"I swear they were here... they... they were just here," Dick mumbled, looking down towards the empty warehouse floor.
"It's been a long week, maybe you should end patrol early tonight and get to bed," Bruce suggested, looking towards Dick with concern.
"But they were here... the people with white owl masks... they were loading up crates... the warehouse was full of them," Dick mumbled as Bruce pushed him gently in Jason's direction.
"They couldn't be gone that quickly without a trace," Damian said.
"Come on Dickie, let's get you home," Jason said, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders.
"You believe me don't you?" Dick asked Jason once they were alone.
"I believe that you saw something," Jason said. "But... but what you were describing... it's kinda far fetched."
Dick slumped. "So you don't believe me. You think I'm just tired or... or seeing things."
"I never said that... I just... you can get paranoid about things sometimes," Jason said gently. "And the court of owls... they've been gone for years."
Dick visibly slumped, hurt that Jason didn't believe him. Out of everyone he'd assumed that his boyfriend would trust his words. "Ok," he said, his voice small and defeated.
—
Dick was quiet the next night on patrol, not even putting up a fight when Bruce told him to patrol on the quiet side of town.
That worried Jason slightly, but he didn't put too much thought into it.
Neither did anyone else.
—
"Hey Dick, see any owls tonight?" Tim teased.
Dick tensed, his shoulders curling in slightly. He had, in fact, caught glimpses of a man with a bone white mask following along behind him, but he wasn't going to bring that up to Tim or any of his family for that matter. He'd already tried to tell them once and they hadn't listened.
"I trust you got adequate sleep last night Grayson?" Damian asked, waiting for Dick's nod before he continued. "Meaning that asking if he saw any owls was a useless and pointless question Drake."
Jason sent Dick a look of reassurance, squeezing his hand slightly.
Dick squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds, trying to keep his tears at bay.
"That's enough," Bruce called. "Go change then line up for after patrol checks."
The boys did as they were asked, Alfred checking them over for any injuries once they were in civvies once again.
"Bruce," Dick said when the other boys had started on their way upstairs.
"Hmm?" Bruce hummed in response, looking over a few case files that were laying on the desk.
"Bruce... I... I... there was someone following me on patrol today," Dick said quietly.
Bruce set the papers down, giving Dick his undivided attention.
"The... the man was wearing a white owl mask," Dick mumbled.
Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dick. Enough of this nonsense," he said. "The court of owls is gone. I made sure of that myself. One time was enough. I'd like you to stop bringing this up."
Dick hug his head, nodding before turning around and walking away.
—
Jason immediately noticed Dick's foul mood when he walked into the room. "Dickie, what's wrong?" He asked, catching the other from behind in a hug and drawing him to his chest.
Dick sniffed. "It's nothing," he mumbled, leaning back against Jason's chest.
"Doesn't seem like nothing," Jason said, planting a kiss right behind Dick's ear.
"I... just forget it. I don't need another person telling me I'm crazy," Dick said.
"Come on Dickie," Jason said gently.
"Fine," Dick relented. "I saw someone following me tonight. Someone wearing an owl mask."
Jason sucked in a breath. "So you did see the owls last night," he mumbled. "And again tonight."
Dick leaned his head back onto Jason's shoulder. "Yep," he said.
Jason tightened his grip around Dick's torso. "I shouldn't have brushed you off yesterday... carp, I'm such a horrible boyfriend."
"At least you're listening to me right now," Dick said.
Jason rested his chin on Dick's shoulder. "Let's deal with this tomorrow. For now we deserve some rest."
—
The next day Alfred was sent up to get Jason and Dick when they didn't come down at the normal time to get their breakfast.
The butler's distressed cry had Bruce, Tim, and Damian running up the stairs as fast as they could, only to be met with a room dripping with blood.
Blood had been painted across the walls and smeared over furniture, spelling out words that Bruce didn't even want to try and read.
In the middle of it all lay Jason and Dick, their blood spilling out to stain the carpet.
Bruce gasped, stumbling slightly as he walked forward.
Alfred was desperately trying to hold pressure against the deepest of the wounds, and he quickly called out for a first aid kit, breaking Bruce from his trance and sending him running to the room's bathroom.
Bruce came back with the first aid kit, quickly handing it over to Alfred and kneeling down to help keep his sons alive.
—
Jason slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the bright light of the cave. He felt someone's hand in his own and looked over to see Dick's pale hand clasped tightly in his.
"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked.
"Crappy," Jason replied, sending a slight glare in Bruce's direction. "So," he said after a few minutes. "You believe Dick now? After someone carved the words 'court of owls,' into his back?"
Bruce looked down, shame coating his features. "I... I should've listened," he said.
"Ya, you really should've," Jason replied.
A groan indicated that Dick was coming to, and Jason shifted slightly so he'd have more room on the bed they were currently sharing.
"Wha? What happened?" Dick asked, kind of out of it still.
"Nothing Dickie," Jason assured with a kiss to the forehead. "We're safe now."
Dick stretched minutely, shifting slightly before closing his eyes again and drifting off.
"We're going to find the owls and shut them down again... for good this time," Bruce said. "I promise."
"Bruce..." Jason began. "I think the moral of this story is that you need to listen to your kids more not that you need to destroy the court... but by all means please do."
Bruce gave a small sad smile. "I know," he whispered.
A soft snore was the only response Bruce got, Jason having fallen back asleep.
"I love you two," Bruce said quietly. "And I'm sorry."
