Chapter Text
Though you would never guess it based on his night schedule, Dick Grayson rises with the sun. All he needs while the moon is out is a few hours of sleep, and that can usually carry him through the day until he can get in another few hours before patrol. His sleep schedule may not be healthy , per se, but it works well enough to keep him awake and alert when people are trying to kill Nightwing, so it’s good enough for him.
And Dick doesn’t want to change that either. There’s something so wonderfully peaceful about a sunrise that not even Gotham can tarnish it. Gotham is a city of the night, so that short period of time surrounding a sunrise, when the city is still asleep, you can almost ignore the few sirens heard and just bask in whatever passes for nature in that city.
However, because his usual sunrises are Gotham sunrises, that makes it all the more special when he sees one outside of the city. It’s part of the reason he takes so much joy in visiting the Kent farm. Watching the sun rise from the front porch there is incomparable to anything else. The air is warm, but without the rays of the sun heating it yet it isn’t oppressively so, and there are no sirens to be heard, only the wind through the fields and the occasional tired mumble from Ma and Pa in the kitchen as they wake up.
This is why he’s surprised when his normal solitude is broken by someone joining him. He knew they were there the second they touched the handle to the front door behind him, so he knows it’s not one of his family members. The footsteps are too heavy to be Jon’s, but too light to be Kon’s or Clark’s, and definitely too light to be Bizarro’s. Ma and Pa can both still be heard inside, and he’s pretty sure Kara sleeps with a lead sleep mask so she can leave her windows open to absorb as much sunlight as possible—because they’re all solar-powered weirdos —so that she doesn’t have to wake up until much closer to noon .
Which leaves only one person.
Sure enough, the cushions dip underneath Lois as she gently settles into the chair, bringing her legs up to fold them beneath herself. Dick can feel her gaze on him, but not in an urgent way, just watching, evaluating .
“It’s so nice when everyone’s schedules line up like this.” Hers is the voice that breaks the silence. “I mean, when was the last time Tim and Bruce were able to take off work at the same time?”
“Christmas, of last year.” Dick replies, though he knows she knew that already, and wasn’t actually looking for an answer. As he speaks, the first piece of the sun starts to peak over the horizon. He turns his body so he’s angled towards Lois, and sends her a grin. “Of course there was that time when Tim took off work for two weeks, and the Red Hood just so happened to kidnap Bruce and hold him hostage for two weeks, but WE managed just fine without them there.”
Lois’s answering laugh is quiet, and it cuts off suddenly as Lois reaches into the pocket of her pajamas. She withdraws a small box and tosses it towards him. He shifts the grip of his coffee mug into one hand, freeing up the other to grab the mystery box. It’s lighter than he expected, and his curiosity outweighs the desire to be caffeinated, so he sets the coffee down so he can use both hands to open it.
The green glow that seeps out as he pries the box open tells him what’s inside before he’s able to fully open it, and he glances up at Lois with a raised brow.
“You’ve heard about the vault, right?” The kryptonite within the box gives off a sickly glow, and Dick can’t help but stare. He so rarely gets the opportunity to examine the—admittedly slightly radioactive—material without causing physical pain to a friend, so he takes this opportunity while he has it.
“Yeah, but I figured you were probably feeling a little left out.” At his blank stare, Lois tilts her head. “Because the rest of your family got a piece from someone in mine?”
Dick sits up straighter, jaw dropping in offense.
“That’s also from Ma and Pa, by the way, so in a way that makes it even more special if you think about it.” Lois can clearly see where this is going, if the grin tugging at her lips as she lifts her own mug to them is any indication.
“I can’t believe they left me out.” Dick fights to keep his own smile from appearing, glancing back down at the green rock. “And here I thought they were my friends.”
The door as it opens, and this time it’s Tim who appears.
“Hey, I’ve been sent on behalf of the kryptonians. They say,” He turns to look back inside, and Dick hears Kon’s muffled voice shout something. “They say sorry you were left out,” another glance inside, “they all just assumed someone else covered you,” one more glance back. “And also if you could close that it would be much appreciated, they all look a little pale and Jon just took off towards the bathroom.”
Lois moves to stand, smiling ruefully, and Tim steps aside as she heads inside to comfort her son. Dick grins sheepishly and snaps the box closed, grabbing his mug and standing to join everyone else inside.
“Sorry!”