✎⠀⠀pairing ⦂ jason todd x reader | sequel, 4.5k words.
࿐ synopsis ⦂ jason todd is baffled when you cancel your date with a sketchy excuse. suspicious, he heads to your place, where he unexpectedly runs into dick grayson, who reveals he’s there for the same reason with kori. the coincidence unnerves the brothers, and they won't stop at nothing until they get to the bottom of this coincidence.
꒰꒰ involving contents ⦂ chaotic fluff, established relationship with jason, pure shenanigans from the batboys, damian being a traitor, and dick playing older brother.
"are you kidding me? something came up?!"
the text on jason todd's phone screen glared back at him, not sorry to his face. he reread it for the seventh time in five minutes. same words. unbelievable.
this wasn’t like you. you never cancelled. ever. not even that time he showed up with a black eye and bloodstains on his jacket; you simply sighed, handed him a wet cloth, and ordered takeout. but tonight? ...radio silence after a single, dry excuse.
he shoved his phone into his pocket. fine. if you weren't answering, he would get answers the old-fashioned way.
your apartment building was a brick thing. he didn’t bother with caution; just jabbed the elevator button and rode up, arms crossed, scowling at his own reflection in the metal doors.
he rounded the corner to your floor and nearly walked straight into dick grayson.
dick blinked. jason blinked harder.
"you," they said in unison, then both paused.
dick recovered first, shifting his weight. "you stalking someone?"
jason’s eye twitched. "none of your damn business. why are you here?"
dick held up his phone, screen lit with a text. "kori cancelled. said she was busy." his smirk was thin. "funny. she’s never busy."
jason’s stomach dropped. his fingers twitched toward his holster out of pure reflex. "strange," he muttered, jaw tight. "my girl said the same thing."
dick’s grin sharpened, all teeth. "well, isn’t that a coincidence."
they both turned toward your door. silence pulsed between them, thick enough to choke on. then, from inside, a burst of laughter. high, bright... yours... followed by another voice, warm and melodic. kori’s.
his boot hovered an inch from the door, his entire body coiled, until dick’s grip yanked him back mid-kick. the sheer audacity of it had him whirling, fist already swinging, but dick ducked fast enough and held up both hands like he was taming a feral cat.
"I have a better idea," dick said, voice telling, like they weren’t standing outside their respective girlfriends’ secret betrayal party.
jason’s teeth ground together. "unless your idea involves a firearm and a signed apology letter..."
"subtlety. ever heard of it?"
"fine. but if this goes wrong, I’m blaming you."
the apartment smelled like burnt popcorn and nail polish remover; two things koriand'r had insisted were essential for a proper girls' night, despite your half-hearted protests. now, sprawled across the couch in pajamas that hadn’t seen daylight since college, you watched as she waved a bottle of neon green polish.
"hold still," kori scolded, her tongue poking out in concentration as she swiped another line across your toenails. "if you smudge this, I’m making you redo it."
you snorted, wiggling your toes just for the fun of being difficult. "you’re worse than my mom."
she gasped, clutching her chest. "betrayal! after I literally saved you from that cursed eyeliner?" she gestured dramatically to the your face, where last night’s smudged wings had been replaced with something kinda' pleasing to look at now. "I demand gratitude. and snacks."
you lobbed a gummy bear at her forehead. "there. snack delivered."
she caught it mid-air with inhuman reflexes and popped it into her mouth, grinning. "I’ll allow it."
a comfortable silence settled, followed only by the pop of you cracking open another soda. the air was warm, thick with the scent of cheap face masks and the faint hum of some reality show you weren’t actually eyeing.
"you ever think about how weird it is?" you thought over.
kori glanced up. "that you own eight identical black hoodies but only one working bra?"
"well, no, those hoodies aren't even mine, they're jason's... okay, yes, but no." you tossed a throw pillow at her. "just… us. like, you’re you. and I’m… me."
her grin softened. "oh... the classic why is an alien friends with a human who cries at sad dog commercials." she nudged your foot with her knee. "I like you. no overthinking allowed here."
your chest tightened, just a little, but she hid it with an exaggerated eye roll. "wow. deep. next you’ll tell me friendship is magic or some shit."
she gasped again, this time slapping a hand over her heart. "you monster. don’t insult my little pony in my presence."
you broke up into laughter, the kind that left ribs aching and soda threatening to come out noses. it was stupid, and perfect, and for a moment, you both forgot about cancelled dates and suspiciously absent boyfriends.
then the smoke detector went off.
kori shot upright, eyes wide. "the cookies!"
you groaned, tipping your head back against the couch. "we literally set a timer—"
"timers are suggestions!" she declared, already sprinting to the kitchen in socks that slid dangerously on the floor. she flapped a dish towel at the smoking oven. victorious, she tossed the burnt remains of the cookies into the sink. "next time, you’re in charge of baking."
"next time," you began, snagging the last bag of chips from the cupboard, "we order takeout like sane people."
her eyes lit up. "genius."
tonight? tonight was for burnt snacks and bad decisions... or so you thought...
jason’s boot scuffed against the rusted metal of the fire escape as dick hauled him up by the back of his jacket like a wild kitten. "would you stop... grk... manhandling me?" he hissed, wrestling free only to nearly elbow a loose bolt off the railing. it clattered down three flights before landing with a distant clang. both guys froze.
dick exhaled through his nose. "smooth."
"how do you even know my girlfriend has a fire exit, anyways?" jason muttered, crouching low as they crept toward the cracked window. the scent of singed sugar cookies and citrusy polish wafted out, mixing with the night air.
"because someone had to drag you out of her bathroom window last new year’s eve when you accidentally locked yourself out," dick whispered, pressing a finger to his lips as he eased the window open another inch. the hinges gave a tiny squeak. both men winced.
jason scowled but crouched lower, his forehead nearly brushing the fire escape. "that was one time..."
"quiet down," dick hissed, elbowing him sharply in the ribs.
jason's forehead pressed against the grimy windowpane, his breath fogging up the glass as he strained to see inside. the angle was terrible; just the top half of his face visible, one narrowed eye peeking over the sill.
"get down, jason," dick hissed, yanking the back of his jacket again. "your head's too big. you're gonna get us caught."
jason jerked backward, nearly kneeing his brother in the face as he lost his balance. "would you... dammit... stop yanking me like I'm a goddamn dog on a leash?" his whisper was more of a strangled growl, the fire escape groaning under their combined weight.
inside, the put together fashion runway was a disaster zone of forgotten clothes and half-empty snack bags. you struck a pose in front of the full-length mirror, swishing the hem of a sequined dress you wore exactly once to a wedding three years ago. kori twirled beside you in a black number that was definitely too small, the zipper straining over her shoulders.
jason’s breath hitched. that was his hoodie tossed carelessly over the armchair... and the dress kori was currently admiring on herself was yours. the one you wore on your second date, when you spilled wine down the front and laughed instead of panicking.
dick’s elbow dug into jason’s ribs. "focus," he muttered, though his own gaze kept flicking to kori’s laughter-lit face.
"well... that was the last of them. feel free to borrow anything you liked that fit and actually put them to better use... anything other than letting these dresses rot at the back of my wardrobe," you announced with a grin, fingers already working at your zipper. kori gasped in delight, immediately shimmying out of her own too-tight dress. fabric pooled at your feet, leaving you standing in nothing but mismatched underwear that had seen better days; kori in something lacy and black that looked like it cost more than the your entire wardrobe... the audacity to even ask if she wanted to borrow anything...
outside, three things happened in rapid series: first episode, dick's entire body went rigid, his hand shooting out to clamp over jason's eyes with the speed of a someone who had just witnessed a threat roll his way. second episode, jason's knee jerked forward on instinct, slamming into the fire escape railing with a metallic clang that echoed down the alley. and third episode, jason's free hand flew up to cover dick's eyes with equal enthusiasm.
"I wasn't even looking at kori," jason hissed, his fingers digging into dick's forehead hard enough to leave marks.
dick’s grip on jason’s face tightened to the point of pain. "you liar," he spat out, voice strangled. "your eyeballs were practically bulging out of your skull..."
"oh, like you weren’t eye-fucking my girlfriend’s ratty-ass bra?" jason snarled back, kneeing dick in the thigh for good measure. the fire escape shuddered beneath them, rust floating off in bits.
"spying on indecency?" damian wayne's voice sliced through the tension. both his older brothers froze mid-scuffle, their hands still mashed against each other's faces.
jason recovered first, twisting toward the sound with a snarl; only to find their pint-sized brother standing two steps below them on the fire escape, arms crossed, looking totally unimpressed. "the hell...?"
dick lunged first, jason half a second behind, both their hands smacking over damian's eyes with synchronised panic. damian didn't even flinch, his voice muffled but still cutting through their hearing, "they should have made you batman's villains instead. at least they have standards."
dick peeked over his shoulder at the window and exhaled hard, shoulders slumping. "the girls are dressed." he pried his hand away from damian's face, leaving jason's still clamped over their brother's eyes. "let him go, todd."
jason hesitated, squinting suspiciously at the window; where, sure enough, you and kori were now wrapped in what appeared to be matching fuzzy robes, aggressively tossing popcorn at each other's mouths. he released damian with a grunt.
damian blinked up at them, his expression the perfect blend of disgust and morbid curiosity. "so. this is what you do when your paramours reject you? peep through windows like degenerates?"
dick opened his mouth, then closed it. jason had no one to hold him back. "first off, paramours? who the talks like that..."
"assassins," dick interjected weakly, rubbing his temples.
"...and second," jason rolled over to him, jabbing a finger at damian, "why are you here? don't tell me your girlfriend bailed on you too."
damian's nose wrinkled. "I don't have a girlfriend. I've decided I'm too young to take on the responsibility of an intimate partnership."
"I followed him," damian said flatly, pointing at dick. "because someone disabled the manor's security system again to sneak out, and alfred was most displeased."
dick groaned, slumping against the railing. "he's gonna murder me."
"good." jason smirked. "at your grown age... still being grounded. should have stayed in blüdhaven..."
"now, you're just being cruel," dick jokingly said. "you, don't remember the time when you said I was your favourite brother, todd...?"
"no, because that memory doesn't exist."
inside, your laughter spilled out the window again, bright and unfiltered. jason's smirk faltered.
damian eyed his brothers. "if you're this distressed over a cancelled evening, perhaps you should communicate like adults."
dick snorted. "says the kid who threw a tantrum last week because titus got more attention than him."
damian's glare could have melted steel. "that was different."
jason ignored them, staring at the window where you were now attempting to balance a cookie on her nose while kori cheered you on. something twisted in his chest; something stupid and soft and annoying. he turned to damian, "well, if you're gonna hang around, you could at least make yourself useful."
you flopped onto your back, staring at the water stain on your ceiling that somewhat resembled dick grayson’s profile if you squinted. "okay, but imagine...," you began, waving a gummy worm, "if you had to choose between saving jason from a burning building or a lifetime supply of those mint chocolate chip cookies you’re obsessed with... what do you pick?"
kori gasped, clutching her chest as if personally hurt. "mint chocolate chip? those are an abomination unto the sun." she lobbed a pretzel at your forehead, you failed to catch it. "the correct answer is obviously jason. but only if he promises to let me carry him out bridal-style while sobbing dramatically about my bravery."
"sounds like a fantasy of yours." you cackled, kicking her feet against the couch cushions. "I knew grayson had a thing for damsel-in-distress stuff."
you had just settled back onto the couch, gummy worms halfway to your mouth, when the faint clashing of chitter-chatter voices from the far end of the room made you freeze. almost sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite make it out as they were speaking in hushed tones… whispers.
"of course, they'll let you in… who wouldn't, your adorable… when they do, say… but also asks… no, no… don't say we sent ya… alright… everything clear…"
kori’s head snapped toward the sound, eyes narrowing like an alien catching a signal because technically she was an alien. "did you—"
"hear that?" you whispered back, already creeping off the couch. a noise came again; less chatter, more tap, like someone was politely smacking on glass with a spoon. you padded across the room, bare feet silent on the floor.
the window was already open.
you recoiled, blinking at the inch-wide gap. "uh. kori? did you...?"
"absolutely not," she called from the couch, sounding deeply offended. "I have a key."
you frowned and pushed the window wider, expecting a stray cat. instead, you found damian wayne staring up at you, his forehead barely brushing the windowsill, green eyes wide. looking like some pathetically lost victorian child.
"damian," you said slowly. "what are you doing out here all by yourself?" you leaned out, scanning the fire escape. empty. "and who were you talking to?"
he clasped his hands behind his back, trying to master the picture of innocence. "I've been sent."
kori appeared behind you like a shadow. "by who exactly?"
his lips pursed. "that I can't say. It's for my own good."
you and kori exchanged a look.
"well," you said, stepping aside, "would you like to come in? you do know you're always welcome here."
he hesitated, just long enough for you to catch the flicker of something smug in his expression, before nodding. "very well."
kori hauled him inside with one hand, her other already rifling through the snack bowl. "you’re terrible at lying," she was honest to him, popping a gummy bear into her mouth.
he dusted off his sleeves with exaggerated pride. "I don’t lie. I withhold."
you snorted, ruffling his hair; a crime punishable by death in any other circumstance, but he tolerated it with the long, suffering sigh of a child who accepted his fate. "alright, little spy. spill. what's the real mission?"
he batted your hand away with a scowl that lacked any actual offence. "there is no mission." his gaze flicked pointedly to the forgotten dresses across the floor. "though clearly, your evening plans are far more… intriguing than ours."
kori's brows shot up. "ours? there’s more of you?" she leaned down until they were nose-to-nose, her grin widening as damian leaned back. "who's we, baby bat?"
his spine straightened. "I don’t know what you’re implying," he said, chin lifted just enough to show boundaries without losing his air of mystery. "I came here by my own choice. to ensure you hadn’t been… compromised." his gaze flicked to the half-empty soda bottle on the coffee table.
you folded your arms. "uh-huh. you just said you've been sent and now, you're saying you came here by your own choice... not to mention the we?"
"royal," he said smoothly.
kori’s eyes narrowed. "tamaraneans don’t use the royal we when we come alone."
a second of confusing silence. he blinked. "I’ve been spending time with diana."
"I doubt you're even allowed to be in the same room with her, unless bruce is there," you assumed, in a joking manner. "the adults are speaking."
damian’s eyelid twitched, just once, before he rotated toward the kitchen. "your snack selection is not good enough," he declared, poking at the burnt cookie remains in the sink. "no wonder todd looks malnourished."
"...actually, those snacks are all on me," you argued. "jason despises sweet treats."
kori opened her mouth, then froze. a slow, wicked grin spread across her face. "wait. wait." she whirled on you. "how many times has jason complained about damian lurking during your dates?"
your eyes widened in realisation. "oh my god."
damian’s shoulders tensed, but he kept his back to you, rearranging your spice rack. "irrelevant."
kori lunged, snagging him by the hood of his jacket and hauling him up like a misbehaving kitten. sometimes, you forget just how tall she really was. "you little stalker..."
"...are you taking notes for them?!"
his feet dangled two inches off the ground, his expression caught in outrage. "I am not their spy."
"then why," you pressed on, stepping closer, "are your boots tracking in the same gutter mud jason always drags in?"
damian exhaled through his nose, and bowed his head, almost ashamed before mumbling. "…they’re on the fire escape. they made me do it..."
"drop him slowly, they could be watching." you whispered, bopping his nose, much to his annoyance. "…can't let them know, we have them figured out just yet."
kori's grip loosened just enough for him to land in a messed up landing, but his glare never wavered. "this is so humiliating," he hissed, scrambling upright and dusting himself off.
you pressed a finger to your lips, then jerked your head toward the couch. "act natural," you murmured, plopping down and grabbing the remote with faked nonchalance. kori followed suit, flopping onto the cushions like she hadn't just been holding that little assassin above the ground.
damian hesitated, then straightened his jacket and perched on the armrest. "they're debating whether to storm the castle or pullback the master plan and head home," he muttered, eyeing the window with mockery. "grayson is advocating for subtlety. todd is advocating for shutting down the whole event, which he was never invited to in the first place."
kori snorted into her soda. "sounds about right."
"and you, damian? I'm curious... what did they send you here for?" you asked.
"to get information out of you both."
"oh, you'll get plenty of information out of us, tonight." you leaned forward, dropping your voice to a whisper. "okay, new plan. we let them think they're being sneaky." you snatched a marker off the coffee table and scribbled OPERATION: EXPOSE STALKING on your forearm.
kori's eyes gleamed like stars. "I like the way you think."
outside, the fire escape groaned ominously.
jason's knee was killing him, especially for a guy his size crouching down. "this is a waste of time," he hissed, shifting his weight on the rusted metal. "we've been out here for twenty minutes, and all we've learned is that my girlfriend owns eight of my identical hoodies and kori has a shocking lack of respect for zipper integrity..."
dick elbowed him sharply. "would you focus? they're up to something."
jason squinted through the window, his nose nearly pressed to the glass. inside, you and kori were now spread out on the floor, surrounded by what appeared to be a shocking number of glitter pens and a half put together… something. kori held up a sheet of paper with exaggerated seriousness, her lips moving silently as she pointed at a barbaric stick-figure drawing of... was that him with devil horns?
dick’s breath fogged up the glass beside him. "are they… making a flowchart?"
jason’s eye twitched. "I'm not sure." he reached for the window, only for dick’s hand to clamp around his wrist.
kori leaned back against the couch cushions, twirling a glitter pen between her fingers with a dreamy sigh. "you know, damian, your brother does have this way of smiling, like he’s trying not to, but it still happens. like he’s mad about how happy he is." she pressed a hand to her chest, eyes fluttering shut. "devastating."
damian’s nose wrinkled. "you’re describing grayson like he’s a... romance novel."
you snorted, nudging his knee with your foot. soundless; remember, the adults are speaking, little boy. kori carried on, "oh, don’t act like you haven’t noticed. dick’s got those eyes... the ones that make you feel like you’re the only person in the room, even when he’s literally surrounded." she flopped onto her stomach, chin propped on her hands. "and the way he laughs? ugh. criminal."
outside, dick’s grip on the fire escape railing tightened. jason side-eyed him... oh, this was too good... but dick’s expression was an image, caught somewhere between smug and violently flustered.
damian, ever the little chaos gremlin, rolled his eyes. "and todd?" he prompted, tone dripping with boredom.
your grin turned wicked. "jason? ugh." you tucked your hair behind your ear. "the worst. you ever seen him cook? man flips a pancake like it’s a goddamn art form. and at night..."
jason’s pulse kicked up. oh hell yeah.
"...like, who gave him permission to take up that much space in my tiny ass bed? and his walrus sounding snores..."
dick muffled a snort into his elbow. jason elbowed him hard.
kori sighed. "he's so infatuated with you that he doesn't even know..."
jason’s chest spiked. know what...
"...yeah, well I have a feeling he's getting close to figuring it all out, which is why, I'm actually thinking about changing my lock so we don't get caught..."
jason’s breath hitched... we...
you nodded. "yeah, jason’s handsome alright, but you know who else is handsome..." you leaned in toward kori, bringing your hand up to cover your mouth as you met her ear. from any outsider point of view, it would have looked like you were whispering an actual name, but really you were just whispering gibberish in the poor girl's ear, while trying to contain the laughter begging for its release in the box of your throat.
jason was already halfway through the window, chest puffed out, when dick yanked him back by the hood with the reflexes, as if he were the head man himself, batman, who spent a lifetime herding robins.
"subtlety, todd," dick said, carefully. "... I know it's hard but we stick to the master plan. damian’s our inside man."
"easy for you to say, you're not the one who's just witnessed their girl confess to being unfaithful," jason scoffed. "inside man, my ass! we’re putting way too much trust into that kid. and last I checked, he was sitting on her couch eating my gummy worms."
inside, damian, continuing to be the traitorous little gremlin that he was, nodded as you whispered something in his ear. then, he plucked a glitter pen from the pile and began scribbling on a fresh sheet of paper. jason’s stomach dropped.
"oh, fuck no." he lunged for the window again...
...just as damian’s head snapped up, green eyes locking onto the window. jason froze mid-reach, heart thudding against his ribs.
then he held up the paper.
jason’s vision went red. red hood… indeed. "that little..."
jason’s boot caught on the sill as he lunged inside, because that's what happens when you don't think your action through, and he nearly face-planted directly into your table. only dick’s reflexes (and a humiliating, especially in front of you, yank on his jacket) saved him from eating the table’s material.
kori didn’t even look up from her glitter masterpiece. "oh, finally," she drawled, swirling her pen in a lazy circle. "we were starting to think you’d actually set the fire escape on fire."
"yeah," you agreed. "I really thought pretending to be seeing someone else would have done the job... but I guess not."
jason righted himself, dusting off his knees like he hadn’t just been caught mid-break-in. "you..." he jabbed a finger at damian, who was now reclining on the couch like a tiny, smug king. "you’re dead."
damian inspected his nails. "you’ll have to get in line behind father."
dick cleared his throat. "so. girls’ night, huh?" he gestured weakly at the glitter bomb of a living room; half-finished flowcharts, snack wrappers, and what appeared to be a very unflattering parody of bruce in a tutu.
you grinned, stretching your arms behind your head. "yep. super busy." you paused. "oh, wait… weren’t you two also busy tonight?"
"you cancelled on me," jason mentioned.
"allegedly," dick chimed in.
kori rolled onto her stomach, kicking her feet in the air. "dick-y, you literally brought damian as a spy."
dick opened his mouth... closed it. "…okay, fair… fair."
jason, meanwhile, had zoomed in on the flowchart. "step 3: determine if jason’s sulking is cute or just pathetic’... excuse me?"
you snatched the paper away, but not before kori whispered, "she told me it was both."
jason’s jaw clenched. outside, the fire escape groaned under the weight of his wounded pride.
damian, sensing blood in the water, slid off the couch. "if you’ll excuse me," he said, straightening his jacket, "I have a report to file with alfred."
dick paled. "no... damian, wait..."
he was already at the door. he paused, glancing back with a sharp smile. "don’t worry, grayson. I’ll tell him you tried to be subtle."
"so," kori said brightly, tossing a gummy worm at duck’s face; which he successfully caught unlike you did before, guess that talent was only preserved for that couple. "who’s ordering takeout?"
jason threw his hands up. "that’s your takeaway?!"
you patted the couch beside her. "come on, red. admit it.... this was funnier than whatever dumb action movie you had planned."
he scowled. you batted her lashes. he caved like wet cardboard.
dick, meanwhile, was still staring mournfully at the door. "alfred’s gonna make me polish all the silverware again…"
kori hooked a finger in his belt loop with enough strength, yanking him down onto the couch with a yelp.
"relax, pretty boy." you reassured your best friend's boyfriend. "damian loves you."
"same thing." you tugged jason’s sleeve until he flopped onto the cushions beside you, still grumbling. you pressed a kiss to his cheek... cheating... and whispered, "next time, just ask to join girls’ night."
outside, the fire escape finally gave up and collapsed into the alley with a metallic crash.
koriand'r shrugged, turning to you. "well… you always did say you wanted to donate something to a greater cause. turn to the sun’s brighter side… you see where I come from..." she rambled on for the night.
dick grayson buried his face in his hands.
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