Work Text:
Jason coughs, the sound wet and soft. Duke slaps his back harshly, and Jason spits out some of the water from Gotham Harbor onto the plank they both were holding.
“Remind me—” Duke pants out from next to him, wiping away some of the water on his face. “--to never help you bats at night ever again.”
“You were a part of us the moment you agreed to willingly spend time with Bruce,” Jason grumbles back, flicking some water at Duke in annoyance. Duke wipes his face, knocking his armored elbow into Jason’s side.
“This is your fault to begin with,” Duke whines, and Jason glares at him half-heartedly, gripping the plank tighter when a rush of cold water pushes them further away from the land. “If you hadn’t ran after Mask in the first place we wouldn’t be stuck trapped in here.”
Jason sticks his tongue out, wincing when Duke starts to paddle them closer towards the land. “Not my fault you decided to jump in after me. I coulda’ gotten out.” Jason tilts his head, wincing at the pain that shoots through his leg again. “..Maybe.”
Duke huffs. “I wouldn't have, had you not gotten shot and then refused to resurface.” Duke tilts his head, sighing. His voice softens, glancing over at Jason in between pants as he tries to push them through the unforgiving waters. “How is it, by the way? Your leg, I mean.”
Jason huffs, leaning his head against the plank when Duke stops moving, instead glancing over at Jason. ‘’Bout as good as you would expect. I don’t think it hit an artery, so that’s good.”
“Good,” Duke smiles, before wincing when the icy-cold water washes over them, leaving them cold and shivering. “‘Cause I don't think we are getting out of this anytime soon. Not with how harsh the water is.”
Jason grunts, agreeing silently. They had tried in the beginning, when Duke had first jumped in. Jason didn’t remember much, as he had taken a bullet before being shoved into the harbor and swept away with the current. He had been too disoriented to do much more than inhale the murky water, struggling to get his head above the unforgiving waves. And then Duke had come in, his bright ass yellow suit able to be seen even in the dark water, and he had dragged Jason above water.
Duke must’ve seen what had happened because he was quick to sling Jason’s limp arm around his neck, pumping his legs to keep both of them afloat. But at that point they were too far away from the shore, and it was only by luck that a stray piece of plank wood had been nearby for them to grasp onto.
They had sat for a few moments, Jason coughing and throwing up some of the water he had gagged on, while Duke had tried to contact Oracle from his helmet, waiting for a pick up. Sadly both of their comms had been waterlogged to the point where only static pierced their ears in response, so Duke had pulled a flare from his breast pocket in his armor, letting it light up the sky in a bright pink light.
That had been around five minutes ago, and still no sight of their family. At this point Jason could barely feel the leg he had been shot in, and he was starting to feel drowsy. He could tell that Duke was no better, his body shivering and staying close to Jason’s for warmth (and to probably make sure he didn’t let go of the board and drown like an idiot).
“Do you think they noticed we fell in the water?” Jason asks after a moment, and Duke sighs, rubbing at his eyes. His hands are shaking, whether from the cold or because he was tired was anyone’s guess.
“I hope so,” Duke grouches, blowing his breath into each hand individually, trying to bring warmth back into the digits. Jason sighs, leaning his head against the plank, closing his eyes. “Don’t fall asleep now, Jason. I didn’t risk my life just for you to take a nap on a board.”
“Just for a few minutes,” Jason sighs, his hair flowing gently in the water. He had lost his helmet at some point, and he knew he should be paying attention to Duke, but he really was tired. His arms go lax, and Duke grabs his collar with one hand when he starts to slip off the board.
“Jason,” Duke warns, his hand shaking as it holds onto his waterlogged jacket. “Come on, man. I’m barely able to keep myself afloat. You just gotta hold on. A lil’ while longer, ‘kay?”
“Ugh,” Jason groans, opening his eyes to a hazy vision. The water feels like sludge as he struggles to pull his hands back on the board. “...It’s warm though.”
“That’s not a good sign,” Duke says, biting his lip with worry. “But…It doesn’t feel cold anymore to me either.”
Jason sighs, eventually getting his hands back on the plank, gripping it tight to the point his knuckles go white. Duke waits until his hands are secure before dropping his jacket, moving back to hold the plank.
Jason isn’t sure how long they stay in the water, the waves slowly moving them to and fro. He knows that Duke yawns at one point, tilting his head onto the board as well as they wait. But soon enough Duke perks up slightly, letting out a sigh in relief. Jason just looks to him questionably, but Duke just grins weakly. Both of their bodies had stopped shivering, but he could tell by the way their faces were blue and the look of their skin, that they were way too close to catching hypothermia than either wanted.
“They’re coming–” Duke smiles, although the words come out shaky. Jason furrows his eyebrows; confused.
“I don’t see them?” Jason says, trying to look across the dark sea. He can barely make out the port from where they’re swimming, the fog and water too high to get a clear view.
“Forgot not everyone can see as far as me,” Duke says, but turns to Jason in reassurance. “They got the Batplane. Or the Batjet. Whatever you guys call it.”
Jason hums. “I think ‘Wing named it. It’s called the Batwing to my knowledge. You ever been in it?”
Duke shakes his head, turning back to (presumably) look at the fast approaching plane. “Nah. Never needed to, since I normally operate during the day. Don’t really have to go anywhere outside Gotham.”
Jason grins weakly, his lips stretching across a razor-like smile. “Well, it’s ya’ lucky day, Narrows.”
Duke huffs. “Talkin’ about lucky like we aren’t currently freezing our asses off in sewer water.”
“Mm,” Jason hums, perking up when he hears the sound of an engine over the sound of crashing waves. He’s then reminded that he was going to have to explain to Bruce how they somehow had managed to get stuck in the water. He turns to Duke in desperation. “I’ll teach ya’ how to drive it—if you don’t tell them how we got stuck in this mess.”
Duke smiles, glancing at Jason. “Tempting.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Guess I can say that it was less of you being stupid and running head first and instead that we both were fighting and Mask got the upper hand.” Duke’s eyes narrow playfully. “Still saying that I saved your stupid ass though.”
“Deal,” Jason says, shoving his clammy and shaking hand towards Dukes. Duke grips his hand and does a quick shake, before using it to wave their clasped hands up in the air.
Cold air rushes towards them as the Batwing comes into sight, and Jason sighs in relief. He couldn’t wait to get out of the water—he hated feeling wet. He watches as a long, rope ladder falls from the plane, and watches as Dick crawls out, hurriedly stepping down until he’s near the bottom. The plane moves until it's right beside them, before it hovers down enough that if Dick went down another two lines of the rope he would be submerged in the water.
“Heard you boys needed a pick up?” Dick grins, his hair flowing in the wind. He looks stupid—and perhaps a bit heroic, but Jason can’t do much more than roll his eyes and throw up his middle finger.
Duke laughs, the sound hoarse and strained. “About time!”
“Some of us have jobs to do that don’t involve taking a dip in the Harbor!” Dick teases, stepping down until his thighs are submerged in the water. Duke kicks them towards where their older brother is, and Jason tries to help with his non-injured leg, (since he had stopped feeling anything in the other a while back) but it’s not much help.
“Get him up first,” Duke says, voice serious. Jason goes to ask about who they’re talking about, but Dick just nods, eyes turning to him in disapproval.
“Whatever you think I did—I didn’t do it,” Jason mumbles, before he’s pulled out of the water by Dick. The cold air makes him shiver, and Dick nudges his arm. Jason shoves his arm over Dick’s neck clumsily, while Dick gives his other hand for Duke to grab.
Duke grabs onto Dick’s hand, stepping up one of the ladders so that he, too, can lean on Dick for support. Dick shivers in between them, their water soaked bodies slowly causing his suit to darken as it got wet.
“Fuck, you guys are cold as ice,” Dick mutters, throwing out a peace sign above his head. The ladder slowly gets pulled up, and Jason groans in pain when the rope hits his bulleted leg. Some blood leaks out, the rip in his pant leg clear in the moonlight. “Make sure to strip once we’re inside the plane.”
“Kay,” Duke and him mutter, and they both huddle closer to Dick. Dick huffs, but his arm circles them both, the other holding onto the rope ladder tight as they slowly get pulled up.
“And I wanna know how this happened,” Dick warns, and both Duke and him groan. “...Later.” Dick amends, smiling at them before they’re pulled up into the plane.
Damian, Tim, and Steph are there waiting for them, hands pulling them up and handing off blankets and fussing over the bullet wound Jason has, and the head wound that Duke had (and hadn’t told him about!). But once they are in warm clothes, huddled between their family members to slowly get warmed, does Jason smile.
Duke looks up at where Jason is leaning against him, the two of them turned towards each other as they slowly stole each other’s body heat. The rest of their family (sans Bruce, who is driving) are leaning against them, sleeping soundly.
“Thanks, kid.” Jason smiles, knocking his knee against Dukes. Duke rolls his eyes, but smiles, white teeth grinning.
“Not a kid,” Duke knocks his knee back at him, and Jason shrugs in answer. “But no problem.”
“It’s what brothers are for, no?”
Jason smiles.
“Yeah.”