idk if i mentioned this before, but Nico can switch his feathers between being razour-sharp, or just being regular feathers (which are very big and fluffy). 

"Why the fuck are there giant-ass bird feathers all over the kitchen?" Jason mumbled as he walked into the aforementioned room, blinking blearily as he tried to decide whether or not he was still dreaming. Or hallucinating? 

Fluffy black feathers, ranging from small down feathers to large ones almost the entire length of his forearm littered the floor of the kitchen. There were even a few on the counter tops.  Jason looked around, suddenly paranoid- Damian hadn't let another vulture in, had he? 

Upon seeing no big, blood-thirsty bird of prey looming anywhere, Jason backtracked out of the kitchen, encountering a few more feathers scattered down the hallway that he'd missed on his way down earlier, even a couple on the stairs. "What the hell?" 

He knocked on Damian's door, knowing the youngest would be awake already, and, as predicted, the door opened a moment later to a fully-dressed Damian, looking grumpy at having been disturbed. "What is it, Todd." 

"Did you bring another injured bird in?" Jason asked, narrowing his eyes as he leaned around Damian to peer into his room. 

"What?" Damian looked genuinely confused. "No. Where on earth did you get that idea?" 

"You didn't see them?" Jason raised an eyebrow sceptically. Damian always got up early to do his workout (what twelve-year-old got up at five am to work out?) and eat breakfast, there's no way he would have missed the mess in the kitchen. 

"What are you talking about?" 

At that moment, Tim had emerged from his room and made his way to the kitchen. There was a 'thud' followed by Tim's yelp of "what in the ever-loving chicken coop!" 

Jason rolled his eyes and gestured for Damian to follow him, and they both headed back down the stairs and down the hall to the kitchen, Damian finally noticing the black feathers littering the way. When they arrived, Tim was sitting, thoroughly confused, on the ground, having slipped on a feather. He looked up when his brothers walked in. "Damian, I swear to God-" 

"I had nothing to do with this, Drake. I have just as little idea what's happening as you do." 

"What's happening?" Dick asked, shuffling into the kitchen in sweatpants and an oversized shirt, his hair a mess. He blinked, looking around the kitchen before muttering an 'oh' under his breath. Then he turned to look at Damian. 

The youngest threw his hands up. "The vulture was a one-time thing! And it wasn't even that bad, anyways, if I ever did decide to bring another bird in." 

"It tried to eat me and Jason!" Tim yelped, standing and brushing himself off. 

Damian just glared. "My point still stands." 

"Look," Dick said tiredly, holding his hands out. "Let's check for broken windows or open doors. Something must have got in here somehow, and we need to find it before Bruce or Alfred come home." Bruce was gone all day with League business, and Alfred was visiting friends in Fawcett City. The three other boys nodded before splitting up to check. Damian took the Batcave, Jason the ground floor, Dick the second floor, and Tim went to check outside. 

They all met back in the kitchen in twenty minutes. "Nothing." Tim said. His brothers agreed. "There's no broken or open windows, doors, or anything that something with feathers that big could have gotten in through." 

"Well, where didn't we check?" Dick asked. A moment of silence elapsed before Dick groaned suddenly. "Nico's room! I didn't want to go in there because he's still sleeping!" 

"But his window wasn't broken when I saw it from outside," Tim pointed out. 

Jason, who'd caught on to Dick's line of thought, smacked Tim on the back of the head. "Idiot," he hissed. "Who's the one person we know who has big, black feathered wings?" 

Tim's eyes widened. "Oh." 

"He doesn't usually lose feathers, though. Do you think something happened?" Damian asked. All four boys shared a look of mutual concern before hurrying out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. They all stopped at Nico's door, Dick holding a hand out. 

"I'll go first. If it's safe, you guys come in after." 

"Like hell we'll wait," Jason growled. 

Dick only rolled his eyes before knocking softly on Nico's door. "Nico? Are you awake in there, bud?" When there was no answer, Dick shot a look to his brothers and carefully pushed the door open. It was immediately clear that Nico was the source of the feathers; they littered his floor, bed, even the sliver of bathroom they could see. And Nico himself was curled up in bed still, wings out, one flopping over the edge of the bed, the other draped across his sleeping form so only the top of his head poked out above it. The feathers on his wings looked ruffled, some sticking out in odd angles or thinner-looking in some places, and as they watched, a whole feather fell to the ground, landing amid a small pile of matching feathers. 

"Is- I'm sorry, is he moulting?" Tim asked incredulously. "Is that what this is?" 

Dick walked up to Nico, keeping his footsteps loud. (He had learned the hard way a few times not to startle the sleeping demigod). "Hey, buddy. Are you alright? You awake?" 

Nico grunted and shifted slightly, causing another couple feathers to come loose and drift to the floor, but he didn't wake up. Dick's brow furrowed. Usually Nico was quick to wake up. This was definitely not normal for him. Dick reached out and rested a hand on Nico's head, dislodging a small, downy feather from his dark hair. "Nico, wake up." He called softly. 

Nico shifted his wing to uncover his face as he blinked tiredly up at Dick, taking a moment to recognise him. "Dick," He finally muttered. 

"Yeah bud, it's me." Jason cleared his throat as he and the others moved closer to Nico's bed. Dick rolled his eyes. "It's us. Are you okay?" 

Nico thought about the question for a while before letting out a sigh. "'M tired. Itchy." He muttered, shifting uncomfortably. 

"Itchy? Where?" Jason asked. 

"Wings." 

"Nico, do you know what's going on?" Tim asked hesitantly. 

Nico shrugged. He really did look tired. And when he shifted again, Dick caught a look of discomfort flash across his face. 

"Alright. Here's what we're going to do. Damian, find everything you can about moulting birds. Tim, Go lay down some towels and blankets and as many pillows as you can on the family room couch. Jason, you're in charge of food, something easy to eat. Tim, when you're done, come get me and I'll help Nico to the couch." 

All three boys nodded before scattering to carry out their tasks. Dick sat down on the edge of Nico's bed, running a hand through his hair. Nico hummed appreciatively and leaned into the touch. "Has this ever happened before, Nico?" 

Nico shook his head in reply. "Doesn't hurt," he murmured, anticipating Dick's next question. "Just itches. And tired." 

"I know bud. You can sleep when we get you to the couch downstairs, and you've had something to eat. Did you have breakfast?" 

"Water." 

Dick laughed. "That's not breakfast, but I appreciate the effort." 

Tim came back in then, carrying one of their bigger towels, which Dick used to wrap around Nico so he wouldn't shed too much on the way down. Nico clung to Dick's back like a koala until he was deposited on the couch, where Jason came in with a bowl of warm alphagetti's. When Dick gave him a look he shrugged. "I know how to cook like, three things, Dick. This is one of them." 

Dick basically had to spoon feed Nico, as he was to lethargic and uncoordinated to do it himself. Once the bowl was empty, Dick let Nico lie down and covered him in blankets, smiling when the boy curled himself into the little nest of pillows Tim had created for him, looking- for all the world- like a sleepy bird. 

Damian came back in, carrying a book under his arm. He showed Dick the page he'd marked, which was all about moulting. There was a lot of useful information there, and it explained Nico's state of lethargic tiredness. The book said to use a mister, but Dick wasn't sure how Nico would like that- he seemed more like a cat that a bird most of the time. It also said you could gently remove any feathers you noticed sticking up, if the bird let you do so. Dick was pretty sure Nico, who was nearly asleep, wouldn't mind. But it also said that the animal's immune system could be compromised during moulting, and Dick wasn't taking any chances, so he had Tim run and get some immunity-boosters from the medicine cabinet and made Nico sit up to swallow them and drink some more water. 

When Nico lay back down, Dick uncovered his wings and asked if was okay to touch them. Nico grunted, but didn't protest, and when Dick laid a gentle hand on one of the appendages, he didn't move away, so Dick took that as a sign to continue. When he ran his hand gently through the feathers, they were much softer than he anticipated, although he knew they could sharp as knives, they felt more like velvet. His hand came away with a good half-dozen feathers in it. 

In the end, they'd lined a spare laundry basket with more towels so Dick could continue grooming Nico's wings. Nico practically melted into the soothing feeling, falling asleep rather quickly. The rest of the boys put a movie on softly, taking shifts to wake Nico up and get him to drink and eat something. 

-

Bruce returned around nine pm that night. He'd hoped to be home for dinner but things had run later than he'd wanted them too, and he was very much looking forwards to being home. Alfred had called to say he was staying over night with one of his old war buddies and would be home first thing in the morning. Bruce had told him he thought they could manage a night without him. 

He stepped out into the Batcave, pulling his cowl off with a sigh. Once he was showered and changed, he headed upstairs for a quick bite to eat before checking in with everyone and heading off to bed early- it had been a hard day, and he had work early in the morning. 

He was very confused, however, to find the kitchen floor littered sparsely with big black feather, pushed mostly to the corners as though someone'd cleared a path. Further investigation revealed a few in the hallway leading to the family room, where Bruce could hear the faint sounds of the TV playing. 

When he stepped out to investigate, he was both understandably confused and heart-warmed to see all of his sons curled up together on the big couch, all fast asleep in a mess of pillows and blankets. Nico had his wings out, one folded up against the back of the couch, sandwiching Dick bwtween him and the appendage, the other curled protectively over Damian, who was curled against his side. Jason and Tim were wrapped up in the same blanket by Nico's head, Jason resting one hand on Nico's hair, the other over Tim's back. 

Bruce, seeing the feathers littering the towelled basket and the floor, was able to piece together the situation fairly quickly, and he snapped a quick picture he was definitely be framing later before draping a blanket over Dick's uncovered form and heading upstairs to bed himself. 

- 

Alfred, when he got home the next morning, was understandably upset about the mess Nico's moulting had left everywhere. 

just a funny fluff idea that came into my head while yall wait for the next chapter :)