B33

Not really, but everyone is convinced he is. He arrived at crime alley around the same time the red hood appeared, he's strong, gets along with the night girls, often gets involved in fights to protect others, and is completely unbothered by death. What really sell it was when someone finally saw him shoot a gun, the guy has a terrific aim.

Sure, no one has seen him take a life, but that's what the vigilantes shit is for, right? So everyone knows this young man is Red Hood, but that's okay, crime alley is good keeping secrets from outsiders.

Danny has no idea everyone thinks this, and is unsure why he has so many hit man's behind his head. He can't even blame this on his ghost side, this men only use human weapons! This is his Fenton luck again, isn't it?

It's interesting if Jason is trans or something, but it's a hundred times funnier if he's cis.

"Yeah, sorry Mr. Todd. We're not sure how this happened either, or even how this is biologically possible. But you are 100%, beyond the shadow of a doubt, double-triple-quadrouple-checked.... Pregnant."

'...how the fu-'

And now Jason thinks that like. He slept with a Metahuman whose power is being able fuck with people's bits or something. Because while admittedly he hasn't checked recently, as of the last time he got a scan, HE DID NOT HAVE A FUCKING UTERUS. And this is kind of a dangerous thing to have roaming around, because what if this isn't the only alteration that can be caused? What if this sort of power was used maliciously to like, make someone's liver disappear or something???

And an abortion is fairly out of the question for a number of reasons. First of all, how is he going to find a doctor who is confident to perform the proceedure on someone who was, for all intents and purposes, ENTIRELY BIOLOGICALLY MALE until recently???

Not to mention that Jason was also raised Catholic, and may have grown up with a fairly anti-abortion stance. He doesn't seem like he'd be against it fully at this point, because he understands that people have a lot of reasons for wanting/needing one. However, has he EVER been the sort to have the same standards for himself as for everyone else? Nah. He took 'the only moral abortion is my abortion' and flipped it to 'the only immoral abortion is my abortion'. He may not be emotionally prepared to raise a child, but he is absolutely unwilling to get rid of it. Why? Who fucking knows. Self-sacrifical tendencies? Unwillingness to hurt a kid, even one who doesn't actually exist yet?

Also, maybe Bruce told him that keeping the baby wasn't a good idea, and FUCK BRUCE. Jason will do what he goddamn wants with his own body, thank you. So he goes looking for the other possible parents, because they have a right to at least know they have a kid. And also he wants to know how the fuck this happened.

Only, 'Freddy' and 'James' who he hooked up with DO NOT SEEM TO EXIST WHEN HE LOOKS FOR THEM? Admittedly, going on a first name and a vague recollection is not easy. So he tries to consult his suit/civie clothes camera. His footage is somehow buggy as fuck, and he can only BARELY get a clear view of 'James' for a few seconds. But it's at an awkward angle, and it does absolutely nothing to help his search. Because unfortnately(only in hindsight), the only clear shot he has is one where his shirt was on the floor, awkwardly recording the ceiling and 'James' happened to walk over it. Jason has a clearer recording of his junk than his face. But unless he's a well-known porn star, that's probably not gonna be helpful.

One other thing that may make this more complicated, is that he has to track down both of them. Because, uhm... Well, he may have bottomed for both of 'em. Don't judge him, okay? He was having fun. But that means he has no idea which one is the father. Well- Other father? Whatever.

His search is completely fruitless, and after almost a month of looking with zero new leads, he's almost ready to give up.

And then 'James' crashes back into his life dramatically. Specifically, in the form of following Bruce around and agressively asking for an interview for the Gotham Gazette. And apparently, his fucking name is WESLEY WESTON? Jason might have gotten knocked up by someone named WESLEY FUCKING WESTON?

Well at least now the fake name makes sense, escpecially if this guy's a decently well-known reporter. Anonymity is kind of difficult when somebody knows your name from an article you wrote about Luthorcorp's unsafe use of lead in the workplace. Which- Actually was quite a good article, though Jason has questions about how Wes sourced several of the things he said.

Jason then essentially kidnaps Wes in broad daylight- Like, essentially just grabs him and walks away. Then plonks him down and says 'Hey, we hooked up a while back. And you may have gotten me pregnant.'

Wes remembers this because he does not have a lot of hookups. He is fairly dismayed at having been 'tracked down', and is even MORE dismayed at the knowledge that he apparently hooked up with Bruce Wayne's son. However, at the statement that Jason is apparently now pregnant, he just. Bluescreens. And then eventually asks HOW? Which means that if he's the Meta, he's unaware of it. Great. He then asks if Wes has a way to contact 'Freddy'. Wes balks, but clearly knows something.

After enough pushing, Wes finally admits that he does have contact information for the now correctly-named Danny Nightingale. Who apparently already has children, so this is going to be interesting. And while Jason makes direct contact with Danny, he also decides to start digging independantly. Because if he felt the need to use a fake name, and there is NOTHING easily available online about him, that raises some red flags.

Eventually, Jason discovers that the reason Danny is so intent on hiding his identity from the world is because he's a heavily Wanted missing person, and suspected as a vigilante.

Sweet Jesus, Jason's life just got more interesting. Is this why Bruce said hookups are bad ideas? Because sometimes they result in national incidents??? How the actual fuck was he supposed to predict ANY of this?

Make Danny bendy. I mean he’s already dead?

I mean after his bones break they would just adapt after the first time, like hold up, let me break my bones in so I can do this trick.

I feel like this would also be a social media AU for no reason other than if I have perks from my ghost powers I’m so going to use them.

Like he would and does use his power for convenience, whats stopping him from bending in weird ways for the internet to get monetized for some new space stuff, or boring stuff like necessities and rent, cause he’s gotta stop recording in the abandoned observatory in Amity, probably. Sometime maybe.

Watch him try to attempt to do the impossible Flying Grayson quadurble sundae split or splat or something on some scaffolding because why would he ever need equipment. We adapt in this bitch.

Danny would maybe sacrifice his pride to make a compilation of his edited-out fails or first trys, some of them he litterslly just goes splat and then peels himself up to do it again, obviously a guaranteed banger.

Other people or adrenaline junkies wanting to collab with Danny and then they actually meet him and oh— this kid is definitly suicidal, bc what the fuck??

When Danny collabs with other creators his veiwers really get to see how bat-shit crazy he is because he totally edits out all the ‘bad takes’ for continuity or some shit.

Any collab video done with him is just an adrenaline high vlog around whatever city they’re in, 50% chance Danny might use random infustructer to launch himself in a way that might be considered self-harm…and hell no they are not allowed to do the collab in amity so Danny’s just travelling to random city’s to meet up with strangers.

Another DPxDC idea I have cooking up. Dead Tired idea btw.

Tim, while snooping in his parents artifacts from their recent archeology trip, finds a rather strange and small hidden hourglass, curiosity and knowing his parents haven't noticed it he takes it.

He turns it in his hands when he knows his parents are out at a Gala for the night and fiddles with it. He twists it three times and it suddenly glows.

Tim is then hit with a small vision of a future, one where he see's himself following Batman, and the newest member of the growing Bat Team Robin, on the rooftops with a camera he's had his eye on for a while.

Tim is suddenly back in his room just as quickly and is in shock, he looks at the small hourglass for a moment and questions what the heck was that about? Was what he saw... real?

Turns out it is when his parents are leaving for a new dig sight and gave him that very new camera as a apology gift for going to be missing his upcoming birthday.

He fiddles with the tiny hourglass afterwords, tries to figure it out but it doesn't shine for him or show him the future again...Or at least until the second Robin dies and Tim is hit by a vision of him trying to ask Dick, the first Robin, to return to a escalating violent Batman and stop him from going pass his own 'no kill' rule.

After that it randomly works, helped him find out about Kon aka Superboy, create Young Justice, collect his ride or die friends/teammates, survive some of Damian's more deadly murder attempts in the beginning, etc etc. It was also the reason why he knew for damn sure Bruce was alive and just lost in the time stream. (The hourglass actually seemed to had hummed like a buzzing muted cellphone when it showed him that future) All in all it seems to show important/sometimes dangerous situations only.

Tim keeps this hourglass a secret btw, he knows he should maybe mention it at some point and maybe get it checked out by JLD to make sure its not gonna like kill him later or it steals his life force for each future sight or something along those lines, but it hasn't steered him wrong so far, its been very helpful! (granted he wished it showed him Jason coming back to life, that would had help clear up a lot of bullshit or something like that)

Anyways, so yeah Tim keeps it a huge secret but he does carry it on himself just in case.

So he isn't too surprised when it actives when a new member is joining JL. He is however surprised when he see's himself and the new guy (or rather the new guy in inverted colors) in domestic bliss, like full on husbands and happy with a glowing green dog. Tim is pulled out of the vision and blinks, trying his hardest not to blush when the new guy Phantom zero's on him.

Jason exhausted and stuck babysitting: Oi demon brat bed time

Damian still in his Robin costume typing away at the bat computer: Tt

Jason sighed: what needs to happen for you to go to bed

Damian: tell me a story of Ghost Princess and Dead Robin

Jason: if you brush your teeth and are in bed in five minutes I'll consider it

(Ooh, wait, I LOVE this HC!!)

“You’re reading him a story?” Tim asked curiously. “You’ve never done this before.”

Jason hummed. “I’m not “reading” him a story. I’m telling him one.”

Tim snorted, “Like I said, you’ve never done this before.”

“I did when we were in the League,” Jason replied and Tim fell silent. Jason ignored him and finally entered Damian’s room, where Titus and Alfred the cat were already staying. Damian stared at him in his bed, clearly trying not to look too eager but still bright with attention.

“Todd, you promised! The Ghost Princess and her Robin!” Damian said.

Jason’s lips quirked. He wasn’t sure if Damian knew that the so called stories he told were actually his broken memories of when he was dead.

His precious, fragmented memories of his Princess. He could still faintly recall her bright smiles and cheerful laughter, the way her hair shone a bright crimson, and her tall, black crown.

He had been her Robin, her loyal bodyguard and assistant.

“Well? Start,” Damian demanded.

Jason gave him a lighthearted glare. “Brat,” he muttered before he cleared his throat. Behind him, he could hear the door open and Tim, Bruce, and Cass poked their heads in. In Cass’ hand was her phone, where Jason could faintly hear Dick on the other line.

Jason rolled his eyes but as he looked at Damian’s wide, anticipating eyes, he just sighed and began.

“It was a cold day as always in the Ghost Zone where the Princess and her Robin were staying. As usual, she slept in her bed while her Robin watched over her. It was her brother, Wraith, who had woken her up and brought her to breakfast. That day, she faced a particular dilemma.” Jason paused for dramatic effect.

“Don’t tell me it’s breakfast choices again,” Damian sneered. “That was only funny when I was 7.”

“Shut up and listen,” Jason said sweetly. “The Princess had to travel to the southern regions of the Ghost Zone in order to mediate between two minor vassal kingdoms. The dilemma was that she also had to attend a social gathering that night where she had to convince the officials to allow her to build a library. Do you remember her siblings? Why do you think this was a problem?”

It had been years since Jason had ever told stories of his days down under in the realm of the dead. He hadn’t even been sure if Damian had remembered those bedtime stories until today.

Damian answered, “She has Wraith, the oldest and the wisest.” Jason snorted at the thought of Dan being the most wise. “Phantom, the crown prince and the strongest. And Spirit, the brightest and youngest.”

“What’s the name of the Princess? And why is she in charge if there’s a crown prince?” Tim asked from the door.

Jason glared at him. “First of all, you’re supposed to be pretending like you don’t exist. Secondly, she was the Queen Regent, I just call her the Princess because she didn’t enjoy the title.”

“And her name?” Cass asked.

Jason ignored her. After all, he had long since forgotten the name of his princess. He continued, “The problem was that the Ghostwriter was attending the social gathering and he had a nasty feud with Phantom. Meanwhile, Wraith wasn’t the right person to either negotiate deals or mediate between people, and Spirit was too young to know how to navigate ghostly society. Only twelve, like you.”

Jason thought about the memory fondly. “So the Princess was torn between two choices. This was her only chance to gain the support of the nobility that could help her build a library or build two alliances between two kingdoms that could help stabilize her rule. She was already distrusted and looked down upon by her citizens, so this was her only chance.”

Damian’s eyes lit up. “She called on Robin.”

From behind him, he could hear Dick’s soft call of “Robin?”

Jason smiled. “Yes. She called upon Robin, her most trusted. She entrusted him to attend the social gathering with her little sister and gain the support of the officials. So he and Spirit went to the event while the Princess went to the south with Phantom. Robin was a protector spirit, like Phantom, so he was respected and powerful. He was able to easily schmooze the poor suckers and they all agreed to give money to the Princess’ project. Meanwhile, the Princess’s mind was eased from her worried and she was able to break the fight between the two kingdoms. They all worked together and were able to accomplish both goals. The moral of the story? Always try to depend on the people around you because you can do amazing things if you’re together. The end.”

Cass snorted softly. “Hypocrite.”

Jason graciously ignored her again. He stood up but stopped when Damian got out of bed to grab his hand with a light glare. “Another! I want to hear another! That was too short!”

Jason just sighed and ruffled his hair. “I only promised one story. That’s all for today, Dami. Go to bed now.”

Damian pouted but still got back under his covers. Cass darted over to tuck him in and Jason walked past her and the gazes of both Tim and Bruce, who were staring at him with narrowed eyes.

Memories of that beautiful, kind, gentle girl entered his mind, but all of it felt like smoke through his fingers.

He wished he could’ve had more to tell, more to say about his time down under, but it was impossible.

He's outlawed new deals since a lot of the time the validly of the sacrifice can be questioned. The observant s are annoyed at babysitters duty but it gets them out of annoying Danny and lets him be productive so he plans on milking it for as long as there are deals under review. Just like with the one Pariah claimed, a lot of them are undergoing investigations and that's where Janet's deal comes in.

Tim like many other firstborns are watched over. Anytime they are in danger, the observant responsible invokes Danny or his claim to protect them from the shadows. On occasion, they might have been relocated but never has Danny collected on any of those deals until Tim.

Tim unlike the other firstborns is a hero. Tim is also aware something is watching him as he will make comments for Danny or thank him for a save nobody else noticed and Danny is instantly smitten. Danny watches as Tim does so much good for Gotham both as a civilian and as a hero. Even when he is taken for granted, it doesn't slow Tim down and Danny admires him more.

Danny knows Tim has massive potential, and he trusts him to understand the gravity of how far his influence runs. He had no doubt in Tim when he was trying to clone his lost friends. Danny understood was part of his grieving process and everyone grieves differently. Did he also swoon a bit? Nobody witnessed it so it didn't happen (but his friend do tease him about it since they were aware of his crush)

It becomes the last straw for Danny when Nightwing acting as Batman turns everyone against Tim. He reminds himself everyone copes differently for all of one minute before saying man fuck that guy and sends a sticky note to Tim. On that sticky note he offers his help and protection, but it can't be revoked once accepted.

It's the first time he has 'shown' himself outside of the assists he's made, and it feels like agony as he watches Tim. Eventually Tim does take up his offer and while Danny fell first Tim fell harder. Bruce is the second person Danny saves that day and the moment Tim realizes it he is extra cuddly with Danny.

Now it was a routinely battle with Technus, they tumbled 'bout, flew into the ghost zone- but it got strange when Technus shoved him in something....

Everyone knows it.

Bruce knows it. The rest of the batfam knows it. Hell, even Jason is aware but doesn't want to admit it.

When it comes to romance, he has a type. Each one either has tried to kill him or isn't completely human.

So, when it came out that Jason gained a new boyfriend, bets and theories among the family began ranging from how long it would last and if this one was a meta to if the boyfriend was Kryptonian, a clone, or someone from the LOA. Other than the seemingly lack of information and the whole adoption bait look, Jason's boyfriend was a regular civilian. A college student from somewhere in Illinois that's double majoring in astronomy and engineering at Gotham University.

Was he running from something based on how jumpy he is and how too clean his record was? Most likely but other than that he cared for Jason as much as they could tell from snooping.

After months of ignoring and avoiding the snooping and pleading from the batfam, Jason just wanted to end the theories and bets once and for all, so he invited Danny to family dinner at the manor. Everything was going fine.

Until Danny's eyes flashed a toxic green as a stray knife from Damian went through his shoulder and he simply moved over in his seat, the knife embedded into the chair.

It was almost a Lazarus green.

Danny: huh

Batfam: *prepared to welcome and accept him*

Danny: I guess this explains why my clone was so unstable 🤔

So imagine Danny "my ghost age is a couple of months old" phantom flying back home from a mission and seeing a newly formed halfa. A little girl no older than seven with white hair and one blue eye and one red having a panic attack.

Danny takes one good look at her before going "mine" and snatching the child and then proceeding to call Tucker and make him an identity for his daughter because that's his daughter now damn it as the little newborn looks at him with wide curious eyes tilting her head at the side.

Yep. Danny has decided he's a father now and anyone who tries to take his kid away from him will be met with phantoms actual strength.

So what if his child tried to assassinate Sam? She's just a baby Sam she's getting used to ghost instincts! So what if she has a collection of weapons and poisons? Come on Jazz you're acting like our parents don't do the exact same thing every day. Tucker she wants to bond with you! Of course she's talking about battle strategy and the best way to kill a man indulge in conversation a little!

Yes it's okay child to want to skin your enemies alive when they hurt your family. I daydream about it all the time!

That's Dan an evil alternate self of me from the future. Don't worry I'm no longer going to become him. Oh? He's your favorite uncle now? Aw because he's not scared of you that's so sweet! You can spend time with uncle Dan right now. Dan if you do not comply with my daughter's wishes I will personally take your eyes out. Oh look Dani is here! Say hello to your sister

Danny has had a change in priorities ever since he's gotten his second daughter. His first priority is to make sure his children are safe and happy. His second priority being his friends and family and the third being the town.

But the third is adjustable. Because a brave fool tried to harm his child. The fool made it out alive but not without injuries , scars and PTSD never to be seen again. Later that day phantom could be seen buying ice cream for his daughter as she excitedly told him about everything she learned about the ghost zone

But it didn't stop at phantom. At school Danny takes his daughter there so they can complain about how horrible the school system is and to also spend time together. Mara was having a pretty good time in learning what normal habits are and why she was talking to Sam curiously about animal rights activism to which Sam happily answered her questions looking proud every time mara looked at her with wide awestruck eyes.

Again a fool appears in the form of Paulina and dash trying to make a comment about Danny and trying to get physical with him. Mara immediately notices and protective daughter mode is activated. It ended with dash having a 2 broken legs and Paulina 2 broken hands with Danny cooing about Mara's improvement and how protective she is of her family completely ignoring the threats of court or the teachers yelling. Instead Danny lifted up his daughter in the air and proclaimed her the best person in this school ditching the place all together so he can get his daughter some tiramisu with Sam and Tucker following close behind as they kept making jokes about their cute little raccoon.

Paulina and dash did try to get revenge at some point though. However they are met with a terrifying Danny. No one knows the exact details but last time anyone has heard from them was that they were under witness protection with their houses burnt to the ground.

Um Who’s that in the back?

Tucker Foley finally getting an interview with Wayne Enterprises after months of applications and networking, caffeine abuse and despite the fact that Sam thinks the Wayne’s are sketchy. Only for Tim Drake-Wayne to watch in real time as Tucker’s boyfriend sleep-floats through the background and phases halfway through an exterior wall

and Tucker just sighs like this is a regular Tuesday before sprinting off-screen yelling:

“DANNY YOU ARE LEAVING THE BUILDING AGAIN”

while Tim is sitting there like

👁️👄👁️

because excuse me?????

and it somehow gets worse because Tucker drags Danny back inside by the ankle and Danny is STILL asleep and mumbling “five more minutes” while ACTIVELY HOVERING

Tim: did he just go through the wall

Tucker, immediately: no

Sam, from somewhere off-screen: yes

Tim absolutely mutes himself because he’s laughing too hard and now he’s obsessed because WHAT do you MEAN sleep-floating???

Meanwhile Danny wakes up just long enough to realize he exposed his ghost nonsense to a Wayne and immediately hides his face in Tucker’s shoulder like a cat that knocked over a vase

If there was one thing in the world, Dan hated more than those assholes in white, were the assholes in costumes.

It may sound hypocritical coming from an entity that spent his half-dead adolescence as a ghostly vigilante. But that was different.

Completely different.

Bruce and Vlad freaking hate eachother. Its a known, very public fact. Bruce doesn't even slip into his Brucie persona to deal with Vlad, thats how much they hate eachother.

Danny is Vlad's heir, mostly against his will. Danny only says mostly because he did eventually agree to the situation, but only after Vlad threatened to make Dani his heir, which would tie her down and steal her freedom. So now, Danny has the "fun" job of learning how to run a company, and invest.

Tim is Bruce's CoCEO, and its pretty well known hes more than likely going to take over the company at some point. He already did at one point, he was already a CEO, he had a large quantity of WE's shares, and Damian, as he grew and matured, seemed less and less interested in being CEO once he saw all the paperwork, and morons Tim and his Father had to deal with daily.

Do Danny and Tim share the VladCo vs WE feud? No, its quite the opposite in fact. Everyone with eyes can see how fond the two young men are of eachother. As much fun as the Bruce v Vlad verbal brawls are to watch, watching Danny and Tim dance around eachother like twitterpated sparrows is even more fun to experience.

But, Bruce and Vlad are quick to yank the two young men away from eachother. And its heartbreaking for everyone to witness, and or read as the two young men are kept apart by their stubborn bosses.

The basics of it is that for whatever reason, one of the speedsters, a random time traveler, a ghost, or because Clockwork needs Danny to learn something there, he sends him into the past and he quickly ends up meeting Wonder Woman and helping her. He decides to stay with her until he’s finished whatever mission Clockwork’s sent him on and she ends up all but adopting him.

She’s teaching him all her sword tricks and how to fight without relying on his powers as much. The end up getting closer and closer and quickly get to the point where Danny starts subconsciously seeing her as a mother figure. To the point where he accidentally calls her mom, to his eternal mortification. Diana takes this all in stride though, secretly happy that her little warrior called her mom.

Things happen and eventually Danny has to go back to his own time period and his actual life. It’s a very tearful goodbye but it ends with Diana giving Danny a golden wreath crown as a moment of her and her mentally promising to find her little warrior again. She’s fairly certain now that he’s going to be born some time in the future. She doesn’t have much to go off of but gods damn it is she going to try!

Cut to some years later and Diana has become one of the founding members of the Justice League. She still has not found her son but she doesn’t say anything to the other members because she honestly can’t be sure if he’s even been born yet. This all is thrown out the window though when one of the JL members bring up reports of this ghost boy in this little town in the middle of nowhere Illinois. She sees a picture of it an yep, that’s her little boy! He’s even wearing the wreath so that mean he’s met her! She can go see him without risk to the timeline!

She practically sprints all the way to Amity only to find that he’s not here? None of the townsfolk know anything but when she starts instead looking for his human persona she isn’t able to find anything. It’s only when she investigates his parents that she hears, holy shit he’s whimpering in the basement!? She bursts in, ready to defend her baby but the scene she come in on is worse than anything she can imagine. There, on an operating table, is her baby boy. Opened like a gods damned high school science class frog! She can see his organs and knows some of them have been removed.

AKA "Danny haunts the Wayne Manor shortly after Jason Todd's death. Bruce... takes it as well as a grieving father probably would." DPxDC prompt idea! TW: Mentions of child death (for obvious reasons) and hallucinations.

Okay, so hear me out! Y'know how Dick Grayson had hallucinations of Jason Todd after his death for, like, months??

What if Bruce sees a shadow that looks suspiciously teenager-shaped around the manor, kicks into paranoid mode, and immediately runs 80 tests to figure out what it is. He does blood tests (he hasn't been poisoned by Fear Toxin), his MRI doesn't show any abnormalities, and he triple-checks his chronic pain medications to make sure they don't cause hallucinations. Then he focuses on the hidden cameras to determine whether an intruder infiltrated the manor. The cameras show... nothing. He can clearly see himself on the frame, but there's nothing where the figure was.

Until he switches to infrared and ultraviolet cameras. Then he can see a cold spot that looks like a teenager with medium height, average build, and wisps on its head that almost resemble unruly hair. Bruce spends the next 32 hours watching as the cold spot move from room to room. It mostly spends its time in the library (and that's Jason's favorite spot, his favorite armchair right next to the fireplace).

And Bruce feels... something. Watching as the cold spot enters Jason's room, seems to stand hesitantly in the doorway, before retreating to a spare bedroom. His chest tightens uncomfortably as the shape curls up on the spare bed, looking so small and alone. Bruce doesn't call Constantine or Zatanna. Instead, he turns off the Batcomputer and takes a shower. Asks Alfred to make a cup of hot cocoa, takes it to the spare bedroom, and quietly sets it on the bedside table. (He isn't exactly sure why he does it. But thought that it could be Jason, that his baby boy could be curled up on that bed, ignored and alone, makes his eyes burn.)

Danny, who's been freshly exorcised from his human body and escaped into the Infinite Realms to get away from the GIW, takes refuge in a nearly-abandoned manor with only the company of a grieving father and butler. So, it's weird when he wakes from another Pain Nap (because the GIW really got him good this time, ouch) to find a cup of... hot cocoa?? On the bedside table?? It sucks that he can't drink it, but if he wraps his hands around it and concentrates, he can kind of feel the warmth still.

(Meanwhile, Bruce's heart is absolutely breaking watching his little boy try to hold the cup on the infrared cameras.)

“That’s the polite descriptor?” Bruce turned to meet blue eyes, “I shudder to imagine the impolite version.”

The room had been empty. He’d made sure of it before allowing Dick to move their… argument. There were no signs of life on this or the next five floors down. Yet, there he was. A beautiful man, too many years his junior for his thoughts to go straight to the man’s looks, sitting on a stool at a workbench.

“Oh, for sure, you definitely don’t want to hear what else I could describe that as.” The man nodded, bringing Bruce’s attention to the jewelry tucked into the man’s shirt and hidden by his hair. “Ignoring all the stuff I clearly shouldn’t have heard,” which meant he did, in fact, notice the Bat-based vocabulary, “you are terrible at communicating with your kids.”

“Oh?” Bruce strained to sound casual, trying not to give away what all he may have not already.

“Oh yeah. Like, clearly you love your kids. Right?” The man waited for acknowledgment, which Bruce begrudgingly gave, before he continued, “right, so, what’s stopping you from saying it? Just a simple, I’m worried about you going on that inter-dimensional mission because I love you and want you to be safe, would work great. Might even get you brownie points, you know? Instead of what you said, which implied a lack of trust and a sense of derision towards your son’s skills, and was never going to be taken well.” Well. That answered well enough what all the pretty man had heard.

“It’s not that easy,” Bruce frowned at him, debating how many NDAs he’d have to threaten the man into signing.

“Sure it is. Just open your mouth and say the words, let them sit there, and don’t take them back.” Blue met and held blue from across the room before the man rolled his eyes, “right, okay, would it help you to think of it as a series of undefined tasks or a science experiment?”

“The latter,” the former sounded like what he’d already been working with.

“Okay, so pull up a stool,” the man twirled a pen as he pulled over a loose sheet of paper, “and we’ll start with the scientific method: if the big bad Bat communicates ineffectively then his children will be upset because they don’t have empathic abilities. What about this sentence can we change to make it better?”

“My ability to communicate,” Bruce admitted.

“Very good,” the man praised and Bruce wondered if he could get away with slamming the man’s head into the table without it being workplace abuse. Probably not. “So, if the Bat communicates effectively, then…?”

“My children won’t be as upset.”

“Because…?”

“They’ll understand what I mean better.”