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mochegato · 3 years ago

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Even the Losers

Chapter 4

Chapter 1 Chapter 3

“We have a problem,” Tim grumbled as he stumbled into the dining room. He threw the morning newspaper down on the table, letting it slide the last few feet until it stopped millimeters short of Bruce’s coffee.

Bruce sputtered his eggs and grabbed the paper, staring at the picture of him speaking with Marinette and Adrien that took up the entire front page above the fold. He threw the paper back on the table. “Son of a b…”

“We’ve been getting calls from PR all morning,” Tim interrupted him before Alfred got upset with Bruce for his language. “Because they’ve been getting calls from every newspaper, news station, blog, and interested citizen in the world, calling to ask them about it.”

Tim poured himself a large cup of coffee, larger than usual. He’d had patrol last night and gotten woken up at the crack of dawn this morning with calls about the story. So he was running on all of three hours of sleep and just wanted to crawl back into bed, but with this story, there was no chance of him getting to bed until after tonight’s patrol had already left.

It didn’t help that he was beating himself up for not picking up on the cues she was giving that night. He’d run into her. He and Stephanie had talked to her. He saw her freeze up when she realized who he was. He knew she was acting off, he just hadn’t thought it was nefarious. If anything, it seemed hurt, not scared. He should have caught onto her body language. He should have noticed how she seemed to freeze when he mentioned the family. She must have thought he was fishing, letting her know he was onto her and her plan to do this.

“You’d think after all the false alarms they’ve reported in the past that they’d know better by now. Not every black haired, blue eyed child is a Wayne. I’ve had PR draft up a statement that while we appreciate her support for the orphans, she is not, in fact, a Wayne,” he finished, taking a bite of his muffin, missing Bruce’s grimace.

Damian grabbed the paper, wrinkling it in his clenched fists as he scanned the text. “She must have orchestrated the whole thing to put this out. How else would they know these details?”

“No,” Dick commented thoughtfully, prying the paper away from Damian to take a look at the picture. “If she was in on it she would have put on a better act. Look at the image. She isn’t playing into it. She looks scared, not excited to ‘introduce her fiancé to her family’.” Dick quoted. He briefly scanned the paper for more information.

All the evidence appeared to be the picture, her physical features, and some call logs to her parent’s business. Dick scrunched up his face with concern. While not damning, it was interesting. He didn’t know any reason Bruce would have to contact a bakery in Paris. “Not to mention the story would have gone out yesterday for a bigger circulation boost. Sundays are the big press days. They wouldn’t have waited until Monday. That suggests they researched, or rather stole the information. And no quotes from her in here.”

“Fine,” Damian growled, acquiescing to his logic. “Maybe she did it after the fact. She saw the opportunity and took it.”

“No,” Bruce admitted quietly. “She wouldn’t have had to do that.” The room seemed to become still as everyone turned to face him. “If she wanted this story to go out she could have put it out at any time. And she would have played up the dance, would have sought me out at the gala. But she didn’t.”

“What dance?” Duke asked cautiously, his focus entirely on Bruce now.

“I asked her to dance. She said no. Ran away as quickly as she could actually,” Bruce chuckled self-deprecatingly as he stared at the paper in Dick’s hands.

Damian blinked at him as though the longer he stared the clearer what was happening would become. But no matter how hard he stared, the image didn’t become clearer. If anything, things became hazier. “This could all be a clever ruse. She wants to appear innocent so when you confront her she can point out that she didn’t do those things. It says she’s an aspiring designer. This could all be for publicity.”

“She wouldn’t have to go through all that,” Bruce stated again, more finality in his voice. He finally looked up, but still didn’t make eye contact with any of them.

Dick stared at Bruce, taking in his response, letting the words and their broader meaning sink in. The words he wasn’t saying hung in the room like thick smoke, winding their way into everything they touched, stealing the air out of the room. “What are you saying Bruce?” Dick asked cautiously

“The story’s true, isn’t it,” Tim observed. It was a statement more than a question.

Bruce nodded with a sigh. “Except for the meeting her fiancé part.”

Tim knew it was true even before Bruce’s verbal acknowledgement. The pieces suddenly fit together. It was the only thing that made sense. That’s why her reactions were off. That matched. He saw her face when they told her the gala was to celebrate family. He saw her body language change sharply when Stephanie joked about Bruce taking in everyone he saw. He wasn’t sure what to make of it at the time and didn’t really even try because it didn’t seem relevant and they had more important issues to think about, namely celebrating Duke. After the story, he thought the reactions were a tell. But now… now that he knew, they were a tell, but for something else entirely.

She was trying to be polite about it, not letting on how hard it was hitting. And oh God, didn’t that make it worse. Everything they said had been cordial, joking at Bruce’s expense, at their own expense. But with the new knowledge… it was at hers. They weren��t jokes, they were digs. They were attacks. They were him putting her ‘in her place’; out of the family. Tim took in a shuttering breath and collapsed on the couch, his head in his hands.

He would have so much to apologize for. He would have to find her and make sure she knew he didn’t mean his words the way they must have come across. He knew how it felt to not be accepted. He knew how it felt to not feel loved by your parents. He knew how it felt to have your place in the family questioned constantly, to be attacked, to be unwelcome. He wouldn’t wish that on enemies, let alone family.

“Who is she, Father?” Damian demanded.

Bruce met his eyes, guilt swimming in his own. “She’s your half-sister. Her mother and step-father have been raising her in Paris,” Bruce answered calmly.

Damian fought the gasp his lungs demanded against his will. His father was confirming it. He was acknowledging her. But never trusted them with the information. “Were you ever going to tell us?” Damian finally asked with forced coolness

“I was letting the dust settle on introducing Duke before I broached it,” Bruce hedged.

“So you just found out,” Damian asked angrily. That would make sense. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, him. It was that he didn’t know until recently. Of course that was what happened.

“No.”

Damian gaped at him, his hastily built protective construct shattering with one word. “How long have you known?”

“Since she was born.” Damian gaped at him. He’d known. He’d known since before Damian came to live with them and still never told them. He didn’t trust him. Even after all he’d done, he still didn’t trust him. And now he was letting this unknown, this daughter, even just thinking the word made him wrinkle his nose in disgust, do whatever she wanted. He trusted her but not him.

“You have a daughter, a biological daughter you’ve known about for decades and that you never told us about,” Dick asked again in a daze. He fell into a chair staring at Bruce incredulously. There was no way. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He loved kids. He loved his kids. Why would he send one away? He hadn’t even wanted to do that to Jason.

“So I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know?” Duke asked. He looked around, taking in the stunned, disbelieving, hurt expressions.

“Not just you,” Damian gritted out.

Duke sucked in a breath and pulled out his phone, texting Jason and Cass to let them know what was happening. They were going to want to know as soon as possible too. All of them were going to have questions and issues with this information. And if the conversation went on much longer, they may want to be involved.

“Why was she there last night? What did she want? Surely she wouldn’t have come without a plan,” Damian pressed. Nobody had access to the kind of power and money they had and just walked away. If she was presenting herself and not to them, to the press, there must be a reason, a plot. They needed to find out more about her to figure it out. “How did she get a ticket in the first place?” That might be a place to start. It would give an insight into her accomplices and they could be pressed later for more information.

Bruce sighed and looked back down at his food, pushing the plate away, no longer hungry in the slightest. “I can’t answer how she got her ticket. As to why she was there, she was there to talk about a position for a friend of hers… with Lucius apparently, not me.”

“She was using her name to get her subpar friend a job,” Damian spat in disgust. There had to be more though. With their name, she could get much, much more. This had to be an opening gambit. The job must be placing an operative, loyal to her, within their institution. Next was the stunt with the press. They needed to figure out her next steps.

“No,” Bruce insisted. “She didn’t mention her association. He doesn’t know… well, he does now. He spoke to me after the gala, said he discovered one of our managers is stealing ideas and there was someone he was going to spend the weekend researching but he was excited about hiring him. Luthor is trying to hire him, so if we don’t act fast we’ll lose him. I’m betting that was her friend.”

“You don’t know that,” Damian growled out. “That could be a coincidence.”

“I’ll confirm with Lucius today, but it fits with what I know,” Bruce insisted calmly. “From what her mother has told me over the years, it’s the kind of thing she would do; go well out of her way to help a friend. And her mother let me know she was planning on attending the gala to talk about hiring her friend. I just thought she was going to talk to me.”

“Why didn’t you tell us,” Dick asked breathlessly. He was staring at Bruce with hurt saturating his eyes. He heard nothing after Bruce admitting he’d known about her and never told them. He was aware Bruce had been saying things for the last few minutes but none of it had registered. None of it was what he needed to know.

Bruce sighed and ran his hand over his face. “Nobody knew. Nobody but me and her mother and step-father. It was easier that way.” Easier to pretend was left unsaid. Easier for Bruce to pretend like he hadn’t cut her out of his life, like he didn’t regret it every day. Easier for Bruce to try to forget.

“Not even her?” Duke asked.

“Not even her,” Bruce confirmed with a sigh. He ran his hand over his face.

“Why?” Dick was staring at him in wide eyed confusion. It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. He’d been with Bruce for twenty years and never heard a whisper of a biological daughter. But she existed. And he knew. Bruce took a deep breath and Dick scowled. “I swear to God, B, if you say some dumbass excuse like to protect her…”

“She has a happy life. Her mother and step-father love her beyond words. They support her, love her, encourage her. They’re there for her whenever she needs it. They never miss an event. Family dinners every night. She has friends… a good life. She’s safe. She never had to worry about defending herself. She never had to be taught what to do when she got kidnapped. Never had to… doesn’t remember seeing the people around her dead from the latest rogue attack. Not like what she would have here…” he again left the last part of the sentence off. The “with me” was left for everyone to fill in on their own.

“You’re a good father,” Tim assured him weakly, because at this point, with this information…

“I hope so.” Bruce gave him a weak smile. “But when she was born… I had an obligation. I had a responsibility.”

“She was your responsibility!” Dick yelled, his face suddenly contorting in anger and frustration with Bruce.

Bruce looked away stoically, face suddenly a mask devoid of emotion. “She had a better option and I made sure she got it.”

The room was silent for a few moments while his words settled in. The only sound was Dick seething in his seat. “But she doesn’t know you? You never visited. You never interacted with her. Even not telling her who you were to her,” Tim clarified.

Bruce shook his head. “I visited her final project for her degree a few weeks ago under the guise of research for the fabric project. She’s a designer. I was hoping to get her in on the fabric project. I thought it would be a good cover to get her comfortable with the family. But I didn’t talk with her while I was there.” He chuckled slightly at the memory. “I couldn’t even get close. There were too many people talking to her, congratulating her, offering her internships. Her work was beautiful.”

“But you’ve talked with her parents,” Tim checked.

He sighed and waved his hand helplessly. “I spoke with Sabine every so often to check on Marinette, make sure she was okay. I helped pay for her schooling, but even that was disguised as an investment into her parents’ company.”

“So her parents were having you pay for their company, holding the secret over your head,” Damian spat out.

“No!” Bruce growled. He knew Damian was having a hard time with this. Hell, that’s one of the main reasons he waited so long, because he knew Damian wouldn’t react well. Damian would have taken it as an attack on his position in the family. And after the way he treated Tim and Dick when he first found out about them… They could protect themselves against his attacks. She wouldn’t have been able to. He didn’t know how far Damian would actually go and he didn’t want Damian to have to find out either. He had been waiting until Damian was more settled, more secure in the family and their unconditional love for him before he reached out to her. But he wasn’t going to let him disparage Sabine and Tom. They’d been nothing but understanding.

“They only let me put in the amount for tuition. They wouldn’t allow me to give any more than that and Marinette got a scholarship for her university so she didn’t need any assistance. I tried to keep giving them money for her to at least have spending money but they refused. They stopped accepting the transfers. They only relented when I said it would look suspicious. So they’ve been creating a trust for her with it.”

Damian grumbled and looked away. Whatever their game was, they were certainly good at it.

Bruce dropped his head into his hands. “Nobody was supposed to know about her until I was sure it was safe,” Bruce grumbled into his hands. “Until I’d had a chance to talk to everyone about it.”

“Well now everyone knows, so maybe now is a good time to start trying to make that connection,” Dick growled.

“If she’ll let us,” Tim added. He remembered the look in her eyes when he talked about his… their family.

“It’s never too late to start trying to bond,” Dick insisted. His eyes were bordering on wild. They could bring this back, right? The family had come back from worse. They’d faced steeper hills. Hell, Damian tried to kill them when he first came. Jason had also tried to kill them all more than once when he came back. She couldn’t be that bad. They just had to make the first move. “We just have to let her know we want to.”

Tim shook his head and looked down, not at all convinced it really was as easy as that. Tim was awkward on a good day. He could make friends but usually they made the first move. He was pretty certain she wouldn’t make the first move in this instance. Damian wouldn’t accept her, period. Dick would crowd her. Jason would… whatever Jason did, probably disappear. She wasn’t a Robin so he probably wouldn’t try to kill her. Cass would try, but her success depended on Marinette understanding what Cass wasn’t saying. And Bruce… Bruce was never good at understanding emotions or sympathizing. Honestly, their best hope was Duke.

Duke breathed out a deep sigh and looked away. This family was not easy to get along with or find your place with. And bonding with each other? He managed because he fought next to them. They bonded in the field, in their suits. He wasn’t sure if they realized that about themselves. If they interacted outside the suits it was because of the bond they formed inside them. She wouldn’t have that opportunity and without it… The prognosis was not good.

“What are you going to do, B?” Tim asked tentatively. “Because whatever your plans were, now she knows and she’s dealing with it on her own. She… You need to talk to her.”

Bruce sucked in a breath and massaged his temples. “I know.”

“And you need to apologize,” Dick added firmly.

Bruce nodded. “I know.”

“No, you don’t,” Dick growled. “You have no idea what has to be going through her head right now.” He grabbed his bag and stalked out of the manor, slamming the door as he left.

“And you need to decide what we’re going to tell the public,” Tim added. “We need to put a statement out soon.”

“I know,” Bruce agreed. His voice this time was more detached. That was something he would have to decide, but that wasn’t the priority right now and not something he wanted to do without her input.

He needed to come up with a new plan and quickly. This was nothing like the one he had come up with. He was supposed to have more time. He was supposed to be able to ease into this. He was supposed to be able to feel things out before deciding a path. He was supposed to control the environment and how his family found out.

But now he was thrown into it, they all were, and he had no idea how to proceed. He didn’t know her well enough to anticipate how she would react to the situation or to him. He didn’t know her well enough yet to know the best way to approach her. He needed to come up with a game plan. He sighed heavily. He had to get into the office, not show anything out of the ordinary. And once he was behind his office door, he could talk to Sabine. She would know what to do.

Chapter 5

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@maribat-bdbwm @jayjayspixiepop @redscarlet95 @alice-hazelwood @deathssilentapproach-blog @unoriginalmess @alyssadeliv @emotionalsupportginger @frieddonutsweets @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @toodaloo-kangaroo @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @iloontjeboontje @wolf-for-life @maribatserver

#maribat #bio!dad bruce #bio dad bruce wayne #roynette #Even the Losers #mbdbwm2021 #prompt - bonding

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k0ra-kumori · 4 years ago

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Jealous Batboys (DC Super Hero Girls 2019)

Hello, my name is Kora kumori and I'm Brazilian, so sorry if there are any grammatical errors in the story! (This story is based on dc super hero girls 2019)

word count ; 1602

pairings ; Batboys x reader

genre ; fluffy / Smut

warnings: contains adult content.

Dick Grayson

- You two were at a party, and there were two guys around you.

- my friend, he is very jealous.

- Dick may seem the most peaceful among his brothers, but don't be fooled.

- He will grab your waist tightly in front of the intruders.

- "Excuse me boys, I don't know if you know me but my name is Dick Grayson, I'm Bruce Wayne's son" Yes, that was a threat. It's almost as if dick wants to say "I'm very powerful, so don't mess with me or my girl."

- When he introduces himself, it usually keeps the intruders away, but this time not, this time the two men were not intimidated by the name "Dick Grayson" so dick moves on to the second stage.

- Dick whispers something in your ear and then gives you a kiss, then he leaves. You were confused.

- You were uncomfortable because the two men were still on your side, blocking your exit.

- Dick comes back after about 10 minutes, you wanted to hit him for taking so long.

- "You two are expelled." Dick said to the men, they were perplexed "You and bruce wayne run the city, not us. So why would we go out?", Dick gives a stupid smile "As you said, bruce wayne and I ran the city, and I bought it this club, and you are at my club in my town, so get out or i going to be forced to call the guards. "

- You were jaw-dropping and speechless, did he just buy a club so he could kick out the guys who flirted with you? Dick was really the most amazing guy in Gotham.

Jason Todd (18+)

- Okay, for Jason blood and jealousy mix very easily.

- You were in a bar, if dick saw that jason took you to a place like this, he would protest.

- You were there because the owner of the bar was none other than Artemis, so you could drink for free.

-Sometimes you forget that Jason is a vigilante, and unfortunately for him, there was a robbery across the street, Jason said he was going to solve it quickly and that he would be back soon, he kissed you goodbye.

"In the meantime, a man much older than you approached, and he was ... flirting with you?" That was disgusting.

- Jason has a sensor to know when they are flirting with you, because he showed up just in time.

- Jason took a glass of beer and drank, he hit the glass aggressively against the table when he finished.

- "Did you miss something in my girlfriend's breasts, you idiot?" Jason gripped his waist so tightly that it was scarred the next day.

- The man looked drunk, so he replied "Is this angel your girlfriend? You teenagers are idiots, you shouldn't be dating, so she should be dating an older guy--"

- That alone was enough to free the demon that Jason calls "rage" and it was all too fast, the man didn't even speak and Jason jumped on him, they were punching each other, kicking, everything to get hurt .

- You were so used to seeing Jason involved in bar fights that you didn't even care, in fact, you even like it when he gets involved in fights, because you know what happens after he finishes fighting.

- The fight lasted about 2 minutes, and as much as they tried, nobody could get Jason off the guy, and Artemis seemed more interested in cleaning cups than separating the fight.

- "I'll be right back, doll." Jason gave you a deep, hot kiss, very hot. He was angry and had just killed a drunk in front of everyone, he was dragging the man's body to the warehouse, you knew that in a few minutes he would have nothing but bones.

- Okay, he came back, and there he is, Jason todd all bloody, did you think it was weird that it took him less than 10 minutes, "Hey, but so fast?", Jason looked angrier than before, "He only had fat . " You were going to say something else, but Jason pulled your arm so fast that you didn't have time, you knew what happened when Jason got mad, and an angry and hungry jason resulted in things ... hot.

- he pulled you into the car, and threw you hard, you could already see the bulge between his legs, "Jason, yo--", Jason was horny, and was squeezing the steering wheel of the car, "I won't be able to wait until we get to the mansion, let's do it here.", " What?! We can't do it here, if a policeman catches us we'll be in trouble... "Jason shut you up with a kiss, he was now on top of you shirtless, showing his entire collection of scars, "I said we would do this here."

Tim Drake:

Tim is almost a robot, he feels emotions only inside, but shows nothing.

- You were in a coffee shop, Tim needed to finish a job.

- You were bored with watching him typing on his laptop, the coffe shop was empty and you could only hear the sound of the keys.

- "Coffee, can you get me another S / N?" You looked at Tim confusedly "You mean Y / N can you get me a coffee?", "That's what I said. Can you get it?" You were already getting worried about Tim, he hadn't slept for 3 days, it seems that being vigilant and a student is not easy.

- Well, you got up and went to get a coffee for your sleepy boyfriend for the 4th time, Tim like the biggest coffee, so you got the biggest one, and when you were going back to the table with Tim, a man unwittingly hits you, spilling all the coffee on your clothes.

- He seemed sorry, and apologized countless times, and somehow, those apologies turned into a conversation. You were enjoying chatting with your new best friend, until he asks "Do you have a boyfriend?", You loved Tim, and of course you replied that you did, and pointed to Tim.

- your friend wanted to forget that he asked this, so when you were going to talk again, "Hey Y / N." Tim came out of nowhere, the two of you jumped out of your seats, Tim had this Bizarre gift of being too silent.

- "Hi my love, let me introduce you to ..." Before you finished, tim completed his sentence, "Edward hanscom." Tim said coldly, "Yes! How did you know? I didn't even--" Tim interrupted you again, "I know a lot of things, and we better get going, I finished my job."

- "I-I think I'm leaving, Y / N, I'll see you the other day ..." Edward was about to walk out the door, when Dick came in, he was at work now (Officer) "Mr. Hanscom?" Edward nodded, "Y-yes it's me ...", "You're under arrest" and said, dick handcuffed edward and took him to the car to make sure he wouldn't run away, after doing that dick returned to the coffee shop.

- "Tim and S / N? How nice to see you here!", Tim just muttered something, and you waved happily at Dick, "I don't want to intrude but, why did you arrest him? I talked to him a few minutes ago." , "oh he? He was caught by cameras in a super market stealing food, I'm going to take him to the police station" you were worried about it, Edward didn't look like a criminal, so why was he being arrested?

- You thought for a moment and looked into the dick car, you found Jason inside. "D-dick, are you sure you are taking Edward to the police station? ...", "Certainly. Well, it was nice to talk to you but I better get back, I have work to do, see you soon, Tim and S / N! " Then he was gone, dick is gone.

- You left the coffee shop, you were going to the Wayne Mansion now "Edward was cool, it's a shame he is a criminal, and I'm not sure if Dick will take him to the police station I hope he will be fine ...", "he will be fine." You were a little uncomfortable with what happened a few minutes ago, so you took Tim's hand, "So, what were you working on, my little bird? You've been at it for two weeks" Tim looked at you "I was trying to locate a guy.", You were curious now, "A guy? You usually work with more important things than that, my love", Tim looked at you seriously" It was very important, that guy has spent 3 times looking at the butt of a guy's girlfriend, this is disrespectful.", you rolled your eyes, Tim gave too much detail, "Okay, so what was his name?", "Edward Hanscom."

- You were in shock, he spent 2 weeks locating that guy who came to flirted to you at the Coffee shop?!, "You idiot! Dick is going to give Edward as food for Jason!" You pushed Tim lightly, he was now laughing "Dick knows how to control that beast, besides, that Edward guy looked at your ass!", "You are an idiot Tim, you sent the guy to prison!" Tim now hugged you, "Relax, i will let him go tomorrow, that was just for him to learn not to look at the ass of others' girlfriend", you were silent, until you think of something to talk about "You know Tim, you can do it be bizarre and scary at the same time, but I love y--" for the thousandth time, Tim interrupted you "I love you too.", you started laughing now" You have to stop interrupting me! This is scary you silly!"

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ashes-in-a-jar · 4 years ago

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The Purrfect Alternative

Premise: Why would there be a cat in the archives? An archive cat fixit.

2.7K words

Rated G

(Tw: A bit of violence but it's against Jurgen Leitner)

This is a fic dedicated to the @jonsimsandcats event! Hope you enjoy it :)

"Sorry, you haven't seen a cat, have you?"

Jon gaped at the larger man who suddenly barged into the office.

"I-I'm sorry, a what?"

"Uh, a cat, tabby I think." The man hurriedly explained.

"No. No I haven't. Is it.. Supposed to be here?" Jon knew book shops sometimes kept cats. Perhaps archives did as well. Maybe Gertrude had a soft spot in her after all.

"N-no actually. I, uh, I was feeding it on the way in but when I got up with my things, well, my hands were full you see, so when I managed to open the door it sort of slipped in with me? I'm so sorry, I have to find it before-"

"Okay okay calm down, stop." Jon held up his hand and let out a sigh. First day of the promotion and he's already stressed. But it's fine. He's fine. He can handle a cat. He's good with cats.

"Where do you work? Upstairs? Are you sure it came down here?"

"Yes, I saw it. And I just started working down here today? I'm Martin. Blackwood." He offered a hand. Jon automatically took it. Big and soft. He let go a bit too quickly and coughed.

"Work here? Are you certain?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to let Jonathan Sims know about becoming an archival assistant. He's the head archivist Elias told me to talk to."

"Well that's one thing to cross off your list." Jon smirked. "I'm Jonathan Sims. Jon, if you please. And Elias did not mention you. Tim and Sasha were supposed to be the only new recruits." Jon frowned to himself. He'll have to have a word with Elias about this. It's fine now that it happened but keeping Jon updated could really help in preventing these kinds of awkward introductions with people he's supposed to work closely with.

"O-oh! Well, here I am now too." Martin chuckled nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his jumper.

Jon hummed "So you are I suppose. Well, let's not waste time on trivial matters, there is a cat that needs to be found." Jon got up from his chair.

"O-oh god, you're right. I'm so sorry for this." The other man apologized, remembering why he was there in the first place. It was clear that he now realized that the fact that the person he's asking to help him clear up his mess is his new boss could be very problematic for him. Jon easily sympathized with that kind of familiar pressure.

"It's alright, let's just, get this sorted." Jon was not willing to admit that a part of him was also just looking forward to seeing the cat. It would help distract him from his own stress, as it were.

Ten minutes later the two of them sitting on the floor in the stacks with a chubby tabby cat sprawled on Jon's lap. Jon was petting it affectionately while amicably getting acquainted with his new assistant. The man turned out to be a library veteran with useful cataloging skills that could help with the mess that was left down here. Having calmed down considerably, Martin had stopped fidgeting and was cooing at the cat who was head butting his large palm. Their presence soothed Jon in a way that surprised him. In the tranquil, quiet atmosphere of the stacks, sounds of cat purrs and Martin's low murmurs, he felt almost optimistic that despite his lack of experience and the large task ahead of them, he would be alright.

-------

Paper meowed loudly behind him as Martin hurried down the tunnel with Jon and Tim at his tail. Martin glanced back as he reached an intersection and noticed they were too far behind, Jon limping on his injured foot. He hesitated, stopping and waiting for them to catch up. Paper came up and rubbed his leg before trotting down the tunnel on the right, tail held high and confident. Martin inhaled deeply to catch his breath, starting to walk again, this time more slowly. They managed to leave most of the fast worms behind and the ones down here were few and sparse enough to easily stomp down individually. Paper was making a game out of it. He kept leaping onto some that crawled ahead of them, squishing them loudly with his paw.

Jon and Tim caught up and the three followed Paper down the dark passage.

"Yeah, get the damn crawlers." Slurred Tim. The CO2 he inhaled was not helping his coherency.

"You know," gasped Jon, "I actually think they're larvae, given Jane's statement and-"

"Jon, I'm going to have to ask you to stop now." Martin said, as calmly as he could, his voice a tad too high and loud.

"... Sorry." Jon said sheepishly.

They followed Paper down the forking paths, hoping the cat knew where in the seven circles of hell they were.

Eventually they stopped seeing any worms as the path sloped up, ending in a sudden door. There was daylight filtering in from beneath it. Paper was eagerly pawing at it.

"Uh, I think we found a secret way out of the institute." Martin could hardly believe their luck.

"Excellent, now I can ditch work and no one will know I even left." Tim mumbled.

"Tim, if you wanted to succeed in that endeavor, you should have not said that next to your boss." Jon commented dryly.

The worm threat no longer being imminent, Martin allowed himself a nervous chuckle.

They pushed at the door and with a bit of group effort, eventually managed to pry it open into fresh air. They came out into a narrow alleyway which turned out to be not far from the institute. As they walked (limped) down the street to find access to a working phone they heard someone cry out.

"Jon? Tim? Martin!" They spotted Sasha hurrying towards them, carrying heavy bags of cat food.

"Sasha! You're okay!" Martin exclaimed. "We were worried you'd get back and be caught in it like Tim had."

"Where have you been?" Jon inquired, straining to stand upright on his own. Martin came closer, gently supporting him by the hip on the opposite side of Tim.

"We ran out of food for Paper, I figured I'd pop by the store for a moment to get some." Sasha said. "I came back when the building was being evacuated."

"Oh good, at least the alarm worked." Tim said tiredly.

"What in god's name happened to you three?" She inquired worriedly.

"Prentiss, we'll fill you in later. We need to make sure the ECDC is informed regarding the CO2 in the fire suppression system that needs to be activated."

"And get you to a hospital." Martin chastised, squeezing Jon's side.

"Yes yes." Jon waved dismissively but all the while leaning further into Martin's side. He really wasn't discreet, Martin thought smugly.

Sasha was about to say something else when a loud meow interrupted her. Paper was nosing into the bag, fully aware of its contents and who they were meant for.

Jon dislodged from Martin and Tim and hobbled towards the cat.

The cat turned and moved back into Jon's welcoming arms, as the archivist picked him up and stroked him fondly.

"We are lucky on all accounts that Paper is such a smart cat." He murmured into the soft fur, injury forgotten for the moment.

Tim chuckled, "cats always ruin evil people's plans, it's a well known fact. Anyway, Sasha, please call an ambulance for us?" He said, and promptly sat on the floor.

Martin sighed with relief. For now, they are all safe and together. And that's all that matters.

-------

It was all almost too much to take in. Luckily Paper was held tight in his arms as he listened to Jurgen Leitner ramble on about powers and fears and monsters and Jonah Magnus. He had been chased by a distorted form of his boss, who was apparently replaced by a monster Jon and the crew tried and failed to destroy, thus separating in the ensuing pursuit. In light of these events Jon now needed something soft to ground him in the face of so much new information.

The discovery of Elias' death was a shock, especially given the fact that apparently it happened when he was trapped in artifact storage during the Prentiss siege a half a year back.

He (that is, his doppelganger) told them back then that he was trying to reach the suppression system switch when he tripped down the stairs over one of Paper's many scattered toys, alerting Jane in the process and was driven back into the storage area. His account seemed to check out given he was rescued from there by the ECDC after Jane was dealt with. And given the few toys strewn about the stairs leading to artifact storage. Why Paper kept scattering his toys all over the building was beyond Jon but that wasn't the main issue at hand. After trapping the creature in the walls of the tunnels, Jurgen Leitner proceeded to reveal himself. Once Jon dragged him back to his office, and picked the protesting Paper up to calm himself down, he unveiled the truth of Elias', or Jonah's, whole operation.

Turns out Jonah Magnus decided life was too short to enjoy once and did exactly what eventually happened to him. Talk about karma. Leitner explained that Gertrude's plan was to stop Jonah from... Something he was planning. Perhaps a ritual to end the world in a way the others would fail to do. That bit of information was on a tape of Gertrude which Leitner played for Jon. By the time they reached the part where Leitner said, “they needed to kill Jonah's main body then burn down the archives.” Martin, Tim and Sasha had arrived back at the office as well.

"Jon? Jon! Are you okay?" Martin rushed forward, hugging Jon tightly, ignoring Paper's loud yowling at being squished in between them. Jon sighed, "Martin, thank god. I-I'm fine." He hugged him back, relieved his boyfriend was safe, as well as his other assistants of course. "It chased after me but he stopped it."

Tim raised his axe, "Jon are you sure he's not... Another one?"

"Yes I'm sure. That" Jon took a deep breath, "is Jurgen Leitner."

After the team's loud exclamations of disbelief he and Leitner updated them on everything they had discussed. As he was being hugged by Martin and holding the fluffy cat he slowly began calming down.

After Leitner was done a long moment of silence ensued.

"So," Sasha said slowly, "Gertrude's dead?"

"Yes, she was shot and then hidden by Jonah in the tunnels. Unfortunately I couldn't get out to allow for a proper burial, so I had to leave her there." He seemed sad admitting it. Jon did not feel sympathy for him. This man deserved none for his past and cowardice.

"And now, we need to, what, somehow find the center of the maze of tunnels to kill Jonah completely and burn the archives?" Sasha asked skeptically.

"Yes, the whole institute in fact. I have a gas main in the tunnels ready to be ignited once we find the center." Leitner said.

"How do we do that?" Martin frowned.

"Maybe Michael knows?" Tim quipped. "He just helped us out of that situation with his own… corridor labyrinth. Maybe he'll be able to help."

"Okay, okay let's first take a breather and calm down. We'll figure out how to solve this." Jon said, raising his hand to slow them down.

"Yeah, I'll make us some tea." Martin added, "At least now that... Thing won't bother us for a long while."

"Let it burn along with this hell of an institute." Tim said harshly. Knowing how his brother was killed almost the same way, Jon felt strong sympathy for Tim rush over him.

Which was replaced with a different emotion the moment he turned to the man who saved him.

"Thank you for your help, now Martin, I need you to hold Paper for a moment."

Martin, looking baffled, took Paper out of Jon's arms. "Jon wh-"

Jon swiftly approached the older man and proceeded to sock him in the nose with the full force of his fist. The crew gasped in unison.

"That's for everyone you hurt with your idiocy, you stupid old coward." Jon seethed and punched him again. He heard Martin chuckle and Tim whoop as the man whimpered and attempted to protect his face.

Jon was glad they were spared the horrible plans of a 200 year old evil man and that they had some semblance of a strategy moving forward. He was, however, equally elated for this opportunity to do what he fantasized about since learning of Leitner's existence.

And, he supposes, all of this can be indirectly attributed to Paper, the archive cat.

-------

Jon woke up to the warm snuggle of his lovely fiance and a mouthful of cat fur.

"Pffff, Paper geerroff," he mumbled, uselessly trying to push the stubborn cat away. The chirping of birds mingled with the sound of highland cows grazing in the field near their cabin.

After the success of their plan to end Jonah, after the fire had already burned down the horrors of that evil place, it took a while longer for their troubles to be resolved. They had to endure endless questioning and investigations of the police. Jon, who was weakened by the ordeal to the point of needing hospitalization, took a long time to recover and regain his strength. Leitner claimed it was lucky he was cut off from the Eye this early, or the consequences would have been much more serious. The others seemed to have been less affected, but once the archives were completely reduced to ashes they recovered, their jobs burned down along with everything else.

Sasha found a new job as a researcher in a prestigious institute, nothing supernatural involved. Tim moved on to journalism, utilizing his curiosity and charm to their full potential. Jon and Martin opened a tea & book shop, if only to make Paper a real bookshop cat. They have been slowly setting it up and settling down until... Well, Jon proposed and they took a break. Traveled to Scotland with Paper on an early honeymoon to see the cows and enjoy the quiet.

And quiet it was. Until Paper shamelessly began purring as loud as a train right in Jon's ear. Jon huffed in fond annoyance and got up, leaning down to give Martin a kiss on the head and then shooing the crime of a cat off to the kitchen.

"You can't give me a moment of reprieve, can you?" He stretched and followed the cat out the bedroom.

He filled Paper's bowl and sat on the floor leaning his back on the cabinet, closing his eyes as Paper chewed his food noisily.

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was awakened by a soft tap on his head. He looked up blearily and smiled. The cat had long since finished eating and found a home in Jon's lap.

"Morning love." Martin murmured softly, matching his tone to the serene atmosphere. After hesitating a moment, he bent down and sat next to Jon. Jon looked at him adoringly as he absent-mindedly stroked Paper, humming along to his purrs. Martin joined him, petting Paper, their hands occasionally (and very purposefully) brushing against each other.

After a few minutes of calm silence, Martin spoke up.

"You know, this reminds me of that first day we met. In the stacks."

Jon smiled at the memory. "Ahh yes, all three of us had a very fateful meeting there, didn't we? God, I was so stressed back then."

"You handled it pretty well I have to say. Handled my nervousness pretty well too." Martin chuckled.

"I was lucky you were there. You really helped me calm down." Jon admitted. "Well, you and Paper." Jon added fondly.

"Paper was a really good archive cat wasn't he?" Martin said, leaning into Jon, pressing a warm, still sleepy kiss on his cheek. Jon closed his eyes, grateful for the events that led up to this moment of pure happiness, with his fiance and his cat.

"Yes, the best cat in the world."

#Had fun speculating with this one #Hope you enjoy!#tma #the magnus archives #Tma fic #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #s1 archives crew #Jonah magnus #elias bouchard #jurgen leitner #Jonmartin #Fabric Rustles #My tma fic #jonsimsandcats2021 #Jon&cats

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sohotthateveryonedied · 4 years ago

Text

Gender? In THIS Economy?

Read here on AO3!

Summary:

Duke is questioning stuff and goes to Tim for advice. (feat. trans!Tim and nonbinary!Duke)

“Here you go. One Batburger with extra pickles, extra onions, and extra extra mayonnaise.” Duke drops the paper takeout bag unceremoniously into Tim’s lap. “Your taste buds need a tune-up, bro.”

Tim unwraps his burger and takes a bite. Batburger may be questionable when it comes to copyright laws, but damn if they don’t pile on the condiments better than any fast food restaurant in Gotham. “Sounds to me like you simply haven’t reached the sky-scraping level of enlightenment that I have, grasshopper.”

“Enlightenment would have been going to Red Robin and using your uniform to get a discount,” Duke says. He sits beside Tim on the rooftop’s edge, their legs dangling side by side a hundred feet above Gotham’s plunging gray streets. He digs into his own burger and makes a face. “Enlightenment would also be getting the Robin Nuggets next time. This tastes like dried leather.”

“I like it,” Tim says with a shrug. “It has personality.”

“So does raw sewage, but you don’t see me eating that.”

Tim concedes the point. His communicator buzzes in his belt. He checks the screen and discovers an alert from Cass composed entirely of clown emojis and red harlequin diamonds.

Duke notices. “Should we get that?”

Tim pockets the communicator. “Nah, Spoiler’s got it. We have time to relax.” And he��s not about to pass up quality time with the one little brother who doesn’t hate him. It’s hard enough as it is for Tim and Duke to find the time, what with them being on opposite sleeping schedules and work snatching their attention away with grabby, toddler-sized hands.

“Don’t get a lot of that during the day shift,” Duke says. “Every time an alarm goes off, it’s my business.”

Tim knocks him in the side with his elbow. “That’s what you get for turning to the light side instead of kicking it in the shadows with us. More employees to go around.” He sips his soda for a moment. “Why did you come out tonight, anyway? I thought you stayed in on weeknights.”

“Right. I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” Duke says it carefully, like he’s testing the waters. “I need advice.”

Tim has to admit that his chest puffs out a little at that. It’s not often people come to him for advice when Dick and Barbara are right there, all full of adult wisdom that Tim is too pitifully shrimpy to possess. “What’s up?”

“It’s kind of...personal.”

“Yes, Bruce does have special powder for suit-chafing. It’s in the cabinet under the first-aid supplies.”

“It’s not that,” Duke says, though he snorts in half-hearted laughter. He looks down at his hands like he’s dreading the words lodged in his throat. “What was it like, realizing you were a dude?”

One of Tim’s eyebrows shoots up. “Oh.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s an invasive question.”

“No, no, it’s fine. You just caught me off guard, is all.” It’s not like this is the first time someone has asked. Tim used to be uncomfortable talking about it, but he’s grown up since then. Talking about his trans journey is as normal as talking about what he did yesterday. He eats a fry. “What do you want to know?”

Duke searches Tim’s face for a sign that he’s lying, that he should back off. When he doesn’t find one, he asks, “How old were you when you figured it out?”

Tim thinks back. “Nine, I think? But even before that, it’s not like I ever really felt like a girl. I knew there was something wrong, but I didn’t know what. When I first heard about what being transgender meant, everything I’d been feeling until then clicked into place.”

“What was it like?” Duke asks, “growing up the way you did? Presenting as a girl when you knew you weren’t?”

Tim shrugs. “I don’t know. It was life at the time. I dealt with it.”

“Was it hard? Pretending to be something you weren’t?”

Tim doesn’t know what answer Duke is looking for, or why he’s so interested, but he won’t ask. “My parents always had this idea of me being the perfect daughter, all obedient and graceful and crap. I’m pretty sure their hope was to eventually marry me off to the highest bidder so they could reap the business benefits.”

“That sounds awful.”

Tim shrugs again. “I didn’t start feeling any different than I should have until around six or seven. I was always a tomboy. I liked doing boy stuff and playing sports, but my parents thought it was a phase I would grow out of. They’d make me wear dresses and go to fancy parties with them, all the while I just wanted to claw my skin off and go home.”

He remembers the nights he would lie awake in bed, imagining what it must be like to have been born someone else. Anyone else. To grow up as a little boy who was allowed to run around, to get dirty, to be himself instead of following some arbitrary guidelines someone else drew up the day he was born. He imagined what it would feel like to answer to a different name than the one he’d been given, which grated on his ears the longer time went on, like an itchy sweater he couldn’t shed. It was hell.

He gives Duke a sly grin. “But the upside of having absent parents is that there aren’t as many people watching you. No one cared if I went to school in the boy’s uniform instead of the girl’s. No one was there to stop me from cutting my hair short the way I wanted it.”

Duke's eyes widen. “You cut your own hair?”

“It went exactly the way you’re thinking. I had to go to the barber the next day and have them fix it because it was so uneven. But by the end of the day, it was the way I always imagined it. I was finally starting to look like the person I wanted to be.”

Duke stares intently at the remains of his burger as if the universe’s answers to an unspoken question were written in sesame seeds. “Did it get better after that? Did you feel...at peace?”

“‘Course not. The world wasn’t magically fixed just because I took a step in the right direction. My problems didn’t go away.” When he says that, Duke looks almost...disappointed? “But,” Tim adds, “it was better than it was before. I still had to act for my parents and the rest of the world, but I didn’t have to hide from myself anymore.”

“How did your parents react when they found out?”

Tim grimaces. “They...didn’t take it well.” He can still hear his father’s voice in his memories, bringing up therapy and camps and whatever places he could think of that would “fix” his little girl.

“But, after a while,” Tim continues, “it was clear that I wasn’t going to change my mind anytime soon. I guess they figured it would be easier to go along with it than fight me every step of the way. They still didn’t like it, but they tolerated it.”

Duke is quiet.

“Why do you ask?” Tim prods.

Duke’s expression doesn’t give anything away. It’s nights like this when Tim can see how perfectly Duke fits into this mental institution they call a family. For all that Duke thrives in the light, he keeps his cards just as close to his chest as the rest of them. He gives Tim a half-smile. “Just wondering.”

“Okay.”

They fall into weighted silence, the scales tipping on either side of their post, but never settling. Tim waits. He finishes his burger and busies himself with reorganizing the pouches in his belt, giving Duke the privacy to think.

“I don’t know,” Duke starts after several minutes, “if I’m a boy.” He looks at Tim. “I think I might be something else.”

“Okay,” Tim says calmly. “What do you feel like?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve always felt different, y’know? When I was a kid, it was because I was smarter than everyone in my class. And it was fine, because I knew what it was and how it worked and why it was a good thing, being the smart one. It made sense. Time went on, the other kids started catching up, but that mismatched feeling never went away. I never felt right in my skin.”

Duke’s face rises to the dark clouds, the Batsignal shining from the top of the police station like a holy beacon. “Then I met Batman. My powers started to come in and everything clicked into place, all at once. That was why I never felt like I fit in with everyone else, because I was different. I had powers. That must have been it.”

“But it wasn’t,” Tim guesses.

Duke shakes his head. “I thought it would be. I mean, what else could it have been, you know? It should have explained why I never felt at home in my identity. But time goes on, I learn how to use my powers, and it fixes some of it, but not everything. There’s still part of me that looks in the mirror and sees something off. Some detail out of place.”

“Do you feel like a girl?” Tim ventures to ask.

Duke folds over the corner of his straw wrapper again and again in tiny triangles. “Nah, I doubt it. I like some feminine things, but I don’t think I’m a girl. Or a guy. I think...I might be nonbinary?”

Tim does his best to channel Bruce’s “supportive dad” energy and smiles. “Okay. What pronouns do you want to use?”

“They/them, maybe? For a while?”

“Duly noted.” He puts a hand on Duke’s shoulder. “I really do appreciate you telling me.”

Duke rubs the back of their neck, their cheeks flushing. “It feels good to say out loud. Not just in my head.”

“Do you think you’re going to tell anyone else? You don’t have to if you’re not ready, but our whole family will support you.”

“Yeah.” Duke picks at their nails, nodding absently. “I know they will. I’m not worried about that.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

Duke takes a deep breath in, and Tim is reminded of a balloon close to bursting. “My parents aren’t dead. I’m going to get them back. And when I do...what are they going to think when they wake up after half a decade and find out that their son isn’t their son anymore? What if they don’t like the person they see?”

Tim can’t say that he hadn’t swum with the same thoughts years ago, back when the person who is Tim Drake was still on the drawing board. But there’s a difference between his situation and Duke’s. “Your parents love you, Duke. They’re not going to stop loving you just because you’ve grown up since they last saw you.”

“What if it’s too much? The superpowers and the crime-fighting and the new gender...it’s a lot to take in.”

“Well, sure,” Tim says. “It might take some time for them to get used to it, but this is who you are. They’re going to love it just as much as they love the rest of you.”

Duke smiles, and if their eyes are a little misty, Tim pretends not to notice.

“Besides,” he says. “If I were you, I’d just lead with the superpowers thing. Anything after that sounds perfectly acceptable.”

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neakco · 4 years ago

Text

The Lost Temple

Ao3 ch.2 Masterlist

Marinette and Adrien just wanted to find the temple and go back to pretending they were normal young adults.

Tim just wanted to find out what was going on for Batman and go back home.

Konner and Bart were just along for the adventure.

Neither group expected the other, nor did they expect the complications that followed.

Ch.1: Meetings

Marinette stepped carefully along the jungle floor as Adrien bounced through the trees. Every once and a while she would stop to examine a plant just as he would stop to listen.

Eventually he dropped down beside her without a sound.

“Are you sure this is the right area M'lady?”

“The monks said there were signs of people stopping around.”

“And them being worried about people snooping means this should be where we find the temple.” He nodded sagely before hopping back into the trees. “Did they ever decide to tell you at least what this temple is guarding?”

She shook her head as she stepped over a drowsing snake, “I only know that we need to find it first.”

Adrien hummed quietly before opening his mouth to taste the air.

“Anything?”

“Nothing new. We still have moss, damp, plant, running water and the normal animal smells.”

She sighed to herself, “keep up the good work Kitty, I know we'll find something eventually.”

She glanced around briefly for a flash of red that would indicate Tikki and Plagg returning. She wasn’t worried about being without their power source., not since the final battle. They had been something more than human for years now, but there was still something reassuring about the tiny gods' presence.

She looked up to see Adrien staring down a tiger and shook her head with silent laughter. So maybe he was a lot more cat than human. She thought back on everything as the tiger bowed to let her partner by.

All his physical abilities had been enhanced to the point she was jealous. Her strength had increased a little but for her it was the non-physical that had increased. Everything constantly in balance.

She brushed her hand along a small plant but still received nothing new, the temple either didn’t give off enough residual magic or it was still too far off.

As they continued their search the surrounding animals watched peacefully. They all knew better than to interfere with destruction and creation. It is almost a shame this protection didn’t extend to the trio following them stealthily.

“Rob, they are kids like us. Are you sure they're the ones B sent us after?”

Red Robin sighed, “Batman said he had picked up unusual activity and these two are the only ones we have seen.”

Kon grabbed a snake that was about to drop on Tim and gently tossed it back into the trees.

A small wind picked up as Bart came to a stop and offered them some burgers. “What did I miss?”

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose, “This is supposed to be a reconnaissance mission. Stealth.”

Bart laughed and moved to avoid a brightly coloured plant, “But that is so boring.”

“This was also a solo mission, you two weren’t invited. So please either leave or be quiet.”

Bart held out a mug of coffee that Tim accepted instantly.

“Fine, just cause chaos quietly.” He pulled out his binoculars again before putting them down to rub at his eyes. He would have sworn he saw the teens talking to some large bugs.

“I still don’t think they're dangerous.” Kon whispered almost to himself.

Tim really wondered some days why these were his best friends.

Tikki and Plagg hid quietly as Adrien grinned chaotically, “Plan mouse trap?”

Marinette returned the grin, “You know me so well Chaton.”

Tim was so close, just a little farther and he would be able to hear the teens.

Kon suddenly stuck out an arm to stop him.

“What?”

“I can’t see the guy anymore.”

Bart glanced around, “Isn’t he just in the treetops again?”

Tim reached for a weapon when a collapsible baton lightly smacked his wrist.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The blonde had somehow gotten behind them.

All three heroes turned but before any of them could react a rope dropped around Bart and pulled him to the ground.

“You heard my partner.”

The girl was fast. Tim couldn’t figure out how she had gotten to them so quickly, until he looked down. There were at least three more loops of rope. They had walked into a trap.

Kon looked to Tim for the signal to attack but Tim wanted more information.

The blonde dropped gracefully from the trees but skillfully kept the baton pointed at Tim. “Why are you following us?”

“Why have you been disturbing the jungle?” He countered.

The girl walked up to stand beside the blonde, “We haven’t disturbed anything.”

The blonde glared, “We’re only here because you have been digging around.”

“But we only just got here.” Bart spoke suddenly out of confusion.

Tim kind of wanted to hit him.

The girl and boy exchanged a look before speaking in a language Tim had never heard before finally the boy collapsed his staff and put it away.

He offered a hand to Kon while the girl untied Bart and gathered up the remaining rope traps.

“I think we have both suffered a misunderstanding.” The girl held out a hand to Tim, “Marinette.”

“Impulse.” Bart had moved to take her hand in a blink, “It is always a pleasure to meet a lovely lady.”

The blonde laughed as Kon finally accepted the handshake, “Adrien.”

“Superboy.”

Tim could see his friend putting more strength then necessary into his grip but the blonde, Adrien, didn’t even flinch. Interesting.

Since Bart hadn’t stopped shaking the girl’s hand yet he decided to cross his arms and smile as politely as he could. “Red Robin. May I ask what misunderstanding you think we've had?”

The girl, Marinette, pried her hand away from Bart before glancing back to spot the starring contest between Adrien and Konner.

“Kitty!” She scolded before turning back to him.

He watched Adrien smile innocently at Kon before sitting down at Marinette’s side.

“We were sent to investigate the activity in this area and put a halt to it if necessary. If you just arrived then you are likely not our target.”

“They're here for the same reason we are Red.” Bart grinned widely as he bounced up and down.

Tim wanted to growl in frustration but knew that was something only Batman could get away with, so he settled on pinching the bridge of his nose. “Impulse, we are only here to gather information. We are not supposed to interfere with anything without orders to do so.”

Marinette and Adrien exchanged another secretive glance before conversing in Mandarin.

“Do you think we could recruit them M'lady?”

“That’s up to them. It would be nice to have help searching though, this is a large jungle.”

“Do you think they can even help find the temple? Superboy is supposed to have x-ray vision but, well, magic.”

Impulse was pouting, “It’s not fair that I can’t understand you. In fact it’s rude. Isn’t it rude Red?”

“I'm sorry. We aren’t used to others around us being.. “ She paused for a moment.

“Friendly?” Adrien supplied.

“That's one word to describe them.” She grimaced.

“Helpful? Polite? Non-hostile? “ Adrien's grin kept getting wider but also slightly more malicious with each suggestion. “Smart? How about, not complete and utter assholes bent on dictating every breathe? I can keep going.”

She started laughing but she could feel the concern coming from the American heroes. “I think that's good Kitty, don’t want to scare them away.”

“Sorry Mari.”

She looked back to Red Robin and Impulse in front of her. “I am sorry, we were discussing working with you three if you wanted to. We would be able to cover more ground and hopefully locate our target in under a week.”

Superboy spoke upfront behind them, “Why mention my name and not the others?”

Adrien contorted to look at the floating boy, “I was wondering if you actually had x-ray vision and if it could be useful in the search.”

Marinette was proud of Adrien, neither of them were the best at lying, so it was nice to see Superboy accept his sincerity and not ask for more in depth details. Red Robin was a different matter entirely, she could see him analyzing them. So she held out her hand.

“What do you say Red, alliance?”

Tim stared a moment before reluctantly shaking, “Agreed. We can discuss the terms as we find a place to camp for the night.”

The two teens looked confused.

“Were you seriously planning to keep going? The sun is setting.”

“Don’t you have night vision goggle or something?” Adrien asked.

Tim was flabbergasted, did these two think that the dark was the only danger they faced. “I do, but this is a jungle. Most of the predators are nocturnal “ The two still looked confused so he elaborated, “I don’t want to be eaten.”

He watched their eyes slowly widened in understanding. Marinette hit a fist into her hand, “I had totally forgotten “

“Predators are a normal threat.” Adrien finished for her with a grin.

Tim eyed them suspiciously, he had been following them all day, and all day he had been avoid snakes and large sleeping felines. Were these two really that lucky to have not encountered anything or was there more going on?

Kon also eyed them suspiciously as moved to no longer be behind them. “How do you forget about predators? I am immune to their attacks and I still remember that they’re dangerous.”

Tim watched the duo have a silent conversation before Marinette sighed, “We forgot because there is nothing in nature that would attack us.”

He and his friends waited for one of them to say more but the duo just blinked at them.

He mentally pinched his nose, this was going to be a long mission. “You aren’t going to elaborate.”

“Nope.” The duo replied in perfect tandem.

Adrien grinned mischievous, “You need to earn the favour of our gods for that.”

Marinette planted her face into her hands, “Kitty, no.”

“Kitty yes.”

“How do we earn their favour? Do they take prayers, food offerings?” Bart asked excitedly.

Kon looked sharply towards Adrien as the boy laughed, “Depends on the food.”

“Camembert.” Kon supplied.

Tim blinked. What god would want that? Then he noticed that the duo had paled considerably. So Kon had either heard or saw something that led to that answer. Interesting.

Bart, of course, noticed nothing. “Ew, that cheese stinks. Cheese whiz is far superior.”

Tim and his friends all jumped as Marinette slapped Adrien hard enough in the chest to cause the boy a coughing fit. What the hell had he missed? It looked painful yet Adrien was smiling and thanking her. He filed this away to think about later.

“So are we making camp?” Marinette smiled sweetly at him.

It was official, Tim hated this mission.

I have the story finished it is just a matter of typing it all up and convincing myself not to scrap the epilogue. There should be 7 chapters in total.

Let me know your thoughts, I am happy to answer any questions that don't give away the plot.

#maribat #the lost temple #rin writes #adventure

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river-bottom-nightmare · 4 years ago

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Conner Kent Week 2021, Day Two: Rarepair

Jason knew jokes about how pale Tim was, about how he was either a vampire or the perfect blue blood, about how he needed to get out and absorb some sun for God’s sake. They were met with glares, scathing retorts, smacks with a bo staff, and on one memorable occasion, a horrified Bruce as Tim barged into the house with visible sunburn all along his arms, shoulder and face. (Bruce hadn’t taken Tim’s accusation of But Jason told me to go get some sun! very well.)

Jason wasn’t joking now. Loosely covered in a hospital gown, Tim’s still body seemed to be more devoid of colour than any of the sheets, machines, and tubes surrounding him and attached to his body, keeping him alive in the most impersonal of ways.

It was quiet, the sort of quiet that muffled any attempted noise with a soft hush, an invisible reprimand at showing signs of life in a place where there should be none. The beeping of the various machines didn’t register, the hum of the fluorescent lights was ignorable. Even the rhythmic tapping of Jason’s foot on the linoleum, a nervous habit he’d never been able to break, was utterly silent.

It was quiet. At least until Conner Kent barged into the room, his heavy combat boots thudding on the ground and his breath coming out in pants, the terrified look on his face telling Jason that he thought he hadn’t gotten here fast enough.

“He’s fine,” Jason managed not to cough while speaking, the roughness of his throat a physical ache that was just now flaring up. “Full recovery, they said.”

“Good, good, that’s...” Conner dropped into the remaining hospital chair, right next to Jason. “That’s good.”

Silence blanketed them once again. Jason hadn’t ever been in a regular hospital room. He had supposedly spent a while as a patient in one when he’d risen from the dead and trembled around Gotham like a 21st century zombie, but he couldn’t remember any of it. He didn’t think Tim’s best friend had ever been in one either, given a good majority of Tim’s team was invulnerable or had advanced healing in some way.

Jason was sure Bruce was itching to take Tim to the cave’s medbay, and honestly, Jason found himself on Bruce’s side in this. As much as he liked to distrust the entire Bat clan, he knew they’d give everything they had to make sure Tim was okay, while the hospital was only giving Tim their best care because of the “Wayne” tacked onto the end of his name. Jason had been about to demand Bruce bring him back to the cave no matter what, but Oracle butted in, telling him that Tim been shot as Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne in broad daylight. Bruce couldn’t take Tim home, not without raising some very complicated questions.

So that led them here. Jason being slammed full-force in the face with how much he’d let himself care about the tiny little toothpick, unable to make himself move for fear that Tim would slip away in the one moment he was gone. (Once he’d come back to life and seen how chummy Dick was with Bruce all of a sudden, he’d always expected Dick to drag him back kicking and screaming. He never thought Tim’s unobtrusive yet steady presence, doing his tech work in exchange for food, would lead to the word brother coming to his lips as easy as a breath.)

Next to him, Conner shuffled, and snapped Jason out of his thoughts. “I thought Nightwing would be here.” A statement, subtly posed as a question.

But, still one Jason had an answer to. “Deep cover. A mission he’d been planning for weeks. He doesn’t know.” And he would probably throw a fit about it too, when he came back. Even Jason had to wince a bit at the horrible sense of déjà vu Dick would end up feeling.

“So they sent you instead,” Conner said, and his tone was simple, but Jason found himself getting heated anyway.

“What, you thought the fill-in for Big Bird would be a little better?”

Jason was just burning for a fight, the helplessness he felt at being able to do nothing but sit in a low-quality plastic chair skating up his body and down his arms, forcing his fingers to curl in a fist. He expected the other boy to rise to the bait, having heard Tim’s complaints on how hot-headed Superboy was.

But something about their current situation caused Conner to just turn and glare at him flatly instead. “You once put him a hospital bed, too. Don’t act like you care about him now when you would’ve celebrated this a couple years ago.” His tone was dismissive, and that dug under Jason’s skin much more than he expected.

“Well then, it’s a good thing time travel’s reserved for the speedsters, huh? ‘Cause lucky for you, I’m not the same guy I was a couple years ago,” Jason replied scathingly. The next words were ripped from Jason’s throat, and he could almost see the blood splattered on them. “That’s my brother in the shitty hospital bed right there.”

“Yeah? And how long have you even cared about that ‘brother’ of yours?” There it was. Jason could see red trickling into Conner’s cheeks as he let Jason’s words get to him, and found himself oddly curious about that flush.

Still. Argument to win. “Long enough to know him,” Jason shot back. “Long enough to help piece him together after he almost broke. Where were you during that time? Fucking around with your friends or dead?”

“Trying to hold together the team that Tim helped build,” Conner shifted a bit to face Jason more directly head on. “All you’ve done is tear people apart. News flash: having a sort-of truce with Tim doesn’t automatically mean your family loves you again.”

That one hurt. Years of training to keep his emotions hidden was the only thing that kept him from flinching back visibly, but Jason still felt like he’d been slapped. Because the boy was right; just because Tim liked dropping by one of his safehouses every other week doesn’t mean the rest of the family was anywhere near comfortable with him, not after all the pain he’d caused them. And he couldn’t even fault Conner on it, because it wasn’t like he was wrong and it wasn’t like it wasn’t Jason’s own damn fault.

Still. He couldn’t just let that slide. “At least my family loved me to begin with. What do you have? Megalomaniac scientists who built you from an evil billionaire who thinks of you as an experiment at best and supposedly one of the best men on Earth who still thinks you’re not worth his time.”

Too late, Jason realized his insult came out a little too scathing. Conner’s eyes widened, and Jason saw him blink back pinpricks of tears...fuck. He didn’t know when mutual antagonizing had turned into a caustic competition, but he was pretty sure Tim wouldn’t be very happy with the two of them biting each other’s heads off. And Jason was the one that goaded Conner into this to begin with, to let some of his own helpless anger loose. Conner just wanted to make sure his friend was alright.

So, slightly reluctantly, Jason said, “Sorry. That was a bit too far.”

Conner shot him a grimace. “S’okay. You’re keyed up ‘cause of Tim. I get it. You’re still a jackass, though.” After saying his bit, the other boy turned away, taking up another vigil by Tim’s bedside.

...What the hell. It wasn’t like Jason had lied, anyway. If there was one person that had worse daddy issues than Jason did, it was this poor son of a bitch. Back when he was first catching glimpses of updates on what happened in the larger superhero world while he was letting green overtake his mind, he’d marveled a bit at Superboy, and the way the Justice League seemed to speak about it. How bad do you have to be to be Superman’s own son, (sorta), and still have him hold you at arms length. But after Tim’s stories, and after meeting him now, Jason was pretty sure Superman was in the wrong.

You really couldn’t trust anyone, could you?

“Nah. You’re right,” Jason said. “God knows none of the Bats want anything to do with me, so this stupid sort-of truce with this stupid brother’s all I got.”

Conner glanced over at him, surprised. Jason couldn’t blame him, he was a little taken aback at how easily the confession had spilled out of him too. They both knew how closed off people in their line of work were, but Conner seemed to take Jason’s words as an olive branch.

“You were right too. Found out the fun way that parents aren’t worth shit. So the team’s all I got, and Tim’s a big part of that.”

“The kid fucking hates you,” Jason said, putting some good-natured humor into his words to let Conner know he wasn’t entirely serious. “Loves you to death, but complains about you to me all the time.”

Conner snorted. “Look who’s talking. Every week at Titans Tower, it’s all ‘Jason won’t stop scaring off all my informants’ and ‘Jason spit on my copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.’”

“You can’t blame me for that last one, aight?”

“No, I agree with you,” Conner said. “That movie was terrible. I don’t know why Tim likes it.”

“Because he’s a goddamn loser,” Jason said. He couldn’t say he was expecting Conner to know who he was, much less from stories Tim had told him. But it felt...good, in a way. Nice to be recognized by his media tastes instead of his bone-chilling reputation. Nice to know that the guy Tim wouldn’t shut up about to him knew who he was.

Silence fell in between them again, but it was comfortable, mutually acknowledged and let rest. Jason didn’t break it when Conner stood up, brushed a kiss to Tim’s hair, and left the hospital much quieter than he came. Jason didn’t break it when he made to leave either, squeezing Tim’s hand and mentally willing him to heal faster. Jason didn’t break it all the way home.

The next day found Jason in a similar position. The positive side of being a mob boss: he didn’t have much in the way of a day job. He didn’t know why cramming himself into an uncomfortable position to stare, with a tight throat, at a kid in a medically induced coma was what he decided to do with his day.

Maybe because the kid had grown on him, latched onto his heart like a leech and didn’t let go until Jason could ruffle his hair and think of him as a little brother without physically throwing up.

And maybe because he wanted to see Conner again. He didn’t know why, but their brief talk yesterday had loosened something inside his chest. He was used mulling over his regrets, used to Bruce condemning him and giving up on him as a lost cause, used to Dick trying to brush everything aside and form a bond with him again. He wasn’t used to someone staring his sins in the face, then shrugging and forgiving him.

Forgiveness was much lighter and much less guilt-ridden than Jason expected, and he wanted more of it. From the way Conner had sunk into the same line of thinking as Jason, he wanted more of it too.

Conner didn’t disappoint him, but Jason wasn’t sure when he’d gotten his hopes up high enough to be disappointed in the first place. Calmer, now that he knew Tim was doing better, Conner leaned against the doorframe of hospital room, staring at their resident comatose with a little frown on his lips.

Jason took the time to study him. A black leather jacket stretched across his shoulders, a little more showy than the practical brown one draped across the back of the chair Jason was sitting on. He supposed it fitted in with Superboy’s theme, because anyone who wore that pinwheel-bright costume with the fucking thigh holster Jason saw pictures of online was more than a little showy. There wasn’t much proof of in his simple t-shirt and jeans, though, and Jason almost would’ve been disappointed if it weren’t for the earring hanging from his left earlobe and the tall black boots with glinting metal lace hooks that stretched up their length. Jason bet he owned the exact pair of fingerless gloves that were wrapped around Conner’s wrists right now.

In all of Tim’s vivid descriptions of the guy, Jason never realized how much he had in common with the guy, at least cosmetically.

“How’s he doing?” Conner asked, and jolted Jason out of his reverie. He didn’t make any indication he caught Jason looking, but Jason eyed him in slight embarrassment just in case.

Realizing that Conner was actually waiting for an answer, Jason cleared his throat and leaned forward a bit from his relaxed sprawl. “They say they’ll bring him out of it tomorrow, then a week here before he can go home. That is, if he doesn’t wake up on his own. The doctors say they’re astounded at how fast he’s recovering.”

Conner snorted, then stepped fully into the room. “Can you build up an immunity to injury? Or, like, have your body develop a mini healing factor or something? Just based on the kind of shit we’ve gone through over the years?”

Jason didn’t miss the way Conner put feather’s touch more emphasis on “we,” or the way his eyes flicked over to Jason. “At this point, I’m sure it’s the only way we’ve stayed alive so long.”

“No you didn’t,” Conner chuckled.

Jason’s head whipped up, staring at the other boy with disbelief threading through his mind. It had taken months for Dick to start making death jokes, and even then, he hesitated a bit, as if making sure Jason was okay with it. But after one meeting, Conner just steamrolled ahead, every bit as confident as he appeared to be. Jason found himself laughing too, with genuine amusement albeit a little punched out.

Crossing the room to seat himself in the remaining plastic chair, Conner sunk down with a sigh. “I just want him to wake up already.”

“Yeah, well. Who doesn’t?” Jason said, feeling unreasonably a little disappointed. Of course Conner wanted to talk about Tim, that was the whole reason he’d come to the hospital in the first place. He’d only known Jason for an hour, and a large part of that was spent trading insults back and forth. Of course he didn’t want to talk about how Jason was doing.

“So,” Conner said, turning away from the hospital bed. “How are you doing?”

Or maybe he did. Jason didn’t know what to call the little bubble of satisfaction that flew up his throat and popped in his mouth. “Not bad. Life as a mob boss is kinda boring, whaddya know. You?”

“Playing den mother for a bunch of hypercompetent yet cluelessly stupid baby superheroes is not how I imagined my life going.”

“Playing den mother?”

Conner wrinkled his nose, in a motion that was in no way cute, honestly kind of gross and flat. Jason found himself staring nonetheless. “Bart used to call me Team Mom back when we founded the team, and it caught on. Now, Cassie leads, but since even she says it, everyone fucking says it. They ask me for granola bars and money to buy movie tickets.”

“And?”

Conner sighed. “I give them granola bars and money to buy movie tickets.”

“There you go,” Jason said, his voice dripping with smug amusement.

“I swear I’m not usually this lame,” Conner pleaded, and his half-smile was aimed straight towards Jason.

“No, no, I believe you. Tim’s told me stories,” Jason said. “Didn’t you once throw some guy into a police car so hard, the car dented and they had to call in a helicopter so the guy didn’t die on the way to the hospital?”

Conner flushed, and Jason found it just as entrancing as last time. “He tried to touch Cassie,” he explained. “And she can take care of herself more than well, I know. I just got a bit...overprotective.”

Jason just laughed. “Don’t worry. I thought it was badass.”

“Really?” Conner’s lips twisted into a sour smile. “Because the League thought it was proof of my, fuck, what was it? Violent, destructive tendencies mirrored on a smaller scale of the schemes of Lex Luthor. Something along those lines.”

Shaking his head with desideration, Jason scoffed. “Sounds about accurate. Besides, you don’t wanna know what the League thinks of me.”

“What?”

“Aside from, like, Joker and Two-Face and Mad Hatter and shit, Red Hood is one one of Batman’s most powerful and dangerous rogues, and must be stopped at all costs.”

Conner was laughing before Jason even finished talking. “I love that for you,” he said. “You’re just so powerful and dangerous. I’m quaking in my boots.”

Jason shoved him lightly, and felt Conner give way on purpose, ignoring how natural and easy the motion felt. “Whatever you say, Luthor Lite.”

“Well, guess I found my new superhero name,” Conner said, finger held up to his chin in mock-thought as if musing something extremely important.

“It’s perfect,” Jason said. “And here we have Conner Kent, ordinary punk-rock farmer. But he’s hiding a secret! When his ‘violent and destructive tendencies’ come out, he turns into...Luthor Lite!”

The two of them collapsed into muffled laughter, Jason stifling his noise by biting his lip and Conner putting his head in the crook of his arm to hide his red face. Pity, Jason liked that flush.

Straightening up with a sigh, Conner offered Jason a little grin. Crimson was still creeping along his cheekbones and the edge of his jaw, and Jason was suddenly struck by the urge to trace it.

“Kon,” Conner said.

“What?”

“Call me Kon,” Conner said. “Everyone does.”

“Kon, huh? With a K, right?” Jason asked, then nodded thoughtfully when Conner made a noise of affirmation. “Is it Kryptonian or something?”

A rueful expression stole it’s way onto Conner’s face, mischievous lips and daring eyes staring at Jason as if challenging him. “Yeah. Kon-el. Kryptonian for ‘abomination’. It’s what they thought of clones.”

A pause. Then, “Wow.” Jason bust out laughing for the second time. “That’s metal as fuck. Good for you, Kon.”

“Says the guy who took the name of the person who killed him, then twisted it into something so horrifying that now, no one else associates it with anything other than you.”

“Is that judgement I hear?”

“Respect,” Kon said, and his smile was oddly shy, the first time he’d shown that emotion since he’d met Jason. Jason liked the way it looked on him; it suited him oddly well.

They were quiet for a minute, grinning at each other like buffoons, but Jason couldn’t find the heart to stop. Eventually, Kon stood up and rolled out his shoulders to stretch. “I gotta get going. I’m meeting Bart and Cassie, updating them about Tim.”

“They’re waking Tim up in the afternoon,” Jason said. “Bruce is gonna be here, plus Steph. So I’d stay clear.”

“Gotcha, thanks. I’ll come in the morning.”

A proposition, if Jason ever saw one, and there was no way he could have refused. “I’ll be here,” he said, and kept his eyes on Kon until he rounded a corner, away from sight.

Kon was already there when Jason came to visit Tim the next day, and he gave him a friendly, if a tad flirtatious, smile. Jason responded, accidentally putting too much emotion into the greeting than he would have liked, but it made Kon brighten, so Jason didn’t feel too bad.

Dropping heavily into what had become “his” chair, Jason shrugged off his jacket. He gave himself a mental high-five when he noticed Kon staring at his shoulders, but made no motion to address it.

“If all goes to plan, he’ll be the same annoying little prep boy that’s always annoying the hell out of me by tonight,” Jason said.

“He’ll be fine,” Kon said, and his voice was quiet, but there was an undercurrent of confidence curling around his words. He sounded like he had utter faith in Tim. Jason wished some of that would bleed over.

“He’s a tough little shit,” Jason said, then repeated Kon’s words. “He’ll be fine.”

“How ‘bout you?”

“Hm?” Jason raised an inquiring brow. “Oh, I’m all good It’s not me that’s hurt.”

“Jason,” Kon snorted. “If I have learned anything over the past two days, it is the fact that you are most definitely not ‘all good.’”

“Yeah well,” Jason said. “You’re one to talk.”

Kon made a noncommittal noise, and shrugged as if to say what can you do? “We’ve all got issues. But I get the feeling that you’re not as closed off and angry as you let people believe. Or maybe you are, but you don’t want to.”

Jason bit back the first response that came into his mind, telling Kon that no, he was closed off and angry, just not with him. But that wasn’t the truth, and he definitely didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. So instead, he said, “Maybe. Not gonna lie, from the way Tim and everyone talks about you, I was expecting more...”

“Cocky little frat boy?” Kon asked, smirking.

“More or less.”

Kon sighed, then looked down to where his hands were fiddling with each other. “Superman doesn’t act like a cocky little frat boy. Neither does Lex Luthor.”

“You’re not either of them,” Jason said, realization pouring into his mind like spilled oil. “You’re not either of them, but no one else seems to get that, so you make it as obvious as possible.”

“A couple people got that eventually,” Conner said, looking up at Tim with a soft smile. “Not many, though. And none as quickly as you.”

Kon leaned back, level with Jason now, turned to face him, something on his face that Jason couldn’t read. The chairs seemed much closer than Jason could remember, but he wasn’t very much banking on his memory right now.

“Yeah, well,” Jason said, feeling a little lame. “What can I say. Misery likes company, and companies read each other through water.”

“Never heard that one before.”

“I came up with it,” Jason said.

“I like it,” Kon smiled, then leaned forward with an ease Jason had been determined to build up first.

A little peeved at Kon beating him to it, Jason closed the distance first, the kiss probably a little too rough. But given the way they’d met, Jason felt like the bite he gave Kon was justified, even if the other boy was invulnerable.

Jason had made plenty of bad decisions in his life, and he knew exactly what they felt like. This wasn’t one of them. There was no chance that the way Kon’s hands coming up to cup Jason’s face, dragging his nail down Jason’s jaw, was anything other than good. No chance the way Kon’s soft hair suddenly threaded through his fingers was anything other than soft, no chance the soft noise Kon made in the back of his throat was anything other than delightful.

Yeah, Jason knew bad decisions. And despite the avalanche of bad decisions that seemed to make up every inch of Jason, from his scarred hands to his chipped nails, despite the pile-up of thoughtless ideas that led to this boy being made, despite how intimately familiar Jason was with regrets, he was certain Conner Kent wasn’t one of them.

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this was almost 4k what the fuck

also. please imagine tim waking up to see his best friend and older brother aggressively making out in the plastic hospital chairs next to him.

anway, suddenly i have a new ship.

imma post this on ao3 later, it got a bit long

tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @screennamealreadyused @subtleappreciation @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @bikoncon @bonkybearjpeg @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridge @thatsthewhump

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nctworststuff · 4 years ago

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Pairing- Boyfriend!Renjun x nospecific!reader

Warning-Death,Cancer

Genre: Angst

a/n: Here what you guys got after a months I’m not post anything. Also Thank you my friend,Lucy because helping me a lot :). Hope you guys like it

He always with you

He avoided meeting with you lately. You missed to spend time with him so much. You missed his scent, his hugs, his kisses, his presence, but most importantly, you missed him.

You recently spent a lot of time in your apartment, all by yourself. Watching movies, drinking hot chocolate and staying under your fluffy blanket. Sometimes you went to hangout with your friends, but not as often as you used to. However, today you couldn't take it anymore. I have to visit him, now!

Deep inside you knew that he would never cheat on you. What if something bad had happen to him? Maybe he got sick or maybe something in his family came up? You didn't know. Helplessly you scrolled through your media social. Usually, he would be active on Instagram. Always adding things to his story or at least posting the pictures he made. But ever since 3 weeks ago, you haven't seen him post a single thing. As if he vanished.

You took a look at your photo gallery on your phone. It's filled with pictures of you and Renjun. Everytime the two of you had met in the past months, you had taken at least one picture. Are you okay, renjun?

You didn't want to waste your time anymore, so you walked into your bedroom to change your outfit. You arrived at his house that felt like a second home to you. Big dark clouds covered the sky and sun. It may rain soon. You slowly walked to the door and opened it with the spare key Renjun gave you not so long ago.

You couldn't see him when you entered. Maybe he is in his bedroom? You steped further into his apartment. It was a big mess. You tried to comprehend what could've happened here. The TV was on, adding some noise to the otherwise quiet space. Some old snacks that have neither been fully eaten nor thrown away, covered the floor. It surely wasn't healthy for him to life in all this trash.

You finally went upstairs and pressed the door handle down slowly after knocking and getting no reply. Who knows, maybe he's sleeping? However you suddenly heard a faint crying sound instead of the silence. What's happening to him? Thousands of thoughts were running in your head, creating one scenario worse than the other. "Renjun?" You softly called out his name and fully opened the door. He turned his head and body to look at you, surprised by your arrival. His eyes were more red than white and his face looked as white as freshly fallen snow did.

"Y/n? W-what are you doing here?" He looked at you with what you could only assume was an angered expression. You slowly approached him and sat down on his mattress beside him. You hesitantly leaned your head on his shoulder and put your hand on his thigh, joining his own one. Oh, how often you had fiddled with his slender fingers before. They were just as beautiful as the art they created, but now they were just dried skin and bone. You were convinced, something bad happen to him!

"And why are you crying?", you asked him in return, probably a bit too late, but not that it matered anyways. He kept quiet for about a minute, before taking a deep breath and forcing those awful words out of his mouth. "I have a disease! I-I have cancer..." He closed his eyes tightly to hold himself back from sobbing. The fear that lived within him ever since the doctor told him he was going to die earlier than expected, suddenly skyrocket in your presence.

Shutting you out in the hope of making you forget him, had been so much easier than seeing your heart break right in front of him. You didn't deserve the pain he caused you, so why...? Why are you still here y/n? Why couldn't you stay away from me? "So that's the reason why you pushed me away? The reason you avoided me? Why didn't you tell me? Renjun? Explain it to me. Please explain everything." you looked at his eyes that beared so many emotions, while he bit his chapped lips.

"I-I don't know. I... I was just so, so scared. Actually, I-I knew I had cancer... It... They told me a year ago."

His confession was interrupted by a hiccup. He started crying again and put his hand on his face. You've been together for 3 years and he kept this a secret for all the time, telling you just now? "I-I'm only going to live for one more week. My doctor said there is no other way for me." Why? Why did he need to leave like this? Couldn't he be healthy and grow old with me? Searching in your confused and helpless mind you looked for a solution.

"Hey, i-it's okay. Its not your fault! I-I could spend all my money for your surge-", but he cut you off with a harsh movement by his hand. "You heard what I said. There's no chance, y/n!" Now your eyes were filling with tears, blurring your sight. This can't be true! "You said you would never leave me. You- You promised." The tears poured out of their home, painting a wet line down your cheeks until they dropped down your chin, falling. You too, felt like falling. You were so angry, but not at him, no, he didn't wanted this either. You were angry at the situation. At the fact that you couldn't do Anything.

Watching your little emotional breakdown, Renjun stayed quiet. After he had avoided meeting you for so long, seeing you come back to him, crying with him, still caring for him, there was only one thing he wanted. "Y/n? Can I ask for one last thing, before death is taking me?" He moved his hand to your shoulder, pressing it softly. "Anything for you, Renjun!" You desperately looked into his eyes, meeting his softened expression. "I just want to spend my last week with you. Please. One last time?"

Day 2

Standing in the kitchen for about half an hour, you had made a healthy breakfast for the two of you, since he loved your cooking. You poured some hot porridge into his favourite bowl and placed it on the tray. Walking slowly to not drop anything you brought the food to his bedroom. He was still asleep, looking utterly peaceful.

While you put the tray on a near small table, you called his name softly, to wake him up. Upon hearing his name, his eyelids fluttered open. Still a bit sleepy, he rubbed his eyes and gave you a questioning look. "I made some porridge for you. Should I... feed you?" You smiled at him shyly. He could just nod his head, feeling exhausted even after taking such a long nap.

You sat down beside him and took the spoon to feed him. He followed your every move as you put the still warm porridge in his mouth. A big smile suddenly stretched across his cheeks. "I knew your cooking would never disappoint me!", he complimented, making you giggle. Yet, you couldn't ignore the sad feeling in your chest, knowing you had to accept the fact that he was going to die soon. Only five days would be left after today.

Of course Renjun noticed the way your expression changed. “I dont like to see you sad. Please smile for me” He grabbed your other hand too, making you smile. The smile only he got to see. You don't even know if the sweet smile you were currently wearing on your face would show up for another guy, but for now it seems like it is just for Renjun, who finally noticed the bracelet on your wrist.

"You still wear that bracelet?” His eyes fixated on your wrist. You just watched him with sparkling eyes, while thinking back to how you got that gift. “Of course! It looks so pretty and it bears a lot of memories for me!” He smiled at you with just the same sparkles glowing in his eyes, making your heart beat unbelievable fast in your chest. You didn't knew why, but the comforting feeling of love, the love created between the two of you, filled your now shared room. Softly touching your own cheeks you felt how they heated up.

“It's- wait... I gave you the bracelet 5 years ago, when it was your birthday? A-and we still didn't turn into lovers that day, did we?”, his eyes widened. You simply nodded and started chuckling, him joining not much later. Of course you could still remember the day he gave you the precious bracelet. He was being so shy back then, when he planned to give it to you. Haechan, Mark and all the other dreamies kept hyping him up, after he gave it to you.

“You know what? I really can't believe our relationship will just end soon. I really thought we would last longer. I'm sorry!” He smiled at you again, but this time it was a sad smile. You sighed, closing your eyes in agony. “It's not your fault, it never was, Renjun! After all, these moments are the most precious ones that we have. Trust me, I will love and remember you until I take my last breath!” I'll really do! Besides bringing it up first, you hated talking about his disease so much.

Not because you blamed it on him. Not because you couldn't believe, he was going to die soon, no. You hated talking about it because you feared being left behind. You hated the fact that you'll eventually forget about him. That you'll forget how he smelled, how his hands felt, how his hugs felt. And the worst thing was, that you'll forget how it felt to be loved by him. When did all your laughter turn into cries?

Day 4

"Look! It's your favourite flower!” Renjun points his finger to a small bunch of flowers in the middle of the park. You loved going to this park with him before and today wasn't any different. Softly swining your linked hands back and forth and slowly walking near your favourite flower felt like one of those cliché moments from a drama. Especially when you kneeled down to smell on it.

The heavy, but lively smell of the rose lingered in your nose, bringing up even more memories. Renjun gave you one of those exact roses, when he had confessed that he liked you. A small grin made it's way to your lips. “It looks so pretty.”, Renjun said while putting his arm around your shoulders, “Pretty like you!” You couldn't help, but roll your eyes. This was typically him. Renjun loved to compliment and tease you at the same time

You loved the moments when he was simply being himself. He was acting different. Usually he would be rather harsh, or how people liked to put it, ignorant towards other people’s feelings. But he always cared for you. You were his soft spot. It was only normal that couples had little fights from time to time, but renjun never let the two of you be angry at each other for a long time.

He always was the first one to apologize, or if it wasn’t his mistake, he would still want to make up, inviting you to do something that you liked. His classic line which always worked was weather you would want to eat some food ugh him. It was one of the many personality traits that you liked about him

“Ah! I really want to draw the pond and swan over there! It’s unbelievable pretty!” He excitedly took out his paintings tools and moved the stuff around until it stood perfectly within his reach while drawing. You just followed him and tried to not get in his way.

Tipping the smallest brush into the water glass, he started to draw the perfect scenery in front of you. He truly was talented at this. You couldn’t help but admire the way he let the colors dance on the Canva “Your drawing is so unbelievable. It really does look like it’s real”

His face lit up,once the words left your mouth “This is the last painting I”ll before I’m gone. I want it to be perfect!”he still smiled at you, but his eyes showed how he truly felt. The sadness dominating any other feels. Once again, you sighed. It has been almost 3 years, since you’ve been a couple and now you two just stood there, waiting for him to leave

Quickly noticed How your mood shifted towards a bad one, you tried to change the topic

There will be enough time for me to sad once he left

“Do you remember that this place is the first place we met and-“ “The place where I confessed my feelings for you?” He finished your sentence with a smirk. Chuckling you nodded at the statement

That day he called you and asked you to meet him at the park “ can you cell me?” was that he said, when he actually was going to confess to you. You can’t forget that day. You never will. It’s a very precious moment to you, even if he stuttered a lot and the confession felt really awkward too

“Your birthday is this week, isn’t it?” Renjun suddenly asked. You stopping your thoughts. Right, you totally forgot about your birthday. Surprised you just hummed and nodded. “What do you want for your birthday?” You didn’t need to think twice “I just want you stay alive and healthy. I wish you could always be my side” you smile confidently

That will never happen

It was obvious to renjun, but to avoid you sadder he just smile sweetly at you instead of responding “Can we go somewhere after this? Maybe the shopping mall?” You asked him. He looked at you and hugged you close to his chest “Of course!”

He would spend his time with you wisely and make sure that every precious and special moment will never be forgotten

Day 7

I can't lose him! Please!

You buried your face into his shoulder and grabbed his sweater like your own life depended on holding it. You couldn't believe he was going to die in less than a day. He couldn't... Your fragile, pathetic hope only faded more when he started coughing. In the last few days his condition extremely worsened and you tried to understand why people needed to suffer before dying so much. Isn't death enough?

“It's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it?”, he quietly asked while stroking your back. “Yes” Your answer was barely loud enough to hear, being muffled by his neck. Still, you hugged him only tighter, afraid of finally losing him. “Y/n, I'm so sorry if I'm not able to be with you tomorrow to celebrate your birthday.” You knew what’s he meant. No, this couldn't be happening! Why were you suddenly to dumb to accept it?

“Please find a better guy than me. A guy who will make you happy, who will stay loyal to you and only loves you. Find a guy who will stay by your side forever. Don't find another guy who'll make you feel dissapointed.” You wanted to tell him, that he never disappointed you, but he already pulled you into a sweet kiss. His lips felt so soft. Soft but rough. It was like your first kiss with him. It was like your first night with him. But in reality, it was your last kiss with him. Yet you saw it as another moment that had been created in this special time.

“You know... I am never going to stop loving you!” You said and looked at him. His face was so pale, you could see the soft blue shining through it. “Me too, honey. There are 7 billion people on this earth but I fell in love with you. We have been a long journey together. Everyone can fall in love but not everyone has a happy ending with it. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise, Y/n!” I know, Renjun.

The worst part for you was that it all happened so fast. But somehow you still hoped this was only a dream. That you would wake up to a healthy Renjun wishing you a happy birthday. Finally the clock was showing 12 AM. It was your birthday. Sounding just as sleepy as you felt he whispered a soft “Happy birthday, Y/n!” He stroked your hair while looking at you with loving eyes, a smile on his lips for the last time, before you both fall asleep under your shared blanket.

Not knowing, that they were his last words.

Day 8

You woke up from a deep slumber and moved your blanket. You saw that Renjun was still ‘sleeping’. Softly you shaked him to wake him up, with no sign of success. He didn't response in any way. After a few more times of you trying to wake him up and him still not moving an inch, you tried to recall which date it was today.

No, it can't be.

Yesterday was the last day you would spend with him. One week. Seven days. All moved by faster than you could remember. In your final hope you searched for his heartbeat, but you didn't hear anything. You couldn't. Now you would need to accept the fact that he was gone. Forever.

You start sobbing. "Renjun, please wake up. Please!" Despite your wobbly arms, you shook his body, screaming so uncontrollably loud that it even hurt your ears. It's my birthday. Today is supposed to be a happy day. This has to be a nightmare. I'll always be by your side. Resonating in your mind you hear a faint voice, but you just ignore it. Renjun was right. Not everyone has a happy ending. And you were certainly one of them.

I'm sorry for breaking our promise

©ɴᴄᴛᴡᴏʀsᴛsᴛ��ғғ@/ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ

#nct 127 #nct dream #nct #nct u #nct 2021 #nct imagines #nct angst #nct scenarios #renjun #nct drabbles #renjun drabbles #renjun angst #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #renjun x reader #nct x reader #nctzen #nct 2020

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bellatrixxue · 4 years ago

Text

Xue’s Supernatural Dare: Wendigo (S1 EP2)

Hello, everyone? How did everyone feel about the finale? Yes? Yes? Oh. Oh. Oh my. Oh, dear.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell that half-assed homophobic chicken-shit fuckbucket’s not gonna stop me, since I strapped myself onto this roller coaster already and I promised I’m not getting out until the ride’s over, so here we go, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Also, those who are in this roller coaster with me, ready? Tag list is: @fangirlxwritesx67 @amazingiam00 @kalliravenne @indecisive20something @2musiclover2 @impossibletosleepthrough @there-must-be-a-lock @wingedcatninja @arvit

Oh my gods this recap is so cheesy I actually can make a fondue out of it. 2000s, everybody!

A WHOLE MINUTE AND A HALF FOR THAT FONDUE

FUCKJUMPSCARETITLEFUCKYOU

So we’re starting the episode with the murder scene first, eh? Is that gonna be a trend?

Oh come on, Chads, you’re out in nature and you’re playing video games? Absorb the nature...before it absorbs you!

Waitwait. Holy shit is that...is that Cory Monteith? Oh, bless his soul...

If the wendigo eats his dick as he’s peeing I’m immediately giving Jensen Ackles $100. For no real reason, I just feel like giving him money for already carrying the show on his back.

I can’t tell if it did or not, so I’m not paying yet.

Aw, Sammy...

"I should have told you the truth.” *Vine voice* BUT YOU DIDN’T

FUCKYOUINTHEASSHOhnightmare. Nightmare. So did he visit her at her grave or not? I need answers.

A week? Goddamn. Poor thing. That man-eating tree’s fucking good at his job, man.

“There’s nothing there, it’s just...woods,” Sam, I don’t know if Jess’s death hit you hard or if you got into law school by eating some ancient dick and/or pussy instead of earning that high score fair and square, but the woods “in the middle of nowhere” (your words) are known to be one of the top places full of weird-ass creatures. Even kindergartners know that.

Ehehehehehehehehe he’s so smol next to his lil bro my lil shit

At least you’re coming up with decent covers this time. No Agent Mulder and Scully ruining things for you this time around.

“Bull” oop-

Oh Dean’s a smoooooooooth operator. Good going, buddy.

AND HE GOT A COPY OF THAT DOCUMENT TEAM DEAN TEAM DEAN

Oh that death really got to Sam. I hope he doesn’t turn out to be a trigger-happy psycho. Or eat the man-eating tree and become one himself.

Oh, Haley’s a cutie! Which one’s her brother? Cory? Discount Enrique Iglesias?

Do you have a card for EVERY profession, Dean? And how do I get them too?

That is a very pretty car. I bet they wasted half the budget on that thing.

Okay, sonny boy, little bro, Broseidon, calm down.

Ah, fuck, Haley and Broseidon is gonna go into the woods, that’s more heads to worry about.

How the fuck does Sam find information this fast? I’m impressed, I take five hours to get to one article for my research paper. Or maybe I’m just lazy. So he really earned his law school interview without having to eat dick and pussy, huh.

Every 23 years? What is this, Pennywise? Are we going to see the wendigo do his best Tim Curry do his best scary clown impression? Honk honk?

“Whatever that thing is, it can move.” And the sun rises on the East, Sammy. Why are you so smart and dumb at the same time? Is this his character trait? It might grow on me.

Ahhh, so Sam’s go-to move at interrogation is doing puppy dog eyes and sympathize with the person. He’d make a good lawyer, shame that man-eating tree.

Go Grandpa Exposition, go!

Go Grandpa Exposition, go, give us information and none at all!

OH GEEZ THAT SCAR. PENNYWISE WENDIGO IS VICIOUS.

Skinwalker, Back Dog...Ooh, those all sound cool! I hope we get to see them soon!

‘Corporeal’ doesn’t sound like a real word, but then again, English doesn’t sound like a real language. Sorry. Moving on.

Sam’s gonna eat the wendigo with that attitude, Jesus Christ.

AND HIS BROTHER, AT THIS RATE. If the real villain turns out to be inside Sam all along I’m gonna flip. Is that why women keep dying and burning on ceilings where he sleeps? Is he secretly Lucifer’s spawn or something?

“Oh sweetheart I don’t wear shorts”. They queer-coded him from the start and they tried to make you believe he was straight for fifteen seasons straight? And some people bought that?

Oh, crap, another crappy death treatment for Cory before he got into Glee...No, I wasn’t into Glee, I just watched a few episodes and I might hate Rachel Berry...And Lea Michele...ahem...

Dean is totally flirting with Roy shut upppppppp

OOP AND THERE ROY GOES OH THE SEXUAL TENSION IS HIGH IN THESE WOODS TODAY

“It’s probably the most honest I’ve been with a woman. Ever.” See. Bi. Bi bi bi.

So...why the coordinates, Daddy Negan? Is this a portal to Hell? A place where man-eating trees grow?

*carefully places death flag on Roy*

Ooooh the campsite is very...haunted house-y. You know what I’m saying?

That’s not Discount Enrique Iglesias, but Pennywise wendigo, yes? Those things can mimic human voices, right?

*Google searches*...There are so many versions of this tale I can’t even confirm or deny it. Dammit.

Maybe Pennywise wendigo just wants some snacks and a nice phone and GPS? Maybe he misses his family in uh, Canada or something?

Daddy Negan’s journal is a e s t h e t i q u e .

I’m so sorry, but the way Sammy smirks as he speaks with those dark, dark voids for eyes? My boy’s a demon. He’s a demon, I’m telling you.

At least Haley has some sense to her. *puts another death flag on Roy*

*PUTS YET ANOTHER DEATH FLAG ON ROY*

True, that. What the heck is Daddy Negan up to with all of this?

“Saving people, hunting things, the family business!” Okay, the way Dean said it gave me chills.

I can actually empathize with Sam here...As whiny and bitchy as he is, he has his reasons to be this way. I guess if I were in his shoes, I’d be less of a Dean and more of a Sam, too. We deal with our losses quite similarly.

Ah, the brotherly bonding moments like these little talks make the show worth it. It’s so heartwarming.

Pennywise wendigo! I didn’t miss you, why’re you here to burst my happy bubble?

I’m starting to see a slight parallel between Haley and Broseidon and Dean and Sammy. Hmm.

Nice meeting you, Roy. Zoop you go.

Haley and Broseidon are taking this rather well, I’m glad they do.

Okay, actual exposition time, thank you.

Whoa, Broseidon speaks! Donner Party! Please don’t remind me of that! Those poor people!

Hibernation and food storage. Delightful, just delightful.

TORCHING? *CALLS RAMMSTEIN*

Somehow, not being able to see the wendigo is scarier to me than what I will probably see itself. Limited budget horror can actually work well.

Oh, dear, Roy literally did a death drop. Badum tissssssssss.

FUCK IT TOOK DEAN THE ONLY CHARACTER I CARE ABOUImean I love you too, Sam! Come on, let’s find him before it’s too late!

A trail of M&Ms! Yes, Broseidon! And Hansel and Gretel refercalled it. Sammy, you and I share the same wavelength?

SHITSHITTHEYTRIPPEDANDFELLINTHEFUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Thank the gods the Pennywise wendigo kept them right there. Chances.

DISCOUNT ENRIQUE IGLESIAS IS STILL ALIVE GEEZ BUT ALSO PHEW

Ah, Dean Winchester, I love you so much that I can’t even begin to describe it.

Also how convenient that the flare guns are there. Deus ex machina!

Haley would bode well as a hunter, look at her courage, her will. There are more hunters around than Daddy Negan and the brothers, right?

Yeah, seeing the actual wendigo makes me less scared of it now. It’s unnerving, but still.

TEAM DEAN YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAW

Graphics are...alright, but it’s the thought that counts!

Running with the grizzly bear story. Smart Broseidon. Ben. Sorry, you deserve to be called by your real name. I think with practice they could become good hunters, along with their Discount Enrique Iglesias brother! Is there a fanfiction for that? Can I write it now?

...

I AM WILLING TO DIE TO PROTECT DEAN WINCHESTER I

Haley’s a lesbian, that’s why she kissed him on the cheek only. Headcanoned. Also I have a crush on her, she’s really pretty? Like? Heart eyes???

Ah, the siblings parallels again. Let’s hope neither of the two brothers end up in the bed like that.

“Man, I hate camping.” Really. Really really. Really.

“I’m driving”

...

SAM WINCHESTER I’M SORRY I EVER SPOKE ILL OF YOU I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH MY LIFE TOO I PROMISE YOU I WILL

It’s just a sassy bisexual brother and his little snide bisexual brother on the road to kill evil creatures and find their father and I love this show? Help? Help???

I really, really see the charm of Supernatural now! I’m fully invested in both brothers and their story, and I’m cheering them both on! Let’s get Daddy Negan back and get rid of that man-eating tree once and for all!

Six stars out of five!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This dare is introducing me to a whole new world, and I really, really am glad I took that jump a few days ago, man!

Thank you everyone for reading my ramblings, and I’ll see you in the day after with the next review! Thank you for sticking with me! Buh-bye!

- Xue

#xue's supernatural dare #spn #supernatural #dean winchester #jensen ackles #sam winchester #jared paladecki #text #i had a really bad day today with my constant pain and aching from the chemo #but this really brought genuine smiles to my face!#what a good show #what a wonderful show #how the FUCK did they fuck it up later #well #i guess i'll find out when i get there lmao

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catxsnow · 4 years ago

Note

hiii can you do fluff alphabets for jaybird? :)

Jason deserves all the softness

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Jason loves your hands. He can't get over how much more soft and delicate they are compared to his own rough calloused ones. There's nothing better than coming home from a long day to you dragging your hands on him or playing with his hair. B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

Jason fully believes that he's not capable of being a good father. He had a terrible one growing up and Bruce wasn't much better. However, when you bring up the idea to him, he doesn't realize how much his heart aches to have kids with you. He's still very hesitant at the idea of it all.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

Jason is completely exhausted nearly every night he comes home. He'll lie flat on his back with you cuddled into his side and that's the perfect way for him to end his night. D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

Jason loves to go the family owned businesses in whatever town he's in. Whether it's a restaurant or cafe, or even a boutique, those are his favourite places to go with you. It's always something new and different and you never get tired of it. Not to mention that he likes to support the families because Jason is the most caring man in the world. E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world...))

You are my heart and soul F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

Jason knew he was in love when you asked to meet his family. He tried to keep them away from you for so long because he knew how crazy and judgmental they could be against him - he couldn't drag you into that either. However, you promised him that you would never judge him based off his family - you were dating him, not them. Jason knew that he was in love with you at that point - anyone crazy enough to want to meet his family had to be special. G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

Jason is rough around the edges. He tries to contain it around you and 95% of the time he does. However, when he comes home from a mission gone bad, he tries not to let his anger out on you but sometimes he ends up yelling at you and he knows you don't deserve it. Jason always feels bad about it instantly. He always makes it up to you, but you understand. His life is insane and he bottles things up until he explodes. The two of you had been working on that together for a while now. H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

Jason doesn't like to intertwine fingers, he just likes a classic hand hold. You asked him why early on in your relationship and he responded with his ability for quicker reflexes. Jason always wanted to be as fast as he could if anything were to ever happen while you were together. His priority was to keep you safe at all times. I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

He thought you were the most breath-taking person in the room. The second that he saw you he knew that he needed to get to know you. J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

yepyepyep Jason does get jealous - especially with his brothers. Dick loves to flirt with you and you and Tim were close friends. He hated it, a lot. However the worst time? You met Roy and he was instantly attracted to you. Jay was so mad that Roy tried to pull moves on you that he had to be held back from fighting his best friend. K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

(did this one already so I just copied from the original post)

Jason initiated the first kiss. My man is a COCKY BASTARD and just went in for it without evening thinking twice.

I think Jason is very a rushed kisser. He can't get enough of you and he just constantly needs more. So, behind closed doors Jason is trying compact all of his desire into a short amount of time. Living on the streets for part of his life left him not to dwell and take his time.

L = Love (Who says 'I love you' first?)

You do. It was just after you found out that he was Red Hood and you were taking care of a fresh wound from that night. He didn't understand why you were crying until you confessed that you loved him and were scared to see him get hurt badly. M = Memory (What's their favourite memory together?)

Jason's favourite memory of you is the time that you punched Roy in the face. He was being an ass and you had enough of it. Jason couldn't stop laughing at Roy's reaction and he fell in love with you even more that day.

His favourite memory of you together, was the first time you trained together. After finding out that he was Red Hood you asked if he could teach you a little bit. When you showed up in your cute little outfit all excited to learn how to fight he felt giddy inside. You were so determined and excited to be there. Jason was so in love with you as you tried to throw punches as hard as him. N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Jason doesn't buy a lot of things for himself, but he buys lots for you. He spoils you with flowers constantly. O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

White. Jason's life is anything but pure and you're the only exception. He correlates you with innocence and purity in this gruesome life of his. P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

Princess is by far his favourite. He uses babe a lot to. One time as a joke you called him a peasant and now you guys call each other by it all the time. Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

Old literature. Jason loves the classics and he'll read them again and again. R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Jason loves to have baths with you. He'll fill up the tub and you guys will hand out in there until the water is too cold. Before that during the day, he just wants to laze in bed with you for hours and hours. The two of you will just talk, read, watch movies, cuddle, it's just what he needs for his day off. S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

Jason bottles everything. He doesn't like talking about it and he certainly doesn't want to burden you with how he feels. You have to beg him to talk about it and when he finally does, it's like a waterfall of hidden emotions. As vulnerable as he feels with you, he also feels a hell of a lot better as well.

Jason cheers you up with a drive. He takes you anywhere you want without a destination in mind. The two of you chat about what's going on with you until you finally feel better and have a more level headed mind with his advice. Will also 10/10 buy you food before going back home. T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

his death

Jason loves literature. He used to read books constantly and he loves having debates about them with you. He's always interested to see his readings in a different perspective. U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

Cooking. Jason will be stressed out and you'll come home to a five course meal and six dozen cookies. He loves to cook and he's good at it too. It always seems to take his mind off of what's bothering him. V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

How well he's doing without Bruce. Jason always despises that he's leaned off of Bruce for so many years. He loves to see how much he's accomplished without his help and without his ridiculous moral code. W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

Jason doesn't really propose. You're the one to bring up marriage to him and he's says if you want to then he's game. Otherwise, it's not a big priority. X = Xylophone (What's their song?)

Over My Dead Body by Drake. Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

It's never really been a thought for Jason. He loves you and he's never going to stop loving you whether or not you're married. Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

He's pretty basic and just wants a dog. It's gotta be a big one like a Saint Bernard.

#jason todd #jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #jason todd fluff #fluff #dc imagine #dc #dc fluff #fluff alphabet

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hoodedwing · 4 years ago

Text

Scarred Hands

Summary: Jason helps everyone through bad days.

Characters: Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Bruce, Alfred

Warnings : Major Character Death mentions, breakdowns, mourning over a character, i think there’s swearing too (but all my fics would have some swear in it though)

Additional Notes: Just wanted Dick to lose his shit with Bruce I guess and Jason just tags a long and becomes good ole’ big bro

Word Count: 1,294 words

***

He can't press the button.

It sits nicely in his hand, fitted perfectly. The number pad worn with age and most likely, had seen better days. The screen cover or what was left of it was peeling at the edges.

Damian had a better phone, way better.

Why did he still hold on to this phone then? What was the attraction, the strange magic that pulled him to this point where he his finger is still hovered over the button?

Press # for emergencies

The automated voice message said it again, familiarity burned at the edges. Obviously because Jason was the one who gave him the damn phone.

He gave it to his three other brothers too, not exactly give but rather sneak it into their pockets.

How he'd sneaked it, Damian had no clue.

He had a mission tomorrow which needed his full attention and he had spent the whole week staying up by doing research, compiling evidence and constant patrols.

He was tired, his brain felt heavy, darkness sweetly lingering at the edges. The ceiling light suddenly became brighter and he covered his eyes, with his free arm and hissed.

His hand accidentally presses the button and suddenly he hears a gruff voice, gentle in its own

"Demon spawn?"

Damian whimpers and turns on his side, taking the phone under his head and mumbles.

"Stop it."

"Well you called, what's up?"

He hears Damian sighing and trying to sleep so Jason listens silently. He didn't have to say anything. At one point, Damian really thought Jason had declined the call but his name was still on the caller ID.

Jason listened carefully on the phone, Damian's finally even breathing and soft, imperceptible snores. He almost smiles down at the phone.

"Night."

He whispered softly down the phone and cut it.

Tim is at Wayne Enterprises (WE)

He absolutely fucking hates it right now because a co-worker has picked out some mysterious 'flaws' and explaining to him why she thought the proposal was questionable.

He is this close to losing it while trying to tune out the woman's voice.

"This time frame is too small, I'm afraid they won't have enough time. Considering that there is a gala this evening-"

Oh fuck, there's a gala to go to tonight?

Tim almost jolts. Just to make sure he isn't hallucinating, he sneakily looks at his phone and sees a message reminding him about tonight’s Gala from Alfred.

Right on time, Alfred. Tim thought.

Tim sighs, places a hand on his head as the woman continues with her mock speech. Luckily for him, her phone rang and she left the room.

Tim slid a deadbolt into the damn door after that.

Peace

He blinks and sees the world in double and rubs his eyes again. He lies quietly on the table for awhile.

His hand was in his coast's pocket, he tried to find his phone but accidentally found the other one.

"What-"

Tim quizzically stares at it, trying to make sense of this mess. The phone was old, he knew. Less advanced equalled to less apps to contact from. These kind are favoured by mercenaries or assassins, it was easier to remove your trail, fast.

That meant only one possibility.

Jason

Tim allows a moment to appreciate Jason's skill. How he had slid it into his pocket, he didn't know and he's impressed.

He picks around the phone, trying to figure out whether it was bugged (because Jason is creative, he managed to get Tim to sleep once just by a lethal and calculated mark by a transquilizer.)

His finger accidentally presses #

"Yeah?"

Oh shit, where's the end call button?

"Tim?"

The gruff voice was coloured with a tinge of audible concern, distant sounds of grappling hooks and gunfire was heard.

"Uh-"

Tim has no idea what to say to him, that he accidentally pressed a button because he was too damn curious and could get Jason killed again because his attention is also diverted to him?

"I..I'm so sorry-"

"Bad day, Timmy?"

Okay, now he's also a mind reader. Lazarus does strange things to you.

"No"

"Liar"

He's a polygraph now? I can't believe this

"Timmy, if it's stress at work or there's dead ends, you better drag your ass to the alleyway outside. I'm there."

Tim decides that it wasn't a bad idea, what's the harm in meeting him?

Probably being stabbed by a batarang and becoming a headline Wayne Enterprises CEO found murdered by a child's toy or Timothy Jackson Drake found impaled by a strange contraption, are there aliens coming? Is this a sign?

Tim politely excuses himself and leaves the office, he exits and turns left to walk another ten minutes. People walking by gave him small smiles obviously because he's a business figure.

He walks another ten minutes and reaches the alleyway, he kicks off his pointed dress shoes and sits, resting his feet at one side.

"Those shoes sure hurt, you better buy new ones soon Timbers."

Tim stood up surprised and almost stumbled back, a pair of firm hands grasp around his waist, too tight for his good.

It leaves Tim breathless and he kneels over slightly from the sudden. Jason lifts him slowly and places him on his lap. Tim fumbles and leans his head against Jason's figure and slowly sinks in.

Into the comfort.

He doesn't know he's fallen asleep until he wakes up in his own bed with warm food beside him.

Dick cannot dare.

Dick is supposed to be the glue of the family, he's supposed to be the one that's keeping his shit together.

But he can't.

Bruce is fucking dead, his (adoptive) dad is dead. Gone.

And he can't even get up, he's lying on his bed, absolutely miserable, not even taking calls from Barbara.

In short, he's cut out his entire connection with the world. He's skipped patrol with Tim and Damian for a whole week, he's stopped watching his shows and eating his food.

He's tired.

He doesn't know why, all the energy is sucked out of him. He cannot seem to push himself up.

Not yet.

Until this big lump of human is outside his room and watches him lie in his thoughts. The man seemed familiar.

And he enters.

"Dickie, what the hell?"

Jason puts his hand on Dick, who's eyes are red from a recent bout of crying. He gives Dick a glass of cold water.

"Look at me."

His firm hands grip Dick's leaner muscled shoulders and he reluctantly looks. Jason could see he looks worse up close.

Breakdowns suck, a lot.

"Dick, you gotta move on. I know-"

"You don't know Bruce."

He simply states, eyes staring ahead. He's telling the truth, or maybe not.

Jason had seen the various shades of Bruce. Caring and the next second, colder than ever. So Dick was so, so wrong about his answer.

"Hating someone doesn't mean I don't know him Dick. He meant a lot to you, I'm not invalidating your grief, I need you to grieve properly. You gotta get back someday, Blüdhaven needs some ass kicking."

Dick smiles with tear-stained cheeks and Jason hugs him suddenly, because he's been in the same position before. He's caught himself in a breakdown before but no one ever held the broken pieces while he cried himself to sleep.

He knew how Dick felt.

"Take your time Dickie, I'll take over for you for now till you're okay."

Dick smiles thinly and sits, watching Jason wear back his boots to leave through the window but not without wiping away his fingerprints.

Jason leaves quietly, hoping Dick wouldn't mind his sudden disappearance. He couldn't afford to stay for long.

There's no rest for the weary.

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artxyra · 5 years ago

Note

I got another request! So, Jason is Red Hood at the time when he sees Marinette clutching a backpack (it has the miraculous box inside and some essentials and clothing) as she was falling from a portal (even tho a cloud was covering it so it looked like she was falling from the sky) into a river. He jumps in, saves her, and says something like "Holy sh*t I just saved an angel" He stays hidden for 2 weeks helping her until the fam meet her. [Anything you want from here but end goal is daminette]

It was close to midnight when the Red Hood notice that something was up. Little did he knew was that his next encounter with someone would have changed his entire life. He looked up to the cloudy night sky that always plagues Gotham, nothing felt out of the place. Well, the moment lasted into his begins to see a silhouette of someone falling from the sky. The person was coming down fast, real fast.

Rushing to what he presumed to be the persons landing grounds, he failed to realize that the person wasn’t going to reach the cold hard concrete ground but the river not far from him. As the person was falling quickly than anticipated, he ditched his jacket and ran towards the river.

Splash. Splash.

He breaks for air pulling the formerly falling person with him to shore. Back on dry land, the Red Hood was finally able to get a good look at the person he saved.

“Holy shit, did I just save an Angel?” He whispers to himself brushing back strands of dark hair that clings to the girl’s face.

Looking around for any signs of help coming, he picks the girl up into his arms and disappears into the night, not caring that it was his night to patrol.

Marinette woke up the next day with a massive headache. Quickly leaning upward, she calls out for Tikki as she searches through the blankets looking for her backpack. It hasn’t registered to Marinette that wasn’t at home nor was she in Paris anymore.

Tikki flies up to Marinette, giving the panic guardian a sense of reassurance.

“Where am I? Kaalki?” Marinette finally takes in her bearings as she touches face noticing the lack of glasses that is the horse miraculous.

“Kaalki’s fine, Marinette. Your entry coming here was rather shaky.” Tikki states keeping close to Marinette as the realization hits her. Turning to the side table, Marinette sees the horse miraculous and puts.

“Kaalki, where did that portal send us?” Kaalki finally appears but she scoffs and looks around the room.

“The portal sent us to a place called Gotham. In the Americas, apparently.” Kaalki answers before flying off to who knows where.

“Gotham, like in the Batman comics?” Marinette says before groaning resting her hand over her forehead and lay back down. All she could do is think, how was this possible.

“Hey Angel from the sky, you alright in there?” A voice startles her out of the bed. She stares at the tall muscular man in front of her. He has a turf of white in his dark hair, blue eyes, and wearing the worst kind of leather jacket she has ever seen in her life.

Racking through her brain, she tries to find the words to say in English, “Uh… and you are?”

“I should be asking you the same, but the names Jason, and you look like someone who has been trucked over, twice,” Jason says cautiously take a few steps forward.

Marinette’s shoulders relax. “I’m Marinette.”

Marinette walks over to Jason, shaking his hand, thus creating one of the most cherished siblings’ bonds ever created in the city of Gotham.

Over the course of a week, Jason quickly learned that Marinette’s English wasn’t that great (she knew basic English, but then again who doesn’t know anything past basic English), he also learned that Marinette was only sixteen almost seventeen, just a year younger than this youngest brother. Marinette had learned that Jason lives by himself in this rundown apartment complex, though he does spend a handful of times over at his adoptive family’s house. She also learned he really enjoys guns and rock music, so of course they bond over Jagged Stone’s latest new album.

At the beginning of her second week in Gotham, Marinette was growing anxious and a little stir crazy. After Jason had left to go to work, she decided that it would do her and the kwamis well to leave the apartment and explore. She doesn’t know why, but she found herself drawn to the park.

Pulling out the remains of one her sketchbook, she finds a dainty little bench underneath a tree far away from people. Looking around, inspiration hits her, so she begins sketching out an outline.

Marinette doesn’t know how long it has passed until a ball dropped in front of her. She sets the sketchbook aside and is immediately greeted by black Great Dane wagging his tail. Marinette giggles before bending down to search for a name tag.

“Titus?” Marinette mutters before scratching Titus’ head and neck.

Titus nudges the ball towards her getting the message to Marinette. She managed to play ball with her new furry friend until a concerned voice calls out the dog’s name. The person she assumes is Titus’ owner walks in fury towards her direction.

“Hi, he came over to me…” The owner cuts her off turning his attention to the dog who wags his tail in the owner’s face before walking over to Marinette. Marinette tries and fails to conceal her laughter.

The owner sighs and turns his attention to Marinette, “Damian.”

“Damian,” Marinette test the name, “Well you have a very nice dog. Actually, I’m very thankful for him pulling me out of my zone.” She holds out her hand. Damian shakes it after a moment of eyeing her down.

“Titus does have a tendency to do that.” She’s beginning to wonder if Damian was a person against small talk or better yet talking about himself.

Marinette bends down to say goodbye but not before wishing to see him and Damian again in the future.

Damian turns to Titus who does the same, and Damian could have sworn that he says a smirk on that dog’s face.

After their first encounter, Damian and Marinette continuously met at the park. Their second encounter was by pure accident. Marinette had wanted ice cream the following day and decided to enjoy her soft serve back on that dainty bench. Titus wanted to get out again, so Damian took him back to the park around the same time. After that, they decided to meet at the park every day around the same time.

As another week past by, Marinette finally began to wonder what was going on in Paris. She doubts that any besides her parents would care that she was missing, but she can’t help but wonder whether that person (or group) that was after her left Paris alone.

As Marinette grow closer to Damian, she did the same with Jason. He even took her to the shooting ring for practice one night and was blown away by her aim. Jason now swears that if Bruce doesn’t adopt his newly claimed sister then he would find a way to do it legally.

After having Marinette to his lonesome for two weeks, Jason decided that it might be best to introduce her to the family against every bone in his body. He knows that Marinette is hiding something, but it also seemed like she didn’t know what she was hiding also.

“Hey Pixie-Pop, you would you mind coming with to B’s house?” He asks on that faithful Sunday morning, which is odd considering Sundays were the days he typically leaves Marinette to herself.

“Sure,” She pauses for a moment, “Are you sure that they wouldn’t mind? I hate to be—” She rambles on getting a chuckle out of the older male.

“Nah, Pixie-Pop, they wouldn’t mind.” He tells her easing her growing anxiety.

Marinette smiles up at him before rushing into the guestroom that slowly became her room.

On the back of Jason’s bike reminded her of her Nona. In fact, every time she rides with him it’s a constant reminder of her Nona, the rush of wind blowing through her hair. The feeling of someone close to you knowing that you’re most likely being protected. Marinette had dreamed of getting a bike of her own when she older and in case she can never return to Paris perhaps Jason would be willing to teach her.

“Jay-Jay this a house, it’s a mansion.” Were the first few words upon entering the Wayne Manor grounds. Jason laughs it off by rubbing her head and motioning for her to follow him.

“Sup nimrods, I’m back and I brought a guest. Treat her right and there will be no bullets shooting tonight.” He calls out to the group of people settled into the room.

Marinette squirms underneath all the glances she was receiving but upon seeing the familiar sight of green eyes and a certain Great Dane, she slowly became at ease.

“Hey Damian, I didn’t know you lived here.” Well, ring the alarms because immediately she is greeted by screams of all kinds some projected to the green-eyed teen while one was projected to her.

Ignoring the commotion that is aimed at him, Damian curtly nods to Marinette as Titus rushes over to her. “Hi, Angel.” Cue another round of commotion.

So, dinner was a complete mess, well not like food is thrown everywhere kind of a mess but it was an emotional disaster. Tim was knocked over the table, the like of caffeine and sleep finally getting to him. Dick and was having a heated conversation with Jason about Marinette, all while Bruce sat there in silence. Secretly he was hoping for the chance of grandchildren in the future if this girl can make it through with his family.

Once Damian had finished his food and notice how uncomfortable Marinette is, they managed to disappear down the halls to who knows where. Alfred walks in shaking his head all while cleaning up the dishes.

Marinette ended up moving into Wayne Manor just days after the dinner at the request of Jason who ended up tag-teaming with Bruce. It didn’t take her long to figure their secret identities and it wasn’t long after that when they question her as to why she was declared missing and presumed dead in Paris. Let just say that was another heated conversation because it unleashed a whole lot of emotions.

Damian finally worked up the courage to ask the bluenette out after her staying with them for over a month. Both of them were too afraid of ruining the friendship they created. Not long after they started dating, Marinette learned that the people who were after her in Paris were a part of some cult under the name League of Assassins. This is then prompted Damian to talk about his past and Marinette telling the family that she had known their identities for quite some time. It didn’t them long to meet the kwamis and adding Ladybug to their personal alliance.

Marinette only went back to Paris after some convincing from the Batfamily to at least give her parents some sort of closure that their daughter is safe. She took Kaalki to make the trip easy. Her parents were, of course, mad at her for not contacting them sooner, but after she explained everything it was Sabine that had some choice words to say to some “old co-workers” of hers from her early teen and adult years. As much as they didn’t want Marinette to leave, her parents knew their daughter was happier in Gotham than she ever was after the whole Hawkmoth ordeal and even both that. Her missing person case was closed, and Marinette went back to Gotham with the promise to come to see them again in the summer.

Damian and Marinette finally shared their first kiss with each other after a couple of months of dating. It was Titus that pushed them to do at the park underneath the bench where they meet.

#maribat #platonic jasonette #daminette #ml x dc #mlb x dc #dc crossover #ml crossover

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janekfan · 4 years ago

Note

hmm prompt time... jon angst about his humanity or lacktherof? worrying about him not being good enough for+worthy of+safe for martin/general guilt/self hatred? before or after apocolypse idk maybe safe house maybe post change? maybe season 4 after coma? could end up being jmart h/c or just be jon sad time whatever works

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27232381

For everyone else it had already been six long months.

And for Jon.

Well. For Jon, it was just yesterday.

Sasha.

Gone.

Tim.

Gone.

Martin.

Gone.

Himself?

And wasn’t that the question of the day Jon thought as he dragged himself up the steps of the Magnus Institute. He didn’t have anything with him. He didn’t have anything left that he knew of. Just the Oyster card and set of clothes the hospital had been kind enough to give him as his own were thoroughly shredded in the explosion. Everything else was gone.

He should be gone.

He’s the only one who should be gone.

But he’s still here.

And they’re just.

Was he even allowed to grieve?

“Jon” Melanie’s sharp, irritated voice raked over his ill-fitting skin like claws and he lifted sore eyes in acknowledgment.

“Hm, y’yes?”

“Been calling your name. You up to your spooky monster shit already?” He winced, wishing the scratchy two-sizes too big tee shirt would swallow him the rest of the way. “Barely through the door and you can’t resist.”

“N’no. Was. Was thinking, s’all.” Rubbing his arm, trying desperately to feel something, Jon didn’t know if he was allowed to leave or not. If he moved would she be upset? If he stayed?

“Least keep to your office. Don’t want you...watchin’ me.” She shoved past him, knocking him against the wall, still unsteady on his feet, the effects from the statement earlier were wearing off, or whatever the supernatural equivalent was and he slipped like a shadow through the halls to his door to hide himself behind it.

Things did not improve. He was always in the wrong, always a menace and he’d caught a glimpse of himself in the restroom mirrors a couple times, surprised at how thin and pathetic he looked. But they were afraid of him. He Knew it. Because the Eye gravitated to these heavenly tastes of fear like a starving man did to food.

So he kept to himself.

I’m sorry.

As days crept in and out, Jon tried to keep stock of what was different and the only thing he could conclude after his careful analysis and study was that he. Jonathan Sims. Was now something less than human.

Less than.

That made sense. That was okay. He’d always been better off alone because when he was alone he couldn’t hurt people and all he seemed to do was hurt people.

Wasn’t that true?

Georgie Sasha Tim Martin Daisy Georgie Sasha Tim Martin DaisyGeorgieSashaTimMartinDaisy

What was the point of learning that hard-won lesson if he had no one left?

I’m sorry.

And there was no way to go back. He’d caused it. Been causing it since he was a child, alienating, precocious, and so unlikable.

And there was no way for him to fix it. Not when he was in so deep. Not when he was addicted to these, these tales of dread and panic and horror and pain and death and terror and loss. Not when he had taken from those that he haunted and hunted through nightmare and dream. Took what they had and made it his, feeding, feeding, feeding like some animal.

But animals didn’t have a choice did they?

I’m sorry.

He’d already been judged and found wanting. Georgie was right. He should have died, or stayed in the coma, or anything other than turning into whatever he was now. Something inhuman, un-human.

Un-made.

Twisted.

I’m sorry.

Pity there was no one left who would accept his worthless apologies. Not from whatever he was now.

Jon was barely in control, not in control. Not really. Exhausted and hungry and lonely, lonely, lonely. He decided to take control back, just a little, whatever he could because to be human was to stay in control.

And he takes it.

In the only way he can think how.

Blood wells up from scratches Jon gouges into his arms, from beneath the blades of dull knives and keen razors, deep and dark and dangerous if he were human. But he wasn’t. He couldn’t harm himself enough physically, healing too fast to really feel it like he wanted to feel it and the marks never stayed long enough. Didn’t, didn’t bleed long enough, fast enough, never enough.

There’s no one left to notice the rust and ruby lining the bin so Jon doesn’t bother putting effort into cleaning up evidence. It’s around him in the florid streaks crossing the blotter, the cardinal fingerprints on old envelopes, the scarlet trails of irregular constellations mapped beneath his chair.

The answer to his problem became clear soon after. The statements. Addicted to them, it wasn’t until Basira pointed out that he should stop that he realized the easiest way to hurt was to deny himself. And they wanted him to stop. They want him to hurt and he should hurt. It’s fine, it’s okay, it’s what he’s been looking for.

Maybe when they thought he’d hurt enough, they would forgive him.

The pain was good. Every time he denied the Eye was good. Better than, it was intoxicating. The smallest act of rebellion and he revelled in it. Knowing he was weak, that he couldn’t be used for whatever purpose he’d been created for while he was like this, filled him with a perverse hope.

Restless, Jon retraced his steps through the Archives, trying to avoid Basira and Melanie where he could though they didn’t do anything more than ignore him unless he had a purpose or interrogate him about leaving, finding a victim. Compelling them against their will.

“You look shite, Jon.” He avoided their eyes, stared at their feet and watched them fade in and out, as he swayed back and forth, and he knew they were sneering because he could hear it in their voice. “Proof enough, I suppose.” Melanie lifted his face with a gentle finger placed under his chin. “Haven’t been galavanting in people’s dreams?” Back bowing under the weight of her scrutinizing stare, Jon did his best to stand straight. Removing the influence of the Slaughter didn’t make her undivided attention any easier to stomach and he put effort into quelling the ever present shiver thrumming through his bones, playing his sinews like strings.

“Uh, n’no. I don’t leave much. Or at all.”

“Mm.”

“Melanie?” Narrowed eyes stared through him, followed the quick rush through the highways of his veins. She knew where to strike to do the most damage.

Jon Knew it wouldn’t stick if she tried.

He was sure he’d seen him come this way. Martin. Whom he missed more than he ever thought one could miss someone. And, really, what did he know of Martin? Other than how best to ridicule him? He’d done this, or at the very least pushed him toward it. A victim for the Lonely. For Peter Lukas to control and manipulate and Martin assured him he was fine. He was fine and Jon shouldn’t look for him anymore because it was making it harder, it was making it worse. And Jon could do that. Could do one thing to make it easier for Martin?

But when he saw him, pale and small and Martin should never seem so small, Jon abandoned all his promises. He’d never been good at keeping them anyway. Why start now? Dizzier than he thought, the first step almost sent him sprawling and he just managed to catch himself on the wall, resting against it long enough to lose him. He pushed off, caught himself again as the hall twisted around him, spiraling like Helen’s eyes when they burrowed into his own and he followed, stumbling, a body ricocheting from surface to surface; floor, window, door, battered and bruised where no one could see. Not like the scars and the timeline they’d scripted silver and hoary on translucent brown vellum.

Martin is not there.

Jon has arrived too late.

He was good at that.

The first sob cleaved him in two, the second carved his chest clean out. Empty. Painfully empty and worse than anything he’d done to himself thus far. There wasn’t room to breathe between, there wasn’t time or space and rather than cower in the open doorway Jon threw himself into the office, crashing to his knees and pressing his face into the wood of his neatly organized desk before he gathered the wherewithal to pull himself into the chair, nicking the jumper folded over the back of it before crumpling again. Soft against his cheek, the well worn wool comforted him enough that he gained tentative control over himself again. He spent the time there dazed between bouts of crying, gradually tugged into the deep and the dark, exhausted and guilty.

He’s visited by dreams instead of nightmares. A cool palm gently coaxing the blazing, feverish heat from his skin. Stroking back tangled curls from his damp face and murmuring gentle things, lovely things, that he had no right to take comfort from. Jon dreamt of being hushed, of tears swept away by mindful fingertips, of clinging to Martin’s cardigan so tightly his hands ached. There was warmth here. Softness here. That he didn’t deserve and stole anyway, greedy and covetous because that’s what monsters did. And he took it, held it close, let it soothe the aches and the agony he carried so deep in him it hurt to let free.

Sasha.

Tim.

Martin.

Jon woke to the smell of sea air and surf.

To the last of a thick fog clinging around his ankles.

To a mug of tea, still hot.

And a statement.

#Tma #the magnus archives #jon sims #martin blackwood #hurt/comfort #self worth issues #self harm #Cutting #Blood #starvation #It's dark times up in here #Be careful #angst

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virgil-patton-roman-and-logan · 5 years ago

Text

Nightmare AU

Based off of @jessibbb‘s nightmare from a while back. It took me a long time, but I did write something for it!

“That was the last truly nice moment Logan could remember. As soon as the cameras clicked off, everything went dark.”

Content warnings: Major character death, grief, drowning, being crushed, falling, decapitation, hypothermia, pornography mention, suicidal ideation, let me know if I missed anything because this fic was a lot

Tagging people who seemed interested in a fic on the original post: @izzynuggets @whizzie72 @stopitanxiety @mr-scandalous @kawaiikat54 @phantom-moonfire @ocforeverything @pricklyfish777 @arya-skywalker @averykedavra

Logan couldn’t think of why the videos stopped being normal. The one it started with felt normal the whole way through. The sides were trying to find ways to add something fresh to Thomas’s career, and for once everyone was present. Of course, some people were more helpful than others—Remus wouldn’t shut up about making a pornography account—but things were normal, and they were good.

That was the last truly nice moment Logan could remember. As soon as the cameras clicked off, everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes, there was a glass wall in front of him, bordering a giant tank, meticulously aquascaped to look like the bottom of the ocean. Most of the other sides were next to him, rubbing their eyes and looking around. Remus was inside the tank, doggy paddling and trying to catch his bearings.

Suddenly, tentacles surged from the bottom of the tank and caught on to Remus’s ankles, dragging him down. Remus struggled, desperately trying to break away, but he just got tugged further and further down.

“No!” Roman banged on the glass, but nothing happened. Janus ran over and touched the tank, muttering “please” repeatedly under his breath as he watched Remus with wide, terrified eyes. Logan’s chest was constricted and cold. This couldn’t really be happening. Everything was so surreal. The sound of Roman pounding on the glass tore through his skull, making his head ache.

Remus bucked and clawed at the water. For a moment, he managed to pull one ankle away, but it was quickly grabbed again as he kicked at the tentacles wrapped around the other. Slowly, Remus stopped fighting, eyes becoming glassy, gasping and reaching for the surface as the tentacles dragged him to the bottom.

Roman charged the glass, ramming it with the force of his shoulder. He collapsed to the ground, crying in frustration. The glass remained unmarked. Patton slowly made his way over to Roman, wrapping his arms over the side’s shoulders and whispering softly in his ear despite the terror brimming in his own eyes.

Logan looked back at the tank. Remus had gone completely limp. The tentacles slowly released their hold, but Remus’s body sank to the bottom.

XXX

Logan woke up in bed and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god, it must have been a surreal nightmare. The worst nightmare he had ever experienced in his life, but a nightmare nonetheless.

It took him a moment to realize he was still wearing his clothes and his shoes were still on his feet. And the light was on. And the bed was perfectly made under him.

He sat up, a cold knot forming in his stomach. It hadn’t happened, he told himself as he stepped out of bed. There was no way it had. So why was he so afraid to go outside and see? And why could he hear crying?

He took a few deep breaths and stepped into the hall, leaden limbs weighing him down. Roman sat hunched and crying in front of Remus’s door. Logan’s heart dropped.

He walked over, time feeling like it was passing in slow motion.

“Was it real?”

Roman nodded without looking up. Logan exhaled shakily, sinking to the four next to him.

“He isn’t in there, is he?”

Logan barely heard himself ask it, yet he clearly heard Roman sob harder in response.

XXX

Logan sat at the table, staring into his cereal. He poked and stirred it around with his spoon, but couldn’t bring himself to eat. He just wasn’t hungry, and he was sick of trying to shovel food past the lump in his throat.

Virgil sat heavily a couple seats away, hair and makeup messy. Logan didn’t bother talking to him. Virgil didn’t seem to want to talk to anyone. He got angry when anyone tried. After a couple of silent, long, minutes, Virgil spoke first.

“Where’s Roman?”

“Remus’ room.” Logan said quietly, trying to ignore the spike of hurt that went through him at saying Remus’ name. Roman had been spending every night and most of the day there in the weeks since Remus’ death, wanting to feel close to his lost brother. Logan wanted to reach out to him, but had no idea what to say. What do you even say to someone who recently lost his second half? Besides, it was hard enough for Logan already.

Virgil nodded tiredly, sighing. He put his headphones on and laid his head on the table. Logan thought he heard him softly crying, barely audible.

Patton came downstairs, walking like he was carrying a heavy weight. When he saw Logan and Virgil, he gave them a clearly forced smile. Logan saw the tears glimmering in his eyes.

“Hey, kiddos.” Patton’s voice wavered. Logan nodded softly in return. Virgil didn’t respond at all. “How are you?”

Logan shrugged half-heartedly, putting his spoon down. “Is Janus awake?”

“I don’t know. He’s still in his room.” Patton’s smile faded. “I just wish I could help. He won’t speak to anyone. Roman avoids me most of the time too. I just want to help.” Patton took a hitched breath, tears falling down his face. He immediately tried to gather himself, wiping his tears.

Virgil stood fast enough to knock over the chair and threw his headphones on the table. “It’s not fair!”

“Kiddo—” Patton’s voice broke.

“It isn’t fair! He was fine before! We were fine…” Virgil broke into angry tears, crossing his arms around his chest.

Patton walked over, putting his arms around Virgil and rubbing his back. “Shh, shh, it’s going to be okay…”

Logan didn’t think Patton sounded like he believed what he was saying. He ran his spoon through the now-soggy cereal again, blinking away the tears that came to his eyes. What had happened? Sometimes he felt like everyone was looking to him for answers. He felt even more like that now. But he had none. He had no idea why or how this had occurred.

He just hoped it wouldn’t happen again.

XXX

The next video came far too soon. None of them were ready for it. Logan showed up in sweatpants, with messy hair and tired eyes. He couldn’t think of a time he had shown up looking more disorganized. And he wasn’t the only one. Roman had clearly just rolled out of bed, his eyes rimmed with red and bloodshot. Patton was trying to force a cheery demeanor, but Logan doubted anyone would be buying it anytime soon. Virgil seemed quieter, no longer eager to make sarcastic comments.

Logan envied Janus. He wished Thomas hadn’t called him up, either. Still, he tried to provide useful information even if his chest ached and his eyes watered. Watching Roman wasn’t doing any favors, either. The surviving twin was clearly trying to take Remus’s place by suggesting darker ideas than usual, his nose wrinkling at his own words.

Virgil sat on the bottom step, wearing his headphones and glaring at the floor. He seemed determined to participate as little as possible. Thomas shifted his weight nervously. “Virgil, what do you think?” Virgil took one side of the headphones off, scowling at everyone else. “I think we should stop pretending like everything is normal.”

“What—”

Virgil sunk out without another word. The video continued without him. When it ended, everything went dark.

XXX

Logan opened his eyes. He was behind a glass wall again. Virgil was on the other side of it, facing him and the other sides. A giant rock rested on a ledge several feet above Virgil. Logan’s heart shot into his throat. No. Not again.

Virgil’s mouth opened into a frightened “o” shape, and he turned around just as the ledge broke and the rock fell.

Patton screamed.

Blood seeped out from under the rock. Virgil’s legs were all that were left, bloody and crooked jeans barely visible, black sneakers unmoving. Logan’s breath came fast and shaky, and blood rushed in his ears. He could vaguely hear the others talking frantically, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. He felt like he was going to faint.

He woke up in his room again.

He lay where he was, not wanting to get up. Logan’s chest was hollow and sluggish. He knew it was real this time. He had lost another friend.

XXX

A couple of days later, Patton ran downstairs, agitated. “Virgil had a spider!”

Logan snapped to alertness, sitting up from where he had been staring at the ceiling for the past couple of hours. “What?”

“He had a pet spider, and I don’t want it to die too, it would have mattered to him.” Patton’s lower lip wobbled. Logan felt a pang in his chest. “But I can’t take care of it, I’m still afraid of spiders. I don’t know what to do with it.”

“I’ll take it.” Logan responded without thinking about it.

“Really? Are you sure? Do you know how to take care of them?”

Logan shrugged. “No, but I can figure it out. I have the internet. It would… provide a suitable distraction.” He forced a smile.

They walked into Virgil’s room together. It was exactly how Logan had remembered it, except somewhat messier. Clothes strewn on the floor, fake spiderwebs stretched across the corners, Tim Burton posters on the walls. All reminiscent of someone who would never enter any room again. Tears blurred Logan’s vision.

“Well, here it is.” Patton said quietly. On the desk, there was a cage with a small, fuzzy tarantula inside. Logan smiled slightly at the sight of her. Maybe taking care of a creature would be good for him. It would give him something to think about besides Remus and Virgil.

“I’ll take her. Do you know what she’s called?”

Patton shook his head. “No. Verge never told me about her, either. I just found her in here today.”

Logan looked at Patton’s face, trying to read his expression. How much time had he spent in the room of a dead friend? “You miss him, don’t you?”

Patton nodded, breath hitching. “So much.”

Logan nodded sympathetically. It had been hard for everyone to lose two good friends in such a short time. “Can…” Logan cleared his throat and tried again, louder. “Can you help me get the cage into my room?”

Patton took a deep breath. “Okay.”

They carried the cage into Logan’s room together and placed it gently on his desk. Logan wished he knew what Virgil had called her. He felt bad renaming her.

But he was already starting to call her Nova in his head.

XXX

During the next video, Logan couldn’t get himself to untense. He knew something terrible was coming, like it had been for the last two videos. Yet he still tried to give his input as best as he could, all while casting worried glances at the three other sides. Janus seemed just as nervous as he was. Patton was shifting his weight back and forth. Roman just stared at the ground, despondent.

“Roman? Do you have any ideas?”

Roman shook his head slightly. Logan stared, worried. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that not participating helpfully in the discussions seemed like a common factor between the deaths. Would Roman be next?

Roman didn’t seem to notice Logan’s silent prodding. For the rest of the video, he spoke in one word sentences and kept his eyes on the ground, avoiding Logan’s frightened gaze.

XXX

Logan woke up behind a glass wall. On the other side was a grassy plain with a gargantuan tree in the middle. The tree must have towered well above 25 stories, and it kept growing larger, new branches growing off of the old ones, leaves stretching towards the sun. Logan vaguely saw a figure standing one one of the higher branches, clinging to the trunk for dear life.

He glanced to either side of him. Patton stood biting his nails, and Janus had a hand clasped over his mouth. The figure must have been Roman. He rested a palm against the glass, looking around. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t come up with anything he could do. Even if he somehow managed to break the glass, he didn’t know how to stop the tree from growing or get Roman down from the tree.

He looked up. The tree reached so high Logan could barely see the top. In another situation, he would have found it beautiful. But right now he felt like he was going to cry. One of his few remaining friends was about to die horribly and there was nothing he could do.

When Roman fell, he went faster than Logan expected. He would never forget the sickening crunch of Roman hitting the ground.

Blood pooled under the body. Roman’s neck lay at an unnatural angle, and part of his head was completely crushed. One of his eyes was still visible, wide and glazed over. Logan gagged at the sight, staring into the eye, unable to pull himself away.

Patton hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. Logan flinched back from it, feeling a pang of guilt when Patton whimpered slightly in response. He finally looked away from the mangled corpse. Roman wasn’t coming back no matter how long he stared, and the others needed him to be there for them. Patton looked back at him, eyes filled with tears. Logan noticed that his hands were shaking.

He looked the other way. Who had he been kidding? He couldn’t be there for them. He was just as devastated and terrified as they were. Janus knelt on the floor, hand still clasped to his mouth, sobbing quietly. Logan silently knelt next to Janus. He had no words to encompass what had just happened, but he didn’t want to feel alone. Patton joined them a few seconds later. Together, they stared at the body and waited to wake up.

None of them had anything to say.

XXX

Logan sat at his desk, reading articles on Ranker and forums on Reddit. He wanted to know what their last moments felt like. Virgil’s death sounded the most pleasant. He most likely felt no pain at all, a moment of it at most. He died before his mind could have registered any of it. Roman’s death didn’t sound too bad either. He might have momentarily felt the impact, but he also might have died instantly or went unconscious mid-fall. Of course, he still must have had the terror of knowing he would never get down safely, and the gut-wrenching sensation of falling to his death.

Remus’s death, on the other hand, sounded awful. He was likely in agony when he died. It is impossible to go unconscious before instinctively taking a forced breath, the sensation of inhaling water much worse than the sensation of inhaling nothing at all. He presumably was panicking, lungs feeling like they were being filled with lava, until he gradually faded away.

A knock on the door jolted him out of his thoughts. “Kiddo?” Patton’s voice was choked up. Logan felt bad ignoring it, but he didn’t want to speak to anyone. “We’ve barely seen you for days…” There was another stretch of silence. “What are you even doing in there?”

“Researching.” Logan kept his answer curt and to the point. No use worrying Patton with the topics of his research.

“I don’t want you to be alone in there.”

“I’m not.” He glanced at Nova’s cage. At least she wasn’t a side. She wasn’t about to die. But him, Patton, or Janus likely was, just like Remus and Virgil and Roman had. It was best to try to stop being attached to other people.

“You mean the spider?” Logan almost said yes, but held his tongue. He didn’t want Patton to expect him to say anything else. This was best for both of them. After a stretch of Logan not responding, Patton just kept going. “Well, we still need you. We miss you.”

Part of Logan desperately wanted to open the door, to cry on Patton’s shoulder, to relieve the intense loneliness he felt. But that wouldn’t fix things. It would only make them hurt more, later. After a minute of quiet, Logan heard Patton sniffle and walk away.

The next video started under five minutes later.

XXX

Logan almost didn’t want to participate during that video. He suspected not participating was what was causing the deaths, and if one person had to die each time, he didn’t want to go through watching someone else die again. But he felt drawn to give his opinions given how quickly and easily they popped into his head. Hopefully if he made his contributions as short and unhelpful as possible, everyone else would surpass him.

His hopes were quickly crushed when Patton couldn’t quite seem to pull himself together enough to speak clearly. He could barely get more than a couple words out before bursting into tears so intense that he couldn’t say anything else. For the whole episode, Janus stood next to him and tried to decipher what he was saying for Thomas. Logan’s heart sank watching them. Either Janus or Patton would likely be next to die because of his curt behavior with Patton. And he had no way of knowing which.

XXX

When Logan opened his eyes he was on the same side of the glass wall as Janus. On the other side, there was a beige room, empty except for a guillotine in the center. Patton spun around, eyes widening at the guillotine. “No… no!” He backed away, eyes darting around the room in abject terror.

Shadows spread from the guillotine, grabbing Patton’s arms and pulling him towards it. He screamed and sobbed, trying to tug free. The shadows held tight, slowly dragging him closer and closer to his death. Logan’s breath hitched in his throat. He didn’t want to watch this. But he was unable to turn away, forced to see every shriek, every struggle, as Patton’s end drew nearer and nearer.

This was Logan’s fault, he was sure of it.

Patton squeezed his eyes shut as he got closer, chest heaving with sobs. The shadows forced him on the guillotine, holding him in place.

He stopped wailing and opened his eyes, face numb and expressionless. He glanced around the room, eventually locking eyes with Logan and Janus.

With his last tears running down his face, he smiled.

The knife fell.

XXX

A couple moments later, Logan woke up in his bed. For a moment, he felt nothing. He sat up and blinked, looking around his room. Then the weight of it hit him and he started crying out of nowhere. Logan grabbed the pillow and hugged it to his chest, sobbing. His fault. His fault. His fault. If he’d just talked to Patton, this wouldn’t have happened.

Janus knocked on the door softly, but Logan was too overwhelmed to answer. What could he say? What could he do? The door creaked open softly. “Logan?” His voice was hollow. Logan tried to take some deep breaths to calm down enough to respond. Janus sat next to him on the bed, hunching over a little. His eyes looked tired and empty. Logan finally calmed down enough to speak.

“It’s just us now.”

Janus nodded quietly. They sat together in pained silence.

Logan looked away from Janus. “It’s my fault.”

“What?”

“Patton… came to me. Before the video. I ignored him.” Logan's throat closed up with barely contained sobs again.

Janus spoke softly. “So you think that’s why he broke down?” Logan nodded once. “Oh, Logan… it’s not your fault.”

“But I—”

“Ignored him? Yeah, I know. But you didn’t mean for this to happen. Maybe it wasn’t the nicest thing, but you couldn’t have known.” Janus’s voice hitched at the end. He wiped some dampness from the corners of his eyes, only to start crying in earnest. “I’m sorry, it’s just—”

“I know.”

They sat in silence together. The world still felt like hell, but it was more livable with Janus crying next to him.

XXX

Logan was at his computer early in the morning. Researching Patton’s death. No one seemed a hundred percent sure what it was like to die in a guillotine. Most people said it was painless, but other people said that there were a few moments of pain and awareness before a person died. Naturally, the darker explanations were the ones Logan was fixated on.

At least either way, Patton definitely wasn’t in pain anymore.

Logan squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to not remember how Patton had screamed and cried. How he had suddenly stopped and smiled at the last minute. How—

He tried and failed to stop his mind from going to the ensuing bloody mess. Graphic memories of dead bodies flashed through his thoughts, showing no sign of stopping. Logan squeezed his eyes shut and gripped the armrests of his chair, trying desperately to ground himself.

He dimly heard Janus speaking. “Logan?” He tried to focus on the voice. “Logan, you’re here. It’s okay. Take a deep breath for me.” Logan tried, managing a shaky gasp. He tried a second time and managed to draw in a deep breath of air. That worked a little more. He took a third breath. Before long, he was grounded, albeit shaky.

Logan swiveled slightly to face Janus. “Thank you.”

Janus nodded. “No problem…I saw you were up early. I brought you this.” He gestured to the desk, where there was a mug of coffee and some toast with jam. Logan took a slice and nibbled the edge. It was his favorite flavor. He smiled a little. “Thank you,” he said again. He hoped they’d have a lot of time left together before the next video.

The world gave them a week.

XXX

Logan thought the video had gone well, with both of them making an attempt to contribute equally. So why was he behind the glass wall again? On the other side, a blizzard raged. Janus stood in shin-deep snow, eyes glinting with alarm and shivering violently. Logan locked eyes with the other side. He took a shuddering breath as Janus started to stumble over to the glass, cape wrapped as tightly around himself as he could manage. Already, purple was tinting his lips.

Janus fell against the wall, sliding to a sitting position. He put a pale hand to the glass, looking up expectantly at Logan. Logan breathed in deeply, sitting next to him on the other side of the glass.

Logan hunched over, starting to cry. He was going to be all alone. Janus watched with wide eyes, pressing his hand to the glass as firmly as he could manage. Logan raised his voice so Janus could hear. “I’m the last one.”

“You’ll be fine.” Janus’ voice wavered from the cold.

Logan glanced at him. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t want your last minutes to be wasted worrying about me.”

“We’re in this together now, Lo.” Janus laughed dryly. “Besides, of course you’re sad. I wouldn’t have wanted to be the last one either.”

“Is this better for you?” Logan’s voice lifted with a strange kind of hope.

“I think it is, possibly.”

Logan took a shaky breath. “That makes this a little easier, then.”

“Good.” Janus looked at Logan through the corner of his eye. “You’re going to be okay.”

“Do you honestly think I’ll believe—”

“You have to.” Logan turned to look at his face. His eyelashes were coated in ice, and his lips and nose were purple. “It’s the only way it will come true. I’ll see you soon enough.”

Logan nodded. He’d be next, after all. “I’ll be here with you when you go.”

XXX

Logan stayed with Janus until he stopped shivering from sheer exhaustion. Until he started shifting around in the snow, looking around in clear confusion. Until he couldn’t stay awake any longer. Until the scene ended and Logan sat up in his bed, feeling a deeper loneliness than he had ever experienced in his life.

XXX

Logan sat at his desk, watching Nova scuttle around in her cage. “It’s just us now. You’re all I have left.” His voice cracked, and he wiped a stray tear away. “Janus is gone. I...I watched him die. I watched them all die.” His words dissolved into nothingness at the end of his sentence, and he let himself have a moment to cry. He buried his head in his hands.

Dimly, he remembered group brunches with food they had all helped to cook: Patton’s heavily burned pancakes, Remus’s ketchup spaghetti, his own dry eggs... none of the food was very good. But he still enjoyed the time spent talking and laughing with friends. He missed them.

He looked back at Nova, who had now settled in a corner. “I’ll probably be gone soon too, after the next video. I should figure out something to do about you beforehand, so you don’t starve in there.” Logan rested his chin on his hand. A melancholy tiredness seeped through to his bones. The next video felt eons away. He just wanted it to be over. He just wanted to see them again, even if it was in another life.

A glimpse of white from the periphery of Logan’s vision caught his attention. A crisply folded paper was tucked under the corner of Nova’s cage. He picked it up, carefully unfolding it and smoothing it out on the table. Printed text sat in the middle of the page, bold and undeniable.

GAME OVER

you won

Logan couldn’t hold back his sobs anymore.

#nightmare au #sanders sides angst #tw death #death #death tw #character death #tw grief #tw drowning #drowning tw #drowning #tw falling #falling #tw decapitation #decapitation #hypothermia #tw hypothermia #suicidal ideation #TW suicidal ideation

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likesomekindofcheese · 5 years ago

Text

I’m Not in Love

Summary: Roger Taylor is a fuckboy and you definitely don’t like him...or do you?

A/N: this is a semi oneshot/blurb that was requested by an anon who wanted a piece with Ben! Roger (or regular Roger if you would like to imagine) based off of the 10cc song, I’m not in Love. Thanks especially to @supernaturalee AKA Sarah for helping me when I got writers block while editing and was stuck! Please enjoy!

Pairing: Ben! Roger Taylor/Roger Taylor x fem! Reader

Genres: enemies to friends to lovers!

cw: mentions of drinking and sex, not as many drafts as I sometimes do, I just wanted to get this finished and shared.

Taglist: @queenlover05

Word count: 1989

“I’ve got better things to do on a Saturday night…”

He took a drag, the whiff of tobacco caught you as the night air chilled you through your jacket.

“I could give you their names,” he added.

This is the guy she wanted me to meet? Really? One of those again.

Roger gave you a little look seeing you walk outside of the club for some air. It was just a glance, nothing more, but you turned on your heels and walked out, passing some young man with long, dark hair with waves.

People everywhere talked about smile. And your friend told you that you had to see especially who was playing, far more than the actual music.

She would hardly shut up about it at the coffee shop,“Oh Y/N, you absolutely must! The guitarist-His solos are incredible and there’s a drummer who…and…he…” your friend would then dissolve into pink looks and giggling.

“He’s the best one. You have to meet him. You’ve been single too long! He might fix that!” she hinted, touching your arm as if to drag you there.

He was talented, there was no denial. But something about him and the way he carried himself you could immediately prove he was the kind of boy who batted his eyes, grabbed a girl, had his fun, and then left her in the dust.

And now you had the hardcore evidence.

As you turned back to get a drink, your friend saw you and cried “ah! You’ve met them yet!?”

Her earrings clicked as she swished her head in excitement, you could smell the heavy flower perfume drenched on her.

“Well I…”

You had no time to explain because she ran up to you, waited for the dark haired boy to finish talking with them, and then ran up with you.

“Hello Brian, Hi Roger!” she said.

She then pushed you forward.

“This is Y/N! She’s been so excited to meet you both!” she introduced.

The two men looked at you at first blankly and your eyes widened in a bit of fear.

The dark haired guitarist said a polite hello and shook your hand with a soft grip. But the blonde haired one wiggled a little as he sat, then stood up and looked at you with half closed lids and a smolder as he went to say “hi” darkly.

Ugh.

“So Y/N, enjoy the show?” he asked, biting his lips and placing his hands on his hips.

Huffing, you replied “yup, but I got better things to do on a Saturday night…”

He froze, backing off a bit.

“And it doesn’t involve begging groupies for blowjobs” you finished as you turned away before there was chaos.

--------------------------------------------------

There were several people in your favorite coffee shop you would see. The old man with round glasses. The students who always brought heavy textbooks and ordered flat whites. The little girl who had to have hot chocolate with cinnamon. Many people, but fairly typical.

But few of them actually went up to you dressed in a heavy, tan fur coat like a pimp with tinted glasses.

“ ‘ello, Y/N!” he greeted cheerfully, forgetting the previous scene you met.

You sighed a little. “What’re you doing here, Roger? I have a book that’s here and I’m into it, so make it quick.”

You tapped your finger over the picture. You kept noticing Roger’s eyes kept darting down, but not to your shirt like you thought.

“I’m here for the book too” he confessed.

Your back shot up straight.

“Really? How many girls have heard that one!” you said.

“No! Can I…can I at least have a peek?” he asked, his eyes wide.

Relenting, you showed him the book on the inside. There was a photo of an infant elephant chasing after birds.

“Roger…you are really interested in a photo book of elephants? Of all things?” you asked.

He smiled sheepishly and said “uhm…yeah. They’re my favorites.”

You bit back a mine too.

You both spent some time there, learning what music and movies you both liked, chatting, looking at the book.

But so help you, it wasn’t a date.

And that party the next week was not a date either especially because Fred was there and after the concert the next week he proved himself better than Tim Scaffold could dream of being.

So help you, there would be no instance of anyone suspecting anything and Roger could have all the bimbos in his bed sheets as he liked.

The phone rang that evening the day after the party as you had settled in with your book. But you jumped as your brother grabbed this.

“Hello, Y/L/N household.” He greeted cordially.

His eyes went wide. He then turned to you.

“Y/N…it’s a…a boy…” he hissed excitedly.

Your stomach dropped. What boys have you talked to? Who got your number? Your brain raced to all the boys you have ever known.

“Who is he? Have you dated? Why haven’t I met him? This Roger fellow!”

You sighed a little.

“Hello there.” You said, you played with the cord of the phone to get yourself to relax.

Something about his voice did have a charm to it, you admitted.

“Hello Roger, what...what is it?” you asked lightly.

“Y/N…uhm, I think Fred left something with you. You see, he was so hammered. And when he’s hammered, he gives people gifts because he says he loves them that much. Now he’s missing his ring. Do you happen to have it?” he explained.

You recalled there was a small gold ring that somehow found it’s way into your pocket.

“Yes, it’s here. We can meet somewhere and return it.”

As you both set up a time and place to meet, your brother was staring at you, wide-eyed. His hands covered his mouth, controlling the urge to ask an interrupting question.

“Thanks, Roger” you said as you set the phone down.

“Oooooo, Y/N! Oh my god, oh my god! Who is he? Where did you meet him?”

“It was no big deal! I accidentally got his roommates ring and I’m gonna return it!”

“On a date?”

“No! We’re not dating!”

“Y/N, I know how boys work, they only take the effort to call if they really, really like you. His name’s Roger, isn’t it?”

“He…he doesn’t like like me!”

Immediately the phone rang again. You rushed over and picked it up.

“Roger, again!”

“Well, he’s an outright Romeo, isn’t he? Can’t get enough of you!” your brother quipped but you only glared.

“Hey, uuh, Y/N I know it’s…it’s kind of awkward I’m calling you but…tell your folks it doesn’t mean anything, ok! Just to help my mate.”

“Of course” you insist, turning back to face the hundreds of questions and your brothers denial of reality.

_-----------------

Your brother insisted he go to Smile’s next concert once he got wind who this drummer was.

“He called you, Y/N, you have to understand that that means he’s making an effort to see you which means he fancies you!” he insisted, settling into the seat for the concert.

You held your cup of juice with both hands and finally gave him what was “Listen, Roger’s an…uh, ladies man, we shall say. He’s not the type to settle down and start a family. He doesn’t care about anything but his dick and his own ego and how many girls he can score with, but if you want to listen to the music, it’s fine by me.”

Even if he does like elephants…and charity work…and science and all that stuff. It doesn’t matter. He’s moved on from me to the next girl.

As the band members went onstage, you marveled at how hypnotized everyone was at the new singer. You almost didn’t notice the blond head in the very back.

Once it was over, your brother charged up to him, pushing aside numerous long legged, makeup donned girls waiting to shoot their shot.

“No, please don’t!” you begged.

But it was too late.

Your brother grabbed Roger and threatened “You keep your filthy hands off of my sister, eh? If you so much as touch her-“

The other band members rushed up to settle the peace and push them off. But you ran to him.

“See, there? Roger isn’t my boyfriend or lover or whatever you think he is!” you say.

“Then why’d else you try to call her? Huh? Wanna get her pregnant?!” he roared into Roger’s face.

“Oh no! No! Not at all! She just got Fred’s ring by accident and Fred was too hungover to do it himself! I swear!” he said breathlessly.

“It’s the truth, trust me!” you add on, butting your head in between them.

He huffed like an angry bull and said “well, fine.”

You walk up to the band and say your deepest apologies for the trouble. Each one nods and even Fred taps you on the back.

“Thank you, darling” he spoke in a flute like wave of a voice that seemed to contradict his rather foreign appearance. “Let me buy you a drink or something to repay that trouble! Or some food, you must be famished and you deserve the best care…” he rambled on, and you even folded your arms, smiling from this sudden burst of motherly generosity from someone you barely knew.

“You braved a lot, Y/N. I mean, I-we like having you around but not as…you know….just as friends!” Roger said.

But as you walk away to join your brother it hits you that although it was dark in the area, Roger looked a little redder than normal as he said it. But it was best not to get your hopes up.

__________________________----------------------------

The guitarist loved taking pictures. The more you hung around the band ever curious, drawn to their music, the more he seemed to take them. His camera was nearly always at his side, sometimes in his bag he pulled out the OWL glasses to show you how they came to life.

After you walked in one rehearsal and immediately Roger walked up to you.

And he walked up to you fast.

“Uh, Y/N! Where is…where is that picture? The one Brian took?” he asked, pushing his hands into his pockets.

Your heart raced a bit.

“What…what picture?” you questioned innocently.

“Y’know! The picture he gave you that you kept?! Can I have it?” he begged.

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Roger kept shifting side to side, his big eyes darkening “Let’s make a deal, we all love his photos. Return yours and I’ll return mine…you know we all clamor for those photos.”

You sighed a little, stifling a laugh.

“I…I already have mine with me…but can I…can I see yours?” you ask.

Huffing, Roger pulled up the photo. It was on a bright spring day in London when you were outside. There was a flower tree in bloom filled with large pink flowers. You stood beneath, smiling at the warmth and the tree.

“But listen, just ‘cause I keep it I…it….it doesn’t mean anything!” he insisted.

He turned very pink and forced his eyes to the side.

You began to laugh a little uncomfortably, “But Roger…look at this”

You pulled out a wallet and produced a photo of him drumming.

Roger released a breath and dropped his jaw into an amazed smile. A glimmer in your eye saying everything.

“What ‘bout your brother?”

“He just didn’t want you to see me as some groupie,” you said. “Do you? Because if you’re looking for a one-night stand…”

He hushed and looked around; the others were a little distracted.

“Of course not, you’re even better! I…I’ll talk to you after” Roger promised.

“Let’s get dinner” you mouthed as he walked up to his drum set and he replied with bitten half grin that set your brain on fire.

Wait…what if this is…I don’t know…just some phase and…I’m being dumb and it won’t last or anything.

It’ll be a nice phase, though.

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slenderversemyway · 4 years ago

Text

All They Have Chapter 1

Marble Hornets, Brim, TW: Violence, TW: Injury, TW: Language, TW: Mention of murder, TW: Mental illness

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26204173/chapters/63772075

Summary: It was all over. Alex was dead and Tim could finally move on. All he wanted was a normal life. If only he could have one...

Chapter under the cut for those who don’t use Ao3

Confrontation

The car pulled up to a fork in the road, To the right Rosswood Park where this whole mess started; To the left out of that god forsaken town. Tim reached forward turning the camera. His movements were robotic and face blank, likely with shock at having killed one of his best friends. Sirens wailed lightly in the background as he reached forward and pressed the little black button on the side of the camera. Once it was off, he pulled it to rest on the passenger seat. Staring at the choice in front of him he took a shaky breath and slid the steering wheel left.

He remembered that part so clearly, the decision despite every subconscious urge pulling him the opposite direction he went left. That was his choice, no Alex, no Operator, just him. He tried to be proud of the accomplishment as small as it was. At least he got something right.

He had spent the last couple days traveling. He wanted to get as far away as possible from that thing. Most of his memory from that day was fuzzy. All he knew was that he had to get as far away as possible and lay low.

He also needed a plan. He knew Alex was dead, but that Thing wasn’t! It was difficult to know how to plan against it. Could he prepare anything against it?

He yawned again and resigned to sleep at the next rest stop. Then he’d keep going. He’d been driving nonstop for days. If he didn’t rest soon, he’d fall asleep at the wheel.

Before leaving Benedict Hall, he grabbed Alex's gun. There weren't many bullets left in it, but it was better than nothing. He also got his pills from the hooded man before the fight. So, he’d been taking them regularly again. So, he was at least prepared but would it be enough?

He knew it had to be. There wasn’t anything else he could do. He knew though that thing wasn’t normal. It did things that shouldn’t even be possible. The only assurance he could muster was that last time it had to rely on corrupting others, and they were all… his train of thought halted entirely shifting as fast as it could. His therapist called it thought direction. He missed seeing his therapist, but he knew there was a chance he’d have to be on the run for murder. Unless that thing took Alex’s body. Still he’d rather play it safe. No need to attract unwanted attention. So, he cancelled his appointments explaining he had a vacation planned.

He pulled up the hotel and booked a room for the night with the little cash he had. The place seemed shady and a bit under the table. However, he preferred that on some level. It made things like paying in cash and laying low easier. They didn’t even ask for ID, which was good because he checked in under a fake name. He couldn’t be too careful. After everything that just happened, he wasn’t taking any more chances.

He double and triple checked everything in the room. Memorizing all possible exits and entrances. Making sure the window was locked. He even triple checked every painting and cabinet for cameras or hidden masked men. He cleaned the gun off in the sink trying to convince himself the red running off and down the drain was just paint. Then making sure it was loaded he flipped the safety on and clipped it onto his belt. Then sat down and turned the tv on keeping it quiet so he could hear if any unexpected visitors were to drop in.

Later that night the tv hummed with soap operas and reruns of the news. All that was on at 8pm on a Sunday. The microwave beeped indicating he could finally eat something. He got up and trailed into the very makeshift kitchen. His food was ready, and he was about to pull it out when something just felt off. Placing down the tv dinner he placed his hand on his gun and walked back into the living area. Surveying he noticed immediately a back spec move away from his window and behind the couch. Immediately he pulled his gun and flicked the safety off. He pointed it at the couch. What he saw was barely there for a second and he may have been imagining it. However, he wasn’t risking a thing.

“I know you’re there so get up!” He shouted. Nothing happened for a moment and he wondered if he really had imagined it. He cocked the gun getting ready to shoot. “I said get up! Show me your hands!”

His command, after a moment and to his surprise, was met by a figure rising from behind his couch. The man was tall with broad shoulders, a golden hoodie, and a familiar sad black mask. Tim’s brows furrowed.

“You!” His shout was furious, and he was about to pull the trigger then and there. Then he felt a tug. “Ok Asshole give me one good reason not to finish the job!” It was then the man put a gloved hand up to his face pulling off the mask to reveal an even more familiar face.

“You wouldn’t want to kill both your best friends would ya?” The man chimed hands in the air. His expression was confusingly calm for a man at gunpoint. The shock caused Tim to falter lowering the gun.

“Brian?” His confusion was plain on his face as Brian approached him.

“Nice to see ya pal! I’ve been waiting a while to give you this” Tim hit the floor fast holding his bleeding nose. He didn’t even see the punch or Brian ripping the gun away. What he did see however was the anger in his eyes now staring down at the bleeding man. It took a minute for Tim to be able to breathe. His eyes watered as he attempted to get up. He hacked and wheezed finally making it to his knees only to see Brian’s foot connect to his ribcage.

Tim collapsed again into a coughing fit as his ribs screamed in pain. His head was dizzy swimming in pain and he still couldn’t breathe. But managed to choke out “What,” He coughed “was that for?!” Tim wheezed as Brian glared down at him.

“Oh, for being such a good friend!” He yelled. “Always lying and keeping secrets, real selfless Tim!” Brian paced in anger as Tim moved carefully onto his uninjured side still coughing. “You had years, fucking years to tell me that shit! We lived together! But no, you keep it a secret. Just lying and lying as if it couldn’t affect anyone else!” Tim wheezed breaths. Catching his breath as Brian ranted. “And now look what happened?” His mocking tone made Tim want to vomit or maybe that was the likely broken ribs. “It not only affected everyone! It fucking killed ‘em’!”

Tim involuntarily flinched at the word. There was a long silence as Tim glared at him from the floor. He got up shakily leaning against the wall. He was worried Brian was going to come at him again, but the words slipped out before he could stop them.

“So, you’re the psycho who gets off on stealing pills?” The tension was palpable as Brian retorted.

“And you get off on chasing Jay through the woods, what's your point?” again with that.

“My point is that all this moral advice. Is coming from a violent narcissistic college drop out with a pill fetish!” He knew he was pushing Brian’s limits and thoroughly enjoyed it. “I'm just saying you don’t have a ton of room to talk.” With that Tim walked slowly to the couch and sat down, bumping Brian on the way. It hurt like hell, but the spite was worth it. Brian turns in a rage and Tim spoke without thinking.

“What gonna hit me again?” Tim shouted and Brian stopped, glaring. Tim sighed grabbing the tv remote and turned it off. “since I’m not getting to watch my show.” His deadpan tone was surprisingly calm considering the pain he was in. “Now,” he turned to Brian. “What the hell do you want? Or did you just come here to kick the shit out of me?”

“I’m here with a message. Kicking the shit out of you was just a bonus.”

“What couldn’t put it through a few dozen ciphers and hide it in another spooky video.” Brian rolled his eyes.

“Believe whatever the hell you want Tim, but I wasn’t in charge of that.”

“You sure seemed to have a lot to do with it.”

“What cus I was in a few videos?” He leaned forward into Tim’s face, placing a finger on his chest. “Got news for ya Timmy boy, I wasn’t the only one.” Tim smacked his finger away in annoyance.

“Then who was?”

“Seth.”

“Seth?”

“Going deaf or somethin’?”

“Why-?” Brian held up his hand.

“Frankly Tim I never asked, and I don’t care. I don’t even want to be here right now.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I told you, I’m here to deliver a message.” Brian sighed

“From?” Brian started seriously at Tim.

“The thing .” Tim cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.

“How-?”

“It wants you back Tim.” His glazed eyes frightened Tim to the core.

“No.”

“It's not a request. It's an order. That thing wants you wants,” Brain reached into his pocket and pulled out that damn mask! “this!” Tim stood up off the couch backing away. He tried to appear calm, but panic swam in his eyes.

“Get out.” Brian got up coming closer to Tim.

“Tim come on just take the damn mask it's going to get you. Just come peacefully.” Tim opened the front door.

“I said, get out! And take that cursed thing with you!”

“Tim-”

“Get the fuck out of my room! I'm not hearing any of this cultist bullshit! I'm done!”

“Tim just listen-!”

“No, you listen!” Tim walked up to Brian getting in his face. “You’re going to go out this door, get into your car, and drive back to whenever shack you’re calling home! Meanwhile, I’m going to get my bearings, leave, and live a normal fucking life!” He stuck a finger out. “I’m not letting you ruin this for me! This is my life and for once, I’m going to live it on my terms!” Brian's expression was hard to read. Where Tim expected to see anger or annoyance, he saw a stone-cold expression of pure exhaustion… maybe even sadness? It took a long moment before Brian sighed.

“Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Brian made his way to the doorway.

“What's that supposed to mean?” With a look that was hard to place, Brian tossed the mask inside and was swallowed into the darkness of night.

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