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tanglepelt · 1 year

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A bats eye view

AO3 Master next

why Tm was following Ellie and Danny and his perspective of the events of umm Im an ambassador.

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The government can’t be trusted. All the bats know this.

Always dipping their hands into things. Taking kids such as Ace to test and study. Then the whole start of Project Cadmus. Cloning supers as a fallback plan is a bit much. Granted he did get one of his closest friends from it.

Three days ago, a new act was proposed. The anti-ecto acts. Passing an hour after an explosion in a small town. The act included a new agency. One that had to have been active for a while. They were too set up and organized to only be a few hours old.

Tim can’t even find it hard to believe there was another secret branch of the government. There would be no surprise if there were more. It's just how the government played the game. One that must have been formed recently. A whole gimmick of pure white. Not practical at all.

Here he was dealing with these agents, ensuring to take them down in secret. Knocking them out from behind the blame would go to the two the agents were chasing. Those in white saw the girl grab a cane to knock one out. It wouldn’t be too farfetched. He Just needed to buy time for two without anyone realizing. Neither the government nor the other party needed to know.

Laws are just a suggestion anyways.

Where would they be if some never got broken? Especially when it’s directed at an entire species. A species with only biased papers by some quack job so-called scientists. Anyone with a brain could see that research had no backing. All theoretical and hadn't been updated in years.

An entire act dedicated to claiming “ghosts” otherwise known as ecto-entities were non sapient and ripe for the picking. Lab rats had more rights than them. A whole entire species was allowed to be picked off and taken. No repercussions to experimenting on them with the approval for the government to simply eradicate them when no longer in use. The same was true of ecto-contaminated individuals. Just an excuse to “study” a new group.

The act was only introduced three days ago. The bats and league knew for two, it hadn’t been enough time to even release a statement.

In just three days the act passed through. Just in time for the hunt, he interrupted. The explosion had to be the reason they were pushed through so suddenly. It had to do with the two who just vacated. Both were prime adoption bait, the boy was only 15 and the girl looked to be around Damian’s age.

The same one Cass saw melting all those months ago.

The same one who had started to melt? Turn into goo? Into the floor of some alleyway.

Cass ignored her mission that day when she first spotted the girl. She had her eyes on the girl since that morning, apparently, she was reckless and had no tact. At one point that day, she had seen the girl transform from white hair green eyes otherworldly being into a human. Black hair and blue eyes. Their first thought was some alien or meta. He saw some of her body cam footage, only what Cass let them see. How her eyes had glowed Lazarus green, and her foot slowly started to liquefy. Even from the distance with Cass on a roof, you could see the fear her face held. Whatever melting that was going on was not meant to be happening. Cass fully intended to go and help the girl. Following her from the shadows only for a phone call. They couldn’t hear the conversation from the cam. The distance to great and if Cass did hear it, she wasn’t saying.

While the girl was on the phone the alley exploded into light. Green-tinted light. So much like the pits but so different. It was a pure green glow. A swirling portal right before the girl. One where a white-haired teen bearing a crown of ice stepped out. Not much of the face was visible covered by a green glow from his eyes and the portal. Wearing what could only be described as medieval royal attire. A full cloak one that seemed to hold galaxies underneath. Otherworldly.

A powerful being according to Cass.

The portal closed behind him the minute he rushed back through.

If this was an ecto-entity the government was after. The footage from the cam alone would prove the biased nature of the acts.

They only got around the meta-human protection acts with a loophole. The “human” in the act was always a wider range of beings. Often covering more than just humans. Claiming the ghost did not count as they were only an embodiment of emotions. No pain and no sentience. Only fueled by past experiences from their prior life. These ecto-entities could not care for anyone but themselves leaving destruction in their wake.

A single video could prove it wrong. There is no faking the way he rushed to the girl. Add in the fact that the girl clearly called for help and then received the help.

That girl at the very least had unique thoughts. There is even evidence of her traveling around the globe, with completely different activities wherever she was. The girl clearly called for help to get it in a rush. If they were only remnants of the past, why would he help the girl?

The same girl who was ejected from the vehicle fleeing fled the scene. She and the boy both go invisible starting with the girl. The girl was likely the culprit for that power set. They knew the boy was Daniel Fenton, an article about the purple humpback gorilla being female had his name and photo. The girl just didn’t exist. She looked nearly identical to the boy from the camera footage Barbara commandeered. Danny’s only sibling a Jasmine Fenton who was attending Gotham U for a degree in Psychology.

It had to be connected. FentonWorks went up taking out three full blocks. Whatever had been in that building was toxic and radioactive. Enough contamination to set off the league's system. That whole town should have been evacuated. Whatever substance had leaked out couldn’t be good for them. The townsfolk based on their social media that suddenly blew up hadn’t even seemed surprised. Just talking about how FentonWorks blew up this time. Not just the basement but the house itself. This town just full-on accepted mad scientists blowing things up in their town. Not a single person in that town even seemed to bat an eye. The league had offered to help in evacuating the civilians. Even without the sensors, the explosion was trending. The explosion was well-known at this point and a whole bunch of old posts from this town were exploding. Including one about a hot dog revolution. Something big was up in Amity Park.

The government said the league had no business in Amity. The site was contained, and no help was necessary. The building was one working with the government under some weapons contract. For some anti-ecto weapons a contract that was only signed three hours prior.

Despite the reading, and the explosion there was no contamination in the air. The three blocks around the building didn’t have any residents. So there was no need for any evacuation. There had been no signs of life prior to the explosion. The town was just fine.

Yea. They didn’t buy that for one second. Giant red flag if he’s ever seen one.

With the acts looming then pushed through within hours of the explosions. The government was trying to keep quiet and get what it wanted done. The acts passed with not a peep. No politician had spoken for or against it online.

The league had directly been told not to intervene so it couldn’t be visibly seen going against government orders. They weren’t lawmakers and couldn’t just declare something illegal. The league would have to play by the rules and laws officially.

A carefully planned statement would be pushed out far sooner than anticipated. When the acts were first out on the floor the league did its homework. Bruce spends time going through the acts and the biased papers supporting them. Carefully worded address being made.

The league had wanted both sides. To supply evidence to the public of why it was wrong. Even if all did was bring attention to the morally wrong acts. Tim doubted any average person in America knew the acts even existed. He’d even bet most had not a clue of them. If they were to be released to the public, it had to be done right. Evidence and support against it. The plan had been to put pressure on the politicians to ensure they would vote against it. Election season was coming up. That didn't happen Well, now they would just make them regret their votes.

How often had aliens attacked? Would the public really be okay with declaring essentially a war on a species? Would other countries? The actions of the United States were theirs alone. No other country had anything like it even pending. These acts could… would put America into the spotlight.

These entities seemed capable of opening portals into their world with no issues. The invisibility and capacity of flight were known powers of at least the girl. You could see the power even just the one had.

Even the JLD was planning to speak out against the acts.

Now since the league couldn’t just act on the explosions or investigate the unknown threat and the odd town. No visible member could be seen working the case.

The bats, however. Well, they wouldn’t be caught or seen. They worked from the shadows.

Dick and the demon got sent off to Illinois. To try and get a sample of whatever set of the league's radar. It was radioactive but didn’t pop up on any database they had access to. Of course, also to scope of this Amity Park as well. Even with the government around they shouldn’t have any issues gathering any necessary information. See what the town that stemmed the act's narrative was. It only took them 10 minutes in that town to give their first message. One that set off a ticking time bomb with no known detonation.

Agents had been discussing retrieving their specimens. A humanoid specimen one clarifying to the other that it wasn’t an animal ghost. Indicating they already had touched these ecto-entities despite the act only just passing. That they had bought a child ghost from the Fenton’s. That they wouldn’t let this one escape as all the previous specimens had. As soon as they retrieved it, they could study it. The word dissection popping up.

Barbara was already in the servers. The group apparently had little security in the database. The agency had been split into two main groups. Both to hunt for the ecto entity. One via tracker and the other following whatever an ecto signature was. One was headed by an Agent O the other by Agent K. Tim got sent after one of the groups to follow Steph a separate group.

Tim was the one who was heading towards Ohio, following the agent's signal to the exploded vehicle. The agents had been tracking them, and one of the devices had been left behind. Hence how he ended up at the truck stop.

Steph ended up heading toward Wisconsin.

The two in amity remained to continue the investigation and make sure the group didn’t have any other specimens. Who knows who they may grab? Bruce and Cass were staying in Gotham. Bruce was in contact with the league figuring out how to rush a statement out with the out loading any necessary information. Cass was on standby for patrol that night

It was thanks to Cass they immediately got an alert when the girl became a wanted criminal.

Cass had been looking into the mystery child since the alleyway. Just to make sure she had been okay. Even going as far as to set up her face in the database. If she popped up anywhere on social media or a police database she’d know.

Only within the last three months, she had reappeared, being seen by members of the league. She had never stopped to talk to them only ever taking a second look. According to reports she seemed to debate talking to Martian manhunter earlier this week before disappearing into the ground. He had wondered if Cass was going to pull a Bruce.

Then the GIW sent out an official notice to local agencies as soon as the acts passed. One with the girl's face and an order to call them immediately if she is seen. To police stations a missing child report on both. To government agencies, one claimed the girl is mind-controlling Daniel Fenton and caused the explosion. The warrant wasn’t released to the public.

This girl was the one picked up by a being in a crown. The one who looked like a royal. It could have just been a fashion statement. He wasn’t one to rely on luck. She was likely to contact another entity for help as soon as they weren’t being chased down.

The “mind-controlled” boy may very well be with a friend or family member of the ghost's equivalent or royalty. Daniel who pushed down a display rack and seemed to lead the escape. The one who planned the escape in the aisle of a truck stop.No obvious signs of mind control. No glowing eyes or any type of resistance in his body. It all seemed natural and genuine. They couldn’t rule it out. Of course, they couldn’t. Mind control was all too common always causing problems. Tim didn’t think it was the case.

His bet is Daniel is helping her escape from the GIW and his own parents.

Now he was sure Bruce was going to pull a Bruce.

Two back haired blue eyes prime adoption bait seemingly running from the government. One doing his best to help the younger. Going against his own parents and willingly against the government. Jack and Maddie Fenton were the ones who wrote the biased reports. The girl was a confirmed ecto-entity from the warrant. Daniel had to know it as well, there had been no inclination of surprise with any of the powers used so far. Actively disagreeing considering he had been driving the stolen craft in the footage retrieved from Agent O’s vehicle. It had been uploaded into the database Barbara was currently inside.

With all the agents now knocked out it was time to move on. Get rid of the footage in the truck stop, de-arm the agents, and proceed to follow the two escapes. Now the acts only applied inside of the United States so it's possible they would just leave the country. That would at least buy them time to deal with the acts. That would make it harder to protect either of them. Extradition could still occur depending on which country they hid in. Add in that Daniel Fenton was a minor who would have a missing persons report, which could cause additional problems.

It was also possible that they were heading to Gotham University, where his sister attended.

The direction they were heading made him think that was where the duo was heading. The first part of the journey was quick only to then be moved to a snail’s pace. At that point, Steph had warned her group split up into two, one heading toward him.

When they got into Gotham all hell broke loose.

He met up with Bruce and Cass before heading back toward the duo. For them to be surrounded by men in white and the Fenton’s in their blue and orange suits. The girl was in fact royalty. Cass confirmed he hadn’t been lying when warning that they were messing with the afterlife. The government bought and was planning to study and experiment on the princess of those entities. The same one currently on the ground flower petals glowing around her the cause of the problem.

Yea. No.

All it took was some hand signals to jump into action. Bruce those behind, Cass to grab the girl and then he’d start with the front. The agents were under-trained and easy to take down. Only Maddie Fenton put up a fight before going down. This leads to the next problem.

They were complete unknowns. No recognition of their hero names when Cass spoke to them, and he had to explain what the justice league even was. Was that town in Amity so remote news of them just didn’t exist? The alien invasions or attacks on the world. Did it all really go unnoticed by them?

They were unknowns and the kid was panicking, trying to keep the princess, apparently his sister, away from them as much as possible. The alleyway had dropped in temperature as soon as he grabbed her, and his speech only grew more panicky and angrier. His eyes started to glow just a tad too bright and tinted green. A meta, contaminated, or even an ecto-entity, one of those had to apply to him.

Cass had already started collecting petals and containing them. Without anyone even saying a word. Even with the girl out of range them being taken away in full hopefully could drop some of the tension.

Something had to happen. The conversation only managed to get worse.

my sister. The princess of the infinite realms was strapped down in a basement. Having had blood taken from her then sold off like an animal to the US government.

Yea, that tracks. The government would do it, obviously, it had. They saw the proof in the database. All this did was make it worse, it wasn’t just an entity. She was a princess and had already been picked up by one in a crown before. Which made it very plausible he was protective of her. Even before she was smuggled away from the building tests had been done.

Souls of doomed universe serving under the previous tyrant. Turned to skeletons as death was cut off from them. Death is mercy.

That... That was knowledge to handle later.

Pariah was dethroned and a new king took the throne.

Likely the tyrant who doomed entire universes. How did he get dethroned? Was it passed down by lineage? A trial? Death? Too many possibilities.

I’ve been playing peacekeeper for the last year. It’s gone too far. This was a direct attack. With those acts now passed there isn’t much I can do

If Cass hadn’t nodded at them, he doesn’t think he’d believe what he heard. A 15-year-old had been preventing the end of this universe. For the last year and no one noticed. It had to have been contained to Amity Park. A full year…

Year? Wait a second.

The acts were only introduced three days ago. If he has been playing peacekeeper for the last year, why were they only introduced? Was them finally getting a citizen of that realm that set it off? But they didn’t have her when it was introduced. Did they have intentions of nabbing a different one after they passed? If the acts hadn’t passed when they had her technically the government went against the meta-human acts. There was no loophole saying ecto-entities didn’t pass. By all rights the last year they should have been protected. If the beings were attacking and the agents protecting civilians, then it wouldn’t matter. If the agents were doing it without cause, no warrants, and no acts then they were in the wrong.

Admits his thoughts Tim didn’t fail to miss the way Daniel rubbed the ground. The same motion. Nothing was happening.

If a person in any universe messes with the realm they have every right to cut it off. What’s one universe in the name of all the other infinite ones?

This insinuates the earth meddled first. That they messed with the infinite realm. Somehow disturbing it within the last year. Was it the government poking and prodding around to start. Or was this why the Fenton’s suddenly had a weapons contract? They were the ones to sell off the girl. Is that why their son got so directly involved in the mess?

He was still rubbing a circle on the ground. He knew they were all on guard just in case something came out at them.

Was he trying to summon one of the ecto-entities? He must be missing a component. The talking could just be a way to “distract” the three. To ensure he could finish the potential summoning. He claimed to be able to summon at least three. The circle he kept drawing on the ground was the same one. No attempts at any other. Even if it was just a distraction, they were getting useful information.

Cass had already finished gathering the flowers. Handing them off to Bruce. Letting him rant and rave may be the best bet to getting him calmer. Still, they needed form some way to get any bit of trust. Even the smallest amount would do. Something that could open the lines of communication. Cass had already gone to her utility belt. She must have come up with something.

The last thing they needed was for Maddie Fenton to wake up. Then immediately accuse the main reason nothing has happened. Of lying. Cass was already about to re-knock her out. Not before getting something that connected a few of the dots.

He’s a Fenton we don’t associate with ghosts, we hunt them.

That must be how he got tangled up. Maybe getting caught up in a hunt and running into a ghost. Maddie claimed we hunt them. Could it be he started out hunting the ghosts and then realized they weren’t that bad? Or did his too-bright eyes and how the alleyway got colder come into play first? Something changed him forcing him to think away from his parents’ biased beliefs. She implies they fully believed their child held the same beliefs. This also implies everyone in the family hunted ghosts. The sister Jasmine left for Gotham. Nowhere near the ghosts.

He didn’t think either child agreed with them.

The anger and scoff let out with his response made it clear that was the case at least for him.

I’ve been the one actively sabotaging your weapons for over a year, not to mention the so-called specimen that have escaped.

Jack and Maddie had to have started this mess. Capturing specimens and making weapons. Both being sabotaged by their son. The girl his supposed sister didn’t come from Jack and Maddie. She had a known transformation; she was a confirmed ecto entity. Did he rescue her? Is that how he knows her? Afterward just deciding that she was family now. It would explain why she was traveling. Her first confirmed location was with Cass in Hong Kong. Then she popped up in several states and countries within the last three months. She wouldn’t have been able to stay in amity.

It was only as Maddie’s face had gone up in rage did Cass knock her out. Restraining her this Time. Cass then rolled the chalk at the duo. Telling them to summon his friend.

And he did.

The same green glow from the portal in Hong Kong. This time turning blue. The already fridged air plummeted even farther. A yeti? Materialized. Ice horns, a blue cape, and an ice arm. Barley looking the three of them until he simply flicked a wrist.

An ice wall formed around the duo. Blocking them from sight.

He’d wager this was Frostbite.

Cass took this moment to relay a message.

“He doesn’t want to make the call, any way out he’ll take it.”

Bruce was no doubt informing the league and the others of the mess they were in. An attack on an apparent princess, beings who could open portals, and the fact if what they say is true there wouldn’t even be a fight. Any weapons wouldn’t even matter. Just no more afterlife.

Then a yeti showed up.

Proof that at least something he said was a fact. Cass had been softly indicating he was telling the truth for the bulk of the conversation. That or he had just believed it to be true. Still, an actual event happening in front of them to prove at least one aspect was of great help.

The ice wall lowered. For the yeti to address the duo.

too risky for her in the realm... forged through ectoplasm, she is still human even if only half. Recovery would be best suited for this realm.

Half human? Forged through ectoplasm. Both Daniel and who he believes is Frostbite has confirmed she is his sister. All official documents only had Jasmine as an older sister. No other children are mentioned anywhere for either Fenton’s. Forging implies something being made. Was this girl made from a test tube? A clone situation?

Either way, they had some time to figure something out. It was best for her to recover in this realm. Not back in the infinite realms. Everything said and done here just leads to more questions. More things added to his ever-growing list of future research projects. There wasn’t time to dwell. The three of them were being addressed by the yeti.

Should the problems for them continue, expect it tenfold in this realm. The sun does not shine brightly on those against us. Listen to the boy.

That statement backs the talks of the previous doomed universes. Not to mention the whole royalty aspect. Listen to the boy, sounds like he’s going to have some political power. Maybe a prince, he did claim his sister was the princess.

With that, a mark was made on the circle used to summon the yeti and he was gone.

The minute Bruce mentioned a way to start to fix the mess he had jumped on it. None of them even seemed unreasonable. No demands for the world to bow down to the infinite realm. No immediate demands of execution. No being forced to live as Skeletons either.

Just consequences for people’s own actions. Given the very little he has heard about the infinite realm, really it was a problem for Jack and Maddie Fenton. They decided to catch and then sell a full-on person. That’s on them. The acts getting abolished were already set in motion so that was nice. It did appear that Bruce couldn’t pull his typical adoption stunt. They already had a preselected guardian in mind.

Those four things would at least ensure the afterlife didn’t get cut off. Plus, they now knew the realm had a council and royalty. He just had to probe just a little. Try and see where Daniel stands in the hierarchy.

Umm… I’m.. an Ambassador?

He stumbled for that answer. He didn’t even need to ask Cass. This kid was absolutely lying.

No one was going to acknowledge it. Better just to let him hold the belief the lie was bought. No need to make him any more nervous or scared. As it was, he was still holding his sister against the wall pushed back as much as he could be. Just eyeing them nervously.

Three was a crowd when you’ve just been chased by a government agency.

Cass had already started to ensure the agents were still knocked out and restrained.

Bruce then approached the duo as Damian did with stray cats. Slowly and keeping an easy way out. Then broke down two options. Carefully crafted, leaving the country, or going into space into the watchtower. Definitely not pushing the conversation toward the watchtower after seeing the slight look of awe when space had been brought up. The only argument was that he wanted to go to his sister.

That only got him, and Cass sent off to find Jazz Fenton at Gotham U. While Bruce was going to stay behind until Danielle woke up. Then Bruce would escort Danny and his sister to the tower and arrange talks.

Even if Bruce couldn’t adopt the two on paper, he and Cass should give a heads-up to the others. It was only a matter of time until they were at a family dinner.

Tagging ppl:

if people who wanted to be updated on all future ones don't want to anymore let me know.

@kisatamao @lizz-blizt

@ivymala07 @perfectwastelandcreation @imgonnaeatthatglitter

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britcision · 1 year

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Ahem… anyway… THE GALA BEGINS! Available on AO3, linked in the first chapter

First:

Tag list

@welcometosasakiworld @kyrianclawraith @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikoyuii @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @trickerdi @mayoota-blog1 @xysidhe @idkmrpianoman @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof

—————-

Party At Brucie’s

Jason had been added to the Team Phantom group chat pretty much immediately on return from the Ghost Zone.

And maybe Danny hadn’t been the most tactful, but he’d sure as shit made Jason laugh.

‘DannyP: New halfa just dropped!! *DannyP has added JTodd to the chat*’

Jason then got to spend a couple hours explaining the situation and watching Sam and Tucker roast Danny to within an inch of his life about it.

He liked the Team Phantom group chat. Definitely preferred it over the Wayne family group chat or the Bat Chat for those few days leading up to the gala.

Fucking Dick sending pictures of him.

Red Hood was NOT cute. No matter what any of them said. He was just glad Dick had been considerate enough to crop it to his own face, not showing Danny’s.

Small mercies.

He’d have avoided Wayne manor until the last second if he hadn’t known he’d then have to deal with them at the gala, in front of Danny.

So, the morning after the photo (and his brief, apparently unnoticed sojourn to another dimension) he made his way back to the mansion, wondering idly what he’d be doing if the pit rage wasn’t a still a soft, gentle ball of calm.

He could see himself being pissed he’d been spied on. Turned it into something dark and nasty.

As it was… well, he was mildly annoyed. Maybe just the tiniest, ittiest bittiest bit touched Dick had come to check on him.

Mostly? Dread. Apprehension, really. They weren’t gonna hurt him or do anything nasty.

Buuuuut Jason remembered being an Extreme Little Shit to Dick when he was crushing on Babs, and while he totally, absolutely did not have a crush on his new king…

Well, it was a cute picture. Smiling, blushing Jason, and even he had a hard time believing it was of him.

It looked like he had a crush.

But really it was exertion from the wrestling just before it was taken, definitely for sure.

He wasn’t gonna argue that though; it’d be admitting the idea had merit beyond just dismissing it.

He’d managed to wake up in time (after chatting with Danny’s friends online into the night) for Alfred’s pancakes, and that’d make up for damn near anything, even Steph being home.

She didn’t always stay at the manor, but there was a chance she’d crashed out for those same sweet heavenly pancakes.

Jason had another mission now anyway, and the good news was that Bruce would be home; no one in business got shit done in the week between Christmas and the New Year.

The bad news was… Bruce would be home, Jason would have to talk to him.

Joy.

But for Alfred’s pancakes Jason would fight the devil himself, with his bangin’ new gun to boot.

(He’d taken the time to have a longer look at that too; a Colt revolver, not quite his usual machine pistols, but classic. It had a satisfying weight in his hand and was a neat matte black, with just the strangest hint of red light flickering across it.

Danny said the sword burned green in its owner’s hand; something to check out at the range. Maybe in the cave. And, apparently, it was definitely non lethal.

Knowing this because Danny’d seen people stabbed with the sword version did not reassure Jason.)

The table was mostly empty when Jason arrived, which wasn’t exactly a shock. Duke was in, and he gave Jason a half shy smile and nodded.

They hadn’t interacted much; Duke was new, and he was Gotham’s daytime hero, while Jason still preferred to patrol at night. Still, he’d helped out a couple times.

They got along, even when Jason was at odds with the rest of the bat clan.

And his phone was on the table, likely with the group chat on it.

Jason gave him a nod and a half smile of his own as he took his seat. Not right next to Duke; the table was big and empty, he didn’t wanna crowd. He sat across from him instead, so they could talk.

“You can ask,” he said by way of greeting, tipping back to grin at Alfred as the man brought him a stack, “and you are the real hero, Alfie.”

Duke hid a grin in his juice as Alfred raised an eyebrow at Jason, not quite in reprimand.

“As you say, Master Jason,” the butler said calmly, setting down his plate. “You were missed at dinner. Twice.”

Jason made a face and shrugged, knowing full well what Alfred actually meant. He hadn’t actually decided how much he wanted to tell them about Danny yet.

Alfred? Alfred he trusted without question or reservation. Even to keep secrets from Bruce, if he didn’t think it would hurt someone.

But if Bruce knew he told Alfred something and not him, he’d pout. And while Jason wouldn’t have to deal with it, the others would, and Jason dealt with them.

For now, it was better to keep anything ghost related quiet. Bruce would want to know absolutely everything, and frankly?

Just once, Jason would like a handle on something first. Just this once, he wanted to know what was going on with his body. With his life.

It wasn’t that much to ask.

So he gave Alfred a sheepish smile, half wishing he could just put a hand on the man’s shoulder. Touching with Danny was so easy, he hadn’t realised how much casual touch was missing from his life.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Wasn’t exactly myself, so I figured I’d keep out of everyones’ hair.” He wasn’t expecting the worried look Duke gave him as he turned back to the table.

Wary? That’d make sense. They were all fucking pros at talking around the pit rage, and Jason knew they all expected him to lose it at some point.

He had. More than once.

“Are you feeling better now?” Duke asked softly, not quite able to make eye contact and poking at his pancakes instead.

Jason took a moment to just. Enjoy the warmth that rose from the simple question. No worrying it was fake, no green hunting for ulterior motives.

His brother cared. It could be that simple.

He spread his hands and smiled, shrugging.

“Good as I can be. Figured I’d come back and socialise since I have a party to go to this weekend. Are you coming?” Fuck, was it really tomorrow?

Duke studied his face for a long moment (being in the detective family was finally getting to him, Jason knew that squint) then smiled back.

“Nah, I’m working before and after. I got a conveniently timed lead,” he added smugly, leaning back in his seat.

Jason made the appropriate noises of jealousy and Duke chuckled, shaking his head.

“Hey, I have another three weeks to go to beat Damian’s record, and I haven’t even stabbed anyone. I’ll come to your next one,” he promised. Paused again.

Coming to a decision, he leaned in across the table and beckoned Jason to join him. Shifting his plate aside, Jason did so, wondering what Duke wouldn’t want overheard.

“It seems like the pit’s been worse lately,” the younger man said softly, finally meeting Jason’s eye, “are you okay?”

And oh, apparently since the pit itself was still in post-Danny bliss, Jason’s regular emotions were going to choke him. Lovely.

He forced a smile, leaning back so there was half a chance Duke might not read it in his face. For half a second, he considered telling the truth.

Buuuuut the truth would get complicated real quick.

“It’s been bad,” he agreed, keeping his voice level with all the stubbornness that propelled him to the Far Frozen, “but it’s gonna be fine. I’ve got a new strategy and it’s getting it back under control.”

Duke didn’t quite follow his lead right away, sharp eyes scanning every inch of Jason’s posture. Fuck, if Dick was here, Tim, maybe even Cass?

He’d be screwed. Just had to hope Duke wasn’t at that level of intrusive bastard yet.

Whatever he saw, it settled him enough that he relaxed as he leaned back, crossing one ankle onto his knee and grinning.

“And would this strategy have anything to do with a hundred pound twink throwing you around?” He asked, suddenly cheeky.

Jason’s cheeks flushed at just the memory and his smile spread, becoming something more real.

“Fuck, I said you could ask, didn’t I?” He groaned melodramatically, letting his head drop back for a moment before getting back to his pancakes.

Letting them go cold would be worse than a sin.

“You did,” Duke confirmed, a hint of laughter in his voice.

There was a lot of laughter in Jason’s life lately. It felt really good to notice that. Swallowing a large bite of syrupy goodness he thought about Danny for a moment.

Danny and everything he’d learned both from and because of him. A soft, sappy smile stretched across his face entirely without his noticing.

“Yeah. It does.”

Duke considered snapping another quick pic for the group chat. But honestly… it was just nice to see, and he hoped whatever it was worked.

Duke had seen people struggle with addiction, some of whom never found out who spiked their first dose. It wasn’t the same, but… he hated seeing people fighting something beyond their control.

On impulse he reached across the table and patted Jason’s hand.

“Then I’m happy for you man. Right up until Dick gets here,” he added as loud steps descended the stairs towards them, debating fleeing the room himself.

Some of the rowdier birds still managed to surprise him, but. Fuck it. He had to get used to it some time.

Jason groaned and shovelled another large bite of pancake into his mouth, speaking as he chewed.

“Dick’s here?”

The eldest usually went back to Bludhaven at the end of the night, to his own place and his cop job and… aaaaand Dick had taken the day off to help Jason get a fucking suit.

Of course.

He’d forgotten, possibly by sheer optimism. He didn’t have time to lament the slip before Dick charged into the kitchen, spotted him, and slammed into the chair beside him hard enough that it skidded over and hit his own.

“Jaybird! I thought I heard your voice! Tell me everything about your new boyfriend, is he nice? Do we get to meet him? What’s his name?” He asked without pausing for breath, resting his chin on Jason’s shoulder and grinning.

Jason stared him dead in the eye and took a slow, deliberate bite of pancake. Across the table Duke snickered, toying with his juice.

Dick groaned as loudly as he could, flopping back into his own seat as Alfred brought him a stack of his own.

“Awwww, c’mon Jaaaaaaaay, you know you wanna tell me everything! Is he coming to the gala? We can bring him suit shopping, I have Bruce’s card and he’ll never notice a second charge,” he wheedled, reaching for syrup without glancing at the table.

Duke pushed the bottle closer to his hand, giving Jason an entirely unapologetic shrug.

“You’re the one who said we could ask,” he pointed out innocently. Dick gasped in delight and Jason pointed his fork at the younger man.

“I said you could ask,” he corrected, stifling a grin when Dick pressed a hand to his chest, feigning injury.

Yeah, he and Danny would get along just fine. Drama queens the both of them.

Shit, Danny had black hair and blue eyes too, maybe Jason should keep him away from Bruce. Could you adopt a king?

“Jason! Little Wing! You’re not gonna tell our baby brother and not me!” Dick proclaimed dramatically, breaking off that train of thought.

Duke grinned wider, leaning over to grab a jug and refill his juice.

“Hey, I’m the cute one,” he said smugly as Dick protested. Jason chuckled, taking advantage of the distraction to finish the last of his pancakes.

He snagged Duke’s empty plate as well while the two argued, Dick utterly insistent that he was still the cute one, Duke calling him cute for the nursing home, and filled the dishwasher.

Alfred gave him a raised eyebrow from the stove, another set of pancakes already underway, and Jason shrugged.

“It’s quieter over here,” he said innocently, turning to lean back against the counter and watch his oldest and newest siblings fight.

Alfred made a low hum of approval, expertly flipping a pancake.

“You were always the quiet one, Master Jason,” the older man agreed and Jason almost argued before looking back to the table.

Compared to Dick? Yeah he kinda was. Jason could semi-reliably be persuaded to sit still with a book. Dick wouldn’t sit still if he wasn’t upside down.

Best to put him out of his misery though.

Giving Alfred a half smile, Jason made his way back to the table and swung back into his seat.

“Alright, fuckwits, you’re both adorable, now shut up or I won’t tell you shit.”

Dick’s mouth slammed shut immediately as he turned, leaning on the table and watching Jason wide eyed. Duke, eyes crinkled with laughter, leaned back in his chair and raised both hands.

Satisfied that he had their attention, Jason opened his mouth to give them some basics, then hesitated.

He’d been planning on asking Bruce if he could add a plus one to the list, so Danny’s friend Tucker could come and say hi. Just a friend.

He didn’t know much about the guy, except that he was fucking hilarious and worshipped the ground Tim walked on, but he didn’t know much about Danny either.

Buuuuut, if his siblings were all gonna be gushing fuckheads… it couldn’t hurt to mess them around a little. Schooling his smile into innocence, he turned his cup between his hands.

“I’m gonna ask Bruce today if he can come. He’s got a suit,” (Jason fervently hoped, but when they’d made the plan it hadn’t come up) “but you’ll all meet him at the gala.”

Duke groaned and flopped back in his chair, dropping his cup.

“Aw fuck, that’s not fair. Just three more weeks, Jason!” He complained, and Jason hid a grin in his own juice.

Tucker’s reaction the night before had been pretty similar; annoyed he wouldn’t get to meet the new halfa with the others. Too bad Duke wasn’t coming. There’d be more of their own class than at any other gala ever.

Dick was about as sympathetic as Danny and Sam had been too, grinning over at Duke and pointing with his knife.

“Hey, no one’s forcing you to go for Damian’s record for longest without attending a gala, Duke.”

Duke stuck his tongue out at Dick and sighed, glancing around.

“Yeah, but you guys don’t exactly make it sound fun. And if I go to one, neither of you assholes live at the manor anymore, and Bruce’ll expect me to show up for more. Can’t he meet you here, Jay?” He wheedled, trying the puppy eyes.

Sucks to be him, Jason spends half his time with the Alley kids and they were smaller, cuter, and more likely to kick him in the shins.

“Sorry Narrows, he’s coming in from out of town tomorrow. I’d bring him after but you’ll be in bed,” Jason teased and Duke groaned again.

Dick frowned, cocking his head.

“Wait, he’s gone out of town? He was here last night, why not stay?” He asked, looking for pieces to put together.

Luckily this was an easy one. Jason just shrugged.

“Gotta go get his suit. Apparently not everyone brings the good three piece to college,” he added and Dick grinned, shaking his head.

“Already going? My you’re certain Bruce’ll say yes,” he laughed and Jason grinned, spreading his hands.

“It’s my party, and it’s not like the venue charges by the head. I just gotta get his name on the list.”

“Hey, if I don’t get to meet him early, I want all the juicy details,” Duke cut in, pointing seriously at Dick. “You gotta tell me everything that happens.”

Dick raised his hand in a boy scout salute, which none of them had been. Jason only barely recognised it.

“Your words, my bond little man. I’ll even get you a pic of Jay and his date all gussied up,” he swore and Jason rolled his eyes.

“What makes you think we’re taking pictures?” He asked mostly rhetorically. Dick shot him a wicked grin.

“What makes you think you’ll know I’m taking it?”

Which, fair, expected, and totally valid. They’d all been just as annoying when Tim and Connor finally got together. Dickie kept a scrapbook.

There was some more noise from upstairs now, footsteps getting closer, and Jason wondered how many people had stayed overnight. Usually the manor just held Bruce, Alfred, Damian, Cass, and Duke.

Maybe half of those would be going to a given gala, so Jason had been reasonably confident he could be in and out. From the sounds of it, either all three missing members were on their way down, or there were extras.

Seeing his expression, Dick shrugged.

“Tim’s bribe to escape the gala was three nights of Alfred-supervised sleep, Steph stayed over with Cass to gossip, and Damian had Jon over. You’ve got a full house to satisfy,” he explained, eyes bright with laughter.

Jason hesitated for only a moment, considering bailing. His siblings were fine, one or one or in small groups. All at once? A little overwhelming.

Someone always managed to set him off eventually.

Almost reflexively he reached for the pit. Felt its warm, gentle peace. And let his shoulders settle.

Why not give it a shot? See how much was just something else’s rage and how much was him not being able to handle them all.

And they were getting close. Leaning in, he lowered his voice and hissed to the other two.

“Wanna pretend I’ve already told you everything?” He hissed, and very much enjoyed watching both of his brothers’ eyes light up with mischief.

“Okay but you actually do have to later,” Duke hissed back, all three now watching the doors avidly for the first sight of bodies. Dick nodded eager agreement, finally making headway on his own breakfast.

Footsteps in the hall. Not long left.

“His name’s Danny, we met at my grave on the 24th, he loves space and puns, he goes to Gotham U and I’ll text you more later,” Jason said quickly, not missing the light that went on above Dick’s head, then pushed back in his chair and sitting casually. “Pretend I told a joke.”

Duke and Dick burst into immediate, mostly genuine laughter as they dropped into similar poses and Jason grinned, a wave of affection for both washing over him.

Like the universe itself was giving him a gift, it was Steph who burst into the kitchen next, Cass and Tim both at her heels. Steph’s eyes gleamed almost unnaturally when she caught sight of Jason.

“You’re here! Did you bring your danger twink?” She exclaimed eagerly, almost tackling Duke when she slammed into the chair next to him even harder than Dick hit Jason’s.

That pushed Jason to cackle as well, even as Cass came and draped herself over his shoulders.

“My fucking what?“ he asked, leaning back to give her more space. Steph stole Duke’s juice and chugged it.

“Your danger twink! Tim said he kicked your ass!” She exclaimed, ducking away from Duke’s revenge smack and grinning unrepentantly at Alfred.

The butler tutted but didn’t say anything as he delivered another two plates of pancakes, coming back a second later with cutlery and a replacement cup for Duke.

Jason shot Tim a Look that went mostly unnoticed by the younger man, who looked still about half asleep as he dug into a stack. Must have been needing those three nights, especially if he agreed to so many.

Before he had to form a response, Dick cut in with a broad grin, dropping his own cutlery on a cleared plate.

“Oh no, he didn’t bring Danny today. Kid’s gotta run home for his tux so Jason can bring him on a fancy date,” he cooed, waggling his eyebrows at Jason.

Steph gasped, slamming her fists down on the table and setting everything bouncing. A quick swipe from Duke saved the juice, Dick dived for the syrup, and Jason kicked back from the table and away from his own falling cup, Cass pulling her feet up to skid with him.

Tim, completely missing an attempted stab at his pancakes as the plate bounced, gave the table a very suspicious look. Alfred gave him a fond smile and started the coffee maker.

Steph ignored all consequences.

“JASON! You already told them about him?!” She squeaked, half way across the table.

“Should have been up early, you missed all the spoilers,” Duke teased, holding the juice up and away incase she turned on him.

Which she did, clearly thinking about tickling, and saw the juice perilously close to over her head. And reconsidered.

Unable to match that firepower, she settled on ignoring the comment as though it were beneath her. Which put Jason back in her line of fire.

Hooking an arm around behind the chair, he scooped Cass into his lap as a human shield. She settled obligingly into place, tapping his shoulder for attention as she signed.

‘Coming to gala?’

Must be a nonverbal day. Not that Jason minded; their present siblings were loud enough for a whole squadron on their own. He liked that she was different; liked that she’d missed touch as much as he had, and the way she’d never move away.

Cuddling with Cass was one of the reasons he’d come back to the family at all. And one of the main reasons he’d stayed.

Alfred didn’t comment, placing her plate and cutlery in front of Jason’s spot as he scooched them both back to the table. Once he was sure she was comfy, Jason let his arms fall around her waist so she could eat.

“Yeah, he’s coming, if I can get Bruce to put him on the guest list. Are you coming, Cass?”

She didn’t bother looking around at him, lowering her knife for a moment to sign a firm ‘yes’ and he grinned, resting his chin on top of her head.

“Steph?” He asked, cocking a brow at the blonde.

Steph narrowed her eyes at him, taking a slow and deliberate bite of pancake.

“This feels like a trap,” she complained through a mouthful of food, accepting Alfred’s withering look as he placed a fresh black coffee in front of Tim.

This did at least serve to bring Tim back to life, even if there was less than no effect on Steph.

“What’s a trap?” He asked muzzily, fighting a yawn and chugging the coffee in one.

“Coming to the gala to meet Jason’s new booooyfriend,” Dick teased, ruffling Tim’s hair as he ran his plate to the dishwasher.

The younger swatted at his hand a full ten seconds too late, then huffed and got back to his pancakes.

Jason wondered if Danny might have some magic ghost powers that’d get the little fucker to sleep. He’d be replacing Jason in a grave at this rate.

And no matter what he might have thought early on, Jason’d die again himself before letting that happen. Or bribe the king of the dead.

The mention of the gala also served to perk him up though, and he gave Jason a suspicious frown.

“So he is a new boyfriend?” He asked, straightening and scooting closer to the table to rejoin the land of the living.

Jason shrugged.

“He’s coming to the gala, once I talk to-”

“Well I know you’re not talking about one of your siblings, not if he’s coming willingly,” the man himself said from the door, smiling when he saw the table full of most of his brood.

Which on Bruce, meant a barely there twitch of the lips. One they all recognised but still.

Brucie Wayne had beaming smiles for days.

Jason stiffened minutely against an anticipated wave of green, and felt almost lightheaded when nothing happened. Nothing but Cass leaning back into him a little more, one hand coming to cover his at her hip.

Of course she noticed. Turning his hand into hers he gave it a reassuring squeeze, then nodded to Bruce.

“Yeah, I came by to ask if I could add a plus one to the guest list? He won’t be arriving with me but I’d like you all to meet him.”

Visible surprise passed across Bruce’s face, which was a fun rarity, and Jason hid a smirk. Which faltered in the face of an almost wistful look, there and gone so fast he might have missed it.

And then Bruce was just his usual stoic self again, taking his own seat at the table while Dick bartered for more pancakes. If he put some work into it he could probably get some enjoyment from the stick up his ass.

“It’s your party Jason, you can add whoever you want to the guest list,” Bruce said calmly, like Jason had had any input whatsoever on the list so far.

Ideally he’d have cut more than half of it, but the whole point was to reintroduce him to “high society”.

He was still semi-seriously considering Dick’s offer to find him a cotillion gown for the evening. Less so now that Danny was coming.

For now he just nodded, giving Cass a quick squeeze.

“Who else is coming from the family?” He asked, mostly to the rest of the table as he turned from Bruce.

It was too weird to look at him, waiting for the pit to rise and not feeling anything. He wasn’t even sure how much of it was his own actual anger and what was just anticipation.

Cass raised a hand again and he gave her a quick jostle with his knees, making her giggle.

“I know you are, smart ass.”

“Just Cass, as far as I-“ Bruce began, cut off almost immediately as Dick swooped in to grab his seat, fresh pancakes in hand. So much for the dishwasher.

“Me too! I’m coming, Jaybird’s been telling us alllllll about his new boyfriend and he sounds great,” he declared firmly, also very much relishing in the flicker of surprise across Bruce’s face.

Steph chewed her lip, visibly considering her options, then sighed heavily.

“Yeah, I’ll come,” she agreed with a huff, “Jason only told those two and I wanna see him too.”

Duke, the other of “those two” as marked by Steph’s fork, grinned and rose from the table, both hands in the air.

“I’m out, I’m gonna be patrolling too close to the party start to get presentable in time,” he said cheerfully, snagging his and Jason’s glasses for the dishwasher.

“You could always come later in the evening,” Bruce offered, the hope in his voice only noticeable to his kids who knew him best.

“Nah, I’ll be out early too,” Duke cut in smoothly, giving Jason a nod, “but I’ll meet Danny later. Want me to go see if Damian and Jon are up?”

“His name is Danny?” Steph demanded, eyes narrowing as she zeroed back in on Jason. “Family name?”

“So you can stalk him?” Jason shot back, sticking his tongue out at her. “Detect it yourself. And nah, either I’ll see them before I go or on patrol tonight. I came by to see who was coming and warn you all to back off anyway.”

“Damian hasn’t said he’ll be attending, but if you’d like him to,” Bruce began, and Jason cut him off again, half wondering how long they could keep the streak going.

“Nah, it’s not like me and Danny are gonna be a one and done thing. He’ll have time to meet the demon brat later,” he added while Steph squealed.

Bruce had his pinchy bitch face on again and Jason had to admit, it wasn’t just the pit. He also did not like the guy.

But seeing as Bruce alternated between treating him like a rabid animal and overbearing “paternal affection”, Jason was giving himself a break on this one.

On his way to the door Duke paused, turning back and grinning at Jason.

“Oh, before I go. Tell ‘em the best part, Jason. What you told me before Dick got here,” he added when Jason looked momentarily confused.

Dick, highly offended, looked for a piece of Jason to poke that wasn’t covered by Cass.

“What! You left out the best part!” He bemoaned as Steph laughed at him.

It took Jason a moment to work out what Duke was talking about. He hadn’t told Duke anything funny or scandalous before Dick attacked. Except…

Yeah, that’d get Bruce’s panties in a twist.

Arms still hooked around Cass’s waist, partially to give Dick less targets, Jason watched the old man from the corner of his eye.

“Oh yeah. He’s been helping me with the pit,” he said innocently.

Silence but for the gentle sizzle of Alfred’s cooking choked the room. And lasted for a whole thirty seconds before erupting.

About an hour later Jason was leaving the manor again, the smile on his face satisfied if not particularly joyful.

Bruce had tried for an interrogation, but with Cass in his lap and Alfred glaring shotguns over his head, he hadn’t gotten far. Steph was declaring it True Love.

Dick had settled down immediately, which Jason had kinda expected. He’d had more pieces to put together than the others after the graveyard.

Tim was speed-googling every Danny in the city, and Jason half considered giving him a fake last name just to see what happened. Buuut Tim had slept last night, which meant they should be nice to him.

See if they could make it a habit. Jason maintained Tim wasn’t a dog to be pavlov’d, but he wasn’t the one who’d dated the guy. Steph insisted it could work.

And once Bruce had been silently threatened by every waking member at least once, Jason told him he’d text first and last name for the guest list. That the first name wouldn’t be “Daniel” might raise a brow, but hey.

It was Jason’s party.

Bruce could research Tucker Foley all he wanted to, right up until tomorrow evening. Maybe Jason’d send the message late.

Pulling out his phone, he shot a quick message off to the Team Phantom group chat.

‘JTodd: Tuck’s on the list. Also, two of my nosey bastard brothers saw us on my bike yesterday, so they think Danny’s my boyfriend. Also that Danny is my mystery plus one. Can we add them to the fuckery list?’

Three sets of scrolling dots appeared immediately, which meant all three were already up. Good to know.

Without waiting for an immediate reply, Jason stuffed his phone into his pocket and hopped onto his bike.

Him having a “secret boyfriend” would only add to the drama they were hoping to cause. Too bad he wouldn’t be seeing any of the gang in person before the gala, but they’d have plenty of time to plot.

***

Danny’s morning started a couple of hours later than Jason’s, and with much less breakfast incentives. No pancakes in this college kid’s life, and who needed them when he had a lifetime supply of Lucky Charms?

Unless he could make Lucky Charms pancakes. Now that would be perfection.

He didn’t bother getting dressed before eating either, secluding himself and his bowl straight back into bed to pull out his laptop.

They’d made a brand new group chat last night, one for just Sam, Tucker, and him. Sam had insisted they’d have some planning to do and Danny, fully aware they meant “grilling him endlessly about Jason Todd”, was more than happy to pop up a chat Jazz couldn’t see.

She’d have So Many Thoughts on them meeting in a graveyard. Hard pass. Hopefully she wouldn’t be able to scroll back through last night’s mess far enough for that part of the story.

They’d also planned a video call for this morning, which was basically why Danny was up before noon. Comfortably tucked into bed, he booted up his laptop and started the call.

Sam popped on first of course, already fully dressed and immaculately made up. She was also looming over her webcam like she was ready to pounce.

“Alright Danny, spill. When the fuck did you learn Jason Todd was a halfa?” She demanded.

Used to her by now, Danny took a noisy slurp of cereal milk. Sam rolled her eyes and pointed firmly at the lens.

“I will ask my parents to lend you one of Dad’s ties Danny, I swear I will.”

And that made Danny flinch. Mr Manson’s “ties” were never just a tie; each one had matching cufflinks, pocket squares, and a forty minute lecture on returning all items in pristine condition.

He wasn’t even sure the suit Jazz and Sam had helped him buy could take cufflinks. Most people in this century used buttons.

Lowering the bowl, he raised a hand in unequivocal surrender.

“Look, Tucker’s not even on yet, I don’t wanna have to answer the same questions twice. I swear I told you guys the truth last night!” He added when Sam’s eyes narrowed.

Folding her arms, she sat heavily back onto her bed and continued to glare, but all looming operations ceased. Close enough; she was willing to wait.

Danny relaxed as well, taking another spoonful of cereal.

“So, how’s Val?” He asked to fill the time.

And grinned when Sam’s expression immediately softened. She had it fucking Bad.

“She’s fine. Swears she isn’t pissed that my parents won’t let her come, but she wants back in the group chat. I didn’t tell her about Jason yet,” she added with another roll of her eyes when Danny opened his mouth, still chewing, “she just has some thoughts on shit you can get up to.”

That last part made Danny frown a little and he paused to swallow before speaking.

“Wait, you didn’t tell her about Jason? Why?” Sure, they hadn’t gotten that far into the full Phantom Personal History last night, but they would eventually. Especially if she went back into the chat.

Sam gave him a withering look.

“Because we ask Jason who he’s happy with learning that he’s half dead,” she said slowly, like he was stupid.

Which, fair. Danny had kept his own secret for so long he’d kind of forgotten it was a secret to keep. But…

“The whole world knows he died, and they’re all gonna learn he’s back tomorrow,” he pointed out, adding more cereal to the dregs of his milk.

Sam pressed her hands together, probably praying to Clockwork for patience.

“Danny I swear I will add Jazz to this call and have her give you the consent rant,” she said sweetly, in her most innocent Manson Party Voice.

Danny snickered into his cereal, fully aware he’d be hearing a lot more of that voice soon.

“You’re swearing a lot today Sam, wake up cranky?” He teased and grinned when she flipped him off.

“Anyway, do you wanna text Jason and check he’s cool with looping her in or should I message the chat?” She asked, already scooping up her own phone.

Danny hesitated for a second, glancing at the clock. Like he had any idea what schedule the guy operated on.

“I’ll text him later, he said he was gonna go deal with his family this morning to get Tuck on the invite list. And speak of the devil!” He cheered as the third window popped open, a sleepy Tucker in frame.

Clearly still in bed too, Tucker wiped drool from his chin and waved.

“Hey, sorry guys, I’m here… slow morning,” he said, like it was an anomaly.

Sam rolled her eyes, then tugged her laptop in and loomed over the camera again.

“So Danny, tell me when you found out Jason Todd was a halfa,” she demanded again, and Danny snickered some more.

“That’d be way more menacing if you hadn’t done it five minutes ago,” he pointed out and she flipped him off again.

“Eat dick, Fenton. Jason’s. Do you seriously expect me to believe you met that guy yesterday? You were sending us selfies from his fucking lap.”

Danny frowned, scooping more cereal into his mouth and swallowing half of it whole.

“Hey, he’s just a touchy guy! Also, his couch is shit and just that small.”

“And Jason himself is fucking enormous,” Tucker snorted, moving momentarily out of screen as he sat up and stretched, then repositioned his laptop.

“And that,” Danny acknowledged, pointing to Tuck. Hoping that’s where Tuck’s feed showed on Sam’s computer. She still didn’t look impressed.

“Dude. You’ve been in Gotham for like, a year. You didn’t know there was another halfa running around?” She asked sceptically.

Danny rolled his eyes back, see how she liked it.

“Yeah, because we all advertise on Craig’s List. He didn’t know he was a halfa until yesterday! And it’s not like I run around in the same social circles as Bruce Fucking Wayne.”

“Yeah, but you kinda do now though,” Tucker pointed out, visibly waking up as excitement flashed in his eyes, “which reminds me, can Jason get you any of the new Wayne Tech? I’d kill to get my hands on their newest tablet.”

“Okay one, no expanding my kingdom,” Danny scolded, raising a finger and then flipping up a second, “and two, you didn’t see this guy’s place. It was kinda a shithole, and I live in a dorm. I don’t think he’s that close to the family.”

Sam gave him her very best deadpan look, only slightly withered by screens and distance.

“We are literally going to a high society ball tomorrow in his honour, Danny. I think Bruce likes him just fine.”

Danny dropped his fingers and just wiggled the whole hand in the air beside his head.

“Eh, unlikely? I dunno, something went on with them when Jason died, or when he came back maybe, Jay won’t speak about it. But he didn’t want me to tell Bruce anything.”

Didn’t want it to get back to Batman, but they were withholding that particular detail from the rest of the team for now. These were the people Danny trusted with his secret, and now with Jason’s, but that one wasn’t theirs to tell.

Tucker rolled his eyes too, throwing both hands into the air.

“Then Bruce is clearly trying to buy back into his good graces, and guilt’s gotta be worth at least two new tablets!” He declared passionately.

Danny snorted most of a laugh through his nose, discarding his now-empty bowl onto the floor beside his bed.

“Look, I’ll ask, but no promises. They probably don’t want hackers cracking them right off the line,” he added with a smirk.

Tucker put on his very best offended face.

“Daniel, you wound me! I am no mere hacker! I am the sweet and loving god of technology, and I neeeeeeed a sacrifice!”

“Ew, don’t use the Vlad-nickname,” Sam hissed, flailing a pillow at the camera.

Tucker obligingly dropped onto his bed like she’d actually hit him, rolling through the sheets.

“Okay but the rest of my point stands!” A sudden thought occurred and he shot back up, snatching desperately at his laptop to keep it from falling to the floor. “WAIT! Danny, can he get me an internship?!”

Danny rolled his eyes, stuffing his fist into the cereal box to grab a dry handful. He was gonna need more sugar for this bullshit.

“Wrong Wayne adoptee, you’re thinking of Tim Drake. I dunno if he’ll even be at the gala, but you could always ask him,” he added thoughtfully, glancing at his phone.

Jason hadn’t known who else would be there from his side, beyond Bruce himself. Danny wasn’t quite sure if he wanted any of his brothers or sisters to come either.

For all they’d shared life secrets and soul underwear, he still didn’t know much about Jason’s day to day life.

Which wasn’t surprising. They’d properly known each other for a day.

It was just that he’d never met a halfa his age, who wasn’t his clone. Of course he wanted to know all about Jason. What he did, where he went, who was important in his life.

It was just regular curiosity. Totally normal.

Tucker was a gasping ball of delight at just the potential chance to meet Tim himself, while Sam lectured them both about “no ethical consumption under capitalism”.

Danny stuffed another handful of cereal into his mouth and looked back at his phone.

Jason was probably up now.

He could probably just text him.

He could ask for Tucker if Tim would be at the gala.

He could ask what Jason was wearing to the gala, and if he knew how the fuck cufflinks worked.

His phone buzzed like he’d willed the message to appear and he snatched it up, opening directly to the group chat. It was Jason!

Tucker and Sam had gone quiet too, both checking their phones at the same time. Sam let out a triumphant laugh and began typing, even as Tucker whooped and joined in.

Probably asking if Tim Drake was coming.

Danny tapped out a couple of emojis before the rest of the message sunk in. They thought he and Jason were dating?

He could feel the heat creeping up his face as Sam looked up at the camera again, at exactly the wrong moment.

“Hey Danny, did you see?” She cooed sweetly, an utter shit eating grin on her face. “The rest of the Waynes sure think you’ve known each other for more than a day.”

Danny dropped his phone, message unsent.

“Yeah but they saw us for like a second, what would they know?“ he asked quickly, shooting for nonchalant and fully aware he’d missed by a mile.

Tucker cackled, sending off a message and then grinning back up at the call.

“I dunno, they might be onto something, those selfies you sent us were pretty cute,” he added slyly.

Danny flipped him off, scrabbling through the sheets for his buzzing phone.

“Cuz I’m fucking adorable. I don’t even know if he likes guys, or anyone at all, he’s just a new friend!”

“And the only member of your whole species that isn’t your clone or creepy beyond belief,” Sam cut in, sending off her own message too, “you might have a social responsibility.”

“To repopulate halfas?” Danny asked, rolling his eyes and finally snatching his phone back up, scanning their messages. “Shame we’re both men and that’s physically impossible.”

‘TechMasterF: Thanks dude! Always down to help fuck with family. Any idea who’ll be there?’

‘2Goth2Glorious: oh that’s perfect, we gotta keep them away from my parents… or let them think Danny’s stringing us both along 😈’

Well, Tucker was being surprisingly discrete. Good for him.

“I dunno, you could just shove more people into those ectoplasm pools that made Jason,” Tucker pointed out thoughtfully, now typing away on his laptop. Clearly had another window open.

Danny rolled his eyes, finally shooting off his own string of emojis. He was. Just not gonna address the dating thing.

“Somehow I don’t think it’s that easy, apparently a bunch of people have gone in and we don’t know how many changed or are just liminals.”

‘DannyP: 🙌🙌🎊🎊🐼🍷’

‘DannyP: definitely adding them to the fuckery list’

He knew the message had reached the group because Sam and Tucker both glanced at their phones, then groaned in unison.

“Dude, way to make him think you’re not interested,” Tucker sighed, wiggling his phone.

“It sounds like you’re insulted they’d think it,” Sam agreed firmly.

Danny stared at them, then down at his phone.

“Fucking how?? All I did was answer his question! And maybe I’m not interested,” he added quickly when Sam began to smirk.

“Give me a minute, I’m gonna work out how to delete your messages,” Tucker said solemnly, attention switching fully back to his phone.

“Hey, fuck off!” Danny half chuckled, shaking his head.

Sam sighed, speaking slowly again. It was her own damn fault for hauling them both up before noon if they were slow.

“Danny, you haven’t sent a message without emojis since you learned about emoticons. For you? It looks like you’re mad,” she explained, and Danny pouted, scrolling quickly back up through the chat.

Fuck. She had a point.

Jason hadn’t popped up on the read receipts yet, so he quickly swiped to delete the message.

“Okay but again, me and Jason don’t know each other all that well,” he protested, now staring at the empty message box and wondering what the fuck to type.

There wasn’t an emoji for “oh ancients your family thinks we’re dating and we’re totally not but not because you’re not a catch”.

Knowing Jason for long or not, those hints of low self esteem were pretty obvious. Danny saw them every day in the mirror. No wonder Sam and Tuck noticed over texts.

Okay, he might have noticed the lack of emojis. Being Robin probably meant overthinking everything when playing detective.

Sam sighed and actually poked the lens of her webcam.

“If I see a laughing emoji I am going to slap you tomorrow,” she said firmly.

Danny quickly hit backspace.

“Well what the fuck do you think I should say to that then?” He asked sharply.

Tucker sighed, abandoning his phone in favour of the laptop again.

“I dunno Danny, have you been flirting?” He asked, tone suggesting it was a rhetorical question.

Which was bullshit. It’s not like Danny and Jason had relayed all their conversations. No reason for him to know they’d been calling their meet ups “dates”.

That probably didn’t count as flirting anyway, they were just fucking around.

“Yeah, right after he read me Romeo and Juliet on his grave,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes extra hard to get his point across.

Tucker had the sheer audacity to laugh at him.

“Okay but you know that move would be a slam dunk on Sam,” he said with a sly look to the left. Must be where Sam showed on his screen.

The lady in question rolled her eyes and flipped Tuck off too, giving the camera a flat look.

“Danny, that is in fact called flirting.”

“It totally isn’t!” Danny argued, at least partially panicking.

Jason wasn’t flirting with him. Jason couldn’t be flirting with him. Danny might have been flirting with Jason, but that certainly didn’t mean the guy was flirting back!

Sam gave him a second secret even flatter look, then sighed and shook her head.

“I will never hear a single word from you about me and Val being “disaster lesbians” again, Danny Fenton,” she said firmly, and Danny huffed.

That wasn’t fucking fair. Sam and Val had been goddamn adorable when they were awkwardly flirting back and forth, both certain the other wasn’t interested.

This just couldn’t be the same situation.

Tuck snickered at both of them indiscriminately, glancing down at his phone.

“Yeah, well, Jason hasn’t messaged back yet so we’ll see. We picking up a Fenton Phone for him tonight too?” He asked suddenly, frowning at the camera.

Danny shrugged and nodded.

“Yeah, gotta come get you and a suit anyway so I figured I’d swing through Amity Park. Mom and Dad promised to take Jazz out so the lab’ll be empty.”

Which wasn’t technically a necessity anymore, since the Fenton parents were in on the secret. It was just an emotional necessity, because if Sam and Tuck were already this bad they’d be so much worse.

Probably try and send some message to Bruce Wayne congratulating him on being their new brother in law.

Nope.

No fucking way.

They had no one to blame but themselves.

***

New Years Eve came.

Jason was beginning to wish it hadn’t.

Dick had been as good as his word, sweeping Jason away to a tailor in the better parts of Gotham who took one look at Dick and told him to fuck off.

Finally, Jason had a suit made by a man with both good taste and the ability to read the room. He didn’t even condescend to either of them, with no witnesses at all.

Jason kept his card. Heavens forbid he need to go to more galas, but at least he could be well dressed now.

He hadn’t worn a proper suit since he was knee high, felt like. Dick insisted he looked fantastic, both at the tailor’s shop and tonight, giving him a sweeping once over and a wolf whistle.

Jason looked in the mirror and mostly saw Bruce, except for the shock of white hair. Kinda hated that.

He’d agreed to come to the manor first rather than going straight to the gala, which was being held at one of the city’s numerous ballrooms. Cheaper for Bruce when the inevitable rogue attack happened.

He was being reintroduced as Bruce’s ward, it made sense for them to arrive together. And Jason was maybe just a little smug that there were now enough of his siblings coming that they had to take a limo.

No sentimental heart to hearts in the back seat while he choked down rage for this asshole.

Cass had her own suit, blacker than black with a black undershirt. She made an adorable baby goth, the only pop of colour the red embroidery on her collar.

Jason hadn’t put it together until she’d tapped it and signed to him, ‘yours’. She was wearing his Red Hood colours, and the urge to laugh just about beat out the urge to cry.

Dick was a little more traditional, black suite, white shirt, emerald green tie. Matching Jason, except Jason had gone for blue. Tim matched them both except for the deeply sullen look on his face.

(Dick confided in a whisper that he’d still spent the night at the manor, even after deciding he’d come to the gala. Alfred had switched immediately from the bribe not to go to threatening not to let Tim go if he didn’t have enough sleep to look presentable.)

Steph had shown up after all, in a long sweeping dress that was almost the same purple as her suit, cut short enough not to get in her way if she had to run. Or go up and down stairs, conveniently, so she had a civilian excuse.

Even Damian was present, looking extremely suspicious of the lot of them. He’d wasted no time telling Jason that he was there solely to assess this “Danny” and determine if he was worthy of joining the family.

Jason kinda considered slipping away to send Danny a warning text that he might be getting a shovel talk. Decided against it.

Watching the boy king of the dead being menaced by an actual baby was just too funny to miss.

Jason hadn’t deliberately waited til most of the family were in the car on purpose, but was rather pleased to find his siblings had been thinking of him.

Bruce was stuck down at one end of the car, Dick and Steph sandwiching him in while Steph talked animatedly to Cass on the closest side seat, Tim and then Damian beside her. Jason would be damn near at the other end of the vehicle.

Obviously Bruce had noticed despite Dick’s passionate and ongoing monologue about how funding Bludhaven’s police might mean less officers fell to bribery (which even Dick knew was bullshit). He seemed resigned more than anything.

The drive was quick and loud, and Jason had to wonder if he could have handled it at all with the pit before.

His… anticipation. Definitely anticipation.

Resignation.

Not fear.

Whatever he was feeling, it had garnered some attention, and the waters were shifting much sooner than they had after the last time he saw Danny.

He’d spent more than half the day on the couch, hugging Frostbite’s ghost succulent to his chest. It hadn’t noticeably helped, but maybe it had done something.

He’d spent the drive gently needling Damian about Cass wearing her suit better instead of fighting down green. That was a result in his books.

Cass wore her suit better than both of them combined. No matter how she felt, she didn’t look like she wanted to shrug her skin off. Jason was getting the hang of that still.

And now… now it was just the red carpet, the flashing cameras, and some asshole in an over starched suit announcing the Wayne Clan’s arrival.

Jason sucked in a breath, trying not to tense as his hand found the door handle. This wasn’t a fight. He wasn’t going into combat. He’d be fine.

Combat was much more fun. Even when he got shot, he was allowed to shoot people back.

His situational awareness was fully shot though, because he didn’t notice Bruce until the taller (fucker) man’s hand covered his.

“Allow me,” the older man said softly, those all too perceptive eyes tracking over Jason’s face. “I should get out first. Let them get a few shots to settle down, and then we all go in and you don’t have to do anything but stand for the speech.”

Jason fucking hated the part of himself that still wanted to lean in. To nod and let Bruce take the lead like a good little soldier.

And maybe he should, Bruce had done this way more than him, had always done his best to shield his wards from it. To his credit, he’d pretty much succeeded.

But Jason wasn’t a little kid anymore, and the one time he’d needed Bruce’s shield it hadn’t come.

He pushed the door open himself and stepped out, pulling on a smile at the last second.

Coming “back to life” meant back to the Wayne name, but let no one think he was still hiding behind Bruce.

On some level Bruce must have understood that, because there was a short pause before he followed him, all wide Brucie smile and fond affection. A warm hand clapped on Jason’s shoulder, almost the least they could be touching and still play happy families.

Then Damian followed, Tim and the girls, and finally Dick, throwing an arm around his shoulders and “coincidentally” tugging him away from Bruce’s hand.

He owed the guy a drink. And possibly some reassurance that he wasn’t actually going to bite Bruce for touching him.

They stayed for a moment for the family photos, then Dick cheerfully messed up Jason’s hair and they made their way up the carpet and into the event. Bruce was taken aside for a moment by an attendant and then they were being announced like it was a fucking Regency novel.

There was the slightest hint of a chance that Bruce had set it up with Jason in mind specifically. Not asked him if he wanted it or checked in, just gone ahead and done it.

That wasn’t what Jason liked about his classics, but the thought was warm in a soft way he hadn’t associated with Bruce in a long time.

They were about to disperse, the rest probably on the hunt for Danny, when Bruce caught Jason’s eye and nodded to a quiet spot. Sucking in a breath, Jason followed.

He’d been prepared to go through tonight with the pit in his ear, back when he thought it wasn’t optional. He could do it as just himself. No sweat.

Bruce waited a moment after Jason joined him, glancing around the room and lowering his voice below easy eavesdropping range.

“Your plus one has arrived, Jason. Would you like to make introductions now, or just go and join him? He seems a little… unaccustomed to these events, apparently,” he added with a sympathetic half smile.

None of them liked these events, but Jason had assumed Tucker would be arriving with Sam and Danny. Apparently not, as a quick scan of the room produced only one signature red beret.

By the refreshments. Perfect.

Jason even managed a smile of his own for Bruce, and felt more sad than angry at the flicker of surprise. He knew exactly how they’d come to this, yet… all he’d wanted was a home.

“I’ll go check on him. We’ll catch up with you later,” he added with a short nod.

He did want to introduce Danny and his friends to his siblings. And maybe to Bruce too. But that could come later.

He still had to officially meet Tucker first.

A slight smile pulling across his lips, he made his way across the hall to that trademarked red beret.

The bat siblings took a moment to put their heads together while Bruce and Jason talked, finalising their plan of attack.

“Alright, I think we need two teams. Tim and I will split so we each have someone who’s seen Danny,” Dick whispered, giving Tim a nod as he scanned the room.

Steph nodded firmly, liking her arm through Tim’s.

“I’ll take Tim and Damian to be my top stealth operative. You take Cass for yours. Stay within around 10 feet of each other but not obviously together, no need to let anyone think something’s up. Tim stay in the middle, so you can signal us if necessary,” she commanded and the others all nodded.

Damian pouted just a little, but he wasn’t about to argue with being put on stealth. It meant less talking to people.

They split apart, all doing their most charming smiles, just in time to see Jason moving purposefully across the room.

“Well shit, here we go,” Dick chuckled, offering Cass his arm. She slipped a hand into the crook of his elbow and let him guide her off in the same general direction as Jason.

Tim, Steph, and Damian split up, meandering gently along the other side of Jason’s path. Dick turned a beaming smile on a nearby couple that were moving in close enough the same direction.

Gala talk never went beyond surface level anyway, so it was easy to keep up the conversation while watching Jason make his way to the refreshments. And… joined someone.

Dick’s brow furrowed.

“That’s not him,” Tim hissed into Steph’s ear, catching her at one end of the drinks table.

Steph stopped, frowned, and looked down towards the middle, where Jason was chatting amicably with a young Black man in an off-the-rack suit.

“Are you sure?” She hissed back, leaning back towards him to reach for a glass.

Tim gave her a flat look.

“The guy at Jason’s was white. I’m not that tired,” he said flatly and Steph stifled a giggle.

“Yeah, okay, I believe you. So who’s that?”

“That would be Tucker Foley, the man Jason added to the guest list,” Damian said smartly, coming to Tim’s other side and passing Steph a glass.

Both turned to face him and he sighed, rolling his eyes.

“I checked Father’s phone this morning.”

Straightening, Steph took a careful sip of her juice, turning so her back was to the table.

“I checked last night, Jason hadn’t sent anything,” she whispered and Damian smirked.

“The message was from 9am. I believe he wanted to give Father less time to research him.”

“And us,” Tim agreed with a huff, grabbing his own drink at random. And hastily putting it back when it stank of whiskey.

“Apparently effectively,” Damian noted smugly, looking across the floor. Following his gaze, Tim saw Bruce pretending he wasn’t also watching Jason and his new friend.

Fighting a grin, Tim grabbed a glass that matched Steph’s instead.

“Yeah, okay, I’m less mad. Wanna try and get closer, demon brat?”

By the time he’d glanced down, Damian was already gone.

Steph hid her smile in another slow sip, then straightened and moved away from the table.

“I’ll be around. Oooh shit Dick’s moving in, not missing that,” she said suddenly, walking away at speed.

Tim spun back around and groaned. Okay, the oldest wasn’t the most subtle of the bats by a fucking long shot, but they should have at least had a minute.

With a philosophical shrug, he headed away just off Steph’s path to find his own eavesdropping spot. It’s not like they were trying to hide from Jason specifically.

Just his new friend.

Tucker had lit up like a sunbeam when Jason called out, turning to give him a once over and grinning.

“Okay, holy shit, how are you even bigger in person? I’d almost think you were a Fenton,” he exclaimed as Jason drew closer.

Jason didn’t bother trying to hide his curiosity.

“Oh? Danny’s not that tall.” Which had made it all the better when Danny took him to the floor, honestly.

Tucker’s grin widened.

“Danny’s dad is 6’9, and Jazz is 6’4. We think Clocky’s holding Danny’s growth spurt hostage til he takes the crown,” Tucker explained easily, deeply satisfied with the way Jason’s eyes widened.

Okay, the thought of Danny looming over him was not one he was prepared to deal with. Shaking his head like that’d help, he gave Tuck a curious look.

“I thought you were gonna be arriving with Danny and Sam by the way, are they around?” He couldn’t imagine they’d have left Tucker alone.

Tucker did look a lot more comfortable than he’d feared though, grabbing a few more of the delicate canapés.

“Yeah, Danny got me this afternoon, but then we thought it’d be funnier if Sam’s parents didn’t know I’m a guest of honour. Like a one-two punch when Danny’s Sam’s date,” he explained, then waved a hand. “It’s not the worst just waiting.”

Jason took a moment to glance around, clocking all five of his siblings and resisting the urge to wave. Barely. Another fun thought occurred.

“So do you want me to make myself scarce when they get here? Let them see you, and then drop that you’re a guest of honour?” He asked innocently, and Tucker’s eyes gleamed.

If Danny hadn’t told him both his friends were still living humans, he might have wondered. But apparently there was still a whole lot that none of them understood.

Jason had gotten through the entire ghost database Team Phantom had gifted him, and he had questions. But those would have to wait for another, less fun day.

Tucker nodded happily, looking around and back towards the entrance.

“Oh fucking yes, can you just kinda hover and then I’ll say hi? Let them get a couple sentences in before you come say hello?” He asked eagerly, and Jason grinned back.

Today was for fun. And crime. Gala crime, and not the inevitable rogue attack, the fun kind.

Fuck it was nice to have the chance to have fun.

“Abso-fucking-lutely. Also, my older brother is coming up behind you,” he continued innocently and Dick groaned, abandoning the sneak attempt and closing the rest of the distance, Cass still on his arm.

“Jason! I was trying to be cool and discrete,” he huffed, giving his little brother the puppy eyes before moving on to grin at Tucker. “Hey, as Jaybird says, I’m his brother Dick, this is our little sister Cass, and you are?”

And Jason maybe fell the littlest bit in love with Tucker as he turned to Dick, most innocent smile you’ve ever seen in your life on his face, and said,

“Oh hey, nice to meet you! I’m Danny.”

Dick’s sheer confusion lasted just long enough for Tucker to register it too, then he held out a hand to shake.

“Oh, really? Would you be the Danny Jason was telling us about at breakfast the other day?” He asked carefully, eyes flicking between Tucker and Jason.

Jason kept his smile utterly opaque. Tucker took the offered hand, innocent as anything.

“Well I wouldn’t know anything about that, Dick, but Jason did say he’d be getting me on the guest list, and here I am! It’s great to meet you both, Jason’s had only nice things to say.”

Which seemed to surprise Dick again, but not Cass as she smiled up at Jason.

She, of course, was already onto them. It was damn near impossible to get a lie past Cass but she could be quickly persuaded to join in with any fuckery.

Jason tipped her a quick wink while Dick went down some internal pathways and her smile widened, giving just the slightest hint of a nod back.

Sweet angel baby sister.

Dick was doing his best to make innocent, normal, definitely-not-interrogation conversation and Tucker was very happy to oblige him.

Absolutely none of them expected Tucker to turn and cheerfully address his next comment to the table.

“Yeah, well, Gotham’s a beautiful city but I bet this kind of event can get a little dull for the younger crowd, right?”

Immediately Jason scanned the area for Damian while Dick did his very best mildly-confused-puppy face.

“Uh… what do you mean, Danny?” He asked carefully, glancing in the direction Tucker was looking.

Tucker grinned at him and pointed down.

“Someone’s kid is hiding under the table. Pretty harmless way to keep out of trouble, right?” Tuck asked cheerfully.

Jason’s eyebrows shot into his hairline when Damian reluctantly crawled out from under the table, rising to frown up at the taller boy.

It made a kind of sense? Amity Park’s version of the rogues gallery was actual, literal ghosts and Tucker had been fighting them since he was Damian’s age. Being more observant than most went with the territory.

But he really wasn’t shy about outing himself at all.

Dick picked up the trailing question, knowing full well Damian wouldn’t, and pulled on his best Public Relations smile. He’d definitely noticed.

“Oh, yeah, this is our youngest brother Damian! He doesn’t really do parties,” he added by way of explanation when Damian just kept glowering.

Tucker nodded agreeably, giving Damian a nod of his own.

“I’m gonna have to introduce you to Sam, Damian, you guy’s’ll get along great! She hates these kinds of events too,” he added by way of explanation, apparently completely missing at least three bats zooming in on the information.

“Sam? Do you know someone else who’s coming?” Dick asked with very convincing casual curiosity.

Tucker just nodded again, as open as a well thumbed book, picking at his little plate of canapés.

“Oh yeah, Sam Manson, from Amity Park. She should be here soon, she’s a good friend. She always hides behind the fake plants,” he told Damian, winking conspiratorially.

If looks could kill, Tucker would have become a ghost.

Fully aware that at least two of his siblings were about to be doing some frantic googling, Jason took Tucker’s arm and turned him from the table.

“Well, we should get out of the way so the other guests can get at the food. Has anyone given you the tour, Tucker?” He asked, definitely not grinning at Damian.

It wasn’t “getting caught by a civilian” bad, but Damian didn’t know that.

Tucker gave a slightly sad look back to the trays of finger foods but quickly twigged, snapping his gaze back to Jason.

“No, they haven’t. Which way are the bathrooms?”

Five bats reconvened immediately in a distant corner of the ballroom.

“That’s definitely not the same guy, right Dick?”

“He said his name was Danny, he might be some kind of chameleon meta? He and Jason definitely knew each other.”

“Did he just catch Damian? Slipping there, baby bat.”

“There is something unnatural about him,” Damian insisted firmly, shooting Steph a murderous glare that was fully ignored.

After a brief moment, all four turned their full attention to Cass. She was the human lie detector.

Cass gave them all a polite smile and half shrug.

‘Very honest. Very open. Not hiding anything,’ she signed.

Damian’s eyes narrowed.

“He prattles like a fool but there is most definitely something off about him. No one as obtuse as he pretends to be would have detected my presence,” he said firmly, eyes locked with Cass’.

Tim rolled his eyes and waved a hand at the pair of them.

“Look, you slipped up Damian. None of us bothered bringing our A game to a party, it happens.”

Damian’s glare promised more cut grapple lines in Tim’s future.

“I did not slip, Drake. Todd and Grayson did not register my presence, but this boy did. And his name is Tucker Foley, not Danny,” he added sharply to Cass, “so he is also an exceptional liar.”

Tim flipped him off pretty much on principle. Dick shrugged, retaining his position as “everyones favourite brother” by not choosing sides.

“It might be a middle name or a nickname, D. He didn’t hesitate or stumble over it.”

Damian shook his head mulishly, turning a much milder glare on Dick. He pulled out his phone.

“Tucker Foley does not have a middle name, Grayson. He does have a Facebook connection named Daniel Fenton, mutual contacts with Samantha Manson.”

The other four convened on the phone screen, frowning. There indeed was Tucker’s Facebook page, which looked to have been dead for at least two years. Annual birthday messages from elderly relatives filled most of the wall.

Satisfied that they were now listening, Damian turned a sharp eyed stare on Tim.

“Drake should be next to engage. Foley is currently a student at MIT in science and technology, and his records are sealed beyond my ability to immediately break. You are the most technologically inclined and may bond with him,” he added, like they’d need an explanation.

The news made the others sit up and take notice. Any records sealed beyond what a Robin could get into, any Robin, meant better than normal encryption.

Steph already had her phone out too, browsing heavily.

“I can’t find any other trace of him,” she chimed in a moment later, frowning at the rest of the group, “the Facebook email’s definitely going somewhere, but there’s no other social media associated with it.”

Tim frowned, leaning towards her phone.

“Any leads on what his other email addresses might be? What’s the name?”

Steph flashed him her screen.

“It’s a private web server, he’s set up his own, but that’s empty too, at least at first glance. Anyone wanna text Babs?” She asked, eyes flashing from one to the other.

Dick sighed and pulled out his phone as well, glancing around the room.

“We shouldn’t be out of sight too long, people will notice. I’ll text Babs and see if she’s busy, then do some laps. See what people have to say about Foley and the Mansons. Same teams?”

Cass, who had no intention of letting anyone at these parties even suspect she could communicate with them without a translator, hooked her hand through his arm again.

Not only were people much more loose lipped when they thought you couldn’t understand them (and a certain type of asshole just knew that mute people were all stupid), she also wasn’t giving up a gold standard excuse to ignore anyone who tried to talk to her.

Tim, Damian, and Steph exchanged quick looks, then nodded.

“I’ll see if I can catch them somewhere on the tour,” Tim volunteered, nodding to Steph, “do you wanna see if anyone in our age range knows anything about Sam Manson? I’ve seen her before but never spoken to her..”

“Ours up to Dick’s, it looks like Foley’s a little younger than Jason,” she agreed, then turned to Damian, “I think you’re gonna have to stay in sight for the rest of the night though.”

Damian’s brow furrowed into its typical deep scowl lines. Boy would have wrinkles by 15.

“I shall find Father and see what he knows of Foley or the Mansons,” he decided sulkily, looking around the room.

Getting caught still stung, even if he was certain Foley was up to something suspicious. The real question was, what were Foley’s intentions?

Damian didn’t believe Todd would be willingly involved in anything that would hurt the family. Hurt Bruce, possibly, but nothing that would put any of his siblings in the potential crossfire.

The question was, what did Todd know about Foley?

Tim considered playing it subtle for about 30 seconds. Something about the look in Jason’s eye when he caught Tim’s changed his mind immediately.

Jason knew Tim and Dick had seen the real Danny. Jason was having fun. Why bother playing subtle when the game was on?

He put himself directly in their path and headed over, a nice, sociable gala smile on his face. Jason could try and duck and weave him, but that’d be obvious.

He didn’t, and even drew to a stop, something wicked in his smile as he turned to his companion.

“And this is my younger brother, Timothy Drake. Tim, this is…” he trailed off, clearly prepared to be absolutely steamrollered by the wide eyed young man.

“Tim Drake?! Hello, I’m Tucker Foley, I’m a huge fan of your work, some of the things coming out of WT this year were just incredible,” he gushed, holding out a hand to shake.

The hand was pretty much vibrating on its own. Tim took it and shook firmly, the smile growing just a little more genuine.

Score one for Demon Brat. He was a tech head. And, he noticed not hearing “Danny”. Jason didn’t seem upset, so this wasn’t the big game.

Tim wanted in on the big game.

“Hey, it’s always great to meet a fan. What kind of Wayne Tech are you rocking?”

Jason coughed suspiciously into his hand as Tucker dived into a pocket, pulling out… a weirdly clunky PDA? Definitely not something Tim had seen off the line.

“Oh, I don’t really go for prebuilt tech, but I’ve incorporated the motherboards from a couple of older WT tablets and got a couple extra gigs of RAM just to make it juicy,” he explained happily, turning it on.

Tim’s eyebrows rose as he moved in to peer at the screen. From the outside it looked like something Alfred might have used during his adventuring days, but it loaded like a dream.

Just from the few screens Tucker flicked through, Tim had to wonder just what this PDA was capable of. And maybe if he should be hanging out more in hardware hacker spaces.

Even Jason looked impressed, leaning in over Tucker’s other shoulder to watch as he ran them through a couple of different functions.

And that, the app they scrolled past super fast? That definitely said SpyWare, which was not something Tim had seen in an app store. Especially not for a device running WayneTech.

It was no Batcomputer, but for something built on older tech instead of better-than-new, it was easily the next best thing.

Tim looked back at the young man, significantly more impressed. This guy might actually be more interesting than the danger twink.

Just so long as he was on the right side.

“This is pretty cool, Tucker, I can’t wait to see what you could do with some of our newer stuff,” he said earnestly, and had the pleasure of watching the guy fucking melt.

“It would be such an honour to have you take more of a look some time, there’s soooo much I’d love to do with some of your newer tech and I have so many ideas,” Tucker absolutely gushed, and Tim stifled a laugh.

Even if he was a supervillain, Tucker Foley seemed like he’d be an easy one to handle. Hell, easy to get in his good books too.

If Jason didn’t mind him muscling in. Which, given the deeply satisfied grin on his face, he clearly didn’t.

“I’ve got some time free tomorrow, if you’re not in town for long?” Tim was genuinely considering giving this guy a job offer, an interview would save him some formalities to gather his paperwork.

And give Tim someone he knew for sure was both competent and willing to speak to him on the team. But…

Well. Jason wasn’t the only one with very few actual civilian friends. It was what made it so interesting.

And speaking of which, before Tucker could bite his hand off for the offer he raised it quickly, grinning. “On one condition.”

Tucker’s face fell just a little and Tim felt like an asshole, but Jason just raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the condition?” He asked for Tucker, who was stuck in some serious puppy eyes.

Tim smirked.

“You tell me who you’re fucking with tonight. And I want in.” No need to ask how if he could just join the game.

Tucker brightened right up too, stuffing the PDA back into a pocket that really shouldn’t have held it. Fuck Tim wanted to see more of it.

“Oh, sure! The more the merrier, right Jason?” He asked, glancing up at the taller man.

Jason shrugged, glanced around the room for a second, then nodded to a corner.

“Perfect timing, actually. Tuck, our mark is here. You go ahead and get started and I’ll fill Timmo in here as I follow.”

Turning as one, Tim and Tucker watched a well dressed couple at the top of the stairs, followed by a sullen young woman who was obviously their daughter and…

Danny. Real Danny. Arm in arm with the young woman.

Tucker’s grin was all mischief as he nodded, making a beeline for the couple.

“See you in five, guys,” he called over his shoulder.

Tim turned expectantly to Jason. Who grinned and linked an arm through his.

“Go have fun, Tuck.”

Was that why Jason was so open to Tim getting closer to his new boyfriend? If they already weren’t exclusive, that’d explain it.

Had Jason gotten himself involved in a polycule?

Danny’s New Years Eve was not going as well, hard as that may seem.

He liked to think he’d found a pretty nice suit for the event, Sam had footed the bill and sent him to her family’s outfitter. It was actually basically a smaller version of the one Mr Manson was wearing.

Sam’s parents had taken one look at him and called it cheap.

Now, the slow dawning horror on her mom’s face when Danny walked through the door? Classic. Incredible. Perfect start to the night.

First sight of Sam and the dress her parents had forced her into today? They might be burning the gala building down.

It was pastel purple. There were ruffles. There were bows. The bows were even still attached, which was an achievement on its own.

One probably only achieved because Sam had already planned her vengeance for later that day. This? This was just fuel for the fire.

He leaned closer while the parents were having their own little moment, trying to work out how they could have known and banned Danny. How they could get away with not bringing him.

“You look like Bo Peep,” he hissed from the corner of his mouth. Sam punched him.

“Shut the fuck up, you look like the Penguin,” she hissed back, eyes narrowed.

Danny snickered, watching the two adults in evening dress whipping themselves into a frenzy. His arrival had been very carefully timed; they had two minutes to get in the car or they’d be more than fashionably late.

“Think the Bat would get confused?” He asked half-interested, half wondering if Jason would save him.

Sam snorted a laugh and gave him a gentle shove, her mom reaching fever pitch in the background.

“Between you and the one person on Earth you’re taller than? Nah. Should we go get in the car?” She was about to move towards the vehicle when Danny caught her arm, grinning broadly.

“Fifty bucks for you to go give them your best baby girl eyes and ask what’s wrong.”

Sam visibly considered it, looking back at where the gesticulations were beginning to muss cuff-lines. Then she rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist.

“Nah, they’ll suspect something’s up. I want them to be surprised,” she added darkly, eyes already filled with a swirling bubbling vengeance.

Danny cackled and followed her to the door.

“Oh, that’s definitely gonna happen. I’m still having a hard fucking time believing this is real.”

The limousine ride had been tense to say the least, the older Mansons joining them just before the last second. They’d still gotten stuck in the winding trail of cars waiting to drop their guests off.

Mr Manson seemed to have resigned himself to Danny’s presence, and spent most of the ride lecturing him firmly on standards of decorum.

Every single part of Danny demanded he slump fully horizontal then and there, but Sam wanted them to be surprised, so best behaviour it was.

He let the older man correct his posture, did his best to answer seriously and respectfully, and charitably ignored Mrs Manson’s long suffering sighs. He could behave, when he wanted to.

He just wasn’t fucking going to.

He’d thought they were nearly at the fun part when the limousine finally stopped long enough for the door to open and let them out, but no. No, now they were in a standing line, waiting to be announced.

Mrs Manson had finally recovered her good mood, gushing excitedly to Sam, her husband, and the empty air above Danny about how this was Mr Wayne’s special request, such a traditional touch.

Clearly it meant the young Mr Todd was a romantic, and might be open to the idea of courting. Perhaps even looking to meet a suitable young lady.

If Danny was actually Sam’s date, he might have been offended. As it was, they were both hiding giggles behind their hands as often as they could raise them.

Finally, finally they reached the top of the stairs overlooking the main ballroom, an attendant checking an actual physical guest list before reading off the names.

Danny was going to fucking die again. The idea that rich people were actually still like this, in the twenty-first century? The laughter he was holding in would stop his heart.

And they hadn’t even gotten started.

Danny’s eyes swept the room automatically as they shuffled into place, their names called to the guests below.

Finding Jason was easy. He wasn’t the tallest man present, or even the broadest; he was in the same boring black and white penguin suit as most of the room.

He drew Danny’s gaze magnetically anyway, walking with a younger man with similar black hair and blue eyes. Probably a sibling. Jason might already be looping him in, they were making their way over.

Which meant… Danny slipped his arm down from Sam’s elbow til he could squeeze her hand, nodding subtly to the crowd.

Tucker Foley, entering stage left. From the corner of his eye he got to watch her grin go utterly feral as her parents reached the floor and Tucker stepped perfectly past the last small group.

“Mr and Mrs Manson! What a pleasure to see you here, it’s so nice to see more Amity Park faces!” He said smoothly, holding his hand out to shake.

Mrs Manson visibly recoiled, both hands snatching back to her bosom.

“You- you’re Sam’s little friend, aren’t you?” She asked sharply, gaze snapping all over his suit and stopping on his beret. She shuddered.

Tucker just kept smiling, turning to offer his hand to Mr Manson instead, who looked at it like it held something dead.

“That’s me! Tucker, remember? Isn’t this a great party? The decorations are just to die for.”

Danny stifled a snicker. No need to let on just yet as he and Sam drifted around to the side. From what he’d seen on the way over, Jason should be here soon.

“Oh, hey Tucker, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said loudly instead, reaching neatly past Mr Manson to shake his friend’s hand.

Mrs Manson very nearly slapped his hand away from it before realising that no, Danny was the other trash friend, he couldn’t be contaminated by touch.

Sam was fucking simmering in satisfaction, her hand now tucked in the crook of Danny’s elbow like a sweet little damsel. Tucker’s eyes shot over the both of them and his grin broadened.

“Yeah, it was a little last minute, but I got a VIP invite so I couldn’t say no.”

Mr Manson’s laugh was just barely on the right side of blatantly insulting as he gave Tucker a sharp once over.

“You? A VIP guest? And who are you here with?” He asked nastily.

Silly man. Tucker’d clearly already gone through the flunky gauntlet. He shoulda known there would be an answer.

And the answer appeared in the far too handsome figure of Jason Todd himself, wearing a suit that at ground level? Yeah, Danny finally understood just how a good suit could fucking highlight a man’s figure.

Jason somehow looked even broader in the shoulders, well muscled but also polished, and Danny was almost too distracted to hear his next words.

“Tucker, hey, sorry I lost you for a moment. Are these friends of yours?” He asked, voice smooth as silk.

For a beautiful, glorious moment Mr Manson drew himself up higher and Danny almost hoped they wouldn’t recognise Jason.

He’d been “dead” a long time after all, and this was his first night back in public. And, y’know, he was about three feet taller than his last gala. And that new puff of white hair, that should have been a clue.

And then the other guy had stepped up on Tucker’s other side, his grin just as friendly.

“Hi, Tim Drake-Wayne, I see you’ve met my brother Jason and his plus one?” He said cheerfully, holding out his own hand to shake.

Something subtle yet twitching pinched in Mr Manson’s face. He shook Tim’s hand, then gingerly accepted Tucker’s still outstretched hand like it was some kind of unpleasant rodent.

Jason, still grinning broadly, shook his hand third, then turned towards Danny and Sam.

“And who is this ravishing young lady?” He asked, and both Mansons immediately perked up.

“This is our daughter, Samantha,” Mrs Manson said eagerly, neatly swiping her hand down between Sam and Danny to move her daughter to the fore.

Danny considered resisting, he really did, but not laughing was taking up a good chunk of his brain. Jason took Sam’s hand, bent over it and kissed her knuckles, blue-green eyes watching her through his lashes.

“A pleasure to meet you, Samantha,” he said but now his voice was low, sultry, and oh dear even Danny was getting a bit squirmy. Jason wasn’t even looking at him!

Sam twitched and her mother’s grip tightened to white knuckled on her elbows, clearly suspecting the temptation led towards violence. Danny and Tucker knew her a little better, knew the smile she put on was being held back from giggles, not forced.

“Same. So, how was being dead?” Sam asked casually, keeping up her usual semi-abrasive front. Mrs Manson gasped, but Jason just smiled wider as he rose.

“Restful. But we don’t all get to rise again, so I intend to take the chance with both hands,” he all but purred, still not releasing her hand.

Sam gently but firmly tugged it free, reaching back to grab Danny’s and pull him forward.

“Great. This is my date for the evening, Danny,” she added, giving her mother a very convincing sharp look.

Danny didn’t really notice anything else. Just that his hand was in Jason’s now, and Jason’s hand was big and hot, and Jason looked big and hot, and he was giving Danny that same smouldery look he’d given Sam. He had to lock his knees against shaking.

They’d had a plan. There was a plan. What the hell was the plan?

“A pleasure to meet you too, Danny,” Jason said softly as they shook hands, his voice still low and just maybe also holding onto laughter. Then he seemed to snap out of it, turning back to the others. “And of course, you’ve met Tim?”

Sam rolled her eyes and shook Tim’s hand too, and flicked Tucker in the forehead when he held his out with a shit eating grin.

“We went to high school, asshole, we do not need a fancy introduction,” she told him sharply.

“Oh, you already know Tucker?” Jason affected great surprise, moving very subtly until it looked like he was gently edging Danny out of the conversation.

It gave Danny a chance to check out his shoulders and maybe sneak a peek at his ass in those pants, so it was a win in his book.

Mrs Manson’s too, obviously, as she was visibly brightening by the second, even bestowing a warm smile on Tucker himself.

“Oh yes, he’s been one of Samantha’s best friends since she was just a teenager! Very close to the family,” she oozed, and Danny bit the inside of his lip to hide a grin.

Even Tucker looked a little shell shocked, but he pulled the smile back up before it became obvious.

“How did you two meet, by the way?” Mr Manson asked, looking calculatingly between Tucker and Jason. “I wasn’t aware you’d visited Gotham before, Tucker.”

Tim swooped in to field that one, so he was definitely in on the act now. What fun.

“Oh, they met through my work. Mr Foley here does some very impressive technical engineering, and I came across him scouting for a very prestigious internship position at WE. Jason came early to meet me after work on the same day as Tucker’s interview.”

And Tucker was right back to wide eyed awe. Quickly scooping his jaw off the floor, he puffed himself up, overcompensating a little in the rush of glee.

“Yeah! I was super honoured to get that far, and then Jason and I got to chatting on my way out. Of course I had no idea who you were,” he added quickly, grinning at Jason.

Jason shrugged modestly, keeping most of his attention on Sam.

“My unfortunate circumstances left my social life the real casualty I’m afraid. I don’t really know many people my own age.”

“Oh, perhaps you and Samantha can spend some time together then,” Mrs Manson gushed, immediately jumping on the opportunity, hand in the small of Sam’s back fully shoving her forward.

Sam narrowed her eyes, giving her mother a reasonably convincing glare.

“Mom, I’m here with Danny,” she stressed, reaching back to grab Danny’s hand and pull him after her.

Danny, still enjoying Jason’s shoulders from behind, nearly bumped into her from the sudden tug.

Jason gave them both another shot of that dazzling smile, stepping to the side like he’d never been blocking Danny. Which was a shame, since it meant the Mansons could see him again.

Mrs Manson visibly soured, then brightened again as Jason spoke.

“I’d love to spend some more time with both of you. I was just giving Tucker a quick tour of the venue, since it’s his first Gotham gala. Would you like to join us?” He offered, eyes still fixed on Sam.

She gave a barely mollified huff and allowed him to take her other arm.

“Fine. I need to show Danny where the bathrooms are anyway,” she declared, letting Jason lead them away from her parents.

Tim gave some quick apologies and hurried after them, all five teens falling silent to hear the Mansons as they left.

Not that it was hard.

“Isn’t that the alley trash Bruce took in?” Mr Manson asked, his voice barely quieter than his regular conversation.

“He is a Wayne now and besides, he has better prospects than that Fenton,” Mrs Manson hissed back, at least pretending to be more discreet.

Danny stifled a snicker as Tim gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Lovely people, your folks. Jason’s filled me in about them not letting you bring your girlfriend,” he said to Sam, and she rolled her eyes.

“They’re the fucking worst. I take it you’re in?” She asked, and Tim nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh, always. I get dragged to these things more often than any of my siblings, so anything to make it more tolerable,” he added with a modest shrug.

Jason snickered, keeping Sam’s hand in his mostly for appearances.

“Your own fault for buying in to the family business, Timbo,” he teased and Tim stuck his tongue out at him.

“Yeah, well, it’s your fault I’m here this time, so the least you can do is keep me entertained,” he shot back cheerfully.

“Jason’s fault? How so?” Tucker asked innocently, keeping pace with Tim and trying not to look like an actual puppy. Game number two, Fucking With Siblings, was apparently still on.

Jason rolled his eyes, very intentionally not looking at Danny.

“Yeah Tim, why is it my fault?” He asked, clearly not expecting Tim to fess up.

Tim, of course, grinned straight at Danny.

“He told us we could meet his new friend the danger twink if we came tonight,” he said, entirely shamelessly.

Sam cackled, her grip tightening on Danny’s hand as she shot him a spectacularly filthy grin. Tucker sputtered and nearly tripped.

Danny felt his cheeks heat, but grinned back.

“Danger twink? Really?” He asked, turning and looking up at Jason. Whoooo still wasn’t looking at him.

“They came up with it,” he said stolidly, just the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

Tim nodded cheerfully, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by the next call from the top of the stairs.

“Mr Vladimir Masters!”

Danny actually did trip, stumbling into Sam and pushing her into Jason.

“Holy fucking shit what?!” He gasped, head whipping around a little faster than should be normal.

Tucker stared at him for a long, slow moment as Jason’s hands came up, steadying the pair of them.

“You fucking forgot Vlad was coming,” he said with a slowly dawning awe.

Danny, really doing his best not to beat his head off Jason’s very muscular arm, buried his face in the other man’s suit instead.

“I fucking forgot Vlad was coming,” he mumbled into very expensive fabric.

Sam burst out laughing, letting her weight sag into Jason too so she didn’t have to hold herself up.

He, the unfairly muscular bastard, was having no trouble supporting both of them.

Tucker’s entirely graceless snort of laughter almost covered Danny’s loud groan, and he treated himself to one bonk off a flexed tricep.

Ow.

Solid bastard. His life was just awesome today.

—————-

Next Chapter:

#dp x dc #dpxdc #dc x dp #danny fenton dead and loving it #dead on main #jason todd x danny fenton #the gala begins!!!!#and also is gonna be at least one more chapter #maybe two #i totally never at any point forgot vlad was gonna be there hush #just danny

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pancake-stack · 2 months

Text

Stuck with you

Hey guys, I'm in the middle of writing my StaticRadio fic and I'm very excited to share a snippet of the first chapter here while my beta reader looks through the rest. Please enjoy!

Summary:

When Vox gets trapped inside a virtual reality that grants his every desire, Alastor is sent in after him. Forced to play the role of devoted partner, Alastor must figure out how to get them both out of the program while learning how deep Vox's obsession for him goes and how he can use it to his advantage.

"And why, my dear, should we care that Vox was injured by his arrogance?"

Alastor delighted in watching Velvette scowl, gripping her bedazzled phone almost hard enough to crack the screen. Meanwhile, Charlie turned to him with the oh-so-predictable puppy eyes that practically begged him to finish hearing the media overlord out.

Turning away from the pitiful display, he sipped his coffee as nonchalantly as possible before focusing his attention back to Velvette, giving her a mocking grin as he leaned further into his chair. "After all, we are not responsible for his actions. If he wanted to take on an up-and-coming newcomer, that's his responsibility."

Scoffing at his lack of tact, Vaggie placed her hand tenderly over Charlie's arm to comfort her, muttering under her breath comments about his own massive arrogance that he chose to ignore.

With a sigh, she addressed the small group, "As much as I hate to admit it, Alastor has a point. This isn't our problem. We're here to rehabilitate sinners, not get caught up in Overlord drama." Seeing Charlie about to argue, she turned towards her and stopped her. "Honey, Vox is known to crush anyone that threatens his media empire. It's not surprising that someone would eventually manage to fuck him up."

It wasn't enough to deter, as Charlie continued her protests "But Vaggie, he's not just hurt- he's comatose! His friends are worried enough about him that they're here asking for help, isn't that a big step forward?"

Humming lightly, Alastor asked, "The same friends who allowed Vox to surround the hotel with his silly flying cameras?" His grin widened as he watched Charlie deflate slightly.

"Well yes- I mean no-"

"Who also allowed him to send spies to this establishment?"

"That one turned out okay-"

"The same friend group that consists of Valentino?"

She froze with this statement, glancing over at the bar area where the rest of the hotel residents were gathered, and he knew his point had hit home. Angel Dust hadn't moved from his stiff perch on the bar stool, keeping the group in his line of sight as he downed a truly impressive amount of drinks with a dark look.

Seeing the Princess' hesitation, Velvette reigned in her annoyance and attempted to regain an air of nonchalance as she started tapping away at her phone, "Alright bitches, if you do this favour for us, the Vees will give you prime advertising space. I've even managed to get the pissbaby to cut down the white prick's hours by half," Raising her eyes to meet Charlie's, "That a good enough deal for you lot?"

The short silence that followed was only broken by Angel Dust's sudden hacking as he choked on his drink, staring in shock even as tears started streaming.

Husk rushed over to help, patting his back helpfully and taking the offending drink, placing it safely out of reach for the time being.

After a few moments, Angel Dust could speak again, forcing the words through a raw throat. "Val's really gonna give me fewer hours?"

Velvette rolled her eyes with a huff, but at least deigned to answer with a quick nod. He barely managed to share a disbelieving smile with Husk before Charlie tackled him in a celebratory hug, Nifty not far behind.

Vaggie watched the scene with a small smile, keeping back. "If we manage to send out our advert properly this time, we might be able to gain more patrons."

As the staff started to chat excitedly about the opportunities that this could present them with, Alastor watched on in boredom, sipping his coffee once more while he studied Velvette, who had finally started to relax as the others got more animated.

Vox must truly be in a pathetic state if Velvette was willing to stoop so low as to offer fantastical favours for just an attempt at helping. And that wasn't to mention Valentino's reaction. He had heard how possessive he was over his employees, time off was practically unheard of. Yet here he was, offering his biggest star the chance to only work half his hours with zero consequences. That had been mentioned, at least.

He still had no real interest in helping any of the media overlords, but he couldn't deny how hilarious it would be if he was the one who helped his so-called 'biggest rival'.

The image of Vox awakening from his humiliating slumber before finding out that not only was it Alastor who helped him but that he now had to pay back that favour whenever Alastor wished it.

Oh, the expression of rage that would produce caused his grin to widen to an almost painful degree.

Yes, that would more than make the effort worth it.

Setting down his cup before slipping into the shadows, he reappeared directly behind the group and placed his hands on Charlie's unsuspecting shoulders. His iron grip was all that kept her in place when she started shrieking and tripping over her own two feet.

Before anyone else could scream or kick up a fuss, he let go of the Princess' shoulders to summon his microphone and address the group, swanning around them dramatically.

"Now my friends, if we want to be able to reap these rewards that were so graciously offered to us, we best be on our way. No more dallying, please- The sooner we start, the sooner it's over with!" A cheering soundtrack followed his words as he summoned a shadow portal on the nearby wall and began to herd the group towards it.

Or tried to- Velvette stepped in front of it, hands on her hips and displeased scowl on her face and she glared up at him.

"Oi, hold it! I'm not chaperoning seven of you fuckers through the tower. Choose three of you to go and that's it. I am not going to be treated like some kind of glorified babysitter."

Grappling back control of the situation, Charlie pushed her way to the front of the others and spun to face them with a tight smile. "Oh, yes. Ok, so I'll go as a representative of this hotel with Vaggie," At this, her girlfriend gave her a grateful smile, "Is there anyone else who'd like to join?"

Predictably, Angel Dust didn't look very keen on the idea of returning to his place of work if he wasn't needed. Similarly, Pentious was unlikely to run to his ex-idol's aid, and Husk wouldn't go if he wasn't forced. Nifty, however, was practically vibrating in excitement, smile sharp and dangerous at the chance to meet more 'bad boys'.

Alastor tapped her lightly with his staff to get her attention, then shook his head once she met his eyes. She pouted, but it was mostly for show, and she quickly focused her attention on a nearby cockroach.

Alastor smiled, pleased at the ease. Perhaps he could find some nice knives for her good behaviour.

Stepping forward with a twirl of his staff, he put a hand to the place where his heart should be and sighed loudly. "Why, how could I ever leave Vox in such a vulnerable state? The thought alone breaks my heart."

Ignoring the disbelieving looks around him, he focused on Charlie, who looked about ready to burst into song about him gaining compassion for another or something just as frivolous.

But of course, Vaggie had to speak up.

"Hun, are you sure about this? Those two have never got along. I don't know what he's planning but I don't trust him around Vox if he's vulnerable. Alastor's too much of an opportunist to let this pass him. We can't afford for this to turn into a shit show between overlords and get caught in the crossfire."

Repressing an almost violent eye-roll at the comment, he responded as cheerfully as he could manage. "Oh please, there's nothing fun about taking out an unarmed opponent."

Honestly, it was like these people didn't want him to have any form of entertainment outside of the hotel. No killing, no dismembering; he wasn't even allowed to torment the staff too much before it got turned into a lecture on respecting his fellow demon.

Not that it stopped him, but still.

#staticradio #radiostatic #fanfic #fanfiction #wip #hazbin vox #alastor

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kakashiislut · 7 months

Text

Who is it?~ GhostFace

Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5, Pt 6, Pt 7

———————————————————

“HEY!! You brought the stuff right?!”

You nod your head at Tatum, opening up your backpack as you’re walking towards the fountain.

You pull out a large container of fruit. Slices of watermelon, honey dew, strawberries, black berries, raspberries and some blue berries.

“NICEEEE!!!” Stu exclaims, hands already out for the container. You sit down in between Sid and Stu and pick at the green grapes they bought.

“Please, eat it all, I have so much more” you smile sweetly, Billy reaches across of you to grab a piece of melon.

“How do you gut someone?” Syd mumbles, voice icy.

“You take a knife and you slit them from groin to sternum…” Stu sounds like he’s done this before, but you simply stare.

“Hey, it’s called tact, you fuck rag.” Billy speaks sternly.

You only moved to Woodsboro, California 3 weeks ago…over a past incident…but you could tell something was up. You noticed it every day. Every time that you’re around them, Billy and Stu always looked at each other weird. Almost like they had something to hide, almost like they were doing something. If stu would act out, Billy would stare at him until he’d shut up. They always exchanged looks like they knew something we didn’t.

And Billy? Billy always stared like he despised everyone in the group. Even syd. His own girlfriend. You tried to brush it off, maybe he’s stressed? Maybe it’s his resting bitch face? Every time he’d stop smiling, it’s almost like he was deep in thought. Maybe that’s what it was. Just a resting face.

It didn’t matter anyways, someone was dead and that’s what was causing an outrage at school. You cut back into the conversation, something about Stu killing Casey.

“You killed Casey?” You mumbled, eyes flicking towards Stu then at Randy. “Stu was with me last night, okay?” Tatum confirms, “ya I wasss…” stu grins like a horny dog.

“Was that before or after he sliced and diced!” Randy impersonates a lisp, causing you chuckle a tiny bit.

“Fuck rag,” you say, causing Randy to frown, but you cut in again, “what’s a fuck rag?” You lean over to eye Billy.

“Fuck rag? Like a rag a man cum’s in when he’s done jerking off, or like a rag he uses to wipe up cum and sweat, I guess” Billy shrugs his shoulders.

You just stare at him for a bit. You turn to look at Stu and point at him “are you made out of cum, Stu?” You question. “HELL YA I AM!” He screeches, picking up a grape and tossing it in his mouth.

“Oh my god, stupidity leek!” Tatum groans, smacking her boyfriend in the chest.

Stupidity leek? What’s so stupid about Stu? He’s tall…large, clean, funny and so so so handsome. It’s something you can’t get over, it’s something you’d die for….no maybe..kill for? Stu was easily the man of your dreams and yet here he is, dating some stuck up cheerleader who doesn’t even know how to handle all that.

“Hey?”

Everything that comes out of her mouth is selfish and syd only says backhanded shit. Are they both even thinking at times? Fuck no.

“Hey!”

What the fuck is wrong with them. They’re basically asking to be bullied. Tatum’s pretty, but that’s all she got going for her. That SNOTTY LITTLE BITCH-

“HEY!”

You gasp, turning to look at syd, before looking at her hand. You pull your hand back. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even notice I was squeezing your wrist, syd. I got lost in thought, I’m sorry” you squeal, rubbing at her red wrist.

“I-it’s okay! I was just worried, you got quiet and s-stuff!” She stutters a bit, she looks scared, so you pull away and pack the empty container in your bag. “I’m leaving early today, my last two classes have substitutes.” You toss your bag on your shoulder.

“You don’t love us?” Randy whines, causing Billy to do the same. “I didn’t even get to ask you what you did yesterday…”

“I did nothing. I stayed home.”

“For the three weeks I have known you, that’s been your answer everyday that I’ve asked you.” Randy groans, “I’ll figure it out, ya know! If you have a boy friend or not” Randy yells after you as you walk away. You simply wave before heading to your car.

Maybe he’ll call again?

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floydsglasses · 5 months

Text

COLOR CODED- DAGGER EDTION

The Dagger's and the color of their personlity according to Empoweredbycolor and Pintrest

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw- 𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙄𝙂𝙊

Someone who is Indigo is Selfless, Introspective, Encouraging, Insightful, Responsible. They tend to look for the past while they are planning for the future. They love to stick to traditions. They are You are conscientious and reliable,Someone to have around in a crisis.

Like to be show off's in their lives, a flair for the dramatics are intuitive and perceptive, relying on intuition rather than gut feelingOn the opposite side, Indigo can be. Inconsiderate, Depressed, Fearful, Judgmental, Self Righteous

Jake "Hangman" Seresin - 𝙍𝙀𝘿

Someone who is red can be described as Attention-Getting, Assertive, Confident, Courageous, Strong. Those who are Red tend to be impulsive, count to ten and they are already gone. Always in a hurry, wanting to do everything right now. They have a strong will to alway's prove themsleves, passionate, even in their relationships, which can be intimidating. Are always active and are Hard workers and do not procrastinate. Though this does not mean they are a Good Boss. They are often respected by others, usually center of attention, like the brightness of Red they have a bright ego.

The down side of red they can be, Domineering, Over-bearing, Tiring, Intolerant, Rebellious

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace- 𝙎𝙄𝙇𝙑𝙀𝙍

Someone who is Silver is Soothing, Dignity, Glamour, Self Control, Responsible, Organized, Feminine Energy. Those who are Silver will be open to trying new things and new opportunities that are presented, Change does not frighten them infact they welcome it. They tend to have a good sense of self control and are good desion makers.

Though Silver is brought, it can be dark with traits such as, Rigid, Negative, Neutral, Indecisive, Insincere, Deceptive

Robert "Bob" Floyd - 𝘽𝙇𝙐𝙀

Someone who is Blue is Caring, Peaceful,Reliable, Responsible, Loyal, Trustworthy. Those who are blue usually think before they speak, known for being introverted. They live by their hearts, always putting others needs before their own. They keep a close circle of friends, can be emotional and aware of others feelings. They are trustworthy and honest, can make good friends or partner.

Despite their sensitive nature, blue can be dark. They can be Rigid, Superstitious, Sad, Emotionally Unstable, Unforgiving, Weak

Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia- 𝙂𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙉

Someone who is Green is, Tactful, Reliable, Loyal, Down To Earth, Generous, Sociable. They are the kind of person who know what to say in sticky situations. They process information very quickly and love to learn. They love group actives and being involved with their community. They Will alway's love to listen to you, and they have desire to loved.

Just like the color sake they can be Envious, Possessive, Materialistic, Over Cautious, Greedy

Rueben "Payback" Fitch- 𝙊𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀

Someone who is Orange is Sociable, Optimistic, Enthusiastic, Cheerful, Warm Hearted. They thrive on human social contact and social gatherings. Can be very competitive and adventurous. They are light hearted and love making people happy.

Even with the brightness of the orange, it will alway's set as with Orange comes, Insincere, Dependent, Over-Bearing, Self-indulgent, Pessimistic.

Javy "Coyote" Machado- 𝙋𝙐𝙍𝙋𝙇𝙀

Someone who is Purple is, Unlimited, Creative, Humanitarian, Intuitive, Selfless. Those who are Purple are known for their compassion and care for people. They are a gentle and free spirt. They are do not ask much in return except friendship. They are known for their Charismatic, alluring energy. Often looking at the world with rose colored glasses. They are good judge's of character.

Even the allure of their charming purple can be dangerous as they can be, Immature, ,Cynical, Fraudulent, Arrogant, Selfish, Self Indulgent

#top gun maverick #top maverick aesthetic #topgun moodboard #top gun moodboard #topgun maverick moodboard #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #natasha phoenix trace #robert bob floyd #mickey fanboy garcia #rueben payback fitch #javy coyote machado #moodboard #top gun #top gun au #top gun editior #tgm cast #top gun imagine #top gun headcannons

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danytherelentless · 8 months

Text

Through the Eyes of the Owl

Jon Snow x fem!reader

request: Hi there! Could you write a angsty Jon snow x female reader where she gets killed alongside him in the season 5 finale?

summary: Visiting the wall hopeful for an alliance with the last known living son of Eddard Stark, you end up stopped by their own politics.

warnings: major character death, murder, mentions to sexual assault (does not happen, just worried that it will)

notes: this is some weird mash up of show and book, so if it doesn't make sense to you, that's why. In the books Sansa is not given to the Bolton's, it's another girl called Jeyne Poole who they say is Arya.

The wall was an unfriendly place, especially for you as a woman. Part of you regrets coming here, but you can’t bring yourself to wholly feel so. What lies in the rest of the North is worse, being controlled by the treacherous Bolton's in the pockets of the Lannister's.

Here you are, however, with hope on your side that Jon Snow will listen. He has sworn his vows of course, he is the Lord Commander too, but this is for the sake of the entire North. For the revenge of his slaughtered family; for your own butchered kin. To save little Arya.

You are not the only one with such an idea, you know. Lord Manderly is good at pretending, but he told you enough of the truth for you to understand: the North remembers. Lord Bolton knows this, you do not doubt. House Stark and House Bolton have had wars in the past, but the North knows where it's true loyalties lie.

You sit nursing you ale feeling some pity for the brothers for having such awful drink, when the boy rushes in.

"My Lord! Your uncle! Lord Benjen's here."

Lord Commander jolts upright, "where?"

You don't have time to tell him it sounds strange to your ears, that no horn had been blown to signal the arrival of any rangers. You follow after him as he makes haste from his solar after the boy. You can't quite remember his name, but you remember his rage. The rage at him allowing the wildlings past, which you can empathize with having lost family to the raiders yourself, but understanding of it's necessity. He was but a child, how could he understand? You doubt you would be very understanding had your own kin been slaughtered like pigs before your own eyes. You were here seeking vengeance for that very reason, actually. Lord Jon, however, had been able to make a difficult decision which led to such burning hatred by his own men that you have to admire him for it. A good strong leader with the good of the people in his mind, in his every action. Son of Ned Stark indeed.

You follow his rushed steps into the courtyard and to where a group of black brother's are waiting, and you feel your stomach drop. Your owl swoops ahead, landing with a hoot, and you try to grab the Lord commanders arm, but he merely drags you through the huddle with him.

Your unease amounts, surrounded by men of the worst ilk with only one on your side and no sword at your hip. You wouldn't even go down swinging if they attacked you.

"Commander..." you try, but you see the lettered etched into the wooden cross as he does.

T R A I T O R .

He has turned to look as his men, but you still look to him at his side, frozen in fear. You pray that this is quick, the only fear on your mind rape, you would die with your dignity in tact if you could help it.

But you cannot. You know you are going to die, but the thought itself does not strike you with fear. You merely wish it wouldn't be here. Not here, not for another's political fallout. You are supposed to gain his support so that he will march back South and retake Winterfell with your house's backing and with that of other loyal men and women of the North. If you were to die here, it would have no meaning. None at all. Just another nameless corpse to be burned. To be forgotten.

You watched as the knife pierces his chest, as he lurches and lets out a choked sound.

Then you feel the first going into you. Then the second then the third. The pain is bright and burning and sudden. The last word on your lips is that of your owl's name as you slip into darkness, so quickly, you haven't realized that you are dead.

The next time that you open your eyes, you see your own corpse lying face down in snow next to the Lord Commander from eyes perched above.

I hope this is what you wanted

comments are greatly appreciated :)

#jon snow x reader #jon snow x you #jon snow #got x reader #got x you #asoiaf x reader #jon snow angst #major character death

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artiststarme · 1 year

Text

The Long-Lost Wheeler

This fic is based on this post from @kcsplace! I'm sorry it was such a long wait but thanks for letting me use your idea! There was no way I could compress all of my ideas into a one-shot so this will be a series. I hope you like it!

~*~*~*~

Eddie had never known who his mom was. He didn’t know her name or what she looked like. All he knew was that she left him with his dad when he was barely two months old and never turned around to look back. He would dream of meeting her as a child. His childish mind would dream up faceless women hugging him, making him lunch, playing games with him, and anything else moms were supposed to do with their sons. He would imagine being part of a happy family when he saw the other kids at school getting picked up by their moms and dads.

After so many disappointments though and so many years gone by, he gave up hope on ever meeting her. She didn’t want anything to do with her own kid? He didn’t want anything to do with her. The nameless, faceless woman that gave birth to him was nothing but a surrogate in his mind. Just a stranger that brought him into this hard world to abandon him when the going got rough. From then on, he viewed her with little more than mild disinterest.

Whenever he had asked his dad about her, he never had anything good to say. Old Richie Munson said she was a manipulative bitch that was always too good for everyone around her, always looking to find something better. His old man would get upset whenever Eddie brought her up and on one fateful occasion, shaved his entire head because ‘he looked too much like her’. After that, Eddie never asked his dad about her again.

A few months after he moved in with Uncle Wayne, he felt safe enough to ask him if he knew who his mother was. Wayne was a lot more tactful and nice with his description of her. He told Eddie that she was just a scared lady, unsure of what she wanted and too skittish to take care of little Eddie with his dad. He made her sound like leaving Eddie was a byproduct of escaping his dad and Eddie lost some of his anger towards her after that. He’d been trying to get away from his dad for eleven years, he couldn’t fault her for fleeing when she had the chance.

He thought about her even less after the Upside Down once he had a group of friends close enough to call family. They filled the void that his dysfunctional and fractured family had left behind. He also found an unexpected best friend in Nancy Wheeler. They had a lot more in common than he thought they would and they got on like a house on fire. Things were finally going well for Eddie which was ironic since it was a near death experience and week in hell that led to it.

Hellfire was back in action after being banned from the school due to its “Satanic connotations” and was now being hosted in the Wheeler’s basement. Eddie didn’t have his throne anymore or his chalice of Mountain Dew and it smelled a bit like a sweaty armpit. However, he was surrounded by his friends and the happiness he felt more than made up for the downsides.

They were on their fourth day of the campaign when everything blew up. The entirety of Hellfire club was situated around the Wheeler’s kitchen on the singular snack break that Eddie allowed over the course of the day. All of the boys were talking amongst each other while Eddie relaxed against the counter happily watching his friends being happy and munching on baby carrots. Everything was fine until Karen Wheeler walked in carrying several grocery bags that Eddie immediately went to help her with.

“Here, I can help you with that,” he said, leaning down to her height to take some of the heavier bags out of her arms.

“Oh, thank you. Mike never helps with the groceries, you would think one would want to help their mother-” Karen abruptly stopped talking once she made eye contact with Eddie. He stalled a bit in response before setting the bags down on the counter next to where he was previously situated.

She nodded at him jerkily before moving over to Mike and dragging him by the ear just out of sight, not out of hearing though. Eddie could hear what she said loud and clear.

“Michael, what is he doing here? You didn’t tell me that you were going to have that… that boy over to my house!” She sounded pissed and Eddie narrowed his eyes as he listened.

“Who, Eddie? He’s my friend, I told you he was coming over. You said it was okay for me to have my friends over to play Dungeons and Dragons today!”

“I want him out of my house, Michael. Don’t invite him over again, he’s not welcome here.”

“What the hell, mom? Why? He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Now, Michael!”

Eddie didn’t know what the fuck was going on but he knew when he wasn’t wanted. Prior to the Spring Break from Hell, he would have rebelled and relished in the unease his presence caused. However, with the majority of the town still gunning for his arrest even after he was proven innocent, he knew not to make waves.

When Mike turned the corner into the kitchen, still glowering and angry, Eddie clapped his hands to gather the rest of Hellfire’s attention. “Alright my fellow gremlins, let’s call it a day. We’ll resume our merciless quest next Friday. Expect a call with the updated Hellfire destination sometime next week. Godspeed.”

Understandably this caused an uproar with the Hellfire members protesting and even Mike tried to convince Eddie to stay. “No, no, no, we’re all done for the day. We don’t want to overstay our welcome. We’ll wrap up the campaign next week. End of discussion!”

He gave everyone one last look and made this way back downstairs to pack up his things. He didn’t really blame her, he thought as he grabbed his things hastily. He wouldn’t want an alleged murderer in his house either. When he made his way past Karen on his way out of the house, he paused in front of her.

“Thanks for letting us play here a few times. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, Mrs. Wheeler. I didn’t mean to. We’ll meet somewhere else next time,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

And with that he walked out of the Wheeler’s house with the dulcet sounds of Mike screaming at his mother following behind him.

When he brought it up to Nancy just a few days later, she was perplexed. She had no idea on why her mother would be so vocally against having Eddie in the house. Karen Wheeler was known to be the perfect doting mother. To have her kick Eddie out of her home and to hate him so blatantly was almost unfathomable. She told Eddie that she would get to the bottom of it and she did. She didn’t expect to discover that Eddie was her long-lost brother that her mother abandoned. Now how was she supposed to tell Eddie?

Permanent tag list: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @pyrohonk @straight4joekeery @trippypancakes @conversesweetheart @estrellami-1 @suddenlyinlove @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @perseus-notjackson @anaibis @merricatty @maya-custodios-dionach @grtwdsmwhr @manda-panda-monium @lumoschild @goodolefashionedloverboi @mentallyundone @awkwardgravity1 @kcsplace

#steve harrington has a type and they're related #Nancy and Eddie are best friends after Spring Break #this was supposed to be a one-shot but got a little bit out of hand #the long lost wheeler #stranger things #eddie munson #nancy wheeler #mike wheeler #karen wheeler #eventual steddie

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kasagia · 1 year

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Hi there! Could you do an imagine where the reader is elenas younger sister and she used to date stefan in highschool( instead of stefan and elena) but after klaus arrives to town her and klaus fall in love despite elena and the mystic falls gang being absolutely upset with for being so and try to warn her about klaus and she doesnt listen and ends up moving to new orleans with klaus and leaves a heartbroken stefan whos still in love with her and a very dissappoitned friend group but after she goes to new orleans she realises that everyone was right and that klaus was very toxic and possesive over her and she regrets moving and doesnt really know what to do(you could write about what she does next if you can)

Sorry,if this was too long and thank you

Together(doesn't feel right at all)

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x Gilbert!reader, past!Stefan Salvatore x Gilbert!reader Summary: After you dump your boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore, for the big bad wolf, Klaus Mikaelson, and move to New Orleans with him, you start to realize his toxic, possessive behavior towards you. But is there still enough time to leave the devil who seduced you and go back to your normal life? Warning(s): toxic and possesive behaviour, angst, escape, curses, unhealthy relationships, panic attack, maybe dark!Klaus but idk - this man could kidnap me and I would thank him, so... Word Count: 5,3k+

Something just isn't right I can feel it inside The truth isn't far behind me You can't deny

In hindsight, you should have known better.

Everyone warned you against him. Your sister Elena, your ex-boyfriend Stefan, Demon, Bonnie, Caroline, Katherine, even his own siblings.

But no, you knew better. You could change him, you saw him as a good man who might be harsh to others but would never dare to do you any harm. A man who would care for you until his last breath. Who would never intentionally make you feel insecure or uncomfortable. Which will never make you fearful or anxious.

But now, as you sit on his bed in his bedroom in New Orleans after he locked you here last night when you threatened to leave him and that damn city in a fit of anger, you feel like he might have crossed this line with you a very long time ago.

You couldn't deny that the truth wasn't far behind you.

But it was too embarrassing to face the fact that you voluntarily abandoned Stefan—your sweet, always supportive boyfriend—for this devil in disguise who seduced you with his pretty words.

Your mother may have been right to say that Satan no longer wears horns and a tail. He had beautiful blonde curls and captivating blue eyes glued to a perfect face.

And that's what Klaus was like from the beginning. Too perfect. From your first meeting, he was your (in this case, black) knight in shining armor. Always gallant, always tactful, always charming.

Your Mr. Right.

"I love you Y/N. No one can love you as much as I do. Not even your sweet Stefan."

"We belong to each other. Our souls have been connected since the beginning of the world and I can only thank this higher power that I finally found you on my way."

"Run away with me, love. Run away from this rotten town and your friends, who are jealous of our love, to the place, where we can be together and don't bother about others opinions."

"I promise you love. I will treat you like a queen. You will lack nothing, everyone will be at your beck and call, my beautiful human, whom I love more than my own life."

Yeah… you should know better than to believe those whispered promises of the devil kissing every inch of your flesh.

When I turn the lights out When I close my eyes Reality overcomes me I'm living a lie

But it was a beautiful lie he made up; you had to give it to him.

The most powerful man in the world, hopelessly in love with you - an ordinary human, the doppelgänger's sister.

Staring emotionlessly into the mirror of the dark room, you began to wonder how you got into your current situation.

"Klaus. We need to talk."

I announced as I entered his art studio. The man was painting his latest painting - New Orleans spread out at his feet. I stopped being his muse a long time ago. Now this city was his enemy, best friend, and lover. And I became his favorite toy, the thing he was used to having. I had to face the truth and escape the possessive hybrid while there was still time.

"Later, love. I'll finish in a moment and come to our bed."

"This is what we need to talk about."

"Our bed?" he asked, annoyed by my presence. "What's wrong with it? I just replaced it yesterday."

"I want to move out of here." my confident, firm statement effectively snapped him out of his painting trance. He put down his supplies and gave me his full attention for the first time in two weeks.

"What?"

"We're not good to each other. I think it will be better..."

"You're joking, right? Love, you can't live without me." he interrupted me, laughing amusedly as if I had told him a funny, stupid joke.

"Well, over the last few months, I've proven that I'm doing great. Besides, I don't remember you holding my hand before I turned seventeen. I don't need care, Klaus."

"A few months? I was right next to you all this time; are you hallucinating, love?" his feigned concern, laced with a clear desire to unnerve me, almost worked. But I'd replayed that moment too many times in my head to succumb to his games so quickly.

"Do not make fun of me. I'm serious. I've had enough, Klaus. Your condescending behavior, your sudden outbursts of jealousy, and the slow erosion of my independence. You think I didn't notice how suddenly my credit card and my car keys disappeared? Or how suddenly every man or woman, after talking to me, magically ends up in the hospital? Are you going to punish your siblings too for talking to me?"

"It's all up to you, love. You can start acting like a good girl again, or I'm going to get a little... nastier."

"Nastier? Could you be even nastier than you already are?"

"Be careful, love. I'm not the one of us with mortal siblings that could be killed at any time."

"Are you threatening me with the deaths of my own siblings? Where is your fucking border, Niklaus?! Look at us! This is toxic, we're in a toxic relationship! You promised me that you would never, ever treat me like one of your enemies, like a fucking impostor, but that's all you're doing since these damn three months we've been here! I'm not going to be part of your plan or play your fucking toy anymore. This is ending right here. I am leaving, and I do not want to see you again."

As you might have guessed, you hadn't even taken a step out of his studio. He pressed some liquid-soaked cloth over your mouth and nose, and you passed out in his arms. Now you are here, locked in his room, which you once thought was yours too, and waiting for the hybrid's decision. What you wouldn't give to hear Elena's or Stefan's calm voice right now.

When I'm alone I Feel so much better And when I'm around you I don't feel together

"Oh! Hi, sweetheart." Klaus' sudden arrival in the living room startled me. The man stared at me wordlessly, watching my every move carefully. Still, I smiled at the oddly behaving hybrid and tried to talk to him. Apparently, something must have been bothering him since he has been so… different lately. Maybe today I'll be lucky. "How was your day? You disappeared from our bed earlier; I didn't even get a chance to say hello to…" the shattering of glass against the wall dangerously close to where I was standing effectively silenced me.

"DON'T LIE TO ME! I saw you with Marcel in the pub earlier. If you missed me so much, what the hell were you doing with him?!"

"Klaus. Please, try to calm..."

"Don't even try to calm me down! You're cheating on me with this lesser vampire?! While I'm tearing my veins out to keep your mortal ass alive every damn day?!"

"I DON'T KNOW what you have seen, but if you stay a little longer and listen to us, you will know I was talking about you. I'm worried about you; you act completely different than when we were in Mystic Falls."

"You don't even realize how incorrect this comparison is." he laughed at me, turning his back on me to walk over to his minibar and pour himself a drink.

"Sweetie, maybe it would be better for us, if we took a short vacation? Just you, me, and some nice place. What do you think? We can even go back to Mystic Falls." I tried to ignore his furious provocation and smooth things over.

"So you could see your Stefan?" he said it bitterly, drinking a whole glass of bourbon at once..

"What?" I turned to stare at the angry, jealous hybrid in disbelief.

"Never mind. It's a ridiculous idea anyway. I have to stay here and finish things. I can't just take breaks. Do you know how many enemies I have here against me and how hard I have to work to keep my family and you safe? Knowing your girlfriend is a slut who throws herself at any man she comes across doesn't help at all." that's it. I had officially had enough of his condescending, humiliating behavior.

"You know, you might be right. I was slutty whore enough to get into your fucking bed." I growled furiously, trying to get out of the room and away from his overpowering presence. However, the original wouldn't let me have the last word. He grabbed my elbow in a firm, bruising grip.

"Stop acting like that or…"

"Or what?! What did you gonna do?! I'M ALREADY IN HELL! Killing me would only be a favor on your part."

Suddenly, he pulled me to him, so I crashed into his chest. He wrapped his arm around me in a tight hug, not letting me move an inch from him, and with a tenderness that was surprising for me at this moment, he ruffled the stray strands of hair that fell over my eyes in the heat of our argument.

"Who said I would get rid of the most valuable thing in my life? No, love. You will never run away from me. You sealed your bloody fate the moment those alluring, pretty lips smiled at me in challenge." he came towards me, with each step he took towards me, he forced me to back up until I bumped into the wall. "You're mine. And no one, not even you, can change that now." he said, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Fuck you."

"You want? I didn't know you were into make-up sex, love. I would have used it a long time ago." his devilish smirk used to make my heart flutter; now I couldn't feel anything but revulsion.

It doesn't feel right at all Together Together we've built a wall Together Holding hands we'll fall Hands we'll fall

"Y/N?" Rebekah's whisper snapped you out of your thoughts about your toxic relationship with her brother. "Are you there?" you frowned as you walked over to the door and put your ear to the cold wood.

"Bekah?" after a while, the crunch of metal could be heard in the quiet mansion, and the door to your makeshift cell was opened.

The blonde's sympathetic gaze sent chills down your spine, and the reason you've been so persistent in avoiding Klaus's siblings as well as him was instantly reminded of you. All those sad and anxious looks made you sick to your stomach. You preferred to indulge in beautiful, dead silence in a corner of the house than to be in the same room with any of them. At least no one treated you like a victim.

"Y/N. Come. We need to hurry up. I don't know how much time we have left." she took your hand carefully and gently dragged you to the porch in front of the house.

"Rebekah, what are you doing?" you asked and pulled your hand from her gentle embrace.

"I'm rescuing you from my brother. He completely went mad after your argument. He's more paranoid than usual, and believe me, it's only a matter of time before he goes back to his maniac state. You're not ready to deal with this. You're just a human; you can't protect yourself from him anymore. Elijah thought maybe you'd be his anchor and help keep him normal, but this has gone too far, and I'm not going to watch what he does to you anymore. So I'm giving you a chance to leave."

"This isn't just about me. I can see it in your eyes. He did something to you, and you want to get revenge on him; make him pay for it. I want to know what he did."

"He's holding Marcel somewhere. I can't let my brother kill him before I get to him, so I'll focus his attention on something else."

"On my escape."

"Exactly."

"This won't work, Rebekah. If Klaus has a plan, sooner or later he will carry it out. He will not be stopped by the loss of some simple mortal."

"I know something about my brother, Y/N. Maybe he's now in his imperious mood and wants to take control over this city, but he loves you. In his crazy way, he cares about you. Not because he claimed you as his, but because he has some feelings for you that he may not understand clearly. I've never seen him like this before with any woman. But he is Niklaus after all. His hunger for power is greater than anything else." the blonde stopped, noticing something over your shoulder. She sighed with relief. You turned to see a black car pulling into the driveway. "Finally."

"Who is that?"

"You will see. You will be happy." she handed you a bag that was waiting outside the front door and led you to the parked car. After a while, the only person you wanted to be with you ran out of it.

"Lena?"

"Y/N!" the brunette screamed, throwing herself on your neck and hugging you tightly. "I missed you so much." you suddenly felt someone take the weight off your bag. You pulled away from your sister to look at Stefan Salvatore himself. Someone you least expected to be your savior.

"Thank you, Rebekah. We'll be fine from here."

"Take care of her!"

"We will. Get to the car, ladies. We have a long road ahead of us."

Without a single word of explanation, Elena grabbed your hand and dragged you into the backseat, positioning herself so she could hug you from behind and comb your hair. You sighed, grateful for a little peace and comfort from her reassuring touch.

Stefan threw your bag into the front seat and started the car, leaving this damn city as fast as he could.

To your great relief, none of them gave you sympathetic looks or words of comfort. You drove in a pleasant silence, punctuated by the sound of the engine running as Stefan gave it more throttle. You thought you were going to get dizzy from how quickly you dodged the burning lampposts, the light of which was pouring in and out of the car window like you were at a disco.

You just couldn't shake one lingering thought from your mind that had been nagging you ever since Elena had shoved you into the car with a pleased, malicious smile from Rebekah.

Will Klaus be okay?

This has gone on so long I realize that I need Something good to rely on Something for me

As it turned out, Stefan drove you to your parents' old summer house near the mountains. You were glad that they chose this place as your hiding place. You've always hated it, but at least your forced stay won't destroy any of your childhood memories.

And judging by Elena's amused smirk when she saw your grimace, you guessed that her choice of location wasn't so accidental.

Your bodyguard (that's what you've called Stefan since you arrived) and your sister have been living here for two weeks now. You haven't had a single message from Klaus during this time. Nothing. No threatening text messages, no drunken, desperate voicemails begging for your return, or at least one goddamn call. Nothing. Totally. You were more worried about his silence than if he was bombarding you with a thousand messages. You wondered how much of that was deliberate to scare you, and how much of it was possible that his sister had finally finished him off.

You shuddered at the thought that he might be dead.

"Are you cold?" Stefan's question was the only prejudice on his part until he threw the blanket over your shoulders. "It's not the time of year to think on the balcony at night, would you agree?"

"Maybe. But sometimes we do stupid things. Probably too much in my case." you tried to make a joke, but you met his worried look instead. "Come on. It was funny."

"That he used you and mentally abused you? You have a messed-up sense of humor."

"He didn't abuse me. He was just…"

"He treated you like a favorite toy, gradually restricting your access to the world and making you feel like you couldn't live without him. If you call it caring, you're going to go to New Orleans and rip out his cold heart, if only he has one."

"Don't talk like that. You know he would kill you before you even reached him."

"You sound like you still have feelings for him even after he tricked you into loving him and locked you in the gilded cage of New Orleans."

"Don't sound so offended. It's none of your business what I feel for him. I'm not your girlfriend, Stefan."

"No. But you used to be my princess." he replied bitterly.

"And yet, I truly wanted to be his queen. He didn't trick or fool me into loving him, Stefan. Everything I felt for him was real. I know this seems silly and naive to all of you, but… you didn't see him as he was when it was just the two of us. You didn't see the gaze he gave me every time he looked at me. He was so charming, loving, and caring, and with him I felt… free. Not for as long as we can see, but still. I felt like he was the only one for me."

"You can still come back to me. I never stopped loving you, Y/N. Not even a little bit. This nightmare can end right now. Just say a word."

"Stefan, you know I'll always love you." you began, taking his hand and looking into his eyes, feeling guilty for his hopeful look. "But I'm not in love with you anymore, and I don't know if I could be ever again. I'm so sorry, Stefan, but you deserve someone better than me. Someone who'll love you and adore you, who'll be a princess for your prince charming."

"I don't know if I'll ever find someone else I can love as much as you."

"Believe me, you'll find. One day on your way will appear some beautiful, less fucked up girl who will give the world to you, but… it won't be me, Stefan."

"How can you, after everything he's done to you, still care about him?"

"He's half of me, Stef. My worse half, I have to admit, but I can imagine myself with someone else. And maybe I'm stupid and blind and have too much hope in him, but I know that there is good in him. Maybe I can't reach him, but someday someone will. And everyone will see the man I fall in love with. Not his bad, terryfing a shell he created to protect a broken boy inside him." he leaned towards you placing a tender kiss on your forehead.

"I'm afraid you might not live to see that day, Y/N." he whispered, leaving me alone with my thoughts on the balcony.

You sighed, closing your eyes and feeling a single tear roll down your cheek. It would be so much easier to love Stefan than Klaus.

When I'm around you When I'm around you I don't feel together I don't feel together When I'm around you When I'm around you I don't feel together, no I don't feel together

"My sister is going to be so mad at me." I groaned, turning in his arms to bury my face in his pillow.

"Well. I wish your sister wasn't the first thought that comes to your mind after our first hot, long night together, but I can live with that as long as I have you in my bed."

"Don't make fun of me!" I tapped him on the arm, smiling as I heard his beautiful, carefree laugh. "This is a serious situation, Miakelson. If she knew I slept with you the same day I broke up with her boyfriend's brother, she'd gouge my eyes out."

"I think they were well aware of the tension between us. Beyond me is how you managed to stay faithful to him and not succumb to my charms earlier. You resisted bravely, love."

"What can I say? You followed me around until you finally begged. In hindsight, I should have let you chase me a little longer."

"So you like it when I beg? Should I get down on my knees then, for my queen, and beg her to let me please her again?"

"Insatiable bastard."

"Only for the touch and affection of my queen." I pulled away from him with a mischievous smirk, watching his face contort in feigned horror as his eyes still shone with pure amusement and happiness. "Oh, no... I know that smile. What did my cruel queen has in mind?"

"So, can I officially call you my boyfriend?" he groaned in embarrassment, pulling away from me and covering his face with a pillow.

I laughed as I climbed on top of him and removed the pillow from his face. I lay down on top of him, resting my chin on his chest, close to his collarbones. We stared at each other for a moment, completely infatuated with each other. After a while, Klaus reached out his hand and brushed my hair behind my ear. His hand slid from my cheek, over my shoulder, arm, and hand, until he stopped, playing with my fingers. He kissed each of my fingers before suddenly slipping something onto my ring finger.

I pulled my hand out of his grip, examining the new simple gold ring on my finger.

"Don't worry. It's not what you think. I'm not going to propose to you with some ordinary ring. You can trust me to go all the way, then."

"So what is it?"

"There were no such illogical, unstable phrases as boyfriend or girlfriend in my day. If two people liked each other, they usually courted each other. I believe in your day it's called a promise ring."

"Aside from the fact that you almost proposed to me, or at least declared your intentions to do so, and did one of the sweetest things in the world, are you implying that those looks and gifts and all that romantic talk and gestures weren't courtship?"

"Of course not. It was meant to arouse your love for me. Now I can confidently declare my feelings and devotion."

"As if you were holding yourself back or feeling insecure in any way."

"Was I too…"

"A little" I cut him off before he could finish. "But that's one of the reasons I felt for you. Now, kiss me and delight your queen, as you said earlier."

"As you wish, my love." he murmured, kissing me with all his fervor.

You woke up, looking around the room in disappointment. You've had these dreams ever since you left New Orleans. Flashbacks to those good times, when your self-interest was untainted by his problems and manipulations. When butterflies appeared in your stomach every time your skin touched.

You read in some stupid teenage magazine that it's safer to choose the boy who doesn't make you feel butterflies in your stomach. This one would keep you safe. However, knowing what awaits you as Klaus' girlfriend in New Orleans, would you change your decision? Probably not. Would you change your behavior? Definitely yes. You would never let him have that kind of control over you a second time.

You jumped out of bed abruptly as you felt nausea approaching for the fourth time this week. As you leaned over the toilet, you felt someone hold your hair and stroke your back. You relaxed, sensing Elena's presence behind you. When you finished and started brushing your teeth to get rid of that awful taste, you caught your sister's worried look in the mirror.

"What?" you asked, spitting toothpaste into the sink.

"Y/N, I don't think we can avoid this topic any longer." she sighed as she walked over to the bathroom cabinet and took out a rectangular package. She threw it in your direction. You frowned as you recognized what was currently in your hands.

"Are you crazy? Pregnancy test? Like, how could I be pregnant by a vampire?"

"Just do it for me. Please." she asked, looking at you with her most adorable pleading eyes.

"You're going crazy in your old age, but okay. I will grant your stupid request. But get out. I'm not going to pee in front of you."

My heart is broken I'm lying here My thoughts are choking on you my dear On you my dear On you my dear

Elena was right… you were pregnant.

You stared in disbelief at the positive pregnancy test, wondering how this could have happened.

Klaus was a vampire, so it was impossible for him to get you pregnant, but you stood in the bathroom crying over the positive test you had, at one point throwing it down the sink in panic.

Even if you were somehow magically pregnant with Klaus, this couldn't be happening right now. Not while you and he were standing on shaky ground in your relationship. Not when he acted like an obsessive bastard who would surely lock you in his room for 9 months or more after learning that a bun was in the oven for fear of something bad happening to you two.

However, despite everything, all you felt was an unimaginable longing for the father of your (possibly existing) child. He should be here, right next to you, you should rejoice with him about this news and it should be the happiest day of your life.

Instead of this, all you get was the cold, gold ring on your finger, which was making fun of your current situation. And the first tears, which were already dripping from your cheeks onto the floor.

But you decided to pull yourself together to make sure you weren't only concerned about yourself anymore.

"Elena! Can you call Bonnie?!"

When I'm around you When I'm around you I don't feel together I don't feel together When I'm around you When I'm around you I don't feel together, no I don't feel together

"I will open!" you screamed, jumping off the couch hoping it was the pizza you ordered.

You started making excuses a week ago, saying that the baby and you needed more food, and you ordered absolutely everything you wanted. Including fast food, chocolate, ice cream, and weird midnight cravings. To be honest, you were beginning to fear that one day you might want to drink blood, but that was a problem for another day. Now you had to get the pizza.

The problem is that when you opened the door, you saw someone completely different than the pizza delivery guy. Unless Klaus decided to make extra money and is a lousy pizza delivery guy.

"Hello, love."

Shit. You shouldn't text Rebekah that you need to meet. But hey! You thought the blonde had pacified him. So it was appropriate to inform any of the Mikaelsons that they were going to be uncles/aunt, wasn't it?

"Hi." his messy sight didn't make you feel any better. Apparently, this month has not been easy for him either.

"Can we… can we talk?"

"Talk. For obvious reasons, I have no intention of letting you into the house." you replied coldly, not thinking about making it easy for him. He screwed up, you will let him try to fix you two now.

"Of course. I wouldn't blame you at all if you slammed the door in my face." he replied, laughing, trying to lighten the situation somehow.

You raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed, which made him even more embarrassed. It's probably the first time you've seen him in such a precarious state. He always knew what to do and when to do it. Apparently, he must have really come here as quickly as he could, without any plan in mind. All right. At least you'll know his true intentions sooner.

"Honestly, I should probably do that. But I think we've long established that I don't usually do what I'm supposed to do. You have five minutes."

"Where to start here…"

"An apology would be fine. So is the story of how Elijah managed to get your mind back to normal after accusing everyone of treason and scheming behind your back."

"We both know you don't believe in empty words like sorry, but if you want to hear it, I'm more than ready to beg on my knees for your forgiveness, and that really means something, love. Besides, it wasn't my brother's doing. After you left, something in me... snapped. But the situation made it impossible for me to find you so quickly and try to make amends in any way."

"And what was that?"

"I couldn't believe what Elena told me, but apparently it's true." your conversation was interrupted by Stefan, who stood next to you in the doorway. Klaus winced as Salvatore put his arm around your shoulders, but didn't say a word.

"Stefan." Klaus greeted him coldly, completely surprising you that he hadn't tried to pounce on the younger vampire.

"Klaus. I knew you had some impudence, but I thought after 1000 years you'd learned any decency and you will left her alone."

"Stefan." you scolded him, breaking your eye contact with the hybrid for a moment.

"No, Y/N. You shouldn't be standing here talking to him, much less opening the door for him."

"Nobody, not even you, will tell me what to do." you growled, flicking his arm off of you, much to the original's relief and delight.

"Do you really care about him that much? Can't you just walk away from him?" Like you did from me. He forget to add. You saw this resentment in his eyes, and you couldn't blame him for it. He had a right to feel that way after you broke his heart.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because he's going to be a father of my child." wow. It's very interesting how one sentence could make these two stunned.

"What?'

"Child?"

"Yes. In a very nutshell, as a half werewolf, you can have children. Surprise! You should start using some protection. Stefan, could you give us a second?" the shocked vampire obediently walked away, leaving you alone with the befuddled hybrid. "Are you okay? You look pale. Do vampires faint?"

"You're pregnant. With my baby."

"Yes, I thought we already established that."

"And you… do you want to keep it?"

"Yes and it would help if you didn't call our baby it."

"Try to put yourself in my position. This morning I was in New Orleans fighting with my siblings, Mikael and Esther and now…"

"Wait. What? Your parents? What happend? Are you okay?" in your concern, you didn't even notice that you had left the house. You were standing in front of him and touching his face, looking for any sign of injury.

"I'm fine, love. I'm perfectly fine now." he murmured, leaning against your hand, absorbing every ounce of touch you were giving him.

You sighed, resting your forehead against his, letting yourself get lost in the familiar scent of his perfume for a moment. The mere fact that he didn't move an inch to touch you made you believe in his sincere desire to repair your relationship (as well as irritating that even though he was so close, you still had a long way to go to reunite.)

"Don't even think those sweet eyes of yours will make me forget what happened. You're going to have to do your best to make up for the fact that instead of talking to me about your concerns, you decided to make sure I didn't abandon you by making me as dependent on you as possible."

"So you still think my eyes are sweet?"

"Shut up." I murmured. Klaus pulled away from you so he could see your face. His serious expression dispelled the playful mood beetwen you two.

"I love you, Y/N. I'll do anything to get you to trust me again, but until that happens, we'll do everything on your terms. I'll buy you whatever house you want, a car, a dog, a cat—name a thing and you'll get it. I will make sure that you and our child do not lack anything. Even if you decide we shouldn't be together."

"You must really want me if you're ready to buy me a cat."

"I remember you arguing with me that they were Satan's spawn." he rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around my waist tentatively. I hugged him to me, allowing this small expression of tenderness between us. I missed him just like that.

"I think you're exaggerating it a bit, love. I called them my natural enemies."

"Of course, wolfie." I said, hugging him again.

Maybe, together, we do feel right after all.

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kissitbttr · 1 month

Note

Ok so we’ve seen inspiration behind Frat!Miguel, but what about my boys Beck, Carlos and Glen? 💌

AAAA IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONEEEE!!!

beck is supposedly to be the most serious and responsible one of the group. he keeps everyone in tact, gives people a reality check (including miguel even if that means disagreeing with him). back in high school, he was the dude who’s known to be hooking up with girls, faking an id, stealing liquors and rarely goes to class. but all that changed when he went to college because he realizes how much shit is getting serious. beck is actually inspired by my guy best friend! a total douchebag in high school but turned his life around in college.

he is a real gentleman who loves taking care of his family, looking out for his friends, getting straight As while partying every week (balance is a must☝🏻) beck understands his priorities now. football, work and college. just like how my best friend is now! his name is jonathan and i am so fucking grateful at how well he becomes:)

carlos is the most unserious out of the group. the boys kinda has to babysit him just so he won’t go off track. he’s actually inspired by niall horan. HAHAHA. niall is one of my favorites 1d member back then. he’s funny, talented, has great comedic timing and really, really obnoxious (in a good way!). you can always count on carlos with a keg!! known to be the party goer, all day every day, smooth with the ladies;))) got into trouble for hooking up with a senior’s girlfriend once dbhsjshsh and beck had to slap him silly for it. carlos looks up to muñeca so much that he often needs her advice and insights about pretty much everything. calls her mom sometimes, too. begs to miguel to never break up with her because otherwise he would lock him and muñeca in a room until they figure shit out.

and glen, isn’t exactly inspired by anyone tbh. i just needed one more frat guy that seems to be clueless about everything that’s happening around him HAHAHAHA. he gets pretty confused about how to function during parties sometimes, prefer sitting back in the corner with a drink instead so he doesn’t have to socialize. he gets pretty awkward around girls, but that doesn’t stop them from fawning over him. extremely athletic and skilled in football. that’s why he gets recruited instead of having to try out.

he loves trying out different sports. so if you ever to date him, get ready for very productive dates!

oh and their face claims!! in case you guys are wondering

beck:

glen:

carlos :

#frat!miguel

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koko-doodle · 8 months

Text

Demon Vamp AU: Chapter 1

Heyo! I’m excited to share this FNAF x Undertale story mash up with you guys, I think it will be quite a doozy. This is the humble beginnings of your tragic life when everything changed. There are some depictions of violence (fighting monsters) but the most graphic scene of this chapter involves decapitating a hellhound. Nothing explicit, I’d say it’s like PG to PG13ish. I don’t write gore stuff, grosses me out but this is just a warning in case it might bother someone.

Summary: 500 years ago monsters were banished to a deep crater called The Pit and confined by an impenetrable barrier. About 450 years later, the barrier is suddenly no longer in tact and humans are once again fighting against the monsters. You are a knight, a protector of humanity but you died one dreadful night near the barriers edge where you shouldn’t have been. Strangely, you wake up not dead, in a place unfamiliar to you, and under the “protection” of demon-vampire brothers. After confronting your new reality, you end up facing the obstacles of deciding what is really true and what was a lie.

CHAPTER 1: LIFE’S END

Chapter 2: Life Anew

Words: 3,841

AO3 Link or continue down bellow

“This is a bad idea Jeremy” you state nervously, thumbing the hilt of a small knife that rested in its sheath at your hip.

“Oh come on, you need to learn to live a little. Nothings happened for two weeks, I think those monsters have given up on this town.” Your partner replied triumphantly.

“Just because nothing HAS happened doesn’t mean nothing WILL.” You emphasize.

“Ugh, you’re no fun when you’re focused.” Jeremy grumbles, rolling his eyes before he forges ahead.

“Focused on keeping us alive, we wouldn’t want to be caught unaware of any monsters lurking in the dark you know.” You rebutted and watched him wave an annoyed hand at you without turning around. You shake your head with a slight chuckle, if there was anything you knew about your partner it was that he, Jeremy Fitzgerald, was as stubborn and determined as they come. He was committed to crossing into enemy territory just to get a glimpse of any creatures lurking around the edge of The Pit. His plans always seemed like he was trying to get you both killed, or worse, captured.

Your enemies were not exactly known for being the most kind to humans, you had been taught about the horrors of the War of Ages that came to an end just over 500 years ago. Monsters and humans never got along very well before the war but when the monsters decided they were the superior race, humanity was on the brink of being enslaved. You grew up knowing the story by heart; how a brave group of warriors, inventors, and sorcerers brought their talents together to fight against the monsters and free those humans who had been in bondage. They founded the Knights of the Dawn Age, noble warriors who fought against monsters for the freedom of humans. Humans could never truly eradicate the monsters however, so they were sealed in the deepest pit by a barrier that no monster could cross. Lives were sacrificed to create the barrier but in the end, humans prevailed.

Or so humanity thought.

About fifty years ago around the time your parents would have been born, there were reports of monsters attacking villages located near the outskirts of the barrier. It was thought to be a rumor at first but when attacks started happening more often and with undeniable video evidence, it became clear the barrier was no longer intact and that monsters did in fact exist. The Knights of the Dawn Age never dispersed after the original war, their knowledge and artifacts were passed down from generation to generation and the role of a Knight was opened to any who sought to protect humanity from threats. The continual advancements in technology were preparing humans for the day monsters might return and all that preparation was proving effective in the current growing war, however, humans were not the only ones who had been finding new ways to arm themselves for battle. With a new war came new threats in the form of new monsters unknown to humans, deadlier than before. While the sorcerers and inventors sought to find a way to repair the barrier, humanity still needed protection from the ravenous beasts emerging from The Pit.

As you both walked through the dark night, the only sounds you heard were gravel shifting from your footsteps and the peaceful melody of crickets singing. This forest was just outside a small town and was a beautiful place, despite being so dangerous. Your thoughts shifted to the day you were enlisted into the Knights of the Dawn Age. You were merely an orphan whose parents had been killed by a monster raid while they were attacking your village. You had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, that is when a Knight brought you back to the capital city at the heart of the mainland and you began your training. You trained hard, learned everything you could about every race of monster including the new ones, and passed every test you were given. You were a good warrior, a well trained soldier, and loyal to the Knights of the Dawn. Some thought you were too invested into your role as a Knight, unhealthily loyal, but no one could ever understand your drive to please those who had saved your life and given you purpose. You fought hard because you wanted to ensure that no child would have to grow up in fear or without parents like you had.

“Hey, earth to the killjoy” Jeremy says, elbowing you in the ribs to snap you out of your thoughts. “You okay?”

“I’m fine” you reply, you hadn’t realized how much time that had passed in silence. “Just wondering how I always get stuck with you on your ‘I’m trying to get us killed’ expositions.”

“How rude! I wouldn’t call them that, they are explorative expositions! Knowledge is power you know, the more we have the better. Besides, how many times have we really been that close to death huh?” He pauses and shakes his head. “Don’t answer that…” You stifle a laugh.

“And what exactly are we looking for tonight Indiana Jones?” You tease.

“Well, Laura Croft” he teases back, “we are on a reconnaissance mission. Looking for clues or hints to any recent monster activity.”

“Yeah right, you just want to see the edge of The Pit don’t you? There could be monsters guarding it, you know. That’s why the Council warned against anyone going near it. Or did you already forget that rule after training?”

“Maybe” he nods slightly, “but aren’t you at least a liiiittle bit curious as to what it looks like? I mean come on, there’s a giant black hole in the ground that spans for miles and you don’t want to see it? What’s wrong with you.” He argues playfully.

“I don’t have a death wish, unlike you.” You say, smacking him lightly against the back of the head, to which he flinches and laughs. “Haven’t you ever heard of the saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’? We are supposed to be on night patrol around town, not the woods outside of town.”

“So we’re taking a little detour, no one will even know we left. Unless you tell them of course because-“ he begins walking backwards in front of you holding his hand against his forehead like a distraught maiden and his voice shifts to a high pitched tone in an attempt to mimic you. “‘It is my duty to please the Knights of the Dawn Age. All I want is for them to recognize my skills as a valiant knight and dub me a member of the Barrons.’”

“Ha ha very funny.” You shove him lightly away from you, resisting a giggle at his horrible attempt to make you loosen up. He moves to walk beside you and pulls your hand up to his chest by his heart.

“‘Then maybe I’ll finally get Mike Schmidt, my best friend and the man of my dreams, to notice me because I’m too much of a wuss to tell him how I feel” he continues.

“Oh shut up Jer!” You playfully shout and sneak your foot in front of his, causing him to trip forward and face plant right into the dirt. You find yourself giggling at the thud sound he makes when he hits the ground.

“Ouch.” He grumbles, rolling onto his back and staring back up at you with a very fake looking frown. “Betrayed by my own partner and tossed into the dirt, how could you?”

“Maybe next time you’ll learn not to bring up topics I wish I had never told you.” You remark, bending over his head to block his view of the tree line.

“Double ouch! I’m your partner! I’m supposed to know everything about you, its protocol!” He disputed as he sat up and started brushing the dirt off his chest.

“I think you’re confusing professional and personal again. The rule is to know your partner’s skills, not secrets.” You jested.

“I disagree, how are you supposed to sync with your partner if you don’t know everything that defines them as a person. Knowing your crush falls under that category, for your information.” He refutes.

“Just stop talking, please.” You grumbled but the distant sound of a twig snapping attracts your attention.

“I don’t get what the big deal is about personal stuff with you-” He says, standing up to wipe the rest of the dirt off.

“Stop talking.” You interrupt, your eyes searching the dark trees for any movement.

“Sharing how you feel does not make you weak, it makes you human.” He added.

“Shut up Jeremy.” You quickly respond, your posture tensing up.

“I’m not done, and I’m saying this as your friend and not your partner. I think-“

“Jeremy!” You whisper shout, slapping a hand over his mouth and holding up a finger to hush him. He follows your gaze as you both scan the area around you.

“Oh no, you are not doing this to me again. Are you just trying to get out of the conversation?” He whispers after removing your hand.

“Shhh! Listen.” Your eyes don’t leave an area behind you, straining your vision to pick up any movement.

“I don’t hear anything.” He retorts, frustrated.

“Exactly. The crickets stopped…” You quietly unsheath the spear like weapon on your back, the retractable hilt extending to its full length making it a foot taller than you. “It's dead silent in the middle of a forest at night.”

Jeremy seems to realize the situation and slowly draws his sword from its sheath. You move into a back to back formation, preparing for an attack from any direction. What felt like minutes was only a matter of seconds when a dark figure jumps out from behind a bush and launches itself at Jeremy. He quickly dodges the beast and turns to slash at its legs. The beast lets out a horrible screech while it turns to face you both. The creature was four legged and about the size of a large Great Dane, it’s skin looked like dried lava rock with spikes protruding from the spine while the head held the skull of a dog but with ears. The creature growled and its chest, eyes, and mouth began to glow red and yellow hues like magma heating up beneath the skin.

“Hellhounds!” You exclaim as three more emerge from the bushes at full speed, snarling grotesquely with every step.

“Aw come on!!!” Jeremy shouts raising his sword and activating the plasma edge of the blade, the sword edge began to glow a dark red. “I was in the middle of a serious conversation and you just had to ruin the moment!!!”

You activate the plasma blade on your own weapon, the blade extending to make the cutting edge of the weapon twice as large as its original form. You swing the glaive around in front of you and slice the face of a hellhound as it launches at you, missing your side by a matter of inches. You flow into another attack and catch the ribs of another beast while it runs past you, falling to its side and sliding into a nearby tree. Jeremy swings his sword and severs the legs off of one beast and twists into another maneuver, blocking the claws of a second hound from digging into his side. You bash the head of that beast with the end of your glaive and send it rolling away a few feet, you jab your glaive straight on into the chest of one going after your partner for a second time and rip it out as the beast crashes to the ground.

“Well this is turning out to be an exciting night, huh!” Jeremy hollers, catching his breath.

“That is not the word I would use!” You exclaim, examining the four bodies surrounding you. You pant, your heart racing with the adrenaline kicking into your system. The four lump creatures begin to shift as molten lava oozes from their wounds and reforms their bodies, they stand up and bark threateningly at you both.

“Ugh, we could be here all night! I forget these things don’t die easily!” Jeremy complains, raising his sword to prepare for more attacks from the beasts. “Could be worse I guess, at least there’s only four.” As you both defend yourself from the gnashing teeth and claws coming towards you, two more emerge from the dark from behind a tree.

“You just had to ask, didn’t you…” You accused, whacking away the jaws of a hound before it bit you.

The hounds all make their moves, lunging, dashing, and gnawing in an attempt to get their prey but you and your partner were always faster than them and anticipated every attack. Some hounds would fall to what seemed like fatal wounds but would get back up moments later completely healed, snarling with more ferocity. You both fought with equal fierceness however, returning every attack they gave with a plasma blade embedded into some area of their body. Their attacks began to slow but the hellhounds showed no sign of retreat anytime soon. One was too focused on Jeremy and came inches away from biting his arm but with a swift move you managed to sever its head before its teeth could make contact with his skin. Its body fell to the ground and began fading into ash as it died, the ash flying away in the breeze.

“Whatever you do, do not let one bite you Jer! A scratch is excruciating but a bite will kill you!” You shout in a panic.

“I know, I know! Let’s just get rid of these things already!” He hollers back.

It is not easy to kill a hellhound but it is not impossible either as you just proved. The hellhound has to be weak enough or else a blade will not cut through the neck completely. Difficult, exhausting, and incredibly dangerous to do; there was a reason people nicknamed them devil dogs, most don’t survive the attacks unharmed. You had the advantage of being together but the odds would have been better if there were at least three of you. There were still five hellhounds left fighting and getting a shot at their neck without being bit was a task within itself. You managed to pin one down with your glaive as Jeremy brought his sword down like a guillotine and sliced the head clean from the body. You pulled your weapon away as the beast began fading but were tackled to the ground by a leap from one of the remaining creatures.

The beast snarled and growled viciously while you held the pole of your glaive in its mouth to prevent it from biting you. The stench of its breath smelled like burnt flesh and radiated heat, you could see the metal from your weapon begin to glow as it was being superheated by the mouth of the beast. You tried to toss the creature to the side and off of you but it stood firm. You had a moment of relief when Jeremy kicked it off you with as much force as he could muster and sent it rolling to a skid a few feet away. Your partner reached out a hand to help you up but was tackled just before you could grasp it.

“Jeremy!!!” You shout in horror while you watched him struggle on the ground. By the time you got to your feet, the beast had somehow gotten its claws through a small area of his leg armor and was digging them into his skin. He shouted out in pain, defending his upper body from the ravenous bitting with his sword firmly embedded into the neck of his attacker. You rushed over and skewered the hound in the chest so hard it was almost sliced in half, its body slumped just beside Jeremy as his hand quickly fell to the wound on his leg.

“You’re okay it’s just a scratch, you'll be fine! You gotta get up!” You exclaim, looking around to see the four hounds recovering from their current wounds. Jeremy just lay there shouting through gritted teeth and you did your best to help him up but he seemed consumed by the pain.

“Hey, we have about sixty seconds before they recuperate and come back for another round. They should relent soon, they can’t have that much fight left in them. Come on, get up!”

“It hurts….” He hissed.

“I know but you can do this! We are not going to die here, you hear me?!” You grab his arm and wrap it around your neck in an effort to help lift him from the ground. He shouts out in pain but you both manage to get him standing, his hand still shakily holding his leg. You get him stabilized enough to stand on his own and hand him his weapon. “We’re gonna get through this, I promise. I’ll carry you back to town when this fight is over and you can tease me all you want then, but right now I need you to-“

You began to say but were suddenly dragged to the ground by your leg. A hellhound with a partially healed back had your limb in its mouth and was dragging you away. Luckily your armor prevented its teeth from getting a hold on your skin but you could feel indents forming in the metal where teeth should be. You kicked at its head with your other foot and its grip on you loosened enough for you to remove your leg and scurry to your feet but just before you fully stood up the creature lunged at you knocking you forward onto your stomach. As you tried to catch your breath that is when you felt it. A burning, excruciating searing pain began to radiate from your shoulder. You screamed but no sound escaped your throat, you were paralyzed from the pain that was starting to spread to your whole body. You felt like you were burning from the inside out, you knew you needed to get out of the grip of your attacker but your muscles wouldn’t respond no matter how hard you tried. Suddenly the source of pain was ripped from your shoulder and sent crashing into another hound, yelping loudly in the process. You felt a pair of hands roll you onto your back and the figure of Jeremy loomed over you, fear and pain covering his expression.

“J-Jer…” was all you managed to get out. You felt tears welling up in your eyes uncontrollably and streak down your face while you looked slowly down to your shoulder. The distinct shape of a bite mark covered the armor and the metal indents from the teeth marks were glowing from the super heated metal. You grunted in pain from simply trying to move your hand. Everything still burned, your muscles, your bones, even your skin started to feel like it would melt off.

“No… it didn’t. Please tell me it didn’t.” He asks, panic filling every word. You grit your teeth hard and force yourself to sit up. The more you moved, the more painful it became but you tried to collect yourself and form a solid sentence while you stared at your horrified partner.

“G-Go… You need to go, g-get out of here.” You stutter.

“What?! No! You told me we weren’t going to die here!” He exclaims.

“WE aren’t, I am… You can still make it back to town.” You use him as a crutch while you both stand up unsteady and shaking. He holds onto your forearms tightly, refusing to let

“I am not going anywhere, I won’t abandon my partner!” His grip tightens.

“I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. GET. BACK. TO. TOWN.” You hiss.

“N-No! I can’t! We stick together, that's the first rule of being a knight!”

“I’m already dead Jeremy!!!” You holler, the physical and mental pain clouding your ability to think straight. “There’s no reason for you to die too, just GO!” You rip your arms from his grasp and grab both of your weapons, connecting the hilts together.

“But I-“ He takes a step back, every emotion crossing over his expression all at once and his breathing beginning to sound more like gasping for air. He watches the four remaining hellhounds shifting as they heal, moments away from attacking again. “I can’t! You can’t-!”

“Hey” you said, locking eyes with him. “It’s okay. I’ll make sure they don’t follow you.” The weapon in your hand shifts as it interlocks itself together forming a dual ended spear. “You were the best partner I could have ever had, don’t forget that okay?”

Jeremy collects himself and straightens his posture, he gives you a knight’s salute with a shaky hand. “Fight with honor…” he quavered.

“Die with glory.” You nod and watch as he runs away limping.

—————

You dropped your weapon, breathing hard but it honestly felt like you weren’t breathing at all. You limp over to a tree and lean against it as you slide to the ground, watching the last pile of ash fade in the wind. You coughed, the taste of blood and tears filled your mouth but you didn’t care. You had managed to slay every hellhound, you fought with everything you had left and survived despite scratches and bite marks covering your entire body. Jeremy got away safe, he was alive and that was all you cared about. The searing pain had faded into complete numbness after the adrenaline in your body went into overdrive while you slayed the first hellhound by yourself. The other three were easier since you could barely feel anything they did to attack you.

The numbness was slowly fading into heaviness. Everything started to feel like it was turning to stone, your limbs feeling heavier and heavier with each passing second. Your heart rate was slowing down fast while your shaky breathing became shallow. This was it. This was the end. The hellhound bite was quickly shutting all your organs down, not that your other injuries weren’t contributing to your death as well. Your vision began to blur and the ringing in your ears began to fade but you vaguely made out the shape of a figure approaching you. The black figure moved slowly, closer and closer to you.

If that’s you Jeremy I’m going to come back as a ghost and haunt you for the rest of your life. You say, or at least attempted to say if any part of your body still worked. You grunted softly while one last cough escaped your chest just as the figure approached you, they bent down and lifted your chin. You heard the figure speak but by this point your lungs refused to take in any more oxygen and your heart made its last attempt to keep you alive.

Everything faded to black.

#demon vamp au #writting #fnaf y/n #fnaf au

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