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The request for backup came late on a Friday Night, and by Monday Morning, the Titans were departing their own Solar System on a Justice League issued space ship towards a planet in the midst of an insurrection. The trip was wonderfully calm, the view from the windows was to die for, the company was great, and they all spent lots of quality time together reminiscing on the good old days of their youth. All in all, Dick was doing great. It felt like a well-deserved vacation! On the fourth day, he decided to switch gears. Roy and Gar joked about how Dick was still as militaristic in his old age as he was during his youth, but he honestly didn't see it. Compared to how the family ran meetings in Gotham, he thought he was pretty lax with the Titans. He himself runs the meetings, doesn't demand immediate reports, drills on backup plans, or anything but their attention really; he doesn't apply random quizzes or immediately jump into hellish training; surely he can't be that bad? Dick goes over the specifics of the mission with the team: their objective (rescue the hostages, end the insurrection, don't die trying), their intelligence (enemy location, strengths, and capabilities), allies on the ground, terrain and environment, their rules of engagement, their execution and contingency plans, etc. Soon enough, like a well-oiled machine, the Titans get in sync and are ready for combat.
Back when they were still active as a team, the Titans rescued some small alien guy? gal? that requested transport to its home planet. It had looked quite pitiful, so the Titans had escorted it back. Said small alien was now the democratically elected leader of the freedom faction on the planet, and had requested help from its old hero friends (?) because it did not trust the Green Lanterns (??) to impartially intervene in the conflict (???). Dick finds it suspicious as fuck, but even Donna is saying he is being paranoid, so he decides to just trust his Wonder Twin.
They arrive at the planet and deal with the entire insurrection in a whopping 2 days.
It took them 5 days to get there.
When he pointed out that something shady was happening, Wally pointed out all the Titans merch around, specifically the Nightwing-themed merch. Turns out their little alien guy was a fan. Kyle Rainer, their assigned friendly Green Lantern, had been enthusiastically happy to have them there, both because of Donna and because, apparently, he had reached his tolerance limit for annoying bureaucratic aliens. The mission was so easy that Kyle alone would have been able to finish it in the same amount of time, but they had put so many bureaucratic hurdles on his path, trying to get Nightwing on their planet, that it had become nigh impossible to move. So they had been called in.
His team decides that all is well that ends well, and they don't agree with his indignation and annoyance at being pulled away from his own Solar system, just for a meet-and-greet. Sensing his annoyance, the Leader of the Freedom faction presents them with a cultural festival to celebrate their continued independence and the visit from such esteemed guests. Despite his initial foul mood, it was pretty hard to stay mad when everyone was in such great spirits, his own team cheerful and excited. Also, Dick rarely gets to have easy, low-stakes missions, so in the end, he joins the celebrations.
The festival is in full bloom by the time Dick decides to stop being a sourpuss (according to Roy). There are vibrant, colorful banners hanging here and there, joyful, animated music everywhere, dancing and drinking, and in the middle of the high square, surrounded by flowers, a group of singing kids. They are holding hands and dancing, almost jumping, in a circle while singing the same song over and over. It reminds him of his childhood in the circus, playing in the fields with other kids— so when a slightly older kid takes him by the hand and drags him to the circle, he follows. The kid is a shy and apparently blushing alien of dubious gender. Do with sparkly blue skin, almost Nightwing blue! and tentacles; he is well received in the circle, holds their tentacles unashamedly and friendly, and starts singing with them so enthusiastically that they all get lost in the joy and euphoria of the celebration. It's the end of the war, everyone! they even have genders? Is he being xenophobic?
Dick is so good at singing and mimicking sounds, apparently, that he can replicate the sounds well enough to match the incantation. That's right. A fucking incantation to their goddess of fate.
The aliens cheer and laugh and throw flower petals at him as they applaud him, but he can't join them, because on his left wrist, there is a bright light writing on his skin in neat, thin, and very familiar cursive strokes: Jason Todd.
He turns to look at Kyle with wild, wide eyes— and the fucking Lantern takes one look at him, at his wrist, and then falls to the ground cackling, with tears in his eyes, while holding his stomach.
Donna kicks him because she is cool like that.
His Wonder Twin.
Back on Earth, at the same time but on an entirely different Solar System than Dick, Jason is couch potato-ing in his apartment, when he suddenly starts to get itchy under his left boob. He scratches himself absentmindedly and resumes watching Hell's Kitchen, unable to notice the light or the block lettering saying Dick Grayson under his clothes.
The Goddess Arthkert has blessed him, they say. It's an incredibly rare gift, they say. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they say. No, we can't take it back, they fucking say.
He tries to tell them that it's his brother, his estranged little brother at that, but they simply say that the Goddess does not make mistakes, and that if it's meant to be, then it's meant to be. He surmises, then, that it must be a platonic sort of fate, to which they unceremoniously tell him that she is also the Goddess of love and fertility.
He imagines Jason pregnant with his kid for 0.05 seconds, but his face must have done something, because it is enough for Donna to look at him and laugh.
Roy says that Jason is submissive and breedable, to which Kyle hums his ascent, and Dick pulls out his escrima sticks.
Did he mention being lenient with the Titans? Not anymore.
Jason takes a shower, dries himself off, and goes to bed. His pecs are so big, he doesn't notice Dick's name on his skin like a brand.
The alien priest assured him that he won't notice any changes until he meets and has skin-to-skin contact with his soulmate. After that, they will start to get more in sync with each other's emotions and needs, and if the bond is strong enough, they might even get images or words.
It sounds dreadful.
Now. Knowing what Jason is feeling and what he needs, without Jason having to verbalize it? That part sounds great. What with Jason always lying and hiding injuries and pain. No, what sounds dreadful is subjecting Jason to the horrors of Dick's own psyche. His Little Wing does not need that shit on top of everything else.
Staying clear of Jason in Gotham shouldn't be particularly hard, except Jason has just started letting him back in, and he absolutely does not want to fuck this up. Taking a two-week mission in space and leaving Jason behind had already left him with hives and a dark pit in his stomach; returning home and then ignoring him? Impossible. He has to see Jason, and sure, he doesn't have to touch him, but— but what if Jason wants a hug? He can't deny him! That'd be fucked up. And what if Jason needs first aid? Dick is the one with the most experience, so it should obviously be him to help him and patch him up. Why would he let someone else do it for him? That'd make no sense!
He briefly wonders what it is about Jason that an Alien Goddess decided that he was Dick's perfect other half. Jason is sweet and wonderful and deserving of the world, and Dick is— he is just not good enough. Jason deserves better. Dick has always seen Jason as something to protect; his Little Nightwing, his Robin, his little brother, his legacy— after Jason came back into the fold, their relationship was still strained, but when Jason invited him into his apartment for a case, Dick felt like he had won the lottery. His feelings about Jason are complicated and deep and rooted in a lot of anxiety, and he doesn't want to fuck it up. He caresses the name on his wrist absentmindedly, waiting to get home.
They dock into the Watchtower twelve days after they first departed; they deliver their reports, go through a quick health check-up, and then Dick is in front of the Zeta tubs, like a man walking into death row, while the rest of his so-called friends laugh at him.
He decides to bite the bullet and go see Jason.
He'll be truthful, tell him he tried to look for a way to reverse it but found nothing, and then just... figure out how not to ever touch each other, ever.
It'll be fine.
Jason's A/C broke down last night, and the heat in Gotham is no fucking joke. It's sweltering. He takes off his shirt pretty early in the day and opens his windows to try to ventilate the apartment, even though it's not working; the sun was setting, and he was assembling a standing fan with his back to the window, when he sees a shadow on the floor, so he immediately attacks. He grabs his assailant's arm and twists, pulling them over his shoulder, and— he is filled with a sudden surge of feelings like surprise, happiness, and anxiety.
These are not his.
He briefly considers pulling out the All-Blades, despite not sensing any evil, but then sees that it's Dick, and he pauses.
They lock eyes.
Dick's lips are parted in surprise as he looks up at Jason from the floor. He looks so handsome and perfect that Jason finds it unfair; his hair looks windswept and curled. Dick flushes bright red, then rubs the back of his head with a sheepish smile, and Jason's already present feelings of affection for Dick double, but differently— he stops in his tracks.
He looks at Dick and opens his mouth to say something, but—
Dick is looking at him with such open vulnerability, and somehow fills Jason with this warm and clear feeling of love and adoration that Jason can feel deep within his soul.
"Hi, Little Wing." He smiles brightly at Jason, and now it's Jason's turn to flush bright red, which only intensifies the amazing feeling of adoration.
That's not normal... right?
Oh. Oh. Jason is— he's so— Oh, Dick is fucked.
He can't ever let him go.
He wants to kiss him so bad.
He flushes so beautifully, too.
He grins at him and stands up, "Would you like to have dinner with me?" Maybe he should have started with an explanation. Oh, well.