Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jazz wasn’t sure what to make of her new city. It wasn’t as crazy as Amity Park, and there weren’t as many super powered villains or vigilantes as Gotham next door, which made things easier. But the amount of corruption and bureaucratic nonsense she had to deal with honestly made her want to bash someone’s head in sometimes. Only sometimes. The large number of cracked cups she’d had to replace before investing in a metal one for her office had been absurd. Thank goodness no one said anything to her since she replaced them out of her own pocket.

She’d been here almost a month now; between her tiny apartment where it finally felt like her own space, and finding her feet at the Child Services Office, she still couldn’t figure out what she thought of her new city. There was a lot that was wrong with it – she got her workout in every morning beating off the usual muggers on her way to work. There was also a spark of hope; one of the big mobs had been dismantled recently, and a few of the children she’d been working on placing had been less cynical about things on the street.

The reason for it was pretty obvious though. The city had gained a new vigilante who’d stuck around. There’d been reports of him spotted all over town, helping people and arresting various criminals. The public was starting to come around. Just the slightest bit. Cops weren’t too fond of him however.

Well. There was one cop who didn’t seem to mind him. Jazz looked at the man in front of her again. “Uh, Officer Grayson. How can I help you?”

“Miss Fenton! I found a couple of kids who need some help. Their parents have just been arrested, and they don’t have any other family that we know of.” The man’s earnest smile and bright blue eyes clearly marked him as new to the job. Jazz looked at the two kids who stood just behind the cop; they at least looked like they’d been given a chance to grab some things, if their backpacks were any indications.

“Hey kids, have you had a chance to eat yet?” When they both hesitantly nodded, Jazz smiled before guiding them to the chairs in her office. “Can you two wait here a moment? I need to talk to Officer Grayson before we can work together to find you someplace to stay, okay?”

Once the kids looked like they weren’t going to do anything like run out of the window (which had happened frequently), she turned back to the cop standing outside and gestured for the to walk a few paces away. “Okay, what exactly are their parents arrested for? And what sort of time frame am I looking at?”

Officer Grayson shrugged. “They were arrested in connection to a major drug bust, and unfortunately I think they’re going to be incarcerated for a long while.”

Jazz frowned as she flipped through the kids’ file that he’d handed her. “Did the parents know that they were getting arrested?”

“No that would’ve resulted in them disappearing. The vigilante dropped off the information and after we checked it out, my partner and I went over today.”

“Hmm. Any concerns about the kids being in danger because of their parents?”

“Not that we know of, but there’s no way to be sure.”

“Alright, if there’s anything else I need to know, you can contact me at this number,” Jazz stated handing over a card.

“You know, usually I don’t really have women giving me their numbers the first time I meet them.” Officer Grayson’s charming smile went stilted when Jazz turned her unimpressed look at him.

“Uh huh. That’s the office line that connects to my office. It is meant for official business. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some kids to get back to.” Jazz walked away hiding a smile as he called out, “Have a good day Ms. Fenton!” Well. The guy was respectful at least, despite his overconfident charm. Though he was good looking. She would give him that.

-----

A week later, Jazz was grabbed as she was leaving a grocery store after a late-night ice cream run. Or actually. Someone attempted to grab her. After living in Amity Park for most of her life, Bludhaven bad guys had nothing new to offer. Fighting ghosts and liminals meant she needed to curb her own reactions and strength when dealing with humans. Between her being a Fenton and liminal, well. Let’s just say the deck was almost always stacked in her favour.

When Jazz was dusting her hands off, leaving behind the bad guys crying, and bemoaning her melted ice cream, the new vigilante flipped down from the building next to her. “Nice form! Want me to take these guys off your hands?”

“Nice form on the flip, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got these three idiots handled. See?" Jazz gestured at the pile of bad guys. "Bound with their own belts, and cops on their way. The only casualty was my ice cream unfortunately. And it was the last pint of butter pecan! Darn it.”

“Well, I’m not sure about butter pecan specifically, but there is another shop a couple of blocks away. Would you care for an escort to the store?” The vigilante accompanied the offer with a formal bow and Jazz didn’t know whether to laugh or be mortified at the badly attempted flirtation.

“Uh, not necessary, but thank you.” seemed the politest response. Jazz leaned over and grabbed her bag of melted ice cream and sighed sadly at the state of what was left. It was basically a puddle at this point. Ugh. And she’d been so looking forward to her night in. Crud.

“Please, allow me. I feel bad that I couldn’t help in time. Especially since a lot of the kids have told me how much you’ve helped them out.”

Jazz blinked at the vigilante. “Uh, what?” Kids? What kids?

“Some of the street kids I’ve been keeping an eye on, have mentioned how you dropped off food and winter jackets for them with no strings attached recently. And that you’re the one who makes sure that kids don’t end up with crap relatives.” The vigilante shrugged, and Jazz noticed the way the motion highlighted the blue stripes running down his arms.

“Wait, how do you know it was me who did all that? Have you taken to stalking innocent people?”

“The kids described you as the new lady with the red hair. Not that hard to figure out.”

“Oh. I didn’t know I was building a reputation amongst the kids.” Jazz was glad the kids knew they could come to her. Though she had worked hard to help, she didn’t realise it would be that easy. Her bosses had been only too happy to dump the ‘troublesome cases’ on her. A little conversation and some genuine care later, the kids had grudgingly opened up about their issues.

“So what do you say? May I escort you?” Jazz had to give it to the guy. He was persistent though something about his smile itched at the back of her mind. She looked carefully at him before nodding. Even if he did try something, she could handle herself. Trained vigilante or not.

Chapter Text

After that night, where Nightwing – simple internet searches went both ways after all – had walked her to the store and then home, it was like all of Bludhaven’s underworld had decided to try their hand at abducting Jazz. Her morning workouts had become more annoying. She even couldn’t go grocery shopping without either her or the store being held up. The one time she’d decided that ordering food in was a good idea, some goons had roughed up the poor delivery boy before taking the bag from him, and attempting to force their way into her apartment. Her landlord hadn’t been impressed with the mess, but his wife had said she was glad Jazz hadn’t been hurt. Apparently decent tenants were hard to come by. She’d also dropped off a few of her cupcakes to show their appreciation at Jazz not destroying the hallway in the fight.

Then of course there was the attempt some group had made at holding up the entire office. No one had been impressed by that, though at least it hadn’t expressly been directed at her. Some mob member was desperate to find a kid who’d been put in the system, with the file having gone to her, no one had been able to bribe any information or copy anything from the usual sources. Which were a mess to begin with. No one knew who was overseeing it in the first place. Like she said, the files were a mess.

Officer Grayson had just stared at her when he took her statement. “How many attempts did you say have been made?”

Though to be fair, maybe she shouldn’t have been completely honest about all the recent abduction attempts. “Honestly, I kind of lost count, though it’s Bludhaven, so it’s nothing out of the ordinary really.”

“Okay, let me see if I got his straight,” Officer Grayson seemed to have given up on making notes; though his confused staring and general agitation made it obvious what he felt about the situation. “You’ve been frequently held up these past couple of weeks, and had someone attempting to break into your apartment twice, and you chose not to report any of it, because…it’s Bludhaven?”

Jazz just sipped from her mug of tea. “Honestly it isn’t as bad as where I grew up. You should’ve seen the kind of nonsense I had to deal with.”

“Where exactly was that, Ms. Fenton?” The man’s scepticism was clear as day, even if you were tone deaf.

“Amity Park, Illinois.”

“I have to admit I’ve never heard of it before, Ms. Fenton, though I grew up in Gotham, so I can understand how a city can shape your perspective.”

“You grew up in Gotham and became a cop? In Bludhaven of all places?” It was Jazz’s turn to stare incredulously at the man in front of her.

He laughed embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s a long and convoluted story. One that will take too long to explain right now. Maybe I could come back later? Or we could meet up somewhere?”

Jazz hid her smile behind her mug of tea. The man didn’t give up. “You are persistent, Officer Grayson.”

“Dick.” At Jazz’s confused and offended expression, the man laughed sheepishly. “My name. It’s Dick Grayson.”

Jazz blinked as she processed that piece of information. “Huh. Okay then. Well, you are persistent.”

The man smiled at her. “You haven’t answered me either way Ms. Fenton. Until I hear a yes or no, can you really fault me for trying my luck?”

Jazz raised an eyebrow. “If I answer no?”

Dick shrugged. “Then you answer no, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Cute and respectful.” Jazz smothered the grin that bubbled up at Dick’s blush. “Alright, I’ll agree to go out with you once on one condition. You call me Jazz.”

Dick’s smile was pretty charming. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Jazz.” She could practically hear him savouring her name. And she found that she quite liked the way it sounded.

Chapter Text

Jazz was trying to choose between two bags of carrots when her phone rang. She answered without checking who was calling – after all, only a handful of people had her number.

“Hey Jazz!” Danny’s voice made her smile. She was so proud of everything he’d managed to do; specially after his accident. Her scrapbooks had lots of news articles and copies of his school work that he was especially proud of. The few pictures she’d get of him and his friends had also ended up in the book. Though she was careful to keep the Phantom scrapbooks separate from the Danny ones.

Thank goodness Desiree had decided to wipe Phantom’s ID reveal from the world’s memory after the whole asteroid heading for the Earth thing had happened. Danny later had explained it was her way of saying thanks. At this point, it was just their parents, Danny’s friends Sam and Tucker, and a few of the teachers at Casper High who knew of Danny’s alternate identity. It made Danny’s life easier to manage, he could ask for extensions, or work through things for school when he had some time to actually sleep after capturing ghosts all night. Though mom and dad had helped out with their own patrols using nothing more than the Fenton thermos to capture ghosts. (Getting dad to stop wanting to study the ghosts by tearing them apart molecule by molecule was much easier with mom to direct and distract him. His re-educating was going slowly.)

“I just wanted to ask if it would be okay for me to stay with you over spring break? Mom and Dad wanted to visit Aunt Alicia, and I was hoping if I stayed with you then I wouldn’t have to go out to Arkansas with them.” Jazz could practically hear Danny squirming at the idea of having to stay with Aunt Alicia. The outdoors, the lack of outhouses and toilets. The rhubarb.

“On one condition Danny,” Jazz smiled as she dumped a bag of carrots in her cart.

“Anything Jazz! Please – I don’t mind Aunt Alicia but the lack of bathrooms will kill me!”

“You have to bring me newspaper articles Danny. And some of dad’s fudge.”

“Newspaper articles for your scrapbook I get, but fudge?” Danny’s confusion made Jazz’s smile widen. Her baby brother hadn’t lived elsewhere, and questions like these made it obvious. She was glad he got a few more years at home though. “Yes Danny, fudge. Do you know how nothing tastes like dad’s fudge? I’ve been trying to find something that even comes close, but nothing does. My only other choice is to make it and that takes too long!”

Danny’s laugh and background conversations filtered through the call as Jazz moved over to the cheese selection. Suddenly the best by date on a package caught her eye and she frowned. “Hey Danny, when exactly is your spring break?” When Danny told her, Jazz frowned harder. “That’s next week, Danny! I don’t mind you coming; I’d actually love it if you’d come over, but I won’t be able to take time off with such little notice!”

Danny apologised though something in his manner pricked at Jazz’s big sister instincts. “Danny, is there something you’re not telling me?” His hesitation had her pushing her cart over to the side as she waited for him to find the words. “Danny, is everything okay?” Jazz prompted him softly, concerned with the prolonged hesitance.

“Tell you about it when I see you?” Danny compromised.

“It’s nothing major, is it?” Jazz knew Sam and Tucker had Danny’s back even if their parents didn’t always catch on. God knows their ghost obsession was so single minded that they’d forget to eat at times.

“No, Jazz nothing major. Just, complicated is all.” Danny’s reassurance calmed Jazz down a little. The two said their goodbyes and Jazz finished up her shopping. But she couldn’t stop worrying. She knew Danny’s scale for major problems was skewed; but if he’d promised to tell her, then he would. That hadn’t changed with his half death. He always kept his promises.

Guess she couldn’t do anything but wait. Gosh, she hated waiting.

-----

“Hey Jay, you got any plans for spring break?” Dick grinned at the nonchalant bluster filled response that Jason gave.

“What’s it to you Dickhead?”

“Aww Little Wing don’t be like that! Here I thought I’d be nice and invite you over, and we could spend all sorts of bonding time together. I might have even offered to teach you some of my kick-ass moves, Little Wing, but if you really feel like that then…” Dick knew it would be too tempting for his baby brother when he put it that way, especially when he trailed off, but he needed a little patience for it to bear fruit.

“Even something like that, um, spinny kick you mentioned?” Jason hesitantly asked.

Ooh Jason was getting good at the double talk. Dick hummed thinking back to what Alfred had mentioned about Jason’s agility progress. The Robin spring-and-kick move would need Jason to have a lot of flexibility. “I’ll have to see how far you’ve gotten with the martial arts class B has you in kiddo, but I think we can work on the spinny kick.”

Jason’s muffled Yes! had Dick grinning. He could just imagine Jason fist pumping in excitement on the other end. “Uh only if you think you have the energy Dickhead. I know how busy you are what with your new job and the shiny badge that came with it.” Oh, ouch. Dick knew that his baby brother didn’t exactly approve of his job – no one in the family did – but at least Jason’s reasons had less to do with safety and lack of trust in Dick’s abilities, and more to do with his own past experiences. That was more understandable to Dick. The kid tended to hide his true feelings behind angry outbursts and pointed commentary. Which, in this case, meant Jason definitely wanted to learn from him.

Well, one of the perks of being the big brother was annoying their younger siblings. “Oh, don’t worry about me Little Wing – you’re the one who’s going to end up feeling like you’ve aged overnight. I can ask Alfie to start preparing grits from now if you like.” Dick’s chuckles only increased at Jason’s angry sputtering.

“Want me to come by when your break starts? I can swing by the day after tomorrow after school to pick you up.”

“That might be nice. Saves Alfred from having to make the drive twice.” Jason said. “I’ll clear it with Bruce, so you don’t have to worry about getting into another argument with him.”

“Thanks Jay. See you Friday.” Dick felt bad as he hung up. He’d never meant to get Jason pulled into the middle of his thing with Bruce, and he honestly did try and keep his arguments as far from Jason’s presence as possible. But sometimes things blew up before he could walk away, and Jason either overheard or had a front row seat to the whole thing. Dick knew he needed to work on his anger issues more. And he was trying! Some days were just harder than others, but he kept working on it.

Dick was just putting in a reminder on his phone when he noticed the one about his coffee date with Jazz. Unfortunately, it was for the day after he’d pick up Jason. Damn, it looked like he’d have to reschedule with her. He thumbed back to his contact list and opened a chat.

Jazz Fenton

27^th March

3:37 PM: Do you mind rescheduling our date?
3:37 PM: My baby brother is coming by next week for spring break

Dick didn’t get a response until much later and only noticed it before he put his phone to charge.

6:54 PM: As long as it’s not the week after. I’ve got my brother coming by.

9:16 PM: Oh yeah makes sense.
9:16 PM: Spring break time for all the schools isn’t it?
9:17 PM: Which days work better for you?

9:18 PM: Either Fridays or Saturdays work for me.
9:18 PM: But let’s stick to later in the day if that’s good?

9:19 PM: Yeah that works for me too.
9:19 PM: Lol – sleeping in on days off?

9:20 PM: Hey don’t knock it till you try it. One of the biggest things I learnt is self-care means regularly sleeping in when you can. Otherwise you’ll come home one night, trip over dirty laundry and end up crying over stupid things

9:22 PM: Lol that sounds oddly specific

9:22 PM: Ugh don’t ask. It was a bad week.

Chapter Text

Dick stared at the line of cars waiting and sighed. He’d always forget how many cars lined up at pick up time at Gotham Academy until he had to come back. It hadn’t seemed such a big deal when he’d been a student himself, but now as an adult, he just wanted to get to the end of the line already. Dick smiled and honked when he noticed Jason waiting around the exit, anxiously looking around. Jason perked up when he heard the horn, and hurried over.

“Hey Jay! Glad to be out of school for the next week?” Dick ruffled his brother’s hair and grinned at the resulting outraged squawk. While Jason attempted to settle his hair back, Dick pulled out of the line and started the drive back to Bludhaven.

“Not really. I’m excited about the theatre practice we’re doing for the Julius Ceaser production we’re putting up at the end of the year, though the play is going to suck if people keep not showing up or forgetting their lines. And I’m finally starting to get the hang of a lot of the Civics material even if a lot of it is nonsensical, given what we know of Gotham’s systems.”  

Dick cast a quick look over at his younger brother. “Jay, I’m pretty sure that Gotham’s a special situation, with its history and current situation. You’ve heard some of its stranger history, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Jason huffed. “Too many rumours and myths exist just here that no one outside knows about.”

“There’s also the fact that Gotham has a lot of weirdness inherent to it.”

“You mean like B in his furry suit?” Jason’s dry tone undercut his humour and Dick, unprepared for it as he was, burst out laughing and had a hard time paying attention to the road.

Dick wiped at his tearing eyes with one hand and kept the wheel steady with the other. “Oh god, that’s a good one Jay. I don’t think he actually counts as furry if there’s no fur on the suit, though. But yes, I guess B is a good example. A lot of the criminals like Grundy or Croc or even Ivy would work too.”

“Hmm, but not Two Face or Penguin or Riddler? Because they’re more focused on either their neurosis or something?”

Dick shrugged as he turned onto the bridge connecting Gotham to Bludhaven and glanced over at Jason again. “Of a sort. Penguin, Riddler, or even Two Face are a result of their experiences and their environment. But you could just as easily place them in Metropolis or Jump City or even San Francisco, and they’d be mostly fine. They’d continue their gimmicks and crimes, slowly at first but eventually they’d be back to their usual levels, mostly otherwise they’d be unaffected. Take someone like Grundy or Ivy on the other hand and put them elsewhere, and they’d be fine for a while, but eventually they’d be compelled to return to Gotham.”  

“Compelled?” Dick didn’t need to look at Jason to know he’d have that little wrinkle between his brows like Bruce did; when Jason was trying to figure whether he should ask something or not. In the short while he’d stayed with Bruce, Jason had already picked up small mannerisms from both Bruce and Alfred. Dick shook the thought away – and everything it led to – to focus on the conversation.

“Hmm?”

“Compelled usually means that someone or something makes someone do something, right? Usually force or pressure of some kind. Or sometimes magic.”

“Yeah. Gotham has a certain kind of pull. People who live there long enough, or love the city strongly enough, are drawn back. Gotham has a… charm that is rough but hard to resist.”

Jason snorted. “Dickie, I don’t think charm is the word you’re looking for. Gotham’s a fickle mistress who sucks everyone dry in any way she can.”

Dick fake gasped and put one hand on his chest. “Jason Todd, why I never. Has Alfred taught you nothing? I know he’s got a swear jar and everything!” Dick’s fake offended falsetto proved to be too much and Jason burst out in laughter.

“Why, I ought to have you doing extra laps for that kind of language! Where did you even hear something like that?” Dick continued to Jason’s sputtering laughter.

“Stop! Stop! My stomach hurts!” Jason gasped as he leaned over, his arms clutching his stomach, wheezing laughter spilling from him.

Dick grinned and pulled into a parking spot. He draped his forearms across the steering wheel and watched Jason giggling in the passenger seat. It was a few minutes before Jason finally leaned back in his seat with a sigh and wiped at his eyes. After a moment, he looked over at Dick, the little wrinkle in his forehead back again. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure, Little Wing. Whatever you want.” Dick watched Jason twisting his fingers, something he only did when nervous, as he looked out the windshield. Jason opened his mouth before he paused and closed it. The continued silence and obvious nerves made Dick straighten up slightly from his slouch. “Jay? You can ask me whatever you want, you know.”

Jason frowned harder and sighed. “Never mind.”

Dick frowned. “Jay, look at me please?” Jason looked over, but didn’t actually meet his eyes. His gaze stayed just to the left of Dick’s head. “If something’s on your mind, you can ask me anytime, no judgement, no counter questions about anything you don’t want to talk about.”

“You might not like the question. It’s stupid.” He whispered in response.

Dick smiled. “Jason. Trust me bud. There’s nothing known as a stupid question. I once had to call Alfred to ask about expiration dates on rice. And if I don’t like the question for some reason, I’ll let you know, okay? But there won’t be any judgement from me. At all. Promise.”

Jason nodded. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You mentioned earlier that Gotham, kind of, has a compulsion. And if people live in it, or love it enough, then… then they get pulled back.”

Dick hummed his agreement, keeping eyes on his brother. Jason was building up to something, and Dick knew from experience, if he said anything right now – even a yes – the kid would clam up faster than a Robin could quip. Jason twisted his fingers once more. “Does that include you?”

“What do you mean Jay?” Dick wasn’t sure where his little brother was going with this. With the nerves and hesitation he was showing, it was obvious it had been bothering Jason for a long time. Which meant Dick needed to be clear on Jason’s thoughts before he answered.

It was something he remembered from his early days with Bruce. He sometimes would make absolutely no sense, either to Bruce or Alfred when he’d first started living with them. It had caused enough misunderstandings that he remembered the instances, if not the specifics, till date. Now anytime there were kids involved, his fellow officers always dumped the kids with him. Some of the regular street kids he interacted with had started gravitating towards him without thought. All because he patiently listened, and asked them questions, that made the kids explain whatever they were saying in more details.

He would do the same with Jason. Jason, as his brother, deserved at least one person who would want to know everything before doing anything.

“You stayed in Gotham for years. And I know you love the city, because you still know all the places you like, and you talk to all the shop owners and workers whenever we go out. But you also, kind of, seem tense every time you come, and I know-”

Dick laid his hand across Jason’s fidgeting ones to stop his speeding up rambling before he actually worked himself into a panic. “Deep breaths Jason. Everything’s okay.” He kept an eye on Jason’s breathing and once it had mostly calmed down, Dick turned to fully face Jason. He didn’t want to intimidate the kid with all his attention, but he did want to impress the importance of his answer.

“For all that I love Gotham, it’s not the city that keeps me going back. And you’re right, that I talk to the people at the stores and especially the ones I take you out to. But Jason, Little Wing, I go back to Gotham for you.”

“Oh.” Jason breathed. Dick felt as Jason’s fingers under his own slowly loosened from where they’d been tightly clutching the edge of his sweatshirt.

“Yeah, oh. I like spending time with you, and visiting Alfred, Babs, and everyone else. It’s not Gotham that compels me to go back. It’s you. And you don’t have to worry that I’m tense or something – that’s a side effect of being a grown up with lots of responsibilities. Sometimes it gets hard to juggle things, but you don’t need to worry about it, because I’m always happy to spend time with you, okay? And even if I can’t visit for whatever reason, I love it when you come stay with me.”

“Really?” Jason sniffled.

“Really. I actually got you something for that, you know. I was going to give it to you later. But I think this is a better time for it. Here.” Dick opened the glove box and pulled out a small paper bag. He passed it over to Jason with a murmured, “Open it.”

When Jason opened the bag, his eyes blew wide. Jason looked from Dick to the simple key on a chain cupped in his hand to Dick again. “What is this?” the tremulous voice didn’t conceal the desperate hope in that question.

“That, Little Wing, is your copy of the key to my place. Any time you want to drop by – warning or no – you’re welcome to come over. Even if I’m not there you can come over, okay?” Dick suddenly found his arms filled with an emotional Jason, and he gladly pulled the kid closer – the gear stick was probably digging into him, but Jason didn’t seem to care.

After a moment, Jason drew back and wiped at his eyes. “Where are we?”

Dick didn’t comment on the obvious change in topic. Instead, he gestured at the brightly lit store a couple of buildings over. “We are going to take advantage of your extra hands and do some grocery shopping before you and I hit a food truck for dinner.”

“Extra hands for grocery shopping? What, did you not get time to buy whatever you wanted before? Or did you finally run out of cereal to eat?” Jason scoffed as he carefully slipped the chain over his neck and tucked the key under his shirt like precious treasure. He even gave it a careful pat after it was hidden from view. Dick just ruffled Jason’s hair before they both walked to the store.

-----

The rest of the week passed mostly without incident. Nightwing and Robin flew through Bludhaven together at night, while Jason and Dick explored the city during the day. The last day of Jason’s stay, Dick took them both out to the local food fest that was starting that day. They spent most of afternoon wandering from food truck to food stall, before heading to the stands that had some games set up.

“Did you mean it?” Jason asked out of the blue, as they waited on the man setting up a game, to try their hand at the ring toss.

“I mean, you don’t have to eat a whole elephant ear by yourself when you lose, but it is pretty good.” Dick grinned.

“Not that – I won’t be the one loosing, Dick. Did you mean it, when you said I could come over anytime without warning? Even when you’re not here? When you’re doing things with your friends?”

Dick blinked down at his brother. “Of course, Jay. That’s why I gave you the key. I could need to fly off to Tamaran or Timbuktu tomorrow, and you could come crash at my place however long you wanted.”

“Please tell me you don’t actually leave food in the refrigerator when you go visit your friends.” Jason grimaced, clearly thinking of the hazards of spoiling food.

“No, I either donate it to a shelter or a couple of neighbours are willing to drop them off for me when I need to leave immediately, but I usually have some shelf stable things around for whenever I get back. Groceries are a pain at 3 am when you’re starving, but the makings for grilled cheese keep well in the freezer.”

Jason, clearly remembering the frozen butter Dick usually kept, made a face at the idea, the same way he had when he saw it the first day, but slightest frown stayed. Dick led them to a quieter table with a couple of different tarts instead of the elephant ear. He waited until it was obvious Jason was only going to be picking at the desserts before clearing his throat.

“What’s on your mind Little Wing?”

“I just…” Jason nervously twisted his fingers. “Promise you won’t B or Alf?”

Dick nodded. Jason took a deep breath before slowly blowing it out.

“Last couple of months, B thinks I’ve been a bit harsh in my takedowns. When I tried talking to him about it, he just brushed me aside. I tried talking to Alf about it, in case there’s something else going on with B, but he just suggested I try listening to B because he’s right.”

Dick hissed in sympathy. “That’s not easy Little Wing. Do you want to tell me about the takedowns, or about your plans for hiding out at my place?”

Jason scowled and Dick put up his hands in the universal not dangerous sign. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I can’t help if I don’t know anything.”

Jason crossed his arms and looked away, muttering “Never mind.”

Dick waited a few minutes before he leaned forward onto the table. “Jay. I promise I only want to help. Nothing you tell me will be passed along to anyone. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, no matter what. If all you want is a sympathetic ear and a place to hide out, then I’ll happily give you both, no questions asked. But if you don’t mind some brotherly advice, then I can offer a few suggestions. The ball’s in your court.” 

Jason looked at him from the corner of his eye, his fists clenching and unclenching where he had them crossed. After a moment he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He motioned and Dick followed him as they started to slowly walk back to his apartment.

“The takedowns… we’ve been seeing a lot of the same faces at night. Some of the people we rescued… I spoke with them afterwards, and they weren’t exactly happy because they knew the bad guys will just get free again in a few days or weeks, and do the same things to them or to someone else. B doesn’t know what it’s like when you’re afraid of someone, when you know that they’ll be worse when they come out of prison. Hit harder, yell louder, be meaner. I’ve just been hitting those people a little harder when we find them. Nothing major! Just things like an extra kick to the knees or in the family jewels.”

“Huh.”

“Never mind. I shouldn’t have told you.”

“I’m glad you did though. Do you know how happy I am to see you making the mantle yours? I was known for either my quips or getting kidnapped frequently, but you’re the one who people want to talk to. Who people find approachable and personable.”

Jason ducked his head and Dick tucked Jason into his side. “I can understand where you’re coming from and why kicking people’s knees seems like a good idea. But I also understand why B may want to give people chance after chance when it’s obvious everyone else gets hurt. Have you met his friend Harvey yet?” Jason just shook his head, so Dick tucked him closer to his side as he hummed in thought.

“Bruce had a friend in college. Man called Harvey Dent.” By Jason’s near silent hiss, it was obvious he didn’t know about this earlier. “They were close, sort of like me and Wally.”

“Exactly like you and Wally? Or like you two?”

Dick looked down sharply at Jason, noting the tight grip Jason had on his jacket so they wouldn’t get separated, and nothing more than simple curiosity his eyes. No judgement, no distaste. Dick squeezed the small frame to show his appreciation before looking forward again. “Not sure, Alfred would know best. But it doesn’t really matter, because Bruce eventually left for his training with no warning. Harvey, I think, floundered without B there. He didn’t have any support at home, and by the time Bruce came back, things had changed too much. Harvey had changed.”

“I thought he didn’t start causing problems until later?” Jason asked.

“You’re right. But that didn’t happen overnight. There were years of problems before then. Harvey was an excellent politician and attorney by the time B was back. He was still trying to do good, but to him it probably felt like it was only him against an ocean of corruption. He simply got… pushed too far when the attack happened.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Dick took a deep breath, trying to keep himself in the present and not the last major altercation with Two Face. It had been a while, and it hadn’t been the worst injury he’d ever received by far, but it had changed everything else. Changed what he called himself.

“So, B feels guilty about Harvey and keeps giving chances to everyone? That sounds dumb.”

Dick smiled and ruffled Jason’s hair. “B feels guilty yes, but he also sort of feels responsible because Harvey keeps trying to do better and he is successful for a while. Until he has some kind of setback and gets into trouble again. That’s why B keeps giving chances, because he believes in rehabilitation, because he has to believe that people can change.”

“When did you get so smart?”

Dick just laughed and ruffled Jason’s hair again despite the squawk of outrage and batting hands that tried pushing him away. “Believe it or not, I am older than you. I also went to therapy for a bit. And being cop means that I need to understand other people’s motivations if I need to help them. Come on, we got to hurry, otherwise Alfred will be upset with me for you being late.”

Chapter Text

Jazz knew she’d made the right call to have Danny fly in when she picked up her exhausted brother from the airport. A couple of hours on a flight compared to however long her parents would take to make the overnight drive; the choice was clear. Though poor Danny looked ready to fall asleep where he stood. Jazz nudged the sandwich she’d packed towards him, and kept up light conversation to make sure he at least ate some of it before they got back. Danny fell asleep on the air mattress as soon as she pointed it out.

The next morning, Danny was already awake when Jazz surfaced. He must've pulled out some leftovers for breakfast whenever he’d gotten bored of sleeping. “Hey Danny, sleep well?” she yawned and started the coffee maker.

“Yeah, thanks for letting me stay again. If I had to spend more time with the rhubarbs at Aunt Alicia’s…” Danny shuddered and Jazz laughed. She got it. Given how loud their aunt was about the vegetables, Jazz suspected no one actually fertilised them, but the psychological implications still stayed. “Anything you need to finish over spring break, or are you all caught up with school?”

“I’m mostly caught up, but I was planning to do some extra credit stuff and get ahead on my reading for Mr. Lancer’s class," Danny mumbled as finished his orange juice.

“Do you want to go check out the food festival for dinner today? I need to go in to work for a bit today, but after that I’m free until you go back.”

“Actually, can we just eat in and crash early tonight?” Danny asked. “I’ll be able to catch up on some of my sleep debt.”

Jazz nodded as she fixed her morning cup of coffee. “We can do the food festival anytime this week. I’ll have to leave soon but there’s sandwich stuff in the fridge, and there’s some takeout menus in the drawer to your right that I’ve tried out.” As Danny looked over to his right reflexively, Jazz smiled. “Your only job is to enjoy your vacation, and decide what you want for dinner.”

Danny’s relieved grin had Jazz smiling wider. The siblings spent a regular morning together before Jazz dashed off for work. She wrapped up as many of her cases as she could; she even managed a check in with the pair of kids that Officer Grayson had brought in weeks ago. She knew chances were she’d still get called in for something or the other. At least this way, the possibility they’d need her to come in was a whole lot less.

When Jazz entered her apartment that evening, (for once, not having to deal with any muggings on her way back) she saw Danny curled up on the couch, scowling at whatever book it was he was reading. The pencil he balanced on his upper lip was close to falling. Jazz grinned. As she walked past Danny, Jazz ruffled his hair delighting in Danny’s squawk of mock outrage. “Any decisions on what you want for dinner?”

Danny’s hopeful “Mac and cheese with veggies?” had Jazz investigating whether they had enough things. As she prepped things for dinner, she looked over at Danny who’d migrated to the other side of the kitchen island. “Still having issues with food coming alive?”

Danny just grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Usually I can sort of control it, but I’d like to avoid any unnecessary attention here. Besides I don’t think Bludhaven will take kindly to randomly alive and mutated vegetables.”

Jazz carefully pulled the vegetables closer to her side of the island while staring at Danny. “Reanimated vegetables?” Jazz wasn’t sure whether she wanted to know, but apparently her mouth had decided for her.

“Yeah, that’s actually one of the things I wanted to tell you. My powers have been growing again recently, and it’s been a bit difficult to keep it under wraps. The ambient ectoplasm in Amity I think is the main culprit, but I had to chase an apple across the airport parking lot before my flight-”

“What.” Jazz just stared dumbfounded at Danny.

“Yeah, dad thought it was funny too, until the apple decided to hide in the undercarriage of the GAV.”

“Where did you- actually, never mind. Better for me not to know. So, fruits can also come back to life then?”

Danny shrugged, looking confused and discomforted. “I guess? It’s never happened before, and hot dog chasing is a semi regular thing at home now. But a few weeks before the apple incident, a whole ham came back to life at Tucker’s while I was there.”

“Right.” Jazz frowned down at the zucchini she was dicing. “Remind me to get you registered on the meal plan whenever you decide where you’re going to college. You might have to figure out a way to feed yourself though, because I doubt any city other than Amity is going to react by ignoring mutated food, and personal chefs are kind of expensive.”

“I don’t know, I think Central City might enjoy watching Flash run after some reanimated turkeys on Thanksgiving.” Danny’s sly grin had Jazz cracking up.

“Now that would be funny to watch. Though a reanimated cranberry sauce monster might be unfairly messy.” They continued joking around, and Jazz watched as the slightest bit of tension from Danny’s posture melted away. It had been a year since he’d had to hide part of himself from everyone, but Danny’s unconscious responses still would take time to disappear.

They were lounging on the sofa together with some fudge in companionable silence after dinner, when Danny closed his laptop. Jazz put down the book she was reading in response. It looked like Danny was finally ready to talk more.

Danny took a deep breath and nervously rubbed his palms over his thighs. “Jazz, there’s something else I need some help with too.”

Jazz turned to face her brother more fully. He looked ready to change forms and fly back to Amity, he was so nervous. “What’s wrong?”

“The, um, GiW has been a little more annoying lately. They’ve been doing the usual chasing ghosts and stuff, but they’ve started trailing after mom and dad whenever they’re out at night too. And they’ve occasionally followed them even when they weren’t actually doing anything ghost related. Mom went grocery shopping the a few weeks ago, and one of the agents basically stalked her across the shop. Dad went to fuel up the GAV before our trip, and he mentioned something about dudes in formal labour day outfits wandering around.”

Jazz frowned. “That’s… not good. Have they tried anything similar with you or your friends?”

Danny tilted his hand side to side. “Sort of? I mean they came to school and asked the whole school all kinds things. Most of the sessions were in groups and Sam, Tucker and I were the last ones to go. Valerie thought it was odd too, and she promised to keep an eye out to see what she could find out. Everything so far is just them stalking specific people. I haven’t seen them following me, but Tucker has mentioned seeing them a couple of times.”

Jazz hummed as she thought about it. The GiW were a strange case. Technically speaking, they were a government organisation hunting ghosts. They were also ridiculously incompetent, but that didn’t mean that luck would hold out against them forever. Even a broken clock was right twice a day. “Ok, here’s my two cents. If they approach any of you again, I want you to tell them that because you’re all minors, you’re not allowed to speak to them without an adult present. Your parents insisted on it. While at school, because teachers are there it’s ok, but anywhere else you’d need an adult present.”

“What happens if they agree to have parents around? I can’t exactly see dad or Tucker’s parents being logical in all of this.” Danny started drumming his fingers where they lay, and Jazz knew the more nervous he was, the faster they would drum. She laid a hand over his knee, hoping to soothe him.

“In that case you either take mom or Sam’s parents. Or even Mr. Lancer. In case the agent gets pushy, then just do what you three do best.” Jazz smirked at Danny’s confused expression. “Be loud and annoying teenagers. Walk away, or yell stranger danger, whatever suits your fancy. Just make yourselves enough of a nuisance at that moment, that the agent doesn’t want to engage with you. If they’re noticed, then their plan won’t work, because everything seems to depend on the agency remaining hidden.”

Jazz waited patiently, as Danny thought things over, watching as his finger drumming slowed down. “That makes sense. I’ll tell Sam and Tucker too, so they know what the plan is.”

“Do more of your plans work out nowadays, or are things still a little chaotic?”

Danny brightened up and put away his phone that he’d started to fiddle with. “It’s never been that bad other than when you were trying to help out, but things have gotten a lot better recently! With mom and dad finally figuring out their own system of how to catch ghosts peacefully, things are a lot smoother. We’ve managed to figure out some new moves too. Dora, Pandora, and Clockwork have been helping out in the Ghost Zone, so the Realms haven’t been so bad. It's almost like they’ve set up some kind of schedule, because we don’t see Skulker as often as we used to. Even Boxy stays away during finals and test days...”

-----

The rest of the week passed faster than Jazz registered. Jazz took Danny out to see the various sights of Bludhaven, including a special outing to Wayne Aeronautics and the Planetarium in Gotham for a tour that had Danny bouncing around like an excited puppy. By the time Danny had to leave, Jazz felt glad she’d told him to come over – even if she hadn’t been able to spend all her time with him, as she’d originally wanted. She hated that being a responsible adult sometimes meant having to go deal with emergency cases at work even while on vacation.

She watched as Danny checked to make sure he had everything he needed before entering the airport. Again. She’d watched him doing the same thing before they left her apartment too. She sort of understood why he needed to double and triple check, make sure things were where he’d need them. She caught herself doing the same several times a day, even though she hadn’t needed to in years. Habits learnt as young kids tended to take a while to change, especially given the responsibilities Danny had.

Danny finished patting his pockets and looked up. “This is it, I guess. I’ve got everything. Thanks for saving me from rhubarb hell.”

Jazz laughed and dragged Danny into a half hug. “You know you can come anytime you want, right? You don’t have to ask or give me a heads up. Though a heads up would be nice because then you don’t have to see my laundry scattered everywhere.”

Danny hugged her back, his chin hooked over her shoulder; since he’d hit another growth spurt he’d been taking blatant advantage of it in small ways like this. “Alright,” he agreed, still with one arm wrapped around her waist. Drawing back he looked her in the eye. “But I want to know who you’ve been messaging the last few days and smiling about.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Aha!” Danny excitedly pointed at her. “There is someone!! If you give me a name Jazz, then I promise not to be a pest about it.”

Jazz just looked at him blankly.

“Too much of a pest that is.” Danny grinned.

Jazz huffed in frustration. “You’re going to be a pest regardless. I won’t tell you his name, but I will tell you I met him through work, and we’re friends. He happens to be funny which is why you’ve seen me smiling.”  

“You’re telling me this much because you know Tucker won’t be able to find anything, right?” Danny scowled.

“Yep!” Jazz grinned. “Now have a safe, normal flight and keep messaging me, okay?” Jazz dragged her brother into another hug, before spinning him around and shoving him towards the security line.

Danny’s outraged squawk had Jazz laughing. “Bye Danny!”

Chapter Text

“Sorry, sorry, I’m here!” Jazz looked up as Dick came rushing up to the table where she was seated, at the café they’d agreed on.

Jazz smiled at him. “At least you sent a message saying you were running late. No one can help being pulled into work on their day off.”

 “Yeah, though I think in this case, it was because my Captain hates me," Dick grimaced. “He dumped me in cold cases first, and then shunted me off to act as gopher for Major Crimes, but all those guys wanted was for me to get them either coffee or doughnuts.” For once Dick was glad it was his civilian job getting him late and not his vigilantism.

“That doesn’t sound too bad. Busy work, but it probably beats dealing with your forgotten dishes," Jazz mused. She pushed the little container of sugar and creamer packets over. Dick smiled and added a couple of sugar packets to his cup.

 “I’d rather do my dishes than deal with 80-year-old cases, no matter how charming some of the elderly witnesses are,” he responded, absent mindedly stirring the cup. “Anyway, how was it having your brother over for spring break?”

“Danny needed the break, and I liked having him over actually. I think the best part was watching him get all excited at the planetarium in Gotham,” Jazz smiled, remembering the experience.

“Fan of all things space?” Dick asked.

“He’s a regular astrophile. Even wanted to be an astronaut when he was a kid.” Dick watched as Jazz took a sip of her coffee. It didn’t look like she’d had any recent bout of kidnapping attempts, but Dick knew he’d be keeping an eye on her now that she’d be on her own again. The number of times she’d been held up was ridiculous, even by Bludhaven standards. It made him wonder whether there was something there, because no one could possibly have such bad luck – not to mention that it was obvious she had some training, beyond the usual few martial arts classes that was the norm for Bludhaven and Gotham.

Before he could ask anything else though, she turned the question around. “How was your brother’s visit?”

Dick grinned and launched into a story of how his brother was in a martial arts class and had begged to learn a new move from his big brother, but kept getting stuck in the execution. “I think the funniest thing was watching him getting stuck in the rope netting we'd set up in the gym, so he’s just dangling upside down, like an angry cat, slowly turning redder and redder while I’m busy taking pictures.”

 “He let you get away with taking pictures?” Jazz laughed.

Dick ruefully shook his head. “No, unfortunately he swiped my phone later and deleted all of them. Called it revenge for laughing.”

They swapped stories of how they’d ended up in Bludhaven, and he made a note of how Jazz was carefully vague but blunt about her parents’ reformed mad scientist tendencies. Though he’d never really heard of anything wild happening in Amity Park so it’s possible there wasn’t anything too dangerous. Still. He’d look into them. His flirting and charm must’ve won her over because she looked surprised when agreeing to a second date.

That’s when Dick should’ve realised that life was going to screw him over soon.

-----

Two days later, he received a message from Wally asking for help with a case. After they’d figured out a day that would work for them both Wally ran him over to Central City. Nightwing and Flash dealt with the case and sat down to catch up over a post-fight snack.

Dick chewed the last of his burger, listening as Wally told him about catching up with Donna and Vic the week before. “Anything new happen recently? I know you'd sent a message about baby Robin coming to stay with you over break. How’d that go?”

Dick grinned, recounting Robin dangling from the grapple line tied around his ankle when he’d slipped off the roof after trying the move. Wally was in hysterics over his description of the spin and kick move and Jason’s sputtering in embarrassment as he dangled. “How’s our baby Robin doing nowadays? Is he still struggling with things or has he hit his groove?”

Dick hummed. “He actually mentioned you the other day.”

“Oh? Is he changing his favourite hero from Wonder Woman?” Wally chuckled.

Dick just elbowed him and shook his head in response. “You wish. Diana’s still cooler in his eyes. R was getting a little background about Two Face and B. Turns out, Robin realised you and I were together but didn’t say anything.”

Wally winced. “Well. He did walk in on us having fun in the gardens during that gala. He never said anything about it to you?”

Dick shook his head. “He never brought it up and didn’t act any differently, so I'd assumed either he doesn’t care about people’s preferences or didn’t actually see anything.”

“Hmm, it was easier to believe he didn’t see anything I guess,” Wally mused as he essentially inhaled his 23^rd burger. “Do you miss it?” he asked, pausing in his snack.

Dick looked over at Wally, his profile lit by the lights from Central City. “You mean us? I do. But it wasn’t our time Walls.” He leaned his shoulder against Wally’s. “Do you miss it?”

Wally kept silent as he slowly drank some cola. “I think I do. But it’s more what we could’ve been, if things had worked out.”

“We were good together, when we could manage it.”

“Yeah.”

A comfortable silence descended between the two as they just sat observing; both the city in front and the memories past. “Did you find someone interesting?” Wally asked as he packed all the trash into a single bag for throwing away.

When Dick turned to gape, Wally just doubled over in laughter. “How did you know?!”

Wally just waved his hand, still half bent over. “Sorry, sorry, you just, have a lot of tells when you’re in a relationship dude. It’s kind of funny that Batman hasn’t picked up on it yet.”

Dick shuddered. “Don’t even joke about that man. I had to sit through the worst possible version of the Safe Sex talk when B started my training. There was a presentation. With diagrams. And pictures. And props. He had a whole section about alien species and alternate biology. I can’t imagine it getting any better if he decides I need a refresher when I’ve got a current romantic partner.” Wally’s expression made it clear though that he had in fact imagined the scenario of Batman explaining the intricacies of condoms and diaphragms and other contraceptive methods.

“Ew now that’s nightmare material. I’m going to go drop you off before you infect me with any more such ideas. Hold tight.” One blurry sensation that Dick was accustomed to later, and he found himself back in his apartment, Wally steadying him by the shoulder. “You good?”

Dick waited for his eyes and inner ears to stabilise from the burst of superspeed before nodding. “Yep, just amused that Batman’s lecture had you turning that shade of green.”

Wally grimaced. “Don’t be mean Dick. Anyway, are you going to the Titans meet up next month?”

“Looking forward to it actually.” Dick leaned against the kitchen island behind him. He loved his open style apartment. Dick could stand in his kitchen, and easily watch as Wally bounced around between the living room and the hallway that led to the rest of his apartment, without having to worry about being run over accidentally. Mentally Dick frowned at how different an experience it was with Wally. Jason was still on the smaller side for his age, struggling with childhood malnutrition, missed meals, long term stress, homelessness, etc. He was catching up to where he should be, but he had a long way to go. Jason and Dick together in the apartment hadn’t felt so cramped. They’d been able to instinctively move around without having to worry about accidentally bumping into each other.

That wasn’t the case right now.

Dick had had to consciously station himself out of the way so Wally could buzz around. And he knew that Wally didn’t do it on purpose either. Wally had learnt to reign in the tendency as a kid, but when he was stressed or nervous, it tended to crop up without Wally noticing. Like right now.

Dick pulled out a couple of bottles of water and walked over to Wally. “What’s on your mind Walls? You’ve been jittery ever since the fight earlier.”

Wally just sighed. He kept his eyes on the bottle, contemplatively rolling it between his palms. “I just... I don’t know if, I’m ready to meet up with everyone again.” Dick waited patiently as Wally figured out how to phrase whatever was troubling him. It took a couple of minutes – eons considering this was a speedster in front of him – until he finally took a breath and let it out slowly. “I know I’ve met up with everyone individually, but everyone together is…”

“Different?” Dick offered when it was clear Wally couldn’t find the word he was looking for.

Wally shrugged. “It’s as good a word as any. But nevermind. I’m just being silly and nervous over nothing, right? Yeah, it’ll be awkward and a little weird at first, but if I don’t go, it’ll always a little awkward and weird. Probably for longer if I keep putting it off.”

Dick wanted to bonk his friend in fond exasperation. Instead, he opened his arms, and Wally gladly fell into the hug. “All of that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be feeling them. Dude, you’ve got all the reason in the world to want to take it slow. We forgot you. We may remember you now, but it doesn’t change the past, doesn’t change that for a while we hurt you by treating you like a stranger. You might get it logically, and even understand the reasons and everything, but the heart takes a while to catch up. If you want to come for the meet up, great, if you don’t, that’s okay too. Hell, you can show up for a quick second and then vanish if you want to. God knows the travel won’t be killing you.”

Wally snorted into Dick’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

“It’s what friends are for.” Neither of them brought up how tight the grip or long the hug was.

-----

A few days later, an unexpected call had Dick stopping in the middle of his daytime patrol. He stepped aside on the sidewalk before answering. “Hey Clark, what’s up?”

“Sorry Dick I know you’re at work right now,” Dick grinned imagining Clark trying to limit how much he could eavesdrop while out and about in daily life with super hearing. “I just wanted to ask whether you’d heard anything from anyone about why someone might be targeting Billy?” That was how Dick got pulled into a weird case where he scoured various sources to find the reasons surrounding the attempted kidnapping of Captain Marvel.

After a few days on that, there were a series of art heists in Bludhaven and Gotham that had started out in New York and Boston. The perpetrator was only targeting blue coloured statues. Dick would’ve suspected Selina wanting a chat, but some of the statues taken weren’t worth much. She was, however, happy to point him towards a shady middleman who’d been attempting to sell off some of the pieces in exchange for a chance to get Batman to chase her. Dick, remembering what some of those chases looked like from his own tenure as Robin, had Jason assist him in apprehending the art thief, who turned out to be a regular person with the strangest compulsion. Jason was only too happy to miss the strange flirtation between Batman and Catwoman.

Before he knew it, it had been a while since he’d met with Jazz. He’d been able to keep up some of the conversation with her over text, but he winced wondering what she thought of his sudden distance.

It probably wasn’t very favourable; especially given they’d rescheduled their second date thrice.

-----

Jazz just confusedly stared at Dick – and the bouquet in his hands - where he stood at the main entrance of her work. “Hi?”

“I wanted to apologise for having to reschedule our second date so many times and not being able to even chat as much as we usually do.” Dick proffered the bouquet to Jazz, and while she automatically grabbed it, her eyes didn’t leave Dick’s. “Are you usually so guilt ridden for being busy?”

By the way Dick startled, she had guessed right – even if she hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud. She sighed, and grabbed him by the elbow. He followed after her as she dragged him to the bakery a little ways away from her work. “Come on. You look like you could use some dessert therapy.”

“Dessert therapy?” Dick asked confused. He followed her into the bakery unsure of what she was doing and turned his gaze onto their display case when Jazz pointed it out. “Pick out something you want to eat. Don’t concern yourself on whether it’s healthy or not, it just has to be something you enjoy, and can eat.”

Dick looked over the selection and picked a couple of different tarts. When Jazz nodded, he ordered his tarts and the giant doughnut she pointed to. As soon as they’d received their order, Jazz snagged his arm again, and had them wandering off towards the park nearby. When Dick tried speaking, Jazz shushed him, and they silently made their way to the bench she knew hid between some trees and faced a tiny corner of the pond that was obviously meant for ducks. At best there were pigeons or dragonflies that came by, but no ducks that she’d ever seen.

Jazz dug out one of the tarts for Dick and passed it over. “Can I ask a couple of questions? You can choose not to answer if you don’t want to.”

When Dick only responded with a “Sure.” Jazz hummed. “Why did you think you needed to apologise to me for being busy?”

Dick shrugged and took a bite of the tart.

“Does your being busy often cause issues in other parts of your life?”

Dick lowered the tart instead of taking another bite. “Not often but, it’s been a problem before. I tend to get tunnel vision sometimes when I’m focused on something and forget about the people around.”

Jazz hummed contemplatively, as she chewed on that and her doughnut. Dick seemed to be mulling over it as well. “Can I ask a couple of questions in return?”

Jazz nodded. “Sure.”

“Do you usually psychoanalyse people you went on a date with?”

“No, not usually.” Jazz laughed. “You just looked like you needed a kick in the pants to stop feeling guilty over things outside your control.”

“What makes you think things were out of my control?”

“Considering you apologised for running late the first time we went out, I’m assuming things were seriously out of control for you, that you could barely find time to chat. But honestly? That’s part of life. Sometimes we get busy and the people we love will need to adjust unless they feel like we’re endangering ourselves.”

“Is that when they start invading your home?” Dick chuckled. There’s a bitter undertone that Jazz was certain that Dick had attempted – unsuccessfully - to suppress. Jazz noted it but didn’t comment on it. “No that’s when they hold interventions.”

Dick hummed. “Maybe I should start doing that to my little brother. Hopefully it’ll rub off on the rest of the family that way.”

Jazz shrugged. “Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But it does make for some fun planning the intervention. You can do banner painting and matching shirts, even some themed snacks.” Dick laughed at that again and something about his grin itched at Jazz’s mind.

They sat in silence for a bit, Jazz finishing the last of her giant doughnut and Dick the last of his tart. The wind moving through the trees and rustling the leaves formed the backdrop as the two contemplated not just their conversation, but also whatever else their brain decided to bring up. “Can I ask something more?” Jazz asked.

Dick nodded, so Jazz took a breath. This was very different from anything they’d discussed before and could be too soon to bring up. But she was curious. “Why the flowers? When you came to apologise, you brought a bouquet.”

“Did you not like them?” Dick frowned.

Jazz shook her head. “I did, but that’s not why I asked.”

“Can you tell me why you asked before I answer?” Dick hedged.

When Jazz just stared at him, Dick sighed. “It’s been my experience that when I get busy and forget to check in with people, specially those I went on a date with, they tend to get rightfully upset. Apologies are usually better received with flowers.”

Jazz hummed, frowning slightly as she considered the scenery in front of them. “Well, I appreciate the flowers and the apology. Though they weren’t really necessary especially if you were busy because of work.”

They sat talking a little more about things – Dick’s concern about the frequent mugging attempts was cute but understandable given he had no idea about her past experiences. Or that her baseline wasn’t an average human’s. They left the bench eventually and walked around the park for a bit, talking about consequential and inconsequential things. It wasn’t until she was walking up her apartment stairs, that it suddenly struck her why Dick’s smile was so familiar. She’d seen that smile before. Not just on his face.

On someone else’s too.

Dick Grayson was Nightwing.

Holy crap.

Chapter Text

Ancient ectoplasmic fudgeballs.

How was it she kept finding vigilantes in her life? Okay maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. But two, two different people in her life were vigilantes. Well, Danny was semi-retired, so she wasn’t sure he counted.

Okay.

First things first.

Jazz made sure all her windows were shut, curtains drawn, and her front door triple locked as soon as she got home. Then she pulled out the emergency ration of chocolate chip cookies she’d frozen last month and set the oven to preheat. While the oven did its thing, she quickly changed out of her clothes and into sweats and a loose night shirt. The oven dinged just as she finished, so she put a tray full of the frozen cookies into the oven, before setting a kettle to boil. It felt like a night for cider instead of tea and Jazz didn’t need more reasons to be up late tonight. She had a feeling that would be happening anyways.

That done, she put away the rest of the box of emergency cookies, switched on her TV and left it to run something mindless in the background. She brought the laptop to the table where she basically did everything and sat, unsure if she wanted confirmation.

On one hand, if she knew for sure, she’d need to figure out what to do if anyone ever decided to ask her directly. She’d been on this roller-coaster before, with Danny. Could be villains (because there were always villains no matter what), could just be a governmental authority. Vigilantism was still a crime after all. For all the experiences she’d lived through, she could barely lie to save her skin. Deflect sure. Distract? Definitely. But outright lying? Forget it.

On the other hand, she was too much of a pragmatist to not know. Lack of confirmation in this case wouldn’t help, and Jazz knew her curiosity would keep niggling at her. She could stick with her suspicions and ideas, and still be questioned/interrogated by villains or governmental authorities. Plus, there was also the issue of half information. There’s nothing more dangerous than having partial information. She could accidentally give away something she didn’t mean to or shouldn't be giving away. She could also make a mistake and endanger someone innocent.

The oven dinged, Jazz considered her options as she pulled out the tray and moved the cookies to a plate. She could either know or not. Either way, she’d have to decide what to do with that information. As she was pouring in the cider pre-mix into her cup it struck her.

She could always take the third option. The middle path.

She could get partial confirmation, and then act as if nothing had changed. She wouldn't know for sure. She’d done it when she’d figured out Danny’s secret. Dick could tell her, if and when he was ready. If it ever got that serious. If it didn’t, then, she’d leave it alone. She wouldn’t know for sure, so she wouldn’t be lying and her curiosity would stop niggling at her.

Mind made up, she went back to her personal laptop and booted it up. Danny had gifted it to her when she finished college and mentioned that he’d asked his friend Tucker to make a few modifications so no one could easily track her searches or hack into her files. The images of Nightwing for the most part, were ridiculously blurry or tiny. Well. That answered that question. If there was no public media, then figuring out the similarities was close to impossible. She clicked over to the videos available, and watched the short clippings people had uploaded. After scrolling through a few short blurry clips from phones, she finally found one which looked like an old news channel interview after some kind of major event in New York. As she watched the interview progress, she compared the face of Nightwing on screen with Dick’s face.

…

……  

How did anyone not realise that Dick was Nightwing? The mask he wore covered nothing but his eyes and cheekbones! His demeanour seemed a little different, but overall there were so many similarities.

Jazz dropped her face in her hands and groaned. How was he so dumb.

Oh god.

The first thing she’d tell him – again if, and when, he revealed his identity – was that he was dumb for using a domino mask. IT COVERED NOTHING! IT WASN’T AN EFFECTIVE MASK!

Maybe she’d just tell him anyways even if it didn’t look like he would. Maybe an off hand comment or something. The man needed to be careful. Jazz stood up, ready to shut the laptop and move onto something else to relax when her eye caught on the pile of news articles Danny had brought over for her scrapbook. Might as well add to her scrapbooks. She pushed away the laptop and pulled the clippings closer.

There were quite a few along the lines of the ‘Fenton Family Saves Amity Again’. Jazz smiled as she read about her mom and dad fighting ghosts, there were a few where Danny had joined in too; either as himself or as Phantom. She spent the rest of the night putting the articles into her current scrapbook before she turned in for the night. Falling asleep took a while that night.

-----

Dick stood at the corner of a roof on a building, contemplating the cityscape. It seemed to be a quiet night of patrol so far, and he would’ve ordinarily turned in already, but he was still mulling over his conversation with Jazz from earlier.

He didn’t think he usually felt so guilty over things, but she had pointed out that he must’ve been. The thing that stuck out to him though, was that she hadn’t even known him that long. They’d chatted on and off over texts and met up a grand total of twice and she’d hit the nail on the head about his guilt.

Dick knew he regularly stretched himself too thin. He needed to, given his job and his vigilantism. It was inevitable. Juggling things was second nature to him but it also meant that sometimes things fell by the wayside. He didn’t think he’d felt so much guilt over it but obviously he had been.

A soft ping in his ear had Dick tapping his comm. “Hey boy wonder, how was the month? Heard you had a busy one?”

Dick smiled as soon as he heard Barbara’s voice over the comm. “Hey BG, it’s been non-stop. But you know how the job is. Another night, another criminal.”

“Hmm-hmm. How are you though, otherwise? I noticed Nightwing mentions all over the internet and it looked like you barely had a moment to breathe with everything going on.”

Dick sighed, knowing the comm would pick up the noise. If Barbara was being persistent enough to directly ask twice, then she wouldn’t let it go until she had an answer. “It was a hard month, but it helped having others to work with. Gives us a chance to catch up when it isn’t always possible. Fortunately, tonight seems to be quiet.”

“Thinking of turning in early?”

“I might. Might stay on if you were hoping for some of my charming company.”

Barbara’s laugh had Dick smiling wider. He’d always loved her laugh. “Sorry boy wonder, I’m taken tonight. R is currently fetching us some shakes, but we should catch up one of these days. I’m curious what’s been going on with you.”

Dick agreed and hung up soon after, but something about the conversation with Barbara pinged in his mind. It reminded him of Wally’s teasing comment. “You have a lot of tells when you’re in a relationship dude.”

It wasn’t until he was laying in bed, almost drifting off that it suddenly hit him why Barbara’s conversation had made him think of Wally’s comment. And why Wally thought he was falling in love.

Jazz Fenton had a lot of the same traits as his exes. Red haired. Could hold her own in a fight. Hell, she definitely got her workout in every time someone tried mugging her. She’d come out unscathed when the whole office had been held hostage and the time he’d been superfluous outside the convenience store when she’d complained about her melted ice cream. She was sharp witted, and given she worked in child services she was obviously patient.

…

……

Dick just yanked his pillow over his face and groaned into it.

No, Jazz was just an interesting person, who was his friend, and they’d happened to go on a single sort-of date early on. There was nothing else. Hell, she’d straightened him out earlier when he'd gone to apologise.

They were friends nothing more.

Dick stared at his ceiling for a long time that night.

-----

Dick Grayson

20^th May

8:05 AM: How’s your guilt today?
8:05 AM: Do you still feel like you should give flowers to people?
8:06 AM: Or the uncontrollable urge to apologise for things out of your control?

8:07 AM: Ha. No yesterday’s kick seems to have worked.
8:08 AM: Thank you for that by the way

8:08 AM: No worries.
8:09 AM: Do you have any plans for this week?
8:09 AM: and before you get excited, it’s a work thing.

8:10 AM: Colour me intrigued.
8:10 AM: What did you have in mind?
8:11 AM: It’s not anything illegal is it?
8:11 AM: I’ll probably have to arrest you if it is.

8:15 AM: It’s not illegal.
8:16 AM: Perfectly legal. Mandated by work in fact.
8:19 AM: Need to do a welfare check. Documented issues, possible history of abuse. The foster parent has made reparations though I’m sceptical.

8:21 AM: Do you expect a fight or should I just stand there and look pretty?

8:22 AM: You can look pretty even if a fight breaks out.
8:23 AM: Need to get my workout in somehow :)

8:24 AM: I’ll volunteer for the child services liaison today in which case.
8:25 AM: Hopefully my sergeant thinks it’s low work enough to leave me there instead of shunting me elsewhere.

8:27 AM: Do you mind spending the week doing that?
8:28 AM: My manager’s got me doing ‘dangerous’ visits this week.

8:29 AM: Did you annoy your manager?
8:30 AM: Or did they wake up on the wrong side of the bed and decide you’re the unlucky one?

8:34 AM: No one else wanted the ‘dangerous’ visits.
8:35 AM: The ‘dangerous’ visits aren’t actually *that* dangerous

8:41 AM: I think you need to adjust your understanding of dangerous.
8:41 AM: Bludhaven’s not safe no matter what you’re used to

8:42 AM: pshh Mr. Moved to Blud After Living in Gotham

---------

6:22 PM: That wasn’t too bad

6:35 PM: Wasn’t too bad?!

6:35 PM: You’re going to get *killed* one of these days.

6:36 PM: Honestly Dick, you worry too much.

6:36 PM: It’s not good for your blood pressure.

6:37 PM: You should try some yoga.

6:38 PM: Jazz. Please.

6:39 PM: If it helps, I don’t go looking for trouble.

6:40 PM: That doesn’t exactly help.

Jazz Fenton

22^nd May

10:04 AM: Were we not supposed to meet up outside St. Bernadine’s?

10:06 AM: Jazz?

10:10 AM: Don’t worry about it. I’ll be there in a few.

10:10 AM: Did you visit the Singhs on your own?

10:11 AM: Dick, the Singhs are perfectly fine and are being screwed over the system because of their ethnicity.

10:11 AM: Mrs. Singh even gave me some samosas when I mentioned I left you behind.

10:12 AM: She wanted to say sorry for being left on your own.

10:12 AM: …

10:12 AM: Jazz that’s not okay

10:13 AM: I see your car! Be there in a sec!

Dick Grayson

23^rd May

00:05 AM: I just got a message from a kid

00:05 AM: Something happened in their building.

00:06 AM: Will visit the Moore housing project first thing tomorrow

00:06 AM: Meet me outside at 8 am

00:16 AM: Firstly it’s past midnight. Why are you awake?

00:17 AM: Secondly you need to wait outside the Project entrance

00:17 AM: There’s something big happening tonight.

00:18 AM: Nobody is allowed inside without an escort.

00:18 AM: RICHARD GRAYSON

00:19 AM: IF YOU TELL ME TO STAY OUT

00:19 AM: YOU AND I WILL HAVE A BIG PROBLEM

00:20 AM: I am saying I will go with you. But no lone wolf wandering in

00:21 AM: There’s a lot of major movement happening.

00:21 AM: Most likely underworld related. I can’t say more

00:21 AM: Alright.

00:22 AM: But be on time. No bodega hold ups like last time.

00:22 AM: I won’t wait around for you to get there.

00:22 AM: Why are you awake?

02:23 AM: Neighbour needed help. Burst pipe.

02:23 AM: Kitchen got flooded. Not too bad though.

---------

03:27 PM: Which hospital room did they take you to?

03:27 PM: and how are you feeling?

03:38 PM: I had them drop me off at the clinic on Stark Ave

03:39 PM: The doc there knows me and is polite

03:39 PM: Figured it would be better than hanging around waiting at RABE

03:40 PM: Wasn’t too bad either. Just a minor bruise on the shoulder.

03:40 PM: Told you

03:41 PM: STAY THERE

03:41 PM: I’M PICKING YOU UP

03:41 PM: NO ARGUMENTS

Jazz Fenton

25^th May

10:13 AM : Amy pointed out I don’t know you

10:13 AM : I would like to prove her wrong

10:25 AM: Alright?

10:25 AM : What does this involve?

10:26 AM: Variation on 20 questions?

10:26 AM: Only if I get to ask questions in return too.

10:26 AM : I don’t think 20 questions will be enough but go ahead.

10:27 AM : Favourite food?

10:27 AM : Chocolate fudge. The kind without nuts.

10:28 AM: Favourite breakfast food?

10:29 AM : Çılbır.

10:30 AM : Poached eggs with spicy butter over yogurt.

10:30 AM : I’ve never heard of it. Where’s it from?

10:31 AM: It’s Turkish.

10:31 AM: My friend Donna introduced me to it.

10:31 AM : That doesn’t count as one of my questions.

10:31 AM : Sounds interesting. I should try it sometime.

10:32 AM: Dukie’s Deli on Skunk Ave serves a good version.

10:33 AM: Favourite colour?

10:33 AM : Don’t have one. Depends on the day and my mood.

10:33 AM : Last time you had a regret about something you did?

10:33 AM: Wow. Straight into the hard stuff.

10:34 AM : Guessing the unnecessary apology won’t work?

10:34 AM: Nope. Pick something you actually should’ve felt guilty for.

10:35 AM: Okay.

10:35 AM: I know! Borrowed a friend’s sweatshirt last month.

10:35 AM: That’s not something to feel guilty about.

10:35 AM : Unless there’s more to the story, I say it doesn’t count.

10:58 AM : Did you lose your phone in the middle of a conversation?

Jazz Fenton

28^th May

5:45 PM: Sorry I got dragged into something.

5:47 PM : So the sweatshirt I borrowed, got borrowed by a different friend, except this friend is much larger than either of us, and then there was a kitchen thing which led to the poor sweatshirt’s demise.

5:48 PM: There was no recovering that sweatshirt after the ketchup bottle exploded.

5:55 PM : Everything okay?

5:55 PM: Why did the ketchup bottle explode? Not a question.

5:56 PM: Yep!

5:56 PM:  There may have been a dare of some kind involved.

5:56 PM: Which Superhero’s costume do you secretly judge?

5:57 PM: This feels like a very polarising question

5:57 PM : But Robin. Because no pants.

5:58 PM: Yes. It is a big question. I need you to defend your answer.

5:58 PM: As a former Gotham resident my city pride demands it.

6:01 PM : First, it’s a kid running around fighting crime. Kids shouldn’t be fighting crime. Second, even if they want to fight crime, pants would be so much better especially when it gets cold. Also, pants I’m guessing would help with protection from whatever danger they encounter at night. Guns, knives whatever.

6:04 PM : Alright. I’ll give you that.

6:04 PM: Those are good reasons. Your turn.

6:05 PM : Worst co-worker story – not regarding the cases you encounter.

6:07 PM : Had a coworker once who did nothing but eat sauerkraut in hotdogs.

6:07 PM : No actual dog, no other fillings, just sauerkraut and mustard.

6:08 PM: Ew. That’s bad. Your turn.

6:09 PM: Which superpower would you not want?

6:09 PM: I see we’re on a super hero and powers trend.

6:10 PM: I’d say mind reading. Privacy is a big thing, and accidentally invading someone else’s mind is a big concern with mind reading.

 6:10 PM: That’s actually pretty logical.

6:11 PM : Here’s a fun one.

6:12 PM: Do you think Edna from Incredibles would agree with the Batman costume?

6:13 PM: No – because all I can imagine is her going ‘NO! CAPES! NO CAPES!’

6:13 PM: It’s common knowledge that Batman is a huge drama queen

6 :13 PM: Needs his cape to vanish into the shadows. No cape = no cryptid vanishing

6:14 PM : Favourite pizza toppings?

6:15 PM: I’m a simple pizza gal.

6:15 PM: Ham and jalapenos.

6:16 PM: What’s the weirdest thing you own but feels very adult?

6:17 PM: Corn cobbler. Useful for a barbecue or meal prepping.

6:18 PM : What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?

6:19 PM: There was one where I didn’t realise until later that I was basically jealousy bait.

6:19 PM: ?

6:19 PM: Not a question.

6:21 PM: He wanted to get his ex to get back with him. I was the bait to inspire jealousy.

6:22 PM: That sounds like crap. Sorry.

6:23 PM: It’s fine. Good learning opportunity.

6:23 PM: Plus, I got my own sweet revenge with some spoiled fish.

6:24 PM: To be fair this was also years ago. Took me a while to figure out things.

Chapter Text

Things were finally starting to settle, when Dick managed to keep a date with Jazz. The only time they could manage to meet up was late mornings, so Dick asked her meet him at a not very well-known place he’d discovered. They did a mean brunch spread which Jazz quite enjoyed, if the small smile she had throughout the meal was any indication.

He was laughing at Jazz’s description of the pinched look of some hospital worker who’d been faced with a child’s curiosity about all things medical as they walked out of the place. He stared as Jazz stopped mid-sentence and turned her smiling face up to the rare sunny day.

“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” he asked, suddenly not wanting the date to end.

“Nothing important,” she murmured still enjoying the sunlight across her face. “Might sit in a park, soak up some of this beautiful day.”

Dick tucked his hands into his pockets. “Would you like to spend some of that time with me? We can stroll in the park, maybe window shop?”

“That sounds lovely actually. Where should we go?”

“We could go to Thrawn or Melville. They’re both equally close from here. I would suggest some of the Mealtide park trails, but coming back from there would be a nightmare later.”

Jazz wrinkled her nose at that. “Good point. Traffic after a gorgeous day is a sure fire way to spoil things. You know, I don’t have any idea about either of the other parks. Which is nicer?”

Dick rocked on his feet, considering their options. “Well Thrawn is always a nice place to go, but the wind off the seafront could be bitingly cold at this time of the year. Melville is smaller comparatively so chances are there will be lots of people around enjoying the day.”

“So, my choices are either biting breeze or plenty of people? We can always escape the people, but escaping wind is harder.”

“Melville it is!” Dick jauntily offered his elbow with a "My Lady," and Jazz laughed as she slipped her hand into it. Dick absently wondered whether it was an accident or if someone had taught Jazz the placement of just fingers in the crook of an elbow. “I have a question,” he said as they wandered down the street. When Jazz just hummed, he went on. “You’d mentioned a bad date you got back at. I got the sense that there was more to the story.”

“Ah.” Nothing changed in Jazz’s body language; she still walked close to him, her fingers hadn’t tightened in his elbow, but Dick got the distinct sense she was somewhere else.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he said after a few moments, but Jazz shook her head.

“It’s alright, just trying to remember. It was a long time ago and not something I think about often. It was towards the end of high school and there was this guy I met. He was maybe a couple of years older than me, I think. Anyways, he flirted and gave me small trinkets, even took me on his bike a couple of times.”

“Long bike rides huh?” Dick teased.

Jazz laughed. “Oh stop. Every girl has their own bad boy phase, and Johnny with his bike and leather jacket was definitely mine. Anyways, I eventually realised he was basically using me to get his ex back, and I decided that that wasn’t okay. Broke up with him, gave back everything he’d given me, and left him a petty gift.”

“The petty gift being the spoiled fish?” Dick grinned as they waited to cross the street. He could see the park in front and there were indeed plenty of people there, more than he’d thought in fact. Jazz seemed to have noticed the same thing, because she tugged him away from the crosswalk and towards the shop fronts lining the street they were on. It was definitely less crowded than the park.

“Let’s walk around the park for now. Yes, the spoiled fish. I was clearing out some junk from the school cafeteria for one of the community centres. I saw Johnny’s bike parked in the school parking, and given it was both a weekend and he wasn’t a student I figured it was a sign from the universe. So I grabbed some stinky, days-old fish from the Home Ec. stores and hid it in a couple of hard to reach spaces in his bike.”

“Inventive.”

“Very satisfying too. I think it’s fair to ask for a story in return.”

Dick hummed. “I unfortunately don’t have any similar petty revenge stories. There’s been a few break ups, don’t get me wrong, but they’ve been mostly due to either outside circumstances or because we didn’t want to move forward.”

“That sounds like a fair description of mutual break ups.”

“They certainly were mutual,” Dick said absently, actively not thinking of the various fights he’d had with Barbara during their many attempts at being together.

“I think the gent doth protest too much.”

Dick just smiled. “Don’t get me wrong, there was a relationship that had a lot of ups and downs but it was mainly because we knew each other for a long time before we started dating. Between that and our similar personalities, things didn’t always work out between us. We’d get on great for a while, but at some point, I’d mess up or she would, and one argument later, we’d be just friends again.”

“Are you still friends with her?” Dick pulled his gaze from the book store they were outside of and looked at Jazz. She turned to look at him too. Dick wondered whether Jazz was the type to be jealous of his friends. He didn’t think so, but sometimes people acted strangely.

“Yes, Barbara and I are still close friends. Despite our ups and downs, we always manage to remain friends first.”

Jazz held his gaze evenly as she replied. “Good. It’s hard to find friends who stick by us through thick and thin. Did you ever regret those arguments?”

“Every time we argued, but not always immediately. Sometimes it took a while.”

“Dick,” Jazz said seriously. “That just makes you human. And prone to emotions. Come on, I want to take a look at those ceramic figurines. The dog in the dress with the umbrella looks ridiculous.”

Dick looked at the ceramic figurines in the thrift store and laughed. That one indeed looked hilarious. They spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in and out of thrift stores, finding the most ridiculous things everywhere. There were some truly hilarious things in some of the shops they went to. Dick was the proud new owner of some coffee mugs with sayings on them like Nothing beats pizza. Except coffee. And chocolate. The one with a dancing polar bear wearing an elf hat was his favourite though.

Jazz grinned at her purchase of a large heart shaped bowl. She’d claimed it was to keep her loose things in though Dick had a sneaking suspicion she’d only be using it for the various paper bits she usually had in her pockets. Dick had seen her tuck them back into her pockets many times, but she never threw them anywhere. They were always tucked back into whichever pocket they came out of. Either that or the bowl would eventually just hold fruits.

“What are you doing next weekend?” Jazz asked as they walked in the general direction of both their homes from the last thrift store they'd browsed. The afternoon light was starting to slant towards evening, softening the harsh edges of the city around them.

“Nothing much. Probably the usual. Might get fancy and do the laundry before the dishes.” 

Jazz laughed. “You jest, but if you do those two simultaneously, it saves so much time for later. I was thinking since you planned this week, I’m going to plan our next date. There’s a new exhibit that the Natural History museum is running next week. I think you might enjoy it.”

“Sounds interesting enough. What’s the exhibit about?” Dick slipped his arm around Jazz’s shoulder as they walked past a particularly rough looking group; a group that had a couple people Nightwing had put away recently. Looked like his patrol that night had a new agenda.

Jazz looked over and raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t move or shrug his arm away. “It’s about the history of food consumption and patterns of trade across Middle East and Europe. You’d mentioned a friend introduced you to a Turkish preparation of eggs and you’d enjoyed it, so I thought knowing the history about it might be interesting.”

“That does sound interesting. How long is the exhibit running?”

“It just opened so I’m assuming they’ll be open for a while. Why? You planning on bringing your friend or brother here?” the teasing smile playing at the corners of Jazz’s lips made it clear she was teasing.

“Maybe. Maybe we could go for a second visit too if it’s interesting.”

“You make a terrible liar Dick,” Jazz laughed. “The museum was just an idea – I was hoping to keep the real thing a surprise but your face gives you away so easily. There’s a Renfaire I was thinking might be interesting, but you’ll need comfortable boots for that.”

Dick laughed. “I don’t mind going to museums it’s just that they always feel a little too restrictive. Art of any kind needs to be enjoyed by every sense – not in silent contemplation.”

Jazz smiled. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “See you!” she laughed as she walked away, and Dick stood there blindsided, watching her long plait sway in her wake. Blindsided because he’d seen her coming a mile away, but refused to believe it. He hadn’t considered that she might like him enough. Jazz, as person, maintained a personal bubble; she was careful who she let in, who she casually patted on the shoulder or took someone’s hand. He'd seen it enough times during his patrols or when he'd accompanied her during the home visits. To have her kiss him first, even on the cheek, was quite the step forward.

He drifted home with a grin on his face, thinking about all the possibilities ahead, only for that grin to vanish when he saw who was lurking inside his apartment.

“Bruce.” Dick knew it couldn’t be anything urgent, because Bruce would’ve called or shown up wherever Dick was, regardless of who might be around. Which meant he was only here, in his apartment, because he wanted a relatively private space for a conversation. Dick hated those kinds of conversations; they always ended in arguments.

“Dick,” was Bruce's only response. He stood looking out of a window in Dick’s living room, and Dick decided he wasn’t going to engage Bruce actively. The man had decided to drop by unannounced, he could make an effort to explain why he was here. Or leave – Dick wasn’t opposed to that option either. He went over to the sink, set down his purchases and started to wash them.

A long silence filled the apartment, broken only by the sound of running water. Eventually Bruce broke the silence; “Jason tells me he’d like to spend more weekends with you.”

“Jason’s welcome to come over anytime he likes – he knows that,” Dick responded calmly. He finished drying his last mug and spread the drying cloth over the counter. Dick turned and leaned back, so his back rested against the counter and considered Bruce. Bruce was still standing at his window, staring out.

“There has been some increased activity in Gotham that I’ve traced back to New York and Bludhaven.” Dick scowled. So, it was straight to the recriminations about his failings.

“There’s been a lot of activity in Bludhaven, the same as always. And I’ve been investigating and dealing with things as always. If there’s someone in particular that’s bothering you, then you’re going to have to be more upfront.”

Bruce finally turned and looked at Dick. “Androni Scarponi has been seen in Bludhaven several times in the last few weeks. Simultaneously, there’s been a flurry of activity amongst the Maronis, which includes the appearance of an illegitimate daughter of Salvatore Maroni’s, Isabella Pierce. There's reason to believe that Androni, under orders from Isabella, has been making overtures with someone called Tulip. That moniker is the only information available about Androni’s contact. There’s no description and no other corroborating information, on who this Tulip is, nor who they work for. Your files-”

“You’re choosing to offer this information because you didn’t get anywhere with my files. You chose to go digging in my files instead of just asking me about any of this,” Dick interrupted; aware he was barely keeping his anger out of his voice.

Bruce simply continued as if he hadn’t said anything. “I need you to investigate and find out what exactly Androni and Isabella are hoping to achieve here in Bludhaven. Any new headway that the Maronis make could mean a gang war in Gotham.”

Dick kept silent and stared at Bruce.

“Well?” Bruce asked when it became obvious to him Dick wasn’t going to respond.

“Oh, is it my turn to talk now? I was under the impression you just needed my files and any notes that may not have made it into them.”

“Dick,” Bruce sighed. And that was it. Dick felt the rage he’d been keeping a hold of snap and flood his system.

“Don’t 'Dick' me, you’re the one who decided it was alright to show up unannounced inside my apartment, who thought it alright to go snooping through my files, who hasn’t so much as asked how things are going before making demands of my time to help you out without so much as a please. I stay out of your city so now you can do me the same courtesy and stay out of mine! You’re not welcome here Bruce! Now get out!” Dick was breathing heavy by the time he finished, and it was only then that he realised he’d been shouting.

Had been for a good portion of it, if the ringing silence of the apartment was anything to go by.

Bruce inclined his head and silently left.

Dick growled in the suddenly oppressive and deafening silence, and turned on his television. He flipped through channels before settling on something that looked like it had enough colour and noise to beat back the silence. He cooked and ate dinner in the not quite silent apartment and prepared for patrol. It wasn’t until he leaned over to switch off the television that it registered with him what exactly had been playing on screen.

Jazz Fenton

11^th June

9:45 PM: It suddenly occurs to me that renfaire means costumes.

9:45 PM: I don’t have anything that would work for that.

He immediately got a response, which surprised him.

Jazz Fenton

11^th June

9:46 PM: Don’t worry about that.

9:46 PM : I have something that will work. Just bring a loose white shirt.

9:47 PM: Shirt, not T shirt. And comfortable boots

Dick smiled and grabbed his escrima sticks before slipping out of the window for patrol.

Chapter Text

The rest of the week after Bruce’s visit, Dick kept an eye and ear out for leads, and sent whatever he’d found to Alfred. There wasn’t much beyond the set up for a bluff that Dick could find, so instead he threw himself into figuring out what the Conroys were doing out of prison so fast.

His investigations might have had him getting a little obsessive, trying to untangle a new spot of corruption. He was trying to figure out how they'd gotten out already.

It was the only reason he was startled by Jazz’s call. “Hey Dick, I was thinking you could come over a little early, in case I need to make any adjustments to your costume.”

“What time were you thinking?” Dick asked, still half-buried in his pillow. He rolled over and squinted out the window. The light suggested it was probably around 9 am.

“I was thinking the earlier the better. It’ll take us a while to get there anyway and the buses sometimes run a bit late.”

Dick turned onto his back again and considered the ceiling in his room. “You know, there is a faster way to get there, but you’ll need to trust me a little.”

Jazz’s laugh through the phone had Dick smiling too. “I do trust you Dick, that isn’t something you need to worry about. Do I get to know how you plan on getting us there or is it a surprise?”

“You’ll see when I get to your place. I’ll be over in half an hour,” Dick laughed. He continued laying in bed for a moment after the call was done, imagining the rest of the day ahead. Then Dick vaulted out and went to get dressed, excited about spending the day with Jazz.

A little under half an hour later, he knocked on Jazz’s door, only to feel his jaw drop when she opened it. “I feel under dressed if you’re planning on wearing a suit of armour,” he murmured, unable to take his eyes off Jazz, who only laughed in response.

“Come on in. And it’s not a suit of armour as much as it is kind of brigantine,” Jazz led him to her living room where she’d laid out a few options for him. She turned to find him still staring at her, and propped her hand on her cocked waist. “If you stare any longer, you’re going to drool Dick.”

“Sorry, I’m just having a hard time concentrating.”

A slow grin spread across her lips. “Dick, I’m having a hard time believing you’re actually sorry, when you sound and look like that.” Dick took in the half-sleeved tunic covered in interconnected hexagonal metal pieces, the way it hugged Jazz’s figure shoulder to waist, and how it flared out over her hips. She looked good.

“Go get dressed Dick, otherwise we’ll miss the show.” Dick grabbed the pile of clothes that Jazz nudged towards him, and went through the door she pointed him towards. He exited a few minutes later, dressed in Jodhpuri drawstring pants and a padded doublet tied down over his white shirt, still holding the cloak from the pile.

Jazz looked up from where she’d been tying her boots and smiled. “That fit better than I anticipated,” She stood and walked over to Dick, the low heels on her boots giving her the last inch to be eye to eye with him. She fiddled with the shoulders of the doublet and then with the sides, little tugs and tucks to help settle it better. She patted his chest once done. “Definitely suits you,” she murmured, looking into his eyes.

Jazz turned and went back to where she’d left her vambraces, and Dick felt the sharp bite of a moment lost. “Where’d you get the costume pieces?” he asked, looking away and examining the rest of the living room.

“They’re not exactly costume pieces,” Jazz answered, still tightening the laces on her vambrace. “I had a martial arts teacher who insisted we learnt and practiced with real armour. The brigantine and doublet and the rest of it, are from there.”

“Huh,” Dick looked down at his doublet. Jazz catching his glance, laughed. “That belongs to my cousin. Dan didn’t want to leave his things at home when he left, so he asked if I could hold onto them for a bit. Come on, we’ll be late.”

Dick followed Jazz out of her apartment and watched her jaw drop when she caught sight of his bike. He grinned and handed her a helmet. “Bad boys aren’t the only ones with bikes you know. Now come on, you’re the one who didn’t want to be late.” Jazz’s growl wasn’t muffled by the helmet she shoved on, and Dick’s grin just grew wider.

He took a mostly direct route to where the renfaire was set up in a town a little ways away, but took a few turns sharply and felt Jazz’s arms tighten around his waist. He enjoyed the sensation a lot more than he thought he would.

After they’d reached the grounds, Jazz led them both through the various vendor stalls, and they enjoyed browsing and poking through the various offerings and the small acts that were put up by different people. Jazz and Dick were standing in line at the drinks stall discussing available options, when banging caught everyone’s attention.

A man stood on a raised central dais, banging his staff as he announced, “The training grounds are now open to the public! Weapons are not allowed but all combatants are welcome!”

Jazz nudged a shoulder into Dick. “That’s new. Usually they don’t open the grounds for everyone.”

“That makes sense,” he responded. “If people aren’t careful, they can get seriously hurt.”

“They usually have some trained fighters who are performing and putting on fights. Do you want to go see them next?” They moved forward with the line, and Jazz leaned forward to place their order.

Dick grabbed their drinks and moved towards the training grounds. “I don’t mind going to watch. Though, I have to insist we find some shade – you look like you need some more sunscreen.” Jazz clicked her tongue and followed.

They found some space to watch the fights, and Jazz pulled out a discrete tube and re-applied sunscreen, cursing softly about the annoyance of pale complexions. They watched in silence as people paired up to fight, some ending more successfully than others.

“I have a question,” Dick asked.

Jazz took a sip from her drink. “Shoot.”

“Those martial arts classes why you fight off so many muggers frequently?”

“Sort of,” Jazz laughed. “I think it’s a combination of the infamous Fenton bad luck and my hair making me an easy target. Those classes are why I can hold my own,” Jazz glanced over mischievously. “Probably could hold my own against you too.”

Dick coughed, caught off guard. “I, um, am not sure that’s such a good idea.” He was glad his hair was long enough to cover his ears because he could feel them going red at the imagery

“Oh for goodness sake!” Jazz laughed. “I’m talking about a spar. No one will actually get hurt, and we can go easy, if you’re that worried. Besides,” Jazz leaned closer to Dick, “we’ve been dating for a little more than four months, and sparring can be fun when no stakes are involved.”

Dick closed the distance between them and lightly pressed his lips to Jazz’s, who pressed back eagerly. A sharp buzzing sound – with a pattern that Dick recognised – broke the moment and had Dick groaning as he dropped his head to rest on Jazz’s shoulder.

“I’m guessing that’s a summons of a sort?” Jazz asked as her fingers combed through Dick’s hair gently. 

“Yeah. Guess the boss needs me for something,” Dick answered, grateful for Jazz’s excuse. He couldn’t exactly offer the explanation of Vigilante work means dropping everything to go deal with rogues who were desperate to stick to their shtick, because regular cops weren’t equipped to deal with such things. Besides, it wasn’t exactly a lie, Batman certainly behaved like the boss of all vigilantes.

Jazz hummed. “Why don’t you go and deal with whoever needs rescuing? Can’t be something small if they’re calling you in on your day off.”

Dick straightened. “I can’t just leave you here though.”

Jazz laughed. “Dick, I planned on using public transport today. Your bike was a nice surprise, but you’re hardly leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere. There’s plenty of ways to get back.”

Dick’s phone buzzed once again, and he silenced it. “I feel bad, having to leave partway through our date though.”

Jazz patted his shoulder. “When duty calls, there’s nothing to be done. Go help or save whoever needs it, and I am going to enjoy myself here for a bit before heading home.”

“See you later?” Dick asked as he stood up.

“Yeah. Just be careful, alright?”

“I’m always careful!” Dick threw over his shoulder as he jogged away. Dick was absolutely going to take his frustrations out on whoever decided that a weekend afternoon was a good time to cause chaos.

-----

Dick honest to god hated Gotham. There was just no other city that had that special brand of insanity. Giant mechanised rodents stealing ice from all the stores across the city, was not something you’d find anywhere else. Smashing them to pieces had felt therapeutic. Then again, maybe it’d been a little too therapeutic, because Dick had received concerned looks from both Batman and Batgirl.

Dick stared at his ceiling, as he lay on his couch icing his various bruises, trying to wind his mind down a little. He could push himself to go patrol tonight in Bludhaven, but Dick knew anytime something major happened in Gotham, crime slowed down in his city. Small stuff still happened, but it wasn’t anything that the few honest cops in the city couldn’t handle.

Dick’s phone buzzed and he groaned. He didn’t want to hear about being too reckless or harsh from anyone. When it buzzed again, Dick slowly reached out, mindful of his smarting ribs, and grabbed his phone off the coffee table where he’d tossed it earlier. The texts were from Jason.

Little Wing

19^th June

10:25 PM: Thanks for the save today. And for covering my butt with B

10:26 PM: Hope your ribs don’t hurt too bad.

10:27 PM: That’s what big brothers are for

10:27 PM: Nothing a little ice won’t fix

His phone buzzed again, and Dick opened the new message from Jazz.

Jazz Fenton

19^th June

10:27 PM: I saw the news about BPD on the bridge with robots?

10:27 PM: You okay?

10:28 PM: Just a little bruising. Nothing major.

10:29 PM: I’m trying to decide whether you’re that oblivious or just too tired to remember.

10:30 PM: I have a younger brother too you know

10:30 PM: He uses the same kind of excuses when trying to hide something.

10:31 PM: Sorry, just habit.

10:31 PM: Family gets annoying whenever something is on the news

10:31 PM: That’s when they’re not upset about my becoming a cop.

10:32 PM: Yikes, that doesn’t sound easy.

10:33 PM: It is what it is

10:33 PM: How was the rest of your day?

10:34 PM: Pretty good.

10:34 PM: There was one decent fighter who did a few open fights.

10:35 PM: I ended up wiping the floor with them.

10:36 PM: You’re just hoping I’ll agree to a spar

10:36 PM: You’re currently injured, so no. But it might be fun one day.

10:37 PM: Do you want to watch a movie tomorrow?

10:38 PM: Afraid I won’t be up to going out for a bit.

10:38 PM: That sounds like you’ve got more just bruises.

10:39 PM: We can do something in a few days you know. I’m not about to disappear on you.

10:40 PM: Last thing on my mind.

10:40 PM: Was just hoping for some company.

10:41 PM: And a distraction?

10:41 PM: Guilty

10:42 PM: You order the pizza. I’ll bring the fizzy.

10:42 PM: Fizzy?

10:43 PM: Fizzy. Cola. Pop. Soda. Soft drink.

10:44 PM: Take your pick.

10:44 PM: Huh. Alright, you got yourself a deal.

Chapter Text

A few days later, Dick was doing some post patrol cool down stretches, when his phone rang. Dick smiled when he saw the caller ID.

“Hey Wally, what’s up?” Dick left the call on speaker and went back to his stretches.

“Nothing much, just wanted to check on you with the whole Gotham thing recently. News says there was some sort of dust up, and Nightwing and Robin were thrown into a building.”

Dick laughed. “Thanks man. BPD was mostly covering the bridges to make sure we didn’t have any movement into the city. Other than a couple of small altercations, there wasn’t much to do but keep watch.” Dick switched sides and continued stretching.

“I saw the news coverage, but haven’t seen anything about Nightwing or Robin since then. Wonder if they’re all right.”

“Probably are. You know the capes, they always bounce back no matter what.”

“Hey Dick?” Wally sounded uncomfortably serious for a moment and Dick paused in his stretch, his face pressed into his knees. “Yeah?”

“Whatever happened with that person you were interested in?”

Dick slowly straightened up and looked over at his phone, as if he could look through the device to see his best friend’s expression. “Going steady for now. Why do you ask?”

“Um, actually, do you mind if I come over for a quick sec? Might be easier to have this conversation face to face.”

“Sure, I’m doing stretches, so-” before Dick could finish his sentence, Wally had zoomed over and knocked on his window. Dick stood up with a groan, and walked over to let Wally in.

“Hey Wally,” Dick pulled the other man into a hug.

“Hey Dick,” Wally hugged him back, careful to keep his touch gentle. “You still recovering or just stretching before packing it in for the night?”

Dick dropped back into his stretch. “A little of both. What did you want to talk about?”

“That person you were interested in, they’re a civilian, right?”

“Yeah Wally, Jazz is a civilian,” Dick rolled onto his back and rolled his lower body up.

“Would you consider telling her about everything?” Wally waved his arms around vaguely. “The whole nightlife thing?”

Dick slowly lowered himself and sat cross legged. “Maybe in a while, if things get serious enough that I think she deserves to know,” Dick responded slowly, as he watched Wally pace in circles. “Wally, you’re going to have to walk me through what’s bugging you, man. I can’t help unless I know what’s wrong, and unlike a lot of our friends, I can’t read minds.”

Wally laughed. “That would be easier. I’ve had a couple of run-ins with this reporter recently. Got under my skin because all she seemed to care about was the story she was chasing.”

“Let me guess. You two got to talking after a run in, one thing led to another, and now you want to tell her about your second job because you’re considering being serious,” Dick smirked.

“It’s like you were trained by a detective or something,” Wally laughed.

“You could say that,” Dick chuckled. “What’s her name Wally?”

Wally leaned his weight against a wall as if his strings had been cut. “Dick, I think Linda could be the one.” Wally slid down along the wall to sit on the floor suddenly, and Dick jumped forward as Wally buried his face in his knees.

“I think I’m screwed Dick,” Wally moaned.

Dick just laughed and clapped his hand onto Wally’s shoulder. “Dude, being in love doesn’t mean you’re screwed. Or, well, it doesn’t only mean that,”

That got Dick the laugh he was hoping for. “Wally, being in love isn’t the worst thing. Yeah, it can mean trouble, but it’s always fulfilling. You remember how it was for us, right? Early stages?”

“Yeah, I remember. It was nice to have someone to eat ice cream with at 2 am.”

Dick patted Wally where his arm rested on his shoulder. “The nights where things don’t go well, it’s nice to have someone there. Even if you can’t always talk about it, having someone who knows can be helpful.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Wally wilted suddenly. “But what about her being a civilian? I’m not sure putting her in danger is fair, simply because we happen to be dating.”

“I once asked Clark how he’d known to tell Lois, and he said that it was Lois’ decision. It always had been. He’d said she was fearless in life, and that she deserved to know what her life would be like going forward, if she wanted to keep seeing him.”

“We know how that turned out.”

“Yeah, we do. Hey, at least Linda will know another reporter to talk to if she needs to,” Dick laughed.

“Oh man,” Wally groaned. “Now there’s a scary thought. Linda and Lois joining forces.”

Dick only laughed in response. They talked for another few minutes before Wally left. Dick had barely sat down after seeing his friend out, when there was desperate banging on his front door.

-----

Jazz hummed as she put away the remains of her dinner. She was surprised her attempt on saag paneer had turned out nicely. Maybe she’d introduce Danny to it next time he visited.

The kitchen window shattered as something came crashing in, and Jazz whipped around to deal with whoever or whatever had decided her place was free game. Only to drop the bowl in her hand in shock.

“Danny!”

Jazz scrambled towards the bloody figure sprawled on the floor, trying to figure out what had happened, and how to help. There was so much blood and ectoplasm smeared all over Danny’s unconscious figure, Jazz wasn’t sure where to begin. She scrambled up off the floor and dashed to her bathroom. She grabbed her med kit from under the sink, whatever clean towels she could manage from the shelves before dashing back.

She dumped the towels to the side, and ripped open the med kit to find the giant bottle of disinfectant. She poured that on the most concentrated spots of blood and started dabbing away the sluggish bleeds visible through the tears in his uniform. Danny had a healing factor, but he needed to be in his ghost form for it to work. Right now, he was human. An all too unconscious human, injured and bleeding on her kitchen floor.

She started cataloguing the various injuries she could see. There were various laser burns that looked painful on Danny’s right arm, a lot of cuts and punctures across his torso, his left leg looked broken in at least two different places. Jazz ignored her shaking hands as she checked Danny’s head. He was still breathing, which was the only thing preventing her from hitting full blown panic. Shit there was blood on the back of his head, but it felt tacky. Okay. First things first. Active bleeding needed to be stopped.

Jazz reached back into her kit and pulled out gauze pads. She found the biggest cut – the one that was just under his lowest rib on the right side - and pressed down on it, hard.

Danny jerked and groaned. “Ow.”

“Danny, shhh, you’re okay,” Jazz soothed. “You’re with me in Blud. What happened? Do you remember?”

“St'p. Hur's,” Danny slurred, trying to bat away her hands. Danny managed to turn his head and cracked an eye open. “Jazz?” he asked.

Okay, either concussion or blood loss causing disorientation. Not good.

“Hi Danny,” Jazz ran one hand through his hair, trying to soothe him. “I got you. I’ll fix you up. Can you remember what happened?” Jazz pulled off the wound and yanked out some suture thread from her kit.

“GiW. Figured out I was Phantom.” Shit. That wasn’t good.

“Okay. I’m about to stitch you, so keep still, okay? I know it’s going to hurt, but keep as still as you can, okay?”

Danny hummed, and Jazz quickly sprayed the numbing agent across the gash. Fortunately, it looked it had started healing a little, so it wasn’t too deep, just long. Jazz tried to be as careful and gentle as possible, but stitches were painful.

Danny moaned and tried his best to keep steady, but he still twitched involuntarily.

“Shh I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know, I'm trying to do this as fast as possible. Tell me what happened, Danny.” Maybe distracting him would help

“Th-They thought mom and dad were hiding Phantom,” Danny’s hand grabbed onto her pajamas. Jazz kept stitching despite the pain of his fingers digging into her leg. “Tried to get them to give up Phantom. But mom and dad wouldn’t agree,” Danny’s voice hitched.

“Of course not, Danny. They love you.”

“They didn’t care. Didn’t listen. Forced their way in, started a fight. Stray shot hit something, and then everything… everything was gone,” On the last word, Danny’s voice broke and a sob escaped from him.

Everything seemed to still, Jazz couldn’t think beyond the buzzing in her ears. “Gone?” she asked through numb lips. She couldn’t think, maybe she misunderstood what he meant? Maybe Danny meant something other than what she thought.

“Explosion. Worse than Nasty Burger. Nobody... nobody was left. They were still chasing me and I... I left. Couldn’t use the portal, and wasn’t thinking. Somehow ended up here,” Danny was desperately trying to control his hitching breaths.

“Okay Danny. Okay. Here, take some of these, okay?” Jazz handed a couple of the special painkillers to Danny. She ended up having to hold the bottle of water so Danny could sip some. Once the pills were down, she grabbed Danny under his less injured arm and helped him to the bathroom. She’d deal with things later, right now Danny had to be her focus.

She propped Danny on the closed toilet lid and grabbed some washcloths, wetting them in the sink to clean up the remaining blood and ectoplasm off Danny as best as she could. It was tough going; Danny was nauseous and she had to pause several times to let him gag over an empty bowl. After that, she retrieved some clean clothes from her room – one of her baggy sleep shirts would fit him okayish – and helped Danny change into them.

Once in clean clothes, Jazz got Danny onto her couch to nap with another clean bowl nearby in case the nausea crept up again. After she wrapped Danny’s leg with two splints, she stared at the blood coating her hands, her knees, the flecks and spatters across her thighs. Shit. Her pajamas were a total loss. Jazz went back into the bathroom and cleaned up.

As she scrubbed her hands in the sink Jazz thought. She couldn’t hide Danny here, as much as she wanted to. If GiW was involved, then sooner or later they’d turn up on her doorstep. She couldn’t reach out to anyone from Amity, it would be a bad idea. She needed a place to hide Danny, someplace equipped to handle anything from medical emergencies to shootouts.

She needed a safe-house.

Shit.

Looks like she needed to talk to Dick. Hopefully he had one she could borrow for a bit without too many questions.

Jazz grabbed a couple of garbage bags and dumped all the towels and wash cloths into them, all the medical waste into another one. She scrubbed the kitchen floor as best as she could. She’d do a once over later, right now it just had to come off the linoleum before it dried.

Once done, Jazz grabbed all the bags and moved them over by the main door. Danny was still passed out on her couch, so she grabbed her keys and the filled trash bags, and ran them down to the basement. She’d sneak them into a hospital disposal later.

She stopped by her landlady's apartment on the way up – the one who’d given her cookies ages ago it seemed – and knocked on the door. It took a while for the door to open though given the late hour Jazz wasn’t surprised.

“Jasmine, honey what’s wrong?” Mrs. Rayburn was trying to coax Jazz inside their apartment, and it struck Jazz for the first time how much they’d come to mean to her.

“Mrs. Rayburn, I need to borrow your car if it’s alright. My friend’s in trouble, and I need to go down to the station to see what’s happened.”

“Of course dear, do you need Eustace to go with you? Cops aren’t exactly friendly in this city, you know,” Mrs. Rayburn turned back to yell into the apartment “Eustace! Get of your recliner! Jasmine needs you to go with her to the station!”

“Oh, no, no Mrs. Rayburn that’s alright,” Jazz laid her hand on the older woman’s forearm. “I just need to borrow the car please, if it’s okay. I should be back in a couple of hours, and I can return them then.”

“Nonsense dear. Here,” she pushed the keys into Jazz’s hand and Jazz gratefully closed her fingers over them, swallowing her guilt over the lie. “You take your time, and make sure your friend is okay. There’s no rush, so just be careful and if there’s any trouble at all, call us. You return the keys in the morning, alright? No need to do more things tonight.”

“Okay, thank you Mrs. Rayburn,” Jazz smiled; it felt and probably looked fake, but Jazz couldn’t bring herself to care too much about it. She dashed back up to her apartment and grabbed her wallet. She woke Danny up; she got him to drop onto her back and pulled his legs over her waist, mindful of the splints. Thank the gods for her enhanced strength and Danny’s twiggy frame. He might have been a little taller than before, but Danny didn't weigh a lot. Jazz walked out of her apartment and took the stairs all the way down to the side entrance of the building where the Rayburns usually parked their car. Sure enough, it was there in its spot.

Once Danny was secure in the backseat, Jazz slipped into the driver’s seat and just stared at the street, hit by everything that had changed. She shook her head and started the car. Danny first, everything else later.

It didn’t strike Jazz until she parked near Dick’s apartment building, what she would do if he wasn’t home.

She could break the lock but that would mean he’d be stuck getting it fixed. Not to mention that if Dick was any kind of vigilante, he’d probably have traps or additional security; not something she wanted to deal with, especially with an injured right Danny with her.

She’d have to figure it out. She hauled Danny up and out of the car, and carefully maneuvered him into the building. As soon as she was outside Dick’s door, Jazz started banging on it hard, hoping luck would work in her favour for once.

-----

Dick opened the door to find Jazz holding up an injured, barely conscious teen. “Jesus Jazz, what happened?” Dick asked as he leapt forward to try and help her with the kid.

“Dick, Danny and I need help,” she answered as Dick led them inside and gently laid the kid across his sofa.

“What’s wrong?”

From what Dick could observe, the kid – Danny – had already received first aid though some of the injuries could probably do with some more attention. He’d been cleaned up a little too though it looked like a rushed job. He was either unconscious or exhausted with a low heart rate. Dick took the blanket he kept near the couch and threw it over the kid.

Jazz shut and double locked the front door. After checking the windows and drawing all the curtains, she walked over tiredly and crouched near Danny’s head. Jazz gently carded her fingers through his hair before she turned and looked Dick straight in the eye, determination and grief in her expression.

“Danny’s a vigilante back home. Sort of like you. There’s a group of people after him, and they just, um, just killed everyone at home trying to get to him, and I need to borrow a safe-house while I figure out what to do.” Jazz’s voice broke halfway through, and she was dangerously close to hyperventilating despite her obvious attempts at keeping herself calm. Dick slowly laid a hand on her shoulder and that was all it took. Jazz’s breath hitched and she covered her face with her hands as she broke down.

Dick drew her close, and she buried her face against him trying to muffle her sobs. He murmured nonsense as he ran his hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her. Dick’s mind spun as he tried to figure out what Jazz could know, and how she could have figured it out. He’d been careful in his interactions with her, and there was no way she could’ve seen him in his suit after that first time.

It took a good five minutes before she drew back and pulled herself together. She swiped at her cheeks and under her eyes, mumbling apologies about making a mess of his shirt. Dick waved her off; getting some tissues and a couple of bottles of water instead. Jazz gave him a watery smile as he handed the items over.

“Jazz I’m happy to help, but you have to explain about what exactly happened a little better.” When Jazz nodded, Dick looked over to the kid on his couch. “That’s your brother, Danny?”

Jazz took a deep breath. “Yeah. He’s a vigilante back home, sort of like you.”

“I’m a cop Jazz, not a mask and cape wearing crusader,” Dick shot her a confused smile.

The unimpressed look she shot him in return seemed to help ground her a little more. “Dick, just because you hide your eyes and cheekbones doesn’t mean it’s that hard to figure out. Though it was your smile that gave it away for me. You smile the same way; Dick Grayson smiles the same way as Nightwing.”

When Dick remained silent, Jazz continued. “Look I figured it out a while ago. I don’t care about it, and I’m not interested in telling anyone else. I never did. I’m just hoping you can help me protect my brother. He needs a place to hide out while the GiW do their thing. I can’t have him at my place because they’ll want to talk to me in person; they’ll have scanners that’ll find him fast.”

“Scanners?”

Jazz bit her lip and glanced at Danny. “I can’t tell you much because it’s not my secret to tell… but, he’s not exactly human.”

Dick frowned and looked over at Danny himself. He certainly looked human enough, but then again so did Clark. Koriand'r did too, for the most part. “If he’s an alien or metahuman, there are protections under the Meta Protection Act that could-”

“It wouldn’t matter, not with the Anti-Ecto Acts, Dick.”

Dick blinked. “Anti what now?”

Jazz wrapped her arms around her knees. “I can’t say more because it’s not my secret. Do you have a safe-house or something I can borrow?” she asked tiredly.

“I do. But you and I are going to need to talk more about this later. Is there anything I need to know about Danny’s medical needs?” Dick stood and grabbed a couple of sweatshirts that he tossed at Jazz before he grabbed sneakers and a jacket for himself. “Put those on the two of you.”

“Thank you,” Jazz said, yanking one of the sweatshirts over her head immediately. “He’s got some issues with his heart, and his core temperature tends to run low. He, um, also has an alternate form that has a slight healing factor, but he can’t access it in this form.”

“Alternate form?” Dick asked as he grabbed his med kit. Jazz struggled to get the second sweatshirt onto Danny as she responded. “Ever seen any anime or cartoon with those superhero magic teams?”

Danny groaned as the sweatshirt was pulled over his arms and Jazz apologised softly. When he’d slipped into unconsciousness again, Jazz continued, “It’s similar to those.”

Dick paused in gathering things. “A magical girl transformation?”

Jazz laughed softly at that. “You could definitely call it that, fortunately there’s no glitter involved.”

Dick smiled at her as he put the med kit and a plastic bag filled with fruits on the coffee table. “That’s too bad. The glitter is the best part.” Jazz smiled at him, and Dick patted her knee. “If you’ll take the bags, I can bring him down to the garage. I’ve got a car we can use.”

Jazz nodded. “I borrowed my landlady’s car to get here, but it would be better if there’s no trail to follow.”

Dick slipped his arm under Danny’s shoulders and levered him to lean against him. “Careful with his head,” Jazz said, steadying Danny’s head and wrapping Danny’s arms around Dick's shoulders. “He’s got a cut, maybe even a concussion.”

Dick slowly stood up, making sure to keep Danny as steady as possible in the reverse piggy back hold. “We can do a scan once we get to the safe-house,” he said as he waited for Jazz to lock the door behind them. The two went down to the garage and Dick gently settled Danny on the backseat. He made sure to strap the teenager in place with the seat belts on the back seat.

As Dick settled in the driver’s seat, he looked over at Jazz. “How good of a liar are you?”

“Pretty good. You didn’t come to know that I’d figured out things after our dessert therapy. Hid Danny’s secret for a couple of years, even from our parents.”

“Alright,” Dick nodded as he pulled out and started driving. “Just checking. Didn’t want to have to burn the safe house if these guys figure out you’re lying to them.”

Jazz pulled the sweatshirt hood low over her head and sighed. “We’d have bigger problems if they figured out I was lying.”

“You keep mentioning they, but I don’t exactly know who they are. Is it a villain, or a group of them, or something else?” Dick navigated a tricky turn carefully, conscious of the precious cargo in the back, and looked back over to see Jazz chewing her lip.

“Danny used to call them Guys in White because they all wear these god-awful white suits,” Jazz said softly eventually.

“White suits?” Dick asked

Jazz huffed a laugh. “Yeah. Sort of like that movie, Men in Black? But these guys wear white suits over white shirts. Distinctive. Extremely hard to miss, especially since they refused to take off their sunglasses even at night.”

“Yikes. They sound like bad C-grade villains,” Dick chuckled.

“You’d think so, but they’re worse. They’re a government division,” Jazz murmured leaning back against her seat.

“Jesus Jazz. When you get into trouble, you really hit it out of the park, don’t you?” Dick laughed disbelievingly.

“This one wasn’t my fault. These guys are-” she cut herself off and pressed her lips together. Dick patted her tightly clasped hands and she grabbed hold of his hand. “They’re in the same field my parents were in. They-”

“Jazz?” came the slurred question from the backseat.

“Danny!” Jazz exclaimed, turning around to look at him. “You’re okay hon. We’re headed to a safe place for you to rest and lay low; I’ll take care of things. You just focus on healing right now, okay?”

Danny groaned, and when Dick glanced back at him through the rear view mirror, saw Danny looking at him already. “Who’s that?”

Jazz glanced at him. “This is a friend of mine. He’s safe.” Dick raised an eyebrow at that description and Jazz just shrugged back.

“Friend huh?” Danny sniggered, immediately groaning. “Hurts.”

“Shh just sleep Danny, I got you. Just sleep and heal.”

“M’kay,” Danny mumbled though it sounded like he was asleep before he finished talking.

“He sounds lucid when he’s conscious. That’s a good sign. Any allergies I should know about?” Dick asked as he parked behind a dark, empty store. When Jazz shook her head, Dick nodded and jogged up to the back door of the store. He opened it, entered a code and pressed his palm to the hidden plate for a biometric scan, disarming the hidden traps in the doorway. He propped it open, and turned to find Jazz right behind him, Danny slung over her back in a piggy back. “Head down and lay him out on the rolling bed. I’m going to grab the bags and make sure the perimeter’s secure.”

Jazz nodded and headed down the stairs while Dick jogged back to the car. Once he had stashed the car in the hidden parking spot, he circled the perimeter and then headed down. Jazz was writing something on a page, and looked up as Dick came down.

“Making notes on what I know of his injuries and what his vitals are. I’ll make a separate reference sheet for what range is okay for his vitals,” she called out.

“Okay that’ll be handy. What is your plan for yourself? You’re going to need some sort of plan,” Dick said as he pulled down a couple of bags of saline and a set of IV tubing. After he got those set up with Jazz’s permission, he set some of the fruits and a water bottle on a table near the bed.

Jazz was still sitting at the table. But she stared blankly at the pad in front of her instead of writing anything. She looked up, startled, when he repeated her name. “Jazz, I think you’re in shock,” Dick said as he rubbed her shoulder, hoping to comfort her a little.

“You’d be in shock too, if most of your family just, just got mur-murdered,” Jazz furiously rubbed at her eyes. “Do you have any tea here?” she mumbled.

Dick nodded and looked in the kitchenette cabinets. “There’s ginger tea, if that’s okay.” When Jazz nodded, Dick set about making two cups of tea.

Jazz was still staring through the pad of paper when he set them down some time later. Dick gently pulled the pad towards himself and looked at what she’d written down, his eyes widening the further down they went. Yikes, no wonder she’d said his core temperature ran on the low side. Anyone else and they’d be suffering a case of hypothermia, if not outright death. The last line she’d scribbled, caught his eye. “Jazz, what do you mean he’s got a weak heart?”

Jazz cleared her throat and sipped some tea. “Some years ago, Danny had an accident in our parent’s basement lab. He was electrocuted by some equipment, and it hurt his heart badly. Day to day he’s okay, but if he is injured or stressed, we need to monitor it. Shit, I forgot to add that he can’t have any lidocaine either.”

“I got it,” Dick said as he grabbed the pen she’d been using and wrote down No lidocaine on the paper. “What’s your plan after this, Jazz? You’re going to have to pretend everything is normal until those guys come to talk to you.”

“Knowing them, they’ll want to talk to me immediately, so they’ll show up somewhere tomorrow or day after,” Jazz sighed. She paused as she took a slow sip of her tea, staring at the contents as if held all the answers. “Most likely, they’ll show up without warning at work or at home. After that, I’ll take some time off from work, say I’m going to stay with a friend, figure out next steps. I’ll lead them away from Bludhaven, double back and take care of Danny here after I lose them, if that’s alright. After that...” Jazz sighed as she looked over to where Danny lay. “ After that, I’ll see what Danny wants to do.”

“Can I offer a suggestion?” Dick asked gently. Jazz nodded so Dick continued. “Go home. Sleep. Go about your day as if it’s normal, I’ll keep an eye on Danny. When they come to talk to you, send me a message. After they leave, call me. I’ll come pick you up and bring you here. You stay here with Danny. Do you have any idea on what Danny might want to do after he’s recovered?”

Jazz shrugged.

“Okay. No problem,” Dick nodded. “We can take it slow and figure out things as we go. I’ll stay here tonight, make sure he’s okay and he’s not waking up alone. Is there anything I can give him or tell him, so he knows he’s safe? He may be lucid when he surfaces, but how much of what he remembers is debatable until he’s awake for longer than a few moments.”

“Bearbert. Tell him Bearbert Einstein is going to protect him.” Jazz finished her tea and continued sitting at the table.

Dick let her have some time; it was close to 2:30 in the morning and the next day wasn’t going to be easy either. After a few more moments of staring into space, Jazz took a deep breath and pushed herself up.

“Thank you for helping us, for helping him.”

Dick stood and hugged Jazz. “Couldn’t keep me away,” he murmured.

After Jazz left, Dick pulled out a tablet and settled in the chair near Danny’s bed, ready to research the GiW. What he found didn’t leave a good taste in his mouth. He checked on Danny and replaced the almost empty saline bag before he picked up his phone and made a call.

“Hey Victor. You busy?”

“Hey Dick. Long time no hear. What’s up?”

“I need some information and I’m hoping you can help. In your travels, did you ever pass through a town called Amity Park in Illinois or heard of a group called GiW? Wear all white suits, dark shades, very distinctive.”

“Oof man, they sound like bad B grade movie villains. I haven’t heard anything about them specifically, but there was an explosion in Amity Park a few hours ago. You think it might be connected?”

“Yeah, it could be. I don't like what I’ve found so far, and figured a second set of eyes would be good.”

“No problem man. I got you. I’ll get back to you with what I find.”

“Thanks Vic. You’re a life saver.”

Chapter Text

Jazz got home and stared at everything; the apartment was a mess, but she couldn’t find the energy to clean up. She stripped her clothes off and collapsed into bed, half-heartedly tugging the covers up. After a moment, she dragged the second pillow over and curled around it. She lay in bed, half dozing half aware, floating in that in between haze until her alarm went off. Then she dragged herself up, and straightened her apartment as much as possible instead of going on her usual morning run. She dropped off the keys with the Rayburns and went to work as normal.

Anytime her coffee cup gained a new dent she’d set it down and shake her hands out trying to dispel any of her extra energy. Fortunately, the office was chaotic and no one noticed anything out of the normal. Just before lunch, there was a knock on her door. Meg, her supervisor stood there with a complicated look on her face. “Jazz there’s a group of men here to see you. They say they’re from some kind of investigative ward.”

Jazz felt the blood from her face drain. Meg stepped forward at that. “Jesus Jazz. I can always say you’re not here or something if they’re dangerous. Here drink some of this,” Meg handed Jazz her abandoned cup of tea and Jazz took it and emptied it without a second thought.

“Sorry. They’re not dangerous but if they’re here it means something happened at home. Let me just…” Jazz grabbed for her phone and sent off a bunch of texts, amongst those to her family’s numbers, was the promised one to Dick.

Dick Grayson

1^st July

12:27 PM: Someone from Amity is here.

12:27 PM: I don’t think it’s good news. Call you after.

12:28 PM: If I don’t hear from you soon, I’m coming over with my partner.

12:28 PM: In case it’s another kidnapping attempt.

“Where are they?” she asked, ignoring Dick's response.

“They’re stuck in reception,” Meg shifted from one foot to another, obviously unsure of what was happening and how to deal with it. “Come on, you should use my office for this.”

Jazz followed Meg to her office and sat in one of the chairs when Meg went to get them. When the door opened again, three men walked in. The man in front had a moustache and sort of buzzed-short-mohawk, and came to stand right in front of her. The other two stood at attention, one next to the door and the other near the window. Meg frowned and looked at her, “Jazz do you mind if I stay?”

Jazz gratefully smiled and shook her head, so Meg closed the door behind her, though she stayed by the door. The two men meanwhile had finished very obviously scanning the room and its occupants with their watches and nodded at the agent in charge. “All clear.”

“Good afternoon, Ms. Fenton I am Agent Alpha from the Governmental Ghost Investigation and Interrogation Ward. For formalities sake, are you the daughter of Drs. Jack and Madeline Fenton of Amity Park, Illinois?”

“Yes, why are you here? What’s happened? Is my family alright?” Jazz shot off the questions rapid fire.

“Ms. Fenton do you know where your brother is currently?” Agent Alpha’s uncaring voice continued as if he hadn’t heard her.

“He has his finals this week and then he’d planned for a summer internship with my parents. I assume he’s at home or out with his friends. Why do you want to know?”

“When was the last time you spoke to him, Ms. Fenton?” all three agents leaned forward slightly at this question. Dammit they were hoping she would know something, but she’d be damned before she endangered Danny.

“Look, I’m happy to answer any of your questions, but you haven’t answered any of mine and I want to know what exactly all this is about,” Jazz clutched her hands in her lap, hoping her anger came across as frustration and nervousness.

“Ms. Fenton-”

“I refuse to answer any more questions until I know what exactly this regarding. My brother is still a student at Casper High until his graduation and as such still considered a minor. Why does the Government want to know about him?” Jazz sat back but she could feel her fingertips buzzing. She hoped she hadn’t just ticked them off. Everything hinged on them informing her.

Agent Alpha leaned back. “Ms. Fenton, I will remind you that you are being questioned by the federal government and as such are obligated to answer.”

“Gentleman,” Meg’s stern tone cut through the room efficiently. “May I remind you that you are in fact human beings and that a little compassion might net you better results than you’re currently getting. I allowed you to enter as a courtesy, but that can be easily changed at any time.”

Agent Alpha looked over at her supervisor and Jazz mentally applauded the steel behind the statement. There was a reason soft looking Meg had been the heading Bludhaven’s Social Services for so long. She was ferocious when she needed to be and took no nonsense.

After a pause, Agent Alpha looked back at her. “Yesterday we were made aware of some sensitive information regarding your brother. As a result of this, a couple of our agents attempted to talk to your parents. However, upon being confronted with the realisation that his identity had been revealed, the menace of Amity Park, Ghost Boy, also known as Daniel Fen-”

“No.” Jazz sharply shook her head in disbelief and denial.

Agent Alpha went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “Daniel Fenton attacked both the agents and your parents. During the confrontation, an explosion occurred which claimed the lives of both the Drs. Fenton as well as one of our agents. Several others were injured.”

“No, that’s impossible!” Jazz exclaimed, but she could feel the shock settling in again. And this time, she didn't have anything else to focus on. “Danny wouldn’t- mom and dad-”

Meg suddenly stood in front Jazz, hands on her shoulders saying, “Breathe with me Jazz. Slow. In two three four, hold two three four, out two three four five.” Meg coached her through the exercise few times before she felt slightly calmer.

Jazz had known, Danny had mentioned it last night, but hearing it so bluntly in the bright light of the day just drove the fact home. Her parents were dead. And the world would readily believe it was her brother’s doing. As soon as Meg was sure that Jazz was not actively panicking and hysterical, she rounded on Agent Alpha and tore into him.

Jazz let Meg have at him for a minute – petty revenge for herself and a good vent for Meg from the sound of it – before she held Meg’s wrist. “I’m okay now Meg. Thank you.” Jazz looked over at the Agent and scowled. “How you ever passed any basic training is a miracle because that is not how you make any notification to family members. For your information, I haven’t seen or heard from Danny in almost two weeks. That is all I will be telling you, because frankly, I don’t believe your story.”

“That will be all. The door is behind you,” Meg said firmly when none of the men moved. After the door closed behind them, Meg turned to her and Jazz felt her lip wobbling again.

“Is there anyone we can call for you?” Meg asked kindly.

Jazz nodded. “Yeah. I can call my boyfriend. I want to call home first. These guys are notorious back home for blundering and making things worse. For all I know they were lying to me for some stupid plan of theirs.”

“You make your calls, honey. If they were lying then shame on them. I’m going to get you some juice and saltines because you’re looking far too pale for my liking. Stay put.”

“Okay, thanks Meg.”

Meg patted her shoulder and then quietly slipped out the door.

Jazz first called her parents’ numbers. She knew there’d be no answer ever again, but if the GiW checked, the records needed to be clear. Both their lines rang out and  switched to voicemail. Jazz disconnected and called Danny’s phone next. It was the same result; kept ringing until it cut off. Jazz bit her lip and scrolled through her contacts. She hesitated when she saw Tucker – Danny’s friend saved, but then dialed the number.

Tucker answered on the second ring. “Jazz! Thank God you called, have you seen or heard from Danny? There was an explosion yesterday-”

“Is it true? The GiW just dropped by my work in Bludhaven, talking about how Danny’s Ghost Boy, and attacked everyone when they went to question him. Nobody’s answering their phones, and I have no clue what’s going on.”

There was a noticeable pause on the other end. Tucker coughed before asking, “That’s not good. What do you know?”

“Nothing. I don’t believe anything they’ve told me.” Jazz crossed her fingers, hoping Tucker had caught on and would play along. Jazz breathed a sigh of relief when he went on.

“Okay, here’s what I know. Sam, Danny, and I were going back to his place after hanging out at the park and the GiW were standing at the front door. Mrs. Fenton was yelling at them about something. I’m not sure what the guy in front said, but she let them into the house. Danny led us in through the back of the house, and we hid in the kitchen. They kept wanting to know whether Danny was Ghost Boy, and what your parents knew about ghost possessions. It turned heated very fast, with lots of yelling. They pulled out a gun which triggered the house’s defence systems.”

“Oh no,” Jazz breathed, leaning forward to brace her head against the hand not clutching the phone to her ear.

“Yeah,” Tucker sighed and Jazz suddenly heard a burst of people talking in the background before it faded again. “Danny decided to try and calm things down, so he took that 'secret route' of his to his room and came downstairs as if he'd been upstairs all along, and the agents just started shooting. No warning, nothing. There must’ve been some kind of explosion because I woke up in a hospital. Sam is still unconscious; it’s touch and go with her for now.”

“Oh god that sounds bad. Has anyone come to talk to you about things?”

Tucker groaned and based on the rustling noises Jazz guessed he was shifting in whatever bed he lay in. “I asked my parents about that. They told me that they and the Mansons were told by the cops, that it’s a federal investigation now.”

“A federal investigation?”

“Yeah. All dad could remember was that it some department with the word ‘ward’ in it. Sound like anyone we know?”

“Shit. Can they do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve got limited access to screens right now because of a bad concussion so I can’t even look up anything.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jazz chewed her lip wondering whether she should ask her next question. “Do you… do you know what happened with my parents?”

There was an audible swallow and a weird noise that Jazz assumed was a hissed breath. “They didn’t make it Jazz, I’m sorry.”

Jazz’s vision went blurry, and her throat felt clogged. She swallowed a couple of times, but it didn’t seem to help. “Um, if you hear anything else…”

“I’ll text you, Jazz. You’ll do the same if you hear from Danny?”

Jazz agreed and rung off before immediately calling Dick who answered on the first ring. “Can you come pick me up please?”

“Jazz? What’s wrong?”

“Can you come? Please?”

“I’ll be there in fifteen. Okay?”

“Okay,” Her voice cracked at the end of the whispered word and Jazz let the call disconnect as she buried her face in her hands and cried. Cried for her family. For her brother. For herself.

Meg came in quietly and closed the door behind her. She set the juice box and saltine package on a table nearby and brought a box of tissues over.

“So-sorry,” Jazz hiccuped.

“Better to let it all out, darling. Suppressed emotions tend to fester and cause problems,” Meg shushed her, rubbing at her shoulder. “It’s ok. Better out than coming up later, yes?”

Once Jazz felt spent, she used the tissues to wipe her face. It got rid of her tears, but Jazz knew from experience her eyes and face would be red for a while. “Thank you,” she whispered, as she sipped from the juice box.

There was a knock on the office door. Meg huffed and walked over, muttering about no disturbances. A familiar voice came through the door that Meg cracked open. “I’m sorry, I’m looking for Jazz.”

“Who are you?” Meg demanded.

“Dick?”

“Her boyfriend.” Dick and Jazz’s voices overlapped but Meg did let him into the room after looking over at Jazz for permission.

“Jazz!” Dick strode over to her and at that moment all Jazz could think was she needed a hug from someone who knew, who understood the whole thing.

Dick readily wrapped his arms around her when she fell into him, whispering comforting nonsense against her temple. “Do you want to get out of here?” That sounded as appealing as anything else.

Chapter Text

Jazz was wrung out by the time they made it back to the safe-house a few hours later. Dick dropped her and her bags in the bedroom and let her nap. Danny seemed to be okay for the most part. He’d come around for a few moments before falling asleep again earlier, so Dick wasn't as worried about him. Dick changed the few bandages that needed changing and made notes on the pad where he was documenting Danny’s injuries. He was healing fast for a human, maybe some of his powers carried over after all.

A few hours later, Dick was studying the information Victor had been able to find for him when Jazz woke up. “Hey,” he greeted when she sat down next to him at the table.

“Hey yourself,” Jazz responded softly. “Thank you for staying with Danny. And for coming to pick me up.”

Dick stood to make some tea when he heard how rough her voice sounded. “No worries. It would’ve been tough to go through everything you did within the last day.”

Jazz chuckled half-heartedly at that. “I didn’t realise it’s only been twenty-four hours since everything happened. It feels longer somehow.” She thanked him when he passed her the cup and wrapped her hands around the mug.

Dick sat back down in his seat. “So, I have a question, and some information.”

Jazz smiled gently. “I get the sense that I’m going to hate whatever question you’re about to ask. Shoot.”

Dick cleared his throat. “I was researching the GiW, and I found surprisingly little.”

“Yeah, they’re stupidly secretive. If it wasn’t for Danny… we wouldn’t have known about their other activities,” Jazz said softly as she curled further around the warm mug in her hands.

“So surprisingly little in fact, that I asked a friend to do a search, and he found some really interesting things.”

“Um, hold up, one second,” Jazz interrupted. “Is that a friend from your work, or from your, um, vigilante group?”

Dick laughed. “Yeah, he’s a friend from the team. They’re called the Titans. Anyways he thought the limited information was very suspicious, so he went digging deep. He found that the Anti-Ecto Acts don’t exist. They passed, and were in effect for exactly 30 hours before being repealed.”

“Wait, what?” Jazz’s jaw dropped open.

“Yep. There’s more. The GiW might actually not exist either.”

Jazz dropped her mug. The fact that it was only an inch above the table is what saved it from breaking, though some tea did slosh over the sides. “Hold on, how does that even work?” Jazz asked as she dumped some paper towels over the spilt tea. “They’ve got badges and warrants and other things.”

“It’s possible they’re either impersonating federal agents, which is a crime, or it could be that the original department got dissolved and someone either didn’t tell them, or used stolen funds to hide the fact that the department actually still exists.”

“Is that even possible? I know how messy paperwork and stuff can be, and things slipping through the cracks is something I see every day at work, but how does it happen to a whole department of people and assets?”

“It’s possible,” Dick shrugged. “Something I learnt, if you’ve got big enough machinery with enough moving parts, with careful juggling you could hide anything. And the government is a big enough machine to hide several huge things. We’re not sure on the details yet, Cyborg was busy digging last I heard. He felt so personally offended at the whole GiW enforcing the non-existent act that he was talking in binary.”

Dick watched as Jazz rubbed her thumb over the lip of her mug, silently processing everything. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. After a few minutes, Dick asked, “Can I ask my question?”

Jazz flushed. “Oh God yes, sorry, I just got distracted.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dick grinned. “I just wanted to know if you and Danny would mind the Titans investigating these guys and the whole Anti-Ecto business?”

“I don’t mind,” Jazz said, turning the mug in circles between her hands. “You all would probably know better about the big picture stuff, and I can help fill in any of the Amity specific things. We can ask Danny his opinion later, he should wake up later today. At least for a little bit.”

“We can ask. He’s been doing okay with answering questions, so I think he’s okay on the concussion front. His other injuries might make moving around difficult though he is healing faster than your average human.”

“Knowing him, he’ll treat you to a transformation as soon as he’s awake for more than 5 minutes,” Jazz laughed. “Danny just finds it convenient to let his healing factor make things easier for him. It did help with the whole going-to-school-regularly thing.”

“Jazz? Is that you?” Danny’s groggy voice preceded his appearance. Dick quickly pulled out the domino from his pocket and stuck it on.

“Hi Danny. Should you be up and moving just yet?”

Danny waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I, uh,” Danny’s eyes flickered to Dick before looking back to Jazz. “I did, um, the thing earlier, so I’m mostly fine now. Just really sore.”

“Aw no magical girl transformation for me?” Dick teased

“Magi- what?!” Danny sputtered, and Jazz giggled at his bewildered expression.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Dick laughed as he pushed out a seat at the table for Danny to join them. “If it helps, I know what a double life can be like.”

Danny squinted at him as he sat then he leaned over towards Jazz to whisper in her ear, “Jazz, why is your ‘friend’ wearing an eye mask?” complete with finger quotes.

Dick sputtered while Jazz laughed louder, and Danny’s eyes bounced between them. “Wait a minute!” Danny gasped, pointing his finger at Dick. “You’re the one dating Jazz!” The finger swung to Jazz. “You’re dating a vigilante!”

Now Dick laughed as Jazz sputtered.

Jazz cleared her throat. “Okay, I’m sorry. I know you and I need to have a lot of conversations, but there’s a couple of things we need to go over first.”

Danny frowned. “About the GiW? Because they went too far? Jazz, what exactly do you want to do about them?”

“Danny-” Jazz started, but Danny just kept talking, voice getting louder as he gained steam.

“They shut down the Park News offices last month under some made up excuse about a ghost fight and the news offices haven’t opened since. Valerie and Sam were interning there, and they’ve not been able to go back. Paulina and Dash were injured two weeks later when some agents ran their vehicle through the Nasty Burger apparently chasing after a ghost! But there wasn’t any ghost! That night there was an explosion, and the police weren’t allowed near because the GiW basically covered the whole place in a giant white tent!”

“Hold on, they were responsible for all of those?” Dick asked.

Danny breathed hard. “Yeah. They’ve been doing all kinds of stuff, but they’ve gotten worse recently and hiding everything behind 'need to know federal investigation' as an excuse.”

Dick nodded. “Yeah okay, see this is worse than we thought. Okay, Danny I’ve got a question for you. I’m part of a team of heroes and vigilantes that often deal with stuff like this. Would it be okay if I asked them to step in here?”

Danny chewed his lip. “Is it the Justice League?”

“No, we’re more independent. The League deals with global level stuff, The Titans deal with stuff that’s slightly smaller scale.”

“Including governmental agencies?” Danny asked, scepticism clear in his tone.

“Yes, including governmental agencies from time to time. Though, in this case, there’s a chance that the GiW aren’t actually a federal agency.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“My friend is investigating into this a bit more-”

Danny shook his head. “No see this doesn’t make sense because Tucker checked them out earlier this year when they got very antagonistic and were asking around the school, and yeah, they’re shady but they do exist because there’s a money trail. So that means that they’re legitimate, doesn’t it?”

“I can have my friend connect with Tucker if it helps. But money trails usually mean that someone was responsible. But this is good! Information is always good,” Dick responded, tapping his index finger on the table as he thought.

Danny looked over at Jazz.

“You can trust him, Danny,” Jazz murmured. “He knows what he’s doing, and I trust him.”

Danny nodded and turned back to Dick. “Okay. But I want to be involved. Amity Park has its own set of rules, and you’ll need the help.”

“I have some conditions if you’re helping,” Dick answered. “If you’re injured, you fall back to a support role. You follow the plan we come up with, and you stick to it no matter what. And you call me Dick.”

Danny grinned and Jazz groaned. Given the shit eating grin on Danny’s face, Dick knew exactly what was coming. It was the same kind of grin that Jason wore when he was going to crack a joke at someone’s expense.

“I can agree to all of those, but I don’t get how calling you a dick is going to help.”

Dick grinned. “That’s my name. I figured a name for a name was fair.”

“Huh,” Danny leaned back in his chair, surprise written all over his face.

“On that note,” Dick stood up from his chair, “I need to get going. I have the night shift at work. You two should stay indoors for a few days. I’ll contact the team and let you know when exactly we're dropping by with updates tomorrow evening.”

“Alright. Be safe,” Jazz said.

“I’m always safe. If you need to ditch the place for whatever reason, the car keys are in that drawer alongside a few smoke pellets and a pair of escrima.” Dick pointed to a drawer behind Jazz, and she nodded. “Send me a message and I’ll see what help I can get to you immediately, and another place to lay low.”

“I, um, need to make a run to RABE at some point tonight,” Jazz said slowly.

Dick paused in his gathering of things. “To RABE? Why? Are you injured?” he asked.

Jazz waved her hand. “No, nothing like that. I’d made a plan when I first came to Blud, in case Danny ever got injured. Any and all medical waste needs to be incinerated, because it’s easy to track. My apartment doesn’t have an incinerator, but RABE should for their medical waste. I was just going to sneak it in there.”

“Jazz…” Danny whispered.

“Okay,” Dick paused to think, thumb tapping against his thigh. “I can help you sneak in tomorrow night if you don’t mind waiting that long.”

“That’s fine.” Jazz nodded. “We can add whatever you collected here to the trash bag, and we can toss it all together.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow evening,” Dick waved and walked out.

Silence descended in the small room. “So, do you have any questions?” Jazz asked after a couple of minutes.

Danny looked up from frowning at the table top. “How bad is it back home?”

-----

Jazz startled when she heard the upstairs main door open the next evening. She walked over to a dozing Danny and shook him awake. “There’s someone upstairs,” she whispered.

Danny blinked at her. “Dick?” he asked in a sleep roughened voice.

Jazz shook her head. “He hasn’t messaged yet.”

Danny woke up quickly at that. “Grab the keys and escrima. I’m going to try and figure out how many there are.”

“Be careful,” Jazz hissed as she darted over to the drawer. When she turned around, Danny stood with his ear pressed to the crack between the door and the frame.

“It’s Dick and more than one person with him,” he whispered. “I can hear him.”

Jazz paused as she thought. “Can you hide? Let me see what the situation is before you show yourself.”

Danny nodded before he turned invisible where he stood. Jazz stashed the car keys in her pocket and palmed the smoke pellets. If it came down to a fight she would be ready. The door opened and Dick walked in, only to come to a stop when he saw Jazz, ready to attack or flee. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“You didn’t message, so I didn’t know if it was you,” Jazz looked at the beautiful woman and the cute redhead standing on the steps behind Dick. “Who are they?” she asked.

“They’re with me. You going to throw those smoke pellets at us?” Dick responded slowly.

“They’re your friends from the team?”

There was a buzz and a gust of wind and in the blink of an eye, the lanky redhead standing a few feet in front of her. “Hi, I’m Wally.”

Jazz blinked and straightened. She was sure the GiW wouldn't have anyone with powers on their payroll. “Hi, I’m Jazz. This is Danny.” At the cue, Danny materialised hovering upside down inches from Wally’s face.

It was Wally’s chance to startle. “Uh, hi Danny, you can fly? Dick only mentioned the magical girl transformation.”

“Aw, come on!” Danny whined as he flipped over in the air. “Why is everyone calling it that?”

Dick chuckled. “That’s how it was described to me, since I haven’t seen it, I don’t know how else to explain. Though, your appearance does seem to have changed.”

“Huh?” Danny looked over at Jazz who pointed at her own hair.

“Oh!” he exclaimed. “Yeah. It’s part of the reason no one‘s figured out who I am.”

“Are we going to stand on the stairs and gape, or go in?” A voice asked from behind, and Dick startled before moving further in with an apology. He walked up to Jazz and greeted her with a kiss to the temple as the other woman was teasing a partially cybernetic man who followed her.

Dick wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gestured with his other one. “Ta da! The team.”

Introductions were exchanged, and Danny seemed to relax as he was able to put a name with people; Jazz found herself slowly leaning more and more into Dick’s side as she did the same. Danny was still floating around the whole space, so she reached out and tapped his ankle the next time he floated near.

“Hm?” Danny looked down at the motion. “Oh. Oops. Head’s up for bright lights,” he said before transforming and Jazz took in everyone’s stunned expressions.

“Definitely a magical girl transformation,” Wally chuckled in the silence that followed.

Jazz laughed as Danny pouted at that.

“So, are we ready to make a plan?” Dick asked.

Danny gave a toothy grin.

Chapter Text

In the end, it took way longer than Dick thought it would to figure out how to dismantle the GiW completely. Kori had come to ask for help for a mission to Tamaran that she delayed when she learnt about the GiW. She didn’t like what they’d been doing and felt it only right that they be uprooted. The team spent two weeks in Elmerton and Amity,  trying to get the lay of the land and figure out how many places GiW had been operating out of, and what their system looked like. With Amity just twenty minutes away, it was a no-brainer to operate out of Elmerton, especially since there was an abundance of abandoned places they could choose from.

With the information around the GiW finally gathered, the team was ready to roll out. Danny had been chomping on the bit too, especially with his own friends out of commission. Jazz had gone back to her regular routine now that Danny was a 100% and not likely to run off on some kind of revenge scheme, only too happy to play distraction. She'd reported that she had noticed a few agents tailing her occasionally with no specific pattern. Wally had volunteered to stay in Blud to keep an eye on Jazz while the rest of the team took care of the initial surveillance.

Today was the day they were going to take down the GiW. They'd oh-so-conveniently set up a mandatory meeting and the Titans didn't see why they couldn't take advantage of it. Everything seemed to be on track.

Jazz walked into her office in Bludhaven, and the agents following her reported about her whereabouts the same way they’d done the last few days. Wally grabbed and ran them over to the warehouse they’d set up to temporarily hold all the agents, until the end of their operation. Dick saw their faces as Wally dropped them off and he was both amused and impressed by his friend’s pettiness.

“You sedated them with this after you ran them over? Those poor guys are going to seriously suffer when they wake up,” Dick said as Wally left the second guy bound right next to the first one.

Wally shot him a grin. “I think they can deal with some migraine and nausea for everything they’ve done.”

Dick bumped his shoulder into Wally. “Hey, I happen to agree with you.”

Wally’s grin widened. “So, when do we move onto the next phase?” he asked as they moved into the main area of the warehouse.

“We should be ready to go in another forty odd minutes,” Dick responded. “We’re just waiting on the rest of the agents to enter their headquarters before we take them down. You should fuel up while we have the chance.”

Wally nodded before he ran ahead to the makeshift kitchenette. Dick checked in with everyone else to see how they were doing. Victor had hacked into their systems and sent everything he found to a secured server as backup. Donna and Kori were already staking out the two facilities they were hitting today. Danny and Dick were going to take one while the girls hit the other; Wally and Victor were going to run through all the other caches belonging to the organisation. They were going to arrest all the agents and make sure there weren't any surprises lying around for anyone else to 'accidentally' stumble across or use.

“You ready to go, Danny?” Dick asked when he found the teenager sitting on the couch. He looked up from the notebook he was doodling in and nodded. Dick didn’t like the frown that Danny wore so he sat down next to him. “What’s wrong?”

Danny shrugged.

“You worried about today?” Dick pressed.

“Sort of,” Danny mumbled as he pulled his knees to his chest, the abandoned notebook laid aside.

“Everybody’s in the building early!” Victor called out. “We’ll need to move out now to get everyone in one go!”

Danny stood up quickly. “I’ll grab the Ecto-cloaker.” Dick didn't like the way Danny had avoided the conversation but he understood the need to jump into action.

Dick kept an eye on Danny as they set out and snuck into the weirdly normal looking building. Once inside, Danny switched off his cloaker and transformed, flying forward with Nightwing in his wake. There were very few people in the facility so it went fast; they got everyone knocked out and tossed into a small closet in the hallway. With that done, they started  exploring to figure out what the rest of the facility contained. Danny would stick his hand through various locked doors, drawers and cabinets, and open them from the inside before rummaging through the contents. A lot of it they’d already found, courtesy Victor’s hacking, but a few were newer. Some of the papers had Danny making faces.

“Nightwing. Look at this.” Danny handed a few pages over to Dick, and after scanning it Dick couldn’t help but snort. “‘The ectoplasmic entities are formed out of residual emotions but are not considered alive as they don’t have any emotions...’ That makes no sense. What were they thinking? Their basic reasoning’s completely missing.”

“GiW is generally pretty incompetent. They’re notorious for being cartoonishly bad actually. Running into each other, wild shots going everyehwere, and insane property damage during chases, that kind of incompetent. It’s not surprising that they’re relying on some of my parent’s very early research. They are-” Danny paused, pressing his lips tightly together, before he went on softer than before, his grief and anguish easily heard. “They were the foremost experts in the field. Granted, a lot of their theories were wrong at the beginning, and it took them a while to get used to the whole idea of me, but their more recent stuff was accurate. I guess the GiW didn’t read it. Or maybe they did and didn’t like it.”

Dick walked closer and laid a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Even a broken clock is right twice a day. They might be incompetent but blundering around can hurt others. Sometimes even irreparably,” he said softly. “Incompetence doesn’t necessarily mean they’re only going to fail in their goals.”

Danny nodded, before suddenly whipping his head around. “There’s people coming down this hallway.”

Dick frowned and drew his electrified escrimas. “We cleared all the rooms, there shouldn’t be anyone there.”

Danny turned invisible and stuck his head through the wall to peek only to pull back in a hurry. “It’s a large group. They must’ve gotten free of the rope; they’ve got weapons and tech from somewhere.”

“Not a problem. We handled them before, we can handle them now,” Dick assured Danny with a wide grin as he pulled out a flash-bang from his gauntlet.

The door was kicked in with a yell of ‘Phantom!’

The first wave of people entering through the door paused when they saw Nightwing, but the next wave raised their blasters. Danny yelled “No!” before Dick could throw his flash-bang, and the next thing Dick was aware of was a strange ringing in his ears.

It took a few seconds for him to put together the ringing in his ears with the smoke trailing from the building right next to him. When did he exit the building?

Danny’s worried face popped in his view. “-ing! Are you hurt?!”

“Ouch,” Dick groaned. “I’m good. A little confused about what happened though.”

“Nothing hurts? All your fingers and toes still wriggling?” Danny asked, panic still clear in his voice.

Dick wriggled his digits to show Danny whose eyes focused on each limb, panic slowly reducing as he tracked everything.

“What happened?” Dick asked when Danny was not actively panicking.

“They were about to shoot. They were going to do the same thing to you that they did with mom and dad, and, and…” Danny gulped, eyes tracing all of Dick’s limbs again. “I might have panicked a little. I threw a ball of explosive ectoplasm and phased you out.” 

“Ectoplasm can do that?” Dick asked as he pushed himself up to his elbows.

“Sometimes,” Danny shrugged. “It’s basically what powers us, and we’re made of emotions so it stands to reason that it would react to mine.”

“That seems like an unusual kind of explosion,” Dick observed as he watched plumes of green smoke curl out of the few broken windows.

“I think it was more of a smoke and glue bang than an actual bang,” Danny answered absently. Dick looked over to find Danny still scanning him.

Dick tapped Danny’s arm. “Hey,” he whispered. “What’s wrong?”

Danny took a deep shuddering breath. “For a second,” he whispered. “I was back there. Back to that night at home when…when they pulled out their guns and, and I panicked. Part of me is scared that this will still result in Dark Danny becoming reality again.”

Dick leaned some of his weight against Danny’s shoulder, hoping to ground him in the present. “Dark Danny?” he asked.

Danny scrubbed his face. “Jazz doesn’t know all the details, and I don’t want her worrying about this. I didn’t bring it up earlier because maybe it’s not a thing that happens. But maybe it is. Maybe it’s possible, because I didn’t hesitate today.”

Dick hummed, leaning a little more weight into him. “What’s possible?”

“How familiar are you with alternate future selves?” Danny sighed.

“Um,” Dick paused, trying to figure out the best answer. “I don’t have personal experience with it, but my best friend is still recovering from something similar.”

“Okay. At some point in my current past, I was going to cheat at the C.A.T. exam and my teacher would’ve had a meeting with my parents.” Danny took a shuddering breath and pulled his knees up to his chest. Dick slowly rested his arm across Danny’s shoulders; Danny just as slowly leaned into Dick’s side. He cleared his throat before continuing.

“The place they would meet would explode for dumb reasons and would’ve killed my family, my friends, my teacher. It would’ve killed me too if it wasn’t for my ghost half. That test and that explosion? It started the domino effect that ended with future me becoming a villain. Manage to destroy the world type villain. Future me didn’t care about anyone or anything. He’d lost his humanity and his empathy.”

“Okay buddy, I’m going to level with you here,” Dick said as he squeezed Danny. “Future alternate you might be a villain, but here’s the thing. The future isn’t set in stone. It’s fluid, and changes based on any number of factors, on any given day. You have your friends and your sister in your corner, right? And I’m here if you ever want to talk about things, okay?” Danny nodded. “As for you becoming… Dark Danny is what you called him?” Another nod. “I wouldn’t worry about it. The way you freaked out and checked me for injuries, the way your ectoplasm grenade was all smoke and glue and non-lethal? You’ve still got plenty of humanity and empathy.”

Danny sniffled. “Thanks.”

They sat in silence for another few minutes watching the building leaking green smoke. Danny straightened when the smoke started to slow down. “What now?” he asked.

Dick stood and stretched. “At some point you need to talk to to your sister. For now, we’re going to check on the guys inside, and then we’re going to rendezvous with the rest of the team.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Danny said. “Want a lift inside?”

Dick grinned. “I’m never one to turn down a lift.”

“You love flying like this?” Danny asked as he grabbed Dick under the armpits and took off.

Dick whooped as they got faster. “Yeah. Been doing it one way or another since I was a kid.”

-----

Dick had just finished telling Clark about everything when there was a knock on his door. He frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone else right then. “Who is it?” he called out as he quickly pushed the papers together into a folder.

“Hi Dick, it’s Jazz!” Came the muffled voice through his front door. “I brought some cookies.”

Dick shot a look at Clark who hastily pulled his glasses off his head and slipped them on. “One second!” he called as he shoved the hastily gathered folder at Clark.

“Hi, I wasn’t expecting you,” he greeted Jazz as he let her in.

“Is it a bad time?” Jazz asked as she stalled, halfway through the doorway.

“Not really. I was just talking with someone about the case,” Dick responded, internally wincing at the shit response. Jazz must’ve thought the same because she looked at him with a bemused expression.

“Anyone I know?” she asked sotto voce.

Just then, Clark came holding the folder. “Thanks for the information, Officer Grayson. I’ll message you if I need anything else.”

Jazz squinted at Clark and Dick internally groaned.

“I’m just going to squeeze past you two. Thank you again. Ope, excuse me. Good night,” Clark mumbled as he quickly maneuvered his large frame past them and out the door. He closed the door and was out before Jazz or Dick could react.

“You’re freaking kidding me!” Jazz said turning to stare at Dick. “Are you kidding me?!” she hissed. “Tell me I’m imagining this.”

“Jazz…” Dick trailed off, unsure how exactly to salvage this situation.

“No, you know what?” Jazz hummed as she walked around Dick and to the kitchen island. Dick didn't know how to deal with her sudden turn around. “This makes sense. Who’s going to expect The Man of Steel to be working as a journalist?”

Dick groaned into his hands as he followed her.

Jazz opened the box of cookies she’d brought, and started opening cabinets. “It was the eyes. The glasses help but don’t hide that unnatural shade of blue. His face is pretty easy to identify too, but with the whole thing about Superman living somewhere in the Arctic and flying to various places to deal with different disasters, no one is going to expect him to be the shy journalist who wrote that thought provoking series about low wage crisis at various fast food places last year.”

“Firstly, you read The Daily Planet? Secondly, Clark’s just got one of those faces,” Dick responded. “He’s happy to get information from me occasionally. He used to do a lot of interviews with my guardian when I was a kid. I remember him always being nice and fair about things, so whenever I run into things I think the public needs to know, I send the information his way and then he just does his thing.”

“Dick, you’re a crap liar. How are you so bad at lying?” Jazz laughed as she pulled out napkins. “Look, I don’t care about multiple identities, and I’m not about to go spilling anyone else’s secrets. I genuinely don’t care beyond the fact that you, mister, need to find a better way of hiding your identity than a simple domino mask.”

“Can I get some cookies please?” Dick asked.

Jazz passed him the box. “Where are your quarter plates? I can’t find any here. I can see bowls and cups but no plates.”

“Here.” Dick ducked down and pulled out two small plates and passed one to her. They both enjoyed the cookies together in silence. 

“So, I have to admit I have an ulterior motive for the cookies and visit today,” Jazz said.

Dick paused in putting away the now washed and dried plates. “Should I be worried?”

“No,” Jazz shook her head. “I just wanted to say thanks. For everything you helped with. And for talking to Danny.”

“Ah, I guess he told you about that,” Dick responded, nervously scratching at his neck.

“Yeah, we talked at length today. I’m glad you spoke to him though; he was less nervous than he would’ve been otherwise. Thank you for that.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Dick shrugged.

“It was to him. And it is to me.” Jazz leaned over and kissed his cheek. “When are you supposed to leave on that mission with Koriand’r?”

It was Dick’s turn to squint at her, she laughed. “Kori and Donna exchanged numbers with me. We have a girls only chat group now.”

“Oh, good. Please tell me it’s at least an encrypted phone and chat line,” Dick groaned. At least all three of them were getting along, that had to count for something, right?

“Yes, Victor insisted when he found out. He made a similar one for himself, Danny, and Tucker. Apparently the three have got some weird game night scheduled every month now?”

“Well then." Dick carefully didn't imagine what could come of those gaming nights. "Yeah, Kori had a mission on Tamaran, but I thought it was more important for me to be here for the aftermath of the GiW take down. Kori left earlier in today-” Dick cut off when his phone rang.

Frowning when he noticed the name, he answered. “Hey Little wing, what’s wrong?”

“What do yo- okay, okay, slow down. I’m going to come pick you up. You are not getting on that flight. We’ll talk about it, calm down a little, and if you still want to go to Ethiopia and talk to her, I’ll come with you, okay?” Dick paused as Jason talked some more. “Okay, okay, no worries. You don’t have to go back there. You can come stay with me. We’ll tell Alfie not to tell B so he can suffer on his own. Yeah? Okay, I’m leaving now and will be there in about an hour, alright?” 

Jazz was watching him expectantly when he hung up. “Sorry, that was my brother. He got into it with B and now I’m going to rescue him from a stupid decision he’ll probably regret.”

“No worries,” she said easily. “Want some company?”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Dick said as he grabbed his keys and wallet.

Jazz passed him on the way to the door. “Dick, unless you have an issue, I’m coming with.”

“Alright, hold on!” Dick called as he grabbed his jacket and followed her out the door.