#watch me ominously refer to Bruce’s soulmate in every one of these AUs

[elareine]

May I pls pls ask for a Jaydick soulmate AU? I really liked the red string thingy! Maybe with "right to the good parts" prompt 6 and cuddling prompt 5 and/or 6?? (:

Thanks for the prompts! I love red strings of fate, so this was fun. 

Cassandra Cain had many ways to see. The red strings were just one small part of her abilities, but one that she treasured. Looking at her finger, knowing that she would be able to find Steph wherever she was—it gave a feeling of security, of belonging, that she’d seldom experienced before.

Her family… that was another matter.

Her heart ached for them. She wanted to tell Jason that even if he had lost his best friend, lost his family, there was someone out there just for him. Everything in her was tempted to tell Tim that his soulmate was closeby to ease his loneliness and fear of rejection. Damian—he needed to know that he was worthy of love. Babs was so strong, the strongest person Cass knew, but she deserved to have the same comfort Cass did. And Bruce.

Oh, Bruce.

Dick, however… he was more challenging to figure out. For as long as Cass had watched him, his string had led into the distance, slackening and tightening in turn. It was uniquely alive. Occasionally, there would just be a movement, a tug, as if Dick was willing his string to go toward the person he was with.

It never worked. It took until a quiet day in the cave for Cass to understand why.

“So, yeah,” Jason was saying. “I decided to start at Gotham U. Got accepted into English Lit and Criminology.”

Dick beamed and moved in for a hug. “Little Wing, I’m so happy for you.”

“Uh, thanks.” There was a faint blush on Jason’s cheeks, and Cass knew why.

Normally, Dick would’ve let go by now. He was still holding on to Jason, looking a little lost, as if this was everything and he couldn’t figure out why it felt so good.

Cass held her breath. Jason didn’t pull him closer, exactly, but he wasn’t pushing him away, either. She could read the tension in his every line. However, he didn’t relax when Dick finally extracted himself—if anything, he was tenser when they weren’t touching.  

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw their strings move as if they were contracting, pulling in… or maybe shortening?

This would need watching. She didn’t want her brothers to get hurt, even if there was very little she could do to protect them.

The next opportunity to watch the two of them came months later. They—Red Hood, Nightwing, Red Robin, and she—were working together with the usual amount of bickering when they had to wait for a postponed shipment in an abandoned warehouse on the top of a mountain without electricity.

She and Tim had given into the inevitable snuggling for warmth and comfort without a fuss. They didn’t need it, but why not take what was on offer when it made for a better night? Dick pressed up to the Cass’ other side immediately. Jason, though, kept himself apart.

One day, she swore to herself, they would convince him that he was always welcome. Brother needed to know.

She had been sleeping for hours when the sound of something heavy dragging along the floor woke her up. Dick shifted against her, making room to accommodate Jason.

“Just for warmth,” she heard Jason whisper. It made Cass want to hit him on the back of the head—stupid men with their stupid inability to show feelings—but then Jason would move away, and Dick would look sad. So she pretended to be asleep and left them to it.

Something must have happened that night. The next morning, Cass could see their red string had shortened; so much so, in fact, that she could follow it from one end to the other, see where it bound them together.

If she were Steph or Tim, she might have interfered at that point. It would be useless, though, Cass knew. Her brothers were the type that needed to figure things out themselves, at their own pace. A push and they might balk.

In the end, her patience paid off during one sunny day in September. Steph and Tim had called it “road trip time” and sounded so excited about it, no one (well, except Damian) had had the heart to object. Dick had even found a “genuine sixties van, c’mon, Jay redid the engines, it’ll be fun!” for them.

Inevitably, a battle for the front seats ensued. Cass didn’t get why, but she participated enthusiastically and won the place of honor for her and Steph. After a few hours, though, they elected to give it up for Tim (the designated relief driver when Dick became tired) and Dami. That way, Damian could hiss his backseat driving comments in a way that the rest didn’t have to hear it.

Dick generously gave up the middle row so they could cuddle up with Babs and joined Jason in the back row. Now that Tim was driving, the music switched to something with a lot of guitars and soft voices, and the atmosphere calmed down considerably. Cass was content to drowse with her head on Steph’s shoulder until she noticed something moving.

A loop of red thread, shrinking in on itself. Cass watched it out until it had left her field of vision, then gave it a few more minutes.

Carefully, oh-so-carefully, she turned her head.

Jason and Dick—they were asleep. But not just sleeping, no; Dick was resting with his head in Jason’s lap, Jason’s fingers in his hair, their other hand linked. It was the most peaceful Cass had ever seen them. And there was the red string, almost invisible now because they were so close.

With a content sigh, Cass turned back. Two fewer people to worry about.

Tim’s eyes caught hers in the rearview mirror, and they shared a smile.

(I’m taking prompts for Easter!)