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“9 million dollars!?!?”
Jason successfully dodged the flying frying pan, but did not succeed with the upcoming jacket. Luckily, it was just a jacket and not a meat hammer like the one Dick was holding right now, or else this particularly good-looking face would have been damned.
“Baby−”
And there went the meat hammer.
“Don’t you fucking dare “baby” me.” Dick swore, which was never a good sigh, and it was even worse when his face was a vivid red like right now. “9 million dollars, in cash, was handled to the Blüdhaven’s mayor last week, right out of one of your cases, right under my nose, without me having a fucking clue.”
They had been like this since the first moment Jason stepped a foot through their doorstep. Not a warm welcome home, but to be fair, this was all Jason’s fault right from the start.
It was when Dick was going for another object that his hands scrambled over on the kitchen island. Jason went over before his husband managed to fling another stupid thing at his head, grabbing onto his wrist without thinking, because he had wanted Dick to just stop moving and hear him out.
Thinking about it, after nearly 10 year in the vigilante business, being killed in an explosion and then digging his way up and back to life, and now leading an illegal organization that ran across the whole country, while being married to one of the most recognized and respected heroes of the cape community, after all of that, Jason thought he had grown smart enough to learn that one crucial fact, to never ever touch Dick when he was on fire like this.
Out of all the time in his life, not even once Jason had ever regretted giving Dick the ring he was wearing right now, that sweet knuckle-sized fireproof customized 18K black gold that Jason had slipped on that beautiful beautiful hand just a few years ago. No, never once in his life had Jason regretted giving Dick that ring, only until now, when he ate a mouthful of diamond-cutting-5-carat-Grandidierite along with the premium ‘17-years-crime-fighting-experience’ punch in full force.
Jason landed backwards down on the fur rug near their coffee table. Even when his jaw ached like hell and a part of his brain felt like it had been blown right out of his skull, Jason was still conscious enough to consider himself lucky that he hadn’t landed right on that fucking IKEA table. If he did, that would mean another punch coming up, and Jason was utterly unsure whether he could survive it or not.
Dick didn’t wait for him to get up. Still in pajamas, meaning those chocolate-stained sweats and Jason’s oversize sweater on him, he must have just gotten back from patrol, Jason could still smell the shampoo in his hair and his favorite sweet-scented shower lotion. He jumped right on Jason, knees caging his chest down on two sides, white knuckled grip on the collar of his shirt, and his eyes, Lord Jesus, the eyes that fucked Jason over and over every time they shined, there was hell fire burning in them. And Jason felt his soul being drowned in those eyes.
In another scene, with Dick’s ass pressing down on his groin like this, it might have turned into something much more fun and enjoyable. But for now, if Jason even tried to do something funny, it would be his head for their dog’s dinner tomorrow, no doubt.
“9 million dollars.” He repeated, like the number hadn’t carved itself into Jason’s brain already. “Right on the Blüd’s land, where I’ve stayed for years before I came back here for you. 3 million dollars of the Federal’s operation was damned. The Fed that is my intel, the Fed that is my friend, the Fed that Nightwing just paid a fucking visit to last Saturday afternoon on a Titans’ mission!”
If Jason hadn’t felt guilty before, which he had, deeply, he was certainly now.
“Dick…” He tried to touch Dick, but he flinched at the lightest contact of skin, which did nothing good for Jason’s throbbing heart right now.
His voice came out small this time, getting closer to a hitch of a breath as his head slowly dropped down to Jason’ chest. “Like it wasn’t enough, it has to be with Bruce. Bruce, out of all people.”
Okay, now that was how Dick successfully made Jason’s alter ego feel like it was nothing more than a piece of shit.
It had started simple, at first. Just a couple of deals with the casinos on the edge of the Upper West Side, then he followed the cash flow and one thing led to another, before Jason knew it, their leads had all ended in the Blüd.
To be fair, he should have predicted it; with that many cracks, that many connections that proceeded in such a short time, it more or less would have been a part of something to do with Blüdhaven, the Gambling Wonderland. Blaming himself now would do them no good, wouldn’t be able to fix that one politician that was desperate for money at the right time, for a right cause but from the wrong pocket, and one big ass 3 million dollar operation of the Feds to trace out the under-table money pipeline of the city.
Fuck the FBI, fuck Blüdhaven and its desperate attempts to change its main resource into something cleaner than casino businesses, and fuck Bruce too. Fuck Bruce for dropping out of nowhere with his stupid-ass “you can’t tell Dick about this” and his “emotion will be the obstacle to Dick’s judgment” bullshit.
Fuck all of this, fuck Batman for his manipulation tactic that wouldn’t have fully worked on him until he brought Dick in. If his marriage suffered after this, that 9 million dollars the Red Hood gang had poured into the Blüd’s mayor’s pocket would be all on Bruce, along with its up-to-the-sky interest rate.
Jason was part of the mafia, after all.
He touched Dick’s hair this time, luckily, Dick didn’t flinch back or bat his hand away.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “I’m sorry for keeping it from you.”
“You should be.” Dick spoke into his chest, voice muffled. “The Blüd was home to me, I fell in love there, had a business there, had one of my first ever missions as Robin there.”
Jason knew, of course he knew, keeping this deal from Dick had so far been one of his stupidest mistakes ever, but the thought of seeing Dick get his feelings hurt by something he didn’t do or by something he couldn’t predict, just crawled in Jason’s chest and made him do the things he knew he shouldn’t do.
“I know,” He patted Dick’s head, felt the soft curls tangle between his fingers. “I know I fucked up. I should have told you about this. I just… didn’t want you hurt.”
Because Dick always threw himself out for that city, the city that had never deserved his attention from the start, that grayish city that redefined his knowledge about this world, where it wasn’t just black and white anymore, where even the most righteous people committed wrong-doings just to buy groceries each week.
Jason didn’t want the most beautiful thing in his life that he had ever managed to keep, torture himself for some nothingness like this.
“I’m going to the Blüd tomorrow.” Dick said, exactly what Jason had desperately hoped he wouldn’t say.
“Dick−”
“No.” He cut in. “I’ll drop a call for Bruce tomorrow, give him a word or two in case he goes to confront you. I’ll let your men take me there, but five tops, no more.”
“Ten.”
“Seven. End of deal, either you agree to this, or I go by myself.”
He hated this, hated that he had no choice when he was the one who fucked things up like this. Dick knew he couldn’t go with him, at least not this suddenly. He still had the gang’s business to carry on, an unfinished case of some illegal slavery lines he was working on, and of fucking course with Dick dancing off to Blüdhaven like this, Jason had to stay back in Gotham to cover his tail in case their old man found out and went gaga.
The worst thing about this, was that he did this all to himself. If Jason had told Dick about the deal with Blüdhaven, about the Mayor’s dying need to recover a part of the coast for the industrial zone and his connection with the mobsters in the area and all over to Gotham, maybe things wouldn’t have been this bad.
Dick got up and looked down at him. Jason tried to reach out and pull him back down, but Dick refused to.
“Babe, if you’re going tomorrow…” He tried.
“No. I’m going to bed soon.” The look he gave Jason spoke of no humor. He was pissed, and Jason knew it.
Dick left the living room without further word, letting Jason lay there alone. He didn’t go for their usual bedroom though, Jason realized that when he popped himself up on one elbow just to look at Dick moving around as he stepped across Jason’s body, holding his laptop and other cords along with him to the guestroom at the end of the hall.
Jason swallowed as the door slammed shut, he kept staring at the white wooden door that he remembered painting by himself with Dick’s help. When they first moved in, that was a dream room for any guest, but over time, Jason let himself dream of the day teeny tiny feet came bouncing through that door.
Impossible, he had told himself that many, many times. Having kids with a life like this, being vigilantes and holding the weight of other people’s lives on their usual days, not being sure if they would always make it back, this wasn’t an ideal environment to raise children in. Jason knew that, and kept reminding himself of that, but a man could dream.
Around 8 in the morning, Jason heard Dick shuffle into their room. His feet completely soundless like they were hovering off the floor, but the clothes he was tucking inside the bag were much harder to silence. He was on the phone, texting something and moving constantly around in their room, he took a peek at Jason’s falsely still body before picking up a call, then closed the door.
Jason laid there, remembering how much he had struggled to go to sleep last night on the empty bed. After years of fooling around, and now being married, Jason didn’t know when he had formed a habit of clinging onto Dick, spooning him tight into his chest and let the decent warmth and nice smell coo him to sleep. Not having his husband there, laying cozy and nice in his embrace, brought back bad memories that Jason still fought to forget.
When he got into their room, Dick was still on the phone, halfway through fully buttoning his shirt.
“No, I don’t need a tail.” He frowned while talking, eyes moved to meet Jason and recognize his appearance. “I have taken enough of your troublesome bullshit, okay? I don’t want your fingers in this, neither do I need your permission to sign myself onto this case.”
He was speaking with Bruce, no doubt. The old man always knew how to bring out the worst parts of Dick’s temper.
“The Blüd was my city 6 years ago, and it’s still my city now. I have friends there, connection, villains that I have made deals with. I know how to handle the case on my own, I know how to keep my emotions separate from the mission, I know how to wrap everything up to an end without help from some big guys from the JL, even when your eagerness to lecture others begs to differ.”
Dick wrung his tie around his neck, hurting himself accidently while the anger took the best of him. Jason moved over to help him, frowning lightly when he saw the tie did leave some red marks, even though they faded away after seconds. He didn’t know what Bruce had said, must be something stupid, of course, for Dick to hang up the phone after a short cold-toned “Goodbye, Bruce”.
“Does he know?” He asked.
“Not yet, but he’ll figure it out, eventually. For now, the only thing he must know for sure is that I’m pissed.” Dick spat, eyes looking away as he buttoned his sleeves. His lips were doing that thing again, when he was angry the fat upper meat tended to curl up and slightly lean a little to one side.
“When do you leave?”
Dick checked his watch. “In thirty minutes.” He pouted. “Shit, I haven’t had breakfast yet. Do you want anything?”
Jason smiled and rubbed the skin around Dick’s neck, fingers dipped just slightly down below the white collar. He knew Dick was still angry at him, his tone had spoken much so far, but it didn’t stop him from caring. “We won’t make it. How about you tell my men to pick you up at the Belly’s? I can get dressed in five while you finish packing, then we head out for some coffee and bagels.”
His hands dropped down to take Dick’s in. He stepped closer to feel Dick’s warmth, one that his body had missed last night. Dick felt nice against his still naked chest, even through a layer of fine fabric shirt. He smelled nice, clean and fresh, Jason wanted to kiss him badly, but wasn’t sure if he was allowed to. His jaw still ached from last night, and he surely couldn’t bear watching Dick deny him now.
“Hmm, that sounds nice.” Dick’s lips curled into a soft smile. He held Jason’s hands back, the little movement released the bruising grip around his lungs that had formed the moment he saw Dick grunting into the phone.
He grabbed Jason’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Their lips nipped at each other’s for a while, lingering for some more even when they had pulled apart. The kiss ended quicker than Jason wanted, but he was still glad that he had gotten one.
Dick moved his fingers to the bruise beneath his jaw, slightly grazing the red scratch on top of the dark purple skin that the giant blue stone of his ring had left behind. “Does it still hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t.” It still hurt like hell, but Jason couldn’t dare to weigh more of the guilt on Dick, since he had been on full stress right in the morning. “It’s my fault anyway.” He admitted heartfully.
“I still shouldn’t have punched you like that. I’m sorry.” Dick shook his head, frowning again. Jason just wanted him to stop looking so tense.
“Hey, don’t say that.” He caught Dick’s hand in his, pulling the limb up to place a kiss on his knuckles.
Dick pulled his hand away, shying from his affection like it was hurting him. A jolt of pain tickled Jason’s chest as he watched Dick look aside, mind far away from his reach. It stung, sometimes, knowing that part of Dick had always been sheathed away after layers of lies and performing for others’ sake, now revealed to him, unmasked and naked, with bruises and scars Jason wished he could undo. The Dick a few years ago wouldn’t have punched him, the Dick a few years ago would have smiled and acted like nothing was on his mind right now. The Dick from the past would have thrown fake smiles and false laughs, pushing and hiding and covering himself up, treating Jason like he was some kind of ticking bomb, one wrong move then bam, there went everything.
It was fine if a little affection was too much for Dick right now, it was fine if his head was filled with thoughts about a certain city that he held no debt for, and a certain case that he shouldn’t have gotten involved in in the first place. It was fine, Jason would rather have Dick shying away and awkwardly dealing with his overloaded emotions honestly and nakedly, than him faking.
Jason even found it endearing, somehow.
“We better hurry up.”
He stole a kiss on Dick’s cheek anyway, even when his husband groaned out in annoyance. But Jason knew, when he turned his back and headed to the bathroom that Dick was standing there, touching his burning cheek, smiling.
The cashier smiled when she saw them enter the shop.
“Morning, J. What special event do I get to see you here with your lovely husband?” She smiled, already filling in his usual order.
“Morning to you too, Vi. And a double cream latte for him, please.”
Dick was still on the phone, warming up some of his old connections with the Feds as Nightwing. The agent must be desperate for some help after the two cases of hot cash Jason had lent the mayor of Blüdhaven. Jason ordered their meals and was being extra careful to tell the barista to fill their order as takeaway, in case they didn’t have enough time.
“I just texted Jefferson and told him to delay the ride about 15 minutes. We’ve got plenty of time now, no need to rush.” Dick smiled and nodded his greeting to Violet. He shut off his phone then gave Jason a small peck on the lips. “I’ll go get a table.”
Jason couldn’t hold his smile back as he watched Dick walk away, completely aware of how the whole shop was staring after his husband and the rhythmic sway of his hips. The walk from their place to the shop had done Dick a great deal to ease his mind. He was back to that kissable clingy Dick Grayson Jason loved to deal with.
“You’re one lucky man, J.” Violet smirked as she hunched over the counter, staring shamelessly at Dick’s ass when he bent over to move the chair out of his way. “I only saw him a couple of times before, but damn, that’s not an easy face to forget.”
No, not at all.
Jason knew a good part of this shop was staring at Dick now, staring at his beautiful husband sitting there, next to the window, smiling lightly toward him when he caught Jason watching. He hung his coat on the back of the chair, showing off that navy button-up shirt that brought out his blue eyes and hugged his body so perfectly Jason could literally imagine every curl and contour. There were very few men Jason knew who could rock navy blue, and Dick was one of them.
Jason suddenly felt so full of himself when his eyes moved to the ring that sat nicely on Dick’s finger. The ring that showed his possession, his victory, his warning out to everyone, a clear sign for even the biggest idiot to see, that Dick was taken, and was taken by a powerful person they should not mess with.
“So what happened to your face?” Violet asked when she came back with his order.
“He punched me.” Jason answered casually, still a little bit too dazed by the sight of Dick so far from him.
Violet just huffed and pushed the tray toward him. “If it’s possible, I like even him better now.”
Dick had pulled out a tablet by the time Jason came to their table. He chuckled when Jason placed a kiss on his hair, knowing too well he was doing that purposefully for everyone in the shop to see.
“Am I going to see pictures of us all over the social media in 5 minutes, Jay?”
“Hmm, depends on what kind of picture you want to see.”
He received a swat to the head for that, couldn’t help but tease Dick some more as he dipped down and kissed his cheek. He heard a camera shutter behind them but couldn’t care less. Dick shoved a bagel into his mouth to stop him from harassing him more right in public.
“So, I found a link.” His voice suddenly dropped, and that was enough of a cue for Jason to know Dick was full on business now. “I connected with some of my old connection, some of them do have quite a standing in the casino business. They’ve been dropping hints for me all morning, saying the Mayor is actually into something with raw fuels under the ground of the Blüd.”
“So he decided to clear the coast, make room for some heavy work there.” Jason chewed on his bagel and took a quick glance at Dick’s tablet. “I see, so the area is basically deserted. He’s starting all over with bare fucking hands, no wonder he needs that much money. But why now?”
“Here.” Dick opened another tab for him, fingers lightly dusted with powdered sugar that Jason held back the urge to lick clean. “You see the news? There has been a drastic change in the chain of some federal agencies. Some go up, and some go home.”
“And the ones who go home happens to be the ones that were benefited from the Blüd’s colorful history of money laundering.”
Jason had pretty much figured out the whole picture out when all his leads ended at the Blüd. He just didn’t know the why in all the what why and when’s. He had sniffed out something wrong in this when suddenly all the gang leaders he knew on the map knew something about a certain politician all the way in Blüdhaven’s ground. Investing into this case turned out to be quite a bright idea right from the beginning like he had calculated, well, except for the part in it that made Dick go nuts and punch him in the face. Now that Jason not only got to the top knot of the whole web of Blüdhaven’s underground connections, but other cities too, 9 million that seemed like a big fucking fortune to most people turned out to be a small but surprisingly beneficial investment to Jason compared to what he could get back. Now that he got his share on most parts of the city, owned the control to barge through every neighborhood door and demand his rights at any time, plus, he got the front seat for some internal links and information to work for, which benefited both him and Dick.
Two birds, one stone.
“I called one of my old contacts. He said the Feds hadn’t been anxious to start the investigation right from the start, no one wanted any cake when it had something to do with politicians. But some guys were stubborn and stuck to it anyway. Now things blew up since the trap they set for the Mayor didn’t work, since you waltzed in with your massive reputation and massive cases of fresh cash. So now they’ve dropped the case completely, two good agents were fired.”
“So you’re heading to the Mayor.”
Dick didn’t answer, just quirked one eyebrow and bit into his bagel. Jason took it as a confirmation. He knew how his husband worked, Dick would go to the Mayor first, try to convince him to reconsider the money Jason had generously offered him, try to push him back onto the right path if he was even on one from the beginning.
How much of an archangel Dick Grayson was, this world would never deserve him.
“How much time do you have left?”
Dick glanced down at his watch, brows arching. “13 minutes. Is there something wrong?”
Dick looked good like this, sipping his coffee while his eyes focused on work, the ring shining brightly on his finger, glowing with the same blue glitter his eyes possessed. Nightwing, vigilante god, and Dick Grayson-Todd, a godly human being. His husband.
His fucking beautiful husband.
“You’re staring.” Dick stated, eyes still on the tablet, but Jason could see the corner of his lips quirk up.
“We have 13 minutes.” Jason repeated.
“Now we have 12.”
“Still enough.” Jason deadpanned.
And that, that made Dick rip his gaze away from the tablet and back to him. He stayed silent, staring at Jason with those glassy eyes that sucked the living soul out of anyone who got caught in them. His face was completely blank, making it almost impossible to detect what was running through his mind now. Jason hoped his options wouldn’t land on beating the shit out of Jason again.
Luckily for him, and the ‘little him’, Dick’s fingers left the keyboard, crawled up and grabbed on the edge of the tablet, one by one, so slowly and gracefully like a spider waiting for its prey, and flipped the device down. That ghost of a smirk on his lips widened, and Jason, Jason felt like he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Bathroom.”
He said, short and simple, and left the table.
He rounded through the bar and gave Violet a quick “back me up.” then slipped into the bathroom. Dick didn’t take long to tag along. When his figure managed to get out of open sight, Jason grabbed onto the front of his shirt, pulling so hard and fast Dick’s legs tripped over each other. Jason caught his fall, with both his body and his lips, eating out his mouth like he was starving, hands running down his ass and try to haul him up and off his feet. Dick stayed stubbornly, growling something non-English and pulled on the shoulder of his jacket. He hiked one leg up around him, pulling their bodies flush together.
Jason took the whole of Dick’s weight in one hand, felt his other leg dangling off the ground as Jason carried him up and strained his own neck to keep their mouths sealed together. His legs walked them to one stall, not like there were much in this little coffee shop. He kicked the toilet lid down with eyes still shut, then sat right down with Dick’s legs curling tight around his waist.
Dick pulled apart to gasp for air, face flushed a deep shade of red and faded orange tan. If given permission, Jason wouldn’t mind spending all day licking and kissing on that skin.
“Turn around.” He ordered, instead. Dick quirked his eyebrows, making Jason realize his mistake and blush heavily. “I’m sorry. Could you turn around, please?”
The cocky smirk was back on Dick’s pretty fat lips again. God, Jason wanted to bite and suck on them until they were red and shiny and plump and unable to laugh at his weakness again. Dick got up and off him, making them both groan at the sudden loss of warmth. But then he sat back down with his back glued to Jason’s chest, his ass pressing on the bulge of Jason’s pants. He grunted and moaned like a half-dead animal when Dick rubbed his ass a little too harshly down on his erection, feeling like he could come undone just like this.
“Baby…” He mused and ran his hands through the crack between Dick’s shirt’s buttons, felt his heated skin and his perked nipples. He kissed his neck as Dick twisted and moaned when his rough fingers flicked the hard nipples.
Dick slapped a hand over his mouth when Jason wormed a hand down lower to pop the button of his skinny jean open, then jammed right down to grab onto his member. Jason gave it a few jerks, since they didn’t have much time, and quickly went even further back until the tips of his fingers find the twitching entrance.
“Oh god.” Dick gasped when he felt two fingers go in, fast and brutal while still being sweet and gentle.
“Don’t call for god,” Jason retreated the other hand back to zip off his own pants. “Call my name.”
He crashed their mouths together again, already pulling his pants down and lining up. Dick sounded like a dream when he went in, and he felt like a dream too, hot and tight and perfect. It still felt like the first time every time they did it, and it still hit Jason just as hard when realizing Dick was his just as much as he was Dick’s now.
“Jay…” Dick whispered into his mouth. Jason didn’t dare to look into his eyes, scared that he might get lost in them.
“So good for me,” He kissed his neck. “So perfect for me.” His hips thrust frantically, his hand laid out, spread out on Dick’s stomach to push him back to take it all. “God, I love you.”
Last night was horrible, without Dick there, the bed felt empty, the sheet felt cold and the night just seemed endless. He had gone out around 4 AM, tiptoeing to the guest bedroom door where Dick stayed behind. He’d listened to the decent sound of his typing, had watched the light peek through the gape under the wooden door, had closed his eyes while hearing the change in Dick’s voice while he had been on the phone, knowing his husband must have realized he was lurking outside like a lost puppy behind the door. He was too shy to ask to come in, and Dick must have known it.
Being able to hold Dick like this, to feel every pulse and twitch of him like this, made Jason feel more alive than ever before.
The orgasm felt like it had been ripped out of Jason, like a part of his brain had been shot right through his dick too, embarrassingly faster than his normal stamina. It had been long since he let himself come before Dick, his motto: Always satisfy his husband first.
Dick had bitten his tie to muffle the noise, body shaking and squeezing tightly on Jason’s oversensitive dick. He made up for Dick by snaking his hand around, stroking him good while kissing the side of his reddened neck. He finished off quicker than Jason expected, whole body slumping back on him, breathing labored.
Dick felt nice, he had always felt nice, Jason wanted to embrace and keep him for himself for good.
“Come home soon,” He whispered, kissing Dick’s jaw lightly. “Come back to me soon, okay?”
Jason didn’t dare to think about the time Dick had gone away and didn’t come back, didn’t dare to remember the days he had spent scrambling up this whole universe looking for the one mistake he had let slip away.
Dick looked into his eyes like he understood what Jason was thinking about, cupping his face with gentle hands he couldn’t hold back but touching them too.
“I’ll come back as soon as possible.” He nipped at Jason’s lips, smiling softly. Jason followed his lead like flies after a fire, needing every contact he could make with Dick’s body before he went away for the business trip. He whined out loud when Dick pulled him back by the hair, eyes straining like he was deadly serious. “Will you be here, waiting for me?”
This, this was exactly what caused the start of Jason’s men’s bullshit gossip and harmless chit chat that he had sometimes unintentionally eavesdropped on: ‘Boss was weak for Blue’, ‘Blue was the dominant one’, ‘Blue was the one holding the leash’, ‘The guy calls and Boss would come kneeling’…
God, Jason hated them all for how damn right all of them were.
He kissed Dick’s lips then his nose, kissed his lids then his rosy cheek, felt his breath and smelled his scent, sweet and homie like frosted coconut.
“Always.”
When they got out and Jason walked Dick all the way to the cars, he didn’t forget to give his husband a deep goodbye kiss. He got back into the shop with Violet glaring at him. She grabbed him by the arm before he got to his table, poking an accusing finger at his chest.
“I know what you two did in there.” She hissed. “If I get fired for backing you up, you’re responsible.”
“Oh really? What did you do?” Jason smirked.
“Told everyone the room is out of service today, two paparazzi tried following you guys, so I saved the day.” She let go of Jason’s arm, and didn’t forget to shout after him before he got back to his table. “Seriously, if I get fired, I want a new job, with a big salary! I saw your ring, I saw Dick’s ring, I know you’re loaded!”
He was in the middle of a meeting when Dick called. When his phone rang, the whole table knew it was Dick, and the best thing was most of his men could do was chuckle out loud.
“Excuse me.”
He left the table and went to a faraway corner. The burner in his hand vibrated a decent rhythm, Dick’s name appeared on the screen, the only name that he saved in all of his phones, despite remembering perfectly every single number his husband used in contact.
“Hey.” He laughed into the phone, chest suddenly feeling a lot warmer.
“Hey.” Dick laughed back. “I’m not stopping you in the middle of something, am I?”
Dick always had the worst timing, most of the time when Dick called, Jason was in some serious work that would definitely piss his husband off if he ever knew.
“No, no you’re not.” He laughed. “So how have things gone so far? When will you be back?”
“Busy,” Dick sighed. “Terribly busy. Turns out most of government and private funds refused to pump money into the Mayor’s little project. He was at the end of the line when he pulled out his wide connection with the mafia, and of course all of the mafia, in the end, leads to you.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.” Jason basically had all the most wanted men in the range of the whole Western part of the States working deals for him now.
“I did some checking around the coast here, I don’t know who gave the Mayor false information about raw energy, but the only thing that I and your men managed to find around here are polluted pipes and casino trashes.”
“So he was fooled.”
“Yes, he was.” Dick’s voice suddenly dropped. “Jason, I think the Mayor is being played, by one of the gangs that he knew.”
“You think so?” Jason turned and noticed some of the guys were watching him, so he nodded them off and walked into another room, making sure to motion the guards to not let anyone follow him.
“I have a feeling.” Dick said, his voice sounded relaxed, proving he must be at the hotel and not out in the field. Something about acknowledging that fact made Jason’s whole body feel at ease. “Does the Red Hood gang do business on the Blüd ground?”
“Not much, I only sell drugs there, since the casinos are basically drug heaven, but nothing more. Why do you ask?”
“Jason, if the Red Hood gang does business here, there’s not much of a ground for other gangs. They’ve been here for ages, the Blüd is their neighborhood, and the casinos are the only place they can make a living out of. Now that you waltzed in, with that red helmet logo and your resources, your reputation, this is no longer a level playing field. The gangs are using the Mayor to gain back their control over the city, they were supposed to be the one who fund the coast program, not the Red Hood himself.”
“So there is something much bigger than just bribery and money laundering here.” If Dick was right, and he was normally right when it came to work like this, then Jason wanted his husband’s pretty hands out of this case as quickly as possible.
“Be careful, Jay. A single bee cannot kill you, but many may.”
“I know. Get home as soon as possible, I’ll tell my men to drive you back now. This thing is turning out to be fishier than I thought.”
“But work−”
“I don’t care. If you don’t come back now, I’ll go all the way there and get you myself. If you’re right about the gang, which I believe you are, then they’re holding a grudge against me now. No gangster dies without kicking, they’ll try something stupid, and I’m not gonna let them try that out on you.”
Jason had a bad feeling about this. The money transfer was made last week, that much time was long enough to come up with a stupid plan to sabotage the Red Hood’s business on the Blüd’s land. Like Jason wasn’t already busy enough, he had a slave line to deal with, a Valentine to prepare, a mess in China Town to clean, and some betrayer’s asses to kick around the Mexican border, and an old Bat breathing down his neck since Dick had gotten into a fight with the old man just yesterday morning.
Balancing his personal life and work life had not gone well lately.
“Just come home, baby. I saw you on the news today, which means the bad guys in Blüdhaven know you’re there too.”
“And you’re afraid they’ll get their hands on your trophy husband. I told you making it public was not a good idea!” Dick hissed. And fine, it was Jason’s stupid idea at the beginning. He had been on the way to being the giant in the illegal drug business at that time, had been on the way to dominate the whole underground system, and having Dick there, next to his side with his shiny cape, his sweet sweet ass swaying just for him, made Jason and others feel like he could conquer the world.
“You said it yourself, not me.” He said instead, already regretting not recording this call. It wasn’t like it was an everyday event his Dickiebird admitted he was Jason’s pretty trophy husband. “How about this, if you come back by tonight, I’ll take you out for a night, then we go back have some… uh, fun, then the next morning we can take care of the case together?”
“Are you trying to sway me, Mr. Big Bad Red Hood?” Dick’s voice sounded like butter sliding on a hot pan.
“Um, anything for you, Mrs. Big Bad Red Hood.”
“Did you just−”
“I have to go now, see you tonight!” Jason quickly shut off the line before Dick could yell at him, huffing out laughter on his own like a fool while holding the phone. He heard the sound of his guards chuckling behind his back, and let it go. They had gotten used to moments like this already, it wasn’t an unfamiliar sight having Nightwing storm onto the base like a wrecking tornado and whisk the Red Hood away by his ear, Jason’s reputation discarded like some useless trash.
By the time Jason was ready to finish up and go home, the Mayor called. Normally, when a partner contacted, his men would be the one who did all the talking, but for tonight, Jason picked up by himself.
“Mr. Mayor,” He spoke, didn’t take off the helmet to make sure the robotic voice came out correctly. “To do I own the pleasure of this call?”
“You know, I would have arranged a meeting, it would have been more… appropriate, but your partner said doing this on the phone would be enough.” The Mayor said, a long sigh came up behind, dragging behind was a minute of pure silence. “This city, it’s on its peak, dancing on the border of hopelessness with the trail of success right behind. I wanted to do something different, something to ensure its future, but everybody seems to be blinded by the flash of gold chips and gold tiled floor, they couldn’t care less. Such obstruction, this city is killing itself. I thought I could save it, thought you could save it, and you’ve been very generous so far. But I’m sorry, I can’t do this anymore.”
Well, it would be a lie if Jason said he didn’t predict this call ahead. “Are you saying you want to pull? Mr. Mayor, you know the price when flipping off the deal with a hoodlum like me. ”
The Mayor huffed. “With my history with your kind?! You would be surprised if I say I don’t have experience. Yes, I know the price, Mr. Hood, but my words stay intact. 9 million dollar had been transferred back into your account while we’re having this conversation. A fool, I might be, but no smuggler am I.”
“I see, so you’ve met my little bird.”
“He has his points, and he can be very convincing.” The Mayor didn’t sound very happy about that, but what man could possibly be happy when an outsider of his game suddenly rolled in and proved his faults and flaws. “I’m making my resignation public by tomorrow morning. Your stake in this land stays as our deal, my price, for breaking the contract.”
“Fair enough.” Jason liked this man. If in another scene, he might have done good for the city, for the whole system even. Given some time, maybe Jason would bring him onto the pay list. A good man like that, with values and guts to dip his fingers into the mud to clean, Jason knew his opportunity when it crossed his path.
“Be careful, Mr. Hood. Your partner is in the city, and all the big guys here are not very fond of you right now.”
That made something dropped in Jason’s stomach. He had thought about this, but now even the Mayor was giving him the warning, Jason was more anxious to get Dick back in Gotham’s land than ever.
“You’re a fine man, Mr. Mayor.” He hung up just like that, too caught up with the warning the man just gave him.
For now, he could only hope his reputation was enough to keep the gangs in the Blüd from doing something stupid.
When Dick called, Jason almost lost his shit. He dropped the phone and ducked down three times to pick it up, his men watched him in surprise when he took a second to calm his breathing before picking up.
“Are you home yet?” He got straight to the point.
“I’m in the car, on my way. Finding the replacement for the empty mayor’s seat was a little messier than I expected, but I managed.”
It was okay, Dick was okay. Jason thought for the best and let his mind wander with the scene of Dick sitting in their couch at home, wearing his two days off cleaning shirt and munching on a bowl of dry corn flake while waiting for Jason to get back. Yes, he desperately hoped that would be the case in the next 2 hours.
“You know what? How about I get us a table at our place next to the Clock Tower right about now?”
“Oh, you know how to be so smooth, Mr. Grayson-Todd.” Dick sounded delighted, which was the goal of Jason’s life.
“Anything for you, my lovely bird.”
“I like it when yo−”
There was a loud crash, Dick’s shout, then the line went dead.
“Babe?” Jason’s voice hitched, edging on nothingness as he slowly stared down at the screen, pitch black and reflecting back his paling face.
The search took longer than any of them desired. 3 hours of searching and the only thing they found was an abandoned van by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, its bits dangling off at the back rear, one signal light missing, showing Dick and Jason’s men must have given quite a fight before they were taken away.
By the time the accident hit 5 hours, Jason had managed to scare the whole of Gotham so much, all of his customers and dealers decided it would be for the best if business was to carry on another day. With the head of his security and armed force now occupied and untraceable along with Dick, his gang stopped all the contracts and scrap activities and pulled most of the force out to find Jason’s Bluebird.
When 6 hours passed by with no more information about the incident, Jason had 7 biggest crime lords of Blüdhaven’s land hooked up like butchered pigs down in the basement of his case. All refused to talk, and Jason made sure for them to understand how stupid of an idea it was to keep their mouths shut.
“You’re just a kid, trying to fit into the adult game.” One of them spat blood down near Jason’s boot. “The Blüd is our town, and no one touches our town.”
In another time, at another job, this stubbornness and amount of dignity might have impressed Jason. He had plans to pull his supplies back and leave the Blüd on its own, but now they had kidnapped Dick, Jason wanted to burn everything these bastards ever held dear.
“You can’t kill us. You’ll never get to see your precious boyfriend again, fag!”
One of them smirked. “He screamed. And we heard it all.”
Stupidity does take no obstacle to grow even in the harshest environments. Jason got up, and moved to the laid out tools on the nearby table. “I’ve wiped 12 mob bosses off Gotham in one night before, killing 7 more should be easy.”
They should have learned something, but no, men only draw tears when they see the coffin. Half of them started shouting and struggled with the hooks piercing through their forearms when Jason picked up a knife and walked back toward them.
“Charcuterie knife,” He said, turning the blade around and let the light shine on the smooth blade. “You know what this kind is specifically made for?”
Only silence greeted him, not like Jason was expecting something more. “Butchering.”
He motioned his head and one of the guards walked over, pulling the gag on the one closest to him, two of the thugs prepared a syringe and didn’t hesitate when plunging it in the victim in their hands. Others started shouting nonsense and whimpered broken word when 6 more of Jason’s guards marched over and took off their clothes, leaving them completely naked. Jason pulled a chair over, sat down just close enough to the first one in the roll and started running the blade over his exposed skin.
“Do you like steak?” Jason asked, waiving the knife around. “Personally, I’m not a big fan. But my husband, damn, he makes the best ones.” He watched the horror start to creep deeper in every one of his victims. “That’s right,” He pulled off the gloves and showed them the black gold ring, letting the tiny Painite stones on it glow underneath the light. “I’m fucking married.”
The crime boss in front of him looked like he was about to faint. But of course, Jason couldn’t have that happen, the drug his men gave him could keep a rhino conscious while its horn was being snipped off, the thing should do the trick for this poor bastard too.
“He always does the cooking, and he used to be terrible at it, singed my hair one time trying to make pasta, but he’s amazing now. Anyway, since he does all the cooking, I’m the one that does all the shopping.” Jason pulled his chair closer and tapped the blade on the thigh of the crime lord. “When I go to the butcher shop, and I want some nice steaks for dinner, I usually ask for the knuckle, a little bit chewier, a little bit harder, but definitely tasty and my style. You see, to get a nice knuckle out of the cow, the butcher has to separate the sirloin tip out of the bottom round of the cow. He first pokes the knife a few times on the meat.”
The blade start moving, dancing on tender skin and blood spurts out, splashing Jason’s face. “Then he flicks the knife to peel off the skin,” Jason did the same to the leg in front of him. “Then he starts pulling the cap so that the seams are all out and open.” Jason pulled the hunk of skin he had peeled off, more blood raining down to the floor. “Then the butcher will flick his knife with the first courter inch, and the top round will slowly peel away, and that fat in fashion will come right off.”
He overlooked every sob and cry that suddenly filled the room from the other captives, his own victim crying a river, saliva wetting the whole rag in his mouth. His eyes widened like they were about to pop out when Jason kept moving up the blade until a large chunk of meat fell down, resting on his bare hand. Jason’s guard stood by behind his back, hissing in disgust. “Pathetic.”
Jason huffed and patted his wet hand onto his man’s leg, then he turned back to the crime lord. “I’m getting my husband back.” He turned to the rest on the hooks. “Anyone else wanna join our dining table?”
Everyone started screaming.
“He’s in Municipal Sewage, he’s in Municipal Sewage! Restricted area, the one that’s drowning!”
Jason waved the knife at them. “See, it’s easy, right? We could have done this in a much less messy way.” He plunged the knife down to the other thigh, full force, no more politeness and grace as he cut down one line from top to the ankle, so deep the white bone was able to be seen. At this point, everybody screamed so loud his guards growled and went to put the gag on every one of them.
“What are you doing! I said the location. Let me out of here!”
Jason stood up and pulled the gag of the one he had been torturing down, listening to him wheezing, eyes barely open to look straight at him. Jason hooked his gloved fingers in that mouth, and worked the tongue out.
Before anyone could even realize what was happening, the tongue flopped down to the floor in the puddle of blood in one clean move of the knife. The sound of his victim came out crippled, and Jason just heard it all. He turned and went to the table, taking off the glove and received the hood back from his man.
“The jet is ready, the nearest team has been sent away. We’ll make it there in 10.”
Jason nodded and put the hood back on. Before he headed to the door, he put the knife into Trevor’s hand.
“You and the boys finish the job for me.”
They got the call before the jet managed to land. Jason almost missed it, was too caught up in thinking about Dick and analyzing how bad the situation could possibly get. It was only when somebody had gathered enough guts to raise their voice and snap Jason out of his own head, did he notice.
“B…Boss, it’s Blue. I don’t−I don’t think he’s gonna make it.”
In all the time Jason had gotten to know this man, even in the most difficult times, never once, he had ever heard Jefferson this shaken before. He had always seemed so cool-headed, ruthless, determined and so put together, Jason had immediately assigned him to lead Dick’s protection team after 2 years of working. Of course, Dick had always been a nut-cracker of this rusty community and it hadn’t taken him long to break Jefferson’s shell apart.
Hearing the man sound like this, made Jason’s whole system blank out.
He did more or less crash into the hospital on wobbly feet. There was that ring that constantly haunted his ears, leaving him completely deaf to the whole surrounding. His brain didn’t know its destination, there were so many rooms and he didn’t which one his husband was in, his body just moved on its own command and before he knew it, his men had already spread out to clear the path for him. Jefferson stumbled into his view out of nowhere, drenched in dark blood that clearly wasn’t his.
Jason couldn’t seem to find his breathing back when the man opened his hand up and showed him the black gold ring in his palm.
“Report.” Jason wheezed, voice bordering on nothingness.
“Mercenaries, quality ones. Ops force, Black Marine, Bull Dog tattoos, no tongues, only hand signals.” There was hints of a waver in Jefferson’s voice, despite his best attempt to sound as calm as possible. “We lost 2 men.”
Jason walked over to the glass that sectioned them from the surgery room, watching doctors hovering over his husband like he was an alien in the middle of an autopsy for the sake of science. The heart monitor was up there, showing the dangerously weak beating of Dick’s heart. As each beat came out further and further from each other, Jason felt his blood running colder.
“Bullet trace?”
“Negative. Plain heads, no slot, Soviet-made.” He walked over to stand next to Jason, a good part of the right side of his face bandaged and glued with a cooling pad. His eyes staring at Dick’s heart monitor, as if it was the only way they could trace his condition now that all the doctors kept running and jumping around his body. “They shot Bob in the head right in front of him, we lost Jackson on our way out.”
Jason knew what Jefferson was doing, and he was half irritated, half appreciative of it. Talking was the only way they could act and pretend like everyone in the opposite room was struggling to keep Dick alive. Jason valued the lack of necessary details in his man’s report. He said what he thought he should say, what he knew Jason could handle right now. If he started with Dicks’ persecution, Jason honestly didn’t know what he would do to everything related.
The surgery went on for another 3 hours, with surgeons coming in then out and more doctors and nurses kept coming through. Some of them managed to give Jason a few quick glances, but most of them just carried on ignoring him, despite the abundance of lethal weapons he carried on himself, and the guards hovering around in the hallway to the surgery room. The whole time, Jason found he couldn’t stop shaking and twitching at even the smallest movement next to him. His mind more or less blanked out. Never once, the denotation of time seemed that blurry but at the same time, painfully lucid like this. He felt every second drag by and at the same time, didn’t feel anything at all.
When the head surgeons marched out of the room with others still poking into Dick’s body, Jason shot up from his seat to face him, something he wouldn’t have done in any other circumstances.
The surgeon, he didn’t ask about his status to Dick, his guns, the guards, the current disgusting state of Jefferson because the man hadn’t changed nor even left this room since the moment he walked in here, fresh off of the crime scene; no, he just took a moment of looking down the floor then up to stare right at Jason, as if he had known Dick meant the whole world to Jason.
“We did… are doing our best, but two third of his lungs were crushed, a lot of damage was done to his windpipes, the bullets destroyed his liver and pierced through his shoulder blade, his thoracic was also seriously harmed, and…” He took a moment to decide whether he should give Jason more information or not. He decided not to. “We’re still trying but based on his condition now… for the best, please do prepare yourself.”
It felt like the air had gotten heavier, like the room was darker and his hearing was fading. The whole of Jason’s world ended and restarted with the left-over words of the surgeons before a nurse burst through the door, calling him back and then in seconds, the surgery rooms turned into a mess.
Surgeons jumping around, people yelling at each other, the monitor falling off its track and ringing an endless plain sound. The defibrillator was pulled out, and Jason felt the last strength of his body being pulled apart.
First shot, Dick’s chest jumped up. No response.
“Don’t do this…” Jason whispered, legs walking on their own to the glass that showed the reality of his nightmare. “Don’t do this to me.”
Second shot, harder. No response.
“Don’t do this to me, Dick.” He repeated. “Don’t−”
Third shot. Still no response.
Jason choked on his own airless lungs, eyes straining on Dick’s lifeless figure. Next to him, Jefferson went speechless, his face paled an unhealthy color, lips parted, eyes wide opened. Like sea fishes stuck on dry land, they both gasped in silence.
Fourth shot. The monitor suddenly jumped, one peep, then two, then three. Soon, many more appeared after, weak and so fragile, so slow, still, it was something.
Jefferson stumbled back, legs kicking onto each other until he slumped himself back to the seat at the end of the room. Jason just stood there, staring, feeling himself lose the sense of his fingers, listening to the rapid beats of his own heart.
Dick saved them, all of them. The captors planned to get rid of all of his guards the moment they successfully captured Dick, but somehow his husband was able to convince them otherwise, keeping as many people alive as possible. They tortured Dick to get some information about Jason’s operation, superheroes’ names, his identity, anything valuable.
Dick managed for 2 hours, watching one of Jason’s men get shot in the head, and losing a chunk of his left thigh before he broke his thumb, got rid of the cuff, and freed them all. They found out about the bombs when they had almost made it out, still, it was edging on ‘too late’. Dick did what he was taught to do, sacrifice. He pushed all of Jason’s men out so he took most of the blast.
“Don’t tell you, he told me that. But I don’t think anyone of us could live with ourselves if we don’t.” Jefferson spilled everything right after the doctors had stabilized Dick and transferred him into a private room. The scene at the surgery scared the man, turned him into an anxious fragile pack of meat. Watching Dick struggle to survive on the hospital bed, did horrific things Jefferson’s incredible stamina.
“We did all that we could possibly do, the rest is up to him.” The doctor said to Jason, privately as they stood next to Dick’s bed in the empty room. He looked tired, and Jason didn’t blame him. For someone who had spent 5 hours holding the scissors and battling Death to pull Jason’s husband back to life, he looked dashingly calm and put together. “I must warn you though,” He turned and looked at Dick, when his eyes returned to Jason, something changed. “The chance of full perception is very low.”
Jason swallowed when he took the news in. In the last 12 hours, every bit of information he had got seemed disturbingly hard to digest.
“What about recovery?” Jason tried to push back all the doubt because he knew his bird was strong, one of the strongest he had ever known. The only thing that kept any vigilante from breaking down was being stubborn, but right now, the change of attitude from the doctor proved he didn’t seem to welcome that stubbornness very well.
“Mr… whoever you are, it was a miracle that your… partner made it until now. He’s still fighting, even when you don’t realize it. Any minute now one of his blood vessels could burst or a lump might form and block all the transactions in his body. For the next 42 hours, his life is still very much a gamble. I suggest you pray more for his consciousness.” He cleared his throat and stared back at Dick, lowering his voice. “Once he passes the dangerous state, we’ll talk about such things as recovery.”
Jason appreciated it, appreciated that this man didn’t seem to fear Jason even when his men had covered the half of his hospital, and clearly he knew Jason wasn’t some man he would like to tangle with. Still, he stayed honest, and honesty meant the cruel reality.
“He can do it.” Jason muttered, not sure if it was for himself or the doctor anymore.
A week passed, and Jason lost count of the times he cried by Dick’s bed. The first two days, Dick’s pulse stayed unstable, on the third day blood clots formed, and by the fourth, another surgery was proceeded. Time passed by and dragged bits of Jason’s mental strength along with it. The news finally reached the family after a week, and Jason still beat himself up day by day when he realized none of the members blamed him for the state of Dick right now.
Jason neglected his duty as the head of the Red Hood gang, causing his right-hand man Trevor to bust himself working all night and day, but one thing he didn’t ignore, was hunting for the mercenary team that had captured Dick.
They were good, too good, still, it took Jason only 10 days to trace them down. Normally he would have let this go, mercs were just hired muscle, they did what they did for the money, and nothing personal. But this group was too practical and dangerous to be let out and free for more contracts, and Jason needed to send a message.
“This morning, 12 bodies were found hanging off the crane by the harbor of Blüdheaven. These bodies were found by a local fishmonger around 6:00 AM. The BPD has already taken some action but surprisingly, the CIA has also arrived and interfered. Information was leaked that all the victims were from a group of international criminals and they were all related to multiple national security casualties. By now the area of the crime scene has been restricted, but the words “Welcome to BloodHeaven” painted in red down the road right next to the crane, where the victims were hung, are easily detected from our helicopter. Even now, the local authorities give us no response or answer about the incident, but rumors are out that this incident is the result of the rivalry between different gangs that proceed illegal activities in Blüdhaven. If that is true, this could possibly be related to the killings of 9 of the biggest crime bosses of the city, that were found 2 weeks ago by−”
The screen flashes off, Tim turned to glare at him. “I was watching that.”
Jason threw the remote onto the couch nearby and set the grocery bags on the table. “He doesn’t need to hear shit like that.”
Dick was on the bed, still breathing silently, he had stayed like that for 20 days. Every morning flowers came in, and a couple times during the week, his board members would come by and visit, checking on Dick’s state. Mark’s kids even gave him cards, Jason tried not to act too emotional when his man’s little girl stood by Dick’s bed and said: “One day, I want to be as pretty as he is.” The guards changed their shifts every 13 hours, all dressed in civilian attire and armed like Delta force. Bruce dropped by whenever he could, which meant mostly by night. The family went by frequently enough that the guards had automatically let them in without words being exchanged.
“Damian said he’d drop by tonight on patrol.” Tim slumped deeper into the armchair, eyes staring at Dick’s face. He took a moment when Jason gave out no response. “How’s work?”
“Still fine.” Jason grunted and sipped on his coffee. He had returned to his job as a crime lord, but not so much as a vigilante. Fortunately, the message he sent in Blüdhaven had its power, and no one was giving the gang nor the two cities now fully in his command any trouble.
Tim looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. The silence was too suffocating it made even Jason want to start saying something. Yet, his mind couldn’t scramble out any subject, not about Steph when she was here literally yesterday, not about his married life since Steph hadn’t been about to shut up about it and how she had successfully convinced Tim to take her last name, he couldn’t even ask about Gotham since Jason knew more about it than anyone in the family with the underground network under his control.
Frustrated, he dumped himself down into the other armchair next to Dick’s bed, pulling back a fallen lock of hair out of his pale face.
“I hate him,” Tim suddenly said. “I hate him, for constantly doing this to us, and to himself.” He picked at his fingers, eyes looking down. Jason couldn’t see his face, and Tim wanted him not to see. “He always does this. Moving out, leaving for Spyral, coming back just to go to another city, finding his own team, fighting his own battles, and now this. It feels like he’s trying to leave us.”
“He’s not going anywhere.” Jason stepped in. He didn’t want to think about it, about Dick leaving them again, leaving him again. Tim turned to look at him, and Jason saw the tears before they left his brother’s eyes. “He loves us, Timbo. He’ll wake up.” Jason took Dick’s hand and tried to smile. “Right, baby?”
It was his turn to cry now, as tears rolled down, Jason watched the love of his life stay unresponsive, the sound of his weak heartbeat singing by the monitor nearby, ghosting over the room. He had to trust Dick, he told himself, had to have faith. He had told that to Tim, to Trevor, to Jefferson, to Mark’s kids and to Roy. Still, it was hard to stay strong and faithful when the nurses walked by every time with pitiful eyes, when the doctor’s only response was a headshake and little numbers of chances. It was hard to act like he wasn’t slowly breaking down, when days passed by and the only movement he could get from Dick’s body was the shallow rhythms of his chest, when nights went by and Jason caught Bruce staring down at Dick for hours like even his hope had started fading. It was hard, when every song Jason sang didn’t get cut in by another voice, when every joke he made didn’t have someone to laugh, when mornings started without welcome smiles, and nights ended without honeyed kisses.
“Jason,” Tim pulled him out of his own head. His brother bit on his lips, eyes red and puffy, the clear evidence that this was slowly killing all of them. His voice sounded broken, and so far away. “I don’t want another Christmas without him.”
Jason swallowed. His hands tightened on Dick’s.
“Don’t worry, Timmy” His eyes locked back on Dick. “He’s the original Wonder Boy.”
One week later, Dick woke up.
Two months later, Nightwing flew back in Gotham’s sky like he had never left.