Birds in Rafters

by FelicityGrimm

Summary:

That one where Nightwing likes to take naps in the rafters of Red Hood's office/safehouse/warehouse. And Hood's so used to him at this point he conveniently forgets to tell his guys Wing's not a threat

As told from multiple perspectives. Multiple times.

Jason needs to send a company wide memo, honestly

Notes:

The hyperfixation from the last thing I posted was that Dick takes naps in the rafters of Red Hood's safehouse office. Which, honestly, I didn't expect? It was one line in the end notes

Which is to say:

THANK HEAVENS Y'ALL ARE AS INVESTED IN THIS AS I AM. I have been sitting on this mental image for way too long. Originally it was part of a WIP of Hal experiencing Jason's rise as a crime lord

It now has layers. Love you guys, enjoy!

Chapter 1: The First Time It Happened

Dick

Dick couldn't remember what possessed him to take a nap in the Red Hood's rafters the first time. He suspected he'd never recover the exhausted thought process that led him to it.

As best he could recall? It was his second or third major case with the Red Hood (with Jason, his baby brother, his alive baby brother), and he was really just trying to not totally muck up their tenuous relationship. Jason was letting him hang around and Dick didn't want to do something to break it.

Months of slowly building trust had gotten him an olive branch to say hi on patrol, then an assist in a fight, and finally the ask to help with a case. This was the second (third?) one, and Dick didn't want Jason to have any reason to write him off as unreliable and too useless to have around. It'd happened before. It had been true before.

So yeah, no mistakes this time, idiot. Do not be the reason you never see your brother again.

Except, as much as he could work past it, as much as he could deny it, Dick had limits. He was human (unfortunate failure of his, he knew), and they were on hour... something or other... of little to no sleep at a break neck pace. The case was going well, just intense. But Dick wasn't going to complain. This was the first time Jason had taken him to his personal safehouse office (the one nobody knew the location of, despite Bruce's best efforts) and like hell was Dick going to let a little tiredness ruin this newfound trust. He was dependable dammnit. He wasn't just going to bail to get some sleep if Jason was still going strong.

It was just...

The rafters looked pretty comfy as a spot to hang out while the analytics ran. Dick was too tired to talk and Jason wasn't much for conversation. If he was up there then maybe he could close his eyes a moment and just rest his mind.

Dick crawled up into the rafters, got comfy, and settled in to wait.

He woke up hours later and nearly fell out of the ceiling as he realized he'd fallen asleep with a jolt.

"Do not break your skull falling out of those," Jason snapped.

"Sorry, shit- didn't mean to fall asleep-" Dick scrambled to explain. I wasn't slacking off on you, I promise I'm here-

Jason locked a scowl at him. "If you needed sleep, why didn't you pick somewhere safer?"

Dick blinked at him, bleary eyed and confused. "Safer?" Where else could be safer than up high out of reach? Who was going to bust into the Red Hood's office? Which, it wasn't like he meant to fall asleep in the first place.

There was an awkward, thought laden pause between the two of them. Jason was clearly not saying something and Dick didn't understand why he wasn't getting reemed for falling asleep.

"I have a couch," Jason said and Dick basically bluescreened him.

"You're not..." Mad? went unsaid.

"Going to kick you out for falling asleep?"

Dick nodded.

"No, but I might wring your neck if you fall out of there and break your head."

Oh.

Jason was worried. Not mad. The realization filled Dick's exhaustion addled head with warmth and his anxiety settled to something boneless and comfortable. He wedged himself more securely into the beams.

"Wake me up when its done running?"

Jason grunted irritably at him. Dick fell back asleep feeling safer than he had in a while. And a few hours later, when the analytics came back? His younger brother woke him up to go over the results.

...

Jason

The first time Nightwing took a nap in the rafters probably wasn't a big deal to Dick but it was to Jason.

Not for the reasons one might assume. Less spiteful 'guess the golden child isn't as perfect as he wants everyone to think' like he might've thought before and more startled 'someone trusts me enough to fall asleep with me on guard'.

This was the third time Nightwing had helped Red Hood with a case, and Jason hadn't really been thinking when he brought Dick back to his safehouse. He hated giving the smallest inch of his space but this hadn't bothered him. Maybe it was the exhaustion.

Granted, then Dick had disappeared. Jason's immediate assumption had been that he was snooping or contacting the rest of the bats. What a f***ing stupid idea, Jason, bringing him to this safehouse. He's just working for Bruce, you knew it all along- and then his helmet system had caught soft creaks above him.

Jason had his gun on the intruder in his rafters in a heartbeat, only to stop dead. That was Nightwing. Nightwing who hadn't left, but was fast asleep on the thick wooden beams of Jason's safehouse ceiling. Which was the last damn thing Jason expected. He holstered his weapon again.

Friendly as Dick Grayson was? Getting him to actually drop his guard and rest was nigh impossible. Either he was close to dead and hiding an injury- or Jason had suddenly qualified as "safe space".

Given that he was pretty sure Dick wasn't hiding any injuries, that left option number two.

What the f***.

Jason stewed on it, promptly wide-the-hell-awake, for the following three hours until his older brother nearly rolled onto the drafting table below him.

As agile as Dick Grayson could be, sleeping in the rafters and startling awake was a shit idea. Jason nearly had a heart attack when Dick woke up. If he was going to nap, why the f*** would he pick somewhere to fall to his death? Had he not learned his lesson?

"Do not break your skull falling from those," Jason snapped, mostly to draw attention to surroundings in case his brother had forgotten he was fifteen feet up. Not because he was worried and his heart rate had gone through the roof.

"Sorry, shit- didn't mean to fall asleep-"

As if that was the problem here.

Exasperated, Jason said. "If you needed sleep, why didn't you pick somewhere safer?" Like the ground, or a chair, or his own f***ing bed. Did he have a habit of napping places that could get him killed? Was the 'Red Hood, mass murderer' aspect not enough? Did he have to add heights to it too?

"...Safer?" Dick blinked blearily at him. As if he couldn't understand what could possibly be safer than falling asleep in Jason's rafters.

Jason didn't know what to say to that. Neither did Dick, apparently. They sat there for a while.

"I have a couch." Jason eventually found himself saying.

Dick stared at him like he'd grown two heads. Jason could practically see the war going on in his skull. "You're not..."

What? Worried? Concerned? Suddenly feeling the Pit crawl up his throat to play guard dog? "Going kick you out for falling asleep?"

Dick's face had slowly melted into that of wincing, kicked puppy and he nodded.

How the f*** had his idiot bother decided this was a safe place to sleep if he was freaking out about it? It sat under Jason's skin like a mosquito bite.

"No, but I might wring your neck if you fall out of there and break your head."

Jason didn't know what it meant that the corner of Dick's mouth quirked up and the tension bled from him. He wedged more securely into the beams

"Wake me up when it's done running?"

Jason grunted irritably. Sure, whatever. He'd wake up the bird when he crashed to the ground and needed an ER visit. But Dick didn't fall out of the rafters. The Pit simmered quietly under Jason's skin.

When the machine went off and Jason woke his brother up, he couldn't shake the sense of careful responsibility in his gut. It felt an awful lot like trust if he stopped to think on it.

Chapter 2: Failed to Mention

Summary:

Red Hood's failed to mention to his favorite lieutenant that Nightwing isn't a threat. It goes about as well as anyone could hope

Hal

Hal didn't meet Nightwing under the best of circumstances. In fact, their first encounter, Hal was under the impression Red Hood had gotten ahold of the vigilante to torture him for fun. Laid out on the table like a corpse, Hal poked Nightwing's throat to check for a pulse.

Nightwing decked him and rolled out the window like a newborn colt. Surprisingly fast for a guy who looked like he was missing half his blood volume.

The Boss had been none too happy when Hal had reported the incident. Something about 'tracking that moron down and beating that f***ing *muttering*'. He wasn't seen until the next evening. Reports placed him chasing Nightwing all over town trying to murder the blue and black vigilante.

In hindsight, Hal could recognize Nightwing had been either drugged or severely injured. In hindsight months later, Hal realized the boss couldn't have been the one to hurt the blue and black vigilante. He'd been helping him.

Nightwing and the boss were, somehow, friends.

...

The next time Hal ran into Nightwing was several months later. Rumors had been circling that he'd been spotted hanging around Red Hood semi-frequently. Some even swore they'd teamed up on occasion.

Hal walked into his boss' office late enough one night that it was early to find Nightwing draped across the rafters like a big cat. The boss was nowhere to be seen. Hal froze in the doorway.

If he didn't move, Nightwing wouldn't recognize he'd walked into the room. Right?

Wrong.

Hal took one miniscule breath to sneak backwards out the doorway and slink into the yellow shadows of the hallway (like a parent who's six month old finally fell asleep) and Nightwing's head swiveled to him. It was uncannily like a bird of prey. Hal froze for the second time in as many seconds. A soft breeze tickled the papers on the Boss' desk, but the blank gaze of those white out lenses was silent as the grave. Hal's heartbeat sounded like a marching band drum by comparison.

Their entire operation blown to smithereens. Forget the rumors- a full blooded bat-affiliated, probably inhuman vigilante was eyeing him from the rafters above fully drafted plans. In fact, Nightwing was so calm, he hadn't undraped himself from said rafters. A fact that meant Hal was going to wake up in twenty minutes with a wicked headache and no idea what had happened.

Or his boss was going to walk into a fire fight and get the same treatment.

Hal wasn't keen on losing his kneecaps, but the Red Hood had been a great employer. A friend, even. Between the size of Hal's paycheck and the decency of his job? Hood deserved at least some heads up.

Hal could do that much in his compromised position.

As if reading his mind, Nightwing tensed and said, softly, "Don't-"

"BOSS! INTRUDER!" Hal bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Red Hood exploded from one of the doors behind Hal much faster than he was expecting. The yell was more of a hail Mary for the one other person in the building than anything else. But here Hood was, firearm drawn and angled into the room at impressive speed. Nightwing had the decency to look startled.

Hal waited for the yelling, or gunshots, but the whole procession ground to one deathly silent halt.

Red Hood didn't lower his gun, but he did turn that helmeted gaze to look at Hal. "Him?" He gestured with his weapon to the blue and black vigilante eyeing them.

"Yes boss." Hal affirmed.

Hood swung his head around, the movement suddenly exhausted. "Wing," even through the mechanization, Hal could hear the exasperation.

Nightwing swung an arm over his face, voice petulant. "I didn't do anything!"

"Then why is my second yelling about an intruder?" Hood holstered his firearm.

"I dunno, maybe because I'm Bat affiliated?"

"Yeah, but we're friends," Hood said, gesturing between them.

"Okay... but did you tell anyone else that?" Nightwing gestured with his free hand. The one not covering his face like an exhausted teenager.

Crickets met that reply.

Red Hood very suddenly dropped his head into one hand and slouched back against the doorframe.

Nightwing couldn't see Hood, but he correctly interpreted the silence. "Oh my pasta," he muttered. "How are you a successful crime lord."

"It's been a weird couple of months okay?"

"I'm laying in your rafters and your goons don't know not to shoot me?"

"Hal's the reason anything gets done, dickwing, don't bring him into this."

Nevermind Hal, experiencing whiplash worse than the time he'd been ragdoll smashed by Croc. No, no he was holding this all together apparently. You know what? The building wasn't on fire. Their intruder wasn't an intruder. He could sort the details after a proper night's rest and a warm meal.

"Boss? I think I'm just going to go home now."

Hood muttered something unintelligable into his hand, but he nodded.

"Thank you, sir." Hal bid a hasty exit.

Nightwing perked up long enough to call after his retreating form. "Thanks for not shooting me!"

Notes:

The incident with Nightwing rolling out of the window can be found here in Chapter 3 of Get Behind Me

Chapter 3: The Boys (Final Chapter)

Summary:

If you decide to stop hunting the local vigilantes for sport, it's probably a good idea to tell everyone who works for you and not just your right hand man. Did Jason remember to do this? No, no he did not

Notes:

Holy crap, this has been a long time coming. I moved across the state, started practice, drowned in emergencies, and have literally been on fire for the last like *checks calender* SIX MONTHS?... Please enjoy the final chapter of Dick falling asleep in the rafters O_o

Jason's considering it may have been a bad idea to let Dick sleep in the rafters. Someone is near guarenteed to get the wrong idea and assume hostility. Red Hood is known for his hostility towards the adult vigilantes of Gotham. It's not good for his image. It's not good for Nightwing's image. Granted, at this point what's he supposed to do? It's a habit they're used to and he forgets half the time that it happens.

It's sort of like a weird piece of art in your living room. Live with it long enough and you forget how odd it is until guests point it out.

Except, in this case, the weird art is Nightwing draped over the rafters and the guests are Red Hood's lieutenants pointing guns over his head.

Belatedly, Jason is also realizing he put out a company wide memo on Robin and never got around to telling anyone but Hal that Nightwing should be added to that. As in, his people know to leave small birds alone but full sized ones are fair game.

F***.

"Not again." He hears Nightwing mutter.

Jason just wants one week where his siblings aren't getting shot at. Is that too much to ask?

He pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Stand down, he's friendly."

"Boss, he's always friendly." Levi points out. "It don't stop him from ruining our operation or cracking your skull open."

Which, f***, okay. Levi has a point. Jason knows (better than most) that Dick's pretty damn sociable for how absolutely vicious he can be when provoked. Levi's smart enough to point that out to his boss and loyal enough to pick a fight with Nightwing on his behalf. Jason appreciates that. Unfortunately, he'd appreciate it more if he didn't actually like his brother.

His other lieutenant, Steve, takes that moment to burst in as Levi's back-up, firearm already up. He does a double take at the vigilante in the rafters and clears his throat. "Uh, Levi, dude, I don't think you want to do that."

(Jason also appreciates that Steve has been an excellent employee since his hire, proving the intelligence he initially displayed on first meeting.)

Steve's first run-in with the Red Hood involved himself and two other guys pulling up on Hood in pursuit of the vigilante currently in the rafters. Nightwing had found Hood for help, Steve recognized his partners at the time had made a horrible decision in trying to kill Nightwing. He'd surrendered. His buddies? Not so much.

In light of the fact that Steve's friends nearly killed Hood's favorite bird, and Steve had tried to stop them, he'd had received an offer: Join the payroll and make up for it, or join his friends at the bottom of Gotham harbor.

Hal knew the further details. Needless to say, Steve was on payroll, his friends were not. 

 Steve was intimately aware they were not to mess with this particular bird.

"I'm not letting him pull something on the boss!" Levi insists to Steve.

Steve lowers his gun and tries to say something else, but is entirely ignored.

Levi brandishs his weapon at Nightwing. "Put your hands where I can see them!"

Jason glances up to see Nightwing hasn't moved from his backwards drape over the beams except to put his hands just barely above his chest like little t-rex arms. Yeah, because that's going to diffuse the situation.

"Levi, put the gun down. Now."

"Boss-"

"That is an order." Jason looks back to his lieutenants and lets a hard edge into his tone. "Or do I need to make myself clear?"

"Uh, no, no definitely not boss." Levi reluctantly puts his gun away.

Across the room, Steve lets out a visible breath.

"Thanks Hood." Nightwing says brightly.

"You shut up, or I'll let him shoot you." Jason says by way of warning. He points a middle finger in the direction of the rafters without glancing up. "You're enough of a pain in my ass already."

Steve's a little pale at the exchange (probably flashbacks from his hiring process) and Levi looks ready to pull his gun right back out at that comment.

"Nightwing is off limits." Jason enunciates very clearly. "Do you understand me?"

Steve nods vigorously, he already knows.

Levi crosses his arms. "Why's he in the rafters then, boss? He could get the drop on you up there."

If he wasn't so good at his job, Jason would wonder if Levi had no experience in organized crime. Typically, questioning the man in charge led to a bullet to the skull and a body in the bay- and not neccessarily in that order. Red Hood has killed plenty of people underneath him when they stopped following the rules. Hal knows more details than any man ever should and he's paid handsomly to never let them see daylight.

Thankfully, Jason likes Levi and knows he's genuinely well meaning- if on thin ice.

"He's a bird, birds perch." Jason says flatly.

"They're friends." Steve offers, elbowing Levi in the ribs.

"He's-" Levi's gaze flicks back to Nightwing, then back to Jason. "Oh. So he's not blackmailing you?"

Blackmailing- what? The blatant confusion must read on Jason's face because Levi smiles at him.

"Loud and clear boss! No shooting this bird either. I guess this explains why we don't have issues in Bludhaven anymore-"

"Get out of my office before I demote you."

Levi salutes him brightly and Steve practically hauls him out of the office. Jason can hear them whispering furiously as they go.

"That was so stupid, he was going to kill you-"

"I'll still shoot him if he double crosses the boss."

"Levi, do you not remember how I joined!"

The door closes and Jason lets out a monumental sigh before bacing himself against his work table.

"You know, Tim said your lieutenants were good guys-"

"Dick, I swear, if you say one more word I will throw you out a window."

"Oh, so I get shot at or thrown out a window, but Levi gets demoted?"

Jason gives Dick a Look and his older brother just smiles at him. He knows Jason's bluffing. And, well, as much as Jason wants to prove Dick wrong out of spite... he knows he won't. Not anymore.

His aggravating, idiotic older brother falls asleep in his rafters- and Jason wouldn't have it any other way.

Notes:

Red Hood remembered to put out an update about which birds were on the friendly list the next morning. Predictably, Dick shows up even more often to annoy Jason. Hood's lieutenants extrapolate the "Friendly Bird List" to the rest of the bat-kids - and still harass the Bat like it's a sport. Bonus points awarded if you can get the kids to join in

Steve is the one intelligent idiot from "Chapter 3 of Get Behind Me". Jason probably wouldn't have kept him around, except Levi got attached, Dick was adament he'd tried to help, and it's probably not the weirdest hiring story Hal even has at this point

AN: Thank you all for reading and enjoying this short chaotic story! I appreciate every comment and am working on replying to everything I've missed in the last several months ❤