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Alfred had just finished washing the uniforms and putting them in their respective lockers. Dick was tired; it had been a tiring day, and the night would be long because crime never stops. It never stops.
Dick put on his uniform, which smelled of lavender so well that he didn't even notice how tight it was. Could it have shrunk in the wash? No, Alfred wouldn't make such a simple household mistake. It's probably Dick who was growing.
And on today's patrol, he encountered some small-time crooks, nothing too serious. He could handle these guys with his eyes closed, but he didn't understand why they were looking at him so strangely.
He also didn't understand why a henchman from the backstreets called him "Red Robin," and Dick thought it was just his imagination or that Tim was wandering into his patrol area. It's already well established that each bat has a specific area to look after and keep clean during the night—Dick was assigned Bludhaven and some areas south of Gotham—and tonight, he was near Tim's territory, and maybe the little bird is wandering around. Yes, that makes sense.
What doesn't make sense is that Dick is heading to the Cathedral, a place where he usually rests to calm his nerves after a hectic night, and suddenly Red Hood appears right there, as if it belonged there.
All the bats visit the Cathedral at different times, but never when another is nearby, because that is usually when they are reflective and conversing with a gargoyle at the top of the church to record their own feelings.
Jason frequently visits the Cathedral, of course, but avoids Dick at all costs, because the last thing he needs is the idiot being... himself, with easy jokes and smiles. But Jason was there. Dick was there.
The man looks exhausted and stressed; he removes the explosive helmet and throws it brutally to the ground, hugging Dick from behind and resting his forehead on Dick's shoulder.
Huh, what?
Okay, this is happening somehow, Jason was hugging Dick like he did it all the time, every single time.
Silence, a lack of dialogue. Red Hood's gloved hands clutching his chest, a sigh a suffering and painful groan, and a damn wet kiss on the back of the neck.
Dick shuddered all over, because, what the hell is this?
"I missed you," Jason whispered in a way that made him… he had never done it before.That scared Dick, of course. It left him disturbed, almost traumatized. It got worse when the other man grabbed his face and turned it to… kiss him? Holy shit!
“Jason, what the hell is this?!” he yells, startled, pushing the other away, looking incredulously at Jason, who was confused, lost, and half asleep.
“Dick?”
"Yeah, damn it! What are you doing? Who did you think I was?" he says, his face now turning red and Jason's eyes widening finally understanding what was happening.
"I thought... I... what the hell is this!" he shouted, furious.
“I'm the one asking you! Who did you think I was for? Almost Kiss me like this?”
"Is this some kind of joke? Are you and Tim playing a prank on me?" he says in his offended tone, and what the hell does Tim have to do with this? Dick doesn't understand Jason's absurd line of reasoning.
“Why would Tim and I be messing with you? What the hell is wrong with you?”
"So, why the hell are you wearing Tim's suit?" he pointed at Dick, who blinked a few times, confused. Worse than that, none of the words that came out of Jason's mouth made sense and sounded like a complete rambling.
"I'm not..." He looked at himself and saw the Red Robin symbol on his chest, and that says it all.
Alfred must have switched the uniforms; that explains the henchmen's confusion and why his stretchy suit was so tight. But it doesn't explain why Jason acted strangely and almost kissed Dick thinking it was… no, I mean, it is…
He can't believe it. No way! Tim would never succumb to that kind of madness, it's impossible. But maybe… No! Dick refuses to think about it, he won't think about it, he won't…
“Are you dating Tim?”
And Jason froze in place, to Dick's horror.
“No…?”
“Why would you kiss Tim? Jason, what the hell is this?”
"Go fuck yourself, Dick, it's your fault for wearing his suit!" he grumbled with a growl. "I should have known, no sarcastic jokes, shoulders too broad and a stupid ass. You should be ashamed! You idiot!"
How did he come out as the bad guy in the situation? How could this have happened to him?
He was ready to argue—and he did argue—but he was also wondering what the hell was going on on Tim's side.
[...]
Damian wants to know why Nightwing was in the Diamond District near Chinatown, fighting a Chinese gang that was usually a problem for Drake. And he wants to know why he was using a bō staff instead of fencing sticks.
It doesn't matter, Damian was just passing through, heading towards Richard's patrol route when he encountered him in Chinatown, which in itself was strange, since it was so far from where he normally operates.
And he didn't see any sign of Drake anywhere, so it wasn't a collaborative effort on their part.
Today he wanted to patrol with Nightwing, Batman was incapable of having Robin by his side today—terrible mood + sleep deprivation, a great combo—so Damian wasn't even planning on getting near his father today. Let the man be brutal on his own.
The boy went up to the older man, landing beside him on the street as soon as he finished taking down the last of that gang's henchmen. He was satisfied, looking ready to send a report, and… Richard had shrunk? He seemed smaller and thinner, but maybe it was just his imagination.
"What are you doing here?" he asks, sneaking up behind him, noticing that he shivered and ignored him. "You don't come to a place like this without a good reason. I demand it now!"
But Richard was determined to ignore him that night, which was strange for him, as he was always so happy to see Damian. Not today. And that disturbed the peace of the boy, who was distraught.
Nightwing was focused, moving away from the street and heading towards the rooftops. Robin followed, he was persistent and somehow Nightwing was trying to escape him, so a friendly chase began on the rooftops.
"Is there something I did to be ignored?" — and he heard a growl — "Speak with words, you're not a dog!"
But he continued to be brutally ignored, yet he continued to speak.
"If it was something I did, I'm willing to acknowledge my mistake, so please tell me!" he says, and then Richard stops running and looks back, finally facing him. "Forgive my insolence, Akhi!" he says, something that made Nightwing seem static, silent.in a damned spiral.Richard didn't spiral like that, not in the quiet, emotionally stunted way that Drake did?
"You called me," he said, and that wasn't Richard's voice at all. "Akhi? Me?" He was emotional. Drake, who for some reason was dressed as Nightwing, was on the verge of a breakdown. "Oh, me. Uh. Wow."
Damian was on the verge of confusion; there was nothing clear that he could look for answers to.
And somehow, seeing Drake sensitive and emotional when called "akhi" stirred something in Damian's heart in an inexplicable way—which, to say, wasn't bad. And he refuses to admit to having been moved by Drake's pathetic quest for approval, acceptance, and belonging.
"Why are you wearing the Nightwing uniform?" he asked, but he had to, ending Tim Drake's happiness, spiral, collapse, and every last vestige of sanity.
"I'm not..." he looks at himself and sees the bluebird crest. How hadn't he noticed that yet? "Oh, shit. Shit."
"Don't tell me Nightwing is walking around in that thing you call a suit." Damian frowns, which makes absolutely no difference to him.
"It's possible," Tim grumbles, still annoyed. He seems to have activated the tracker on his suit and went into shock when he saw two little dots approaching them, meaning he realized the commotion. Bad part, he was with Jason, which means… oh, dear.
No. He doesn't even want to know what happens next, and Damian didn't care, as long as he knew the answer.
[...]
It was awkward being on that rooftop with everyone gathered after that little argument that thankfully stayed between them. Dick was nervous, pacing back and forth while Tim grumbled to Jason:
"What did you do?" he glared at the man, who made an offended face.
"Why are you assuming I did something?" he grumbled back, grinding his teeth.
“Richard only gets this angry when you do something, Todd!" Damian stated an undeniable fact.
"You know what, both of you can go fuck yourselves!" Jason flipped them both the middle finger, trying not to look at Tim for too long; his brain couldn't process Timothy Drake in the Nightwing uniform, which was much bigger and wider than him. It was funny, but it was also a great thrill.
But Dick was thinking —worried —With something else entirely, I mean, he was furious because he hadn't been notified sooner, furious because those were his brothers, furious that maybe something else was going on and he didn't know about it. Then Dick stopped walking and stood in front of Tim, who raised an eyebrow, prepared for what he had to say—or almost.
"Are you and Jason together?" he asked, and Tim's eyes widened, but he recovered, keeping his expression as neutral as possible. Damian tilted his head to the side as if to say, "That's not the right question," but was ignored, again.
“No.”
"Don't lie to me!" He stomped his foot, and Tim wanted to squeeze Jason's neck with his bare hands. "Jason tried to kiss me thinking it was you! “
"I don't know why he would do that," he lied. "But we're not together!" which was technically true; they went out together, kissed, and everything, but they didn't put a name to it for the sake of both their own mental health. It would be worse if they made the relationship official.
Jason wouldn't try to kiss someone for no reason!
"Hey, can you stop talking like I'm not here?" Hood rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You're making a big fuss over something this small."
"You said you missed me!" Dick pointed accusingly, as if that were proof enough to testify against him.
"I might be missing the champion here," he shook his head toward Red Robin, who looked at him amused.
"You miss me?" Tim asked with a smile.
"A lot!" he replied, equally interested. And all of this, in Dick's view, sounded like flirting, when it couldn't be (or maybe it could, who knows). He wants to get involved and separate the two, forbid them from being near each other and watch them 24/7. On his watch, no one will look at each other like this.
Then they hear a fake cough, drawing the attention of the vigilantes to the child in question, who was still in the room, angry at being ignored so early. He wants answers to his questions, and none of them involve the relationship between Red Robin and the Red Hood.
"I don't care about the indecent things Drake and Todd are doing up on rooftops," Damian said, and Dick choked on his saliva. "I just want to know why you two changed clothes."
Oh, right, it all started because of an accidental suits swap.
"Alfred might have gotten confused and put the suit in the wrong lockers," Tim shrugged in response. Being Nightwing for one night wasn't as fun as he thought it would be; well, if he'd known beforehand, he would have enjoyed it more.
"I can't believe it!" Damian said, leaving the rooftop where they were and heading towards the Batcave. "The patrol today isn't as interesting as staying home watching animal documentaries."
The older ones follow the boy back, and when they are standing in the Cave, Alfred is already there, seeing the mess he has made.
"I apologize, gentlemen, but I think I got confused with the lockers." He said nothing more before leaving. Dick sighed; he was still a little traumatized by Jason and went to the bathroom to take a shower and change out of that dirty suit.
Disappointed, Damian went with Dick there, leaving only Jason and Tim in the Cave. The red bird stared intently at the pseudo crime boss, crossed his arms, and began to speak as if he were annoyed.
“So you almost kissed Dick, huh?”
"Don't make that face, birdie" he whimpered. "I was exhausted, I could barely keep my eyes open. I thought it was you!"
"Well, and suddenly I gained a few pounds, grew eight centimeters, and developed annoyingly broad shoulders?" he put on his best mean face, and Jason was pouting. Tim restrained himself from kissing the idiot right there.
"No matter what I say, you're going to be upset with me, Timbers," he said, blinking like a poor abandoned dog. Tim smiled slightly and moved closer, only to hug the taller man's waist.
"I'm upset that you didn't realize it wasn't me." He uses a melancholic tone of voice, and Jason resists, gently kissing Tim's lips.
“I would never kiss anyone but you! You know that, don't you?”
"Somehow, I know." he rested her head on Jason's shoulder; they were circling the cave like that, in a slow dance.
“And how did it go with the brat?”
“He called me ‘Akhi’ for a moment,” he reveals, hugging Jason even tighter and burying his face in the man’s. “For a moment I was so happy that somehow I had become an important brother to him.” Tim looked sad now. “But it wasn’t for me, you know.”
"Hey, hey." Jason kissed Tim's forehead, to comfort him a little from his pain of wanting Damian to acknowledge him as part of the family too.
Well, the boy was listening—and ignoring the scene—then he suddenly appeared behind them and spoke specifically to Tim, his piercing, sharp green eyes against Tim's soft baby-blue ones, just waiting expectantly.
"You're a member of my family who, despite who you are, is precious to me, and I wouldn't trade you for anything in this world. You're my brother, Timothy, know that!" he said without explaining anything, going up to the Mansion with her hair dripping.
Well, something good did come out of this whole story from that accidental suits swap, but Dick was still speechless seeing Jason and Tim close together, embracing, a scene he would never have witnessed in his entire life. He was going to protest, curse, and demand answers, but the two were already saying goodbye and getting on their respective motorcycles to avoid their older brother.
Okay, they'll cuddle tonight, and Dick will sleep alone in a big, cold bed.