#robin's just going through a lot right now okay? and it's not going to get any better

[suzukiblu]

WIP excerpt for TabethaRasa behind the cut; “Robin gets nested”. content warnings: Aftermath of sex pollen triggering an omegaverse heat cycle in a minor. No sex or SA; just a pack dynamics speedrun for a very stressed-out preteen with a tire iron. (( chrono || non-chrono ))

“What the fuck, man,” Jason mutters, an’ Robin purrs all sweet an’ happy an’ nuzzles him again, givin’ him another squeeze wit’ the arm he’s still got wrapped fully ‘round him an’ cradlin’ the rest’a his body in his lap, an’ still pointin’ out across the streets an’ alleys below. 

“Hooooome, babypup,” Robin chirps contentedly, beamin’ all happy into Jason’s greasy, tangled hair. Jason . . . blinks, and keeps starin’ at the view. 

Robin don't live in the Alley, he thinks accusingly. There ain’t no way Robin lives in the Alley. So what the fuck’s he talkin’ ‘bout, “home”? 

Then he refocuses his eyes, kinda, an’ tries t’narrow down–where exactly is Robin pointin’ right now? 

He can’t actually tell, Jason realizes, but it ain’t quite . . . it’s a lot higher than it should be, Jason can’t help feelin’. 

So like–what the fuck, again? 

“Home home,” Robin croons, an’ then wraps both arms ‘round him again an’ jus’–jus’ hugs him real tight an’ real close an’–an’ like he still ain’t remembered he ain’t got no pup. Which, like–okay, Robin’s presented, so maybe he does have a pup somewhere. But ain’t no way that pup’s more’n a few months old if he does, so it ain’t like it’s fuckin’ likely. An’ either way, it definitely ain’t Jason. “Baaabypup. Fly!” 

Jason has no fuckin’ clue what the fuck’s fuckin’ goin’ on in this fuckin’ weirdo’s head. 

Robin is fer sure a weirdo, though. 

“We gotta actually go home, dumbass,” he manages, an’ then feels like kinda an asshole for callin’ Robin a dumbass when he’s all heated-up an’ only heated-up at all ‘cuz of how stupid whoever the fuck wrote “Park Row” on that fuckin’ truckful of cycle pollen’s fuckin’ paperwork was, the stupid fuckin’ stupid fuck.

“. . . ‘go’?” Robin repeats, still staring out towards the skyline, an’ furrows his brow in . . . concern, maybe? Or . . . somethin’, anyway. 

Jesus fuck, Jason thinks, an’ then exhales in a rough huff an’ tightens his arm ‘round Robin’s neck an’ just–just makes himself make–

Jason makes a whiny lil’ pup-sound, an’ Robin immediately refocuses in on ‘im with his big huge eyes both lookin’ like lil’ moons in his mask. 

Weirdo, Jason thinks again, an’ buries his face in Robin’s shoulder so he don’t gotta look at nobody lookin’ at him like that. Most people don’t even look at him at all no more, an’ he don’t want ‘em to, ‘cuz it’s safer that way. 

Robin keeps lookin’, though, an’ keeps callin’ ‘im–

Even before Jason bit ‘im, Robin was callin’ ‘im “babypup” an’ actin’ like he thought he was a fuckin’ baby or what the fuck ever, like he’s even that much older’n him anyway, the fuckin’ weirdo, like that ain’t–jus’, whatever. Robin pro’ly ain’t even more’n five years older’n ‘im, if that, so obviously he got hit real fuckin’ hard with that fuckin’ cycle pollen, given he’s been lookin’ at fuckin’ Jason an’ callin’ ‘im that, but like–whatever. It ain’t–it don’t–

It ain’t important; it don’t matter. 

Robin’s just all drugged-up an’ heated-up an’ he didn’t pick gettin’ all drugged-up, he pro’ly only fuckin’ even came out t’night t’help people, so like–so it’s just–

S’stupid, but it ain’t Robin’s fault. 

“We gotta go home,” Jason repeats into Robin’s shoulder, an’ Robin croons worriedly at him an’ curls in tighter around ‘im an’ strokes his fingers through his hair like–like he really–like Jason ain’t all dirty an’ stray an’–

Like Robin wants t’be doin’ it. 

Dumbass, Jason thinks again, an’ swallows around the knife of a lump in his throat.

[snowangeldotmp3]

mrs. click's class, october 1983... with a little bit of a twist.

[brown-little-robin]

I need to sleep for 70 hours and then maybe I'll feel not evil again

[hairmetal666]

"But why is he here all the time," he whines to Robin. She doesn't like him much, but Scoops is empty, and what else is he supposed to do? Not speak to her at all?

"Why do you care what Eddie Munson is doing at the mall."

"I don't care." He scoffs, rolls his eyes. "He's just always here. Doesn't he have anything better to do?"

"Do you?"

"He doesn't work here."

"Haven't seen you doing a lot of work here, Steve."

"You spent forty minutes yesterday drawing on your sneakers."

She shakes her head, but doesn't say anything because he's right and she knows it.

He goes back to staring at Munson, sitting on the edge of the fountain. He's relaxed back, legs spread, looking like he owns the place. The way he's leaning, his t-shirt rides up, showing a tantalizing glimpse of pale skin and the lightest dusting of hair. He doesn't remember his mouth being so dry before.

"You're such an idiot." Robin smacks herself down beside him. "Eddie's a good guy. Is this just because he's the freak and you're King Steve?"

"No!" He says it too loud, a few people in the foodcourt turn to stare. "I'm not that guy anymore. That's all just--" he flaps his hand, can't find the words.

She makes a disbelieving noise, eyes narrow. "I'll never forgive you if you hurt him."

Robin stomps off to the backroom before he can stop her, tell her he doesn't want to hurt Munson.

One of Eddie's friends says something that has Eddie stretching back to hear, pulling his shirt higher, flashing the dark line of a tattoo, and that's too much, that has him slamming his eyes closed, rubbing at his brow but all he can think is--

cold cinder block at his back, hot mouths and fumbling hands and long, deft fingers; desperate, bitten off moans; hands fisted into long curls; the hot, bittersweet taste of him

It was only a handful of times, quick encounters in the locker room, once under the bleachers in the gym. And Steve, he'd never--it didn't mean anything, but it meant everything, and Eddie's been all he can think of for months.

A group of middle school girls comes in, then, and he forgets about Munson as he scoops ice cream and blends milkshakes. The next time he looks to the fountain, Eddie is gone

---

Steve cleans up the remnants of a dropped milkshake at the store entrance, and his shorts are a little too tight, okay, he can feel the way they pull around his hips when he bends too much, but he has to clean the tile before the rush starts and customers complain. There's one spot, though, it's already dried, has to really put his back into it.

The food court is crowded by the time he finishes, bustling with customers. He turns to grab the bucket, and stops dead in his tracks. Munson sits on one of the built-in planters directly behind him. He was staring at Steve's polyester clad ass, but now his eyes travel up Steve's body, getting darker with desire as they go.

He's trapped in place by the force of Eddie's gaze, by the want there. They stare at each other in silence, Steve's blood thumping a vigorous rhythm.

The moment breaks when Robin's voice, calling his name, catches his attention. He turns back to his work without a word, but inside he's reeling.

---

Steve's opening alone, comes out from the back, and there Eddie is, lounging on the fountain rim with a magazine in hand. It's been a couple of days since he's been around, not since the incident. He watches as Munson languidly flips through the pages, seeming not to have a care in the world, and he--

Well, he's never really had to wait around for something he wants.

He stalks over to the fountain, stops when the tips of his sneakers touch the toes of Eddie's boots. And, yeah, he's in his dorky sailor outfit, but Munson didn't seem to mind the other day. Steve thinks maybe he likes it.

"Munson," he says. His hands are on his hips.

Eddie looks up, slow, taking Steve in. He leans back further, crosses his legs at the ankle. "Harrington."

They stare at each other. Steve starts biting his lip. Not as a move--he's nervous, suddenly, that all of this is a waste and Eddie isn't interested--but Munson's gaze hooks on his mouth, lingers, like a warm caress.

Steve's never initiated things between them before, isn't sure if it's working. He takes the chance, though, starts walking away.

He crosses through the seating area, past the counter, into the back, doesn't know for sure if Eddie is following until the door doesn't close right away behind him.

There's a single beat of a second where they watch each other and neither moves, before Eddie is on him, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him into the wall.

"What the fuck is this, Harrington, huh?" They're close enough for their noses to touch. "You ignore me for months and now--"

"You're here all the fucking time," he snaps back. "Sitting in the same spot like you own the place."

"So, I'm not allowed to be at the mall now?" Eddie sneers. "God forbid I'm in sight of the king."

Steve tries to pull away. "That's not what this is, and you know it."

"Then what is it, Stevie? Spell it out for me real slow to make sure I understand." He leans in, a little, and Steve stops breathing.

Eddie's lips brush his, a gentle press that isn't quite a kiss, not yet. His knees go weak, the wall at his back the only thing holding him up, but the kiss doesn't deepen. Instead, Eddie steps back, laughs. "You think I'm this easy, sweetheart? That you can lure me with your little sailor costume and I'll come without a fight?"

"Am I wrong?"

Eddie scoffs, turns his head, and Steve thinks he overplayed it, that his misread everything.

"Fuck you, Harrington." Eddie grabs him, then, hands fisting into his sailor shirt. "Fuck you and this stupid, sexy outfit. Fuck you for knowing this would work on me."

His mouth presses against Steve's throat, and he moans, clinging to Eddie's jacket.

"Listen to you, sweetheart," Eddie murmurs. "Making all those desperate, pathetic sounds for me. Almost like you missed me or something."

"I did." He groans as Eddie's mouth moves along his jaw. "Missed you so much, haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

Eddie sinks his teeth into Steve's cheek, and he has to stifle his shout. He's harder than he can remember ever being before, thinks he could come just from the feel of Eddie's teeth in his skin.

"That's not what you told Billy," Eddie says. "When he almost caught us."

"I didn't want him to hurt you," he gasps. "I--I didn't want him to have a reason."

Eddie pulls away, Steve grasping after him. "I can handle Hargrove."

"He hit me in the head with a plate." Steve points to the small scar on his forehead. "That's how I got that concussion last year."

"Oh," Eddie blinks. He cards his fingers through Steve's hair, pulling it out of the way to see the scar better. "Sweetheart. I thought--" he swallows, throat working. "I--I keep coming here to see you. I wanted--"

His hand falls to Steve's neck, drawing him in. For a second, Steve thinks it's another tease, but Eddie does kiss him this time. It's deep, desperate, so thorough he thinks Eddie's memorizing the taste of him. He doesn't want it to ever stop, not for a second.

Outside, someone starts hammering on the counter bell, shouting for service.

They slip apart, Eddie still gently cradling the back of Steve's neck. "Come over tonight?" Eddie's eyes are so dark, wanting, he could drown in them.

"Yes." Because there is no other answer.

He lets Eddie out the back door just as Robin yells from the front, "Harrington! We have a customer! I haven't clocked in yet!"

"Be right there," he yells back, but not fast enough that she doesn't catch a glimpse of Eddie slipping out.

She whirls to him, brow in an angry furrow. "Steve! I told you not to hurt him!"

He can't stop his smile. "Buckley, I promise you, Munson can take care of himself."

[wonderjanga]

Marvel and the Street Kids

Billy likes helping people. Especially people who have, and are still going through something he’s also experienced. Hunger, brokeness, homelessness, if you’ve had to go through any of those things, Billy’s probably going to favor you more than most of the other people he’s saved. I mean, after all, he knows what all of that feels like. It’s why he helps out around soup kitchens a lot. It’s why he donates a hefty bit of his paycheck to homeless shelters and charities. It’s why he works to keep drugs off the streets, and crime at a low. He doesn’t want anyone, man, woman, or child to experience what he has. So, here’s a couple instances where he’s helping some homeless kids we know. (Btw this is the same AU as the Billy and the Robins post. In that post, basically Billy knew Dick and Jason when the two were both Robins) Roy: *in Speedy costume* “Hey Robin, who do you go to whenever you need advice?”

Robin!Jason: *in Robin costume* “Batman, why?”

Roy: “Right, cool. Cool, but what if you can’t ask him a certain question?”

Robin!Jason: “Oh, then I go to Marvel!”

Roy: “Marvel? Like Captain Marvel?”

Robin!Jason: “Yeah!”

Roy: “Huh. Uh… okay then.”

Robin!Jason: “Why do you ask?”

Roy: “No reason.”

Then, a little bit after Oliver kicked Roy out, Marvel was in Star City because Green Arrow needed him for whatever. As of now, Roy was walking down the street, upset because obviously. It’s been an about three days since he was kicked out by someone he considered his dad. All because he had a wee little problem with painkillers, and wee little problem with heroin. You’re supposed to help people who’re addicted. Especially if they’re family. You don’t just kick them out… right?

Roy: *walking down the sidewalk*

Marvel: *flying when he sees him*

Roy: *not paying attention*

Marvel: *flies down in front of him*

Roy: *bumps into Marvel* “Hey, watch where you’re goooo…wha…?” *slowly looks up until he’s craning his neck to look up at him*

Marvel: “Aren’t you GA’s boy?” *looks confused* “What’re you doing out this late?”

Roy: “What?”

Marvel: “Yeah! You’re uh…” *snaps fingers a couple times, thinking* “Speedy. Right?”

Roy: “Do I know you…?” *looks Marvel up in down*

Marvel: “Oh, my bad.” *holds hand out for handshake* “I’m Captain Marvel. I don’t think we’ve properly met.”

Roy: *doesn’t shake hand* “Well you already know me. I’m Speedy.” *shrugs*

They both talk. Marvel gets Roy to open up a bit after he gets the kid a hotdog. While they’re both sitting on a bench eating their respective hotdogs, (I saw the Marvel in civvies post and he’s wearing that exact fit. He magicked up the red sweater, the yellow hat, and the jeans so they could eat in peace) the archer remembers his conversation with Jason. So, he decides he might as well bite the bullet since his friend hyped up the guy so much.

Roy: “Hey… I gotta ask something.”

Marvel: “Hm?” *mid chew*

Roy: “You wouldn’t happen to know any good struggle meals, would you?”

Marvel: *finishes hotdog* “Yeah? I do. You wanna learn some?”

Roy: *hasn’t told Marvel about him being homeless now* “Yeah.” *takes bite of his hotdog*

Marvel: “Okie doki then.”

Roy: “You aren’t gonna ask why?”

Marvel: “It’s not really my place. Unless you want me to ask?”

Roy: “Nah, not really.” *finishes his hotdog*

Marvel: “Then I won’t.” *stands up* “Alright! To the nearest Chuck E. Cheese!” *points in a random direction*

Roy: *also stands up, raising a brow at him. Moves Marvel’s arm in the correct direction* “Why are we going to a Chuck E. Cheese?”

Marvel: “You’ll see. Cmon!” *starts jogging in the direction Roy corrected him to*

Roy: “Dude, wait up!”

When they’re now outside the Chuck E. Cheese…

Marvel: “Alright. So, here’s what you’re gon— Are you good?”

Roy: *out of breath because they just ran about three blocks* “Yeah… Yeah. I’m good. Just uh— gimme a sec.”

Marvel: *gives him until he feels better*

Roy: *looking better now* “So, what were you saying?”

Marvel: “Right, so what you’re gonna be doing is, see those tables?” *gestures to the booths through the Chuck E. Cheese’s windows. Some booths have leftover pizza and chicken wings in them*

Roy: *nods head*

Marvel: “Okay, great. So you’re gonna go steal all of that.”

Roy: *blinks at him before the most befuddled, bamboozled, puzzled expression crosses his face* “What?”

Marvel: “You’re going. To steal. All of that.” *gestures to the tables again*

Roy: *looks between Marvel and the tables* “Dude, I am not stealing scraps from the fucking Chuck E. Cheese tables.”

Marvel: “How else do you expect to get food then?”

Roy: “I don’t know! I expected you to teach me some cheap recipes or something stupid like that!”

Marvel: “Oooooooh, so you don't want struggle meals then.”

Roy: “No, I do. A struggle meal is something like a ketchup sandwich. This is way worse than a goddamn struggle meal.”

Marvel: “You and I clearly have different definitions of a struggle meal, but okay. Also, chill with the cursing, man. I can teach you something cheap if that’s what you actually want.”

Roy: “Okay then, thank you, because the day I need to steal scraps from a Chuck E. Cheese, is the day I lose my dignity.”

Marvel: “Yeah, yeah, come on. Let’s just go to a grocery store.”

Then, there was Cassandra Cain. She was homeless for about nine years before she went to Gotham when she was seventeen. During her homelessness, she never really stayed in one place. One of the places she ended up in was Fawcett when she was about sixteen. There, she met Captain Marvel. She man saved her from a mugging she was about to take care of herself.

Marvel: *staring at her because Solomon’s whispering about how she’s worthy*

Cassandra: *staring right back, picking up confusion in the man’s body language*

Marvel: “What’s your name, miss?”

Cassandra: *stares blankly at him* (Guys, this is before she learned most stuff. So she has no idea what he’s saying and has to go off of body language alone.)

Marvel: *stares back* “Can… You not speak?”

Cassandra: *continues to stare blankly*

Marvel: *sighs* “I’ll take that as a no.” *reaches into pocket dimension*

Cassandra: *startled when she sees half the man’s arm disappear*

Marvel: *pulls out some money and puts it in one of her hands* “Please take this. I can tell you don’t have a home. Starving isn’t fun.”

Cassandra: *sees understanding in Marvel’s body language and looks at the money in her hand then back at Marvel*

Marvel: *hovering off the ground* “Stay safe, miss.” *gives her a little wave before flying off*

Cassandra: *watches him go*

They meet more times after that, and soon, Cassandra ends up being one of the many homeless kids he checks up on. Cassandra comes to enjoy the man’s presence, and Marvel comes to enjoy hers as well. She eventually gets a really good read on the man after a while and he gets a good read on her. She even mimicked the man’s bodily expressions sometimes with a nod here, or a shrug there. Marvel even got to learn her name after she gestured to one of the other kids who had a cast on their leg. He guessed a couple times before he got her actual name. They ended up having to charade it, Beetlejuice style.

Marvel: “Cassie?”

Cassandra: *makes a so-so motion with her hand* (something she picked up from the man) *makes a motion that was supposed to convey it was longer*

Marvel: “Longer…?” *pauses to think for a solid 20 seconds* “Cassandra?”

Cassandra: *gives him a thumbs up* (another gesture learned from him)

Marvel: “Wait that’s actually your name?” *body language shows he’s happy he got it right*

Cassandra: *blankly stares* (Again guys, she has no clue what he’s saying)

Marvel: “Oh, this is awesome!” *body language shows he gets happier. He starts yapping about stuff*

Cassandra: *listens even though it’s all gibberish to her*

Cass liked that she could depend on someone. The man was… sunny. That’s the best way to put it. She liked listening to him talk. He never expected an answer or response. She liked that. She also liked that when she did try to respond, he was patient and did his best to try and understand her. Their friendship (sort of father daughter thing) continued until she was almost seventeen, and soon, things came to an end.

Marvel: “You’re leaving?” *body language shows concern*

Cassandra: *saw him look to the backpack stuffed with things for the trip to the next town. she nods her head*

Marvel: *body language shows disappointment for a moment before acceptance* “I see.” *gives her a warm smile* “It was nice knowing you, Cassandra.” *gives her same little wave he gave her when they first met* “I hope we get to meet again.”

Cassandra: *waves back unlike the first time they met and leaves*

They actually met again, unbeknownst to Marvel, when he was in Gotham to help Bruce with something. They got paired up together to go and do something for the mission.

Marvel: “You know, you remind me of this girl I knew from a while ago.”

Cassandra: *silence and a stare because she knows he’s talking about herself*

Marvel: “Yeah, she would’ve done that same blank stare too.”

Cassandra: *wondering how he knows she’s pulling the same face as herself*

Some goons decided to interrupt them before she could figure that out.

[nightingale-prompts]

How to Raise Your BatBoy

First | Previous | Next

Dick sighed into his cup of coffee. This is not what he wanted to see when he woke up in the morning. That and the giant bat wing covering his face this morning.

Danny was getting bigger. Not physically but his bat features are changing. The teen was getting better at changing shape. His ears are sharper ending in slight points, his fingers are more clawlike, and he has grown a thick ringed collar of white fur around his neck. Thankfully that's as far as his transformation can go right now. Danny has learned to pick and choose what traits he wants.

Danny has claimed Dick's gymnastic equipment as his. The aerial equipment is now used as roosts for Danny to hang off of and nap. But that hasn't stopped him from sleeping on top of Dick like an overgrown cat.

Bat wings expel a lot of heat as blood circulates through the thin skin which cools the blood in hot environments that they are native to. So to regulate their temperature they rest together to conserve heat. That's probably why Danny decided to grow the fur collar and sleep on top of Dick.

And why is Dick so frustrated? Because he's fighting for his goddamn life in this house. His cute aggression is barely contained. He wants to squish the kid's cheeks and ruffle his hair all the time.

Dick would be going over case files while Danny watches tv on the floor and Dick will feel the insatiable NEED to go bother him.

That damn fuzzy neck fur calls to him like a cat picking up a kitten.

Danny chirps! He fucking chirps! Like a baby bird!

Dick is trying so hard to be normal but if you had an adorable and clingy batboy you'd do the same.

Dick wants to tell the world about his batboy.

And he does. When he's Nightwing he will not shut up about how much he adores his sidekick. God forbid Robin is visiting, Dick will cry while taking hundreds of pictures of them together.

Damian doesn't like Batboy at all. At least that's what he says. He's just jealous that Batboy has bat wings. Damian warms up to him after they go out gliding together and get to study his wings.

It however goes downhill when they go on a misadventure and Batboy took a bite out of Scarecrow. Batboy had an immunity to fear toxins, instead, it overstimulated him. He ended up lounging at Scarecrow when he taunted Damian as the boy was paralyzed by the gas. When Damian was able to get back on his feet he found Batboy sobbing with his mouth covered in blood.

"Im sorry. I didn't. I didn't mean to-" His wings shielded him from sight.

Scarecrow was alive but the two sets of puncture wounds on his neck and the claw marks were not doing him any favors. The bite seemed to render him immobile at least for now. A symptom of a bat bite was paralysis.

Damian notified the others. Bruce and Dick got there first. Both adults were thankful they were okay but there was a disagreement.

"Nightwing you don't even know what the boy is. He could have killed Scarecrow. We don't know what he's capable of yet. He lost control." Batman stated firmly looking at the blood-stained teen that clung to Nightwing.

"He was protecting Damian. He didn't want to do that." Nightwing pulled Batboy behind him.

"It doesn't matter what he wanted to do. What will you do if he loses control and actually kills someone next time?" Bruce crossed his arms.

"All of us are capable of losing control and killing. I did it and you never came down on me like this. You are a hypocrite. You think he's a monster because he's not human." Nightwing was not going to let Batman point a finger at his son like this. He killed Joker once and he had don it out of rage and hate, not even to protect someone else.

"What I'm saying is that he isnt human. We don't don't know how he can be affected. We don't know his weaknesses. What if someone else figures out what fear toxin does to him and turns him into a weapon? Will his guilt be enough to stop him or will it destroy him? Do you want him to become like Man-Bat? Do you want to put your son in danger?" Batman didn't give in to Nightwing's taunt and stated his view firmly.

"We're leaving." Nightwing picked up the shrinking Batboy and made his escape but not before hugging Robin goodbye.

Nightwing had to move quickly. He could feel Danny getting smaller with every step.

This happened sometimes. Danny would sometimes retreat inwards when he was stressed. He changed to become as vulnerable as he felt.

When they got home Danny looked to be just 3 years old.

"Its okay baby bat. Not one is going to hurt you. I promised remember?" Dick held the chind aginst his chest.

"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Danny said between gasping breaths trying not to cry. His small wings wrapped around Dick's shoulders

"No, its not. You did the right thing no matter what Batman says. I'm proud of you."Dick said stroking Danny's black-streaked white locks.

(*Does a silly jig*)

[carlthecloaked]

Wrong Number, Right Person

938 words | no cw | i know i said i would do eddies pov but everytime i tried writing it it felt off :< | and so sorry this took so long!! i have a LOT of stuff going on personally

|previous chapter|

Robin snatched Steve’s backup phone from his hands before he could protest, scrolling through the messages with a gleeful smirk.

“Oh my god, Steve. You flirted with them.”

“I did not!” Steve lunged for the phone, but Robin dodged, hopping onto the couch to keep it out of reach.

“Uh, ‘I hate how funny you are’? ‘Okay but you have to say who you are though’?” She mimicked his voice in a ridiculous falsetto. “That’s textbook flirting.”

Steve groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “It’s not. I was just—curious.”

“Curious,” Robin repeated, deadpan. “Right. Because you totally put this much effort into every wrong number text.”

Steve opened his mouth, then shut it.

Robin grinned. “Exactly. Now—” She tossed the phone back to him. “Text them again.”

Steve fumbled the catch, barely saving it from face-planting onto the floor. “What? No. I already apologized for the wrong number thing. It’d be weird.”

Robin rolled her eyes so hard Steve worried they might get stuck. “Steve. You trauma-dumped about your terrible date to a complete stranger, and they not only listened but joined in on roasting him. That’s not ‘weird.’ That’s fate.”

Steve scoffed. “Fate?”

“Fate,” Robin repeated solemnly, pressing a dramatic hand to her chest. “Now text them, or I swear to god, I’ll do it for you.”

Steve hesitated, thumb hovering over the screen.

It was kind of nice talking to them. And they were funny. And—okay, fine, maybe a tiny bit intriguing.

He exhaled sharply and started typing.

Steve: so. about earlier.

Steve: i feel like i should apologize again for trauma dumping on a stranger lmao

The reply came almost instantly.

Unknown Number: nah, don’t worry about it. your suffering was highly entertaining

Steve: wow. glad my pain amuses you

Unknown Number: it really does. so, any updates? did you block the guy? change your name? flee the country

Steve: considering all options tbh

Unknown Number: i vote flee the country.start fresh. new identity.

Steve: you’re a terrible influence

Unknown Number: you have no idea ;)

Steve bit back a grin.

Robin, who had been shamelessly reading over his shoulder, nudged him with her elbow. “Oh my god, they’re flirting with you.”

“They are not,” Steve hissed, though his ears felt suspiciously warm.

Steve: still not gonna tell me who you are?

Unknown Number: nope. but i’ll give you another hint

Steve: …ok?

Unknown Number: i have two eyes

Steve groaned.

Steve: revolutionary. truly.

Unknown Number: i know, i’m so mysterious

Steve: you’re so annoying

Unknown Number: you love it

Steve’s thumb froze over the screen.

Robin let out a loud “Ooooh.”

Steve elbowed her. “Shut up.”

Steve: bold assumption

Unknown Number: not an assumption. a fact.

Steve’s face warmed.

Robin cackled. “Oh my god. They’re good.”

Steve ignored her, typing quickly before he could overthink it.

Steve: okay. if you won’t tell me who you are, at least tell me how you got my number

Unknown Number: wouldn’t you like to know, harrington?

Steve blinked.

Steve: wait. you know my name?

Unknown Number: of course i do.

Robin gasped. “Ohhhh shit.”

Steve’s pulse jumped.

Steve: okay now i definitely need to know who this is

Unknown Number: where’s the fun in that?

Steve: i hate you

Unknown Number: no you don’t

Steve exhaled, exasperated but amused.

Steve: fine. keep your secrets. but i will figure it out

Unknown Number: looking forward to it

Robin snatched the phone again before Steve could stop her, typing rapidly.

“Robin—”

“Relax! I’m helping.”

Steve grabbed for the phone, but she danced out of reach, hitting send with a triumphant smirk.

He stared in horror at the screen.

Steve (Robin): so when are you guys going on your first date? since you’re so sure steve loves you

Steve’s stomach dropped. “Robin.”

The reply came instantly.

Unknown Number: name the time and place. i’ll be there.

Steve groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Robin cackled. “This is the best day of my life.”

Steve grabbed the phone back, typing frantically.

Steve: IGNORE HER. SHE’S A MENACE.

Unknown Number: too late. i already like her

Steve: …this is a nightmare

Unknown Number: don’t worry, steve. i’ll make sure our first date is better than your last one

Steve: you’re insufferable

Unknown Number: you’re blushing

Steve was, in fact, blushing.

Robin collapsed onto the couch next to him, wheezing with laughter. “Oh my god. You’re screwed.”

Steve groaned, throwing an arm over his face.

This was not how today was supposed to go.

(And yet—some small, traitorous part of him was excited.)

Steve stared at his ceiling, phone resting on his chest. He should not be thinking about this. He should not be smiling at his phone like an idiot. And he definitely should not be considering texting them again.

But.

He grabbed his phone.

Steve: okay. one more hint.

Unknown Number: bold of you to assume i’ll give in that easily

Steve: bold of you to assume i won’t annoy you until you do

Unknown Number: oh? so you are planning on keeping me around?

Steve: don’t flatter yourself

Unknown Number: too late ;)

Steve huffed a laugh.

Steve: fine. no hints. but answer me this—do i actually know you?

Unknown Number: maybe

Steve: that’s not an answer

Unknown Number: it’s my answer

Steve: you’re impossible

Unknown Number: and yet here you are, still texting me

Steve rolled onto his side, biting his lip to keep from grinning.

Steve: …shut up.

Unknown Number: make me

Steve’s breath caught.

Oh.

This was bad.

This was very bad.

Because whoever was on the other end of this phone?

Steve was doomed.

taglist: @ellietheasexylibrarian , @tartarusknight , @ravenfrog

[clockwayswrites]

The bitties must cuddle. ""Birdtritch"" Part 5

masterpost

“Nightwing!” Tim shouted, leaning forward on his perch.

Nothing.

Then a black and blue stripped hand poked out of the green feathers in a thumbs up. “I’m okay!”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Nightwing,” Hood grumbled as he stalked forward. “Hey bird brain! Let go of my brother.”

“Aww, he called me brother,” Nightwing cooed over the line.

“…maybe you can keep him after all,” Hood said to the bird thing that had leaned down to peer at him.

The green glint of the bird thing’s eyes reflected off of Hood’s helmet. Then it blinked and in that moment dozens of abstracted cyan eyes blinked into existence around Hood.

Hood reached out to poke at one with the muzzle of his gun. It went right through the ‘eye’. “What the fuck…?”

The bird thing trilled back at Hood.

Tim tapped his comm to open the all channels line. “Um, so, we have… an eldritch bird creature that has been exposed to cuddle pollen. It’s is already cuddling Nightwing and… yep, yeah, now it has Red Hood. Don’t shoot it, Hood! It’s friendly!”

“It’s a fucking menace!”

“A bird?” Robin’s voice piped up.

“Don’t get too excited, baby bat, eldritch bird. It’s the size of an SUV and has too many arms. And eyes. Sorta eyes? And yep, there goes Hood, absorbed by the fluff. Oh great, it’s looking at me now.”

“Avoid the entity, Red Robin,” Batman said across the comms, tone clipped and worried.

“Sorta hard to do, big B. It has a lot of legs right now and all eyes on me. There so many eyes.”

“Avoid the entity!” Batman barked again.

Yeah, like that was going to go well.

-

“Father! Make this creature unhand me at once!” Robin shouted.

“Calm the fuck down, it’s not hurting us,” Red Hood grumbled. “Not that it’s letting us go…”

“Actually pretty comfortable,” Red Robin said in a voice tinged with the edges of sleep. Bruce couldn’t even see a part of Red Robin in the mess of feathers.

Bruce just sighed and pinched his nose. “Boys.”

“Did you just ‘boys’ us?” Nightwing asked, though he sounded like he was enjoying the whole circumstance.

“Yes. Black Bat isn’t involved in this at all,” Bruce said. “So, boys.”

Black Bat’s soft laugh over the line was mostly drowned out by the warble that the bird entity made. Bruce absently started comparing the creature to the types of birds that roosted in Gotham as the surprisingly long neck unfolded and reached out towards him.

He regarded the bird entity steadily.

It warbled again, tilted its head, and then started preening the ears of the cowl.

Bruce sighed heavily.

“Likes you.” Cass’ lyrical words came over the line. Bruce knew that tone. She was taking pictures for blackmail.

(And everyone said girls were easier.)

“I really don’t think it’s going to let us go, B. It might not even be able to with the cuddle pollen,” Nightwing said. Bruce could see the blue tips of the boots now but nothing else.

Bruce hummed. “Gotham doesn’t have the facilities to humanely keep such a creature.”

Robin hit the ground in a crouch and started forward. “Father—”

The bird entity reached out again for Robin with one of its too many limbs. Robin parried with his sheathed blade. The coo that the entity made in response was heart wrenching. Almost instantly Robin deflated at the sound.

He crossed his arms and looked away with a huff. “Fine.”

With a much happier sound, Robin was grabbed carefully around the waist and placed on the bird entity’s back, right behind its next.

“Get off,” Red Robin grumbled from wherever he was in the mass of plumage. Some shifting along the back feathers followed the sleepy words. Then a yawn. “The Cave is the only choice.”

“You can’t be serious,” Red Hood said.

(Bruce thought Red Hood might be clasped firmly under a wing.)

Red Robin yawned again. “Large, secure, safe for us…”

“Yeah, and how the fuck do we get this thing to the Cave?” Red Hood snapped back.

After a considering silence, Black Bat pipped up with that same mischievous lilt. “Idea.”

[jinxs-gf]

Can I? (kiss the hurt away)

YJ!Conner Kent x Spider!Reader

summary: you get hurt during a mission and Conner just wants to help. this finally brings you two together.

content/warnings: set in s1, lots of wounds, blood mentioned, awkward flirting…this was a shared prompt w my two besties, here’s my version! (I switched it up a bit), funny writing bc it’s from spider!reader’s perspective (mostly)

word count: 2.1k

a/n: FIRST CONNER FIC YAYAYYAYAYAY I hope people actually read for him lmaooo…enjoy!

There's a ringing in your ear for a while, your vision blurred. Just as you come out of it there's a voice—

"You okay?"

One you're very familiar with.

You slowly blink your eyes open. You're not sure what the hell your enemy just blasted you with, but it was enough to knock you out and make everything hurt. A lot.

"Uhh I think so?" Conner watched the white eyes of your mask blink, he could tell you were in fact, not okay.

He could see it from a distance, the distance he unknowingly made while fighting. He promised himself he'd stay close at all times when the team was in danger, when you could potentially get hurt. And look at you now. His ignorance to what was going on around him got you hurt.

At least that's what he told himself.

You swat his hands as he starts fussing over you, too disoriented to think about the action. Until you see his hurt face. He was only trying to help.

But Conner thinks, you were pushing him away, and rightfully so when he's the reason you're hurt in the first place.

"No no it's-" you heave a rugged sigh, your lungs feeling heavy. "I'm just out of it. Sorry. What was that guy packing in his gun anyways?"

Conner's reluctant in his assistance to you now, but you encourage him with a smile. He lifts you to your feet, securing an arm around your waist to ensure you wouldn't fall back down. You definitely weren't in a state to be walking and that's proven when your legs wobble and all your weight falls onto him. Something he doesn't mind and in a different situation would smile at.

But you hiss as his pulls you up, and he's brought back to reality.

"Thanks Con-man." Another smile for him and his shoulders relax.

"I have no idea what that man was packing in his gun. All I know is it hurt you...really badly. You were out the rest of the fight."

"I was?" A quick look around and sure enough, you were. The quietness of the area should've been a clear sign there was no longer a battle going on.

"Looks like I was." And suddenly the team is behind you. It's a miracle the rest of them avoided getting hurt the way you did (which was a little embarrassing considering your spider senses).

"You alright, Spidey?" Wally and Artemis ask at the same time, they glare at each other for it.

"Jinx. Artemis, you owe me a soda."

"I do not-" you cut them off, ending the argument before it could start.

"Yeah I'm alright." But the way you leaned heavily onto the SuperBoy and breathed unevenly told a different story. Although that was nothing new, was it? You somehow were constantly hanging off the boy one way or another (not literally...though you wish it was).

"Are you sure? We'll have you get checked back at headquarters," Kaldur speaks. You simply nod, too weak to really do much else.

Robin was looking worriedly, trying to hide it but you could see right through him. You shot him a smile.

While the team discussed what to do with the bad guy, you stayed with Conner. There was an awkward silence until he spoke up, having enough of your small hisses and puffs at his side.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, everything? I'm hurting everywhere," you were practically mumbling, fatigue evident with every word you spoke.

He huffs and places you on the floor again, carefully avoiding any rubble from the fight. Another pained hiss from you.

"Sorry sorry, I know," he's trying to figure out his next move. "I don't know how to make it better."

You shake your head, "that's alright Conner. You don't need to, you're not a doctor or anything."

And yet he looks guilty, like your wounds and the fact that he hasn't already done something to ease the pain was his fault. He eyed the arm you've been holding around your abdomen this whole time.

"You being here right now is enough. I promise. And this," you lift your arm finally, making a soft noise of pain in between, "it'll go down by tomorrow-"

"Shit! When did that happen?" His voice startles you, the sudden noise rattling your probably concussed brain. You finally look down to see blood dripping from a scratch in your suit.

"Shit. When did that happen? How..."

"I didn't realize it was that bad. I'm sorry."

"No Conner, it's okay-"

"Can I?"

"Huh?" And Conner is gesturing to your mask, your eyes widen.

"You're breathing too heavily for it to be comfortable. Please?" He wouldn't say part of it was because he needed to see your face to comfort him.

You nod.

He doesn't freak out when he takes it off, so that's a good sign.

"How do I look?" he doesn't answer for a few seconds, he's carefully observing your face it seems. You can't help but smile.

And he smiles back, "still beautiful as ever."

"Okay lover boy," you desperately wish the mask was on, if only to hide your timid expression. "You don't need to flatter me."

Conner clears his throat quickly, awkwardly. As if he didn't realize he said it out loud.

He really didn't mean to. But seeing how shy and...dare he say happy you looked after he said it, he thinks it wasn't such a bad thing.

"You have a few scratches. But you're still-"

"Beautiful as ever, yeah yeah I heard you," maybe he wasn't going to say it again, but you weren't going to risk it. You don't think you could take it if he said it. You'd probably do something stupid like kiss him—

He swallows thickly, still embarrassed. "We need to get you back," he goes to pick you up, only this time it's not so you can stand upright. No. He's preparing to carry you bridal style. Oh no. Now you really might kiss him (that is if you don't pass out within the next few seconds). "Can I carry you? I don't think you're in good enough shape to walk right now."

"Rude."

"No I didn't mean-"

You laugh, maybe a little meanly, you knew he wasn't good on certain social cues yet, making teasing him easy, "sorry- I know what you mean. Yeah it's...alright. You can totally carry me." Now you were beginning to feel awkward.

He picks you up easily. And you're starting to agree with him, you definitely weren't in any shape to walk if him lifting you was enough to make you dizzy.

You weren't kidding yourself when you said you'd pass out before you could kiss him.

Your head lays comfortably on his chest...right over his heart which happened to be beating like crazy.

Was that your doing? You really hope so.

He carries you a little behind the rest of the team, murmuring reassurances and praise. 'You did good back there.' 'You're gonna be okay, I'll make sure of it.' 'Stay close to me okay? I'll make it better.'

Bioship took you all back to Mount Justice, M'gann talking your ear off the whole time. Starting with worried rambles about how hurt you looked and fading into a new tv show she got into. One she wished her people on Mars could enjoy.

Usually you wouldn't mind it, but you could feel an oncoming headache the whole ride. You didn't have the heart to tell her to stop nor that you weren't really listening. Not feeling bad only because Wally seemed enthralled with her storytelling (suck up) and flirted here and there.

You were too busy focusing on your shadow anyways. Aka the SuperBoy who refused to leave your side and was quite literally on you the whole way. Between him, M'gann, and Wally's flirting with her (and Robin's occasional butting in to tease) you were surprised you didn't go insane on the ride back.

When you did get back, they told you it was bad (fatal for a normal person) but nothing you couldn't handle. Just a broken rib (unfortunately common for you) and a slight concussion. Great. Accompanied with bruises and the big gash on your abdomen. That weapon really did a number on you. Conner went off on the adults for saying it was "nothing you couldn't handle" because you were "on the brink of dying". Which is a bit dramatic, but having him be so protective over you was kind of nice...or whatever.

They suggested you took a break for a week and a half (a conclusion you came to after you'd negotiated with them for a good 5 minutes. because who do they think they were benching you—for good reason—for 2 weeks?!) should a mission come up within that time.

You sighed on the couch, everyone was either in their rooms or went home for the day. They said their goodbyes and wished you well, to which you replied 'pfft I'll be better by tomorrow. just watch.' It would be really embarrassing if you weren't better by tomorrow...you unfortunately bet money on it. Stupid.

"You okay?"

"A little better now. Thanks for taking care of me."

"I wish I could've done more...I said I would but all I did was sit back and watch everyone else take care of you." This was clearly eating at him, although it's a wonder why.

Nothing about the situation was his fault nor should he feel guilty about "not doing enough."

"Conner, I told you it's alright and that you being there for me was enough. And I meant every word."

He sits with you, thigh to thigh with his head in his hands.

You pat his shoulder, "it's alright big guy. I'm okay, I'll be fully recovered soon."

"Not soon enough."

You sigh, he could be really stubborn sometimes. Frustratingly so.

"Con, please. Look at me?" He listens. And you regret asking him. You hate the look in his eyes, or rather you hate the way it makes you feel. Another case of you're going to kiss him if he keeps this up.

How could such a big, stubborn, and (apparently) non-affectionate guy have the biggest puppy eyes? Ones that have you melting.

His face is now in your palms. With the way he's looking at you, surely he wouldn't mind if you gave in and...kissed him, right?

"Can I kiss you?"

He's stunned for a moment before finally speaking up, "isn't it obvious that I want you to?"

You both share shy smiles thinking, finally.

You lean in, hands still cupping his face, his now doing the same.

Although the kiss was a little awkward, the two of you not exactly experienced in that department (him coming out of a literal tube only months ago), as well as a little...messy—it was everything you could've wanted in your first kiss with him. A kiss that was going to be the start of the two of you. SuperBoy and the Spider. You hated how warm the thought made you.

You were practically radiating giddiness, Conner could feel it. He pulled away still smiling, "I've wanted to do that for a really long time now."

"Me too. You know what also was great about that? You kissed my ouchies away. I'm all better now."

"Ouchies? What are we, five?"

There's silence, not of awkwardness, but from two of you reeling from the kiss, processing the fact that it was real.

"I don't want to be the one to break this up but...we should really get to bed. With your concussion and training being early tomorrow..."

"Yeah, of course," the giddiness hasn't left, "would you uh...want to come? With me? To bed."

"Gee Spider, at least take me to dinner first."

"Oh, so he's got jokes now?"

"Only for you, babe."

"Ew, you sound like Wally."

"Ouch? Don't insult me like that," but he doesn't look offended in the slightest. There's probably the biggest smile you've seen on his face, ever.

Safe to say it was not fun explaining why Conner was in your bed the next morning, trying to convince everyone it was purely innocent.

Batman was disappointed, reminding you that you needed to wait until you were healed before you did anything physical. Haha. Very funny.

And the team snapped pictures that they would definitely use against Conner (seeing as he was the more...emotionally constipated and reluctantly affectionate one).

But you honestly couldn't be happier. And neither could he.

does it seem a bit rushed at the end? unfortunately

do I have the patience to fix it? no

hope you enjoyed :D

[c4tluver02]

Can I request a fluffy Steve Harrington x fem! reader long oneshot where reader is pregnant and they are sitting in the living room watching a movie and all of a sudden, reader feels the baby kick for the first time and reader tells Steve and guides his hand to her stomach and Steve talks to the baby and they are just in awe over feeling the baby kick and they talk about how they can’t wait for their daughter to get here?

baby bump

summary: After finding out the gender of your baby things start to feel real. First time kicks and cravings are the new normal!

warnings: mention of pregnancy, r has long hair, mentions of morning sickness (for like a second), mentions of eating more

wc: 1.3k

a/n: i don't know anything abt being pregnant so if this is wrong lets pretend it isn't!!!! thank u for the request <3

It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon, neither you or Steve have anything going on allowing for you both to relax on the couch. A movie is playing on the TV and your head is laying on Steve's lap. His fingers thread through your hair and the feeling makes your eyes flutter shut. The movie long forgotten, simply too relaxed in Steve's presence. He’s been working a lot ever since the news of a baby coming so you are soaking up any moments with him. Last week you both found out the gender, a beautiful healthy baby girl. You couldn’t be more ecstatic and Steve was already thinking of the shade of pink to paint the nursery. 

-

 “Do you think she would want more of a rustic pink or like a Barbie pink?” Steve asks on the drive home from your appointment. You two have red eyes from crying tears of joy. Hearing the baby's gender makes everything feel even more real. 

“I think rustic definitely.” You say nodding. The small picture of your ultrasound in your hand. 

“I think so too, I’ll have to start looking for a crib. Think the guys would help?” Steve asks, thinking about Jonathan and Eddie. The idea of making a whole new room in just a few months now makes him a little stressed. 

“Oh totally and Eddie owes me a favor for eating my cheeseburger the other day.” It was a simple mix up, he ate your sandwich instead of his own. But in the moment tears threatened to spill from your eyes.

“I know Rob will help with the paint and picking out furniture. I still have to call her to tell her the news.” He says giving your thigh a squeeze from excitement. When he found out you were pregnant he told Robin right away. She came over the next day with gifts and candy for you. 

You looked at him with a large grin. Filled with excitement and happiness that you are having a baby and that Steve is Steve. A perfect partner and soon to be dad. 

-

You knew no matter what Steve would be a great dad, but knowing he will be a girl dad just clicks in the most perfect way. Already infatuated with you, he won't be able to say no to your new baby girl. 

Steve was already so great with you. Quick to be by your side when you have any sickness– despite you trying to shoo him away the first time it happened. Too scared he would find you gross you made him plug his ears which made him then yell out for you to ask if you were ok. But the more it happened the more he was there and wouldn't take no for an answer. If Steves gonna do one thing it's take care of you. Any late night cravings you had he would get with no complaints. He truly was perfect. Obsessed with your bump always talking to her, like when she was pushing on your ribs and he asked her so sweetly to move. 

Now you're all laid out on the couch half asleep and you feel a weird pain in your stomach. A little jab that was so quick if you were moving you might not have even felt it. The feeling made you shoot up in shock, a hand on your stomach. Steve looked at you with his thick brows raised, concerned. 

“What? What's wrong? Is she okay?” Steve asks quickly as he grabs onto your wrist. Like he needed to know the answer right away.

He finally took a breath when he saw a big smile appear on your face. You grab his hand and gently place it on your bump in a certain location. “She just kicked me.” You say it almost in a whisper like if you said it too loud she'd stop. 

Steve pressed his hand a little firmer to your belly trying to feel the sensation. His eyes are wide and you look at him as you wait for her to do it again.   

As if on cue she kicks again and Steve gasps. “Holy shit she's kicking!” It comes out in a half yell half laugh and he leans in to give you a quick kiss. Too excited, needing to put his energy into something. 

You're both fully sat up now only locked in on the baby's next move. She gives another kick and this time Steve sees your stomach move and stretch from the action. He scrunches his nose up a little. 

“Does that hurt baby? I can tell she’s using all her force.” The way he says it with a concerned but interested tone makes you giggle. 

“Nope.” You say popping the P at the end. “It feels weird but it doesn't hurt.” Your hand is over his holding it to your stomach and Steve can't help but swoon. 

“Maybe she'll be a soccer player? She seems like she has strong legs.” Steve says.

“Hmm, maybe a gymnast? They have really strong legs.” Steve nods at your response and you both lay back on the couch. 

Steve leans down a bit to rest his chin on your stomach. His hand is still on your belly but now he's rubbing it gently. 

“I can’t wait to see what type of personality she'll have.” He says.

Steve looks so pretty right now. Carefully giving your tummy little kisses and his long lashes flutter. You can't help but run your fingers through his hair and he groans at the action. 

“I hope she has your hair.” You say with a giggle but you really do mean it. 

“I hope she has your eyes, and your nose, and your lips, and your giggle of course.” 

You roll your eyes at his comment in a playful manner. “You're obsessed with me.” 

“I am.” He gives your belly one last kiss before sitting up again. “I am obsessed with you and our baby and I can't wait to have more.”

“More? Stevie, we haven't even finished having one!” You let out a giggle that's so warm Steve thinks it could truly melt his heart. 

“I know but I can imagine us with like 6 little Harringtons running around.” The look in his eyes tells you he's 100% serious and that he's given this thought. 

“Hm and who will be pushing out these 6 Harringtons?” You ask, looking at him with a huge smile on your face. So happy in this moment, thinking about the future you and Steve will have. 

“Sweetheart, if I could do all the hard work, trust me I would. Then I could give you all the babies you want.” Steve slides his hands on your waist which is a little on your stomach due to how far out it is, rubbing his thumb up and down. 

“Let's focus on this one and then we can talk about more, deal?” You ask, putting your hands around his neck. The movement makes you two get closer but the bump creates a bit of distance. 

“Deal.” He responds, kissing your temple. The movie you guys were watching is now rolling the credits, neither of you saw the end but that's okay because in a few months you'll have a daughter.

“Stevie?” You ask but Steve knows the tone in your voice. 

“Yes angel?” The smirk he has on could be one related to the Cheshire cat. All knowing and ready for what you're about to ask. 

“Do you think you could make me some eggs and toast?” The puppy dog eyes you give aren't needed but accepted. It doesn't matter that it's 10pm or that you had dinner a few hours ago. 

“You are a hungry little bug aren't you?” Steve says into your stomach as he kisses it. Getting up to go to the kitchen but not before grabbing your hands to help you up.

“She is, isn't she? I must be growing an athlete in there.” You say, referring to your earlier statements. 

Steve laughs and rubs your back as you walk in front of him. He knows tonight you'll wake him up for more food but right now he couldn't be happier. 

[uss-butterscotch]

Part 2 of this (another between seasons 3&4 fic from eddie’s pov)

The next encounter Eddie had with Steve Harrington was one week later, but it wasn’t in the school’s parking lot. Instead, it was in the bathroom. The rest of the group was working on solving a puzzle to make it through this week’s quest, and he figured he’d have plenty of time to hit the head before they figured it out.

He should have known something was up when he walked through the bathroom door and the lights were out. When he flicked them back on, and he heard a pained groan, he should have turned back around and found the bathroom in the next hall over. But it was just his luck that he didn’t do either of those things.

He took a cautious step into the bathroom to find none other than Harrington. On the floor by the sinks. His arm slung over his eyes.

He took a quick glance at his watch and confirmed what he already knew. There was still an hour before Hellfire ended and Steve was expected to pick up his gaggle of freshmen. And yet, there he was, right in front of Eddie, looking more than a little pale.

“Harrington?” Eddie asked tentatively, “You good, man?”

“Munson.” The man on the floor all but groaned out. He took a deep breath and if Eddie was a betting man, he’d guess it was to steady himself. “I’m uh… I’ll be good, just gotta…”

Eddie waited for a moment, but Harrington never finished the thought. The more he looked at Harrington, the worse he looked. His hair was damp like he’d splashed water on his face and his usually neatly tucked shirt was rumpled.

“Are you like, drunk or something?” Eddie asked.

“No I-“ he stopped abruptly and grit his teeth. He looked like he was trying to hold back another exclamation of pain.

Eddie watched for a moment, unsure of what to do, or if he should even be seeing this. He was about to ask another questions when Steve let out a shaky breath.

“Lights.” Was all he said, and it took Eddie half a second longer than it should’ve to realize he should turn the lights back off.

When he did, he heard Harrington take another deep breath. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

Eddie shifted awkwardly on his feet. “Okay so, not drunk… Hungover?” He didn’t really expect this to be the answer, given Harrington’s “keg king” reputation, but it was the only other thing he could think of.

“No.” Steve said, almost sounding frustrated. “My head, I get-“

If he looked pale before, he looked downright green now in the dim light filtering in through the window into the hallway. Suddenly he was scrambling to one of the stalls with less grace than Eddie thought was possible for a star athlete like him, and the telltale sign of emptying the contents of one’s stomach could be heard from within.

It was at that moment Eddie decided he was not equipped to deal with the situation alone, and he turned to leave the bathroom. “I’m gonna go get help, man. Stay here.”

Stay here? Real helpful, Eddie, the guy writhing in pain on the bathroom floor wandering off was probably a big concern. He took off running back to the drama classroom with one goal in mind.

“Henderson,” he shouted as he threw open the door.

Six pairs of eyes snapped to him, a combination of confused and startled.

“Your babysitter’s like, dying in the bathroom.”

“What?” Dustin practically screeched, hurriedly getting up from his chair. Mike and Lucas exchanged a worried look.

“What’s happening? Did he lose another fight? Is there blood? I don’t have my first aid kit on me! Shit, shit, shit!” Dustin was fully panicking.

“Woah, slow down. No blood, just, his head? I think? And he was uh, throwing up when I left him.” Eddie said, feeling a little guilty about riling the kid up so much. And filing away the fact that he apparently keeps a first aid kit on him sometimes.

“Oh thank god.” Dustin sighed and immediately relaxed. “It’s just a migraine.”

Lucas was immediately on his feet. “I’ll call Robin.” And he was out the door.

Dustin began digging in his backpack and pulled out a pill bottle, a walkie talkie, and his bottle of water. “Which bathroom?” He asked, staring intently at Eddie.

“Uh, just, the one down the hall.” Eddie replied a little shakily, his body not quite catching onto the fact that it didn’t seem like an emergency situation anymore.

Dustin nodded and pushed past him through the door. Without even really thinking about it, Eddie found himself following.

“Wait wait, what’s happening?” Eddie asked, still a little frantic.

“Steve gets these migraines now. Really bad headaches.” Dustin explained quickly. “Doctor said it can happen after too many concussions, which Steve has had plenty of at this point.”

They made it back to the bathroom where the lights were still off. “Steve?” Dustin called softly.

He received an unintelligible mumble from the stall Eddie knew Harrington to be in.

Dustin made his way toward the noise. “Did you take your pills already?”

“Threw’em up..” Steve slurred quietly.

“Ok well, I brought some more. I’ll leave them here for when you think you’re done throwing up.” Dustin said, using the voice he saved for when he was trying to be helpful.

Eddie heard the pill bottle be set down on the floor followed by two other objects. The water bottle and the walkie, he deduced in some back room of his brain.

“Lucas is calling Robin, but walkie if you need anything else, okay?”

Once again, the only response he got was something that might have been words if they got put through a meat grinder. As Eddie stood there he remembered the apparent relief the freshman seemed to have at knowing it was only this. Apparently a headache bad enough to be throwing up on the floor of a dark high school bathroom. He couldn’t help but wonder what they could have been expecting that was worse.

Dustin exited the stall, careful not to let the door slam shut. “Let’s get out of here.” He whispered to Eddie in the darkness, and he was only too eager to agree.

Once they were back in the hallway, they started slowly making their way back to the others. Eddie glanced over at Dustin, whose expression was unreadable other than he looked lost in thought.

“Well that looks like it sucks.” He stated, trying to break the silence.

“Yeah.” Dustin said quietly.

Now Eddie was starting to get anxious again. Henderson was never this quiet. “It’s good that you know what to do to help.” He offered.

“It’s my fault it even happens.” Dustin snapped.

Eddie whipped his head to look at the freshman. “Woah, I don’t think-“

“I’m the one who kept dragging him into all the shit that got him hurt.” Dustin shouted. “He was there when Billy showed up because I asked him to help me! He got take-“

He did the thing that Eddie had been noticing more and more. Like he was adjusting what he was about to say for some reason. Like he was keeping secrets.

“He got hurt at Starcourt because I convinced him to come with me!” The kid’s eyes were dangerously close to spilling tears.

“Knock it off!” Mike’s voice came from down the hallway.

He stalked closer to them at an agitated pace. “If he hadn’t been there any of those times, we’d all be dead.”

Eddie didn’t have time to process that before Dustin was yelling back to him.

“Oh, and it’s ok to turn his brain to mush if it means we’re safe, huh?” Dustin shot back.

“It’s not like we were forcing him to do anything! He could have said no whenever! It was his choice to be involved!” Mike was yelling now too.

“Oh really? What about the tunnels?”

Eddie watched them go back and forth, barely making sense of what they were saying, but knowing it was turning into a full blown fight. “Hey guys,” he tried to interject.

“You’re the one who insisted we couldn’t leave him behind!” Mike yelled, exasperated.

“Because if Billy had woken up to us and his car missing, who knows what he would have done!”

“Guys?” Eddie tried, a little louder, but he was ignored again.

“And besides, you just said we would have died if he hadn’t been there, so what side are you on?” Dustin continued.

“I’m just saying, he can make his own decisions, it’s not our fault anything happened!”

“Hey!” A voice came from down the hall behind Eddie. They all turned to see Harrington half in the hallway, supporting himself on the bathroom doorframe. “Will you little shits keep it down out here?”

He didn’t look any better than he had when Eddie first saw him, and he wondered how the hell he had managed to pull himself off the floor at all.

“Sorry, Steve.” Dustin said at the same time Mike scoffed and said “Whatever.”

Again, Eddie found himself watching the scene in front of him like it was a tennis match.

Harrington winced in the light of the hallway, but he managed to look at the two freshman. “Dustin, as much as I hate to say it, Wheeler’s right. Everything I did, I chose it. And I’d do it again if it meant keeping you idiots safe.”

Dustin sighed. “That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.”

Steve waved a hand at him, a motion which looked like it almost cost him his balance. “I know, sorry.” He tried to flash them a smile, but it was leaning a bit too far into grimace territory. “Point is, it’s nobody’s fault, or if it’s anyone’s it’s Billy’s and…”

Harrington trailed off, eyes shifting to briefly to Eddie, before he closed them, looking like he gave up on the thought.

“Whatever, you know what I mean, right?”

Dustin chewed his cheek for a moment before answering. “Yeah, I guess.”

That seemed to be enough for Harrington. “Now get back to your game and let me wallow in here in peace.” Harrington said, disappearing back into the dark bathroom.

Dustin and Mike looked at each other and appeared to come to some sort of agreement telepathically. They shook hands and looked at Eddie.

“Sorry for derailing the session.” Dustin offered.

Eddie blinked a couple times, realizing he was once again one of the players in the scene, not just an observer. “Oh it’s fine, I’m just counting all the time you spent out here as time your characters were in the shrinking room.” He put a devilish smile on his face and watched as they scrambled back to the drama room.

As he followed them, he saw Buckley rushing down the hall.

“Where is he?” She asked. She looked frazzled with her pajama pants, an oversized sweatshirt (emblazoned with “Hawkins Basketball”, he noted), and a plastic bag overflowing with an assortment of things like lotions, and ice packs, and several items Eddie couldn’t identify.

He pointed her down the hallway and watched her shuffle away. He burst back through the classroom door, less panicked, but with much to think about.

“Well boys, where were we?”

Part 3

[batsandbirdbrains]

The one where Artemis is a Schoolyard Bully

This one’s not actually all that specific I just had the idea of Dick slowly but surely realizing that Artemis is, in fact, bullying him while they’re both at Gotham Academy. She has no clue Dick Grayson and Robin are the same person. It’s still season 1 of young justice and Dick just keeps having a harder and harder time being nice to Artemis when they’re at Mount Justice or training or on a mission, because for whatever reason she has latched onto Dick Grayson and tormented him pretty much every day for months now.

The only consolation is that Robin consistently kicks Artemis’ ass during training and it’s so intensely satisfying knocking her on her ass when she called him a circus freak and threw peanuts at him in the hallway not three hours prior.

He doesn’t know why she doesn’t like him. He’s 13, he skipped a grade, he’s a freshman, he has almost no interaction with her. They’re not in any of the same classes. Their lockers are nowhere near each other. Sure, he took a silly photo with her in the first day of school, but that shouldn’t have led to her singling him out as her new victim.

But then eventually she moves on from just mocking him and his dead parents and his “sugar daddy Brucie Wayne” (and that last one almost made him actually puke bc ew gross) and now she’s getting physical. Throwing things at him in the halls. Shoving his head into the side of his locker. Knocking his backpack or his books down onto the floor. Throwing a sandwich at his head. The peanuts are her favorite though, probably because they’re circus-related. And it makes his blood boil that she talks shit about the circus and his parents but he tries to remain level headed and tell himself that she must be going through a lot in her personal life and that’s why she’s being so mean.

Except she’s perfectly fine at the mountain with the team. He tries not to analyze it too much.

But then one Friday, Robin doesn’t show up for training after school. And the next day, he’s clearly pissed as he slips into the living room area where everyone is lounging before training. He has a sleek black cast on his right arm, from his knuckles to just above his elbow, a sling around his shoulder.

“What happened to you?” Wally asks, rushing over to him.

“An asshole happened,” he says through clenched teeth. “Leave it alone.”

“Dude, are you okay?”

Dick just wants to get this training shit over with. Bruce has been busy coordinating with the Gotham Academy dean of students, trying to figure out what happened to Dick and reviewing security footage.

Everyone else seems to notice his new accessory, and Dick almost screams in pure frustration when Artemis actually looks concerned. Of course she would. Why would her friend and teammate be the same kid she pushed down the stairs not even 24 hours ago?

“Jeez, what happened to you, Boy Blunder?”

Her voice grates in his nerves.

Also do I wanna add Donna to this fic? I think I wanna add Donna. Dick needs his wonder twin in the situation I think that would be fun.

Because Donna is one of the very few who knows Dick and Bruce’s secret identities, and she’s glowering at Artemis when she gets too close to Dick. She knows all about how Artemis has been bullying him all school year, and now he’s actually gotten physically hurt because of it and she’s pissed.

“Why don’t you just leave him alone?” She snaps at her, putting her arm around Dick’s shoulders and guiding him to where they’re going to all meet up with Black Canary for training. Not that Dick can do much, but you know, he has to make an appearance and all that.

Everyone thinks Donna is just being protective of him because he’s hurt. It’s not entirely wrong.

Dick and Donna remain separated from the group for a few days, the two of them having started pulling away from Wally a bit when he started dating Artemis. Dick didn’t want to tell Wally about the school bully shit, but he can’t be around him when he won’t stop talking about how amazing Artemis is. It’s makes him wanna gag.

Then the next Friday, after a week of Artemis still poking and prodding at Dick at school even though she knows she broke his arm and dislocated his shoulder, Dick feels like he’s going to explode when she’s been cracking jokes all evening long.

“Let’s have a sleepover or something, you can show me that dumb video game you want me to play,” Donna suggests quietly, a hand on Dick’s good shoulder and her other hand tucking his hair behind his ear.

But Conner hears it, and he starts questioning them on why Donna seems to know Robin outside of the mask. A couple of the others chime in too, and suddenly everyone is surrounding the two of them, and Artemis loudly complains about Robin not trusting them.

“Oh fuck off,” he scoffs. Then he says in the most mocking tone he can muster, “Suck my dick.”

Donna snorts, and she tries so hard not to laugh too much, but she can’t get over the pun and how he’s shoving his real name in their faces, especially at the way Artemis scowls.

But then they’re interrupted when Artemis’ phone rings, and it’s her mom, and suddenly she’s yelling and freaking out because her Wayne Foundation scholarship just got revoked and she’s been expelled from Gotham Academy. Donna smirks at Dick, the two of them sharing a silent little victorious moment, until Artemis gets off the phone and lets out a shaking breath and tries to explain to her friends why she got expelled (she’s leaving out all the real details, not that Dick or Donna are particularly shocked).

“Oh no,” Dick says with overly feigned sympathy. “That must be so hard for you. Can’t imagine what must’ve happened. I’m sure you’ve never done anything wrong ever to deserve such a thing.”

And Artemis still hasn’t figured out that Robin is the boy she’s been bullying for months, and Robin just scoffs. Then Donna pulls him towards the zeta tubes and they go back to the Manor and Dick shows her a video game he’s been wanting her to play for a while now (it’s single player, so his lack of use in one of his hands is fine because he’s just watching her play and giving her tips and laughing at all the antics she’s getting her player into).

Idk when he’d finally tell her he’s Dick, if he ever wouldn’t this situation, but it’s a fun angsty AU to think about.

[mxtantrights]

Four times Red hood blushed because of you, and one time Jason Todd blushed.

The first time it happens you don’t notice. How could you when he wears that mask on his face all the time? It’s the two of you on a rooftop. You just raided a warehouse filled with scarecrows fear gas and made sure it didn’t land in the wrong hands.

You were coming off a high. That’s why you offered to get a bite to eat with Red. Red. That’s what you call him because you two are coworkers. You get the job done and have a few laughs, and part ways.

When he hands you a taco in silence you thank him in a stupidly wild accent that can't be real. And he chuckles. You hear it. You know you do, but you can't believe it. You made the Red Hood laugh!

It felt good. You wanted to make him laugh again.

What you didn't know was that he actually found it so cute. And was blushing underneath is mask.

2. The second time is an incredibly inappropriate time. The league had called on you to help them with an investigation. Which you were kind of feaking out about but trying to be cool.

You couldn't really be cool when Superman literally said your vigilante name out loud. You tried your hardest but you couldn't contain your excitement. You turned to Red hood and jumped up and down as soon as the meeting was over.

He laughed and told you yo calm down. But you started yapping about how Superman was the first hero you looked up to and how much of an honor it is that he knew who you were and acknowledged you.

Red Hood tells you that you remind him of the Robin that used to love Wonder Woman. Which makes you laugh and agree that that Robin knew what he was doing because he's right.

3. The third time is completely by accident. You're going down the zip line trying to get across from one building to another. And Red is waiting for you on the other side. It was your first time.

You scream the entire way as the speed picks up. Then before you know it, it's over. It's over and you're on top of another building but you can't quite find your footing. So you go crashing into the only thing there in front of you, which is Red.

He grabs you by the waist as the bath for you go down. You land with a groan. He cradles your fall entirely.

When you let out a breath and pick yourself up a bit, you're really close to his mask. The closest you've been to him since the two of you met.

He clears his throat and asks if you're okay. To which you nod, you're not about to go use your words when you know your tongue is heavy and you don't even know the alphabet. Red is tough and lean underneath you. You're aren't sure what you were expecting.

You pull yourself up quickly and offer him a hand to get up. He takes it and once again the two of you come face to face. Or, mask to mask. If he could see you now, fully he would see how hard you are flushing.

4. The forth time is rightfully earned. You just closed a case all on your own. No help from anyone. You did the investigation, you did the recon. And you got the perps into the hands of those who would deliver justice.

It was a pretty blood scene so you're a bit covered in it. Your suit is laden with blood stains and it got over some of your mask and face. You thought it would be better idea to shower in one of the safe houses rather than drag all the evidence back into your own home.

Red was there, cleaning his weapons like he usually does. And you walked in with all of that on you. It's like something in him just kickstarted. He looked at you, took you in, and all he could say was 'Hi'.

You gave him wave and told him you were going to shower the night off you.

As soon as you get into the bathroom, Jason smacks himself in the forehead.

5. It was a normal day. It was laundry day. You had a lot of shit to wash because honestly both your jobs keep you busy and you weren't about to send your things off to the cleaners.

You're in the local laundromat in great sweats and a blue hoodie. Your headphones are over your ears as you read through some threads online about Red. Not the ones trying to dissect his identity. The ones that are giving him credit for cleaning up the city.

So you're distracted when someone taps on your shoulder. You don't scare easily, and you know that if you're in trouble you can handle things. You turn around to see who it is and what they want.

A tall guy with a tuft of white hair amidst his dark brown hair. And his arms are practically poking out of his muscle tee. You haven't had a decent date in a while. A while being like a year now.

You remove your headphones.

"Can I help you?" you ask.

He nods, "Yeah, I'm sorry but I think you might have taken a piece of clothing into your dryer?"

He points over to the dryer. And there in the tumbling wad of clothes you try to decipher which piece of clothing is not yours. You can see a jacket you don't own. And a shirt that doesn't have any graphics on it, which means it's not yours.

Your eyes widen, "Wait seriously? I'm so sorry."

"Don't sweat it, I just wanted to know if I could pay you back sometime?" he asks.

You look at him then. Tall. Hot. Does his own laundry. Gotham is a cesspool but this guy is probably one of the good ones. Why not?

"Yeah?" you ask.

He looks away from you then for a second. His hand coming behind him to scratch as it his neck. And you see it. A very faint but still present blush dusts across his cheeks and down his neck.

a/n: based on this comment I got on a post! I hope he's bbg enough for you!!

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

can you see the stars in your dreams (and do they have a lot to say about me) - Part 17

Or: a secret Admirer AU

PART 1 || PART 2 || PART 3 || PART 4 || PART 5 || PART 6 || PART 7 || PART 8 || PART 9 || PART 10 || PART 11 || PART 1 || PART 13 || PART 14 || PART 15 || PART 16

Eddie’s back to school on Tuesday, black eye turning a mottled sort of green, lip scabbed over. From where he’s hemmed in by Robin and Chrissy, Steve watches Eddie catch a glimpse of him and bolt the other way.

Jeff sighs, lets go of his hold on Chrissy’s arm, and says, “sorry, Steve. I’m just gonna—” and then he points toward Eddie and follows after him without another word.

Steve’s gut clenches with guilt. He’d put that look on Eddie’s face, had caused the rift in his and Jeff’s friendship, had split the forming group up with his ridiculous crush. But Chrissy and Robin are still here, standing by his side.

“Are he and Jeff okay?” Steve asks, biting his lip as he glances at Chrissy.

“I think so,” she says, looking after her boyfriend. “They talked on the phone, but Jeff didn’t tell me what about.”

“Forget about them,” Robin replies, reaching out to take his hand even as it makes everyone around them stare. “Come on, Stevie, or we’ll be late to Ms. Clickity Clack’s class.”

Steve passes the rest of the day in a daze, the spot at his side a revolving cast of Chrissy, Robin, and Jeff, like they’d all talked behind his back and decided he couldn’t be trusted with being alone right now. Steve can’t blame them because as soon as he’s left unattended in his big empty house, he gets out his notebook and pen, and begins to write.

   Eddie —

   I’m sorry I never got to read your last letter, but it wasn’t for me anyways. Maybe none of them were, not really. And I’m sorry about that, even sorrier about how your pretty face got caught in the ceasefire. I’m just full of sorries I’m to scared to tell to your face—from the way you ran when you saw me in the hallway this morning, maybe you wouldn’t want me to anyway.

   You’ve always been the brave one, so you must really want to not see me, huh? I hope you and Jeff are friends again. I’m sorry about that too, I’m the one who asked him not to tell you. I was afraid, but that’s no excuse.

   I don’t know how to stop wanting to right write to you. I can’t turn off the part of me that still wants to know everything about you. There’s a whole in my heart, and I keep trying to find people to fill it, but I can never be in love with someone who loves me back. You know?

   I’m sorry, Eddie. Maybe someday, I’ll get to say it to your face.

   Sorry,

   Steve

He closes the notebook on the damning words and shoves it into his nightstand so he doesn’t have to look at it. Sleep doesn’t come—the house is too quiet. He grabs the phone off his dresser and calls the only other person he knows whose parents trust them enough to have a phone in their bedroom.

“H’lo?” Robin mutters sleepily after finally picking up the phone six rings later.

She sounds tired—Steve’s sorry he woke her. “I wrote another letter,” he says.

That seems to perk her up instantly, as she hisses down the line, “Steven James Harrington.”

“Not my name, Robin Steven Bobbington,” he replies, talking right over her shrieked “well, that’s not mine!” to continue, “I’m not going to send it.”

“You better not,” she replies, and Steve can hear some rustling on her end, like she’s settling back down into her bed. He wishes, suddenly, that he was in there with her, clutching her hand as they fall asleep side by side. Instead, he lays down on his own bed and concentrates on the noises coming down the line.

“Is it stupid that I miss him?” he asks.

“Yeah, kinda.”

“Robin!”

She laughs, a quiet sleepy chuckle that warms him straight through. “I’m just saying! He’s been treating you like shit, Stevie.”

Steve sighs, burrowing down under his comforter and taking the phone with him. “He was different in the letters,” he whispers, like someone in his empty house might hear him otherwise. “Sweeter, you know?”

Robin sighs, “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

There’s enough sorries to go around for all of them, apparently. They’re quiet for a while, Robin’s breathing keeping him company in his big, lonely bed with his big, lonely thoughts.

“I love you, Robbie,” he whispers. “You know that, right?”

He’s been saying it a lot lately, throwing the words around like they’ll connect this time and get him something real. And they had, with Chrissy, with Robin, hell, even with Jeff. Just, not with Eddie. Maybe someday, he’ll learn to be okay with that.

“Love you, too, Dingus,” Robin replies, like it’s easy.

He falls asleep that night to the sound of Robin’s quiet snoring.

***

Eddie thinks about it—obsessively, compulsively. He dreams about it, jerks off about it, fucking cries about it. He reads the letters, again, and again, and again, wishing desperately that he still had that first one. At school, he checks his locker obsessively, compulsively, hoping there’s another note in his locker—there never is.

“Dude, what’s your problem?” Gareth asks, an elbow into Eddie’s side.

“Ow, ribs!” Eddie cries, curling away from him and into Doug at their usual lunch table.

“Sorry!” Gareth replies, leaning away from him and raising his hands up like that’ll somehow prove he’s harmless.

Jeff snorts around his sandwich, “gotta be careful, Gare-bear. He’s precious cargo now.”

“Oh fuck off,” Eddie replies, rolling his eyes as the rest of Hellfire laugh around him.

“No, but seriously, dude,” Gareth asks, this time without the thrown elbow. “What’s up with you?”

Eddie looks across the cafeteria at Steve and Chrissy’s usual spots, still empty the way they have been for weeks. He worries, sometimes, that they’re not eating, and it’s his fault.

Hopefully, they’re just packing lunches from home and eating somewhere else (he’s been too afraid to check).

“Can’t tell you buddy,” Eddie replies, still looking at the empty spot like that’ll somehow make the duo appear. “I promised.”

Gareth, clearly having followed his line of sight, leans closer and asks in an unsubtle whisper, “but it’s about you know what?”

Doug sits on, oblivious, but Jeff snorts again and asks, “okay, you didn’t tell me jack shit, but you told the freshman?”

“Sophomore, jackass!” Gareth cries, before seeming to realize the implications of Jeff’s sentence. “You told Jeff?”

“I knew before you did,” Jeff says smugly, and Eddie’s starting to get pissed off about that again.

“How!”

“Jeff, dearest?” Eddie grits out. “Do you want me to punch you in the face?”

That shuts the table up catastrophically. But in the end, Jeff sighs and says, “I’m coming over after school,” and the rest of lunch is spent fielding Gareth’s indignant questions.

True to his word, Jeff climbs into Eddie’s passenger seat at the end of the day. Eddie doesn’t take them to the trailer, he just drives around, taking back roads round and round, restlessness making his fingers twitch in the gear shift.

Jeff’s the one who breaks the silence, in the end. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he says, making Eddie flinch at the sudden noise. “Steve just seemed so scared, and Chrissy was crying so—”

“He was scared?” Eddie interrupts, stuck on the thought. He’d known that, before, but now that Eddie’s afraid, too, it hits like a punch to the chest.

“Of course he was,” Eddie replies to his own question. Suddenly unable to focus, Eddie pulls over to the side of the road. “I’m scared, too.”

Jeff sucks in a breath; Eddie doesn’t look away from his own knees.

“Yeah?”

Eddie bites his lip, knowing that Jeff will be able to read between the lines. “Yeah.” His eyes are watering, and Eddie swipes at them, embarrassed. “And I know we’re supposed to be talking about us, but I just—”

“No, hey,” Jeff replies. Eddie hears the sound of his seatbelt unbuckling, and the rustle of him shifting in his seat, and suddenly, Jeff’s hand is clasping Eddie’s shoulder, shaking him around just a little. “You’re my best friend—we’re fine, dude.”

Eddie swipes at his eyes again, “I think I want to ask him out, but what if I’m wrong?” Eddie asks, tracking Jeff’s expression out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t want to hurt him again.”

“So, what?” Jeff asks, voice deadpan. “You find out he likes you and suddenly he’s not just a jock anymore?”

Eddie looks down at his own knees, bracing for a hit he knows will never come. But, Eddie’s always been good at hurting himself, so he thinks about that yellow nail polish again, the enraptured look in Steve’s eyes during every D&D session, the way he’d glued himself to Robin Buckley, band nerd supreme’s side in recent weeks. The way he’d look at Eddie like he wasn’t the king of the freaks, like he was worth something.

“He was never just a jock,” Eddie murmurs. “I just never let myself think about it.”

Jeff mmmhmms him and Eddie knows him well enough to hear the doubt beneath the agreement.

“I was afraid, okay?” Eddie laments, scrunching his eyes closed tight until that makes his bruised eye ache too much. “You wouldn’t get it.”

At that, Jeff scoffs, and before Eddie can start up another tirade, he replies, “right, the black guy dating a white girl in Po-dunk, Indiana has no idea how scary it can be to make a move on the person you like.”

Okay, fair.

“You know what could happen if the wrong person finds out?” Jeff continues. “I’ll be lucky if they let me get out of town alive.”

“Okay, okay! I get it, sorry!” Eddie cries, throwing his hands up in defeat. And Jeff, being the asshole he is, just laughs at his discomfort. “How’s that going anyway?”

“With Chrissy?” Jeff asks, continuing when Eddie nods. “She’s great, man. I really, really like her.”

He’s smiling all goofy and in love. Eddie waits for the jealousy to hit; it never comes. Even as he’d flirted with her, there’d always been a disconnect for him between the letters and the girl. He knows why, now.

“I’m happy for you.”

Jeff aims that same goofy smile at him and punches his shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

Eddie wants to feel that way about someone. He wants to think of them and smile like he just can’t help himself. And with Steve Harrington of all people, maybe he can.

“If I ask Steve out, do you think he’ll still say yes?”

“Oh, for sure,” Jeff replies without hesitation before he turns to Eddie and eyes him up and down. “But are you sure you want to?”

Eddie bites back the defensive retort rising on his tongue, and grits out, “what do you mean?”

Jeff sighs and leans back in his chair. Eddie waits, three seconds from snapping as he stews in Jeff’s silence, hands clenched so hard against the steering wheel that it feels like one of his nails might pop clean off. 

“Jeff–”

“No one’s ever liked you before!” Jeff cries, and it hits Eddie like a punch to the sternum. “And maybe it’s not fair of me to ask but, are you sure you even really like him?”

“What?” Eddie asks, his mind a record skipping against a bent needle. “What do you–”

“Eddie, man,” Jeff sighs, swiveling his head to finally look Eddie directly in the eyes. “Do you like Steve Harrington, or do you just like that he likes you?”

He drops the wheel, hands almost numb as he shakes them out, no longer able to meet Jeff’s eye. 

How would anyone ever know that for sure? How can he know the origin of a feeling when it’s been there, simmering in the background of his brain, just waiting for him to wake up? How can he separate the feeling for a person and the person’s feeling for them?

That’s like asking him to unbraid his hair, let it fall back together, and still be able to tell which strands made up each component of the braid–it can’t be done.

But, “Gareth said I was obsessed with him,” Eddie replies, barely above a whisper. “Like, before I knew he wrote the letters?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Eddie laughs, but it’s just like Steve said–it sounds different when he doesn’t think it’s funny. “And, he was right, you know? I was flirting with Chrissy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him.”

Eddie runs a shaking hand through his hair and buries his face into his hands with a shudder. “He’s just–he’s Steve Harrington, right? Everyone knows everything about him, but then he just changes the script!” Eddie’s smiling now, manic, animated. “And I wanted to know everything.”

Eddie drops his hands to look over at Jeff, meeting his eyes once more. Jeff looks patient, ready, hopeful in a way he hadn’t before, so Eddie keeps talking.

“Like, Chrissy was flirting with you and he didn’t even seem to care, and the yellow nail polish, and he came to Hellfire, Jeff. Steve Harrington came and watched us play Dungeons and Dragons.”

“I know,” Jeff replies, grinning now, pearly whites all on full display. 

“And when he came to band practice, he was just like, watching me, and I sort of wanted to die, but in a good way, you know?”

Jeff decidedly does not look like he knows, but he’s still grinning across at Eddie like he’s proud of him. Eddie’s kind of proud, too, that he’s managing to say all of this aloud. It feels somehow new and a long time coming at the same time. 

“Okay, you can ask him out,” Jeff says, turning forward in his seat and buckling his seatbelt once more. 

Eddie laughs. “Oh, because I needed your blessing?”

“Yeah,” Jeff replies, grinning as he turns back to Eddie, looking him up and down like he’s a slab of meat Jeff’s checking for its quality. “Maybe wait until you’re healed up, though. You look like one of those cardboard box kittens that I keep seeing on the news.”

“Shut up!” Eddie squawks, but he’s smiling, helplessly, hopefully.

Eddie Munson with a chance at love, who would’ve thought?

PART 18

[imsogonesposts]

Starcourt Aftermath

|| ao3 || steve masterlist || requests are open!! ||

summary: Steve doesn't think anyone will come pick him up after the Starcourt mall fire, but you're there to take care of him and take him home. (wc: 1111)

warnings: mentions of steve's bad parents + everything he went through in s3

Steve hadn’t really expected anyone to come pick him up. He figured he’d either have to walk home, or ask Joyce, Nancy, or Robin for a ride home, after all, his parents couldn’t even bother to pick up the phone after the ambulance had tried them four times to tell them Steve had been involved in a fire at the mall. It was too late for him to ask the paramedics to call you without him feeling guilty that he would be waking you and your family up at this hour. So when the paramedics asked if there was anyone else they could reach, he shook his head no and said he’d get a ride home with one of his friends. He could only hope someone found his damn car keys before he started asking around for a ride home. Maybe the walk wouldn’t be so bad, though Steve didn’t know if he could handle that cold walk home, alone after everything he and Robin had endured. The needles, the drugs, the beating, he felt like he was going to be sick. 

“There you are!” He heard you exclaim from his side. Steve could only blink repeatedly, half expecting you to be a figment of his imagination, proof that the drugs never fully left his body yet. But no, you were there, standing in front of him before pulling him into a tight hug, one he easily reciprocated– he hadn’t realized just how badly he needed the hug, needed someone who made him feel safe and loved to hold him in their arms. 

“It’s the middle of the night, what are you doing here?” He quietly asked, words mumbled as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy to see you, to be in your arms, to feel your skin against his. 

You pulled away from the hug just enough to look at him, your eyes trailing over his face taking note of every cut and bruise that was there. “My mom was watching the news and they said the mall caught on fire. She told me, so I came here to check on you cause I knew you were working today. Are you okay?”

Steve felt like he could melt on the spot from your words. It shouldn’t be completely mind-boggling that his girlfriend would care about him enough to drive to the mall and ensure he was okay from the fire, but he regularly found himself falling in love with you all over again anytime you did the smallest things for him. Anytime you so much as hugged him, kissed him, even held his hand, Steve felt like his heart would burst out of his chest. 

“Yeah, honey,” he said softly, cupping your face with one hand as he moved to kiss your forehead. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he pauses, “okay-ish.”

“What happened to you?” You ask, gesturing to his black eye as you lean into his touch. 

“I’ll tell you about it later,” he promised, “I’d rather not think about that right now.”

You nodded your head yes before glancing around your surroundings, taking note of everyone that was affected by the mall fire. “Are your parents in town?” You asked, noticing their absence in the crowd. Despite dating Steve for almost a year now, you could count on one hand the number of times you’ve seen his parents due to their frequent business trips. 

He shook his head no, “business trip,” he muttered. Of course.

“Do you want to spend the night at my place then?” You ask, taking Steve’s free hand in yours as you begin to lead him to your car. 

He shook his head no again, something he probably shouldn’t be doing so much as it was only adding to the growing headache that was beginning to form between his temples. “No, no, I wouldn’t want to impose, sweetheart,” he replied as he seated himself in the car. 

“You wouldn’t be imposing,” you tell him, starting the car and pulling out of the mall parking lot, already on the route to your home, “I want to be with you right now, anyways.”

“Yeah?” He asks with a smile. 

“Yeah,” you quietly reply. “I was worried I was gonna get here and you wouldn’t be okay… I kinda need to be with you right now,” you tell him, eyes never leaving the road.

Steve feels his heart warm at that as he places a hand on your thigh, “I’m okay, baby,” he softly tells you. 

You nod noncommittally, continuing the drive to your house in silence, with the exception of the radio softly buzzing in the background. 

A five-minute drive later, you’re helping Steve up the stairs of your house and into your bedroom, setting aside a pair of clothes for him to change into. 

“You sure the paramedics cleaned your face up?” You ask as Steve begins to change into the sweatpants and hoodie you set out for him, the very same hoodie and sweatpants he had thought he somehow lost. 

“Yeah, I know what the paramedics did to me, babe,” he says, voice slightly muffled by the hoodie as he puts it on. 

You nod, already under your bed’s sheets, waiting for him to join you. “Just making sure.”

Steve smiles, moving to give you a quick, soft kiss as he tells you, “and I appreciate it, baby. Really. But you don’t need to worry so much, okay?”

You want to tell him how you have every right to worry, how you hadn’t heard from Steve since the day prior, and that when you heard about the mall fire you swore you felt your heart stop for the briefest of seconds, how when you saw him sitting alone with his face battered and bruised, you didn’t know whether to cry tears of joy or sadness. Joy for him being alive, or sadness for him looking as if he had barely escaped with his life. 

Instead, you nod your head yes, telling him a soft “okay,” as he kisses your forehead, getting under the covers next to you, arm already draped over your waist as he pulls you closer to him. Almost as if he knew how badly you needed to be in his arms after the scare. Or maybe he needed to feel you in his arms just as badly as you did. 

“Is it fine if I leave the lights on?” Steve softly asks. 

You nod your head yes, “course it is, baby.”

He smiles at your response, whispering a small “thank you,” as he somehow pulls your body even closer to his. 

[help-itrappedmyself]

Danny Punches a Clown Part 6

Masterpost

Danny, after many promises and assurances, lets Red Robin take him to the batcave. They travel by car, and as fancy as it was, Danny was almost scared to touch anything inside it. Red was a much better driver than his father though, so he just closed his eyes and focused on trying to keep his healing up.

The Batcave turned out to be an actual cave, underground, with actual bats in it. He was whisked to a medical area too quickly to see much of anything else besides some other vehicles and a giant computer set up. 

Someone was waiting in the medical space with a tray of tools and bandages ready next to the bed, Red introduced him as Agent A. They were quick to lie him down on a cot and set him up to a heart monitor and that had Red and the A frowning immediately.

“It’s a medical condition.” Danny blurted, and both pairs of eyes shot to him. “My heartrate is naturally very slow, temperature runs cold, pale skin, slow circulation so I can't have a lot of different medications." Not that any medications would really work, but better safe than sorry. Them not working would be suspicious, and Danny does not have the energy or focus for trying to keep straight any real explanations right now.  "It’s fine, I promise.”

Agent A nodded slowly. “Is there anything else we should know before we start treatment?”

“Just can't give me any medicines, I think that's the only relevant bit.”

“Alright, I will keep that in mind. Please lift your shirt so I can see the wound.”

Danny does, and they manage their expressions quite well on seeing it. Agent A goes immediately for creams and bandages.

“What burned you like that?” Red asked.

“Gun.” Danny was starting to slur. He did not want to sleep right now, with these people here.

“A gun? What kind of gun causes burns?”

“New blaster, parents made it special.”

“Your parents make guns?”

Danny shrugs, turning his head to look at Red instead of the far off ceiling of the cave. “My parents make lots of things. They're scientists, inventors." Danny waves his arm around vaguely. "The gun was new though, hadn’t been shot with that one before. The earlier versions were much less powerful.”

“Are you saying that your parents are the ones that shot you?” Red asked gently, taking a seat in the chair next to the bed. “It wasn’t just their gun that was used?”

Danny frowns. “Well yeah.”

Tim is very concerned at the tone he just used, like getting shot at by your parents was normal. “Do they shoot at you a lot?”

“Fair amount I suppose.” Red could see Danny thinking really hard about something. Dany’s head was really starting to hurt. His brain was fuzzy and he knew he should be concerned about something, but couldn’t figure out what. His parents shooting at him was nothing new, considering. “Like, they did it more than Vlad but I don’t see him as often, and they’ve done it longer than the GIW, but since the GIW has started they’ve been about equal I guess. I mean, sometimes all the defense systems in the house target me but that wasn’t technically intentional. Took forever for us to figure out how to get them to stop that.”

“Danny, when was the last time you slept?” Red asked gently.

Danny wasn’t sure if his blip earlier this morning counted. He didn’t think it lasted more than an hour, but the last time he slept before that was before his fight in Amity, escaping through the ghost zone and running around in this dimension.

“It’s been awhile.” Danny landed on. True enough for medical history he supposed.

“Right.” A finished the last of the bandages and tugged Danny’s shirt back down. “Well, why don’t you do that now, while we go and find you something to eat.”

“I’m too tired to fight food right now.”

Tim shared a look with Alfred before turning back to Danny. “Okay then. Maybe sleep first and then eat?”

“I will go start making something now that you’re all set up here Mister Danny.” Agent A states, walking past the medical curtains and shutting them behind him. Red pulled out a tablet and started tapping on it. He noticed Danny’s eyes on him after a moment.

“You going to sleep?”

“Strange place, strange people. Not sure that’s the best decision here.”

Red looked up from his tablet.

“You trusted me enough to come here. Trust me enough to sleep. I will make sure no one but me or A comes in before you’re ready.”