#very likely

then to make things worse you have to attend the MANDATORY jl meeting every two weeks where the senior members drone on and on about plans and debriefs and lex luthor and cheetah and sinestro and lex luthor lex luthor lex luthor— and you get it, it’s important and you love your job and you care about the world so much you’ll put up with this, but damn it if you werent just so tired all the time.

as youre thinking of all this, your eyes begin to close and your head is about to fall on the table. someone reaches to shake you awake but before they can do so, someone stops them. you only hear a few words, but it reassured you enough that you give in to the pull of sleep.

meanwhile the jl is just staring, gobsmacked, as batman slaps green arrow’s hand away from a dozing arsenal, growls, then continues on with the meeting in a considerably quieter voice as if nothing happened.

of course this makes its way to the jl gossip mill, and of course it reaches arsenal’s ears. at first he’s embarrassed, because really? how awful did he look that the strictest member of the jl cut him some slack? but after a few moments he decides to just go thank the guy and maybe tell him that he’s usually not that irresponsible but he was just so tired that day so please dont kick him out—

and batman just. stares. gives a grunt. then suddenly arsenal’s sitting shotgun in the batmobile with BATMAN and he gets to pick the music and oh wow batman is answering all his questions about which buttons does what and he gets to PRESS THE BUTTONS and then his best buddy red hood FLINGS HIMSELF INTO THE OPEN WINDOW and chats batman up like they were old pals.

ever since then it's pretty common to see arsenal sticking close to batman in the watchtower or anywhere in general, which confuses the heck out of all the jl, specifically the senior members, and ESPECIALLY ollie.

imagine it going like this:

Batman, blank-faced, standing in the darkest corner of the room:

Arsenal, pacing around him, chatting up a storm: —and then we caught them in the janitor’s closet! they were cheating on the poor guy!

Batman: hng.

Arsenal: right?! wait ‘til i tell hood about this!

Batman: hnn.

Arsenal: oh yeah, i probably shouldn’t huh, he’s gonna kill them.

Batman: hm.

Arsenal: good idea b! ill do it right now!

as if that interaction wasn’t mind-boggling enough, arsenal pauses right as he was about to get in the zeta tubes, looks back at batman, then suddenly they were hugging. green arrow doesn’t know whether to get mad, scream, or faint. he does all three.

-

bonus:

Roy, humming, skin clear, no eyebags, having just slept the best night of his life in the wayne manor: good morning mister wayne batman sir ☺️

Roy, in a more neutral tone: ‘sup jay

Jason, grinding his teeth, subtly moving his chair closer to bruce’s: …roy

Roy, oblivious, sitting on the other seat next to bruce: wow thank you for the breakfast mr alfred

Alfred: just alfred is fine, master roy

Alfred, to bruce: *eyebrow raise*

Bruce, averting his eyes: hm.

Dick, walking in the room, yawning: morni—

Dick:

Dick: who is this and why is he sitting in my seat

Damian, behind him: you mean my seat, richard?

Dick: i claimed that seat before you were even born

Damian: tt, well times have changed now, do keep up

Dick:

Damian:

Damian: richard.

Damian: richard what are you doing. richard.

Damian: richard let go of titus. RICHARD.

-

bonus bonus:

...

"...How do I know you're not gonna set me on fire when my guard is down?"

There was a poignant silence broken only by the tap-tap of a tail thumping the cold stone floor agitatedly.

"...Set you on fire?"

Regolith narrowed their eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me," the young sentinel crossed their arms, "I've done all my research. I know you freaks can breathe fire."

...

The room suddenly felt colder. Maybe that had something to do with the way Gabbro's pupils shrunk to dagger-like slits in their luminous sapphire eyes.

"Oh," their captor drawled, "Is that what you meant?" The dragon stood up slowly from their cross-legged seat atop their assembly of carpets and cushions, and Reg heard the distinct leathery creak of Gabbro's wings fluttering in threat, "Why didn't you say so?"

!

They should have been ready for it when the whiplike end of a scaly tail wrapped around their wrist with lightning speed. But Regolith couldn't react fast enough when the appendage yanked them forward. They stumbled two steps, only to be caught around the waist by one gold bedecked arm. Thrown off balance, the sentinel flinched when another hand took them by the jaw and lifted their face. Sharp claws pricked the skin of their cheeks, but that wasn't nearly as alarming as the sight of their captor inhaling a deep breath with menacing intent.

'I should have kept my big mouth shut,' thought Reg as they instinctively began raising their hands to protect their face, fully expecting that thought to be their last-

And jumped, screwing their eyes shut when a sharp puff of tea-scented air was blown over their face...

..?

"Hmm, that's funny," Gabbro's voice was gratingly teasing, "I guess I didn't put enough lantern oil in my breakfast this morning. Oh well."

Reg blinked, and tentatively lowered their hands.

Gabbro was smiling darkly, their sharp fangs glinting in the candlelight.

...Could it be?

"So... the fire breathing thing isn't true?" They asked barely above a whisper.

Gabbro held their gaze for a long moment, their pupils widening as they studied Reg's face. Then the dragon withdrew their hand, fingers sliding slowly over the sentinel's skin and leaving tingling trails in their wake.

"...Or maybe I'm just trying to lure you into a false sense of security. Who knows? After all, you can't trust a dragon," Gabbro's lips parted over their teeth in a wide grin, "Right?"

---

In any case, the results are definitely very great🤩🤩🤩