East of the Sun and West of the Moon AU
Jason has been doing this fake dating/marriage scheme for a while now, and itâs actually been going pretty well. He was suspicious as hell when the nonhuman- Danny- first approached him claiming he could cure Lazarus pit side effects in exchange for a year and a day of this farce but the results spoke for themselves.
And living with Danny- pretending to date him- doing the whole married life thing, it was surprisingly nice. Maybe sometimes too nice. Danny was nice. And sweet, and handsome, and understanding. And open. The only things he asked Jason not to pry into, as part of their deal even, was what kind of being Danny actually was, and why he needed the fake relationship in the first place.
But Jason couldnât help that Danny slipped up some times. Jason couldnât help that he was curious. He was a detective, or at least raised by one. And really, whatâs a boundary to a bat? And when he came to his conclusion, oh how his heart ached for Danny. He wanted to offer solace. To let him know he understood. So he did.
Jason broke the taboo and admits he knows Danny is dead. But here is the fun angsty part. Because Danny wasnât fully dead, but since Jason pushed? Now he will be.
(Turns out Danny had done a ritual to close the portal and keep all the ghosts on the other side. Only he didnât account for the fact that he is also part ghost- the spell will drag him into the infinite realms and trap him there until his living half withers and he is as dead as the rest of them. Unless he breaks the curse through fairytale trial: he must exist in ghost form for a year and a day without his spouse finding out what he is.)
Just picture this scene- a domestic moment between the two. Theyâve become closer through this arrangement, feelings have begun to bloom. Theyâve shared moments of emotional intimacy, quiet understanding. And then
Jason looks at Danny, at his glowing green eyes and says âYouâre dead, arenât you?â
And Danny- suddenly his hair is black and his feet are on the ground- heâs breathing harshly and thereâs a look of panic and utter heartbreak on his face. âNo, no- I just wanted to live.â
And Jason is confused because it looks like Danny just revived, shouldnât he be happy?
But Danny isnât looking at him. Heâs staring at something behind Jason with utter terror. âI just wanted to have a life free from being a hero! Please just let me live!â
Jason turns and sees an eldritch rip in reality- a gaping maw full of teeth and grasping hands and tendrils and it speaks with a thousand voices- âYouâve already died little Halfa. Youâve borrowed enough time amongst the living. Come now to be whole.â
And Jason tries but he can do nothing as Danny is dragged through the hole, begging for his life- âPlease, I donât want to be dead.â
And a feathery tendril wipes his tears and the whispers croon âSo? Youâre not special. But I will be kind. Sleep now. Sleep through your living half joining the rest of you. Youâre in for a slow second death, so sleep.â And Danny does. Heâs pulled through and the tear in reality closes.
And Jason, just like the lady of the fairytale, decides to go save Danny from his fate. It is a quest through the ghost zone gathering ghostly allies, trinkets and favors until he makes it to the castle where he must use all heâs learned to wake Danny from his sleep and break him free of his curse.
How? I donât know. But Iâve seen so many stories where Danny teaches Jason to be a halfa, maybe we need a bit of the reverse. Jason helping Danny to become less of a halfa and more like him; a true mix of living and dead.
However it happens that they escape, Danny comes out of it changed. Emaciated from starving in the ghost zone, his two halves mixed together, or maybe Phantom was left behind in the realms, waiting for Danny to rejoin him at the end of his natural lifespan. And Jason will be there to help Danny through those changes.
HOW DARE YOU
I need it
I know, right?? This idea has just been haunting me. Thereâs another aspect of the fairytale I forgot that fits the Bats so perfectly- in the story it is the brideâs mother who convinces her not to trust him and to disobey the no peeking rule.
Like?? Tell me that doesnât sound just like Batman. The strange meta who cured your pit rage in exchange for fake dating asked you not to look into his past? Heâs really sweet and you like him? Suspicious!! If itâs too good then it must be a trap. Heâs tricking you. You must betray his trust and learn everything about him.
Augh, the tension! The slow burn! The conflicted feelings as Jason wavers between wanting to trust this guy heâs falling in love with and the bat-instilled paranoia that everything good is actually out to get you. Well, probably not entirely bat-instilled. At least half of that paranoia is Jason Todd original.
And then the guilt and horror- like Orpheus looking back to see if Eurydice is still with him and by doing so dooming her forever. Like, good job Jason, youâve confirmed Danny has been nothing but truthful and open to the extent that he can. Congratulations, you can finally trust him enough to allow your feelings for him to the surface. Only itâs too late. You blew it. If only you had respected his boundaries for the allotted period, the curse wouldâve been broken and you couldâve been together with no secrets between you!
I just love and hate when the Hero has that moment of utter âOh no, what have I done?â
And when Jason decides fuck it, I fucked it up and now itâs my job to fix it? How do the other Bats react? Do they say itâs too late, too dangerous? Does Jason tell them heâs going to save Danny and thereâs nothing they can do to stop him? Or do they recognize their part in all this from pushing their suspicions? Do they help set up the rescue mission? Prepare the med bay for his hopeful return?
And the quest itself has so much potential as Jason interacts with other ghosts from the show, getting more context and exposition from each of them. Ooh, hereâs another idea. What if Danny in the beginning had his own guilt and internal conflict about forcing the ghosts back to the zone? Then during Jasonâs quest we can see how the ghosts donât actually blame him after all and are actually helping Jason to save him. The feels! Especially when Jason tells him this as heâs recovering after the rescue.
Man, if I werenât absolutely trash at writing romance and long fics Iâd write it myself. Alas I can only yeet these partially formed ideas into the universe for others to find
Oooooh thereâs more thoughts
All of these thoughts just yesssss
I just love the idea of the ghost helping Jason help Danny. Maybe they know something about being able to have balance as a halfa? Iâdk if itâs like a âfind your own center/balanceâ kind of thing or maybe thereâs like an ancient amulet or something?
No wait this is so sad but so goooood... Just. Jason so relieved to finally not have to deal with the pit rage, and then the gradual horrifying realization that even Normal Human Emotions can lead you into bad decisions and terrible situations. And like, the horrible survivor's guilt he'd feel? At knowing that he was also sort-of-maybe-dead but his continued life was never at threat, while he just effectively killed someone who only ever helped him. Of course he'd have to try and save him, even if he doesn't really have any clue how to do that!
And maybe the longer Jason takes to save Danny, the more at risk he is of being trapped there too like aaahhhhh
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Yes! You get it!!
