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Dick was perched atop a building in one of the older districts of Blüdhaven, staring down at the streets. There wasn’t traffic at this point- in fact, this district rarely saw much traffic at night where vehicles were concerned, unless there was something rather unsavory going down.
It was quiet, and that was why Dick had chosen here to pause, to look as if he was searching for something. Quiet, so he could listen for the near silence of whoever was following him.
Because he knew- someone was. Had been, all damn night. He could feel the hairs at the back of his neck standing up, like someone was looking right into him, past skin and into bone. It made him want to twitch, and he rolled his shoulders without thought, trying to to dispel it. He’d felt it, for days now. Every night, when he had moment to pause- that feeling like someone was there.
He wanted nothing more than to get across the city and into his penthouse. To strip of his suit and crawl into bed. He was sure Jason was already there- last contact with the man was over an hour ago, and he was heading in for the night. Dick could have joined him-
If he wasn’t sure he was insanely paranoid, but he just was so sure someone was there-
He tensed, heard it. The smallest sound on the old roof. As if someone was running on their toes, weightless- it was the barest sound of boots touching the concrete. He gripped the ledge tighter, hunched over in a crouch, waited until he heard it again, before shooting up and spinning on his toes, reaching for his escrima sticks and pulling them off his back. They were tightly in his hands by the time he was facing away from the street, and the rooftop behind him.
The empty rooftop.
“Hell,” he muttered, letting his shoulders relax slightly. “You’re losing your damn mind.” He needed more sleep, he was sure. Maybe cut back on the coffee- or, if Jason had his way, maybe all the sugar in his diet-
A sudden slip, a thump had him tensing again. It came from the small protrusion that was the entrance to the staircase, to get into the old building. Dick rubbed his thumbs on his escrima sticks, keeping them steady as he advanced towards it, braced once again, body wired with a practiced tension-
What he found, when he rounded the old doorway, had him pausing.
Clad in head to toe black, a kid was staring back at him. Well, maybe not a kid- it was hard to tell, judging just by body. Maybe a teenager- not overly tall, slim- all lean muscle if the black suit told Dick anything. But what was starling was that, beneath the blood hood he had pulled up, were the old brass goggles Dick recognized, the protrusion of a beak like shape cast in the same metal over his nose, pressing into fabric that covered the lower half of his face.
Dick bared his teeth- he knew a talon when he saw one- after the hell the Court had caused, years back, he wasn’t sure he’d ever forget.
But what the hell was it doing in Blüdhaven?
“Whatever you’re doing in my city,” Dick offered, “I’d suggest you forget about it. This isn’t Gotham- this city isn’t yours.” It was a lie- every city belonged to the Court. Dick knew they had their filthy claws in every vein all over the world. But he’d been lucky- Blüdhaven hadn’t boasted any activity, in all thee years-
Until now.
The talon wasn’t moving. It simply stood there, watching him. Watching him like it knew him, somehow. He chanced another glance over it- his boots were dirty, and the strap of small throwing blades across his chest was nearly empty. His suit had dust patches on it, as if he’d been curled up into the old crevices the city offered- alleyways and broken windows that led into buildings forgotten and left abandoned.
Dick eased the tension in his shoulders slightly, realized the talon wasn’t even poised to strike. He was just standing. His hands were empty- and it was only then, with another glance at his face, that Dick noticed one of the lenses to his goggles was cracked.
“Normally when I meet a talon, they’ve tried to rip my throat out, by now,” he offered. The boy inclined his head. It was strangely... nonthreatening. Dick sighed, straightening up. “You wanna tell me why you’re following me?” Still silence. Dick frowned. “You know, if you’re some messenger from the court, you’re a pretty shitty one. Usually they say something.”
Still nothing, just a stare behind those cracked lenses- Dick huffed, tipping his head back a little- and that was when he moved. He was quick- so quick that he was in Dick’s space before he was ready, and Dick had a moment of panic because he could have slit his throat-
Instead, all he did was reach up, press his fingertips to Dick’s warm cheek. His glove was torn, and two fingertips were free. The felt like ice, and Dick recoiled from it. The kid pulled his hand back quickly.
“Jesus, you’re really just a kid, aren’t you?” Dick stared down at him, before he eased his escrima sticks back onto his back. He reached out then, offering his hand. The talon looked at it, then back up at him. “C’mon, I’m not going to hurt you- unless you try something funny. Then I might.” Still, he smiled when he said it, and the Talon was taking a single step closer- but ignoring his hand.
Dick let it fall, after a moment, noticing that the kid’s broken goggles had left a cut on his cheek bone. There was a small bead of blood making its way down, soaking into the fabric of his mask.
“Are you hurt?” Dick asked- and what a crazy thing, to be asking a talon.
What a crazy thing that the attempted conversation was even happening.
Still nothing, and Dick stepped closer, raising his hand. The kid flinched back, and Dick hesitated. “I’m not gonna hurt you,” he said, “You’re bleeding is all. Can you take those things off?” He gestured to the broken goggles, and the talon reached up, pressing his fingers to them. Dick nodded, and suddenly the kid was flipping his hood back. It pooled around his shoulders, exposed a mess of dirty, matted black hair, falling in layers onto his shoulders.
It made Dick wonder how long he had been out on the street.
He reached back to his face, sliding his fingers along the strap that held them in place- then back, behind his head. Dick heard a click as they were released, and he pulled them off, holding them limply in one hand.
His eyes were starling. A blue so dark they could have been black- but there was something familiar about them. Something Dick had seen before.
Without prompting, the kid reached for the fabric covering the lower half of his face then, grasped it and yanked it down. Dick recoiled slightly, eyes going wide.
That was his face. That was his face on this kid.
“Who-” Dick started, before the kid suddenly pointed to himself- then reached out, pressed his finger tip to Dick’s chest. Like he knew Dick’s question-
And somehow, the answer.
Dick swallowed thickly as the kid pulled his hand back. It was looking in a mirror, one that could age him back ten or fifteen years- an old dusty photograph. But it was stark, the similarities.
“You’re…me,” Dick offered, and the talon gave a single, quick nod. Dick shook his head, felt an ache building at the base of his skull. “What in all the hells is going on here?” The kid just kept looking at him, and Dick huffed. “Okay, not like you’re going to answer that for me. Have you been following me?”
Another nod.
“Why?”
Silence.
Dick reached up, pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you speak at all kid?” All he got was silence, and Dick let his hand fall away. “O-kay, that answers that. Well...fuck… I can’t leave you out here.” He couldn’t leave a talon on the streets of Blüdhaven. That was asking for a mess, he was sure. But what the hell could he do with one?
Call Bruce? Sedate him and hole him up in the cave? Turn this into a whole ordeal- what was the court up to? They had been so silent for some time, there were questions- Bruce would have endless questions-
Something about it put a sour taste in Dick’s mouth. Not Bruce- definitely not Bruce. This was just… was just a kid. And he hadn’t done a single aggressive thing towards Dick yet.
When it came down to it- Dick knew there was only one option. He groaned, reaching up to press the heels of his hands against his mask, wishing he could press them right into his eyes. “Jason is going to kill me.”
*
Jason was in bed when he heard movement in the penthouse. He rolled over, directly into Dick’s space in the bed- and figured in his barely waking state it was him, coming in from patrol. He yawned, stretching out, curling his toes in the sheets, before he cracked his eyes open, glancing at the clock.
Nearly four AM.
He frowned, pushing himself up from the bed slowly, staring down at the pillows in the dark for a moment as he let his mind begin to wake up. What the hell had taken him so long? He blinked the sleep away, before fully climbing out of bed, heading for the hallway. He trudged through it, reaching a hand up to ruffle his own sleep tussled hair, not bothering to worry that his sweatpants were clinging so low to his hip bones that threatened to slide right off.
“Dick?” he called, noticing the living room light on. “Babe? It’s four am, what happened?” He rounded the corner- paused when he noticed Dick wasn’t alone. He took two second the glance over the kid standing with him, before he was tense, lowering his shoulders as he if was suddenly braced for a fight. “Grayson what the hell?”
“Jason, let me explain-”
“Is that a talon in my living room?”
Dick offered up a sheepish smile, and Jason wanted to punch him. He glanced back at the kid- took a second to take in the dirt caked on his boots, the wears in his suit-
And then pausing, grey eyes going wide, when he took in his face.
“Not just any talon,” Dick offered, watching as Jason took in every startling similarity between their faces. “I uh, I think I might have accidentally adopted my own murder clone.”
Jason couldn’t even wrap his mind over how utterly ridiculous that was.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked, before reaching up, rubbing at his temples. “God, don’t answer that. You weren’t. Jesus Dick we can’t have a talon in the penthouse.”
“He’s just a kid,” Dick offered, “and I’m pretty sure he’s just been out on the street for days. Just look at him- he hasn’t tried a single thing since I found him.” Jason glanced back at the talon- at the eyes that were so like Dick’s, perhaps darker, infested with those same dark veins that showed on his neck and chest. It really was as if Dick had stepped out of one of Alfred’s old photographs- maybe rolled in some dust and a puddle or two, but…
Jason sighed, his shoulders sagging. “Fine,” he mumbled, “fine. We’ll talk about it in the morning- let’s just get him cleaned up and try to salvage a few hours of sleep.”
Dick grinned, gesturing from the talon to Jason. “Kid, this is Jason. He’s gonna help me clean you up, okay?” The talon glanced at Dick, then at Jason- but said nothing at all. He barely looked as if he reacted. Jason decided not to even bring it up- this was all so crazy it was barely settling in- and turned away, heading for the bathroom. He was pulling out the first aid kit when Dick led the kid in, had him sitting down on the toilet lid and looking so starkly out of place, against the overly white light of the bathroom, bouncing off the tiles.
“Is it just his face?” Jason asked, and Dick shrugged.
“Not really sure. He doesn’t really...talk.”
“Great.”
Dick gave a nervous smile. “I’m going to go hunt down something maybe he can wear. His suit is filthy. I’ll be right back.”
“Richard Grayson you are not leaving me alone with your damn murder clone-” Jason cut off when Dick did exactly that, hurrying out of the bathroom. Jason sighed, turning back to the kid- who was watching him. Jason suppressed a shiver and dropped down to his knees, opening the kit. “Okay, well, let’ get this over with. I just wanna clean that little cut on your face, okay?” Jason pulled out a small piece of gauze, dabbing it with disinfectant. He reached for talon, who immediately recoiled, leaning as far away from Jason as possible.
Oh, this was going to be a blast.
Jason sighed. Of course Dick left this to him- and what the hell did he see in him anyway-
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Jason offered, but talon didn’t move closer. He lowered his hand, tried to push from his mind for a minute that this was a talon, tried to forget that he looked just like Dick-
Tried to think of him as just another kid from the street. Something he could understand.
“It’ll be real quick,” Jason offered, “Let me clean it up and we’ll put a band-aid on you, and then I don’t have to touch you again, okay?” He held both his hands up, palm up, trying to show he had nothing to hide. After a moment the kid relaxed a little, sitting back up properly. He reached out, pressed one of his exposed finger tips to Jason’s palm, tracing the lines there.
His touch was cold as ice.
Only when he pulled back did Jason move again. He reached for the gauze, holding it up and showing it to him. “I’m going to use this to clean your cut. It’s going to sting a bit, but I promise I’m not hurting you more.” Talon eyed him as he brought it closer, and Jason carefully dabbed at the cut to start, before wiping at the blood drying there. The kid winced, but didn’t pull away, and Jason smiled. “Good job,” he whispered, using the gauze to wipe up the small streak of blood that had dried on his cheek. He set it down, pulling a band-aid out and opening it. The cut was tiny, he didn’t think he warranted much else. “Hold still for another second, okay?”
The talon was perfectly still as Jason pressed the band-aid to his cheek. He pulled back a moment later, smiled- and the kid reached up, pressed a finger against it.
“And we’re all good,” Jason offered, letting his hand fall to his sides. “See? Didn’t hurt at all.” The talon cocked his head, studying Jason- and Jason took a moment to study him, as well. To take in the ashen color to his skin- as if someone had taken Dick’s dark skin and rubbed bleach on it- leaving it washed out, grayish but still far darker than the other talons Jason remembered. The veins that showed on his neck and cheeks were dark- looked as if his blood ran black, thick and sludge like.
But underneath all the dirt and the startling horror-like show of his appearance, Dick was there, in all that pretty boy glory he’d grown up with.
“You really are him,” Jason whispered, lifting his hand, as if he might reach out and touch him, as if he might touch a sliver of who Dick had been, before Jason had truly met him. He was cut off though, when Dick reappeared, a bundle of clothing in his arms. He’d shed his suit, in favor of his own sweatpants and one of Jason’s tshirts.
“You both in one piece?” he asked, and Jason glanced over at him, let his hand drop again. Dick smiled, nodded towards the kid. “Looks like you got him patched up.”
“It’s a band-aid. Any idiot could do it.” Dick shrugged a shoulder, spilling the clothing onto the floor.
“I wasn’t really sure what would fit him,” he started, and Jason grabbed the old pair of sweatpants in the pile, frowning.
“He’s going to swim in this,” he offered, even as he turned to the talon. “I know everything’s going to be too big- but how about we get you into something more comfortable? And less dirty. You’re going to get dirt all over my house.” He turned a pointed glare at Dick. “Someone already has to get the mud out of my carpet from your boots.”
His boyfriend offered up a cheesy smile, before he crouched down, trying to get eye level with the kid. “You’re probably exhausted. And I bet sleeping in that uniform isn’t any fun.” He nudged Jason, who held out the sweatpants. The talon glanced at them, before reaching out, taking them. He rubbed the material between his fingers, as if studying its texture, before glancing back at Jason and Dick.
“We can leave,” Jason offered, “Give you some privacy-” he cut off then the kid dropped the sweatpants, reaching for the belt across his chest. He unhooked it, let it fall to the floor- it clattered, the last small throwing knife sliding from its sheath slightly. Without a word he grasped at his shirt, tugging it up over his head, the mask that had pooled around his neck going with it. “Or not,” Jason said, glancing back up at Dick, who only shrugged a shoulder.
Jason grabbed an old tshirt from the pile- a faded red that boasted something about Gotham University on the front, and offered it up. The talon took it, rubbed it between his fingers too- and Jason shifted, trying to get a glance at his shoulders, his back-
The back of his shoulder was a nasty, ugly purple- a fresh bruise. “Shit kid,” he offered, and the talon turned, glancing over his back. “What did you do?”
Dick walked around them, looking at it. “Damn. I heard some sort of thud- did you fall into something on that rooftop?” The talon was quiet, glancing down- as if he was ashamed. Dick lifted his hands, shaking his head. “Hey, it’s totally okay if you did. Really. Jason and I have crashed into a ton of things. You’re probably just tired.” Dick paused, then, “And hungry. When was the last time you ate something?”
The talon didn’t lift his eyes, and Dick glanced at Jason- who shrugged. He was just as lost- he wasn’t used to suddenly caring for a kid, especially one that didn’t talk. Wasn’t exactly like dealing with Damian when he was younger- he always had something to say. Hell, even Roy’s kid, Lian, chattered away.
But the silence was making everything so much harder.
The talon finally lifted the shirt, pulling it up over his head. It was far too big on him, sliding towards one shoulder to show the dip of his collar bone- but Jason still figured it was an improvement. He stood up, Dick straightening as well, as the kid reached down, worked his boots off. The thumped gently to the floor, before he stood up, reaching for his pants and beginning to shove them down.
Jason jerked back, reaching up to cover his eyes, and Dick held up a hand, glancing away. “Hang on,” Dick started, and the talon froze, the juts of his hips just barely showing. “We can, you know, give you some privacy for that kid.”
Jason had turned around at this point, was looking over at Dick. “Dick… did you get him underwear.”
Dick shrugged, a nervous pull to his lips. “Nothing is gonna fit him.”
Jason huffed, daring to turn around. The kid was still standing there, fingers hooked in the tight bottom half of his suit, looking confused. Jason grabbed the sweatpants off the floor, holding them out. After a moment, the talon reached out, taking them.
“Just… take everything else off and put these on,” Jason offered, “And tomorrow we can figure something better out. Dick and I are going outside. ANd when you’re done, you just open the door, okay?” Jason pointed to it, and the talon followed his motion, before nodding. Jason straightened up, reaching for his boyfriend and grabbing Dick by the arm, dragging him out the door.
The moment it was closed, Jason was holding Dick by his biceps, staring at him.
“What in all the hells are we doing?” he asked, and Dick shrugged a shoulder.
“Getting a kid off the street,” he offered, and Jason gritted his teeth- but relaxed his hold. Because that wasn’t something he could argue with- and Dick knew that.
Damn, that he had let Dick know him so well.
“You’re honestly taking this a lot better than I expected,” Dick offered, when Jason let go of his arms. He folded them, shifting his weight slightly. “All things considered, I just walked home at four AM with what is most likely a small clone of myself, that has been trained to be an assassin by a secret high society we’ve had tangled in our hair for years.”
Jason just stared at Dick, before he shrugged. “Dick- we’ve both slept with an alien princess. We’ve got a league of superheroes with a base in space. Our little brother is dating an alien, and our youngest brother’s grandfather is an ancient dude who baths in a pit to keep from dying. The same pit that helped fix me because I died.” Jason rested his hands on his hips. “So a little murder clone showing up in my living room at four AM? Sounds like a regular Tuesday morning to me.”
Dick grinned, and he reached out, loosely wrapping one of his arms around Jason’s shoulders. “I’m remembering why I love you,” he offered up, and Jason smiled- attempting to look annoyed and failing miserably.
“At least one of us understands how we got into this mess then.” Dick huffed- playfully so- and leaned in, brushing his mouth against Jason’s, softly. Jason reached out, placed one warm hand on his waist, might have pulled him closer- except the bathroom door was opening, flooding the hallway with that harsh, stark light. Dick pulled back, turning, and Jason caught a glimpse of the kid in the doorway.
He was simply drowning in the clothing. The shirt was falling down onto his thighs, and the sweatpants were scrunched up on the floor, a few extra inches easily bunched up around his ankles.
Dick reached up, covered his mouth- and Jason smiled. He shouldn’t have, it was ridiculous, this whole ordeal was insane-
But this kid? He looked almost cute.
“C’mon,” Dick said, taking a step back. “How about I show you were you can get a little sleep, while Jason gets you a pillow.” The kid glanced at both of them, before stepping out, following Dick down the hallway. Jason glanced in the bathroom- before simply clicking the light off, deciding he’d worry about his discarded suit later.
Jason headed back to the bedroom, opening up one of their closets. The top shelf had a few extra pillows stuffed there, and he grabbed on, before pulling one of the throw blankets bunched up at the foot of the bed off it, and heading back for the living room. He found Dick standing there, his back to the hallway-
“And if you need something, right back down that hallway is where Jason and I sleep. And you saw the bathroom.” It was like he was just a house guest, and Jason was sure he’d be laughing about this, soon.
At least, he hoped.
He walked over, dropped the pillow on the couch and left the blanket piled towards the other end. The talon was looking at it, frowning. “Are you even tired?” Jason asked.
“He’s gotta be,” Dick offered, glancing back at him. “I can’t imagine he’s gotten much sleep out there.”
Jason said nothing. He knew what it was like to crash on Gotham’s streets- and figured Blüdhaven’s weren’t much different. “No,” he finally said, “he probably hasn’t. Probably hasn’t had a lot of things.” He turned back to Talon, before he carefully lowered himself onto the couch, sitting so he was below his eyes. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?” The kid said nothing, and Jason added, “Or do you just want to sleep?”
He got a nod, after that, and Jason patted the couch next to him. The kid looked at it, before he carefully crawled up onto it, pulling his feet up and hugging his legs, careful to avoid any contact. Jason pointed down towards the blanket, and then up towards the pillow.
“It’s all for you,” he said, “And if you need anything else- like Dick said, we’re down the hall. Now.” He stood back up, “Get a little sleep. And in the morning, we’ll figure some things out.”
Jason took Dick by the wrist then, carefully leading him away, quietly out of the room and down, towards their bedroom. The moment the door was closed, Dick was exhaling a held breath, raking a hand back through his hair.
“We’ve got a talon on our couch,” he said, flopping down on the bed. Jason walked towards him, crawling into the bed and wrapping his arms around Dick, pressing his face into the nape of his neck as Dick situated on his side. “We’ve got a little clone of me sleeping on our couch and we’re just going to bed like it’s another night.”
Jason shrugged a shoulder, yawning. He was too tired now to argue- to even really think this through.
“Focus on something better,” Jason mumbled, kissing the back of Dick’s neck. “Like you said- we got a kid off the streets.”
Dick smiled at that, reaching down and clasping his hand over one of Jason’s, squeezing it affectionately.
*
He stayed curled up, on the couch, well after the two had left. Didn’t move until their door had closed, and the rooms around him breathed nothing but silence. Carefully, talon unfolded his legs, flexed his toes to help remove the ache they had, from being encased in his boots for so long. He rolled his neck, glanced about him-
So many things in things in this room. He wasn’t used to this- rooms for him were always bare, when they were given to him. Things meant the place wasn’t for him, and he would be leaving it soon.
He yawned- allowed himself the moment of weakness because he was alone, before he glanced down at the couch he sat on. It was soft, much softer than he was used to- and he dared to lay down slowly, to stretch out on it. He was used to firm cots, to springs digging into his body- but this was plush, soft as supple flesh. He squirmed, his head resting on the pillow-
It smelled faintly of soap, of something laced in fruit. It smelled like the man who he was- the one with his face, the one he was a part of. Talon had been told enough that he was the same as someone great- he was a replacement for someone the Court had had taken away from them.
The smell made his lips almost curve, and he quickly reached up, covered his mouth. Alone or not- a smile could give one away, and it was reflex, to hide when his resolve was worn and he let one slip.
He snuggled closer to the pillow, before his feet shifted under the blanket at the other end of the couch. He sat up quickly, grabbed it and yanked it up over him, cocooning himself as best as he could within it. It smelled like the other man- like the both of them- and he found that made his muscles relax, made his mind sleepy.
He had been awake for more hours than he could count- over the past few days had slept precious few hours, often damp from rain and whatever other water leaked, fetid and unpleasant, in the old buildings he had been able to break into. He was dry for the first time since he had left Gotham city, and it simply showed him the fatigue emanating up from his bones.
He sighed, the softest sound, letting his eyes fall shut. They hurt, from his exhaustion. His shoulder ached from where he had smacked it, while watching the one who he was- in a moment where he had lost time and feeling and there had only been blackness, for a moment or two. Caused by the exhaustion, the clawing pains in his belly from hunger.
Those at least were forgotten, in favor of sleep first. He pulled the blanket up higher, pressed his face into it- and breathed, one last time.
Someone he was supposed to be- he’d found him. Despite all his failures, he at least had made it here, to the gray son everyone had always said he was to become. The one he was replacing.
The one who maybe could teach him how to be good enough.