Chapter Text
The next time Dick wakes, his family is curled around him, a blanket of warmth. The roof is different- actually a roof, this time, and they’re in a giant bed- Bruce’s, by the familiar softness of the mattress.
Warm bodies wrap around him, and, if he focuses, he can feel Tim tucked under an arm, small body curled into his own. Bruce has an arm curled around Dick’s chest, pulling him close, and Dick can feel his chest rise and fall in sleep.
A rustling catches his attention, and he twists carefully towards the noise, quietly easing into a sitting position as he tries not to disturb Bruce or Tim.
Jason sits on the edge of the bed, his head down and hands clenched into fists in his lap. He’s different than how Dick remembers him- the slight off-ness Dick had attributed to him being a hallucination is more vivid, now that Dick is looking properly.
A shock of white hair gets in Jay’s eyes as he bows his head, a standing contrast to the dark of the rest of his hair, and Jay is leaner, older. More filled in than he had been at fifteen.
He’s what, nineteen now?
A brown leather jacket is thrown over the mattress beside him, and now that Dick’s paying attention, he notices the dark leather of a suit underneath- tough enough to deflect most bullets.
What had Jay been doing, all this time?
Tense energy radiates off of his brother, and when he doesn’t react to Dick shifting closer to him, he rests a tentative hand on his shoulder, voice soft,
“Jay?”
Flinching at the touch, Jay looks up at him, and his eyes blaze a sickly, radioactive green for a second, enough for Dick to suck in a surprised breath, before they fade back to their normal blue, tired as Jay leans into Dick’s touch. So he pulls his little brother in, encircling him in his arms,
“What happened to you, Jay?”
His brother practically melts into the embrace, gripping tight to Dick’s old, faded brown jacket as he buries his face in his shoulder, and his voice is muffled as he says,
“Fucking shit.”
Dick pulls him closer, careful not to disturb Bruce or Tim as he rests his chin on Jay’s head,
“You want to talk?”
Shaking his head softly, Jason tucks himself in closer to Dick, shrugging towards the other two on the bed,
“Not until they wake up. Don’t wanna have to repeat myself.”
“Ok.” Maneuvering them both so that Dick can relax into the mattress again, he runs a hand through Jason’s hair, reveling in the fact that he’s back, “Alright.”
~
When Dick opens his eyes again, the only other person in the bed is Bruce, his arms wrapped around Dick as he clicks away on a keyboard. As Dick rouses himself slightly, Bruce looks up with a fond smile, echoes of worry etched into his face, and presses a kiss to Dick’s forehead.
He does nothing but smile back, relishing the warmth of his father’s arms. Bruce closes his laptop, placing it on a bedside table, and runs a hand through Dick’s hair,
“Hey, chum.”
“Morning, B.”
Light shines in from the window, where Dick can see the soft swaying of the old oak silhouetted against the sky. He glances around, remembering the pile of birds from last night,
“Where is everyone?”
“Tim went to get coffee and Jay went with him.” Bruce shifts into more of a sitting position, and Dick wriggles into a more comfortable spot against him. They’re quiet for a second, as sleep slowly drifts away from Dick, memories of the night before pushing through the haze of tiredness. Bruce seems to sense the direction of his thoughts, as he runs a soft hand through Dick’s unruly hair- he should probably cut it soon.
“You scared us, chum.”
Eyes darting to meet Bruce’s gaze, Dick blinks once in surprise, “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know.” B’s eyes are soft, “But you do know that we were scared? We’d rather you do anything than that, you understand that? Hell, I’d rather you kill the Joker than do what you nearly did.”
Shuddering, the manic laughter of the Joker echoes through Dick’s head. Phantom blood drips down his knuckles as the voice slither’s past him.
Jeez… I hit Jason a lot harder than that.
His name was Jason, right?
A different voice pulls him out of the memory, “Aww, hell, B. I might take you up on that!”
“Jay!” Dick slides partially off Bruce to beckon at his brothers, both of which hover in the doorway, “Come here, both of you.”
Bruce shifts to move off, but Dick purposefully spread-eagles out to octopus around his father, grinning as he groans, giving up on slipping away. Immediately, Jay thumps onto the bed beside him, pulling Tim between the three of them.
Worming around to hug his brothers too, Dick faces Bruce, using the warmth of his brothers beside him to fortify himself into the truth, “I think… I think I might be starting to understand that…”
Bruce pulls the three of them closer, tucking Tim’s head under his chin, “Good. And we’ll be here for you as you go.”