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It was a clear night, a rare occurrence in Gotham. The last three days had been a mess of on and off early autumn showers, making the pavement shine with oil slick puddles and leaving a lingering stench of damp city gunk smell in the air. But the clouds had cleared earlier that morning and the sun dried up most of the pavement and cleared the air. Now, late into the evening with the stars and the waning moon decorating the sky, the faint, sharp smell of autumn carried through the city streets on a mild wind.
Batman stood on a towering rooftop ledge, half shadow and half man, watching and listening. The improvement in the weather usually reflected a downswing in crime for at least one night every time it happened. Something about the cleared atmosphere always soothed the frayed edges of this city. He was left to stare peacefully down at the glittering city scape, a blanket of stars above and below the horizon to keep him company.
A pair of giggles erupted behind him, a few rooftops back.
Ah, scratch the previous comment. He had company beyond the stars.
Batman turned his head, gaze leaving the city below and training on the two boys bouncing between residential building rooftops. Their costumes were nearly identical, differing only in the slight details and size, but their smiles were a perfect match of blindingly white teeth and joy.
“Boys,” Batman said, lips quirking upward with amusement as they both skid to a stop and turned wide-eyed looks to him. The white-outs of their masks didn’t allow him to actually see their eyes, but he had gotten this exact look from them both enough times to know.
“Ready to head out?”
“Are we done already?” Robin asked, sounding only slightly petulant as he leapt over to Batman’s rooftop. Little Wing was right behind him, scrambling after Robin and latching onto his elbow as they stared up at Batman.
Batman nodded, kneeling fluidly down in front of them so they didn’t have to crane their necks upward. He reached out and ruffled their hair, earning indignant squawks from both of his proteges.
“It’s almost midnight, which means it’s time for little birds to be in bed.”
“Can we get a snack on the way home?”
Batman raised a brow at Little Wing’s pleading puppy dog eyes (again, he knew without even seeing).
“What kind of snack?”
Little Wing looked up at Robin, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he stared at the older of the two.
“Oh!” Robin piped up, taking the cue excitedly. “We haven’t taken Little Wing to the burger place!”
“The burger place?”
“Yeah!”
“Robin…you’re going to have to be a little more specific.”
“The burger place,” Robin said, exasperated. It amazed Batman how much sass his twelve-year-old could inject into a single word. “Where we used to go all the time.”
Ah, now Batman knew what he was talking about. Robin was referring to the fast-food chain place three blocks from here that offered free meals to vigilantes (namely, Batman) between midnight and three in the morning. Why it was that time frame, Batman had never bothered to ask. And truthfully, Batman had taken advantage of that offer a few times even with Alfred waiting for him at home. There were just some nights that he got done with patrol and wanted - needed - to feel normal for a little bit.
He had taken Robin there after one of their first patrols together, hoping it would offer him the same measure of comfort. He had yet to take Little Wing there.
Refocusing on the now matching puppy dog looks being directed right at him, Batman sighed and stood to his full height.
“All right, let’s go.”
Batman launched himself off the roof to the delighted cheers of two little menaces chasing after him.
They made it to the restaurant without interference and Batman held the door open for the boys, scanning the parking lot and the interior out of habit. The counter was deserted, the tables were all empty, and the miniscule parking lot seemed to only host the cars of those employed here. The automatic bell rang when the door opened, producing a shuffling noise from the back.
Robin tugged Little Wing further inside by the hand, beaming brightly. “You’re gonna love this place! They have the best burgers and they give out toys, too!”
Little Wing perked up at that, smile bright as he glanced around. Batman trailed up behind them, glancing behind the counter. Between the machines and ovens, he could see someone working their way to the front.
“I have to use the bathroom,” Robin said suddenly, transferring Little Wing’s hand into Batman’s without preamble. “Be right back!”
Batman watched him dash off, fighting down the instinct to go with him to at least stand guard outside. They were literally the only people in here, he needed to calm down.
“Hi, welcome to—oh my god. Batman.”
Batman glanced back to the register at that, staring down at the wide-eyed part-timer with her jaw on the floor.
“Hello,” Batman said, gravelly and tired. “We’d like to order.”
“We–” the part-timer started before her eyes darted down to where Little Wing was still holding Batman’s hand, half hidden beneath Batman’s cape. The girl put a hand over her chest and hunched over, making a noise that frankly concerned Batman.
“Oh my god,” she whispered to the floor.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m great, this is the best night of my life,” she said, strangled and rushed. “He’s so cute.”
“Ah, yes,” Batman said, now sort of understanding the situation. “He has that effect on people.”
The girl straightened up, eyes bright as she grinned. “What can I get you?”
Batman ordered for himself, then glanced down at Little Wing, who was staring wide-eyed at the menu. Taking the initiative, he ordered two of the kids' burger meals (with toys, of course) for his birds. The part-timer (her name tag said Katy) paused over the two kids meals, but didn’t question him.
“And it’s after midnight, so it’s free. I’ll have that out in a minute.”
“I brought cash,” Batman said, somewhat awkward. “I feel bad not paying.”
“It’s really okay,” Katy said, glancing down at Little Wing who gave her a hesitant smile in return. Katy looked like she wanted to clutch her chest again, but refrained. “I promise.”
Batman watched her disappear to the back before he took Little Wing over to a nearby table to wait. He sat down in the booth facing the doors and the counter while Little Wing slid into the other side, his back to it all. While they sat there, Robin came bounding over from the bathrooms and squished into the booth next to Little Wing. He immediately started chatting away with Little Wing, bright and animated as always. Batman watched on fondly, keeping an eye and ear out on their surroundings, just in case. It had been a quiet night, but that didn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things.
Despite what some of the less than savory news outlets said about him, Batman did his best to keep both of his little birds out of danger. He trained them in the safety of the Cave, gave them plenty of nights off, told them to focus on school, to stay healthy and happy, and did his best to make training fun. Robin had started first, Batman unable to keep him from trying to go out on his own in pursuit of his parents’ murderer. Little Wing was often too curious for his own good and refused to be left behind. As it stood, the novelty hadn’t worn off for either of them yet, but he would also give them every opportunity to back out if they wanted to. For now, they both enjoyed the thrill of being secret superheroes, and spent the majority of patrols playing rooftop tag when there was nothing else going on.
Batman cherished their childish attitudes and wanted to give them every opportunity to be children. He did enforce some level of seriousness during patrols, but again, he gave them breaks and more than willingly stood watch for them. He never took them on cases where he chased after villains that wouldn’t hold back, never put them in the line of fire like that - not yet. Robin and Little Wing had both been vocally upset about it until he sat them down and explained that it was not a game. They had, of course, eventually gotten to the root of the issue - being that they thought he didn’t trust them. It was surprisingly easy to get them to understand that it was the bad guys he didn’t trust. Bad guys wouldn’t stop if they got tired or hurt.
So, yeah, patrols were as close as they got to fighting real bad guys.
“Batman,” Katy called from the counter. She had a tray with their food on it, smile still in place. He shifted to get up but Robin perked up and leapt from the booth first.
“We can get it!” Robin declared, holding his hand out to Little Wing. Batman relaxed back into the booth and watched his little birds trot up to the counter. Katy stared down at them, shock and delight warring on her face.
“There’s two of them,” she whispered. “Oh my god.”
“Hi!” Robin chirped, reaching for the tray as Little Wing pushed up onto his toes to peer at the food. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” Katy said, strangled. As the boys turned to walk back to their booth, Batman watched Katy drop her head into her hands and melt against the countertop. That seemed about an average reaction to the combined charm of Batman’s little birds. He commiserated with Katy’s dilemma and helped Robin lift the tray onto their table.
They ate in relative silence for a while, Robin and Little Wing chatting and giggling between bites every now and then. Batman kept his consistent scans up, even though it seemed unlikely they would be disturbed. One could never be too careful in Gotham.
However, once the food was gone, he became distracted. Robin and Little Wing started poking at him, begging for ice cream despite the fact that he caught them stifling yawns repeatedly. They were starting to droop, the late hour catching up to them. They were persistent, however. That steady, stubborn determination keeping them focused on their goal.
Batman caved to the pouts and got up with a sigh, heading for the counter. Katy was off to the side, within line of sight even as she stared down at her phone, grinning. She glanced up at the shift of black fabric in her peripheral and pocketed her phone hastily, moving back to the register.
“Would it be possible for the boys to get some ice cream?” Batman asked, tired and apologetic.
“Yeah, of course,” Katy said with a chuckle. “Did they strong-arm you with their charm?”
“Yes,” Batman said with a heavy sigh.
Katy laughed as she turned to the ice cream machine behind her. It groaned ominously throughout the entire ordeal of dispensing ice cream, but didn’t give out. Katy turned and handed the cones over the counter to Batman. She hesitated and Batman did, too, curious.
“Have you always had two Robins?”
“Ah,” Batman said intelligently. “No. The younger one goes by Little Wing. He’s only been doing this for a year.”
Katy placed her hands on the counter and dropped her head forward, making a strangled noise. Batman thought this might be another cuteness aggression moment, but was also prepared to step in just in case she was actually in pain this time.
“Little Wing…how do you not combust every day when faced with them?”
“Constant exposure,” Batman said with equal gravitas as he turned to head back to the booth.
Katy’s quiet laughter followed him as he walked off, pulling the hint of a smirk to Batman’s lips.
Alfred was waiting for them when Batman stepped out of the Batmobile with two sleeping birds in his arms.
“I’m sure I don’t need to bring your attention to the time, Master Bruce,” Alfred said quietly, an eyebrow raised pointedly.
“I was convinced to stop for a snack,” Bruce admitted, shedding the Batman voice even though he didn’t have a free hand to remove his cowl. “I’ll make sure they change out before getting them to bed.”
Alfred softened, holding his hands out for Jason so Bruce could take care of Dick. Jason made a noise as he was transferred to Alfred’s arms, squinting around the cave as he grumbled. Bruce had taken their masks off in the car when he realized they were falling asleep. He watched Jason drop his face against Alfred’s shoulder after realizing they were home.
Bruce and Alfred exchanged an amused look before moving toward the lockers. Soon, Bruce was putting Dick into bed while Alfred did the same for Jason across the hall. Dick stirred as Bruce brushed Dick’s hair from his forehead.
“B?” Dick mumbled.
“Hey, chum,” Bruce smiled, crouching down to be level with Dick.
“Can I sleep in Jason’s room?” Dick yawned, reaching out to snag his fingers in Bruce’s shirt. His fingers were curled loosely, hardly keeping Bruce in place, yet anchoring him solidly.
“Sure, chum,” Bruce gave in easily. This wasn’t uncommon with his boys. Dick had been used to sleeping between his parents or with the other kids at the circus, and Jason sometimes spent the night piled in with other Alley kids after his mother died. Neither of them were accustomed to sleeping alone in giant beds, but Bruce made sure they had their own rooms anyway.
He picked Dick up again, being sure that Zitka came along, and went across the hall where Alfred was tucking Jason in. Alfred looked up as Bruce walked in, seeming unsurprised.
“I suspected as much,” Alfred said with a quirk of his lips. He lifted the blankets for Bruce to set Dick down and watched as he flopped down beside Jason and bundled his little brother into his arms, latching on like a little octopus. Jason mumbled something unintelligible even as he wrapped his arms around Dick and burrowed closer with Zitka squished between them. Alfred tucked them both securely beneath the blankets before stepping aside.
Bruce bent over to press a quick kiss to each of their foreheads before ducking from the bedroom behind Alfred.
“Goodnight, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, walking down the hall.
Bruce glanced over his shoulder at Dick and Jason, smiling at the sight of his two birds curled up together. He shut the door quietly behind him before heading to his own room, not bothering to suppress his smile.