Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danny was getting used to it at this point. That is, the new norm of people coming in and giving him strange names for their orders when he was working at the cafe. He wasn’t really sure how it started, probably that kid that gave his name as Afastasqaynakumuha just to fuck with him. At the time it seemed funny to fuck with him in return, his cup reading a perfectly legible ‘أفاستسقيناكموها’ but maybe he should have stopped there. It was really funny to see their reactions! Surprising people when they came in trying to mess with him was fun. Nothing had come of it so far, and it had inadvertently become a bit of a regular thing. People would come in either having Googled a complex word in another language or already knowing another language and hoping to test his knowledge. 

In the beginning it had only been prominent human languages; Mandarin, Russian, Arabic and a handful of others that people assumed he wouldn’t know ended up being the  common contenders. Recently they started getting more obscure. Croatian, Amharic, Georgian, then Yiddish, Gaelic, te reo Māori, and even Alibamu and Nāti. Some of the latter he was impressed people had even put the work in to learn about (as their accent gave away they were not native speakers). It was strange, but it seemed like mostly harmless fun. If nothing else, a few people were left with a reminder of an endangered language. 

To make a long story short, hearing a handful of random words in dead languages while working? It wasn’t out of the ordinary, and he didn’t mind it. Nobody had bothered to question him so far and if anything his boss was pretty pleased that it seemed to draw in extra customers. 

When he had first started this job the foot traffic had been slow to say the least. There were a handful of regulars but it was never busy. The shop being right on the edge of Park Row, otherwise literally known as fucking Crime Alley , was enough of a deterrent that the neighborhood’s residents made up the majority of their customers. Danny himself included, which was how he found the job in the first place.

It was the cheapest apartment he could find that would take him without having a job lined up before moving. He understood why once he showed up to pick up his keys. Not that he minded, it’s not like he was scared of the stray mugger that stopped him on his way home from classes. What could they do, shoot him? Joke’s on them, he was already dead. (A bullet would still hurt, but not if he just let them phase right through him anyway.) 

He had made frequent stops here for coffee and the occasional breakfast on his way to classes. When he had mentioned to Harley, the owner, that he was job hunting she had offered him a part time spot as a closer. It was a perfect series of events! Until this whole fiasco began.

Gaining attention wasn’t really Danny’s preference, so he took notice when the daily trickle of customers had become a stream. And they all seemed to be there just to read weird words off their phones when he asked for their name. 

So here he found himself, standing behind the counter with what would hopefully be the last customer of the day giving him another weird name. Was it too late to backpedal this whole thing? Maybe he could just start with some misspelling and let it degrade from there? He really liked working here, and it was gonna be difficult to find a new job. He couldn’t just move to another cafe, he would probably still get recognized and the clientele would just shift there once they figured it out. Plus he really liked his boss, she was genuinely good to him and he couldn’t just leave her like that. He didn’t want to tell his family about it, he just knew Sam and Jazz would chew him out for letting it get so far in the first place. 

Clearly he was too preoccupied to focus, contemplating his options while on the job. It was only after handing the guy the drink that he realized the name he had just written was in Kryptonian. He was seriously wishing he could beat his past self into submission right about now. He felt a panic attack coming on.

What an absolutely idiotic move. What, was he just moving on autopilot?! Get it together Fenton! Wait, no, GET IT TOGETHER NIGHTINGALE! He couldn’t even keep his own name straight! Idiot! This was it, this was how it ended. Whoever that was definitely came here to test if he was human and he had just failed miserably. He watched the dude look at his cup and stop in his tracks, looking back to Danny as he dropped behind the counter to hide. 

Fuck fuck fuck of course! Why else would he have given such a weird name? Was he calling Danny ‘abomination’ when he said that? Shit, then he knew Danny wasn’t fully human. If he knew Kryptonian he must be involved with the Justice League or at least Superman. Unless it was a villain which would be so much worse. Were they onto him? But he had kept such a low presence! Sure knowing a lot of languages is weird but not that weird! Why had they sent somebody just to look into him? He hadn’t even done anything! 

He was broken out of his panic spiral by his boss coming out of the back room. She froze in the doorway.

“Uh. Danny? Any… particular reason you’re hidin’ behind the counter?” She asked, sweeping her eyes across the room and settling them back onto him with a cautious squint. Had the guy just left? It certainly seemed like it, with the way she was looking at him. “Was there somebody here botherin’ you or somethin’? I know you get some weird sorta-fans sometimes but this is the first time I’ve seen you freaked out. Do you need to go to the back?” She was squatting in front of him now, looking very concerned as he stared at her blankly.

He suddenly shot up, looking around the shop to see that Mr.Kryptonian had indeed left without even coming up to the counter to say anything. Okay, that was a good sign. Maybe? Unless he would be coming back with backup. “Yeah I- I’m just gonna go sit in the back for a second. I’m fine I just- I’ll be back in a minute.”  

He darted through the door to the back and sat down on the lonely chair by the desk in the corner, taking a few deep breaths and pulling out his phone. Who should he even call? Should he even call anyone? Jazz might be free, and though she would be disappointed in his carelessness she was his best option for rational support. She would be able to tell he was panicking and actually help him instead of just yelling at him. He hit the call button. Wait, would she even be free right now? What if she was busy and he was interrupting-

“Danny? I thought you were usually at work right now, is everything okay?” She picked up quickly. She sounded calm enough despite the minor concern clear in her voice. Not busy then, good, that meant he wasn’t interrupting anything hopefully. 

“Jazz, I fucked up. I think I just fucked up really bad big time. Like really really bad and they’re gonna be all over me now and then they’re gonna think I’m hiding something which is technically true but not like that and they’re gonna think I’m dangerous or something and-” He had started ranting and Jazz quickly cut him off, talking over him. 

“Woah, woah, woah, Danny calm down! Calm down, okay? Everything is fine right now. It’s okay. Slow down, take your time, and tell me what happened. Can you do that? Just tell me about today.” She was using her Calming Voice now, the one she used when she realized somebody (usually Danny) was having a bit of an episode. 

He did what she said, taking a moment to breathe again. Counting his breathing, he felt his mind clear enough to keep talking. “Okay, just today. Today, I came into work. It was pretty normal. For context, I guess, recently a lot of people have been doing this thing. Um. They like- So people started ordering with weird names, right?” He heard her hum on the other end, patiently listening. “But not regular silly names or anything, they give me like. Weird names, like I think people try to find words in really obscure languages and say it to me to see if I know what they’re saying I guess? Which I do, obviously I do, I know every language so there’s not much anyone can say that I won’t know what it means, right?” 

“And you’ve been doing this for a while now? Just… writing words in random languages that people say to you?” She asked, and he could tell she was holding herself back from a scolding. She knew that now was not a good time. 

“Yes and I know it’s not great and I know I should have stopped doing this when I realized it was happening but I didn’t think about it and everything was fine before and it-” He took a deep breath in and held it.

“Today. Okay, today,” he sighed, “it was fine, and I was even trying to think about what I could do to stop this. I feel like it’s been getting me too much attention lately and I need to do something about it but I just- I was too busy thinking about it that I wasn’t thinking and this guy came in and- Jazz this guy gave me a name in Kryptonian and I wrote it in Kryptonian! I wasn’t thinking I was just thinking but I mean- Jazz what do I do?” He stopped himself from rambling again, trying to focus on his breathing. It was getting away from him again. Jazz was silent for a moment, clearly thinking this through. 

“Did he say anything to you?” She asked. 

“No, nothing. He was leaving when he looked at the cup and he turned around to look at me but I hid behind the counter and when I came back up he was gone.”

“Okay. So whether he actually knows what he said to you or not, he didn’t approach you. That’s good, at the very least that means he wasn’t there for a confrontation. He just left? Didn’t say anything at all?”

“No, nothing. I mean I was hidden, but when the manager came out and saw me it didn't seem like she saw him at all, and when I stood up he wasn’t there. He was just gone, but what if he comes back? What if he’s-”

“Danny.” She cuts him off immediately and he stops, listening, breathing. “If he comes back, we’ll just have to wait and see. We don’t even know if he has any ill intentions at this point. Clearly he wasn’t expecting it, since you said he was leaving but stopped when he looked at the cup. Maybe he doesn’t even know what it means, maybe it’s just something he overheard. You never know, you may never even see him again. Danny, there’s nothing to be afraid of right now. Don’t forget about the Meta Acts, too. The Justice League were the biggest proponents in getting them passed, and the whole point was that metas and other non-humans are to be treated the same as anyone else. They have no reason to kidnap some minimum wage employee just because he may not be human. It’s going to be alright, okay? No one is going to take you away. I’m here, too. You can always come stay at my place any time if you don’t feel safe, okay?” Her offer was genuine and he could tell from her voice alone that her face was pinched in sympathy right now.

She was right. Right now he was safe, and he wasn’t alone. They had no reason to even think he was anything other than a metahuman with a strange power just living his life. Everything was fine. 

“Thank you, Jazz. I’m- I think I’m good now.” He replied after a few moments of silence. “I’ll be fine, but I’ll check in tomorrow morning even if it’s just a text. Just in case. I think once my shift is over I just need to… lay down. With how quiet my life has been lately I just feel like I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?” He sighed, dropping his head and forcing his shoulders to relax. He heard Jazz sigh on the other end. 

“I know baby brother. I know. And I know that feeling won’t just go away overnight but remember what we talked about okay? I know it doesn’t feel like it but quiet is normal . It’s okay if it’s quiet, and while I can admit it’s good to be prepared it’s not healthy to constantly be waiting for trouble. If anything happens, we can deal with it together. And that’s if anything comes. Got it?” He nodded to himself in the privacy of the cafe’s back room. It was a message he had been making a deliberate effort to internalize, but that didn’t mean he believed it just yet.

“Right. Got it. I’m gonna get back to work and when I get home I’m gonna relax. Be so relaxed I won’t know what hit me. Paranoia who?” He joked, earning him a barely audible laugh from his sister. “Seriously Jazz, thank you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” He smiled a bit, finally raising his head.

“Okay. Stay safe, little Nightingale. Talk to you tomorrow.” He hung up the phone, taking a final deep breath before standing and heading back out to the floor. 

“Everything alright back there? You can take another break if you need, you’re almost done for today anyway.” Harley offered, still watching him with clear concern in her eyes. 

“No, it’s fine. I just… had a moment is all. I’m good. Promise.” All he could offer in return was a small smile. Not so much reassurance as it was an apology for disappearing so quickly. 

“Alright, if you say so… anything happens and you just let me know yeah? I ain’t lettin’ nobody fuck with my lil’ Danny.” She crossed her arms, and if it weren’t for the fact they had never met he would have thought she was doing an impression of his sister. It made him huff softly, not quite full laughter, but it seemed like it was enough for his boss to relax a bit. 

“Yeah, you’re top of my list of who to call, don’t worry. And thank you.” He gave her a more genuine smile, and she returned it in full force. 

“Of course. I mean it. Now start cleanin’ up, it’s almost closing time.” She walked away, tossing him a fresh rag as she went out to start putting up chairs. 

She really was boss of the year, in his mind at least. Time to close up and head home. He was ready for some much needed rest and a nice hot shower paired with some delicious microwaved leftovers. Dinner of champions, if he said so himself. 

When the next day came to his disbelief it actually seemed as though everything was… fine? After sending a confirmation of safety to Jazz, Danny went to class like nothing had happened. When he came back into work, the mysterious and probably JL affiliated guy never even came back (despite the ghost boy’s intense paranoia when he had arrived at the beginning of his shift). It was, all in all, completely uneventful. And he was still convinced something bigger was coming.

He had called his older sister back to check in at the end of the day, and she had reminded him not to give into the mental cycle that he had built for himself. 

“If you wait long enough for trouble, you’re going to convince yourself you’ve found it. Try not to think too hard about it, okay?” She was trying her best to be reassuring, but he could tell she was also exhausted. She had already had a long day, she had told him all about work and class to help prevent him from spiraling at the beginning of their conversation. 

“Right, sorry. You’re right. I mean, even if they do find out about me and come find me they have no reason to attack me. I haven’t even done anything wrong! You think if they do come to me, and I’m just honest with them, they would leave me alone..?” He was thinking out loud at this point, just hoping for a best case scenario. 

“Yes, exactly! My only real concern is that they might ask some… favors from you. I mean, technically speaking you are really powerful, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were to ask for your help from time to time. But other than that I really do think you have nothing to worry about. Everything will be okay, Danny. Just enjoy a bit of normal living for now. Stop worrying so much about what could happen and focus on enjoying what is happening!” She encouraged him, a little bit of excitement even slipping into her voice. 

He knew she was truly happy and excited for him. He had told her years ago, back when he was still in Amity operating as Phantom, how he doubted he would ever get to go to college. Especially with the way his grades were slipping at the time, she had a hard time convincing him it was possible. And yet thanks to his friends’- no, his family’s support here he was. Finally in college, working a low paying but cozy part time job just like so many others his age. He almost felt normal!

It was so… stressful. He tried not to let the quiet bother him, he really did. Trying to develop coping skills and unlearn trauma responses and all kinds of other ‘pathways to healing’ that Jazz had been trying to teach him in the last year. And it was hard. He couldn’t help that he always felt the bone-deep urge to get ahead of the fight, to know what was coming and stop it before it had the chance to get worse. However, Jazz was right in that there was no fight to prepare for . Worst case scenario, he’s outed and added to the Justice League’s contact list of outside agents to ping when they have questions or need help. 

Would it disrupt his college life? Yes. Would he have to fight for his life to avoid being captured again? Probably not. There was nothing for him to be so afraid of and yet he was. It was like a buzzing underneath his skin, filling him with the urge to do something. He wanted to patrol . Wanted to go fight . He could only blame the urge to fight on his ghostly nature for so long before he had to admit part of it was simply an unhealthy outlet for his paranoia. 

Ever since he had moved to Gotham it had been manageable. Fighting off the occasional thief, catching a trafficker in the act and simply dragging them away into the shadows to scare them half to death had been a great outlet. Being a ghost was nice like that. He couldn’t do it every day without some level of suspicion though. Surely Red Hood would notice a substantial boost on his ‘unconscious guys in various dumpsters’ count. (Plus from what he understood the guy was seriously territorial. No way he was going to make him think some unknown vigilante was stepping into his turf.) He refused to even entertain the thought of taking up the vigilante/hero mantle again after how poorly it had ended in his hometown. It may be difficult, but he honestly just wanted to try and enjoy his life as a college student if these damn paranoid urges would just leave him alone!

To summarize, Daniel Nightingale was feeling very stuck. And feeling stuck made him stressed. And feeling stressed made the itching under his skin telling him to do something about it much worse. Which was how he currently found himself standing in an alley with the business end of a handgun pushed against his chest.

Chapter Text

Danny had gone out for a walk in an attempt to clear his head. He really wasn’t looking for a fight this time, honest! He just needed some space to think and look where it got him. Maybe this was a sign. Just accept the cosmos’ decision and K.O. this guy. 

No. No, he wouldn’t let himself get into that line of thinking. He was a civilian out on a walk minding his own business when a man had pulled him into an alley and pointed a gun at him. Great. He was frozen staring at the man who was probably demanding his money while mentally battling himself. To fight or not to fight, that was the question. 

It was answered for him by the sound of a gunshot. He flinched and looked down at his body, waiting for the biting pain to tear its way through his chest, but it didn’t come. He looked up then, realizing his would-be assailant was screaming and clutching his hand to his chest. Oh. 

Looking farther up he made eye contact with who he must assume was Red Hood, based on the fact he was on a rooftop and had just shot a robber in Crime Alley. Also the red hood he was wearing. Was it eye contact through a mask like that? Maybe he wasn’t even looking at him. Over the screams of the thief he let out a quiet, “Thanks.” 

The man on the edge of the roof let out a singular bark of a laugh, staring at him again. He wasn’t sure why, but he got the feeling it was quite genuine. He was giving off these strange pulses of anger in a way Danny had only felt from ghosts and large groups of people before. His emotions seemed… intense. Underneath the thrum of aggression however, he could also feel a soft curiosity. 

“Yeah, you’re welcome I guess. You know you shouldn’t be out around here this late, right? Though I suppose you do know how to take care of yourself.” The masked man let the implication linger in the air, taking in the college student’s face as it flickered through a series of emotions before settling on barely-masked panic. Not on the list of reactions he had expected, but he didn’t take off running (which had been one of them), so that was a positive. 

He turned his attention to the mugger who was too afraid to run off, still cradling his hand while inching his way to the end of the alley. “Go take care of that. Next time it’ll be the other one, understand me?” He waved him off with the barrel of the gun, as if to drive home the point. The man nodded weakly, scrambling down the alley and around the corner out of sight. Once his footsteps faded away Hood turned back to Danny, waiting for his answer. 

“I wasn’t trying. I mean I wasn’t looking for anything, I was just having- I just needed a walk. That’s all. Long day.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Hood knew something, there had been a suggestion there and that couldn’t mean anything good and Danny was trying not to spiral but it was so hard when a man much bigger and possibly connected to the group he was actively afraid of drawing the attention from was staring down at him. 

“Hey. Settle down. Don’t give me that hunted rabbit look-” He completely ignored Danny’s weak but offended squawk and continued, “I just want you to know that I’ve seen you… freelancing, we’ll say.” 

The man felt his heart fall out of his chest. He had thought this was about what happened yesterday, but he had been seen? He didn’t even know and he had been seen several times. Shit. It was only criminals of course, but he had no idea what the other man was here for now. Did he think Danny was disrupting his area? He was known to be possessive, was he here to tell him to get lost? Take him in to the JL for some kind of… patrol-without-approval punishment? Require he give them a full profile of his history and what all his powers were so he could be monitored at all times? Take him away and demand to study him? A cold panic washed over him but he poured every ounce of willpower he had into listening to what Red Hood was about to say. 

And Red Hood could actually feel the cold, sticky, panicked dread practically radiating off of this kid. Kid? They might actually be around the same age, but his soft features made him feel a bit younger. Hood was normally good at reading people thanks to his interrogation experience but this was something else. Very interesting, but it would have to be catalogued away for later because he could tell that if he was quiet too long this kid would disappear . Maybe forever, and Jason would feel… well, he would feel like an asshole if it was his fault. 

It’s not like his goal was to scare him, just give him a little welcome speech so he knew he could come to Hood if he noticed anything off. The others in the neighborhood already knew, but someone new, and particularly someone who wasn’t a regular human, may not know if he would be so welcoming. Unfortunately not all ‘heroes’ in the League had a positive impression of metahumans, and Batman was one of them. While he was never a hero with a strong public presence, the people generally knew where he stood. Sometimes, people also assumed those connected to him felt the same. It pissed him off, but not when it was some scared kid just trying to get by. That was a position he understood all too well. He would still be keeping an eye on him as a new inhabitant with some kind of powers, but at this point he seriously doubted the kid had any bad intentions.

“Hey, what did I just say? Settle down, stay with me here. It’s fine. I don’t mind, alright?” He paused, waiting to see if the guy would calm down a bit. Jesus, he must have had some bad experiences if his knowing was enough to set him off as badly as it had. Loathe as he was to admit it, he might benefit from a talk with Dick before approaching this dude again. He didn’t want the man’s only impression of him to be complete terror. He was supposed to be a protector of his neighborhood’s residents, a trusted leader and resource. But right now this one was only scared of him. 

Once his eyes had lost a bit of their panicky glaze, Hood took that as a sign he could continue. “Just listen first. This is my space. The residents are my people.” He saw the man on the ground tense a bit but he didn’t give him a chance to react further before continuing, “I know you live around here and that means you’re one of my people now, as long as you don’t cause trouble.” That ongoing flood of panic was cut short, replaced with a mental buffering wheel as it was nearly the opposite of what the half-ghost had been expecting to hear. 

Red Hood was accepting him as a part of his community, despite metaphorically stepping on his toes. They had never spoken, but he had simply known there was someone new in his turf. It made sense. It was clearly a very close knit community, and since Red Hood was such a prominent figure in the area it was only natural that it would get back to him quickly, if he wasn’t already actively following him to see if he was a threat anyway. He had never considered that Red Hood might just keep tabs on new occupants. Stupid oversight. His brain was oh so very helpful in its astute side notes.

But even so, he claimed that it wasn’t a problem. Why approach now then, just to give him his approval? Was this some kind of test, to see how he reacted and if he started turning villainous once given the all clear? Was it a lie to make him lower his guard and bring him in willingly, rather than have to fight him? His mind was still shooting off ideas, a nonstop stream of half baked theories that he had to smother with focus to hear the masked man still speaking above him. 

“I know better than most we all got secrets. Especially round here. I don’t like being questioned, and something about those prey eyes right now tells me you don’t either. Doesn’t bother me, ‘cause I’m not the prying sort. I saw you squash a couple pests, but I say that was just self defense. You don’t start trouble, and I mind my business. As long as it stays that way, I’m a big believer in privacy. I make damn sure the others mind their business too, so as long as you play by my rules nobody will come around here to play 20 questions.” Though I’m sure they’re dying to, he added internally. He hopped down from the rooftop to stand in front of the young man, once he was sure that that fear rolling off him had dulled to a ripple of shock. Good. He always liked surprising people. 

Danny felt his spiritual ( ha ) jaw hit the floor. Not only was Hood already aware he had some kind of powers ( how did he not notice that) , but he was supposedly fine with it. All he had come to do was tell Danny not to cause trouble, and in return he was welcomed into the unstable yet loving embrace of Crime Alley. With the bonus of being assured none of the other heroes would come knocking at his door, if his claims were true. One of the more notoriously brutal of the heroes of this city was accepting his presence and claiming to be respectful of his privacy in the process. That creeping feeling of the situation being too good to be true was back, the same as he had been feeling earlier after an uneventful day.  He would need to be careful still, but he tried to push the suspicion down in the back of his mind. His being suspicious would only in turn make him more suspicious in a weird and terrible cycle. If Hood was being genuine, he did not want to lose this trust.  

This was… unexpected to say the least. Was this because of what had happened the day before? Maybe that had spurred him to come say something, since he hadn’t bothered up until now despite having apparently seen him. The mention of making sure ‘the others’ minded their business seemed to suggest so. The cautious relief he was feeling must have overwhelmed his mind because it didn’t bother to filter the next words out of his mouth. 

“That’s so sexy of you.” He registered his own words and saw Red Hood tense. Danny could feel the heat flooding his whole face and he rushed to- what, explain? Apologize? 

“I am. So sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I mean I do, it was a joke kind of- I wasn’t expecting you to- Okay I was afraid of you being mad but I wasn’t expecting you to be such a- so… I don’t know, kind? Not that you’re not sexy, I’m sure you’re hot- I mean obviously I can’t see your face but-” He was cut off by a large gloved hand held out at chest level and he sucked in a breath. “...sorry.” 

“It’s… fine. I do actually use the internet, believe it or not, I get the joke. We’re good.” He huffed, snatching the abandoned gun off the pavement and hoisting himself up the fire escape of the adjacent building, climbing up to the roof faster than a squirrel. Not that Gotham even had squirrels. That was some impressive upper body str- nope, not chasing that thought after embarrassing himself the way he had. 

“By the way, I don’t know the specifics on what happened yesterday, but I’ve made it clear to back off. Let me know if anybody comes sniffing around. I need to know if they don’t listen, because I don’t like repeating myself.” Hood huffed, remembering the text Tim had sent, sensing his inevitable and annoying complaints already. He wasn’t likely to go against Jason’s decision, but it wasn’t unthinkable.

He’d been begging to come down and meet the kid, ask him some questions about his abilities (plus whatever cult case he was working on) after Conner had shown him the cup. Jason had placated him by promising to talk to this guy, and gauging his willingness to get involved. He had been meaning to talk anyway after seeing that he had taken down a handful of trouble around the streets, but Jason preferred to mind his own business, and was struggling to find a suitable approach. 

Considering how tonight had gone, he was not letting his invasive younger brother near this flight risk disaster any time soon. Tim wouldn’t be happy, but the meeting he was hoping for would need to be postponed for a while. Cult cases never amounted to anything but stopping human sacrifices, so translating whatever he had would be a waste of time anyway. He probably knew that and was just looking for an excuse to satisfy his curiosity, the relentless bastard. Just as Red Hood was about to continue his rooftop rounds for the night, the guy on the ground spoke up again.

“Wait! I’m- my name is Danny. Nice to meet you, officially. And thank you, again. Really. Have uh… a safe patrol.” He called out to the man who had perched on the edge of the roof to hear what he had to say. Hood squinted at him under the mask, radiating amusement. 

“... Red Hood, in case you couldn’t tell. No problem. Get home safe, kid.” He stood and turned around, disappearing from sight. All Danny could think was that the guys were not gonna believe this. Well, the girls and one guy. Who cares, it’s a figure of speech. 

When he got home, first on his list of priorities was a shower. He didn’t need to, but it felt good. It was calming, refreshing in a way that simply phasing out of the dirty clothing could never match. It was only 9:00 pm and he should probably also eat something, but he didn’t feel hungry enough to bother putting effort into even microwaving food. Instead he simply sent an announcement to his family group chat. 

booberrybicon: Guys ur not gonna believe the fuckin night I just had.

booberrybicon: Tell u abt it tmrw tho going to bed rn gn

He put his phone on silent, ignoring the immediate rush of question marks in favor of flopping on his back. His bed may have been incredibly cheap, but his bedding was soft and that was all he needed. 

Sleep overtook him quickly, dreams full of familiar but warping houses. His friends were there, chasing him down. They told him he was sick, trying to give him medicine that he refused to take. He knew it was poisoned, even if they were adamant that it would help. When they had finally succeeded, as he waited for the painful burn of the poison to set in, he jolted awake. The pain never came, but he still woke up with tears in his eyes. 

The buzzing of his morning alarm forced him to reach over and grab his phone, turning it off. He wiped his face into his shirt, taking a few deep breaths to fully wake up and calm himself down. While the dreams had left him feeling complicated, he had clearly gotten a good amount of sleep. Over 12 hours, even. When he finally checked his phone he had nearly 100 new notifications from the group chat. And one emailed announcement from his professor, cancelling today’s class, so that was nice. He scrolled through the chat, which ended up mostly being Sam and Tucker complaining about Danny dropping a message then disappearing. They had been going back and forth in dramatic speculation on what he had been doing as going to bed so early was clearly a cover story.

gothivystan: who does he think he is, always doing this to us? his loving friends/fans/family? Is this the thanks we get?

pharoahscurse: He’s gone rogue and this is how he’s telling us. He’s actually in prison right now for starting his own drug empire, already found his mugshot. 

It was a stock photo of a rat behind bars with pixelated, poorly drawn hair clearly meant to mirror Danny’s own. He saved the picture, changing his profile image immediately.

gothivystan: oh god they finally got him… I knew this day would come it was only a matter of time 

pharoahscurse: It’s too late he’s already run away with Poison Ivy, didn’t even bother to call you Sam. Now that he’s big steppin he forgot about the day ones… hate to see it happen.

gothivystan: DANNY 

gothivystan: YOU BITCH 

gothivystan: I’M GONNA GET YORBASS JUST YOU WAIT

pharoahscurse: Yorbass 

jazzhands: Yorbass

yellyellie: yorbass

booberrybicon: Yorbass 

booberrybicon: Anyway morning guys u free to call later?

Everyone gave a time frame after an appropriate amount of griefing, and luckily Jazz had a break coming up that would let them all call in roughly an hour, so he went about scrounging up something for breakfast. Normally he wouldn’t bother with actually cooking, but he wasn’t in a hurry for once. Why not cook some eggs? There wasn't much in his kitchen. His fridge had the aforementioned eggs, a tub of yogurt, some condiments, sodas, and a few untouched leftovers taken home from work. He should probably visit a store soon. Not much in his cabinets either, but he had a single bagel and that was basically a breakfast sandwich! He even had a banana, too. Hey, it was better than just a granola bar! It was a real breakfast, so he wouldn’t have to lie about it being one when they asked him.

As soon as the call started he was flooded with questions and unserious accusations of being arrested or kidnapped. Ellie even suggested that he had finally gone to see the nightlife of Gotham and met the Gay Ghost (“ Is that a real person or do you just mean me?” “No, I swear he exists, seriously!” ) during his first major college bender. After assuring them all he was fine, simply tired the night before, and that yes, he had already eaten real food not just a snack thank you very much, he had to start explaining. This was the hard part. 

“So, Jazz already knows about this but there was a… situation the other day.” 

“Lemme guess, somebody from the JL came into your work?” Tucker was far too confident for it to just be a lucky guess. 

“Jazz!” Danny shouted, only for her to shout right back, “I didn’t say anything!” 

“Yeah, she didn’t have to. Danny, I’m on GothamTok over here cause I like to know what’s going on where my best friend lives. I’ve seen the videos about you bro.” 

“Wait videos? Seriously? I mean I knew people came in a lot and some were weird but they’re not videos of me are they?” 

“Only a couple, but yeah. Most of them are just of the person ordering and the cup after, but a couple people caught you on cam. Always blurry, but still.” He let out a groan that was more like a half scream, muffled by shoving his face into the elbow of the hoodie he was wearing. 

“Tucker showed me some, and I gotta say the people are crazy about you.” Sam continued, sounding a little bit smug. She sent a link to a fan account on Instagram, and Danny was horrified scrolling through it. How did they get so many pictures of him? And why were they all so incredibly low quality? At least there weren’t a lot of comments, but half of them were just conspiracies about it being a marketing stunt or whatever else they had come up with. He didn’t bother reading through, choosing to block the account just to be safe and pretend he had never seen it. 

“Dude, why can’t I go viral? Try to get a sponsorship.” Ellie huffed.

“Great. Well, that explains it I guess. Anyways Tucker yes, I’m not sure who it was but somebody came in and I maybe wrote some words in Kryptonian, and then last night Red Hood shouted at me from a rooftop while I had a panic attack.” The call was uncomfortably silent for some time before Sam cut in with a snort of laughter. Tucker followed and so did Ellie, all three of them laughing at his expense ( thank you to Jazz and Jazz alone ) before his sister finally broke through. 

“So what did he have to say? It was about what happened, right?” The laughter quieted down enough for them to hear his answer at least. 

“I think so, he mentioned it right before he left. He could obviously tell I was freaking out cause he kept telling me to calm down. Told me I had prey eyes-” Sam let out a screech of laughter that he deliberately ignored, “but he basically gave me a mild shovel talk? I guess he saw me take down a couple muggers, but-” He was interrupted again but this time by several shouts of disapproval.  

“BUT, GUYS, BUT! We listen and we don’t judge, okay!? He saw me, I guess, but said it was fine! He said as long as I’m not starting any trouble he doesn’t care, something about me being one of his people now cause I live here too.” As opposed to the shouting from a moment ago, his family went totally silent now. 

“Oh he’s so into you.” Ellie sounded scandalized, earning laughter from everyone, Danny included. “I’m so serious, I mean one of his people? Come on, no way.”

“I get what you mean but honestly it makes sense for Red Hood. From everything I’ve seen online people say the dude acts like a total Alpha male, but I’m pretty sure he’s a softie. He literally guards Park Row like an attack dog and when any of the heroes butt in he gets raised hackles about it-” 

“Sounding like a furry here” Sam chimed in helpfully, and Danny choked at the mental image of his weird red mask having a dog snout. 

“Okay whatever you get the idea. He’s overprotective. Seems like he’s good to everyone who lives there though. Nobody is willing to share specifics online, but the impression I get is he does a lot for the community. Semi-secretly is behind a lot of drives for food, clothes, school supplies, all kinds of stuff. Classic bad boy with a heart of gold. Right up your alley,” Tucker snorted, “literally.” He had clearly done his research, and it was actually helping Danny feel a little better about this situation. 

“I mean that’s good to know I guess, but… I don’t know, what if he’s planning on trying to get me to go in and like- like register or something? Maybe he’s just waiting for me to relax so he can catch me in some kind of evil scheme or-”

“Which you don’t have. Just saying.” Ellie cut in, sounding very unbothered. 

“I mean no, but it’s not like he knows that! And I can’t just be like ‘you can trust me bro I’m cool’ like, who would believe that! He said he’ll respect my privacy but I can’t just believe that-”

“That he’ll actually stick to his word? I mean, look Danny, even if he does have some extra surveillance on you for a while what’s the big deal? Obviously it’s gonna be weird but it’s not like there’s anything for him to catch. Except your awful independent living skills.” Sam stopped him to figuratively spray her reason in his face like water. It would be a great corrective action if he could actually believe it. 

“Hey, my skills are just fine thank you very much.”

“Sure, if you count 6 hours as a full night of sleep and instant ramen as a healthy daily meal.” Jazz sighed into her phone, and he did not appreciate her calling him out like that. 

“And I do, thanks. Fine, I’ll start keeping more in my fridge, happy? Not like I really need it, I barely ever get hungry. Pretty sure realistically I only need like one meals worth a day when I’m not hurt or anything.”

“Okay and that one meal can’t be healthy and home made?” 

“... Point taken, I guess.”

“Seriously, Danny. I love you but please take better care of yourself dude.” It was Sam’s turn to sigh, “And it sounds like you’re fine. I know me saying this isn’t actually gonna do anything but you need to stop freaking out so much. Maybe Jazz can hook you up with a therapist or something, she’s got those good connections now.”

“Well my connections are pretty limited right now and I don’t think my little brother needs an Arkham level psychologist. He’s not exactly an evil genius or having a psychotic break, so I think a normal therapist would do just fine.” 

“Yeah, well, can’t say I wanna find a stranger and try to explain my whole life story right now. Sounds more stressful than helpful if I’m being honest, plus how do I know they wouldn’t bring me to Batman or the cops or something? There’s no undead retired hero hotline I can call. I know I have some stuff to work on but I’m fine , okay? It’s not that bad.” The lack of response that followed told him that they had their doubts, as did the quiet sighs. 

“Just think about it Danny, okay? I’ll look into it, but I’m sure there are options, especially here. Maybe Red Hood could offer some advice if you ask, but for now I won’t push. Just let me know if you ever want help.” Jazz spoke softly, and he hated when he could hear resignation in her voice but he was being honest when he said he was fine. He felt fine, at least! He was keeping up with his classes, with his work, calling his friends often, he wasn’t making any new friends but that was hard anyway. He just couldn’t connect with any of his classmates, but that wasn’t his fault.

“Sure, I’ll consider it. I doubt he’ll have a list of providers accepting my nonexistent insurance, but I will still think about it. Maybe he knows a guy.” He was only half joking. He wouldn’t be that surprised if it was true, with how many vigilantes this city had. Not that he could really pay for it anyway, but that was besides the point. 

“Okay, I gotta ask cause I know there’s no way I’m the only one that’s been holding it in. Was he hot?” Tucker asked, and it was like Danny could feel everyone else leaning in to wait for his answer.

“Well he had a full helmet on so I couldn’t see his face. He even had something built in to change his voice a little so I’m not too sure, but it was still a pretty good voice. Totally stacked though, so I guess I would say kinda? It’s a pass from me. For now at least.” 

“Coward!” Tucker shouted, echoed by Ellie. 

“Damn really? I thought you said masks did something for you.” Sam pretended to think out loud, as though she wasn't deliberately attacking him.

“Aaand that’s my cue to leave.” Jazz dropped from the call, at the same time Danny screeched back at Sam, “Oh my god, fuck off! I do not have some kind of mask thing!” 

Tucker was howling with laughter, shouting over his denials, “CLOCKED! GET HIS ASS SAM! Denial can only mean it's true!”

Maybe his best friends were actually his greatest enemies. He should really start plotting their downfall now, especially Sam. She was first. He would have to do it while running errands and doing his homework though, which is how he was now planning to spend the rest of the day. Such is the life of an undead retired hero.

Chapter Text

Jason had been putting a lot of work into managing his… condition, we’ll call it. Sometimes the rage would swell, encompassing everything and making it hard to think, but those times were few and far between now. He had gotten better at dealing with it, breathing exercises, redirecting focus, there were a lot of methods to lessen its impact. Walking away from Danny however, he realized that he hadn’t needed to use any of these methods. Usually talking to any stranger would put him at least slightly on edge, and the entire interaction should have brought out at least a bubble of irritation, but the whole time he had just felt…. normal. The rage was still in the back of his mind, but he barely even noticed it. For some reason he had felt more normal and in control than he had in... a while. 

Maybe he should have been concerned by that, but a bigger part of him was just relieved. It had felt nice. It had felt good. While he would rather stick to his word and try not to bother his newest resident too much, he was also incredibly tempted to visit just to see if it happened again. What possible ability or connection could quiet his symptoms like that? It seemed unlikely he would have anything to do with the Lazarus Pits, and as much as he would appreciate the outsider insight of somebody willing to help him figure out the cause, he also didn’t want to risk bringing too much interest to this new meta. 

It was just last week that Batman had finally managed to get everybody back in one room to go over recent patrols, updates on cases, and any other necessary check-ins to keep each other informed. Once the topic of Danny was broached (by Tim naturally), Jason had simply said that his newest resident was not to be bothered until he gave his approval, and no he wasn’t a danger either. 

He had shown up in Gotham relatively recently. Moved in nearly one year ago, and over the last three months or so had locally gone viral. Gotham based influencers had flocked to this shop for a barista with a gift for language. There were even a couple fan accounts that collected images of the cups he had written on as well as stealth pictures captured while he was clearly busy working. 

They had been content to leave well enough alone up until now, nobody even bringing it up despite Tim’s slight interest in his ability. It was a useful potential resource, but he wouldn’t infringe on a random civilian’s private life - metahuman or not. Then he had mentioned it in conversation recently with his Super-boy toy. He was wondering about the authenticity and limits to his abilities. For all he knew, some of the internet theories about it being a stunt may have been true. If so, he surely wouldn’t be able to figure out something as inaccessible to average humans as, say, Kryptonian. Then naturally, to help alleviate his best friend’s curiosity and not at all to do with a promise of free dinner in exchange for his assistance, Conner had gone in and given the barista the only Kryptonian word he really knew. His actual name. Imagine his surprise when said barista handed him a cup with distinctly Kryptonian symbols (though he was still unable to actually read it to check for accuracy).

When he turned around to look, the guy had hidden behind the counter. Strange, but interesting. If this guy actually knew Kryptonian maybe he could come back at some point and see if he would be willing to teach him a bit. Superman certainly wasn’t too keen on teaching him, not that he would want that anyway. Awkward relationship, to put it mildly.  

When he came back with his now empty plastic cup, he realized what a mistake indulging his curiosity had been. The bird had gotten far too excited, and now the probable meta was finally mentioned during one of the meetings in the Bats’ cave. He had a load of questions for this guy, and was even hopeful to get his help on some kind of cultist research. Jason had firmly shut him down, but he didn’t entirely trust his younger brother to follow his decision without some kind of assurance. 

Tim had requested to come talk to him as Red Robin, show him some kind of ritual summoning he had found in a language he couldn’t figure out how to translate to get his thoughts and potential transcription. His instructions had been to wait for his older brother to meet the man first so he could introduce himself as a main point of contact. He was expecting the typical fear and potential distrust of any authority figure that came naturally to Crime Alley denizens, most having had negative experiences at some point in their lives. He wasn’t expecting the strength of that response though. He’d only seen a similar reaction once before, and he knew that type of fear came from experience. Very bad experience. He was no psychologist, but he knew how it felt to have someone else come into your life and start prodding about a particularly sensitive subject. He wasn’t going to be that guy, and he wasn’t going to let Tim be that guy either if he had a say in it. No chance in hell he was letting Bruce near the kid, between that and his ridiculous apprehension around metahumans in general. He didn’t hate them as most people believed, but Jason found his opinions to be… unnecessarily complicated.

He had seen Danny using abilities twice now, both times to stop a mugger that had approached him on his way home. Jason had been ready to step in, but realized he wasn’t needed. 

Some kind of ability to phase through solid objects was obvious, as well as enhanced strength because there was no other way he had pinned those guys so easily with the size difference. He had known about the language thing since Harley had told him about it before it even spread on social media. She had hired the kid for whatever reason and when she realized he was some sort of meta, she told him that Danny was a good kid, and not to let Batman bother him. Based on everything he had seen so far, she was right. He was nice to the other residents, she said he helped kids with homework at the counter when they asked. Hell, he had seen the guy pick up litter on his way home. At this point he was suspiciously well behaved, but after seeing him get snippy with the muggers he wasn’t as worried. It wasn’t the strangest idea that guy likely made an attempt at some vigilantism himself, whether that was a closed chapter or just on hold was unclear. If it was a recurring theme, he might need to have another conversation with the college student, but it didn’t seem like the case for the time being. It was funny to watch him knock them out, and awkwardly maneuver them into those dumpsters, unsure of what else to do. Clearly didn’t realize he was being watched either, with the way he looked around to make sure he wasn’t seen . Guess his skills in observation just weren't as strong as Jason’s skills in avoiding it. 

Regardless, he knew the kid had powers. Several different powers at that, so likely not your average metahuman. Didn’t have any special items he could see so no crazy cursed helmets or amulets or suits or whatever 5,000 purportedly cursed items were out there for people to find and use for their own good and evil purposes. He seemed very human too, so while it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities, he doubted he was an alien either. Some kind of magic user maybe, but his abilities were fairly different from what he understood about magic. He was kind of stumped, but at the same time there was a part of him that resented his own curiosity. It felt like an invasive parasite, a reminder of his time operating under Batman in all his interrogative tendencies.

Even if he had some magical or innate ability to calm the pit rage in his mind, Jason was also strangely able to sense Danny’s emotions as well. It didn’t seem to be intentional or voluntary, so it wasn’t like he was able or trying to control the other’s emotional state anyways. 

While he hadn’t known about these strange emotional effects at the time of the first Bat meeting, it was true when he said that Danny wasn’t a threat. Just as he promised Harley, he wanted to keep Batman (and Tim) in particular away. All they knew at this point was his language ability, and he would like to keep it that way. The second either of them learned he was nonstandard, they would demand to know more. And they would probably try to go behind his back to do just that. Batman to collect as much information on the “risk of an unknown factor” as possible, and Tim just to satisfy his own interest. Suffice to say, the less he shared with them the better. They would all have to stay in the dark for now, all they were allowed to know were the basics. 

If he kept him dangling long enough he was hoping Tim would simply lose interest in trying to meet with the kid. He didn’t have a lot of confidence that it would work, since it was apparently related to a case in some way, but it was still worth a shot. Nine times out of ten any cult workings that popped up on their radar were harmless anyways. Apparently summoning was much harder than any of the cultists of Gotham expected, and the only times they ended up needing to be truly concerned was if it involved some kind of human sacrifice. Letting Tim interrogate this guy about his abilities for a case that would likely amount to nothing (and likely send Danny packing) was not on his to-do list. 

So yeah, maybe he was feeling a bit protective, so sue him. By all accounts he was good, nice , and somehow being around him had a nullifying effect on his pit rage. Tim had accepted the wait the first time around, but he was clearly antsy with the idea of more waiting. The older brother had reached out again after his interesting introduction to tell the younger that he was, under no circumstances, allowed to reach out on his own for the time being.

“I don’t want to bother him, Jason. I just want to introduce myself and ask a couple questions, that’s all!” He objected, offended at the thought his brother believed he couldn’t be quick and efficient. He had offered to meet up with both Tim and Dick to give them updates on the situation without revealing too much, as well as to hopefully gain some advice on how to approach the nerve-wracked man in the future from the eldest.

“Yeah, sure. If by a couple questions you mean an annotated list of every single language he knows. We all know how you get Tim, and I want you to leave him alone.” Jason had his arms crossed and leaning back against the seat of the small diner booth. 

“Okay but why? You can even come with me, just let me ask him about this script, if he knows what it is it could seriously help me out! I won’t even ask anything else, just about the text that I have, I swear!” Tim looked so desperate, giving him the most convincing pleading expression he could manage. 

“No means no , Tim. Gimme a copy if you want and I’ll see about maybe running it by him. I don’t want you anywhere near him until I give the all clear, you hear me?” He was firm, and seemed more possessive than usual about this. If he wasn’t a danger, why was he so adamant about keeping everybody else away? Sure he liked his privacy and had a territorial streak, but he usually wouldn’t be so insistent about something little like this. 

“Jason, what’s going on? I get not wanting Tim to interrogate the poor kid, but nobody is allowed to meet him? What about me? I can play nice!” Dick whined from his seat next to his tired looking brother, very visibly dejected.

After a beat of silence, he actually answered, “I said nobody, and I do mean it… but I may be in need of some… ideas. Only from Dick, not you, Timothy.” The younger huffed, pouting in the corner of the booth. 

The elder’s eyebrows had pitched down at this, mild concern in his eyes. “Ideas? What do you mean by that?” As they spoke,Tim kept up his pouting, but his eyes did look to his older brother with a glint of interest. 

“He’s real skittish. When I stopped him to talk he seemed fine but fully panicked when I mentioned knowing he has some kind of ability. I had to talk him off the edge a little before I even came down to ground level. I really thought he was gonna make a run for it.” He had to physically shake his head to stop his memory of that sensation. He could still feel that cold fear that had been radiating off of him like an open blast-chiller. As much as he would like to know, he was content to wait until they had built some kind of rapport before even bringing it up. It may even work to his benefit if Danny wasn’t aware he was doing it, could be helpful to have an idea what he was feeling when they interacted. Maybe if it went both ways it would even help him realize Red Hood wasn’t trying to threaten him, even if it did give away his curiosity. He just hoped the rage wasn’t too clear, he didn’t like the idea of trying to explain that.

“Before you get any ideas about him being secretly evil or some shit, he’s not. I checked in a few times to see how he was settling, if he was causing trouble, and came back with nothing. He’s pretty much your average college kid, other than moving to Crime Alley. I’ve got some theories on how he ended up here, and I imagine none of them would leave him happy to talk.” This earns him a set of raised eyebrows, but Dick’s face grew in understanding. 

“He lives alone in a real cheap place, kinda shithole building. Quiet kid, but nice to everybody. Goes to class, a lot of hours at the barista job, minds his own business. No more nervous than most to see me but freaked out when he realized I knew he’s some sorta meta.” His older brother sighed, looking a bit sad. The younger seemed to connect the dots, face softening with sympathy. Gotham was certainly not advertised as a metahuman safe haven, but it wasn’t uncommon for those escaping complicated home lives to flock to larger cities like this one. Even if it wasn’t known as the safest, it was generally considered preferable to living in smaller towns with more vocally negative opinions where everyone knew your face.

Bruce had let speculation on his stance fester in the city, to the point it was generally assumed he was not a gracious host towards its metahuman inhabitants. He hadn’t bothered to make his stance clear, and had no interest in changing that. After all, they were mostly right. While he didn’t always seek metas out, he most definitely kept tabs on them to some degree depending on what kinds of abilities they had. Invasive, overly suspicious, and unfair in most of their opinions. However, they weren’t in a position to tell him what to do. They were all aware of how obsessively he followed any potential risk factors, and they were just thankful he didn’t intimidate any of the known citizens to scare them out of the city. They were pretty unanimous in the opinion that metahumans were welcome to live anywhere they wanted, that their “potential risk factor” was not a good enough reason to chase them out of Gotham despite Batman’s arguments otherwise. All they could do was try to make their own stances clear, and try to keep him from going overboard.

“Maybe we could talk to him, just make sure Bats stays out of the picture? I mean, if we just have a chance to show him that we’re here to help, I don’t see why- ow!” Tim is stopped by a hearty smack to his shoulder, courtesy of Dick. 

“It’s not that simple, Red Rocket.” The older man sighed, slumping down. “Clearly he’s afraid of us even knowing he’s here. I think Jason has the right idea, maintaining a singular point of contact, that way we can make sure he isn’t overwhelmed. While the legal meta protections are in place, they’re new . I’m not surprised he doesn’t trust any of us right now. The less heroes he interacts with, the better. Hopefully it’ll show him that he’s safe here, and ideally he’ll learn to trust us once he starts settling in.” 

He makes a devastatingly good point, Tim finally backing down though he clearly wasn’t happy about it. Just thinking about his adoptive father’s attitude towards this particular topic was bringing the anger in his gut to a simmer. He’s here for advice from his brother. His very kind brother, who continued to explain the best approach to get to know this terrified new “meta”.

“If he views you as a safe person you might get him to open up if that’s what you’re looking for,” Dick looked to his younger brother who offered him a nod, “I’m sure you’re the last person I need to tell this to, but do not push for answers. Make it clear he’s not required to answer anything . Try not to approach him often either, I think stray cat principles might work to your benefit here.” Dick described his conceptual approach, with Jason mentally taking notes but pausing momentarily. 

“Stray cat method? Dick he’s a full grown man, I can’t just sit nearby and give him free food.” He squinted from his side of the table. 

“You’d be surprised with college students. Free food goes a long way,” He chuckled, before saying, “but that’s not what I meant. I mean let him get comfortable with your presence. Try to be straightforward with him when you do speak and let him know you’re around the neighborhood if he needs anything. If he ever approaches you, keep conversation light. Try to offer up something little about yourself to see if he answers with something about himself. That’s my best advice for now to test the waters. Let me know how it goes and I might be able to help out more.” 

Most of his advice had already been in the plan. Keep things light, don’t ask personal questions, see how it goes. Maintaining a more hands off approach for now made the most sense. He would not have considered talking about himself, though. He was a bit apprehensive, but since ‘Wing was suggesting it, he decided it might be worth a shot. Something little… he could do that. 

It was a strange experience, this internal battle he was having. Respect his privacy, he hasn’t done anything to deserve being investigated. He seemed to quiet the pits though, and he so badly wanted to understand what was happening there if it could help him get his mind back under control. If he wanted a chance to one day talk to him about this though, he had to earn his trust without scaring him off first. This level of effort and interest in a seemingly ordinary meta was peculiar to his brothers, unfortunately. Sure, any of them would want to make sure he felt safe enough to stay, but it would also be simple enough to just let him live his life without ever talking to him more than was strictly necessary. The fact that he was asking his brother for advice was evidence enough that he had some sort of interest in approaching the guy again.

“I appreciate you willing to help me out since I was the one that wanted to talk to him, but if he really is that afraid I understand. I wouldn’t want to scare him off, so you don’t have to ask him but I’m sure you already know that. You’re interested in him, aren’t you?” Tim was now staring at him, closely watching his reaction. He must have found something, because his eyebrows flew up on his forehead, looking almost… hopeful?

“... is he cute?” Ah. Great, looking for leads into his romantic life. Listen, he knew he wasn’t great at socializing, but he did not need his siblings’ misguided attempts at matchmaking. He had a handful of other vigilantes he would work with in his free time and that was enough socialization for him. He closed his eyes, groaning internally at the choice he was about to make. It would be annoying, but it was preferable to having them prying into this farther. 

“He’s… pretty. Kinda funny, too.” He didn’t even have to lie. Both things he had said were true, to his surprise. He had seemed very likeable. 

Both his brothers were now leaning forward onto the table, eyes shining with barely contained enthusiasm. He was certain this would be fun to deal with going forward. 

Chapter Text

Jason once again found himself between a rock and a hard place. He was trying to be patient and wait a reasonable amount of time before contacting Danny again, but his own interest was eating him from the inside out, begging him to just go and talk to the younger(?) man. Maybe he could come into the shop as a civilian and talk to him. He didn’t want to ask Harley for details, because then it would become a whole circus of her needing to know why he wanted to know and… ugh, the headache wasn’t worth it. Probably. Or maybe it was. As a former psychologist, and the only person that really knew the guy as far as he could tell, she would have incredibly helpful advice on how to get closer to him. Even more so than Dick since she had proper education and experience. There was a chance she would chase him out for asking questions, but even if that did happen he would just be back where he is now. It was worth a shot. 

He didn’t want to walk in while Danny was working yet. Seeking him out again so soon, even as a civilian, felt like too much. Plus, approaching him as a civilian would feel too much like a covert operation. An invasion of privacy. This was not a mission for intel. This was a private curiosity he was indulging. He had agreed it would be better to give him space and he was following a very difficult exercise in self restraint sticking to his decision. He would have to meet Harley without her new employee, and from what he remembered of their original conversation, the part timer worked the closing shift. He would come in early on his way home from patrol. If he got there right at opening he wouldn’t even have to take off the uniform, could just stop her for a quick chat while she set up for the day. 

He made up his mind to go visit after the soonest quiet night he had. Maybe he was hoping something would happen, because his stomach was knotting up at the idea of going right in and saying, “Hey Harls, great to see you, remember that new employee? So how can I get to know him better? Anything you can tell me about him? You know interest, hobbies, how to lower his guard, deepest secrets about his mysterious abilities and where they came from? If you happen to know. Not gonna hassle him though, pinky promise!” 

It would be fine. his interest in Danny was more personal than professional, so if he stuck with the truth and kept the source of his interest vague enough it wouldn't be an issue right? He didn't have to sell the same crush angle that his brothers had created for themselves, since he didn't need to worry about Harley digging into her own employee after all. She was blissfully good at minding her own business, and was generally good about taking him at his word. She knew he wasn't a great liar, and even still he liked to avoid it when he could. At this point all he needed were some tips on how to spend some time around him without scaring him off. If he was correct in the other’s presence having a calming effect on the ever-bubbling pit of anger in his gut, all he needed was a little time together. It would be nice to have some time to let himself breathe, so to speak. He was a man of simple needs. If things went well, he may even be able to figure out what was causing it. See about replicating it, looking into a way to... self medicate as it were. 

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, this night was calm, and he found himself all too quickly rolling up to the familiar shop. The simple overhead sign read ‘Greenhouse Café’ in dark leafy painted lettering. The neon open sign was on, light shining from between the vines of the plants that hung from the awning. Harley must have already unlocked then, at the very least. He hit the kill switch and parked his bike along the curb, playing with the key as he convinced himself to follow through with his plan. The key went in his pocket, and his ass finally left the seat. 

He still had his helmet on, knowing that if he took the time to stop by a safe house on the way he would end up putting this off another day. Which would be fine, preferable even, if he didn’t know for a fact he would simply regret it and let his anger turn inwards later. If he were willing to talk about it, he was sure Dick would be proud of him for taking steps to avoid self-destructive behavior. But he wasn’t, so Jason was happy to congratulate himself in his brother’s place. Walking in. It was easy, just walk in and talk to his… sort-of friend. 

The bells tied to the front door let out a rather pathetic excuse for a jingle as he swung it open, looking to the counter for any sign of the owner. She called out from behind the door to the back room, “Hang on just a sec’!” 

He walked up to the counter and did just that, looking over the oven that was still warming, espresso machine perfectly clean and waiting to be used. When she slipped out from behind the door, she was clearly surprised to see him, slowly stepping up to the counter. 

“Hello to you too, Big Red… to what do I owe the pleasure? And before you answer I do not wanna hear anything ominous about impending danger today, so keep that in mind.” She had crossed her arms, looking him up and down with apprehension. 

“Guess today’s your lucky day, thankfully I am not the bearer of bad news at the moment.” He smiled, not that she could see anyway. He watched her shoulders relax a bit, stare easing up as well.

“Good. So, what is it then? Something about the get up tells me you’re not just here for a drink.” She spoke as she continued to go through her morning set up, pulling out a try of something from a cooler below the counter. Looked like some kind of pastry. So they weren’t from frozen. Huh, she put more work into this place than he gave her credit for. 

“What, a guy can’t enjoy a nice macchiato after a night on the town?” He tried to joke, only getting himself an unimpressed eyebrow raise. “Fine, okay yeah. I wanted to ask if… I was hoping you could give me some advice.” At her singular cocked brow still raised he took a deep breath. The consequences were imminent, but he powered through. “How much do you know about Danny?” 

The woman stared at him, eyes narrowing as she waited for… something. He shifted his weight between his feet, ignoring the urge to clear his throat. 

“We already did this. Why?” She crossed her arms, borderline glaring at him now as she waited for his answer. 

“No, it's not-” he sighed, “I know he’s not a threat, that’s not what this is about. I’m asking for… personal reasons.” He finished, still trying his best not to fidget. The woman looked him over again, probably in an attempt to read his body language. 

“Take the helmet off and ask again. I want a reason.” She was solid as steel, face still set in the beginning stages of a glare as he followed her instructions and took off the mask. She wanted to be able to read his face, which was fair. The whole point of his hood was to hide the fact that he lacked the same facial control that many of the others had. He kept the domino on, but did at least ruffle his hair out. It felt uncomfortable, nearly glued flat to his head. After fluffing it out a little (definitely not in an attempt to stall) he set the helmet on the counter and took another deep breath. He seemed to be needing a lot of those for this conversation. 

“Do you know… how to talk to him? It’s just… when I introduced myself the other day he seemed pretty scared. It’s not like I suspect anything, I’m not gonna interrogate him I just wanted to…” He paused, thinking over his words. What was he going to do? He couldn’t admit he wanted to find a way to spend time around him, it would be true but far too embarrassing to actually say. He may be okay with others making their own assumptions but that was just too suggestive for him to outright admit. Dick’s advice came back to him and hesitantly he asked, “Do you think he would actually eat it if I offered him food?” 

It must have been the right thing to ask because he saw most of the skepticism melt from her eyes, instead taking on a glint of mischief similar to that of his brothers the other night. “Personal reasons. Right. I take it you wanna build a little trust. Well, I gotta be honest hon’ I try to give the kid some extras but he doesn’t seem like the healthiest eater. Any time I ask he just says he eats enough, likes to argue about the definition of a meal. I’ve offered to buy him dinner a few times but he usually says no, figured out I have to hand it to him for him to take it. No idea if he would accept it from you, honestly.” She shrugged, arms finally dropping to a more relaxed position. She went back to her work, putting the tray into the oven as it let out a beep to signal the appropriate temperature. She called over to him, “If you try it, I suggest something with a good strong smell. Makes it harder to resist, especially when you're already offerin'.”

He thought this over. There was no shortage of good restaurants around, and while he could cook something good himself, it would be safer to give him something pre-made for the time being. Easier to trust, at least to him it would be. As he was about to ask about advice on how to approach, the bells of the door rang. He whipped his head around, ready to put his helmet back on only for his entire body to freeze. Danny was supposed to only work closing shifts. Why was he standing at the front door now, right at opening? 

They both stood looking at each other, staring wordlessly like they couldn’t decide who was the deer and who was the headlights. Harley leaned around the counter, calling out to him, “Morning Danny! You better not have stayed up all night again.” 

Jason forced himself to relax a bit, quickly latching his mask back in place over his head as Danny slowly took a few steps toward the counter, watching Hood with wide eyes. He hadn’t noticed the quieting of his feelings, too preoccupied with the conversation for the subtle change to stand out. 

“No, I’m just up early today. Can I get the usual?” He called back, not taking his eyes off the masked man, “Um. Hey again. Nice to… see you? I think?” He finally broke eye contact, letting them flicker over to his boss, “Harley why is Red Hood here?”

“I mean I am right here, you could just ask me.” He sighed, too proud to possibly be pouting now that his face was hidden once more. “It’s nice to uh… see you too. Didn’t expect anybody to show up this early. Wait, how often do you stay up all night?” So not only did he have bad eating habits, he had bad sleeping habits too. Hopefully he wasn’t a complete insomniac like a certain someone else he knew. 

Danny shot him a tempered glare, “Sometimes. Why does it matter?” He was bristling, and now that he was looking for it Jason could feel the gentle ripple of wariness standing this close to the (possibly?) younger man. 

More importantly he could feel his own emotions. His body had already tensed, ready to push back against the aggravation that would typically answer the glare of a stranger. Yet it didn’t come. Instead he felt… mild. Maybe some slight annoyance at the reaction his question had gotten but more so an understanding toward his distrust. He could actually feel it, nothing swallowed or buried by anger. It was relieving. He relaxed, and only then did he realize there had been an unfortunately long silence. Danny was giving him a strange look, and at this point even Harley poked her head out from behind the huge espresso machine to check on them. There was embarrassment now too. Cool. 

“It doesn’t. I mean it does, you should really sleep more, but none of my business I guess. I just know somebody with similar habits we’ll say.” He tried to mentally shake off the feelings like a wet dog, but they still clung to him. Maybe the anger was better, he forgot how terrible embarrassment was. He couldn’t believe he had gotten so distracted by just his own feelings. He supposed that’s just what happened when you spent a majority of the time overwhelmed by one.  

“Don’t worry, I usually get a solid six hours. Sometimes more.” The student rolled his eyes, taking his drink as his boss finally set it on the counter in front of him. 

“That’s not enough,” She argued before Hood could respond, continuing, “and he was just here to check in. It’s been a while, but he does come by some mornings. Suggested we switch from names to numbers for our order system too, something about safety measures and privacy.” She smirked at him. So this is how she was gonna play it. Interesting, but he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. If anything the assist was appreciated, and if she was being serious about the change then he could worry less about others (Tim) sneaking in and taking advantage of the convenient set up to test his abilities even more. 

“Oh, that’s- I mean that would make things easier. Are you sure that’s okay though? I don’t want you to change anything for- well you never said it was about me but I know both of you know there’s-” He huffed out a huge sigh, closing his eyes and looking between the two of them for a moment like he was trying to put together physical puzzle pieces with his mind alone. “Okay. If you want to, and if you don’t mind, that would be… nice. Thank you.” He settled on Harley, shoulders sagging. He still made a point to give Hood a suspicious squint, but still seemed to relax regardless. 

Jason nodded curtly, glancing over to Harley only to see her staring at him with the same smirk firmly in place. Harley was clearly amused as she asked him, “So did you want that macchiato still? Danny, take a seat at least and I’ll get you something to eat and I won’t hear any arguments. You can have a little sit down with our friend here while I get it ready. Maybe he can give you some tips on what constitutes a real meal.” 

She walked away to start the drink that Jason had not actually ordered, and began pulling out what he assumed to be prepped breakfast elements. He wasn’t watching for too long though, because Danny was talking to him again, seemingly resigned and dropping his bag on the floor next to one of the small tables near the counter. 

“The mask under the mask is an interesting choice by the way. So you’ve known Harley for a while then?” He asks, already leaning over the table with his face in his hand, taking another sip of his drink. Jason threw another look over at the counter before coming to sit down across from the visibly exhausted man. 

“Safety first, nice to have some kinda backup. And yeah, you could say for better or worse that we go pretty far back. So I take it that you skimp on both sleep and food?” He tried not to sound judgmental, he really did, and he could understand cutting sleep short sometimes as someone who had done it himself. But food? Food wasn’t just a necessity, but something to be enjoyed. Maybe it was a personal thing to enjoy the cooking process as much as he did but the satisfaction of a well prepared and delicious meal was something he would have assumed was nearly universal.

“Ugh not you too. Listen, I may not get three meals a day but I’m meeting my calorie needs, okay? It’s not worth it to try to plan and cook up whole meals, I’m too busy to put that much effort in.” He clearly wasn’t as nervous as he had been the last time they had talked, which was a relief. His apparent lack of concern for his own health however was not. 

“Not worth- wait then what do you normally eat? Do you never- no, nevermind. You don’t have to answer that.” Danny’s face showed a quick flash of surprise before he covered it back up with a slightly less convincing mask of annoyance. “Just ask if you need quick meal ideas. There’s plenty of stuff you could make with very little effort. Don’t wanna see you dying of malnutrition.” 

He must have said something funny, because he saw the man across from him stifle a laugh. Instead he let out a theatrical huff and groaned out, “Sure thing, Dad.” Jason growled a little in annoyance at that, but stopped himself for fear of making his table mate nervous again. To his surprise he felt something else coming off of him. He seemed… pleased maybe? What was that? He couldn’t tell, but he could see another smirk at his expense being poorly hidden. Was he trying to annoy him? That didn’t make any sense, why would he be poking at him like that? Testing his patience maybe, feeling out his limits. He couldn’t really be sure, but he would have to be fine with leaving it alone for now. 

Harley set his drink up on the edge of the counter along with Danny’s food, and Hood got up to bring both over to the table. He popped his helmet back off and set it on the table in front of him so he could actually enjoy his drink. The guy had already seen him without it anyway, and it wouldn’t take long to finish. He knew his face could be a little intimidating to some, but he would be surprised if that was where the other drew the line after everything else. As he got halfway through his tiny cup, he noticed the staring. Danny was staring at him, and very intently. His eyebrows couldn’t be seen behind the domino mask, so he asked. “What, never seen a guy in armor enjoy an espresso, kid?” 

He seemed to startle a bit, quickly shaking his head and momentarily rubbing the back of his neck before picking up the sandwich he had been given. “Can’t say I have. Well, maybe- Nevermind. Not a kid, you don't even look much older than me.” He took a bite, and if Jason didn’t know any better he would have thought it was just to give himself something to do. 

“Who's to say. If it’s about the scars though it’s fine. Crushed my modeling dreams, really," He fought back a smile, "but I get it. Not uncommon for a Gothamite, but I got more on the face than most.” He drank the rest of his cup, standing up. Before he could say his goodbyes however, Danny spoke up, to his surprise. 

“No! I mean, you really- That’s not- ugh, sorry. Bad with words. I didn’t mean to stare, and it’s not a bad- they don’t look… You just look a little different than I expected if that makes sense. Not that I imagined what you would look like or anything it’s more like how your brain just- nevermind. Nevermind, it doesn’t really matter. Sorry though. For staring, I mean.” He wasn’t looking at Hood anymore, eyes burning a hole in the rest of the sandwich he had set back on the plate. His ears were burning red, and Jason could actually feel a little bit of embarrassment wafting off of him. He snorted, shaking his head a bit as he went to put his helmet back on. 

“I see. Well, glad you got a good look in now cause you don’t get to see the rest.” 

For whatever reason that soft embarrassment surged , forcing the standing man to nearly stumble in surprise. It was only a subtle shuffle of his feet, but the outside emotion was suddenly cut off, and Danny was staring at him with wide eyes. He had clearly noticed the reaction, and wasn’t expecting it. This time though it wasn’t accompanied by the panic the man would have expected. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t feel anything coming off him anymore. So maybe he could control it then? The confusion he felt now was all his own, unsure of everything that had happened in the last few seconds. 

He should probably just leave as he had planned, this interaction had been longer than he anticipated and with whatever had just happened? He really wanted the time to think this whole interaction over before talking again. Picking up his cup and bringing it back to the counter, he gave a nod in goodbye to Harley, who only looked up briefly with a smile from her work over the freshly baked pastries. It was strange how quickly he had taken to reading the other's projected feelings, and it was almost like he had to adjust his mind back to focusing on visual signals. He was still being stared at, but he could see the distinct lack of the expected fear on his face. The expression was on of interest he realized, and even a certain level of eagerness, maybe.  

He gave Danny a nod of his own, about to walk away when the younger man shot up from the table. “Wait! Um, hang on, I…” He pulled open the bag on the floor next to him, quickly pulling out a notebook and a pen. He wrote something on a corner and tore it off, stumbling as he tried to step over the chair to get to Hood who stood there, unable to stop the tilt of his helmet as he held it out for Jason to take. “Here. Just in case. Not that I think you’ll need it or anything but more just if you.. have questions or something. Or just wanna say hi. I don’t know, just so you have it. For whatever. Okay, uh, nice to see you again, bye!” 

Once Jason had held his hand out to take the paper Danny was off like a far less graceful version of Flash. He stumbled once again over the chair to get his bag and put his things back, slung it over his shoulder, all but tossed his dishes on the counter, and fully ran out the door. Both Hood and Harley watched him with equal levels of confusion until suddenly they were standing in silence. 

“So… what was that about?” Harley gave him a questioning look, and an even more pointed one at the piece of paper now in his hand. 

“No idea.” He answered, looking down at the paper and straightening the crumpled piece out. While the writing was messy, it was clearly a string of numbers. Ten numbers, with dashes between them. “Huh. I think he just gave me his phone number.” He stared at it with a detached shock. Guess he didn’t even need to tempt him with free food. That was suspiciously convenient. Harley started laughing maniacally. 

“Wow! I never would have guessed but maybe you’re his type, babes!” She was shouting between bouts of laughter, clearly trying to quiet herself and failing, “Good thing you took that hood off, Hood! Guess he’s got a thing for bad boys!” She kept laughing, covering her mouth as it devolved into little snorting chuckles. 

No fucking way. There was absolutely no way, but no matter how he looked at it he couldn’t figure out what had just happened. It had to have something to do with his abilities, and whatever had just happened before he was about to leave. Even then he would have thought Danny would either avoid him further or just avoid the topic if it came up. He definitely hadn’t been expecting the kid to throw himself over the table to give him his number. Something weird was going on, that was for certain. Now though, he needed to stop thinking about this before he got a headache. With the meta (or at least meta adjacent) having left, Jason could feel the irritation creeping back into the peripherals of his psyche. He could take this number and text Danny later on one of his burner phones after he had had some time to figure out what to say. 

After being up all night, even with the espresso, he was too tired to deal with this. This was a problem for after he finished his work and had a nice long mid-morning nap. After a snippy goodbye to Harley and a mumbled thanks for her help, he hopped back on his bike and took off down to one of his warehouses to check in with his gang. His people were good about running themselves with proper instruction, but he still checked in to make sure nothing got out of hand. He took care of some logistics, threatened a few new troublesome underlings, and soon enough he was off. 

Burner phone in hand, frustration behind his eyes, and a new contact labelled Danny open to a single sent text, he fell asleep. 

This is Hood. Wanna explain what this morning was all about?

Chapter Text

As a ghostly king, sleep was something that while still necessary, he didn’t need very much of. Danny was aware of this fact, and even though his family was also aware of this fact it didn’t stop them from nagging him about keeping a healthy human sleep schedule. He was fine really, but they claimed more sleep might help him in some psychological way? (He couldn’t remember Jazz’s full explanation, but at the same time did that still really apply to him anyway? He should let her hash that out with Frostbite at some point.) That being said he didn’t need it. Not the same way regular humans do! Probably.

Now he was here, after a nice solid three hours of sleep, looking for a coffee and perhaps a snack from his workplace. Harley really did make great coffee, and while he didn’t need it every day like some people it did help with his sometimes waning attention span when he was working on projects or going to class. He had both to take care of today, needing to finish a paper before his classes began. It was mostly done already, thank you very much, he just needed to proofread and make some final edits! And maybe rewrite the last page? Or two. Point being, he had work to do and a few hours before class to do it. His boss should be in by now, setting up at the very least, so it would be a great time to sit down and knock it out before anybody came into the shop. 

It looked like he had been beaten to the punch, however, when he saw someone at the counter and holy shit Red Hood was here and he had his mask off? Wait, no, he has… another mask he wears under the mask? What the hell, dude. Oh, he’s kinda… 

They were staring at each other, then suddenly the mask was back in place. Okay. Interesting. He couldn’t help wondering why he was here, thinking that maybe his worries weren’t as unrealistic as his friends had assured him. Hood at least seemed to genuinely get along with Harley, who he did trust quite a bit already. One point towards the strange red hunk, he supposed. Plus for some reason he was able to get a sense of his emotions, similar to that first night. He had thought at the time maybe this dude's were just particularly strong, but even now he could feel some embarrassment ebbing from the man after he had seemingly gotten lost in thought and forgot to respond out loud. Unrelated, but that embarrassed reaction was… kind of cute, honestly. 

The quick resolution to his recent issues with having 'fans' was probably Harley’s idea, but she had credited it to Hood and he wasn’t going to argue over the truth that. Maybe it really was his idea after events the previous week, and he wanted to prevent any more curious customers from taking advantage. He had mentioned not wanting anyone else to go behind his back and come talk to Danny, so maybe this was a preventative measure? He couldn’t be sure, but either way he was a bit grateful for the intervention, solving the problem for him. It was rare for that to happen, so he wasn’t about to turn down the helpful suggestion if Harley wasn’t worried about it slowing down business.

He was still feeling pretty wary about casual conversation with the neighborhood’s vigilante, but at his trusted boss’ suggestion. Who was he to argue with the expert? If anything it might be stranger for him to so adamantly decline after he had been assured that he wasn’t under suspicion at the moment. Honestly, though it bordered on nagging, the conversation was comfortable and could even be considered friendly. He wasn’t prying about anything, just like he had promised, and was even offering something as simple and helpful as healthy meal ideas. Danny even teased him a bit for the worried criticism, and was satisfied by the annoyed groan he got in response. It was nice, having confirmation that Red Hood was clearly kind, much like Tucker had said. The nagging was painfully similar to Jazz’s own typical comments, enough that he could sense the honest concern. And then he had taken the mask off again. Much closer this time, and now, unfortunately, Danny could actually see his face. Well, no eyes still, but that hardly mattered. 

Strong jaw, covered with a slight stubble that was interrupted by several small scars across his cheeks, and one long faded one going up the whole left side of his face, disappearing into his hairline. A barely visible scar across his terribly full bottom lip that caught the edge of a top lip with a gorgeous cupid's bow. Strong nose bridge that had clearly been broken a couple times with built up scar tissue and minor surface scarring. He even had a mostly healed bruise on the right side of his jaw and a split lip at the moment. Fuck.

Oh no, ohhh no no no. Holy shit he’s hot. Why does he have to be so hot? He’s got such a broody dangerous thing going on, please stop being so nice and just act like an asshole, please! Why does he have so many scars on his already handsome face? What the hell, this was so not fair! How does it totally work for him so well like that?! Fuck Hood was talking, hopefully he wasn’t drooling or something like an idiot. Oh no he probably thought he was an asshole staring at his scars like that, normal people didn't think scars were hot, did they? Shit! What should he even say?! Anything besides telling him he’s hot, just talk! 

Danny was so embarrassed. He had tripped over his words so badly trying not to throw any weird compliments at him as Hood was obviously about to leave. He had to say anything to defend his staring though, so hopefully the terribly hot man didn’t think he was just being judgemental. He then made an offhanded comment about “not seeing the rest” and surely he was just talking about the rest of his face, what with the eye mask, but he couldn’t help the mortification that washed over him as his imagination instead supplemented with a flash of a shirtless Red Hood. 

The very much real and clothed Red Hood in front of him seemed like he almost tripped at the very same moment as his rush of embarrassment. Now that was strange. Had he been… able to feel that? He quickly drew in his natural aura, cutting it off completely. He normally didn't bother, since it took conscious effort, but he had also assumed no one would be able to feel it since it generally didn’t affect living humans. When he did, Danny could still feel the other man’s emotions, and he sensed the confusion. No, there was no way. But he had clearly felt the ghostly energy broadcasting his emotions, and the ghost could feel this man’s emotions, too. It would be one thing if this guy just felt very intensely and the young king was able to sense it, but if he was being sensed in turn then that would mean… 

Hood was leaving, and Danny had to stop him. If this vigilante was some kind of halfa or other ghostly entity he had to know, and see what was going on with him. He didn’t know what else to do, but if they could read each other’s emotional signals then he had to stay in contact. If something Realms related was happening here, it was his responsibility now to know what it was. (Okay, sure, and maybe it helped that he was also very attractive.)  He wrote out his number, and when he went to hand it over he realized he didn’t know how to explain why he was handing over his phone number. 

“Here. Just in case. Not that I think you’ll need it or anything but more just if you..” he paused, not wanting to say anything about their little empathic back and forth in front of Harley, “have questions or something. Or just wanna say hi. I don’t know, just so you have it. For whatever. Okay, uh, nice to see you again, bye!”

That was so horribly awkward, he had to get out of there before he could be questioned. He gathered up the stuff he had been planning on using to get his work done and threw out a rushed goodbye to both people before all but running out the door. Or maybe he was actually running, he wasn’t too sure anymore. He was running. He slowed down, forcing himself to take a deep breath and continue at a reasonable walking pace back home. When he got there, he dropped his bag on the floor and himself face down onto his tiny couch, holding his single decorative star plush pillow to his face so he could let out a quiet scream. 

So his local vigilante was not only somehow ghostly or ghost-adjacent, but also a maybe a bit of a mother hen protector type who was horrendously sexy. So he awkwardly gave him his phone number and ran away. He was so great at socializing. 

booberrybicon: Guys I have news both good and bad maybe both at th same time actually now that I’m thinking about it????

yellyellie: spill bro

pharoahscurse: ?

jazzhands: This is either going to be about absolutely nothing, or something actually very important. 

pharoahscurse: My money is on absolutely nothing

booberryicon: I just ran into red hood again

yellyellie: !!!!

pharoahscurse: Oh shit Jazz I was wrong this is actually very important isn’t it?

jazzhands: Danny what happened are you okay? You said good and bad, what do you mean?

booberrybicon: Well

gothivystan: omg wait what?? danny what happened???? 

booberrybicon: WELL

booberrybicon: Ok so I stopped by work for coffee n stuff and he was just there already talking to my boss so I was worried right 

booberrybicon: But harley totally knows him I guess so that’s good cause it seems like she likes him so maybe u were right tuck I mean he seemed rly nice when we were talking 

pharoahscurse: Of course I’m right but also YOU TALKED TO HIM? NICE!

yellyellie: ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh omgggggggg u actually talked to him were u flirting did u ask him out dude say yes

jazzhands: You actually had a conversation with him? And he seemed nice? Danny this seems like very good news what do you mean it’s also bad?

gothivystan: so far this is only good news wym good and bad

booberrybicon: I mean him being nice is obv part of the good also he’s crazy hot but that’s not the point 

pharoahscurse: CRAZY HOT?? DUDE SPILL WHAT DOES THAT MEAN YOU SAW HIS FACE? 

yellyellie: YOOOOOO I KNEW IT I’M CALLING IT NOW 

gothivystan: tucker was actually so right i’m mad now

pharoahscurse: Wait the bad is gonna be that he’s taken isn’t it oh shit.

jazzhands: … Interesting.

yellyellie: UR TOTALLY GONNA HOOK UP ARENT U

booberrybicon: The point is that I think he’s got some kind of ghost thing going on cause I kinda felt his feelings and before I just thought he was a strong feeler or smth? Like I’ve met ppl w naturally strong emotions before so I thought it was just that but like I’m pretty sure he could feel MY feeling and that’s

booberrybicon: Not supposed to happen 

The chat was silent for a moment, simply showing 'Several people are typing…' for a few minutes before anyone actually responded. The chat was bombarded by several paragraph long messages from each of his family members, everyone sharing their own thoughts and concerns. Ellie had a short rant about how this was only good news, more evidence of how they were going to start some kind of Ghost Courting that he honestly wasn’t sure he fully understood. She had been mostly living in the Realms now, and had learned far more about ghost culture than he had, so he wasn’t sure if she was kidding or serious. Tucker was patting himself on the back for predicting Red Hood’s personality, but was also telling him to ask him out and impress him with his kingly status. Sam and Jazz raised excellent points about the potential for interaction with other metahuman abilities, namely different forms of mind reading and empathy. The difference though was that Sam was suggesting ways to figure out if the ghostliness was legitimate, and Jazz was asking if this had changed his feelings about the situation of being known by the local figure and how he was hoping to handle it. 

He was a bit afraid he had jumped the gun while considering the alternative possibilities, but a part of him was almost holding out hope that they were wrong and Hood was related to the Realms in some way. There was something exciting about the idea, an added safety of knowing there was someone at least sort of like him that was already living in the city and doing well on his own. While their situations may be different, if Hood was already welcomed as a part of the city that meant there was potentially someone on his side if anything did happen. If he had a connection to the Realms and the others knew about it, he may actually have nothing to worry about. He shared these thoughts in the chat, albeit a simplified version, and was met with unabashed encouragement. 

In her message before, Sam had suggested trying to meet with him again, and trying to use ghost speak to see if he got a response. It was another thing that humans, even metahumans from what he understood, would have trouble parsing and be unable to respond in kind. It was a good idea to her credit, and might just be worth a try the next time they were able to meet. While his family had been heavily exposed to the Realms, the only one that could even perceive his ghost speak was Ellie, as another half-ghost. Well, they could kind of sense he was communicating, but to them it was just barely there, muffled concepts. Jazz had described it as similar to remembering a song you knew you had heard, but being unable to recall any of the words, or even the tune of it. Simply knowledge that it existed, and maybe how it had felt to listen. Sam and Tucker had agreed, so if he tried to use ghost speak and it was any more successful than an unidentifiable vague concept, that seemed like a solid confirmation that it was more than some empathic ability. 

When it came to mind reading? Well, after some thought he realized it couldn’t be that. If Hood was a mind reader, it would have been strange for him to feel confused during their earlier interaction. Unless it was a skill he couldn’t control well, but even then with the way he reacted to Danny’s… less appropriate thoughts, he probably would have had a different reaction. He wouldn’t totally rule it out, but it just didn’t seem very likely. Not like he was going to explain that to anyone, no thank you. He already said he found him hot, he did not need to talk about that. He had done perfectly well in not mentioning what happened to lead to his finding out about the emotions thing, and had no plans to change that anytime soon. 

He thanked Sam for her advice, assured Jazz that he was feeling a bit more secure, confirmed with Ellie that ghost courting was in fact a real thing that some ghosts did, and told Tucker that telling a guy he barely even knew that he was Ghost King was a terrible idea. Even Ellie backed him up on that one, thankfully. After looking at the time, he realized that while he had several hours to work on his paper before, it had now been significantly cut down to just under two hours. Quickly he gave a goodbye and a promise to call later, then went off to the campus library. He found a good spot to sit down, and put his phone on silent to work, a pair headphones in his ears. By the time he was satisfied and skimming back through his completed work, he was cutting it a bit close to class time. Ten minutes to print this paper and get to the classroom to hand it in. He made it, thankfully, since the library was close to the building his lecture was in. Just in time. 

As he left the day’s lesson he realized his phone was still on do not disturb mode, but when he went to turn it back off he realized he had a new text from an unknown number.  

This is Hood. Wanna explain what this morning was all about?

Well, shit. Right. He had managed to forget about his spectacular exit. He simply saved the contact as RH, not liking the idea of having a full contact in his phone named Red Hood, and quickly responded. 

Right, sorry about running off like that.

I just didn't want to talk about it in front of my boss. You felt the connection that was happening right?

Wait no sorry that’s a weird way to say it, I just mean you noticed something going on and I thought it would be easier to meet up later to figure out what was happening because I don’t wanna try and explain all that to Harley.

Unless you didn’t actually feel anything going on in which case please ignore everything I said because I can’t delete any of these messages. 

He stared down at his phone in betrayal, realizing that unlike any of the other messaging platforms he used, actual SMS text messages could not be deleted for the recipient after they had been sent. Great news. Looking at the original text he had gotten, it had been delivered right after his class had started, so it was a good hour before he was responding now. Hood was likely busy at this point and he would have to overthink what he said and worry about his response until further notice. Good thing he had another lecture coming up to distract him! 

Electricity and Magnetism did not distract him. In fact the unanswered text conversation was burning a hole in his pocket that was distracting him from said class. He checked his phone enough times over the next 90 minutes that his physics professor gave him several concerned and slightly irritated glances during the lecture. By the time it was over he had still gotten no response, and it was time to head home and get ready for work. He had a little buffer time to get lunch, but he wasn’t feeling especially hungry with the nerves battling in his gut. Instead he tried to get through some of his reading, though he wasn’t sure how much of it he would retain with his mind so preoccupied. It wasn’t until an hour into his shift when he finally got a response that he nearly dropped everything just to read. 

Yeah, I noticed. We can meet somewhere, give me a time and I’ll give you a place. Sound good? 

He rushed to respond, pulling his phone out the moment he stepped away from the counter. 

Yes! That works, if it’s not too far I’ll be free when I get off work?

Unless that’s not a good time, you’ll probably be busy huh. I could do tomorrow morning too, same time as this morning if that’s when you’re free? 

The response came quicker than he was expecting this time, moments after he had responded. Made sense with how fast he himself had answered.

Tomorrow morning is good. Same time, I’ll send you the address in the morning. It won’t be far. See you then.

Perfect! He could finish up his shift, go home, get a good night’s sleep, and meet up with Red Hood again in the morning, well rested and ready for a difficult conversation that may follow testing his ghost speak fluency. And if he was wrong, and he had to come up with some other kind of explanation for the strange empathy episode that had happened? Even worse, if he was correct, but suddenly had way more complicated things to try and explain? Maybe he should call Jazz again when he got off work. 

He texted during his break, and though she told him she wouldn’t be able to talk for long, she would be free. Harley noticed how tense he was, and though she clearly didn’t buy it when he told her he was fine, she didn’t press much more. It was one of the things he appreciated most about her, if he was being honest. She didn’t push, and he was grateful for it. She did, however, ask about why he gave Hood his number. There was something of a suggestion in the way she asked that made his face flush, but he assured her it was just because he thought it would be good to have a way to contact him. In case anything happened, he wanted to have a way to contact him. She didn’t buy this either, giving him an unimpressed nod with a quiet, “Riiiight… uh huh.” He was even more grateful this time when she didn’t push. 

When he finally got on the phone later with Jazz and went through his list of concerns, frustrated again with himself for agreeing to meet so soon. She assured him that it was better to rip the bandage off rather than stewing in his anxieties, and that if he tried ghost speak and it was unsuccessful, he could just honestly say that he didn’t know why the interaction had happened. 

“It hasn’t happened with any regular humans before, so that would mean he has some sort of powers that might help explain it. Telling him that you don’t know is a perfectly valid response, Danny. I mean if it turns out it’s not related to ghosts, it’s true isn’t it? We really don’t know why it’s happening if that’s not the case, and it’s not like you have to explain our theories to him.” She explained, and when she phrased it that way he supposed she was right, it really wouldn’t be a lie to say he had no idea what was happening. 

“You’re right, but what if… Well, what if I was right? Before, what if I was right and there’s something going on with him? What if he’s dying, or already died, or something else entirely is going on? I mean how am I supposed to explain that to him, how do I explain why I know, too?” He sighed, laying across his bed and staring at the ceiling. 

“We won’t know what’s going on until you talk to him, but for now I think you should take it slow, okay? If he responds to the ghost speak, maybe he already knows and you won’t have anything to worry about. If he doesn’t know then… it’s probably best not to try and explain everything at once. It might be a little overwhelming if you do. Maybe pieces of truth would be good?” She seemed unsure, like she was thinking out loud. 

“I don’t know how to explain ghost communication without explaining being ghosts though, Jazz. I can’t think of any good explanation for that other than straight up lying and saying that I have some other weird empath ability on top of the weird language ability, and whatever he saw me doing when he saw me stopping whichever criminals he actually saw! It’s a very strange and hard to explain set of abilities!” He didn’t mean to sound so exasperated, but he was. He didn’t know what else he could say to explain everything the vigilante might already know about him without directly lying and likely digging a hole for his future self. 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that by the way. We will be talking about it the next time I see you. Still, I think there’s a way to be honest about this. You can lead into it by expressing that it’s complicated, and hard to put into words. Like we talked about before, it’s okay to share that you’re not completely human. Nothing bad is going to happen by admitting that, and it might help him understand why it’s so hard to explain. Even if you don’t specifically tell him that you’re part ghost, there are plenty of other species and entities that he’s probably met before with entirely different cultures and abilities that are equally hard to explain to outsiders!” He considered this carefully to concede she had a point, but there was still a cliff to the conversation. 

“That’s a good lead to buy me some time to think, but after that? Hey, I’m not totally human so this is hard to explain but I think we can communicate because you’re like me. What does it mean to be like me? Well you see… what? I mean seriously, what comes after that?” He put his phone on speaker, dropping it beside his head so he could scrub his face with his hands in an attempt to physically wipe away the stress. 

“I… I’m not sure, Danny. Honestly, there is no good way to break this kind of news to someone. I’m sorry.” She sighed, her voice quiet, and he felt like an asshole now. 

“No, I’m sorry. I’m freaking out about this but I’m not trying to take it out on you, I just… I don’t know what to do. Thank you though, for calling this late. I’ll figure it out, okay? Maybe I’ll see if Sam and Tuck have any good ideas. Maybe just Sam, actually, Tucker will probably be back on his ‘telling him you’re the king’ thing again which somehow I don’t think is a good idea.” He rolled his eyes, already opening up a message to Sam. 

“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea. Maybe she’ll help you come up with a different approach. It’s okay though, I’m glad you called me. I need you to know you can always call me, even if it’s not something like this. It can be anything, okay? I’m always here, and I always will be. Don’t forget that.” She was using her soft voice now, one that always made him feel like he was about to cry. 

“I know. Thanks, Jazz… I love you. Talk to you later.” He took a deep breath, a little shakier than before.

“I love you too, Danny. Get some sleep soon, and I’ll talk to you later.” She said, tone leaving no room for argument. “Good night.”

“Yeah, I’ll try. Good night.” He hung up the call, taking another deep breath that was thankfully more stable this time. 

He pulled the chat with Sam back up, going back and forth with her about how to explain the situation if his suspicions were correct. The best thing they came up with between the them was to first try and explain the existence of the Infinite Realms. Avoid explicitly using the words ‘ghost’ or ‘death’, and just explain the dimension itself. That conversation would hopefully help him gauge the man’s understanding of himself and what was going on, then he could pivot from there. Either he knew and the conversation would be easy, or he didn’t and the conversation would be difficult. 

Saying he had ties to a different dimensional realm was accurate, and he could simply explain this other form of communication came more naturally in that realm. As to why Red Hood himself understood it while others did not, he might have to see if he could get away with an honest but unsatisfying ‘I don’t know’. While he did have a general idea, it wouldn’t be a lie since he had no idea what connection the hero- Hero? Apparently crime lord also? He wasn’t clear on the guy’s story honestly- Whatever the case, his connection to the Realms was a mystery right now. 

Having at least some semblance of a plan, and an alarm set for very early in the morning, Danny was actually able to fall asleep against all odds. It was… refreshing, even. Who could have guessed that sleeping more than six hours would leave him feeling so much better? Having slept so long the other day after his first meeting with Hood, he was surprised to manage a full nights sleep again so soon. He actually felt like he might be able to handle this conversation.

He turned off his alarm with far less irritation than normal, even taking a nice long shower before getting dressed. He got the text with an unfamiliar address only a couple blocks away as he pulled on a hoodie for the cool morning air. Not that the cold bothered him, but it would be stranger not to wear one with the temperature, and he enjoyed the comfort anyway. Mentally bracing himself for a difficult conversation, and making sure his emotional aura wasn’t freely leaking out like usual, he walked out the door and down the street to confront the source of his most pressing anxieties.

Chapter Text

To say that Jason was looking forward to this meeting might be an understatement. When he had woken up from his mid-day sleep to see several new texts, he was glad to have an opportunity to get some answers sooner than expected. The… phrasing of the messages he had gotten were a bit odd, but it seemed like the other had a tendency to struggle with words from everything he’d seen so far. Harley’s comment about being Danny’s type did pop into his mind, but that still seemed unlikely. It wasn’t like she knew about the strange empathic exchange they had had after all, so he could see how she had come to that conclusion. His conclusion though, was that this strange nervous man inadvertently flirted when feeling anxious. Odd sure, but not the strangest habit he’d seen. 

His eagerness for a chance at answers had him waiting, tucked in a cozy doorway arch, set into an unused brick storefront. He had sent the address as soon as he arrived. It was close to the building his mysterious newcomer had moved into, just up the street. He didn’t even have to wait long before he heard footsteps, and paying very close attention, he felt the ever present low buzz in his chest melt away to a soft warmth. 

A head of fluffy black hair, only a few inches shorter, came around the corner and turned to face him without the slightest note of surprise to see him hidden there. So he could definitely sense him somehow, probably still the empathy thing, though Jason for whatever reason was unable to feel him in return this time. He couldn’t deny it made him a bit more nervous, but he could ignore that for now. Clearly he had some kind of control over it with what had happened in the coffee shop the morning before. 

“So. Hey again.” He managed to grunt out the greeting, after they had spent a few moments once again looking at each other in silence. He was rewarded with a huff of laughter, and a near imperceptible smile. 

“Hey. So I assume you’ve got some questions.” His shoulders were near his ears, tensing like he was physically bracing himself. If he were less perceptive he would have written it off as a side effect of the chill morning air, but it knew better.

“Right,” Hood took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. Just as Danny was about to speak he held up a hand and said, “Just so we’re clear, I’m only asking because you offered. I don’t want you to feel like you’re being questioned. If I get carried away just… let me know.” 

The shorter man’s reaction was a surprised blink, almost confused, before his face lost some of its tension. His shoulders even relaxed a bit, though not fully. The doors to the building were firmly shuttered and locked, but the singular shallow step in front proved an inviting seat. His conversation partner took a step past him and all but flopped back onto it, and so he followed.

“Okay. And thank you.” He seemed to hesitate again before he nearly spit out, “So you don’t happen to have any secret empath or mind reading abilities would you?”

Hood couldn’t help the slight bark of a laugh, shaking his head. “Can’t say I do. Not many metas in Gotham, y’know. Kinda figured that was all you. Are you saying it wasn’t?” He asked, immediately assessing the variables of the situation. A new power this young potential meta didn't understand yet? Probably not, he had been shocked at the time, but the apparent control he had over the ability suggested otherwise. More likely, Jason’s own reaction had been the thing that was unexpected. 

“It was more- That’s hard to explain. Okay. Um, I’m gonna try something real quick and just… tell me what you feel? Or think I guess, I just need to try something, okay?” He asked, and he was now looking at Jason and he did not like how that sounded, but there was very little time to respond before something happened. 

It was a feeling, like immediate knowledge without voice or visual, simply knowledge and a feeling that the guy sitting next to him had asked him a question. He wanted to know if Jason understood something. He jerked back a bit at the feeling, and saw the flash of surprise across Danny’s face in the same moment. 

“What… what the hell was that? It wasn’t telepathy, I’ve felt telepathy before. Did you just ask me a question?” He realized he was speaking too quickly, not giving the other a chance to respond and forced himself to take a deep breath. He had to physically unclench his jaw, as Danny clearly struggled to find the right words once more.  He focused on where he normally felt the pits the strongest, the sensation still more of an ebbing warmth in his chest than the typical buzzing. He could feel anger, but not overwhelming. He was upset, yes, whatever had just happened felt a bit intrusive, but he wasn't drowning in the urge to eliminate the source thankfully. 

“Sorry, I’m so sorry! I should have given you a better warning, shit. I wasn’t sure you would feel it at all so I- Okay, so I did ask a question, yes, did you understand it?” 

He dazedly raised his hand with a wiggle to give a seesaw motion, struggling to come up with his own words right now that wouldn’t just be a repetition of what was that?

“It’s uh… it’s kind of hard to explain what it was. Can I try one more time? Something else, instead of asking a question I’ll just tell you something, is that okay?” He looked more nervous than before now, rolling the end of his hoodie’s drawstring between his fingers. Jason took another deep and measured breath, bracing himself before nodding in confirmation. 

The communication was clearer, whether it was because it was a statement, or simply because he had been more prepared, this time was different. Danny was not fully human. This could barely be considered a surprise. If he’d been a betting man he would have been banking on magic use rather than nonhuman, but it was still not the biggest revelation. Taking a moment to process this confession, he simply nodded again. 

“Only part human. Then what’s the rest, if you don’t mind me asking?” He tried not to push, but damn. If this wasn’t relevant information, he didn’t know what was. It had to have something to do with why he had been so shocked that Jason had picked up on his empathy situation, but how would this even be connected to that? He was an average human, having been revived aside. Was there some alien race with some kind of relation to the pits? He wasn’t sure where they even came from in the first place, so it could be related. For now he should stop theorizing and focus, because his strange telepathic companion was stringing a sentence together. 

“That’s the question that’s hardest to explain.” Interesting, so not alien then. No, that would be too easy wouldn’t it? He looked like he was nearly trying to shred the poor string he was holding now, biting at his lip so much it was probably bleeding, too. 

“So do you know about alternate dimensions? Y’know, like concurrent realities and different planes of existence and stuff like that?” Those steely blue eyes were darting between Jason’s own and his busy fingers. This sounded like it would be… a complicated conversation. He would need to buckle in. After a moment to consider his options, he spoke again.

“Sure. If this is going where I think it’s going, maybe we should find a better place to sit. You wanna follow me?” After a pause, Danny nodded. He stood up and waved him along. He did not take him back to his apartment, but he did have a small garage nearby. Other than housing his bike when needed (not now thankfully), it had some basics that he felt like he could really use for this talk. A fridge, sink, a couch, and a microwave. He could use some tea and a more comfortable place to sit. This time when he took the helmet off he was met with minimal staring, more lingering glances than anything, but that may just be the nerves. Magic, dimensions, timeline shit… all of it was nothing but a headache. He didn’t realize he had made that comment aloud until it earned him a genuine and full laugh from the younger man. 

“I can’t disagree, it’s all way more complicated than it needs to be. Awful to keep track of, really. Sorry in advance I guess for the shit I will be having to throw at you to explain, but I’m gonna try to give the cliff notes at least.” He was offered his own cup of tea and surprisingly accepted. Once they were both sitting, Jason let him finally begin his explanation. 

Another dimension, he had said. Not an alternate reality, but another plane entirely. A space between spaces he had said, something like the crawlspace of the multiverse. This guy was sort of a native there. Half, apparently, based on what he had been told earlier. Communication in this realm was naturally more reliant on emotions and some kind of direct conceptual telepathy? It was what he had used earlier, but he was deliberately dancing around the topic of how that related to Red Hood. He could tell, and it was clear with all the nervous ticks and odd articulation that it was something he either didn’t understand or simply didn’t want to explain. Or maybe something he was afraid to ask, with the way he kept looking at him.

Danny awkwardly danced his way around the topic by explaining how some of the powers he’d witnessed were related to this realm. The Realms, actually. No other name so far. He explained how he was able to manipulate tangibility (not super strength then, but a kind of manipulation of physical matter), and that his knowledge of language was tied to this as well through some all encompassing communication skill he had picked up innately in this other plane of existence. Hood, all the while, considered what he knew. 

Danny was partially belonging to another realm that existed to the left of their current reality. The affinity for communication aside, when it came to these other forms that were natural to this other dimension it was only Jason that was able to perceive it. As far as he knew the only thing that set him apart from the average person would be… 

“I came back from the dead.” He said, unceremoniously, finishing off the last of his tea. Danny had been in the middle of explaining how nearly no one he’d met had been able to pick up on this emotion-speak when he’d interrupted. It stopped him dead (ha.) in his tracks, particularly as Jason had unintentionally cut him off mid-sentence. Dick had said to share something little about himself. Well, that had to count for something. 

“Oh.” His hands were midair, something graceful about them in the artful pose they were held in. Long fingers, smooth with short nails and his left hand had a very significant scar that he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed before that disappeared into his hoodie sleeve. The hands dropped to his lap, limp for the first time since the beginning of their interaction this morning. 

“That’s. Okay, that’s good to know.” He blinked, and he couldn’t help the slight smile that fought its way to his face. Surprising Danny was quickly becoming one of his new favorite hobbies with how often it was happening. It was kinda cute, the way he would just drop everything and stare like he was trying to manually restart his own brain. The shocked face staring at him turned a bit pink, and maybe it was his turn to let his glances linger. So what? He wouldn’t be able to tell where he was looking anyway with the lenses covering his eyes. He wasn’t lying when he said the guy was pretty. 

“I’m assuming that has something to do with this. You already had a feeling, but didn’t wanna ask, right?” He sat up properly now that his cup was empty and sitting on a cheap, dinky table.  He leaned back into his corner of the couch, arms stretched out to his sides across the back and arm of the seat. His relaxed pose wasn’t forced for once. It was comfortable talking like this despite the conversation topic. Danny had mentally been updated from stranger to acquaintance, but he was pleasant enough that Hood was already raising him up to near friend status with some of the other vigilantes he worked with. While still harboring some anxieties, he had been happy to meet up and even forthcoming with information that could potentially be used against him. It was a sign of trust, deliberate or no, that he was happy to answer with a cautious trust of his own. It was rewarded by the returning feeling of the other man’s unguarded emotions bleeding into the air between them once again. He was nervous still, but there was some relief there. 

“I didn’t- Right. Yes, that’s what I- Yeah. I didn’t. It’s kind of… I don’t know, insensitive to ask, isn’t it?” He was rubbing the back of his neck, looking somewhere between ashamed and embarrassed that brought the slight smile back to Jason’s face. He could feel the bit of embarrassment too, only helping solidify in his mind that Danny was not very good at masking his emotions. Not much one for lying, then. He already had a feeling that was the case, but it was nice to have confirmation. 

“I guess, but I’ve mostly accepted it by now. Side effects are a real bitch, but I’ve… come to terms with it, we’ll say.” He gave the closest thing he could to a shrug with both arms still propped up on the couch. The semi-human’s eyes seemed to quickly sweep across his shoulders and chest, that pretty pink flush coming back from where it had started to disappear. The embarrassment was stronger, a flash of excitement that was immediately snuffed out. 

Hold on now, maybe Harley was onto something. Was he being checked out? Was that what all this staring was about? Oh no, if that’s what was happening he had to know. There was no way, right? Well maybe there was a way, it wasn’t like he would be the strangest thing someone was into. Hell even Jason had some strange tastes he wouldn’t admit in polite company. He would have to test this out another time. For now he let his amusement be known. Not like he knew how to hide it regardless. The smaller man had the decency to look a little more embarrassed having been caught looking, but then registered what the masked man had said. 

“Wait if you- When you say side effects-” he seemed to weigh his options briefly before soldiering on, “When you say side effects what do you mean? When I came back my side effects were all the stuff related to the Realms I was telling you before, but you said you don’t have any of the same abilities.” He was frowning, almost a pout that he would be able to appreciate better if it weren’t for the fact that this man had just admitted that he had also died and come back. 

“When you came back? Wait, then how did you come back?” He leaned forward again, too concerned to sit back as he had been. This was serious. He obviously wasn’t one of al Ghul’s, based on his… everything. Was there someone else out there resurrecting even more young adults that he didn’t know about? 

“I was- ugh, sorry that’s a whole thing. I’m kind of a nonstandard case okay? Well not that there’s much of a standard for resurrection but… you get what I mean. With the whole dimension thing I was talking about earlier it was… it’s complicated. There was a portal to said dimension, it was the- that’s it. Really shit accident involving a man-made portal. You didn’t have a portal?” He asked, clearly uninterested in elaborating on his own story. Couldn’t blame him though, wasn’t like Jason enjoyed talking about his own zombification much either. So that explained a little about this connection, something about them both having died and come back to life.

“Nasty green pool of immortality juice. Took a dip courtesy of some assassins hoping to weaponize me.” He couldn’t help the scowl that covered his face, but it didn’t stick as, once again, Danny was blinking at him with that shocked face. Oh yeah, this wasn’t gonna get old. Still fun. It even soothed a bit of the bitter anger that came with his own confession.

“Dude, what the hell goes on in your life? Fuck, you’re cool. Sorry, that’s- it’s not cool I’m sure- that probably sucked really bad just damn that’s such a badass way to- wait did you say green pool? You don’t mean like glowing green do you? Cause that would be really bad if that’s what I think it is.” The cute surprised face dropped to intense concern like a switch had been flipped. This was business, and while he wasn’t sure what kind, he didn’t like the sudden intensity it had inspired in such an otherwise nervous and awkward person. 

“Yes green, and yes glowing. How exactly did you know that? Have you seen that stuff before?” He stood up now, not preparing for a fight, but for the sake of controlling his own nerves. If he knew anything about the Lazarus Pits, this may not be as casual of a conversation as he thought. Not that discussing one’s death was the most casual chat to be had in the first place, but there was no danger before. With knowledge of the League of Assassins and Lazarus Pits involved, it was a bit of a different story. 

“That’s… also hard to explain. So this is gonna be a lot, but let’s back up.” He ruffled that fluffy black hair, collapsing back into the couch with his little mug of half-drunk tea clutched to his chest. More explanations again, cool. 

The Realms, as Danny continued to call this other plane, was a generally green place. The portal he had mentioned was green itself, but there was no pool of liquid involved. While his explanation suggested he had a deeper understanding, he said that it was only a theory he had with the limited details so far. The theory was that the Lazarus Pits were somehow connected to the Realms, some kind of tear that shouldn’t exist between the planes resulting in a kind of cosmic leakage. 

“Where is this at? If the Realms are leaking out into this plane that is… a huge problem. Especially if somebody already found it and is using it on- wait, fuck you said it was assassins. It’s not even just some regular cult that’s- UGH, SHIT!” He shouted suddenly, slapping his own face with both hands to cover it as he groaned. 

“Danny, listen.” He walked back over, kneeling in front of the stressed college student currently on his couch. He had been pacing during the whole discussion, but if this kid was planning on trying to take care of it himself there was no way in hell Jason was gonna tell him where to find the pits. “If this is what’s going on, I’ll get someone to look into it. I know you said you have a connection to the Realms but that doesn’t mean you need to be the one to take care of it. If you have any other information about what this could be, I can hand the info to Batman real easy, and he can take care of it.” He was resisting the urge to pull the younger man’s hands away from his face, that would be too much. Maybe it was just the need to soothe with how clearly overwhelmed he was. Luckily he dropped his hands on his own, face surprised somehow by the proximity. His face was pink again, and he looked off into the middle distance before he replied. Cute.

“I appreciate it but I don’t think this is something he could take care of. I mean, he’s still just a regular human, right? Plus I’d rather he didn’t come bring me in for questioning! Doesn’t the guy hate metas? I know I’m technically not one but still! He’s gonna want me locked in the booth for interrogation and I am not ready to have that conversation. I am the- … If I know where it’s at I can get the… appropriate people to take care of it.” He was hiding something, but this time Jason was going to push. 

“Danny. Look at me.” He waited until their eyes met to say, “I will look into it, okay? You don’t need to be afraid of Batman. He’s annoying, kind of an asshole, but I won’t let him take you in for questioning. If he wants to come and have a little interrogation, trust me when I say that I won’t let him , okay? I won’t tell him about you, who you are, where to find you, anything. He’s gonna want more information, cause that’s just the way he is, but that’s too bad. I will make sure he leaves you alone. Trust me, okay?” 

The anxious mess on his couch held eye contact, obviously trying to decide if he could trust what Hood was telling him or not. He could sense the apprehension, a bit of the fear he had felt during their first meeting rearing its head underneath. He tried to focus on projecting his own calm and honesty. He would keep his word, even if he had to fight Bats on this. Not like he had any issue with fighting him in the first place, it would just be another one of many reasons if he decided he knew better than Jason once again. This time though he may be able to convince Dick and Tim to back him up as well. 

“Okay. Only for now, though. If I’m right, only someone from the Realms can get rid of this stuff. You guys can’t figure out how to fix it, and you tell me right away, okay? I know someone who can fix it, without a doubt. I just need to know where it is.” He was deadly serious, the fear buried but still present. In place of the nerves however, he now seemed rather confident in his assertion. Calm, serious, and even somewhat commanding. A subtle shift, but from Hood's place kneeling before him on the couch it was… an experience. He cleared his throat, standing as though it would free him from the authoritative gaze. The gaze followed though, as he sat back down across from him. He would really rather Danny let this go, but something about his presence was making it difficult for him to form an argument against this compromise.

“Fine. I’ll keep an eye on the situation and let you know if Big and Bossy is struggling. Fair?” He held a hand out to shake in agreement. He was met with a nod, and a shockingly cool hand gripped his. Rougher than he expected, but smaller than his own. His new acquaintance obviously took similar notice, with the way his eyes were now glued to the point of contact. He was spending a good amount of his morning so far with that pretty pink color across his face. It was a welcome sight. It had been a while since someone showed this kind of interest in the vigilante and he had no shame in basking a bit. 

“So with all that out of the way I guess, uh...” He sighed, pulling out the same burner phone he had used to text Danny earlier. He had the image Tim had given him saved, just in case he had a chance to ask about this before he moved on to the next phone. “The guy that told me about what happened at the cafe. I promised him I would ask about this text he’s been working on if I talked to you again. You don’t have to, but I figured I would see if you wanted to take a look?” He pulled up the image, holding the phone out. The younger took it, looking confused. 

“Text he’s been working on? What do you…” he took a look at the screen, and his face lit up in amusement. He let out a bubbling laugh, and shit if he thought the guy was cute before this was something else. “Where did you even get this?”

“It’s uh… it was something from a cult he was looking into, I guess. Trying to summon something, which usually amounts to nothing anyway. He wanted to check though, see what they were trying to summon.” Jason had to shake himself back into focus, blinking away the distraction. “Why, what’s so funny?”

“This is-” He was still laughing, a little snort making its way out that had him clearing his throat in embarrassment. “This is basically like a nursery rhyme for daemons? So if it’s a cult you’re worried about… I mean if they have the right circle they might get a kid that wanders over, but that’s about it.” His laughter has died down, and he hands the phone back, shaking his head like it was the silliest thing he'd ever seen. 

Huh. Okay he’s tucking that bit of information away for later and decidedly not sharing with anyone else at the moment because that’s way more knowledge than Tim had asked for, so he’s only getting the bare bones later. So he wasn’t necessarily magic, but he did know something about summoning circles and daemons. 

“This might be the most gratifying ‘I told you so’ I’ll get to deliver. Thanks for that.” He’s grinning as he takes his phone back, and Danny is staring again in a way that’s kind of making him preen. Now that he can tell it’s not a look of shock, disgust, or just plain nerves, it’s nice. He was caught somewhere between feeling proud and shy, but if the other picked up on it he gave no indication. 

“I should probably get going, find something to eat. I still have some classes this afternoon I should get ready for but um. Would it be cool if I just… text you later? We can meet up again. To check in I mean, or like- I don’t know if there’s anything else you want help with? I don’t know about meeting the others you mentioned but if there’s anything you need help with-” He stopped speaking when Jason gave him a nod,  already standing up. 

“Yeah, feel free. If you need anything too, it goes both ways. Just let me know. My promise to keep ‘em off your back still stands, but I’ll let them know I’m fielding questions. Nosy ass bird will appreciate it… but I’ll pass it along. See you next time.” He led him to the door, holding it open for him as he walked out. 

It wasn’t even the end of the day by the time he had gotten another round of texts. It was the first time in a long time he’d had someone express such an eagerness to spend time with him outside of his older brother.

Thanks again :)

I know it was a weird talk but it was kinda nice! 

Would you wanna meet up again sometime soon? There’s some more stuff I could probably explain and u did offer to teach me some easy recipes…

If you're free I mean nbd if you're not

Oh he was so gonna rub this in Dick’s face. Cute guy was totally into him, and not his older brother. Take that mister ‘Everyone’s Favorite’.

Chapter Text

When he was alone during the day, Jason decided to try and process the genuinely mind blowing conversation he had just had with his new neighbor/inter-dimensional being. Which was a thing that Danny was. Right, cool, very easy to follow. This was also related to Jason having died before, leading to them sharing a form of communication possibly considered another language that he could instinctively use.

This Realms place was connected to death, obviously, but what exactly was it? Maybe some kind of purgatory. From what he understood Limbo was not green, and neither was Hell, but he didn’t know enough about other interpretations of the afterlife to be able to take a better guess at what the hell it was. It certainly wasn’t Heaven, that he could be sure of. 

Fuck. Everything magical and cosmic and what the fuck ever else was always the absolute worst. Unpredictable, esoteric, beyond human limitations and understanding and So. Fucking. Annoying. He needed someone else he could ask about this so didn’t end up pushing Danny when he was clearly tiptoeing around something else going on. Someone who knew more about afterlives and dimensions and weird magic shit. Zatanna was a no. While she was always nice, and did know some about dealing with demons, that was about the extent of her expertise. He would not even entertain the idea of talking to Constantine. Much like the magic he practiced, he was hard to understand and unpredictable. Or outright manipulative. A walking disaster with a high risk and low reward. He could go on. Anyways, what he needed was someone who knew more about other dimensions and would be willing to talk to him. Raven. 

He remembered some of the Titans having met them mostly through his brother, and though he had the best impression of Starfire, he had really gotten along with Raven. She was shockingly easy to talk to compared to many of the other heroes on the team, a kind of quiet and patient nature around her that made it far more comfortable to hold a conversation. Maybe it’s just because he had been younger at the time, still a teen, but she was one of the few people who always allowed him to maintain his bubble. Personal space, emotional space when he was overwhelmed. They had only worked together one time since his… return, and barely had much of a chance to talk then. He hadn’t talked to her in some time now, and even without her knowledge in this field it would be nice to catch up, maybe. The only issue was he didn’t have a good way to contact her without going through Bruce to take advantage of his JL connections. His brother, though, might be willing to pass along an invitation without bringing it to their father’s attention. 

“Why do you wanna talk to Raven? Don’t get me wrong little wing-” His older brother ignored his scoff completely, talking over him to continue.“- I’m all for you getting back in touch! I mean I’m excited even, but I know you must have some reason for wanting to talk to her. You’ve never been much for social calls.” Dick finished, and as though he finally registered Jason’s reaction added, “You’ll always be my little wing, but I can stop if it bothers you I guess… Hm. Little Hood! Like Little Red Riding Hood, of course! So, what do you need me to tell her Little Hood?” He asked, incredibly pleased with himself over his new nickname. After a long suffering sigh that was only slightly forced, he straightened himself. 

“I just have some questions that I think fall under her umbrella best. Nothing too urgent, I guess you could say I’m doing some independent study here.” He could hear the skeptical silence over the phone, but seemingly decided against digging for more. 

“Anything else I should tell her?” He could hear a car door on the other side of the speaker, Dick obviously needing to hang up soon, as he had reached wherever it was he was headed at this time of day.

“No, that’s it. Let me know when she’s available, and I’ll meet her wherever is easiest.” Right as his brother hummed in the affirmative and said his goodbye, he blurted out, “Wait. Tell her I… I’m looking forward to seeing her again. It’s been a while. And thanks, Dick. I mean it.” He hung up before the older had a chance to respond. The admission was enough emotional vulnerability for him at the moment, he didn’t need to wait and hear the response. 

Any time, Jay. I mean that. 

Fuck. He shouldn’t have looked, as his chest felt like it had been stuffed with warm wet cotton. It was a lot, for some reason. It wasn’t even a long message, it wasn’t some high stakes situation, why was something so simple suffocating him like this? He hated when his brothers got too genuine with him, it was just… it was too much. Not all bad, maybe, but… too much. He was not equipped to deal with his feelings right now, so he needed a distraction. For now, he found that in the form of stress cooking. 

Harley had mentioned Danny’s poor eating habits, and it was fairly obvious now that it had been pointed out. While he wasn’t emaciated or anything, the guy was definitely thin. If he wasn’t gonna cook for himself, Jason sure as hell would. After their conversation, he felt like maybe now he could make an effort to shove some food off onto him. Something about half-confessing the inhuman nature of one’s own existence felt like it had bumped up their familiarity a couple levels. He went through the contents of his kitchen back at his apartment, made a run to the store, and came back ready to produce a week’s worth of hearty and nutritious meals. Even if his anxious new friend wasn’t willing to take everything, at least he’d have some prepped dinners to come back to after patrol. 

He had a whole spread of several dishes, portioned out and pre-packed. Everything homemade, pesto gnocchi, stuffed peppers, coconut curry, tabbouleh, all sealed and ready either cooling out on his counter space or already tucked into his fridge. 

When he realized several hours had passed during his cooking, he took out his phone to find a confirmation from Dick regarding his meeting with Raven. She had been planning to stop by Gotham this coming week, and with Jason’s request to meet she had pushed the date up by a couple days. Apparently she was excited to see him as well, and this time he welcomed the wave of emotion that came with that news. It was simpler this time, warmth, fondness for the quiet but strong woman he had met as a child. He was glad she was also looking forward to seeing him. As things were now, it felt like a rare occurrence for that feeling to be reciprocated. 

He also saw several new texts from the very confusing but welcome new friend in his life. 

(They were friends, right? Is this what constitutes friends for him now? He wasn’t really too sure how he felt about that, so maybe he would bench the term ‘friend’ until further notice. Maybe he could ask the other what he thought of their arrangement. No, that actually sounded like a terrible idea. That would have to wait, he could figure out where they stood given enough time. For now maybe he was more like a… contact.)

Several new texts from the confusing but welcome new contact.

Thanks again :)

I know it was a weird talk but it was kinda nice! 

Would you wanna meet up again sometime soon? There’s some more stuff I could probably explain and u did offer to teach me some easy recipes…

If you're free I mean nbd if ur not

At least he was also acknowledging the weirdness of the conversation they had had, and the thanks was admittedly appreciated though not necessary. The guy was overly polite sometimes, but now it seemed less out of fear and more just the way he was built. It was nice, even a little charming. It was also amusing that he seemed pretty eager to meet again. He was pretty sure that his earlier assumption was correct. Even from their scant interactions so far he could nearly hear the embarrassed backpedalling of the last message. 

Sure. Additional info would be good. 

After considering for a moment, he sent another message. 

Made some food, plenty to share. I’ll bring it to your place and we can talk?

He was glad he didn’t need to figure out how to reach out first, as it seemed like Danny had that pretty well covered. He never was great at starting conversations, much better at ending them. Unfortunately he would need to take care of more business over the next couple days. He had your average warehouses to check in on, making sure territory rules were being followed and everything taken care of as it should be. He had gotten a couple reports of some suspicious possible human traffickers sneaking their way into the borders of the city he had to look into as well, several bars and a casino to survey, hopefully some of the staff had seen something that would point him in the right direction. 

You know how to cook? I mean you can obviously take care of yourself but I wouldn’t think you’re the cooking type but yeah I would love some that sounds great
I mean I can’t turn down free food haha, anyways when are you free? I’ll try to make sure the place is presentable 

 

Thursday night if you’ll be free. 

That gave him three days' time. He would have time to do his rounds and gather his info over the next couple days, then meet up with Raven Wednesday before meeting up with Danny the day after. He would have offered to move it to the weekend for the sake of the younger’s college classes, but weekends also tended to be busier when it came to foot traffic. With the threat of a possible trafficking ring on the periphery, he had to keep that time open in case he came up with any leads to follow up on. 

I will be, that works for me! Let me know if you need my address… which you probably don’t. 😨 You already know where I live don’t you?? 😔

 

Yup. :) See you Thursday. 

Was the smiley face weird? He’d meant for it to be more smug or maybe joking but with the context it felt a little threatening. It wasn’t threatening, right? God if only he had someone to ask that wouldn’t then pelt him with question after question. Is this how the others felt socializing? Was this what socializing was? If so then he was right to avoid it up until now, trying to decide what was and wasn’t appropriate at this point felt like a nightmare puzzle especially over text. Of course there had been a huge period of adjustment while he was dead then revived and busy training overseas. He spent a lot of time online trying to catch up with everything he missed but there was so much, and he still couldn’t quite figure out the rules when it came to messaging.

It was good enough, and with that out of the way, Jason actually felt like he could focus again. He would talk to Raven and hopefully have some answers soon, then he would talk to Danny the day after and let him fill in any gaps in his understanding. While he wasn’t necessarily doubting the college student’s truthfulness, it would be nice to have some things confirmed by Raven as well, just for his peace of mind. It would help him to check the authenticity of whatever Danny told him, to have an outside source that could give him information he could ask specifically to test the other’s knowledge. 

His plan in place, he focused on the potential trafficking and the goings on of his own under the table business. He was technically both a crime lord and a vigilante, but his men knew what he was about and that was what was important. They knew what they had to do, why they had to do it that way, and the consequences of deviation from that. More than that, most of his men had a strong sense of loyalty. They were taken care of, and they were able to hold themselves with at least a bit of pride in knowing the work they did was as clean as it could get. No kids involved, no laced or cut drugs, no tolerance for anything dehumanizing. It was better than most could get in this line of business, and they were proud to enforce the rules. They knew when anything against his rules was going on in the area, they were to let him know. If it was another gang just selling, they were welcome to take care of it themselves, but anything more serious was brought to him. Trafficking was top of the list. 

Here he was, bouncing from bar to bar, knocking on the backdoor to chat up the staff. Turns out two of the six bars he visited that night had seen suspicious activity in the last week. Two separate people had come in and followed the same pattern. Two men, the same pair based on the descriptions given. The two had, independently, come into the bars alone. A single drink, they stayed in the corner and watched everyone that had come in, always approaching someone young who had come in alone. They hadn’t left with anyone thankfully from what the bartenders had told him, but of the several people they’d approached, a couple of them had come to the counter afterward clearly uncomfortable. 

Hood had given the bars in the area advice on how to handle situations like this, and thankfully the coaching had been passed to all the staff. In addition to the standard offer to watch and call a ride home for the customers, they had their descriptions, and got summaries of the conversations they’d had with the suspects. It seemed like another possible cult situation unfortunately, with the suspicious figures asking philosophical questions to the young bar goers. What was their goal in life, what did they want out of their lives, and what did they want out of death? What did they hope was waiting for them in the afterlife? It was… odd.Their approach was more aggressive and lacking in subtlety that most other groups had. He wasn’t surprised their recruit so far had resulted in everyone simply being scared off. 

He passed the description of the new potential cultists/traffickers along to Oracle, in case she caught sight of them out around the city and found anything else concerning on them. So far that was all he had to go on, and honestly if it weren’t for the coordination between the same two people in two separate places, he would have chalked it up to nothing more than a person just having a bit of a mental break with some public displays of existentialism. It was pushed to the back burner as it was, and a note for a couple of his guys to start circling around to the bars to check in for any more strange appearances. 

When he was finally able to meet up with Raven it had been far more cathartic than he had been expecting. While he didn’t cry, he had been close to it. While it could be hard sometimes to talk openly with Dick, it was easy with her. The gothic hero was far from a stranger, but with how infrequently they talked combined with her own natural impartial listening skills, he had spilled far more vulnerable sentiments than he ever could have if his own brother was present. It didn’t help that she assured him that said older brother would still talk about him with pride when the Titans got together, just as he had when they were younger. That was when he felt the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Instead he had simply tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, the older woman giving him a moment to breathe and let himself calm down. She had always been good with letting him handle his emotions at his own pace, and he was grateful for it. 

It took a while before they finally came back around to the original subject of their meeting, and Raven told him everything she knew about the Realms. Which was to say the Infinite Realms, which was an intimidating name. Appropriately so, apparently, as even her knowledge was limited. While Danny had described it as a cosmic crawlspace, she had described it more as a framework . A completely essential realm containing all others. She had never seen it, but supposedly it was in fact a fairly green place. It was not Purgatory, as he thought it might be, but similar in concept. It was a ‘space between spaces’ that was as vast as the name suggested. Those that inhabited the Realms weren’t often seen, but ranged from harmless to world-endingly powerful gods. So, that was a little scary. Thankfully the previous Tyrant King (an actual title some had given him) had been very recently replaced, and by all accounts was doing an excellent job. She had no further information on the new King, what happened to the old King (other than him being defeated in some way), or in what way humans related to this realm. 

His half-demon companion was able to, with some effort, confirm that the daemon script he had shown Danny was in fact some kind of simple rhyme with basic words that was clearly meant for children. He had been correct. He asked her about any other inhabitants of the Realms she knew about, as well as the emotional and psychic communication being related to the Realms without confessing that he had experienced it himself. Unfortunately she didn’t know much about the language, but did agree that with the nature of the Realms themselves, the format of communication made sense to her. Related to other inhabitants, she didn’t have much to offer either. She knew some of the godlike beings that stayed in the Infinite Realms, personifications of things like Time, Dreams, Creativity, and Fear among others. It was unclear if the King of the Realms ruled over these gods or if they were above him, but Jason was willing to bet on the latter if the previous Tyrant King hadn’t wiped out every other dimension before being deposed. So that was a small comfort at least. 

He mentioned the possible connection to the Lazarus Pits, and Raven had been shocked. She had some questions about where this theory came from, but when he gave no details about his contact she didn’t ask for any personal info. She expressed trust in his choices, especially since it was only a possible theory. Yet another win, in the back of his mind. She had no idea how something like that could have happened or what the potential fix would even be, unfortunately. Dimensional rifts usually ended up being pretty catastrophic, so if this was the extent of the damage so far? All things considered, could be way worse. That was what he gathered, at least. Together they had a minor theory that the relatively low consequences were the result of the rift connecting them to the Infinite Realms rather than another realm. Since this was a kind of framework for reality, it was more closely connected to every other realm than they were to each other. If you were to connect to another realm, Infinite Realms would be easiest. Stepping through a doorway rather than leaping to the other side of the building, as it were. 

Regardless, if this tear or rift was really the source, Raven had no idea how to fix it. She, nor anyone she was familiar with, had any experience on mending the fabric of reality. It was a tall ask, and he understood that. However, that didn’t stop his frustration. He was still grateful for her advice, and made sure to tell her as much. If she happened to start taking slow measured breaths for him to match intentionally, that was unconfirmed. He had a feeling, though. He knew she had her own struggles in the past with emotional regulation. She had offered before to share some tips with him, when he was less receptive. When he asked about it this time, he was thankful the offer still stood.

He left the conversation feeling somewhat lost, but thankfully less than after the conversation with his newest supernatural neighbor. Also this one came with an exchange of personal numbers, and a promise to call a little more often. Something something support system, something social life and relationships, whatever Harley told him about fixing the ‘whole thing he had going on’. Small steps. 

Now he had nothing left to do but prepare himself to attempt a casual conversation with the newest mystery that had made its way into his life. Was he going to get some more information? Sure, but he wasn’t actively going in with the interrogation mindset. Even the last conversation they’d had felt more like some kind of meeting than just meeting up. This was very explicitly a casual meet up. He had gotten several texts clarifying expectations, most likely due to nerves, but Jason suspected it also had to do with the potential crush this guy had on him. That was yet another thing he wasn’t really sure how to handle, but for now it was entertaining. And flattering. 

As they had agreed upon before, Jason would make his way over to Danny’s apartment (a bag full of homemade food in tow), and they would… just eat and talk. Over text he’d mentioned ‘some more stuff he could probably explain’ which could mean a lot of things. Personally he was hoping the explanation would include some more about the Infinite Realms, since there was a big knowledge gap here that not even Raven was able to help fill. Also maybe how to figure out if the Lazarus Pits were in fact connected in some way. Also maybe how he might be connected to the Infinite Realms. Also maybe- no, no that was enough. Focus on one thing at a time for now, priorities. (Though if he were to take advantage of a chance to test this crush theory a little more, just for fun, nobody had to know.)

The number of times over the past three days he had gotten some variation of, ‘Looking forward to seeing you Thursday!’ had done its job in raising his unfortunately low self image. He may or may not feel a little bit like hot shit with the enthusiasm he could sense even through text. He was allowed to feel a little cocky sometimes, for something other than being successfully threatening. The guy thought he was hot! He was caught mid-ogling! So what if his normal skulking became more of a confident stride?

Nightwing noticed. That was what. 

“What’s got such a pep in your step? Talk with Raven went well?” He could hear the grin over his helmet's built-in comms, quickly looking around to find the older perched on the corner of a tall building down the street. He was just along the border of his brother’s territory, seeming to wait for permission before coming closer. After a moment of deliberation, Hood turned his attention back to the streets below in wordless acceptance. 

“It did, actually. Was good to see her.” He ignored the prickling under his skin, the way it was urging him to push back. He didn’t expect it to go poorly. Remember what Raven said, how he talks about you. He’s just nosy, he’s happy to see you talk to her. He argued against his own mind, Dick already on his way over to Jason’s own rooftop. 

“Good! I could tell she was really happy to see you, told me she’s hoping you ask to meet up again.” Now that he was closer, when he was paying attention, he could see his brother’s face. It was a challenge not assigning him feelings, trying to take what he said at face value. He really did look excited, hopeful even. Deep breathing helped him keep his head steady.

“Yeah… I will. I want to, I mean. It was nice.” He looked away from his brother again. That bright and hopeful expression was a little much for him to look at directly for too long. 

“Sounds like it. You know, Star would always be happy to meet up if you wanted, too. She’s asked about you a few times, but I think she’s worried about overstepping.” The damn acrobat, trying to look casual by talking while hanging over the rail of the roof by his knees. Idiot. Everyone knows that’s not comfortable, what are you trying to do here? 

“Maybe. I love Star, but she can be… a lot to handle sometimes.” He found speaking honestly about things like this helped a lot when it came to his older brother. He had encouraged it, actually. Said it was good to understand his limits and all that, and didn’t silently judge like Jason would have once assumed. 

“I get it, pretty sure she does too, if we’re being honest.” He pulled himself back up to the rooftop proper, giving his younger brother a small smile. “Any chance to talk to your new friend in the Alley, by the way?” He feigned nonchalance, but knowing him as many years as he had, he could see by the line of his back and shoulders just how eager he was for updates. He couldn’t help the smile of his own, even though it would remain unseen. 

“Yeah, actually.” He tried to resist, he really did. The petty need to poke at his brother reared in defiance. 

“Pretty sure he’s got a thing for me. Maybe Nightwing isn’t a universal type, huh?” He was grinning, unnecessarily smug. It wasn’t often he got the chance to rile him up, even something so pointless, and the opportunity was too good to ignore. 

“Excuse me, I’m everyone’s type.” Dick scoffed in dramatic insult, “As soon as you let me around him he’ll have a new favorite.” He crossed his arms, grinning. 

The prickling under his skin came back, but it was tolerable. He knew his brother was joking, and they were having fun. Right? It was just for fun. He didn’t mean anything by it.

“Oh yeah? Wanna bet? Let’s test it, I’ll see how he feels about meeting a new bird and text you.” The annoyance was bubbling, bursting with the need to prove that he was better in some way. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it was childish, that this didn’t even matter in the grand scheme of things, but he couldn’t stop himself. Nightwing normally wouldn’t take a challenge if Hood was getting worked up, preferring to back down and keep the peace. The chance to meet Danny would be enough to tempt his brother into agreeing, and he knew that.

“Hm. Y’know what… if you really want, then sure. One no-questions-asked favor?” Dick was already bouncing at the idea, or maybe he was just getting fidgety after standing on the same rooftop for too long. It was kinda hard to tell, actually. An intrusive thought said to shove him over the railing for his excitement, but he crushed it under his boot like a cigarette butt. He was past the days of letting those thoughts win. He controlled them now, not the other way around.

“Sure. Works for me. Shouldn’t have to say it but no bribing, and no threatening him. Third party to ask him, Harley? She already knows him, you can talk to her if you want. I trust her to stay neutral.” He got a firm nod in response and a hand held out to shake. He took it, maybe squeezing a little harder than necessary. 

“Alright little hood, works for me. Can’t wait!” He was grinning again, and with a kick to his ass finally moved on to another building. 

“Why are you here anyway? Coming close to the border here, pretty far even if you’re in the area to help with something else. What d’you want?” He squinted behind his mask, feeling defensive suspicion creep into his posture. Nightwing, the next building over now, tensed.

“When Raven told me you guys had a good time I just wanted to-” He stopped suddenly, unsure of how he wanted to finish his sentence. Jason forced the tension to fall from his body, turning to face his brother fully. “I got a little excited. I just wanted to see you and say uh. I’m glad, is all. Sorry, I know it’s annoying when I just show up, but I-”

“Dick.” His brother went silent immediately, but it took him a moment to complete the thought even in the quiet. “Thanks. You are annoying, but… thanks for checking in, I guess. See you around.” He turned around and launched himself to the neighboring roof, unwilling to stay and continue. Silenced his comm even, just as he had hung up the phone the other day. 

Why did his emotions have to be such a mess lately? Even now he was tense, filled with too much for him to sort through. Warm happiness, guilt for his own suspicion, irritation, anger at himself for feeling the irritation, more guilt and sadness that he couldn’t stop it. It was late enough that late night was becoming early morning, and he decided his patrol had lasted long enough. He made his way home, forcing himself to sit and sift through the emotions that were overwhelming him. 

He did as Raven had told him, sitting down and focusing on his breathing after de-suiting in his barren apartment. Meditation. Many had tried to teach him before, but he had an ongoing struggle with the practice. It was a work in progress. It helped, at least. Giving himself time to sit with his thoughts, forcing himself not to get stuck on one for too long even if it came back again. It didn’t always work, but it did what it needed to this time. He felt more stable after taking the time to pick apart his feelings, and as he stood he realized he was physically exhausted as well. A look at his phone told him he had been sitting with his thoughts for an hour. Fuck. 

He found himself thankful he had done the meal prep for Danny, having food ready for himself to get something in his stomach before falling asleep. 

Tomorrow would likely be another strange conversation in a lengthening chain of strange and difficult conversations. Tonight, he could wash away the night’s patrol and pass out face down in his quiet, lonely bed.