, when things were better, once the world didn’t need heroes anymore… then he could rest. But for now, Damian smiled and focused on the woman with her head on his chest, letting his mind focus on her warmth, on the rise and fall of her quiet breath. He slowly pulled her closer in his arms, taking care not to wake her as he held her close to him. This was good… this made it worth not walking for awhile.

“Mmmh…”

Damian slowly opened one eye and peeked down at the girl beside him, and blushed at the little smile that played on her lips. She shifted a bit, crawling further up the bed in her sleep and nestling her head into Damian’s neck.

“Hmmm…” Raven sighed in her sleep as her hand ran up Damian’s chest before slipping it over his shoulder. Damian just smiled and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. She looked so happy like this… he would never forgive himself if he were to accidentally–

“Oh, Tiiiiiitaaaaaaaans~!”

… That bastard.

Raven groaned, pulling the covers over her head as Damian reached for his phone on the nightstand. “Make him go awaaaay…” the witch-girl whined groggily. Damian’s brow furrowed as he slid his mask back on and held the phone up to his face.

“What do you want, Riddler?” Red X growled.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! Did I mistakenly interrupt anything important?” Nygma’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “And please, PLEASE tell me you actually sleep with your mask on. That is so you.”

“Shut up and get on with your stupid riddle, Nashton,” Damian barked.

“Okay, one? Rude.” Riddler’s voice suddenly became harsh, angry. “Two, don’t EVER call me that. You call me Nygma or Riddler. Eddie Nashton is dead. And third, I’ll give you my riddles on my OWN schedule, when I decide I want you to be stumped. You’re very lucky that right now happens to be one of those times.”

“Look, I’m in the middle of recovering from surgery right now. I’m sort of stuck in a wheelchair for the time being, so forward your stupid game to Red Robin. He’s filling in for me.”

“O-oh. Oh? Well… that’s unfortunate.” His face was still concealed, but Damian swore he could practically hear Riddler frowning. “My puzzles require you to be able to move around Jump City. Given that that’s the case, I have to be able to challenge you physically in order to challenge you mentally. And if I can’t properly challenge you physically, then there’s no point to the challenges I’ve put together for you!”

“Look, just…” Damian rubbed his eyes in frustration, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “I know you can get into contact with Red Robin. Just pose all your challenges to him, he’s here subbing for me. Okay? I need to get back to sleep. The sooner I get healed, the sooner I can get back to my job…”

“But I wasn’t planning on beating Red Robin until after you! This is all wrong!!” Damian could detect the panic in Riddler’s voice.

“Look, I’m… sorry? I guess? But I’m not going anywhere for awhile. Just… deal with it.” Damian hit the end call button, dropping the phone back onto his nightstand as Raven’s head crept out from underneath the blanket.

“Damian…?”

“Yeah, Raven?”

“… being a superhero sucks.”

“… Yeah, it does.”

The witch-girl slowly lifted her head up and stared blankly at the glass walk at the far end of the room. She raised a lazy hand, and the curtains pulled themselves shut, blocking out the late-day sunbeams. Damian grinned as Raven brought herself back down over him, wrapping her arm back around his neck. She’d best take care, or she was going to slip out of the hero habit. But one more day of lazing around in bed wouldn’t hurt anyone, would it? He put his arms around her waist, and decided to himself that no, it wouldn’t hurt anyone at all. In fact, Raven could use the break after everything going on recently with his injury, and helping train Jonathan, and the false Red X. She’s been working so hard lately, she needed to rest a bit; she hardly ever took any personal time. Barring his family, he hadn’t seen someone so dedicated to what they do since…

“… Oh crap, that’s it.”

…

Tim chuckled as he darted across the training room, narrowly evading Jon’s heat vision as he ran circles around the fourteen-year-old. He was happy to help train the new Titans as best he could, but this? This was just fun. Apparently, Superman’s son trains by getting really mad. And if there was anything Dick taught him about being a Robin, it was how to piss people off. The kid was fast, sure, maybe even faster than a speeding bullet. But Tim knew how to distract, keep Jon’s eyes off him, even in the open space of the training room. He was getting better, almost managed to slice through Tim’s cape a minute ago, but he still had a lot to learn; Jon let his heat control his actions, affect his judgment. He needed to learn to use his head.

“STAND STILL SO I CAN BLAST YOU, YA DUMB BIRD!!” Jon yelled as he whipped his head around, firing another burst of heat from his eyes that just barely singed Red Robin’s hair. Tim’s eyes widened as he  arced through the air, and he almost hesitated as he lighted on the floormat. But Tim was nothing if not a quick thinker, and he realized it was probably time to go on the offensive.

“Come on, short stack! You’re getting carried away, that’s dangerous!” the former Titan jeered as he began to serpentine his way closer to Jon. He reached into his belt and quickly equipped his set of red knuckles–he knew Kryptonite was going to be the only way he’d be able to turn this around without those bulky suits of armor Bruce had designed, but Tim had no intention of killing the kid. After a quick front flip over Jon’s head (for style points; Steph was watching, after all), Tim dropped into stance and threw a jab at the boy’s face. Jon quickly shifted out of the way, throwing his own hands up and moving into the offensive. He fought like a boxer once his powers were gone–Damian had no doubt been teaching him a thing or two. The kid was quick, bobbing and weaving in and out of Tim’s range like a moth dancing around a candle. But Red Robin just smirked and closed the gap, throwing a few more shots Jon’s way. One punch caught the little guy right in the side, and he dropped for just a second. Tim saw the opportunity, and raised his hands over his head to bring the hammer down and wrap this fight up, but Jon recovered just in time, and a loud CRACK sounded through the room as Superboy connected a fierce uppercut to Tim’s jaw, sending the human flying across the room and leaving a sizable crack in the wall. At this point Starfire, who was observing from the sidelines, decided that was enough for today, and moved in to calm Jon down.

“That’s enough, Jonathan!!” Kori shouted, locking her arms around the hybrid alien. Jonathan struggled in her arms for a moment before sucking in several heated breaths through grit teeth. “Calm down, it’s alright! You’re okay, Jonny…”

“Don’t call me Jonny…” Jon hissed. “Don’t call me… hah… hahh… huhhhhhh…”

“Sorry…” Kori whispered, stroking the youngest Titan’s hair. “I won’t do it again, okay?”

Jon nodded as the red glow faded from his eyes, and his body relaxed. “Mm… M'kay, I… I’m good…”

“There you are, little one…” the Tamaranean cooed as she squeezed Jon gently. “You’re okay now.”

“M'kay…”

Tim wiped the sweat from his brow, and grinned up at the camera where he knew Stephanie was looking back at him. “How’d we do, babe?”

“Not bad T, but don’t get cocky!” Spoiler’s voice crackled over the intercom. “You did pretty good to, Jonno! Real crash stuff there!”

Jon slowly sank to the floor in exhaustion. “Thanks Ms. Stephanie… I’m doin’ my best…”

“Whoa… Tim, you better get up here. Bruce is back, and… you just need to get up here.”

Tim paused for a brief moment before walking out of the Training Room and heading for the Security Office. Steph seemed really worried over the intercom, which worried Tim. Was it about Damian’s recovery, or something else?

As Tim stepped into the Security Office, he was greeted by Bruce’s grimacing face… and Talia’s. Tim wasn’t expecting, but his brother’s mother stood there looking back at him. And… oh crap, she was wearing a new uniform. Black suit, grey cloak, claws… some kind of blade on her right hand? What is this??

“… Bruce, what is this?”

Bruce let out a growl under his breath. “Damian thinks he’s figured out who the fake X is. Turns out, she’s got incredibly close ties to the al Ghuls… so we’re bringing in Talia to hunt her down.”

Tim nodded slowly. “Okay… so what do we call her?”

Talia pulled on her mask and hood. “You may call me…” she hissed through her voice modulator. “… Phantasm.”

[my-one-love-is-music]

Promises of Tomorrow’s Yesterday ch. 14

Hey everybody!!! Hope you're excited for a new chapter!!! I think that we might be getting close to the end of this fic and there might only be a couple of chapters left. (I'll know more after the next one.)

But for now...enjoy an update! I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope that you're excited for it. :D

Also on AO3!

               Jason sighed as his alarm went off. He stared up at the ceiling and listened as the cheery melody began to repeat itself. He reached over and pulled his phone over to himself, silencing the irritating sound. It was far too happy for the fact that he wouldn’t be able to see Tim that afternoon. The next week was going to be hell. They’d just started getting along again and now he was going to be all alone. For a week. God this sucked.

               Reluctantly, he pushed himself from the bed and slowly made his way around his bedroom, pulling off his pajamas and pulling on his clothes for the day. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his phone, trudging down the hallway and to the kitchen where his mom was already hard at work making breakfast.

               “Morning, honey!” she greeted cheerfully.

               Jason took one look at her and saw the bags under her eyes, hair and uniform in slight disarray.

               “Mom, have you even gone to bed yet?” he asked, letting his bag fall to his feet.

               She sighed and carried to plates over to the table, sitting down heavily in her own chair as Jason moved over to the cabinet to grab a glass and fill it with juice.

               “Sadly, no. I was about to fall into bed when I noticed that you’d be getting up in a few minutes anyway so I thought there was no harm in making breakfast before I crash.”

               “I thought you didn’t have an overnight shift yesterday?”

               “I didn’t, but one of the other nurses had an emergency and they needed someone to stay and I was there and available. They gave me time and a half so it’ll help with the paycheck and I don’t have to work again until tomorrow morning, giving me plenty of time to catch up on sleep.”

               “Okay,” Jason said, feeling doubtful. “If you get hungry, there are some leftovers in the fridge from one of my friends. It’s some pretty good food and it means not having to cook so that’s a plus.”

               His mom gave him a tired and obviously grateful smile. “That sounds wonderful, but you didn’t have to bring that back for me.”

               He shrugged. “They insisted.”

               Silence fell between the two of them as they continued to eat breakfast. The warm food helped to wake Jason up and made him feel better about not being able to see Tim that afternoon. Or for the next week at that, unless Tim decided to reach out for him. He was conflicted between wanting to text them and reach out himself, but they’d seemed troubled the night before and he wasn’t sure if it was something that he’d done or not. He wanted to give Tim space, but he also wanted to know what they were thinking and feeling. He wanted to become an important aspect of their life again and be able to have those conversations that had meant so much to him before.

               Jason blinked down at his now-empty place, unsure of when he’d finished all of his food. Doing his best to shake himself from the daze that he’d so easily fallen into, he picked his plate up and carried it to the sink, reaching for the dish soap to clean it up.

               “Jason you don’t need to do the dishes. Head off to school, I can take care of those,” his mom spoke up from behind him.

               He glanced over at the clock. “I have time. And it’s only two plates so it shouldn’t take too long,” he said, pulling the other one from his mom’s hands and setting it in the sink as he turned on the tap. “You should go to sleep. You look exhausted and I’d rather know that you’re safe in bed before I leave than struggling to keep your eyes open.”

               She gave him a kiss on the cheek and ruffled his hair. “What did I ever to do deserve a son as wonderful as you?” she murmured as she walked out of the kitchen and towards her bedroom.

               Jason felt his chest tighten at the words. “It’s far too early to be experiencing these kinds of emotions,” he huffed, renewing his scrubbing with added fervor and refusing to think about how his mom didn’t know how much those words really impacted him.

               He finished the dishes and left them to dry in the rack as he headed out the door to his usual bus. As he put his headphones in and selected his playlist for the day, phone buzzing in his hand just as the first song started to play. He opened the new message and couldn’t contain the grin that pulled at his lips.

 Tim: On a scale of 1 to Hulk, how mad do you think Bane would get at me for taking the next week off?

 Jason: I think you might be getting pretty close to Hulk on that one. He might not Hulk out at you, but he would definitely be disappointed.

 Jason: He was already pretty mad about losing me, but I think he’d like to have at least one instructor now that he’s getting his new set of classes off the ground.

 Tim: Ugh, you’re probably right. Guess I can’t get out of this one.

 Jason: Any particular reason why you don’t want to handle the classes yourself?

 Tim: Because it’s going to suck. You’re better with people thank I am…

 Jason: That all? Doesn’t make me feel very important :(

 Tim: Well…

 Jason: You’re worried about a repeat of what just happened yesterday aren’t you?

Tim: Yeah…

 Tim: Is that bad? I know a lot of people at the gym are pretty accepting, mainly because that’s how Bane designed it, but I can’t help but wonder…

 Tim: It’s just all of these what ifs going through my head. I just want them to stop.

 Jason: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. Now we both have to suffer through the next week.

                 Jason stumbled a bit as the bus came to a stop and he looked up, shocked that they were already where he needed to get off. He shouldered his bag and quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket, hurrying out the doors and down the street to his school. He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out, checking the time and ignoring Tim’s message for the moment. He was going to cut it close, but Jason knew that he could make it.

               He burst through the double doors and hurried down the nearly deserted hall that only held the last stragglers. He ignored his locker, knowing he didn’t have time to stop and already had his things for his first class anyway. He picked up his pace, cutting close corners and nearly skidded through the door to his first class just as the bell rang.

               “Cutting it rather close there, Mr. Todd. Please take your seat.”

               Jason grinned and trudged down the aisle to his seat, still struggling to catch his breath. He nearly collapsed into it and placed a hand over his stomach. He hadn’t felt this out of shape in years and it strangely wasn’t entirely unwelcome. He pulled out his things for the class and sat back as his teacher’s voice began to fill the room.

               He sat down heavily at lunch and quickly unwrapped the burger that he’d gotten. He’d just taken his first bite when Roy and Kori joined him with their own food trays. Kori looked incredibly pleased with herself and Roy just looked like he wanted to get the hell out of school.

               “What’s up with you two?” Jason asked around his mouthful of food.

               Roy groaned and let his forehead hit the table in front of him.

               “Roy has agreed to come with me to the football game tomorrow night. I am sure that it is going to be really fun! You are coming, too? Aren’t you Jason?” she asked hopefully.

               Jason shrugged. “Yeah. I was already thinking about going anyway so why not.”

               “You were actually wanting to go to the game?!” Roy exclaimed, still not lifting his head from the table. “Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?”

               “Quit being such a drama queen. It’s just a football game, jeez.”

               Roy sighed and leaned back in his chair, finally picking up the slice of pizza that he’d gotten. “I don’t understand the barbaric practice of football at all. What’s so entertaining about it anyway?”

               “Just track down a cute girl and you’ll be fine,” Jason said, waving him off.

               He grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath and turned his eyes down to his tray as he shoved more pizza into his mouth.

               Jason just rolled his eyes at his friend and gave Kori a knowing look. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, happy to just be doing something. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, keeping it discretely out of sight underneath the table. Faculty usually didn’t venture this far into the cafeteria and they were much more relaxed about using phones during lunch, but his luck had already been pretty shitty the day before and he wasn’t about to take any chances.

 Tim: You were just helping me out. There’s nothing to apologize for.

 Tim: Why is it that Fridays always seem to drag on forever?

 Jason: Because we’re so close to freedom that we have to be tortured even more before we get it.

 Tim: Not only that, but my school decided to throw a stupid pep rally in support of the game tomorrow. Kill me now. The thought of sitting in the gym while the faculty prattle on about the jocks makes me want to vomit.

 Jason: So skip

 Tim: …

 Tim: What time do you get out of class?

 Jason: 2:25. Why?????

 Tim: You should skip with me.

                 “What the fuck?” Jason muttered under his breath, brow furrowing in confusion.

               “Everything okay over there?” Roy asked.

               “Yeah, fine,” he answered, distracted as he slowly typed out a reply.

 Jason: I can’t just ditch class.

 Tim: But, Jasoooooonnnnnn

 Tim: It’s Friday. Live your life on the edge a bit. Nothing interesting is probably going to happen in your last class.

 Jason: I can’t just leave school.

 Tim: Fine…

 Tim: I guess I can just go to Bane’s alone and chill there until the class this afternoon.

 Jason: Maybe next time….

 Tim: Really?!

 Jason: Maybe.

                 Jason hastily put his phone away and looked around to make sure that no one had seen him with it. He hunched his shoulders over the table and returned to his food, hoping that no one would say anything.

               “What was that?” Roy asked.

               “Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Jason said, knowing he sounded far more defensive than he needed to be.

               “You’re texting your crush, aren’t you?” he asked, eyes lighting up with glee and delight.

               “None of your business, Roy,” he hissed.

               “Oh my God, you are! Who is it?” he asked, looking around the cafeteria. “Do they go here? Do I know them?”

               “They don’t go here so stop it.”

               “Well what did they want then?” he asked, turning back to face Jason who buried his face in his hands.

               “They wanted me to skip my last class to meet up.”

               “What?!” Roy screeched.

               Jason glared up at him.

               “And you aren’t going? Why the fuck not, man? You know things are serious when they ask you to skip class. That means they want to do stuff. Dude, you’re totally missing out.”

               He rolled his eyes. “Trust me. Nothing would’ve happened. They just didn’t want to be alone.”

               “And you’re still staying here because?”

               Thankfully, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang much to Jason’s relief.

               “We’ll finish this later,” Roy vowed.

               Jason just shook his head and picked up his tray to take over to the return. He gripped the straps of his backpack as he headed out of the cafeteria, intent on avoiding Roy for the rest of the day.

               The end of the day came slowly and his last class had crawled by. Tim had texted him again telling him that he could still skip and come with him to spend the afternoon around Gotham. He’d refused again. He’d wanted to go, but knew that he would probably end up feeling that much worse when Tim had to go off to work and he was left to a lonely bus ride back home.

               Jason moved quietly through the apartment and fell heavily onto his mattress, letting his backpack fall to the floor next to his bed. He reached over and grabbed his pillow, pulling it underneath his head and banging his forehead against it a couple of times to make a suitable indent for himself.

               “Tough day?”

               He rolled over and looked at his mom who was standing in the doorway, looking far more refreshed than she had that morning. “Just long and tiring, that’s all.”

               “At least it’s Friday,” she said, walking over to his bed and sitting on the edge next to his torso. “You can relax and sleep in tomorrow.” She reached over and started running her fingers through Jason’s hair. “That food your friend let you bring back was delicious. I really appreciated it.”

               “Yeah. It was pretty good.”

               “There’s enough left over for dinner tonight so I hope that you’re ready for round two.”

               “Sounds great, Mom,” he said shutting his eyes

               “Well, I’ll leave you to it,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Go read a book or something.”

               Jason laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

               “I’ll pop in and get you when it’s time for dinner,” she said, walking out and shutting the door behind her.

               Jason watched the door for a minute after it was closed and toed off his shoes that were still on his feet, letting them fall to the floor with a muffled thud. He pushed himself into a sitting position and pulled off his jacket, throwing that over to his desk chair and ultimately missing its target and falling to the floor instead. He leaned over the edge of the bed and rifled through his backpack, pulling out the half-finished novel that he’d been working his way through. He readjusted his pillow and opened to his marked page, leaving himself to read.

               He furrowed his brow at the sound of soft knocking.

               “Jason? Dinner’s ready.”

               He blinked his eyes opened and looked to find his mom pushing the door open. He rubbed a hand over his face and looked over to where his book had been pushed aside when he’d fallen asleep. He didn’t even remember falling asleep honestly.

               “Come on, sleepyhead. Let’s eat and then you can go back to bed,” she said, pulling him up.

               Jason covered his mouth as he made to yawn and followed his mom back to the kitchen. “I didn’t even realize I was that tired.”

               She patted his shoulder and sat him down in front of a full plate of food before taking her own seat. Jason thought that he was probably eating while half-asleep but he couldn’t be bothered to care. The food was warm and tasted delicious. He’d have to try and take more leftovers from Tim more often. That would also mean that he would have to see Tim more often and he was most certainly not against that idea.

               Before he even had time to try and take the dishes over to the sink, his mom was picking up everything on the table and giving him a look that quelled an arguments or protests that he might have.

               “I can do the dishes. I’ve had all day to sleep. Now it’s your turn.”

               Jason wanted to protest. He really did, but the thought of crawling back into his warm bed won out and forced the words to die on his tongue. He simply nodded and sluggishly pushed his chair back before heading back to his bed. He slipped underneath his comforter this time, sighing in contentment and reached down to his backpack for his phone. He was surprised that Tim had texted him yet again.

 Tim: You better not do anything to piss Bane off again. Leading classes alone absolutely sucks.

                 He smiled. He knew that he should feel bad on some level and he actually did, but he couldn’t help but be pleased that Tim wanted him there and missed him. It was definitely an improvement over where they’d been before and he was happy that they’d come this far.

 Jason: I wouldn’t say that I necessarily pissed him off, he just had to do something to show that he wouldn’t tolerate that type of behavior. You know that that kid’s parents are going to complain and he had to prove that he did something about it.

 Jason: I’ll be back before you know it, I promise.

 Tim: Fine.

                 Jason could almost hear how Tim would’ve sounded saying that to him out loud. Could almost imagine the cute pout that their lips would’ve formed and how they would’ve crossed their arms.

 Jason: It’s okay to tell me that you miss me.

 Tim: I don’t miss you. I simply don’t want to have to do both your job and my job together. We were supposed to be leading these classes together.

 Jason: Admit it, you miss me.

 Tim: Did you not read what I just wrote?

                 Jason chuckled as his eyes grew heavy. He felt warm, almost too warm from his heavy blanket and from the emotions and happiness swelling in his chest and how evasive Tim was being about something that Jason was obviously right about.

 Tim: Fine. I miss you. But only a little bit.

 Jason: Was that so hard?

 Tim: Now get your ass back to work fast so I don’t have to deal with so many people by myself.

 Jason: Okay

                 Jason set his phone aside and pulled his comforter around him more tightly. He felt giddy. Almost too happy. He almost thought that his happiness was going to completely overwhelm him and that he’d drown in it. It would be the perfect way to die in his opinion.