no rest for the wicked [jason todd]

forty two

THERE WAS AN EERIE SILENCE BETWEEN THEM.

Dick was shocked into silence by her words and couldn't comprehend what to say, his eyes moving from her face down to her stomach. It wasn't noticeable yet, not too noticeable at least, but... She was pregnant. One of his closest friends, his partner, was pregnant – there was anger bubbling up in his throat now. "Jason," he said, his voice very, very careful, "you guys didn't— you're telling me..."

After a moment, the danger in his voice fell away and he turned back to look up at Tye, a soft smile on his lips. "Tye, you're... You're not crying, you guys are..."

"Dealing," Jason offered, rubbing his shoulder now, "it was still an oopsie daisy, if that's what you're wondering, Boy Idiot. We're just coping." He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Tye's cheek. "Speaking of, shouldn't you get to bed? You've got a long day tomorrow, both of you — you work."

Tye laughed slightly, rubbing her eyes. "I'll go to bed soon," she told him, gently kicking his ankle. "don't start bossing me around now, Todd."

He smiled back at her, pat her shoulder and headed in the direction of their bedroom. She watched the door push mostly closed, a little crack there, and saw the light of the lamp flicker on. She knew he was reading, but she didn't care. After a moment, she finally dragged her eyes over to Dick, sitting on the couch. "You feeling okay? I can grab you some ibuprofen if it's still being a little painful."

"A little?" Dick took in a painful little breath and then laughed. "A little, yeah, but I'll live. Let's talk more about you. A baby? Really?"

"Freaking out has already happened. We found out on Christmas but—" She raised her shoulders into a little shrug. "I've been dealing, Jason's been... Worried, actually. Really worried. I ate a pint of ice cream last night and the guy looked like he'd watched me suffocate a poor little puppy. He's just worried."

Dick raised his shoulders up into a little shrug. "I'd be panicking too," he admitted, "I actually kind of am. He's like my brother, you're my friend — now it's all like, you're having a baby. An infant. A little kid. You're gonna have a little rascal running around."

A laugh slipped past her lips as she leaned forward, her arms curling around her torso. "Yeah," she said through her laughter, "yeah, we will. I don't know if people are really gonna like a little kid going around shouting 'Uncle Dick' but hey, who cares?"

Dick's eyes went wide and he raised his eyebrows now, uttering, "Uncle?"

So, yeah, today was going great for Dick. He got his ass kicked by Black Mask goons, his friend told him she was pregnant with his practically-adopted-brother's kid and now, he was going to be an uncle.

Okay, so he already was an uncle to Lian, Roy's little girl, but this felt a little different. A little more personal, maybe, since he remembered seeing Jason all bright-eyed, missing a tooth and arguing with him despite the whole 'shut up, I'm older!' shtick. Maybe it was because this time last year, he thought Jason was dead, but something about it was so completely overwhelming.

He was crying.

He didn't mean to, he didn't mean to make Tye have to comfort him, but he couldn't help it. At least they were happy tears.

"Dick?" Tye asked quietly, her eyebrows strewn together now, pink lips parted in surprise at his reaction. "Dick, oh my God, you need sleep. Why are you crying? It's happy news, we're happy about this, you don't need to... Holy shit, calm down..."

He laughed slightly, reaching for her hand now. "I am happy," he told her softly, "these are happy tears, Tye. I'm happy for you guys and... I mean... I don't think I've seen Jason this happy ever, I think you're honestly amazing for him. He's calmed down a lot since he met you and I think that's a really good thing for both of you. You keep each other grounded."

"Uh... Okay," Tye laughed, wiping some of his tears away now. "You're a big baby, you know. Crying, really, Grayson?"

Dick leaned toward her stomach and put both hands on her torso. "Hey, little squirt," he whispered, "your mom is really mean, but she's also super kick ass, so don't give her too much hassle. You hear me?"

Tye pushed his head away and laughed, her eyes scrunching up at the edges. "I don't know how to tell Gordon," she told him, "I wanna tell Barb first, and I know she can keep a secret for sure. I'm just... Jim? He's been treating me like a daughter since I started his mission and it's like, wow, he's gonna either kick Jason's ass or cry like you did."

"I dunno," he told her in reply, voice edging on nervous, "what if he takes it well, huh? Laughs it off?"

"You're trying to reassure yourself for the future but I can promise you he can and will kick your ass over Barbara if you treat her wrong at all, and actually, I can promise you I and Barb will also kick your ass," Tye told him, leaning back now with a little smile. "We should both go to bed now though."

He laughed, his eyebrows raising now. "You aren't wrong," he told her, "but I don't know if I can fall asleep. Little Rick definitely needs his sleep though," he pat her stomach and wiggled his eyebrows.

"No," Tye told him firmly, "I'm not calling my kid Rick after you, dummy. Go to bed, there's a blanket behind your head."

Yawning, Dick leaned back and waved toward the room. "Sure. If I get lonely, I'll come cuddle with you lovebirds. I don't know, what if I get scared of the dark or have a nightmare? Gotta get you ready for that sweet parental lack of sleep."