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Dick cracks open an eye as his bedroom door creaks open. There’s only a handful of people who can get into his apartment without tripping some kind of alarm, but there’s only one person who shows up without warning with any frequency. He lifts his blanket in invitation once he recognises the silhouette as his usual visitor.
Jason crawls under the covers, leaving Dick’s bedroom door cracked so some of the light from the hallway can get in. He’s shaking as he buries himself in Dick’s arms, and Dick really hopes it’s from whatever nightmare has sent him to Dick’s door this time, rather than because he made his way here in only the t-shirt and shorts he’s currently wearing. Dick slips an arm under Jason’s back to pull him closer, trying not to flinch at the temperature of Jason’s skin, and tangles the other in his hair so he can gently scrape his nails over his scalp. He can feel Jason’s hitched breaths against the bare skin of his collarbone as the younger man seems to try and bury himself into Dick’s ribcage.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you, little wing.” Dick whispers as he tucks Jason’s head under his chin.
Some of the tension leaves Jason’s body as he sags further into Dick’s arms.
Dick’s not sure exactly when it started, when his bed became the one Jason crawled into for comfort after nightmares, no matter if they were in the same apartment or a city apart. He didn’t really care either, so long as Jason felt safe, he’d do whatever he needed to.
It takes a while, but eventually, Jason’s breathing evens out and his body goes lax in Dick’s arms. Dick buries his face in Jason’s curls and lets himself drop back off to sleep.
“Good morning.” Dick says as he walks into the kitchen to find Jason making pancakes and pushes himself up to sit on the counter nearest to the stove.
“Morning.” Jason says quietly.
“Do you want to talk about what triggered last night?” Dick asks softly.
“‘s nothing you can help with.” Jason says, keeping his eyes on the pan as he flips the pancake.
“You can’t know that.” Dick says, already prepared for the guarded scepticism that takes over Jason’s expression. “It might help to talk about it, get it off your chest, see it from someone else's point of view. But I’m not going to push you, I just want you to know I’m here to talk if you need to.”
Jason finally looks up to meet his eyes, there’s still something guarded behind them, but most of the scepticism seems to have melted away. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Thank you.” Dick smiles and Jason turns back to the pan with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.
“What do you want on your pancakes?” Jason says, and Dick knows he’s just trying to change the subject. “The options are quite limited. You need to go shopping.”
“I know I do, but in all fairness, I wasn’t expecting breakfast guests. There should be some nutella and peanut butter in the cupboard though.” Dick pushes off the countertop and pulls open his condiment/spices cupboard.
Dick keeps expecting Jason to go home, but he just… doesn't.
Dick’s not complaining, it’s nice to spend his day off with someone and just not doing anything other than ordering food and chilling on the sofa watching old cartoon reruns for a change. But he can’t help but worry that whatever it was that triggered Jason is worse than he thought if the younger man is still seeking his company. Especially with how Jason starts to get more and more tense as the sun goes down.
“Do you want to patrol here with me tonight?” Dick asks softly, but it still makes Jason jump, which adds to his worry. “Then you can come back here after.”
Jason chews his lip, staring at the TV without really seeing it.
“I could use an extra pair of eyes down by the docks, I think the mafia might be gearing up for something big.” Dick says, going for broke. It’s not a complete lie either, they are gearing up for something and he knows he’s going to be needed on the other side of the city due to intel of a large drug deal going down. So Jason being at the docks would definitely be a help.
“If you needed the help, you could have just called someone anyway.” Jason says, his expression guarded again as he turns to face Dick.
“Who’s to say I wouldn’t? You being here means I don’t have to call any of the others in.” Dick says with a smile.
Jason scoffs, seeming to come back to himself a bit more. “More like you weren’t going to call anyone but now I’m here you don’t have an excuse.”
Dick takes the out Jason is offering him. “Exactly, little wing. So, what do you say?”
“Fine.” Jason says, his voice flat, but there’s a ghost of a smile on his face.
Jason’s already in bed by the time Dick gets home. There’s a stack of new intel on Dick’s coffee table, so Dick guesses he got all he needed to and then headed home. Unlike Dick, who ended up getting caught up for hours with a steakout, a location change, another stakeout, a lengthy fight and then a lengthy process to make sure the men he apprehended ended up with the right cops and not their friends.
Jason’s wearing one of his baggier t-shirts and that causes something to flutter in his chest. Dick’s not stupid, he’s aware that the lines of their relationship are beginning to blur, and not just because Jason’s decided Dick is his safe space. It’s been happening for a while, but Dick also knows they have a little further to go before they even consider taking the next step. For now, he’s just happy Jason trusts him.
He carefully crawls into bed and fits himself against Jason’s back. Jason mumbles something incoherent and turns over to bury his face in Dick’s throat instead. Dick curls around him as he eventually finds a comfortable position for both of them.
“Thank you.” Jason whispers once Dick is settled, showing he wasn’t quite as asleep as Dick thought. “For… you know.”
“Anytime, Jay.” Dick whispers back before burying his face in Jason’s curls and closing his eyes.