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Who the fuck was interupting his Jane Eyre?
Jason was pissed, he could hear the window opening and he sure as hell didn’t give anyone permission to enter his apartment through the window. Safe houses? Maybe. But not his actual apartment. Only one person was supposed to know where he lived, and he gave Dickface a key to the door. And wasn’t that a horrifying thought? If this was Dick, why wasn’t he entering normally?The man knew Jason hated his windows getting dirty from being used as doors. Fuck dramatic entrances, windex was expensive as shit.
Getting up slowly, Jason grabs his gun from the coffee table and slides the mag back into it. He cocks the gun to pull a bullet into the chamber and stalks quietly to the doorway of his bedroom. Good thing he removed most of his doors, clearing his apartment was ten times easier now. He peeks around the frame and there, lying on his bed, was Nightwing. Not Dick.
Fucking fuckity fuck.
Shoving his gun into his holster and flipping the safety on, Jason was suddenly glad he didn’t bother changing after patrol tonight. There didn’t seem to be any blood on the sheets as Jason quickly approached. Nor did he see any on the Nightwing suit. Thank fuck. Softly kneeling, Jason reached out to touch Dick’s face. The man flinched away, his breathing heavy. Shit.
“N? What’s wrong?”
All he could do as he waited for an answer, was catalog each action Nightwing took. Dick was shaking. His breathing was unsteady. A hand was clutching the cheek Jason went to touch. Green flared abruptly, but Jason pushed it back down. Surely, there was a reason for that. Wracking his brain, Jason tried to remember who Batman was taking down on patrol. Jason had been wrapped up with Black Mask and a shipment the man had tried to smuggle in under Hood’s nose…But what was Batman doing? Then it hit him. Why was Nightwing in town?
Looking back down to Dick, Jason reached his hand out again, this time examining the man’s reaction. Nightwing scrambled back and stared up at Jason in terror. His mask barely concealed the fear and Jason tenses immediately. Fear Toxin. It was Fucking Crane. Damn. Jason ran a hand down his face and reached into his nightstand. His brother’s eyes track the movement. Pressing onwards, Jason pulls out a case of antidotes, and thumbs through the vials until he finds one labeled Crane. Stealing stock from the Batcave was brilliant. He’d have to remember to give himself a pat on the back later. First, he needed to help his brother.
Carefully, Jason puts the case back into his nightstand and takes the lid off the needle. Tricky bat instincts were gonna make this a pain. Everyone relied on Dick to be the one to administer antidotes, the man was slippery and confident. Now, that was working against Jason, and he couldn’t call Batman or Robin to help because he hadn’t even had his grand finale yet. So, this was up to him. Damn. Jason stands and shifts, putting his knee on the bed. Nightwing flinches, but doesn’t move.
When Jason reaches out to Nightwing again, the man whimpers. Hesitating, Jason cringed. His big brother didn’t make noises like that, and it was going to bug him if he kept hearing that. Steeling his nerves, Jason grabs hold of Nightwing and sticks him with the needle, surprised at how easy it happened. One look at Nightwing shatters his relief. The man looks terrified and resigned and furious all at once.
“Drugging me now, B?”
Jason stills and watches Nightwing backup and nearly fall off the bed. B? As in Bruce? Or Batman? Why the fuck was Dick imagining Jason as Bruce. Hell, why was Bruce the center of his fear? Green was flooding his vision. Scrambling off the bed, Jason flattens himself against a wall and tries to breath.
Nightwing laughs bitterly. “Running away doesn’t heal my wounds B. Running doesn’t bring Jason back.”
What the everloving fuck?
Now Nightwing had stood from the bed, it seemed the antidote was working. His fear was gone, but it seemed the hallucinations were still present. For some reason, Dick thought Jason was Batman, and for some reason Jason couldn’t talk. It was like his throat was full of cotton. He could hear his heart thumping in his ears. Everything was tinted green and he was suddenly very aware of the rage building up under his tongue - Ready to spit acid when the cotton was gone, but he didn’t want to. This was his brother.
“Go on. Hit me again B. See if I stick around.”
Hit him again? Had Batman hit his fucking brother? The green was becoming a welcome presence to him. Rage poured out of him, not towards Dick anymore, but rather in the direction of Batman. Where it belonged. Bruce had hit Dick. Bruce had abused Dick. He promised Jason he would never hit his kids…and yet…
Dick was on Fear Toxin and he was seeing Bruce .
“Run that by me again, Dickface.”
Nightwing doesn’t immediately react, but Jason can see the moment the words register and not long after Dick begins frantically looking around the room. He doesn’t move his body, but his eyes are searching and his head is whipping around.
“Jay? Where are you? Let me help! Please!”
Great. Now Dick was apparently hallucinating Jason. Fucking fantastic. Hearing Dick yell at him would just be the shitty icing on the fucking cake. It doesn’t take long for Nightwing’s eyes to settle on Jason again. When he has Dick’s attention, wobbly as it is, Jason reaches up and removes the domino he hadn’t bothered to take off earlier. Stunned silence settles between them as Dick takes in the sight of Jason’s face and Jason can only imagine how much this must be screwing with Dick’s head. Had the fear toxin made him see Bruce morph into Jason? Or maybe he was seeing through Jason, maybe he didn’t actually see anyone?
‘You grew up?...I’m so sorry, little wing. I should never have-...Have…I shouldn’t have left. I should have been better. I shouldn’t have followed Bruce for so long. I should have killed that man sooner. And I’m sorry. So sorry. Little wing, can you? Can you forgive me? And I don’t deserve it. But I…Please?”
Dick continues to ramble and Jason lets the noise fade into the background. He doesn’t like hearing Dick beg, doesn’t like not knowing what is going on. Bruce hit Dick, abused Dick. Dick missed Jason, wanted his brother back. What about his replacement? Was Bruce hurting the kid too? Was the kid not Dick’s brother too? All at once, every ounce of anger Jason had left vanished. Batman wasn’t his priority anymore.
Jason needed to find Robin.
“Wait! Jason! Please, don’t go!”
When did he move? No, Dick hadn’t moved, Jason had. Why? Robin. Right, he needed to find Robin. With that thought, he heard the pit sing in his ear. Had it always been so loud? Had his vision always been so green? He looks at Dick, at his brother. An overwhelming need to hug the man takes over and in the next few moments, Dick is swaddled up in his arms. Nightwing’s face pressed against his chest. Timidly, Dick wraps his arms around Jason and lets out a sob. Rubbing circles on Dick’s back, Jason shushes him. His brother’s grip only tightens, and they stay like that for several minutes. Hopefully, the Toxin would be out of his system soon.
Not five seconds after that thought, his wish is granted.
Jason is shoved back and Nightwing flips backward dramatically, landing gracefully on the bed. Both of them stare for a few seconds, each taking in the situation. Nightwing reaches back to his escrima sticks and Jason reaches to his gun, flipping the safety back off. Silence hangs between them, neither man wants to make the first move. Several emotions Jason can’t name flash across Dick’s face.
“Little Wing?”
Sighing Jason pulls his hand from his gun and runs said hand through his hair. “Yeah, it’s me, Dickie Bird.”
Escrima sticks are suddenly in his face, electricity popping and zapping. Shit. Freezing in place, Jason holds his breath. If Dick wanted to, he could incapacitate him in seconds. Double shit. Damn patented Bat Paranoia. Watching Dick’s face carefully, Jason raises his hands in surrender. Dick’s grip on his weapon tightens. Triple shit. He needed to say something quick…What could he say?
“I went and died…Like you wanted. You got your dad back, Dick. Happy now?”
The escrima sticks fall to the ground and Dick collapses and Jason doesn’t know why that is what came out. He didn’t mean to say that. There were a million other things he could have said. Train surfing and ice cream and dramatic Shakespeare reading and wrestling and video games and baking brownies and watching cheesy movies and a bazillion other things, he had so many reasons to miss Dick, to miss his brother…Yet here he was, spewing acid and hurting him. Mentioning the argument he and Dick had before Dick left and before that little kid died. Unable to take it, Jason crashes to the floor too.
“Damn it Dickie, I’m sorry.”
And Dick looks up to him in surprise. Fucking surprise. And Dick had to look up , because Jason isn’t that little kid anymore. And it hurts. And he wants to ball his eyes out. And his thoughts drift to Dick taking another kid train surfing or helping another kid memorize poetry. And green fills his vision.
Dick gasps. The spell breaks.
“Lazarus pit? Did you- Are you- Jason? Is it really you?”
Jason reaches out and Dick flinches before leaning in and the green returns.
“He hit you? Bruce fucking hit you? Does he hit the new kid too?”
Dick leans back and rips off his mask. There is a red outline from the glue being ripped off Dick’s skin and casually Jason wonders if he has the same mark.
“I don’t know…How..? How did you come back? Was B lying about your death?”
Shaking his head, Jason scowls. “No, I died and got better. More importantly. Did. He. Hit. You?”
The silence is very telling.