Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dick Grayson is dead.

It’s a thought that thrums through him as he eyes all the vampires bowing their heads, barely-disguised awe and sorrow flickering onto their faces. He tightens his grip on his makeshift stake, feeling shards of wood dig into the palm of his hand when he squeezes too tightly, rage and betrayal licking at his insides.

Warmth trickles down his cheeks, dark red obscuring his vision with the tears clinging to his lashes. He exhales raggedly—a useless gesture, considering he doesn’t need to breathe, but it’s the only way to temporarily get a grip on himself, something human to latch onto since he no longer—

A hiss escapes Dick when meets Melinda’s gaze, and he’s overwhelmed by a rage so foul that he can feel his lips draw back in a snarl, more pronounced by the exposure of his new fangs.

The crowd parts as he quickly makes his way over, moving faster than he ever expected. Dick grips the stake even tighter, the desire for bloodshed overriding his innate instinct to protect his family.

He thinks Melinda senses it, too, judging by the way she curls in on herself. His sister inclines her head like she’s accepting her place at the guillotine, and Dick’s sorely tempted to follow through because she caused his death. More importantly, she put another life in danger.

“Dickie?”

A shadow shifts to peek around her, blue eyes staring up at him with only curiosity and no fear. Small hands release her pants before a tiny body toddles over to him, arms wrapping around one of his legs, uncaring of the tears and bloodstains that litter his jeans.

“Tim,” he says, pausing to drag his tongue over his fangs. They retract soon after, and he feels that anger slowly trickle away as he keeps gazing down at his baby brother, who offers a sunny smile, despite their awful surroundings. “Tim.”

The stake falls out of his hand and clatters to the ground.

Dick scoops up his brother and buries his face in those baby-soft strands, breathing in the scent of strawberries. Something in him, restless and yearning (for what, he doesn’t know), settles the longer he holds Tim, feeling a small hand pat one of his cheeks—pap pap pap.

“Dick,” Melinda says softly, and Dick turns his head to shoot her a glare, bouncing his brother when he makes a confused sound.

“I don’t want to hear it,” he says shortly. Dick turns to gaze at the crowd, hating how those glowing red eyes stare at him, expectant in a way that makes dread crawl down his spine. “You’ve done enough already.”

He turns toward the exit, and again, the crowd parts for him, all of them silent sentinels as they watch him leave with his brother in his arms.

The stairs creak beneath him with each step while a weariness settles into his bones, along with a sore feeling he cannot explain. He stumbles over to one of the diner seats, sinking down on it and focusing on the body in his arms, tuning his new ears to the sound of Tim’s beating heart, which slowly thuds in that small chest.

Pap, pap, pap.

A smile tugs at his lips. “Yes, baby?” he asks.

“Dickie hurt?”

“Why do you ask?”

Tim pats him again, insistently, and Dick leans back to see a smear of red across his fingers. “Dickie hurt,” he says again, holding up his hand. “See? Dickie needs a bandaid.”

Dick huffs out a laugh, reaching up to wipe away the blood. “Good thing we have Hello Kitty ones back at home.” He rubs it between his fingers, hating how it sticks to his skin. It feels unnatural, somehow—tacky, another reminder of his new designation.

“Timmy?” Dick continues, leaning down to bump their foreheads together. “You’re okay, right? Did Melinda or any of the other vampires hurt you?”

“No, Dickie. No hurt.”

“Okay,” he breathes, kissing the top of Tim’s head. His brother feels so warm and alive, but Dick also hates how he can smell the blood beneath his skin. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Don’t tell anyone about what happened here, okay?” He swallows around the dryness in his throat and gently squeezes his brother. “They can’t know that I’m a vampire yet. Not until I deal with all of this.”

“I no tell,” Tim says and leans up to smack his lips against Dick’s cheek with a loud mwuah sound. “I keep it a secwet.”

“Thank you, baby,” Dick whispers, a touch hoarse. He rocks them from side to side before getting up, glancing at the doors that led to his death with pursed lips. “I love you,” he adds and grabs a few napkins off the counter to wipe the blood off Tim’s hands.

“Wuv you too,” Tim says with the most sweetest smile in the world.

The moon shines down on them as he exits the diner, and Dick makes the long trek back home. He feels a new call to the night that surrounds him, one that begs to let him fall into instincts he can’t let himself explore, not with his precious baby brother in his arms.

“Come on, Timmy,” Dick murmurs, holding onto Tim tighter as he weaves his way past the stretching trees, twitching with every rustle and croon coming from the hidden creatures around them. “Let’s go home.”

★★

He’s thirsty.

That’s the most prevalent thought coursing through Dick’s head as he climbs up the stairs to his apartment, his slumbering little brother in his arms. The burn in his throat causes his hands to tremble as he pulls his keys out of his pocket, fumbling with them for a moment before he pauses to use the sound of Tim’s heartbeat to calm himself.

Dick unlocks the door, turning on the light and wincing at the harsh glare. He shuts them off, his eyes immediately adjusting to the darkness. He stops in the doorway, allowing himself to feel a flicker of awe when he can see everything around him—nothing is a formless blob.

It’s quickly followed by overwhelming disgust, so to ignore it, he busies himself with taking Tim to his room to avoid confronting his new self-hatred.

His little brother doesn’t wake up, not even when Dick gently places him down on top of the covers. The boy mumbles something unintelligible as he rolls toward his small pile of stuffed animals, and Dick tucks a blanket around his shoulders, staring at his peaceful face for a while.

He swallows, hating the way it scratches at his dry throat. Dick lifts a hand to his neck, rubbing his palm against it as he exits the bedroom, making his way over to the minifridge that’s tucked away in one of the many, wobbly cupboards in his apartment.

Dick usually keeps a few bags of blood with him in case he needs an emergency blood transfusion. So far, he only needed to use them twice, and it wasn’t even for himself, but he still keeps it stocked because his entire family seems to attract bullets and knives every time they drop by to visit Dick in Bludhaven.

The blood bags are lined up on the small shelf, the universal O on the label staring back at him, taunting. His gums start to itch, and he finds himself reaching out to grab one. He’s aware of his fingers brushing over the cold vinyl before his world is shrouded in a terrifying red.

Cold liquid glides down his throat, soothing the dry burn that had previously built up there. Dick’s vaguely aware of something dripping down his chin, dropping onto the floor along with the bag in his hands. He breathes raggedly and then grabs another, sucking it down much like he did the first, ridding himself of the lingering itch in the back of his mind.

“Dickie?”

Dick gasps, abruptly coming back to himself. He stares down at his bloodied hands, only seen thanks to his enhanced vision, and licks his lips after his fangs retract, tasting the remnants of something weirdly sweet. 

“Timmy,” he murmurs, curling his fingers—no, claws—inward.

That monstrous urge to drink until he’s sated roars in his head, but it quiets down when Dick tunes his new ears to the sound of Tim’s heart. It beats almost sluggishly, reminiscent of a person still half-asleep. 

“Timmy,” Dick says again and wipes his hands down the front of his shirt. He pauses, considering, and then tears the torn material off his body, using it to wipe the rest of the blood off his face and neck, tossing it in the general direction of the sink before turning towards his baby brother.

Tim has the blanket that Dick left on him not too long ago wrapped around his shoulders, his half-lidded gaze peeking out the small makeshift hood. The boy yawns and shuffles closer, wrapping himself around one of Dick’s legs and resting his head against it.

“Tired,” he mumbles. “Dickie, wet’s go sleep…”

“You were already asleep,” Dick comments, bemused. He bends down to pick his brother up, perching Tim on his hip and kissing his head. “What do you need me for?”

“To pwotect me,” Tim says, yawning again. He rests his head on Dick’s shoulder, eyes slipping shut. “Fwom the monsters.”

I’m the one you should be protected from, Dick thinks as he carries Tim back to his room, this time pushing back the covers and setting Tim down on the bed. He changes into a pair of pajama pants, tossing his jeans into a random corner before sliding in beneath the covers. I’m one of those monsters now.

But even with these thoughts raging in his head, Dick’s sweet little brother curls toward him, resting a tiny hand over where Dick’s heart no longer beats.

“Night night, Dickie,” Tim says sleepily, his head dropping onto a pillow. “I wuv you.”

“Yeah?” Dick exhales shakily, trying to fight the tears that so badly want to spill. He kisses Tim’s forehead and holds him close, shutting his eyes and pretending that the idea of sleep doesn’t feel like a distant memory. “I love you too, sweetheart. So much.”

As long as Tim isn’t scared of him, then maybe it’s okay if he’s a monster.

★★

Dick tries to fight off the arms grabbing him, but his new vampire strength is no match against the hordes that have been working alongside Mary, Queen of Blood, for centuries.

“I suppose I should thank you,” she says pleasantly. “You rid me of a problem that would have become troublesome to deal with.” Mary cocks her head to the side, inspecting him with her blood-red eyes as a smile spreads across his face. “And I’m grateful, too, for the gift you have brought me, but unfortunately, I cannot allow your continued existence.”

“You can’t have him!” he snarls, fixing his gaze on the silent, still form in her arms.

She snatched Tim from his arms the moment Dick stepped into the room to try and talk to her, holding the squirming boy in a tight grip while her loyal minions held him back. Then, she gripped his chin and forced Tim to meet her gaze, and his distress ceased, leaving a blank-faced child—her thrall worked to keep him still.

“I think you will find I can do what I like,” Mary replies, sounding amused. She lifts a clawed hand and pets through Tim’s hair, walking about the room with Dick’s little brother perched on her hip. “I’m in need of an heir, like most people, and you’ve presented a specimen that can be made perfect with time.”

Dick’s struggle begins anew as she starts walking away from him, finally tearing out one arm from a strong grip and picking his stake back up. He stabs a few vampires, keeping his gaze fixed on Mary on his brother, who stares over her shoulder with empty eyes and a furrowed brow.

“Tim!” Dick calls out desperately, pushing past the masses and falling into a quick tumble. He uses the momentum to launch himself toward them, only for another vampire to tackle him before Dick can reach Mary, his stake falling out of his hand and clattering to the ground.

“Aren’t you just the sweetest?” she coos, standing over him. “So eager to die just for a chance to save your family. Well, you don’t need to worry about that any longer, Grayson, for he’s your brother no more.” Then, Mary smiles, fangs on display, and abruptly turns to sink her sharp teeth into Tim’s small neck.

“NO!” Dick screams.

He lifts himself up, only to be slammed into the ground, his ears ringing from the force of it. Dick watches through hazy eyes as Mary bites through her own wrist, lifting it to Tim’s mouth and smearing her blood across his lips.

“There,” she breathes with obvious delight and crouches down beside him, flashing a bloodied grin. “Everything is as it should be now, and all you have to do is shut your eyes and let yourself be washed away into the darkness.” Mary brushes her fingers down his cheek, the mockery of sweetness making him sick to his stomach. “Don’t you fret, Grayson. I’ll take good care of him.”

Sharp teeth bite his shoulder, and the white-hot pain makes him choke. It hurts more than getting shot, more than all the stab wounds and bone breaks that have haunted his lifetime. The pressure on his arms disappears, and Dick rolls over, lifting his head.

“Tim,” he slurs as his vision blurs over, red teardrops clinging to his lashes. “No…”

There is no pain, Dick thinks as he pushes himself up to his knees, slapping a hand over the bleeding wound on his shoulder. Mary is walking away with Tim still in her arms, though he seems to be moving around—reawakening into vampirehood, maybe. There is no pain.

He stuffs his feelings into a box and shoves it down deep, releasing a ragged breath. Dick tries to make his brain work, but he can’t fight past the fog, unable to do a thing as fingers grip his hair and tip his head back, forcing his gaze to the skylight above him.

Then, there’s the sound of a shocked gasp.

Dick tears himself away from the faltering grip and turns his head toward where Mary stands. She shudders, and then her body collapses into dust. Tim drops to the floor with a surprised sound while Dick’s wooden stake rolls away from him, bouncing off the steps and stopping in front of Dick’s knees.

Clarity trickles in, and Dick grabs it, bouncing up and shoving it through the chests of the vampires closest to him. They explode into dust, and Dick ignores the mess as he stumbles his way over to his baby brother, dispersing the ashes of the fallen vampires. He ignores the silence around them and the weight of all the stares as he drags Tim onto his lap, cradling him close while he combs his fingers through Tim’s hair.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m so, so sorry.”

A lone tear slips down his cheeks. He knows, without looking, that it’ll be blood red—the same color leaking out of Tim’s eyes as he sobs and clings to Dick’s front, obviously frightened of what just happened to him.

“Dickie,” he cries. “Dickie, it hurts…”

“I know, baby, I know,” Dick murmurs, curling a hand around the back of his head. He cradles his brother close, curling around him to shield him from the glowing eyes hidden in the shadows.

He slowly makes his way through a lullaby, one that his mother used to croon to him when he was too rowdy to sleep. Back then, the soothing lull of her voice always dragged him to sleep, and although it may not work here, considering their undead status, he thinks that maybe it’ll help calm Tim somehow.

“It’s okay,” Dick says after a long while, voice hoarse. The passage of time seems so different now—but it doesn’t matter. He’ll sit here for days if it means that Tim feels better. “It’s okay, Timmy. I’m here.” He kisses the top of Tim’s hand, his dead heart wrenching in his chest when Tim weakly grasps his shirt. “I’ve got you, Robin. I won’t let you fall.”

Tim sniffles. “Dickie,” he mumbles.

Silent forms spill out of the darkness, and Dick gazes at them steadily, curling his lip back in a silent snarl. All the vampires stare at him silently, and then Tim lifts his head, twin streaks of red staining his cheeks.

Then, each figure bows their head, all facing Tim. It’s similar to what the other vampires did to Dick when he killed Pandora. It feels more weighted this time, and there’s a tension in the air that Dick can’t place.

One breaks away from the crowd, coming up to where Dick sits on the ground. They immediately fall to one knee, gazing at Tim with earnest eyes. “My King,” they whisper with reverence, and, in unison, the whole room echoes this declaration, all eyes fixed upon their new ruler.

“Oh,” Dick breathes.

★★

Dick absconds with Tim back to his apartment, where he proceeds to curl around his little brother in the darkness, silently mourning the loss of Tim’s life.

His beautiful, fluttery heartbeat is gone, and his cheeks will no longer flood with warmth whenever he’s overcome with joy. Instead, Tim’s a walking dead boy who will never be able to enjoy the sunlight or eat all his favorite foods—a monster, just like Dick.

“No,” he whispers, kissing the top of Tim’s head and squeezing him tighter. “No, baby. You could never be one…”

“Dickie?” Tim asks quietly.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“My thwoat feels itchy.”

“Oh.” Dick shuts his eyes, pressing their foreheads together. He breathes in the scent of strawberries that seem to cling to Tim’s hair and then pulls back to smile at Tim. “You’re just hungry, baby,” he says, tweaking his nose. “But I’ll fix it, okay?”

He rises, taking his little brother into the kitchen. Dick opens his blood bag fridge (maybe he should transfer it over to the bigger fridge) and pulls one out, dangling it in front of Tim’s face.

“This will make it all better,” Dick promises.

Tim stares at the blood bag and then looks up at him. “That’s gwoss,” he says, eyes brimming with red tears. He grabs Dick’s shirt again and tugs at the collar. “Dickie, my tummy hurts…”

“Why don’t you try some?” Dick prods, tearing a corner off with his teeth. He holds it up to Tim’s face, only for the boy to turn his head away with a look of disgust. “Baby,” he murmurs, bumping their heads together. “This is what you have to drink now. You’re a vampire, remember? Just like me.”

“I don’t wanna be one,” Tim says, then he starts crying quietly.

Dick’s dead heart lurches in his chest. He sets the blood bag down, gently rocking his baby brother. Dick hums one of the lullabies he grew up with until the sobs taper off into sniffles, and he wipes off the bloody streaks with a soft towel, offering a weak smile and kissing his forehead.

“How about you watch some dancing fruit while I figure something out?” Dick offers, waiting for Tim to nod before taking him to the living room. He puts the video on and sets his brother down on the couch, ruffling his hair before going back to the kitchen, where he proceeds to clutch the counter and let his head hang, wishing he never brought Tim with him to his fight against Mary.

It’d been a spur-of-the-moment decision because he couldn’t trust anyone to watch Tim, not with most of Pandora’s vampire minions searching for him, and he certainly wasn’t going to go to Melinda anytime soon.

And now he’s dead, Dick thinks, blinking back the tears. All because of me.

He brings an end to his pity party after he hears Tim quietly crying again. When he peeks into the living room, he sees Tim curled up on the couch, face buried in one of Dick’s cushions. Dick runs his fingers through his hair and tries to think of a solution to Tim’s hunger, and his eyes catch the gleam of Tim’s blue tumbler.

Dick dumps out the leftover apple juice and washes out the cup. He swiftly dries it and brings it over to the counter, grabbing the blood bag and squeezing most of it into the tumbler. Then, Dick takes it over to his little brother, crouching in front of the couch and reaching out to wipe away those bloody tears after the boy sits up.

“Here, baby,” Dick says gently. “Have some juice, okay? It’ll make you feel better.”

Tim sniffles and accepts the tumbler, and Dick watches with bated breath as he brings the straw up to his mouth. He smacks his lips together after a while, and his expression brightens.

“Good!” he chirps and goes back to drinking his blood, reaching out to push a hand against Dick’s cheek. “I’m twying to watch the fwuit,” Tim says, pouting at him. “Go away, Dickie! I can’t see!”

“Alright, alright,” Dick says with a laugh, hopping up to leave. “I see I’m not wanted here.” He pauses, leaning down to tap Tim’s nose. “If you want more juice, just let me know, okay?”

Tim shoots him a fanged smile. “Okay, Dickie!” he says. “Thank ‘ou!”

Dick goes back to the kitchen and finds a lone vampire leaning against the counter as they coolly gaze at Dick. His hackles rise, but he forces himself to calm down, though he can’t quite contain the irritation out of his voice when he asks, “What do you want?”

“Thought it’d be easier if one of us came in here to better protect our Lord,” they say quietly.

“He can’t be your leader,” Dick says fiercely. His eyes flick to the living room, where Tim’s still distracted by the TV as he kicks his feet against the couch. “There’s no way we can let this happen. Why not have one of you step up, huh?”

“The transference of power is absolute, but take comfort in knowing that the oldest of the group will be completely loyal to Timothy and whatever cause he will present.”

“He’s four,” Dick says flatly. “I doubt he’s thinking about anything nefarious.”

“It doesn’t have to be anything like that,” the vampire replies. “To put it simply: if he orders us to jump, then we’ll jump. If he asks us to hunt down his enemies and put an end to them, then we’ll do so without question. Anything he desires can and will belong to him as long as he asks.”

“And what about Mary’s plans?” Dick asks, crossing his arms. “Is that something you’ll all just drop out of the blue, or are we going to have to fight against our own kind?”

“The inner circle will, but the newer vampires…” A sigh. “They won’t agree to a leader so young, and the kind hearts that you two wear on your sleeves may cause those fledglings to lash out, especially if you continue Mary’s peace with the humans. You saw the opposing side with Pandora, did you not?”

“I did.”

“Most of our side will stick to those ideals, should our young Lord choose to share those beliefs, but Pandora’s loyalists remain true to their cause, and they’ll most likely be searching for you for guidance.”

“I’m not going to provide any,” Dick says, grimacing. “I don’t… have anything to give them. They wanted me to kill Mary for their own gain, but I can’t…” He glances over at Tim. “I can’t let them close, not with Tim’s life on the line.”

He holds up a hand when Tim slides off the couch and starts walking over. Dick smiles down at his brother when the boy leans against his legs, holding up his cup.

“All done?” Dick asks. “Or do you want more?”

“More,” Tim says. “Pwease.”

“Alright. You go sit down, and I’ll bring it over, okay?” He ruffles the kid’s hair, something in him melting when he gets another one of those fanged smiles. God, despite the circumstances, those tiny pointed teeth are so cute. “And then it’s bedtime.”

“No!” Tim pouts. “No bedtime!”

“Yes, bedtime. You didn’t take a nap earlier, Timmy, and you need your sleep, or else you’re going to be cranky in the morning.”

“No cwanky!”

“Yes, cranky.” Dick taps the tip of his nose, delighted to see the way his eyes cross. “Now, why don’t you take your silly butt over to the couch and wait for more juice, okay? I’ll be there in a second! I just have to talk to my friend here.”

“Oh.” Tim finally looks over at the other vampire, cocking his head to the side. “You smell funny.”

“Tim!” Dick hisses while the other vampire laughs. “You can’t just say those things!”

“It’s fine,” they say, holding up a hand. “Honestly, it’s what I was expecting from our little Lord.” They crouch down in front of Tim, holding out a hand. “You’re most likely smelling the previous leader’s scent still on me, which is messing with your senses because you already claim us by the transference that occurred earlier.”

“So, you mine now?” Tim asks with a frown. “Does that mean you’re wike my minion? Fwom the movie?”

Dick sighs.

“Sure?” The other vampire glances at Dick with a look of befuddlement. “Uh, I guess you can see us that way if you want.”

“Okay.” Tim nods. He reaches over to take the vampire’s hand, giving it a shake. “Banana,” he says and then walks back to the living room. Dick watches as he pulls himself onto the couch with minimal struggle before leaning back against the cushions, kicking his feet while bright colors dance along his face.

“What does that mean?” Tim’s vampire minion wonders.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dick says, waving a hand. He opens up the tumbler cup and squeezes the rest of the blood into it, opening up his recently bought biohazard container and dumping the empty pack inside. “Like, you seriously don’t want to know. I wish I didn’t know, but unfortunately, he had a phase and…” He shudders, shaking his head. “It was a lot.”

He pauses before he exits the kitchen and looks back at the other vampire. “While you’re here,” he says. “Would you be willing to do something for us?”

“If it helps our Lord, then yes.”

Dick holds up the tumbler cup. “You think you could make juice boxes for the blood?” he asks. “There’s no way I’ll be able to get him to drink it straight out of the bag, and while this is working just fine so far, I feel like having another option on hand would be useful.”

“Alright,” they say slowly. “I suppose we can do that.”

“Thanks,” Dick says with a smile. “I appreciate it.”

“Before you head over,” they say, reaching out to grab his elbow. “We need to come up with something to say to the rest of the group that doesn’t already know about our change in leadership, in case they ask questions about Mary, but…”

“But, what?”

“Pandora’s followers. I wonder what they’ll say if word got out about our new Lord.” A pause. “Or what they’ll do.”

Dick looks over at his sweet baby brother, who bobs his head to the beat of the song while strawberries and blueberries bounce along with happy smiles. He thinks about Tim being hurt because of Dick’s fuck up, and he thinks about losing his little brother to angry or power-hungry vampires.

“Tell them it’s me,” he says finally, turning to face the other vampire. “Tell them that I’m the Vampire King.”

★★

Tim’s adjustment to his vampirism isn’t easy.

He struggles to make sense of his new traits, which often results in frustrated tears or bite marks all over the nearest surface (sometimes, even on Dick’s arms).

Dick tries to help him, but his own control is tenacious at best. His only tether to humanity happens to be his vampire baby brother, so Dick pours all of his focus into making sure Tim won’t turn into a mini murder machine. He keeps Tim’s hunger sated by having blood juice boxes on hand, and he offers a few wooden toys for Tim to chew on when his fangs get particularly itchy.

(It’s better than letting him chew on his vampire minions, at the very least.)

At some point, Dick has to admit that he’s a little overwhelmed—and lonely, too, since they’ve secluded themselves in Dick’s apartment to prevent their secret from getting out. He avoids video calls with his friends and family in case they’ll somehow figure it out just by looking at him through a screen.

But as more time passes, Dick realizes he needs to see his friends, or he’ll lose his mind.

“Timmy,” Dick says one night when they’re watching a movie, petting his baby-soft hair. “How would you feel if I invited a few people over?”

“Wike who?” Tim says, sitting up to gaze at Dick with glowing red eyes. 

“The Titans,” Dick says, pinching Tim’s nose and gently shaking his head. “Also, what did I say about your vampire eyes? You know you have to get a handle on that, baby, or else people are gonna know that you’re a little menace to society.”

“M’not a menace!” Tim says indignantly (and nasally), but the glow fades away. “But, um, yeah! They can come over!” He pushes Dick’s hand away, though he does hold onto it, making Dick suspect he’s going to receive a bite soon. “When can we see our famiwy?”

“Not yet, baby,” Dick says gently. “We have to figure out this whole vampire thing before we can even think about getting near them.” 

And they can’t go out at night because Dick’s still being sought out by the remainders of Pandora’s faction, who hopefully know by now that he’s the current King.

Tim huffs, kicking his thigh. “I miss ‘em,” he says sadly. “Daddy says that he misses me too, but he too busy with his secwet mission, and Jay told me that he’s gonna bweak into here to take me away!” He flops back on the couch, arms splayed out. “I wanna go home, Dickie…”

“I know, baby, I know,” Dick says, pulling the boy onto his lap and holding him close. He pauses the movie and starts rocking his baby brother, something in his chest twinging when Tim nestles against him, one hand clinging to the front of Dick’s shirt. “But this can be home too, right? You like it here with me, don’t you?”

“Uh-huh,” Tim says, his voice carrying a hint of a tremor. “But I wike Gotham, too. That’s where evewyone wives…”

“It’s just for a while,” Dick murmurs. “Until we can get a handle on things, and then we can move into the manor for a while—I doubt those mean vampires would be stupid enough to try and get past Bruce’s traps.”

“Daddy smart,” Tim says. “Daddy got some, um, pwans for evewything.”

“Exactly,” Dick says, kissing his head again. “But we’ll try to see them soon, okay? We just need to get used to people again, and I think the way to do that is to start with people who could outrun us or fight us off.”

He glances at the picture on the far wall—a selfie of himself and the Titans—and realizes he knows a few people who fit that description.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Dick says, rubbing Tim’s back. “I’ll figure it out.”

★★

Dick gazes into the night, turning his phone over in his hands. He clicks the button on the side, smiling down at the photo of himself and Tim as his lock screen, the boy smiling sweetly at the camera while Dick kisses his tiny cheek.

He looks over his shoulder when he hears Tim shifting restlessly on the bed, mumbling something about a Transformer into the pillow before settling down, silent once more.

He huffs out a laugh, making his way over and sitting on the edge of the mattress. Dick combs his fingers through Tim’s hair, the soft strands tickling his palm. Tim rolls toward him, a hint of a smile on his face, and Dick marvels over how vampirism seems to keep Tim asleep even longer.

It helps when it’s time for a nap, but it’s a bit scary in the morning when Dick’s half-asleep brain momentarily forgets that they’re vampires.

His phone buzzes in his other hand, and Dick looks down to see Wally’s picture flashing across his screen. It’s a selfie of the two of them when they were younger, with Dick caught in the midst of a laugh and Wally looking remarkably pleased with himself.

He ignores the call and opens up the message thread he has with Wally, tapping a claw against the screen before finally figuring out what to say.

70 Alternative Accounts

sonic: can’t talk
sonic: tim is asleep

tails: lame
tails: go in the other room
tails: it’s been FOREVERRRRRRRR
tails: i’ve almost forgotten the sound of your voice…

sonic: so dramatic

tails: i can’t help it! you suddenly went no contact with us!
tails: your brother doesn’t even know what’s going on 

sonic: … which brother

tails: the stabby one

sonic: don’t call him that

tails: i think i’m allowed when he quite literally stabbed me for hugging you

sonic: and you never TOLD me???

tails: it was fine
tails: i mean, i healed and all, so.

Dick snorts, bringing a hand to cover his mouth after glancing at Tim. He pats his head one last time before slipping off the bed to exit the room, keeping the door open a crack. Dick shuffles into the living room and flops down on the couch, where he contemplates what he should say.

sonic: hey

tails: yeah?

sonic: come over

tails: right now???

sonic: wait no
sonic: tomorrow
sonic: bring donna too
sonic: please?

tails: what am i, a chauffeur?

sonic: yes 🥰

tails: fair enough 🤔
tails: we’ll see you tomorrow
tails: should we bring anything for tim
tails: i’m gonna bring something for tim
tails: what does he like again? dinosaurs?

sonic: please don’t travel back in time to get him a dinosaur.

tails: 🙂

sonic: PLEASE

tails: see you tomorrow ❤️
tails: still unfair that i’m not sonic

sonic: blue = nightwing = me

tails: 💔

Dick snorts, tossing his phone onto the coffee table and rolling onto his back. He stares up at his cracked ceiling, listening to Bludhaven’s nightlife. His enhanced hearing allows him to hear plenty more than before, which means he also catches the sound of shuffling steps in the other apartments. Dick sighs, closing his eyes.

Some of Mary’s horde ended up leasing in this building just so they could stick close to Tim, offering protection and information whenever needed. It usually consists of ominous reports of the other vampires searching for the Vampire King and the fear that they won’t be enough in the face of the late Pandora’s forces.

(“Unless you take charge of them,” one had said hopefully. “They might be willing to stop if you stepped into Pandora’s role.”

“No way,” Dick had replied with a shake of his head. “What they want for this world goes against everything I’ve learned, and I can’t let myself be drawn into that.” He had glanced over at Tim and watched as the boy played with his toys, joyous, despite what happened to him. “And I can’t put him at risk. They’ll kill him to get to me, and I’d sooner kill myself before I let that happen.”)

His phone buzzes again, and Dick blindly reaches out to grab it, grumbling when he smacks the side of his hand against the wood a couple of times. Dick brings the device up to his face and cracks an eye open, a smile stretching across his face when he sees an enthusiastic message from Donna:

‘See you soon, Boy Wonder!!!!’

He sends a bunch of blue and red hearts back and sets his phone on do not disturb (which Babs can easily get through if there’s an emergency in Gotham). Dick shuts his eyes, figuring he should get some rest before his two friends descend upon him.

★★

Tim perks up when someone knocks on the door, bouncing excitedly on the couch.

“Is that them?” he whispers, tugging on Dick’s shirt. “Is it? Is it!?”

“Yes, baby,” Dick says, kissing his forehead. He stands with Tim in his arms but moves toward the bedroom first, setting him down on the floor. “I want you to stay in here for now, okay?”

“Aw…” Tim pouts. “Why?”

“Because I gotta talk to them about what happened to me,” Dick says, ruffling his hair. “That way, I can make sure they’re okay with the whole vampire thing before asking them to help me keep you safe.”

One of the vampires came to him just before Tim woke up with a delivery of blood juice boxes, worriedly reporting about finding a few drained bodies around the outer parts of Bludhaven, which nearly tempted Dick into running straight to Gotham.

Not yet, he reminds himself again, guiding Tim over to the mess of Legos he left on the floor. We can’t go yet.

He shuts the door after Tim gets situated and quickly makes his way over to the front one, opening it in a way that allows him to stand in the shadows of the room to avoid the sun spilling inside.

“DICK!” Wally exclaims, and Dick braces for impact, opening his arms to accept the hug that his best friend gives him. They end up on the floor between one blink and the next, and while Dick’s not as winded as usual (thanks to his vampirism), he still feels an ache in his back from the force of their embrace.

“I’m getting too old for this,” Dick complains, wrapping his arms and legs around Wally. He grins when the other man starts nuzzling his cheek, feeling a few sparks pass between them. “I swear, each time we do this, we just get closer and closer to breaking something.”

“You’re never too old for me, Dick,” Wally says cheerfully. “And you know I’m careful about how much force I put into my speed hugs, especially when it’s with you.”

Dick glances up at Donna, who shoots him a knowing look as she shuts the door and leans against it. He’s suddenly glad he can’t blush anymore because he’s certain it’d be blazing across his cheeks over that last statement from Wally.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles, shoving the speedster off him. Dick makes sure to not use too much force, lest he alerts them to his change in status, which causes him to feel a brief flicker of sympathy for the other superstrength heroes around him because it’s much harder than it sounds.

Donna drags him in for a hug next, and Dick grunts (it’s a squeak, he can admit that in his head) when she squeezes him tightly.

“Come on,” she says, and Dick lets her drag him over to the couch, not even complaining when she shoves him down into the cushions. Donna plops down beside him, draping her legs across his lap, while Wally takes a seat on the coffee table, munching on a donut.

“Where’d you get that?” Dick asks curiously.

“Nearby shop,” Wally says, a few crumbs spilling from his lips. “You know you have, like, nothing in your fridge? Besides all those blood bags, which is kinda weird, but you tend to lose a lot of blood whenever you go out into the world, so it makes sense, too.”

“How are you feeding Tim?” Donna asks and then wrinkles her nose. “Don’t tell me you’re feeding him takeout. I don’t think that’s something a baby should be eating in bulk…”

“Tim’s not a baby,” Dick says, shaking his head. “He’s four.”

“That’s baby age,” Wally replies.

“Well, don’t say that to his face, or he’ll bite you.” Something that Dick’s more afraid of now that Tim’s a vampire. Thank god his fangs are tiny, which prevents terrible scarring but doesn’t lessen the pain.

“Let’s not get off topic,” Donna says quickly, blindly reaching over to swat Wally’s side. “We can discuss Dick’s poor eating habits later.” She removes her legs from Dick’s lap and offers a bright smile, the kind that makes his heart flutter with affection. “Why’d you call us over, Dick? Is everything okay? Do you need help?”

“Uh,” Dick shifts on the couch, rubbing his palms against the fabric of his jeans. He wets his lips, nervous after seeing the concerned look in her eyes. “I’m fine. Really. I just wanted to see you and… maybe talk to you about something that happened.”

“Oh, okay,” Wally says, slightly muffled due to the donut he shoves into his mouth. “Go ‘head then, if ‘ou want. Open ears and stuff.”

“Right,” Dick murmurs. He gazes down at his unweathered hands, still finding it strange to see most of his calluses and scars gone, thanks to his rebirth into immortality. “Before I start,” he says. “I need you guys to try and keep an open mind while I explain what’s happening.”

“Of course,” Donna says kindly, squeezing his knee. She tips her head down, and Dick meets her gaze cautiously, his stomach fluttering when he spies the open warmth that awaits him. “We’re here for you, Dick. No matter what.”

“No matter what,” Wally echoes, and the smile on his face makes Dick’s stomach flutter for a different reason.

“Right,” he replies, swallowing around the sudden dryness in his throat. Dick cocks his head to the side and takes a moment to listen to Tim quietly playing with his Legos, humming a little tune as he works. “Okay.”

His friends keep staring at him as he works up the nerve to finally confess the secret that’s eating him alive. Dick flexes his hands against his thighs and lifts his head, leaning back against the cushions and trying to ignore the prickle in his gums.

“I fucked up,” he begins in a shaky voice. “Badly. It’s not something I can fix or walk away from, and I just—” Here, Dick stops to chew on the inside of his cheek, the pain forcing away the threat of his tears. “I don’t know what to do,” he finally admits, something gripping his undead heart and squeezing until anxiety pops out.

“That’s okay,” Wally says, moving to stand behind Dick. “We can help you figure it out, man.”

He grips one of Dick’s shoulders, the touch sending a tingle of warmth through him. Dick likes to think that this feeling comes from Wally’s lightning because it happens every time they touch, but in reality, it’s probably just Dick’s painfully obvious feelings for his best friend.

Dick exhales heavily before allowing his fangs to slide out. He feels a shift behind his eyes, and he knows that they’re glowing a dull red. 

“I’m a vampire,” he says, not looking at either of them. “And I need your help.”

★★

His friends cry.

It’s not a surprising reaction. Dick thinks he’d end up doing the same thing if he learned that they essentially died. It’s something that Dick is still grappling with, and it gets easier to ignore when he pours all of his focus into taking care of Tim.

He mourns alongside Wally and Donna, letting his red tears spill down his cheeks while they wrap him up in the tightest embrace, crying into his hair and shoulder. Dick also puts a stop to their guilt fest when they express their regrets for not being there for him when he needed someone.

“You couldn’t have known,” Dick assures them, shutting his eyes and taking a moment to memorize their individual scents and heartbeats. “ I didn’t even know until it was happening, and I couldn’t… Tim was the only thing holding me together, so I didn’t want to see anyone until I was sure I could control myself around others.”

“It’s alright,” Donna says with a sniffle. “You don’t have to explain yourself, Dick. We get it.”

“If you need any help with that, then we’re here for you,” Wally says, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Or with anything! No matter how crazy it may seem.”

“You really mean that,” Dick says softly. It’s hard to keep the disbelief out of his voice. After so much time spent together, throughout all their struggles and losses, Dick still has trouble believing that they’re so willing to stand by his side, regardless of what’s going on. “Thank you.”

“You never have to thank us for this,” Donna says, leaning back to place a hand on his cheek. She strokes a thumb across the curve of it, a kind smile on her face. “You’re our best friend, Dick. We’d do anything for you.”

Dick tilts his face into her gentle touch, eyes fluttering shut. “Okay,” he whispers, exhaling shakily. “Okay.”

They stay like that for a while, and Dick finally extracts himself from the hug when his bloody tears start to dry on his face. He goes to the kitchen to grab a couple of paper tiles and wipe them off, bringing back two water bottles for his friends.

“This doesn’t secretly have blood in it, right?” Wally asks, glancing at it warily after he accepts one.

“No, it doesn’t.” He pauses. “But make sure you don’t touch the juice boxes in the fridge, alright?”

Wally stares at him with wide eyes, and Donna steps in front of him, effectively shielding the other man from view. “So, besides the whole vampire thing,” she says, placing her hands on her hips. “What else is going on with you?” Donna frowns. “How is Tim taking all of this? Does he know?”

“He knows,” Dick says, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He circles the room, coming to a stop in front of the window. It’s covered in blackout curtains to prevent any trickle of light from entering the room, and a part of Dick aches to push it open and let the warmth of the sun dance on his skin.

But he can’t.

Because he’s a vampire, and it’ll burn him.

(Dick Grayson is dead.)

“About helping me,” Dick says slowly, turning to face them. “There’s something you could do for me right now—actually, I might need you guys for a while, but that depends on the other vampires.”

“What other vampires?” Donna asks cautiously.

“Oh, you know.” Dick waves a hand. “The ones that are trying to hunt me down because they’re eager to get the Vampire King on their side, which is very much against humans, very unlike Mary, Queen of Blood, who wanted to keep peace with humans.”

But not with me, Dick thinks, disgruntled. And that’s only because she fixated on Tim, for whatever reason. I would have been willing to keep the peace with her had she not taken my baby from me… She also tried to kill me, but that’s beside the point.

“Is that why the Justice League seems so… tense?” Wally wonders, eyes wide. “I swear I overheard one of them mention a Vampire King, but I didn’t realize it was you! That’s… pretty cool, actually, if we ignore the fact that you died to gain that title.”

“Huh.” Dick ponders the new information. It seems like the remainder of Pandora’s group are pretending that they have the new Lord backing their ideals, which doesn’t bode well for the future of the world… “Well, what I need most from you is your help keeping the Vampire King safe, if that’s alright.”

He walks past them, weaving his way through the living room and towards the hall that leads to the bedroom. Dick hears his friends follow after a beat, and then Wally walks beside him with a frown on his face.

“You want us to protect the Vampire King?” he asks. “Dude, I thought that was you…”

“I’ve claimed that title in the vampire world, so in a way, I am the King,” Dick says, gripping the doorknob. He lets his eyes slip shut, readying himself for the news he’s about to deliver. “But the real Vampire King is my little brother.”

“Which one?” Donna asks.

Dick opens the door in response, letting it swing open to reveal Tim, who sits on the floor with piles of Legos beside him. He stops fiddling with the bricks to wave at them, a fanged smile on his face.

“Hi, Donna!” Tim chirps. “Hi, Wally!”

Dick smiles back at him, stepping into the room and taking a seat across from his brother. “Hi, Timmy,” he says warmly, picking up a yellow Lego. “Having fun?”

“Uh-huh!”

“What are you building?”

“Titans Tower,” Tim answers, pushing the base of his structure closer to Dick. So far, it’s not an exact replica, and that’s only because Dick sees a multitude of colors being used, but it seems to be the same shape at the very least. “Do you wike it?”

“I love it,” Dick replies honestly and turns to the other two. “And I’m sure Donna and Wally love it, too.”

Both of his friends are frozen in the doorway, staring at Tim with something akin to horror in their eyes. Dick feels a pang of worry, hoping his mistake won’t turn them away from him, but then Wally audibly swallows before walking in to crouch down beside Tim, a small smile on his face.

“Hey, little man,” he says, reaching out to poke at the base of Tim’s Lego Tower. “I think it looks pretty good! You’ve been working hard on it, haven’t you?”

“Uh-huh!” Tim nods, his floppy hair getting into his face. “Dickie say that he’s gonna buy me more pieces, and then I’m gonna build the, um…” He frowns and points up at the ceiling. “The one that daddy made? I forget the name.”

“The Watchtower?” Donna says, sliding into the space between Dick and Tim on the opposite side of Wally. She flashes a smile in Dick’s direction before refocusing on Tim. “That’s a pretty big goal. I bet Dick’s going to have to buy you a bunch of Legos and maybe a few strings so you can hang it up in your room.”

Tim gasps. “Can we do that, Dickie?” he asks, turning his pleading eyes toward Dick. “Pwease?”

“I guess I’m buying you more Legos,” Dick says with a sigh, feeling a flicker of joy when he gazes at the three and sees happy smiles directed at him. “Alright, baby. We can do that for you, but you have to finish building Titans Tower first, okay?”

“Okay!” Tim beams before reaching over to pat Wally’s thigh. “How is Bart? I miss him.”

“He’s doing good,” Wally answers, the slight tension in his shoulders slowly disappearing. “You know, he keeps asking me to bug Dick to see how you’re doing, so I’m pretty sure he misses you, too.”

“I wanna see him,” Tim says, pouting. “But Dickie says we can’t go pwaces yet. We gotta wait.” He picks up a few pieces, placing them in a few spots around his Lego structure. “D’you think he would wanna be a vampiwe?”

“If it’s you asking?” Wally snorts. “Then, yes. But it’s probably not a good idea to turn speedsters into vampires. Who knows how it’ll affect our powers, and you have to consider our metabolism, too. We might end up drinking the whole world dry.”

“Good point,” Dick muses, unable to help the flicker of sadness over the thought. It would have been nice to have the surety of forever with Wally. “Wonders and Supers might be okay to turn, but you have to ask beforehand, okay?”

“Okay,” Tim says easily.

“I feel like this is a hint,” Donna remarks in a dry tone. “Is this a hint? Are you saying you want to turn me into a vampire, Dick? Because if you ask nicely, I might say yes.”

“Will you really?” Dick bats his eyelashes in her direction. “Well, then, will you pretty please let me turn you into a vampire? With a bloody cherry on top?”

“Give me some time to think about it,” she says, twirling a strand of her hair with a sweet smile. “It’s not every day a striking young man asks to turn you into a vampire and spend eternity with him.”

“Aw, you’d stay with me forever?” Dick places a hand on his chest, wiping away an imaginary tear. “I’m so touched.”

His friends stay until night falls, and then they offer to watch over Tim while he goes out as Nightwing. Dick takes them up on the offer since he hasn’t been around for a while, and it’ll give him the chance to try and discover any vampires that might be hiding in his territory—and also remind Bludhaven that their protector is still out there.

It’s a great night, made much more exhilarating with his new vampire powers. Dick practically flies through the air as he jumps from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally dropping down into an alley to easily beat down a few muggers, and he heads back home without a bruise.

He also discovers something new when he accidentally slips off a wobbly piece of brick, tipping over the edge in surprise. 

Dick knows he shouldn’t freeze in situations like this, but he can’t help it when his stomach swoops, the ever-present fear of falling suddenly making a return. His mind recalls the many people that have fallen in his life, starting with his parents and ending with his little brother, Tim, who decided to throw himself off a cabinet one morning and take off a few years of Dick’s life in the process.

He reaches for his grapple line but then experiences the most strangest feeling in the world. A warm tingle passes through him, crawling down his spine and passing through the rest of his body. Something in him shifts, but it’s not painful—similar to the feeling of a tooth being drilled without any of the pain that comes from it due to the numbness.

Dick’s eyes fly open, and he gasps, turning his head. It’s harder to see now, but even he can notice how large everything looks with his crappy vision. He’s also surrounded by a puff of red mist that dissipates with a few flaps of leathery wings, beating strongly to keep him in the air.

Wait…

“I’m a BAT!?” he exclaims, but it comes out very… squeaky.

He lands on a nearby roof and inspects himself as well as he can. There’s not much to notice, really—just the little claws on his feet and his new wings, which he uses to cover his tiny body while he chitters in confusion.

This is so fucking weird, Dick thinks, turning in a circle. He tips his head back to gaze up at the moon looming above his head. But I guess I should have expected it, considering I’m a vampire.

He frowns… well, he has the feeling of a frown, at the very least. How am I supposed to change back? Dick wonders, unfurling his wings to try and fly. He manages to hover a few feet in the air before he falters, landing back on the ground. Seems like my body is running on instinct when I do this, but I could do with better practice…

But Dick also doesn’t want to be a bat right now, so instead of thinking about how he can try and be a better one, he shuts his eyes and focuses on the feeling from earlier. Nothing happens at first, but Dick starts thinking about being a human, and something in him shifts once again. 

Now that he’s paying attention, Dick can feel the way his body changes from bat to human, how his limbs grow, and his face elongates until it’s back to normal. It still doesn’t hurt, which is great, and it’s not long before he’s staring up at the sky with human eyes.

“Huh,” Dick says, licking his fangs. “Interesting.”

He goes back home to his little brother and his friends. Tim is fast asleep, snoring while he’s sprawled across Donna’s lap in the living room, a dinosaur plush from Wally in his arms. Dick carefully picks him up to take him back to bed so he can talk to his friends about what just happened.

“Aw, you’re so cute,” Donna coos when Dick turns into a bat at her request. He squeaks in protest but immediately stops when she starts scratching behind his ear, and he closes his eyes in bliss. “Heh. You know, this really proves that you’re a Bat deep down, despite your bird personas.”

Dick screeches indignantly and proceeds to walk away, crawling into Wally’s lap and turning his back to her. He ignores all of her pleas for forgiveness, mostly because he can hear the laughter in her voice, and looks up at his better best friend, offering a sad squeak.

“Yeah, I know,” Wally says, patting his head. “Donna bullies us so much, right?”

He nods.

“She is right, though. You are pretty cute.” Wally sighs. “Man, it’s not fair! I want to turn into a bat, too! Stupid speedster metabolism…”

Dick changes back, and that’s when Donna strikes, completely taking him by surprise when she says, “I know you were probably joking earlier, but I think I’m actually okay with you turning me into a vampire.”

“Really?” Dick says, eyes wide.

“You’re important to me,” Donna says quietly, reaching out to grab one of his hands. “And you’re taking on a big task by trying to keep your brother safe from other vampires. I don’t want to risk losing you.” She smiles, though it contains a hint of sadness. “Family means everything to you, Dick, and you rarely ask us for help when dealing with them—so this is me helping.” Dona huffs out a laugh. “And I bet it’d go a long way to have another vampire on your side.”

“Thanks,” Dick whispers, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “You’re my family too, y’know? Both of you.”

“We know,” Wally interjects, a soft smile on his face.

Dick’s not entirely sure how to change someone, but he remembers how Pandora did it to him after draining him of most of his blood. Donna offers her neck, but Dick settles for her wrist, hesitating as he grabs hold of it.

“Stop me if I go too far,” he says, glancing between his two friends. “Alright? I haven’t… done this before, and I’ve only had blood bags so far. No humans.”

Wally slides a hand onto his shoulder. He doesn’t say a word, but his firm squeeze assures Dick that the other man will do what’s necessary to stop him.

Dick brings Donna’s wrist up to his mouth, his fangs sliding out when he smells the blood beneath her skin. Her pulse jumps when he breathes over it, then he bites down, eyes slipping shut when the taste explodes on his tongue.

It’s… okay.

Even though the blood quenches the slight thirst that had built up, all Dick can think about is how this is one of his best friends, how he couldn’t possibly drain her dry. He pulls away after a couple of seconds, wiping the mess off his lips with the back of his hand before biting into his own wrist. He opens it up and brings the bleeding wound to Donna’s mouth, which causes her to glance at him in confusion.

“It’s how you turn,” he explains. “That’s what Pandora did to me after she drained most of my blood, and Mary did the same to Tim right in front of me.”

“I trust you,” Donna says and accepts Dick’s blood in her mouth.

The change happens immediately, and it’s not long before Donna’s drinking from one of Dick’s extra blood bags, eyes glowing a soft red as she gazes at Dick with happiness.

Donna leaves while the moon is still up, promising to stop by again soon. Wally stays the night, and Dick has to pretend it doesn’t feel good to wake up wrapped around his best friend.

At least he got a moment to enjoy it before Tim toddles over to where they’re curled up on the couch. He proceeds to dump a cup of water on them, flashing his fangs in a silent request for food.

“Me too, me too!” Wally says, wiping his face with an unrepentant grin. “Feed me!”

Dick grabs a pillow and smothers him for a bit before slipping off the couch. “You’re lucky I love you,” he grumbles as he scoops up his little brother. Although he’s looking at Tim when he says this, Dick knows that he’s directing the statement to Wally, too, and he ends up scurrying to the kitchen in embarrassment.

“I’m hopeless,” he mutters as he grabs a juice box for Tim and a blood bag for himself. Much to his surprise, the fridge is filled with a variety of food, and he figures that Wally went out for stuff at some point during Dick’s night of patrol. “So, so hopeless.”

“Hopewess,” Tim repeats, snatching the juice box from his hands.

“You didn’t have to agree with me,” Dick says sadly as he squeezes Tim closer. “Why are you so mean to me, baby? Huh? Is it because you’re a vampire now? Is that it?”

“I’m the boss,” Tim replies, pressing one of his tiny hands against Dick’s cheek. “So I gots to keep you in wine.” He starts squirming. “Okay, down pwease!”

“Fine, fine,” Dick says with a sigh, setting his brother down on the floor. He also helps Tim jab his straw into his juice box. “Leave me, then… Just like everyone else…”

“M’gonna go watch more Scooby,” Tim replies, turning away. “Bye, Dickie.”

Dick sighs again, and he pulls out the carton of eggs and proceeds to make an omelet with them all for his speedster best friend, who devours it within seconds and darts out the door after pressing a kiss to Dick’s cheek.

“Gotta go! See you around! I’ll be back this weekend!”

And then he’s gone, leaving Dick to stare after him with wide eyes. One of his hands slowly creeps up to his face, brushing his fingers over the warmth that seems to linger on his skin.

“Hopeless,” he whispers.

“Hopewess!” Tim echoes from the living room, making Dick scowl.

He makes his way over, drinking from the blood bag, and wonders why he ever wanted a big family. All his siblings ever seem to do is cause a multitude of problems in his life or make fun of him for no reason. Maybe Dick should return them all at the store.

This thought immediately goes away when Tim decides to crawl into his lap, leaning back against him and acting more like the sweet boy that Dick knows and loves. He wraps his arms around his brother, kissing the top of his head. Dick leans back against the cushions to settle for another round of Scooby-Doo.

(Tim turns into a bat when he gets jump-scared by the movie. He squeaks and tries to fly away, but he ends up screeching for a couple of minutes when he gets stuck on top of the fridge. Dick has to fly up there as a bat to get him down, and then Tim is starstruck by his newly discovered ability, so they end up practicing how to do it for hours.

By the time he’s semi-decent at the change, Tim falls asleep as a bat nestled in Dick’s shoulder, and Dick almost cries over how cute he looks.

He falls asleep, too, and wakes up to little bat Tim chewing on his neck. Typical.)

★★

Dick sighs when he feels something sharp prick his arm at two different points.

“Timmy,” he says. “Baby. What did I tell you?”

The pain disappears, and he looks down to see Tim gazing up at him with a pout. “I can’t help it!” he whines, reaching up to rub one of his cheeks. “They itch! And I’m so hungy!”

“Well, chewing on me won’t do much for you.”

Still, Dick drags his brother into a hug, combing his fingers through Tim’s hair when the boy starts sniffling, face buried in Dick’s neck. “I’m sorry they itch,” he says quietly. “I bet that feels terrible, huh? How about I give you the teething toy we tossed into the freezer? That might help.”

“Want juice.”

“Hmm?”

“Juice.” Tim tugs on his shirt. “Wally made juice pops for me, he said.”

“Of course he did,” Dick mutters, squeezing his brother hard enough to hear him make one a cute little squeak. “Okay. You want to go get one of your juice pops?”

“Uh-huh!” Tim turns and wraps his arms around Dick’s neck, offering a fanged smile. “Cawwy me!” he demands, kicking his little feet.

“Fine, fine,” Dick says, carrying his brother under his arm as he pushes himself off the seat. Tim giggles over the movement, making Dick smile. “You’re so cute, baby.”

“No! Not cute!”

“Handsome,” Dick corrects himself a little too late because Tim kicks his thigh. “Also, no violence. That’s rude, remember? And you could hurt someone with your new strength.”

Tim huffs (cutely). “Sowee, Dickie,” he says.

He walks into the kitchen and opens the freezer, finding a popsicle tray filled with red juice pops. They smell a bit sweet, and if Dick closes his eyes, he can pretend that he’s just enjoying a cold treat with his little brother—without all the vampirism.

“Dickie,” Tim says as Dick passes over a popsicle. “I want evewyone to be vampiwes with us.”

Dick shuts the freezer after he grabs one for himself, gazing at Tim curiously. “What do you mean by that, sweetheart?” he asks, hoping that Tim doesn’t mean it in a nefarious way.

“Evewyone,” Tim says again, nodding to himself. “Wike Jay and Duke and Cass and Dami! Oh, and daddy, too! And my fwiends!”

“Oh.” Dick relaxes, offering a smile. “Well,” he says. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask, but we have to be careful about it, okay? We don’t know how they’ll react to us being vampires, so we should talk to our family one at a time.”

“But that’s gonna take forever, ” Tim whines, biting off a piece of his blood pop. The red ‘juice’ stains his lips, smearing against the corners of his mouth. “I wanna change ‘em now!”

“I know, baby,” Dick replies, ruffling his hair. “You have to remember that we do have forever, now. We can wait as long as we need to turn the rest of our friends and family into vampires, but only if they agree, okay?”

“Mmkay.”

Dick carefully bites a corner of his popsicle, hissing when the cold makes his fangs hurt. “How can you even bite it?” he asks, tugging on one of Tim’s cheeks. “You’re such a weirdo, Timmy…”

“No, you!” Tim kicks his hip. “Dickie’s the weirdo!”

“No, you,” Dick says, poking his side.

“No, you!”

“No, you.”

“No, you!”

“No, you…”

On and on, they go until Wally zips into the room, his yellow lightning crackling all over him. Dick pauses in his attempt to win the argument and glances over at his best friend, offering a smile.

“Hey, Walls,” he says, waving around the plastic popsicle stick. “What’s up?”

“Don’t be mad,” Wally replies, visibly vibrating in place. His voice warbles when he says, “I may have made a mistake.”

Dick frowns, feeling a flicker of concern. “What did you do?” he asks slowly.

“Remember how I said I was heading to the Tower?” Wally says. “Well, Bart was there, and he immediately accused me of seeing Tim because I had my ‘Dick smile’ on my face, which I apparently get every time I go see you? I tried to deny it, but then he roped Kon and Cassie into the so-called conspiracy and, well…”

Dick stares down at his popsicle, watching as a droplet slides down his hand, slowly approaching his wrist. “How long do we have until they get here?” he asks finally.

“A few seconds,” Wally says. “Actually, they should be here right about—”

His hair stands on end, and then there’s a crackle of electricity, bright red-yellow lightning filling up the room as Bart suddenly appears across from them. His hair is a mess, his eyes are wild, and he’s holding hands with Kon and Cassie.

“Where is he?” Bart demands, releasing his friends and stomping over to Dick. “Okay, listen, I get that you’re his big brother and all, but we’ve seen nary a glimpse of our best friend since he turned into a kid! That’s so not fair!” He crosses his arms, tapping one foot against the tile. “Answer me this, Nightwing —if that even is your real name—where is Tim?”

Dick shares a glance with Wally, who looks like he’s trying not to laugh. He meets Bart’s angry gaze, slips the popsicle into his mouth, and very slowly points at the boy sitting on the counter.

Tim waves a hand, biting off another piece of his popsicle. “Hi, Bart,” he says happily. “Hi, Cassie. Hi, Kon!”

“Oh.” Bart relaxes, an easy-going smile appearing on his face. “Tim!” He zips over, and suddenly Tim is in Bart’s arms, the kid perched on his hip and definitely getting blood all over his clothes. Dammit. “It’s so good to finally see you.” He emphasizes his statement with a pointed glare at Dick before he turns away and walks over to Cassie and Kon. “We’ve missed you!”

“I miss you, too!” Tim sounds overjoyed. “I gots a question for you guys!”

“Oh, yeah?” Kon tugs on a strand of Tim’s hair, pushing his sunglasses onto his head. “Well, maybe we have an answer for you.”

“Keyword: maybe,” Cassie adds, smiling at him.

Tim giggles.

Wally makes a noise, and Dick turns toward him. His best friend’s eyes flick over to the group and back, and then he lifts his hands, moving them slowly (difficult, for a speedster) to sign, “Are you going to let Tim tell them?”

Dick smiles over the use of their personal sign language, something they made up during one of the many nights they lay awake. He keeps the popsicle in his mouth as he signs back, “Don’t know. He might tell them by accident, so I have to prepare for that.” Dick pauses, lifting one hand to tap on an ear. “Stick close and listen. Don’t think I will get him back after this.”

“Will do.” Wally stops, hands twitching. “Do you like the popsicle?”

“It’s good,” Dick replies, smiling around the treat between his lips. He takes a moment to suck up the juice that gathered in his mouth, a noisy sucking sound that causes Wally to turn bright red for some reason. “Water to make it less thick, right?”

“Yes,” Wally signs after a beat. “Yes. Glad you like it.” He clears his throat, sliding onto one of the stools and running a hand through his hair. “So. Who do you think will agree?”

“Kon,” Dick answers, though he has to spell out each letter. “Cassie, maybe. Bart, yes, so we have to make sure he doesn’t change.” He stops to swipe his tongue over his inner wrist after another droplet of blood drips down his skin, the sweetness bursting on his tongue. “What about other Titans?” Dick asks with one hand. “You think they will turn?”

Wally shrugs. “Can’t hurt to ask.”

Dick reaches over and tugs on one of his ears, grinning at his sound of protest. He glances over at the group, who seem to be discussing something in hushed whispers, polishes off the rest of his popsicle, and drops the reusable stick into the sink.

“Let’s go check on them,” Dick tells Wally, licking his lips to clean off any remnants of blood. He pauses to wipe off a streak at the corner of his mouth, sucking it off his thumb. “Make sure Timmy’s not revealing anything.”

“They’re fine,” Wally says with a wave of his hand, cheeks pink yet again. “Tim can’t be that bad, right? He knows how to keep a secret.”

“YOU’RE A WHAT?!” Bart suddenly exclaims, echoed by Cassie and Kon. Tim remains serene in his arms, a fanged smile on his face. Blood drips off his chin from the popsicle, adding to the picture that’s being painted by his (assumed) confession.

“They’re not fine,” Wally says while Dick puts his head in his hands. “I guess I spoke too soon.”

“Duh,” Dick says, exasperated. He takes to rub a hand down his face, lamenting over his talkative little brother before he plasters a bright smile on his face. Dick makes his way over to the group with his palms spread. “Okay,” he tells them, flashing his red eyes in their direction. “Let me explain.”

“YOU’RE A VAMPIRE TOO?” Bart stares at him with wide eyes. He passes Tim over to Kon, who seems to hold him on instinct, and starts patting himself down. “Oh my god, what’s happening? Am I a vampire? What about Kon? And Cassie?” His voice warbles for a moment when he vibrates in place. “How did this happen?”

“You’re not a vampire,” Dick assures. “Kon and Cassie aren’t vampires either.” He glances at them, questioning, and they both shake their heads in unison. “Okay, great. How about we sit down and I tell you what happened? It’s a pretty long story.”

“No, I tell,” Tim says, glaring at Dick with red eyes. “Me, Dickie! Not you!”

A haze falls upon Dick’s mind at those words, and he finds himself lost in Tim’s gaze. He feels like he could float away, and his response spills out unbidden, mouth moving without giving his brain a chance to think about the action, “Of course, my Lord.”

Wally’s face suddenly appears in front of him, and Dick blinks several times, shaking off the fog lingering in his head. He feels a weight against his legs, too, and looks down to see Tim gazing up at him sorrowfully.

“I’m sowee, Dickie,” he says, sounding frantic. “I didn’t mean to make you wisten wike that! I’m sowee! I won’t do it again!”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Dick says. His tongue feels fuzzy in his mouth, and his words slur together. He slowly crouches down to pull his little brother into a hug, rubbing a hand down his back. “Could you always do that?”

“Uh-huh!” Tim nestles closer, so his voice comes out slightly muffled. “My minions say that, um, it’s tall—no, not that, um. Thwall?”

“Thrall,” Dick corrects.

“Yeah, that’s what I say!”

“Also, stop calling them your minions. That’s very rude, especially when they all have names that they only revealed to you.”

“S’not my fault I forget every time they tell me!”

Dick huffs out a laugh, sweeping some of Tim’s hair back to kiss his forehead and wipe the blood off his chin. “You’re so silly,” he says, scooping Tim up when he stands. “My silly little baby bird.”

“Dickie is silly, not me!”

“Uh-huh, you keep telling yourself that.”

He finally focuses his attention on the group. Wally is staring at him with so much affection that it makes his stomach flip-flop, while the other three have varying degrees of surprise on their faces.

“I thought vampires were supposed to be bloodthirsty killers,” Bart says slowly, eyes flicking between them. “Not all sweet like you two.”

“Well, we’re different,” Dick says plainly, walking toward the living room. “Come on. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

★★

Dick reaches out to the rest of the Titans after Tim’s friends find out, slowly expanding his circle of those in the know about the true identity of the Vampire King. Most don’t accept his offer to turn into a vampire, which is fine because they still choose to support him and stand at his side to help with his goal of keeping Tim safe.

(Kon and Cassie agreed to turn without hesitation, and, like Wally, Bart lamented over his speedster DNA preventing him from becoming a vampire.

“No morbing for me,” Bart had said sadly, which caused Tim to gently pat his face.

Dick still doesn’t know what the hell he meant by that.)

The ones that do express interest in turning drop by his apartment late at night, accepting Dick’s blood and leaving with a bag of blood in hand. One friend stops by in the middle of the day, and that’s when Dick discovers a complication with this particular person.

“I think your Tamaranean biology is rejecting the, er…” Dick pauses. “Infection would be the best word to use, I guess. Thankfully, it’s not making you sick or anything, so you’re the same Kori we all know and love.”

“That is good to hear,” she says with a smile. Kori then tips her head to the side and asks, “What do you say, Doctor Tim? Do you agree with what Dick is saying?”

“Hmm…” Tim takes his plastic stethoscope away from her chest and jots something down on his tiny clipboard. His doctor’s coat bunches up when he crouches down on the floor and taps his pen against his chin. “I think he wight,” Tim says with a nod. “I’m gonna pwescwibe some ice cweam for you!”

“Thank you, Doctor Tim,” Kori says pleasantly, reaching down to pick him up before standing. “How about we go get some? I am certain that Dick still has my favorite flavor in his freezer.”

“I do,” Dick admits, holding back his laughter when Tim starts to wildly kick his legs before slumping in her unshakeable hold (he dislikes being held up like an unruly kitten). “And I have some juice pops set aside for Timmy, too.”

Tim perks up. “Wet’s go, wet’s go!” he says, wiggling in Kori’s hold. “Ice cweam! Ice cweam! Ice cweam!”

Dick pulls out Kori’s tub of ice cream and a popsicle for Tim after they reach the kitchen. Kori sets Tim down on the counter and accepts her treat, grabbing a spoon from his utensil drawer.

“Don’t make a mess, baby,” Dick warns as he passes over the (blood) juice pop. “You don’t want to dirty the doctor’s coat Wally made for you, right?”

“Right!” Tim says, and immediately stains his sleeve when he bites off a piece of his popsicle.

Dick sighs.

“I should have known better,” he says mournfully while Kori laughs at his pain. He wrestles with his squirmy (and bitey) little brother to take off the lab coat, setting it on a chair far away from Tim to try and clean it later. “Actually, I should just remove any white clothing from his closet.”

“Blood is easy to clean,” Kori says.

“Yeah, I know,” Dick grumbles, recalling all the bloodstains he had to wash out of his sheets and vigilante suits. “Doesn’t mean I wanna do it…”

Tim manages to eat his popsicle without more spillage, and Dick sends him back to the living room to watch the rest of his movie (Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire). He leans against the counter and watches in amusement as Kori demolishes the whole tub of ice cream.

“I hope you’re feeling better after what happened earlier,” Dick says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry I drank too much from you, too. Your blood just tastes…” He pauses, mulling over the memory and ignoring the way his mouth floods with saliva. “Tangy,” Dick finally settles on. “Bubbly? I don’t know. Sorry.”

“Thank you,” Kori says with a laugh, sliding the lid onto the empty tub and pushing it aside. “It is nice to hear that my blood tastes good.” She pauses, gazing at him curiously. “If I cannot change into a vampire like you, then does that mean my blood will have some special effect on you?” she asks. “Considering that I am not human?”

“I haven’t really noticed anything different,” Dick says, pushing himself off the counter and heading over to the fridge. He snags a can of sparkling water off the rack and passes it over to Kori, who offers her gratitude in the form of one of those lovely smiles. “Usually, I start losing the feeling of hunger as soon as I start drinking, so…” He shrugs. “I guess nothing happened.”

“I think you are wrong,” Kori says, rolling the can between her hands.

“Why do you say that?” Dick asks with a frown.

Kori points at something past Dick, and when he looks behind himself, he sees nothing. He shoots her a confused look, but all she does is laugh before sliding off her seat. She walks over to him and grabs his arm, holding it up in the sunbeam trickling in through the curtains.

Wait.

“Uh, that’s not supposed to happen,” Dick says, staring wide-eyed at where his skin isn’t burning. “I—huh? ”

“You have a bit of a flush to your face,” Kori murmurs, brushing her fingers down his cheek. She stops her hand on his chest, a curious expression on her face. “I feel a hint of a heartbeat, though it is not as strong as it used to be when you were human.” And then she leans in and kisses him.

Dick makes a surprised sound, but he still lets his eyes slip shut as he kisses her back, relishing the feeling of connection when she gently brushes their tongues together. He’s a bit out of breath when she pulls away, which is odd in itself since he no longer needs to breathe.

“You taste human, too,” Kori says thoughtfully. “How interesting…”

“I taste human?” Dick leans closer, lips twitching. “Are you sure you’re not the vampire, Kori? That sounds like something we’d say.”

“I am not,” Kori says, shaking her head. “We have established this, Dick.” She hums, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “I suppose my blood allows you to seem somewhat human, if only for a while.”

Dick hisses when he feels a burning sensation on his fingers, and he steps away from the stream of sunlight, shaking his hand. The burn is already starting to fade, leaving behind unblemished skin. “A couple of hours, at least,” he says after a glance at the microwave clock. “Not much time has passed since I drank from you earlier.”

“Which was fun,” Kori says, curling a hand around the back of Dick’s neck and playing with his hair. “I offer you my blood for whenever you may need it, Dick. Feel free to ask, especially since the benefits provide a solution to your problem.”

“Which one?”

“Gotham,” Kori says simply.

Dick sighs, leaning forward to drop his head onto her shoulder. “You’ve been talking to Wally, haven’t you?” he mumbles, eyes fluttering shut when she starts petting through his hair, nails scratching over his scalp in the most pleasant way.

“Of course! We love to talk about our favorite person when we spend time together.”

“You’re too nice…”

“It is what you deserve, Dick. That is all.”

Kori offers more of her blood for them to save, going up to the roof afterwards to replenish her energy. She tries to fill a few extra vials, but Dick refuses, attempting to push her out the door to no avail.

“Dick, you want to go home,” she says patiently, basically a statue in the kitchen. “And you are going to need more blood while you are out there. I can visit you from time to time, with the excuse that I am also seeing Jason, but I would like to provide enough to last for a while.” She pauses and adds in a softer voice, “Please let me do this for you.”

Dick falters, and that’s enough for Kori to wrap her arms around him. “Fine,” he says eventually. “Thank you, Kori.” 

“You are welcome.” She kisses the top of his head. “Now, let us go extract my blood while there is still enough sunlight for me to enjoy.”

They exchange some gossip while Dick is taking blood from her, filling up a few more vials before finally convincing her to leave. She does so after a chaste kiss, patting his cheek with one of those beautiful smiles that used to make him feel dizzy with affection.

(Hell, it still does, only this time it’s much more platonic.)

“I hope to see you soon,” Kori says happily. “And if I encounter any of those vampires you mentioned, I will be sure to incinerate them to ensure that they never harm you or Tim.”

“Thank you, Kori,” Dick says, bemused. “I appreciate it.”

As they share one last hug, Dick feels a weight against his legs, and he already knows it’s his brother without looking down. Still, he breaks from the embrace to scoop up Tim so he can deliver a proper goodbye to Kori.

“Bye, Kowi,” Tim says sweetly, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Um, you should tell Wally to mawwy Dickie already.”

“Tim!” Dick exclaims, embarrassed, while Kori laughs in obvious delight.

“I will be sure to do that as well,” Kori promises and steps toward the door. “Call for me should you need more blood, and I will fly over as soon as possible.”

She departs, leaving Dick with his giggly little brother.

Dick sighs as he shuts the door behind her, poking Tim’s sides. “You’re so mean to your big brother,” he complains, scooping his phone off the kitchen counter before moving toward the living room. “Why’d you say that to Kori, huh?”

“Because Dickie wuvs Wally,” Tim answers, shrugging. “And Wally wuvs Dickie!”

“No way,” Dick says with a scoff, dropping down onto the couch. “I think you’re out of your mind, Timmy. There’s no way he feels the same.” 

He taps on his phone, frowning when he sees a couple of missed calls from Bruce. There are no voicemails because Bruce hates leaving behind any digital imprint (even though Barbara could delete them with a simple touch of the key), so it worries Dick to see this. 

Dick brings up their message thread, only to pause when he receives a new message from his adoptive dad at that exact moment.

RAT-MAN

King Rat: Come to Gotham. Now.

“Huh,” Dick says, eyes flicking from the phone to the fridge, which is full of blood bags (for Dick), blood juice boxes (for Tim), blood popsicles (for both of them), and various food items (for Wally). 

He frets for a moment and tries to calm himself down with the assurance that there’s no possible way for Bruce to know that they’re vampires. No way. Dick made sure Bruce knew that he would never appreciate having his privacy violated with his paranoia-induced tracking that includes cameras.

With this in mind, Dick types out a response, hoping to get answers.

Rat Prince: why?

King Rat: Can’t tell you over the phone.
King Rat: Better to do so in person.
King Rat: The others will be here, too.

“Must be serious,” Dick muses, replying with a simple thumbs-up emoji before locking his phone. He tosses it onto the coffee table and wraps his arms around his little brother. “Sounds like it’s all hands on deck over in Gotham.”

“So we gonna go?” Tim asks, gazing up at him hopefully. One of his fangs pokes out of his mouth, making him look so, so cute. “We gonna go see daddy?”

Dick smiles, tweaking his nose just to see him pout. “Yes, baby,” he says, gazing out the closest window. The sun has barely set, and Dick can hear the night coming to life, though it’s much quieter than usual. “We’re going home.”

Chapter Text

It takes them a while to leave Bludhaven.

Tim insists on packing everything on his own, and Dick allows it because he needs to quickly toss some of his clothes into a bag, also adding his Nightwing suit and gear.

Once that’s all done, Dick returns to his room to check on Tim, only to see the boy playing with his toys and the smallest pile of things in his little strawberry suitcase.

“Timmy,” Dick says, chiding, and Tim quickly hops up, looking guilty. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something? Hm?”

“Um…” Tim worries at his bottom lip with a fang. “I s’pposed to be packing, but it’s not my fault! I was twying to do it, but then I was thinking about which toys to take! And I couldn’t decide! So, I started pwaying with ‘em so I could wemember which ones I wike the best!”

“Uh-huh,” Dick replies, stepping into the room and crouching beside his brother. “And did you come to a decision yet, baby?”

“No,” Tim says sadly. “I still gotta pway with more…”

“Well, try and make it quick, okay?” Dick says, reaching up to gently pinch one of his cheeks. “Or you could take what you already play with every day, and I can send Wally back to pick up the rest whenever you want. How does that sound?”

“Hmm…” Tim tips his head to the side, tapping a finger against his chin. He then moves around the room, picking through a couple of things from his pile of toys on the floor and gently placing them into the suitcase. “Okay!” he says, nodding. “We do that!”

“Thank you, baby.” Dick reels him in for a hug, kissing the top of his head. “And even if you don’t have all your toys, I bet Bruce and Alfred have a bunch waiting for you at the manor.”

“Daddy say that he gonna buy me Wegos the wast time we talk on the phone,” Tim replies, reaching up with one hand to grab Dick’s nose and squeezing it a couple of times. “Honk, honk.”

“Honk,” Dick repeats, bemused. “Did he? How come I didn’t hear about this?”

“He say that it’s a surpwise.”

“Of course he did.”

Dick ends up packing all of Tim’s clothes after his little brother tosses them all on top of his toys and struggles to close the suitcase. He gently encourages Tim to play with the wooden puzzles he left out while he fixes the interior, rolling up his clothes the way Alfred taught him.

“Alright, Timmy,” Dick says after a while, reaching over to tug on a strand of Tim’s hair. “How about we move this to the living room so I can pack our juice, too?”

“Okay, Dickie,” Tim says, a gleam in his eyes.

Dick yanks his hand back just before Tim sinks his fangs into it and shakes his head, exasperated. “No, biting,” he warns, wagging his finger. “Actually, we’re going to have to go over some rules for you before we get there, and that’s gonna be one of them.”

“No biting anyone ?” Tim looks devastated. “Dickie!”

“No, baby,” Dick replies, trying not to laugh. “You’re not supposed to bite other people, remember? We went over this when I caught you nibbling on your minions.” He sighs, sitting on the floor and beckoning the boy over. “Plus, our family doesn’t know that we’re vampires yet,” he says once Tim nears, reaching out to squeeze one of his little hands. “I think they’ll figure it out when you go on a chomping spree, and we don’t want that.”

Tim sighs with his whole body, like he’s an old man instead of a cute four-year-old kid. “Okay, Dickie,” he says begrudgingly. “I no bite anyone who doesn’t know, I pwomise.”

“Thank you, Timmy.” Dick eyes the mess on the floor, grimacing. “Okay, let’s get moving! If we keep Bruce waiting any longer, then he’ll get all grumpy.”

“Daddy’s always gwumpy,” Tim replies, tumbling off Dick’s lap in a little tuck and roll. He sprawls across the floor on his back with his cheeks puffed out. “Can I dwink some juice?”

“Before we leave,” Dick says, eyeing the glimpse of sunlight through the curtains. “I’m going to give you a different… flavor this time, okay? You’ll love it, though, I swear.”

★★

The drive to Gotham isn’t long.

It never has been, something that’s both reassuring and terrifying. While it’s nice to know that Dick can make it over pretty quickly in case of an emergency (or when his little brothers want to spend time together), it also sucks because that means Bruce can easily appear in the dead of night to hover over Dick in the most annoying way.

(This happened a few times in the aftermath of Bruce kicking Dick out, as if he could still command his little soldier and pretend to be a father, but that’s not something that Dick likes to think about.)

Dick cruises down the highway with an arm hanging out the window, feeling only a mild prickle from those burning rays thanks to the vial of Kori’s blood he had before leaving his apartment. He hums along to the song on the radio, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel while his eyes flick up to the rearview mirror to see how Tim’s doing.

His little brother is still drinking Kori’s blood from his blue tumbler, staring out the window curiously. He has an arm wrapped around his green dinosaur plush from Wally (which he named Batwalker, for some strange reason), and he keeps kicking his legs against the seat.

Tim starts getting bouncy when Dick passes the Gotham sign, and a trickle of blood spills down his chin when he pulls his cup away to exclaim, “We almost home!”

“That’s right, baby,” Dick says, taking the nearest exit. “Almost.”

Dick encounters barely any traffic as he drives through Gotham, which is a bit surprising considering that it’s pretty early in the morning. His hands tighten around the steering wheel, and the tension in his shoulders doesn’t leave until he enters Bristol and sees the manor in the distance.

Tim sings a happy, wordless tune the closer they get, pressing a hand against the window as they roll up the driveway. Dick sees the way he tugs at the buckles of his car seat, and he turns in time to catch Tim turning into a bat to escape. He quickly locks the car and holds out a hand so his little brother can fall into his palm with a squeak.

“You can’t let them see you like this,” Dick gently scolds, scratching behind one of his twitching ears. “I know you’re excited to see everyone, but we have to be careful, remember?”

Tim squeaks sadly.

“You think you can change back before they all come crawling out to see us?” Dick eyes the front door warily. “I think they’d prefer to see a cute little Timmy over a tiny, bitey bat.”

His brother appears in a puff of red mist, a scowl on his face. “M’not cute!” he says, eyes burning red. “Dickie! You gotta wemember that!”

“Handsome,” Dick quickly corrects, hiding his hands so Tim won’t bite them. “You’re a handsome little bat.” He looks at the door to his childhood home and takes a deep breath, mentally preparing himself since he’s entering a building full of detectives. “Alright, Timmy. Let’s go.”

★★

Tim takes off the moment Alfred opens the door for them, and Dick quickly gives chase (after greeting Alfred, of course), following his little brother’s giggles from room to room.

“Gotcha,” Dick says when he finally grabs hold of Tim in the old music room, digging his fingers into the boy’s sides until he shrieks with laughter. “You’re such a stinker, Tim! How could you run off like that, huh? Dickie’s too old for this!”

“No, no!” Tim cries, struggling to get away. But it’s no use! Dick continues tickling him for his crimes (also, hearing his joy always makes him smile). “Dickie’s not old!”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Dickie’s ancient! ”

“Okay, that’s it!” Dick blows raspberries into Tim’s neck as he holds him close and pretends to eat Tim while he takes them out of the room. Tim tries to fight, but he’s no match for his big brother, and eventually, Dick finds his family (after listening for their heartbeats and picking them out in the manor) and enters the sunroom.

Strange. They never use this one.

“Thank you for joining us,” Bruce says with a frown. “Even though you’re nearly an hour late…”

Dick holds Tim up by his ankle, trying not to grin when the boy continuously giggles, even while he’s hanging upside-down. “I’d like to see you try and wrangle a menace to society,” he complains, walking over to the couch and dumping Tim on Jason, who grunts and wraps his arms around Tim. “Get back to me when you’ve successfully packed all of Tim’s things without distraction and managed to pin him down after he ran off.”

Bruce huffs and turns to the group. “We’re still waiting on Barbara and Steph,” he says, shifting so his cape covers everything. Dick knows it’s because he’s either cold or trying to hide his body language from the rest. “Alfred can bring out some food for you while we wait.”

“No!” Tim declares, slipping off Jason’s lap and scurrying over to Bruce. He proceeds to run in circles around the older man, thankfully moving at a normal pace. “I don’t wanna eat! I wanna pway!”

“We can play later, ducky,” Bruce says, voice softer. He reaches out to snag Tim’s shirt and crouches down in front of him, patting his head a couple of times. “But if you really can’t wait, then maybe Dick can take you out to run around the yard with Titus.”

Dick eyes the sunlight streaming in from the window. “Yeah,” he says, remembering that he has more vials of Kori’s blood tucked away in his cooler. They probably won’t need more, but he’ll bring it out with him just in case. “We can do that.”

He leads Tim out of the room after tugging him away from Bruce’s cape, meeting Bruce’s eyes for a brief moment. The older man’s gaze flicks down to the boy before he turns away, the message clear— Tim can’t hear this.

Dick acknowledges it with a simple dip of his head, and then he scoops Tim up into his arms, tucking him beneath one like he’s a football. He carries him over to the solarium, where dazzling streams of sunlight shine onto the floor and on top of them. Nothing happens, and Dick exhales in relief.

Titus lifts his head from the corner of the room, staring at him impassively. He comes over and pushes his nose into Dick’s side, doing the same to Tim, who laughs with delight. After a while, his tail starts wagging, and he offers a tentative lick to Tim’s cheek.

“Good doggy,” Tim says, patting the top of his head. “Vampiwe doggy?”

“ No, ” Dick says firmly. “We don’t know if animals can accept the change or what will happen to them if they do, so let’s not put Titus at risk, okay?” He pulls out a bottle of sunscreen and holds it aloft. “Now, sit still and let me smear some on you. I don’t want you to get burned by the sun.”

Tim dutifully sits in the chair while Dick smears sunscreen against his exposed limbs, only moving when Dick moves his hand up to rub some into his cheeks. He opens his mouth and turns his head, and Dick pulls away with a disgruntled sound when he feels his little brother lick over his palm.

“Tim!” he complains. “That’s gross!”

“Sowee,” Tim replies, a look of disgust passing over his face.

“Why’d you do that, huh?” Dick asks, gently pinching one cheek. “That’s not something you can eat, baby.”

“I just wanted a wittle taste,” Tim says sadly. “I didn’t weawize that it would be bad. ”

Dick sits in the chair while Tim runs around outside with Titus chasing him, looking like a normal, four-year-old boy as his laughter carries in the wind. No one would think anything is amiss if they saw him like this.

But Dick catches the gleam of his red eyes in the sunlight, the flash of his fangs whenever he growls while he rolls around on the grass, playfully wrestling with Titus.

He tips his head back to gaze at the sky, where the sun peeks through the surprisingly fluffy white clouds. It casts pleasant warmth onto his skin, but there’s a tingle beneath his skin—an itch he can’t scratch, reminding him of how harmful the sunlight can be to someone like them.

“Tim!” he calls after a while, watching as his little brother dangles off a tree branch. “Come over and drink more juice!”

“Okay!” Tim replies, only heard thanks to Dick’s enhanced hearing. The boy wiggles around, Titus barking beneath him, before releasing the branch, tucking into a roll, and pushing up onto his feet with the ease of a vampire who took lessons from a Flying Grayson. “I going!”

They sit together in the solarium, drinking some of Kori’s blood while they enjoy the unusually nice day. Dick wraps an arm around his baby brother, his other hand dropping down to scratch behind Titus’ ears after he sets his cup of blood aside, letting himself enjoy the day before he has to face the chaos that comes from his family.

★★

Staying at the manor is exhausting.

It’s great to see everyone again, especially under the same roof, and Dick tries to ignore Cass’ stare burning into him whenever he moves through the rooms with Tim perched on his hip, fearing that she somehow knows.

(This thought gets quelled when he catches her watching the others with the same intense look as well, and he finds some comfort in knowing that he’s not the only one under scrutiny.)

He tries to use the rest of Kori’s blood sparsely, but thankfully, he doesn’t need to drink much due to Gotham’s gloomy skies and Bruce’s insistent need to keep Tim (and, therefore, Dick) in the manor while they go out and deal with whatever made him call them all home. 

Dick still doesn’t know what’s going on since Bruce seems keen on keeping Tim in the dark about it, and because Dick’s the one taking care of Tim while they’re in the manor, he’s left adrift, watching everyone share glances, but not privy to the knowledge they’ve been given.

It’s fine, Dick tells himself as he secludes himself and Tim to one of many empty rooms in the manor, letting the boy play with the new Lego set that Bruce bought him (the Wayne Enterprises building, probably custom-made just for Timmy). Everything’s fine.

It has to be, or Dick might actually lose his mind.

★★

Dick has a problem.

Unfortunately, it’s not one he can solve with help from his family, mostly because they’d see the reason why he’s been avoiding the manor as of late. He’s thankful it’s just the two of them in the room, but he’s also afraid someone might walk in and see him talking to a bat. 

A Timmy bat, to be exact (not that they’d know, though Dick’s certain they’d figure it out).

“Come on, baby,” Dick pleads, head tilted back as he stares at the ceiling. “You’ve gotta come down, now! Dinner’s almost ready! Someone’s gonna come looking for us, and then they’ll see you! We don’t want that, right?”

Tim, in bat form, squeaks down at him, tucking his wings tighter around his body.

“Please? I’m sorry I scared you! And I’m sorry for laughing!”

His little brother shuffles until he’s turned away from Dick, his ears twitching every so often. It looks like he’s sulking, and while that nearly starts up Dick’s laughter anew, the worry overrides it since they’ve been at this for about thirty minutes.

“What if I give you a treat?” Dick says after thinking over his options. “I’ll let you have one of those bloody lollipops that Donna made for you!” She decided to combine her blood drinking into food with Wally’s help, and so far, Dick and Tim got to reap the rewards by being their obligatory taste testers. “What do you say?”

Another squeak, this one more indignant.

“I’m not trying to bribe you! I’m just offering a prize if you listen to me! What’s so wrong with that?”

“What isn’t wrong with that should be the real question.”

Dick startles badly and nearly turns into a bat himself, though he holds onto the transformation out of reflex (due to living in a house full of humans), and he whirls around to see Alfred standing there, brow arched and posture straight.

“Ha, hey, Alfie…” Dick says nervously, eyes flicking to bat Tim on the ceiling and back. “How goes it? I’m just dealing with a little problem. One of the Cave bats escaped, so I was trying to lure it back down, but so far, it’s not working. Isn’t that crazy?”

“Quite,” Alfred says, dipping his head. “But you should hurry it up. Dinner is about to be served, and I would hate for you to miss it.” He tips his head back. “That goes for you as well, Master Timothy. Cease your pouting and get down from there this instant, or I shall send back the new Lego set that Master Bruce purchased for you.”

Tim screeches and spreads his wings, shifting mid-flight with a puff of red mist, and Dick quickly moves to catch his insane little brother.

“No, no!” he cries. “Don’t take it back! I’m sowee! I’m not a bat anymore!”

“I can see that,” Alfred says, sounding amused. He walks over and tugs on Tim’s collar, patting his head a few times. “It’s very nice to see you, Master Timothy,” he says with a smile. “We have missed you around here, but it is quite obvious that Master Richard is doing an excellent job in caring for you and your vampirism.”

Dick wraps his arms around Tim, staring at Alfred with wide eyes. “How’d you—” he starts to ask, only to cut himself off with a huff, glancing away. “Of course, you’d figure it out,” Dick says quietly, lips twitching. “You try your best to make sure you know about everything going on.”

Alfred hums, and then Dick feels an arm wrap around him. His eyes prickle with tears at the feeling, and he can’t help but sink into it, shifting Tim so he’s perched on his hip.

“I’m sorry this happened,” Alfred says quietly. “Now, you have another person in your corner, and be assured that this will remain a secret between us.”

“Thanks, Alfie,” Dick says, relieved. He hefts Tim up higher, smiling at the older man. “You’re the best.”

“The best,” Tim agrees, clapping his hands together. “The best! The best!”

Alfred dips his head and turns to leave, pausing in the doorway. “Best to come down to dinner now that Master Timothy has ceased his pouting,” he says. “I’m sure you two will enjoy the extra special steak I prepared.”

“Oooh,” Tim says, tugging on Dick’s ear. “That sounds yummy!”

Timmy has a point, Dick thinks halfway through dinner, practically tearing through a large piece of steak. Blood spills down his throat, soothing the burn that was starting to appear, and Dick licks the juices clinging to his lips before moving on to the next one. He forces himself to calm down, hoping his fangs aren’t on display as he politely chews through the rest. This is yummy.

He pauses in his eating to lean over and wipe the steak of blood off Tim’s cheek, catching the smallest hint of a fang. “Timmy,” he murmurs, casting a glance around the table. No one’s looking their way, so Dick flashes his ‘vampire eyes’ (as Tim calls them) to get his attention. “Careful, remember? We can’t let anyone know.”

“Sowee,” Tim whispers, setting his fork down. His tiny fangs retract after he licks his teeth. “It just tastes so good.”

“I know, baby, I know.” He kisses Tim’s head and scoots closer, piercing another piece of the steak on Tim’s plate and raising it up to his lips. Tim pouts at him, but all Dick does is arch a brow, and he obligingly opens his mouth, accepting the bite of food. “See? No need to be a messy little bat.”

“A bat?” Jason says from across the table, piercing him with a curious stare. “I thought he was a bird.”

“Wobin,” Tim agrees, reaching out to grab another piece and shoving it into his mouth. “I’m a Wobin!”

“Don’t get dirty,” Dick gently scolds, reaching over to wipe his hand clean. He shoots a glance at Jason, trying to silently tell himself that there’s nothing wrong and dissuade him from snooping too much. “It’s a thing we’re trying. Also, stop eavesdropping! That’s rude.”

“Yeah!” Tim declares, snatching up his fork and thumping it against the table. “Stop ‘peasdwopping, Jay! So wude! I’m gonna tell Alfie!”

“Oh, no,” Jason says flatly, but Dick thinks he spies a bit of apprehension on his face. He completely understands—none of them want Alfred’s wrath directed toward them. “Anything but that.”

“Exactwy,” Tim says with a nod. He then turns to Dick and points to his mouth, making an impatient sound.

“Use your words, baby,” Dick says, amused. He leans back against his chair, slowly picking at his own plate while Tim starts to wiggle around. “I don't know what you want unless you tell me…”

“More!” Tim finally says, cheeks puffed out. “Pwease!”

“Good,” Dick praises and offers him another piece. Only, Tim decides to be a degenerate and eat it off the palm of his hand, smearing blood across his mouth. He also leans down again to lick the remaining meat juices off him, and Dick stares off into the distance, wondering what he did to deserve a brother like Tim.

“Ha!” Jason smirks. “Deserved.”

“You’re mean,” Dick complains, kicking him underneath the table. “I hate you.”

“This is payback for all the times you did that to me when I was trying to get you to shut up during our stakeout missions.”

Dick sticks his tongue out at Jason and promptly turns away from him, completely facing Tim, who now has pieces of meat across his cheeks. When Dick sighs, Tim blinks up at him innocently.

“We gotta have a talk about your messy eating, Timmy,” Dick says, recalling the times that Tim tore into his juice box due to ‘wavenous’ hunger and got the blood all over his face and front. As long as it’s just that and not another person…

“I can’t help it,” Tim says, pouting. There’s a ring of red around his pupil, something that can be easily dismissed as a trick of the light, hopefully. “I’m hungy.”

“Yeah…” Dick takes a bite of his own food, the bloody juices coating his tongue and partially soothing the burn in his throat—another reminder of his new otherness, which he shares with Tim now and forever. “I know, baby. I know.”

(Later in the night, when Dick’s certain that everyone’s in bed, he tucks tiny bat Tim beneath his leathery wing, keeping an ear out for danger while his boy slumbers peacefully. 

It certainly feels like it’s them against the world, but maybe that’ll change.)

★★

“Hold still, Timmy!” Dick says as he struggles to put a sweater on his wiggly, giggly little brother. “I have to put this on you!”

“No, put!” Tim says.

“Yes.”

“No!!!”

Dick manages to push Tim’s little head through the sweater hole, mussing up his baby-soft strands. He puffs out his cheeks when he looks up at Dick, eyes glowing red and brows creased. Dick snorts, smoothing down his hair until it’s close to perfect.

“See?” he says, lips twitching. “Nothing to worry about.”

“Maybe you should wowwy about something,” Tim grumbles, tugging at his collar. He pauses, poking the little heart stitched on one of them, and a part of his fang pokes out when he smiles. “Thank you, Dickie.”

“You’re welcome, baby.”

The floorboards creak behind them, and Dick doesn’t need to look over to see that it’s Cass. He can hear her heartbeat and smell the vanilla lotion she steals from Steph to use for her hands—so distinctly Cass that it couldn’t be anyone else.

Also, she’s the best of the best when sneaking up on the Bats.

“Look at the birdies,” Dick says, poking at the embroidered, patchwork birdhouses on the front of his maroon sweater. “Aren’t they cute?”

“Peep,” Tim says, pointing at one of them.

“That’s you,” Dick replies with a grin, tweaking his nose. “Little Robin.”

Tim beams at him before making his way over to his play area. There’s a huge tower made of Jenga blocks in the center of it, and Tim proceeds to throw himself at it, releasing a few growling sounds as he destroys the entire structure. Huh. That’s what he meant when he said he wanted to play Godzilla.

Dick huffs out a laugh, feeling a flood of affection for his baby brother. He pushes himself up when Cass nears, turning toward her with a questioning look.

“Need something?” he asks when her eyes flick over to Tim, a hint of curiosity in those dark depths. “Or are you just here to keep us company?”

“Yes. No,” she replies, stepping closer. Cass meets his gaze steadily, and he feels as though she’s assessing him, peering into his soul in search of something. Finally, after a minute of her quiet watching, she declares, “I want to be you.”

“Be me?” Dick repeats, bemused. “Like Nightwing?”

“No,” Cass says, shaking her head. “Like—” She pauses and brings her hands up to her mouth, curling her index fingers against her canines. “Blood,” Cass intones, slightly muffled. “Give me blood.”

Dick doesn’t need to breathe, but his breath catches nonetheless when her words register. Amidst the sudden flash of panic coursing through him, Dick somehow manages to muster up a smile, albeit a weak one, as he places a hand on his hip.

“Blood?” he says with a snort. “Ha! You’re so funny, Cass! I have no clue what you’re talking about, though. Are you implying that I can somehow turn you into a vampire?” Dick forces out a laugh, shoulders coming up to his ears as his gaze flicks to Tim and back. “That’s crazy talk!”

“Not crazy,” she says, dropping her hands. “You’re a vampire. Both.” Cass rolls her shoulders back, tipping her head up to stare at him with furrowed brows. “Me too.”

“Huh?”

“I want to be one,” Cass clarifies and grabs his arm. “Make me one.”

“But—why?” Dick asks, perplexed. There’s no way he can keep pretending that he isn’t a vampire, not when Cass can read him so well. “What’s the reason?”

“Family,” she answers, reaching up to rest a hand on her chest. “Stay together, forever.” Cass does the same to him, fingers spread over where his heart used to beat. “Can protect.” Her eyes dart over to where Tim is playing, face softening. “Better protect him. All of you.”

“Oh,” Dick says quietly.

“So, let me,” she continues, and determination makes her eyes blaze when she looks back at him. “Please.”

“Okay, Cass” Dick says, feeling a flutter of happiness over the fact that his plans with Tim are finally coming to fruition. “Okay.”

★★

After Cass’ successful change into a vampire, Dick catches Tim eyeing Jason whenever they meet up with the rest of the family for meals.

Tim is still in his care while everyone else deals with the mystery of the sudden quiet surrounding Gotham’s night, where crime seems sparse or barely there. Dick’s informants (Tim’s vampire minions) seem to think that the vampires in Pandora’s faction are hunting them down, preferring a fresh meal from criminals that people won’t miss.

Alfred sets up a room for them during the day with blackout curtains, making space on top of furniture for Dick and Tim to huddle together as bats whenever they want. It’s the room they’ve basically taken over already to avoid sunlight (for both of them) and the situation at hand (for Tim and his little ears).

He’s currently picking up Tim’s toys, occasionally glancing over at where Tim’s tucked away in a corner, huddled beneath a couple of blankets. Not that he needs it since he doesn’t get cold, but Dick thinks he likes the comfort it gives him.

“Dickie,” Tim says after a while, poking his head out. “Dickie, come here.”

“Give me a second, baby. You made a mess.”

Tim sighs. It’s the type that sounds too big for his body. Dick thinks nothing of it and continues picking up toys, only to stop and look down when he feels a tug on his pants.

“Dickie,” Tim says insistently. “I want Jay to be a vampiwe with us.”

“I know, baby,” Dick says, crouching down to meet his gaze. “But we have to be patient, remember? We got really lucky with Cass, and I don’t know if we’ll get the same type of response if we go to Jason right now.”

“We haven’t even twied!” Tim huffs, taking a couple of the smaller toys from Dick’s arms. “How are we s’pposed to know if we don’t ask?” he says before stomping over to his little table, throwing himself into one of the chairs as he dumps the toys onto the counter.

Dick continues his work, absent-mindedly listening to Tim’s little song as he plays with his toys. When everything else is put away, Dick still feels a bit restless—like there’s an itch in a spot he can’t quite reach.

So, he distracts himself by walking around the room, occasionally peeking through the windows to make sure they’re truly safe and sound. His gums tingle, and Dick runs his tongue over the fangs that slide out, glancing toward the shadows as his paranoia rears its head. His enhanced vision allows him to see everything, thankfully, so seeing nothing suspicious eases his anxiety.

Some part of him feels too much like a bodyguard protecting a princess from the outside world, but he can’t help it. He was pretty protective of his loved ones before the whole vampire thing, but now, it’s much more instinctual—something deep in his bones, along with the knowledge that he’ll do anything to keep them safe.

Especially with Tim since he’s currently four years old and the Vampire King.

Dick stops when he hears footsteps coming down the hall, and he looks to the doorway, head cocked to the side as he listens to their heartbeat, trying to pinpoint who it might be—ah, there’s an occasional skip. Jason, and his body’s reminder that it once died.

“Hey, Jason,” he says after the door opens, and Jason peeks inside, slowly looping around the room to come to a stop in front of his (big) little brother. He glances over at Tim, who flashes red eyes at him before busying himself with a puzzle toy, and then meets Jason’s gaze. “What did Bruce tell you when we all got here?”

Jason glances at him, puzzled. “He hasn’t talked to you about it?” he wonders, leaning over to wave at Tim, who waves back with a little grin.

“No.” Dick shakes his head, lowering his voice as he gestures to Tim. “I’m guessing he doesn’t want to expose Tim to whatever’s going on, but if it’s dangerous, then I’d like to know about it so I can prepare.”

“Right, right.” Jason rubs his jaw, moving over to one of the stools by the bar. “Well,” he says, rubbing his hands together. “According to Bruce, Andrew Bennett came to his door… looking for Batman.”

Dick frowns. “But—”

“I know,” Jason says, waving a hand. “How could he possibly know Batman’s secret identity? The theory is that Lex Luthor told him, but that’s beside the point. Apparently, he left a note with Alfred, claiming that the vampires are preparing to wage war on humans.” He pauses, looking disgruntled. “He also made us drink tea with holy water and meet in the sunroom to test us.”

“Wow! And you didn’t burn alive?”

“Shut up.” Jason kicks his ankle. “I would have told you, but I thought Bruce was going to brief you on it later, so…” He shrugs. “Anyways, to continue, he has some speculation that the current leader of the vampires is the one causing all this dissent, and he suspects they’ve been killing or converting metahumans to get them on the vampire’s side. Also, villains.”

“Villain activity has been unusually quiet,” Dick muses.

“Exactly, and he also mentioned that the vampires could have already infiltrated the superhero community. B made us hold a wooden cross and gave us the weapons we needed to kill vampires in the upcoming war.”

“Makes sense,” Dick says, recalling what he told himself when he fought off Pandora’s forces. “They’re already dead.”

“That’s what he said, too.”

“Hm.” Dick makes his way over to Tim and reaches down to tweak the boy’s nose, smiling when he wrinkles it. The boy’s eyes gleam red, and Dick allows himself to return the gesture, huffing out a laugh after Tim bursts into giggles. “Does B have any ideas about who this so-called Vampire King could be?”

“…Bruce never said anything about a King.”

Dick hears a whoosh of air, and turns to grab the stake before it pierces his chest. He gasps, meeting Jason’s gaze, but all he finds is betrayal in those glimmering hazel eyes.

“Tell me you’re not one of them,” Jason whispers, pushing down with more force. It bends Dick backwards, and he can hear Tim climbing over the couch, hiding in one of the cupboards. “Tell me I don’t have to do this!”

“Let me explain!” Dick pleads because there’s no hiding from this. The other man knows him too well, and Dick can’t lie to him, either. “You don’t have the whole story!”

“I have enough!” Jason snarls, a couple of tears cutting paths down his cheeks. “You’re a vampire, and you’ve been one this whole time? When did it happen? How could you—” More tears spill over, and Dick feels the way Jason’s grip on the stake slackens. “Don’t make me do this, Dickiebird, please… Tell me you’re not…”

“Jason,” Dick says gently. “Let’s sit down, okay?”

He keeps his hands spread as he slowly takes a seat on the couch, letting Jason track his every movement. Dick tells himself he’s not hurt by the suspicion in Jason’s gaze, but he can’t deny the pang of sorrow that passes through him nonetheless.

“I’m not part of whatever’s going on,” Dick begins after Jason takes a seat in an armchair, dropping his gaze to stare down at his palms. He flexes his hands, feeling the way the bones shift beneath his tendons, the points of his claws scraping against his palms. “I wasn’t turned willingly, and I may have been the one to kill Pandora when she started the change.”

“When was this?”

“A couple of months ago?” Dick shrugs. “I don’t have the exact date—time passes strangely now that I’m basically immortal and barely sleep.” He leans forward and clasps his hands together, sweeping his thumb across his knuckle. “It was… an adjustment, and Tim was the only reason why I didn’t lose my mind to bloodlust.”

“So that’s why you kept him with you this whole time,” Jason says with a grunt. “Alright, this doesn’t tell me how you know about the new leader.”

“I know because I was there when Mary, Queen of Blood died,” Dick says, lifting his head. He feels pinned in place by Jason’s fixed stare, slightly unnerved by the small green flecks that seem to glow in the dim light of the room. “I was there when the power transferred to him.”

“It’s you?” Jason breathes, eyes wide. “You’re the Vampire King?”

Dick purses his lips, weighing the odds of continuing the lie with his brother. If he does, then Tim remains protected from outside forces, but if Jason finds out (which he will), he’ll be reasonably upset with Dick and pry the truth out of him one way or another.

And the trust that Dick painstakingly worked so hard to gain will be shattered.

He sighs, cocking his head to the side to listen to the soft rustle of leaves out the windows. Dick can hear the vague shuffle of their vampire guards hidden amongst the branches, and he shuts his eyes. 

“Tim,” he says. “You can come out now.”

Dick hears the creak of the cupboard, then, the soft click of Tim’s shoes against the tile. He tips his head back against the couch when Tim climbs up, the boy tumbling over with a soft sound and landing on the cushions beside Dick.

“Does he know?” he asks, gazing up at Dick with an eager smile. “Did you ask him? Did he say yes?”

“Say yes to what?” Jason asks cautiously, eyes flicking between them. “What does this have to do with…” His voice grows softer before tapering off into nothingness, and he gapes at them, eyebrows climbing to his forehead. “No,” Jason whispers, something akin to fear on his face. “Please don’t tell me it’s him.”

Dick says nothing, glancing down at Tim, who sits serenely on the couch—akin to a little porcelain doll with his pale features and button nose. The image would be complete if his eyes weren’t glowing an unnatural red or if his fangs weren’t peeking out.

“Dick,” Jason pleads.

He runs a hand down his face and crosses over to the window, gazing out into the darkness that surrounds the manor. When he was younger, it used to scare him—Dick always imagined his parents’ killer out there, waiting for him to be alone to take him out, too, or even fearing that Gotham would soon swallow him whole, piercing him with its darkness until nothing was left.

Now, Dick is part of the shadows, striking fear in those who deserve it and protecting those in need of saving. He pulled himself from the abyss several times, climbing out of it and greeting the moon above his head like an old friend.

He’s not afraid anymore.

“You can’t tell anyone,” Dick finally says, facing his brother. “You have every right to be upset about this, but if you decide to tell someone outside the group, then you put our lives at risk.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Tim’s the Vampire King,” Dick tells him. “And the other vampires most likely want that power for themselves. They're using the title for their personal agenda, probably trying to lure us out so they can try to take what they believe is rightfully theirs, and the only way to pass on the crown, so to speak, is through death.”

“What the fuck?” Jason whispers, staring at him with wide eyes. “What the actual fuck!?”

“Hey,” Dick snaps. “Language!”

“I think there are better things to worry about right now than a few curse words!” Jason retorts, dragging his fingers through his hair. He tugs at it once and then starts pacing the room, each stomp of his boots loud in the silence. “I mean—seriously? How could you let this happen?”

“I didn’t—”

“Our little brother is dead, Dick!” Jason shouts, eyes brimming with tears as he glares at Dick. “You were supposed to be taking care of him!”

Dick flinches, stomach churning with guilt. He glances over at Tim, who cocks his head to the side with confusion painted across his face, and makes his way over to his brother.

“Timmy,” he says quietly. “Can you step out for a minute? I need to talk to Jason.”

His little vampire brother hums, kicking his feet. “Can I be a bat?” he asks, clasping his hands together. “Pwease?”

“As long as you stay hidden,” Dick says, amused, and ruffles the kid’s hair. “And remember, no biting people! If you’re hungry, you can go find one of our own and stick with them until they can get you a snack. Got it?”

“Uh-huh!”

Tim hops off the chair, and between one blink and the next, he shifts into a small bat, a puff of red mist signaling the change. He flies up to Dick’s head, and Dick huffs out a laugh when he gets a quick nuzzle (and a squeak when Dick nuzzles back) before Tim finally soars out the window, aiming toward the nearby trees.

He smiles at the sight, glad to see Tim enjoying himself in flight, but it quickly fades when he looks over at his other brother and spies the incredulous look on his face. “Don’t give me that,” Dick mutters, moving around the room to clean up after Tim.

“What?” Jason says. “What the hell else am I supposed to do, huh? You can’t expect me to stand here and be okay with a dead brother, right?”

“I died too!” Dick snaps, whirling around to face him. He can’t help but bare his teeth, fangs elongating as he releases a low growl. “You think I didn’t try to stop it from happening? I was nothing compared to Mary! And Tim was the one who ended up killing her so she wouldn’t kill me! I haven’t even had a chance to process what happened because Tim took priority!”

He’s breathing hard by the end of it, and he’s shaking, too. Dick swallows around the sudden dryness in his throat and averts his gaze from the shocked look on Jason’s face, rubbing a hand down his face as weariness settles into his bones.

“I died, too,” he says again, quieter now.

Silence follows, the stifling kind that makes Dick want to shrivel up in a corner and wait for everything to blow over. It doesn’t help that he can hear the nervous thud of Jason’s heart, the way his breathing picks up as time passes. He takes a few steps away from his brother, slightly saddened when that helps him calm down.

“I’m… sorry,” Jason says after a while. “I didn’t even think—” He stops and looks away, visibly swallowing. “I got caught up in my worry about Tim that I didn’t even think about…”

“I know,” Dick says, not unkindly. He takes a seat on the couch, not looking at his brother when he continues, “It didn’t hurt, but… I guess I didn’t really think about it because I was too focused on keeping Tim safe and getting him home. And then, well… he turned.”

“And now he’s the Vampire King.”

Dick nods.

“Does that mean he’s the one spearheading this whole ‘war on humans’ thing?” Jason asks, eyes flicking to the window. 

“No. Like I said, they’re using his title for their personal agenda, hiding behind it to do what they want and wipe away years of Mary’s work.”

“Speaking of Mary, why did she try to kill you?”

“She wanted Tim as an heir,” Dick answers, rolling his eyes. “Someone young and easily moldable, I guess. Basically, the same reason why Ra’s turned him into a kid. She probably wanted a backup plan in case someone succeeded in killing her because Pandora’s vampires were ready to fight her—they asked me to help with that, actually, which is how I got turned.”

“You? Kill? ” Jason scoffs. “I don’t believe it.”

“I killed enough of their forces when I was brought to them,” Dick says, catching his gaze and keeping his head held high. He feels a curl of satisfaction at the surprise on Jason’s face, and he can’t help but add, “And that was when I was still human.”

“How?”

“Stake through the heart,” Dick says, tapping his own chest. “Fashioned a couple on the spot. It worked for a while, and then I got swarmed. Fire kills ‘em, too.” He tips his head to the side, considering, and adds, “My half-sister got us into this mess and put Tim at risk. I’m pretty sure she’s hiding from me.”

“I never liked her,” Jason says with a half-smirk that fades as soon as it appears. “Glad I have a reason now.”

Dick’s lips twitch, but there’s guilt churning in his stomach. He looks away from Jason, lightly tapping a fist against his chin as he thinks. “Listen,” Dick says quietly. “I know this all sounds crazy, and piling on more might make it worse, but… could you consider something for me?”

“What?”

“Tim…” Dick trails off, unsure of how to approach the subject. He stares at Jason, contemplative, and digs a fang into his bottom lip. It’s a human action that carried over into his new vampire life, only this time, he actually cuts his lip open. He licks off the blood, feeling around the wound, but it’s already healed—like nothing ever happened.

“Tim wants to turn you into a vampire,” he says, deciding to go straight to the point. He registers Jason’s look of shock before it fades, settling into the blank mask they all learned to wield from the same man. “He wants you to be with him forever in his eternal family.”

“I’m not family.”

Dick snorts. “You always say that,” he murmurs, glancing at him. “But you never mean it.”

This time, it’s Jason who looks away.

“Just think about it, okay? For Tim.”

“For Tim,” Jason repeats, a touch of bitterness entering his voice, “And let me guess, you don’t agree with what he wants.”

“Oh, no, I do,” Dick assures. “Whole-heartedly.” He shifts and leans forward, ducking his head slightly to meet Jason’s gaze. “I want you by my side, Little Wing, but I’m not going to force this decision on you.” He pauses and adds, “I can’t say the same for Tim because we both know that he’s an expert manipulator with those puppy-dog eyes of his.”

“Wonder where he got it from,” Jason mutters, averting his eyes. He does look thoughtful, though, so Dick internally cheers at the sign of progress. “I… I don’t know, Dick. I’m barely okay with the second life I’ve got—and I still carry a bit of anger from how I came back. How can I be okay with living for eternity?”

“You don’t have to say yes right now,” Dick says, pushing himself up. He telegraphs every moment, aware of Jason’s occasional glance, not at all hurt by the wariness on his face. “Tim might get a little impatient, but I don’t mind waiting for an answer. It’s a big decision, one that’ll drastically change your life.”

“Would you have chosen this?”

“Well,” Dick starts, slowly moving toward the windows. He looks out into the trees, lips twitching when he catches sight of two glowing red eyes. “If Tim wasn’t a vampire, probably not.” He slips outside, gazing up at the moon. “But I didn’t get a choice, Jay. I can’t think about any ‘what-ifs’ when it already happened. This is my life now, and I’ve accepted that.” He hops up onto the rail, easily balancing on it. “And we’d accept you, too, regardless of what you pick.”

“Yeah?” Jason says, and Dick makes note of the hope in his voice.

“Yeah,” Dick replies, smiling at him. He stares at his little brother for a moment longer and shifts a little, body coiled and ready. “We’ll wait for your answer.”

And with that, Dick tips backwards, transforming into a bat as he’s falling and then flying up to the trees. The rush creates a pleasant swoop in his stomach, and Dick expresses his joy by squeaking at Jason after the other man runs out. He flies over to where he last saw Tim, already resigning himself to another game of hide and seek.

(He wins every time, of course, and ends up getting attacked by a little bat who simply gnaws on his wing. Dick thinks it’s too cute and doesn’t even try to stop him.)

★★

Jason avoids them for the next few days.

He’s not obvious about it, but it’s strange to see him reverting back to the behavior he displayed after his initial return to Gotham, and the subsequent reveal of his identity.

It causes a small bout of heartbreak for Tim, who loves to spend time with Jason in the quiet of the library. He continues to stick close to Dick at his gentle request, though sometimes he’ll split off from him and bounce over to Cass, letting her carry him around while they communicate through facial expressions and gestures.

(A part of him wonders if telepathy happens to be a vampire power, but he thinks asking will get him laughed out of the vampire apartments.)

“Do you think Jay will say yes?” Tim asks one evening, chewing on the straw from his juice box. He stops for a moment, looking glum. “Maybe not, huh? He’s takin’ too wong…”

The corner of his mouth is stained red, so Dick quickly wipes it with his sleeve, glancing around to make sure no one’s lurking in the corners.

It’s hard being discreet about their vampire sides in the manor, mostly because they live with a family of detectives, but at least everyone trusts Dick to be Tim’s primary caretaker while they’re off dealing with the whole ‘vampire war on humans’ thing, so that gives him free rein to continuing feed Tim via blood juice boxes.

Alfred helps them, too, and Dick finds their supply sufficiently restocked whenever he returns to check on it later in the day. He doesn’t know where Alfred gets it from, and at this point, he’s slightly afraid to ask.

“It’s a big decision to make,” Dick says, combing his fingers through Tim’s silky hair. “We didn’t get that much of a choice, sweetheart. Jason has to think about whether he wants to die again or not. You understand?”

“Uh-huh…”

Dick gazes at that sad little face and reaches out to tweak Tim’s nose, watching as he scrunches up his face before pouting. “It’ll be okay, Timmy,” he assures, kissing the top of his head. “No matter what Jay chooses, we’ll still love him, right?”

“Wight!” Tim nods emphatically. “But maybe we can ask again? To wemind him?”

“I’m sure he remembers,” Dick says wryly. “But no. We have to give him space right now.”

“Aw, okay…”

Thankfully, Tim stops asking about it as the week continues, but impatience makes the boy restless. Dick often has to deal with a baby bat zooming around the room, usually in the late hours when everyone’s out in Gotham.

One night, when Dick’s trying to get Tim to calm down and turn back into a human, he hears footsteps approaching the room. Tim must hear it, too, because he quickly dives into their little alcove, hidden from all prying eyes.

He cocks his head to the side, trying not to smile when he recognizes Jason’s heartbeat. Dick opens the door right as his brother stops in front of it, almost laughing when he catches the look of surprise on his face.

“Sorry,” he says, reaching up to tap an ear. “I heard you.”

“You… heard me?”

“I, uh, made myself recognize your heartbeat,” Dick says, feeling a bit awkward. He rubs the back of his neck, averting his gaze. “Yours is pretty distinct, and it’s easier for me to tell when you’re coming. Which is great! Because otherwise, I’d try to identify you by the way you walk, but you and Bruce have similar… steps.”

“Ugh, that’s annoying,” Jason mutters. He sighs and quietly asks, “Can I… come in? Is Tim here?”

Before Dick can answer, he hears a flap of leathery wings and then feels a soft weight on top of his head. Dick doesn’t have to look up to know that Tim’s there, squeaking in what seems to be excitement.

“Yeah,” Dick says, amused. “He’s here.”

Jason looks fascinated. “That you, Timmy?” he asks, holding out a hand.

Tim practically throws himself off Dick’s head, catching himself on Jason’s fingers. He trills as he climbs up Jason’s arm and onto his shoulder, clearly pleased, and then—

“Jay!” Tim exclaims as he appears in a puff of red mist, arms and legs wrapped around Jason’s side like he’s a koala instead of a boy. “Hi, Jay, hi! Whatcha doin’ here? Why didn’t you go out? Did you bweak something? Are you in twouble?”

“I’m here to see you,” Jason says, poking Tim’s stomach. “And, I…” He glances at Dick, and Dick’s surprised to see how nervous he looks. “I wanted to talk.”

“Oh?” Dick feels a flicker of hope. “About what?”

Tim gasps. “Are you gonna be a vampiwe with me?” he asks excitedly.

Jason smiles, ruffling Tim’s hair. “I should have known you’d figure it out,” he says, a hint of pride to his words. “You’re still the smartest cookie I know, Timmy.”

“Yay!” Tim says happily, fangs peeking out of his mouth and eyes glowing red. He pushes up onto his tiptoes to grab one of Jason’s hands, bouncing in place. “Jay’s gonna stay with me forever!”

“Yeah,” Jason whispers. “Forever.”

Dick hides his smile behind his hand as he watches them. He thinks he detects a hint of happiness in Jason’s voice, so different from the reluctance he showed when presented with the idea of immortality.

“No going back,” he says as he steps up to them, sliding a hand onto Jason’s shoulder. He meets his brother’s eyes and asks, “You sure about this?”

Jason gazes back steadily. “We’re family,” he says. “Right?”

“Yes,” Dick answers without hesitation. “Always.”

“Then I’m sure.”

Dick guides him over to the couch, pushing Jason down on the cushions. “Are you okay with one of us drinking from you?” he asks, folding up the cuff of his own sleeve. “It’ll probably be Tim because he doesn’t know how to turn people yet.” Dick eyes the baby vampire. “Or he’s too lazy to do it.”

“M’not lazy!” Tim says indignantly, pulling himself onto the couch and grabbing one of Jason’s arms. “I bite you now,” he says, and sinks his tiny fangs into the meat of his bicep, blood spilling out of his mouth due to his messy eating.

“Ow,” Jason complains, watching with a strange fascination in his eyes.

Dick brings his wrist up to his mouth, tearing through the flesh with his fangs. His blood oozes out of the wound, tangy, and he edges closer, holding it close to Jason’s mouth.

“Drink,” Dick says. “And join us for eternity.”

Jason stares up at him, eyes half-lidded, and he leans forward to latch onto Dick’s wrist, smearing blood across his lips as he laps over the wound. Dick watches, delighted, as the change immediately occurs, causing Jason’s ears to become pointed before it goes back to normal.

“There,” he orders gently and pulls his wrist away. Already, the wound is starting to heal, and Dick tugs Tim off of Jason, too, ruffling his hair when he pouts. “You’re a vampire now, Little Wing. How do you feel?”

“Great,” Jason says hoarsely, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He offers a fanged smile, eyes glowing a faint red. “Kinda thirsty, though.”

“Yeah, that happens.”

Dick walks over to the small cooler he brought with him from Bludhaven and pulls out a juice box, passing it over. “Sorry,” he says when Jason glances at it questioningly. “Tim will only drink blood if it’s from there.” Dick eyes the boy, who grins back at him with bloody teeth. “At least, I thought so until he drank from you today.”

“It’s diffewent!” Tim replies, pouting.

“How?” Dick crosses his arms. 

“Because it’s Jay!”

“Uh-huh, sure, Timmy, sure…” He glances over at Jason, registering the dazed look on his face, and quietly asks, “You okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I think so,” Jason says before he takes a sip. Dick gets to see the way his pupils blow wide, and suddenly, the juice box gets crushed in his hands as Jason tries to suck out every last drop of blood.

Dick silently passes over another before turning toward Tim and wiping the blood off his mouth and face. He also takes a moment to check the boy’s fangs, making sure nothing got loose when he bit into Jason, and nods, satisfied when he sees that everything’s okay.

“I don’t want you doing that again, okay?” Dick says, flicking one of his ears. “Let me handle all that, and you just make sure to have a juice box ready for the next person.”

“Aw, why?” Tim looks up at him sadly. “Did I not do a good job?”

“You did great, baby! I just…” Dick sighs, pushing some of Tim’s hair back to kiss his forehead. “I’m afraid you’ll start liking the taste, and then you won’t be able to control yourself when you’re around the other humans. You still have a bit of trouble when you get your juice.”

“Oh.” Tim looks thoughtful. “Um, okay. I sowee, Dickie.”

“No, it’s alright,” Dick says, pinching one of his little cheeks. “It’s not your fault.” He pauses, considering, and then adds, “Think of it this way: what if you accidentally drank too much blood? Then they’d feel a little sick, and we might not be able to turn them into a vampire.”

“Wight!” Tim nods. “And we don’t want that because we gots to make the whole famiwy into vampiwes!” He smiles sweetly and reaches up to press both hands against Dick’s cheek, squishing them. “T’ank you, Dickie. I wet you dwink, then.” And then, he kisses Dick’s nose. “Wuv you.”

“Love ‘ou too, ‘immy,” Dick replies and pretends to eat his hands just so he can hear Tim laugh.

“So, what now?” Jason asks suddenly, and when Dick looks over at the other man, glowing red eyes gaze back at him. The juice boxes are crushed up in front of him, and there’s a streak of blood on the corner of his mouth. “If Tim’s not trying to take over the world and wage war on humans, then—what?”

“We just live,” Dick tells him, moving closer to Jason. He squeezes his brother’s bicep and directs a smile toward Tim, who beams back at him. “But we’ll have to deal with those vampires sooner or later.”

Jason hums thoughtfully. “Hey,” he says. “Remember that favor you owe me?”

“Yes?” Dick frowns. “Are you going to cash it now? And what for?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason says, pushing away from him and walking over to Tim. He picks the boy up, bumping their foreheads together before turning toward Dick, a smirk on his face. “Just cover for me while I’m gone, alright?”

Warning bells go off in Dick’s head.

“You shouldn’t go out there,” he cautions. “Not when you’re freshly turned. You need to work on your control before you even think about stepping out.”

“Dick,” Jason says dryly. “I’ve been in control of myself for years now. I’m an expert at keeping myself in check, especially around others.” He kisses the side of Tim’s head and sets him down on the floor, grabbing his mask off the coffee table and sliding it onto the bottom half of his face. “Besides,” he says, his voice modulator active. “It’s not like they’ll know who I am, so it’ll be easy to worm my way in and cut off the head at the source, so to speak.”

“Everyone knows you,” Dick points out.

“In the hero community, yes,” Jason says with a smirk. “But most of the world doesn’t know that Jason Todd is alive again, so it’ll be easy to pretend to be someone else since they don’t know what I look like.”

“Just… be careful, okay?”

“Always am, Dickiebird,” Jason says, walking over and wrapping a hand around the back of Dick’s head. He gently bumps their foreheads together, and Dick feels himself relax, taking the chance to memorize Jason’s new vampiric scent. “I’ll come back.”

“Promise?” Dick can’t help but ask. It may seem childish, but Dick doesn’t think he’ll survive losing Jason again, especially with the promise of eternity right around the corner.

“Promise,” Jason replies, sliding his hand down to squeeze Dick’s shoulder. He moves away, offering a little salute as he makes his way over to the door. “You just focus on keeping Timmy safe, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

He departs after that, only to return a few seconds later with a tiny bat nestled in his hair. Dick ignores Tim’s indignant squeaking when Jason passes him over, placing the boy into the little pocket on his shirt and walking Jason to the door just so Tim won’t try to sneak past him again.

“You’re a menace,” Dick teases, gently rubbing Tim’s head with a finger.

Tim screeches, but it trails off into a soft purr the longer Dick pets him. He smiles, heart warm, but his stomach twists with his anxiety as he thinks about his little brother out there, fighting the monsters using Tim’s title for their evil deeds.

But even with the worry coursing through him, there’s an inordinate amount of trust for Jason, knowing that he’ll do everything in his power to make things right and keep them safe.

★★

Damian’s next.

Dick can tell by the way Tim follows after the other boy, often hiding in the shadows whenever they’re in the same room and staring at Damian with wide eyes. Thankfully, Damian never mentions anything negative about the behavior. In fact, he seems to enjoy it, what with how he’ll beckon Tim closer and let the boy sit in his lap while they watch a movie or read a book together.

Tim decides he wants to have a sleepover one night and invites himself into Damian’s room, worming his way into Damian’s bed with a few pieces of candy as an offering and his dinosaur plush.

“Thank you, Timothy,” Damian says politely as he accepts the treats. “But you didn’t have to bribe me. I would have allowed you in here.” He pauses before reaching out to tuck a strand of Tim’s hair behind his ear. “You always have a place with me, Timothy, and I plan on staying by your side for as long as you need me.”

“I’m always gonna need you, Dami,” Tim says, throwing his arms around Damian’s neck. “And evewyone else, too!”

Dick eyes Damian, a bit confused about that particular wording. After a couple of seconds of mulling it over, Dick shrugs it off and makes his way over to his little brothers, ruffling Damian’s hair.

“Will you go patrol in my steed?” Damian asks, batting Dick’s hands away. “Or will you join us for the night? I’m partial to the latter.”

“Dickie should stay!” Tim says, pushing himself up. He starts bouncing on the bed, grinning widely. “Dickie, stay! Dickie, stay! Dickie… stay! ” And with that exclamation, Tim launches himself forward, and Dick scrambles to catch him, sharing an exasperated look with Damian as Tim continues his little chant.

“Alright, alright,” Dick grumbles after Tim starts pulling on his shirt, lightly nipping Tim’s cheek with a fang when he kisses that same spot. “I’ll stay, but next time I’d like to hear a ‘please’ when you’re asking for something.”

“Oh, yeah!” Tim giggles. “Dickie, stay, pwease? ”

“That’s better.”

He does leave the room to go to their linen closet, grabbing a few extra blankets and dumping them on top of the boys. Tim immediately starts fixing them up, creating a small nest out of the pile. It’s something he does now, and Dick suspects it’s because he likes to burrow into blankets when he’s in his bat form.

“Okay!” Tim says after a while, nodding to himself. “Now… I want a stowy!”

“What kind of story?” Dick asks, carefully removing a piece of lint from his hair.

“Um… I dunno!” Tim turns to Damian. “Dami! What kind of stowy do you wanna hear? A pwincess one? The one that I wike with the wabbit?” He gasps. “Oh! Maybe a scawy stowy?”

“You hate those,” Damian points out. “They always make you hide under the bed.”

“That’s not twue!”

“I’ll find something for you,” Dick says, patting Tim’s head before sliding off the bed. “It’ll be a surprise, okay? You just wait here and get settled. Maybe I’ll even bring some snacks, too.”

“Candy!” Tim crows, kicking his feet up. “Candy, candy! No, wait! Popsicle! Wait! Juice! Actually, I want some popcorn. No, maybe some chips?” He sighs, rolling onto his stomach. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”

“You may have your popsicle,” Damian says. “As long as you don’t spill any on my bed. I’d like some popcorn, too, and you should grab something for yourself as well, Richard. I imagine Timothy will want to stay awake the whole night.”

Tim giggles. “Yeah,” he says. “Pwobabwy.”

Mostly because he doesn’t need to sleep as much as before, Dick thinks as he leaves the room. Of course, this isn’t something he can reveal to Damian, but maybe they can play it off as Tim being too hyperactive to sleep.

Dick comes back with plenty of snacks, drinks, and a story about a porcelain rabbit named Edward Tulane. He gets through a few chapters before Tim decides he wants to watch a movie instead, and then Dick has to sit through another showing of Lilo & Stitch. Dick has to turn away towards the end of the film to hide his bloody tears, but at least he’s not the only one crying (judging by Damian’s little sniffles).

Damian ends up getting dragged into playing with Tim—some board game that Damian had tucked away underneath his bed. Tim doesn’t bother reading the rules, and he doesn’t listen to Dick when he tries to explain them, so Dick sits there, watching his little brothers go through an entirely made-up game.

Tim wins, of course.

And the only problem that arises is when Dick catches Tim chewing on a pillow, fangs out, and eyes glowing red, while Damian sleeps beside him.

“Tim,” Dick whispers, tugging the cushion away from the boy’s mouth. “Stop that! Damian’s right there!”

“But…”

“No buts,” Dick murmurs, tweaking his nose. “You know you’re not supposed to show your fangs, not here.”

“I’m sowee…” Tim sniffles. “My teeth keep bugging me. I can’t help it!”

“I know, baby,” Dick says as he pulls the boy onto his lap, petting his hair. “But we’re waiting on Damian, and he doesn’t know what we are yet.”

“It’d make things easier if you turned me now.”

Dick freezes when Damian turns over, half-lidded gaze pinning Dick in place. He says nothing else, but Dick detects a hint of wry amusement on his face. Tim doesn’t seem to notice Dick’s panic, basically throwing himself at Damian, giggling.

“Yeah?” he asks, sounding joyous. “You wanna be a vampiwe with me?”

“Of course I do,” Damian answers, wrapping his arms around Tim. “Remember what I said earlier? I meant it.”

“How long have you known?” Dick immediately demands, reaching out to poke Damian’s nose.

“Since you two arrived,” Damian answers. “I suspected something was different, and Father gave me the answer when he told us about the vampires.” He pauses and adds, “Also, Timothy isn’t discreet. I caught him tearing into a raw steak that Alfred had set aside to prepare for Father’s lunch.”

“I was hungy!” Tim complains when Dick glances at him, unimpressed. “And it was just sitting there, waiting for me to eat it! And Alfie said it was okay after he saw me!”

Dick sighs, shaking his head. “Of course he did,” he mutters and glances over at Damian, pursing his lips. “You’re not going to tell Bruce about us?”

“No, why would I?” Damian arches a brow. “It’s clear to me that you two aren’t a threat to humanity. I suspect that if you were evil, Richard, then you’d work on sabotaging our meetings by planting wrong information, or you’d bide your time and pick us off one by one.”

“Why me?” Dick wonders, bemused. “Am I most likely to become evil or something?”

“It’s not that,” Damian replies, running his fingers through Tim’s hair, causing the younger boy to hum happily and bury his face in Damian’s chest. “I know you’d do anything to keep Timothy safe and happy, and if Timothy had a certain agenda, then you’d do everything in your power to make sure it happens.” There’s a hint of a smile on his face when he says, “And Timothy is too sweet to be evil.”

“Nuh-uh!” Tim says, sitting up. “I can be evil!”

Dick snorts, and Tim’s head whips over, a betrayed expression on his face.

“Dickie!” he cries. 

“I’m sorry, baby,” Dick soothes, but he can’t quite keep the smile off his face. “But you cried the other day when you accidentally dropped Batwalker on the floor. I don’t think there’s an evil bone in your body, and that’s a good thing!”

Tim puffs out his cheeks, glaring with glowing red eyes. “I’m evil now!” he declares, turning to Damian. “Will you be my evil minion, Dami? Better than Dickie…”

“Hey,” Dick protests, trying to keep the smile off his face. “Come on, now.”

“Yes, Timothy,” Damian says, lips twitching. “I’ll join your dark crusade and become a creature of the night, and the world will fall at your feet and know true terror.”

“Yay!” Tim cheers, his fangs sliding out. Dick pulls him back before he can go and bite Damian, giving him a look that causes the boy to pout. “Aw, okay. Dickie will change you if you weally wanna be one.”

“I do,” Damian says.

“And you’ve thought about this?” Dick says, meeting Damian’s gaze. “There’s no coming back from this, Damian. If you truly want to become a vampire, I’ll gladly turn you, but I need to be sure that you understand it’s forever. You can still be killed by a stake or fire and sunlight, if you’re not careful.” He holds out a hand, waiting. “Is that something you’re okay with?”

“Yes,” Damian answers quietly, and Dick can hear how his heartbeat picks up. “I’ve thought about it since I realized the truth about you two. And…” He grabs Dick’s fingers, a faint smile on his face. “I understand, now, that family is important, and now that I’ve found my place here, I don’t want to risk losing any one of you, nor do I want to leave your side.”

Dick smiles at him, releasing Damian’s hand to cup his cheek. He brushes his thumb over a partially faded scar and pulls the boy into his arms, taking a moment to memorize his scent and heartbeat—two things that’ll soon disappear.

“My baby bat,” he murmurs, combing his fingers through Damian’s hair. Damian doesn’t even protest, merely nestling closer, as if he can sense the tumultuous emotions coursing through Dick. “Okay. I’ll change you.”

“Okay,” Damian whispers, sounding so young.

A part of Dick is already in mourning, knowing that he’ll soon be faced with the death of a boy he considers his son, but the rest of him is selfishly joyous as he’s reminded of the fact that there’s a lesser chance of losing Damian to Gotham, and that there’s a brighter future where they can live forever in peace.

His fangs slide out as he leans back, ignoring Damian’s wide eyes as he picks up one of his arms. Dick pushes his sleeve up and carefully sinks his teeth into Damian’s flesh. He drinks, and while it does quench some of his thirst, Dick doesn’t really feel anything beyond that. 

Sure, the blood tastes fine, but all Dick can think about is how Damian’s his little brother, his son in all ways that matter, so he has no urge to drain more out of him.

He pulls away after a while and lifts his own wrist to his mouth, tearing it open with his fangs and holding it close to Damian’s mouth. “Drink,” Dick commands and adds in a softer voice, “Please.”

Damian arches a brow but dutifully opens his mouth, flinching when the first droplet of Dick’s blood hits his tongue. Dick allows the trickle to continue for a couple of seconds before pulling his wrist back, licking over the wound to seal it, and then doing the same to Damian’s arm.

“That’s disgusting,” Damian says, a hint of red entering his eyes. He wrinkles his nose and adds haughtily, “It’s unsanitary.”

“You literally drank some of my blood,” Dick points out. “No complaining.”

Tim suddenly slides off the bed, toddling over to the counter where Dick left a couple of juice boxes. He brings them back to the bed, placing one on Damian’s lap and keeping the other in his hands.

“For you, Dami,” Tim says cheerfully, beaming so brightly that it causes his eyes to shut. “It’s good, I pwomise! And it’ll make you, um, burn wess! Yeah!”

“Burn?” Damian asks with a furrowed brow and slowly lifts a hand to his throat. “Oh…”

“It’s okay,” Dick soothes, grabbing the juice box and opening the straw. He pierces the foil with it before holding the straw close to Damian’s mouth, offering an encouraging nod. “Drink. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Okay,” Damian replies, bemused. 

He accepts the drink and takes a sip, and Dick watches as his eyes go wide, a small ring of red around his dilated pupils. Dick takes the other one from Tim and prepares it as Damian drains the first dry, passing it over and ignoring how Damian snatches it away from him with a growl, fangs bared.

“It’s alright,” Dick murmurs, holding up both hands in surrender. “I don’t want it, Damian. It’s all for you, okay?”

Damian glares at him, slowly bringing the juice box up to his mouth. His expression clears the moment he starts drinking more blood, and Dick watches him for a bit longer before lowering his arms, relieved that he didn’t get mauled.

“My apologies,” Damian says after a while, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. “I didn’t realize…”

“It’s fine,” Dick quickly replies, patting his back. “It was the same for me once I got home, and the adrenaline left my body. I’m just glad you were comfortable enough to drink it.”

“I’ll be fine with it as long as it’s not animal blood.”

Dick huffs out a laugh, not surprised by his response.

Tim suddenly throws himself between them, flopping around on the bed before rolling onto Damian. “Dami’s gonna be with me forever now,” he chirps, looking pleased. “That means we get to pway all the time! And watch movies! And wun awound outside! And fwy as bats?”

“We can turn into bats?” Damian asks, surprised. 

“Uh-huh!” Tim nods. “See?” There’s a puff of red mist, and then there’s a tiny bat sitting on Damian’s lap.

“Oh, look at you,” Damian says in a much softer voice (cooing, basically) as he scoops Tim up with one hand. He starts rubbing a finger beneath Tim’s little muzzle, causing Tim to purr up a storm. “Great vocalization, Timothy.” He slowly extends one wing, releasing a thoughtful hum. “I see you have room to grow, so I shall do my best to watch over you, little dove. Or maybe it’s better to call you little bat from now on…”

“No, no!” Tim cries when he changes back to human, squeezing Damian tightly. “I’m dove! Onwy dove! And Dami is Dami!”

“Alright, then. You shall forever be my dove.”

Dick’s ready to pass away (again) at any moment now. His little brothers are so sweet together, and it’s enough to bring a tear to his eye. He wraps them up in a hug, ignoring their protests as he kisses the top of their heads, over and over again, until he feels two stinging bites on his hands.

“Rude,” he scolds, dumping them back on the blankets. “So rude! Didn’t anyone teach you two manners?”

“Of course,” Damian replies, a haughty look on his face. “But I was also taught to use myself as a weapon to remove myself from any type of situation. That hug of yours would have crushed us both if it went on any longer.”

“Right…” Dick looks at Tim, arching a brow. “And what about you, huh?”

“I just wanted to bite you,” Tim says, giggling. “My teeth got itchy again.”

“You’re such a stinker,” Dick complains, dragging Tim closer and giving him a noogie. Tim struggles to get away and even attempts to bite him again, but Dick doesn’t give up, not until Tim bursts out an apology in-between his laughter.

“There are a few things we need to go over,” Dick says as Tim jumps off the bed to play with his board game again. “I’m sure you’ve already deduced that we’re not involved in the whole ‘war on humans’ thing that Bruce is investigating—”

“Yes. Obviously.”

“—but there’s something else you should know.” Dick places a hand on Damian’s shoulder and looks him in the eyes when he says, “Tim’s the Vampire King.”

Damian stares at him for a very long moment, an expression of shock on his face. His mouth opens and closes several times, clearly at a loss for words.

Dick pats him and adds, “So, that technically makes him your ruler.”

“... I see,” Damian replies, rolling onto his side and tucking the blankets around his shoulder. “Wake me up in a century when Timothy’s old enough to properly plan a worldly takeover.”

Tim comes back over just to hit Damian with a pillow until he falls asleep, slumped over Damian’s body, and effectively trapping the other boy on the bed.

Dick pointedly ignores the pleading look that Damian shoots him, choosing to step outside and stretch his wings on a midnight flight. 

Hmph. As if Tim would want to take over the world. 

His brain conjures up the memory of finding Tim’s color-coded binder with plans to do exactly that, and Dick decides to never bring that up to anyone. Although Dick can’t take this secret to the grave, it can remain with him for the rest of his life, and that’s close enough.

★★

Damian’s adjustment to vampirism goes easier than expected.

He also makes it his mission to perfect his bat transformation and spends a lot of time with Dick and Tim just practicing it. Tim enjoys having another bat around and likes to snuggle up with Damian whenever he’s in bat form. At some point, Tim gets Cass to join in, and Dick often finds them burrowed in one of their many blankets, snoozing away.

(He has way too many pictures of them on his phone now.)

Damian apparently tasks himself with being Tim’s personal stylist, and now Tim comes out of his room wearing fancier dresses and shirts. Dick’s certain that some of Tim’s new wardrobe cost more than anything Dick owns, but Dick’s not going to say anything to anyone.

It’s not his credit card, after all. Bruce can handle it.

“Why the effort?” Dick asks one morning, watching as Damian buttons up Tim’s new, pleated coat. It’s baby blue with white faux fur trim, a cape on the shoulders, and topped off with a matching hat. He’s also wearing white leggings, and it’s paired with the most adorable baby blue Mary Janes.

“Timothy is royalty now,” Damian replies, picking a few pieces of lint off Tim’s front. “He has to look the part.”

“I’m fancy,” Tim comments, doing a little spin. He points at his coat, too, and says, “Look, Dickie! It’s bwue! Wike Nightwing!”

Dick melts. “That’s right, baby,” he says, smiling. “Just like Nightwing.”

On and on it goes.

Those recently turned, Damian and Cass, tend to hover near Tim whenever they all happen to be in the same room together. It goes unnoticed by Bruce, thankfully, though it could be chalked up to the usual protectiveness that everyone’s been feeling since Tim got changed into a child.

It also helps that Bruce is too busy with the whole vampire thing, his frustration very obvious to anyone who sees him, especially when Duke eventually arrives with minimal information. He also comes bearing gifts for Tim—puzzle toys and a stuffed bear with a Signal costume.

Tim starts following him around after that, and while Dick thinks it’s cute, he knows there’s an ulterior motive. He can see the calculation in Tim’s eyes whenever he looks at Duke, so Dick suspects that Tim’s going to try and draw Duke into their little group soon.

And he’s proven right when Tim says, one afternoon during lunch, “Be my minion.”

“What?” Duke lifts his head, glancing at Tim with a look of confusion. “Is this because my suit is yellow? If that’s the case, it’s a little mean of you, Tim.

“No! Not that kind of minion!” Tim sighs deeply. “Be my vampiwe minion, Duke!”

“Oh?” Duke glances over at Dick, frowning. “Is this some kind of game that you’re playing? Because if it is, then I don’t think Bruce is going to appreciate it, especially with everything that’s happening right now…”

Dick stares at him for a bit before glancing down at Tim, who fidgets as he gazes at Duke hopefully. He sighs, leaning back to rub his jaw, and asks, “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” Duke replies immediately, looking bewildered. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“You…” Dick chews on his bottom lip, thinking. “You know the Vampire King, right? Well, the real one isn’t behind all this. Actually, they have no plans to eliminate the humans or whatever. The vampires out there are just using the title to spread their agenda.”

“What does that mean?” Duke tilts his head. “And how do you know all this? Also, what do you mean by real, huh? Shouldn’t you tell Bruce?”

Dick shrugs. “Probably,” he acknowledges, offering a fanged smile. “But I doubt he’d be happy about how I got this information.”

★★

Duke handles the news surprisingly well, if one discounts the way he curses for a while before taking a lap around the room. He accepts the offer to turn into a creature of the night after Dick explains what happened,

Now, he’s working on controlling himself and discovering how his powers work with his new biology.

So far, it seems like he can protect himself from the sun using them. He’s been practicing with Cass since she seems to be the fastest of them all and can quickly get him to cover should something go wrong. Dick can’t wait for the day when they can go out without worrying about whether they drank enough of Kori’s blood or not.

(Barbara figured it out sometime after that, and when she confronted Dick about it, he gave her the whole truth and even offered to change her.

“No,” she had said, shaking her head. “I’m comfortable with myself, and I don’t want to stand by and watch my father die while I stay the same. I’ll help you two with whatever you need, but there’s no reason for me to be a vampire.”)

Steph’s getting close to figuring it out, so Dick lets Cass deal with her since Steph is so gung-ho about fighting vampires. He trusts that Cass will get her used to the idea of vampires while protecting Tim’s identity as the Vampire King, and he knows that she wants to be the one to turn Steph when the time is right.

★★

Dick’s watching over Tim as he plays with his Legos, occasionally glancing out the window to see Gotham’s gloomy skies.

The others are currently out since Bruce got word that there was a group of vampires trying to set up shop in one of the many empty warehouses in the city. Dick was initially elected to go, but Tim threw such a big fit that Bruce had conceded to the boy and let Dick stay behind.

“You’re so spoiled,” Dick comments, reaching out to tug on a strand of Tim’s hair.

“Nuh-uh!” Tim smacks his hand away. “Daddy just gives me evewything I want!”

“Whatever,” Dick replies, rolling his eyes. He looks down at his phone, where Jason’s most recent message stares up at him. It’s a simple update telling Dick that his brother’s getting close to the problem and a reminder that he’ll be dark (no contact whatsoever) until the issue is resolved.

It doesn’t stop him from worrying, and each message he sends that remains unseen only adds more to his pile of anxiety.

Stay safe, Dick thinks as he stares at Jason’s contact picture, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. He knows it won’t do anything, but Dick imagines sending his well wishes out into the universe, hoping this energy will keep Jason from harm. Come back home to us.

“Hey, Timmy,” Dick says, hoping to distract himself. “Is there anyone else you want to turn? I mean, we’ve already got your friends and mine, but I don’t know if there’s someone else you had in mind.”

“Maybe Aunt Diana and Uncle Cwark,” Tim replies, grabbing a green, rectangular Lego block and placing it beside a tiny bench. “I think daddy would wike it if his fwiends were with him, but I dunno if they agwee.”

“They might,” Dick says thoughtfully. “But I think Bruce would have to ask since they might not take it well if we did it.”

“Yeah,” Tim acknowledges and sighs. “We also have to change daddy into a vampiwe…”

“I know, baby, I know.”

“Why does daddy hafta be so compwicated ?” Tim complains, placing a green brick down and banging it with a tiny toy hammer. “I dwop the hints for him, but he doesn’t wisten! He just thinks I’m weading some stowies!” He releases a frustrated huff, tossing down the hammer and crossing his arms. “He… um, he… he keeps… pat… um…”

“Patronizing?” Dick offers, lips twitching.

“Yeah!” Tim cries, nodding. “That! He’s doin’ that!”

Dick very carefully looks up at the ceiling, pressing his lips together so he won’t laugh over his precious baby brother’s words. “Well, Timmy,” he says, voice wavering. “Maybe we should all help you. I’m sure we can get him to figure it out before the week is up.”

“Okay,” Tim says with a big sigh, a sad look on his face. “I guess we can do that.”

Dick watches him for a moment, feeling a pang in his chest when he sees the way Tim’s eyes well up with red tears. “Come here,” he says, beckoning the boy over.

Tim turns to look at him and then crawls over. When he’s close enough to the couch, Dick reaches down to scoop him up, hugging his little brother close to his chest. “It’ll be okay,” he murmurs, running his fingers through Tim’s hair after he nestles close. “Bruce will see reason, and then we’ll all stay together forever.”

“What if he says no?” Tim asks, sniffling. “What if he hates me?”

“Bruce could never hate you, Timmy,” Dick assures, kissing the top of his head. “He loves you, and he always will, no matter what happens or what you do.” 

Dick knows this well.

After all the arguments he had with the other man, calling him every bad name under the sun, Bruce still accepts him with open arms. No matter how far Dick goes, he knows that he’ll always have a spot in the manor, a place that will forever be his home.

“Dad will agree,” Dick whispers, gently rocking them back and forth. “Of course he will.”

“Dickie’s sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.” He kisses Tim’s head again, leaning back to look him in the eyes and smile. “And if he doesn’t, we’ll give him a little bonk on the head until he says yes.”

Tim giggles and Dick takes the chance to wipe away the tears with a napkin, glad he kept one in his pocket. “Dickie’s silly,” Tim says and kisses Dick’s cheek. “Thanky, Dickie.”

“You’re welcome, baby.” He taps that little button nose, enjoying Tim’s smile. “How about we go drink some juice with the others, hm?” he asks, standing up with Tim in his arms. “And maybe we can come up with a plan to get Bruce to figure it out. That sound okay to you?”

“Uh-huh!” Tim nods, floppy hair getting in his face. “And then can I go fwying with Dami?” It’s his favorite pastime now. “Pwease?”

“If Damian agrees, then you can go flying,” Dick answers, shifting the boy onto his hip. “But you can’t go too far from the manor, okay? Remember what happened last time you tried it? You got stuck in a big tree, and I had to come get you.”

“That was scawy,” Tim says solemnly. “Okay, Dickie. I stay cwose.”

“Good.” Dick starts walking toward the kitchen, patting his brother’s back. “We got this, Timmy. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

★★

Dick’s cleaning Tim’s bat wings with a toothbrush when the door to his room bangs open. He looks up and blinks in surprise when he sees Jason walking in.

“Y’know,” Jason says, hair mussed and fangs on display. His clothes are filthy, and there’s dirt smeared across his face and hands, but he doesn’t seem to care. “I thought there’d be more of a fight when I finally confronted the group, but they were pretty easy to take down.”

“What? Dick gazes at his brother with wide eyes. “Uh, is that a flamethrower?” he asks, pointing at the weapon slung over Jason’s shoulder. Dick glances at his clothes again and grimaces. “Are you tracking vampire ash into the house?”

“… Maybe.”

“Jay.”

“What? It’s not my fault they died all over me!”

Jason places the flamethrower on a chair and makes his way over to where Dick’s sitting on the bed, crouching down and smiling at the bat on his lap. “Hey, Timmy,” he says, reaching out to rub a finger against Tim’s tummy. “How’s it going?”

Tim lets out a series of squeaks, flapping his wings for a bit before crawling onto Jason’s hand. He balances himself there before chirping, looking satisfied with himself.

“Wow,” Jason replies, sounding amazed. “Look at you, pumpkin! You’ve grown since the last time I saw you!”

Not true, but the statement still makes Tim puff up with pride. The boy-bat climbs Jason’s arm, dangling off his ear for a moment. He squeaks, panicked, but manages to right himself before Dick can help, and then Tim settles on top of Jason’s head, twin red eyes peeking out from behind strands of white hair.

“Alright,” Jason says, sounding amused. “You can stay there, but if we go down to the Cave, you need to turn back. Got it?”

Tim screeches.

“Good.”

“So, it’s over?” Dick asks, nudging Jason’s ankle with a foot. He chews on his bottom lip for a second as he stares at his brother, anxiety roiling in his stomach. “You got rid of her? We’re free?”

Jason smiles softly. “You’re free, Dickiebird,” he says.

And just like that, all the tension drains out of Dick. He groans and flops back on his bed, tossing an arm across his face. “Thank you,” he says. “Seriously, thank you. I was beginning to worry that we were actually going to have to deal with the extinction of humans or whatever the hell they wanted.”

“I overheard them making plans to have a human blood farm,” Jason says, sounding disgusted. “They wanted to infiltrate everything first and slowly take over from the inside until the world had more vampires than humans. Then, they’d take all the remaining humans and keep them far enough away, continuously feeding from them to live out the end of the world without worrying about going hungry.”

“Christ,” Dick whispers, a shiver of disgust passing through him. “Anything else?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“Just tell me.”

Jason sighs, and he sounds so angry when he continues, “They wanted to grab Tim to bring you to heel. Using his title was just a way of luring you out of the shadows, and then they’d use you to lead their whole operation. It was all sorts of fu—”

“Jay,” Dick warns, lifting his head enough to glare at him.

“—messed up,” Jason finishes, rolling his eyes. “I stopped listening at that point and brought out the flamethrower.”

“And where’d you get that, exactly?” Dick asks, arching a brow. “I know we don’t have one down in the Cave because if we did, I would have totally used it already.”

“Roy gave it to me,” Jason admits, scratching one side of his jaw. “I asked him for help and told him about everything. He was pretty okay with it but wanted me to ask if you’d be okay with me turning him since…” He stops, and Dick watches, surprised, as his cheeks turn red. “Since we’re kind of, uh, together now.”

“Awww,” Dick says, grinning when Jason swipes at him. “I’m happy for you! Honestly, I’m fine with it, and I’m sure Tim feels the same way.” He glances at Jason’s head, watching as bat-Tim lifts his head. “Right, Timmy?”

Tim chirps.

“See?”

“Thanks,” Jason says, smiling. “I guess I’ll… bring him over? Or turn him myself? I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but… thanks. Really.”

“You can thank me by helping me come up with a way to ask Bruce if he wants to turn into a vampire,” Dick replies, laughing when he sees the exasperated look on Jason’s face. “Listen, I know you probably don’t want to deal with the old man for centuries, but Tim wants him by our side! And he’s getting very frustrated about Bruce not realizing the truth.”

“It’s twue,” Tim says as he appears in a puff of red mist, sitting on Jason’s shoulders. Jason barely stumbles over the added weight and merely reaches up to hold onto Tim’s legs. “I even dwawed him a picture of me as a vampiwe and put it in the ebidence pile, but all he said was that it was nice and that he’d put it on Alfie’s fwidge! He didn’t get it!”

“Aw,” Jason says, patting one of Tim’s knees. “Poor little Timmy…”

Tim huffs, pouting. “I need so much help,” he bemoans, tugging on Jason’s hair. “I want daddy to be a vampiwe so we can all be happy forever! But daddy is too silly, so maybe I gots to be diwect with him.”

“That might be the play, pumpkin,” Jason says. “But we’ll give it a shot, too. I think he’ll be more open to the vampire thing now that the war is over.”

“Yeah, okay.” Tim tugs on Jason’s hair again, pointing to the door. “Minion,” he declares. “Wet’s go have some popsicle.”

“Of course, my Lord,” Jason replies, flashing a playful smirk in Dick’s direction. “I bet we can beat Dickiebird to the kitchen, Timmy. Wanna try it out?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay! Just don’t let go!” And with that, Jason runs out of Dick’s room, Tim’s laughter fading down the hall.

Dick stares after them, astounded, before he hops up and rushes after them, following Tim’s giggles throughout the house (because Jason decided to take the long way, apparently), unable to keep the joyous grin off his face.

He loses, of course, but the happy look on Tim’s face makes the popsicle taste like victory.

★★

Bruce is either really obtuse (possible) or deliberately acting ignorant (likely).

He doesn’t seem to understand any of the hints that Dick and Jason drop, and when the others get roped into it, all he does is chuckle and praise them for “going along with Tim’s game, despite the circumstances.”

“I think this is the worst job I’ve ever been given,” Duke says one night when they’re all in the cave, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And that’s saying something after dealing with all of you in this crazy place.”

“Agreed,” Damian chimes in, pausing his workout to take a sip from his tumbler cup. Dick knows it’s full of blood, as is the one in Dick’s hand, but they all pretend it’s water around Bruce. “Father is being very frustrating.”

“Dumb,” Cass murmurs, shaking her head. “Silly.”

“I might pass away,” Jason declares. “Again, again, I mean. This is painful. Utterly painful.”

“If I’m not allowed to do that, then neither are you,” Dick says, kicking his ankle. They fall into a little slap fight after Jason kicks him back, and it’s only broken up when Alfred clears his throat, a stern look on his face.

Tim, who had been playing in his play corner in the Cave, suddenly stomps over to Bruce, each step causing his sneakers to create a rainbow kaleidoscope. He reaches up with both hands and tugs on Bruce’s cape, over and over again, until Bruce finally looks down at him with an arched brow.

“Yes?” he says. “What’s wrong, ducky?”

“Daddy!” Tim says with a huff, releasing the cape to cross his arms. “I gots a bone to pick with you!”

Dick bites his lip so he won’t laugh, and when he glances over at Jason, he sees that the other man is doing the same. Damian’s turned away from them, but his shaking shoulders aren’t easy to hide, while Duke’s in a similar state, and Cass is staring at the far wall, lips pressed together and standing as still as a statue.

“Oh?” Bruce crouches down in front of Tim and holds out a hand. “And why is that?”

“Because you don’t wanna be a vampiwe with me!” Tim cries, accusing and upset. He stomps one foot again. “Daddy, if you weally don’t wanna, then you gotta say so! Or else I’ll be mad at you for centuwies!” His breath hitches before he throws himself forward, ignoring Bruce’s extended hand to hug his middle. “But pwease be a vampiwe with me! Pwease, pwease, pwease, pwetty pwease?”

Dick watches with bated breath, watching Bruce’s face for his reaction.

Bruce stares forward, a perplexed look on his face. He seems genuinely thrown by the new knowledge of Tim’s vampirism, even with all the hints they’ve been dropping, and when his eyes flick over to where they’re standing, Dick inclines his head, offering a quick smile to show off his fangs.

“Hm,” Bruce says after a while, wrapping an arm around Tim and rising. He starts walking over to them, kissing the top of Tim’s head. “Okay.”

Tim releases one of those cute baby gasps, leaning back in Bruce’s hold. “Weally?!”

“Yes.” There’s a hint of a smile on Bruce’s face when he adds, voice full of amusement, “I can’t have you be mad at me for centuries, after all.”

“Yay!” Tim exclaims and throws his arms around Bruce’s neck, squeezing tightly. It’s a sweet image, but Dick quickly steps in and shoves a hand between Tim’s mouth and Bruce’s cheek, fangs sinking into his finger instead of Bruce’s face.

“No, baby,” he scolds, not even faltering when Tim gives him the sad eyes. “You’re not supposed to bite people, remember? It doesn’t matter if they’re your friends or family.”

“But I wanna change daddy into a vampiwe!” Tim complains. “He finawwy said yes!”

“I don’t see a problem,” Bruce says, still smiling. “If Tim wants to turn me into a vampire himself, then I’d be honored.”

“Shut up,” Dick says, biting through his wrist and lifting his bleeding wound up to Bruce’s mouth. “Just drink from me, and you’ll be fine. Someone else can drink from you.”

“Dickie’s a party pooper,” Tim mutters while Cass appears at Bruce’s side, grabbing one of his arms.

“What was that?” Dick asks loudly, taking his wrist back when Bruce drinks an appropriate amount of vampire blood. “I thought I heard someone say something about losing their new toys?”

“No!” Tim protests immediately, shimmying down Bruce’s body and throwing himself at Dick’s legs. “No one said anything! Dickie’s hearing things!”

Dick sniffs, scooping up his brother and holding him like a football underneath his arm. “I thought so,” he says, guiding Bruce over to the chair in front of the Batcomputer. 

The man looks dazed, blood smeared across his mouth and cheek, but Dick can see the change happening. A red glow enters his eyes, fangs slide out of his gums, and Dick hears the thud of his heart slowing down until it eventually comes to a… stop.

“Oh,” Bruce says quietly. “How strange.”

“Are you okay?” Dick asks, concerned.

“Yes,” Bruce replies, looking up at him. Before, Dick always felt like Bruce could see through him, a feeling made stronger whenever Bruce picked apart his mistakes and faults. Now, it’s much stronger, but Dick’s on equal footing, and he flashes his red eyes back at his father. “Just… thirsty.”

Damian nods, disappearing and reappearing within a minute. He passes over an actual blood bag, and Bruce tears a corner off the side with his fangs, sipping on it like it’s one of those frozen ice pops. He somehow manages to focus on a file on the computer while he drinks. It’s not long before the pouch is drained of every last drop, and Bruce is left looking satisfied.

“Daddy,” Tim says, wrinkling his nose. “That’s gwoss.”

“Sorry, darling,” Bruce says, taking Tim from Dick and letting the boy sit on his lap. “I promise I won’t drink in front of you in the future.” He pauses and hums, looking thoughtful. “I think it’d be wise of us to start investing in blood banks. Maybe even offer payment to those who would like to donate.”

“So, we’d basically be paying people for their blood,” Jason deadpans.

“Helpful,” Cass says, squeezing his shoulder. “People need money. B can give a lot.”

“Good point.”

Dick smiles at them and then turns his gaze onto Tim, who looks content as he continues to sit with Bruce. He leans down to kiss Tim’s forehead, dropping one onto Bruce’s head before standing up straight, glancing at the computer to watch Bruce fill out a report, this time with details about vampirism.

He quietly offers the story of what led them all to this point, stopping halfway through when Tim suddenly stretches his arms above his head, turning and resting his head on Bruce’s shoulder.

“I wuv you, daddy,” Tim says sweetly. He yawns and shuts his eyes, nestling closer. “Thank you for being a vampiwe with me.”

“Of course,” Bruce replies, rubbing a hand down Tim’s back. “I love you too, ducky.”

“Quack,” Tim mumbles sleepily.

They eventually head up to the manor, and Bruce completely breaks his rule of not wearing their costumes while upstairs. He doesn’t even get scolded by Alfred, though that might be because Tim’s still snoozing away on Bruce, not even waking up when they all sprawl across the couch and floor in the sitting room, a comfortable silence blanketing them.

“What now?” Jason asks after a while, a curious look on his face.

“Well, we have eternity to figure it out,” Dick says, resting his head on the cushion. His eyes flick from person to person, a swell of warmth rising in his chest—happy to be surrounded by his family. “The world is ours, and it’s up to Tim to decide what he wants to do with it.”

Bruce pauses his ministrations, glancing at him quizzically. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah.” Dick smiles brightly. “Tim’s the Vampire King.”

“… What.”