Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After a strenuous year of training with Batman, Jason was finally allowed to join him on his overnight patrols. He was ecstatic until, another couple months later, Nightwing suggested he join the Teen Titans. He had convinced Batman as well. For Jason to get more experience, work alongside superheroes his age, and also become his successor—since Nightwing had moved on to become the leader of the Young Justice League.

Jason was a little hesitant. The sixteen-year-old wanted to fight crime, get stronger, instill fear, clean up the streets, and blow off some steam while he was at it. He wasn’t really there to make friends, and neither did he need them, but as a direct order from Batman, he obliged.

So, there he was, standing with Nightwing in his Robin gear in the center of the Mount Justice cave, being introduced to Superboy and the others.

“You’re Dick’s successor? Welcome to the team.” Super boy smiled.

Jason nodded curtly. Around the same time, a young twelve-year-old Beast Boy, fourteen-year-olds Blue Beetle, and Wonder Girl walked in. They all greeted their new member.

They scattered shortly after. “Hey, so you’re going to be the new Robin? What are you into? You want to come check out my room?” All except Beast Boy. “I can show you my animal figurines.”

Jason didn’t know how to politely refuse that, feeling the direct energy a little too much for his first time. Socializing had never been his strong suit. As if he had time to make friends when he was struggling to simply survive on the streets of Gotham. Jason opened his mouth to say something at the least, but before he could, the zetatube chimed.

“Enter, Red Arrow, B06.” It announced.

They all turned to see Roy enter the premises in his Red Arrow uniform with his bows and arrows strapped to his back. Jason stared at the older teen, serious expression, built, tall, muscular—accentuated by his sleeveless red top—and the arrows sticking out from his back added to the whole ‘cool’ look. The guy walked with an aura of his own. Jason knew who Red Arrow was, but not at the same time. He had only studied his profile once in the hero catalogue in the Batcomputer. However, in person it was a different story, but Jason wasn’t about to be intimidated.

“Red Arrow! Good timing, come here and meet the new Robin.” Nightwing flagged.

Jason stood his ground, like he meant business, watching silently as the redhead raised a brow and stepped over to them. Roy came to a stop in front of them, towering over Jason slightly, who initially looked up at him. He was about a head taller than the sixteen-year-old.

Jason waited for the other to say something first. “This is Jason; he’s the new Robin.”

“Oh? The lineage continues? Cool.” Red Arrow remarked, not entirely interested, the aloofness making Jason frown for some reason. “Welcome to the team then. I’m assuming you're going to meet the former Robin’s standards?” He smirked and crossed his arms, as if testing the teen or setting a threshold already.

“Or better.” Jason defied, evoking a scoff from the elder. He must have liked the answer.

“Anyway, I just came back for some refills on my arrows before I head out.” Roy began walking away.

“Wait, you’re going out again?”

“Of course, work isn’t going to do itself.”

“But you’ve been out for days.” Nightwing complained while following him, leaving Jason standing there.

“Yeah, and someone has to do it. And I won’t stop until I find him.”

‘Him?’ Jason wondered. However, there was no stopping the redhead, so he eventually left the cave after grabbing a drink from the kitchen.

Nightwing returned to Jason with a sigh. “Hey, sorry about that. Come with me; I’ll take you to your room.” The teen followed, and they placed his stuff on the bed. He didn’t bring too much since he would still be working part-time with Batman in the Batcave and needed to move between the two locations. “Well, I’ll see you later. If you have any questions or need anything, you can ask anyone, cool?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine.” Jason waved off, and Dick closed the door behind him. The teen sat on the bed with an exhale. ‘Why is he even bothering? I still can’t decide if he’s putting on a nice façade or genuinely wants me to be here.’

He couldn’t really tell how to feel about these arrangements. He preferred it being only him and Batman in the Batcave. The ravenette took the mask off when he received no alert from Batman to patrol that night, eventually changing into casual clothes as well. 

The next morning, it was quiet, empty. But Jason liked it that way. It made sneaking out of his room and into the kitchen a lot simpler. He opened the fridge door to scavenge for some breakfast, ducking his head down. While he was debating, he stood up straight again, nearly having a heart attack to find a random green woman standing right on the other side of the fridge door.

“What the heck, lady—” Jason exclaimed, startled.

“Hi! You must be the new Robin! Oh my god, that’s so nice.” She cheered, except her lips weren’t moving, and Jason was getting a sharp headache.

‘Wait, she didn’t—he could hear her—in his head?!’

“Urrghhh,” Jason groaned. The feeling was weird and stung initially.

“Oh, sorry, sorry, I was so excited and looking forward to meeting Dick’s protégé that I involuntarily created a psychic link.” She laughed sheepishly.

“Wait, wait—first of all, it’s Batman's protégé. Second, psychic link?”

“It’s just a way we can communicate telepathically with the rest of the team, especially during missions.”

“Okay…” Yeah, he wasn’t freaked out about that at all. Right. Though he’d lie if he didn’t think that was kind of badass.

“I’m Mis—”

“Miss Martian.”

“But you can call me M'gann.”

“Okay.” He said flatly.

‘Well, he was certainly more serious and reserved than Dick. But it truly felt like they were getting older—to have their own protégés or next generation taking on their mantles.’ M’gann mused.

“Anyway, I couldn’t help but notice you were looking to make some breakfast. Can I help? Maybe we can fix something for the rest of the sleepyheads?” She offered.

“Sure, whatever.” The teen shrugged. He didn’t care as long as she wasn’t too in his face or annoying. She started levitating things and put them on the counter. Jason took the eggs and beat them in a bowl.

“Can you cook?”

“Mh, the basics, enough to survive.” He told. They made some toast and omelets with sliced-up avocados. As the smell of breakfast dispersed into the halls and rooms, more of the teens slowly began emerging from their rooms, coming into the dining room. It was…certainly a different, homey vibe…one Jason wasn’t so used to.

“Okay, team Alpha assemble. You’re going to infiltrate the warehouse. Team Beta will be on standby.”

“Where’s Robin?” Blue Beetle questioned.

“He… had to go with Batman tonight, so it’s just us right now.”

Meanwhile, on the other side, Robin and Batman hopped out of the Batmobile as it came to a full stop in the Batcave. Jason took off his domino mask to reveal a nasty cut under his eye with the skin around it inflamed.

“Jason, you were being too reckless.” Batman scolded.

“Was I? I don’t think so.” Jason could be a little hardheaded and stubborn sometimes.

“You were. Don’t go charging in; you need a strategy, not just brute strength. You’re still inexperienced.”

“Okay, okay.” Jason brushed him off, waving a hand and heading towards the showers. Personally, he wasn’t in the mood for lectures. Even if Batman was talking sense, his stubbornness and pride didn’t allow it.

When the teen returned, Batman was sitting on the Batcomputer with his cowl off. “Study these criminals and their techniques along with a few villains I’ve bookmarked here.” Bruce demanded the moment he was out.

“Mh.” Jason concurred.

“But first, have Alfred take a look at that.” The elder referred to his eye.

“It’s okay; it’s not that bad.”

A few days went by before the teen was back at Mount Justice carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder and a box of his belongings. Batman informed him that he’d be helping out the Teen Titans for a while with one of their main ongoing missions. Hence, he brought some more clothes and stuff to keep him occupied, including books from Bruce’s library. He was dressed in a zipped-up hoodie and shades to cover his healing cut.

He moved across the central space in the cave, only moments away from the zetatube activating and a huge green gorilla rushing past him, knocking his shoulder ruthlessly along the way. This threw Jason off balance, knocking over some of the contents of the box along with his shades even as he tried to balance himself. ‘Man, he should’ve taped the top if he knew he was dealing with idiots.’

Jason clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Ah, crap!” Beast Boy reverted back to his human form.

“See! I told you to watch where you were going, ese!” Blue Beetle exclaimed.

“Heyy, it’s not entirely my fault! You were chasing me!” Beast Boy whined.

“I wasn’t trying to kill you!” Jaime argued before turning to Jason. “Sorry, amigo.” But Jason just ignored the two, not wanting to start a physical fight right there. Jaime and Garfield helped him pick up the books and put them back in the box. He didn’t care until another hand extended in front of his face, holding his sunglasses.

Jason looked up, the light casting on his face, and recognized Roy in his Red Arrow outfit again. Roy just happened to be leaving and noticed the ruckus. The elder met eyes with him, staring directly into his now exposed turquoise eyes, and he was taken aback by them. Roy was momentarily mesmerized by the unique colored eyes that looked up at him—fierce, full of life and hope, yet still holding some innocence in them. They also contrasted well with his jet-black hair. That’s when he also noticed the dark red cut under the younger’s eye.

“Um, can I have those back?” Jason didn’t understand why the other just froze like that and asked for the shades back. The redhead blinked and cleared his throat, mentally cursing himself for the uncharacteristic zone-out, before handing them back.

Jason re-wore them on his face before lifting his box.

‘Who? Did we even have such a person in the team?’ Roy genuinely pondered for a second there with a hand on his chin, looking away.

“Robin! Here you go.” Beast Boy answered that question for him as he passed Jason the last of his stuff.

Roy snapped. ‘Robin? Oh, this was Robin?’ He hadn’t seen him in regular clothes, and truthfully, he wasn’t paying too much attention that day during the introductions. His mind was elsewhere with all the late-night patrolling. ‘Are all the Robins so small and cute?’

Jason glanced at Roy, who was unknowingly staring again. Upon noticing that, the redhead averted his face and walked past them. Jason also went his way to his room, ditching Garfield and Jaime.

“Someone’s cranky.” Jaime remarked, receiving an elbow from Gar.

The team found themselves in Star City for a random errand, but of course, they ran into a crime scene. Getting into covert positions, they witnessed a few men transporting some large containers. That is, until one of them threw the containers towards the hiding teens, suspecting they were being watched. The teens scatter and start fighting them off. There was a point in time where one of the men took out a rocket launcher and aimed it at them. Instead of ducking away, Jason did the unexpected and leaped forward, throwing an explosive batarang in the exact direction to intercept it. An explosion took place mid-air, invalidating the missile while Jason landed on the ground away from the explosion, dodging any falling debris. Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl simply stared at him in awe.

Before the man could launch it again, an arrow struck the guy straight in the shoulder, emitting a polyurethane foam to trap the guy in. They all turned to find Red Arrow standing at the top of a building.

“So the new kid’s got some moves.” He scoffed, hoping down. “I can’t tell if that was stupid luck or meticulously planned.”

“Regardless, it got the job done, didn’t it?” Jason said distantly.

“So, it did…” 'Interesting.' Jason’s demeanor and boldness reminded him of himself sometimes.

“Red Arrow? What are you doing here?” Blue Beetle asked.

“Hello, it’s my city. And I happened to hear some commotion in my backyard.”

“Thanks for the help then!” Wonder Girl pumped.

“It’s too early to celebrate yet—watch out!” Roy pointed out as the other two men came running towards them. However, with four against two, they were easily subdued.

“Nice work, guys! And you, Red Ar—huh? Where’d he go?” The blonde looked around, confused when she couldn’t find the eldest member. Jason also hadn’t noticed when he left, but nor did he care. When the teens went through the shipment, it seemed there was nothing of actual substance or importance.

“So…they were normal truckers?” Jaime asked, puzzled.

“Or…a decoy.” Wonder Girl pondered.

After some research and digging, Nightwing uncovered the men’s secret. “That was indeed a decoy shipment. It seemed there’s something else they want transported and don’t want anyone else to know. The Light could be involved, but we’re not sure yet. For now, we need to track down the real shipment and acquire it.” He told over the visual intercom.

Miss Martian took over and presented a holographic map. “We suspect the next one to take place in this location.” She pointed to a certain set of coordinates on the map. Jaime, Jason, Cassie, and Garfield all listened. Garfield was still young and didn’t partake in all the missions, but he definitely enjoyed the debriefing and sometimes tagged along on smaller ones.

“Enter, Red Arrow, B06.” The zetatube activated.

“Hold it.” Roy stepped out and interrupted their briefing.

Chapter Text

“Hold it.” Roy interrupted.

“Red Arrow?” Super Boy echoed.

“That’s another goose chase they’re about to send you all off on.” Roy denounced.

“What? But how do you…?” M’gann began, but the redhead continued.

“I’ve already checked that place; it’s another fraud. And from my understanding after perusing all other parts of town, there have been multiple decoys to tip us off.”

“If that’s another decoy, then where does that leave us?” Super Boy asked.

“Ever heard of a little roughin’ and toughin’?” Roy smirked, causing Super Boy to raise a confused brow. “Forget it. I got one of the men to confess where he might suspect the actual location is.”

“And he told you, just like that?” Miss Martian posed.

“Of course not. I had to give him an incentive.” The redhead scoffed with a grin, showing his beet-red knuckles. The other teens gawked at him and back at each other, all equally impressed. Jason merely rolled his eyes. He could’ve done that.

“Okay, let’s not advocate blind violence.” M’gann disclaimed.

“Alright then, let’s get the bioship ready and head over.” Super Boy announced. Roy double-checked his arrows and began walking away from the bioship. “Aren’t you coming with?”

“On that thing? No offense, but I like to get around my own way. I’ve sent you the coordinates.” The redhead saluted with two fingers.

“Suit yourself.” The Martian told and hopped on.

Once they arrived miles away from the actual location, all the teens and Super Boy lept out. Miss Martian stayed on board after activating the telepathic link. Super Boy, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, Robin, and Red Arrow all crouched on top of a rooftop some distance away. They watched as four men loaded sacks of rice and flour into shipment trucks. Super Boy used his x-ray vision to perceive smaller containers inside the sacks, confirming their suspicions. There were two trucks and about four to five men in total.

“Let’s split; we’ll take down one each and approach them from behind. Remember, stealth mode.” The half-Kryptonian told. “Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, you guys take the ones on the right. Robin and Red Arrow, you guys take the left. I’ll handle the guy inside the warehouse.”

“Understood.” Blue Beetle and the others nodded, and just like that, they climbed down the rooftop separately. Some of them hid behind buildings, dumpster cans, and poles until both teams were on their tails.

“Follow my lead.” Red Arrow commanded as he and Jason approached from the left, hiding behind the trees not too far from the warehouse.

Jason huffed. It seemed wherever he went, he always had to take orders. “I know how to fight and deal with a bunch of lowlife criminals. Batman, remember?”

“I said. Follow my lead.”

Okay, now that attitude was beginning to annoy Jason, as he scowled at the other’s back. Once Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl attacked, Red Arrow and Robin jumped on that cue as well. A fight broke out, and one of the men even tried to escape via driving the truck out, but Super Boy jumped in and yanked him out.

Inconveniently, there was a child who walked into view, and one of the henchmen used him as a target, throwing one of the sacks towards the kid. As soon as he did, the man started running away.

“He’s getting away! Robin!” Red Arrow called out, but Jason refused to comply and hopped towards the shocked, frozen bystander instead, shielding him from the attack. Red Arrow che’d at the change of plans and chased after the man instead. He positioned his gear and successfully launched an arrow to seize him. In the end, they were all detained. All but one, because when they counted, there were only four men, not five. It appeared one of them escaped with the substance.

“Mission somewhat successful...” Super Boy tried. “Time to head back. Still, good work team.”

“Most of the team at least.” Roy didn’t fail to point out. “Those who can follow directions.”

There was obvious tension brewing between Roy and Jason, and the rest of the team could see that in the moment.

“If you have something to say, then just say it directly.” The others didn’t expect Jason to say that as they stared between the two.

“I would if it didn’t fall on deaf ears.”

“You treat me like some rookie when I’ve been fighting alongsideBatman for a whole year now—I know what I’m doing.” Jason argued.

“Batman isn’t here. And a year is no experience.” Red Arrow narrowed his eyes while he solemnly critiqued.

“Guys? I think we all did a great job...” Cassie attempted to soften the mood, but they blatantly ignored her.

“Cassie isn’t wrong; let’s head back first. M’gann is bringing the ship down.” Conner added, stepping closer to them. However, Jason had had enough and took off on his own into the forest. He couldn’t be bothered anymore because he wasn’t about to get disrespected like that. “Robin!” Super Boy called after him, but to no avail.

“Great.” Roy sarcastically remarked.

“Not great.” Miss Martian interjected. “Don’t you think you were a little harsh on him? He protected a civilian, which is equally important, and you know that. Sure, he didn’t listen to a direct order, but you’re not very easy to work with either, you know.”

“Yes, yes, it’s my fault now.” Roy rolled his eyes, and the couple gave him a sour look. “Okay, fine. You guys head back; I’ll make sure to track him down and drop him off at the den.”

The two elders sighed before taking the rest of the team back on the ship. Shortly after, Roy went after Jason, with no idea where he could be, but he couldn’t have gotten far, he presumed. The forest wasn’t vast and flanked the other side of the city. 

‘Or could he?’ Roy scratched his head. ‘Perhaps he didn’t need to single him out like that.’ He didn’t know why he was so critical when he was aware he was a newbie. He wanted attention? Get under the younger’s skin? He was impressed but annoyed at the same time.

Finally, Roy caught wind of the back of Robin's head and the black-yellow cape. Albeit, before he could catch up to him, Jason noticed him as well and tried to make a run for it again. He instantly shot his grappling gun to hook on to a higher building, but Roy acted faster and launched an arrow to deflect it. The teen instantly evading like that almost pierced Roy’s ego there, but he’ll bury that feeling today. 

“Running away?” Roy called out.

‘He always sounded so damn condescending.’ Jason thought with a frown. “Back off! Why are you even here?”

Roy jumped closer to him until he was only a foot away, staring down into the domino mask, wondering how angry those turquoise eyes must be looking. Why was he borderline okay with that?

“What do you think you’re doing?” Roy interrogated. ‘No, that’s not what he wanted to say.’

“That should be my question.” Jason grunted as he began to turn away again.

“You’re not allowed to go rogue; I promised Miss Martian and Super Boy I’d drop you home.” The elder said, arms crossed.

“Hmph, well, you shouldn’t keep promises you can’t keep then.”

“Don’t gimme that.” The redhead sighed and followed behind when the teen started walking away. ‘Teenagers,’ He thought.

After a couple minutes of silent walking, Jason spoke without looking back. “Stop following me. What are you a stalker now?”

“More like a babysitter at this point.” Roy muttered.

“What?!”

“…You’re fast.”

That made Jason whip his head around in complete confusion. “Huh?

“You’re a fast learner, but you bite off more than you can chew sometimes, putting yourself and others at risk.” Roy expanded on his prior statement.

 Jason stopped in his steps for a second, surveying him, but eventually averted his face. “I’ve heard that before…”

Roy took that opportunity to come closer. “I’m sure you have. It’s not so bad when you’re working solo, but with a team, it’s a different story.''

“Hn,” The ravenette scoffed. “And you’d know about that—don’t you always work alone? Doing your own thing, following your own agenda, not caring what others say.”

“Okay, listen kid, I never said I led by example.” Roy closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming. Jason was hitting all the right points, though. ‘Geez this kid. He was difficult yet entertaining to talk to.’

“I’m not a kid. I’m sixteen.”

“Right.” Roy responded flatly. “Okay, Mr. sixteen year old, time to go back.”

“I grew up on the streets of Gotham, as if I’d need an escort to go back.” The ravenette boasted.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure ya have but I’m on babysitter—I mean there's something called responsibility.” Roy needed this night to end already. “I have to get back there too. Now we can do this the hard way or—”

“Fine, let’s go already. I’m hungry.” The teen’s voice cut him off, also impatiently adding. “Why are you still standing there?” While Roy was grumbling, eyes closed, Jason was already eons ahead of him, making him look like the slow and difficult one now.

'This little brat.’ Roy mentally cursed with a witty smile.

They finally zeta'ed back, and M’gann was glad to see them. “Finally, I thought you both got lost for a second there or worse.”

“Yeah, no big deal, just needed a breather. I’m gonna go change.” Jason dismissed.

“Go ahead.” The Martian smiled. “Thanks, Roy.” She thanked him after he left.

“Yeah don’t mention it. So happy to provide charity help.”

“Haha, don’t say that.”

“I’m going to head out as well now. If you get a chance, tell the kid to follow orders.” He almost left it there. Almost. “…and that it’s admirable that his priority was protecting an innocent life. See ya.”

“Shouldn’t you say that yourself?”

Roy only smirked in response and left the cave.

After Jason showered and re-entered the living room, Miss Martian came over to him.

“Hope you’re feeling better now.”

“I’m fine.” The ravenette replied.

“Also, Roy can be a tough one, but he agrees that it was commendable that you protected someone at all costs.”

Jason was taken aback by that, suddenly feeling bashful and needing to wipe his face with his towel, equally glancing away. ‘And he acts all standoffish for no reason.’ Well, technically, if he thought back, he did compliment him for being a fast learner…

He didn’t see Roy for a few weeks after that. Not a sound, mention, nor appearance. But not like Jason was counting…

After they received intel of where the secret container went to, their next mission was to obtain the chemical and arrest the person in charge. This time Super Boy stayed back in the ship to provide oversight and to jump in if things got out of control.

The mission consisted of Robin, Beast Boy, and Blue Beetle. Wonder Girl was helping Wonder Woman today. The teens sneaked in, waiting for the doctor in charge to leave the lab before they stole a sample of the chemical.

“Nice, we got it.” Blue Beetle whispered. Except that’s when the lab doors reopened and the same doctor entered again. He must have forgotten something. “Crap!” He hissed. The doctor gawked, immediately running and slamming a button on his desk, which initiated a lockdown process. Beast Boy turned into Gorilla mode and tried his hardest to keep the gates open with his bare arms.

The doctor attempted an escape, but both Blue Beetle and Robin acted at the same time without coordination and clashed into each other instead of stopping him. As disorienting as that was, Jason still recovered quickly and swung a batarang straight at the man. After the man fell, succumbing to the explosion, Jason jumped on top and began punching him.

Blue Beetle flew towards the lockdown switch and halted the process. Beast Boy finally let go with a ‘phew!’ as he reverted back to his human form. The teens got the sample and detained the doctor before returning to the bioship.

“How’d it go? You guys okay?” Conner met them at the ship.

“We got the sample.” Blue reinsured. “With minor repercussions.” He glanced at Robin.

“Someone had to go after the doctor.” Jason defended, ignoring the growing pain in his arm. “I thought it was pretty obvious.”

“Our job wasn’t to get him killed—” Jaime began.

“He wasn’t gonna—”

“Let's save it for now and head back to report to Nightwing first.” Conner concluded, and they complied.

When they arrived, and after the debriefing, Nightwing heard Blue Beetle out first before confronting Jason moments later. “Hey,”

“What?” Jason saved the pleasantries.

“Good work out there, but we need to work on team coordination and communication. Every member of the team needs to communicate with the other so tasks can be properly delegated without having blunders like we did tonight. When you work with Batman, your roles are defined and solid, and you can move independently, but understand that it’s different here, Robin.”

Jason sighed. “Yeah, understood.” He winced after the words left his mouth.

“What’s wrong?” The elder asked concerned.

“Nothing, just my arm, I think, when I …” The younger trailed off, not wanting to verbalize the embarassing collision he had with Jaime’s armor but also certain Dick would understand what he was referring to.

“Let’s have it examined before you retire for the night.” Nightwing practically ordered. The teen nodded.

And so they did, to discover he was suffering from a sprain in his left arm and needed to wear a wrist-forearm brace. Yes, he was mostly left-handed.

“Just what I need.” Jason sarcastically added.

“Now, now, injuries have to be taken seriously; no missions for you until your arm fully heals.” Nightwing told.

“Even better.” The teen deadpanned. ‘Now, what was he going to do?’

"It's just for a short amount of time; I think you'll live." The elder mused.

It was midnight, and the younger struggled to fall asleep. It also wasn’t the most comfortable to be confined to one sleeping position, just to avoid accidental pressure on his left arm. His body felt heavy against the firm mattress, and the silence was loud in his room, yet somehow still managing to distract him from sleeping.

Eventually, he gave up and decided to make his way to one of the top ridges of the mountain, turning it into an imaginary make-believe roof. He sat with one leg dangling off the edge and one knee up, using it as a place to rest his arm and chin while he stared into the night. The air was cool but not chilly. The lake next to them was as dark as the night sky above. In contrast, the layer of houses adjacent to it sparkled with tiny lights. Regardless, the atmosphere was fresh, freeing, and calming.

However, his senses were still sharp. Even in the light howl of the wind, he quickly picked up on another presence, seeing a shadow approach from the corner of his eye. 

“Show yourself.” Jason mouthed, eyes rotated in that direction.

Chapter Text

“Show yourself.” Jason demanded.

“Don’t kill me yet.” A familiar redhead stepped out of the shadows.”

“You?” The teen mouthed with complete bewilderment. Roy was the last person he was anticipating to see.

“I have a name, you know.” As usual, Roy was in his Red Arrow outfit—when was he not? Is what Jason really wanted to know. At this point, he bet the elder slept in it too.

“Do you sleep in that too?” Jason had to ask. “Speaking of which, the bedrooms aren’t up here; I think you’re lost.” 

“Har, har, didn’t peg you as a comedian.”

“You say that like you even know me.”

“So, I don’t. Then what are you doing up here alone?” Roy studied him to check for any signs of tech or weapons on the teen. For all they know, he could be a traitor, considering how suspicious and withdrawn he acted.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Jason blurted as he looked back into the horizon again. To Roy’s surprise, the younger answered him normally.

“I see…” That warranted Roy to give him a casual response as well.

“And you? Mountain hopping?”

“I was about to head inside and couldn’t help but notice a suspicious figure on the top.”

Jason snorted, stifling a mini laugh, but that was enough to drop a fraction of Roy’s guard. He watched as the teen’s lips secretly curled up in amusement. Jason was wearing a red hoodie with some dark sweats, hair flowing in the breeze, and turquoise eyes glimmering in the moonlight. The redhead swallowed once and walked closer to sit down on the ledge as well.

He may have done that, but there was realistically nothing to say from either of them. The silence stretched between them in the tranquil night.

“Being a hero isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, huh?” The ravenette started first.

 “Hm,” That caught Roy off guard. “Depends on how you saw it to begin with.”

“Yeah…I guess…” Jason wanted to delve deeper, but he left it at that. It just didn’t seem like they were close enough to have inner emotional conversations yet. Instead, he just enjoyed the breeze, lowered his gaze and let the night silently carry his burdens.

“It never goes the way you think sometimes, but you have to make the most of it. Doing good, that’s what makes it worth it in the end.” Roy continued unprovoked. Jason nodded on his own. As they continued to sit there in each other’s wordless presence, he could feel them slowly learning to open up and get comfortable with each other.

Another few days went by. Jason groggily walked down the stairs, passing by a figure standing adjacent to one of the walls next to the staircase.

“Someone’s sleepwalking.” It wasn’t until after he passed them and he heard a familar voice that Jason physically jumped out of his skin, wide awake now.

“What is up with people here showing up like ghosts?” The ravenette let out, unfiltered.

“That’s the art of stealth.” Roy was standing all cool and nonchalant with his arms crossed. “On the other hand, you should be prepared at any time.”

“Great~ another lecture. Do me a favor and spare me the lessons; it’s too early for my brain. Plus, I think I’ve gotten enough of those already.” Jason lazily waved him off and trudged towards the kitchen.

“Oh yeah? Nightwing?”

“Nightwing, Batman, some rants from Blue, you name it.” The teen answered while browsing through the fridge. He wasn’t feeling leftovers, but he couldn’t complain, so he took a can out.

“Aw.” Roy teased and earned a direct glare from Jason. The redhead raised a brow when he saw the arm brace. “How is it you’re injured every time I see you?”He must not have noticed it that night when the teen was sitting outside. It was indeed dark, and Jason was turned away.

“Don’t even mention it.” The ravenette didn’t want to start with that. Apparently, Roy didn’t stop by too often, but whenever he did, he always had the best timing.

“Is that what you’re eating?” The redhead mouthed astonished.

Jason shrugged. “Can’t be bothered with anything else.”

“Yeah…that’s depressing.” The elder shook his head. “There’s no way you can eat that.”

“What do you suggest?”

“…” Roy considered it seriously. “We’re going out.” Now that was unlike him. He had no reason to care and didn’t know why he suggested it, but the statement was already out. There was a brief voluntary pause, and Jason looked like he was contemplating it for a second.

“No thanks.” He ultimately spat. Roy internally gawked at the straightforwardness after he went out of his way to make an invite. The redhead was actually offended; it felt like a stab to his chest, and now his ego was making it his mission to take the teen out.

“Fine, if that’s going to be your idea of protein. It’s no wonder your bones are made of twigs.” Roy berated like a petty, pouting child.

“Why are you even here?” Jason’s shoulders slumped, and he looked up at him with a flat expression. “Aren’t you normally always on the run?”

“Run? Correction: I’m on a reconnaissance.”

“Right...” It was clear the teen didn’t believe him.

“Geez you act the complete opposite of how you look.” The redhead confessed. And he thought he was difficult.

“What?” Jason raised a puzzled brow, not following at all.

“Never mind. So, the offer still stands.” Roy crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. “Are you sure you want to eat that expired can of beans? Or would you rather try out one of the meanest burgers in town? That is, only if your palate can take the flavor.”

Jason had been cooped up at home for the past couple of days ever since the arm injury, so a small trip to get some fast food didn’t sound like the worst idea ever. Honestly, Roy probably had him at ‘burger’. That alone was enough of a reason.

“Fine~” The teen drawled like he was doing the other a favor. The redhead picked up on that gesture and found it coy, a little cute even.

“Okay then, meet me at the exit in ten minutes.” Roy claimed and disappeared into the rooms. Jason pulled on his usual red hoodie and wore his shoes, waiting for the elder. When Roy finally came back down, he was dressed in casual clothes—for the first time. It took Jason by surprise, and he unknowingly stared longer than he needed to. He was amazed that the elder even owned casual clothing. The redhead was dressed in a grey T-shirt underneath a red and black leather jacket, opened from the front—all sitting atop a pair of black jeans. He finished the look with dark sunglasses to keep his identity still somewhat concealed. On the other hand, Jason skipped his shades for today.

‘Well bummer, no idea what his eyes look like.’ Jason was oddly disappointed. 

Even though Roy didn’t live here, he stopped by often; hence, he had spare clothes and equipment stored in one of the empty rooms. It seemed he had been away, out of the city or even country, for a few weeks and now he was back to searching locally.

They exited the cave and walked to the bus stop. “Wow.” Jason was ready to make a taunt about being heroes with fancy vehicles and tech but taking the bus like this.

“Save it.” But Roy killed his buzz. “Not everyone’s a millionaire.”

“I didn’t say anything. Yet.” The teen flickered his gaze away, semi-guilty. “Where is the place?”

“On the other side of town.” The arrow master answered as they stood inside the bus. The bus suddenly braked, and they fumbled once. Jason could only hold with one arm, and it wasn’t enough, so he rocked backward. To his saving grace, Roy instinctually placed a hand on his back for support, stabilizing him.

After that close second, bodies almost brushing against each other, the pair straightened, and Jason bashfully looked away.  “Maybe the bus wasn’t the best idea.” The teen mouthed for the sake of mouthing.

“A thank you would suffice.” Roy remained unfazed.

Now the ravenette was beginning to feel bratty and guilty. “Thanks…” He mumbled, slightly embarrassed. That brought some triumph to Roy’s mood, like he won a carnival game.

“We're almost there.” The redhead announced, still unsure how or why he ended up here today, with a teen six years his junior. Furthermore, who he hardly hung out with or saw eye to eye, but regardless, it was a nice distraction. And funny enough, the teen was amusing and different to be with.

They finally arrived at the joint. Roy requested a table for two and they were led to one of the empty tables lined by padded benches on both sides, near the window. They sat across from each other, and when the waitress came around, Roy gave the order. The pair sat in silence for a bit. It was an interesting outing; they weren’t friends and had probably exchanged a total of ten words between them in the past, but here they were.  

Their burgers came, and they smelled delicious. Jason’s mouth was watering, as he bit into it, feeling the hot, moist, savory bite melt onto his tongue. The teen’s eyes lit up as he processed the different flavors. The redhead stared at him, the wordless reaction being loud and clear.

“This is… so damn good.” Jason confessed.

“Hah, right?” Roy smirked, adding that as another win. “What did I say?”

“Where did you find this place?” The ravenette asked, impressed as he continued to bite. The elder sat back, proud of himself and of the recognition that he deserved, especially after how hesitant the younger was initially.

“Just stumbled across it dying for a meal one day.”

“Sweet.” After that, they continued eating in silence, maybe making a small comment about the other heroes here and there.

After they ate, Roy paid for the meal and they were on their way. Jason thought that was unnecessary but very generous. Then again, he was older, so he guessed it made sense.

“Er, thanks.” Jason squeaked once they were outside.

“What was that, I didn’t hear anything.” The redhead feigned ignorance.

“Ugh,”

“You know, if you’re going to say something you might as well—”

“I said thanks, ok? Thanks, for the meal.” Jason forced. “Jeez, not only do you look all tough, but you act like a jerk too.”

“Ouch, I’ve been told otherwise. But wow, leave it to you to thank and insult in the same sentence.”

 Jason shot him a death glare but Roy cracked into a rare genuine smile, and that caught the teen off-guard.

''Anyway, time to take you back.”

“I can go back on my own.”

“Right, right, and hear crap from Dick because I abandoned his injured baby brother.”

“I’m not crippled; I’ve been through worse.” Jason started walking away.

“Oh yeah?” Roy followed behind.

“Yeah.”  

Roy would press more, but deemed his curiosity wasn’t enough of a reason. Moreover, he should be exploring why he even wanted to know.

They made it back to the cave, and Jason noticed Roy wasn’t following him into the entrance.

“You’re not coming?”

“I have somewhere else to be.”

“More ‘reconnaissance,’ huh?” Jason tested.

 “Something like that. Anyhow, take care of that arm.” The elder about-turned and left just like that. No goodbyes necessary, really. The teen walked into the zetatube. It wasn’t bad though. When was the last time he hung out with someone like that? Batman wasn’t exactly the bro type. And the other teens were too much for him at times or they were doing their own thing.  And Dick, he was always busy, plus Jason still didn’t know how comfortable to act with him. So far, ironically, Roy was the only one he could stomach, even if they butt heads sometimes. 

Roy stepped back into his apartment, switching the lights on. It was a small, average-sized apartment, living room and kitchen in the same space, the kitchen sink and stove area separated by a counter from the living room. He was a minimalist; there was only one sofa and one lamp. Following that was a short hall that led to the only bedroom and bathroom on opposite sides. He changed into his Red Arrow outfit. He took enough time off; now he had to go back and check out his leads. Who would’ve imagined finding his original would’ve been so difficult...that’s if he’s even still alive… Roy shook his head. He could only hope.

After the whole incident with the scientist and success with retrieving the chemical, the team didn’t have major missions. They went on multiple standalone missions. Jason also helped out Batman in his spare time.

One afternoon, M’gann clapped out loud while the others sat around in the cave. “I have a great idea!” All the teens looked up at her. “Since the last mission was a success and it’s been a tough few months. Why not have a chill night in?”

“Chill night?” Jaime was also hanging out at the cave currently.

“Yes. Oh! I know, a movie night!” M’gann exclaimed, having an epiphany.

“That sounds great! I’m in.” Cassie cheered along.

‘Oh boy, he’d rather be in his room…maybe.’ Jason thought.

“Me too! Especially after all that training!” Beast Boy added on.

“I guess sure, one night won’t hurt. As long as we have popcorn.” It seemed like Jaime was also on board.

“Geat! I'll force some of the others to join in as well, haha—oh! That’s right—the popcorn!” M’gann scrambled. “Cassie, you want to come with me to fetch some snacks?” The blond agreed.

‘Well, looks like he was staying by default.’ The ravenette deduced.

By evening fall, she had managed to call in Nightwing, Wally, Artemis, and Super boy. And somehow, lord knows how, she had also managed to drag Roy out of the woodwork. They all huddled in the living room, some on the sofa, some on the ground on cushions and blankets, all getting settled while they turned the TV on.

“So what genre are we thinking?” Nightwing asked.

“How about romantic comedy?” Cassie volunteered.

“Ohh, I like that one. I vote the same.” M'gann smiled.

“Ew, gross, no way, people. I say action with superheroes.”

“Action, vote right here! Cast it now~” Gar agreed.

“What are we, ten?” Roy griped. “And if you’re going for superhero, you might as well just go on patrol right now.”

“Hmm, how about the new slice of life comedy that came out a week ago?” Wally pointed out.

“Sure, I’ve heard some good things about that.” Dick agreed.

Jason audibly choked. “That one?? Of all the ones??” It was so abrupt that all of them turned to look at him. That was an outburst the team didn’t expect from Jason at all.  

The teen sighed. Suddenly he was serious. He was a vivid reader and sometimes movie watcher, so he couldn’t stand by while they selected some subpar film. “If you’re gonna watch a movie, then this one will do.” Jason requested the remote and picked out one on screen.

“This one? What genre is this?” Jaime asked.

“Thriller.” Jason told.

“…And how good is it, ese?”

Jason looked him dead in the eye, meaning business. “You won’t regret it.”

Jaime dared back before shrugging. “Fine by me, if I have your word. I vote this thriller.”

“Okay, me too.” Gar switched.

“Thriller doesn’t sound too bad either.” Cassie concurred.

Chapter Text

Dick laughed. “Okay, thriller it is. It’s refreshing to see this much energy.”

Just like that, one after another, they all got on board, shut the lights, and snuggled into place. The first half was chill, with a few personal commentaries from different members of the group, a few laughs, a few cries—the usual. The flashing lights from the TV being the only light on their faces. Halfway through, Jason got up from the side couch to get refills on his drink, but by the time he came back, he noticed his spot was taken. It seemed someone had moved.

He stood at the edge, studying the spaces before he decided where to squeeze into. M’gann and Super Boy were sitting together on the right-side loveseat. Cassie and Artemis were on the left loveseat. Gar and Jaime were on the right side of the floor, while Dick and Wally were on the left side of the floor, inside the border of sofas. The middle sofa directly across from the TV only had Roy sitting on it.

Well, it looks like he didn’t have a choice, did he? So, he scooted in and took a seat on the sofa with him. Roy didn’t move; he was leaning over to the other side but he noticed him sit down. Jason was also aware of it, even if neither of them moved or looked at each other. It didn’t mean anything, of course, yet they were both aware of it.

Another half an hour later, Roy was beginning to feel dull and idle, like he was twitching to do something productive, a routine he had gotten used to. By now he was leaning over the edge of the sofa, face resting on his knuckles. ‘Good thing I brought my mini tablet to look through some files.’ The redhead thought proudly as he glanced down at his electronic files.  However, out of curiosity he glanced over at his couch-mate and was dazed at how focused Jason was.

The teen’s eyes were lit white by the screen; he had an entirely engrossed expression, which Roy found innocent and darling. The elder ended up staring for a minute longer, and the younger never noticed.

Sooner or later, Jason got tired of sitting one way, so he leaned backwards onto the couch, pulling one knee up and holding it. After five to ten minutes, that knee fell down sideways and casually but accidentally bumped Roy’s thigh, who tensed. Jaosn flinched and awkwardly shifted away without saying anything.

Albeit, after that small gesture, he noticed Roy straighten his posture and lean back on the sofa as well, more centered than before. Previously he had been leaning more towards the arm, with a bored posture.  But now he had also crossed his arms in a comfortable position and ditched the tablet. Roy getting easy and joining their world put Jason at some kind of ease as well.

After the movie was over, the chatter erupted in the room, everyone talking all at once, either amongst themselves or across the room. There’s a soft moment where Roy leaned forward and admitted. “I guess that wasn’t completely terrible.”

Jason grinned triumphantly. “I told you.”

‘Cheeky,’ The redhead thought. The ravenette stood up and stretched while the others also scattered.

“Good movie though.” Wally also acknowledged.

“Yeah, I was amazed.” Dick leaned with a hand over his best friend’s shoulder.  Jason smiled and gave them a thumbs up. bye now, he was tired and just wanted to retreat to his room. Since it was late—early hours of the morning— the titans naturally stayed over. Dick and Wally spread some blankets on the sofas. Jaime crashed in Gar’s room, Artemis would stay in Cassie’s room by default. Which left Roy in question.

Roy had some belongings here, but they were mostly in the storage room.

“So, Roy where will you be sleeping?”  M’gann asked after they all decided on the sleeping arrangements.

The redhead stood up, noticing the dilemma. “It’s fine; I’ll just head back.”

“No, you have to stay, you can always room with someone. Whose room is still free?” M’gann pushed.

“Yeah ese, I’m sure we can find something.” Jaime agreed.  Jason felt bad, it was pretty late and it felt unfair to only single the redhead out.

“Okay, fine, then I guess I’ll room with Robin. His room is the only one left, am I right?” Roy voiced and Jason swung his head in his direction, speechless.

“Is that okay?” Dick asked and all eyes were on Jason.

“Uh, yeah, sure…that’s fine…” The teen went along. The pair went to his room. “By the way, I have a name too, not just Robin.”

Roy raised a brow. “Yeah.”

That was an odd response, Jason thought as he stared at him. That’s when he realized this was the first time he saw Roy’s eyes and features without the shades, and so up close too. He was unquestionably handsome, the red hair would be too bright for someone like Jason but it suited Roy well.  His eyes were a deep dark blue, like rare sapphire gems that were forever hidden and only graced by a few. They contrasted magically with his reddish orange hair.

“Right about that…” Roy looked away suspiciously, and that snapped Jason back to reality.

“Wait…don’t tell me…you don’t know? This entire time?” He gawked, truly astounded—even though nothing surprised him these days.

Roy scratched his cheek, guilty as charged. Like he said, when Dick was introducing them, his mind was elsewhere, and he was in a rush to go back to his search marathon.

“Woww you’re so…” The younger couldn’t even find the words to encapsulate how ignorant and aloof the elder was.

“Why don’t we do this again?” Roy held out his hand with a confident smile. “Won’t you tell me?” That almost sounded flirtatious, borderline tempting.

But Jason rudely turned away. “I’m not telling you. You forgot it, or didn’t hear it, you figure it out now. That’s your problem.” He walked towards the bathroom.

“You know I could just ask anyone in the house right?” Roy stuck his head out of the room, watching him leave.

“Che.”

“Oh hey, you guys heading to the bathroom too?” Artemis caught them in the hall.

“I am.” Jason told but kept walking, body language annoyed.

“Is everything okay?” the blond asked.

“He’s sulking.” Roy splat.

“I’m not sulking!” They both heard Jason scream from the bathroom. The elder titans gave each other a look before leaving it at that.

‘God he’s so annoying sometimes. I can’t believe he forgot my name this entire time. He’s so full of himself.’

By the time the teen returned, Roy had taken off his jacket and pants, leaving him in only his grey half-sleeved T-shirt and boxer shorts. When Jason opened the door, he was not expecting to see that sight sprawled on the floor. So for a moment he froze at the doorway. Roy was laying on a thick quilt on the floor, head propped up by an elbow as he looked through a book.

‘Wait, no why was he freaking out—they were both guys.’ The teen shook some sense back into himself. Jason was so fixated that he didn’t recognize the book the other was holding. “That’s mine.” He mouthed.

“Oh, welcome back, Jason.” The name undulated like a wave when Roy said it in his somber, even voice. 

“Well that was fast.” Jason hid the mild flattery he was feeling. “So now you know.”

 “I didn’t think you’d be into books.” The redhead nonchalantly changed the topic, looking back at the book's front cover. “You have quite the collection, it seems.”

“Don’t just go snooping into other people’s things.”

“I was bored, and you let me in.”

“Correction, you invited yourself in.”

“But still, not a bad pick.”

“I’m sure you find them a waste of time or childish.” Jason walked over to his bed, challenging the other. Or was he looking for approval?

“Hm, on the contrary, it’s not bad for a fine young man to have some intellectual hobbies outside of crime fighting.” Roy smiled sideways.

Jason didn’t even notice when his lips were creeping upwards. “They’re pretty good. The only time you feel like you’re outside the miserable constraints of this world, in a totally different realm.”

“I can see that.” Roy appreciated.

“Anyway, I wanna sleep.” Jason deemed that was enough opening up for one night. He still wasn’t used to it.

“Go ahead.” The redhead shut the book and Jason turned off the lamp.

Jason’s arm had long healed, and he would continue to switch between the Batcave and Mount Justice. Time was flying by fast, and he had gotten used to his routine. He was also becoming more comfortable with the rest of the league, Cassie’s comments, Gar’s energy, and Jaime’s offers to hop on a game once in a while. He also couldn’t help pick up some Spanish words along the way. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, six months had already gone by since the first time he stepped into the Mount Justice Cave.

He had just turned seventeen. He also went to school on the side. Batman and the others thought it was a good idea. School was the last thing he cared about but in his defense, he only had about 2 years left of high school anyway.

As of right now, Batman needed him back in Gotham. Bats gave him a file for their next mission. Jason looked through and found it to be about Killer Croc. ‘That’s easy,’ He thought. He’d take care of it tonight and dump him back in Arkham. Nothing he was too concerned about. His homework was probably more concerning than this.  

Over the week, Jason could feel the fatigue build up. He was a little overworked between the Titans, Batman and then classes as well. The teen was so busy juggling multiple tasks all day and night that he might as well call himself Roy.

Presently, Robin was on a mission with Batman. They were chasing down a bunch of robbers. Jason made it to them first; even if he was dying to go home, he still enjoyed pushing the limits. The teen leaped and swirled in the air, dodging all the bullets from the automatic rifle and threw the guy over the table.

“Twenty rounds a second, and you were still too slow.” The younger mocked.

“But I’m not.” Another emerged from the hallway of the apartment holding out a pistol.

“I got it.” Batman told as he flung the batarang at the gun, successfully knocking it out of the guy’s hand. Jason went a step further and elbowed the man hard until he fell backwards with a scream.

“Robin!” Batman yelled. He did not look pleased with that.

When they made it back to the cave Batman removed his cowl. “I’m disappointed; that was not the way to do it.”

“I had to take him down.” Jason defended.

“You shattered collarbone!”

“He’s a drug-dealing criminal, I didn’t know I had to prop up some pillows before taking him out.”

“We needed him, he would’ve talked, but you put him into shock.”

Jason faltered at that. “I’m sorry…I guess that was too much—but he deserved it.” The teen was annoyed, sleep deprived, and mentally fried but also didn’t want to fully acknowledge his shortcomings. He brushed Bruce aside and left the cave begrudgingly, still in his Robin suit.

He didn’t care where. The teen just kept grappling from one tower to another, one pole to another for minutes on end—rants going off in his mind, until he conveniently landed in a near-by city. Bludhaven. Almost at least.

Jason groaned. ‘Why here of all places?’ However, he didn’t feel like turning back, so he landed on top of a random roof. The younger leapt off one more time but suddenly bumped into someone who had also jumped at the exact time, in his direction.

“Who the f—” The teen began but cut himself off when he recognized the other’s face.

“What the—Robin?” It was Nightwing. They both landed on their feet onto a fire escape platform that hung by the building.

“Great.” Jason rolled his eyes.

Nightwing raised a brow at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just passing by, out for a walk, a good 50 miles away from home.” There was undeniable sarcasm in the younger’s voice.

“What the hell? What’s going on? Is Batman here?” Dick looked around.

“Not everything I do needs to be with that control freak!” Jason shouted out loud, unable to contain the emotions that poured out.

“Ouch. Would that hurt the Bat?” Another voice commented. Jason winced when he registered the new condescendvoice slowlyowly emerging from behind Nightwing. Lo behold, it was Red Arrow.

“What is he doing here?” Jason pointed out to Dick, not wanting Roy to see him all emotional and impulsive like this.

“Red arrow was helping me and Aqualad chase someone down.”

“Che,” The teen clicked his tongue, yielding his face away. This day couldn’t get any better.

 “But what’s up? You didn’t mention why you’re here?” Dick asked again.

Jason didn’t answer or didn’t know how to answer, since they weren’t alone anymore. He didn’t want to look stupid in front of Roy who was already scrutinizing and treated him like a kid.

“Oh I get it. Isn’t it obvious? He’s pouting.” The redhead teased.

“You—I’m not pouting! How old do you think I am?!” He raged. See, what did he say?

“Are you pouting for some reason?” Dick turned around and seriously asked.

“Do you guys have ears?!” Jason was about to drop-kick both of them then and there.

“Then what happened?” Dick went back to square one.

“Hagghh,” Jason heaved a tiresome sigh. “Forget it, this isn't a therapy session. Nothing happened. Leave me alone.” He rolled his eyes and took off again.

Dick stared after him wordlessly. “…I get the feeling he's still not accepting me. Maybe I was a little too harsh or critical of him in the beginning…”

“Oh yeah?”

“I guess it’s weird when your role is being taken. I wanted to make sure he was up for the job…maybe I could’ve been a little more welcoming early on.” Dick continued.

“No, you’re fine. This isn’t a game, street kid or not, they should know that. Also, I don’t think that’s what the kid is worried about.” Roy reassured for a change.

“Can you try talking to him?” The ravenette asked out of nowhere.

“What?” The redhead swung his head towards him. “Why me?”

“He won’t listen to me anyway considering my position. And besides, it seems like you two have been getting along well.” Dick coerced.

“I’d hardly say that.”  The redhead crossed his arms and glanced away. Except Dick continued to stare at him with wide, hopeful eyes even under the mask. Roy ultimately sighed.

Chapter Text

“I’d hardly say that.”  The redhead crossed his arms and glanced away. Except Dick continued to stare at him with wide, hopeful eyes even under the mask. Roy ultimately sighed.

“I’ll see what I can add to my list of charity cases.”

“Please~” Dick playfully punched his arm.

“You have his location? Radar or something?”

“Yeah, let me share our Bat comm signal.” The ravenette offered.

Roy tailed the teen, appearing as a small moving dot on his radar. The skies were getting darker and murkier, and the winds were getting chillier.  When he caught the teen standing still, he decided to ambush him. “Cooled down yet?’

Jason swung around with an unwelcoming expression. “Just leave. Or let me guess, Dick sent you.”

‘Nailed it.’ The redhead thought.

“Hah. Didn’t realize you did so much volunteer work? You’re so free.” Jason taunted without shame. He knew he shouldn’t, this didn’t concern Roy, but he was agitated and was clearly taking it out on the first person in front of him. Roy should argue back and then he’ll fight back as well. If Roy leaves, then great, even better, he can finally be left alone.

However, Roy didn’t take the bait. “Well, truthfully, I have this thing called a charity list.” He casually told.   

Jason blinked, not calculating that response and he stifled a chuckle. The redhead’s remarks were sometimes so fortuitous that they end up being funny. Roy stood speechless when the teen hid a snort by ducking his head down and covering his mouth. The elder wasn’t anticipating that reaction from teen.  

“So?” Roy said first, coming closer, feeling confident.

“What?” Jason went back into character.

“Cooled down yet or something?”

The younger shook his head. “Or something.''

Roy studied him. “Something indeed. Why don’t we take this somewhere else? I can say with certainty it’s been a long night for both of us.”  

Jason raised a brow, looking wary but curious. Not like he had anywhere else to go. The redhead turned around and led the way, simply expecting Jason to follow. The ravenette gave in, falling to the allure and slowly trudged along.

Roy led them to a zetatube which led them to a dark quiet part of town. “Where are we?” The younger asked.

“Star City.” Roy entered one of the buildings with a code.

“Star City?” Jason echoed.

“In other words, my place.” The elder walked past the big glass doors, holding one out for Jason.

“Your place?” Jason was feeling like a parrot, more surprised each time. Roy smirked leading him in.

“Don’t expect too much now. It’s not the cave.” The elder finally unlocked his apartment door on the fourth floor, which was the highest floor. Jason cautiously peeked in.

“At least it looks normal…”

“Just what exactly were you expecting?” Roy had to ask with a puzzled offended expression. They stepped inside, taking off their shoes and eventually Roy took off his domino mask, feeling at ease. Jason followed suit, revealing his piercing turquoise eyes.

“Water?” Roy offered, walking to the joint kitchen. The teen nodded and he brought a glass over for him as he sat down alongside Jason on the cheap couch.

“So, you live here alone?” Jason took the glass.

“Yup. Just me. You won’t be seeing anyone else.”

“I see. Lucky.” Jason drank as he surveyed the place. It was simple, small, quiet. Just like something the redhead would have. Roy scoffed at that. “But why bring me here?” He genuinely wanted to know. Roy didn’t seem like the type to randomly invite everyone.

“Unless you wanted to talk on top roof tops in the dead of the night again.”

‘Easy save.’  Jason wasn’t fully satisfied with that answer, especially when he was feeling a little special. But he couldn’t dwell on it for now.

“So, why the long face?” Roy asked, finishing his drink and placing the glass on the table.

“Why not? After all the crap I have to deal with.” Jason rolled his eyes, unsure how to seriously answer that.

“I suppose it has been quite demanding for you.” Roy shrugged a shoulder, rendering the other to look at him. “Despite being just a young member, you’ve been at it all week, huh? From titans during the day to Batman at night.”

Jason’s eyes widened as Roy listed out his routine so easily just like that. ‘He’s…been paying attention.’ Then another immediate thought came to his head. ‘Has he just been paying attention to me, or everyone else as well?’ He was dying to ask, but his pride wouldn’t allow it. For now, just being seen and acknowledged was enough. It was already washing away his frustration and exhaustion and replacing it with warmth in his veins.

“Hmp.” Jason’s stubbornness still had the final say, as he mumbled: “And you pretend like you don’t care...”

“Hn?” Roy didn’t quite catch that.

“It’s whatever, I’ve been holding up fine…but then Br—Batman had to go off on some criminal getting hurt a little too hard—I mean yeah sure, but they asked for it—he’s pointing a gun at me!” Jason began and couldn’t stop ranting.

“It happens you’ll butt heads with your mentors—trust me.” Roy sneered. And Jason mirrored it to a degree. Just letting it all out and having someone understand him, made his chest feel lighter.

“But you’ll get over it the next day—instead you should probably focus on getting some sleep than wasting energy running away.”  Roy stood up and stretched.

“Ugh, don’t ruin the moment—hey! What the! Don’t just start stripping right here!” Jason started with a grumble but found himself shrieking at Roy who was casually taking his top off.

“What’s up with you all of a sudden?” Roy innocently raised a confused brow.

“Why are you so carefree?! You’re always just removing your clothes like nothing!” The teen unfairly accused.

“Excuse me? When has that ever happened?” Roy frowned. “And why are you so stiff? We’re both guys. And I’m at home, day’s over.”

“That doesn’t mean go off showing your body.” Jason muttered, bitterly looking away, losing the argument.

“It’s a mean body though, worked hard for it—don’t you think?” Now Roy was conspicuously teasing him after his dramatic reaction, while he raised his elbows and flexed his body. Jason gaped with an embarrassing beet red blush conquering his face. ‘I can’t believe this guy!’  All he saw was fair pinkish flesh, ripped muscle stretching and contracting as the elder twisted his body once, abdominals, obliques all on point staring back at him. Smooth elongated triceps and bulging biceps as the elder put his hand behind his neck.

The younger grabbed the nearest cushion—if it would’ve been a brick, he still would’ve grabbed it—and threw it straight at the redhead. “I’m outta here!” He stomped towards the door. ‘What is wrong with me?’

“Whoa, what is up with—hey, wait, before you go—” Roy let the cushion fall into his hand and quickly turned to the teen.

Jason spared him one last glare as he swung the door open. “What?!”

“Just wanted to add, stop being so harsh on Dick, you’re stressing him out. He’s going to get grays at this point. Give him a chance, he means well.” Roy smiled sideways, hands on his hips, as he stood there shirtless.

Jason didn’t respond but considered it with a look, before shutting the door behind him.

“Geez, so hot headed.” Roy shook his head but there was clear amusement in his tone. He moved to the bathroom and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. ‘Hm, do I really look that bad?’ He thought while he rotated his body back and forth once.

 Jason made his way back to the Batcave. It was well into the morning hours of the night now. However, he was amazed to find that Batman was still up and waiting for him in the Batcave. Bruce looked up at him, away from the documents he was holding.

“Hey…” Jason awkwardly said first, to break the eerie silence that loomed in the cave.  

“Hey. You’re back.” Bruce voiced, like he wasn’t expecting the teen to return.

“Yeah…” And there was that tense pause again now. ‘Okay, now what…?’

“Come here.” Bruce semi-ordered and Jason complied with confusion. He slowly trudged to the sofa away from the Bat-computer but within talking space.

“What’s up?”

“I know it’s been hectic and overwhelming, but you must channel your anger. You’ve been doing great so far, out of all the teen titans.” Bruce confessed, and Jason was not anticipating words of praise from Batman himself. He felt like he was floating on top of the world right now. “But you still need to draw lines. We are not like them, so we can’t act like them. Whether they deserve it or not. Protecting others is the goal. That’s what’s helped heal me as well.”

“Okay, I get it, I acted harshly. I’m sorry.” Jason patiently listened to the elder with an objective mind this time.

“Good.” There was a smile in Bruce’s voice. “You’re full of passion and vigor, we all see that, but you also have this dark past and tough times that have created reckless habits. You need to slowly let those go. Times are not the same anymore. You’re not alone, Jason. And never will be.” The teen’s breath hitched at that. In fact, he had to hold back involuntary tears that he didn’t even know he had.

But instead, Jason nodded seriously. Batman had a point. He wasn’t alone, so he had to stop acting like it was him against the world. He had Batman and Alfred. He had the titans, all of them at the cave. He had an older brother, Dick—well somewhat. Some random mentors as well like Wally, and Aqualad. And then…

Roy flashed in his mind once. That one was hard to put a label on.

“Thanks Bruce. That means a lot.” Jason finally smiled back, content and lighter than before.

“Of course. You should go to bed now. Its late.”

“Yeah, you too.” The younger playfully said before hopping up and going upstairs. ‘He probably won’t admit that he stayed up for me.’  

Alfred came in a moment later, possibly hiding in the shadows of the cave. “Am I witnessing the start of something beautiful here? I’m so proud sir.” Bruce shook his head at his butler’s performance.  

The day after that, Jason was back at Mount Justice. He had arrived late that night, so his current operation: sleep.

A couple hours later, it was morning and M’gann went through the rooms waking them up for breakfast. When she arrived at Jason’s room, someone stopped her from behind.

‘Hold on.’ Roy telepathically communicated with her. The Martian turned her head to find Roy standing there with a hand on her shoulder.  

‘What’s up?’

‘Why… not just let him sleep this one in?’ Roy said once he found the right words. ‘He’s been overworking, I think food can wait.’

‘Oh you’re right. I think he got back past midnight last night. Okay, we’ll just save some for him then.’

The redhead nodded.

It wasn’t until another four hours later that Jason woke up at last. He was truthfully amazed he even managed to get so much extra sleep in. Opening his room door, he scratched his hair, and mentally adjusted his bedhead, though he was probably making it worse. His eyes were still closed as he made his way to the bathroom, accidentally bumping straight into someone.  

“Look who’s finally awake? Cinderella?”

Jason pried his eyes open to find Roy. “You—” Jason glared but then his expression dropped when his brain processed the words. “That’s not even the right reference.” That was so like Roy to not get the princesses straight.

“I guess you would know more about that, huh, since you read all those books.” Before Roy could continue his new hobby of teasing the teen, he saw a sight on top of Jason’s head.

“Hah hah.” The younger fake laughed. “What? What is it? Don’t start acting weird now.” He furrowed his brows when the redhead stopped moving.

“That’s one hell of a bedhead. Wow, did a volcano go off on your hair?”

“Ack—” Now Jason was fully awake and fully self-conscious of his hair. Roy began mercilessly laughing at him.

Jason’s circuits fried. There were too many novel emotions going off in him at once. One, this was the first time Roy was laughing. His heartbeat was darting at that. Two, he had just woken up, his brain was still lagging but suddenly he was forced awake mentally. Three, he looked like crap and Roy had to be the one to see him.

“Sh-shut up!” The younger pushed past him, bumping his shoulder along the way.

Roy looked after him, finding his reaction a bit uncharacteristic as Jason believed in ‘fight’ not ‘flight.’  ‘But nonetheless, cute.’ Roy sneered, wishing he had at least touched the top of the other’s hair before he ran off like that.

‘Ugh. He didn’t know how to act anymore.’ Jason shut himself in the bathroom, with his heart pounding so loud, he couldn’t focus on anything else. ‘Okay, snap out of it.’ He slapped his cheeks once. He was going mad. The teen dreaded before washing up, and making sure his hair looked better. He hated to admit that he took a couple of minutes longer than he normally would have.  

He exited the bathroom, walking towards the dining area, his eyes annoyingly looking for a certain someone. The said person wasn’t there and why was Jason a tad disappointed? The other teens were also missing—perhaps out somewhere.  Other than that, the rest of the afternoon was uneventful. It was quiet, chill for a change. He didn’t mind. Though he would confess, it was also a tad boring…

Chapter Text

Later that day the team had a training session scheduled. It was indoors, in the main Mount justice training circle. It was scheduled as a regular every other day training until something unusual happened.

Roy was standing with them, in his Red Arrow attire. Jason and the rest of the teens couldn’t fail to notice that bit of extra detail. He normally never attended the training exercises or even instructed the teens in any lessons. It mostly alternated between Nightwing or Super Boy, with some guest appearances but never Red Arrow.

‘Great.’ Jason thought, biting his lip. He suddenly had the urge to make sure he didn’t mess up. He was next in line to spar with Nightwing. During so, the teen did very well. It seemed he was getting better each and every day and he may have over performed a tad—no thanks to an extra pair of eyes on him. Although, towards the end, Dick still pulled a fast one on him and knocked him to the ground.

“Okay, not bad.” Nightwing helped him up by the hand, but before Jason could fully stand up, another voice interjected.

“I didn’t just come here to stand on the sideline.” The redhead boldly complained.

“True, why are you here?” Dick passed him a questioning look.

“That aside,” Roy ignorantly yet casually brushed him off like nothing. “I’ll take it from here. I’m getting bored.”

Jason stared at the redhead as he approached them.

“O…kay…so who’s nex—?” Dick was about to turn to the remaining three teens, being Cassie, Gar and Jaime but Roy cut him off again.

“That move could have easily been defended. Let’s run that again.” Roy commanded, directing mostly at Jason. Nightwing backed away and let them have a rerun of the spar. The younger teen looked confused initially but rolled with it. They got into position, and Jason pulled the same move Nightwing did on him. Roy demonstrated how to evade it and hence avoided the fall.

“See?” The redhead made sure the teen saw that.

“Yeah, got it.” Jason caught his breath and stepped closer thinking they were done, not anticipating the abrupt attack from Roy as he did. Jason instantly swerved away, surprisingly managing to dodge the attack, but the sudden movement did throw his balance off and he felt himself descending forward. The redhead naturally caught him with an arm, holding his body while Jason instinctively clutched the other’s bicep. They were both shook for a second as they stared wildly into each other’s eyes, bodies pressed together again. Jason lost focus for a second until his stomach did a flip.

The younger instantly pulled away, murmuring a “That was a cheap move…”

“You gotta be ready for anything.”   Was Roy’s defense and he earned a subtle grimace from the other.

‘Geez, he was bad for his heart.’ The teen exhaled internally.

“Alright, who’s next.” The arrow master pretended to move on, but he secretly watched Jason’s back as the teen walked away back in line with the others. For some reason, he couldn’t tear his eyes away. The elder glanced down at his hand. ‘He’s so lean, and light, despite packing quite a punch back there.” Roy’s hand burned for some reason. He could acknowledge the potential in the teen. Jason stood back in line and studied Roy handling the other teens.

‘Show off.’ The ravenette pouted with envy.

After the individual sparring, they had a session of cardio and then finally hit the showers.

“Ah, man, that was a lot. Who invited the red amigo?” Jaime complained as he and Gar walked out from the showers.

“I know right! I’m famished!”  Gar exclaimed.

“What about you, Jason?” Jaime turned to Jason who was sitting on the couch with a canned drink. He had finished little before them.

“I’m okay, I had some decent sleep, can’t complain.” Jason shrugged.

“Lucky you, ese.” Jaime also dropped himself on the couch.

“Soda?” Garfield opened the fridge.

“Sure!” Jaime motioned to toss one his way. The teens chatted for a bit in the living room until their mentors stepped into the space from the training area.  Dick and Roy were discussing something until they saw the teens.    

“Good work guys,” Dick cheered as they passed by.

“Thanks.” Jaime acknowledged as he and Gar sat on the side couches, meanwhile Jason was sitting on the center couch, with his back towards them as they passed by. The ravenette pretended not to care as they all transiently interacted, but then he felt a hand on his head, playfully mess his hair up once as it drifted away.

Jason whipped his head to find Roy smirking back at him, all the while waltzing away. No one else noticed or cared and as Jason stared back, it began to feel like they were the only ones in the room. Every other sound and existence had just tuned out of the world while their eyes were connected.

The teen ultimately turned away, feigning indifference but the growing warmth under his cheeks would say otherwise.  Roy was almost treating him like a younger brother, but it was interesting. It was even endearing in a way.  If Dick did that, he wouldn’t care so much about it, but Roy doing something like this? He couldn’t stop thinking about it, resisting the urge to touch that area on top of his head. ‘So annoying.’

Why did it feel like the stone walls around them were slowly chipping away?  

A whole month went by in the blink of an eye. Roy was nowhere to be seen, and Jason had also gotten busy between missions, school and Batman. Even then, his eyes would unconditionally wander, preparing for a certain redhead to appear out of nowhere—like he usually did.

‘Ugh, he was a lost cause.’ Jason knew by now he was definitely crushing on the elder, and that realization alone made him want to facepalm so hard. ‘Of all people, seriously.’

Nevertheless, the teen didn’t have time to ruminate about his undefined love life. The team was recently investigating these aliens who had landed on earth, known as Kroloteans. There’s suspicion that they were using humans as trial subjects to look for special genes that granted powers, called metagenes. Their current mission was to scout out one of their covert centers and infiltrate it.

Robin, Blue Beetle and La’gaan were on the case as they sneaked in underground and attacked the makeshift testing arena. Things only got worse as the traitor Mantle, formerly Aqualad joined scene. Nightwing, Batgirl and Wonder Girl also got involved as they fought the Kroloteans. Meanwhile Blue Beetle and Robin were tackling one of their big, robotic guys. Their hands were full and no one had time to dissemble the self-destruct bomb that had been recently activated.

‘Great, they were toast if they didn’t wrap this up fast.’ Jason couldn’t help but think as his eyes jumped back to the timer on the bomb.

Big mistake. The second his eyes were off his opponent; the big guy sent him flying across the ground. Jason groaned loudly when a broken ragged boulder struck his back. He smelt blood and knew he was bleeding but had no time to check. The teen struggled to sit up and reached for his utility belt while the monster stomped towards him. Except, someone jumped in front of him last minute and launched an arrow straight into the alien’s face, who exploded into robotic parts and scattered all over the ground.

“Red arrow?!” Jason exclaimed out loud in pure astonishment. ‘And right now? Of all places and times? Or should he say finally!”

“Why are you still here?! Evacuate with the rest!” Roy demanded as he tucked his bow away, pulling the teen up of his own volition. The elder swung Jason’s arm over his neck and hooked a secure hand on the younger’s waist, effortlessly lifting him up.

“Th…anks…” Jason choked, as he allowed Roy to drag him out of there.

“Thank me later.” The redhead claimed with a cold somber voice. He wasn’t pleased at all with the current state of Robin’s condition. The ground shook again and that was a telltale sign that the ceiling would collapse soon. “On second thought, this’ll be faster.” Roy called out, grabbing Jason’s attention before simply scooping him up, bridal style.

“Hey!” Jason let out an embarrassing yelp, digging his nails into the redhead’s clothing further, face flushed at the unanticipated gesture. ‘God, he hoped no one saw him like this.’ The younger tucked his head low. The redhead noticed that and bit back a smirk, finding it adorable.

The elder got them outside safely, moments before the place exploded with some of the remaining team in the water. “Good work, that was a close one…” Dick announced.

“Robin?” Wonder girl saw them. “Are you okay?” And they all turned to the pair, Roy still holding him. Jason wanted to open a sink hole and get sucked in. Meanwhile the redhead held back a laugh upon seeing Jason’s face and decided to have mercy on him by putting him down.

“Yea-yeah I’m fine…he did that on his own…” The ravenette grumbled, head low with humiliation.

“I can’t wait to head back.”  Jaime suggested.

Back at the cave, Jason got his back bandaged. Right after the doctor left the infirmary room, Roy knocked on the ajar door to get his attention. Jason raised his chin to find the redhead at the door, now entering. Jason was sitting semi-sideways on the bench bed, shirtless, maskless.

“How bad?” Roy asked, standing over him, still in his uniform.  His gaze inevitably tracing down the pale skin, bare lean muscles.

“Just a deep scrape, I just need to avoid getting it wet for the time being.”  

“That’s all?” Roy sat beside him, somewhat behind him since Jason’s back was mostly facing him.

“Yeah, the doctor said that…” The younger began talking but soon enough Roy tuned him out as he examined his body. The teen’s physique was much leaner and smaller than his own. His eyes swept around his shoulders, down to his arms, then to his back, shoulder blades sticking out from underneath the bandages. Without even realizing, in a trance of his own, the elder gently grazed the bandaged area.    

Jason stopped talking for a second, not missing the action. But when Roy refused to say anything and remain silent, the younger continued rambling, just to fill the awkward air with something. All the while, the elder continued to trail his fingers lower.

“Roy…?” The name snapped the redhead back to reality and he lifted his head to meet bright turquoise eyes. Jason stared back over his shoulder, with a mildly concerned and confused expression. Roy’s breath got caught in his throat and he found himself leaning away like he was in a dangerous situation. He could suddenly feel the heat from the teen’s body at the tip of his finger tips. “Roy?”

“Er, anyway, that’s good.” The redhead retracted his hand and instantly turned away, getting up as well, all in one go. The teen still looked lost, like he was missing a piece or something had changed, but he didn’t push it. All he knew was that Roy was not acting normal.

“You should get any injuries checked too.” Jason recommended.

“Yeah. I will.” The elder agreed absent-mindedly and left with a quick “Take care of yourself.”

It wasn’t until after he left that Jason realized he didn’t get a chance to ask where the redhead had been and how he even managed to get to that location. Oh well.

After a couple days of rest and recollection, the team was preparing for their next mission. The Kroloteans were hiding and it didn’t help that Aqualad was on the opposing team as well.  They didn’t have time to spare so they were going to scavenge the area, look for any missing teens, etc.

Nightwing was gearing up, and ran into Red Arrow, who was also at Mount Justice.  “Are you coming? I mean honestly, it’s not bad to have some extra hands on board.”

“Hm, yeah but this is a passive mission, isn’t it?” Roy crossed his arms, not too interested.

Jaime and Jason came downstairs, all suited up. Jaime moved on to find Beast Boy while Jason recognized the two elders.

“Oh, Red Arrow? What, are you coming on this mission too?” Jason asked curiously but couldn’t stay to hear the answer as Beast Boy hollered at him. “Hold on, coming!” He ran over to the other teens.

Roy paused. He stood still, face turned towards where the teen appeared from for a long second, away from Dick until he turned back around. Dick raised a brow, waiting for him to say something.

“On second thought, I think my evening is free. Luthor can probably wait.” The redhead decided on a whim. Dick gave him a suspicious look but didn’t question it further.

‘Yeah. What exactly was he doing?’ Roy questioned himself behind the fake smile.

Jason was eating at the table with the other teens but couldn’t avoid the long stares from Cassie. He glanced away once and back at her, but she never budged.

“Uh…did you cook this?” Jason asked for the sake of saying something. Those eyes were beginning to drill traumatic holes into his soul. 

“What? Oh, I mean, no not really…” The blond blinked, softening her gaze temporarily.

“Okay, it’s edible though.”

“That’s good to hear…” Cassie responded back sheepishly before she went back to stealing glances at him.

“Uh…you hermanos okay?” Jaime sat one seat away from them on the dining table, witnessing this weird tense dynamic. Gar was too busy enjoying his food, but even he glanced up, at the funny mood taking over the table.

“That’s kind of what I wanna know. Is there something on my face?” the ravenette felt around his mouth.  

Chapter Text

“Ugh! Okay! I’ll just say it!” Cassie surrendered. All three guys looked at her. “So…what’s…going on between you and Roy…?” She tried to let that out as gently as possible—but Jason still choked on his food. “There is?!” The girl almost took that reaction as confirmation.

“What?! No! There isn’t!” The ravenette immediately clarified.

“Ohh, si si, I noticed that too. I thought there was something up too.” Jaime nodded with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

“What is up with you guys?!” Jason whipped his head between them, frantic but trying his hardest to play it cool.

“Haha there’s definitely been some secret gazes being passed around,” Gar also hopped on the train and batted his eyelashes, exaggerating the pair.

Jason groaned, fighting back a blush. “I have no idea what you guys are going on about. Have you guys hit your heads too much or something? The delusions are going rampant.”

“Haha delusions ese, or you’re in denial?” Jaime chuckled.

“Please. This is Roy we’re talking about, the only thing he's infatuated with are his solo missions.”   The ravenette confessed, stabbing his food intentionally as well.

“Which is why it’s absolutely bonkers that you even got him to look at you. What did you do?” Cassie seriously needed to know.

“Yeah, you’re totally out of your mind. Do you even hear the words you’re saying? I’m only gonna say this once. THERE. IS. NOTHING. Never happened, never will.” Jason emphasized. “I don’t even know him like that.”

The teens looked amongst themselves once but ultimately dropped the topic and went back to eating.

‘Or is there?’ Jason silently mused to himself, as he picked up his spoon again.

The Kroloteans had backtracked a bit; they were still hiding and undercover. Furthermore, there were no new active sites that popped up. While the league would continue to keep an eye out for them, for now they warned others and put that mission on hold.

Jason was in casual clothing and walked towards the training room of Mount Justice when he overhead Red Arrow and Nightwing talking.

“Look dude, you have to let it go…” Dick mouthed. “You’re ruining yourself like this. I understand you want to find him, but you can’t risk your own health and wellbeing. You’re destroying yourself all over again, when all of us put so much effort to pull you out of that dark place.”

Jason was deadly curious now. He also didn’t fail to hear that ‘him.’ ‘Who exactly was he looking so desperately for…?’ It almost made his heart sting.

Roy grumbled to himself. When he first found out he was a clone, it broke him mentally. To know that everything he had lived for, known, all the relationships he’d created were all a lie. He ended up not caring for his health at all, dropping weight, losing sleep—just a mess as he tried to find the original Roy. Dick, Wally, his former mentor, Green Arrow and a few others found him and knocked some sense back into him.

That was a year ago. And while he was in a better place now, he still couldn’t fully get over the fact that there was another original Roy out there and he was a mere clone. Hence, he was still searching for him, every day.

“Just trust me this time.” Roy half-heartedly claimed.

“That’s what you said last time—” Dick complained but Roy was already walking away. He walked to the doors to find Jason standing there startled.

“Uh, hey, I was just coming in… to train…” The teen attempted to play it off. Roy studied him for a split second but then continued walking past him.

“Oh hey, Jason.” Dick rubbed his nape, tired.

“Hey… what was that about? You guys just chatting or…” The younger indirectly tried to ask. The mystery person that Roy destroyed his health for was gnawing at him like a bad itch.

Dick sighed. “It’s…nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Jason frowned. ‘That answer wasn’t good enough; he needed a proper explanation right now.’  As if he could say that out loud. “Hm…” He pursed his lips instead pensively.

Now that he thought about it. Even the first day they met, Roy mentioned looking for someone that time as well…   

Jason had a few more interactions with Roy but they were extremely brief, practically non-existent and in the presence of the rest of the team. Also, Roy being Roy, never stuck in the same place for longer than two seconds, just to go back to more of his reconnaissance.

Jason was beginning to get both irritated and frustrated. ‘Could he possibly get hold of this guy?!’ He was inches away from kicking the wall in. While he stood glaring at the wall, Nightwing passed him by.

“We discovered another site with underage teens who were abducted by the Kroloteans but haven’t been subjected to any experimentation.” Dick announced. “And that’s all thanks to Red Arrow being there at the right time to interfere. I just need one more titan member to help him escort the teens.”

“I’ll go!” Jason couldn’t have said it any sooner when he heard the name Red Arrow. The other titans and Nightwing turned their attention to him at the ultra-prompt response. “I mean, I don’t have anythi—I’m bored—oh for crying out loud, just let me go!”

“Okay,” Dick smiled. “That was fast. Sure, thing. I’ll send you the coordinates. He needs you there ASAP.”

“Roger that.” Jason sprinted to get his gear on.  

Robin made it to the location with a small lift from Super Boy on his Sphere, who had transformed into a flying scooter. The younger landed on the ground and spotted Roy at the door, escorting the teens out. “Finally,” The redhead sensed a new member approach and presumed it was one of the titans. When he looked up and recognized Robin, his expression became vague. “Oh, it’s you.”

Jason ran over and stopped a few feet away from him, puzzled by that change in tone. “Yeah, is this everyone?” But he decided to put a pin on it for now. Jason took this time to screen the elder as well. Now that he was aware of the redhead’s internal predicament, he was noticing things he hadn’t picked up on before. He could tell the other looked paler, his hair was still spiked up but they looked as if they were done in a rush. If one squinted, they could see a subtle stubble going on and Jason suspected dark circles under that mask.  

“I believe there are a few more inside.”

“I’ll get them.” Jason demanded without any room for negotiation, before dashing in. He brought the teens out and took samples and details of the place. They took the teens to the police station. While the redhead spoke to the sheriff, Jason eyes never left him, studying him up and down constantly.

Roy looked worn out. It was clear he was pushing himself without caring to rest. He even had a few unhealed bruises on his arms.

“What?” Roy interrogated when he met Jason’s judging gaze.

“You…look like crap. Maybe you should leave the rest to me?” The ravenette couldn’t stand back without saying anything.

That visibly stunned Roy. Perhaps he wasn’t expecting that amount of directness from the teen.

“I’m fine, kid. Just focus on the task at hand.”

The teen clicked his tongue, annoyed. “Stop lying. You’re barely standing, and we both know it.  You’re gonna get yourself killed, or worse—drag us all down.”

 “I said I’m fine.” Roy snapped coldly. “Worry about yourself.”

‘What the heck?’ All of a sudden, he was treating Jason like some stranger and that was pissing the teen off. “I am. And yet I have the time to call you out—that should tell you how bad you’re doing.”

They were walking out of the police station, Roy ahead of Jason.

The teen took a deep breath. If he wanted to talk to someone like Roy, or have him listen, he needed to approach gentler. ‘So, this is how people feel when they approach him, huh?’ Jason referred to himself. They could both be hot headed sometimes.

“What about 'him?'” The younger didn’t know why he was bringing it up right now but now was just as best time as any, especially with the elder quickly escaping from him. “Is that…why you’re being like this?”

“Who?” Roy halted in his steps and rotated himself to look at the teen.

Jason bit his cheek. “Dick mentioned a him that time…someone you’ve been looking for, and desperately it seems…” He couldn’t help but add that descriptor in there, couldn’t he? “What would he think, seeing you like this?”

Jason still had no idea who he was talking about and what relation said person had to Roy, and Roy could see that because he stared back very perplexed.  

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?” Roy’s voice sounded normal again, and less stiff than before. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have suggested that. How would I know what he wants? I don’t even know who, or what the hell I want anymore.”

 Jason was confused, but he pushed himself to listen and not react as he could clearly tell this was troubling Roy. Moreover, Roy was opening up a bit and that alone was a big step forward. It showed that Roy was trusting him and treating him as someone worthy of his time and emotions.

The ravenette felt bold and grabbed the elder’s arm, guiding him away from the street they were on to a quieter safer spot on the grass that Super Boy could pick them up from. The redhead wordlessly followed like a doll, like he was under a spell casted by the teen. Jason found it appealing how a small break to the touch barrier was enough to make Roy compliant.

“Then why don’t you tell me...?" Jason requested.  

Roy raised a brow, once the teen let him go. “And why should I tell you?”

Jason scowled. “Why not? You look like you need a confidant—my bad, I mean, someone to slap some sense into you and get you back on your feet.” He sneered, like he was the older one. Look, he tried to be gentle, okay?  

“You…Tryna act cheeky much?” The redhead’s face twitched, and pulled the younger’s cheek, slowly coming back to his normal attitude as his face became more expressive.

“So? Are you going to say something or what?” Jason fought the hand abusing his cheek and sought to bring them back to the topic on hand.

“Couldn’t you find a better time?” The redhead motioned to the sky and the Sphere was approaching them. Roy began walking to it first.  

“Ugh…” Jason’s shoulders dropped before mumbling. “He’s the master of deflection and evasion.”

Thay made it back to the cave and Jason threw a protein bar towards Roy who was sitting on a bench. They were alone in the zetatube / training area. “You look like hell. Eat something.” Jason was not about to let the elder go without explanations. However, something else also didn’t allow the teen to rest while he knew the other was internally—and externally for that matter—suffering.

“Don’t need it.” The redhead acted tough.

Jason crossed his arms, not buying it. “You sure about that? Because you’re looking like you’re about to drop dead on me.”

“Someone’s talkative today. I’m just mildly tired. Consider yourself lucky.”

The teen leaned forward, tone sharpening.  “Tired of what? Pretending you’re invincible? Pretending you don’t give a crap about what’s happening to you?”

Roy glanced at him. “Someone’s learning from his older brother. It doesn’t matter either way.”

Jason exhaled, softening his tone. “It does matter. Whether you like it or not. You can’t keep pretending you’re fine when you’re clearly not… And… you don’t have to keep pushing people away, either.” He averted his gaze. He hoped he was getting through to him.

There’s a long silent pause as they both looked away from each other. It’s clear Roy didn’t want to admit anything, but Jason’s words hit a nerve.

“I’m not some weakling.” Roy started off tough again.

“Fine, if you say so, but you’re not immortal either. Or are you?” The ravenette was trying so hard to yank Roy out of his hard shell.

“I’m a clone.” The redhead eventually blurted. He was exhausted, sleep deprived, and at this point his brain stopped giving any f’s.

“…So… still not immortal.” The younger transitioned smoothly—if he would say so himself. So well, that even Roy swung his head up to witness the teen’s expression. “I don’t see why you can’t take care of yourself.”

“Why are you…” Roy wanted to ask how Jason was so nonchalant about him being a clone. How was the information not fazing him at all? He was truly unique sometimes. “You don’t get it. Suddenly, finding out all the people you know, the person you are— is nothing but a copy of someone who is truly you. I’m not even the real me.”  

Jason didn’t respond right away. He needed the extra time to make sure his sentences were proper. “No…I think you don’t get it.” He sat down as well now. “So basically, you have a twin.  But how is that person you? You’ve been through different experiences that have made you, you. He is his own person—the only thing he has in common with you is an identical face. And, well, maybe the same name,” The teen added that last bit lightheartedly. “But you’re still you, Roy. Whatever that is.” Dazzling, hopeful turquoise eyes stared directly into his deep, lost cobalt blue ones as they formed a silent connection.

Roy felt drawn to the younger’s words. The teen who he sometimes deemed as a bratty boisterous inexperienced kid was now speaking words of wisdom that comforted him like a warm blanket. Their hands were both resting on the bench in between them without even close to touching but suddenly Roy was hyper aware of that proximity.

“That’s one way of looking at it.” Roy was the first to turn his head away, swallowing thickly once.

There was another brief pause. “…So that’s who you’ve been looking for …” the teen murmured.

“I need to find him. I need to make sure for myself.”  The redhead told.

“Yeah...” Jason trailed off.  

“Hn? But you seem oddly relieved finding out who it is.” Roy sat backwards, leaning on his hands, and tipping his head up. “Jealous?” Roy teased and Jason felt like a nail had struck him on the head.

“Like hell! Look who’s back with his snarky mouth.” Jason pouted.

The elder scoffed a laugh. “You can thank yourself for that, your highness.”

Jason’s heart skipped a silent beat at that one. “Just eat this already and take care of your damn injuries.”  He smacked the protein bar back at him and stood up, marching towards the interior space. When he turned around and walked towards the doors, he found Cassie, Jaime and Gar peeking through the main doors like thieves. They flinched once when they saw him, but all gave a supportive thumbs up in return. The heat began rising on Jason’s face until was full red and he facepalmed so hard that the slap echoed through the cave.

‘Just end him now.’ The teen couldn’t dare show his embarrassed face. This was so outside his element that he didn’t know how to react anymore. ‘They weren’t going to let him live this one down, were they?’

Chapter Text

Jason marched outside the main training area into the living room. He had three stalkers right behind him.

“Okay, so how long are you guys gonna follow me?” The ravenette spat.

“Follow? Who?” Jaime looked around.

“Yea, we were just…you know…” Cassie began sheepishly.

“Looking for a snack…or game?” Gar concluded and earned incredulous looks from the other two. Gar innocently shrugged his shoulders with a look of ‘What? I tried.’

“Oh really? A game? Sure, let’s find one together then, ‘cause clearly this game is so significant, huh? That you’ve got me tailed.” Jason was smiling but his eyes were far from welcoming, as he played along.     

The other three gulped, caught. “Um, I think there’s some cool stuff in the storage room.” The blond pointed out and led the way. They went into the storage room and turned on the lights to uncover a dusty corner. They scattered in the room, each pretending to look through stacked antics.

“Was…Roy, okay?” Cassie found an indirect way to probe Jason and satisfy her curiosities.

“Mh, as okay as he can be.” The ravenette deadpanned, acting apathetic.

“I see, because he seemed kind of out of it.”

Jason turned to face her. “Was it that obvious?”

“Uh, yeah, well a little bit…”

The teen was amazed the others had noticed. He supposed he wasn’t the only one who looked at Roy… “He just had some stuff going on, busy, and some personal issues…” Jason vaguely explained.  Cassie semi-chuckled, something in between a scoff and a satisfying laugh. “What?”  

“Are you still going to deny it?” She grinned.

“Deny what?” Jason frowned.

“That Roy only opens up to you?”

“Ugh, not that again.”

“And senõr Jason only volunteers for Roy.” Jaime slyly added.

“Seriously?” Jason shot him a glare for bringing that moment up.

“Sorry, can’t help it. We’re kinda in the same room.” Jaime shrugged, literally three feet away from the other two. So, that automatically made him a part of the conversation.

“You guys are obsessed.” Jason sighed.

“Whoa what’s this?” Gar looked through the rectangular boxes and old tennis rackets on the shelves. He picked out one colorful box out of the bunch and looked down at the cover. Funny enough he was the only one completely side-tracked and earnestly looking for a fun game out of the pile. The other teens came around.

“Looks like some kind of board game.” Jaime studied it.

“Oh! This could be fun! When was the last time we did something old school like this?” Cassie was on board already.  

“Yeah, let’s try it! It’s not that late anyways. And we don’t have any training in the morning.” Gar convinced. Jason looked at it, pensively.

“I don’t know…”

“Should we invite Roy?” Jaime teased.

“Shut up. I’ll play. Anything to get you guys to zip it.” Jason closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Hehe,” Cassie and Jaime high fived while Gar looked in between them, lost.

They all got situated in the living room, setting the board game on the center table, while they sat on the floor around it.

“What are the rules?” Gar impatiently asked.

“Hm, according to this, it seems like you have to roll the dice, and depending on where you land, you have to either solve a riddle, complete a dare or answer a question.”

“Seems straight forward enough. Then let’s get started.” Jason had never played a board game with a whole crew like this before, so he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t mildly excited. They all picked miniature figures to represent them at the ‘start,’ with Gar being a cat, Cassie a lantern, Jaime picking a car, and Jason going with a closed book.

“Okay, I’ll go first!” Jaime snatched the dice and rolled them. He landed on a dare card. “Do a back flip.” He read his card out loud. “Pssh, easy.” And so, he did before sitting back down and passing it along.

Next was Gar, who landed on a riddle. “Ah man! Why me! Okay, let’s read it: I have a head and a tail that will never meet. Having too many of me is always a treat. What am I?”  The green haired thought long and hard. “Uh…a cat?”

The others gave him a funny look. “What? A cat has a head and tails and having a lot of them can be a treat…somewhat.” The younger explained.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s it. It can’t be that easy.” Jason confessed.

“Haha, so hilarious for you to get the animal sounding one.”

“This isn’t fun anymore, I’m gonna check the answer.” Gar decided to settle with his ‘cat’ answer and flipped the card, but only to find it blank. “What the? There’s no answer?” The other teens leaned in, to second that.

“What on earth kind of sorcery is going on over here…?” A new voice startled them.

“Oh Roy, hey, you’re still here?” The blond girl waved.

‘Oh yeah, I forgot about him for a second there.’ Jason felt conscious of the other all of a sudden.

“What are you kids doing?” The redhead asked, as he threw the protein bar wrapper in the trash.

“We’re playing this game, you wanna join?” Gar offered, waving his riddle card. “But I don’t know what’s up with the riddle cards, they don’t got no answers behind them.”

“Hm…” Roy contemplated as he stared at the circle and the participating members. “I guess one round cant hurt. I’ve retired for the night anyway.” Yes, he should be getting rest, but also yes, he wanted a distraction from his thoughts.

“That’s the spirit amigo~”

“I’m going to get changed first, though.”   The redhead walked around them first to fetch a spare set of clothes.

‘Roy was joining them.’ Jason mentally confirmed. 

The elder came out dressed in his usual grey T-shirt with dark sweats.  He walked around and dropped down, right next to Jason. Of course he did, the others thought. In fact, even Jason was aware of that voluntary choice.

“So, how does this work?” Roy casually inquired.

“You just follow whatever you land on, but right now we’re stuck on this riddle, and it seems we can’t proceed without solving it.”  Gar told, handing him the card.

“It’s riddle, how hard can it be?” Roy brushed it off and read it. “Heads and tails, and a treat huh…”

“Oh. A Coin.” Both Jason and Roy had the revelation at the same time.

Gar looked down at the card and the answer magically appeared at the back. “You guys got it!”

“Ohh, that makes perfect sense now.” Cassie forehead palmed. “By the way, Roy you have to pick a token for yourself.” She pointed to the small extra icons to choose from in the box.  

“Who’s the book?” Roy asked after observing their bunch on the board.

“That’s Jason.” Gar answered.

“Pfft. How fitting.” The redhead grinned, eyeing the teen beside him. Jason only rolled his eyes in response, fighting the flattering attention. The others stared at the pair, not getting the inside joke.

“He can be this.” Jason picked out a horse and placed it on the board.

“A horse?” Roy didn’t sound like the biggest fan at first. 

“Yeah, I think this suits you—with the way you’re just galloping around everywhere, impossible to catch.” Jason coldly elaborated, which also evoked a conspicuous suppressed laugh from the others.   

“Oh yeah? How noble of you. I’ll accept your generosity then,” Roy smiled through his teeth. He rolled the dice and landed on a question card. “Have you found your soul mate? What kind of question…”

“Either way, you still gotta answer it.” Cassie reminded.

“No, I haven’t found my soul mate. I don’t even know if I believe in soul mates.”

“Then someone you’re interested in?” The blond added her own follow up question.

“No. Or, not yet.” The redhead replied, putting the card back. “But maybe, there’s potential…” He said in a low voice, disconnected. Jason stared at him, looking for something that he couldn’t find.

“My turn.” Jason took the dice next and rolled it. He landed on a dare. “For the next two rounds, your hand will be tied to the person on your left. What?” The teen scowled at that. What did that mean? The only person sitting to his left was—

“You have to tie your wrists with Roy! I feel bad for you.” Gar joked.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The ravenette groaned.

“Rules are rules, ese.” Jaime was also containing his laughter while Jason was ready to flip the table with all the game cards and tokens.

“Well then, hold up your wrists folks.” Cassie was right at their side with a ribbon in no time. The two held their wrists up and she instantly tied them together with a cute bow knot.

“This is so uncomfortable and unnecessary. What is up with these dares?” Jason whined.

“Tell me about it. Where did this game even come from?” Roy wasn’t as heated as Jay, but he was certainly impressed. The game moved on even after they placed their wrists side by side on the table. While Cassie played her turn, Roy shifted his hand grabbing Jason’s attention. The elder then forced their hands underneath the table and rotated his hand such that his palm was under the ravenette’s hand. Ultimately, it was like Jason was holding Roy’s hand, palm in palm.

“What are you—” Jason hissed quietly, alarmed by the gesture.

“This way will be more comfortable.” The redhead whispered back, and Jason couldn’t argue with that, as much as he hated the circumstances. It’s like fate was toying with him. He wondered if Roy hardly even cared about ‘holding hands’ like this.

On the flip side, Roy noticed how warm the teen’s hand was. Slightly calloused, but warm and tender and perfectly fit into his. What was more amusing was how stiff as a stone the younger was over just a little hand holding—to the point where he didn’t even dare look in Roy’s direction, pretending the other didn’t exist.

‘Cold, but cute.’ Roy sneered internally.

Just to satisfy an impulsive random urge that washed over him, he squeezed the younger’s hand, making it impossible for the other to even focus on the game for that split second. The redhead pursed his lips and brought his free hand over his mouth to conceal the amusement, because even without looking at Jason, he could tell the younger had tensed. The teen’s hand was also burning against his palm.

Roy wasn’t even aware he could have this much fun over something as small and insignificant as this. Also, that he could have this much influence over the teen. Though, he did start to wonder why the teen had such exaggerated reactions and why his ears turned so red. But then again, Jason didn’t seem like the touchy handsy type even among friends.

Two rounds went by, and they finally untied themselves. Even though, Roy had gotten comfortable with their hand position, the same couldn’t have been said about Jason. The game went on for another hour after that.

Gar yawned. “’Kay, good game guys, time to sleep…”

“Yeah, see ya in the morning.” Jaime also went towards Gar’s room.

“Oh yeah, Roy, you can take Super Boy’s room, since they’re staying out tonight.” Cassie mentioned before getting up and the redhead acknowledged. Jason also stood up wordlessly ready to head to his quarters.

“Hold on.” Roy quietly motioned to him and waited for the others to leave. When it was only Jason and Roy, the elder walked towards the area underneath the stairs. “Follow me.”

The ravenette was very confused as he followed behind him. ‘What is he up to?’

When he was close enough, Roy pulled him into an embrace. That’s right, into an embrace! Jason froze, electricity zapping through his body, as he felt muscular arms wrapped around him and a head rested on his shoulder. “Wh-what-what are you—!” The teen stammered uncontrollably, two seconds away from shoving the elder away.

“Shh, just stay like this for a minute.” Roy said without looking up, he could only imagine the expression the younger was making about now. Meanwhile Jason had no idea what Roy looked like in the midst of such a bold act he committed.  

“W-why? Have you lost your mind?”  Jason began struggling against the other, eventually pushing him away. Roy’s arms were still loosely attached but he was standing straighter and not hugging anymore.

“Why? Haven’t you noticed? You’ve been looking at me with these weird yearning eyes all night.” Roy chuckled, nonserious. “Plus, your reactions are incomparable.’’

That snapped Jason out of his heated daze. He automatically punched the redhead on top of his head and thrusted himself away. ‘Of course. What other reason could there be? He was just toying with him, as usual.’ “You damn jerk—don’t ever come near me again!” The teen threatened and began walking away, irate. “You better sleep with one eye open.” If looks could kill, Roy would’ve been dead by now.

“Ow…what the? Threatening your mentors now?” Roy was still as nonchalant as ever.

“You’re not my mentor!” Jason corrected harshly from the top of the stairs before slamming his room door.

“Feisty, that one…”  Roy must have had a personality altering concussion during one of his missions, because even after all that disrespect, he was still entertained and not one bit agitated with the younger.

Jason dropped on to the bed. ‘I need to let these feelings go. There’s absolutely nothing I’ll get from them. And on top of that, it can’t be him. Anyone but that jerk!’ He rolled on to his side. To think he would be the type to fall in love with a guy. An older guy by six years, on top of that. And of course, it had to be a pompous, arrogant, annoyingly adept… yet conventionally attractive guy. But all Roy was doing was passing time with him. Teasing and taunting a younger member for the fun of it because he was likely bored. Jason sighed. If he ignored these feelings, maybe they would go away.   

Robin and Blue Beetle were running an errand and, on the way back, they took a shortcut through Star City.

“How am I flying and you’re still ahead of me, ese? Slow, down, what’s the rush?” Jaime complained as he flew over top while Jason grappled from building to building.

“That’s because you’re not paying attention. And I guess you’re slow.” The ravenette smirked, glimpsing up at him once.

Jaime rolled his eyes. “You know sometimes you guys are so similar.”

“Who? Batman and me?” Jason curiously asked.

“No, Roy and you.”

Jason’s face turned sour for a moment. “As if. I don’t see the similarity at all.”

“How do I explain it? It’s like this way of talking, like over-confident, and borderline conceited.”

“Whatever.” Robin landed on a roof top and walked across it to reach the other side. While Jaime flew down as well, Jason noted something out in the distance. Something familiar.

A lil bonus I was preparing for this chapter, hence took an extra day lol, enjoy ;P : 

Chapter Text

Jason squinted trying to make out the figures off into the distance, on another rooftop.

“What is it? Why’d you stop?” Jaime posed, until he followed his gaze and zoomed in with his scarab tech.  “Wait, is that Red Arrow?”

Robin’s eyes narrowed further. Red Arrow, yes, but he wasn’t alone.  What was going on? The whole scene looked suspicious and left the teen on edge. Without saying a word, Jason leaped off the roof and shot his grappling gun in the elder’s direction. The sun was setting, the sky blended all hues of pink, orange and blue, but it wasn’t terribly dark out yet.

When Robin came closer—still hundreds of feet away—but relatively closer, he recognized the other person to be a woman. The teen halted on a roof closer to the pair and hid behind one of the pillars.

“Hey ese, what are we doing? Are we supposed to be spying on them?” Jaime had no choice but to quietly follow suite.

“Ssshh. Keep it down.” Jason demanded, not taking his eyes off the couple. “Why is he here…?” He thought out loud, mentioning Roy. 

“Does it...matter?” Blue Beetle reasoned. Then again, what Roy did with his personal time was his own business.

‘It mattered to me,’ Jason involuntarily thought. Even though he knew he shouldn’t keep getting involved with the other, but his body wouldn’t listen to him at times.

While the teens watched from a distance, they witnessed the women shamelessly get close to Roy, flicking his chin with his nails once as she grinned and spoke words their ears couldn’t hear. She laughed, swooning her body around Roy, who simply stood there unfazed. She was clearly so overtly flirting with him!

It took Jason a moment too long to recognize the woman as being the criminal, Cheshire.

“What are they talking about?” Jason muttered, wanting to bite his nail. ‘And why was he just standing there?’

“Anyway~ I’d lo~ve to stay but the old man is going to get all grumpy on me.” Chesire cooed.

“Don’t stay on my behalf.” Roy impassively voiced.

“Aw aren’t you the gentleman?”

“That’s not how I meant it.” The redhead deadpanned, not one bit interested in her conversation. His facial expressions were as flat as paper.  However, Chesire did the unthinkable and without warning, yanked him closer by the collar. In one swift motion, she also lifted her mask up, just enough to reveal her lips and pecked him on the cheek. That wasn’t the intended area. Cheshire had aimed for a smooch on the lips, but Roy’s fast reflexes kicked in and he pulled her aside, the kiss landing on his cheek instead.

Roy prepared his bow, but she was now beginning to break that physical barrier, and while he had numerous run ins with Cheshire before, he still wasn’t about to trust a villain. However, Cheshire snickered and hopped off the roof, escaping into the wild, leaving the redhead there alone with his arrow. Roy heaved a troublesome sigh with his brows furrowed.

Jason couldn’t believe what he saw. He even forgot to blink for a moment there. He couldn’t feel the dryness in his eyes, all he felt was the ice running in his veins, draining all the blood from his face and body. Is this what a heartbreak felt like without even having a chance to explore your feelings?

No, it felt more like betrayal. Why did Roy just allow another woman to get all close to him to the extent of even kissing him? How could he do that?

But in the end, what right did Jason have over him? He was just some younger makeshift brother slash team member. That just angered Jason more, as he curled his hands into fists. It was weird. He was seeing red, and blue at the same time.

Roy felt a presence watching him and he glanced up to find Jaime standing out, a little more noticeable than Robin.  When they made eye contact, Blue Beetle stepped out first, flying over to the elder. Jason slowly emulated him.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We had to drop off some new tech and reports on the missing children from the Krolotean attack.” Jaime answered.

“Is that so?” Roy glanced at Jason, who was uncharacteristically quiet. In fact, he wasn’t even acknowledging Roy, staring off to the side, on the ground somewhere. ‘Did they see that?’ he wondered.

“But why was Cheshire here? What was she doing?”  

“I don’t know, seems like she was tailing me. But no harm was done. Yet.” Roy stressed sarcastically. He turned his attention to Jason. “What about you? Just going to stand there?

Jason blinked and looked away from the ground, gazing back at him with a scowl, his body language also being withdrawn. The younger exhaled and marched away, fists still closed.

“Huh? Robin?” Jaime called out but it was clear Jason didn’t care anymore and was leaving. “What’s with him randomly? Uh, I guess I should get going too. See you around Red Arrow.”

“Yeah… Do that.”  Roy’s eyes narrowed as he watched them fade into the distance. He really couldn’t get a read on Jason. Was it possibly something he did or previously said? He couldn’t help but wonder.

Jason was leaping from building to building so fast that he was practically flying, while his mind was elsewhere. No harm done. ‘No harm done? Seriously? She practically freakin’ harassed you, licked you and got all sensual—and that’s all he has to say about it?!’ Jason was angry. ‘Maybe he’s okay with that? Does he like her?’

“Hey! Robin! You even in there?!” A loud shout from Jaime snapped him back to reality, away from his dark thoughts. “I’ve been calling you for a minute now.”

Jason clicked his tongue. “What’s up?”

“You good?”

“Yeah. Swell.” Jason couldn’t focus on anything else right now.

After that odd encounter, Roy noticed that Jason stopped looking his way all together. Whenever he stopped by, and if Jason was in the same vicinity, he would just continue to ignore the redhead, pretend to be on his phone or leave to do something.

If they were to ever run into each other, Jason would avert his face and simply walk past him.  It was too obvious for Roy to give the teen any benefit of the doubt.

One evening Nightwing had gathered them all to update them on the next mission, training and current events with the League. After the meeting, he walked over to Roy and Jason, who were standing not too far from each other, but also not looking at each other.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” The redhead asked first.

“Are you two fighting again?” Dick exhaled.

“No.” The pair said in unison but after the initial surprise, Jason went back to averting his gaze and Roy crossed his arms with a discontent look. Dick continued to stare them down.

“Are you guys sure about that?”

“Are we fighting, Robin?” Roy asked out loud.

“No…” Jason quietly replied, before clicking his tongue. “I gotta go check my utility belt, or whatever.” It couldn’t be any more obvious that Jason was simply making a half-hearted excuse to leave.

After he left, Roy rubbed his forehead. “No.”

“What? I didn’t say anything.” Dick gawked.

“But I know what you’re about to say and no, I’m not going after him. That’s getting old now, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do anything this time. If he has a problem, he knows where he can find me.” And with that the redhead also trudged away.

Dick sighed. ‘How old were these two?’

‘I’m not going after him. He knows where to find me.’

Is what Roy said… but wow, he underestimated Jason’s stubbornness. Little did he know, a whole two weeks would go by without the teen so much as looking at him. Just straight ignoring. By now, Roy literally felt like grabbing the younger and pinning him against the wall until he got answers.

The fact that he even cared so much was troublesome already. Why should he care if some random teenager wanted to ignore him? Personally, he had better things to do and bigger fish to fry. But for some reason, he couldn’t stand the younger not interacting or talking to him. In Jason’s case, he couldn’t let it go. He realized that shortly after the third day. It was killing him from the inside, especially when he wasn’t one to leave loose ends.

Roy had mentally gone through every scenario, every conversation they had in the past two weeks to determine the root cause of it. Or at least what he did wrong, but he couldn’t think of anything remarkable. The redhead had gone through.  However, he also couldn’t disregard the issue. Every time he tried to move on or forget it, his chest tightened and his brow would be permanently furrowed. 

‘What is this irritating feeling?’ He wanted Jason to look at him again. Be reactive, cursive, joke and banter with him, not avoid him.

The only other last interaction they had was that time Cheshir—wait. Roy stopped himself.

All the while, Jason knew blatantly ignoring the other, for this long was overkill and he would have to face Roy one of these days. Or would he?

Why was he even being so dramatic? Jason reprimanded himself, somewhat fed up by his own actions. But he also couldn’t stop now—he was unfortunately too deep. Initially he stared ignoring the elder because he really didn’t know how to face him after the whole thing with Cheshire and his own emotions involved. However, once he started ignoring, time dragged on and now it was too awkward to approach the redhead, after weeks of apparent avoiding. Especially when it didn’t seem like Roy cared.

Jason didn’t anticipate it to bother him so much. ‘So, what if that woman wanted to throw herself on Roy…’ Yeah right—just the thought alone pissed him off all over again.  The teen was in his room on his bed and began squeezing his pillow.

He was jealous. It was clear as day. Along with the fact that he liked that jerk. His cheeks warming and heart skipping a beat, imaging Roy touching him was all the confirmation he needed.

Ugh. He hated that he loved him. Of all people. How did that even happen…well technically looking back, all the times they’ve spent, moments they’ve shared, Roy was always there for him, understanding him, hanging out with him…

Roy could be an annoying hard-headed jerk sometimes but he was also a worthy friend, reliable teammate and highly adept person. Not to mention he had a certain charm to him, a cool guy vibe, a handsome face, ripped body… Jason sank himself into his pillow. ‘Could he be any more pathetic?’ Here he was musing about the elder who probably didn’t even think twice about him.

Or did he…? Roy did conveniently always find him, always saw through him, and paid attention to when he was busy or not. Perhaps it was his wishful thinking, but Jason wanted to believe that maybe somewhere deep down, Roy also saw him as special.

The ravenette needed a distraction. He tossed the pillow aside and climbed off his bed. Sighing with his eyes closed, he opened his bedroom door. He opened his eyes to see a taller silhouette boldly blocking the door frame.  When his gaze trailed up to find a masked man and red hair, he instantaneously slammed the door shut, not prepared to face him.

Roy visible jolted and couldn’t believe his eyes. ‘Could the brat be any more obvious?!’

‘Roy?! What is he doing here?!’ Jason stood against the door, heart caught in his throat.   

“So you freakin’ are avoiding me! You punk—can you be any more conspicuous?!” The redhead banged on the door, furious.

“Uh—I—" The younger stammered. “Hold on!” He then called out, deciding to face this obstacle head on. Taking a deep breath, he turned around, patted his clothes down, ran his hand through his hair once and then opened the door. The door symbolized so much here.

“Oh? Finally feel like showing your precious face huh?” Roy may have been smiling—crooked at best—but his vein was twitching. Jason plastered a serious expression and cleared his throat.  He understood the other’s anger.

“Come in,” Jason invited formally, closing the door behind them. Roy also noticed the mannered and tamed demeaner. He accepted it, because lord knows someone was about to go down if they got on his bad side today.

“So?” Roy impatiently asked. “Going to finally let me in on what’s up?  What exactly is this silent treatment about?”

“…silent treatment? I don’t know what…”

“Save it! Don’t you dare feign ignorance.” The redhead took a long stride forward and Jason instinctively faltered backwards, his calf hitting the edge of the bed once. Everyone is looking at me like I committed murder out here.”

“...oh...is that so…” Jason shifted his gaze away meekly, a little guilty. “That’s harsh…”

“Yeah, and I wonder why?” The elder glowered down at him.

“Look, I—Ugh.” The teen thought he was ready, but clearly he mentally wasn’t. Where should he start? What should he say? How much should he say? His brain just wasn’t processing fast enough, especially with Roy breathing down his neck.

“Still not gonna say anything?” Roy arched a brow, patience running low. “Okay then I’ll bite. What does this have to do with Cheshire?”

Jason swung his head up, a frown immediately conquering his face. He was anything but timid anymore. “Why are you bringing her up?”

“Ah. So, I nailed it.” Roy straightened his back and crossed his arms.

The teen internally cursed himself for reacting too soon.  

“Why?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about I don’t give a damn about her. She’s just any other villain.” The teen’s expression darkened while he averted his eyes again. It was unmistakable that Jason was lying.

Albeit, the teen wanted to be honest, but he simply couldn’t. So, this is what they meant when they said it’s hard to confess. He also couldn’t risk Roy making a laughing spectacle out of him.  

Concluding that they weren’t getting anywhere like this, Roy came even more closer to the teen, causing the ravenette to back further and butt drop on to the bed. Roy took the authority to climb on top, knee dipping into the mattress and arms pillaring on both sides. He practically forced the teen to half lay on the mattress with his hands out in front of him as defense.

The redhead was dangerously close and hovered above him, pinning him to the mattress without really touching him. “Looks like someone has to force it out of u—”

“Force—are you crazy?! Just how—get off!” Jason struggled and fought like a cat.

“Not until you tell me why I’m being treated like a criminal.” Roy finally had him in his grasp so he wasn’t letting him go until he got his answer. Especially considering the mental turmoil he put him through the past two weeks.

“You’re not! I juts needed some space—now back off!” the younger turned his head away and pressed his arm against Roy’s chest to create some space between them.

“Space from what? What exactly happened that day?” The elder only interrogated further like his life depended on it. “Wait.” Jason paused, struggling for a minute at that. “Do you…like Chesire?”

“What?!” Jason’s whole body jerked as turquoise eyes clashed directly against deep blue ones.

“Well at least you’re looking at me now.” Roy’s tone softened in the background.

The teen blinked, a bit off guard before going back to the topic at hand. "Why would you think that? As if! I despise her!"

Okay that last bit came out too vehemently and maybe irrelevant.

Chapter Text

“Then why have you been so withdrawn since that day?”

A scowl formed its way on Jason’s face again as he clammed back up, pursing his lips, eyes searching for excuses or explanations.

Roy waited at the edge of his nerves, but then Dick’s loud voice reverberated from outside the room. “Guys! Training in five!”

Jason saw an opportunity and using that as a distraction, punched Roy in the stomach before scurrying away. While he freed himself, the redhead clutched his midsection lightly.

‘I swear I’m going to…’ Roy couldn’t even finish that internal threat. The hit hardly hurt, what hurt more was the teen constantly running away from him.

‘That was a close one,’ Th teen thought to himself, heart hammering against his ribcage. Roy was so close, he could practically feel his breath on his cheek. Jason rushed out of the room.

Roy exhaled and straightened up on the bed. ‘Mission unsuccessful. Isn’t he a lucky one…’  His thoughts briefly went back to the prior scene with Jason underneath him, bewildered turquoise eyes nervously looking back at him, skin flushed, and jet-black bangs tousled around. The younger was pushing his unknown invisible limits.

‘Did he even know how he looked?’ Roy had to mentally stop the blood from rushing to certain nether regions. He glanced back in the direction of the open door. ‘He was so coy…But at least he said he didn’t like Cheshire…’ Then what was the big deal?

Their training was taking place outdoors today. They were situated in a forest, which concealed robotic shooters and sensors. Their goal was to destroy all of them and avoid getting hit. It was to work on reflexes, precision and teamwork.

Roy volunteered to join them.

“As a reminder, your telepathic links are disabled for today so remember to communicate verbally.”

“Roger that!” Blue Beetle acknowledged.

“Yeah, no silent treatment please.” Roy claimed out loud and Jason shot him a glare. Blue Beetle and Wonder girl glanced at each other once.

Once training started, the team and Roy began taking the shooters out. Robin threw his batarang and another robotic head exploded in response. Beast Boy caught the head with a central laser eye on it.

“Souvenir!” The green haired cheered.

“It’s a training ese.” Jaime reminded.

“Yeah, no need to accept every gift that’s ever given to you, unlike some people.” Jason tossed an indirect jab at someone.

Roy stared at him not entirely following, with his mouth open and a scowl forming.  The redhead hit another shooter. “At least those people don’t clam up.”

“When did I clam up?!” Jason retorted with an agitated tone.

“Uh…are we…still talking about the training?” Gar asked in between.

“Apparently not.” Jaime mumbled from a distance. They were scattered but still within each other’s earshot.

“Oh really?” Roy tested. “So that’s why you weren’t saying anything while I had you pinned to the bed?” The pair had now neglected the rest of the team. Cassie nearly choked.

“You guys were in the same bed?!” The blond quacked.

“Shut up! That’s not what happened!” Jason exclaimed, blushing.

“Oh my God Robin, are you blushing?!”

“Ugh, I said that’s NOT what happened and NO I’m not!” Robin directed to Cassie this time, a headache forming its way to his temples. “Geez do you have to run your mouth so much?!” He scolded, blasting another robot down.

“I was just speaking facts.” Roy casually shrugged, pleased with the teen’s exasperation. Call him petty or childish but he’d like to think of it as a bit of payback for all the anguish the teen put him through.

“Well, your facts are causing misunderstandings!” Jason yelled.

“Oh, please hermanos don’t mind us.” Blue Beetle blandly added, as he sliced through a tree to reveal another hidden laser. It’s like the rest of them were there for the tea, involuntarily prying into the drama.

Jason groaned, facepalming once, causing him to miss a sudden bullet aiming his way. By the time the younger looked sideways to catch a glimpse of it, it was already too close.

Jason’s hand twitched but an arrow flew in to intercept it. Jason glanced in the direction of the arrow which led back to Roy, positioned and ready. The redhead was a good fifteen feet away from him. Both their eyes met, and their expressions softened, almost forgiving, as if suddenly realizing their squabbles were somewhat meaningless. Roy’s chest also settled as he lowered his bow.

Except, that’s when Jason swung another of his batarangs towards the redhead. Roy’s eyes widened initially until an explosion went off and his brain registered the robot head concentrating on him.   

“Nice save.” Red Arrow snickered.

“You too…” Jason shifted his gaze, unwillingly bashful.

That concluded the training, and the team began walking back. Cassie, Jaime, and Gar marched in front while Roy and Jason deliberately put some distance between the rest of the gang and followed behind.

They walked slower to maintain some privacy to finally vanquish whatever dark curse had taken over them. “I wasn’t trying to ignore you.” Jason spoke first. “It just happened and then I didn’t know how to reach out.”

“So, are we finally talking?” The redhead had the nerve to be sarcastic right now.  

“Ugh, I’m trying over here—can’t you just be a little more nicer?”

“Excuse me?” Roy gawked. “You should meet the rest of the league and see what they have to say about me. I don’t think you realize that you always get the more lenient treatment.”

The teen’s heart missed a beat to that. It made him feel better, and willing to talk.

“Fine, fine, no more sarcastic remarks." The elder surrendered when the ravenette didn’t respond right away. Jason suppressed an amused smile.

“I…saw Cheshire hitting on you, all over you, in fact.” Jason slowly confessed. “I was just so confused and taken aback, that’s all.”

“Ugh that. She’s annoying, she does that sometimes. I want to think she’s interested in me, but I’d rather not entertain that idea.”

“…do you… what do you think of her? Are you also interested in that way?”

“Hell no.” It was a solid, firm, stern no from the redhead.

“Okay.” Jason was so relieved, but he wouldn’t say that out loud.

“You seem relieved. Why would that bother you though?”

“What? No? Of course not, I don’t care. It’s just that relationships are a waste of time and an unnecessary distraction from the missions. Plus, she’s a criminal—I couldn’t stand by and just let it happen…” The younger made excuses, though he wasn’t wrong.

“Please, as if I’d do that.” Roy rolled his eyes. “If that’s what you were worried about, you could’ve just confronted me and I would’ve cleared the misunderstanding instead of putting me through all that mental rumination for weeks.”

“Yeah...my bad...like I said I didn’t know how and once I started avoiding, I just—wait, what?” The teen shot his head up. “You mean you’ve been thinking about it all this time?”

The redhead cleared his throat. “Who wouldn’t? You didn’t really make it subtle with the way you were blatantly just avoiding me.”

“Er…yea…” The teen probably couldn’t apologize enough. Nevertheless, he was glad they cleared everything up without his feelings getting exposed. This way they can continue with their current friendship? Relationship? Something… “Sorry…”

“There you go with murmuring the important stuff again.”

Jason glared at him, his expression screaming, ‘you promised to be nice.’

“Right right, how convenient.” The redhead succumbed once again. He was personally amazed at how just one look from the younger faltered him enough to not pursue his cause anymore. Roy scooted closer as they peacefully walked back, stealing a glance at the teen. “But…” He dragged, rendering Jason to look at him. “Someone definitely acted jealous there.~” He teased. “You sure there’s nothing else going on in that impulsive head of yours?”

The ravenette playfully punched the other’s arm. “Shut up.” But he was less angry, less evasive than before. Jason also inched closer, smoothly gliding closer, while Roy chuckled.

“It’s…good to have you back.” Jason voiced. It was meant to be a trivial statement but with the soft pausing tone, it ended up sounding more sentimental.  

“Hmp,” Roy scoffed in agreement, their shoulders brushing once. “Oh yeah? Then next time don’t run away and this’ll stay.” He smirked. It was so charming, borderline flirtatious. Jason hated how much it moved him internally. Yes, he was jealous of Cheshire, but Roy didn’t need to know that. Ever.

Jason was back at the Batcave, seated in front of the bat-computer, skimming through files. He had been searching for his parents for a while now. His dad was currently in prison— that much was confirmed. His mother died of an illness. Or at least that’s what he thought. It seems that person, Catherine, who passed away was his stepmother. His biological mother, Sheila, was still alive.

Jason was going through some pictures when he spotted one of Joker and a blond woman. The teen couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling and dug deeper, to discover that it was indeed her. Sheila and the Joker were in Bosnia.

He had to go see her.

“You’re still here?” Bruce’s voice startled him at the foot of the cave.

“Oh, Bruce! Hey, uh, yeah, I was just getting up. It’s all yours.” The younger quickly shut all his tabs and went off to his room.

There was no question to it. Jason was going to Bosnia. He just needed a plan first.

Jason woke up to an emergency alert from the titans. With a sense of alarm, he got dressed quickly and began to head out. It seemed like his other plans would have to wait. 

Presuming it was important, the teen was at the cave in no time. Albeit, only to find out that it was—

“Our annual fundraiser potluck!” Cassie exclaimed, excited. Jason’s expression dropped faster than water.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” The ravenette deadpanned.

“And we wanted you to join us this year. It’s always a lot of fun. We all make our own unique dishes and take them to the orphanage.” M’gann told as she carried a huge set of pots.  

“Every year? I don’t remember there being one last year.” Jason pointed out.

“We did. But you were on a mission.”

“…Is it too late to join a mission now?” The ravenette quietly rolled his eyes away.

“Oh, come on! The food’s always great! We all join in and the other kids love my animal tricks.” Gar chimed in.

“Your.” Jason singled out the most important part of that statement.

“Don’t be such a downer ese, you won’t regret my enchiladas~.” Jaime also added, carrying a pot containing frying pans and utensils.

Jason sighed. ‘Technically, he’d be leaving for Bosnia soon anyway, so what’s one more random outing?’ He thought nonchalantly. “Fine…”

The teens helped each other carry the pots, pans and grills outside near the water to give themselves plenty of space to cook, make a mess or allow fumes to roam free without triggering the smoke detectors inside. There was laughter, movement and excitement in the air as they all gathered their ingredients and figured out what they were making.

Cassie made a classic from Themyscira, Jaime made his enchiladas, and Gar helped M’gann and Conner. Meanwhile, Jason didn’t know where to start or what to even make. Sure, he cooked for himself all the time and practically raised himself, but nothing was special enough for an event like this.  

“Hey Jason, what’s up?” M’gann noticed his dilemma and stopped over his side while wiping her hands with a rag. “Need an extra hand?”

“Extra hand? I can’t even figure out what to make first.”

“Hmm, why not go with a dessert then?” She suggested. “We don’t have that on the menu yet and I know the kids love some sugar.”

Jason gave it a thought. It wasn’t the worst idea, and he himself also enjoyed a good dessert from time to time. “I think that might just do.” He partially smiled. “Also, is it just us or is anyone else…” before he could finish that question, as if on cue, two more individuals entered the scene.

Artemis and Roy joined them outside in the backyard. Jason’s heart skipped a beat seeing Roy in his casual clothes once again. Without anyone saying anything, Roy trudged over to Jason. “Yo.” Roy greeted.

“Yo.” Jason echoed initially. “So, they managed to get you here too, huh? What bribe did they use?”

“Emotional.” The redhead answered. The teen laughed at that, and Roy enjoyed the view. “What are you making?”

“I was gonna ask you the same. I cook but I didn’t have anything in mind until Miss Martian mentioned deserts.”

“Hn, that sounds delicious.” The elder agreed.

“You like sweets?”

“From time to time. Why not?”

Jason smiled with contention. “Me too.”

“So, since I don’t have a station of my own, maybe we can just team up again?” Roy smirked, very clearly on to something or satisfied with the circumstances.

“Okay, but no orders, follow my lead this time.” Jason said pointedly.

“Yes, yes,” The elder playfully rolled his eyes and stepped closer to the teen, who began pouring ingredients. Roy peered over the teen’s shoulder from behind and Jason couldn’t ignore how comfortably close he was. When he reached for a different bowl, his shoulder brushed against Roy’s chest. Both of them pretended not to care but noticed it each time.

“Can you whisk this?” The ravenette decided to make use of the other just standing there.

“What kind of question is that? Gimme that.” Roy pulled off his jacket and tossed it aside, exposing his form fitting black half-sleeved T-shirt. He took the bowl from the younger and incautiously turned on the hand mixer.  Big mistake. The batter began spraying everywhere because not only was it held too straight, but Roy also thought it’d be efficient to go to the highest speed.

Jason shrieked. “Close it! Close it!” He scrambled to reach for the dial over Roy’s hands. When it finally turned off, there were mild splashes of batter on their clothes and on the outdoor table they were using. The two exchanged glances and burst into laughter, for a change.

Jason felt liberated for the first time. Never would he have dreamed, as troubled kid, of experiencing such moments. He wished these times would stay like this forever. He had really built something worthwhile here with Bruce and the titans.

Roy scooped some of the batter off his shirt and swiped it on top of Jason’s nose. “Hey!” The ravenette recoiled. The other teens watched them and chuckled.

“Boys,” M’gann shook her head with a smile. It was also new to see their old teammate, Roy open up like this.

In the end, the carrot cake turned out great with the icing and all. They cut the cake into slices and individually wrapped them in plastic.   

“Geez, you’re a disaster…but you get things done.” The redhead commented.

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that? But my pleasure.” Jason raised his chin high.

Chapter Text

In the orphanage, the teens distributed the food to the kids and afterwards, ate together as well. Jason was sitting on the bench alone holding his plate of cake. He was thinking more than eating. There was a bit of undefined uneasiness troubling his insides that didn’t allow him to dig into his cake.

“Funny, it tasted fine to me.” Another voice snapped him out of his daze.

“What?” Jason croaked, looking up. It was Roy. “Oh, it’s okay…I just don’t have an appetite anymore…” His eyes wandered away and even Roy could tell his mind was elsewhere. Sometimes the teen was an open book. Unbeknownst to the younger , the redhead was studying him like a hawk. 

Roy eventually joined him on the bench. “What’s up?’

The ravenette stared at him, pondering for a long time whether he should spill or lie, and how much. At the same time the anxiety was suffocating him, an impending feeling of doom which he knew was unreal and unwarranted. However, it was enough to make him confess. Roy had shared his internal struggles with him one time, so they were close enough to trust with each other’s secrets. He also felt like for some reason, he wouldn’t get another chance.

Jason pursed his lips and put his hands together in between his knees, interlocking his fingers and looking down. “I grew up without my parents.”

Roy glanced at him, speechless but frowning. He would make a joke, but the seriousness caught him off guard, so he respected the other.  

“Well for most part. My dad went to prison when I was a kid. And my mom succumbed to illness and passed away. But…” The teen lifted his hands and brought them over his nose, forming a triangle there. “Between me and you, recently I’ve found out that she wasn’t my real mom. I think my biological mom is still out there.”

Jason didn’t know why he was sharing but he felt like he should and felt comfortable opening up. Even if it didn’t concern Roy if something was to happen to him, at least someone should know.

“Have you…?” Roy began.

“No, I don’t know yet. I haven’t met her. But I might have an idea where she is.”

“But it goes without saying you’re going to check it out.” It was more of a statement than question from the elder. Jason nodded. Roy asked the natural follow up question. “Where?”

Out of everything, that was what Roy was most curious about. Something in his gut tightened when he thought of the possibility of Jason traveling somewhere far away, alone.

“I…” Jason averted his eyes. “Not sure yet, I need to do more research.” He lied. He didn’t want to risk the other following him.

“I see…” Roy exhaled. So, the teen wasn’t kidding about living on the streets. I guess both of them had a lack of childhood without parents.

“I didn’t get to know my parents either.” Roy revealed as well, while they were on the topic of parents and past. “They died in a forest fire. I lived on the reservation with the chief until Green Arrow found me.”

“Oh wow, I didn’t know…” Jason blinked. He felt more emotionally closer to Roy than ever before. The ravenette’s gaze dropped briefly to let that information and empathy sink in.

“So, you’re not alone.” The redhead placed a hand over Jason's shoulder comfortingly. “If you need help scouting her down, let me know. That’s literally all I’ve been doing.” He scoffed into a smirk, influencing a smile on Jason’s face too. That really helped lighten his mood and ease his anxiety.

“Thanks.” Turquoise eyes shimmered at the redhead with hope and life. Roy continued to stare back at him, leaning in closer. The world stopped moving around them, the atmosphere felt heavy, soft, passionate? All at once. Jason couldn’t hear anything either, all he saw was Roy’s bright hair and dark blue eyes. He may have imagined it but it felt like those eyes flickered down at his lips once, ever so briefly. The younger subconsciously almost did the same.

There was some magnetic force pulling them closer and the younger could feel it too, as he leaned in. Some foreign emotion in him wanted to feel the other, his temperature, his skin, and wanted Roy to touch him back. The teen was getting butterflies just thinking about it. They were inches away, feeling each other’s breathes on their cheeks until a kid roared in the background, making them jump.

The pair broke apart faster than the Flash himself, with a faint blush dusting their cheeks.

“Well!” Jason shot up from his seat, someone had to break the awkward unspoken air. “I should get going, I’m sure Bats has something for me. Plus I-I gotta get back to researching, you know.” He loosely chuckled after the small ramble.

Roy stared at him a little more seriously, his brain was still lagging from the physical emotions. Before Jason could escape, a firm hand caught his wrist making him turn back in surprise.

“Be careful, Jason.” Was all Roy said as he looked him straight in the eyes. The teen felt something heavy strike him in the chest when he heard his name called out like that-with such seriousness and concern. 

‘Wait, was that the first time he's said his name properly?’ Jason realized. ‘Ah man, what should he do? He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to let go.’ He thought, eyeing the hand.

In a perfect imaginary world, he’d maybe ask Roy to come with him. But, no, he couldn’t. He couldn’t be selfish.

For starters, he didn’t even know if Roy felt the same way. If…he wanted something more than this friendship…

This was the only time he was afraid to find out about an answer. While Jason was busy contemplating, the redhead also stood up, now looking down at him. They stared at each other for a brief second before Jason broke the silence again. “Thanks. Roy.” He let the name roll off his tongue as well. “I will.”

That sincere smile was the last thing Roy saw before the teen gently removed his hand and waved a quick goodbye. The elder stood a moment longer, watching the other’s back before ducking his head and rubbing a thumb on his lips once in thought.

Jason convinced Dick that he was going on an overnight field trip with his school—outdoor camping blah blah. Luckily Dick bought into his lies and without informing anyone he booked a ticket to Bosnia.

The teen was currently walking inside his hotel lobby. He was grateful Bruce gave him so much money for expenses. Of course he rejected it at first but the elder convinced him to buy more food and clothes when he needed. A part of him felt kind of guilty spending it like this—

Jason could hardly finish the thought when a hand yanked him backwards into a storage closet, slamming him against the wall.

"Jason!" An all too familiar voice roared in his ears as he cracked his eyes open and saw the serious face before him.

"Bruce?" There was mild surprise in his tone as he uttered the name. "You followed me—figures." Why was he shocked at that? He could never hide anything from the elder.

"I was about to guess the same for you, but I didn't follow you to Bosnia, I followed Ra's Al Ghul."

"Hah, he's got you jumping through hoops to marry his daughter again, huh?" There was a taste of spite on his tongue. "Well, I'm on my own mission here. I'm tracking joker."

"Joker? Here? And you're tracking him alone? You know how dangerous that is right—we have specific protocols—"

"I know he shot Barbara through the spine! And you only put that waste of life back in a cell. Well he's broken out again." The teen criticized.

"Ra's is attempting to build deadly bombs, and he's buying nuclear material from an unknown seller." Bruce told.

"…Joker got a hold of stolen uranium. I got a lead he's selling it to terrorists." Upon that, Jason took out his radar from his inside pocket and showed it.

The elder smiled at that. "Excellent detective work Jason. I think It's going to take Batman and Robin to close this case."

Pushing all the animosity from aside earlier, Jason smiled back in agreement.

Batman and Robin hid behind a snow pile, below ground level to a warehouse up ahead as they tracked their adversaries.

"Ra's's men are getting away. We need to act now." Bruce claimed.

"Batcycle only seats one. You take them down while I investigate that warehouse we tracked Joker in." Robin pointed.

"No. Stay here." Batman sternly stated, grabbing hold of the teen's shoulders, insinuating just how serious he was. "Just watch that warehouse."

"But—" The younger wanted to prove he was capable of much more than that. He wanted to make Bruce proud and showcase how much he had improved.

"Jason for once just listen to me. Don't go after joker alone—he's too dangerous. Do you read me?"

The teen's shoulders slumped. "…loud and clear. Just… hurry back." He replied dejected. Batman nodded once and rode off on his motorbike.

Jason waited for what seemed like forever. 'He's going to get away…there's no way Bruce is going to make it back in time.' The younger was fidgeting back and forth. 'He could take that clown on his own…what was the big deal? Especially since Joker was alone here without his usual devices…it shouldn't be too bad…Batman could always join in later.' Jason wanted to make that clown pay. And then they could fly back home, feeling accomplished.

However, it was nothing like Jason planned. He held up a good fight initially but Joker pulled out his usual tricks and in the blink of an eye, had the upper hand suddenly. The deranged clown managed to tie his wrists behind his back and beat the everliving crap out of him with a crowbar. The teen never looked away though, a glare persistently lingering in his bright turquoise eyes as he took every hit. He was also convinced that Batman would barge in any minute.

But seconds dragged into minutes and no one showed up, to the point Jason had to fake being unconscious just for the Joker to leave him be. It worked, as Joker stopped his abuse and began pulling his coat on.

"Okay kiddo, I gotta go now. That was fun, wasn't it? Though it was probably a smidge more fun for me than it was for you—I'm just guessing since you're being awfully quiet…" Joker opened the door, the blizzard winds from outside ravaging inside, sending a chill to his bruised body. "Anyways, be a good boy, finish your homework and be in bed by nine. Oh, and please tell the big man, I said hello." His undying cackle could be heard even as the wooden door closed shut.

As soon as the clown was gone, Jason peered an eye open, grunting as he rolled over on the floor such that his wrists were now in front of him. He pushed himself off the ground, standing weakly, taking a step but collapsing back down. 'Shit it hurt like no other.' He had no choice but to crawl his way to the old door, streaks of blood smearing on floor while he practically dragged his body. The glimmer of hope he had died on the spot once he reached the door and felt it was locked, trying the door handle a couple times.

'Fxck…' He didn't even have the strength to slam his body against the door to force it open.

Tick.

'Fxck, fxck.' He was such an idiot.

Tick.

Tick.

Over the internal cries of his wounded body, the teen hadn't processed it before, but he glanced to the far end of the room to find a timer—counting down.

Jason's expression numbed as it hit him. 'A bomb.' The time was already at the seconds phase. At that point, he had accepted his fate, as he sadly closed his eyes. He wished he could have said goodbye to Bruce, Alfred, and Dick one last time—he felt so sorry for them, not aware of any of this to come. And Roy… if only he had figured out his feelings earlier…he would have confessed if he knew he'd die today. Jason recalled their simple, fun last moment.

There was no use in crying now. Jason knew that but tears still welled behind closed eyes as he clenched his jaw.

As soon as Batman found his partner missing from the site he left him, he was speeding towards the warehouse. The elder didn't even wait to brake and hopped off the batcycle when he reached the hill. Batman barraged the warehouse but not in time before it exploded.

“Robin!” Batman screamed as broken panels, rubble and fire burst around the warehouse. Batman scurried around, tossing pieces of wood aside until he finally found a body. But it was too late, Jason battered self was unresponsive.  

“Robin…” Bruce gingerly lifted the body, holding it close as it limp in his hands, tears forming in his eyes.

‘What has he done?’

Roy had been occupied and didn’t get an opportunity to stop by Mount Justice ever since the orphanage trip. Today was exceptionally gloomy, it was raining non-stop all day and the sky had taken on a permanent dark dull grey. Normally, Roy wasn’t one to care about the weather, but he couldn’t look away today.

He was finishing up a mission when he received a text from Dick.

D: We need to meet.

Roy stared at the text confused. Nevertheless, he did.

“Hey, what’s up? What’s the urgency suddenly?” The redhead instantly asked upon meeting up. And right away, he could tell something was off with Dick. The ravenette looked dark, like he hadn’t slept for months, eyes heavy on the ground and was gravely quiet.

“I was wondering if you were going to join us at the funeral…” He finally said after a long tense minute.

“What? Who’s?”

Dick let out a shaky difficult breath. “Jason’s.” He couldn’t answer without closing his eyes, as if he couldn’t face Roy at all.

Roy’s soul dropped. His brain didn’t even process it at first. His lips were about to say ‘Hah, nice one, you got me. April fools.’ Except it was no where near April.  And secondly, he was fooling no one with that attitude.

The redhead stumbled a step back. He needed to sit down but he tried to maintain his composure. He had so many questions, so many thoughts and scenarios flashing through his head.

Sure, heroes died in their line of work but like this…someone so young, someone he knew so close…someone he… He felt his entire world crashing down with a loud bang. Roy’s ears began ringing and his brain still couldn’t comprehend what he heard.

In the end, all he could half-heartedly mutter was, “Uh, yea…something…” he didn’t even know what he was saying or when Dick left. Roy just continued to stand there, rain pouring, every droplet hitting and trailing down his body mixing in with possible tears—he wouldn’t know.   

How he wished he could go back in time to spend a little more time with the teen. Follow his heart and explore what they had but this was just a hard unwilling lesson that far too many of them took the present for granted.

For Roy, it seemed like it was too late. He couldn’t bring himself to sleep that night. The arrow master just sat there in his apartment, in the dark, in dead silence.  

Chapter Text

Six Months Later

Mount Justice.  Nightwing was going over some new Krolotean intel to Tim and Gar.

“They call it a meta-gene…” Nightwing read the translation.  

“What’s a meta-gene?” Tim Drake, fifteen years old, and new Robin asked. Bruce was a mess after Jason’s death, to the point where he left all the preparations to Alfred and the funeral home. He was so distraught, he couldn’t bring himself to see that cheerful face so soulless and pale. Almost half a year later, it took a lot of convincing from Tim for Batman to even consider taking in a new protégé.

“Never meta gene I didn’t like~.” Gar, thirteen years old, joked. Aside from that, not much had changed in Mount Justice or with the team, but it certainly was never the same after Jason’s death. Even if Jason didn’t talk much or wasn’t the rowdiest of the bunch, the place was uncomfortably quiet, joyless, and dreary, like something was constantly missing.

“Warning. Unknown energy impulse detected.” A sudden announcement called out in the cave. Lightning began crackling in the center and a single pod time-machine appeared out of thin air. The smoke cleared and to their surprise a thirteen year old preteen jumped out.

“Tada!” The small teen cheered. He had a wide grin and bright green eyes masked behind amber goggles. The preteen had short, parted brown hair and wore a skin tight suit, similar to something Flash would wear.

“Intruder alert. Intruder alert.” The computer kept alarming.

“Computer. Lock down cave.” Nightwing ordered.

“Well, it looks like we’ve found our unknown energy impulse.”  Gar remarked.

“Impulse? That’s so crash!” The new kid exclaimed. “Catchy, dramatic—one word.” He then zoomed towards the three. “Just like Nightwing. Robin, and Beast Boy. Except, that’s two words. So is Blue Beetle—hey is he here?” The brunette clearly was a speedster with his fast transmissions and 2x speech. “Never mind, Impulse can find that out himself. Haha.” And with that, ‘Impulse’ was long gone, vanished into the deep end of the hallway.

“You two. Take him down. Now.” Nightwing urged. Beast Boy and Robin were on it.  Impulse effortlessly ran ahead, a zip of colors fading behind him. He checked the showers, turning on the water of all the faucets so Beast Boy’s cheetah could slip. Then he scoured the living room, hallways, before coming back around to the main area. The younger circled around the tunnel in a 360 manner to avoid the marbles on the ground, but ultimately, he took a direct unseen hit from Nightwing and fell to the ground.

They handcuffed his wrists and ankles before sitting him on the chair.

“So, you’re a tourist from the future?” Tim asked again.

“Yup!”

The ravenette looked suspicious and unconvinced.

“Look, look, look, guys, we should all be friends. I’m really one of you guys—part of the heroic legacy, right?” Impulse persuaded. “My name is Bart Allen, grandson of Barry Allen, you know the Flash.”

“Noted. But not believed.” Gar crossed his arms with a carefree smile. Nightwing offered him a glass of water.

“Oh I know what you’re trying to do. Trying to get my DNA sample, that’s such a Dick Grayson move.” Bart sneered. Tim was taken aback at Bart knowing Nightwing’s secret identity. “I know all of your identities, Tim drake, Garfield Logan—see? Do you believe me now?”

“Could he be telling the truth?” Tim glanced at Dick.

“If you’re really from the future, tell us something we don’t know.” Gar pointed two inches from his face. “When do I become leader? Do I join the Justice League? When do I get my own reality series?”

“Sorry BB, can’t risk altering the timeline, then we’ll all be feeling the mode.”

“And that would be bad…?” Gar echoed, not fully grasping the lingo.

“Can’t get any worse than crashing the mode…”  Bart’s tone turned serious, until the gate opened. “Looks like that’s my cue.” The preteen began vibrating nonstop and slipped out of the handcuffs, zooming past them and right out the crack of the gate.  

Impulse beelined straight to Barry, giving him a big old hug and introducing himself. Dick called Wally to inform him of the situation and help him catch up to the new intruder. Wally was there in no time, also earning a hug from the hyperactive preteen.

Impulse was there to change everything. He planned to save his grandfather, save the human race, and just simply, belong. Somewhere. After all, the future was bleak and very lonely.

With his quirky personality, the preteen assimilated quite easily and quickly among the team. He got along very well with Blue Beetle, seeking him out at any chance he got. Of course, he had ulterior motives with him, since the brunette was trying to prevent his time’s morbid future. And Blue Beetle was a big part of that. His mission was to make sure Jaime wouldn’t betray the human race.

Nevertheless, he did enjoy the other’s company. Their personalities mixed and matched well. Jaime was the calm to his overly active fidgety personality. The two year age gap felt like almost nothing. To Bart, it also like having a brother. As someone who didn’t grow up with his parents and only had his grandfather for a brief time until he passed away as well, Bart was very alone in the future. After his parents passed away, as a toddler, his metabolism was also a lot faster than normal, so he spent his early life in a lab, in a virtual reality chamber until scientists could figure out what to do.  

While he was settling in, the Reach kidnapped Jaime and his friends to run tests on them. Their goal was to test and activate the meta-gene in certain individuals. Impulse helped M’gann, Conner, Dick and the others to free them. They succeeded and freed four other teens who were taken to the Meta-human lab for evaluation. Those four consisted of Virgil, Asami, Tye, Eduardo Dorado and Nate.

Meanwhile, during that time, Roy was a walking talking zombie. He had managed to find his original, Roy harper, who looked younger than him due to the fact that he was trapped in a cryogenic chamber the entire time. The teen was shaken up and full of emotions but for the most part he would be alright—except for a missing arm.

The original Roy wanted revenge and raided Lex Luthor’s building, only to come out with a trade.

“From now on, call me Arsenal.” The younger Roy claimed, holding out an artificial metal arm.

“Knock. Knock.” A female voice knocked on Roy’s apartment. The redhead had been drinking, sitting on the couch in the dark, with his head low. What else could he do while at home, alone? If he wasn’t overworking himself, he was just relapsing and not taking care of his health. He ignored the door the first two times until a window shattered. Someone hopped in and walked towards him, but he couldn’t care less. “Well, well what do we have here?”

“What do you want?” Roy grumbled without looking up. He already knew who it was. Cheshire.

“This is such an eyesore.”

“Then don’t look and get out.”

Cheshire sighed. “If only it was that easy. Come on big boy, you got your end of the bargain, now its time to collect mine.”

“What?” The redhead finally looked up at her from the couch, with a scowl.

“Just how much have you been drinking?” She snatched the bottle from the man. “Hello? Who helped you find the original Roy Harper? Of course, it wasn’t for free.” Roy stood up and reached for the bottle but Cheshire swiped it sideways. “Or are you so naïve, hm?” She hummed with a smile, as she grazed a finger down Roy’s chiseled jaw, who was now only inches away from her face.

Roy was still in his Red Arrow outfit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“There you go again. Okay, what happened to our red arrow now?” Chesire could tell he was deeply troubled and in a daze over something. She had been watching Roy for far too long to know that the man did not succumb to normal pressure easily. She put a hand behind his head to urge him into an embrace, but Roy shoved her away before walking back to the couch.

‘How long had it been since his death?’ Six months. Six whole months of this brooding, this meaningless lifestyle. Nothing but empty days, sleepless nights, and a listless mind full of regret and remorse. He dropped back down on the couch.

Cheshire tossed the bottle away and walked over as well.

“Something has been troubling you, but I can’t seem to put a finger on what.” She spoke out loud to deaf ears. Roy didn’t bother answering. “Babe, life is so short, are you sure you want to waste it away like this?” She moved his chin, forcing him to face her. “No trouble can be worth this much pain.”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Roy turned away again, swatting her hand. If he wasn’t drunk or grief ridden, he normally wouldn’t have engaged in this conversation for this long.

“Hm…it’s someone?”       

Roy blinked and stiffened.

“So it is…” Her tone wasn’t the most pleased, but she attempted to conceal it behind a cocky grin.  “Oh please, who could possibly be worth this much grief? Let me help you get out of your misery. I’ll make you forget her all together.” Cheshire leaned in.

“No. get out.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Still enough will to push me away huh?” She picked up a bottle and chugged the drink in her mouth. Without swallowing she yanked Roy’s face and forced a kiss on him, spilling the liquid into his mouth. The redhead instinctively swallowed some and coughed the rest. The woman didn’t waste any time and pushed him down on the couch, climbing on top. She straddled his hips, and leaned into his ears.

“You—!”

“Shhh, close your eyes if you want. I’ll make you feel like you’ve never before. Imagine that person if you want.” She allured and Roy’s brain short circuited.

‘Imagine… Jason…? Was he crazy?’

“You won’t get another opportunity like this, they’re not coming back to you anyway.” She continued to hypnotize.

‘It was true. Jason was dead. He wasn’t coming back, ever. He had lost him forever.’ The realization alone was tainting his veins with thick tar all over again. He truly wanted to forget this grief. Even just for a day. And so far, nothing had been doing it, not even working himself to the bone. There were too many memories, too many places he had seen with Robin present that it was impossible to forget him when he was awake. His dreams were no better.

Moreover, he couldn’t get over the regret that he discovered his true feelings for Jason only after his death.  All the times, he felt pulled towards the teen, wanting to tease him, touch him, laugh with him—it was all because he wanted to be with him.

Not to say that Roy wanted this but for a moment he let himself go and let whatever it was take over him. ‘Jason…’ He thought as he felt lips on top of him and allowed them to kiss him. The rest of the night was a blank.

Impulse befriended the team very well and they all loved him too. He had managed to save Flash from getting killed in that incident with Neutron and was close friends with Blue Beetle. He would think all’s well and done, however it seemed loss still followed him no matter where he went.

It would happen, in one of their attempts to save the world, Wally would become the ultimate sacrifice. His speed wasn’t enough, and he would end up merging with the speed force while trying to neutralize the Reach’s planetary scale weapon. Literally, after he had so kindly passed on the Kid Flash mantle to Bart, which he was already so excited about. The teens from the meta-human lab, or runaways as they liked to call themselves, also played a crucial role to help deactivate the Reach tech. Though, nothing could compare to the loss they all felt that day, especially Dick and Wally’s family.

Wally’s funeral took place days later, and all of the Justice League plus the Young Justice members showed up. Bart was dressed in formal attire. He should be grateful, the metahumans were free, the Reach was out of commission, the future was finally different… but how could he be? When this was the cost…

The brunette clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop himself from shaking and the tears from spilling down his face. He wasn’t one to show any other deeper emotion besides joy, but he couldn’t stop the exaggerated grins from collapsing while he clutched Kid Flash’s goggles. The preteen hid behind a tree, leaning against it as he silently sobbed on to the goggles.

The runaway teens unexpectedly found themselves at the funeral with Jaime as well. They didn’t need to, but considering the sacrifice and how much Wally contributed in saving all of them, it was the least they could do. Even though the teens had a lot to figure out, they did work well together.

Except, after a while, Ed was beginning to feel a bit out of place. The curly haired teen walked away from the crowd, leaving Jaime and Virgil chatting. As he stepped away, he inevitably spotted a young boy partially hidden behind a tree.

Bart was sitting on the grass, sniffed his nose once and the next time he opened his eyes there was a handkerchief in front of his face. The brunette rushed to rub his eyes, wiping the tears away and making them a little red in the process. Bashfully, he took the handkerchief, wanting to punch himself for showing such a vulnerable sight. Lord knows he wouldn’t last two seconds in the future like this. But then again, this wasn’t the future…

The preteen peeked up to see who his gentleman was and was speechless when he recognized one of the runaway teens. Bart recalled rescuing him from the Reach and even seeing him outside Canary’s office when they were taking turns speaking with her.  

“T-thanks. Ah, geez, I probably look terrible, haha, sorry. You probably weren’t expecting that?” The younger rambled. Ed only stared at him in return, without a change in expression.

“It’s normal, you’re at a funeral.” The ravenette nonchalantly stated in his mild accent.

“Um, I guess…” Bart thought Ed would be difficult to talk to, considering all the other teens at least exchanged one or few words with him, but Ed never spoke up or even looked his way. This was peculiar.

“Excuse me.” Ed nodded and respectfully left. Bart stood after him, surmising something didn’t feel quite right.

‘Did he…even recognize me?’ Bart mused since he was treated as a complete stranger just now. He held the soft fabric in his hands, pressing in under his thumbs, the warmth spreading to his chest.  ‘That was still a very nice gesture.’ He stifled a smile. Not many people reached out to him first like that, especially when he was always the one chasing after people.

Little did he know these feelings of gratitude would blossom into something deeper.

“Well, we should be heading back.” Tye announced. Asami stood beside him.

“You guys are going back together?” Jaime asked.

“She doesn’t have a place to stay, and my place is big enough, so it’ll work—for now at least.” Tye explained.

“Me appreciate.” Asami bowed her head.

“Okay, that sounds good. I’ll see you around since we live close by anyway.” Jaime fist bumped his friend.

“You bet.”

“By the way, I’m considering joining the league, make use of these powers. We already accomplished a lot, and they are kinda cool.” Virgil added with a grin.

Chapter Text

“Sure thing, if you guys ever need anything, seriously, just holler. Anytime.” Jaime waved them goodbye and they did the same.

As the others left, Ed pondered on his next move. He didn’t want to be involved with the whole hero bit—it didn’t suit him but at the same time, he couldn’t go back to Argentina either. After all, he had just run away from there to be with his dad, Dr. Eduardo, the scientist of the Meta-human lab. 

For now, he retreated to his dad’s condo. He didn’t have the best hold of his powers yet, so he would inevitably, unfortunately need his dad’s help.

Bart was at home, at Barry’s home, laying on his bed upside down, rocking his legs. It had been a little over a week since the funeral. The brunette played around with the handkerchief. ‘I need to return it…but how, I don’t know where he is…’

That’s when an idea struck him.

Five minutes later:

“Heyy my buddy blue!” Bart sang at the top of his lungs. “It’s so nice to see you! Did you miss me? I missed you!” The brunette was literally at the other’s front door in his Impulse outfit.

“We just met a day ago.” Jaime didn’t look too rejoiced.

“A day too long.” Bart grinned widely.

“What are you even doing here so early?” The older teen yawned.

“Oops. Forgot about the time zone ha ha—anyway, I need your help.”

“Whatever it is, can’t it wait until after breakfast??” Jaime griped.

“Like I said, I miscalculated the time zone, my bad, but I’m here now and you’re up as well.”

‘Let’s destroy him.’ Scarab internalized.

“We can’t do that.”

“Aww, why not? Pretty please! Please, I need the help of my very best friend.” Bart coaxed with a tight hug. 

“Okay okay.” Jaime surrendered. “What is it?” Bart and his need to be touchy all the time. It was still new to Jaime.

“I need your expertise—or more like personal connections to help track someone.” The brunette rambled and the other looked at him with a cocked brow. He allowed him into the house. “One of the runaways.” The younger told.

“Who?”

Bart blanked, realizing he completely forgot the other’s name, or never came across it.  “Uh, oh geez, look at me totally clueless right now. The kid with the shaggy hair, looks like he could be your half-brother.”

“Now that’s just racist, hermano.” The elder deadpanned.

“Sorry-not the best descriptors, but I find it cute.”  Bart chuckled sheepishly.

“Why do you need to see Dorado?” Jaime was curious enough to ask.

“I just do. I need to return something to him.” The preteen averted his eyes.

“Return? When did you guys even talk or meet for him to give you something?” The short haired teen was all questions. He was genuinely curious and amazed how these two could possibly be anywhere in talking distance, since they were such polar opposites. “And return what?”  

“Okay come on, enough questions, let’s just go! I have no idea where any of them are at. Last I checked they escaped star labs and Lex Luthor.”

“Didn’t you hear anything I said, hello?? Time difference? It’s seven in the morning, who’s gonna be up at this time?”

“Oh right, right. Blasted.”

“What’s all the commotion Jaime? Oh hi Bart.” Jaime’s mom entered the scene.

“Hi Mrs. Reyes!” Bart greeted.

“I was going get breakfast ready soon, would you like to join?”

“Oh, haha, how kind of you to offer—I kind of already ate but sure I'd love too.” The younger grinned happily and Jaime gave him a look that read ‘of course you do.’

After breakfast, they flew out. Blue Beetle took to the skies while Impulse trailed on foot. Not long after, they made it to a spacious yet simple house. Blue Beetle landed back on the ground and rang the doorbell, switching out of the blue armor. Meanwhile, Bart mentally prepared his dialogue, ready for when the stiff Argentine teen confronted them. He wanted to be liked by everyone and make a good impression—bad habit. Or good one? Or maybe the result of his trauma of being abandoned all the time.

‘Dorado can be a hard person to talk to. But then again, they haven’t properly—’ The brunette’s thoughts were truncated by the front door opening. ‘Huh?’

It was Tye. “Hey guys, what’s up?”

“Hey, my bad for the early morning visit but this guy over here wants to give Eduardo something. You know where he lives?” Jaime debriefed.

“Oh yeah, I’ll give you the address. He lives in Taos.” The long-haired teen gave them the exact address after. “But at this time, he’s likely with his dad at the research center. He’s been complaining about that, yet still always there.”

“He doesn’t wanna stay home?” Jaime posed.

“Says he’s got nothing to do at home. Plus, his dad’s been pushing him to learn more about his abilities.” Tye shrugged a shoulder.

“Where’s the research center?” Bart interjected with the more relevant questions.

“It’s the meta-human research lab in Taos, only one.” Tye clarified.

“Roger that!” The younger saluted and sprinted away.

“Hey—wai—” Jaime called out but it was too late. He sighed. “He’s gone.” 

“Quite the hyperactive one. I’m surprised you two even get along.”

“You have no idea…” Jaime shook his head. “Plus, he just has a way of breaking all your walls and forcing himself in.” Tye stared at him while the other mouthed.

“I see…” Tye averted his gaze, feeling a pang of something. As if on cue, Jaime also noticed the shift in attitude but couldn’t pinpoint it.

“Anyway, I gotta make sure he stays out of trouble. I’ll text you later!” With that the short haired teen also flew off.

Bart made it inside the lab building, into the hallway. He was lucky his Impulse outfit granted him instant access. Dr. Eduardo Dorado Sr. also recognized him and allowed him in.

“Hello, young hero, are you here to assist us?” Dr. Ed greeted.

“Morning Doc, actually, sorry maybe some other time, I won’t mind lending a hand at all. But um, is your son around?”

“Eduardo? He should be around here somewhere. Or maybe on the third floor, that’s where the meta gene testing is done.”

“Thank you!” And he ran off, right in time for Jaime to arrive.

Bart was on the third floor in less than a second, swinging both hallway doors open to find no one. That is until his target stepped out of a room. Bart’s face beamed. “Found you!” He dashed towards him and came to an abrupt stop, barely inches away from the older teen, which threw him off a step.

Ed looked at him like he was a lunatic. “What…?” He scrunched his face.

“Hi! I can’t believe I found you! You won’t believe me when I tell you the total process took three hours—which is forever for me!” Bart began to ramble again before Ed cut him off with a hand raised.

“Stop. What do you want? Why are you here?”

“Oh that, actually I wanted to talk to you about something. No, I mean, I wanted to give you somethin—”

Ed sighed. “Look, whatever it is, I’m not interested. I already said I don’t want to be a hero. It’s already a hassle to just come here. Speaking of, I’m on my way out, bye.” The teen was already walking out like he had better things to do.

“Huh-eh-wha…” Bart could only stand there speechless, for a change.

“Oh, damn did you just get rejected amigo?” Jaime’s mocking yet amused voice spoke from behind him.

“Ahem, no. correction, I’ve been momentarily misunderstood. I haven’t even gotten a chance to speak my mind.” Bart pouted.

“Cause you start rambling about other stuff. I’ll be surprised if he even understood a word you said.” The taller teen crossed his arms. Bart’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

‘Maybe I should do a take two?’ The preteen pondered.

“Oh no, I know that face, don’t bother him right now.” Jaime grabbed his shoulders before he could run away again. “He’s not gonna listen to you in that mood, let’s just get you home, ese. You need to stop pestering on without demand.” He forcibly turned him towards the exit. The brunette exuded a groan. He hated being unsuccessful.

Bart had conjured up plans to try again but one team mission led to another and before he knew it, he never got the chance again. The preteen found himself travelling half the time, missing the mark each time. And just like that, six months had gone by.

Though, it was enough time for Impulse to redesign his Kid Flash suit. He wanted to carry on and honor Wally’s legacy but also add his own presence to it.  It would be the perfect fusion for the now fourteen-year-old.

After the mission from the planet New Genesis, Bart was at the new ‘Mount Justice’ which was by courtesy of Beast Boy. Gar had picked up an acting career—he was always the social butterfly—so he made Grechen Goode compensate him for his crazy schedules. It wasn’t a cave anymore, but it was a spacious tower with more than enough rooms, a central living space with an arcade, a ping pong table and more. It was a massive upgrade from their cave which unfortunately got obliterated from the ambush with Black Mantle.

“We have to make sure they receive these in New Mexico, yes I have the stuff, but I need to send someone over—” Nightwing could be heard over the phone and Bart’s ears perked up. Before the elder even turned around, Bart was standing a foot away from him. The ravanette glanced down at him, puzzled at the wide confident smile.

“I can go!” Bart didn’t waste any time to make his intentions clear.

“Really?” Dick pulled the phone back from his ear briefly. Bart nodded vigorously, he needed an excuse and now he had one. He was already light years late (from his standards) and Eduardo was difficult to approach. “Okay, if you say so, thanks.”    

Bart was at the research lab in minutes. He submitted the stuff that Dick transported and walked around the halls to catch any glimpse of the teleportation teen. The brunette was both nervous and excited to meet the other. He had no idea how Ed would react seeing him again. Did he even remember him? Hopefully he did—

‘There I go, rambling again—mentally this time.’ Bart gently smacked his head once with his palm.  After a few inquiries, Bart scouted Ed behind a glass window, inside one of the lab rooms with a few researchers. The younger patiently waited and observed from outside the room, looking in through the wide panel window.

Ed was attached to electrodes, his vitals were being monitored and jotted down, before he was liberated from the room. The curly haired teen looked annoyed as usual, with a mild frown tugging at his brows. As soon as Ed walked out and noticed the other teen, Bart smiled and gave him a casual wave. The ravenette raised a confused brow with an inquisitive look, not recognizing him right away.

‘Oh right, I’m in my Kid Flash outfit, it’s different from the last time we met.’  Bart made an internal note. “Hey! Ed—Eduardo, nice to see you again, It’s me, Kid Flash.”

Not that Ed cared, but he managed to figure out now who was in front of him. He finally noticed that the teen changed his costume and his hairstyle a bit. He had also gotten a bit taller, perhaps a recent growth spurt. But then again, he couldn’t even tell when was the last time he saw ‘Kid Flash.’

Ed looked him up and down once, his eyes disobeying him. The teen was in a typical hero skin-tight outfit, his lean physique entirely revealed.  He looked like something straight from a hero comic. The way he wore that suit so confidently—Ed could never.

“How’s going it? How are the new powers? I saw you were hooked in there—” Bart attempted to start up a casual friendly conversation.  However, the Argentine teen just walked past him apathetically. ‘Uhh, not this again…’ Bart’s shoulders slumped as the other walked away, almost admitting defeat.

“Oh, come on, give me a chance amigo!” Bart zipped in front of his face again, barricading his way. “Uh, maybe I can offer you something in return?” The brunette realized he wasn’t going to get two words out, until he offered to be of some use to the elder teen or at the very least pique his interest.  “Oh! I can help you with your powers!”  Ed rolled his eyes. “Maybe even show you how this superhero stuff works?”

That last statement made Ed snap. “I don’t need a cheerleader.  I already said I’m not interested in being some flashy hero. You’re just here to make me a lab rat like the rest of them!”

Bart was startled by the harshness and outburst in the other’s tone. Regardless, he tried again. “No, you don’t understand. That’s not my intentions! But I know exactly how you feel! Believe me! I’ve been there too with the whole lab stuff." The younger rammed the words out as fast as he could incase Ed wanted to walk out on him again. “I know how hard it is to be alone and this isolation is only going to hurt you. It’s totally moded, trust me—”

“I don’t need anyone.” Ed fired back again. “I didn’t ask for any of this. Now leave me alone already, geez.”  He resorted to escaping via warping instead this time. The ravenette found himself in one of the random room of the center. He didn’t care where as long as he was away from that kid. Speaking of, as if he was going to take serious advice from another superhero kid younger than him.

Bart, on the other side, sighed. He would quit if he wasn’t as persistent as he was. Friend, or not, he couldn’t leave it like this, misunderstood and distraught.

They were both frustrated for different reasons.

Ed found himself back at his dad’s research lab. Since he agreed to help his dad understand his powers, he was here almost every other day. It’s not like he had anything else to do anyway. He would practice a couple warps at varying distances and would have his vitals examined before and after each time to monitor his progress.

Currently, he was running test stimulations alone, deep in concentration. By the time he finished, he felt another presence behind him. “You again?” Ed mouthed when he peered from the corner of his eye.

“Knock knock, hi!” Bart flashed a wide grin, in his hero attire again, carrying two sodas. “Good work there. Don’t mind me.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m here with a peace offering. Or…a sugar bribery?” The brunette held out a soda can. Ed stared him down.

Chapter Text

“Okay wow. That look is aggressively judgey. It’s just soda.” Bart defended.

“You broke three security rules just walking in here.” Ed stated flatly, uninterested.

The younger grinned. “Guess I’m consistent then. Hey, maybe we haven’t had the best or proper intro yet, but the name’s Bart—previously Impulse—now Kid Flash, ever since, you know,” Bart shrugged, knowing Ed would pick up on the hint. Ever since Wally West died.

Ed continued to stare with an unimpressed look.

“Okay…that looks says I’m a friendly menace. I guess I’m not your most favorite person huh… or is anyone?” He muttered that last bit.

“Correct.”

“Brutal. But fine.” The brunette exhaled, agreement was his best tactic right now. Out of his own volition, the teen wandered around the lab, studying the equipment. Puzzled at the audacity, Ed watched him like he was expecting an explosion to happen any minute.

“Did you come here for a specific purpose or just to bother me again?”

“Are you running these machines by yourself?” Bart ignored the prior question.

“Yes and I’m totally fine handling them.” The elder teen was beginning to sound annoyed.

“Hmm are you sure? Because this one is in negative numbers and I’m pretty sure—based on my limited, but adequate knowledge—the probe should probably be at the green bar.”

“What?” The Argentine teen scowled before coming over. “Lemme see that.”

“See, look, it’s comparing your numbers to the general norms, which means your values should be at yellow or green for borderline to normal standards, respectfully. You’re at red which means they’re subpar.”

Ed quietly listened, amazed the other teen managed to speak a normal sentence and held knowledge of the device. He studied the device again. All this time he was focusing on blindly increasing his numbers, instead of looking at the colored bars. How was he supposed to know they meant something when the entire time he’s been working it, the probe was always at red?   

“I could’ve figured that out,” Ed quietly mumbled, averting his eyes with an ego.

“Totally,” The younger smiled ear to ear, feigning belief. However, he didn’t care about proving anyone wrong, he was just glad the other was willing to stay.  

The elder teen brushed aside the slight bashfulness from the small praise and turned his attention back to the machine. “Then how do I bring it up?”

Bart wasn’t expecting the other to confide in him or even ask him. “Well… if you’re measuring your ability then you have to increase your power wavelength. It’s coming across weak.”

Dr. Dorado was on his way to the lab room, but he stopped short when he heard voices coming from within the room. Last he checked, Ed was on his own, so he peeked through the ajar door to find him having a lesson with Kid Flash.

“So basically, I need to teleport further?” Ed clarified.

“Prec-cisely! Looking at these numbers, it seems like you need to teleport way outside these rooms. How far have you been going so far?”

“…a few rooms ahead or some floors.”

Dr. Dorado smiled when he witnessed Ed cooperating with another hero to understand his powers. Therefore, he slowly left them alone.

“Yup, no can do—gonna have to do better than that! Oh! I know! How about I go outside and you meet me outside? Then we come back in and measure your score?” The brunette optimistically suggested.

Ed didn’t respond right away, surveying him for any signs of seriousness—which he was. “Mh.” He gave a truncated nod. Then again, he didn’t have anything to lose either.

“Alright! See you outside her-man-o.” Bart saluted before he zipped outside, leaving behind a gush of fast wind. Ed stuck his head out the window and saw Bart waving at him.

The elder teen swallowed once before setting his mind and beginning his teleportation. He pictured the brunette standing outside, with that exaggerated smile on his face, and hands on his hips.  In a few seconds, he was right outside, not too far from Bart.

“Crash! Now that wasn’t so hard—race you back!” With that, the younger teen was already dashing through the entrance doors.

Ed rolled his eyes. ‘Who’s racing who exactly?’  He tried to remind himself not to get too carried away with the hyperactive teen.  As soon as the ravenette was back in the lab room, Bart was waiting and ready to hook him up to the electrodes to measure his ability’s threshold.

The new numbers were a lot higher but still in the red range. “Not bad! Now let’s try further, but no looking!” Bart pointed two inches from his face. “Just imagine it. I’m going to be outside next to the electric pole at the back.

“Okay…”

Bart was gone again. He got so carried away with helping the teen that he even forgot why he was here. Did he have something to take care of? Did he have homework? Someone to help make dinner? Maybe. But could he focus on that right now? Nope. The teen stood there with no care in the world, waiting for his new friend. It was almost like they were playing a game of tag.

Ed knew exactly where that pole was and met the teen outside, almost bumping into him but they played it off nonchalantly. Once they were back at the room, Bart hooked him up to the electrodes one last time and the number bar actually hit yellow—to their shock—which meant Ed’s powers were at least at the borderline or minimum reference range. It made sense since Ed used more of his powers and less of his other senses.

“Totally crash!” The brunette excitedly raised his hand for a high five without thinking. He was simply relieved things weren’t going downhill. Only, a second later, Bart regret doing that, as they both awkwardly looked at each other with his hand randomly lingering up in the air. Knowing Ed, he would likely dismiss it or blatantly ignore it.

The younger was starting to feel stupid so he slowly decided to bring his hand down. “Ahaha…nevermin—” Except to his wild surprise, he felt a light feathery touch on his palm.  The taller teen gave him a slight tap, hands barely touching and unenthusiastic. Bart beamed at the other with starry eyes, who wasn’t even looking back at him.  The brunette grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

“Anyway, don’t you have anything else to do?” Ed began turning the machines off. That was enough practice for one day.

“Well…haha…” The younger scratched his cheek, sheepishly. “But hey! I helped you out! That was pretty fun! I think at this rate you’ll master your powers in no time!” He deflected.

“Hm, you think?” the ravenette mouthed, half-attentively.

“Think? More like I’m positively certain! Consider yourself lucky, I think you got the coolest powers out of the bunch!” Bart winked at him to make him feel better and lift his spirits. Ed glanced up at him. That was the first time someone said that to him. “I mean you can literally teleport anywhere! Even teleport people with you! If you master this, you’ll be untouchable amigo!”

Ed never thought about it like that but that did make it sound pretty badass and invincible. He supposed it could’ve been worse. He could’ve gotten some lame powers. At least these ones helped him save his dad, Super Boy and the others when they were held captive.

“Yeah yeah…okay…” The older teen fought the warmth on his cheeks.

“Anyway, I’ll leave you to your science brooding. Catch ya again later sometime! Lemme know if you ever need help again!”

“No need.” Ed blurted.

“I’ll be back~!” The speedster called out down the hall, already on his way like he didn’t hear anything.

The Argentine teen sighed, staring back at the machines and then coincidentally the unopened cans of soda right next to it. He gazed at them for a long time before silently and secretly picking one up.

“I’m home!” Bart called out as soon as he entered the house.

“Bart, is that you? Gosh, where did you go? I thought you were going to do your homework?” Iris asked from the kitchen.

“Oh yeah that, I guess I was supposed to—I mean I finished half of it, and then saved the other half for tomorrow morning, ‘cause you know—Oh wait! Oh crap!” Mid-explaining, the teen dashed to his room and pulled out his drawer. He saw the handkerchief neatly folded in the corner. “Oops, forgot again.” He facepalmed, mentally cursing himself. Downside to a brain that was hyperactive was that he got sidetracked so fast and so hard. ‘But no worries, I still made a small victory today.’ He smiled at himself. At least they were on talking terms—or so he hoped.  

Bart got a little busy again, between school, pestering Jaime and then having to run errands across the country. By the time he was back, it was late in the afternoon, creeping towards sundown. He was famished, tired and mentally fried. Not to mention, he had also woken up earlier today to finish some homework.

The brunette dragged his feet back to the teen tower, groaning as the elevator doors opened. He walked in but immediately froze when he registered Ed—the Ed—standing in the center of the tower. Bart stood, jaw to the ground, speechless. Never in a million years would he have considered the asocial teen to be standing at their place.

Was he joining the league? Was he considering? Did he have any questions? Was there trouble-?

Bart shook his head vigorously. ‘Snap out of it—let’s not go crazy yet.’ He reeled himself back in, fixed his posture and marched towards the teen. There was another young leaguer sitting on the couch, on their phone.

The speedster made eye contact with Ed and all that exhaustion from earlier magically washed away. Bart draped his jolly optimistic mask back on. “Hey! Warp-mano—I mean Eduardo~! What are you doing here? Did you come looking for me?” He pointed to himself with a cheeky grin, standing about two feet away from him.

“Ed.” The Argentine teen flatly mouthed.

“Eh?”

“Just Ed is fine.”

“Got it! Ed!” Bart echoed happily, testing the name for fun. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Dad taking advantage of my powers. Delivering these files to the league.” Ed held up a folder before Miss Martian took them away.

“Thank you again, Ed, we appreciate the help. I’ll be sure to pass these along to Nightwing. In the meantime, help yourself to anything.” She smiled before drifting away. “I’ll see you boys later.”

“That was it? You could’ve called me, I would’ve been there in a jiffy! Or in a flash~ But that one’s trademarked.”

“Oh yeah? You have that much free time?” The ravenette crossed his arms, sounding a little critical.

“What? Hardly! You wont believe how crazy it’s been today—I had to wake up extra early just to make time for homework. Then, you know, school—good old earthly stuff—and now I just came back from Tennessee. But I mean, I’m on the road anyway, so what’s one minor detour.” Bart flexed his shoulder once.

‘He’s that occupied? Then why bother?’ Ed inevitably thought.  Now that Ed paid attention, the other did look exhausted, even if the goggles were tinting his eyes. Yet, the younger teen still managed to plaster a wide rejoiceful smile on his face. ‘For what?’

Lost in thought, the elder teen didn’t notice when the silent pause dragged on for so long.

“So…anyone hungry? ‘Cause I could totally go for a buffet right now.” Bart broke the silence. “Uh, you staying?”

‘No.’ Ed’s brain answered for him internally. ‘Or at least he didn’t need to. But for some unknown reason, he wasn’t fully satisfied, like he had more to say.’  He scratched his head with a frown. ‘But then again, it also didn’t seem like the best time, not like they were friends.’ “No, I should get going. I have to train tomorrow as well.” With that, Ed excused himself.

Bart stared after him, as he walked towards the elevator, until Jaime walked up to him. “What’s up? I thought you were starving. You were complaining the entire way.”

“Of course I am! I was just on it—I’m so hungry I don’t even wanna change.” The speedster was still in his hero attire.

“At least wash your hands—” Jaime began but Bart was already reaching into the fridge. “No way ese,” He grabbed the back of Bart’s suit and dragged him to the bathroom.

“Noooo! Foooood!” The younger cried alligator tears as his heels dragged across the floor.

“Red Arrow!” Nightwing called out when the robber escaped his view.

“On it!” Roy confidently hopped off a roof and launched an arrow straight towards the masked robber, enough to jab his clothing against the wall and lock him there temporarily. The redhead landed near him and yanked his ski-mask off. “Let’s see who’s—” He lost his voice when the robber turned out to be a young teenager with disheveled dark hair.

It was uncharacteristic and foreign for him to freeze like this but in the back of his head, he knew why. The teen found a slim window of opportunity and smacked the elder away, ripping his clothes off as he scurried away. ‘Shit!’  The redhead came around a bit too late.

Nightwing landed near him. “What happened? Why did he get away?”

“Che…I don’t know…but I saw his face, he was just a lowly thief, a young dumb kid. I doubt he’s associated with any bigger organizations.”

“I see…” Dick trailed, noticing the change in Roy’s demeaner. “Something tells me that’s not all there is to it?”

“It’s nothing.” Roy dismissed, harshly.

Call him crazy, but Dick was beginning to recognize a pattern. This was the second time Roy stuttered when dealing with a younger or juvenile criminal.  There was definitely a correlation. ‘Jason…’  Dick knew the pair were close, but it seems he underestimated exactly how close or what he meant to Roy…

“This is going to sound harsh, but we have to move on…You have to move on…” The ravenette placed a solid hand on the other’s shoulder. Roy grunted and coldly turned away, shoving the hand off. Dick sighed as he stood there alone.

Chapter Text

It was a whole week or two later before Bart saw Ed again.

“Hey guys, you remember Eduardo? He’ll be training with us today.”  Nightwing announced once all the teens were at the virtual reality chamber in their hero outfits. Dr. Dorado saw how much Bart helped improve Ed’s abilities, so he considered training him with other teens to help him further advance and control his powers.

Bart noticed Ed from afar and waved at him. The taller teen just averted his eyes back to Nightwing, who led him to a simulation station and handed him a helmet. He went through the instructions and started the virtual training. It was all very new to Ed, and it took him a good minute to calibrate his senses. His eyes roamed around the virtual location they were in. The world around them now was like a maze, a city with flickering lights, collapsing pathways and scattered concealed obstacles. It all felt so real and tangible.

The mission was relatively simple. The team was split into pairs, they had to retrieve a power core from the center of the map and take it to their assigned destination, passing through hoops and bounds.

Yes. Of course. They were paired together. Ed sighed, but at the same time, these were better odds. At least he had some experience working with Bart, and despite how talkative he was, he was easy to get along with.

“Wow. You and me? Someone’s feeling chaotic today.” Bart beamed, approaching him in the virtual space.

“This is a waste of time.”

“Come on, we’re gonna crush it. You bring the brains, and I bring the speed.” The brunette gently nudged him, trying to cheer him up.

“…You bring distractions.” Ed mumbled.

Red dots flickered on the horizon as the simulation timer started. The teens studied the map and began moving, keeping an eye out for any obstacle or trap that came their way.

“This way’s open—I’ll scout—” Bart jogged ahead towards the power core, after taking one quick look at the map.

“Wait. That’s not the direction we need.” Ed attempted to call out but the younger already a mile ahead, on a roll.

“Shortcut! Trust me!”

“Trusting you is exactly what is going to get us killed.” Ed ran after him with no choice initially but then realized the error of their ways. There was a trap ahead, the road Bart was on would lead them straight into a bottomless pit and it didn’t seem like the other had noticed yet.

The ravenette advertently teleported right in front of the teen, intercepting him and Bart nearly crashed into him as he skid to a stop.

“Whoa! Bold stop but also cool entrance—maybe.” The teen laughed it off, but Ed wasn’t laughing.

“I double checked the path, your shortcut would’ve triggered a trap.”

The speedster stared at him wordlessly, then smiled. “Is that right?”

“You didn’t know.” It was a statement rather than a question.

“Or I was just testing you? Haha, good work partner! Let’s go~!” The younger about-turned and zipped in the opposite direction, almost evasive. ‘Wow, he’s inexperienced but he’s quite sharp. No one would be able to con him.’ Bart thought impressed.

They continued deeper into the maze, Ed teleporting back and forth, and Bart dashing around corner to corner to find their power source. Once they found it, they rerouted towards their final stop.

On the way, they reached a massive chasm in the ground. They were a bit higher with no bridge to make it across. On top of that, a virtual bot locked in on them, firing at them once but the teens ducked for cover. 

“Someone’s moded.''

“There’s a trigger point across the gap. Disabling it shuts down the turret.” Ed told, ignoring the prior comment.

“Easy. I’ll run across—”

“No. It tracks motion. You’ll get fried.”

“Hm, unless someone teleports me, then.” Bart voiced with a sneaky grin.

“No.”

“Come on, Ed-mano. You’ve been working on precision jumps, right?”

“I still haven’t tested it with real people.” The elder complained. “Except that one time…”

“I hate to say this but, great time to try.” Bart turned his body fully towards the teen, ready for an embrace. However, Ed simply stared at him once before disappearing into thin air. He landed on the other side and disabled the button himself.

“Or I can just do it myself.” The ravenette indifferently mouthed.

Bart’s shoulder’s slumped, rejected. “Or that.”

“Remember guys, it’s a team exercise.” Nightwing announced from the intercom and Ed apathetically huffed at that.

The teens closed in on their destination, but the entrance started collapsing. The final hallway flickered, glitching with hazards. There were firewalls, lasers and moving floors that alternated in a certain repetitive pattern.

Bart gawked at the sequences before him. “That’s a whole lot of nope.”

Meanwhile, Ed thought hard and fast, lost in his thoughts without listening to the other’s grumbles. “There’s a pattern, but we can’t both make it through…”

“I know what you mean. There are some floors that straight up drop, I can’t run through those but we both have to make it to the finish line.”

“Yeah…so we’ll need to alternate. I’ll teleport you past the first two traps, you speed through the timing gaps, and I’ll… jump ahead to catch you before the firewall resets.” The elder explained hesitantly. He didn’t have any other option.

“So, we’re, like… syncing moves?”

“Yes.”

Bart grinned. “You’re finally speaking my language.”

The teens took a deep breath before following through on their plan. Bart fidgeted once, looking up at Ed, he was feeling a little nervous. “Um, so how…” The teen wasn’t sure how they were going to go about it. Do they hold hands? Does Ed carry him?

With a serious and unchanged expression, Ed held out a hand, which Bart instantly took. The first thing he noticed was how thin the younger’s wrists were. Then again, he was overall slim and lithe. He felt so delicate for a teen boy. Well, he was a speedster, not a fighter.

Nevertheless, Ed took action and pulled the teen in close, holding on to his waist sideways. The sudden unexpected gesture made Bart’s stomach flip, and for a moment he wondered if Ed thought any more of this like he did or if he saw it as a cumbersome chore.

The elder focused his energy like their life depended on it and teleported forward. When they came to, he nearly stumbled once, feeling light-headed and heavy at the same time. The teen wasn’t used to teleporting two people like this.   

After Ed’s part, Bart took over, dashing forward with no time wasted until he came near the end and waited for Ed to show up in front of him. The moment he did, Bart jumped into Ed’s arms, the floor slowly beginning to fade underneath him. Ed looked exhausted but he managed to pull through one more time. They worked with each other naturally, following cues without any exchange of words—it was so innate.

“We made it!” Bart cheered, arms up in the air. Meanwhile, Ed had his hands on his knees, catching a breath. He really pushed his body to the max towards the end.

“Aw, look at the problem children working together, haha.” A new smug voice introduced itself after they passed the final level. Bart turned to find the scenery gradually dissipating away and the other leaguers slowly appearing. Jaime was watching them.

“You see that, Jaime?! Dream team!” Bart panted.

It was all dawning on Ed now. “…We didn’t mess it up.” He sounded more amazed at himself.

“Of course we didn’t. You’re good at this! See, I told you! Your powers are totally crash! Even if you are a little allergic to fun.” Bart smiled sincerely.

“I’m not—” Ed growled but was interrupted by Nightwing’s final announcement.

 The sim turned off and the virtual helmets came off.

“Great job everyone, that was an insightful experience. However, big shoutout to team Bart and Eduardo. For someone who isn’t on the team with newly adapted powers and first time working together, they did an excellent job.” Nightwing acknowledged.

“We’ll sign autographs later.” Bart half bowed, performatively.

“We won’t.” Ed flatly denied, eyes averted.

“Worth a shot.” The brunette was still smiling, relishing the moment. He could totally mark this as another win in his book. He really craved connection, didn’t he? And pushing Ed’s barriers. Something about Ed’s reserved, mysterious armor always had him yearning for more.

“Honestly, you two are kinda scary together.” Beast Boy added.

Ed was also shocked at how well their powers actually worked together; so seamlessly. But before he could celebrate, he was getting ambushed by a massive headache, most definitely from the exertion. He needed a drink.

“You okay?” Wonder girl asked from the sidelines.

“No.” Ed ended up confessing, holding his head.

“You may have pushed yourself too hard, let’s get you out of here.” Miss Martian was also supervising the training and stepped over. “Training is completed.”

The teens stepped out towards the living room lounge and began pulling drinks from the fridge. Ed grabbed a can and sat on the table. Bart followed suite, wobbling once but straightened himself before sitting next to Jaime, across from Ed. Perhaps all that teleporting was messing with his cells too, even if it was virtual.

“Not a bad flavor, right?” The brunette pointed to Ed’s can.

‘He always has something to say, huh?’ The taller teen thought innocuously. “It’s fine.”

Jaime and Bart chatted about random things until Jaime got up and went to the bathroom. The other teens were lounging on the sofa. Bart noticed Ed staring at him from the corner of his eye. Their gaze met once more and that confirmed Bart’s suspicions.

“Um…hey?” The brunette loosely chuckled, confused by the sudden conspicuous attention. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t flattered.

Though, it looked like the elder had something to say that he was holding back.

“So, that was an easy training session.” Ed took a gulp from his drink, acting nonchalant but secretly testing the other.

“Uh, yeah! Solid! Nailed it—easy as pie.” Bart instantly agreed.

The ravenette put his can down harshly. “Who are you trying to fool?”

“Huh?”

“So, you’re saying you’re not exhausted at all? Why are you always pretending to be so cheerful? Are you looking down on us?”

“What?! No! No-no-no, how could you have possibly reached that conclusion—I just do it out of habit… I don’t know… I just don’t want to be a burden.” The younger confessed panicked. He didn’t want to be abandoned or a pain in anyone’s eyes.

“So, you’re trying to mask it with that exaggerated smile?” Ed hit the nail on the head. Bart was speechless, which was new for him. He didn’t realize Ed had studied him like that.

He did acknowledge the elder was sharp but no one noticed him hiding behind his fake mask like that. “You… So? No one wants to deal with a brood—not like that’d ever help…” Bart sat back a bit, eyes away. “Would you like your friend being like that all the time? Negative?”

“Except we're not friends.” Ed corrected casually.

“Still!”

Ed hate to admit it but cracking the other’s fake exterior made him feel a little better. The speedster always acted like everything was chill, easy and had his stuff all together. It could come across demeaning or patronizing at times to others.

Now that he felt like he was speaking to a normal human being, something else came to mind. “What did you mean by being a lab rat as well?” Ed asked.

“Oh, that,” The brunette glanced around once before answering quietly. “I spent the first couple years of my life in a virtual reality lab because they couldn’t handle my powers and body mechanism.”

Ed listened patiently and attentively, raising a brow here and there like he was curious to hear more. When Bart didn’t receive any resistance from the other, he awkwardly continued, to fill the silence with something. Moreover, the constant attention didn’t know how to make him feel.

“It’s complicated… but my parents died when I was very young and so unable to control me, they had me stuck in that virtual reality for years until my grandmother saved me. I lived with her before she passed away as well…” Bart dropped his gaze, unable to fully conceal the unmistakable grief in his voice. He decided to leave out the bit that he was from the future. No one would be able to make sense of that anyhow. Other than that, it was all true.

The Argentine teen observed him carefully. On the surface, Bart seemed like a simple, easy book to read—a carefree teen with no worries or depth. However, peeling back the layers like this, he ended up becoming the most intricate out of all of them. It was no wonder why sometimes his eyes held so much more emotion and experience than what his mouth would portray.  

Ed may have judged him too early. He thought he was the one going through it all, but it seemed Bart had gone through worse.  “I see…I’m…sorry…” The elder pushed out.

The brunette’s head shot up. “Oh no, you don’t have to worry, it’s all in the future—I mean past now, I guess? It’s okay, I appreciate the condolences though.” The teen’s smile was back on his face, but more genuine and warm this time, that it had Ed staring a minute longer. “I’m just grateful to be here and left when I did. I wouldn’t trade this for anything. Isn’t it nice to have friends and family that care?” Bart expressed with the most innocent, welcoming countenance ever. He had this warm glow to him.

Ed swallowed. The inner protective man in him had this fleeting instinctive urge to shelter the other teen. He swung his gaze away, heart feeling off beat.

“Yeah…yeah, I suppose it is.” The elder barely choked, all senses and reasoning thrown off temporarily. He’d never met anyone so straightforward with their words and emotions. Where he came from, no one outwardly expressed emotions like that.

Neither of them said anything after that… but something had changed between them.

Bart was having a relaxing afternoon at Jaime’s house. He found himself doing that often when they had no missions or other duties. Anything was better than being alone. He was reading comics on the floor while Jaime was on the bed, on his phone.

The younger began to randomly miss physical touch—that also became a bad habit. Maybe it was his way of reassuring his brain that they were no longer in a virtual simulation. So, he got up and joined the other on the bed, laying down next to him, subtly feeling his heat.

Jaime shot him a brief questioning look but dismissed it just as fast. He still wasn’t used to the other’s random ticks but sometimes he found them adorable.

“This comic is so cool, it’s a shame we don’t have these in the future.” Bart spoke up first.

“I think that future is worried about other things than comics, like I don’t know, surviving.”

“I guess there’s that too.”

The pair hung out for another half hour, laying shoulder to shoulder until there was a knock on Jaime’s door. When there was no response from the teens, the third person, Traci quietly opened the door and nearly squealed at the cute sight before her. She couldn’t fight the compulsion to snap a picture on her phone of the teens laying on the bed, fast asleep. Jaime’s head was slightly tilted towards Bart, who had a comic on his chest.

Chapter Text

Bart had some time on his hands again. He had harassed Jaime to get some school related stuff done but Jaime refused, so where did he go next?

Of course, the research lab. He definitely wasn’t there to check up on someone… Ever since their last training and the simulator training, he felt closer to the teen. As if they had removed some cemented walls between them.

As usual, he waltz into the research lab in his hero attire and found Ed inside a lab room with wide screen windows that showed the inside of the room from the hall. His father and other scientists were inside with him, pushing his abilities further.

However, it didn’t go as smooth as they planned. Ed’s ability started to overpower the machines, and he started feeling extremely hot, face turning red with his body burning. He couldn’t think straight for a moment and the machines started blinking and beeping.

‘Uh oh.’ Bart straightened his posture from the wall, getting ready to head in there any moment to help the situation in any way he could. The scientists attempted to turn the machines off. Those machines were meant to put stress on his cells and help him perform better. Albeit, they may have pushed too far too fast.

The brunette dashed inside the room. “Ed! Ed! You need to calm down!” He tried. The electrodes were impossible to take off like this. Due to the high energy and high temperature from both sides, they were practically glued to his skin and force removal would end up tearing skin.

Ed either didn’t hear him or willfully ignored so Bart tried again. “Hey~! Amigo~ You’re burning the machines and wires at this rate, you need to find your ground—”

“Shut up! And leave me alone! You’re not helping!” Ed yelled back, not seeing his actions or words at all in this moment. It was as if his brain was being controlled by the high pressure system, clouding all judgement and reducing his tolerance. The taller teen was also very confused and internally fretting.

The younger didn’t allow his words to cut him at all. Ed had never faced such situations or his body acting like this. It was all very new to him so his outburst was understandable.

“Eduardo! You don’t have to do this alone! We’re all here to help you. So please, take my hand, and find your breath. You need to calm your nerves first before anything else to happen.” Bart looked at him seriously and extended a hand. It was a bit risky touching his body like this, but he was willing to take that risk. This was also him we were talking about—his cells could endure through a lot. Ed stared at him, finally giving him a chance and hesitantly took the hand. Bart’s hand felt so cool, even though it wasn’t. It was the massive temperature difference that made it feel so. This also awakened the ravenette to how much he was burning up, in reality.

Ed closed his eyes and tried to think of something peaceful, tried to focus on the coolness and smallness of the hand in his grasp. He took deep breaths, recalling the speedster’s wide grins, random comments, playful demeaner and lastly, but most importantly his genuine warm smile from last time. He took another breath, squeezing the hand ever so gently.

“You’re doing great, you really are, keep it up. Just like that, come back to us.” Bart reinforced with gentle soothing words, keeping his tone deliberately low and slow.  Ed could feel himself slowly letting go of his frustrated and agitated emotions, along with the heat and electrical pulses that were causing such turmoil to begin with.

When it was all said and done, and they were finally able to read normal temperatures on him, the other scientists removed the fried electrodes. Ed continued to stand there in awe.

‘Did he really…just use Bart as a means to calm himself down?’  Thank God, the other couldn’t read minds.

Glad that it all worked out, Bart stood by him, hand still in hand. Ed stood guarded and stiff, genuinely forgetting about the hand. “Not so bad right? It feels good to be in control, heh.” The brunette broke the silence first.

Ed glanced at him, finally realizing the hand as well. Quickly but softly retracting his hand, he agreed. “Yeah…”

“So, what do you say? Try that again one more time? This time keeping better control?” Bart encouraged.

“Fine I’ll do it.” Ed gave in rather easily and went back towards a different machine. Meanwhile, Bart went back outside the room, looking through the window and gave him a thumbs up when they’re eyes met. Ed gave a barely existing nod, but it was enough.

The speedster took his eyes away for a brief moment when his communicator went off.

J:  Let’s grab some tacos

Bart beamed at that.

B: u had me at tacos

J: where u at ?

B: the metacenter research lab

J: bro ur always there these days

B: not my fault ~

Ed finished up, he was exhausted but glad it was over. He walked out of the room, curiously wondering where the optimistic younger was. The teen finally noticed the back of Bart’s head a couple feet away with Blue Beetle. The teens shared a hug as a greeting, a tight, lingering embrace. It was nothing romantic, but it was clear how comfortable and affectionate they were with each other. It seemed like Jaime had just gotten there.

Ed felt odd right off the bat, an unexpected twist forming in his chest, something that made him want to turn away but also freeze in place. He didn’t care. He shouldn’t, but for a while now Bart had been all eyes on him with undivided unconditional attention, so this felt like a mini-betrayal.  He didn’t know what to make of the feeling initially.

“Wow you actually brought them?” Bart lit up at the bag of tacos.

“Yes, yes, you’re welcome. I was flying over anyway, so bought them—it made no sense to go back with you a second time.” Jaime explained.

“Aw you’re the best!” Bart cheered and Ed twitched, wanting to barf.

“Just the work of a hero. I somersaulted into the sky and back, you should’ve seen me, I looked so cool.”

The younger laughed. “Yeah, right her-man-o, I can see you trip first before all that.”

Jaime bumped his shoulder. “I did it last time in Star City, didn’t I? Just admit it, I’m cool— I even carried you.”

“You! I literally saved your butt that time!” Bart pointed, shocked.  Ed leaned against the wall next to the door frame of the lab room he had just come out from, studying them with crossed arms. His eyes narrowing slightly every time Jaime touched Bart. The Argentine teen had better things to do in this moment, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off them or leave them alone either.

Jaime noticed Ed just watching and waiting on them, uncharacteristically. He smirked at Bart, voice low but loud enough. “You know you’d be lost without me.”

“In your dreams.” Bart playfully pushed him away.

“Hey, you free tomorrow?” Jaime asked and Ed blinked, ears propped up. “I was thinking we hit that old rooftop—get a better view of the city before patrol."

“Ooh, that place? Yes—sunset watch squad!" the brunette looked excited. Here and there they would go to their usual rooftop, enjoy a nice meal while watching the sunset.

Ed finally pushed off the wall and walked over. Upon seeing that, Jaime waved at him nonchalantly. “Didn’t realize the team had so much time for sightseeing." Ed commented.

“Oh—hey, Ed! You finished?" Bart was startled but his smile soon softened upon seeing him.

“We were just talking about how nice it would be if you joined us more often. Bart was saying you’ve been avoiding him.” Jaime teased. The brunette shot him an embarrassed glare. Jaime was pulling his leg but something about his tone rubbed Ed the wrong way.

“I don’t really care about going or being part of…whatever group.” Ed just told uncooperatively, his voice a bit cold and defensive. Bart glanced at Ed, feeling a tad hurt.

“Are you sure?” Jaime asked.  Ed ignored him and turned to Bart.

“Don’t get distracted.”

“What? I didn’t—” Bart started.

“Apparently you did and Jaime had to carry you right?” The ravenette spat and Bart stared at him confused by the tone. Ed was also confused by his own tone. Why was he so bothered by the other? It wasn’t normal.

“Hey, don’t hate me ‘cause I’m useful.” Jaime smirked, surrendering his arms up.

“Sure, if you say so.” The tone felt like ‘whatever, not impressed.’

Bart looked between the two, sensing some odd tangible tension. “Are you okay?” He finally asked Ed.

“Fine.” Ed responded a little too quickly that it sounded harsh. With that, he began to walk past them.

“Wait—Ed…do you …want to join us tomorrow?" Bart called out once. Ed paused but didn’t turn back.

“No. I wouldn’t want to interrupt.” Ed voiced and left.

‘Did I…mess up?’ the brunette couldn’t help but think, though he didn’t know how.  The younger felt conflicted as he stood there. He didn’t know what to deduce from the other’s withdrawal and coldness. He thought they were fine. Jaime noticed the predicament on his face and chimed in.

“Don’t sweat it, he’s not the easiest to get along with. Maybe he’s just afraid to let anyone in, even you.” Blue Beetle voiced.

Ed wrestled with his own emotions for the rest of the day, trying to convince himself that he didn’t care about Bart’s closeness with Jaime. It wasn’t anything new after all. However, deep down it gnawed at him.

Why did he feel so upset when he saw them together?

Maybe, for the first time, he started to realize that he possibly did care about Bart—more than he was willing to admit. That was Bart’s fault, why did he make him feel special in the first place? No matter how many times he pushed him away, he would still be back at his corner, trying to become friends and even tolerating his nasty attitude.

Of course, that would make Ed feel special and like the odd one out. Like he was the only one that existed. Even his dad didn’t give him that type of undivided attention.

At the said rooftop, Bart arrived early, waiting on Jaime to bring the food, feet dangling off the edge. He heard a soft landing behind him, and assumed it was the other.

“Hey, finally—oh,” Bart swung his head, expecting Jaime but registered someone totally different. “Ed? W-what are you doing here? I didn’t think you’d come…”  

“Wasn’t planning to.” Ed shrugged a shoulder, as he walked over.

"Then why did you…?" The brunette genuinely wanted to know. Ed didn’t respond immediately, sitting down beside Bart, not too far but not too close.

“What about you? I thought you’d be here with Jaime." The ravenette flipped the question while he stared off into the horizon.

“I am… he’s running late.”

Ed raised a brow, glancing at him. “Of course he is.” It sounded sarcastic.

“Okay, what is going on here?” Bart had to ask. Ed was acting too confusing for him. “Do you have something against Jaime? Not that I can think of any interaction—”

“It’s nothing.” The elder cut him off before he continued his ramble.

“Is it really nothing? You snapped at me, you were glaring at Jaime like you wanted to fry him with your eyes alone. And then—well let’s just say you stormed off—did I do something wrong?”

Ed sighed, feeling backed into a corner he didn’t want to be caught in. However, he couldn’t deny those allegations. “I didn’t come here to talk about Jaime.”

His reaction was telling Bart a lot. “But this is about him, or me, isn’t it?"

“It’s about nothing.”

“…You know, you don’t have to hide behind that anger all the time. I already told you that…” Bart slowed down.

“You mean like you don’t have to be hiding behind that laughter?” That sounded like a jab but Ed’s lips twitched up once, making it known he was mocking in a friendly way.

Seeing that relieved Bart who played along. “Yes, yes, nice try but we already talked about me. This is about you, mister.”

“Force of habit. I don’t know how to be anything else than how I already am.” Ed wasn’t used to talking about his feelings.

“Like I said, I’m here to help. You don’t have to do this alone. I hope you can trust me?”

Ed paused. “Yeah, that’d be nice. Maybe I can…” He pulled on a smile, not as closed off as before. There was another awkward pause. “Also…” The elder teen rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes, brainstorming a way to say the next few words. “I…didn’t mean to snap at you earlier, or during the training…I’ll try to do better next time…”

‘Next time.’ Bart noticed. This was a big step forward. It truly felt like they trusted and held mutual respect for one another. He was loving this so much that he couldn’t hide the ear to ear grin on his face. Ed wanted to look at him like there was something manic about him but he let it be this time.

“That sounds great! I’m in! You can totally count on me! We’re going to make a great team—I can already see it!” Bart liked Jaime a lot, sometimes even physically attached to him but he felt more emotionally closer to Ed—as implausible as that sounded.  

“Okay, calm down.” The elder said but internally he was flattered by the attention. For once, he didn’t mind the other’s eager energy.

The brunette raised a fist and Ed quietly bumped it.