Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gotham city’s East End. It was right next to Park Row, aka Crime Alley, kitty corner to the Bowery and the Cauldron, sections of the city run by the Russian Mob and Irish Mob respectively. At least they were until Red Hood came in and set up his own criminal empire. Honestly, that was the only reason Danny Fenton felt comfortable renting an apartment in the East End. Well, that and it was cheap and no one was going to give a second glance to a seventeen year old runaway. 

The apartment was cramped, with a small living room, a bathroom, kitchen, and a single bedroom. It smelled of cigarette smoke, with yellowed ceilings and walls. The single window had bars over it. A security measure. The carpet smelled of pet urine, and was ripped in places. It wasn’t much to look at. It was home though, now that he couldn’t go back. It would be warm, have electricity, and give him shelter. Honestly, those were the only things Danny needed at the moment. Unraveling his sleeping bag, he crawled in. Tomorrow would be better. He’d get a job. Text his sisters, Sam, and Tucker. He’d figure out what to do then. For now, all he wanted to do was sleep. 

***

Danny had officially been living in Gotham for three months now. He’d gotten a job at Batburger. It sucked, but it paid the bills. Ancients, did he hate dressing in the scratchy polyester Robin uniform. He kept getting the cape caught in this or just dunking it in things. Like the fryer. Not good. He’d almost gotten fired that day. Danny had proceeded to overwork himself the next few weeks, taking every extra shift he could, in case he lost his job. It had never happened, but it allowed him to put together a meager rainy day fund. Considering nearly every day in Gotham was rainy, he would need it at some point. 

The only thing that kept him going was, surprisingly, streaming. Sam and Tucker, being the bestest friends anyone could ask for in the whole world, had sent him a fairly high end desktop computer. Sam had provided the funds, and Tucker had built it himself, installing the best security on there and adding all of their ghost files. Due to Danny’s hectic schedule, he was often working when Sam and Tucker were online, and he was free when they were in school. 

Wanting to make some money online with his free time, he’d looked into Live2D to be a rigger and make models for people. That… hadn’t gone well. With his short attention span after working all day and no longer having access to his ADHD medications, he’d been unable to focus on the directions from the YouTube videos he watched. Danny’s first twenty or so attempts at rigging were horrid, with no improvement. 

He’d begun watching some streamers while attempting to rig, and it struck him. Why couldn’t he be a streamer? As long as he covered most of his face, he should be fine. Vtubing was out of the question for him. Those models were expensive to make and rig. Considering how he’d crashed and burned so far, there was no way he could make one on his own. 

Using some of his rainy day fund, he’d bought a microphone , a camera, and a pack of face masks. With that, UndeadNebula was born. 

Tucker and Sam (Ancients, he loved his friends and missed them dearly) had told their other online friends about his Twitch channel, and they’d come in droves to support the new streamer. They were an eclectic group, considering Sam and Tucker were vastly different people, with incredibly different hobbies. That led to him having ‘Going Goth Wednesdays’ ( Get it Sam? Cause it’s like going ghost but Goth!) where he dressed in black, put on some eyeliner, and played Horror games. He also had ‘Furrsome Fridays’ where he wore animal ears and played some animal related games or ones with anthropomorphic characters. 

So, he wasn’t a furry or a goth, but he was trying here. They were his first followers. He appreciated them, he loved them. But… it wasn’t really him. It wasn’t UndeadNebula. Or who he wanted UndeadNebula to be. 

He started to change things up, play more of what he wanted to play. Critiques on ghost videos, discussions about hauntings. His thoughts on vigilantes/heroes. Being an ex-hero (not that his viewers knew that) gave him a different perspective on their fights, exploits, and their perception in media. It was discussing Gotham’s current Robin, while wearing the Robin BatBurger uniform, that he went semi viral. 

***

“I don’t think that Robin is a bad person. Hell, he goes out practically every night to stop crime. You can’t really be a bad person if you’re risking your own safety to help others. I mean - think about it. He’s basically working two jobs. Whatever he does during the day, then goes out, getting cuts, bruises, concussions ! He gets no pay for it, just pain, then limps home to get a little sleep before doing it all over again.” 

The Robin discourse hit close to home, okay? He clearly remembered what it was like to be fourteen, staying up late almost every night to protect the city, getting cuts and bruises, suffering for his beloved town. Only to be called a menace and to be told to stop.

“So what he’s a little extra violent? Batman beats people to a pulp all the time, and no one says a damn thing. At least, not anymore. You’re just comparing this Robin to the others, who were nicer and less violent. Well. He’s not them! Stop it! Ancients, I hated it when my parents compared me to my older sister. She’s smarter than me, got better grades, didn’t fall asleep in class. Basically the perfect child.”

Robin had been young, young when he’d started. Younger than Danny. Sure, Robin had a mentor, which Danny was kinda maybe jealous of, but he’d been compared to the previous Robins. He knew how rough that was. Not first hand, but Dani had confided in him that she really, really hated to be compared to him. It was even worse for her, since she was Danny’s clone, and Vlad made it super apparent he saw her as a failure and Danny as perfect. Fucking Fruitloop.

“So yeah, I feel for Robin. I get him. He’s a better person than me. You know why? ‘Cause even though there are so many people giving him shit and dragging him through the mud on social media and in the press, he goes out and helps anyway. He has for years .”

Yeah, all the Robin discourse (not that there were many who defended the violent vigilante) hit close to home. Hence his passionate tirade. 

“If I were Robin, I would have given up on Gotham and the public years ago. Why should I help those who are constantly saying terrible things about me?”

“Also. I like that he roughs up the Rouges a bit. I don’t care if you think that makes me a bad person. I bet if you go look at the data, after Robin’s had a round with them, they stay in Arkham longer. A couple months, usually. Why? ‘Cause they have wounds and broken bones that need to heal. When Robin isn’t there to give them something to remember him by, they’re out in a couple days to a few weeks.” 

Okay, time to end this Danny. He was - He was going down a rabbit hole he really really probably shouldn’t.

“Ancients. I’m getting worked up here guys. Sorry about that. How about we take a quick break? See you in a few, Nebula out!”

Danny groaned, putting his head in his hands, his break music playing in the background. He was probably going to regret saying that he approved of Robin’s violent methods. He should probably avoid talking about Robin for the rest of the stream.

***

Someone had clipped it. His Robin Rant. That’s what they were calling it. The other RR. It caused a flood of people to come onto his channel, to search him, to try and look into who he was. He’d almost had a panic attack when Tuck showed him the analytics. 

“This is great for you, dude! You should lean into it! I could be your thing” Tucker encouraged.

“My thing?”

“Yeah, what you become known for. Like Corpse Husband is known for his deep voice, Disguised Toast for being incredible at Among Us. Your thing could be talking about heroes!”

“I don’t know Tuck. I don’t want to talk about heroes all the time.” Danny admitted, phone to his ear as he turned the electric kettle on.

“I’m not saying you have to, just start making it a recurring thing on your channel. Hero Hour or something. You can start wearing hero merch for it. Doesn’t BatBurger have those action figures of Gotham’s heroes? How difficult would it be for you to get all of them?”

“With how they run the place? Easy. What would I do with them? Rate the heroes by their action figures?” Danny poured the boiling water from the kettle over his cup of ramen.

“You could? I mean, everyone kinda thinks you’re a simp for Robin. If you actually rated Gotham’s heroes, I don’t think anyone would believe you if you didn’t have Robin as your number one.”

“Hero merch is expensive, Tuck.” Danny sighed as he stirred his ramen. The ninety nine cent kind that you could buy in bulk. He was ignoring the simp for Robin thing. He was not going to touch that with a ten foot pole. Nope. 

“Well, lucky you, your eighteenth birthday is coming up. You might find some in your gifts. I know I’m getting you something Oracle related. I know she’s real dude. She’s my idol. The one I aspire to be, my goddess-”

“Okay! Okay! I get it, you love Oracle.” Danny chuckled, cutting his friend off. 

“On a more serious note,” Tucker began, “are you thinking about getting your GED? That should help you find a better job. I know you hate BatBurger.” Danny sighed. He slurped his ramen obnoxiously, giving himself time to think.

“I want to, I really do. You know I have to be eighteen first. Don’t want my -,” he took a shaky breath, “the Fentons finding out where I am. I probably could start it now, but I would rather wait till after my birthday, and there is no risk. Plus I need to save up for the test prep books and stuff.”

“I could send you the pdfs for free.” 

“Hmmm. Yeah, sure. Textbook companies are evil. They price gouge. And barely make any changes and call it a new book!” 

“Someone’s been talking to Jazz.”

“It’s one of the few things she complains about college.” 

“Yeah. No worries dude, I hooked her up with PDFs of all her textbooks.”

“Thanks. You’re the best Tuck.” 

“You know it!” Tucker sighed. “It’s been fun talking to you dude, but I’ve got to get going. English paper from Lancer. Take care of yourself. I know you keep us updated in the group chat, but I still worry dude. You’re so far away now. I miss you.” Tucker’s voice caught at the end. Danny swallowed, his throat tight as emotion welled within him.

“I miss you too dude. I miss you and Sam so much. When - when you guys go off to college, I’ll visit you guys, okay? Doesn’t matter how far, I’ll fly there to see you guys.”

“Don’t make me cry dude, I wanted to end this call on a happy note.” 

“Not good to lock your emotions up. Jazz says so.” Danny tried to tease, but his watery voice made it fall a bit flat. 

“Night dude. Get me a Nightwing action figure if you can, ‘kay?”

“I will. Night.” 

Danny hung up the phone, then turned to his ramen. It had cooled off now, but he wasn’t that hungry anymore. Grumbling to himself, he made himself eat it. He needed the food, and he also wasn’t about to let it go to waste. 

***

Danny’s eighteenth birthday passed with little fan fare. There was no one to celebrate it with here in Gotham, and he didn’t feel comfortable telling his viewers about it. 

It was his gifts though, that cheered him up and brought tears to his eyes. Sam, hilariously, was trying her best not to let Going Goth Wednesdays die. She’d sent him fishnet shirts, fake piercings, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and some impressively heavy combat boots. She’d also sent him hoodies for each of Gotham’s vigilante’s. They were thick, yet soft. Perfect for the upcoming  winter nights. His heater wasn’t the most reliable, as he’d complained to Sam a few weeks ago. Tucker had sent him a fake katana, along with some cat headphones and Oracle stickers. It seemed neither of his friends wanted their days on his channel to die. 

Jazz though, Jazz’s gift had taken the cake. He’d been confused at first, by the manilla envelope and the tube. Inside were papers. The first congratulated Jazz on her acceptance to an internship at Arkham prison. The second were transfer papers. Jazz would be transferring to Gotham University at the start of the Spring semester. Inside the tube was an incredible print of the Ghost Nebula. There was a small note with it. 

See you soon, little brother. The print is to put behind you while you stream. If you want. I figured the Ghost Nebula was as close as I could get to UndeadNebula. I’m so proud of you Danny. Love you. 

That had made Danny cry. He wouldn’t be alone anymore, in this massive city. The loneliness has been slowly eating at him these last few months. 

From then on, each of his Hero Hours, he was wearing one of the hoodies Sam had sent, and the cat headphones became his permanent headphones. 

Hero Hour had become ridiculously popular. He was averaging over five hundred viewers whenever he did one. Apparently, people really liked his thoughts? His perspective was fresh, lively. New. It was so weird. 

With all the newfound attention, came people wanting to know more about him and more from his channel. They wanted more tiers, more emotes, more things Stardust (what he’d set the channel points to be called) could buy. He had the basics, like ‘Drink water’, ‘Stretch’, ‘Modify an emote’, ‘Unlock an emote’. He’d randomly decided to add a Community Challenge Goal of one hundred thousand Stardust to get him to wear the Robin BatBurger uniform on stream again. 

The goal had been reached in two days.

TWO DAYS.

What was his life?!?

***

Brown was being particularly annoying today, with her giggling and multiple glances in his direction. What was unusual was for Cain to be participating as well. He huffed to himself, trying to focus on his sketch of the birds just outside the window. They were in the library, for goodness sake. They were supposed to be quiet.

When their tittering continued, distracting him again and again, he turned around sharply. 

“Will you cease giggling?! I am attempting to work, unlike you two.”

“So violent. So angy.” Snickered Brown. Had she hit her head?!

“Cain, I suggest you take Brown to get her head scanned for a concussion.” 

Cain merely smiled, amused by something. 

“Dami, you have a simp! And they love how angy you are!” Brown wheezed out between laughs.

“What in the world are you talking about Brown?” He grabbed his supplies and stalked towards the two girls. 

“Restart.” said Cain. 

“Right, right.” Brown replied, ignoring the approaching Robin. “Here.”

It was a video of a black haired man with large sky blue eyes. He was wearing a Robin BatBurger uniform and had a medical facemask on, concealing half of his face. He was in a poorly lit room, clearly an apartment of some sort. He was relaxed, leaning back into an old office chair. 

Damian raised an eyebrow at the girls. What nonsense was this? Was another idiot complaining about his harsher brand of justice? Was that why Brown couldn’t pronounce the word ‘angry’?

The video began to play. 

“Robin, Robin. There’s been a few different Robins over the years. It’s been one of those identities that get passed on. Like a baton in a race. So let’s talk about the current one. The one a lot of people don’t like, the one a lot of people think is a bad person.”

After that introduction, the man (or was he a boy? he looked incredibly young) spun slightly in his chair, left right, left right. Damian stiffed slightly, waiting for the eventual condemnation of him. It was inevitable. It seemed that no one online or in the media liked him as Robin. They preferred his brothers or Brown. 

“I don’t think that Robin is a bad person. Hell, he goes out practically every night to stop crime. You can’t really be a bad person if you’re risking your own safety to help others. I mean - think about it. He’s basically working two jobs. Whatever he does during the day, then goes out, getting cuts, bruises, concussions ! He gets no pay for it, just pain, then limps home to get a little sleep before doing it all over again.” 

Shock flooded through Damian, his eyes widening just a fraction and his mouth opening slightly. What? Someone - Someone liked him? They liked him enough to dress up as him, to defend him, despite all of the backlash they would receive for it. 

The two jobs point was something that not many considered. What did they care if the vigilantes were getting paid or not, as long as they were there to save them. He knew most of his family suffered due to the dual nature of their lifestyle. Brown, Gordon, and Richard had set work schedules they needed to be mindful of, regardless of their night time activities. Father, Drake, and himself were required to show up at Wayne Industries, attend galas. 

The video continued. 

“So what he’s a little extra violent? Batman beats people to a pulp all the time, and no one says a damn thing. At least, not anymore. You’re just comparing this Robin to the others, who were nicer and less violent. Well. He’s not them! Stop it! Ancients, I hated it when my parents compared me to my older sister. She’s smarter than me, got better grades, didn’t fall asleep in class. Basically the perfect child.”

His mind whirling, Damian considered what he was hearing. Drake had explained to him that Father had been incredibly violent after Todd’s death, nearly killing some of the criminals he captured. He’d never seen Father be so violent. Additionally, when he first arrived and learned of this, the focus had been on Father’s demand he not kill. 

As for being compared with his siblings… That. He did. He hated it. He would never be as flexible as Richard, as kind and empathetic. He would never had the same burly strength and manpower that Todd had, or his iron will and determination that had allowed him to crawl out of his own grave and to rebuild his mind after the Lazarus Pits. Damian would never be as clever or insightful as Drake, nor would he have the engineering or technological prowess that his older brother had. Cain outmatched him, frankly everyone, with her stealth and grace. 

He was lacking, compared to his siblings. There was nothing about him that stood out, that was special compared to them. It’s why all the articles and comments comparing him to them made him so angry. And so… inadequate. He knew he was the least liked out of the vigilante’s and anti-heros that prowled Gotham’s streets. The online polls showed it, over and over again. His spot at the bottom of the rankings unchanging year after year. 

“So yeah, I feel for Robin. I get him. He’s a better person than me. You know why? ‘Cause even though there are so many people giving him shit and dragging him through the mud on social media and in the press, he goes out and helps anyway. He has for years .”

Damian couldn’t fight the blush that spread across his cheeks. It was nice, gratifying, even, that someone recognized how difficult it was sometimes to get up and keep going. Especially when your efforts were criticized and not appreciated.

The man’s brilliant blue eyes flashed with righteous anger and determination. They were mesmerizing.

“If I were Robin, I would have given up on Gotham and the public years ago. Why should I help those who are constantly saying terrible things about me?”

“Also. I like that he roughs up the Rouges a bit. I don’t care if you think that makes me a bad person. I bet if you go look at the data, after Robin’s had a round with them, they stay in Arkham longer. A couple months, usually. Why? ‘Cause they have wounds and broken bones that need to heal. When Robin isn’t there to give them something to remember him by, they’re out in a couple days to a few weeks.” 

The blush was spreading even further. This young man clearly liked him. It was incredibly flattering. He would - He would need to look into the statistics to see if it was true that the Rogues of Gotham stayed in Arkham longer after a bout with him.

The man seemed to have spent his anger, and now looked a bit sheepish. It was hard to tell with the mask covering the lower half of his face, but the arm rubbing the back of his neck clued Damian into how he was feeling. 

“Ancients. I’m getting worked up here guys. Sorry about that. How about we take a quick break? See you in a few, Nebula out!”

Nebula. That was the man’s name. He’d - He’d need to look him up again later. For research purposes. 

“Awww, look at him! He’s blushing!” 

“Shut up Brown.” Her smile shifted, into something softer. 

“It’s nice to have a fan, huh? He’s probably your first super vocal one.” She looked back at her phone, scrolling slightly. 

“Good news is that the internet loves him so far, so he hasn’t been bullied off it, like the others.” 

“What others” He huffed petulantly. 

“Were some. Drowned out.” Cain argued.

“Yeah, they got buried under hate comments and basically got bullied into staying quiet.”

After a moment of silence, Brown continued. 

“Anywho, his name is UndeadNebula. He’s a Twitch streamer. Since he went kinda viral, he’s been doing more hero stuff, so he might talk about you a bit more,” Her smile turned mischievous.

“You looking forward to that, Dami? Your cute little simp will probably gush over you a bit more.” 

“I am unaware what a ‘simp’ is. He is,” he paused, debating how he should answer this, “conventionally attractive. However, unfortunately for him, I am not interested.” 

“Awww, poor simpy.” she snickered. 

“I appreciate you showing me the video, Brown. However, as it is clear that I will be unable to draw in peace, goodbye.” 

Grabbing his sketchbook and art supplies, he hurriedly left the library. UndeadNebula. Who was he? Damian just had to know. 

***

“Alright chat. We’re doing something a little different today. Something you’ve all been wanting me to do.” Danny paused for dramatic effect. 

“We’re ranking Gotham’s vigilantes today! By their BatBurger action figure!” he exclaimed, lifting up the bag full of figures. 

Bringing up what he’d made in Teirmaker beforehand, he smiled at the camera. 

“First one one the list, Nightwing!” He pulled out the action figure from the bag and began inspecting it. 

“Nightwing is rumored to be the first Robin, but no confirmation from Batman. We might never know. Hmmm.” He turned the figure in his hand. 

“The eyes are creepy. The paint is definitely off around the mouth. Also, why go with the red suit, and not the super iconic blue one? C tier, clearly. Not good, but not terrible. Very middle of the road. Solid C tier.”

“Next is Spoiler. Love the purple.” Danny tapped his fingers against his chin. “Again, with the creepy eyes. I know it’s a BatBurger toy, and they’re basically Gotham’s McDonald’s, but you’re giving this to children. You should try to not make it scary. Just my opinion. A tier. The colors are good, pose is good. She looks badass.” 

Reaching into the bag again, he pulled out the next one. 

“Red Robin! Was he a previous Robin? Maybe? He showed up after the current Robin became Robin. Ancients, there are so many Robins and potential people who were Robins. Do you think this means there have been multiple Batmans? Hmmm.” Danny shook his head. “Sorry, getting off topic there, we’ll talk about Batman later, when it’s his turn. It’s Red Robin’s turn.”

He grimaced. 

“Yikes, poor RR. The paint is completely all over the place, especially on those harness things across his chest. It’s like a kid painting outside the lines. They bothered to do that line on his cape, where the top half is supposed to be black, and the bottom is red, but it’s just all red.” 

“Again, the eyes. At this point, it might be better just to leave the dominos black, and not bother to put the whites in for the eyes. That might look less creepy. The pose is bad. Like, Red Robin is flexing. The actual vigilante never struck me as someone who just goes around and flexes at people. Maybe Red Hood, but not Red Robin.”

Danny hummed, inspecting the toy some more. 

“I hate to say it, Red Robin is D tier. I’m so sorry that they messed up your figure so badly, Red Robin. Between the eyes, the paint issues, the weird ass pose… I’m so sorry dude.” 

Putting the Red Robin figure aside with a dramatic shudder, he pulled out the next one.

“Batgirl! As alway, the eyes. Pose is pretty good. I’m glad they’re giving the ladies such awesome, powerful poses. We like to see it. Again, so sorry RR. They messed up the paint a bit on the bat logo. Hmmm. A or B? Which one? What do you think, chat?” 

He brought the figure closer to the camera, turning it slowly, his eye on chat. It was scrolling far too quickly for him to tell. 

“Tell you what chat, how about we set up a poll? And set it for about five minutes? That seems reasonable. You guys are commenting way too fast and I can’t tell. Plus with the poll, people won’t be able to vote twice.” 

A couple clicks later, the poll was up, and Danny was able to lean back and relax a bit. A highlighted comment caught his eye. 

“Hammertime6 asks: What is the picture behind you? OH, this?” Danny rolled back, then jerked forward as the cord on his headphones pulled taut. 

“Oops.” He rolled back towards the desk a bit. “This picture was given to me by my sister for my last birthday. I - I really love space. Wanted to join N.A.S.A. one day and be an astronaut one day. That’s no longer possible now.” 

Another highlighted comment popped up. 

“Two minutes left in the poll. Illunimaghty69, nice name by the way,” Danny said with a laugh, “Why can’t you be an astronaut? So my family and I discovered when I was fourteen that I have a medical condition that means I’d be disqualified to be an astronaut. I might go to college and become an astrophysicist, but I still need to figure out my new dream, ya know?” 

“Aww, chat, don’t feel bad for me, it’s okay. I’ve had a few years to come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be an astronaut. I’m over it now.” Danny said with a fake smile (hopefully they wouldn’t notice). 

“Time’s up on the poll!” Danny said, changing the subject, “The people have spoken! Batgirl is an A tier! Congratulations Batgirl!” 

“Ah! It’s the Dark Knight himself! I mean, the cowl helps, but the eyes are still an issue. Hmmm. He’s basically all black? Except for the skin on his face and his eyes. I don’t know guys. It’s pretty good, but should we dock points for the fact that it’s not as complex as the others? And that it’s super lazy to have him be basically all black? I think so. B tier.” 

He laughed, a random thought popping into his head. 

“Ancients, chat! He’s B tier! ‘Cause he’s Batman!” 

It was stupid, but he couldn’t help but lose it at his dumb little joke. 

“Wait, wait,” he rummaged around in the bag, before pulling out Black Bat. “If Batman’s B tier for having his name start with B, then Black Bat has to be B tier as well! The B tier is for the Bs! No one else! It’s the B club!”

Finding himself hilarious, he continued laughing. 

Once he’d calmed down again. 

“We’re down to the final two. Robin and Red Hood. Let’s start with Red Hood. Gotta save Robin for last.” 

“Well well well. Red Hood doesn’t have the eye issue since his entire head is red due to the helmet. He’s got a cool pose, he’s more than one color, I mean, you’ve got reds, blacks, and browns. The colors are pretty much inside the lines…. Guys…. Do we have an S tier? I think we do!” He slammed the Red Hood figure down onto the desk. 

“You heard it here first, folks! Red Hood is S tier!”  

“ And now, last, but certainly not least, we have Robin!” Danny brandished the figure proudly in front of the camera. 

“Look at his little katana, guys! It’s a little bent, but not bad. He’s got a ton of colors. He’s a pretty complex figure. The colors are super outside the lines in areas. I almost feel like it’s expected at this point, but the eyes are messed up. His pose is cool, plus he has a katana. He’s A tier material chat. Solid A tier.” 

Danny ignored the flood of ‘simp’ that appeared in the comments. Whatever. He wasn’t a simp for Robin, he just… related to the guy. Respected him. That was all. 

***

UndeadNebula was a Twitch streamer. That much he already knew. He’d only been around for about four months, relatively small and unknown until the infamous ‘Robin Rant’ video. UndeadNeabula, also called Nebula, had recurring themes for his streams. On Wednesdays he dressed more gothic, adding eyeliner to enhance his eyes, making them even more enchanting. Damian could feel himself blushing when he saw the stills of Nebula wearing the most adorable black fluffy cat ears with little golden bells next to them. 

Damian - He had a soft spot for animals. He hadn’t realized though, that seeing this young man wearing cat ears would be so - so alluring. Damian was well aware that his preference in partners was male, but it was rare for someone to take his breath away, as Nebula did. He’d come out to the family as gay when he was sixteen. That being said, he could count the number of times he’d felt attraction to another male on one hand. 

He wanted to watch some of the streams. To see if his attraction to Nebula would fade once the other man opened his mouth and revealed his intelligence. Damian wasn’t expecting much. From his limited and little understanding of streamers, they were shallow vapid people who competed for the attention of the masses. It was, in a sense, a popularity contest. 

***

Nebula was… surprisingly down to Earth. He was humble, kind, passionate, clever, resourceful, and many, many more things. The hours had flown by for Damian, as he’d listened to Nebula’s previous streams. 

He’d caved, and made himself a twitch account. Red_Ghul. It was simple, elegant, and paid homage to who he was. Besides Richard, his brothers had Red at the beginning of their vigilante names, something Damian looked forward to continuing once he graduated from being Robin. The Ghul was obvious, as he was an al Ghul. 

Once the account was made, he followed Nebula. 

He surprisingly enjoyed all of the content that Nebula made. On these ‘Going Goth’ streams, Nebula played Horror games while dressed in goth attire. Some of them were more psychological than jump scares. Those were Damian’s favorite, as they often included puzzles or mysteries to solve. The Rusty Lake games had been particularly enjoyable, some of their puzzles and riddles stumping even Damian at times. Nebula hadn’t given up, prevailing in the end. 

Others had been incredibly profound, like the indie horror game The Cat Lady and Fran Bow. Nebula was respectful and contemplative during those, offering insights and opinions that, in Damian’s opinion, elevated the stream. 

Damian could not deny the streamer’s beauty either. The gothic attire looked incredible, contrasting with the pale, almost deadly, white skin. One stream, Nebula, had been wearing a fishnet top, with nothing under it. Apparently Nebula’s air conditioning unit was not working, thus the fishnet top and the short black shorts. The top revealed Nebula’s lean but muscular chest to all the viewers. There was just the hit of abs. 

He wanted to lick them. 

The urge to do so surprised him. He’d been attracted to a few others, but had never felt that compulsion before. Not that he’d seen any of his previous crushes (it was a crush at this point) in a fishnet top, or even topless. 

While the Goth streams made him feel a more carnal desire for Nebula, the ‘Furrsome Friday’ streams gave him soft, protective feelings. 

Nebula looked so innocent and sweet, wearing those damn cat ears. It made Damian want to make him a kitty burrito, using only the softest of blankets. He wanted to buy face masks with cat features on them for the other man to wear on stream. He wanted to spoil Nebula, give him everything he desired. He longed to stroke Nebula’s hair, feed him chocolates, then kiss him sweetly.

The other streams Nebula did were more spontaneous in theme. There, Damian had begun to get a glimpse into who Nebula was under the mask. Each tidbit of information made him ravenous for the next. The Hero Hour was Damian’s favorite miscellaneous stream segment. Nebula’s thoughts and opinions on different heroes was simply incredible. He guessed tidbits with stunning accuracy, and was incredibly fair to all heroes, even when they were receiving bad press. 

It baffled Damian. 

How could someone, out of nowhere, give him all of these conflicting urges? 

It was madness! 

One he wanted to indulge in. 

UndeadNebula’s next stream would be tomorrow, a Furrsome Friday stream. He needed to watch it. 

***

Danny didn’t know what he’d expected, but it was not him going semi viral again for his dumb BatBurger toy ranking. It’d just been some dumb fun. But people were reading too much into it, saying he had a thing for violent, angry men. Hence his ranking of Robin and Red Hood. 

Which, whatever. He was ranking the toys, not the actual vigilantes! It was pretty arbitrary! And all in good fun! But nooooo. He was still being called a simp for Robin, and getting crap for putting Batgirl in the A tier, when she clearly deserved to join Batman and Black Bat in the Bs only tier. 

That one was a fair judgment. The rest? Not so much.

Granted, it was only a small minority of people who were being rude and sending hate comments. 

It still hurt though. 

He thought he’d developed thicker skin than this, or was it merely that when he was Phantom, and receiving all the hate, he’d been too tired to care? Ancients, he was tired now, yet he still cared. Between streaming and all the extra shifts he was picking up at BatBurger, he hadn’t gotten much time to himself. 

The extra money from streaming was starting to become useful. Danny had been able to eat better food than ramen. Eggs, salad mix, bread, and deli meat were in his fridge, for once. It wasn’t much, but it was healthier than cup ramen. He’d also been able to buy some staples like rice, potatoes, onions, and carrots.

November was in full swing. The streaming money had also allowed him to make full use of the heater, ensuring the small apartment was warm. With Tucker’s PDFs, he’d started studying for the GED, and he actually had money aside to pay for him to take the test twice (although hopefully he only needed to take it once). 

Things were starting to look up for Danny. 

***

Damian sat at the desk in his personal study. He was going over some Wayne Enterprise documents for the upcoming quarterly earnings call. It would be a breeze between Father, Drake, and himself. Preparation was still necessary, especially if Damian wanted to have the company support the city’s TNR programs (Trap, Neuter, and Release). As much as he loved kittens, he hated that so many would be born on the streets. The city’s TNR program would reduce that number.

What was different about today though was the cheerful and colorful twitch interface on his leftmost computer screen. UndeadNebula’s stream would be starting in approximately three minutes. He could hardly wait to see the young man’s face, his head adorned with those black cat ears. 

Damian’s patience was rewarded by a soft, “Hello everyone,” a few moments later. The stream starting soon card fell away to reveal UndeadNebula. He was wearing a worn blue NASA hoodie that was a little large on him, the fabric bunching around his wrists and elbows. As was usual for the Friday streams, cat ears were on his head, blending in seamlessly with Nebula’s raven hair. The face mask was on, as always.

“How are all my stars and galaxies doing today?” asked the streamer with a brilliant smile. 

“I’m doing pretty well, work sucked, but I’m happy to be here with you! Hanging out with you guys always lifts my mood. Oh! So I plan on making a Discord server soon. I already caved and made a Twitter, which, to be honest, I hate. The bird app is not my friend guys. I swear, there are so many bots and assholes on there who like to send me mean shit. Um. Yeah. Discord! I will be making one in the next day or so, I’m going to add the invite link to my about page! I know Halloween is only a couple of days away, and I don’t usually stream on Tuesdays, but I’m thinking about doing a special one for spooky day!” 

“I mean, I’m very interested in ghosts, the afterlife, the undead, and all that jazz. Hence my name!” Nebula laughed. It was a nice laugh. 

“Which is perfect for Halloween! I think there’s some game where you play as a ghost, and that sounds right up my alley. Um, with that, how about we get started!”

Nebula booted up the game, Cat Cafe Manager. Time passed quickly, watching the young man coo over the cats, excitedly name them, and level them up. It was amusing how at first, Nebula was only interested in the cats and his cafe, but began opening up and falling in love with the patrons. 

Sometimes. 

When he was here, alone in the office, and his only interactions with others had been as Robin, he felt. Isolated. Alone. He was also one of the only members of his family not to have a paramour. Richard had Gordon. Todd had Harper and Koriand’r. Drake had Kent. Cain had Brown. Father had Kyle. 

That made him the odd man out. Alone. 

At least, that’s how he felt most days he worked in this office. 

Not today though. 

Nebula’s voice, coming through his headset, was comforting. Soothing. Relaxing. 

As the stream ended, he made his first comment in chat. 

Red_Ghul: Goodbye. The stream was enjoyable. I look forward to the next one.

***

Damian became an avid watcher of UndeadNebula, commenting more and more each stream. He just. He enjoyed the companionship. It also helped that Nebula was easy on the eyes. He even signed up for Discord, with the same handle (Red_Ghul) that he had on twitch. Nebula’s Discord server had started small, but was growing quickly. It was the same with the Twitch channel. 

Damian participated in the art channel, uploading sketches of Nebula first, before posting a whole variety of sketches. Besides Nebula, he never posted art with humans. Surprisingly, he’d received a direct message or two, asking if he did commissions. Damian turned them down. Once they had become available, he’d used his Stardust points to purchase a VIP role on the server. He was a tier three subscriber on Twitch as well.  

He was getting himself in too deep. It was fine though. There was nothing wrong with this. It made him happy. What was wrong with that?

Everything changed the day Nebula mentioned wanting a cat.

***

“OH MY GOD! LOOK HOW CUTE I AM! I’m a little orange kitty! I really love games with cats. I always wanted one, but my parents never let us have one. I CAN MEOW AT OTHER CATS!?! YES!” Nebula gushed. He was playing the game Stray, which had the player play as an orange cat in a post apocalyptic world. 

“I’ve thought about getting a cat, now that I’ve moved out and everything - Yes! I wanna scratch the pole! Wait - there’s - OH! That’s clever! One button for each paw! Scritch Scritch!” the streamer laughed happily. 

“My worry with getting a cat is taking care of it. I’m able to support myself, and I should be able to support a cat as well, but it’s the initial start-up costs, ya know?”

“I need to be able to buy beds, scratching posts, toys, a litter box, food, treats. That’s not to mention the cost of the adoption fee and to spay or neuter the cat. I don’t know if you’ve been to any animal shelters recently, but the cat also might need some medications for a little while. Kennel cough and respiratory infections can spread easily in shelters, even when the staff are doing their best to stop it. Since I’m adopting, who knows what the cat had previously gone though? They might need some additional care for - What the fuck?!?!?”

“I - is this a joke? Red Ghul?!? Did you accidentally add a few zeros? Because that’s a lot of money.” Nebula’s voice was raspy and choked, seemingly holding back tears. 

“I - I really appreciate the donation! If it was an accident, or you accidentally gave me too much, I think you have twenty four to forty eight hours to change or fix it before it goes on your card. Um, just give me a minute guys.” Nebula took off his headset, rolled out of sight of the camera. Faint screaming could be heard. 

“Okay. Okay okay okay. I’m - I’m good now. Promise. I’m just - We’re gonna keep playing the cute kitty game. Oh my god. Uh. Cats. Sorry, my brain is just - mush. It’s fried.” 

Nebula stayed mostly silent until the cat fell. Once that happened, the streamer proceeded to freak out, worried about the virtual cat. He resumed being his exuberant and peppy self once he was assured the cat was okay.

Damian relaxed after the whole donation fiasco. Five thousand dollars should be enough to adopt a cat. He’d been impressed by the thought and care Nebula had put into getting a cat. Not all potential adoptees were as thorough. It proved, to Damian, that Nebula deserved a cat. He had the means. The pleasure and glee he felt upon seeing Nebula’s surprised reaction was new, but not unwelcome. 

The stream eventually ended, far too soon for Damian’s liking. It was a four hour stream, but he liked Nebula’s voice and general demeanor. 

Nebula had barely signed off when he got a message in discord. His eyebrows raised. It was a direct message from UndeadNebula

UndeadNebula: hey, so like, just wanted to remind you that you can totally fix your donation so you’re not sending so much money or you can completely cancel it, no worries

Red_Ghul: It was not an accident and I meant how much I sent

UndeadNebula: uhhh what? dude, that’s 5k!

Red_Ghul: Yes. That should be sufficient for you to procure a cat. Or do you need more?

UndeadNebula: NO im good

UndeadNebula: i just don't get it

UndeadNebula: thanks? i’ll leave the donation for now so you can get it back if you change your mind

***

Red_Ghul had apparently not changed his mind, and the money went though. It showed up in his bank account. Fearing the worst, Danny let it sit there for two whole months before he admitted to himself that it was real. What. The. Fuck. 

However, by the time he’d admitted to himself that the money was real, Jazz was preparing to move to Gotham, and he did not have time to go to the shelter and pick up a cat. He was having to pack everything up, as he’d be moving in with Jazz. Her stipend from Arkahm and her scholarships paid enough for her to get a small apartment, and with the money Danny was making though his job and streaming, they could afford to rent a small townhome closer to the docks. 

The area had slightly less crime, and would give Jazz a shorter commute to Arkham. It was also located not too far from a bus line that could take Jazz to the university. The working fixtures and lack of mold in the town home were what sold Danny. It only took one day for him to move his meager belongings into their new home. He moved in after Jazz, not wanting their parents to see him. 

Their relationship was… complicated. They claimed they loved him, even though he was Phantom. But they still had no problem talking about ghosts as if they were less than human. His parents also weren’t subtle. Their every action projected their disgust with him, and their uncomfortableness to be around him. It had just been easier when Danny had left. When he’d run away.

They hadn’t bothered filing a missing person report after him. They hadn’t looked for him. Hadn’t tried to talk him out of it, knowing that he would be missing his senior year of high school. They had his number, but they’d never called. He’d kept it the same. Hoping. 

It had never come though. And it had been months. 

He was losing hope. 

At least they still cared enough not to out him to the government. Not to tell the Guys In White who he was.

That was a small blessing. 

Danny sighed. He’d just finished his first stream after moving in. He’d had to explain to his curious viewers that he’d moved. He’d tried to keep in vague, not wanting to accidentally give them any extra information. Information they could use to doxx him or find him. 

“Hey Jazz,” he called into the house.

“What?” came her yell from downstairs.

“You cool if I get a cat?” Jazz didn’t reply, but he could hear her making her way up the stairs. 

“Yes! I think a cat would be great for you, Danny.” Jazz proclaimed, coming into his room and sitting on his bed.

“We’ll have to pay pet rent, right?”

“Yeah, but it shouldn’t be too much extra a month.” 

“Cool. I still need to buy stuff for them, but I should be ready to go visit the animal shelters next weekend. You wanna come with? Help me pick out your niece or nephew?” Danny teased with a grin. 

“I’d love to! Have you thought about what kind of cat you want to get?” 

“Well, probably a black cat? They’re usually the least adopted cat. And an adult cat. They have a harder time getting adopted too.” 

“Alright. Do you have enough for the adoption fee? I can lend you some money if you’re short.”

Danny blushed,  thinking of the very kind and generous donation Red_Ghul had given him to adopt a cat. 

“Uh, no, I - I’ve got it.” Jazz eyed him suspiciously. 

“What aren’t you telling me, little brother?”

“Well,” he began sheepishly, “one of my viewers on twitch gave me a huge donation so I could adopt a cat.”

“That’s really sweet of them!” 

“Yeah. Yeah it is.” Danny said with a small bashful smile. 

“Do you think I should ask them if they want to help me name the cat?”

“That’s up to you, little brother. It’s your cat. Plus, what did they give you, like fifty dollars? I don’t think that will cover the adoption fee.”

“No, they kinda gave me five thousand?”

“WHAT!?!”

***

UndeadNebula: hey

UndeadNebula: so i’m going to pick out a cat today

UndeadNebula: i’m probably going to rename them

UndeadNebula: since you helped me adopt this cat, do you wanna help me name it?

Red_Ghul: I would be amenable to that. I am of the opinion the cat should be named after how it looks, and for the name to have meaning

UndeadNebula: okay

UndeadNebula: I’m thinking of getting a void

Red_Ghul: a void?

UndeadNebula: a black cat. They are the least likely to be adopted so i wanna get one

UndeadNebula: an adult too, since they also have a harder time getting adopted

Red_Ghul: A wise and compassionate choice. I approve. 

UndeadNebula: uh, thanks? Lol 

UndeadNebula: anywho, back to names

UndeadNebula: you got any ideas?

Red_Ghul: You enjoy space, no? 

UndeadNebula: yeah

Red_Ghul: Why not something space related? 

UndeadNebula: Hmmm that could work

UndeadNebula: how about galaxy? Or cosmos?

UndeadNebula: eclipse is a good one too

Red_Ghul: What about Orion? 

UndeadNebula: !! I love it! 

UndeadNebula: If the cat ends up being a boy, i’m definitely going to name him Orion

UndeadNebula: but what if they end up being a girl? 

Red_Ghul: Perhaps Celestia? That is a rather regal name

UndeadNebula: i mean it reminds me of my little pony but it’s a fantastic name

Red_Ghul: I am pleased that you like my suggestions. I am happy to have been of assistance. :) 

UndeadNebula: lol so you can use emojis! 

Red_Ghul: I can. I am familiar with some slang and lingo. My brothers have ensured that.

UndeadNebula: brothers

UndeadNebula: as in plural?

UndeadNebula: how many do you have?

Red_Ghul: I have approximately four brothers and two sisters

UndeadNebula: holy shit that’s a lot of siblings!!!

Red_Ghul: Yes. My father has an adoption problem. I am his only biological child. The rest are all adopted.

UndeadNebula: damn dude

UndeadNebula: i just have one sibling, a sister, and that’s enough for me

UndeadNebula: don’t need anymore

UndeadNebula: i’m younger, so she likes to boss me around a bit

Red_Ghul: I am the youngest of all my siblings as well. They certainly try to ‘boss’ me around but it does not work

Damian hesitated. How much should he reveal? This was a still relatively unknown streamer. They likely wouldn’t remember much about him. He should be fine, as long as he didn’t reveal anything too incriminating. Right? It would be nice to speak with someone who was not a vigilante, and didn’t know about his double life. It also helped that Nebula was a fan of Robin. 

Red_Ghul: I look forward to seeing the cat you choose

UndeadNebula: thanks! I have a few more surprises too, once the cat is home and adjusted

UndeadNebula: hopefully

UndeadNebula: cats aren’t always known for being cooperative

UndeadNebula: uh

UndeadNebula: do you have a cat? Or a dog?

Red_Ghul: I do. I named my cat after my pseudo grandfather. I have a dog as well. A Great Dane. I named him after a character in Shakespeare

UndeadNebula: pseudo grandfather?

Red_Ghul: My biological grandparents were killed when my father was young, leaving him an orphan. My pseudo grandfather was a close friend of theirs who took my father in. It is clear that Father views him as his father, and that my brothers and myself view him as our grandfather. Perhaps due to his loyalty to my biological grandparents, he does not encourage us to call him a familial name. 

UndeadNebula: huh

UndeadNebula: I’m sorry

UndeadNebula: I 

UndeadNebula: well

UndeadNebula: it’s not the same

UndeadNebula: but I’ve basically been disowned by my parents

UndeadNebula: i revealed to them something about myself and they couldn’t accept it

UndeadNebula: sorry

UndeadNebula: that was probably way more than you wanted to know

UndeadNebula: and probably not super relevant to the conversation

UndeadNebula: i just tend to relate to people through sharing similar experiences 

UndeadNebula: shit i didn’t mean to compare your dead grandparents to being disowned

Red_Ghul: Nebula. It is fine. 

Red_Ghul: I am sorry you were disowned for being gay

Red_Ghul: I am lucky to have older siblings who were already out when I told my father I was gay

Red_Ghul: It was still difficult to do so, even knowing he had accepted my siblings

Red_Ghul: Due to me being his only biological child

UndeadNebula: skgaisdjfksafid

UndeadNebula: i didn’t mean 

UndeadNebula: i’m not gay

UndeadNebula: but i am in the alphabet mafia

UndeadNebula: thank you 

Red_Ghul: My apologies, I should not have assumed. 

UndeadNebula: no worries dude

UndeadNebula: off to get the cat

UndeadNebula:  pictures will be sent soon of the cutie!

Red_Ghul: I look forward to them

***

Orion made his debut on the stream about a month later. Damian felt smug as Nebula showed off the black American short hair with emerald green eyes. Nebula’s surprise had been a cat cam, which was pointed at a very cozy looking cat bed with little fairy lights around it. Using the stardust coins, one could have Orion be fed treats, or be pet. 

After Damian and the other viewers abused that the first few streams it was on, Nebula put a limit on the number of times they could feed Orion. A timer was also added, so Nebula wouldn’t have to bother the cat while he was sleeping. In fact, there was a stardust reward that let you increase the timer so Orion could sleep longer without being disturbed by a pet. 

Damian was torn. Orion made an adorable little merrp noise when he was woken up from a nap to be pet. However, it was also incredibly rude to disturb the cat while it was sleeping. Depending on the day, Damian would either increase the timer, letting the sweet boy sleep all stream, or get Nebula to bug the cat with multiple pets. Damian was very tempted to use a coin flip to determine which side he should be each stream, but that made him feel too much like Two Face. He did not want to emulate Dent. 

It was inevitable that eventually his duties as Robin would prevent him from watching a stream. He knew he could watch it later. He was a tier three subscriber. It wouldn’t be the same though. He wouldn’t get to feed Orion or hear Nebula’s voice. Or get to see the man’s beautiful eyes. He debated, whether or not he should tell Nebula that he was missing a stream. He eventually decided against it. He was just another faceless person among the mass of viewers that UndeadNebula had. They may have exchanged some direct messages and he may have helped Nebula procure Orion. But he wasn’t special. He wasn’t.

***

UndeadNebula: hey

UndeadNebula:  hope this isn’t weird or anything

UndeadNebula: but you usually show up for my streams

UndeadNebula:  so I was kinda worried 

UndeadNebula:  you okay? You can talk to me if you need to

UndeadNebula: i’m happy to talk

Damian stared in shock at his phone. Nebula… had noticed he wasn’t there? He’d reached out? He hadn’t expected that. He could feel the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks. He’d need to respond to Nebula. 

“You okay there little D?” asked Richard, stepping out from the changing room in a pair of sweats and a loose T-shirt. 

“I’m fine. Just surprised by some messages on my phone.” Damian replied nonchalantly.

“Oh? From who?” Curses. Richard would not let this go. 

“An internet friend,” Damian hedged. A myriad of emotions passed across Richard’s face. 

“Hey Timmy?” 

“Yeah?”

“Did we ever give Dami that talk on internet safety?” 

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh?”

“I’ll take that as a no,” muttered Richard displeased. 

“I do not need a discussion on internet safety! I am not a child. I know how to be anonymous online.” Damian snapped, disgruntled that his brothers continued to act as if he was a child. He was an adult! He was nineteen! 

“Jay? Can you back me up here?” Richard asked.

“Hell no. Leave the Demon Brat alone. I don’t want to know what he gets up to online.” Todd retorted from the other end of the cave where he was fixing up his bike. 

“Thank you Todd,” Damian stressed, glaring at Richard, “at least someone here sees me as an adult.”

Richard pouted. 

“I just want to make sure you’re safe Baby Bat.”

“Admirable, I’m sure. Unnecessary though.” Damian stomped up the stairs leading to the elevator. “Goodnight!” he called as he stepped inside, heading back up into the mansion. 

He didn’t dare pull out his phone and reply to Nebula until he was safe inside his room. 

Red_Ghul: I am surprised and incredibly pleased you noticed my absence. 

Red_Ghul: I was merely unavailable due to a work commitment that I could not get out of. I will inform you next time I am unable to come to your stream. 

Despite the fact that it was early in the morning, around 3 am, he received a response.

UndeadNebula: !! i’m glad you’re okay! 

UndeadNebula:  i was getting worried 

UndeadNebula:  was also totally thinking about deleting those messages

Red_Ghul: Why? 

UndeadNebula:  because they are super embarrassing! And it was probably really dumb of me to message you like that

UndeadNebula: im gonna shut up now

Red_Ghul: I don’t think that.

Red_Ghul: As I mentioned before, I was surprised and appreciative that you reached out

Red_Ghul: I don’t think most streamers would have reached out to see if I was alright. It speaks to your kindness and your character that you not only remembered me, but attempted to check on me

UndeadNebula: alkdnflaksdjnlfkaj

UndeadNebula: asdklfjaskdjfa

Red_Ghul: Are you alright? Has Orion stepped on your keyboard again?

UndeadNebula: Ancients

UndeadNebula: you don’t realize it do you

Red_Ghul: Realize what?

UndeadNebula: it’s a keyboard smash

UndeadNebula: it’s an internet thing

UndeadNebula: it’s kinda cute that you don’t know

Damian blinked in shock before his face turned red. UndeadNebula thought he was cute?!? UndeadNebula? 

When he looked back at the chat, the final message was gone. Had he merely imagined it? No. He’d seen it. 

Red_Ghul: Thank you for explaining. 

Red_Ghul: I don’t really bother to keep up with Internet slang or language. People can sometimes be rather rude when I am unaware of what they are referencing

UndeadNebula:  🙁

UndeadNebula: i’m sorry that was really shitty of them

UndeadNebula: i won’t do that to you

Red_Ghul: I know. You are too kind. 

***

Danny couldn’t believe he’d called Red_Ghul cute. He’d hastily deleted the message, his face tomato red. Had Red_Ghul seen it? Hopefully not. It was just - Red_Ghul had been so kind. Sending him money so he could get Orion. Red_Ghul clearly loved animals, since he had proceeded to spend his stardust coins like crazy to treat the cat and to pet the cat. Not only that, but Red_Ghul was so formal in how he typed, always using proper grammar and punctuation, and not knowing a lot of internet slang, despite his claims his brothers had taught him. 

Danny sighed. He knew now that Red_Ghul was okay. He could go to sleep now. It had bothered him, that Red_Ghul hadn’t shown up. The man/boy (?) didn’t participate too much, outside of talking about Orion and interacting with Danny’s cat. The only way he’d found out anything about him had been through DMs. Red_Ghul was fascinating, in his own way. He wanted to know more about his mysterious cat patron. 

Danny groaned, rolling over in his bed. That would have to be for another night. He really needed to get some sleep. 

***

It was dumb. Really really dumb. Going out in Gotham at night. But Jazz needed him. She’d just moved, gotten her monthly visitor, and could not find her supplies in all of her boxes. So Danny offered to venture out and get some pads, a hot water bottle, ibuprofen, and some Twix, her favorite chocolate. Maybe he could even pick up a movie, and they could hang out on the couch for a couple hours.

It was a short walk to the nearest pharmacy. Gathering everything quickly, Danny paid and made his was back to their small townhome. As he walked, a heavy fog seemed to be rolling in, he sped up, trying to make it back to their place before it became too dark to see. He could use his ghost powers to bypass the fog, but he tried his best not to use them. He didn’t want to attract the attention of the Bats, any of Gotham’s rogues, or the government in general. Glowing eyes, turning invisible, and flying would potentially stand out. 

Danny picked up his pace. He was only about five minutes away from home, when he realized it wasn’t normal fog. It was some kind of gas, the few people around him starting to scream and run into the road, one getting hit by an oncoming car. A woman a few feet ahead of Danny pulled out her pepper spray and began trying to spray the air in front of her, but it was no use. His heart, which was normally slower than the average human, began to speed up. 

Nervous, Danny began to run down the street, dodging the screaming and panicking citizens. He held his breath, trying not to breathe in the gas as much as possible. Thank goodness he wasn’t a normal human. He fumbled for his phone, pulling up Jazz on his contact list. He hesitated, and decided to call emergency services instead. He needed to call them while he still had a clear head. He would be home shortly. 

“Hello, this is 911, what’s your emergency?”

“There’s some sort of fear gas attack happening down by the Docks. I’m at the intersection of Union Street and Race Drive,” Danny relayed as he ran.

“Okay, thank you. Police should be on their way shortly. Have you seen a man dressed as a Scarecrow?” 

“No, I haven’t. Plenty of people freaking out though. Some - some guy got hit by a car.”

“Please stay on the line as long as possible, sir. Are you able to cover your mouth in any way? Or stop the gas from coming in?” the person on the other end asked tensely. 

Danny had every intention of following her request until something up ahead caught his eye. It was his future self, dragging the corpses of his parents along behind him. 

“Hi Danny. It’s high time you turned into me.” Dan said calmly, fangs glinting eerily in the moonlight. His parents' corpses cracked and stood up, almost as if they were puppets on strings. Their eyes were ectoplasmic green, their grins cruel.

“Danno! Great to see you! Just the ghost we’ve been looking for!” Jack Fenton’s disturbing visage said cheerily. 

“Oh honey, you’re just so special! We can’t wait to study you! Of course, that’ll help you turn into our boy!” his mother said, linking her arm with his future self’s arm. In her other hand, she held a chainsaw that glowed a gristly green. 

“Sir? SIR? Are you still there?” came the operator’s voice from his cell phone. 

“No. This isn’t real.” 

“Of course it’s not real. That doesn’t mean it won’t feel like it is though,” Dan laughed cruelly. “Run Danny, run! We’ll get you eventually!”

Chapter Text

Danny was running, his heart pounding like crazy. He knew that the door to his town home was near here, but everything was warped, twisted. He couldn’t find his way home. Not only that, but he was running. Fast. Yet he couldn’t outrun Dan or his parents. They walked at a leisurely pace behind him. Calm and unworried at the stress they were causing him. His dad sent a few blasts his way from an ecto gun. They hit, causing Danny to stumble, his back and sides stinging and burning from the hits. There was no way this was real. His dad was a terrible shot. 

The burns though, they felt real. The racing of his heart felt real. Danny’s fear was real. 

How could the majority of this be in his head? He’d heard rumors of the fear gas, and descriptions of what it could do to you. He’d looked into all of the Rouge’s MOs. Ivy’s pollen. Joker gas. Riddler’s puzzles. The descriptions had done little to prepare him to face them in person. At times like this, he was thankful for his half human biology that kept the worst of his symptoms away.

His heart clenched.

Jazz. 

The gas would be able to slowly leak into their home, through the vents. She wouldn’t be safe. They - They should have made contingencies. Carry around respirators. Or something. 

They needed to be prepared. He needed - He needed to protect her.

He could vaguely hear the poor operator still calling for him from his phone, which he had in a vice grip. Feeling slightly guilty, he hung up on them. He’d done his job, alerting the authorities to what was going on here. Danny had heard rumors that Gotham’s vigilantes paid attention to police alerts. Hopefully they’d be on their way. Danny fell as a bola wrapped around his legs. He fell flat on his face, barely getting his arms out in front of him to prevent his fall. 

He turned back, horror filling him as his pursuers gained ground. Danny struggled to untie the bola. It wasn’t real, it couldn’t be! Yet he couldn’t move his legs. Jazz did always say that the mind was incredibly powerful. He was really wishing it wasn’t right now.

Danny desperately continued trying to untie the thick cording that was preventing him from getting away. He was too late though as three pairs of boot clad feet entered his vision. He looked up, eyes wide, at his parent’s and his own maniacal grins. 

Suddenly, a black and red figure landed in the middle of the three people standing over him. Their forms, wispy and translucent compared to this man's clearer visage. It was Red Robin. The bola, made of thick cord, faded under his fingers. It seemed that seeing someone who was real helped dissipate the apparitions. Good to know.

“You alright?” the man asked, reaching out a hand. 

“Ye - Yeah,” Danny said, grasping the hand, using it to pull himself up. It was easier to ignore his hallucinations when there was someone real in front of him. Red Robin was wearing a gas mask of some sort. The vigilante eyed him critically. 

“You’re not as affected as the others around here. Did you happen to see anything?”

Danny shook his head. 

“There was just a fog that came in. I thought it was just normal fog until people started freaking out. I called it in as soon as I could.” Danny rubbed his arm nervously, glancing at the phantom figures that were trying to divert his attention back to them, “I uh, would disagree on the whole not as affected thing. I’m certainly seeing shit.” 

“Right. But you’re not in a mindless state of fear like the others. What’s your name?” the vigilante asked. 

Thankfully, before Danny could answer, Red Robin’s head tilted as if he heard something. Danny could hear the faint sound of voices from the man’s ear. Probably a comm of some sort. Red Robin pulled out a little device which looked like an asthma inhaler.

“Thanks for the info, here, take this. One spritz should help you detox from the fear gas. Try to get home as quickly as possible. If - If you can, try to direct people to the clinic on Sea Scape Drive. They should have some respirators and a supply of antidote to the fear gas. They’ll be headed out once we give the all clear to administer them to the affected people, but the sooner people can get the antidote, the better.” With that, Red Robin grappled away. Danny looked at the small device, before figuring what the hell. He sprayed it in his mouth. Danny made a face. It tasted horrible. 

The effect wasn’t instantaneous, but it was much easier to ignore his hallucinations now. With shaking hands, he pulled out his phone. There were multiple texts and missed calls from Jazz. He dismissed them. He sent her a quick text that he’d been caught up in the fear gas, but was okay now, and that he’d be helping people get to safety. He would be home as soon as he could, was she okay? 

He looked around, now that his surroundings were no longer spinning. Where was he? He didn’t recognize the streets. Pulling up Google Maps, he used it to direct himself to the clinic. Apparently there were clinics like this stationed across Gotham, ready to deploy aid whenever there was an attack. Courtesy of Bruce Wayne, of course. The Prince of Gotham always did his best to ensure that people were taken care of. His sons Tim and Damian were following in his footsteps, running the company and using their wealth to help the citizens of Gotham. 

Danny helped any and everyone he could on the way. Once reaching the clinic, he assisted bringing people in. Since he’d already been hit and had the antidote in his system, he was the perfect person to attempt to lead fear stricken citizens to the clinic. It felt… really nice. Helping. It had been a long time since he’d been able to help anyone, and it felt right to assist his new city in a time of need. Even if it was as normal Danny Fenton. 

By the time he made it to the front door, his three hallucinations were long gone. 

“Jazz? I’m home,” he called into the house tiredly. 

“Danny?!? Are you okay?!” Jazz said worriedly as she came rushing down the stairs, holding her stomach. 

“You’ve been gone for hours, and you haven’t really been keeping me updated…” Jazz trailed off, taking in his sweaty and disheveled appearance. 

“Yeah… it’s a bit of a story. I got your stuff though!” Danny said, smiling weakly as he lifted the beat up plastic bag. Jazz ignored the bag and hugged him. 

“Thank you little brother. I wish you didn’t have to risk your life to get it though.” Jazz sighed sadly. 

“Welcome to Gotham?” 

Jazz groaned dramatically, before stepping back and making grabby hands at the shopping bag. 

“Come on. You can tell me all about your adventure after I have some ibuprofen and turn the heating pad to max.” 

***

Damian was relaxing, painting a picture of Titus out on the lawn while waiting for UndeadNebula’s stream. He hummed quietly along with the generic stream starting music. He’d thought about perhaps writing some music for Nebula to use during his different cards. Would that be strange? He wasn’t entirely sure. 

“Hi everyone!” came Nebula’s happy voice. Damian smiled, adding a bit more color to the grass around Titus. His smile dropped when he saw Nebula. There was a large bruise on the man’s temple. Who had hurt Nebula?!? Not only that, but the man looked incredibly tired. The bags under his eyes could rival Drake’s.

“The bruise? Funny story,” Nebula said responding to a question in chat. 

“So I was out buying something for my sister late at night. I know, dumb of me to wander around Gotham at night.” Nebula stiffened. “Oh, uh, forgot I never mentioned that when I moved, I moved to Gotham! Can’t really beat those rent prices, can ya?” Nebula said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

“Have I seen any of the vigilantes yet? Hold on, hold on, let me finish my story! Cause I did meet one, up close!” 

Damian racked his brain, trying to remember if he’d saved any men recently with beautiful sapphire eyes. He couldn’t think of any. He was certain that if they met in real life, he would recognize Nebula by his voice and his eyes. A surge of jealousy ran through him. One of his siblings must have helped the streamer. Or possibly his father.

“So! As I was saying, I was out and about, being dumb, and this weird fog came in. Turns out Scarecrow released a bunch of fear gas into the city. It was pretty wild. I hallucinated and ran around the city in fear for like, forty minutes or so? I was eventually saved by Red Robin. He gave me something to help counteract the fear gas.”

“Hmmm? Is Red Robin hot? Uhhhh, I’m gonna plead the fifth on that one.” Nebula responded tactfully, his body language betraying his uncomfortableness at the question.

Damian caught a hint of blush peaking out from the surgical mask that UndeadNebula usually wore. He felt numb as he watched the chat devolve, asking if Red Robin had dethroned Robin as Nebula’s favorite vigilante. If Red Robin had princess carried the man to safety. There was also the childish responses, talking about Nebula and Red Robin kissing in a tree. 

That one in particular enraged him. He Robin was Nebula’s favorite! He would not have Red Robin dethrone him! 

Jealousy surged through him. He was fine with Nebula talking about other heroes during hero hour segments, but this was different. He wanted to get the conversation away from Red Robin having saved Nebula. It didn’t matter that Drake had a boyfriend, UndeadNebula and other viewers didn’t know that. He - He didn’t think he could bear it if he Robin was no longer Nebula’s favorite. 

A ding sounded in the stream. UndeadNebula looked off to the side, before making a choked surprise sound. 

“RED GHUL. WHY.” The streamer yelled. “Okay. Okay. Okay.” Nebula continued, clearly freaking out a little bit. 

Emblazoned on the little pop up, which let those watching the stream know that Red_Ghul had donated ten thousand dollars, and that Nebula needed to get more Robin merch. The ‘wear the merch on stream’ was rather implied. As was Red_Ghul’s favorite vigilante. 

The chat went nuts, flying by far too quickly for Damian to read. He huffed and resumed painting, feeling smug. Nebula continued to freak out on stream, the fact that Nebula had gotten saved by Red Robin entirely forgotten. 

After some continued surprise and gratitude for Damian’s donation, Nebula resumed his regular programming. He was playing some Five Nights at Freddy’s. There were quite a few of these ‘FNAF’ games. Nebula was making his way through the first game.

Damian had finished his painting of Titus. He had decided to take his laptop to his room and sketch while finishing the stream. He pushed down his feelings of guilt for his rash actions when he was consumed by jealousy. He suspected Nebula wouldn’t be happy with him. Nebula had been appreciative for the assistance in getting Orion, but not the most receptive to the help. This though? Damian had no good reason for having donated. He had no desire to admit to succumbing to his baser emotions. It was not something he cared to share with the streamer. Said streamer would more than likely be contacting him after this stream was over. 

He glanced at the time on the laptop. Nebula’s streams usually lasted four to five hours. There were about two and a half hours left at this point. He needed a distraction, something to keep him busy while he waited to be contacted on Discord, and to distract him from his conflicting feelings. 

Drawing. 

Drawing would help. 

He idly sketched Nebula cuddling Orion. He sketched his guesses of what Nebula looked like without the mask, he already knew what Neebula looked like without a shirt - 

He shook his head. 

No.

UndeadNebula was very attractive. That did not mean he should draw the man in states of undress. 

He really shouldn’t. 

He eyed the stream. Nebula had just gotten jumpscared and died. Damian looked at the about section of UndeadNebula’s twitch page. According to this, Nebula was 19. The same age as him. 

Well. 

It was in his sketchbook.

No one would know if he drew UndeadNebula in a more… not safe for work manner. 

He might as well do it, since he would more than likely no longer be in the man’s good graces.

Damian brought his pencil to the page and began to sketch. 

***

UndeadNebula: WHAT THE HELL DUDE

UndeadNebula: YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT

Red_Ghul: Do what? Donate?

UndeadNebula: YES!!!

Red_Ghul: You literally have a section on your twitch page about how to donate. That seems rather counterintuitive if you do not want people to donate

UndeadNebula:  aslkdfslkdjf;ksjf

Red_Ghul: I don’t see how this warrants a keyboard smash

UndeadNebula: I’m cool with people donating, but dude

UndeadNebula: you’re donating so much

Red_Ghul: So it is merely the amount that you object to? 

UndeadNebula: I 

UndeadNebula: you’ve already donated

UndeadNebula:  you’ve already done so much

UndeadNebula: you helped me get Orion

Red_Ghul: Yes, and it was my absolute pleasure to do so

Red_Ghul: I enjoy seeing you happy 

UndeadNebula: dslkfs;lkf;lkj;kjldsgbfjl

Red_Ghul: Again, I do not see the reason for a keyboard smash

UndeadNebula: i just

UndeadNebula: i know i’m not the brightest but

UndeadNebula: i think i get it now

UndeadNebula: you like getting me things? 

Red_Ghul: I do. It makes you happy. Eventually. 

Red_Ghul: You don’t strike me as someone who indulges often, or buys things for yourself. 

Red_Ghul: I have no problem encouraging that behavior in you. 

Damian grimaced. He knew he sounded defensive and some of his comments were strange. He was more than likely pushing Nebula away with his concerning words. He did not want to lie to the other man though. Guilt ate at him, for donating and making the man uncomfortable, and for his drawings afterward. It was wrong of him to make such drawings of a potential friend. Damian was weak, around Nebula. Allowing himself to succumb and indulge in his baser desires. For his inappropriate lust for someone he was attempting to call a friend. 

No. 

He wanted more than that. He wanted to call Nebula his boyfriend, to have the other man belong to him alone. He wanted it to be reciprocal, for Damian to belong to the streamer, just as Nebula would belong to him. He wanted to kiss him, to hold hands, to be in the other’s embrace, to embrace Nebula, and so much more. 

He was a fool. 

Giving his heart to a stranger on the internet. 

His phone dinged, Nebula having replied to his messages. 

UndeadNebula: i uh

UndeadNebula: it’s a bit unconventional but hell

UndeadNebula: i could use the money

UndeadNebula: Robin merch, huh?

Red_Ghul: Yes

UndeadNebula: got it

Damian stared. The conversation had gone much smoother than he had thought? Nebula did not appear to be angry with him? It also seemed that Nebula would be more receptive to his donations in the future?

He was glad that the streamer would let him provide and take care of him. Nebula deserved it. He glanced down at his multitude of sketches, blushing. He was willing to admit to himself now that it was not just a passing physical attraction that drew him to the streamer. He hoped - He hoped his attraction was not too obvious. They could never be.

It was a nice fantasy. 

That was all it was, all it could ever be. 

No matter how much his heart desired it. 

As long as he could see Nebula’s face, and be the reason for some of his happiness, he would be alright. 

He had to be.

***

“Hello?”

“Tucker. I might be a sugar baby.”

“... Okay I’m gonna need you to back up a bit.”

“You know Red_Ghul?”

“Yeah, the person who helped you get Orion, right? Who dropped five K like it was nothing?”

“That’s the one. He dropped ten K for me to buy Robin merch. And wear it.” 

Silence

“What the fuck dude,” came Tucker’s eventual response.

“I know right? And like the guy isn’t that up to date on internet terms and shit. I had to tell him what a keyboard smash was not that long ago. I messaged him afterwards, and I don’t think he realized that by doing this, he’s basically making me his sugar baby?”

“Like. It’s his money. He can do with it what he wants.” 

“Right.” Danny agreed.

“Dude. If he wants to spend it on you, go for it, I guess? Embrace it. As long as you’re comfortable with it. If you’re not, shut that shit down now. FYI, I’m gonna look into him. I did a little bit already, but I’m gonna do a deeper dive now. You’re my best friend dude, and I wanna check out who your sugar daddy is. Just to make sure he’s safe.” 

“Thanks. I appreciate it, Tuck,” Danny said fondly. He thought for a moment before answering the rest of Tucker’s questions. 

“Um. I think I’m okay with it? I mean, he seems like a nice dude. Probably a little repressed, but really kind. And he loves animals. And he loves all the pictures and videos of Orion that I send him. Red also types with fancy words and uses proper capitalization and punctuation. Who does that?” Danny asked with a laugh, his voice soft.

“Danny.”

“Yeah?”

“How often do you talk to this guy?”

“Every couple days or so, why?”

“You do realize that’s almost as much as you talk to Sam and I?” 

“Uhhhhhh”

“Danny. Do you maybe like this guy?”

“What?!? No! I just want to be his friend!” Danny protested. 

“Uh-huh. Okay. Well. Let me know if that changes, okay?” Tucker said placatingly.

“I will.” Danny relented.

“You should also maybe talk to Sam about this. And Jazz.” 

“I mean, Jazz already knows. She kinda lives with me, so she gotta hear me freak out on stream when he donated earlier.”

“That’s good. And Sam?”

“She didn’t answer, so I’m gonna call her again in a few hours.”

“Good to know I was your third choice.” Tucker replied bitterly. 

“Tucker,” Danny admonished. “You know it’s not like that. Jazz would have been last to know, if she didn’t live with me. And S comes before T in the alphabet.” 

“Sorry. I just - even though you and Sam broke up, sometimes I still feel last or a bit excluded.” Tucker admitted. 

“Well, you’re not, okay? I know me saying that won’t change anything, but hopefully with repetition, and time, you’ll realize that. Actions speak louder than words, that whole shebang.” 

“Thanks Danny. I miss you.” 

“Miss you too. How’s life been for Too Fine Tucker Foley’s life?” Danny teased. That garnered a laugh out of his friend. 

“Eh, you know. Same old same old. No one is interested in me and I can’t wait to get out of this town.”

“You been applying to colleges?”

“Yeah, both Sam and I have. We’re applying to Gotham U, just so you know.”

“Tucker. Please, you don’t have to. Don’t pick a school because of me.” 

“I mean, seeing you again is a factor, but I know you wouldn’t forgive yourself dude if I went to Gotham because of you and I didn’t end up following my dream. But I’m telling you, that’s not the case dude. Wayne Enterprises is headquartered in Gotham. They have an incredible pipeline from Gotham U straight into positions at Wayne Enterprises. Plus, my goddess, Oracle, is more than likely based out of Gotham.” 

“Ah, Oracle. What are you gonna do if she doesn’t exist,” teased Danny, reassured by Tucker’s little rant. 

“If she doesn’t exist, I will eat my hat,” Tucker said passionately. 

Danny laughed. The two continued talking for a while before eventually Tucker had to go. Tucker still had plenty of homework left to do for the next day. 

***

“Well, my lovely stars and galaxies, that wraps up the Hero Hour portion of this stream. I figured in the time that we have left, I could try something new!” Danny paused, letting his chat get to a suitable level of excitement. 

“So, when I was first looking into being a streamer, I thought about potentially being a VTuber! I know, I know, can’t really imagine me as one, can you? But! There are a few free sample models, and I figured I could mess around with them on stream for a bit, why? ‘Cause one of them is a black cat of course! I can be a black cat like Orion!”

“How is the little prince? He’s good! Last I saw him, he was off pestering my sister for pets. Knowing him, he’ll be by shortly,” Danny said with a laugh. “He’s a smart kitty and he’s figured out that stream time means treat time. You guys like to spoil him and he loves it! So he tends to show up eventually.” 

A loud meow had him turning his head. There was Orion, tail held high, padding towards him. 

“Speak of him, and he shall appear!” Danny reached down and attempted to scoop up the cat in his arms. Orion dodged his hands, padding away, before coming back closer, showing Danny his butt, hoping for pets. 

“Buddy,” Danny admonished, “you can’t run away if you want pets! Come here!”

Scooching a bit forward, he managed to grab the cat, who gave a protesting meow as he was lifted in the air and secured in Danny’s arms. Accepting his fate, Orion began to climb up a bit, exploring Danny’s shoulders and face. Sniffing at the medical mask, Orion decided to bite and tug at the strings the held the mask up. 

“Orion! No - I need that!” Danny scolded, leaned his head away and held the cat out. “Come on, let’s get you in your bed.”

Danny felt nervous. He had his arms full of a cat, so he couldn’t really fix the mask. It felt like it was still covering a majority of his face, just very askew on one side. It was probably showing more of his face than he wanted. Rolling over a bit, mindful of the cord of his headphone, he deposited Orion on his bed. Flicking a switch, he turned on the small heating pad inside the bed, setting it to the lowest heat possible. He wanted his precious kitty to be comfortable and warm. Danny adjusted the cat cam and turned on the fairy lights. There. Orion was all set up. Now the cat just had to lay down.

Orion took his time, pondering if he wanted to nap for a while. Leaving the cat to make up his mind, Danny rolled back over to his computer. Chat was probably going to be going nuts about something.

Sure enough, chat was gushing about his freckles. And his butt, which they’d unfortunately gotten a good look at when he’d bent over to pick up the cat. Danny felt - he felt slightly uncomfortable. He didn’t like that they were ogling him like that. There were a few sexual comments and innuendos. He quickly removed their comments from the chat and banned them, not wanting that sort of stuff on his stream.

“Sorry about that! Just had to get Orion set up there. Just want to remind you that this is generally a family friendly stream! There might be some cursing, but that’s pretty much it! Sexual comments will not be tolerated and you will be banned!”

Ancients, he needed to get some more mods. His sister and friends were able to help out when they could, but they couldn’t always make it to his streams, like this one. There was… someone who he might consider a friend, who was often available for his streams. A certain person who might/may be his - Ancients, it felt weird to even think it - his sugar daddy.

“Okay! PSA over! Time to become a cat!”

***

Jazz was sitting at the desk in her room, furiously typing away at some essay. Danny walked in and flopped onto her bed. The typing stopped. Orion wandered in, having followed Danny in hopes of more treats and attention.

“Rough stream?”

“No,” Danny sighed. “Just… comments.”

“You know not to pay attention to those, and to try not to look at them.” Jazz said gently, resuming to type. 

“I know, I know,” Danny huffed. He rolled over, so he was on his back, staring at the ceiling. “I’m used to the hate comments. Kinda. They suck, but whatever. I - there was an issue today with my mask. And I leaned over a bit to get Orion.” 

Jazz didn’t respond, but she had stopped typing again. He turned his head. She’s swiveled in her chair, facing him. He sighed. 

“There were some more… sexual comments about me. It was. Weird. I didn’t really like it.” 

“I don’t think most people enjoy being objectified,” she said. “I’m curious though, you dealt with - with similar comments from other students at Casper High, with Phantom. What’s different about this?” Danny groaned. 

“That’s the thing! It’s not that different! I mean, Paulina had a freaking shrine to me in her locker! I heard some of the things they said about Phantom, about me! I don’t - I don’t know why it’s affecting me so much.”

They sat there in silence for a few moments, pondering. The cat wandered further into the room, approaching Jazz and rubbing against her legs. Poor baby. So desperate for pets, even though he’d been spoiled during the stream.

“I - This is just a guess, so I could be wrong. But… Phantom was kind of a buffer. They were saying those things about Phantom, not Danny. These people, they see Danny. They’re making these comments about Danny. You were able to separate it before, because it wasn’t directed at you, not really. At least, to you. Does that make sense?”

Danny turned his head to look back up at the ceiling. 

“Yeah. Yeah I think so. It - It makes sense. Thanks Jazz.” He sighed. “What do you think I can do, to stop it?”

“No problem. I don’t really think there is anything you can do.” his sister replied gently. “You can ban people, when they cross the line. But their interest in you and your life, well, I don’t think that’s really gonna go away. You’re going to have people fall in love with you, Danny. You’re going to have people who see you as a close friend. That’s unfortunately the reality. There aren’t a ton of studies on para social relationships yet and how they’ve drastically changed due to the rise of social media, but what I can tell you is that you’re filling a social need for these people. Something they can’t get currently in their daily life. And that’s going to make them attached to you.” 

“Do you think I’m going to get a stalker?” 

“Well. You already have a Sugar Daddy,” she teased, unable to resist and attempting to lighten the mood. Jazz reached down, giving Orion the pets he was desperately asking for. With his enhanced hearing, Danny could hear the purring start. 

“Ugh. Don’t remind me!” Danny couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face at the mention of Red_Ghul. 

“You gonna stay a bit?” Jazz asked, looking up from the oh so important task of appeasing the cat. 

“Might as well take a nap, I’m already here.” 

“You do have your own bed,” Jazz accused amusedly. 

“Your mattress is nicer.”

“Alright. I’m here if you need anything, or want to talk some more.”

“I know. Thanks.”

“Sleep well”

***

Perhaps asking Nebula to wear clothing with his Robin symbol on it had been a bad idea. It brought up some… more possessive urges. He’d thought he'd stamped those out in the early years of living in Gotham. As a young teenager, he’d been possessive of Batman, of being Robin, of Richard, and been possessive of his pets. It had taken years for him to learn that his possessive tendencies tended to be a bit much, and that others would not tolerate them and work with them as much as his family had. He’d thought he was no longer such a person. 

Seeing UndeadNebula in a fitted jacket styled after his own Robin costume while wearing the fluffy black cat ears had made Damian’s pants tighter than usual. And made him want to draw obsessively in his sketchbook. Things he wanted no one but himself to see. 

He… enjoyed seeing Nebula in his symbol and colors. Nebula had worn a Robin sweatshirt, along with sweatshirts with the symbols of the rest of his family. That hadn’t affected him very much. This though… this had. Was it because Damian had asked Nebula to wear it? And Nebula was doing so? 

He didn’t know. 

Either way, he was feeling a lot of things. 

Mainly possessive and carnal things. 

With shaking hands, he sent a donation to UndeadNebula. 

The familiar sound of a notification resounded through the speakers. The chat began to go wild seeing it was another heft sum from Red_Ghul. Nebula, the tops of his cheeks which were visible above the mask turning tomato red, turned his head away from the stream in embarrassment. 

Red_Ghul donated $15,000! 

Said the banner. The note Damian had typed with his donation appearing right below: 

You look good in Robin’s colors

***

UndeadNebula: I um

UndeadNebula: thanks again

UndeadNebula: for the donation today

Red_Ghul: Of course. You fulfilled my request. Why wouldn’t I reward you for it?

UndeadNebula: ;lkdjf;skdjf;ksj;dssssifj

Red_Ghul: You do that often

UndeadNebula: only with you

UndeadNebula: don’t do it that often with others

Red_Ghul: Does that mean I leave you speechless at times?

UndeadNebula: yeah 

UndeadNebula: yeah it does

UndeadNebula: i just

UndeadNebula: what do you do that you can just drop 15k like it’s nothing?

Red_Ghul: I am a C level executive at a multi billion company

UndeadNebula: …

UndeadNebula: WELL

UndeadNebula: i was expecting something like that, but i didn’t think you’d be C level

UndeadNebula: uh

UndeadNebula: how old are you

UndeadNebula: if you don’t mind me asking

UndeadNebula: no pressure to answer or anything

Red_Ghul: I am 19. Which is the same as you.

UndeadNebula: 19

UndeadNebula: right

Red_Ghul: You do not believe me.

UndeadNebula: i mean

UndeadNebula: it’s a bit convenient dude

UndeadNebula: also 19 and a C level exec?

UndeadNebula: smells fishy

Red_Ghul: You are correct that it is rather rare. However, it certainly does happen. 

Red_Ghul: You mentioned in a previous stream that you live in Gotham. Timothy Drake became the CEO of Wayne Enterprises at a young age. 17 I believe. 

Red_Ghul: His younger brother, Damian Wayne joined the board at the age of 18 and has been working as the CFO for a while now. I believe he is 19 as well.

Red_Ghul: Those are some famous examples from your own city. 

UndeadNebula: you have a point

UndeadNebula: but like

UndeadNebula: they got their positions initially due to nepotism

UndeadNebula: but totally proved that they deserved the positions

UndeadNebula:  did you get your job due to nepotism

Red_Ghul: Yes, in a sense I did. 

Red_Ghul: I am aware that others resent me for it. However, I can not change the family that I was born into. Nor the fact that I have a long and prestigious history of both my mother’s or my father’s side.

Red_Ghul: I do my best to prove that despite the nepotism that granted me my position, I am worthy of it.

Red_Ghul: I acknowledge that at the beginning I struggled to adapt to the rules and attempted to circumvent them to do it my own way. My father and my family were very patient, and I eventually saw the reason things are done the way they are done. It is not without reason. 

Red_Ghul: My apologies. This hit a rather… sore spot. 

UndeadNebula: you’re good dude

UndeadNebula: thanks for telling me

UndeadNebula: i didn’t mean to be rude or anything

UndeadNebula: or poke you in a sore spot

UndeadNebula: i also totally get not being able to help the family you’re born into

Red_Ghul: I know. You do not strike me as a person that would take advantage of another person’s pain. You are far too kind for that. 

UndeadNebula: you don’t really know me

UndeadNebula: not really

UndeadNebula: you just see what i want you to see

Red_Ghul: Perhaps. Perhaps not. 

Red_Ghul: While you do hide your face, your body language has always been open and honest. 

Red_Ghul: Your reluctance to take my money and willingness to return it when I offered you funds to adopt Orion speak volumes about your character

UndeadNebula: i was just trying not to get scammed

Red_Ghul: If that was the case, you would have taken the money as soon as the waiting period for me to claim it and get a refund occurred. However, you waited an additional two months before taking the money and using it. 

Red_Ghul: I have also never gotten the impression that you have misused the funds I have sent

Red_Ghul: You indicated that I overpaid when it came to adopting Orion. From my observations, you did not spend any of the excess money on yourself, it all went to Orion. You bought a variety of cat beds and purchased some cat trees and the equipment necessary to have a cat cam on your streams. 

Red_Ghul: I am of the opinion that you did not misuse them this time either, buying a variety of items and clothing that is Robin themed. 

UndeadNebula: what do you want with me

Red_Ghul: I want you to keep streaming. I enjoy your streams. They help make the monotonous work day go by faster. 

Red_Ghul: I want for you to be happy, and to live a less stressful life. What I donated today will surely allow you to indulge in some of your hobbies and provide for you for a short while. 

UndeadNebula: that’s it? Nothing else?

Red_Ghul: What else could I want from you?

UndeadNebula: a lot. 

UndeadNebula: i need to think 

UndeadNebula: thank you again for the dono

Red_Ghul: You are most welcome. I will be here. 

***

“Man, I love Jackbox! They’re such fun party games! It’s nice playing with you guys, because then we alway have a full group, and we get some audience participation! I would try to play this with some friends and my sister back in high school, but it wasn’t as fun, since there were only four of us.” 

“Anywho…” Danny said, trailing off. 

“I think you all can see this wonderful Nightwing hoodie that I’m wearing. You guys know what that means, right? We’re due to have Hero Hour today! And it’s starting now!” Danny clicked a button on his stream deck, letting the music play and the banners change to indicate that he was starting his most popular stream segment. 

“Hype! Yes! Let’s get hyped!” Danny said with a smile, dancing along with music.

“Good question, JesterLavoure92, we’re gonna be talking about Supes and the Super family today! They’re right across the bay in Metropolis, so like, I can’t not talk about them! Plus, Supes is an alien. I fucking love aliens!!”

“No, GetDemKnights, I am not going to get into a Gotham vs Metropolis fight. Besides, we all know who would win anyway,” Danny grinned, “I am quite biased though. Will totally admit that.”

“Anywho, the Supers! Superman himself has been around longer than I’ve been alive. I’m pretty sure. Might need to double check the year. Then came Superboy I and later Superboy II. Supergirl. The shiny Steel Superman. I know there are more, but to be honest, I don’t keep track of them. I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t really know why you guys like this so much. It’s just me spouting off about heroes for a bit.” 

“Ah well, who am I to ignore my viewers? So, due to my whole love of space thing, I love aliens. So when I was a kid, I read every article I could on the man. Because he was an alien! And when I found out there were more?!?” Danny lifted his hands excitedly and tried to spin in his chair. 

Keyword there was tried. The cord on his headphones yanked him back. 

“Damn it! I always forget about that! You’d think I’d remember after doing this for, oh wow, has it really been almost a year?” Danny glanced at the chat, before chuckling. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m really all over the place today. It’s just one of those days. What were we talking about? The Supers, right. So the first one, Superman, has been around longer than I have. We were told that he was the last one, but then, more kept coming out of the woodwork! So like, sure, one of them could be Supe’s kid. But I’m willing to bet some of them are clones. Now, hear me out!” Danny said, holding his hands up in a placating ‘wait’ gesture. 

Danny paused, letting chat freak out about the whole cloning thing. 

“Okay, so think about it. With how young Supes looks, do you really think he had a kid that young? Superman? The big blue boy scout? Him getting someone pregnant when he was a teenager does not sound like something he would do. I mean, he totally could have a mask and just have a stellar reputation.” 

“I don’t think that’s the case though. If you listen to Superman’s critics, it’s mainly about how powerful he is, and how often he ends up getting controlled. Nothing about him being a terrible person. That is why I’m partial to the clone theory. Also, if Star Trek taught me anything, it’s that hybrids between species are hard to make. Well, that and homoeroticism,” Danny said with a snicker.

“Hmm? Who am I talking about as the clone hybrid people? Oh, the Superboys! Like, their age and how much they look like Superman makes me think that. As for the whole hybrid thing, they don’t really have all the same powers as Supes? At least, I don’t think they do? Or it doesn’t seem like it?”

“As for the other two I mentioned, Steel is clearly some sort of Kryptonian automaton. One that protects. Kinda like a Golem, from myth. Now Supergirl… I think she’s a full clone? Like a full alien, not a hybrid. Obviously, there’s clearly some physical differences. But like. Maybe that’s just how female Kryptonians look? Like, you know how on Earth, there are color differences in birds. Peacocks are what’s coming to mind.” 

“Yes yes, Supergirl is female. But like, there can be mistakes. When cloning. Not that I’m saying she’s a mistake, just that it might explain why she appears to be female and Superman is not. But then again, we have no idea if Kryptonians fit our Earth gender norms. Not only that, but I think we don’t even understand our own that much. Gender is just… so complex. And I’m willing to believe people in whatever they say they are.” Danny mused, looking pensively at Orion’s cat bed. 

“Oh no. Look at me, getting carried away again. Let’s talk about some of their recent exploits, shall we?” 

***

It was a week or two and multiple streams later before Damian heard from UndeadNebula again. He’d missed their chats, but he’d wanted to give the other man space. It has pained him to do so, however he did not want to ruin their budding friendship, or whatever it was they had.

UndeadNebula: hey

Red_Ghul: Hello

UndeadNebula: can i call you?

Damian blinked, stunned. Nebula wanted to talk to him? Over voice chat? Once it sunk in, he scrambled to find a pair of headphones. He really should think this over, but he hadn’t spoken to Nebula in twelve days, and it was bothering him. He has participated in chat and given treats to Orion, but little else. He would not miss this opportunity. 

Red_Ghul: Of course. One moment. 

Red_Ghul: I will admit, I have never used Discord’s voice call feature. I assume it is rather straightforward. 

UndeadNebula: yeah

UndeadNebula: let me know when you’re ready

Damian eventually found a pair in the drawer of his nightstand. They were a simple pair of wired headphones. He plugged them in and then sent a message.

Red_Ghul: I am ready now.

Voice Call Started

Damian clicked the button to join, then paused, listening. 

“Hi?” asked UndeadNebula. 

“Hello.” Damian replied. 

“Red_Ghul?”

“Yes? Who else would it be?”

“I don’t know, I was just making sure,” huffed UndeadNebula. 

“So uh. You have a thing for Robin?” Damian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 

“I do not have a ‘thing’ for Robin. Of the vigilantes that patrol Gotham regularly and on occasion, he is not even my favorite. That would go to Nightwing. Or Batman. That being said, he does not have many supporters online. Your video in which you defended him is what drew me to your channel. You were incredibly insightful and had a multitude of points that others have not made in regards to the vigilante.” 

“Similarly to you, I think Robin deserves more praise for what he does. After all, just like the other vigilantes, he goes out nearly every night, risking his life and giving up his time to protect others. It is disheartening that he is not given much credit, especially since he is less violent than he once was. Unfortunately, mistakes made in his youth are all the media seem to remember him by.” 

UndeadNebula began to laugh.

“What? Nothing I said was humorous or untruthful,” grumbled Damian. 

“Ancients, you talk just like you type!” came Nebula’s answer between peals of laughter. 

“I don’t know why you assumed otherwise.” 

“I don’t know either,” came the amused response. 

“Well. What was the purpose of this call?” 

“Honestly? To see if you were real. And to see what you sound like.” 

“Oh,” Damian said disappointed. He wanted to talk with UndeadNebula more. 

“Mmmm. So. Besides watch my streams and work, what do you do for fun?”

“I enjoy painting. Animals mainly. I do play the piano and a variety of other instruments. However I do that mainly to ensure that I do not forget how to do so.” 

“That’s it? You don’t hang out with friends or anything?” Nebula asked incredulously. Damian grimaced. 

“I have been told my personality… leaves much to be desired. I have few friends. I do spend time with my siblings. My eldest brother and I ‘hang out’ often.”

“Hmmm. Since you like art, do you go to museums often?”

“Not as often as I would like, my schedule is very busy.” Damian admitted sadly. 

He wished he could go see the traveling Monet exhibit that would be at the Gotham Museum of Fine Arts for a limited amount of time. It was doubtful that he would have a chance to go before the exhibit moved on to another city. He could always fly to the city it was currently in, but that would take more time, time he did not have to spare. 

“All work and no play makes Red a very dull boy. Can I call you Red?” 

“I do not see why not.” Damian sighed. “I suppose I am rather dull, compared to you, aren’t I?”

“No no! Not at all! I don’t think that!” 

“It is kind of you to say that. The life of an executive is spent the majority at work, doing endless amounts of paperwork and reviewing countless documents.” 

He couldn’t exactly tell UndeadNebula that he was Robin. That was one of the few interesting things about himself, but he couldn’t reveal that to a civilian. It was a sobering thought. Besides being Robin and his last name, be it al Ghul or Wayne, there wasn’t much to say about Damian himself. Damian felt himself grow rather gloomy at the thought. 

“I have little to offer in terms of companionship.” 

“That’s not true! You’re interesting! You’re surprisingly humble and down to earth despite your wealthy background. You have a kind heart and a soft spot for animals! That’s clear from how much you love and spoil Orion! You have a unique way of talking, and I think you’re fun to talk to! You may be a little gruff and prickly, but I think you’re a really nice person at heart, it just takes some time to get to know you!” 

Damian felt himself smile. 

“Thank you Nebula.” 

“That makes you similar to Robin, doesn’t it? That’s why you emphasize with him so much, right? People see your tough exterior and your fancy vocabulary and think you’re a cold person. But if they just gave you a chance and got to know you, they’d know you’re a really caring person who wants to help others. Just like how everyone disregards Robin as a hero, but he continues to save people, no matter what they say about him.” 

“I - “ Nebula halted for a moment. He took a deep breath, then continued talking. 

“I grew up in a small city with a young teenaged hero. He didn’t have a mentor and was doing everything on his own. He was probably about 14 when he debuted? I was in high school at the time. Us high schoolers knew how helpful he was, and how he was protecting us. The adults and the media only saw the property damage that happened whenever he fought villains. It didn’t matter to them how many people he saved. It just mattered how much he cost them in terms of tax dollars. It - It really sucked.” Nebula took a shaky breath. 

“Eventually the hero disappeared. The villains didn’t disappear though. Again, the leaders of the city and the adults basically said good riddance. A couple months after the hero disappeared, and millions in property damage later, the villains were still there. They didn’t attack as often though. The leaders of the city claimed that it was proof that the hero was drawing the villains to the city in the first place. Even though that obviously wasn’t the truth.” 

“That’s - that’s why I will defend Robin as best as I can. Because I’ve seen what happens when the heroes disappear. And Robin is out there, doing his damnedest despite everything. And he’s really fucking strong for doing that. I really admire him for it. So I wanna be in his corner. Loudly too. Because then hopefully he’ll see it, and know there’s someone rooting for him, someone on his side. Because - Because I think that’s something my town’s missing hero really needed. Someone out there who was on his side. Sure, he had helpers, people who knew him in his civilian identity. But someone who was willing to stand up for him in public against all the hate and the lies.” 

“Thank you,” whispered Damian, finding himself a bit choked up. “I - I really needed to hear that.” 

“Um,” Nebula laughed awkwardly, “No problem! I didn’t really mean to rant about it for so long.” 

“I think - I think Robin will hear you. You did go semi-viral.” 

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Nebula groaned. “I suppose the only good thing about going semi viral is that means there’s a better chance Robin heard me.” 

Damian couldn’t stop the small watery chuckle at Nebula’s antics. He didn’t want to. He felt… like he could bare his heart to the streamer. The streamer understood him. It was freeing, in a way. 

Damian glanced at the clock on the wall. 

“As much as I have enjoyed our conversation, I’m afraid I must cut it short. I have some meetings to attend shortly.” 

“Oh! Yeah, sure, no problem. Would you - Would you want to talk again some time? In a voice call?” Nebula asked shyly.

“Yes. I would like that.” 

The two men said their goodbyes and hung up. 

The rest of the day, Damian turned heads wherever he went. 

It was a rare day indeed when Damian Wayne was smiling.

***

Danny and Red_Ghul began to call each other using discord frequently. Red had a lot of meetings, but they were often able to chat for around thirty to forty minutes a day. That didn’t include all of the texting they did too. Red had finally sent Danny a picture of his Great Dane and his black and white tuxedo cat, named Titus and Alfred respectively. Both of the animals were adorable. Red had started sending him pictures of his paintings as well. They were incredible. Danny gushed over each and every one that he was sent. 

Danny’s first year of streaming came and went, as did his nineteenth birthday. He felt a little bad about misleading Red_Ghuld into thinking that he had already been nineteen. He’d lied slightly on his about page on Twitch. He didn’t want to reveal too much about himself, but he also didn’t want to make elaborate lies. It was easier just to say he was one year older than he was. Red_Ghul was twenty now. His birthday had passed sometime in spring, the other man being vague about when it was. 

He also no longer needed the money as desperately. UndeadNebula was starting to take off, and he had been able to quit his job at BatBurger. That had been a fantastic day! He’d also obtained his GED! Sam and Tucker had arrived in Gotham too. It had been so wonderful to see his friends again. They’d asked him about Red_Ghul. His blush and over enthusiastic answer had been all the confirmation that they’d needed that Danny was falling for his mysterious Sugar Daddy. It felt weird to call Red_Ghul that. The other man still donated far far too much money to Danny. Much to Danny’s amusement and embarrassment, the higher donations always came when he was wearing something Robin themed. 

Reassuringly, Tucker had gone and investigated Red. Red was more than likely Damian Wayne, based on the account used to donate money to Danny. Which meant that everything Red - Damian - had told him about himself was true. The man was 20, he was a ridiculously rich executive. CFO of Wayne Enterprises, to be exact. Damian’s father’s company. Wayne Enterprise’s donations to animal shelters had increased nearly tenfold after Damian had been found and added to Bruce Wayne’s list of children. There were also a multitude of programs created to help animals and to provide free veterinary care for those who could not afford it. All clearly influenced or created by Damian. 

Danny felt a bit strange, knowing who Red_Ghul was. Granted, they didn’t know for sure, but… Red_Ghul was either Damian Wayne himself or a really really good catfish. Danny knew what he was hoping for. 

Everything was going incredibly well for Danny, he could hardly believe it. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had a feeling it would be coming soon. 

National Coming Out Day. 

He’d come out to his friends and family. Jack and Maddie had been accepting of his sexuality, but not his liminality. 

Red_Ghul would be accepting. Probably. 

His viewers? Who knows. They might revolt. While society was becoming more and more accepting of those in the LGBT community, some identities were still not as accepted. Even within the community. 

Danny sighed. Whatever. 

He didn’t. 

He didn’t want to hide who he was anymore. 

And maybe. Maybe this would help him take a leap of faith when it came to Red_Ghul. 

Or not. 

It could all blow up in his face. 

***

UndeadNebula: hey red

UndeadNebula: so

UndeadNebula: i’m going to be coming out on stream for national coming out day

UndeadNebula: just an fyi

Red_Ghul: Okay. I support you in this endeavor. 

UndeadNebula: thanks

UndeadNebula: i’m just nervous

Red_Ghul: There is no need to be. Your sister accepts you, as do your friends. 

UndeadNebula: not all of them

Red_Ghul: Which one does not accept you? I will find them and convince them otherwise. 

UndeadNebula: lol 

UndeadNebula: it’s you you dork

UndeadNebula: you’re my friend

UndeadNebula: and you don’t know yet

UndeadNebula: so there’s no way for you to know and accept me yet

Red_Ghul: Ah. Well played

Red_Ghul: You could tell me now

UndeadNebula: nah

UndeadNebula: more fun if you find out with the rest of the stream 😛

Red_Ghul: Very well

UndeadNebula: i know i usually announce stuff at the beginning of the stream

UndeadNebula: but i think i’m gonna do it at the end 

UndeadNebula: just in case

Red_Ghul: That sounds wise.

Red_Ghul: Well. No matter what you come out as, I support you. 

UndeadNebula: lol

UndeadNebula: thank you

UndeadNebula: you’re a good friend

UndeadNebula: i really appreciate you

UndeadNebula: um, after the stream, can we talk for a bit?

Red_Ghul: Of course. You know I enjoy speaking with you

***

“Thanks everyone for coming and watching! I had a lot of fun! I know I’m stretching the rules a bit by playing Pokemon on Furrsome Friday, but I really wanted to play some before the new game comes out… Awww, thank you Okapi27! I’m glad that you agree that Pokemon totally counts! Oh! Before I sign off! There was one last thing I wanted to announce!” 

Danny took a deep breath. He’d prepared extra for today. He was wearing his comfiest Robin hoodie with the Furrsome Friday cat ears. He didn’t usually wear makeup on his Friday streams, but Ancients, he needed some extra confidence. So he’d put on some eyeliner and mascara, with just a touch of glitter. Because why the fuck not. 

“As some of you may know, today is National Coming Out Day!” Danny said with false cheer. Hopefully they wouldn’t notice how nervous he was. 

As expected, chat went nuts. 

“I know! I’ve gotten a couple questions about my sexuality over the past year or so, but I’ve never really answered them. I’m out to pretty much everyone in my life, so this National Coming Out Day, I figured I’d come out to the last people who didn’t know, and to you, my stream!”

“So uh. Who here is aware of Asexuality? It’s a spectrum, and I’m on it. I’m demisexual.” Danny rushed out. He awkwardly did some jazz hands, not fully sure what to do.

“What is demisexuality? Chat is flying by so fast, but I bet that’s what some of you are asking. Well, I need emotional connection with someone before I feel sexual attraction to them.” Danny could feel himself sweating. Time to explain the romance part, then bring it home and end the stream. 

“I’m panromantic, which means in terms of romantic attraction, I am attracted to people regardless of gender,” Danny recited from memory. “The last week of October is actually asexualtiy awareness week. Considering today is October 11th, it’s coming up soon!” 

Danny ignored the majority of questions being sent in the chat. Time to end the stream. 

“So now you know! There are a couple of other creators out there on the ace spectrum too! JaidenAnimations has a really cool video explaining it all. You should go check it out, especially since I’m probably doing a terrible job explaining! Thanks again to everyone for coming and hanging out! See you soon! Bye!” Danny waved, a fake smile on his face before he clicked the button to bring up the stream ending screen. 

He sighed, and collapsed back in his chair. 

Time to talk to his sister, call Sam, Tucker, and Red and ignore the internet for the next couple days. His sister and friends had all watched the stream. They congratulated him on coming out. Tucker was keeping a close eye on social media, Sam and Jazz keeping an eye on the discord. They’d definitely had to ban a few people. The initial reaction seemed to be confusion. Which… wasn’t surprising. Demisexual wasn’t really that well known. It would take a few more days before the true reaction to his coming out would be. 

Danny sighed, and gave himself a few minutes to calm down, drinking his water and stretch his legs. Then he hopped into a call with Red_Ghul. 

“Hey Red”

“Nebula. Congratulations on coming out!” Danny laughed, his stomach still twisting with nerves. 

“Thanks! It was really scary!” 

“I don’t doubt it. However, it is over, you can relax now,” came Red’s soothing voice. 

“Yeah. Relax”

“What is wrong?” 

“I - Well - What did you think of my sexuality?” Danny asked hesitantly. He knew there was a vulnerability to his voice that he couldn’t hide. 

“I will admit that I am lacking knowledge when it comes to asexulity and the asexual spectrum. You did explain demisexual well, in my opinion. I think it made sense. I have found that some of my siblings are perfectly capable of having relations with someone immediately after meeting them. Myself and the rest of my siblings are not like that. We prefer to know our partner first before taking them to bed, if you will. If I am understanding correctly, there is a difference. While for myself and my siblings, it is a preference, for you it is a need to have an emotional connection?” Red asked. 

Danny gulped. Yup, Red_Ghul understood. He was such a smart cookie. Okay, you can do this Danny!

“Yeah, you pretty much got it. It’s also that I don’t feel sexual attraction to people before establishing that emotional connection. I uh,” Danny laughed awkwardly, “In high school, I was worried that I wasn’t normal, since I wasn’t feeling the same desires that my best friend was feeling. You know, my IT friend, so I just copied him when it came to having crushes on girls. He also tended to like girls out of our league, so there never really was a chance of them liking me back. And well, the few dates I did go on, never went too far. In high school at least.” No need for Danny to mention that he was a high school drop out. Or that his friend Sam, known to Red as Chaos, was the last long term relationship that he’d had. 

“Hmmm. I appreciate the explanation.” 

“So. Red.” 

“Yes?” 

“I’d say we are pretty good friends.” 

“I would like to think that.” 

“I - uh I was wondering,” Danny hedged. 

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if you were potentially interested,” Come on Danny. It’s not that hard. Just ask him to be your internet boyfriend or something , “in knowing more about each other!” Shit. Nice going Danny.

“I am. I am a very private person. That being said, we have been in correspondence for over a year. I suppose we could begin to reveal more about ourselves to each other.” 

“Yeah! I would love to meet you in person one day!” OMG Danny, way to be pretty obvious with your crush.

“That would be nice.” 

They lapsed into silence. 

“Congratulations again, on coming out and a successful stream Nebula.” 

“Danny. It’s Danny. And thanks! Good night Red!” 

“Damian. Good night Danny.” 

With that, Red_Ghul, aka Damian, left the call. 

“Damian,” Danny whispered to himself. 

Well, he may not have ended up confessing, but at least he managed to confirm who his crush was. Sam and Jazz would insist that it wasn’t an actual confirmation, that it could still be a catfish. But. Danny had expressed wanting to meet one day, and Red - Damian - had been receptive. That would be nice. Danny got up and made his way to his bed, flopping back onto it. He sighed. 

“Damian. What a nice name. It suits him,” he whispered to himself, his cheeks burning. He ignored it, rolling onto his side and hugging his pillow, smashing his face into it. Ancients, he hadn’t even met Re- Damian, yet he was already crushing on him. Hard. He was so screwed. 

***

Damian had been surprisingly really nice these past couple months. He was actually smiling more, more relaxed, and overall just… happier. Dick figured it had something to do with whoever he was constantly texting. He’d come once, to Wayne Enterprises, to surprise Damian by going out to lunch. He was really proud of Damian, and how he’d proven that he was more than capable of helping run Wayne Enterprises. To his surprise, Damian had some headphones in and was talking to someone, a large grin on his face. It clearly wasn’t for work, as Damian was telling whoever was on the other end how one of his brothers (Jason) would pick up Alfred the cat and dance with him when no one was around, and how Damian had caught him. It was a cute story. 

All signs pointed to Damian having a boyfriend. 

His first. 

Sure, Damian had gone out on a few dates, but they generally hadn’t really gone anywhere. Whoever this person was, Damian was falling. Hard. He doubted his little brother realized it. Damian had unfortunately inherited Bruce’s inability to process emotions like a normal person. Both father and son were rather… emotionally stunted. Thankfully Damian wasn’t as bad as his father, but that was only due to Dick’s own influence. It would probably take a couple hints and some nudging before Damian realized he was in love with whoever it was. 

Which is why he’d waited till a night where Robin and Nightwing patrolled together. If the night was quiet, they could go out for ice cream and Dick could ask about Damian’s newest friend. It was a perfect plan. 

***

The so-called perfect plan was falling apart.. 

There was a shootout happening over in Crime Alley between two rival gangs. Unfortunately Jason was off on a mission. Dick was not going to get a chance to talk to his baby brother. Not how he planned. Maybe they could talk once they got to the Batcave? Only problem would be that then the rest of the family would hear… and Damian wouldn’t appreciate that. 

Dick growled in frustration, punching a bit harder than normal. 

“Grumpy much?” teased Steph as she took down a few more gang members. 

“Just,” Dick said as he knocked two more out with his escrima sticks, “frustrated. Wanted to have a quiet patrol with Robin and get ice cream after.” 

“There is no reason we still cannot Nightwing,” came Damian’s voice from his right. 

“It really depends on if no one gets hurt,” griped Dick, the three of them now hiding behind some shipping containers as the gang began to open fire. 

As they watched, Red Robin and Batgirl swooped down from atop the warehouse and took out the goons with guns. The way clear, Dick gave the signal and the three left their hiding place and rushed in. At this point, with the majority of the family here, they took down the members of the warring gangs. 

“See? We’re all good now! You two can go off and get ice cream no problem,” Stephanie said.

“Not until everyone’s been picked up by Gotham PD. Then you can resume your patrols,” Bruce reminded her. 

“Spoilsport. Let Wing talk to his baby brother! We’ve got it here, they don’t need all of us,” Steph pouted. 

“I agree. They are not necessary here at the moment. Besides, Nightwing has pressing things to ask Robin about. Don’t you?” Tim gave Dick a pointed look. 

Tim had a sharp eye; he'd likely also noted Damian’s change in behavior and assumed Dick was the best person to talk to the youngest about it. Ah Timmy. Always a planner and a schemer. 

“Yup! Sure do!” 

Bruce hummed. “Very well. Don’t go too far, we may still need your help.” 

“Roger that! Come on Baby Bat! Ice cream!” 

Damian glanced between Bruce and Dick, before deciding to trail after his eldest brother. There was a decent vegan ice cream place a couple blocks away, just outside of Crime Alley. Damian should like it. Dick paid (in cash of course) for their ice cream, and they sat on the rooftops side by side eating it. It was perhaps a bit chilly for such a cold treat, but no matter. 

“So. I see you’ve been texting on your phone a lot,” Dick tried to remark casually. Even through the domino mask, Dick could tell Damian was giving him an incredulous look. 

“That is what you wanted to ask me about about? You deemed my texting habits worthy enough to distract us from a mission?” Dick couldn’t help his grimace. 

“Well, it’s partially about your texting habits. It’s also about the phone calls you’ve been making. And how you’re clearly happier, which is a really good thing! I’m just wondering, what’s the cause for this change?” Dick leaned forward a bit, so he could have a clearer look at Damian’s face. Was that? Oh, that definitely was a blush on Damian’s face!

“It is none of your business,” retorted Damian, without any real heat. 

“Hmmm. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you got a boyfriend. You’re acting pretty similar to how Timbo did when he first started dating Conner…” Dick said, trailing off. 

He kept his eyes on his little brother, trying to gauge his reaction. Damian continued to eat his ice cream in silence, ignoring the older man. Dick let the silence stretch, hoping he could wait him out. 

“His name is Danny. We’re not boyfriends,” Damian eventually replied. 

“But you want to be,” Dick asked gently.

“I think I would like the chance to try, to see if we could be something.” 

“What’s stopping you?” Damian snorted. 

“What isn’t? I’ve only seen part of his face and know his first name. He knows my name, but little else about me. I - We have discussed possibly meeting in the future. As friends. I know he lives in Gotham. Drake met him. Saved him from a Scarecrow attack a few months ago. He of course knows nothing of my double life. Or that I am Damian Wayne.” 

“Yeah. That’s a lot to keep secret. I can’t say I’ve ever met someone I became friends with online in person. Tim or Steph might give you better advice?” Dick leaned back a bit, looking up at the cloud covered night sky. 

“Maybe baby steps? Show your face? See how that goes? Then introduce them to the fact that you’re Damian Wayne?” Damian sighed. 

“That is my current plan, Grayson.”

“Well, let me know if you need any help. Or advice. I have a lot of dating experience!”

“I am well aware of that.” 

***

“So,” Tim said, leaning against the door frame of the kitchen as Dick ate his cereal. “What did Damian say? Does he have a boyfriend?” 

“No, not exactly.” Tim raised an eyebrow. Dick sighed, putting his spoon down for the inevitable conversation.

“There is a boy he likes, but it’s online. So this boy doesn’t even know that they’re living in the same city, or that Damian is well, Damian Wayne. Not only that, but they haven't really seen what the other looks like?” 

“Hmmmm. Interesting. Babs and I will have to take a look into that.” Tim muttered to himself. 

“Hey. I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Damian actually really likes this boy, Danny. As much as I want to meddle and push them together, cause it’s clear this kid makes Baby Bat happy, I don’t want to potentially ruin it either. He’s - he’s been so happy lately.” 

“We’ll be discreet.” 

“Tim, I still think this is a bad idea.”

“Babs is one of the best hackers on the planet. I’m not far behind her. There’s no way we’ll get noticed.” 

Tim dismissed Dick’s concerns with a wave of his hand. Standing up, Tim left the kitchen, leaving Dick alone with his bowl of cereal. He took a bite. Great. They were soggy now. Dick glumly finished the bowl. 

***

Oh this was priceless. 

Dami was head over heels for a twitch streamer, and not just any old twitch streamer, the one that had gone kinda viral, over a year ago with his rant about Robin. Steph had told Tim that she’d shown it to him. Tim had never imagined in his wildest dreams that not only would Damian start watching the streamer, but become fairly infamous on the channel for just dropping massive donations, as well as being obsessed with UndeadNebula’s cat, Orion. Which apparently Damian had a hand in helping the streamer get. 

Humming happily to himself, he attempted to dig a bit more into exactly who UndeadNebula was. Tim’s brow began to furrow, as he found himself faced with some frankly impressive security. UndeadNebula’s IP flitted around between different countries and VPNs, making it very difficult to track. This would actually take some effort to locate the streamer. What in the world did this small time streamer have to hide?

A few minutes later, Tim stared at his screen, annoyed. All that work, just to confirm that UndeadNebula was in Gotham! Listen, Dick could tell him that, but people lied on the internet all the time, it was best to double check. UndeadNebula being in Gotham was potentially good news for Dami! However, this just made Tim a bit suspicious. A streamer, who takes interest in Robin, moved to Gotham recently, and had impressive cybersecurity? It all could be a coincidence. But what if it wasn’t? 

Should he do it? 

Should he try to hack Damian’s discord chat with Nebula and see if he could get more information that way? 

No. He’d try to hack into Twitch first, get the information there before he potentially invaded Damian’s privacy. It shouldn’t be that difficult. That being said, he’d thought that about tracking down UndeadNebula’s IP. Who knows what might be in store for him? 

Getting the information turned out to be surprisingly easy. There were a few surprises though. Tracing the banking information had once again sent him on a wild goose chase. There was also indications that someone else had hacked into UndeadNebula’s Twitch data. Granted the streamer was starting to develop a following, but he didn’t think there were enough to warrant someone else looking in to him. 

This was all really strange. He probably should check Discord as well, just in case. To see if that had been hacked by someone else as well. He wouldn’t look into their conversation. Biting his lip, Tim broke through Discord’s firewalls. He knew what UndeadNebula’s id number was, so he used that to find the account. Again, there were traces that this had been hacked. It looked almost like - 

Tim’s blood ran cold. 

He switched back to Twitch and checked there again. 

The same. 

The person who had hacked into UndeadNebula’s Twitch and Discord had merely done so to use that as a starting point to find Damian’s Red_Ghul accounts and hack into them. 

Tim grimaced. 

Whoever it was now knew that Red_Ghul was Damian Wayne. 

FUCK.

It wasn’t the end of the world, since they didn’t know Damian was Robin, but it certainly wasn’t great. Dammit. 

They really should have had that internet security conversation with Damian years ago. 

Chapter Text

Danny was delighted to find Kyle’s Kitten Cafe was only a short bus ride away from the townhome. It was closer to Gotham University, which Sam and Tucker would be coming from. He was so excited to see them. This was one of their first times really able to hang out as a group in a little while without college looming over Sam and Tucker. They’d both been a bit out of it, around midterms. Now that those were over, they could relax a bit. Plan what their Halloween costumes were going to be. Let his friends de-stress a bit. Pretend they were normal college kids. In Gotham. Pretend. 

Danny sighed, leaning against the window on the bus. They honestly weren’t that bad, the buses in Amity had been worse. Probably because the ones back home were older, from the seventies and on their last legs. They probably hadn’t been cleaned in the last four decades either. Gotham’s buses looked like they’d been cleaned in the last year. Probably due to either being covered in gas, pollen, having broken all their windows, or whatever else the Rogue of the week put the city through. 

Arriving at his stop, he stood up and made his way to the doors. Stepping out, he pulled his hood on a bit tighter, as the misty rain fell around him. A little colder, and the rain would be snow. Danny’s breath swirled out around him, looking like he was breathing out smoke. On short walks like this, from the bus stop to a store, he didn’t bother bringing an umbrella. It was too much of a hassle. That being said, he did always keep some miniature respirators on him. His parents Jack and Maddie had sent a bunch to Jazz, after she’d told them about the incident, they’d send a bunch of them. Apparently - apparently they’d asked about him. About Danny. Their ‘wayward son’. He wasn’t sure he’d believed that. There’d been no messages from them. 

He hurried up, spotting Tucker in the window of the cafe. He was wearing dark blue jeans with a bright red sweater. It looked great with the gold beads and jewelry in his dreadlocks. There was already a kitten climbing up his friend’s jeans, and based on Tucker’s face, he had no idea what to do about it. Chuckling to himself, Danny made his way inside and approached his friend. 

“Need some help?” Danny teased, hands on his hips. 

“Yes! Please! I don’t want him or her to fall and hurt themselves!” Tucker pleaded. 

Danny knelt, helping remove the sharp little claws from Tucker’s pant leg. “There ya go buddy. Off you go.” he said, placing the orange and white kitten on the floor, watching it scamper off. 

“Thanks man.”

“Really Tuck. You’ve been around Orion. You know how to deal with cats.”

“Orion is chill! He’s not trying to scale Mt Tucker!”

“Who’s trying to scale Mt Tucker?” came a voice behind them. 

“Sam!” 

“Hey Sam!”

“Boys.” She said, greeting them. She looked gothic and fabulous as always with her purple knee length dress with little bats all over it. It matched her bat pendant necklace and the hanging bat earrings. She had black stockings on and was wearing her signature heavy black platform boots. Her jacket, if it could be even called that, was made of black lace and was entirely see through. Danny had no idea how that kept her warm. It probably didn’t. Sam didn’t mind suffering a bit to look peak goth. 

“What do you want? Coffee with sugar and cream for Tuck? Sugary no coffee monstrosity for Danny?” She headed off to the counter once they’d nodded in affirmation. 

Danny sat down across from Tucker, letting his eyes roam around the place. There were scratching posts and beds everywhere. There was also a proverbial obstacle course for the cats over their head, shelves and bridges had been built to give the cats a highway safe above the human visitor’s heads. Toys were relegated to a smaller fenced area, but the menu indicated that they would be given some wand toys with a food or drink purchase (the toys would have to be returned after the visit) and could buy treats for their feline friends. 

Sam came back with their drinks. She also had some wands in her hand. One had a long, multicolored string attached. Another just had a tuft of feathers at the end. The third had a long black string at the end, which led to some bright red feathers. They were perfect for playing with cats. 

Seeing the toys, a variety of kitties were making their way over, excited for a chance to play. Orange cats, tabby cats, black cats, tortoiseshell cats, and more were approaching their table. 

Danny grabbed the wand with the thick multicolored string and began to twitch it, catching the eye of a chunky orange cat and a tiny black and white kitten. The orange cat appeared disinterested, but Danny could see it’s eyes tracking the string and the way the cat’s body shifted. 

“Thanks Sam, how much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it ghost boy. You either Tuck. My treat. Although,” she said, a smirk spreading across her face, “maybe next time, your sugar daddy can pay for it. He did give you some money to have fun and spend on yourself, no?” Tucker cackled at Sam’s words, enjoying Danny’s embarrassment. The sugar baby, very embarrassed, had a blush on his face and was trying to hide it in the table and his crossed arms. 

“SAM! Why would you say that? I don’t - He’s - I -” Danny struggled to say, his face beet red. 

His two traitorous friends snickered and laughed at his predicament. They happily sipped at their drinks and began attempting to play with the cats. Well, Sam was succeeding, expertly twirling the feather on a string toy, causing the kitties to jump and leap in attempts to catch it. One would, and she’d let them enjoy catching their prey for a few moments before having the feathers skitter away once their grip was loose, starting the cycle all over again. Tucker was struggling. The cats were not as interested in how he was flopping around his own wand of feathers. He got a couple of glances, but there wasn’t much interest. 

“I uh - that’s actually something I want to chat about. My uh,” Danny’s face burned and he whispered the last bit, “my s-sugar daddy.” 

Their heads turned to look at him. 

“Is it about the fact that you’re falling for him?” Sam asked. 

“Or that you wanna hang out with him more?” Tucker added. 

“And that you talk about him all the time?” Sam continued.

“He also definitely wants to meet his sugar daddy.” 

“True, true,” Sam agreed. 

“Ancients, I get it guys. I’m… falling for him. It’s kinda obvious. That’s part of what I want to talk about. I want to know more about him. And I want - I want to get him to stop paying for things, because I don’t want to be in a - a sugaring relationship. I want, well, I want a regular one. I also have no idea if he even likes me. He could totally just be lonely.” 

His friends glanced at each other. 

“Danny, I’m pretty sure the dude wouldn’t be droppin fat stacks if he didn’t like you. He also watches like every stream. He’s got to be at least a partial simp for you.” 

“I really hate the term simp,” Sam muttered. “I agree with Tucker though. Red Ghul is definitely interested in you. You seem to like him, and enjoy talking to him. Good luck though. If he’s anything like me, since you know he’s wealthy, he’s not going to believe that you like him for him. You’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you.” 

“Wait, but Sam, you know that we like you for you, it wasn’t that hard for us to become friends with you.” Danny objected. She raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, and how long did you know me before I told you my family was rich?” 

“She has a point.” 

“I - ugh. I just - I want to know more about him. To get closer to him, quickly. I want to meet him.” 

“Patience young padawan. You have time. Besides, he’s going to start to distrust you if you move too fast. Learn his name first. Play some games together with him outside of stream” Sam advised, drinking more of her latte.

“I have. His name is Damian.” 

“Dude! So he is probably Damian Wayne!” 

“Shhhh! Keep it down! You don’t just name drop the Waynes like that in Gotham!” Danny hissed, looking around. Thankfully it was busy enough, despite the fact that it was a Tuesday. No one seemed to have heard them. 

“Why can’t we say their names?”

“Because trouble usually follows. According to the internet, it’s like saying Macbeth in a theater or saying it’s quiet in a hospital. How do you not know this? You’re online more than either of us.” Sam responded. 

“Hey. I’ve been busy trying to set up some street cred as a hacker. And I’ve been working on this little side hustle thing.” 

“Side hustle thing?”

“We all aren’t made of money like you Sam, some of us have to work. Sooooo. I’ve been getting people pdfs of their college textbooks. For a reduced price of five dollars per textbook.” 

“That’s,” Danny paused, “that’s pretty illegal Tuck. Don’t you wanna impress Oracle? Do you really think she’ll approve?” 

“I mean, probably? She works with the Bats, which are vigilantes, which are also rather illegal. The only people it hurts are the textbook companies. And they make a shit ton of money off of students.” 

“Aren’t you doing the same thing? Making money off of broke students?” Sam countered, unimpressed with Tucker’s scheme. 

“Hey! I’m not scalping them and asking them to pay hundreds for a textbook! Just five dollars, for my time. I need money too, to pay for school and all that jazz.” 

“You could get a job, like I did. Or how Danny streams.” 

“Wait, you got a job Sam?” Danny asked. 

“Sure did! It’s at this cute little plant shop not too far from campus. It’s run by a nice green skinned meta woman and her peppy girlfriend.” Sam said proudly, a grin on her face. “It’s rather nice there, and my boss let me take home some cuttings to propagate.” 

“Congrats Sam! That’s great!” 

“Yeah! Way to go!”

“Thank you,” she said with a happy smile, “Back to the topic though, Tucker, what the hell. Is this Oracle person that important? And really? Danny at least has a shot with his internet crush, but I don’t think this Oracle person knows who you are.” 

“Oracle is the BEST hacker in the world! She’s incredible! And I’m not like Danny, I don’t want to date Oracle, just… want her to… recognize me.” 

“Oh my god.” Sam said, a shocked look on her face that shifted to glee. “Oh my god, you’re one of those ‘notice me senpai’ people.” Danny choked on his iced drink while Tucker sputtered beside him. 

“I am not! You take that back!” 

“Hey, if you see a spade, call it a spade.” 

“Sam does have a point.” 

“Oh, not you too!” 

“Sorry dude,” Danny grinned, “if you get to tease me about the sugar daddy thing, I’m gonna tease you about your senpai.”

Tucker wailed dramatically, before swiping Danny’s cat toy. 

“Assholes. I’m ditching you guys to play with some cats.” Tucker’s affectionate tone betrayed the fact that he wasn’t really mad with him as he stalked off, letting the string trail behind him, along with a variety of cats. Danny and Sam sat in silence for a moment, enjoying their beverages. 

“So. Do you think - do you think you’re going to join Tucker and I at Gotham U?.” 

“I - I don’t know Sam.”

“You’re not Phantom anymore. You have time to focus on school. Maybe you can't be an astronaut anymore, but maybe - maybe you can be an astrophysicist. Or make inventions that go on spacecrafts.” 

“Sam.”

“No, hear me out Danny. I know you still love space and the stars. I also know there’s no way they’ll let you in the space program. We both know that. That door is,” Sam paused, watching Danny’s face carefully, “that door is closed. But there are still other opportunities. Other things you can do.” 

“I don’t know Sam. I like streaming. It’s fun!” 

“I’m not saying you stop streaming. It’s clear you love it, and you have a great time doing it. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on your other dreams just because you’re starting to make it as a streamer. In fact, you may actually be in a better position to pursue your other dreams.” She sighed, putting down her mug. “I don’t - I know we’re not together anymore, but I don’t want you to give up on your dreams. I do want what’s best for you.” 

“Thanks Sam,” Danny said eventually. “I appreciate it.” 

“Hmmm.” She looked over at Tucker, who was being climbed by three different cats and laughed. “Should we go rescue him?” Danny grinned. 

“Yes, yes we should.” 

“He does know that they like him so much because he tends to ignore them, right?” 

“You know Sam, I don’t think he does.” 

***

Drake was not Damian’s favorite brother. That honor went to Richard. His favorite sister was obviously Cain. So when Drake showed up, asking to go out to lunch, Damian was suspicious. If it was work related, Drake would have ordered lunch and they would eat in one of their offices. It couldn’t be something Bat related, as that they would have hashed that out in the Bat Cave or Drake’s Nest. No, for Timothy to come here, during a work day and ask Damian out to lunch with him, it could only mean one thing. Timothy wanted to learn more about something in Damian’s life. He could hazard a guess to what that was. 

His infatuation with UndeadNebula. Aka Danny. 

Sighing, he put away his work and checked his phone. Danny had sent him some pictures of cats. He’d gone to a cat cafe with his goth friend Chaos and his IT friend Friar. There was something familiar about the place where Danny had gone, but he couldn’t place it. Damian had visited all of the cat cafes in Gotham, but Danny’s photos were focused on the cats, not the surrounding area, so he wasn’t sure which one Danny had gone to. 

He smiled. It was sweet though, that Danny had thought of sending him pictures from his kitty adventure. They were all rather adorable. A chunky orange kitty asleep on the floor. A black and white kitten bunny kicking a red feather toy. The final picture was a tabby cat climbing someone’s pant leg. 

Damian put his phone away, before steeling himself. He headed to Drake’s office, walking in without knocking. Timothy looked up from his computer, seeing Damian, before grimacing and checking his watch. 

“Damn. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun,” Drake remarked sarcastically, closing some applications and locking his computer. 

“Alright, our reservations at a lovely Mediterranean restaurant are in around half an hour. They have plenty of vegetarian options for you, I checked. Hopefully traffic isn’t too bad.” 

“Tch. It is Gotham. There is always traffic. We will be late.” Damian remarked, holding the door open for his brother as they exited the office. 

“Must you always be so pessimistic?” chided Timothy. 

“I am merely realistic.” 

“Uh huh. Sure.” Timothy’s tone was dripping in sarcasm. Damian clenched his fists. Drake had an incredible talent for annoying him. 

“Do you want me to come or not? You are the one who is inconveniencing me.” Timothy sighed, stepping into the elevator.  

“Sorry, sorry. I’ve been awake far too long, and I hate dealing with all these - these assholes who like to have dick measuring contests.” 

“You are referring to Hobbs and Dinkle?” 

“Yes. They’re trying to oust each other, and it’s just a massive headache.” 

“You could just fire them both and be done with it.” Timothy gave a short, harsh laugh. 

“I’ve been really trying not to do that, but they’re not listening to reason and are at the point where they’re starting to sabotage each other’s departments.” 

“Fire them Timothy, they’re not worth the stress. Not only that, if they are sabotaging each other, then they are at the point they are harming the company. Would you rather fire two, or have to potentially fire or lay off more due to their selfish decisions and competitiveness?” Damian asked, stepping out of the elevator once they’d reached the ground floor. 

“Ugh. I hate that you’re right. I just really wanted to find a better solution,” Timothy grumbled. 

“You have tried, and have exhausted yourself doing so. Some situations, there is nothing to be done but the easiest solution, even if that makes you look like a ‘bad person’.” Timothy gave him a searching look as they entered his car. 

They sat in silence for a while as Drake pulled out of the parking garage and onto the street. They were halfway to the restaurant when Timothy spoke. 

“You’re used to being the ‘bad guy’ aren’t you? Even after all this time, after all the good you’ve done, you still don’t fully see yourself as a good person.” 

“Please. You really think I think so little of myself?” Damian scoffed. 

“Yeah. Yeah I do. I don’t really think our family or the media have really done you any favors when it comes to self esteem. Or forging your own identity. Your confidence and aloofness… it’s an act, isn’t it? Sorry I haven't really noticed before.” 

“What are you on about, Timothy?! You are spouting nonsense!” Damian growled. 

His heart, though, was pounding. He could feel the nervousness within his very bones. There was some truth to what Drake was saying. It was not a truth Damian wanted anyone to know. It was not one that he was willing to accept, despite touching on it in his discussions with Quinn. 

The car was silent once more, till they reached their destination. Stepping out once they arrived, Damian made his way inside, letting Drake trail behind him. After speaking with the hostess, the pair were led to a quiet booth in the back. They ordered, before Timothy attempted to engage in conversation once more. 

“So. How’s your online friend?” 

“He’s fine. Richard told you about him?”

“In a sense. It was rather obvious that you’d met someone online. He just confirmed it.” 

“What sort of public persona do you want to have?” Damian gave Drake an incredulous look. 

“Aloof. Cold. Uninterested in the masses. What does that have to do with my new friend?” 

“Hmmm. Well. I happen to know that Red Ghul is Damian Wayne, and that he’s been sending a certain Twitch streamer quite a bit of money.” Timothy said nonchalantly, though there was an amused glimmer in his eyes. 

“It seems you already know everything.” 

“I wouldn’t say that. UndeadNebula does have rather impressive cyber security, more than I would expect for a Twitch streamer.” 

“One of his friends is in IT. Apparently he built Nebula’s computer and set everything up.” 

“That is a possible explanation, I suppose. Has anyone been particularly interested in you, per say?” 

“What do you mean?”

“You have been donating quite a bit of money. Honestly, the five K you donated for the cat was more than most people make in a month.” 

Damian was silent. The waiter arrived with their entrees, refilling Drake’s water glass. 

“You were aware of that, right? That five K is a lot?”

Damian busied himself with placing the napkin on his lap, ignoring Drake’s question. He picked at his food with his fork. 

“Damian.” 

The younger man began to eat, unwilling to answer his elder brother’s question. 

“Oh my god, you didn’t.” 

“How was I supposed to know?” Damian snapped, irritated that he had been unaware of this gap in knowledge, “I have never been destitute, and even when I took over this position at Wayne Enterprises, I have only ever been dealing with vast sums of money. Never such trivial amounts.” 

“Alfred needs to take you to a grocery store. Honestly. This also explains so much in terms of people’s salaries.” 

“There is nothing wrong with paying employees living wages.” 

“Agreed. But you’ve approved some pretty massive hikes, which isn’t really a bad thing, because it’s been driving a lot of good employees our way, despite the fact that it’s, well, Gotham. It’s more the fact that your idea of a living wage is kinda skewed by how much wealth you’ve had growing up, so you think it’s far higher than it actually is.” 

“Besides a few of the more ornery board members, no one has complained about the fact that I have increased the salaries of workers in the company.” Timothy gave him an amused grin. 

“That’s because most of them are rather intimidated by you. You’ve got Bruce’s height, and while you’re not as broad as him, you’re still a big man. Plus, while Bruce does the whole ‘Brucie’ thing, you’re out there openly glaring and scowling at people. Most of them don’t have the guts to cross you.” 

“Good. They should be intimidated by me.” Drake raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. 

“Anyway, back on topic. If you have a reputation for being cold and aloof, that is all gonna fall apart once people learn you’re supporting a Twitch streamer. People are going to automatically assume that you’re a fool and are being scammed. Either way, your reputation is going to change drastically. I have no idea how, but it will.”

“You speak as if anyone is ever going to find out that I am the one donating to UndeadNebula.” 

“Someone already has.” Damian stilled at the news. 

“Who?” Damian asked in a sharp, dangerous tone. 

“That, I don’t know. They hacked into UndeadNebula’s Twitch and then into your Discord chat with him.”

“Our phones are encrypted.” 

“They are. But your chats are hosted through Discord. So someone just needs to hack into that to get your conversation. Which they did.”

“How bad is it?” Damian asked bluntly. 

“Well. They know Red Ghul is Damian Wanye. But that’s about it. I didn’t see any indication that they actually went through your chat with the streamer. They were only interested in learning who you were. I suspect in an attempt to get money from you. So. Back to my earlier question. Has anyone shown an interest in you? Like messaging you on Discord?” Damian frowned. 

“I have been receiving quite a few direct messages on Discord from accounts I am unfamiliar with, but I had assumed it was a spam issue. I have blocked all of them and reported their accounts.” Timothy snorted. 

“Okay, that’s good at least. Should probably keep that up.” Drake sighed. 

“I don’t think whoever this is will be quiet forever. They’re probably going to want to blackmail you into keeping quiet about your crush on UndeadNebula. So. Think about it. It’s going to come out that you watch this streamer, and donate quite a bit. We’re going to need to figure out how to handle that, media wise. And,” here Timothy paused, keeping a close eye on Damian’s face. More than likely trying to gauge his reactions. To Damian’s surprise, his brother’s tone shifted to be quieter, gentler. 

“And you need to make a decision. Do you want to pursue UndeadNebula or not? Romantically, I mean.” 

They ate quietly for a while longer. Timothy watching him, and Damian - Damian pondering his brother’s words. Damian put his fork down. 

“I wish to be romantically involved with UndeadNebula, with Danny. As much as I wish for it, that does not mean he will return my affections. I hope to be friends first.” 

“You’re not trying to - ugh,” Drake grimaced, “be by his side and hope that he’ll eventually fall for you? And get upset if Danny never returns your affections?” Damian scowled.

“Of course not. My feelings are my own, and I will not burden him with them unless there is a possibility of them being reciprocated. Should he reject me, I will not retaliate in any way, and will remain his friend, as long as he is comfortable with that. I am not the child you once knew Drake. I have grown up, as I have repeatedly told you and the rest of the family.” 

“I know, I know, but you’re the baby of the family.” Timothy said with a wry grin. His expression shifted again to a surprisingly proud look, “We’re all aware that you’re not the same as the ten year old child that arrived in Gotham a decade ago. You’ve grown so much Dami.”

“My guess is that you have a few months, at best, before whoever this is will get tired of us attempting to stall them. I’m going to increase the security around your Discord chats with Danny and see if I can’t set up an alarm for the next time the hacker comes snooping.” 

“Thank you, Timothy.” 

“No problem.” 

“Timothy.” 

“Yes?” 

“Do you have any advice for how to woo someone online? Richard was… unhelpful.” 

“Oh boy. Uh, well, you already have a sugaring relationship, right? I kinda gathered that much from the compilations on YouTube.” 

“Sugaring relationship?” Timothy groaned. 

“I have a power point ready for you to go over later tonight about the internet, both in regards to safety and lingo. Look it up now, or learn about it then, I don’t care. I kinda take back some of what I said. When it comes to the internet, you have barely grown at all. Jeez, Dami.” 

“Do you have advice for me Drake or not.” 

“My only advice is to get to know each other more, meet in person, and work on changing your relationship from a sugaring one to an actual one.” 

“Tch. That is unhelpful.” 

“This entire conversation has been wild from start to finish, Damian. Give me a day or two to process all this and I’ll get back to you on that.” 

The conversation lapsed once more. 

“Drake. I have - I want Danny to know who I am. I have not been very careful with my identity. I even used myself and you as an example of young executives. He was distrustful of the idea that I was so young and so wealthy.” 

“As he should be.” 

“I want him to know who I am. I want him to see what I look like, and to see what he looks like. I wish to meet him in person. I am unsure how to bring this to fruition.” 

“Uh, well? You know his name? I was more concerned with who was looking into you, that I never really looked into him. I could do that, if you want. Help you orchestrate a meeting.” 

Damian thought this over. He appreciated the offer, but it felt wrong to try and force a meeting. There were already things that he was hiding from Danny, mainly Robin. And him being a Wayne for now. He disliked the idea of lying and keeping things from Danny. He was aware that it was necessary in some areas, but he wanted to limit it as much as possible. 

“As much as I want to know exactly who he is, he does not know who I am either. We have been getting to know each other on a rather even playing field, something I have not had the pleasure of having with other potential paramours.” 

“You also clearly like Danny much more than all the others you’ve gone out on dates with.” 

“Yes,” Damian admitted, “I have continued to be surprised by the extent of my desire for him. I originally assumed it was merely a physical attraction, and it would fade once he opened his mouth. I was quickly proven wrong. Talking with him, one on one on Discord has caused me to care for him.”

“I have to admit this is really weird.”

“What is?”

“Seeing you crushing real hard on someone.”

“It was going to happen eventually.”

The rest of the lunch went rather smoothly, discussing other topics, although Damian made note to look up what a ‘sugaring’ relationship was. And to expect a power point from Timothy. He doubted it would teach him much. 

***

He was wrong. Oh how wrong he was. 

Damian had unfortunately learned what a sugaring relationship was. He hated to admit that it made sense to describe his relationship with Danny this way. That being said, from what he learned from the power point and further research, there tended to be a negative connotation to such a relationship, and there often was no love between the partners, only a physical relationship. 

That was not what he wanted. 

He wanted a romantic relationship, one with emotions and care for each other. Physical relations were unnecessary. It would be nice, but considering what he’d learned about Danny, he was aware there was a good chance it was off the table. 

He was getting far too ahead of himself. 

They were merely friends at the moment. With this added sugaring aspect?

Did that imply there was potential for romance in their relationship? 

Did he have a chance?

He was potentially on a time table now. 

He might as well test the waters. 

***

“I’m a massive, massive fan of all the advocacy that Aquaman, Aqualad, Aquagirl, and all the Aqua peeps do. Huge fan. They’ve done so much for the environment, their activism has caused so much trash to be removed from the ocean, and reduced the Pacific garbage patch by half. Pretty impressive stuff! Let’s give them a round of applause! Or at least some clap emojis or something! Yes!” 

Danny clapped his hands, a grin on his face. Not that his audience could really see it behind the mask. He’d been discussing the Aquamen. He’d only touched slightly on the Aqualads and Aquagirls. Danny needed to look into them a bit more before he devoted a whole Hero Hour to them. 

“Ancients, I’m weird sometimes. It really blows me away that you guys don’t mind though. It’s nice.” 

“Anywho! I did have a point to the whole environmentally conscious stuff! I kinda wanted to try something new, and turn these last oh - how much time do we have left? Ten minutes? Ah, well, I don’t think you’ll mind if we end up going over a bit, do you chat? Yeah, that’s what I thought.” 

Danny relaxed, leaning back against his chair. He really should get a new one. He should have enough for a new one next month. 

“Where was I? OH! Yes! So, I thought about calling this Villainous Vixens, but they’re not all ladies, and I certainly don’t find all villains attractive. Some definitely look nice, but certainly not most of them. Is that harsh? I don’t think so.” Danny rested his mask-covered chin on his hand, contemplating. 

“So that didn’t really fit. I wanted alliteration, like I did with Hero Hour, so I thought of a couple. Antagonist Allotment! Which is okay? But not great. There was also Inconvenient Interlopers. ‘Cause I gotta say, man are those villain attacks really inconvenient when you’re just trying to go about your day.” 

Danny paused, tilting his head slightly. He was in a Spoiler hoodie today. He may have also looked through Jazz’s accessories to find a purple headband which was helping hold his long hair back. He kept forgetting to get his haircut, and was currently suffering for it. That being said, besides a couple rude people, no one gave him any shit for it. 

He was actually rather proud of his little community. They were rather LGBTQ friendly, and in general, his coming out had been very well received. It was really heart warming. He felt incredibly seen. There was still so much he was hiding from the world, but this little part of him was now out in the open, and he was accepted for it. Those who said asexuals weren’t real, or that he’d just must have had a bad relationship in his past were few and far between. Between himself, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker, they banned those assholes pretty quickly. 

He was really tempted to get some Robin themed bows. For his hair. 

Damian would like that, wouldn’t he? 

But would Damian be turned off by how he sometimes enjoyed feminine things? Like make up? Nail polish? Hair bows? 

He didn’t wear them often, just when the mood struck him. 

A ping brought him out of his thoughts. 

“AH! Sorry guys! I was flying through the cosmos in my brain! My mind was elsewhere!” 

“Inconvenient Interlopers also really makes light of the people who are killed during their attacks. So that’s a definite no go! How about you guys think of a good name while I chat about some villains who are basically eco-terrorists. Just put some ideas in chat and Discord and I’ll look through them later,” he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to regret asking chat to come up with a name. Pretty sure. 

“If they’re not eco terrorists, they at least have good motives, but go about it in highly illegal ways. Poison Ivy comes to mind, not that she’s really been terrorizing Gotham much, if at all recently. Like, cool motive, still eco terrorism.”

“This might be a controversial opinion, a hot take, if you will, but I would say that at times, what they do is just as beneficial to all the advocacy that the Aqua peeps do. I - Guys. Aqua peeps. Could you imagine Atlantean marshmallow peeps? I am right now and it’s glorious. Such a cursed idea. They melt when they touch water.”  Danny stared off into the distance, imagining the Aqua peeps dissolving as they hit a bowl of water. 

“Back to my hot take. Back in the day, Poison Ivy attacked a factory that was definitely doing some illegal pollution, and the heavy metals were poisoning the waterways. This was then going into the soils and affecting the plants in the area. Her attack stopped that chemical from being dumped into the river, since you know, the machines inside were kind of destroyed, and the company got a slap on the wrist and a measly fine for the illegal dumping thing. BUT! Carcinogenic - wow, I’m impressed I pronounced that right the first try - carcinogenic chemicals were being dumped. Carcinogens are basically chemicals that are known and proven to cause cancer. Which is super bad to get into your water supply.”

“So, her attack actually brought light to an important issue, and she stopped some illegal dumping. I have to say that’s doing more for the environment than the people throwing soup onto paintings at museums. Just my two cents.” 

“Anywho, that’s it for this Hero Hour, and whatever this villain slash anti hero section is. Please send suggestions! I totally need help picking a name! Just a reminder to all my lovely stars and galaxies out there that asexuality week is next week! And Halloween is right after! I will be doing my normal streams as scheduled, but I do have a couple fun surprises planned, so keep an eye on the stream schedule! I should be posting that later today. On both Discord and Twitter, although Twitter is currently a dumpster fire. Goodbye my lovelies! Make good choices! Or don’t, I’m not your mom. Bye!” 

Danny waved to his viewers. He stopped after he switched to the stream over card. He stood up and stretched. Orion looked at him from the cat bed. 

“I’m not going anywhere interesting, bud. No treats for you. Just gonna stretch and then see if Damian wants to chat.” Danny moved in front of the cat bed and crouched down, eye level with the cat, who regarded him with annoyance. 

“I know, I know. You’re all comfy and I do have a bad habit of bothering you. But that’s totally not me, that’s my viewers. They love you, and want me to show you. Through treats and pets.” 

“Hey Kit kat, do you think Damian would be willing to be one of my mods? Probably, right? But like, what sort of reward is that? You hang out on stream a lot, send a shit ton of money, here’s some work for you. Seems like a shitty prize.” Danny stood up, sighing. It was a habit to run his hands through his hair, but all it did at this point was dislodge the purple headband.

Grumbling, he wandered around the room some more, trying to stretch. Headband back in place, Danny made his way back to the computer, pulling up his private Discord DM with Damian. He could already feel his cheeks starting to heat. Time for their usual post stream call. 

Okay, usual was maybe a bit strong. It used to be usual DMs, but had transitioned to voice calls after that first one. Oh Ancients, he still had the stupid mask on. Danny took it off.

Danny clicked the button to join the call. 

“Hi Damian!” he said cheerfully. It was dumb, but just being able to talk to the other man made him smile. 

“Danny. Your stream was wonderful. Discussing Rogues though? I’m rather surprised,” came Damian’s smooth voice. 

“Well, I feel as though it was kinda missing part of the whole aspect of the heroes. The whole reason they have to go out and fight is because of the villains and rogues, so why not discuss them too? And their motivations? This is probably a bit too optimistic and pie in the sky, but if we could maybe address their motivations for going out and causing trouble? Then maybe they won’t attack as much, or attack less. I know it won’t work for all of them, I mean, the Joker is a complete nutcase, and he strikes me as someone who does what he does for chaos’s sake, but maybe some of the others could be persuaded. But like, didn’t Poison Ivy basically stop once Wayne Enterprises set up that charity branch thing to fight climate change and stop pollution? Argh, I can’t remember the name of it!” 

“The Isley Climate Relief Fund and the committee on Social Awareness and Environmental Restoration,” Damian offered without any emotion in his voice. Strange.

“Yeah! That! Thanks!” Danny smiled. He kept forgetting that Damian was more than likely Damian Wayne. Damian was just… Damian to him. His friend/crush. 

“Hmmm. Your knowledge of environmental causes and cases is rather extensive. I don’t think much of the public is as well read as you are.” 

Was that a compliment? It felt like a compliment, but he could usually hear a teasing or affectionate tone in Damian’s voice. There wasn’t any though. Danny frowned.  

“Yeah, Chaos is a real big environmentalist. I’ve been to quite a few marches and rallies with her and I’ve listened to her talk about the evil corporations that are destroying the planet and using their PR machines to place all the blame on individual people and turn the focus away from themselves.”

“She sounds like a lovely friend,” came the generic response. Okay, something was up. 

“Are you alright? You’re not your usual self.” 

Damian didn’t respond. Worry and fear gripped Danny’s heart. 

“Damian?”

“My apologies, Danny. I am afraid my nerves and some recent information that I learned are weighing heavily on my mind.” 

“Do you wanna talk about it? And what are you nervous about?”

“I - I supposed I should just get this over with.” 

Danny’s eyebrows furrowed, confused as to what Damian was talking about. He didn’t have to wait long. 

The screen changed. Instead of Damian’s red tinted Robin profile picture, there was now a video. 

It was a video of Damian. He’d turned on his camera.

He was leaning back, relaxed in a simple yet expensive looking leather office chair. There was a large bed in what could have only been the center of the room. To the left was a large window with a nice reading nook. Left of the mahogany desk Damian was sitting at was an easel with a variety of finished and unfinished paintings leaning against the wall. Danny recognized some of them as art that he’d been sent recently. There were some in progress that he did not recognize. 

Damian himself…

Well. 

To be frank, the man was beautiful. 

Handsome. 

Pretty. 

All the good adjectives. 

Damian had a strong jaw, with sharp emerald eyes. He had thick eyebrows and angular cheekbones.  It was later in the evening, and Danny could see the hint of a 5 o’clock shadow on the man’s jaw.  His hair was thick and black. It was slightly messy, tousled, even. At the same time it looked as though it was purposeful. The other man was wearing a dark green turtleneck sweater that complimented his eyes. The sweater looked perfect with the black slacks that Danny could see the tops of. 

Damian looked incredibly put together, like a fashion model. 

Danny could feel himself gaping.

Look, he’d seen pictures of Damian Wayne before. He was well aware of what he looked like. But there was something different about seeing him in a soft comfortable sweater in his own home, relaxed. Not only that, but this was the person he’d been talking to the last year. 

Damian took Danny’s breath away. 

Ancients, how could he compete with the other man’s beauty? 

Damian was the whole package, incredible mind, great personality, breathtaking beauty, and wealth? 

What in the world did Danny have that could possibly attract such an incredible person? He felt like a complete fraud. A liar. He must be tricking Damian somehow. There was no other explanation. 

“Danny? Are you still there? There is no pressure for you to reciprocate, I do not wish to coerce you to turn your camera on,” came Damian’s concerned voice. 

“Oh, no, it’s okay! I’m not feeling pressured, I just was surprised! You surprised me! Give me a sec and I’ll turn my camera on!” Damian probably didn’t believe him. His voice was a bit higher than usual. 

Fumbling, he went to turn on his camera. His mask was off, so Damian would get to see his face. Plus he was still wearing the purple headband. Danny did not look his best. Oh well. This - This was him. He wasn’t nervous about his looks at all compared to such an Adonis. Not at all. 

Bravery, where were you?!?

“There! Camera on! Ta da! This is my full face!” Jazz hands. Well, if Damian didn’t know before, he probably knew now. The last time he’d done jazz hands had been when he came out on stream and was nervous as hell. Fuck. 

Danny sat there, sweating, as Damian’s eyes roamed over his face, taking him in. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that Damian wasn’t talking? Probably bad. Oh no. 

“You are more than I imagined,” Damian whispered softly, his words barely being picked up by the microphone. 

Wait. 

What? 

More than Damian imagined? Did that mean he was prettier? And that Damian had imagined him?!?

Danny let out a strangled surprised sound, his face turning red.  

“Ah. I believe that is the verbal equivalent of a keyboard smash, no? Your favorite?” 

“I only use them a lot with you,” Danny responded weakly, his face still burning. His eyes caught the faint smirk on Damian’s face. Was - Was Damian proud of that? 

“Well,” Damian said casually, “now that we have our cameras on, do you want to continue our conversation? About your stint of environmental activism with Chaos?”

“Oh! Right, right.” 

Ancients, how could Damian just want to talk like normal, as if they hadn’t just revealed their faces to each other? It probably didn’t mean as much to him. Yeah, there was no way Damian was crushing on him. Damian was totally out of his league. Friendship, he could do that. He’d stayed friends with Sam after their breakup, he could stay friends with Damian. He’d get over his crush. Eventually. 

For now, act natural. 

“So, when we were like fourteen, there was an exhibit for the rare purple backed gorilla. Chaos, Friar, and I went to the exhibit to get some extra credit for a class and…”

***

His smile. 

That had been the best part of turning on their cameras and turning their voice calls into video calls. 

Danny’s smile had been mesmerizing. It had filled him with such warmth and joy seeing it - seeing Danny happy. Seeing the rest of Danny’s face had been a mere bonus. 

Danny had pink full lips that looked like they would be fantastic to kiss. The other man had a dusting of freckles under his eyes and on his cheeks. Damian just wanted to cup Danny’s angular face in his hands and press kisses to each and every one of those freckles. They deserved appreciation. 

Danny deserved to be worshiped in general. 

Damian would be happy to do so, if Danny wished for that.

*** 

Danny fiddled with the asthma inhaler thing he’d been given by Red Robin. It had been a while since he’d been given this. He’d been thinking. Sam’s words about college and what he wanted to do rattling around in his head. Along with his thoughts about how to protect his friends and sister. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the rebreather-esque mask his parents had sent Jazz. He stared at the two objects. 

He wanted to make something. 

Something that could help his loved ones and potentially others when there was some sort of fear based attack. 

He was a master of taking his parents' inventions and modifying them. He’d had years of practice doing that, and reading their shoddy blueprints that were often more of a hindrance than a help when it came to determining what something was. 

Was he smart enough though? 

He’d never built anything from scratch, just taken already made inventions and made them even better. Not only that, but he’d failed so many classes in high school, and had been told over and over again that he wouldn’t really amount to anything. Mr. Lancer had tried to motivate him. Freshman year. After that though, he hadn’t tried as much. Probably because Danny hadn’t shown any change in behavior. There were still ghosts to catch and return to the Ghost Zone. Ghosts to rescue from both his parents and the Ghost Investigation Ward. 

He hadn’t had time to study. 

He hadn’t had time to be a normal teenager. 

Danny had that now though, didn’t he? 

He wasn’t the same person. Not anymore. Not after everything he’d been through. 

He’d gotten his GED. That proved that he had some intelligence, didn’t it? Or at least the ability to memorize shit. 

He was going to take these two pieces of tech apart, figure out how they worked and make them better! Or at least attempt to. Feeling motivated, he went to reach for a screwdriver. Oh. He didn’t have any tools. Well. Danny checked the time on his phone. There was still an hour before sundown. It’d be fine. He’d been out at night a few times since the disastrous Scarecrow incident. Partially to prove that he could. He wasn’t always a walking bad luck magnet. 

This past year, he’d actually been rather lucky. It was almost as if leaving Amity had removed this aura of bad luck from around him. Or perhaps Gotham was just so insane that it simply felt that way. It could honestly go either way.

Making a decision, he grabbed his phone and sent a message to his friends and sister. 

GhostBoi: Yo gonna try inventing something

GhostBoi: Promise you’ll stop me if i start getting all weird and wanting to be one of batmans rogues

ChaoticPlantMom: lol

FriarTech: good luck dude

ChaoticPlantMom: good luck nerd!

FriarTech: don’t like half kill yourself again

TalkToMe: Am I the only one who’s concerned about that last statement?

***

Since they’d seen each other’s faces, Damian and Danny had been sending each other more pictures. Damian treasured every one. His favorite was Danny and Orion in bed. Danny’s eyes were only half open with sleep, Orion pressed against Danny’s chest, the two surrounded by blankets looking warm and cozy. Danny apparently wore a gray T-shirt to bed. Damian couldn’t help but be a little disappointed that he didn’t sleep shirtless. Perhaps he’d get lucky next summer. 

No.

Stop. 

Another of Damian’s favorites was Danny’s joyful face, clearly laughing with mirth as Orion was handing out around his shoulders. There were a couple from different places around Gotham. He’d finally recognized the cat cafe as Kyle’s Kitten Cafe. He was oh so tempted to go and surprise the other man, make it a ‘coincidence’. They were in the same city after all. 

Danny had to realize he was Damian Wayne, right? They had not addressed it specifically, but he had to know. Although. Danny was not a Gothamite, perhaps he was not as aware of who made up Gotham’s supposed ruling family. He had to make sure.

Red_Ghul: We have not addressed this, but you have seen my face. Do you know who I am?

UndeadNebula: yeah i know who you are

UndeadNebula: which like Dami

UndeadNebula: you had balls to just straight up use yourself as an example of a 20 year old who was high up in a company

UndeadNebula: kudos

Red_Ghul: I will admit that I was not very careful with my identity. Part of me wanted you to know

UndeadNebula: about that

Red_Ghul: Yes?

UndeadNebula: So i may have known who you were for a couple months before you showed me your face

UndeadNebula: i didn’t ask him to

UndeadNebula: but Friar went off and hacked your phone and stuff

UndeadNebula: he wanted to make sure you weren’t some creep or something

UndeadNebula: there are some horror stories on the internet about stalkers and stuff and how utterly useless the police are when it comes to that shit

UndeadNebula: well

UndeadNebula: i could actually rant about the police a lot

UndeadNebula: Dami? 

UndeadNebula: i have felt a bit bad about it

UndeadNebula: he didn’t know for sure that it was you

UndeadNebula: Damian? 

UndeadNebula: im sorry

UndeadNebula: ill leave you alone now

Red_Ghul has started a voice call

“Damian?” 

“Danny.”

“I’m so so sorry Damian! I didn’t ask him to do it, he didn’t look really deep into you or anything, he just wanted to look into who my -” 

“Danny.” Damian said a bit louder, cutting the other man off. 

“I understand a friend or family member looking into me. I am aware that anonymity online is both a blessing and a curse,” Damian was far more aware of it after Timothy’s Power Point. Not that he would ever outwardly thank his brother for it. 

“It would also be incredibly hypocritical of me to be angry at you for something your friend did without your consent. I hope you would extend me the same curiosity, since I am fairly certain my elder brother Timothy has been attempting to look into you and hack into your devices and accounts.” 

There was a moment of silence before Danny began to laugh. 

“So,” Danny laughed some more,” you’re telling me that the person aggravating Tucker the last couple weeks,” more peals of laughter,” is your protective older brother?” Damian couldn’t help but bristle a little at that. 

“I do not need protection. But yes, that is my brother. Timothy is rather impressed by your friend’s abilities. Or at least, that is what I can gather between all of the cursing and expletives.” 

Danny laughed even harder at that. It was rather amusing, he could feel his own lips curl into a smile hearing Danny’s giggles. 

“How long are we going to let them do their whole hacker vs hacker thing?”

“Indefinitely.”

“Awwww, no. This is stressing my friend out. We can’t let it go on too much longer.”

“You have already mentioned his name. Tucker.”

“Shit. Oops. Uhhh. Can you pretend that I didn’t say that?” 

“I can. For now. Your friend must have some incredible skills if he has been infuriating my brother. Once Timothy gets over himself, I’m sure he would be interested in offering your friend a job.” 

“As much as Friar would love a job at Wayne Enterprises, I think he would want to wait a bit.”

“He wishes to complete college?”

“That, but like,” Danny sighed, “okay, hear me out, it’s a little wild. Friar thinks that there is like, this supreme hacker named Oracle. Oracle is apparently behind a lot of leaks from companies and is associated with the vigilantes of Gotham and the Justice League. Oracle has apparently been active for ten or so years? I don’t know, Friar can go on about Oracle for an hour or so. He’s apparently planning something to get Oracle to notice him.” 

“That is… concerning.” 

“Yeah. Chaos and I have been trying to find out more about it. Because we do not need for T - Friar to become the latest Gotham rogue. We also feel like there are better ways to get Oracle to notice him. Should Oracle exist.” Danny sighed, “if only we could think of some better ways.” 

This was getting uncomfortably close to his nightlife. Perhaps there was a way he could prevent this Friar/Tucker person from doing something dramatic to get Barbara’s attention. 

“Hmmm. Timothy is rather well versed in the online hacker community. It is possible that he knows this ‘Oracle’ person. Granted, I would have to disclose that you know Friar, but that should be a small price to pay to prevent Friar from doing something drastic.” 

“And we can’t enjoy Friar’s and Tim’s little hacker spat. Ah well. It’s - it’s worth it.” 

“There is a good chance that I will find out who you are, Danny,” Damian warned him. 

“I - I am fine with that. It’s only fair,” Danny’s voice shifted, becoming softer, more vulnerable, “I have - Please don’t judge me on my parents. They’re - All I can say is that I know what it feels like to be judged based on who your parents are, and to not be seen as anything but extensions of them.” 

“Is that part of why you left? Why you were disowned? You did not want to be like them?”

“I - it’s a part of it. They have some bigoted views. They are surprisingly progressive and accepting in some areas. Like, they believe that I’m Demi and Panromantic. They would always tease me when I was single about when I would get a girlfriend, boyfriend, or enby partner. They believe in climate change. They were totally cool with cooking only vegetarian food when I decided to become vegetarian for a girlfriend. They believe in prison reform, in Medicare for all, in increased protections for workers, and so, so much more,” there was affection in Danny’s tone. It was clear that Danny loved his parents. That he missed them. 

“Yet when it came to people with powers and abilities, they hated them. They also didn’t really like vigilantes. They could rant for hours about the Justice League. They were all for Lex Luthor’s plan to have all metas registered. Which, what the FUCK! One of my best friends, S - Chaos, is Jewish. It’s pretty much always a bad thing when you need to register people, especially for something they can’t control or were born with.” Danny took a shaking breath. Damian’s heart went out to him, Danny’s pain was clear as day.

“They tolerated my love of Superman and Martian Manhunter because they were aliens. They weren’t humans who’d. Who’d changed.” 

Damian could read between the lines. Danny must have developed some meta powers at some point. Changed, somehow. 

“So please,” Danny pleaded, “don’t judge me based on them.”

“I would never. In return, please don’t judge me based on my father and siblings,” Damian responded, trying to lighten the tone of the conversation. He was rewarded with a watery laugh. 

“I would never,” Danny whispered, repeating Damian’s own words back to him. 

“Sorry for bringing the mood down,” 

“No, that is something you should never apologize for. Especially when it comes to something that is hurting you so deeply.” 

“You’re so sweet Dami. I’m so lucky you’re my friend.” 

“I am the lucky one.” 

“We’re both lucky.” 

“Indeed.” 

Once they finished their impromptu call, Damian received a single message.

UndeadNebula: Daniel James Fenton

***

Danny’s hands still shook a little as he hung up with Damian. It was hard, talking about his parents. Jack and Maddie Fenton. He kept going back and forth. Should he keep considering them his parents or not? He loved them, he really did. And he suspected they loved him too. It was just their own ideas and views that were getting in the way. 

He needed to stop thinking about this, this was just going to make him upset. 

UndeadNebula: hey T

FriarTech: yo whats up

UndeadNebula: i know who your hacker rival is

FriarTech: the fuck you do

FriarTech: that’s not funny dude

FriarTech: ive been working on this fucker for weeks!!

FriarTech: i’m so close! Im gonna break into this dude’s computer and make them regret stalking you!!! 

UndeadNebula: cool cool 

UndeadNebula: that’s super nice of you

UndeadNebula: but like

UndeadNebula: what if I told you that it was Damian’s brother

FriarTech: wut

UndeadNebula: a one Timothy Drake-Wayne

FriarTech: no

FriarTech: noooo

FriarTech: noooooooo

FriarTech: please

FriarTech: you have to be fucking with me, right?

UndeadNebula: sadly, i am not

UndeadNebula: talked with Dami 

UndeadNebula: turns out we have something in common!

UndeadNebula: friends/brothers who are totally willing to hack on our behalf!

FriarTech: NOOOOOOO 

FriarTech: DANNY 

FriarTech: WHAT AM I GONNA DO

FriarTech: I WANTED TO WORK FOR HIM ONE DAY

FriarTech: NOT PISS HIM OFF

FriarTech: I’VE BEEN LEAVING A BUNCH OF SUPER CRASS AND MEAN READ ME NOTES EVERYWHERE I’M ABLE TO BREAK IN

UndeadNebula: i’ll ask Dami to put in a good word for you

UndeadNebula: besides, he’s probably gonna be impressed with your skill 

UndeadNebula: and didn’t you say he’d been doing it back to you?

FriarTech: i mean i did it first

FriarTech: but he totally copied my idea of mean Read Me notes

FriarTech: and he’s being super mean back

FriarTech: even meaner than i was!!! 

FriarTech: he implied that it was only my meta abilities that were keeping him out and that he would ruin my life after he found me

FriarTech: which

FriarTech: not wrong on the meta part

FriarTech: but not cool dude

UndeadNebula: well

UndeadNebula: Dami said he’d ask Tim if he’s heard of Oracle 

FriarTech: noooo 

FriarTech: there’s no way he would tell Damian

FrairTech: he’s totally going to lie since i pissed him off so much 😭 😭 😭

UndeadNebula: uh. Im trying to help here? 

UndeadNebula: get you two to stop committing cyber warfare with each other

FriarTech: ugh. Fine. I’ll stop attacking for like a week. I’m still defending my stuff

FriarTech: if he doesn’t stop trying to get in during that time, then truce is over

UndeadNebula: i’ll let Damian know 

UndeadNebula: thanks

FriarTech:: yeah yeah

FriarTech: FUCKING Tim Drake-Wayne

FriarTech: FUCK

***

Red_Ghul: Danny

UndeadNebula: yes honey?

Red_Ghul: Please reassure me that your parents will never be coming to Gotham

UndeadNebula: uh

UndeadNebula: as far as i know they have no plans to?

UndeadNebula: why

Red_Ghul: I fear that they would become Gotham’s latest Rogues 

UndeadNebula: 😂 😂 😂

UndeadNebula: you’re not wrong

***

Danny smiled as he took down the decorations. He would be leaving two up. His ace flag and his pan flag, which he had put under the print of the Ghost Nebula that Jazz had gotten him for his eighteenth birthday. Streaming during asexuality week had been lots of fun! His community had been so supportive! And those that hadn’t had been swiftly removed. He’d been surprised by how many had remained. He’d honestly thought that he would lose a ton of followers, but it had actually garnered him a lot of support, which had not been why he’d come out in the first place. 

Danny had received so many comments, chats, tweets, and more that thanked him for coming out as Demi. He’d read all of them. They warmed his heart and his core, happy to hear from all of the others on the ace spectrum. All those who’d had similar experiences as him, had struggled with defining the absence of something. 

Danny’s world had been rocked the first time he’d felt sexual attraction for Sam. He’d spent time he should have been sleeping to frantically research why an asexual would feel sexual attractions. That’d been when he found the label Demisexual. It had made him feel less alone, less strange and different, to have a label, a name for what he was feeling. It also comforted him to know that he wasn’t alone out there. Others felt the same way. 

He sighed as he took down the purple string lights. He’d left them up for a little while after asexuality week. Partially due to laziness and partially due to him being proud of who he was. What he was. 

He was feeling things. The beginning of things for Damian. Danny had been falling for the man before he’d even known his name or seen his face. They’d been able to have deeper conversations once they’d found out who the other was. Danny had fallen even more and faster than before. He could only hope that Damian was feeling the same. 

He wanted to hug Damian. 

He also kinda wanted to see Damian shirtless. 

Run his hands along the other man’s arms, down his pecs and chest. 

It wasn’t sexual desire. 

Not yet. 

But Danny wouldn’t be surprised if that started to appear soon. 

He really wanted to see Damian in person. Damian had been open to them meeting. They were in the same city for Ancients sake! All it would take was a picture of Damian somewhere Danny recognized, and he could show up there. Total coincidence. It was bound to happen, right? 

Hell, he could transform into Phantom for the first time in months to traverse the city quickly if he had to. All he needed was a chance. 

***

UndeadNebula: Dami

UndeadNebula: all i’ve heard from you the last like two weeks has been how you’re been working

UndeadNebula: staying up all night for a project

UndeadNebula: meeting after meeting

UndeadNebula: Dami

UndeadNebula: Honey

UndeadNebula: Sweetheart

UndeadNebula: you need to take some time off

UndeadNebula: do something for yourself before you burn out

UndeadNebula: i don’t want to see that 

UndeadNebula: burn out isn’t fun

UndeadNebula: you’re burning the candles at both ends dear

Damian blushed reading the backlog of messages from Danny. Danny had started calling him these endearments, these pet names. After Damian hadn’t said anything after the first one, Danny had taken that as permission to call him all sorts of things. They made Damian feel warm. Loved. 

He’d been thinking of a perfect first date to take Danny on. Should he accept. 

His top contender was to take Danny ice skating. Danny was from the midwest, so he was more than likely adept at it. If not, Damian could assist him. It would also be a wonderful way to have Danny close to him, to potentially hold on to his hand or his arm. There was a luxury chocolate shop a block or two away from the rink. They could sit in the cafe, drink hot chocolate together. He could find out what kind of chocolate Danny liked, then purchase him some. 

It would be cold out, possibly raining or snowing. If it was raining, they could share an umbrella. If not, they could press against each other as he walked Danny back to his bus stop or his house. 

Or could he hold out till spring, then take Danny to the botanical gardens? Go on a private boat ride and have dinner, with fairy lights strung up overhead. Danny would look positively angelic like that. 

He was getting far ahead of himself. 

Damian sighed. 

Red_Ghul: You are right. I am exceptionally tired. 

Red_Ghul: You have been encouraging me to ‘treat yourself’. So I will ‘play hooky’. 

UndeadNebula: !!! OMG !! YES

UndeadNebula: You deserve it!

UndeadNebula: you work your ass off and kick butt!!! 

UndeadNebula: go have fun! 

Red_Ghul: I shall. There is a museum exhibit I have been meaning to visit. It will be gone by the new year. 

Red_Ghul: This will more than likely be my only chance to see it here in Gotham. 

UndeadNebula: that sounds perfect! 

UndeadNebula: you should go enjoy yourself

UndeadNebula: you totes deserve it hon!

Damian smiled, before standing up and telling his secretary to cancel all of his meetings today. He was off to visit the Monet exhibit. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a day off. 

***

He couldn’t believe he’d done it. He’d convinced Damian to take a break! Score! He smiled to himself as he went back to taking apart the regulator. He didn’t have the blueprint of this invention, but he was sort of reverse engineering one as he slowly took it apart, making notes and sketches as he went along. Danny’s mind was already whirling with ways he could shrink the device. Jack and Maddie always tended to make large, clunky inventions, with few exceptions. If Gotham’s populace could have small rebreathers they could place in their pockets or purses? To have on hand whenever an attack happened, it could possibly prevent deaths or give people more time to get to safety. If the rebreathers could even be used to protect people against Joker gas? Then they could potentially save hundreds. He was getting a bit ahead of himself though. Those were goals for if he was even able to do this. 

Danny worked for a while, before his phone dinged with a discord notification from Damian. He put down his tools and smiled. Damian had sent him some pictures of paintings, specifically, waterlilies. His brow furrowed. He recognized those. That was that exhibit at the museum of fine arts. 

Wait. 

Damian was there right now. 

In a spur of the moment decision, messaged Damian. 

UndeadNebula: pretty! is there room for one more? no pressure

Danny’s face turned red. Oh Ancients. Why had he done that? He was such an idiot! He clicked the message, getting ready to delete it when Damian responded. 

Red_Ghul: You are always welcome

Red_Ghul: I can wait for you

UndeadNebula: oh i don’t want to make you wait long

Red_Ghul: How long would it take you to get here?

Danny looked up how far it was in maps. It would take around 40 minutes by bus. But if he transformed into Phantom…

UndeadNebula: i could be there in about 20

Red_Ghul: Wonderful. See you soon. I will return to the entrance of the exhibit and shall wait on one of the benches near there. 

Danny scrambled out of his chair, racing to pull on some shoes, grab a jacket, check his hair, and sprinted down the stairs. 

“Jazz! I’m heading out! See you in a bit!” he yelled, not waiting for her response. 

Taking a deep breath, he transformed into Phantom, turned invisible and flew over the city. Oh no. In Amity, he was familiar with what the city looked like from above. He’d yet to fly in Gotham. He was going to do his best not to get lost. 

***

Damian sat on a plush bench, facing Monet - Water Lilies from 1919.

He resisted the urge to check his watch. Danny said he would be coming. He had no idea where in the city Danny was coming from. It was approaching the twenty minute mark. Damian was doing his best to not tap his foot impatiently. He was nervous and incredibly excited. He could hardly believe his eyes when Danny had asked if he could tag along. 

It wasn’t a date. 

But deep inside, he wanted to pretend it was one. 

He turned his head as he heard someone speaking with the guard. He held his breath, as he’d done with every person to enter since Danny had messaged that he was on his way. He was rewarded when stepping through the doors could only have been Danny. 

His inky black hair was just a touch messy. Windswept, one could say. He hadn’t thought it was windy today. Those mesmerizing crystal blue eyes were looking around, looking for Damian. Danny was tall and lanky, wearing a worn, soft looking pair of light blue jeans with a few small stains on them. He was wearing red converse, with a gray N.A.S.A shirt. That also had a few small, dark stains on them as well as a few dark streaks on Danny’s arms. Danny also had a gray windbreaker that he’d tied around his waist. 

Damian stood up and approached. He saw the moment Danny saw him, his eyes widening and a smile spreading across his face. Damian gave his crush a responding smile, his heart fluttering. He’d done that. He’d made Danny smile. A video camera did not do Danny’s beauty justice. He desperately wanted to hold Danny’s hand. 

“Hey there!” Danny said with a grin, giving Damian a small wave, “thanks for waiting for me! And for letting me tag along! I appreciate it.”

“Of course. I am thrilled that you wanted to come. It is rare enough that I can come to a museum. Even rarer that I have someone to view art with me, willingly.” Somehow, Danny’s smile got even brighter. 

“Awesome! Glad I could make it then. Fair warning though, I don’t know a lot about art.” 

“No worries Danny. I can teach you plenty.” Damian said smoothly with a smile. Danny blushed. 

“I - um - lead the way casanova!” Danny stuttered. Damian laughed before leading the other man into the exhibit. 

“I am fairly certain you are the only one who considered me one, Beloved.” 

***

They had finished the Monet exhibit and migrated to the small cafe attached to the museum. Damian’s heart felt light. When he had decided to take a day off, he had never expected it to go as well as it had. He’d heard horror stories from his father and his siblings about how whenever they tried to take a break, that is when every shoe dropped. Metaphorically. Though that was usually when they took breaks from vigilante work, which is not what Damian was doing. 

Walking through the museum had been incredible. Danny had listened with rapt attention to every word he said. He had also never tried to rush him though, like Richard or Timothy. Jason would let Damian take his time, but was often uninterested in his words about the artist, their style, and Damian’s opinions on them. As for Stephanie and Cassandra, he’d never been to a museum with either of them. Brown had indicated no interest and Cassandra was often away, their schedules never coinciding for them to go to. It was not as if going to a museum was as important to him as attending one of Cain’s dance performances. 

Damian watched as Danny sipped at his hazelnut hot chocolate. It was far too sweet of a drink for him, but it suited Danny. He was just as sweet, if not sweeter than his drink choice. They had spent the majority of the museum with him talking. He wanted to learn about Danny. He was going to start with those stains on Danny’s attire and arms. 

“I am curious. What are those on your arms?” 

“The what?” Danny asked, twisting his arm to get a look at the dark streak on his forearm. “Oh no,” Danny moaned, his face turning red. “Please tell me I don’t have these all over.” 

“I am rather afraid you do.” 

“Noooo. That’s so embarrassing! First time I meet you and I'm covered in oil.” 

“Oil from what?” 

“Um, I was taking apart some tech. I wanted to take it apart, to see if I could. And to maybe improve on it. It - um it was something I did a lot with my parents. Take apart their inventions. I usually actually modified them, so they weren’t as dangerous. I’ve um, been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life - not that I’ll quit streaming, I love that! But - I want to do something.” Danny rubbed his arm behind his head bashfully. 

“You know how Red Robin saved me all those months ago? He gave me this inhaler thing that had an antidote. I was able to help so many people get to the clinic over on Sea Scape. I really really enjoyed helping others. It made me feel so good, you know? And I. I’m not really very book smart. But I like doing things with my hands, always have. So. I want to invent something, something to help others.” 

“That is really rather admirable, Danny. I think that is a wonderful goal.” Danny blushed once more, ducking his head to stare down at his hot chocolate. 

Damian felt himself falling even deeper for Danny. Danny cared about others, and wanted to better the world in his own way. It was admirable. 

They continued to chat, before it was time for them to head out. Damian didn’t really want Danny riding the bus too late at night. Additionally, while he could skip his duties at Wayne Enterprises for a day, he could not say the same for his duties as Robin. He walked Danny to the bus stop, staying with him and chatting till it came. When Damian saw the bus approaching, he turned to Danny. 

“Can I hug you?” he asked sincerely. Surprise flashed across the other’s face before he was rewarded with another smile. 

“Of course.” Danny said, opening his arms. 

The two embraced. Danny was a bit shorter than Damian. It felt incredible to have his arms around him, holding him close. They hugged for a few minutes, perhaps longer than acceptable between just friends. Damian did not care. 

“You will let me know when you arrive home safely?” 

“Sure. But only if you let me know too, okay?”

Danny stepped onto the bus, before looking at Damian though the window. Damian didn’t want him to go. He wanted Danny to stay. 

The two kept their eyes on each other till the bus took Danny out of sight. Sighing, Damian made his way back to his car, to take the long drive back to Wayne manor.

Chapter Text

Danny felt like he was floating with how happy he was. Oh wait, he was. 

Oops. 

Glancing around, it didn’t seem like anyone had noticed. If they had, no one had given any indication. That was something that was nice about Gotham. If there was something weird going on, that wasn’t hurting anyone or anything, well, the populace tended to leave it alone. 

Danny sighed happily. He’d met Damian! He’d hugged Damian! Damian had been so warm. He’d been strong too. Danny was pretty sure he’d felt some impressive muscles under the layers of clothing Damian had been wearing…Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. It was probably just wishful thinking. 

He checked his phone. There were a couple messages from Jazz, which was to be expected. He had rather frantically raced out the door. Which probably had been kinda stupid of him. Running off to meet a guy without really telling anyone all the details. He had done it in a public space, which was a sign that he had some common sense… And self preservation instincts. 

He responded to Jazz, waiting for the inevitable scolding he was about to get and it did not take long. She calmed down after Danny told her that he realized it was a dumb thing to do. Preaching to the choir a bit there, Jazz. He knew it was dumb. But he’d done it anyway, and the risk had totally been worth the reward. 

***

Damian could feel his father watching him. He’d more than likely heard about how Damian had canceled all of his meetings for the day and left early. Something that was incredibly out of character for Damian. He was certain that his father, Barbara, and some of the others had looked into his strange actions. Which meant they had seen him at the museum with Danny. It would only be a matter of time before it would be brought up, but his father should prevent it from being discussed on patrol. Should. Damian had a sinking feeling his father would be more lenient with the rules tonight. 

Damian’s fears were proven correct as soon he put his comm in. 

“Hiya Robin!” 

“Greetings Spoiler,” 

“I’ve heard from a couple little birdies that you ditched today. You ditched a bunch of meetings to meet a booooy!”

“The comms are not to be used for gossip,” Damian scolded, hoping Father would intervene soon. The man did have his comm on, and could clearly hear the conversation. 

“Me thinks little bro just doesn’t wanna talk about his crush!”

“Wait, Robin met his crush? You met Danny? Last I knew you had just found out his name!” Nightwing chimed in.  Dread filled Damian. Richard. He would pester Damian. He would not relent till he knew everything. He could already feel a headache coming on. 

“That’s what you get for spending half your time in Bludhaven! You miss out on all the hot goss” Spoiler said smugly. 

“When did all this happen? I feel like I haven’t even been gone that long!” Nightwing complained. Damian resisted the urge to take his comm off. He really did not want to hear all of this. 

“Did you hop on late? That was like the first thing Spoiler said. It happened today.” Red Robin queried. 

“Enough chatter,” Batman ordered, then with a small smile added, “you can discuss it after patrol.” 

Damian resisted the urge to groan as his siblings cheered in his ear. 

***

After patrol, Damian quickly took out his comm before hurrying upstairs. He was breaking the no capes outside of the Cave rule, but he did not care at the moment. He caught a glimpse of Red Hood riding in on a motorcycle, Red Robin and Spoiler not far behind. He did not want to be around when the conversation at the beginning of patrol inevitably continued. 

“Damian! Wait! Don’t run away!” Richard called, already having showered and changed into sweats. 

“Coward!” Spoiler called after pulling off her helmet. 

He could face down a hoard of ninjas no problem. Any of Gotham’s Rogues without batting an eye. However... Talking to his siblings about his crush on Danny? That had him rather terrified. Especially since Danny was an online streamer. Timothy knew, but he doubted his brother would mess with Danny unless Damian had annoyed him greatly. Brown though? Brown would not hold back. Neither would Richard, in a completely different way.

All he had to do was avoid and ignore his siblings as long as possible. 

***

To Damian’s utter horror, his siblings decided to use their group chat to convene and share their information on Danny. Including some YouTube compilations of him interacting and donating to UndeadNebula. 

Fuck. 

AerialAce: Sooooo who’s gonna tell me about what happened with Danny? 

Spoilsport: Dami went on a date with him!!! 

AllSeeingEye: It was rather cute. I got some good stills from the security cameras.

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AerialAce: !!! AWWWWW. He’s so cute! They’re so cute!!! 

AerialAce: DAMI

AerialAce: Your boyfriend needs to come over for dinner sometime!! 

AerialAce: Also, why didn’t you tell us you had a boyfriend!!

BigRedShootingHood: idk maybe because you’d be annoying?

BigRedShootingHood: or that we’d scare him off?

BigRedShootingHood: congrats on the first bf kid

BigRedShootingHood: ya finally did it

AerialAce: Jason! 

AerialAce: we’re trying to be encouraging

AerialAce: this is his first love

Spoilsport: uh

Spoilsport: sure Dick 

SilentButNotDeadly: it is the boy he has shown the most interest in

SilentButNotDeadly: he has been smiling at his phone for months

AllSeeingEye: anyone know how Dami met Danny?

AllSeeingEye: Tim? Didn’t you try looking into who Damian was texting so much?

Spoilsport: wait, why didn’t you

AllSeeingEye: Dick asked me not to

Spoilsport: and you listened?

AllSeeingEye: sometimes we make compromises with our partners. It’s part of the whole communication thing that Dick and I are trying. More of you should try it

BigRedShootingHood: Buuuurn

AerialAce: thanks sweetie ♥️ ♥️ ♥️

AllSeeingEye: of course honey

Spoilsport: 🤢

BigRedShootingHood: 🤢

SilentButNotDeadly: @Spoilsport what it’s cute

Spoilsport: yeah, but like, not in front of your siblings

Spoilsport: and parent 

Spoilsport: keep forgetting that Bruce is in here somewhere

AerialAce: @TinyTim we need the deets on Danny 

AerialAce: spill

TinyTim: i thought you didn’t want me to look into him? Might ruin it for Damian?

TinyTim: also, I hate my name here

TinyTim: @AllSeeingEye can’t you let me change it

AerialAce: yeah well, I changed my mind

AllSeeingEye: I will after you spill the details

AllSeeingEye: I will allow you to go back to your previous name

BigRedShootingHood: what the hell did you do @TinyTim

TinyTim: I don’t wanna talk about it

TinyTim: ANYWAY

TinyTim: This is all due to you, my dear @Spoilsport 

Spoilsport: wait, what

TinyTim: you showed Damian that viral video over a year ago of that guy defending Robin

Spoilsport: yeah, so?

Spoilsport: OH

Spoilsport: no

TinyTim: oh yes! 

Spoilsport: NO!!! 

TinyTim: OH YES

BigRedShootingHood: can you get on with it already

BigRedShootingHood: jeez

TinyTim: fine

TinyTim: our angry little bro decided to look up this streamer

TinyTim: made himself a Twitch account, as well as a Discord account and everything

TinyTim: and he’s been following and watching all of Danny’s, also known as UndeadNebula’s streams

TinyTim: Everything changed when Damian dropped a $5K donation for Danny to buy a cat

TinyTim: See this video. It’s rather cute

Link: https://www.youtube.com/*********

TinyTim: watch at your leisure

TinyTim: this little incident starts the DMs between Dami and Danny. All about the cat, of course

TinyTim: AT FIRST!!!

TinyTim: Damian kept participating, and then, one day, out of the blue, Damian dropped a $10K donation

TinyTim: and since then, there’s been an interesting Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby relationship going on there

TinyTim: here are some compilations of their interactions on stream and some of Damian’s donations

Link: https://www.youtube.com/*********

Link: https://www.youtube.com/*********

Link: https://www.youtube.com/*********

TinyTim: oh, fun thing, DAMIAN HAD NO IDEA WHAT A SUGAR DADDY/SUGAR BABY RELATIONSHIP WAS TILL A COUPLE WEEKS AGO

TinyTim: I had to tell him

TinyTim: I think that ranks in the top 5 weirdest conversations I’ve ever had?

TinyTim: Anyway, from what I could tell, those 2 have been escalating a while, with voice calls, videos, and sharing their names

TinyTim: And, as we all know, Danny and Damian FINALLY met at the Gotham Museum of Fine Arts today at the Monet exhibit. 

TinyTim: then they went off to a cafe, had some drinks and chatted for a couple hours

TinyTim: congrats @AerialAce for raising Damian to be a gentleman, cause he walked Danny to his bus stop and they shared an very nice, very loooong hug before they parted ways

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TinyTim: and yeah, that’s it. You’re all caught up now

TinyTim: I’m honestly surprised that none of you interrupted me

AllSeeingEye: I didn’t let them 😏

TinyTim: Cool. Can I have my old username back

AllSeeingEye: I guess 🙄

TinyTim has been changed to GunplaNerd

Spoilsport: I still feel like TinyTim is better

Spoilsport: but OMG!!! 

Spoilsport: I was an unintentional matchmaker!!!

AerialAce: @GunplaNerd please, please tell me there is actually some sort of affection between them? 

AerialAce: and it’s not just a sugaring relationship, where Damian is head over heels

GunplaNerd: i mean, from what I can tell, they both like each other?

AerialAce: @GayGhul!!! 

AerialAce: @GayGhul! Tell us more about Danny!!! 

AerialAce: when are you guys going to go on your next date?!?

AerialAce: @GayGhul?

BigRedShootingHood: pretty sure he’s trying to sleep

BidRedShootingHood: he ran out of the cave like a bat out of hell

BigRedShootingHood: pun intended

AerialAce: Little wing 🥹

AerialAce: you made a pun! 

Brucie: It’s rather late. Why don’t we continue this discussion in the morning?

AerialAce: Fine

AerialAce: But Dami. If you’re not there at breakfast, I’m going to hunt you down and make you talk ♥️

Damian groaned. There was no way he was getting out of this. He got up and got dressed, taking care that not a hair was out of place. He needed to look confident and controlled. On his way to the dining room, he stopped and gave Titus a few pets. Titus was getting older, no longer having the energy he used to have. White fur was spotted amongst the black around the Great Dane’s muzzle.

Sighing, Damian stood up straight, his shoulders back, walking into the dining room as if he was unconcerned about the conversation that was about to take place. 

As expected, Father was sitting at the head of the table, reading a newspaper. Richard and Jason were on either side of him, with Timothy, Stephanie, and Cassandra there as well. He had hoped that not all of them would be there. It seems he had underestimated how tantalizing information about his love life would be. 

“Baby Bat! The man who we’ve all been waiting for!” Richard called, patting the open seat between himself and Stephanie.

Reluctantly, he sat down, glancing at Timothy who was sitting across him himself and Cassandra who was across from Stephanie. His siblings all looked downright gleeful. He couldn’t see his father’s face well from behind the newspaper, but his intuition told him that his father was smiling as well. 

“Sooooo. Danny’s pretty cute,” Richard said with a grin. 

“He is rather attractive. However, you are mistaken. We are merely friends. Nothing more,” Damian responded, waiting patiently for Alfred to come by with his morning tea. If his pseudo grandfather had not insisted that Damian sit every morning and let himself be served, he would have gotten it himself. Pennyworth generally refused any help, insisting that he could take care of them and that it was his duty. 

“But you want him to be your boyfriend, right?” Stephanie asked, a teasing lilt to her voice as she leaned to the side, nudging her shoulder into his arm. She was far too short to bump her shoulder into his. 

“Although I may hold romantic inclinations for Danny, there is a good chance he does not feel the same. Not only that, he is a civilian.” 

“Uh, based on those screenshots Babs and Timmy sent, looks like he’s pretty damn interested in you,” Stephanie countered. 

“Say that he is. Do any of us have a good track record when it comes to dating a civilian?” Damian asked, looking around the table. They all knew the answer. 

“Well, maybe you could be the first, Dami! Learn from all of our mistakes,” Richard encouraged.

“Yeah, but Bruce already has a hard enough time balancing the whole ‘Brucie’ Wayne thing and Batman. Danny is pretty public, he streams often. Not only that but how the hell would we spin the PR for this? Cold, calculating Damian Wanye falling for a Twitch streamer?” Timothy asked.

“Jeez, do you want the kid to get a boyfriend or not?” Jason chimed in. 

“Hey, I do! Plus this is all stuff Damian and I have already talked about, I just wanted to bring it up again here. The press are going to eat Danny alive if we don’t plan this carefully. Do any of us really want to risk the media calling Danny a sell out or saying that he spreads his legs for cash? No?” Timothy challenged, looking around the room, daring anyone to speak up and counter his argument. Drake’s logic was flawless. As always. 

“Thought not. If Damian is going to pursue a civilian, we need to make it as painless as possible for him. He’s going to have to deal with the whole vigilante thing too, although he won’t be finding that out after dating Damian for a couple years.” 

The table was silent for a moment, processing Timothy’s words. 

“I - I hadn’t really considered that. Thanks Tim,” Richard responded in a gloomy tone. 

“We also haven’t really asked the demon brat if he even wants to date this kid. Sure, he can like him, but maybe Damian is too busy for a relationship or something. Or just doesn’t want one at the moment,” Jason pointed out. 

“He does,” Cassandra mentioned calmly. The rest of them looked at Damian for confirmation. He sighed. 

“I do. I have - I have not felt this deeply for another man before. The others I have gone out with merely lasted a date or two. They annoyed me. Danny does not. I find that I do not mind his presence. In fact, I rather enjoy it,” he paused, glancing at the faces around the table. 

As annoying and embarrassing as this was, he could feel their care for him. They showed with both their words and actions that they loved him, and wanted to be happy. Grayson though. Grayson looked like he was seconds away from crying. 

“Do not cry Richard,” Damian said. 

“I just… I always wanted you to experience having a romantic relationship. And this - it seems like you finally have. I was so worried. It took you so long to open up and get comfortable with all of us, how long would it take you to open up to someone you like? And it’s finally happening. You’re growing up,” 

“He's grown up Dick,” Father said, speaking for the first time in this conversation. 

“I am grown up,” Damian replied, grumpily glaring at his eldest brother. 

“I know I know,” Richard muttered. 

“Breakfast is ready,” Pennyworth announced, a cart beside him filled with covered plates. Damian was reminded of his hunger upon seeing them; they were all ravenous the morning after patrol. 

“Perfect timing, as always Alfred,” Father complimented. 

“You flatter me, sir,” the elderly gentleman said warmly. 

With food on the table, everyone began eating, the conversation over. 

***

“Orion is my favorite,” Tucker stated, sitting cross legged on the floor as Orion climbed on his legs for pets. 

“He’s everyone’s favorite,” Danny replied, sitting nearby, fidgeting with the pieces of tech that were spread out on the vinyl hardwood. 

“So, you got what I asked for?” 

“Wow, way to make this sound like a drug deal Danny,” Tucker deadpanned as he scratched under Orion’s chin. 

“But yeah, yeah I do. It wasn’t hard.” 

“Awesome, thanks! I just need to finish building this real quick, then we can load the code and do some testing,” 

“I’m down for the testing part. Should be fun. Let me know when you’re ready. Orion and I will just hang here. He’s such a friendly old man!” 

“He’s not that old Tuck.”

“Orion’s what, six years old?” 

“Yeah. They stop being kittens around like two years?” 

“He’s such a needy baby!” 

“Uh, yeah, the shelter said he came from a neglect home. So he acts like he’s never been pet in his life. And like he’s never been fed. He’s in danger of becoming a chonker,” Danny responded absently, screwing in some tiny screws. 

“A chonker! A chonker! He purrs so easily,” Tucker commented. 

“We are trying to stop him from becoming a chonker. Jazz gives him extra treats sometimes.” He squinted, biting his lip. Why oh why did they make screws this small? They kept slipping.

“Why don’t you ask her to stop?”

“Well, it seems like it mainly happens on the bad days at Arkham. She only has to intern there like three times a week, but it definitely takes its toll on her. She’ll come home some days and be so sad. Jazz and Orion will just cuddle on the couch together for like half an hour to an hour. After she’s feeling better, she gives Orion treats.” 

“I’ve been going back and forth. I don’t want Orion to get overweight, he’s my cat and it’s my job to make sure he’s taken care of. I pay for all his food, his litter, his toys, cat beds, vet visits, and et cetera.” Danny set down the screwdriver, staring off into space.  

“Yet at the same time, I appreciate and love Orion so much for comforting Jazz in a way I can’t on those bad days. She doesn’t want to talk about what she sees at Arkham with me. Partially because of HIPPA and partially because she doesn’t want to burden me with the horrors she sees there.” Snapping out of it, he turned the hardware over in his hands, looking for any missing screws or anything he’d forgotten. 

“We won’t be living together forever, and I don’t know what we’re going to do when that happens. Orion will be coming with me. But I’m pretty sure she should get a cat or two. For company and for emotional comfort, ya know?” Danny glanced at his friend, who was watching him pensively.

“Makes sense. You’re such a good little dude,” Tucker said to the cat. The purring intensified as Tucker scratched the cat right under the chin. Orion’s favorite spot. 

“Alright! Done!” Danny said, holding up the modified DVD player. 

It didn’t look like much, but with the bootleg code Tucker had acquired, they should be able to play both PS3 and PS4 games on it after they plugged it into a computer. When he’d left, Danny had to leave all of his old consoles behind. With the funds he has now, he could have easily bought some old consoles. But where was the fun in that? Especially since he was trying to get into inventing/building. Was it technically mechanical or electrical engineering? Eh. Not important. 

While he could potentially build an emulator, he’d need software to load onto it to get it to run the video games. So he’d hit up Tucker, and they’d decided to attempt to make a PS3 and PS4 emulator. PS3 emulators were notoriously difficult to make, so if all else failed, they’d make a PS4 one. Either way, Danny would soon have a way to play more games on stream. It was a win - win all around. 

“Sweet. Pass it to me and I’ll install the code. What game do you wanna test with?” Tucker asked, gesturing to the box he’d brought with an assortment of games.

“Not sure. You brought a lot of good classics. Sly Cooper. Jak and Daxter. Spyro. Ratchet and Clank. Ancients, is that Sonic in here?” Danny asked, searching through the box. 

“Hell yeah it is. Sonic is great!” 

“I’m not saying it’s not, I was just surprised to see it.” 

“We’ve got a bit before it all loads and we can test it.” Tucker stated, setting the modified tech down. Two black wires connected it to his phone. No PDA. Tucker had thankfully moved away from that outdated tech during the middle of their junior year in high school. 

“Cool. Uh, hey Tuck?”

“Yeah?” Tucker responded. He didn’t look up from his phone, continuing to do whatever it was that was necessary to load the programs into the emulator. 

“So uh. I met Damian in person this week.” 

“Shut up. No way! Dude!!! How did it go?!?” Tucker asked excitedly, looking up, an excited grin on his face. He nudged Danny gently with his elbow. Danny smiled. 

“It was really nice. Damian is super pretty. Handsome. Just, Ancients, he could be a model. And the way he moves! It’s so fluid and graceful.”

“Where did you meet?” 

“We met at the Gotham Museum of Fine Arts and saw the Monet exhibit. He loves art just as much as I love space. It was fascinating. He knows so much about it. There’s something really attractive about someone knowing so much about something,” Danny said, a blush beginning to form on his face. Tucker smirked mischievously.

“So it was a date?” Danny sputtered. 

“No! We just met. And had coffee and hot chocolate together. And he walked me to the bus stop and hugged me before I had to get on,” Danny said, his face burning even more. 

“It all sounds super sweet. I’m happy for you. When are you asking him out?” Tucker asked with a mirthful glimmer in his eyes.. 

“Tucker! Let me meet him a few more times before I ask him out,” Danny scolded. 

“So you do plan on asking him out?” 

“Yeah,” Danny said shyly, running his finger absently back and forth along the fake wood floor.

“I’m happy for you dude.” 

“So uh. How is the whole hacker truce thing going?” Danny asked, trying to change the subject. Tucker eyed him. The subject change was rather obvious. 

“I know what you’re doing. But…. it’s going well, I guess. Now that we aren’t trying to destroy each other, it’s been kinda fun? We’re still leaving READ ME notes for each other, but they’re nice now. We’re uh, ‘channeling our competitive urges in healthy positive ways’.” Danny stared at Tucker in confusion, moving his hand in a circular fashion, indicating that his friend should elaborate. Unfortunately, Tucker had returned to looking at his phone and missed the gesture. 

“What the hell does that mean?” 

“We’re seeing who can hack assholes and shitty companies the fastest and not be detected. We both submitted a list of people who we think deserve to be hacked.” 

“Please tell me Vlad is on the list,” Danny pleaded, his glee palpable. 

“Oh, for sure dude, I had him at the top of mine. We’re not doing anything malicious. For now. He has some skills that I don’t, which, if he could teach me, I would be super grateful.” 

“What skills does he have that you don’t?”

“Well, I can only do some basic web scraping. Never really had a need for it, ya know? His skills are way better. Like holy shit. And I think he knows how to use the facial recognition scanner that the government and some other shady agencies have.” 

“Why would you wanna use the facial recognition scanner?” Danny asked curiously. He couldn’t think of any reason for Tucker to need to know how to use it. 

“Well. To keep an eye on Dani. She’s your clone. You’re my brother, dude. So she’s practically my little sister, especially since she has to crash at my place whenever she visits. I know it bothers you that we never really know where she goes when she leaves. It bothers me, and I think the rest of us too. I’m not trying to find her and force her to come here or anything, I just want to run a scan for her every month or so to make sure that she’s alive. That she’s okay,” Tucker whispered sadly. 

Warmth and affection surged in Danny’s chest. Ancients, he loved Tucker. He was Danny’s oldest friend, his closest confidant. His brother in everything but blood. They’d never discussed their bond, so to hear Tucker acknowledge how close they were? That he considered Danny to be his brother? It warmed his heart and made him want to cry. Danny crawled over and hugged his best friend. 

“Thank you,” Danny whispered, “Love you too Tuck.” 

“Yeah,” Tucker said, leaning into Danny’s embrace, “love you too.” 

They ignored the pop up saying that the download was done. They would test the emulator in a minute. For now, they just wanted to hug it out. 

***

UndeadNebula: Hey

UndeadNebula: Um, would you want to meet up and hang out again? I had a really good time at the museum

Red_Ghul: I would love to. I had a wonderful time as well. 

Red_Ghul: I must admit though, my schedule is quite busy. I have little free time.

UndeadNebula: That’s okay dear! We can hang out based on your schedule. I have a lot more flexibility and free time.

Red_Ghul: I appreciate it. 

Red_Ghul: We visited the museum last time, which was  Would you like to go to the Observatory?

UndeadNebula: omg

UndeadNebula: YES!!!

UndeadNebula: honestly part of me is surprised that i haven’t been there yet

UndeadNebula: uh, but it’s up that big hill, and i don’t think the buses really go up there

Red_Ghul: As far as I am aware, they do not. 

UndeadNebula: damn

UndeadNebula: well, i can bus close and then walk the rest of the way

Red_Ghul: That concerns me. I can pick you up. 

UndeadNebula: as much as i appreciate the offer honey

UndeadNebula: i think it would be really dumb of me to get in a car with you after having only met you once

UndeadNebula: no offense

UndeadNebula: i also realize this is kinda hypocritical of me since i raced across town to meet you at the museum

UndeadNebula: without telling anyone all the deets

UndeadNebula: don’t worry i have been property scolded for that

Red_Ghul: None taken. Although I am concerned that you went to meet me without letting others know. I am pleased you have been properly chastised. 

Red_Ghul: How about we compromise? 

Red_Ghul: I can pick you up from a very public place. You, of course, let multiple people you are coming with me and where we are going

Red_Ghul: It would be trivial for your friend to hack into the security at the Observatory to ensure that you are alright. 

Red_Ghul: After our trip, I can drop you off at the same public spot, and you can make your way home. 

Red_Ghul: I believe that should allow you to continue to conceal where you live. It should also prevent you from having to make the long trek from the bus stop to the Observatory, and with your friend, you can ensure that you are safe. 

UndeadNebula: damn

UndeadNebula: you think of everything handsome

UndeadNebula: yeah, i think that’s a good compromise 😃

Red_Ghul: Wonderful

Red_Ghul: I should have a free evening in around four days, should nothing urgent come up at the company. Would you like to go then? 

UndeadNebula: i’d love to!! 

***

“Hi everyone! How are you all today? Did you have a good day? I did! I’m rather excited for today! My friend and I have been hanging out, and we made some emulators! They work, so today, since it’s Furrsome Friday, we’re going to be playing Sly Cooper! I feel like it’s kinda fitting since Gotham has a very prominent cat thief, Catwoman! Yes, Yes, Sly is a racoon, but he’s a thief!” 

“Now, I know this is an older game, but it’s still a goodie. I also love Sly’s friendship with Bently and Murray. Do I have some complaints about the game, yes. But we’re still totally playing it!” 

“Why was today so good? Oh, well, thanks for asking NightwingIsCool70, my IT friend is actually a pretty big fan of Nightwing too. Their favorite is Oracle, but we debate on whether or not Oracle actually exists or not. Anyway, I made some plans to go visit the Observatory with a friend! As you all know, I am a massive fan of space, so it’s going to be a good time!” Danny said with a grin. 

“Oh! Thanks for the follow and becoming a subscriber NightwingIsCool70! I appreciate it!. Anywho, Sly Cooper! Let’s get started!” 

It had been quite a while since Danny had played this game. Damn, older games were much less forgiving than modern ones! Hardly any checkpoints, dying after one hit, and one Carmelita Fox. 

Listen, he understood objectively that they had drawn/animated her as a very attractive fox. Thankfully, his mods were on it (it was Tuck and Jazz tonight). 

He’d forgotten about that back and forth between Sly and Carmelita. 

It nudged at his memory. 

“Does this remind you of anything guys?” Danny asked his chat. 

“Oops, sorry, very open ended question. I should have been more specific,” Danny said as he watched chat be filled with confused questions and question marks. 

“So like, I’m putting on my little tin foil hat here, but Catwoman has been around for a long time. Especially in Gotham. But she’s never been caught. At least, not that I can remember. So, it’s either the case that she’s a bomb ass lady, who’s more capable than Batman, which could totally be the case. Or, like Carmelita and Sly, there’s this like forbidden love thing, on the opposite sides of the law. There’s got to be like, some sort of trope for that, right? It’s like a subgroup of the enemies to lovers trope? Right?” 

“Does anyone in chat know if there’s a specific name for that trope?” Danny asked, pausing the game, watching chat. 

“Love across battlelines? I mean, sure I guess. That definitely fits for what the trope is. Wait, why shouldn’t I look at Ao3? There’s RPF fanfiction of me? Uh. Alright. That’s… apparently a thing now. No, I’m not going to read it.” 

“Listen, I have no problem with fan fiction. I read it myself. Wrote a couple dumb stories when I was a teenager. It’s all about escapism. At least, it is for me. There’s also a lot more LGBTQA representation in those stories that there are in mainstream media. Ugh, I hate using that term. I know it’s kinda like a dog whistle for some.” 

“Anywho, read what you want. Write what you want. Just tag it appropriately and be nice in the comments.” 

“Ah! Thanks for the donation, NightwingIsCool70! What do I think of Robin? I know you’re new here, but I do try to limit most hero conversations to my Hero Hour segments. Although I will answer your question, I just won’t go super in depth. I think Robin is pretty cool.”

“Let’s get back to Sly Cooper and the Thevious Racoonis, hmm?”

***

Damian checked his phone multiple times. He would be heading out in a car soon to pick up Danny from a cafe. The cafe was not far from a bus stop, which was what he presumed Danny would be utilizing to meet him. He’d chosen a simple black hybrid Mercedes to pick Danny up in. They were trying to stay out of the spotlight for now. He was going to have to speak with Danny about revealing their relationship (friendship or romantic) to the public. They could hide it for now, but being one of the Wayne’s, it was only a matter of time before the paparazzi discovered them. 

He hoped they would have a plan for the media soon. 

Damian also needed to get a better gauge if Danny was interested in dating him too. That would greatly affect how they decided to go forward with the eventual press release. Or if they decided to have him take a page from ‘Brucie’s’ book and stage something scandalous. When Jason and Stephanie had jokingly offered that idea, Damian had made it very clear that would be a last resort. 

He had no desire to show off his affection for Danny to the public. Not only that, but he was convinced that Danny would not enjoy it. 

Checking once more, he was pleased to see that it was time. He couldn’t stop the brief glance at his reflection in the glass windows. He looked immaculate. Yet he was still nervous. He was trying his best to wear more casual clothing, yet everything he owned looked stylish on him. 

Damian made his way to the car, got in, and then drove to the cafe. Finding a parking spot nearby. He exited that car, checking his phone. Danny had messaged him during the drive that he’d arrived at the Bat Brew cafe. He messaged Danny to know that he’d arrived, then began searching for the other man with his eyes. 

There.

Danny was leaning against the side of the cafe, in a dark red windbreaker with gray trim. The dark jeans were intact with no rips. They were tight on his body, highlighting Danny’s surprisingly muscular thighs. Getting Damian’s message, Danny’s head came up from looking at his phone. Catching sight of Damian, a brilliant grin spread across his face. 

Damian felt his heart flutter at that smile. 

“Danny, good to see you again,” Damian said enthusiastically. 

“Hi Dami!” Danny said, walking towards him. 

Danny’s arms opened, inviting Damian to hug him. Unwilling to let the opportunity pass him by, he embraced Danny, excitement and warmth flooding through him. He was hugging Danny once again! It had only been a few days, but it felt far too long. 

“You have let your sister and friends know that you are going to the Observatory with me?” Damian asked once they had pulled apart, raising an eyebrow. A beautiful rosy blush spread across Danny’s face. 

“Yeah, my sister knows, and so do my two friends that are in Gotham.” 

“Chaos and Friar?” 

“Yes.” 

“Good, my car is this way,” Damian said, directing Danny towards the tiny parking lot, Danny blushing once again at Damian’s words. 

Odd. He didn’t think he’d said anything that would spark another blush, not that he was complaining. He enjoyed it when Danny blushed, especially when he was the one to cause it.

Could he get away with offering his arm to Danny? To escort him to Damian’s car? To guide his prince to his chariot? As foolish and cheesy as it was, but he could easily imagine Danny as his prince and himself as Danny’s protective knight. They arrived at the car before Damian could offer his arm. He would have another chance when they were at the observatory. 

The two conversed about their last couple days. It was nice. Comforting, even. Mundane in the best way. While Damian couldn’t disclose his frustrations about the cycle that was locking up Gotham’s villains only for them to escape again; he could discuss some of the absurd and strange things that happened at work. He couldn’t disclose a lot, but it was nice to unload these trivial worries. 

Before he knew it, they were at the Observatory. Damian exited the car quickly, so he could make his way to the passenger door and open it, assisting Danny in getting out of the car. It caused that beautiful blush to spread across those freckled cheeks once more. Damian’s hand twitched, as he resisted the urge to hold Danny’s. 

That, however, was far more romantic than friendly. Although, opening the car door for Danny might be considered romantic as well. He found he did not care. He would eventually be asking Danny to date him. Should this and a few other ‘hangouts’  go well. 

“I’m so excited,” Danny gushed, his eyes wide and shining with glee. “Did you know that most observatories aren’t open to the public? And most that allow people in, don’t allow the public into the entire place? Gotham Observatory is one of the few that do allow public access, and at certain points of the year, they even let people look through the research telescopes!”

“Did you know that we’re visiting at one of the best times to go to the Observatory? Five of their telescopes are currently open to the public to let them view the stars! Although Gotham isn’t the best place to have an Observatory, due to all the rain and cloud cover…. Plus all the light pollution from the city… it’s still so great that we’re able to visit and use the telescopes!” 

Damian smiled. He reached out and grabbed Danny’s hand. Hearing Danny be so excited about space and the Observatory was endearing. He hoped that Danny had enjoyed his discussions of art at the museum a week ago. Now it was his turn to listen while Danny rambled about his interests. 

Danny looked down at their clasped hands, then back up at Damian before his blush, which had just been fading, came back with a vengeance. Danny did not let go though. In fact, he gave Damian’s hand a small squeeze before using it to lead Damian to the entrance. 

“I’m paying this time,” Danny mentioned casually. 

“This time? We both paid separately at the museum,” Damian queried. Danny looked back with a grin, the blush still lingering on his cheeks. 

“Yeah, but you’ve sent me so many donations, and have filled my closet with super cool merch. Let me get this, okay? I want our relationship to be more equal,” Danny said. 

Damian felt his heart speed up. Danny wanted an equal relationship. Which meant transitioning away from a sugaring one. Something Damian wanted. Desperately. Not only that, Danny had not added a qualifier, which both of them had done previously. He had not clarified that their relationship was one of friends. Did that imply there was a chance at dating? At becoming boyfriends? 

“Earth to Dami? Are you there?” Damian shook his head a little. He was overthinking this. 

“Yes, my apologies. I was lost in thought.” 

“Well, come on back to Earth sweetheart! You’re here with me, and we have a whole observatory to explore!” Danny teased. 

“Of course. There is no where I would rather be than here with you, Beloved”

“Flatterer.” There was that blush again. Warmth and pride filled him once more. He gave Danny’s hand a squeeze. 

“It is not flattery if it is true.” 

***

The observatory had been really fun! Danny had absolutely talked poor Damian’s ear off. But wow. He was pretty sure Damian was flirting with him? Danny had been flirting right back. Or at least, attempting to. Currently his flirting was pretty much limited to calling Damian pet names. He almost couldn’t believe he’d had enough courage to call Damian sweetheart in person. It was much easier to do that over Discord. 

And wow, what a gentleman Damian was. Damian… There was something about the other man that made him feel safe and secure. Maybe it was how confident he was? Yet there was also this wonderful soft side to him. Holding Damian’s hand in his, Danny had been able to feel all of the callouses, the strength contained within. 

Damian, the jerk, had bought Danny a couple model rockets along with a few prints of some galaxies. He’d also purchased Danny a soft, stars and galaxies blanket. They were apparently a thank you for paying for Damian’s admission to the observatory. Danny would totally get him back, with some sort of incredible gift. He didn’t know what, but he would either get something or make something for Damian. 

They were in the car once more, and Danny was sad that their time together was almost up. He wanted to see Damian again, soon. He was pretty sure Damian wanted to see him too. 

“When can I see you again?” Danny blurted, derailing their conversation about how horrible astronaut food was. Damian blinked in surprise, only briefly glancing at Danny before returning his eyes to the road. 

“Soon, I hope. There is an upcoming gala this Friday, but I should be free that Saturday.”

“I won’t be able to hang out in the morning, because I’ll be streaming late on Friday, but I’m free Saturday too. Does this mean I won’t see you on stream on Friday?” 

“Yes, that is unfortunately correct. I do rather enjoy your Furrsome Friday streams.” 

“Well. Um. I’m thinking about getting a cat for my sister. Would you want to come with me to the shelter for a bit? We can volunteer for a bit, and look for a very cuddly cat.”

“Have you asked your sister if she wants a cat?” 

“No, not yet, I plan on doing that in the next day or two. Either way, if she doesn’t want one, we can still volunteer together.”

“I would love to volunteer with you at the animal shelter. I can already imagine it, you covered in kittens. It makes a rather adorable image,” Damian said with a soft smile. 

Danny could feel his cheeks start to burn. Ancients, Damian was an absolute master at getting him to blush. On the subject of being covered in cats… The idea of big, strong, Damian delicately holding tiny mewling kittens? That - that was an absolutely lovely image. Heat flared within him. 

Oh no. 

Bad Danny. 

Damian was thinking cute fluffy adorable thoughts, and here Danny was, starting to thirst over his companion. 

But yay, the beginnings of sexual desire had showed up? But boo that he wasn’t sure if Damian liked him. Okay, he was pretty sure Damian did. That didn’t mean the idea of asking Damian out on a date was terrifying. Danny made a promise to himself. He would hang out with Damian at the animal shelter, then if that went well, if they were still flirting with each other, then he’d ask Damian out. 

He would not let himself chicken out. 

Damian pulled into the parking lot of the cafe. He shut off the car and turned to look at Danny. 

“We have arrived.” Damian paused before continuing, a softness to his voice, “I will miss you, Beloved. I await the next time I can see your gorgeous visage once more.” Danny could once again feel himself blush. 

Damn, Damian was on a roll. Danny didn’t think he’d ever blushed more in his life. How the hell was Damian so smooth?!? Feeling brave, Danny reached out, his hand caressing the side of Damian’s face. Danny’s heart fluttered when Damian leaned into his hand, then turned to give his palm a kiss. There was a heat in Damian’s eyes. 

Desire. 

Danny’s breath hitched. 

They were in a car, in a parking lot, near a popular cafe. Anyone could be watching. 

It didn’t feel like that though. 

It felt like it was just Danny and Damian, no else.

Nothing else mattered. 

“I’ll miss you too sweetheart,” Danny whispered, his eyes locked with Damian’s. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

Reluctantly, he turned away, opened the car door, and stepped out. Once he was on the sidewalk, he turned back, and gave Damian a wave. Danny watched and waited as Damian started the car and drove away. 

Sighing longingly, Danny pulled out his phone to message Sam, Tuck, and Jazz that he was back at the cafe and would be headed to the bus stop. He froze though, upon seeing the notifications. 

Missed call from Mom

***

The next couple days were a blur for Danny. His mom had reached out. She… wanted to talk? Hopefully? He didn’t know. He’d been too scared, too anxious to reach back out. He knew, logically, that he needed to. Damian was clearly worried by Danny's strange behavior. He felt bad, as he’d changed immediately after their outing to the observatory. 

This needed to stop. He had a stream in two hours, and his shelter date with Damian. Jazz had decided she wanted a cat too, and she was happy to have Damian and Danny come along to pick one out, but it would not be that Saturday. He didn’t want to be distracted by this. He didn’t want this hanging over him. With shaking hands, he messaged Damian. 

UndeadNebula: hey Dami

UndeadNebula: sorry i’ve been so weird the past couple days

UndeadNebula: my mom reached out

UndeadNebula: i’ve been kinda freaking out

UndeadNebula: i know i haven’t really been myself 

UndeadNebula:  sorry you had to deal with me like that

UndeadNebula: she called while we were at the observatory

UndeadNebula: i 

UndeadNebula: i know i don’t need to

UndeadNebula: i don’t owe them anything

UndeadNebula: but i miss them

UndeadNebula: it’s been driving me crazy wondering what she could have wanted

UndeadNebula: im going to be calling her back

UndeadNebula: because i can’t deal with this uncertainty anymore and it’s stopping me from being happy

UndeadNebula: i usually look forward to stream

UndeadNebula: and i look forward to every time i get to see you dear

UndeadNebula: but it’s like this has just sucked the joy out of everything

UndeadNebula: i know you have your gala

UndeadNebula: good luck tonight sweetheart

UndeadNebula: knock ‘em dead with your wit and beauty 😜

Now. 

Time to call his mom. If it went well, great. If not, well, he’d never missed a stream before, his viewers would understand. He would go get a bunch of ice cream with Jazz and eat his feelings.

His hands still shaking, he clicked the dial button. 

It rang. 

“Danny?” came his mother’s hesitant voice. 

“Hi mom,” he whispered. 

“Hi sweetie,” her voice was choked up. “How have you been?”

“I’m doing okay,” he responded, thrown off by the fact that she was asking about him and his life. That she was acting as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t left in the middle of the night and run away. 

“What college are you going to?” she asked. That. That filled Danny with anger. 

“No college. They don’t exactly accept high school dropouts. Took me a bit, but I got my GED though. Worked at a fast food restaurant, kinda like the Nasty Burger for a while. It paid the bills,” he knew there was a bite to his tone. He couldn’t bring himself to care. She - they deserved it. They deserved his anger. 

“O-Oh”

“What did you think would happen, mom ?”

“I - I’m sorry Danny.”

“Yeah? What are you sorry for?”

His mom didn’t answer. 

“That’s what I thought. Don’t call me till you have an actual apology, and you wanna actually talk about what you and dad did instead of just trying to sweep it under the rug.”

With that, he hung up and put his face in his hands and cried, his anger dissipating into sadness. He didn’t know how long he sat there crying, but he eventually felt Orion jump onto the bed next to him. The cat began to purr and heatbutt Danny, begging for pets. Sniffing, Danny began to use one hand to pet the needy boy. 

“Hey Orion. My good boy. Did you come because I was sad?” Danny asked in a watery voice. Orion didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer, obviously. But Danny liked to think the two tiny licks he got on the back of his hand counted as a yes. 

UndeadNebula: i did it

UndeadNebula: didn’t go well

UndeadNebula: may have gotten really angry

UndeadNebula: sorry for blowing up your phone

UndeadNebula: im gonna go drown my sorrows in ice cream

UndeadNebula: if you’re not too tired, do you wanna hop on a call after the gala?

UndeadNebula: stream should be over by then and i don’t mind waiting up a bit

UndeadNebula: miss you

***

Galas were a necessary evil. He despised them, but they had a multitude of uses. Thankfully it was over. He’d felt his phone go off a few times in his pocket. Pennyworth was driving himself, Timothy, Father, and Cain back to the manor. Between the three of them, the back of the car was a little cramped. Father was, of course, in the passenger seat. Damian was uncertain if he wanted to risk his siblings looking over and reading his messages to Danny. He had nothing to hide, it was merely that he wished to keep their conversations private. They were special to him. He treasured them. 

No. He would wait until he was back at the manor. 

It was only after he’d changed, gotten into pajamas, and settled in bed that he checked the notifications and messages on his phone. His heart sank, reading through everything Danny had sent him. His eye flicked to the status indicator on Discord. Green. Danny had been online recently. 

Voice call started with UndeadNebula

Damian only had to wait but a few moments before the tone that indicated someone had joined sounded. It was silent. Then some slight sniffing. 

“Danny?” he asked gently. More sniffling and a sob. 

“How was the stream, Danny? Or did you have to cancel?” He was unsure where to go from here. He was not known for being great at comforting others. Hopefully distracting him would work for a bit, then they could revisit Danny’s call with his mother. 

“I - uh - It was all a blur. I don’t know how I got through it. I really don’t think I was my usual self. I missed you,” Danny whispered. 

“And I you. I regret that I was able to provide you comfort after the call and to support you during the stream.”

“N-No, you had other things to do, important things.”

“They are not as important as you,” Damian reassured him. Danny managed a weak chuckle. 

“Smooth. As always.” 

“It is merely the truth. Did you wish to continue with some small talk, or did you want to discuss the call?”

“As much,” Danny gulped, “as much as I want to talk about anything but the call, I don’t think I’ll feel better till I do. I talked about it with Jazz - my sister - but I don’t know. I’ve found that I process things by talking it out with other people.” 

“Then I will listen. Do you want me to provide any advice or commentary?”

“Um, in general, um, do you mind just listening to what I say? I would appreciate advice if you have some, at then end, because I don’t know what the fuck to do!” Danny’s fear and anxiety was clear from his voice. Damian closed his eyes, his heart aching.  

“I can do that, Beloved.” 

“Oh - Okay. Thank you.” 

“So, um, I - I ran away from home. My parents - They told me they loved me, but would flinch whenever I touched them. Or when they saw me. They would act like I wasn’t there sometimes. Like I was invisible. And when they did acknowledge my presence, it was to often berate me, or tell me all the things I wasn’t doing right. I would have to sit there, and listen to all of their rants about how metas are no longer human, and how humans who had - who had changed weren’t human anymore. What was his name? Garfield Logan? The boy who’d gotten a blood transfusion from a Martian? Yeah. They ranted about him a bit. And also - also about ghosts. How ghosts, even if they were ghosts of humans, were not human anymore. They would talk about how they were evil, all of them.” 

“I was taken, you know.”

“I was taken by people who wanted to study my powers. By people who didn’t really care about the law, and used it as a way to sanction their cruelty.” 

“I escaped. I told my parents everything. I revealed that I had powers. I kinda had to. I had no other way to explain why I’d been missing.” 

“They didn’t believe me, Damian.” 

Danny laughed bitterly at that. 

“I’d always enjoyed my healing ability. It was nice. But at that moment, I hated it. All the proof of what I’d gone through, gone. Some nights, when I have nightmares, I wake up and look at all the smooth skin and doubt. Was I just fooling myself? Did that really happen?” There was a hysterical edge to Danny’s tight voice. 

“Tuck - Friar has evidence though. On his computer. They recorded it. The bastards. They recorded and logged everything they did to me. My sister thinks it’s a form of self harm. That I’m torturing myself by watching them. The recordings. I watch them to reassure myself that it happened. That I’m not lying. It was all real.” He whispered. 

“Of course, after I’d revealed what I could do, that’s when their attitude towards me changed. And I ran away to Gotham. It was the best place I could think of to hide, where I might have an actual shot of affording rent on my own.” 

“When she called me - I honestly don’t know what I was expecting. It wasn’t for her to pretend like nothing had happened. Like it hasn't been over a year since I left, hell, it’s closer to two years than one.”

“It made me so mad. What the hell? How could she just act like nothing had changed?” 

“How could she just throw me away? Her son?” Danny’s pain was evident in his voice. 

His words pierced deep into Damian. He’d had similar thoughts, when his mother had left him with Father. He knew it was for training, but how could his mother leave him behind? With no reassurance that he would ever see her again? 

All he could do was offer advice on what had helped him through that time. 

“I am so sorry for what you have gone through. It must be very difficult at times. I can only offer you advice based on my own experiences. I am not trying to compare pain, I wish to make that clear.” Taking a deep breath, Damian began. 

“I grew up with my mother. She taught me many things that a child should not know. Forced me to experience things that no one should. Her and Grandfather did that to me. She did it all under the pretense of loving me. Perhaps she truly did. I will never know.”

“However, when I was ten, she left me with my Father, who I had never met before. Who she had only told me about, spinning tales that made him seem larger than life, a hero. It was disappointing to learn that he was only human. My heart broke when she left me behind. Despite everything she had put me through, she was still my mother and I loved her. I chased after her, whenever I saw her, attempting to get her attention and approval. To make her happy. It never worked. It also damaged my relationship with my father and my new siblings when I did this. My mother never had to reflect on the wrong she had done to me, as I never gave any indication that it was wrong till it was too late. By that time, she didn’t believe that she’d hurt me as a child, as I had been fine with it for years, and why was I bringing it up only now?”

“I offer you this. Learn from my mistakes. Don’t chase after your mother or your father. They are the ones who have wronged you. You are already doing incredibly well, in my opinion, on setting boundaries and making them come to you, to apologize to you.” 

“You do not deserve this, you have deserved none of this. My heart goes out for you, Beloved.” 

At this, Danny began to sob. And sob. 

Damian stayed on the call, making soothing noises and offering platitudes. Eventually, the sobs subsided, Danny’s breathing evened out. 

“Danny?”

Nothing, besides the gentle breathing. 

“Beloved?”

Silence. 

Danny must have fallen asleep on the call. His love had cried himself to sleep. Damian wished he could be there, in that very moment, to cradle Danny in his arm, to soothingly pet Danny’s hair, and press gentle kisses to his temple. 

Damian vowed to himself that the next time Danny was this upset, he would be there, in person, to comfort him. He would not be far away, only able to comfort his prince with words. 

He glanced at the time. He would have a couple hours to research the depraved traffickers that had kidnapped Danny before he needed to sleep. They would rue the day they messed with his Beloved. It did not matter that it had happened before he met Danny. It still clearly affected his love, and he would not stand for it till he obtained some justice. Father’s kind, with bruises, cuts, concussions, and then a long time in a cell. 

***

Danny pulled on his Robin themed jacket and put on a beanie. It was supposed to be cold today. He was nervous. He’d unintentionally revealed that he had powers to Damian. Thank goodness he’d at least managed to imply that he was a meta, not that he was half ghost. The Anti Ecto Acts may have been repealed after Luthor had to step down, but everything that had happened while he’d been taken was technically legal. 

That was the horrifying part.

For a year or two, he’d had less rights than the animals in the shelter he was about to visit. 

It was a sobering thought. 

Shaking his head, he began to put on his boots before calling out to Jazz. 

“I’m off to volunteer at the shelter.”

“Okay, have fun! I won’t be here when you get back. I have class,” Jazz responded distractedly from the kitchen as she ate some pasta. 

“Thanks for the heads up,” Danny said, then paused. 

“Jazz, you know how I called mom yesterday?” 

“I remember,” she said softly, “you cried for a bit and I got ice cream for you after the stream.” 

“I - I called Damian last night. I told him some things. Not - not that I'm a halfa or anything. That I have powers. That I was - was - was tortured. I implied that I was a meta with at least a healing factor.” Jazz looked conflicted. 

“I’m glad that you feel close enough to Damian that you can begin to tell him about yourself and reveal some of your secrets. But being a meta is still pretty dangerous. It’s dangerous the more people who know.” 

“I know, I know. There’s also the whole, I’m claiming slash pretending to be a meta, when neither of us or our parents carry the meta gene.”

“That too. Sam and Tucker are a bit more protected. Their abilities are due to their liminality, but they both also have the meta gene. It’s easier for them to claim that they’re metas.” 

“I know Jazz. I just - I think I can trust Damian. Or at least, start to trust him.” 

“That’s a pretty big secret to start with.”

“Maybe, but he still doesn’t have the full truth, the full secret, so if all goes well, then that should mean I can trust him more. If not. Well, it’s not the full truth, so it shouldn’t hurt too much if it gets revealed.” Jazz sighed. 

“This is your secret, little brother. I am proud of you for wanting to trust someone. I just wanted to make sure that you knew of the potential downsides. The potential risks. And I can’t help but worry about you, what could happen and what people could find out if they keep digging.” Danny smiled, happy at the reminder that Jazz loved him and cared for him. He honestly couldn’t have ever asked for a better big sister. 

“Love you Jazz.” 

“Love you too Danny. Now go! You’re going to be late for your date!” She teased. 

“It’s not a date!” Danny said, blushing as he opened the door and stepped outside. As he closed the door, he heard her final remark. 

“But you totally want it to be!” 

He sighed, looking at the jacket as he began his walk. Yes, he really wished this was a date. Just like he’d wished their trips to the Museum and the Observatory had been dates. When they’d been in the car alone, he’d felt the beginnings of more… uh, carnal feelings for Damian. He’d thought Damian was going to kiss him. Instead, Damian had kissed his palm. Which was very very attractive. It caused those weird feelings. The uh - beginnings of sexual desire. 

Well, that and the thought of Damian covered in kittens. 

Did he want to kiss Damian?

After a moment of thought, yes, yes he did. Just chaste ones though. No tongue please. That was um, no. He was not ready for that. 

Danny was nervous, his stomach fluttering. The animal shelter was close enough that he could just walk to it, no bus needed. It was actually the shelter he’d gotten Orion from, and where they would probably get Jazz’s cat from. It gave him time to think, but did he really want time to think? It would just make him more nervous. He was going to ask Dami out today, at some point. Okay, maybe asking Damian out inside the shelter wasn’t a good idea. Maybe after? But that meant he’d spend the entire time nervous and anxious. He could do it beforehand, but if Damian rejected him, then it would be awkward to volunteer together. 

Ancients. 

After it was. 

Hopefully Damian would chalk up his weirdness to him crying and fall asleep on him last night. And everything he’d spilled about his past. Would Damian still like him after all that? Now that he knew more about why Danny ran away? Maybe he should have messaged Damian beforehand to see if they were still on to go volunteer at the animal shelter. He still had no idea what Damian would even see in a fuck up like - 

“Beloved, there you are.” Damian’s voice pulled Danny out of his anxious spiral. 

Damian was leaning against the brick wall of the shelter, wearing a black pea coat with dark gray slacks. Danny could see a deep sapphire blue sweater peeking out from underneath the coat. Damian always look amazing, so put together. Breathtaking. 

“Dami! Good to see you! How was last night? Sorry that I never asked out it,” Danny said a tad guiltily. Damian huffed. 

“It was an enormous waste of time. I despise such things. It’s just an excuse for those with wealth to show it off and pretend that they are charitable.” 

“Uh, sorry to hear that. But at least a lot of money was donated to worthwhile charities?” 

“That is the only upside of going, ensuring that worthy causes are able to receive funds. How are you feeling? Yesterday was rather difficult for you. I was unsure if you still desired to meet today.”

“I did. I needed to get out of the house. And distractions are good. Plus, I’ve been looking forward to this all week. I really didn’t want to miss it. Besides, cute kitties are definitely a mood booster!”

“Then shall we go in?” 

“Yes, let’s go!” 

***

Danny wasn’t acting like himself. It was understandable. There was a gloomy, nervous air about him. Despite all the cute cats and kittens they were surrounded by. They cleaned litter boxes, dirty food dishes, changed all the water for fresh water, and more. Sometimes volunteer work was like this. Dirty. Other times it was incredibly boring. 

Thankfully, towards the end of the shift they had signed up for, the two were tasked with entertaining a room full of kittens. They were the ones that had gone through quarantine and determined to not have any disease or sickness that could potentially spread to the others. Danny and Damian had to wear little covers on their shoes, to reduce the possibility of them bringing something in. Kittens were rather delicate. 

Both men had found themselves to be kitten mangents, the curious little creatures climbing their legs. It was rather expected of the young cats. Damian felt his heart flutter when he heard Danny giggle, amused by the kitten’s antics. The rest of their volunteer time was spent playing with the kittens. 

All too soon, it was time to leave. Their time together always felt so short. He was not entirely sure when one could ask someone to spend the entire day with them. Damian didn’t want to leave, not yet. Danny didn’t seem to want to leave either, hesitating once they were outside the shelter. 

“Damian,” Danny said. 

“Yes Danny?” 

“Um, so, I really really like talking to you. And hanging out with you. It’s been a lot of fun! I uh, I hope I’ve been reading all the signals right, but. Dami. I like you,” Danny said in a rush, his cheeks starting to pink. 

“Would you - Would you like to go out with me? On a date?” Damian was stunned. He couldn’t believe it. Danny had asked him out, Danny liked him back. His heart was pounding, excitement and glee rushing through him. With a smile, he responded. 

“I would love to, Beloved.”

Danny’s ecstatic gin was beautiful, lighting up his entire face, those blue eyes sparkling. 

“Awesome! Great! I uh, I have an idea of two of what we could do… I’m paying by the way! I asked you out, so it’s on me!” Damian chucked. 

“Very well. But only if I am in charge of financing our second date and planning it.”

“I - We haven’t even had our first one yet! How are you so sure we’ll have a second? I mean, I’m pretty sure I’ll want a second one, but like -” Danny stopped rambling when Damian placed a finger to his lips and stepped closer. 

“Our chemistry is rather palpable, don’t you think? The previous two times I have seen you in person, whenever I have had to leave you, I have longed to be in your presence once more. I am confident there will be more than one date. I hope we will go on many dates.”

Danny had a shocked, bashful expression on his handsome face. The pink on his cheeks from earlier turned red. His mouth opening, then closing, eyes blinking while staring at Damian. Removing his finger from Danny’s lips, Damian moved even further into Danny’s space. 

“I have been wanting to do this for a while. Danny, may I kiss you?” Danny nodded frantically. 

Slowly, Damian leaned forward and pressed his lips against the other’s. Danny’s lips were soft. It was a gentle kiss, and far better than many of the others he’d had. Perhaps it was because he cared for Danny more than he had the other’s? Damian was unsure. It didn’t really matter though. All that mattered was that he was kissing Danny. 

Reluctantly, he pulled away. 

They stared into each other’s eyes. 

Damian was tempted, oh so tempted to lean down once again to kiss Danny once more. Danny’s cheeks were red, and he was sure his own were as well. They stood there, gazing at each other, neither wanting to be the first to leave. The wind blew, and snow began to fall softly. Danny looked up at the sky sadly and sighed. 

“I need to get going. You should too. You drove, right? It’s safer to be off the roads when it’s snowing.” 

“You are correct. I can drive you home, it should get you there quicker than the bus.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it, I walked.” 

“Then may I walk you home?”

“I - Oh, you don’t need to. I have pepper spray, and then you’d just have to walk back here on your own.” 

“True, but I wish to. Would you indulge me?” 

“Okay. Yeah, I would like that,” Danny said shyly. 

“Wonderful,” Damian said with a smile. He gently took Danny’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Lead the way, Beloved.”

They walked together down the streets of Gotham, Danny slightly ahead to lead him. Damian kept glancing at Danny, and was amused to see Danny doing the same, stealing glances at both him and their clasped hands. It was adorable. The silence was not awkward, it was comfortable. The snow fell down faster, causing them to hurry. 

Danny stopped in front of some brick townhomes. He let go of Damian’s hand, and walked up the first two steps before turning back to face Damian. 

“This is me. Drive safe, okay hun? I don’t want you to get in an accident. Um, let me know when you’re free for our date, okay? And let me know when you get home please.” 

Danny leaned forward, Damian rising up to meet him in another chaste kiss. 

Danny broke the kiss and pulled out his keys. He finished going up the steps and unlocked the door, glancing back at Damian once he was inside. 

“Bye Dami. I’ll miss you.” 

“And I you, Beloved.” 

Danny shut the door and locked it. Damian sighed. He reached up and touched his lips. He could still feel the press of Danny’s lips against his own. Sighing once more, he turned and made his way back to his car, after making note of Danny’s address. 

***

Danny locked the door, then turned around, his back pressing against the wooden door as he slid down it. He’d asked Damian out! He’d kissed Damian! He couldn’t believe it! He felt light, so happy, like he was floating on air! 

Getting up, he shifted into Phantom. Transformation complete, he turned invisible and intangible, and began to follow Damian back on his walk to the shelter. He didn’t want to have Damian walk back unprotected! Especially since he was Damian Wayne, and the Wayne’s had a tendency to be kidnapped for ransom money. Although he couldn’t ever remember seeing that happen to Damian in the news. Just Bruce and Tim. 

Ancients, Damian was handsome. The snow was catching in his hair and on his eyelashes. It was a good thing he was invisible and intangible, that way no one could see his heart eyes and his goofy lovestruck expression. Did this make him creepy? Was he kind of being a stalker to follow Damian? 

No.

He was just doing this to make sure Damian got to his car safely. And he also wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to look at Damian. All too soon though, Damian was back at the shelter and getting into his car. What was that phrase again? Ah yes, parting was such a sweet sorrow. Danny was sad Damian had to go, but he was looking forward to their next meeting. Their date! 

Danny flew home, doing far more loops and twirls than usual in his excitement. 

***

“Sam. Where am I going to take Damian on a date?!? Also, what am I going to wear?!?” Danny asked frantically.

“Just wear something you’d be comfortable in,” Sam responded, watching Danny from the bed as he paced. 

“But I want to impress him!” 

“Your clothes are not going to do that. I’m pretty sure his jacket is probably going to be worth more than your entire outfit.” 

“Can you at least help me here!” Sam sighed. 

“Danny. You’re freaking out. Damian likes you for you. He literally asks you to wear your Robin hoodie on stream. Wear something comfortable. Wear your Robin bows. They’re cute.” 

“But Damian’s gay. What if he doesn’t like my bows?” Sam gave him a deadpan look. 

“Hair bows do not make someone feminine. It doesn’t make you a woman. You know this. We’ve talked about this. They’re just objects,” Sam looked him over once more before sighing and standing up. 

“Okay. Let’s pretend you’re going out with Tuck and I to a fancy dinner. What would you wear?” Danny blinked at her. 

“Uh. My nice jeans.” 

“Good start. Give them here. What else?” Sam held out a hand, waiting for Danny to hand her the aforementioned jeans.  

“I have a nice long sleeve button down. And my N.A.S.A. pin.” Sam waved her hand, indicating that Danny should pass that to her as well. 

“I like the pin, it’s very you. A jacket?” 

“Uh, my gray and red Robin jacket. It’s my current favorite.” Danny said, giving her the last item of clothing. 

“There you go! There’s your outfit for your date!” Sam said confidently, looking at the small pile of clothes Danny had handed her. “Make sure these are clean before you go on your date.”

“Now, where did you put Delihlah? I don’t see her?” Sam asked, looking around the room.

“You know I have ice powers. She started suffering due to it, so I put her in the kitchen.” 

“Hmmm. Okay. I’ll check on her before I go. How often do you feed her flys?” 

“I don’t? It’s a venus flytrap, it can catch them on its own?” 

“In the wild, sure, but Delihlah is indoors. Not a ton of flies.” 

“Shit. Sam, you know I’m not good with plants.” 

“Oh, I know. But as my friend, I expect you to try to take care of the plants I give you. And to send them back to me when you realize they’re starting to die. Besides, I gave them to you and Tucker on a loan. You’re just babysitting. I’ll need her and the others back in a month or two.” 

“Things still not going great with your roommates?” Sam sighed and flopped down on the bed, next to the pile of Danny’s date clothes. 

Sam’s dorm mates really hated all of her plants, and had purposely killed a few. Hence the plant exodus that caused Danny and Tucker to take care of them. Just till the semester was over or till Sam moved out of that dorm room.

“I just. Tucker is fitting in so well. There are so many computer sci and tech people. Probably ‘cause Wanye Enterprises is known to hire a lot of Gotham U alumni. I don’t know. I thought it would be different! I’d leave Casper high, with all those judgemental popular kids and that whole stupid hierarchy and find a community of goths here. It’s fucking Gotham! There has to be a thriving Goth community somewhere here!” She sighed once more, as Danny laid next to her on the bed. 

“I don’t think I’m going to get a dorm again next year. I’m gonna get an apartment somewhere. You lived in Crime Alley for a while, you survived, and it didn’t sound all that bad.” Sam said, looking at Danny. Danny grimaced. 

“It was the East End. I also wasn’t totally honest with you guys how shitty that area was. I didn’t want you guys to pity me. Or feel any more worried for me than you already were,” Danny admitted. 

“Oh,” Sam said quietly. 

They laid there in silence for a few minutes, staring at the glow in the dark stars Danny had placed on the ceiling. He’d spent a fun hour or two placing them all to match the night sky in March in North America. 

“My boss offered me her spare room.” 

“Your boss, the owner of the plant shop?”

“Yeah. Pam and her girlfriend Harley like me. They kinda act like I’m their kid. It’s kinda nice. They like me for who I am,” she whispered. 

Danny’s heart ached for her. As tough as Sam acted, he knew how much it hurt her that her parents didn’t like how she dressed or acted, constantly trying to change her. Both Danny and Tucker had held Sam before as she’d sobbed, asking why they couldn’t accept her as she was. 

It hadn’t helped that Sam’s grandmother Ida had passed their junior year. She’d been the only one in that household not trying to force Sam to wear pink frilly dresses. Without grandma Ida’s influence, Sam’s mom had gotten even worse. He wasn’t entirely surprised that Sam would latch onto older adults, who were probably their parent’s age who accepted her. It also probably helped that they shared similar interests. Ancients, he was sounding like Jazz. 

“How do they treat you like their kid?” She smiled fondly. 

“Well, they’re always trying to feed me. It’s all vegetarian or vegan, which is great. They always ask me about school. Harley helped me out with my Psych 101 class. She actually made it pretty fun. Pam - Pam has plant powers. Like me. She’s a meta, and I’m liminal, but it’s nice. She offered to teach me. They like to insist that I do my homework before I help run the cash register. Pam gave me a super cool fake leather jacket. Like a biker jacket. She said it was too small for her, but I found the tag. I’m pretty sure they bought it just for me.” 

“I just - I don’t know. All that stuff seems like stuff parents would do.”

“They sound really nice Sam.” She smiled. 

“They are. Pam gave me Delihlah. They jokingly call me Venus, like Venus Flytrap. And because I’m beautiful as I am,” Sam turned her head back to the ceiling, smiling. 

“I’m happy for you Sam. You should still be careful though. When can Tucker and I come to visit the shop?”

“Anytime really. I've been spending a lot of my freetime there. It’s nice, to be surrounded by the plants. There’s not a lot of greenery in this city outside of the parks. I work part time though, so Wednesday through Saturday I’m usually there working.” Sam grinned mischievously, turning to look at Danny.

“I’ve showed them your stream before. Harley says you make a cute kitty, but their friend Selina has you beat.” 

“Uh, okay, that’s a bit weird.” Sam laughed. 

“It’s just Harley. She’s pretty funny, but her jokes don’t always make sense to me. I’m pretty sure it’s some inside joke between them and Selina. She’s a total cat lady.” 

“Well, Tucker and I will definitely show up there soon. We need to support our friend’s place of work!” Danny cheered, pumping his fist. Sam laughed at his antics. 

“Ancients, you’re such a dork.” 

***

“Goddamit Tucker, why are you calling me at -,” Danny glanced at his rocket ship alarm clock, “two in the fucking morning?” 

“I have a lead on Oracle!” Danny leaned his head back and groaned. 

“And this couldn’t wait till a reasonable hour?” He complained. 

“It can’t! It really can’t! I don’t know how long this signal is going to be there! Can you get me and fly me to the top of Wayne Tower?” 

“Ugh. Fine. But you have to help me test my rebreather slash respirator mask thing.” 

“Deal! See you soon Danny!” 

With that, Tucker hung up the phone. Danny groaned once more before stumbling out of bed. He stretched. Yawning, he transformed and flew off, on his way to get his way too awake, way too excited friend.

Chapter Text

Yawning, Danny flew over the city. Tucker had a tiny dorm near Gotham University. The cold, chilly air did not phase him. Ice core, baby. 

It did wake him up though. 

Tucker owed him hot chocolate. And some sort of caffeine. He did try his best to stay away from coffee and energy drinks after abusing them a bit in high school. Vigilantism didn’t really leave a lot of time for sleep. 

Ancients, it was difficult navigating the city from above. All the winding streets and narrow alleys, exacerbated by the darkness of night; the thick cloud cover blocking out what little moonlight there was from the waning moon. Maybe if he did it more, it would be easier, like it had been with Amity. Flying more meant transforming into Phantom. Something he’d been reluctant to do since leaving the care of the Ghost Investigation Ward, aka the Guys in White. 

It wasn’t like he was afraid to transform or anything. He wasn’t. He’d actually done it a couple times recently. To meet Damian at the museum. To follow Damian back to his car, to ensure he was safe. There were a lot of muggings in Gotham, okay? And now this. Flying to get Tucker for some hair brained scheme. He’d thought he’d left those behind in Amity Park. Apparently not. It would be just like old times. 

Floating down towards the dorms, Danny phased into Tucker’s tiny room. If it could really be called that. It was four closets aka ‘rooms’ to a dorm, all four boys sharing a bathroom, living room, and kitchenette. 

“About time you got here! Ancients, I’m so excited! I have some warm clothes on, and I packed up everything I think I’ll need! The signal is still there, but I don’t know how long it will be there, so we have to hurry!” Tucker was practically vibrating in excitement. 

“Alright, alright, I’m hurrying!” Danny teased with a grin, trying to suppress a yawn. “But um, congrats dude. Glad Oracle is real though?”

Slinging a large, heavy looking bag over his shoulder, Tucker grabbed Danny’s hand. With just a thought, the intangibility and weightlessness that Danny possessed slid down their clasped hands and enveloped Tucker. Then, they were flying through the air, the campus and dorms shrinking below him. 

“Man, this is so much cooler than flying over Amity was,” Tucker said in awe. 

“Why?” Danny asked, surprised. 

“It’s a massive city, for one! And I don’t know, Amity was where we grew up. We knew that city like the back of our hand before you even had the ability to fly us around it. But here, Gotham? It’s a brand new city, and there’s so much to explore, learn, and uncover!” 

“Pff. Alright, Batman.” 

“Don’t jinx us Danny! I don’t want to be caught by the Bat!” Tucker scolded. Danny eyed his friend warily. 

“Does that mean we’re about to do something that’s going to put us on Batman’s radar? ‘Cause I would really really like to not be on it. Hence the whole not using my powers, or using them as little as possible.” Danny could see Tucker looking at him out of the corner of his eye. 

“Is that the only reason you haven't really transformed into Phantom lately?” his techno friend asked softly, only Danny’s advanced hearing allowing him to hear it over the wind. 

“It’s the main one,” Danny admitted. “So! What are you planning to do at Wayne Tower?”

“Deflection! I sense some deflection!” Tucker crowed. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, no deflection here, no, no siree.” 

“Well. Since I know you’re sooooo curious,” Tucker replied sarcastically, “Something is going down over in the Bowery. The Bats are fighting someone. Whoever it is, did some damage to whatever’s been hiding the Bat’s tech. And you know what I found?!?” Tucker sounded downright gleeful.

“Uh, so I do want to know what you found, but promise me that whatever you’re doing isn’t going to hurt the vigilantes? We’ve been on that side before. It always throws a wrench when civilians get in the way. That’s what we are now, Tuck, civilians .” Danny emphasized, knowing there was a pleading quality in his voice. 

“Um, so it won’t hurt them. Or help them. It should just… be meh? If all goes well… they shouldn’t even know I was there! Theoretically.” Tucker said enthusiastically, although he did lose some of his steam towards the end. 

“I don’t know how much I believe that, Tuck. Or how much you even believe that. Kinda seems like you’re just telling yourself that.” Danny said a bit frostily. 

“Yeah. You might be right. No. You are,” Tucker said quietly.  “I know I’m doing something dumb. But. I kinda don’t care? ‘Cause I want it that bad. I need to know that Oracle exists. And I want to talk to them. To her.” The two friends were silent for the next few minutes, their end goal, Wayne Tower, coming closer and closer. 

As they landed, Danny tightened his grip on Tucker’s arm, his ectoplasmic green eyes imploring as he looked into Tucker’s warm brown ones. 

“You know I’ve got your back right?” Danny asked, breathing a small sigh of relief as Tucker nodded. There was relief on Tucker’s face as well.  

“I’m helping you out, but Tucker, you have to tell Sam and I the real reason why you’re doing this, why Oracle is so important to you.” 

“I will. I didn’t lie or anything, just… didn’t tell you guys all the details. After your date, we’ll go to Sam’s work and I’ll explain,” Tucker whispered sincerely, eyes still locked with Danny’s. 

The cold winter wind whipped around them, stronger since they were so high up. The moment over, Danny released Tucker’s wrist, following his best friend to the tall looming antenna that made up the topmost part of the tower. 

“It’s nice to see you in ghost form. It’s still a bit weird though.” Tucker said with a teasing grin. Danny cocked an eyebrow. 

“Oh? How’s it weird, Mr. Technogeek?” Danny asked, teasing his friend right back with a smile. Tucker wrapped his scarf around him a little tighter before opening his bag and pulling out a laptop and some wires. 

“I’m so used to your ghost form looking like an exact copy of you, just with inverted colors. That’s the one I saw for years,” Tucker responded a bit distractedly. 

“What? You don’t like the pointy elf ears? The fangies?” Danny asked slightly self consciously, reaching up to touch his ears. 

“Nah dude. The opposite. I think they’re great! Gives you a more inhuman air. Some people are into that.” Tucker was definitely one of those, being rather open about being a furry and having an interest in monster fucking. 

“Oh, I’m well aware. Paulina and others in Amity definitely were interested in me as Phantom,” he responded wryly. 

“Yeah, but that was before you got a bit more ghostly.” Tucker’s eyes were glued onto the bright laptop screen, code and numbers flying by. “What’s up with the hair, by the way? Are those horns?” 

“Huh? Oh, no. You know how evil alternate me had fire for hair?” 

“Yeah. But that wasn’t fully you, that was half Vlad,” Tucker countered. 

“Yes, I don’t have a fire core. That came from Vlad. I have an ice core. So, when my emotions are a bit high, my hair freezes up. It ends up looking like hoarfrost,” he explained. Tucker started laughing. 

“What?”

“Whore frost?!? Your hair turns into whore frost?!?” Tucked cackled. 

Danny snickered, okay, it was kinda funny. The two laughed for a bit, Tucker resuming the conversation once their mirth had died down. 

“But seriously dude, why are your emotions so high right now?” There was concern in Tucker’s tone. 

“Well. I’m in my ghost form. Something I don’t really do often. Or as little as possible. I’m in said ghost form, out in the open, at night, where Batman or his minions could see. My best friend is basically waving a ‘Notice Me’ sign in front of said Gotham vigilantes. And my first official date with Damian is in two days. Plus I’m having a hard time sticking to my guns and not reaching back out to my mom to apologize for getting mad at her.” 

“Sounds like a lot. Sorry dude,” Tucker said sadly, guilt leaking into his voice. “I should be done in the next five minutes, so those first ones should be taken care of pretty soon.” Danny sighed. 

“Thanks Tuck. I don’t mean to rush you.” 

“You’re not, if we stay too much longer there’s a high chance I’m - oh shit.” Tucker froze.

“Tucker?” Danny tensed, worried. Waiting for whatever bad news Tucker was about to tell him. 

“Okay! Time to go! I got noticed!” Tucker said in a rush, disconnecting all of the wires and snapping his laptop shut.

“Ah, fucking hell!” 

“I’m packing up, and then we’re getting the fuck out of here!” 

Shoving the laptop and the rest of the equipment in the bag, Tucker stood up and grabbed Danny’s hand, wincing as he cut himself on Danny’s elongated nails that acted like claws. No words were needed between the two as they turned invisible and flew off. It wasn’t till they were back at Tucker’s dorm that Danny spoke. 

“How bad is it?” Tucker sat down on the twin bed, pulling out all his tech from his bag. 

“It’s not bad. But that was definitely Oracle. And she knows that we were there, in person, on top of Wayne Tower,” Tucker admitted grimly.

“That’s not bad?”

“Yeah. That’s not bad.” Danny took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, hands on his hips. 

“Okay. I would hate to know what you think bad is, then.” Tucker’s hand reached out, tugging him towards the bed. 

“It’s late. Stay the night. If you go now, you’re just going to freak out at home. You can take the bed. I have to stay up anyway and double, triple check all of my security.” 

Danny hesitated. Home had Orion and Jazz… both of whom would be sleeping. As cramped as Tucker’s dorm room was, it would be nice to have someone this close. Besides, he hadn’t had a sleepover with Tucker in forever. Just because they were adults didn’t mean they still couldn’t do that. They were brothers. 

“Alright. I will, thanks. Just remember, I’m a cuddler,” Danny said, feeling himself relax. He transformed back into his human form, snickering as Tucker groaned, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Ugh, next time give me some warning! My poor eyes! And I know you’re a cuddler. Sam has a whole album of us falling asleep and cuddling together. I swear, her favorite is still the one from when we were watching that purple backed gorilla.” 

“Ancients. I forgot she has that.”

“I didn’t. Sam, the blackmail queen.” 

“Don’t let her hear you call her that. Night Tucker.”

“Night Danny. Sleep well.” 

Danny crawled under the covers, still in his pajamas. He supposed that was a perk from transforming right after getting out of bed, he hadn’t bothered to change into normal clothes. Adrenaline fading from his system, he relaxed and drifted off to sleep. He awoke briefly a while later to Tucker nudging him to move over. Grumbling, he did. 

***

Damian sipped at his green tea. Last night had been frustrating. The Riddler had been prepared, running circles around them, then bailing the moment Gotham’s vigilante’s had gained ground and he was in danger of being captured. Nygma was smart, knowing when to stay under the radar and how to be just a step ahead of the heroes. It didn’t help that Nygma had damaged some of Barbara’s equipment last night, causing Richard to be distracted, zetaing in from his usual patrol of Bludhaven to race across Gotham to get to the Clocktower, to check on his fiancee. 

Damian could understand. If there was anything going down near the Docks, then he would surely be worried for Danny. Would have to resist the urge to go and check. Or would he give in? Contemplating as he scanned through the documents on his desk and sending off some quick emails, Damian worked. His eyes flicked over to his phone periodically. It was strange. Danny was usually awake by now, sending him some good morning messages. Damian had been the one to send the first good morning message today. On good days, Danny tended to send a picture or two or Orion. Some days, Damian was lucky, and the pictures would include Danny, which usually meant his boyfriend the man was still in bed. Still no shirtless pictures, although a man could hope. 

It was nearly midday when Damian’s phone chimed. Grabbing his phone, he opened up the messages. 

UndeadNebula: Morning!

UndeadNebula: oops it’s almost afternoon

UndeadNebula: i slept in… no kitty pic today sorry

UndeadNebula: had an impromptu sleepover at friar’s 

UndeadNebula: twin bed 

UndeadNebula: 1/10 would not recommend

UndeadNebula: how’s your morning been cutie?

A small bit of jealousy surged through Damian. It was childish, but he wanted to be the one Danny had sleepovers with. Even if it was just platonic. He just - he wanted to hold Danny in his arms. 

Red_Ghul: My morning was rather dull. My day is much better, now that you are awake, my sun. 

UndeadNebula: sdkfskdfnajsdhfhjhikdsl

UndeadNebula: DAMIAN

UndeadNebula: my heart!!! 

UndeadNebula: wait, if im the sun are you the moon

Red_Ghul: That is generally how the metaphor goes. It is accurate, as I pale in comparison to your radiance. 

UndeadNebula: sdfjdjhfjdhieuskjkd

Red_Ghul: I am caught up in your gravitational pull and find myself in your orbit and it is utter bliss

UndeadNebula: adkfjsldkfkjnrkjbjgrbjhgkjsdnlksjfekjsf

UndeadNebula: slkdjflkjglkjgkdfkjdgofjs

UndeadNebula: SPACE FLIRTING

UndeadNebula: I CANT

UndeadNebula: DAMIIIIII 

Red_Ghul: Do not worry, I will save the rest for when we next meet. I wish to see your reaction in person for the rest of them.  

Damian smiled to himself. Making Danny flustered and complimenting his Beloved had cheered him up. Barbara had been fine, despite Nygma’s attack on her. What had been concerning had been the unknown presence which had broken through a few of Oracle’s defenses. The entity had not been malicious, merely curious. Searching. 

The family would be investigating tonight. Oracle had determined before they’d gone to bed that whoever it was had been atop of Wayne Tower, in person. It was highly concerning that Nygma might have an accomplice. The man was formidable enough on his own, to have a potential protege who was highly adept in regards to hacking was alarming. 

Last he’d heard, Barbara had gathered up the grainy, partially corrupted footage and would be reviewing it after she’d slept. They had all needed sleep. Timothy and Barbara would figure it out. They had to. 

Something was off though. Hadn’t he said goodnight to Danny last night? Hadn’t Danny been in bed before he went on patrol? Did that mean Danny had been traversing the city alone late at night?

Red_Ghul: Correct me if I am wrong, but when we last messaged last night, were you not in bed, about to fall asleep? 

UndeadNebula: ya i was

UndeadNebula: Friar called me at like 2 am and asked for help

UndeadNebula: so i left the comfort of my warm bed to go to him

UndeadNebula: was too tired after he finished to go back home

UndeadNebula: so here i am 

Dread filled Damian. Not only had Danny gone out, likely alone, last night, but he had done so when Robin, Damian, and his family were on the other end of the city facing off against the Riddler. If Danny had needed help - 

No. It would do more harm than good for Damian to let himself worry like this. Though perhaps he could persuade Danny to take some lessons in self defense? Possibly with Damian as his instructor? Wasn’t that a tantalizing thought, of Danny sweaty and panting, their bodies close together, pressing Danny into a training mat - 

It was embarrassing how easily his mind slid to the proverbial gutter sometimes when he was thinking about Danny. The other times it was just full of domestic fantasies that if he told Richard, he was sure the other man would coo and say they were adorably sweet. 

Back to the idea of teaching Danny self defense. As much as he would like to have Danny instructed by the best teacher (himself) it would likely not be feasible. Not only due to his carnal urges, but also the idea of potentially hurting Danny, even by accident, made his heart clench. He’d hurt so many people in his life, on purpose and by accident, that he did not want to ever be the cause of Danny’s pain. 

Timothy or Cassandra would be the best ones to teach Danny. Possibly Richard as well. Although not as short as either of his aforementioned siblings, they were lithe and lean, like Danny. From his observations, Danny would more than likely fight best with a fighting style that leaned into his agility and speed. Therefore, one that prioritized dodging and dealing few, but critical strikes.

Timothy could also put together one of his famed Power Points to illustrate to Danny how dangerous it was to traverse Gotham at night. Perhaps he could modify the one Wayne Enterprise used for their new hires who came from out of town? It would also be highly useful for Danny’s sister and his two friends, Friar and Chaos, perhaps Timothy could send it to them as - 

Damian’s brain came screeching to a halt. 

Danny said Friar had asked for his help around 2am. 

Friar was an incredibly accomplished hacker. 

The unknown entity that had broken through the first couple of Oracle’s defenses was an incredibly good hacker as well. 

Danny had mentioned that Friar was obsessed with Oracle, someone who Danny didn’t think existed. 

Pulling up the logs from the previous night on his phone, the first mentions of the cyber attack that had originated from Wayne Tower happened around 3 am. Assuming it took time for Danny to get to Friar, and then for the two to make it to the building, that might account for that hour of time. 

Hoping he was wrong with every fiber of his being, Damian messaged Timothy. 

GayGhul: @Gunplanerd the unknown hacker, is it reminiscent of Danny’s friend Friar? 

***

Danny was so excited! His date with Damian was tomorrow! He hoped the other man would like what he’d planned? The zoo, then off to the amusement park down by the pier, ending at a nice vegan place Sam had recommended. It should make for a pretty good first date! Damian had an emergency meeting, so he couldn’t come to the stream today. Danny hoped it wasn’t a sign that Damian might have to cancel their date due to something urgent at work. Everything he’d planned would still work a different day but… he just wanted to go on a date with Damian! An official one! 

He wanted to hold hands the entire time, buy those little pellets and feed some of the animals together, share cotton candy at the pier, win Damian some sort of prize, etc. He was looking forward to it! As much as he would be disappointed at not being able to see Damian, he would understand. Damian’s job was important to him. Just like streaming was important to Danny. He was allowed to be a tiny bit grumpy though if the date got delayed and he had to wait even longer to get more kisses though. And hugs, Ancients, he loved having his arms around Damian. Their hugs tended to last a bit, as neither wanted let go. 

Danny sighed dreamily as he got dressed for today’s stream, a Going Goth Wednesday! Though it was still cold, indoors it was warm. Not only that, Danny was more immune than most to January’s bitter cold, even in human form. He could get away with fishnets under a T-shirt, right? He put on his old Humpty Dumpty band shirt over the fishnets. He didn’t have any nail polish on today, but he put on a skull ring (kinda reminded him of the Ring of Rage, to be honest), a spinny fidget ring, and a few other chunky silver rings. Black skinny jeans helped complete the look.

Looking in the mirror, Danny debated. Should he let some of his inhuman features show a bit? It would just look like really good cosplay. Concentrating, he focused on his ear and his mouth, letting ectoplasm flow to those areas. Opening his eyes, he grinned. His ears were pointed now, and his fangs were there. Hopefully he wouldn’t have too much difficulty talking with them. He’d need to thank Tucker for unintentionally reminding him about these features, and how they were pretty cool. 

Tucker. 

Part of him was upset with his friend, for involving Danny in his plan to check to see if Oracle was real. The other part of him was worried. Really worried. He hadn’t seen Tucker this… devoted? Invested? Obsessed? Since they were like fifteen. Tucker had certainly matured since then. They all had. 

He trusted Tucker, though. 

He hoped that Tucker had a good explanation for when they saw Sam on Friday. And that Danny and Sam could figure out some way to help Tucker without him wanting to be flown up to the top of Wayne Tower to hack some pretty damn smart vigilantes. 

This was totally going to bite them in the ass, wasn’t it?

Sighing, Danny sat in his chair, preparing for the stream. It should be a pretty good time. He was making his way through the Silent Hill games. Slowly. The gore got to him sometimes, okay? It reminded him of unpleasant memories. Which was why he’d started to watch kitten and dog videos at the end of these horror streams. A kitty and puppy palette cleanser, if you would. 

The first two hours went by pretty smoothly. Everyone had tons of compliments for his amazing cosplay (ha!). Apparently he gave dark fey vibes, which, sure. Danny was enjoying chatting a bit.

Speaking of chat. 

He was starting to get a little concerned about NightwingIsCool70. They were quickly becoming his second biggest donor. That wasn’t the problem, it was the probing questions. He’d gotten incredibly lucky with Damian, but this was kinda starting to give him stalker vibes. He’d also gotten some newbies who were donating pretty frequently as well. CoffeeIsMyReligion54. ShadowPrincess. WafflesRLife. UndeadZombie. It wasn’t like he didn’t have other people donating to him during the stream, it was just weird that a bunch of them, all at once, had appeared and started donating? 

His follower and subscriber count had been increasing a lot lately, and so had his max viewers per stream. Did this mean… Danny was making it as a streamer? Was he becoming popular? Oh, Ancients. That was a wild thought. It was possible though. He’d gone semi viral twice. Once for his original Robin rant, and second for Damian’s first donation to get him a cat. He knew that people were making compilations and stuff on YouTube. 

It was rather flattering. 

That being said. Chat had started noticing when a certain Red_Ghul was missing. They’d asked where his sugar daddy was. Blushing, not that they saw it through the mask, he’d told them that Red_Ghul did have a life, and was busy. They’d see his good friend on the next stream. 

Danny had just faced off against some of the disturbing nurses in Silent Hill 2 when his chat started going nuts. 

“Turn around?” Danny asked confusedly, making the character, James Sunderland look around. 

“I am looking around guys. Did I miss some loot? I killed all the enemies in this area… wait, behind me in real life?” Danny felt his hair stand on end. 

“That’s not funny guys, you know I’m not the best with horror - MOTHERFUCKER!” Danny shrieked and tried to back up upon seeing a black clad figure behind him. 

This did not work, as he was in a rolling gaming chair. Stumbling, Danny fell down, his headphones being yanked off of his head due the cord pulling taut. From his position on the floor, butt stinging, Danny looked up in utter shock at Batman. 

Batman was in his room. 

Batman was in his room while he was streaming. 

Why was Batman in his room? 

“What the fuck,” Danny breathed. Batman just watched him. Getting up on his knees so he could reach his keyboard and stream deck, Danny spoke to his audience. 

“Uh, we’re taking an impromptu break.” He clicked a couple buttons, turning off his microphone, the camera, and putting on his Be Back Soon card and music. 

He then turned to face his visitor who was still watching him. Danny didn’t bother to hide his confusion or shock. He glanced at the window. Sure enough, it was open. Impressive. It has been locked. The cold air poured in from the open window. 

“Uh. Hi. Can I help you with something?” Danny asked his uninvited guest once he’d stood and taken off his mask. No point in it at this point. Batman literally knew where he lived. 

“Daniel James Fenton. I have intel that you were out and about Tuesday night. Around 2 am,” the deep gravelly voice he’d only ever heard on TV said. 

“Um, yeah. I was,” Danny answered honestly. 

Fucking hell Tucker he thought. What did you get me into? Also how did Batman know he’d been out? He’d flown, invisibly. The only person who’d known he’d gone out last night were Jazz, Tucker, and Damian. His heart clenched. Damian. That was the only way Batman had found out. Danny felt a sting of betrayal.

Damian didn’t know it was a secret though. That Danny had been out and about last night. Well, technically early that morning. He’d probably told someone, not knowing it would get to Batman. Right? He had to believe that. 

“You say you were out. Yet there is no CCTV footage of you leaving. Or of your journey across town towards Mr. Foley’s dorm.” 

Fuck. To be honest, or to lie, that was the question, wasn’t it? But the best lies were lies of admission, or ones that had the truth in them. 

“It’s not exactly safe at night in Gotham,” Danny hedged, “I feel like you know that better than anyone. So I just. Made sure I wasn’t noticed.” 

“How?” 

Double Fuck. Danny rubbed the back of his head with his hand nervously, before turning invisible. 

“Like this.” If Batman had been surprised by him disappearing, he didn’t show it. 

Batman reached up to the side of his cowl. Danny followed the fingers, seeing the man presumably press buttons. His only guess was that Batman was flipping through different ways to look at him. Infrared. X-Ray. Who knew what the Bat had in his cowl? Ancients, he hoped his gamble of ‘revealing’ that he was a ‘meta’ wouldn’t bite him in the ass. He prayed that he wouldn’t have to send a text to Damian saying that Batman had kicked him out of Gotham. There were laws now, in regards to meta rights. Not that Danny was one. But he might be able to use those, to ensure he could stay here, in Gotham. 

“I see,” came the flat, emotionless tone. 

Throw him a bone! Was Batman pissed? Indifferent? What was the point of this? He hadn’t thought that Tucker had done anything drastic enough to garner the Bat’s attention! Not that he’d really known what Tucker had done. 

“What’s the point of this?” he asked imploringly, dropping his invisibility. “I still don’t get why you’re visiting me?”

“Red Robin is visiting Mr. Foley right now. He’s been a person of interest for a little while, due to his potential in hacking and cyber intelligence. Mr. Foley breached a few of our cyber expert’s defenses. He did not probe further, though he could have. What we currently can’t explain is how Mr. Foley was able to get to the top of Wayne Tower in the middle of the night.” 

Batman didn’t elaborate further, clearly waiting for Danny to talk. Goddamit Tuck! 

“Is Tucker in trouble?” He asked, biting his lip, brows furrowing in concern.

“For now, no.” 

“For now?” 

“I prefer not to punish intelligent individuals. Merely push them to use their talents in a more constructive manner.” 

“Right,” Danny said in disbelief. Was he hearing right? The Dark Knight himself was going to be lenient? The man who was known for generally being rather ruthless and delivering justice with his own two fists? 

“How do you think I got some of my Robins?” there was an amused tinge to Batman’s voice, and an almost, barely there smile. 

1. Holy shit, that was confirmation that there had been more than one Robin. 
2. Did that mean the Robins had kinda forced Batman to take them on? 
3. Was Tucker going to get asked to be a Robin? 

“Wait, are you going to ask Tucker to be a Robin?” he asked incredulously. 

“No. It is up to Oracle to decide if Mr. Foley should be allowed to assist them from now on.” 

“Huh. So Oracle is real.” 

“You assisted Mr. Foley without being sure?” 

“I mean, yeah? He’s one of my best friends? I may not have known what he was doing, but he asked for help, so I came.” 

Batman had an ever so slight smile on his face. Was - Was Batman being friendly? What the hell? 

“Back to the matter at hand. How did Mr. Foley get up to the top of Wayne Tower?” Danny sighed deeply. 

“I flew him up there,” he admitted reluctantly. 

“Another one of your abilities? How many do you have?” Okay, that was edging into dangerous territory. Time to attempt to shut this shit down. 

“I don’t think that’s really any of your business. I’ve told you what you wanted to know. Is there anything else?”

“No. I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Daniel.” Danny can’t help the small shudder that goes through him. Ominous. Batman turned to leave, and Danny couldn’t help himself. 

“Wait,” he starts, he could practically see the raised eyebrow Batman gives him beneath the cowl. 

“What’s your connection to Damian Wayne?” It’s barely there, but he can see the vigilante stiffen slightly. 

“What makes you think there is one?”

“There’s only three people who know I was out at 2am. My sister. Tucker. And Damian. I think it’s pretty obvious where you got your information from.” 

The vigilante didn’t confirm or deny this. Which was basically a confirmation to Danny. 

Fuck. 

Danny closed his eyes, looking away, crossing his arms and shoulders dropping, trying to fight down some tears. Goddammit. He really liked Damian. It appeared though, that he couldn’t trust him. Not yet. He’d have to be more careful about how much of his life he shared. 

Ancients. He was dumb. He still wanted to date Damian. Badly. It was incredibly stupid though to be involved with someone so close to the Bats. To someone Danny was now certain he couldn’t reveal anymore in regards to what he was. To his powers. He’d have to reevaluate after he talked to Tucker and found out whatever was happening there. If Tucker was going to be doing… whatever with Gotham’s vigilantes, then maybe it would be okay. 

He heard Batman leave. 

Sighing deeply, he opened his eyes and flopped back into his chair. 

He needed to message Tucker. Message Damian. Rejoin the stream. Ancients, the stream. There was no way he was going to be able to go back to Silent Hill at this point. Playing a horror game was the furthest thing on his mind at the moment. 

UndeadNebula: Tuck. Batman showed up here. You okay?

Opening his chat with Damian, Danny took a deep, shaky breath and typed out. 

UndeadNebula: So Batman showed up behind me while I was on stream. 

That was… vague. But he didn’t know if he wanted to hash this out with Damian over text. Over Discord. Ha ha. Discord over Discord. 

It really wasn’t funny. 

Jazz peaked her head in. Right, she’d been one of his mods today. 

“Soooo. Batman?”

“Batman.”

“What are you going to do?” Danny laughed slightly hysterically. 

“I’m gonna figure that out after I finish the stream. It’s gonna be a Hero Hour, because what else can I do?”

Getting up, he grabbed a Wonder Woman shirt, pulling off the band T-shirt and replacing it with the Wonder Woman one. Because fuck Batman right now. He hesitated, looking at the two red, yellow, and green bows with a little stylized R in the middle. His Robin bows. He really liked them. But did he want to wear them, after everything that had just happened? With the thought that Damian might have betrayed him? Especially when their date was tomorrow!

No.

He was not going to let his current feelings about Damian stop him from wearing stuff he liked! 

Grabbing one of them, he put it in his hair. Danny stared at his face in the mirror. Fuck it. He was going to keep the fangs and the ears. Why not. He walked back over to his desk, sitting down. Okay, he could do this. His eyes flicked over. Jazz was still leaning against his door frame watching him. 

“You sure you’re up for streaming?” she asked worriedly. 

“No. But I still want to. I want to finish the stream. Take my mind off of this. Distract myself for a bit,” Danny admitted. 

“You look nice,” she offered. 

“Thanks.” It was nice of her to say that. But it wasn’t really working in terms of cheering him up. 

“I’ll have ice cream ready for after the stream. Then we can chat about what happened. Only you, little brother. Only you can move to a completely new city and become entangled in the local vigilantes,” Jazz said, walking over and giving him a hug. 

It was nice, her head resting on top of his, because he was still sitting in his chair. Giving him a little kiss on top of the head, she stood back up. 

“You have the worst luck Danny. You know I’ll support you, no matter what.” He smiled. 

“Yeah, I know. I love you too, and I’ll always have your back. I - You’ve been like a third parent to me. I’m sorry you had to be that, but I appreciate you so much and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you -”

“Danny,” Jazz said sternly. “You don’t ever have to repay me. You’re my little brother. I don’t - I don’t blame you for any of this. For any of the crazy things that have happened in our life.” She ruffled his hair, smiling gently. 

“I’ll be in the other room, watching. Just holler if you need anything, or message me, okay? Anything at all. Oh, and remember your mask.” With that, she left the room, glancing back one last time before she exited. 

Turning back to his set up with a sigh, he put the mask back on. What even had been the point, he mused, of making himself have fangs when his audience couldn’t even see it? Aesthetic, he supposed. A few clicks later, and he was back on. 

“Hi everyone! That was pretty surprising! I don’t think I’ve ever had a surprise guest before. Nor have I ever met Batman. He’s uh, quite intimidating in person.” 

“Why did he come to give me a visit? Um, well, you see, I was a witness to something that happened a few nights ago, so he wanted to ask me about that. That’s uh, all I’ll say on the matter. Open investigation and all that.” 

***

Damian huffed, annoyed. This fight was far too easy. He was happy to assist Nightwing in Bludhaven, especially since his eldest brother helped so often with their own cases. He couldn’t help but feel his assistance had been requested unnecessarily? Especially since he was missing Danny’s stream on the night before their date. 

Was that Richard’s ploy? To have a brotherly chat before his date? The sentiment was nice, but it was unneeded. He had been on other dates before. Though this one… this one meant far more to him. Danny meant a lot to him. It was arguably a little fast. Especially for him. But… he was just drawn to Danny. In a way that no one else had ever. 

“Nightwing. Why am I out here? You are more than capable of taking down these criminals on your own.”

“Awww, Baby Bat, don’t you want to spend time with me?” Nightwing asked teasingly. Robin glared at him.

“You are well aware that I greatly enjoy spending time with you. Were it any other night, I would not be complaining.” Robin gave Nightwing a pointed look. Nightwing sighed. 

“I thought you would be nervous! So I wanted to give you a distraction!” the black and blue hero said. Robin’s eyes narrowed. He knew his brother. He knew Richard. Richard wasn’t telling the truth, not fully. 

“Nightwing.” 

“Robin.”

“What are you distracting me from?”

“Just from your date tomorrow.”

Damian sighed. His brother wasn’t going to reveal anything. He’d try to enjoy their bonding, then figure out what his brother was hiding later. After his date with Danny. 

***

“Are you happy now?” came Oracle’s annoyed voice in his ear. “I told you he was streaming. I told you this was dumb.”

He was not, but he merely grunted. He’d been curious about the man that had drawn Damian’s eye. The videos on YouTube had not provided him with much information, nor had Oracle’s search into the boy. There were some… concerning things in Daniel’s, Danny’s, past. 

Although, if anyone looked at Damian’s record since he came to live with Bruce, it wouldn’t be completely spotless, but there was definitely a record of some fights, although those had dwindled throughout the years. 

Danny had surprised him. 

Besides his initial fright, he hadn’t had any problems looking Batman in the face. Danny had also been very reluctant to reveal anything in regards to his friend. Loyalty was a good trait in a partner. He’d also been quick and sharp on his feet, realizing that Damian had been the one to inform Bruce of the connection to Tucker Foley. That had been rather unexpected and unfortunate.

That had him worried. He’d known that Damian would find out about his visit, but he had not meant for it to become known that Damian was the reason Batman was there. That could potentially cause issues between the two men, before they had their first date. That, he regretted. 

Making his way back to the BatCave, he awaited for the inevitable. Bruce spent some time discussing what to do with one Tucker Foley. Tim and Barbara were interested in making him a Wayne employee and slowly introducing him to the fold. Tucker had the potential to become as invaluable as Lucius Fox. Surprisingly, Babs had mentioned that she’d recognized him. From something she’d helped out with a few years ago. 

Barbara had refused to elaborate further, frustrating him. 

The zeta tube hummed to life, Damian stalking angrily into the cave, a thunderous scowl on his face, Dick not far behind him, his worry evident. 

“You showed up. As BATMAN. To Danny’s place. There was no need to. Not yet. You could have left him alone and just visited Tucker Foley. So why. Explain to me, Father. WHY.” Damian demanded, his tone harsh.

“... It was necessary,” he responded, feebly clinging to his excuse. 

“No, it was NOT!” Damian yelled, chest heaving. 

Guilt twinged within him. It had been a long time since Damian had been this angry, especially towards him. 

“I did not pass along what Danny had told me for you to harass him! And for all you worry about us accidentally revealing who we are, you’re the one who clued Danny into the fact that Damian Wayne is related to Batman,” his youngest accused, rightfully so. 

“I did not think he would realize I had received my information from you.” 

“Did you really think I wouldn’t choose someone who wasn’t intelligent? Who didn’t relate to me? Who couldn’t potentially be an equal to me? Who didn’t compliment me?”

Bruce… didn’t really have an answer for that. 

Growling, Damian turned and stormed up the stairs. Bruce’s heart sank a little. 

“Your heart was in the right place B, but really terrible execution,” Dick commented. “Look, I get it, I really do. I’m pretty sure all of us want to meet Danny and see if he’s up to par with our Baby Bat but… Damian’s almost 21. As much as I hate to say it, we need to trust that he knows how to read people, and trust that he’s picked a good partner.” 

“I’m… a bit guilty of this too. I - I helped you distract him. And I made a Twitch account so I can watch his streams and check him out. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.”

Bruce sighed heavily. He hoped he hadn’t caused too much damage to Damian’s budding relationship. If he had, and Damian lost his chance with Danny, Bruce wasn’t sure if he would forgive himself for that. For destroying Damian’s first real chance at romantic love. 

***

Damian furiously opened his window and began to scale the side of the manor until he reached the roof. Making his way along the slats until he reached the peak, Damian looked around him, taking a deep breath of the chilly night air. 

He could do this. 

Danny was likely still awake.

He needed to clear this up, now . 

Starting Voice Call

Closing his eyes, Damian tried to keep calm, and not let his nerves overwhelm him. 

It rang once, twice, three times, and finally a fourth. 

There was no fifth. 

“Dami?” Danny said through the speaker. His voice sounded so… hesitant. So unsure. Guarded. Damian closed his eyes again. That wasn’t - that wasn’t how he ever wanted Danny to sound. 

“Hello Danny. My deepest apologies. It never occurred to me that he would do that, that he would fake an emergency and send me away with the sole purpose of meeting you. I cannot convey the depths of my sorrow that he did that,” Damian’s voice began to break, his emotional pain at his words leaking though. 

“I - I will understand if you… no longer wish to see me. I am well aware that this is - was - a betrayal of your trust. Albeit unintentional. It still happened.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. 

“I don’t know what to do, Dami. I - I really care for you. And I still - I still really want to go on that date with you. But I don’t - I can’t trust you with things right now,” Danny took a shaky breath. “And that hurts , Dami. It hurts that I maybe can’t trust you. And I can’t help but be worried about what I’ve already trusted you with.”

Damian sat down heavily on the roof, his heart aching. Dating civilians had never gone well for anyone in his family. If his love with Danny was just going to end in his heart shattering, he might as well just do it now, instead of prolonging the inevitable. 

“I will do my utmost to take everything you have told me to the grave. However, I… frequent the company of Batman and his associates. They are often able to deduce many things without someone even saying a word. I cannot guarantee that something will not unintentionally be revealed.” Father had already potentially exposed them. If Father had any complaint about what he was telling Danny, Father could look in the mirror first!

“To be frank, Danny, if you date me, you will likely be visited by a whole host of vigilantes and heroes. It unfortunately comes with the territory after quite a few of them have watched you grow up.”

“Huh.” Damian’s brows furrowed. That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. 

“That’s… I think I can handle it. It honestly might be kind of cool.” Danny sniffled. “Listen, I’m still mad and upset, but um, I feel a bit better? Knowing you didn’t mean to, and that, well, Batman basically sussed it out of you. He is the world’s greatest detective.” 

“Um. Weird question. Did you… confront Batman?” Danny asked. Damian blinked. 

“Of course. I yelled at him, as well as Nightwing, as he was the one who distracted me. Red Robin is also on my list, as he said nothing when Batman decided to visit you and sent him to visit Tucker,” he replied darkly. He still had to hunt Timothy down and yell at him. Danny giggled. 

“No, no, I’m still mad at you… but it’s kinda sweet that you’d yell at Batman and some of the others for me.” Hope flared within Damian’s chest. Maybe… he wouldn’t get his heart crushed? 

“I - Will I still see you tomorrow?” Damian asked hesitantly. 

“Yes. Yes, I think so. But I think… we need to lay out a couple things that might… come up if we’re going to actually try dating.” Danny sounded strong, confident. It reassured Damian that Danny was sure in his answer. 

“Yes. I agree. We have not yet discussed the fame and scrutiny that will come your way from openly dating me. Not only that, but what we should do when it comes out that you’re UndeadNebula. If you associate with me, I am reluctant to admit that will likely come to light. The press can be rather vicious.” Danny sighed deeply at Damian’s words. 

“Yeah. They can be. I’m sure they’re going to have a field day with my school record and my parents. Damn it. I wanted our date to be fun, not full of depressing topics.” 

“I can always come early, so we may discuss these topics before we depart? That way - that way you can decide if it’s worth it. If I’m worth it,” Damian whispered, his throat tight. 

“I - Please don’t talk about yourself like that, Dami. Of course you’re worth it,” Danny whispered. “Be nice to my friend. He’s a really cool and sweet person. Can make me blush like no other.” 

Damian couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh at that. 

“Danny. If we - if we decide not to do anything, decide not to try and be.. romantically involved, can we still be friends?” 

“Of course Damian,” Danny replied warmly. “Batman and company aren’t going to scare me away from being your friend.” 

“Good. I’m glad,” Damian said, feeling himself relax slightly. 

“It’s getting pretty late. I’ll see you tomorrow Dami. Why don’t you come over an hour early to my place? Do you need the address?” 

“No. I… May have memorized that,” Damian admitted. Danny just laughed. 

“The Bats rubbed off a bit on you, growing up?” he teased. 

“Something like that,” Damian replied. 

“Good night Damian.”

“Good night Beloved.” 

At his words, Danny gave a slight gasp, before the call hung up. Resting his head against his knees, Damian allowed himself a moment of happiness and joy that Danny was still willing to go on their date tomorrow. That he hadn’t just… outright rejected Damian. Their status as friends was still secure, but their status as potential lovers, as paramours? 

Unknown. 

For now though, he would take a moment to breathe, and look up at the stars Danny loved. He was brought out of his thoughts by a rush of texts. 

UndeadNebula: DAMI

UndeadNebula: DAMI

UndeadNebula: HAS ROBIN SEEN MY RANT OF HIM?!?

UndeadNebula: OH ANCIENTS

UndeadNebula: I DRESSED UP AS HIM AND TOLD THE WORLD HOW COOL I THOUGHT HE WAS

UndeadNebula: DAMI DOES HE HATE ME?!?!?

Red_Ghul: No, Beloved, he does not hate you. Yes, he had seen the video. Multiple times. 

UndeadNebula: ALKDFLKNDGFJKNDKFN;D

UndeadNebula: SDLKFDKNGKJFNGKDNLFJIKL

UndeadNebula: OH FUCK

UndeadNebula: IM DEAD

UndeadNebula: IM DEAD 

UndeadNebula: MAKE SURE THEY PUT IT ON MY GRAVESTONE DAMI

UndeadNebula: HERE LIES DANNY FENTON WHO DIED FROM EMBARRASSMENT

Damian smiled once more and chuckled. 

***

Danny paced in the hallway, dressed for the upcoming date. Damian would be here soon. He’d made some sandwiches, all vegetarian. They could hopefully eat and have their difficult conversation. They’d both been pretty good at talking? And working out issues? That - That there gave Danny a lot of hope that they could work this out, and still go on their date. 

After sleeping and thinking it over, he was calmer, and he understood a bit more. He remembered how crazy he had gone over Sam wanting to date Gregor, aka Elliot. For Batman to come visit him when he was potentially going to be dating Daiman, someone Batman had more than likely watched grow up, and who was probably Damian’s godfather or something, it made sense why the intimidating vigilante had visited him. Or maybe Batman was his Uncle? No one really knew who Damian’s mother was, maybe she was Batman’s sister or something? Ancients, was Batman an older sibling or younger one? Based on how he acted, Danny guessed Batman was an older brother. 

Visiting Danny without threatening him was probably Batman being nice, considering what Danny knew about the masked member of the Justice League. To be honest, he’d mostly forgiven Damian already, especially with how upset the other man had been last night. He’d never heard Damian cry, but last night seemed to have been the closest Damian had come to crying around him. 

He supposed it was Jazz rubbing off on him, but it wasn’t really healthy for Damian to keep all of his emotions locked up like that. Theoretically, romantic partners helped make each other better? Or at least, that was what everyone told him. By everyone, he meant TV and movies. Not that the relationships portrayed in those medias were generally healthy. He could probably count on his hand the number of couples that had actual healthy relationships in the media on his hand. Danny was certain he could make a reasonable list though if he had some time.

Time though, was not something he had, as the doorbell rang. 

Startled out of his thoughts, Danny raced to the door, peeking through the eye hole. Yup, that was Damian. He looked as gorgeous as ever, in a green button down shirt, black slacks, and the same black pea coat that he had worn last time. His hair was gelled slightly, pulling it back, but allowing a few sections to curl down and lay on Damian’s forehead. 

Damn he really wanted to open the door and just pull Damian into a kiss. Stay strong, Danny , he reminded himself. He’d have to be satisfied with a hug. 

Throwing open the door, Danny stepped out and embraced the man in front of him. He knew Damian was surprised, based on how long it took him to hug Danny back, but that was okay. 

“I - Beloved, it is good to see you,” Damian whispered, his voice tight. Yeah, Damian was bottling stuff up. 

“Have you had lunch?” Danny asked, pulling back, “I made some sandwiches. They’re all vegetarian.” 

“No, I did not. I was unsure what you had planned for our date. I assumed I should arrive somewhat hungry. I brought along a protein bar just in case,” Damian rambled a little nervously. 

Be still, my heart, Danny thought, be strong. I know he’s adorable, but be strong. We have to have our big discussion, then we can make out. Probably. 

“Come on in, you can meet my sister. She has to leave soon for her internship, but you can meet each other. And of course, you can meet the ruler of our little town house, Orion.” Feeling bold, Danny grabbed Damian’s hand and pulled him inside. It was debatable if it was a platonic or a romantic gesture, but hey, they weren’t sure where they stood relationship wise. 

Danny led Damian to the kitchen, then indicated to the wooden table. Letting go of Damian’s hand, he pulled the sandwiches he’d made earlier from the fridge, removing the beeswax and cloth cover he’d placed on it a while ago. He wouldn’t hear the end of it from Sam if they bought saran wrap. He was fine with it, as long as Sam footed the bill for imposing some of her more stringent ecological and green values on Danny and Jazz. 

They sat down at the small, square wooden table, sitting next to each other instead of across. That was a good sign, right? Body language? Their bodies were angled towards each other, they were mirroring - okay Danny, Jazz has rubbed off on you way too much! There was no need to attempt to psychoanalyze his soon to be boyfriend?

“Um, here. I hope you like them,” Danny stated, pushing the plate towards the center of the table. He’d tried at least to make them a little fancy. He’d wanted to impress Damian a little, although he was sure the other man ate fancy food all the time. 

“Thank you,” Damian replied, grabbing one of the spinach sandwiches. “Where do you want to begin?” 

“I suppose… do you still want to go out with me? Do you still want to even try to be boyfriends?” Danny asked unsurely. He did, but he wanted to hear it straight up, from Damian himself. 

“I do. I desire for us to be romantically involved very much, for us to be boyfriends. Is that something you still want?” Damian’s voice and the slight fidgeting of his hands gave away his nerves. 

“It is. I do want to make this work. That’s why, I want us to have this conversation, for us to lay it out. I’m not saying we should spill all our deepest secrets or anything, just… discuss what could be some, uh, potential obstacles? Cause I know both of us have complications. For me, it’s my parents. And probably my high school record. We kinda discussed it a bit last night, but for you, it’s your fame? Your uh, connections to certain people. Is there anything else?” Danny asked. 

There was a slight bit of hesitation from Damian before he replied. 

“This is rather minor, but I must admit that I am a rather possessive person. I would never, at any point, be open to a polyamorous relationship.” 

Danny blinked, surprised. Not what he was expecting, but good to know. 

“Alright. Thanks for telling me. I don’t know if I ever would be interested in a poly relationship, but I’m totally fine with ours being a purely monogamous one,” Danny said. 

Damian relaxed slightly. Damian was… emoting a lot more than usual. He seemed more raw and vulnerable than Danny was used to. Had Damian been that afraid of losing Danny? It made him wonder how many other friends or partners had been scared away by the Bat and Damian’s fame and the scrutiny it brought. He felt sorry for Damian, it must have been really isolating and lonely. He also wondered how many had tried to cling to Damian in hopes that they could gain access to his family’s riches. 

Their attention turned to the stairs as Jazz came down. 

“Hey Danny. You must be Damian, nice to meet you,” Jazz greeted them with a smile, approaching at holding out her hand. Damian stood and shook it firmly. Looking Damian over approvingly, Jazz snagged a sandwich. 

“Hey!” Danny protested. Jazz ignored him, ruffling his hair. 

“Oh, you have extra. You won’t miss one,” she said, opening the fridge, pulling out her water bottle and her lunchbox, juggling them with the sandwich. 

“Will you be home when I get back?” She asked conversationally. 

“Um, I don’t think so,” Danny replied, glancing quickly at Damian before looking back at his sister. 

“Alright. Nice to meet you, Damian! Bye little brother, make sure you lock the door when you leave!” Jazz said, heading for the front door. Danny huffed, annoyed. 

“It was one time Jazz! You don’t need to remind me!” he called after her. Danny turned back to Damian. 

“You are close with your sister. She seems nice,” Damian stated. Danny laughed. Damian wasn’t the best at small talk, was he?

“Yeah, I am. She’s pretty great,” he responded with a grin. “So, you wanted to talk about the press and stuff?” 

“Indeed.” Damian set down his sandwich and sat up straighter, his body and attention focused solely on Danny.

“I am concerned that without controlling the narrative as best we can, the press will be rather vicious towards you. I was informed recently that what we had at the beginning of our correspondence could be considered a sugaring relationship. Tabloids will disparage you, call you a gold digger, among other things. I do not want that. However, I am unsure of how we should say we met and got close to one another.” 

“Well, we tell an abridged version of the truth,” Danny suggested. “That’s usually the easiest way to ensure our stories match. We met on a Discord server. You helped me get a cat. We kept talking and sharing pet pictures. Found out we were in the same city, then met up at the museum. Simple.” 

Damian wished it would be that easy. He could not quell his nerves in regards to this matter. 

“But uh, did you really just find out that we basically had a sugar daddy and sugar baby relationship for a bit?” Danny asked, tilting his head slightly. 

Oh, how Damian wished he hadn’t caught that. But he would not have fallen for his Beloved if he was not sharp and intelligent. 

“You are correct. Timothy was rather… amused and horrified as well upon finding out. He prepared a PowerPoint presentation for me and questioned some of my other interactions online,” Damian admitted, feeling his cheeks burn. 

Danny began to laugh joyfully. Damian looked away slightly, embarrassed. 

“Ancients, you’re so cute.” 

He heard Danny move, then felt a slight pressure and wetness against his cheek. Damian’s eyes widened, looked at Danny incredulously, unconsciously reaching up to touch his cheek. Danny merely looked back at him with a smug smirk. Heat coursed through Damian. If this conversation wasn’t so necessary, he would tackle Danny to the floor (protecting the back of his heart’s head, so as not to injure him) and then pepper him in kisses. Or he would demonstrate his strength by picking Danny up, cradling his love in his arms. There were so many different things he could - 

Such thoughts were distracting and unproductive. 

Clearing his throat, Damian attempted to get their conversation back on track. 

“I agree that sticking as close to the truth as possible is the best course of action. However, we should account for the potential possibility that it is discovered that you are UndeadNebula, and from there it is an easy leap to our relationship being potentially a financial one, and not one out of mutual care and respect.”

Danny sighed. 

“Yeah, if that gets out, then it’s going to be rough. But… ugh. I hate to say this shit. This is a last resort type of thing, that we only use if things start to get bad. I’m like… pretty sure I’m technically the heir to Vlad co? ‘Cause Vlad Masters is my godfather, unfortunately, and he is a fucking creep. He’s stupid rich though. Not as rich as the Wayne’s, but nothing to sneeze at. He’s very stalkery and obsessed with me and making me learn from him. Last I heard he got a cat, so hopefully that’s mellowed him out a bit…” Danny trailed off, lost in thought. 

Damian was stunned. He knew that there was a connection between Masters and the Fentons; the money trail had made it clear the man was funding their scientific research. If what they did could truly be called research. It was a mockery of the scientific method. 

He would need to look further into Masters. He was already on the Bat’s radar, due to how shady his dealings were. It was strange how many seemed to bow to Master's whims; as far as they could tell, it was not done through magic. Damian was certain they had a file on the man, he would need to refresh his memory on the finer details. 

“Cats are rather calming. It has been proven that the frequency of their purrs falls within the range that promotes healing of a physical nature. While we cannot be certain the cat had given him mental healing, it has surely improved his physicality,” Damian replied neutrally. 

“I will heed your request. Your relationship with Masters will not be revealed until you give me the word,” he promised. 

Danny reached out, laying his hand on top of Damian’s. 

“Thank you honey,” Danny whispered, before his voice turned cheery. “Should we address the Bat in the room?” Damian resisted the urge to groan. 

“Yes. Now that you know… somewhat. Not the exact details, of course, they’re going to visit you. All of them. In their own ways. The majority of them should NOT show up on stream. I might also be able to give you some heads up. I apologize. They are all rather… excited about the fact that I am dating someone. My siblings are just as bad. They will want to meet you as well, and Pennyworth will insist that you come over for dinner. Father as well.” 

“Part of me is super excited to potentially meet all these heroes. The other part of me is absolutely terrified. They’re going to be judging me. Scrutinizing me. I’m - I’m nothing special compared to them. Hell, they’ve been to space, and have saved the world countless times. I know in my head that they’re human too. But it’s just… they’ve done so much more than me. Like… what have I done with my life, Dami?” Damian hated the defeated tone that crept into Danny’s voice. 

It didn’t sound right, coming from the normally happy man. 

“It is not right to compare yourself to them. You are a civilian. They are not,” he said, attempting to reassure the other man, pulling his hand out from Danny’s to rest it on his shoulder. 

“Civilian. Right,” Danny muttered. “About that. You know how I said that there was a small-time hero in my home town?” Danny waited till he got a small nod from Damian before continuing. 

“Well, I may have ended up helping him out. My parents had a ton of inventions that we could use, and if not, well, I could turn them into whatever we needed.” Here, Danny gave a bitter laugh. 

“You know, we resented the Justice League and heroes a lot in Amity. It wasn’t till I was older, till I ran away, that I realized there was something, I don’t know what, that prevents all of Amity’s weirdness from spilling out. It seems like it doesn’t always work? Again, no idea what causes it, so no clue what the rules are for what can and can’t get out.” Damian sighed, letting his hand fall from Danny’s shoulder.

“Batman will want to speak with you about that, and investigate.” 

“Eh, I lived through him visiting me once, I can handle it happening again. Oh. I kinda had to reveal to Batman that I had some powers. So… they know about that now. Unfortunately,” Danny said, grimacing. 

Damian’s mind whirled, things Danny had said dropping into place. Getting into a lot of trouble as a teen. His insights into what it was like as a hero. His abilities. His admittance that he’d helped out said hero. What Danny had said in his original video, the one that started it all, about not getting sleep, about having the public turn against you… had he been so passionate because that was what he had experienced too? 

Was Danny an ex-hero? 

It would explain a lot. 

It also meant that Danny might be more accepting of a relationship with a hero. A vigilante. 

“I am sorry that you had to reveal some of your secrets to him. He did not rebuke you, though, did he? Batman’s stance on metas is more to do with how often there are mind control and psychological attacks in Gotham, something which is dangerous with the general population, but even more so when metas get controlled.” 

“I - yeah, he was pretty cool about it. He asked if I had more, but didn’t press too much.” 

“Good.” 

They sat in silence for a moment. 

“I do not think your high school record is going to be an issue. Both Jason and Timothy have GEDs, Jason as he was declared dead and could not finish high school and Timothy because he dropped out to be CEO for a while,” Damian explained. He did not think that it would be much of an issue. 

“Um, that’s good. But I also got a lot of detentions. And fights,” Danny mentioned nervously. 

“It will not be an issue. Despite my father doing his best to not have anything on my school record, I do have a history of fights and getting into trouble,” Damian told him confidently. 

“O-Okay. What about my parents? They’re basically Midwestern Mad Scientists.”

“You are not your parents. Neither am I. Neither are my siblings. We will encourage them to judge you for who you are, and not who your parents are.” 

“Isn’t that easier said than done?” Danny asked, his head tilting slightly. Adorable. 

“Indeed. However, repetition and a strong message should wear them down. I am well versed in how to prevent a journalist from going down a particular line of questioning,” Damian bragged slightly. Danny smiled. 

“Oh? How so sweetheart?” Danny scooted his chair closer, leaning into Damian’s personal space. 

Not that he minded. 

“I - It is rather simple. Usually offering them something else, or glaring and not answering have worked well for me.” 

Danny was so close. If he bridged the gap, they would be kissing. Had they survived their conversation, relationship intact? Did Damian have a boyfriend now? 

He stopped caring for a moment as Danny kissed him. 

“I’m glad we talked, Dami,” Danny whispered after pulling away. “Let’s eat, then we can head out on our date. If you’re game.” Danny had a shy, happy smile on his face. 

Damian would not be satisfied with just one kiss, leaning forward to capture Danny’s lips once more, his hand coming up to cradle his Beloved’s cheek. 

“I assure you, I am still very interested in our date Beloved.” 

They ate the sandwiches, their eyes locked on the other, the atmosphere charged with their desire to touch one another. 

***

Ancients, Danny was so tempted to ask Damian if they could just screw the date and cuddle on the couch. He just wanted to hold Damian, and be held by him. They’d had their talk, it hadn’t been bad at all, with both of them revealing a little more of the secrets they held close to their chests. Communication! They were apparently pretty decent at that. At least with each other. 

Although, with the date, they could hold hands. 

Also, hanging out on the couch did not make for a fun or interesting first date. He was trying to impress Damian here! 

Maybe he could convince Damian to watch a movie with him afterwards? Was that weird though? That he wanted Damian to stay, that he wanted to spend as much time with Damian as possible? 

Danny was brought out of his thoughts as Damian parked. 

The Zoo! Damian loved animals. He would surely love this! Stepping out of the car, he turned to his date. 

“Have you been here before?” He asked, walking forward to meet Damian before they headed to the entrance.

“I have. I usually go a few times a year,” Damian replied. 

Fuck.

Dammit. 

He should have known that Damian came here often. He loved animals. This… wasn’t a great start. Okay, that was fine. Danny had never been here, maybe Damian would enjoy showing him around? Showing Danny his favorite animals and exhibits? Yes. That’s what they’d do. That should hopefully make this a little better. 

Now that he thought about it though, Damian had probably gone to the pier and the amusement park there, and he’d probably sampled a lot of the different vegetarian and vegan restaurants the city had to offer. 

Hopefully it would be the thought that counted? 

“Oh, awesome! I’m paying, by the way. I asked you out, so all of today is on me. Um, since you go here so often, do you want to show me your favorite exhibits? I’d love to see them, and knowing you, you can tell me all sorts of cool facts about them,” Danny asked, giving their clasped hands a squeeze as they waited in line. 

“It would be my absolute pleasure, Beloved.” 

Once they were inside, Damian led Danny to the big cat exhibits. Panthers, Snow Leopards, Tigers, and Lions. He should have known Damian liked Big Cats. Damian bought Danny a Snow Leopard plush, handing it to Danny, saying that it did not match his cuteness, but it was the closest that he could find among the plushies. 

Danny wasn’t sure if he needed to thank or yell at whoever taught Damian to be so smooth. 

They also visited the wolf exhibit, some of the reptile exhibits, and with a flourish, Damian introduced him to his favorite herbivore. The Okapi. It was a strange looking creature, its legs and butt were white and black, striped like a zebra. The rest of it was brown, with small little horns on its head and a long purple tongue. 

“Do you know what its closest relative is?” Damian asked him with a smile. 

“Uhhhh a zebra?” Damian chuckled. 

“No, despite how it looks, its closest relative is the giraffe. It is the only living relative of the giraffe, and is often called the forest giraffe.” 

“Huh. Why is it your favorite?” he asked, curious. 

“Hmmmm. It is a rather secretive and elusive animal. Everyone assumes based on how it looks that it is related to the zebra, however, that is not the case. It is actually a relative of the giraffe. I suppose the easiest answer is that it is a strange and beautiful creature. Another is that I relate to it, in some way.” 

“The predators that we saw earlier are very beautiful, and dangerous. That has been something that has been expected of me. I suppose the softer side of me has always felt strange, as it was forced to hide. Like the Okapi.” 

Okay. 

Danny had no idea how to respond to that. He also felt like he was missing some context here. A lot of context. 

“While others have no problem showing their softer side, of being giraffes, mine is merely a shadow of what it could have been, a mere relative of the giraffe.” 

What?

“So… you’re an Okapi, but you want to be a giraffe?” Damian laughed, although it sounded rather hollow. 

“In a sense, yes. But it is too late, my childhood is gone. I can never be one.” He glanced over at Danny. 

“My apologies, Beloved. I doubt that made much sense. It was… merely some metaphorical musing on my part. A rather poor and convoluted metaphor.” 

“Yeah, I didn’t understand all of it. But… the jist of it is that you feel like you have always had to be a strong predator? And you weren’t ever allowed to let your ‘softer side’ aka your compassion and empathy show? It had to hide? And you wish it could be free, and out in the open, like the giraffes? Instead of in the shadows of the forest like the Okapi?” 

Damian blinked at him, then a wry smile spread across his face. 

“Yes, that is a better, more succinct explanation.” 

“So… toxic masculinity. You had to be and act a certain way, or else.” Damian gave a curt nod, his eyes returning to the Okapi in the exhibit. 

“But Dami… you said it yourself, didn’t you? The Okapi is a strange and beautiful creature. You have no way of knowing if you actually would have been a giraffe without whatever or whoever forced you to hide a part of yourself. For all you know, you could have been an Okapi anyway. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a beautiful and unique animal, that’s special in its own way.” 

It remained silent between them for a moment, Danny starting to sweat, wondering if he’d overstepped and said the wrong thing. 

“Thank you, Danny. That is kind of you to say,” Damian eventually replied. 

They visited a few more exhibits before leaving the zoo to head to the pier. 

The pier was fun. They rode the roller coaster (although to be honest, it was nothing compared to being able to fly on your own). Damian hadn’t seemed too impressed by it either. Danny even convinced Damian to ride the carousel with him, Danny riding a rabbit and Damian a seahorse. Damian had begrudgingly let Danny take pictures of him on the seahorse, and he’d taken some pictures of Danny on the bunny, muttering something, Danny only able to catch the words handsome and adorable. 

At the carnival games, the two competed to win ridiculous prizes for the other. Damian smugly winning Danny a knock off Robin and Martian Manhunter (which, omg they had one?!? It was really hard to find Martian Manhunter merch, even though the guy was one of the original members of the Justice League!). Danny won Damian a large teddy bear with a bright red bow, and a Gotham themed picture frame. It was what Damian had wanted, from the available prizes. 

Leaving the amusement park, they walked along the pier, hand in hand. They window shopped, merely chatting and looking at the variety of shops. Damian seemed a little distracted at this point, glancing behind them. Everything was fine once more after he went to the bathroom.

It must have been his imagination, Damian must have just been looking for the rest room. 

Their reservations at Tacotarian were coming up, so the couple walked two blocks to the restaurant. Thankfully, Damian hadn’t been there before, nor had Danny. They shared a Cauliflower Ceviche as an appetizer, before trying a variety of tacos. The majority of them were made from seitan or gardein, to replace the meat. There were a couple that were different, though, which they tried. The Barbacoa taco had chili braised jackfruit instead of meat. There was also a soy chorizo. 

They had a great time trying and sharing the different tacos. It didn’t taste exactly like the real thing, but hey, it was close enough in Danny’s opinion. He didn’t mind it, if it made Damian happy. 

And Damian…

It seemed like Damian was having a great time. 

Danny had planned a great date. 

It was… almost over though. 

Damian would be taking him back soon. 

Hopefully, Damian wouldn’t want to leave yet… and they could watch a movie together. 

***

Damian didn’t want the date to end. He didn’t have patrol tonight, but he doubted he’d be able to sleep. He would be going over the date in his head, replaying it over and over. It had been an incredibly enjoyable evening, despite having to call and scold his family for following them on the pier. They’d been easy to ignore at the Zoo and the amusement park, however, they’d been too close and had started being lax in their observations. They had deserved the scolding.

While he had been to the Zoo many, many times, he always enjoyed it when he could talk about his favorite animals. The discussion of the Okapi and the Giraffes had been unexpected. He had not planned on being so open. Well, open for him. Danny knew nothing about the League of Assassins, their training, the Lazarus Pits, or how Damian grew up with them. 

Danny had touched on something important though. Damian had no way of knowing if his difficulty showing emotion was solely due to his upbringing. Father was rather repressed, and he had not been forced to be emotionless as a child. 

Danny’s emotional intelligence reminded him of Richard, in a way. Although not as exuberant, Danny certainly did not press as much as his eldest brother did. 

The entire time he’d spent with Danny had been wonderful and relaxing. It was incredibly flattering how the date had been carefully selected for Damian’s taste. The amusement park, not as much, but he had greatly enjoyed competing and playing the carnival games with Danny. He’d also had the chance to show off his incredible aim and strength with the games, and he’d been surprised and pleased when Danny had won a few against him as well. Seeing Danny’s confident and smug smirk had flooded him with desire, barely resisting the urge to kiss that smirk off of his face.

Damian parked the car, finding a spot around a block from Danny’s rented townhome. Checking the street, he stepped out, ensuring no cars were heading down the street, heading around to open the car door for his Beloved. 

Danny looked exquisite as always, the dark jeans hugged his legs and ass. He was wearing a pale lilac long sleeved shirt with a N.A.S.A. pin over the pocket on the left side, over the heart. The look was softened by the gray and red Robin jacket, which based on the slightly fraying cuffs, was well loved. There was a small red, green, and yellow bow, clearly Robin themed, in Danny’s black hair, that helped keep his long bangs out of his face. 

The possessive part of him always preened when he saw Danny in his colors, and right now, stepping out of the car, wearing his merchandise and carrying everything Damian had purchased and won for him? He felt incredibly satisfied. 

Danny thanked him with a small pleased smile. He would open every door for Danny if it earned him that smile. Danny walked up the steps to the town home, opening the door before turning back to Damian, his teeth biting his lip. 

“Um. I - I had a really great time Damiain. I hope you did too. Thanks for driving.” Danny was clearly nervous about something. Damian doubted it could be in regards to their date; he’d thought he’d made it rather clear throughout it how much he’d enjoyed it.

“I had a wonderful time as well, Beloved. I would be honored if you would go out with me once more. However, this time I wish to plan and pay for everything, if you are amendable.”

Danny blinked in surprise, the worry in his body language disappearing. 

“Oh! Yeah! Of course! I uh, I can’t wait!” Danny responded enthusiastically. 

“Fantastic. I will message you, and we can determine the specifics of our next date,” Damian said with a smile. 

“Hey, uh, Dami. If um, if you don’t wanna go yet, do you…” Danny took a deep breath, the next few sentences were fast and rushed due to his nerves, “do you wanna watch stuff with me on the couch? No pressure or anything, just relaxing, nothing else. Maybe some cuddling? Cause cuddles are nice, and I wanna hold you, or you hold me, don’t care which way. Oh Ancients, please shut me up.” 

Damian felt his heart soar. Danny didn’t want to end their time together. He stepped up the next step, till he was pressing Danny somewhat against the door, enjoying that he was slightly taller than Danny. 

“I would greatly enjoy that,” Damian whispered, grabbing Danny’s hand, bringing it up so he could kiss Danny’s hand, “I treasure every moment I spend with you, Beloved. Having a chance to hold you in my arms or to be in yours, sounds exquisite.” 

Damian was rewarded with Danny’s blush, which was quickly becoming one of his favorite things to see. Danny stuttered, before ducking his hand and pulling Damian inside by their clasped hands. 

Jasmine was home, sitting at the kitchen table, a stack of papers and books next to her as she nibbled on the leftover sandwiches while reviewing some of the paperwork. The sandwiches were clearly the ones that Danny had made for lunch. She glanced up, upon hearing the door open. 

“Danny! How was the date? Is there going to be - oh, hi again Damian.” 

“Good evening Jasmine. Wonderful to see you once more,” he greeted her politely. Her eyes sparkled with mirth, and he could tell that she would be teasing Danny mercilessly after he left later this evening. 

“Good to see you too. What are you two up to?” Yes, there was that knowing, teasing tone that he’d heard from his older siblings many times. 

“I - We’re just going to watch some stuff in the living room. And cuddle. Nothing else,” Danny said with a pointed look at his older sister. 

“Sounds nice. I didn’t say you were going to do anything else.” Jasmine stood up, gathering her books and papers, a knowing grin on her face. 

“I think I’ll head upstairs, give you two some privacy.”

Danny insistently pulled him towards the living room, the blush from earlier still on his face. 

“Sorry about that,” Danny mumbled, as he turned on the TV. “Siblings, you know. She knows - she knows nothing is going to happen, but she just has to tease me.”

“Oh, I am well aware of siblings and their teasing. I do have five of them, all of them older,” he reminded his love, sitting down on the couch, glancing around. 

It was clear which of the bookshelves belonged to Danny and which one belonged to Jasmine. Danny’s bookshelf had some model rockets, the collection of Bat Burger toys he’d shown off on stream, a few picture frames, and other knick knacks. Jasmine’s was filled with books, the top three fourths filled with psychology books, and the bottom fourth filled with what seemed to be romance novels. 

“Ah, right, right. Um, what do you want to watch?” 

“What have you been watching lately?” 

He was honestly curious. He did not often watch television, mainly sticking to animal documentaries. Damian also tended to watch the news, although considering how often they covered crime and politics, which were not often pleasant topics. He did not wish to end their date on a gloomy note. 

Danny fidgeted, embarrassment radiating from him. 

“Okay. This is going to be really pathetic and sad, but… I didn’t really watch a lot of TV growing up? And I didn’t watch a ton of movies either, really just the ones my friends wanted to, when I could spare the time. It was kinda the same with video games too. I watched and played when they wanted, because I generally didn’t have time to find things that I wanted to watch. Generally.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking away from Damian. 

“So um. I’ve been watching cartoons? Ones that were popular back when I was a kid? Or, well, teen? Um, I’m currently making my way through Avatar the Last Airbender. It’s really good…” Danny trailed off. 

Watching cartoons for children, from his childhood. While Richard had forced him to watch Disney, Pixar, and some Dreamworks movies, they had not ever watched cartoons made for television. He supposed it was due to the time commitment. It was easier to find the time to watch a two or three hour movie compared to the twelve hours it took to watch most seasons, assuming the episodes were approximately thirty minutes long and the season had twenty four episodes. That also said nothing for however many seasons the show would have. 

“I must admit that I have never watched televised cartoons. I have been tempted to watch anime before, as I do read some manga in my spare time.” 

“Oh, um, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is on my list of things to watch, it’s an anime,” Danny offered. 

Damian had heard wonderful things about said anime, however, he knew there was some violence and corruption in it. Damian needed to be in the mood for that, as he dealt with many of those things in his vigilant life. He tended to prefer slice of life manga.

“Hmmm, while I would like to watch it someday, I would prefer to watch the Avatar cartoon you mentioned.” 

“Okay! Um, we can start over, so you can see from the beginning, it’s a really good show so far, so I don’t mind starting it over, especially since I’m still on season one.” 

Danny sat down next to Damian, using the remote to bring up the aforementioned TV show and pressing play. 

The two watched the show in silence, before Danny gently leaned over, leaning into Damian’s shoulder. Taking a hint, Damian lifted said hand, laying it across Danny’s shoulders. The so-called ‘move’ that Richard had gleefully told him about. Danny responded positively to it, relaxing and leaning further into Damian’s side. 

Between the first and second episode, Danny grabbed a blanket, draping it over both of them. Damian’s heart fluttered, noticing that it was the blanket he’d purchased for Danny at the observatory. 

While Damian did that, he sent a text to his family that he would be staying later, although he was sure they knew, having followed him and Danny during the entirety of their date. He knew it was their way of showing they loved him and that they cared, no matter how infuriating it was. They were likely more anxious to confirm that it had gone well, due to Father’s interference in his relationship. 

He should have perhaps expected it, considering how late they both had been up the previous night, but around episode four, Danny was asleep. Moving as slowly as possible, Damian turned off the television. He could look his fill now. 

Danny was ethereal, with his long lashes, lips parted slightly, and his calm, relaxed face. Damian’s fingers twitched. If only he had his sketchbook, he could immortalize this moment forever. Danny’s weight against him felt right, and there was something about his love, his heart, his Beloved , asleep, trusting Damian to watch over him and protect him. 

He doubted that was Danny’s intention. 

No matter. 

It still felt that way. 

Damian had a decision to make though. 

Did he wake Danny, say goodbye, and then leave? He could always leave on his own, using his skills to exit through a window, locking it behind him. However, that would likely cause questions to arise of how he had done so. Danny was intelligent and observant, that was part of what Damian enjoyed around him.

Or did Damian allow himself to fall asleep here, on the couch. It would be selfish of him, greedy of him, as it would allow him to spend even more time with Danny, and would allow him to wake up with his Beloved. He doubted Danny would question if Damian had also fallen asleep on the couch. 

His family would know though. 

Damian found he did not care. 

He had started this day, unsure if he would still have a date with Danny. 

He had not in his wildest dreams thought he would be ending the day with Danny asleep, nestled in his side. 

Damian pulled out his phone once more, hesitating slightly before he took a picture of Danny asleep next to him. Then, he texted his family. 

GayGhul: Do not wait up for me. I will likely not return till morning. 

Knowing that would cause a firestorm, he turned his phone on silent, then put it away. 

Relaxing, Damian settled in and used his training from the League, the one that allowed him to sleep almost anywhere to drift off. 

He would be waking up the next morning, with his Beloved. 

Damian could hardly wait. 

Chapter Text

Danny woke up slowly. He was slightly uncomfortable, but warm. Ugh, he must have fallen asleep on the couch again. There was probably an accusatory question from the streaming service, asking if he was still watching. No, no he was not. He’d fallen asleep. Yawning, he sat up, blinking slowly. 

“Good morning Danny,” came a soft voice beside him, deeper than usual due to sleep. 

Danny turned his head over to the side. Oh Ancients. It was - He was - Danny had no words, his mind going blank. The faint sunlight made Damian’s black hair gleam. Said hair was rumpled, likely due to sleeping on the couch. Man, Damian was gorgeous. He just wanted to - 

Danny leaned forward and kissed Damian.

He didn’t really have a lot of impulse control in the mornings, did he? Thankfully Damian didn’t mind, kissing him back. After the good morning kiss, they got off the couch, Danny pointing Damian towards the bathroom. He then rushed to the fridge. They should have something Damian could eat? Oatmeal maybe? With fruit? That should work. It probably wasn’t the usual stuff Damian ate, but well, it’s what Danny had. Maybe next time Danny could make pancakes or something.

Hopefully there was a next time soon. 

Danny focused on starting to make the oatmeal, directing Damian to cut and wash some of the fruit when he asked if Danny needed help. After making the oatmeal, Danny headed to the bathroom himself. It was early still, earlier than Danny usually woke up. Orion hadn’t even come down yet, demanding to be fed. Normally he cuddled with Danny while he slept, and then began to bug Danny around ten in the morning. 

“Um, I hope your family isn’t freaking out, thinking that I kidnapped you or something,” Danny said, fiddling with his spoon. There was just a little bit of oatmeal left in his bowl.