Work Text:
When Danny was on his route, he never cared about how others perceived him, or avoided him due to the smell. He was doing an important job, waste collection was an essential job, he got paid well, little kids loved the truck. His colleagues knew how to keep their mouths shut, this was Gotham and more often than not, they saw illegal shit, they all knew to turn the other cheek to weird shit. So what if they knew that the Penguin had a regular pickup that included adult diapers. So what if the Riddler was throwing out outrageous amounts of energy drink cans. So what if the red hood had an absurdly small trash pick up every week but a ton of ashes in bags?
Danny was working an overtime shift because his last coworker quit to fulfil a dream of being a juggler, which he respected but was annoyed that he had to take their shift. He was on a different route, so when he opened the trash can to find Red Robin asleep in it, he blinked and put the lid back down.
This is not my problem, this is not my regular route and this can be someone else's problem.
Danny turns back around to rescue the vigilante from his trashy remains.
When Danny pries the can open he sees the poor guy hasn't even moved. He's covered in coffee grimes and another non-descript liquid. He also has shredded paper sticking to him. This man is exhausted and clearly needs a break. Danny pokes the vigilante's face to make sure he was still breathing (Danny can usually tell but this man radiated death energy like he could not believe ) the hero's face moves and groans, "You break it you buy it." The vigilante then proceeds to fall back asleep.
Danny blinks and considers what the man said. Danny thinks about the age old respected proverb 'one man's trash is another man's treasure' and nods to himself. It's basically the end of the route and what is his company gonna do, fire him for leaving the route they forced on him early?
Danny tips the can a bit, not enough to make the man fall out it. But enough for Danny to be able to get a good grasp on him to fish the sleeping guy out of. The man is slimy but he's lighter than someone who fights crime should be, Danny would know considering his teenage years.
The man sleeps through all of this, and Danny picks him up and puts him in his truck, to drive back to the depo. When Danny pulls away, the man sleeps through the entire journey, not even bothered when Danny turns the man invisible so he can place him in his car to drive home after he drops the truck off.
Danny manages to bring the vigilante into his place and drops him in his shower to hose him down from his trash essence. He even sleeps through this, Danny is now deeply concerned at this point, is this man actually in a coma? Does he need medical attention?
Danny rests him on his couch after drying him off and wrapping him like a burrito. He's just staring at the hero potentially in a coma when Danny's phone beeps and the hero jerks up.
"Wow that's what woke you up?" Danny marvels.
"What…." the hero looks around in alarm.
"Dude I am so glad you're awake, I was afraid you fell into a coma and I was gonna get charged with kidnapping a bat when I brought you to a hospital." Danny admitted with a laugh.
"Who are you, where am I? What day is it?!?"
"I'm the guy who fished you out of garbage can, you're at my place and it's May 6th at 6:04pm."
The guy looks at him in shock, "I was in a trash can? It was May 2nd the last time I checked. I'm at your place? I am the lightest sleeper out of everyone I know, including Batman, how did you get me here?"
"I carried you. You woke up briefly and told me, 'you break it you buy it.' I didn't wanna break you, well not yet, that is a third date goal." Danny winks.
The vigilante blushes and shakes his head. "I can't sleep unless I'm super tired or comfortable with the people around. This should not have happened."
Danny walks over to the hero and touches him. The hero instantly falls asleep, Danny looks at the sleeping hero and looks at his hand, "did I unlock another power?"
A sticky note appears beside Danny, 'no, he's just like that with you.'
Danny looks up "Clockwork?" And another sticky note appears. 'Your welcome'
Danny sits back and just watches the hero sleep for a few minutes before he wakes back up lurching forward but stuck in his burritoed form that makes him flop back down.
"What happened?"
"I touched you again and you fell asleep."
"How?"
"I could not begin to figure out why."
"Honestly I never sleep these days so I will take it."
"What."
"I'm keeping you."
"What?"
The hero turns and looks at Danny with a broad shit eating grin, "Finders Keepers."