Note:
So... the chapter count went up. *Blushes sheepishly* This story keeps growing beyond my control!
"Jamie." Danny smiles softly up at his brother.
The other boy grumbles sleepily, slowly drawing his head up from his pillow. "What?"
"You lasted through the night."
In a blink, Jamie sits up. His mouth falls open, his hands raising to his face. "Still… here?" He stares at his palms like he had never seen them before.
"Yeah buddy." Danny sits up, grinning. "You're still here."
The clone stares disbelievingly for a few more moments. Finally, slowly, a hesitant smile blooms on his face. "Still here." He stands from the couch, lowering himself to kneel beside Danny on the mattress. "Thank you." Jamie spreads his arms, hugging the half ghost.
Gladly Danny returns the embrace. "I'm the dummy who forgot I had ectodejcto." He shakes his head, chuckles more than a hint self-deprecating.
Still…. The chest pressed against his breaths slowly, warmth radiating from it.
He pulls back, fixing hopefully eyes on his twin. "How do you feel? Any different?"
Jamie raises a hand to his chest, brow furrowed in thought. "Kinda. Feel stronger. But…" The boy hesitates.
"But…" Danny gently prods.
"The heartbeat…. Feels different from yours." The clone rubs fingers over his heart.
"Of course it does." The older brother smiles encouragingly. "It's your heart, not mine. That's your body, completely yours."
Jamie blinks once, his brow furrowing. "Guess it is." Still, his hand rubs his chest.
Danny's own brow furrows, puzzled. He had figured Jamie would be more excited at this development. The two are finally separate! But something is still bothering his twin.
After a pause, Jamie looks up, worried eyes fixing on the hastily wrapped cut on Danny's bicep. "Is your arm better?"
"Oh yeah." The half ghost casually turns to look. He pulls up end of the bandaging, peering at the thin scabbed line. "It's fine."
His twin's frown just deepened. "It's not fine. You got hurt and… and it's Jamie's fault."
"No, it's not. It's not your fault." Danny tries to reassure. "Spectra's the one who decided to attack you when you were down."
"And Spectra?" Fear flickers across Jamie's face. "Where is she?"
"In the thermos." Danny pulls the device out of the floor where he'd stashed it before going to sleep. "She's not getting out anytime soon."
His twin eyes the device. "And you're planning to bury her in the park…" He bit his lip. "What if she gets out? Or a rogue finds her? One of the Bats? They could get curious."
"Jamie, Jamie." The older brother cuts into the anxious ramble. "It's okay. Don't worry. I'll keep the thermos on me until I think of something better than burying it. I won't let anything happen to it. Or to us. I'll protect both of us."
Doubt still flickers in the clone's eyes but… "We'll be okay?" Round eyes plead his older brother for reassurance.
"Yes. We'll be okay. You are going to be okay." Danny smiles soothingly. "And you've finally got your own body! That's incredible. If we could figure that out, we can figure out anything else that comes our way."
Jamie finally exhales, tensed shoulders relaxing somewhat. Still, he says nothing about his new stability, just standing with a non-committal hum. He takes a few steps to the kitchen, opening the cupboard to pull out a box of cereal.
"You hungry?" Danny also stands. His lips quirk, pleased with the question.
"Yes." The clone blinks once, staring at the box. His brow wrinkles. "That's new."
Danny laughs at the puzzled look. Still, he does not tease his brother too much. The two eat breakfast, mostly in companionable silence; even with his independent personality truly developed, Jamie is a person of few words.
As he's cleaning his bowl in the sink, the clone cuts in. "Do you have work today?"
"Ugh. Yes." Danny groans. Then he blinks, realizing. "I guess you're staying here today?"
Jamie had visited him at work in the past, before the twins act became real. On their last longest foray apart – from when Danny woke up to when his body forced him to sleep at 36 hours – the clone had hidden away in the nearby library during Danny's six-hour shift. Most of the time though, Jamie slept, his cold spark nested close to Danny's own core. But hopefully now, their days of sharing a body are over.
"Yeah." The other boy nods, pointing to the stack of books they'd picked up at the library. "Gonna try and get through The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."
"Have fun." The older quipped, more than a hint of tease.
The book is a mix of history, biography and biology that Danny himself would never have picked up. But at the library, he had watched as Jamie's eyes lit up with excitement when spotting it. Oh, how Danny's brightly own eyes had sparked at that excitement, sharing a measure of his brother's joy.
Danny prepares for work, phasing the thermos into his side to keep it safe; no way was he leaving it here, alone with his brother. The half ghost dresses. He rides the bus across town. Takes orders, makes coffee, cleans the floor. A typical shift all around until….
Just as he is clocking out, a twinge of his twin's fear ripples through their ever-present bond.
Danny heart pounds, a surge of panic in response. Is Jamie okay? What's-
"Hey, Jamie. Danny's not here?" Jason stands at the door.
The scene blooms in his mind, as clear as the coffee shop's floor at his feet.
"No. At work." Jamie's voice answers. "He should be clocking out about now though."
"Alright." Their neighbor smiles softly. "Do you want to help me surprise him with some cookies?"
"Uh… sure?" The tentative reply.
Jason lets himself in and Danny finally notices through Jamie's eyes the large canvas bag he holds in either hand.
Through Jamie's eyes… he must be seeing what his twin is.
"These are gonna be really great." The man starts. "Not as good as my Gramps'. His start wars just as much as they end them." He chuckles. "But he did try to teach me."
The vision ends and Danny is left staring at the peg where he had been hanging his apron. One of his coworkers gives him an odd look and he hurries out of the store and towards the bus stop.
While Danny walks, words from outside himself poke at his core. It's alright. Wanted to show you what was happening. No need to hurry.
Jamie soothes him and the half ghost gives a shaky sigh of relief. This is new, Jamie being able to sent him images through their bond. And words from so far away? His twin never ceases to surprise him.
Clumsily, Danny tries to reply back. Waiting for the bus. I'll be home soon.
A mild confusion ripples down the line. Waiting? Home? Didn't get all that. Need to focus on Jason though. Later.
The half ghost huffs. Well, that wasn't the most successful. He feels the emotional communication trickle to a stop, his link to Jamie quiet and still.
Soon enough, the bus arrives. Danny rides back. He tries not to anxiously tap his foot, tries not to project that feeling to Jamie. As much as he likes Jason, he can't help but share his brother's worry. This is Jamie's first time interacting with Jason by himself. And he still doesn't know what he'll do if the truth about his twin's origin comes out to their neighbor.
Danny gets off the bus. He walks the few blocks back to their apartment, nervousness swirling in his gut all the while.
But as he approaches the door, hearing Jamie laugh at something Jason said, the familiar ease he's started to feel with the neighbor slides right into place.
"Hey Jason." Danny opens the door, giving the man a cheery wave. "Are the cookies ready?"
"What cookies?" Jason asks, innocently stepping in front of the oven.
"The one's your Gramps makes," The boy raises an eyebrow. "That apparently start and end wars."
"How do you know about that?" The neighbor blinks once, raising his own eyebrow teasingly.
"Twin telepathy." Danny grins cheekily.
Jason laughs. Then… he pauses a look a realization flickering across his face. "You're not kidding, are you? Is that you two's meta ability?"
A flash of panic. The older brother trades a look with the younger who just shrugs. "Yeah. We've got this… empathic bond, I guess. It's feelings most of the time."
"But can be words or pictures." Jamie adds.
Jason nods in understanding. But he doesn't press, doesn't ask anymore questions. The three eat cookies and talk about the book Jamie picked out at the library.
As he's leaving, the neighbor eyes the bandage on Danny's shoulder. "What happened there?"
"I wasn't watching where I was going running to catch the bus yesterday and run into a light post." The boy shrugs, casual with the lie.
For a second, a dubious look crosses Jason's face. Then a flicker of worry. "How'd it manage to scratch you? I hope you're up on your tetanus shot."
"Yeah, I'm fine." Danny brushes him off. "I'm up to date."
Still, Jason looks dubious. And yet still, he does not press.
At the same time, Jamie pales, trying to his best to hide the significant look he's giving Danny.
Danny's head tilts, brow furrowing as Jason leaves. The door closes. A second passes, two, ten. Then…
"Jason is the Red Hood." Jamie blurts out.
The proclamation feels like a blow to the head. "What?!" In the next second, Danny slams hands over his mouth, trying to muffle the shout. "What? How? Are you sure?"
The clone nods vigorously. "Sure. He noticed this ankle isn't twisted." He flexes the previously injured joint. "Tried to look like he didn't, like he wasn't surprised. But saw that he was."
"Okay." Danny takes a breath, trying to calm the flash of panic. "That doesn't necessarily mean anything."
But…. The way Jason asked about the cut on his arm, the way he reacted to the answer was strange and…
"Jason's death aura…." Jamie cuts in. "It feels the same as Hood's."
The older boy's protesting mouth snaps shut. "It… does." He feels very foolish right now. "How… how didn't I notice?"
His twin frowns biting his lip. "It was stronger yesterday when he was fighting." He raises his hands to his head, tugging at his hair. "Why would we think our normal neighbor's a vigilante?"
That is a fair point. He has had no reason to suspect before now. Except Jason always disappeared to work during rogue attacks. And Damian climbed up the fire escape and threatened to stab him. Is Jason's family the other Bats?
"He… he saw everything." Jamie stutters, cutting into Danny's thoughts. "Spectra and you as Phantom and…." His eyes flicker back to Danny's bandage. "Spectra's scratch." His eyes pop wide, fixing on Danny. "You told him we're related."
"Yes. I did." Now it's Danny's turn to bite his lip.
"Does he know about us being ghosts?" And finally, now a jolt of anxiety buzzes from his twin
"He might…" The older half ghost frowns. "We could confront him. If he doesn't know for sure now, he'll work it out-"
"No!" Jamie interrupts forcefully. "We can't… we can't tell him!"
"Jamie-"
"He might not know." The clone continues. "But we know his secret. We have the advantage. But… if he knows, he'll tell the other Bats. And they might kick us out and-"
"Jamie, It's okay." Danny places a hand on his twins'. This worryingly sounds like their conversation from last night. "They're not going to kick us out. Jason likes us. Besides, maybe they can help us, maybe better than the Meta Human Foundation can." He bits his lip, at the same time guilt pricks at his heart; with everything that happened last night, he forgot to tell Jamie about his talk with Duke.
"That… maybe that's true. Jason is nice; he cares about us." The younger boy vigorously shakes his head. "But… but…"
"But what?" Danny gently prods.
Jamie looks down, biting his lip in hesitation.
"I know that you're scared." Danny sighs. "I am too. But we can't do nothing. Either we confront Jason now, or he confronts us. Or knowing my luck, something happens and we don't have a choice but to tell him. It's better to do it now, on our terms." The older boy's brow furrow in gentle question. "Do you understand?"
"Ye…yes. But… we can't." Still, his twin insists. "Just… we can't."
"Jamie…" Danny sucks in a breath, feeling annoyance start to clash with his worry. "You can't keep-"
"I…I can't." Jamie interrupts, voice trembling with desperation. "I can't."
The older's eyes widen, any annoyance evaporating at that desperation, at the magnitude of it. It echoes back to just weeks ago, when Jamie plead that the twins having each other was not a lie. When his brother begged to be allowed to exist.
"Not… not ready." The clone continues. "I'm not… not ready for Jason to know the truth."
"Okay." Again, just like that, Danny gives. "Okay."
After everything — their fight last night, Spectra, Jamie finally gaining his own body – Jamie needs to lead. His twin needs to feel safe, stable, secure.
"We won't to go talk to him tonight. And I won't push you until you're ready."
Jamie lets out a breath, just a hint of relief. "Thanks."
"Not be fast." Danny points, giving his brother a serious, though still kind look. "We're not putting this off forever. What do you need to be ready to talk to Jason?"
The clone's frown deepens, shoulders rising. "Don't… don't know."
"Maybe we could practice? I could help you rehearse how you want to explain things." Danny offers. "Or you could write it down?"
Jamie perks up at that. "Like a letter?"
"Yeah. You could write what you want to tell Jason."
With a nod, the clone agrees.
The two settle for bed and again, Jamie lasts through the night.
In the morning, the twins head to the corner shop. Danny buys breakfast while Jamie picks out notebooks and pens. The older half ghost goes to work while the younger stays home.
"See you later." Danny waves, leaving his twin lying on the floor with his new writing supplies.
Stupid letter. The words occasionally echo across his link to Jamie, with twinges of annoyance.
The older half ghost returns home to find the apartment covered with balled up paper.
"It's too hard." Jamie groans, sinking his head against one last half-scratched sheet.
"You'll figure it out." Danny encourages. He reaches for a piece of paper, unballing it. "Maybe I can help-"
"Not yours." His twin sits up with a hiss. He swipes the paper out of Danny's hand.
"Alright." The older puts his hands up disarmingly.
Danny does not press, despite his worry. Instead… "Let's make some food. I bet you're starving. I definitely am."
"Hungry too." Jamie agrees with a nod.
The two put on music while cooking. Danny grabs a large pot and a box of pasta from the cabinets, setting the water to boil. Jamie finds the cutting board and knife to cut up carrots for a salad.
Danny hums along to the music, dropping the noodles into the boiling water. A shocked gasp sounds behind him, the clatter of a knife dropping.
"What happened?" Danny turns rapidly, anxious eyes on Jamie.
"It's fine." The clone cuts in quickly, covering his finger. "I'm fine."
"Did you cut yourself?" The older boy steps forward, reaching for the finger suspiciously cradled in Jamie's left hand.
"I'm fine." Again, the younger insists.
Still, with Danny's pleading look, Jamie reluctantly hands over the injured hand. Neon green wells on the middle finger.
Danny frowns. "Let's get this wrapped up."
He retrieves a bandage for Jamie, returning to the kitchen to find his twin washing the area before grabbing and holding a paper towel over it.
"Here you go." The older boy offers the bandage.
Jamie takes it, lifting the paper.
"Is that even a cut?" Danny chuckles to cut the tension, barely catching sight of the tiny break in the skin. He shakes his head amusedly. "We need to keep you away from knives."
The clone rolls his eyes. "Jamie is fine with knives."
The older half ghost's lips twitch into a frown. "You're doing it again."
"What?" Jamie's brow wrinkles, turning back to his cutting board.
"You used first person. 'I'm fine.' Then you went back to just saying Jamie."
"Yeah. So?" The younger boy shrugs, forcibly casual.
"So?" Danny furrows his brow at the question. "Jamie is you, not some…" He waves his hands vaguely, trying to put together the words. "Not some other person other person you're speaking for. You can use the first person."
There is a pause. Then… Jamie turns to looks at him, sighing. "It's not that easy. It's…it's..." The clone blows out a breath, shaking his head. "It's… Jamie is easy, farther away. I.. me is hard. It's close. It's… scary."
Danny's eyes soft, round with worry. "Why is it scary?"
Before Jamie can answer, the pasta is boiling over and the smoke alarm is going off. The conversation is lost in the bustle of opening the windows and salvaging dinner.
Later when Danny is taking out the trash, he sees Jason in the hall. The two meet eyes and the half ghost knows. Jason knows that he is the ghost boy from that night. Just the subtlest raise of the vigilante's eyebrow… does Jason know that the twins know about Red Hood as well?
"Danny, here." Jamie opens the door, holding out a tied-closed shopping bag. "You forgot the bathroom."
"Oh, thanks." Danny takes the bag.
A tentative look between his brother and their neighbor. Jamie's No is audible in his head, despite the clone's even expression.
With a sigh, the older half ghost walks to the stairs, passed a vaguely questioning looking Jason.
The encounters with the neighbor over the next few days are much the same, an awkward dance of who knows what truth and whether either will speak. Danny debates what he'll do if Jason finally presses the issue. At the same time, he tries his best to balance the need for action and for patience with his brother.
Another difficult conversation between the brothers and Jamie tentatively agrees to meet with someone from the Meta Human Foundation by the end of the next week. But stubbornly, on the question of confronting Jason…
"Not until the letter is done." Jamie crosses his arms petulantly.
Over the past several days, Jamie had continued trying to write his letter while Danny was at work. Their trashcan overflows with drafts, ink staining the clone's fingers.
"You could let me help." Danny again offers. "What are you trying to figure out how to say?"
"No." Again, Jamie refuses. "Can do it by myself."
As proud as he is with the first-person pronoun… The older half ghost sighs. "This isn't actually about getting the right words, is it?"
The clone averts his eyes, a green blush starting to rise.
"What about talking to Jason is worrying you?" Danny asks, leaning closer. "Is it a ghost thing?" He remembers Jamie's surprise and guilt when he realized that his original was human and he wasn't. The clone's humanity has grown a lot since then, even if he still bleeds green, but… "I don't care if you're more ghost than human. And I don't think Jason will either. With that death aura, I won't be surprised if he's a little ghostly himself."
"No, it's not that." Jamie shook his head, biting his lip.
Danny's brow furrows. "If it's not a ghost thing bothering you, then…is it a clone thing?"
A long, heavy pause. Jamie's fingers dig into the couch's arm rest… and the older half ghost suspects he hit the nail on the head.
"Jamie, listen to me." The older boy takes in a breath, letting earnestness fill his words. "If Jason has a problem with that, or any of the other Bats, I will personally beat them up for you. You're my family, no matter what and-"
"No. That's not it." Jamie interrupts, hissing through his teeth. "That's not…" Another hissing breath. "That's part of it. But Jamie isn't just some clone. There's… more. More history. More…" He shakes his head vigorously. "It doesn't matter."
Danny blinks. "Of course it matters."
"No, it doesn't." The clone's arm cross, turning away. "Don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Jamie-"
His brother's nostrils flare; for just a second, Danny wonders if he actually does see smoke. "Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. It."
Danny's own nostrils flare, wanting to return the sudden anger in kind but…. The image of opening that bathroom door to find Jamie gone hits him. Any response dies in his throat, replaced by a grieved, fearful thickness.
Ever since Jamie stabilized in his own body, they've been going in circles. His brother is fearful, closed off to him. And… and Danny doesn't know what to do. He wishes Jazz was here, that it was safe to call her. She would know to say, how to get the younger boy to open up.
The older half ghost heaves out a breath. Yet another reason they need to talk to Jason. With the Bats help, maybe they can find a way to safely talk to Jazz and Sam and Tucker. A familiar grief pricks him. He misses his friends and sister so much. And… the three don't even know about his new little brother. That will be an interesting conversation.
Danny rubs his brow, at a loss.
In the meantime, the clone goes back to his paper. More ink stains his fingers, this time green. After a moment, the boy hisses, the paper's edge raising a bead of ectoplasm on his thumb.
Dutifully, Danny rises for a bandage. Again, he helps his brother apply it.
Again, he wonders. What is he going to do?
Notes:
Rest assured, the confrontation with Jason is coming very soon! The build up just kept getting longer and longer so I decided to end the chapter here and put that in the next one. I hope you enjoyed!