Originally written for the kink meme . ?thread=44319#cmt44319

As winter closed in on the city Daniel found that his late-night escapades as the Night Owl were both getting less busy and yet tougher due to the harsh winds and a cold that sank to his bones. It was his first winter fighting the crime of New York and he had yet to work out the kinks in his winter suit, it still got so cold when he was at rest but overheated with physical exertion. At least he had to be faring better than his partner in justice who was still wearing the same suit and trench coat, he had to be freezing in that thing.

"Rorschach!" Dan had to shout be heard over the winter winds. "It's getting late, how about we call it a night and get back to the nest?" Rorschach paused and looked out at the end of the alley in what Dan assumed to be contemplation. He then nodded and started walking against the wind as snow began to fall.

They had nearly reached the shaft for the underground railway that lead to Night Owl's nest when a scream was carried by the breeze. Rorschach froze ahead of Dan and cocked his head to the side to better hear. The silence was broken by a fainter scream and Rorschach was off like bullet into the concrete jungle of alleyways and back passages. Night Owl struggled to see his partner through the thick white and had to make a few judgment calls on which turn had been taken.

He eventually arrived at the scene to witness Rorschach jumping on a young thug and then lunge at the other with his fists swinging. There was a dishevelled woman leaning on the wall flinching away from the violence in front of her. Night Owl made her his priority and he quickly asked her if she needed any assistance and threw himself into the fray when she managed to stutter out that she was fine.

There were only two muggers who were completely unprepared for any real resistance and they turned tail and ran when they realised who they were up against. Rorschach was hot on their heels as they turned the corner and Night Owl turned his attention back to the woman. She was middle aged and looking more collected than she had first appeared. She gave him her thanks and was telling him that she could make her own way home when Rorschach reappeared and stayed in the background, letting Night Owl do the representing of the duo.

His breath came out in quick puffs of condensation as the woman left to get herself home and Night Owl put his hand on his shoulder to ask if he was okay. Rorschach forced his breathing under control and eased his partner's concerns. "Fine," is all he gave to Night Owl before he pushed himself away and began walking back the way they came.

Dan rubbed his arms as they arrived back in the nest, he was anxious to warm himself back up as quickly as possible. To do this he shed is armour and changed into warm unsuspecting Daniel Drieberg pants and sweater. At first Dan had been wary of stripping down in front of his partner, but Rorschach paid him no mind and now neither did he.

Dan fixed his glasses on his face and turned to see Rorschach hunched over the table with a plan of the city and tracing paper. Looking over his shoulder Dan saw him circle the areas they had found trouble in this night and every night for the past week.

"Gangs have exchanged territory," Rorschach explained, pulling out an older sheet of tracing paper on top of the map and compared the scribbles. "Top Knots in these areas now," he said, pointing out circles on the map.

Dan nodded even though Rorschach couldn't see him. "This bar used to belong to the Twilight Lady, we should check it out." Rorschach chuckled.

"Just want to see her," he said it plainly but Dan could tell that he was joking with him.

"Yup," Dan said smiling. "We're going to sit down and have a nice coffee together," Dan turned and glanced at the steps leading up to the kitchen. "Speaking of coffee." Rorschach hummed and left the table alone to follow Dan up the stairs.

The kitchen was dark and quiet as it always was in the early hours after a night out on the hunt. Dan filled the kettle and put it in the coffee machine before he got to the light switch. Rorschach had already sat down in his usual seat and was making himself at home as he always did. Dan smiled at him and put the cups and sugar down in the middle of the table. He turned to open the fridge for the milk and counted the clanking of sugar cubes being dropped in the coffee cup.

One, two three, four. Daniel returned to the table with the milk and saw the final fifth, sixth, and seventh cubes be added to the cup. He smiled and put four pieces of bread in the toaster as the coffee began to bubble.

Bringing the pot over to the table and taking a seat Dan took a good look at his partner in justice, or what he could see of him, that is. Rorschach had pulled the edge of his mask up to his nose revealing a jaw built to last and red stubble. Dan rubbed his face absent-mindedly and poured the coffee into Rorschach's cup of sugar.

"You need a shave, buddy," he smiled when Rorschach's lips set hard into a frown. "You can borrow my razor in the bathroom upstairs." Rorschach huffed and drank from his cup. Dan had always found Rorschach somewhat difficult to read despite the amount of time they spend together, he could never tell if he was grateful for the offers Dan makes or if he felt put-upon. Dan supposed it didn't really matter, Rorschach was his friend and he wasn't about to stop offering.

"Fine," Rorschach mumbled and stood up, taking off his coat and hanging it over the back of the kitchen chair. He took the cup of coffee up with him, Dan noticed with a smirk.

Dan sat in silence for a few moments, sipping on his coffee happily. The toaster finished and popped the toast up with a loud noise in the quiet room. Dan brought his coffee with him to the toaster and placed it on the side after one last sip. He took out two plates and started to butter the toast. It was then that it occurred to him that he owned a straight-razor and wasn't sure whether Rorschach would be familiar with the non-disposable kind.

He finished buttering their toast and made his way upstairs to his bedroom and found the door to his bathroom slightly ajar, the light spilling out across the carpet. He open the door with one hand and was momentarily blinded.

"Hey, I was just checking on…" his voice was chased away as his eyes adjusted the unmasked red-head that was standing in his bathroom.