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Jason has a copy of Robin Hood on his bedside table, a gift from Alfred. He also has one on his bookshelf in the living room. There’s one in his backpack and one buried under a stack of case files on the kitchen island and if you turned on his tablet you would find an online copy and 3 different audio books.
He’s read each one.
But everytime Dick asks, “Hey, have you ever read Robin Hood ?” Jason says no, and Dick finds him another copy, unique from the last.
And if Jason is injured he’ll say, “Have you read Robin Hood ?” And Jason will shake his head and Dick will smirk and begin to read out loud.
It starts two weeks after Jason comes to live in the manor. Bruce is at the office when Dick Grayson arrives with little fanfare and to which Jason promptly ignores him.
He continues to ignore Dick even as the older boy peeks his head through the doorway, watching Jason curled on the couch with a copy of Journey to the Centre of the Earth , before hesitantly crossing the room. He sits down on the couch. Jason doesn’t react, though he’s all too aware of the other boy.
Dick clears his throat. Jason looks over his book and raises an eyebrow.
Dick grins, “have you read Robin Hood ?”
Jason frowns and shakes his head. Dick hops up excitedly and starts searching the shelves, running his fingers over each elegant spine of Alfred’s collection in a way that makes Jason cringe.
Two minutes later, Dick pulls a book from the shelf with an excited shout. He bounds back to the couch and holds it out for Jason.
Jason admires it for a moment. Alfred certainly put a lot of effort into this collection and this book is no exception. It’s leather bound, stained an elegant forest green and the title on the front is a gorgeous gold foiling that makes Jason hesitant to touch it. When he takes it, Dick watches curiously, he notices a small stain on the bottom right hand corner of the cover and he brushes a thumb over it.
Dick coughs. “I spilled a tiny bit of coffee on it a while back. Don’t tell Alfred.” He squeaks.
Jason ignores him and flips the book around in his hand, admiring the golden edges of each page. When he looks up Dick is still watching him expectantly. Jason feels a little awkward. “Um, thanks.” He tries.
Dick blushes and looks away. “Yeah of course. I’m not a big reader myself but my mother used to read that one to me. It’s um, it’s really good…at least in my opinion.” Jason watches him a second longer and notices the tight way Dick is holding himself, almost as though he were self conscious or unsure of himself.
Jason grasps at what he’s supposed to do next. He wants to like Dick and more importantly he wants Dick to like him but… he’s never had a brother before.
He looks down at the book once more, hoping that maybe it has the answer Jason is looking for. And maybe it does, he grins.
“Would you, um… would you like me to read it out loud?” He suggests.
Dick looks up wide-eyed and grins. “Sure, little wing, I would love that.”
Jason blushes at the nickname. “Don’t call me that.” He groans but it’s mostly for show and the smile on Dick’s face tells Jason he knows that too.
Dick sets up a pillow on one end of the couch and gets comfortable as Jason opens the pages and begins to read.
When Alfred finds them later, Jason is lying down against Dick’s legs and both boys are snoring, Robin Hood discarded on the floor beside them. He tuts as he picks up the book and places it on the coffee table before covering them with a blanket and leaving them to rest.
***
So it started there but it keeps going even as each brother grows. Jason is visiting Dick in Bludhaven only 3 months after the bonding session in the library. He’s chilling on the couch flipping through channels on his TV when Dick comes into the living room. He flings himself across the couch so that his head is in Jason’s lap.
Jason scowls at him, but Dick ignores the dirty look and grins. “You wanna go out?” He reaches up and tugs on one of Jason’s curls.
Jason shoves him onto the ground. “Go where?” He asks, there’s nothing on TV anyway.
Dick shrugs, shoving off of the ground, using the coffee table for balance. “There’s a bakery a couple blocks that way.” He gestures vaguely in a direction out the window, waving his hand around. Jason snorts, as though that was helpful in determining the location at all, but alright.
“Sure whatever, I want cannolis though.”
Dick grins and Jason’s stomach does a flip. He’s not used to anyone wanting to spend time with him. He’s not used to anyone smiling like that at him, because of him. “We can do that, Jaybird.” Dick shouts on his way to the door.
Jason shakes his head and follows, grabbing his hoodie off the kitchen island on the way.
Dick claims it’s close enough to walk so walk they do, but that means Dick getting distracted by every window display along the way and Jason having to pull him along so they can get there before the sun sets or whatever.
Until one window display catches Jason’s eye. Leather bound books. Handmade from the looks of it. Dick comes up beside him. “You wanna go in?”
Jason hesitates. He couldn’t afford anything in there, and it’s not like Alfred doesn’t have tons of books for Jason to read back at the manor. He’s about to shake his head when Dick grabs his arm and drags him inside.
He gasps when the warmth from inside envelopes them and Dick lets go of his arm in favour of browsing. Jason turns once, the smell of leather and paper filling him with calm. The display along the wall catches his eye. A collection of classics lined up covers facing out. Each one is unique. His eyes drift over Pride and Prejudice in a light pink material and Frankenstien in maroon with a chocolate brown strap around the front the latches the book shut. Beside that, bound in dark blue and black leather is Robin Hood. That one has a blue satin bookmark attached to the top and a small arrow charm attached to the other end.
“That one is one of my favourites.” A feminine voice startles Jason from his admiration. He turns to find an older woman watching him. She chuckles. “My husband only finished that one yesterday.”
Distantly, he notes Dick coming up behind him. “It’s lovely.” Jason says, blushing with embarrassment. “Are all the books here handmade?” He questions.
She nods. “Oh yes. My husband and I enjoy the process and they always come out so nice.” Jason nods in agreement.
“How much?” He asks hesitantly.
“That one is $80.” She smiles warmly. Jason’s stomach sinks, he can’t imagine spending that much on himself, even now that he’s been adopted by a billionaire.
“Oh, um… thank you for your time.” He turns and bolts from the store.
Dick jogs behind him, slowing down when he catches up. “Why didn’t you get it?”
Jason shrugs. “Too much.”
Dick laughs. “Jason, B has like… so much money . One book won’t break the bank.”
“Let it go, Dickhead.”
“Jay…”
“Let it go.” He snaps, his shoulders coming up. Dick falls quiet and Jason feels a smidge guilty for snapping at him.
Dick clears his throat. “Right, so cannolis. What flavours are you feeling today, Littlewing?”
Jason sighs and wills himself to relax. “Pistachio, obviously.”
Dick nods sagely. “Of course.” The walk settles again and Jason starts to feel lighter, though the gorgeous book stays in the back of his mind even after he goes home to the manor the next day.
Three months later, Dick misses Jason’s birthday due to Titan’s business. He sends Jason several texts swearing to make it up to him and Jason tells him that’s fine when Alfred comes upstairs with a box.
Jason reads the messy scrawl that can only be Dick’s and feels a smile creep across his lips.
I’m really bad at letting things go, especially when they make your eyes sparkle like this one did.
- Dickhead :)
Jason lifts the lid of the box and almost drops it. Nestled carefully in blue tissue paper is the copy of Robin Hood from the shop. He blinks, clearing out the moisture he feels building up.
He texts Dick.
I’m still mad at you…
But thanks.
Dickhead: That’s totally fair! you deserve nice things little wing, Happy Bday
Jason grins and flings the phone at his bed. He pulls the book out and gets lost in it for most of the afternoon.
***
If there was one place he hated in the manor more than anywhere else, it was the cave’s med-bay. Which is exactly where he’s ended up tonight, waiting for the fear toxin antidote to finish working so he can stop flinching at shadows. Bruce disappeared shortly after Alfred administered the antidote and Jason had calmed down enough to show that it was working, and Alfred was at the computer wrapping up for the night.
Someone coughs at the entrance and Jason jumps.
“Sorry, Jay. Didn’t mean to scare you, I just thought you might want some company.” Dick says softly.
“You didn’t scare me.” But he doesn’t turn Dick away. Dick chuckles and sits down in the chair next to the bed. “When did you get here?”
“About an hour ago. I got the weekend off work so I thought I would stop in and see my favourite little brother.”
“I’m your only little brother.” He rolls his eyes. Somewhere in the cave there’s a crash and Jason flinches violently. Dick watches him with sympathy that makes Jason’s stomach churn.
His discomfort must show on his face cause Dick clears his throat. “You ever get around to finishing Robin Hood?” He asks. Jason did. In fact he’s finished it 12 times in the last year but he shakes his head anyway. If he were to look back he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone why he said no but he did.
Dick nods and starts opening cupboards and digging through drawers. “I think I left it… Ahah, here it is.” He nods, pulling something from the drawer triumphantly. Upon further inspection Jason notes it’s a copy of Robin Hood . The edges are worn and the cover is missing one of the corners and it looks as though Dick might have spilt something on it at one point based on the wavey way each page sits. Certainly the book was well loved. “I left my copy here last time I was injured.”
“Did you take a bite out of it?” He’s only half teasing.
Dick chuckles. “I’ve had this thing since my circus days. Do you remember where you left off?” Jason shakes his head, words seeming to have abandoned him.
“Cool, that’s fine. I’ll start from the beginning then.”
And so he does, and Jason is lulled comfortably to sleep to the sound of Dick reading, shadows long forgotten.
***
There’s an ornate wooden box, weighted and carefully placed beside a fresh gravestone. Inside the small oak rectangle with carved vines throughout the wood, sits a brand new mass market copy of the Robin Hood.
***
After Jason’s grand return goes up in flames, he goes to ground. Focuses on getting his head on straight, recovering physically and mentally, and building a better foundation for his new criminal empire.
“The last guy paid for his shipment in cash,” Williamson says, handing Jason an envelope full of money.
Jason, having had a long day (working on oneself is hard work in case anyone was thinking of doing it) answers with a wave of his hand. “Give it to your neighbours. Rent is expensive these days.”
Williamson smirks. “Like a modern day, Robin Hood, hey boss?”
Jason ignores him and trudges home. He freezes when he spots a box on the mat in front of his apartment. Hesitantly, he opens the box and takes the note from on top.
I found this one in a second hand bookstore, probably came from some rich guys collection, anyway the cover is red and it made me think of you
-D
He pulls back the tissue paper. He groans at the copy of Robin Hood staring him in the face. He grabs the box aggressively, dropping it on the kitchen island and forgetting about it as he heads to the bathroom for a shower.
Like Robin Hood, indeed.
***
Jason thinks his life was much better when he wasn’t on good terms with the family. At least then he wasn’t getting blown up just to save Timothy Drake’s life and then ending up benched and bedridden in return.
The only brightside is that Dick was right there with him, having gone after Damian in the same way Jason went after Tim. So they both got blown up and they both ended up benched and bed ridden.
Jason will admit the worry he felt for Dick was worse than any of his own injuries. When the building went down, trapping them inside, concrete had come down and pinned Dick to the ground, making Jason’s concussion and bruised ribs look like nothing.
Now as Dick groans for the seventeenth time out of partly pain but mostly boredom, Jason thinks he should have left Dick under the building. Jason pushes himself out of bed and starts digging around in the med-bay drawers.
“Jay, you're supposed to be resting.” Dick protests.
Jason ignores him. When he’s found what he’s looking for, he crosses over to Dick’s bed. “Move over, Dickhead.” He crawls up, next to the older man and pulls out his prize. “Have you read Robin Hood ?” He asks conspiratorially.
Dick grins and shakes his head, playing along.
“Well good, though I have no idea what happened to this poor book if it's never been read before.” He teases, gesturing to the ripped cover and bent pages.
Dick shrugs. “I’m sure it came like that.”
Jason shakes his head then clears his throat and begins to read.