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Jason’s reef was a beautiful sight. It was Jason’s pride and joy. It was Jason’s home.
Jason had deemed himself the protector of the reef, and all the fish that called the reef home loved him.
Jason’s reef surrounded a tiny little island with a small village on it. The village was a fishing village, but they were aware that there was something protecting the reefs, so they did not take more than they needed. The children of the village always left Jason small trinkets – shell necklaces, pretty conchs, interestingly shaped stones, or fresh fruit from the groves at the center of the island.
In return, they believed Jason kept the storms away and gave them bountiful catches. While Jason could not control the weather, he did make sure that the villagers did not go hungry.
The villagers and Jason had an unspoken agreement like that for many, many years.
“Jason, Jason! There is a human on the other side of the reef! He is not one of the villagers and he has a big bulky thing that gives off flashes and blinds the fish!”
Jason whirled around, frowning at the little clownfish that had swam into his cave, nearly knocking over his favorite conch shell.
“A human?” Jason asked. “The south side of the reef?”
“Yes! Yes!” The clownfish said urgently. “Please protect us!”
Jason smirked. “When have I not?” With a powerful swish of his tail, Jason propelled himself out of his cave, and immediately headed towards the other side of the reef. He saw the human the clownfish was talking about.
The diver was dressed in a black dive suit and had a huge camera in his hands. He swam around, scaring fish as he went.
Jason let out a low growl as he swam out in a flash, intercepting the diver before they could even react. Jason zoomed up to the surface, towards the tiny canoe the diver had brought out with them.
He slammed the diver into the canoe.
One of his arms jerked the tube out of the diver’s mouth and pulled the goggles and mask off of the diver’s face. Then, Jason jerked the diver forward by his wetsuit.
“This is my reef,” he snarled. “Stay away!”
The young man’s eyes went wide, staring at Jason. He made a strangled noise.
“If I catch you back here again,” Jason continued. “I will not hesitate to hurt you.”
He shoved the diver back into the canoe. He let go of him and turned to go, but then a hand grabbed his arm.
Jason hissed and pulled his arm out of the man’s hand.
“You’re half octopus,” the man said in wonder. “A- A cecaelia.” He glanced at Jason’s arm again. “You can independently control your arms. Do you have extra brains in your arms as well, like other octopus, or do you just have a brain up here as your central command center of your body?” the man asked, tapping his temple. “Can you camouflage? Because I didn’t see you when I was taking pictures. Does your upper body camouflage as well? What do you eat? Fish? Look at these suckers! They’re about a fourth of an inch in diameter at the very tip, but if your arm were proportional to that of a-”
Jason slapped his arm over the man’s mouth. “Do you ever shut up?” he asked.
The man started at him with wide eyes. He would not look away from Jason’s face, but he did not seem fearful either.
“What?” Jason asked, removing his arm.
The man said nothing, just staring at him.
Jason rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Just stay the fuck away from my reef.”
~
“There is a boat again! There is a boat in the water, above the reef!”
“Again?!” Jason roared. It had to be the infuriating human from the day before who did nothing but ask intrusive questions. He let out a low growl before shooting out of his cave, heading towards the wooden canoe.
Jason grabbed the edge of the canoe and pulled hard, capsizing it.
A single human tumbled into the water, and Jason grabbed him with his arms. “What are you doing back here?!” he screamed at the young diver from yesterday.
The diver wore a white t-shirt and cargo shorts, now both soaked through. “You’re not a dream,” he said in a wondrous voice.
“What?” Jason asked. He then shook his head. “Why are you here again? Didn’t I tell you I’d hurt you if you came back?”
“I had to be sure you were real,” the man breathed, staring at Jason. Suddenly, Jason felt a gentle hand running down the length of one of his arms. “So, can you camouflage? And to the degree of normal octopuses? As in being able to change the texture of your skin? My god, look at these suckers. A rough estimate of two inches in diameter, and the suction power on these babies much be incredible!” The man said, lifting Jason’s arm to inspect the underside.
Jason immediately slapped his hands away, wrapping around the diver harder to restrain him.
“I wonder if one of your eight arms is also your reproductive organ. Lemme see, one, two-”
“Will you just shut up?!” Jason asked in annoyance. “My god, do you ever stop?”
The man stopped talking. “I’m a scientist,” he said simply. “It’s in my nature to ask questions and make observations.”
Jason glared at him. “Well, you’re in my territory, scientist. Leave.”
“Tim, actually,” the man said.
Jason continued to glare at him.
“That’s my name,” Tim offered with a bright smile. “Timothy Drake. I’m doing research here.”
“You’re not allowed to,” Jason growled. “It’s my home. You’re trespassing.”
Tim stared at Jason for a moment longer. “Okay,” he said. “Can you take me back to shore then?”
“I’m sorry?”
“You capsized my boat. I’m not a super strong swimming, and I need to get back to shore.”
Jason scoffed.
“Please?” Tim asked.
Jason huffed and gave in, starting towards the shore, with Tim pressed tightly against his side, and his canoe being tugged along behind them. Tim’s arms were wrapped around Jason’s neck, and he made no more comments about Jason’s physical appearance. Jason dragged Tim over to the rocky bay area and set him down on one of the rocks. He pushed the canoe onto the beach.
“Thanks,” Tim said, wringing some water out of the bottom of his shirt, even though it was useless. He just let it go again and the wet, see-through fabric stuck to his skin again.
“I work for a small company, just doing miscellaneous research at the moment,” Tim said with a sigh. “But one day, I hope I will get funding to start my own thing. Maybe write a book… discover a new species… find out how to reduce ocean pollution. That kinda stuff, y’know?”
Jason narrowed his eyes at Tim’s dreamy smile.
“I would never do anything to actually hurt your reef,” Tim said. “I love the ocean too much to add to all the harm people are already doing to it.”
“Humans are trash,” Jason agreed gruffly. “Just dumping their trash into the water.”
Tim nodded solemnly. “And it’s much worse for you, seeing that you live there! I can totally understand that you were upset and have a vendetta against humans. I’m not offended.” He held up a hand like he was making a pledge.
Jason frowned at him. “You… are one strange human.”
“What?” Tim asked. “I really do just love the ocean. I wish I could just spend the rest of my life in the water and just exploring. If I can get the funding… that’s exactly what I plan to do.” He smiled at Jason, his eyes becoming little crescents on his face. “And maybe you can show me around!”
Jason stared at Tim as he babbled on about his future dreams and what he wanted to do in the world of ocean conservation. Jason realized that he had sorely misjudged Tim from the very beginning. The way that Tim spoke, his eyes lighting up with energy, it really showed how much he loved the vast oceans that was Jason’s home.
Tim sat there, just talking to Jason, for hours. They were both extremely surprised to find that the sun had started setting.
Tim was reluctant to go, but his teeth were chattering uncontrollably now. “Um, it was great talking to you, uh- do you have a name?”
Jason cocked his head to the side, resting his chin in his arms on the rock. He quirked the smallest of smiles. “Jason,” he offered. “My name is Jason.”
Tim grinned wider. “Jason! I like it.” He stood up and shivered again. “I’ve got lots of work tomorrow, but… I’ll probably be back sometime this week.”
Jason snorted. “Stay out of my reef, Tim.”
Tim just laughed. “I will if you come meet me here instead. Certainly makes it easier for me,” he said, pinching his shirt.
Jason thought about it. He could not believe he was considering Tim’s offer. But Tim was really encaptivating, for a human at least. He intrigued Jason, and he was really animated when he spoke about something he was passionate about.
They had a lot of things in common, even though they were from different worlds, and Jason technically hated humans.
“No promises,” Jason said, knowing fully well he will pop in every day to see if Tim was there.
~
“And these are my clownfish friends,” Jason said, smiling and crooking his finger at the family of clownfish hiding in the anemone. “C’mon, guys. He’s nice, I promise.”
Slowly, they came out of hiding and swam up to Jason and Tim. Jason reached out and gently brushed a knuckle of the head of the youngest clownfish.
“They’re very sweet,” Jason said to Tim. Tim smile at him with his eyes through the slightly foggy dive goggles. Jason led Tim further into the reef. “Julie is the stingray that’s usually around here somewhere. She’s a bit old, but very sweet and precious. She plays tag with some of the younger fish. Ah! Julie! Come meet Tim, my new friend.”
“But Jason, he is human!”
“He is safe. I would never bring someone who I did not trust,” Jason promised.
Julie slowly came out, and Tim reached out with a gloved hand, gently running it over Julie’s back. She swam around them before coming back around again. Tim gave her a shy wave.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Jason asked with a proud smile.
Tim nodded, letting an awed stream of bubbles float up to the surface. Jason could tell that he was loving every second of the experience.
It had been a few weeks of them just talking, and Jason had to say that he was finding Tim very charming. He wore his heart out on his sleeve, but it was kind of cute.
The next day, Tim was waiting for him on their usual rock, and he was bouncing with excitement.
“What is it?” Jason asked with an amused smile as he leaned against the rock.
“So, you remember that research paper I said I was writing?” Tim started, sitting down and shoving his feet into the water.
“Mhm? The one on bioluminescence in marine animals. Yeah, you told me about that,” Jason said, letting of his arms curl around Tim’s ankle. Tim just smiled wider.
“Some billionaire’s secretary reached out to me last night, and…” Tim let out a squeal of surprise, kicking his feet in the water. “He said he liked my work and was interested in possibly funding me if I can come up with a long-term plan and present it to him and just- Jason, this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for!”
“Great job!” Jason said. “That’s great, Tim! You’ll finally get to start on all those dreams of yours!”
“I know!” Tim gushed. He was still shaking with excitement. “I can barely believe it myself. I mean- god, Jay- that’s-” Tim gestured, unable to find the words.
Jason laughed. “Congrats, Tim,” he said. “I’m proud of you.” He held out his arms and Tim slid right into them without thinking, dunking himself into the water with all his clothes on. He hooked his arms tightly around Jason’s neck and squeezed happily.
His legs wrapped around Jason’s waist and a few of Jason’s arms hugged him back. Then, Tim pulled back, and Jason could see just how bright and blue Tim’s eyes were.
“Jason…” Tim said. He burst into another smile. Then, he pulled himself forward and kissed Jason hard.
Jason gave a surprised but pleased sound, kissing back gently.
A fleeting thought passed through the back of his mind, and he wholeheartedly agreed.
There are many fish in the sea, but Tim was the only human swimming among them.
And ironic as it is, Jason was damn glad he had found Tim.
~
Paradise is ephemeral.
Jason was reminded of that the very next day.
Usually, Tim would go to work during the day and would only seek Jason out in the late afternoons.
But Tim was hysterical the next day, a complete flip from what he was like the night before, where they laid on the rock, staring up at the stars, whispering secrets while held close in each other’s arms.
“Jason!” Tim screamed as he splashed in from the beach. He was far from the main body of the reef, so he swam out there, still fully dressed. He drank mouthful after mouthful of seawater, choking and struggling to stay afloat. “J-Jason!”
Suddenly, thick arms wrapped around his waist and Jason was there.
“Tim!” Jason said, his eyes wide, and his eyebrows furrowed with worry. “Hey, why are you crying? Tim!”
Tim coughed hard, his lungs burning with salt, and his eyes blurry with tears. “They- They-”
“Shh,” Jason whispered, smoothing Tim’s hair out of his face. “Baby, deep breaths. Everything’s going to be okay, whatever it is.”
Tim took a shuddering breath. “No,” he sobbed. “They- They’re going to destroy the reef!”
“What?” Jason whispered. “Who’s going to destroy the reef?” he asked urgently.
Tim sobbed harder, shaking his head, and his mouth opening and closing with effort. He took another heaving breath before speaking. “The- The company I- I worked for. They- They’re actually an- an oil drilling company, and- and they’re going to drill through the reef to- to-” He choked on his sobs again.
Jason breathed in sharply, freezing cold ice suddenly running through his veins. “And there’s no way you can convince them not to? Tim, you can speak out against them, and-”
“Jay! They’re drilling tomorrow.”
“Shit.”
The spent the entire day and the entire night evacuating the reef. Jason and Tim made trips back and forth over two and a half miles of ocean to the next nearest reef, taking fish and creatures with them.
As the first rays of the sun came out over the east, Jason and Tim sat on their rock. The reef was abandoned now. In the distance, large ships were coming in.
“What are going to happen to the villagers on the island?” Jason asked softly, taking Tim’s cold hand in his.
“The oil drilling company bought the land,” Tim whispered in a hoarse voice. “They’re being moved to another, bigger, better island. None of them even thought about not taking up that offer. It’s- It’s just you and me.” Tim sniffled softly.
“And what will happen to you, Tim? Will you stay in this area?” Jason asked quietly, squeezing Tim’s hand.
“I can’t,” Tim whispered. “They have no need for me any longer.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I feel like I’ve failed, Jay. Everything I’ve dreamt to do, everything I’ve wanted to try… I feel like it’s all for nothing. To know that that reef is going to be destroyed in a couple of hours. Am I fighting a losing battle?”
Jason pressed his lips to Tim’s forehead. “Tim. Even if you were, you’d keep on fighting.”
“I would,” Tim admitted. He was silent for a moment, watching as the ships drew nearer and nearer. “What about you, Jay? Where will you go? Your home is gone, there’s nowhere for you to live in the new reef.”
Jason sighed. “I’ll have to find a place.”
“Come with me,” Tim whispered, turning to look at Jason. He pressed his hands to Jason’s cheeks and drew him in, their lips barely touching. “Come with me, Jay. We’ll go somewhere and save the oceans together.”
“I can’t, Tim,” Jason whispered back, his heart breaking with his own words. “You need the help of other humans to achieve your dream. You need the fame and the support. I can’t have that. I- I can’t be around people, Tim.”
“But…”
“Tim,” Jason whispered. “Just know… wherever you are, whatever you do, I’ll always remember you. I’ll always think about you. I’ll always love you. Okay?”
Tim’s eyes were bright with tears. “Jay,” he breathed out shakily.
Jason pressed his lips to Tim’s one last time before pulling back, slipping out of Tim’s embrace. “It’s time for me to go, baby,” he said with a sad smile. “Be happy. This is just your beginning.”
~
ONE YEAR LATER
Jason was hanging around the Atlantic coast, a bit closer to the polluted city waters than he would have liked.
He had just guided a baby humpback back to its mother, having swam nearly three thousand miles with the calf, chasing after the heartbroken mother. They finally caught up with her, and mother and calf were reunited.
Jason was beyond exhausted, but he was happy. It had not been an easy journey from the warm Florida waters up to the cold New York oceans.
Jason was also not looking forward to the swim back down to his temporary Florida home.
Since Jason lost his home a year ago, he had been moving from place to place all over the world. Jason must have swam through all the oceans in the world already. He was glad for the experience, but he was still mournful over the fact that he did not have a proper home.
Night was falling fast, and Jason needed sleep. He was not looking forward to sleeping in the ocean by the cities. The water always tasted strange and metallic.
But he had no choice. He found a nice pile of rocks and was about to curl in, camouflage, and sleep.
Then, he heard a voice. It was the first voice Jason had heard in a year that was not spoken in Fish.
“Hey! Excuse me!”
Jason whipped around, his face nearly colliding with the person who spoke. Jason’s eyes narrowed and he looked the creature up and down. It was a… person-fish. A fucking merman.
“Yeah, hi, sorry for disturbing you,” the merman said. “Look, I was passing by, and I happened to see you looked a little lost,” he said with the brightest smile in the seven seas. “You need a place to stay tonight?”
“No,” Jason said. “And if I did, I wouldn’t go with a strange fish-man.”
The merman laughed. “My name’s Dick. See? I’m no longer a stranger. Come with me! I’ve got an amazing place. It’s huge, it’s warm, it’s also got great company.”
Jason frowned and crossed his arms. “That’s sounds very sketchy.”
Dick grinned. “But you’re tempted, aren’t you? I promise, it’s amazing. It’s actually an underwater laboratory for this human friend of mine, but he’s cool, I promise. Save the oceans and all that jazz.”
“You live with a human,” Jason stated flatly. “Yeah, no thanks. I don’t like humans.” He turned his back to Dick.
“Oh, come on,” Dick pleaded, swimming around to Jason’s front again with a graceful flick of his sapphire blue tail. “Yeah, he’s human, but you can hardly tell! He’s like, the least human human ever. I swear, on some days, he’s more fish than I am. And I have a tail, see?” Dick did a flip, his tail sparkling in the dark waters somehow. “What do you say?”
Jason sighed. “Are you ever going to leave me alone?”
“Hm, maybe eventually,” Dick said. “But I’ll always be back. I haven’t met many half man creatures in my life, so I’m kind of excited to meet you.”
“You don’t even know my name.”
“That’s okay,” Dick said. “Until you tell me, Mr. Sexy Tentacles works just fine.”
“They are arms,” Jason sniped. He glared at Dick. Dick grinned back. Jason huffed. “Fine,” he growled. “But I’m leaving tomorrow morning. I’ve got to get back to Florida by the end of the this week.”
“Sure thing!” Dick said. “I’ll even see you off! And if you really hit it off with my friends, we’ll all see you off. C’mon, the lab’s this way.”
Jason sighed and followed the merman. Dick was a fast swimmer, but Jason kept up without a problem. After all, he had been swimming with a humpback whale calf for the past two weeks.
Jason expected Dick to lead him deeper into the polluted city waters, but instead, they went farther from the oily oceans, and slipped into fresher, cleaner waters.
“There, up ahead, you see?” Dick said, pointing.
Sure enough, at the bottom of the ocean, there was a dim blue glow.
“That’s really deep for a laboratory,” Jason said dubiously. “It has to be really strong to support so much water pressure.”
Dick shrugged. “My friend’s got the money. He’s got a billionaire funding him.”
“Well, I sure hope he’s putting that money to good use,” Jason grumbled. “Because the oceans are still clogged with trash.”
Dick sighed sadly. “I know. But my friend is only one person. He’s already doing a lot. You’ll see,” Dick smiled, patting Jason’s shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go!”
Dick swam towards the laboratory. He tapped a passcode into a little pad next to a large pressurized door. The door swung open, and Dick swam up it. Jason paused a second before following.
The water became increasingly warmer, and it was the freshest salt water Jason had ever encountered. Jason could have easily been swayed to stay if Dick had only mentioned this delicious water!
Dick had popped his head out of the water and he was talking with someone. Jason stayed in the tunnel just listening for a second.
“-brought a friend, hope you guys don’t mind,” Dick said.
“It better not be another damn pufferfish, Grayson,” a young boy’s voice snapped. “That last menace you brought back here had extremely rude manners.”
“Aw, Luke was just a little… prickly with strangers is all.”
“He just wanted free food,” the boy snarked back. “You have horrid taste in friends.”
“Damian,” a new voice sighed. It was a new voice, but… it did not feel new. “Dick, you can’t keep bringing things back, okay?”
“But I promise, you’ll be ecstatic, Timmy!” Dick said. “He’s awesome, I swear.”
“Dick…” the second voice, Tim, said.
“Just meet him!” Dick said. “You might get his name out of him. He won’t tell me,” Dick laughed. He turned and waved at Jason. “C’mon!”
But Jason was frozen there, unable to process what Dick had just said. The horribly familiar new voice… the name Tim… a scientist who loved the ocean more than anything…
“Seriously, no need to be shy,” Dick coaxed, thinking Jason was hesitant. “They’re extremely nice. And, they ordered pizza. Have you tried pizza? It’s delicious stuff.”
Jason slowly drifted out of the tunnel, poking his head out of the water next to Dick. His eyes immediately pinned on the second person who spoke. His heart nearly stopped.
The person, who had a slice of what must be pizza halfway to his mouth, nearly fell out of his chair in shock.
“Jay?!” Tim gasped. He was on his feet in his flash, pizza now lying on the floor, forgotten.
“Tim,” Jason breathed, a smile breaking across his face. Tears flooded his eyes without warning.
“Wait, you guys know each other?” Dick asked, surprised.
Neither of them answered him. Tim surged forward, leaping up, his arms hooking around Jason’s neck. Jason’s arm wrapped around Tim, and pulled him into a bruising kiss.
“Oh, god, look away, Dami,” Dick groaned. “They know each other.”
“Who the hell is this, Drake?” the boy, Damian, demanded. He had been glaring at Jason since he arrived, but Jason had yet to get a good look at him.
Tim finally pulled away to breath. Jason let him drop back down onto the floor. Tim’s eyes never left his however.
“Jay, what- what are you doing here?” Tim asked. “God, I haven’t seen you in a year, and you suddenly just happen to be around here?”
Jason could not keep the beam off his face. “I’ve been doing some traveling,” he said. “Been here, there, all over. Just- Just happened to be in the area,” he laughed. “You’ve been here the entire time?”
Tim nodded. “Well, for the past six months anyway.” He stared at Jason for a second longer, swallowing. “You look good.”
Jason smiled. “Thanks. You’re not too bad yourself. Been sleeping more?”
“A bit,” Tim admitted. His eyes flickered to Dick, who was staring at them, eyebrows raised in question. Tim blushed, realizing that he just had a full on make-out session in front of Dick and Damian. “Um, guys, this is Jason, my- er, an old friend of mine. And Jay, this is- this is Dick, and this is Damian.”
“He’s a cecaelia,” Damian noted. “One of fifteen left in the world.”
“And you are?” Jason asked coolly, nodding at the teenage boy. He could not be older than fifteen. “Aside from a little brat, that is.”
Damian growled at him, sharp teeth flashing, and his eyes glowed a deep green for a second.
“Woah, woah, okay,” Tim said quickly. “Let’s… um, talk about this,” he said, looking at Jason again.
Jason knew that the last thing Tim wanted to do was talk. They had a lot of time to make up for. But he supposed that Tim’s friends deserved an explanation.
“You want pizza, Jay?” Tim asked, nodding at the several cardboard boxes on the table by where he was sitting. “I accidentally ordered way more than we could eat. You can come out of the tank, by the way. The floors soak up excess water.”
“Sure,” Jason said. Jason dragged himself out of the tank and landed slightly on the slightly rubbery floor. Keeping a wary eye on Damian, he dragged him towards Tim.
“Aw, so I’m the only one stuck in this tank?” Dick pouted.
Tim gave him a tired look. “You’re not stuck there. You’ve got the entire ocean to roam.”
“Do I get pizza?”
“You were supposed to go hunt your own food,” Tim said, holding the pizza box out to Jason.
“Yeah, but I got sidetracked. Besides, I found your boyfriend!”
Tim threw him a dirty look.
“So can I have pizza?” Dick grinned. “You do have a lot to spare.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “Fine. But you have to go hunt your food for the rest of the week!”
Dick cheered and went on to persuade Damian to bring him a box of pizza.
“So, how long have you known them?” Jason asked, curling an arm around Tim’s ankle possessively. “You guys seem to get on well. Quite… friendly.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Tim said. “There’s absolutely nothing going on between Dick and I. Or Damian and I. Damian’s only fifteen. In human years anyway. He’s like… four in dragon years.”
“The kid’s a dragon?” Jason asked. “Dragon from hell maybe?”
Tim rolled his eyes and gently elbowed Jason. He grabbed himself a slice of pizza and leaned against Jason. “No, he’s half human, half Chinese panlong. A water dragon.”
“If he’s only four, where are his parents?” Jason asked.
Tim took a large bite of cheesy pizza. “His mother’s human. She doesn’t want anything to do with her dragon son. His father’s… dead, unfortunately. A bit of a sore spot for him, so don’t… mention it.”
“And Dick? A merman, huh? Don’t they only live in the deep? And like, the Caribbean?”
“Dick’s not a deep sea mer,” Tim explained. “Deep sea merpeople are vicious and a dying breed. I’d love to meet one though. Dick’s an orphan.”
“Oh, so you’re like an adoption addict now,” Jason joked.
“No,” Tim said with a small smile. “He was hurt pretty bad. Tail got cut up in a boat’s propeller. So he was with me for a few weeks, and… he never left.” Then, Tim’s head snapped up to look at Jason. “You’re- You’re not going to leave, are you?”
Jason opened his mouth. Then he closed it. “I-”
“Jason,” Tim whispered, turning to face him. “Please don’t go,” he said, his eyes wide. “I’ve been searching for you for the past year, and I suspected that you were moving from place to place. But now that I’ve miraculously found you… don’t go.”
“Timmy, I can’t stay though… I’ve got stuff to do.”
“What stuff, Jay?” Tim asked.
“I’ve gotta protect my home. The oceans.”
“You can- You can stay here and do it with me! I’m doing all I can to do the same thing, Jay! We can work together!”
“But-” Jason started. Then, he stopped when he saw Tim’s heartbroken expression. “Tim…”
“You don’t… want to,” Tim realized. He took a small step backwards. “Do you not love me anymore?” he whispered, his lip trembling. “You don’t.”
“No, Tim, that’s not true!” Jason said, reaching for him. Tim took another step back. “Timmy-”
Tim shook his head. Dick and Damian were staring at them again. Tim wiped at his eyes and laughed, the sound sad and broken. “It’s okay,” he said. “I get it. You’re- You’re welcome to stay as long as need before… going on your way,” he said. Then, he turned on his heels and ran out of the room.
Jason watched him go. “He- He’s misunderstanding!” Jason protested.
Dick took a slow bite of his pineapple pizza. “You know, our Timbo hasn’t told us much about you, but we do know there was someone he loved in his past. Loved a lot. And he had a lot of hope that he would reunite with them one day. If that someone was you-” Dick paused. “-not to make you feel guilty, but you just crushed his hopes.”
“But I do love him,” Jason said. “I just can’t stay here.”
“I might not like Drake a whole lot, but he pays for all the food I order, and he’s okay sometimes,” Damian said, frowning at Jason. “I’m going to tear your arms off if you don’t go fix him right now.”
Jason glared at Damian. “You’re such a bratty little thing,” he said. “And don’t tell me what to do,” he scoffed before going after Tim.
He followed the sounds of muffled crying.
Jason knocked on the door.
“Go- Go away, Damian,” Tim said. “I don’t want to- to talk to anyone.”
“Tim, it’s me,” Jason said.
Tim’s hiccupping sobs stopped. He was silent for five long seconds. Then, there was a soft sniffle, and Tim said, “Are you here to say good-bye?”
“No,” Jason said. “I just want you give me a chance to explain.”
A second later, the door was pulled open. Tim shuffled back, rubbing at his eyes. “Sorry… it’s a mess in here.”
Jason ignored Tim’s attempt at small talk. Two of his arms snapped forward, grabbing Tim by the waist and pulling him backwards to Jason. Tim let out a soft gasp, tripping and ended up in Jason’s arms, pressed flush to Jason’s chest.
“Timothy,” Jason said seriously. “You idiot, I love you. I don’t know where you got the idea that I don’t anymore, but I love you. But I don’t think I can stay here. I need- I need to be able to roam free, Timmy. I need to literally take things into my own hands. You know why I was up here? I was leading a baby humpback back to his mother. I’ve been down in Florida Bay, working to increase the sea turtle population by guiding the hatchlings towards the ocean and protecting them from predators until they were a little older.”
“That’s- That’s great, Jay,” Tim said. “I’m… happy that you’re happy.”
Jason let out a low growl. “You’re still not getting it,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be all black and white, Tim. We can compromise.”
“Compromise?” Tim repeated dumbly. “How?”
Jason huffed. “I go do my thing, spend a few weeks away at a time, and then I come back and stay here for a few days or a week. With you.”
Tim’s eyes went wide. “But wouldn’t you have to travel around a lot? It’s- It’s not easy swimming from here to, say, the East China Sea, you know.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “I swim fast, Timbo. I can get from here to the East China Sea in five days.”
“That’s ten days there and back. And who know how long your missions will take? I might- I might not see you for a month!”
“You haven’t seen me in the last year, Timbo,” Jason laughed. “I think you’ll live. Besides, I can send you messages.”
Tim scoffed. “Oh, by e-mail? Or maybe with a letter tied to a fish’s fin?”
Jason smirked and gently kissed Tim. “I saw all those gadgets you have back there. I’m sure you’ll find a way to get your hands on a device that allows me to send emails underwater over thousands of miles. And I speak Fish, in case you forget. Your merman speaks Fish too. And if your little brat really is an ancient Chinese water dragon, he speaks Fish as well. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Tim sighed and leaned his head against Jason’s shoulder. He was silent for a few seconds. “But I will see you again, right?”
Jason nodded. “Definitely. In case you forgot, I just found you too. I’m not going to be letting go this time. I lost my home once already.”
“Jason…”
“I’m not about to lose my other one.”