#this causes a lot of it to ice explode and freezes hideout turns into a stabby stabby glacier

[volcanicsleep]

rottmnt/gotham dream drawings as promised lmao

[changingourdestiny]

Beyond Light Part 2: The Gift

Summary:

Rae, Blaze and Tif head to Eramis’s base of operations, Riis Reborn, to learn more about Eramis and the power she wields - Stasis. But they quickly learn defeating her and her house may not be as easy as they thought.

Previous Part: Here

Next Part: Here

The weather had cleared up a bit as Rae, Blaze and Tif entered the abandoned building where Variks was hiding. It looked like it hadn’t been used for centuries and items were strewn about the room, except for a wet floor sign that was still standing upright. ‘Did Variks put that there?’ Rae thought to herself before continuing to where Variks stood in front of a control panel with a window above it. “You do not trust Variks, yes? But leave your distrust, your blame, for later.” Variks began before noticing the third member behind Rae and Blaze, “Hmm…you dress like a captain, yet you are human.”

“Captain Tifawt Kariuki of House Light. Tif to my friends.” Tif greeted with a smile, “You’re Variks of House Judgement, right? Misraakskel has mentioned you before when talking about his time at the Reef.”

“A Guardian captain of Misraaks. A welcome ally.” Variks gave a nod to Tif. “With formalities out of the way,” Blaze interrupted, “Who was the Eliksni that tried to turn you into a popsicle?”

Variks tilted his head in confusion. “What’s a…pop-sik-el?” Tif asked, sharing Variks’s confusion. “It’s flavoured ice that people eat.” Rae explained. “Oh, that makes sense! I think…” Tif smiled. “The Eliksni who attacked me – she is Eramis, Shipstealer.” Variks explained, “A new Kell of Kells, unifier of the houses – and she seeks to build an army of Eliksni, powered by Darkness.”

“Great. Skolas 2.0.” Blaze muttered. “So that ice power she used was the Darkness you sensed earlier.” Rae said as Ghost appeared beside her. “Sounds about right. If the Eliksni weren’t already a threat, they certainly are now.”

“If she is not stopped, she will destroy us all.” Variks added, “You must go! Variks will help you find your way.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Rae and Blaze sped across the snow on their Sparrows with Tif beside them on their Pike. “Hey, Variks.” Rae began, “Anything we should know about that power Eramis was using?”

“We call it Stasis.” Variks began, “Power in opposition to your Light, given by the Pyramid. It led Eramis astray. Europa was to be a haven for Eliksni. But Stasis corrupted her. With it, she turns obsession into opportunity, working in haste to empower Eliksni with the Dark gift. If Eramis is not stopped, she will build an army capable of snuffing out the Light, once and for all.”

“We won’t let that happen.” Blaze smirked, “Dark or not, ice stands no chance against fire. And we have three Guardians who specialise in Solar plus a Guardian who can turn into an inferno. We got this handled.”

“Let’s not get cocky.” Rae warned, “We don’t know what Stasis is capable of, or Eramis for that matter. We need to play this carefully.”

“I’m with Rae. I don’t wanna be a pop-sik-el!” Tif added, “Hey, am I saying it right? Pop-sik-el?”

“Close. Popsicle.”

“Pop…sik-il…popsicle! I think I got it!” Tif cheered, “I’ve been with House Light for a lot of my life so I’m not too familiar with some human stuff.”

“You should come to the Tower after we’re done here.” Blaze suggested, “We can show you around!”

“Ooh! Yes please!”

Rae couldn’t help but chuckle at Tif’s excitement. It made her feel a little less antsy about this mission.

 The trio emerged from the tunnels into an area filled with ruins of old buildings. “What is this place?” Tif asked. “No clue.” Berhane replied. “This is what remains of Eventide.” Ghost answered, “Clovis Bray’s Europan colony. Built to house those who came to build Exo…and to become them.”

“You think Cayde was made here?” Blaze asked. “Cayde, Banshee, Ada, Shiro…probably every Exo we know was made here.” Rae replied, a grim expression on her face. “Why do you make it sound like a bad thing?” Tif asked, sensing the atmosphere drop. “Clovis wasn’t a good person.” Rae replied, “He was a genius, but was also egotistical and a megalomaniac. He was responsible for a lot of deaths while making the Exos. From what I’ve been able to read up on, the first people went insane upon becoming Exominds. We’d be here all day if I listed off all the stuff he did.”

“That’s awful…what happened to him?”

“He made AI and Exo version of himself.” Blaze replied, “Nobody really knows what happened to them though. Frankly, I hope they’re dead too.”

“Let’s focus on the mission.” Rae sighed, “Any more talk of Clovis and I’ll be temped to blow up what remains of this place.”

“Well if we’re changing the subject,” Ghost began, “Variks, why did you come to Europa in the first place? Hiding from the Vanguard?”

“Variks knows of the ‘elephant in the room’. Cayde-6’s death was not my intention.” Variks replied, “No day passes without regret. I will answer for these crimes. But not before my people are safe from Eramis.”

“I don’t blame you directly for what happened to Cayde.” Rae replied, “Though you are responsible for the release of the Scorn. I’ll try to see if I can organise something with Zavala, but I promise nothing.”

“Variks appreciates this.”

“What’s an elephant?” Tif whispered to Blaze as they pulled up to a building. “I’ll tell you later.” Blaze replied, “Let’s go scope out Eramis’s place.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The three Guardians crept through Riis Reborn until they arrived at a bridge with a window peering down into a large room. There a large gathering of Fallen stood around a large Pyramid shard with Eramis stood with a large servitor and several other Fallen. “You’re all here for the same reason.” Eramis began, “Because you desire freedom for our people. And I can give you just that. Chains! For centuries, we have been bound by them. Servants to the so-called ‘Great’ Machine.” Eramis motioned to the servitor, “We even built idols in its image. We have become pawns of our own devices. No. Longer.” Eramis summoned an orb Stasis in her hand before using it to completely freeze the servitor. “Whoa…” Tif muttered as Eramis continued, “Today…we begin breaking free from our chains.” Eramis punched the servitor right in the centre, causing it to shatter. Tif flinched at the sight as did some of the Fallen below. “This power is a gift.” Eramis said, holding up her upper hand, “One I will share with all of you, in time. Phylaks!” Below Eramis, a baron stepped up towards the shard. “No way…!” Tif gasped.

“Do you know her?” Blaze asked.

“I know of her. Phylaks the Warrior. According to Misraaks, she used to be with House Devils and was famous at Twilight Gap. She’s super strong.”

“And she’s with Eramis. Greeeaaat.”

The shard began to glow orange as Eramis began to speak again, “One by one, we will rise again.” A small blue splinter emerged from the shard and Phylaks took it in her hand and placed it in a slot on her gauntlet as an icy mist emerged from her arms. She slammed her arms down and large spikes of stasis emerged from the ground. The Fallen began to cheer as Eramis raised her hands, “This is our future! Our enemies stand no chance against this power. The Great Machine will finally know our pain!”

 As the cheering continued, Rae’s expression turned grim, “This is bad. If they have access to Darkness this easily, they could be more of a threat than we thought. We need to-”

“Uhh…guys?”

Rae turned to Tif who wore a scared expression on their face as they pointed at the window. Rae looked back down to see a dreg pointing up at them while Eramis stood beside them…staring directly at them, “It would appear our enemies have arrived, eager to test us. Let’s not keep them waiting.”

“Oh crap…” Blaze muttered, before the sound of many footsteps began to approach them. “Time to go! Run!” Rae called out as the trio ran back the way they came. “I’m calling our ships now. Don’t stop. Keep moving!” Ghost called out.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “They actually have Darkness. The Eliksni. This is really bad.” Ghost muttered as he helped Rae set up the comms relays outside Variks’s hideout with Tif and Blaze standing guard. The trio had narrowly escaped Riis Reborn and were setting up a secret network to reach out to defectors of Eramis’s house. “We’ll figure something out. Panicking won’t do us any good.” Rae replied as they finished setting up the second relay. “You’re right. I’ll let Variks know we’re nearly done up here.” Ghost replied, “Okay, Variks, that’s two-” Ghost was cut off as Rae suddenly hear whispers echo in her head. As they faded, she turned to Blaze and Tif. Judging by their unnerved faces, they heard it too. “Did you…hear that?” Ghost asked, “Sounded like voices.”

“S-scary!” Tif whimpered. “What? Who?” Variks asked. “The one’s who spoke through me.” Ghost replied quietly. “The Pyramids…” Rae sighed, remembering their time on the Moon a year ago. “We must hurry then. There’s one more relay.” Variks replied. The three Guardians left the roof of the base and made their way over to the last relay. Ghost scanned over it and within a matter of seconds, it was up and running. “And done! Now let’s-”

“Uh…Rae?” Blaze pointed beyond the relay where a shard had taken form and had began to glow a bright orange. “That doesn’t look-” Before Tif could finish their sentence, the orange glow exploded outwards and everything briefly went white. “Oh no.” Ghost exclaimed as the whispers returned, “It’s them. They’re here. They’re…beckoning us.” Rae flinched upon hearing the last part, recognising Ghost’s change in tone as the Pyramids talking through him. “Not again…” Rae muttered, “Come on. Let’s see what it wants.” Rae glided over to where the shard was. “You’re joking right?” Blaze asked in disbelief. “Hey, wait up!” Tif dashed after Rae as Blaze let out a frustrated sigh before following them. But as they approached, the shard disappeared and reappeared in the distance. “We beckoned. You answered. We’ve kept you waiting long enough.” Ghost’s distorted voice began, “Come to us; salvation awaits.” Rae sighed as she muttered, “Not this bs again.” Under her breath before motioning for the others to follow her, “Come on. Let’s see what it wants.”

“You’ve dealt with this before?” Tif asked as the three Guardians carefully made their way down the cliff towards the shard. “You could say that. Remember when you helped us on the moon?” Blaze began, “Well it turns out that Pyramid was related to the Darkness and it began talking through Ghost when we got near it. I feel really bad for him.”

“He’s not the only one who’s sick of it either.” Rae sighed as she took out Ghost who was just floating with a blank expression, absolutely still, “Hey. I get you’re trying to get our attention, but can you do so in a way that DOESN’T involve possessing my Ghost? Neither of us really appreciate it.”

Absolute silence.

Rae sighed as she dismissed Ghost, “Figured.”

 As they made their way over a large gap in the ice, the Darkness spoke through Ghost again, “The Light believes you thankless. Nothing more than a soldier asked again and again to do its bidding. So we want to thank you. With a gift. To help you finally take control.” The shard teleported again down an icy valley. “A gift?” Tif raised an eyebrow, “Do you think it’s…?”

“Only one way to find out.” Rae replied as they trekked through the snow until they arrived at a large plain of snow and ice, a Pyramid barely visible in the distance. A large object emerged from it and flew across the plains, shifting as it went, until it landed on the ice and seemed to form some sort of temple. “What is-?” Rae was cut off by the sound of a Captain’s roar followed by the sound of battle. “Are there other Guardians here?” Blaze asked as the trio rushed to where they heard the commotion. “Possibly. But I think we were the only one assigned here-” Rae suddenly ground to a halt and put her arms out to stop Tif and Blaze as a loud boom echoed around them followed by a cloud of snow blowing past them. As the snow cleared, Rae heard a familiar voice that she hadn’t heard in many years.

“And here comes our Guardians. Right on time.”

The snow cloud cleared to reveal Eris Morn, Drifter, and Marcia standing beside a familiar white Exo. “It’s you…” Rae muttered as she stared in disbelief. Tif peered past them and gave a wave along with a grin, “Hi, Marcia!”

“S’up, Tif?” Marcia waved back. Blaze just glanced between everyone, the Fallen corpses around them, and the temple nearby before eventually letting out a sigh, “I say this a lot…but Traveller this is the weirdest mission I’ve ever been on.”

 To Be Continued…

[sweetness47]

Surviving Purgatory

Pairing Purgatory!Alpha!Dean x Omega!Reader

FINAL WORD COUNT: 2574

@spnkinkbingo – square filled: Slick

@heavenandhellbingo – square filled: Dimensional portals

@spndarkbingo – square filled: Purgatory Dean

@spnabobingo – square filled: heat

@spndeanbingo – square filled: purgatory

WARNINGS: MATURE 18+ READERS ONLY!! SMUT, SWEARING, HEAT/RUT, ABO, MATING, CLAIMING, MENTIONS OF ALMOST RAPE

Summary: Escape is all that matters, isn’t it?

Her head hurt, and so did everything else. What the hell happened? Wait, was that twigs? Leaves? Then her ears caught sounds, yelling, fighting, and…snarling? Struggling through the pain and the persistent jackhammer that pounded inside her skull, YN attempted to open her eyes and stand up. She needed to find safety, FAST! And what about her heat? It was supposed to come any day now. How long had she been unconscious?

As she ran in the opposite direction of the noise, she felt around her pockets for her meds, but found nothing. Her mind came back to the current predicament, realizing the sounds were growing closer. With renewed desperation, she picked up speed she didn’t know she possessed. Tripping, falling, scrambling to get up, running again, her lungs burned, gasping for air.

The sounds seemed to echo from all directions now, farther, then closer, than far once more. She couldn’t tell anymore where the sounds had originated. She looked behind her but saw nothing. She looked to her left, then to her right, still seeing nothing.

She slammed into a wall…no a person. Both toppled to the ground and a scream escaped her lips. A large hand covered the sound, a deep voice shushing her. She stopped struggling when her captor held firm and whispered in her ear.

“Keep quiet if you want to live. I won’t hurt you. Trust me.”

She turned and was greeted by a stunning pair of eyes, green and mesmerizing. They stayed still and waited. The sound of footsteps came and left. When he was sure the danger had passed, he nodded to YN and released her, motioning for her to keep her voice down.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, but I didn’t want to see them take you.” He whispered. His face showed nothing but sincerity.

Then his scent hit her. ALPHA!

Shit!

Her heat was still coming. Rescue or not, he was also a threat, but a different kind of threat.

“Who, or more like, what were they? Thank you for saving me by the way. I owe you my life.” she replied, hoping her voice didn’t sound as scared as she thought.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know. And your welcome.”

His eyes flickered gold, then back to that gorgeous green.

He knew.

“Shit!” he muttered. “We need to get you back to my hideout. That sweet scent of yours is going to attract some unwanted attention. Let’s move!”

He didn’t need to tell her twice. For as dangerous as his presence was, she was a hell of a lot safer with him than without. So she went with him, weaving through the trees and dense brush, almost tripping again. Strong arms caught her mid-fall, enveloping her in the security they offered. Then they kept going.

They barely get to the shelter before YN collapses. Exhausted, hungry and cold, she can no longer maintain consciousness. Those same strong arms lifted her easily, and carried her indoors. He got a fire going soon enough, and placed blankets and pillows next to the fire for her to lay on. Her skin was pale and icy, and her breathing, shallow. If he didn’t act quickly, she could end up with pneumonia or worse. He made hot tea, mint, but she wasn’t coherent enough to drink it.

Not finding anymore blankets, he has only one choice left. Body heat is the quickest way to transfer warmth to someone. Just bodies and blankets. No clothes. He can smell her heat coming, and he isn’t sure if he will be able to keep sane, would he be able to stop himself from taking her? His conscience won’t let him violate her while she is out, but once she awakens, and she asks?

He will knot her, and then he will claim her.

For now, he needs to get her warm. Quickly, he removes his clothes and then hers. He crawls under the mountain of blankets and brings her into his arms. She feels like ice. He prays he isn’t too late to save her.

Some time later, she stirs and coughs, feeling like she’s been run over by a herd of elephants. The body behind her also stirs, and she freezes. She recognizes the scent, and is acutely aware that neither of them are wearing any clothing. She attempts to take a blanket to cover herself as she slips from the makeshift bed. Her actions, however, do not go unnoticed.

“You’re awake, thank God! How do you feel?”

She turns and blushes as she tries to shield her figure from him.

He understands and tries to calm her. “Nothing happened. You needed warmth, and the fire wasn’t enough. Skin to skin is the next best thing.”

YN visibly relaxed. “I believe you. Thank you for saving my life, again.” She turned crimson when the blankets moved, exposing some of his groin. “My name is YN.”

“Dean, and your welcome. How did you end up in this place? This ain’t no picnic site.”

“I honestly have no idea. One minute I was on my way home from the store, and then pain, lots of it. I woke up here, with nothing but the clothes on my back, and no suppressants. Worse, my heat…”

He didn’t let her finish. “I know. It’s gonna hit any time now.”

YN nodded. “That’s pretty accurate. But that still doesn’t explain why I was brought here. By the way, where is ‘here’?”

Dean’s voice was quiet, but concerned. “You’re in purgatory. It’s like a monster version of hell.” The shocked look on YN’s face made him pause. He probably shouldn’t have started with that. “My guess is you were sent her by accident, unless you’re a monster, but I’m leaning more toward option A.”

His attempt at mild humor made her smile. “I’m not a monster. I do have gifts though. I can see monsters when they are disguised as people. Does that make me a monster?”

Dean got up to grab clothing, and YN looked away with hot pink cheeks, modesty and innocence coming into play. Dean looked at her reactions and smiled.

“That doesn’t make you a monster YN. But they might see you as a threat, and figured they could get rid of you by throwing you in here.”

YN began dressing as Dean went to the kitchen area to get some food. It wasn’t much, some edible berries and mint leaves and water. But it was better than nothing.

“So, is there a way out of Purgatory?” YN asked hopefully.

“According to a friend of mine, yes. There is a door, a portal somewhere here. It’s not visible to the monsters, just other beings. I haven’t seen or found it yet though.”

YN frowned. “How long have you been searching? Or should I ask how long you’ve been here.”

Dean shrugged. “It’s hard to say. There are no day and night, just this grey, every minute of every hour.”

“Dean, we need to get me home. My suppressants! I need them before…”

He shook his head. “There’s no way we’re going to find it that fast.”

YN’s eyes widened. “But, the monsters! They will smell it, and it will lead them here.”

Dean looked at her. “We’ll be fine. They can’t get us here.”

The first cramp hit hard, spurred on by the fear and panic. YN screamed as she grabbed her mid section. They’d never been this bad.

Dean’s eyes flashed gold. Closing them, he breathed in fresh apple pie and burgers. His mouth began to water.

“Omega!” he growled. Dean came over to her and knelt down beside her, looking into her eyes. “I won’t force you, but if you allow me, I can help you. I can knot you and claim you. But it will be your choice.”

She bit her lower lip. She’d always been afraid of alphas claiming her, because she’d almost been forced once. That was why she used the herbs.

Now she had little choice. She needed an alpha’s knot, his mark.

She needed this Alpha.

“Dean…please…” she whispered.

In half a second he had crossed the room, his lips crushing hers as he carried her to the bed. She mewled as his tongue left a hot trail down her neck, then nibbled near her scent gland. Slick pooled between her legs. She moaned.

His fingers slid past the waistband of her pants, slipping easily inside her, drowning in the sweet nectar she offered. She gasped as her hips bucked, his fingers caressing her sensitive area. The first climax found her instantly, followed shortly by another. Pleasure devoured her rationality, fears vanished as her body exploded with the passionate fire created by Dean’s fingers. He slipped her pants off, and his as well, eager to lap up every single drop of the ambrosia that was YN. He was pretty sure he’d found heaven. Never had he tasted anything so irresistible. He couldn’t seem to get enough. Fuck, this was better than pie…wait did he really just think that? Yeah he did, and it was true.

“Dean! Alpha!” she cried as she orgasmed once more.

Dean once again drank every single drop, then moved to line himself up with her entrance. He searched her eyes for any sign of rejection, but found only lust and desire, need. Her eyes had gone full silver.

That melted the last of his resolve. He positioned himself and thrust in, feeling that slick pool as it welcomed his hard cock inside. He groaned as he slowly pushed into her tight hole. His thick shaft met her barrier, and she nodded. In one swift motion, he broke through, bottoming out, stopping to allow her time to adjust. His lips captured hers as he began to move, pulling out only to slam back in. She wrapped her legs around his torso as he set a relentless pace. Slick coated his cock as she hit her high once more, her cries muffled by his kiss.

He cried out her name and sank his fangs into her shoulder as his knot swelled, shooting load after load of hot cum inside her belly. He licked the wound to seal it and nipped at her neck and earlobe.

Gently, he rolled them so she was on top, apologizing when he accidently tugged the knot, causing her some minor discomfort.

Both were still coming off their high when footsteps were heard in the living room, followed by a voice Dean immediately recognized.

“Dean? You here mon ami?”

“Yeah Benny. Make yourself comfy. I’ll be out in a bit.”

YN raised a questioning brow. Dean shrugged. “That’s the friend I mentioned earlier.”

She relaxed.

Some time later, both Dean and YN emerged from the bedroom, clothed and somewhat presentable. Then YN stopped short as her gaze landed on Benny.

He was a vampire. He was also the Alpha who had nearly violated her. She would never forget that scent, ever.

YN visibly paled and ran to the bathroom, barely making it before she threw up. Dean was there in a flash.

“What’s wrong YN? Did I…?” She shook her head before he could finish.

A voice spoke from behind them. “She’s afraid of me Dean. Remember that past I told you about? The really bad one? A few years before I ended up here, I was experiencing a really bad rut. She was almost an unwilling participant in my relief. She’s quite a little spitfire and slugged me. Then she disappeared, and reality hit at what I’d almost done.”

Benny turned to YN. “I’m sorry for what I did. I hope one day you can forgive me for my actions.” Then he turned back to Dean. “I leave the decision up to you, mon ami. I did your omega wrong, and I cannot change or excuse my actions, so if you want me to go, I will.”

Dean looked at YN, then back at his friend. “I’ll still help you, because you saved my life. But I can’t speak for YN. Once we find the back door to the real world, your fate is in her hands.”

Benny nodded. “That’s fair.”

YN cleared her throat. “So, what does this portal look like? I might be able to find it.”

Benny shrugged. “Honestly chère, I’ve only ever heard stories. It’s a large shiny door, hard to miss apparently, if you have the sight.”

“We’ll head out in a few hours, it’s too dangerous right now.” Dean suggested.

The few hours went by rather quickly, although it was rather pleasant. Benny sat in the porch, while Dean and YN found new ways to pleasure each other, taking time to explore and learn about one another. Dean dived right back into her slick, and it was just as divine as previously discovered.

When the time came to leave, the unlikely trio set out, Benny and Dean both flanking YN in an attempt to mask her heat. She wore Dean’s jacket and Benny’s hat, hoping that the Alpha-scented clothing would help as well. It seemed to work at first, Benny leading Dean and YN to the area where the portal was rumored to be. Then howling and snarling echoed in the far distance.

“Shit! They found her scent!” Dean yelled.

Benny nodded, and they ran, that is until YN grabbed Dean’s arm and pointed. “There!” she shouted.

“Lead the way chère. Fast!” Benny urged.

YN held Dean’s hand and made a beeline for the portal, Benny following close behind. She reached for the handle just as three werewolves entered the area. Dean and Benny turned to the unwanted guests, machetes in hand, while she turned the knob.

Bright light shone through the opening, causing the werewolves to shield their eyes. But more creatures were heard in the distance. “Let’s move!” Dean motioned to Benny and YN, both of whom didn’t need to be asked twice. Dean grabbed YN’s hand, and Benny put a hand on Dean’s shoulder, then the three ran through the opening. Right after they did, the door closed, cutting off a hand from one of the lycans.

YN woke with a start, she wasn’t at home, and her head hurt something fierce. Then memories came flooding back. Purgatory. The Portal.

The Alpha that had saved her life, then mated her and claimed her.

Her Alpha.

She looked around the room she occupied, taking the homey feel, the simplicity. The door opened and she sat up. Dean walked in with a tray of real food. Her stomach growled as she took in the savory aroma of bacon and eggs.

“Morning sweetheart. Thought we should start our life together with breakfast in bed, then some hot sex, then some info swapping. How does that sound?”

YN smiled, even as a cramp started in her abdomen. “Sounds wonderful, but can we start in a different order? My body really needs the hot sex first, with my Alpha.”

Dean growled as he set the tray down. “Whatever my Omega needs, I am more than willing to supply.” He said as he removed his clothes and joined her on the bed.

@legion1993 @akshi8278

[damijon-supersons]

Super Puppy Love: A Super Sons fic

Synopsis: Damian and Jon had gotten the hang of working together as the Super Sons. Just as Damian thought that he could make this team-up work, he runs into an unexpected snag: Jon has a crush on him.

Update: I made a sort of epilogue/continuation of this as a response to a story prompt. Check it out here!  Super Puppy Love: Jon actually explains why there’s a naked Damian in his bed.

Over a hundred panicked families ran away from the Metropolis stadium when a thirty-foot robot fell from the sky and began terrorizing the patrons. Walking on four legs each as thick as a cargo truck, it lumbered across the grounds as it indiscriminately fired beams of energy at anything that moved.

Not a moment later, a red blur streaked toward the robot and slammed into it with a deafening crunch. It turned to fire its gun only for it to suddenly explode. When the smoke cleared, the public breathed a sigh of relief as Robin and Superboy stood firm, gadgets and fists at the ready.

“Its movements are slow and reactive—it’s unmanned. Outflank it and destroy its balance!” Robin commanded.

“What’s ‘outflank’ mean?” Superboy asked innocently.

“Tt,” Damian clicked his tongue impatiently. “I’ll attack the left side, you take the right!”

“R-right! Sure thing!” Superboy nodded meekly as the duo began to battle with the robot.

The two boys had become a common enough sight that the public knew about the country’s newest hero-duo—the Super Sons. The Son of Batman and the Son or Superman have earned a modest reputation for themselves since their public debut together. Some complained they were too young, some thought that the boys were quite admirable. Others claimed they were secret lovers, while many agreed that they were cute—much to Damian’s chagrin.

One thing that everyone agreed on, though, was that they were quite effective. The giant robot was a trivial cleanup job for Damian Wayne and Jon Kent.

“Freeze breath at your three o’clock!” Damian bellowed as he fished explosive birdarangs from his utility belt.

“Got it!” Jon responded as he blew a gust of wind at a patch of the road, coating it with frozen ice.

Damian aimed his birdarangs at the robot’s joints and threw each with calculated precision. The robot’s foreleg joints exploded, causing it to stagger sideways. Just as Damian had planned, it slipped on the frozen road and stumbled to the ground in a hail of sparks and smoke, destroying one of its legs in the process.

“Let’s finish this,” Damian said confidently. “I just need to attach this EMP emitter to an exposed circuit and that’ll be the end of it.”

Jon placed his hand on Damian’s shoulder to stop him. “Wait, there’s, uhm, I saw with my super-vision that it has hidden weapons and stuff under the outer panels. If you get close it’ll instantly pop out and hit you.”

“You’re sure?” Damian asked with a raised brow. He found it weird that Jon hadn’t mentioned that detail before then.

“Yes!” Jon replied in an oddly enthusiastic tone. “So…it only has one blind spot directly on top of its main chassis. We could…er…do that thing we practiced so you can get to it, if you want.” The boy sounded almost hopeful and eyed Damian eagerly.

“You mean maneuver 3?” Damian asked skeptically. “It doesn’t seem necessary.”

“Trust me, Damian!” Jon insisted. “Besides, you said you’ve always wanted to try it in a real battle, right?”

“I mean, it can’t move already, but sure, since you want to so much.” Damian shrugged.

“Okay!” Jon replied giddily as he moved behind Damian. The older boy couldn’t see the goofy grin that Jon had on his face.

Jon gently wrapped his arms around Damian’s torso and began to fly.

“Careful with your fingers!” Damian complained.

“I know, I know,” Jon giggled. As much as Damian didn’t want to admit it, he actually had a few ticklish spots on his body. Jon had accidentally discovered them during their training together.

Maneuver 3, as Damian liked to call it, involved Jon flying him up a certain height and then throwing him directly at the enemy, using altitude, speed, and Damian’s superior reflexes to overwhelm the enemy. This time, the enemy was a mostly immobile and now-relatively harmless robot.

Jon held Damian tight, and without even thinking about it, he nuzzled Damian’s neck.

Damian was startled by the contact—this was definitely not part of maneuver 3. “What are you doing, you idiot? Throw me already!”

“Oh, right!” Jon snapped out of his trance and spun twice before throwing Damian with gusto.

Damian zoomed through the air and landed with a roll onto the robot’s back. A few bursts of blue sparks later, it collapsed on the ground fully, and the mechanical drone of its engines ground to a halt. Amidst the cheering crowd, Jon swooped back down to pick Damian up and the pair left the scene toward the sunset.

Jon could see Titans Tower getting closer and sighed. It almost seemed like he wanted it to take longer to get there. Damian, for his part, was getting restless as Jon carried him like a damsel in his arms.

“You didn’t have to fly me, you know,” Damian said ruefully. “I could’ve remote-activated the Robin cycle to pick me up.”

“Well…this saves time! It’s way faster if I carry you,” Jon chirped.

“I suppose,” Damian muttered.

Once they’d reached the rooftop, Damian eagerly hopped off Jon’s arms as Beast Boy came to greet them.

“Hey, my man has returned! Welcome back, D!” Beast Boy called out cheerfully.

“I told you not to call me that!” Damian replied curtly. “Any issues while I was gone?”

“Starfire cooked up a mean pudding, you gotta try it!”

Damian grunted unenthusiastically as Beast Boy turned to Jon.

“Hey there, Jon!” he greeted.

“Hi, Gar,” Jon waved.

“You and Damian had fuuuuun?” Beast Boy asked as if he was teasing.

“Yeah, a lot! We did this technique we were practicing…and it was pretty cool how Damian was just all over that robot, and man!” Jon giddily recounted. He didn’t notice Damian shoot him a curious look.

Beast Boy smiled, amused that Jon didn’t understand his intent. “Good, good. Say, you wanna hang out in the tower for a bit?”

“Oh, uhm, I’d love to but…you know…I’m not a Teen Titan yet and…” Jon stammered as he fiddled with the hem of his cape.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Beast Boy reassured him. “It’s not like there’s a door the shuts you out if you’re not yet thirteen. We’ll just play a few hoops, maybe a dip in the pool? Damian here needs a babysitter anyway…” he looked meaningfully at Damian, who merely cocked his head in confusion.

“N—no thanks! I don’t have my trunks and, uhm…!” Jon was incredibly flustered, and his cheeks flushed a deep crimson. “I-gotta-go-see-you-later-Damian-!” he blurted out in a hurry before he flew up and zoomed away.

Beast Boy put a hand to his face and shook his head. “Man, does Jon have it bad or what?”

“What do you mean?” Damian asked.

“Little dude is crazy for you, Damian,” Beast Boy explained with a smirk. “Didn’t you see how much he was blushing? He’s got a major crush on you!”

“What…?” Damian snapped in surprise. “Impossible…”

“Don’t you notice the way he looks at you?” Beast Boy insisted. “The way he eats his words when you two are together? The way he takes every opportunity to hold you close?”

“Hmmm…” Damian had to agree with Beast Boy. Jon had been exactly like that recently. “I’ve never thought of it that way before.”

“Classic case of sweet puppy love.” Beast Boy came up to Damian’s side and transformed into a shaggy green Labrador. “C’mon, Damian. Don’t you like petting puppies?” Beast Boy’s Labrador form panted and began nuzzling Damian’s leg—it was his way of teasing Damian.

“Hrrnn,” Damian grunted, lost in thought. He patted Beast Boy’s head as if to pet him, but then quickly and smoothly pinched the side of the green Labrador’s neck.

“Gaack!” Beast Boy sputtered as he twitched on the floor.

So, Jon has a boyhood crush on me, huh? Damian mused. He wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about it, but seeing his young partner get flustered so easily made Damian smirk. He was going to have fun with this. He grabbed Beast Boy’s tail and dragged him back inside the Tower as he hatched a devious scheme to make the most out of Jon’s affection.

“Stay close,” Damian whispered.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Jon whispered back.

The boys’ footsteps echoed in the derelict building. The walls, with its broken panels and cold metallic sheen, seemed to close in on them with every hallway that they passed. It was the middle of the day yet the darkness crept up on Damian and Jon like a persistent malaise as they explored deeper inside.

“So, uh, these HIVE people,” Jon began, “just how dangerous are they?”

“Oh, they’re a nefarious group I assure you…” Damian said. It was all he could do to stifle his laughter. His mouth was a thin line, halfway to a smirk or a smile as he thought of his ingenious scheme.

“They could use more lights here…” Jon remarked as he stared up at the ceiling. Only one out of every seven lights actually worked and half of them were flickering eerily. It was obvious that Jon was unnerved.

Suddenly, something exploded behind them, from one of the doors they’d passed. Jon twisted and looked back toward the sound, and in that instant, the lights in the corridor completely shut off.

“Yaagh!” Jon yelped in surprise. “What was that? Why’d the lights go out?”

The darkness hid the fact that Damian was shaking from holding back his laughter. “It must be one of their sensors. There could be traps…” He emphasized the word almost mockingly.

Certainly, there could have been sensors that killed the lights in the HIVE hideout that the boys were exploring, but it was more likely due to the birdarang that Damian threw at a circuit breaker box connected to the lights. He’d surreptitiously dropped a small plastic explosive near one of the doors, and triggered the explosive after they’d gone past it so that the noise would distract from and mask the sound of the birdarang that he’d thrown.

It was all part of an elaborate prank that Damian had cooked up. In reality, the facility they’d entered was indeed a HIVE hideout at one time, once filled with enemy androids, laser traps and other nasty surprises. But the Teen Titans already defeated HIVE a couple of weeks ago, leaving this hideout abandoned. Damian led Jon here on the false pretense of scouting out the lair as if its owners were still there. But the truth was, Damian just wanted to take advantage of the place’s remaining working traps as an excuse to tease Jon.

And the best way to tease the boy, Damian decided, was to get as touchy-feely as much as possible.

“You can’t see through the dark with your super-vision yet, right?” Damian asked.

“Yeah, sorry,” Jon confirmed.

“That’s fine, my visor has night-vision.  I’ll lead.” With that, Damian held Jon’s hand, their fingers weaved together.

Jon made a strange sound, something like a cross between a strangled squeak and an excited gasp.

Damian could feel Jon’s hand warming up. His visor indicated that there was an unusual concentration of heat in Jon’s cheeks. He had to control his desire to chuckle again.

They walked the length of the dark corridor and turned a corner, still holding hands. Jon couldn’t find his words, but the way his fingers subtly twitched and how he’d sometimes stumble was a clear sign that he was extremely flustered. Damian’s only regret was that he couldn’t capture this on camera.

Damian knew this particular passage from the last time he and his team had been here. There was a hidden sensor at knee length that triggered lasers to crisscross into a lethal barrier, impeding would-be intruders. He intentionally tripped the sensor and barely a second later, the harsh zing of lasers came to life in front of them. Damian had grabbed Jon around the waist to get him out of the way, despite the fact that the lasers wouldn’t have been able to reach them yet anyway.

“You okay?” Damian asked softly, knowing that his tone was just a little flirty.

“I…uhm, yeah…” Jon gasped. He was staring at Damian’s arms around his waist.

“I told you to watch your step. You’re acting like you’re running into traps on purpose so I can save you,” Damian mock-accused with stifled glee.

“N-no I’m not!” Jon choked. He tried to pry Damian’s hands away from his waist, but he did so with barely any effort, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted Damian to release him or keep holding him.

Damian let go and dragged Jon to short side corridor that had a dead end.

“There’s a way around,” Damian began, “There’s an exhaust shaft above us. But it’s a tight fit so we’ll have to squeeze together.”

“Squeeze together…? But—“

Jon’s reply died in his throat as Damian pressed his body against his and hugged him. His cheeks flushed crimson so much that if it were physically possible, his face would have been glowing as red as a stoplight. Had Jon’s mind not been turned to mush by the physical contact, he could have reasoned out that it would’ve been more practical to enter the shaft one after the other. But he was rendered speechless as Damian held on to him and fired his grapnel toward the darkness above.

Damian was having the time of his life. He rarely ever used the word ‘fun’ to describe his escapades with Jon, but now, it was the best word to describe what he was feeling. His scheme to mercilessly taunt the boy’s affections was working perfectly, and with every new mission, he’d think of more ways to play with Jon’s little boy crush.

It was worth it even when it cost him his gear, like that one time when they were battling the Orca, a villain who looked like and had the prowess of…an Orca.

“Damian, watch out!” Jon had warned. He’d been fighting off Orca’s goons while Damian had handled the whale villain herself.

But Damian hadn’t needed the warning. He’d intentionally taken the brunt of the Orca’s vicious swipe so that his vest would get torn. He’d then ripped off the dangling flaps of shredded material so that his bare torso was exposed.

While it was a little disadvantageous to leave himself unprotected, and not to mention having to ask his father for another suit later, it was altogether worth it after seeing Jon’s incredulous look. The young boy’s eyes almost popped out of his head after seeing Damian half-naked, and he had this look that looked like he was arguing with himself. Damian could just imagine Jon’s internal struggle.

“Oh my gosh…Damian’s so…I’ve never seen him without his shirt before…wow…”

“No! I shouldn’t stare! It’s rude! What if he catches me staring? It’ll be so embarrassing!”

Damian had actually giggled as he resumed fighting Orca, earning him the villain’s fury.

“Really? Laughing at the whale-faced lady? You went there? You’re such a little dick!” she’d growled.

“Yeah, I’ve been told. But my older brother is an even bigger Dick,” Damian had countered, still forcing himself to stop smirking at the thought of Jon’s reaction.

Teasing Jon had become such an enjoyable distraction for Damian that he didn’t even mind getting a little embarrassed himself sometimes if it meant making Jon’s head spin, like with the boat incident.

At the time, they’d had to save the passengers of a small boat on the verge of capsizing. Jon had carried the sinking boat together with the family of three riding it, but the father’s foot got tangled in the anchor’s rope and sank when the anchor fell.

Damian had realized the opportunity and had stripped to his spandex trunks, his Robin uniform’s standard undergarment, and had dived in after the man.

He’d saved the father and both he and Jon got thanked endlessly, but Damian’s ultimate reward was Jon’s open-mouthed expression as the boy ogled him shamelessly. It was as if Jon had forgotten how words worked and had just stared at Damian the whole time. Damian had concocted some not strictly factual reason about his suit having anti-drowning mechanisms that would make him float, forcing him to strip. Jon didn’t seem to have cared and had just gulped while he stared.

In truth, Damian had felt very vulnerable and a little embarrassed to be naked in public like that. Sure, he’d still had his visor and his trunks on, but stripping like that was something he’d have never done on any other occasion. But then, he’d felt like if it meant making Jon flustered again, he could’ve done almost anything.

“You seem like you’re having fun with Superboy,” Starfire said.

“I never thought that ‘fun’ and ‘Damian’ would ever fit in the same sentence,” Beast boy offered as he snacked on some nachos.

The Teen Titans were gathered in the main living room of the tower, supposedly for a briefing. It quickly devolved into them talking about everything except the briefing, including Damian’s hobby of teasing the life out of Jon. Beast Boy had promised to keep it a secret. So naturally, all the Titans now knew about it.

“What Kent and I do isn’t your business, Garfield,” Damian chided after swallowing a mouthful of peanuts.

“Sure, whatever, D,” Beast Boy replied. “But it would help if you phrased it better than something you do under the covers—“

A throw pillow smacked Beast Boy right in the face, apparently coming from the direction of Aqualad, who was failing to hide his laughter.

“But seriously, Damian,” Aqualad said after blinking back tears. “Isn’t it a little cruel playing with the kid’s heart like that?”

“The Robin is a cruel mistress…” Beast Boy intoned with a deep, husky voice. Another pillow smacked his face, this time from Damian. Everyone laughed.

“Kent will snap out of it,” Damian said dismissively. “This is just my way of training him to set aside emotions in the battlefield…”

“Are you sure?” Raven piped in. “I can sense that you actually like the attention. You haven’t been this elated in a long time.”

“I think I’ll believe the resident empath,” Starfire mused with a grin.

“Nonsense!” Damian huffed. “You powers must be waning—“

“Say what you want, Damian,” Raven said with a calm smile. “But ask yourself this: if you really didn’t care about Jon’s feelings, then why go through all the trouble of doing these things at all? Just to tease him? It actually looks more like you’re doing these things for him.”

“It sounds like you like that he likes you,” Aqualad said sagely. “That begs the question if you’re starting to like him too…”

To Damian’s dismay, the other Titans nodded and agreed with utmost seriousness, as if agreeing with a doctor’s diagnosis.

“Tt! Since when were any of you experts on the matter?” Damian demanded. He didn’t notice the color rising to his cheeks.

“Unlike you,” Aqualad explained with a smile, “we’re not new to this whole ‘being-a-teenager’ thing.”

The battle was a bit more difficult that Damian had anticipated.

A new criminal had emerged wielding a lightning gun. The man was apparently a criminal mechanical genius who’d stolen one of Leonard Snart’s freeze guns and modified it to shoot lightning, using a piece of Khandaq’s Rock of Eternity. Worse, that meant it was magic lightning, because of course it was.

Damian rolled his eyes as the man gave a boring monologue about how he’d supposedly take Jon and Damian down, then crown himself king of the universe, or something to that effect. The problem was, Neither he nor Jon could get close enough for a hit, and even just dodging was hard because of how fast the lightning would strike. Damian didn’t even have time to think of a way to tease Jon, and that had annoyed him greatly.

There was only one way that Damian could think of to win. He fished out one of his copper birdarangs, hoping that its conductive properties could divert the gun’s electrical discharge. He baited the villain, preparing to throw the birdarang just as the gun aimed in his direction.

It was all going according to plan - until Jon happened.

“Robin, get down!”

A blue and red blur streaked in front of Damian and caught the full force of 10,000 volts with a sizzling zap.

“Gah! Jo—Super Boy!” Damian rushed and cradled Jon’s unconscious form. Kryptonians—even half-sized ones at that—were weak to magic-based attacks.

The battle went quickly after that. Damian wasn’t sorry that he might have gone overboard in pummeling the sniveling criminal that now lay crumpled at his feet. Red Hood would have been proud.

“Please, no more!” the man cried. “I don’t deserve this!”

Damian fixed him a death glare. “That’s for hurting my friend.”

Jon woke up slowly, his eyes almost protesting against the light. Slight gentle vibrations thrummed through his body as if he was riding a very comfortable car. He leaned his head against whatever he was sleeping on again, sorely tempted to drift back to sleep.

But wait, what about the battle? Jon thought. He opened his eyes again and he saw the sky in front of him—he was up in the air, apparently inside a small plane with black interiors and a thousand complicated-looking buttons—he was in the Robin Jet. He tilted his head to look at his comfy but stiff makeshift pillow. It was apparently the crook of Damian’s shoulder.

“Damian!” Jon gasped as he sat upright with a jolt. He felt lightheaded and insanely embarrassed when he realized that he didn’t have a shirt on. He glanced to his side and saw his Superman jacket charred and smoking with a hole right in the middle.

“Oh, good. You’re awake,” Damian said casually without taking his eyes off the screen. “I thought you needed the rest so I didn’t wake you.”

“I’m sorry I was sleeping on you!” Jon squeaked. He was staring at his lap because he couldn’t look Damian in the eye, not with how embarrassed he was at the moment. He hugged his bare chest as if willing his arms to turn into clothes.

“I don’t mind,” Damian said quietly.

“Wait, what about the battle?” Jon asked, and now he did look at Damian. He looked fine…except that he seemed oddly uncomfortable, as if he was struggling to find his words.

“I won, naturally,” Damian replied. He tried to sound haughty but his heart didn’t seem to be into it. “I would’ve won faster if a certain idiot didn’t try to be a hero even though I had everything under control.”

“I’m sorry…” Jon murmured apologetically. He stared at his legs again.

Damian sighed wearily. “Why do you feel the need to put yourself in danger for my sake, Jon?”

Jon lookup up at Damian again with a pleading look. “Of course I would! We’re partners…and I—“

“I know you like me,” Damian said simply, cutting Jon off.

The younger boy’s words died in his throat as his voice cracked. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Damian said reproachfully.

A few seconds of tense silence passed before Damian cleared his throat. He looked right at Jon, who seemed like he was just about ready to tear up.

“I’ll let your sloppy performance today pass, just this once,” Damian said, almost cheerfully. “But only because I like you.”

Jon sat in stunned silence for what seemed like an eternity. Did Damian just say what he’d thought he’d just said?

“You…you like me, too?” Jon asked hesitantly.

Damian had his attention back to the screen, giving no indication that he heard Jon. But he had the trace of a smirk on his lips.

“Go back to sleep, Kent.”

Jon felt impossibly hot. He felt like a million butterflies thrashed inside his tummy. He’d have flown circles around the plane if only he wasn’t so tired. He slowly leaned on Damian’s shoulder again. Damian didn’t resist. He let himself relax and drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

The next time that Jon opened his eyes, it was night time. He was back in his bed at his parents’ Metropolis apartment and he had the covers over him as if someone had tucked him in. A spot on his forehead felt slightly cold as if something wet had just recently dried there. Did his mom put him to bed? How did he get home? Did he even leave the house at all?

He lay still as he tried to remember. His memories felt so surreal—fighting the electric gun criminal, and then waking up in Damian’s jet…and then Damian saying that…well…Damian had said something that made him impossibly happy.

It was all a dream, huh? Jon sighed wistfully. Damian would have never said that. Jon probably never even met Damian today and had just dreamed up the whole mission.

Just then his super hearing picked up noises from the living room. The voices were of his mom…and someone else, a gruff, urgent voice that he knew quite well—Bruce Wayne!

“Damian hadn’t reported back yet and I’m starting to worry. You haven’t seen him anywhere, have you, Lois?” Bruce asked worriedly.

“No, I thought he was with Jon on a mission and neither of them popped in here yet,” Jon’s mom replied. “I can call Clark, he can help look…”

Jon was just about ready to get up and tell them when he froze. He and Damian had been together on a mission today. He wasn’t dreaming! The battle did happen! Damian…he really had said those things! And just as Jon thought that, he had the urge to look beside him.

There he was…Damian was sleeping peacefully on the bed facing Jon, his unmasked face inches from the tip of Jon’s nose. Damian’s discarded Robin uniform was strewn across the bed haphazardly, as if this whole thing wasn’t planned at all.

A muffled squeak escaped Jon’s lungs as his body tensed. He wasn’t sure if he should be extremely happy or extremely mortified.

All he knew was that he was not looking forward to explaining to Batman how and why Robin was sleeping naked right next to him.

Whew. I could have sworn this was shorter when I was writing it. Anyway, I hope you guys like it. 

[volcanicsleep]

The turtle dreams have returned