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Gotham City was known for its terrible pollution, high crime rate, and corruption in every corner, waiting, like those gargoyles Dick had the pleasure to leap from every once in a while, when he was away from his beloved Bludhaven.
Not like he had expected anybody to join him: he was hanging around in his Nightwing suit, overseeing the city while sipping sweet coffee from a cardboard cup every once in a while; Red Robin was doing missions with the Titans; Robin was currently stuck in his room, trying to solve the math problems his teacher gave him as homework; Spoiler and Black Bat were together with Batman tonight, to compensate for the lack of Robin (not that Bruce needed them to solve this case, and Stephanie hadn't been too happy to accompany the old bat, but every once in a while their missions were the same so working together could only help both of the parties to solve the case more quickly).
So he was enjoying the muffled sounds that the city made during the night. Every now and then, his wings stretched behind him, apparently still restless: he wasn't the best candidate to remain still for long periods of time, but he'll have to make a do if he wanted to spot any crimes happening nearby while he let himself catch a breath from the previous robbery he had to stop.
Only when the feathers of his blue and black wings bristled did he allow himself to turn around and look at who landed right behind him so mutedly that only the shift of air could have warned him. It took an impressive amount of training not to make any sound when falling from a high place, so when Dick saw a red spot slowly emerging from the shadows, his worries that an enemy was trying to ambush him while he was taking a break, melted away completely from his mind, leaving the corners of his lips to turn up into a small, almost imperceptible, smile. Right, he couldn't forget about his younger brother.
Red Hood — or Jason Peter Todd — was one of the former Robins: he had died because of the Joker and then came back a changed man from his resurrection, not to mention when he was bathed in the Lazarus Pit.
He was quietly stepping towards the ledge where Dick was currently sitting, and the older man would've loved to invade his personal space and hug him tight against his chest; however, if he wanted to grow any kind of deeper connection with the man, he had to respect his boundaries and not overwhelm him like he usually would have done with other family members. Hence, his toned-down reaction to his arrival.
Dick was a great actor, not only because of his childhood spent at the circus with his biological parents, but also because anyone who had been raised by the Bat somehow would take after him, willingly or not. His perfect morphing between his personas was naturally passed down to his children. And honestly? Thank god for that. He didn't know how he would've continued to stay next to Jason if he didn't know how to mask his bleeding heart for him. He probably couldn't have stayed, or better, Jason would have left. And he really didn't want that.
Red Hood nodded slightly in turn at Nightwing's little wave, and the latter felt himself smile wider, without meaning to. See, for a man whose frame came to be the one of a brick wall after being submerged in the Lazarus Pit, Jason always acted like a cornered animal, and if it wasn't for the fact that Dick knew why he had that reaction every time something too intense happened, he would've found it pretty hilarious by itself. After all, Jason didn't need much, just his right hook under Dick's chin, and the latter would've probably understood the lesson immediately. Instead, he resorted to exploding emotionally first, and then he swung his fists. Or blew holes into the cranium of some unlucky bastard he happened to fight. He didn't have this kind of patience with his enemies, of course, it was only reserved for his family, who had the blessing of having a warning before being decked in the face, though he reacted much more physically with the old bat.
They had made a lot of progress since the first time Dick and Jason met, after his resurrection. It might've been subtle at first, but for someone as observant as Nightwing, the first Robin and son of Batman — a paranoid mess — the minimal changes felt like giant steps. Of course, they had their setbacks, but who didn't? It was bound to happen to them, especially with how different they were. Could easily have been categorised as opposites, not that Tim and Steph didn't already say this; in fact, they did. Multiple times. Which — now that Dick thought about it — made him realise how their roles were reversed when Jason was still Robin. His smile remained imprinted on his lips as he continued to sip on the now-cold coffee in his hold.
"Happy, aren't we?" The distorted voice of Jason interrupted Dick's thoughts, making his gaze meet the whites of the Red Hood's helmet. Behind the latter, his ruined wings shifted slightly, the artificial skin of them slightly glistening at the night lights around them.
Jason didn't have normal wings: they were a mix between the skin of a bat and the feathers of a bird. After the explosion that killed him, his wings had been damaged permanently, leading him to live on the ground for the rest of his days, unless he used his grapple gun to move. That was, at least, until Bruce managed to get in contact with him through Dick, and well… Let's just say that it took a lot of convincing from Dick, but Jason finally relented. Now he could fly for short distances, glide, and also look much scarier than before. Not that he wasn't scary without his wings, but those things were gigantic and very, very intimidating, if the reaction from the criminals to Red Hood was anything to go by.
"It's not every day that I get to meet you while patrolling," Nightwing answered easily, making the other man nod slowly. "Why are you around? Need a hand with anything? I will be here until four AM, so…"
Jason's head tilted ever so slightly, almost as if he was about to rest it on Dick's shoulder. Did Dick mention his extremely complicated and intense feelings for Jason? Yeah, he was trying very hard not to have a heart attack right now.
"Nothing that I know of, I am here to patrol. The old man did ask me for it, and I accepted, in the end." The red vigilante explained, as he tilted his head again, this time probably to look more easily at his older brother's face. Dick's wings shifted, and the sound of the feathers rubbing against each other felt too loud; a cacophony that, in the silence of the rooftop they were sitting on, made Dick grimace for a split second. Jason tracked him down. He came all the way over where his stupid gargoyle was perched, only to keep him company through patrol.
Jason seemed to notice immediately, huffing out a small sigh. Dick couldn't understand if it was out of desperation or fondness or, ultimately, both. Not while he felt his façade slowly break as he looked over the brother with a widening smile. After a couple of beats passed — that felt like decades — Jason decided to finally break the silence that had grown in the little space that was present between them.
"Yeah, yeah, alright, N. You can hug m-" He couldn't finish his sentence, interrupted by a flurry of feathers and a warm body pressing against his chest, paired with two arms hooking around his neck.
"You came to patrol with me!" Dick finally exclaimed, his voice muffled by Jason's chest as he pushed his face against it. It didn't take too long for Jason to envelop his arms around the smaller frame of the older brother.
"I-" Jason was probably trying his best not to show his soft side, after all, his whole schtick was to intimidate criminals, but he couldn't help it when his wings moved to hover around Dick, almost protectively. Dick happily replied with a small purr coming from his chest, making his ribcage vibrate.
They remained like this, intertwined, while gently cradled by Red Hood's ruined wings. Dick couldn't be happier; his own wings were now shivering from the sparks of energy that the emotion was making him feel. Every now and then, his chest would emit a purr as he cuddled closer to Jason's bigger frame. If the younger man had been in any way uncomfortable, he didn't show it; instead, he tightened his hold around Dick and then rested his protected cheek on the crown of Nightwing's head.
When they finally detached from each other, Dick could still feel the warmth that seeped through Jason's armour onto his body. He unfurled his wings momentarily, stretching and then dropping them on the floor behind himself, completely relaxed. Butterflies fluttered in his chest as he looked at Jason and felt his smile soften impossibly more.
Jason didn't seem to look back, but Dick couldn't really tell; he could only see how the front of his helmet was now facing the night sky above them, as polluted as ever. It didn't take long for Jason to interrupt the silence again.
"Stop looking at me like that, won't you?" The helmet distorted his voice, but his tone was clearly strangled as he muttered those words. Words that hit Dick in the face like a slap.
"I- How?" He asked while feeling panic rise to his chest. Maybe he indulged himself too much today. Maybe he should've held back. He schooled his expression as much as he could as he felt his wings close up behind him.
Jason nodded towards his way, almost as if Dick was, somehow, proving his point.
"Like that." He said, and if the older man was panicking before, now he was confused.
"Sorry, I am… I don't… Understand…?" Dick said, and the phrase came out more like a question than a statement.
Jason only sighed in response, shaking his head and then looking away from Dick as he gathered himself up and then looked over the city.
"Never mind, forget it, let's go for a flight around the city, since nothing's gonna happen here for sure." And without waiting for an actual answer from Dick, the man leapt from the ledge, his wings opening silently while showing off that beautiful crimson of his remaining feathers, littering the spaces where there was bone under the skin.
Dick watched him, disappointment filling the spaces between his ribs as he stood up and then let himself fall into the air below before spreading his wings.
*
"What is it with you and the stupid kitchen appliances?" Jason's voice filled the room Dick was currently in, light steps approaching him from behind, while the older man looked at the air frier almost as if it personally offended him.
"If you could please stop breaking into my house from the windows and use the door, it would be greatly appreciated," Dick replied, trying to figure out how the machine worked. "Also, good evening, need anything?"
He heard a couple of clicks and then the hiss of Jason's helmet opening. He was taking his gear off. He felt his heart beating faster as he tried not to think about it; lately, Jason had taken up this habit of visiting him without any warning and, worst of all for Dick's poor heart, take off whatever gear he had on him. He was breathtakingly beautiful despite his marred skin. Not even the scar that crossed his cheek from the corner of his mouth to the space below his eye managed to hide his gorgeous features. If anything, he looked more handsome than ever.
"I am crashing here tonight." Those were the only words the man in question spared Dick as he approached the spot where the older man was currently standing, and curiously peeked at what was going on. Dick's wings shifted ever so slightly at the proximity.
"Seriously?" Jason asked, leaving the other to turn his head enough to look at him.
"What?" Dick asked as he returned to gaze at the air fryer, "It's not turning on, and I have no idea why."
Jason didn't really reply with words, but Dick managed to see him roll his eyes, a small smile creeping up to his lips as he walked back out of the kitchen.
"If you wait five minutes, I'll take my gear off completely and I'll lend you a hand." He heard him say from the living room.
Dick felt himself grin.
"I don't think I have enough space in my arms for a third hand." He joked and, as he predicted, he heard Jason groan on the other side, making him giggle silently.
"You say one more joke like that and I'm out of here."
"You always lack respect for your older brother. What a bad child, I raised you to be better." Dick continued to joke as he turned around and leaned on the kitchen counter, looking right at Jason, who was now passing the threshold again and entering the room. His big wings were dragging on the floor, making it look like he had a cape on.
"The word 'brother' sounds so wrong while you scold me like you're about to bend me over on the counter." Jason now stood right in front of Dick, towering over him as they looked each other in the eyes. His irises had such a pretty colour, at least in Dick's opinion: when he came back, his eyes weren't sky blue anymore; instead, they became two beautiful aquamarine rings around his pupils, which changed to electric green when the madness of the Pit took over his mind. Fortunately enough, it didn't happen often.
Dick's breath was trapped in his lungs as his eyes dropped to Jason's lips, only for a split second before looking back up. Jason seemed to have noticed; his eyes widened in what looked like surprise. Or shock. Either way, it didn't look good.
Shit.
"Step-brother then…?" The older man tried to joke again to diffuse the tension that was clearly building up between the two of them, but it fell flat as it took a longer pause for Jason to actually reply. Dick waved a hand in front of his eyes.
"Okay, enough bad jokes, I got the message. Are you okay?"
At the notice, Jason blinked once, twice, and then his wings slowly moved to get under his hands. It was a habit he had since he was Robin: he picked at his feathers when he was nervous.
"Yeah," he answered, before letting go of his wings, putting a hand on one of Dick's shoulders and pushing him aside, "your sense of humour is terrible, let me see if I can fix this."
Dick felt the awkwardness of the situation from miles away. I really should stop letting my mind daydream about him while he's right in front of me, he thought as he felt guilt clawing at his stomach. The older man only observed Jason, taking a few steps back so that he could work more effectively without him being in the way.
"I can hear the cogs in your brain from here, Dickiebird." The younger man said, shaking Dick out of his pity party, "It is quite difficult to work with all that noise in the background." Their eyes met, and instead of finding annoyance in Jason's gaze, like he had anticipated, Dick found softness and a tinge of what looked like sadness. He felt his own expression melt into one of confusion. He didn't ask him, even though the question was clear in Dick's eyes. After a couple of seconds of silence, Jason snorted, picked up the air fryer and handed it to Dick, whose expression became even more perplexed than before.
His blue wings moved imperceptibly.
"Uh?" Dick asked, looking at the appliance now in his hold and then back at Jason. The latter nodded at the air fryer.
"Cable is broken inside." The younger man replied simply, "You might want to bring it to someone to fix it."
Dick groaned at the explanation, his posture slumping petulantly.
"I just bought this thing!"
"We all know what you can do in the kitchen, and that is, usually, blowing it up." Jason crossed his arms over his chest, his expression morphing into one of amusement as he looked at how Dick gradually grew more and more annoyed at his statement.
"I'll have you know, I know how to cook, contrary to popular beliefs." Jason snorted at the weak reply given by the older man as he shook his head.
"Right, anyway, I'll cook. You figure out where to put that," He pointed at the air fryer and then continued, "also, reminder: do not-"
"-Do not enter the kitchen until I am finished. Yes, I know." Dick interrupted Jason, mocking his tone of voice. "No need to remind me, chef."
"Well, you never know," Jason threw his older brother a reprimanding look, "if I remember correctly, last time your majesty decided to defy thy promise and distract me to the point of almost making me fuck up dinner."
"Speaking old English won't deter me, I hope you know that." Dick pointed at Jason, his tone accusatory, "I will be back to conquer my kitchen, just you wait, young man."
"Shiver me timbers." The man deadpanned as he looked at Dick leaving the room.
Once out of Jason's reach, Dick slumped against the wall, bringing a hand to his face as he exhaled deeply. It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain that carefree atmosphere. He felt his control slowly slipping away every time they interacted, his affection seeping out and ruining every second he spoke to Jason. He had to stop, but he didn't know how. His wings slowly gathered around his body, enveloping him as he allowed himself a moment or two to calm his nervous system. He would have to do something about it, and quickly, if he didn't want to be thrown out of Jason's life in the blink of an eye.
*
He did nothing about it.
Well, to be precise, he did do something, but that something wasn't actually working with his emotions, oh no. For how much he hated to admit it, he was a bat, meaning that emotions and his existence? Two lines that intertwined rarely. And Dick was known to be the most emotionally mature in the family, together with the girls. It wasn't a surprise if he found himself flocking together with them during the family meetings they had during the weekends or while patrolling.
But, yes. He ignored those feelings. Could you really blame him? He used this technique on multiple occasions, and it had worked just fine. Maybe this time around it wasn't working because… Because…
Oh, for fuck's sake. He gathered himself inwards, letting his own wings envelop him as he felt the rain around him softly starting up. Wonderful timing. In a split second, he tapped one of his earpieces, opened the comms line and asked if everyone was okay despite the rain and, if not, if he could help them get back to the Batcave. The last part was specifically aimed at Damian, whose wings were still developing and, therefore, without proper plumage, he would not be able to use them properly in the pouring rain.
Batman immediately replied, saying that there was no need for Nightwing's help, not yet anyway, since Damian was under his watch today. Tim replied second, immediately saying that he was going to be okay, no need for assistance. And one by one, everyone who was currently patrolling reported back to him, leaving only one person out, who didn't give Dick any kind of regard to his question: Red Hood.
Nightwing huffed, looking through his wings as he scanned the area underneath.
"Red Hood? Need support?" Dick asked in the shared comms, waiting for a response that didn't come through even after ten minutes. He sighed again, opening the private comms with Jason and trying again.
No response.
He was growing restless as more time passed. Was Jason in a bad predicament? Did his comms go offline? What was happening? He tried to ping his private comms again.
"Red Hood, can you hear m-" before he could continue asking, the distorted voice of Jason's helmet interrupted his sentence from behind him, "You're behaving like a mother hen, bluebird."
Dick almost lost his composure, his heart jumping in his throat from the scare the younger brother gave him. He managed to only flinch slightly instead.
"Christ!" He hissed while turning around, his wings slowly unravelling from around him so that he could clearly see Jason without his feathers getting in his field of vision.
"No, just a half bat just strolling around." Jason quipped as he reached Dick over the ledge of the roof they were standing on. The older brother exhaled a desperate sigh, looking over to the other man present right beside him, who kept his eyes on the city below — or, at least, the direction of his head seemed to hint that.
"I thought you were compromised, you asshole, you almost gave me a heart attack," Dick tried to scold Jason, but his tone betrayed him, remaining soft and fond instead of irritated and angry. The rain was slowly drenching both of them. Thank god their wings were somewhat waterproof.
"I think my earpiece is malfunctioning, but don't worry too much about it, Dickiebird," Jason stated, tilting his head towards Dick. The latter could imagine a small smirk appearing underneath that red helmet.
"Don't worry too much about it, my ass, if you needed backup-" "-if I needed backup, the old man had my position."
"You left on the trackers?" Dick asked, surprised; Jason was usually one to destroy any chip or tracker lodged into his armour or helmet, where he knew Bruce would put them. "More like I was too lazy to search for them," Jason replied as he sat down on the drenched ground.
"You left them on because of the comms," Dick concluded, crouching next to him. He felt his wings slowly slipping from behind his back to open and cover Jason from the falling rain. The younger man snorted, looking up at the feathers and then letting his eyes wander on them from under the helmet, presumably, just like he did when he was still a young Robin. That time, Dick remembered how his plumage was still a bit light blue and his feathers looked, quoting Jason, 'like the night sky at the lake house'. At the time, Dick was still trying to get used to Jason's presence; he was small, he was supposed to be his successor, and he stuck to him like a leech, even though his older brother wouldn't call him that now. No, now it would be Jason who would call him that, after all, Dick was doing his best to keep him company at all times, even though he had never asked him to.
Dick felt something tighten in his heart as he remembered how Jason used to hide under his wings, both for the warmth they provided during the winter and for the security they gave him, acting as a shield against the outside world. Jason often did this with Bruce, much more so than with Dick, but sometimes he gave in to the need for that blanket that enveloped him in darkness and warmth and, silently, timidly, slipped under Dick's wings. Dick refused to comment on it, not that he minded at that moment; on the contrary, he found himself puffing out his chest and pulling little Robin closer to his body so he could wrap him up properly.
Jason snapped him out of his daydreaming.
"Your wings aren't really covering much." His voice was clear of distortions now, meaning he had taken off his helmet as Dick was losing himself in nostalgia, too concentrated on the memories to notice. The older man hummed a questioning sound, moving his gaze up to his wings to check what was wrong with them. Jason huffed fondly. Allegedly.
"I mean, I'm not small anymore, and your feathers are letting the water filter through."
As soon as he said those words, Dick frowned.
"Rude, my wings are definitely not the problem. They are protecting you just fine."
Jason hummed noncommittally before raising one of his hands and poking at the feathers above, making some — many — drops fall over his head and, by consequence, wetting his now exposed hair. He dragged his gaze back to Dick, making an unimpressed expression.
"It's- I've been covering you for a while now…" Jason's smirk started to grow, making Dick look the other way stubbornly, keeping his wing over the younger brother's head, almost protectively. "Right," Jason said, trying to spur him on and receiving nothing but a huff from Dick.
"Okay, come here." The younger brother said, sliding towards Dick, who looked at him quizzically. "Why?" He continued to maintain his wing over Jason, who stretched his big ones behind both of them, and then one of them covered himself and Dick, overlapping his own blue wing. Jason really had become big, Dick thought, as the rain didn't reach him anymore. Instead of being genuine, Dick decided to joke, desperately trying to crush the butterflies in his gut when he noticed that Jason had enveloped him completely, to the point of sliding an arm around the small of his back so that he could keep him under the wings properly.
"My wings worked just fine…" As the words slipped from his mouth, both he and Jason were now smirking, snickering together. If Dick didn't know any better, this was Jason's attempt at courting him; it was something most of the winged metas did, showing off their wings to their subject of interest, that is. But Jason wasn't interested in Dick, and they were brothers, even though Dick barely saw Jason as one, but more as his perfect mate. It didn't matter; the younger brother probably did this because Dick did it first and thought it was better if it were his wings to protect them from the rain. Dick felt himself melt in Jason's hold anyway.
*
"I'm okay now- ow!" Dick lamented as his wings bristled, annoyed.
"I can see that." The voice of the younger sibling sounded behind him as he stitched Dick up.
They were currently in the Batcave, after a particularly difficult mission that went fairly well, not counting how minced Dick had gotten at the end of it. It had been an honest mistake, one that almost cost him a leg. Fortunately enough, it didn't; however, the attack did some of its damage, and now he had a big cut that went from his knee to the lower half of his back. He asked himself how he hadn't fainted from blood loss yet. His vision was hazy, his body was difficult to move, and he was fairly lucky that Jason had caught him just in time to drag him out of the scene, while the rest of the bats dealt with the last bits of the mission. He was now being stitched up, with the help of Jason and Alfred, who quickly brought him into the infirmary as soon as he stepped into the Batcave. Leslie wasn't happy, not one bit, as she let Jason finish the job while she brought in more materials and medicines that they might've needed.
"Jason is being more than gentle with you, Dick," Leslie commented as she entered the room. Dick's already scrunched nose evolved into a confused expression, looking down where Jason was finishing stitching, "quit with the thrashing, you should be the most mature one out of all of your brothers and sisters."
Jason strained to keep away a chuckle, but it came out anyway, even if a bit strangled.
"It's not funny, Jay- ow! Hey! That one was on purpose!" Dick exclaimed, feeling the younger vigilante's hand waver at his own chuckling as he did the last stitch.
"Not too gentle, Leslie," Jason said, cutting the thread and then applying an ointment to disinfect the wound once again. "Gentle enough, I would've made it worse for him to sit through if he whined this much." At Leslie's words, Dick felt the hairs on his nape stand up as he smiled nervously down at Jason. The latter looked back with a shit-eating smirk. "Basically, you're lucky enough that I like you." He stated, standing up and looking over to the nurse.
The next words Jason uttered, Dick couldn't hear them. You're lucky enough that I like you, he said. He felt his brain screech to a halt. He likes him enough to tell him straight to the face. Likes him as a person, most probably, but likes him nonetheless. If he weren't so dizzy from the blood loss and the pain, he would've already exploded on the spot.
"-ick. Dick!"
At the shouting of his name, the world came back into focus, even if barely.
"Jay?" He muttered as he looked around again and found himself staring at the ceiling.
In the corner of his vision, the younger man seemed to exhale a big breath, almost as if he had been scared. Dick didn't know what could've made him this afraid.
"Let him rest on the cot for the night; you'll take him home tomorrow," Leslie said, leaving Jason to nod. "I'll keep an eye on him then."
And those were the last words he could comprehend, before he felt his eyelids shut and his mind slowly drift into slumber's embrace.
He woke up with a start, his eyes opening suddenly, and feeling his lungs working overtime. He dragged his panicked gaze around the room he was in, before recognising it was the Batcave's infirmary and slowly calming down. The next issue was that he couldn't really move properly; not that he didn't remember having a huge wound on his side, but he found himself bound to the cot. He looked down, only to discover that Jason's upper part of his body was completely draped over him, while he was still sitting on a chair. To add to that, his wings were currently covering Dick's whole body, leaving out only his head.
If his heart rate was already elevated from the scare he got as soon as he got up, now he could seriously risk a heart attack. He laid his head back down onto the uncomfortable pillow of the cot as he digested how not only Jason admitted that he didn't hate him, but also how he looked scared, scared enough to decide to sleep next to him, just in case. And now, just to add to the pile of things that may or may not kill Richard John Grayson in one blow, Jason was also protecting him with his wings. If he had the strength to cry right now, he would've. He looked down again to admire the sleeping face of his beloved, squished onto the uncomfortable white sheets: even like this, passed out, exhausted probably, he looked as beautiful as ever, and Dick felt his stomach coil. He timidly tried to move his hand and, after shaking it a little to free it from under the weight it was trapped under, he cautiously, so as not to wake the man, let it rest on Jason's head. His hair was still dirty, probably from his own sweat; after all, it must have been hot running around with that helmet on his head while carrying out all kinds of missions. He wished he could observe him more, but the impending migraine was already doing its number on Dick, so he closed his eyes, and before he could drift back to sleep, he caught a low and soothing rumbling coming from Jason's chest, leaving Dick to smile as he looked his world turn black again.
*
He could hear them before he could see them. There were steps in his apartment and the ruffle of feathers that indicated clearly who was roaming around.
"Why are you in my house?" He called out, and the ruffling died down, leaving him in silence as he closed the door behind himself and, after toeing off his shoes, he remained in place, huffing out a sigh as he rested his hands on his hips and waited for the two siblings to come out. At least, he thought there were two. There was some shuffling from his kitchen, some hushed whispers and then, surprisingly, Jason stepped out of the room, closing the kitchen door right behind him as he did so.
Dick looked at him suspiciously as he jostled with his coat and slowly unravelled his wings from behind his back, stretching them after a long day of keeping them hidden. Sometimes, he wondered if it was better to just let the people around them know about the fact that he was a meta, so that he didn't need to crumple his precious feathers against his back every time and risk cramps in his wings. It was a convoluted process to relax a wing muscle, alright? He didn't like it.
"Welcome back." Jason wasn't wearing his helmet, but on his face there was still the usual red mask, the one that only covered the bottom half of his face. His dark wings were draping behind him, closed but still too big not to reach the ground. Dick liked to imagine them as some kind of cape every time he spotted them in that position.
"Where are the others? Are they burning down my kitchen?" The oldest walked up to the younger sibling and tried to sneak a peek behind Jason's shoulders, but one of the latter's wings opened ever so slightly, obstructing his view and potential passage through.
"Let's go on a date and watch a movie." When those words left Jason's lips, Dick was so taken aback that he could only stare back at the other with a shocked expression on his face.
"E-excuse me? What about patrol? Our wings?"
"We can go to a drive-in."
It didn't matter if some strange sounds were coming from the kitchen, not right now. He didn't even care if his siblings blew up the thing, to be completely honest. Dick blinked several times.
"What-… A date?" He didn't dream those words, right?
Jason, with a slight blush rising to his cheeks, nodded. He seemed almost flushed. Dick was still not entirely convinced. Jason sighed and slowly removed the mask from his face, the mechanisms hissing between them until his face was uncovered.
"Let's go on a date," Jason murmured, now the red hue on his cheeks darkening as he looked to the side, embarrassed. And then he proceeded to rest one of his hands on Dick's face and pull him in, leaving a soft kiss on his forehead before he quickly put his mask back on and then pushed, gently, Dick towards his bedroom. "Now go change, I'll pay for all of it, after that we'll go patrol together."
And with that, Jason disappeared back into the kitchen. A flurry of hushed whispers attacked him from behind the door before he closed it, and after a moment of silence, someone whooped loudly and then got shushed right after. Dick gave himself five minutes of just… Digesting. He started pacing around the room, then he started climbing the furniture, all the while, he was freaking out internally about how Jason just asked him on a date, he did it in front of their siblings who cheered and… And he kissed him. On the forehead. At the end of his five minutes of imploding, he was hanging upside down from the pull-up bar on his doorframe.
"Dickiebird, are you- what the fuck are you doing?" Jason's voice made him jolt as he turned around enough to look at the other man from his position. "I was… Thinking. This is… My thinking position."
After a couple of silent beats, a chuckle escaped Jason's throat as his shoulders trembled and he shook his head in disbelief. He then tilted his head to try and look at Dick from the right angle, "Suit up, bluebird. Or we're going to be late."
"Right!" Dick exclaimed, gracefully putting himself back down onto the ground and then quickly closing the door to change into his suit. He could do this; he could woo him, surely. Surely. He just needed to… He started jumping while putting on the Nightwing suit, and then he quickly put on his domino mask. He tried to get his hair to cooperate, but of course, when he had a date, his hair didn't want to stay in place, go figure. Not that he would need them to anyway, he would ruin them as soon as patrol would start, but it would've been great to look presentable on his date. Dressed in his Nightwing suit. With the Red Hood.
Fuck he was not ready.
*
They used one of the cars Bruce had to arrive at the drive-in. Correction: they took it from Bruce without him knowing. And they took the plates off as well. Which should be illegal, but who was Dick kidding? He was a vigilante, and vigilantism was a crime as well in the eyes of the law, so technically, this wasn't the worst thing he had done yet. They also gathered a lot of junk food, which technically they shouldn't be eating, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience — Dick loved to lie to himself in this case — and surely they weren't going to repeat it. Now that he thought about it, though, Jason was never a junk food type of person, so maybe this was really a once-in-a-lifetime event. Not that Dick minded it much anyway, as long as he didn't have to cook alone, and he was in the presence of Jason, he was going to accept anything, even if it didn't include junk food.
They took the car with the retractable hard top, because with their wings and size, they couldn't sit comfortably in the front seats for two hours straight with a roof on top of their heads as well. As soon as they arrived, they positioned themselves in the back rows so as not to be spotted too easily by civilians and made themselves comfortable in the back seats of their car. Both wore hoodies pulled up over their heads.
Dick later discovered that they were going to watch Grease and, honest to god, he wanted to kiss Jason right there and then, just for the movie choice.
They were halfway through the film when he noticed Jason slowly and cautiously trying to open his wings. He probably needed to stretch them out; after all, sitting for an hour can make your muscles very stiff, speaking from experience. So Dick sat up straight, leaving some space for the younger man to stretch, only to be pulled down again by the waist. Dick quickly tried to look at Jason, to seek his gaze. His eyes did not meet the other's; instead, Jason was still watching the movie as he tightened his grip on Dick's waist and then, to finish, used his scarred wing to wrap around the older man beside him. It didn't take long for Dick to melt into his embrace; he felt his muscles relax under Jason's grip, and just to show how happy he was, his chest began to rumble quietly, making him purr as he curled up against Jason's chest.
When the movie finished, they didn't move from where they stood. They remained cuddled against each other, basking in the warmth there was between them. Dick couldn't have been happier than he was right in that moment. That was, until he remembered his siblings were still in his house, trying to use his kitchen and, hopefully, not blowing it up.
Jason did tell him at the start that the kids were being led by Alfred through the phone, but…
"I still don't know why you took over my kitchen." He mumbled against Jason's chest, feeling him snort at the statement.
"I mustn't say a word, lest I want my head cut off by the demon brat," Jason replied, and that only made Dick more curious. "Do we call them?" He was being mean, he knew, but he was just sooo curious and he was dying to discover some details.
"You think they're stupid enough to pick up a call from my number while I'm on a date with you?"
Dick shrugged, his lips already forming a sly smile as he said: "Maybe."
Then he suddenly felt himself pout.
"Did they rope you into a dare?" Dick asked, feeling a spike of insecurity already rising and stabbing him through his heart. Jason wouldn't, right? He wouldn't be this stupid to ask him out on a date as a prank. Before he could catastrophicise, however, Jason replied, interrupting him mid-thought.
"I wouldn't have agreed if it were a dare." His words didn't have any trace of amusement in them and sounded pretty firm as he held Dick against himself even tighter, "Dickie, I-"
Jason sighed and then took the older man by his shoulders and turned him around enough that their eyes met. Dick felt his heart rate spike up.
"I had a crush on you since I was fifteen." Out of all the words he could say, Dick found himself surprised at Jason's choice as he continued, "You were my idol since day one, and then I died, I came back, and you, somehow, wormed your way back into my life and it was truly becoming unbearable to breathe in the same room as you, knowing that I couldn't show you just how much I really cared about you." At the end of it, his eyes were not looking at Dick's anymore, choosing their joined hands instead. His cheeks were so red that Dick could see the blush even while he still had his mask and hood on.
Dick tried to duck his head just enough to look Jason in the eyes, but every time Dick tried to catch his gaze, Jason slowly withdrew into himself. At one point, it almost seemed like a game, as they both laughed while Dick desperately tried to find Jason's eyes. Eventually, however, the game ended when Dick let go of Jason's hands and caressed his face tenderly, finally directing his beautiful aquamarine irises towards his own sapphire ones.
"I am glad, really." Dick whispered, as he brought their foreheads to meet in the middle, "I always thought I was a creep, that liking you would have only driven you away from me." He took a small pause of silence before continuing, "In the back of my mind, I was terrified of losing you, and after what happened, I wouldn't be able to bear it for a second time." He left a chuckle escape his lips, then, "I was so afraid that I wouldn't be worthy, honestly, it's pathetic."
Jason didn't comment on any of it, though, and when Dick brought his focus back onto his eyes, he noticed how Jason was staring at his lips, intently.
"Mh? Not even letting a guy propose to you decently…" Dick quipped, feeling his wings shift ever so slightly on his back. Before he could position them how he wanted, however, he found Jason dragging him up to straddle him, and then, his red and black wings enveloped Dick, pushing him against Jason's chest. "I guess you'll have to teach me some manners then." And with that, he unlocked his mask, took it off, pulled Dick in and kissed him. It was all done with such quick movements that Dick had barely managed to keep up, intertwining his arms around the man's neck as he melted into his hold.
It was a passionate kiss, one that didn't have tongue yet, but intense nonetheless. It drew all the air from Dick's lungs, leaving him dizzy at the end of it. His wings shivered while he heaved against Jason's chest. He let his head rest onto the other man's forehead once again, his breath tickling Dick's skin.
"It shouldn't be you who doesn't feel worthy. It should be me." Jason muttered in the air between the two of them, "I am the disappointment of the family. Batman said so himself."
"Batman shouldn't open his mouth unless it's for apologising." Dick felt his mood sour at Jason's words, pushing himself into the other man's hold further, "You are more than enough for me. I would be the happiest man on this earth if you let me love you, Jay."
There was a beat of silence, and then: "Only if you let me love you back."
*
"Todd." Damian's voice came through the doorphone of Dick's apartment. They were lucky enough that one of Dick's safehouses had clothes, since Jason insisted they couldn't enter from the windows like Dick usually would have done during a normal day of patrolling.
"Let us in," Jason said, his tone bleeding with nervousness. Dick didn't know why he was so anxious, but since the end of their date and throughout their patrol of Bludhaven, Jason had done his best to keep him away from his home as much as possible. It was rather sweet how he dragged him around the city, but after three hours, they reached the point where there were no more crimes to spot.
"We're not ready yet!" Another voice replied from the doorphone, probably Stephanie, making Dick chuckle. This whole ordeal was clearly meant to be a surprise.
"Too bad, you either let us in or we're breaking through the windows," Jason answered, making Dick elbow him softly on the side. "What? They've had the whole night basically."
"Just… Another ten minutes?" Tim was the one talking this time.
"Standing outside on our asses? Seriously?" Before anyone could reply to Jason's stingy words, Dick cut in: "How about we go on a small walk around the neighbourhood? We basically wiped the whole city already."
"Amazing idea!" What seemed to be Duke answered, making the older man nod.
"Okay then, a little stroll around it is, come on," Dick stated, taking Jason by one of his arms and dragging him away, "see you later, alligator!"
"Todd," Damian replied again, his tone impassive as ever.
"Can we get in now? It's basically five in the morning." Dick said immediately, cutting off Jason from answering in a bad manner. He smiled at Jason's frown.
"Five more minutes…?" Tim asked. This time, Dick was unable to hold his beloved back from snapping. "Fuck no, open up."
"Perchance?" Tim tried again. Jason huffed at the reference. Dick only looked at him questioningly, receiving a small shake of Jason's head and a smirk.
"You can't just say 'perchance', Timtam, open up."
A beat of silence passed, and then: "Alright, but if it sucks, it's on you."
They were right in front of his apartment door, and all of a sudden, Dick felt the feathers of his wings stand up. He was, predictably, nervous. He didn't know what the siblings had done in his house, nor was he sure he wanted to know anymore. That's why he paused when he arrived at the threshold.
"Well?" Jason whispered behind him, his head leaning onto one of his shoulders.
"Ah, well… You won't tell me what you guys organised, right?" Dick asked one last time, receiving a huff from the other man, "No, it is a surprise."
"For what?"
Jason didn't reply for long enough that Dick had to turn around to look at him and understand what was going on.
"You… You don't know what day it is?" Jason asked, straightening up his back.
"No, not really, did I miss an important date or something?"
He didn't know why Jason started laughing, but he did. His chuckling was silent, but Dick could still see his frame being shaken by it.
"What? Seriously, did I miss anything?" Dick asked again, this time a smile forming on his lips as well as he felt the laughing fit rubbing off of him. He was very confused.
"No, no, you know what? Better like this, it'll be a real surprise." Jason answered Dick between his giggling, and then, unprompted, he pushed the man over the threshold of his own apartment door. He didn't even have time to ask Jason what he meant by those words, because he was surprised by a chorus of voices shouting “Happy birthday, Dick!” as they turned on the lights and threw confetti at him.
His blue wings opened instantaneously, ready to protect Jason, who was still behind him, before he saw his siblings' faces, heard their happy voices and felt the confetti falling on him.
It was the twentieth of March. Oh fuck, it was his birthday.
His wings slowly closed as he calmed down, then a broad smile appeared on his face as his eyes sparkled with surprise. Everyone accompanied him inside, helped by Jason, who pushed him from behind before closing the apartment door. The entire apartment had been redecorated since Jason had dragged him out for their first date: colourful balloons were everywhere; the words “Happy Birthday” hung on one of the living room walls (with tape, thank God), there were Robin, Spoiler, Signal, Nightwing, Black Bat, Batman, Red Robin and even Red Hood themed decorations, and damn it, it was perfect. He felt tears welling up in his eyes.
"Man… You guys…" He said, feeling his voice already falter. This day couldn't get any better. "How did you manage to do all of this while having to deal with patrolling?" He couldn't help but ask.
"We took turns!" Steph exclaimed as she hugged him tightly, her wings fluttering behind her happily.
"Bruce knew?"
"We warned him," Tim said while he waited for his turn to hug the oldest sibling.
"Strange that he let you guys do this at all, y'know, risking identities and stuff like that," Dick said, enjoying every hug he received as if it were the last he would ever receive. Good god, he loved them all so much.
"Father did warn us about the risks, Pennyworth decided to help in concealing any kind of trace that would raise suspicions to civilians and villains alike," Damian explained as he hugged Dick, holding him so tightly that he almost squeezed his organs out. Dick wheezed a little as he returned the little boy's hug, not as tightly — because he didn't want to crush him — but with just as much love.
He gave out hugs until everyone in the apartment had received one. They spoke in hushed tones now — he lived in an apartment complex with other people, and it was five in the morning — retelling things that had happened during the weeks they hadn't seen each other, and catching up. It wasn't much later that Jason entered the living room with a cake, and after gathering around Dick to sing "Happy Birthday to you" and give the presents to him, everyone settled down with their own slice of cake and a smile on their face.
Dick felt overwhelmed. Or, well, whelmed as he liked to say, mostly to piss everyone in the nearby vicinity off. He excused himself on the small balcony his apartment had.
"Not feeling the vibes?"
Of course, who else would notice his absence if not his Little Wing.
"Just having a hard time breathing, there are a lot of people in there." Dick's answer is met with a small nod from Jason, whose hand now snaked around his waist to keep him flush against his frame. Like he had done many times before by now, his crimson wings also enveloped Dick, making him chuckle at the feathers tickling the back of his neck. Jason crooned as he rested his head on Dick's. His smile didn't fade as he thought about all that had happened that day.
"Was the date a present from you? For my birthday, I mean." As Dick asked, he felt Jason snort at the question. "No, well, it was more of a mix between them — Jason pointed at the siblings inside — begging me to ask you out, and also a way of keeping you away from the house for a couple of more hours than usual."
Dick frowned.
"That bad?"
He could feel Jason's grin as he said: "Dami told me, and I quote, 'every time you and Richard are in the same room we try to escape as fast as we can. Who knows when you'll start… copulating.'"
Dick spluttered before repeating the word "copulating", making Jason laugh.
"Yeah, he has a way with words, doesn't he?" Dick only nodded in response as he leaned back into his warm embrace, looking at the sun slowly rising up in the sky. His blue wings shifted ever so slightly when a small gust of air made its way through them.
"All of us do, really," Dick replied, his tone now barely a whisper as he nuzzled into Jason even more when the latter started purring. Dick then pouted in confusion.
"When are we-" "-telling the old man? If those pests in the apartment opened their mouths already, then prepare yourself for later, he'll probably come around to visit to tell you happy birthday."
"And to interrogate me," Dick added in the end. Jason only nodded in reply, tightening his hold on him.
"You wouldn't be a good Samaritan and help this poor lost soul through these dark times, right?" Dick attempted, tilting his head back so that he pushed against the other's chin. Jason grunted before placing a small kiss on Dick's forehead and then saying, "I guess he hasn't seen me around in a while, we'll go through the torture together."