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Jason snarled his teeth at his brother. Nightwing, damn him, simply smiled more, his hands still on his hips, expression deeply amused despite the groans of pain behind him.
Jason really wished he hadn’t been the one to be tied up to this altar. He immediately shoved the thought away, because he really didn’t want any of his siblings in his position anyway. Damn. Who authorized him to have these feelings?
“So,” started Dick. Jason immediately cut him off.
“Don’t .”
His brother grinned even more. Jason hadn’t thought it was possible.
“I’m sorry, Little Wing, but as a respectable big brother it’s literally my duty to make fun of you right now.”
Jason groaned and let his head fall down on the stone he was lying on.
They had snatched him right in the middle of his patrol route, efficiently drugging him and stripping him of his armors and different weapons. When he had woken up, Jason had already been tied up and everyone around him was wearing ample gowns and had their face hidden behind masks in the shape of a bat. The leader, some sort of great priest or something, had blurted out a long litany calling for their bat-god or something, before raising his dagger right above Jason’s chest.
(He really hadn’t appreciated this part.)
“Accept our offering, a virgin Bats to delight yourself with…”
Jason stopped listening around this time and had spluttered behind his gag. Because, first, how dare they, second, how did they even know that, and third, thanks but no thanks, alright?
Sadly, Nightwing had heard this part, too. And since the whole rescue-thing was done - the bodies were still groaning weakly on the floor, after all - he could tease him all he wanted. Because that was definitely what was on his brother’s mind right now, judging by his expression.
“Please, let me die here.”
“Stop being dramatic, Little Wing. It’s not that terrible.”
Jason glared at him. His brother was still amused.
“Asshole,” he muttered under his breath, letting Dick open the manacles keeping him down.
“Love you too,” immediately answered his brother, absolutely unfazed. Being the oldest of nine siblings would do that to you. “So. I wonder why, out of all of us, they took you as their sacrifice.”
“Dick.”
“I mean, I get that they wanted a virgin-”
“Dick .”
“But we have literal children among us, that would have been simpler-”
“Dick! ”
“Not that I want any of them in that situation, anyway.”
His brother stopped one second to help him sit on the stone, shivering from the cold around them. He only had his pants and undershirt on, and he really hated this fact right now. That, plus the fact that he couldn’t shut his brother up by pointing a gun to his face or something.
(Who he was kidding? Dick wouldn’t shut up even with a gun pointed at his face. If something, that would make him even more insufferable.)
“But,” started Dick again, and Jason groaned and let his head fall against his brother’s chest. A hand came to stroke his hair, and Jason sighed a little, feeling the tension fading from his body little by little. “I wonder how they came to the conclusion that the big bad Red Hood was the virgin they had to sacrifice. Really. It was a bold move.”
“It was stupid, that’s what it was,” he mumbled, and Dick laughed quietly. He only knew he laughed because he still had his head on his chest and felt it.
“Oh, definitely. You’re ready to go up? Sadly, you’re too big for me to carry anymore.”
Jason placed his arm around his brother’s shoulders and helped himself up. Dick’s arm immediately went around his waist to help him get steady.
“If Steph can carry even Bruce, you should be able to carry me.”
“Well, I’m not Steph, and you know how she is.”
Jason snorted. There were way too many words existing to qualify their sister.
“Anyway. Why you?”
Jason rolled his eyes and kicked the high priest in the crotch when they walked near him. “Dude, I have no fucking idea.”
“Yeah, me neither,” admitted Dick.
Luckily, his brother had gotten the gag out first thing upon arrival - after beating the bad guys up. Jason didn’t like being unable to talk - it was running in the family.
At this point, Jason was feeling petty enough to step on every toe and hand near his foot. They deserved it anyway.
Kidnappings were bad enough. Torture was always expected, but a sacrifice ? All because he had been too busy dying, then coming back wrong, being brain-dead, then taking a bath in cursed magic rage water, turning crazy, trying to kill his family before finally starting to get better, to bone someone ? Yeah, fuck them, he hated it here.
“How are you feeling?” finally asked Dick as they arrived at the exit of the whole place - Jason didn’t take a good enough look around to see where they were.
Jason vaguely shrugged. “I’ve had worse,” he simply said. Dick sent him a quick glance before nodding.
They made their way to Dick’s car, stashed not too far away; the silence was nice, not overbearing, just quiet and familiar in his own way. It was pleasant, to exist in the same place as someone else and not having to fill in the silence to make things less awkward. It had always been like that, with Dick.
His brother helped him climb on the passenger seat. By now, all of the drug had probably cleared out of his system, and he wasn’t feeling any secondary effect. He hadn’t been injured either when they took him, so Jason really didn’t need the help.
But he liked it, and Dick didn’t try to withdraw away either. Despite his earlier teasing, he never liked when one of them went AWOL, and Jason knew his brother enough to notice the tense line of his shoulders and the wrinkles of worry near his mouth.
Jason waited for Dick to be seated at his turn, turning on the engine to roll away from here.
“I’m fine, you know.”
Dick hummed. “I can see that. I’m glad.”
“Yeah, me too.” Jason glanced at his brother - he hadn’t relaxed yet, but a smile had taken place on his face, at least. “You know, I still prefer that it was me than any of the kids. They don't deserve that kind of shit.”
Dick tilted his head. “I’m kind of glad, too. I know you know how to deal with these things.”
Jason didn’t point out that he had nearly been stabbed earlier and was far away to find a way to escape then. “Sure,” he simply said, turning to look outside the window.
“And you know, it’s alright if you’ve never had sex before either,” stated Dick.
Jason felt his face warming up. “Please, don’t give me any sex talk right now. I really don’t want to suffer through that.”
Dick laughed, then - a full belly-laugh - and Jason had a pleased smile.
“I wasn’t planning to. But you don’t have to be ashamed of it. Just in case.”
Jason shook his head. “I wasn’t ashamed.”
“Good.” Dick turned to look at him, and once their gaze met, addressed him a full, nice smile, the side more relieved than anything else but still good to see.
Jason smiled at him, too.
He relaxed in his seat, ready to close his eyes and call it a night. Dick was driving back to the Batcave, anyway, and Jason was so not in the mood to deal with their overbearing father right now. At least if he was asleep he could escape him.
“Thanks for having my back, Dickiebird,” murmured Jason.
His brother reached his hand out to squeeze his hand. “Anytime, Little Wing,” replied his brother.
Jason knew it was true, for anything and everything.
Always had been.
He sent one last look at Dick, concentrated on the road before them, his hand still in his. Then, Jason closed his eyes, and let himself sink into sleep.