To Know Love Is To Know Death

by FileN0tFound

Summary:

A soulmate is a promise of love. With 75% of the population receiving a soulmark at the age of 13, they know someone is out there for them.

But what happens when the colors of your soulmark become inversed? When you know your soulmate has died.

And what happens when they come back?

{Do Not Feed My Writing To AI. Do Not Repost My Writing To Other Sites.}

Notes:

• For chaWOOPa.

Chapter 1

Notes:

Please enjoy :)

Special thank you to DisillusionedDanny for beta reading!!

Past ages: Tim-3, Danny-4, Jason-5
Present ages: Tim-11, Danny-12, Jason-13

In a world filled with uncertainties, a soulmark was always a promise. Of course, not everyone had a soulmate, but 75% of people did.

For Danny and Tim, however, they didn’t care about soulmates. They knew that no matter what, they would end up together; even if they got soulmarks for other people. They have known each other for eight years now, how could they not be sure of it?

Or, well, as sure as an 11 and a 12-year-old can be about that sort of stuff. They were dating though, after all.

When little, 3-year-old Timmy Drake knocked on his door asking about a playdate, Danny was surprised, to say the least. The Drakes had always been rather reclusive people. That’s what his Mommy and Daddy always said anyway.

The two had hit it off swimmingly, and saw each other practically every day afterwards. Of course, being neighbors really helped a lot on that front; or as much as one can be neighbors when you live in Bristol and have acres of land for a yard.

That’s why when Danny’s Mom and Dad told him they’d be moving to nowhere Illinois, he was devastated. Apparently, they had cracked the code to making the Ghost Portal they had spent years theorizing about; and little Amity Park, Illinois - with its leylines and ambient ectoplasm - was the prime spot to make it.

Danny burst out of the house and ran to Drake Manor, to his boyfriend. 

“THEY’RE LEAVING! They’re le-leaving a-a-and they’re taking me awwwaay!” he cried out, sobbing into Tim’s arms.

“Danny?! Danny, Shooting Star, you need to breathe. Wha- who’s leaving? Who’s taking you away?”

“M-m-m…” Danny took a shaky breath, trying to collect himself enough to at least speak. “My p-parents. They said we’re m-moving to Illinois.” he finally muttered out, breaking as the last word left his lips. He didn’t want to leave Tim. he didn’t want to leave his Schedar.

“Danny, Danny look at me. Please, look at me.” Tim pleaded as he held his face, and how could Danny deny his beautiful boyfriend? “We will get through this! We will get through this and I will call you every day. I will come visit you every chance I get. You are my Shooting Star, Danny Fenton, and I will always love you!”

“A-and I love you too Schedar.” he hiccuped back.

“We will get through this.”

“We will get through this.”

Notes:

Schedar is the brightest star in the constellation Cassiopeia, commonly known for its representation of beauty.

Chapter 2

Notes:

This is a sadder chapter, so maybe grab some tissues :')
Ages: Tim-13, Danny-14, Jason-15

As it turns out, no communication was going in or coming out of Amity Park. It must have been an after-effect of the ‘leylines and ambient ectoplasm’ Danny was talking about.

So, Tim couldn’t call Danny. Or text, or email, or fax, or anything really. Not even social media came through. And all mail got sent back. No big deal, right? Right? He’d just have to visit Danny as much as he could.

Only, that never happened. His life kept getting busier, and he did find time to be able to travel halfway across the country, and he couldn’t find Amity Park.

It was almost as if the town didn’t exist. Not in Illinois, anyway. Tim found one in Oregon, but that wasn’t the one he was looking for. He didn’t even know approximately where in Illinois Amity Park was supposed to be.

Two years passed and Tim still had no luck in finding Danny. In July of that year, Tim got his soulmark; just like the other 75% of the population did on their 13th birthday.

He didn’t really care, he already made a promise to Danny. He was curious though. So, taking off his shirt and looking in the mirror, sure enough, there was the mark right by his heart.

And when Tim saw that it was a cluster of stars and planets tattooed upon his skin, he knew it was Danny who was his soulmate. He chuckled to himself, of course it was Danny, who else could it have been?

Danny was a year older than him, so he would’ve gotten his soulmark a year ago. He wondered what the mark representing him looked like by Danny’s heart. Wondered if he knew it was Tim’s mark. He couldn’t help but blush at the thought. If he had any doubt, it was all gone. He was determined to find Danny, his Shooting Star, his soulmate.

There was another mark by his heart though, that of a book. Now, it wasn’t unheard of for people to have multiple soulmates. Polyamory was a thing, after all. He didn’t know whose mark this was though.

Whosever this was, he wasn’t going to let them get between Danny and him. Did Danny also have this soulmark? Were they all three meant to be with each other? He guessed he’d have to find this mystery person as well.

---

Two months passed and Tim is certain he’s figured out who his other soulmate is.

One Jason Todd.

His neighbor, his idol.

He had been following Batman and his Robins for a couple years now. He knew the first Robin, Dick Grayson, was now being Nightwing across the country. But Jason Todd was the current Robin. The one he followed, whom he looked up to.

And with Jason’s love of literature and the warmth Tim would feel on the nights he followed him, he knew he was his other soulmate.

Knowing that Danny and Jason were his soulmates, that it was their marks tattooed by his heart, brought him comfort.

Today was like any other with his new routine. Tim would take off his shirt so he could see the soulmarks, the promises, that were upon his chest. Only this time, this time one of the marks looked different.

Today when Tim looked in the mirror, the colors of the stars and planets soulmark, Danny’s soulmark, had become inverse. A telltale sign that your soulmate has died.

Danny had died. Danny had died and Tim hadn’t even been able to find him. He had failed his promise to come find him, that everything would be ok.

Tim’s knees wavered as he collapsed to the floor sobbing. Danny was gone, his soulmate was dead, and he hadn’t even seen him in two years!

He had stayed in bed for days. It’s not like his parents were home anyway, and they had stopped hiring someone to look after Tim years ago.

How does someone cope with the loss of a soulmate?

---

Only one month passed when the book, Jason’s soulmark, had inverse coloring as well.

Rumors had spread that Robin was killed and Bruce Wayne had announced the passing of his second son.

Now Tim was truly alone.

Chapter 3

Notes:

Ages: Tim-15, Danny-16, Jason-17

Jason awoke to being replaced.

Batman had gotten a new Robin. At least, that’s what Talia had told him. And upon doing some research, she was fucking right.

Apparently, Batman - Bruce, Dad - had taken up Timothy Drake to be his new little protégé. Wasn’t that the neighbor kid? He was replaced by the goddamn neighbor.

It was bad enough that Bruce hadn’t saved him, that he had died wondering if he would even come for him. He supposes someone had to have at least come for his dead body, given the fact that Jason had to crawl his way out of his own grave.

But evidently, one dead Robin wasn’t enough. A 15-year-old, a kid , dying brutally didn’t stop him from just recruiting another. The kid was now 15 himself.

Well, if Bruce wasn’t gonna learn his lesson, he’d just have to teach it to him.

He’d wreck the kid, not enough to kill - no, not this time - but enough to where he’d never want to put the suit on again. Enough for Batman to never rope in another child as Robin, as a soldier .

At least, that had been the plan.

Jason had broken into Titans Tower to attack Timothy Drake while he was alone. And he had done so, or, mostly anyway.

The kid currently had a good amount of cuts and bruises, none fatal or too deep, but they had produced a decent amount of blood. He was now pinned to the floor too, unable to move. But what had Jason frozen was the Robin costume, or rather, what lied beneath it.

The suit had definitely seen better days, the fabric shredded in various places. Including the chest area, in which Jason saw something quite familiar.

He knew that soulmark, or, at least one of them. For Tim had two, not dissimilar to Jason’s. The marking of a cluster of planets and stars stared back at him. A marking that looked off due to its coloration becoming inverse two years ago. A month before Jason had died himself.

All he could do was look up at his replacement and try his damndest to formulate words. What the hell was going on?

He took off his helmet, he hadn’t been ready to reveal himself yet, but he needed to make sure his eyes weren’t playing fucked up tricks on him. Tim's eyes widened, no doubt with recognition.

“That marking…?” he finally managed to spit out.

“My soulmark…” Tim reached for it and gave Jason a somber smirk, “you have the same one, don’t you.”

It wasn’t a question, he knew. Jason gave a jerky nod, for that’s all he could do aside from letting the kid sit up in his confusion.

“His name was Danny Fenton. He actually used to live in the Walker Manor across the street, it was his mom’s parents’. We would spend practically every day with each other. He ended up moving away four years ago, I was never able to find him again. And then he… a-and then h-he…”

Tim took a shaky breath trying to ground himself, clearly on the verge of tears. And yet, all Jason could do was stare and listen with intent. Listen all about Danny Fenton, about his soulmate who had died before they ever got to meet.

“He was obsessed with space, wanted to become an astronaut. He constantly wore NASA apparel and his room was decked out with model space shuttles and glow-in-the-dark stars. Of course, he had to make sure the flimsy, plastic stars were arranged in a way that represented the constellations perfectly. I used to call him my Shooting Star. When this mark first appeared, I knew immediately that it was Danny’s.”

Tim’s hand moved away from the planets and stars, away from Danny’s inverse mark, and towards the other one. It… looked like a book.

“This one’s yours, Jason.” tears threatened to spill from Timothy’s face. “I had finally figured out it was yours, then… then two months later Danny’s mark became discolored. Yours followed… o-only a month l-la-ter.”

The tears were now silently streaming down Timothy’s face and all Jason could do was stare. The Pit Rage was now gone, replaced by sobering horror as realization crawled up his skin.

He finally mustered the will to do something , grabbing the hem of his kevlar torso piece. Dragging it off revealed his bare chest, accompanied by his two soulmarks. The discolored planets and stars and the camera. He reached for the latter, then looked back at Timothy. “Then is this…”

“That would be mine.” the kid stated with wide eyes. His expression softened as he gave a low chuckle. “Of course it would be a camera. Fitting, really. I had always wondered what it would be.” He reached out to touch it, only to hesitate and pull back slightly.

It finally hit Jason then. This was one of his soulmates. One who was still alive and here in front of him. And Jason was about to beat him to a pulp. Jason had beaten him up.

There was a long breath of silence.“I’m sorry.” Jason finally muttered. “I was so caught up in the Pit Rage, I hadn’t even realized what I was about to do. I came here to beat you within an inch of your life. To get revenge on Bruce and make you pay the price for something that ain’t your fault.”

He gasped in a shaky breath, needing a moment to gather his thoughts.

“I’m so sorry. I hurt you. I hurt my soulmate. I… How can I ever make it up to you?”

“Well…” Timothy answered with teary eyes and a hopeful smile. “Let’s just take it one step at a time. And eventually, we’ll work our way to its destined place.”

“So… friends?”

“Yeah, hahah, friends.”

Chapter 4

Notes:

Ages: Tim-21, Danny-22, Jason-23

Danny was on his way to a meeting.

A meeting with The Justice League that is, in the freaking Watchtower. Danny had been up there a few times now, but the view never got old, nor would it ever. With his Obsession of space, you could practically feel his core vibrating from a mile away when he was up there.

Danny, or rather Phantom,  had joined the Justice League Dark only three months prior due to his extensive knowledge of the Infinite Realms, his ability to handle any ghost problem, and he was a good heavy hitter when it came to combat. He had been ecstatic when he had gotten the invitation to join. So joyful to have not only received recognition, but to receive it from the Justice League and Justice League Dark themselves.

Today though, he was really only needed for some consultation stuff. He was given a brief summary of the situation and it didn’t seem too bad, just that they’d prefer his opinion on the matter. Hopefully, that would mean that the meeting wouldn’t take too long and he would have extra time to stargaze.

---

The meeting ran a little longer than he initially expected, but it wasn’t that bad. As soon as it was adjourned, Danny rushed to the nearest large viewing platform and just stared .

Space was always so gorgeous. He could sit here for days and never grow tired of it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it.” a voice cut through his daze, and only after it stopped that he realized his core had been purring. He had probably been sitting there for a good while too.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” he answered without looking away. “It truly is a sight to behold.”

There was a long note of silence and although not done directly, Danny could feel the stranger staring at him. He finally got irritated enough to rip his gaze from the window to give the guy a questioning look.

Upon getting a better look, he kinda recognized who he was. If Danny could recall correctly, it was one of the Bats. Red Robin, he thinks it was. Despite the domino mask covering Red Robin’s eyes, Danny could see the way they widened in what was probably shock. He didn’t think he had that much of a reputation here, did he?

“Danny?”

Danny froze. The voice was so quiet and apprehensive that if he didn’t have enhanced hearing he wouldn’t have heard it. And he had definitely heard his name. His real, secret identity name. A name no one here should know.

“H-how do you know my name?” he asked, taking a step back.

And instead of answering, the guy simply took off his domino mask. What Danny saw next shook him to his core. Standing in front of him was Timothy Dake. Timmy. His Schedar .

“You?”

“Me”

He couldn’t believe it. His old boyfriend and childhood friend was the Red Robin, and he was standing right in front of him. Tears welled in Danny’s eyes at the sight.

Danny couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He quickly closed the gap between them and SLAP . Danny struck his hand across Timothy’s face.

“ YOU LEFT ME! ” he shouted, the rage and despair clawing at his throat. Tears freely flowed out as he finally got to speak his mind after all these years. “For years, you knew I was alive. You knew I moved to Amity Park, Illinois. You said you would call me every day, visit when you could. But I never heard from you again.”

“Wha-?” Timothy tried to speak but Danny didn’t let him. He didn’t get to speak yet, not after what he did.

“I tried to visit you, but when I came to Gotham, you were no longer at the Manor. I tried calling you, texting you, writing letters, everything under the sun. They all went unanswered. It was supposed to be you and me forever. I got my soulmarks after a year of this. And when I saw the camera by my heart, I knew, I knew it was yours. And I held out hope. But that hope was never rewarded.”

“D-Danny. Shooting Star-”

“Don’t you ‘Shooting Star’ me!” he interrupted once again. He wasn’t going to let himself be gaslit by a deserter, soulmate or not. “You’re a piece of shit who couldn’t even let me know you didn’t want to talk to me anymore. Go fuck yourself!”

Danny turned to storm away, he wanted to be anywhere but here right now. But before he could do so fully, a strong hand gripped his arm firmly, stopping him.

“Danny, wait! I-I… At least let me explain. Please .”

He turned to face Timothy once more. He would hear the guy out, if only to listen to the lies he’ll spew for excuses.

“Danny I… I couldn’t find you. No matter how hard I tried, it was like you vanished. There was no trace of Amity Park, Illinois anywhere. Not on maps or online. I would send you messages, but they always had an error sending. Every letter I sent got returned to sender. All of your social media accounts disappeared.”

Tears were now falling like waterfalls down Timothy’s face as well. His voice cracking and becoming frantic the more he explained. He seemed so genuine that Danny didn’t know what to believe.

“I searched for two years.” Timothy continued, nearly breaking. “I had never given up on you. And when a soulmark of planets and stars appeared by my heart, I knew it was yours and it invigorated me to keep looking.”

Timothy took a moment to take a deep, shaky breath to steady himself. He then reached down and started striping himself of the top part of his Red Robin outfit.

“It was only two months later that your mark gained inverse coloring. And with my other soulmark discoloring only a month later… I-I broke apart.”

Sobs wracked the man's body and Danny could see him caressing the marks whose colors were sure enough inverse. One his, and the other a book matching the discolored one by his own heart. And Danny could tell Timothy was telling the truth, he could hear it in his heartbeat.

“I’m just…” Timothy started again after another long moment. “I’m just, really happy I get to see you again. Even if you are a ghost. It’s better than never seeing you again.”

Then it clicked. The other had really thought Danny was dead and gone. For years. Eight whole years! To lose not one, but both of your soulmates in such a short amount of time? Danny was broken after seeing one had died and that Timothy had never come back; he couldn’t imagine how Timothy must've felt.

He let the bright, white rings envelop him and transform him into his human form. Timothy deserved to know that truth at least. Timmy. His Schedar .

After being momentarily blinded, Tim looked back at Danny in shock. “Tim, I’m only half-ghost. I’m still half-human, half-alive. I… I didn’t know that my mark had become discolored too. I… I-I thought you didn’t care about me anymore. I…”

And Danny broke down sobbing too. He was surrounded by a familiar warmth, and although it was bigger than he remembered, he knew it was Tim hugging him.

“I never stopped caring about you,” Tim said, breaking the sob-ridden silence. “And I never stopped loving you, my Shooting Star.” Danny hugged his Schedar back, finally able to see him, talk to him, hold him once again.

“Danny, there’s something I need to tell you. Our other soulmate, the one whom the book represents, he’s not actually dead.” Danny pulled back with a jerk, he didn’t know if his heart could take any more jarring news. “Or rather, he’s not dead anymore. He was dead, but was resurrected. Death still lingers around him, not quite like you, but I’m guessing it’s similar.”

“Y-you’re telling me that… that he’s still alive? And… And that you know who he is?”

“Yes. His name is Jason Todd, and I know he’d be ecstatic to meet you. That is, if you’d like to. If you could ever forgive me.”

Danny tackled him with another hug, crying tears of joy. “Of course, you big dummy. I’ve already forgiven you. And I’d love to meet Jason.”

Danny couldn’t believe it, he’d finally have both of his soulmates in his life. It felt like a dream.

Notes:

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter due to the twist that Danny was actually angry >:)

Chapter 5

Notes:

Ages: Tim-21, Danny-22, Jason-23

Jason was, to say the least, very nervous. He was finally getting to meet Danny, his other soulmate, one he thought was dead and gone.

After that fateful day in Titans Tower where he attacked Timmer, the two had decided to start off as friends. That didn’t last long as they quickly found out they were truly made for each other and started dating only three weeks later. He fell hard for Tim, his Shutterbug.

And since that day six years ago, Tim had told him all about Danny. It always made his heart long for what was already gone. Or so he had thought.

Because Danny was alive! Well, half-alive, as he’s been told. But he’s really, actually about to meet him. Someone he’s fallen deeper in love with after every story Timmer told him.

Now here Jason was, pacing in the confines of Tim’s apartment waiting for the other two to get here. Apparently, Tim had reunited with Danny at the Watchtower a week ago because the latter had joined the fucking JLD. A position opened to him by his half-ghost status (not that they knew he was still half-human). Jason didn’t mind the fact that he was a ghost, really, he had his own rough run-ins with death after all. It just still pained him to know one of his soulmates had died.

His spiraling thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of the front door. Jason turned his head to see Tim enter first, followed by a familiar boy whom he’d only seen pictures of. As the door closed, he tore himself from his stupor and approached Danny.

He stood there and stared as he took in all of Danny. His soulmate, one he thought was dead and gone. But now he was really here, standing right in front of him. Jason felt the urge to touch the other, to make sure he was really, truly there, but he resisted. Instead, he reached out his hand for a handshake.

“Jason.”

“Danny.” the other said with a fond smile as he took his hand. Upon the touch, a touch that helped Jason confirm Danny’s physical presence, he felt his eyes glow a Lazarus green in instinct. He could feel the death radiating off of Danny. How he felt akin to the Lazarus Pits. And Danny’s glowed a Lazarus green of their own right back at him.

“I-I can’t believe you’re here. Tim has told me so much about you from when you were younger. I thought I… that I would never get to meet you. But here you are.” tears were streaming down Jason’s face, a rarity. But finally being united with someone who’s fated to be a part of you seemed like a good excuse for it. 

“Timmy’s told me a bit about you too. I’m… It’s really great to meet you finally. I guess even death couldn’t keep us apart.” Danny chuckled out. His laugh filled Jason’s ears and it was nasally, and slightly annoying, and beautiful. And then, Danny was crying too. “I finally get to be with my soulmates. I can finally feel complete.”

Jason enveloped Danny in an all-encompassing hug, holding him tight so that he may never lose him again. Tim quickly joined them. “You’re here now,” Jason told Danny, “We’re here now, and we’re never letting you go.”

Notes:

YIPPEE, they’re finally all together :)

Chapter 6: Epilogue

Notes:

Ages: Tim-23, Danny-24, Jason-25

Tim was practically sweating through his suit. He was so nervous, he couldn’t believe today was the day. He was practically vibrating with anxiety and anticipation.

He was finally getting married. After two wonderful years of all three of them being together, Jason, Danny, and him were finally getting wed.

Tim was in his own separate room, as were the others, waiting for the signal stating they were ready in the ceremony space. This was already far from a traditional wedding, so the throuple decided that all three of them would be walked down the aisle. Or rather, aisles, for they had made it so each of them would walk down a different aisle at the same time.

Danny would be walked down and handed off by his sister, Jazz. His parents were shit and he had changed his last name to Nightingale to get away from them in the first place. Jazz had basically raised him anyway, it was only right that it’d be her.

Jason had Roy to walk him down the aisle, who just so happened to also be his best man. Jason’s parents were definitely out of the picture and although mending, his relationship with Bruce was still spotty. Roy though, Roy was like an older brother to Jason.

As for Tim, he had asked Alfred to walk him. Jake and Janet Drake were long dead and gone. And even if they weren’t, it’s not like they really cared about Tim anyway. Alfred, on the other hand, had been the closest he had to a father figure. The two of them had grown close when he took up the robin mantle, so it seemed only right to ask him.

Finally, the time had come for them all to be walked down the aisles. As the music started and Tim walked out, he could see his soulmates in all their gorgeous glory.

Danny had on a sapphire blue suit that matched his eyes. It was accented with white lace skirt drapings that wrapped around a quarter of his waist as well as lace underneath the suit jacket. The suit had white stars embroidered into it.

Jason wore a more simplistic maroon suit with a black undershirt, but did opt-in to have book quotes subtly embroidered in the same color as the suit.

And Tim, he wore a more basic black suit with a cerulean blue undershirt to match his own eyes. But the hemming of the suit was done in white and depicted camera film.

His lovers, his boyfriends, his soon-to-be husbands were more beautiful than he could ever imagine. Tears started welling in his eyes and he could see tears already freely flowing down Jason’s face. Danny was schooling himself, but he could tell it was taking a lot of effort.

The wedding was a small affair, with only family and friends invited. None of them wanted the public and paparazzi swarming them that day, and only Tim was savvy with that sort of stuff anyway. No, today was their day. They could do an interview for a tabloid some other time.

The three of them had finally made it to the middle and were handed off by their respective escorts. Bruce started to officiate them and walked them through their vows all the way to the finale. They all had tears thoroughly streaming down their faces at this point.

“Do you, Daniel Nightingale, take Jason Todd and Timothy Drake to be your lawfully wedded husbands?”

“I do.”

“Do you, Jason Todd, take Daniel Nightingale and Timothy Drake to be your lawfully wedded husbands?”

“I do.”

“And do you, Timothy Drake, take Daniel Nightingale and Jason Todd to be your lawfully wedded husbands?”

“I do.”

“I pronounce you all, husbands. You may now kiss the grooms.”

Tim grabbed Danny, kissing him passionately and deeply for the first time as husbands. When they finished, Jason gently pried Tim and kissed him just as lovingly. Lastly, Jason and Danny kissed, sealing their lips as well as their vows. 

Tim watched his two soulmates and couldn’t be happier, they were married at last.

fin

Notes:

Some of the elements like Danny’s suit and the multi-aisle walk were actually all things I’ve envisioned for my own future wedding. Also, imma be honest, this chapter was gonna be longer but I was too lazy to write six personal vows.
Did y’all notice that their suits are supposed to match their respective soulmarks and that they kissed in the order they met?
Some things that were never said but I’d like to mention anyway. Danny’s nickname for Jason is Alnilam, the middle star of Orion’s belt, the constellation of a handsome man/hunter. Ancient Egyptians believed that Orion’s belt held the resting place of Osiris, god of the dead. Also, Dani was Danny’s ‘best man’.
Thank y’all for reading! :)