Chapter Text
The Watchtower was relatively deserted when Dick walked in. It was around 1am, so for vigilante hours it wasn't that late. But Dick was someone who prided himself on getting 6 whole hours of sleep. At least on weekends... So he already knew that if he stayed up much longer he'd wake up with a killer headache the next day.
But some things are more important than his morning migraine to be...such as getting Bruce to get his head out of his ass. For the past 3 weeks, all of Dick's siblings had been crashing at his place in Bludhaven for 1 or 2 nights complaining about Bruce being touchy and in a constant state of irritation. Last weekend Dick himself had dropped by, only to get yelled at for not polishing the batarangs. (Since when do we polish those anyway Bruce?)
The last straw for everyone was when after an Arkham Breakout instead of letting the youngsters trade out for patrol the next day, he forced everyone out on the streets. Except Steph who was healing from a knee injury. So all of the Birds decided that Bruce needed an intervention. And that apparently Dick of all people was the best one to do that.
So thus Dick finds himself dressed in one of Bruce's old Gotham Knights hoodies and a pair of sweatpants with his domino. He was definitely risking someone finding out about his affiliation with Gotham. One of Bruce's rules is to stay in uniform when at the Watchtower at all times unless you're in one of the private rooms. But it was too late at night for any of the other leaguers to be there, and honestly, if Dick was gonna be forced to mess up his sleep schedule for Bruce then he'd at least be comfortable doing it. The only leaguer that was there was luckily Dick's best friend.
"Hey, Boy Wonderful! What're you doing here so late? I thought you didn't have monitor duty tonight?" Wally West a.k.a Barry Allen's nephew asks as he claps Dick’s hand and pulls him into a hug.
"I don't. I'm being sent here on an Intervention Mission." Wally nods. The 2 heroes had known each other since Dick's time as Robin and Wally's time as Kid Flash.
"Thank God. You didn't hear it from me but Uncle Barry and Uncle Hal were saying that apparently, The Dark Knight has been incredibly pissy. Pissier than usual I guess."
Dick sighs. He was hoping to have a quick talk with Bruce and then head out before 2am. But that was probably not gonna happen.
"Is anyone else here?"
"Nope. Besides the Bat, everyone else retired for the night. I saw him in the monitor room earlier."
"K thanks!" The speedster nods before running off.
Dick takes a resigned breath. Here goes nothing...
---
Bruce hated to admit it, but he only realized someone had come into the monitor room when the person sat down in a chair next to him…. AFTER pulling it over. Regardless he easily recognized his oldest son.
"Nightwing." Dick didn't have monitor duty tonight….. Why was he here? Was someone hurt? Did something happen? Bruce took a second to look his First Robin over. He didn't seem to be injured. He was in Bruce's old hoodie and a domino. He looked cozy, and adorable in a way that made Bruce want to wrap him up in blankets and protect him from everything that could hurt him. Distantly Bruce wondered when his son had grown up.
"Whatcha working on B?" Dick breaks the silence.
"Names." Even with the domino on Bruce could tell that Dick was rolling his eyes.
"Relax. Wally told me everyone else already left for the night. You can drop your whole 'I don't know who you are act' " Dick apparently was in the mood to talk because he started chattering about anything and everything. Bruce felt himself subconsciously relax. He turned back to his work and let Dick's voice wash over him. Bruce usually hated unwanted chatter. Preferring quiet to get his work done. But there was something endearing with the way Dick was so enthusiastic when talking. Bruce realized that it had been a while since he had actually had a conversation with one of his kids. Guilt churns in his stomach.
He knew that for the past couple days, he had been a bit… harsh in a sense to the people around him. His latest case was overwhelmingly frustrating. Every time he figured something out it was as if the trail changed direction completely and none of it was fitting together anymore. Dick's chatter soon starts to get interrupted by frequent yawns.
Bruce couldn't understand how it was possible for Dick to get 6 full hours of sleep… ever. With how their lives were, Bruce was lucky to get 4 hours on a good day. But however Dick managed to do that, clearly being here at the Watchtower was going to ruin his sleep schedule. The chairs they were sitting on weren't exactly the most comfortable to take a nap in anyway. Bruce stands up and walks over to the couch that is by the coffee machine.
"B." Dick yawns, standing up. "Where’re you goin’?"
Bruce settles himself on the couch, after taking off his cape, and looks at Dick who was still standing by the monitor. Bruce hopes that Dick understood what he was trying to do. When it came to explaining his actions, that could become as awkward as Jason when he tries to ask for comfort.
Luckily Dick seems to get the message. Because the next thing he knows a weight settles over his legs and torso as Dick's arms hug his waist and he snuggles into Bruce's chest. How any of his kids managed to get comfortable against the rough kevlar was beyond him. But as soon as Dick settles, Bruce grabs his discarded cape and drapes it over his snoozing robin.
"Is this your attempt to get me to shut up?" Dick mutters against his chest. "Cuz it won't work." Bruce chuckles. Dick was in a losing battle with sleep and Bruce had gone with weeks of no sleep before. They both knew who would win if it came to staying awake.
"Rest Chum. I promise that if I wake you up it's because we're going home." Dick mutters something incoherently against his chest before going silent. All too quickly his breathing evens out. Bruce could feel the steady beating of his heart through the suit. It was centering. Dick's entire body was easily covered by the cape. All that was really sticking out was a tuffet of his hair. Bruce resisted the urge to take his gauntlet off and card his hand through the thick locks, opting instead to finish the last of his report quickly so that he could take Dick back to the manor and cuddle his kid.