DanoNation

Oh???

Warnings: talk of Christmas (but not in a religious way), a little bit of smutty-ness but it’s not explicitly detailed, just very silly fluff in general

Christmas is… not exactly Eddie’s favourite holiday

Growing up in an orphanage, he didn’t get the magical experience most children have of waiting for Santa, of opening presents, of a delicious and filling dinner - but the worst thing was not having loved ones to spend the holidays with

Usually the kids got like one present each and it was the same crappy gift everyone else got. Dinner was usually cold and undercooked, and there wasn’t enough for everyone to be full afterwards - it was usual to still be very hungry afterwards

Even once he’d grown up and left the orphanage, he was alone and so it was miserable to hear everyone at work talk about how fun Christmas was, who they’d spent it with, what they’d gotten, etc.

And then he meets you.

You meet through work, and he likes you a lot but he’s so shy that he doesn’t think much will happen - because how could you like him back? No one ever has. So he keeps quiet and only speaks to you when you, being friendly, talk to him

There’s a secret Santa that year; he’s surprised when, instead of the usual boring box of chocolates or pair of socks, he receives a big brand new book of riddles and puzzles. He’s still stunned when you approach him, beaming, and ask “so, do you like it?”

“You got him a book?” One of your co-workers snort before Eddie can speak, “The fuck kind of shitty gift is that?” You flush bright red, embarrassed, but Eddie manages to raise his head, to stand tall, and say, “I love the book - thank you!” And suddenly you’re smiling all over again, pleased and thrilled, while your co-worker just huffs and walks away

It’s the fact you’ve taken the time to actually get him something he likes - it’s the first time anyone has bothered to buy him anything he actually will enjoy, and he treasures it so much. It’s just a book, true, but it’s the first real Christmas present he’s ever gotten

A few days before Christmas, you find a pristinely wrapped gift on your desk at work - you don’t stop smiling for weeks after when you realise it’s from Eddie

By the time next Christmas comes around, you guys are dating - he’s still in disbelief quite frankly that someone like you wants to date him, but he’s so happy, the happiest he’s ever been in his miserable life

You’re in disbelief when you discover that Eddie doesn’t even bother decorating his apartment for Christmas, like the man has never once put up a Christmas tree or string of lights; with his permission, you help him buy a tree and decorate the place. You don’t put too many decorations up, it’s only a small place, but he can’t deny that it’s pretty when the lights on the tree are lit up and twinkling

The best part is when you put mistletoe up and explain to him, grinning the entire time, that people kiss underneath it. He definitely doesn’t complain about that tradition, let’s be honest

You’re aghast when you hear that he doesn’t have anyone to spend the holidays with, because no one should be alone - and you know that it sucks horribly when literally everyone else around is happy and spending time with loved ones while you’re not. You can’t let Eddie spend Christmas on his own, despite his insistence that it’s fine, he’s used to it, he doesn’t mind - you decide right there and then that you’re spending the holidays together.

Just before you arrive to stay for the holidays, he cleans that apartment obsessively because he doesn’t want you to think he lives in a shithole (even though it is, no matter how much he cleans it, because it’s the poorer side of Gotham)

It’s the first time you spend the night at his, by the way, which is a huge step for both of you

You two don’t even do anything that special; you spend most of the time sitting on his couch watching crappy tv and movies, but you’re both happy because you’re cuddled up together, and that’s all that matters

Eddie insists you sleep in his bed and he takes the couch because he wants you to be as comfortable as possible; you keep disagreeing, saying you’re happy to take the couch and you don’t want to put him out of his bed. Neither of you can agree on it.

That’s how you end up in bed together, practically curling into one another as you sleep - and he thinks that he’s never been so happy in his life as now, with you (he has it so bad for you you have no idea)

I’m not saying that you two sleep together in a way that involves very little actual sleeping but… 👀 that cuddling very quickly turns into kissing and touching, and soon you’re quite eagerly moving together under the covers… neither of you are going to complain, let’s be honest

Neither of you are brilliant at cooking but you make an effort on Christmas Day to have some kind of dinner together; you end up ordering food because somehow everything ends up burnt and inedible 😭 it’s still nice though, you still get to sit together and have wine as you eat, so it’s wonderful

Despite both of you insisting the other didn’t need to buy gifts… you both did anyway. Nothing too expensive, but you’re more than grateful that he bought you anything and he’s still stunned because he’s not used to being given gifts by anyone

For the first time in his whole life, Eddie enjoys Christmas - and it becomes something he looks forward to every year now that you’re in his life

I’ve taken a while to respond because of my last week of work (yay for being a teacher assistant, am I right? 💀) but this ask has stayed with me all week and I’ve been so touched that it’s taken me a while to process it.

As an autistic person, I know exactly what you mean: my family aren’t exactly ableist, as such, they do try their best especially now that I have an official diagnosis, but they definitely still get annoyed by me infodumping about things I’m into, whether it’s a film, book, game etc. For years I’ve heard “we don’t care” “don’t talk about _____ at this family gathering/social event” “you need to grow up and get in the real world” etc., and it hurts every time even though I’m used to it by now. Like even this year, for example, I went with my mum and sister to a Titanic Exhibition in London, because one of my special interests became the Titanic sinking (I can’t explain why, it just happened for some reason 😭) and I kept trying to tell them things about the ship’s history and sinking on the way there, but they were like “shut up, we’re literally about to learn about it, don’t ruin it for us” which sucked hard. It makes me scared to be excited about stuff unless I’m online and talking to other fans of things I enjoy.

Which is why when I was writing the Eddie x autistic!reader post, I was definitely using my own experiences as an autistic person and what I would like in a partner while also trying to stay true to how Eddie would be - and because he’s the kind to be literally obsessive with everything and anything to do with his partner, it made sense to me that he’d 100% be all about listening to them talk about their special interest(s). He could listen to you talk for literal hours, and even more so if it’s something you clearly love and are passionate about.

I’m really glad that you enjoyed the headcanons, like it genuinely makes me happy that I’ve made at least one other person happy with one of my posts 💚 we all deserve to have Eddie listening to us info dump with a huge smile

Hey all, it’s your local autistic gremlin here with a reminder to NOT support Autism Speaks, they are a hate group. Please also use the infinity symbol instead of the puzzle piece, don’t “light it up blue” because that’s an AS bullshit slogan, and I personally am not a fan of the term “Aspergers” 💚

Anyway, yes, let me say again that I’m actually autistic, so this post is very personal to me! I also headcanon Eddie as autistic so there’s probably elements of that here too but I haven’t said outright he’s autistic in these headcanons just because I know others may not agree. Obviously autism is a SPECTRUM (it’s literally called Autism Spectrum Disorder), so the ways in which I’m autistic aren’t going to be the same for everyone but I’ve tried to be as inclusive as possible.

Warnings: mentions of ableism, mentions of meltdowns, mentions of the r slur but it’s not used in its entirety (is literally just called “the r slur”), mentions of sensory overload, general Riddler Riddleness

Anyway, on with the headcanons!

Hey all, ya girl here has had fucking tonsillitis (or some other throat infection, my doctor just said my throat was SUPER infected) since Tuesday, and also too much time on her hands 😷🤧 figured I might as well put my sickness to good use for everyone!

Warnings: As title implies, being unwell: sickness mentioned is a flu/cold/throat/chest kind of illness, not p*ke. It’s literally just me using my illness and writing Eddie taking care of me/a reader who’s as ill as I’ve been. Literally is just soft fluffy comfort shit.

It starts as a sore throat and sniffle, you think it’s probably just a cold on its way, but then it actually just gets worse and worse

The second you so much as sniffle one morning, Eddie is right by your side because he’s hyper tuned to every little movement and sound you make - you can’t hide anything from him

“I’m fine, Eddie, really, it’s nothing-” “Nooo, no, (Y/N), you’re sick! Lie down, just lie down and I’ll be right back with some tea!”

You literally don’t have a choice, that man insists that you rest and he doesn’t take no for an answer

“It’s probably just a cold,” you mumble as you start to fall asleep, Eddie covering you with a blanket. “I’ll feel better after a nap…”

Yeah, no, you really don’t

You wake up after napping and can’t swallow anything without wanting to gag or cry - it just hurts too much. Eddie worries so much over you as he tries to get you to drink some more tea, but it doesn’t help. You can’t even swallow painkillers because your throat is so swollen

After some debate, you let Eddie look down your throat with a torch because he insists - his eyes widen and he tells you that there’s red and white patches, that you should probably go to a doctor. You’re stubborn though and tell him you’ll feel better after more sleep.

That night is absolutely miserable for both of you because you can’t sleep for more than a few hours at a time without waking up in pain, and nothing Eddie does seems to help: you’re just in so much pain and you’re running a fever, alternating between having the sweats and having chills

Poor Eddie just wants to help so bad but he feels kind of useless because all he can do is let you curl up with him as you whimper and cry out in pain

You try showering or bathing in the morning but you’re burning up and can barely move, he has to help you get to the bathroom and help you get cleaned up because you can’t stand straight

When Eddie tries to make you some food, you turn all of it down - you can’t even swallow water or ice cream without it burning, without it feeling like knives in your throat, and you have literally zero appetite now anyway

Getting a doctor’s appointment quickly in Gotham is pretty much impossible, the healthcare is severely underfunded in most parts of the city and you’d be more likely to shit gold than find a decent doctor on short notice - but Eddie has his ways; somehow he manages to get a doctor to see you that evening, and he listens to everything the doctor says so he can help you get better

You get prescribed a course of antibiotics (penicillin) and Eddie is so diligent about making sure you start them immediately: he writes down the times you take a dose, makes sure you have all your doses, spaces them out so that you have a chance to eat between doses but can still take the pills on an empty stomach like you’re supposed to… he just wants to help you so bad, all he wants is for you to get better ASAP because he hates seeing you sick and in pain

He knows he could catch whatever you’ve got but he doesn’t care: when you ask him to cuddle you, he’s all too eager. You spend most of the week as you recover with his arms around you, his head on your chin, your head on his chest, his voice low and vibrating in your ear as he mumbles and tells you his favourite riddles

It doesn’t matter that your brain is too fogged and tired to understand riddles right now, hearing him recite them is enough to bring a small smile to your face because it’s just so… him.

You wear one of Eddie’s hoodies or jumpers when you’re feeling shivery and feel so comforted by it because it smells like him 💚

The two of you put some boring daytime television shit on and fall asleep to it together, curled up on the couch with a blanket 🥹

He helps you get to bed early after a dose of antibiotics, pulling the duvet over you as you doze off and pressing a kiss against your hot forehead; he stays by your side all night, barely sleeping himself, watching you and brushing your hair from your face as you sleep

The relief on his face when, the day after you start taking the medicine, you tell him your appetite is back and you’re feeling a little bit better is honestly so goddamn pure, his face lights up and he’s just so damn happy that you’re already doing better

Eddie does his research on what foods and drinks are good for sore throats and fevers because of course he does, and he is all too happy to cook and make things for you to eat

He also goes out and buys a shit ton of sore throat sweets in your favourite flavour, like boxes and boxes of them, it’s really so endearing

I’m working on your requests when I can but honestly I’m struggling to stay awake in between bouts of choking on whatever is in my throat, and also struggling to breathe between a nose that’s decided to alternate between blocked and runny, and I feel pretty shit so… the only positive is that it’s not coming up as COVID.