Archive of Our Own

Undisclosed Safehouse — Gotham, 10:14 AM

Kade realized he'd left his clothes in the living room after getting water from the kitchen approximately thirty seconds after stepping into the shower. He considered turning the water off right then, but remembered the apartment was empty. Jason and Roy had gone out sometime after breakfast. Kade hadn't been listening closely enough to remember where they were going, but he vaguely recalled something about groceries, an argument over whose turn it was to pay, and then the front door slamming shut ten minutes later. 

By the time he finished showering, steam had fogged the mirror and turned the small bathroom unpleasantly warm. Kade pushed his wet hair away from his forehead, grabbed the towel off the hook, and dragged it roughly over his head.

He opened the door, a welcome rush of cooler air hitting his bare skin. His clothes were exactly where he’d left them, folded neatly over the armrest on the far side of the living room.

Stepping into the hallway, his bare feet padded quietly across the floor. The towel hung loosely from one hand while droplets of water slipped from the ends of his hair, running cold down the back of his neck. He made it to the entrance of the living room.

Roy was sitting on the couch. Jason was standing at the kitchen counter. Both of them were staring directly at him.

Kade looked at Roy, then Jason. His eyes dropped briefly to his own naked frame before lifting back to theirs. 

"...Thought you left."

Roy's mouth opened, closed, and opened again. Nothing came out.

Jason very deliberately lowered his coffee mug to the counter. "We came back."

"Clearly." Nobody moved. Kade waited another painful second, then simply continued his walk toward the armchair.

Jason’s head jerked slightly in disbelief. "Are you not gonna—"

Kade stopped. "What?"

"Put some fucking clothes on."

"I was going to," Kade said, pointing toward the other side of the room. "I'm getting my clothes from the armrest."

"Then why are you just standing here?"

"You keep talking to me."

Jason stared at him. Roy finally managed to regain control of his vocal cords. "You couldn't have used the towel?" "

Kade looked down at the towel hanging uselessly from his hand. "My hair's wet."

Jason closed his eyes tightly. Roy’s eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. "That's what you're using it for?"

"Yeah?"

"Kade, there are other things currently more in need of a towel."

Kade looked down again, genuinely considering the logic for a moment. "...Nah."

Roy went completely still. Something in his expression shifted from raw disbelief into what looked suspiciously like personal offense. Well. Apparently God did have favorites.  "...Seriously?"

Kade frowned. "What?"

Roy made a vague, exasperated gesture in his direction. "That."

Kade looked down, then back up. "What about it?"

"Roy," Jason cut in immediately, his tone dropping. 

"I'm just saying!"

"You could very easily not be saying."

Kade’s mouth pulled into a smug, mocking grin. "Sounds like jealousy."

"Oh, fuck you."

Kade finally reached the armchair and collected his clothes. Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jesus fucking Christ."

"Nothing you haven't seen before," Kade noted.

Roy immediately pointed a finger at Kade’s retreating back as he headed toward the hallway. "That is not the point!"

Kade just lifted one hand over his shoulder, flashing them a lazy wave before disappearing back into the bathroom. Jason watched the empty hallway for a long, quiet moment before slowly turning his gaze toward Roy.

"You gave him exactly what he wanted," he said.

"I was caught off guard!"

"You fed his ego."

"I didn't know we were about to get ambushed by his—"

Jason's eyes narrowed. "Finish that sentence. I dare you."

Roy snapped his mouth shut just as the bathroom door clicked open. Five minutes had passed, and Kade emerged fully dressed, vigorously rubbing a towel through his damp hair. Roy, at least, looked like he’d recovered his composure.

Kade dropped heavily into an armchair, his eyes shifting between the two of them. "So?"

"No," Jason said immediately.

Kade’s eyebrows shot up. "I haven’t even asked anything yet. What were you two talking about?"

Jason’s expression went completely flat. "Nothing."

"Bullshit."

"Harper was doing most of the talking," Jason deflected.

Roy pointed an accusing finger at him. "Oh, fuck off! You’re the one who said he had a boxer’s back."

Dead silence hit the room. Kade slowly turned his head to look at Jason.

Jason glared daggers at Roy. Roy glared right back, proud of himself, until the realization finally clicked.

"…Ah," Roy muttered.

Kade leaned back in the chair, a smirk tugging at his mouth. "A boxer’s back?"

"Shut up," Jason snapped.

"You checking me out, Hood?"

"Don’t make me throw you through that window."

"Sounds defensive."

"I can still see your ass by the way," Roy chimed in.

Jason whipped his head around. "Roy."

"What?"

"Stop helping."

Undisclosed Safehouse — Gotham, 1:38 PM

Jason’s fist missed Kade’s jaw by less than an inch.

Kade ducked beneath the blow, driving his shoulder forward to catch Jason right in the midsection. It accomplished approximately nothing. Jason barely moved back half a step, leaving Kade looking personally offended. 

"You’re fucking ridiculous."

"You’re the one who wanted to spar," Jason pointed out.

"I didn’t realize I was fighting a refrigerator."

Roy snorted.

Jason reset his stance, and Kade raised his hands, bracing himself as Jason came forward again. Kade slipped the first jab, blocked the second, and immediately kicked Jason hard behind the knee.

Jason’s balance broke just enough. Taking full advantage, Kade hooked a foot around Jason’s ankle and shoved.

Jason hit the mat shoulder-first.

Kade stepped back with a triumphantly wide grin. Jason stared up at him from the floor. "That was cheap."

"You’re twice my fucking size," Kade said, wiping the back of his wrist across his sweaty forehead. "Cheap is all I’ve got."

"I’m not twice your size."

"Emotionally, maybe."

Roy completely folded. A strangled laugh escaped him, bracing a hand against his knee to keep from falling over.

Jason slowly sat up, ignoring Roy to glare at Kade, whose grin was only widening. "Don’t encourage him," Jason muttered.

"I can’t help it," Kade retorted, looking him over. "You’re built like somebody inflated a pit bull."

The sound Roy made was somewhere between a cough and a scream. Jason shot a dark look toward the bench.

He paused. "The fuck does that even mean?"

"I don’t know." Kade gestured vaguely at him. "Look in a mirror."

 "Are you finished?"

"No," Kade answered, raising his fists again to draw Jason's attention back.

Jason squared up. "Ready?"

"Always."

Five minutes later, Kade was flat on his back staring at the ceiling.

Jason stood over him, looking down. "Cheap enough?"

Kade lifted a single, exhausted hand. "Fuck you."

Amused, Jason caught his wrist and hauled him upright. The momentum sent Kade stumbling forward, his shoulder bumping against Jason’s chest before he steadied himself.

Roy watched them closely. His eyes darted from Kade, to the space between them, and finally back to Jason.

"Huh."

Kade wiped sweat from his jaw, catching the look. "What?"

Roy considered him for another moment. "He still looks tiny next to you."

Jason picked up his towel from the bench, wiping his face. "Say that where he can hear you."

Roy looked over at Kade, then back to Jason. "…Nah."

The corner of Jason's mouth twitched. "Smart."

Undisclosed Safehouse — Gotham, 3:33 PM

Dinner had been Jason’s idea. The argument over lunch had been Roy’s.

Kade wasn’t entirely sure how they’d ended up eating pasta, considering Roy had spent twenty minutes campaigning for pizza. He’d stopped caring somewhere around the point Jason threatened to make Roy cook for himself.

The cat sat quietly beneath Kade’s chair.

Roy reached across the table. "Little brother, pass the salt."

Kade’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. "Call me that again and you’re eating the shaker."

Jason kept eating, completely unfazed.

Roy held his hand out anyway. "The salt?"

"You have legs," Kade countered, narrowing his eyes.

"You’re closer."

Jason’s shoulders gave a single, telltale twitch. Kade snapped his gaze over to him. "Are you laughing?"

"No."

"You are."

"Eat your food," Jason muttered.

Possessing absolutely no survival instinct, Roy reached across the table to grab the shaker himself. "You’re my little brother."

"Don’t push it," Kade warned.

Roy grinned. Kade kicked him hard under the table.

"OW."

Jason let out a heavy sigh. "Can we have one meal where nobody assaults anybody?"

Both of them turned to look at him.

"No," Roy said instantly.

"Probably not," Kade added.

Jason stared at the ceiling, seeking patience, while the cat meowed plaintively from beneath the table. Seizing the distraction, Kade subtly dropped a tiny piece of chicken beside his shoe.

Jason’s gaze snapped right back down. "Don’t feed him from the table."

"I didn’t."

"I just watched you do it."

Without breaking eye contact, Kade slowly reached for the heavy glass salt shaker.

Roy immediately pushed his chair backward.

Undisclosed Safehouse — Gotham, 9:51 PM

By evening, the temperature had dropped enough for the windows to start fogging around the edges.

Kade sat on the end of the couch, one boot planted against the floor and the other propped on his knee as he pulled the laces tight. His jacket, gloves, and mask lay piled beside him—the final pieces of gear he'd need for the night. Across the room, Roy had completely taken over the dining table. His bow was laid out in front of him, and he ran his fingers carefully along the string, checking its tension under the overhead light. Several arrows sat beside it, meticulously sorted into small groups that meant something to Roy and absolutely nothing to anyone else.

At the kitchen counter, Jason systematically loaded magazines, the rhythmic click of the rounds competing with the low hum of the television playing quietly in the background. Nobody was actually watching it.

"East End?" Roy asked without looking up.

Jason pushed another round into the spring. "Eventually. Crime Alley first."

"Thought we did that yesterday," Kade said.

Jason glanced over his shoulder. "Crime doesn’t take Thursdays off."

Kade paused, looking at him dead-on. "It’s Friday."

Roy smirked, inspecting a fletching. "He’s got you there."

"Can we go five minutes without either of you talking?" Jason grumbled.

"No," Roy said instantly.

Kade shook his head. "Probably not."

Jason slid the finished magazine onto the counter with a sharp clack. "Great."

Roy picked up an arrow, checked the tip, and returned it to its designated pile. Kade pulled on his second boot and stood up. "Splitting up?"

"For a while."

"Where?"

Jason reached for another empty magazine. "You take the Narrows."

Kade frowned. "Why do I get the Narrows?"

"Because you’re annoying me."

"Fuck you."

By the time they were fully geared up, the casual mess of the apartment had disappeared beneath leather, armor, and weapons. Jason pulled his heavy helmet over his head, the seal hissing as it locked into place. Roy slung his bow across his back, while Kade zipped his jacket, adjusted the holster against his ribs, and grabbed his mask.

Jason looked between them through his visor. "Comms."

Roy tapped his earpiece, and Kade did the same, a soft burst of static crackling in his ear.

"Happy?" Kade asked.

"Thrilled." Jason opened the apartment door, gesturing toward the dark, chilly hallway. "Try not to get arrested."

Kade slipped past him into the shadows. "No promises."

The Narrows — Gotham, 11:09 PM

The first hour gave him absolutely nothing.

Kade moved through the Narrows mostly above street level, crossing shadowed rooftops and the occasional rusted fire escape while Gotham carried on beneath him. Traffic had thinned considerably after midnight. Storefronts disappeared behind heavy shutters one by one, their neon signs going dark until only convenience stores, bars, and twenty-four-hour laundromats remained lit.

He stopped twice. Once for what turned out to be a couple screaming at each other beside a parked car, and a second time because someone had decided a dumpster was an appropriate place to set off fireworks. Neither required his intervention.

"Anything?" Roy’s voice crackled through the comm.

Kade stepped over a rusted ventilation duct. "Somebody nearly blew their head off with a firecracker."

"Did they?"

"No."

"Disappointing."

Kade reached the edge of the building, peering down into the alley. "Where are you?"

"About six blocks west."

"Jason?"

Silence. Kade waited. "Jason."

"I’m working."

"That wasn’t the question."

Another pause stretched over the line. "Crime Alley."

Kade rolled his eyes. "See? Wasn’t difficult."

"Keep talking."

"What’re you gonna do? Ground me?"

Roy’s laugh boomed loudly through the earpiece. Then, the feed abruptly clicked off.

Kade frowned, tapping his headset. "Did he just—"

"Yep," Roy chimed back in.

"Asshole."

Before Kade could say more, a shout echoed from the street below, followed by another, and then the unmistakable crash of breaking glass. He peered over the ledge. "Got something."

Roy’s casual tone vanished instantly. "Where?"

"Two blocks south." Kade was already moving, clearing the first gap between buildings, landing hard on the next roof, and dropping onto a fire escape.

"Wait for backup," Jason ordered over the reactivated comms.

"Yeah."

"Kade."

"I’m waiting."

"You’re running."

"I’m waiting quickly."

"For fuck’s sake."

By the time Kade reached the street, two men were scrambling out of the shattered front window of an electronics store, heavy backpacks slung over their shoulders. A third stood lookout beside an idling getaway car.

The driver spotted Kade first, his eyes going wide. "Oh, shit."

Kade slowed his pace, perfectly calm. "Evening."

The man reached frantically beneath his jacket. Kade let out a heavy sigh. "Don’t."

He did.

The fight lasted less than two minutes. The first guy got his wrist cracked painfully against the hood of his own car. The second attempted to tackle Kade, discovering very quickly that committing fully to a tackle is a poor life choice when your opponent has solid knees.

The third guy actually knew how to fight, which made him mildly interesting.

Kade blocked a sharp right hook, stepped inside the man's guard, and drove two quick punches into his ribs. The guy recovered before the space could widen, landing a quick right hook across Kade’s cheekbone. A sharp heat flared along the bone, forcing Kade back two steps.

He ran his tongue over the inside of his lower lip, tasting metal. "Okay." He spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

The man raised his fists, his chest heaving under his shirt.

Kade eyed the square stance. "That one was decent."

"Are you done playing with him?" Jason asked over the comms.

Kade frowned, his fingers curling into a tighter grip. "I'm not playing with him."

"Sounds like you're playing with him," Roy chimed in.

"Both of you can go shove it."

Catching Kade off guard the guy grabbed him around the waist and slammed him into the side of the car hard enough to shake the frame.

Kade grunted as the man pulled back to strike again, Kade violently drove his forehead into the bridge of the guy's nose. The thief staggered back, clutching his face. Kade lunged forward to grab his jacket, but before he could, a steel-tipped arrow buried itself into the pavement directly between the man's shoes.

Both of them froze.

Kade slowly looked up. Roy was standing on the fire escape above them, lowering his bow. "Hi."

Kade’s eyes narrowed beneath his mask. "I had him."

"Sure."

"I did."

The thief swung at Kade's head. Kade ducked, but a red blur entered his peripheral vision before he could counter. Jason’s heavy fist connected cleanly with the man’s jaw, knocking him out cold before he hit the asphalt.

"You two are annoying." He wiped a thumb across his lower lip, then glanced down at the smear of red on his glove. 

Roy caught the movement. "He got you?" 

"Once."

"Aw."

Kade cut his eyes over. "Do you want to be next?"

Roy pulled an arrow from a wooden crate, checking the straightness of the shaft. "I'm good." He decided to make a dramatic entrance, jumping down from the fire escape. He landed, but his boot caught a slick patch of oil. His feet flew out from under him, and he hit the pavement flat on his back with a resounding, heavy thud.

Dead silence took over the alley. Kade stared. Jason stared.

Roy just stared blankly up at the night sky. "…I nearly died."

"You got the wind knocked out of you," Jason said, completely unimpressed.

Roy sucked in a ragged, painful breath. "I saw my ancestors."

Kade crouched beside one of the other unconscious thieves and pulled a heavy zip tie from his belt. "Can you go back to them?"

Roy lifted his head just enough to glare. "Fuck you."

Kade smiled beneath his mask. Jason pointed a strict, armored finger at him. "Don’t think you’re getting out of this."

"Out of what?"

"Are you neurologically incapable of asking for backup?"

Kade stood up, matching his stance. "Are you neurologically incapable of getting the fuck out of my face?"

Jason stared him down. Kade stared right back.

From the ground, Roy weakly raised one hand. "I’m still injured."

Both of them snapped their heads toward him. "Shut up, Roy."

Roy let his arm fall back to the pavement with a sigh.

Kade glanced over at him, “New diet?”

Roy frowned. “What?”

“Eating shit.”

Somewhere above Gotham — 00:28 AM

Kade sat on the edge of the opposite roof, his legs dangling over the drop, while Roy sat groaned beside him, one hand still pressed dramatically against his lower back. Jason had already removed his heavy helmet, setting it down carefully between his boots. Below them, flashing red and blue lights swept across the brick facades.

Nobody spoke for a while. The city simply carried on around them; an elevated train rattled somewhere in the distance, cars drifted through the next intersection, and a siren wailed several blocks away for something that had absolutely nothing to do with them.

Kade quietly rubbed his thumb across his scraped knuckles. Jason glanced over. "You good?"

"Yeah."

Jason’s eyes stayed on him for another beat before returning to the street, where a second police cruiser was pulling up to block the intersection.

Standing up, Jason picked up his helmet. "Thai?"

"Yeah," Roy agreed immediately.

Kade looked up at both of them, incredulous. "It’s two in the morning."

"They’re open," Jason shrugged.

"The place on Grant?" Roy asked.

Kade groaned, pushing himself up. "No."

"Yes," Roy countered.

"Last time I ate there, I couldn’t taste anything for an hour."

"That sounds like a you problem."

"It was your order!"

"And yet," Roy smirked, "I could taste mine perfectly well."

"Because your mouth is defective."

Jason pulled his helmet back over his head, his voice muffled by the seal. "Are you coming or not?"

Kade looked down one last time. Flashlight beams were cutting through the dark interior of the electronics store, and one of the officers was already dragging the first zip-tied thief toward a cruiser.

Turning away from the ledge, Kade followed them across the roof. "I’m ordering my own dish."

"Coward," Roy said.

Undisclosed Safehouse — Gotham, 2:43 AM

Kade’s mouth was on fire. He had ordered on his own specifically to avoid this, but it hadn’t helped.

"You said this one wasn't spicy," Kade muttered, staring across the table at Roy, who had noodles hanging from his fork.

"It isn't." Roy chewed and swallowed carelessly.

At the end of the table, Jason sat with one foot hooked around the leg of his chair, refusing to look up from his own food. "You actually listened to him."

"He said ‘mild’," Kade countered.

"It is mild," Roy insisted, pointing his fork at him. "Your lips are numb because you have zero tolerance. You think black pepper is adventurous."

"I've watched you put hot sauce on eggs."

"Exactly."

"That isn't an argument." Kade reached for his water, but it did absolutely nothing to quell the burn. His eyes watered anyway. Roy watched him over the edge of his takeout container with a smirk. "You good?"

Kade gave him the finger.

"Yeah, he's good," Jason snorted into his food.

Nobody had bothered turning on more than the single light over the kitchen counter, leaving most of the safehouse living room in darkness. Their gear had been abandoned wherever it landed the second they walked through the door.

The split on Kade's cheek had mostly stopped bleeding too. He took another tentative bite, immediately regretted it, and pushed the container away. "Fuck this. I can't taste anything."

"That's not the food's fault," Roy said, looking personally offended.

Jason reached over without looking to drag the abandoned container toward himself, but Kade slapped his hand away. When Jason stopped and leveled a look at him, Kade glared back. "Doesn't mean you can have it."

While the two of them were locked in a silent standoff, Roy leaned across the table and deftly snatched a piece of chicken from Jason's container. Jason's head snapped toward him, but Roy was already chewing.

"Really?" Jason muttered.

"No idea what you're talking about," Roy replied around the food.

Jason stared at him for another second before giving up and returning to his own dinner. "I'm showering first."

"Nu-uh," Roy immediately shook his head. "You can't call it. You showered first yesterday. Democracy, man."

Jason looked at Kade. "You wanna explain to him why that isn't democracy?"

"No. I don't care which one of you goes first."

"Great," Roy gloated. "He agrees with me. I'm first."

The moment Jason pushed his chair back, Roy pointed a finger at him. "Sit down. We draw sticks."

Kade closed his eyes, already regretting being alive. "No. Why do we even have sticks?"

"We have chopsticks," Roy corrected, already rummaging through a kitchen drawer. "Same thing tonight."

Five minutes later, three broken pieces of bamboo were clenched tightly in Roy's fist. Kade stared at them, exhausted. "This is fucking stupid."

"Pick," Roy ordered.

Jason reached over and pulled one, Roy kept his, and Kade took the final remaining piece. He compared theirs to his own—his was noticeably shorter.

Roy grinned. Kade pointed a finger at his face. "You cheated."

"How?"

"I don't know yet."

Jason was already walking toward the bathroom, abandoning the table. "Figure it out while you wait."

"Fuck both of you," Kade yelled as the bathroom door clicked shut.

Roy sighed happily and dropped onto the living room couch. He looked over at Kade, who was still glaring at the empty hallway, and offered a bright smile. "Wanna watch something?"

Kade threw his broken chopstick at him. It didn't land that far.

"Strong showing."

"Shut up."

By the time Jason came out of the shower, Roy had taken over most of the couch and Kade had fallen asleep against the opposite armrest with the cat in his lap. Neither of them had made it particularly far into whatever they’d decided to watch. Roy was still awake, one leg stretched across the cushions with his phone resting against his chest, while Kade sat with his arms folded loosely over his stomach, his head tipped back. His hair had fallen across his forehead, and the bruise along his cheekbone was already darkening beneath the skin.

Jason stopped beside the couch, and Roy looked up from his screen.

"He lasted twelve minutes," Roy muttered. Jason glanced toward the television. "Impressive." 

Kade shifted slightly on the couch.

Beneath him, the cat lifted its head and opened a single, judgmental yellow eye. Jason stared at the animal. The cat stared right back, its eyes narrowed.

Jason grabbed the throw blanket hanging over the back of the couch and tossed it gently over Kade. Reaching down, he fished the remote out from where it had slipped beside Kade’s thigh and lowered the TV volume another few clicks.

Turning to Roy, Jason frowned. "You should go shower. I can smell you from here."

Roy didn't even look up from his phone screen, merely offering a lazy, one-handed gesture of agreement. He sat there for another minute before finally dragging himself off the couch and heading toward the hallway. The cat's head tracked his movements suspiciously across the room.

Roy stopped at the entrance to the hall, looking back. "Night, little brother."

Kade didn't move. Roy smirked, proud of himself.

Jason shot him a look. 

"What? He's asleep."

From beneath the heavy blanket, a rough, half-conscious voice mumbled, "Eat the shaker."

Roy froze in his tracks. Jason’s mouth gave a violent twitch. Kade didn't even open his eyes as the cat happily settled back down against his chest.

Roy pointed an accusing finger toward the couch. "You heard that. Jay, you heard that.”

"Go shower."

"He’s threatening me in his sleep. Unbelievable." Roy finally disappeared down the hallway, muttering something about a hostile work environment as the bathroom door clicked shut behind him.