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Jason was idling his bike three cars back at a red light when the cross traffic squealed to an abrupt halt as a guy in a ski mask stepped into the middle of the road.
Another pedestrian, this one armed with an automatic rifle, stepped up to the driver door.
The driver, a petite woman in a wool coat, got out. Her hands were demonstrably up in peace, but her face was twisted into a scowl. "Literally a car jacking?" she demanded, as the man with the rifle snapped, "Gimme your keys."
Jason revved his engine, dodging stopped cars to insert himself into the action. "Right in front of my salad?" he drawled, vocoder crackling menacingly.
Both carjackers startled hard. Rifle flung the keys back at the alarmed woman, and they both bolted in opposite directions. Every man for himself, Jason figured, and they each hoped he would chase the other.
Jason had no intention of chasing either. "You all right?" he asked, softening his voice under the vocoder.
"Thirty minutes, I have been in Gotham!" she complained. "And I have already been carjacked and met the Red Hood!"
"Attempted carjacking," Jason said mildly, just to see what she would say. She didn't appear to be traumatized, though he was poised for the adrenaline crash.
"Psh," she said. She looked him over expressively. "Yeah, all right, I can see why he likes you," she said. She stuck her hand out to shake. "Ellie Sinclair."
Jason barked a laugh and shook her hand. "Hood, but you knew that. C'mon, let's get you out of the road. You can follow me to Marcus' place."
"Somehow, I didn't believe you actually call him Marcus," Ellie said dryly, picking up her keys from where the gunman had flung them.
Jason led her to the underground garage where Blocks residents parked, and around to the empty spot with Marcus' apartment number on it. He parked his bike in the curve of the ramp, out of the way, and moved towards her quiet car.
She was resting her face in her hands on the steering wheel.
Jason stepped back to the wall in front of her car, and went down into a kneel, visible when she lifted her face, but safely distant. He drew out his phone, to text Turk about the carjacking and Dick about their visitor.
Turk promised to look into it. Dick sent back a string of exclamation marks which were not entirely informative.
Ellie opened the door with a deep sigh. "Sorry," she said.
Jason grunted, letting the vocoder crack dismissively. "Here," he said, holding out his hands when she started digging around in the backseat. He let her load him down with grocery bags, Tupperware, and what appeared to be more of the stupid sweatpants Marcus wore everywhere over his cast.
"So we have you to blame for the embarrassing pants," he said.
Ellie grinned. If her eyes were a little wide and her hands were shaking a little, well, that was none of Jason's business. "He takes himself too seriously."
Jason couldn't speak to that, but wasn't surprised to learn Marcus was the type. "C'mon," he said again, and led the way into the Blocks.
Ellie got doors and pushed buttons for him, since he was carrying everything but her purse. She also knocked quite briskly on her brother's door when they reached it, and then tried the handle.
"Cat!" Marcus shouted from inside, and Ellie obligingly dove after the escaping Batgirl.
"Mew," the cat complained, captured.
Jason nudged the door the rest of the way open with the toe of his boot, and went past Ellie, still manhandling the squirming cat, and Marcus, greatly surprised, on his crutches.
The bag of sweatpants, Jason dropped on the sofa as he went past, and carried the rest into the kitchen.
"God, Fitzy," Ellie said.
"I'm fine," Marcus said immediately. He sounded so much like Dick, trying to stave off a lecture, that Jason grinned under the helmet. "Also, hi Hood?" he asked, definitely a question and not a greeting.
"Hi Marcus," Jason replied, starting to put away the stuff in the insulated cold bags.
"He saved me from a carjacking," Ellie told Marcus. "Are you sure you want to stay here?"
"Mew," Batgirl complained, still in air jail.
"He what?" Marcus yelped, voice cracking.
"Sit down, I'm fine," Ellie said impatiently, steering her injured brother deftly into his computer chair. "Hood was right there."
"What kind of idiot carjacks someone right in front of the Red Hood?" Marcus wondered, accepting Batgirl from Ellie.
Batgirl complained of this vociferously as well, and settled grumpily on her mousepad once Marcus let her go.
"That's what I said," Jason agreed, opening cabinets to try to see where the cereal lived. "Where the fuck do you keep your cereal?" he finally asked.
"Oh, god," Marcus said, hand over his face. "Please stop putting away my groceries, it's bad enough Ellie brought them."
"He keeps his cereal on the counter," Ellie added. "Like a lunatic."
Jason stared flatly at Marcus for a long beat, until he was sure Marcus was reading his judgment even through the hood. Then he deliberately set the box of cereal on the counter next to the fridge.
Marcus made a grumpy noise into his hand, still over his face. "I eat a lot of cereal, okay," he muttered.
"You and Teej," Jason sighed. "You need some goddamned nutrients."
"Thank you!" Ellie said. "Fitzy, why is the crime lord more sensible than you?"
Marcus sighed deeply. "Mom always says you got all the sense," he replied.
"You're taking me remarkably in a stride," Jason told Ellie.
Ellie shrugged. "Nightwing used to drop by my night job pretty regularly," she said. "I think you get used to anything, after a while."
"What?" Marcus said.
Ellie rolled her eyes. "I never told you because you'd feel obligated to report it, and now you can't," she told him, ruffling his hair. "I work as a coverage night shift worker for the Planned Parenthood clinic the weeks I'm not on day shift at the hospital," she explained to Jason. "My hospital job does twelve days on, twelve days off, so I'll pick up six or eight shifts on my twelve off, just to help out."
"That's ludicrous," Jason said.
"And she calls me a workaholic," Marcus grumbled.
"You are," Ellie said.
"Pot, kettle," her brother replied.
She shrugged. "I never said I wasn't."
Jason finished putting away the last of the groceries. "I'm out," he told them. "Bring her by the center, sometime," he added to Marcus. "Delia'll like her."
Marcus huffed a laugh. "Yeah," he told Ellie. "You should meet some of the normal people here too." He ruffled Batgirl's ears, and then scooped her to his chest as Jason made his way to the door. "You're probably also going to meet Robin, he swings by to see Batgirl pretty regularly."
"Robin. And the cat," Ellie said slowly.
Laughing, Jason let himself out of the apartment, shutting the door firmly against Batgirl's plaintive mew. This should be interesting, if nothing else.
The next afternoon, carjackers taken care of, Jason strode into the community center and shed the Hood.
TJ was in the workshop corner with Julianna and Ellie, and Marcus was watching from the nearest sofa, with his bad leg up on a stool. Batgirl, on her extendable lead, was determinedly exploring the area under the workstation for paper shards.
Jason crossed to the little group, and leaned in to steal a brief, thorough kiss from TJ.
"Hi," TJ said breathlessly.
"Hey," Jason replied, brushing their noses briefly before pulling back. He nodded to the ladies. "Hey Jules. Ellie."
"Hey J," Julianna said. She held up what was unmistakably a bat-wing. "We're making Batgirl wings."
Ellie raised her eyebrows. "J?" she repeated, sort of incredulously.
Jason shrugged. "Hood'll do if you prefer it," he said easily. "But outta the headgear pretty much everyone calls me J."
Marcus startled hard, but bit his lip and kept silent.
"I suppose the hair does make it pretty obvious," Ellie said.
Jason shrugged. "Yeah, once the helmet came off once, the cat was outta the bag."
Marcus made a quiet little noise.
"Y'all right Marcus?" Jason asked.
Ellie tipped her head to look at her brother. "You've gone a little grey, Fitzy."
"Is this a test?" Marcus asked plaintively.
Jason tilted his head curiously.
TJ shouldered him gently. "Fed," he reminded Jason.
"Aw, shit," Jason said. "Sorry Marcus, no, it's not a test."
Marcus' posture eased.
"FBI is already aware of Red Hood's civilian identity," Jason promised, a half truth. They were definitely aware of Jamison Howe. "Wouldn't ask you to lie for me anyway."
Marcus nodded. "Okay, sorry. Hi, nice to meet the other you," he said, a little feebly.
"Jesus, Fitzy," Ellie sighed. "You look like he's going to eat you."
Marcus shrugged ruefully. "I haven't entirely set aside the possibility," he said, something apologetic in the slant of his mouth as he tipped his head at Jason.
Jason cheerfully snapped his teeth in Marcus' direction.
TJ elbowed his ribs. "Be nice," he scolded.
Jason ruffled TJ's hair. "Never," he said easily. "Marcus is fine."
Marcus waved TJ off. "It's, I mean, I'm not actively afraid of him, or anything. Just the prey-drive hindbrain that acknowledges I'd lose."
Ellie scoffed. "Men," she said. "Everything's about hierarchy."
Julianna, having finished the other wing as this conversation was going on, held up the set. "Useless creatures," she agreed with Ellie. "Here, Teej, hand me the cat."
TJ knelt to ask the cat for permission before scooping her up and bringing her to the table.
"Mew," Batgirl announced, standing between TJ, Ellie, and Julianna. She preened contentedly while Julianna carefully binder-clipped the two wings to the harness.
TJ cooed at Batgirl. "Oh my god, she's adorable."
"Mew," Batgirl agreed, butting his hands with her head. She moved to the edge of the table, so Ellie lowered her to the floor before she could jump for it.
Batgirl immediately headed for Marcus, chirping happily. The kitten's hopping stride from her missing foreleg made the wings flap on every step.
It was kind of rudely adorable, frankly.
Marcus also looked utterly paralyzed by all of that adorable, leaning down to scritch Batgirl's ears with a helpless little grunt of fondness. "Hey Baby," he murmured, stroking her head.
"Mew," Batgirl said, butting his hands.
"My work here is done," Julianna announced.
"You're a miracle worker," Ellie said. "Thank you."
"Totally worth it," Julianna said. To Marcus, she added, "I expect to see pictures on Batwatch the next time Stabby Robin comes to visit his favorite cat."
"I'll see what I can do," Marcus promised, now wearing his winged cat as a shoulder-ornament.
Batgirl looked incredibly smug about this arrangement. She headbutted Marcus gently, chirping towards the rest of the center.
"All right, off to collect my child," Julianna said, grinning ruefully. "Stay out of trouble," she added to TJ, patted Jason's shoulder, and headed across the center.
Ellie looked at her brother, still in serious conversation with his cat about why he would not be walking all over the room just so she could see it from up high, and then at Jason and TJ. "You see Nightwing," she told Jason.
Jason tilted his head curiously. "Pretty regularly," he agreed.
Ellie cut her eyes at TJ, kneeling next to Marcus by the sofa, now playing hostage negotiator to the dictatorial cat. Then she looked back at Jason. "Maybe you could give him a message for me," she said.
Jason also looked at TJ, sitting on his heels and smiling up at the group. "I could," he said slowly. "Or maybe I could bring him by Marcus' place tonight, before patrol."
"That all right, Fitzy?" Ellie asked.
"What?" Marcus said, startled.
Batgirl, no longer the center of attention, made a bid for freedom. TJ lunged for the end of the leash.
"If Hood brings Nightwing by later," Ellie said. "Keep up."
TJ, previously perfectly balanced on his knees, leaning slightly to hold the cat's leash, overbalanced and fell over.
Marcus looked from his sister, to TJ on the floor, and then up at Hood. There were wheels turning behind his eyes. "Um," he said. "Yeah, that's, no that's fine," he stuttered.
"Good," Ellie said briskly. "I need to thank him." She nodded once, hastily turning away, and then started cleaning up the fabric and odds and ends from the wing-project. "Get your cat, Fitzy," she said. "We should get some food in you so you can take your meds."
"Yes ma'am," Marcus said, saluting dryly. He exchanged a wry look with Jason, something fond passing between them that would never have happened before—either Ellie's presence or yet another reassurance that Red Hood meant him no harm had apparently, finally, settled Marcus about Jason's presence.
Jason helped TJ off the floor as Marcus took custody of his cat. He held TJ's hips, hooking his chin over TJ's shoulder to watch the duo collect their things and make their slow way to the door, moving at Marcus' pace.
"See you later," Ellie said, waving to them both.
"Later Ellie, Marcus," Jason agreed.
TJ, leaning back into his chest, said quietly, "Thank me?"
Jason pressed a kiss to his ear. He had a suspicion, but he wouldn't ruin Ellie's surprise. "Don't get in your head about it, Pretty Bird," he murmured. "She's good people, just like Marcus."
TJ groaned, appropriately derailed. "I still can't believe you keep calling him Marcus," he sighed.
Jason blew a raspberry against his neck. "'Sa good fed name," he insisted.
TJ laughed, which had been the point.
Marcus' curtains were open when Hood landed on his fire escape, and the window was cracked to spill light and Ellie's laughter into the twilight.
Nightwing landed lightly next to him, and then cheerfully bumped right into him. "What're we waiting for?" he asked, leaning across Hood's back to peer into the apartment.
"An invitation, because I'm fuckin' polite," Hood grumbled, shrugging Nightwing off his back and knocking on the window frame.
"Hood!" Ellie cried, leaning past Marcus' computer to slide the window open further. "Come in, apparently we're a full party!"
Fucking Catwoman was sitting cross-legged on the floor, cooing at Batgirl.
Timothy Drake was hunched over the bar, a tool in his mouth and Batgirl's harness and wings spread out before him.
"What the fuck," Hood said.
Nightwing, flipping off the computer table to land next to Catwoman, said, "Language, Hood!"
Hood flipped him off.
"So, we've ascertained that Timothy has not been kidnapped," Marcus, sitting on his sofa looking bemused announced.
Ellie, having partially shut the window behind them, moved back to Tim's side. "And we've established that Catwoman might have a meta gene with cats, because wow is Batgirl in love."
"Batgirl likes everyone," Marcus said, with the air of a man repeating himself fruitlessly.
"Everyone says that, about the meta gene," Nightwing agreed, settling beside Catwoman to offer his fingertips to the cat. "Hi Mama Cat," he added.
Catwoman kissed his temple. "Hey Kitten," she said. "Hood being good?"
"Never," Nightwing laughed.
"Whatcha workin' on, Duck Duck Goose?" Hood asked Tim.
Tim spat the tool in his mouth onto the counter to turn fully around to stare incredulously at Hood. "Really?" he said.
Hood shrugged. "I'll workshop it," he said.
Tim sighed deeply. "I'm putting snaps on the harness and wings, instead of the binder clips," he reported, fitting the tool that had been in his mouth into a snap and hitting it sharply with a hammer.
"You really just do not use anyone's name, do you?" Marcus wondered.
Hood shrugged.
"Wait, no," Ellie said. "He's called me Ellie twice."
Hood shrugged again. "Can stop if you want," he said.
"No it's fine," Ellie said hastily.
Marcus pouted. "That's unfair," he complained.
"She's not Gotham," Hood said, gesturing vaguely. "'Ssafe to use her name."
"Now I'm terrified, thanks," Marcus said dryly. "If this is another one of those, 'Gotham is cursed' things, please don't tell me."
"Fae," Nightwing said solemnly.
Marcus said, "Please don't tell me that, either."
"Nah," Catwoman said. "Alley's just superstitious, is all. Don't take it personal."
"I will take it personally if you call me Duck Duck Goose again," Tim said, hitting another snap with the hammer.
"All right Timetrodon," Hood agreed.
"Oh my god I hate you," Tim sighed.
"If you're not kidnapped, how are you here?" Nightwing asked.
"Catwoman brought me," Tim said, as if this were at all reasonable. "To fix the harness. Julianna said it was binder-clipped because she didn't have snaps handy."
"Holy shit, you're Alvin!" Marcus said.
Tim's whole face turned red. "Uh," he said.
Marcus blinked. "Alvin is Timothy Drake. What the fuck."
Tim hunched. "It's not, like, weird or anything."
Catwoman handed Batgirl to Nightwing and went to pet Tim's hair. "It's okay, kitten," she promised. "No one's judging your hobbies."
"Maybe a little for picking the name Alvin," Ellie said. "Chipmunk fan?"
Tim huffed a laugh. "I didn't want to be kidnapped," he said. "I was. God, ten maybe?" he wondered. He shot Marcus and Ellie a rueful look. "I wasn't. Well supervised as a kid," he said. "Before Bruce took me in when my parents are out of town. I just kind of. Wandered?"
"Jesus," Marcus muttered.
"And I didn't want to be kidnapped, so I wore thrift-store clothes and made up a fake name." Tim shrugged. "By the time everyone knew me it was too late to go back."
"But now Timwit hangs out in the Alley sometimes," Hood drawled. "So he's gotta own up to his shenanigans."
"Okay, can we not with that one?" Tim said.
"You are so picky," Hood complained.
"What brings you two in?" Catwoman interrupted. "I figured if we were going to see anyone else it was going to be Robin."
"He's got homework tonight, so B's making him stay in," Nightwing reported. "I am tasked with sending photographic evidence of Batgirl's new wings."
"And Ellie wanted to talk to Wingamarole," Hood added.
"Okay, surely you're just fucking with us now," Ellie said.
Hood shrugged, because she couldn't see his smirk.
Ellie did turn to Nightwing, though. "I did," she told him. "Want to talk to you." She crossed the room to sit on the sofa beside Marcus' casted leg, and face Nightwing directly.
Nightwing obligingly set Batgirl back on the floor and looked expectantly at Ellie. "What's up?" he asked.
Confronted with Nightwing's easy smile, Ellie's words seemed to leave her for a moment. "We missed you," she finally blurted. "We-" she gestured helplessly, grasping for words. "We noticed, when you disappeared," she finished quietly. "And we missed you. We worried."
Nightwing's mouth moved silently.
"Planned Parenthood," Marcus said helpfully.
"Oh," Ellie said. "I'm- I'm a volunteer nurse for Planned Parenthood. I cover nights their usual people can't come in."
"I know," Nightwing said quietly. "Nurse Sinclair, I recognize you," he said. "I just-" He shrugged.
"Black Canary said you asked her to stop in," Ellie said. "Last time I was there."
Nightwing nodded. "Of course," he said. "First Monday's always super busy."
"I'm trying to say thank you," Ellie said. "We- the shift girls, the night staff, the escorts. We appreciate you. And they will be so glad to hear I got to, to see that you're really all right."
Nightwing looked bewildered. "I'm good, yeah," he said.
Ellie smiled at him. "We were worried," she said again. "When you disappeared, and we were all glad to see you back on Batwatch, but. Well, you were hurt half the time you came by the clinic, so it's really reassuring to see that whatever happened didn't do you lasting harm."
Nightwing's smile turned a little crooked, and a lot more real. "I had a really shitty, like week, and took some time to put myself together. But tell the staff next time you're there that I'm really good now, and I'll stop in for a chat next time I'm in Blud."
"We did see that you were back periodically," Ellie said. "And we appreciated you sending the Birds, but we'll be glad to see you, too."
Nightwing nodded. "Promise," he said. "I'll pick a slow night, stop in and say hi to everyone."
Ellie nodded her approval. "Thank you," she said again.
Nightwing smiled back, soft and warm.
Hood broke the moment by crossing the room to ruffle Nightwing's hair. "Come on, Birdbrain," he said gently. "Got a city to protect."
"We do," Nightwing agreed, rolling easily to his feet, shoulder brushing Hood's.
"Wait," Tim said. "Cat picture for Robin." He scooped up Batgirl, twining determinedly around Catwoman's ankles, and fixed her re-winged harness into place.
"Cat picture for Batwatch," Catwoman returned, and handed the winged cat to Nightwing.
Nightwing obligingly posed with Batgirl, her wings spread in a perfect mirror of the blue emblem on his chest, and then handed her back to Catwoman.
"Be safe," Ellie told them.
"Take care," Marcus agreed, sounding as much like a reflex as an intended farewell, and then he added, sounding more like himself, "Don't do anything dumb."
"Never," Nightwing said brightly.
Hood just scoffed, letting the vocoder crackle his rejection. They climbed out the window, and ascended the fire escape to the roof.
Then Nightwing turned silently into Hood's chest and tucked his face into the gap between the Hood and the collar of his jacket. He made a low, wounded noise.
Hood wrapped his arms around Nightwing, holding on tight. "I gotcha, Pretty Bird," he murmured, a low purr through the vocoder.
"Shit," Nightwing muttered into his neck.
Hood rubbed his back. "You're so important," he promised softly. "You make a difference to people."
Nightwing shivered once, full body, and then pulled back, something between a laugh and sob tearing from his throat. He flipped up his whiteout lenses to dry his eyes. "I don't, I can't," he stuttered.
Hood cupped his jaw in one gloved hand. "Lotta people love you, Pretty Bird," he said gently. "Not the least me."
Nightwing smiled at him. "Not the least," he agreed.
"You okay?" Hood asked.
"Wasn't expecting her to, to like, care about me," Nightwing admitted.
"You make the world better," Hood said, and pulled Nightwing gently back into his arms for another hug. "Ask B," he added. "No, wait, no ask Uncle Supes. He'll tell you."
Nightwing shook his head against Hood's shoulder.
Hood nodded firmly. "We'll get you to believe us eventually," he promised.
"Come on," Nightwing deflected. "Patrol."
Hood refused to release him for just a moment, butting their heads very gently together, mindful of the helmet and Nightwing's unprotected skull. "Patrol," he agreed on a sigh the vocoder didn't catch, and released his bird to the skies.