Take Back Your Minx - Tumblr Posts

Danny smiled from his place on the clocktower roof. He'd been in Gotham for a while now, two years to the day exactly, but he'd never get tired of the view. Sure, he hated not being able to see the stars at night, but there were worse things. He did make sure to leave the city every night to see them, though.

He liked being up high. It reminded him of, not simpler times, but times when he wasn't as alone. Jazz had made her way to Harvard, Tucker was MIT, and Sam was at Pomona. Danny was nowhere.

They say after he turned fourteen, he died. It, to say the least, wasn't a pleasant or painless death, though it didn't hurt past the initial shock and revival. When he was sixteen, he realized he wasn't aging. Sure, Danny Fenton aged until he was sixteen, but Danny Phantom stopped at fourteen. Good for keeping a secret identity, but horrible for wanting to half live normally.

The day after he turned eighteen, exactly four years after he died, Danny disappeared. He left everything behind and hid out in the one place he'd always said he'd avoid. It was the one place no one would look for him. The one place where he was just another face in the crowd.

Gotham City allowed Danny the anonymity that normally came with death. Instead of just another headstone in the graveyard or a body in the harbor, though, he was just another kid on the streets in a busted hoodie and jeans. No one looked twice and no one asked questions.

In the two years he's spent on the streets of Gotham, he's learned a lot. Survival was something all humans are born with, but growing up with neglectful parents amplified that instinct. Dying and becoming an unwilling hero honed those instincts. Living in Gotham gave him a chance to learn more.

Learning the lay of the land was another thing he learned very quickly. Batman is over all of Gotham except for Crime Alley. That's Red Hood's haunt. Gotham Proper was split into blurry lines and shared between Batman and Robin, Red Robin, Orphan, and Spoiler. Nightwing is over Gotham's sister city, Bludhaven. Signal is the only day shift, so he had the most ground to cover in the least amount of time.

Of course, the Rouge's all had their own territories drawn with hard, barely flexible, lines. Black Mask was really the only one to breach those lines by trying to take Crime Alley, but Red Hood had been keeping him in check.

Learning the rules for each territory and how to interact with each person, Rouge or Vigilante, took time, but he managed. His own experiences had probably helped with that.

The next thing Danny had mapped out was where the neutral stations were. Every territory had them. They were places no one attacked because the important ones have standards. In Crime Alley, it's The Club. In Penguin's area, it's the Iceberg Lounge. Ivy marked off Robinson Park. Etcetera. The Joker is really the only major Rouge without a neutral mark on his map, but that's because he's more of an asshole than the rest. An asshole with standards, but an asshole nonetheless.

Very few of those neutral areas were available to spend the night in. Even fewer we're hiring. So, the homeless population of Gotham City stuck to the streets and back alleys.

However, there were two places Danny knew he could go where he'd be safe from scrutiny if someone looked too close at him. The Club in Crime Alley where all the working girls and boys checked in and reported any Bad Johns or Bad Janes, and The Iceberg Lounge in the richer parts of Gotham.

The clocktower was where Danny liked to spend his nights when the streets were too loud and the lights too bright and the fights too close for comfort. Oracle, who was Batman's eye in the sky and ear to the ground, worked from the clocktower, but he made sure to avoid her. It wasn't easy with what's basically super hearing that he can't turn off, but he found a spot near the very top where he could block out all Bat Business. Plausible deniability and all that.

Danny misses the stars. He misses being able to peek his head out of his bedroom window and name of each constellation he could see. He can't do that in Gotham because of the light pollution that clung to the sky like black mold. It was part of the reason he'd sworn to never go to Gotham.

There are Shades in Gotham. Shadows of people who have died but aren't quite ready to move on. He helps them as best he can, but there's so many that he sometimes feels like he's cutting off a Hydra's head. He gets to see results, though. Some days the parks are more colourful, the clouds have drifted enough to let natural sunlight through, and the graveyards are buzzing with thankful energy.

Danny forwent the thought of trying to get a job a while ago. As far as the world is concerned, Danny Fenton is missing, likely dead. Being dead, in case it wasn't well known, is a legal barrier. Sure, most jobs in Gotham didn't do background checks, but Danny didn't really want to join the Goonion. He's just fine living on the streets.

Ectoplasm is scarce compared to Amity Park, but that's to be expected. Besides, the miasma crushing the city like a weighted blanket was enough to sustain his basic abilities. Food was a bit harder to come by, but, like sleep, he could survive longer without it than a living being can. If anyone were to ever ask - though the likelihood of anyone even finding out - how he was alive, his answer was "Photosynthesis, but for ghosts."

Danny liked being just Danny. No name, no responsibilities outside of keeping himself alive.

Danny Fenton, the loser nerd who fell to the bottom of all his classes, who's obsessed with space and everything in it, who could tell you exactly how long it would take to get from Earth to Betelgeuse and back, is dead. He died the day after he turned fourteen.

Danny Phantom, the hatefully loved vigilante who appeared with the throngs of ghosts, who grew more powerful with every fight, who won more fights than he thought he could because there was no other option, is gone. He disappeared after exactly four years.

Danny just exists. He lives on the streets of Gotham City, staying away from trouble because he learned how to recognize it as soon as he could walk. He loves space and finds every opportunity he can to get out and watch the stars and moon and planets. He likes heights because being up that high reminds him of when he was living and not just surviving. Was there really a difference anymore? He hangs out in graveyards and the docks because the dead are so much more tolerable than the living.

Danny liked being just Danny because Danny doesn't have the world of Infinite Realms and Possabilities on his shoulder.

Danny likes to be able to just be for once.

Storyboard Part 2

PSA before we get back into this story!

This took a much darker turn than I was planning this early one. Regardless, this one was always gonna cover more mature/not child friendly topics, so here's your warning. (the TW/CW will change for every chapter)

TW: Graphic Non-Con/Rape

Once upon a time, Danny might have cared. Once upon a time, he would’ve had people waiting for him at home, waiting to put him back together just so they could kick his ass for being an idiot. ‘Once upon a time’ is the beginning of a fairy tale. Fairy tales are based on myths, myths are based on history, and history is in the past. So, yes. Danny might’ve cared, once upon a time, but he was in the present, not the past.

He avoided staying in one place for too long for several reasons, this being one of them. He’d been singled out a few times a week during his first few months of Gotham. In order to continue to survive, he’d learned very quickly when and where to hide, and when and where to flaunt.

It wasn’t easy money, but it was the only money Danny could get where people didn’t ask questions. Sure, he didn’t keep most of it, but it was good to have the ability to buy resources and such. Sharing with the kids he came across was a plus that got him into Red Hood’s good graces.

Danny had first started out by poking around The Club in Crime Alley. He’d bumped into a few of the working girls when he was running from some assholes. They took him to The Club for safety, and everyone there had let him stay.

He’d always been a quick learner, picking up on details and patterns that most people overlooked. While watching the working girls and boys of Crime Alley get ready, he picked up on a lot of things. Eventually, they gave him a makeup kit and his own area. From there, he became one of the working boys of Crime Alley.

He didn’t take many clients, mostly because he looked so young and the others didn’t want him to get hurt. Apparently, they’d also had to clear something up with Red Hood? He didn’t know. He still hadn’t met the man, though he’d seen him around a lot.

The clients that he did get were mostly on the younger side, but they’d all managed to teach him new things about himself and the job he’d gotten himself, as well as the world. There were, of course, people that were referred to as Bad Johns and Bad Janes. They were the ones everyone was warned about. They were the ones to end up on Red Hood’s Shit List.

Which brings Danny to his current situation. He knew this guy by his face, but his clothing and name were a huge identifier. His picture was up on the warning board of The Club, so everyone knew to avoid him at all costs. Apparently, though, he’d sought out Danny and cornered him.

“You’ve all been avoiding me.” the man growled, his breath smelled of days old alcohol.

Danny scowled, not caring to hide his disdain for the man. “Because you acted up, asshole. You know how to play nicely with us. When you don’t, you get put on the wall.” It was common knowledge in the Alley.

The man only pushed closer to Danny, arms on either side of his head. “I didn’t ‘act up’,” he said into Danny’s ear, “This is your job. You put yourself out here, you don’t get to deny paying customers.”

Danny pushed himself further into the brick wall behind him, looking for a way out of the situation without having to touch the disgusting human that was caging him in. “That’s not that works, BJ, now move before I have to move you myself.”

“Feisty,” the man smiled a slimy smile, “I like that,” He leaned in more, his body fully pushed against Danny’s, and pressed their lips together in a one sided kiss.

Now, Danny let go of most reservations and began to push back against the BJ as hard as he could without letting his ghostly strength through.

The BJ was stronger than Danny thought, though, and didn’t move. Instead, he lowered his left arm to Danny’s hip and forced his mouth open, shoving his tongue into Danny’s mouth and exploring.

It should’ve been concerning that Danny’s first thought was, ‘Ew! It’s gonna take forever to get the taste of stale liquor out of my mouth!’ But his second thought of overwhelming panic overruled any concern for his own thoughts. He had to get this guy off of him!

Danny knew, before he’d so much as thought about working on the street, that he’d encounter people like this. He knew that the others had dealt with them before, that’s why the wall was there. He’d even run into a few before! Though, someone had always run interference when people like this showed up. It’s why everyone usually stayed within sight of each other. This guy, though, had pulled Danny aside when he was on his way back to The Club for the night before heading back to the building he was squatting in.

The BJ’s right hand moved to Danny’s hair, his left fingers dipping into the waistband of the leather pants he’d chosen for the night.

Danny doubled his efforts to push the guy away, going so far as to bite the man’s tongue.

The man pulled away and slapped Danny hard enough to sting and leave a mark. “You fucking slut!” There was blood in his mouth. Good.

“I told you ‘No’! Now get off me!” He pushed again, but he let a little ghostly strength leak through, knowing for a fact that his eyes tinted green ever so slightly.

The Bad John didn’t like that, stumbling back a few feet. Straightening up, he readied himself for a punch, his form sloppy and his aim off. As he charged, Danny moved to the left, making the man run into the wall. As he regained his bearings, Danny made for the opening to the alley. If he could just-!

Evidently, the man was way less drunk than Danny had anticipated because he managed to shake himself back into stability and grabbed Danny back the back of his shirt, the turtleneck choking him slightly.

“That was uncalled for.” the man hissed.

Danny struggled in his grip, the little bit of ghostly strength he’d allowed through now doing little against the guy, “It was perfectly called for. Let me go!” Loudy, he tried, “Help-!” but was quickly cut off.

The BJ slammed Danny’s back into the wall again, capturing his mouth in another forced kiss. His hands held both of Danny’s hips, fingers hooked in the belt loops and waistband.

He’d never had someone this pushy before. If someone hadn’t gotten them off before, he usually managed to push them off himself. As his mouth filled with the man’s blood from his bitten tongue, Danny felt tears start to fall, the fight slowly draining from him as the man got harsher with his grip and movements.

The man pushed closer again, grinding against Danny as he worked to force his tongue down his throat, blood filling both of their months. Finally, he pulled away, keeping the bruising grip on Danny’s hips as he locked eyes with him. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Danny refused to swallow the mix of blood and saliva in his mouth, causing the grossness to pool before drooling. The man smirked.

“I knew you’d see it my way.” The fingers on his left hand disentangled themselves from the leather, the whole hand pushing down the front of Danny’s pants barely a second later.

Danny gasped, choking as the disgusting fluids in his mouth slid down his throat, tears falling down his face. His body reacted on its own, pelvis pushing forward while his head pushed back. He hated this. He hated this. He hated this!

He gargled the mess in his mouth, trying again to push the man off of him. It still didn’t work. The man pushed his left knee into Danny’s thigh, grabbing both his wrists with his right hand and holding them over his head. Then, he bit harshly into his neck.

Danny screamed the best he could, more of the blood-saliva mix falling from his mouth and down his chin, his tears joining in full force. His head was forcefully tilted to a painful angle as the man bit and sucked at his pulsepoint. His hips bucked forward into the man’s hand, the guy’s own grinding into him at the same time.

Just as he’d given up hope on getting away, the man was ripped off of him with a cry. Suddenly, it was like Danny could breathe again. Turning to the side, he spit out what was in his mouth before throwing up. The others would understand if he just didn’t show up for a few days, right? He definitely needed to stay away from people for a bit after this.

There was a warm weight draped over his shoulders and back, circles being rubbed into the space between his shoulder blades. He didn’t dare look up, or even open his eyes for several minutes. Finally, though, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and wiped his tears away with his fingertips. It didn’t matter either way, his makeup was ruined beyond salvageable. He hiccuped.

“Are you okay now?” asked a voice he hadn’t heard before. It was modulated, heavily so, sounding more robotic than human, but there was no mistaking the concerned influx that machines couldn’t articulate or copy.

With a sniffle, Danny nodded his head, then shook it, then nodded again.

There was a soft chuckle. “I get it. It was a stupid question anyway. Are you good to stand? Do you want me to walk ya back to The Club?”

If Danny had cared, he would’ve wondered how Red Hood - for that was the only person this could be - had known that’s where he was going. He also would’ve probably wondered about how he’d missed Nightwing holding the BJ in a headlock just near the back of the alley.

Maybe, once upon a time, Danny would’ve cared. But he doesn’t much care for ‘once upon a time’s anymore. All that he cared about is the current moment. And the current moment demands he be at home.

Nodding, Danny accepted Red Hood’s help in standing up. Once balanced and able to stand on his own, he pulled the jacket tighter around himself and kept his gaze on the ground. He could see Red Hood’s feet a step ahead of his own, and he could hear someone else behind him. Though, taking note of Red Hood’s relaxed pace, he assumed the person was okay. At least, he hoped they were okay.

Part 1 Part 3

Red Hood was furious. Beyond that, actually, and he could tell that Nightwing shared his sentiment. Danny was technically the new worker in the alley and had basically been adopted by all the working girls and boys, which is why he had yet to meet him. Apparently, he would scare him off?

Anyway, Red Hood would be out for blood as soon as he got Danny dropped off at The Club. The poor kid was still in shock, cowering in on himself, letting the jacket hide him as much as it could. He could tell the kid was anxious to have Nightwing following behind him, but he was glad he was bearing with it. He needed the insurance that someone wouldn’t try to take Danny while he didn’t have eyes on him.

When they did get to The Club, he and Nightwing watched as Danny walked inside with his jacket still wrapped around him. The kid was bombarded by several of the people still there, though they all backed off when he flinched, gently guiding him to a chair. Lucy was the one to come out and greet them.

“Thanks for bringing him back,” they said, their voice soft.

“It was no problem, Lu,” Red Hood shook his head slightly, his posture relaxed.

Lucy shook their head in denial. “No, I mean it. We were all so worried when he didn’t come back! The others had lost sight of him and came in panicking.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Nightwing stepped up next to Red Hood, “what happened?”

Lucy worried at their bottom lip, glancing at Red Hood, who nodded, before answering. “We always make sure to keep within sight of each other, just in case someone steps outta line. It’s for our safety. That, and keeping in lit areas. I wasn’t out tonight, but there were seven others on the street with him. There must’ve been a few seconds when they didn’t have eyes on Danny and he was nabbed because none of the others said that they saw anyone else out around the time he disappeared.” They met both vigilanties' eyes behind their masks. “Who was it, Hood?”

Nightwing was hesitant to tell, obviously having an idea of what would happen to the BJ. Red Hood had no such reservations. He knew the names and faces of everyone in Crime Alley, including the addresses of those who have them. They all know his rules and the punishments for not following them. “Go back for the night, Nightwing.”

“Hood-”

“No. Plausible deniability and all that.” he waved off, following Lucy as they led him into The Club. “Tell Batman I sent ya early because Alley business came up.”

“It’s no place for a Bat,” Nightwing sulked, “I know. Good night, you two!”

“Goodnight, Nightwing!” Lucy waved as the man grappled away. They turned back to Red Hood before opening the door. “Who was it?”

“Mr. Jameson in apartment 25 of the Katt Building near the middle of the Alley.”

They hummed and opened the door. “I’ll pass it on to everyone.”

The group of fifteen were comforting Danny, helping him clean up and offering an ear to listen to. Danny, throughout it all, was staring mostly blankly at the coffee table in the middle of the commons area. He only really reacted when someone gave him a dog plush. Though, that was only small, hesitant movements to take the plush and pull it close to his chest, Red Hood’s jacket still hiding him as though he were a child hiding from a lightning storm. And that’s what he was, a child hiding from the outside world because it hurt him.

Red Hood had to admit, though, that the guy’s cute. He was really hoping to meet him under better circumstances. Regardless, he took off his helmet, the domino underneath keeping his identity mostly safe from getting out, though he trusted everyone here to keep the secret if they ever found out. He knelt on the floor in front of Danny, keeping his movements slow and telegraphed as he made sure to stay in Danny’s line of sight. “Hey there, hun.”

Danny didn’t respond. He didn’t even move. His breathing had slowed back down to a normal pattern, though, and it seemed to be slowing even more.

Red Hood made sure not to touch him or get too close. “Hey, can you hear me?” he asked, “Blink if you can.”

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, very slowly, Danny blinked. Red Hood smiled at him.

“Good. I’m not gonna ask ya what happened, okay? None of us are. We’re gonna take care of the guy, though. He won’t ever bother you again, ‘kay?”

Again, his blink was slow, but tears slowly fell from his eyes as he did so. Relief seemed to wash over his expression as he relaxed into the couch, the jacket and plush being held slightly looser.

“Do you want to stay here, or do you want to go somewhere else?”

The response was quiet, barely a whisper that Red Hood almost missed, “Somewhere else.”

Not too surprising. “Where do ya wanna go?”

“Home.”

“Where’s home?”

Danny didn’t answer as he pulled the jacket around the plush in his arms. Not a good sign, but it was an unfortunately common one for Crime Alley residence.

Red Hood thought for a second, mostly for show, before saying, “I’ve got a safe house you could stay in to recover. No one but me will know where you are if you don’t want them to. You’ll be able to stay as long as you want and you can leave at any time. Sound good?”

“Can Lu or May or Jakey know where it is?”

Not ideal, but anything to make him feel safer. “Of course they can know.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want me to tell them?”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“We’ll touch base then,” He slowly stood back up. “Let me or one of the others know when you’re ready to go and I’ll take ya to the safe house. No rush. We’ll go at your pace.”

Stepping away for a second, he put his helmet back on and turned on his comms. He listened to the conversation he’d tuned into, knowing that Oracle would make him known if the others didn’t stop talking in a moment.

Sure enough, after about thirty seconds, she muted them all and said, “Red Hood, nice of you to join us.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he muttered, ‘Nothing particularly nice about this situation.”

“Oh?” Oracle asked, “What’s going on?”

“Ask Nightwing for details.” he said, “I’m not gonna answer calls for the next few days. Everyone stays out of Crime Alley until I say.” “So normal rules then?” He hummed in response. “Alright. Goodnight, Red Hood.”

Red Hood turned his com off completely, turning to face the kid on the couch and lean against the wall. Danny’s was gonna be okay. He was going to make sure that he’ll be okay.

Part 2 Part 4

Take Back Your Minx

Masterpost Please don't comment on this post

All Stories

Part 1 Part 2 WARNING: 16+ Part 3 Part 4

We're back with another announcement for Take Back Your Minx and others

Take Back Your Minx is set to go out tomorrow at, again, noon my time. The announcement, again, might be a bit late because it's scheduled to post on it's own. I'll try me best, as usual, to keep the day and time the same throughout, but I'm (unfortunately) human, so I might mess up a few times.

I've gone back and fixed the tags on this one, too, so you should be able to find all parts (and related notes) under #Take Back Your Minx.

I'm also gonna remind y'all the mind the warnings on this one. I'll warn accordingly at the top of each post that needs it, but I'm also gonna put an age recommendation on the Masterpost beside the part that it applies to.

As for the others, Morally Grey, Cryptid Rules, and Be Thou For The People are gonna take a bit longer before I get them out.

I didn't really have a plan for Cryptid Rules, so that'll take a bit to figure out the direction I wanna take it. I meant for it to just be a writing prompt to throw out into the world, but I was tired when I wrote it, and I just kept going. I'm not abandoning it, though.

I started writing Morally Grey early last year, but I have since lost all my notes on it, as well as kinda pushed the fandoms back a bit from my mind, so I have to re-establish the two fandoms before I'll feel confident enough to continue this one.

Be Thou For The People only has one problem and that is the sheer length of each part. I have all my notes, I'm still pretty deep into this crossover, and I know enough about both fandoms to feel pretty good about bending them to my will. But, the plan I have for the build (not writing, just the format) of this story is going to require a bit of time to write. We're talking months between parts so that I can write and edit.

All that is to say is that it's gonna be a bit longer before you get the next parts for these last three stories. Don't give up on them, though, because they will come out eventually, just not right now.

Announcement for How To Balance And a Kinda Spoiler

I figured I should let ya know that I'm going to be posting the entire story here on Tumblr before editing and posting on Ao3.

I'm gonna try my best to update at noon on Sundays (my time), but I can't really guarantee the consistent time. The day should stay the same, though, until I move it to Ao3.

Kinda Spoiler under the cut, read if you want, but it's not anything explicit

Again, nothing outright:

A lot of fics like to completely ignore the destruction of Bludhaven but this one isn't going to.

My excuse was that yesterday was the opening day for a month long show that I'm working. My other excuse is that I went to the movies Tuesday night with my dad and sisters.

I have only just noticed that Part 4 of Take Back Your Minx didn't post today. Apparently, I didn't even transfer it from its doc to Tumblr to be scheduled to post. That will be rectified. Not now, but it will be rectified.

I would like to apologize for the oversight.

Part 4 will be out sometime today. I work a double because they decided to do a matinee, so It'll probably go up between the two shows.

Again, I'm really sorry😔

Danny had thought that there were lines that nobody crossed. He knew that there were people out there that were fucked up enough to cross those boundries, and he knew that he’d probably end up encountering them at some point in his life, especially with the job he’d picked up, but knowing something and having it happen were two completely different things.

The reality of the situation hadn’t fully sunk in until he’d gotten to Red Hood’s safe house. Lu knew where he was, but no one else.

Lu’s the best.

Shock is a helpful thing. Unhealthy, but helpful for compartmentalizing and keeping from a public freak out, but it wore off eventually. And when it did, everything hit full force.

Danny didn’t think he could ever just be again. Not after this. He got off easy, with Red Hood and…Nightwing? there to pull the guy off of him before much of anything could happen, but he was still terrified. There was a little part of him that blamed himself for the situation, but he didn’t give it much thought.

The shock made it easier.

The second the door of the safe house closed behind Red Hood, Danny found himself collapsing to the floor, hugging the plushie to his chest and pulling the jacket tighter. He was crying again.

He didn’t believe in ‘once upon a time’s. But, gods, he wished he did. ‘Once upon a time’s are for fairy tails with happy endings and true love. Maybe, if he were in a fairy tail, one that began with ‘once upon a time’, then he could be happy. The bad things wouldn’t happen to him because they were happening to somebody else. He was tired of the bad things happening to him!

“My name is Red Hood. You’re at my safe house in Crime Alley. It’s a little past three in the morning.” Red Hood was saying, his voice soft. He repeated, “My name is Red Hood. You’re at my safe house in Crime Alley. It’s a little past three in the morning.”

Danny nodded his head.

“You back with me?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Good. It’s only been a few minutes. Are you okay to move, or do you need to stay in place for a little longer?”

He tried to move his legs, but the wouldn’t listen to him. Why wouldn’t they move? He needed to move!

“Hey-” Red Hood steadied him when he swayed. “Take you’re time, hun, we’re in no rush.”

He sniffled again, willing the tears to stop. They didn’t. He was going to be so dehydrated when he woke up. Though, he didn’t think he’d be sleeping much for a bit. After a few more minutes of matching Red Hood’s breathing  as best he could, he let go of the plushie with his right hand and grabbed Red Hood’s. “I-I don’t think- I don’t want-”

Red Hood seemed to understand. “Do you want to sit on the couch or go to bed?” If Danny could see his face, he’d bet that the man had a really soft look in his eyes, maye a smile, too.

“Couch,” he whispered.

“Alright,” he answered.

Slowly, and with all the gentleness that was probably achievable by a man buit like a refrigerator, Red Hood helped Danny to his feet. He kept him steady as they made their way over to the dust covered couch. It was uncomfortable to sit on, and probably even worse as a bed, but Danny wasn’t going to complain. He curled up in the far corner, his knees squishing his plushie to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, and his eyes scanning the room, never leaving Red Hood for too long.

“Do you want to change?”

Oh. That sounded nice. But, Danny didn’t have any clothes here. All is stuff was- probably ruined. He’d moved what he could to the top of the Clocktower, but his clothes and such were all probably ruined or gone.

“That’s alright,” his voice was soft and understanding and made him want to cry again. “You can use some of mine. Are you going to be okay being alone for a few minutes?”

Danny nodded, but clutched the dog plush tighter.

Red Hood hummed. Slowly, he reached up and took his helmet off again. Then, he set it on worn coffee table behind him.

Red Hood is a handsome guy. His hair looks soft, just long enough to pull it into a small ponytail or bun. His jaw is square aand his cheekbones sharp. Although he column’t see them, Danny was sure that his eyes were blue.

“I’ll leave this here, okay? I’ll be quick.”

His voice was soft and smooth, though there was a heavy accent that was a strange mix of Crime Alley Local and Old Money. It worked, somehow, and fit perfectly with him.

“Okay,” Danny answered, his voice quiet.

As Red Hood stood to leave, Danny reassessed his build. The man is tall and had muscles for days, but he wasn’t imposing in the slightest. He was probably making himself seem smaller so as to not upset Danny. It was nice.

Not even three minutes later, Red Hood came back out of a room just down the short hallway with some sweatpants and a hoodie. The pants were loose and blank and were going to drown Danny. The hoodie was the same, but there was a blood read bat on the chest.

“You buy your own merch?” Danny asked, a small laugh colouring his voice, but not quite escaping.

Red Hood smiled. “Only from small businesses. Eat the rich, y’know?”

Danny took the clothes. Red Hood turned around so he could change. “I’d rather rob them for all they’re worth and give it all away.”

“A real Robin Hood, ey?”

“Only from and for people who deserve it.”

“Fair enough.”

There was a few minutes of quiet between the two while he changed. He was quick to do so, folding his dirty clothes and setting them as far as he could away from himself without moving from where he’d sat down again.

Red Hood left and came back with a warm, wet rag. “For your make-up,” he explained.

Now back n his own head, Danny felt a blush creep up on his cheeks. He probably looked a mess. He had a really good excuse, but that didn’t stop the embarrassment.

“So,” Red Hood asked, “What’s your name, hun?”

“Danny,” he said quietly. Red Hood probaby already knew that though.

“Nice to meet you, Danny,” Red Hood smiled at him. “I’m Red Hood, but you knew that already.”

Danny nodded. He did know that, but it was still nice to get an official introduction. “Yeah.” He paused for a few beats. “It was Nightwing with you, right?” Red Hood nodded. “Will you tell him ‘thanks’ for me?” He blinked. “I haven’t thank you yet, have I?” Oh, no! He’d been raised better than that!

Red Hood chuckled. “It was no problem, babe. And, yeah, I’ll tell Nightwing for ya.”

“Good,” Danny nodded, “Good.” He pulled jacket he had yet to give back over his legs, letting it cover him like a blanket. His eyes felt heavy.

“Are you tired?”

“Yeah,”

“Do you want to sleep here or in the bedroom?”

“Here’s fine,”

“Do you want me to stay or go?”

He paused, breathing deeply as he debated. Finally, “..stay.”

“Alright,” Red Hood had a soft look on his face. “I’ll stay.”

Part 3 Part 5