#jaydickweek2023

Jason rolled his eyes. Fine. If Tim really wanted to talk at – he took a quick check of the time – two in the morning, then he was going to allow it. But if a single other Bat dared to come by, Jason was taking Dick and leaving the city.

Red Robin had let himself inside by the time Jason got out to the living room and was standing near the couch. He clicked on a nearby lamp, bathing the room in soft yellow light.

“Right. Let's get this over with,” Jason grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

What approach would Tim take with it? Would he list all of the reasons why Dick was better off staying at the manor? Or would he target Jason's obvious faults and use them to showcase why Dick would be safer with anyone else. (If he tried to use Jason's status as an Alpha against him, Jason was throwing him out of the window. Open or shut. He wasn't picky.)

“Dick is missing.”

Jason stared at him, unable to comprehend what he was hearing. “What?”

Red Robin seemed to shrink in on himself a little. “We don't know what happened, but he went missing from the manor some time after lunch. We've been searching since dinner – B's ready to file a missing persons report! You have to help us search!”

Jason thought of Dick, not lost but sleeping peacefully in the other room after deliberately seeking out Jason as a means of escaping Bruce and the others. He didn't want to ruin that, but wasn't it cruel to let Tim and the others believe he was missing?

But Red Robin hadn't asked if he'd seen Dick, only to help them with the search. What were the odds they'd done the same to Alfred? He'd have to ask.

“I'll keep an ear out,” Jason said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed.”

Red Robin's cheeks turned pink. “Oh, um, yeah. Sorry to disturb you and your, um, guest,” he practically whispered the last word.

What. The. Fuck.

No, actually, no. Jason wasn't going to acknowledge that. Tim could work out whatever weird crisis he was experiencing on his own, because Jason certainly wasn't up for playing counselor to his teen-aged sort-of-brother.

He left Red Robin to lock up on his way out, tip-toeing back into the other room and slipping back beneath the bed covers. Dick mumbled something indecipherable as he rolled over and flung one arm across Jason's chest, snuggling up to his newfound source of warmth.

Jason made sure the Omega was settled before reaching over to grab his phone from the bedside table. He shot off a quick text to Alfred, figuring that if the rest of the family was out, then the old Beta was up and manning the comms.

Let me guess: they didn't ask if you've seen Dick or know where he is and jumped straight to he's been kidnapped? |

Because Timberly just showed up and told me he's missing |

And Dick is very much not missing since he's right here with me |

His phone pinged with a response less than a minute later.

| I apologize for the lack of warning. I'm afraid Master Bruce has gotten it in his head that Master Richard would not leave of his own volition. By the time I realized, he had already rallied the others for a search party.

| I will admit to some irritation that they did not think to ask me, but I will gladly inform them of what has transpired once they return.

Don't. |

Jason tapped his finger against the side of his phone, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

If Bruce is so determined to play detective, then let him |

Give me until noon tomorrow to find out what Dick wants to do. Hard to say if he'll find this funny or not. |

Personally, Jason hoped Dick was game for it, even though it would be annoying for a while. Jason was looking at even later nights spent pretending to look and ask around and Dick wouldn't be able to leave the apartment like he wanted, which would make it a hard sell after Jason's promise to help him re-learn his way around.

Yeah, he definitely needed to wait and see what Dick thought.

| Very well. I will speak with you tomorrow afternoon.

Jason put his phone back on the bedside table and let his thoughts run wild as he slowly drifted off to sleep once more.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Jason told Dick about his idea over breakfast, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake as Dick's mood soured along with his scent. He pushed his food around for a minute minutes before shoving the plate away and stomping off to the bedroom, where he locked the door.

Brain injuries can affect emotional responses, Jason reminded himself to keep his own frustration at bay. He would give Dick, as well as himself, time to calm down while he cleaned up and then try to revisit the conversation. Maybe it was time to suggest getting out of the city for a while? Would Dick be more receptive to that?

He scrubbed down a frying pan with more vigor than necessary, rinsed it, and set it aside to dry.

What if he was going about things all wrong? Keeping Bruce and the others in the dark to prove a point about asking first was something that would bring great amusement to Jason, but what did Dick gain from it?

Only another prison, smaller than the first.

“Ah, shit.” Jason turned off the sink and dried his hands. His phone was back in the bedroom, so if he wanted to talk to Alfred, he'd have to get Dick to open the door.

It'd been at least fifteen minutes, so Jason approached the bedroom and knocked. “Dick, I'm sorry. Look, forget that plan. It was stupid anyway. I was pretty annoyed at Tim when I thought it up. Can we... can we talk? Figure out what we want to do together?”

The lock clicked and Jason took a small step back so he wouldn't crowd Dick, an action that turned out to be unnecessary as Dick opened the door and stepped right into Jason's personal space, sliding his arms around his middle with a soft sigh. Dick was an impressive height for an Omega at just under six feet, which put him at the perfect height to rest his face against Jason's neck, his nose teasing against the scent gland there.

Jason swallowed. “Dickie?”

“M'sorry,” Dick apologized, his warm breath dancing across Jason's bare skin. “I don't think your plan is dumb. I don't know why I got so mad.”

“I just have that sort of face,” Jason tried to joke.

“Think you have a nice face,” Dick said thickly.

Well, that was... nice? Jason didn't get many compliments like that. It wasn't that he was particularly bad looking, but compared to Dick and the others? It was no contest.

“Uh, thanks?” Jason said, awkwardly patting Dick on the back. He had no idea what to do with his hands. Why was Dick still leaning against him? Dick had always been the tactile sort, but it seemed a bit much, even for him.

“Let's sit down and talk this through, okay?” Jason suggested.

The two spent the rest of the morning on the couch, going over the available options. Dick seemed fully against leaving Gotham for any extended period of time, so Jason dropped that idea after only bringing it up once. He was much more amiable to keeping things a secret from Bruce and the others on the second go-around and even excitably offered a solution to the problem of him then being stuck in the apartment. (“We could go out in disguise! It would be so much fun!”)

“Option three: Alfred tells them tonight over dinner,” Jason said. “Tim won't hesitate to give up my address, so we'll have to deal with all of them dropping by, but I'll kick them out if they try to force you to go back.”

Dick smiled – a genuine one that dimpled his cheeks. “You'd do that for me?”

“You came to me for help, so that's what I'm gonna do. Throwing people out of windows is just a bonus.”

“...that's a joke, right?”

“Nope. Next time Timmy shows up to harass me while I'm sleeping, he's getting tossed straight back out the window he came through. Maybe I'll give Babs a call before I do it, see if she can get it on video for posterity,” Jason said lightly. He was pretty sure she'd be on board with that so long as Tim suffered no real damage.

Dick's laughter was nervous, like he couldn't tell whether or not Jason was joking, but the mental image was too amusing not to react. “Is it wrong that I kind of like the idea of them not knowing, at least for a little while? It's just...” He paused to look around the cramped apartment. “It's peaceful here.”

“Final decision is all yours. You've got a while to think. Alfred'll call after lunch and we'll let him know then.”

Dick nodded. His brow furrowed as he continued to mull things over and he voiced a few more questions, like what they would do if Bruce reported him missing, and Jason did his best to answer. (Best case scenario, Alfred would find a way to talk Bruce out of it. Worst case, Jason would have to get ahead of him and report to someone – preferably Commissioner Gordon or one of his trusted people – that Dick was safe and staying with him. That would involve explaining why they hadn't told Bruce, but well... If it came down to it, Jason was sure he could figure out something that didn't sound completely crazy.)

“Let's do it,” Dick said, an excited gleam in his eyes. “We can give them a week to figure it out and after that...” He shrugged. “I guess we let Alfred tell them.”

“Or, we show up at dinner and act like nothing is wrong,” Jason suggested. “Could also get out of the city for a day or two. Go to the beach. Throw up some pictures of us on social media.”

“Start drama on purpose?” Dick asked uneasily.

“It's an option.”

Dick hesitated. Clearly he didn't find the idea as amusing as Jason did. (That was fine. Jason's sense of humor was a bit warped after the whole death-and-resurrection thing.)

“We could go after telling them?” Dick suggested instead.

While that would be far less amusing for Jason, it was still an appealing plan. It would at least get them away from Bruce long enough for things to cool down after the reveal, which would be better for everyone.