KAJ2004 wanted something using the Gotham Knights dynamic and I haven't played the game but I do have Tik Tok so I've seen some stuff about them - let's hope it's not too OOC

also sorry if some of these are short!! I've got some exams due so im working on essays and my dissertation as well as moving back home for Christmas whilst I work on this 

"Guess what's pointy, red and in everyone's kitchen?" Nightwing asked through the comms. Every so often during unimportant missions, he breaks the silence with something. Sometimes it's just an observation, sometimes he tells them about something just implausible enough to be possible in Gotham and sometimes he tells annoying riddles. He argued that the last of those three is good training for when they face the Riddler but they know all of them are off the top of his head and aren't nearly as well formulated as the villains. Robin decided to humour this time after hearing a collective groan from the others. The night had been quiet so far anyway, he could do with the distraction as he waited for something to happen. Besides, he liked to join in on annoying the others when he felt like it.

"A knife?" 

"Close." The teen rolled his eyes with a smile. He knew the older was being difficult with the answer. It was definitely a knife. "Go on, give it another go."

"How is it not a knife?" Red Hood asked, agitated. If he was truly annoyed by the question then he wouldn't have answered. He'd probably take out his earpiece and put it back in when he deemed enough time had passed. 

"I said he was close."

"A knife after cutting something red?" Robin tried. Nightwing gave him a breathy chuckle. Come to think of it, he sounded breathy the first time he'd spoken but they'd all collectively ignored it. The guy was always on the move so they just assumed the urge to annoy them had come at a slightly inconvenient time. 

"Getting closer. Hey, I'll give you another one. What's 5ft 10, blue and currently has about five wounds thanks to what's pointy, red and in everyone's kitchen? Oh, fuck- Okay amendment one is definitely still stuck in me. They're so gonna want that back." Anxiety ran through the group like dominos, knocking them back one by one as they realised the gravity of the situation. 

"Wing, are you saying you got stabbed in the form of a fucking riddle?" Red Hood spat although the concern was clear. 

"Bingo," the older replied. "Pretty good for a guy who's bleeding out right? Speaking of, who wants the pleasure of dragging my sorry ass back to base? I made it like five blocks out before my legs gave out."

"Why didn't you just tell us you were stabbed?" Robin snapped.

"I'm a big boy, I can usually make it on my own," he replied, sounding almost infuriatingly calm for the situation he was in. "I'd probably tell you when I got there. Maybe."

"I'm closest to him," Batgirl announced. "Stay where you are twinkle toes. I'll be there in ten."

"Any possibility of making it faster? Something tells me I'm not gonna be alone when you get here."

"Why can't you just announce you're in danger like a normal person?" Red Hood huffed. "It's like you want to fucking bleed out wherever you are."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you care about your big brother."

"I'm going to strangle you when I see you."

"Someone's about to beat you to it. Hello, Joker Henchmen Four. Y'know I think you've earned a nickname. How about Stabby?" His voice broke off as he presumably focused on the fight ahead of him. As soon as he was given the all-clear, they were going to beat his ass. 

Batgirl made it there two minutes before her original ETA thanks to Robin making sure the traffic lights were green all the way through. She arrived just as she heard a loud crash and she whipped her head around to find Nightwing hauling himself out of a pile of trash. She looked up to the roof she'd originally pinpointed his position as and saw a grinning Joker Henchman peeking over the edge. They were certainly deserving of a pay rise if they weren't quitting whilst they were ahead. When they saw Batgirl approaching Nightwing they groaned just loud enough for her to hear then disappeared from the edge. Whilst keeping alert, she pulled Nightwing out of the bins and cringed at how wet he was. It hadn't been raining for once and a quick glance at his landing spot didn't provide any other reason for the wetness to be anything other than his own blood soaking though his suit. On a glance, she could pick out at least four stab wounds on his front and when she held him steady a quick look at his back added five more to the figure. 

"Got their knife back then?" she asked, seeing the aforementioned weapon missing.

"Yeah, guess they have a return policy on it," he replied with a lopsided grin. All the colour had drained out from his face and she knew he was doing everything in his power to remain standing. She decided it was best to keep him quiet so he could concentrate on that at least until they got to the bike. If luck was on their side, which it always seemed to be in a bittersweet way, he'd keep running on adrenaline until they could get Alfred to treat him. 

"Got him," Batgirl announced through the comm. "Looks like he was right about going into shock but the fight should've brought back some adrenaline. That or the fall."

"The fell?" Robin repeated.

"Decided to dive bomb into someone's trash. You know the saying, one man's trash is another man's crash mat."

"He's infected you," Red Hood commented. 

"Keep us updated. We can cover your areas for the rest of the night. Unless you want us to call it in early." She chewed on her lip as she helped Nightwing onto the back of her bike. As she wrapped his arms around her waist and waited for them to tighten, she sighed. They couldn't really afford for no one to be around if Joker's workers were going after them even if they were smart to back off when backup showed up. 

"Take the short route home when you're done," she concluded. She turned to Nightwing with a soft smile. "Hold on tight. Don't want you falling off."

"Aye aye captain."

By the time they got back to the safe house, Nightwing was barely clinging to consciousness and she had to practically drag him up the steps. He made it just long enough to be put onto the cot and laid on his side. Alfred took over soon after that. Despite his old age, he moved just as fast as any of them did when one of them was hurt. Maybe especially so when it came to Dick simply because he'd known the acrobat for so long. He'd quite literally seen him grow up in front of him. He found his wounds with little help and was as quick as lightning at patching each puncture up. Small gasps and whimpers were drawn out of the acrobat as Alfred cleaned his wounds and then pierced his skin with a needle. He'd gone through patch-up jobs before, both worse and better than this one, but his newfound sensitivity didn't go unnoticed.

"You're alright lad. Mistress Barbara, would you mind setting him on an IV and blood transfusion? I don't trust where this knife has been and he could do with the pain relief," Alfred instructed. Until that point, Barbara found herself just watching with some sense of amazement at how old fingers were still just as nimble as they were twenty years ago. Weirdly enough, it was pretty basic knowledge for the heroes considering how often one of them came back from the verge of bleeding out. If she lingered on the thought for long enough she'd feel a little horrified that she was desensitised to such a procedure but she never really did linger. Not when they had a job to do. She moved rather robotically through the steps, losing herself in keeping busy, and she had no idea how much time had gone by once the butler stepped away to clean his hands.

"Looks like Master Richard was rather lucky," Alfred announced. "The blade was too short to hit his internal organs but the cluster of them left him losing too much blood." Good, they didn't have to bring him to an actual hospital then.

"So he'll be alright then?"

"Sore, in pain and benched but yes. He'll be alright."

"I'll tell the others. Maybe in the meantime, you can think of a good lecture on how he shouldn't tell riddles when he's warning us he's hurt." The butler tutted but she didn't miss the fond smile that appeared on his face. 

"Believe me, he's already had that one numerous times."

"He's always been like that then?"

"Always," he replied, that fondness never leaving his voice. "Drives us all mad."

It was day by the time Dick regained consciousness, judging only by the afternoon sun shining on his face, and his whole right side ached from the dead weight he'd put on it. He groaned softly and made a move to roll onto his back but he was stopped by a large hand on his shoulder. He blinked up to meet eyes with Jason who he shot a light-hearted smile at.

"Don't take it as a compliment, I'm here because it's my turn to watch you," Jason told him but that was complete bullshit. If he didn't want to do something then he simply wouldn't do it. Perhaps one day he'd stop doing this little dance and just admit that he wanted to be there with his injured brother. "Have to make sure you're not stupid enough to pop your stitches. 

"Noted," Dick croaked, his throat dry from sleep. "Whatcha reading?"

"Little Women. I was enjoying the time when you weren't talking so I thought I'd catch up."

"Nah, you love my voice. I'm like ASMR personified."

"Yeah, some people like you and the rest are just annoyed by the noise." They both smiled. 

"Alright then, let's see how ASMR-worthy your voice is. Care to read to me?"

"You are a full-grown man."

"A full-grown sweepy man in need of a bedtime story." Jason rolled his eyes but surprised the acrobat by actually beginning to read aloud. His voice was low, clearly not wanting any of the others to hear, but it was nice. Dick would never admit it but he didn't like being alone when he was hurt. The constant sound of someone being there was comforting. He let his eyes slip closed and shut his brain off, concentrating solely on his brother. "Thanks, Jay," he whispered quietly.

"Don't mention it."