Chapter Text
The battlefield was a mess of smoke, debris, and the occasional sparking remains of the now-defunct alien war machines. The Justice League, bruised but victorious, were gathering themselves, dusting off their capes and checking in with one another.
It had been a hell of a fight. A city nearly leveled, explosions left and right—nothing they hadn’t dealt with before, but exhausting all the same.
“Everyone accounted for?” Superman asked, scanning the area with his X-ray vision.
“All good here,” Green Lantern replied, shaking rubble off his shoulders. Barry was zipping around, patting people on the back, checking pulses just in case.
It seemed like everyone was fine.
Except—
“Wait, where’s Nightwing?”
The question had barely been spoken before a small ripple of concern spread across the group. Diana’s brows furrowed. J’onn tilted his head, scanning telepathically. Hal exchanged a worried glance with Barry. They all knew Nightwing—he wasn’t technically on the team, but at this point, he was more of an honorary member than most. The idea that something could have happened to him was suddenly, disturbingly, more unsettling than the battle itself.
A beat of silence.
And then, a shifting of fabric. A flicker of movement.
From beneath Batman’s cape, a head of dark hair popped up, followed by a familiar grin. “Well,” Nightwing said cheerfully, stretching as he emerged, “looks like that instinct is still intact. Explosion? Duck under the cape.”
He laughed at himself, brushing dust off his suit.
For a moment, absolute silence.
Then Diana exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, J’onn’s shoulders relaxed, and Barry let out an incredulous laugh.
Batman’s expression remained impassive, except for the slight, almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of his mouth. A twitch that, to anyone unfamiliar, meant nothing—but to those who knew, was basically the Bat-equivalent of open affection.
Hal blinked. “Wait—” he pointed between them, looking completely baffled. “Do you two—”
Barry elbowed him before he could finish the question. Because at this point, wasn’t it kind of awkward to ask?
But that didn’t stop the curiosity.
Batman had a son, sure. They all knew about Robin. Robins. Plural. It was Gotham’s worst-kept secret. But Nightwing? Nightwing was… something else.
And yet, it was undeniable. The ease. The way Nightwing had emerged from beneath the Bat’s cape like it was second nature. Like he belonged there. The way Batman didn’t so much as scowl about it, just turned slightly, like this was completely expected behavior.
Which, for the record, it absolutely was.
“Alright, drama over, you can stop panicking,” Nightwing added, clearly enjoying the moment. “I’m fine, not a scratch on me.” He turned to Batman with an easy grin. “Nice to know the emergency ‘hide-the-kid’ reflex is still going strong.”
“Tch.” Batman crossed his arms, but he didn’t actually disagree.
Steph snorted loudly in the background. Wally, who had appeared next to Dick at some point, just shook his head fondly. “You really can’t help yourself, huh?”
“It’s a survival instinct at this point.”
Damian, who had been glaring at the League as though daring them to say something, stepped forward and tugged at Nightwing’s wrist. “Baba, you are injured.”
Dick ruffled his hair. “Just a scratch, Dami.”
“You always say that.”
Steph leaned in toward Cass and whispered, “Do you think they’re gonna figure it out?”
Cass just raised an eyebrow.
Barry was staring, hard, at Wally. Like he was doing mental gymnastics in real-time. “So, wait—wait. Just so we’re all clear here. You—” He pointed at Wally. “Are married. To Dick Grayson.”
Wally nodded. “Yeah?”
“And you knew?” Hal asked, turning to Roy, who was watching the whole thing with Jason, both looking far too entertained.
Roy shrugged. “Yup.”
“And you knew?” Barry turned to Tim.
Tim, holding hands with Conner, just smirked. “Of course.”
Barry looked at Bruce. “And you—”
“I know everything,” Batman said flatly.
Barry threw his hands in the air. “I feel like I’ve been lied to!”
“Technically,” Wally started, “no one ever asked.”
Hal groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “This whole family is a disaster.”
Steph, Cass, Damian, Jason, and Tim all said, “Yup,” at the same time.
Batman sighed.
Dick just grinned. “Aw, c’mon guys. You love me.”
And the worst part was, they really, really did.