Nightwing has just been added to the Justice League, and somehow, he has already gained the trust and respect of the eldritch horror that is Batman.
When Batman gets whammied by some alien with super mystical powers, and he goes down, they panic. Who wouldn’t?
But they pull themselves together, defeat the alien, safely transport Batman back to the Watchtower med bay, and call his emergency contact.
Who happened to be Nightwing.
“How the fuck are they so close already?” Hal whispered to Barry, watching as the younger man anxiously sat beside Batman’s bed and worried his bottom lip. "It took him an entire year just for him to call me by my hero name without the mocking undertone."
Barry shrugged. “I have no clue. I mean, I know he’s close to Wally, and Wally is strangely close to Bats, so maybe that’s the connection?”
“Right… your nephew is a weird one.” Hal hummed, wincing when Barry punched him hard on the arm. “Sorry, I mean, he’s good at getting people to like him, even scary guys like Spooky. Nightwing seems the same.”
Superman hovers nearby, wringing his hands on his cape. “I’m sorry, Nightwing, I- I don’t even know how the spell slipped past me…”
Other heroes also milled around, worried for one of their founding members, just wanting to see him wake up before going about their other duties.
Nightwing shook his head, taking Batman’s hand into his own and playing with the tactical toe beans. “It was bound to happen. He’s a reckless idiot, there’s no way he’d allow one of the strongest hitters to go down before him.”
Nightwing’s breath hitches as Batman suddenly squeezes his hand back.
“Batman…?” Superman leaned over, staring down at his long-term best friend with concern clearly written on his face. “Can you hear us? Are you awake?”
Batman groaned, his hand once again squeezing Nightwing’s. Instead of answering Superman’s probing questions, his eyes glided over the other man to Nightwing, frowning slightly.
Everyone in the room froze. Hal and Barry’s mouths dropped open. No fucking way. Was this some sort of mass hallucination? No way the Batman just called someone baby.
“Uh, Batman-“ Superman tried warning, but was once again ignored by the injured man.
“Baby… my sweet baby… light of my life… my pumpy-umpy-umpkin…”
Superman snorted, quickly covering his mouth and looking away. “Oh my gosh, he’s going to kill everyone when he’s in his right mind.”
"Batman doesn't kill..." Hal whispered, still in shock.
"He might. This can't be real. Somebody pinch me." Barry reached down and pinched Hal's thigh, twisting it to make it really hurt.
"Ow! What the fuck, Barry?!"
"Shush, he's still speaking."
At this point, Batman had stubbornly propped himself up on a pillow and was gently cradling Nightwing's cheeks in his hands. Oh my gosh, Batman actually took off his gloves. And he had human hands...
"Ooo... darling... honey bun..." Batman sniffed, sounding scarily close to tears.
Nightwing, who looked a little scared at first, now looked flustered and exasperated. "Okay, um, Dad..." gasps throughout the room, Superman floating upside down, trying to stifle his laughter. Batman was a father. Batman was the father of Nightwing. This was unprecedented. "I'm fine, I swear. You can do your own check-up later. Dad, why don't I take you home, hmm?"
"Love bug... sugar cookie..." another sniffle. Batman had so many affectionate nicknames in his arsenal. He just didn't seem like the type to use them, but that was obviously wrong. Somehow, Nightwing understood what he wanted from just one word.
"Yes, I'll call everyone so you can see them. Hood included." Nightwing sighed, a soft blush on his face as he looked at the other heroes in the room. "Uh, I'm just gonna take him now. Don't say anything about this." He threatened, and at that moment, everyone understood that he was most definitely raised by Batman. Scary...
"Superman." Nightwing raised an eyebrow, and Superman immediately flew down to carry Batman.
"Uh." Superman coughed and smiled crookedly. "You're not gonna tell him about me laughing, right? Nightwing? Buddy?" Superman floated after the younger man, carefully holding a limp Batman.
"Hm." Nightwing didn't even look back as he walked out of the med bay.
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