XoniaRainforest

DP x DC Prompt

There is a Farm that was run by a couple about an hours drive away from the Kent's place. It is isolated, but the husband and wife are friendly. The couple had also made some of the best tasting vegetables that have hit the market.

A certain butler has also become friends with the couple of that farm as well. And whenever Clark is visiting his parents farm, they tend to visit the couple a few times, and Alfred is usually there on some of those visits.

But when a few more years had passed, the husband had passed on from old age. The wife, Sam, was sad, but they expected her to be more sad.

And a few more years later, she eventually passed away from old age. And when her funeral was over, both Alfred and the Kent's had noticed that someone was still living in the farm and taking care of the crops.

The person living on the farm is a young man, with a daughter. They don't know I'd he was gifted the farm or not.

Danny goes to college after he becomes ghost king and gets bored when his life is no longer packed with chaos.

Sure he could head to the realms and fight some ghosts but that was just regular chaos and he wanted to mix things up a bit.

It’s around this time that Danny learns about the young protégés of the Justice league.

One day while the JL are at the watch tower having a meeting IN SPACE they are interrupted by a teenaged invader.

The whole team goes on the defensive when much to their surprise, the teen passes out his resume and pulls up a PowerPoint title “Phantom:Villain for hire”

He then goes on to explain that he’d been in the hero game for years in a small town where the media actively portrayed him as a villain for years before going completely dark on the matter when Vlad was kicked out of office.

He explains that he’d been in fights with various levels of villains and is incredibly versatile with his power output and fight difficulty.

Which is why he would be the perfect villain to have their protégés practice against!!

He can be their villain of the week that helps them learn valuable life lessons while giving them a very real challenge WITHOUT the risk of death or dismemberment!

he can even create schemes catered to lessons they want to teach their proteges

for a price of course….

Anyway…

Perhaps Danny’s pursuit of banishing his boredom had gone a bit far. He was currently handing out business cards to the justice league after a successful presentation of his experience and the terms of his prospective employment. Maybe the catchphrase fake a foe was too cutesy? Ah well, the look on Batman’s face when he received a laminated resume was entertainment enough for the time being.

Danny didn’t expect to receive a call back at all.

“Did you mean what you said earlier Phantom?” A gravelly voice came from the phone.

“Absolutely! Only minor injuries guaranteed!”

Might as well commit.

“Robin is having issues with communication before he leaves his teammates.”

Oh the boy wonder?

“Say no more!”

This will be fun! And lucrative if the justice league could afford such a nice satellite.

Danny allowed his complexion to sallow to a more verdant tone, his canines sharpened to a vicious point.

He turned to Tucker as he materialized his royal ghostly regalia. Rings upon rings, a fur lined crown and a cape that seemed to always have frost on the hem. “Too much?”

“Yeah man, just the cloak is good.”

“No keep the crown but make it a circlet!” Sam protested.

“Bold of you to assume I know what that is.” Danny said as he followed the already pulled up examples Sam had.

“Let’s go spook some baby heroes.”

His head turns 194 degrees, and his smile stretches wide.

"Raven!" He calls, just as the cloaked half demon enters the meeting room.

She stares impassively. "Danny."

"Oh come onnnnnn" the ghost ribs, standing upside down above her like a strange mirror image. "Call me 'Dad' already!"

Raven scowls. "No."

Cyborg, who had entered the watchtower with the girl, looks between them in confusion. "Now what on sweet mother earth is goin' on here?"

Phantom's laughter grated on every eardrum in the vicinity, like cracking glaciers.

"I beat the hell out of her dad, and ate half his soul!" He explains, like it's nothing.

"I took his throne in the duel, so it's only right that I be both a better ruler and a better father, eh?"

"Not my dad." Raven growls.

Phantom just smirks at her, and tosses her a paper bag. She catches it in her magic, and immediately whips out a cookie and begins crunching on it.

Danny gripped his bangs in his fist, staring down at the paperwork before him with endless frustration and not a lick of comprehension.

Why was there so much paperwork, anyway? Pariah Dark hadn't exactly seemed like the type to keep records. Had he done this on purpose? As punishment to whomever wound up taking the throne from him? Danny had to admit, that sounded like a really devious plan. Unless the next ruler had been, like, The Secretary Ghost or something.

… that gave Danny an idea.

Clockwork had told him about this "Kingly Connection" thing he had yet to try out. Supposedly, it made it so that the king could address his subjects all at once, no matter where they may be. In case of an urgent announcement or Realms-threatening danger, or something.

To Danny, it sounded like a really efficient way to send out a 'Help Wanted' ad. Everyone would be able to hear it, and anyone who for some reason didn't could learn about it through word of mouth. Those who felt they were qualified could come see him at the Keep, and those who didn't could just continue on with whatever they'd been doing. It was the perfect plan.

Danny flopped back in his seat, relieved for the reprieve as he shut his tired eyes. He followed the pull, down, down, into his core… and then even further, til the light behind his eyes got brighter, til he reached the power of the KING.

Hey, everyone. This is your King speaking. I need like, a secretary or something. Someone who can help me handle literal millennia of paperwork. So, if y'all could come on down to the Keep, or pass the offer on to the smartest person you know, that'd be dope.

Danny felt as the power pulsed within his chest, sending his message out along the millions of tiny strings tying all Undead souls back to his. He sighed and slouched in his chair, exhaustion finally catching up to him. All he had to do now was wait. A little nap in the meantime couldn't hurt, could it?

— — —

Jason felt simultaneously floaty and more grounded than he had since his mysterious resurrection. All his anger and uncertainty was just gone, replaced by pure drive and direction. He wasn't thinking very deeply, but he knew what he was doing. It was like laying on the surface of a sunlit lake, letting the gentle waves take him wherever they wished.

The Red Hood finished the chalk circle in the middle of the wide, empty warehouse floor and stepped back. The lines and starbursts that decorated it were drawn immaculately, without a single smudge. Now, all he needed was…

… the smartest person you know…

… Where was Tim?

— — —

AN: Alright, y'all have been waiting for this one for a loooong time, so I've decided to just take the plunge and put it out there even if I'm not completely happy with how it turned out. Thank you for your patience!

— — —

Okay. Okay.

So, one of Danny's subjects had just brought his still-living brother into the Realms.

That was… sub-optimal. Danny wasn't even gonna question how Mr. Red-Helm had managed to do that, despite his obviously, terrifyingly low power levels.

Seriously, that dude had even less ectoplasm than Danny had ever felt from blob ghosts; He hadn't even known something that weak could be stable, much less sapient.

Danny… should probably get that guy to a doctor, actually. His brother, too, just to be safe. It wasn't exactly healthy for humans to be in the Realms. Even Amitians, who'd been enduring ectoplasm exposure for years at this point, could wind up suffering negative effects.

Danny floated back slightly, scrutinizing the pair.

The boy that the world's weakest ghost had so proudly introduced as Tim had managed to halfway slip out of his brother's hands and was trying to reach the ground with his toes. Helmet-man thwarted his efforts with ease by adjusting his grip, hefting him up and away from his ultimate goal of the floor to hold him underneath his arm like a basketball.

He patted Tim's head, to Tim's visible bafflement, before turning back to Danny.

"What next, my King?" The fragile ghost asked eagerly, leaning forward.

Danny couldn't help the way his face twitched at the title- he still wasn't used to being addressed with respect, especially not by someone he could feel the admiration pouring off of in waves- and he sucked the air in through his many sharp teeth as he made his decision.

"Actually… There's someone I want you both to meet."

The dead man perked up with renewed excitement. Tim grimaced with dread.

— — —

With Constantine trying to map out the remnants of the magic circle, swearing under his breath every time he came across a new symbol he didn't recognize- which was all of them- the Bats had split up.

Bruce and Damian had stayed behind to search for further clues around the warehouse, and serve as potential backup should Constantine end up needing it. Steph and Cass had left to try and retrace Tim's steps, while Babs was scanning the footage of various cameras from the time of Tim's last check-in.

Dick went to go check on Jason.

No one had heard from him all night, which wasn't out of the ordinary. Jason liked his privacy, and his relationships with the Bats tended to be… complicated, to say the least.

Still, it was possible he'd seen something no one else had.

Or done something without the rest of them knowing.

Dick shook his head to be rid of the thought. He knew Jason was trying, and had gotten much better over the past few years, but it was hard to forget, sometimes, some of the things he'd done.

Alighting on the fire escape of the apartment Oracle had given him as Jason's most likely address, Nightwing reached for his tools- and then paused.

The window was already open.

Cautiously, Nightwing slunk in.

The living room and attached kitchen were dark and silent, a stillness to the air that almost seemed unnatural, but soft light was coming from the end of the hallway.

"Jaaay?" Dick called as he crept forward, half greeting and half not wanting to get shot by Jason for surprising him, "You in here, buddy?"

The bedroom door was already almost fully open, and it swung soundlessly to reveal the rest of the room with a simple tap.

There was a single lamp on the bedside table, illuminating the room in warm, cozy light. It was the kind of lamp you'd expect to see in a sweet old grandmother's house, which made the various knives and guns plastered across the walls especially jarring.

Dick frowned, narrowing his eyes as they swept over the room multiple times for good measure.

Jason wasn't here, and it looked like he'd taken all his usual patrol equipment with him. But he hadn't turned off his light, closed any doors or windows, or set any traps behind himself. It was like Jason had suited up and then just… left. Like he'd been preoccupied with something.

Or, perhaps, like he hadn't been planning on coming back at all.

Nightwing steeled his nerves, straightening his stance. This called for a more thorough sweep. Then he'd regroup with the others and they could all share their findings.

He just hoped the sinking feeling in his gut was wrong.

— — —

Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5

Danny caught the attention of Batman while studying at Gotham University for his alternative energy projects. He’s hired right out of college to work on the Watchtower.

He shows absolutely no tell of his abilities till there’s a dire situation- Flash’s electric discharge messes with one of his projects in progress and the whole base would have lost air pressure if he hadn’t done a quick fix using telekinesis and ice.

Of course Batman notices.

Batman assumes the worst- he suspects Danny’s a rogue of some kind, someone who has infiltrated the Justice League with an ulterior motive. But he can’t just fire Danny now- he’s the only one who knows how the new Watchtower energy source works. Plus, he’s not letting Danny go anywhere until he’s figured out his true motives.

Cue Batman subtly testing Danny- tossing things at him to trigger inhuman fast reflexes, having him lift too-heavy machinery, setting up convenient opportunities to steal or snoop or otherwise be up to no good. Danny does take advantage but only once, to use a computer terminal with unlocked clearance. He didn’t plant any bugs that Barman could find, and he otherwise kept up his powerless civilian act perfectly.

Still, Batman’s not satisfied. He brings an infrasonic sound emitter to Danny’s lab one day, and that, of all things, is what gets Danny to break.

“I know what you’re doing,” Danny admits with a sigh, finally. “If you’re really that suspicious of me, I can leave, but I kinda like my job so I’d prefer not to. The benefits are insane compared to what’s standard.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure. yeah. How about you turn off the freaking noise generator and we can talk?”

Sure, he got his two weeks, but Clockwork could stretch one week into an eternity, and Danny doesn’t see the problem. Well, he does, but he also sees all the solutions.

“My boy, you don’t know the repercussions you could have!” Clockwork worries for the umpteenth time, “ The GIW could find you, you could’ve been killed, Dan-“

“Alright! I get it!” Danny cuts him off.

“I know what could happen! I’ve seen it! I’ve fixed it! I do all of your dirty work and barely take off days from work! I have their trust! The Justice League may be shit, yes-“

“Language,” Clockwork corrects absentmindedly.

“-but they don’t work with the GIW! I helped them, they’re more apt to help me now! If I’m King of the Infinite Realms and I’m to be the Ancient of Space, which you haven’t exactly been as sneaky with that training as you think you have, but I can’t protect?”

Danny stalks away from Clockwork, the predators grace he fights so hard to keep hidden on the Watchtower now on full display as he looks back as Clockwork, his words full of fangs and power.

“You’ll starve me. And you’ll be stuck with whoever kills me for good.”

Clockwork floated still, stunned by the Kings sudden resurgence of his Obsession, unable to see what the action will bring.

—-

Meanwhile, the Justice League wonders why Danny is suddenly away, and why Batman is lying so poorly about it.

Bruce was told not to tell, but he never was told to lie convincingly. He learned this particular loophole from Jason, after he told him not to tell his siblings about the gunshot wound. And Bruce learns his lessons well. So he not only lies to the Justice League, but to his family as well.

His children are like bloodhounds, sniffing out whoever has their father acting like this, and finding almost everything. The firewalls around Amity Park. The GIW. The experiments. How the ghosts weren’t even named, just numbered.

And how one Daniel Fenton, who bore a striking resemblance to one Daniel Nightingale, was in a near death accident with a portal that was Lazarus green.

And maybe, one of the Bats got a bit territorial. Making sure he got home ok. Asking oracle to keep an eye out. Seeing him in their civilian personas.

“Uh,” Jason lowers his hand. Maybe Danny should have let him actually knock- better to keep up appearances, like he couldn’t sense Jason anytime they’re within a three block radius of each other. But he’s tired- so goddamn tired- of this whole charade.

“What’s on the menu today?” He levels Jason with a look.

“Soup. Lentils. It’s, uh, high protein. Very healthy.”

Danny shouldn’t find Jason’s floundering so cute, knowing what he knows. But seeing as he didn’t ask for this (in fact, he explicitly asked for /not/ this), he thinks he’s allowed a little fun.

“Healthy, huh?”

Jason nods, and presents the container for him to take. Instead Danny swings the door wider.

“You might as well come in.”

Captain Marvel shrinks in his seat next to Danny. Even though Batman’s glare is not pointed at him directly, the radiation alone is enough to make him cringe. He always feels more like Billy Batson around Batman more than any of the other Justice League members, like a kid out of his depth. Everyone except for Danny, who makes him feel like Billy in a different way, like he’s another kid who’s constantly earning his seat at the table even though he’s more than proved he deserves it.

On Danny’s left, Green Lantern takes a generous sip of his smoothie, looking back and forth between the two of them in anticipation.

“A word, please.” Batman peers down his nose at the mixed company. “In private.”

Danny smiles with all his teeth. “There’s nothing to discuss that can’t be said right here in front of your trusted colleagues.”

Batman’s jaw feathers. “It’s a personal matter.”

“You know me. I’m an open book.”

“Please, just come to the meeting room-“

“No can do, Bats. I’m on break. So spit it out or let me finish my snack in peace, hm?”

Activity in the kitchen has noticeably quieted as other staff try very pointedly to appear like they aren’t eavesdropping. Billy wishes he could melt into his chair.

Batman sighs, audibly. “What are your intentions with my son?”

Batman stands next to him, arms folded, appraising the same piece of plain notebook paper on the table. To the untrained eye it looks like someone has scrawled a handful of shitty doodles and notes on it. But to John Constantine’s eye? Well, he was thanking his very limited lucky stars that he didn’t have a personal encounter with whatever god or demon that had given that paper to Bats in the first place.

Batman frowns. “I don’t know. That’s what you’re here for.”

“And if I told you I don’t want to touch whatever this is with a ten foot pole?”

Batman points to a green sticky note stuck on the paper’s bottom corner.

Call the Hellblazer if you need a tutorial.

Well, fuck. So much for flying under the radar.

Jason, lounging on the ratty couch, takes another sip of his toxic green beverage. “Prescription smoothie.”

“Who the heck prescribed you a glowing smoothie?”

“Danny.”

“Danny?”

“Yup.”

“Like, Watchtower engineer Danny?”

“Yup.”

“Like, the guy I found walking around on the meeting room ceiling yesterday because he was “working on reverse gravity shoes,” that Danny?”

“Yup.”

Dick gesticulates wildly in a manner that roughly translates as what the fuck.

One of Gotham’s many vigilantes- Red Hood, if he wasn’t mistaken- stormed into the room, slammed his palms on the far side of the long table, and said, “You need to check what the asteroid is made of.”

The asteroid in question was one line item of many agenda points for this meeting. The radar had picked it up as one on a collision course with Earth, but they had protocols for this. They’d dealt with similar situations multiple times before. It’s not often though, that they have uninvited attendees to justice league meetings. That alone is enough to make J’onn wonder.

“How did you get up here, son?” Superman, always the diplomat, attempts to calm some of the confusion.

“Irrelevant. The asteroid. What’s its composition?”

Batman has less patience. “The protocols are in place to deal with the threat. Red Hood—“

“They won’t work.”

Green Lantern, ever not the diplomat, rolls his eyes. “Kid, we’ve dealt with similar situations dozens of times. Care to explain why this one is so special?”

“Just trust me.”

Batman sighs. “I think we’ve heard enough, Hood.”

“No. Wait. I have it on good authority that the usual protocol won’t work.” He retorts, then stares directly at Batman, as if that statement wasn’t just another empty platitude.

Batman’s jaw flexes. An understanding passes between them.

“What authority?” Diana questions, stone faced.

As if in response, the door opens again. A familiar face pops in, seemingly oblivious to the meeting. It’s a member of the Watchtower tech staff. Danny.

“Ah. Whoops,” Danny stutters. “Didn’t know you all were in here. My bad.”

Red Hood transfers his glare to this newcomer, but Danny seems blissfully immune to it. Batman remains uncharacteristically speechless as Danny steps further into the room.

“But while I’m here—“ Danny hits a switch on the wall and a crisp blue light projection of their solar neighborhood beams into view above the table. “I upgraded the holo projectors.” The planets spin and their clouds swirl and their many moons dance in orbit. It’s incredibly accurate and finely detailed.

“Pretty cool, right?”

And there, just beyond the rings of Saturn, is the asteroid in question.

Danny meets Batman’s eyeline and raises his eyebrows. Another silent exchange. It has J’onn on edge. He trusts the team around this table implicitly. He does not, however, trust those who haven’t earned their seat.

He reaches out telepathically for Danny, intending just a surface level read of his intentions. But Upon making connection he’s met with infinite nebulae, an endless vortex, an impossible cold. He grips his knees under the table, suddenly fighting not to be overwhelmed, and then in a snap he’s cut off. Like a fly being swatted.

Danny’s eyes slide to him, slowly. Sorry about that. Should have warned you it’s dangerous to look too close. Danny’s voice echoes across the telepathic link.

J’onn sits up straighter. Just what kind of creature had Batman let on this station?

What do you know. J’onn demands.

Nothing you can’t figure out. Y’all aren’t that dense.

“It’s Kryptonite.” Superman’s dark tone brings his attention back to the table. Batman’s at the holo controls— he’s zoomed in on the asteroid and data and projection lines flicker all around it.

“No- it looks almost like lantern energy. Like it’s a construct.” Green Lantern has lost his snark. A reprieve certainly, but never a good omen.

“Either possibility makes redirection challenging. Destruction inadvisable.” Batman frowns.

J’onn keeps his eyes on Danny, who now seems to be on the receiving end of a whispered lecture from the still-inexplicable Red Hood. Danny looks unbothered, and indeed instead appears like he is rather enjoying himself.

Voices raise around the table as more solutions are offered and discarded. This is not how he expected this meeting to go.

Or maybe you all are that dense. Danny muses down the apparently still-active link.

J’onn is about to interrogate him further when he stops. He’s arrived at the answer to their conundrum.

“Density shifting.”

“J’onn?” Batman quiets the rest of the table and everyone’s focus shifts.

“We density shift the asteroid so it passes through the Earth harmlessly. Between myself and Miss Martian it should be possible.”

Murmurs of assent fill the room. Batman’s gaze goes again to Danny, and J’onn’s follows.

The supposed mechanic is smiling at them like a pleased housecat.

Batman keeps eye contact with Danny down the length of the table. Danny stands at the opposite head, next to Red Hood. For a moment J’onn wonders if the command of the room has shifted.

Until Danny shrugs and says, “Sounds plausible enough. Don’t look at me. I’m just a mechanic.”

J’onn reaches for the telepathic link, but it’s gone. Danny turns to leave, Red Hood at his heels, but before he does he winks at J’onn on his way out the door.

J’onn blinks. The air in the room shifts and settles as soon as Danny’s gone. Batman begins outlining the logistics of the new plan, but J’onn barely hears him.

He can’t get that flash of endless void out of his head. And yet the link did end up leaving an impression of Danny’s intentions after all: Kindness. Secrecy. And a pure, desperate desire to help.

Very strange indeed.

//

“I could have handled it,” Jason says over his shoulder as he stirs the bolognese sauce.

Danny’s sprawled out on the couch with some trashy tv on in the background. “You did great.”

“I’m just saying— you didn’t have to show up.”

“What if I just wanted to see steam come out of Batman’s ears in person?”

“You get to do that every time we go to family dinner,” he pauses to taste the sauce, adds a dash more pepper. “I thought it was supposed to be risky. Y’know- for you to get involved.”

“It is, yeah. Which is the reason for all this roundabout mumbo jumbo. Making them figure it out themselves. Means I’m less likely to get caught.”

He taps his spoon and turns to face Danny. “Why risk it then? Why not just let them deal with it on their own? They would have figured out how to deal with the asteroid eventually.”

“Probably, yeah. But how late? How many of people would have gotten hurt- or worse- in that process?”

Jason sighs. he knows trying to convince Danny to be less self sacrificing is like arguing with a carbon steel wall. The timer beeps and he drains the noodles.

“I was just gonna go handle it myself on the sly but— turned out that dumb rock had enough ectoranium in it to resist ghost powers.”

“You didn’t have to do that either.”

Danny shrugs as Jason plates the pasta and hands him a bowl. Jason takes his seat on the couch next to him.

By the time he’s settled Danny has already shoved a big bite of pasta in his mouth. “You’ve really outdone yourself.” He says between chews.

Jason smiles, but he’s not ready to let it go. “If you’re gonna keep doing this, you gotta let me help you.”

“For sure,” he replies between chews.

“Like, actually help you.”

“Of course.”

“Danny. For real though. If you get caught— I can’t— ugh.” Jason sets his bowl on the coffee table and turns to look Danny in the eye. “All I’m saying is that if you get yoinked away to some other dimension as punishment I’m going to be pretty pissed, okay?”

Danny puts his fork down and gives him a wry look.

“But really, me helping you can’t be /that/ against the rules. And if it is, surely you’ll come save me if I get yoinked too, yeah?”

Danny releases a breathy laugh. “Of course! Of course.” He sighs, and his smile fades. “I really wasn’t going to get involved. I was just gonna get a degree, get a normal enough job, just try to live a life while I could.”

“So do that. The Justice League’s problems aren’t your personal responsibility.”

“No, but— If I have the power to help people— to save people— and I don’t, that kinda makes me a shitty person, no?”

“Not if it means risking the whole life you built.”

“I don’t have a life to risk, remember?”

“You do to me!” He’s raised his voice without meaning to, and Danny looks up at him wide-eyed. Jason’s stomach flips, but he’s still not ready to back down, because it’s true.

The life Danny brought to him over the past months is apparent everywhere around them. His shirts heaped over the chair, the kind of coffee he likes in the cabinet and the mug that’s become his, the dirty dishes from all the meals Jason would have never cooked just for himself, the shitty punk music he insisted on playing. It’s a warmth and a light that’s seeped into his home, and even deeper into the core of himself. He didn’t know he could still feel so alive.

Danny’s eyebrows stitch together and he goes pensive, which Jason rarely has seen. Jason takes a bite of pasta to fill the silence, lukewarm now.

“Oh.” Danny whispers emphatically. “Shit.”

And suddenly Jason is questioning everything. Is this thing they have not real to Danny the way it is for him? Is he just the plaything of a god?

“Jay. I didn’t think—“ he starts and takes a shaky breath. “You’re not supposed to care about me.”

Jason blanks. “What?”

“Im allowed to be human under like, so many conditions. And even then I’m not sure what the hell I even am sometimes. This could all go away at any second, and I have very little control of if and when that happens.”

“So?”

“So? That means I’m going to hurt you, inevitably, whether I want to or not. And I can’t— I won’t—“

Danny’s hands shake, and Jason wordlessly reaches out and pulls him close. He brings Danny’s head to his chest and wraps his arms tight around him. Danny relaxes into him, ear resting over the gentle thud of his heart.

“I don’t care, you dumbass.” And he truly doesn’t. He likes the way Danny makes him feel. He likes the person he is with him. Even if Danny broke his heart on purpose it would still be worth it.

“You should,” the words are muffled through Jason’s shirt. “You shouldn’t want to be with me.”

“Too bad. Also, false. My boyfriend is a god-king with cosmic powers beyond comprehension. Pretty sure that makes me the lucky one.”

Danny chuckles and lifts his chin just enough to meet Jason’s eyes. “I’m going to cosmically comprehend your ass all the way to Pluto if you say something as cringe as that ever again.”

“Mm. Threats. Hot.”

Danny swats at him. Jason just holds him tighter and Danny fights against his arms playfully. Jason knows he could break out at any moment if he really wanted to, but he doesn’t. Instead he settles again, cradled on Jason’s lap.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Jason breathes into the top of Danny’s mop of hair. “And for now neither are you. And I’ll kick whoever’s ass who has a problem with that.”

“Even mine?”

“Definitely yours.”

“Good.”

Danny lifts up and presses his lips to Jason’s in a cheeky kiss. And Jason eagerly kisses him back.

//

so this is basically how that town meeting went right

My mom’s parents said “We don’t care who you love.” At that point she’d only ever brought home white guys. She brought my dad home-her mother called her a nigger lover and damned the relationship as much as possible. Her father grew around his prejudices after I was born but never apologized, just wasn’t a blatant fuck.

The day she introduced my father to her family was the last time she spoke to her mother for over twenty years. When I was getting sick and she called and asked her mother and grandmother if anyone in the family had anything strange happen similar what I was going through they told her “it’s because you married a black man. You made your bed, you lie in it.”

Cops pulled them over all the time and asked my mom IF SHE WAS OKAY AND IF SHE NEEDED HELP BECAUSE MY FATHER-A BLACK MAN-WAS DRIVING A 100 POUND WHITE WOMAN AROUND. HE WAS HARRASSED AND THREATED WITH ARREST.

My father ended up getting into a fight in self defence because some entitled hick decided he didn’t like seeing a black man and white woman in the bar together. Thankfully other patrons helped my father but he still couldn’t go to the er for his injuries. My mom patched him up and they were terrified the cops would take him away.

THEIR BEST FRIEND GOT LICENSED TO MARRY THEM SO THEY COULD ACTUALLY TIE THE KNOT BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WOULD AND CITED JIM CROW ERA LAW AS TO WHY.

When shopping with just me my father wouldn’t hold my hand if there was a group around. Why? I’m far lighter than him and people had stopped and asked him “whose child is that?” Or “little girl where’s your parents?” and were stunned when I grinned and pointed at my dad and proudly proclaimed “my daddy’s right here.” You know where else mixed kids couldn’t hold their parents hands? Apartheid South Africa. We live in fucking FLORIDA.

Before applying for the federal program SSDI, we married. This was to prevent losing the life-saving insurance I needed. At that point, I was still on my parents’ insurance, but would soon age out of being able to use it.

After we married, I applied for SSDI, which takes about two years. Everyone is denied by default, so I was prepared with an SSDI lawyer (they only take the case if they know they can win, and their payment is a very small portion of your backpay; my lawyer was paid just 15% of my backpay)backpack. When the rejection letter arrived, I immediately went to her for help.

I inquired about the state program SSI. She told me I didn’t qualify because I’m married. I applied anyway, because I ad nothing to lose. Here’s what the person at the SSI office told me I would have to do before I could apply:

I need to divorce my husband.

I need to live alone. We could not be living together because this would be seen as us basically being married.

I need to have less than $2k to my name at all times.

I cannot work.

I cannot live with my parents because their income would count against me.

I cannot own expensive things that could be sold for money.

If I was approved, I would have to continue following these rules with a few additions.

I cannot receive gifts of money.

I must have a bank account, and they would monitor it to make sure I never went even a single cent over $2000.

I cannot have a savings account.

I cannot have a safety deposit box.

I would have to continue living alone.

They can stop by my home at anytime to inspect how I’m living. They could talk to my neighbors to see if I had anyone who visited and helped me as more than just a friend. This means I could not have my former husband turned boyfriend stay overnight, and he cannot be perceived as taking care of me.

I cannot have anyone help me financially. This means no one else can pay my bills. If I cannot afford those bills on my own, I would have to apply for programs that would. Most of those have long waiting lists, like section 8 housing (we had applied for section 8 housing in 2008, and three years ago I received an email telling me we qualified. They had only the information we gave them in 2008, and have since moved across the country).

My SSDI, if approved, would count against me financially.

The most money I would receive from SSI, if I did everything they demanded and was approved, was $618/month.

This is enforced poverty. It’s also the onky way may of those Disabled would be able to receive the medical care that keeps them alive, like Medicaid. My seizure medication used to cost nearly $2k/month. My neurologist gave me free samples of it every month and helped me apply for free medication through the manufacturer’s financial aid program (you should too if you can’t afford your medication). I was receiving medical care through the hospital’s financial aid program when I married and lost my parents’ insurance coverage.

I refused to do as SSI demanded. My SSDI lawyer was, in fact, relieved when I told her I’m married. Why? Because marrying afterwards would have caused serious and life-threatening complications. She encourages everyone who applies for SSDI to marry if it’s possible a ble for them to do so. Because of her, I was approved for other programs, things I didn’t even know existed, but for two years, it was Hell-on-Earth. I couldn’t work because it would count against me. At that time, rent was $650, but my husband was making federal minimum wage, worked full time, and his employer kept changing his schedule, which made it impossible to apply for a second job.

I know many who are on SSI and need it in order to remain alive. One of my friends nearly fell out if the program because a nosy neighbor saw her and her boyfriend cuddling in her couch watching a movie. They assumed he was secretly living with her. Said neighbor was frequently seen just outside my friend’s windows, watching her. When she met my lawyer after getting the automatic SSDI rejection, she married, got into the programs I had been in, and filed a restraining order against her neighbor because my lawyer absolutely insisted on it. The bitch violated the terms three times and was put in prison for six months. She’s now on SSDI, married, and much happier.

and every time you point out that that’s fucked up, people compare you to the god damn Mormons(who don’t even allow poly anymore, partly because the state of utah came after them for it) and saudi arabia. and they act like you’re just stupid and greedy for not “picking one”.

“you’ve got some sharp ears, pearl.”

RBS > LIKES ‼️