I just love the idea of Mute!Dick because he's always so talkative and expressive and I love seeing how he can do that without words. Could I get another addition to this AU? Maybe them over at the manor hanging out with the family together and then going on patrol after. Seeing a mute!Dick in action ~
First of all, I want to say I’m sorry I’ve been so lazy with prompts, I’ve been working on a few other projects and trying to make sure I don’t overwhelm myself like I did a few times last semester.
As usual, this AU is super fun, and very pleasantly challenging to write.
Other works in this verse
Family Communication
A couple times a month, Dick dragged Jason to the manor for some family bonding. The first few times it happened, Jason said no, not leaving any room for negotiation on the idea and Dick had pouted in his direction and denied him sex for over a week. Jason had been impressed because Dick was always affectionate, but during that week, he had danced away from Jason until Jason caved and said yes.
Now, Jason didn’t protest when Dick started doing the characteristic rock and shoulder shrug that told Jason they were going to the manor, but Dick would do his best to make it worthwhile for both of them.
Jason didn’t understand why Dick insisted on it at first, Dick and Bruce still argued a decent amount and Jason wasn’t on the best terms with the man either. It had taken a few trips for Jason to figure it out, but when he had, it made him realize that it was less of a chance to bond with family and more of a practice in communicating with Dick.
The mannerisms Dick used were a language that required practice, some of the terms shifting and changing as time wore on.
They were sitting at the dinner table one night when Dick signaled to Bruce and the bowl of potatoes were passed his way. Dick huffed and pushed the Dick back. Signing that he was asking Bruce to pass the salad.
“When did your signal for potatoes change?” Bruce asked.
Dick shrugged.
When Jason had first met Dick, there had been a complicated language between Bruce and the first Robin that had left him feeling left out and totally lost. Bruce knew how to read the smallest signals from Dick, but now, after living with and being in a relationship with Dick, Jason was the one that understood his signals the best.
Tim was talking about a project he was working on when he looked at Jason and Dick, clearing his throat.
“That’s not appropriate conversation for the table,” he said. “You may not be using ASL but I’m not blind.”
Dick flushed.
“Wait, I thought you two were talking about combat,” Bruce said as he looked at them, brows furrowed. “Dick you were using the signals you used to use for acrobatics in a fight.”
Dick shrugged again. They hadn’t necessarily changed, but the terms Jason and Dick used in bed had their own unique meaning.
“Anyways,” Tim said, sensing the tension between them. “Tonight, I’m hoping we can use the new video monitoring software while we’re on patrol so we can understand what’s going on better.”
The body language that Dick used to communicate in combat hadn’t changed a lot since Jason had died and come back. It was a form of communication that soldiers were trained to use when they were supposed to be silent in combat with a few modifications that Dick and Bruce had come up with.
They were all perched up on a rooftop looking over a warehouse that they were infiltrating when Dick signaled for them all to look at a door.
“Good call,” Bruce said. He made a series of hand gestures at the building. Go inside, take down the guards one at a time, how many guns?
Dick signaled back. 10 men, all are probably armed. Better to ambush.
The two of them went back and forth for a few moments, Dick insisting on an ambush and Bruce insisting on a quieter approach when they heard gunfire from the building. Dick smiled and flipped off the roof they were perched on, firing off his grapple.
“Ambush it is then,” Tim said as he and Jason followed behind Dick.
The hardest part about being on patrol with Dick was that it was ten times harder to communicate with him when he was out of sight. They had to rely on the sighs, grunts, and gentle taps from Dick in their earpieces, but only Bruce and Jason could really tell what the signals meant.
There was a series of taps from Dick and Jason nodded.
“More men then we expected. Great. Armed or not?”
Another series of taps.
“Big guns, got it,” Bruce replied.
“No,” Jason said. “That wasn’t the tap for big guns.”
Dick tapped a few more times but Bruce and Jason were too busy arguing to pay attention to the way Dick was trying to correct them. Things were getting heated when there was a squeal and three of the four vigilantes in the building grunted in pain.
“What the hell Dick?”
A scoff and a choked noise of pain from one of the goons in the building indicated that Dick had taken care of everything himself.
“Not big guns then,” Jason said. “So I was right.” There was another squeal in his earpiece and Jason groaned. “Fine. Fine. I get it, we’ll stop arguing.”
They left the warehouse, everything taken care of, and they stopped back at the manor. They were all tired from fighting off armed goons and tracking down leads on who the supplies in the warehouse had been bought from.
Dick was at the computer with Bruce, helping to provide information, stealing the keyboard and providing details where Bruce missed them.
“Bruce is just a little jealous,” Tim told him. “He used to be the one that knew all of Dick’s signals, everything he was trying to say, and now he doesn’t. Now you’re here and he has to have Dick over so he doesn’t forget how to communicate with him.”
“Well he doesn’t have to be an ass about it,” Jason said as he crossed his arms. Dick turned around and gave Jason a look that said they were going to go home soon, Jason returned it with a small nod before Dick turned back to the computer, shaking his head and pointing at the monitors insistently.
“You know Bruce,” Tim said. “He’s always going to be an ass about it.”