Chapter Text
Sleep came to Avery about as readily as a lightning bolt, striking him seemingly out of nowhere rather than with any consistent rhyme or reason. And the effect was as instant as that too; Avery never really worried about growing drowsy, heavy eyelids and all that, because he usually just fell unconscious whenever his body felt it most appropriate, regardless of his opinions on the matter. It wasn't problematic enough to consider it a disorder, at most he just found himself drooling over a notebook at his desk or drowning in one of his beanbag chairs, but it still wasn't ideal in any shape or form.
When he actually managed to tuck himself into his bed, with his skin care done, hair pulled into a messy bun, and dressed in his pajamas, sleep decided to elude him coquettishly, all the while his thoughts fizzed erratically like soda. Although, physically, he just stared with dead eyes up at his ceiling, arm draped over his forehead like some cliche, fainting Victorian heroine dying of consumption.
Of course, Avery thought bitterly, the one time I'd like to sleep instead of think my body pulls this shit.
With a defeated sigh, he rolled over in bed and plucked up his smartphone, charging idly on his nightstand, eager to ignore the rampant thoughts running through his head with some mindless doom scrolling. The blue light made Avery squint slightly, but he preserved nonetheless, opening apps with no real intent or purpose, trying to ignore the elephant in the room that was his mind.
A small chirp broke his mind-numbingly long mental trek through Twitter, and his brow furrowed a bit.
It was a DM from Rooky.
ayyy loser I know ur online
Avery huffed affectionately through his nose, typing back, yeah lol cant sleep. what u doing?
smoking some scrubs on overwatch. wanna hop on?
He rolled his eyes, u know I suck at shooters stop being mean >:(
yeah I know lol just like to remind u
Avery watched three dots pop up on his screen as Rooky typed.
but hey real talk u good? u don't usually do q&as like that.
He pulled himself up from lying down and leaned against his headboard, listening to the wood creek slightly, yeah I just felt spilling my guts a bit. sorry if I caught you and Minty out.
As if waiting for her cue, a message popped up from Minty.
Ave! R u still up?
uh oh Mama Minty is mad
Avery chuckled under his breath, typing back, sowwy Minty :( I just wanted to talk with u guys
Minty hesitated, he could see as the tiny dots disappeared and reappeared before she messaged the group chat.
don't act cute! I know you were on like an hour ago!!!
uh oh busted 😛 Avery huffed out some laughter as he typed back shamelessly, just to rile her up a little.
come on Ave don't make Minty angry. she'll literally cry and do nothing about it
HEY!!
minty rn so sad 😔
u guys!!! Y ARE YOU EVEN UP THIS LATE?!?!
gaming😜
ruminating by moonlight solemnly
Avery winced when he received silence that lasted just a bit too long for his liking. Maybe that had been a bit too honest for this casual setting. Either way, he quickly clarified, but u know... in a hot way.
that's the only way Ave knows how to do things I'm afraid.
was that an insult or a compliment??
yes.
But hey you kinda ended the stream a bit early?? are u okay??
Bless Minty's heart, both giving his awkward comment a way out but also shooting the elephant in the room with deadly precision. Avery squirmed under her non-existent glare and answered passively with a lie, yeah just forgot I had work to do for school. Sorry tbh the whole thing was a mess but thanks for bearing with me!
It was a plausible enough lie, they both knew he was still in school after all, and they seemed to accept it without much fight.
no worries! it's okay to have an off day!
yeah dude don't think too much about it
A small part of him felt bad for lying to them, like usual, but it was the lesser of two evils; either lie and deal with that small bit of guilt or admit that those rumors chat had mentioned hit a bit closer than he'd like.
Awesome, great, Avery slumped down as the thoughts he had desperately tried to ignore came back up to the surface. Without thinking, he asked the two of them so u guys think I should go??
go where?
that con. I think it'd be fun.
Yeah dude why not?
Are you sure? you've never done a meet and greet before?
it wouldn't be an *official* meet and greet. just going to see a few fans and stuff you know? like I won't even have a booth or anything.
It was perfectly in line for Minty to be cautious; she was always the voice of reason when it came to his various whims while Rooky liked to see how far he could take them.
I mean I won't say you can't go or anything. But you sure you'd be fine on your own?
Avery paused to consider this. It was true, that if he wasn't there in any official capacity, he wouldn't have any staff or security but, to be honest, he had fared well so far without much outside help and he wasn't nearly as self-absorbed to think a no name streamer like him would need any bodyguards or the like. There was also the blatant fact he didn't have anyone to really attend with him.
It was in the brief pause where Avery was thinking that Rooky decided to chime in suddenly,
well it's not like he has to go alone?
Avery frowned slightly, what?
Minty you're a bit outside of Gotham aren't you? you guys can both go. problem solved
Avery felt that the situation was getting a bit out of hand now, with his heart doing an odd mix of a hiccup and a skip. And it stunned him long enough for Minty to respond before he could.
well I guess I could
His stomach flipped.
I mean it is only like an hour drive for me. maybe a little more depending on traffic.
Rooky pounced immediately.
SEE? EASY. friendship wins again
Avery dragged a hand down his face in exasperation they couldn't see.
guys hold on 😭 I didn't mean like—drag someone along with me
Minty's response was quick.
you're not dragging me anywhere! I was already thinking of going
Avery blinked dumbly at the message.
...you were?
yeah! some of my mutuals are tabling there
There was a brief pause before another message appeared.
plus it’d probably be safer if you weren’t wandering around alone lol
Rooky chimed in helpfully.
translation: she doesn't trust you to not get kidnapped.
I did NOT say that!!
didn't have to :P
Avery snorted softly despite himself, the tension in his chest loosening just a little. The quiet of his bedroom didn’t feel quite as heavy with the soft glow of his phone lighting his face but, still, his thumb hovered uncertainly over the keyboard.
u guys really think it's a good idea?
And, for once, Rooky didn’t immediately reply with a joke. The typing bubble appeared.
dude...yeah
A second message followed right after.
people already like u. meeting them in person isn’t gonna suddenly change that
Minty chimed in more gently.
and if anyone's weird about it we can just leave. it's not like you're chained to the building
Avery exhaled slowly through his nose, albeit noisily for the silent room. He had only really toyed with the idea of meeting fans in public, usually dismissing it as a bad idea. Make-up and wigs could only hide so much through the screen, and he didn't need anyone getting close enough to get the chance to see past that. Avery Wayne might have been as forgettable as they come, but he was still a Wayne after all, and was held to certain expectations. The public finding out how he played dress up for the camera wasn't something he'd like to think about. And besides that obvious problem, there was the logistics of everything, as he wasn't sure he'd have a good enough reason to give Alfred (the only one who'd notice) for being MIA for hours or even days. The others might have had the luxury to disappear whenever or wherever they sought fit, with Dick living an entire city away, Jason having his own place, and Tim being busy with Wayne Tech matters, Avery was unfortunately in that gray area where his comings and goings weren't considered of note but still monitored nonetheless.
The whole thought of it was giving him a headache so, with a sigh, Avery prepared to let the two down as gently as he could, making up another excuse to back out.
However, Minty caught him off guard with a shockingly sincere text.
I know you like to keep things to yourself, but it'd be awesome to actually meet you irl!!
Avery paused and Rooky added his two cents.
yeah we were starting to think you were an AI or something lol we've never even seen you without makeup or cosplay on.
That was the truth. The unabashed, curated truth he made for them and all his fans, but that tiny bit of guilt stung a bit more after reading that. He typed, deleted, and retyped his next message.
yeah it's just that...no one really knows I dress femme.
He waited a bit before clarifying.
no one in my life, I mean. so I guess I'm just scared someone will recognize me or something.
It felt oddly vulnerable admitting that, no matter how long they had been his mods, not even that it was just through chat messages.
To Avery It felt like an eternity until they responded, both at the same time.
no worries! you don't have to take off your cosplay or anything. if you'd rather keep things to yourself we get it!
dude no one's asking for your mother's maiden name. just do some cosplay and meet some fans. if they get too close, we bail.
Avery let out a soft laugh, shoulders relaxing against the headboard.
okay okay damn 😭
another pause
but like… you’d actually hang out with me??
Minty replied instantly.
??? of course???
Rooky quipped as quickly.
wow Ave fishing for validation at 2am. classic
shut up
Avery shifted under his blankets, pulling them up over his legs as the late-night chill finally started creeping in.
so hypothetically… when is the con again?