Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Roy takes one look at the clock and leaps out of bed. He’s halfway to the door when it bursts open. Lian rushes towards him, yelling “Ahh!” The entire time, as she grabs his hand and tries dragging him back towards his bed. What is going on?

“Sweetheart, you have school.” He shakes her hand, but she doesn’t let go.

“Huh?” Lian’s nose scrunches up, making little wrinkles on her forehead. “No I don’t. It’s Sunday.”

“Oh.” He looks at the clock again, noting the date. It is Sunday. “Well, then let’s get you around, anyways, and we’ll go do something fun today.” She’s still in her pajamas and it’s nearly ten o’clock. “We could go to the aquarium or the zoo.”

“Later, I want you to go back to sleep.” Lian says with emphasis. She climbs up onto Roy’s bed, and tries pulling him back from there.

Roy laughs, and sits on the edge of the bed to make her happy. “Now that just makes me worried, what are you up to?” He teases.

“Stay right here.” Lian clings to his shoulders, and forcefully drags him down. She takes a flying leap off the bed, and does a perfect flip before she hits the floor. Holy shit, Roy thinks, she’s been spending too much time with Dick. Something proud nestles into his heart at the sight - he’s going to make a point to brag about that flip to everyone he knows.

It dawns on him that Lian left the door open - and that he can smell something delicious wafting up the stairs. “Honey?” He calls, still staring at the ceiling. “You’re not using the stove, are you?” Distantly, if he strains his ears, he can hear sizzling. Lian materializes in the doorway again. He raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t just leave stuff on the stove, right?”

“No! It’s the TV.” Her eyes flash upward in the way that he knows she’s lying. His baby girl’s got a terrible poker face. “Go back to sleep, dad. You’re ruining the surprise.”

“Oooh. Surprise?” He teases, flopping down back on the bed. “What are you up to, squirt? Did you and Auntie Mia paint flowers on the walls again?”

“No. Agh. Don’t guess!” Lian tears out of the room, as fast as her little feet can carry her. He can hear her steps echo down the stairs. The sizzling stops and two sets of feet walk back up. One’s Lian’s little plodding, and the other is light and measured. He knows several people that walk that way, and he doesn’t have to wonder long.

Lian comes in carrying a glass of orange juice, staring at it, careful not to spill a drop. Roy blinks. It’s Dick walking in behind her, carrying a tray, with blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sausages piled atop of it. It smells delicious, and Dick is wearing a cute little apron covered in flowers. “Surprise.” They both say. The tray has a card on it reading ‘Happy Father’s Day’. Of course he forgot.

“I thought you were out of town this weekend.” Roy says weakly, as Dick sets the tray down on the other side of his bed. “Not that I’m not happy to see you or anything.”

Dick’s eyes meet his, and he grins mischievously. “I lied.” He says simply. Then takes Roy by the armpits, and drags him back towards the headboard. Lian sets the glass of orange juice on the nightstand, then opens his curtains. Dick puts the tray in his lap. “It was Lian’s idea. And I helped her with the cooking, she was safe with the stove.” He reassures. “Happy father’s day, Roy. You’re the best dad I know.” Softly, he presses a kiss to the side of Roy’s temple. Lian cuddles up on his other side, and Dick stays, making small talk, and it’s the best morning Roy’s had in a long time.

Chapter Text

“You’re doing it again.” Dick ignored Roy, continuing to work on the laptop. Yeah, no. That wasn’t about to fly with him - Roy walked over and shut the laptop. Dick stared at him. One of his eyes was swollen, and the other had bags so deep Roy could pack three weeks worth of luggage in them. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, despite already knowing the answer.

“No. I don’t.” Dick snapped the laptop back open. “I need to finish this report.”

And that told Roy all he needed to know. It was a pattern the Titans were familiar at this point. “Which will conveniently last you all night so you don’t have to go home, huh.” Dick’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t dignify Roy’s comment with a response. What did Bruce say this time, Roy wondered. Ah. To hell with it. “I’m going camping, you’re coming.”

He didn’t expect Dick’s response. “Okay.” Roy stared. Things must be worse than he thought.

…

Ollie’s old pickup truck wasn’t exactly the coolest car around but it served its purpose fine, cruising along route 70 with the music turned low. Roy drove, and Dick dozed against the passenger seat window, only waking up to critique his driving. Roy didn’t grace those comments with a response, he knew picking a fight was pointless right now.

It was one thing to tease Dick, when he was up and ready for it - a smug little untouchable being full of light. And it was another thing when he was down, looking for ways to burn bridges, excuses to be alone. And so Roy was patient, and he was quiet. And finally it paid off.

“I just.” Dick drew in a quick breath, as Roy turned off the highway, taking a turn for some more scenic roads. “It’s stupid. I got punched, big deal - I’ve gotten punched hundreds of times, I don’t get why he has to pick a fight over it! I don’t know what to do anymore.” Roy hummed and placed his hand palm up on the divider between them. Dick didn’t take it.

“I’m trying. Really, I am.” Dick’s breathing was uneven. “Why can’t he see that?”

“I know you’re trying.” And that was never enough, now, was it? “You’re not perfect, boy wonder, no one is.” Roy would know, he’s had more than his fair share of fuckups. “I’ve done a lot worse and Ollie’s forgiven me.”

“Like you needed to be forgiven.” Dick muttered. Roy could feel Dick’s eyes on the side of his head. “Maybe you shouldn’t have forgiven Ollie.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t forgive Bruce.” Roy countered. He wouldn’t forgive the man for all the bullshit he put Dick through.

“Forgive him for what? Being right about me being a fuckup?” Dick slumped against the window. He took Roy’s hand, and squeezed it tight. Roy’s heart hammered in his chest.

“You’re not a fuckup.” Roy said, but the words were worthless coming from him.

“Yeah. Right.”

Chapter Text

The vet was impressed with his cat for all the wrong reasons. “I can’t believe this guy is still kicking. I know they say cats have nine lives, but that’s not supposed to be true.” Scruffly meowed mournfully from his place on the examination table. He seemed confused by the cone on his head, batting it with his front paws. He gave Roy a dirty look, full of betrayal.

“Poor, little kitty.” Roy soothed, scratching between Scruffly’s ears. His hind leg was casted, but there was nothing the vet could do about the patches of missing fur where apparently he had radiation scars. Or the dozens of other scars covered up by his fur.

“You can say that again.” The vet placed a baggie of pills on the table next to him. “Poor thing must be from Bludhaven. We’ve gotten tons of strays from there. My advice?” She waited for Roy to look at her. “Make his life comfortable, but don’t get too attached.” She frowned. “They found treatments for radiation sickness in humans, but there’s nothing we can do for the animals. I’d give him a few weeks at the most.”

“You’re kidding me.” Scruffly had the same idea, because he too meowed indignantly. He finally decides to take in a pet, his first pet - and the pet’s terminally ill and doomed to die in a few days? This never happens to the other heroes! “How the hell am I supposed to tell my daughter that?”

The vet shrugged. “Gently. But think about it this way - a pet dying offers a window for your daughter to talk about death, before she has to go through the real thing with someone she loves.” Roy bit back a bitter laugh. As if Lian needed to learn anything about death. “We could euthanize him now if you wanted.”

Scruffly meowed loudly and trembled underneath his hand. “Stop it, you’re scaring him.” Roy picked his poor cat up, and held him against his shoulder. The cone dug into his skin, but he didn’t budge, and gently rocked back and forth, rubbing the cat’s back. “I’m not euthanizing him, he seems plenty energetic to me.”

The vet shrugged again. “Well, it’s your decision. And he’s probably freaking out because he’s in pain, though I didn’t expect what we gave him to wear out so fast.” She passed him the bag with Scruffly’s pills. “Give him one of these if he seems like he’s in too much pain, or anxious.”

“Thanks.”

And with that, Roy walked out with a bag of kitty medication, and a terminally ill cat in his hands. How in hell was he supposed to tell any of this to Lian?

Chapter Text

“Did you get flowers?” Lian stood in the doorway of the downstairs bathroom, as Dick did his makeup. “Daddy loves flowers, especially zinnias.”

“Kiddo, this is just a weeknight date, nothing fancy. We’re going out to dinner together.” He could feel Lian’s disapproval. He dabbed a bit of concealer over the dark spot under his right eye and winced as he rubbed it into the bruise. Lian was still staring at him. He sighed. “Fine, I’ll have some sent here, when they get here, it’s up to you to put them in a nice vase, and have them ready on the kitchen table, alright?”

Lian nodded curtly. “Get them from Auntie Dinah.” She ordered.

“Auntie Dinah’s flower shop in San Francisco, kiddo.” He wasn’t about to make Dinah deliver flowers to New York City.

“No! Daddy loves Auntie Dinah’s flowers.” Lian insisted. “You have to get them from her.”

Dick sighed. “Right, they’ll be here in a flash, I’ll set up a vase.” The things he did for love. He sent a text to Wally, he was going to owe him big time for this. ‘Hey, so I know this might not be a good time, but could you do me a favor…’

…

Roy hummed as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around his waist. “Um, Dick?” His clothes - that he’d spent at least fifteen minutes agonizing over selecting - were nowhere to be seen. “Did you take my clothes?” He cracked open the door to his bedroom. “Damian?”

Damian grimaced up at him. He had an ironing board in front of him, and Roy’s pants laid atop of it. “I meant to finish before you got done, but whoever put the iron away didn’t remember to fill it back up with water.” He narrowed his eyes in accusation.

“Don’t look at me, why would I need to iron anything?” Dick’s the one that bought the iron in the first place.

Damian tackled his pants with renewed vigor. “Because they’re wrinkly! You expect to go on a date with Grayson and wear wrinkly pants?”

“He’s never seemed to mind my wrinkly pants before.” Roy said wryly. “We’re just going out to dinner, bud.” Damian winced at the nickname. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

Damian clicked his tongue. “It’s a big enough deal that you’re leaving us with Mia.” He shook his head. “If I do not survive that girl’s shenanigans, tell Grayson to take care of Alfred the cat for me.”

Roy bit his tongue. Because if he didn’t, he might comment that naming a cat after their butler was weird but kind of sweet, and while Damian held his pants hostage, he didn’t want to start a fight.

…

“Oh, mon chéri, you ironed your pants for me.” Dick cooed over Roy, the moment he stepped downstairs. It was hard not to, when he looked so strapping and handsome, and had clearly spent far too much time on his hair. “And you shaved. You look handsome, love.” Dick cupped Roy’s chin in his hands, and kissed both his cheeks. He was too enamored to see Roy making eye contact with Damian, behind him.

‘See?’ Damian mouthed. Roy rolled his eyes. Fine, so the squirt had been right about a few things.

“Just a drop in the bucket, compared to your beauty.” Roy pretended not to see Lian and Damian mouth the word ‘ick’ at each other. He refocused on Dick, and stroked a finger underneath his hidden bruise. He’d thrown on some mascara and his eyelids glittered, bringing out the blue in his eyes. “You look angelic, love.” He pressed his lips to Dick’s forehead. Lian pretended to throw up behind him. By the time Dick looked back, the kids were innocently pretending to talk about something else. Brats.

“I have something for you.” Dick pulled him into the kitchen. There was a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table, dazzling pink zinnias framed by desert flowers. All of Roy’s favorite flowers, all in one place. Only one shop could make something so personal.

“Oh, Dickie.” Roy wrapped his arms around Dick’s waist and kissed his cheek. “You shouldn’t have.” Roy was too busy staring at the flowers to notice Lian giving Dick a look that plainly stated, ‘I told you so.’ “It’s just dinner, I didn’t get you anything.”

Dick twisted around. “Maybe it’s just dinner, but you deserve the world.”

“I already have that, I’m holding him in my arms.” Dick’s eyes sparkled, and Roy flushed. He loved it when Dick looked at him like that.

“Oh my god you two, I’m going to throw up.” Mia stated, plopping her bag down on the kitchen table. “Just get out of here already, there’s kids in here.”

They grinned at one another playfully. As if the kids didn’t approve. “Thanks, Mi.” Roy slapped two twenties on the table, and eagerly took Roy’s arm.

“We owe you one.” Dick called, as together, they headed out the door.

Once they were out of earshot, Damian and Lian fist bumped. “Mission accomplished.” Lian said, grinning smugly.

Chapter Text

“Do you want to touch them?” Roy was still admiring his new boobs in the mirror, when Dick came back into the room. “They’re squishy.”

Dick looked horrified. “How can you be so calm about this?” He dropped the sweatshirt on the countertop.

Roy shrugged. “I’ve always liked boobs.” He bounced up and down, and watched his own boobs jiggle in the mirror. “Haven’t you?” He squished his boobs together, pulling them up and making them look even bigger.

“I mean yeah, but not on me, you know?” Dick leaned against the doorway. “Plus at that size you’re probably gonna get back pain.”

“You know, I was wondering why my back felt sore.” Roy looked down at his boobs. “Is this what women go through?”

“This is the price of having big boobs, yeah.” Dick confirmed. He dug his palms into Roy’s upper back, and Roy hummed pleasantly.

“I like how sensitive the nipples are.” Roy said, absentmindedly. “Like I knew girls liked it, when I messed with them, but it’s just like. Really nice. Top tier nerve endings.”

Dick had to laugh at that. “Do you want me to play with your boobs?” He asked, half jokingly. Roy looked him dead in the eyes through the mirror.

“Please do.”

…

And that’s how Roy ended up flat on his back as Dick gently ran circles around his nipples with his thumb. “Oh this is nice.” Dick rolled his eyes again, and switched to tongue, making wide circles, occasionally flicking the tip of the nipple. Roy stared up at the ceiling. “This is really nice.” He remarked.

“You want to keep the boobs, don’t you?” Dick kissed the side of his right boob, squeezing it gently in his hand.

Roy let out a breath. “Yeah, I kinda do.”

Chapter Text

“Meow.” Stop frowning. “Meow.” Stop sniffing. “Meow. Meow” You literally met me this morning, you’re fine. “Moew.” I’m literally not dying.

Unfortunately for Dick, or Scruffly, as he was now known, Roy did not speak cats, and his attempts to tell Roy that yeah he HAD radiation poisoning, but he got treated for it fell on completely misunderstanding ears. He batted at Roy’s shins, and Roy gave him a doeful look.

“Aw, I’m sorry Scruffly.” Roy scooped him up with one arm, and tucked him against his chest. “Here, you don’t need this.” Roy took off the cone. Roy took off the cone!

“Meow!” Freedom! “Meow!” HAHAHA That stupid thing cut off all his peripheral vision, and he couldn’t drink water without making a mess. Dick nuzzled into Roy’s side, a rumbling starting somewhere deep in his chest. Ah, well. He guessed it made sense that he could purr - he was a cat after all. Without meaning to, he relaxed, going limp in Roy’s hold.

He’d already forgotten why he’d been trying to get Roy’s attention when Roy started sniffing again. “You’re such a sweet little thing. So what if you look like shit?”

“Meow!” Excuse me?

“I know I haven’t known you long but I don’t want you to die either.” Roy buried his hand in Dick’s fur. Dick stared at him, trying to convey a message, but Roy’s lip just wobbled looking at him. “How in the world am I going to tell Lian?”

“Meow.” Don’t. “Meow.” I’m not dying. “Meow, meow!” Pull yourself together!

“You’re right, I’ve got to get it together for her sake.” For a moment, Dick thought Roy understood. “I’ll be quick and gentle when I break the news.”

“Meeeoow.” Arrrrggghh.

Roy found the place right behind his ears and gave him a scratch. Dick’s kitty brain lit up like a Christmas tree, endorphins rushing in and pushing out every other thought. “Meow.” Love of my life. “Meow.” Please never stop. The rumbling noise grew to a roar.

“Oh, you like that huh?” Roy scratched harder. Dick saw stars. “Scruffly loves his scritches huh?”

“Meow!” Yes! “Meow!” Scritches for Scruffly! Dick paused for a moment. “Meow!” He cried with more concern. My name’s Dick!

“Sorry, sorry.” Roy’s hand stopped. Dick stared at him mournfully. “Did I hurt you?” Roy inspected his ears.

“Meow.” No. He really ought to stop responding when Roy had no way of understanding him. To be fair though, Roy appeared to be talking to himself as well.

“Your ears look fine.” Roy shifted him to the other arm, and looked at his casted leg. “Sorry.” He said sheepishly. “I’ll be more careful of this.” He put Dick down in his lap, and let Dick find a comfortable spot, snug in the little corner his hips made with his stomach. Dick missed being held - he chalked that up to his cat brain talking. He didn’t mean to, but with Roy’s low soothing voice in his ears, and his hand smoothing out the fur on Dick’s back, he quickly fell asleep.

…

“You have to be really gentle with him, he doesn’t look, but he’s really sick.” Dick’s ear twitched. He opened one eye. He was still curled up on Roy’s lap, but now he was talking to Lian. “Lian, I’m sorry. I know we just got him soon, but the vet said he won’t live very long. He’s got radiation scars from Blüdhaven. It’s honestly impressive he’s lived this long.”

“Meooow.” Not this again.

“I think Scruffly disagrees with you.” Lian made eye contact with him. He mewed an affirmation. “See, he’s not dying, he agrees with me.”

“Meow!” Yes!

“Lian, he’s a cat, he doesn’t understand what we’re saying.” Dick frowned at Roy. Which probably didn’t look like a frown, coming from a cat, but he tried.

“Scruffly, if you’re going to live, come to me.” Lian commanded, holding her arms out. Dick hobbled out of Roy’s lap and onto Lian’s shoulders as fast as his sore little legs could carry him. “It’s decided then. He’s not going to die soon.” He licked Lian’s face and she giggled. “You and me are going to be best friends.”

“Meow.” Deal.

Chapter Text

The practice pool for their resident mermaids was in the back of the aquarium, behind one of those ‘Staff Only’ signs that repelled prying eyes. It was part of Roy’s cleaning routine, and where Dick was constantly at work, so it was only natural that the two meet. This wasn’t exactly how Roy liked his crushes to see him - but he needed to pay the bills, and Dick was breathtaking in the water, and so he stole innocent glances while mopping up the floor. They talked on occasion, but so far, they were only work friends.

Dick spat water at him. “I’m helping.” He grinned. Roy rolled his eyes and came closer to mop up his mess.

“You’re a menace, you know that?” Roy dripped water on his head with his mop. Dick laughed and dove under the water.

“Your shifts almost over.” He said, when he came back up. Roy glanced at the clock, it was, but he was surprised Dick paid him enough attention to know. “Come swim, the water’s nice!” Was that… longing? In Dick’s eyes?

Roy blinked, then shook his head. “Sorry, can’t. I’ve got to pick Lian up from her sitter’s.” And he couldn’t swim. But Dick didn’t need to know that. He gave himself enough flack for working in a seaside aquarium, and never taking the initiative to learn. There never seemed to be enough time, Lian would have something going on, and he worked fifty-sixty hour weeks to make ends meet. He did make sure to make enough money to pay for her swim lessons.

“Oh. Well, say hi for me.” With a flick of his tail, he was off, practicing new routines in the water.

…

It must have been his imagination, but he kept catching Dick throwing him glances when he was mopping. Mopping. He chalked it up to wishful thinking. It’s not like someone with that much talent would settle for someone like him.

“Here, I didn’t really know what you liked, so I got you black and some sugar if you want it.” Dick set a steaming mug of coffee on the table in the break room. Roy glanced up, and was instantly lost in his eyes.

“Thanks.” He murmured gratefully.

“You’ve been looking kind of rough, everything okay?” Dick’s head titled, and he walked his hand closer to Roy’s and then doubled back.

Roy nodded over eagerly. “Fine, same old, same old.” The long hours were starting to wear on him. But, to start the day fresh and shiny, custodial staff had to be in the building bright and early. And Dick always liked to get in and get warmed up before the kids got in. “I’ll see you out there.”

…

Roy always knew he’d be the architect of his own downfall, he just didn’t expect it to come so soon. So this is how I die. Mopping over the deep end of the practice pool, he dropped his phone, and slipped reaching for it. A stupid flier in the break room popped into his mind. “90% of workplace accidents are caused by drowsiness, distractedness, hunger, and thirst - do you need a break?” Was there an option for all of the above?

He felt like an idiot.

He sank like a rock.

His clothes weighed him down, no matter how much he kicked or failed his arms, he didn’t seem to move anywhere but down, deeper into the pool. He managed to slide his hands against the side of the pool, slowing his descent. He opened his eyes underwater, and watched bubbles race up around him. He could see the pool lighting. His heart pounded in his chest. Right. He couldn’t really grab onto the wall, but he could use it a bit to push himself up.

Lian, I’m sorry. He thought. Can you cry underwater? His moves were slow and sluggish, he wasn’t going to make it in time. His lungs hurt, his head pounded, he was trying, he really was! But he was falling almost as soon as he’d started climbing.

He’d never see his baby grow up.

He couldn’t hold his breath any longer, reflex kicked in and he swallowed water, and panicked more for it. Can you scream underwater? He saw stars against the world tinged in red. Something touched him, and he clung on, desperate for a way out. His searing lungs radiated heat as bile crept out his throat.

His head broke the surface, and Roy couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten there. He coughed and cried and spat up water, eyes squeezed shut as someone dragged him out of the pool, and laid him on his side.

“You’re okay.” The world spun when he opened his eyes, so he shut them again. Shaky fingers pressed against his pulse. “Hey, hey. Can you look at me?” Stupid, stupid, baby blue eyes filled his vision. Roy was pretty sure he just threw up in Dick’s lap. “That’s it, get it all out.” A hand made small circles on his back.

Roy covered his face. He couldn’t stop crying, and he didn’t want anyone to see him like this. Most of all Dick. This was singlehandedly the most embarrassing moment of his life. “Sorry.” He rasped. It hurt to talk.

“It’s okay.” Dick soothed. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He ducked under Roy’s arm and dragged him to his feet. Roy swayed like a weeping willow in the wind. Dick half-carried him to the locker rooms, and sat him down on a bench, as he bit back tears and wiped his eyes on the back of his soggy sleeve. “Here.” Dick wrapped a fluffy towel around his shoulders, then stood awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands. “I can call someone to take you home.”

“My phone’s at the bottom of the pool.” He sniffed. He didn’t know anyone’s number that wasn’t halfway across the country. He felt terribly alone.

“Okay. I can go get it.” Dick offered. He started walking towards the door.

“Don’t leave.” Roy clapped a hand over his mouth. He didn’t want to be that one weird coworker, but he was still shaking from the near death experience. “Sorry.” He didn’t mean to say that. “I meant thanks.”

Dick plopped down on the bench, staring at him intently. “Hey.” He grinned. “If you wanted to go swimming with me so bad, you could have just asked.”

Roy barked out a laugh. “Brat.” Dick leaned over and bumped shoulders with him. “The whole world revolves around you, doesn’t it.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Please if that were true…” He trailed off. “Nevermind.” He stood, and opened the locker across from them. “Here, I’ve got an extra sweater, it’s not really your size, but at least it isn’t dripping.”

“Nah, I’ll stretch it out.” Roy pulled the towel tighter. Dick threw the sweater at him anyways.

“It’s chilly out, you’ll catch a cold if you go out like that.” Reluctantly, Roy stripped off his shirt, toweled off, and put the sweater on. “Better?” Dick asked.

“Yeah. Thanks.” His pants were still soaked, but that would be a problem for later. “Sorry again.”

“Roy, seriously. It’s okay.” Dick waited until he met his eye. “I work as a lifeguard in the summers, this shit happens all the time.” He let out a shaky breath. “I’m just glad this time, I was in time.”

“Oh.” Dick’s lips twisted and he looked away. Roy wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks. Really. You saved my life.” Dick’s eyes found his again.

“Don’t worry about it.” His brow furrowed. “But you are going to take some mandatory swimming lessons with me.”

“That’s fine.” Roy took a deep breath in, then let it out.

“Alright. Let’s get you home.”

Chapter Text

Dick waited until Roy left to ask the questions lingering in his mind. “So, you and Roy, huh. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great.” And hot. “Way more mature than my Roy, fatherhood suits him well. But… I don’t know, I guess I just thought…”

The older version of him stiffened. It was so eerie, seeing him in the batsuit, though he’d taken off the cowl. What hurt more was that the mannerisms were so similar - he didn’t move like that, did he? Don’t think about Bruce being dead. He didn’t want to know how that change happened. Even though he knew he’d forget everything on his trip home. His doppelganger frowned. “You really thought you and Kory would last forever, didn’t you.”

“Yeah…” Dick trailed off. His older self smiled knowingly, and was that something… cruel? Twinkling in his eyes.

“Ah. So it’s already started then. Been to Tamaran twice now, right?” Dick nodded slowly. “We were a complete jackass the second time, weren’t we.” Something twisted in Dick’s gut, he thought Kory had forgiven him for that.

“That’s what we break up over? I was brainwashed.” Excuses, a voice a lot like Bruce’s echoed in his head.

“Excuses.” His older self muttered out loud. “And not exactly.” His smile was stretched thin. Dick didn’t like his face looking like that. “But you fuck up a lot more. We both know those things you said to her were in the back of our mind all along.”

“Maybe,” He never approved of Kory’s violent uses of force, but he didn’t think he’d have been such an asshole over a political marriage if he hadn’t been under Brother Blood’s influence. He believed in monogamy yeah, but Kory barely ever saw her husband. “But I wouldn’t have acted like that if I was thinking straight.”

“Excuses.” His older self clucked his tongue. He flashed Dick a dark look. “We’re plenty cruel without the brainwashing.”

“I don’t… I’m not…” He had no idea what this guy was talking about.

“Oh? And you were oh so welcoming when you found out Jason was Robin, weren’t you.” His older self said calmly.

“I’m not proud about how I acted, but we made up the day after.” Dick countered. “Hell, he helped me on some cases.”

“We gave him our number, sure. Why don’t you think he ever called?” His older self pressed.

“I don’t-”

“Because we were a jealous asshole anytime he was around! It’s not rocket science, Dick.” He wasn’t imagining that cruel glint anymore. “You remember what Bruce said when Jason died?”

Dick stumbled back against the cave wall, mouth wide. Of course his older self knows, but it still caught him off guard. “He was grieving.” He didn’t mean it.

“He blamed us.” His older self stepped forward, trapping Dick in place. “He blamed us - and he’s right. You know he’s right! You know we resented Jason!”

“I didn’t!” Dick pushed himself away. “You know we didn’t - I don’t understand why you’re taking his side!”

His older self laughed at him, high pitched and hysterically. “Because Bruce is always right. I didn’t see it at first, but then again, how can you really look at your own actions objectively - and you said it, we were brainwashed at the time, how reliable is our memory?”

Dick blinked furiously, he didn’t think he… he didn’t think he ever did anything to hurt Jason or make him feel unloved. Their initial teamup was rough, but by the end, he gave him his suit… he gave him the suit - that… that had to count for something?! There was the trip to the mountain, and the team up with the Titans, and he’d made Jason a reserve member. “But we could have done more.” His older self replied calmly.

“What’s wrong with you?” Disgust oozed out of his voice. The older version of himself didn’t seem to care. How could he be this cruel in the future?

“What’s wrong with you?” His older self parroted. “You’re so much less damaged and you still manage to fuck everything up.” His eyes darkened. “You know the first time we were Batman, Bruce didn’t even ask us to step in. He was in a coma, and no one even called. And when he woke up he gave it to some maniac he barely knew instead of us.”

“He never wanted us to-”

“Excuses!” Older Dick barked. “Excuses. Do you know what you were doing when you found out?” Dick shook his head. “Planning a rushed wedding because you cheated on Kory with some shapeshifter that-”

Older Dick’s face snapped back. Dick’s heart thudded, his knuckles felt numb. It’s not true, he wouldn’t, he would never cheat on Kory. “Well, now we’re both just like Bruce, aren’t we.” Older Dick muttered, rubbing his jaw. Fuck.

Dick staggered back. His vision blurred and his throat went hot, and he couldn’t say anything more.

“You didn’t mean to, but we should have known.” His older self said resignedly. He wiped blood from his nose. “We never treated her well, anyways. It’s for the best that it’s over.” Something sank in Dick’s stomach.

The elevator doors dinged and they both turned. Roy looked like a deer in headlights when he caught sight of both of them. “What the hell, guys? I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes.”

He needed out, and he practically ran past Roy to get into the elevator. “Woah- Hey!” His older self stormed out a different way. “What happened?” Dick smashed his finger into the close door buttons, but the doors didn’t seem to close any faster. His face was hot, and he just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened, and curl up against Kory. God, Kory. How could he fuck up something so good?

“What happened?” Roy repeated, suddenly in front of him.

“Go ask your boyfriend.” Dick laughed, then choked on the words. His older self was right, we’re plenty cruel, we’re plenty cruel, we’re plenty cruel. “Sorry. I don’t-” He sank against the side of the elevator. “Why am I like this?!?” Is this what it’s like to talk to him?

“Woah, bud, take it easy. I don’t know what Dick said, but take a deep breath, alright?” Roy’s voice was a thousand miles away.

“I don’t-” He bit back a sob. “We don’t-” He choked on air. “Kory and-” Why was he like that? Why was he right? “Damnit!”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it.” Roy’s eyes were dark.

…

Roy got the younger version of Dick a glass of water, and coaxed him onto the couch. He turned on a nature documentary with the volume down low, and nestled a fuzzy pink blanket around his shoulders. These things were second nature at this point. What struck him most was the amount of tears - he didn’t remember ever seeing Dick cry this much, young or old.

The thing was - he knew Dick could be mean. He knew better than anyone what it felt like getting verbally harassed until you threw a punch. And Roy had, maybe, partly deserved some of the verbal lashing - but this young version of Dick? He’d been nothing but polite since showing up in the future. It made his blood boil.

“You wanna talk about it?” Roy asked, placing the box of tissues closer in the poor guy’s reach.

“I don’t…” Little Dick hesitated. His eyes were red and puffy. “...why did I break up with Kory?” Roy felt like someone punched him in the gut.

“Ooof. There’s a complicated one.” He didn’t even know where to start. “Bad timing was part of it. You were both going through a lot. And just when we all thought you two might get back together, she got called back home.” Roy stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t… he tried not to be jealous of their relationship. “Star crossed lovers.” He murmured. “Literally.”

Little Dick sniffed. “Do you think I was an asshole to Jason?”

Roy sucked in a breath. “The first time you met you were a jerk, but after that you were fine.” Just what had Dick been telling this kid? “I saw the pictures from that ski trip, you two had a blast.”

“I could have been home more.” Little Dick blew his nose. “I could have been a better brother.” Not this conversation again.

“Dick, you were in space, you couldn’t have known even if Jason tried calling you.” Little Dick collapsed glumly back into the cushions.

“That’s what I thought.” He said. “But you know how Bruce- I mean Dick, makes it sound.” Something inside Roy twisted at the slip of the tongue.

“He’s still upset about it.” Roy confirmed. “He’s mad at himself, not you… oh.” Things clicked into place. “Well I guess he is mad at you, now that I think about it. But don’t take it too personally.”

“I don’t, I just can’t believe I become that.” Little Dick said glumly. “I’d rather die than-”

“Hey, don’t say that.” Roy interrupted. “You’re not all bad, you still give great shoulder massages.”

“Oh joy.” Little Dick wryly said. “At least I’ll make someone’s shoulders happy in the future.” He caught the kid’s eyes lingeringly longer than strictly necessary, and nearly laughed.

“You make me happy in the future.” Roy gave a half hearted grin. “Even if you drive me nuts sometimes.” Like now.

“Oh.” Little Dick stared at him with puppy dog eyes. “That’s good, I guess.” He turned back to the nature documentary. “I’m glad some of it is just in our head.” He murmured. Roy sighed. Some of it. Yeah. He needed to talk with his Dick.

Chapter Text

“You doing okay?” Dick cornered Roy when they stopped to make camp for the night. They were a week and a half into a month-long drive, and Roy had been falling behind. “You’re not looking so hot.”

“It’s about a million degrees out here, course I’m hot.” Roy countered, waving off Dick’s concern. “Worry ‘bout yourself, partner. You don’t know these paths like I do.” Roy eyed him warily. “I still don’t see why you bothered to tag along.”

“To keep you outta trouble.” He punched Roy’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll take first watch and make camp.” Dick took the lack of protest as proving his point. If Roy wasn’t feeling well enough to bully himself into helping with camp. Dick pushed down his gut instinct and set to work, he’d have to follow up on it later.

…

Roy seemed to be doing better for the next few days. Dick now suspected he just got better at hiding it. They were passing by the halfway point, following the stars, when Dick turned back and Roy was gone. “Woah!” Dick yelled, pulling on his reins. Shit. He knew coming out here without the rest of the gang was a bad idea, even if it only were a couple of cows. He took one look at the cattle, and ditched them to find Roy. Cows were replaceable, Roy wasn’t.

“Roy!” He called, picking up into a trot. He didn’t want to go too fast in case he missed him. “Roy!” He caused a racket as he went, and dust caught in his eyes and caked his skin. Sweat clung to him - it was hot.

He spotted Roy’s horse near a rock, grazing on its lonesome in a shaded spot, behind a rock. “Roy!” He called again. Then he spotted a lump of a person on the ground a few feet away. “Woah, there.” He slowed his horse, and quickly tied the two of them to the rocks, before rushing off towards Roy. He flipped Roy on his back. “Roy?”

Roy mumbled something unintelligible as his eyelids fluttered wildly. It was hot, but Roy’s skin was burning at the touch. “Shit.” Dick cursed, and dragged Roy into the shade.

“...Dick?” Roy finally managed to open an eye. Dick rummaged through his backpack for a canteen. The metal wasn’t cold, but it was cooler than Roy, and he pressed it briefly to Roy’s neck. Roy shook as Dick helped him lean back against the rock. “I don’t… feel so good.”

“You’ll be okay.” The closest town was miles away. “Hey, look at me.” Dick poured water into the lid of the canteen. Roy’s unsteady fingers closed around his, Dick didn’t let the precious water go as they brought it to Roy’s lips. “Just take it slow, nice and easy.”

“I…” Roy drew in a shaky breath. “...got a daughter to get home to.” Dick tore off a piece of his shirt, and dabbed some water on it. He wiped the sweat off of Roy’s face.

“Then let’s get you home to her.” His mind raced. “We’ll set up camp here, and leave when you’re well enough to travel.”

“Not… enough food.” Roy leaned into Dick’s shoulder. “You should leave me here.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” Dick laid Roy down, so his head was resting in his lap. Roy’s mouth was screwed up in knots, and his eyes were squeezed shut with pain. Dick laid a hand over them, and took Roy’s hand with the other. The sun was sinking in the West, and it reminded Dick of a song he’d heard on the trail. “Purple light, in the canyon.” He sang quietly. “That’s where I, long to be.” Roy let out a deep sigh. “With my three, good companions.” He thought for a moment. He hadn’t brought a riffle. “My Roy-boy, my pony, and me.”

Chapter Text

The rec room in the Titan's clubhouse was a mess of broken boards and flipped tables, which was perhaps a symptom of too many competitive super powered individuals gathering in one place. Every game was full of rampant accusations of cheating, most of which were accurate. Video games? Victor was a Cyborg, he could literally plug into the TV and change the scores. Not that he did all the time, he only did it when he thought it was funny, which led to Gar throwing a remote through the TV. All the pool sticks were snapped, courtesy of Roy mercilessly destroying Dick fifty four times in a row over the span of forty-eight hours, where the later had focussed in, and insisted they play until he win, and neither had gotten any sleep. It wasn't cheating, Roy insisted, to use your natural abilities. This didn't prevent him from ripping up every board game they owned after Dick beat him twenty seven times in a seventy two hour period with no sleep. Raven couldn't be trusted to play Go Fish, because she felt so bad about not having the card the asker needed, she'd magic it into the one they wanted. Even Kory had lost her temper and charred a jigsaw puzzle when she couldn't find the missing piece.

Needless to say, the room was a mess, almost every game devolved into arguments, and it was a struggle to convince people to even try new games. Until Roy suggested spin the bottle.

“It's purely based on luck.” He reaffirmed. “And you don't win or lose, you just get kissed.”

“Hm. I do like getting kissed.” Kory chimed in from the couch, where she snuggled with Donna. “But why do you have to play a game when you can just ask?” As an example she gave Donna puppy dog eyes until Donna leaned over and gave her a smek.

“Spinning the bottle adds in randomness, it makes it more exciting.” Roy explained. “Plus it's the only way I've got to kiss Wally.”

“And it's banned because you cheat.” Dick said, promptly plopping in a bean bag. He narrowed his eyes, staring at Roy with a dark expression. “Don't deny it Mr. Roy 'perfect aim' Harper, I know you pick who you kiss.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.” Roy crossed his arms. “You don't seriously think I can-”

“Exhibit A.” Dick jumped up from his bean bag and dragged a whiteboard in front of the couch.

“We should make popcorn for this.” Donna muttered. Dick ignored Kory's muted giggles and continued on.

“We played 38 games of spin the bottle throughout our years of being the Teen Titans, some of which had multiple rounds, which brings us to 52 rounds.” Dick drew a 52 at the top of the board. “Now of these games, 8 of them were before Mal and Lilith joined, and the other 30 included them. But what's important is the number of rounds, which were 12 and 40, respectively.” He drew a 12 and a 40 on each side. “Now, if the odds were 'random' as Roy claimed they were, what you would expect to happen is a uniform distribution, where everyone gets roughly the same amount of kisses by Roy.”

“Why did you keep track of all this?” Roy asked.

Dick cleared his throat. “I'll field questions from the audience at the end of the lecture. Moving on.” He listed the initials of each of the Titans. “This is the distribution we actually got.” He wrote a series of numbers on the board. “As you can see, in the early rounds he favored Donna heavily.” There was a 9 by her name.

“I didn't mind.” Donna supplied. Dick continued on, unperturbed.

“He kissed Garth once, and Wally twice to throw off suspicion of cheating. At the time I didn't know how good his aim was, but now? The pattern is clear.” He wrote out numbers on the other side of the board. “In the later games he kissed Lilith 4 times, Garth 6 times, Wally 8 times, Donna 10 times, and Mal a whopping 12 times! If this were a normal distribution each of us would have been kissed roughly 3 times in the early rounds, and 8 times in the second round. For example, the expected value of how many times I should have been kissed by Roy is 11 times, and how many times was I kissed by Roy?” He didn't wait for the audience to answer, and circled the two zeroes next to his name. “Zero plus zero equals zero.” He drew a big zero at the bottom of the board. “And so there's only one reasonable conclusion from this evidence.”

“You're mad Roy didn't kiss you?” Kory asked genuinely. Donna covered her laughs by coughing as Dick flushed red. “See this is why I don't understand humans, you can just ask for a kiss, you don't have to do math over it.”

“This is a Dick thing, not a human thing.” Donna clarified.

“That's not the point.” Dick pointed at the board, desperately trying to regain control of the conversation. “The point is that Roy-”

“Cheated you out of eleven kisses?” Roy grinned roguishly. “I can't believe you kept track? I dunno I think Kory's right, I think this presentation says more about you than me.”

“Ha! So you admit it!” Dick pointed his whiteboard marker at Roy triumphantly. “You admit that you cheated.”

“That's not what I said.” Roy scoffed. “How do you know that the bottle doesn't just tilt in certain directions?” He raised an eyebrow.

“You really don't think I accounted for that?” Dick crossed his arms. “After each game I swapped places with where Donna was sitting relative to you and there was no difference.”

“So you were trying to get Roy to kiss you?" Kory pointed out. She flopped over the back of the couch. “Am I the only one that finds this silly?”

Donna patted her shoulder. “The rituals are intricate.” She said consolingly.

Roy flipped the bottle in the air, and it landed perfectly upright on the ground. “Right, so if you want to make the math work, how about this?” He sat down and gave the bottle a quick spin, staring deadpan at Dick the entire time. The bottle slowed, until finally it pointed at him. “Happy now?”

“See! He's a cheater and he knows it!” Dick threw down his hands, gesturing at the bottle wildly. “So-”

“So I owe you eleven kisses.” Roy grinned. He got to his feet and stretched, leaning back and popping his back. “C'mere, Dickie let me make it up to you.”

“I-” Dick's eyes widened. “That's not what-” He looked to the girls on the couch, and Donna shrugged. Kory dragged her to her feet.

“Come on, we'll let them have the room, you know Dick doesn't like PDA. I don't get why not, though.” She sighed. “Clearly that's why Roy never kissed him, I don't know why we needed all this math to figure it out.” She threw up her hands as she walked out the door.

“Have fun, you two.” Donna cackled, closing the door behind her.

Dick stood there, open mouthed for a solid minute. “Sorry, I didn't mean- if you don't want to do anything, you don't have to.” He shook his head.

“Oh, don't worry, Dickie.” Roy draped an arm around his shoulder, and steered him to the couch. “It's just you and me and eleven stolen kisses, what could go wrong?”

Chapter Text

“You're sure you'll be alright on your own?” Connor took Roy aside before they reached the split in the road, eyes dark and inquisitive as he scanned Roy's reactions. “I can ask Ollie if I can-”

“I'll be alright.” Connor's lips went tight. They hadn't known each other long, but it was hard in their line of work not to get attached. People were so fragile; they died quick and easy, taking all their unsaid words to the grave. “Don't worry about me, stay focused on your mission.” Roy gave him an easy grin and gripped his shoulders, maybe a little too tightly. “I want to see you in one piece again too.”

The hardest thing was parting with Lian. “Be good for Mia, alright?” He kissed the top of her head as he squeezed her tightly to his chest.

“I don't want you to go.” Lian sniffed, and Roy rocked on his heels. “It's not fair.”

“I know.” Reluctantly he passed Lian up to Mia, who gave him a sad smile as she sat his daughter in front of her on her horse. Roy shared a glance with Connor, then Mia, and finally his eyes settled on Lian. “I'll be back soon, I promise. And I'll bring you a coin from the dragon's den.”

And then it was time to part ways, with many “be safes” and “love yous” said rather than implied, because they'd all made the mistake of leaving those words unspoken before. And Roy was on his own, headed down a path to a village he'd only heard about through the grapevine and their network of informants across the city.

As he turned the corner on his steed, he caught a birds eye view of the town. Blüdhaven was a foreboding sounding name, appropriate for a town plagued by a dragon. As he got closer, he could see scorched rooftops and the scent of blood and rotted fish overpowered his senses. That was the thing about harbor towns- the beach glittered in the bay, but it's shore was tinted red with blood, and fish bones crinkled under his horse's hooves as they approached the first houses. At least, Roy hoped they belonged to fish.

By the time he tied up his horse and walked into to town, the last thing he wanted to eat was fish, but well - it seemed to be the bulk of what people were selling, so he saddled up at a corner table in a scummy looking tavern and ordered a slimy sea creature and a muddy ale to wash it down with, and kept his eyes to himself but his ears open. People tend to overshare in crowded places, and these villagers were no exception.

He learns that the baker's wife disappeared in the dead of night three weeks prior, and that the son of the pastor has defected to the church of blood. He learns the seas have been rougher than usual lately and the older sailors think a storm is coming. There's an anxious buzzing to the place, an urgency to the chatter, and the underlying current of fear. A shipment of fish stacked up by the docks disappeared, with giant footprints nearly washed away in the sand. The first group of men sent after the dragon never returned, and the village nearly burned for their offense. A young boy boasted he'd climbed the craggy spire north of town, and found their bodies in a ravine, and his sister called him an idiot for it, because what if the dragon had seen him - what then?

Roy left exact change on his table and headed out, ogling the spire to the north as he sat by the edge of town. The boy was right, the thing was craggy - even from the town, it looked damn near unclimbable. But there was plenty of room for caves, and while dragons could be unpredictable, they were fairly routine when it came to certain things. A dragon without a cave was like a chicken without feathers, not impossible, but not likely. He doubled back, found his horse, and put her up at the local stable, because there was no way she'd be climbing that. This adventure would have to be solo, and it would have to wait till morning. Roy setup camp as dusk fell, and he kept an eye on the spire, watching and waiting for movement. He saw none, though he kept watch under the stars, lying on his sleeping mat until he fell asleep.

…

Roy woke with the morning dew, and watched as a little robin bobbed close to his outstretched right hand. He didn't flinch as it pecked the ground for worms brought out by dawn's light. It spared him a curious glance before it flew away, and Roy watched as it circled closer to the spire before disappearing in the trees. He wondered if it had it's own nest to return to.

It was easy to clean up since he'd packed light, and the sun still sparkled on the eastern coast in brilliant shades of pink as he started on his journey. The land leading up to the spire was barren and rocky with sparse weeds growing between the cracks. It was buggy, and gnats gnawed at his neck under the summer sun. The humidity made his skin feel sticky, and there was soon a sheen of sweat clinging to him under the open sun. He stopped often for sips of water, but by midday, he'd reached the spire.

There was an oddly shaped boulder that thankfully provided some shade, and Roy ate some stale jerky rations while taking a break from the sun. The dragon was either gone, or really quiet, because he hadn't heard a peep or seen smoke all morning. It was just him and the constant hum of cicadas and the smell of rotting fish. Why a dragon would choose here of all places was beyond him - the city wasn't rich or full of shiny collectables to steal and the stench was borderline unbearable for a human nose. The dragon could have easily settled somewhere more remote, feasted on deer and not bothered any people.

Roy rounded the spire appraisingly, and cursed as rocks slid out from under his feet. He scrambled back, and minded the sharp drop on the other side, hidden by the brush. A party of three men laid at the bottom, hardly pinpricks on the rocks. Roy's heart raced, it was a long ways down. He turned back to the spire and found his first handhold, then his next. Hand over hand, fingers clenched tight against the rock, he moved slow and measured. It wasn't long before the dragon lay ahead, and he was high enough that certain death lay behind.

His shirt was soaked in sweat by the time he reached a breakpoint. He tore off strips of fabric from the end and wrapped his abused palms, dabbing a bit of water on a cut between his middle and ring finger. He sipped as much as he dared, then continued on his way.

He hoped the rest of his family was fairing better than him. It was rough, trying to win the favor of the people, when liars and the king’s saboteurs were everywhere. They’d taken to working discreetly, and announcing their intentions only after completing their good deeds. Especially when it came to ridding cities of monsters or dictators. Assisting farmers was straightforward, as was the mercy mission the rest of the crew was on now, bringing food to the neighboring kingdom of Gotham, but slaying dragons was tricky. They’d been stabbed in the back when things had gone awry mid-mission before.

Roy hoped this mission wouldn’t go awry now. He didn’t dare look down at the ravines below. Instead he kept his eyes tilted up at the rocks, charting out his path, never looking back. Lian was forward. Connor was forward. Mia, Ollie, Dinah. And so he climbed.

When he reached the top he heaved his chest up, and scooted away from the edge, then flipped on his back, and took a long time to stare at the clouds and just breathe. He kept quiet as a mouth, with shallow breaths, staying as still as his shaking muscles could. He tried not to think about the way back down - going up was bad enough. When he was ready, he soundlessly got to his feet and took some more jerky out of his pack. Even the smartest dragons could be baited, and he was betting one dragon in particular was tired of eating rotten fish.

The top of the spire wasn’t too large, and there was a small hole near the center. Roy peeked inside before placing the bait. Pitch black darkness waited for him, but if he listened closely, he could hear the rumbling of the dragon sleeping. He debated trying to sneak up on it, then thought better of it and left - he’d make too much noise trying to climb down through the hole. He half wondered if he’d even fit through the hole, with his bow and all, he wondered how the dragon got through - he’d never seen one so small it could fit through a hole like that. Maybe there was another entrance somewhere else, but this would be fine for Roy’s purposes.

Carefully, he tiptoed behind a rock closer to the edge of the spire, strung his bow and waited. And waited. The bugs got louder, and his knees cramped from crouching, but he was silent and still. To be a hunter, you need patience. That was something Ollie had drilled into him long ago. The horizon grew dim as the sky grew dark, and still the beast slumbered. The moon and the stars oversaw his hunt as the night was born over the valley. Still, Roy waited. And finally it paid off.

Roy was dead silent as he heard the scratching. He pulled his bow back, and aimed at the jerky trap. The moon was full and bright, illuminating the large doleful eyes that poked suspiciously out of the cave. Roy bit his lip. He’d never seen a dragon this close up before, and this one was small, not a baby, but didn’t seem like the massive ones they’d taken down as a team before. There was no rage in its eyes, or fire in its soul, and Roy’s hands shook as the beast wearily climbed out of its cave. It looked at the jerky, then gazed to the place where Roy was hiding, and they locked eyes.

“Don’t move.” Roy said steadily. The dragon made a pitiful noise, then lowered itself against the ground. There was a gaping half-healed wound across its back, and Roy found it hard not to feel sorry for the poor thing. If it weren’t for the creature’s eyes, tracking him carefully, he would have lowered his guard. But, well. He had a daughter to get back to. “I said don’t move.” He said firmly.

‘Finish it.’ The dragon words formed clearly in his mind, and it was the first time he’d heard a dragon say anything other than ‘murder’ or ‘kill you’ or ‘leave’ in big bold letters.

“I-” Roy bit his tongue. He already knew he couldn’t let the arrow go. Damn, Ollie was going to be disappointed. Though, Ollie believed in good, and they’d heard stories of good dragons together. It was incredible to finally meet one. “You’ve done nothing to the town but stolen fish, haven’t you.” He eyed the wound wearily. “And that’s why you need an easy source of food. The men died when climbing the spire, but why’d you burn the houses?”

The image of people throwing rocks flooded his mind. The dragon blinked distrustingly. Roy put down his bow. “I’m not one of them.” Then struck by an idea, he grinned, salesman style. “Have you ever heard of Oliver Queen’s merry band?”

‘No?’ There was a clear sense of confusion radiating from the creature.

“Well come here, and I’ll patch you up. And I’ll tell you of our adventures.” He winked. “We could use a dragon on our side.”

Chapter Text

Roy caved the second week of summer and bought season tickets to Star City's botanical gardens and zoo. He'd tried to plan a well rounded series of hikes and other outdoor activities for her, but ever since her school took a field trip there towards the end of spring, she'd been single minded about going back. If their time spent at the splash pad downtown was anything to go off of, there was only one thing that would make her happy (though the ice cream he'd picked up Thursday night on the way home from the shop seemed to say otherwise). And so Roy bought the tickets, and signed up for the season, because he knew this was what Lian would want to do from every weekend from now until the season closed.

On the bright side, the zoo was actually really nice, plenty of shade from the botanical gardens, and more exhibits than they could cover in one trip. Lian was so happy to be there, she behaved like an angel, and didn't protest when he asked her to hold his hand and was polite when interacting with other kids or the keepers. She was especially good at getting bigger kids to make room for the little ones without causing a fuss. It made him a proud papa, and he readjusted their summer schedule to allow as much zoo time as Lian wanted there to be. It was a lovely morning, and as they sat at a picnic bench eating their lunch, Lian charted their course for the afternoon.

“Okay.” She used a blue pen to mark their path thus far on the map. “We've been to the reptile house, and we saw the zebras and the gorillas and I think we're um…” She tilted her head in thought. “Here.” She pointed to a place on the map that was roughly right.

“Mmhmm.” Roy hummed, through a mouthful of peanut butter jelly sandwich. “I wanna do the bug house before we go.”

“Okay.” Lian circled it on the upper left corner of the map. She studied the list of shows. “What time is it?”

“It's twelve thirty-four.” He leaned over her shoulder and scanned the list. “Whatcha wanna do?”

“Penguin feeding.” She pointed at the time underneath it - one o'clock, then squirmed glancing up at him. “We gotta hurry or we'll miss it!” She lunged forward, grabbing their trash off the table, then fast walked determinedly towards the trash can. “You have to see the penguins!” She insisted, as if Roy had never seen a penguin before.

“Chill, squirt.” He ruffled her hair as she stormed back. She squawked and pushed it back down. “We've got plenty of time.”

“The early bird gets the worm.” She said sagely. “Mmmmm, dad let's goooo.” She complained, moments later, plopping down on the picnic bench. “We're going to miss it!”

“No we won't.” Roy shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and stood up, wiping the crumbs off on his khaki shorts. “Alright, you lead the way, but no running, okay?”

“Okay.” He reached out a hand and Lian took it. She clutched the map in her other hand, and steered them through the crowd. They stopped briefly to see the red pandas, but still made it to the penguin exhibit with plenty of time to spare. The penguins were clearly excited for meal time, wobbling around, and sliding off their ledge before getting back up on the platform. A small group began to gather round, so Roy lifted Lian up on his shoulders so she could see.

“Well, good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the Star City Zoo.” Roy's breath caught as the zookeeper stepped out from behind the enclosure's rocks. He was a young, good looking man with a friendly smile and shoulder length hair tucked into a neat ponytail. As he gazed out at the crowd, his eyes caught on Lian, and he gave her a little wave and Roy a wink. “And welcome back to those of you who've been here before.”

He threw a handful of bloody little fish chunks into the water, and the penguins dove in behind him. “Does anyone know what these guys are called?” Half a dozen kids yelled out 'penguins' with a few younger ones calling out 'birds', 'fish', and 'chickens'. The zookeeper grinned, and threw out some more fish for the penguins to chomp on. “Yep, these are penguins. But they're not just any penguins…”

“They're little blue penguins.” Lian finished. The zookeeper - Dick, as his nametag read, flashed them a winning smile.

“That's right! They're the smallest penguin in the whole world.” A little penguin waddled up to him, and he dropped a fish in its bill. “They're from New Zealand and they love to swim. Does anyone have any questions?”

The rest of the feeding session was filled with questions like 'What do penguin farts smell like?' and 'Do penguins have to take showers?' Dick was patient with the kids, and Lian was patient with her questions, being well behaved and keeping her hand up until called on instead of shouting them out. The crowd thinned as other kids lost interest, but Lian - now down from his shoulders and able to see, pestered the poor zookeeper with a seemingly endless stream of questions, until it was just the three of them left at the exhibit.

“Thanks for being patient with her.” Roy smiled apologetically as he leaned over the exhibit's railing. “I know she's got a lot of questions.” Lian was momentarily distracted by watching a penguin swim near the wall of the display.

“Oh, it's no trouble at all.” Dick laughed, then smiled brightly. “I love when kids are engaged, and hey who knows?” Dick leaned on the wall just next to where Roy had placed his hands. “She asked me a ton of questions last time too, maybe you've got a future zoologist on your hands.” He looked intently from Lian back to Roy.

“Maybe.” Lian was still young, but he could see it. “Hey, do you take tips?” He asked. “I really appreciate you sticking around and answering all her questions.”

Dick laughed. “No, we're not allowed, but there's the donation box out front.” He ran a hand through his hair and checked his watch. “But I wouldn't say no to a coffee, my break's in fifteen minutes if you don't mind waiting.”

“It's a date.” Dick grinned shyly. Roy could only imagine how many penguins Lian was going to see in the upcoming month.

Chapter Text

It was his nails he noticed first. He had a bad habit of gnawing on them when he was stressed (which was most times). It was a mindless habit that only ever bothered him when he noticed the blood on his laptop keys from when he switched to biting at his skin. He'd tried halfheartedly to break the habit a half a dozen times, but it never seemed to stick, there was always something pressing coming up, a crisis worse than the last, another dead friend, another reason to worry, as soon as he tried to quit something else would go wrong and he'd wind up back where he started. It seemed pointless to try again.

It was late, early really - and he hadn't slept more than three hours in the past three days (and hey - Einstein, or was it Tesla? Didn't sleep normally so why should he?) and there was another murder in Blüdhaven's red light district. Another case that the police wouldn't investigate because it was a prostitute that died and it was easier to forge the evidence to lock up the closest homeless guy rather than do their actual jobs. There was a pattern, four kills in the last month, all people who wouldn't be missed by many and fought for by few. Rumor had it that there was a modern day slasher roaming the streets, because of the way the bodies were torn to shreds.

Dick was determinedly scrolling through the case notes, he'd gotten close a few nights ago, close enough to exchange blows with the prime suspect. He'd had the bastard in his grasp, pinned to the ground with his hands around the man's thick neck, and the motherfucker had bitten him to escape. Something cracked in Dick's mouth. He slammed his fist down on his desk, shaking his coffee hard enough to splatter a few drops. “Son of a bitch.” He hissed, rolling a piece of tooth around his mouth with his tongue. He spat it in his hand and twisted it between his forefinger and thumb.

His nails were getting long. They were normal length for most people, but oddly curved to a point at the end, almost like he'd gotten them done in a salon. He drummed a hand against the desk and the clink was off, more of a muted thud instead. They felt thicker than normal, when he thought about it. And when he thought too much about it he got up and headed for the bathroom, and scrambled through the drawers for nail clippers.

He looked at his teeth in the mirror. The chip wasn't noticeable, but the bags under his red rimmed eyes were horribly obvious, and he desperately needed a shave. The wispy hairs on his chin were starting to form a full fledged beard. Had there always been flecks of yellow in his eyes? Dick shook his head and blinked at his reflection, then shook his head. His hair brushed his shoulders, it wasn’t that long before, he slapped his face, he was getting paranoid. It was probably the lack of sleep. He slid his offending nail into the clippers and couldn’t close them. He took a deep breath. He was just… punchy… jittery from the lack of sleep.

He wasn’t any use to anyone like this, so the logical thing to do was to sleep, but the longer he laid on his bed, the more his skin crawled. He felt anxious, restless… there was this pit in his stomach that shuddered every time he shifted, and tightened when he curled into it, that no amount of breathing exercises would help. The only thing that would help was hunting down the killer, and he couldn’t hunt the killer laid up pathetically in bed as his skin crawled and his nails shifted like something was clawing its way out of him. He gave in to groaning as his skin stretched painfully, and it came out more like a howl.

The doorbell picked the perfect time to ring.

…

“Come on, Dick, just open the goddamn door.” Roy paced in front of Dick’s apartment. He banged on the door for good measure, even through he *heard* the doorbell ring. “I know you’re in there, you’re freaking everyone out!” He sighed. Dick was off at the last Titan’s meeting, shifty and jumpy. And at the Titan’s post-meeting meeting, he’d been delegated the role of figuring out what was wrong with Boy Blunder. Still, he didn’t have all night. “I’m coming in.”

A howling noise sent a shiver up his spine, the hairs on the nape of his neck standing up. “It’s just the wind.” He told himself, but his gut told him something was off. Wind didn’t make those noises, not here in the city, not here where he was intimately familiar with what Dick’s apartment was supposed to sound like. “Dick?” The lock clicked and the doorknob twisted. The lights were off, but the room was illuminated by the full moon in the window. Roy swallowed, and stepped inside, not taking his eyes off the room while he shut the door behind him. “Dick, where are-”

He cut himself off. Two glowing eyes stared at him from the shadows of Dick’s bedroom. He took a careful step back, and silently slid out his pocket knife. He breathed slow, willing his muscles not to twitch as he carefully reached for the knob.

“Don’t.” It hissed. Roy blinked and he was on the floor, the creature’s thumbs squeezing painfully into his neck. He couldn’t move. It sat on him, snarling teeth caught in the moonlight dribbled drool on his neck. “Ugh.” Roy held his breath as the thing brought back his hand and inspected it. A claw traced the side of his face. “I could just eat you right now.” The other hand squeezed. “And no one would ever know what happened.”

“Is that what you did to Dick?” Roy moved his right hand slowly, working his way towards his phone. If he could stall long enough to send out a distress signal, he could have Wally here in a moment. “Where is he?”

“Oh, Mr. Harper, do you really have to ask?” The werewolf drawled, moving his face into the light. Black hair with gray streaks and scars, the same familiar curves to his body. Roy shivered, as the creature’s tongue made contact with his neck. “Mm.” He almost made it to his phone. “Baby, you really think I’m that stupid?” Dick’s fingers crushed his wrist, and his arm was slammed above his head. His smile was full of too many teeth. “I’m going to enjoy you, for a long time.” Roy screamed as Dick took the first bite.

Chapter Text

It was close to midnight at the Prodigal Bar, a lazy night filled with mostly regulars and the occasional tag-a-long friend. Ric served drinks and cracked jokes; he made people smile, it was what he was good at, after all. Bartending was a lot like performing, a lot of talking, telling people what they needed to hear, even if that meant cutting them off and telling them to go home (especially if it meant that). And Ric, well, he’d inherited Dick’s observational prowess, and he was good at spotting the signs people needed to stop, which is why Bea let him man the bar, even if she had to stay within calling distance in case he zoned out.

Which is what must have happened, because he blinked and was face to face in one of the booths, and Bea was where he’d been standing at the bar. Ric took a deep breath. It was fine, hopefully he held it together long enough to give her a well deserved break. “Hey, um, Ric?” Ric turned slowly back from the bar. There was a guy with reddish orange hair sitting across from him, that Ric could almost-confidently say he’d never seen before in his life. He felt like he’d remember a face that rugged, or the curve of that jawline.

“Yeah.” He felt dumbstruck, but he’d been here before, so he played it cool. “What’s up?” He studied the man’s shirt. Great Frog wasn’t a band he’d ever heard of, but the design was retro and it vibed with the leather jacket and the partially slicked back hair.

“Are you alright?” Ric watched his brow tighten in concern and groaned internally. He wasn’t getting out of this one. “You were talking and you just, I dunno spaced out.”

“Oh, huh, yeah.” Ric laughed it off. “I do that sometimes, sorry about that.” He looked for anything visible that would tell him who this guy was - a card, embroidered pockets, even a letter would be better than nothing. The clues: rough calloused hands most affected on the right fingers, the T-shirt - he couldn’t place Great Frog but they sounded familiar - a local group perhaps? And there was his accent, south western but with a hint of something else that he couldn’t immediately place, but it sounded so damn familiar. Another thing - the scars, one under his lip, another on his neck, his arms were well hidden by his sleeves, and fingerless gloves hid the rest of his hands, but Ric was somehow sure he’d find more. Did he… know this guy?

If Dick knew this guy, the guy was probably a hero, which was an unwelcoming conclusion, because this guy was hot and he didn’t particularly want him to be one of the Waynes, but those guys all seemed to have black hair and blue eyes. On the other hand he looked a little like Barbara, but with none of the mannerisms, and he was drinking a beer which didn’t seem very hero-like to him based off the straightlaced heroes he’d met so far.

“You don’t remember who I am, do you?” The stranger absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair, trying to cover up his disappointment. Pretenses gone, Ric checked his watch. It was one thirty-seven, he’d only missed a little more than an hour. “Sorry, I can go if you want, and don’t worry, nothing weird happened, we’ve just been talking.”

“Oh. That’s fine.” Ric glanced around the bar again. It was a bit less crowded than before, and Bea seemed to be managing the bar fine on her own. “You’re fine, sorry I know this is probably weird for you but it happens to me all the time.” He laughed awkwardly, yeah, he was making a great first impression.

“Oh.” The guy shrugged. “Eh stranger things have happened, I’m Roy, by the way.” Roy. The name tasted metallic in Ric’s mouth. Less like blood and more like being struck by lightning. His skin crawled in that strange way that it did when he felt like he should know more than he should. “Are you sure you’re okay Ric, you look a little pale.” There was an intensity in the way that Roy scanned him.

“Mmhmm, fine yeah.” The metallic taste became something more akin to cotton. “Just a little dizzy.” He couldn’t tell if the floating feeling was love at first sight, or a migraine coming on. Roy looked concerned, and Ric couldn’t tell what he wanted, because Dick’s people always wanted something that he couldn’t give, and he wasn’t really sure what to say, because he couldn’t figure out if Roy was a Ric person or a Dick person.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Roy’s smile was kind in the way that Dick’s peoples weren’t. Ric’s stomach twisted in knots as the confusion hit him in full force.

“I think I might blackout again.” He said honestly. It was an even chance, sometimes they stopped after one, and sometimes it was a series of teleporting random places. He wondered if he’d remember Roy when he woke up. “It doesn’t always happen again, but if I don’t remember you the next time we meet please don’t be offended.”

“Hey, what kind of dick would blame an amnesiac?” Ric smiled at the joke. If only Roy knew the half of it (although maybe he did, but Ric didn’t remember complaining about the bats).

“I don’t know.” Ric lied. The bats were one thing, but sometimes he got these looks from people he’d never met. It was like living a double life, trying to navigate what happened while he was gone. A double life after a life he didn’t know, which made for three lives, and sometimes it was hard to keep track of. “But thanks for being cool about this.”

“Don’t mention it.” Roy smiled. “Really, I had a nice night. I don’t mind.”

“Hmm.” Ric hummed. He leaned back against the booth, and tried to ignore the chaos in his head. “At least one of us remembers it.”

“Do you want me to tell you about it?” Roy asked. His fingertips casually brushed against Ric’s. Had Ric… put the moves on this guy? He decided that if he did, past him had good tastes.

“If you don’t mind.” Maybe it was dumb of him to flirt when he might not remember it. “You have a nice voice.” Roy smiled fondly, and Ric had a pervasive sense of deja vu. He knew that look, but didn’t remember what it was he needed to do to make it happen. Did I know you? He almost asked, but he didn’t really want to find out. Ric closed his eyes, and leaned against the sidewall.

“Thanks.” He could hear Roy shifting in his seat. “Hmm, where to start. Well I kicked your ass at pool.”

Ric snorted, tiredness gone. No one kicked his ass at pool. “Liar.” He sat up straight and shifted forward, staring at Roy intently. He could tell if someone lied.

Roy’s eyes sparkled in the dim lights. He looked so good while Ric was so clearly a mess it was unfair. “Hey, believe what you want, but next time we play you’ll see.”

“Next time?” Ric cocked an eyebrow. Roy jammed a hand into his pocket, and came back with a napkin with a string of numbers.

“Already got your phone number.” He grinned.

“Dang, that was fast.” Although he knew it’d been roughly in the span of an hour and a half, to him it felt instantaneous.

Roy smiled sheepishly. “Hey, they don’t call me Speedy for nothing.” Ric hummed. So Speedy was Roy’s nickname. “Sorry, you probably don’t remember that. I can throw this out if you want.”

“Nah, keep it.” He could understand where Roy got his nickname. “This was nice, I wouldn’t mind seeing you again.”

Roy smiled, but his eyes were a little sad. “Yeah, me too.” His gaze drifted to the clock above the door. “It was good to meet you, Ric. I’ll hit you up next time I’m in town.” And with that Roy was gone, leaving a lot of questions and a metallic taste in Ric’s mouth.

Chapter Text

“Roy, sit.” Dick pleaded. He could tell from the way Roy was holding himself he’d tweaked his back again, and running around the house getting ice and whatnot for Dick’s stupid knee (reinjured, swollen, hopefully-just-sprained, pain) was making it worse. And Dick was in too much pain to get up and stop him.

Roy passed him a bag of ice. “Chill out, Dickie, I’m fine.” His carefree smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m just gonna grab your brace and some meds, I’ll be right back.” Dick shot him a wary look, but gratefully took the ice and plopped it on his throbbing knee. He flopped against the cushions and stared up at the ceiling. He was getting too old for this.

The frustrating thing of it all was he was careful. He did the physical therapy after the last time he injured his knee, he semi-retired, stuck with the crutches, built extra support into his Nightwing suit, and still here he was, with his costume half-stripped off, having to be carted off the field by Roy, and gingerly set on the couch. He did everything right, and still all it took was a goon getting a lucky kick in on his bad side; and not even some high class villain either - no just some random dude hired for help with a human trafficking ring. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating! It was…

“Roy?” Dick duly registered that Roy should have been back by now. He craned his head back over the side of the couch. The hallway bathroom door was still open, the lights still on. “You good in there?” He grimaced, pushing himself upright, and balancing on his left foot. He could hop the distance, but bending his knee was a no-go, and he really didn’t want to jolt himself that much. He weighed his options, army crawling was one, but dragging his leg seemed like it’d be even worse. “Roy!?”

“Chill!” Roy snapped. “I’m fine I just-” too-sharp intake of breath for Roy to actually be fine- “need a minute!” Dick glanced towards the stairs. They were going to wake the kids up at this rate. He’d put money down that Damian was already up.

Hm. Damian.

“Damian?” Dick called hesitantly towards the stairs. Messy bedhead, dark circles under his eyes materialized out of the shadows from beside stairs.

Damian had the gall to roll his eyes at the situation, but Dick forgave him because he came with the backup splint from upstairs and a set of crutches. “You called me, so I’m not in trouble for being awake.” He bargained, despite being awake long before the deal was made. It made Dick’s stomach squirm, at the reminder that Damian nearly never slept while they weren’t home.

“Deal.” Dick said quickly, making grabby hands towards the medical gear. He needed that stuff now.

“You should rest.” Damian chided. “Harper made his choices, now he must suffer the consequences.” But he did pass Dick the goods. Dick thanked whatever deities there were that it was his week to have the kid.

“You don’t mean that.” Dick smiled halfheartedly. He sat back down to put on his splint, tucking the ice on the inside of it. “Seriously, thanks, kiddo, I owe you one.”

“Next time you won’t have to if you’d let me accompany you in the first place.” Damian pouted, his bottom lip sticking out in the same way Bruce’s did, when he didn’t get what he wanted.

“School night, you know the rules.” Damian tsked but passed Dick the crutches all the same. “You’re my hero, you know that.” Dick ruffled his messy hair, and Damian squawked but was flush under the praise all the same.

“Oh grand, now if someone would like to swoop in to rescue me, I could use a little help in here!” Damian and Dick exchanged a look. ‘Bed.’ Dick mouthed, and Damian made himself scarce, scampering back up the stairs.

“Coming, hun.” Dick was glad he was accustomed to using crutches. “What seems to be the-” He cut himself off as he crossed the threshold and found Roy hunched over, knuckles white gripping the handles of the drawers of the cupboards under the bathroom sink. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his breathing was painfully strained, and one hand was pressed firmly against his back. “-oh for crying out loud, Roy.” Dick fumbled for words. “I told you to sit down.”

“It wasn’t this bad then.” Roy hissed. “Besides I’m sitting right now!” Dick bit back his argument of ‘no you’re not you’re crouching awkwardly’.

“I knew you fucked up your back again.” Dick continued. Roy had been having back problems on and off for the last couple years, following a bad fall.

“Could you stop gloating about it and I don’t know, help me?” Roy’s voice boarded on a yell. Dick hobbled forward, and balanced carefully on his left foot, reaching down to lightly stroke a hand down Roy’s spine. Nothing felt too far out of place, which was good. He double backed to the couch, looking for the heating pad. He thanked his lucky stars for Damian because it was definitely not in easy view when he’d left the living room earlier.

“Right so,” Dick crutched back and gingerly sat himself on the ground, wincing when his leg touched the ground. “I don’t feel too much swelling, so that’s good.” Roy nodded minutely. Dick leaned past him to grab a towel from under the sink. “Is the center of the pain where your hand is?”

“Mm.” Roy hummed an affirmation. Dick was starting to get concerned about the nonverbal responses.

Dick inspected his face. “Do I need to get you to a hospital?” He laid the towel on Roy’s back, and then layered the heating pad on top of it, then gently worked to remove Roy’s hand.

“Not that bad.” Roy said through gritted teeth. Dick didn’t know why he bothered asking. “I can feel my legs and everything. It just locked up when I bent down.” Dick rubbed the spot above the heating pack soothingly. The muscle was rock hard, contracting tightly underneath. “Dammit, I didn’t even do anything stupid!”

“I know.” Dick said placatingly. He’d noticed the moment Roy shifted his stance on their way home, it wasn’t any one thing that seemed to spark the pain. Half carrying Dick’s sorry ass to the couch definitely didn’t help though. “It sucks.”

“Hm, well, enough about me, how’s your leg?” Roy hesitantly reached out a hand and let it rest on Dick’s right thigh. His thumb gently rubbed the sore muscle. Dick swallowed. Sometimes he wished Roy wasn’t so single minded about taking care of others.

“It’s fine.” Still hurts. “The ice is helping.” Not a lie, it did numb the pain to a manageable level.

“Good to know I’m not completely useless.” Roy groaned. Dick cringed. He wanted to scream at Roy and shake self worth into him. That would probably just mess up the poor guy’s back more, so instead he calmly counted to ten before responding.

“You’re not.” Dick soothed. The muscle under his hands was starting to loosen. “I wouldn’t have made it home without you.”

“You’d have found a way.” Roy shifted, properly sitting on his butt, and losing his awkward crouch. “You always do. You’ve got like a dozen super powered friends on speed dial.”

“Yeah, well, you have better bedside manner.” Dick leaned forward and kissed the closest bare spot on Roy’s back. “And you don’t ditch me while I’m recovering.”

“I physically cannot even think about ditching you right now.” Roy pointed out. “I couldn’t even get your brace.”

“Shut up.” Dick accidentally rubbed a little hard and Roy flinched. “Sorry, sorry.” Dick soothed again, being very intentional with how much pressure he exerted with his hands. “You literally do so much for me.” Dick’s mouth went dry. “Too much for me and sometimes I think that-”

Roy’s thumb stopped. “I’m not doing this talk right now.” You’d be better off without me.

“Okay, then stop thinking you failed me by spraining your back.” Dick dropped his hands below the heat pack to Roy’s hips, rubbing circles with his thumbs. “It’s not your fault. And I l-” Dick choked on the l-word. He felt like a leech, sucking blood and nutrients out of Roy until just a husk of a man remained. My fault, my fault, my fault, his brain chanted. Stop being so selfish, another voice in his head said, Roy needs you right now, just say the word, it’s true and it will make him happy! “I.” Am hurting you.

“Quit thinking, you’ll hurt yourself. I got the message.” Dick planted another kiss on Roy’s neck, burying his red-shamed face. He hated how much stumbling over the l-word made him sound like Bruce. “Dick, seriously stop, I can smell your brain smoking from here.”

“Hnn.” Dick sniffed, it smelled warm in here. “Sure that isn’t your back? How long has this thing been on for?” He should have set a timer. You should have set a timer. Now he had no idea how long it’d be before he risked burning Roy’s back with the heating pad.

“About ten minutes, baby don’t worry about it, I’m keeping count.” Roy hesitated. “If you don’t mind, the rubbing was nice, you could start that again.”

“Oh.” He hadn’t realized he’d stopped. “Sorry.” He focused harder on his hands, because he knew Roy’s lower back and hips were sensitive and he didn’t want to hurt Roy any more than he already had. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah. That’s- move your left hand a little to the left, and up. You can move the heat pad up.” Dick moved it up a couple inches, following Roy’s directions. He brought both his hands to the spot that Roy had specified, and felt a tight lump underneath where the muscle had knotted. “Yeah!” Roy hissed as he touched it. “Can you ice that? You’ve had that ice on your knee long enough, you can use that pack.”

“Alright.” The cold sensation greeting his hands shook Dick farther out of his own head. His skin was red and patchy where the ice had been, his knee distinctly less swollen. Roy hissed when he touched the ice to the knot under his skin. Dick set to work, alternating ice, heat, and massaging the spot, and slowly, the muscle gave, loosening bit by bit. It worked well, swapping the ice from his knee to Roy’s back, and Roy made small talk, not enough to distract him, but enough to keep his mind occupied.

Finally, Roy’s back loosened to the point where he could get up. “Bed?” He asked, taking a wary look at the stairs. They should really invest in a one story home.

“Couch.” Dick answered, grabbing the crutches. There was no way they were both making it up those stairs in one piece. He was still trying to figure out the best way to get off the floor. Roy started to offer a hand and Dick just glared at him. “You help me up and we’re probably going to start this all over again.”

Roy rescinded the hand. “Fair.”

“You can hold these though.” Dick passed him the crutches. He used the sink and left leg to carefully push himself up. “Thanks.”

“Thank yourself.” Roy slowly, gingerly stretched. “I feel a lot better.” He admitted. Dick limped over for a kiss, then together they made their way to the couch. Roy helped Dick prop his leg up on the coffee table, before settling on the couch lengthwise with his head in Dick’s lap. “Night, Dick. Love you.”

Dick squeezed Roy’s shoulder, then leaned back, closing his eyes. “You too.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, woah, don’t-” Roy watched the arrow fly. The kid looked up innocently. “I told you before we started you gotta aim directly for the target.” The arrow cleared the treeline. “HEY, HEADS!” There was a brief bit of overlap between the end of the archery range and the ropes courses on the other side, which normally wasn’t a problem because most kids couldn’t shoot that far. Today, however, it was about to be Roy’s problem.

A chorus of screaming children sent birds flying from their nest. Roy cringed. The kid’s eyes went wide. “Everyone bows down!” He felt bad scaring the kids, but there was still screaming coming from the other side. “Mia, you’re in charge.” Mia’s mouth dropped as he pointed at her, but she was one of the more experienced campers and slightly more responsible than the average twelve-year-old, so good enough for now. “Play cards are something.” He suggested before breaking into a jog.

“Okay, so everyone sit in a circle…” He heard Mia starting and breathed a sigh of relief. One panicked group of children accounted for, one more to go.

As he got closer to the treeline, a couple kids broke through. “Chewy’s bleeding!” Tim screamed, he was white faced and still half screaming. “It got on me!” His little brother trailed a few steps behind him.

“You need to help him!” Damian insisted, slowing down as Roy neared. “I can get the first aid kit, and-”

“Go sit with Mia, I’ll be right back.” He yelled, cutting the kid off as he passed them both. He really didn’t need any of the kids near blood. He cleared the treeline easily, and found Dick sitting on the ground a few yards away, his counselor in training directing the other kids to follow Tim and Damian.

She gave him a thumbs up. “I already called for help.” Cass said. He flashed a thumbs up back, and made a beeline to Dick. Tim was right, there was a decent amount of blood. Roy swallowed. The arrow was stuck through the back of Dick’s calf, coming out around his knee. His kneecap wasn’t in the right place, and Dick’s hands were squeezed tight around his leg.

“Don’t take it out.” Roy tried to keep the panic out of his voice. That was a lot of blood.

“No shit!” Dick shook violently. Tears welled in his eyes. Roy had never seen him cry, and he didn’t want to see it now.

Roy yanked off his shirt. “Here, let me.” He wrapped the cloth around the places where the arrow stuck out. “Helps coming, just lie down, alright?” He shifted so he could grip Dick’s hand.

“Damnit Roy, this hurts!” There were actual tears now, and Dick held his hand like a vice.

“You think now they’ll move the ropes courses back?” The counselors had been trying to get them pushed back for years. Roy laughed nervously. He didn’t know what to say.

“For fucks sake, is that what you’re worried- AGH!” Dick squeezed his eyes shut, and his grip tightened tenfold.

“Hold still.” The shaking was making things worse.

“If you tell me to relax I’m going to kill you!” Dick huffed. “You try relaxing with an arrow through your knee.”

“I know, I know. But you’re going to be okay.” Dick cursed him out a half a dozen times while Roy did his best to keep calm and talk in a soothing voice. He was this close to breaking down and completely losing it when finally the ambulance from the nearest town made it there, and paramedics carted Dick away.

He duly registered Donna’s hands on his shoulders. He sobbed the entire way to the bathrooms. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

…

“He’s not gonna want to see me.” Roy pushed Donna in front of him. He took a jittery breath. “I’m going back to wait in the car, this was a terrible idea.” He’d only come along because Donna didn’t have her license yet.

“Would you stop overthinking it and just trust me on this?” Donna groaned. “Of course he wants to see you, he always wants to see you.” Lies. Roy’s heart raced as she half dragged him down the hallway. “Besides, you need to see him.”

“He hates me. And he should.” He should have stopped Danny before he let loose that arrow. Roy couldn’t get the image of his blood stained hands out of his hands, and Dick’s pained, angry face. “He told me like a dozen times-”

“He had an arrow through his knee for fuc-fudge’s sake! He didn’t know what he was saying.” Roy had to admit Dick had used some pretty specifically creative curses, that didn’t make that much sense. But still. Seeing Dick after that made him want to vomit. “Be good. We’re going in.” Roy’s legs felt like lead. Donna squeezed his hand, and pulled him into the recovery room.

“I can’t.” He stopped in the doorway. Donna gave him a pained expression, but didn’t tug him any further. How could he face Dick after this? Any hopes he’d ever had of a relationship were dead.

“Trust me when I say you’re going to regret this for the rest of your life if you don’t.” She said earnestly. “And you get credit for this.” She held up the care bag they’d packed together. “We’re giving it to him together.”

“It was your idea.” The campers were fast, and had all almost immediately put together dozens of get well notes. Dick had barely gotten out of surgery before they were all ready. “You got the kids organized.” Donna had done the bulk of the work, therefore, she could present the gift alone.

“And who knew all his favorite candies and snacks from the campstore?” Donna pointed out. She shoved the bag in his hands before he could protest. “We’re giving it together or not at all.” She added decisively, then turned on the spot and marched off.

“Donna!” She disappeared behind the curtain at the end of the room. “Sugar, sugar, sugar.” He followed behind her. He was determined to deliver the bag and go before-

“Roy?” Roy’s breath caught. Dick stared at him blearily, his eyes not quite focussing in one place. His right leg stuck out of the white hospital blanket, his knee swathed in bandages, and a brace ran the length of his leg.

“Yeah, it’s Roy. Say hi, Roy.” Donna elbowed him in the side. She smiled wide, talking like Dick was one of their younger day-campers. Roy’s heart caught in his chest. This was all his fault. “Say hi.”

“I’m sorry.” He blurted out. He stared at the floor. He couldn’t do this right now. He started shuffling backwards when Dick finally broke the awkward silence.

“I didn’t know you could fly.” Dick said. Roy stared at him. Dick seemed completely unbothered.

“That’s very nice, hun. Can you say hi to Roy?” Donna asked.

“Hi, Roy. How’s the weather down there?” Dick asked.

“It’s nice down here.” Roy answered, the nerves fading away. Dick was as high as a kite. “What’re you seeing up there?” He took a seat next to Donna.

“Clouds.” Dick answered. As soon as Roy got close, Dick made grabby hands for the bag Roy was holding.

“You want this?” Roy asked.

“No. I need your hands.” Roy blushed. Dick didn’t mean that. Donna giggled. He elbowed her.

“You can have Donna’s hands.” Roy offered.

“Nooooo.” Dick whined. “I need your hand.”

“Tell anyone and I’ll murder you.” Roy muttered under his breath. He dropped the bag by the edge of the bed, and held Dick’s hands, gently stroking the backs of them. Dick smiled, a bit too brightly at him.

“I told you he’d want to see you.” Donna muttered back, discreetly trying to worm her phone out of her pocket.

“Take a picture and you’re dead.” Roy hissed back. He turned back and smiled brightly at Dick. “What kind of clouds do you see?”

“Well…”

…

“I did not do that!” Dick whined. Roy rubbed his shoulders, they were crammed into his back seat together, Dick half on his lap so he could prop up his leg on the other side.

“Oh you very much did.” Donna assured. She was driving despite not having her license, so they could cuddle. “And then you started crying when Roy tried to leave so we had to stay all night. You didn’t cry when I left though.” She clicked her tongue in mock offense.

“Roy, tell her I didn’t.” Dick had refused to let go of his hands the entire hospital stay, and Roy had found him distraught when he’d left to go to the bathroom. The other reason Donna was driving was because Roy was exhausted after having to basically babysit Dick all night.

Roy should lie for him. “It was cute.” He said truthfully. Dick had confessed shortly after coming down off anesthesia, and the rest was history. Roy brushed the bangs out of Dick’s eyes, and planted a kiss on his forehead.

“You’ve been my boyfriend for five minutes and you’ve already betrayed me.” Dick pouted. Roy curled a hand around his.

“Get used to it, Boy Wonder.”

Chapter Text

Dick normally wouldn't let a cat out without a leash. During his own time as a cat, he'd been subjected to dozens of Roy's tirades about the damage outdoor cats wreaked on the environment every time he sat and meowed longly by the door. But Mittens (Roy), wasn't your average kitty. The poor lil guy was too uncoordinated to hurt a fly and Roy's cat instincts seemed borderline non-existent. So here Mittens was, napping happily in the sun at the edge of the docks at one of Bruce's vacation lake houses out on Seneca lake in upstate New York.

“See,” Dick ruffled his fluffy fur. “I knew a vacation would do you good.” Roy meowed loudly, nuzzling into Dick's hand. He rolled over and Dick scratched his tummy. He tried not to think about how that tummy started out bigger, and how much weight Mittens had lost refusing to eat cat food. “Who's a good boy?” Dick laughed when Roy batted at his hand in response. “You're so cute.” Roy meowed, so Dick spoke for him. “Yes, I know you're always cute.”

Mittens continued batting playfully at Dick's hands until Lian came out the door of the lake house. Then, he hopped up and did his funky little unnatural walk (Roy it seemed, still wasn't used to four legs, he wasn't hurt, they'd checked) down the dock. He walked at an angle getting closer to the water. “C'mon Roy, you got this.” Dick jogged along behind him as Roy meowed for his daughter. Lian giggled and ran down the hill towards the dock ready to meet them.

And then Roy slipped and clumsily splashed into the water, flailing the entire way down. “Oh no!” Dick had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. And then his stomach lurched because Roy's nonexistent cat instincts meant he was sinking in knee deep water, and Dick jumped in after, slipped on the rocks, splashed on his butt, and saved his dumbass cat. Lian on the other hand doubled over in laughter as Dick held Mittens high out of the water, as the poor guy scream-meowed indignantly.

“Lian, can you take your father, I think I rolled my ankle- nevermind claws are out, chill Roy you're fine, I'm fine, we're good.” The instant Dick brought Mittens closer he sunk his claws into his soaked shirt. Which Roy would feel bad about later, but they had to get to that point, and he'd feel worse if he scratched Lian. Still, it was annoying. “Thanks for that love.” Dick added flatly. Mittens positively wailed, and Dick felt bad, he knew he shouldn't tease when Roy was worked up. “Sorry, sorry, I know it's not your fault. Yes, I know you're cold.” It was early in the season and the water was like ice. “Lian, quit laughing and go get a towel.”

She left and ran back up towards the lakehouse laughing the entire time. “See hey, at least you entertained her with your antics.” He tucked his chin atop Mitten's meowing head. “Don't feel bad, it's not your fault you can't swim.” It wasn't something human Roy was naturally gifted either, growing up out in the desert, he didn't learn until he was a teenager. Dick picked himself up, testing his left foot carefully before finding a path back to shore. He plopped down in the grass with his poor little kitty and hummed a little tune, as Roy continued his meow-screams. Lian skipped back down with the towel.

“Oh, babygirl, you’re okay. See, Lian’s got the towel for you.” She passed it down to Dick and together they wrapped it around Mittens. It wasn’t the first kitty breakdown they’d weathered together, and generally attention made it worse for Roy (but leaving him alone made it unbearably bad), so Dick patted the spot next to him on the ground and struck up a conversation, while keeping a steady hand buried in Roy’s wet fur. “So tell me about school.”

“School?” Lian plopped on the ground. “But it’s summer. School isn’t until September.” She did an impressive job at ignoring the loud meows they were talking over.

“I know, but who’s your teacher going to be next year?” He ran his thumb down the scruff of Mitten’s neck placatingly, and imperceptibly Roy’s howls quieted. “Are you excited for second grade?”

“Nope.” Lian crossed her arms. “I never want to go to school again.”

“That’s the spirit, kid.” Roy nipped at his fingers. Dick grinned, reinforcing Lian’s bad habits always brought him out of a funk. The poor guy still looked frazzled, but at least now he looked more mad than sad. “Looks like your dad doesn’t agree with me, c’mon, let’s pack up and get inside.”
“Will you do the glitter?” Lian asked Dick. Roy nearly cooed at how cute she look, and took another dozen pictures with his phone.

“You’re teacher said we’re supposed to do purple for the eyes, but yeah, you can have a little glitter.”

Chapter Text

“Dick.” Dick groaned in lieu of a proper response. The metallic tang of blood in his mouth meant there was nothing good waiting when he opened his eyes. “Uncle Dick.” Dick’s eyes shot open and he hissed as the lights hit him. Only one, very special little girl called him that, and sure enough, Lian was huddled over him. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Two.” But there were two of her, so that made four. Still, it was probably better if Lian didn’t worry about his probable concussion. Both Lian’s smiled, and slowly merged into one. Dick felt his face, no mask. He looked past Lian, and saw a glass wall, cutting themselves off from the rest of the room. “Where are we?” A droplet landed on his nose, and he looked up. There was an upside down sprinkler at the top of the glass box, and from it came a steady drip of what he hoped was water.

“Being held hostage.” Lian replied nonchalantly. There was no one else in the room, but she lowered her voice. “They want my mom.” That sounded vaguely familiar. “Do you remember what day it is?”

“It’s Tuesday, I’m not concussed.” Dick pushed himself up and the world spun, stars danced in his vision making Lian’s face all sparkly. She wasn’t dissuaded, and her face was all pouty as she crossed her arms.

“Date.” She demanded.

“Um.” He had to think about it, and as he did his temples throbbed. “June second. Happy?”

“No.” Lian tucked her legs to her chest. She shivered a bit. “It’s cold and dark and wet and I got kidnapped. And-” She groaned audibly. “They didn’t even kidnap me from school!” His head pulsed as she raised his voice. “I could have missed school for this! Why would I be happy?”

“Fair point.” Dick was also having a certified bad time. “Did they hurt you?” Lian hmphed and shook her head. She still shook a bit. “Do you want a hug?”

“They hit you.” Lian pouted, but still crawled into his arms. He splashed in the water as he rearranged himself and- Dick blinked. When did the water get that deep? “-and then they said if I didn’t shut up they’d hit you again.” Dick phased back into what Lian was saying.

“I’m sorry about that.” Dick scanned the box. The water coming down dripped around them. He hugged Lian tight to his chest. “Um. We should probably try to get out of here.” His brain slowly reasoned.

“You’re bleeding a lot.” Lian buried her face into Dick’s soggy shirt. He touched his fingers to the left side of his forehead and they came away wet. He couldn’t tell if it was water or blood. “I’m sorry I made them hit you, I didn’t know and-”

“It’s fine, kiddo, I don’t even remember it.” He said honestly. He’d heard something about head injuries before. “Oh they bleed a lot.”

“That’s bad!” Lian insisted.

“Doesn’t even hurt, see?” He rapped his knuckles against the side of his head. The stars came back in full force, so maybe that wasn’t the best idea. “It’s supposed to bleed a lot.” He thought. But he also thought blood was supposed to stay inside him.

“Can we leave now?” Lian pouted. “I want to go home.”

“Did they mention a time limit?” The water was starting to pool around Dick’s knees.

“Thirty minutes.” Lian parroted. “But you can get us out faster than that.” Dick glanced around again. His stomach turned when he moved his head. If he was clear headed maybe he could get them out. But like this? He didn’t even know where to start.

“Yeah.” Getting them out. He should probably stand up. “Can you look for a zipper in the glass?” Maybe he could just punch his way out. Didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“Zipper?” Lian asked. She was already on her feet. “Uhh. What?”

“Like when the fabric-” He pushed both his hands together. “-and then they sew it there.”

“Um.” Lian just stared at him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Okay, let me just stand up and-” He braced one hand against the glass, and Lian grabbed his other one. The world tilted on its axis and Dick fought not to throw up. He would not do that to Lian. “Like it comes together and-”

“Should we just wait for my dad to get us out?” Lian asked uneasily. Dick slid his hand around the box and tried not to fall over. “You look kinda wobbly.” Lian hugged his waist.

“You’re getting tall.” He commented. The ground sloshed when he turned to follow the box. When had the water gotten to his knees? “Oh, here it is!”

“Um Uncle Dick.” Lian started again. “Can’t you climb and get us out?” Dick looked up and almost fell over, because the world didn’t stop tilting back when his head did.

The top was open, but it was decently high up, and he didn’t trust himself right now. “I don’t think so.” He swallowed bile down. “But don’t worry I can break the glass.”

“Are you sure?” Lian asked. “It looks pretty strong.”

Dick flexed his muscles. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m pretty strong.” He felt like he was forgetting something. “Stand behind me.” Yeah, when the glass broke he didn’t want it to hit Lian.

He full force, punched the glass. Something cracked. “Huh.” Two of his knuckles were out of place. “Maybe I should try…” He tried making a fist. “That hurts.”

“I don’t think you should do that again.” Lian’s voice was small. She looked worried now, and the water was up to her waist. “I think you broke your fingers.” Dick poked at his right hand with his left. It hurt worse than his head. “I think we should wait for dad.”

“I can use my shoulder.” Dick suggested. He didn’t have enough room to get a running start, but he might make a crack in it. “Like this.”

“Don’t!” Dick slammed into the glass, hard enough that his head cracked against it. “Uncle Dick!” She shrieked, as he splashed into the water. The world spun violently, and he lost track of which way was up. Little hands yanked his shirt up hard. “Stop it! Just wait for dad!”

“Okay.” Lian looked scared. “Do you want to play a game?” He does that when kids are scared. “We can play Ispy.”

“There’s nothing to spy.” Lian pointed out. “But fine.” She pouted. “I spy, with my little eye, someone dumb.”

“Who?” Dick asked.

“You.” She frowned.

“Oh.” He vaguely registered that it was a mean thing to say. “Hey!”

“I hope my dad gets here soon.” Lian complained.

“Me too.” Dick sank back underneath the water.

Chapter Text

It was a Wednesday, so naturally Dick was strung up in some death trap - hog tied and upsidedown, strapped down to a log on his way to a circular saw. It was cartoonishly evil, and he'd been strategically stripped of all his weapons, though they left his mask in place. Classic, theatrical villains sucked ass, though it was nice to be given time to escape.

The trick was, Roy had gone and gotten himself caught with him, and was taking a fat nap, snoring on the log beside him. “Arsenal! Get the fuck up!” He yelled, as soon as he'd shaken off his drug induced slumber. His hands and feet were tied together behind his back, but he was close-ish to Roy's ankles.

Dick decided living through this was more important than his shame, and over extended his neck to bite Roy's ankle. The snoring cut off aburtly. “Thanks for that, love.” Roy quipped. Dick watched Roy's head poke around. “A Wednesday, is it?” He yelled over the circular saw's whirr. “Can you get my foot free? I can see the lever.”

“Where?” Dick couldn't see over Roy's legs. “Can you kick it?”

“Less talking more gnawing through those ropes!” Roy barked back. The rope pinning him down was a little ways above his ankle, just a little too far for Dick to reach normally.

“If I do this I'm going to be dead weight for the rest of the rescue.” Dick warned. He had experience disolacating his shoulders to get out of traps sure but 1) that didn't mean this wasn't going to hurt and 2) didn't mean he could pop them back in in the state he was in.

“I can make the shot, just do it!” Roy hollered. The first log started shredding, and Dick lunged forward, snapping both shoulders out of place in one go. If he screamed, it was lucky the noise from the saw covered it. Whoever put together these traps were sadists, because there was always a way to escape, and it always meant pain.

Dick couldn't afford to linger on the shooting pain in his shoulders, instead he tore at the leather trap with a ferocity only mustered in a near-death situation. He was seriously going to fuck up his teeth doing this, but that was a problem for future Dick, current Dick was doing his damndest not to get them killed. He would feel bad for slobbering all over, and spitting gnawed up leather on Roy's calf, but honestly they'd been in weirder situations. His heart pounded in his throat as he heard the second log start to shred, and he maybe chomped down a bit too hard and took out some of Roy's skin. If Roy yelled at him, well, not his problem, the noise covered it.

“Try it now!” Dick yelled between the third and fourth logs. It was getting close; they were on the fifth. The chewed up leather snapped as Roy pushed against it, and Dick sighed in relief. Then Roy kicked his shoe into the ceiling. “What the hell was that supposed to do?!?”

Roy's reply was lost to the shredding, and his shoe didn't come down. Instead it rolled down the beam ever so slowly, teetering on the edge the entire time. “Wait for it!” Roy yelled back. They were getting closer now, and Dick swallowed. He trusted Roy, he really did, but the blade was getting larger. This would be a terrible way to die.

Just as the saw cut into the bottom of their log the shoe fell. “Roy!” Dick yelped, as wood chips flew. He strained uselessly, his shoulders stopping him from making any real progress. Then everything grinded to a stop. The log was mere inches from him. “Did you have to play it that close!?”

“Hey. I got it to stop, didn't I?” Dick did the mature thing and licked Roy's ankle instead of coming up with the proper response. “Enjoying yourself?”

“I can't feel my arms.” Dick huffed in response. “If someone hadn't waited for dramatic timing maybe they'd be back in place right now.”

“If someone gnawed a little faster maybe they'd be back in place by now.” Roy mimicked. Something popped, and Dick could see Roy had one hand free. “I took the least risky shot, don't bite.” Roy warned, as he brought his hand down to pat Dick's hair. “I could still leave you here.”

“I love you but less reassuring and more getting out of the knots.” Dick supplied. There was a stinging sensation shooting down the nerves in his arms.

“Oh, aha!” Roy held up a knife. “They missed the one in my waistband. Chivalry isn't dead. Hang tight, I'll get you out in no time.”

Chapter Text

“Mittens.” Mittens mewed innocently, but he only made it three feet from his mess. The poor little guy was covered in kitty litter, a trail from the box leading up to his guilty little paws. “Roy Mittens Harper Jr., you're going to need a bath.” Dick sighed. It was weird, knowing Mittens was Roy, and seeing him be so uncoordinated as a cat. Mittens meowed sadly, turning it more into a howl at the end. “I know.” Dick said sympathetically. He scratched Mitten's little chin. “It's just so unfair, isn't it.”

Mittens stared at him with big sad eyes, and his jaw twitched, like he was resisting biting him. “Sorry, sorry.” Mittens meowed loudly in protest. He had quite a few things to say, but sadly Dick didn't speak cat, and Roy was too impatient to use Meorse code. “If you keep going like this, you'll get it all over the floor.” Dick reasoned. “Let me know when you're ready.” Mittens flopped on the ground like a sack of potatoes, and mewed profusely. Dick put his knuckles by his face, and waited for a headbutt to signal it was okay to pet. Then withdrew his hand after a minute because Mittens really wasn't in the mood.

He cleaned up the mess while Mittens positively howled over it, throwing a mini kitty temper tantrum in the process. “It's okay bud, here.” He tossed Mittens the Batman themed rubber ducky from the shower, and immediately he pounced on it. Dick bit his lip to keep from laughing, some things never changed. Roy as Mittens still hated every single Batman themed toy Dick had tried giving him. He swept up the kitty litter while Mittens was preoccupied, intentionally using the broom instead of the vacuum cleaner lest they repeat the drama of last Thursday.

By the time he scooped and refilled the kitty litter, the ducky was in tatters. “Are you feeling better now?” Mittens looked a little sheepish, but he butted against Dick's hand and spat out the last of the pieces. “Alright, c'mere tough guy.” Dick was careful picking Mittens up, cuddling him gently against his chest. “Be still, lover boy, I don't want to drop you.” Again. Last time still haunted him. Dick dropped his chin to the top of Mitten's head. Mittens mewed, but didn't struggle. They'd both learned their lessons.

Dick sat Mittens down in the back of the tub, and adjusted the water until it was lukewarm. “Alright, Roy-kitty, c'mere.” He took down the showerhead and sat on the side of the tub. Mittens didn't budge. He simply eyed Dick suspiciously. “You need a bath, bud.” Dick sighed. “Unless you want to get germs everywhere.” Mittens meowed pitifully. Dick bit back a response about how he was the saddest kitty in the whole wide world, and just stuck out his hand. Mittens headbutted his hand and Dick stroked his matted fur. “Aw, you're okay, it'll be over soon.”

Reluctantly Mittens took a few steps forwards, Dick raised the showerhead, and Mittens stared at him in acceptance. “I'll make it fast for you.” He stayed true to his word, and quickly ran the water through Mitten's fur. Mittens whined, but he didn't try to climb out of the tub or bite, so Dick took it as a win. He massaged shampoo and worked the matted bits out of Mitten's coat and kitty litter swirled down the drain. “You're almost done.” Dick promised, as he rinsed the soap out. “See, now that wasn't so bad, was it?” He said, scratching Mittens behind his ears.

Mittens stared at him pathetically, soaking wet and dripping in the tub. Dick got the message, and got up quickly to get him his favorite fluffy towel. “You want cuddles?” Dick asked, flopping the towel over Mitten's back. Mittens did his awkward little head bob for 'yes', and Dick scooped him up to his chest. “Oh, you are so sweet.” He cooed, as Mittens nuzzled his face into his chest. Mittens mewed quietly as Dick moved them from the bathroom to the recliner in the living room. He was an uncoordinated cat, but he was a solid weight in Dick's arms, and it wasn't long before they both were drifting off for a catnap.

Chapter Text

Roy stumbled off his bike with a groan. He braced himself against the workbench and hopped forward, balancing on his right foot. His shoulders and back ached in protest, but he didn’t dare put weight on his left knee. It had popped back into place after dislocating, but it still throbbed painfully and had swollen to double its normal size on his trip home. The stab wound above his right hip wasn’t doing him any favors, and he could feel half a dozen bruises starting to form. He wasn’t dying, but he was going to be sore tomorrow.

Nights like these were why he kept a first-aid kit close to the door. Unfortunately, it was on the inside of said door, not in the garage, and he could hear his cat scratching to get out. Roy sighed. He needed ice, painkillers, and sleep. Not for his cat to get out and terrorize the neighborhood. “Chill, Scruff.” He punched the garage door button and waited for the door to lower, before reaching up to open the door to the house.

“Bro, chill.” Scruffly shot out the door like a bat out of hell, tumbling down the stairs and yeowling all the while. “You wanna wake up the whole house?” He asked. Scruffly circled him, skittering around and meowing loudly. Roy hung on the counter with one hand and bent at the waist, reaching out for Scruffly’s collar. “C’mere and chill.” The cat did the opposite, nipping at his hand and scampering out of his reach, hissing all the while. “Fine, then. Be that way.” Roy sat on the steps leading up to the door, and scooted up backwards, trying not to move his leg much. “Ugh.” He winced. The stab wound pulsed angrily. He pressed on it and his hand came back with blood. “We’re really in it now, aren’t we.” He sighed. Scruffly meowed back at him.

He took a break at the top of the steps, leaning his head against the doorway. “You know what the worst part is?” He asked, watching his kitty throw a tantrum. “Ah, forget it, you don’t care. You’re just mad I don’t have your food.” His entire body yearned for sleep and he let his eyes close for a moment.

His cat apparently had other plans. Scruffly made a weird noise, halfway between a purr and a hiss as he bashed his head directly into the stab wound. “Ow!” Roy hissed, eyes snapping open. He saw stars dancing on the ceiling… and when had he gotten on the ground? “I’m up, I’m up.” He scratched Scruffly’s head. “Thanks.” The room swirled as he sat up. He lifted up the edge of his shirt, the temporary bandage he’d placed was already soaked through. “Hm. That’s no good.”

He swayed a little bit, but grabbed the first-aid kit, and dug around for the sutures kit. He felt disconnected from his body, like his hands weren’t his, as he fumbled for the numbing cream. His hands weren’t clean, so he wiped them on his pants and ripped open an alcohol wipe before starting. Distantly, he registered that his left knee was looking worse, but it was a problem for later.

Scruffly meowed in his ear. “Sorry.” Roy mumbled. “I know you’re hungry.” The fridge was laughably far away. “I’ll get your food later.” He hissed as the alcohol hit the cracks in his skin. The stinging roused him a little bit. He reached up and turned on the lights, and got a better look at his hip. “Mm. Shit.” He grabbed some gauze and pressed it against the cut. It must have been deeper than he thought it was. Scruffly put his paws on his hands, adding his own weight to Roy’s. “Hah, you’re helping.” Roy leaned against the cabinets on the ground. He couldn’t tell if he was dizzy from blood loss, or if the knife had been laced with something. Either way his thoughts were getting a bit muddied and he had the vague sense he should probably call for help.

And then he flat out started hallucinating. Hands replaced paws, pressing down on his side, hard. “Stay with me.” A voice said. It sounded a lot like Dick's. When he opened his eyes, it was catlike ones staring back. “Roy, please.” A hand brushed against his face.

“Fuck.” The blade had something on it and Roy was too tired and had lost too much blood to resist. His head was cloudy, and he dropped out of consciousness suddenly.

…

Roy woke up with a weight on his chest and fur in his face. “Kick a man while he’s down, why don’t you.” He huffed, spitting cat hair out. Scruffly purred loudly and flicked his tail against Roy’s nose. Somehow he’d ended up in his recliner - maybe he’d stumbled over there or Lian heard him and woke Mia up. She was staying over to watch her after all. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and took in his surroundings. His knee was splinted and his leg was propped on a pillow. He pulled up his shirt and found the stab wound bandaged, and he could feel a tidy row of stitches underneath. There was ice within reach and a long worn off hot pack on the stiffest part of his neck.

And those were the big things. The little things were this; someone had taken off his boots and gear and swapped them for his favorite pair of comfy sweats. The chair wasn’t reclined all the way, it stopped right where he liked it. And the television was changed to the nature channel, the volume so low you could barely hear it. His shirt smelled like Dick, and his heart ached, the memory of that voice still clear. Scruffly nudged his head under Roy’s fingers, and he teared up a bit while petting his cat.

Chapter Text

Kissing Roy was always hot, but Dick’s mouth was literally steaming. He pulled back, eyes watering a bit and looked away to collect himself. “I like the new piercing.” Roy grinned, and stuck out his tongue. A silver ball sat in the center of it. “Very sexy.” Dick really must be damned, because that was just plain unfair. He licked his bottom lip, it was chapped and burned.

“Did you seriously cut yourself on it?” Roy frowned. He sat up, and took Dick’s face in his hands, turning his head to get a better look. “Your lip’s bleeding.” He pressed a finger gently against the spot.

“It’s fine.” Dick waved his hand, but Roy was still getting up. Dick wanted to die, but sadly he was undead. “I’m not done with you.”

“Chill, I’ll grab you some chapstick.” Roy ran a hand through his hair and Dick still sulked. They’d been having a nice moment, until his stupid silver allergy went and ruined things. Immortality seemed like a sweet gig, but being a vampire sucked. It had so many dumb weaknesses… he’d nearly gone into anaphylactic shock the last time Roy’d eaten garlic bread. He knew he should fess up, but Roy’d probably do something dumb like drive a stake in his heart, like his last girlfriend tried to do.

“I want to eat you.” Dick whinnied, as Roy took too long rummaging around in his bathroom closet. “I can’t believe you left me here.” He pouted. He kicked his legs off the side of the bed, and gazed at Roy, admiring his delicious biceps. It was unreal how sexy a cut of meat he was. The second they got married, Dick was turning him. It pained him not to do it right this instant, but he was a vampire of tradition - marriage first, then the blood of the covenant. These things had an order.

“Yeah, yeah, keep crying about it, boy wonder.” The worst part of it was that when Dick wandered into the bathroom behind him, Roy was too tall to eerily loom over. Fortunately standing behind him hid the fact he didn’t have a shadow.

“Maybe it’s in the bottom drawer.” Dick suggested. He felt up the muscles on Roy’s back, rubbing them as he bent over. “I can’t believe I never told you how hot you are.” He lunged and peppered a dozen kisses on the back of Roy’s next. Something about being a vampire had gotten rid of a lot of pesky inhibitions he’d had as a human.

Roy chuckled. “I’m still not convinced you didn’t get hit with a love potion.” He handed back some chapstick. “Not that I’m not enjoying this.” Roy shivered as Dick kissed the top of his spine, and worked his way down his back. “C’mon. Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?” He stood up, Dick grinned, and followed him back to bed.

Chapter Text

It was dumb. He was playing, running around the room, and twirling Lian in his arms, pretending she was an airplane. She was laughing, squirming, and he was having fun. And then he twisted and felt something pop.

“Alright, kiddo, down we go.” He groaned as he dropped her on the couch. “In for a crash landing.” She squealed in delight as she bounced on the cushions. Pain laced through his shoulder blades, something was wrong.

“Again! Again!” Lian was quick to get back on her feet, jumping up and down on the couch, her arms above her head, ready to go. “Dad, please, I want to go again!”

“Sorry, kiddo.” Roy smiled through the pain. His back throbbed as he sat down next to her on the couch. “Daddy can’t right now.” He closed his eyes, just trying to get a handle on things.

“What?” Lian gasped. “Da-ad!” Roy groaned as she climbed into his lap. She forced his eyes open. “Why not?”

“Played a little too rough, s’all. Daddy needs a break.” And some ice, ibuprofen, and nine hours of sleep. But he didn’t voice that.

“Aw, rats.” Lian poked out her bottom lip and sat grumpily on his lap.

“Oof.” Lian was still little, and didn’t really understand the whole gentle thing. “Hmm. How bout this, how bout you go get Uncle Dick to play doctor for me and then you can go play dress up with Auntie Donna.” He said brightly.

“Ooh! Okay!” Lian jumped off the couch, and eagerly ran out the room to search the halls of the Tower. Roy let out a sigh of relief, then curled up tightly around a throw pillow. He buried his face in it and rode out the waves of aching pain in his shoulders and back.

He glanced up at a knock on the door, and huffed out a laugh at Dick wearing a lab coat and stethoscope over his Nightwing suit. He looked a little funny, carrying around his first aid kit like a briefcase. “You rang?” Dick grinned sheepishly. Lian squealed as she ran back into the room under his arm. “Sorry, she wouldn’t let me leave until I put this on. Something about doctors and dress-up. Donna’s not around.”

“Uncle Dick! You’re supposed to be a doctor!” Lian pleaded, flopping against the ground. “And I’m the nurse.”

“A cute nurse, and a handsome doctor.” Roy feigned innocence and smiled through gritted teeth. “How lucky I am. Doctor Grayson, I think the new outfit looked good on you.” Lian giggled giddily.

“Har, har.” Dick rolled his eyes, but played into it, dramatically swinging his first aid kit onto the coffee table. “Well, what seems to be the problem today Mr. Harper?”

“Oh, Doctor Grayson, it’s just awful.” He whined. “I’ve swallowed a crocodile and it’s trying to bite through my stomach to get out.” He joked. But his back throbbed and he winced convincingly. It worked for his character, though he expected the ruse to drop with that.

“You can’t swallow a crocodile!” Lian laughed. She stood on the coffee table to get a better look. “That’s silly!”

“Hm.” Dick actually put the stethoscope to his stomach, keeping the bit going. If he wasn’t in pain, he’d be absolutely delighted. Dick looked to Lian. “I don’t hear anything in there, do you think maybe…” He slid the stethoscope around to Roy’s back. “That’s it!” He gasped. “They’ve crawled into his back.” He sat back on the coffee table, and thought for a second. “I’ve got it.” He slapped a fist into his palm triumphantly. “Crocodiles are cold blooded, so if we apply ice, we’ll kill the crocodile. Nurse Lian, could you please go get our patient some ice?”

“Okay!” She hopped off the table, and ran out of the room at full tilt.

“Here we go.” Dick passed Roy some pills and he downed them gratefully. “Now what were you doing to get crocodiles in your back?”

“Nothing, we were just playing.” Roy sighed, giving up the pillow to let Dick roll him onto his stomach. “I’m getting too old for this.” Dick hummed as he lightly pressed against the sore spots in Roy’s upper back. It twinged painfully in response. “Woah, watch where you’re putting those hands! You might get bit.”

“I’m not worried.” Dick snuck a kiss into his hairline, and Roy muttered something about doctor-patient relationships.

“I’ve got the ice!” Lian hollered, running back into the room.

“Thank you nurse.” Dick took it from her. “And nurse, did you remember to shut the freezer?”

“Oh, yeah.” Lian’s feet thumped along the floor as she booked it back out. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it!” They heard a slam before Lian ran back in.

“Hmm.” A shiver ran up Roy’s spine as Dick set the ice down. “Now tell me, where does it feel like the crocodiles are biting?” Dick asked. Roy let his head drop down on the cushion.

“Up and to the left.” Crocodile bites weren’t the worst analogy for the stinging sensation deep in his muscles. “Oh, that’s it, I think you’ve got them.”

“Alright.” Dick looked at his watch. “It’ll take time for the crocodiles to die. So I’m setting a timer, and then we’ll use the heating pad to warm him back up so he doesn’t get frostbite.”

“Alright!” Lian agreed. “But how will the dead crocodiles get out?”

“Hmm.” Roy watched as the two deliberated. “I’ve got it!” Dick made the same motion with his hands. “I’ll rub them down to his butt, then he’ll poop them out!” If laughing didn’t aggravate his back, Roy would never stop.

“Ew!” Lian squealed, giggling hysterically. “You can’t poop out crocodiles!”

“You can if you eat them.” Dick said seriously. He lowered himself down to get in Roy’s face. “Is that how they got in your stomach?”

“What?” Roy sputtered. “You come into my home and accuse me of-”

“Da-ad! Why would you eat crocodiles?” Lian asked. “That was very rude of you.”

“I didn’t think they were alive!” Roy protested. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have eaten them.”

“But-”

“It’s not nice to blame the patient Lian.” Dick chided. Roy felt his hands drop onto his shoulders. “He didn’t mean to eat the crocodiles.” Roy hummed as Dick started rubbing his shoulders. “Oof, I think he swallowed some rocks too, it’s so tight here.”

“Oh no, what will we do?” Lian asked, coming a bit closer.

“Hmm. How about while I soften up these rocks, you draw an x-ray that shows the crocodiles in his back?” Dick suggested. “That way I’ll know how to get them out.”

“Good idea, doctor!” And with that, Lian ran off a final time.

Dick massaged Roy’s shoulders and back soothingly. “How’re you hanging in there?” Dick asked. “I hope the game didn’t make you wait too long.”

“Nah.” Roy still ached, but the painkillers were starting to take effect, the ice and Dick’s hands were helping. “It was worth it.” He loved watching Dick with kids. “You’re great with her.” Dick’s hands paused, and Roy felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up, as Dick pressed his lips against them.

“I’m just following your lead.” Dick was gentle with him, helping him get his shirt off. He replaced the ice, and dug his thumbs a little deeper into Roy’s shoulder blades. “You’re a great dad.” He traced the curves of Roy’s knotted muscles. “Also there’s a lot of rocks in here.”

“Crocodile bites too.” Roy hummed. “You’ve got your work cut out for you, Doctor Grayson.” He rested his head against the couch, closed his eyes, and let the tension out of his shoulders as Dick rubbed him out.

Chapter Text

There was a missed call on his phone from Oliver, complete with a message that was vague, but urgent. It was odd. Dick didn’t think he ranked in the top fifty list of people Oliver Queen would call from help. Unless it involved Roy. If it were about Roy, Oliver would never call him. Nor should he, after Dick broke things off with him a couple months ago. He’d been avoiding Roy ever since. Avoiding… a lot of people ever since.

But he couldn’t ignore the call. He made haste, toweling off quickly, running through his kitchen as he threw on clothes and threw off the lights, grabbed his keys and jammed on his shoes. If it were Oliver calling him, then yeah, the situation was probably life or death, so he shot out of Blüdhaven like a bat out of hell, hitting his stride at over a hundred miles per hour on his bike. The ride to Star City was still long and he had plenty of time to replay the message in his head.

“Hi Dick, this is Oliver Queen. Come as soon as you get this call. You know the address.” Then a click. Too much desperation in his voice and too little noise in the background. There wasn’t much he could pull from that, but he did know the address, and the drive took him barely under an hour.

There were a lot of cars pulled up outside Oliver’s house, he recognized Dinah’s but not some of the others. A crisis then, he figured, though he wasn’t sure why they were using Oliver’s house as a base, nor why no one else had called. Maybe they couldn’t call anyone else - maybe the others were possessed. Or maybe Oliver was possessed and this was a trap. Dick was on edge as he pulled his bike into the grass.

He hesitated as someone pulled back the curtains on the second story window. Mia opened the window and stuck her head out. “Get your ass up here, now!” She yelled. Even in the dark light, she looked distraught. Dick slipped his escrima sticks out from under the seat of his bike and discreetly tucked them into his sleeves. “Hurry!” He jogged to the door. Maybe it wasn’t wise to go in without backup, but he didn’t know who he could trust at the moment. He hustled to the stairs, and took them three at a time.

“Took you long enough.” Dick could tell that Oliver was holding back a face of disgust. He practically pushed Dick through the bedroom door. “Come on, everyone out.” Dick’s escrima sticks clattered to the floor. “He needs to sort this out himself.”

“Roy?” He asked uncertainly, as someone pushed him towards the bed. Roy was propped up on a stack of pillows, looking like death incarnate. His skin was glossy, paler than Dick had ever seen it, and his eyes open but not seeing, or focusing on him. Dick looked back as the door slammed shut and he watched as the lock turned and clicked. “Roy?” He asked again, almost scared to turn around.

Roy coughed, a pained, dry sound. His lips were red, stained with blood that dribbled down his chin. His harsh wheezes made it sound as if he didn’t remember how to breathe. Dick rushed forward and carefully placed a hand to his chest. Roy’s heart weakly fluttered against it. “What’s wrong with you?” Roy’s eyes were red, and Dick brushed his bangs back and held him as he heaved. “What’s wrong with him?!” Dick yelled, to the people outside the door. “Who did this-” There were blue petals at the edges of Roy’s mouth and whole camellias spilling down his chest.

“No.” Dick’s hands shook as he brushed the petals from Roy’s lips. There was a spark of recognition as Roy’s eyes settled on him. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Dick choked out, his face growing hot. “I could have helped, I could have-”

“Couldn’t…” His voice sounded like his throat had been through a shredder. Roy’s hand twitched and Dick picked it up. He buried his face against it as silent tears spilled out. “Ha…”

“Who?” Dick had to believe that there was time left. He could track down Jade, or get Donna or find whoever it was. “I can find them. I’ll call Wally and-” Roy shook his head slowly.

“Too late… Dickie.” Roy’s hand trembled in his. “Sorry.” His eyelids fluttered.

“Please.” Dick begged. “Please, I’ll do anything, Roy!” Roy’s eyes closed and Dick shook his shoulders. “Roy, don’t!” He buried his face in Roy’s shirt and sobbed in earnest. “I love you.” He whispered into the sweet smelling camilla. “Don’t go.” Roy’s arms twitched, then wrapped around his back.

…

“How long?” Dick asked quietly. Roy let himself flop back onto his pillows. He’d like to melt into them and avoid this conversation forever, but his family took things into their own hands. “Roy?” Dick’s voice was concerned, but Roy didn’t have the energy to care. He focused on his own raspy breathing.

He felt like a child’s play thing, a forgotten rag doll. His arm was limp as Dick picked it up to check his pulse. How long… it was the first day he set eyes on those beautifully earnest eyes that his chest had started to ache. It was the first time they fought that he’d ever coughed up a single petal. Being apart was suffocating. Dick didn’t need to know that, he shouldn’t know that. It was Roy’s curse to carry. It didn’t need to affect anyone else.

Dick smelled like honeysuckle and his lips were sweet. “I’m sorry.” He whispered countless times, mumbled through ‘why didn’t you tell me’s and ‘if I’d known’s. The past is the past, you can’t change it. If his throat didn’t feel like sandpaper, maybe he’d say that. Dick cradled his face like it was glass and kissed the blood off his lips. Roy felt his heart beat a little faster, but still… this isn’t how he’d wanted things to happen.

He wanted long walks on the beach, spilling secrets to each other. Then stargazing in the desert he’d grown up in. A trip to the carnival and sharing cotton candy. A romance born on a spring breeze, not forged on their worst days.

Dick lips pressed against his Adam’s apple and his hands crept up the seams of his shirt. His body shivered and his chest relaxed. His breath came steady and the thorns withdrew. His mouth was dry, and he was weak, unable to resist as Dick slipped off his shirt. ‘You don’t have to do this.’ Was what he wanted to say, but his tongue was lead in his mouth. He felt like a living corpse.

There was sympathy in Dick’s eyes. He didn’t want it. His heart betrayed him, leaping as Dick took off his own shirt, and their skin pressed together. Dick kissed him as if he were trying to cover every inch of skin between his jaw and collarbone. His heart fluttered. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything at all.

“How long?” Dick asked, when he was done, and Roy’s head laid against his chest, listening to Dick’s heart steadily thrum along.

“Always.”

Chapter Text

“He should have been fine! I thought cats always land on their feet!” Dick sniffed. The poor vet technician dealing with him passed him a box of tissues. He was just glad Lian wasn’t there to see it, Mittens tumbling face first off the counter, making a heart wrenching noise as he hit the ground with a thud. His stupid dumb cat on the ground writhing and screaming, trying to get up and failing with his paws bent at odd angles. And he’d only gotten startled and fell because Dick yelled at him for trying to get into the cookies. Mittens had cried and screamed the entire way to the vet and Dick was having a little bit of a meltdown over it, but it was going to be fine. Mittens had to be fine.

“Well, no, that's just a myth.” The tech was saying. She passed Dick a bottle of kitty pills. “But he did land on his feet.”

“And broke his little paws!” Dick was the worst cat-owner/boyfriend ever. The other people in the waiting rooms were starting to stare. They didn’t know. They couldn’t know that Mittens wasn’t actually a cat. But it still felt like everyone was in on the joke. Roy was supposed to get turned back tomorrow, he’d only had to take care of a cat for two days and he’d miserably failed before he even hit the halfway point. “What am I going to do?!”

“Um. Calm down?” The tech suggested. “It’s like little kids, the more freaked out you are, the more freaked out your cat is going to be.”

He’s not a cat! Dick wanted to scream. Of course Roy was going to freak out he was going to wake up with two paws in little casts and not be able to move the equivalent of his arms. Roy was an archer! If he messed up his paws would that be equivalent to messing up his hands? And cats couldn’t exactly voice how much pain they were in, and he didn’t know if Mittens had Roy’s pain tolerance, or built up tolerance for pain killers, and-

“Sir?” The tech blurred a bit, Dick’s face was hot as he wiped it with a tissue. “This just happens sometimes.” They said matter-of-factly. This just happens sometimes! Dick mocked back in his head. No it didn’t just happen sometimes! He was a complete failure and- “Anyways, I suggest you clean yourself up then follow me, Mittens is in the recovery room he did great during the casting.”

“Already?” Dick switched gears, he could have a breakdown over this later, he wanted to see his cat. He casually tossed the tissue in the trash and got up to follow the thoroughly weirded out tech. “Is he going to be okay?”

“There shouldn’t be any permanent damage, but he’ll be uncomfortable for a while.” The tech led him into a side room off the main hall. “They put him under, so it’ll be a bit before he wakes up all the way, and when he does, give them one of those pills every twelve hours until they run out and he’ll be fine. If he won’t take them slip them in roast beef or something.”

“Alright.” Dick cringed. That kinda felt like drugging Roy without his knowledge, he’d prefer if Mittens just sat up like a good kitty and ate them. He almost cried again when he saw Mittens lying completely conked out on the examination, his little front legs swathed in matching casts. Lian was going to kill him. She’d have to get in line, he was going to kill himself first, as soon as Mittens didn’t need him. “Poor little guy.” Dick hadn’t brought a cat carrier, he’d been in such a rush, so he scooped Mittens up and held him gently against his chest. “C’mon, let’s get you home.”

…

The last thing Mittens- Roy, his name was Roy, thank you very much - remembered was reaching for an oreo on the counter. The next thing he knew he was blinking awake on Dick’s lap with a wicked headache and sore shoulders. His paws hurt. And his throat made this pathetic sounding meow when he tried to tell Dick to put him down. Hrnn. The joys of being a cat.

Instead of being put down, Dick gave him this stupidly sympathetic wide eyed look and squeezed him a bit. “You feeling ready for this?” He produced a tiny pill between his fingers. Roy tried to meow quizzically back at him, but it came out a little panicked, because why was Dick trying to drug him when he was a cat? “You broke your front paws.” Oh. That’s why his paws hurt. “Sorry.” Dick looked genuinely guilty. “I um. Scared you and you fell off the counter.” Stupid cat body. Stupid good looking cookies. “The vet said you should take one of these every twelve hours.”

Roy looked at the pill then at Dick. His brain said yes but his heart said no. That was not a cookie and he still REALLY wanted a cookie. His body was in pain. His heart said there was no way that was going in his mouth. It was white and disgusting and plain. He asked Dick to put him down again to no avail. Dick sighed. “If you take it, I’ll give you roast beef.” Pill. Roast beef. Pill? Roast beef. Dick should just give him the roast beef and no pill. “Roy, please.” Dick nudged the little pill closer. “It’s good for you.” Roy hated it. “You know how you tell Lian she has to be a big girl and take her medicines? I think you need to have a little bit of that energy right now.”

Fine! Roy screamed at him. He didn’t mean to hiss but the sound kept escaping him. He maybe accidentally bit Dick’s fingers when he tried to eat the pill, and felt terrible about it. Put me down! Dick didn’t understand him, but he did get a piece of roast beef to wolf down. He squirmed in Dick’s arms, which made everything ache, but loosened Dick’s grip to the point where he could almost hop down to the floor. Dick caught him before he hit the ground.

“Mittens, please be reasonable about this, your paws are broken.” Mittens? Dick was calling him Mittens now? Roy tried to groan and it came out as a gurgling sound. “I’ll let you down if that’s what you want but you have to stay still and rest.” Dick got up and walked towards the cat bed. Roy squirmed, this was embarrassing he didn’t want to lie around in his stupid cat bed. He wasn’t a cat!

None of this would have happened if Dick had just let him have the damn cookie. He was a grown ass adult in his own house and if he wanted a cookie then he should be able to eat a cookie! It’s his cookies! He bought the cookies! He had a job that he was paid for and he earned enough money to buy fucking oreos at the store and he should be allowed to eat his cookies! You wouldn’t get it! He told Dick. I fucking hate you! He yowled as Dick put him down in the cat bed and swiped at his hands, but Dick was fast and wrapped him in a blanket so he couldn’t move.

All he could do was scream and hurl insults at Dick’s stupid guilty face and wait for the meds to kick in and mellow him out. He hated being a cat.