Archive of Our Own

Danny had been reading about the constellation Columba when Dick flipped onto his astronomy nook’s balcony. Danny wondered how Dick got onto the highest point of Wayne Manor without a grappling hook, but that thought quickly got brushed aside by Dick’s smile and hands pulling Danny up.

“Alright, up and ‘attem, it’s your turn for Big Brother Little Brother bonding day!” Dick said as he started leading Danny down the stairs.

Frowning, Danny tried to toss his book of constellations as gently as possible onto his bean bag. “You could have just texted me if you wanted to hang out, Dick.” Really, the whole jumping onto the balcony and interrupting Danny’s star time was completely unnecessary.

“But where’s the fun in that?” Dick held tight onto Danny’s hand, not in a way to keep him trapped but more in a way to make sure Danny knew that he was okay with contact. “Come on, little ghost, you’ve been with us for 5 months and we haven’t been able to do a day where just us two hang out, yet! Clearly, this is something I needed to fix immediately, and you deserve to have a special first Big Brother Little Brother bonding day!”

Rolling his eyes, Danny just let Dick continue to drag him down the stairs of the manor. “Okay, so do I at least get to know what we’re doing for this supposed Big Brother Little Brother bonding day?”

Smirking, Dick just put a finger to his lips. “It’s a secret!”

Right. Of course it’d be a secret. Still, Danny followed Dick through the manor all the way to the family’s “incognito” car. Dick hopped into the driver’s seat as Danny slipped into the passenger seat, enjoying his automatic shotgun.

Settling back in his seat, Danny watched the streets of Gotham fly by his window. Wherever Dick was taking Danny, he hadn’t been to this part of town before. Sure, Danny did a fair amount of exploring on patrol, but patrol hardly let him see what businesses were lining the streets or explore the fun stuff. With court and the GIW and his duties as Ghost King, more often than not Danny found himself just curling up in his astronomy nook or seeking out Damian for Twin Cuddle Time.

As they pulled into a mostly deserted parking lot, Danny raised an eyebrow at the large bowling ball and pin sign, decorated in neon lights. “Bowling?” He asked, turning to Dick with a raised eyebrow.

Smile still bright and a little proud of himself, Dick put the car in park and turned off the ignition in one swift motion. “Yeah! I haven’t had a chance to take any of our siblings here so I figured you’d be the first one to go with me. You know, do a little test drive before I try brining Jason or Damain out bowling with me.”

Danny snorted, but he let Dick get away with his shitty reasoning. Hopping out of the car, Danny followed Dick up towards the building. Like most bowling alleys, it looked like it had been first built back in the 80’s and then just never updated again. The door jingled and Danny could already smell the grease of bowling alley pizza and hear the crashing of pins. The carpet was that trademark bowling alley carpet filled with various neon shapes on a black background. Danny trailed behind Dick as he headed towards the desk.

The worker looked tired as they looked up at Dick. “Hello, welcome to Night Bird Bowling Alley. I’m assuming two pairs of shoes and a game?”

“Hello! Actually, we’d like to play a couple games if you could load us up for that. Also, I’m assuming we just order food up at the bar over there?” Dick’s smile was bright as he nodded to the restaurant part of the bowling alley which also seemed to hold some sort of arcade. Danny had to wonder how all bowling alleys seemed to have the same exact look to them.

With a sigh, the worker got to putting in their request. “Yes, you can order food at the bar and it will be brought over to you. What size shoes do you need?”

Danny stopped listening as Dick went through the rest of setting their games up. They got to their lane and Dick left Danny to get his bowling shoes on while he ordered food. The bowling alley was loud, but not overwhelmingly so. It seemed the bowling alley was relatively popular compared to most places in Gotham, most of the lanes filled with couples and families and what Danny could assume was some sort of high school bowling team. It was certainly a different vibe to the nights he spent with Sam and Tucker, playing game after game of bowling to calm down after an intense ghost fight.

As Dick walked back to their lane, he flopped into his seat. “Just to warn you, Danny, I’m a pretty good bowler. I always won when I’d go bowling with the Teen Titans.”

Danny raised an eyebrow, setting his shoes on the seat next to him. “When was the last time you bowled?”

Dick hummed. “Probably two years ago? We went bowling for a little reunion party we did since we were all on planet and not on any individual missions at the time. Still got consistent strikes and spares, though.” Dick threw Danny a smile. “I just don’t want you to feel bad when I inevitably win this game.”

Snorting, Danny stood up with a stretch. “You okay if I go first?”

“Of course! Go ahead.” Dick smiled as he began to put on his own bowling shoes. “It’s also okay if you need to put up the bumpers. It can be frustrating when the ball goes into the gutter. So no shame in using assistance stuff to make things easier for you.”

Danny kept quiet, picking a ball with practiced ease. It wasn’t as comfortable as his ball back at Sam’s house, but it would do. He let Dick watch, lining himself up carefully. The noise muffled out to a gentle static as he focused, pulling on all those nights with Sam and Tuck. He wound back, form practiced as he launched the ball down the lane.

CRASH!

Danny turned to Dick, victorious smile stretched wide as he watched Dick’s flabbergasted expression. The stupid strike video began to play as Danny settled back on his chosen seat. “We can still grab those bumpers, if you’re not confident, Dick.”

Dick’s eyes practically burned as he grabbed his own ball. “Oh it is on.”

The game went like this. Danny and Dick traded strikes, grabbing slices of bowling alley pizza and gulping down overly sugary soda all the while. Danny found himself taunting Dick, laughing as his eldest brother continued to get riled up. Danny had never though Dick would be one to succumb to a petty sibling rivalry, but it was nice. To see Dick poke his tongue out or puff his chest out like a particularly proud peacock. Danny found himself laughing, maybe a little too meanspirited, when Dick got his first spare of the game.

“You just watch,” Dick said as he flopped back into his seat, reaching for a fry, “you’re going to gutter a ball eventually and then I can make my glorious comeback.”

“Uh huh, and when I win you’re going to buy me ice cream after this.” Danny grabbed his ball.

“What?! I didn’t agree to that!” Dick sat up, his feathers more than a bit ruffled.

Danny turned back to Dick. “Then you better win, Dickie-bird.” With a smirk, he turned back and lined up his shot. With another expert flick of his wrist built only from way too much practice and all of the excuses to stay the night at Sam’s, he watched the ball smash into the pins, yet another strike.

Dick grabbed his ball with more force than was strictly necessary. “We’ll see about that, little ghost.”

Five games later and two more pizzas, Danny practically skipped to the car, smile wide as Dick grumbled after him. “Can’t believe you won every single game. That should be a statistical anomaly! There’s no way you were that good every single time.”

Danny turned around to stick his tongue out at Dick. “I’m just that good. You just gotta get good, scrub.”

Rolling his eyes, Dick slid into the driver’s seat. “You’re sure you want ice cream? It’s cold and December, Danny.”

“Clearly you’ve never lived in the Midwest because winter is exactly when you should get ice cream.” Danny leaned back in his seat.

“Okay, but Hot Chocolate would be a lot more seasonally appropriate, little ghost!” Dick said as he put the car in reverse, beginning to head back out into the streets of Gotham. “It’s nicer to hold and there’s a million cafés around Gotham that do killer and fun seasonal hot chocolates and we’re not limited to Dairy Queen since all of the good ice cream shops are closed.”

Danny rolled Dick’s arguments around in his head. “… I guess you make a point. You’re still paying for the hot chocolate though.”

Shoulders drooping in relief, Dick smiled. “Of course, little ghost.”

It took them only three cafés to find one that they could both agree on. Danny cradled his hot chocolate, which apparently was supposed to be ginger bread flavored. It certainly looked fancy enough, with its pile of whipped cream and gingerbread cookie to top it all off. Danny plucked out the gingerbread cookie, nibbling on it as Dick grabbed his own peppermint hot chocolate from the counter. He smiled as he slipped into the booth they’d managed to snag. It was small, perfect for the two person party they were currently made up of, and settled toward the back of the café. It seemed a semi-popular spot to meet up and do schoolwork in, considering the amount of students sitting at the various tables with computers, worksheets, and a variety of other materials scattered around them.

Dick cradled his own hot chocolate, clearly content to let it cool for a bit before asking, “how are you doing, Danny?”

A bit shocked at such a normal question, Danny swallowed his bite of cookie. “Good. I mean, I’m doing fine.”

“Good, good…” Dick leaned back a bit, his eyes glancing over Danny. Almost as if to analyze him. “You know, if you’re having a hard time, you can tell us, right? We’re here to help you.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Um… yeah? I know.”

“I’m serious, Danny.” Dick leaned forward. “Anything you want to talk about, we’re here to chat. Even if it’s something small, we won’t make fun of you for it.”

“Jason would make fun of me for it.”

Dick huffed. “Jay-bird might tease you, but if it’s legitimately bothering you then he’ll hear you out.”

“Okay, but why are you telling me this?” Danny took another bite of his gingerbread cookie, covering his mouth so he could speak while he chewed. “I mean, I appreciate the reassurance and stuff, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been doing fine. Like, all of the GIW labs got shut down, the Fentons are still in jail, Sam and Tuck are also doing great. School hasn’t even been a problem—it’s honestly been a bit boring!”

Throughout Danny’s mini rant, Dick listened with a carefully curated blank face. He took a sip of his equally whip cream covered hot chocolate, managing not to get a single speck of the fluffy substance on his upper lip. When Danny proclaimed things to be boring, Dick set his mug down. “Danny, we’re just a bit worried. You weren’t… doing well a week ago.”

Oh. “But I’m fine now.” Danny ate the last of his gingerbread man, letting himself chew and swallow before he spoke. “I mean, like, yeah I was kind of off, but like. Everything’s fine now so you don’t have to worry or like take me out for a special bonding time or whatever bullshit.”

“Hey! Big Brother Little Brother bonding day is sacred!” Dick placed a hand over his heart, dramatic as most of Danny’s siblings were. “I didn’t take you out just to interrogate you or drop an important conversation like this on you, Danny! I want to hang out with you one on one more—just like how I want to hang out with all of my younger siblings one on one at times.”

“Then why are we talking about this?” Danny crossed his arms. “I told you I’m fine, and we’re having fun! Why bring up stuff that doesn’t matter anymore?”

“Because you didn’t reach out to us, Danny.” Dick’s whole expression seemed to droop, his eyes glistening with a sincerity that seemed to carve itself into Danny’s core. “You were hurting and weren’t taking care of yourself, and you didn’t ask us for help.”

Danny swallowed. “Oh.” Huh. That made sense, in a strange sort of way. “I mean, I was fine in the end, and I didn’t want to bother—”

“Danny.” Dick reached over, grabbing one of Danny’s hand. It brought Danny’s gaze back up to Dick, who just squeezed his hands tighter. “You are not a bother, and you are not a burden. Next time you feel like that, call one of us. Okay?”

Oh, Danny tried not to choke on the lump that seemed stuck in his throat. “Okay.”

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

There was a presence over Danny’s shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Danny just kept skimming through his book. Of his siblings, none of them had managed to actually sneak up on him. He supposed part of it had to do with the improbability of being able to sneak up on a ghost. After all, Danny’s senses had sharpened after dying, so even when they did their best to sneak around, Danny’s older siblings very rarely managed to scoot past him. Damian probably could sneak up on Danny, but he just never bothered to try before.

It made sense then, that Cass would be the first to actually make it most of the way. Seeing as she wasn’t going to reveal herself, Danny sighed and closed his book. “Did you want something, Cass?”

Recognizing she’d been caught, Cass stepped out from behind Danny. She signed, “wanna go to the aquarium?”

Not a choice that Danny had expected from Cass, but one he wouldn’t turn down nonetheless. He grabbed a bookmark (one of the many that Jason had demanded be left everywhere within the library) and marked his place. “Sure. Let me grab my coat?”

Cass smiled the whole way through them getting ready. Danny appreciated that his eldest sister wasn’t much of a talker. She provided a nice balance to Dick’s constant talking. The two eldest Wayne siblings were polar opposites in that regard, though they both seemed to radiate a calm emotional intelligence that was (mostly) used for good.

Alfred was kind enough to drive them at least into Gotham proper. Walking all the way from the closet subway station to Wayne Manor took a solid 15 minutes, and cabs always expected a big tip if they knew they were going back to the Manor. Danny let himself soak in just the steady quiet that was Cass navigating Gotham. She sat in the back with Danny on the car ride and then held his hand as they navigated through the noise around them.

It felt nice. Grounding in a way Danny found himself craving. Just him and an older sister who knew what it was like to grow up being told to be quiet. Who knew the horrors of the League and chose kindness. Danny found himself leaning closer to Cass, letting her take the lead as she led them up the stairs of the Gotham Aquarium.

They’d upgraded their ticket booths, the self-serve making it all the easier for Cass to just press a few buttons, tap her card, and produce two tickets with a smile. Danny found himself giggling as he took his ticket. Moss covered the entrance to the main aquarium area, streamers that looked like jellyfish tentacles trailed down from the ceiling, enticing the aquarium goers with hints of tanks and those dark halls with the tanks lighting the way, the water a soothing pattern across the floors.

Once they actually stepped inside, Danny found himself once more leaning into Cass’s silence. The way she ruffled his hair as he pointed at particularly interesting looking fish. It almost felt like they had their own bubble of calm amongst the rabble of the crowds. Just two people existing, enjoying the liminality that staring up at a hallway of tanks could bring.

Danny kind of envied Cass. How she seemed to be so at peace with herself. She moved through the world with a quiet confidence that Danny knew had been beaten out of her at some point in the League. He couldn’t imagine her ever cowering under the League’s terrible claws or enacting their orders. She held Danny’s hand gently and hugged him with a warmth he’d learned to associate with Jazz. Even as they walked from tank to tank, Cass seemed to understand the space she took up but didn’t apologize for it.

It made Danny wonder how long it took her to reach that point. How many nights she had to suffer through before she was able to stride through life with that kind of confidence. He knew, he knew that she wasn’t born with it because Danny had grown up in the lap of his grandfather and he had never dared to think of himself as anything above his station. There was no way Cass, who had grown up not learning language and who had to claw her way to the life she had now, would have understood that growing up.

Even as Danny found himself enraptured by the different sea animals, he found his brain filling with questions. Who was Cass when she was with the League? How did she survive the trainings, the killings? Did she ever get sent on missions? Who was Danny kidding, of course she would have. Damian and Danny had been sent on their own first mission as soon as they could properly hold a sword. There was no way Cass, with her silent movements and quick agility and clear natural talent sharpened through years of practice, would have gotten through the League without killing anyone. While Danny and Damian’s training had been brutal, Grandfather often reminded them that they were the lucky ones. That at least they weren’t being treated like the dogs that made up their general ranks.

Cass was no dog, but Danny wondered. He found Cass pulling him to sit on the steps leading down into what looked almost like an auditorium area. A large flat space in front of a curved tank side held many children playing in the water light and pointing out the fish in the tank. Most of the parents around them sat on the steps, watching their kids with fond smiles or occasionally being pulled to play with them. Cass nudged Danny, guiding him so he was leaning his head against her shoulder. He let her wrap her arm around him as he curled into her side. Let himself feel small even if only for a moment.

They just sat, watching as the kids oohed and aahed at a sea turtle swimming towards the glass. It seemed to almost follow lazily after a school of fish before getting distracted. It floated down, head tilting as the children all crowded towards it. The sea turtle floated for a few moments more, seeming to take in the sudden crowd of children before pushing away, its flippers helping it glide through the water.

Cass hummed. “You have questions.”

Ah. Maybe Danny’s thinking was too obvious then. “Nothing appropriate for the aquarium.”

How strange it was, to hear Cass speak as she kept rubbing Danny’s shoulder. “About the past then.”

“Yeah.” They fell back into quiet, just watching as the crowds seemed to ebb and flow. People growing bored of the tank or some only stopping for a moment. Yet still, Cass remained a constant. A steady presence as the sea turtle circled back around, smooth and slow and gentle. Always gentle as it seemed to entertain new groups of children who had stopped by its tank.

Cass reached up to run her hand through Danny’s hair. “You can ask.”

“We’re in public.”

“You can still ask.” Cass leaned her head against Danny’s moving so her hand was just twirling a section of Danny’s hair over and over and over. “We know the details.”

True. Danny supposed he could still talk about it without having to outright ask. Besides, they hardly needed to get into the nitty gritty of it all. “Do you ever feel guilty?”

“Sometimes.” Her answer was quick, assured in that way that most of the things Cass did were. “Some days are harder than others.”

“How are you so… so calm?” Danny shifted, but Cass’s hand settled him back in his curled position. Instead he watched as the sea turtle continued to circle, to glance at the children and people coming towards its tank before continuing its routine. As if it needn’t bother with the people watching it. They would come and go as they pleased, and the turtle would continue its rounds. “You just… you always walk around like you know your place. How do you do that?”

Cass hummed. “Practice.” Danny waited for a moment, to see if Cass would elaborate. She didn’t, just continuing to hold Danny close. He supposed he should have expected short answers, but they only brought more questions. A desire to know more, to learn about his older sister because clearly he didn’t know enough.

“I still have so many questions,” he confessed, playing with his hoodie’s sleeves, “I mean, I just. How long were you with them? When did you get out?”

“8.” Cass kept her gaze forward, even as she laid her head against Danny’s. “I was 8.”

Danny’s core dropped. How unfair of Cass, to be able to say something so simple and matter of fact and have it hit him like a fucking gun shot. The realization that they left at the same age—that Cass left when she was as young as Danny and survived and thrived and Danny never knew—sunk into his chest. It buried into him, like shrapnel dispersed and bleeding and bleeding and the sea turtle kept coming back. Its face remained placid, content as it once more waved to the children. Clearly not a conscious act, but still one that impacted the small group of kids who shouted to their parents, who pointed excitedly at the large turtle that had acknowledged them.

He took a breath, trying to pull his shattered core back into his chest. It took a few tries to get his next words out, his tongue clumsy and the syllables stuck in his throat. “Does it get easier?”

“No.” Oh. Before Danny’s core could shatter once more, Cass dropped a kiss on Danny’s temple. “Not easier. Just. Different.”

Right. Different. Danny wished he could tell himself that was okay, but it hurt too much and he buried his face in Cass’s shoulder. He didn’t cry—he probably cried more in the past 5 months than he had his entire lifetime. He just. Sat there, hiding away from the rest of the crowds. He wasn’t sure how long he spent curled against Cass’s side, but by the time he looked up, the crowds had ebbed and most had left.

The sea turtle still kept on its route, swimming around and around. Cass squeezed Danny close. He sighed.

He supposed he could lean on these constants. Just for now.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

A motorcycle engine roared, disrupting the usual line of limos and other fancy ass cars that picked up the elite of Gotham Academy. Danny raised an eyebrow as Damian rolled his eyes, scoffing at the display that seemed to be occurring. Danny couldn’t see who was bold enough to ride a motorcycle to pick their kid up, but he had to give them credit. They clearly wanted to mark their spawn as the coolest kids in the school, parents snobbery be damned.

As Danny and Damian started to get through the crowd, Danny realized that oh. Apparently Jason had decided to be that parent, pulling off a helmet that looked suspiciously similar to his Red Hood helmet and scanning the crowd. Once he caught sight of the twins, he nodded his head towards his bike. “Get on, Spooks. We’ve got shit to do.”

Danny frowned. “What about Damian?”

“I have a prior arrangement with Jonathan I must attend to,” Damian sniffed, “so do not hold back on my account.”

Well, Danny supposed he didn’t have to be told twice, he bounced over to Jason, smiling as Jason tossed him a helmet. It took him only a moment to put the helmet on, throwing his leg over the motorcycle. He wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist and with another rev of the engine they were off.

Riding a human motorcycle almost felt a bit like flying. It didn’t have the same weightlessness Danny often felt as he zipped through the skies, but he felt the same kind of wind howling in his ear. He could understand why Jason would like racing through downtown on the thing, his leather jacket flapping as he took a turn probably too sharp but it left Danny squealing out a laugh as the thrill of getting a little too close to crashing burst through his veins.

Jason zipped through Gotham, finally hitting Crime Alley. Danny couldn’t see any good places to park, but clearly Jason knew what he was doing. He drove down what Danny had thought was an alleyway but turned out to be a parking ramp. Jason rode to his designated parking spot, kicking his kickstand out turning the engine off. He grabbed his keys and took off his helmet, reaching a hand out for Danny to offer his. Danny pulled his own helmet off and handed it to Jason.

With a nod, Jason put both helmets under one arm as he locked up his bike. With it secure, he led Danny toward what he assumed were stairs to an apartment building. Jason didn’t speak the whole walk up the three flights of stairs, just holding tightly onto the helmets and his keys. Danny supposed he could ask, but he didn’t want to risk asking a stupid question and then getting hit with a shitton of teasing.

Jason stopped in front of an old looking door in the (honestly, kind of shitty) apartment building. With a quick twist of his keys, he opened the door. Danny blinked as he stepped into a surprisingly modern and well-furnished apartment.

The living room was clean, if very much lived in. A wall of weapons hung on the side, a few swords Danny recognized from his League days. Belove the weapons, a veritable horde of books stood in four three-rowed book shelves. The titles seemed mostly to be of classics, Jane Austen and the like. Danny knew Jason was a bit of a book worm, but he hadn’t realized his older brother had such a collection of classic literature.

Maybe he should get Jason to help him with his next book report.

Jason tucked the motorcycle helmets into the entryway closet along with his leather jacket. He turned to Danny and gestured for Danny’s jacket. Danny slipped off the thin coat that Alfred had finally managed to convince him to wear once the temperature started dropping. It didn’t provide much warmth, but for Danny it was more than enough to survive the Gotham chill.

He stayed in the entryway as Jason toed his shoes off, heading towards the kitchen. When he realized Danny had stopped following him, Jason stopped and turned back around. “Are you coming or are you just going to keep standing like an idiot?”

“What are we doing in your apartment?” Danny asked, fidgeting with his uniform’s jacket sleeves. “Like, I’m totally fine if you want to hang out, Jason, but I’d kinda like to know what the hell we’re doing.”

Seeming to realize his mistake, Jason crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re cooking.”

“And we couldn’t cook at the manor because…?”

“I don’t want to be the one to explain to Alfred why we got ectoplasm all over his nice cookware.” Jason turned back to the kitchen and Danny finally toed off his shoes and followed. “I wanna experiment, and like hell am I going to let you turn out like the rest of our siblings and be completely incapable of making meals for yourself.”

Oh, well that was kind of sweet, actually. Danny smiled before picking again at his uniform jacket. “Okay, but do you have some clothes I can borrow? Alfred will actually murder me if I get an ectoplasm stain on my uniform.”

Rolling his eyes, Jason nodded towards his bedroom. “There’s a dresser in my closet, third drawer. Some of the Demon Brat’s pajamas should still be in there.”

Deciding not to question why Jason had some of Damian’s pj’s, Danny scurried over to Jason’s bedroom. True to Jason’s words, some of Damian’s pajamas sat in the third drawer of his closet dresser, next to what Danny could tell were some of Duke’s pajamas. He’d have to grab a couple sets of his own pajamas to add to Jason’s dresser then.

Danny uniform folded in his hands, he deposited it on Jason’s couch before joining him in the kitchen. “Alright, what are we making?” He asked, watching as Jason took out a dozen cannisters of ectoplasm.

“As much shit as we can get out of this much ectoplasm.” Jason finished tying up an apron and handed one to Danny. “We’re going to do some experiments today, Spooks. I wanna see how many ways I can cook this shit into food.”

Huh. Danny had always stuck to just drinking his ectoplasm. Maybe Jason was getting bored? “Okay, tell me where we’re starting.”

Apparently where they were starting was some kind of soup. An obvious step from just adding it to things like tea and coffee. Danny watched as Jason had four separate small pots going, each with a different amount of ectoplasm added to his homemade chicken broth (which, how the hell did he have time to make broth of all things?). Danny had been put in charge of cutting up the vegetables and tofu. He held the kitchen knife carefully, slow as he tried his best to cut up the fixings equally.

Once Danny had cut up all of the vegetables and tofu, Jason took them and dished them into the four pots. He stirred two of them while Danny got charged with the other two. Danny couldn’t remember a time where Jason seemed so quiet and focused while hanging with their siblings. While his emotional regulation seemed much more stable with the regular intake of ectoplasm, Jason still reigned as the most aggressive and argumentative of the siblings.

Yet watching Jason now, he seemed almost calm. In his element as he stirred and turned the heat down to a simmer. Steam rose from the four pots as Jason seemed to decide they were done. He turned to Danny. “Grab a couple spoons, we’re taste testing.”

Nodding, Danny reached for the top drawers, taking a couple tries before he found the silverware. It was neatly arranged in what Danny had to assume was an organizer that Alfred had gotten him. It looked very similar to the organizers they had back in the manor. Grabbing a couple spoons, he turned back to Jason and handed him one. “Here ya go!”

Jason took his spoon with a nod. Starting with the pot with the least amount of ectoplasm, he carefully took a spoonful, blowing on it to cool it down before taking his bite. Danny mimicked Jason, even if he was more than fine to just shove the burning hot food in his mouth like that. It mostly tasted like a regular soup, not even a hint of the usual tang that ectoplasm brought. Jason scrunched his nose but turned to Danny. “What do you think?”

“I mean it’s soup.” Danny shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t really taste the ectoplasm so if that’s your goal then we nailed it.”

Jason hummed. “Do you like the taste of ectoplasm, Spooks?”

Danny frowned. “I mean, yeah? It’s kind of like eating a good, spicy curry.”

“Then this isn’t right.” Jason moved onto the next pot, taking a sip. Danny followed suit. Jason’s nose still scrunched as he shook his head. “Still not enough ectoplasm. It’s there, but it’s only a hint.”

Danny wasn’t sure how much ectoplasm they really needed in their soup, but he nodded along anyways. The third pot also resulted in a disappointing slight tang, not enough to truly impact the flavor. The fourth pot, the one they’d poured nearly half a cannister of ectoplasm into, finally hit the balance that Jason seemed to want, and that Danny would not complain about.

Setting aside the correct soup, Jason grabbed a larger pot from his cabinets. He poured the three failed soups into the pot, taking a moment to test. He nodded again as he turned to Danny. “Try this.”

Once again complying, Danny took a sip. There, the same burst of ectoplasm and chicken and spices burst across his tongue—just like the “correct” soup had. “That’s really good, Jason.”

With a smile, Jason stirred the contents for a little while longer before grabbing what looked like an army of thermoses. “Help me fill these up—we’re just getting started.”

Apparently Jason refused to stop at soups. Danny and Jason created an ectoplasmic glaze to go over various meat dishes, ectoplasm laced curry, even ectoplasm dressing for salads. Throughout their cooking, Jason took multiple taste tests, always seeking Danny’s opinion first before moving on. He wrote recipes down on recipe cards, stuffing them in a little box that Danny hadn’t realized was on his kitchen table before. Clearly, Jason knew what the hell he was doing. As the evening wore on, Danny and Jason worked through what felt like an entire meal prep for a week of meals. Most of the already made ones stuffed Jason’s fridge, which had been suspiciously empty at the beginning of their cooking adventure.

At the moment. Danny and Jason were kneading some dough. He wanted to try and make sweets out of ectoplasm, and apparently cinnamon rolls were Jason’s sweet of choice. The dough itself was a faint green from the ectoplasm they’d added in. Danny slowed in his own kneading, watching  as Jason muttered curses and insults under his breath.

“What are you doing?” Danny asked, completely stopping in his own kneading progress.

“Pretending the dough is every person who’s ever annoyed me,” Jason replied, surprisingly easily as he worked the dough. “Like that bitch Teresa who called the cops on some of the street kids in my turf. If I hadn’t promised B no civilian murders I would have shot her right then and there.”

Right. Danny supposed kneading dough was better than trying to murder a person for pulling something annoying like that. “Okay, do you do this every time you bake something?”

“No.” Jason flipped his bread into a bowl, covering it before taking Danny’s from him. He continued to knead, allowing Danny to sit back and watch. “Sometimes it’s nice just to make something. It’s a good reminder.”

“Reminder of what?” Danny watched Jason’s fingers, calloused and scarred, sink into the dough and mold it.

“That I can still make shit.” Jason added a bit more flour, keeping the dough from sticking to his fingers. “It’s nice when you feel like all you’re good for is beating up thugs to remember that you can make shit like this too.”

Oh. Danny went quiet, just observing as Jason deemed the second ball of dough sufficiently kneaded. He set it in its own bowl and covered it, setting both of the bowls aside to grab the icing and what Danny had to assume was some sort of ectoplasmic substitute for the cinnamon filling of the cinnamon rolls. He supposed he could understand. He knew the weight of feeling like a purely destructive force all too well.

The rest of the baking of the cinnamon rolls went mostly in silence. Danny painted the ectoplasmic glaze onto the sheets of dough that Jason rolled and cut out. They rolled the rolls up together, ending up with two circular tins full of them. After baking, Danny was allowed to smother them in the ectoplasm cream cheese frosting. Maybe this was too much ectoplasm, but after sharing a cinnamon roll with Jason, he figured it was the perfect amount.

With their dessert finished, Danny hopped off the stool. “That was really fun, actually. Thanks for letting me help meal prep with you, Jason.”

“Oh, don’t think you’re leaving just yet.” Jason grabbed what looked like two different reusable grocery bags. He began grabbing half of the meals they’d made, stuffing them in the bags. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you leave without taking some of this food with you. We made way too fucking much for me to eat by myself, and you’re the only other person in Gotham who eats ectoplasm so you have to take it.”

“But Alfred makes all of the meals at the manor,” Danny said, watching as Jason just kept loading the bags up and trying to find a good container to store the rolls in, “I’m not gonna be able to eat all of this.”

“He doesn’t make your lunches, does he?” Before Danny could retort that Alfred could make his lunches, Jason cut in, “and you can’t lie to me, Spooks. Dickie-bird’s been worrying about you not taking lunches to school with you.”

Danny winced. “I’m not always hungry at lunch—”

“Bullshit. Not with the shit you do every night on patrol.” Jason finally found a lid for the tin they’d cooked the rolls in. “Plus, Damian says you haven’t been eating any snacks or anything after patrol.”

Apparently Danny’s siblings had no issues snitching on him when he didn’t go around talking about their bad habits. Crossing his arms, Danny tried not to let his embarrassment bubble up. “I’m usually too tired to make something after patrol, and I’m not gonna make Alfred make me food when he needs to sleep too.”

“And that’s why I’m sending you home with these.” Jason plopped the rolls on top of the food in the second bag and handed them over to Danny. “Alfred’s gonna pick you up so you’re not dragging those all the way through Gotham transit. If you let these go bad, I will kick your ass.”

Danny laughed, though he knew Jason would absolutely find him to kick his ass. “Right, okay. Thanks, Jason.”

Sniffing, Jason crossed his arms. “Don’t mention it. Now get out, I gotta get suited up for patrol.”

Unable to give a salute, Danny just nodded and started to head out. “Thank you for the food, Jason! I love you!”

Danny heard a snort as he slipped into the hallway. “Yeah, yeah, love you too, Spooks, now get out!”

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“You know, building a mini speeder was a great idea. Like, this is so much easier to handle than the big Bat Specter Speeder we originally made!”

Danny rolled his eyes as Steph kept chattering. He hadn’t planned on taking her with him on his diplomatic trip to Hades, but he’d made the mistake of mentioning it in the group chat when they’d been planning their next sibling movie night and suddenly Steph had showed up, dressed in her Spoiler costume and eyes crinkled in a smile.

“You can’t go without any sort of body guard, Danny!” She’d said, ignoring the way Danny was rolling his eyes, “come on, it’s just irresponsible to have the Ghost King go on a diplomatic mission all by himself!”

Really, he should have just told her no or to wait outside the portal, but then Damian had shown up to take care of opening and closing the portal for Danny and now he was left trying to focus when Steph seemed determined to make him break.

“I don’t know what I imagined Hades to look like, but I thought it’d be different from the rest of the Ghost Zone,” Steph said as she leaned a bit in the pilot seat of the Mini Bat Speeder, trying to take in every nook and cranny possible. “I mean, it really is just a sea of green everywhere you look, huh?”

Huffing, Danny twisted past the columns that signaled the beginning of Hades. “The Ghost Zone is made up mostly of ectoplasm, Steph. Of course, it’s going to be green everywhere.”

“Okay yeah, but Hades should be so much cooler than just some broken Greek architecture and ectoplasm skies!” Steph gestured around herself, one hand still on the steering controls. “Like, every myth describes it as dark and scary and then there’s Tartarus and holy shit…”

Danny felt a bit of pride well in his chest. The sky darkened as he landed on the steps leading towards the island that created Hades. Steph looked around, jaw dropped at the immaculately maintained arches and columns. Danny could see Harpies staring down from the entrance, wings ruffling as they cocked their heads at Danny and Steph. She kept close, a smart move as Danny swept through the halls of Hades’ castle. Despite what one would think, plants of all kinds crawled up the walls, gardens placed at strategic areas to create gaps in between the dark halls and large rooms.

As they passed by the center garden, Steph stopped. “Are these pomegranate trees?” She seemed to want to reach towards one, but stopped herself before touching anything in the garden.

Danny glanced over. “Yeah, those are pomegranates. Persephone is really protective over those trees, so I wouldn’t touch them if I were you.”

Seemingly sufficiently warned, Steph once again stepped close to Danny. He had to admit, it felt good showing one of his siblings this side of his ghostly duties. Often his diplomatic trips were lonely or had Fright Knight coming with him, and Fright Knight was terrible company. Having Steph’s chatter, as annoying as it sometimes was, definitely helped in reducing that damning silence.

Danny’s thoughts skittered for a moment. “Wait, Steph, you’re not actually one of Bruce’s kids are you? Everyone keeps calling you a family friend.”

“Nope, Bruce never adopted me. Besides, that would make things awkward—I’d rather not marry my sister, you know?” Steph said as she oohed and aahed at the decorations filling the hall to the throne room.

Danny paused. “Wait, what do you mean marry your sister?”

Steph didn’t miss a beat. “Well if I got adopted then Cass and I would be sisters, and that would make proposing super fucking awkward you know.”

Danny stopped, twirling around as Steph bumped into him. “You’re dating Cass?!” He whisper shouted, trying not to attract attention from the scurrying spirits and monstrous servants of Hades and Persephone.

“Yeah?” Steph raised an eyebrow. “Have been for a while now, thanks for noticing. I’m getting her a ring and want to propose on New Years. Are you telling me you never noticed?”

“Clearly not!” Danny threw his hands up, trying to figure out when Steph and Cass had started dating. Fuck, how did they even get to the stage that they were considering marriage?! Danny started to pace. “Holy shit, is that why you’re included in the sibling group chat?”

“Well, I got added when I was dating Tim—”

“You dated Tim?!” These were not revelations to have before meeting an important political ally (and technically Danny’s inferior, but he shoved that thought straight into a box to never be thought of again).

“Yeah, before I became Robin Tim and I dated for a while.” Apparently this was just common knowledge because Steph said it with the casual grace of someone who clearly did not think what they were saying was big news. “I started dating Cass after a stint as Batgirl. I gotta say, it’s the best comeback when Tim’s being a little shit.”

Right. Okay. Danny rubbed his temples, trying to figure out how to process this. “Right, okay, so you’ve dated two of my siblings—”

“—which basically makes me a sister-in-law. Well, I guess I’ll officially be your sister-in-law in a year if Cass says yes.” Steph played a bit with her cape. “Which, I mean, I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes because we’ve talked about marriage before, but there’s always a chance, you know?”

“Oh she’ll say yes.” Danny wasn’t sure where the reassurance was coming from, but the words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. “I mean, if she’s talked with you about it then there’s a really high chance that yeah, she’s going to marry you, Steph. Cass doesn’t talk about things she doesn’t mean. Even if I can’t believe that you guys have been dating and I’ve never known.”

“We need to work on your powers of observation, then.” Steph flicked Danny’s nose, which, rude. “Because neither Steph nor I were subtle about it.”

“Okay ha ha, we need to get going.” Danny rubbed his nose, hoping it hadn’t turned red or worse green from Steph’s flick. “I probably wasted enough time having a mini freakout. I need to actually go talk to Hades and Persephone now.”

“That is wild that you are just casually talking to Greek gods,” Steph said as she returned to following Danny as they walked down the halls. “Like, Danny, you have to understand how insane that is. Like, you have proof that ever afterlife people think exists exist and you get to just hang out with gods! Literal gods, Danny!”

“Literal gods that I need to convince to pay more taxes.” Danny rolled his shoulders. “They have the wealth for it, and I’m trying to get some of the underdeveloped haunts more funding to get them back to the pre-Pariah Dark days.”

“Ghosts pay taxes?” Steph asked, “wait, back up, Greek gods pay taxes?”

“Yeah, I mean, I can’t just do things. I mean, I can, but then I’d be Pariah Dark all over again.” Danny glanced at the skeletons guarding the closed door of the throne room. He nodded to each of them. “Besides, haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘nothing is certain except death and taxes’? Unfortunately the Ghost Zone isn’t ready for full on communism or gift economies yet so we’re easing them back into a unified economy which means Ghost Taxes.”

Steph whistled. “Damn, Danny, can’t believe you have to deal with ghost taxes. That fucking sucks.”

Sighing, Danny watched the doors swing open. “It’s better than pure anarchy and no collaboration between the various realms in the Infinite Realms.”

Sitting on their thrones, Hades and Persephone sat high above Danny in their thrones. Unlike most denizens of the zone, Hades did not glow. His gray skin seemed almost paper thin as he stared down at Danny, beard bushy and black with white peppered in. He wore a white tunic with a bright red himation around it, edged in gold. A wreath of golden leaves sat atop his curly hair which trailed down to his shoulders. Persephone glowed, though it seemed dim. Her skin was closer to a ghost’s natural green, though it was clearly grayed and papery like Hades. She filled her black and silver hair with pomegranate blossoms, trailing up to a similar wreath on top of her head. She wore a similar tunic and himation to Hades, though hers were more of a maroon and dusty gray.

Danny knew the Greek gods rarely appeared as older than their late twenties, but he also knew that he was young and child-like. He supposed they weren’t ready to cede their authority to him quite yet. He nodded his head, not a full bow but something to at least offer a form of respect. A gesture of equality, he supposed. “Hades, Persephone. It’s been a while.”

“It has, young halfling,” Persephone said, her voice sharp as she glanced over Danny and Steph.

Hades golden eyes landed on Steph. “You’ve brought a living person with you.”

Danny stood straighter. “I have. She is one of my allies. She expressed concern that I would visit you without some sort of guard, and I thought I would indulge her.”

“She’s quite the cute thing, dear,” Persephone said, leaning forward. Her frame towered over Danny and Steph. Danny knew she probably stood at a whopping 10 feet, at least double Danny’s height.

Steph stood with her back straight and eyes forward. She didn’t make any sort of eye contact with the two gods, even though Danny knew she wanted to look and exclaim her awe. She just stood behind Danny, glancing towards him only when she noticed him glancing back at her. She gave him a wink, and Danny felt himself relax.

“She is very precious to me, so I won’t tolerate any untoward behavior towards her.” Danny looked up at Persephone. “She is to marry my sister after all.”

Persephone’s smile widened. “Oh how delightful! I know my darling husband is secretly a fan of love stories. You will have to tell us more after our business.”

Hades huffed, but nodded his head. “Yes, I suppose a bit of friendly chatting after our meeting would not be amiss.”

As the two gods stood, Danny found himself sneaking a smile over to Steph. She sent him a thumbs up as the two gods led them to their meeting room. Maybe he would have to bring Steph on more of his diplomatic missions. It definitely made the following meeting a little easier to bear.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“I’m starting to think you guys have a problem with me wanting to just hang in the manor,” Danny said as he was once again dragged out of his astronomy nook by Tim.

“No, we’re just realizing we haven’t shown you anything cool in Gotham,” Tim lied, because Danny knew for a fact that this wasn’t just a coincidence, “so we’ve clearly got to rectify that.”

“Uh huh. Okay so where are we going then?” Danny watched as Tim pulled on his shoes, tossing a puffer vest at Danny.

Tim reach into the closet and pulled out two skateboards. “We’re teaching you how to skateboard.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “How do you know I don’t already know how to skateboard?”

“Do you know how to skateboard?”

“… no.”

“Then we’re going to the skatepark, and I’m going to teach you how to skateboard.”

So that’s how Danny found himself wobbling on a skateboard, holding onto Tim’s hand as he tried to figure out how to balance on the motherfucker. He could hear other people at the skatepark whooping as teens did tricks and were speeding through the pits. Tim had forced elbow and knee pads and helmets onto Danny, while not wearing anything himself. “I’m not the one skating” Danny’s ass. He cursed as he abandoned the board, feeling himself tip too far.

“You’re doing great, Danny!” Tim said, smiling as he helped Danny stay standing. “You’re staying on the board much longer than I ever did starting out.”

“I look stupid,” Danny grumbled, letting go to grab the board again.

Tim clucked his tongue. “I’m sorry, did I just hear my little brother call himself stupid?”

“I didn’t say I was stupid!” Danny said as he set the board back on the ground. “I said I look stupid. Nobody else is wearing elbow pads or a helmet—”

“Protection is important, Danny.”

“—and I can’t even get on the board right! I look stupid.” Danny finished, holding his hands out to grab onto Tim’s again.

“You don’t look stupid, Danny.” Tim held onto Danny’s hands, keeping his hold firm as Danny once more tried to get onto the board correctly. “You’re learning. Every single person in this skate park had to start somewhere, and this is your start. Besides, it would suck pretty hard if you died again because you hit your head while falling trying to skate.”

Snorting, Danny wobbled as he tried to position his feet like Tim had told him to. “Okay, sure, but I still don’t see why we had to do this here. People are watching.”

“That’s just your own insecurities talking.” Tim held Danny steady as he tried to find his balance, only loosening his grip when Danny began to find his own balance. “Most of the people here are too busy trying to figure out their latest trick to pay attention to a newbie trying to learn how to stake.”

“Still—”

“Still nothing, Danny.” Tim let go as Danny finally seemed to find his balance. “You’re learning, and you’re doing great. See, you’re standing on the board with no help at all!”

Danny frowned as he stood, feeling all too precarious in his hesitant balance. “Okay, so what do I do now?”

“Try just rocking back and forth.” Tim took a step back, giving Danny more room to move. “Get a feel for how the board moves under your feet and how your own movements influence that.”

Right. Danny shifted his weight, arms out as he tried not to pinwheel at the sudden movement. The board didn’t actually move all that far, just rocking back and forth with Danny as he tried to figure out how to move the board without taking his feet off. Tim smiled the whole time, standing close enough to help if Danny started to fall, but far enough away that Danny didn’t feel smothered.

Clearing his throat, Tim caught Danny’s attention. “Okay, now I want you to try and push yourself off. Remember, right foot stays on the back so you can easily put it back on! We don’t want mongo foot!”

Swallowing the nerves trailing up his throat, Danny pushed off. He wobbled a bit as he got his foot back on the board, but he began to roll down the skatepark. It was slow, and probably more than a little pathetic, but Danny felt a little rush as he pushed off again, feeling himself pick up speed again. Tim whooped as Danny began to find a rhythm.

“That’s it Danny! That’s great! Try and turn towards the fence now—just flex your ankles and shift your weight!” Tim shouted, jogging to keep up with Danny.

Nodding, Danny crouched a bit as he flexed his ankles. Granted, he wasn’t sure how one flexed their ankles, but he did his best as he shifted his weight. The board began to turn, and Danny wondered if maybe he could turn all the way around. He leaned a bit further, trying to tighten his turn, when he felt his weight shift a bit too far. He cursed as he found himself falling. He landed with a grunt as he skateboard slipped out of his feet. Tim caught up to him, wincing as Danny pulled himself back up onto his feet.

“Oof, are you okay, Danny?” Tim asked, looking him over.

Danny sighed. “My pride’s a little bruised, but that’s about it.” He walked over to the skateboard, grabbing it before it could roll any further away.

Tim smiled as Danny settled the skateboard back between them. “You’re doing great, Danny! A ton of people fall on the first try at a turn. If you keep going like this, you’ll have the basics figured out in no time!”

Danny huffed. “I doubt it. I mean, I’m still wobbling every time I get on the damn thing.”

“You seriously can’t take a compliment, can you, Danny?” And Ancients, apparently Tim decided to just slap Danny in the face with a line like that. It almost hurt worse with the sympathetic look Tim was sending him. “You’re allowed to accept compliments, ya know. You don’t have to just brush them off every time someone gives you one.”

“Okay, but you’re just being nice because you’re my brother.” Danny crossed his arms. “I mean, like I get you want to encourage me and it’s fun learning about your hobbies with you, but you don’t have to lie about it to make me feel better.”

“What makes you think I’d lie to you about this?” Tim raised an eyebrow. “Danny, I’m not going to give you compliments just to make you feel better.”

“But that’s exactly what you do!” Danny threw his arms up, frustrated before stepping back on the skateboard. He wobbled, but found his balance and began pushing off again. “You keep telling me that I’m smart and that I’m capable and that I can do things that other people can’t, but you’re exaggerating every single time!” He leaned, taking a softer turn as he tried not to overshoot his complete 180. “Of course there are other people in the world who can do what I do, and shit a lot of them can do it a hell of a lot better than I am! Just because I can tinker a bit doesn’t mean anything, Tim. I’m still just regular old Danny.”

Tim kept his gaze on Danny, calculating as Danny began to slowly ride a bit of a circuit around him. “Uh huh. Okay, so clearly you don’t trust me if you think I’m exaggerating.”

“It’s not that, Tim!” Danny fell into a pattern, letting his body just move as he kept his skateboarding slow and smooth. “Of course I trust you, you’re my brother! I love you, and I think you’re one of the smartest people in the world. I just also know that you absolutely are biased and as such are giving me biased information when you tell me how smart I am or how good I’m doing at something or just anything. It’s sweet, but of course I’m gonna deny it.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Okay, so you’re going to tell me I’m lying when I say that you’re successfully skateboarding right now?”

Danny opened his mouth, ready to rebuke it because clearly he was failing, but he hesitated. Looking down, he saw the board sail past Tim, his body leaning into a turn as he continued his almost oval-esque route around Tim. He took his foot off the board, putting it down to come to a bit of a jerky stop. He stared down at the skateboard, trying to process the fact that he’d just been riding a skateboard. Sure he wasn’t doing any tricks (Ancients knew he’d fall flat on his face if he tried) and he certainly wasn’t going fast, but he was still doing it.

Tim looked all too pleased, smirk more out of pride than any desire to prove Danny wrong. “See. You’re doing really great, Danny. I don’t give meaningless compliments. Not to people I care about.” He walked up, setting a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “You’re doing great.”

Danny swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

“For?”

“For being snippy.” Danny rolled the skateboard a bit beneath his left foot, his right still planted on the ground to keep him steady. “And for not believing you.”

Tim smiled. “Hey, no worries. Like I told you before—I’ll just keep repeating myself until you do believe me. Okay?”

Danny smiled back. “Okay. Then that means I get to bug you if you haven’t been sleeping.”

That got a frown. “Now hold on—”

“If you get to bug me about my bad habits then—”

“Okay, but like I am 20 years old—”

“That doesn’t excuse you from needing sleep!”

“Danny—”

“If you want me to stop then you have to catch me!” With a push, Danny took off on his skateboard. Tim absolutely could catch up if he truly wanted, but instead he jogged after Danny, yelling as Danny began to ride around the skatepark. Danny found himself laughing, just taking in the joy of being able to bug his sibling while they circled around the other skaters practicing tricks and enjoying their afternoon.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“Hey—”

Danny sighed, setting his fork down and draining his cup of the rest of his ectoplasmic tea. “Okay, where are we going?”

Duke blinked as Danny stood up, already heading towards the entryway. “Damn, Baby D! You didn’t even let me ask!”

“Every day, I am being dragged out of the house by one of our siblings,” Danny said, pulling on his mandatory jacket (because apparently even if he felt fine, he still needed one) and grabbing his boots, “and I have to assume you are not the exception.”

At least Duke had the decency to look somewhat sheepish. “I mean, guilty as charged. I was just going to ask if you wanted to come with me to the Gotham Science Museum. They’ve got a travelling exhibit in town that I think you’ll find really cool.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me what the exhibit is or is it a surprise?”

Duke laughed as he pulled his own coat and shoes on. “Come on, Danny, you know it’s always more fun when it’s a surprise!”

Well, Danny supposed he could let Duke get away with it. Of their siblings, Duke was the least likely to pull Danny into unwanted shenanigans. Not that Duke was any less capable of doing so. More so it seemed the older boy just didn’t feel the need to add more chaos to Danny’s life than was necessary. It helped that Duke was the newest to the family after Danny, so they could share glances when old family drama cropped up again.

It didn’t take them all that long to get to the museum, just a subway ride filled with Danny asking about Duke’s time in college and Duke returning the favor. It seemed at least tha having a majority of his classes tailored towards subjects he enjoyed helped Duke in keeping to his class schedule. Danny wished he could say the same, but alas he was stuck with trying to maintain his grades amongst the horrors of history class.

“It’s just frustrating trying to memorize all of the dates,” Danny said as they walked up the museum’s steps, getting in line for the special exhibit’s ticket booth. Apparently they had to buy separate tickets just to see this traveling exhibit which Danny thought was stupid, but he supposed he couldn’t complain when he didn’t have to pay for the tickets.

Duke hissed in sympathy. “Oh yeah, I remember those tests. Mr. Madison is the worst when it comes to history tests. He always picked the most random bullshit for us to memorize.”

“Right!” Danny gestured as he spoke, hands constantly moving as he explained the horrors of Gotham Academy. “And fucking Jason acts like he’s so fucking superior when he does better than the rest of us on the tests, but his brother gives him all of the answers! Like Mr. Madison apparently hasn’t changed his test since the fucking eighties so Jason just goes to his older brother who has like a photographic memory or something and just memorizes all of the answers his brother gives him! It’s so unfair!”

“That sounds super fucking unfair, Danny,” Duke said as they reached the front of the line. The two paused in the conversation, getting two tickets (and showing their student IDs for that student discount) and heading over to the specially marked “Travelling Exhibit” entrance.

“It always sucks when kids can get away with shit like that in school,” Duke said, handing Danny his ticket, “however I hope you can forget about the shitty parts of school and enjoy this exhibit with me. I think you’re going to love it.”

Right. The mystery exhibit that Duke had promised Danny would enjoy. He showed his ticket to the ticket person, offering a small ‘thank you’ back when they cleared him and Duke to go in. As they stepped through the darkened entryway, Danny found himself gasping.

The museum used a light projector to have the current night sky projected across the exhibit’s ceiling. All around them, cases showing off older NASA relics filled the space. Danny practically bounced on his feet as his gaze swung from item to item, unsure where to start. Duke smiled as he asked, “do you like it?”

“Duke, this is the coolest thing you have ever brought me to. I am going to combust, this is so cool!” Danny managed to hold some restraint as he dragged Duke over to a case containing an astronaut suit. “Look! Look, holy shit, that’s one of the suits they used for Sputnik! And look, look!” he pointed towards a second suit. “That’s one of the suits they used for the Apollo Moon Landing! You can tell because they have those four circles—which like they kind of look like nipples, but either way—”

Danny found himself just rambling as he pulled Duke between each of the items on display. Every new display he pointed at it, listing off facts he’d learned from hours upon hours of research. Ancients, Danny wondered if he could just live in the exhibit—surrounded by memorabilia and the history of what they knew of space. When Duke finally took initiative to pull Danny towards what looked like a hands-on table where kids could play with space rocks, Danny nearly cried.

He cradled the pieces of asteroid and space rock that had survived the burning re-entry. The proof before aliens became more widely known and before space travel became a little less fantastical that there was something in the skies. He let his hands dip into the ridges, feeling the coarse and rough surface with a reverence that he was sure many reserved only for the most precious of things. He tried not to hoard the rocks, knowing the kids around him also wanted a turn to touch and dash, but it was oh so very hard not to just keep clinging.

He wanted to learn every crevice, to memorize how these little chunks of space felt as he wondered what it would be like to just sit amongst the stars. To look at Earth from that far out view and let himself be the small particle of the universe that he knew he was. Duke didn’t seem to mind as Danny just kept hovering around the rock table, taking turns in between kids who wanted to just touch the rocks for a little bit before running off to do other things. Danny felt the urge to apologize well in his throat, but he swallowed it back down as he felt that joy at being able to touch real life meteors holy shit flooded through his core.

Danny wasn’t sure how long they stayed in the exhibit. He knew they’d left early in the day, Duke having stole Danny from his Saturday breakfast to head to the museum right as it opened. However, by the time he finally started to pull himself to the exit, most of the people who had been milling around the exhibit were gone. Danny blinked as he caught sight of the darkened skies outside of the museum’s main doors. When he turned to Duke, his older brother was just smiling.

“I’m assuming you really liked it?” Duke’s voice had an edge of a tease, but mostly he seemed proud of himself.

Danny felt his face flush, scuffing his shoe a bit as he looked away. “I’m sorry, I probably spent way too long in there.”

Duke shook his head. “Dude, you were having so much fun, of course I wasn’t going to leave before you were ready! I think the gift shop’s open if you want to grab something before we head home.”

While the offer was sweet, Danny shook his head. “We don’t have to do that, we literally spent all day here—”

“And that’s exactly what I had planned to happen.” Duke grabbed Danny’s hand. “I didn’t invite you to go to the museum with me without knowing what I was getting myself into, Baby D. Space is your Obsession, so of course you’re going to spend a long time in the space exhibit. Now do you wanna see what they have in the gift shop for the new exhibit?”

Danny bit his lip before nodding his head. Duke smiled, ruffling Danny’s hair before tugging him along. The gift shop was mostly dead, as it was terribly close to closing time. Danny found himself zeroing in on the clearly labeled “Explorers of Space” section. It mostly contained things like t-shirts and kid’s books, but there was one section that Danny found himself sucked back in to.

Duke followed along amicably, sending the gift shop worker a smile. When he noticed what Danny was staring at, he walked over. “You wanna get one?”

“It’s so expensive though,” Danny said, automatic even as he reached out to grab the precious item.

“So? We can put it on Bruce’s card.” Duke reached up, grabbing what looked like some kind of necklace. “Besides, I wanna get something too. You’re not going to make me be the only one getting something from the gift shop, are you?”

Danny chewed on his lip. He knew exactly what Duke was doing, but it still soothed his nerves even the tiniest bit. He sighed and grabbed his new treasure, following Duke to the cashier. The cashier, like most cashiers, looked tired as they smiled at Duke and Danny. “Did you two enjoy your visit to the museum?”

“Yep!” Duke said, conversational as he wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulders and squeezed, “my little brother here is obsessed with space stuff, so I figured with the new travelling exhibit it’d be the perfect time to bring him.”

The cashier turned their smile to Danny as they put their purchase into a tiny bag. “That’s awesome. Do you wanna work for NASA when you grow up?”

Danny doubted that the cashier was all that much older than him, but he found himself nodding. The cashier seemed to find that cute as they grabbed what looked like a little velvet pouch, putting Danny’s newest treasure in it and dropping it in the bag. “Technically we’re supposed to sell the pouches separate, but it’s the end of the day.” The cashier winked as they gave Duke the bag with their purchases. “Thank you so much for visiting Gotham Science Museum. We hope to see you again soon!”

Duke nodded his thanks, taking the bag and leading Danny out of the store. As they stepped back out into the cold, Duke immediately pulled out Danny’s pouch. “Here, I figure you want to hold it.”

Nodding, Danny grabbed the pouch and pulled out the tiny piece of meteorite that the museum had been selling. Unlike most of the supposed meteorite shards within the pile that had been added to the museum’s rock gifts, Danny could tell this was a real piece. How it ended up with mostly Earth Ores that seemed to mimic meteorites, Danny would never know. However, he held his very own space rock gently in his hands, feeling the grooves and edges. It must not have been overly large when it finally made it through Earth’s atmosphere, considering it fit so neatly into the palm of Danny’s hand.

Maybe it was stupid, to feel kinship with a rock, but Danny couldn’t help but commiserate with the meteorite. He knew the feeling of being torn apart, sent through a burning vacuum and coming out the other side different. The piece of meteorite survived, making its way to Gotham through what Danny was sure was a series of happenstance and rock sellers not double checking their batches as they got ready to put them in Museum gift shops.

He put the rock back in the bag, turning to Duke. “Thank you, Duke. This was really, really fun.”

Duke smiled, reaching out and once more ruffling Danny’s hair. “Of course, Baby D! We can go again next week if you’d like? The exhibit’s going to be here all month.”

Danny’s core bounced in his chest. “Do you think the rest of the family would be willing to go with us?”

Laughing, Duke held his chest in mock offense. “What? You don’t want to spend more one on one time with your favorite big brother? I’m shocked! Disappointed and ashamed!”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Okay, Drama King. We can go again just us in 2 weeks—I wanna show Damian and everyone else all of the cool stuff.”

Holding his fist out, Duke fist bumped Danny before leading him back to the subways. “It sounds like a plan, Baby D.”

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Danny frowned as he walked down the mossy path towards the address Jazz had sent him. He knew for a fact that this wasn’t her dorm’s address, but when Danny asked to double check, she’d texted him this address instead.

Most of the trees and foliage that seemed to normally fill the area around the house had already browned for the winter, but winter plants already grew in their place. Vibrant red berries and what looked like yellow bulbs peeked out from the snow. Danny’s breath fogged in front of him as he continued to walk down the path. He had no clue how anyone got anything growing in December of all months, but he supposed if whoever it was made Jazz happy then he wouldn’t complain.

Just as he was reaching the front door of the house, said door swung open. Jazz smiled, bounding over to Danny and bundling him up in a hug. “Danny! Oh it’s so good to see you!”

Danny laughed as he lifted Jazz up just enough to twirl her around. “It’s great to see you too, Jazz! Are you ready to head out?”

Before she could respond, a far too familiar voice called out, “oh Pumpkin! You nearly forgot your scarf!”

Jaw dropping, Danny watched as Jazz turned, a bit of embarrassment flushing her cheeks as she skipped back to Harley Quinn. “Thanks Harley!”

Poison Ivy (holy shit, has Jazz been staying with villains?!) stepped up beside Harley, putting a pair of earmuffs on Jazz. “Here, wouldn’t want your ears to get frostbitten.”

“I’m just going ice skating!” Jazz protested, even if she seemed to preen under the care that the two were showing. “I’m going to be fine!”

“Uh uh, no child of mine will be going out and getting a cold because she forgot to wear earmuffs!” Harley declared, winding the scarf around Jazz’s neck with care that Danny had only seen occasionally in Maddie Fenton.

Jazz groaned, “Harley—” almost as if she were whining out ‘Mom!’. Danny wondered if he had been hit with some kind of hallucinogen as he watched Harley and then Poison Ivy each plant a kiss on Jazz’s head, sending her back off now that she was properly bundled up.

They walked to the end of the walkway, and once Danny could no longer feel the moss underfoot he whirled around. “What the hell was that?”

“What was what?” Jazz asked, avoiding Danny’s gaze as she fiddled with her hands. Danny watched as her walking turned stiff, clearly trying to hide the fact that she just walked out of two of Gotham’s most notorious anti-heroes’ home.

Danny took a deep breath. “Jazz. Have you been living with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy?”

“No!” Jazz retorted, “I’m just visiting on the weekends! Pamela makes a really awesome int tea, and Harley has been super helpful in helping me study! She’s given me a ton of case studies that I can use to help understand the concepts I’m being taught in my classes!”

Crossing his arms, Danny frowned at Jazz. “Jazz. I love you, but I can’t believe you’re spending the weekends at two of my villains’ house!”

“They’re nice to me, Danny!” She whipped back around, lower lip trembling as the beginning of tears beaded in her eyes. “They’re nice and they’re two of the only adults in my life who have ever taken me seriously! And they haven’t done any sort of terrorism or anything to hurt people while I’ve been visiting them! So can you just… just let me have this? Please?”

Fuck. Danny didn’t think he’d ever seen his sister ask so sincerely for something. They didn’t pause in their walk, even as they spoke. Danny knew Harley could be of great help when she wasn’t under the Joker’s thumb, and Poison Ivy really hadn’t been doing anything that the bats would have to take care of since early October. Really, for all that they had caused mayhem in the past, for now they were mostly just… civil. Maybe attending a protest or two, but not any of the mayhem and destruction that had forced Batman and his fellow vigilantes to come and arrest them. Danny worried on his lip, trying to push the part of his core that screamed at him to keep Jazz away from anyone who could seriously hurt her. Harley and Ivy may have mellowed out, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous.

Still, Jazz really did look happy, and Danny wondered if that was the first time she’d ever really felt like a kid. He knew that he hadn’t necessarily been good for her growing up. She had tried her best, but ultimately she gave up her childhood to take care of him and the Fentons. Jazz deserved to be treated like a child, even if it was from criminal terrorists.

Sighing, Danny turned his attention back towards the street, trying to find the bus they needed to take to get to the outdoor ice skating rink. “… if they ever hurt you, I’m not going to hold back.”

Jazz’s shoulders slumped as she threw an arm around Danny. “That’s all I ask.”

The two siblings moved on to lighter topics as they made it to their bus stop just as the next bus arrived. They caught up with each other’s school life, just enjoying being brother and sister once more, even if their lives had changed and their last names were no longer Fenton.

As Danny laced up his rental skates, he glanced at Jazz. “So… you’re Harley’s kid, huh?”

A bright flush burst across Jazz’s face as she laced up her own skates. “It started as a joke, honestly.” She kept her gaze on her skates, clearly not wanting to face Danny’s potential judgement as she spoke. “I mean, Harley and Ivy took me out to dinner after I’d finished my midterms as like a congratulatory treat. I was tired and wearing my Gotham U hoodie and some leggings while they were wearing like, actually decent business casual clothes. As we were eating, I joked that it looked like I was being taken to dinner by my lesbian moms and it just kind of. Stuck.”

Danny smiled. “I didn’t realize you could be funny.”

Jazz slapped his shoulder. “You’re so rude! Of course I can be funny!” Jazz finished lacing up her skates, standing up carefully. “You just don’t have the level of intellect required to understand my brand of humor!”

“Like purposefully calling my rogues by the wrong names?” Danny finished lacing up his own skates, standing up with a helping hand from Jazz. “Or leaning into the fact that the entire town decided to call me ‘inviso-bill’ and then calling me inviso-bill in all of our texts for a month after?”

“See!” Jazz said as they waddled over to the rink, taking their first careful steps onto the ice, “funny! You clearly just don’t understand my specific brand of humor!”

Rolling his eyes, Danny carefully began to skate, holding onto Jazz’s hand so she didn’t get left behind. “Uh huh. Next you’re going to tell me that you’re naming yourself after Freud for the joke of it all.”

“Actually…” Jazz started, which had Danny turning towards her.

“You’re not actually changing your last name to Freud, are you?” He asked, incredulous.

Jazz balked. “Oh Ancients, no!” With careful strokes, she began to skate along with Danny. “I, um, I did actually pick out a last name though. I’m getting started on the paperwork to change my name tomorrow.”

Danny slowed so he could turn to completely face Jazz. “That’s great! What name did you pick out?”

“Um…” If Danny could see her ears, he was sure they would be tipped red. “I’m changing my name to Jazzmine Isley.”

“Isley?” Danny frowned. “What’s Isley from?”

Jazz kept her gaze on Danny’s skates as she admitted, “it’s um… it’s Pamela’s last name. Pamela Isley.”

Oh. “… it’s a nice name.” Danny finally settled on, bringing Jazz’s gaze back up to his face. “I think it really suits you. Jazz Isley.”

The smile he got warmed something gooey in his core. “Thanks, Danny.”

Snorting, Danny got back to skating. “For what? Supporting my sister? I’m pretty sure that’s in the job description for little brother.”

Jazz snorted, shoving Danny’s shoulder. He slid back a bit, laughing as he began skating around the rink with Jazz. They’d never actually been skating before, Jazz clinging to Danny multiple times as she tried not to fall, but Danny felt more at home gliding over the ice. It brought him back to days spent under Frostbite’s care, relearning how to use his ghost powers now that his core had finally bloomed. Sure, he didn’t have skates back then, but the principals were much the same.

As they skated round and round, Danny marveled at the joy that seemed to radiate from Jazz’s face. She smiled, and Danny wondered when he had last seen Jazz so carefree. If he had ever seen her so carefree. While he grew up in what could best be described as a cult, Jazz’s home life before him wasn’t much better. He wondered how she survived those years before she had Danny to focus on. If the Fentons had realized that one day Jazz would rather have the name of a plant scientist turned bioterrorist over their own name. That they would not only lose the son they chose but the daughter that they birthed.

Danny brought Jazz into a twirl, smiling as she laughed loudly and freely. He let himself soak in that laughter, laughing himself as Jazz tried to twirl him back. They skated messy lines across the ice, slipping past couples and families and other citizens of Gotham who had decided to visit the rink. If Danny could bottle joy, he figured this would be it. Sliding across the ice, poking and twirling and just enjoying the fun of it while his sister laughed, looking younger than she had in years. She was only 18, yet she carried the world on her shoulders as if she were already 35.

He wondered if she thought the same of him. If when she smiled at Danny she saw not the traumatized former assassin or the dead boy who just wanted his adoptive parents to love him, but the fifteen year old. The teenager who just wanted to show his sister that there was still some joy in the world. As they learned how to skate together, Danny decided he could give Harley and Ivy a pass, just this once. They may have caused harm in the past, but they brought a side of his sister out that he’d never seen before. He refused to let her shoulder the burden of parent any more than she already had.

The former Fenton Siblings giggled as they twirled the day away, enjoying the simple joys of just skating on ice.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Danny nearly groaned as he saw Damian walk into his room. “You’re not going to force me out of the house too, are you?”

Snorting, Damian set his canvas and painting supplies down on the floor. “Of course not. Clearly you have been run ragged by our siblings attempts to prevent yet another depressive episode.”

Danny’s shoulders sagged in relief. While he appreciated all of the time hanging out with his siblings, he had to admit he was getting a little overwhelmed with all of the trips out. “Okay, then why are you here?”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “Do I need a reason to hang out with my twin brother?”

Danny supposed not, but he pressed on anyway. “I mean, not really, but I’d like to know if you need something or if you just wanna hang.”

For a moment, Damian said nothing, simply setting up his canvas on a mini easel and getting his paints in order. Danny just waited, sitting carefully on his bed with his phone in hand. He’d been planning on just scrolling on his phone as a little brain break after all of the hang outs, but if his twin needed to talk, then Danny was more than willing to entertain him.

Once Damian had set his supplies up and grabbed a pencil to sketch, he spoke again. “You worried me, you know.”

“Ah.” Danny winced. “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“The point I am trying to make is not to make you feel guilty, Danny,” Damian said, hands delicate as they sketched lines on canvas, “the point is that I was worried for you just like the rest of our siblings were. Even when you do not want to worry us, we will still worry about you because we care for you.”

“I mean, I worry about you guys too.” Danny pulled his feet up into a cross-legged sit, watching as Damian kept sketching away, not able to see what the hell he was doing. “That’s part of what being siblings is about, right? We worry for each other.”

“And yet you seem to find it distasteful when we do things in order to help you.” Damian seemed satisfied with his sketch (which Danny had to admit was impressively fast) and began spurting out paints onto his palette.

“I do not!” Danny frowned. “I love when you guys help me! You just don’t have to worry—”

“But we will always worry,” Damian interrupted, grabbing a brush as he began to paint, “just as you will always worry for us. So instead of trying to convince us not to worry about you, perhaps you should attempt to be kinder to yourself so that we do not have to worry so much.”

Danny stared at Damian, mouth agape as he tried to process what his brother just said. It didn’t feel fair, to get thrown an argument like that. “Okay, but you guys are just as bad about self-care bullshit as I am!”

“True.” Damian dipped his brush once more into his paint, using broad strokes for what Danny had to assume was some kind of background. “Unfortunately our family has many bad habits that we fall into. I know this, you know this. We all know this.”

“So you think trying to lecture me about taking care of myself will help?”

“If you start trying to be kinder to yourself then I will do the same.” Damian paused in his strokes, taking a moment to look Danny in the eye. “I love you, Danyal, and I do not wish to see you hurt or upset if I can help it. If you need assistance then myself or any one of our siblings or even Father or Alfred would be more than happy to give it.”

Biting his lip, Danny rocked back and forth. “Okay, but then you also have to accept my help if you need it. You guys can’t just say shit like, ‘oh we’re here to help, we’re here for you’ and then not expect me to also try and help you guys. It’s not fair.”

Damian set his brush down. “Okay. Then shall we make a deal?”

“A deal?”

Damian nodded. Standing up, he carefully stepped over his painting and sat next to Danny. “I will let you know as soon as I notice that I am not feeling well as long as you do the same. This includes if we are feeling sad or lonely. Does that sound like a deal?”

Danny chewed on it for a moment. It was a loose deal, probably full of a million loop holes and one that felt easy to fuck up. However, Danny grabbed Damian’s hand and shook. “We have a deal.”

Damian nodded. “Excellent. Now, I am lonely, but I do not wish to talk to anyone. Could I please just sit here and paint? While you do whatever it is you need to do.”

Oh. Danny’s core practically melted as he smiled at his twin. “Of course, Dami.” He opened his arms, letting his twin give him one big hug before returning back to his paints. Danny settled back on his bed, scrolling away on his phone as Damian continued his brush strokes.

The peace of the night settled over the twins as they simply existed together. Danny knew they’d never really had nights like this back in the League, but it still brought him back to the days when training left them too tired to speak. They still held each other close, terrified to leave the other alone for fear of someone coming to attack. It was never the soft silence like now, where Danny could let his mind wander as Damian indulged in his truest passions.

They just stayed like that, leaving for dinner only to return back to the peace of just existing together. When the night drew close and the stars began to appear, Danny and Damian got ready for bed, easily slipping into Danny’s bed for the night. They curled around each other, not a protective hold but merely a gentle one. A reminder that they didn’t need to sleep back to back anymore, but that they would indulge solely for the reassurance that they were safe. That they could exist and no one would tear them apart anymore.

As Danny fell asleep, he wondered which sibling would drag him out of the house next. He really didn’t mind the running around. It was nice, just being a younger brother to his older siblings. Surrounded by warmth and listening to Damian’s heartbeat, Danny dreamed.