Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“You look like shit.”

“Dick!”

Sighing, Dick ignored his younger brother to open his arms. “C’mere, lovebug!” Danny rushed from where he’d been sitting with Tim on the couch, crashing into Dick and forcing Dick to let out a little ooph from the sudden impact. He lifted the five year old, swinging him up onto his hip as he asked, “was Tim good for you?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be asking if he was good for me?”

“I don’t have to worry about Danny being a good boy because he’s the best boy.” Dick smiled as he tickled Danny’s side. “Isn’t that right?”

Giggling, Danny squirmed as he threw his arms around Dick’s neck. “Tim did good! We ate mac and cheese, and I made sure he ate his whole plate! And then I colored with him so he didn’t do work.”

Sighing, Tim pulled out a pile of coloring pages. “We did do a lot of coloring. Though, I don’t know whether I should be offended or not at you using your spawn to keep me from working on my cases.”

“If you actually listened to us and took a break then maybe I wouldn’t have to sick my adorable ward on you,” Dick snarked, grabbing the stack to flip through later.

Rolling his eyes, Tim started packing up his things. “Our family is full of hypocrites, and you might be the biggest hypocrite of them all, Dick.” He frowned as he caught Dick and Danny’s twin yawns. “Are you sure you still need me tomorrow? Maybe you could take a night off of patrol.”

Huffing, Dick started to bounce Danny. “B can’t spare anybody else coming over to Blüdhaven. Besides, it’s better to get the routine set up now instead of springing it on Danny later.”

Despite not being related to Alfred at all, Tim had somehow mastered Alfred’s disappointed stare. “Right. Your PTO is coming to an end soon too, right? What are you going to do when you’re needed back at the precinct?”

“PTO ends tomorrow actually.” Dick could feel Danny begin to sag against him, exhaustion weighing on his little body. “So I was wondering if maybe you’d be willing to work from home so you could watch Danny while I was at work?”

“Ah, so you’re just gonna dive straight into figuring out how to be a full time dad on top of doing full time police work and being Blüdhaven sole vigilante?” Tim crossed his arms as best as he could with his cast.

“If B can pull all the shit he did when he was raising me, then I can figure out how to do it with Danny.” Dick tried not to wince. Tim’s eyes glinted and he knew he’d dug his grave.

“Ah yes, because Bruce is the shining paragon of parental affection.” Tim started listing things off, hitting each of his fingers on his casted hand. “First, Bruce may be a half-functioning parent now but he was a fucking mess when raising you. Second, you were a few years older than Danny is currently when Bruce took you in. Third, Bruce had you dressed up in green spandex shorts—”

Okay, Dick had to stop him there. “I was the one who designed my costume, excuse you.”

Tim just raised an eyebrow. “He let an 8 year old design his own superhero costume and go around beating people up.”

“Not like he could have stopped me—I was determined to find my parent’s killer and get revenge.” Oh it burned to defend Bruce, but dammit, Dick was not losing this argument.

“Fourthly, Bruce was CEO of a company where he could afford going a week without showing up to work because he’d already built in enough structural bullshit that the CEO doesn’t actually have to be there full time. You’re a cop, Dick. Cops are notoriously known to not spend a ton of time with their families, and what time they do spend, they’re often abusing them.”

Dick bristled. “I would never—”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, we know. You’re one of the ‘good ones’ who’s determined to fix the system from the inside out. Tell me, Dick. How’s that going for you?”

Biting his lip, Dick hated himself for letting the silence damn him. Instead of responding, he looked down at Danny, his heart melting at how the boy had already fallen asleep. His little fists wound themselves in Dick’s costume, and he was once again hit with just how small Danny was. He’d have to see if Doctor Thompkins was willing to make a house visit. Now that Danny was marginally settled, Dick needed to start getting some form of healthcare going for his ward.

Before Tim could drop the axe, Dick spoke up, “when I joined the force, I admit I was optimistic about my abilities to change the system. I’ve put a lot of corrupt cops into jail, but that doesn’t fix the inherent flaws with the system. But even if I’m not doing systemic change, I’m doing something.”

“And you’re worried that the force will just get worse if you left.” Tim had always had this uncanny ability to shoot straight to the heart of others’ concerns. He really was a perfect successor to Bruce’s title of Greatest Detective. “Dick, I need you to be 100% honest with me.”

“I’m always honest with you, Tim.” Even before the words were fully out of his mouth, Tim had leveled Dick with a disbelieving glare.

“Right.” Tim shifted. “Tell me, Dick. Are you happy?”

Dick frowned. “Like in general?”

“Are you happy being a cop.” Tim stared Dick down, eye contact strong even as his inner brow quirked up in that worried sort of frown. “I know your immediate answer is going to be a yes, so think really, really fucking hard. You’ve not had to go to work for the past two weeks. Are you truly happy being a cop or has this been a breath of fresh air?”

Of course Dick was happy being a cop. That had to be the answer, the one that would get Tim off of his back and allow him to put Danny to bed instead of bouncing him as he slept away on his shoulder. Though, he wondered why his happiness was relevant. Dick knew that he had certain duties to uphold. Adding another meant a little more precarious of a juggle, but Dick could never get rid of his circus upbringing. He had always known he’d return to the force after his impromptu vacation was up. The days were long, and more than once Dick dragged himself home, popping open a beer and just laying on his couch as he stared up at his ceiling. The worry that he wasn’t doing enough, that it wasn’t worth it.

Dick had a duty. He’d made a vow. He had to uphold it.

But… he looked back down at Danny. Little purrs rumbled from the boy’s chest, sinking into Dick’s bones. He’d never planned on kids—which really, was the smart move given his two jobs and their high mortality rates. If Dick got hurt on the job—if Dick had gotten killed then Danny would be left alone again.

Well, not completely alone. Dick had no doubt one of his family members would take in the poor kid. Though, Dick had promised him too, hadn’t he? That he’d look after Danny? Ah, this was what Tim had to be getting at. The way Dick was throwing himself into three contradictory things. Sure, others on the force had families—had kids and dependents and things they needed to do outside of their jobs, but they didn’t pull double time flipping through Blüdhaven’s streets, going on missions that put them in twice the kind of danger that being a cop did.

An exhaustion pulled on Dick. The nights were long, with Danny, but rewarding. Feeling the little boy curl into him, hearing him greet him every time he returned from patrol—even though he knew Danny should be asleep in bed but he doubted Tim could get Danny to sleep without Dick physically present. He wondered if Bruce had felt this way at any point in his fostering of Dick. Even if he hadn’t pulled that trigger to adopt him until after the resentment had festered and Jason had been dead and Dick had turned cruel, cruel, cruel—had Bruce ever come home from patrol and looked down at Dick’s sleeping face and wondered how someone could hold so much affection for someone they barely knew?

“I never wanted to be a cop,” Dick confessed, a little shocked the words were falling from his lips. Still, he kept going. “I thought it was the right thing to do. When I joined the force, I thought I was done with the vigilante business. Thought I would fix things the right way. Never thought I’d foster a kid either, but I’m here. Sometimes you just stumble into things and you make it work as best you can.”

Tim snorted. “You’re not thinking hard enough. Try again.”

“Tim—”

It seemed his younger brother was done for the night. Tim shuffled his backpack further onto his shoulders and started walking towards the door. “You’re smart, Dick. I know you are. You were the one I looked up to the most when I was first starting out in this detective bullshit, and you’re still my biggest inspiration. I know that you’ve got the real answer in your head, but you’re just too fucking scared to say it.”

Dick followed, ever aware of Danny’s weight in his arms. “Tim, wait!”

“I’ll babysit for you, Dick, so you don’t have to try and find someone else.” Tim grabbed the door handle, turning as he frowned at Dick. “But when you figure out that you can’t be a cop, a vigilante, and a dad, then I reserve the right to say I told you so.”

With that, Tim wrenched Dick’s apartment door open and left.

Sighing, Dick pat Danny’s back. “I’m not his dad,” he mumbled to himself.

For a few moments, Dick just stood with Danny. There was a comforting kind of peace to just standing in his apartment, the warm weight of Danny grounding him as his purrs settled into Dick’s bones. Taking a deep breath, Dick forced himself to move.

He slipped into Danny’s room, frowning at how bare it still seemed. He’d gotten the necessities like a toddler bed since Danny was so small and a dresser and even a little table for him to draw on, but any sort of personalization that Dick would have expected out of a child’s room just… wasn’t there yet. He’d tried to go shopping with Danny some more after that first day, but leaving the apartment for more than grocery trips had turned into… challenging endeavors.

Carefully, Dick knelt next to the bed. He winced at the little whine Danny gave as he slowly unhooked his little fingers from his suit. Shushing Danny, he laid the boy on the bed and tucked him in.

“There you go… try to sleep the whole night tonight, okay bud?” Dick whispered. He pet Danny’s hair, waited for the boy to settle once more even if his little purrs had completely evaporated. Once he was sure Danny wouldn’t wake, he pulled himself to his feet. His joints creaked.

Dick held in his groan until he was back in the safety of his own bedroom. His muscles ached, protesting as he peeled himself out of his Nightwing suit. Hopefully the chief wouldn’t be putting Dick directly back onto active duty. Dick was sure there was some sort of pile of paperwork that he could claim he needed to get done. If an emergency occurred, then maybe he could find the adrenaline to drag himself into the fray.

Dick prayed his first day back turned into something boring and unremarkable.

He didn’t bother with sleep clothes, content to sleep in his boxers as he crawled into bed. He barely managed to get himself under the covers before he was dead asleep.

“DICK!”

What felt like moments later, Dick jerked from his sleep, moving before he could properly figure out what had even woken him up in the first place. He stumbled through his apartment, more than a little glad that he’d soundproofed it when he first moved in all those years ago.

Danny sat in the middle of his toddler bed, tears streaming down his face. Dick heard himself cooing, movements sluggish as he noted that Danny didn’t seem to be physically hurt. Still, he did his mandatory pat down, feeling for any hidden hurts before lifting Danny into his arms. Immediately, Danny curled into Dick’s shoulder. He shivered, scrabbling a bit when he found there was no shirt for him to fist his tiny hands into.

“You’re okay, bud,” Dick murmured, rocking Danny from side to side, “it’s okay. You’re safe.”

Hiccuping, Danny shoved his snot and tear filled face into the crook of Dick’s neck. “I-I thought that-that-that the doctors were back and tha-a-at you—y-you’d s-sent me awa-a-ay!”

“Oh lovebug, it sounds like you had a bad dream,” Dick said, words feeling rote as he started moving both Danny and himself back to his bedroom.

Danny sniffled. “It felt so-o real.”

Dick sighed. “Yeah, bad dreams have a nasty way of doing that.” He kept bouncing and rocking, glancing at the clock as he did so. Father time seemed determined to mock him as 5:37 blinked back at him. 30 minutes wasn’t the least amount of time he’d gone between getting home and the first nightmare, but damn did it drag on him all the same.

“I don’t wanna go, Dick,” Danny said. His nails dug into Dick’s skin, leaving little red marks as he tried to cling onto Dick. Dick made a mental note to start at least putting a shirt on before passing out.

“You’re not going anywhere, lovebug.” Dick risked a kiss to Danny’s head. The affection seemed to calm his ward, even if only a little bit. “When I took you in, that was for forever, okay? I’m not gonna let the doctors take you again.”

Even though he nodded, Danny still hiccupped and cried. Dick wondered if he should be worried about how quietly Danny cried. Outside of his initial screams, most nights would end with Danny softly weeping into Dick’s shoulder, falling asleep only to be woken by yet another nightmare. It worried Dick, how little sleep Danny seemed to be getting. If he at least napped when Tim came over to babysit then maybe Dick would feel better about the whole thing, but Tim reported that Danny was always staunchly alert during the entirety of Dick’s patrols. He refused to nap or go to sleep in fear of ‘missing Dick when he got home’.

The behavior was as adorable as it was concerning.

By the time Danny had fully settled, Dick’s alarm started blaring. He cursed, grabbing his phone and turning the alarm off. 7:25 glowed up at him, an alarm he had set banking on his ability to shower, get Danny settled, and be at the precinct by 8.

Tears threatened to make a reappearance, and Dick sighed as he walked Danny to the kitchen. “Did my alarm scare you bud?”

Danny sniffled. “What’s an alarm?”

“It’s a clock that makes noise to help you wake up at a certain time.” Dick pattered around the kitchen, his exhaustion making him slow.

“Why do you hafta wake up now?” Danny laid his head back against Dick’s shoulder, his eyes too sharp to let him fall back asleep.

Before he answered, Dick sent a mental apology to Tim for the overtired meta child he was about to be dumped with. “Well, remember when I said I have two jobs?”

Danny hummed as he nodded. “Yeah, you’re a superhero.”

“Yeah, one of my jobs is being a superhero,” Dick said, putting on a pot of coffee as he started to scramble some eggs, “but my other job is being a police man.”

“What’s a pole-ease man?”

A pig, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Jason, whispered in Dick’s brain. He shook the thought away. “A police man is kind of like a superhero but for the day time. They try to keep people safe and make sure that people follow the rules.”

Danny perked up. “Can I be a pole-ease man too?”

Oh, Dick’s family would have a conniption if they heard Danny say that. “Maybe when you’re older, bud.”

“But, but it’s day now.” Danny squirmed, but whined when Dick made any move to let him go. “I can’t be a superhero because night time is too dan-jer-us but, but we do stuff during day all the time! I can help! I want to help you be a pole-ease man!”

Dick wondered if his heart was ever going to stop breaking at hearing Danny try so hard to prove his worth to Dick. “Danny, it’s not just that night time is dangerous—it’s the job that is dangerous. When I’m being a police man, I am fighting dangerous people just like when I’m being a superhero.”

Seeing the connection, Danny frowned. “But I have powers.”

“Yes, but you’re also little, Danny.” Dick booped Danny’s nose, an attempt that somewhat succeeded in cheering the little boy up. “Little boys like you only have to stay safe and grow up happy and healthy, okay? You don’t need to help me do my jobs—I do my jobs so I can provide for you.”

“But the doctors…”

“Won’t take you away.” Dick plated their eggs, popping a couple pieces of toast in the toaster as he started to pour his first overly bitter cup of coffee. “I promised I would take care of you, and I’m gonna stick to that promise, bud. You’re staying with me as long as you want.”

“I want to stay with you for forever.”

“Then you’ll stay with me for forever.” Dick set Danny on his seat cushion, slowly prying his fingers from his flesh. “I know, I know, but you gotta sit on your cushion and eat breakfast, okay? Tim will be here soon.”

“Why is Tim coming over?” Danny pouted at his seat, though Dick could see his mouth watering as Dick put his quick breakfast in front of him.

“Because you can’t be alone—you’re too little.” Dick shoved his toast into his mouth, cutting Danny’s into four triangles so he didn’t try and choke on the big piece. “And I need to go to work so I won’t be home today.”

“But you only patrol at night.” Danny grabbed his fork, still a little clumsy with it but slowly getting better. “You can’t be a pole-ease man here?”

Dick smiled ruefully. “Nope, sorry bud. But I’ll be back home for dinner and we can get some hang out time in before I go on patrol.”

“So you’ll be gone all day and all night?” Danny turned watery eyes towards Dick, and fuck, they’d both had way too little sleep for this.

Kneeling down in front of him, Dick grabbed Danny’s hand. “Yes, but I won’t always be patrolling, and I won’t be working every day. So when I have days off, I’ll make sure to spend them hanging out with you, okay?”

Dick’s reassurances didn’t make any of Danny’s tears go away. The boy sniffled as he looked at Dick. “When do you have days off?”

“Well, my first day off is Saturday, and it’s Monday so that’s—“

“5 whole days?” Danny whispered, and a few tears started to drip down his face.

Dick winced, scooping Danny into a hug. “I know, I know, bud, but you’ll get used to it. Plus, you get to hang out with Tim! Tim’s fun, right?”

“I want to hang out with you.”

God, Danny was going to kill Dick with how sad and sweet he sounded all muffled as he buried himself into Dick’s chest. Sighing, Dick pulled back enough to look Danny in the eye. “Hey, hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll still get to hang out! Your my responsibility now, so that means that my first priority is always you, okay, bud? So I promise you that if you need me, I am just a phone call away.”

Danny rubbed at his face as he sniffled. “I don’t have a phone.”

Dick’s smile grew soft and fond. “No, but Tim does, and Tim can call me if you ever need me, okay?”

Nodding, Danny quickly tried to shove himself back in Dick’s arms. Dick pushed Danny back into his seat, hating himself a little as he said, “Okay, you need to finish your breakfast and I need to shower and get dressed. I can give you cuddles before I leave, but I can’t go be a police man in my underwear, now can I?”

That got a wet little giggle out of Danny as he shook his head. Smiling, Dick ruffled Danny’s hair. “That’s right. Now if you need me just yell my name, okay? I’ll come right away.”

“Even if you’re naked?” Danny whispered in between mouthfuls of egg.

“Even if I’m naked.” That elicited another round of giggles, and Dick kept that sound close to his heart as he went to shower.

He had to speed through most of his routine. His hair dried into the beginnings of curls, a reminder that Dick needed to cut it soon if he didn’t want to have to talk to the chief about letting his hair get too long. He struggled with his police uniform, cursing as he kept fucking up the buttons. A part of him wondered if maybe he should just call in sick. The rest of him bristled at the mere thought of giving up so easily. He’d had strings of long nights working on cases or dealing with spikes in crime—he could adapt to little sleep with Danny.

Opening his door, he noted that Tim must have let himself in. His younger brother had set himself up at Dick’s dining table, papers spread out and multiple electronic devices holding a menagerie of Wayne Enterprise, Vigilante, and personal projects. Danny’s plate had been cleared, with the boy nibbling on the last piece of his toast.

Tim barely glanced Dick’s way before he was snarking, “under eye bags only look good on me, Grayson. Stop trying to steal my look.”

Dick winced. “Ouch, you’re going to last name me, Tim? Really? I thought you hated stealing tactics from Damian.”

“Well, wen you decide to be an idiot, I suppose I have to improvise.” Tim slid a napkin over to Danny, where he immediately abandoned his toast before reaching up for Dick. “Your spawn wants you.”

“My ward, Timmy, not my spawn,” Dick corrected before turning to pick Danny up, “now, let’s see, come here, lovebug.”

With a little grunt of effort, Dick had Danny curled into his chest. Danny wrapped his arms around Dick’s neck, tight as he seemed to try and almost melt into Dick. If his intangibility had been acting up, Dick was sure Danny would have accepted his fate willingly.

“… are you sure I can’t come with?” Danny asked, voice soft.

Dick resisted a sigh. “I’m sure, bud. You gotta stay here.”

“But I can help.”

“I’m sure you could,” Dick said, bouncing Danny as he did, “but you’d be more help staying here with Tim. He’s been having trouble with his naps, and I think you’re uniquely qualified to help him.”

Danny shifted to look over at Tim, and Dick had to give it to his younger brother. He seemed to be willing to play along with Dick’s bullshit if it meant making things easier for Danny. “That’s right, Danny. I’m too scared to go to sleep alone, and I need a big strong hero like you to help keep me safe while I nap.”

Sniffling, Danny cuddled closer to Dick. “… really?”

“Really.” Tim smiled.

Another sniffle. Danny shoved his face into Dick’s shoulder. “… I still don’t want you to go.”

“I know, bud.” Dick squeezed Danny, trying to push as much of his affection and care into one last hug. “I know, but I gotta. We’ve both got jobs to do today. I gotta go make sure the other police men are helping people and you need to make sure Tim is safe during his nap.”

“I’ll miss you,” Danny whispered, as if the confession was something to be ashamed of.

Dick took a deep breath, steeling himself behind his stubbornness as he kissed Danny’s forehead. “I’ll miss you too, bud. But I promise, I’ll be back before you know it.” It took too much effort for Dick to pull Danny off of him. The kid clung like even one moment away from Dick would kill him, and Dick needed to leave before he lost any of his nerve.

Finally getting Danny back on his seat, Dick ignored the heartbreaking tears dribbling down his ward’s face. “Okay, I’m heading out now. Tim you know the drill—I’ve got Danny’s day schedule on the counter. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to call me. Make sure Tim gets some good sleep, okay Danny?”

“Okay, Dick.” Danny wiped his face before waving. “Bye bye, Dick.”

“When you decide to quit, I’ll have all of my ‘I told you so’s prepared and ready to launch.” Tim didn’t bother looking up from his computer.

Unable to push it off any longer, Dick took one last fortifying breath and headed to work.

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“Jesus, Grayson, what the fuck happened to you?”

Dick took a deep breath, sighing as he dropped into his rolling desk chair. “Fucking hello to you too, Officer Edwards.”

Colleen Edwards’ desk sat next to Dick’s, and she didn’t hesitate to oggle at the paperwork that had clearly piled up in Dick’s absence. “I would have thought taken so much PTO would have improved your health, but you look like you got run over by a fucking semi. What, did you spend your time off just going on a never-ending bender?”

“Ha ha very funny.” Dick picked through the pile of folders, bemoaning in his head how no one seemed to want to pick up his cases while he’d been out. “If you must know, I started fostering a kid.”

Colleen reeled back. “No shit? You? Fostering a kid?”

“Shocking, I’m sure.” He scrunched his nose at some of the cases that had been neglected. He had thought for sure he’d passed a few of these off in his planning for his impromptu leave. “So you can see why I’m so fucking exhausted.”

Grimacing, Colleen slumped into her chair. “I’m sure. Jesus, how old’s the kid?”

“5 though he looks younger.” Dick sorted his pile into emergency, urgent, and less urgent. Hopefully he could get through the day focusing on paperwork.

“Why didn’t they give you paternity leave then? If you’re taking care of a kid and all.”

“Doesn’t count if I’m just fostering. Even though I explained I’m adopting the kid and the papers will be finalized by end of the month, wasn’t good enough for them. So here I am.” Dick frowned as he caught sight of a familiar case number. He pulled it to the front, flipping through it.

The chair for the desk across from Dick’s screeched as Alphonse Sapienza sat down. “I’m sorry, did I hear something about adopting a kid?”

Dick hummed. He thought he’d filed this case already?

“Officer Grayson here is fostering a kid—started fostering him when he went on leave. Apparently 2 weeks in and he’s already decided to keep the kid.” Dick could feel Colleen’s judgmental stare as she said it, but he could deal with her later. He opened the file, frowning as he sorted through his memories of recent cases.

Alphonse guffawed. “Grayson? Adopting a baby? He’s practically a baby himself!”

“I’m 26, Alphonse.” Dick had the case on the tip of his tongue. The details matched so many familiar cases about police corruption, but which one was this? Surely not one of the ones he’d already proven without reasonable doubt that they needed to be fired off of the force. As far as he knew, every corrupt official he’d set his sights on were still serving time.

“See? A baby.” Dick looked up to see Alphonse gesturing at Dick, as if he were emphasizing his point.

Colleen snorted as she rolled her eyes. “He’s only a decade younger than you, Alphonse. Most folks his age are settling down and having kids. Though 2 weeks is pretty fast to make such a big decision.”

A defensiveness rose up in Dick. “Are you implying I’m being impulsive?”

“You barely know the kid, Grayson,” Colleen said, “adoption’s a permanent choice.”

Before Dick could bite back, another officer called out, “Officer Grayson! Chief wants to see you.”

“Got it.” Dick shoved himself away from his desk, heading towards the Chief’s office door.

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Groaning, Dick slumped onto the breakroom couch, paper cup of shitty broken Keurig coffee in hand. His paperwork felt imprinted across his vision, the chief’s order to get it all done by end of tomorrow still ringing in his ears. Dick could have sworn he’d passed off a third of those cases before his impromptu break, but the message must have gotten lost.

He’d bitterly filed more than one of those cases as cold, any leads he’d been searching into long since dried up or covered.

Running a hand over his face, Dick closed his eyes. The temptation to use his lunch break to nap grew with every pounding ache behind his eyes. He’d be better off for it, probably. Really, the more he thought about it, the more he found himself hunching in on himself. His breath slowed, the heaviness of sleep dragging him down, down. A part of Dick wondered how he used to go on such intense research benders. Maybe he’d have to ask Tim what brand of coffee he used. Surely, if Tim’s caffeine intake hadn’t killed him yet then it wouldn’t kill Dick? The thought chased him into his doze—

Ring-Ring-Ring!

Dick jerked, barely managing to keep from spilling his cooling coffee. He cursed as he set the cup down on the side table. It took 3 attempts to pull out his phone, Dick blinking away bleariness as he hit answer. A video pulled up, Tim holding the phone out with Danny sat in his lap. Dick pulled on a smile, even if he knew he probably looked worse than he’d left.

“Hey lovebug!” Dick forced as much cheer and energy as he could into the greeting. “Is Tim behaving for you?”

Danny nodded, sniffling but not responding. Oh, that wasn’t good. “We were having trouble getting down for a nap,” Tim said, one arm wrapped around Danny to squeeze him into a hug.

Ah. Shit, he’d told Tim about the nightmares, right? Dick’s memory slipped through his fingers, like water running through a sieve. “Oh that’s tough. Did you have another nightmare, bud?”

Shaking his head, Danny finally seemed to muster enough courage to say, “I’m scared.”

“Of having another nightmare?” At Danny’s little nod, Dick let out a sigh. “Oh bud, I get it. Nightmares are real scary, huh?”

“I don’t want to leave,” Danny said, little hands clutching tight to Tim’s sleeve, “I don’t wanna be good for the doctors anymore.”

Shit, Dick hated not being able to scoop Danny up in that moment. “You don’t have to, bud. It’s just like I said this morning, you’re staying with me for forever. I’m not gonna let the doctors take you.”

Danny’s lip wobbled. “But what if I wake up and—and what if you’re not there?”

“Well, Tim will be there when I can’t be.” Dick shifted, forcing himself to sit up more properly on the couch. “And if Tim’s there that means that I’ll be home soon.”

“But Tim’s not you.” The whine came with tears, and Danny turned to hide his face in Tim’s chest.

Dick’s heart ached in time with his head. “I know, lovebug, but it’s just temporary, okay? I get off at 5. It’s 1 pm right now, so that means 4 more hours and then I’ll be home, and we can cuddle and nap together, okay?”

Danny didn’t respond, just sniffling as he tried to curl himself away from the camera. Tim frowned as he squeezed Danny again. “Any way you can come home early?” he asked.

Trying not to groan, Dick ran a hand over his face. “Not on my first day back. I’d risk getting fired if I tried that.”

Tim’s frown turned pointed. “Dick, are you sure—”

“If you’re going to ask if I’m sure about keeping my job, then yes, I’m sure,” Dick snapped, “I need to make money if I want to care for Danny.”

“Bruce would be more than happy to—”

“I’m not taking Bruce’s handouts.” Dick bristled at the idea. “Besides, it’s not just about the money and you know it.”

Huffing, Tim shifted. “I swear to god, you’re the most stubborn asshole in our family.”

“Language! Don’t curse in front of Danny.” Dick sighed as he focused his attention back on Danny. “I know it’s hard, bud, but I know you’re a strong boy. The first week will be rough, but I believe in both of us to be able to handle it, okay? Just four more hours, then we can nap and cuddle and I’ll bring home something nice for dinner.”

Danny turned so he could peek over his shoulder. “… smoothies?”

Chuckling, Dick nodded. “Yeah, I can bring home smoothies—and some chicken nuggets, how does that sound?”

Sniffling, Danny gave the tiniest nod. “… okay.”

“There ya go. I promise, the time will fly by, okay, lovebug?”

“… I miss you.”

Dick’s smile turned pained. “I miss you too, bud. Now I have to go. Keep Tim in line, okay? Bye bye!” Dick waved as he hung up the call. As soon as the video cut, his smile dropped, and he dropped his head against the break room couch. So much for that nap. Sighing, he chugged his coffee and headed back to his desk.

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

5 pm could not have come any sooner. As soon as the clock hit the hour mark, Dick pushed himself from his desk. He stretched, grunting as he felt his back crack back into shape. Gathering his piles of paperwork, he started to put them away as he mapped out the quickest way to grab Danny’s requested dinner on the way home. There was a bodega that sold smoothies a block from his apartment building—he could probably stop there, but they didn’t serve any kind of chicken nugget. Maybe if he hit the fast food place down the street? But then that was two stops, and Dick—

“Leaving already, Grayson?”

Dick dragged his gaze up to meet Zak Edward’s gaze. The man was still sitting at his desk, like a solid chunk of their coworkers. Dick raised an eyebrow as he kept putting things away. “It’s 5 pm.”

Zak raised an eyebrow back. “And you work late 4 out of 5 days of the work week. What’s got you in a hurry to get home?”

“My ward.” The answer slipped Dick’s lips without any thought, his brain going back to trying to map out how to get both a smoothie and chicken nuggets as quickly as possible.

Zak snorted. “A ward? What kind of rich kid bullshit is that?”

Colleen rolled her eyes. “He’s adopted a kid, Zak.”

Dick ignored the startled guffaw. “Grayson what?”

“Adopted a kid. You all can keep gossiping instead of doing anything actually useful. I’m going to get home to said kid and make sure he’s fed and watered before putting him to bed.” Dick shoved his things maybe more forcefully into his backpack than necessary, but his head pounded, and a nap with the world’s cuddliest meta child sounded more and more like heaven as he trudged through the precinct. Whispers and stares followed him out, but he couldn’t care less as he decided on his optimal route home.

He reached his apartment in record time, a bag of takeout in one hand and a tray with three smoothies in the other. It took a bit of juggling to get his keys out and his door unlocked, but he managed well enough. As he opened the door, he called out, “I’m home!”

“Ready to quit yet?” Tim snarked, backpack already packed.

Rolling his eyes, Dick set the food on his kitchen table. “And to think I got you a smoothie as payment.”

“Wow, a whole smoothie for becoming your fulltime nanny. I’m so grateful.” Tim picked up the drink, sipping at it.

“Sarcasm won’t make me quit being a cop, Timothy,” Dick said. He slid his bag into his seat and unpacked the dinner he’d picked up. A tiny weight slammed into him, arms wrapping around both of Dick’s legs.

Grunting, Dick glanced down at his charge. “Hey Danny.” He paused in pulling out food to pick Danny up, settling him on his hip. “Was Tim good for you today?”

Instead of responding, Danny just shoved his face into the crook of Dick’s neck. Dick frowned, turning to Tim with a raised eyebrow.

“Nap time was unsuccessful.” Tim’s practiced neutrality hurt almost as badly as his open disappointment. “He missed you.”

Sighing, Dick nuzzled the top of Danny’s head. “I missed you too bud. Come on. Food then a nap, yeah?” He felt that little nod and Dick got Danny’s cushion set up. Tim didn’t say anything more, closing the door quietly if only for Danny’s sake. Dick couldn’t find it in himself to care for his brother’s displeasure.

Dinner passed quietly. Danny scarfed his food down quickly, and Dick made a note to look up more ways to help kids cope after experiencing food insecurity. As soon as he finished his meal, Danny wasted no time crawling into Dick’s lap, settling himself against Dick as Dick mechanically finished his own food.

They didn’t make it to Dick’s bedroom, Dick settling with just lowering himself onto the couch, one hand on Danny’s back and the other covering his own eyes. He could change out of his uniform later. He’d just close his eyes for a little bit. Just a doze…

Tim’s voice pulled Dick out of his sleep, leaving him groaning. Danny whined, digging his little claws into Dick’s shirt and—ow. Ow. Ow, okay, so claws were not for show. Dick carefully tried to unhook Danny from his chest, wincing as Danny just tried to dig in deeper.

“C’mon bud, I gotta get ready for patrol,” Dick tried.

Danny just whined louder, burying his head into Dick’s chest. Tim clucked his tongue as he squatted down next to where Dick was laying on the couch. Before he could even attempt to open his mouth, Dick glared at him.

“I’m not taking off patrol, and I’m not quitting my job, Tim.”

Holding his hands up, Tim whistled. “Touchy! I don’t think I like sleep-deprived Dick.”

Sighing, Dick turned his attention back to Danny. “Come on, Danny, you can keep sleeping with Tim here. Tim never gets enough sleep, and I’m sure he’d sleep so much better with a sleep buddy.”

Shaking his head, Danny dug his claws in deeper. Fuck, they’d have to have a talk about that later because Dick was pretty sure he was bleeding now. Pulling on every memory of unhooking Alfred the Cat’s claws from unsuspecting furniture, Dick carefully pried Danny’s claws from his chest. The boy finally lifted his head, and Dick winced at the betrayed tears slowly making their way down his face.

“I know,” Dick soothed, “I know, but I’ll be back before you know it, okay? I promise, I’m not leaving you, Danny.”

Sniffling, Danny let Dick lift him off of his chest. Dick pulled himself up with a groan and settled Danny back on the couch. Danny curled up, looking up at Dick with those big, sad eyes. “I don’t want you to leave.”

Dick sighed and dropped a kiss on Danny’s forehead. “I’m not leaving, sweetheart. Not permanently. I promise, I’m not leaving you for good.”

“I’ll be better,” Danny said, rubbing at his face, “I—I won’t cry or wake you up ‘cause of nightmares or—or—or sink in the floor so please don’t go, Dick. Please.”

Frustration bubbled beneath the exhaustion and guilt. “Danny, I am not leaving you. I will not leave you if I can help it, but I need to go patrol.” He ran a hand through Danny’s hair, wondering if maybe another kiss or a cuddle would fix it. He nearly snorted. Of course that wouldn’t be enough to fix this.

Whining, Danny rubbed harder at his eyes. Fat tears streamed down his face as snot dribbled over his upper lip. “I—I can help! I can be good, please—I don’t want the doctors to take me back.”

“The doctors will not take you, Danny.” Dick wiped some of Danny’s tears from his face. “I promise. I’m gonna keep you safe, and part of that is patrolling. Tim stays here to keep you safe while I make sure no bad guys like the doctors get anywhere near here.”

Danny hiccupped. “I th-thought I was ‘posed to help Tim be—be healthy.”

Dick smiled as he cradled Danny’s face. “You do help him, but Tim is an adult. That means his job is keeping little boys like you safe.”

“But…” Danny bit his lip.

Dick pulled Danny onto his lap, hugging him. “I promise, we’ll get more time together this weekend, okay? It’s gonna be rough getting used to at first, but we’ll make it work, okay?”

God, Danny’s poor little nose was going to be raw if he kept sniffling like that. “Okay.”

Leaning down, Dick pressed a quick peck to Danny’s forehead. “There you go, lovebug. I’ll be back before you know it.”

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The second day went similarly to the first. Dick’s patrol ended up sloppy—lack of sleep started to catch up and his rogues were starting to notice. Dick almost thought he saw a few pitying looks from his more regular petty criminals, but he didn’t have the brain to care. The night ended with Danny managing a total of fifteen minutes of napping during Dick’s patrol, and a solid 2 hours of sleep before nightmares stole his and Dick’s sleep. His day at the station dragged, paperwork seemingly never ending and rumors of Chief Redhorn re-hiring corrupt cops floating around the office.

Dick started his third day back at work clutching a travel mug full of the abominable combo of red bull, espresso, and a 5 hour energy. He’d already downed 3 ibuprofen which had done little for the bruises he’d accrued over patrol. Poor Danny had been falling asleep in his breakfast when Dick had left, and he could only hope that his ward would get some sleep while Dick was at work.

Settling at his desk, Dick chugged a third of his ticket to a heart attack before grabbing his stack of case files. A stack that looked noticeably lighter. Dick frowned as he flipped through the cases. Strange. He flipped through them again.

“Looking for something, Grayson?” Alphonse asked, looking up from his own research.

Dick grunted. “I’m trying to find the files for the Tabet case.”

“The corruption case?” Alphonse asked.

Dick nodded.

Alphonse shrugged. “Got dismissed.”

Dick frowned. “And the Murray case?”

“Also dismissed.”

“What about the Moreno case? Or the Rivera case?” Dick leaned forward, anger curling tight around his gut.

Alphonse frowned as he leaned back a bit. “All of them got dismissed.”

Slamming his hand on his desk, Dick pushed himself up. His ears rang as he marched past his coworker’s desks. The chief’s door was closed, but Dick didn’t bother with any formalities as he slammed it open.

Chief Redhorn jumped before frowning as Dick shut the door behind himself. “Officer Grayson, what on earth—”

“Why did you dismiss the corruption cases?” Dick didn’t bother beating around the bush, too tired to try for any of the delicate social politics he’d been playing since he decided to reform the Bludhaven police station from inside out.

Rolling his eyes, Redhorn crossed his arms. “Any evidence of corruption in our hardworking policemen has either been contradicted by new evidence or shown to be falsely reported. There’s no need for you to keep shoving your nose into something that’s not there.”

“Bullshit.”

“Officer Grayson—!”

“I’ve been spending months following every red tape channel you’ve asked me to to prove their corruption.” Dick stalked towards Redhorn’s desk. “The evidence I had gathered couldn’t have been disproven in the two weeks I’ve been gone. I made sure every piece of evidence was accurate and followed every procedure in collecting it. I had warrants and everything. So tell me. Why. Did. You. Dismiss. My. Cases?”

Dick slammed his hands on the desk, eyes ablaze. A spark of fear flitted across Redhorn’s face before anger quickly replaced it. He stood up, walking around his desk so he could stand chest to chest with Dick.

“You think you’re the first to try something like this, Grayson?” He growled, “you aren’t the first and you won’t be the last. Lots of people have tried to change how we do things here. Clean it up ‘for the good of Blüdhaven’.”

Redhorn scoffed at that, as if the concept of wanting to create a police force the people could trust, a police force that could help instead of harm, was something to be laughed at. Dick bit his tongue.

“I saved your ass, Grayson. You keep putting your nose into shit, and you’re going to get yourself killed. So you better recognize the favor I just did you, and keep your head down.” Redhorn’s breath fanned across Dick’s face.

It’d be so easy to knee Redhorn in the crotch. Dick could see it now. He’d catch the man off-guard, flip him over and get him on the ground. Punch him out—make him pay for every day, every hour of work Dick now found wasted. It’d be easy to let go, to keep hitting until blood splattered his knuckles and the chief’s skull had caved in and—

“Understood, sir.” Dick swallowed the coppery tang on his tongue. It tasted like cowardice.

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Dick would have thought with a lighter caseload, he’d at least have an easier time for the day. No, apparently his co-worker’s limit before pulling him into their own cases was 2 days. Dick found himself pulled around the station, consulting and answering calls and heading out in the street to handle emergencies when he was supposed to be having lunch, Dick prayed there wasn’t a missed call on his phone.

The clock hit five, and Dick let a modicum of relief pull at his muscles. He started gathering his things, uncaring of the eyes staring at him around the conference table. As he stood up, a fellow officer cleared their throat. Dick blinked over at them.

“What?”

The officer huffed. “Where do you think you’re going, Grayson?”

Dick blinked again. “Home.”

Colleen sighed. “Grayson, we’re still trying to figure out a lead here.”

“My shift’s done for the night. I got a kid—”

“You think the rest of us don’t wanna go home to our families?” Amy Rohrbach snapped. “You aren’t special, Richard.”

Dick wished he had the energy to bristle, but a part of him craved sitting back down. He took a deep breath. Surely, this wouldn’t take more than a half an hour. Danny could wait just another half-hour. Dick sat back down.

4 and a half hours later, and Dick cursed as he ran from the subway station down the street. He took the steps two at a time, a whirlwind as he reached his apartment. He unlocked the door after a few fumbles, shoving it open as he dropped his backpack in the entryway.

“Dick—”

“Not now, Tim.” Dick headed straight for his bedroom, unbuttoning his uniform on the way. “I’ve got a stakeout planned tonight, and I’m already behind schedule. If you’re just going to tell me to quit my job again, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Dick, I really think—”

“Tim.” Dick turned on his heel, ready to dress down his brother when he came face to face with an exhausted looking Danny. Dick’s hands stuttered, but didn’t stop in undressing his uniform. “Oh, lovebug.”

Danny looked up at Dick, lower lip wobbling. “Do you really have to go, Dick?”

Dick wished he could say no, wanted to say no, but duty and pride pulled at his sternum. “I do, I’m sorry, lovebug.”

Disappointment from Tim had become something regular the past few days. Dick knew how to compartmentalize that. The disappointed nod Danny gave Dick broke him. “Okay, Dick.”

Dick finished pulling his uniform shirt and undershirt off. Taking his guilt, he shoved it back where the rest of his unpleasant emotions laid and cradled Danny’s face. “I promise, I’ll be back home as soon as I can tonight.” He kissed Danny’s forehead, ignoring his own aching heart as he started pulling out his Nightwing uniform.

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Slipping back into his apartment, Dick’s heart leapt into his throat. “Where’s Danny?”

Tim nodded down the hall. “Hiding in your room. Doesn’t want me in there.”

Dick cursed as he sprinted towards his room. Reaching the door, he took a breath to steady himself before gently opening it.

“Danny?” He called. A quick glance around the room didn’t reveal anything out of place. “Are you invisible, buddy?”

Nothing. Dick stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “Danny, lovebug, I need to know if you’re invisible right now.”

For a few moments, the silence deafened Dick. Then—

“… yes.”

It was just above a whisper, but Dick held onto the confirmation with both hands. He turned towards where the voice had come from—his closet. Dick took another breath.

“Okay, bud,” he said, “is it okay if I come into the closet with you? I want to make sure you’re not hurt.”

Another pause. Dick felt the aches deep in his limbs, threatening to drag him down as they shook. Dick tried not to bite his tongue as he counted his breaths.

“… okay.”

Relief hit, and Dick nearly stumbled in his haste to open the closet. “Okay, bud, I’m coming in.”

Dick’s closet wasn’t the biggest walk-in to exist, but he still crouched and slowly reached out his hands. “Can you let me know where you are, Danny?”

He waited, and a tiny hand touched his. Dick turned to the corner, following the touch until he could scoop Danny into his lap. He felt Danny burrow himself into Dick, but he stayed invisible. Dick just started rocking Danny, rubbing his quivering back up and down.

He didn’t ask questions, at least not right away. Instead he focused on rocking Danny, waiting until his shaking calmed and his breathing evened some. He wasn’t asleep, not quite yet, but Dick could feel he was close.

“What scared you, bud?” Dick asked.

Danny clutched at Dick’s costume. “… nightmare.”

Dick should have guessed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Another pause. Dick waited.

“… you left.”

Oh.

Oh.

Tears pricked at Dick’s own eyes. He squeezed Danny tight. “I’m so sorry, Danny. I haven’t been taking into account your feelings.”

He felt Danny shake his head. “Your jobs are im-port-tant. You’re a pole-ease man and superhero.”

“But they aren’t my most important job.” Dick started to run his hand through Danny’s hair. “My most important job is taking care of you, and I failed.”

Danny’s invisibility dropped. A look of shock and horror painted itself across Danny’s little face. “No!” Danny shouted, far too loud for the early hour. “No—y-you’re not bad! You’re good, Dick!”

“I hurt you, Danny.” Dick brushed Danny’s hair out of his face. “I know I’m good, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes mess up, and I messed up. I shouldn’t have made you think I was leaving you. I’m sorry, Danny.”

Danny whimpered. “B-but…”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Danny.” Dick tilted Danny’s face up so he could look him in the eyes. “You were scared, and you needed me. I wasn’t there, even when I promised I would be. I’m sorry, and I’m going to fix this.”

Shoving his face into Dick’s chest, Danny mumbled, “I don’t want to be bad.”

“You’re not.” Dick pet Danny’s hair. “I promise, you aren’t. I messed up, and I’m going to be here, Danny. I promise.”

“You won’t leave?”

“I won’t leave.”

“You won’t let the doctors take me?”

“Not over my dead body.” God, how could someone hold so much love for someone they had only known for a few weeks? Dick meant every word, and it scared him how quickly he’d taken this kid as his own. Once again he wondered about Bruce, if he’d ever felt this intense love during those first weeks that Dick had skulked around the manor. Had Bruce ever looked down at Dick and realized he would give everything up for this child?

Dick kept cradling Danny, but eventually he had to change out of his Nightwing costume. Changing with a child in his arms was a skill Dick hadn’t realized he’d need, but Dick had always been a quick study. It was awkward, and Danny whined every time Dick jostled him the wrong way, but he managed to get himself into some sort of pajama pants at the very least before trotting himself to his bed.

He didn’t bother with the pretense of trying to get Danny to sleep on his own. He kept Danny curled to his chest, one arm under his legs and the other cradling his head, as he carefully laid on the bed. Dick laid on his back—not his preferred sleeping position but the one that Danny most preferred—and closed his eyes.

His alarm blared far too soon, but Dick sighed as he realized Danny hadn’t woken a single time in their short sleep. He hit the clock, frowning as Danny started to wake up.

“You can go back to bed, lovebug,” Dick tried, but Danny pulled his eyes open.

“But you hafta go be a pole-ease man…” Danny yawned.

Dick sat up, groaning as he ignored the siren call of his pillow. “Just because I have to be awake doesn’t mean you have to be.”

Still, Danny refused to go back to sleep, stubbornly clinging to Dick as Dick got dressed. He couldn’t find it in himself to be surprised that Tim was already in the apartment, what looked like McDonald’s breakfast sitting on the table.

Dick put Danny on his cushion, gave him a kiss on the forehead, and turned to Tim. “I’ll be right back.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have work?”

“I said I’ll be right back.” Dick didn’t bother explaining further, just grabbed his things and gave one last goodbye cuddle to Danny. “I promise, I’m not leaving.”

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Dick tossed his badge onto Chief Redhorn’s desk.

Redhorn raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”

“As of today, I officially resign as an officer of the Blüdhaven Police Department,” Dick said.

“Ha!” Redhorn barked, “right, and next you’re going to be telling me pigs fly. Pick up the badge, boy.”

Dick didn’t move. The silence stretched as Redhorn’s face shifted from amusement to confusion to shock. “You’re serious.”

“I am.”

Redhorn frowned and eyed Dick. “I didn’t take you for a coward, Grayson.”

“We learn new things every day.”

Redhorn squinted. Dick stared back. Sighing, Redhorn pulled some sort of paperwork out of his desk.

“You had potential, Grayson,” he said as he started signing something off, “it’s sad to see you waste it.”

Dick shrugged. “There was a shift in my priorities.”

“I’m going to do you one last favor.” Redhorn ripped a page from the packet he’d pulled, handing it to Dick. “This is me officially firing you from the force. With this you’ll get our full severance package instead of just your last paycheck. You ever think about trying something like you’ve been trying for the past few years again, just remember all of the kindnesses I’ve done you.”

“I swear I will not forget, sir.” Dick didn’t need to cross his fingers to know he’d never agree to such a bullshit deal. He’d tried the legal way—but Nightwing had always been so much more effective at getting change to stick in Blüdhaven.

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Dick arrived back at his apartment exactly one hour and thirteen minutes after he’d left it. Tim looked up with wide eyes as Dick toed off his shoes. Danny’s eyes sparkled as he cried out, “Dick!” and ran to hug him.

Dick crouched and caught Danny in a twirl, settling him on his hip. “Hey lovebug!”

“You’re back early!”

Dick smiled. “I am! I have some big news.”

Danny blinked. “Big news?”

“Yeah, big news?” Tim parroted.

Dick shot Tim a look. “You get exactly one ‘I told you so’.”

A smile stretched wide across his face. “I absolutely told you so.”

“Tim told you what, Dick?” Danny asked, pulling on Dick’s shirt.

Dick sighed. “Well, Tim said he thought I wasn’t happy being a police man.”

Danny gasped. “You weren’t happy being a pole-ease man?”

Dick shook his head. “Nope, but I was stubborn. I thought being a police man was something I had to do to keep people safe.”

“Even though you’re a superhero?” Danny frowned.

“Even though I’m a superhero.” Dick nodded. “So I went in to my work today and told them that I don’t want to be a police man anymore, so now I don’t have to go to work anymore.”

Danny’s head jerked. “You won’t leave anymore?”

“Nope. I’m gonna be staying with you all day from now on.” Dick smiled as Danny threw his arms around his neck, shoving his head underneath Dick’s like a cat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tim’s smile turn a little more genuine. Though, there was still a majority shit-eating grin. Dick knew Tim would not adhere to the one ‘I told you so’.

“I guess I’ll just come back tonight then?” Tim asked, already halfway through packing up his things.

Dick started bouncing Danny. “Actually, tell B he needs to come cover me this week.”

Tim’s eyebrows nearly hit his hairline. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.” Dick could feel Danny’s breaths slowing as he fell asleep against him. “I need some time off.”

Now it was Tim’s jaw dropping. “Wow. Dick Grayson? Admitting he needs a break? What alternate reality did I step into?”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Ha, ha, very funny, Tim. You know, you could also do with taking a break once and a while. Then maybe—”

“And that’s my cue to leave!” Tim slung his backpack over his good shoulder and headed toward the door. “I’ll let B know you need someone to take over Blüdhaven for a bit. Take a nap—you look like you need it.”

“Glass houses, Timothy!” Dick called as Tim left. Glancing down at his charge, he felt himself smile at Danny’s sleeping face. He supposed that was his cue to nap then.

Changing out of his uniform without waking Danny proved to be a challenge, but not one so difficult that Dick couldn’t manage it. He shimmied his pajama pants back on, toeing the uniform to be dealt with later. Relief coated his bones as he tucked himself and Danny into bed, settling in for a well-deserved sleep.