Chapter Text
As the fuzz of radio static started to clear from his mind, Nightwing felt the slow and heavy drip of waterdrops hitting his face.
His nose scrunched, then his eyebrows, which was followed by the sudden and excruciating pounding in his head that made him regret the movement in the first place. Pieces of his memory slowly started filtering back into the forefront of his mind as he simultaneously checked himself for injuries.
A supposedly abandoned building, scheduled to be demolished was rumored to be the hideout of some drug runners. He could wiggle his toes, and everything seemed attached. Oracle calling in with a hotline tip, and then scrambling to go higher. His left knee was twisted unnaturally, but it didn’t seem stuck. The achingly familiar rhythm of clearing rooms in tandem. His ribs ached with every breath he took, but bruised was better than broken. The threatening sounds of metal creaking and groaning around him and he remembered running. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears, and feel some of it running down his temple, towards his ear.
So he was laying down. And there was that water, dripping again.
A sudden cough surprised his lungs and he hacked out the taste of dust in his mouth, lighting fire across the body he had worked so very hard to keep still. Nightwing let it settle, but unease replaced the discomfort in his chest as he felt like he was forgetting something.
“Alive, Dickhead?”
Nightwing’s eyes shot open, and he was met with the same blackness the back of his eyelids gave him.
“Hood?”
“Bingo.” Red Hood’s voice sounded like it was all around him, unnaturally rough and clipped.
“What the hell…?” Another few drops hit Dick’s face and he turned his head to the side, trying to (unsuccessfully) shake them off.
“Building collapsed,” Jason spit out, words short and punctuated with heavy but rattling breaths “Missed the exit.”
“Does B know?”
“Yes.”
“Is he coming?”
Dick did not appreciate the silence that followed.
“Hit the beacon in time. I think.” Jason said with a groan, and suddenly the world around them shifted.
Dust particles invisible in the dark flew through the air and brushed Dick’s face, and he could hear the creaking moan of twisted metal and concrete. So they were still inside. And with how dark it was, no easy way out. But Batman knew they were here.
“Good. Then he’ll come.” Dick replied, ever the optimist. “Where are you? You sound close.”
“Too close.”
Jason’s breathing was heavy and hitching again, and Dick’s spidey senses were going off. This was way too casual of a conversation for them to be having for just being in an explosion.
“What does that mean? Are you hurt?”
There goes that silence again. Dick was really starting to hate that.
“Jason?”
“Don’t know.” There was an extra edge in Jason’s voice that Dick knew all too well. He was hurt. And it must be bad for Jason to not just blow by it, tell him to fuck off and change the subject. This was damn near Jason admitting to being hurt. And that concerned Dick even more.
“I can’t see a thing in here. I don’t know how much space we’ve got to work with. Can you turn on a light?”
“Helmet.”
“Ok. The helmet… that’s usually on your head. Did you lose it?” Dick’s mind picked up the speed run of horrifying possibilities and a twinge of confusion on how difficult this conversation was to hold. He was sure he had a concussion. Did Jason have one too? Both of them were used to working in less than ideal conditions in concerning states, but this was almost avoidance.
“I…” Jason grunted and the walls around them seemed to shift again. He let out a sound that was a mix of a cough and an incomplete breath. “I can’t reach.”
“Shit.” Dick did not like this at all. “Ok, I think I can get it. Where are you?”
“Above.”
Dick’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion again (this time ignoring the headache). Whether it was the concussion or cryptic one word answers Jason was giving him, none of this made sense. Sure, it was echo-y in what Dick was sure was a pretty confined space, but above? Moving his arms slowly in case he discovered any other injuries in the process, he brought them close to his chest and reached up, fingers splayed out.
Gloved fingertips brushed what first felt like a wall. Then the wall took a shaky imitation of a breath and moved, just barely. Dick moved his hands further up, until they tapped metal, just about a foot over him. In the dark he fumbled around, sight replaced by feeling, and the metal was smooth and rounded. Like Red Hood’s signature helmet.
“What the fuck…” Dick whispered under his breath, his hands fully wrapped around the sides of the helmet.
“Jay, what did you do?”
“Trigger,” Jason ground out, ignoring the question. “‘round back.”
Dick slid his hands back, only having to stretch them a little bit to reach the back of Red Hood’s helmet, hitting the locking mechanism in the right order to get the helmet off without delivering the extra electric shock. He felt Jason drop his head ever so slightly, and Dick was able to pull the helmet off with relative ease. It was only a second later that he reached inside and activated the lights, and illuminated the horror around him.
Jason was above him, in every sense of the word. His head, now free of the helmet, hung low, and his wheezing breaths were amplified without the voice modulator. Jason was on his hands and knees, straddling Dick. Large pieces of concrete ran across Jason’s back, which was shaking with effort of keeping it off of them. His elbows were locked straight, hands splayed out on the uneven ground directly above Dick’s shoulders. His knees, gratefully covered in knee pads, were on either side of Dick’s hips. Jason’s body was keeping the building from crushing them both.
When Dick looked directly up, he could see the red bat emblem across the outer armor Jason wore, dented and broken. When the next drop of liquid hit his face, reality came crashing around him.
A piece of rebar was sticking right through Jason’s collarbone. His blood was dripping in slow, repetitive drops. Not water, Dick thought miserably.
“Fuck, Little Wing,” Dick whispered, bile burning in the back of his throat.
“‘s not bad.” Jason ground out. His body was full-on shaking while holding all of the weight. Dick couldn’t imagine how heavy it was. He thanked whatever God that managed to have an eye on them today that they were on the upper floors. He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if they were on the lowest floor.
“No, now’s not the time for modesty,” Dick said, unable to keep the panic out of his voice. He had to find a way to get Jason out of here, but so far Jason was the only thing keeping them from being completely crushed. “Jay, I can’t believe I have to ask this, but…”
“Already tried. Won’t budge.” Unless the lighting was deceitful, Dick swore he saw the corner of his mouth twitch up. “Were sleepin’ alot, Dickie.”
Sleeping while his baby brother was holding up a collapsed building on his back, alone.
The guilt must have shown like a beacon on Dick’s face because Jason’s fraction of a smile disappeared.
“Not your fault.” Shallow breaths still kept his sentences short. “I jumped.”
Another flashback hit Dick like… well… a collapsed building. Hearing the beeping too late and turning around to see Red Hood flying towards him, arms outstretched. Getting tackled like a high school football offensive line and hitting the ground as everything went black.
“Fuck. Fuck.”
“Language.” Dick couldn’t help but snort, though tears welled in his eyes. Still, despite it all, Jason was giving him a hard time.
Dick set the helmet to the side so he could see as much of the surrounding area as he could. As gently as he could, he brought his hands up to either side of Jason’s face, lifting his head back up to relieve some of the strain on his neck. Unable to pull away, Dick turned it slightly, checking each side for any additional injuries. A thin slice ran across Jason’s cheek, but wasn’t bleeding too much anymore. Dick brushed some strands of sweaty curls off his forehead. Jason would never admit to it later, but he leaned into the touch. Just for a moment.
“B’s gonna come. I’m going to get you out. You hear me Jaybird?”
“In time?” Jason’s voice was quiet, almost too quiet to hear. He refused to meet Dick’s gaze, instead staring straight down, eyes glassy. It was Dick’s turn to pause in an awkward silence. He wanted to say yes, so confidently. Because that’s what Batman does. He saves the day. But he’s been too late before.
But Jason was not looking good. The blood stain from the rebar was growing as the minutes passed, dying his armor and jacket a dark red. He couldn’t see past Jason’s chest, so he had no clue if his legs had met the same fate. Dick could see the muscles straining in his arms and his neck, using every last bit of strength he had to keep the debris up.
“Yes,” Dick said. “In time.”
“Liar,” Jason whispered. Dick didn’t have an answer for that.
Jason’s breathing grew heavier as Dick busied himself with finding a way out. He couldn’t think about any other possibility. He wouldn’t. There had to be a way to get both of them out. Damn it, he was not going to let his brother get trapped and lose him. Again. He pressed a finger to his ear and checked his comm, not surprised when all he heard was static. He prayed Jason was right, and he had gotten his emergency beacon off before the building truly collapsed. If he had, then Oracle was on it. That meant Batman was on his way, if not already there.
Dick had to believe Batman was coming. He had to. The alternative was… he wouldn’t think about that.
Dick took his hands off the side of Jason’s face, and his head dropped back down, just slightly. His eyes were shut and jaw clenched so tight Dick could see his veins. Sweat was dripping freely from his forehead, now with the mask taken off. Breaths came in sharp pants, like he was trying to control his breathing but couldn’t get enough oxygen. Dick’s hands wandered lower, hovering just underneath Jason’s shoulders, almost touching.
“Can I help? I’ll take some of it, and you-”
“No!” Jason barked, the loudest he had been since Dick woke up. His hands recoiled like he’d been burned.
“No,” he said, softer. His eyes were open and he glanced at Dick only for a second, before letting his eyes refocus somewhere on the concrete below. “Don’t touch. If I- If I lose it, I’ll… I got it. I’m holding it.”
“Okay,” Dick whispered, pulling his hands back. “Okay.” He glanced around again. He could find another way. There had to be something that could ease some of the weight, or at least give Jason a little break. Mercifully, the bleeding from the rebar seemed to have slowed for the moment, but that only gave a half a second beat of relief. Maybe Jason wasn’t about to bleed out, but who knows what other kinds of infections or problems were now swirling around in his blood from the metal staying in place.
“Dick.”
Dick hummed noncommittedly as his brain spiraled, glancing around the confined space. Maybe if they…
“Dick. Look at me.” Jason’s eyes were back to focused, staring right at Dick. His lips were pressed together in a tight line.
“Go.”
Dick’s eyes snapped up to meet Jason’s so quick it was almost startling.
“What?”
“Go,” Jason repeated, almost a growl. “Get out. Only option.”
Dick’s mouth dropped open, nearly speechless.
“What?” Dick repeated, harsher. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“I-”
“No, seriously,” Dick cut him off, wishing he could grab his stupid, self-sacrificing little brother and shake some sense into him. “You’ve had a lot of stupid ideas but this is your worst. What makes you think I’m going to just leave you down here? Would you even be able to get out on your own? The second you do the building is going to come crashing down. You would die. Again.”
If Jason flinched it was indistinguishable with the way his body was shaking.
“I know, but I-”
“Bruce is coming. He will come. He’s going to find a way to get both of us out. But I’m sure as hell not leaving you down here by yourself on the off chance he’s not. We get out together or we don’t get out at all.”
“Better one than two.” Jason said simply, still refusing to meet Dick’s eyes. He said it as if it was logical. The simplest answer. Dick’s mouth opened, then shut again as he let that sentence hang in the air. His fingers brushed Jason’s chin and he gently pulled Jason’s head up so he was forced to meet Dick’s face.
“Jay, he almost didn’t survive losing you the first time. I almost didn’t survive. You can’t just… I can’t let that happen again. I won’t.”
“I-” Jason tried to start the sentence he’s tried to say so many times. It felt like giving up. He swallowed hard. It felt like losing. He blinked back tears he prayed Dick wouldn’t mention.
“I don’t know how much longer I can hold it.”
And with that the debris shifted, and one of Jason’s arms gave out.