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#yes i heard the line in my head with jason todd's voice
requiemforthewolves · 2 months
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The conundrum of being a villainous goon in Gotham is this: on the one hand, someone is trying to beat you up and you need to protect yourself. You were paid to guard the package/make the chemicals/steal the technology/etc. and you're not going to get paid unless the job gets done. Of course you're going to fight against some guy in a flashy spandex suit making puns while he tries to punch your face in, because fuck that guy. Of course you're going to give this fight all you've got.
On the other hand, if you beat this guy up too badly, if you hurt him too much, you've got about four hours until some bird or bat is going to drop out of the rafters with a casual yet furious "heard you guys were looking for a fight" and you'll know with absolute certainty that you are about to get your shit utterly rocked.
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sanguineterrain · 7 months
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Could I humbly request Dullahan (basically a headless horseman with a whip made from a spine) Jason giving reader a ride on Halloween? If not, that’s okay.
what a delightful prompt anon! i took some batman-inspired liberties here, so jason is more of a regular headless horseman than a dullahan specifically (kept the whip tho bc man, what a badass weapon). but omg it fits him SO well. hope you like it!
headless horseman!jason todd x gn!reader. spooky themes. i guess it's a different time period -- i was imagining 19th century. reader knew jason before he died.
send halloween requests!!
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You should've taken a carriage.
That's all you can think as you cross the border from Clarence County to Gotham County. You've been walking for an hour, and you're only just entering Gotham. The sun went down ages ago.
It's mostly wilderness outside of the city, and it's generally safe. Rich folk build vacation cabins in these woods. Others hike and fish along the river.
You still should've taken a carriage. Even if no people pose a threat to you out here, the forest is still dangerous. Bears. Snakes.
...Things not of this world.
No, you can't think that way.
Your basket of farm goods makes your arm ache. You switch it to your other hand. You're beginning to think that making this trip wasn't worth it at all. Certainly not if a bear mauls you.
A twig snaps and you jump about three feet in the air. You skitter away from the tree line, heart beating fast.
You wait. You have a glass bottle of milk to throw at whatever comes out of the woods.
Nothing. Silence. The trees might as well be dead.
Slowly, you untense, muscles slowly going slack. A twig probably didn't even snap; it's only your imagination. Yes. Right.
You tuck the milk back into your basket and adjust yourself, continuing your trek.
"Awful late to be out."
This time, you do throw the milk bottle. It lands with a thud in the soft dirt. The voice speaks again. He sounds amused.
"You missed me."
You whirl around and gawp. How had you missed a man on a horse? Surely you would've heard footsteps or the jingle of the straps.
The horse is huge, with a shiny, black coat. Its rider is proportionally large, broad shoulders straining his crimson hood. You can't make out his face, the opening nothing but a void. You squint, but grow dizzy when you look too hard.
It's such a strange thought, but your first instinct is that you know the rider. Intimately so. Like an old friend.
The horse is a shadow, the edges of its mane blurry. It nickers and drags its hoof over the dirt. It also has a hood, so you can't make out its face either.
The hooded figure watches you from his horse. At least, you think he does.
"Are you lost?" he asks. His voice echoes strangely, like it's coming from underground.
"No," you say immediately. "I'm on my way back to Gotham."
Most people have enough sense not to challenge Gotham citizens.
He tilts his head. You wish you could see his face.
"I can give you a ride. I'm headed there myself."
There is a red knight's helmet tied to the saddle. You look at it, then at him.
"I'll manage," you say. "I know my way."
"It's dangerous to travel alone on foot. Especially so late."
He dismounts the horse. Even on the ground, his presence is overwhelming. There is a long, bone-white whip fastened to his hip. Are those...?
"What's in the helmet?" you ask.
"Why do you think there's something inside?" His voice echoes again.
He goes and retrieves the bottle of milk you threw. It isn't cracked, which is fortunate. He opens the basket hooked over your arm and gently places the milk inside. Your heart pounds the entire time.
"I won't hurt you," he says, stepping back. "Gotham is my city. You are mine to protect."
"Gotham belongs to the Bat."
"Not for much longer," he says, almost snarling.
You look at the horse, which has been eerily still. The moon is high in the sky. Stars dance outside of the city smog.
"If it makes you feel safer," he says, voice softer. "You can hold my whip. If I do anything you don't like, you can be sure I won't do it again."
You don't like that idea; you hope you don't have to use the whip on him, though he is a stranger. But you like his voice, even if it echoes oddly. And you like how gentle he is, how calm his horse remains. You are sure he won't hurt you, even though there is no proof for you to confirm that.
You extend your hand.
"Alright," you say. "Please take me home."
He pushes you onto the horse, who doesn't even stir when you get on its back. Then he mounts with ease. He slides his whip out and gives it to you; on further inspection, you realize it's a spine. The horse takes off at a gallop, and you cling to the hooded man so you won't fall off.
"Are you a soldier?" you ask, wind biting at your face. He is cold but full of strength.
"I was."
"What should I call you?"
He thinks for a moment, steady under the brutal pace.
"You may call me Red Hood."
"Haven't you got a name?" you ask.
"I did," Hood says. "I'm not certain that it's mine anymore."
He sounds young. You wish you could see his face.
You arrive in Gotham sooner than you should, even on horse. Hood dismounts again and helps you down, strong hands on your waist. You land on the ground in a whoosh, and Hood holds you for a second longer than necessary. You linger against him and squint, trying to find his eyes. You can't.
"Will you show me your face?" you ask.
Red Hood immediately steps back. You hold your basket to your chest.
"You'd never forgive me if I did," he says, and the echo is back.
"I feel like I know you," you say, stepping towards him, and Hood puts more distance between you.
For the first time, the horse whinnies. It's a ghastly sound, like it's in pain, and you flinch. You spin around to see what spooked the horse, but by the time you do, it's gone.
And so is the Red Hood.
The whip, however, is still wrapped around your own waist; it's your only reminder that he was here at all.
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makethatelevenrings · 2 years
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Sunlight // J. Todd x f!reader
Requested? Yes!
WARNINGS: SMUT 18+ ONLY MINORS DNI, unprotected sex, a bit of dom!Jason
Summary: Waking up next to Jason Todd is a blessing. Getting out of bed is damn near impossible.
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Warm rays of sun filtered in through the blinds and you pressed your cheek against the pillow in an attempt to block it out. The bed shifted and a warm, thick arm slid around your waist. You squinted against the day’s welcome and hummed as pillow soft lips met your shoulder in a sweet kiss.
“Good morning,” you murmured.
“Mornin’,” Jason replied. His voice was thick with sleep and you wondered just how many hours of sleep he got. While he didn’t need as much sleep as you, he certainly deserved more than he typically got.
“How was last night?”
He buried his face in the crook of your neck and pressed his chest to your back. One of his hands drifted lazily over your side, pausing to draw circles and lines here and there. He grunted, his tongue darting out to soothe the hickey he had left on your collarbone two days earlier.
“Good,” he answered. He never wanted to discuss it in detail with you, citing that he didn’t want to burden you with his beasts. That was alright, you had decided. You could ease his mind in other ways. You canted your hips back and rolled your ass against him, eliciting a groan from him. He smoothed a hand across your stomach and up across your tits.
“So it’s like that, huh?” Jason teased. His deft fingers pinched your right nipple and palmed your breast before he switched to your left. He alternated like that, pinching and rolling and squeezing, as his other hand ran up and down the flesh of your ass.
You shifted against his touch and let the comforter fall off, exposing your panties. He stifled a laugh into the crook of your neck and you grinned.
“Red Hood, really?”
“Gotta make sure everyone knows whose ass this is,” you purred. He leaned over and captured your lips in a slow kiss before he broke away and traced his tongue down your chin and over your jaw.
“Never get tired of you,” he muttered. “Wanna taste you on my tongue for the rest of my life.”
A soft, pitiful moan escaped you and he grinned, nosing against your temple as his hand finally slid down the front of your panties.
“So wet and all for me.” His finger traced your slit before he dipped one into your slick and ran it along your seam. You laid your head back and moaned as his teeth enclosed around the skin of your neck. Jason sucked a dark bruise into your skin as he slid one finger in and out of you.
You tugged at the hem of your panties and he quickly tugged them down before sliding two fingers into your snug cunt. He stretched you out, scissoring his fingers and curling them against your g-spot, until you were rocking into his hand and mewling into his kisses.
“Can you take me now?” he asked. You nodded and he caught your chin, tilting your head back so he could see your eyes. “I need a verbal response, baby.”
“Yeah,” you whimpered. “I want you inside me so bad.”
Jason stripped off his boxers and laid on his side. He lifted one of your legs up and over his hip, his other hand guiding the head of his cock towards your pussy. You shut your eyes and bit your lip as his cock split your folds and sat deliciously inside of you. Jason rolled his hips once, then twice, to get you familiar with the feeling before he picked up speed.
If you weren’t awake before, you certainly were now. Skin slapping against skin and the wet squelch of your juices filled the air, but you couldn’t care. Sunlight bathed your lover’s skin with the softest rays of morning and you opened your eyes once more to take in the sight of him. A halo of light bathed his face and you reached up to pull him down for a kiss.
“Wait,” you heard yourself say. Jason immediately stopped and pulled out of you. Concern filled his blue eyes and you stroked your thumb over his cheek.
“What’s wrong? Do you need to stop?”
“No, I just…” You hesitated before rolling onto your back and tugging on his arm. “I want to see you better.”
Jason’s gaze softened and he spread your legs so he could rest between them. He brushed a hand over your arm and leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead. “Alright, sweetheart. Ready to start again?”
“Yes, please.”
If there was one thing Jason Todd possessed most, it was stamina. He thrust into you at just the right pace. He wasn’t in any rush. If he had the chance, he would barricade the two of you in his apartment and make you come apart over and over again, only breaking for him to feed you before he started again. He bottomed out and thrust into you over and over again, his lips rarely breaking from yours.
“I love you,” you whispered into his mouth. He slid his fingers down to toy with your clit and you arched your back against his touch as your legs began to tremble.
“That’s it. There we go, sweetheart.” Jason threw his head back with a low groan and his hips stuttered. Thick spurts of cum painted your walls and he slowed his thrusts until the both of you were too overstimulated to keep going. Instead, he rolled you onto your side and facing him as his cock rested between your folds.
“Love you too, sweetheart.”
You laid there for a moment, tracing the scars that adorned his body and dropping kisses here and there to bruises that littered his skin. “We should get up and start breakfast.”
Jason shrugged and shifted back so he could kneel on the bed. He was a sight to behold, dipped in gold and brushed with sweat. His cock hung heavy between his thighs and you couldn’t help but reach out and stroke your hand on his thick length, making his hips cant forward.
“I’m hungry for something else,” he said. A predatory gleam shone in his eyes and you smirked.
“We both have stuff to do today. We can’t just lay in bed all day.”
“So is that a no?”
You quickly laid back down. “Oh, I never said that.”
tag list (let me know if you want to be added!): @annalayton19​
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bluejaysandblackbats · 4 months
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Five Little Ducks
Fandom: DC Comics, Batman
Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.
Chapters: 2/13
Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara
Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma
Chapter Two: Velveteen Rabbit
Bruce took Jason to the manor after pretending to check Jason's long-abandoned apartment. Bruce drew Jason a bath and dressed him in pajamas before parting the sheets on his old bed. "Mr. Wayne?" Jason whispered as he grabbed Bruce's wrist.
"Yes, Jason?" Bruce asked.
"Will you read me a story?" Jason asked.
Bruce smiled and nodded. "I would love to read you a story... Can you wait five minutes while I get cleaned up, and I'll read you a whole book?" Bruce suggested. Jason nodded excitedly. It was just the two of them in the manor. Bruce missed having children at home. Everyone had grown up or moved on.
He showered, picked a book from the library, and returned to Jason's side. "Mr. Wayne, what's that book?" Jason asked.
"Velveteen Rabbit," Bruce whispered, "Do you still-. Do you like this one?" Bruce recalled finding a beaten-up copy in Jason's bag when he took him in. He recalled the way Jason mumbled an explanation with tears in his eyes. It was his favorite when his mother was alive.
Jason nodded and patted the mattress. Bruce sat next to Jason on the bed and opened the book. "There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning, he was really splendid," Bruce read aloud. Jason responded to the lilt in his voice by nustling in close under Bruce's arm. Bruce continued to read, turning the pages between occasional glances at his sweet awe-filled face.
Jason stopped him halfway through the story, nearly jumping with excitement. Bruce smiled at Jason, who tried his best to regain his composure. "Can I read this part?" Jason asked. "It's my favorite part."
Bruce chuckled and nodded. "Of course, you can read this next part," Bruce replied.
"What is real?" Jason questioned in a sweet tone.
Bruce continued reading, paying mind to the following lines. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real," Bruce used a playfully rough tone of voice for the horse, and it amused Jason. Jason showed no signs of fatigue as the story progressed. At one point, Jason even turned his face to Bruce's side to cry when the rabbit was thrown out. Finally, though, the story ended, and Jason's eyes fluttered. He kissed the top of Jason's head and sat still for a while, waiting for Jason to fall asleep. Once Jason was fast asleep, sucking his thumb with a hand draped over his forehead, Bruce whispered, "You made me real... And you don't even remember, do you?"
He left Jason to sleep and sat in the living room, watching old videos of Jason on his laptop. Bruce had almost forgotten how warm Jason's presence was. Jason always said being Robin gave him magic, but Jason enchanted everything he touched. The whole manor came alive because Jason was warm and bright and everything that made life good. Bruce shed a tear at the thought of what he'd lost.
He would've stayed up all night, yearning for a time long lost, had he not heard the pitter-patter of bare feet down the stairs. "Mr. Wayne?" Jason called. "Mr. Wayne?" He raised his voice out of fear. Bruce stood up and waved, allowing Jason to run to him. Bruce scooped him up and wiped the boy's tears away, bouncing him on his hip to soothe him.
"What's wrong?" Bruce questioned. Jason hid his face in Bruce's shoulder.
Bruce rubbed Jason's back as he bounced from side to side. "I had a bad dream... Will you come back and stay with me?" Jason questioned.
Bruce nodded. "I can do that. I can stay with you," Bruce replied. He took Jason back to bed and fell asleep at Jason's bedside. He awakened to sunlight blaring through the curtains while Jason sat on the floor with Bruce's phone.
"How'd you know my whole name?" Jason asked as he talked on Bruce's phone. "Duke? Are you Mr. Wayne's friend? Is that how you know my name too?"
"Jason," Bruce called him, "What are you doing?"
"Talking to your friend, Duke. He's going to come and play with me," Jason replied.
"How did you-. How did you answer the phone?" Bruce asked.
"I picked it up, and it answered. I don't know how," Jason innocently answered as Bruce took the phone. "Duke-. Duke, stop laughing."
"I'm sorry, but-. Jason's a baby. I've gotta see this," Duke chuckled, "Is he cute? I bet he's cute as a baby."
"He's not a baby... He's a big boy," Bruce mumbled, "And he's adorable."
Jason stood on his tiptoes and hung on Bruce's arm. "I am a big boy! I can pour my own cereal!" Jason exclaimed. Bruce smiled and picked Jason up, holding him on his hip.
"Wow!" Bruce smiled. "Let's go get you some cereal. What kind do you like?"
"Honey smacks," Jason replied.
Duke chuckled. "I'm five minutes away... Tell him to save me a bowl," Duke replied before hanging up. Bruce took Jason downstairs and started making coffee. Duke arrived shortly afterward and watched as Jason made three bowls of cereal.
"Are you Duke?" Jason asked. Duke nodded. "Are you gonna play with me today?"
"Duke is-."
"Free all day," Duke interrupted as he met eyes with Bruce. "He is adorable," Duke mouthed.
Jason ate his cereal with a smile on his face. Duke sat with Jason and glanced at Bruce. "What's so funny?" Jason asked.
"You look like someone we know... Just smaller," Duke replied. Jason's eyes widened. "He's a lot older than you."
Jason danced in his seat as he ate. "Mr. Wayne read me a bedtime story last night. I like how he reads," Jason announced. Duke ate his cereal while he listened to Jason talk about Bruce's bedtime routine.
"Wow, it sounds like he's done this before," Duke teased.
Bruce shot Duke a glance as a warning. "Can I watch Clifford after breakfast?" Jason asked. A grin spread across Bruce's face.
"Sure, you can... Duke, who is Clifford?" Bruce asked. Jason covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.
"The big red dog," Duke replied, "I'll put it on tv after breakfast."
"Mr. Wayne, it's okay that you don't know Clifford. I think you'll like him," Jason reassured Bruce, "Unless you don't like dog shows. My daddy doesn't like Clifford. Or maybe he doesn't like cartoons... Mommy likes cartoons. She always watches Clifford with me, except when she doesn't feel good."
Bruce frowned. "Mr. Wayne, don't be sad. My mommy says she's gonna get better once Daddy comes home. It'll be different this time because she promised," Jason reassured. Duke lost his appetite. Bruce tried to smile for Jason, but he felt a pit at the bottom of his stomach. These were Jason's thoughts as a child. This was Jason before life took everything from him.
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Childhood
Father of Mine – Part 1 and Part 2
+ This Game of Ours
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Jason’s eyes snapped open at a sound that no human should be able to hear.
Ever since he’d been resurrected from the Lazarus pit, his senses had grown abnormally acute – amongst other strange things. 
Sometimes he swore he could even hear Y/N’s heartbeat. It was easiest to do with her, after all he was so intone with her very being.
But all of that made nearly impossible for anyone to sneak up on him – let alone in his own home. Which someone was. He could feel it.
Jason’s eyes glanced down at Y/N, who was sound asleep on his chest.
Ever so carefully, he lifted her body off of him so he could slip out of bed.
But Y/N was a light sleeper, unfortunately. She must’ve inherited that from Bruce, even though she wasn’t even raised by the man.
Y/N winced as her eyes opened just in time to see Jason grabbing one of his hidden guns from below their bed frame.
“What’s going on?” Her voice raspy.
“Nothing,” Jason lied. “Stay here.”
Now that she found out about another hidden gun in their apartment, Jason knew he was going to return to a lecture from Y/N. She never hid her hatred for guns, and had asked him to keep them out of their apartment.
“Jason…” Y/N whispered desperately, now more awake and concerned.
“Stay here,” Jason said, more firmly this time.
Then he quickly kissed her, leaving even less room for her to argue.
In only his black boxer briefs, Jason snuck out of their bedroom and into the living room without making any sound. Y/N had always been shocked at how quiet her giant boyfriend could make himself.
Just as Jason raised his gun, he heard the familiar voice.
“Put some clothes on, Todd.”
Damian stepped out of the shadows.
To Jason’s surprise, he was in civilian clothes and not in his Robin uniform.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, breaking in like that?” Jason reprimanded as he uncocked the gun.
But before Damian could defend himself, the bedroom door squeaked open and Y/N was rushing out into the living room.
“I told you to stay there,” Jason growled.
Y/N rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s overprotectiveness. “Obviously I recognized Damian’s voice, Jason.”
Then Y/N looked at her half-brother for a second and quickly realized Damian had come there for a reason.
“Everything alright, Damian?” She asked carefully.
“Yes,” he lied.
Jason remembered when Damian despised Y/N. He saw her as a threat to his claim to the Wayne throne. But Y/N had immediately made her intentions clear. “I have my own reputation, money, and career that I built without a name attached to me. I want nothing to do with Wayne Enterprises,” she had told Damian as soon as she realized he saw her as some sort of competition.
It took Damian months to even acknowledge Y/N. And he really only did because both his father and Dick – basically his surrogate father – scolded him for not doing so.
Slowly but surely, the two grew closer.
Y/N didn’t put up with Damian’s attitude. But she also didn’t scold him like a child. If he was rude or aggressive, she spoke to him the same way she would speak to a grown man who behaved in such a manner. Somehow it made the boy slowly start to respect her more.
Eventually, they bonded over their mutual love of the arts. Damian was impressed with her photographs, while Y/N was honored whenever Damian decided to share his drawings with her. Y/N had gifted Damian his first camera. And Damian once gave her a few lessons on the basics of sketching and painting.
Who knew Waynes were the creative type?
And it was when Damian’s pets all seemed to be obsessed with Y/N that the boy finally decided to get over his original opinions and feelings.
It was by no means a short or easy battle. But the rest of the family was relieved when Damian finally accepted Y/N as one of their own.
“How about I make us some hot chocolate?” Y/N offered Damian.
The boy just shrugged, but she noticed his eyes subtly light up.
She never understood why he refused to let himself feel joy in the simple things. It was like she could catch him stopping himself from being a kid.
“I’m going to bed,” Jason announced with exhaustion.
It was clear to him that Damian came to see his sister, not him. And he was nice enough to leave the two of them alone. Even though he was a bit bitter that his girlfriend was being stolen from their bed.
Before turning back to the bedroom, Jason invaded Y/N’s space and gently grabbed her jaw before pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Gross,” Damian groaned.
Jason glared and pointed at the boy. “You’re in our apartment, demon spawn. I’ll kiss my girlfriend if I fuckin’ want to.”
Y/N just laughed as she watched Jason close their bedroom door behind him.
“Come on,” she nudged her head in the direction of the kitchen. “Let’s make some hot chocolate. I think I have some of Alfred’s cookies hiding somewhere, too.”
“I don’t know what you see in him,” Damian mumbled.
Y/N smirked and shook her head. Tonight, she wasn’t taking the bait. 
Once Damian decided he didn’t hate Y/N, he jumped right to making it known that he did not think Jason was good enough for her. But she knew it was an act – mostly.
“Why aren’t you on patrol?” She asked casually once they had giant mugs of hot chocolate and cookies in front of them, making sure to give the boy extra marshmallows. 
“I’m grounded,” Damian muttered.
Y/N tilted her head. “Grounded?”
It seemed like a far too normal concept for a family of vigilantes.
“Yes,” Damian confirmed.
“I’m guessing that means Bruce and Alfred don’t know you’re here…?”
“I snuck out,” he admitted.
“Why did you get grounded?”
“Father found out I was skipping school. And then that I skipped the school dance.”
“Why does it matter if you skipped the dance?” She asked, clearly confused.
Y/N was also struggling to imagine Bruce caring about such a trivial thing like that.  
“Father wishes for me to have normal experiences that young man of my age is expected to have,” Damian said with a roll of his eyes.
“School dances are lame,” Y/N commented.
Damian sat up straighter, not expecting that to be her response.
“I skipped prom. I didn’t want to go,” she added.
“Why not?” The boy challenge, somewhat caught off guard by that.
Y/N shrugged. “Bad music. Bad dancing. Tacky dresses. Just wasn’t all that appealing to angsty, teenage me.”
Damian just nodded slowly, and then got quiet.
“I have no desire to be normal,” he finally stated after a few minutes.
“I’m not taking his side, but I get why Bruce wants you to do these things, Damian. You were robbed of a lot of things because of the way you were raised. I’m not saying that it’s bad or good. But I think Bruce just wants to give you the opportunity to experience the life of a – well...of a kid.”
“And was your life normal?” Damian quickly asked.
Y/N nodded. “So normal that it was boring.” She laughed, “My entire life was normal until I met all of you weirdos.”
That got a smile out of Damian.
But then it slowly dropped and he seemed to get lost in his head.
“I don’t…I don’t have any friends,” Damian finally whimpered.
Y/N was shocked by the boy’s emotion.
Damian was always composed.
“It’s like they speak a different language. And it’s one I can never learn.”
“Oh, Damian,” Y/N sighed as she rushed from her seat to kneel beside him. “I know it must be hard to try and fit in. But you’re not doing anything wrong. None of that’s your fault.”
“Father is more than aware that I don’t need the education,” Damian’s voice shook as he tried not to cry. “He only forces me to attend so I can make friends. And that is one thing I am unable to do.”
Y/N let him breathe and have an opportunity to continue before she spoke again. 
“I hate school, so I skip. And the school dance seemed so ridiculous to me, so I skipped that too – even after father specifically requested that I attend.”
Y/N sighed, “And did you tell him how you’re feeling when he grounded you?”
Damian shook his head no.
She hadn’t expected anything different. She could easily imagine Damian lashing out at Bruce when he received his punishment, saying that the requests were a waste of his time and beneath him. 
Damian was good at hiding his emotional pain – maybe even better than their father.
Y/N was sure Bruce didn’t have a true understanding of what Damian was going through.
“Can I stay here tonight?” Damian asked.
“Of course,” she gave him a sad smile. “How about we take this hot chocolate to the couch and watch a movie?”
Damian shrugged. But it wasn’t a no.
Y/N let him pick the movie.
He chose Fantasia. 
When Y/N didn’t hide her surprise, he explained that he respected the animation and loved all of the classical music. Even when they did a child-like activity, he still always found way to remind the world that he was no normal child.
An hour later, both of them had fallen asleep on the couch with the movie still playing.
When Damian felt another presence, he awoke with a jolt and grabbed his hidden knife, holding it to the throat of the intruder.
But it was Jason, gently bringing Y/N’s sleeping body into his arms.
“Once again, demon spawn, you’re in our apartment,” Jason hissed with annoyance.
The man was completely unfazed by the feeling of a blade threatening to slit his throat. 
Damian huffed.
“I’m taking her to bed,” Jason explained the obvious. Then he nudged his head at the love-seat across from Damian. “There’s a blanket right there if you want to sleep on the couch. Or you can sleep in the guest bedroom.”
But Jason paused, with Y/N sleeping in his arms, as he noticed a strange look on Damian’s face.
“What?” He urged.
“If you ever hurt her, I’ll kill you myself,” Damian growled softly.
Jason looked utterly unimpressed. “You’d have to get in line,” he answered, making sure to keep his voice quiet to prevent waking Y/N.
But then Jason’s face softened. “Look, kid, I think you know that she’s the best thing to ever happen to me. I’d die before doing anything to mess this up.”
“Hmph,” was the only noise Damian made in response.
Jason rolled his eyes and carried Y/N back to their bedroom.
In all honesty, he couldn’t fall asleep while she had been in with Damian. With Jason’s weird enhanced hearing because of the pit, he was able to catch a bit of their conversation.
Jason softly place Y/N back in bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. When he joined her on the other side of the bed, she didn’t even wake as she slid back into his arms.
Now Jason could finally go to sleep.
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When there was a knock on the apartment door the next morning, Damian and Y/N shared a look.
“I’ll get it,” Y/N sighed.
Jason had made all three of them breakfast that morning.
But now Damian pushed the food around his plate, knowing this was the end of his small rebellion. Who knew what his new punishment would be?
Y/N opened the door to unsurprisingly find her father.
Bruce was wearing a full suit, despite it being a Sunday morning. On top was a heavy, black overcoat with the back of the collar slightly propped up.
“You could have least told me he was here,” Bruce greeted his daughter.
She smirked mischievously and shrugged. “I’m no snitch.”
Damian appeared behind Y/N, not seeing the point in dragging this out any longer than necessary.
“Alfred’s downstairs with the car,” Bruce told his son evenly.
The disappointment in both his expression and tone was obvious.
Damian looked up at Y/N. “Thank you for having me, Y/N.”
“Next time, use the actual door so you don’t give me or Jason a heart attack.”
Damian smiled at that before walking past his father and down the hallway.
“Can I talk to you a second?” Y/N asked Bruce.
Her father seemed surprised by the request, but nodded anyways and closed the door behind him.
“I think Damian is really struggling – more than you think, I mean.”
Bruce’s brow furrowed and he crossed his arms. “He hasn’t even been remotely injured from patrols in months…”
“No, Bruce,” she quickly cut off. “Not as Robin. As Damian.”
Bruce was quiet.
“He doesn’t know how to fit in, Bruce. And you’re putting a lot of pressure on him to live a normal life. Bu he’s never gonna have normal. That was taken away from him before you even knew he existed.”
“He said that to you?” Bruce asked.
She nodded. “In so few words, yes.”
“And I’m assuming you have some advice,” he quirked a brow.
“Well, yeah. Maybe you should just homeschool him.”
“Y/N, the whole point of him going to school is to be around kids his own age. We both know the education is beneath him already.”
“But that’s the thing, Bruce. He’s never going to relate to any of those kids. Going to school makes him feel like a freak. Let him get homeschooled.”
“He needs to learn to make friends,” Bruce argued.
“You’re right. He does. But not with the spoiled brats of Gotham Academy. How many superheroes are you friends with?”
“He doesn’t consider them friends!” Jason shouted from the kitchen.
Y/N rolled her eyes. “Fine. How many superheroes are you acquainted with, who have kids around Damian’s age?”
Bruce’s jaw tightened.
“I know you like to keep your personal life away from Batman. But those are the only kids that Damian is ever going to relate to in some way. Do you get what I’m saying?”
To her surprise, Bruce nodded. “You’re right.”
Her brows shot up. “I am?”
Y/N had really expected him to fight her on this.
Bruce chuckled. “Of course you are. Out of everyone in this family, you are the only one who can say they had any semblance of a normal childhood.”
Suddenly his phone dinged and he glanced down at it.
“I have to go,” he regretfully told her.
When he looked back up at her, his face softened. “Come to the manor soon for dinner,” he asked her gently.
She gave him a soft smile and nodded, “I will.”
Bruce nodded in the direction of the kitchen where Jason was hiding. “And bring that one with you, will you?”
Y/N laughed. “He’ll go wherever I go. He’s like a puppy, that one.”
“I can hear you!” Jason called out.
Bruce laughed and stepped forward to give Y/N a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for looking out for Damian, Y/N.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Bruce.”
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mxtantrights · 3 years
Text
The magic-spy and the bird
the best friends brother trope is in my top 5 tropes. but I've also got a thing for angst. So here we areeeee. enjoy! <3
dick Grayson x f!reader
Jason Todd had asked you specifically to ask his brother out. And he did use the word brother, which you made a point to bring up. He shot it down but still decided to push his message towards you. You should ask Dick out. It wasn’t that simple.
“Jay I don’t think you’ve thought this through.” you said.
He chuckled, “Of course I did. I wouldn’t say it out loud if it wasn’t a well-cooked plan.” 
You made a face at him.
“Okay look, all I'm saying is you’ve got nothing to lose. If anything you're way out of his league.” he said and then gulped down the rest of his beer.
You didn’t like beer and so you worked on a Pina colada. You had done the whole beer thing for years now. As a trained spy it was your go-to for missions at bars. Safe to say you were sick of ales, craft beers and everything in between.
“Ah yes, the magic using spy.” you nodded your head.
Jason nodded along with you. 
“Exactly. Bird brains would eat that up.” he said.
“And when would I tell him that I knew about his secret identity? Before I tell him about mine or after?” you asked. 
Jason sighed and raised his hand for another beer. You rolled your eyes at this. Once he had a thought it was very hard for him to let it go. Especially when it included a thought about people he cared for- no matter how much he claimed the opposite. 
“All Im saying is, you never know until you try.” 
“What are you a fortune cookie?” 
“Fuck off. I’m being serious and I do give great advice you can ask Duke.” 
2 DAYS LATER 
You look at Caliban with bated breath. He had just gotten info on a magic-based rebellion. Work was tight when you rolled with the good guys for too long of a time. You blame that on two men on your life, Jason and Constantine. 
“I’ll put in a good word for you.” he says.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it. And any-”
Before you can finish telling Caliban that he can call in a favor from you at anytime your surroundings change. In a flash you go from one of the underworld crime bars to a room you’ve never been in before.
You look around and sure enough you see the culprit. Constantine.
“There she is!” he smiles.
Not only did he summon you, he did so in front of an audience. Circled around him is Gotham’s crime fighting family. All of them except Jason, Cass and Duke. All of which know about your secret identity and would’ve stopped Constantine from summoning you. The rest of the family are all looking at you liked you’ve grown a second head.
You look down at what you’re wearing. The long sleeve off the shoulder skin tight black dress was the perfect choice for the club you were supposed to be in. Maybe not so much for a meeting with the Bats and his birds.
You look right ahead at Constantine, “I don’t like being summoned.” 
“Ah, but you’re the best person I know for this job. I had to get you over here.” he says.
You take a quick look at all the other people in the room. Then at the screen behind them. Your information is plastered on it. Well, the information that you’ve decided to let the government think was yours. Your codename was at the top of the screen.
“Constantine says that you’re the best way into the underworld.” Batman says.
You’re confused to say the least. Constantine was Constantine, why would he call you in order to get them into the underworld when he can do it himself? It defeats the purpose of having to call him.
“I’m sorry,” you direct to Batman and then look at your friend, “I need you to state specifically what I’m needed for.” 
Constantine moved from the family over to you. As he did you watched as Nightwing followed him with his own eyes. Now Dick knows you’re not just Jason’s friend from around Gotham. Great.
“Bats got intel that something it going down with this magic group, the-” he starts. “hex mutiny.” you finish.
“You already know about them?” Nightwing says.
“I was just getting someone to put in a good word for me with them before you summoned me here. You’ve got great timing you know that?” you say to Constantine.
He smiles, “Well then it seems like you can be of great service, spygames.”
“And what exactly would I be doing, if I can even get a spot with them?” you throw out the question to the family.
Red Robin crosses his arms, “We need someone on the inside to tell us what they are planning for Gotham.”
“I doubt they’d let a newbie in on their plans.”
“Good thing you won’t be a newbie.” Batman says.
Constantine conjures an amulet in his hand. You want to hit him over the head. He could really be a pain in the ass. You grab it from him.
“With this, you’ll be in the perfect position to get in and get out. Easy.” he says.
You shake your head, “Every time you say that I get a new scar.” 
“I promise sweetheart. No scars this time.” 
“Yeah yeah, you owe me for this.”
EXACTLY ONE WEEK LATER
You knew you would end up wounded. Typically with Constantine it was nothing deadly, or nothing your own magic couldn’t fix. But you knew that your luck had to run out some day. And it wasn't his fault.
After finding out what the group was really up to you couldn’t just let them operate. They weren’t really rebels. No they used that name to paint a narrative. They were fascists.
You held the wound to your waist to stop the bleeding. This would have to be the farthest you could go. There was no way you could run out of this. Not with the blood seeping through the cracks of your fingers.
At least you brunt the members down to the ash. It took a lot out of you. And that’s why you weren’t prepared for a hit that tore right through you. 
“Why aren’t you moving?” Jason, or Redhood, said through the comms.
You leaned against the hallway wall.
At least you’d die someplace pretty. When you first came in you didn't notice how clean and meticulous everything was. There were painting of famous magicians on the walls. Along with some stolen art, a Van Gogh or two. 
You ripped the amulet off your neck and felt the illusion fade. The necklace fell to the floor and you let out a pained breath.
“I think,” you coughed and on the clean wall was not splatters of blood, “this is it.”
You could hear Jason shouting on the other end. He was calling out your name, calling out for Constantine to come and help you. Duke was calling for you too. And you could’ve sworn you heard Cass say your name once. 
With your only free hand you tried to open a portal out of the base. You knew it would be useless as you had a mortal wound and portal magic works best under no stress and panic, or blood loss. The usual light from your hands glowed faintly until it didn’t.
“Constantine can’t summon you?” Dick asked.
At that you let your body drag down the wall until you reached the floor. When you did sit down more blood came out. So you decided to lay down horizontally. 
“Hey hey- I told you I wasn’t gonna let anything happen to you.” you hear Constantine through the comms.
You want to laugh, but it ends out more of a chocked gargle.
“I screwed up the mission. I deserve it.” you said.
“You did good. Better than any of us.” Batman said.
“Constantine you need to call in whatever favors you have to get her out of there. Now!” Jason shouted.
“Dont,” you started.
“No. We’re getting you out of there-”
“Jason, I’m not a saint. I never would’ve imagined going out like this.” you said.
Once you were born you were thrusted in this world. All you knew was to use magic as a weapon. To get ahead, to get power, to get the glory. And that lasted you until you turned 19. 
Then Constantine crossed paths with you. He was the one to show you that magic has other uses. Such as helping and healing. You learned the best stuff from him.  And you took what you learned and began to help in ways you could.
You didn’t go on the straight and narrow. Never did you consider yourself a morally correct person. Sometimes the lines were blurred, or they need to be blurred. And so you took down seedy organizations, went on recon missions all over the world.
It wasn’t justice. But it was close enough that you could sleep at night or the odd hours of the morning for more than four hours.
“Sweetheart I don’t break my promises.” Constantine said finally.
You were just beginning to feel your eyes grow heavy. The pain was starting to be comfortably numb. Then above you appeared someone you weren’t expecting in the slightest. 
“Caliban?” you asked.
“You owe me double.”
4 DAYS LATER
When you woke up you felt battered and weak You weren’t used to these feelings and you weren’t used to being so close to death. Everyday was a new experience when you’re the Priestess of Espionage.
You cracked open one eye to find a couple of deviants at your side. Jason, Duke and Cass. The youngest took the chair next to you while Duke and Jason seemed to take the floor. Since they weren’t in their gear you guessed that you were out for longer than a couple of hours.
“Not my version of hell but I’ll allow it.” you say in a raspy voice.
It wakes everyone up.
Jason and Duke bolt to your bedside.
“Why’d you almost die on me?” and “Are you feeling okay?” come from them both, respectively. It makes you want to laugh but when you feel the ache in your waist you stop yourself.
“I’m alive, so there’s that. Positives.” you answer.
Jason shoots his younger siblings a look and they scurry out the room. You try to sit up to ask what it was for but he puts his hands up for you to stop any movement. So you lay back down.
“He would kill me if you tore your stitches.” 
You shut your eyes, “Jason I don’t think Constantine would kill you per say.”
You hear the door opening so you decide to open your eyes. And sure enough you see Jason leaving the room and someone coming in. Dick Grayson, out of his suit as well. 
As much as you wanted to, you couldn’t read his face. Besides the clear betrayal that was there. He definitely knew that you knew he’s Nightwing.
“Hi.” you say.
His face softens, “Hi.”
“I just want to say that I would’ve told you about who I am. Sooner that you think actually but this mission kinda derailed all of that.” you say.
With his arm crossed over his chest he nods, “How long did you know I was Nightwing?”
You wince.
“For about two years now. Once Jason told me he was Red it was hard to not notice the similarities of the Wayne family and the Bat one.” 
He laughs at that and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. It must be going good if he wants to laugh. 
“And when did he tell you that I like you?” he asks.
“He didn’t explicitly say that.” 
There’s a beat of silence. You’re looking at him and he’s looking at you. But he’s the one who seems to be holding his breath this time. You try to hide the smirk you feel forming on your lips.
“What?” he asks.
“Jason had told me that I should ask you out. He didn’t say anything about you liking me.” you answer him.
The red tint that covered Dick Grayson was absolutely adorable.
He nods his head to himself. Twice.
“I- I’m gonna get Jason for you.” he moved to the door.  And you don’t really know what to say. All your words get jumbled in your brain and you can’t put them together in a way that is smooth enough so you deicide to just try your best.
“If you were to ask me out, I would say yes.” you say.
He looks directly at you. Then his signature smirk appears.
“I’ll bring back some food for later.” he says.
“it’s a date.” you answer.
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Text
My Maribat Betrothal AU: Take Two
Okay so people like that post that is more of a train wreck produced by my sleep-deprived brain. I expanded on it and added some changes. Fair warning: Most of my ML and DC knowledge came from Maribat fics, a few episodes and the DCU movies like son of Batman. I have Mari's pov and background stuff written and it needs some editing. Anyways, enjoy <3
It is not a continuation but: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0
[Masterlist]
(Part 2)
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PART 1
Damian groaned.
He was not having a good day.
First, Father decided to pair him with Todd, TODD of all people, for patrol.
Second, while doing a stake-out for the warehouse near the docks which might be used as storage for criminal activity and enduring Red Hood's annoying taunts, they both were knocked out by tranquilizers and his mother's face was the last thing he had remembered seeing.
"Don't worry, little one. You are just fulfilling your duties as heir to the Demon's Head. Then, all will be perfect." She had said, just before he fully lost consciousness.
Third, he woke up to being chained up with a major headache. Taking a bearing of his surroundings, the room he was imprisoned in had two exits, an iron door and a window that had the view of his childhood home. He was dressed in wedding ensembles of the League of Shadows. Red Hood was chained up next to him as well but unlike him, still had his suit and helmet on. Glancing to the other side, he saw a raven-haired girl, chained up and dressed in the black and gold robes of a bride. She had also retained consciousness and was staring at him.
Bluebell eyes met his piercing green.
His betrothal was petite with Asian features. She had freckles dotting her button nose and rosy cheeks.
She is fragile and will break easily, he thought. Why did his mother want him to marry such a weakling?
"Savez-vous où nous sommes? (Do you know where we are?)" Her voice was sweet and trembling with fear. Her eyes were wide and seemed filled with innocence yet carrying great sadness. She was an Angel, an ordinary girl, not fit for this harsh and unforgiving world she was forcefully going to get married to.
She opened her mouth to ask another question and suddenly, she went limp, appearing to be unconscious. Damian furrowed his brows in confusion. Why did she-
A moment later, he heard footsteps approaching and the iron door opened to reveal his mother.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jason woke up to the sight of the Bitch Talia and Demon Spawn, face to face, glaring at each other.
Talia broke the tense silence.
"Damian, I hope you know what you should do."
"To be forcefully married to that little girl. She is no one special. Why am I getting married to her?"
Married? The Demon Spawn is getting married?!
Jason saw through his helmeted vision, a girl about Damian's age, chained up like them but not yet awake. He raised his hand and saw the shackles around his wrists. The chains were connected to the wall. He experimentally yanked the chains, drawing Talia’s attention.
“Well, Jason, you are awake. You can be the best man for the wedding.”
“No. I don’t know what game you are playing but you better release us. B is gonna find us and you will pay. Let the girl go. She is innocent in all of this.” Jason said vehemently.
"Ladybug may not seem like it but she possesses great power that my father converted for centuries. Speaking of, she should be awake by now."
Talia stood up and grabbed Ladybug’s(?) hair and yanked so that her eyes met the girl's. The girl, who unfortunately was going to be the Demon Spawn's bride, lets out a cry and starts to tear up. Jason felt anger at how she was being treated, seeing the girl as a little sister already.
"Tch, See, she is more pathetic than I thought. She is not powerful." Demon Spawn growled out. The girl starts babbling in French. From the little French Jason knows, she was begging for mercy.
“Like I thought, weak. She is not deserving of the title of my wife.” Damian spat out.
"Appearance can be deceiving. Despite her demeanor, she is the current wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous and the Current Guardian. The old Guardian, the old fool had promised her in exchange for his protection." Talia countered, letting go of the girl.
Miraculous? Guardian? What the hell?
"That doesn't mean I want to marry her. She is not worthy of an Al Ghul or a Wayne. Look at her, crying at the slightest feeling of pain."
The mother and son begin to bicker. Damian refusing to marry and Talia trying to change his mind.
“Yes, both have to be willing to be married but the curse placed on both of you will ensure that you will agree.”
The dark haired girl had stopped crying and started whispering in a strange language when the fight started, fiddling with the silver ring she wore. Jason saw a terrifying smile crossed the face of the girl across him that chilled him to the bones. Later, a black blur came out of her robes and went through the door. He wondered if he imagined that before he was a determined glint in her eyes.
He blinked.
Talia was choking on the chains that were previously chained to the wall and were now around her neck. Fortunately for them, Talia had closed the door after her entrance and the guards most likely to be stationed outside didn’t storm into the cell. The girl whispered something in Talia's ear, making the woman's eyes widen with what could be fear.
The experienced assassin struggled to get free and gain an upper hand on the girl but was unsuccessful, passing out from the lack of oxygen and strangely strong grip of the small girl.
What happened next was surprising. She breathed hard on her shackles which instantly disintegrated into flakes of rust.
Holy Shit! Demon Spawn's girl is magic. Jason knows his mouth was hanging open under his helmet at that realization. Damian seems to be in the same state.
Talia didn't have the keys to the locks. Being crafty like that. Bitch
"Call me Lady." she said in lightly accented English as she summoned black orbs at the tip of her hands. “Stay still.”
She then proceeds to place her hands on Jason’s shackles, turning them into nothing more than specks.
"I am Red Hood." said Jason, rubbing his wrists.
"The little shit here," as he kicked Damian's leg, " is-"
"Damian Al Ghul" she said the last name with venom. She moved on to Damian's bonds. "Son of that bitch over there, grandson of Ra's, demon heir, blah blah blah. Hold still, mon mignon. I am sure you don't want to lose a hand."
Damian stopped moving at that, due to the pet name or fear Jason couldn’t tell but by the red at the tips of his ear, it could be the former. And she used her powers to free him.
Lady somehow managed to use what remained of the chains to hog tie Talia up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“How do we get out?” Damian asked, inspecting the blade that he flinched from his mother.
“Hey, kit.” A nasally voice called out. “I checked out the place we are in. Like you asked. The way to the Throne room is heavily guarded and they seem to think old Ra’s the target. The Pits are guarded too but they are nothing you can’t handle.”
“What is that?” Jason shrieked.
“Thanks, Plagg, you will get that camembert danish when we get back. This is a kwami, a god of sorts and his thing is destruction so I wouldn’t insult him if I were you. He likes to go by Plagg”, answered Lady, which doesn’t clear up Jason’s confusion.
“So, Pigtails, what’s the plan?” The floating, black cat-shaped god(?) asked.
“I was thinking of destroying the Pits to give Al Ghul a middle finger and call Maman to use the Horse to get home.”
“We need Tikki to get rid of it..”
“I will just tell Maman to bring the earrings.”
Damian snorted, “That sounds like a foolish plan. You are insane and not strong enough to take on the League alone, despite having a ‘god’ of destruction at your side. This Tikki or magic earrings will destroy the Pits, many have tried. And sorry to disappoint but no horse can make it up the mountainside of Nanda Parbat.”
“Have to agree with Demon Spawn here and I rarely do that. Your plan sounds insane, Pixie. You are just one girl. Let us help, we know the League better than you. We can come up with a better one.” Jason was worried for the girl, she was crazy if she thought her plan would work.
Lady smirked, “It is a perfectly sound plan. I know what I am talking about. Despite the weak girl act, I am no Damsel in distress. After this is all over, we will split our ways and hopefully, never see each other again.”
“We can’t separate. My mother said there is a curse that will ‘make us fall in love.’” Damian said, using air quotes. “You need to come with us so we can get someone to break it.”
“Fine. But I need to do something before I am coming with you. Plagg, Claws out.”
Bright green light flashed around her and she was now dressed in a black bodysuit with green linings. It was armoured at the chest, knees and elbows. (Add whatever details you want, I can’t do it. Jacket, designs, use your imagination) Her gloves were claws-like, reminding them of Selina and there was a belt carrying some vials, pouches and throwing stars. Her hair was now longer and braided and seemed to move on its own. Cat ears were attached to her head. Her eyes were changed so the sclera were the same shade of blue as her iries and the pupils were slitted like a cat. A black domino mask framed her face. Two ten-inch daggers appeared out of thin air in her hands.
The transformed Lady did the inhuman feat of kicking the door open. The assassins stationed outside were immediately knocked out by Lady.
“Well, are you coming or not?” She called out, before running down the corridor. Jason patted his shocked brother’s shoulder, “You doing okay there, demon spawn?”
“Tch, Let’s go, Todd.” Damian replied, trying to get rid of that funny feeling in his chest.
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kyberphilosopher · 3 years
Text
Hiss
[Part ii. of Bite] Jason’s been resurrected, only to find he’s been replaced as Robin. Luckily, an old enemy of the Batman has the attributes to help. Word Count: 6465
Warning[s]: guns, crime, language, crude humor, Mitski, non vegetarian reader, age gap, glorified taskmaster ally. Following part i the readers official gender is not disclosed. 
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“Uh, Jason? We might wanna let god fix it, because if we fix it, we’re going to jail.”
☈ - ✮ ✭ ✮
Six months. That’s how long it took for Jason to die. Six. Whole. Months. In an abandoned warehouse, in some foreign country that he couldn’t even remember. He’d been fifteen, small for his age but fifteen nonetheless, when that clown had beat him. And what had Batman done? Nothing. He’d let him sit in that warehouse, in that foreign country, with that clown at age fifteen- for six months. And he had done nothing.
Not that it really matters now. It had, at one point, to Jason. He’s in denial that it still does. But to Batman? Oh, it never mattered at all. How long had it taken Bruce to replace his son? A week? A month? No, it had been six months. Barely. And the clown? He was safe and sound, very much alive and loose as he usually was. Batman had put him in Arkham, after a while, but of course it hadn’t lasted for very long. Jason’s death? That was permanent. At least until there was a new and improved and very much replaced Jason running with Batman, six months later. That was permanent too.
So one can imagine the confusion you felt when you opened the door to find a very much alive ex-Robin on your apartment doorstep. 
201 Arkham Street, apartment 317 Gotham City, Gotham County, New Jersey
That’s the address given to him by the Riddler. Putting him in Arkham seemed to be one thing that the Batman had got done during Jason’s little time away. Clearly it had ended up well enough for at least one person. Jason hadn’t even needed to threaten the Riddler out of riddling. In less than ten minutes, Edward Nygma had revealed the Mockingbird’s address, who they like and don’t like, what their suit was made of, and finally their name. Batman had always assumed Riddler and Mockingbird were best friends, birds of a feather with all the times the they’d seemed to make some kind of appearance by the others side. Some friend Riddler was now. 
Jason had snuck into the Batcave recently, and while going through files, decided to take a glimpse into Mockingbird’s just for the sake of curiosity. He wasn’t expecting much. When he was fifteen, it had been near empty. But sure enough, the file had been expanded upon relatively greatly in the past- what? Four years? That sounded right. But one thing that hadn’t changed was your seemingly long standing friendship with Edward Nygma, the Riddler. Still, so much for it. 
Batman had seemingly made a note of allies of theirs, then crossed out multiple names. Poison Ivy, Bane, Deadshot- and yes- the Riddler, stayed. Scarecrow, Black Mask, and Catwoman were all shockingly crossed out. Jason hadn’t expected the last one. Below the allies were the list of crimes. That had changed too. They’d gotten more violent towards the end of the list, straying away from the Mockingbird that the ex-Robin had known. Mockingbird had picked a fight with Dick’s Nightwing enough times for Batman to make a note of too. Before Jason could get to the new pictures of Mockingbird, he quickly closed the file. Didn’t need to see anymore. 
So based on what he had gathered, you should’ve looked different. He’d memorized your face when he was fifteen. Was expecting it to have changed compared to then. But when you open the door and Jason’s face to face with you, Mockingbird, it’s like the first time. Only your eyebrows have gotten slightly darker, and your eyes have rung with dark circles. 
✮ ✭ ✮
The same can’t be said for Jason Todd, however, who you let into your apartment rather quickly. 
You’d done your research on him, too, but only after you’d heard about his death. A death which was confirmed. After locking the door and beginning to turn around, he answers the question before you can ask. 
“Superboy and Lazarus Pits.”
“Ah,” you respond, crossing your arms. The man stands tall in your living room, though it’s not forced. You’ve got no idea what a Lazarus Pit is, but it seems to have changed the Robin you knew before. He was scrawny before. He puffed his chest out before. He had something to prove before. Now his broad shoulders make him look bigger naturally. He could reach up and touch your ceiling with no effort. His face and jaw are masculine and strong, eyes bright green and blue and cyan like you remember. That’s how you know it’s Jason Todd.
“It’s because of the power struggle, isn’t it?” says Harley beside you as you both look over the side of the roof, her flat on her belly and you crouched on the ledge in watch. 
“Hm?” you’d tossed back through your voice changer, not even looking away from the busy street below. 
“Jay killed the Robin,” Harley chirps. “You know- Batman’s little boyfriend? In the shorts and the tights with the flips and the kicks? Oh, that kid went bing, bang, boom. Jay’s been real pumped about it.”
This had made you turn to Harley Quinn. You looked at her over your shoulder, still in position. Though you hadn’t thought about it at the time, it was a good thing she couldn’t see through your mask right about now. 
“The kid?” you say at last. 
“Yeah! Jason Todd! Ya’ know him?”
Harley doesn’t look at you, bubbly as ever in her own world. But you watch her for a moment. Then you turn back around to the direction of the street. “No.”
“Well I’m sayin I bet that’s why there’s so much crime goin’ on now. Old Batty’s got it...”
“I heard,” you tell Jason, before he can go into further detail. He nods once in understanding, in line with a breath, and then looks around the room. Your apartment is small, seemingly in decay, and looks like a shithole. Just like the rest of the building. 
“Mockingbird, I presume,” he offers finally. “Y/N L/N was it?”
You nod once, holding your gaze at the ground in thought before taking a step toward your kitchen. It’s close by to the living room. So close, in fact, that your island counter practically touches the back of your couch. “Robin,” you greet in turn. 
“My name’s Ja-”
“I know what your name is.”
Just then a sprinkle of dust falls from your ceiling, mixing with dirt and shit and pollen. “Nice place,” Jason condescends. 
“I’m sorry,” you put your hands on your counter as you lean in to look at him. “Weren’t you under the ground not too long ago?”
“Weren’t you in jail not too long ago?”
“I never went to jail.”
“But your buddy Ed did didn’t he?”
Your eyebrows crease, and Jason notices you lean forward a fraction of an inch more. He got to you. “How do you know about Edward?”
Jason Todd gives a small smile. His right hand reaches up until it’s poking the side of his head a few times. “Bat knowledge.”
You frown tightly. “Don’t do that. I didn’t like that.”
“You like beating up Dick Grayson?”
You shift. “Yeah. I did.”
“And Catwoman? Huh?”
“Yeah,” you say a little louder. “I did. What wonder boy? You wanna see the scar to prove it?”
“Okay,” Jason huffs. He closes his eyes, his jaw clenching, and then he speaks softer to control himself. “Okay. I’m not Boy Wonder anymore, or wonder boy. Don’t call me that.”
You look him up and down. His eyes, his jaw, his brows. The Robin you knew those years ago. He’d been beaten and blown up. He must’ve cried for help. 
“Okay,” you say, equally as soft. “But just for the record, I haven’t been the Mockingbird for years. Can’t really call me that either.”
“Why not?” Jason Todd questions, turning around so his back faces you while he observes your apartment. You can see his muscles through his shirt. 
Because you were just a kid. Because I liked you. Because you didn’t deserve it. Because Batman didn’t help. Because you were replaced. Because most of my friends laughed it off. Because I couldn’t go after Joker myself. Because I got angry. 
“Just grew out of it,�� you shrug instead, turning around. You open your dirty fridge and pull out a bottle of lemonade and two glasses. “What are you doing here, Jason?” you say as you pour the drink, your back now turned to him. 
“I need your help.”
“Whatever with?”
“I’m thinking of getting a little...” Jason’s voice goes low into something like a masculine purr, “...revenge on Batman.”
“You came back from the dead,” you turn around with two glasses of lemonade, “to get revenge on the Batman? That’s your great plan?”
“No,” Jason says simply. He’s since turned around so he’s facing you. “Screwing with the Batman is just a piece of the fun. He’s nothing.”
Jason accepts the glass that you hand to him. You sit down on your couch in front of his figure. That simple motion is enough to bring out some more dust from your walls. “So what’s the revenge?” you take a sip of the sweet, gritty liquid. It coats your teeth strangely in seconds. 
“New Robin. Ever heard of Tim Drake?”
You stop your sip, looking up at the big, broad Jason. You can already tell where this is going. “Uh, Jason? We might wanna let god fix it, because if we fix it, we’re going to jail.”
His brows shoot up. “You hit me in the face with a pipe.”
“I didn’t hit you. You walked into my swing. But you wanna go after the kid, Jason? Really?”
“Yeah.” He crosses his arms so his forearms flex. 
“Tim Drake?”
“Yeah.”
You roll your eyes in thought. On one hand, you hadn’t been Mockingbird for years. You stopped when you were eighteen, and you’re twenty one now. Not that it’s helped you very much. You’re still struggling in a shithole, broke and unhappy and no longer able to afford school. And Tim Drake hasn’t really done anything wrong. But on the other hand, Batman is a dick, and you really stopped liking him after what happened to the former Robin. You’d wanted to go after him and the Joker for it, but you’re not far enough in the Gotham food chain for that. Trading swings with Selina was as close as you got. 
“Alright.” You stand. You’re not even close to Jason’s height. “Lay out the deal. You got a suit?”
✮ ✭ ✮
And that’s how you and Jason Todd ended up on a roof that night. You, at the crisp age of twenty one, and he at what you suppose is his version of nineteen. Still working on wrapping your head around that one. 
You’ve pulled out your Mockingbird suit from under the bed. It was a bit dusty, but not hard to slip into. Everything seems in place. It’s just old. Your voice scrambler is still working okay and all the eyes light up efficiently. Jason’s got a suit too. 
“I don’t,” Jason answers, his face suspicious. His eyes are twinkling as he looks down at you. It’s so hard to believe he’s just a boy- or was, last you saw him. 
“Don’t worry,” you tell him. “I got you.”
You lead Jason to your room, into your closet, and into a space even farther back where an illuminated glass case the size of several yard sticks stands. It must cost more than your whole apartment. Inside of it is a metal suit like a military uniform, similar to Bruce’s Batsuit but with an Arkham emblem over the chest. 
“Call it the Arkham Knight. You like it?”
“Where did you get this?” Jason steps forward, raking his eyes up and down the design. Bruce would hate it. 
“I stole it from the Batcave.”
“The whole display case?” Jason snaps to you. Then his brows shoot up and he takes a step closer. “How do you know where the Batcave is?”
“How did you know where my apartment is? And yes, I took the whole case. It was just sitting there.”
Jason turns back around to the suit. It’s growing on him. He admires it. It’s perfect. The Arkham symbol will put the Batman into a state of despair. “Hard to believe you and Selina aren’t friends anymore.”
“We never were,” you mutter back. It’s really not his business that you ended so many partnerships because of his death.
“You’re sure this is the place?” you question. It sends Jason into a state of euphoria, hearing the distorted villainy of your voice again. It feels like the first time too, just like when he saw your face again. It feels how it did when he was fifteen and infatuated with the Mockingbird. It’s almost dizzying. It’s just strange to hear it knowing that now you’re on the same side. 
“Yeah,” he answers through his helmet. His voice is distorted too. “This is the place.”
You’re overlooking a Gotham street at night, something you’ve both discovered vigilantes, heroes, and villains do a lot of. Smoke fills the air along with police sirens and building lights. You’re positioned in one of the outer districts though, away from most of the commotion. 
“I can’t remember the last time I was here,” you say, half to yourself. 
“I can,” Jason says back. “When I ran with Batman. Last year. I was fifteen.” Jason's voice drops. “Or was I...”
You frown behind your own mask. Of course. Jason died four years ago, and he was fifteen when that happened. He came back- you’re not sure when- older and stronger and behind on the changes of the world. He must not know about social media, or the latest television crazes, or the new roads in Gotham. It makes you sad. 
All Jason sees when he meets your eyes through his visor is several red slanted lines. You’re both unreadable through your helmets. 
“There’s a good restaurant down on this corner,” you both turn back to the street, crouching in wait. “Maybe B-Man likes it.”
“He never eats,” says the ex-Robin. “Never sleeps. Never does anything.”
“You know he broke my buddy Scarecrow’s bones last Halloween?” you scoff. “Literally for not knowing where Black Mask is. Your old boss is weird as hell.”
Jason cocks an eyebrow you can’t see. “Thought you weren’t friends with Scarecrow anymore?”
“Anymore? B-Man keeping tabs on me?”
“He keeps tabs on everyone,” Jason shakes his head. “You’re just a file.”
“Hm,” he hears you say. Contemplate, more like. You speak again after a moment of silence. “Well Scarecrow and me are fine, thank you for asking.”
Jason scoffs. “He your boyfriend or something?”
“My boyfriend’s over in Metropolis.”
Oh. 
“How’s your girl?” Your head snaps to Jason at once, hands twitching around. “Or guy.”
He tosses a look to you that you can’t see, but you can guess at. Somewhere between ‘what the hell’ and ‘why the hell’ and an eye roll with furrowed brows. 
“Come on. Rose Wilson seems your type. Ooh, Artemis?” You suddenly nudge his arm with your elbow. “Batgirl? Is it Dick?”
Another look is thrown your way. This time it feels more angry. “Whatever, Robin,” you offer lightly. 
It dawns on you that perhaps Jason has never had a partner before. That seems more likely, especially after thinking about his situation, and suddenly you feel bad. It’s too late to vocalize an apology now though.
“Fine,” you say at last. “Let’s just stop talking.”
“Let’s do.”
✮ ✭ ✮
It starts raining not long after that. 
The drops bounce off your suits harmlessly. There’s still no sign of this Tim Drake and Batman. 
“Hey,” you break the silence. “Has anyone ever told you you look exactly like a statue?”
“Must be a resurrection thing.”
“Yep.”
The rain falls harsher.
“So,” Jason begins. “I have to ask. How do you do the- the…” he spins his pointer fingers around rapidly.
“What the fuck are you doing? What is that? No- what is that right there?”
“The thing that you do.”
“I’ve never done that in my life, Jason. What is that? Finger jiu jitsu?”
You hear Jason suck in a breath as he turns away. “You think you’re so funny.”
“You asked me for help. And between the two of us- who has died here? Not me. I’m hilarious.”
“Oh,” he scoffs. “So hilarious.”
“You seemed to think so. When…” your voice trails off. You almost wanted to mention that night in the warehouse to him. A memory of him looking up at you, his hands bound behind his back as he stares in wonder flashes in your mind. But it doesn’t linger for long. Movement in the street catches your eye. “Jason.”
Both your heads snap down to the place below. Sure enough, after a few seconds, a figure steps into view of the moonlight. A skinny kid with dark hair and a bright red and yellow costume. He looks younger than Dick or Jason.
“That’s him,” your partner says. He reaches behind his back and pulls out a long rod. It unfolds with a click that you recognize- the click of a gun.
“What?” you furrow your brows. “Woah- what?”
“I’m gonna shoot him,” Jason tells you casually, fiddling around with the weapon. It’s coming into shape more and more as a sniper rifle.
“That is a child,” you whisper hiss. “He’s like ten!”
“I don’t think he’s ten,” Jason puts his eye over the scope. “This is revenge.”
“Please, do not shoot a child for replacing you in your job of tightie whities vigilante.”
Jason huffs through his mask and looks over at you. “What did you think this was, bird?”
“I thought we were just like, gonna kick him in the balls or something! This is exactly what I meant by ‘we are going to jail’! I told you we should’ve let god fix it!”
“He’ll be fine.”
You knock the rifle out of the Arkham Knights hands with a bang. It clambers across the roof top until it’s nearly over the edge, half on half off.
Jason and you go down at once, shoulder to shoulder in a tackle. Thunder booms overhead. Through his visor, Jason sees you raise a white, gauntleted fist back in a punch, aimed right for his face. Luckily, he manages to catch you by the torso and neck and throw you off.
When he pushes himself to his knee and foot in a kneel, he looks up to find an exact replica of himself. Not literally, of course, but looking at you is like looking into a mirror. Your hand is placed on the rooftop the same way his is. Your knees are bent at the exact same angle as his own. When Jason cocks his head to the side slowly, yours follows him at the same time. So this is what it means to fight the Mockingbird.
He decides to reach for the gun at the side of his leg. He manages to fire once- and miss- a bang going off that he’ll be lucky Drake doesn’t hear over the storm. You knock the gun out of his hands easily, dodging a punch to the stomach before countering with one of your own to his face. It hits the exact same way Jason’s do. He sees your knuckles coming closer to him and almost thinks they’re his own.
Next idea is toss you off the building. Key word: you. Not him.
Jason grips the back of your head through your hood, reaching around. He carries you with him while he stands, tensing his abs as he feels you hammer your elbow away at them. It’s the knee to his crotch that makes him let go and let out a strangled groan.
But before anything else can happen, you spring forward at him in a pounce. Your palms latch onto his shoulders. His feet disconnect from the surface of the roof and the both of you go backwards until neither one of you are on the building at all, over the side.
Jason gets tangled in the emergency stair well. His metal suit clangs against it as he falls and tumbles down, either causing or saving some head injuries. You hit your back on an old street light before landing in a trash bin.
This is it, you manage to think to yourself. Lying in a garbage bin in Gotham at night. And in the rain. This is rock bottom.
I am going to kill everyone on the block for this, thinks Jason.
✮ ✭ ✮
You do eventually get up and remove yourself from the garbage bin. Jason sits at the bottom of the stairs, watching you. You do not exchange words. He does, however, follow you down the street as you essentially stomp.
“Ma’am,” he offers quietly to a gawking older woman.
You enter a small restaurant. More of a diner, really. The door jingles as it opens, and Jason watches you walk to the side until you find a table by the window. You sit down with a huff, tapping one of your helmets red eyes. He shuffles into the space ahead of you, nearly skirting the table across the floor with the bulk of his own muscle and suit. He can feel your judgy eyes on him as he clambers into the seat like a large, run down father.
“Hi there,” a chirpy waitress bounds. She’s a large, redheaded woman in a bright yellow uniform and a hat with a spring connected to a plastic burger on top. It is ridiculous, funny, and you are sadly not in the mood. “My, aren’t you two some interesting looking people! We don’t get a lot of men of metal around here!”
You both look at her silently, masks on but hatred seeping through boredly.
“What can I get you tonight?”
“A gun,” you drawl tiredly, rubbing your palms over your mask.
“We’re not sellin’ those right now, my dear. Something else?”
“Two cheeseburgers would be fine,” Jason speaks up for you.
“Two burgers,” the waitress repeats with a smile, writing it down in her burger notepad. Her cheeks are rosy as she beams happily. “And should I be expecting Superman?”
“Die,” you snap to her, watching her hurry off to the kitchen. Then you put your head down in your folded arms on the table.
Jason glanced around. It’s empty except for the two of you and some dumpy guy in a trucker hat with wide eyes. “What’re you staring at?” Jason all but barks. Normally, he tries to make himself as unnoticeable as possible in public. Not very confident or secure, it seems. But now he’s tired. He just fell down about a million floors worth of metal stairs. It’s late and he lost two of his guns.
“What?” you raise your head, also looking at the trucker hat man. “You’ve never seen two people in superhero suits before?”
“Beat it,” Jason orders.
The man is quick to stand and speed walk away. Still you egg on, “get out of here, bozo!”
“What a fuckin’ prick,” Jason grumbles as he watches the man trip down the street through his view from the window, the door still ringing to signal it’s been opened.
“Yeah,” you agree tiredly.
Your nimble fingers reach up and back to push your white hood from your head. Then they click against the sides of your face and pull the helmet away, revealing your face. You inhale as if you couldn’t get enough air before. Jason watches you, still as a statue, his visor giving him the luxury of being able to monitor your breathing.
“Now what?” you gripe, rubbing your eyes. It can’t be comfortable with all the armor on your hands, but you don’t seem bothered. You must’ve gotten used to it by now.
The Arkham Knight ahead of you only cocks his head to the side slightly. Silent with his helmet. “I’ll help you punch Tim but that’s as far as I’ll go.”
“Why are you defending this kid?” you hear Jason breathe in return. For a split second, electricity runs through you at the sound of his distorted voice, the way his body looks in his suit of armor and how unreadable he is through the helmet. It shocks you all the the way down to your crotch.
“You know,” you begin, eyes widening and voice quieting with a sudden nervousness. “He’s just a kid. Younger than you were.”
Jason scoffs and turns his head away from you, now looking out the window. Gotham is dark and damp outside. “Bullshit,” he scoffs. Then after a few seconds and continues. “Tim Drake and I are the same age.” His head pulls back slightly, fingers giving a strange, sudden twitch. “Or were. We’re-”
You’ll never know what Tim Drake and Jason Todd were. Jason never finishes his sentence, and only his suit flashes with little codes and details to let you know he’s still alive in there. Besides that, he’s as still, lost in sudden thought. You frown and lean in a bit, tapping your elbow with your fingers while you shift uncomfortably. “You’re nineteen, Jason.”
His head twitches again. Now you know he’s heard you. “I’m two years older than you,” you reason. “You’re nineteen.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “Why did you let me go?”
Your eyebrows scrunch and unscrunch. Another wave of electricity shocks down your body, but this time it’s because his voice sounded more like his own. You could hear it under the layers of metal and distortion. But option one is to respond to his question by pretending you don’t know what he’s talking about. That seems like it’s for the best.
“You were just a kid,” you tell him honestly. He silently presses you on. “And I just- I looked at you and I…” I really liked you, kid. Best night I had in years. Made me smile. God, you had to stop working with so many other Gotham city villains just for making jokes about the kid. “You were fifteen,” you say, looking away. “Just a kid.”
Jason watches you. Again, your head turns so you look out the window. He would’ve expected that to be the end of it, but you continue. “Why didn’t you turn me in?”
Jason’s about to pretend to not know what you’re talking about, because it seems like it’s for the best that way. But then he remembers you can’t see anything through his helmet. “What’re you talking about?” he gruffs.
“You saw my face in that warehouse,” you press. “If you had told Batman, I would’ve been to jail. Maybe Arkham. But that never happened. So why didn’t you tell him?”
I was obsessed with you, Jason’s mind screams. In love with you! It hisses, which makes Jason cringe. “Guess you were a kid too.” That’s right. You were seventeen back then. What is that? Last year of high school? You balanced a criminal career and the required education for a minor at the same time. Where were your parents during this?
Jason bites down on his lip hard. Parents. Should shut up about that, probably.
“I’m uh,” you bite your lip and then lick it. “I’m sorry for pushing you. On the roof.”
He shifts. “It’s nothing.”
You turn back to the window. Your arms uncross from atop the table and go to rest in your lap. This close and this still, Jason can make out all the details in your suit. It’s impressive. Kevlar and rubber and plastic, the Riddler had told him. Not the gloves. That’s metal and plastic. 
“So,” Jason decides. “How do you that?” Your brows crease in confusion. He tries to do the finger motions he’d down before, which makes you cringe. “The mirroring. And the fighting and the…” he goes through the motions again. “It in your helmet?”
Your confusion sinks away. A new expression washes over your face as you lean in. One finger reaches up, poking your temple and you smile softly. “Bat knowledge.”
Just then, the waitress saves the day. “Two cheeseburgers for the scary suit people!” she beams, setting the plates down. For a second, her breasts are pressed into each of your faces. Jason first, who does not move and you can’t see under the helmet. You bite back a snicker but instead seep a childish look. Then you’re next, and you can feel Jason’s silent laugh under his Arkham Knight suit as your eyes go wide. “Enjoy, dears!”
“Boobs,” you shiver. “Just got boobs in my face.” And then Jason watches you carefully pick up the burger in your dangerous gloves, and take a bite.
Indeed, for the first time that night, the man in front of you reaches up and pulls off his own helmet with a click. You watch it be taken into his large, veiny hands and passed to the edge of the table, against the wall of the window. Then your eyes wander up to his face, which makes you chew slower.
A strong face. Sharp jaw, perfectly in line nose. Lips always pulled into a scowl. Bright eyes with tired circles and scars across his skin. There’s a streak of white in his dark hair you hadn’t noticed at all before, though now it’s practically blaring you in the face. Jason Todd is very handsome. 
“What?” he says behind his burger, raising it to his lips but freezing before he can bite into it.
You shrug and focus again on your burger. You hear Jason bite into his own.
“I don’t have any money,” you tell him after a moment, swallowing down a bite.
“Me neither,” Jason answers. He nudges his head towards the window. “There’s an ATM across the street.” You nod in response.
A few bites in you speak again. The minutes have been filled with the noises of chewing and swallowing and yummy meat and cheese. “You ever heard of Mitski?”
Jason swallows his bite, which are bigger than yours. “What?”
“Mitski,” you repeat. “The singer?” Jason shakes his head. “You seem like you’d like her. My boyfriend hates her.”
Jason’s brows twitch.
“Why aren’t you with him?” he questions, taking another bite.
You roll your eyes. “Too expensive. He’s-”
“But he lives there.”
“He just didn’t offer,” you shrug. “I don’t have the money anyway. It’s fine.”
Jason cocks a brow. Your own boyfriend didn’t offer to get you out of this shithole?
You roll your eyes. “We haven’t talked in a long time okay? He’s busy. I’m busy.”
Both of Jason’s brows raise now, almost playfully. “Busy with what?”
You’d be offended if you weren’t busy trying to answer. What were you busy with? After you graduated, money went dry with university. It became less frequent after retiring from the Mockingbird mantle. Most of your jobs were minimum wage and short lived. You’re a bartender now, but not somewhere that’ll keep you going probably. Most days you sit around the apartment or run errands, sometimes hosting Ivy. Last time she’d been over, she’d given you a plant that had quickly died and spoke about Harley quite a bit. And Riddler obviously doesn’t come over anymore. Scarecrow had once but he’s off doing god only knows now. 
“Shut up,” you hiss. “What are you busy with?”
“Controlling crime in Gotham,” Jason takes a bite.
“How’s that working out for you?”
“Well.”
“You know you didn’t have to ask me to do this,” you say. “You could’ve just asked someone else. There’s a lot of people in Gotham okay with child killing.”
“I wanted you,” Jason explains. He’s quick to speak again to keep you from thinking about his words. “You were the first person I thought of.”
You’re nearing the end of your burger. “How did you find me?”
Jason shrugs mid-chew. He’s almost done as well. “Riddler.”
“Gave me away that easy?”
“Yep.”
You chew your last bite. It was a good and hearty burger, the cheese melting perfectly against the patty and your tongue.
“You want anything else?” Jason asks.
You watch the street outside, eyes squinting on the ATM. “Jason,” you mutter. “Jason.”
✮ ✭ ✮
Three men snicker as they load up dark blue duffel bags. They’re slimey and smelly, like an old sewer. Money falls from the machine like a waterfall.
Their success doesn’t last long.
One of them comes in contact with the Mockingbird’s elbow and slams his head into a brick building. The other two are just inexplicably on the ground, incapacitated while the Arkham Knight stands overhead.
“Fuck,” you breathe through your helmet. “I missed this.”
Jason’s just picked up the duffel bag when the sudden sound of sirens blare through the air. It’s close. Too close.
“Well that’s no good,” you mutter. You turn to Jason, taking a sharp step forward. “Give it to me.”
His brows furrow under the mask.
“I’ll pay the waitress,” you say. “You run.”
Jason reaches behind his belt and shifts the weight of the bag into one hand. A gun appears- a small handgun. You duck down as he raises it at you, holding your head down as the BANG! rings through the air.
You stand back to your feet, bracing yourself at the sudden sight. The Arkham Knight charges you, but only to pick you up like you’re nothing and jump through the glass window he previously shot at. The adrenaline makes things hazy, but you can see the blue and red lights now. It doesn’t matter. The two of you fly across what turns out to be a pawn shop, burst through the back door and back room until you hit the cold outside air of Gotham again. Multiple doors slam shut behind you. You’re both out of breath and panting, and it’s raining again. This time in an alleyway.
But the cops won’t follow you out here.
It’s quiet besides the panting from you two. Jason has more endurance, you’re sure, but you can hear his breathing inside his helmet. He lets the duffel bag slip out of his grasp as you double over. “I did miss that,” you offer. “Running from the police.” The Arkham Knight just continues his breathing.
“Thank you,” you tell him.
✮ ✭ ✮
Two days after the incident, you enter your apartment lazily. Your keys are tossed onto the island counter before you wander through your mail. One of your letters is from Ed in Arkham, warning you about “some big guy asking about you”. A bit late for that now. You haven’t heard from Jason since that night.
It isn’t until you go to sit on your couch that you notice a large, nearly bursting open envelope. Your fingers stretch to reach it, examining it. No return address, but written in pen in sloppy letters is the word “Bird”. Luckily, it doesn’t feel like a bomb. It feels more soft but firm.
You open the envelope. Your breathing hitches, breath slowing when you see what’s inside. Then a smirk comes over your face.
Just then, dust falls from your shitty apartment ceiling.
✮ ✭ ✮
A week after the failed Tim Drake incident, a young man decides to pay a visit to your building. He is tall and strong, with raven hair laced with a white streak at the front. He frowns at everything, ducking his head to make himself smaller and less noticeable. He cares not for being perceived by other people. He’s well aware of how he looks.
The man’s knuckles tap against apartment 317. He shifts, looking back and forth. The man is quite attractive in is casual red hoodie and jeans, but he wants to be out of the open as soon as he can. After a moment, there is no response from inside.
He scrunches his brows and knocks again. When he takes a step closer, he can hear something from the inside. Music. A piano and drums and maybe an organ?
Jason twists the door knob with ease and steps ahead and inside. The apartment is completely and totally empty. The music becomes louder and more clear. It’s a female singer he doesn’t recognize.
Only the bones of the kitchen remain. Counters, cabinets, a sink, and an old fridge. There’s mold in the corner of the space. But in the middle of the floor where the couch and living room used to be is a cluster of things. Things meant for Jason Todd. 
The man eyes the pile for a few seconds. Then he sets towards it. The first thing he recognizes is a CD player with the volume turned all the way up. He still doesn’t know the song.
Besides the player is a suit he’s quite familiar with. It’s clunky, but folded as neatly as it can be given that it’s made of metal. On the top is the helmet that gives it away. The Arkham Knight suit. It sits on a dark duffel bag in front of a small white piece of paper with the promise of ink inside. Jason decides to open that first.
You’re coming back… and it’s the end of the world…
Haha! I knew you’d show up!
Jason nearly rolls his eyes at the first sentence.
Thanks for the money. I know it was you. Thanks for the fun night too. Sorry about hitting your balls. They felt really big if that makes you feel better.
It didn’t.
I was thinking of Metropolis, but what do you know, me and the boy toy decided it might be better to hold off on it. I got a bit of dirt on the kid by the way. You’ll find it on the back of this paper. Oh and I hope you like the Mitski soundtrack. I bet Drake’s the kind too. I’m going to keep the Mockingbird suit if you don’t mind. I guess our night of fun kinda reignited an old flame. Don’t even think about coming after me.
Son of a bitch, Jason internally screams.
I have a gift for you though. You get the Arkham Knight. You look good in it. And a little something extra in the bag by the way. 
Love, Mockingbird.
I just need a quiet place… where I can scream, how I love you…
Indeed, inside the duffel bag Jason Todd finds some cash and red fabric with an R emblem over the chest. He doesn’t need to pull the rest out to understand what it is. He decides not to question how you got his old Robin suit or when, but lets himself smile a bit, his chest expanding with his breath. It’s a real smile too. 
You’ve given Jason everything he needs to go after Tim Drake himself.
✮ ✭ ✮
I hope I’ve ruined everyone’s day. You think I would let the reader and Jason be happy together? You absolute baffoon. Maybe I’ll make a part three for gits and shiggles though. I’m not sure about this one. Definitely more based around their interactions than the drama unlike the first one. It was fun though. I hit the paragraph limit. I think I did a good job with the chemistry. I do apologize for giving the reader a real set in stone age though. I don’t like to to that because I think it takes away the point of having a ‘reader’. Also if you’re vegetarian please just eat a cheeseburger it’s so good y’all are weird. Oh and fun fact I just got a Red Hood tattoo on Saturday! Look at me go!
Tagging everyone who asked for a part ii: @yunho-leeknow @fyowyn-writes @martianmilfhunter @beardedfandiplomatprofessor
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citrinesparkles · 3 years
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cat part four.
jason todd x gender neutral, cat lover (or tolerater) reader. 998 words. notes: part one here, part two here, part three here! the finale is here folks :) warnings: patching up wounds, self doubt, brief mentions of food.
he hated coming back hurt.
he couldn't stand the way the floor would creak when he landed inside the window, detested the way his own harsh breathing would echo through the living room, and absolutely loathed how quickly you showed up with tension in your jaw and concern in your eyes.
a small part of him was always grateful to see you, no matter the circumstances, but he hated making you look at the bad side of his 'job'. the blood, the bruises, the broken bones- you didn't deserve any of it, and he knew it, and it crushed him.
you helped dull all of the stings and burns and aches just by being there, but the selfishness of that was never, ever lost on him. not for a second.
you'd help him to the bathroom, asking him about what and where and how bad, and setting aside your own nerves to ease his own as he dropped himself onto the counter and leaned heavily against the wall.
you'd help him get out of his gear, always asking for permission and announcing each action before you took it and moving so gently, treating him with so much care that some nights tears would well up in his eyes.
this was one of those nights.
everything hurt, he was bleeding in like seven different places, and old self doubt and self loathing were trying viscously to climb back into the spotlight.
nights like these, it was hard to believe he deserved the way you were looking at him.
it was very, very hard to believe he deserved how quickly you recognized exactly where his head had gone.
"i don't mind doing this." you said it firmly, carefully smoothing a bandaid onto his cheek. he deliberately avoided your eyes, instead focusing on the stinging scent of antiseptic lingering on your fingers. "you know that, right?"
"mhm."
"jason, i really don't."
"it's not fa-" his bitter, grim argument was interrupted by the door bursting open, prompting him to shoot to his feet and shove you behind him in one smooth motion.
instinctively, he was braced for a fight.
"meow?" chewie announced herself, uncharacteristically quiet as she stood in the doorway.
"what the hell?" jason sputtered out, the question mixing with your relieved laughter as he stared down at her.
she ignored both of you and leapt up onto the counter gracefully, sitting down next to his hip and returning his stare with a quiet, calm purr.
he turned around, looking between you and chewie incredulously.
"so there's two votes for you being worth caring about, tough guy," you grinned. chewie ran her head into his hip affectionately. "are you sure you want to argue with both of us?"
"i- this- i cannot believe i'm being ganged up on in my own damn apartment." he tore his eyes away from yours, bending down to meet chewie's instead. "i share my tuna with you, and this is how you repay me?"
she meowed quietly, and the a single, tear fell down his face as he gently scratched her chin and felt like some kind of cinematic cliché.
"traitor," he muttered, blinking fiercely.
your hand found his shoulder tentatively, brushing it in a silent question. he answered by leaning into your touch, prompting you to shift into his personal space.
"hey," he said softly a few moments later. "what if we adopted her?"
"what if we did?"
he chose to ignore the traces of amusement and duh in your voice. "i promise not to train her to fight crime or dress her up like a stoplight."
"oh, har-dee-har. you are hilarious."
"is that a yes?"
"of course it is, goofball." you patted his back affectionately, making the warmth in his chest surge again. "she has a designated chair in the living room. you're literally the only one here that didn't know she was staying."
chewie meowed, and jason had a sneaking suspicion she was bragging somehow.
-
"alright, it looks like you're all good to go!" the nurse said happily, settling chewie's carrier onto the table in front of the two of you and handing jason a thin stack of paper. "here's your copy of her records, and here-" she passed him a red collar- "is her tag. i just need you to sign this real quick for me and you can get on your way!"
the room fell silent and his eyes fell to the paperwork. the vet had already explained everything written on it, details about vaccinations and checkups and other suggested practices and behaviors.
he dropped his gaze once more to find bold letters printed in the lower corner.
'chewie todd', right next to a dotted line.
suddenly, he was twelve years old again, sitting in a similarly cold room on a similarly uncomfortable couch, watching bruce wayne grin and laugh with some lawyer and sign a stack of papers.
then, he turned to jason with a much more genuine smile, quietly passing him a pen and pointing to a line, not in instruction but in invitation.
"jay?" your voice called him back to the present, pulling his eyes to your concerned features. "you okay?"
he studied you for a moment before turning to the carrier to find chewie's face smooshing against the door to watch him.
a laugh escaped him, and he nudged your knee with his own. "i'm better than squishy over there."
you nudged him back, chuckling at her. "maybe she wants to get back home."
home.
yeah, he thought, scribbling his name onto the paper and passing it to the nurse with a grin. i can work with that.
-
"chewbacca todd," you heard mutter in the kitchen that night. "how does that sound to you?"
"mrow!"
"you're right, it sounds like the kind of cat that needs some extra tuna as a special treat. brilliant suggestion."
"mrow?"
yeah, you thought with a fond sense of peace settling into your chest. i could get used to this.
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jd-loves-fiction · 3 years
Text
➤ Jason Todd x Reader
➤ Warnings: gun kink, unprotected sex [don’t be silly, wrap the willy ;)]
➤ @catxsnow @internalsealpanic​ @littleredwing89
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[22:50] Your lungs burn as you leapt from one building to another, begging you to slow down at once. 
No chance of that, not with the sound of heavy footsteps thundering behind you as a grunt is heard after the man chasing you lands. 
So you keep running, despite the tightness of your chest, the soreness of your feet and burning in your muscles. 
But somewhere deep inside, something urges you to stop. Something more abstract than the discomfort you feel.
"Come on, princess. Stop and let's talk this out!"
"No way in hell, you glorified eyesore!" You yell back, jumping yet another gap between buildings almost perfectly. 
Almost.
You misjudge the distance and are unable to stick the landing, rolling across the roof until you stop on your back. You don't move, already hearing how his footsteps become slower. He approaches your defeated form, panting as your ankle throbs slightly. You know you can't run anymore at this point, so why tire yourself out.
Red Hood steps over you, placing his boots on your spread arms, barely applying any pressure, just enough to send a message. 
You can hear his heave, distorted, and you imagine him to be sweating bullets under his helmet, while you cool off with the cold, humid air of late night Gotham.
"Did you need to do all that? I just wanted to talk." Red hood protests, exasperated and still panting as you do the same with a skeptical look. 
"Seems it was more your gun wanting to do the talking." You bite back, feeling small under his gaze, so far up from you, but refusing to show it. 
You can almost see his red helmet contort into a frown as you both know what you said isn't true. He may threaten you but he'd never actually shoot you. No matter how much he tries to hide it, he enjoys this dynamic of yours. And so do you. 
The sexual tension, usually pointed out by others around you, could be cut with a meat cleaver. And it just keeps building. Every encounter or skirmish usually leaves you with sticky underwear and him with tighter pants. You excite him, keep him on his toes, and he does the same to you. 
Not to mention the more intimate moments you've shared. 
Walking the grey line of morality meant that your friends could be your enemies and vice versa. For you two, it meant that one day you could be bandaging each other up (still with the masks on) and the next day you could be the ones creating a need for the bandages. 
And that is fine. You both think it's fine.
Until the tension brewing comes to a head spills over from the cauldron. 
Red Hood takes his feet away from your biceps, stepping just below them to take the weight off and still keep close. He then takes his shinny, polished gun from its holster, not yet having been used on that night. 
His large thighs flex as he crouches over your chest, placing the gun under your chin as you stare into the white eyes of his hood, hoping to catch a glimpse of what's behind. 
"Well, if that's the only way I'll get you to talk." His deep voice, seemingly deepened by the voice modulator, rumbles through your chest as he speaks. 
"There are other ways…" You whisper suggestively, mask slits lowering as you smirk seductively. The complete switch from your feisty defiance to a velvety tone and alluring expression makes him pause. 
"Oh? And what would those be?" The gun feels cool against your skin as he presses it harder against you.
"You could start by taking off your helmet." You say confidently. And just like that, the gun's pressure leaves you as he pulls it away slightly. 
Red Hood sighs deeply, shoulders dropping, "You know I can't do that, princess." 
"Not for me?"
"Not for you, not for anyone I'm afraid."
"Won't even let me try to change your mind?" You purr. Your hands crawl up his tense legs, feeling the muscles quiver under your fingertips before they settle on his hips. 
"I can't promise you anything." His tone turns stern, almost cold, but his breathing wavers at the feeling of your warm hands on his cold body. 
"Then don't. Just let me do my thing and see how you feel afterwards." You suggest, nails scratching just above his belt. His hand flexes for a moment, contemplating, before he traces his gun down your throat and towards your warm chest. 
"Think you can change my mind, do you?" His free hand brushes your hair away from your face before he grabs your chin between his gloved fingers. "Let's see what you got."
You slip your legs out from under him, placing them around his waist and throwing him off balance to the side, following the momentum and sitting yourself over him. 
Red Hood's helmet hits the floor as he lets his head fall back. You lay your weight on his middle before gripping both his wrists while leaning closer to his face. 
"You sound quite cocky. Not much reason to, since you're the one on the ground while I could just get up and run. You'd be left all alone to take care of your little problem." You whisper while grinding your ass against said problem.
"True, but we both know you don't really want to. And it's not so little, princess." His voice is deep and raspy as you continue your hip movements, taking his gun out of his hand. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"Then you better start working, doll face."
You scoff at his tone before realizing the safety was off on the gun. "The safety was off?" You ask, shocked, as you turn it on, placing it by your side. 
"Sorry, forgot about it. Had more interesting things to think about." His hands reach for you before you grab them, pinning them beside his head.
"You forgot about it? Not very professional of you, considering your impulses." Your chest meets his as you lean heavily on his wrists. You both know your hold on them means close to nothing and that he could easily get out of it, but he'd allow it if it meant having fun.
"Not the impulses you should be focusing on, sweetheart." His legs bend, urging you forward and making his crotch grind against yours.
“Ooh, I’m so scared of a man whose face I can’t even see. Not to mention the fact that you clearly have a very soft spot for me, sweetheart.” You tease, grinding your hips down firmly, reveling in the deep grunt that makes him chest vibrate against yours.
Red Hood lets out a slow breath, body relaxing completely as he stays silent, “Yeah, you’re right.” he finally says, quietly, absentmindedly. You stare deep into the whites of his mask as he stays tight-lipped and seemingly contemplating something. 
"Can I trust you? Completely?" He asks before you hum, taking your hands away and sitting up. You ignore his boner poking your ass.
"Yes, of course you can." Your expression turns soft and serious as you speak. You hope he can hear your honesty more than see it through the mask. 
He nods before reaching for his helmet, "Wait!" You exclaim as your hands stop him. "What are you doing?!"
"Listen, princess. I want this and I trust you. So I'm acting on all this fucking tension because honestly, I can't wait anymore." And so you let him reach for the back of his helmet, clicking it open with a hiss, before he takes it off and you're baffled by the image before you.
His hair is short and black with a white streak, just as messy and sweaty as you expected. His eyes are a startling, pale green, and they watch your reaction for a moment before his cheeks darken. There's the beginning of dark stubble on his jaw and chin. Even the small scars all across his face, from his cheek to the bridge of his nose, add to his rugged handsomeness that nothing your mind has ever conjured up could compare to. 
"Don't comment too much. We can leave the soft stuff for another time. Right now, I just need to be inside you." The heated look in his striking eyes makes your breath stutter, along with his words. Before you smile cheekily while trailing your nails down his hard abs. 
"'Leave the soft stuff for another time?' That better mean you'll be taking me out on a date, or I'm not having it." You tease, winking at him as he smiles fondly. You take off your mask and place it by his helmet, ego massively boosted by the immensely flustered look on his face as yours is revealed. 
"Do comment all you like. And you can call me Y/N." You whisper into the night, lips a breath away from his. 
"Jason. Nice to meet you, finally."
His soft lips crash against yours as months of tension come to a head while teeth scrape and tongues battle for dominance. You lose it and let Jason suck on your tongue as you rush to unbuckle his pants after raising his shirt slightly.
You feel his hands grip your waist tightly, meaning to flip you under him, before you hold him back by placing your hands on his, "Let me ride you, please." 
"Ah fuck, doll face." Jason's voice wavers as you reach past his boxers to grab his hot member in your cold hand. Your hand moves up and down, feeling him harden fully in your palm as your forehead rests against his. 
Your lips suck on his pulse while your other hand brushes a long scar in the middle of his torso, that you refuse to comment on. 
"Princess, you better stop or I'm gonna cum. And I just wanna do it inside you." He grunts, tugging at your pants while holding your wrist to slow you down.
You take your pants off, thankful for the roof's tall walls and the fact that, for once, it isn't raining like hell. The stone digs into your knees as you settle over him once again. 
"You ready?" Jason asks as you move his cock through your folds. You're not sure of the answer. He looks too girthy for you to take without prep painlessly. But with the burning ache on your core begging to feel him inside, your patience is quickly running out, so you're sure going to try.
You sink down instead of answering, slipping only the head of his cock inside you, making his eyes widen and nearly roll back at the unexpected pleasure, before they close tightly as he struggles to hold his own hips down as you adjust.
"Ah! Doll…" He sighs, hips twitching as they try to raise against the weight of you. You hold yourself up on his stomach as your walls are stretched to their limit, trying not to impale yourself too quickly.
You breathe hard and deep as you move down, the base being thicker makes it harder and not painful, but it's worth it for Jason's face as you finally descend all the way until your hips meet his and he gasps before moaning loudly and deeply. His cheeks become even redder than before, looking to the side at his loud noise.
You lean towards his ear to whisper, moving him inside you slightly which makes him groan again, "Be as loud as you like, nobody can hear you. Plus, not sure anybody cares."
“Fuck, princess, please tell me I can move. I just wanna fuck this pussy so bad.” Jason says, hands holding onto your hips. You nod desperately, already half gone with the feeling of his hard cock fully inside, raising yourself with a whimper and dropping again.
“Shit, doll!” He exclaims, hands helping you move as his hips raise while you drop, his tip hitting you impossibly deep as a layer of sweat starts to form on both of your foreheads, hair sticking to the skin.
“Ah, Jason.” You whimper, grounding your clit against his pelvis at the bottom.
“You feel so good, doll. So warm and wet, fuck…” He sighs, hand grasping your hair and pulling your lips against his as you set a hard and fast pace. 
Your lips barely connect for more than a few moments, kisses interrupted by moans and whimpers as you breathe against each other's mouths. 
Your toes begin to curl as sparks of pleasure travel all over your flushed body, breathing heavy as your heart pounds against your chest. Your body jerks as Jason’s rough and calloused finger starts rubbing firm circles on your clit.
“You close, sweetheart? You gonna cum all over my cock? Clench even tighter, shit!” He sighs, followed by a groan as you do clench tighter around him at his dirty words while the pleasure builds.
“Jason, please! I’m so close.” You moan desperately, muscles twitching as you allow Jason to do the most work with his powerful thrusts and rough fingers.
Your back arches as you finally reach that peak, shivering, nails digging into his stomach as you let him thrust into your pussy until he lets out a grunt once he reaches his orgasm, warm filling you as his cum drips out of you and down your thighs.
You open your eyes, gazing up into the dark sky, catching your breath before looking down. Jason lays back, sighing as the aftershocks of his high wears off slowly, leaving him sated and tired, pent up tension finally released.
You lean forward, ignoring the way your pussy twitches as he nudges the inside, and placing a kiss to his red cheek and smiling at his hazy, faraway gaze.
“So, about that date, you free on Friday?”
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liquid-luck-00 · 3 years
Text
Space Between 1
Ao3 *** Part 2
@maribatmarch-2k21 Day 2: First Time
~~~~~~~~~~
The first time Marinette died she was six. She had been walking along the sieve with her papa when she was pushed and fell into the river. She doesn't remember how long it was until the doctors started her heart again after having drowned. Her parents told her it was the scariest 10 minutes of their lives but she doesn't remember that.
What she remembers is the garden. A ring of flowers circled the garden, a small pond in the center surrounded by lush soft grass. A willow tree with two swings hang from its branches on one side of the pond. On the other a long bench with a podium next to it. She went over and on the podium were two stone tablets, one was blank. The other had Marinette written in elegant script, a single line was the only thing on the tablet with her name.
That was when she blinked and her eyes fluttered open.
"She's back. We got her back." she heard but it seemed like she had cotton in her ears.
---
The next time she was in the garden she was now 14. It was during Desperada that she died again, and again, and again. The kept being time missing but that was thanks to the snake miraculous. At one point she just stood or sat at the podium when she would arrive. At roughly every 2,000 deaths she would remember them all. When her number hit 34,559 and the other stayed blank she was ready to scream.
She has now died 34,559 times and 34,558 of those times were because of Adrien. The count had changed from tallies to just a number at some point.
She was going to say something when she appeared in front of Adrien for the up tenth time but he beat her.
"Sass, scales rest." The poor Kwamii nearly fell from the air in pure exhaustion. "It's been 4 months."
She cut him off. "I know?”
"Wait!!! How do you know."
"34, 558 times you rewound." Both Adrien and Sass stared at her.
"You are a Gray-Soul.” Sass exclaimed, “When did you get the memories."
"Around every 2,000 and about 17 times so I don't remember the last 500 of them." Adrien seemed to sigh in relief.
"Give it a week," Sass spoke, Adrien paled but that was a problem for future her.
She nodded. "Okay, but we need to deal with Desperada."
With Luka's help they finally were able to defeat Desperada. Okay sure she was bitter toward Chat during that fight, he hadn’t shown up earlier, but it was understandable. Okay she did die again with Luka but that was only once. She begrudgingly fist bumped them both in the end, but she was tired.
"M' lady are you alright?"
"Huh. Ya, Ya I'm good." she waved him off and left soon after.
A week later unfortunately, during yet another attack did her memories return.
"LB are you okay!" Chat asked her. Her gaze became steely and that akuma didn't stand a chance.
"Meet me at the tower in 15 minutes." Mari's voice was cold and serious. She gritted out attempting to process before swinging away.
"So Kitty anything you want to confess to or should I just tell you what I remember."
"Um... I'm.. I'm sorry," he was crestfallen.
"I'm not mad at you Adrien." she consoled. "It was a shock and I'm processing."
"I knew you didn't want to reveal and I'm sorry." He blurted, tears brimmed his eyes as he shrunk on himself.
"Hey, hey look at me." she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Would you believe me if I told you I used to have the biggest crush on you."
"You what?!"
"Ya but I just found out what a dork you are," she grinned flicking his nose.
"Am not!" he pouted.
"Are too Agreste."
"Fine, will you tell me who you are since you know me?
"Marinette. I'm Marinette, Adrien." she chuckled.
"Will you go on a date with me?" He looked hopeful.
'Sigh' "I'm sorry but no Adrien." he was going to protest but she stopped him. "Yes, I used to have a crush on you, but that kind of died after my 8,000 the death." he winced and she chuckled. "Adrien you are my best friend, no matter what Alya thinks. Your my partner and I trust you with my life, just not with the snake again," This time they both laughed.
"But the Ladybug and Black Cat are soulmates."
"Maybe we are. Just not romantically." she laughed at the confusion clear on his face. "there is more than one type of soulmates. I think we are more Platonic or even sibling soulmates."
"So you are like my sister, or should I say my soul sister."
"I guess you can see it that way."
"Hey soul sister." He had begun to sing.
"No don't!"
"Ain’t that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move ain't fair you know." he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Definitely my brother, no romance." she deadpanned.
---
Of all of those on the Miraculous team she is the only gray-soul. Everyone on the miraculous team has died at least a handful of times, but who hasn't in Paris. They asked her about it but it was always the same. Just her number rose each time.
A year later she and Adrien had swapped miraculous to practice with the other's power. Unfortunately she was hit before Vipereon was on the scene.
She was in the garden and she noticed him. "Oh!" she startled as did the boy. He was taller than her, black hair and ocean blue eyes. "Is it your first time?" She walked over to the podium.
"First time for what?" he asked.
"Here, dying." She shrugged. 34,999 she read a note that now appeared on her tablet. STOP DYING ALREADY!!! She chuckled at that.
"How are you so god damn calm about this! We're dead!" he screamed.
She gave him a bored look and pointed at the podium. He moved over to see what she was pointing at.
"What the Fuck! Okay so that explains how your so calm." On one side was Marinette her death total and her note, on the other side was the name Jason in elegant script and a single tally.
"So here's a run down. We are called Gray-souls this is the Go-Between or limbo. You can only die and revive once or ya know some 36 thousand times."
"You've actually died and revived that many times."
"Unfortunately." she gave him an eye roll and a small push.
"Want to tell me about it?"
"It's a long story and I don't know if I could finish it."
"Why wouldn't you, we have as much time as we want right now?"
"Once the cure is cast I'll be revived and that will be max 30 minutes."
"Fine, but you will tell me when we both get out of here."
"Okay!" She nodded and went to shake his hand.
"I'm Jason Peter Todd."
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. How will we you know, know it's the other person?"
Jason's tablet seemed to answer as it glowed drawing their attention.
Look among the Bats and the Birds for,
the Ladybug among the Menagerie.
They both stared at those words recognizing which part meant them. Marinette was about to say something but felt the all too familiar pull.
"Until next time, Jason, or should I say Gray." she nudged him with her elbow.
"Smell ya later Marinette Gray." he nudged her back with a smirk.
She waved and vanished from the garden. She never told anyone what happened that time, but those words were a constant whisper in her head.
Next
~~~~~~~~~~
Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @miraculouspenta @adrestar @vixen-uchiha
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thequeenxofhearts · 3 years
Text
Bookworms
Summary: Jason takes a nap, when he wakes up Y/N and Damian Wayne are exchanging books.
A/N: Bit of a terrible summary but hey-ho.
Word count: 1106
‘Whatcha reading?’ Jason asked as he plopped onto the couch next to Y/N, she didn’t reply – she probably didn’t hear him.
‘Y/N, babe.’ He spoke, nudging her.
‘What?’ She asked.
‘I said what are you reading?’ Jason asked.
‘Oh, it’s called The Other Passenger.’ Y/N replied returning to her book.
‘Is it good?’ Jason asked.
‘Yeah, it’s ok.’ Y/N replied.
‘You don’t sound too impressed.’ Jason smirked and Y/N shrugged, ‘I’ve read better.’
Jason chuckled, ‘Why carry on reading it?’ He asked, Y/N shrugged again ‘I wanna see what happens.’
Jason smiled, he leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek, ‘If you get bored you know where to find me.’ He winked before he stood up and went to the bedroom, ‘Where are you going?’ Y/N asked.
‘Taking a nap, I’ve got patrol tonight.’ Jason replied.
‘Ok.’
Jason left the bedroom door open ajar – it was a habit when he was taking a nap and Y/N was in the kitchen/living room on her own. Y/N was always quiet when she read, she hardly got up to get anything when she was into a book.
Sometimes he’d go for a nap and when he woke up, she’d be reading another book. With the door open a little, he wouldn’t disturb Y/N with his snoring, but he could hear her if she was in trouble.
An hour or so into his nap, Jason began to stir to the sound of voices. He didn’t think Y/N was expecting anyone…well to be honest she is a bit of an introvert and he couldn’t think of anyone Y/N would put a book down for.
He climbed out of bed quickly and pulled open the bedroom door open to find Y/N sitting on the couch where he had left her. A stack of books on the floor by her feet and his younger brother sitting in the armchair opposite her.
‘What are you doing here?’ Jason asked.
‘Tsk, I’m here to see Y/N, Todd.’ Damian replied.
Jason rolled his eyes, ‘You didn’t tell me he was coming.’ He said to Y/N.
‘We were texting whilst you were napping, and he decided to come over to exchange some books.’ Y/N smiled innocently, ‘Did you sleep ok?’
Jason smiled at her, ‘Yeah, I just thought…doesn’t matter.’ He walked towards her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before going to the kitchen for a bottle of water.
‘Anyway, as I was saying,’ Damian spoke as he nodded to Jason hinting him as a distraction, ‘Dracula is a favourite of mine and I enjoyed immensely.’
Jason rolled his eyes, he thought Damian was so good words even though he had to google their meaning after a conversation with him.
‘I think you will enjoy it too.’
‘Frankenstein is a good read also.’ Damian spoke.
Jason quickly looked to the bookshelf in the corner of the room and thought the last thing Y/N needs is more books.
She'll probably read the new books and leave the old ones to collect dust on the shelves.
Y/N stood up from her place on the couch and went to the bookshelf, Jason wondered if she was about to give Damian all her unread books, but that was probably very unlikely.
‘Try this one.’ She said passing the book to Damian, he took it and looked down at the cover, ‘The Chestnut Man?’
She pulled a book off the shelf and Jason recognised it.
The one she cried over last summer.
‘I really liked it, and I think you will too.’ Y/N said.
‘You know, Y/N, of all my brother’s girlfriends, you’re my favourite.’ Damian said.
Y/N looked over at Jason who stood behind the island in the kitchen, his jaw dropped.
Firstly, he was shocked that Damian had referred to him as his brother, and secondly, he didn’t think Damian even liked Y/N he thought it was just the books that brought him over.
‘Really?’ Y/N asked.
‘Yes. You are the only one who is not in my line of work – which quite frankly I don’t agree with – and I feel more comfortable around you.’ Damian explained.
‘I’m gonna take that as you don’t like Babs and Steph.’ Jason commented as he sat next to Y/N.
'I don't agree that they work with Grayson and Drake, and live with them also. I am surprised myself that I manage to live and work with father.' Damian spoke.
‘So, what other books have you two exchanged?’ Jason asked, changing the subject.
‘Damian gave me Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Dracula, and Tom Sawyer in exchange for She Lies in Wait, The Other People, and Haven’t They Grown.’ Y/N explained.
‘Didn’t you read She Lies in Wait in the summer after the Chestnut Man? Isn’t that the one that made you cry too?’ Jason asked.
Damian looked at Y/N and then at the book at the top of the pile next to him.
‘Only at the end.’ Y/N replied, ‘Do you want anymore?’
Damian looked at the books next to him, ‘What else do you have?’
Y/N stood up and went to the bookcase, and she pulled several books off the shelf, which Jason helped her with.
Damian left with a bag of at least seven books.
‘That’ll keep him busy for the weekend.’ Jason commented.
Y/N picked up The Other Passenger and returned to her book.
‘You’ve not finished that yet?’ He asked.
‘I’m gonna go back to bed.’ Jason said and he began to stand up, but Y/N grabbed his arm.
‘No.’ Y/N said disappointedly, ‘I wanna finish it today.’
‘You can stay here.’ She said, pulling him back down, Jason chuckled, but Y/N laid on her back with her head against the cushions. Jason laid next to her, resting his head on her stomach and he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Y/N listened to his snores as she read her book…as she tried to read her book – she couldn’t wait to be done with this one and move onto another one.
It had taken her some time, but she finally finished it.
As best she could – without waking Jason – she put the book on the coffee table.
She looked over at her bookshelf and started at the spine of the one she wanted to read, she could just make out its title from where she was.
It wasn’t a good idea to wake Jason, not when he had patrol, so instead, she reached for the one on the top of the pile that Damian had given her, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Damian had told her a lot about this book, she had heard good things about it before too. How she hadn’t read it yet, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t wait to get into it.
With one hand holding her book open, her other hand rested upon Jason’s head as he slept.
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Text
by the bedside
Characters: Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, Jason Todd
Summary: A job goes wrong, and Marinette fears the worst until Damian wakes up. 
Notes: Cross-posted on Archive of Our Own. 
Sequel
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"À la claire fontaine," a soft voice sung, pulling Damian out of his hazy daze. "M'en allant promener, j'ai trouvé l'eau si belle…"
Damian groaned and tried to turn on his side, to try and reach whatever it was singing, but the moment he did, the song stopped and was replaced by a gasp. Damian blinked his eyes open, ignoring the sting, and saw sitting next to him was a disheveled and red-eyed Marinette sitting next to him.
"Damian….," she whispered. Damian tried to reach out a hand to her, but found that it felt like lead. Moving it felt like a splitting pain, and it was weighed down by a cast. Damian shut his eyes and leaned back into the pillow. The building, the explosion, and –
"Adrien?" Damian croaked. Marinette nodded her head and took the hand not enclosed in a cast in her hands. She gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled.
"He's fine," Marinette said. "He's doing damage control with your brother."
Ah, yes. Dick. Nightwing had come to Paris as one Dick Grayson, something to do with Wayne Enterprises or other, when he had realized what Damian was up to. Robin had become an unofficial third member of Paris's own dynamic duo, Ladybug and Chat Noir once all their allies identities were exposed. Hawkmoth was long gone, so it was just petty criminals and the like, but adding a fourth member to that so suddenly had thrown everything off. Even if it was for one mission. A bomb was missed, and now –
"How long was I out?" Damian asked. He narrowed his eyes and looked around and saw a familiar location had enveloped him. "And ho-how did we get to the Batcave?"
"Two days," Marinette said breathlessly. "And a Zeta tube."
Ah, Zeta. He should have known. Damage control probably meant making sure Paris still had someone patrolling and keeping it's citizens safe.
"Nightwing insisted we bring you back here," Marinette said. "Said you should be with family."
That meant it was touch and go for a moment. Damian felt unfrazzled by the brush with death, how many times had he had one since he was born? Not to mention he actually had died once. He looked down at Marinette's outfit, and saw she was wearing the same purple sundress she had been wearing before her transformation two days ago.
"H-have you been here the whole time?" Damian asked softly. Marinette looked down at her fingers sheepishly.
"I-I had to be sure," Marinette said. "When the Lucky Charm didn't work, and –" Marinette cut herself off with a chortle of tears. "Ma moitié, I had to make sure you weren't dead."
Damian shut his eyes. This was what frazzled him. He knew in their line of work, one got hurt. Sometimes you didn't walk away. But to hurt Marinette, to make Marinette feel hopeless and lost as Damian fought on a hospital bed. Marinette was the one good, pure thing he had ever been able to keep, and to make her feel pain felt like a betrayal.
"You should have gone home," Damian said slowly. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Marinette shook her head and squeezed his hand.
"If you expected me to do that, then you don't really know me."
Damian turned his head to the side, and tried to ignore the sharp burst of pain at the top of his back from the movement. But try as he might, he still winced. Marinette reached forward and put a hand on his shoulder to try and steady him again.
"Be still, ma moitié," Marinette said. "Monsieur Pennyworth said it was best for you to remain as you are."
Marinette was so polite, and despite Alfred's continued insistence, Marinette continued to call the man by his proper name. Damian found it was one of many adorable things about her to love.
"Nawaret aynaya," Damian said, "I promise I'm fine –"
"No you're not!" Marinette busted out. "You're hurt, you- you nearly died! All because I couldn't keep my team – I got distracted and –"
The young girl burst into tears, and Damian took his hand from her grasp and reached up to caress her cheek. Oh, Marinette. She always took ever mistake, every misstep, as some misgiving on her part. To Marinette, the safety of all Paris and all of her friends sat squarely on her shoulders. She might shoulder that responsibility with her brother Chat Noir, but Marinette would always hold it as a personal stake in her heart.
"It's not your fault, nawaret aynaya," Damian said softly. "This – this comes with the mask, you know that. If you had or had not been there, this would have happened eventually." He wiped away a tear form her cheek, and Marinette reached for the hand still caressing her. "I love you Marinette. And I know you would never hurt me. So stop blaming yourself."
Marinette gave a weak smile.
"If you expect me to stop just like that," she hiccupped, "then you don't really know me at all." She sucked in a deep breath and rubbed her thumb across his wrist.
"I love you too," she said. Damian's heart sang. For seventeen years he had waited for something and someone that would look at him and not see a monster. Not see an assassin or a danger or someone to fear. And by some miracle, that person turned out to be the love of his life.
And he'd be damned if he let her go.
"He's flatlining, I'm calling it," a voice said, breaking the moment around them. Damian retracted his hand and Marinette wiped away a last tear. In the doorway stood one Jason Todd, mask gone but still wearing spandex and his leather jacket. "Mari, time of death?"
Marinette bit her lip and looked down at her hands, but Damian could see the beginnings of a smile on her face. Jason stepped into the room and dragged a chair from the corner and sat down next to Marinette with a loud thud.
"Papa Bat should be here in a little bit, Brat Bat," Jason said. He took out his gun and began to fiddle with it, probably to clean it since he pulled out a white cloth from his pocket. Damian frowned.
"I'm not a brat," Damian said. Jason rolled his eyes.
"You might be seventeen, but you're still a brat sometimes," Jason said. Marinette looked up from her hands, that familiar mischief shining in her eyes.
"You're kinda. Sometimes," Marinette said softly. Jason laughed and slung an arm around the girl's shoulder.
"Ah! I got the girlfriend on my side!" Jason said. "I win!"
Normally Damian would keep going and insist he wasn't a brat, but Jason was as transparent as a plane of glass. Jason was trying to cheer up Marinette with this joke, and Damian was not going to try and ruin that. Marinette was going to be happy and not worry too much about Damian, that was his mission.
"What did you win?" Adrien asked, popping his head into the med bay. His blonde hair was still damp, meaning he probably just got out of a post-patrol shower. He came up behind his adopted sister and hugged her from behind, placing a kiss to her temple.
"Marinette admitted Damian was a brat sometimes," Jason said.
"I am not!"
"Yeah, you are," Adrien said. Tim and Dick entered the room, and Tim was texting someone on his phone. Probably Stephanie, telling her he was okay. Dick pulled a chair over to the other side of Damian's bed and leaned back, his long legs stretching out underneath the medical bed.
"Be nice to the injured child," Dick said. Damian frowned.
"I am not a child," Damian said. "I am the same age you were when you went solo, Grayson."
Dick raised a brow. "And? I was a child then, henceforth, you're a child now."
Damian furrowed his brow again and Marinette laughed softly, but once again he did not fight. If it made Marinette smile, it was worth it.
His father finally materialized, Alfred behind him. His father was as stoic as ever, his eyes steeled and guarded thanks to the new visitors to the Cave. Despite the Miraculous duo having been unofficial members of the Batfamily for a year and a half, Father still seemed opposed to giving them official membership. Damian wondered if it had anything to do with Marinette being his girlfriend. He hoped not.
"Master Damian," Alfred said, and a phantom smile overtook his professional form. "I see you are recovering well. I assume Miss Marinette has made sure you've stayed where you should?"
"He only woke up a little while ago, Monsieur," Marinette said. Her lips upturned wickedly. "The real problems in that regard have not started yet."
Adrien laughed and hugged his sister tighter.
"Trust me, mi'lady is here is plenty capable of keeping Damian in line."
Once upon a time, Damian had been jealous of Adrien's nickname for Marinette. Now Damian knew better. Adrien may have once been desperately in love with Marinette and Ladybug, but once one Kagami entered the picture it was game over. Now, the nickname was mere relic of that time and a testament to the depth of their bond.
"I expect nothing less," Alfred said. Father stood at the foot of his bed. He was still dressed in his suit, but his cowl was down, revealing his identity. That made Adrien and Marinette's lack of inclusion even more baffling – they knew who all of them were, the biggest secret they had.
"Are you alright Damian?" Father asked. Damian nodded.
"Yes Father," Damian said. A sigh of relief left his father's form. Despite medical evidence, after everything that happened with Jason, Father would never be certain of his kid's state until he heard from them exactly.
"Well, I mean, wasn't he just fighting with Jason?" Tim asked. He looked up from his phone. "Me and Dick heard them outside. If he's in a fighting mood, he's fine."
"I almost died, and you guys treat me this way," Damian said. Jason rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, this is how we show our love," Jason said. He eyes Dick. "Except for Dick. He does the whole normal shit. Damn well-adjusted asshole."
"Damn non-well-adjusted asshole," Dick shot back. Marinette giggled. Father turned to Marinette and Adrien.
"You two can stay here as long as you need, to make sure Damian is okay," Father said. Damian tried not to let his surprise be palpable. Marinette and Adrien were barely allowed in the Batcave half the time, now Father was offering to let them stay while Damian recovered? What had happened in the time he was asleep? "You can Zeta home for clothes, if you need them. But we have enough clothes that might fit you Adrien, and I'm sure Cass left some things behind before going to Hong Kong."
"Thank you, Monsieur Wayne," Adrien said for the both of them. Marinette smiled and then turned her attention back to Damian.
Damian for seventeen years wondered what it would be like to be purely loved.
Now he knew. It came from Marinette Dupain-Cheng, that kind of true love
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angelz-dust · 3 years
Text
masters of none - part 4 (jason todd x reader)
summary: after many months, we are back in action and back in reader’s head. pls enjoy these jason crumbs. if you need a refresher on the plot, the other chapters will be linked below!
word count: 3.7k
warnings: food/eating. alcohol. cursing.
part 1 /// part 2 //// part 3
gravity
ever since i ever felt ya, right there life couldn't seem better. tulip flowers in my sweater. ask me now, is this forever?
you rested your chin on the table before you, your arms hanging limply between your knees as you listened to your manager, dana. you were really just watching her mouth open and close while she pointed at a powerpoint. god, what you would've given for an extra hour of sleep. the all nighters in the studio were starting to take a toll. 
the feeling of the back of daisy’s soft hands brought you back to earth. the smell of cocoa butter dancing beneath your nostrils as her smooth engagement ring rolled across your cheek. you breathed in her smell, exhaling in content through your nose.
“you good?” she mouthed and you closed your eyes, giving her a little nod. the bassist rubbed her calloused fingers against your forehead, pushing strands of your hair past your hairline. you pouted when she eventually pulled away, leaving you only with the sensation of touch that once was.
you heard tyler shift in his seat and then felt some air graze against your hand. you looked under the table, noticing he was holding something out to you. you two made eye contact briefly before you scooted back in, grabbing what felt like an envelope. looking down at your lap, you saw a sticky note attached to it. jason’s money was what it said. you carefully put the envelope in your jacket pocket, sitting back in your seat now and looking at dana’s powerpoint. she was going over reports from your publicist, jerry, which you didn't particularly care about.
“now, i have to ask,” dana’s words pierced your bubble of inattention. “have you all thought about what i said about this next album?”
jordy raised his hand like a school kid. “yes?”
“y/n and i decided that we'd be okay with making our album a group project. it has been, admittedly, kinda hard and boring without everyone else. we’d honestly be doing ourselves a disservice by not doing it together,” jordy explained, dana clapping her hands together.
“wonderful,” she nodded, keeping her hands clasped. “i know you two were excited to do your own thing, but i was talking to jerry and he was really pressing me to get a group album from you guys. the people wanna see you guys as a unit of established artists, which you all are. so what's the concept? we never discussed it.”
“uh,” you verbally paused, raising your arms above your head to stretch. “disco, jazz, and funk. it's a mix of those.”
“retro is in right now,” dana nodded, pacing around the room. “how far back will this set us on a release date?”
you grimaced, leaning back in your seat, the back of the seat lightly bouncing as it absorbed your weight. you pondered the question for a moment. “if it’s gonna be a group thing, it'll have to be significantly longer. we have a decent starting off point but i'm gonna need way more songs now.”
“what about the rest of you? any tracks that we could swing?” dana asked, looking at the rest of the group. 
grabbing a pen and piece of scrap paper, you started jotting down notes as everyone spoke out to you. dex and quinton didn’t have anything, but they wouldn’t be a problem. you just needed to give them a beat to rap over and you’d be set. the twins had a finished song already that fit the concept, which was good. with tyler’s voice and aly’s excellent song writing abilities, you doubted very seriously that anything else needed to be done to it. daisy and hector had plenty of lyricless songs, too. funk and soul was their specialty, after all. misha even had a demo track she was willing to share. 
you looked over the notes you had taken, tapping your pen on the table as you hummed to yourself. “this could probably work. we’ll need to go over everything in the studio, though.”
“we should just do it now. no one is doing shit else today, right?” dex asked the group, who all shook their head. 
“i have a request,” you raised your finger, looking at dana. “i want gotham to be involved in this project.”
“gotham…” dana repeated slowly, unsure of what you meant. “care to elaborate?”
“music videos directed by student directors from gotham university, commissioning local artists for album art. dancers, actors, musicians, whatever. all of them have to be from gotham. i don't want any of the money we put into this project leaving this city,” you stated firmly, dana giving you a blank look. 
“i like that idea,” hector said, giving you a kind smile before turning to dana, shifting in his seat. the drummer was like a big brother, always backing you up in moments like these. “accessibility to the arts is really limited here and we should change that.”
“i’d rather give back to the city, too,” quinton agreed, playing with the gold cross hanging from his neck. “we’re one of the only groups in gotham known outside of gotham. we should use that as an opportunity to rep our city.”
“it sounds like you have your minds made up on this,” dana narrowed her eyes, letting out a sigh. “it would definitely be good PR.”
“because god forbid we do something out of the kindness of our hearts,” misha laughed, rolling her eyes. “we're trying to put the city on and you're worried about how it makes us look.”
“that's my job, misha. don't you want me to do my job?” dana retorted. “besides, i'm more concerned with the funding. you all don't have disposable income, believe it or not.”
“but i know someone who does,” she said with a singsong tone, giving you a look.
“i hope you're not referring to me,” you deadpanned. your income was far from disposable.
“i’m referring to our good friend, bruce wayne,” she explained, grabbing a business card out of her purse, handing it over to dana. “ever since i got invited to that charity gala, i've had a direct line to a representative with the wayne foundation. i say we ask them to help fund the project.”
“now that could work,” dana admitted, eyeing the card as she tapped her foot. “if we pitch for more youth involvement, it'll probably go over better. we all know how much bruce wayne loves saving the children.”
you frowned at how dana described bruce’s initiatives as a philanthropist. you were sure his motivations for favoring youth projects were good intentioned, considering his parents had been killed when he was just a little boy. you wanted to go into this good intentioned, too and you hoped that they'd agree. they being the wayne foundation and subsequently, bruce himself.
“ty and quinton could do something with forrester. if we’re going for the youth involvement route, i mean,” aly spoke up. 
“forrester correctional. our old stomping grounds,” quinton sighed wistfully as he patted tyler on the shoulder. “i think that would be a good idea.”
“they use the arts as an outlet for them, so it could be beneficial for everyone,” tyler nodded. “there are a lot of good kids there. just unfortunate circumstances, that’s all.”
“wasn’t one of bruce’s son’s a troublemaker before he was adopted?” aly continued, not noticing the look you and tyler shared. “i’m sure he’d probably be interested in doing something with them if his son comes from the same background.”
“it’s settled, then. you all keep working on the music. jerry and i will handle the rest. we need this album out before hector and daisy’s wedding,” dana said, grabbing her suitcase. 
hey, i have your money. did you still want it?
you stared down at the unsent message, your thumb floating over the send arrow. you hadn’t spoken to jason since that night after the race, as per his request. your mind kept wandering back to it, even as time still went on. what happened was scary, to say the least. fun, but scary. you wondered how the hell jason didn’t get the two of you killed. that part, you didn't want to think about too hard. everyone in gotham had their secrets and it was an unspoken rule amongst citizens to not pry. secrets were secrets for a reason. nothing good ever came from unearthing them.
speaking of secrets, you hadn't exactly told tyler and quinton what happened that night. not in detail. you conveniently left out the chase and stopping to get something to eat. omitting the first part was obvious, but the second one was for your own sanity. you didn't need them teasing you over nothing. besides, all that mattered was no one was dead or arrested. and for the way the three of you used to get down, that was a win. 
you considered texting jason earlier this week, just to check in on him, but you decided against it. he obviously wanted you to text him and you obviously had to do the opposite. his little mind game wasn’t going to work on you. you pressed send, frowning immediately as you did so.
maybe it already had.
“it’s too many people in this bitch,” dex sighed, the cold of the water bottle you had asked him for against your hand bringing you back to reality. blinking, you were suddenly very aware of the chaos surrounding you in the studio as you put your phone back in your pocket. you looked to your left, where jordy was leaning against the wall and scrolling through his phone. to your right was aly, who was scribbling in her songbook in the chair next to you. you remembered you were supposed to be working, too. “we need a new stu.”
“i’m working on it!” hector hollered from inside the booth as he and daisy were setting up equipment and instruments. you glanced up at the glass in front when you heard his voice, accidentally catching the pair share a little kiss. you quickly averted your gaze, smiling to yourself.
“new stu, new view, what it do?” quinton began to freestyle to a beat he was making on the coffee table in front of him. “off 92, posted up with southside crew.” 
“okay,” dex laughed, noddinh his head as he was vibing with the beat, making his way out of your line of sight. you heard someone, presumably tyler, join in and add some depth to the beat. it sounded like he was hitting a pencil against a shot glass.
“i got a new boo, but i’m tryna slide with misha, too,” quinton continued, dex adlibbing in the back as quinton lowered his voice to his signature melodic whisper. “on the low, nobody gotta know.”
“would you shut the fuck up?” you heard misha say, followed by a barrage of muffled smacking noises and verbal objections from quinton, who you assumed was on the receiving end of what sounded like an assault by pillow.
laughing to yourself, you leaned your head in aly’s direction, not fully facing her. “pass me the flash drive?” you held your hand out weakly. once you felt the plastic in your palm, you leaned back over and put it into the computer, pulling up the proper files. 
“we’re done back here,” daisy smiled at you, she and hector coming out from the booth. 
you clapped your hands together. “wonderful. everybody shut up, please.”
you pulled up the twin’s song and let it play, your eyes fixed on the colorful audio loops on the screen. the green ones were tyler’s vocals, the purple were aly’s. it looked like blue was reserved for instruments and red was any added sound effects or layered sounds. 
“you two sound really great,” jordy walked up behind aly’s seat, leaning against it as he swayed his head to the beat. 
“thanks. i wrote it with our mother in mind,” aly said, the words coming out of her mouth uncomfortably. you placed your hand on hers and gave it a little squeeze, which earned you a look of appreciation.
“it's missing something, though,” tyler scratched the back of his head. “i need the producer squad to give us some assistance.”
“oh, say less,” dex laughed, snapping his fingers to the beat with one hand and holding his glass of hennessy in the other. he danced his way over, taking aly’s seat as she, tyler and jordy moved to give you all some space. 
misha sauntered her way over, sitting against the table and flipping her hair over her shoulder. the smell of her sweet perfume floated in the air around you. “i think it just needs some fluffing up. some snapping might work. more vocal layering in certain spots.”
“i agree,” you nodded, dex letting out a satisfied sigh as he took a sip of his cold drink. 
“is it good?” misha asked him teasingly and he took his final swig, letting out a more dramatic and drawn out sigh. this time, though, it was on beat with the song. you were pretty sure it was unintentional on his part, since he and misha just shared a laugh before returning their attention to the screen.
after a moment of pondering, you swiveled around in your chair, looking at tyler. “okay, hear me out…”
two weeks of very diligent working between the nine of you had given you a lot to work with for the album. all that was left was to start putting things together. you still had a ways to go, but you had a good starting off point. as much as you hated to admit it, it was a good call on dana’s part to have you all do a group album. the fans seemed to be greatly anticipating the release and the work ethic the nine of you shared was incredible. even in that cramped little studio, you all made it work.
you all agreed to take the day off, but you were still working at some capacity. you had just traded one small space for another, working in your walk-in closet/home studio for the day. you still needed said walk-in to function as a closet, so there were still garment bags pushed up into a corner and shoe boxes haphazardly stacked, surrounding your desk that you had shoved in there. there was just enough space for you to move your chair and safely get out without twisting an ankle, a fate you often flirted with in that room.
in the spirit of your day off, you hadn't done anything too difficult. you were just trying to decide what order you wanted the completed songs to go in. it may seem like an insignificant detail, but the order was important. the transitions between songs couldn't be jarring for the listener. everything had to flow together with natural progression. at this point, it didn't matter since you weren't done with the album, but it was just giving you an idea of how to fill the gaps with future songs. 
the sound of your growling stomach indicated that it was time to stop for the day. you quickly saved all your work and headed to the kitchen. you popped some leftovers in the microwave and scrolled on twitter while you waited. the microwave beeped at you, so you set your phone back down and grabbed the bowl, mixing up the contents with your fork. the flash of light coming from your phone got your attention. a text notification.
are you home?
oh, so now he wanted to respond? cute.
despite your annoyance with the situation, you quickly responded with a yes and set the phone back down. you leaned against the counter, eating what little food you had in your reheated bowl. you mixed the contents around with your fork, grumbling. stupid jason and his stupid inability to text back. he could have at least had the decency to leave you on read. he probably didn't even have read receipts on. you weren't sure which was worse. tossing your now empty bowl into the sink, you grabbed your phone to read his next message.
i’ll be over soon. 
soon was very vague and you wished that you would've demanded an exact time, but that opportunity had passed by the time you thought about it. you busied yourself with tidying up, trying to make your place look presentable. you even lit your new candle, which you found yourself focusing your attention on while you waited for him to show up. staring at the flame was much more entrancing than you anticipated.
you heard the door buzzer go off. you weren't expecting anyone else, so it had to be him. you leaned against the wall, pressing your finger to the button.
“who goes there?” you presented the question as a joke, but your tone was a little flat.
“it’s the irs,” jason’s voice came through and you buzzed him in. 
not too long after, you heard him knock on the door. you cracked it open and the first thing you noticed was his cologne. it was a strong but pleasant scent. spicy and sweet. it was very intoxicating, actually. so much so that you almost forgot you were angry at him.
“hi.”
“hello.”
you opened the door fully and handed the envelope to him. jason eyed it suspiciously. he opened it up and began to count it out in front of you. he made an effort to do it very slow, the sound of the crisp dollars echoing in the quiet hall. his eyes stayed glued to yours as he counted out loud. you leaned against the doorframe as you watched.
“six… seven… eight,” he said, pulling out his wallet and stuffing it with the cash. “thought you would've skimmed some off the top.”
“i should have with how long you made me wait,” you said matter of factly, letting your annoyance be known now. 
“i know. i’m sorry,” he sounded honest but you couldn't see it in his face or in his eyes, which was worrisome. it was a nice alternative to listening to a sputter of excuses, though. “let me make it up to you?”
“how do you plan on doing that?”
“i’m so glad you asked,” he smiled. “as it turns out, i've recently come into some money. let me spend it on you?”
“so you like throwing money at your problems?” you asked him. well, you weren't really asking. it was more like you were telling him. 
“no,” he said, sounding a little offended. “i just thought-”
“you just thought that throwing money at me would make me forget about the fact that you ignored me for a month.”
“no, no,” he shook his head, sighing in frustration. “listen, i-”
“i really don't wanna hear it,” you said honestly, watching as his frustrated look turned into kicked puppy. you almost felt bad. “i don't like feeling stupid, jason. that's how i feel right now. i want you to make it up to me but you'll have to be a bit more creative than this.”
“you want me to make it up to you?” jason had repeated, confusion on his face. 
you poked him harshly in the chest. “you do that or you leave me alone. those are your options. goodbye.”
you shut the door in his face and let out the breath you were holding in. you weren’t sure how jason was going to react to your little ultimatum, but those were your terms. you liked him but you weren’t going to stress over someone you barely knew, especially with your assumptions about him floating around in your head. 
“i’ll be right back,” you heard him say through the door, catching you off guard. 
“what?”
“don’t go anywhere.”
you didn’t respond but you heard his footsteps getting quieter as he walked down the hall. the elevator ding indicated that he had left. you stood there, confused as to what it was he was trying to do. you were still stewing in your negative emotions, so you went and busied yourself again. you decided the dishes needed washing and got on it right away. in the middle of scrubbing the stubborn sauce stains out of your plate, you heard your door buzzer go off again. 
so he did come back after all. interesting.
you buzzed him in like you did before and waited by the door for him. he knocked and when you opened it, you were met with two gifts: a bouquet of pink tulips and a small box of something from the bakery around the corner. 
“i shouldn’t have ignored you. it was rude and stupid and i’m sorry. it won’t happen again,” he said to you, holding out the items to you. you hesitantly accepted them, taking the opportunity to look through the plastic opening of the box to see chocolate covered strawberries. 
“it better not happen again,” you pouted, looking up at him. you had to appreciate the effort he put in at such short notice. it was a sweet gesture and he actually looked sorry this time. 
“it won’t,” he assured you and you smiled.
“i forgive you. but you’re on thin fucking ice,” you reminded him and he grinned at you with a nod.
“i’m going to make it up to you. just you wait,” he said confidently. “not all of us are naturally creative like you, though. you gotta give me some time to think of something else.”
“seems like you’re getting your feet wet with the flower selection,” you noted, taking a whiff of the delicate and fresh scent. they’d look nice on your coffee table.
“lady at the shop said they would convey my sincerest apologies,” he explained, a hopeful look in his eyes. “did it work?”
“for now,” you shrugged, setting the items down on the table next to the door. 
“i can accept that.”
“you’re gonna have to because that’s all i’m giving you,” you said firmly. his charm wasn’t going to get him out of this one. not completely. “now go away. i want to eat my berries in peace.”
“i’ll text you as soon as i get the chance,” he told you as you were shutting the door. you peered at him, narrowing your eyes before shutting it again. “i’m serious!”
“goodbye, jason!” you said through the door. you heard his faint farewell as you walked away, plopping on the couch with your dessert in hand.
were you still a little mad at him? yes. but you weren’t going to pass up free stuff, even if you had made all that fuss about the money earlier. at least the gifts had some thought behind them. so long as he held up his end of the deal, you had a feeling being friends with jason wouldn’t be that bad.
hopefully, anyway.
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Text
Drinking Buddies
Masterlist
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--- If Jason ends up going home with someone, call me and I’ll come pick you up.
Y/N read the text from her boyfriend with a smirk. He’d sent it 20 minutes ago, but she was just now seeing it.
It was the only message Dick had sent her all night, always trying to give her the independence and space she needed.
Dick was always amused by Y/N and Jason’s little “club.” It even became an ongoing joke within the family. But Dick also knew that there was something sincere underneath it, as well.
Dick realized early in their relationship that there were some things in Y/N’s past he could never fully understand or help her with. Yes, he had his own trauma. But it didn’t involve abuse. His parents had died, but there wasn’t a day before that when Dick felt unloved by them.
Jason and Y/N had parallel childhoods: abusive parents, fighting to survive on the streets of Gotham, robbed of a happy and sheltered adolescence. Unfortunately, they were both victims of the darkness that Gotham held. The same darkness that drove both of them to risk their lives to stop it from continuing.
Outsiders probably thought it was weird for a man to let his girlfriend go out with his younger brother alone. Especially when said brother was as tall and handsome and broody as Jason Todd. But Dick felt more comfortable doing that than when Y/N had girls’ nights. At least with Jason, Dick knew that Y/N would be safe.
But Dick also knew Jason needed a friend just as much as Y/N did.
--- I doubt that will happen. But I promise I’ll call you if it does. 
Y/N typed back.
--- You’re a freakishly good wing woman. Don’t underestimate yourself. 
Dick texted back instantly. 
--- Have fun. Be safe. I love you.
He double texted.
--- I love you, too. 
Y/N answered before slipping her phone back into her small purse.
“He’s so obsessed with you,” Jason commented without needing to ask who had her smiling down at her phone.
But Y/N wasn’t taking the bait that easily. “Good thing I’m obsessed with him, too.”
“He’s probably sitting at home and crying because he misses you so much.”
Y/N punched Jason in the arm. And it felt like punching a wall rather than a human being with skin, muscle, and fat. “Stop being mean. I didn’t come out with you to listen to Dick get ripped on.”
Jason gave her a crooked smirk. “You’re right. I wanted a drinking buddy.”
“Yes,” she agreed. But then she narrowed her eyes. “But you always wanted to talk to me about a woman.”
“I never said that.”
Y/N rolled her eyes. “I have female intuition.” But her amusement and teasing faded. “Is it Artemis?”
Jason’s body tensed and gulped down the rest of his whiskey. 
“That obvious, huh?” He asked slowly, his embarrassment was easily caught.
“No, it’s not, actually. I’ve just been paying attention.”
“I told you I hated her and that she drives me to insanity,” Jason scoffed.
“Yeah, and I knew that was your sexual tension speaking,” Y/N teased with a tilt of her head and a smirk before taking a sip of her drink.
Jason chuckled at that. “You’re not wrong…”
“So,” Y/N leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms with interest. “Tell me about her.”
“She’s an Amazon. And a badass. She’s tall – taller than me, actually. Red hair. Doesn’t take anyone’s shit. Loves to pick a fight. Loves to get her way even more.” Jason sighed. “And…she’s beautiful,” he finished with. “Absolutely fucking beautiful.”
“OK. Now that you’ve basically given me her dating app bio,” Y/N ridiculed. “Get to the good shit.”
Jason glared at her.
But he took in a deep breath. “We’ve been…” he didn’t know how to put it politely.
“Fucking?” Y/N offered.
“Fine! Yes, alright?” He growled. “It was just casual at first. Friends with benefits – or whatever.”
Y/N couldn’t stop her laugh from escaping. 
“Jason, even though you try really hard to pretend to be a heartless hard-ass, you and I both know that you’re actually a hopeless romantic. So why you thought you were capable of having a fuck buddy, without falling in love with them, is beyond me.”
Jason rubbed his face in frustration. “I know. I fucking know, OK?”
Y/N finally decided to have some sympathy and gripped his shoulder. “You’re gonna be fine, bud.”
“Am I? I hate this. I feel like such an idiot. I don’t want to mess this up. But I also don’t want to keep pretending like I’m not in love with her.”
It was moments like these where Y/N truly forgot that Jason was also the Red Hood, one of Gotham’s most feared vigilantes. He was also a murderer, if she was being transparent. But right now, he just seemed like a lost young man, terrified of his own feelings.
“Why don’t you get us another round and I’ll put some music on the jukebox? And then we’ll figure out your shit,” she offered.
Jason smiled. “Deal.”
There were at one of the roughest dive bars in Gotham.
Jason was a regular – as was almost everyone else that was there.
He already made his reputation known. 
And even though on the outside he looked like a helpless pretty boy, the bar patrons learned rather quickly not to pick a fight with Jason Todd. Not that most of them wanted to, he was a perfectly polite guy and tipped far too nicely for the shit service he got there.
Y/N made her way to the vintage jukebox and started scrolling through her options.
“What are you picking? Justin Bieber?” A froggish voice said to her right.
Y/N paused to give him a glare. “Is that because I’m a woman?”
This was negging. And Y/N hated this pick up tactic more than any cheesy line.
The man shrugged. “Just wanted to make sure you put on something good.”
“Oh, I will,” Y/N snapped before turning her attention back to the songs.
“How about I help you DJ and then you let me buy you a drink?” He muttered far too closely to her ear.
It made a chill go up her spine and she suddenly felt ill.
“No thanks.”
“Come on. One drink,” he grabbed her wrist.
Y/N whipped her attention back to him and tried to tug her wrist away. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she growled.
But his grip tightened.
“Get your hands off her,” Jason barked suddenly from behind her.
Jason had at least 5 inches on the guy and was probably twice his weight.
It was enough to make the man immediately drop Y/N’s wrist. “Maybe don’t leave your girl alone…”
“She’s not ‘my girl.’ She’s my brother’s girlfriend,” Jason corrected with a glare.
He wanted to say more, but he could tell by Y/N’s body language that she didn’t want to start a scene, hating all the eyes that were already on them.
The man had given up. 
But not before both of them heard him mutter, “Fuckin’ whore.”
Without missing a beat, Jason punched him in the face.
The hit knocked the guy off his feet and possibly knocked out a few teeth. 
So much for not causing a scene…
“Say another word about her and I won’t use my hands next time,” Jason practically spit down to him. 
Then he slyly opened up his jacket to show that he had a gun on him.
The guy didn’t need to hear anything else. He jumped to his feet and tried not to run out of the place.
A beat passed before Y/N erupted into laughter.
“Oh, Jason! Oh, my knight in shining armor! You saved me!” Y/N put the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically as she mocked him.
“I should’ve let him grope you,” Jason mumbled as he led them back to their seats.
They both knew he didn’t mean it.
“Dick’s been showing me some self defense, you know.” Y/N beamed proudly as she took a sip of her new drink.
The bartender came over and silently offered them a free round of shots, proving that he’d seen the exchange. And this was his way of apologizing for their troubles.
Jason nodded his head in thanks before handing one of them to Y/N.
“Yeah?” He played dumb.
She nodded excitedly.
They clinked their shot glasses together before throwing them back.
“You know Dick would have my ass if I hadn’t intervened, right?” He asked her.
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. He’s overprotective like that.”
“I’d be the same way,” Jason agreed.
“Even if it was with an Amazon, who was bigger and stronger and had lived for hundreds of years?” Y/N teased, reminding him that she wasn’t done talking about his love life.
“Even then,” he smirked.
The night went on as normal. 
Y/N asked Jason a million questions about Artemis. 
And together, they came up with a game plan.
————————————
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Dick was working on his computer.
Gray sweatpants on. No shirt. A couple of empty beer bottles on the coffee table where his feet were propped up.
He wanted to lie to himself and believe he was waiting up for Y/N to make sure she got home safe. But he knew Jason would die before he left anything happen to her – especially on his watch.
No, Dick didn’t bother trying to go to sleep because he basically couldn’t when Y/N was gone. 
Even if he was in bed and she was still up working or walking around the apartment, it was like Dick could feel her presence and that was enough. He needed her to sleep, even if she wasn’t right next to him.
Dick smiled when he heard the loud clattering of keys failing to match with the slot of the lock.
Finally the apartment door opened.
“Special delivery for Richard John Grayson!” Y/N screamed in a slur before he even could see her.
“Shh!” Jason hushed quickly. “He’s probably sleeping.”
But when they rounded the corner, Jason relaxed at the sight of Dick being wide awake.
Y/N was piggybacking Jason with a drunk smile.
“Looks like you two had fun,” Dick commented with a laugh.
“So much fun,” Y/N agreed.
But then she was squirming and Jason realized she wanted off. He released his protective grip on the back of her thighs and carefully dropped her to her feet.
Y/N sprinted to her boyfriend and tackled him into a hug on the couch.
Thankfully Dick saw this coming and had quickly moved the laptop off his lap before she crushed it.
“Well hello to you too,” Dick chuckled as she wrapped her body on top of his like a koala bear.
He kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair.
“I’m very tired. And Jason wouldn’t get me Taco Bell,” she whined.
Jason looked offended and held his hands up in surrender. “I did try to get you Taco Bell, but it was closed.”
“He’s lying,” Y/N whispered.
“OK,” Dick managed to suppress his laughter. “How about we get you into bed and maybe chug some water?” Dick asked her softly.
She just nodded into his neck.
“Alright. Here we go,” Dick warned her before he managed to lift both of them off of the couch and carry her to their bedroom.
He helped her out of her clothes and then got her into one of his big t-shirts, not bothering with shorts or pants. He managed to convince her to take out her contacts before he handed her a makeup removal wipe. Then he very nicely asked her to drink some water for him.
“I’m gonna go say bye to Jason and then I’ll be right back,” he whispered as he tucked her into bed.  
Y/N sleepily nodded. “Jason punched a creepy dude for me. So be extra nice to him, K?”
Dick sighed.
Of course Jason did.
When Dick walked out of the bedroom, his younger brother was chugging a glass of water in their kitchen.
“You punched a dude?” Dick asked as he crossed his arms and gave him a suspicious look.
Jason shrugged. “Just another asshole who didn’t know the word no.”
“Thanks. For always looking out for her, I mean.”  
Jason nodded.
“You spending the night?” Dick asked.
They purposely rented a place that had a guest bedroom. It was rather common for someone from his family to crash. A lot of the time it was someone hiding from Bruce out of spite and needed some space from the manor.
“Nah. I just wanted to make sure she got home. I’m walking back to my place.”
Dick nodded, expecting that to be his response.
But Jason seemed to be lingering for some reason.
“You OK?” Dick asked him after a few moments.
“Yeah! Yeah, I just…Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“How do you make sure you don’t fuck it up?”
Jason didn’t need to clarify that ‘it’ was Dick’s relationship with Y/N.
Dick scratched the back of his head. This wasn’t a usual subject for him and Jason. They almost never talked about women with each other.
“I guess I just…” he thought about it for a moment. “I’m honest with her. So she never questions where we’re at. She always knows how I feel. And then it’s never scary for her.”
Jason nodded his head, clearly deep in thought as he mulled over Dick’s answer.
“I’ll see you guys later,” he finally said his goodbyes.
“Get home safe, yeah?”
Jason scoffed. “Always do.”
Dick locked the door behind his brother.
When he made his way back to the bedroom, Y/N appeared to be passed out.
But when Dick crawled into the other side, she instantly moved to him and placed a kiss on his bare chest.
“Hi,” she sighed sleepily.
“Hi,” he kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her. “What’s up with Jason?”
She smiled with her eyes closed. “Can’t tell you. It’s club business.”
Dick rolled his eyes and shook his head.
He tickled her sides. 
“Noooo,” Y/N whined as she buried her face into his chest.
Dick only stopped because her reaction was so adorable.
“I’m kidding,” she breathed her surrender. “Your brother…is in love.”
“In love, huh?” Dick said in awe, processing the idea. 
“And what advice did you give him?” He asked.
But when he looked down, he realized Y/N was now actually asleep.
Dick kissed her cheek and mentally reminded himself to run to the store early tomorrow so he could make them a greasy breakfast. He could only assume Y/N was going to need it with the inevitable hangover from a night drinking with Jason Todd.
------------------
Guess I wasn’t finished with them yet 😏
Let me know what you think. And I’ll see if I want to keep doing these. 
ALL BONUS CONTENT CAN BE FOUND: HERE
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Shitty Birthdays and Little Stars | Jason Todd
✦ pairing — Jason Todd x gender neutral!Plus Size Reader
✦ word count — 1.9k
✦ summary — a stranger makes your shitty birthday better – maybe even more than just your birthday.
✦ request — Can I have a smutty prompt 11 with Jason Todd, please?
✶ S11 - “If you keep making those sounds I’m not going to be able to stop myself.”
✦ warnings — angst, mentions and usage of alcohol, language, reader has a vagina, mild smut, fluff.
════════════════════════
Sean, the bartender’s shadow loomed over you as he stood in front of you. Sniffing, you looked up at his still frame.
“It’s too early to close my tab,” you reminded him defensively, “I just got here.”
Chuckling, he shook his head and placed a glass identical to the half-empty one in your hands.
“What’s that?”
He lifted his eyebrows, deviating his gaze to your left. Your eyes fell on a dark-haired man, a little mysterious looking, clearly stupidly tall, deep pretty eyes and all...
Why did he have to appear today precisely?
“Shit, he’s hot.”
“Go,” Sean encouraged you.
“No!” you said between your teeth, eyes still on the handsome stranger. “I’ve been crying the entire day.”
“Oh, I know. Everybody can tell, even him, yet he sent that drink.”
Your head snapped to where the bartender was standing. You glared. “Sean, do you even know wh—“
A gruff voice next to you interrupted you. “Can I sit?”
The effect that voice had on you must’ve been clear on your face because Sean snorted and walked away.
You nodded your head. “Of course.”
“I’m Jason,” he introduced himself as he sat down next to you, twisting on the stool to face you.
You gave him your name and immediately felt the need to explain yourself under his gaze. “I’m flattered,” you assured him. “But I’m in a shitty mood and I wouldn’t want to ruin your evening.”
“What happened?”
“Let’s go with a ghost from the past.”
“Metaphorical, I hope.”
You tilted your head. “So you believe in ghosts? Like actual ghosts?”
Jason considered the question for a few seconds. “Can’t say I do, can’t say they absolutely don’t exist.”
You hummed. “It’s just been a shitty day.”
“We all have those. Some have shitty years even.”
“You know Sean, right?” You nodded your head upward in direction toward the other end of the bar. Jason nodded. “Well, today is my birthday and the only person who remembered was him.”
“Happy birthday.”
You could tell that he meant it which wasn’t making things better. Or easier. “Thanks.”
“So a shitty birthday brought you to a bar?”
“Yeah. Long story short.”
“I have time.”
“You really want me to ruin your evening, don’t you?”
He shrugged, almost sheepishly. “Got somebody else’s evening to ruin?”
Finishing the half-empty drink, you sighed. “My two best friends live in another state and they were supposed to be here yesterday but they’re too busy which I completely understand. And my dad is out of town visiting my half-sister whom I hate — that one I don’t understand so much, but I guess she’s his daughter too.” You grimaced as the words left your mouth. “You wanna hear the worst part?”
“I’m all ears.”
“I was in the parking lot of the supermarket, trying not to cry because apart from the shitty birthday thing, I fucking hate doing groceries on the weekend.” You moved your hands as you spoke. “Somebody taps on my window and it’s my asshole ex-boyfriend. I roll the window down, and what’s the first thing he does?”
Jason tapped on the bar as he guessed, “He wishes you a happy birthday.”
“Yes! It’s fucking infuriating! And now I’m here like a damn idiot telling you all about it when your intentions were clearly different.”
“It’s okay,” he tried to assure you, softly.
“No, it’s not! I should be getting laid right now, not telling you about this.”
He couldn’t help but smile, a little nervously. “I— I mean, that can still happen...”
“Yeah?” your voice dropped. You were nervous, too.
He leaned in, eyes on your mouth as he tilted his head. Jason licked his lips before answering. “Yeah.”
You let out a shaky breath and then wished you hadn’t opened your mouth as you sniffed again. “I should wash my face first...”
He bit down his bottom lip. “Take your time.”
You giddily walked into the bathroom, and as quickly as you had walked in you did out. For whatever reason, Jason waited for you.
He even smiled as you walked back toward him, finishing his tall glass just as you stood in front of him.
“I’m sure you were trying to be all smooth and I ruined it.”
“I was about to thank you. I’m a little sleep-deprived and thankfully you skipped the small talk.“
You giggled, resting your hands on his cheeks. “You’re a breath of fresh air.”
He placed his hand on the back of your head, softly smiling at you. “Likewise. Uh... may I kiss you now?”
You caressed his cheeks, tracing his facial structure. “Yeah, sorry.”
Instead of repeating that it was okay, Jason closed the gap between your mouths. You felt as though you were melting as his lips tentatively caressed yours.
His kiss tasted sweet with a lingering acidic tone. You weren’t sure as to what he had been drinking, but the taste only made you kiss him harder.
His free arm circled your middle as he opened his legs to bring you closer. Standing between his legs, you slid a hand to the back of his head and nipped on his bottom lip.
As your lips molded together and the two of you grew more comfortable, you let him pry your mouth open.
Soon, he was slamming you against his bedroom wall, devouring your lips as his hands wandered up and down your sides.
He made you whine as his grip on you tightened which only prompted him to kiss you harder and in response, you moaned.
On your lips, he panted, “If you keep making those sounds I’m not going to be able to stop myself.”
“Who said I wanted you to stop?”
You almost tripped with your own jacket as he walked you towards the bed. Jason picked the item and threw it to the other side of the room where his own had landed earlier.
Hovering over you, he went directly to kiss your neck. You didn’t know how he did it, but he found the perfect spot in seconds, making you whimper.
He hummed, pleased to know you were enjoying yourself. His fingers traced the space between your waist and hip, waiting for your permission to slide your t-shirt up.
You really wished you were wearing a matching pair of underwear and not a sports bra and a pair of white panties with colorful stars.
Knowing it was unavoidable, you placed your hands on his chest so he would kneel on the bed. He allowed you to sit up, watching you as you gripped the ends of your t-shirt and took it off.
He left a trail of kisses down your stomach, hands tracing your thighs. Tugging on a loop of your jeans, he asked for permission to take them off which you granted him.
As the button popped open and the zipper was lowered, you waited for a comment about your underwear that never came.
He made you lift your hips so he could discard the denim, eyes lingering on your crotch.
“Don’t laugh.”
Clearly amused, he said, “The little stars are cute.” Impatient, he pulled your panties down, dragging them down your legs and dropping them onto the floor.
You didn’t expect him to bury his face between your legs, hands drawing patterns over your hips and thighs as he feasted on you.
Panting as you recovered your breath, you followed his now naked form as he laid on the bed just next to you. After getting rid of your sports bra, you crawled towards him. His eyes mapped your every moment, and he licked his lips. With a ragged breath, he brought you over him.
Groping the back of your thighs, Jason searched for your mouth. His tongue shoved past your now bruised lips, pressing against yours.
Whimpering on his mouth as you felt his girth against your slit, you intentionally rolled your hips against his.
He stretched his arm and reached for a condom. You kneeled between his legs, watching his movements as he rolled the condom down his cock.
Gripping your waist, he pulled you onto his lap again. “Ride me,” he breathed out.
════════════════════════
The wail of your cellphone startled you awake. You were so comfortable that you let it ring, but whoever wanted to reach you insisted.
Grabbing for the phone, you sleepily hummed as you answered.
“Where are you?”
Your eyes widened as you heard your dad’s voice. Leaving the bed as silently as possible, you held the phone to your ear between your neck and your cheek while you slid your panties on.
“One second,” you whispered into the phone and placed it onto the bed in order to throw your t-shirt on.
Snatching the device, you slowly opened the door and walked toward Jason’s living room. “I’m not at my place right now,” you rasped.
“Oh, I know,” your dad mocked you. “I waited outside for half an hour.”
“I didn’t know you would be back so soon,” you defended yourself. Tilting your head, you made sure that Jason was still asleep. “Are you still there?”
Your dad snorted. “Of course not.” He then repeated his question, “Where are you?”
You saw Jason stir awake, rubbing an eye with his fist. As he turned to the side and observed the empty bed, you breathed in shakily. “With a friend.”
Your dad’s grunt was enough for you to understand that he didn’t believe you. He didn’t press on the subject anymore, though, he never did. “Let’s get dinner. It’s on me.”
“Yeah, yeah. That sounds good. Where?”
Jason approached you just as your dad gave you the specifics. He watched you with curiosity, both hands in his hair as he fixed his bed hair.
The line clicked on the other end and you immediately acknowledged Jason. “Sorry if I woke you up.”
“Are—“ He cleared his throat. “Are you leaving already?”
You fiddled with your phone as it laid between your hands. “Should I?”
Jason quickly answered, “No! I just thought...” He shook his head. “It’s stupid.”
“You can tell me.”
“I thought you had left without saying goodbye.”
You didn’t know what to say, you weren’t even sure if you would’ve said goodbye had he not waken up. There was something in his eyes that almost made you feel guilty, but you weren’t able to decipher what it was because he spoke again.
“Well, that and I, uh, last night I thought that this would be, uh, more than... you know, a one-time thing.” Seeing your surprised semblance, Jason cursed, “Fuck. I made it awkward, didn’t I?”
“No, no!” Putting your cellphone down onto the coffee table, you stepped closer to him. “Please, Jason, don’t worry. I just wasn’t expecting that.”
He gazed at you, waiting for a clear answer.
This was crazy, and it excited you after so many months in which you tried to find someone willing to at least try to stay.
“You made it better.” You slanted your head. “Easier.”
Hesitantly, he opened his arms. Surely, you snaked your arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms over your hips.
The two of you allowed silence to settle between you, to turn comfortable. And then made peace with it, you made peace with Jason’s breath and he made peace with your mindless swaying.
He traced the edge of your panties, huffing a laugh when you bashfully shook your head. “They’re still cute, I promise.”
“You sure are something.”
“A good something, I hope?”
Afraid of ruining the moment with your morning breath, you opted for kissing his cheek. His lips could wait. “An amazing something, I would say.”
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