Chapter 1: Getting To Know You
Chapter Text
Jason was overflowing with a mixture of pure joy and anxiety as he sat on the roof overlooking an alley. His adoptive older brother had said to meet him here at ten. Which, according to the clocktower nearby, was fifteen minutes ago. It was not in Dick’s nature to be intentionally late, especially when it came to Jason. The only logical explanations for his tardiness was that Dick had gotten involved in a scuffle or received a phone call from the mysterious lover he denied having whenever Bruce was around. Jason had yet to meet his brother’s new flame. In fact, he did not know anything about the gentleman aside from the fact his name was Joey and he made Dick quite happy.
Thankfully, Jason could not dwell on his brother’s tardiness or love life for long as he soon spotted a blue and black clad figure flipping across the rooftops nearby. The sight of his brother made Jason’s heart race even quicker than it had been. He practically jumped to his feet as the moment he had been looking forward to for two weeks was finally becoming reality. When Dick landed on the roof, Jason rushed over to him and gave him the biggest hug he could. “I’m sorry I’m late Little Wing,” Dick said, ruffling the young teenager’s hair before returning the gesture. “There was a mugging.”
“And you didn’t invite me? How rude!” Jason teased, staring up at Dick with fake offense gracing his features. He even pouted and crossed his arms to play it up.
Dick chuckled. “Have you ever considered theater?” He walked over to the edge of the roof and surveyed the aforementioned alley.
“Alfred said that last week.” Jason’s voice was quiet as he moved to his brother’s side. “Did he recruit you to join the cause or something?” Dick gave a shit eating smirk and a wink before diving off the roof. “I’m taking that as a yes!” Jason called after him before following his lead.
By the time Jason’s feet were touching the ground, Dick had opened up the abandoned phone booth that sat in the back of the alley next to a dumpster. He was leaning against it, clearly watching his younger brother’s every move. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“Obviously!” Jason enthused.
“After you,” Dick said, gesturing for Jason to step inside the booth. The boy practically ran into it. This was going to be his first time at the legendary Titans Tower. Not to mention, he was going to meet his beloved pen pal, Kid Devil, in person as well. He could hardly contain himself as Dick explained how to operate this particular zeta tube location. The excitement that was bubbling up inside him was causing him to practically vibrate. It was only a minute, maybe two of instructions but given that he was in a rush, it felt much longer.
When Dick finished, Jason did what needed to be done. The familiar white light washed over him and seconds later, it began to dim. He heard the familiar robotic voice drone out “Recognized. Robin. B – One – Three.” The room he was now standing in was clearly mission control. There were monitors everywhere and stashes of electronic equipment shoved off to the sides of the room. He took note of the orange soda sitting on the desk near the oversized office chair.
“This is so cool,” Jason enthused, nearly breathless as he took it all in and began to walk away from the platform.
“Don’t be deceived,” a voice said from the chair as it turned around to reveal a boy about his age with shaggy red hair topped with a backwards baseball cap and freckles sprinkled across his face. Something about him made Jason pause to study his features. “In fact,” the boy continued on as he reached for the soda, “You should be afraid. Be very afraid.”
“Uh…what?” was all Jason could say.
The boy let out a warm chuckle that was like music to Jason’s ears.
“Don’t scare him,” Dick said, appearing without Jason even registering that his arrival had been announced seconds after his own.
The redhead smiled widely. “Don’t worry, I’m just teasing my pen pal.”
“Pen pal…Kid Devil?” Jason asked, feeling his heartrate accelerate even more.
Eddie stood and dramatically bowed. “In the flesh!”
He couldn’t help it. Jason quickly walked over to him and gave him a big hug. “It’s great to finally meet you.”
He felt his friend’s arms wrap around him in return, causing Jason to blush a bit. “Likewise!” As they pulled away from each other, the redhead added, “By the way, the name is Eddie.”
“Jason,” he responded.
“I thought Robins weren’t supposed to reveal their true identity?” Eddie asked, taking a sip of his soda.
Dick snorted. “Yeah, I’m the reason B waived that rule.” Jason’s older brother began to slowly make his way to the hallway.
“What did you do?” Jason asked, arching an eyebrow.
“I eventually decided to politely and blatantly disregard it,” Dick admitted, “Now, if you excuse me, I have to go make sure no one broke anything.”
“Mia spilled a whole container of glitter on the couch,” Eddie said as if it were a common occurrence.
Dick paled in horror as he processed those words. “Let me guess, Grant and Tom also just threw everything that needed to be picked up into closets or under their beds?”
“You could say that,” Eddie answered.
The young man and founding Titan let out an exasperated sigh. He muttered something about how it finally made since that Roy referred to him as Martha Stewart, but the exact phrasing was lost due to mumbling. Dick also was not directly facing Jason which made it difficult to read his lips. “Thanks for the heads up, I’ll let you two get acquainted.” With that, Dick left.
Eddie looped his elbow through Jason’s. “Allow me to give you the grand tour!”
With that, they were off. Jason hung on to every word that Eddie said and tried to memorize every nook and cranny, but the place was massive. There was a noticeable amount of wear and tear throughout the building that the Titans had tried to fix up throughout the years. There were marks from where arrows and various throwing projectiles had become lodged in the walls. There was a burnt handprint on one of the bedroom doors that was presently unoccupied judging from the lack of a name or decorations displayed on it. Then there was Eddie’s favorite; the mysterious mustard stain on the carpet outside of one of the bedrooms. Despite being scrubbed at least once a week, it apparently never seemed to fade. Eddie explained that it was from a sandwich that Space Trek 2020 star Gar Logan had dropped during his Beast Boy days.
As Eddie led him into the common area, Jason heard the chatter of several conversations grow louder. It was the biggest area in the place aside from maybe the garage or the roof due to the fact it was an open floor plan that featured a kitchen, eating area, and living room. Out of habit, Jason quickly surveyed the scene. There were three small groups positioned throughout the room and two people sitting in armchairs, entranced in what they were doing. Then there was the chaos at the focal point of the room; Mia Dearden, the new Speedy, was vacuuming up the glitter Eddie had mentioned earlier. Dick was staring at the couch and looking as pained as Alfred does when Bruce refuses to sleep. There was a blonde young man trailing his fingers up and down Dick’s back. The simple gesture seemed to be the one thing keeping Jason’s older brother grounded.
It didn’t take long for Dick to wave them over and thus, all the introductions officially began. The blonde young man was no other than the mysterious Joey who had captured his brother’s heart. He seemed quite sweet. The pair of lovebirds wanted to take Jason out to eat sometime, hopefully soon. Jason was for it. Next came Mia and Kara. Jason already knew both of them thanks to Bruce arranging various training sessions throughout the past few months. Admittedly, he did not know them well. The others were Danny, Grant, Tom, Rose, and Raven. The last of those names was of particular interest to Jason.
Raven was beautiful but that was not what kept him seemingly spellbound in place when he was in her presence. That honor went to her bright violet eyes. She was sitting in an armchair, reading a leather-bound book with silver inlaid into the cover when Dick had called to her in order to perform a proper introduction. She had lowered the book just enough to meet Jason’s gaze. He had felt as if she had pierced through him in order to stare directly at the deepest parts of his soul. The experience had made his breath catch.
When introductions and small talk were through, Eddie guided Jason back towards the bedrooms in order to show him where he would be staying. Jason suspected that Eddie had been too excited about the tour that he had simply forgotten to point the room out earlier. “What do you think?” Eddie asked as he opened the bedroom door.
Jason stepped in and looked around. It was a decent sized room with a stunning view of the bay and all the furniture a teenage boy could ask for. If Jason ended up joining the Teen Titans full time, he already had ideas as to how he would decorate it and which books would line the shelves above the desk. Aside from the duffle bag he had given Dick to bring over earlier in the week, the place, as expected, presently felt impersonal. He was still grateful though as a few years ago he had been lucky to have a roof over his head for a couple of days, now he had two places that he could consistently call home. Well, at least he hoped. He knew this week was serving as a quasi-interview to see if he fit in with this particular group of teen heroes. “It’s really nice!” Jason enthused as he secretly made sure there weren’t any stains that were too weird.
“Great! My room is right across the hall should you want to have a movie night of sorts at any point,” Eddie said.
“What sort of movies?” Jason asked, beginning to sort through his duffle bag.
“Hollywood’s greatest of course,” Eddie said.
“You’re going to have to be more specific than that,” Jason stated.
Eddie shrugged. “Guess you’ll have to come see for yourself!”
“I guess so,” Jason said, turning quickly to hide the fact his cheeks were red yet again. He had no idea what was going on with him, but it was starting to annoy him.
“Cool! Stop by around eight tonight!” Eddie enthused, as he leaned against the door frame.
“Really?” Jason asked.
“Yeah! It’s a weekly tradition and we’d love for you to join,” Eddie answered.
“I’ll be there,” Jason said, smiling a bit.
“Sweet!” Eddie exclaimed. “Oh, just to be clear. The movie night offer is for whenever, not just team bonding. Do you need any help unpacking?”
Jason shook his head. “Nah, but you are welcome to stay and chat.” Whether that sentence was a mistake or not would never be known as a simple unpacking job turned into a two-hour task that coincided with an abnormal number of butterflies taking up residence in Jason’s stomach. He ignored said butterflies to the best of his abilities and kept telling himself he would reflect on it later.
Nonetheless, time flew by and they were soon cooped up in Eddie’s room with the whole team. Eddie was plopped on his stomach in the middle of the bed. Jason was to his left and Rose was to the right. Rose was sitting with her legs crossed beneath her towards the front of the bed. Her focus was on Mia, who was sitting on the floor in front of her trying to protect the bowl of popcorn she was eating out of while remaining still enough for Rose to continue braiding her hair. “Hands off the popcorn Grant,” Mia said, swatting the boy’s hand away.
Somehow, Grant managed to get a piece anyways. He gave a mischievous smile and tossed the snack into his mouth. “I’ll give you some of mine when Tom returns with the rest,” Grant stated.
“Uh huh, sure,” Mia said, clearly not believing him.
“We all know you’re The Supreme Popcorn Thief,” Kara added as she repositioned herself in the beanbag chair she had dragged out of the closet moments ago. For some reason, she was the only one who had bothered to change into her pajamas. She had even donned a pair of white bunny slippers and brought a lovely knitted blanket to curl up in.
Kara’s statement caused Raven, who was sitting on the floor next to her, to smirk ever so slightly. “Do not call the kettle black,” Raven said.
“Whatever do you mean?” Kara said in a sing song voice. She pulled the blanket up around her neck before absent-mindedly reaching for a bag of chips sitting by Raven.
“Potato Chip Pilferer,” Raven deadpanned.
“I never said I wasn’t,” Kara responded. A loud crunch sound was heard as she embarked on what she believed would be a journey of eating her weight in potato chips. “I only asked for clarification.”
Rose, in less than twenty seconds, managed to finish braiding Mia’s hair and move quick enough to steal the potato chips from Kara. “And I’m Robin Hood.” She tossed her head back and shoved a handful of chips into her mouth.
“How?” Jason asked. He was amused, intrigued, and confused by the statement.
“Yeah, Robin Hood steals from the rich to give to the needy,” Eddie said.
“She had an excess in potato chip resources and I was needy,” Rose said simply, causing everyone in the room too laugh. She ate a couple more chips before handing the bag off to Raven.
There was a knock on the bedroom door. “It’s open!” Eddie called.
“My hands are full,” a voice responded on the other side.
“Oh.” Eddie looked around at his surroundings and promptly realized that he was barricaded by his friends. “Can someone let the furry in?”
Grant obliged. He made a show of swiping more popcorn from Mia on his way to the door. “Here, let me take some of that,” he said.
“Thanks,” Tom said, strategically handing him two bags of chips instead of the large bowl of popcorn. “Also, Eddie, for the millionth time, I’m not a freaking furry.” He was clearly exasperated.
“Wait, what is a furry?” Jason asked.
“Well, you see…” Eddie began.
Kara threw a potato chip at him. “Not today Satan!”
“He deserves to know,” Eddie countered, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“We don’t need to traumatize him. Especially on his first visit here,” Kara said.
Tom winked at Kara as he followed Grant through the room. At the same time Eddie leaned over to Jason and whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”
Rose leaned back against the headboard. “Oh please, spare him,” she muttered.
“No way,” Eddie said, moving closer to her.
“I wish you had spared me,” another redheaded boy, Danny, said. He was sitting at the desk with his feet propped up on it, cleaning his round glasses on his sweater. “I am almost positive everyone else wishes you had too.”
“Right now, I wish the movie was playing,” Tom stated, managing to somehow squeeze himself onto the bed next to Jason.
Grant snapped his fingers twice. “Here, here. What are we watching tonight Eddie?”
“After the backlash caused by last week’s horror movie, I have decided to go easy on you and have picked a classic, The Breakfast Club, ,” Eddie said, hitting a couple of buttons on the remote in order to begin the movie.
Chapter 2: Teaming Up
Summary:
“Welcome to the roof!” Eddie proclaimed, flinging the door open and thus, ending Jason’s train of thought. A streak of bright sunlight filled up the landing. “Or, as I like to call it, Team Gremlin’s HQ.”
“Team Gremlin?” Jason asked, arching an eyebrow as he reached the landing. The warm California air began to caress his face. A slight breeze tousled his hair as he stepped through the doorway and on to the rooftop. The view made him pause a moment in order to take it all in. The city of San Francisco dotted one side of the horizon, and the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge the other. “Whoa,” Jason muttered as he took in the sight.
Rose slapped him gently on the shoulder as she walked by him. “Team Gremlin indeed.”
“Eddie picked the name,” Danny said, popping up from behind an HVAC unit. He had a handheld gaming system in one hand and pushed his glasses up with the other. “That is, after we shot down Team Hitchcock.”
Notes:
Hey all! Long time no see thanks to a massive depression spell related in part to my brain being itself and the current state of the world. I hope you and your loved ones are all healthy!! Alrighty, so to pick up where we left off in our last chapter, we are still in the month of April but a few weeks later. I hope you enjoy! Take care care!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“PEN PAL!” Eddie practically screeched as he ran towards Jason. He proceeded to wrap his arms tightly around Jason’s waist. Once again, as Jason returned the gesture, his stomach began to knot, and his cheeks were becoming warmer by the second. Mid hug, Jason opened his eyes to spot Rose and Tom sitting on the couch across the room, watching. Rose’s lips were quirked into a smirk that suggested she had attained a juicy tidbit of information. Tom on the other hand, did not initially show any emotion on his face. That changed when Jason accidentally made direct eye contact with him. Tom subconsciously smiled a bit. The moment he realized he began to simultaneously panic and blush. Needless to say, he quickly turned away in a vain attempt to hide his rose-tinted cheeks. Jason noted that Rose stifled a snicker when that last bit happened.
“I didn’t think you’d miss me that much,” Jason said in a half teasing manner. He squeezed him one last time before they both slowly pulled out of the hug.
Eddie rolled his eyes. “Jay, my dude, three weeks is a long time.”
Jason blinked. “Damn, it has? I guess time flies when The Joker escapes for the hundredth time.”
Rose snorted. “Only the hundredth?”
“At this point, who knows?” Jason responded. “So…what did I miss?” He glanced at each of them, hoping for news as to whether or not he would be officially invited to join the team. He concentrated on not bouncing on the balls of his feet as he listened to the responses flood in.
“Our brothers are so cutesy together it makes me want to gag,” Rose stated.
Eddie chuckled. “If they get married, one of you better bring me as a plus one. I have a mighty need to gawk at how Batman and Deathstroke will behave as they watch their sons be joined together in holy matrimony.”
“You and I can smoke in a corner as we watch the drama of it all unfold,” Rose said to Eddie.
“And leave me by my lonesome caught in the middle? I don’t think so,” Jason said, crossing his arms.
“Tom can be your date,” Rose said coolly, a glint in her eyes. For a brief second Jason felt as if he were on the cusp of some sort of epiphany as to what he truly had missed. Sadly, as quickly as the sensation had started, it flitted away into the back of his mind. “I’m sure our dads would be able to spare another plus one.”
Jason smirked. “I’m sure they could but why would Tom have any interest in attending?”
This time Eddie suppressed a laugh. “Well… you see…”
“It would be amusing, I can’t deny that,” Tom chimed in, directing a very pointed glare at Eddie.
“So, it’s a potential date then?” Rose pried.
A blush was spreading over Tom’s cheeks. “I wouldn’t call it a date.”
“Hmm,” Rose remarked, more to herself than anyone else.
“Tom you are welcome to attend on the off chance this occasion turns out to be a reality rather than a hypothetical,” Jason said, smiling warmly.
“Thanks Jason, I’ll be sure to bring our own stash of cigarettes,” Tom said, returning the smile that reached his sky colored eyes. This time, Jason felt a familiar knot tying itself up in his stomach. It was a weird sensation and he had no clue why it kept happening. To complicate the matter, at first it only happened with Eddie and now, it appears that it may become a thing with Tom as well. He mentally sighed as the hope that it would all make sense sooner rather than later.
“That’d be cool,” Jason said, “So…what else did I miss?”
“Mia and Kara started a prank war with Grant,” Eddie said, resting an elbow on Jason’s shoulder. “They managed to successfully plastic wrap his whole room.”
“He then retaliated by having Roy help him with a surprise silly string attack,” Rose added.
“What the charming Rose is conveniently forgetting to mention is that, she was then recruited by the Boisterous Blondes to help aid them in their revenge,” Eddie stated, “Grant has been trying to no avail to recruit our friend the furry over there but he keeps pleading neutrality.”
Tom rolled his eyes. “Were-panther. Not a furry. Big difference.”
“You know, you never did tell me…” Jason began to say to Eddie.
“Jay, trust me when I say, spare yourself from the cursed knowledge,” Rose said. Jason couldn’t help but note that Rose had used a nickname for him. He dared to hope that was a positive sign he would be joining the team.
“I’ll put it in the next letter,” Eddie whispered into Jason’s ear. He cleared his throat then launched right back into the discussion at hand. “So anyways, the girls have asked if I would like to join them and I simply could not refuse. We’re actually going to go meet everyone up on the roof to talk strategy. Want to join?”
“Sure!” Jason enthused.
“Excellent,” Eddie said, linking their arms at the elbows. “Tom, you want to come?”
Tom shook his head. “And risk being associated with having chosen a side? I don’t think so. I shall be in my room playing guitar.”
Rose swung herself over the back of the couch. “You’re welcome to join us at any point.”
“Duly noted,” Tom said. He stood and stretched his arms out above his head. His shirt rose up enough to briefly reveal his belly button.
Jason felt the knot in his stomach grow tighter at the sight. He didn’t even want to think about the heat that was beginning to spread across his cheeks. “What is wrong with you? Pull yourself together!” he thought, averting his gaze by turning on his heel in order for Eddie to lead him up to the roof.
“Alright Pen Pal, here is the run down. The sides are firmly Grant and the older Titans versus the rest of us. That is, sans Tom and Raven,” Eddie said.
“Why isn’t Raven participating?” Jason asked.
“She cited prior experiences with prank wars going awry,” Eddie answered.
Rose slipped by the two boys and took the lead. She turned so that she was walking backwards down the hall. “I’ve heard about the previous teams prank wars; I can understand her reasoning.”
“God, could you imagine what it was like pulling pranks alongside The Garfield Logan? That must have been so much fun. Wild as all hell but fun nonetheless,” Eddie said, his eyes were misty as if he were reminiscing despite having never witnessed any of it himself. “Do you think if we asked Dick, he could get Gar to come visit?”
Rose shook her head. “Eddie, do you really think he’d join our side with this prank war?”
“No, he’d definitely be with his old crew, but I just want to meet him,” Eddie said.
“You’re such a dork,” Rose teased.
“But that’s why you love me,” Eddie retorted. He finished it with a wink that quickly prompted Rose to turn around and walk a little bit faster. Jason caught her shaking her and swore she mumbled something under her breath. However, he knew that if he were to inquire as to what she said, Rose would either deny she had mumbled anything with a straight face or give him the biggest eye roll. Likely both.
At the end of the hallway sat a door with an exit sign hung above it. There was a clear burn pattern on the wall behind it as if something had exploded there. It was fainter in color now do to a poorly attempted plaster job and thin coat of cream-colored paint. As they continued to approach the door, Jason wondered how many seemingly random burn marks there were within the tower. He supposed that he should not have been as surprised as he was considering Raven’s commentary on the present prank war and stories he had heard from Dick.
The stairwell itself was, much to Jason’s surprise, sparingly lit. There was also a sense of eeriness to it as there were no windows, the walls were white but appeared grey due to the terrible lighting, and the air was stuffy. Not to mention, there was the fact that every footstep echoed if one was not careful. Jason was convinced that the only way to make it up or down these stairs without them making a sound was via flying or other strategic uses of power. Bruce had made him do a week’s worth of training sessions in such scenarios and was fairly certain Dick would have endured similar ones back in the day. Therefore, it would not surprise Jason one bit if the Teen Titans were subjected to such things.
When there was one more flight of stairs left, Eddie sprinted pass Jason and Rose in order to reach the heavy metal push door at the top of the landing. Like the walls, the door was painted white. However, it was covered in handwritten messages and silly doodles in just about every color imaginable. There was barely any room left on the door, so some had seen that as an opportunity to start writing on the walls. Jason smirked as the sight reminded him of the walls at Ma Gunn’s farse of a school. He and the other boys she employed as pickpockets and thieves had chosen a spot where they had all wrote or carved something as a testament to their time there. Most people had written some form of their name while others had opted for symbols such as smiley faces with x’s for eyes. Jason himself had gone for the former. Using a black marker, he had simply scrawled, “J. Todd” on to the wall.
His smirk faltered a bit as the memory faded. He found it odd that a moment he had once perceived as joyous was now perfectly bittersweet. Working for the famous Ma Gunn had provided him with a shot at survival and his first group of friends. Ultimately, it would lead him to his family; Bruce, Alfred, and Dick. However, nearly two years removed from the place and Jason was beginning to see the truth of it all. How he had been a manipulated into the position of a pawn in order to further someone’s criminal empire. One of the worst parts about the whole situation was that not a soul seemed to miss him. In fact, not to long ago his old acquaintance Pockets had even tried to lift something from him. While it had hurt, Jason understood and opted to give his old friend the cash he had on hand. Since then, Jason had heard that Pockets had ended up traveling with a band called Boojum.
“Welcome to the roof!” Eddie proclaimed, flinging the door open and thus, ending Jason’s train of thought. A streak of bright sunlight filled up the landing. “Or, as I like to call it, Team Gremlin’s HQ.”
“Team Gremlin?” Jason asked, arching an eyebrow as he reached the landing. The warm California air began to caress his face. A slight breeze tousled his hair as he stepped through the doorway and on to the rooftop. The view made him pause a moment in order to take it all in. The city of San Francisco dotted one side of the horizon, and the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge the other. “Whoa,” Jason muttered as he took in the sight.
Rose slapped him gently on the shoulder as she walked by him. “Team Gremlin indeed.”
“Eddie picked the name,” Danny said, popping up from behind an HVAC unit. He had a handheld gaming system in one hand and pushed his glasses up with the other. “That is, after we shot down Team Hitchcock.”
“Which is still the superior choice,” Eddie said, heading over towards Danny. He sat down on top of the HVAC system.
Rose rolled her eyes. “I still prefer the Blond Brigade and their Sidekicks.” She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of from her pocket. “Want one?” She said as she extended the box out to Jason.
Jason took one. “Thanks,” he said, reaching for the lighter.
“I’ll take one too please,” Eddie said.
Danny looked around. “Where are Kara and Mia?”
“They’re coming,” a voice said causing everyone’s eyes to dart back towards the rooftop entrance. Raven emerged from the other side of the roof. The hood of her cloak was up, obscuring the visibility of her eyes.
Eddie perked up. “Rae!! Have we finally convinced you to join our worthy cause?”
“Pfft,” Raven responded, “I told you, these sorts of shenanigans are not my cup of tea. I was up here meditating and am now making myself scarce in order to avoid being dragged into all of this.”
“So, you admit you can be dragged in?” Rose asked playfully.
Raven smirked. “You wish.”
“We really do,” Rose said.
“Yeah!” Eddie exclaimed. “It’s a form of team bonding!”
“This is true, and we do have a new recruit,” Danny added.
“Danny!” Eddie said, half panicked.
Rose pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “Well there goes that surprise.”
“I’m sure he knew,” Raven said, turning her attention to Jason. Despite not seeing her eyes, he was spellbound. “Isn’t that right Jason?”
“Uh…” Jason stammered. He swallowed and managed to add, “I was cautiously optimistic.”
“Just please act surprised when Dick tells you,” Rose said.
“Of course,” Jason promised.
Raven smiled. “On that note, I am off. Have fun destroying The Tower.” With that, Raven opened the door. She stepped aside and let the two they were waiting for pass through. After an exchange of pleasantries, Raven proceeded down the stairs. The dark blue she was wearing contrasted against the walls of the stairwell yet still managed to make her blend in with the shadows that hung in the corners. Soon, she was out of sight entirely.
“Alright, now that everyone is here I would like to call an official meeting of Team Gremlin to order,” Eddie said. He took a drag off the cigarette. “Our first order of business is, we have a new member, the Boy Wonder himself.”
“Oh, hell yes,” Kara said, instantly beaming. “Welcome to the club Jason.”
“Thank you Kara,” he answered.
Mia propped herself against the edge of the roof. “Since we have a new member can we get a new name? I was thinking of something along the lines of The Renegades.”
“That’s catchy but reminds me too much of…” Rose began before pausing to think for a brief moment, “how I got here.”
“Fair enough,” Mia said, “Then I’d like to propose The Squadron of Pranksters.”
“Too long,” Danny said.
“We already have a name,” Eddie said.
“Fine, but I’m bringing it up as a talking point next time it is my turn to lead a meeting,” Mia said. She blew a bubble with her gum and promptly popped it.
Eddie nodded. “Fair enough. Now, on to the important part of the discussion. How do we retaliate against the others after the Squirt Gun incident?”
“I thought you said silly string happened?” Jason asked, flicking some ash off the end of his cigarette. The wind carried some of the thins wisps of smoke away from him.
“Both have happened,” Kara said. “To our horror we accidentally discovered what wet were-panther smells like.” She shuddered. “I’d prefer if we avoid having water involved, especially if Tom is around and accidentally gets caught in the crossfire again.” Rose, Mia and Danny all nodded in agreement.
Rose was playing with the non-burning end of her cigarette by moving it around between her fingers. She was also intently watching it burn. “We could stink bomb their cars.”
“That is much better than what I was thinking,” Danny said.
“And what was that?” Jason inquired.
“Displaying their underwear in the common room,” Danny answered.
“That actually is a good idea,” Jason said, “The only thing is, I’m fairly certain Dick doesn’t have any shame about such things.”
Rose nodded. “We’d have to do something separate for him and at this point, we should still stick to pranking them as a whole. Otherwise it will turn into everyone for themselves.”
“Too true,” Mia said.
“Shit,” Kara muttered as she suddenly flew up into the sky, her eyes fixed on the door. “Take cover!” she called to everyone right as the door barged open to allow Dick, Wally, Karen, Donna, Joey, Roy, and Grant spilled out on to the roof. The young men immediately bombarded their younger counterparts with silly string, shaving cream, and glitter filled water balloons. Karen and Donna both took flight in order to unleash strips of toilet paper onto them. A symphony of shrieking and laughter erupted on the rooftop.
Up in the sky, Kara was trying to get the toilet paper away from her sister and Donna. Meanwhile, the rest of them were scrambling. Danny was using his telekinesis to project some of the debris back to the older set of pranksters. He managed to successfully pelt Roy in the nose with a big glob of shaving cream. Mia and Rose immediately busted out laughing at Roy’s face expression which caused Roy to promptly begin to chase them. They managed to disarm him and thus, turn into the pursuers.
Eddie was successfully dodging quite a lot. That is, until he slipped in a pile of shaving cream and began to fall. Jason dove towards his friend and caught him before he hit the ground. The instincts that were trained into him began to kick in. He raised his cape up over the two of them in order to create a shield from the chaos. “I think we ought to raid their supply stash at some point,” Jason suggested as Eddie rested in his arms.
“We’ll plan it once we figure out a new HQ. Clearly this one has been compromised,” Eddie said. He pulled himself up into a crouching position. “Got any ideas on how to get back inside? We’ve declared bedrooms safe zones.”
Jason tilted his head and quickly studied the area. Rose and Mia were on the other side of the roof. They were now evenly matched against Roy as Joey had decided to intervene. Grant was trying to power through Danny throwing everything back at him nearby. Occasionally the debris would whip over and hit Jason’s cloak. Wally was running laps while spraying silly string everywhere and Dick had managed to flip himself up onto the area above the door. His eyes were locked onto Jason and Eddie. There were three water balloons stuck to his utility belt still and he was armed with two cans of silly string.
“We gotta make a run for it,” Jason said, “If Dick comes down we split up. He can’t chase us both.”
“What about Wally?” Eddie asked.
Jason nodded. “Run towards a spot with a lot of shaving cream and hope he slips?” he suggested, trying but failing to sound confident in his response.
“That’s good enough for me,” Eddie said.
“Alright then. On three?” Jason asked. Eddie nodded. “Okay. One. Two…” Eddie began to stand. “Three!” Jason stopped covering Eddie and the two of them took off at full speed.
“Hey Jay,” Eddie said.
“Yeah?”
“Think you could hit those cans out of Dick’s hands with one of your throwing thingys?” Eddie asked.
Jason gave a wide smile. “It’s worth a try.” He reached into his utility belt and pulled out three projectiles to aim at the cans. The first one struck Dick’s wrist and caused him to drop a can. He missed with the second one. The third one did not hit the other can but did manage to pop a couple of the balloons. It bought them enough time to slip through the door and begin to run down the stairs. At this point, both of them were laughing hysterically.
“Nice shots by the way,” Eddie said, fist bumping him as they exited the stairwell.
“Thanks,” Jason said, blushing slightly, “Great idea.”
“I am full of them,” Eddie joked just as the door at the top of the stairs opened. They both took off running towards the bedrooms.
When they made it there unharmed, they passed by Tom’s room. He had the door wide open as he sat on his bed strumming on his guitar. Tom happened to look up and shook his head at the sight of them. Although, he was snickering silently. “You have no idea how badly I wish I had a camera right now.”
“Do we look that stunning?” Eddie asked.
Tom adorably bit his lower lip in order to hold back a laugh. “Sure Ed, we’ll go with that,” he remarked.
“I knew it!” Eddie shot back. He even struck a dramatic pose as if he were a fashion model in order to play up the banter.
“You’re ridiculous,” Tom said, still refusing to laugh. “Now scram before people think I’m involved in whatever this is.”
Eddie nodded. “Music sounds good by the way.”
“Thanks,” Tom said with a smile.
“Do I detect slight romantic undertones?” Eddie asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Tom’s cheeks were cherry red as he reached for a pillow and promptly threw it at the redhead. “I said scram.”
“Alright, alright. We’re going. No need to get your tail in a knot,” Eddie said as they both turned around. Jason could have sworn he heard Tom let out some sort of warning growl.
Once in front of their rooms, both of them collapsed on the floor and for reasons unknown, started laughing. Their glee only grew as they recounted whatever they had been involved with moments ago on the roof. A couple of times they laughed so hard, it jerked shaving cream and silly string that was plastered in their hair free and on to their faces. That only created a cycle as they would laugh harder and the same thing would happen. When they finally composed themselves, they helped each other up. There was a massive mess on the floor from where they had plopped down that caused a few leftover laughs to slip out.
“What a day,” Jason said, picking at a piece of silly string on his suit.
“For real,” Eddie said. He was trying to peel toilet paper that had stuck to his arm. It was practically plastered on to his skin which meant that his best option to remove it was the inevitable shower he would be taking. “I must say, you make an excellent teammate.”
“All is fair in prank wars,” Jason said.
“I meant in general,” Eddie said, “Welcome to the Teen Titans.” He pulled him into a hug. “Unofficially of course since you’re not supposed to know yet.”
Jason returned the hug. “Thanks Pen Pal, it means a lot.”
Notes:
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this!! I wanted to clarify the bit about the older Titans and who Karen is. See this fic is going to be a part of my own au/fanfic universe I'm building so I'm rearranging some things in order to fit certain characters in and what not. In my particular universe the founding Teen Titans were Dick Grayson, Roy Harper, Wally West, Garth, Donna Troy, Lilith Clay and Karen Danvers. Then there were other recruits such as Joey Wilson. A quick note about Karen Danvers: She is my au version of Karen Starr and clearly has a different back story than she does in the comics. In fact, she is Kara's older sister here. I plan on exploring that more in depth later and in another work entirely when I have more time but I promise if anything that is relevant to their story pops up in this shenanigans riddled fanfic, it will be explained in the text of the story and not in the author notes or another fic altogether. Also, Pockets is an actual DC character who lived in Gotham. He appeared in the Anima ongoing. I hope that made sense. Once again, take care and stay healthy everyone! Much love - Logan
Main tumblr: spellboundtothestars
Comics tumblr: bamboozledjasontodd
Chapter 3: What Happens at Titans Tower
Summary:
Summary: The prank war is temporarily put on hold in favor of celebrating the new generation of Teen Titans first successful mission as a team. During the part a game of Truth or Dare starts and leaves Jason in emotional turmoil.
The bottle stopped. It was pointing directly at Jason for the third time that night. “Oh, this ought to be fun. Truth or Dare Jaybird?”
“Dare,” Jason said, as much as he trusted Eddie and was beginning to trust everyone else, he did not want to risk being asked a question that had an answer rooted in his past. There was a lot in his past that could potentially trigger people which was the last thing he wanted to do. There was also the fact that he was not even close to being ready to talk about such things openly. Hell, even Bruce and Dick did not know a whole lot.
Rose pulled herself up and tapped her right index finger on Eddie’s nose. He blushed. “You’ve chosen that the last two times, is it still your final answer?” she asked.
Jason nodded. “Final answer.”
Notes:
*We are in the month of May!
*Warnings for underage drinking
*Yes, I wrote a situation similar to this in my story Clandestine. I liked the idea a lot and wanted to expand upon it more. This and the next chapter are the result of that
*Edited Chapter 3 on 8/30/2020
*Enjoy!! <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The older Titans were off on a mission for presumably the entire weekend as they were on the other side of the world. Thus, the entire tower was left under the supervision of the newer, younger members who were riding an emotional high from having just had their first successful mission as a proper team. Not to mention, some of them were feeling a bit rebellious without the watchful eyes of older siblings or parents around. Naturally, this had led to massive amounts of pizza ordered, a temporary armistice of the Prank War, Rose breaking into the liquor cabinet and an eventful game of Truth or Dare that everyone but Raven was participating in.
The rules of this particular version of Truth or Dare were simple. Everyone took a turn spinning a bottle that sat at in the middle of the circle. When the bottle stopped spinning, whoever had spun it asked the person it was pointing to the fateful question. From there, typical shenanigans associated with this game would ensue. Jason had lost track of how many times they had gone around the circle already due to the concoction of rum and Coke that was coursing through his veins, but each round was eventful. So far the highlights were that Mia had proven herself an expert Oliver Queen impersonator, Eddie had back flipped over the couch and fallen on flat on his butt, Grant admitted that he was more bothered by the fact he had a shit father than an uncle who was a super villain, Kara was shoveling ice cream into her mouth because she had to lick a toilet seat and Tom serenaded Grant.
“Rosie Posey, it’s your turn,” Eddie said as Mia returned to her spot from putting a now empty jar of relish into the recycling bin. She popped a piece of bubblegum into her mouth and began to paint her nails once more.
“Ugh, I don’t want to move,” she responded. She had laid her head in Eddie’s lap and was particularly enjoying the fact he was playing with her hair. “Grant, be a dear and spin it for me.”
“Isn’t that against the rules?” Danny asked after taking a sip of the grape soda he had been enjoying for the last hour.
Rose shrugged. “No, because I’m still the one asking Truth or Dare and therefore deciding the fate of whoever the bottle victimizes.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Technicalities.”
Grant made his way into the middle of the circle. “The things I do as your team leader,” he said, half-jokingly. He spun the bottle, and everyone leaned in to watch it spin. Several people decided to take a drink. As the bottle slowed, Grant decided to return to his spot between Tom and Kara.
When the bottle stopped, it was pointing directly at Jason for what he believed was the third time that night. “Oh, this ought to be fun. Truth or Dare Jaybird?”
“Dare,” Jason said. As much as he trusted Eddie and was beginning to trust everyone else, he did not want to risk being asked a question that had an answer rooted in his past. There was a lot in his past that could potentially trigger people which was the last thing he wanted to do. There was also the fact that he was not even close to being ready to talk about such things openly. Hell, even Bruce and Dick did not know a whole lot.
Rose pulled herself up and tapped her right index finger on Eddie’s nose. He blushed. “You’ve chosen that the last two times, is it still your final answer?” she asked.
Jason nodded. “Final answer.”
“Hmm,” Rose said, tapping her chin. Her eyes met Grant’s then glanced over to Tom and back. Grant shook his head which prompted Rose to roll her eyes for some reason. She looked back at Jason and said, “I dare you to kiss Eddie.”
“What?” Eddie and Jason asked in unison.
Rose smirked. “You heard me; pucker up boys.” Jason’s cheeks instantly turned bright red and there were butterflies erratically flying around inside his stomach. His pulse quickened. The part he that took him by surprise and that he thus found odd was that there was an eagerness brewing in him.
As for Eddie, he appeared confused by this dare but super calm. He nodded at Jason to indicate it was okay. Jason took a deep breath and went for it. Eddie’s lips tasted of a weird combination of mint chapstick and beer. The kiss itself was gentle and lasted for all of two, maybe three seconds. As Jason pulled away, he somehow managed to blush more. All of the eagerness had faded and been replaced with giddiness and a tingling sensation all throughout his body. The two pen pals stared at each other for a moment; Jason had wide eyes and Eddie had his mouth open in the shape of an ‘o.’ Jason let out a small, nervous laugh and quickly moved back to his spot. He immediately downed the rest of his drink. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said before making his way over to the kitchen for a refill.
“My turn!” he heard Eddie shout as he walked away. Eddie’s voice made the tingling sensation intensify.
Jason absentmindedly touched his lips as he made his way to the kitchen. By the time he reached his destination, his fingers had begun to trace his lips. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stop in order to pour himself a cup full of vodka.
“That is the last thing you need,” Raven said behind him. Jason jumped a little bit as he had not expected her to be present due to her having stated that she would be spending the night in her room reading. She opened up the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of water. She began to slowly pour it into a new cup. “Ice or no ice?”
“Huh?” was all Jason could manage to say.
“Would you like some ice in your water?” Raven asked again.
Jason shook his head. “I’m good with what I have already, thanks.”
“I beg to differ,” she said, walking over to him and switching out the cups. She poured the vodka down the drain before beginning to pour herself some water. “Your emotions are all over the place. Do you want to talk about it?”
Jason shook his head. “It’s fine.”
“Yes, but are you?” Raven asked.
“You already know the answer to that,” Jason said staring into his cup. He knew the giddiness he was feeling was covering up a ton of confusion that he was not ready to deal with. Even if he were ready to do so, he had no idea how.
Raven nodded. “I know we are not particularly close, but if you ever want to talk about what you are feeling now or anything else, let me know.”
“That means a lot Raven, thank you,” Jason said.
“You’re welcome,” she responded with a smile. She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. The gesture allowed for Jason to catch a glimpse of the few rings she was wearing on her hand. All of them were silver bands with fairly simple designs. They glinted in the light as she moved her hand to her side. “Drink some more water and don’t push yourself tonight.”
Jason chuckled. “Yes, Raven.”
“You better not be appeasing me with that answer,” she teased.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he responded.
“Good,” she said, putting the pitcher back in the fridge, “because I am not afraid to short sheet your bed.”
“I thought you weren’t into pranks?” Jason asked.
Raven smiled. “It’s not a prank if it’s revenge.”
Jason arched an eyebrow. “So, you do have a mischievous side?”
“Don’t tell Eddie,” she answered.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jason said.
“Good,” she said with a wink. She began to walk off but paused for a moment. She looked back over her shoulder, “Oh Jay, I meant everything I said. Especially the parts about talking and short sheeting your bed.” She drank some water and left.
Jason looked down to stare at the water once more. A laugh escaped from him. At this point, he had no idea how he would ever properly explain tonight if he found himself talking about it with someone. The only way he could think to sum it all up was with the least descriptive phrase in the English language; “It was something.” He chugged the rest of the water, filled up the cup again and went back to the game.
When he returned it was Danny’s turn to spin the bottle and Jason immediately realized that everyone, including Eddie, was carrying on as normal. Meanwhile, Jason was still tingling from head to toe and his mind was racing in all sorts of directions trying to make sense of it all. He was trying not to focus too much on the kiss though as he knew if he did, he would soon appear flustered. Instead, he was plotting when to leave. If he could make it a few more rounds then left under the guise of going to sleep, then no one should find it suspicious. Then again, he had no logical reason to assume anyone here would be suspicious if he left so soon after kissing Eddie but anxiety worked in mysterious ways.
“Welcome back Pen Pal,” Eddie said as Jason plopped back down beside him. Rose had returned to resting her head on Eddie but this time it was on his shoulder. She had also wrapped an arm around Eddie in order to keep herself propped up.
“Thanks Ed,” Jason said. “Whose turn is it?”
“Mine,” Kara said, happily spinning the bottle and once again caused everyone to hold their breath and lean in. It was a cycle that would continue to repeat for the rest of the night.
It was a little after midnight when Jason finally decided to call it a night and attempt to get some sleep. While he had in fact ended up in his room, he was very much still awake two hours later. He had paced for a while before he finally changed into his pajamas and crawled into the bed itself. Instead of sleep Jason found himself in a weird state of staring at the ceiling while simultaneously trying to figure out his feelings and ignore them. He really could not make heads or tails out of any of it. The only thing he was certain of was that the kiss, though brief, had been enjoyable.
Jason groaned as he turned over on to his side. He was growing frustrated with the confusion and felt himself tearing up as a result. He figured that if he let it out, he would be granted clarity. So, he buried his face into the pillow and let the tears flow freely. All the while, he had no idea that the older Titans had returned and had just finished scolding their younger counterparts. This meant that Dick felt compelled to check on Jason and was now standing frozen outside the door as he was unsure how to proceed.
Notes:
*Since you're here, I'm going to plug a prompt week being run on tumblr by Randy over on their sideblog dedicated to Duke Thomas. To see the blog, and the prompts please click here
*Follow me on tumblr! main and comics sideblog
*Thank you for reading, leaving kudos and commenting!! It really means a lot!! I hope you enjoyed it and that you are well!! - Logan
Chapter 4: Stays at Titans Tower
Summary:
Eddie stood across the hall outside his own door looking as if he were still asleep. His red locks were sticking up at all angles and there were dark circles under his eyes. The graphic t-shirt he was wearing was half tucked into his jeans as if he had rushed to put his clothes on. There was a red hoodie draped over his arm. “Do you ever feel like you are living in an absurdist film?” he asked as Dick joined in with the singing.
“Only ever in this moment, and that is saying a lot considering how Gotham is,” Jason replied, trying not to look directly at his friend. He had no idea what Eddie was thinking about last night and did not want to give the impression that he was still thinking about it, that he had enjoyed it or that he might like him. Jason shook his head a bit as if it would make all his thoughts and feelings be coherent. “I’m mostly surprised Dick didn’t break out the accordion for this.”
Eddie snorted. “Don’t give him ideas, the day is young.
Notes:
*I edited Chapter 3 a bit so feel free to reread it before this. The general plot is the same but the older Titans aren't around
*This chapter starts up right where chapter three left off so we are still at the same night in May
*Enjoy!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Dick stared at the door in front of him. He could hear his little brother crying on the other side of it and did not know what to do. He had come up here fully prepared to have a long discussion about underage drinking and consequences in general not to play comforting big brother. None of the new members had mentioned anything bad happening. That is aside from Eddie who was complaining he had bruised his tailbone. That fact did not sit well with Dick as he was wondering if Jason had gotten a call from Bruce or Alfred about something serious. “Shit, did I miss a call?” Dick thought as he raised his hand to knock. He took a deep breath to center himself. Not knowing what to expect, he finally let his knuckles make contact with the wood. Immediately he heard Jason sniffle and force himself to stop crying. The sound of sheets ruffling around followed.
When Jason opened the door, the first thing Dick noticed was his puffy eyes. “Of f-” Jason began, paling as he took in the sight of his brother.
“Hey Little Wing, may I come in?” Dick asked, making sure he kept his voice calm.
“I guess,” Jason said, stepping aside to let him in.
Dick sat down at the desk chair. “So…how was your night?”
“Fine,” Jason answered. His voice and face were carefully crafted to convey a sense of boredom and perhaps even disinterest. It was a terrible strategy that Jason had adapted from his life before Bruce took him in. Yet, living with the nearly perpetually emotionally constipated Bruce clearly had helped him come close to perfecting it. When Dick had first met Jason, there was usually some sort of tell like a lip twitch or his hands shaking that would betray his young brother’s acting. Tonight, if it had not been for the eyes and the fact he had heard him crying, Dick would never had known anything was wrong.
“Ah. So, you don’t know why I’m here then?” Dick asked.
Jason sat down on the edge of the bed. “Ain’t got a clue,” he answered, the East End Gotham accent he possessed making itself more pronounced than usual.
“I was going to discuss underage drinking with you but then I heard you crying…” Dick began.
“I told ya, the night was fine, don’t press it,” Jason warned, a flash of anger in his eyes. Clearly, a nerve had been struck.
Dick held his hands out in front of him. “I’m not and I won’t, I’m just making sure you’re alright.”
“I’m swell. Just havin’ an allergic reaction,” Jason lied.
“To?” Dick probed, lowering his hands.
Jason sighed. “Emotions,” he admitted, falling backwards onto his bed. He reached for one of the pillows in order to cover his face with it. It was in this moment Jason looked as small as he actually was. Normally, his larger than life personality and passion for literature was enough to make one think he was built broader and taller than he actually was. But right now, the version of himself Jason normally presented was gone, leaving him emotionally vulnerable.
Dick moved to sit beside his brother. “What do you need from me right now?”
“Can you stay for a bit?” Jason asked, peaking his eyes out from beneath the pillow he clung to. There was a fresh round of tears brimming that he was refusing to let fall freely. “I don’t wanna be alone.”
“I will stay as long as you need,” Dick answered. “Anything else?”
“You’re not gonna tell Bruce about tonight are you?” Jason asked.
“No but you’re going to have an early wakeup call in order to help clean,” Dick answered.
“I can live with that,” Jason said. He took a deep breath, removed the pillow from his face and turned to look at Dick. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Go for it,” Dick answered.
Jason took another deep breath and began to fidget with his hands. From that, Dick got the impression this was one of those moments where Jason was convinced his heart was pounding so loudly in his chest that he could hear it. “How did ya know that you’re attracted to guys?”
“Oh man,” Dick said, following Jason’s example and laying down on the bed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. A sharp inhale. Slow exhale.
“You don’t have to answer. I’m sorry,” Jason said quickly.
“Don’t apologize. I was not expecting you to ask that particular question that’s all,” Dick said, folding his hands together and resting them on his chest above the heart. “When I was fifteen I realized that I felt the same way about one of my guy friends as I did Barbara,” he continued, pausing for a moment as a memory of a kiss with Roy flashed through his mind. It had come about purely out of curiosity and ended up as a heated make out session in the stairwell up to the roof. Several other incidents involving the archer and a couple of other guys also proceeded to grace his memory. “Long story short, a whole lot of experimenting occurred before I felt confident enough to say I am bisexual.”
Jason was staring at his nails and picking at them. “Huh,” he said, clearly thinking out loud.
“Oh,” Dick thought as he began to speculate as to why Jason had asked. He turned on to his side and rested his head on his hand in order to prop it up. “You know what one of the best parts about the whole process was?”
“I swear if ya say anything ridiculously cheesy, I will vomit and it won’t be because of the alcohol,” Jason said.
Dick chuckled. “Is a little bit of cheese alright?”
“There is only one way to find out,” Jason responded.
“My friends, The Teen Titans, made me feel safe and this place became even more of a haven,” Dick said.
“Let me guess, what happens at Titans Tower stays here?” Jason said, half joking.
“More or less. Point is, I want you and the younger Titans to be able to be yourselves here, no matter what that may entail,” Dick said.
Jason turned his head to look at him. “Thanks Dick.”
“Anytime Jay,” he said.
“Cool,” Jason said, playfully tossing the pillow onto him, “I’m ready for bed so can we call it a night?”
Since Dick had been about to say something, he ended up with a mouth full of pillow. He made a face that caused Jason to giggle. He then threw the pillow back onto his little brother as he sat up. “Good night you rascal,” Dick said, messing up Jason’s wavy black hair.
“Good night Big Bird,” Jason said, swatting his hand away with a jest of an eyeroll.
“I love you,” Dick said as he walked away.
“Uh huh, love ya too,” Jason said, “Now please let me sleep before I spend all day tomorrow figuring out how to prank you with cleaning supplies.”
Dick smirked as he walked away. “If it somehow finally got that mustard stain from Gar out of the carpet, I’d be alright with that.”
“Duly noted,” Jason said.
The first boy wonder shut the door behind him once he exited the room. He walked down the largely silent hall. There were only two sources of sound; one came from Kara’s room where Karen and Donna could be heard lecturing the young hero and the other was the faint snoring from Wally. Dick slipped silently into the room he shared with Joey. His boyfriend was sitting, propped up with pillows reading. Joey looked up and smiled widely. Dick’s heart skipped a beat as he began to slip out of the Nightwing costume. “How is Rose?”
Joey looked exasperated. He marked the page and set the book on the nightstand to his right. “She is going to have quite the headache tomorrow but is otherwise alright,” he signed, “What about Jason?”
Dick opened up the dresser drawer where his pajamas were stored. “Physically fine,” he said, pulling out the first pair he touched. They were a simple checkered pajama pant with a white t-shirt he had cut the sleeves off long ago. “Emotionally, I’m not sure.” He gracefully changed into the pants before walking towards the bed.
“What do you mean?” Joey asked, concern seeping into his handsome features.
“I caught him crying but he would not tell me what happened. I think he gave me a hint though,” Dick said, sliding the shirt over his head. He crawled under the covers and snuggled into Joey.
“He will tell you when he is ready,” Joey said.
“I know but it still sucks worrying about him in the meantime,” Dick said.
“I know the feeling,” Joey said. He turned off the light and repositioned himself so that Dick could rest his head on his chest. His arms wrapped around Dick, making them both feel comfortable and safe.
“I love you,” Dick signed, nuzzling into Joey.
“I love you too,” Joey said, kissing the top of Dick’s head.
Six in the morning always came too soon but not nearly in such an obnoxious manner as it did today. Jason bolted upright when he heard an air horn go off. On the other side of the wall he heard Rose groan in agony. “RISE AND SHINE TITANS!” Wally shouted at the top of his lungs. On cue, their older peers started knocking on their doors.
“I was drinking water, why am I being punished?” Danny asked just as someone began knocking on Jason’s door. He recognized the rhythm as the one Dick used whenever he made a surprise visit to the manor and Jason was in his room; four quick knocks, followed by a brief pause before repeating the knocks.
“And I was drinking orange juice, but apparently we are both guilty of enabling since we didn’t do anything to stop the others so now we get to suffer,” Mia explained.
“That’s right!” Wally practically sang.
Jason rolled over onto his back and groaned. Thanks to Raven giving him water and all of the stupid shit he had done to survive while homeless, he was not hungover. However, the exhaustion he was experiencing as a byproduct of such an emotional, late night was bone deep. “I lied. I can’t live with this. I’m dead,” he said. The response was a louder, more consistent knock. Jason sighed and dragged himself out of bed. “Alright. Fine. I’m coming!” The knocking continued until Jason finally opened the door. Granted that took a couple minutes because he had decided to change into his clothes for the day. If he was going to clean, he wasn’t going to risk dirtying up his nice cozy pajamas.
Sure enough, on the other side of the door stood his older brother who looked far too cheery for Jason’s liking. “Good morning Little Wing!”
“I half hate you,” Jason said.
“Ga-RANT!!!” Wally sang very loudly and off key as he began to knock on the door next to Jason’s. “Wakey, way-KEY!”
“Him, I fully hate,” Jason said.
“Should have thought about the potential consequences last night,” Dick responded, patting him on the back as he went to assist Wally with awakening Grant.
Eddie stood across the hall outside his own door looking as if he were still asleep. His red locks were sticking up at all angles and there were dark circles under his eyes. The graphic t-shirt he was wearing was half tucked into his jeans as if he had rushed to put his clothes on. There was a red hoodie draped over his arm. “Do you ever feel like you are living in an absurdist film?” he asked as Dick joined in with the singing.
“Only ever in this moment, and that is saying a lot considering how Gotham is,” Jason replied, trying not to look directly at his friend. He had no idea what Eddie was thinking about last night and did not want to give the impression that he was still thinking about it, that he had enjoyed it or that he might like him. Jason shook his head a bit as if it would make all his thoughts and feelings be coherent. “I’m mostly surprised Dick didn’t break out the accordion for this.”
Eddie snorted. “Don’t give him ideas, the day is young.”
“I’m awake! You can stop!” Grant called from his room, effectively ending the singing. However, the knocking did not cease until he joined everyone else in the hall.
“I’m up,” Rose said through gritted teeth as she opened the door. She winced at the brightness of the hallway and rushed to put on a pair of aviator style sunglasses.
Joey smiled, looking proud of himself. “I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Love you too. Who are we waiting on? I want to get this over with and go back to sleep,” Rose said.
Grant looked around, silently counting everyone. “Tom and Kara,” he answered just as Karen walked out of Kara’s room with her little sister slung over her shoulder. “Scratch that, just Tom.”
Karen put a very pouty Kara down. “You’ll thank me when you’re older,” she told the younger Kryptonian.
“No,” Kara said, crossing her arms and glaring at her sister. Her eyes began to glow a faint red color.
“I can do that too,” Karen said, demonstrating said fact and thus causing Kara to roll her eyes.
“Wait a second, how did Raven get out of this? Did she not technically enable last night to go on as well?” Danny asked Dick.
“That is an excellent point,” Mia said, crossing her arms.
Dick took a deep breath. “And a valid one. However, Raven left in order to take care of something at home. She did the dishes though.”
“Is she okay?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, she said something about helping someone move,” Dick answered. “Now if you would all follow me.”
“What about Tom?” Grant asked.
“He’s already in the common area,” Dick answered, walking down the hall. Joey fell into step beside him. Dick laced his fingers through his boyfriend’s. He whispered something into Joey’s ear that caused the blonde to smile from ear to ear. They were truly a cute couple and seeing Dick so genuinely happy was heartwarming to say the least. He deserved it. Although, right now, Jason thought he also deserved a good kick in the shin for allowing the air horn and Wally’s singing to happen.
As the group entered into the room that had housed last night’s party, they all collectively noticed the stench of stale alcohol and greasy pizza that hung in the air. There was garbage scattered all over the floor, paintings hanging on the walls at strange angles, food left out on the counters, a bra hanging off the wall mounted television, a disaster zone of confetti and glitter, several new additions to the collection of stains, four arrows stuck in the ceiling, a couch turned upside down and Tom was curled up in the armchair. Apparently, Jason had missed a lot by going to bed. There was also shitty pop music playing on the radio in the kitchen that only added to the ambience of dread the sight before them elicited.
“Hey Tom,” Wally said, his voice bordering on that sing song tone.
“Don’t even think about it,” Tom said, opening his eyes just enough to glare at the speedster.
Dick cleared his throat. “Before we officially kick off the cleaning, please eat and hydrate. At seven, you will be assigned a cleaning buddy and several chores to be completed by dinner time.”
“We are also enacting a no pranks policy for the day,” Donna stated.
“Damn,” Eddie said under his breath making Jason suddenly aware to the fact that he had been near him the entire time. “I had plans for Wally.”
“I think we all did,” Jason whispered.
Eddie smirked, and playfully elbowed Jason. “We’ll get him sooner or later.”
“Most definitely,” Jason said, beginning to head to the kitchen in order to obtain food.
“It is only Saturday, which means we have all day tomorrow,” Eddie said, falling into step beside him.
Jason nodded. “That is if they don’t make us do some sort of training or team bonding.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. “They wouldn’t.” Jason gave him a questioning glance, complete with an eyebrow raise in order to dispute that statement. Eddie sighed. “You’re right. They totally would. Do you think we royally blew our shot?”
“No, I think they’re trying to teach us lessons based off their own experiences,” Jason said, “I don’t think I necessarily agree with their methodology though.”
“It could be worse,” Rose said sullenly as she caught up with them.
“Yeah, it could involve rock salt,” Jason said, not realizing the words had escaped his mouth until both Rose and Eddie were staring at him with confusion written all over their faces. “Long story,” he said in an effort to steer the conversation away from that particular subject.
Eddie poured himself a bowl of cereal. “What sort of barbaric methods does The Batman use for discipline?”
“That doesn’t sound like Batman’s M.O.,” Rose said.
“It isn’t,” Jason said quietly. The memory of him bandaging his old friend Numbers’ wound inflicted by Ma Gunn and her blasted rock salt played in his mind. He made a fist as he began to read the labels on the tea boxes, hoping one would appeal to him. “I hope he’s alright. If Pockets and I can both get out of there in mostly one piece, surely he can too.”
The three of them finished fetching what they wanted and sat down at the table. The rest of the team slowly joined them. Breakfast was mostly small talk as half the people present had some degree of a hangover. The older Titans were sitting over at the couches, talking, and laughing amongst themselves. Every so often, one of them would glance over to make sure everything was alright. Usually it was Dick, Joey, or Karen who did so. In other words, it was the older siblings who were feeling protective or some sense of duty who were checking in. It was sweet in a way as it was nice to know that people genuinely cared for their well-being. That still did not change the fact that the young Titans, despite the fact their actions had led to this morning, were experiencing some form of annoyance towards the older ones.
Breakfast had gone by too fast and lunch was not nearly approaching quick enough. At least he had Grant and Tom to keep him from dying of boredom. Although even their company did not change the fact it had reached the point where Jason was beginning to wonder if he was actually cleaning the baseboards. Sure, dust came up on the rag he had been handed but they still looked awfully dingy. Truthfully, it probably needed a deeper clean than he was capable of providing or a new coat of paint.
“I’m trying to remain positive because we only have two things on our to-do list while some groups have a lot more,” Tom said.
Grant chuckled. “But this is monotonous, tedious and sucks?”
“Yup,” Tom said.
“Surely there has to be a way to at least make this feel like it is going quicker than it actually is,” Jason said as he began to pick at a clump of dust that was caked onto the top of the baseboard.
“So long as we don’t break out into a musical number, I’m good with whatever,” Tom said as he repositioned in order to be sitting cross legged on the floor.
As Grant stood up to stretch, his back cracked. “That’s funny coming from you considering you’re the musician.”
“There is a difference between a musician and a musical theater performer,” Tom said.
“It’s a fine line though sometimes,” Grant said.
A grin began to tug at the corner of Tom’s mouth. “I’ll remember that next time I hear you and Eddie argue about the difference between slasher flicks and horror movies.”
“Hey now, there is a distinct difference -” Grant began.
Tom held up a hand to silence him. “Grantykins, save it for Eddie.”
Jason snorted. “You’re a film aficionado too?”
“Only when it comes to horror,” Grant said proudly. He lowered himself back down to the floor in order to resume cleaning. “How about you?”
“I prefer books,” Jason said.
Grant nodded. “Anything specific?”
Jason shrugged. “Whatever I can get my hands on really. I’m currently on an Alexandre Dumas kick.”
“If you ever need book recommendations ask Raven,” Tom said.
“I’ll make sure to do so,” Jason said. He finally freed the clump of dust from the baseboards and let out a sneeze as it went everywhere.
“Bless you,” Grant and Tom said in unison.
“Thanks,” Jason answered, continuing to clean.
“You know, we could play twenty questions to pass the time,” Grant said, “Given that there are three of us, that could kill some time.”
“That sounds like a streamlined version of Truth or Dare so, I’ll pass considering last night happened,” Tom said, sounding tired. He tossed the cleaning rag to his side and sighed. “We could discuss how pacifism could work in the hero community.”
“That sounds really interesting,” Jason said.
“Really?” Tom asked his blue eyes lighting up. “Normally people’s reaction is to say it is not feasible or to laugh.”
Jason turned so he could lean against the wall. “I would say those people haven’t been paying attention. Wonder Woman has said, ‘Don’t raise your hand until you’ve first extended it.’ Hell, even Batman tries to talk to the rogues before he physically defends himself.”
“Thank you!” Tom exclaimed loudly, “Finally, someone else who has been paying attention!” He smiled widely causing Jason’s breath to catch a bit. Thankfully, Jason was able to disguise it with a yawn. He tried his best to compartmentalize that reaction as he did not have the emotional capacity to deal with that, Eddie, and the rest of the confusion that last night had triggered.
“To be fair, I thought you met like no fighting period,” Grant said.
“That would be ideal,” Tom stated, “But we unfortunately do not live in a perfect world.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Grant muttered as he stared off into the distance with anger in his eyes.
“Same,” Jason admitted as he looked down at his hands.
“Grant, you’re starting to glow,” Tom said after a couple minutes of total silence.
“Sorry, I was just thinking about…my father,” Grant said. He took a few calming breaths in an effort to regain control of his powers. Although Jason could not help but notice the double fists he made when he had said the last word.
“You never have to apologize for having feelings,” Tom said.
“Especially when it comes to having complicated or flat out shitty relationships with a parent,” Jason said, trying to reassure him.
“You have some experience with that too don’t you?” Grant asked.
“Yeah,” Jason answered, his voice emotionless.
Grant gave a sympathetic smile. “You’re in good company as it seems to be an unofficial prerequisite for this team.”
Tom nodded in agreement. “I’d say we could rename ourselves The Daddy Issues Support Group but I know some people have issues with mothers and other guardian figures so the name wouldn’t really fit.”
“Teen Titans is a much more inclusive name,” Grant said. He took another deep breath. “Can we go back to discussing pacifism again? I’m not in the mood to spill my guts.”
“Absolutely. Where should I begin?” Tom asked.
“I’d like to hear how you personally define pacifism,” Jason said.
“When he’s still defining it during lunch, just remember you asked for it,” Grant teased. He was beginning to return to his typical way of being.
Tom rolled his eyes. “I’m not that bad.”
“Yes, you are,” Grant said, “You’re just not self-aware in that regard.”
“Whatever,” Tom said, “Anyways, pacificism is traditionally defined as the belief that any act of violence is unjustifiable. There is obviously a lot of nuance to the execution of this philosophy in real life especially in regard to self-defense and contact sports. Although, I would argue that American football is totally uncalled for but more on that later.” From there, Tom launched into a detailed speech. It was clear this was something he had thought about a lot and researched. His eyes sparkled as he spoke about it and at times he got so excited he spoke faster. It was endearing to see.
By the time dinner rolled around, Jason had heard the majority of Tom’s thoughts and had asked several questions about how the community at large could be trained to use less violent methods in certain circumstances. It was a refreshing perspective to hear even if Jason was unsure as to whether or not he agreed with all of it. Tom had certainly given him a lot to think about. Even Grant, who had heard it all before, was rethinking his beliefs on the matter.
The three of them were the first to sit down at the dinner table but everyone else was quick to join. They all looked exhausted and smelled of various cleaning chemicals. It was clear that if they ever partied again, there would be no alcohol. If on the off chance there was, the older Titans would have to be in space and the odds of that happening were fairly slim. At least, as far as Jason could tell considering the Titans handled situations that involved people like Deathstroke and not aliens. That is, typically speaking of course as there were a couple of exceptions.
“Whatever we do for the next round of pranks can we all agree that it doesn’t involve intensive clean up?” Mia asked.
“Yes!” everyone responded simultaneously.
“Speaking of, Grant, are you sure you still want to be on the same team as Wally?” Kara asked.
“Talk to me if he ever wakes me up by singing again,” Grant answered.
“What did we learn today?” Dick asked as he entered the room with the older Titans.
“That you all need to clean your hair out of the drains,” Rose said. She gagged a bit as she recalled whatever she had seen while cleaning the bathrooms.
“The mustard stain is truly a permanent feature of the carpets now,” Eddie said nonchalantly.
Mia nodded in agreement. “And a suspicious amount of faint burn marks outside of Dick’s bedroom.”
“There is also some juicy gossip written on the walls of the stairwell,” Kara said.
Dick pinched the bridge of his nose and Donna patted him on the shoulder. “Did anyone learn anything about how reckless behaviors can have consequences?”
“I certainly have a headache that has been torture to deal with,” Rose said.
“Me too, I named it Wally,” Tom said, causing a few people to chuckle quietly.
“I’ll take that as an answer of yes to Dick’s question,” Wally said.
“Anyone else?” Dick prompted.
“I think we’re all too stubborn to answer that the way you want us to,” Grant replied.
“Alright, then let me be crystal clear when I say if anything remotely close as to what happened last night occurs again legal guardians and parents will be notified, and I have no qualms about calling Roy to have him lecture you. Understood?” Dick said.
“Yes,” everyone responded in a chorus.
“Good,” Dick said, “Now let’s talk about boundaries and expectations going forward.”
Notes:
*I wanted to update this sooner but the last couple of weeks have been really bad as we had to put my cat down, work and family drama happened and the general state of the world really took a toll on my mental health. Also someone compared an out of character moment in the previous chapter to n*zism which didn't help my anxiety about sharing my writing so I have unfortunately had to change settings so non-users can no longer comment and comment moderation has been enabled. I hope that this will only be temporary. I'm sorry if any of this is over sharing but I thought you all deserved an explanation as to why I have not been around.
*On the bright side, I got my first tattoo during all of this and I'm mildly obsessed with it. If you want to see it, let me know and I'll link a picture!!
*Follow me on tumblr! main and comics sideblog
*Thank you for leaving kudos and comments. It really does mean a lot!!!
*I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and happy!!!
Chapter 5: Cuddle Puddles
Summary:
“Dick, look at this,” Donna said, peaking her head into the ajar door decorated with movie memorabilia.
“Please tell me it is not lecture worthy,” Dick said, already preparing to pinch the bridge of his nose in order to calm himself down.
Donna shook her head. “No, it’s actually quite adorable.” She adjusted the settings on her camera and took a picture of whatever was happening on the other side of the door. She then proceeded to step back and wave Dick over.
He listened and stuck his head inside. A big smile immediately crossed his face as he took in the sight of all the members of the new team fast asleep. On the floor at the foot of the bed, Grant was laying on his side with a bit of drool sliding out of his mouth and his arms wrapped tightly around a bowl of popcorn. Right next to him was Danny. His glasses were sitting at an angle on his face as he laid on his back, snoring quietly. Mia and Kara were curled up together under a blanket on a massive beanbag chair. Raven was fast asleep beside them in a beanbag of her own. She was clearly not sleeping peacefully as she kept muttering incomprehensible words and shaking her head.
Notes:
Hello all! This chapter is set in May again, about two weeks after the previous one! It's a little on the short side, pretty fluffy, and there is no real plot but it's pretty cute and definetly worth the read to see how everyone interacts! Enjoy!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jason had made the mistake of asking Eddie what exactly a horror movie entailed while Grant was within earshot. The consequence? The weekly movie night was a double feature where both of the self-proclaimed horror buffs got to chose one. In theory, they were supposed to decide whose choice of movie actually felt like a horror movie. However, given that they had started with Grant’s choice, it was becoming increasingly likely that most of the team would not make it to the second movie.
“This is so fucking gross,” Tom said. He jumped as someone got beheaded and ended up clinging to Jason like a scared cat. Poor guy buried his face into Jason’s shoulder. “Tell me when it is over.”
Jason wrapped an arm around Tom in order to pat his back. He was grateful that it was dark in the room as he was blushing. “You’re alright,” he said, attempting to calm his friend.
“No one has that much blood inside them,” Danny said, cringing.
Grant popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth. He was completely undisturbed by the images on the screen. “This isn’t even the gross part.”
“Don’t tell me that,” Tom muttered, his lips moving against Jason’s shoulder.
“This isn’t even scary,” Mia complained. She blew a bubble with the piece of bubblegum she was chewing as she braided Kara’s hair.
“Do not tempt fate,” Raven warned from the beanbag beside her.
“Wait for it,” Grant said, sounding smug. As if on cue, a jump square sequence occurred.
Kara yelped and ended up in Mia’s lap. “I hate this,” she said, cling on to her friend for dear life.
Mia’s eyes were now closed. “Lesson learned Rae.”
“That wasn’t even scary,” Grant said. He shoved more popcorn into his mouth.
“You’re right, it was a cheap ploy,” Eddie said, his head resting on Jason’s legs. He was tossing a stress ball back and forth between his hands. Clearly, he was barely paying attention.
“Like Hell,” Grant retorted.
Rose, who was on the other side of Jason, groaned. She whispered into his ear, “I think we should have had them reenact the movies instead.”
Jason snorted. “We need to find a way to make that happen.”
“I can hear you,” Eddie said.
“That’s the point Bloomberg,” Rose said, flashing a toothy smile dripping with fake sweetness. She reached a hand outwards and caught the ball Eddie was playing with.
“Hey now!” Eddie complained. He bolted up right, causing Jason, and by extension Tom, to lean back and almost hit their heads on the wooden headboard. He dove towards Rose and missed, hitting Jason in the hip.
“You can have it back when the movies are done,” Rose said, raising her arm above her head so that the ball was out of reach.
Eddie squeezed his way between Jason and Rose. He leaned against the headboard and put an arm around her. Rose set the ball on the nightstand and snuggled into him. “I see how it is,” Eddie said, pulling her closer.
“Shut up,” Rose muttered.
“You could have just said you wanted to cuddle,” he whispered.
“Where’s the fun in that?” she asked, tapping his nose with her finger.
“Since when are you two an item?” Danny asked.
“We’re not,” Rose and Eddie said simultaneously. Their response was just a bit too quick to be believable.
Mia laughed. “Yeah, okay.”
“The implication that we would ever date is more disgusting than anything in this movie,” Rose said.
This time Raven, the in-house empath, chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
“It’s true,” Eddie said, “We’re far too good of friends.”
A twinge of jealousy stabbed at Jason, but he ignored it. He was finding that if he did not obsess about his self-admitted crush on Eddie the intensity of it and the annoying, overly complicated feelings, lessened. It also helped that it was pretty clear Eddie had no interest in him as anything other than a friend and pen pal. It stung a little bit but, Jason bore no ill will towards Eddie. How could he? It’s not like crushes and feelings were choices. Anyways, most of Jason’s “problem” now was that he felt as if he should say something to Eddie about everything but was not quite sure what. Well that, and he was still sorting himself out. Considering it had only been two weeks since the kiss and subsequent realizations, that was to be expected.
“And they say gays like me are oblivious,” Tom said, unburying his face from Jason’s shoulder.
“You are,” Rose said pointedly.
“Shush, the good part is coming up!” Grant interjected.
Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“If you and Grant don’t stop it I’m throwing you out the window,” Mia scolded.
“And I’m helping,” Kara said. She was poised to end up back in Mia’s lap should another jump scare occur.
“Me too,” Danny said.
“Party poopers,” Eddie and Grant said in unison. Grant turned around to look at Eddie. Both teenagers exchanged questioning glances at each other. Grant put a piece of popcorn in his mouth and slowly turned around to resume watching the movie. There were a few muted laughs in response to the entire exchange.
“They’re like an old married couple,” Tom whispered causing Jason to almost choke on the potato chips he was eating from stifling a laugh.
“This is the part! Quiet!” Grant said.
“This better actually be good,” Eddie said.
“Oh, it will be,” Grant said, mischief and arrogance sparking in his eyes. He leaned forward, a big grin spreading across his face as a creature slowly emerged from the shadows.
“Dick, look at this,” Donna said, peaking her head into the ajar door decorated with movie memorabilia.
“Please tell me it is not lecture worthy,” Dick said, already preparing to pinch the bridge of his nose in order to calm himself down.
Donna shook her head. “No, it’s actually quite adorable.” She adjusted the settings on her camera and took a picture of whatever was happening on the other side of the door. She then proceeded to step back and wave Dick over.
He listened and stuck his head inside. A big smile immediately crossed his face as he took in the sight of all the members of the new team fast asleep. On the floor at the foot of the bed, Grant was laying on his side with a bit of drool sliding out of his mouth and his arms wrapped tightly around a bowl of popcorn. Right next to him was Danny. His glasses were sitting at an angle on his face as he laid on his back, snoring quietly. Mia and Kara were curled up together under a blanket on a massive beanbag chair. Raven was fast asleep beside them in a beanbag of her own. She was clearly not sleeping peacefully as she kept muttering incomprehensible words and shaking her head.
At the center of it all, was the queen-sized bed that presently contained four sleeping teenagers. From right to left was Rose, Eddie, Jason, and Tom. Rose was spooning Eddie whose face was half buried into the pillow. He was saying something about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as he slept soundly. He had an arm resting on Jason’s side. Jason was turned on his side, facing away from Eddie. Tom was also on his side, facing Jason. The two of them were close together, both with their arms wrapped around the other’s waist.
“You were right,” Dick said with a smile, “It’s very cute.”
“Remember the first time one of our movie nights ended up like this?” Donna asked, snapping another picture.
Dick nodded. “How could I forget Wally snoring in my ear?”
Donna chuckled. “Don’t forget the drool on your shoulder.”
“I intentionally buried that part of the memory,” Dick said.
“Of course, you did,” Donna said, stepping away.
“I’m sure you would have done the same,” Dick said. He took one last look at the kids to make sure they were alright and followed Donna’s lead.
“Most definitely,” she said.
“Then you can’t fault me for doing so,” Dick said.
Donna rolled her eyes. “Good night Boy Wonder.” She turned to walk towards her room.
“Convenient but good night Wonder Girl,” he responded.
She looked over her shoulder and winked. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
“I’ll send them your way,” he called down the hall.
“No thanks!” Donna said. She was looking down at her camera, fiddling with the settings once again.
Dick playfully rolled his eyes. He had no response, so he decided to take Donna’s not so subtle advice and at least attempt to sleep. Today had been a long day full of case research and training. He was tired to the point a cup of coffee or energy drink would not even help. He crawled into bed beside an already sleeping Joey and closed his eyes. He was asleep within minutes.
“Eddie get off my arm,” Jason heard Rose say as he slowly woke up.
“Congratulations, you spooned your one true love; popcorn,” Mia said, clearly teasing Grant.
“Speaking of popcorn, how did you get it in my hair?” Danny asked.
“I have no clue,” Grant answered.
Jason finally forced his eyes open and saw Tom’s face inches from his own. He was sound asleep. It took Jason a little less than thirty seconds to realize that his limbs were entangled with Tom’s and that he was effectively pinned where he was. “Tom wake up,” Jason said, successfully freeing everything but his right arm and feeling his cheeks turn a light shade of crimson.
“Hnnh,” Tom replied, stirring enough so that his eyes flickered open for just a moment. He opened his eyes again. “Um,” he said, sitting up slowly. He turned to hide the faint blush that was spreading across his face and to rub his eyes. “Good morning all.”
“Morning Tom, have a nice cat nap?” Eddie asked.
Tom shook his head, already exasperated. “It’s too early for this.”
“I have a very important question,” Mia said as Kara helped her up from the beanbag.
“What’s that?” Grant asked, trying to crack his back.
“Breakfast or clean up first?” Mia asked.
“You know we’re all going to say breakfast,” Danny said.
“In that case, onwards fellow Titans!” Mia proclaimed, practically sprinting out the door. There was a bit of a delay in response as everyone was still waking up but once it clicked, it was an unofficial race to the kitchen. Rose and Kara were the ones to really kick things off as they bolted at the same time. Grant was right on their heels. The rest of them, initially took their time.
Eddie linked arms with Jason and Tom. “Do you think there is pancake mix?” he asked.
“I hope so,” Tom said.
“As do I. Chocolate chip pancakes sound delightful,” Danny said, falling into step beside Jason.
“They do,” Jason said in agreement, he offered Danny his free arm. The freckle faced redhead happily accepted.
“Let’s hope Wally didn’t eat it all,” Raven said with a playful smirk as she briskly walked by the group of four.
“Raven…what do you know?” Eddie asked, sounding slightly panicked.
“When you have been a Titan on two different iterations of the team like me, you learn a few things,” she answered, picking up the pace once again.
“What’s that mean?” Eddie asked.
“I think it means, everyone for themselves,” Tom said, letting go of Eddie and taking off down the hall.
“Sorry boys, but Tom’s right,” Danny said, following suit.
Jason turned to Eddie and without hesitating said, in the most deadpan voice he could muster up, “It’s been nice knowing you.” He dropped Eddie’s arm and began to sprint down the hall.
“Hey!” Eddie called, beginning to run himself, “No fair!”
Jason started laughing as he ran. “It’s going to be a good day,” he thought.
Notes:
*Quick update, I'm doing much better mentally than I was when I posted the last chapter, thanks for being so understanding!!
*Follow me on tumblr! main and comics sideblog
*Thank you in advance for leaving kudos and comments. It truly means a lot!
*I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and happy!!!
Chapter 6: Makeshift Support Group
Summary:
“So…” Eddie said slowly. He had a whole bag of gummy bears to himself and was already reaching for them. “What does everyone need?”
“That’s a loaded question,” Rose said as she pried open the window on the other side of the room. She leaned up against the wall and lit a cigarette. She took a long drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke outside. “Personally, I’m happy just to not be around Joey right now.”
Mia took merged two Oreos together in order to get extra icing. “What happened?”
“He thinks our dad is worthy of a card,” Rose said solemnly. She fell silent as she inhaled more smoke. Her emotions felt like a lake thinly frozen lake – deep and in danger of cracking open should anyone cross her.
Notes:
I tried something a little different this time. This chapter takes place in June, enjoy!!! :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Raven woke up and instantly felt suffocated by the tension she felt swirling in the air around her. Apparently a majority of those in the Tower were feeling a mix of potent and confusing emotions. She took a couple of deep breaths to ground herself before getting out of bed. As she readied herself for the day, she mentally went over all the scenarios that could have caused such widespread and deep seeded emotions to stifle the air. She walked out into the hallway and heard Rose say rather loudly, though not quite a yell, “I don’t care Joey! I’m not getting him a Father’s Day card.” And just like that, it all made sense. She should have known that particular day was approaching considering it was always one of the most emotional days of the year. However, she was willing to cut herself some slack considering she had become overloaded the second she woke up.
Rose stormed out of Joey’s room, muttering angrily to herself. An energy akin to electrical shocks was rolling off of her as she stomped past Raven. The empath resisted the urge to wince and watched as her teammate began knocking on Eddie’s door. “Eddie open up!” she called. She went to knock once more but Eddie poked his head out from Jason’s room.
“Rosie Posey, are you alright?” Eddie asked.
“I’m peachy, may I crash your Pen Pal Palooza?” she asked.
“Of course, but, um, it’s more of an informal vent session,” Eddie said, opening the door further.
Rose shrugged. “Ah fuck it. I’m down for some commiserating.” She turned her head towards Raven as she stepped towards the door. “Want to join?”
“Sure,” Raven said. Perhaps it was not the wisest idea for her to enter into the epicenter of emotional energy, but she felt it was necessary in order to make sure everyone was alright. Besides, she could handle it. She always managed to in the past, why would today be any different? She thanked Eddie for holding the door open and stepped into the room. The emotions were so strong and concentrated, she felt as if she had walked into a brick wall. “Deep breaths,” she thought to herself as she gracefully sat down on the floor beside Jason and Mia.
Her eyes quickly noted who was in the room. Every member of the new team was present besides Kara. That was no surprise as Kara and Karen were spending time with Clark. The three of them were very keen on honoring their loved ones who had died alongside their planet whenever a holiday of any sorts came around. Raven was not sure of all the specifics, but she knew days such as these started with a trip to the synagogue and were subsequently filled with family bonding. It always seemed so nice.
“So…” Eddie said slowly. He had a whole bag of gummy bears to himself and was already reaching for them. “What does everyone need?”
“That’s a loaded question,” Rose said as she pried open the window on the other side of the room. She leaned up against the wall and lit a cigarette. She took a long drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke outside. “Personally, I’m happy just to not be around Joey right now.”
Mia took merged two Oreos together in order to get extra icing. “What happened?”
“He thinks our dad is worthy of a card,” Rose said solemnly. She fell silent as she inhaled more smoke. Her emotions felt like a lake thinly frozen lake – deep and in danger of cracking open should anyone cross her.
“And Joey wants you to get him one too?” Mia asked. Rose nodded. She turned to look out the window. She was done for the time being.
“I got Roy a card,” Grant said, his voice was soft. He could not bring himself to look up. “It somehow felt like the right thing to do and yet so wrong at the same time.” He was picking up pieces of popcorn and slowly dropping them back into the bowl. “He’s legally my guardian and he has treated me like a son in ways. I think. I don’t know. My frame of reference for how father figures are supposed to be is pretty fucking shit considering I had a lowlife scumbag masquerade as my father for years and he fucking-” He cut himself off. The anger he tended to ignore that was buried deep within him, always burning slowly was raging to life. Anger, while destructive, was easier for most people to express than the emotions of hurt and betrayal it often covered up. Grant was no exception to this. “Let’s just say he wasn’t nice. At all.” He pushed the popcorn away from himself. His emotional flare up had caused his stomach to feel sick.
Tom pulled Grant in for a hug. “From what you’ve said about Roy, he is doing a great job and he’ll appreciate the card.”
Mia crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “If it helps, you can give Roy his card at the same time I give Ollie his stuff. Then we can both spoil Lian with affection the rest of the day and try our best not to think about fathers.”
“That sounds really nice,” Grant said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Rae, how long did it take you before you got Constantine something?” Rose asked.
“For Father’s Day specifically, this year,” Raven admitted. Her words summoned a brief whirlwind of confusion that swept through the room. “I was on the fence though as two years feels like such little time, but he has done a lot for me and ultimately, it felt right.”
“I thought you had been in his care longer,” Mia said.
Raven shook her head. “No but, I understand why you would think that. A lot has happened in a fairly short amount of time.”
“Life is funny like that,” Jason said sympathetically.
“Are you doing anything for Batman?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah, Dick and I are taking him out for dinner,” Jason said.
“Not to be nosy, but what is your story?” Mia asked out of the blue.
Jason’s anxiety spiked and began to radiate off of him in waves. “What do you mean?” he asked, clearly stalling providing an answer.
“You know, like your background,” Mia said.
“I’m a street kid who got lucky,” Jason said.
Mia smiled. “Looks like we have something in common.”
Jason returned the smile. He was relaxing now. Raven got the impression there were elements about his past that he was more than a little guarded about. “Are you a CPS dodger too?” he asked Mia.
“No, I ran away and got caught up in some, uh, not ideal circumstances,” Mia answered.
“Typical street life, am I right?” Jason asked, half joking.
“Oh yeah! Got to love it,” Mia said with equal amounts of jest in her voice. The two of them both chuckled.
Rose finally put out her cigarette and came to join the circle. Her emotions felt static now, but they clung to her the same way that wretched smell of smoke did. Both of which were enough to start to get under Raven’s skin to the point she had to do another brief breathing exercise. “Jaybird, I didn’t know you had been on the streets too,” Rose said.
“Ever since I was eight,” Jason said. “Side note, where did the Jaybird nickname come from?”
Rose shrugged. “I was drunk, and it sounded like a fun play on both your identities.”
“Fair enough,” Jason said.
“I have a very important question,” Danny said.
“What’s that?” Grant asked.
“With the development of Jaybird as a nickname, does this mean we have another furry on the team?” Danny asked, an impish look on his face.
Eddie lost all sense of couth and burst out laughing. “Oh My God!” he cried out, as he rolled around on the floor. There was a spark of joy that could be felt and seen within the room as others were laughing now too but not nearly as much as Eddie and Danny.
“Welcome to Hell,” Tom said, raising his soda to Jason in a sympathetic toast.
“Thanks, I hate it,” Jason said.
“Me too but I welcome the company,” Tom said.
“Maybe I’ll write you instead of Eddie from now on,” Jason said.
“I’d like that,” Tom responded in a gentle tone.
“Or, consider this, you could write to both of us,” Eddie said, composing himself.
“If you start calling me a furry, Tom will be not only my new pen pal but my only one,” Jason warned.
Eddie rolled his eyes. “You love me too much to mean that,” he said.
“Do you really want to find out?” Jason inquired.
“Not right now,” Eddie said, embracing Jason tightly.
“Good,” Jason said, leaning into the hug and patting Eddie’s arm. Eddie winked at Danny who shot him a thumb’s up in return. Jason reached for a pillow on his bed and tossed it at Eddie’s face. The two of them laughed as Eddie tossed it back to him.
“Mia, Tom, you can stop hugging me now,” Grant said as the pen pals continued their own pillow fight.
“Perfect timing, I wanted more Oreos,” Mia said, happily returning back to where she had originally been seated. She promptly proceeded to put together two of the cookies in the same way she had earlier. “Anyone want some?”
“Me,” Rose said.
“As do I,” Raven said as Mia passed the carton to Rose. The empath noted a lot of the negativity was diminishing. The truth of the matter was, she had expected it since even on normal days, everyone present was dealing with something. She was just grateful, that they were finally starting to talk about whatever was bugging them. Even if it was vague or cryptic, it was better than having it all bottled in.
“Thanks Mia,” Rose took what she wanted and sent it over to Raven. She shoved a cookie into her mouth and moaned a bit. “God these are delightful.”
Mia nodded in agreement. “They’re my favorites for a reason.”
“If they come out with a bubblegum flavor you’ll probably die of sheer joy,” Rose teased.
“In theory. I’m not sure the two would mix well,” Mia said, reaching for more.
Rose thought about for a moment. “You have a point there.”
“Thank you,” Raven said, setting the cookies back near Mia.
“You’re both very welcome,” Mia said.
It was clear that a general group discussion was no longer occurring, and if it were still in the cards it would be awhile. Eddie and Jason were still hitting each other with the pillow, cackling up a storm the whole time. The pillow accidentally flew and hit Danny square in the face. This prompted the telekinetic to become involved in their battle. Raven, Rose, and Mia all promptly moved out of the way. They began to discuss what flavors paired best with Oreos. So far, the consensus was chocolate and various ice creams flavors. Grant and Tom had gotten into a deep discussion about rock music.
Raven smiled. Moments like these were what she had missed since people from the original team had left. She was thankful to expand her circle of friends and was beginning to feel a closeness with each of them. The only way she could think to describe it was, that it felt good. Needed even. She dared to tentatively hope, that this would continue.
Notes:
Hope you are all well!!! Thank you for reading, leaving kudos and commenting!!!
Chapter 7: When Worlds Meet
Summary:
Jason and his friend Rena are at the museum for a school project when they encounter some Titans. This is how they meet.
Notes:
This chapter takes place in June! Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this, comment and leave kudos. It really does mean a lot! Take care and stay healthy all!
Chapter Text
Finals were quickly approaching which meant it was time for Jason to shut himself in the manor’s library or his bedroom and study. However, his social studies teacher had assigned a project and paired him with his ex-girlfriend, Rena. Thankfully, despite the breakup in January, they had managed to stay on good terms. One could even argue they were friends. Well, at least friendly enough with each other in order to still sit next to each other in class and make small talk. Their present task was to visit the museum, pick a painting and write a review of it that also managed to connect it to Gotham somehow.
Bruce had insisted on going with them, though he swore he was going to view the armory and weapons section. While that was believable, Jason knew Bruce was too much of an overprotective father and would check in somehow. Whether it was in a stealthy Dark Knight way or an overly awkward father way was to be determined. In fact, as Jason and Rena stopped in front of a large abstract painting exploding with shades of red streaked across the canvas, he could feel someone watching them.
“I think we should review this one,” Rena said, her eyes slowly moving across every square inch of the canvas.
Jason turned his head, scanning the crowd for Bruce. “Sure,” he said a little too quickly. As he spoke he saw a group of three people that caught his attention. Specifically, it was the girl with snow white hair in the group that was around his age. “It can’t be…” he thought.
He heard Rena sigh. “You’re not even paying attention.”
“Am too,” he said, meeting her gaze, “I just thought I saw someone I knew.”
There was a twinkle in her warm brown eyes. “No surprise, you know everyone.”
Jason smirked. “You have no idea. So, what were your thoughts for this piece?”
“Well, since there is no clear pattern that can be deciphered from the bold brush strokes-” she began.
“Jason?” he heard a gentle, soft spoken voice ask nearby.
He turned to look and felt his jaw drop when he saw who was heading towards him. “I told you it was him,” Eddie said smugly.
“Yes, yes, you’re very observant,” Rose said, rolling her eyes. “Hey Jaybird.”
Jason felt Rena touch his chin and gently push his mouth shut. “Uh, hi! What are you three doing here?”
Raven smiled. “Zatanna has a show tonight and let me bring some friends along. We had some time to kill, so we decided to see the sights.”
“You were not kidding when you described Gotham as a cultured trash can overfilling with depression,” Eddie stated.
“But you can’t help but love her,” Jason said, as both he and Rena snickered. “Before the conversation continues on, everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Rena. Rena this is Eddie, Rose, and Raven.”
“Hello!” Rena said cheerfully.
“Nice to meet you,” Raven said, a warm smile on her face. Her violet eyes were intensely studying Rena as if she were reading her soul. Then again, considering Raven’s powers, she probably was doing just that to some degree. It was a look that every Titan was all too familiar with as that was how Raven perceived the world. Although Jason had to admit, it did take a bit of getting used to.
Eddie bounded over and extended a hand. “So, you’re the famous Rena? Glad to finally put a face with the name.” he said.
Jason turned beet red. “Eddie…”
“Famous, huh?” Rena asked, eyeing Jason in a way that indicated she clearly expected an explanation.
“Remember the pen pal I got in December?” Jason asked. Rena nodded. “That would be Eddie.”
“Oh! Well, then it appears two legends have finally met. He rarely shut up about you,” Rena said causing Jason to blush even more.
“Never would have guessed,” Rose remarked. A smartass grin spread slowly across her face. It was an expression that solidified what Jason had been beginning to suspect over the course of the last few weeks; Rose knew about the, now mostly faded, crush on Eddie.
Eddie smiled proudly. “Shush, the legends are talking. So, tell me Famous One, does he have any hobbies besides reading and attending charity functions?”
Rena’s face lit up. “You didn’t tell him?” she asked Jason.
“Tell him what?” Jason responded, slightly confused as to what she could possibly reveal yet also slightly afraid she would somehow arm his teammates with blackmail.
“Jason Peter Todd, you silly willy, how dare you not take ownership of that wonderful poetry you write when you’re supposed to be taking notes in class,” Rena said. She sounded slightly offended by the idea that Jason did not broadcast his hidden talent. That was unsurprising given that she had been the one to encourage Jason to delve further into it. Although, it was not something he engaged in as often as she made it sound like. He would jot down unconnected lines as they popped into his head and maybe work them into a longer piece later on if inspiration struck.
“Peter?” Rose asked, a full mischievous smile was now proudly displayed on her face.
“Poetry?” Eddie asked excitedly as he looked from Jason to Rena numerous times. He was even bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“What kind?” Raven asked out of genuine curiosity.
Jason groaned. “Just whatever comes to mind,” he answered.
“You know, I bet Tom could turn some of those poems into songs,” Rose said, looking Jason directly in the eyes. The smile on her face shifting to one of encouragement.
Jason’s blush reddened even more. He was beginning to accept the fact that he thought Tom was cute. If he knew Tom better, he would maybe do something about it. Maybe. He was still figuring things out and thus was prone to feeling incredibly awkward whenever he even thought about even intentionally flirting with Tom. Apparently all of this was more visible than he had thought, and Rose had picked up on that too. He was going to have to talk to her about everything sooner rather than later. He simply did not know how. He refrained from sighing at the thought. “He is talented, so probably,” Jason responded.
“You should show him and see what happens,” Rose said with a not so subtle wink.
“Perhaps,” Jason said.
Rena nodded. “Do it. Then maybe one day, I can say I knew you before you were famous.”
“I can see the headlines now; Long lost ex of Wayne Heir, Jason Todd, supports him all these years later. Is there still a spark between them?” Jason joked.
“You’ve been reading Vicki Vale’s articles again haven’t you?” Rena asked.
“The headlines are sensationalized and sometimes she is a glorified gossip column but overall, she is a good reporter,” Jason answered.
“Good reporter? She insists your dad is Batman without any proof on a regular basis,” Rena said. Rose and Eddie burst into laughter. Even Raven snickered at the statement.
Jason was beaming. “I said overall not always.”
Rena rolled her eyes. “You never cease to surprise me Jase.”
“I gotta keep ya on your toes somehow,” Jason said, letting his accent slip out.
“I’ll remember that,” Rena teased.
“I would expect nothing less,” Jason said.
Eddie, who was now slightly hyper, decided to completely change the subject. “So, is anyone else hungry? I spotted a café back near the sculptures.”
“I could go for a bite to eat,” Rose answered, “Would you two like to join?”
Jason glanced at Rena. “I’m cool with it if you are.”
“I’m game, but we’re coming back to this painting afterwards,” she said.
“Works for me,” Jason said.
“Lead the way Jay,” Eddie said.
“How long have you been waiting to say that particular rhyme?” Rose asked Eddie. She looped her arm through his.
Eddie shrugged. “I lost track.”
“You’re a goof,” Rose said.
“But you love me,” Eddie said in a singsong voice.
“Only sometimes,” Rose responded, pulling him a bit closer to him.
Raven shook her head. “Just kiss already.”
Eddie froze, turned around and gasped. “I would not expect such harassment from you Rae.”
“Pen Pal, I think she is capable of more than she lets on,” Jason said, passing by Eddie. He playfully bumped the redhead’s arm.
“I would heed Jason’s words,” Raven said, “After all, I did date your idol Gar, and learn a thing or two. Especially about short sheeting beds.”
Eddie’s jaw dropped. “SAY WHAT?” he said a little too loudly, his voice echoing throughout the room. Several people turned to look at him. A couple more point blank glared at him. Someone even had the audacity to shush him.
“I am full of surprises,” Raven said. She ruffled Eddie’s hair as she walked by him in order to fall into step with Jason and Rena.
“I have zero context, but I still find it all funny,” Rena said to Jason.
“This isn’t even the best of it,” Jason said, “You should see what happens when we have the whole tea- book club together.”
Rena glanced at him out of the corner of her. There was a tad bit of suspicion there. “I thought Eddie was your pen pal?”
“He is. I met Rose, Raven, and several others through him. We formed an informal book club together,” Jason explained. It was not all a lie. Technically, him writing Eddie got Dick to finally let him be scouted by the Teen Titans. Not to mention, him and Raven did recently start a book exchange. It was just the two of them for now, but they were hoping to recruit Danny, Donna, Karen, and Kara within the next couple of weeks.
“You’re such a nerd Jase,” Rena said, “but in the best way possible.”
“Thank ya,” he said, “I think.”
When he heard Eddie and Rose snicker at the exchange, Jason knew he was in for quite the ride for the rest of the afternoon. At least he would not be bored. More importantly, at least he would be with friends.
Chapter 8: Blushing Cheeks and Blue Eyes
Summary:
An innocent sleepless night leads Jason to the rooftop of Titans Tower and to a chance at romance.
Chapter preview:
Rose’s commentary about Tom at the museum the other day had been eating away at him. Now here he was, sitting right next to his crush. If Rose were here she would be giving very blatant looks signaling that Jason should make a move. The thought of doing such a thing was exhilarating yet the anxiety that accompanied it was really something awful. Jason was not sure of his sexuality and did not want Tom to feel like he was just using him as an experiment. The thought of coming out in general also did nothing to ease said anxiety. On the flip side, his conversation with Dick that one night lingered in his head. At the very least, he knew his big brother would be supportive. Probably Tom too.
Notes:
Hello folks! We are in the month of June still for this chapter. Warnings for cigarette smoking. This chapter was so much fun to write. It is genuinely so cute in my opinion. I hope you enjoy it!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jason could not sleep so he decided to roam Titans Tower in search of anything that he had yet to discover. That is how he found himself at the top of the stairwell that led to the roof. He had always meant to read though the years of graffiti and hell, tonight was just as good as time as any. There were initials in hearts, some with black x’s slashed through them and others with dates of when the relationship started and ended. Written next to the door frame was a highly creative poem consisting of sexual innuendos that someone responded to with an unamused, “You would.” That particular thread of discussion ended when someone else interjected with the words “JUST KISS ALREADY!” in bright red. Other points of interest were the names of Donna and Roy inside of a heart that had been carved into the plaster, claw marks that Jason assumed were from Gar Logan in the form of some animal, burn marks, and what appeared to be a hole from someone punching the wall. He was reading through everything with Dick’s handwriting when he heard someone coming up the stairs.
Reflexively, he turned to look. The first thing he saw was a pair of bright blue eyes moving closer to him as the light in the stairwell was off. As the person moved closer he saw a familiar butterfly inducing smile appear. “What are you doing up Jay?” Tom asked as he reached the landing.
He shrugged. “Us bats are nocturnal, don’t you know?” he joked.
Tom chuckled in response. “Fair. Care to join me for a smoke?”
“Sure,” Jason responded, moving so he could hold the door open. Tom passed through and gave an appreciative nod.
They sat on the ledge of the roof overlooking the bay. A half moon hung in the sky, shading the world with help from the stars in hues of silver and blue. Aside from the crickets and various other insects, the area around the tower was silent. Tom slid a cigarette out from the box he kept tucked in the pocket of his leather jacket. He handed it to Jason who followed suit. Within seconds, they were both blowing smoke into the wind.
“So…what is keeping you up?” Tom asked, flicking some of the ash off the end of his cigarette.
Jason took a deep breath. “Something Rose said,” Jason admitted.
Tom snickered. “She says a lot of things, some to point you in the right direction and others to make sure you don’t get to close to her.”
“You can say that again,” Jason said. Rose’s commentary about Tom at the museum the other day had been eating away at him. Now here he was, sitting right next to his crush. If Rose were here she would be giving very blatant looks signaling that Jason should make a move. The thought of doing such a thing was exhilarating yet the anxiety that accompanied it was really something awful. Jason was not sure of his sexuality and did not want Tom to feel like he was just using him as an experiment. The thought of coming out in general also did nothing to ease said anxiety. On the flip side, his conversation with Dick that one night lingered in his head. At the very least, he knew his big brother would be supportive. Probably Tom too.
“Did she get under your skin?” Tom asked. He looked at Jason with care in his eyes.
Jason’s breath caught. “In a way,” he said. He forced himself to breathe out before the smoke he had accidentally inhaled suffocated him. He coughed a bit as a result. “She figured out who I have a crush on.” Jason smirked. It was odd to say it out loud, especially to the person he fancied.
Tom laughed. “She did the same thing to me recently. I think it is her secret superpower.”
Their eyes locked and Jason could not help but blush. As the butterflies returned for the millionth time, Jason noticed that Tom’s cheeks were also turning a faint shade of red. “How did she reveal she knew to you?”
“I was sitting up here playing my guitar and working on some lyrics. She came up for a smoke and point blank asked if it was about…” He paused, took a deep breath and added, “Him. By name and everything.”
Jason found the combination of blushing and pausing interesting. The logical conclusion was that the crush Jason was harboring for Tom was mutual. Though he dared not get his hopes up just yet. Until recently, life had constantly disappointed him. Even though things had been improving over the last year, it was hard to for him to believe that he was worthy of all the good that was happening. That included, Tom reciprocating his crush. “She told me I should show him my poetry,” Jason admitted.
Tom’s eyebrows sprang up rather quickly. There was a flicker of hope in those beautiful eyes of his. “You like boys too?” he asked. He almost sounded excited.
“Yes,” Jason whispered as he looked down. Tears of relief welled up in his eyes. It felt odd yet freeing all at the same time. He only wished that he understood himself better. Although, this felt as if it were a first step towards that.
“Are you embarrassed?” Tom asked, sounding concerned. He placed his hand that was not holding a burning cigarette under Jason’s chin. Slowly and gently, Tom guided Jason’s head, so it was upright again. Jason shook his head, unable to stop looking at Tom. “Then what is it?”
Jason took a deep breath. “That’s the first time I admitted out loud, and I got emotional,” he said.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Tom said as he began to absentmindedly stroke Jason’s chin.
“Thanks for being gentle about it,” Jason said. He took a deep breath, figuring now was as good of time as any to let it all out. “There is one more thing,”
“Hmm?” Tom asked, his eyes flicked to Jason’s lips for just a second.
That was the last shred of proof Jason needed. He took another deep breath and leaned in. His heart was pounding and the butterflies in his stomach were moving around so rapidly he felt sick. To top it off his palms were sweating, and everything felt as if it were happening in slow motion. When he finally pressed his lips against Tom’s, a burst of joy flooded through him. The tingling sensation that he had experienced when he had been dared to kiss Eddie was back times ten. However, this was so different from kissing Eddie as it was unrestrained and genuinely reciprocated. Jason pulled away slowly, he was blushing so much that even the tips of his ears were red. “I think you’re cute.”
Tom immediately leaned in and kissed Jason again, smiling the whole time. “Consider it mutual,” he said, his lips brushing against Jason’s as he spoke.
“I’d like to hear that song,” Jason said.
“I’d like to read your poetry,” Tom responded.
“Maybe we could make it a date?” Jason asked.
“What about a post date hangout?” Tom countered.
“When and where?” Jason asked.
“There is a café in the city that I think you would like, we could go for lunch tomorrow?” Tom asked.
“Sounds perfect,” Jason said. His cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling so much.
“It will be,” Tom said, caressing Jason’s cheek.
Jason walked down the sidewalk hand and hand with Tom. He had no clue where they were going but he was excited. They had left Titans Tower under the guise of hanging out as they did not feel like dealing with people asking them questions just yet. Besides, Jason wanted to have a proper conversation with Dick before the rest of the team found out. The conversation was tentatively scheduled to happen whenever Dick returned from a mission on the other side of the world. Hopefully, that was within the next couple of days. Oh, and he wanted to talk to Bruce. And Alfred. Although, with how on top of each other they all were at the tower, he was certain everyone would know before the conversation with Bruce and Alfred happened. But he did not want to think about all that at the moment as he was too busy enjoying Tom’s company.
The two of them were chatting back and forth about whatever came to mind. It was fast paced and easy. “We’re here!” Tom said excitedly as they stopped in front of a large glass window. There were people sitting at tables on the other side, smiling and talking to each other. An awning of red and white stripes hung over the window and the door that was beside it. As they walked through the door, the smell of coffee and freshly baked scones swirled around them. It was delightful. The interior was a tad dim lighting wise but there was a very cozy feel to the place. Hanging on the beige walls were paintings from local artists and a large chalkboard behind the counter that listed everything on the menu. “They have the best lattes in the area,” Tom said as they took their place in line.
“How did you discover this place?” Jason asked. He was looking around at all of the art. One piece in particular held his interest. It was a medium sized canvas decorated with bold brushes of reds and blues interspersed with splashes of black. The piece gave off chaotic Rorschach Test vibes. Within the purposeful but abstract strokes of paint Jason could see the idea of beach at sunset and silhouettes of a couple walking. It felt like the artist had poured a great deal of passion into the piece which made his eyes linger on it even longer.
Tom shrugged. “I was bored one day and wanted to explore the area. This was conveniently located when I started to get hungry. They have the best muffins by the way.”
“Noted,” Jason said, finally looking over the menu. He could not believe how many different types of toasts were listed. “This place is really cool.”
“It is,” Tom said, “They have open mic nights on the first Saturday of every month.”
“Have you ever played at one?” Jason asked.
Tom shook his head. “I haven’t felt brave enough.”
Jason squeezed his hand. “What if I were in the front row?”
“That would help,” Tom said. He returned the squeeze.
“Whenever you’re ready, I will be there,” Jason said.
“You’re going to make me blush,” Tom said, a smile spreading across his face. The faintest traces of red were threatening to darken and spread across his cheeks.
An electric buzzing sensation jolted through Jason at the sight. Tom was such a cutie. “I mean it.”
“I know you do,” Tom said, moving closer to Jason’s side. He smelled faintly of a nice, sweet cologne. “And I would very much appreciate that.”
Soon it was their turn to order. The barista gave a big bubbly smile as she looked at them. “Hey Tom!” she exclaimed. “I haven’t seen you in a while, how’ve you been?”
“I’m good! I’ve been busy. What’s new with you Emily?” Tom asked.
The barista sighed. “Nothing much. Started a new DnD campaign that I am DM-ing. I would love to bounce some ideas off of you some time,” she said. “Who is this dashing fellow accompanying you?”
“This is my date, Jason. Jason, this is the best barista on the face of the planet, Emily,” Tom said.
“A date? How exciting!!” Emily exclaimed. She radiated warmth and positivity. “It is lovely to meet you!”
“Likewise,” Jason said.
“What can I get you two?” she asked.
“Go ahead, I’m still looking at the menu,” Jason told Tom.
Tom nodded. “I’ll have a large chai tea latte, an apple cinnamon toast, and a blueberry muffin please.”
“Do you want a drizzle of caramel on the toast?” Emily asked, punching in commands on the cash register.
“Yes please,” Tom answered.
Emily turned to look at Jason. “And for you Jason?”
“May I please have a large lavender latte?” he said, “A chocolate chip muffin, along with a ham and Swiss sandwich.”
“Delightful choices. Anything else for either of you?” Emily asked.
“We’re all set,” Tom said.
They split the bill then claimed a table near the painting Jason had been admiring. They ended up staying there for hours, talking, and laughing the whole time. Jason savored every moment. Somehow, it all felt as if it happened in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, Emily was politely telling them that they would be closed soon. The couple to be left, electing to head back to Titans Tower for the poetry and music reveals they had promised last night. When they reached the zeta tube that would take them back, Tom turned to Jason. “Can we do something like this again sometime?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Jason answered.
Once again, Tom closed the space between them and kissed him. This kiss was a tad more passionate than the few they had shared last night. Not that Jason was complaining, it simply was not expected so his heart was even more aflutter than he had anticipated. “I suppose we should go before they get suspicious.”
“I am certain Rose and Raven already are,” Jason said.
“You have a point,” Tom said as they entered into the zeta tube. The machine rattled off their identifications as the familiar bright light washed over them. Far too soon, they were back at Titan’s Tower. The room was empty so they decided to share one last kiss before entering into the more public areas of the building.
As they were walking to Tom’s room, they encountered Raven. She acknowledged both of them warmly as she walked by them. She gave a secret wink paired with a thumbs up to Jason. The smile that had not left his face all day, grew wider. There was no hiding anything from Raven. While he had still yet to take her up on the offer to talk to her about anything, he felt more comfortable doing so after that simple exchange.
The front of Tom’s door was decorated with black music notes that had been meticulously cut out from construction paper and outlined in matching glitter glue. The room itself was just as neat. His bed was done up with a blue comforter and light grey sheets. On one nightstand sat an alarm clock, the other was a picture of him and his mother. The desk was home to a white, metal desk lamp, and a mug that said, “Go Get’em Tiger,” on it filled with various colored pens. By the windows was a leather armchair next to a small bookcase filled mostly of sheet music. On top of the bookcase was a terrarium of succulents, a CD player, and small stack of notebooks. The top notebook had been stashed there by Jason before they left. Of course, the guitar stand, and said instrument were positioned in away that they were easily accessible from the chair.
Tom handed Jason the notebook before picking up the guitar. They both sat on the edge of the bed. “This song isn’t finished,” Tom admitted as he played the first couple chords. The few lyrics Tom did have were about yearning for someone he thought he could not have. The words definitely gave a bittersweet tone to the music. He looked Jason in the eyes as he sang, and it was making Jason swoon. The lyric that really got Jason was, “He holds us both, but I pray he dreams of me.”
“You’ve liked me since that movie night?” Jason asked when the song was done. He was absolutely stunned.
Tom ran a hand through his hair. “Well…I’ve thought you were cute since the moment I saw you. The yearning started sometime after the pacifism conversation.”
Jason blushed. “I had no idea.”
“No offense, but clearly,” Tom said in jest.
“Well, I wish I had a romantic poem about you but I don’t. I have a very nice one about a tree though,” Jason said.
“There is plenty of time for that to change,” Tom said, blatantly flirting. He gently placed the guitar on the floor.
“That there is,” Jason agreed, leaning in for a kiss. Tom smirked. It was irresistible so Jason went for it. Tom wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist. He was really into the kiss but pulled away abruptly. Jason was flabbergasted. “What’s wrong?”
Tom shook his head. “Nothing. That was criminally incredible. I just don’t want to rush things,” he said.
“I get it,” Jason said. He didn’t want to rush into things either. After all, it had not even been a full twenty-four hours yet. “Poetry and cuddles instead?”
“Yes please,” Tom said. They both propped themselves up on the pillows. Tom rested his head on Jason’s chest. Jason wrapped an arm around his waist and lightly traced patterns on his side as he read the handful of poems he was content with. In between one of the poems, he kissed Tom on the top of his head. Both of them could have stayed like that forever. If it had not been for Eddie knocking on the door asking if they wanted to order pizza, they likely would have. This dynamic they had going, while incredibly new, was a good thing and Jason was eager to explore it.
Notes:
I want to thank bigskydreaming on tumblr for introducing me to the pairing of Jason Todd and Tom Bronson. It might be the rarest pair I have ever encountered but it is cute as hell. I'd like to update this more regularly but life is still pretty chaotic and seems to not be slowing down any time soon. I really appreciate you all continuing to support this. It really means the world. Thank you for reading this and for leaving kudos/comments! Take care!! - Logan
Chapter 9: Guilty Through Dating
Summary:
“I am more confused,” Grant said.
“Since you’re the enemy at the moment that is excellent news. Now kindly, go away until further notice!” Kara scolded, pointing down the hall. She levitated off the ground to ensure she appeared taller than him.
Grant held up his hands as a sign of temporary surrender. “That’s fair.”
Jason happened to catch a glimpse of Grant’s retreat the moment he entered into his boyfriend’s room. Tom was standing in the middle of it with his hands on his head, fingers anxiously playing with his hands. “Why am I being pranked? I’ve never done anything!” The room had been rearranged so the furniture was in the opposite spot of where it had been. Like Jason’s bookshelf and Rose’s CDs, it was in a state of chaos. A couple of the succulents Tom worked hard to propagate and care for, now had parts that were no longer attached to them. The beauty of succulents was that they could be grown into new ones, but that would not ease Tom’s justified annoyance.
Notes:
Hello All!
Sorry for the long wait between updates but I hope you enjoy the new chapter!! I have spent a lot of time reworking my very self indulgent dc universe au that this is a part of and as a result, I swapped out Linda to be a tweaked version of Karen Starr who is going by Karen Danvers. She's still serving the same role as Kara's sister. I was inspired by dykerachelsummers (on tumblr) who did something similar in xir Earth-82 project. I would really like to write a super family fic explaining their dynamics at some point but time has been tight over the last year and that sadly won't be changing yet.
Note on the timing of this chapter: We are in July!!
Hope you are all well! Enjoy!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“EDWARD MARIE BLOOMBERG!!” Rose yelled from the hallway. She sounded beyond pissed off.
“Actually, it’s Allan,” Eddie said, slouching a little bit on the couch as if it would hide him.
“Almost everyone’s middle name is Marie, so I was making an educated guess,” Rose countered. She was now standing in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest, “But that is besides the point at the moment.”
Tom looked up from the notebook he was writing in that was precariously balanced on the arm of the couch. “Someone is in trouble.”
Jason’s head was resting in Tom’s lap as he laid on the couch, reading. “What did you do Pen Pal?” he asked, turning the page of the book. He snuggled into Tom more, an electrifying sensation sweeping through him as his boyfriend began to play with his hair. Officially, it had been three weeks and each time he said or thought about it, Jason was overfilled with butterflies and giddiness.
“I too would like to know,” Danny said. He was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, playing solitaire with some well-loved, fairly worn-out cards. He didn’t even bother to take his eyes off of them as he spoke. “Did you pull a prank?”
Eddie shook his head. “No…I don’t think so…what did I do Rose?” His voice sounded unsure, and his warm eyes were wide with curiosity and a hint of anxiety. It truly seemed like he was clueless about any wrongdoing he allegedly committed.
Rose shook her head. “You did nothing. Assemble Team Gremlin. We’re meeting in Mia’s room in fifteen minutes.”
“What happened?” Jason asked, now intrigued enough to look at his friend instead of the book he adored.
“Raven, Mia, Kara, and I were having some girl bonding time in the gym. Some good old fashion sparring and friendly banter. You know, the usual. Anyways, we finished up and headed back to our rooms. Aside from Raven’s, they were all rearranged. I wouldn’t be surprised if all of yours’ were too. We’re overdue to prank them, so might as well strike back now,” Rose explained.
Danny froze mid shuffle. “I’ll help everyone rearrange stuff with my telekinesis if they need it.”
“My books better still be in the same order…” Jason began, sitting up slowly as he did not wish to break from the comforting touch of Tom.
Rose grimaced. “I wouldn’t count on it. Whoever did my room rearranged all my CDs.”
“Oh no,” Jason said, standing up quickly.
The entire group practically ran to their respective rooms. Sure enough, Jason’s books were not only out of their carefully curated order, but they were also placed back haphazardly; some books had their pages facing outwards, others were laid down on their side in unstable piles. Tom softly rubbed circles between Jason’s shoulder blades as he began pulling everything out, grumbling incoherently the whole time. “What can I do to help?” Tom asked.
“The back rub is nice,” Jason said as he began to create piles of books in a vain attempt to group them back together. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Tom said, his voice was low and somehow made Jason blush. Tom giggled as he watched the all too familiar red spread across his cheeks. Naturally, that made Jason’s poor cheeks hotter and redder.
Jason placed another book in the mystery pile. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” Tom asked.
“Make me blush so easily,” Jason clarified.
Tom shrugged. “I don’t know but it’s cute.”
“Shut up,” Jason joked.
“Make me,” Tom said, a glint of yearning and trouble making in those pretty eyes of his.
Jason leaned into him. “That’d be too easy.”
“Is that so?” Tom asked.
Jason put his lips less than an inch from his boyfriend’s. “Very much so.” He heard Tom’s breath catch and felt the slight back rub stop for a second. He smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “Like I said.”
“Shut up yourself,” Tom muttered, staring in wonder at Jason.
“To quote you, ‘make me,’” Jason said with a laugh.
Tom immediately pulled him in closer and kissed him. “Happily.”
Jason laughed and cuddled into him. “You’re pretty cute.”
“Thank you,” Tom said, kissing the top of Jason’s head.
The newest Robin began to gently slide some of the books back onto the shelves. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m still not used to seeing Tom in a state that doesn’t involve constant pining,” Grant said, leaning in the doorway.
“I think the pining has shifted forms,” Kara said, popping her head over his shoulder. “Y’all ready, for the first official meeting of Team Gremlin since April?”
Jason gave Tom a quick kiss on the cheek as he untangled himself from his embrace and the piles of books. “Of course!”
“I’ll see you all after,” Tom said.
“I thought for sure you would finally join the cause,” Grant said.
“What do you mean?” Tom asked, standing up.
“Uh oh…you haven’t been to your room, have you?” Grant asked.
“I’ve been helping Jason…don’t tell me,” Tom said, sprinting towards his room. Jason heard the door swing open down the hall followed by the loudest exclamation of words he had ever witnessed. “TEEN MARIE TITANS!!!”
“Marie?” Grant asked.
Kara chuckled. “It’s a new Rose thing.”
“But does it apply to anything with a name, like teams, or is it just people?” Jason asked as he politely shooed his friends so he could shut and lock his door.
“Teen Marie Titans is too funny not to have it apply to everything,” Kara said.
“Good point,” Jason said, taking a detour to check on Tom.
“I am more confused,” Grant said.
“Since you’re the enemy at the moment that is excellent news. Now kindly, go away until further notice!” Kara scolded, pointing down the hall. She levitated off the ground to ensure she appeared taller than him.
Grant held up his hands as a sign of temporary surrender. “That’s fair.”
Jason happened to catch a glimpse of Grant’s retreat the moment he entered into his boyfriend’s room. Tom was standing in the middle of it with his hands on his head, fingers anxiously playing with his hands. “Why am I being pranked? I’ve never done anything!” The room had been rearranged so the furniture was in the opposite spot of where it had been. Like Jason’s bookshelf and Rose’s CDs, it was in a state of chaos. A couple of the succulents Tom worked hard to propagate and care for, now had parts that were no longer attached to them. The beauty of succulents was that they could be grown into new ones, but that would not ease Tom’s justified annoyance.
“Karen used to tell me stories about how the original prank wars got out of hand because people would be declared guilty through dating,” Kara explained, appearing beside Jason, “It appears the older Titans and Grant may still be abiding by the previously established rules.”
“Not fair,” Tom whined.
Jason walked over and wrapped an arm around Tom’s waste. “It really isn’t. I’ll help you tidy up after the meeting.”
“Thank you,” Tom said, slowly removing his hands from his head.
“Of course,” Jason said.
“TWO MINUTES!” Rose called from somewhere down the hall.
“I’m going to go withdraw from the prank war,” Jason said, “You shouldn’t be dragged in when you’ve never even participated.”
Tom smiled. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do,” Jason said.
“You really are a boy of wonder,” Tom said.
“And that is the most adorable and the cheesiest thing you have said to me yet,” Jason said.
“ONE MINUTE!” Rose called.
“I better go before Rose Marie comes up with a witty one liner to tease me with,” Jason said. He gave Tom a kiss on the cheek and began to walk to the meeting.
“I’m coming with you to witness whatever she has already thought of teasing you about,” Tom said, following him. He slid a hand in to Jason’s and gave it a squeeze.
“Well look what the Tomcat dragged in,” Eddie quipped as the three of them slipped into Mia’s room.
“Ha, ha, very original,” Tom remarked, sitting down on Mia’s bed.
“It’s still a little bit funny though,” Jason said, plopping down next to him.
“That I can’t deny,” Tom said, reaching for Jason’s hand.
Rose looked around the room and gave a nod of approval. “That appears to be everyone. Mia, music please.”
Mia flicked a switch on her stereo and a blast of pop music filled the room in order to provide cover for the discussion. She clearly was using the unplanned rearrangement of her space to redo the whole setup in a different configuration than it originally had been as she began to move the furniture as the discussion started. She muttered the whole time and periodically asked for either Danny or Kara’s help. Eventually, she plopped down in one of her armchairs, a leg dangling over the side and fully tuned into the discussion.
The discussion started with everyone assessing how messed up individual rooms were. It seemed as if everyone had been equally hit. Although Tom was very clearly the most annoyed due to the plant damage. From there, Jason withdrew from the prank war as promised. That then led to a heated discussion about how dragging people’s partners into it was bullshit. Rose made a joke about how previous versions of the team must have had people constantly changing teams due to dating drama. Kara gave an all-knowing nod in agreement with the joke. Jason made a mental note to ask them and Dick about all of the history between teammates. The graffiti in the stairwell only clued him in to so much. Speaking of that, he wanted to add him and Tom up there at some point but how long should he wait to suggest it?
The meeting lasted two hours. Despite the fact he had withdrawn from the never-ending prank war, Jason stayed the whole time in order to be informed of what he was going to need to avoid. So far, it was looking like he and Tom were going to be spending a lot of time cooped up in his room creating or wandering around the city in order to avoid being thrown into the mix. Rose had implored Jason to state his intentions of neutrality to his brother in order for the best possible outcome to happen. Jason had agreed and, after helping Tom tidy up his room, was now wandering throughout the tower to find Dick.
Jason had tried all of Dick’s most frequently visited spots and had surprisingly not found him. He ended up finally finding his brother sitting in the stairwell leading up to the roof, with a black marker in hand. “There you are!” he enthused, standing on his tiptoes to try and see what was being written.
“What’s up Little Wing?” Dick asked without looking away from the wall.
“Can we talk? There are a few things I want to tell you,” Jason said.
With that, Dick turned around, his hand no longer actively adding to the stories forever embedded on the wall. "Is everything alright?”
Jason nodded. “Very much so, but, uh, I feel like I should fill you in on some stuff.”
Dick drew an exclamation mark on the wall without looking. “Of course,” he said, opening the door to the roof and politely ushering Jason through. The sun was beginning to set and there was a coolness to the ocean breeze as they found the perfect spot to sit and view it all. “So…what’s up?”
“Well, first of all, if you ever mess with how I store my books again I am feeding you to the T-Rex in the Bat Cave,” Jason stated.
Dick chuckled. “That was actually Wally, but I shall let everyone know.”
“Can you also let everyone know I have withdrawn from the prank war so there is no reason for Tom to be dragged in anymore,” Jason said.
His brother raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the left. “Wait…Tom was pranked too? Why?”
“Kara said something about an old pranking through dating rule that was probably still in effect,” Jason explained.
“I mean she’s right but…you and Tom are dating???” Dick questioned, a pleasant tone of surprise in his voice.
Jason smiled. “Yes!”
“That’s awesome!” Dick enthused.
“It really is,” Jason said dreamily.
“I’m happy for you,” Dick said, “and I want to remind you, everything you tell me is safe.”
Jason nodded. “I know but it is always nice to hear that. I would have told you sooner, but I wanted to see where it went and figure myself out a bit more first. Although, I guess one of my friends must have told one of your friends or something.”
“It’s more likely someone caught you kissing at some point,” Dick said, blushing in a way that suggested he was speaking from experiencing, “Don’t take it to heart but if you do figure who it was and give them a little hell for pranking Tom before you two were ready to be more open about your relationship, I fully support that.”
“You’re the best big brother I could ask for,” Jason said, giving Dick the biggest bear hug, he could muster up. “I really am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
“Little Wing, there is nothing worth more than being comfortable in who you are and your own sense of readiness. You can’t rush such things,” Dick said, returning the gesture, “Therefore, no need to apologize.”
Jason squeezed him again. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Dick said, messing up his hair.
“Hey!” Jason said, squirming and laughing as he tried to get out of his brother’s reach.
Dick smiled widely. “Hey Jason.”
“Hmm?” he asked.
“You’re the best little brother I could ask for,” Dick said.
Jason felt as if he was going to explode from happiness. “And don’t you forget it.”
“How could I ever?” Dick asked.
The two of them shared a laugh and another hug. After a moment Jason asked, “Do you think Bruce is going to be okay with Tom spending the night for my birthday next month?”
“If he knows or even suspects you two are dating, he’ll make Tom stay in a guest room and probably roam the halls every thirty minutes or so like the overprotective dad he is, but he’ll be fine with it. Especially if I tell him about Joey and he is stuck in processing mode because of it,” Dick said.
“Oh my god you’re finally going to tell him?” Jason asked.
Dick smirked. “Yeah, things are getting pretty serious.”
“Do you think he is going to take it well?” Jason asked.
“The boyfriend part, absolutely. It’s not the first time I’ve had that conversation with him, and he’s always been super supportive. The dating the son of a known international supervillain part on the other hand, is a first and will probably make the vein in his forehead that noticeably throbs a bit when he is annoyed, explode but he’ll get over it,” Dick explained.
Jason patted his brother’s back. “If he doesn’t, we can feed him to the T-Rex.”
“Now that is a brilliant idea,” Dick said, laughing some more.
Notes:
Thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos! It really means a lot! Take care!!!
Chapter 10: 'Cause When You're Fifteen...
Summary:
“Happy birthday!” they said in unison.
“How does it feel?” Mia asked him as she hugged him, dropping her voice so only he could hear. Given that she was a former street kid like him, he suspected she had experienced mixed emotions when she celebrated her first birthday in a supportive environment surrounded by loved ones.
“Well…you know, it’s a bit surreal but I feel good,” he answered before pulling away.
“Sweet. Let me know if you need anything,” Mia said, she gently bopped him on the nose before bounding over to the others. She stood between Eddie and Kara, immediately blending seamlessly into the conversation.
Grant shook his head, smiling. “We’ve got good friends.”
“We really do,” Jason agreed.
Notes:
Two chapters in one week? It's more likely than you think hahaha. Anyways, we're in August and it's Jason's fifteenth birthday! The chapter title is a Taylor Swift lyric from her song "Fifteen" just for funsies because of that.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Jason was sitting on the stairs, staring at the door, waiting rather impatiently for his friends and brother to arrive. Bruce had agreed to let the whole team spend the night in order to celebrate Jason’s birthday. Although, there were two stipulations: no powers in the manor or on the grounds and Tom could not sleep in Jason’s room. Jason had managed to find a loophole about the latter by purposing all sleep in the den purely for the sake of team bonding. Bruce had agreed although he did not like the idea of anyone dating sharing a room together for a night. Dick had managed to get him to loosen up a bit and then distracted him from the fact altogether by revealing his relationship with Joey. Surprisingly, Bruce had only taken a week to accept that Dick was dating the son of an international super villain. Dick and Jason both had taken that to mean, Bruce had run every possible background check under the sun and concluded Joey was a good young man. Which, of course was obvious to anyone who knew him. Admittedly, Jason was a little bit sad he would not be feeding Bruce to the T-Rex but that was only because he knew that would have been a hilarious event to witness. Otherwise, it could not have ended up more satisfactorily.
“Is this an unofficial stake out of sorts?” Bruce asked, sitting on the stairs next to Jason.
“I’m too excited to do anything else,” Jason answered.
Bruce nodded. “Did Dick ever tell you about his first birthday at the manor?”
“No. What happened?” Jason asked.
“You should ask him,” Bruce said, smirking ever so slightly as he thought about a cherished memory, “Specifically, inquire about the chandelier.”
Jason arched an eyebrow. “You really are a master of mystery,” he remarked, adding an extra heap of snark into the words.
The smirk on Bruce’s face grew. “Truthfully, Dick tells the story better.” He stood, smoothing out his button-down shirt in the process. He fidgeted with his cuff links as he thought about what to say next. In a matter of seconds, he opted to remain silent. Instead, Bruce looked at Jason, his expression softening and a twinkle of pride dancing in his eyes. He patted Jason on the shoulder then stalked off towards the kitchen.
“He’s such a dork,” Jason said, giggling to himself as he went back to staring at the door, willing for the bell to ring. It would be over fifteen more minutes before the doorbell sounded and promptly echoed throughout the entire manor, creating an eerie, almost unsettling sound in the process. Jason was far too excited about the day in order to notice the vibe the noise conjured up. Besides, even if he were not presently overjoyed, he had grown accustomed to it and no longer found it slightly unnerving. He ran to the door, beating Alfred to it by a fraction of a second. Alfred politely stepped off to the side and let Jason fling the door open.
“Happy birthday Little Wing!” Dick said, immediately diving in for a bear hug that ended up causing Jason’s feet to temporarily leave the ground.
Jason laughed the whole time. “Thanks, Big Bird,” he said as Dick spun him around.
When he was free from the hug, another set of arms immediately enveloped him. “Happy freaking birthday Pen Pal!” Eddie exclaimed. He squeezed him once before pulling away.
“Why thank ya, Pen Pal,” Jason responded as they fist bumped.
“I call dibs on next,” Danny said, squaring his shoulders to appear taller than he actually was, as he approached Jason. “Happy birthday Toddster!” He was not big on hugging, so the boys partook in the secret handshake they had developed as a work around. By the end of it, Danny was laughing so hard he had to fix his glasses.
Kara was all smiles as she bolted towards him. Like his brother, she picked him up while hugging him. Although, she accidentally cracked his back and hovered off the ground a bit. “Thank you for the invite and have the happiest of birthdays!” she said as she gently set him back down.
He barely had enough time to express his thanks before Rose and Joey approached. “Happy birthday Jaybird!” Rose said, gently embracing him as if she were scared to accidentally injure him after witnessing so many aggressive hugs.
“Happy birthday!” Joey signed as Rose pulled away.
“Thank you both!” Jason said.
“Of course,” Rose said, smiling.
He watched as the pair of siblings walked off to the side. Rose immediately snuck up on Eddie and jumped on his back while he was mid conversation with Danny. Danny let out a bark of a laugh as he watched Eddie flail for a moment before regaining his balance.
“FU-FUDGE BUCKETS!” Eddie exclaimed in a panic because he almost fell over, “You scared the shit out of me.”
Rose laughed. “Yes, and you savored every moment of it.”
Eddie adjusted so he could properly help Rose off his back. “Only because it is you Rosie Posey Marie.” His eyes glossed over, and he got a bit of a dopey grin on his face when they locked eyes.
“Gag me with a spoon Edward Marie,” Rose remarked, making a mock choking noise for dramatic effect.
On the other side of the entrance way, Joey was being introduced to an absolutely ecstatic Alfred. With all of the chatter from everyone else, they were too far away for Jason to over here any of the exchange but judging from the smiles and laughter, it was going quite well. Alfred shook Joey’s hand and patted him on the shoulder. Jason did not bother to try and figure out anything else that was going on with that particular group as there were still others to greet. In fact, Grant and Mia were quickly approaching.
“Happy birthday!” they said in unison.
“How does it feel?” Mia asked him as she hugged him, dropping her voice so only he could hear. Given that she was a former street kid like him, he suspected she had experienced mixed emotions when she celebrated her first birthday in a supportive environment surrounded by loved ones.
“Well…you know, it’s a bit surreal but I feel good,” he answered before pulling away.
“Sweet. Let me know if you need anything,” Mia said, she gently bopped him on the nose before bounding over to the others. She stood between Eddie and Kara, immediately blending seamlessly into the conversation.
Grant shook his head, smiling. “We’ve got good friends.”
“We really do,” Jason agreed.
“Not to be deep and all on such a festive day, but do you ever wonder what you did to get so lucky in that department?” Grant asked.
Jason nodded. “All the time.”
“Me too,” Grant said, looking at their friends fondly, “Whatever it was, I’m beyond grateful.”
“As am I,” Jason said.
They hugged one more time before Grant took his place with the others and thus giving Raven the opportunity to approach. As she glided forward, Jason realized this was the first time he had seen her not wearing her cloak. In fact, she was not dressed in her signature dark colors at all. She wore a yellow sun dress with white daisies patterned on it and a light weight, cream colored jacket. On her feet she wore brown leather, lace up boots. The lacy trim of her socks strategically popped out from the tops of the boots to create a whimsical effect. As per usual, she was accessorizing with her silver rings. This time, she had even donned a matching necklace. “Happy birthday,” she said, smiling warmly, “May I hug you?”
“Do I know you? You look like my friend Raven, but she dresses in fairly alternative fashion,” Jason teased.
She snickered. “Is that a, yes?”
“Of course, it is! Come here,” he said.
Raven gave him a hug. “Happy birthday Jason!”
“Thank you!” he said.
“It’s hot out, don’t forget to drink some water,” Raven said.
“With you around, how could I forget?” Jason teased.
She jokingly rolled her eyes. “And you’ll thank me for it later.”
“Always,” Jason said.
“I better step aside, someone who truly adores you is getting a bit impatient,” she said, a kind smile gracing her delicate features. With a wink and a blink, she was with the others.
Instinctively, Jason and Tom reached for each other and kissed. “Happy birthday sweetheart,” Tom said, caressing Jason’s cheek.
“Thank you darling,” Jason said. Both of them giggled as their foreheads briefly touched.
Behind Tom, there was the sound of a throat clearing. When they turned to look, Bruce and Alfred were both standing there with watchful eyes. “Is this the young man you have been talking about?” Bruce asked.
“Yes,” Jason answered, “Bruce and Alfred, may I present Tom.”
“It’s an honor to meet you Mr. Wayne,” Tom said, extending his hand. After Bruce shook it, he reached out to Alfred, “and you as well Mr. Pennyworth.”
“Pleasure,” Alfred said, shaking Tom’s hand. He gave a covert approving nod to Jason.
“It is nice to finally meet you, Tom,” Bruce said as he caught Jason beaming at Alfred. A knowing look flickered across his carefully curated expression. It was also in that moment Jason noticed the other conversations in the room were suddenly being spoken in quieter tones and that some people were nervously glancing at Bruce. Eddie’s jaw was practically on the ground as the realization that he was in the presence of Batman in his civilian form fully dawned on him. Rose quite literally touched her hand to his chin and shut his mouth. Kara and Mia, who had both previously met Bruce, were stifling laughs as they watched that particular reaction play out. Bruce noticed all of it and opted to break out his charismatic, speech giving voice. “Jason, why don’t you take your friends into the den for some refreshments. Alfred and I will call you when the meal is ready.”
“Sounds good,” Jason said, holding Tom’s hand.
Rose signed something to Joey before following Jason to the den. “Joey is about to meet Bat Dad, isn’t he?”
“Probably,” Jason said.
“Bat Dad?” Tom asked, a little confused and nervous.
“You’re not related to anyone dubious, so you don’t have to worry,” Jason said.
Rose laughed. “But he is dating you.”
“Dick ensures me the worst we’ll have to deal with is overprotective dad mode,” Jason said.
“That I can live with,” Tom said.
“Jay, no offense, but is Bruce always so…intense?” Grant asked.
Kara, Mia, Rose, Raven, and Jason all laughed. “Yeah, but you get used to it,” Jason answered.
“I didn’t realize he was so tall! I just thought he appeared that way because you are so small and, well, the pointy ears,” Eddie said.
Rose patted Eddie’s back. “Whatever shall I do with you?”
Eddie shrugged. “That feels like bait.”
“Damn, you caught on,” Rose teased.
“Just kiss already,” Danny said between fake coughs.
“Thank heavens I am no longer the only one who has vocalized it,” Raven muttered as she fell into step beside Jason.
“We’re all thinking it,” Tom whispered.
“It is officially worse than you two pre-dating,” Raven whispered.
“We weren’t that bad,” Jason countered.
“Eh,” Raven said, drawing out the syllable and grimacing a bit.
“I was pretty bad,” Tom admitted.
“And I was a clueless fool for most of it,” Jason said.
“Very much so,” Raven said.
Jason put his free hand over his mouth and pretended to be offended. “Hey now!”
Raven straightened up and a mischievous air swirled around her. He swore her eyes emitted a faint lilac glow. “I only speak the truth.” She stuck her tongue out as she lightly elbowed him.
They funneled into the den. It had been rearranged to accommodate air mattresses and a plethora of the comfiest spare guest bedding Alfred could dig out of the linen cabinets. There were perfectly prepared platters featuring everyone’s favorite snacks sitting on the coffee table. Next to the platters were pitchers filled with water, lemonade, and a couple types of soda. There was a glass and plate for everyone along with a pile of napkins. Alfred had even thought to place a small trash can next to the table so they would not have to wander around too much when nighttime fell.
Eddie promptly sprawled out on an air mattress, and it instantly set the tone as everyone promptly relaxed. Snacks were fetched, sleeping spots were claimed, and the banter continued on. By the time dinner, and customary birthday celebrations rolled around, everyone was too busy laughing to feel anything other than at ease. Well, aside from Jason. It all still felt like it was too good to be true, so he tried to savor every moment. Hell, he was having a hard time convincing himself that he deserved even half of this. Mia periodically made eye contact and gave him an encouraging thumbs up. If she did manage to catch him alone, she verbally checked in on him. It was greatly appreciated and help Jason feel grounded in what was going on. Yet even then, the question of how he had gotten so lucky while so many others had not still sounded in the back of his mind sporadically throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
By the time they were settled into the den for the night, the frequency of the intrusive question had lessened. For that he was grateful. He was finally able to fully focus on his friends as they chatted, the sounds from various movies blending with their voices as the night ticked on. At a little after midnight, Alfred could be heard shooing Bruce away from the den and beseeching him to use the night to get some much-needed sleep. If Dick had not left at nine, he would have been laughing while trying to help Alfred convince Bruce. After the third time of Bruce being caught excessively checking on the children, Alfred gave the most displeased sigh ever heard. Bruce relented but only after he appeared in the shadowy doorway of the den, to say goodnight and accidentally startle poor Eddie and Grant. There were more than a few chuckles at that.
By the time three in the morning rolled around, everyone but Tom and Jason had fallen asleep. They were cuddled up together, tracing patterns on each other’s backs with the tips of their fingers. “Want to go somewhere more private?” Jason whispered.
“What did you have in mind?” Tom asked.
“My room,” Jason said.
“I thought I wasn’t allowed in there at night,” Tom said.
“You’re not allowed to sleep in there,” Jason corrected.
A terribly mischievous grin appeared on Tom’s handsome face. “Well in that case, sure.”
They crept through the maze of bodies, pillows, and blankets that were tangled together. Raven was spooning Kara who was resting her head on Mia’s chest. Next to Mia, Grant slept on his stomach. One of his arms was thrown across Mia’s torso and his hand was on Kara’s shoulder. His leg had trapped Tom’s foot and had needed to be carefully moved. He had stirred a bit and there had been a brief panic that their sneaking around would be exposed. Not that Grant would care, however, he tended to speak loudly when startled and things could have snowballed very quickly. Especially because, Jason was fairly convinced that Bruce was still awake. Thankfully, Eddie, while he was sleeping very close to Jason, had not yet managed to pull him into cuddling. Then again, Rose was passed out on his chest so Eddie could not move even if he wanted to.
Tom and Jason crept on their tiptoes all the way to Jason’s room without encountering vigilant eyes. Jason turned on the lamp positioned on the nearest bedside table. It cast a faint, warm glow in the room and revealed all of it. The vibe was similar to his room at The Tower but a bit fancier. The furniture was more ornate and created from a darker wood. The books that lined the shelves in his room were collector editions, or tales written in their original languages. There was some baseball merch he had gotten from a Gotham Knights game he attended with Bruce displayed on the shelves along with some other knickknacks interspliced amongst the books. “You can read all of these languages?” Tom asked, skimming the spines of the books.
“Only a couple,” Jason said laying down on his bed, “The rest I aspire to learn through trying my damnedest.”
Tom smiled. “Which ones do you speak?”
“French and Italian. I’m working on German right now,” Jason said.
“What prompted you to learn so many languages?” Tom asked.
“Boredom…and Bruce,” he answered.
“Fair enough,” Tom said, his eyes lingering on the autographed baseball for a moment, “Boredom is one reason why I play half the instruments I do.” He sat down at the foot of Jason’s bed.
“What are the other reasons?” Jason asked.
Tom reached for Jason’s hand. “Depression, a desire to express myself more, curiosity, and you know, usual musician stuff.” He said the last bit in a joking manner.
Jason stroked his wrist with his thumb. “What instruments do you play?”
“Guitar and piano mostly. I dabble in clarinet and own a pair of bongos that drives everyone up the wall,” he said, “I think my next instrument needs to be something obnoxious and brass like the trumpet.” He laid down beside Jason.
“I will give you one hundred dollars if you learn to play the trumpet and then practice outside of Wally’s room,” Jason said.
Tom cackled. “That is tempting.”
“And I’ll kiss you,” Jason said.
“You do that anyways,” Tom said, staring at Jason’s lips.
“And I will continue to for as long as you let me,” Jason said.
Tom kissed him sweetly. “I think that will be for quite some time considering I’m falling in love with you.” This time, he was the one to blush.
Jason’s heart skipped a beat. “Good, because I feel the same way.” He kissed Tom and then both of them started laughing. It was hard to keep things quiet as they were far too happy about this development, but they somehow managed to avoid summoning any of the adults. It became even more difficult when Tom tried and succeeded at tickling Jason.
Before they knew it, two hours filled of talking about whatever came to mind, plenty of kisses, and learning about each other had passed. As much as they wished to stay there in their own little bubble, they agreed it was best to return to the den. Although, as they tried to slip back into their spots, they did end up accidentally waking Eddie up.
“Jason Marie, my beloved pen pal, how dare you wound me like this,” Eddie said, his eyes barely able to stay open and his voice nearly unrecognizable due to its presently groggy nature. “The entire right side of my body froze.”
“Mine didn’t,” Tom quipped as he wrapped himself in a blanket.
“Neither did mine,” Jason teased, snuggling between his boyfriend and best friend.
“The three of you better shut up before I figure out how to stab you with a potato chip,” Rose muttered.
“Good morning,” Grant mumbled, pulling Tom into a spooning position.
“Good night Grantykins,” Tom said, entangling himself with Jason but very much enjoying the fact he was at the center of a cuddle puddle with all his friends.
‘That too,” Grant mumbled.
“Sweet dreams all,” Jason said, closing his eyes.
“Same to you,” Tom whispered.
Jason snuck one more glance at Tom before finally drifting off to sleep, where all he dreamt of was bright blue eyes and a radiant warmth that encompassed him.
Notes:
Thank you for taking the time to read this, comment, and leave kudos. I truly can not express how much it all means to me. Hope you have a wonderful day!!!
Chapter 11: ....Somebody Tells You They Love You (You're Going to Believe Them)...
Summary:
There are many types of love to be found at Titans Tower- Brotherly, Best Friends, Hopeful Love, Established Love, and New Young Love are but a few.
Preview:
“You got a point there,” Grant muttered, wiping at his eyes, “It’s just...I never had a father figure actually give a damn about me and I don’t think I’m actually worthy of it…it’s hard to believe people don’t have ulterior motives for caring for you when that has been the case with literally everyone else…”Jason and Tom both smushed him into an awkward group hug. “First of all, who do I have to hit for hurting you? Second of all, you are worthy of all that you are currently experiencing in life but more importantly, you deserve it.”
“The secrecy is just…not in character…” Grant said.
“What did Jay just say?” Tom asked.
Notes:
We're in September! Slight warning for implied post-sex scene with Dick and Joey. It takes place after the scene with Rose and Eddie. Also, the chapter title is once again a lyric reference to "Fifteen" by Taylor Swift. Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The first week back at school had officially drawn to a close and Jason could not wait to get the hell out of Gotham for the weekend. Not to mention, Dick had let the cat out of bag by telling him some former and inactive Titans were going to be hanging around The Tower this weekend. Allegedly, it was to catch up with friends, but Jason was suspicious that somehow the guests would be involved in training exercises. Or worse, pranks. While he was grateful that he would not be directly involved in whatever chaos would unfold in the event of an all-out prank war, he shuddered as he imagined what he would witness. He did miss the, typically, harmless fun of it all but there was a certain peace of mind about not having to worry about if his room would be messed up again that was becoming increasingly more important to him. Not to mention, it kept Tom out of it and that was always nice.
He walked through the halls as quickly as he possibly could, trying to avoid the other students. Aside from Rena and a select couple of other students he knew had come from difficult backgrounds, Jason did not care for those enrolled at Gotham Academy. Most of them were stuck up because they were born into wealth and had decided to hold it against him for whatever reason. He knew it was a bunch of meaningless bullshit, but it still irritated him to no end which meant the less he had to interact with them, the better.
Speaking of Rena, as he turned the corner, to enter into the main corridor, he saw her leaning against the wall and laughing with a couple of her friends. Surprisingly, they did not have any classes together this school year. They waved at each other as he passed by. Once he was outside at the front of the school, he scanned the row of cars for Alfred’s exasperated face peering out the window as he slowly chugged along in the line. After about a minute of looking, he heard Rena call his name. He turned around to see her running towards him. He smiled as she approached.
“Hey! Sorry, I wanted to snag you inside, but Mel was talking my ear off about…something. Anyways, how the hell are you Jase?” Rena asked.
Jason smiled. “I’m good. You?”
“Same as always,” she answered, “So…uh, I know we’re exes and all but you were a great friend last school year even after all that and I wanted to know if you would still be okay with hanging out?” She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. “You know, like during lunch.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay with that?” Jason asked, arching an eyebrow.
She shrugged. “People talk.”
“Let them,” he said as he spotted Alfred pulling up to the front of the school.
As he took a step forward to head over, Rena said, “Lunch Monday then?”
“Of course,” Jason said.
A wave and a few steps later, he was sitting in the backseat of the car. Alfred peaked in the rearview mirror. “Good afternoon, Master Jason. How was your day?” The clicking noise of the blinker sounded as the car began to slowly merge back into traffic.
“It was alright,” Jason said, leaning against the side of the car and staring out the window. The immaculately maintained, art deco style buildings passed by in a blur as the car picked up speed. “How are you, Alfred?”
“Quite well,” Alfred said, flicking the blinker on again, “Dick is waiting for you at the Manor.”
Jason whipped his head forward. “Really? Cool!”
Alfred smiled. “Yes, really.” The car turned to the left.
“What did he say is the reason for his impromptu appearance?” Jason said, sliding forward in his seat and trying not to bounce around with excitement.
“He did not give a reason. I think he simply wishes to spend time with you,” Alfred answered.
Jason settled back into his seat, smiling as he thought about how awesome it was that he had a brother that actually wanted to spend time with him now. A year ago, he never would have imagined this were possible. Granted, Dick had never actually been upset with him but there had been a lot of fighting between him and Bruce which kept him away for a bit. A handful of fights, apologies, and a heart-to-heart later, Dick slowly had eased his way back into Bruce’s life and thus, began to build a bond with Jason. They officially swore to be brothers after Dick explained the meaning behind the name Robin and the costume’s design choices. He even gave Jason one of his old costumes and his blessing. “Cool,” Jason said wistfully. Although, whether it was in response to Alfred or his own thoughts, he could not be certain.
The rest of the ride home was a comfortable silence that ended with Jason bursting out of the back seat of the car the second it came to a stop in the driveway. He burst through the front door, to see Dick leaning against the banister. “This is the best surprise,” Jason said, hugging him.
“I was thinking we could get some ice cream before heading to the Tower,” Dick said, ruffling his hair.
“Yes please!” Jason enthused, trying and failing to escape the fate of messy hair.
“Awesome,” Dick said with a smile, “Now go get ready and say goodbye to Bruce.”
“Be back in a few minutes!” Jason said, flitting up the stairs far to excited for words.
“He loves you,” he heard Alfred say.
“I love him too, I can’t tell him that enough,” Dick said, “He’s a good kid.”
Those words made Jason smile with pride as it finally felt as if he had redeemed himself for all the stupid shit he had done while on the streets. Sure, he had Dick’s blessing to be Robin which meant the world to him, but actually hearing that he was good had been the final piece in the puzzle he had not known he was missing. It was exhilarating.
They had travelled all the way back to Bludhaven so Dick could drop his car off at his apartment before getting ice cream. They were both finishing up their delightful treats as the zeta tube took them to Titans Tower. As they stepped out of it, Dick’s laugh unexpectedly cut off as he caught sight of a familiar figure sitting in the chair waiting for him. It took Jason a moment to recognize the redhead as Roy Harper as the only other time he had met the archer, he had been geared up and throwing shaving cream at him. “Hey Roy!” Dick said warmly, walking over to him, “I wasn’t expecting you, what’s up?”
Roy smiled. “It’s a long story.”
“Last time those words came out of your mouth, you introduced me to Lian…you don’t have another kid, do you?" Dick asked, half teasing.
“God no, two is enough,” Roy said, standing, “Can we talk?”
“Of course,” Dick said.
“On that note, I’m going to go unpack and see my friends. Nice seeing you again Roy!” Jason said, heading towards the door.
“You too,” Roy said, waving after him.
Jason unpacked quickly. When he went to go pay Tom a visit, he opened the door and saw his charming boyfriend standing there ready to knock on his door. “Hey there!” he said, smiling.
“Hi Jay,” Tom said, kissing him slowly and deeply to the point Jason lost the ability to think for a solid ten seconds. Both of them were blushing by the time the kiss ended. “How was your day?”
“It was amazing and getting better now that I’m here,” Jason said. “How was your day?”
Tom’s eyes were tracing the outline of his lips. “Uneventful but I’m okay with that.”
Grant popped his head out from his room. “I thought I heard voices. I didn’t realize you two were here already. Want to come hangout for a bit?”
“I’m down,” Jason said.
“Me too,” Tom said.
They headed over to the room next door and made themselves comfortable as Grant finished putting his things away. The walls of his room were covered in posters for various scary films and rock bands. It made the room feel smaller, yet despite the eeriness of the posters, it felt oddly cozier in a way. “I feel like something weird is going down,” Grant admitted as he began to swap out the clothes he had kept here for different ones.
Jason sat down on the bed. “Why?”
“Roy has been acting strange,” Grant said.
“How so?” Tom asked, sitting backwards in the desk chair so a leg dangled over either side and his stomach was placed up against the back. He rested his arms over the top of the back.
“Just…secretive…it’s hard to explain if you don’t really know him,” Grant said. He looked so upset. “What if he doesn’t want me anymore because Lian requires more of his focus? Artemis just moved in to get to know her niece better too, so I understand if they need more space…”
Tom shook his head. “Let me stop you right there Grantykins. Roy loves you to pieces. I highly doubt that is the case.”
“It’s just…” Grant hung his head, and the tears came, “Nobody has ever actually wanted me for very long and it feels like there is a chance that it will change at any second.”
Jason went to Grant and wrapped an arm around his waist. “You know that’s not the case,” he said, gently leading his sobbing friend to his bed in order to sit. “What kind of person would claim to be your guardian to get you out of trouble just to turn around and discard you?”
Grant shrugged. “I suppose Not Roy.”
“Exactly,” Tom said, moving so he was on the other side of Grant.
“Besides, I literally just heard Roy say he has two kids,” Jason said.
A glimmer of hope flickered through Grant’s tear ladened eyes. “Really?”
“Why would I make that up?” Jason asked.
“You got a point there,” Grant muttered, wiping at his eyes, “It’s just...I never had a father figure actually give a damn about me and I don’t think I’m actually worthy of it…it’s hard to believe people don’t have ulterior motives for caring for you when that has been the case with literally everyone else…”
Jason and Tom both smushed him into an awkward group hug. “First of all, who do I have to hit for hurting you? Second of all, you are worthy of all that you are currently experiencing in life but more importantly, you deserve it.”
“The secrecy is just…not in character…” Grant said.
“What did Jay just say?” Tom asked.
Grant sighed. “I know…you’re right Jason. It’s just hard to believe, especially right now.”
“That is okay,” Tom said.
“We’ll believe it for you in the meantime,” Jason said.
“And even after just to give you periodic reminders,” Tom added.
“Exactly,” Jason said.
Grant started crying even harder. “I’m sorry, I feel like a fool for this…”
“Grantykins, I will bite you if you apologize for having emotions again,” Tom said.
“You know things are serious when Tom threatens violence,” Jason said causing the other two boys to laugh a bit.
Grant wiped at his eyes. “Okay, okay, I won’t apologize for that again.”
“And what is that?” Tom probed.
“Having emotions,” Grant said.
“Good,” Tom said, “You never have to, especially with us for fuck’s sake.”
“It is really bothering me that Roy has been so weirdly secretive the past couple weeks,” Grant said, calming down a little.
Jason nodded. “Have you tried talking to him about it?”
“Yeah, he keeps saying we will talk later,” Grant said.
“Has he ever given you a reason to not believe him?” Tom asked.
“No,” Grant answered.
“Okay then, so you two will talk later,” Tom explained.
“And if it is really bugging you, you can tell him,” Jason said.
Grant took a deep breath. “Yeah, you two are right. He’s really not like the asshat who raised me in anyway…and it is strange to think I can just voice how I feel and there won’t be disgusting consequences, you know?”
“Very much so,” Jason said, patting his back.
“You two are best,” Grant said, the tears beginning to subside, “I love you guys.”
“Love you too,” Tom and Jason said in unison, the group hug tightening for a moment. They stayed like that in silence until Grant felt ready to finish his unpacking. Once that happened, Tom and Jason stuck around in order to enjoy his company. They ended up in a debate about if sweaters were ever necessary in California that would last well past dinner ended and slowly drag in most of the team.
The day had been a blur of boring school shit and shenanigans with the team. Rose was grateful to be spending some time by herself in the comfort of her room. She was laying in her bed, listening to music quietly when there was a soft knock on her door. It was nearly eleven at night and, as far as she was aware, no movie nights or pranks were planned. “It’s open!” she called from her bed, wondering who could still be functioning properly at this hour after attending school all day.
“Can we talk?” Eddie said, popping his head through the door.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Rose said, adjusting to a sitting position as her dearest friend closed the door behind him.
Eddie sat down beside her, wringing his hands together. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I haven’t known how to.”
Rose furrowed her eyebrows and touched a hand to his shoulder. “Eddie…what’s going on?”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I would like to date you.”
There was an uncomfortable silence that lingered until Rose took a breath of her own. “I know,” she said, moving her hand to his cheek. “Eddie…” she felt a heaviness in her chest as she braced herself to rip his heart out. She could pour all her feelings for him out right now. It was the perfect chance but, she was not ready for a relationship, nor did she want to risk losing him if it fell apart…he meant too much to her. “I…” The words got stuck in her throat, as she unconsciously moved in closer to him. The feelings she was trying to suppress bubbled up within her and she pulled him towards her. Her lips met his, a greediness overtaking her as she continued to kiss him, wrapping her arms around him. In the back of her mind, she kept calling herself stupid, especially as things escalated to a full blown make out session.
Then, as if a fog had lifted, Rose pulled away as suddenly as it had all started. She shot straight up as she straddled a very confused Eddie. “I’m sorry Eddie…I don’t know what came over me,” she said, tears pricking at her eyes.
“Rosie Posey, talk to me,” Eddie said, propping himself up against the pillows.
She climbed off of him and walked over towards the windows. “I’m sorry…we can’t…”
Eddie walked over to her. “Why not?”
“I’m damaged goods,” Rose said.
“You are not,” Eddie declared.
“I am and you don’t deserve to deal with that!” She said loudly, it was not quite a yell, but it was enough to make Eddie flinch out of shock. “Not to mention…you mean too much to me to risk losing you as a friend,” The tears were flowing freely from her eyes now.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Rose shook her head. “No, I’m glad you did. This had to be addressed sooner or later.” She turned around to look him in the eyes. “I do like you Eddie Bloomberg and someday, I would be honored to love you properly, but I need to get my shit together first.”
Sadness washed over Eddie, but he somehow managed to smile through it. “Are you alright if I love you in the meantime?” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.
She touched a hand to his cheek once more. This time she caressed it gently with her thumb. He leaned into it, closing his eyes. “Only if you’re patient with me.”
“Of course, Rosie Posey,” Eddie said.
“Thank you,” she said. She kissed his forehead, “I’m sorry Eddie.”
“I’m sorry too,” he said.
They touched their foreheads together, and both let themselves cry until their eyes were dry.
Dick traced the muscles of Joey’s torso as they laid there at two o’clock in the morning, sweaty and tired from being intimately entangled with each other. A faint, peaceful smile adorned Joey’s handsome face as they laid there in blissful silence. “You’re marvelous,” he whispered, causing his partner to blush. He gently kissed his lips, still pink and tender from the passionate kissing that had happened what felt like only a moment ago.
As their lips slowly parted ways, Joey opened his eyes. “I love you,” he signed.
“I love you too,” Dick signed. He returned to tracing the lines of his body until they both fell asleep, holding each other until morning.
Jason woke up in Tom’s arms as the sun peaked through the blinds. They had shared a bed before but only with others around, so it had been nice to get a night to themselves and without Danny’s snoring as background music. They had mostly talked about whatever had come to mind and kissed a bit. The craziest thing that had happened was that they checked in with each other about where they were at in the relationship. Both agreed that they were probably heading towards making out sooner rather than later, but it seemed tacky to give it a try after discussing it. For whatever reason, they had both gotten a good laugh out of that.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Tom muttered, nuzzling him.
“Good morning, darling,” Jason mumbled, turning to face him.
Tom was smiling ear to ear, sleep still lingering in his eyes. “I love you.”
Jason immediately blushed and his heart skipped a beat. “I love you too.”
They kissed and each giggled afterwards. The pair stayed there, cuddling until they heard commotion in the hall followed by someone repeatedly going, “Oh my god.” When they peaked into the hall, they saw Grant around knocking on everyone’s doors.
“Grant, there better be a good reason for you pulling a Wally on us,” Eddie muttered as he and Rose walked out of her room, looking as if they had not slept a wink.
Kara was so tired; she did not realize she was levitating until she hit her head on the ceiling. “A damn good reason,” she said, rubbing her newly sore head.
Grant was so loud, even the older Titans were funneling out of their rooms to make sure everything was alright. Dick must have thought it was a real emergency and sprang into action as he was only in his boxes and was sporting fresh hickeys on his chest and neck that he was not even bothering to try to hide until Joey offered him a very fluffy bathrobe.
“What is going on?” Karen asked, trying to process the chaos.
“HE WANTS TO ADOPT ME!” Grant yelled.
“Wait really?” Tom asked.
“REALLY! We just got back from breakfast where he asked me how I felt about it!” Grant yelled.
“That’s awesome!!” Jason said.
“I’m sorry I flipped out for nothing,” Grant said to Jason and Tom.
“That’s it, I’m biting you,” Tom said, opening his mouth.
“I take it back!” Grant said.
“Wait, if I am Ollie’s ward, and you are being adopted by Roy, does this mean I am technically your aunt now?” Mia asked.
“Bring it in Aunt Mia!” Grant said, running over to her and enveloping her in a massive hug.
“Okay, it sounds weird when you say it,” Mia said, laughing as she hugged him back.
“I’m sorry for waking everyone up, but I couldn’t keep it in. I am just so excited,” Grant said, he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet so quickly that Jason was almost convinced he was vibrating.
Dick looked around, smiling. “Since we’re all up and there is good news, I think that means there is only one proper way to proceed.”
Donna smiled widely. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking Boy Wonder?”
“You know it,” Dick answered.
“Breakfast Party!” Dick and Donna said simultaneously.
“Fuck yes! I’ll go get started on my signature chocolate chip pancakes,” Wally said, speeding off towards the kitchen.
Karen sighed. “I better go make sure he doesn’t eat half of them before we get there.”
“This seems promising,” Danny mused as he watched the older Titans begin to follow Wally.
“You will not be disappointed,” Raven said as she did not even bother to try and hide the fact, she was very much tracking everyone’s emotions back to who was radiating whatever. Jason briefly wondered if he had missed anything and if so, what could possibly warrant Raven to be so openly trying to figure out what was going on? He squeezed Tom’s hand and promptly decided to focus on other things. After all, if anything had happened, he was certain that it would come to light sooner rather than later.
Notes:
Thank you for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting!! I hope you have a wonderful day! :)
Chapter 12: The Harvest Festival
Summary:
The team goes to a Harvest Festival on the outskirts of Gotham.
Chapter Preview:
Halloween time in Gotham was always a weird time. The cops were scared to do anything because they usually could not tell villains, vigilantes, and costumed civilians apart. (Not that there was much of a difference to begin with sometimes. Well, at least in Jason’s opinion) On the outskirts of the city, a Harvest Festival had been set up. Jason had convinced the team to come with him for the afternoon and into the evening. He had always wanted to go and actually enjoy the fair instead of working as a pickpocket, but the opportunity had never come around until now. Needless to say, he was insufferable as he ran around the fair and practically dragged poor Tom by the wrist in the process. Eddie and Rose followed at a safe distance, chuckling the whole time despite the weird tension between them that neither was willing to discuss.
Chapter Text
Halloween time in Gotham was always a weird time. The cops were scared to do anything because they usually could not tell villains, vigilantes, and costumed civilians apart. (Not that there was much of a difference to begin with sometimes. Well, at least in Jason’s opinion) On the outskirts of the city, a Harvest Festival had been set up. Jason had convinced the team to come with him for the afternoon and into the evening. He had always wanted to go and actually enjoy the fair instead of working as a pickpocket, but the opportunity had never come around until now. Needless to say, he was insufferable as he ran around the fair and practically dragged poor Tom by the wrist in the process. Eddie and Rose followed at a safe distance, chuckling the whole time despite the weird tension between them that neither was willing to discuss.
Then there was the trio of Mia, Kara, and Grant. They had gotten distracted by a fire dancing act about twenty minutes ago while Raven and Danny had decided to wait in line for a haunted house. Since the team was fractured into three very distinct groups, they had decided to meet up at the one and only Zatanna’s magic show at three. Raven had teased that her caregiver had more than a few tricks up her sleeve for this show. Not to mention, Constantine was going to be there.
Jason was excited for the show. Truthfully, how could he not be? But he was admittedly a tad more intrigued by the possibility of finally meeting Constantine. He’d heard Bruce say the name in such an exasperated tone whilst rubbing his temples more than a dozen times. Hell, he’d even heard Bruce describe him as a, quote, “reckless man who smelled too thickly of cigarettes and would try to con the devil if given the chance.” The amusing part was, given what Jason had heard from Raven, Constantine probably did in fact try to con the devil. Whether he succeeded or not was up for debate.
For the time being, Jason was focusing on Tom and his friends. The four of them had just gotten off of the Ferris wheel and were laughing at a joke Eddie had told when they came face to face with a trio of girls Jason was all too familiar with – Rena flanked by her friends, Mel and Tina. He felt his pulse quicken and squeezed Tom’s hand for comfort. Tom squeezed twice.
“Oh this is rich,” Mel said, a smirk upon her face as if she had stumbled upon the juiciest gossip story of the year. In his heart, Jason feared she had and that it would be known to the whole school by no later than 10:00AM Monday.
“Hey,” Jason said, looking directly at Rena. His heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest with how fast it was pumping.
“Hey Jase,” she said gently, her eyes darting from Jason’s face to his hand intertwined with Tom’s and back up.
“Is that my fellow Legend!?” Eddie enthused before Rose held him by the arm to still him. Jason heard her whisper something to his pen pal but could not discern what.
Rena smiled, “Hey Eddie.” She gave a little wave all while not breaking eye contact with Jason.
His cheeks reddened. “This is Tom. Tom this is Rena and her friends Tina and Mel.”
His ex raised her eyebrows. “It’s nice to meet you Tom.” She extended her hand warmly.
“Likewise,” Tom said cheerfully albeit a bit awkwardly. He shook her hand, dropping Jason’s in the process.
“I’ll see you for lunch in the library on Monday?” Rena asked Jason.
“Uh, yeah. Of course,” Jason said.
“Cool. Have fun at the fair!” Rena said. With that, she and her friends were off to roam around the fairgrounds.
Rose and Eddie were suddenly by Jason’s side. “You alright Jaybird?” Rose asked.
Jason nodded. “That’s not how I wanted her to find out.”
“It sounds like you’re going to get the chance to talk to her about it on Monday at least,” Tom said, trying to provide some reassurance to him. He snuggled into Jason, “And if it doesn’t go well, you’ve still got us and the rest of the team.” He kissed Jason on the cheek. “That much I can promise.”
Jason leaned into Tom. “You’re the sweetest.” He kissed Tom’s forehead and for a moment, the world around them seemed to still. Naively, Jason had not thought about what would happen if classmates had caught him romping around the festival with his boyfriend. It made his nerves go haywire. However, at the same time, he could handle whatever they threw at him in more ways than one. Besides, there was always the unlikely chance things would be alright. He took a deep breath. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Tom said. He rested a hand on Jason’s cheek and kissed him once more, this time on the lips. “I know your brain is going to try to ruminate on this until it happens but try to have some fun the rest of the day?”
“I’m with you and some of the coolest people I have ever met, how could I not?” Jason asked.
“That’s my love,” Tom said, a brilliant smile upon his face.
“My darling,” Jason said, leaning into Tom’s hand.
After a few fleeting moments of embracing, they joined hands once more and began exploring the festival once more. Rose purchased the biggest candy apple she could find, Eddie decided to participate in a pie eating contest and was subsequently robbed of third place, and Jason won Tom a stuffed teddy bear. By the time the magic show rolled around, the four of them slid into their seats that Raven had reserved for them right as the announcer said Zatanna’s name. Raven playfully shook her at them and shot them a thumbs up as the curtains parted to reveal the one and only, Zatanna Zatara. As always, she looked magnificent!
Jason watched the show with his arm around Tom, entranced by the spectacle of it all. Zatanna moved around the stage doing traditional magic show tricks mixed with actual magic. The finale was a classic twist on the pulling a rabbit out of a hat trick except, she somehow reached through her hat and into the audience to pick up a volunteer that ended up tiny in her hand. She gently placed the volunteer on the ground and cast a spell to make them taller again. The crowd ate it up and the cheers were loud enough to shake the tent.
As Zatanna bowed, a man in a trench coat approached the stage and handed her a single red rose. Her face lit up as she accepted it. She winked at him before thanking the crowd and bowing once more as the curtains drew to a close. As the crowd began to file out, Raven flagged the man over to their seats. He acknowledged her with a nod but waited for the crowd to dissipate more before walking over. When he approached, Raven greeted him with a big hug. “Hey there kid,” he said messing up her hair. He had a thick British accent, and Jason knew immediately he was the infamous Constantine. Raven waved everyone over for an introduction.
Jason studied Constantine with great interest. He certainly did smell faintly of cigarettes and appeared to be more than a bit gruff. There was a sadness embedded in his soul that leaked out through his eyes despite the love and care he clearly was displaying for Raven. This was a man who felt like he had nothing to lose and would risk it all to either feel alive or save the people he cared about. He probably did fuck around a bit too much but not nearly as often as he once had. The man had clearly been through some shit that left him emotionally scarred. Jason wanted that story but there was no way in hell he would be asking a soul about it anytime soon.
As they were socializing and waiting for Zatanna to emerge from the dressing room, a festival worker shooed them out of the tent so the staff could begin setting up for the next act. Apparently, a fairly popular band from the tristate area that was inspired by The Hex Girls was performing. Jason was curious but Bruce had asked that everyone be at the manor by 8 in order to avoid getting caught up in any Halloween Weekend chaos. It was amusing and pointless to Jason considering the group of people he was with; he had tried to argue it but clearly lost so he filed it away into his mind as one of those moments where Bruce simply did not make sense.
Zatanna appeared nearly fifteen minutes later clad in black trousers, suspenders, and an ivory-colored blouse. A stylish black coat billowed in the wind as she walked. She carried a hefty carpet bag that was red in color on her right arm. She kissed Constantine on the cheek, leaving a red lipstick mark in place. “Beloved cousin, introduce me to everyone,” she said warmly.
“Cousin!?” Eddie, Grant, Danny, and Mia asked in unison.
Raven blushed and an uncharacteristic nervous laugh escaped from her. “Did I forget to mention that?”
“Yes,” Mia said as Kara snickered beside her.
“Oh. Well… In that case, Zatanna, this is everyone. Everyone, this is my cousin, Zatanna,” Raven said. She then went on to point and name everyone individually as the shock of their relation accommodated itself into the previously uninformed folk’s minds.
Once introductions were completed, the team spent the rest of their time at the festival going on more rides and picking up more candy apples to eat later. At eight o’clock on the dot, the 9 of them managed to squeeze into the back of the limo Alfred was picking them up in. Jason made a mental note that Rose was sitting between Mia and Kara while Eddie Sat next to him, squished up against the limo’s door. Whatever had happened between them was clearly eating away at both of them. Jason made a mental note to attempt asking Eddie once more next time they hung out.
As they pulled into the manor, Alfred announced that he had prepared a guest suite for the team to spend the night in. He had even moved the bags everyone had dropped off prior to the festival into the suite. A brief pang of guilt hit Jason as he had assumed they would be crashing in the den again like they had for his birthday, so he had told everyone to leave their stuff there. When he got out of the car, he apologized to Alfred for the inconvenience and misunderstanding. Alfred hugged him tightly in response. “It’s quite alright Master Jason,” he said, patting him on the back. In that brief moment, it finally hit Jason that he truly had a home.
Jason clung to the memories of the weekend to cope with the dread that was building up as he stared at the doors to Gotham Academy. He loved school but fuck, did he hate a lot of the people there and he really did not want to deal with whatever Mel had spread around the school. Worse yet, he feared Rena’s reaction to everything he would be explaining to her. He breathed in deeply and out slowly. He was Robin. Being Robin gave him magic. He tried to use that as a mantra as he stepped ever closer to the entrance. Sadly, it was not working as well as it normally did. It didn’t even take the edge off the anxiety. By the time he made it to his first class, he felt like he was about to panic.
But no one gave him any weird looks.
No one whispered or snickered.
No one seemed to be transfixed on him.
No one said anything to him that was out of the normal.
He was just fucking paranoid.
The anxiety and paranoia began to ease halfway through the first class. It nearly vanished by fourth period but had a resurgence once he realized he would soon be talking to Rena. Lunch rolled around and he headed straight for their usually secluded table in the back of the library. Rena was already there, her lunch neatly displayed in front of her. “Uh, hello,” he said, his throat going dry.
“Hi Jase,” Rena said. She was guarded but her normal sweetness remained about her.
He sat down. “I owe you an explanation.”
“You never have to explain who you are to me Jase. In truth, I owe you an apology. I was processing and how I did, made things incredibly awkward to say the least. I’m not sure if it made things unsafe as well so I’m also sorry for my ignorance in that regard and for what Mel said…I’m just really sorry,” Rena said.
A weight lifted off his shoulders. “So, we’re good?”
“Are we?”
“I feel we are.”
“As do I.”
“Good.”
There was an awkward moment of silence that Rena interrupted with, “Okay, but I do have questions.”
“I at the very least owe you answers,” Jason said, unpacking his lunch.
Rena smiled and visibly relaxed. She sunk into the comfort of her chair. “Is that why you broke up with me?”
Jason shook his head. “No. I meant what I said about not having time for a healthy relationship.”
“So, what’s different now that allows you to have one?”
“We run in similar circles due to our parents so we are able to spend more time together than I ever would have been able to with you.”
She gave an understanding nod even though it clearly hurt a bit to hear. “How long?”
“Since June.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? We’re still friends…”
He slumped in his chair. “I’m still figuring myself out and I didn’t know how you would react. It’s terrifying not knowing how people truly feel about people like me. I know that sounds lame but…”
Rena shook her head. “It makes sense Jase.” She placed her hand upon his. “Are you two happy?”
The question made Jason burst into a smile. “We are.”
“Good. What’s his name?”
“Tom.”
“He’s really cute.”
“He is,” Jason said with a blush. She squeezed his hand.
“Does he have a brother?” Rena jokingly asked. They stifled their laughs in order to not break the quiet policy.
“He doesn’t.”
“Damn,” she joked.
“I have a question for you,” Jason said.
“Go for it.”
“Why hasn’t Mel or Tina spread it like wildfire?”
“Tina’s not a gossip and I threatened to leak Mel’s secrets if she pulled that shit,” Rena explained.
Jason smiled. “You’re a good friend Rena.”
“As are you Jase.”
“Hug?”
“Fiiiine,” she said playfully as they both leaned into a hug. “You’re stuck with me, you realize that right?”
Jason laughed. “Obviously.”
They both let out a genuine laugh at that and immediately were shushed by the librarian which of course made them both red in the face from holding in the true force of their respective cackles. For the first time all day, Jason could truly breathe and the world seemed to be back in alignment once more.
Notes:
Hello hello!
Long time no see! I hope you are all well!
Anyways, a couple of fun notes about this chapter as I am sure there are some questions. I did in fact decide to make Zatanna and Raven cousins. In my head for this AU Sindella and Angela/Arella are sisters. Also, I'm considering making Scooby Doo canon to my DC Universe as actual characters. They've crossed over enough where I feel like they are the same universe tbh. Anyways, not sure if that's relevant or not to this story but just a fun anecdote considering I am working on a self indulgent universe for myself behind the scenes. Anyways, point being at the very least for the purpose of this fic Scooby Doo and all those related characters either exist in the same universe or are a tv like in our own lol. Oh, and Zatanna's magic trick is taken from an episode of Justice League Unlimited. I'm sorry if I am rambling, I am just really excited to be posting an update to this.
Take care everyone!!!
-Logan
Chapter 13: The Beginning of The End
Summary:
Chapter Preview:
Nothing could have prepared him for the words that stumbled out of Jean’s mouth after he voiced his interest. “Your old landlord finally got around to cleaning out the house you occupied with your parents and one of the neighbors found some things she thought you might be interested in and brought them to my office. I wanted to coordinate a time for you to come and look through it. Whatever you don’t want we can either trash or donate accordingly. When works for you?”
“Anytime after school,” he said, sinking back into the chair as his surroundings began to feel unreal.
The caseworker popped her gum, and he could hear her flicking through the pages of her planner. “I’m available at 3:30 on Thursday, does that work for you Jason?”
“I will see you then,” Jason said.
Chapter Text
It was the Monday after Thanksgiving when Alfred informed Jason he had a phone call from his caseworker, Jean. Although out of the ordinary, it was not unheard of for her to call Jason to ask how he was doing. Then again, it did give him pause since it was the first time she had called since the adoption paperwork had gone through. The only thing he could think of was his father was getting out of jail and wanted to get in contact for some reason. He could only roll his eyes at such a farfetched scenario. His father was no more than a piece of shit he happened to share genetics with. Regardless, he found himself sitting in a chair in the library on one of the landlines going through the required small talk with the caseworker. After roughly fifteen minutes of what was likely vetting the magical and cliché words, “I bet you’re wondering why I called you,” spilled out of her mouth.
Nothing could have prepared him for the words that stumbled out of Jean’s mouth after he voiced his interest. “Your old landlord finally got around to cleaning out the house you occupied with your parents and one of the neighbors found some things she thought you might be interested in and brought them to my office. I wanted to coordinate a time for you to come and look through it. Whatever you don’t want we can either trash or donate accordingly. When works for you?”
“Anytime after school,” he said, sinking back into the chair as his surroundings began to feel unreal.
The caseworker popped her gum, and he could hear her flicking through the pages of her planner. “I’m available at 3:30 on Thursday, does that work for you Jason?”
“I will see you then,” Jason said.
“Sounds good, I’ll pencil you in. Take care Jason!”
“You too.” He hung the phone up a little too hard and just stared at the wall of bookshelves in front of him. All he could do was sit there. He thought he should feel something but he was numb to the core. His mind did wonder who the former neighbor was and what they would have deemed interesting or important for a fifteen-year-old from the shittiest part of Gotham to have nearly two years later. Then again, given the location of that rundown house, Jason logically should have been shocked there was anything of such a nature left. Perhaps it was a small miracle or perhaps he was about to sift through a bunch of garbage and thus a waste of time. Whatever it turned out to be did not feel like it mattered. He could not connect to the reality of it all or dial into any sort of emotions.
There was simply nothing.
That feeling, or rather lack thereof, persisted all the way until he found himself pacing outside the office door of his caseworker. Now, he was feeling anxious, worried, angry, intrigued and oddly happy. In other words, he was a mess. The whole thing felt weirdly important. It was something he could not shake as the clock ticked ever onward and the office door stayed shut.
With a sigh, he sat down.
As he did, the door opened to let two twin girls no more than seven years old walk out with an older woman who was greying. His caseworker waved him into her office as she greeted him warmly. “You look great, how have you been?”
“Good,” Jason said, his eyes scanning the room for the stuff he’d be going through.
Jean walked over to a cabinet and unlocked it. She produced two boxes filled to the brim of random stuff. His heart fluttered as he caught sight of the teddy bear that he used to sleep with as a child. “I’m afraid there was some water damage, especially to the papers,” She set the boxes on her desk.
Like a moth to the flame, Jason gravitated towards his old possessions. The teddy bear was filled with dust and needed a good wash as a result, but Jason was confident that he was an easy enough fix. He removed his beloved old pal from the box and held him in one hand as he rifled through the rest of it. There were family photos and folders filled with important documents. He decided it was worth keeping it all. At the very least, he could scan it into the Bat Computer in case something became relevant later. The other box was filled with clothes he had since outgrew, and a couple of blankets. He kept one that he used to snuggle under as his mother read to him. The rest of it he decided to donate.
Jean commented that it was such a quick look through and asked if he was sure he was done. Jason insisted he was and would be going through the paperwork in depth at the manor. She yielded and let him leave. “Call me if you need anything Jason!” she said encouragingly as she opened the door for him.
“Of course,” he responded as he quickly made his way out of the office. He was almost certain he heard Jean mutter a prayer for God to help him, but he could not be bothered to verify that.
“I see it was productive,” Bruce said, as Jason slid into the car.
Jason shrugged. “It seems that way. I have a bunch of documents to search through when we get back.”
“Would you like help?” Bruce offered.
“No,” Jason answered, “If there happens to be anything of interest, especially if it is related to Willis, I will need your help inputting it into the Bat Computer.”
Bruce nodded with approval. “Let me or Alfred know if you change your mind.”
“Alright,” Jason said absentmindedly. He was too fixated on plucking little chunks of dust out of his teddy bear. He did not know it but the sight made Bruce smile.
When they got to the manor, Jason thanked them both before heading directly to his room. He placed the teddy bear against the lamp on the desk, planning to throw him in the wash in the morning. He plopped the box on the floor beside him, pulled out a stack of folders and began pouring through them. A large chunk of the papers was bills of all sorts. He skipped each of them when he realized they were not relevant to what he wanted. Granted, he was not one hundred percent certain what answers to all his childhood questions would actually look like, but he doubted the electric bill would yield anything other than his blood pressure increasing out of anger at how expensive basic necessities were.
Instead of answers, he got more questions when he stumbled across a copy of his birth certificate. As he went over the information his eyes widened at the spot where his mother’s name should be. It was damaged by water and contained nothing legible other than the letter S.
Which meant Catherine Todd….
“She is not my mother,” he said out loud.
He set the paperwork down in front of him and placed his head in his hands, letting himself cry. It felt like everything he knew had been ripped from him once again. The last time he had felt like this he had found the woman who raised him dying of an overdose on the floor of the kitchen…he had called 911 and bolted when they pronounced her dead. As he cried, he found himself wondering what the return of this feeling going to herald…
He could only hope this time would play out better.
Notes:
Thank you in advance for leaving kudos, comments, and reading this! I hope you are doing well!!!
Pages Navigation
Mx. Anonymous (Guest) on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 12:24AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 12:25AM UTC
Comment Actions
Aristotle (Guest) on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 01:46AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 01:48AM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 01:53AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 01:59AM UTC
Comment Actions
KingdomFire13 on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 05:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 11:14AM UTC
Comment Actions
redroseworks on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 08:43PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 1 Mon 18 May 2020 11:17PM UTC
Comment Actions
shauds on Chapter 1 Tue 19 May 2020 04:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 1 Tue 19 May 2020 09:31PM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 2 Sat 15 Aug 2020 12:48PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 2 Sat 15 Aug 2020 04:26PM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 3 Tue 18 Aug 2020 05:19PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 3 Tue 18 Aug 2020 08:28PM UTC
Comment Actions
shauds on Chapter 4 Mon 07 Sep 2020 08:44PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 4 Tue 08 Sep 2020 12:31AM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 4 Wed 09 Sep 2020 04:09AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 4 Wed 09 Sep 2020 03:45PM UTC
Comment Actions
shauds on Chapter 5 Tue 15 Sep 2020 08:17PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 5 Tue 15 Sep 2020 08:25PM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 5 Tue 15 Sep 2020 10:11PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 5 Tue 15 Sep 2020 10:34PM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 6 Mon 21 Sep 2020 04:22AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 6 Mon 21 Sep 2020 05:18AM UTC
Comment Actions
Dimplexs on Chapter 6 Fri 09 Jul 2021 09:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 6 Mon 19 Jul 2021 12:38AM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 7 Mon 30 Nov 2020 07:52PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 7 Mon 30 Nov 2020 10:54PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dimplexs on Chapter 7 Fri 09 Jul 2021 10:08AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 7 Mon 19 Jul 2021 12:37AM UTC
Comment Actions
jayhood on Chapter 7 Mon 12 Jul 2021 12:45PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 7 Mon 19 Jul 2021 12:35AM UTC
Comment Actions
jayhood on Chapter 8 Mon 19 Jul 2021 08:28AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 8 Mon 19 Jul 2021 10:57AM UTC
Comment Actions
jayhood on Chapter 8 Mon 19 Jul 2021 12:39PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 8 Mon 19 Jul 2021 03:04PM UTC
Comment Actions
jayhood on Chapter 8 Mon 19 Jul 2021 04:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
Illuvien on Chapter 8 Wed 21 Jul 2021 01:03PM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 8 Wed 21 Jul 2021 04:41PM UTC
Comment Actions
runrabbitt on Chapter 8 Tue 05 Apr 2022 12:03AM UTC
Comment Actions
starsandbrokenhalos on Chapter 8 Tue 05 Apr 2022 11:02PM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation