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It had started out as a dare from his sister, to grow his hair into a mullet and see how long it took people to notice.
Him and Katie had always done shit like that, dared each other to do little specific things to see if people would notice, like nail polish or wearing their clothes backwards for a day. It kept life interesting when they were little, before Gotham got under their skin. Before he lost Katie and their family broke apart.
It was on their weekly zoom call when Maria, looking exhausted by college but so young and bright as she flourished in Metropolis, came up with it. He always teased her for jumping ship, but he understood. She wasn’t built for Gotham.
The rest of the family had clicked off, no longer a cacophony of staticky Spanish and gossip, just two siblings sitting in silence, both doing their own thing.
“I…I have a dare for you.” Maria looked hesitant, but hopeful as she peered through her bangs. She was eight when Katie died, but her and Emelio, the babies of the family, always laughed so hard at their prank wars. They always tried to copy them, stars in their eyes. She knew the wound she was prodding.
Daniel didn’t tear up, but his eyes slightly burned. He hadn’t heard that in a long time and and it made his heart hurt in a way that was as sad as it was sweet.
“Hit me.” He smiled, a snarky little grin that always used to make Katie throw things at him. (He still had a small scar from the remote she nailed him with once)
Maria cheered, briefly disappearing behind her background -a picture of Superman with a drawn on mustache- before reappearing with a maniacal grin. No matter how long she spent away, she would always be a Gothamite at heart, unhinged.
“I dare you to grow a mullet! My wager is a month before it’s noticed! That clock starts after it’s grown.” She crooned, jabbing her finger at the screen.
Daniel winced, touching his hair. He had his mama’s hair, dark and silky with a slight curl tamed by gel, cut regulation length. Still, a dare was a dare. It was tame compared to what Katie would come up with.
“Okay, if it takes longer I flip it. Think you’ll look good with a mullet you little goblin?”
Maria lost a little of her nerve before nodding. “Fair. Pleasure doing business with you.”
The moment passed and they quietly talked about the shows they watched and her classes before hanging up, her telling him to not get murdered by a serial killer and him flipping her off and telling her to not get abducted by aliens. He loved her, she tried to keep them all talking regularly despite the distance. Tried to keep Daniel in the loop despite him being the last in Gotham.
Fuck, now he really had to do this. If not to honour the binding of the dare, but to honour Katie. She’d love seeing that from wherever she was up there, laughing at his misery.
-
It started small. It’s easy to miss a haircut and tuck the extra hair into his cap. The others always teased him for wearing his service cap so much, so it wasn’t a chore to hide.
It got a bit harder when his hair was long enough to actually start the time limit. Maria and he did a zoom call as he gave himself a mullet, her cheering him on loud enough to have her neighbor bang on the wall. It looked pretty bad, but she laughed like she was a kid again, watching him add a freckle with a sharpie every time his mom turned her back while Katie repeatedly changed her hairstyle. The good days.
“Man bun!” Maria yelled, shaking her lap top like she was gripping him by the shoulders.
“I’d genuinely rather die.” He shut his laptop as she continued to yell, biting back a sigh at all the hair now littering his bathroom. The things you do for love and all that.
He did put his hair up in a small ponytail to keep it tucked under his hat, but a ponytail had dignity. Probably.
-
How specific had Maria been? Was it anybody noticed, or just his coworkers? Should he lie? He didn’t exactly want to explain to his little sister how weird his life had become.
When a cop hears a commotion at three in the morning they react, which meant grabbing his sidearm and flashlight before storming into the living room to see what the fuck the dog was freaking out about.
He shouldn’t really be surprised to find Batman standing in his living room with the window still open, staring with concern down at the puppy growling and biting his boot.
“What the fuck? What the actual fuck?!” Daniel wanted to shoot him just on principle, but he put the safety back on and tucked it back in his waistband like a good little cop.
“You have a dog?” The gruff voice of the vigilante was quiet as he tried to pull his boot back, pulling the dog with it. It was only a puppy, a black German shepherd no bigger than a stuffed animal. Bats could easily punt him, but Daniel was glad he didn’t. Then he really would have to shoot him.
“I foster. Now what the hell are you doing in my living room!” He crossed the room to shut the window before bugs could get in and turned on the light.
“I need your insight.” The black brick wall stared at him.
Why the hell did he love Gotham again? He bet this shit never happened in metropolis.
“I hate you. It’s three in the morning.” He kneeled to detach the dog from the creepy bat man. “Ace, let him go. You can’t eat him.” He eyed the man who woke him up. “Yet.”
Once Ace was safely shut in his room he crossed his arms and glared at the vigilante to get to the point.
Batman had gone to speak, but was now staring at him.
“What?” He looked down at himself, feeling a part of his soul die. He was wearing a tank top and the novelty Batman themed boxers his brother had bought him for Christmas. They were silk! Comfortable! He was going to burn them after tonight.
“Nice…Hair.”
Daniel blinked, staring at the creep before slowly feeling his hair. His mullet was a mess, sticking out in every direction from his sleep. He combed his fingers through it hastily while trying to force the warmth in his cheeks away. Logically there was no way Batman hadn’t noticed the boxers, but he’d take the escape.
“Thanks.” He winced, retreating into his room (and freeing the demon dog) to quickly wrestle on sweatpants and throw his mullet into a messy bun.
He went back into his living room, barely resisting the urge to take a picture, or have an existential crisis, as he saw Batman sitting on his ugly couch holding Ace, talking to the dog in his weird stilted way. He was half sure this guy was an alien sometimes.
He sat down on an opposite armchair, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and watching the dog chew on Batman’s gloves.
“Okay, now what the fuck did you wake me up for, this better be good.”
(It definitely wasn’t worth it. He did help Bats solve his problem but it definitely could have waited.)
-
Daniel had a love hate relationship with the mullet.
It shouldn’t look good, it really shouldn’t, but it almost did. He’d changed shampoos at Maria’s insistence and even tried conditioner, and god damn his hair was so soft and fluffy. He definitely was going to keep conditioning even after the mullet was put to rest. He felt cheated that he only discovered this now.
Maybe he only liked the mullet because it was private. He could, literally, let his hair down at home and feel like a proper Disney Princess while watching Netflix. An Alabaman Disney Princess, but still.
Even Maria had grudgingly told him it looked okay on him, though she still hated that ‘god awful mustache’ of his. He still couldn’t wait for the next week to pass. He had been wearing hats in public for a month and he was sick of it, even if November chill was a good excuse. He’d win, give it a few days to have its glory in public, and then he’d take it out back to shoot, so to speak.
-
It was easy to not tell his sister that Batman had noticed his mullet. It was unbelievable that the local cryptid appeared in his apartment to compliment his do. He was half sure it was a dream but the crime ring they had discussed was busted and he knew he was kidding himself. His life was just weird and Gordon’s promotion meant that Bats was his problem now.
He didn’t even hate the guy anymore, now that he was cleaning his act up, but it still wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have with Maria.
Yet somehow the next person to notice was even more unbelievable.
He had been relegated to guard duty for the council meetings now in effect. The mayor was still under heavy guard after the floods events and Bruce Wayne was said to be attending to manage his moneys involvement. It was nice to see him get out, he was always so pale and nervous.
Martinez didn’t mind guard duty. It let him shut off his brain for a while, to think on whatever cases he was assigned while keeping an eye out for suspicious individuals.
He jolted back into focus as the meeting adjourned, nodding at the other officers as he fell into step behind Bruce. They had relegated him to billionaire duty since Bruce seemed slightly less jumpy around him. He also had memorized the layout to help the poor man avoid the press. He had never met a man more terrified of people. He had even been asked to drive him back, since the mayor was still worried about Riddler goons going after him for surviving the attempt on his life.
It was silent as they entered the elevator, Bruce hunched in on himself and looking simultaneously like an attractive man and a wet cat. The duality of Bruce Wayne.
He was startled when the billionaire hesitantly reached over, grabbing the brim of his cap. It was different from his usual one, made for his dress blues.
Daniel tried not to think of a nervous cat hesitantly creeping forward as Bruce pulled off his cap slowly. It was such a bold move, very unlike the anxious billionaire Gotham knew. He was seeming a bit bolder these days now that he was helping with the rebuild, so maybe it was a natural progression.
He watched the man’s eyes widen a bit, almost awed as he stared at the tight little bun Daniel’s hair was in. (Screw Maria, she didn’t have to know.)
Daniel sighed, raising an eyebrow at the other man. Bruce had the decency to turn pink, but he was still staring as the doors opened.
“Never seen a mullet before Mr. Wayne?” He asked, pulling him along by his elbow until they were out of the elevator and in the parking garage. Thankfully it was devoid of paparazzi, he didn’t need his mullet on the front page for being this close to the Prince.
“No? I mean, yes, but…” Bruce made a vague gesture with his hands, looking frustrated.
Daniel laughed, pulling the hair from his bun to let it fall in all its layered fluffy glory. He hated the fact that the shampoo his sister recommended actually worked wonders.
“Well take a good look, I’m cutting it soon. It’s getting too long” He still had a week left, even though this interaction ruined his wager. Technically it ruined Maria’s too, but closest wins.
“No.” It was almost so quiet he barely heard it, but it was definitely there.
He paused as slid into the drivers seat, craning his neck to look at Bruce through the cage.
(He’d insisted on using his squad car, it both meant nobody would notice who he was driving and that he wouldn’t get stranded at the manor.)
“Huh?” His curls were still free, tickling his neck. It was a sensation he was growing used to.
Bruce stared back at him, completely frozen and looking like he wanted to hide.
“I think it looks good.” Bruce said quietly, looking away and refusing to meet his eyes. It was adorable.
Daniel bit back a snicker, tying his hair back up in a loose ponytail before starting to car. He hoped Bruce wouldn’t be so cagey the entire trip, but it would hardly surprise him.
He almost forgot Bruce was there as they drove, but the quiet hush of his voice reminded Daniel he had cargo.
“I was actually, uh, thinking about getting a dog… The manor is really empty, it’d be nice… Do you…know of any…dogs?” Bruce was fidgeting from what he could see through the rear view, cycling between staring at his hands and at Daniel.
Martinez was slightly off kilter from the abrupt topic but latched on. Maybe it was the volunteer in him, ready to try and convince people “I happen to be fostering a dog right now actually! It’s a puppy though, so you might want to look into getting an older dog. I know a great-“
“I’m sure he’s perfect.” Bruce cut him off, giving him a small smile.
That was how he ended up detouring to bring a billionaire to his shitty apartment and watching said billionaire drop to his knees to pet Ace. He talked to his quietly, and Ace didn’t even try to bite him! It was a match made in heaven, even if the bundle of energy was the opposite of Bruce in every way.
They came to a hasty agreement for Bruce to contact the shelter Ace was from before they completed their drive to the manor. Bruce seemed unbothered but the dog hair on his expensive suit, giving Daniel a smile that felt rare and precious as he said goodbye. Bruce definitely didn’t smile enough.
That night Martinez cuddled his foster dog for the final night and stared at his ceiling. His life was weird.
How did two of Gothams cryptids both see, and compliment, his mullet?! Who the hell even complimented a mullet? He did rock it, but it was the principle of the matter.
Come to think of it, why had Mr, Wayne taken off his cap at all? Sure, Bruce was a bit of a weirdo, but he usually stayed firmly in his bubble.
Also there was the weird coincidence of him mentioning a dog when they had never had a full conversation before. He hadn’t even said Ace was a boy, though that could have been a coincidence.
“Why didn’t you freak out? You hate strangers?” Daniel looked suspiciously as the puppy cuddled against his chest. Ace let out a soft yip and licked his collarbone. Ah, deflecting.
Bruce talked to Ace in a specific way too, low and quiet as he stroked his back, so different from the high pitched voices everyone used for puppies. It was the same way-
No. Fucking. Way.
God, he hated Gotham.
——————
He hated graveyards.
They were so desolate and depressing, rows of grey slabs on trimmed green grass. Katie would have hated it, blending in that much. She had always tried to bring colour to Gotham, ignoring the warnings about the danger of being noticed in a city like theirs.
Her tombstone was the same as ever, the paint from painted flowers chipping slightly. He’d need to touch them up when he had time, keep her grace vibrant. She would have preferred them to real flowers, she always got sad when they died.
“Oh boy manita, have I got a story for you.” He leaned against the stone with a tired sigh, hair loose around his shoulders, escaped from the beanie he’d thrown on.
He told her about the bat on his living room, the billionaire in the backseat, and how they were the same somehow. Even he didn’t quite understand it yet, but he knew deep down it was irrefutable. They had the same eyes and jaw for Christ’s sake, though Batman definitely wore lifts which was hilarious.
He told her about Ace, about him settling in to be the most spoiled dog in Gotham and sure to give Alfred hell. About how Ma was the first not cryptid to notice his hair on their weekly zoom, calling him out with stern ‘mijo’ and proceeding to chide him before saying he was still very handsome, how she’d laughed learning it was a dare. How she cried, telling them about what menaces he and Katie were, especially when they got their older brother to join in. They didn’t talk about Katie enough, and it was nice to reminisce.
He told her about how his fellow officers had teased him about regulation before a annoyed looking Gordon told him it was fine. He had a horrible theory Bruce had something to do with that.
“Maybe he has a mullet kink. Is that a thing?” He picked apart a blade of grass.
He could practically feel his sister beside him. She would probably snark that “No, he probably has a you kink.” And steal his arm to draw flowers on. Katie was always an optimist. He told her so, closing his eyes against the November chill.
“I wish you were here Kate, so you could bully me into asking out Bruce Wayne. You’d fucking hate the mullet.”
He left with the promise to return later with paint, a little lighter. Maybe he would keep the mullet for a bit, just in case it was a Wayne attractor.