Chapter Text
Jason’s sitting at the little nook in the kitchen, chatting with Alfred when Dick shuffles into the kitchen. Jason takes a slow sip of his tea, watching Dick look around the kitchen and finally turn to look at Jason.
For a heartbeat, it’s like Dick sees right through Jason, his gaze glassy.
“Morning, Dick.” Jason tilts his mug towards Dick. “Where’s your shadow?”
Dick’s face pulls into a frown, his eyes starting to lose that hue.
“Wally.” Jason supplies after a moment. For the last two weeks, wherever Dick has gone, Wally has been trailing after him. Not that anyone in the family has really minded. This week, Dick has finally started to move around on his own, talking to everyone around the house and being able to stay awake for hours at a time instead of minutes. The conversations that Dick keeps aren’t always the most linear, jumping between sets of memories still, but they’ve slowly been becoming more coherent.
Blinking a few times, Dick smiles, “Oh, he, uh, went to see,” Dick scratches his forehead, “uh bear? No, uh, Barry. Yeah, Barry.”
Jason nods once, gesturing towards the seat across from him. Slowly, Dick takes the seat, sitting down clumsily. Jason watches Dick closely.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” Jason asks, gesturing to his own glass.
Dick rubs his face, and asks hopeful, “Coffee?”
Jason laughs, “Nope, I’m not facing the wrath of Alfred. You get tea, water, or juice.”
Dick groans, “Ugh, water.”
“Don’t pout. It doesn’t look good on you.” Jason deadpans, standing to grab Dick a glass of water.
Once the glass of water is sitting in front of Dick, he runs a finger along the edge. Jason readjusts in his seat across from him, staying silent, drinking his tea.
After taking a sip of water, Dick sets it down and looks Jason up and down. Jason raises an eyebrow. “Need something?”
“Which one of us is older now?” Dick asks, his head cocking to the side. He bites at his lip, thinking.
Jason frowns, leaning back. His face scrunches while he starts thinking. “Uh, well, like actual birthdate, obviously you,” Jason gestures at Dick who nods in agreement. “But, physically, I think there is some math to do here.” Jason points to Dick and taps the table, standing up. “Hold up, I’ll be right back.”
Dick nods and looks out the window. He watches the morning light, hitting the hills of the manor’s land and the trees moving slightly with the wind.
“Okay, I’ve got it.” Jason announces as he walks back into the kitchen. He waves a notebook into the air. He drops the notebook on the table with a plop . He slides back into his seat. “Let’s do this math.”
Jason makes two lines on the notebook paper, writing a D above the top one and a J above the bottom one. “Your timeline is more linear than mine, I think. So you were 19, closer to 20. You went back 9 years to be 10 years old, since then 6 years have passed. And then your body was hijacked to be back to 19.” Jason waves his pencil at Dick. Then he points it at himself. “Me on the other hand,” Jason starts to draw on his timeline. “I died at a fresh 14. I was dead, like six months or some shit according to Talia. Then she stuck me in some status pod thing for like a few more months, where I shouldn’t have aged. When she finally took me out and threw me in the pit, it sent my body back to where it was last actually alive. Honestly, not sure.”
Jason chews at the end of his pencil, thinking. “So, in the last seven years, I spent about a year not aging, which means I aged five years ish , which makes me 19 as well. But, if we take into account that my birthday is in August and yours is in March and right now is January, your birthday is closer.” Jason puts the pencil down and stares at Dick. “We are going to stick with you being five months older than me.”
There is a moment of silence as Jason finishes his train of thought, tilting the paper towards Dick to see better. Dick runs a finger across the paper and then looks up, giving Jason a goofy grin. “I’m okay with being the older brother.”
Jason rolls his eyes, grabbing the paper back. “Good, cuz it sounds like shit ton of work that I don’t need.” Jason gives Dick a serious stare. “Don’t let that think that I won’t put Wally through the ringer.”
Dick smirks, picking his water back up. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
The two go back to sitting in a comfortable silence. Jason grabs a book off the table and slides the notebook to the side of the table. As Jason starts reading, he sees from the corner of his eyes as Dick grabs the paper and slides it over to himself, flipping it to a blank page. Dick starts doodling. Jason gives it a half glance before putting his attention back on his book.
“What are you two doing?” Bruce asks the pair, as he walks into the kitchen, his hair disheveled. Jason snorts as Bruce goes over to the cupboards and gets himself a cup of coffee. Bruce leans against the island, elbows on the counter as he takes the first sip of his coffee, closing his eyes. Jason waits a moment to see if Dick will answer Bruce, but giving Dick another look, his brother is still doodling in the notebook, that faraway look back in his eyes.
Jason sighs. “We did the math on who’s older.” Bruce raises an eyebrow. Jason knocks his foot against Dick’s leg, startling his brother. Dick sits up straight, dropping the pencil, looking around. “We decided Dick is older by a few months, right Dickie?”
Dick looks at Jason for a heartbeat, and squeezes his eyes closed. “Uh, yeah. Yup. Jason, uh, did the math and said we’re both nineteen, but I’m an older, uh, nineteen.” Dick glances over to Bruce and then back at Jason. “Right?”
“Right, big bird.” Jason smacks his hand against the table, peering a look at Dick’s drawing. They were all little bats. Figures.
“Jaylad, while I have you here,” Bruce starts. Jason immediately starts to scowl. “I’ve been meaning to ask, how do you know Cons-”
Jason jumps up from the table. He looks at his bare wrist. “Wow, look at the time. I’ve gotta go. Heads to bash and all that.” Jason darts for the door, calling over his shoulder. “Don’t let Dick fall down the stairs, old man!”
Bruce sighs, taking another drink of his coffee, while Dick mumbles, “I only fell down once.”
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Seven months later
Dick sits down at the edge of Wayne Enterprise, looking over Gotham. The night was still fairly warm for August and Dick was relishing in the nice night. Just enough of a breeze, blowing around that Gotham smog, he’d come to live with. Dick grins, pulling one knee up to his chest, resting his head on top of it.
There’s a swoosh that Dick knows all too well and a dark figure looms over Dick in the corner of his view. Batman folds his arms and evaluates Dick.
“You know, if you’re not ready yet, we can move this back.” Batman finally says in his gruff voice. Dick huffs and pats the roof next himself. Silently, Bruce sits down next to Dick.
Ever since he got his memories back from his first time being a teenager, Dick has gotten more migraines. Especially in the beginning, Dick would have a migraine that would leave him in agonizing pain for a week straight. It got particularly bad if something triggered two similar memories at the same time. He hasn’t been seen as Nightwing in over seven months.
Tonight though, Nightwing is going to re-enter the hero scene.
Before he could get here, he was given a lengthy list of rules by Bruce, Alfred, and Leslie. Jason and Wally threw in their two cents as well. If he gets a hint of a headache, he has to stop and go back to the cave. If he starts to feel nauseous, he has to stop and return to the cave. If he feels worn down, he has to stop and return to the cave. If Batman tells him he’s done, he’s not allowed to argue, he has to return to the cave. He’s not allowed to leave Gotham. He’s not allowed to patrol alone. The team doesn’t count as surveillance for him.
Honestly, Bruce should be happy that Dick didn’t run out as Nightwing months ago after going stir crazy at the manor. But, he knows how badly he scared everyone with how sick he got so he, begrudgingly, accepted the lock down protocol he had, and now he’s accepting the terms of his release.
“How’s your memories? Any flare ups or a headache setting in from being out?” Batman asks, concern leaking into his usual gravelly voice.
“Nope,” Nightwing grins back, popping the p sound. He rolls backwards into a handstand and walks on his hands at the edge of the roof, ignoring how Batman’s muscles tense. “All thoughts, flashbacks, and memories tonight have been fitting nicely within my brain instead of fighting for the top spot in the time stream.”
“So far,” Batman reminds, his face pulled down with worry lines.
Nightwing rolls his eyes and rolls out of his handstand to sit next to B. “Yeah, so far.”
“And if it-”
“And if it changes, I will immediately tell you or Hood.” Nightwing chides, interrupting Batman. He stands up, putting his hands on his hips and looks down at Batman. Batman sighs, sounding entirely too much like Bruce. “I know the rules. You and Agent A drilled them into my thick skull.”
Batman stands up next to Nightwing, towering over him. Despite Dick aging three years, he is still several inches shorter than Bruce.
Smiling, with all of his teeth shiny in the night, Nightwing asks, “Are you ready for tonight?”
Batman grabs out his grappling hook as Nightwing does the same. Turning, looking over his shoulder, Nightwing calls to the shadows, “You ready to go tonight too, you worry wort?”
Red Hood steps out from the shadows of the roof, grappling hook already in hand. His mechanized voice, responding, “Your face looks like a wort.”
Nightwing rolls his eyes, “Ah gee thanks. I love you, too, Little Wing.”
“Stop being sapping and lets go,” Hood grunts back, sprinting to the edge of the roof and shooting his grapple. Nightwing laughs, whole heartedly, shooting his grapple to follow his brother. A second later he hears the buzz of another grappling line as Batman follows behind. Nightwing can’t even try to repress his grin as he releases his grapple, flipping through the air, flying once again.
Something in the Bats settle as Nightwing whoops, flying across the Gotham skyline. And a few buildings away, a little boy grins, watching a certain bird flip four times through the air, a flutter of camera clicks, catching it all.