Characters: Harvey Dent/Two Face, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Talia al Ghul
Ships: Harvey Dent/Bruce Wayne, Two Face/Bruce Wayne, Two Face/Thomas Elliot (briefly, kind of)
AU: Harvey/Two Face adopt Jason
Warnings: Major character death, implied/referenced child abuse, grief/mourning, unhealthy coping mechanisms
Word Count: its gotta be at least 160k but idk for sure. completed!
Summary:
Taking care of a child is no easy feat, and made all the more difficult when you're a crime boss in Gotham. Two Face and Harvey struggle with each other, their morals, and Batman as they try to figure out how to best raise a kid they feel partially responsible for orphaning, and secret identities and guilty pasts start to feel crushing as Jason grows older and his family expands.
i said id compile the jdau into one fic and i meant it. im going to be updating the new fic bit by bit, slowly adding on as my school schedule allows, and hopefully i will be sneaking in some new content (!!) along with my quality edits. if youve enjoyed the jdau in the past, i highly recommend subbing and giving it a reread, and if you havent read it yet, please give it a chance! im finally closing the book on this thing for good
condensing the tags has been hard, but i would like it noted that every character tagged has at least one chapter that is about them (and jason), they are not just passively in the background i promise. i also wrote a shortfic with duke and jason tht i will be combining in if i can do it smoothly
read the first part here on ao3 and subscribe for the rest!
[VD: an exterior shot of a house in Gotham City at night. One side is pristine, with crisp white paint and clean windows. The other side is decrepit, the windows bordered up as the building itself looks rusty and like it's falling apart. Inside, Bruce Wayne is shown in his Matches Malone disguise and is unconscious on the floor after being electrocuted for sneaking in through a window. In the foreground we can see a man's shoes as he sarcastically announces, “It appears we have a prowler!” His voice is low and growled as his henchman flips Bruce over so he's laying on his back.
Bruce groans lowly as the goon slaps him twice to wake him up. He's hoisted up on his feet and then is roughly turnt around to face the shadows, where the mystery man is standing with his arms crossed. He asks, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Bruce stutters his explanation in a fake voice as he rubs his head, “I'm Matches Malone. Heard bout a new mob. Thought I could make some more dough…” The man steps closer and jeers, “Is that so?” He walks away as Bruce watches him. The man flips a coin once with one hand as he continues, “Well, you heard right. In fact, you can double your take on the jobs we’re pulling... Assuming I let you live to join my gang!” He dramatically steps out of the shadows, revealing to only Bruce's surprise that it's Harvey Dent!
Bruce gasps slightly and stares at Harvey in shock as Two-Face steps closer to him. He sneers, “Matches Malone, huh? Never heard of ya. But theres something about you that I don't like.” He jabs his finger against Bruce's chest as he goads, “Nothing that I can put my finger on but I trust my hunches. Kinda like a second sight, y'know?” He pulls out his coin and states the stakes, “Good heads you live, bad heads you don't. Simple, huh?” Behind Bruce, the goon cocks his gun as Harvey flips his coin. Bruce stares wide-eyed as Harvey looks at him with an impassive expression. The coin lands in Harvey's palm—the scarred side facing up. Bruce looks down at it with that same appalled expression before looking over his shoulder—where the gun is already being raised to bluntly hit his head with the muzzle of it. We hear Bruce's pained grunt as the scene cuts back to the exterior. END VD]
so i’m planning a twomatches/bruharv fic right now where bruce infiltrates the TF gang to prevent TF from essentially walking into a trap during his big acid incident anniversary scheme and there’s a scene where twoey comes on to matches and it’s a truly noble and herculean feat on bruce’s part that he manages to restrain himself after they were practically touching noses on TF’s tacky orange sofa.
the angel of batman on bruce’s right shoulder: no NO you cannot kiss him it would be WRONG you’ve been lying to him this entire time
the devil of matches on bruce’s left shoulder: bro if HE kisses YOU would it be so wrong? are ya just gonna deny him one little smoochy smooch?
anon you cant be dangling twomatches in front of me and not expect me to be feral about it 😤
I SAY LET BRUCE LISTEN TO MATCHES SOMETIMES for his own happiness!!!!! 🥺
PS: I'm excited for this fic!!!!! 😳😳😳
PPS: I have a dumb twomatches thing that I've been wanting to draw for a while. Your scenario above is a good prelude to that dumb shit kashgkasg
"Can I borrow your shirt? I promise I won't wreck this one." as matches malone x two face
ugh i love this one. send me a prompt!
The sun streamed through the window as morning announced itself, patches of warmth mingling with the crisp air outside of the blankets. It pooled and puddled on Two Face's skin, brown dappled with spots of gold. Dark grey blankets swept and pulled around him, artful and soft, while a single arm folded up over the pillow he'd pulled over his head, fingers loose and limp. He was beautiful in domestic scenes, stripped to the barest version of himself with the memory of his crimes scattered like clothes across the floor.
Pale fingers traced the shape of his shoulder blade, then followed the shiver of his spine. Lips met warm skin, fingers slipping below the blankets.
Two Face's response was muffled, a quiet groan of something into the mattress. It was a minute before he clawed his way fully into wakefulness, dragging the pillow under his cheek with a huff. "It's too early for your shit, Malone."
The corner of Matches's mouth twitched. Despite Two Face's complaints, when their lips met, he only melted, fingers threading into Matches's hair as he sighed into him. He wasn't quite as grumpy as he pretended to be, still sleep-soft and indulgent.
"I've gotta go," Matches told him when they'd parted.
Two Face's sigh was long-suffering. "Always running off."
It was tempting to make him promises- to stay, instead of always leaving. The beauty of him in the golden light of morning whispered temptingly, bruises on bare skin and rough, warm hands tugging, pulling. In the mornings, he kissed like a lover and tasted like coffee, cold countertops digging into his hips, and it felt so hard to go.
But that wasn't Bruce's life, and it wasn't fair to pretend. Matches pasted over longing with a cocksure grin, hand squeezing as he stole one last kiss. "Mind if I borrow a shirt? Promise I won't wreck it this time."
"You will," Two Face said, arms folding under his pillow as he settled in to watch Matches get ready, rolling out of bed and away from him. He was used to it, but he never did say no.
"If we get caught kissing in a small, dark, kind of shady alleyway, it's on you." twomatch. or whatever. i never remeber that ship name
ive done this prompt before with these exact same characters, but i really like it, and its been a while, so im going to give a rewrite a swing. maybe my writings improved
"If we get caught kissing in a small, dark, kind of shady alleyway, it's on you," Matches says, but there's a smirk on his lips as he pulls Two Face back against the brickwork.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have sidetracked me," Two Face says, the same playfulness reflected back in how he lets the warmth of their bodies collide, lips almost touching, but not quite. It's a tease, knuckles brushing against Matches's cheek as his smile hovers close to the corner of his mouth, but doesn't close the distance- not yet.
Two Face loves the way Matches grins in moments like this, caught somewhere between that cocksure, sly amusement, and the more genuine fondness that burns underneath it. Calloused palms smooth across Two Face's chest, bold and burning, and then his fingers hook into Two Face's vest again, keeping him in close. He touches Two Face like he has ownership on it, always unfaltering and unapologetic in the way he draws him in. "Ain't it your job to keep me on track? You're the boss, aren't you?"
"Since when have you ever done what I've asked?"
"When you ask real pretty," he says, so smug and cocky that Two Face ought to shoot him, if he wasn't so fucking smitten. As it is, his fingers pull on Two Face's vest, and finally, Two Face gives, meeting him in a kiss.
It's the kiss that really betrays Two Face. It's so slow and filled with warmth, there's no mistaking the affection he hides so poorly, instantly marking him as one of those few villains stupid enough to allow himself love. He kisses Matches like he loves him, catching him in the little moments they manage to steal with the foolish, doting affection of a husband welcoming a partner home after some time away. It's one of the stupidest things he's ever done, especially with a henchman as difficult to tie down as Matches.
But Matches already knows. For his part, the way he touches Two Face is where all of his bluster falls apart, the hand that rises to cup the side of Two Face's neck too gentle for the careless attitude he puts on. He touches Two Face like something delicate, sometimes- like something he's already lost, and will spend the rest of his life putting back together. If Matches doesn't love Two Face, then it must be something like it, because he cares too much for anyone in their line of work.
When they part, Two Face can still feel Matches's smile, brushed into the corner of his mouth as their foreheads lean together. "Ask me something," Matches says. His thumb follows the divot of a thick patch of scarring on Two Face's neck, his shoulders against the brick, his back arched into Two Face just to press a little closer. The twist of his mouth is like a dare, sly and tempting, and Two Face has never been good at avoiding his traps.
Two Face steps into it: "Come home with me." He wants to put his hands in Matches's shirt and watch the way he unravels in his sheets. He can picture Matches with coffee in hand and the warm light of the kitchen on his face, and he wants it, wants to step away from the chaos and danger of being a villain for a night and fall into Matches for as long as he'll let him. Sometimes it makes him feel mad, the way he wants Matches- like a sailor following a siren call, irrational with a desire he didn't know he had. He never seems to get anything done with Matches around, and most maddening of all, he never really minds.
Matches's smile cracks into a grin. He kisses Two Face again, pushing away from the wall and into him this time, hands sliding into his jacket to his sides. "You gonna make that curry of yours?"
"Darling, I'll make you whatever you want, if you slow down enough to eat it," Two Face teases.
Matches hums, leaning into his hold as his arms go around him and nosing at his jaw. "Mm, I can think of something I wanna eat."
Two Face's laugh is rough and snorting. It's a terrible laugh, like a lifetime of smoking glass shards echoed in a harsh rasp, but Matches seems to adore it, pecking a kiss under his jawline. "Come on. Take me home."
"Now I'm just doing what you want," Two Face says, amused. Still, he steps back out of their embrace, his hand slipping to catch on Matches's. When they walk, they walk together, calloused fingers tangled tight in his own.
Ships: Two Face/Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent/Bruce Wayne
AU: Harvey/Two Face adopt Jason
Words: 46,554
Summary:
More than twenty years after Harvey and Two Face adopted Jason, Gotham has changed. The old generation of villains and heroes are fading out, and retirement is starting to loom. But without crime, who are they? What is there left to become? And, is it too late to try and pick up the pieces of their shattered relationship with Bruce?
the FINAL installment of the jdau!! im sure you can see why it took me so long to finish :') but as a reward for hanging in there so long, im posting it all at once! cheer was the end of jasons story, but this is the end of 2f and harveys. it should wrap up allll the remaining little plots and things
